Society as We Know It

by MagLocal

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Changelings
Length: 413992

While the Changeling Kingdom is being rebuilt under the rule of King Thorax, many changelings are finding it hard to fit in to their new lives. So, some of them take off to travel Equestria on their free days.

The evil and corrupt Queen Chrysalis has been defeated. The good and kind King Thorax has been coronated (without a crown). The Changeling Kingdom is being reconstructed by the now-good changelings under King Thorax. Finally free from a selfish ruler, the changelings are going to be happy for a long time.

And then they wonder about what they're going to do.

What is there to talk about when much of their lives was about planning evil plans and finding sources of love (and food)? What is there to do in a kingdom being rebuilt in the middle of wasteland? The only thing that the changelings were sure of was their job in rebuilding the Kingdom. In their free time, there was not much else.

Good thing Thorax was a good king since he let the changelings have free time and free days.

So, some changelings journeyed out of the Changeling Kingdom to travel Equestria.

Published 2017-01-04 03:00:02 UTC
Last updated 2017-12-23 00:40:11 UTC

Canterlot

The changelings went out the donut shop, holding paper bags on their backs or with their mouths or in their bags. The ones with a free mouth were chatting and talking about how delicious the donuts were, how that mare Silence did not speak at all, and how wonderful Canterlot was in general. They laughed, presumably at jokes. They smiled, sharp teeth with their fangs showing. It was all right for them.

The upper-class ponies, on the other hand, were mixed in opinion as they passed by the pack of happy, brightly-colored bug things talking like normal ponies and talking about normal things as they passed the same buildings normal ponies pass and on the same roads and sidewalks that normal ponies walk on.

A couple of unicorns wearing fancy, stylish clothes looked at the changelings. He, wearing glasses and a neutral expression on his face, said, "Changelings in Canterlot again? The sight of them only reeks of suspicion."

"Even without that queen, they still have a sense of...what do you call it?" She brought her hoof to her head and paused, facing up."Rowdishness."

The two unicorns looked up with closed eyes as they walked, being snobbish in their movements.

The changelings would not have heard the unicorns' remarks over the talking and the beholding of the wonderful architecture that was around them. Many of the buildings were mainly white. The corners and curves were placed in ways that made their buildings fancy, regal, royal. They were certainly not houses and businesses the normal pony could afford. Canopies draped the entrances and the terraces of some buildings, flags flew in stationary form on the top of other buildings. The clean streets were half-full, many of the ponies at least pausing to take a look at the group of strange changelings. Some little colts and fillies tried to run to the changelings, with a colt crying out "But I heard that they're cool!" as he was restrained by his mother and then his father as well when the colt just could not stop moving towards the changelings.

The green changeling who had ordered two of every flavor of donut pointed at the same building far off the distance but not too far off. The grand and enormous white castle with purple and gold spires that was off the cliff where Canterlot had been founded on was the Canterlot Castle Residence of the Two Sister Princesses, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.

"Hey, Humerus!" Red Noise shouted at his fellow changeling. "You've pointed at that castle how many times now?"

"But I want to see the Princesses!" Humerus replied.

Red Noise laughed. Blue Alarm covered his mouth, trying not to laugh.

"What's so funny about that, guys?"

"Heh, it's just that..." Red Noise glared at Humerus. "You sound like a little larva just saying that."

"It's my first time that I get to meet them!" Humerus shouted back. "Can't you deal with that?"

"Let's not get too ahead of ourselves, everyone." Another green changeling stood between the two, moving carefully since his bag of donuts was on his back. He was wearing a brown hat. "I don't want anyone fighting over where to visit and how someone sounds like. Besides, remember that friendship is magic?"

Red Noise laughed.

The other green changeling glared at him.

"OK, OK, whatever you say, Neon Guard!" Red Noise said between anxious laughs.

As the changelings walked pass yet another fancy looking restaurant, they did not notice the faces looking at them. Behind the wide and tall curved windows, behind the simple door under a narrow and lengthy canopy, two unicorns, orange and amber, saw them talk. The young orange mare had puffy and curly hair and wore a fancy shirt. The amber, older stallion was plump, had short yet puffy hair just like his daughter and wore a simpler shirt.

"It's almost opening time," he said. "How much longer do you have to stay there? I know that the changelings are nice and all but you can see them later when they come here."

"I know that, too, father," she replied. "It's that, with the success we've been having lately because of Pinkie Pie and Rarity, I've been having less time just...looking at the world around us."

He opened his mouth to say something but stopped. He walked to her side. Observing the street in front of them, the changelings were almost out of sight. If he was not mistaken, one of the changelings was wearing a hat. That is not something I expected, he thought. Some ponies were still looking at the changeligns, a few even running, maybe to talk to these new creatures. A fancy couple walked by, heads up and eyes closed. An ice cream vendor pushed his ice cream cart on the street and rang the bell many times. Some colts and fillies ran to the vendor, shouting at him the names of this and that ice cream flavor. Their parents were behind them, watching their money and their children. Many smiled.

He hugged his daughter.

"Saffron," he said, "it's good that you still have that in you. You remind me of..." He trailed off. "Of myself when I was young and observed like you."

"Father..." Saffron said. A hint of embarassment was audible.

A minute passed as they looked out the window together.

"We can have time for that later," he finally said. "I promise that. Now, it's just minutes until the restaurant opens."

"OK, father!" Saffron said. There was cheer in her voice.

Coriander Cumin and Saffron Masala walked away from the window and further inside the Tasty Treat. The lights turned on.

Outside, dozens of ponies were moving furniture and other building equipment out and in a few restaurants in Canterlot. Out were the dull tables and chairs, in went decorations and furniture of various colors, styles, and shapes. Some restaurants opened their doors, letting the smells of their kitchens waft out to the street.

A racetrack made out of clouds floated off the grass on the cliff. Flags decorated it. Below the racetrack was the ground below, miles and miles below. The stands that held many spectating ponies did not float miles above ground. In fact, it was on ground. The stands' foundation on the cliffside was clear to the ponies walking by the racetrack. In front of them was the open air, the racetrack, and the ground that was miles below.

But the ponies walking by would not look at the stands. They looked at the racetrack. They would see pegasi in their blue and yellow Wonderbolt uniform race each other, flying at speeds so fast that the wind was loud and the pegasi became more like blurs than solid beings. If one caught a glimpse of any of their faces right now, they would not be smiling nor frowning. They would have an expression of focus, serious focus; it would be a face that told anyone to not disturb them, they were in a middle of a fun event. That they were high up above the ground did not scare them. It might even have moved them to be faster or at least to be more alert.

The tension did increase the excitement for those watching the Wonderbolts.

The ponies were awed at their speed and skill. The popcorns were passed around by a few ponies wearing trays that held up buckets of popcorn with various flavors and smells.

"What's that smell?" Humerus said as he sat beside his changeling friends on the stands. "It's...something different." He sniffed and turned his head around. He sniffed loudly.

Blue Alarm kept calm. Neon Guard just watched the race with a blank stare.

Red Noise turned to the right.

"You're annoying the ponies," he said.

"The smell..." Humerus repeated. "The smell."

Red Noise smacked a hoof on the head. "Do you know self-control?!" he shouted above the cheers.

But Humerus ignored the question and flew towards the smell.

The roasted smell of fresh popcorn tempted the green changeling as he hovered up the stairs, not minding the few ponies who dared look away from the Wonderbolts for a moment to see the changeling pass by. The changeling had his mouth open. One pony looked at the open-mouthed and buzzing changeling and ran up the stairs and screamed her way off the stands but no one minded her as they kept on shouting and screaming and cheering for their Wonderbolt of choice.

"Spitfire!"

"Soarin!"

"High Winds!"

A filly asked her mother, "Where's Rainbow Dash?" but her mother replied with a sad shake of her head.

Humerus finally reached one of the ponies with the tray of popcorn, still sniffing. His head moved inside a popcorn bucket. Some pieces of popcorn flew off the tray and on to the floor. The popcorn pony was not pleased. He groaned.

"That would be two bits, please," the pony said. "And, you eat the popcorn off my tray."

Munches and bites were heard. Humerus opened his bag and threw two bits at the pony, head still in the popcorn bucket. The bits landed on the tray.

"Now take your popcorn and go to your seat."

Humerus, with the bucket of popcorn covering his head, flew down the stairs. There was laughter.

"Tourists," the pony whispered to himself as he gathered the bits into his uniform's pocket.

The tea shop was yet another building that looked fancy. The four changelings that remained were Blue Alarm, Red Noise, Humerus, and Neon Guard. They sat around the table. The tea still remained in their cups. Humerus's cup was half-full.

"What does this taste like?!" Red Noise yelled. "It tastes like water!"

The other changelings looked at him in surprise.

"Don't talk like that in front of the shop!" Neon Guard ordered. "What will the waiter do to us if he hears that from you?"

"At least it smells good," Blue Alarm said. "Would serve as perfume or cologne if you don't want to drink it."

"I thought it would taste excellent!" Red Noise kept yelling. "It looked fancy, a lot of those fancy ponies, especially the unicorns—and it costs five bits to get one cup of tea! And look what I get!" He gestured at the cup in front of him. "It's just colored water!"

"Maybe it's because you're drinking it incorrectly."

Red Noise looked behind him.

He saw a white unicorn wearing a formal suit. He had blue mane, a bowtie, and a monocle, not to mention a cutie mark of three crowns on his flank. Following him were a few unicorns wearing similar formal clothes. The two mares had big, grand hats, the one unicorn had glasses.

"I wasn't mentioning you at all!" Red Noise was laughing a little in the anxiety. "You're a good unicorn, um, mister owner..."

"Fancy Pants," the white unicorn said, "and I am not the owner of the tea shop.

"As for your tea problem," Fancy Pants went on, "drinking tea is not like drinking normal water. The taste is not meant to be strong or bold. It is meant to be a quiet taste, a taste that can only be savored properly in sips, not in gulps like you were doing."

"I was thirsty!" Red Noise replied.

"Then why did you come here?" Fancy Pants asked. "Tea is not meant to be merely a drink that quenches your thirst. It is meant to be enjoyed as a drink on its own."

Red Noise laughed anxiously and nervously. The other changelings were now looking at him, no smiles on their faces.

"You are changelings, am I correct?" Fancy Pants said.

"Yes, we all are," Neon Guard said, getting out of his chair. "We just want to go around Canterlot and see what it has to offer."

"Are you not supposed to be helping your friends back in the Changeling Kingdom, fixing everything there?"

"We can have days off," Neon Guard replied. "King Thorax is not too strict. You could say that he's lenient."

Fancy pants nodded. "I hope he and the rest of the Changelings will remove the bad reputation they've had for years." He pasued. "In fact, you could provide a good example to many ponies by just being yourselves in...whatever you're doing."

Humerus was licking whatever tea was left in his cup.

"At least he's enjoying the expensive tea," Fancy Pants said. "That reminds me, who is paying for the tea? That's twenty bits that you have to pay. It's a hefty sum of money."

"Blue Alarm's paying for it," Red Noise said, pointing at Blue Alarm.

"Hey! Who said I was paying for it?"

Fancy Pants and his friends laughed. The other changelings laughed, too.

Wealthy Struggles

The two steep mountains made beautiful scenery out of their surroundings. The valley below was filled with lush trees as a river winded through the forestry. Beyond the two mountains, the river went on and so did the forestry, with more mountains on the horizon.

On the side of one mountain was a carved, wide ledge. A smoothened and cleaned dirt path followed the ledge and ended at a large station. The station itself was painted with white and gold with hints of purple, as if it had had been a castle in years before. Sticked to one of the walls was a list of the day's airship schedule, listing the different classes of airships and their stops through Canterlot and even beyond; underneath the list of destinations, circled in blue marker was the word "Ponyville."

The crowd of ponies, young and old, were walking and moving here and there. Tickets were raised with the word "Late!" and the phrase "Not enough bits!" being thrown around. Tourists, made obvious by some because of their tacky clothes, came inside the station smiling. A few left with angry faces, one of them mumbling about how "ridiculous the prices are!" The Canterlot natives, on the other hand, had smiles on their faces before and after the station visit. Among them was Fancy Pants and his group of friends. They were standing on a concrete path near the edge of the ledge

A pink pony shouted, "What's that?!"

Many looked at where the pony was pointing to.

A magnificent airship floated its way to the stop on the cliffside. The purple and lavender colors on the large envelope had gold marks, making the vehicle look like a boat being carried on several wires by a purple whale or at least a big purple fish. The "boat" itself was the crew car of the airship, several ponies being on it. A burly pegasus wearing a hat was handling the steering wheel. The rest of the crew were running to their various places, pulling levers and pushing buttons. Finally, the airship stopped in front of Fancy Pants.

"I didn't know Fancy Pants was that rich," Neon Guard said.

The changelings stood near the crowd that did not notice them. They, even the very rich, were looking on at Fancy Pants and the ponies following him as they boarded the airship by the retractable stairway.

Then, the airship floated away.

"All those unicorns," Red Noise said. "They're going to pay hundreds of bits just to fly through the air for half a day. Look at us! We can fly for free."

"I think that's the point, Noise," Neon Guard said. "They can't fly. Maybe a unicorn who has very good magic skills can fly, but...the average unicorn doesn't have that ability."

"What a waste of money!" Red Noise shouted.

Some unicorns with fancy clothes looked at them. A couple was among them.

"Ha!" Jet Set yelled. He fixed his glasses with a hoof. "You think it is a waste of money?"

"You may have wings, changelings," Upper Crust said, "but flying on an airship is just...luxurious."

"It is a kind of flight that is completely different than what you are used to with those wings."

"I bet you're jealous of us 'cause we have wings!" Red Noise shouted.

The ponies around them gasped.

Neon Guard slapped Noise's face.

"Who needs wings when you can afford a clearly superior way of flying?" Upper Crust said.

Red Noise snarled and charged at the couple. His companions grabbed him.

"Come on, guys!" Red Noise yelled. He trashed around, struggling to be free. "They can't just go around and tell us that airships are better than our wings!"

"I knew it," Jet Set said. "You may not be evil and eating our love but you're still ruffians."

"Maybe you're not supposed to be in this place if you're ruffians who can't afford the airships, hmm?" said Upper Crust.

Red Noise snarled at the couple again.

"Sorry for this guy," Blue Alarm said through a grin. "He's very short-tempered!" He looked around. Rich unicorns (and the occasional earth pony) were standing in horror as they watched Red Noise stare and grumble, with an expression of hatred, at the couple who were smiling.

The changelings pulled Red Noise away as they walked.

"Sorry!" Blue Alarm shouted. The shout echoed through the valley.

"Why did you do that, Red Noise?!" Neon Guard whispered.

"Why wouldn't I do that?" Red Noise replied.

"Ssh!" the unicorn on the platform said. "This auction is supposed to be done in a quiet manner. If you want to stay here and watch, you have to keep quiet."

Red Noise groaned.

"I'll take that as a 'Yes.'"

The unicorn picked up his gavel.

The room's checkered floor was the least artistic thing. The lights above were covered in arrays of glass. The majestic paintings on the wall depicted various landscapes, various ponies, and various other items. There were paintings done rather realistically, others were abstract with shapes and lines placed in the places where they should be in order for the paintings to be of the greatest form of art. Plaques decorated the paintings above them, telling the observer basic information about the painting.

On columns stood many artifacts. There were jars, vases, weapons, metals, manuscripts from centuries ago. A plaque in front of one particular piece of pottery boasted that it was created before the time of Equestria's founding as a state. "Archaeologists have debated whether this jar was created by Earth Ponies whose descendents would co-create Equestria or if it was created by pre-Crystal-Empire Crystal Ponies." The jar itself was plain brown and dusty.

Two unicorns and a floating and glowing ornate, silver tray arrived. On the tray was a dusty old book.

"Make way for the next item to be auctioned, everypony," Golden Gavel said as he stood on the platform.

The changelings moved to the left.

The crowd of ponies made way with hushed words and guesses about what this book was. The two unicorns carrying the tray and its book with their magic moved with form, their eyes constantly on the tray.

The tray floated to the empty column beside Golden Gavel.

"This book, as you can see, has no title engraved on it," Golden Gavel said, pointing towards the book. "The book is one hundred and fifty years old. Its state of constitution is quite normal for a book of its age—it is mostly intact, with the only items that tell of its age being the dust on the cover.

"The contents of this book detail the history of the E.U.P. Guard—short for the Earth, Unicorn, Pegasus Guard—from the time of its conception up until recent years—'recent' being recent to the author. The book contains descriptions of the events leading to the E.U.P. Guard's creation, the disorganized organization of the Guard's early years, descriptions of ponies and other creatures important to the Guard throughout its history, and listings of battles along with their listings of who participated in them, how many troops were present, and a descriptive timeline of the battles' events.

"The book's original manuscript is contained in the Canterlot Archives, which makes the manuscript the property of the Princesses. Unless the Princesses are willing to sell such a valuable piece of Equestrian history for money, nopony else is going to get it."

"When is this guy going to stop talking?" Red Noise said.

"Ssh!" And Neon Guard gave Red Noise an angry expression.

"However, this is the closest one can get to the original," Golden Gavel continued. "This is the first copy that went off the press. The story goes that this copy was actually not supposed to be sold in a bookstore. It was sent to a dear friend of the author. Without much of the details, this copy was kept by this friend and was then passed down by his descendants. The pony who gave us the copy was quite willing to pass it on since they can already buy copies of the book in the local library; he said that his great ancestor's friend would respect the decision."

Everyone was looking at the book in awe.

"It's just a book!" Red Noise whispered.

Neon Guard slapped him again.

"Hmph." Golden Gavel walked to the platform's edge. "What if I told you that this book has the seal and signature of Princess Celestia?"

Everyone glared at the changelings. Red Noise was chuckling loudly, sweat going down his face.

"I take back whatever...I-I said!" he said.

Golden Gavel looked at the red changeling.

"So, let's begin with an opening bid of a thousand bits, hopefully with no interruptions."

Humerus raised his hoof. Everypony looked at him. Every other changeling glared at him.

Blue Alarm slapped the hoof down. "What are you?!" he whispered. "We don't even have two hundred bits on our hooves!"

Humerus looked around, ignoring Blue Alarm.

"If you are supposed to bid for the book," Golden Gavel said, "proper etiquette would require you to at least say how many bits you want to give."

Humerus kept on looking around, ignoring Golden Gavel as well. He lowered his hoof.

Golden Gavel sighed. "Let's just continue with the auction. An opening bid of a thousand bits."

A young, well-dressed pony raised his hoof. "I'll have it for a thousand and two hundred bits!"

"One thousand and two hundred bits from Dummy Bid!" Golden Gavel said.

A couple of ponies glared at the suited Dummy Bid. Then, they glared at their bags.

"One thousand and five hundred!" a mare yelled.

"One thousand and five hundred, unicorn mare with the green dress!"

The mare grinned and took out of her bag a glass jar with many gold coins inside.

And on the auction went. Ponies were raising their hooves, the bid rising and rising. Displays of wealth in bits were shown. The commotion rose, the noise and the shouts and the calls got louder. The book's carriers stood beside the book, their eyes darting to wherever trouble could strike. Golden Gavel called out bids with the names or descriptions of the bidders. All the while, the book laid there on its silver tray on its own column.

"Is this safe?" Humerus asked. "I wanna eat."

"Yeah," Red Noise said. "This is way too much for a book."

"Maybe it is," said Neon Guard. "Let's go." He looked around. "Where's Blue Alarm?"

"So, this jar looks sturdy. This jar...what else can this jar be? It can hold things, it's a container. It's old, yet the description tells me that it's been sold to the museum for three thousand bits. What importance does it hold? Did it win a battle that was very significant? Was it an important pony's jar? Did it hold gold in the past? There's no decorations, no markings, no indications, not even a handle. Just a jar."

"Blue Alarm!" Red Noise yelled.

An old mare shushed the changeling.

"I know," Red Noise said, "museums are supposed to be quiet."

"Then be quiet!"

The old mare walked on.

"Where did you go, Alarm?!" Red Noise said.

"I was checking the jar," Blue Alarm said. He did not turn his eyes away from the jar.

"You don't have to stare at it like that!" Red Noise said.

"Look, Blue Alarm, we're gonna go," Neon Guard said.

Blue Alarm turned around. "All right."

The three changelings went out of the museum.

The Sunset Meeting

The sky above Canterlot was yellow, the sun was near the mountains. Behind several windows, lights turned on, providing their buildings a sense of much light, a feeling of the lit city under a sunset.

The paved white walkways were filled with crowds of ponies chattering and talking, many trying to get their way forward. A large stairway, also filled with ponies, led up to the castle's pair of huge double doors. On them were decorated stylings of gold and silver.

Beyond the doorway, through the spacious hallways lined with tall columns of marble, the crowd of ponies stopped in front of a raised platform, itself decorated in gold and silver stylings. The floor was reflective. From the high ceiling were tall banners in purple and blue. The windows of stained glass that reached up to the ceiling bore, in their lines, the landscapes during the day and the night, while letting in the sun's beams, displaying on themselves rays of light. Guards in their metal uniform stood, showing no emotion but blank faces.

A red carpet laid on the floor and on the platform. On it were two chairs of leather and gold. However, the two crowned alicorn sisters, the Princesses of Equestria, did not sit on these thrones. Rather, they stood close to the throng of ponies in front of them. Among the crowd were earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns, dressed in a variety of clothes and some in none. There was little talking done among the many ponies there—the Princesses were attending to their subjects. All looked and beheld the sight of the Princesses and the sound of their authoritative yet smooth, calm voices.

Amidst the crowd, four changelings stood right in the center. One of them cheerily held a paper bag.

"Want another donut?" Humerus asked. He held out a donut from the bag and grew his smile.

"We'll have dinner later," Neon Guard replied. He looked at Humerus's face. He sighed. "I know you're excited to meet the Princesses, but what are you going to tell them?"

Humerus blinked and stopped chewing. "I dunh no."

"You gotta have something to tell the Princesses of the Day and Night, Humerus," Blue Alarm said.

Humerus thrust a donut to Blue Alarm's mouth. "I can think of something, Alarm," Humerus said.

Blue Alarm gulped the donut down. "The Princesses call ponies on a random basis. You could be next."

"I'm going to be fine, guys," Humerus said.

"We'll be all right," Red Noise said as he grabbed a bunch of donuts.

Humerus grabbed another bunch and stuffed his mouth.

"Is that how you treat the presences of the Princesses?"

The changelings turned around.

A pink pony with curly hair was staring at them angrily.

"Hey," Blue Alarm said, "weren't you the one who said—"

"Gimmie that!" the pony yelled, grabbing the paper bag of dounts. She threw three in the air and all fell to her open mouth. She smiled at the changelings.

Humerus gulped. "Uh, isn't that—"

"Your donuts?" she asked. "I know!" She giggled. "The name's Pinkie Pie!"

"Wait, the Pinkie Pie that we captured a few months ago?" Humerus asked.

A few ponies around them looked at the changelings.

"Yeah," Pinkie Pie said. "You could have surrounded all of us in soda and we would all be fine!"

The changelings looked at each other, thinking about what to do with the strange pony in front of them.

"You must be new here!" Pinkie Pie said.

"Yes, Pinkie," Neon Guard said, "we're—"

"You know what that means?!" she shouted as she grabbed Neon Guard by her hooves. And quickly she spoke. "That means we're going to have a wonderful, fantastic, wondertastic, fantastful welcome party!" She threw some confetti around Neon Guard. "But that also means that we can't do it here since there a lot of ponies here and the Princesses—they're really nice and really kind—but they don't allow Pinkie Pie parties during these hours and days where ponies get to talk to them about this and about that but I really understand them, but anyway, I think you're off to great a start visiting the Princesses because they're the leaders of Equestria and you're dealing it like my friend Twilight would do, always dealing it in some kind of order like one, two, three—maybe that's why you're here! You want to do it in some kind of order, not order like an order of donuts or an order of burgers at Hay Burger but an order as in one, two, three like I said before! Let me guess who you're going to visit next! Hmm..." She rubbed her chin.

The four changelings had their mouths wide open, wondering how she never missed a beat in that very fast monologue.

Blue Alarm raised a hoof. "Pinkie Pie, we would like to visit your welcoming party but we also have—"

"You do?!" she asked. She raced to Blue Alarm. "Let me guess your name. It's going to be like a game! Ooh! That rhymed! Your name is Blue Alarm!"

"How did you—"

"That wasn't even a guess! Now what's my name?"

"You just said your name was Pinkie Pie."

Pinkie Pie gasped. "You must be really good at the 'Let-me-guess-your-name' game!"

Humerus laughed.

Pinkie's mane rang. She brought out an alarm clock from it. "Must be time for the 'New Changelings' Welcome Party' preperations! See you in Ponyville tonight or tomorrow or whatever time you want it to be within the week!" Then, she bounced her way through the crowd and out of the room, laughing all the way out.

The changelings turned around back towards the Princesses. They were talking to a different pony this time.

"I can't believe we'd captured a pony like her," Humerus said. "She would annoy us all day if we didn't place her in the pods." He grabbed another donut from his bag.

"Ah, the changelings on their break," Princess Celestia said.

Everypony looked at the changelings. They moved to make a circular space around them.

Humerus grinned. The rest of the changelings placed on smiles. They bowed on their knees.

"You can fly over here, I don't mind," Celestia said.

"Uh—we can?" Blue Alarm asked. He still bowed.

"We allow it," Princess Luna replied. "It's of no harm to any of our citizens—you are our friends after all."

Beads of sweat rolled down Blue Alarm's face. I can't believe it! he thought. We're going to get an audience with the Princesses of Equestria, the ones who raise the sun and the moon. I should've taken my own advice.

They flew above the ponies and the red carpet and landed in front of the Princesses who were now on the floor and off the platform. The buzzes of their wings was the only sound that was there as all were silent.

Humerus chuckled, his smile showing through the laughs. They punctuated the buzzes.

They landed in front of the Princesses and bowed again. Celestia, with her flowing and bright multi-colored mane and wide wings, towered over the changelings and most of her subjects. Luna, with her starry, ethereal mane and wide wings also, also towered over the changelings, although she was shorter than her older sister.

"You don't need to bow that many times," Celestia said.

The changelings stood up.

Humerus was laughing in hysterics. "I-I'm finally here! I-in front of princesses! The Princesses of E-Equestria! A-and Celestia is talking to m-me!" He went on laughing. The other changelings looked at him.

"Are you sure this is the wise thing to do, sister?" Luna whispered to Celestia.

Celestia nodded. "I am sure it is," she whispered back.

Luna walked towards them, raising her head. "So, what is your business with us? Are you acting as representatives of the Changeling Kingdom? Do you have some important matters to discuss with us?"

Humerus let his mouth hang open.

Luna recoiled from the sight. "I see that you are a...rather surprised changeling."

"I'm just so happy to see you," Humerus said very fast.

Neon Guard moved in front of Humerus. "Apologies for Humerus's odd behavior. He was just very excited to visit you Princesses."

Celestia nodded. "Apologies accepted. You can also say 'sorry.'"

"Sorry, Princess Celestia," Neon Guard bowed down.

"Didn't I already say that you're not supposed to bow that many times?" Celestia said but she smiled. "We may be Princesses, but we don't have to use words that are too complicated and we don't need our subjects to be stressing themselves too much."

"I see," Neon Guard said. He eyed Red Noise and Blue Alarm. They were still smiling, Red Noise especially. He turned back to the Princesses. "To be honest, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, we only came here just to make Humerus happy. That was all."

"What?!" a mare cried out. "They just came here for a visit?! That's unfair!"

"Yeah!" a stallion answered. "I have some significant matters to talk about with the Princesses!"

"But are they more significant than what they want?" Luna asked the crowd.

Everypony was silent. They were silent for a short while.

"Besides, it's almost time for Luna take on her duty of raising the moon," Celestia said. "It's nice to have the good changelings visiting us as our last friends to attend to before the sun sets. We haven't had a changeling visit us for a good reason since...forever."

Humerus giggled. "W-we're the first ever changelings to be here!" And he giggled again. The other changelings looked at him with puzzled looks.

"In fact," Celestia continued, "what about we lower the sun and raise the moon right outside the castle, right in front of all of you?"

Everypony was silent again.

Then, they cheered and shouted. Some confetti was thrown.

"And," Celestia said to Humerus amidst the happy noise, "you and your friends can be the closest ones to us while we do our tasks, if that will make you even happier."

Humerus giggled again. Then he laughed. "Aha!" he cried out. "I'm going to be witnessing the Princesses change day to night! This is the greatest day of my life!"

Blue Alarm looked at the ponies cheering around them. They didn't seem to mind being so near to the Princesses of Equestria as they would bring the day to an end and the night to a beginning. They didn't seem to mind the changelings either.

Such fortunate ponies, he thought.

Canterlot's white city walls bordered with gold had its gate and its passageway filled with ponies. The several guards in their uniform stood on the wall, on the gates, on the ground, hoping that the Princesses would at least stay on high ground in the event that some rebellious creature would attack the leaders of Equestria. However, the Princesses made the guards all the more nervous by not having any guard rails or fences or any barriers at all holding the masses of ponies back. A small circle of space was around the Princesses and around the four awkwardly smiling changelings that went beside them.

The many, many ponies did their best to respect the Princesses by indeed keeping a small circle of space around their leaders. While many had smiles, a few only bowed down and did other gestures of respect—not smiling at the changelings. Despite that, confetti and balloons were everywhere. Some buildings had their doors open, ponies inside waving at the Princesses and cheering. An enthusiastic aquamarine unicorn bounced up and down and waved at the changelings.

"Is she Pinkie's sister?" Red Noise whispered to Blue Alarm.

"I don't know, and maybe I don't want to know, Red Noise," he replied.

Finally, the Princesses stopped right outside the gate and Canterlot's walls. And the ponies' cheers only went louder.

"This is the first time in a long time that we're going to raise the moon and bring on the night outside our towers," Luna announced.

Everypony became silent.

"Yes," Celestia went on, "it is true that it would take more magic to raise and lower the sun and the moon on the ground than on the balcony. It is also true that it is safer to do so on the balcony." He eyed a guard who Celestia happened to see. "But, it only takes up slightly more magic. More importantly, I and my sister have noticed that bringing the day and the night on a tower far above where an average pony would be was...not always the best thing for you. Although we are the Princesses of Equestria, we want to be near you."

Celestia nodded to her sister.

"We've already done a good job with that," Luna contineud, "going to many places in Equestria when problems appear. We decided, however, that we need to do a better job at that. Most rulers would go on with their daily activites away from their subjects. We want you to feel and be sure that we are close and that we do care for you."

Humerus grinned wider. "They're about to move the sun and the moon!" he whispered through his grin.

"And what better way to start that than to do what we've always been doing..." Celestia paused.

"...right in front of you."

Celestia's horn glowed a light yellow glow.

Everypony cheered again.

The sun moved down behind the mountains, the sky turning from a bright yellow-orange to a dark blue-purple. Everywhere, it grew dark. Stars appeared in the sky. Many stars sparkled. At the opposite side of the sky, the moon moved up, providing its moonlight and completing the landscape and the skyscape of the night.

When everypony looked back at the Princesses, it was Luna's horn that was glowing, glowing a blue light.

The Night

"First, we had our taste of food other than love. Second, we were able to watch the Wonderbolts. Third, we got to meet the Princesses of Equestria. Fourth, we got front seats to a parade in honor of the Princesses. Finally, we get to see the Princesses make the day night and I got to see every second of it!"

"At least you're happy with that," Blue Alarm said as he chewed rather noisily on his roti, a flat circular piece of thin bread. "At least we all had good times."

Red Noise slurped the curry sauce in front of him. "And I add a sixth thing to get happy about, Humerus." Then, he yelled, "The Tasty Treat is delicious!"

The ponies eating there who weren't already looking at the changelings were looking at them. A few pouted at them.

The smell of the place was dotted with the aromas of various spices and flavors. The steam of various soups and sauces wafted through the air, even going out the open door. The round wooden tables and their wooden chairs, complemented with the wooden floor, had their customers feasting on various foods like small, square, soft rice-chickpeas cakes, carrots in curry sauce, and rotis. At the center of all the tables there were lanterns of different sizes and shapes resting on table cloths of different colors; all the lanterns had shapes of diamonds and shone a soft light to the eaters. Long curtains snaked through the ceiling. The walls alternated between a painted sea green and unpainted red, violet, and orange bricks. The tables beside the tall windows offered a nice view of the street in the cold dark outside, dotted by street lights and building lights. Several uniformed ponies were using brooms and dustpans to clean the roads littered with confetti and streamers. There were few ponies outside but the few ponies outside were smiling and laughing. Silence was outside, too, holding a bag of donuts.

"I heard that they're offering spicy food in here," Humerus said. "Whatever spicy food tastes like, I think it's going taste great!"

"Don't think you're going to like it," Neon Guard said, holding back a smile.

"Why not? The flatbread not only tastes great but it's aslo crunchier than the donut, the small bowls of curry sauce taste savory, and the vegetables inside the curry sauce—" Humerus raised a hand.

Saffron Masala went to the changelings' table.

"Do you want to add to your order?" Saffron asked.

"I want one of the spicy food!" Humerus said.

"Uh, which one?" she replied.

"Well, what about those recommending things that some restaurants do? What do you call that?"

"That's the chef's recommendations or chef's specials. They are the dishes that the chefs would suggest to their customers especially if they're new to the restaurant since the dishes represent the restaurant's best. Since you kindly asked, if you want spicy food as part of a good meal, then I and my father would want you to try the thali—"

"Give me the thali!" Humerus interrupted. "Surprise me! I'll even close my eyes for the food!" He then covered his eyes with his front hooves and grinned. "And give me the spiciest thali you can make!"

"Well...I guess you really enjoy our food here, Humerus," Saffron said. "Are you sure you want the spiciest thali?"

"Yes, I want the spiciest thali!"

Saffron hesitated. She looked at Humerus who still had his eyes closed. "If you really want that, Humerus,...then your thali will arrive in just a moment." Then, she went off to the kitchen.

Humerus opened his eyes. "She even knows my name! They're all so kind here!"

"Saffron asked for our names when we arrived," Red Noise said. "Did you forget?"

"They remind me that they know my name!" Humerus replied and grabbed a roti from Blue Alarm's plate. "The appetizers are good, I wonder what the main courses would taste like."

"Very painful if you're not prepared for the spice," Neon Guard said. "Do you even have an idea what spicy is to the tongue?"

"All I know is that it's spicy!" Humerus said.

"Do you know what 'spicy' means, Humerus?" said Neon Guard.

"It sounds tasty."

Neon Guard placed a hoof on his head and groaned. "I don't want to disappoint your day—and it's been an exciting day for you—but if you eat something spicy, it means that—"

"The Wonderbolts are here?!" Humerus shouted.

The changelings looked behind their backs. Three pegasi in the blue and yellow Wonderbolts uniform, with goggles raised, entered the restaurant. There were two mares, one with yellow coat and winded orange, fiery-colored mane, the other with white coat and puffy dark blue hair. The one stallion with pale blue coat—who had dark blue mane as well, yet it was winded—opened his mouth. Eyeing all the delicacies, he rushed to an empty table.

"It's the Wonderbolts!" a stallion said. He got a pad of paper with a hoof and a ballpen with his mouth and rushed to the Wonderbolts.

Several ponies rushed to the Wonderbolts, too, who were now sitting down in front of their table.

"The Wonderbolts?" Corainder Cumin walked out of the kitchen with a face of surprise. Saffron walked out, also.

The three Wonderbolts nodded. "I heard from Rainbow Dash that this place has good food," the yellow, winded-mane Spitfire said. "She also said that Soarin would love it. Good thing we also just had a show and a race this afternoon, right Soarin?" She looked at Soarin. His stomach rumbled.

"I'll try a sampler and a full meal!" Soarin declared while he looked at various foods around him. "You have a good restaurant, mister..."

"Corainder Cumin," Corainder said. "And, this is my daughter, Saffron Masala. Together, we cook for the Canterlot ponies and whoever else happens to be here. We are honored to serve the Wonderbolts and have them as guests. Enjoy the food!"

Saffron walked closer to the table. "So, what do you want? I can tell you about the specials if you're undecided."

Soarin's stomach rumbled again.

Humerus turned back to his fellow changelings.

"That means we've had seven great things today!" Humerus yelled. He raised his front hooves. "The Wonderbolts are eating in the same place we're eating in , and I'll get to eat spicy food, whatever it is!"

"It hurts your tongue, Humerus," Neon Guard said. "Chilis and other spicy foods hurt your tongue."

Humerus frowned and looked down on the table.

Then, he looked back up and smiled.

"That means that it must be really delicious!" he yelled. "I don't know what I'm going to feel when I eat that!"

"Here," Red Noise said while he passed a glass of iced cold water to Humerus. "I don't want you to breathe fire like a dragon, burning the restaurant down."

"A changeling that will breathe fire! If this place serves food that makes changelings breathe fire, then this is the best restaurant in all of Equestria!"

"You'll also go the nearest hospital and have to pay hundreds of bits in order to repair the restaurant if you did that," Neon Guard said.

"I think that's the rest of the food, guys," Blue Alarm said.

Saffron walked to the table, floating with her magic a large tray that held plates and bowls of different kinds of vegetables, sauces, legumes, and soups. Alongside the curry sauce, there were also pieces and slices of bread including more rotis, green and fresh salad stews, and circular and square sweets.

"And, Humerus, here is the thali that I'm sure you'll love."

The first plate that glided from the floating tray to the table was a plate that was filled with different kinds of food, placed in front of Humerus.

"Thali is not one food but a meal of foods," Saffron explained. "It can have different foods, too, but thali must have all the tastes that one can imagine: not just the usual salty and sour and sweet and bitter, but even the spicy and the dry. That's why we have carrots and potatoes in salty curry here, sour pickled vegetables here, sweet cakes out of rice and chickpeas, a salad of bitter vegetables like bitter melons, dry quinces, and carrots and potatoes spiced with herbs and the hottest chilis and spices that we could find. Also, there are the rotis for your starch."

And Humerus smelled all of the food in front of him.

"So," Saffron said, "today was the first day you ate actual food?"

"Yes, Saffron." Neon Guard drank his glass of water. "It was a very good experience, to say the least. Humerus was the most excited of us when he tasted the donuts earlier this morning. Now, it's like he wants to try every single type of food in Equestria."

"That's understandable," Saffron said. "But, to imagine...you've never tasted even a piece of candy your whole lives, not even as a child, not even as a teenager, not even as an adult. I honestly find it hard to relate to since everypony's been eating food ever since they were babies." She served the rest of the changelings, making the plates and bowls float down in front of them. "That reminds me: what did love taste like back when you were evil?"

"It's like sweet water," Blue Alarm said. Sweat went down his face. He held up his glass of water. "But, tasting love is not the same as tasting a roti or a donut. When ponies eat something, the taste usually is the same almost every time they eat the same thing. Like this roti." He held up a piece of the flatbread. "I eat this wherever I go, it tastes the same. I eat this alone or with somepony elese, it tastes the same. You can only change the taste by adding other food and ingredients to it." He placed down the roti. "When we changelings eat love, there's still the basic taste of sweet water. However, the taste has a different flavor depending on the pony you're getting love from. The more love they have, the stronger the flavor is, but the flavor is different for all ponies and all other creatures."

"Hot!" Humerus shouted. "Hot! Hot!" He grabbed a pony's glass of water and gulped it down; the pony stared at the panicking changeling. Flailing, Humerus grabbed Blue Alarm's glass of water. "Water! It's hot! It's delicious but it's hot!"

"I told you, Humerus," Neon Guard said.

The changelings laughed. Saffron placed a hoof over her smiling face.

"We get our first night in here for free because we're the first changelings here," Red Noise said in the elevator."I'm liking Canterlot even more!"

"Quiet down, Red Noise!" Blue Alarm whispered. He looked at his bag. He looked back at the red changeling. "The elevator pony is going to get annoyed at your...noise."

"Don't worry," the mare in red coat and shirt said. She turned around to the four changelings in the small elevator. "I've had clients that were more noisy than you. And, your name is Red Noise? You should be louder than that."

"I can be louder than that, miss."

"Noise, this is a hotel," Neon Guard said as he fixed his hat. "You don't want to have security arresting us. I just want to sleep somewhere nice and the others want to sleep."

"Yes, yes, I know," Red Noise whispered.

After a while, the elevator stopped and the doors opened.

In front of them was an intersection. Three hallways went on from there. The floor was covered with green carpets. The walls were made of cleaned wood and so were the doors. On the doors, gold plaques had their respective rooms' numbers on them. Everywhere, lamps brought soft light to the hallway. At the far ends of the hallways were windows. The beautiful and dark night sky with its stars and bright full moon was a great canopy over the bright Canterlot and the roads leading out of the city. The beautiful hills and plains were graced by the glimmer of the moon.

"Do you have your keys?" the elevator pony asked.

"Yes, we do, ma'am." Blue Alarm shook the keys on his hoof.

"You know your room number?"

"15-12, ma'am."

"Then, enjoy your night here, changelings."

The changelings got off the elevator. It closed.

Blue Alarm stood on the small balcony that protruded from the hotel's walls.

The breeze felt cold on Alarm's skin. Some leaves followed the wind. The lights were few in Canterlot now. Ponies on the street were few, too. A couple of carraiges lit the streets, providing more light but not enough to see Canterlot well.

The light of the moon provided all the roofs and the hills and the plains a silver glow. A few stars twinkled in the sky.

"The hotel is tall," he said. "Not that tall, but it's tall. And cold. What about that mare walking over there? Wearing a fancy dress. Looks like she's late to a late night party. She's looking here and there. New to Canterlot? Trying to look cool or fancy or rich?"

He looked away and eyed a carriage. "Yellow? Black and white stripe? Canterlot taxi. Looks like nopony is on the passenger seat. Maybe the driver's going home. Or he's still looking for more bits by looking for somepony on the sidewalk."

"Talking to yourself again, aren't you, Alarm?"

"Ah!" Blue Alarm jumped up.

"You don't need to be scared, Alarm," Humerus whispered. "If you're scared, you're going to wake up a lot of ponies in the hotel."

Alarm narrowed his eyes at Humerus. "What are you doing, being up so late?"

"It's almost sunrise, and I wanna see Celestia raise the sun in person!"

"Almost sunrise? It's three AM. You have to wait around three more hours." Alarm gestured a hoof to their room. "Just go back to bed. I'm sure, with your energy, you'll be awake early enough to see Celestia and Luna—"

"Princesses Celestia and Luna," Humerus said.

Blue Alarm groaned. "I don't need to be corrected like that."

"OK." And Humerus grabbed another donut and went back into their spacious hotel room.

Humerus grabbed his soft hotel slippers and placed them on the clean floor. After walking to a grand double bed, he plopped himself on the bed and grabbed the blanket. He looked at the tableside clock. He squinted through the darkness. "Three and twenty-one," he whispered. "So long." Humerus yawned. He looked at the double bed beside the table. Red Noise was sleeping, Neon Guard was snoring.

"I'll see you, Celestia and Luna." Then, he closed his eyes.

Morning

Under the rays of the early sun, many of the same ponies walked on the sidewalk beside the same big buildings. There were some ponies on the streets, pulling the carriages of well-dressed unicorns. Nopony outside seemed to mind what was going on inside the buffet restaurant.

Painted white on the outside, the restaurant was decorated with canopies and spacious windows, giving the passerby a clear view who was inside and even what they were eating if the table was close enough.

The carpets were red and yellow, the floors were many, the ceiling was way up there on the top; all provided a sense of grandeur. The rich and esteemed ponies of Canterlot were not the only ones eating there. There were tourists and visitors from all over Equestria—although some walked out immediately when the receptionist pony told them a price that was too much for their wallets.

On all floors, tables and chairs abounded. Many ate the food by using their magic to float the mouthfuls of food into their mouths. Some did it with their eyes closed, savoring the flavor and the texture of what they ate.

Around the customers were bright lights fixed on the walls and on the ceilings. Serenading them with classical music was a group of suited ponies with their classical instruments such as the piano, the violin, and the cello. Under the lights and near the walls and at other places on the floor were long tables and booths with huge containers of food and drinks. Behind the counters and the tables were chefs, preparing an endless supply of food to be served until the restaurant closed at night.

And a green, smiling changeling was alone in front of one of those booths.

"I'm surpised you have enough money to survive one day here," a chef said while he brought an uncooked pizza to the brick oven. "At this point, half of the ponies staying here would leave by now because they've ran out of bits."

Humerus grabbed a big spoon, his mouth wide open. "Well, that's not all right! They should be feeling all the flavors and all the tastes this restaurant has to offer!"

"Stop shouting!" the chef said. He looked, with a nervous face, at the other customers. "You're excited that you're here with lots of food and that's OK, but there are other clients here."

Humerus went on and grabbed spoonfuls of cream corn soup in front of the chef.

"I hope you heard me." The chef walked away and focused on the cooking pizza.

The changeling grabbed an entire pizza and flew to his table. Dropping the bowl of soup and the pizza on his prepared plate, he pushed away the silverware. They dropped on to the floor. He opened his mouth, showing his fangs, and closed his eyes.

"Appetizer, here I come!"

He closed his teeth on open air.

He opened his eyes and saw an empty plate. The bowl was now empty, too.

Across the table sat the dark blue Princess of the Night, crowned with her black crown and her flowing mane.

"Luna?!" His eyes were wide though there was no smile on his face. "Princess Luna?! What are you doing here? Why did you eat my pizza and soup?"

"Are you sure your pizza and soup were there?" Luna's face showed a wide grin.

"You got my food, didn't you?" Humerus shouted.

"Do not shout like that," Luna said. "Did the chef not tell you about being quiet here? It is a good thing that you are in a dream so nopony could hear you besides me and yourself."

Humerus gasped. "This is just a dream?"

Luna nodded. "Yes, this is just a dream. Did I not just say so?"

The changeling was shuddering. "That means that the pizza and the soup and all the food...they aren't real?"

"In a sense, they are not real, although this restaurant"—Luna gestured a hoof towards all of the restaurant—"is a real place in the real world. The restaurant you are in now is exactly like that restaurant, except that it is not real." She blinked. "Do you understand my explanation?"

"Maybe?"

The alicorn sighed. "I should have told you earlier my nighttime duty besides raising the moon and maintaining the night sky with its stars."

Humerus grinned. "You're the dream alicorn, right?"

"Yes, Humerus, although I would not call myself 'the dream alicorn.'"

"But, I heard from ponies that you enter into ponies' dreams while they sleep!"

"Not just ponies." Luna took a sip from a glass of water. "Although most of our constituents are ponies."

Humerus leaned on the table, still having a smile on his face. He turned towards all the ponies eating and serving and playing. Looking up and around him, he saw the walls and the lights and the ceiling of the restaurant. He looked at the table and the plate and bowl in front of him. "Wait a minute, are you sure this is a dream?"

"It is a dream, Humerus," Luna said. "It is very life-like, is it not? You thought that it was all real and that there was nothing out of the ordinary until I appeared. I should know, for this is your first dream."

Humerus cackled. "I'm finally experiencing a dream! What can I do here? They say that in your dream, your imagination is the limit!"

"Not all dreams work like that." She turned to the side, frowning. "There are...how will I say this?" Luna looked back at Humerus. "There are nightmares that—"

Humerus broke out into a fit of laughter.

"Do you not know basic things such as dreams and nightmares?" Luna asked. "I understand that you are changelings and that you have only turned good recently. I did not expect that you would react as if you had no knowledge of these things."

"Sorry, Luna!" And Humerus laughed on. "But, you said 'nightmare' and...." The changeling stifled another fit of laughter with a hoof. "Guess who the one and only nightmare is!"

Luna groaned. "I know, Humerus, I know. Nevertheless, you would not want to have a nightmare instead of a dream, would you?"

Humerus laughed again. Then, he quieted down. "Sorry, Princess Luna, but I...just like having a good laugh."

"If the laugh is appropriate for the occasion."

"I see. So, what's a nightmare?"

This is like teaching a foal, Luna thought. This changeling is grown but has not the knowledge of dreams and nightmares? Humerus only knows that dreams exist and that they appear at night. He has not even heard of the word "nightmare."

She sighed. "It's a bad dream. Sometimes it's spooky, sometimes it's sad, sometimes it brings up things that you don't want to think about again."

Humerus shook his head very quickly. "Got it, Princess Luna! So, can you stay in my dream until I wake up?"

Luna frowned again. "Humerus, my duty as 'the dream alicorn' as you call it not only applies to your dreams and the dreams of your friends. It also applies to everypony in Equestria and even some ponies and creatures outside of Equestria. With so many earth ponies and pegasi and unicorns and also the crystal ponies of the Crystal Empire, two alicorns, several griffons and even the breezies—all of them and more sleep and have dreams. I cannot stay long in your dream."

Humerus's ears drooped. "Can't you stay, Luna? You're one of the ponies I want to meet ever since you freed us!"

"Neither I nor my sister freed you, Humerus. You can thank your king for freeing you."

The lights turned off. The ponies disappeared. The outside was gone. There was just darkness.

Humerus grabbed Luna's neck. "Wait! I don't want you to leave! It's been a good time with you!"

Luna glared at the latching changeling. Suddenly, she smiled. "It would be fun to spend time with you, too. Despite that, there are many other ponies to attend to that need my help and guidance in their dreams." She slowly removed the hooves of Humerus from her neck. "Wouldn't you want to help others, Humerus? You don't want to bring harm to anypony, do you?"

Humerus nodded. "No, Princess. I don't want to bring harm. At least not on purpose."

Luna sighed but smiled still. "Then you can start by letting me be away from your dream. Besides, I'm running late because of you."

He chuckled anxiously.

She walked away from him and out of the restaurant to the outside.

"I'm making you wake up fifteen minutes before Celestia raises the sun. I know your enthusiasm for us."

She disappeared. The restaurant disappeared into darkness.

Nice Chauffeur sat on her chair behind the desk. She looked out past the revolving doors. It was dark.

Her ears perked up. "Who's there?!"

There was a buzzing sound.

A changeling was floating in the air.

Humerus hovered above the carpet, down the wide and polished stairs, past the columns, past the potted plants, still above the carpet.

"Humerus?" she asked. "What are you doing so early?"

"Sorry, Chauffeur!"

He cheerily buzzed and glided through the revolving door and out.

"But, you have a letter from King Thorax!"

She sighed. She placed her head on the desk and her hooves in front of her. "This is not how my night shift is supposed to work out."

The alarm clock rang.

The room was still dark. Neon Guard looked at the clock. "Five fifty-five." He turned to his right. "Red Noise?"

The red changeling groaned. "I'm awake, Neon Guard."

"Blue Alarm?" Neon Guard turned to his left.

He saw the blue changeling already standing on the balcony.

"Awake." He stared at the outside night.

"Humerus?"

"He decided to go out," Blue Alarm said.

"When did he go out?"

"Ten minutes before."

"And you aren't trying to catch him?" Neon Guard threw the blanket off. "Are you letting Humerus just go out in the middle of the morning? He might get hurt out there!"

"I'm sure his cheery attitude would make anypony sympathize with him."

"Humerus is not here?" Red Noise pushed his front hooves to his head. "That guy is going to do everything we don't want him to do!"

"Do you have any idea where he's going?" Neon Guard demanded.

"Going to wherever Princess Celestia is."

"Then let's go get him!" Neon Guard ran to the door. He stopped and turned around. "Where is Princess Celestia?"

"At the central roundabout." Blue Alarm hovered his way to the door.

"How do you know?"

"Humerus told me before he sneaked past you two."

The three changelings speedily hovered over the red carpet and down the grand stairs.

"Hey!" Nice Chauffeur shouted at them. She waved at them, letter on her hoof. "A letter for you!"

Red Noise flew towards the letter and grabbed it with his teeth. "Thanks!"

The three changelings flew through the revolving door and out.

"You forgot to ask me about where Humerus is going to!" she yelled. She placed her head on the desk again. She sighed. "It's a slow night."

The more Humerus flew through the dark streets of Canterlot, the more ponies he saw and had to pass by. Occasionally, he bumped into a pony. One unicorn raised his fist at him, but Humerus was too far ahead.

Then, there was a roundabout.

The roundabout in front of Humerus had a wide cobblestone road, many roads connecting to it. The buildings there were tall and grand and of various colors. A crowd of ponies was gathering in front of the roundabout's center which contained a huge tree, a green and brown plant facing off against Canterlot's white and purple and gold and brown. In front of the tree stood the two Princesses. Celestia had a calm face. Luna had a calm face, too. She was looking up at the sky, sometimes looking anxioulsy at her sister and then looking back at the night sky—her night sky which was about to be changed for her sister's morning one.

The noise around them was loud but not too loud. Several ponies blinked heavily and yawned, struggling to keep a smile on their faces in front of royalty.

A buzzing sound was heard.

Some ponies turned their heads at the changeling.

"It's that annoying changeling!" a unicorn said.

"Are you sure he's supposed to be here like last time?" another unicorn said to the first one beside him. "Yesterday was great. I just...think that the Princesses are doing this whole 'good changeling' business too fast. It's only been a few months and already they gave them the honor of escorting them to an event that has not occurred for a long while. Do the Princesses know that changelings don't become good and well-mannered in just a few months?"

The first unicorn slammed a hoof at his own face. "You're confusing changelings for foals, Nitpicker. If changelings could blend in well with ponies by copying good manners for infiltration, then they could easily learn good manners in their true identities. And, manners don't matter if you're not good—and the changelings became good in less than a few months—the Princesses themselves confirmed that they were immediately transformed into good beings, unless you haven't been paying attention to the Princesses' speeches lately, Nitpicker."

Nitpicker sighed. "That's a good reason, Hard Earned. Still, changelings aren't ponies! And, you just said that the changeling was annoying!"

"I'm only annoyed at a certain changeling and his friends who allow him to do things in ways that annoy everypony's day," Hard Earned said. "And just because changelings aren't ponies, it doesn't mean that we can't treat them as creatures that can think and reason for themselves. Answer me a question, Nitpicker." Hard Earned gestured with a hoof at Nitpicker to come closer."Do they have personalities of their own?"

"Yes, they all have personalities," Nitpicker said.

"Then, treat them well," Hard Earned said. "I'll be annoyed at you if you don't." He walked away.

Nitpicker looked at the changeling. Humerus was now above the crowds, flying still. He was close to the the podium where the Princesses stood on.

The unicorn looked behind him. "More changeling noises..."

Three changelings were following Humerus, flying in unison.

"Don't shout, don't make any distracting movements," Neon Guard whispered. "Do you understand?"

Blue Alarm and Red Noise nodded.

They kept flying.

Humerus was smiling at the Princesses. He looked on at Luna who wasn't looking back at him.

Then, he felt someone grab his front hooves and his wings. Another someone covered his mouth.

Humerus's shouts were muffled as he was forcibly taken higher up to a roof.

The four changelings landed. Humerus was dropped on to the solid concrete.

No one else was there.

"What were you doing and thinking, Humerus?" Neon Guard said. There was a tense restraint in his voice.

"Princess Luna met me in my first ever dream!" Humerus shouted.

"Be quiet, Humerus!" Red Noise said while he glared. "There are many ponies down there watching and you could've been with them if you weren't so proud of yourself about meeting the Princesses that you could just fly into a royal occasion!"

"You're not the only one who wants to meet the Princesses," Blue Alarm said.

Humerus faced down and frowned.

"Let me guess," said Neon Guard. "'I'm sorry,' you'll say."

Humerus looked up. "How did you know?"

"You've said that many times and it hasn't worked for us, both under Chrysalis and under King Thorax. You should know that."

Humerus looked down again. "Then, I'm sorry."

Neon Guard sighed. "I hope you mean it, Humerus. This time, I'm punishing you."

Humerus gasped.

"By limiting the food you eat."

Humerus gasped even louder.

"We have to punish you sooner or later, Humerus. You cannot just say 'sorry' and act like you haven't learned anything. That's not how it is supposed to be."

"Will you promise us not to do it again?" Blue Alarm said. "Not to ruin our image, not to ruin the changelings' reputation by acting like a crazy changeling?"

"We don't want the ponies to think we're infiltrating pony society by sending fake comedians, do we?" Red Noise said.

The other changelings laughed. They even heard Humerus's laugh.

"I guess that means that you accept my sorry," Humerus said. He grinned.

Then, they heard the cheer of many ponies below.

The four changelings flew and hovered up above the ponies and the streets below. Around and above them was the night sky with its stars and its shining moon.

And Luna's horn glowed.

The moon slowly moved behind the hills and the plains ahead. Several stars disappeared, several stars moved away. The dark blue of the sky grew lighter and lighter. Then, the sunlight peered through the mountains and then through all the sky. Bright yellow sunlight spread through the streets of Canterlot and the land of Equestria. The grass shone reflections of the sun's light. The buildings shone even brighter reflections. Then, the sun finally appeared rising into the bright blue sky.

Humerus looked around him. The morning that used to be normal now became a magnificent thing. The smile on his face and his wide open mouth testified to that. The ponies' faces were now clearly seen. Artificial lights were turned off, some one by one, others at the same time. He felt the warm warmth of the sun. It wasn't hot—just warm.

He hovered down to the roof. The changeling kept looking for a certain pony.

Luna looked at him. She smiled. She blinked. Then, she turned away and looked at the many ponies with that same smile. The ponies on the streets were smiling too as they walked away from the tree.

Departure

The soothing tones of the cello could be heard from outside the restaurant. Accompanying that sound was the soft piano.

The morning light penetrated the tall windows of the restaurant, casting a beautiful reflection and glow on all that could reflect and glow. The fresh and cold morning air made the scenery of the early day streets a wonderful sight—but it wouldn't be wonderful without the ponies that populate it everyday of their lives. The carraiges that wheeled through the street, carrying in them important and rich ponies as passengers, made the streets alive; the many more ponies of different sizes and of different clothes and of different tribes walked the sidewalks.

On the sides were shops with windows with which the more glamorous ponies would look into the windows and see, in an instant, if the item or object they beheld was worthy of their money. Many shops displayed displays of wealth and prestige: there were necklaces and jewelry, there were antique books and pottery, there were suits and dresses and hats. No shop displayed a sign boasting of a discount.

The four changelings and a few pegasi flew above the sidewalk and its busy ponies. Humerus led the changelings. Several ponies pointed up at the changelings.

"So, are you sure that you'll find the restaurant?" Blue Alarm asked. "You don't even know the name of it."

"I'll know it when I see it, Alarm," Humerus said. "Just trust me. You're going to thank me when you're going to be having a buffet for breakfast!" He slurped.

The changelings flew to the left at an intersection. More buildings surrounded them. Humerus eyed here and there, looked left and right.

"Are you sure we can even afford the buffet if we get there?" Red Noise said. "We might not have enough money left, even if we followed through with Neon Guard's punishment on you."

"I'm sure we have the money." Humerus winked at Red Noise.

Red Noise groaned.

Then, the soothing tones of a cello was heard.

"That's the sound!" Humerus shouted, pointing at a distant restaurant.

Blue Alarm stared at the place as they flew closer. "Looks like a restaurant. A very fancy restaurant, Humerus." He scratched his head. "I don't know if we'll even fit there, not having any fancy clothes and all."

"We can wear our armor!"

"I don't think that's what Blue Alarm meant by 'fancy clothes,'" Neon Guard said.

Then, they were right in front of the building. The tall windows, the several floors, the height of the building itself—all of them spoke of the restaurant as a grand one.

Humerus peered through one of the windows. "Look at all those ponies eating. And look at what they're eating! It's just like in my dream!"

"If you can get in." Neon Guard pointed to the nicely dressed mare who was smiling in front of a tall desk.

"Welcome to the Fancy Buffet!" the mare said cheerfully. "Do you have a reserved table or are you just coming in?"

"I want—"

Neon Guard smacked a hoof at Humerus's mouth. "I'll handle the formal conversations, Humerus." He walked up to the desk. "Good morning, ma'am. We would like to eat here, but we want to ask for the price of a table here."

Blue Alarm gazed at his bag. He shook the bag. There was a rattle of bits.

"Oh, two hundred bits for a table of four, if that's what you're looking for." She grinned.

"Two hundred?" Neon Guard took a step back. "Two hundred bits? Are you sure you said 'two hundred bits'?"

The mare nodded. "Yes, sir. Two hundred bits for a table of four. That might sound really pricey for just a table of four, but there is much food here from different places in Equestria!" She gestured a hoof towards the place. The platform of ponies playing classical instruments producing classical music, the tables and booths of food being served by chefs working constantly, the many ponies eating here—all was seen with that gesture.

"We don't have enough money for that kind of breakfast," Blue Alarm said. He looked back at his bag.

Humerus dropped his jaw. He closed his mouth and shyed away slowly from the changelings.

Red Noise grabbed the retreating Humerus.

"I'm sorry, ma'am," Neon Guard said, "but we can't afford to eat here."

"That's understandable," the mare replied. "Our food is of the highest quality—quality isn't cheap." She grinned again.

"So, farewell, ma'am." Neon Guard turned away.

"Farewell, good sirs." The mare waved at them.

"What does the letter say, Red Noise?" Neon Guard said as they walked, grabbing a donut from his paper bag.

"Well, let's see.

"Dear Neon Guard, I hope that this letter gets to you. Due to some unexpected things that happened while you were gone, please come back here to the kingdom soon. We'll talk about the topic when you get here. From, King Thorax."

"He didn't seal his letter." Neon Guard took a bite from the donut. He swallowed the bite. "He should seal the letter so we would know immediately that it's from the King."

"He always said that he didn't like all the royalties of being a king," Blue Alarm said. "His words, not mine." He munched on his donut.

The loud whistle of train went off ahead.

The noise and the chatter of the ponies grew louder as the changelings got closer to the train station. Two tracks of rails were placed on the grass and stretched on to the plains and the hills and the mountains beyond. A train was coming in. The train looked silver and black, old but very much functional. Letting out steam and smoke with a loud whistle, the doors of the train's carriages opened. Out went more ponies with baggages, bags, and other things to carry. In went even more ponies with bagges, bags, and more things to carry. A minute and the doors closed. The train whistles again, and the train slowly accelerated past Canterlot.

The train that was still there was a train that was the opposite of the first one. It had bright colors of yellow, pink, lavender, teal, among others. The carriages looked like a string of desserts happily following a pink engine carriage.

Neon Guard pointed at the colorful train. "That's our ride."

"Who would want that for a ride?" Red Noise said.

The changelings flew to the schedule posted on the post.

"The Friendship Express leaves at eight o'clock AM for Ponyville. It leaves Ponyville at eight-twenty AM for Dodge City." Blue Alarm looked away from the schedule and to the train. "So, we'll just wait out a dozen minutes and we'll fly our way to the Changeling Kingdom."

"Maybe it's urgent," Red Noise said. "Is there a faster way?"

"The train is the fastest way with the budget we have left," Neon Guard answered.

"Comfortable in your seats?" Neon Guard asked.

Humerus nodded rapidly. "We even get to see the outside!"

"You can only see the train station," Red Noise said. "You can see the outside when we actually get out the station."

He looked away from the window.

A green carpet had been laid on the floor and through the length of the carriage. The ponies sat and slept on the beige cushioned seats divided by green, translucent dividers of a floral design; there were no tables. Lanterns, although not lit now, were on the walls. A more modern ceiling light shone. A green door was at each end of the long passenger carriage which was one among many.

The train's whistle went off. The chugs of the train grew faster as the wheels went faster. The landscape seen through the windows moved, first slowly, then at a faster pace. Then, the ornate and beautiful train station was no longer in sight. What replaced the artificial building was the natural wonder of the grass and the trees that rolled by and whizzed by. In the background, there were grand mountains with snowy peaks. In the sky, there was the sun shining upon all of them.

The scenery changed from grass and trees to the close rocky walls of the mountains. On the other side, there was a ledge. Out there, Canterlot was in the distance, its ornate structures that had appeared so large were now small again. The stretches of green land that went on for miles guarded the royal city. The city's cliffside was no longer in sight.

Then, gone were the steep mountain walls. The grass and the trees appeared again in the landscape.

Humerus held out the paper bag to Neon Guard beside him. "You want another donut?"

Neon Guard showed him a hoof. "I already had three donuts in less than ten minutes, Humerus. I think that's enough."

"Then, more for me!" Humerus threw a donut in the air.

The donut flew through the window and speeded on to the grass.

He felt a strong hoof pull the paper bag away from him. Humerus grappled the donut bag.

"I need to make sure that your punishment stays with you!" Neon Guard yelled while he brought the bag closer to him. "You have to learn your lesson the hard way!"

"But I'm hungry and I like eating!" Humerus yelled back. "Eating has been of the best things I've ever done in my life!"

Red Noise lunged at the bag and grabbed it. Humerus held on to the bag. There were moans, there were pulls—moments of victory for one side seemed to be at hoof. Then, it was pulled away back to an arbitrary center. Humerus on one side, Neon Guard and Red Noise on the other—both sides silently stared into each other and to the bag. Sweat was coming down their faces but they wouldn't let go.

"This is too much for a bag of donuts!" Blue Alarm told the struggling changelings. "You're going to wake some of the sleepers here!"

And a foal cried in the train. And another foal cried.

Blue Alarm turned his head towards the source of the sounds.

An earth pony couple gave him a dirty look while they stood. The stallion was yellow in coat, orange in mane, and wore a bowtie, a cornered cap, and an apron; three pieces of frosted cake were his cutie mark. The mare was light blue in coat, crimson in mane, and wore a yellow-pink apron. On the seat beside them were two foals crying.

"I can explain everything, Mister and Misses!" Blue Alarm said. His voice had an anxious tone. He quickly looked back at his friends still holding the paper bag, still eyeing each other with glares.

"That's Mister and Misses Cake to you, changeling!" Mrs. Cake shouted. "Don't you know how to respect others while you're in public? Now look at what you've done!" She pointed a hoof to the crying foals.

"I guess they are your foals." Blue Alarm kept his formal composure. His voice was now even more anxious in tone.

"They are our foals!" Mr. Cake joined in. "They've been sleeping well through the entire trip and then one of your kind decided to argue about donuts! You could argue about friendship problems, but donuts?!"

"There is a perfect reason for the argument, Mister and Misses Cake!" Blue Alarm replied with a shaky voice.

"And what would that reason be?" Mrs. Cake asked.

Blue Alarm looked to the changelings and the paper bag still under their hooves. He looked at the passengers around. They were all looking at the commotion right there. Some were looking at him and the Cakes. The landscape was rolling by. The sounds of the train's wheels and engine were heard. The Cakes' two foals were crying. His voice was still shaky and nervous-sounding but on his face was a smile, a grin that showed his fangs.

Mrs. Cake stepped back. Mr. Cake stood where he was.

"They're fighting over disciplining one of them because he did something wrong." Blue Alarm was smiling. He looked up to the Cakes with pleading eyes.

"And it had to be over a bag of donuts?" Mr. Cake said. "I'm not believing you."

"Well, what are you going to do?" Blue Alarm asked, still having that smile.

"Make you leave by flying off." Mr. Cake stamped a hoof on the carpet.

The door suddenly opened. Pinkie Pie gasped. "Mr. Cake, you can't let make them leave! They give me the best donuts!"

"Well, the changelings made Pound and Pumpkin cry, Pinkie."

"Then I can make them uncry!"

Pinkie ran forward. She bumped into Mr. Cake and the two fell to the ground.

The foals stopped crying. They laughed.

"Finally!" Red Noise declared, holding up the donut bag for all the passengers to see. Neon Guard was keeping Humerus away from the bag.

Pinkie Pie got up and dashed to Blue Alarm. "I'm so sorry you had to meet Mr. and Mrs. Cake in a bad mood today! At least you met Pound and Pumpkin Cake!"

"If that's OK with you, Pinkie Pie," Blue Alarm said. "Thanks for getting us out of trouble."

Pinkie rushed to the Cakes. "Don't worry about these changelings, Mr. and Mrs. Cake!" She pointed to the four changelings—one ate more donuts from the donut bag, one was pushing another from flying towards the donut bag, and one just stood on the carpet, looking anxiously at the conversation. "I met them before! They're alright! The donuts told me that they're the best changelings in town!"

Mr. Cake placed a hoof on his long jaw. "And..."

"Why is that, Pinkie?" Mrs. Cake completed.

"They're preparing for their welcome party in Ponyville!"

She grabbed a cannon. It fired streamers at the changelings.

The four changelings turned to look at Pinkie.

"Wait, we're preparing for our welcome party?" Blue Alarm asked.

"Of course, silly!"

A small alligator dropped onto her head.

"And I almost forgot!" She pointed to the alligator. "This is Gummy, my pet alligator!"

The alligator stared with his big purple eyes.

"You have a pet alligator?" Red Noise asked.

Pinkie's Welcome Party

The train stopped.

"Come on, everypony and every changeling!" Pinkie yelled while she hopped up and down through the exit doors.

Mr. and Mrs. Cake scowled at the changelings staring at Pinkie Pie's cheer and joy. Then, they smiled a little at them and walked away carrying their now laughing foals.

As the ponies left the train, several of them glared at the changelings.

There was silence in the train with only the four changelings there. Silence had already left seconds ago, carrying a bag of donuts with her. No pony had entered the train yet.

"So, we just wait here and pay the additional fee later on at Dodge City," Neon Guard said.

Blue Alarm looked on through the windows. "Are you sure you want to disappoint that mare? It looks like she really did prepare a welcome party for us."

Neon Guard quickly turned around to see the outside. "Are you sure?!"

The four changelings now looked past the train's windows.

They saw the train depot. It was wooden, small, and hay covered the roof. The building beside it was taller but was also wooden and hay covered its roofs. The two buildings stood alone. The town of Ponyville with its quaint houses was a short walk's distance in the background.

On the wall of the train depot was a poster. On it were words: "Changeling Welcome Party at Ponyville!"

In the distance, balloons were flown, streamers were thrown. Loud electronic music blared out from the town. Laughs were plentiful. The only thing blocking the changelings from the party was the train depot in front of them.

"When is the next scheduled train to Dodge City?" Neon Guard looked at Blue Alarm. "Do you remember?"

"The next one arrives...an hour from now."

Neon Guard sighed. "We can attend the party for an hour."

"Yes!" And Humerus flew off at full speed.

Neon Guard groaned. "Red Noise, go look for him."

"All right, Neon Guard!" And Red Noise flew off at full speed, also.

"Blue Alarm, you're staying with me while I give All Aboard our ticket."

And the two changelings flew out of their carriage car.

Many houses, even the outlying houses, were laden with streamers, confetti, balloons, and other colorful party decorations. Tables with food and drinks were placed here and there throughout Ponyville. Whether near a house or near the river or near the town hall, there were at least a few ponies talking and chattering. Some were dancing to the beat as a white unicorn with messy mane stood behind her turntable and nodded to the beat.

Past the open marketplace of many stalls and produce, there was a building that looked very sweet. It looked like a gingerbread house: The brown roof was laden with white frosting, large candles were on top of the top roof. Pink and purple flowers gathered together beside one of the building's timber-laced walls. The hanging sign had a pink cupcake on it. A pink door was the entrance and the exit.

Past the bright rooms, past the counters of baked goods and confections, past a trap door, past a yellow slide to the basement, there was a small room. With rock walls and ceiling, the room contained many things, if not everything, needed for a great party: Balloons of different shapes and sizes and colors, shiny disco balls, gift boxes and gift wraps of different kinds, colorful party hats, more cakes and other pastries, party plates, streamers, ribbons, among others.

On one side of the room, there were metal drawers that almost matched the color of the rock wall. A few drawers were open. In them there were numerous folders with papers inside. Pinkie Pie grabbed five files from one open drawer.

"I knew they were coming to Ponyville!" She opened up one file. "It only makes sense that they would come here after a while. Who are they are going to meet for the parties they'll get here?"

The file contained a few pictures of changelings. One set contained the changelings before—wearing black chiton, they had blue pupilless eyes and limbs with holes. They bore angry faces, showing their fangs. The other set contained the changelings now—wearing assorted colors, they had pupilless eyes of different colors and their limbs were whole. Their wings now sparkled.

She opened another the other four files. On them were pictures of four changelings. Highlighted were the changelings' names: Blue Alarm, Red Noise, Neon Guard, Humerus. Below the pictures were lists of data and general information about the changelings in question.

"You all used to be part of the same military unit under Queen Chrysalis." Pinkie Pie looked at the papers more closely. "What do you have in common, changelings?"

She looked at Blue Alarm's file. "First, there's you, the first of your unit I've seen in Canterlot, eating at Joe's donut store." She darted to Red Noise's file. "Then, you appeared at the same donut store minutes later." She hopped to Neon Guard's. "You appeared walking on the street in Canterlot. And then, there's Humerus." She bounced to Humerus's file. "All of you, coming to the first ever changeling welcome party in all of Equestria!" She did a little dance on the floor with her eyes closed. "Good thing the files are up-to-date!"

The night before

In the darkness of the wastelands, the Changeling Kingdom glowed yellow and green. The street lights adorned the otherwise dark streets as changelings still walked and chatted and bought things at this late hour, although there weren't that many. If one took a glance at the windows, one might be able to see a changeling appear and disappear for a few seconds.

Inside the tall hive under construction and repair, the stone walls and floors were numerous. Holes opened and closed, changing the layout of the hive every so often. Changelings in green and yellow armor and helmets did not stand in one place too long. They changed positions, they flew, they patrolled all under the green lantern lights.

In one room, there were drawers and drawers standing on the floor. The guards looked here and there, moving here and there in the room, constantly in the search of a criminal. It was dark.

"What do you plan to do tomorrow?" a guard asked.

"I plan to eat breakfast, guard, eat lunch, guard, eat dinner, guard, give the guard duty to Neon Guard when he comes back, then sleep." The other guard sighed.

The sound of buzzing wings went on.

"Do you have anything to talk about?"

The other guard stopped in front of the door. He opened it. He peeked out. He closed it. "Do you have anything to talk about, Record Warden?"

Record Warden did not say anything. He kept patrolling.

A hoofstep.

The guards scrambled around the room.

Record Warden flew to the drawers. A few drawers were opened.

"Our files have been breached!" he whispered to his fellow guards.

"What?!" all the other guards shouted.

"Go look for the thief!"

Then, a few guards went out of the door. The rest flew through the room, eyeing the walls, the floors, the ceiling, the drawers, even each other. Record Warden looked at the drawers. There were missing folders. In place of those folders was a pink card. He hastily opened it.

"'Surprise! From, Pinkie Pie,'" he read aloud. "'P.S. I asked your king for permission to use these files for my upcoming changeling welcome party at Ponyville. You can come here if you want! I don't mind getting the files from here—I know that the original folders are somewhere else. Getting the copies is much easier and safer if you ask me!'"

A groan went out from Record Warden. He flew straight to another guard. "You, go ask King Thorax if this is true." He gave the card to the guard.

"All right, Record Warden!" The guard flew out the door.

Past the commotion and the other guards, he flew through various hallways and areas and rooms in the hive. The guard showed his quick reflexes as he looked left and he went left, he looked right and he went right—was there a guard incoming? He quickly strafed to the side. He flew higher and higher, passing by some of the construction changelings working on the hive. At this height, the view of the night sky brought a sense of being alone. In the middle of the wastelands, there was a shining city of light and thriving civilization. Although the city would rest soon, light and activity would still shine for a few more hours.

Finally, near the top of the hive, he charged into the highest room through an open window.

The room commanded a grand view of the Changeling Kingdom and its arid surroundings under the night sky. On the polished stone floor, a blue carpet had been laid. It led to a humble throne—it was made out of stone. The throne was decorated with a few diamonds and gems, however. On it King Thorax did not sit. He was approaching the stone stairs to the lower floor.

The guard flew to King Thorax and bowed down.

Thorax turned to him. "Quick Escort?"

"Hail, King Thorax!" Then, he stood up.

"What is it now?" Thorax asked in an irritated tone. "I'm about to sleep." He rubbed his eyes as if to show that he really was about to sleep.

Quick Escort gave him the card. "Read this, King Thorax, and see if the contents are true."

He opened the card. "You could've just said 'Hey, Thorax, is this card lying?'"

Quick Escort bowed down again. "My apologies, King Thorax."

Thorax sighed as his eyes scanned the letter.

He closed the card.

"So, is it true?"

Thorax yawned. He covered his mouth with his hoof.

Quick Escort looked around. There was no one but him and Thorax there in the throne room. The lanterns hanging from the ceiling were already off, not giving out any light.

"Yup. Pinkie Pie told me about it at around early tonight."

Quick Escort nodded slowly. He showed a nervous smile. "That's good to know, King Thorax. So, we should resume our duties as normal?"

Thorax nodded. "Now, go out and guard. I need to sleep now."

Quick Escort flew out of the room.

Thorax yawned again. As he headed downstairs, he said, "All this royal work is making me tired."

Then, the throne room was empty. Some holes closed, some holes opened. The cityscape below still shone light and the noise of changelings chattering and talking and flying still blared throughout the dark and moonlit wastelands.

Back to today

Humerus looked and beheld all that went around him as he flew past them while electronic music blared through the speakers here and there. There were ponies socializing, talking, eating—it all seemed normal. However, it was more lively. There were more ponies, more activity, more energetic dancing, more eating. Party decorations decorated all the houses and the stores and the ground below. It was indeed a colorful and loud party.

"Come back, Humerus!"

And then, there was a growl.

Humerus looked behind him.

Red Noise was chasing him furiously. He was catching up to the happy changeling.

They turned left, narrowly avoiding two ponies talking to each other. They almost spilled a cup. They were close to bumping into a filly riding a scooter. Good thing she had her helmet on. Then, Humerus crashed into a pink door.

He tumbled on to the floor.

Pain throbbed through his body. It was only a door, but the damage had been done. His head was banging with pain. Humerus rubbed his head with his hoof and a moan.

He sniffed. He stood up. In front of him were rows of various pastries—there were donuts, cakes, muffins, cupcakes, among other sweets. There was also a glass bowl filled with jawbreakers, gum, and lollipop.

Behind the counter was a smiling pink mare. She threw confetti up in the air. Streamers were blown with a great sound. Balloons floated from the floor. "Surprise!" she shouted. "So, how did you like the surprise? Was it really good?" She jumped over the counter and leaned towards the recovering changeling.

Humerus grinned. "I can't believe I'm meeting Pinkie Pie again!" he whispered through his teeth.

Red Noise tugged him. "I also cannot believe that you haven't noticed me this whole time, Humerus." He turned to Pinkie. "It's nice to meet you again, Pinkie, but we have to get on moving because—" He walked back away, holding Humerus with his hoof "—we have to report to King Thorax. He sent us a letter to get back to the Changeling Kingdom really soon." He wore a smile.

He turned around with Humerus in hoof. "Come on, Humerus. What were you thinking?"

Red Noise bumped into Pinkie Pie who was standing in front of the door. "Aw, you can't leave so soon! The party's just started!" She held a balloon with her hoof. "You want a balloon?"

"How did you get here without walking?" the red changeling asked with a flabbergastered face.

"Teleportation, duh!" She laughed, letting go of the balloon.

Red Noise tried to laugh, looking anxiously at the counter and back at where Pinkie stood. Humerus was actually laughing.

Pinkie grabbed the two changelings with one hoof. "Let's go, guys!" She turned back to the bakery. "Don't do anything bad, Gummy!"

The baby alligator, standing on the floor, blinked with a blank face.

"That's a good Gummy!" Then, she hopped out of the bakery, two changelings in tow.

The houses, framed with timber and laden with hay on the roofs, were abundant in Ponyville. The gray-green ground looked better with the many streamers and balloons around. Everywhere, ponies were walking, dancing, talking, eating, smiling, having a good time. There were earth ponies, pegasi, unicorns—young and old. In the distance, one could see a castle on top of a crystal tree. On its trunk was a golden door.

"So, how do you like Ponyville so far, Humerus?" Pinkie asked, trotting her merry way through the bridge over the river.

Humerus laughed. "She knows my name!" he screamed. "She knows my name! The Element of Laughter knows my name!"

Red Noise placed a hoof on Humerus's mouth. "Keep quiet. You don't want to look weird in front of the other ponies."

"You're changelings in a town called 'Ponyville!' Everypony here looks at you weird!" Pinkie held out another balloon. "You want a balloon?"

"I don't think so, Pinkie," Red Noise said.

"Give me the balloon!" Humerus shouted. He held out his hooves.

Pinkie stopped right in front of the loud and blaring speakers. She gave the balloon to Humerus. The changeling held the balloon with his hooves and grinned.

"It's my pleasure to make you smile!" She grinned. "Both you and Red Noise!"

"You know my name, too?" Red Noise looked on at the smiling Pinkie. "How do you know our name?"

"What is it?" She placed a hoof to her ear. "I can't hear you with this noise!" she shouted. She pointed a hoof to the speakers right in front of them. Vinyl Scratch nodded her head to the beat. She waved at Pinkie. Pinkie waved back.

"But, you just heard me perfectly—"

"What?!"

"You told me this place was one of the best places to party at."

"Yes, I did!"

"Then, why are we at a shop that sells quills and sofas?"

In front of them was a shop that looked a lot like the houses of Ponyville—framed with timber. The hanging sign showed an image of a quill and an image of a sofa. The shop was not forgotten in the party—it also had balloons and streamers all over the building. The music from a nearby speaker blared more electronic music.

The door opened. A light brown stallion appeared, wearing a casual suit. "What can I do for yaAW?! What are changelings doing here?"

"Aw, Davenport!" She placed a hoof on one of his shoulders. "They're good now, remember?" She grinned.

Humerus grinned.

Red Noise groaned.

"No, Pinkie! Stay away from them!" He pushed Pinkie away and slammed the door.

The changelings looked at Pinkie. Pinkie looked at Red Noise. "He also sells beds!"

In front of Vinyl Scratch's turntable were ponies dancing to the beat of house and electronic music. A pink hoof tapped her shoulder. Vinyl Scratch turned back.

Pinkie and the two changelings were there. She looked at the changelings. "So, here's my DJ friend, Vinyl Scratch!"

She placed a hoof to her chin. Without saying anything, she waved a hoof at the changelings and hurriedly turned back to her turntable.

"She doesn't speak a lot," she said, grabbing the two changelings and running off to somewhere else.

On the green hills surrounding Ponyville, there was a tower. On it was a big clock. Above the clock, there was a large yellow bell.

Pinkie rubbed her chin with her hoof. "Hmm..."

"Are you sure you know how to throw a party?" Red Noise asked.

She turned to him, wearing a glare. "Yes, Red Noise, I know how to throw a party!"

He stayed silent. "OK, I trust you."

Humerus slapped him. "You're going to ask that to the greatest party pony in all of Equestria?"

"Maybe, Humerus. Maybe."

"Nah," she blurted out. "I don't think we should place party decorations on such an important landmark. Let's go another place, guys!"

The house in front of Pinkie and the changelings was a wooden house with leaves covering much of the roof. Besides the windows, birdhouses adorned the house. Tall grass, colorful flowers, and green bushes surrounded the path. A small bridge went over a small river with lily pads. The trees were tall and green. On the trees, many birds sang their songs and tweeted. On the ground, bunnies and rabbits and a jackalope hopped about. The house itself stood on a green hill, looking as if it was floating off the ground. Around the house, there was only the path—other than the path, there was only air. Below the cliff, the ground was a little far away. However, the danger of living in such a house was alright for a pegasus.

"So, is this where much of the party would take place, Pinkie?" Humerus asked. "We're going to Fluttershy's house! The Element of Kindness lives here!"

"You don't have to recite every piece of personal information these ponies have," Red Noise said. He placed a hoof on the smiling Humerus. He looked at Pinkie. "Are you sure you want to crash Fluttershy's house? We know she's a shy pony."

"She's not shy enough to like parties!" She pulled a cannon from her mane.

Red Noise looked at the cannon. It was aimed at Fluttershy's door. "I don't have a good feeling about this welcome party."

Ponyville Places

Pinkie Pie rolled the cannon up to the wooden door. She had a menacing and serious glare on her face. The two changelings walked slowly behind her.

Cries of happiness went out from Humerus. "She's going to blow up Fluttershy's house! I can't believe we're going to have a great party!"

Red Noise placed a hoof in front of Humerus. "Stay back."

Pinkie raised up the cannon. She looked back at the changelings, a smile on her face. "Silly changelings, Fluttershy is too shy to have the party cannon firing all over her place!"

The door opened.

Birds and butterflies of various kinds went out of the door, giving Fluttershy's entrance a sense of natural wonder. The yellow pegasus habitually brushed her pink mane with her hoof. She gave a shy smile to the changelings.

"Fluttershy!" Pinkie screamed. She gestured two hooves towards the two changelings. Then, in a normal tone of voice, "Meet the changelings of the party! Here's Red Noise and Humerus!"

Red Noise smiled anxiously. Humerus was laughing and waving his hoof right in front of Fluttershy. "Hi, Fluttershy! It's great to meet two Elements of Harmony in the same day!" He gave out a hoof. "Hoofshake?"

Fluttershy glanced at the outstretched hoof. "Um, OK, Humerus..." She shaked his hoof.

Red Noise tapped Pinkie on her shoulder. Pinkie turned around.

"What is it, Red Noise? Are you getting uncomfortable with all the animals in here?" She pointed at the large room inside.

The large room was alive with animals. Birdhouses housed birds, more rabbits were bouncing around, a swarm of butterflies were passing by. Otters, bear cubs, chickens and more were moving around or eating. There were even a few mice but they were not looking out to steal food—they even waved at the guests. There was a bat sleeping from the rafters above.

The room itself was wooden in many things—the floor, the wall, the rafters, the roof, the ceiling, the stairs—not just the stairs to the next floor. There were also short stairs that led up to the birdhouses. On the walls were a few paintings of animals—one painting showed a few colorful butterflies in front of the cloudy sky. There was a brick gray chimney and a few cooking pots on it. There were bookshelves with several books in them. Green furniture had been laid throughout the room—green, cushioned chairs and a green, cushioned sofa with a pillow.

The windows looked out to the great expanse of the sky and the great expanse of the ground. Trees went on for miles and miles. Not a far away distance was a gloomy forest with willow trees; a few vines were visible.

A white rabbit was tapping his foot at Fluttershy. The pony did not notice. Humerus was still shaking her hoof.

"Uh, you could let go now."

Humerus let his hoof go. He still smiled.

"You can come inside, everypony." She walked inside.

Red Noise tapped Pinkie again. "It's nice to be with Fluttershy, but we have to go to King Thorax. It's important."

Pinkie rubbed the changeling's head. "Aww! Don't you worry, Red Noise! That's why we're not supposed to stay long here! I've already planned the whole Ponyville tour!"

"Wait a minute." Red Noise turned to the outside. He turned to look at Pinkie, still grinning. She now held a balloon with her hoof. "No, Pinkie, I don't want a balloon and we don't need a tour of Ponyville right now." Red Noise grabbed Humerus with a hoof. "It's sad to turn down a party invitation from a pony like you, Pinkie Pie, but we can't turn down our king's request." He looked at Fluttershy. "Don't worry, Fluttershy. Maybe we can visit some other time."

"It's alright, Red Noise." She walked up to the impatient rabbit tapping his foot and menacing at her. "Besides, Angel needs to eat his salad right now and I haven't gotten to prepare it yet."

"We got it all under control, Fluttershy!" Pinkie yelled. "Changelings, it's time to go to Applejack's!" She grabbed the two changelings and she hopped off out of the house.

"We're going to meet the Element of Honesty?!"

"Do you really have to tell us that?!"

Fluttershy looked on at the bouncing group. She closed the door and walked to the rabbit. She glared at Angel although it wasn't a stare. "You still need to behave, Angel."

The rabbit nodded rather nervously.

The acres in front of them were many. A path went on through an organized array of apple trees. Most of them had red apples on them. The hills showed more and more rows of apple trees. There were too many to count. However, there weren't just apple trees.

On one side, there were stalks of corn still growing. On another side, there was a chicken coop. The sounds of chickens cackling sounded out of the coop.

In front of Pinkie Pie, Red Noise, and Humerus, there was a red barn that towered over the three.

Approaching the three was orange Applejack herself, wearing that brown hat.

"That's Applejack!" Pinkie said. "She's also good at detecting lies 'cause—you know, Humerus!"

"Element of Honesty!" Humerus shouted quickly.

"I don't think ya' need to keep remindin' me 'bout that, Humerus!" Applejack looked at the two changelings in front of her. "To be honest, Ah didn't expect changelings to be here! Are you holdin' a party or somethin', Pinkie?"

"A party and a tour!" She tied a balloon on to Red Noise's ear.

"Hey!"

"It's a sign that you're now partying!" Pinkie walked to Applejack. "So, Red Noise here told me that they're on a tight schedule, so can you introduce these two changelings the essentials of Sweet Apple Acres." She held up a hoof to Applejack's ear and whispered, "And don't forget to introduce the entire Apple family for good measure!"

"Really, Pinkie Pie?"

Pinkie nodded.

"How soon are they leavin'?"

"Um, less than an hour from now." She grinned.

Applejack turned to the changelings. "So, if you wanna see what you need to see about Sweet Apple Acres, then—"

"No, no, no!" Red Noise shouted. "It's nice to see the entire place, but just look at the many...acres Sweet Apple Acres has!"

Applejack frowned. "It wouldn't make sense for you two to see every single apple tree in Sweet Apple Acres. Ah promise to give ya' a quick trip through the place!"

Red Noise slowly backed away from her. He caught seized Humerus with a hoof as he walked back. The two changelings smiled at Applejack—Humerus grinned at the sights, Red Noise grinned as wide as he could. "I don't think we have enough time, Applejack."

"Oh, I guess you want to see all of Ponyville's places?" She launched her party cannon and streamers and confetti and balloons were blown at them.

The two changelings were now covered in colorful party decorations.

"I got blasted by Pinkie's party cannon!" Humerus yelled.

"Sorry, Applejack, gotta let them see Ponyville!" Then, Pinkie hopped her happy way out of the farm, the two changelings in tow again.

Applejack waved goodbye. She watched the pony and the two changelings bounce their path back to Ponyville. "Pinkie just being Pinkie," she said to herself.

Humerus smiled as he knocked on the door.

"This is not a good idea, Pinkie," Red Noise said.

"I think it's the best idea since Princess Celestia decided to defend her love for cakes in the castle hall!"

"What did you just say?"

The door opened.

"Ah! Get away from here, changelings!"

The door was slammed and closed.

"Aww, Davenport hasn't warmed up to you changelings, yet."

"That's why it's a bad idea, Pinkie. Besides, we still have to go to King Thorax."

Then, Humerus opened the door and flew inside.

"Yippie! Quill-and-sofa shopping time!" She trotted inside.

"Wait, no, Humerus!" Then, Red Noise flew into Quills and Sofas.

Then, a shout was heard from the inside. "No, Pinkie! You don't know what you're doing by letting these changelings here!"

"Good thing it's free if it's your birthday, right?" Pinkie asked.

Humerus munched on the burger. The hoof fries were beside his plate—and there were many fries. A large cup of soda sat beside the plate as well.

In front of Red Noise was a plate with many crumbs. The noise from the two changelings eating their burgers hungrily was helped with Pinkie chewing loudly on her triple-layered burger with syrup on top.

The Hay Burger was full of customers today. The floors of wooden planks fit well with the round, wooden tables. Ponies of all kinds were eating here. The atmosphere was even happier with the party's streamers, confetti, balloons, and even several gifts on a few tables. Oil from the kitchen sizzled loudly as it fried the fries. In front of the counter, eager ponies waiting for their fries and softdrinks and burgers of hay were smiling at everything despite the noisy eating of Pinkie and the two changelings there.

"Wait, it's your birthday right?"

Humerus gulped down another bite of the burger. "What's a birthday?"

Pinkie gasped. She placed two hooves on her head. "You don't know what a birthday is?!" she screamed.

All the ponies looked on at her nervous and surprised expression at Humerus.

"Yeah, I don't know what my birthday is also," Red Noise said. "So, what?"

Pinkie gasped again. She faced Red Noise. "You don't care about your birthday?!" She grabbed Red Noise. "Do you even know how old you are?!"

"Old enough to be a young adult." Red Noise wiped his mouth. "Thanks for the free food, by the way, Pinkie."

"But you don't know what a birthday is and how old you are?!" Pinkie gasped again. "Oh no!" Then, she grinned. "Don't worry! I know your birthdays! You were born on the same day, even!"

"At least that's what Queen Chrysalis told us," Red Noise said. Then, he looked away from his burger and back at Pinkie. "You know more about us than we thought. Are you spying on us or something?"

"Not really!" She grinned. "Twilight told me that I have good observational skills! Look!" She pointed somewhere. "I think that's the Princess of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle herself just walking by!"

The two changelings looked out the window.

"Hey, Twilight Sparkle isn't there at all!"

Red Noise looked back. Pinkie was gone. All the food that was in front of her was gone. Even the triple-layered burger.

"So, what kind of suit do you want, or do you want something more casual?" Rarity, in her fancy voice, asked the two changelings.

The two changelings looked around the pink, purple, white room, decorated with arches and stripes and mannequins and mirrors and many types of cloths such as silk. Gems adorned some of the prettier dresses and suits.

Rarity watched as Red Noise was flying away with Humerus in hoof—flying out the Carousel Boutique.

"Wait, come back!" Pinkie Pie shouted as she chased them. "It's not so bad! Maybe a hat would be fine!"

"Hmm....This place looks very familiar..."

"Pinkie, this is your bakery!" Red Noise yelled at her.

"Don't you yell at me, changeling! I know this is our bakery!" She closed her eyes and smiled. "Just watch!"

She opened the pink door and walked inside with her eyes closed.

Humerus flew inside. "More dessert!"

"Humerus!" Red Noise shouted as he flew inside.

"Finally, at the end of the grand tour of Ponyville, we finally reach one of the best places in town!" Pinkie Pie opened the door.

Davenport immediately slammed the door.

"Finally, at the end of the grand tour of Ponyville, we finally reach one of the best places in town!" Pinkie Pie gestured to the Castle of Friendship and took a bow.

The tree that reflected like a crystal held with its branches the actual Castle of Friendship. The tree itself was colossal, its branches long and magnificent. Sunlight shone on the tree, giving it a grand splendor of light and reflections.

The lofty castle stood. Narrowing golden roofs, big purple walls, overarching golden balconies. There was a hanging purple banner with a six-pointed star on it. On the top of the massive structure, another star—this one made out of crystal or a similar hard and shiny material—held its place.

"I can't believe we're this close to the Castle of Friendship!"

"Do you want to go in?" Pinkie gestured her hoof towards the grand golden stairways leading up the grand golden double door. Two purple hearts adorned the door.

"Two hearts on the door." Red Noise sighed. "Yeah, this is the Castle of Friendship."

Humerus looked on at Pinkie Pie.

"What? How are ponies supposed to visit her during her princess hours, attending to this and that matter?" Pinkie glared at the changeling with glaring eyes. She smiled and pushed the doors open. "Of course, if you don't want to open the door, you can always ask a pony to open a door for you. Here in Ponyville, we're so friendly, we open doors for each other!" She grinned and trotted inside.

Red Noise and Humerus looked in the castle. "Woah..." the two said.

The hallways were tall and spacious—the ceilings looked very far away. Columns made of crystal rose up to the far away ceiling. A wide red carpet had been placed on the wide floors of silver colors. The windows, too, were tall, providing much light under the morning sky. The beams of the sun went through the windows and shone their beautiful light. Colorful lights of diamond shapes hung from the ceiling, providing the castle a sense of cheer whether Pinkie Pie was in the castle or not.

The doors were plentiful although they looked identical. They were glass doors framed with timber the color of gold. Pinkie Pie went through one of the doors—that door was a taller door and Red Noise took a glance at the room inside. In the big, round room, there was a crystal table and six crystal thrones in front of it.

Then, the doors closed.

"I wanna go in and meet all the Elements of Harmony!" Humerus rushed to the door.

Red Noise did not say anything. He just flew as fast as he could at Humerus, stretching a hoof at him.

Chess

The buzzes echoed through the halls. Red Noise, with a scowl, flew by the windows. He was catching up to Humerus as they neared the double doors at a great speed.

The doors opened. Pinkie Pie waved at the two. "Sure, guys, come on in!"

Then, Humerus crashed on to one of the crystal thrones. He and the throne fell to the ground with loud thuds.

Red Noise almost flew into the wall but he swerved upwards, almost doing a loop, and hovered his way quickly to the ground.

Pinkie Pie gasped again. "That's Rarity's chair! She's going to ask for another chair like that if she sees dirt on it!"

Under the many colorful lights hanging from the ceiling's roots, Red Noise looked at Humerus, still having that scowl. He tapped one of his hooves.

Humerus got up with a groan, grasping and gripping the table, struggling to do so.

Pinkie Pie trotted to the changeling. "You need a helping hoof?"

He looked at Pinkie. He pulled himself up. "It's alright, Pinkie!" Humerus smiled. "I don't want to stress you out!"

"What's with the commotion there?"

"Twilight!" Pinkie shouted.

She rushed up to the approaching Princess of Friendship—rushing from the door. The alicorn, with her wings and her horn, with no sign of royalty like a crown, gazed at the chair on the ground. Emblazoned on it was the image of three blue diamonds. She gasped at the sight. Then, she saw the two changelings in the room—one of them right in front of the crystal table.

She grinned a nervous grin. "Ah, you must be the changelings Pinkie must've been telling me about!"

"Princess Twilight!" Then, Humerus rushed to her and hugged her.

Twilight recoiled a little. "Uh, are you sure you got the right changelings, Pinkie?"

"Yup!" She closed her eyes, smiling. "I'm super-duper confident that we've got the right changelings!"

Twilight smiled, also. She looked back at the chair on the floor and sighed. "We need to clean this up."

Silence was in the room.

"I said, we need to clean this up!" Then, her eye twitched.

Humerus balked away from Twilight. He was still smiling. "Yeah, her nervous mode!"

A small purple and green dragon huffed his way to the room and quickly set the chair right.

"Thanks, Spike!" Her eye twitched again.

"You're, uh, welcome, Twilight..." He looked at the two changelings. "Say..." He brought a hand to his chin "...I hope you didn't wreck Rarity's chair." He walked towards the hallway. "If there's one thing that she likes in this castle, it's the crystal chairs." He paused and turned to the changelings, pointing at them with his two hands. "Also, first two good changelings in the castle! Nice!" Then, he continued walking down the hallway.

"I can't believe that I just met Spike, Twilight's number one dragon assistant!" Humerus rushed to Twilight and hugged her again.

She gulped. "Uh, Red Noise?"

Red Noise sighed. "Yes, Princess Twilight?"

"Can you please tell Humerus in the nicest way possible to stop hugging me like that?"

Pinkie giggled. "He's been like that for all of us, Twilight! He's very happy to see us!"

"So, I have so many questions to ask you and your friends, Twilight Sparkle!" Humerus yelled as the two changelings and the two ponies walked between tall walls, great windows, and giant columns.

Twilight giggled. The giggle resounded through the halls, spreading the laugh to the end of the hallway and to other hallways. "So, you're that kind of changeling, Humerus. I've seen colts and fillies like that when they meet a Princess, but I haven't seen a grown pony be so...eager about meeting a Princess, much less a grown changeling."

"That's because he's crazy," Red Noise said. "With all due respect, Princess Twilight, changeling acts too much like a cheery pony. Sometimes, back then, I used to wonder if he was actually our best infiltrator because of that attitude."

"Now, that's a scary thought."

The four laughed.

Pinkie stopped laughing. "Wait, I don't get the joke."

The other three laughed even harder.

Then, they stopped walking.

The tall doors in front of them were already open. On the walls were long bookshelves of many, many books of various sizes and colors and names. The bookshelves and the books almost made up much of the wall. At the wall's center was a shiny crystal model of a tree in winter. Two arched windows were on top of the bookshelves, lighting up the room. Between them was another window—round and on it was a symbol that looked much like the crystal tree on the wall. Between that window hung two green and yellow banners displaying on them a yellow symbol that also looked a lot like the tree. A ladder leaned on some of the bookshelves.

Scattered through the room were circle wooden tables. A few books laid there in a nice order, whether stacked vertically or lined up horizontally.

At the table sat a light-pink pony. Her purple and aquamarine mane was curled while she read a book, focused on obtaining whatver information was inside.

"Starlight Glimmer!" Pinkie shouted.

Starlight gasped and fell off the chair. "Ow..."

"Starlight Glimmer! Meet the changelings in town today! Red Noise and Humerus!" Pinkie threw confetti to the air, littering the purple carpet.

"Heh-heh." Starlight got up.

"Do you remember me, Starlight?!" Humerus yelled.

"Uh, maybe?" She grinned a nervous grin.

"Don't worry about Humerus, Starlight," Twilight said. She gestured to the changelings—a smiling and grinning one and a serious-faced one. "He's really enthusiastic about meeting the ponies here. Really enthusiastic."

Humerus flew towards Starlight, wearing a great smile. "Starlight!"

Starlight gave Twilight a shake of her head.

A purple glow surrounded the approaching changeling. With a gasp, he was pulled from Starlight. As he was floated away, he flailed, reaching out towards Starlight.

Then, Humerus, still in the purple glow, flailed on beside Twilight and Red Noise.

"I guess he's too happy to see you."

Starlight's horn glowed a light blue as a book also glowed a light blue, floating its way to Humerus. "What about you try to calm down with a book, Humerus." Then, she glared at Pinkie, and there was no calm voice. "Are you triyng to ruin my day with a rabid changeling, Pinkie?"

"The other changeling's not so rabid!" She smiled.

Starlight sighed and closed the book in front of her with her hoof.

Red Noise looked at Twilight. "Look, Princess, we want to leave—have to leave very soon. We might run late and miss our train to Dodge City—"

"The train to Dodge City, you say?" She giggled hesitantly, eyeing the two changelings with another nervous grin. "Last time I checked the clock here, it was ten-thirty! The train already left ten minutes ago!"

Humerus danced on top of a table, cheering.

Red Noise groaned and slapped himself with a hoof. "Now how long do we have to wait?!"

The tall doors opened and two more changelings arrived flying into the spacious library room. "The train's left!" Neon Guard shouted.

"Ooh, is this a guessing game where we have the train's left and right?" Pinkie raised her hoof. "I wanna join! I wanna join!"

Neon Guard gazed at the changelings and the ponies already there. "I see that you've met some of us." He looked at the Princess beside him and then bowed down. "Good morning, Princess Twilight Sparkle. Sorry for interrupting whatever you were having in this room."

Blue Alarm bowed down as well.

"I forgot!" Then, Humerus flew down from the table and bowed down.

"Come on, guys, you don't need to bow down to me. I'm just a normal pony—"

"Who saved Equestria a few times with her friends and one time on her own?!" Humerus flew to Twilight and hugged her again. "You're not a normal pony, Twilight! You're one of the best ponies I've ever seen!"

Neon Guard grumbled. "Humerus, do you even know who you're hugging right now?!"

"Of course, I know!"

"That's not what I mean, Humerus!"

"Group hug!" Pinkie shouted, and then she hugged Twilight, also.

Starlight and the changelings just stared at the awkward group hug right in front of them. Then, Pinkie and Humerus slowly walked away from Twilight.

"So—" Twilight looked at all who were there, just looking at her because there was not much else happening in the room "—the next train to Dodge City leaves Ponyville at eleven o'clock!" She smiled awkwardly. "So, um, enjoy your time here, if you want to stay here, that is." She walked out of the library. "Or, you can always go to the other rooms as long as you keep them clean and not dirty and unorganized, that is. Heh-heh-heh..."

Then, the tall doors closed.

"So, do you remember me?" Humerus asked from his seat across the table.

"Um, I'm not sure, Humerus." Starlight grinned. "Just go on and read the book."

"What about a game, Starlight?"

Starlight looked up from reading her book. "What kind of game? We have chess—"

"That sounds fun! Let's play chess!" He looked at the three changelings and Pinkie talking at another table; Red Noise was glancing at him with a mean eye. "Come on, everyone! We're going to play chess!"

"It's only for two players, Humerus." A smile appeared on her face. She eyed a faraway spot at the end of one of the bookshelves. The chess board floated from its place and on to the table.

As the wooden black and white board opened, the board seemed to set itself upright. The chess pieces went out in a grand swirl or spiral. All the pieces, from the pawns through the horses and bishops and the castles and up to the kings and queens, floated their way to their starting squares.

"So, do you want to play first?"

Humerus nodded rapidly.

The board glowed again and it rotated fast. The pieces never went out of their places. Now, the white pieces were in front of Humerus.

"Do you know how to play chess, Humerus?"

Humerus nodded again. "I read all about it so I can fit in with a few fancy ponies in our second-to-last mission!"

Starlight glanced at Humerus, a subtle surprise on her face. "OK...so, are you sure you know how to play chess?"

Humerus nodded another time.

Starlight stretched her front hooves. "So, let's begin!"

She smacked the table with her hoof.

None of the pieces went ouf their squares.

The changelings and Pinkie looked at the game about to start. "Ooh, a game of chess! Humerus, you can win the game by taking the king!"

Starlight giggled off-hoofedly. "That's not how it works, Pinkie!"

A loud thud.

Starlight looked back at the chess board. A short white piece moved ahead one square.

She smiled and narrowed her eyes.

She moved a pawn—the pawn in front of her king—two squares ahead.

Humerus smiled at the tremendous move.

"Are you sure you know how to play chess?"

"Of course, I did!" Humerus held up a castle piece. "This is a castle. Others call it a rook."

"Hmph." Starlight looked at the changeling with a glare. "Have you studied on how to play chess?"

A bead of sweat went down on his smiling face. "O-of course, I did that also! How else can you play chess well?"

"Because, if you really studied chess, then you should know that one wrong move would make you lose right now." Starlight clasped her hooves in front of her face, almost about to laugh.

Now, there were three changelings and Pinkie Pie around the table. The three changelings gazed at the chess board, not saying a word. They looked at Humerus, still smiling despite the possiblity of losing by Starlight's next move. Then, they looked back at the chess board. Pinkie kept whispering to Starlight's ear, "Go, Starlight! You can do it! You can do it! You can win! Wait for Humerus! Then, move a piece!"

Starlight grumbled.

Humerus looked at each of his chess pieces. The only piece out of place was the pawn that he moved. He placed a hoof on his chin, then two hooves on his head. He rubbed his head.

"Just move already!"

He moved a pawn two squares ahead.

Starlight raised a hoof to the air. "A-ha!"

The queen piece rose to the air in dramatic fashion—a wind surrounded it, the room started to shake, the lights above were moving around, the doors were clattering, the books were trembling to the point of almost falling out of their bookshelves and causing a mess, all while her horn was glowing and while she was grinning, looking at the chess board.

"It's a thunderstorm already?" Pinkie asked. She beamed. "Hooray for pegasi and instant weather changes!"

"Are we supposed to get Humerus now?" Blue Alarm gazed at the queen piece still rising in the air in a great swirl of wind. Books were now already flying out and surrounding the queen piece. "This is way too dangerous for chess!"

Then, the queen piece moved diagonally across the board.

The wind stopped, the room did not shake anymore, the lights became stable, the doors no longer clattered, the books that were in the air fell down to the carpeted floor.

There was silence in the room.

Starlight drew her breath. She closed her eyes.

Humerus looked at the chess board. "So, what was that all about, Starlight? Can you do that whole spectacle again?"

"Checkmate! Fool's mate!"

Starlight punched the table with her hooves while she smiled.

"Punching table time!" Pinkie yelled. Then, she joined Starlight in the punching of tables.

Starlight pointed, with a hoof, at Humerus. "Take that, Humerus! You lost!"

Humerus clapped and smiled.

Then, the doors opened. Twilight gasped at the sight of the messy library room.

"Oh, um, about the room, Twilight." Starlight slowly backed away from the grumbling Princess of Friendship.

The other three changelings looked at Twilight.

Humerus looked at Twilight.

Pinkie grinned. "Twilight! You're back!"

Humerus smiled at her.

The Princess of Friendship smiled. The grumbling stopped. "What about we clean the library together?"

The Trip Home

With the other three changelings in tow, Neon Guard flew fast out of the tall, golden doors of the majestic Castle of Friendship.

"Wait, we didn't even have snack time, yet!" Twilight shouted while she ran to the door.

"Bye, changelings!" Pinkie waved, smiling and grinning with her eyes closed.

"Argh!" Twilight turned around. "Now the schedule is ruined with their early leave! That means a fifteen-minute gap in the schedule before dinner!" A pad of paper with a pencil hovered its way to her.

Pinkie closed the front doors with a bang. The slam of the doors closing echoed through the large hallways. "Hey, at least we had fun and you're early! You can eat dinner early, do your nightly Princess duties early, sleep early—"

Twilight groaned and glared at Pinkie. "That's exactly what I'm trying to avoid! If I do everything early, I'll wake up early, then what will I fill up my time with?" She stared at the library's doors. "There's books! I can always get more books for the library!" She looked back at Pinkie. "I can always be more efficient!"

The entrance doors opened again. On top of the steps were Rarity and Applejack. The three diamonds and the three apples on their flanks were glowing.

Twilight grinned at the two arrivals. She nervously eyed the cutie map room. "So, a new friendship problem?" she asked through her smile.

"I guess so, darling!" Rarity walked the hallway with grace and elegance—slowly.

"Ya' can at least go a little faster, Rarity," Applejack said.

The three ponies then walked beside her. Twilight, still smiling, looked at the doors in front of them. Pinkie inched up to Rarity.

"So, why exactly are you smiling like that, Pinkie?" Rarity asked.

Pinkie's grin still stood there. "There's completely nothing wrong with your chair!"

"What do you mean 'There's completely nothing wrong with your chair'?"

The doors glowed a raspberry-colored glow. They opened.

In front of them was the round table out of crystal along with its crystal chairs or thrones.

Rarity gasped.

"My throne! It has been hurt!"

She screamed.

Then, she fell to the floor, eyes closed and a hoof over her face.

"Quite a bit dramatic for somethin' that looks fine to me!" Applejack gestured to the chair. "Ah don't even see any scratches on it!"

"You will see the evidence on the floor!" Rarity screamed. Then, she closed her eyes again.

Applejack looked at the carpeted floor.

"Heh-heh..." Twilight looked at the floor, as well. Tiny pieces of crystal were on the carpet. "I may have forgotten to tell Spike to clean the floor as well." She smiled.

"Come on, Rarity!" Pinkie carried Rarity to her throne. "It's nothing that bad! We can always replace the crystal with fakes!"

"No!" Rarity gripped Pinkie, having a mad face on her. "That's even worse! I want this throne to be made out of one-hundred-percent crystal!"

"Hmph." Applejack walked and then sat on her chair emblazoned with the image of three apples.

Twilight walked to her chair and sat on it as well. She sighed. "We'll do something about it, if it's alright with you, Rarity."

"Yeah, as long as ya' stop with your overreactin' an' all!"

Rarity glared at Applejack. "It's not overreacting if somepony dared to taint the beauty and splendor of this throne!" Rarity smacked her hooves on the table. "I must know the pony who did this act of unfashionable tragedy!"

Twilight sighed. "I already said that we'll try to do something about it. Besides, the more important problem here is the friendship problem, not the chair that looks pretty much the same unless you look closely enough." She shot a glance at Rarity.

Rarity smiled a nervous smile and looked to her left and then to her right. "I see, Twilight. I apologize for my reaction."

"The party changelings did it!" Pinkie said while she smiled.

"The changelings you invited?!"

Twilight sighed again.

Applejack sighed, also. "It's just a chair! Besides, it looks mor' grand than a bed!" She raised her hooves in protest.

"Quiet!"

The three ponies looked at Twilight. Front hooves on the table, an angry look on her face complete with narrowed eyes. Then, she sat back down on the chair, inhaling and exhaling slowly with her eyes closed.

"I think it's finally time to see what the friendship problem is, girls."

Then, a holographic map of Equestria appeared on the table.

A modern-looking train rode on, leaving the train depot. No steam or smoke went out of it. The windows were straight, the carriages were straight, the colors were blue and black and white.

Inside, the floor was of sleek metal. A black carpet went through the center of the floor. The chairs were cushioned with black cushions. Many ponies, inside the air-conditioned carriages of the train, sat on the chairs and talked, slept, and watched the scenery change from the lively town of Ponyville to the idyllic fields of grass and trees.

The acres and acres of apple trees passed by. Then, the scenery was back to grass and trees.

A minute passed by and the trees were darker, the branches more curved, the leaves more willowed.

"Mommy, is that Everfree Forest?" a filly asked, pointing to the gloomy forest over there.

"Yes, it is, dear."

"That looks really awesome!"

The cream-colored unicorn arched her brows in surprise at her unicorn filly. "Are you sure? Don't you remember the nighttime stories I've told you about the many scary creatures that live there?"

"But Zecora lives there! She's cool 'cause she makes potions!"

The mare tapped her filly's horn. "But the path to her house is dangerous."

"But that makes Zecora even cooler!"

The irritated mare looked to the light blue unicorn stallion sitting in front of her. He was wearing a purple shirt, a saxophone strapped over the shirt, and unkempt blue and purple mane. "Hey, honey, would you please convince our daughter that going to Everfree is never a good idea?"

"But it's a good idea!" he said.

"Yeah, thanks, Daddy!"

The filly and her dad bumped hooves.

The mom sighed and smiled. "At least you're still my saxophone-playing stallion, Bluenote."

"And you're still my cake-baker, Cinnamon Chai."

Then, the couple hugged each other.

"What's that?" The filly pointed out the window again. "Is that from the Everfree Forest?"

The couple looked at the window.

A green changeling was tapping on the window and shouting something that could not be heard.

Cinnamon Chai screamed. "It's one of the changelings! Why is he flying beside us?" She grabbed the filly and hugged her out of the changeling's sight.

The changeling waved. He was smiling.

"Come on, Cinnamon Chai, changelings aren't bad anymore, don't you remember?"

"Tell that to the changeling over there!" she pointed at the window, trembling.

The changeling waved again and smiled at the family as he flew past the grass, the trees, the mountains in the background.

Bluenote waved back at the changeling.

"That's not how you shoo a changeling away!"

"Come on, Cinnamon Chai, it's alright!"

"Hi, changeling!" The filly waved.

Cinnamon Chai hugged on to her.

The changeling smiled.

Then, he was pulled away by a hoof. Now, there was only the grass and the trees rolling by.

"Did you say there was a changeling, ma'am?" the pony on the other side of the carriage asked out loud.

"Yes, sir!" Cinnamon Chai flailed her hooves in the air. "The changeling might be spying on us!"

"Well, I'll report on it, ma'am."

The pony ran out the door.

The rest of the passengers were murmring to each other, the word "changeling" being whispered and said and even shouted a few times. The murmuring grew louder and the murmurs became louder talk. The ponies by the windows kept looking at those windows, with whispers of "No changeling yet!"

Then, amid the sounds of the wheels going, there was the sound of buzzes.

"Ssh!" Another pony pointed to the ceiling as he stood between the chairs. "Those are the sounds of flying changelings!"

Bluenote stood up and raised his voice. "Haven't you heard Princess Celestia's speech about the changelings a few months ago, everypony?"

Then, everypony's eyes were on him.

Cinnamon Chai tapped him on the shoulder. "Bluenote, what are you doing?!"

"Everypony!" he shouted.

The ponies were still looking at him, staying quiet and silent.

"Aren't the changelings the good guys now? The Princesses affirmed it already! The changelings don't attack us now and some of them even go to pony places like Canterlot, Ponyville, Appleloosa. And the changeling that was at our window just now? He smiled at us!"

"That's just a disguise, a facade!" a pony from the gathered crowd shouted back.

"Bluenote!" Cinnamon Chai yelled. "You're making them mad at you."

"I'm standing on the side of the Princesses and they must know some things about the changelings!"

"The changelings are deceiving the Princesses!" the pony from the crowd shouted.

Bluenote groaned.

Feedback from the speakers went out through the carriage.

"We're reaching the Ghastly Gorge, everypony," the voice rang out. "We're reaching the Ghastly Gorge, everypony. I repeat, we're reaching the Ghastly Gorge, everypony. Sit down on your seats and kindly wait for the train to fully stop."

There was a pause. Several ponies were now looking at the speakers. The sound of buzzes were still there.

"And, about the changelings—we have a few security ponies taking care of that right now."

Many sighs of relief were heard. Then, the ponies walked back to their seats.

"No, no!" the filly yelled. "I don't want them to catch the changelings! One of them smiled!"

Cinnamon Chai sighed. "Remember that not all creatures are what they seem." She rubbed the filly's mane.

Bluenote sighed. "I hope they're not doing anything bad to them just because they're changelings." He sighed again and looked out the window.

"I hope that, too!" the filly said. She smiled and looked out the window as well.

The mare groaned. "I hope they catch the changelings and place them in jail!"

"No, mommy!" the filly said.

And the scenery kept passing by them, although the grass and the trees passed by them slower and slower. The murmurs about the smiling changeling outside the window were still there. The smiles on the ponies' faces were mostly gone, and the ponies by the windows looked at those windows again.

Then, there were hoofsteps and buzzes were heard. Muffled voices and muffled shouts. The buzzes and the hoofsteps went this way, they went that way. More muffled yells.

All the ponies looked up at the ceiling. Their eyes looked here, their eyes looked there. Several ponies were trembling. One was biting her hooves rapidly while she looked up.

The buzzes and the hoofsteps loudly went away from that ceiling.

"Oh no!" Then, Bluenote looked away from the ceiling and looked down.

"Oh no!" the filly copied and looked down as well.

The two were frowning.

Cinnamon Chai looked at the two as they now looked at the window, wearing sad faces. She looked away, trembling as well. "Is that how much you really care for those changelings, Bluenote?" she whispered.

The murmurs about the changelings went on. Several ponies looked back up, seeing if the hoofsteps and the buzzes would be back on their ceiling.

The fields of grass stopped. Below was a great drop to the rocky ground. The imposing walls of stone were the cliffs. The green forest that surrounded the cliffs made the Ghastly Gorge look even taller, the trees being like an extension of the cliffs. Cacti, vines, and thorns were abundant in one patch of ground between the cliffs.

A shallow river passed between the cliffs. On the top of the cliffs, one would think the river was a huge creek. The solid, grassless ground surrounded the flowing water.

Islands of rock and stone dotted the river, some of the islands having trees on them.

On a spot on one of the cliffs, dozens of large holes were etched on to the stone. A few red, large reptilian eels went partly out of their holes and looked up with their yellow eyes.

A wooden and metal bridge stood proudly on and above the river and the ground.

On one side of the Ghastly Gorge, a small square wooden building also stood.

On the building's platform, the four changelings stood watching the doors of the train close. The train went on its way through the bridge and on to the other side of the gorge.

Neon Guard threw a few bits on to the ground. "Humerus!"

Humerus flew to him, smiling. "What is it, Neon Guard?"

"What about having to pay the train conductor twice the bits than usual because we went on his train without paying?" Red Noise then walked slowly towards Humerus, having an angry face on him.

Blue Alarm just looked away from the others and sighed.

The breeze of the forest nearby drifted to them. Then, it drifted away.

The leaves of the trees rustled. The sound of the wind was loud.

The sound of the waves of the river below was heard.

"OK, OK, I'm sorry, guys!" Humerus said, holding up his hooves in front of his face.

Neon Guard glared at Humerus. "We only have a fourth of our money left because of you!"

Silence was there for a few moments.

"What would the other changelings think of us?" Neon Guard slowly walked towards the shivering Humerus. "That we're not responsible over what King Thorax gave us? What would King Thorax himself think of what you just did? And what about the ponies that saw everything happen?"

Silence was there again. Humerus did not say anything but shivered on.

"The changeling image to the rest of Equestria is probably in danger because of you!"

The shout echoed through the forest, through the gorge.

"Yeah, Humerus," Red Noise said, standing beside Neon Guard. "It's not good for any of us—not good for the changelings, not good for the ponies, not good for the griffons, even!"

Humerus looked at Neon Guard, then at Red Noise. Then, he turned around and looked at Blue Alarm.

He was standing away from them. He was looking on to the beautiful scenery in front of the changelings.

Blue Alarm sighed.

"At least help me out, Alarm!"

"I think he agrees with us," Neon Guard said, still staring at Humerus with a furious look. "You know him, anyway."

And Blue Alarm looked on at the forest and the gorge and the grass and the blue sky. He did not say anything as well.

Neon Guard pushed Humerus.

Humerus staggered to the platform's edge, almost falling over to the railway below.

Blue Alarm flew to his side. His eyes were arched and his fangs showed.

Neon Guard stopped himself from walking towards Humerus and his protector.

And the four changelings stood there—Humerus near the end of the platform, Neon Guard and Red Noise looking at him from across, and Blue Alarm between the two sides.

"A-ha!"

They looked at the wooden double doors.

Out of the doors was a magnificent and ostentatious wooden wagon covered with purple and yellow, decorated and adorned with many stars and a few crescents. It had two windows covered with white curtains inside. A single glass door framed with a purple frame blasted open to the sound and the explosions of several fireworks.

Humerus then fell over off the platform and onto the railway.

Blue Alarm swooped in and caught Humerus with a hoof. Then, the two floated down back to the timber platform.

The changelings continued to watch the wagon.

The azure unicorn, wearing a purple cape and wizard's hat both ornamented with the images of stars and crescents, walked out of the door, still surrounded by more and more fireworks.

"Ah!" Humerus jumped up and was now flying in the air, looking at the event from above.

The three changelings on the ground stood firmly on the platform, facing and eyeing the unicorn.

"Ready for any attack?"

Blue Alarm and Red Noise nodded at Neon Guard's order.

Humerus nodded slowly.

Neon Guard looked up and just gave Humerus another glare. Then, he looked back at the unicorn.

The unicorn raised her voice and exclaimed, standing on her two hind legs. "Are you ready to witness the majestic and magical magic acts of the Great and Powerful Trixie?"

Even more fireworks appeared, going out to the sky and exploding with loud bangs and booms and somehow not burning any of the trees. Humerus flew out of the fireworks' way, somehow avoiding getting hit by the bursts.

"Wait, you're just a stage pony?" Neon Guard asked, loosening his stance.

The other changelings lowered their guard as well.

"I am not just any stage pony, dear changelings!" The Great and Powerful Trixie paced the floor. "I am the Great and Powerful Trixie!"

And more fireworks appeared and exploded in the air.

Humerus landed on the floor. He was smiling again. Then, he rushed up to the show pony. "I can't believe I didn't give you the respect that you deserve, the Great and Powerful Trixie! Thanks for saving us again, The Great and Powerful Trixie!"

Red Noise smacked his face with a hoof. "It's 'Thanks again for saving us!' not 'Thanks for saving us again!' Humerus."

The unicorn looked up. "Ah, I am flattered!" She placed a hoof over her face. "It is such a great honor to be in my presence, is it not, dear changeling?"

"Sorry, Trixie." Neon Guard glanced around and scatched his head, wearing a grin. "I shouldn't have forgotten that you've been a great hero to us. It wasn't nice to greet you with an attack stance, but we didn't know it was you at first, Trixie."

Trixie waved her cape and looked up again, this time with eyes closed and face facing the sky. "Hmph. Your apology is accepted." She opened her eyes and looked at Neon Guard. "You have a funny hat on you. I assume that you are the leader of these changelings, or at least in charge."

"Uh, yes, Trixie, I am the leader of these changelings."

Red Noise tapped on Neon Guard's shoulder.

"So, what other magical acts can you do, the Great and Powerful Trixie?"

"A-ha!" Trixie smiled. "There are many magical acts that I can do, changeling!"

"Humerus is a good distraction," Red Noise whispered. "But, Neon Guard, shouldn't we get going already?"

Neon Guard sighed. He looked at the happy Humerus as Trixie levitated, with her magic, a stack of cards. "To be honest with you, it's getting harder and harder to get angry at Humerus when he's joyful."

"OK, that's nice, but when are we getting home?"

Neon Guard looked at the bridge crossing the gorge. The sky ahead was blue and clear, almost no clouds in sight. The trees and the forest on the other side promised more peace. The gorge below still had the sounds of the river. The leaves rustled.

"Maybe we can travel the way to Dodge City with Trixie."

Trixie and Dodge City

The sun shone its light and heat onto the tall grass below. Past the forests and beyond the Ghastly Gorge, the grass and the occasional tree filled the ground with a green wonder. The plains went on for many miles and so did the dirth path.

Along the way, a few signs and arrows pointed their way to different directions and to different cities and towns. Several crossroads were there but with almost no one in sight. The only sound that was heard was the chirping of the birds, the breezing of the wind, and the rustle of the grass and of the leaves.

Further down the road, a wagon was slowly wheeling its way forward. A few changelings were walking and flying around it while a unicorn caped with a cape and a pointy hat led the way by walking. The wagon, as if by itself, moved with a radiating glow around it.

"Psst, Neon Guard."

Neon Guard turned around. Red Noise waved a hoof.

"What is it, Red Noise?" he said with an irritated tone.

"Can you explain to me again why we agreed to walk with—" He held up two hooves and made hoofquotes with them as he went on "—'the Great and Powerful Trixie' along with her bulky wagon when we can just fly?"

Neon Guard looked ahead. "One, I need to keep all of you happy, and Humerus...you know about him, so I won't tell anymore. Second, it's Trixie. As an honorary hero of the Changeling Kingdom, she cannot just be left out in the open when we changelings are already there. That's tantamount to outright disrespect of a hero."

And he looked at the other changelings and Trixie as they continued walking.

The two changelings smiled as Trixie pulled a rabbit out of her hat which she was holding with her hoof. Blue Alarm smiled at the act. Humerus gasped, placed two hooves on his face, and simply said, "Wow! That's great magic you have with you, the Great and Powerful Trixie!"

Trixie laughed smugly and turned her head towards the two. "You were amazed by that? That is mere foal's play compared to the wonders of Trixie's magical repertoire of tricks! The rabbit-out-of-a-hat trick is a basic lesson to those who practice magical tricks—and I do not just practice, for I am a professional!"

The shout went out through the plains.

"Do you want to see something more advanced, more complex, more amazing and more fitting for the Great and Powerful Trixie?"

Humerus nodded and smiled.

"So, what else can you do, Trixie?" Blue Alarm asked.

Trixie looked someplace. She pointed to that place with a hoof. "Do you see that sign over there, changelings?"

The changelings looked.

A wooden, rectangular sign stood on two posts. An arrow faced the path ahead.

"Read the words on the sign, one of you."

"'Dodge City/Dodge Junction only one-and-a-half mile ahead!'" Humerus yelled.

"Finally, we're near a stop!" Red Noise shouted.

Trixie looked at him. "Yes we are indeed near a stop, changeling!" She gestured once more to the sign. "So, behold and witness the transfiguration of this sign into a delicious feast!"

Her horn glowed.

A great light appeared, engulfing the sign. When the light disappeared after a short moment, it was now baskets and baskets filled with apples of red and green, of big and small.

Humerus flew straight to the basketful of apples.

"Humerus!" Blue Alarm shouted as he flew right after the flying changeling.

Red Noise took off with his wings.

Neon Guard grabbed one of those wings.

"Come on, Neon Guard!" he yelled. "Can't you see that Humerus is going to cause us trouble again?"

Neon Guard sighed and shook his head facing the cheery Humerus and worried Blue Alarm, looking past the smiling Trixie. "It's hard for me to stay calm, considering everything that's been happening to us because of Humerus, but..." He looked at Humerus again.

He was grabbing apples and was eating them. "They're even real apples! And the taste! It's unlike any taste I've ever tasted—and I only began tasting food the day before!"

Blue Alarm eyed an apple nervously. He looked at the feasting Humerus, happily eating noisily with his mouth open and his eyes closed, stuffing himself with even more apples by the hoofful. Blue Alarm eyed the apple in front of him again. He flew a little far away from the basketfuls, now standing on his own with the apple on his hoof.

"So, the apples taste real, that's what Humerus says. They must be real apples, but apples made out of wood? I'm not sure I'm willing to try that. Will wood be in my stomach? Timber in my stomach? I'll probably get sick from that, unless what Trixie did is actually real." He considered the apple again, examining it with his eyes, then with the touch of his hoof, then with smell. His eyes opened more. His blank expression became a smile, but he looked back at Humerus—he was still eating more and more apples, although the baskets themselves were far from even half full.

Then, Blue Alarm closed his eyes and took a crunchy bite.

The loud blare and the forceful explosion from the bright light beside him pushed him away, bringing the changeling and the apple to a short tumble through the grass. He went back on his hooves fast.

Trixie was there, smiling and facing the sky, the cape flowing with the wind. She slowly turned her head towards him. Then, she shouted, "The trick was of the highest and utmost quality and of the greatest, grandest grandeur that matches the skill of of the Great and Powerful Trixie!"

Blue Alarm coughed one cough.

Trixie's smile went away.

Blue Alarm grinned and clapped, not saying a word.

"And, fear not a single thing, changeling! The apples are indeed apples, not illusions of any sort like a normal, run-of-the-mill stage pony would have in her array of magical tricks and acts and other things!"

Then, Blue Alarm floated off the ground—but his wings weren't moving, nor was there any buzzing sound.

"What's the use of flapping those wings of yours when you have me, the Great and Powerful Trixie to levitate you to safety?" Her horn was glowing.

Blue Alarm looked at the apple left on the ground. From his place in the air, he looked back at the unicorn. "But I wasn't in any danger, Trixie."

Trixie narrowed her eyes. "What about...timberwolves?"

Dark clouds appeared above her and thundered.

"Ahh!" And Humerus fled away from the apples and to the safety of the wagon.

"Hey, Trixie!" Red Noise shouted beside the wagon. "There are almost no trees here! I don't think we're in any danger of timberwolves!"

Neon Guard nudged him. He leaned to his ear to whisper, "I don't think that's a good idea."

Almost instantly after that, Trixie shot a glance at the red changeling.

Then, she disappeared in a great light.

The great light reappeared right in front of Red Noise.

Red Noise stepped back a few steps.

Trixie, fuming with anger that can be shown on her expressive face, was staring at him. "You dare dishonor the Great and Powerful Trixie in that manner?!"

Red Noise laughed in front of her. "Come on, the Great and Powerful Trixie, you're making yourself look like a foal by saying that timberwolves might attack us—in a place that has the next tree in another hundred meters!"

He and the rest of the changelings were lifted up from the ground, surrounded by a magical bubble. Trixie's horn glowed brightly, and her face shone with anger seen in her eyes and in her gritted teeth while she pointed a hoof at the red changeling levitating and struggling in front of her. "You have dared question the wisdom of the Great and Powerful Trixie? Do you know the pony that you have insulted with your mindless words?"

Through groans, he said, "Of course, I know the pony's name—it's Trixie!" He laughed as he strived to get out.

Neon Guard and Humerus were also trying to get out, pushing the bubble's walls to no avail. Blue Alarm only looked here and there, trying to see something.

Trixie gasped.

Then, the bubbles went away. The changelings almost fell to the ground, but they flapped their wings and hovered off the ground.

Humerus was trembling. Red Noise grumbled as he glared at Trixie. Neon Guard and Blue Alarm just watched the unicorn as she held a hoof to her chin. There was no smile on her face—her mouth was open, her eyes were watery.

Then, a quick swipe over her eyes and a smile appeared again—and her hat floated off her hoof. "That was a quick display of more of my magical power for I am the Great and Powerful Trixie!" Then, she took a bow with her eyes closed.

Humerus stomped his feet happily, smiling as he did so.

The four changelings and the one unicorn went on, trudging along with the blue and purple wagon.

As they went on, the grass got shorter and the trees became more occasional until there was no more grass, there were no more trees, and there was only a shallow depth of sand and an abundance of orange and red rocks and stones.

The dirt path continued on for a short while.

Then, in the distance, there were wooden buildings and a railway.

Inside Dodge Junction, there were stores and houses of all colors—from the brown and yellow that matched the land around it to even a pink building. There was not much with roads—not even dirt roads. There was only the dirt, the sand, and the ground that stood between the structures. Off in the distance, an oasis of grass beamed along with the red barn the rested on top of it. Near the barn, a silo with the image of cherries stood. Green and pink trees thrived in the desert grass, some of them already bearing cherries of several varieties.

Back at the town proper, ponies, most of them wearing hats or other forms of headwear, were walking, some of them pulling or pushing carts of apples, cherries, hay, barrels, among other things. Although many of them did not talk, there were some that talked although the talk that did last only lasted for a short time. After that, it was back to going to this place or carrying that cargo to that other place or doing an errand for somepony.

Then, the sound of explosions and firecrackers rang through the town.

Everypony looked at the wagon in front of the railroad.

"Changelings?!" a pony shouted. "With a magician unicorn?!"

Trixie smiled.

The four changelings flew to stand beside the bewildered ponies, eyes wide open at the sudden changelings and then back at the unicorn in front of them, surrounded with even more fireworks.

Amidst the bangs of the bursts, Trixie declared, "Prepare to be entertained and mesmerized by the excellent and celebrated magic acts of the Great and Powerful Trixie!"

The sound of the words went out with an echo, shaking the ground and making some apples fall off somepony's cart. The somepony glared at Trixie, but she was facing the sky while she smiled, more fireworks flying to the air and exploding, adding to Trixie's shout.

Humerus grinned.

The pony beside him, wearing a cowboy hat, glanced at the cheery Humerus. He looked past him at his three fellow changelings who looked back at the pony.

He pointed at Humerus. "Uh, is he OK?"

"That's normal for him," Blue Alarm said, waving a hoof.

He nodded, still looking at Humerus. "OK, I see..."

"What, do you think we're crazy?" Red Noise said, inching towards him fast.

The pony held up his hooves, "No, no! I don't think you're crazy at all!" He glanced to the left and then to the right then back at the red changeling in front of him.

"Just stay quiet and watch the show," Neon Guard said.

And, among the several ponies that surrounded them, the changelings watched as Trixie began her performance. There were ponies on the ground, on the platforms of some of the buildings, from behind the windows—they all held their gaze on this unicorn with a cape and a pointy hat.

"So, what do you want to see?" Trixie paced the ground, eyeing certain ponies. "I'm willing to take requests from you, pony folk!"

Then, she pointed at a pony. She narrowed her eyes at him. "You!"

There were loud gasps and loud murmurs. The pony in question pointed a hoof at himself. "Me?"

"Yes, you!" Trixie exclaimed. Fireworks decorated the exclamation. "Come here!"

The pony gulped and trotted hurriedly to the stage, making a few dust clouds on the way. Several ponies coughed. A few more ponies wiped their faces with a hoof.

Red Noise tapped Neon Guard on the shoulder again. "I know that it's good to see Trixie perform and I know that she's an honorary hero, but can we please get to the Changeling Kingdom already? It's almost noon!" He pointed to the sun.

Neon Guard frowned. He glanced at Trixie. He looked back at Red Noise.

"Do you really want to get to the kingdom—"

"Of course!"

The ponies shushed him. Then, they looked back at the stage mare and the pony beside her.

"What's inside the bag you have there?" Trixie asked. She pointed at the bag on his side.

"It's my things, Trixie!" the pony said, smiling, watching the ponies watching him. "I have my bits, my apples and cherries—"

"Cherries?" Trixie interrupted. She held a hoof to her chin and tapped her chin with it. "Would you mind holding one cherry on your hoof for the Great and Powerful Trixie—" Fireworks once again appeared and exploded, startling the audience, making some of them step back and gasp "—to see." She held out a hoof and looked at the pony.

"Oh, OK!"

So, he opened the bag with his mouth and brought a single cherry. Slowly and gently placing it on a hoof, he held it out for everypony and every changeling to behold.

"Now, give the cherry to me."

So, he dropped the cherry on to her hoof.

"Hmph." Trixie looked at the cherry. She examined it, eyeing it.

There were whispers and questions in whispers among the ponies there.

Humerus was grinning, happily stomping the ground, creating more clouds of dust. Neon Guard nudged him. Humerus looked at him—then, he stopped stomping and looked back at Trixie, still smiling.

"What I have done was just superficial," Trixie declared. "You don't need to look at the cherry like that when you can transform it to—"

And a bright light shone from the cherry. And instantly a stage coach appeared in its place. Trixie tumbled but caught herself with her magic and the stage coach stopped falling—it levitated off the dusty and sandy desert ground.

"Don't try to eat it, ponies. This stage coach is not made of cherry." Trixie smiled once again at the ponies.

Then the audience of ponies—and Humerus—stomped their hooves and yelled out cheers, some even shouting the unicorn's name. The pony beside her also stomped his hooves and smiled.

The dust clouds that were made weren't that bad—they weren't so big, they weren't so dusty, and not many ponies coughed afterwards.

When the dust cleared, there was a pony asking "Where are the changelings?"

"Did Trixie make them gone?" another pony asked.

And, the ponies looked around them and walked a little, searching from where they stood. A loud murmur arose. They were now looking here and there, although they did not move much away from their places.

"Don't worry, ponies of Dodge Junction!" Trixie shouted. "I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, have made them disappear in yet another great and wonderful act of magic!"

The ponies stopped their search and faced Trixie. Then, they cheered on even more although not as much as the first time—it wasn't as loud as before.

Then, a green changeling flew towards her.

There were gasps again.

"The changeling's back!" a voice cried out.

Trixie faced the changeling and screamed. "I thought you were gone!"

"No, we're just asking for permission to leave early. Neon Guard said so." He smiled, showing his sharp fangs. His eyes glistened in the sunlight.

"Uh, that's OK." She glanced at the ponies then she faced the changeling again. "The Great and Powerful Trixie gives you permission to leave the show early!"

"Thank you for the permission, the Great and Powerful Trixie!"

Then, the changeling went down onto the ground and bowed down to her with closed eyes.

Trixie glanced at the audience. She turned towards the changeling.

A smile appeared on her face. "You're that happy about me, huh, changeling?" She paused. "I didn't even get to know your name."

"My name's Humerus!" He beamed a smile at the unicorn.

"Aww!"

Trixie saw the audience, smiling at the sight and sound of the changeling in front of her.

"Bye, Trixie!" Then, Humerus flew off to the distance.

The Rest of the Day

In the barren wastelands, there were almost no plants. The plants that were there were dry, yellow with almost no green. The craggy rocks and stones were many, making the ground rough and uneven. There were no rivers, no waterfalls, no lakes—no source of water was to be found in this place.

And yet, the noise of a thriving city, a thriving kingdom, blasted continuously to the uninhabited ground around it, showing to all who looked upon it that, yes, living things can live here, a society can be built here, a culture can be established here, a history can be written and written again on this lifeless location in Equestria. The tall spire that was the kingdom's center rose to the sky, a beacon of civilization in the lands of hostility and heat, a testament of life to a lifeless desert, a monument of friendship where it once stood as a statue of evil and deception.

In and out flew changelings of various colors and sizes, talking to each other with voices of happiness, many smiling, some wearing blank faces, others sad, a few angry—the emotions of a normal society. Sacks and bags and containers of fabric and metal were flown in, being carried by stronger changelings on their backs and with their hooves as they transported it to safer warehouses that stood tall with huge walls and a huge roof.

And, like all the buildings there, the warehouses had the changing holes of changeling architecture. Some were already expanding or contracting. The entrances and exits today wouldn't be the entrances and exits tomorrow.

The walls slowly changed, one side growing taller and another shrinking. Despite the chaos, the changelings walked and flew on without looking at these things—they went in and they went out without minding.

Many lots of barren ground remained, surrounded by rocky and cemented roads. However, on these lots, already there were scaffolds and frameworks of a house or store. Changelings wearing hard hats and bright construction uniforms were flying around, carrying buckets of paints and metal tools. The sounds of smacks and power tools filled the air along with the chatter of many changelings as they passed by the lots.

On the open field of grass, a few changelings played—or rather, they tried to play.

One changeling was holding a softball.

"I've been reading a lot about buckball," the changeling said to the several in front of him. "I think I finally got it!"

"So, what do we need?" a female changeling asked.

"We need two buckets. Or baskets, I'm not sure. Made out of wood." He placed a hoof on his head, scratching his head.

"Three members per team, right?" another changeling asked.

"Yeah, yeah!" the first changeling said, nodding his head fast. "That's the number we're supposed to be looking for!" Looking fast at some other changeling, he asked him, "Do you remember the rules?"

"What?! I thought you were supposed to remember the rules!"

The changeling held the softball with both of his front hooves. "I think we have a rulebook somewhere. I ordered one from Ponyville the other day. They're supposed to be coming here, now."

The other changeling shot a glance at him. "I don't think we need a rulebook. I also read a lot about buckball, and unlike you, I watched some ponies play buckball last week—the Appleoosa team was playing so great!"

The first changeling smiled and arched his eyes at him. "So, what are the first few rules of buckball?"

"Uh..." The changeling tapped his chin with a hoof.

"Hah!" He pointed at him. "You really didn't watch ponies play buckball, did you?!"

"Come on, come on, I give up!" The changeling held up his hooves. "OK, I didn't watch ponies play buckball, but that's OK!"

The rest of the changelings there faced him. "Why do you think it's OK? Every changeling here wants to watch at least one buckball game!"

"Like you said, you read a lot about buckball, didn't you?"

The changeling holding the softball looked away, grumbling. "I know a lot about buckball!"

"Then, what's the first few rules of buckball?"

There was silence as he looked away from the small crowd.

Inside one of the warehouses, the green lights above shone their soft light onto the floor below. Tall shelves and stacks of boxes and unorganized items of different kinds—canned foods, bars of steel and gold and silver and other precious metals, electric appliances—gave the room a sense of grandness. To the ceilings the shelves and stacks went, towering above the many changelings that were moving in things and moving out other things, creating either a harmony or a cacophony of buzzes as they flew.

In the warehouse and through an open hole, a few changelings dropped a sack to the floor. Several pillows spilled to the floor.

"Hey, what's this?" one of the changelings asked.

"They said it's something called a 'pillow,'" another changeling replied.

"Well, it doesn't look edible or anything of the sort."

The other changeling chuckled. "I'll try."

He grabbed one of the pillows and took a bite.

"Anything?"

He hoofed the pillow away. "It doesn't taste like food, so it's not food."

"But, if it's not food, then what is it?" The changeling grabbed another pillow and examined it, turning it around. "Does it have any wires inside?" He shook the pillow. No sound. "I guess there's no wires."

"Wires don't make a sound!"

He grabbed the pillow from the first changeling. "At least we know it's not a metal!"

"What about we ask the leader of the warehouse?"

The other changeling looked at him. "That's a good idea."

Between the tall shelves they flew. Passing by many boxes and sacks, they flew by other changelings en route to their items or already carrying other items.

Flying over all the changelings below was a green changeling wearing a yellow visor. His face was stiff, eyeing all that flew and carried.

Amidst all the sounds of buzzes, there was a sound coming closer and becoming louder.

He turned his way to the sound.

Two changelings were flying to him. One was holding a pillow on his hoof.

"What is it now?" the visored changeling asked.

"Uh, Major Novelty, we found this thing in our sack." The changeling held out a hoof with the pillow. "What's this?"

"It's a pillow." Major Novelty kept looking at the pillow. "It's for sleeping."

"So, what do you do with a pillow?"

Major Novelty sighed. "You place your head on it when you lie down to sleep. It's that simple."

"So, we bought tons of pillows?"

"Ordered tons of pillows. We need to keep every changeling here happy by sleeping well."

"But we've slept for centuries without pillows and we've slept really fine with the beds we have."

Major Novelty laughed. "That's only because that was the only bed we've known. The ponies' beds—now that's something to sleep on!"

"But I don't like soft beds."

"Hmph." Major Novelty glared at the two changelings. "Then, that's your problem. Deal with it. Now place these pillows in the living department. OK?"

The two changelings saluted. "OK, sir!" they shouted.

Then, they flew away, the pillow still held with a hoof.

The sun was now an orange-yellow in the yellow sky. It was still a good distance away from being covered by the mountains, but it was indeed sunset. The yellow rays of the sun beamed to the shining city, the shining Changeling Kingdom.

The eyes of the changelings glistened in the sunlight, the reflections sparkling as they flew about and as many settled down on chairs and tables both inside and outside and as the smells of different food wafted through the air from the buildings and from the various sacks being emptied in a few places.

At the foot of the spire, the tower that towered above the Changeling Kingdom, a few more food sacks were being emptied. Out of the sacks were bottles of water and fruit juice, cans with vibrant labels and pictures of food on them with the names of famous brands, and cardboard and plastic containers waiting to be opened—they were labeled with pieces of taped paper saying "Hayburger," "Sandwich," and other kinds of food.

The food and drinks, already organized on the tables with more being carried to them, were in front of long lines of changelings, noisy as they talked to each other. Outside the line, more changelings went in and went out the tower, some going from the line and straight inside as they carried their food.

Neon Guard, followed by the rest of his friends, was next.

Behind the table was a pale blue changeling pushing cans of food and bottles of drinks into a bag. His eyes were half-open.

"Prime Mover, how are you this day?" Neon Guard asked, smiling as he held out a hoof to the changeling in front of him.

"Eh." He gave the bag to Neon Guard and smiled, also. "It's not the worst day, at least. Now, move so the next ones in line can get their dinner quickly."

"So, no chat?"

Prime Mover frowned at him. "Just move or else. We can always talk later."

"Alright, then."

Neon Guard looked at him, still smiling.

"Just move, Neon Guard."

Then, the four changelings flew away.

Inside the great tower, among the many spacious rooms and halls that were never the same everyday, the four changelings, Neon Guard carrying the bag of dinner with his mouth, flew on.

Changelings everywhere were walking and hovering up and down the stairs, going in and going out their rooms through the holes. Amidst the many buzzes of wings, a few snores were already standing out as the four changelings passed by the rooms.

Music of different instruments and of different kinds were heard, dialogues between many different changelings occurred. Several were animated in their talk—they moved their hooves around, making many gestures with them. Others just talked. Some observed and watched a few changelings who were doing something to catch every changelings' attention—some were playing instruments, others were standing on wooden soapboaxes proclaiming to their audience about something, and still others were just going around selling whatever was on their hooves. Bits were passed around and exchanged and given. The sound of coins rattling adorned the sounds of the tower inside. Mixed with the music, the speeches, the talks, and the buzzes of the changelings' wings, the tower was even more noisy than the Changeling Kingdom outside. All this was done under the green lights above them.

The room today had rock bunker beds on the walls. They had pillows.

"Wait, we didn't order any pillows," Red Noise said as they entered their room.

The light turned on.

A single carpet laid there on the floor. One shelf with several books were stacked neatly. A couple of pictures rested on a small table—pictures of Blue Alarm, Red Noise, Humerus, and Neon Guard smiling and grinning. Besides the beds and the light, those were the only things inside.

Neon Guard threw the bag onto the floor.

"Pillows!" Humerus shouted. Then he rushed to the pillows.

"It's not time to sleep, yet," Neon Guard said as he picked up the bag. He threw a can and a bottle at Humerus who was already lying on the bed and gracing the pillow.

Humerus frowned. "The pillow isn't what I thought it was. I thought it would be hard like granite." Then, with a hoof, he threw it out the door.

Blue Alarm looked out the room. A changeling drifted by. The pillow went on, falling. "You're going to hurt someone with that pillow."

"Or at least annoy someone with a pillow that somehow fell from the ceiling," Red Noise added, glaring at Humerus.

Humerus grinned. "I'll just open the can."

He took a bite of the can.

There was a pop.

"Tomato soup and beans!" he yelled. "I can't believe I'm going to have tomato soup and beans for the first time in my life!"

"Everything you ate yesterday and today was the first thing you've tasted in your life, Humerus," Red Noise said, walking to the bag and grabbing his own food and drink.

"Which means that yesterday and today were the best days of my life, guys!" Then, he gulped down the tomato soup and beans. He burped. Then, he threw the can right back to the bag. "OK, can we go and watch Princess Luna raise the moon now? I feel so great from the new food!"

"You haven't even tried that...thing in the bottle." Neon Guard eyed the bottle that Humerus was holding. "What's that, anyway?"

Humerus glanced at it. "It's a bottle of cold apple cider!"

The three changelings turned to see the bottle.

The bottle was plastic. The label was a simple image of a red apple with a green leaf sticking out of it on an orange background. The apple cider inside—it was orange-yellow and had many bubbles inside.

"From Sweet Apple Acres?" Blue Alarm asked.

"Let me check!" Humerus turned the bottle around. "'From Sweet Apple Acres, made with care.'" He grinned.

Red Noise looked at the bag. "Wait, is there any apple cider for us?" He rushed to the bag.

Humerus quickly opened the bottle and gulped down the apple cider. Then, he threw the bottle at the bag.

"Watch where you throw that!" Red Noise shouted.

"It's good!" Humerus yelled. "It's good, it's great, it's fantastic, it's wonderful!" He flew to the air. "It tastes like apples!"

"Because it's apple cider," Neon Guard said as he opened his own can with a bite.

"We need more of that cider and fast!" Humerus flew out of the room. Then, he flew back in. "Maybe not now! I want to see Princess Luna raise the moon first!"

Neon Guard sighed. "Let's finish our dinner first. Blue Alarm and Red Noise haven't even started yet."

Blue Alarm walked to the bag and took a can and a bottle for himself. Then, he walked to the room's hole.

Outside, the bustling movements of the changelings continued on. More music played, more speeches were made, more things were bought in exchange for bits.

"We really fit well," Blue Alarm whispered as he looked out to the society in front of him. Although it was now crowded, this part of the tower was still buzzing with smiles and laughters and chats—all by changelings.

A horde of changelings was flying in unison, hovering in the air. The collective sound of many wings flapping resounded through the barren landscape around them, lit by the sun that shone an orange-yellow light to the ground below. Several lights were already on below, giving off a green glow to the kingdom.

Then, the sun went down. Now, it was hidden by the mountains in the distance.

The sky was no longer bright with a blue or even an orange color.

The shadows grew longer. Then, the shadows were everywhere.

Above, there was a very dark purple. Stars appeared.

More lights turned on.

Then, at the other side of the sky, a full moon rose.

"Woah..." That was all that went out of Humerus's mouth as he stared at the moon.

"Come on, Humerus," Red Noise yelled as he flew up. "It's time to report to King Thorax about the letter. We're late."

Humerus hovered there for a second. Then, he followed Red Noise and the others in flight.

The horde dispersed, making for a beautiful sight of changelings going here and there, in all directions. Under the light of the moon, the hard carapaces of the changelings glimmered. On the ground, the Changeling Kingdom and its buildings glowed a green glow of soft light against the vast darkness of the wasteland around it. The chatter continued on under the night sky along with the buzzing of changeling wings.

The throne room had a low ceiling, though the scenery of the kingdom's surroundings were still seen through the wide spaces. A grand lightpiece was hanging from the ceiling. A gem-encrusted throne stood at the center of the circular room but no one was sitting there. King Thorax was just sitting on the floor, gazing off anxiously at the mountains far off. He sighed.

Then, some changelings flew up from below and landed in the room. They kneeled down far away from their king, closing their eyes as they did so.

"You don't have to say 'Hail, King Thorax,' if you were about to do that," Thorax said. He flew towards the changelings still kneeling. "You can stand up now—that's way too much respect, already." He chuckled a little.

The changelings stood up and opened their eyes.

Red Noise held out the letter. "King Thorax—"

"You can just call me Thorax, guys."

"Thorax, we have received your letter telling us about some unexpected things. We're now here to deal with those things."

The four changelings stood silent, watching their king in front of them. He smiled a little and glanced at the side. "Uh, about that—"

"What about it?" Red Noise asked.

"Yes, Thorax, what about?" Neon Guard said.

"Did you really think it was that urgent, guys?"

"Well, you did say that some unexpected things happened while we were gone, so we thought maybe there was a problem—maybe someone got hurt."

"No one got hurt while you were gone," Thorax said. He made a smile. "I'm sorry to make you think that it was an emergency—then again, you didn't go to me the moment you've arrived here..." He rubbed his chin with his hoof. He looked down to the floor and sighed. "Why do I always have to stay in this room a lot of the time I'm here in this kingdom?"

Humerus raised his hoof. "Is that what you wanted us to talk about?" He smiled. "We can help you manage the kingdom!"

"That's not what I meant!" Thorax shouted. He covered his mouth. "Sorry!"

The four changelings kneeled down again.

"No, you don't need to kneel down whenever I say 'Sorry!'"

The four changelings stood up again.

Thorax sighed once more. "Let's get to the point—it's not a physical problem we can fix in a matter of minutes, guys. It's something deeper."

Humerus raised his hoof. "Is it related to the Crystalling? Are we attending it?"

Thorax glared at him. "We're not going there, yet. Besides, we still have a stigma with the Crystal Ponies, you know...with Princess Cadance, Shining Armor, and all."

The changelings stood silent under the ceiling's soft light and the moon's hushed gleam.

"I thought they were alright with you," Humerus said. His eyes were watering. There was a sniff.

"They are alright with me and all of us. The Crystal Empire's guards are alright with it, as well. It's everypony else in the empire that I'm worried about." He looked off to the wasteland. "The Crystal Ponies know what Chrysalis did to Cadance and Shining. But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about."

Neon Guard arched his eyes. "So, what is it, Thorax?"

"Well..." Thorax shifted his eyes to the side. "It's about us changelings."

"We're the problem?" Blue Alarm asked.

Thorax sighed. "Let me explain."

He took a deep breath.

"We're not that cultured."

Blue Alarm cocked his head to the side. "That's it, Thorax?"

"It's simple, but it isn't easy, Blue Alarm." He moved his head towards the edge of the room. "Come with me."

Thorax walked towards the outside. The four changelings followed him.

Then, they stood there, half of their front hooves hanging over the air, the ground and the streets and the lights and the many, many changelings below. They gazed at the brightly lit kingdom which still produced the sounds of many changelings flying.

"What's wrong, Thorax?" Humerus asked, looking at him. "I don't see anything wrong with the Changeling Kingdom."

"On the outside, there's nothing wrong, Humerus." Thorax looked at down at the landscape. "We just need some more supplies and bits from the rest of Equestria and we'll be a self-sustaining kingdom in a short time. However, that's only for keeping the kingdom alive. What about making the kingdom a living place, not just existing here?" He paused. "I mean, look—when I went to Canterlot, I saw that everything looked really fancy and elegant there. I thought that it was like that because, well, it was the capital of Equestria and the seat of the two Princesses. However, I then went inside the buildings and saw that the ponies had something we don't—a culture." He paused again, looking at each of the changelings for a few seconds before looking at the next one. Then, he gazed at the lights above. "What do ponies have that we don't? Books, music, art, games, literature, theater, other things a culture must have. The books, music, art, games, literature, and theater we do have is all borrowed from the ponies—none of it is ours, none of it was made by changelings." He sighed and took a hoof to his head.

Blue Alarm patted Thorax on the back.

The others recoiled a little. "Blue Alarm? Are you sure?" Neon Guard said.

"Like I said before, guys, I don't like having to follow all those royalty manners. I didn't even want to be king in the first place, and yet, here I am." Thorax smiled. "At least I can try my best to lead you all, but..."

He looked back at the night sky and its landscape.

They stared at him. Not a word was said for a while.

"But, what?" Red Noise finally asked.

Neon Guard turned around. "Just think about it: Equestria has ponies, griffons, breezies, dragons, diamond dogs, a few that maybe I've forgotten, and changelings. Who's the odd one out? Don't even answer that one—we changelings stand out because we don't have a culture. Even diamond dogs have some traditions and some songs. Changelings?" He sighed again, looking away. "The changelings must stand out somehow. I don't want us to be remembered as evil savages who have no taste at all but just somehow survive anyway. I want changelings to be known so we can have changeling artists, changeling philosophers, changeling writers, changeling playwrights, changeling celebrities and popstars even!" He hovered off the ground. There was a cheery smile on his face. "That would be great for the Changeling Kingdom, wouldn't it, guys?"

The four changelings looked at him awkwardly.

"Come on, it's alright to express your joy even if you're the king of a kingdom!" Then, he flew around the room, laughing.

They laughed, too, and went off the ground.

"But, getting back to the point—" Thorax went down to the ground.

The others went back down as well.

"Getting back to the point, it's not something I want just you guys to do. It's something I want everyone to join in."

"What if there's a group that doesn't want culture?" Blue Alarm asked.

Thorax waved a hoof. "I only think a few of us wouldn't want to be proud that we'll make pieces of culture on our own. Who wouldn't want to see a changeling book or hear a changeling song or smell and eat changeling cuisine?"

Humerus loudly licked his lips.

The changelings laughed.

"So, that's it?" Neon Guard asked.

"We'll start within the week. Oh, I almost forgot!" He faced the four changelings. "How was your break at Canterlot?"

"Great food!" Humerus yelled, showing off a grin. "Great water! Great drinks! Great hotels! Great Princesses! Great ponies! Great Wonderbolts! Great Ponyville! Great Element of Harmony! Great everything! Even the chess game with Starlight Glimmer was great!"

Thorax eyed Humerus. "You guys met Starlight Glimmer? Wait, you went to Ponyville?"

"All Pinkie's fault," Red Noise said.

"Let me guess—party."

"How did you know, Thorax?"

"Let's say a pink mare wrote a letter to me." Thorax smiled.

Humerus grinned.

"But, there are others wanting to meet me here and I don't want them to see me as rude or anything."

"We understand, Thorax," Neon Guard said.

Then, they bowed down to their king.

"I already said you don't need to do that all the time."

"But it's alright!" Humerus said. "We like bowing down to you! You're kind and all!"

Thorax glanced and looked left and right and back at the changelings bowing down to him. "Uh, thanks, guys, for calling me kind." He grinned. "It's nice to know that I'm actually kind."

Then, the four changelings flew off into the night sky.

Thorax looked around him. The room was circular and the throne was in its place. The light was still there. He travelled outside and went flew to the ground below.

Greeted with the hails of "Hail, King Thorax!" by many voices, he nodded here and there at the dozens of changelings that smiled at him, their eyes and their wings gleaming under both the moonlight and the kingdom's green lights. As he flew across the streets and across the field of grass, he eyed the building in front of him. He went inside.

The interior of the building was cold but not too cold—none of the changelings there were shivering. A few changelings were behind the counter. Shelves of yellow paint, matching the yellow and orange floors and walls, carried canned foods, bottled drinks, wrapped sweets and other items. A few bundles of newspapers laid on a white table, with a humble sign proclaiming to any changeling that came inside that the price for one newspaper was one bit. Seated at the simple yellow tables were changelings talking and eating and laughing. They were all under a bright green and yellow lights.

The cashier changelings bowed down. "Hail, King Thorax!" They said in unison.

"Hail, King Thorax!" the rest of the changelings exclaimed.

"It's great and it's an honor to have you come in the Changeling Convenience Store!"

Thorax smiled again.

A Lovely Visit

As the morning sun shone from its sky, the noise of shouts and yells and hammers and power tools was heard by many. Fresh railroads were placed down onto the grass—the railroad itself already stretched for miles and miles through the barren desert, even through the green forests before it. In front of the working changelings, there was a wooden building that emanated the awful yet fragrant smell of new paint.

"Changelings, work up the pace!" the forechangeling bellowed. He fixed his sleek black top hat as he glared at the workers under him. "Do you even know who's coming here this very moment?"

A few of them turned to look at him, shivering.

"We're already behind schedule!"

"We don't even have a schedule!" a changeling dared complain.

The forechangeling stomped a hoof onto the ground. "Just keep working!"

The changeling quickly went back to placing pieces of railroad down to the ground.

A sound deafened the changelings.

They covered their ears.

In the distance, a white-blue crystal carriage shone reflections of sunlight. It shrilled a train whistle that blared through the land and the kingdom. Out of the carriage's chimney, opaque pink smoke flew its way out into the sky. The train wheeled on at great speed.

"Quick!" the forechangeling yelled. "The Princess and the Prince are almost here!"

The changelings then dashed to their work, working at double speed as the railroads were placed onto the ground and then nailed in and then the next piece of railroad was placed onto the ground and then nailed to the ground like the previous piece and the cycle repeated. There were huffs, there were wipings of sweat off their faces. Under the morning sun, all this happened.

The train was closer.

The train whistle shrilled again that whistle.

The changelings recoiled at the sound but went on with the railway work.

"Faster, everyone!"

More railroads were placed. More nails were hammered in.

"OK, that's enough, place in the stopper!"

The forechangeling pointed at one of the workers holding a few barrels on his back.

That changeling flew and dropped the barrels in front of the last piece of railroad.

Then, the train whistled one last time.

Every changeling covered their ears again.

The train then slowed down to a stop.

King Thorax flew in and landed on to the railroad station.

"King Thorax, the paint's still wet!"

"Wait, what—"

"Hail, King Thorax!" Then, every changeling that was there kneeled down to their king.

Thorax grinned. "Uh, thanks, but..." He lifted a hoof. It was now covered in white paint. The platform below now looked uneven in paint. "How do I remove this?" He hovered off the painted surface.

"King Thorax, I have a bucket of water!"

Then, a changeling threw the water at him.

The paint soaked off Thorax—and off some of the building.

"Argh!" The forechangeling pressed his head with his hooves. "Do you know how much effort was placed into painting the train station?!" He glared at the changeling with the bucket of water. "Now, what?!"

"OK, everyone stay calm!" Thorax said. He held out a hoof to the changelings around him. "Let's just be our best at being polite and kind to the royals of the Crystal Empire, alright?"

"Yes, King Thorax." Then, the changelings bowed down again.

Thorax sighed.

The rest of the train had diamond-shaped windows and had a bluer theme to its carriages—there were subtle reds, subtle pinks, and more blues to the colors. The front carriage had sharp, rough crystals as its bumper. Alongside the side windows, there was the front window which was rectangular.

Out of one of the doors of the carriages, a few ponies walked out, all of them holding trumpets bearing a pink banner that had the image of a blue, crystal heart and golden decorations. The ponies glimmered under the sunlight—their sloped coats and manes and tails reflected the light like a crystal would. Even their eyes were different—the twinkles in their eyes weren't round but had several sides.

Thorax took a deep breath.

The ponies blew the trumpets. Out of the instruments came a glorious and triumphant sound of brass. Then, they stepped aside.

Another Crystal Pony rolled out a red carpet.

"Wait, the paint's still wet!" Thorax cried out.

The pony holding the carpet stared at the carpet on the floor. He rolled it back and looked sheepishly at Thorax. "Uh, we'll do the grand entrance at the other side of the carriage, shall we?"

Thorax nodded. "It's alright."

The pony smiled.

Then, the rest of the Crystal Ponies hurried back inside and the door closed.

"Hm, how come they don't have paint on their hooves." Then, Thorax flew his way to the other side of the train.

Many of the changelings grinned as some of them sat on the grass, others stood on the grass, still others hovered above the grass.

Then, the Crystal Ponies went out with their trumpets and sounded the brass melody again. The Crystal Ponies stepped aside and a red carpet already tainted with marks of white paint rolled out to the grassy ground.

A few guards, some of them Crystal Ponies, flew out of the door and stood firmly beside the carpet. One of them, with a light orange coat, stood also among them.

"Behold, her highness and his highness, Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor of the Crystal Empire!" the light orange guard yelled.

And the changelings cheered when the stately royalty walked out of the train carriage—a pink alicorn and a white unicorn wearing noble clothes of red and purple and blue and yellow. The changelings kept on cheering for the couple when they opened their mouths wide, looking and beholding the sight of so many changelings applauding their former conquerors and vanquishers, looking and beholding the several buildings that were already there that showed to them that the promise of reconstruction was already being fulfilled, looking and beholding the tall rocky tower that went up to the sky, hearing again the cheers and the applause of the changelings there.

"Is that the baby?" a changeling asked out loud.

The alicorn foal cooed from the grip of Shining Armor.

"Isn't it a lovely place, Princess Cadance?" Thorax asked.

Cadance looked at him. "It's lovely, considering the circumstances that it had to go through."

Shining Armor still gawked at the many changelings there that were happy and joyful.

"Uh, Prince Shining Armor, are you OK?" Thorax said.

"No, Thorax, um, I'm fine!" He grinned. "It's just...unusual to see a lot of your citizens being happy at our visit. We're not here for diplomatic missions or anything—just some more good time with my wife somewhere else." He hugged her closer, still hugging the baby with one hoof. "So, what restaurants do you have here? Any special and fancy place to eat out with the candelight and all?" He grinned.

"It's noon, Prince Shining Armor."

The unicorn looked up at the sky. "Oh, I see." He still grinned. "Well, we'll just announce to your changelings that we're here just to visit and relax—nothing too serious, so they don't have to act all formal. Not too much trouble, right, Thorax?"

Thorax grinned. "Yeah, not too much trouble." He chuckled a little.

The Prince and the Princess of the Crystal Empire also chuckled a little, rather awkwardly, shifting their eyes to the left and to the right.

The Changeling Convenience Store, in all its yellow and orange cold, had changelings clamoring up to it. There were so many smiles, so many cheers—the noise penetrated the walls and the holes. Inside, Princess Cadance levitated her hayburger with her magic. The baby alicorn, Flurry Heart, cooed out while she looked around. Shining Armor also looked around, staring at the nice little place with its cheery cashiers behind the counter and the shelves that were close together. He looked across the table. "Uh, Thorax, when we meant any special and fancy place to eat out, is this your idea of a special and fancy place to eat out?"

"Yeah, it has the best food that we got!" Thorax grinned even wider.

"Yeah..." Shining Armor looked out the locked glass doors guarded by both pony and changeling guards, staving off a mass of changelings swarming at the entrance. "I understand if the Changeling Kingdom is still under intensive reconstruction efforts—everypony else seems to be hungry at this time of day, right?" He looked at Princess Cadance.

She smiled at him. "Are you alright, Shining?"

"Ah, yes, my dear!" He grinned at her and placed a hoof on the table, still holding Flurry Heart with another hoof. "What makes you think that I'm not alright?"

Princess Cadance gave him a strict glare. "I'll get straight to the point—you're acting very strangely today. We both agreed to spend some time together to relax from our duties, and we chose this place because we want to get more friendly to the changelings, didn't we?"

Shining Armor glanced at Thorax then at the mob of changelings right outside. He looked at Flurry Heart who looked back at him, smiling at him. He looked back at his wife. "Uh, yes, we agreed, but..."

"But, what, Shining?" She arched her eyebrows. "Is there something wrong? For example, with the changelings?"

Shining Armor grinned again. "It's something like that, but not exactly like that—"

"You're uncomfortable with the changelings, aren't you, Shining?"

Thorax looked at the white unicorn. "Uh, you don't need to pay for the food here, Prince Shining Armor. It's all free!" He smiled awkwardly.

Princess Cadance shook her head and sighed. "It's only been five minutes in the Changeling Kingdom and my husband's already acting strange because he's around creatures he's not OK with." She looked at his distraught face. "Is that true?"

Shining kept his grin on his face. He nudged Thorax. "Come on, Thorax!" He coughed. "I mean, sorry, King Thorax! There's nothing wrong with the Changeling Kingdom's relation with the Crystal Empire, so take it easy...?" Then, he sighed and looked down at the floor.

Flurry Heart still smiled as the baby looked at her dad.

Shining Armor stuttered, holding up a hoof to his mouth. He glanced at Thorax. "Now, OK, Thorax, it's nothing that horrible, just take it easy!" He smiled nervously at the changeling king.

Cadance raised her voice and glowered at him. "Shining!"

The cashiers gasped, though they did not say a word.

Shining Armor looked at his wife, with mouth open and eyes open wide, trying to say something but not a word came out.

Thorax looked at the couple, shivering nervously inside.

Flurry Heart still smiled through it all.

At the slanted balcony, one would see all of the Changeling Kingdom in front and all the beautiful wastes that surrounded the civilized city. The morning sun shone its bright light upon the couple as they stood, Cadance now holding the baby alicorn. Thorax stood a little distance away from the two, staying under the shade of the rocky, stony ceiling.

As the two talked over there, Thorax was shivering slightly. He tried to hear the sounds of the many changelings below—only a few buzzes were found. The chats and the talks that, combined, resonated to the tower were now almost silent, almost a whisper.

This is not good, Thorax thought. Shining Armor allergic to changelings? No, not allergic—ashamed of us? I thought we were friends. I mean, we got changed into good creatures that don't steal love from you! We now share love and we don't need to disguise ourselves and deceive others to get what we need from you! A tear welled up on one of his eyes. He sniffed quietly.

Is it that we're still changelings?

He sighed.

I don't want to shout at them. That will cause them to panic...

The words that were in front of him were now just sounds. He placed a hoof to his head and looked outside.

The night before
Under the stars and the moon of the dark night sky, the Crystal Empire gleamed and twinkled. The buildings were polygonical and of many sides, the grass was very green, the road was sparkling clean and even shiny, and the Crytal Tower, at the center of the Empire, stood tall on its four legs, having huge white-blue crystals strut out from it, reaching out to the air. Two spires sided a great tower that went up even further. Two tall windows of a blue diamond-checkerboard deseign stood tall beside a golden balcony. Under that balcony was an image of a pink heart.

On the balcony, one could see the many buildings that stretched out to as far as the roads went—which wasn't really that far, but it was still a nice clean place to live in. Beyond the grass, there were the rocky and snowy mountains that surrounded the Crystal Empire, tall and imposing, being natural walls.

A crystal statue of a baby dragon holding a heart made out of crystal stood at one intersection.

Several Crystal Ponies walked on the streets, under the glow of the bright blue streethlights that were made out of crystal.

Two ponies stood on the balcony, looking at the grand empire in front of them.

"So, Cadance, have you decided on where to go tomorrow?" Shining asked, smiling. "We could go to Manehattan—there's lots of places to spend time together there!"

Cadance chuckled. "We'd get mobbed there, Shining, considering all the florists there who'd do anything to sell us flowers."

Shining chuckled, too. "Don't worry. Don't you remember that I'm proficient in defensive magic? I can use a magic shield to protect you from the attacking florists."

Cadance smiled. "I don't want to go to such a noisy place. The streets are croweded, the ponies are talkative, and there's way too much activity."

"Well, what's your suggestion, then?"

Cadance tapped her chin with a hoof. "Not Ponyville, since apparently, I can't spend some time near Twilight without going into some form of trouble. Not Canterlot, since we just went there last week. What about Appleloosa?"

"Appleloosa?!" Shining opened his eyes wide. "What are we going to do there?"

"Just kidding for now." She grinned. "Hey, what about we go to the Changeling Kingdom?"

Shining's eyes opened wide again. "Wait, the Changeling Kingdom?"

Cadance nodded. "The one and only."

Shining laughed nervously, scratching his mane. "But, we haven't been there before! Maybe Flurry Heart might get sick over there since the air is different there! Yeah, the smells!" He glanced anxiously behind him. "She's going to cry a lot there and I'm sure that will annoy every changeling there...heh!" Shining grinned at her.

"If it smells bad there, we'll just tell them—besides, Thorax really wants the Changeling Kingdom to have a good image in Equestria. The moment he sees our notice, he will make sure not to make us annoyed there." She frowned. "Although, I think he might be making too sure about not annoying us. That might cause a problem, too. But, we're going to the Changeling Kingdom, anyway."

"Uh, what about Cloudsdale?"

Cadance laughed. "I know that it's the first trip to the Changeling Kingdom, Shining, but you don't have to act like a foal!" She laughed again. "I can't believe it—my husband, Prince Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard, is also afraid to go to a new place like a foal! Wait until everypony hears that!"

Shining laughed along with her, although nervously and while glancing away from her.

"And, besides, not only do we get to relax there, we also get to mingle and make friends with changelings!" She gazed up and saw the beautiful night sky with its twinkling stars and its gleaming moon, shining its moonlight onto the empire. She sighed, although the smile on her face was still there. She turned around, looking at Shining having a nervous face.

"Are you sure there's no other place you're considering?"

Cadance shook her head. "No."

"But, they're still rebuilding. It's not the ideal place to spend time at!" There was no smile on his face. "They might not give us the best courtesy because they're busy building buildings and cooking food for every changeling at work!"

"Just making excuses won't work on me, Shining," Cadance said, smiling at him. "Now, prepare your bits, because it's settled! We're going to the Changeling Kingdom to relax with each other!"

Shining Armor chuckled nervously again. "Yeah, we'll have a great time together! Heh-heh."

At the present
Thorax looked at the two.

Shining frowned and gazed at the floor.

Cadance looked at the sulking unicorn. "Shining, I'm your wife—we don't hide things from each other, and this is probably the best time right now to tell me what it is about changelings that makes you so uncomfortable?" She looked out at the kingdom below. "What would the rest of the changelings think? That the Prince of the Crystal Empire is not the caring and kind unicorn that everypony thinks he is."

Shining faced Cadance.

"I thought you no longer believed that there was no such thing as a good changeling, Shining. What happened?"

"I do believe that there's such a thing as a good changeling. It's just...the changelings, even though they're alright now...they still remind me of...the..." He sniffed. "Wedding."

There was silence for a while.

"I don't want the changelings to come between us again."

"Even if they're trying to make us happy right now?"

Shining raised a hoof and opened his mouth to say something. Then, he closed his mouth and lowered his hoof.

Thorax walked up to the couple. "I understand, Shining. I know that many of us were there at the attack on Canterlot, but you know that's not who we are now, right?"

Shining looked at Thorax who was smiling. He looked at Cadance who was also smiling.

Then, he stood up.

"I..." He looked around, struggling to keep a straight face at both Thorax and Cadance. "I...I guess I'll have to overcome that fear..." He looked back down to the ground. "I don't want to be traumatized again by that incident." Then, he firmly placed a hoof on the ground, looking at King Thorax, trying to smile then losing that smile. "I think we should get more time to know the rest of your subjects—"

"They're not really my subjects," Thorax said. "I don't like all the royalties of...uh, royalty." He grinned a nervous grin. "But, if that's the right thing to do so you won't have to act so strange in front of your wife, then...OK!" He grinned again.

Shining chuckled. So did Cadance. Thorax still smiled. Flurry Heart cooed, not knowing what just happened around her.

"So, other than eateries, what do you have here?" Cadance asked. "Particularly places where we can get to talk to changelings."

"Um..."

Thorax flew out the room and observed the land below him.

"There's a grass field near the tower, if that's a lovely place to hang out at."

At the Daring Do Convention

Outside, a crowd of ponies, some of them wearing similar-looking clothes and hats, were walking in.

Around these ponies was the tall, sleek skyscrapers of Manehattan. The noise of a myriad of ponies of various shapes and sizes surrounded the crowd. On the wide roads, countless carriages, including taxi carriages, filled the space, with several ponies hailing and whistling at any moving taxi that had no passenger yet.

Yet, to these ponies, that did not matter. They knew that inside, there was something more important than all the general chatter of the many outside.

Past the guard ponies, the cool breeze of conditioned air swept and was sweeping through the rooms.

The talk of many ponies inside was indeed louder and more sensible than the many more ponies talking outside.

There were booths, there were pictures, there were costumes, there was no music, but there were a lot of books on some tables.

On the floor were red carpets. Beige-white columns went down to the floor, several balloons were floating around aimlessly, the booths were of many colors and materials, from the hastily-prepared cardboard lot that was presentable enough to the professional mini-establishment that claimed that its bunned carrots were not only the best in all of Equestria but that they were approved by A.K. Yearling—if she were there to begin with.

Although there was a diversity of ponies smiling in the place, what united many of them was the familiar and the similar costume—a dark green vest and a beige pith helmet.

Amidst all the noise and the talk and the exchanges and the smiles, many images of a dark gold pegasus mare wearing also a dark green vest and a beige pith helmet were displayed, some on paper, some on cardboard, some on book covers—on all the book covers.

In front of a covered table with many books, a unicorn, with closed eyes, levitated a book towards the customer in front of her.

She opened her eyes and screamed a little when she saw the blue insectoid thing in front of her.

Some ponies looked at the screaming pony.

She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and opened them.

"Sorry to scare you, ma'am," Blue Alarm said. "The bits are on the table, if you forgot." He opened the book and flipped through the pages. He closed the book on its other side.

"Heh-heh-heh, yes, I get it..." With a face of annoyance, she gathered the bits to the open drawer in front of her. She smiled. "So, enjoy your day...what's your name?"

"Blue Alarm."

She waved her hoof at the changeling. "Have fun in the Daring Do Convention!"

Then, he walked away.

Standing off the carpet, he examined the book in his hand. On the cover, there was a picture of that dark gold pegasus mare—Daring Do—wearing her famous clothes, hanging or swinging on a vine while holding a statue of some sort and escaping the mouth an alligator. The title of the book was written on a pictured scroll—"Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone."

"First book of the Daring Do series by A.K. Yearling," Blue Alarm whispered to himself as he gazed at all the ponies there walking and chatting with each other. There was a photo booth with a jungle theme. Several ponies, of earth pony and unicorn, were wearing cardboard wings on their sides, somehow completing the costumes that they were wearing. There was the smell of steamed and fried carrots.

He looked at the big paper list on the wall. On it were written in big, bold words the many titles of the books in the Daring Do series. "Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone" was up at the top.

"That's a lot of adventures the she has," he continued whispering. "But, doesn't that mean that Daring Do might get stressed out over her adventures? That also means A.K. Yearling has a lot of ideas about what Daring Do could be up to, what artifacts to recover, what villains to defeat—"

"At least they make money."

Blue Alarm looked at the pony standing beside him. The earth pony was wearing a set of Daring Do clothes—same-colored vest, same-colored pith helmet. His cutie mark was a speech bubble. His mane was an array of grays. There was a smirk on his face.

"Well, to be honest, I've never seen a changeling read a Daring Do book. It must be nice to be able to get here, isn't it?"

"Yes, it's very nice," Blue Alarm said. "I was just speaking my thoughts, observing and making observations."

"Oh, I forgot, my name's Quibble Pants!" He held out a hoof.

"Blue Alarm," the changeling said.

They shook hooves.

"So, you're new to the Daring Do series, aren't you?"

Blue Alarm nodded. "Let me guess, I can't just go in and read a book, right?"

"Depends on what book you're starting out with." He gazed at the book Blue Alarm was holding. "It's always a great start to read the first book, of course. The original trilogy was—"

"Why is it great to start at the first?" Blue Alarm asked.

Quibble Pants looked at him with no words. "Well, 'Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone' and the next two books, 'Daring Do and the Griffon's Goblet' and 'Daring Do and the Abyss of Despair' make up the original trilogy which are the best books of the Daring Do series by far. When ponies who aren't fans of the Daring Do series hear the words 'Daring Do,' the first thing that comes into their minds is adventure, action—and it's true that every book contains adventure and action. However, the first three books challenged all other popular so-called 'novels' out there by showing to all of Equestria that Daring Do is not just an adventurer—she was witty, she was smart and cerebral, even manipulative at times—for good purposes, no doubt. Unlike all the 'novels' that were being sold at the time, the first three Daring Do books were a celebration of those monthly adventure books decades ago—they weren't that popular, yes, and they weren't that well-respected back then, yes, but those books were more than just adventure stories—they were more realistic and more thought-out than the bestselling books of the day that were just series of non-stop action scenes that wow the reader but never make the reader think—and the first three Daring Do books combined all the good things about those old adventure serials, placed them into proper novel format, and proved the literary world that the average pony can take on more intelligent literature than the greedy selfish publishers of the day thought they could while still giving them an experience that excites them all the way to the end!"

"That's a lot, Quibble Pants," Blue Alarm said. "I guess you like Daring Do."

"Like? I love the Daring Do books—more specifically the first three."

"Why an emphasis on the first three? What's wrong with the other books?"

Quibble Pants laughed. "What's wrong with the other books? There are so many things wrong with the Daring Do books starting with book number four!"

"Uh, before we can get to what's wrong with those books...I see that you're a really dedicated fan of Daring Do."

Quibble Pants nodded. "Why, yes I am!"

"So, what would you suggest to me, someone who wants to get into the Daring Do series? What should I do?"

The pony beamed with a happy face. "Oh-hoh! There are lots of things you should get about the Daring Do series so let me fill you in!"

On the flat wooden table, the smell of cooked carrots was even closer and even stronger. The pony and the changeling sat, with more than a dozen books that featured the eponymous Daring Do on the cover. Around, there was the talk of the crowd and the noise of the many things that were happening in the convention—carrots cooking, pictures being taken, pages being flipped, fake arrows being shot, words being spoken through the speakers here and there.

Quibble placed three books in front of him. "The first three books consist of the original trilogy, the best and the most sophisticated of the series. A very casual fan would be allowed to read them out of order, but at the very least, read these books first before getting to the rest of the series." He stared at Blue Alarm. "If you want to, that is."

Blue Alarm raised a hoof. "So, what about—"

"The next three books—'Daring Do and the Trek to the Terrifying Tower,' 'Daring Do and the Many Faces of—'"

A red-pink unicorn stood between them and levitated down plates and drinks on the table—the plates and the cups being wooden after the jungle theme of the convention.

"Thanks, Carrot Bun," Quibble said with eyes closed.

Carrot Bun just walked back to her booth, a few ponies already waiting in line and looking at the menu that contained and displayed the flavors of the cooked carrots in a bun.

Blue Alarm followed Quibble's hoof as it moved, holding books and placing them in neat stacks.

"OK, to save you some time, this is just a classification of the books—the first three here are, as I said before, the original trilogy and the best trilogy. These three over here consist of the second trilogy, or what many self-proclaimed 'fans' would call it, 'The Cabelleron Trilogy,' which is when Dr. Caballeron, who, I must admit, is a better and more well thought-out villain then Ahuizotl who appeared back in the first book—anyway, Dr. Caballeron was introduced in 'Daring Do and the Trek to the Terrifying Tower,' and from then on, he becomes a consistent villain of the franchise. Then, after that, the next three books over here is what's known as the 'The Bright Trilogy,' and it's due to the lighter themes of the books here compared to the rest of the series—incidentally or not, this is where Daring Do's family and friends are brought up, although they won't be brought up again until several more books down the line. Then, after that, there's the 'The Finest Trilogy.'"

"So, it's a good trilogy?"

"Ehhh..." Quibble looked at his food awkwardly, gesturing with the other hoof.

Blue Alarm took a bite of the cooked carrot in a bun. He chewed loudly.

"You're listening, Blue Alarm? While you're eating, I mean?"

He nodded.

Quibble Pants took a deep breath.

"Actually, it wasn't always known as 'The Finest Trilogy.' They used to call it 'The Dark Trilogy,' because it showed a very stressed-out Daring Do and her success rate in those books wasn't really great. It was when the book after the trilogy came out that they started calling it 'The Finest Trilogy.' Because the five books after the trilogy, 'The Middle Books,' were completely awful." He groaned as he held up the first book of the "The Middle Books." "Just look at the title!"

"'Daring Do and the Secret of the High Cholesterol Test.'"

"Exactly!" He held up his hooves in desperation and anger. "Don't you see that it's an obvious sell-out? What does the title tell you? There's nothing adventurous about a high cholesterol test!" He slammed the table with his front hooves.

"Are you sure you wanna calm down?" Blue Alarm asked.

Quibble Pants was huffing, his eyes wide open, staring at the book with a look of disdain. Then, he closed his eyes, breathed in and breathed out, and smiled. "Let's just skip 'The Middle Books,' and move on to..."

He pushed into view another book. On the cover was the same Daring Do running away from a staired temple that emitted a white, glowing beam. The background was red and dark. Imposed on the sky were two yellow eyes and a nose, staring down on the adventuring pony. Beside her, a blue pegasus with rainbow mane was running, too. She wore a cap and a bag on her side.

"'The New Series!'"

"Why didn't they call every other book new?"

Quibble slammed a hoof on his head. "The reason why it's new is because, for all the books up until 'Daring Do and the Ring of Destiny,' Daring Do worked alone, even denying any help from her friends and other ponies. It was a staple of the Daring Do series for a long time—I thought that she would stay a lone until, maybe, the last book of the series. But, starting with this book, 'Daring Do and the Ring of Destiny,' she starts accepting friends into her adventures, starting with Rainbow Dash herself!" Quibble then frowned. "But, it's still not better than the first three books. Trust me." He waved his hoof, dismissing the rest of the books while keeping the original trilogy of books near him.

"But, what if I read the rest of the books and I like them?" Blue Alarm asked.

There was a grumble. Then, he calmed down. "Then, that's alright. I personally like the Daring Do who uses her brain and wits to get herself out of situations. Rainbow Dash herself—I met her once—she likes the Daring Do who does action moves and storms her way through the story. Do I think she's a true fan?" The smile on his face was shaky. "I think so."

"What if I read the books and I end up not liking it?" Blue Alarm took a bite from the cooked carrot.

"Then, heh, that's alright. Nothing wrong with it, right?" His eyes grew wide open. "Everypony's different, right?"

"Right?" Blue Alarm said, looking at the staring Quibble Pants. "Yeah, that's right."

Quibble then went back to his seat.

"Attention, everypony!" a muffled voice talked calmly and loudly through the speakers. "A.K. Yearling has arrived! If you want to get your book—or books—signed by her, now is the time! Meet her near the entrance! The A.K. Yearling open panel discussion session will begin in thirty minutes!" Then, a pause, as everypony rushed to form a straight yet rowdy line of loud cheers, screams, and sometimes a quiet pony just waiting and looking at the olive yellow mare robed with a purple robe or shawl and wearing a ribboned hat. She wore red glasses. "Oh, I almost forgot! We just got our supply of the new Daring Do book, 'Daring Do and the Amulet of Culiacan!' If you're willing to wait a few more minutes before getting into the line, you can get your hooves on the book for the set price of thirty bits! After that, you can get to the line and have A.K. Yearlings signature on your book! Don't forget—the A.K. Yearling open panel discussion session wil begin in thirty minutes!"

"What?!" Quibble shouted as he stood in line. In front of him, Blue Alarm stood quietly, holding his book.

Blue Alarm turned around. "The new book? I didn't know they were going to sell another one today."

"Don't you know?!" Quibble turned to look at him. "The book's out today!"

"Well, I'm just new to this Daring Do thing." Then, he looked back at the table and the mare.

A.K. Yearling smiled while she wrote her signature on the first page of the book. And then, the first page of each book that was placed in front of her. Many times, she said "Thank you!" Other times, she said "I hope you enjoy the book!" And yet, other times, she said "It's nice to meet you."

The line moved, Blue Alarm and Quibble Pants walked on.

"Don't misudnerstand me," Quibble said to Blue Alarm as they neared the table. "Personally, out of the books outside the first three, 'Daring Do and the Amulet of Culiacan' might be my personal favorite, and that's saying a lot, considering that it still doesn't hold up to any of the original trilogy books."

"Why is that?" Blue Alarm asked, turning around again. "You haven't read the book yourself. Or did they announce the premise of the book beforehoof?"

"You could say that...I've made my contributions to the book." He smirked.

"What kind of contributions?" Blue Alarm arched his eyes. "Did you give her some of your tips so that the book would be more like the first three?"

Quibble sighed while he smiled and looked up at the air. "As much as I would have done that, I think I got a better deal."

"What's that?"

"I got the new book!" a pony screamed and delcared to everypony around her. On the cover, there was a golden complicated key decorated with two sapphires. Daring Do, in her normal costume and fashion, was running. In the background, there was a jungle. Alongside her, there was not only Rainbow Dash but also an earth pony wearing a vest similar to Daring Do's and also had a mane colored the colors similar to Daring Do's. His cutie mark was a speech bubble.

"You're in the story, Quibble?!" Blue Alarm asked. "How much did you pay A.K. Yearling to place you in?"

"It was free." He smiled.

"Really?" Blue Alarm arched his eyes again at Quibble Pants. "That doesn't sound like a likely story."

"A changeling?" a voice called out.

Blue Alarm turned around.

He was now in front of the table and A.K. Yearling.

"Yes, I'm an actual changeling, miss A.K. Yearling." He bowed his head a little. "This is not a costume—I'm the real thing."

A.K. Yearling looked at the blue changeling with a gawk. "And you also read Daring Do?"

"About to, miss. Starting with the first book."

She placed a hoof to her chin. "That's interesting. I do know that the changelings are working hard in building the Changeling Kingdom again from the ground up. Are you sure you're not skipping any work?"

"King Throax gave us free days, miss."

"Would you get a move on?!" a pony shouted from way back in the line. He even flew up with his wings, looking at the changeling. "I don't know about you, but I got myself 'Daring Do and the Amulet of Culiacan!' and I want to read it immediately after it gets signed!"

"Get down, Zephyr Breeze," A.K. Yearling called out. She smirked. "You don't want me to contact your sister, Fluttershy, for interrupting a peaceful meeting, do you?"

Zephyr scratched his yellow beehive hair. He opened his mouth with a wide smile and chuckled a little. "Uh, sorry, A.K. Yearling, but this is important—Fluttershy doesn't need to know anything about this."

"She would be quite mad at you if she knew you were mean to somepony—and we all know, of course, that she's the Element of Kindness, so that wouldn't bide so well..."

Zephy clattered his teeth. "Oh, alright! I'll just stand quietly in line!" Then, he zipped to the floor and stood.

Yearling looked back at the changeling. "Sorry for that. What's you name?"

"Blue Alarm."

"Nice name for a changeling. It fits you. Well, again, sorry for the rabid fan. There really are some ponies who get so dedicated about the book that they end up in a competition to see who's first in getting the latest book signed." She sighed. "Oh well, might as well get on. May I have your book?"

Blue Alarm hoofed the book to A.K. Yearling.

She opened the book.

On the first page, she wrote her signature.

Then, she closed it.

She hoofed the book back to Blue Alarm.

"Enjoy your Daring Do experience, Blue Alarm," Yearling said. She smiled.

Blue Alarm also smiled. Then, he turned around and walked away.

"So, how was it?" Quibble said, still having that smirk. "A nice enough pony." He glanced at the writer. "I hope that, with the new book, she's coming back to her roots. There were more puzzles there than usual."

"Read the book in advance before the signing, I see."

Quibble closed his mouth. "Uh, it was just a hunch." He laughed anxiously. "It was just a hunch!"

Then, Blue Alarm observed the line of ponies.

The ponies there were wearing those vests and those pith helmets that all looked alike. All of the ponies there were holding at least one book. There was a pony who was holding a stack of books on his back. The ponies nearer to A.K. Yearling were a bit more uppity than the rest—they were jittery, trembling, smiling smiles so wide that it looked almost unnatural. Then, there was Zephyr Breeze way down the line, glaring at Blue Alarm. He huffed and looked up with his eyes closed, still holding on to the new book.

Then, Quibble Pants walked up to the table.

He placed down the book in front of A.K. Yearling. He smiled at her.

A.K. Yearling stifled a laugh. "Why, isn't it the rabid fan himself: Quibble Pants." She smiled and looked at him. "Hey, I thought that you said that the only good Daring Do books were the first three and that I was a sell-out starting with book four?"

"Well, I thought that I'll give 'Daring Do and the Amulet of Culiacan' a chance. Maybe the book's a call-back, a homage, to your first three books—and that's a good sign for the future of Daring Do."

"Well..."

Yearling gestured Quibble to come closer.

Then, she leaned closer to one of Quibble's ears.

"I heard Daring Do tell me that she wouldn't be here without your help with that puzzle."

Quibble Pants smiled.

Yearling chuckled a little.

Carrot Bun did not say a word. She levitated a cup and a plate of a bunned carrot and passed it off to Blue Alarm who was sitting on the table.

"Looks like you get hungry really quickly," Quibble said.

"It's not just that I get hungry." Blue Alarm held the bunned carrot and took a bite. "We changelings used to not eat anything physical at all—the only thing we ate was love, so we had no idea what the taste of food that you can touch with your hooves would be like."

Quibble stared at Blue Alarm as he took another bite and chewed loudly and noisily. The pony recoiled a little away from the changeling, trying to look away from the disgusting sight.

"Yeah, I can see that you are enjoying our food, Blue Alarm. Heh-heh."

Carrot Bun just looked on at the rude changeling, sighing and rolling her eyes.

Conspiracy

It was nighttime. The moon, still full, shone its light onto the roofs and the roads and the ground and the ponies that were still out. Yellow and white lights from the inside glowed through the windows. The hoofsteps of several ponies trotting and walking were quite pronounced—there was no other sound but the buzzes of some artificial lights.

A few ponies walked closer and closer to the Castle of Friendship nearby.

The castle's tall windows were lit with the yellow glow of its lights. The waterfall near it made the splashing sounds of water falling and hitting the surface. The water shone and twinkled the moon's white light.

Inside the spacious library, several ponies of all tribes and of all kinds were socializing and talking as they held books with their hooves. Some sat, others walked, still others stood somewhere in the room. They all were under the soft glow of the light hanging from above.

At the entrance, Princess Twilight Sparkle stood, beholding the wondrous sight of many ponies committed to the act of reading—while not being too committed.

She shifted her gaze to a faraway table. The ponies there had books on the table, but they did not open them. They talked, chatted, laughed as they sometimes gestured to the books.

Then, somepony spoke up to her.

"Hey! Do you see any Daring Do fans here?"

Rainbow Dash was stomping the ground rapidly while smiling at Twilight.

She smiled and looked around. "Well, I don't see anypony reading a Daring Do book here. Which is surprising. My copies of the books are available to anypony who wants them as long as they take good care of them!" She gestured a hoof towards the series of Daring Do books stacked together.

They were stacked at a shelf at the top, at the end of the ladder.

"Maybe not anypony," Rainbow Dash replied. "But, what about any changeling?" She pointed at two changelings at a faraway table who were calmly and quietly reading their books. The blue one was reading a book with that famous pegasus mare on the cover.

"Wow!" Twilight placed a smile on her face. "How could I've missed that one?"

But Rainbow already flew to the changelings' table.

"At least everypony's enjoying the book club night!" Then, she levitated a book from her shelf.

"I can't believe it! Daring Do's so good it even has changeling fans!"

Blue Alarm placed down the book. "It's nice to meet you Rainbow Dash!"

The yellow changeling beside him shushed him.

"Yeah, the one and only!" She gave him a daring smile while she pointed a hoof to herself. "Member of the Wonderbolts, the Element of Loyalty, saver of Equestria multiple times, and the biggest Daring Do fan in Equestria!"

"I think we've heard your credentials a couple times over already. Also, very arrogant just like we've heard."

Rainbow recoiled from the changeling. "What?! Arrogant?! What makes you think I'm arrogant?"

"'The one and only' Rainbow Dash wouldn't be Rainbow Dash without the arrogance, I guess."

"I can see you're great at observing." She rolled her eyes. "But, anyway, have you read 'Daring Do and the Ring of Destiny' yet?"

"I'm going through the series by book number, and, if I remember correctly, your book was number eighteen, second-to-last in the series so far."

Rainbow Dash struck him a mean look. "Ha-ha-ha-ha. Who says you need to read them in order? Besides, what about you take a look at its cover?"

"I know, you're there."

The changeling beside him shushed him again. Then, he returned to his book.

"Wow. Who's that? A friend of yours?"

"Got to be better friends after we turned into good changelings. His name is Solver. Back then, he was a great planner and organizer of the changelings, and he was almost always correct when it comes to guessing what was the enemy's next move. Now..." Blue Alarm slowly turned his head to look at him reading. "He's gone a bit crazy ever since."

Solver slammed the book to the table. "I'm not sure where you got that idea, but haven't I told you three hundred and twenty-two times that my name's a secret?!"

"It's already in the Canterlot Name Registers, Solver, so even if we tried to keep it a secret, somepony would know your name."

Rainbow Dash snickered at the conversation.

Solver groaned and returned to the book.

"I heard that you and your group of friends met every one of my friends—and, somehow, you didn't meet me, yet. What's the problem?"

"We were in a hurry. Urgent matter with the king at the time."

"I see..." Rainbow glared at Blue Alarm as he went on reading the book.

The pegasus took a seat. She looked at the changeling reading. She inched closer to the changeling. Then, her face was only a few inches away from the book.

"So, how do you enjoy the book?"

"It's fine."

Rainbow recoiled again from the changeling. "It's just fine?! It's the best series of book ever! What book is that?!"

"The first one."

"That explains it!" She smacked a hoof onto the book.

Blue Alarm flinched away.

"'Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone' is a great book, but the books after that get even better! You should start with the latest one! Or, the second-to-the-last one, 'cause it has me in it!"

"I thought the latest one also has you in it?"

"Well, it has me plus somepony else I met at the Daring Do convention." She looked up at one of the windows near the ceiling. "Which was today." She looked back at the changeling. Rainbow gasped. "How come I didn't meet you there at the convention earlier today at Manehattan?!"

"I left early," Blue Alarm said. "I noticed that most, if not all, the ponies there were fans of the series already. Why go to a Daring Do convention if you weren't a fan of Daring Do? I had my reasons—curiosity, it was an exciting event all by itself. But, I'm new to the Daring Do series, so I didn't really enjoy everything the convention had to offer."

"But I was there almost the whole day! How could you miss me?"

Blue Alarm smirked. "Maybe we just happened to not bump into each other. Also, Zephyr Breeze was there. I have reports that say that Zephyr likes to be with you."

Rainbow balked at the statement, gawking at the changeling. "Zephyr Breeze also likes Daring Do and went to the convention? Good thing I didn't meet him there."

"I thought you'd say that."

"Can you please keep quiet?" Solver asked angrily, raising his front hooves. "Everypony might know that I'm here, and they might start asking me questions, and they might undermine all of us!"

Rainbow pointed a hoof at him while she looked. "Uh, are you OK, Solver?"

"No, I'm not OK, espescially in the midst of ponies!"

The pegasus scowled at him. "Hey, we saved you!"

"For what purpose? There must be an ulterior motive behind it all!"

"'Ulterior?!' I didn't know you read the Daring Do books, too!"

"I read other books, you know!"

Blue Alarm stepped in front of the arguing duo. "Uh, let's please stop this fighting. We're attracting a lot of attention already."

The three looked at the rest of the ponies there. They were all looking at them—even Twilight Sparkle, who was glaring at them.

"They're onto us!" Solver yelled. "Fly away!"

He grabbed Blue Alarm by the hoof and blasted out the library.

"Why did you have to leave in such a hurry?" Blue Alarm asked as the two flew in the dark, cool night which was somewhat brightened by the several lights that were still there in Ponyville.

Only a few ponies were walking around. Those few looked up and stared at the changelings as they flew by.

"We can't let one of the Princesses know that we know what they know!" Solver gasped. Then, he slapped himself mid-flight and shushed himself. "No!" he then whispered loudly. "I have to keep myself quiet! You must keep yourself quiet too."

Blue Alarm just eyed him with a blank face."Is this another one of your conspiracies where ponies are taking advantage of us beause we're now not a militaristic group of creatures sapping love out of anyone we see fit?"

"It's a conspiracy, but it's true!"

The buildings were now far out. Over them was a dirt path and the grass beside it.

It was dark and cold outside.

"Anyway to prove the conspiracy, Solver?" Blue Alarm asked as they went on flying through the land. "If you want to convince me, you might as well give me some evidence."

"Why are the Princesses—all four of them—keeping a close watch on us changelings?" Solver glowered at him. "Now, how do you explain that other than that they're keeping track of us, to make sure that we don't stray from their agenda!"

"Princess Celestia and Princess Luna said it themselves that the agenda was to make the Changeling Kingdom prosper with peace and not with fighting."

"Hah!" Solver pointed a hoof at Blue Alarm, giving him a face of contempt as they kept flying in the night.

The only other sound that was there was the buzzes of their wings as they flapped rapidly.

"That's what they want you to think! They're the Princesses—they can say whatever they want and get away with it all!"

"Well, what's the agenda according to you, Solver?"

Solver laughed. "We're getting to the good part, Blue Alarm. The agenda is to take us over! To replace everything changeling with everything pony!"

Blue Alarm rolled his eyes.

"Come on! It's true, you know! Many ponies are still afraid of us even though we're good and innocent creatures now! So, what to do with those fears if you're one of the leaders of Equestria? Exploit those fears. If they don't want changelings, you can't move them out. That would be way too controversial. The next best thing to do is to make sure every changeling follows the pony way—so that we would be acceptable to the ponies. Of course, if that doesn't work and the ponies still don't want us—Hah! They want to destroy us!"

Solver pointed at a faraway tree. "For example: That tree! You know what they do to trees?!"

"They either take care of them or bring it down to use it for their furniture or houses."

"Exactly!" Solver beamed, looking up at the night sky with its stars and its moon. "That's the other agenda if the first one isn't true! They'll just use us for their benefit! They'll make us slaves! They'll make us the manual workers! They'll just sit there and watch us sweat and toil and who gets the credi in the end?! Ponies!"

Blue Alarm turned his face to look at Solver in the eye.

As the two buzzed along, the grass rolled on, the dirt path went on, although a few wooden signs were appearing here and there. The sound of the changelings' buzzes were loud and clear in the background of silence and a few crickets.

Blue Alarm sighed. "How do you know that? Do you have proofs?"

"Some ponies are talking about plans to have a pony lead us instead of a changeling—they say for at least a few months because, according to them, we cannot handle ourselves properly in a civilized nation of our own." Solver pointed a hoof at Blue Alarm, striking an arrogant pose. "What does that tell you?"

"That they're bad at suggesting things?"

"That's because they are bad!"

Blue Alarm smacked a hoof onto his face. "You're just spouting out ideas and using everything as evidence. That's not how logic works, Solver."

"That's the logic of ponies! I use the logic of changelings!"

Blue Alarm smacked a hoof onto his face again. "The logic of changelings says that if an apple is there, an apple is there. The logic of ponies say the same thing."

Solver grabbed Blue Alarm with a hoof and turned Blue Alarm's head forcefully to look at him. "OK, maybe the logic of ponies and the logic of changelings are the same. I will admit that. However—"

Solver inched his face closer to Blue Alarm, his face bearing a rude and dangerous anger.

"I'm afraid the ponies must have gotten to you!"

Blue Alarm groaned. "Uh, no, that just means that I got more friendly and sociable to them. Besides, don't you think that stealing love is a bad thing anyway?"

The two flew on. A loud laugh resounded through the open fields of grass and a few trees.

"Do you want to know why so many of us changelings immediately became good in the first place?"

"Because we realized Queen Chrysalis was a bad and horrible queen. It's that simple."

Solver laughed again as they flew on.

He removed his grip from Blue Alarm.

"You're wrong! It's not that simple. It's because of our constant starvation! I'll tell you, there will come a day when some of us will rise up and demand that we—"

Blue Alarm sighed very loudly.

The two changelings flew on in the dark, cold night.

Back in the rocky room of the four changelings, two of them were sleeping. Neon Guard stood guard, watching out of his door and looking and beholding all the activity that still went on even at this time of night. Under the soft green glow of the lights above, the changelings went about and chatted with each other. There were still the sounds of bits going around and being exchanged as changelings bought and sold things from and to each other. On a few soapboxes, a few changelings stood up and delcared to their fellow changelings what they wanted to say. Some of them nodded, others shook their heads. Above and among all of them, several changelings wearing armor stood and flew about, observing every changeling and every spot of the area. On their faces were smiles. A few of them waved at Neon Guard as they passed by. He waved back at them.

"At least we'll have a happy ending for now," Neon Guard said to himself. "I'll sleep happy." Then, he looked back at the room. Two beds had sleeping changelings in them. The other two beds did not. "But, where's Blue Alarm?"

Noting all the changelings in front of him as he looked back at the throng of changelings in front of him going around and about, he looked out one of the several holes. Past the hole, he saw the dark-blue-purple color of the yonder above.

Then, two changelings arrived through the hole. One was blue, the other was yellow.

"Are you sure spending time with him is a good idea?" Neon Guard asked as they stood on the ledge overlooking the many changelings below and above and in front.

"I need to make more friends, right?" Blue Alarm asked. "I need to start with maintaining the close ones I made throughout my life, starting with you guys and then going to the friends after you. Solver has been a great changeling to us back...then. Now, I want to see him go around and at least contribute to the kingdom, but—"

"You know exactly what's hindering him." He shot a hoof at the yellow changeling flying about talking and moving his mouth as he flew into his room a few rooms away. "His position was to plan and to anticipate for the changelings. After the entire species change happened, he couldn't do the job anymore—no attacks are being planned, and he doesn't want to do anything other than plan." He sighed.

"But, maybe I could get him back or something." He looked up to Neon Guard.

"Maybe you want him to be your friend so badly, it's blinding you." Neon Guard glanced at the room. "I can still hear him rambling on about how to justify a battle against ponies."

But the rest of the changelings that were flying along and walking along did not seem to mind as they talked, sold, bought, guarded. Under the soft light, they went on, under the night. Although, now, there were fewer changelings than there were minutes ago.

"Come on, let's go to sleep already," Neon Guard said as he walked back to the room. He yawned. He turned around to see Blue Alarm.

He was standing and facing the crowds of busy and noisy changelings in front of him.

"OK, just don't sleep too late, Blue Alarm."

Then, Neon Guard went inside the room.

Blue Alarm was alone by himself in the crowded place. The constant noises of the crowd rang through the cavernous place. There was that echo that sounded and resounded even to the rooms, yet the changelings inside slept soundly, although a few booming snores reverberated out.

"Yes, we know you're in the Daring Do covers twice in a row, but you don't have to rub it in," Twilight said as she sat on the seat across Rainbow's.

A few other ponies were there, all having at least one Daring Do book sitting on the round wooden surface. A few mares and a few stallions were there, along with an orange pegasus filly eyeing and admiring the one and only. On her head, there was a rainbow-colored mane wig.

There were still more ponies in the library, still talking and smiling at each other and at their books.

"So what?" Rainbow crossed her front hooves while she gave them a sly smile. "I get to spend two adventures with Daring Do herself!"

Twilight meanced her with a look.

Rainbow grinned while she scratched her mane. "Well, in the novels, that's what I mean. I didn't meet a pony who was actually Daring Do, 'cause that was just a great character made up by the great A.K. Yearling!" She shot a hoof to the air, still grinning at everypony there. Then, she smacked the hoof down to the slam. "You know what I mean, right, everypony?!"

Everypony said their affirmations and nodded their heads.

"Of course, Daring Do isn't real," Twilight said, eyeing all the ponies around the table. "It would be ridiculous if she was, although if she was real, that means that the events that happened in the books actually did happen and that there is an Ahuizotl running about trying to rule the jungles."

A stallion spoke up. "And that would also mean that there is a Mr. Caballeron with—"

"Doctor Cabelleron, to you," Rainbow Dash interrupted.

The ponies there laughed.

"So, I heard that there were two changelings here in the library earlier tonight," the same stallion said.

"Yeah," Rainbow said, waving a hoof about, " they were kinda weird, but one of them likes Daring Do." She smiled. "He's new to Daring Do so I'd love to help him through the entire series! Especially the last two books, of course." She grinned a sly grin at everypony.

"If he doesn't like the Daring Do books, then don't force it on him," Twilight said. "Different strokes for different folks."

"But, who doesn't like the Daring Do books?!" the filly yelled.

Everypony outside the table shushed the filly.

"Sorry!" she whispered. Then, she looked back to the ponies there. "I don't remember anypony who doesn't like those books! Rainbow Dash is even in those books!"

"Well, Fluttershy doesn't like the Daring Do books, Scootaloo" Twilight said.

"Probably because they're too action-y for her," Scootaloo blurted out.

"My favorite books aren't the Daring Do ones," another stallion spoke up. He had brown, frizzled mane and tail, wore a brown, bushy mustache, and wore a red visor and a khaki shirt with autumn leaves imprinted on it. He wore, with a strap, a camera. "I'm more of a non-fiction kind of a pony when it comes to books."

"Like textbooks?!" Rainbow Dash then gasped.

"Nah, travel brochures. I think my clothes should've told you that." He smiled and fixed his shirt with a hoof.

"How do you think that travel brochures are way cooler than Daring Do?!" Rainbow Dash complained, being very expressive with her hooves.

Twilight placed a hoof onto Rainbow's head and looked at her. "Remember, Rainbow Dash: Different strokes for different folks."

"Well, at least I'm the number one fan of Daring Do!" She grinned.

Twilight groaned. "What about me? I've read most of them before you got into the series."

"Should I go away now?" the stallion with the camera asked, eyeing the two ponies nervously as the two glared at each other.

The rest of the ponies on the table slowly backed away from the table.

Rainbow Dash, the pegasus, and Princess Twilight Sparkle, the alicorn, stared into each others' eyes with the looks of anger.

Then, Twilight smiled. "It's alright to be the be the number two fan, I guess."

"Hah!" Rainbow pointed a hoof at Twilight. "I won without a fight!"

Twilight placed a hoof to her head.

With Apples

Blue Alarm looked upon the land.

Hills flowed in an infinite stream, all blooming with apple trees. Dirt paths went between the rows and the columns of so many trees. White, wooden fences served as short walls, seperating the visiting pony or changeling from the trees.

In some places, the apple trees were hunched together. In others, a few trees stood out in the open plowed field.

Green, thick bushes abounded, too.

Not far off, there was that familiar red barn, standing and enduring in its place.

"So, how d'ya say about it?"

Applejack walked up to the changeling.

Now, they both looked upon the land.

"It's big."

Applejack laughed.

Blue Alarm looked at her, sporting a confused face.

"Ah guess you're mighty speechless, aren't ya?"

Blue Alarm gazed back upon the farmland. "I've heard military reports about Sweet Apple Acres and I've heard it was big. Seeing it up close and personal can give you that sense of amazement."

He looked up. The blue morning sky was above it all, the sun shining and radiating its light and heat onto the many trees and plants there.

"What about ah show ya' around?" Applejack asked while she smiled at him.

"Why do you always wear that hat?" Blue Alarm asked.

Applejack then frowned at him. "What's this? Some kinda' diversion or something?"

"I'm just asking that before we take the tour around."

Applejack chuckled a little. "When I first wore it, it was just because it was hot during the day at work. Now, it just sorta' sticks to me." She looked at Blue Alarm. "Now, you wanna go?"

The pony and the changeling walked on the path. Apple trees surrounded them. Most of them already had red apples hanging from their branches. The sight of so many apples made the hills be somewhat red, too.

It was quiet. There were only the sounds of hoofsteps and of chirps.

"What do you make and sell, other than just apples and apple cider?" Blue Alarm asked.

"Well..." Applejack inhaled. "There's apple strudels—not my uncle—apple pies, candied apples, apple juice, apple—"

"OK, that's enough and OK." Blue Alarm held out a hoof while grinning. "You have a variety of apple foods, I see."

"Over here, that's the Cutie Mark Crusaders' clubhouse." Applejack pointed to the treehouse.

Behind the large leaves, the other green foiliage, and the several apple trees, there was, in the middle of the grass, a tall and wide tree that also had apples hanging from its branches. Dark green ramps with round stoppers were the stairs that led up to the cream-pink treehouse fenced with a yellow fence. Cut-outs shaped the shape of hearts were on the window flaps and on the door. Near the top, there was a window with a few flowers sprouting from the overhanging flower-holder.

A yellow filly wearing a pink bow appeared from the door. "It's Applejack!" she shouted, looking over at whoever was inside. "And, she's also brought a changeling!"

"Wait, a changeling?!" two voices cried out together.

"Is it Blue Alarm?!" one of the two voices went on.

Blue Alarm glanced at Applejack who was looking at her sister happily. "Are you sure it's OK for me to interrupt?"

"It's alright!" she yelled. "You've been pretty trustworthy so far, and—" She shifted her eyes at him "—they seem to think that changelins' are cool, anyway. Meetin' a changeling would make their day."

Then, the three fillies stormed down the ramps and hugged the changeling while screaming and yelling.

Blue Alarm grunted. "It's rather tight!"

Applejack just smiled at him as he got hugged more.

"I can't believe it, sis!" the filly with the bow said. "He's going to show us some cool things from his place, right Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle?"

The other two nodded.

"And, we'll show him around Ponyville after that!" the unicorn filly said.

Blue Alarm pushed the fillies gently away. "I think I've already had my share of going around Ponyville." He smiled a bit.

"And are you going to show us more cool changeling stuff?" the pegasus filly asked.

"Now, girls," Applejack said, "let's at least get back on the road, first."

"So, what's in your bag?" the pegasus filly asked as they all walked on the path.

There were many, many apple trees on both sides.

"Wait, I haven't even gotten your names, yet."

"That's easy!" Apple Bloom yelled. "My name's Apple Bloom!" She pointed to the other two fillies. "The pegasus is Scootaloo, and the unicorn's Sweetie Belle who's—"

"Also Rarity's sister."

Sweetie Belle glared at him. "How did you know?"

"I prepare for my trips," Blue Alarm explained. "I read up about the ponies there, but not too much. I don't want to sound like a spy or anything. Asking questions and seeing how ponies answer those questions is something exciting for me, even though I'm not Pinkie-Pie kind of excited."

"More like Maud-Pie kind of excited?" Scootaloo asked.

"Somewhat."

In Ponyville, the marketplace was filled with some ponies. There were wooden carts and wooden stalls, all sporting and boasting of different kinds and types of produce and products. The rattling of coins were heard and paper bags and carts were moved around.

Behind another wooden stall that displayed a sign that showed a picture of an apple, there was a big red stallion. On the stall, there were individual apples and buckets of apples.

"That right there's Big McIntosh," Applejack said, gesturing to the pony.

"Your brother," Blue Alarm said.

"Mm-hmm! Wanna buy some apples?"

Blue Alarm smiled a little. "That's a nice way to advertise your product. Make friends and then lead your friends to the stall."

Applejack laughed again. "Isn't that a pretty funny way to scam somepony?"

"Well, it's a very deceptive way of scamming ponies."

"Ah assure ya', I don't scam nopony!"

Blue Alarm smirked. "Which means you do scam ponies. Not scamming nopony means scamming ponies."

"It's just a form of expression!"

The ponies around in the market looked at the shouting Applejack who was pointing a hoof at the changeling.

Applejack tipped her hat to everypony there. "Sorry for the noise, y'all!" She looked back at Blue Alarm. "I'm no deceptive pony, and ya' should know that."

"Just being humurous."

Then, they walked up to the stall.

Big McIntosh just looked at the changeling. There was no smile nor frown.

Blue Alarm looked at the apples for sale.

Everypony else was looking at Blue Alarm, smiling. Then, Scootaloo groaned. "Will you make an order already?"

The changeling took an apple. "What's the price of one apple?"

"One bit," McIntosh said.

"Really, one bit?"

"Eeyup."

Blue Alarm took out a bit and placed it on the stall.

"Thanks for the apple, Big McIntosh!"

The stallion smiled. "Welcome."

Blue Alarm walked back to the small crowd of ponies behind him. "Pony of not so many words, I see."

Applejack looked off at her brother. "He wasn't always like that, Blue Alarm."

Blue Alarm sat in the rowdy place as ponies sat and ate hay burgers and drank softdrinks. He stared at the mare and the fillies in front of him as they chowed down noisily and dirtily on the fast food on the fast drinks.

He looked and fiddled with the horseshoe fry in front of him.

"Aren't you gonna eat that?" Sweetie Belle asked, her face stained with ketchup and mustard.

"Later," Blue Alarm said, pushing the fry away. "I'm just settling in to eating food. I need to get used to food."

The three fillies gasped and stopped eating.

"You haven't eaten food?!" Apple Bloom asked in a surprised tone.

"You haven't tasted food?!" Scootaloo asked, also in such a surprised tone.

"Have you digested something?!" Sweetie Belle asked, still in a surprised tone.

"Girls!" Applejack yelled. "You're makin' everypony look at us like a bunch o' clowns!"

The girls looked around them.

The customers, the cashiers, and the cooks that were there were looking at them quietly.

"Hi, changeling!" a mint green unicorn asked, smiling at Blue Alarm. Then, she went back to eating her hay burger.

Then, everypony went back to their food and their drink.

The boiling of the fries and the exchange of the money and the slurps of the drinks were there again.

Blue Alarm held up a fry and smelled it. "It's like baked bread or something."

"It's much better than baked bread!" Scootaloo yelled rather excitedly. Then, she looked at the bag on the changeling's side. "So, what's in your bag?"

Blue Alarm placed down the fry.

The three fillies were now looking at him.

Applejack glanced at the fillies staring strangely at the changeling.

Blue Alarm opened his bag and brought out a picture with his mouth. He placed it on the table, pushing and pulling the picture away from any of the food there.

"Are those the rest of yer' friends?" Applejack asked. "Other than the ones who didn' wanna go tour aroun' Sweet Apple Acres?"

"Yes, they are," Blue Alarm replied. "You've already seen these two—" He pointed to the changelings in red and in green "—this one's Red Noise and this one's Humerus. You haven't met the one with the hat—he's Neon Guard, the leader of the group."

"So, what have you done together back when you were meanies?" Scootaloo asked.

Applejack shot a glare at the filly.

Blue Alarm chuckled at Scootaloo. "Do you really want to know?"

Scootaloo nodded. "It's true that you're evil back then, but—it's better than the namby-pamby stories with all the sappy feelings!"

"But Namby Pamby was a good filly!" Apple Bloom complained.

"Why don't we just look at the picture first and appreciate the memory?" Sweetie Belle suggested.

Then, she looked at the picture.

The image showed four changelings smiling and happy as they hugged each other while facing the camera. Blue Alarm stood there, just smiling. Red Noise crossed his front hooves and turned his head sideways. Humerus was flying above the whole group, spreading his front hooves as if he was about to hug whoever was holding the camera. Neon Guard stood, wearing his hat, rather calmly and firmly. The background was a barren and desert, craggy gray, with a yellow cloudy sky above.

"It's because I don't want to know about it again," Blue Alarm said, looking at one of his horseshoe fries. "I don't want to do whatever I did back when I was...bad. You don't want to know what it's like having to starve everyday. That starvation does things to your mind. It makes you desperate, but I didn't care. I stole love, disguised myself as somepony, and that pony was taken away and everypony else wouldn't know it. But that wasn't my main job."

He looked back at the ponies. Everypony was looking at him with open mouths and open eyes, not smiling. Only Scootaloo was smiling.

"But, maybe this is not the appropriate time to talk about it." He ate a horseshoe fry. Then, he looked at another fry. "Now, that is a crispiness that, combined with the somewhat sweet and also savory taste of the fry, makes it a nice taste experience. Very fitting for hoof food." He chewed on the food, opening his mouth wide as he did so.

Apple Bloom chuckled a little. So did Applejack.

In the midst of the all the talking that was going on, the changeling and the ponies stood in front of a wooden round table. The smell of sugar and pastries wafted through the air and out to the outdoor open.

Pinkie Pie bounced her way on the blue-green floor towards the table. "So, whaddya' want?!" She smiled at the small crowd.

Blue Alarm looked over her and at the counter. Behind the glass, there was an assortment of cakes, donuts, bagels, cupcakes, muffins, candies, and chocolates—all of many colors, many sizes, many flavors, all attractive and colorful.

"Maybe you want all the cakes?" Pinkie asked. She eyed everyone at the table, glaring at them with a curious glare. "Even Discord himself wanted all the cakes! Then, he decided to reject the offer." She frowned. Then, she smiled again almost immediately. "Then, somepony else decided to get all the cakes!" She looked behind her back. "Then, we made new cakes!" She firmly placed a hoof on Blue Alarm's head. "Maybe you want all the new cakes?"

"Pinkie!" Applejack yelled from her place. "Ya' might be pressurin' the changelin'! Let 'im decide!"

Sweetie Belle raised a hoof and grinned. "I want all the cakes, Pinkie!"

Pinkie gasped and brought her front hooves to her face. "All the cakes!"

A desperate voice answered, "All the cakes, Sweetie Belle?!"

Rarity opened the door and rushed in. She grabbed her sister with a hoof. "We can't eat all the cakes, Sweetie, even if we wanted to!"

She looked at the changeling. "Sorry, there!" she said in a nice voice. "Would you please excuse us?"

Blue Alarm slowly turned his head towards Pinkie. "I'll have a simple chocolate cake."

"Okie dokie!"

Then, Pinkie sped off and threw the tall, brown, frosted cake at the table. It wobbled, then it became still.

Blue Alarm looked at Rarity who was still smiling at him. "Uh, OK."

"Hmph!" Rarity faced her head towards the ceiling, with closed eyes. Then, she opened her eyes at Sweetie Belle and made a mad face at her. "We'll be wasting cakes!" she shouted, in that desperate fashion. "We would have spent all those bits for only a few cakes! Then, they'll rot and decay! Pinkie will be sad if we don't eat all those cakes!" Rarity quickly placed a hoof on Sweetie Belle's head. "So! Don't! Order! All! The! Cakes!"

Rarity was huffing loudly, with eyes narrowed at Sweetie.

Everypony and Blue Alarm were looking at the enraged unicorn while she pointed at her sister.

Apple Bloom quietly took a bite from the chocolate cake while she looked.

"Uh...yes, Rarity?"

Rarity sighed, wiping the sweat off her face. "It's good that you've learned that lesson!" She trotted off to the door. Then, she went outside.

"You must have a nice sister," Blue Alarm said. "Rarity thinks ahead."

Everypony there laughed, including and especially Pinkie Pie.

Sweetie Belle groaned with her front hooves on the table.

Blue Alarm, Applejack, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders continued walking in Ponyville. The hay-timber cottages surrounded them, and the laughters and smiles of ponies were all around.

Back at the marketplace, the same stalls were there again. Apples, asparaguses, bread, lettuces, and other such foods were sold by the several ponies behind their counters and places. A white rabbit bounced after a pegasus, wearing a bag on her side.

Applejack pointed at her. "I've heard yer' friends met Fluttershy, right?"

Blue Alarm nodded.

"She was so sweet to them, right?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Probably too sweet," Scootaloo mumbled.

"Might as well strike a conversation with her," Blue Alarm said as he flew towards the pegasus. Then he halted himself. "Or, I'll just observe and see."

"Huh?" Sweetie Belle asked.

Blue Alarm looked at the pegasus placing a few bits onto the counter. The rabbit was jumping, stretching his arms. A smile was on his face, showing his two large teeth.

"Of course, carrots," Blue Alarm said to himself. "Rabbits are said to love carrots, and that confirmed my guess—why would the pegasus bring a rabbit to the marketplace if carrots were not to be sold? Another good thing—she's in the vegetable section, and rabbits would prefer salad dishes. She would make a few stops in the section since I just saw her enter the marketplace."

Then, a white, bright light appeared and a tall pony-dragon creature appeared, holding a cup of carrots. He was beside Fluttershy.

Everypony and the rabbit recoiled and stepped back at the sight of the draconequus. Except Fluttershy. She turned around to look at him. "Discord, I know that you said you were coming, but not in that kind of manner."

"So, why in that kind of manner?" Discord asked. He pulled out the string of carrots and gave it to the cheery and jittery rabbit. "I'm the god and spirit of chaos, so I have all the right to come in anytime I want to." He brushed himself.

"OK, I didn't expect Discord himself to come here," Blue Alarm said.

"Me, too," Applejack replied, the smile on her face not there.

"Discord!" the Cutie Mark Crusaders shouted as they ran to him.

"Wait, fillies, no!" Applejack then ran and reached out to the fillies.

Discord looked at the happy fillies running on the smooth rock ground, passing by the scared and trembling shopkeepers and stallkeepers and cartkeepers.

"Uh, can we have both the changeling and Discord buy something then go?" the mare behind the carrot stall complained in a shaky voice.

Discord glanced at her nonchalantly. "I don't need to buy something to be at the market, do I? It's not like the royal guard way over at Canterlot will come in and arrest me if I go through the market for a few hours and then go away, right?" He inched towards the mare.

Then, the mare stomped a hoof. "Ponies go to the market to—"

Discord placed his lion paw on the mare's face. "Now, you orderly ponies go to—"

"Can we just buy carrots, Discord, and—"

"This is a nice conversation."

Discord looked at the changeling. He removed his paw from the mare's face and the mare fell over. As he slowly walked to him, he threw some bits at the stall and carrots appeared in his claw's grasp. "Fluttershy didn't tell me about a changeling coming here. Also—" Discord looked down at the fillies staring at him "—I am now popular among the young ponies. Everypony now admires me." He cackled a laugh.

Blue Alarm walked up to him.

"Let me guess," Discord said, holding out his claw at the changeling, letting the carrots fall to the ground and then fall back up to his lion's paw. "You're going to greet me, thank me again for probably the hundredth time about how I saved you, and then you're going to ask me about how was my day, if I'm OK, and all the old conversation starters." Discord teleported and appeared at his side, startling the changeling. "Am I right?"

Blue Alarm nodded, recoiling a little from the spirit of chaos.

Few ponies walked by as they glanced and stared at Discord. They tried not to look terrified.

"Discord!" Fluttershy shouted.

The draconequus teleported flashily and appeared at Fluttershy's side. "Just meeting the new neighbors here," he said while he held up his paw towards Fluttershy's ear. "Probably need some carrots?"

Blue Alarm scratched his chin.

"Oh! The time's up!" He looked at his wrist which had no watch on it. "I gotta go because—heh-heh-heh—why not?" With a glare at the changeling, he snapped his claw and he disappeared in a bright white flash.

Everypony there just looked at the empty space. The rabbit was munching on many carrots beside Fluttershy.

"Well, that was rather awkward," Applejack said.

"Yeah, but did you see all the carrots he had?" Scootaloo asked with a tone of amazement.

Fluttershy walked up to the rest of them. "Uh, sorry about that, girls." Then, she faced the changeling. "And...I'm sorry, I don't know your name."

"It's Blue Alarm," the changeling said. He held out a hoof.

Fluttershy smiled and shook his hoof in the middle of the market.

Several ponies, both passing by and behind the stalls, gazed at the two talking. Some smiled. Others didn't.

Then, there was laughter among the ponies and the changeling as they walked away.

Behind the chatter and the many buzzes that echoed through the place, Blue Alarm flew inside the room.

Humerus flew quickly to him. He shook his neck. "Did you bring the apple cider?!"

"I knew it," Red Noise said as he sat on his bed, eyeing the emotional changeling. "Once he tasted apple cider, he wants apple cider every night. And morning."

Neon Guard just shook his head. "That drink is going to make Humerus..." He shrugged. "I don't know. It's probably not a good idea."

"I didn't bring any," Blue Alarm said as he walked into the room.

Humerus gasped. "No!"

Then, he flew off.

Blue Alarm grabbed him before Humerus left the room.

He struggled, reaching out to the outside. "I want my apple cider!"

Neon Guard placed a hoof on his head. "We're going to have him drink something else next time we go out."

Red Noise nodded his head. "I agree with that. He's already causing trouble with no cider."

Humerus still struggled.

No changeling outside noticed, or at least looked at him.

Blue Alarm placed the changeling back to his bed. "It's already nighttime, so just don't...don't go for any apple cider, OK?"

Humerus then looked at the three changelings in front of him.

Then, he lowered his head and closed his eyes. "OK."

He opened his eyes and just sat on his bed as the other three changelings stood around on the rocky ground under the soft light.

The changelings outside went on, buzzing along as they flew.

"Starting tonight," Neon Guard said, glancing at Humerus, "we're going to ban you from apple cider until you can behave yourself."

Humerus gasped again.

"Orders are orders."

Humerus looked slowly at his leader. "I'll do so. Sorry."

Red Noise yawned. "OK, I'll sleep early, guys." Then, he closed his eyes and laid down on his rocky, stony bed.

Blue Alarm stood outside again. He looked behind him. The darkened room no longer had the ceiling lights on. However, the lights from the outside glowed.

He looked at the many changelings as they went about, bringing food and drinks along as they talked to each other as they walked and flew and stood. Now, there were more wooden stalls, more changelings buying and selling things. There were a few changelings holding a book. Several changelings wore bags of different kinds.

"Signs of progress," Blue Alarm said.

Then, he turned his gaze onto a nearby room. There was no light emitting from that room, too.

"Solver would be scared if he went outside right now."

Blue Alarm turned back to the changeling crowd in front of him.

Letter for a Place

The fields held no grass nor any plants, except for a few trees that had few leaves on their branches. The cliffs, the rocky formations that strutted and rose from the ground—they casted long, dark shadows on the ground. A modest dirt path carved its way through the mountainous cliffs that still had a few trees and bushes. On the flat, stony surface, the dirt path went on, stopping at the entrance to a small village.

The village itself had two neat rows of brick houses that looked the same. The windows were tall and exuded a dark sense. However, the ponies that walked around the place had smiles on their faces.

Blue Alarm and Humerus leaned on the walls. Blue Alarm looked around the house. Then, he went back to where he was.

"Nice and peaceful town," Blue Alarm said. "Happy and cheerful ponies just like in Ponyville. Although the environment is not the ideal location for a town, or any kind of settlement at all."

Humerus looked around the house. He licked his lips. "Maybe the pastries here are better than in Ponyville!"

Blue Alarm looked around the house again.

Ahead, there was a somewhat pink pony behind a brown, wooden table. On the table, there were various sweets—pies, cakes, muffins, and minicakes. With her magic, she levitated a plate of sliced pie to the pony in front of her.

"You wouldn't want to crash the moment, would you, Humerus?"

Humerus flew off.

Blue Alarm kept an eye on the runaway changeling.

The green changeling happily dropped a small bag onto the table.

The unicorn behind the table grinned, sweating a little on her face with her curly mane. "Hi, changeling! We've never had a changeling in this town before!"

Humerus went up the table, not standing on any of the food there. "How much is the chocolate bread?!"

She looked up and stared at the towering creature that smiled upon her. "You might step on the baked goods!"

"I'm a dextrous changeling!" He held a hoof to his face. "I'm an expert at not stepping on pies!"

A crowd was gathering around the two.

"Don't do anything to her or her food!" a pony yelled, having a light blue coat and curly mane. Then, he placed a hoof onto his chin. "Because, uh, that's not the nice thing to do! Or the decent thing!"

The unicorn glared at the pony. "Thanks for helping, Party Favor."

"At least I helped, Sugar Belle!"

She rolled her eyes.

Humerus pushed the small bag towards her.

"Look," a very white pony spoke. "He just wants to get some of your treats."

Sugar Belle slammed the table with her front hooves. "Who asks for treats like that?!" She pointed a direct hoof at the changeling standing on the table. The changeling was still smiling.

"Just give him what he wants!" another pony cried out from the crowd.

Sugar Belle quickly prepared Humerus a glowiing plate of a glowing loaf of brown, soft chocolate bread. She levitated the bag and placed it hastily into her side bag.

There was a laugh from her. Sugar Belle nervously laughed at the changeling as he munched on the bread while still standing on the table. The chewing was noisy, loud. The crumbs fell to the table and to the other sweets there.

"OK, mister changeling," Party Favor said as he walked up to Humerus, "I'm sorry we got off on the wrong hoof. Uh, would you want to stay here for a while and celebrate...uh, something?" He grinned.

"The houses are boring," Humerus blurted out.

Party Favor eyed him. Then, he turned to the houses. "It's a long story."

A dark blue pegasus flew up to him. "So, what's your name? Do you have a name?"

"I'm the funny guy, because I'm Humerus!" He smiled and lifted his front hooves in excitement.

Sugar Belle sighed. "Looks like we're going to have a long day."

Blue Alarm stood on one of the brown roofs. He viewed all that happened before him on the ground.

Humerus was dancing crazily while the other ponies that were dancing slowly stopped as they looked at him. The music went on from the speakers.

Blue Alarm sighed. "Humerus," he said, "this is not how to represent changelings. We're supposed to be friendly creatures, not creatures who dance around and probably cause disasters left and right in the process."

"What kind of dance is that?" a pony loudly asked.

Blue Alarm sighed again. "The ponies here can tolerate Humerus for this long. How much longer?"

He turned his gaze to another place. At the front of the town, there was a lonely mailbox. It stood there.

The griffon flew and dashed, avoiding the trees with their precarious branches and leaves. The wind rushed by her, creating around her a sound of rustling through the open air. She turned to the left, she drifted her way to the right. Now, there were less trees, less obstacles. The ground was now less grassy and more rocky, less green and more gray.

"It's near, it's near!" she shouted.

Then, past the last few trees of the cliff, she saw the town on the ground.

She stopped and flapped her wings, hovering high above the surface. "That's a quaint little town! I wonder why Gilda would want to send a letter there!" She shrugged with her claws. "Oh, well. No time to waste and let's get going!"

She flew towards the town. The wind was rushing by her again.

Blue Alarm's ears perked up.

He looked up.

A creature was heading towards the town.

"No, the wings are too wide for a pegasus, too fast for an alicorn on a royal job." He glanced at the dancing Humerus and looked back at the speeding creature. "Griffon?" He nodded. "Guess so, it's a griffon."

He observed the gray-blue griffon from afar.

She landed right in front of the only mailbox there. She placed the letter inside. She raised the flag on the mailbox. The griffon then looked at the dancing going on in town.

"Are you going to dance with him?" Blue Alarm said. "Chances are, maybe. Griffons are a rude bunch, but this griffon seems to be an exception."

Then, the griffon flew to the crowd and hovered over the several ponies just watching Humerus stumble onto a speaker.

The music then stopped.

"That was very great dancing! I've never seen such an exotic style of dance before!" The griffon held her claws while she smiled happily at the changeling.

Blue Alarm sighed another time. "The griffon was one of the few exceptions, then."

"A griffon, and a changeling at the same time?" the white pony said. "This day's just getting weirder and weirder!"

"And cooler!" Party Favor yelled. "Double Diamond, you know what this means?"

Double Diamond opened his mouth.

"To be honest, I don't know what this means," Party Favor interrupted. He looked at the griffon. "So, what are you doing here?"

The griffon gasped for air. "I'm Gabriella, but you can call me Gabby because I wanna be friends with you and my friends call me Gabby and not Gabriella, and as you can see, I'm a griffon, and my bag contains mail and packages to send to griffons and to others Equestria-wide!" She grabbed a pony and hugged. "It's so nice to see you! I'm just wondering why you have a town in the middle of the desert!"

"It's not a desert," Sugar Belle said from her place in the crowd. "Also, you're speaking way too fast." She looked at the mailbox and then back at Gabby. "Wait, you deliver mail?"

As tiny cardboard boxes were closed and stacked on top of each other, the scent of sweet sugar filled the air. Humerus, Gabby, and a few other ponies there were chatting, sometimes laughing as they stood in front of one of the houses. There were no lights turned on, for everypony was outside.

Blue Alarm saw all that was around the town.

Then, he flew down and landed on the rocky soil.

There was a gasp. "Another changeling?!"

Gabby flew up to him. "Aww, Humerus, I didn't know that you brought a friend!"

Humerus covered his mouth with a hoof. "Oops!" He grinned at his friend. "I'm sorry, Blue Alarm! I must've forgotten you."

Blue Alarm rolled his eyes as he walked towards him.

Gabby rushed and stood right in front of him. "Your changeling friend told me all about you! You must be so cool!"

Blue Alarm looked at Humerus.

Humerus shrugged, still smiling. The ponies around him pointed their hooves at him, some of them smiling, too.

The music still blared on from the speakers around the town.

"You told me that you can deduce things and induce things!" Gabby went on.

Blue Alarm sighed then placed on a smile. "It's called deduction and induction...Gabby. Although, I'm not as good as Humerus makes me out to be." He glanced at him.

Humerus waved a shy hoof at him.

"I'm just a changeling trained in the art of observing. From there, I can guess, with good reason, about what they're doing, where they're going. To be honest, I'm on the decline about that but—"

Gabby gasped. "Decline?! I'd love to see you observe a couple of things before you decline any further!" Then, she grabbed Blue Alarm by the neck and brought him up to her head. Then, she turned him around. "Now, what do you see?"

Blue Alarm sighed again. "That's not what I mean by observing!"

Many of the ponies there looked at the held-up changeling and laughed at the sight of him.

Blue Alarm wore a grin. He turned towards Gabby who was happily smiling at the many ponies around as she held him up. "Speaking of observing, you seem to be quite distracted by what's going on around you for a mailgriffon."

"Nah! I don't mind!"

Blue Alarm narrowed an eye at her. "I guess mail is a different sort of thing for you griffons."

Gabby placed him down. "Eh, nothing too important is passed around back in Griffonstone. But, at least I'm helping others along the way, even if they slam their doors in front of my face!" Her grin grew wider.

"Optimistic," Blue Alarm whispered as he walked away from the jolly mailgriffon.

Many ponies danced and talked while the music kept going. Humerus and Gabby had also joined in the party.

Blue Alarm stood in front of one of the houses.

"Uh, sorry, but the house is not for sale," Party Favor said, standing beside the changeling on the same rocky, somewhat dusty ground.

"I'm not looking to buy a house, Party Favor," Blue Alarm replied.

Party Favor took a step back. "How did you know my name?!"

"I just listen." Blue Alarm looked at the pony. "Sometimes, I listen out of sight." He turned his gaze back to the house. "Concerning the houses here, they seem to not have much during the day. Or during the night, for that matter. I've seen your activity today and I've read some newspapers about what goes on in this town, in...well, we don't even have an official name for it, yet. Some call it 'Our Town,' others call it 'Starlight's Village,' which is quite inappropriate considering she isn't here anymore—unless it is still named that to give Starlight Glimmer a name here." He turned his gaze back to Party Favor. "I cannot guess completely correctly about what you do here, so I'd like to hear it all from you while I wait for Humerus to stop dancing around." Then, he stared at some of the sweets that were being placed into the cardboard boxes.

Party Favor had his mouth wide open, his eyes staring at the changeling. He shook his head. "Apologies for that, but I didn't expect you to introduce yourself like that. A-heh-heh." Then, he waved a hoof in front of Blue Alarm's eyes. "Hey, hello! It's rude to just do that!"

Blue Alarm blinked and looked back at Party Favor. "OK, where were we?"

Sugar Belle levitated yet another small box and placed it inside a sack.

Gabby dashed her way to the unicorn and placed another box inside the sack.

"What, I didn't—"

"But you didn't need to ask, anyway!" Gabby then grinned even bigger at the pony.

Sugar Belle smiled, too. "I appreciate the help." She noticed one more stack of boxes nearby. "Would you mind if you carry more of those boxes?"

Then, Gabby flew, grabbed several boxes with one claw, flew back, held the sack with another claw, and slowed down to gently yet quickly place the boxes inside.

"Wow, that was really—"

Gabby flew again and grabbed the rest of the boxes and brought them into the sack. Then, she hung the sack on her bag. She landed on to the ground and looked at Sugar Belle. The griffon was still smiling at her.

"Uh, as I was saying—" she faced Gabby "—you were just helpful."

Gabby giggled through her grin. "Just like my cutie mark!"

Sugar Belle raised her eyebrows. "Your what?"

The griffon waved at the waving ponies then flew away.

The speakers were turned off.

Several ponies were going into their houses.

Many lights were turned on, brightening the rooms.

The sky was orange and the sun was setting behind the mountains and the tall rock formations of the wastelands there.

The sound of buzzes filled the quiet air.

A few ponies who were still outside faced upwards and saw the two changelings hovering above one of houses. The two were waving their hooves at them—one of them waving more rapidly and more happily than the other. Also, he was wearing a shiny grin as he did so. In the background of the sunset sky and in the light of the sun, their eyes and their translucent wings glistened and glittered.

"Bye, everypony!" Humerus shouted.

The ponies waved back.

Then, the changelings flew off.

An old and musty wooden train station stood in front of the soaring cliffs and mountains. Dust covered much of the building, and several branches were scattered on the floor. On the front wall, wooden crafts of a pair of a wings and a yellow crown.

The path winded through a great many turns and heights. Rocks and stones, both big and small, littered the dirt around it. There were a few trees around—the trees were long, twisted in their branches.

Past the open arch of red wooden feathers, yellow archway, and blue gem, above the great ground that surrounded the city, Griffonstone was still in an unfixed condition. The houses were unkempt and unkept, having holes of incomplete or rather destroyed materials. Branches, pieces of wall and hay roofs, papers—these were strewn on the ground that was festered and pestered with tall, yellow grass. Several houses stood on nests that overlooked the branches and the ground that was much below them.

In one place, wooden bookshelves were decaying as they laid on the ground, most of them broken and ruined in one way or another. Books were scattered on the ground, not in clean and tidy stacks but in a disarray of chaos.

A stone statue of a crowned griffon remained. Cracks were in its stately state. Dirt and dust was on its grand shape.

Some griffons flew around, almost all having faces of annoyance, irritation, and grumpiness. There was no smile on their faces. Others sat on their nests, looking up to the sky or looking down to the ground. They, too, had no smiles.

A griffon pushed a gray, timber cart around. In the cart, yellow-gray scones were on display, emitting an air and a smell of sweetness.

Then, Gabby flew to her and landed right in front of her. Gabby threw the sack of boxes at her.

The other griffon caught it with her claws. "Hey, Gabby! Careful with your aim!"

"Don't worry about it, Gilda! At least the sweets you ordered are here!"

Glida opened the sack and took out a box. She scratched it open with a swing of her claw and brought out a plastic-covered whole pie.

She smiled.

"Selling it to Greta and the others?" Gabby flew closer to her and inched her happy face closer.

"Yeah," Gilda replied.

The griffon carefully placed several boxes inside the cart. Gabby brought carried some more boxes.

After the storage of the sweets was complete, Gilda looked at her scones which still stayed proudly in their place. "I don't know about this. Griffons never had a taste for pony desserts."

"But, I do!" She held up a claw. "It was delicious! They were all delicious! The chocolate bread was so soft and it was so...chocolate!"

Gilda chuckled. "You like it, and that's a start. Greta's gonna like it, I'm sure. I'm not so sure about the others."

Gabby hugged Gilda. "It's going to be great! You're going to sell pies and muffins and other sweet food to all the griffons in Griffonstone! Who wouldn't be proud of that?"

Gilda smiled again.

Gabby removed her grip around Gilda.

She threw a scone at Gabby. "Here, it's free, 'cause you helped."

"Oh, thank you! I'm glad to be of a glad help to you!" She took a loud bite off the scone and chewed noisily.

Gilda recoiled a little. "Uh, get yourself some table manners, Gabby!" Then, she laughed.

A.K. Yearling's Move

In the dark jungle, the leaves willowed from their branches. The many leaves blocked out much of the sky, letting in only several prominent rays of sunlight. The grass was thick, uneven, but still green. The fresh smell of the tall trees and their leaves gave the air a soft fragrance all around. Various stones were around. There were stones that were flat and smooth and spaced out rather orderly from each other.

The rock path led to the door of a small, solitary house. Thatched with wood and timber, roofed with copious amounts of hay, the house was the only thing unnatural in this natural forestry.

A wooden wagon covered with a large white fabric was just outside the door. On it were stacks of books and a green-yellow typewriter. There were bags of different colors and materials inside the wagon.

A.K. Yearling, in her shawl, her hat, and wearing her glasses, held another bag with her mouth. She turned her head to a few directions. Then, she looked around the house. She dropped the bag onto the wagon.

She held a hoof to her raised ear.

There was a sound. A rapid sound of buzzes.

"Changeling?" she whispered.

Yearling narrowed her eyes and focused on one spot behind the trees.

A shadow appeared, extending itself to the wagon.

The shadowed figure floated in the air with its twinkling wings. It flew closer to the mare.

Yearling took a few steps back, eyeing the creature.

"Hey, it's me!"

The mare grumbled. "I don't recognize your voice. I may be a writer, but I'm not weak!"

The creature flew much closer to her.

It was a green, smiling changeling. He was waving a hoof. "Hi! I'm not sure if you've met me, but I'm Humerus and—"

Yearling slammed a hoof onto his mouth. "Since when does anypony sneak up on me just to introduce themselves?" She sighed. "Are you this desperate for a book signing that you're willing to travel mountains and jungles and great distances?"

Humerus nodded. He brought out a book from his side bag. "If you don't have something to write with, I have some feathers with ink bottles!"

Yearling sighed. She grabbed a ballpoint pen from the wagon and held it with her hoof. "Just make this quick, OK, Humerus?"

Humerus smiled even wider. "Anything to make Blue Alarm happy!"

Yearling stared at the changeling. "You know Blue Alarm? Your friend, I guess."

Humerus nodded again. "He likes your books and is already on the eighth book!"

She stopped a chuckle from her mouth. "The changeling's a fast reader, isn't he? Last time I saw him, he just had the first book." She looked behind her back. "OK, I'll sign the book and please leave."

Humerus nodded again.

Yearling opened the book and signed the first page. She closed the book.

"What's with the wagon?" Humerus asked, pointing at it.

"Oh, it's not much," Yearling said. "Just normal cleaning of the house—"

"Are you moving?"

The mare sighed. "Yes, I'm moving."

Humerus gasped and placed his hooves on his cheeks as he gasped. "Why are you moving?! Where are you moving?!"

She walked towards the wagon. "When you're a famous writer, there are some ponies who are desperate to get you, to hire you to write books that you don't want to write." She turned her head around. "Some ponies get so desperate, they're willing to send out henchponies to try to force you to write for them. And then, you have the crazy fans who are so dedicated and committed to the Daring Do series that when they meet me, they'll annoy me to no end about this detail or that word or this scenario or that character." She smirked at the changeling hovering above the ground. "Does that answer your question?"

"What about the where?" Humerus asked. "We must know where so Blue Alarm can cannoy you to no end about this detail or that word or this scenario or that character!"

Yearling sighed again. "Because you just said those words, I'm not telling you where I'm going."

Humerus laughed. "Honesty is my best policy!"

She glared at the changeling. "Now, can you just go? I need to get moving. If I don't move now, the sun will go down and I'll have a hard time trying to protect myself from the elements at night."

"Well, do you also wear Daring Do's clothes?"

She rumbled a gruff. "What makes you think that?"

"I see some clothes that look exactly like Daring Do's." He gasped again. "Are you Daring Do?"

She brought a hoof to her chin. "Nope. It's just something that I ordered from somepony just in case I have to hide myself from crazed, over-enthusiastic fans." She threw her hat to the wagon and took the pith helmet. She placed it on her head. "I look more like Daring Do, don't I?"

"Because you are Daring Do?!" he screamed.

Yearling giggled. "No." She gazed at her books. "If I were to be honest with you, I actually based Daring Do on myself. Coat color's the same, hair color's the same—" A sigh escaped her "—if I only had pegasus wings, because I'm just an earth pony." She turned her head down, facing the green grass and its ground. "With pegasus wings, I could then be able to do all those fantastic adventures."

Humerus wiped away a tear. Then, he pointed at Yearling and shouted, "Unless you're lying! You must be Daring Do!" He jumped up and down. "I'm talking to Daring Do!"

Yearling slapped Humerus with a hoof. "That's what all those over-thinking ponies think! The closest thing I am to Daring Do is that Daring Do is a character that has some of my characteristics and personality. It's that simple!" She threw her hoof to the ground. "Now, will you annoy me further or will you just leave me be and let me have a nice trip?"

"You still didn't explain the Daring Do clothes." He grinned.

She groaned. "You really don't get it?"

Humerus shook his head.

"If I wear those clothes, ponies will think that I'm just a good Daring Do impersonator, a good cosplayer." She glowered at the changeling. "Now, are you happy?"

Humerus nodded again, having a great smile on his face.

"Then, go!" She gestured a hoof to a direction. "Just, go anywhere! Go home or go somewhere else! Just not with me since I guess you're going to irritate me and ask me about my secrets and what not!"

Humerus sniffed as he balked from the pony. "Uh, I...I just wanted to...meet you..." He sniffed again and wiped another tear. He forced a smile. "But...I met you..." He sniffed. "And...that's a good thing...right?"

Yearling sighed. "If you think it's a good thing, it's a good thing. Now, go." She waved her hoof at him. Then, she brought a rope to her back legs and walked, the wagon slowly wheeling away from the house that now had a closed door.

Humerus fluttered away from the pony. He stopped and took one more look at her.

She was walking, pulling her wagon with her things inside. She watched her surroundings while she went on.

He flew.

Yearling held a hoof to her raised ear again. She exhaled and closed her eyes. "I cannot believe that tactic worked. Getting him as close as possible to the secret without actually revealing it." She looked behind her. She saw her wagon and a dirt path with the thick jungle grass on its sides. "I hope that will pay off."

Daring Do then pulled the wagon on, walking in the jungle.

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.

Individual

In the throne room, high up above the rest of the kingdom, sitting at the top of the changeling tower and citadel, King Thorax stood at the middle. Around him there were four big, heavily armored changelings. The landscape around them was lit by the morning sky and its sun; their wings glistened and glowed a little, and their eyes, too.

Outside, the many changelings that walked on the ground and soared in the air twinkled, giving a collective shine to the shining kingdom of civilization in the middle of the dry desert wastelands.

"Look Out, Neon Guard, Picketer, and Royal Escort."

The four stood tall again and saluted their king. "Hail, King Thorax!"

Thorax sighed. "How many times do I have to tell you? You don't have to say that all the time!"

The four did not say anything. They only stood and looked upon their king.

"Can you remind me why I need changelings to protect me when I can go to Canterlot myself?"

"Well, you're a king," Look Out began. "And...kings and queens, princes and princesses are usually known for being the leaders of kingdoms and empires, and being a leader of a kingdom or an empire or both gives you lots of power and if someone thinks that you're doing a bad job or if they just want the power of being the leader of the kingdom or the empire or both, then they'll try to get you off that throne..." He faced Thorax again, wearing a face of nervousness and uncertainty. "Isn't that right?"

"I know that," Thorax replied. "It was a rhetorical question."

"Oh, yeah...heh-heh..." Look Out slowly walked back to his position.

The other three guards glanced at him.

"So, am I ready?" Thorax asked.

"Yes, King Thorax," all four guards shouted together.

"Then, let's fly!"

They flew off to the sky.

The white and yellow structures shone in their brilliance. The waterfall, with its tall, towering mountain, flowed its way into a river crossed by a simple rock bridge which led to the shining, bright gates of Canterlot. The sounds of the chatters and the talks and the discussions of the ponies there were heard along with the occasional stately carriage that carried a stately passenger.

Then, there was the sound of buzzes.

The ponies outside turned away from their friends and their discussions and looked at the sky.

Glimmering in the sunlight, there was the king of the Changeling Kingdom himself, surrounded and protected by four armored changelings. They landed in front of the gate. Several ponies backed away, making space for the changeling arrivals.

"Hmph! The gaudy king of that awful kingdom!" somepony whispered.

"Shhh!" another pony whispered back. "Do you want him to punch you?"

Thorax smiled at the many ponies there. "Hi! It's nice to meet you all again! How's your day?"

The four guards stood there and looked around, sporting faces that showed no emotion.

A few ponies trembled. One pony raised his hoof and said, "I just showed my wife the dress that I bought as a gift!"

"That's wonderful, uh..." Thorax pointed a shy hoof at the well-suited pony. "What's your name?"

"Jet Set!" he said. He looked at his wife, showing a face of disdain at her husband. He whispered to her, "I'm trying to be smart about it, Upper Crust!"

Picketer sighed. "Aren't you worried you might be late for the appointment with the Princess?"

Thorax turned to him. "We won't have the appointment for about two hours, so let's have fun while it lasts. Also, place some smiles on those faces!"

The guards then immediately smiled.

The library contained halls and more halls decorated with red carpets and some banners.

Behind the wide and tall doors, there was a wide room of white, marble floors and walls and ceiling. The bookshelves were filled with books, some of them overflowing. Many books were new and shiny, many more were old and dusty.

The few shielded pony guards that were there eyed the changelings as they walked between the tall bookshelves.

"May I ask where's the history section so I can see some pony history?" Thorax asked one of the pony guards.

The guard looked around anxiously. "Uh, you're here."

"Oh. Sorry!" He grinned.

The guard then walked away.

"Are we allowed to read?" Royal Escort asked, touching one of the books.

"Yes! Remember we asked Princess Celestia for permission? As long as we're careful!"

Royal Escort then moved his hoof away from the book, shivering.

"Although if you don't want to get a book...that's fine." Thorax gazed at all the books in the bookshelves. "But, wouldn't it be great if we could relate to them more by reading about them and their history and their culture?"

"That's a good first step," Neon Guard said.

"What about this book about changelings?" Picketer asked.

Thorax stopped smiling. He looked at Picketer. "What did you say?"

"I said, 'What about this book about changelings?'" He held out a book. It wasn't dusty.

Thorax took one step back. "Oh...um...we could defintely read about it to see how they see us!"

"'The History of the Evil Changelings Since Their Discovery by Ponies.'"

"How they thought of us before!" Thorax said.

Then, he grabbed the book from Picketer's hooves.

Thorax opened the book.

Neon Guard tapped on Thorax's shoulder. "Are you sure about this?"

Thorax placed a hoof on the pages in front of him.

"'The History of the Evil Changelings Since Their Discovery By Ponies. Edited and updated in this twentieth edition to include the most recent changeling attack: The Changeling Attack At the Canterlot Wedding.'"

The changeling guards winced a little.

Look Out placed a hoof on the book. "You know, you don't have to read the book at all, King Thorax. It's just going to make you sad and upset about our past."

"Our history," Thorax replied. Then, he sighed. He turned a page.

"'Twentieth Edition Notes:

"'It has often been thought that, with so much information about the changelings that have been added in the previous edition, the ninteenth edition would be the last and definitive version of this book. As I have stated in the Ninteenth Edition Notes, it would only take a drastic change or an influx of new and unprecedented information about the changelings to prompt me to gather the old and the new writers of the book to edit and update it one last time.

"'Sadly, we got our drastic change in the form of the latest changeling attack and it wasn't a minor one. Their attack at the Canterlot Wedding of Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor was one of the closest to a total changeling victory over ponies. Queen Chrysalis herself managed to capture our Princess Celestia, which is no small feat in and of itself, considering that our Princess Celestia controls the sun and has much magical power that can only be matched by few. To realize that Queen Chrysalis is among those few should strike terror into the hearts of all ponies, but it should also strengthen and further our resolve to keep defending ourselves and to keep fighting against the changelings until they are either destroyed or until they are at a peace that favors ponies and punishes the changelings, most especially Queen Chrysalis, for their actions.'"

Thorax stopped reading. The book was still open.

A few pony guards were now in front of him. "Uh, that's outdated, right?" one of them asked.

Dozens of months ago

In the middle of the wastelands, there was the changeling hive in its tall and hideous form. The changelings in their black chitin and with their blue-green eyes stood tall and in many ordered numbers in front of the tallest of them all.

Her crooked horn stood tall amidst her long blue yet broken hair. Her wings were also broken, having many holes.

Many more changelings flew in proper squares and rectangles, all wearing the same black chitin, all having the same blue-green eyes, all having black horns, all having the same white, sharp fangs. The buzzes were numerous, resounding out into the wastelands the loud, echoing sound of a collective of changelings hovering above the ground.

The armied groups covered much of the land, bringing a light cloud of dust to float over them.

"Fellow changelings!"

And the changelings looked upon her.

She flew to a height above all of them.

"We've already planned this for a long time. For weeks, we've prepared for this day! I know that your hunger is never-ending, but after this is all done, then that will hunger will end!"

Amidst the many buzzes, the changelings cheered and hissed in support of their leader.

"Right now, the ponies are preparing themselves for a royal wedding in Canterlot, the capital of Equestria itself! Although it is known that Equestria has more love than every other place we've visited and probably will ever visit, this is now the time to strike!" She faced the mountains distant, backdropped by an orange sky. "Out there, a lucky stallion is engaged with the Princess of Love herself! He would then fall into our trap! He would love me instead! And, with all the love of the other ponies there, increased by the mood of the wedding, the love that you shall get plus the love that I will generously share to you from that Shining Armor—"

The changelings cheered and hissed again, now with the stomping of hooves for those on the ground.

More dust was in the air.

"I can hear and feel your hunger!" she bellowed and echoed. "It's only a matter of time before you can all feast upon the love that will satisfy your starvations!"

Once again, the changelings made noises. Some of them reached out their hooves towards their queen.

One changeling among the many saw his fellows shouting, cheering, hissing, jumping, and flying. "Looks like everyone's liking the idea of taking love out of a wedding," he said. He faced the ground with a drooped head.

He got pushed. "What are you doing, Thorax? You're supposed to show your adoration for our leader!"

"Yeah...right, Blue Alarm," he replied.

"Hmph." Then, the changeling went back to looking and applauding the queen.

Days later

Thorax hovered in the same place.

Changelings were everywhere.

The buildings had them. The sky had them. The ground had them. Even on the roofs, they were there.

The buzzes were there.

The hisses were heard.

Ponies were running away. There were screams.

Several houses and stores now had holes in them.

Debris was there on the streets.

Lots of ponies were tied up.

Others were cornered.

On the changelings' faces, there was only anger. There was, on their faces, the smirk of victory.

The crowd, the army of changelings surrounded the six mares.

And, they fought.

With punches, kicks, and magic, they beat up many changelings.

Thorax kept looking at the ponies there.

"That...friendship..." he managed to speak out. "It's...not the friendship that I-I've seen before..."

The changelings went on and flew around him.

The ponies kept on fighting.

"Such...genuine...care."

They stopped.

There were even more changelings, filling the area.

They approached the ponies.

The ponies did not retaliate.

"I cannot just...steal..." Thorax coughed. "It's...something...a love..."

The changelings grabbed all six of them.

"...friendship..."

They were taken away.

"...that I just need...to...get..."

The ponies were taken past the door. The hallway was large and there was another large double door at the end.

The changelings closed the door.

"...and share."

He stared at that door.

"What're you doing, Thorax?!" a changeling yelled from the ground.

"I-I'm just resting here!" he shouted back, still hovering in that same place.

Back in the present day

Thorax muttered and whimpered quietly beneath his breath.

He whispered something.

Then, he shakily turned a few pages.

"You're not alright, King Thorax," Look Out said. "This is not like you. You need some water?"

Thorax shook his head.

"Water to destroy the book you're reading, I mean."

"Hey!" the pony guards yelled in unison.

Thorax choked. "'Changelings—the evil, ferocious, merciless creatures from the Badlands of the South—'"

Neon Guard closed the book in front of him. It slammed.

The pony guards glared at him. Then, they turned their heads down, the wrath in their expressions gone.

In this room in the library, there was not much of a sound. There were only the sound of hoofsteps which echoed through the hallways and between the bookshelves. Even among the quietness, there was the muffled voice that spoke once in a while either from the changeling or from the ponies.

Thorax and his guards were walking on the stony streets of Canterlot.

The king took a good look of the ponies that passed by and were being passed by.

There was a couple of ponies sitting at a quaint little table. Teacups were levitated and then placed down as they chatted and laughed. Their clothes—fancy and formal.

There were a few ponies trotting about, rushing to somewhere someplace. Something like desperation was in their faces as they ran. Then, they went out of sight.

A big stallion pulled the elegant carraige he was roped to. He always faced forward and never back at the carriage nor back at the passenger who sat there, clothed with a grand robe and dress and chapeau, facing up with eyes closed.

There was that smell of various foods as they passed the several restaurants. A smoky, vegetable smell wafted out from one establishment; a sweet and homely fragrance drifted out of another. Ponies carried boxes as they went out of that other establishment. A few ponies from the restaurant with the smoky smell burped quite loudly.

Neon Guard and Look Out stifled a laugh.

There was the loud thud of a few windows closing as they walked on.

Some ponies gave the changelings a mean look and a mean face at them.

Picketer growled.

"Stay calm," Thorax said. "We don't want to cause anything bad in this place; no trouble, Picketer."

Picketer stayed calm and quiet as he walked on with the rest of the guards in sync.

Thorax looked at the ponies moving on the sidewalk.

Different coats, different manes, different clothes, different styles, different cutie marks, different sizes, different accents, different personalities, different first impressions were on display on the road.

Thorax turned around, still walking forward as he did so.

A pony was dancing around and miming, not saying anything as the mare did so. Her audience laughed at her tricks and her talent.

Thorax looked at his guards.

All were walking together, in sync, in unison. Their armor was pretty much the same.

Thorax stood on the balcony. Railguards walled the balcony as they placed into sight a grand view of Canterlot and its natural surroundings. The mountains and the waterfall, the plains and the hills, the river and the bridge, all the many ponies and their collective yet individual noise rising up from the streets and the buildings.

"So, what is it that you want to talk about, King Thorax?" a royal voice asked.

Thorax turned around and bowed down to Princess Celestia. "Uh, sorry, Princess. I was just admiring the view from up here." Then, he went back up.

Celestia nodded. Her multi-colored, rainbow-like mane flowed in the air. "You seem as if you want to talk about something deep and close to you."

Thorax glanced away from her. "Not really that close, Princess." He glanced back at her. "It's just...your ponies, your citizens are...how do I say this?"

"Different from yours?"

"Yeah."

"In what way, Thorax?"

The king walked back and forth on the clean white floor, surrounded with majestic walls of purple, pink, and white; the ceiling was high up, providing a sense and a feeling of royalty in the room. "We've been the changelings we've been for so long. We always followed one leader and always followed her in everything. It was all about getting love and planning the next stage, the next phase, of our plan to get even more love. When we finally got free, we realized that...there wasn't much to want."

Celestia arched an eyebrow at him as he kept pacing around.

"Our hunger for love is now gone. Now that we share it, we're almost constantly satisfied. But, that's what we've wanted, the only thing we've wanted." He sighed and faced down. "How am I supposed to say it to you, Princess Celestia?"

"There's nothing wrong about feeling wrong even when you're a king, Thorax." She stepped closer to him. "I know what you're trying to say. Since getting love was pretty much the only thing you've wanted, you're having a hard time wanting anything else. Not you, maybe, but your changelings."

"Well, it's not just that."

Celestia arched an eyebrow again. "What do you mean?"

He walked towards the balcony.

The cool wind breezed through.

"We changelings are very much alike. Your ponies are so different. Even just the six heroines of Equestria—Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie—they're so different from each other. So unique. That's just six ponies. What about the rest of your ponies? We have ponies playing saxophones sitting beside ponies whose talent is in painting walls sitting beside ponies who are experts in writing books! They're all happy in being different!"

He paused.

"But, look at us changelings. I see several groups who just go together as if they're one, single changeling. I try to promote the kind of...differences thing that your ponies have and a lot of them still don't get it or just don't want it. Whenever they try to make some kind of art, it seems like a copy of a book's example with just a few changes here and there!" He groaned.

Celestia looked at him. She smiled and chuckled.

Thorax looked up. "What's so funny, Princess?"

"It's alright to let the changelings be the changelings they are. They are going to have a hard time being like ponies because they aren't ponies, of course."

He took a few steps towards the Princess. "A-are you sure about that?"

She nodded again. "I'm sure, Thorax. Just give them time to be themselves and to do what's good and not what's evil. You can keep them on the right track. You cannot make them adopt pony culture and customs single-hoofedly overnight."

"Well, that sounds very helpful, Princess Celestia."

She looked down at the bowing changeling.

Thorax and his guards walked into the eatery.

The stallion with a white and red uniform opened his eyes wide at the sight of the approaching king and his escort.

Everypony else gasped and stopped eating their donuts.

"A king is going to have snacks at a donut shop?!" one pony exclaimed.

There were a few grumbles and murmurs.

Then, Thorax was in front of the counter.

"So, uh, what does a donut taste like?"

Joe, behind the counter, stood there with his mouth wide open. He closed his mouth. "Uh, it's an honor to serve you, your Highness."

The guards around him looked around.

The ponies that ate in front of their tables watched the changelings.

Joe chuckled nervously and scratched his mane. "What do you want here?"

Thorax noted the donuts and the bagels on display behind the glass. "What would you recommend?"

Library

Blue Alarm gazed and stared at the shelves in front of him.

The wall-wide bookshelves, just like before, stretched out to a faraway end. The books were numerous, plenty, many. Dusty books, clean and shiny books, others in between. Most of them had one color on their sides besides the text on them, while a few had multiple colors. In one neat, glaring and prominent spot in the bookshelf, there was a row of books all roped by a dark green ribbon.

"Heh-heh-heh," Twilight laughed. "If you want to get the next book in the series, all you need to do is just ask me!" She posted a wide grin on her face.

There was nopony else around.

"I think I've had too many Daring Do books for a while," Blue Alarm said, showing a little exhaustion in his tone.

"I understand, Blue Alarm."

She levitated a book from a shelf.

"What about this one? 'Slumber 101!'" Twilight smiled even more as the book's cover came into view.

"I don't plan to have a slumber party or anything like that."

Twilight stopped smiling and her ears drooped. "OK, then."

She levitated another book from another shelf.

"What about this book?" She gestured to it as it floated in front of Blue Alarm. "'Principles of Magic!'"

"I'm not a unicorn."

Twilight groaned. "What do you want, then? If you're here in the library of the Castle of Friendship, why don't you want a book?"

"Not the kind of books you'd might like," Blue Alarm asked.

"But, I've liked and read every single one of these books! At least two times!"

"Wow."

Twilight gave Blue Alarm a look and paced around the carpeted purple floor.

"A book about changelings, then, Princess?"

Twilight stopped walking. She screeched. "Are you sure you want to read a book about changelings?" Twilight turned around to see Blue Alarm. "Maybe what you wanted was a book made by changelings."

"I see that there's no books made by any one of us in this library. Or at the Canterlot library for that matter. I checked that place two weeks ago."

Twilight rubbed her chin. An uneasy smile was on her face. "Well, I've got one book about your kind, Blue Alarm." She levitated yet another book. Then, it stopped moving and just floated in mid-air.

Blue Alarm noticed it.

"Are you absolutely sure about this, Blue Alarm?"

"What's wrong?"

Twilight sighed. "Just read the title. You'll see why."

She levitated the book towards his face.

"'The History of the Evil Changelings Since their Discovery by Ponies.'"

Twilight gave him a slow and solemn nod. "Are you that bored?"

"Neon Guard is on guard duty protecting Thorax, Humerus and Red Noise are in Manehattan watching another play performed by the Method Mares, and Solver is in his room making up possible reasons about why ponykind is, in his words, 'an evil kind that displays evil not in the obvious form of conquest, but in the subtle form of diplomacy.'"

Twilight frowned. "What about your home? I'm sure that, despite the reconstruction and rebuilding going in the Changeling Kingdom, there must be some things you can do there."

"Like talk?"

Twilight stared at him with a blank stare. "Uh, yes. Talk. You know, like almost everypony in Equestria does from time to time?"

Blue Alarm grabbed the book that was still floating in front of him. "Talk about what? Besides my friends and Thorax himself, the changelings don't talk about many topics. Sooner or later, I get bored."

The two then walked towards one of the wooden tables.

"OK. What about, a place for entertainment? Do you have a theater, yet? It's been some time since I've checked the status of the Changeling Kingdom." She smiled at him again.

The two then stood beside each other in front of the table.

"No theater."

"Ooh! A library!" She rushed towards Blue Alarm. "You have a library, right?!"

"All of the books there are borrowed copies from the official library in Canterlot. They're probably in here, and they're probably not the books I want for now."

Blue Alarm placed the book on the table.

"What about...music?"

"Music's also borrowed from ponies. I'd probably hear the same thing if I keep travelling Equestria."

Twilight rubbed her chin again. "Sports?"

"We're working on that."

The alicorn looked at the book again. She placed a hoof on the cover. "You know, reading this book is probably not the best use of your time." She chuckled a nervous chuckle. "You wouldn't want to see how horribly you were depicted here."

Blue Alarm eyed Twilight.

"Trust me. I've read it a few times before."

The changeling scratched his head, still looking at Twilight.

She nervously tapped her front hooves together. "Uh, I mean, before you got reformed and all!" She showed another nervous grin. "Just trust me! It's not a good thing to read since you're a changeling, especially now that it's out of date and all!"

"'Twentieth Edition,'" he read.

"It's an old book!" she exclaimed. "It's been edited and re-edited a couple of times!"

"What's been edited and re-edited a couple of times, Twilight?" a voice said.

Starlight Glimmer appeared at the double doors.

"Oh, uh, this old and enriching book here, heh-heh-heh-heh!" She glanced at Blue Alarm.

The changeling had an annoyed face.

"A changeling in the library?" She walked towards the two. "I remember the last time a changeling was here."

Twilight gave Starlight a look of disapproval. "Yeah, I remember the last time you played chess with somepony and it ended up causing a mess in the library."

Starlight laughed it off with a hoof. "You know I won't get over-enthusiastic about it again, right?"

Twilight rolled her eyes. She looked at Blue Alarm. "I guess you didn't formally introduce yourself to my student the last time you saw her." She gestured towards the light pink pony. "She's—"

"Starlight Glimmer, I know," Blue Alarm. "I don't need to be toured around like I'm not sure about what Equestria is."

Twilight balked a little. "Oh, uh, yeah, I'm sorry about that!" She grinned again.

"Wait, is that the book you said you're not allowed to show to changelings?" Starlight Glimmer asked.

Twilight sighed. "I tried to show him that he wasn't supposed to read it. He was bored."

"I don't think that's a good enough excuse, Twilight," Starlight said, showing off a smirk at her.

"I did actually say those words," Blue Alarm quipped.

Starlight gawked at him. "You can't be that bored to read something that derides you and your friends, can you?"

Blue Alarm sighed. "Maybe." He turned towards Twilight. "Do you have any more of your friends that might be visiting the library in the next few seconds or so?"

A few hoofsteps echoed from the hallway.

"Um..." She shrugged and grinned at him.

Rainbow Dash flew through the double doors. "I'm ready to read 'Daring Do and the Ring of Destiny' for the twelfth time!" She was huffing in excited tiredness.

Starlight rolled her eyes. "Really?"

"So, Blue Alarm!" Rainbow said while she and the rest of them stood around the table.

Then, she grabbed Twilight and leaned towards her ear. She whispered, "What do I say to a changeling when I try to be friends with him?"

"Just be natural, Rainbow," Twilight whispered back.

Starlight and Blue Alarm looked at each other then back at the two other ponies there.

Rainbow focused on the changeling. She placed a shoulder on the table, resting her head on her raised hoof. "Blue Alarm, how's your day?"

He shifted his eyes left and right. "That doesn't sound natural."

She glared at him. "How did you know our whispered conversation?!"

"Changeling ears." He pointed a hoof at his light blue ears. "Very sensitive to sound."

"Another question, Blue Alarm—what about...a story about your life?!"

Blue Alarm stared at Rainbow. "What did you ask me?"

Twilight nudged Rainbow, having another uneasy look on her face. "That's something we shouldn't be talking about now."

"Why not? I told him my story about my life!"

"Sounded more like a novel because you took an hour to tell it to us that time," Blue Alarm said.

"Well, do you want to spend some time with us as friends?" She budged towards the changeling. "An hour talking with us would do wonders for your friendships and ours!"

He held out his hooves. "I know that friendship is magic and all good and nice, but...please let me take my time." He laughed a little. "Besides, you wouldn't want to hear my life story. Your stories aren't perfect, but they're so happy and cheery and bright compared to a typical changeling's."

Twilight gave Rainbow a mean look. "Don't force it, Rainbow Dash."

She sighed.

The bright lights radiated their glow onto the sleeping changeling.

The sound of wheels rolling and the engine going went on. Yet, the changeling still slept.

The small green and purple dragon walked past licking a lollipop. He turned his head around.

Blue Alarm was sleeping still, lying on the cushioned seats.

Spike took a look outside.

The night was dark and the stars shone in their places while the moon shone in even greater brilliance.

The grass rolled in the moonlight. So did the trees, the mountains, and the rest of the scenery as the train moved past them.

Spike hopped up and sat beside the changeling.

He licked the lollipop again.

"What flavor?"

"Ahh!"

Spike fumbled as he grabbed the lollipop by the stick. His teeth were shaking as he eyed the lollipop that was almost gone.

"Sorry about that," he said under the groans. "I'm just...trying to..."

"Sleep. I know." He looked at the changeling. "What brought you back in Ponyville? And why are you leaving so late, anyway?"

"You wouldn't like it—books." He smiled despite his sleepy condition.

The dragon sighed. "Being with Twilight long enough to see her become a Princess, that's one of the few things that never changes with her. And I'm OK with it!"

Blue Alarm sat up on the seat and yawned, stretching his front hooves. "What brought you here so late at night?"

"It turns out that Twilight gave me a day-off starting tonight, so I'm headed for...well..." Spike tapped his head. "To be honest, I...wasn't sure about where I was going."

"This train's headed for Dodge Junction. I'm going home through there."

Spike lightened up. "Oh, I see! That makes sense."

Then the two didn't talk.

Spike went on licking the lollipop.

Blue Alarm gazed out the window.

The desert town was quiet and almost silent. The sheriff and a few guards wearing hats patrolled the area.

The buildings were closed, the lights were off save for a few flashlights and a few gaslights.

The sheriff waved at Spike as he walked on under the night with Blue Alarm.

"Thanks again for letting me go with you!" Spike then moved his smile away. "But, I didn't expect to go this far away from Ponyville." He clattered his teeth again. "Oh, no! What if Twilight makes an Equestria-wide search for me if she finds out I'm not in Ponyville?!"

Blue Alarm laughed as they walked on the dirt path amidst the moonlit place. "They're going to be alright."

The two walked alone on that path. The moon was above them along with its stars.

Ahead, there was the spire, the tower of the Changeling Kingdom. There were lights that soared to the air.

There was a knock on the door. A rapid knock. A fast knock.

Rarity hastily opened the door. "What is it, Twilight?" She yawned. "You had to wake me up in my sleep!"

Twilight gasped and heaved. "Where's Spike?!"

"I thought he was with you! Or, probably sleeping in the castle at this hour."

"Well, I gave him the day-off tonight, and now he's gone! I've asked almost everypony in town about his whereabouts, but all of them don't know where he went or where he is!" Her heaving went faster and heavier.

"Now, calm down, Twilight! He probably took a walk off in the night like some ponies do—"

"Maybe right off to the Everfree Forest!"

Rarity shoved a hoof away. "Spike may be young, but he isn't too young to not know that the Everfree Forest is a dangerous place to go to alone!" She looked behind her—the mirrors and the mannequins and the fabrics and the stairs beckoned her to sleep back at her bed. She yawned again. "Just sleep, Twilight. I'm sure that this predicament will be over by the time you awake."

Twilight kept on heaving and huffing fast.

Rarity grabbed Twilight. "Breathe slowly! Inhale and exhale, Twilight!"

Spike gasped for air as he finally was at the final floor.

Blue Alarm picked him up. "Come on. Not much further to go."

They walked on the rocky floor. Spike's breathing was loud and sounded through the open room.

The landscape of the land around the kingdom was seen from this height. Much of it was dark and shone gleams of the moonlight. The chatters and the talks and the activities of the changelings back on the ground was still heard.

The two continued walking.

Blue Alarm peered at a big changeling standing near the ledge.

"Uh, King Thorax, there's a visitor. A visitor you'd probably know and care about."

Throax looked at him.

"Spike!"

Spike's eyes went wide open. "Thorax!"

The two shouted and ran across the wide, stony room under the soft light.

They hugged each other.

"Spike, it's been a long time since I've seen you!"

"Even a few months seems very long without meeting you, Thorax!"

They kept on hugging. There were laughs and silent cries.

Blue Alarm looked upon them from afar though it wasn't that far away from them.

The two stopped hugging.

"Guess what, Thorax? I'm going to be spending my day-off here in your kingdom!" He closed his eyes and placed his claws on his torso. "How cool will that be? To make up for the lost time."

Thorax giggled. "Yeah! It's going to be great catching up with each other. I have lots of stories and other things to tell you ever since I became king—" He rubbed and scratched his head "—although I didn't want to be king in the first place."

"Come on!" Spike replied. "You're going to be known as the first good king to the changelings. Aren't you proud of that?"

Thorax nodded. "I guess that's something to be proud of." He yawned. "Well, I'm going to sleep soon. Aren't you going to sleep also? It's pretty late."

Spike glanced at Blue Alarm. "Yeah, I think I'll sleep...maybe soon." He grinned.

"You better sleep now, so you won't get tired and grumpy in the morning when we get to see each other again here!" He laughed. "Yes! Finally! Some time with some old friends! Or, old friend." Thorax chuckled.

Thinking

In the store, Davenport, in his blue and white clothes, paced and walked. He looked at the windows, not saying a word. He moved between the beds and sofas. Wooden shelves held quill of various kinds and colors.

"I cannot let any of the changelings get to me!" he whispered to himself, having on his face an uneasy expression. "If the ponies don't believe me, then I'll hold on to this place at all costs if I have to!"

There was a knock on the door.

"Who's there?!" he screamed.

The door opened. Pinkie Pie was smiling there.

"Oh, h-hi, Pinkie," Davenport said. "I didn't know it was you."

Pinkie bounced her way inside. "What about a sofa and a quill today?"

Davenport smiled at her. "Well, what kind of sofa and quill do you want?"

Solver sat on his stony chair in front of his rocky table.

Books, scrolls, papers of all types were stocked and scattered throughout. A few pieces of paper even fell to the floor as he moved his hoof around the table, looking for something.

More papers and books and scrolls fell.

Solver didn't complain. He didn't grumble. He still looked and fumbled for that paper.

The soft light above illuminated the room as he went on.

"Hi, Solver."

"Ah! Blue Alarm!" He turned around, shivering and trembling as he faced the blue changeling at the entrance. "Y-you disturbed me! I was just seeking information that will prove without a doubt or dispute that the ponies do not have our best interests in mind but only their best interests!" He laughed. "It's proven, already in my head!"

Blue Alarm sighed and shook his head. "Look, Solver. This is not how it's going to work out. Even if they don't have our best interests in mind, we might as well make the best out of it, right?"

Solver slammed the table with a hoof and hissed at his friend. "It's not that simple, Blue Alarm. The world and its politics is complicated and complex. The Princesses of Equestria only want domination of everyone they see. That explains all the events that have been happening not just in history but also in recent times, too!"

Blue Alarm stepped inside the room. "This needs to stop. You're getting quite a bad reputation around here because of your—"

"So, what if I get a bad rep around here? I'll stand for what I think is right!"

Blue Alarm stepped further. "Are you sure it's right?"

A dragon peeked through the entrance.

"Hah! Hah!" Solver pointed. "You're an accomplice! They've threatened you to submission! They have brought Spike here, the assistant to Princess Twilight Sparkle—it only makes sense now! You're supporting them because they got you!"

"Wow. This guy's crazy," Spike blurted out. He looked at Blue Alarm. "You have weird friends on your side."

"Bye, Pinkie!" Davenport yelled as he waved at the bouncing Pinkie carrying a quill and a small sofa.

He closed the door and locked it.

He scanned the room. "No changelings have entered secretly or not secretly. They won't hear of my plans, they won't hear that only I, Davenport, know what's really happening!"

He trotted to one of the open windows.

There were ponies walking around and playing under the bright blue sky.

"They might be spying on me any moment, maybe now!" He clattered his teeth.

Davenport closed the windows.

Now, not much sunlight was in the room.

He rushed to one of his beds. "OK, at least they haven't stolen any of my beds or sofas or quills. They're not so cruel to stoop that low."

"Just wait until Solver meets one of the Princesses!" Humerus yelled from his bed. "He's going to realize how lovely and happy and good the Princesses and the rest of the ponies are!" The changeling smiled from his place.

"Like I already said, Blue Alarm, Solver just cannot handle not planning things like attacks or invasions. Remember when he constantly asked King Thorax about any wars in the making?"

"In public, no less?" Neon Guard added. "Brushing that one aside, I think it's best that you leave Solver alone until he gets better. Just watch and monitor him from time to time to see if he's getting into any serious and real trouble. We don't want him to cause an incident."

Blue Alarm nodded. "But, what about making more friendships and maintaining the old ones?"

"Maybe now's the time to make more new friendships first."

The blue changeling sighed. "OK. I understand." He looked out their room's doorway or hole.

Changelings and more changelings filled the area. More and more purchases, more and more music, more and more speeches, more and more activities. Around them and amidst them, guards in their armors flew and walked around.

There was another knock on the door.

"Who is it?!" Davenport yelled.

"Oh, um..."

"Fluttershy?"

He opened the door.

The yellow pegasus was there.

"Apologies, Fluttershy. I didn't know you were out there!"

"Uh, sorry for not telling you earlier, Davenport." She peeked around. "Why is the room dark? Is it closed?"

Davenport shifted his eyes. "Oh, uh, I was resting. All this selling is making me tired and sleepy!"

Fluttershy looked up towards the sky. "It's only noon."

"Uh, siesta?"

Blue Alarm and Red Noise stood on the field of grass.

Changelings of all colors were flying and playing. However, others were on the ground. Many of them, either flying or walking or standing, talked to each other.

Spike stood beside the two.

"Exactly why are you here, Spike?" Red Noise asked.

"Day-off. Twilight said so!" He grinned.

"Wanna head off to the Changeling Convenience Store?"

"If it's going to make you two happy," Red Noise replied. "I actually wanted to go there."

"That's good," Blue Alarm said.

Davenport slammed the door and locked it again.

He looked at the windows. "It's all closed. It's all OK. It's all safe here! Hopefully, nopony knocks on the door! I must think about what the changelings are planning, what their ultimate goals are. It must be evil, it must be so since they're...changelings." He laughed and laughed behind the door. "They'll never see me attacking them! They'll never see me being the new hero of Equestria! I'll have stained glass window right there in Canterlot, honoring my heroism against the evil changelings!"

Then, there was another knock on the door.

Davenport grumbled.

"Davenport? Is that you?"

His eyes went wide open.

He unlocked the door and swung it open.

Princess Celestia was there.

Davenport gulped, shaking in his hooves. "Uh, h-hi, Princess Celestia!" He bowed down to the Princess. "It is an honor for me to provide you my wares!" He lowered himself further. "What do you need? A quill, a sofa, or both, my dear Princess?"

"Not much. I was just checking on Ponyville and how it's doing."

Davenport stood up. "Please take something from the store! It's the least that I could do for you, Princess Celestia!"

"You don't need to resort to begging, Davenport."

The Princess calmly entered the store.

"Why is it dark here? It's only afternoon. Not even close to sunset, yet."

Davenport gulped. "Uh, I was just sleeping and resting."

"Hm?" Celestia looked at him. "Is there something wrong? You don't sound OK to me."

He gulped again and scratched his mane. "I'm completely alright and OK, Princess!"

She looked down on him. "That doesn't sound OK. Do you need something?"

"Uh, no!" He backed away from the Princess. "It's a-alright here! I'm alright!"

"Are you sure you're not hiding anything from me?"

Davenport bumped into a wall. "No!" He shook his head. "There's not a thing I'm hiding from you!" He grinned at Celestia.

"That's a sign that you are hiding something." She chuckled. "It's about the changelings, isn't it?"

He sighed. "How did you know?!"

Celestia opened the windows with her magic.

Davenport closed and covered his eyes.

"I was standing right in front of the door when you were rambling about how you, apparently, know the truth behind the changelings and how you were supposed to lead the battle against the changelings and that you would become a hero." She paused. "Isn't that right, Davenport?"

"Uh...uh...how?"

She chuckled again. "I understand your fears, Davenport. The changelings were horrible and evil creatures for such a long time that I knew there will be a few ponies that won't adapt to the new and reformed changelings so easily. It turns out that, sadly, you're one of them." She smiled a faint smile at him. "I won't force it upon you to change your ways overnight. It's you who has to enable that change, Davenport."

"Uh..." He stuttered. He contemplated all the was in front of him and around him—the beds, the sofas, the quills under the bright and shining light of the sun; the Princess of the Day, Princess Celestia herself, standing in her stately form right in front of him. He stammered and stuttered even more.

Celestia chuckled again. "I'm sorry that I had to surprise you like that." She looked at the open door. "Well, I was surprised, too, when I heard you talk like that."

Davenport stopped stuttering and just looked at Celestia.

"And, no, Davenport, the changelings are good. They aren't hiding some elaborate plan to pretend that they're good in order to catch us by surprise. I've seen them before and I can tell you that they are changed."

Davenport still looked at the Princess. His mouth was wide open. His eyes were wide open.

He stood up slowly. "Uh...I'm...I think I'll go to sleep first, Princess Celestia."

In a haggard way, Davenport walked towards another room.

The air-conditioned convenience store still had its nice and cheery and happy changelings behind the counter. They all said sweet things to the customers that went in and the customers that went out, all in a pleasant and lively tone.

Spike slammed down another cup that used to have a softdrink.

The two changelings in front of him just looked at each other and back at Spike, wearing surprised expressions on their faces.

The dragon saw the changelings staring at him. "What's wrong, guys?"

"You drank ten cups of softdrinks," Red Noise. "You dragons must be really thirsty." He snickered. "Quite strange, since I thought a cup of softdrink is going to make you sick since you...well, since you have fire inside you, right?"

"It's more complicated than that."

Blue Alarm placed a hoof on the round table.

"So, how did you and Solver meet?" Spike asked.

He sighed and gazed upon the tall tower that stretched to the sky.

"We met formally at my first ever changeling attack. I was assigned as a scout to check the areas ahead of us while we did our attack and infiltration. Solver was chosen as the planner for the entire attack. He was very dedicated to it. That's when I realized that he was so committed to his talent of planning those attacks and invasions. From then on, Queen Chrysalis kept giving him the planning role in many changeling attacks and changeling infiltration missions. We were good friends...well, as friends as changelings could be at the time."

Red Noise groaned.

Spike leaned in closer towards Blue Alarm.

"Then, one day...you know that day, Spike. Chrysalis was defeated and ran away, Thorax was crowned as our new king, and everything was brighter since then. I suddenly remembered Solver, so I kept asking my friends where he was. I kept searching for that changeling. I was wondering why he was hiding."

He looked back at Spike. "Then, I finally found him. He was sitting down on the ground, mumbling something. I tried to get him up, but he just couldn't stop mumbling and talking about his job, about the ponies, about us changelings. We got him back to his room, but...now, he became the changeling he is now." He sighed. "Some of us could never recover so fast from that."

Spike burped.

Blue Alarm arched an eye at him. "That's what you get for drinking ten cups of softdrink, Spike."

"Alright, sorry!" He laughed.

"Maybe you'd want to order another," Red Noise said.

"I think he's had too much for one day," Blue Alarm answered.

"Spike, how's the day going so far?"

The changelings and Spike walked on the sidewalk. As they passed by the unique, hole-ridden buildings, Spike noticed them. As they passed by the numerous changelings that walked and flew, Spike took a look around and smiled.

"It's going well for me and you, I suppose."

Thorax nodded. "It's an optimistic perspective. You think that all is going well in this kingdom." He sighed and showed a smile at Spike. "Right now, I'm trying to make every changeling here accept pony culture and ideas while, at the same time, making sure that we produce our own culture—our own books, our own music, our own games, our own art. It's not that simple, Spike, but every changeling's trusting me to do the job well."

Spike patted Thorax. "You've come so far, buddy!"

Thorax stopped. He smiled.

"Thanks to you, Spike."

Fluttershy's Other House

A city floated in the sky.

The soft, fluffy clouds matched the blue sky as its foreground—a grand foreground that houses and homed many pegasi in its moving ways. Streams of rainbow colors flowed downwards from its relative ground.

Columns of marble and limestone, basking in their white colors, dotted and graced the proud Cloudsdale. Flags of different colors, along with many of its own flags, were winded by the strong wing.

A rainbow came out of a pipe. Some clouds were pumped out of another pipe.

A coliseum with streamers and flags breezing in the wind stood on a lonely yet huge cloud.

As pegasi of all kinds of colors flew and fleeted about, several of them wore vests and hard hats. They pushed clouds here and there, blocking some of the sunlight at times.

Roads of cloudy material brought the ponies and the buildings together as they walked and stood on clouds. In a neighborhood there, among the houses, fenced by a stream of rainbow, there was one house that was, like the others, spruced up with cloud trimmings on the roof, on the wall, and even the window. A bush of cloud stood on the front yard. The yard's ground was actually made up of cloud, also.

Inside, the floor was an extension of even more cloud-ground. The dining room was graced with many wooden green cabinets. The red round table was on a blue, elegant carpet. The red chairs were cushioned with clouds.

The ceiling was also made up of clouds.

Some ponies were sitting around the table.

"We're meeting Fluttershy's parents for the first time!" Apple Bloom yelled.

The parents sat beside each other, looking awkwardly and strangely at the cheerful filly. "Uh, you've already said that, Apple Bloom," the green stallion said, wearing a blue sweater. A polite smile went up his face.

"So, dears, how was your stay in Cloudsdale so far?" the cream-colored mare asked.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders nodded their heads up and down.

"Have you checked where's Babs Seed and Zephyr?" the mare asked on.

"I think they're on the way here, Mrs. Shy!" Scootaloo proclaimed.

The door swung open.

"Hello, everypony!" Zephyr sang.

Beside the younger green pegasus, there was an earth pony with light red mane. She blew her long bangs out of the way of her eyes. Then, she smiled. Beside her, a green changeling stood happily, displaying a grin for all the ponies there to see and behold on his jolly face.

"Ah!" the parents yelled as they shivered. They sighed and calmed down immediately after.

Zephyr cleared his throat. "After we left the Cloudseum, we managed to encounter this one right here!" He looked at the changeling. "He wanted to come along with us since..." He eyed him. "Uh, why were you here, again?"

But Humerus was already screaming. He buzzed his way to Fluttershy's parents and hugged them.

They tried to get out of his grip.

"Hello, Mr. Shy! Hello, Mrs. Shy! It's good to meet the both of you, the parents, the mom and dad of Fluttershy, the Element of Kindness!"

Mrs. Shy laughed a little nervously. "You must be very eager to see us, then!"

"Well, it is something special to be the parents of one of the Elements of Harmony, but I don't think it's that big of a deal..." Mr. Shy looked around, or tried to, at least, attempting to look nice under the changeling's continuing grip. "Uh, may I ask when you will be done hugging us?"

Humerus removed his grip from the two.

The two breathed loudly, gasping for air.

"He's pretty happy for a changeling," Babs Seed said in her deep Manehattan accent. She then hopped up to one of the empty red chairs.

The rest of the Cutie Mark Crusaders bumped Babs's hoof.

Zephyr then sat down. "So, what's for afternoon snacks?"

He looked at the table.

There were plates of wobbling gelatin. Not one of the plates was empty.

Humerus wobbled along with the gelatin.

Mrs. Shy chortled at the sight.

"The first changeling in our house," Mr. Shy said. "I hope he welcomes our kind hospitality."

Zephyr gave a slow, shy giggle as he scratched his bunned mane. "About that, mom and dad..."

Humerus flew around and made cheerful and happy sounds as he went around in the small room. Standing in front of the brick walls were glass containers. Inside, clouds of various types moved about. Some clouds were white and calm. Others were gray and active. Still, others were even grayer and even had miniature lightnings flashing out of them.

There was one container that contained two clouds. One was a normal white cloud. The other was a smaller cloud that housed a rainbow that seemed to be half-finished.

And Humerus kept flying around in the backhouse.

Mr. Shy and Zephyr Breeze stared at the whizzing changeling. "He sure is very active, Zephyr." He shivered a little. "Maybe you should tell him to fly around some place else."

"Don't worry, dad!"

Zephyr flew towards Humerus.

"Uh, get down and get out!"

Then, the changeling sped by him. Zephyr spun around.

Humerus was finally out.

Zerphyr fell to the ground in a dizzy condition.

Mr. Shy helped him up. "Are you OK, son?"

"I d-don't know..." he said in a slurred fashion, his head still going around.

Humerus munched on the gelatin in front of him. With a full mouth, he declared, "Delicious and gelatin-like!" He raised a hoof, bringing attention to himself.

All the ponies looked at him.

"Your cooking must be that good, Mrs. Shy!" Babs then chowed down on her gelatin.

"It's not really my cooking, dear," she replied. "We just got an instant mixture, that's all."

Humerus eyes opened wide. "Instant mixture jelly?!" he screamed. "Tell me where to buy them! I'll eat them straight from the can or the pack or whatever it is they're inside!"

The parents looked at each other.

"They're from the store at the intersection over there!" Zephyr pointed a hoof.

Humerus zipped off and out the door while saying a quick "Thank you!"

The door remained open. A few pegasi walking on the sidewalk and the street stared at the changeling and then at the open door, peering at the ponies inside looking back at them.

"Well, this is awkward," Apple Bloom commented.

"So, how did you meet your...friend, Zephyr?" Mrs. Shy asked as they all sat around the table.

Gelatin was still on their plates. One plate was empty.

"Heh-heh-heh, well, we were just walking on the street when this changeling just shook our hooves out of the blue and spoke way too fast for even I to understand." He gestured a hoof to himself. "Then, he suddenly shouted at me. He kept asking me if I was the Zephyr Breeze, the younger brother of Fluttershy." He gestured to himself again. "When he realized that I was the younger brother of Fluttershy, he kept asking where our house was. I didn't want to disappoint a hopeful and joyful changeling like him, so I took him under my wing and I, Babs, and...well, I forgot his name—anyway, we went home and you know the rest." He laid on his chair and grinned.

"Weird for someone who used to be menacin' and all." Babs shrugged and smiled.

"Wait a minute!" Scootaloo yelled, stretching her front hooves towards everypony there. "I can't believe that I forgot to tell you!"

"Tell us what?" Mr. and Mrs. shy asked together.

"A few days ago, we met a changeling on our own!"

The pegasi parents stopped eating and stared at the little filly who was glad about it.

"Yeah, and he even met Discord!" Apple Bloom continued.

"And, he even ate some hay burgers with us!" Sweetie Belle finished.

"Aww, why didn't you tell me that? You could've at least written me a letter or somethin'!" Babs went on eating.

The changeling zipped back to the house. He held out a cardboard box with his hooves. "I got instant geltain in bulk!" His eyes were twitching and his mouth was wide open and there was loud breathing. "Let's make more of that gelatin!"

Mrs. Shy laughed again rather nervously. "You must really like jelly, don't you?"

Fluttershy knocked on the door.

The door slammed open and slammed her.

"Fluttershy!"

Humerus hugged her.

She looked at the changeling. "Uh, Humerus? Is that...what's that smell?"

"I get to meet your family, I get to meet the Cutie Mark Crusaders plus Babs Seed, and I get to go around Cloudsdale, all in one day! And then, I get to meet you again!" He laughed at the ponies passing by who were hurrying and their pace when they saw the overjoyed changeling. "Everypony wants to laugh with me and enjoy what I and everypony else can do together in this wonderful place in the skies!"

Fluttershy looked over his shoulder.

Plates of gelatin filled the table and the chairs and some of the floor and some of the counters. Powdered gelatin mix was scattered around the floor. Amidst all of this, the ponies sat on additional chairs, grinning strangely at Fluttershy as they ate the gelatin on their plates.

Fluttershy sighed. "Humerus, what did you do?" she asked in a calm and quiet tone.

Humerus looked back at the gelatin mess. "You mean over there? We're just making jelly!" He licked his lips. "It's tasty!"

She gave him a neutral, unimpressed face. "Did you manage to convince my parents to make this mess?"

"They were surprisingly easy to convince, Fluttershy! They're just so nice and kind to be with!"

She kept giving him that face.

"What's the problem, Fluttershy?"

Humerus, Zephyr Breeze, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were mopping the floor and washing the dishes.

Fluttershy looked over them from a place in the room. "This is what you get for, uh, making mom and dad make tons of jelly even if they didn't want to." She glared at the crusaders. "I'm ashamed of you for helping the two troublemakers."

"We're sorry!" the four said in unison.

"Come on, sis!" Zephyr yelled as he kept mopping the floor. "You've gotta understand! I had to be kind to houseguests! And besides, I like myself some jelly!" He shot a grin at her.

She did not smile. She sighed again.

Humerus buzzed up to her, his eyes watery somewhat.

"What is it now, Humerus?" Her voice was still overbearingly quiet.

"Uh...i-it wasn't my fault, Fluttershy! I just wanted to have a cool party with your family and the crusaders now that I got to meet them in the same house!"

She inhaled some air. "Well, it is your fault. You must learn that you cannot just make everypony happy by forcing their demands on them, even if it is for fun—it probably won't be that fun for the others, will it?"

Humerus nodded his head slowly. "Yes, Fluttershy." Then he hugged her again, smiling again, too. "Does this mean that you're not mad at me anymore?"

Fluttershy sighed again.

"Maybe you first."

"Alright, sweetheart."

Mr. Shy stood by the door.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders entered the backhouse.

They spoke their amazed expressions as they looked and saw the many containers of clouds on the shelves. White ones, gray ones, even ones that were close to black. The calm ones, the thundering ones—they were there. The container with the two clouds, one of them having a half-finished rainbow, was also there.

"How were you able to get all of these, Mr. Shy?" Apple Bloom asked.

He exhaled and closed his eyes. "Well, these clouds that I've collected through the years—it all started when I began my work as a worker in the weather factory. My job was to inspect and refine the clouds—I was pretty much at the last stage of cloud production." He hovered over to one container which had a white, moving cloud. He held it softly and gently under his hooves. "This was from the first cloud that I've ever handled in the factory. I knew, from that moment, that I was going to not just collect clouds from around Cloudsdale, but that keeping pieces of clouds from my tenure in the factory—it's going to inspire many pegasi one day." He looked up from his precious cloud. "If I can get to work up the courage to open the backhouse for display, that is."

"What about that one over—"

Everypony glared at the changeling flying towards one of the containers.

"Oh. Sorry." He grinned as he hovered down to the ground.

"Sorry, too," Mr. Shy said. He kept patting the container. "I know that this cloud looks nothing special, nothing like some of the ferocious thunderstorm clouds here. But, this is from my first cloud at the factory. No cloud can beat that."

"OK, what about the—"

Everypony glared at Humerus again.

"I was just asking about the cloud with the rainbow!"

"Oh, you mean this one?" Mr. Shy flew towards the container with the two clouds. "It just so happened that the cloud went ahead in the line and somehow got rainbow all over it. When it got back to the line for further refining, I decided to do my normal collecting—I thought the cloud with the rainbow all over was the best one that day. I just got a little amount of rainbow to do a half-finished arc like that—for art." He grinned.

"Wow!" Sweetie Belle yelled. "You could sculpture rainbows?"

"Not my talent, but I know some pegasi here who could." He tapped his chin. "Although, the word 'sculpture' might not be the best word...or maybe it is, Sweetie Belle."

"Well, what about this one—"

Everypony glared at him again.

"Humerus." Fluttershy walked towards him. "Please don't interrupt my dad." She gave him a smile.

He smiled sheepishly and nodded fast.

"I still can't believe we can walk on clouds like this!" Sweetie Belle said while she walked around on the front yard.

Apple Bloom poked the cloud bush. "It's just like a regular ol' shrub!"

"If it weren't for Twilight, we couldn't be here at all!" Babs said.

"I don't need any magical spells to walk on clouds!" Scootaloo then walked produly on the yard.

They all looked at the hovering changeling.

"Say, don't you get tired of all that flying around?" Zephyr asked in front of the front door. "Don't want to fall off, do ya'?" He smirked at Humerus.

"Well, I don't know if I can stand on clouds."

"What about you try?" Scootaloo asked.

He recoiled from the filly. "But, what if I fall?"

"Uh, you have wings," Sweetie Belle replied. "You could fly back up here if you fall through the clouds."

"What about I don't try that?"

"You have wings!" Zephyr yelled. "You have no excuse to not try! But, you could just stay over there and keep flying."

Humerus shook his head. "I'll just stay here!"

"Uh, OK," Scootaloo said. "Just as long as you don't get tired."

Meeting

Inside, the huge and spacious and wide hallway was there. Banners and curtains of long length flowed down to the floor. The massive and tall windows brought in the sunlight along with the open blue sky that brightened the day. Columns added to the majestic touch of the room.

At the center, elevated by a stepped, limestone and marble platform, a round table covered with red felt. Chairs of magnificent height and decoration—gems and other precious stones were embedded in them—completed the table.

And Princess Celestia and Princess Luna left the room through the tall double doors. The doors were then closed by their magic.

That left only two royal occupants—a green and shiny changeling and a blue and scaly dragon. They were sitting on chairs across the table.

On both sides, there were guards. On one side, changeling guards were shielded with their armor. On the other, large dragons towered over even the royal guests, looking over the event.

Thorax gulped. "So, uh...how do we begin this?" He looked here and there and back at Dragon Lord Ember. "Greetings, Dragon Lord Ember? Dragon Lord Princess Ember?"

"Don't ask me," the dragon gruffly responded. "The Dragon Lands have never been to a formal meeting in Equestria's capital for...probably never."

"We're both going into this head-first, aren't we?"

She tapped the table with a claw. "Are we supposed to just talk our differences or whatever the goal of this meeting is?"

"It's about—"

"I know it's supposed to be forming a friendly alliance between the Dragon Lands and the Changeling Kingdom for our—" She raised her claws and made air quotes with them "'—mutual interests,' but we can just say 'Let's agree to not fight each other and help each other' and then we're done!"

"Hmm." Thorax held his chin, staring at the table. "Maybe we're supposed to be more specific about our alliance."

"Like what?"

The changeling leaned towards the table, still looking at Ember. "Probably...send each other food and...things?" He went back to slouching at his chair. "It's called trade, right?"

"That I get." She glanced at one of the tall windows. "Anything you need that we have? And, anything we need that you have?"

Thorax rubbed his chin. "What do you need? I mean, what do your citizens and your subjects need?"

Ember now rubbed her chin, too. "To be honest, we don't need much in the Dragon Lands. We just look for food and then we eat."

"Water?"

Ember looked blankly at him. "Really, Thorax?"

"OK, probably not the best thing to say." He made a smile. "What about...books!"

"You expect us, fire-breathing dragons, to be able to read through a few books?"

Thorax chuckled nervously. "Yeah, I guess I should've thought that one through, also."

"I'm also having a hard time thinking about what you might give us since...like I said, we don't need much." She glanced back at the window. "Are we supposed to stay here for an hour? What are we going to talk about for an hour?" She slammed the table with her fist.

Thorax gasped.

"Oh, sorry about that—I'm just bored here, that's all."

Thorax looked around at the guards.

The guards, both changeling and dragon, just looked at them. Then, they looked away to some other places. One changeling yawned at his location.

Silence was there as a while passed by with no word said.

Thorax tapped a hoof on the table, making a beat.

Ember sighed, looking out the windows again.

The guards stood still in their place.

"Uh, we need..." Thorax stopped. "OK, I'm not sure what your natural resources are there in the Dragon Lands."

"We have precious stones such as diamonds, rubies, crystals—maybe we can sell you that."

Another bout of silence went about.

"I think we're not that rich in terms of bits."

"We don't need bits, considering that we just buy things by trading items around." She gave a single, scoffing laugh. "So, in exchange for giving you some of our precious stones..."

Yet another time of silence began.

Thorax sighed. "We can give you..." He groaned. "OK, I think we should not think about trade. What other things can we do to help each other out?"

"Send forces to the other if one of us is attacked?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

"That's already settled, considering that all alliances I've seen in and with Equestria have that."

Yet again silence was in the room. No word was spoken for a while.

The guards watched at their places.

"This is not what I expected when I wanted a meeting with the Dragon Lord of the Dragon Lands."

Ember stood up. She held the table with her claws. "You're saying that I'm not worth your time, shapeshifter?!"

Thorax brought a hoof to his neck. "No, Ember! That's not what I meant!" He desperately held out his front hooves at her, defending himself. "What I meant to say was that I did not expect the meeting itself to be boring, not you! You're actually someone I wanted to meet for quite a while!"

Ember gruffly went back to her seat. "If you didn't say that, I would've burnt you down." She smiled. "At least we're not supposed to be hurting each other around." Then, she sighed. "This is not going the way I expected it to be, too."

The double doors opened.

The two Princesses were there at the door.

"Have you two reached a conclusion?" Celestia asked from her place.

The two looked at each other, giving a silent conversation through their expressions.

"I guess it was a short and easy meeting, right?" Luna said.

Ember flew away from her chair. "Well, we just wanted an alliance that shows to Equestria that the Dragon Lands and the Changeling Kingdom are now friends. We don't want to have an hour-long discussion about what's this and what's that." She folded her arms.

Thorax stepped off his chair and walked to Ember's side. He looked at the Princesses at the door. "I agree with her, too." Then, he bowed down to the Princesses.

Ember still hovered above the floor. She looked at the bowing changeling. "Uh, you're a king. You're not supposed to bow down to other leaders and royals."

He quickly and hastily stood up. "Uh, y-yes, I knew that!" He gave a chuckle.

Celestia responded with her own light chuckle with closed, happy eyes. "Like she said."

"But, may I ask of you two, why you have not followed the standard protocol of spending at least one hour in deep discussion and talk about your alliance terms?"

"Ahem." Ember floated down to the ground with her wings. "Do we really need to go through all the steps? It's not like we're trying to build some kind of complex political...thing. We just want mutual protection and resources, that's all."

"But we haven't talked much about trade yet—"

Ember forced a clawed fist into Thorax's mouth. "Can't we just say we're friends and that's it."

Luna sighed. "You definitely do not need contracts and treaties to be close individual friends, but national friends and alliances...that is a more complicated matter that cannot be handled in only words and hoofshakes."

"I am sad to say that my sister is right." Celestia looked up towards the sky. "We've had our share of trials back in the day when we were young in the political realm. Making friends one by one is one thing." She paused. She faced the two short creatures in front of her. "Having to consult with leaders of other lands for our and their benefit is another, although I do understand that both of you are new to this leadership thing." She winked at the two and smiled.

One of the large dragon guards raised a claw. "Does that mean we can go now?"

Celestia nodded. "Yes, you may."

Seated at another table with red felt cloth, the wide view of the landscape that was laid in front of them was breath-taking with all the tall and short buildings of various kinds and types, all sporting yellow, white, purple; ponies trotted, galloped, walked, stood, sat still, all while doing various activites such as talking and eating and drinking and laughing and just beholding all that was around them in both the natural surroundings and the pony-made structures, under the sunny sky with its sun, although the view itself was also accompanied by the sounds of utensils touching plates and ponies inside eating their food and as the fragrance of delicious food and refreshing drinks drifted in the air above the checkerboard-floor which contained elegant, wooden chairs and tables just like the one that Thorax and Ember were seated around as they kept looking out the window and then back at their food and then back at each other as many ponies ate on while some others stopped their eating and watched the two leaders seated across the table, waiting for the next word from their mouths to be said or for the next activity from them to happen like taking a bite from their sandwiches.

Thorax planted his face onto the plate and loudly munched his sandwich.

Ember saw the ponies looking at Thorax.

She shurgged her arms and let out a fiery breath. Her sandwich was now toasted.

One of the ponies waved a hoof in front of his face, looking away in disgust.

"I saw that." Ember glared at the pony.

The pony hurriedly went back to eating his lunch.

"The ponies here are at least nice enough to let us eat at this fancy restaurant," Ember said.

Thorax looked up. His face was dirty and stained by the bread and the peanut butter. "The peanut butter's delicious!" Then, he kept consuming the half-eaten sandwich with noisy munches.

Ember sighed. "The meeting went well, I guess. The signing was alright." She kept looking at the ferocious changeling, ravenous with hunger or a desire to taste and to experience that taste again. "Are you alright?"

He held up his hoof after another bite. "I haven't tasted peanut butter before and I adore its flavor! I want to eat more of this peanut butter sandwich!" Then, he took another bite.

Ember observed the eating Thorax.

The ponies halted all their dining to see the changeling eat his sandwich.

As the two kept walking through another spacious and grand hallway with its own dignified and fancy decorations, the double doors in front of them opened.

Outside, Twilight Sparkle was there.

She gasped. "Oh, I didn't know the Changeling-Dragon alliance meeting was taking place right now! Or was it just a few minutes ago? You seem awfully early." She levitated a notebook in front of her. "You're early! My schedule tells me that the meeting should end ten minutes from now!"

Thorax scratched his head nervously. "About that, Princess Twilight Sparkle..."

Ember stepped in front of him. "A meeting for one hour is boring. So, we just went straight to the point and said, 'Let's be allies!'" She gave her a rough, menacing face. "And that was all."

"I see." Her face suddenly brightened up. "I almost forgot! What about our dragon culture session where you tell me more about how dragons live?" She levitated another notebook to view. There were bookmarks and pieces of paper sticking out. "We're almost full with this one! I have another notebook that looks exactly like this one! I bought my bookmark pack, my extra paper pack, and—" She levitated a box "—my additional writing instruments!"

An awkward pause was there.

"You must be very excited for that, Twilight." Ember glanced around. "I didn't expect anypony to be that excited about dragons."

"And then, I'll publish a book and be the first pony in decades to discover more information about dragons!"

Thorax looked at Twilight jumping up and down in excitement.

Twilight then stopped jumping and saw Thorax. "Oh, sorry for leaving you out!" She ran up to him. "Do you want me to schedule your own changeling culture sessions?" She levitated another notebook. "I have plenty of bookmarks and paper to keep up with the richness of the changelings and their lifestyle and living!" The grin on her was face was big.

Thorax gulped. He faced Ember.

Ember shrugged her arms again and rolled her eyes. "Just let Twilight be, Thorax. I've already gotten too much of ponies being happy and cheery all the time."

Thorax then looked at Twilight who was still staring at him with that grin.

"So, will you say 'Yes,' Thorax?"

"Uh, can we move outside?"

Twilight looked at the double doors and the inside of the building as Thorax and Ember still stood on the carpet.

"Oh, yes, please come out of the doors! It's probably freezing cold inside!"

"It's not winter, yet," Ember said.

Twilight laughed nervously, scratching her head and mane. "Yeah, that's OK! I make mistakes sometimes!"

They stepped out and Twilight closed the door.

Thorax sighed. He smiled. "Yes, Twilight."

"Yes!" Twilight jumped up and down again.

Filthy Rich

Sacks and light wooden wagons flew through the sky as changelings of different colors, all shining and reflecting the light of the sun, carried and pulled these containers.

Ponies walking by pointed up, some saying "Look up!", others adding "Changelings!" A brooding silence rested among the ponies. Almost nopony that looked up and saw the changelings made a smile, nor did they say a word in that happy or cheerful tone. The only ones who saw and were elated at the strange sight of some changelings in the air were the foals and the colts and the fillies—and not even all of them, especially the older ones, were glad about it.

The changelings, in their rigid and well-structured formation, landed in sequence right in front of one of the buildings. Its walls were of a cream-yellow paint, supported and framed with wooden beams. A gap was there that divided the wall into two horizontal parts. Through the gap, there were a variety of things on display and also on sale—there were hats, vases, jars, mirrors and plates, among others. A double wooden door with windows stood at the entrance.

The double doors opened.

There went out a stallion with a gray-amber coat and black, brushed hair. He had eye bags yet still smiled. He wore a white collar, a blue half-suit, and a red tie.

"So, you're the new customers?" He gazed upon the plenty wagons and sacks.

Inside, swarms of changelings carried and held all kinds of things, taking them off the shelves and throwing them off to the brown sacks. A few of the stronger, burlier changelings hauled the full, bulky sacks outside and threw them to the wagons. Outside, changeling guards in their armor stood and eyed everypony passing by with watchfule eyes.

The ponies continued walking by, some of them taking a long glance at the event that was happening.

Meanwhile, Filthy Rich fixed his tie as he trotted through his store, checking each and every changeling that was in his sight. He did not say a word; his face showed no emotion as he looked at the many items being moved, being given, being taken, being thrown away to yet another sack.

"Just be careful with the fragile stuff, changelings," he said, looking at no one in particular. "I wouldn't want any of my precious items to be broken before it's even used."

One of the changelings flew up to him. He wore armor unlike most of his fellows. "Don't worry about us, Filthy!"

Filthy coughed. "Uh, I prefer 'Mr. Rich.'"

"Oh, alright!" The changeling gave him a smile.

"What's your name, anyway, changeling?"

"Con Voyer, sir!" He saluted Mr. Rich.

"You're pretty optimistic, aren't you?"

"Just take a look around at all of us helping out our own place!" Con Voyer motioned a hoof at all the changelings moving about in their carrying and their holding and their moving. "On behalf of King Thorax and of the rest of the changelings, I and all of us here thank you for supplying the Changeling Kingdom with your great products!"

Mr. Rich chuckled and shook hooves with Con Voyer. "It's my pleasure, too." He smiled.

Filthy Rich stood right outside his store. He looked up and saw the changelings with their wagons and their sacks moving and flying in the sky. Sometimes, a sack would fall off the wagon, but the changeling right under the wagon would swoop in to catch it and return it to the wagon.

He took a deep sigh. "Stinkin' Rich started the shop just to make some simple, honest money. Now, here I am, with a family and a shop that is now somehow involved in investing in foreign political entities. Huh."

Filthy Rich walked back into the store.

The sky was now an orange-yellow once again as the sun was setting in the horizon.

The double doors of the store were closed as Filthy Rich placed a sign on it. On the sign, there were the words, "Off to early close. Please come back tomorrow for normal schedule."

Beside him was his wife whose coat was a pink of pale and who wore fancy, blue and yellow clothes. Also beside him was his daughter of a brighter and fuller pink, wearing a tiara.

"So, how did it all go, daddy?" Diamond Tiara asked in that cheerful tone.

"Oh, it all went well, Tiara." He brushed his daughter's mane with a hoof. "Your daddy just needs to have some rest time in order to relax from the strenous work today—it was more than I expected, to be honest." He looked at his wife. "Spoiled Rich? Any suggestions for a dinner out?"

Diamond Tiara's smile faded when she looked at her mom.

"What about a trip to Canterlot?" Spoiled Rich suggested in her haughty, high-falutin voice. "We have more than enough money to afford multiple meals at one of those fancy restaurants."

"Good thing, dear."

Filthy Rich and his family entered the restaurant.

"Good evening, and welcome to the Tasty Treat!" Saffron Masala greeted, wearing a smile on her face as the wonderful noise of ponies talking and eating around the wooden tables to the smell and the taste of the cuisine continued.

"What is this place, Filthy Rich?!" Spoiled Rich yelled while she recoiled and took steps back in surprise.

"I heard that it's a really good place to eat in," Filthy replied. He looked at Diamond Tiara. "I bet there's lots of food in here that you haven't even thought of, Tiara."

"Hi, Diamond Tiara!" three fillies shouted from their table.

The pony eating at the table beside them shushed the group.

Rainbow Dash, seated beside the Cutie Mark Crusaders, glared at that pony.

The pony hurriedly went back to eating his food.

"The bully, eh?" Rainbow said from her seat as the family drew nearer. "The former bully, I mean." She smiled at the filly.

"The Cutie Mark Crusaders and Rainbow Dash." Filthy shook Rainbow's hoof. "It's an honor to meet you after, well, some time, Rainbow Dash."

"Hmph!" Spoiled Rich just looked away. "How long will I tolerate you lowering yourself down to their level?"

"Whee!"

A changeling flew by.

"This day has just got even worse with even more changelings!"

Apple Bloom broke away from the group hug with Diamond Tiara. "But, that's only one changeling." She grinned. "And he's awesome!"

"What?! That changeling is awesome?" She gestured to the changeling loudly eating and noisily slurping all the food in front of him—and the food was plenty, with plates and bowls containing various culinary fragrances and tastes.

"He's now a regular customer," Saffron Masala said. "It's a testimony that our food can connect not just many different ponies, but even different creatures as well! We aren't just cooking for the Canterlot ponies, anymore!"

Spoiled Rich sighed. "Can we try some place else?"

"I wanna eat here with my friends!" Diamond Tiara yelled.

Then, she rushed off to the table of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Rainbow Dash flew back to her seat there.

Spoiled Rich just stood there, mouth open and eyes just staring at her daughter mingling with the lower class. Meanwhile, the unique smells of the many foods there wafted through the air as the decorative lanterns and candles and walls exuded that exotic yet familiar sense.

"Come on, Spoiled, let's get to their table already," Filthy Rich said as he walked off to the table.

"What?!"

"It's an extra large table, Spoiled. We'll all fit."

"Uh..."

"Come on, mom!" Diamond Tiara yelled from her chair. "You don't want to miss out on the family-and-friend dinner, do you?"

She slowly walked her way to the table. "Uh, yes, dear Tiara. Of course, I'll go there."

The filly crossed her arms and closed her eyes, smirking.

Everypony at the table laughed. Spoiled Rich didn't.

Neon Guard stood in the big warehouse. The many, many green lights above gave the large building a bright glow inside. All the shelves were clearly seen with their boxes and their sacks and their labels. The smell of cardboard boxes filled the air.

"Did you check everything?" he asked the changeling in front of him who was looking at all of the shelves and their items.

"Yes, sir." He saluted.

"Are you sure you checked everything."

"Yes, sir." He saluted again.

"Did you double check everything, Post Parcel?

"Yes, sir." He saluted again.

Neon Guard sighed. "Why did you give yourself a lazy name?"

"It's not lazy, sir," he went on in his professional voice. "I took Parcel Post's name and switched the words and now I have a totally unique and not lazy name of Post Parcel."

"How long did you have your name again?"

"A week, sir."

Neon Guard quickly flew out the warehouse.

"Is it really that bad, sir?" Post Parcel still saluted.

Floating islands of ground in the background of purple and blue something as train tracks and bridges held by ropes connected the disconnected pieces of land together as a tree stood on the metal island that was clean. In the middle of all the chaos, an island of green grass and a normal tree floated. The red and yellow house was there, surrounded by a white wire fence.

And Parcel Post, a beige earth pony in blue mail pony uniform complete with the hat, knocked on the door.

The door opened.

Discord laughed for some time.

Parcel Post took a step back, watching the choatic scenery. He turned his head around back at Discord. "Uh, what's the matter, Discord?"

Discord picked the pony up. He stared at him eye-to-eye. The draconequus was smiling rather inexplicably at him. "I just figured out that there is someone out there with your name on it!" He rubbed his chin, his smile not there anymore. "Well, not exactly your name, but it will do."

Parcel Post looked down from his dangling state. "Uh, are you sure you're not going to drop me?"

Discord dropped him to the ground. The pony landed with a loud thud.

"Goes to show how uncreative changelings are with their names."

Parcel Post hurriedly stood up. "But, I-I'm not a changeling!"

"Course you are."

Discord snapped his clawed fingers.

A changeling appeared right beside Parcel Post.

"Parcel Post," Discord said, gesturing his claw towards the changeling, "meet Post Parcel."

Discord grinned and shook his paw and claw together, revelling in the conversation to come.

"Hi, Parcel Post!" the changeling waved. He looked around. "This sure is some nightmare, right?!" He laughed. Then, he stared at Discord. His laugh trailed off to a nervous chuckle then to a quiet, concerned laugh. "Please tell me this is just a nightmare, Discord!"

"Nope. This is where I live, thank you very much." He stepped aside and opened the door. "Would you like to see my house?"

"Uh, no! No, thank you!" Post Parcel said, slowly stepping away from Discord as he placed a shaky smile on his face.

Parcel Post just stood there, looking at the changeling and the draconequus. "Is your name really Post Parcel?"

"It's a nice name, right?!"

Parcel Post now took a step back from the changeling. "I was just here to deliver mail to Discord, out of all ponies and creatures!"

Neon Guard stood in the night, on the grassy open field.

There were many lights, most of them either yellow or white. As the lights brightened the field, changelings talked and played and moved around. Some brought baskets of food and drinks; they sat down and talked and laughed as they ate and drank.

On the roads, changelings on the sidewalk passed by, most of them wearing smiles.

"Newspapers! Nightly editions!" a changeling with a cap yelled to the passers-by. Beside him was a newspaper stand.

Neon Guard and looked at Blue Alarm and Red Noise beside him. "Are you sure it was a good idea to let Humerus stay in Canterlot for one more day?"

Red Noise shook his head. "I think it was a terrible idea, Neon Guard. Why did you let him out like that? You know it was a bad idea!"

"Maybe if I was more lenient on Humerus, he would grow better." Neon Guard looked off towards Canterlot though the city itself could not be seen in the background. "Blue Alarm?"

He was staring at his own fellow changelings. Happy, smiling.

He looked at the library, one of the few buildings with no lights on.

He looked back at his friends and the other changelings around on the grassy field.

And then he looked at the changeling that just appeared right in front of him.

His eyes went wide open.

Neon Guard and Red Noise lunged into their fighting stance.

Blue Alarm hovered over the ground.

Many of the changelings there stopped their talking and their laughing and their eating and their drinking and turned their attention towards the new arrival.

"Post Parcel?" Neon Guard asked.

"Yes, it's me, sir!" Post Parcel replied with gladness.

"When did you learn teleportation? Only unicorns could do that!"

"Discord teleported me!"

"Discord?!" Neon Guard leaned towards Post Parcel with an angry face. "Discord is no laughing matter, even though he's good!"

"Well, he teleported me back here!"

"From where?" Red Noise asked.

"From his front yard!"

"Discord has a front yard?" Neon Guard asked. "Are you serious?"

"I met Parcel Post there! I was so glad to see him!"

"That's not the point!"

Post Parcel flew up towards one of the boxes. On it were labelled the words "Additional Zap Apple Jam."

He looked around.

In the dark warehouse, a few changeling guards flew about.

Then, he opened the box.

Several jars filled with rainow-colored jam were there.

Post Parcel took one of the jars.

Filthy Rich yawned as he walked towards his shop in the early morning sun.

The sign was still there on the double doors.

He took the sign down.

He opened the door.

Filthy Rich turned to the right.

"Ah, it's the news."

He picked up the bundled newspaper with his mouth and went inside.

Walking past the lines and rows of items and goods, he approached the counter and went behind it.

Filthy Rich dropped the bundle and opened it up.

His eyes went wide open.

"What?!"

"Congratulations, Post Parcel," Neon Guard said, hovering above the ground as he held his copy of the newspaper with one hoof, "not only do you have an unoriginal name, you've also shamed pretty much the entire Changeling Kingdom by eating jam." He struck the nervous Post Parcel with a piercing look.

Post Parcel laughed nervously, scratching his head and smiling while looking here and there.

"Specifically, Zap Apple jam. You're not supposed to eat the entire supply of Zap Apple jam!"

Post Parcel laughed again, still nervously.

"You did not even place the jam on sandwiches and bread! You ate it straight from the jar! And now, it's on newspapers all over Equestria and beyond! Everypony, including the Princesses themselves, plus everyone else! The dragons, the yaks, the griffons, the zebras!"

"Maybe if I could explain—"

"Explain what?!"

"First, they shapeshifted their way to almost complete domination twice, then there's this!" Filthy shouted as he walked, bemoaning his condition. "Well, the money that I did gain is going to comfort me." He shook his head with closed eyes. "No, what about the Apple family? Granny Smith is going to tell me that their produce is not supposed to be used like that—argh!"

A loud bang from the counter.

Filthy Rich groaned, panting for a second. He rubbed his forehead, closing his eyes.

He opened his eyes and looked at the shelves, the shelves that used to have items.

Now, there were just spaces, gaps of open air.

He looked at the ponies that were just outside, seeing him in his haggard condition through the open walls. Some of them gasped.

Filthy placed a smile on his face. "Uh, welcome to Rich's Barnyard Bargains! How may I help you this fine day, ponies?"

Several of them moved away; a few walked inside the shop.

Filthy sighed in relief, brushing off the sweat from his forehead.

He pensively eyed his cashier with its buttons and its metal shelf. Filthy whispered, "At least I didn't steal from anypony, or anyone, for that matter."

"Filthy Rich?"

He quickly turned his head towards the pony in front of him. "Ah, yes, what can I do for you?"

The stallion dropped a bucket of sweet, frosted donuts and wrapped chocolates. "How many bits do I have to pay for this?"

"And, what's the donuts and chocolates for, Soarin?"

"For myself, of course!"

Filthy Rich gave a short laugh at that. "Well, that's nice to know, Soarin. That would be ten bits, Wonderbolt."

Soarin gave his ten bits and dropped them onto the counter.

Behavior

Soarin, in his blue and yellow coat-tight uniform and wearing his blue and gray goggles, flew in the sky. The pegasus pierced through the clouds, rushed through the open expanse, basked in the sunlight, and felt the wind coursing by him.

Below, there were the great fields of grass with their trees blowing and swaying in the wind. The cottages of Ponyville were slowly moving away from his sight.

The hills and the mountains were yet still a great distance away from him. Down below, their peaks reached high but not that high.

The ponies that walked on and flittered above the ground seemed tiny from this altitude.

But Soarin looked ahead of him. There was not only him but several of the Wonderbolts as well, flying side-by-side; Spitfire, with her fiery mane flowing in the speed, led the airborne group as the rest followed her a short throw away.

The adrenaline ran, the sweat flowed, the smile appeared—on Soarin's face, there was that face of exhiliration. A grin, an expression of pleasure as he experienced that exciting journey, that electrifying run through the sky. Though the clouds appeared ever more abundant in this sunny day, Soarin raced through them, he and his pegasi friends.

"Wonderbolts!" a changeling yelled as he appeared right in front of them.

And then the pegasi fell. Disorganized, one crashed into another. That another crashed into yet another. Now, pegasi left and right were dwindling and spinning down towards the ground, not a few flailing their hooves and their wings while screams were heard.

Soarin was now falling. He aimed upwards towards the sky.

He kept falling.

He flapped his wings and aimed towards a nearby cloud slipping away.

He kept falling.

Soarin focused on the fast-approaching ground and attempted to steer himself upwards.

He kept falling.

The pegasi breathed heavily and quickly, almost hyperventilating. The clouds were now far up in the sky.

He took a quick look at all that was around him.

More pegasi were falling. There were more screams and shouts. "Help!"

The nice, dainty grass was coming closer and closer.

Soarin rapidly flapped his wings. He closed his eyes and grunted.

The pegasus screamed.

Soarin gasped open his mouth.

"Soarin!" Spitfire yelled, already wearing her Wonderbolt uniform. "You've overslept!"

"Wha—what?!" he sputtered out, scrambling out from his bed.

Spitfire eyed him. "Having nightmares?"

He turned his head. There were the many beds, aligned in two neat rows. There were the purple wooden chests at the foot of each of the beds. There were the tall windows that brought in the sunlight. There were the ceiling windows that brought in even more sunlight. There were the pictures of ponies, framed with elegant yellow frames. There was the yellow statue of a pegasus zapping out of a cloud, looking at the sky with his goggles.

He sighed. "I guess so, Spitfire."

Spitfire threw a suit and a pair of goggles. Soarin caught them.

"You've got no time to waste! Everypony else is outside! We've got to be on schedule for our first show at the Changeling Kingdom!"

Soarin stood there, staring at Spitfire, mouth open.

Spitfire looked at him with peering, worried eyes. "Anything wrong?"

Soarin slapped a smile on his face. "Uh, nothing!"

"Look, Nastic!"

"What is it?"

The two changelings walked slowly among the many that flew and ran in swarms, all cheering and smiling.

At one of the open gates of the kingdom, Thorax stood in front of a group of pegasi wearing blue and yellow uniforms. They took a short bow.

Thorax groaned.

Spitfire opened her eyes, inching up just a little bit. "What's the matter, King Thorax?"

"Uh, sorry, guys!" Thorax placed on a nervous smile. "I just...get uncomfortable with ponies and changelings bowing down to me all the time."

The Wonderbolts stood up.

Countless changelings sat on the ground. Even more changelings hovered above the ground, flapping their wings and buzzing. Many wore their Wonderbolts merchandise, from caps and other hats through shirts and posters and all the way to full-out replicas of the Wonderbolt uniform. Cameras were at the ready, although some of the ponies present eyed the changelings who were borrowing their cameras.

Almost the entire changeling-and-pony audience was fenced off a large portion of the big grass field.

And five mares, three fillies, and one baby dragon were also fenced off from everyone else.

Earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns in their armor stood tall, surrounding the ponies (and dragon) inside, facing outwards.

The rowdy, deafening noise of the crowd blared through the air. Changelings dashed off towards Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends, only for the guards to stand even sturdier and to glare at them, making the changelings quickly turn away. The changelings who were not fazed at this show of might and authority still dashed on. The guards were ready to pounce, watching the speeding changelings.

"I know we're the Elements of Harmony and all, but this party is a little too overreactive," Pinkie Pie said, looking at the nice fence around them. "Or was it 'overreacting?'" She shrugged. "I'm not sure." She pointed at Twilight. "Can you help me with this one?"

Twilight groaned. "This is not the time to think about what's the right word when almost every changeling wants to mob us for some reason!"

The rest of the ponies (and the dragon) within the fenced area faced Twilight who was taking slow breaths.

"Calm yourself, now!" Applejack yelled. With a nervous glance at the changelings looking at them, she said, "As long as we jus' enjoy ourselves here, nopony's gonna get stressed about anythin'!" She gulped. "Right, girls?"

Rarity twirled her hair with a hoof. "Like Applejack said, let us enjoy ourselves! Besides, I already adore all the attention we're getting!" She motioned her front hooves towards the riotous crowd in its Wonderbolt-merchandise decorations. "Everypony here just loves me!"

Everypony else looked at her with a suspicious look.

"Uh, I mean, everypony here just loves us!"

"At least we'll get to see Rainbow Dash perform," Fluttershy pointed out. "I think that's a good thing."

"Yeah!" Scootaloo shouted. She faced the rest of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. "The changelings are going to witness the pure awesomeness of Rainbow Dash on stage—in the sky! Who's not gonna love that?!"

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle continued clattering their hooves and their teeth as they saw the many changelings roaring and cheering not just at the Wonderbolts preparing themselves for the show but also at Twilight Sparkle, her friends, and the fillies themselves.

"I don't think I'm going to like it if half of the changelings in this kingdom is watching me like I'm a Wonderbolt!" Sweetie Belle complained.

"Now, now, there," Applejack said, "there's no need to be so worried about it! They're jus' excited to see us, that's all!"

Spike sat on the grass. "OK, now what?"

Twilight sighed. "We'll just wait until the show's over." She tilted her head up. "Seeing Rainbow Dash perform with the Wonderbolts would lighten the mood."

While they were fenced off in a conspicious spot, Thorax sat right beside two armored changelings with unmoving faces, placed amidst the crowd on the grand bleachers. Confetti, balloons, and streamers of blue, yellow were thrown into the air. The many smiles and the many cries were combined into a cacophony of ovation, but the Wonderbolts were still not yet ready. The event had not yet begun.

Thorax threw a popcorn from his filled and overflowing popcorn bucket. He chewed. "Flavorful!"

He did not smile when he looked at his own subjects again.

He observed them. The sheer amount of changelings that wore and had Wonderbolt clothing and merchandise, the overpowering approval and applause for the Wonderbolts, the concerning number of changelings that tried to get an autograph from Twilight Sparkle and her friends—all while several changelings flew to their king to thank him for allowing the event to happen and for letting all the Element of Harmony plus the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Spike to participate in this occasion.

Thorax sighed a slow, deep sigh.

"What's wrong?" Royal Escort asked. "Everyone else is so happy. Why aren't you?"

"Just thinking," Thorax replied. He turned his gaze away from the guard. "What happened to our library?"

"Not much, King Thorax."

Thorax gave Royal Escort a slighting look. "What do you mean, 'Not much'?"

"We've got in new batches of books from the Canterlot libraries and the library in the Tree of Friendship in Ponyville. Other than that, it's the usual—changelings borrowing, some of them buying."

All while the smell of popcorn and other steamed and cooked foods wafted through the air.

Thorax sniffed it. "Yes, who couldn't forget a changeling's first encounter with food and all that it can give you?"

Royal Escort gave a wide smile. "I won't foget it, Thorax."

Thorax smiled back at him. "At least you're happy."

And then he munched happily on his popcorn, observing the open field and his satisfied subjects enjoying the moment.

"Every...uh, changeling! Welcome to this wondrous, and no doubt signficant event in the entire history of Equestria and the Changeling Kingdom!" the voice blared through speakers both high and low throughout the kingdom.

The lively roar of the changelings grew louder. Their movements, more energetic and more desperate.

"Why will this event be significant?' you may ask." The voice took a pause. "That's because, for the first time in Equestrian history, the Wonderbolts will be performing outside of Equestria for the first time in...well, a long time! And, where else to display the wonder of the Wonderbolts outside of Equestria than at the newly-reforming and growing Changeling Kingdom!"

The changelings stomped, shouted, made loud their approval. It echoed. The ground shook.

There was a tap on Thorax's shoulder.

"Ember?"

Ember nodded, though there was no smile. "So, not at our place?"

Thorax gulped.

The changelings still cheered.

"Hmph. No one's noticing me in plain sight." She looked around. "Exactly what I wanted for now."

"So, why did you come to—"

"Well, I've got to stay 'friendly' in order to make the dragons seem reasonable enough to talk to." Ember sighed, covering a sinister laugh.

Thorax offered Ember a bag of popcorn. "What about—"

But she flew away.

Every changeling there was focused on somewhere else.

Rainbow Dash, donning her aerial uniform just like the rest of the squad there, flew.

And the beautiful sky was adorned with the beautiful, daring moves of the Wonderbolts.

They soared up. Gray clouds trailed. There appeared sparks of lightning.

Seven Wonderbolts in the air.

Pinkie Pie, on the ground with the rest of her friends, gobbled up more and more of her popcorn from her bag while she watched with everypony and everyone else.

The sound of the rushing wind got louder.

The Wonderbolts were aimed towards the bleachers with its occupants.

A few changelings screamed.

The Wonderbolts flew past them.

The wind blew the mane of the ponies that were there. Everyone there—both changeling and pony—tilted a little to their right with the gust.

The overjoyed uproar returned. Changelings ate even more popcorn and other delectable snacks as they beheld the Wonderbolts moving through the air in their professional yet fun fashion.

"Why are we not at the bleachers again, Nastic?" Long Winded asked, standing beside the tall, wooden bleachers that held many seats and benches containing many more changelings and ponies.

"They look better the farther away you are," Nastic replied.

"Don't you want to see them up—"

Nastic placed a hoof onto Long Winded's mouth.

"What about a change of topic? Like, for example—" He motioned a hoof towards all the happy changelings moving and jumping from their seats "—how that I cannot tell if they're changelings or ponies."

Long Winded stared at his friend with a confused expression. "Well, they're changelings because they look like us—we have carapaces, ponies have coats. Ponies have manes, we don't."

Nastic sighed. "I know the physical differences of changelings and ponies." He gazed up towards the Wonderbolts. "What I mean is—just look at their behavior. Just look at their mannerisms, their actions, their preferences, their—almost everything!"

A few changelings turned towards him.

Long Winded looked back at them.

The changelings resumed their glad cheers for the Wonderbolts.

"Think about it, Long Winded." He hastily grasped his friend's shoulders, his hat almost falling off. "Don't you know what this means? The ponies have good intentions, yes, but if we don't do something about this assimilation of culture, then we'll just become ponies that look different! There will be no other difference!" He shook his friend, Long Winded getting somewhat dizzy. "Do you understand the threat that this poses on all of us here!"

"Uhh..." Long Winded said in a slurred tone, his eyes moving about.

Nastic pushed him away. "I'll take that as a 'Yes.'" He grabbed a comic from his bag. "Now, when this show's over, tell me. I want to read this new issue of 'POWER' but I don't want to give the pegasi there any disrespect." He took a glance at Princess Twilight and her friends. "And, considering royalty's here, I don't want to cause any problems here."

But Long Winded was already looking up at the Wonderbolts as they rushed and dashed past the audience and each other.

The smell of popcorn continued to drift through the air. The rush and the sound of the wind filled the sky. The ground sometimes shook again, both by the changelings' cheers and the Wonderbolts' performance. The taste of popcorn and the other snacks there made the changelings even happier.

Pinkie Pie yelled, "Hug!"

And Rainbow Dash was hugged by her five closest friends along with the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Spike.

"Wow," Twilight Sparkle said, "I didn't know you—"

There was a rumble.

"Wow, Rainbow Dash, you're amazing!" a gray pegasus colt shouted as he flew towards her. Flying beside him was an older, bigger black stallion.

Rainbow Dash broke out of the group hug. "Aw, Rumble!" She nudged the colt's mane. She looked at the stallion. "And, you brought your older brother, too!"

"Well, I didn't want to miss out on you performing for the Wonderbolts!"

Rainbow Dash crossed her arms, hovering over the grass. "At least you didn't excuse yourself with a sick leave, Thunderlane."

Thunderlane grinned nervously and scratched his thick and sturdy blue-white mane.

There was a rumble.

The ground was shaking again.

"Changeling stampede!" And Pinkie Pie bounced off.

Rainbow Dash looked up.

Swarms and swarms of multi-colored, shining and sparkling changelings, all with smiles on their faces, were fast approaching, were running and flying towards them. A dust cloud rose up.

The pony guards rushed towards them.

"OK, everypony run!" Rainbow Dash yelled.

She, Fluttershy, Thunderlane, and Rumble flew.

Twilight Sparkle's horn glowed.

Then, she and the rest of her friends were gone.

The guards were punched and kicked out as they were sent flying to the side.

The swarm of changelings broke down the fences. The dust cloud rose even higher.

It was now sunset. The sun's rays made the kingdom and its inhabitants gleam, reflecting the light. Already, several lights were turned on—both street lights and the building lights.

On the sidewalk, a group of changelings walked, chattering and laughing.

"So, Blitheful, how were the Wonderbolts?" one of the female changelings asked.

"Better than I expected!" Blitheful screamed. "I want to go to every one of their shows from now on! You're going to join me, Sunny Perky, right?!"

She giggled. "What about all the souveneirs I got?" From her bag, she brought out a few blue-and-yellow hats, signed pictures of the Wonderbolts, signed pictures of the Wonderbolts with her posing in the picture, and a few shirts with the image of the Wonderbolts on them—including Rainbow Dash with her rainbow-colored mane.

Long Winded smiled at the girls. "You're that excited, aren't you? What's the next thing you'll do?"

"We're going to the library to buy some more books about the Wonderbolts!" Sunny Perky replied, almost shouting at his face. "We'll check their history, memorize everything about them!"

"And, for what purpose?"

"Because they're so cool!" Blitheful chimed in.

"Heh-heh-heh-heh." Nastic looked up from his newspaper. "Anything else you're interested in, girls?"

"What about a trip to Pinkie Pie at the Sugarcube Corner?" Blitheful asked. "I want to meet everypony in Ponyville, starting with her!"

"And why?"

Blitheful stopped on the rocky sidewalk. "Because Ponyville is the best place ever in all of Equestria! Home to all the Elements of Harmony, plus Starlight Glimmer, the Starlight Glimmer who saved us from—"

"—the evil Chrysalis, yes, I already get that line," Nastic interrupted. "What about anything changeling-made, Blitheful and Sunny Perky?"

The two girls stopped moving. They gave a long look at Nastic.

Another Trip

It was a sunny morning. The sky had no clouds.

Smiles were everywhere in the Changeling Kingdom. A few changelings wore green hats as they cleaned and sweeped the fields and the raods and the sidewalks, brushing away all the confetti and the streamers and the trash. Several more changelings flew in to help, collecting the trash with their own hooves.

The news changeling, donning his cap, shouted once again, holding up a colored newspaper with big headlines.

Nastic threw a few bits his way and grabbed a copy.

The smell of fresh ink. He recoiled from it.

Among all the other changelings that chatted and talked, he fixed his hat and read the front page.

"'First Wonderbolts Performance in Changeling Kingdom,'" he read aloud. There was a sigh.

Nastic walked inside.

The sunlight that reached the room gave a beautiful atmosphere to the room. The endless chatter of the many changelings outside was drowned out by what was in front of him.

"So, Nastic," the changeling said, "I've heard you're great at fixing up this new house, but..."

"What is it, girl?" he replied with gruffness in his voice. A smile still lingered on his face. "I'll fix all rooms and make it a nice place for your money."

He took a look behind him.

A lot of cardboard boxes stood on the front yard.

Nastic stood in front of the house. It was painted with a yellow color. The furniture and the potted plants that could be seen made the house alive and complete. The changeling inside waved from one of the second floor windows.

"It's beautiful!" the changeling yelled. "Now, I'm going to place up all the Wonderbolt things I bought yesterday! I'll place them all over the walls, both here and on the ground floor!"

"That's good to know!" Thorax yelled from beside him. He looked away and whispered, "As long as nothing gets changed, everything will be alright."

"What did you say?" Nastic asked.

"Well, um—"

"You don't need to answer, King Thorax." Nastic bowed down. "Sorry I forgot to revere you earlier."

Thorax sighed. "That's unnecessary, Nastic." He gazed at the yellow and orange sunset sky.

Nastic looked up, too.

They kept looking up.

Sunny Perky went inside.

Clouds passed by. The sun moved. Now, the sky was no longer yellow and orange. It was now a dark blue. The night sky was now dotted with stars and decorated with the moon.

The many lights that weren't already on throughout the kingdom turned on, brightening the place.

Thorax and Nastic glimmered differently in that light.

"So, your last work day of the week, Nastic." Thorax turned his towards him. "What are you going to do now? You can, uh, go throughout Equestria for a few days with your friend Long Winded."

Nastic gave him a smile. "That's actually a good idea, Thorax."

Thorax smiled, too. He nodded. "You need the rest. Why not make it the best rest you'll ever have?"

His footsteps echoed. The green lights gave their soft glow to the wide room. Nastic could see through many of the shelves. Most of them were empty as they stood in their place.

The two changelings kept walking. "Why are we going here before we go?" Long Winded asked, complaining.

He placed a hoof on one of the bookshelves. "It's something to remember." He glared at his friend. "You will behold the abundance of literature in Equestria. Before that, you must look at our lack of literature." Nastic gestured towards the sleeping changeling behind the four-sided desk in the middle. "Even Arthros the bookkeeper isn't competent enough for the job!"

"Shh!" He whispered, "You might wake him up!"

Nastic kept walking.

Long Winded kept walking, too.

"Why, I didn't expect anypony to buy cherries this late!" Cherry Jubilee exclaimed.

"Well, I didn't expect ponies can fix their mane like that!" Long Winded said.

Nastic groaned and stomped on the dry desert ground.

"It's not something any regular pony can do, changeling!" She picked up basketfuls of cherries.

Nastic nudged Long Winded.

"Yes, Nastic?"

"We don't want to be delaying by complimenting ponies about their mane late at night!" he whispered. His eyes were wide open. "This is just supposed to be a five-minute stop and then we're out of here!"

"Here's your cherries! A bit for each basket and ya' better stop that before it becomes a fight!"

Long Winded gulped. "Oh, we're sorry, Cherry Jubilee!" He picked up a few baskets. "I guess we're going, now!"

Nastic groaned again. "Thank you, Cherry Jubilee! Bye!"

Then, they ran off.

"We'll have our next stop at Ghastly Gorge, everypony!" a pony in yellow uniform yelled as he walked through the carriage.

The scenery with its grass and its trees was lighted up by the moon. A few ponies pointed out their windows, claiming and exclaiming that there was Princess Luna behind the trees. The pony in uniform raised a hoof and said, "Calm down, everypony! Now, it would be nice if Princess Luna is actually there. However, it's very unlikely that she is there."

Long Winded sat on his cushioned seat. He looked out the window, too. "Princess Luna's sky is always amazing." He looked at Nastic. He was sleeping.

He nudged him awake.

Nastic rubbed his tired eyes. "What is it now, Long Winded? Are we at Ponyville? Or the Rock Farm?"

"Just waking you up to see the night sky, that's all."

Nastic took his pillow and went back to sleep.

Long Winded admired the glittery sky. The stars twinkled, the moon shone—all while trees sped by in the foreground, the foliage becoming thicker in its leaves and branches. The air became cooler, attaining that fresh forest scent. He took in a breath, a whiff of the natural aroma—and he let out an "Ahh!" of refreshment.

Inside, several ponies sat on their cushioned chairs. While some minded the changelings, a few of them drowsed their way to a quiet sleep. Others chatted but only in hushed tones. Many of them, the rest of them, just looked at something. Some observed the brightly-lit passenger carriage they were in—with all of its contrast to the dark outside. Some others admired the night, reminded of Princess Luna and her nightly work of beauty that remained no matter where anypony went until the sun would rise.

The creak of the brakes screeched.

A few sleeping ponies jolted awake.

Nastic stayed asleep.

"Ponyville!" Long Winded shouted as he hovered his way out of the wooden train station, holding Nastic with a hoof. "We're going to have a great night tonight, Nastic! It's going to be fantastic!"

The lights of the homely cottages were still many, the noise of ponies talking in the night was still there. The dirt paths and the peaceful fields of grass that surrounded the village held, indeed, a lively town.

A brochure was hoofed to Long Winded.

He looked at the pony.

"Hello, there, changelings!" the spotted pony shouted. He adjusted his cap. "As student pony president, I want to let you enjoy all that Ponyville has to offer!"

And three fillies zipped to his side.

"We'll be your tour guides around Ponyville!" Apple Bloom shouted.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders and the colt smiled at them.

"OK, that's nice of you," Nastic said, wearing a smile. "However, just don't make this tour too long. I don't wanna miss out a single hour of this vacation."

"Right!" Long Winded happily nudged his friend. "When did you start lightening up?"

He whispered, "I'm just accommodating them."

"Does that mean you're going to take the Ponyville tour?" Sweetie Belle asked. She motioned a hoof towards the bright, noisy town. "We have lots to cover! You guys might even meet Princess Twilight Sparkle!"

"Yeah," Nastic replied, "I'd like to talk with her." He yawned. "Just don't keep me waiting."

The Cutie Mark Crusaders jumped to the air and bumped their hooves. "Cutie Mark Crusaders Tour Guides!"

The colt took a small bow. "I'm glad that you're going to visit this nice place. Sorry to forget to introduce myself—my name's Pipsqueak!"

Nastic flew on. "OK, let's start this tour already."

"And, our next stop is—"

The door in front of them opened.

The stallion in his nice blue and white clothes looked at the changelings there.

The noise of ponies chatting and laughing went on in the background. Lights were still on, providing a nice mood to the place. The changelings gleamed in the light as one of them smiled while the other didn't smile so much. The Cutie Mark Crusaders grinned at the stallion, while Pipsqueak smiled professionally, holding a set of brochures with one hoof.

"Ah!" Davenport recoiled.

"What's wrong?" Apple Bloom asked, worry in her voice.

"Did we scare you?" Scootaloo followed.

Davenport breathed in and out heavily and slowly, heaving.

The colt, the fillies, and the changelings looked on him, not saying a word as he kept on breathing and heaving.

He took a smile. "So, I guess this is the tour around Ponyville that you've been talking about, right?" he asked rather nervously.

"Yeah!" the Cutie Mark Crusaders shouted together.

"Come on, guys!" Scootaloo caled. "Time to witness all the wonderful...uh, quills and sofas!"

And they rushed in, including Pipsqueak.

Davenport inspected the changelings. A shaky smile was on his face. "Please tell me you're trustworthy! Princess Celestia told me that you're actually good! I don't know if you brainwashed her or anything, but please keep me OK!" His voice was choking; it was almost a sob. His hooves trembled, his eyes darted left and right, his mouth was shivering.

"Uh, OK," Nastic said.

Long Winded bumped a shy, reluctant hoof from Davenport. "Must be really excited to meet us, huh?"

"Just please go inside and enjoy yourselves!"

The two changelings flew in.

Under yellow and white lights, the happy ambience of Sugarcube Corner was heightened by the presence of a jittery Pinkie Pie throwing plates of cakes and pies and donuts and other sweet pastries. Ponies ducked for cover, but the plates never crashed onto them. All of them landed on the round table; though there were wobbles here and there, none of the food fell off their plates.

Long Winded and Nastic dived under their table.

Nastic looked behind him.

"OK, I can tell that Pinkie has good aim."

"Very risky, don't you think, Nastic?"

Then, they stood back up and took their seats.

And Pinkie Pie was in front of them, smiling all the more.

"Hi! I haven't seen you in Ponyville before! You must be even more changelings!"

"Look, Pinkie Pie," Nastic said, gesticulating with his hooves as he spoke, "I just want to have a sweet dinner and then head off to the Castle of—"

"—Friendship!" she screamed.

Long Winded almost fell off his chair.

"You mean the one where Princess Twilight Sparkle lives?! You mean the one where the Cutie Map resides?! You mean the one where there's all those nice colorful lights on the ceiling?!"

Nastic grumbled. He eyed Pinkie with half-open, serious eyes. "Yes."

Pinkie then burst out into laughter. She fell to the floor, punching and slamming the wooden floor.

The rest of the ponies looked at her.

Nopony else made a sound as they observed the hysterical Pinkie Pie.

Nastic adjusted his hat as he stood up from his chair. He gave Long Winded a look and he stood up as well.

Pinke Pie still laughed.

"We're going to eat this cake and donut outside, Pinkie," Nastic said, looking at her while she wasn't looking back. "It's colder outside."

She instantly stopped laughing and opened her eyes wide open at the changeling. "What about we give you our fridge cake?!"

"Fridge cake?"

Long Winded held the sack with his mouth as he followed Nastic through the dark yet cheerful streets of Ponyville. Passing through the beams of light from both inside the buildings and outside, their carapaces gleamed and glittered, catching the attention of not a few ponies.

Finally, near the outskirts of the town, they stopped and hovered in front of the grand white steps towards the double door of the huge, towering castle.

"I didn't know Pinkie has a cake that's literally the shape of a fridge!" Long Winded commented.

"I thought it was colder cake."

The double doors swung open.

Princess Twilight Sparkle stood surprised in front of the door. The colorful lights inside shone a vibrant and hued glow onto her.

"More changelings? And cake?"

Nastic glanced at his friend. "Long Winded! Why are you holding the cake out?!"

"It's a nice gesture, really," Twilight Sparkle began, "but you didn't have to." She smiled. "Besides, I just had dinner."

"That's nice to know, Princess Twilight Sparkle," Long Winded said.

She nodded.

Silence went between them for a short while as they looked at each other.

Twilight grinned an awkward grin and veered her view from here to there and then back at the changelings. "So, what's the occasion here? What brings you to the Castle of Friendship?" Then, her eyes went wide open. The grin went even wider. "Ooh! Maybe you have a friendship problem?"

Nastic held his hat. "What do you mean—"

"It's going to be great! It's going to be revolutionary!" She jumped up and down on the nice, clean floor as her tone became more excited. "I and my friends have always solved the friendship problems of ponies! We did solve a friendship problem for a griffon, and a few for dragons, and probably one for the yaks if that counts as a friendship problem—" She ran to Nastic "—but we haven't solved a changeling's friendship problem!"

Long Winded took a step forward. "Well, Princess, we don't currently have any friendship problems right now."

She then went up towards Long Winded. "Not on the surface!" Her voice became more ecstatic and disconnected. "Maybe it's going to be like Sky Stinger and Vapor Trail!"

"OK, who are they?" Nastic asked in an annoyed voice. "And why are they relevant?"

"Any idea why she laughed?" Sky Stinger, the cerulean pegasus with straight, lightning sea green mane, said. He looked at his friend sitting beside him in front of the round table, another pegasus but with light green-gray coat with windy, similarly-colored mane.

"Maybe it's because a changeling wearing a hat like any other pony is funny," Vapor Trail answered.

"That's funny?" He took a bite off his frosted donut.

"Well, she is Pinkie Pie." She considered the pony while she hummed a tune, serving behind the counter as a line built up in front. "She probably knows something about humor that we don't know about."

Then, Pinkie Pie popped up in front of the table. She waved a hoof happily. "Hi! You look familiar!" She rubbed her neck with a serious, comprehending hoof. "You must be..." She raised a hoof to the air and smiled. "You must be pegasi!"

Sky Stinger and Vapor Trail gawked at the pony. Sky Stinger twitched an eye.

"Heh-heh." Vapor Trail looked around here, avoiding the sight of the pony. "You're correct," she said in a nervous, uncertain fashion.

"What's your point?" Sky Stinger asked, firmly placing a hoof on the table.

"Just being good and friendly with my new friends!" Pinkie said.

Then, she hugged them, carefully averting their food with her hooves.

"OK, Rainbow Dash told me Pinkie was weird, but not this weird!" Sky Stinger struggled to get himself off the friendly hug.

"Let's just go with it, Sky Stinger," Vapor Trail suggested, her voice weakened by the power and the grip of Pinkie's hug.

As the alicorn and the changelings walked the spacious and decorated hallways of the castle, Twilight Sparkle looked at Long Winded, gazing at him with a smile.

"What kind of friendships do they have in the Changeling Kingdom?!" she asked crazily, close to shouting in front of his face. "Well, maybe I should rather ask, 'What kind of friendships do changelings have?' This is just the beginning!" In went levitating batches of paper and notebooks and couple of ballpens. "Let's start off with you and your friend!"

And she stopped her walk right in front of the big double doors. "Before we get into the library, let's interview the both of you."

"How much longer do I have to endure this?" Nastic asked. "I didn't come all the way here to get irritated by a pony who wants to know my life story!"

Twilight blinked. "Wow." She smiled again. "You're such a good guesser!"

Nastic placed a hoof on his head while he sighed. "I wasn't trying to guess what you're doing!"

"It's good enough for me, then!" She rushed off to Long Winded. "So, what's your name? Oh, wait! It's Long Winded."

He took a bow. "Nice that you—"

"How was your childhood?!" A notebook levitated close to her face.

"My entire childhood?"

"Yes!" Twilight yelled, shaking her head up and down.

"Can we take a break and rest in the library?!" Nastic shouted. His shouts echoed through the corridors, the hallways.

Stories

Twilight Sparkle placed down the huge pad of paper. With her magic, she flipped through all of the pages, all of them bearing hoofwriting that ranged from calligraphic to cacographic, from beautifully understandable to unreadable scrawls that she somehow got the meaning of, if her non-stop humming and eyeing of the pages suggested anything.

Then, the pad of paper dropped to the table with a loud thud that echoed through the large, round library room.

The Princess clasped her front hooves, having a giddy expression on her face. "Long Winded and Nastic! The first ever changelings to be an official part of my official changeling research effort!" She placed her hooves on her cheeks, making a cute, wide-eyed face that spoke of joy. "I got all this information just from you two! What am I going to get when I talk to even more?!" She laughed wildy.

The two changelings blinked.

She blinked, dropping her upbeat smile. She cleared her throat and sat royally and properly on her chair. "So, apologies for the hassle." She coolly gestured a hoof. "What was your reason for being here, dear changelings?"

"I'll just say one thing, Princess," Nastic said, raising a hoof.

"And what would that thing be, Nastic?"

He pounded the table with both of his front hooves. "Are you stalking us or something?!"

"Stalking?" She levitated his front hooves off the table. "I assure you that whatever I'm doing is going to be for the benefit of all." A smile crept up on her face.

"I don't like the sound of this," Nastic whispered to Long Winded.

"Don't worry about it! I trust her completely!"

Nastic smacked a hoof onto his face. "I just wanna relax all over Equestria. Is that something hard to do these days?"

A book floated down to the table.

Twilight placed on a cool, colllected face. "You can relax with this book, Nastic. I'm sure it will fit your style from what I've observed about you."

"Observed?" he mumbled.

She pushed the book towards him. "It's a 'Shadow Spade' book. Mystery, noir, logical—it's a book you'll love! Then maybe you'll ask for the rest of the series."

Another book floated down to the table. Twilight pushed that book towards Long Winded. "And this one's the 'History of the Wonderbolts.' You admire the Wonderbolts, so knowing more about them would satisfy that admiration."

Long Winded hugged the book. "Thanks, Twilight! When will I return it?"

"I trust that you'll return it within the year, Long Winded."

Nastic flipped through his book. Then, he closed it.

Long Winded sat by himself at another table. The huge book with its many wide pages filled with text and the occasional image or picture was open, although at one of the first few pages. He giggled, smiling all the way as he pored through the pages.

Meanwhile, Nastic's book was closed and placed at the side, providing no obstruction between him and Twilight Sparkle.

"I...didn't know you wanted to have a serious discussion with me," she began, her one voice echoing through the room.

The only other sound that was there was the flipping and the turning of a page from time to time.

"First serious discussion with a changeling other than the king, if you ask me," Nastic said. He gave out a sarcastic chuckle while he adjusted his hat.

Her ears flayed. "You do have a good point." She hummed, looking up at the ceiling. "So, what do you want to talk about?"

"What about you stop exporting your culture to us for a while, Princess?" he said.

Nastic smirked.

He glared.

Twilight gasped.

Humerus flew around the room wearing his blue and yellow shirt that sported an image of a lightning bolt. He wore goggles and a blue and yellow hat that also had an image of a lightning bolt. And he also screamed and shouted while he flew around the room.

"Will you stop that?!" Red Noise shouted lying down on his stony bed. "I wanna sleep!"

"Blue Alarm's OK with me flying around and screaming," he replied as he whooshed to yet another place in the room.

"It's a few hours 'till midnight, Humerus!"

"And he has a point," Neon Guard said as he flew into the room. "Even if we are OK with you making all the noise you want about the Wonderbolts, we wouldn't to have our friends get annoyed at you. Remember the friendship lecture that Princess Twilight Sparkle gave a while back?"

Humerus stopped his flight in mid-air and stared at Neon Guard.

"Maybe this time's an exception!"

And he flew around inside the room, screaming and shouting.

"What exactly do you imply by that statement, Nastic?" Twilight answered back, concern in her voice.

"Heh-heh-heh-heh." He eyed the many books far behind the Princess. "The answer is right there."

She looked behind her. "OK, we have lots of books in our libraries while your library doesn't have a lot, yet. We're trying our best to fill your library to the full—"

"I think you're missing the point here."

Twilight looked at him. "It's something deeper, isn't it?"

Nastic glanced at his friend, reading and scouring his book. "My friend, Long Winded, is a good example of what I'm trying to get at here."

In the Carousel Boutique, a line of dresses levitated their way and floated in front of Sunny Perky and Blitheful. Rarity, wearing her red eyeglasses, walked up to the changelings. "Although it was difficult at first to design dresses for changelings like you, I realized that the bodies of changelings aren't that different from ponies'. Just a little bit of reworking here and there, to simplify things to you—and, behold!"

The two changelings gasped.

There was a dress that was dark green. It sparkled; it was simple yet alluring. There was another dress; it was blue and yellow, having brooches that bore a striking shape, sharp like a lightning bolt would look like. There was yet another dress and this one was just yellow. A pink ribbon ran across it. Also, there was a hat that looked fancy.

"And, this one—I got the inspiration for this one from the tower, the center, of the Changeling Kingdom!"

A dress levitated out of the line. It was green and gray but it shimmered. Its extensions were craggy yet in a pretty way.

"Eww!" Sunny Perky yelled, pretending to not smell a disgusting scent.

"I wouldn't want to wear that!" Blitheful then softened up. "But, I understand your predicament, Rarity!"

"Uh, sure, Blitheful!" Rarity said anxiously. "Just like I said, it's not that easy at first!"

The dress was floated away to a trash can.

"Look at him!" he shouted.

That shout echoed.

"We are going in what direction with this happening to us, to all of us changelings? Maybe some of the crazier ones among us are right." He inhaled a breath of air. "Why exactly is our library empty? I don't think it's because of the the orders of books from Canterlot and from this castle. Do you want to know what I think, Princess?"

Twilight eyed the balled up hoof before her. She looked back into his eyes.

"I think it's because we had to order books from Equestria in the first place!" He slammed the table. "There! Why do we have to order books in the first place? Why not fill it up with our books, changeling books, books made by changelings, Princess? Oh, right. Because we don't have any! You can give us all the scrolls and the papers and the quills and the ballpens that Equestria has, but as long as you and your friends keep capturing the attention of my friends and the rest of my changelings, then we will not write anything! We'll just keep consuming and consuming your books, your art, your culture! I don't care if it's on purpose or not—if it's accidental, that just shows you're pretty negligent for the supposed Princess of Friendship!"

Twilight sat there, eyes and mouth wide open. She closed her mouth. Her eyes flamed.

"What?" Nastic quipped. "You're gonna say something to justify your wrong-doing? Heh." He adjusted his hat.

"Anything else?" Twilight asked.

Nastic looked at Long Winded. Around him and his table, a magical transparent force field.

"Didn't want to interrupt any book-readings. Nastic."

Her eyes were half-closed, locked on at him.

Thorax beheld the streets. They were clean. There were no more party decorations or trash. There were only changelings that walked and flew around. Some of those changelings wore Wonderbolts merchandise, others flouted it to their friends, still others wore and flouted.

"Anything wrong, King Thorax?" Royal Escorter asked beside him.

He sighed. "This is the Changeling Kingdom, right?"

"Yes, you are standing in it, King."

A breeze of wind flew in. The cold that was brought with it touched their carapaces and made the plants and the grass bend. Street lights and building lights shone onto the outside, giving the night a glittering glow and atmosphere. With the changelings that populated the place, it was indeed a truly lively night.

"Then, why do I feel like it's just a town in Equestria that happens to have changelings?"

"It's not, King. You know it yourself that it's outside of Equestria and the kingdom is not a mere town. Although, you're correct about it having changelings."

Thorax smiled. "You also know that I'm being rhetorical."

"I need to practice about that."

Thorax sighed.

More changelings passed by, a lot of them taking a short pause from their walk or their flight to take a bow and say, "Hail, King Thorax!"

He walked a little forward.

He stopped.

"I want this kingdom to be unique."

"Sooner or later, what's going to be the difference between a changeling and a pony? We're going to end up liking the same things, and the only thing that is going to tell us apart is that we look different! What next? Are you going to tell us that we're supposed to build our houses with concrete and wood because our materials are too un-pony-like?"

"That's not what—"

Nastic pounded the table. "Let me finish!"

Twilight shuddered.

"Do you want to know what's even worse, Princess?"

She stared at him. She said no word.

"When the changelings like and consume enough pony culture, what's going to happen when a creative changeling writes a masterpiece? Produces a symphony? Of his own? Everypony—heh, everypony—they're going to disregard it as mediocre and rush towards whatever a pony made! Changeling culture will not just be dismissed! It won't even exist. If it does exist, it's going to be minimal. It's going to be drab—by changelings' standards!"

"Then, what do you want me to do, Nastic?" She sighed, though a quiet grumble could be heard.

"Just give us money to survive and leave us be!"

He stormed off.

His bag levitated off him.

"OK, stop stealing that—"

"What's this, Nastic?" she asked, levitating an action comic book beside her face. She chuckled. "Didn't expect that from the likes of you, to be honest." She glanced at Long Winded, still reading under the force field. "Looks like you're not that different from your friend. Just a bit more secretive about it, I guess." She smiled and giggled. "Maybe you're just frustrated and all. You didn't need all those histrionics at work. However, that was a little scary."

"That comic keeps me calm, OK?!" Nastic yelled. "When you see all your friends and all your fellow changelings being caught up in this wave of pony this and pony that, I might as well find a way to take away the stress that gives you."

"And it's a pony comic, isn't it?" She looked at it. "I and my friends had a little adventure involving this particular comic series." She eyed the changeling. "Wait, did you get magically sucked into the comic world when you read this?"

"Who gave you that idea?" He groaned. "Just give it back to me and we're—"

"You could've just drawn your own comic book, if you wanted to be consistent."

Nastic threw himself towards the comic.

The comic floated away.

The doors slammed shut.

"Somepony needs to explain to me about what just happened!" Rainbow Dash shouted while she flapped her wings above the carpeted floor. She turned towards the small crowd of ponies catching up behind her. "Anypony?"

"I didn't come all the way from Rainbow Falls for this!" a green stallion cried out. "Twilight couldn't possibly delay a book club session, right?"

"That's the thing, Wensley!" she replied, whining with her front hooves as she hovered.

"What about you check what's going on inside first, Rainbow?" a blue unicorn asked.

"Minuette, I might be disturbing Twilight with whatever she's having inside!"

"Well, you got there first," another unicorn, a yellow-gray mare wearing a black sweater and a red, purple, and violet mane, said. "You must've seen a glimpse of what was happening there before the doors closed."

"Hmm." Rainbow rubbed her chin. "I guess you're right."

"So, what did you see?" Quibble Pants, in his adventurer outfit, asked.

"OK, I saw Twilight—"

"Now, you answered your own question." He crossed his arms and made a smug smirk. "Anyone else inside the room?"

"Two changelings and—"

"Changelings?!" Wensley screamed.

Twilight slammed the comic book onto the table.

"I bought that with my hard-earned bits, Twilight!" Nastic yelled.

He hovered closer to her, grumbling.

"The changeling that wants to be the shining example to his fellow changelings, yet...lookie here." Twilight smiled. "Looks like he's enamored by pony culture as well."

"What else can I read? No changeling has made a single comic book—"

"Like I said, why don't you make your own?" She crossed her front hooves while she sat. "If you do it well, you'll get famous, earn lots of bits, changelings and ponies would probably love it, changeling culture would now have a masterpiece, and I and my friends would read it together for fun." She extended a hoof. "It's a win-win scenario, Nastic."

"Well, I can't draw a comic book—"

"Then, do something else. Can your write a book? Can your write a song? Can you paint a painting? Can you be an actor? Can you make a single piece of changeling craft?"

"I'm not creative, Princess! I'm just the catalyst for other changelings to rise up against this oppression!"

"Oppression?" Twilight shifted her eyes to the left, to the right, to Long Winded still under the force field, and then back at Nastic who was seething with fury, eyes glaring at the Princess. "This is the first time I've heard of a changeling complaining about our help. We Princesses give a regular sum of Equestria's income to you, we provide you with the resources and materials necessary for you to reconstruct the kingdom in a better image, and we made a few announcements within the few months since Thorax became king that told our pony subjects to be as nice and as friendly as they can to you changelings, to even make some changeling friends because, you know, friendship is magic. How could you see oppression in all of that?"

"Subtle take-over."

Twilight groaned. "You're still worried about changeling identity and culture, aren't you?" She sighed and closed her eyes. "I respect that." She opened her eyes. "Could it be our fault? Sadly, yes. Do we intend to replace all changeling culture with pony culture? No, we don't. But, just think about it. When out of the four creatures who saved you from Queen Chrysalis, two of them were ponies—when you changelings look up to Thorax who was, himself, attracted and amazed by the friendships that ponies were making and spreading—when ponies give you warm hugs and friendships and just give you a good time, don't you think that the changelings will respond positively to that? Maybe they want to give the favor back, so they end up eating up all the pony products that we create. Another reason is that, maybe, pony culture is the only thing they could like for now. The Changeling Kingdom is in a better condition that it has ever been before, but, let's be honest here, Nastic—there is still much reconstruction and rebuilding to do. If you look at the statistics, the Changeling Kingdom is still in the stage where it consumes a lot of materials and resources only for it to produce a little of its own products. Coupled with the fact that the land around the Changeling Kingdom is basically barren and unfit for farms of almost any kind, the changelings basically have no time to make their own items unless it keeps them alive and fit. A great song is nice to make, but that wouldn't be at the top of your head when much of the food you're getting isn't from your own kingdom but is from another place that's a train's ride away, right?"

Nastic blinked.

"What I'm trying to say here is that the changelings don't feel like making their own culture because...maybe it's not the right time."

Nastic flew himself towards the Princess.

He was stopped as he floated magically above the table.

"Or, maybe, you're just looking at only one part of changeling culture. It's not always books and art and songs. Sometimes, it's not even something you can sell."

He was placed down on his chair.

"When ponies bump and shake each other's hooves, isn't that part of their culture? What about the story of Appleloosa? Everypony knows that it was built in less than a year, but not a lot of ponies think about their culture. Settler ponies from different towns and places throughout Equestria made the choice to make a town in the middle of a desert in the hopes of making a great city that prospers there. Also, they like adventure." She smiled. "Anyway, you have the cultures of all the towns that all these different ponies came from. Sooner or later, those cultures interact with each other. Over time, the cultures sort of get mixed, and, after some more time, a new culture arises out of the combination of cultures." She frowned. "Do you understand, Nastic? So far, I mean?"

He grunted.

"I guess that's a 'Yes.'" She picked up the comic book with her magic. "Now, what about the ponies who made this comic book? The company that creates 'POWER' and other such comics wants them out every month at least. You can't possibly have one pony make an issue every month, at least a high-quality comic every month. So, there are more ponies who get hired, who volunteer, and they can come from all over Equestria. The result? A comic book that adds to the overall culture of Equestria by having the elements of many different local ones." She frowned again. "Are you following me?"

Nastic growled. "So far."

Twilight's ears flayed again. But, she placed another smile on her face. "Maybe, with all the interaction of both ponies and changelings happening inside the kingdom, you'll form new traditions, you'll shape a culture that would be richer and more full than your past culture where..." She grinned nervously. "Let's not talk about it, shall we?"

She extended a hoof. "You've said your point. I've said mine. Agree to not hurt each other and be friends?"

The doors lurched open.

"I don't get care about politeness, anymore!" Rainbow yelled. "Why is the book club not starting, Twilight?! You're not having any private reading sessions about Daring Do for only the changelings, are you?"

Twilight contorted her face to show a forced smile. "Heh-heh." She looked at the crowd of dissatisfied ponies behind Rainbow. "I can explain it all if you can give me the time, everypony."

"It's already ten o' clock in the evening, Twilight!" Rainbow yelled.

"Late night book club session, anyone?"

She glanced at Long Winded. He was still reading his book under the magical force field.

Now, there were laughs and quiet talks all around as pages turned everywhere. Books, both open and closed, sat on all the round tables as ponies conversed and discussed about a variety of topics. Some just read their books, reading them silently as their eyes moved from one word to the next, from one sentence to the next, from one event to the next.

At one table, Twilight and some of her friends laughed. Along with them, Long Winded laughed, too, although hesitantly.

"So, who here remembers the 'Magical Compendium,' all the ninety volumes?"

Everypony but Twilight and Moon Dancer groaned.

"And, don't forget the unofficial volumes starting from Volume Ninety-one!" Moon Dancer added.

"Wait, there were more volumes?!" a goldish-gray unicorn with pink, puffy mane exclaimed.

"Mm-hmm." Moon Dancer levitated the big, decorated book in front of her. "I'm glad Twilight was able to gather the unofficial volumes as well as the official ones. Provides different perspectives on magic that not everypony agreed on."

"I think we can all agree that we don't need to read those, right?" another unicorn, having a yellow coat and blue mane, said.

Twilight glared at her. "Lemon Hearts, this is a book club, remember?"

"Oh, sorry!" She grinned.

"What about you, Long Winded?" Moon Dancer asked. "Do you have a favorite book? A favorite literary genre?"

"Uh..." He held up his large book. He grinned at everypony.

"The 'History of the Wonderbolts' is your favorite book?" she asked, confused. She smiled. "I didn't know you were a history pony! Uh...history changeling."

"Well, it's not really my favorite."

"Come on, Long Winded!" the Princess teased. "You just told me in our interview that you absolutely love the Wonderbolts!"

Long Winded gulped.

"So, it only makes sense that a book about the Wonderbolts would be your favorite."

He gulped again.

"Are you eating something?" Minuette asked. "You know it's not time for dinner. Unless changelings usually eat dinner late at night?" She pondered with a hoof on her head while she looked up.

"Nope. I'm just nervous. Wait, where's Nastic?"

Twilight grinned. "Oh, he's just sleeping over there." She gestured a hoof towards Nastic who was sleeping with his head on the table. "I guess the night has been a tiring one for him. It would be rude to levitate him somewhere—I haven't studied enough of changeling biology to see if the average changeling wakes up at the slightest of distrubances." And, she levitated a stack of bottled drinks onto the table. "Which is why...we're staying up reading books and chatting until morning!"

Everypony stopped what they were doing and looked at Twilight and her stack of drinks.

"Uh, exactly what's in there?" Rainbow asked.

"Coffee, tea, and soda! Everypony is going to have a drink they'll like that will keep them going!"

She levitated a book to the air. "Late night book club session, everypony!"

And everypony cheered. And one changeling.

The other one slept.

Continuing the Trip

He rubbed his eyes.

Too bright.

Hoofsteps.

Purple and blue.

Smell of books.

"I guess you're awake."

"Wuh?!"

He turned around and rubbed his eyes again.

"Twilight..."

"You decided to sleep here after that heated discussion, Nastic." She placed a hoof over her mouth, covering a teasing smile. "Or, should I say, you went to sleep almost immediately after."

"What? I like sleeping." He glared at her. "Now, where's my comic?!"

The comic levitated to him and landed on his front hooves.

"Where's Long Winded?"

"About to wake up." She gestured towards a sleeping changeling, resting beside his book.

Nastic turned his head around.

A few ponies were slowly walking their way out of the library and through the hallway.

"Since last night's book club session started late, and Rainbow Dash didn't want to have it cut short, I decided to make that session a late night one." She smiled. "It was great, if you ask me! I get to meet with Moon Dancer again, we talked about magic both old and recent, there was a conversation about what books we need to add to the library, there was the discussion of heroes and conflict and how to—"

"Don't get yourself in that thought too much, Princess," Nastic said grumpily. He staggered upright. "Now, is it morning or afternoon? Or did I manage to sleep myself to the next night?"

"Early morning, surprisingly. Or not surprisingly...I still don't know how much sleep changelings need."

"Don't interview us again, Princess."

He walked off.

"Uh, you forgot your friend!"

"Right."

Nastic carried the sleeping changeling with a hoof and on his back. Long Winded, still dozing off, held his book tightly to himself.

He looked back at the Princess. "Thanks for the sleep."

"Well, you're wel—"

The doors slammed shut.

Twilight frowned; her ears flayed. "I hope Nastic did change his mind. At least his friend was very positive about it." She yawned. "But...I guess I need to have my morning sleep. Spike?"

Spike zapped to her side. "Yes, Twilight?"

"Set my alarm clock to ten o' clock. If anypony visits, tell them I'm sleeping. And don't misuse my being a Princess again. You know what happened last time."

Spike grinned.

Twilight lightened up her tone. "Good." She yawned again.

"Is there a newspaper stand here or what?" Nastic shouted, attracting the attention of ponies as they walked in the marketplace. He glared at one of them. "Yeah! I'm talking to one of you!"

The light pink unicorn ceased her trot. "Me?"

"Yes, you! The one with the striped and curly mane!"

Long Winded slapped him. "Can you try to be nice, Nastic?" he whispered.

Nastic pushed him away. "The Princess may have a point, but I have a point, too!" He turned back to the unicorn.

The unicorn who was now standing in front of him. "Sorry, but for a second, I thought you weren't a changeling at all! You looked a lot like a detective with that fancy-looking hat you have."

"There's somepony who respects my choice of hat after all, Long Winded!" he yelled.

The unicorn balked. "It seems you're quite grumpy this morning, aren't you?"

"Show some respect, Nastic!" Long Winded whispered. "You can't just raise your voice at Starlight Glimmer!"

"Ooh! Maybe it's a friendship problem I can—"

"Oh, no, Starlight!" Nastic looked at her. "If you can help me with my problem, all you need to do is give me today's newspaper."

A newspaper flashed in and dropped to the ground.

"Anything else?" Starlight asked, smile on her face. "I'd love to help—"

"Thanks, Starlight," Nastic said as he walked away, pulling Long Winded as he did so. "There's not much else you can do to help us, now. We'll just buy some groceries and other things like that. So, farewell!"

Starlight waved goodbye.

"First, we have ponies that just want to sneak in to whatever business we're having." Nastic grumbled as he opened his copy of the newspaper. "Let's see what the 'Ponyville Express' has to say."

Ponies eyed the rude changeling and his happy friend as the two passed by.

"'Princess Twilight Sparkle Held Late Night Book Club Session Last Night.'"

Nastic looked up from his newspaper, annoyed.

"Did I get into the headline picture?!" Long Winded yelled.

He grabbed the newspaper off of Nastic.

Nastic groaned. "Fine! I hope you don't take an hour to see whether you're not you're there!"

Long Winded placed a hoof onto the large, colored picture.

Everywhere, there were ponies whether they sat, stood, or flew. Most of them had a book nearby; many held at least one. There was Rainbow Dash, carrying a stack of Daring Do books while she flew. There were several tables in the shot, but Long Winded's hoof moved towards the table at the center of the photo. There was Princess Twilight Sparkle herself, chatting with her four pony friends—Minuette, Lemon Hearts, Twinkleshine, and Moon Dancer. They all looked happy and pleased to be with each other again. Also among them was a blue changeling, holding a huge book.

Long Winded gasped. "I'm in the news!"

"Great accomplishment," Nastic replied sarcastically. "I'm sure everyone will know your name."

"Hey, it's the changeling from the news, Long Winded!" a pony shouted.

There were a few screams of terror, but there were more screams of delight and pleasant surprise as a few ponies galloped their way to him, one carrying a camera around his neck.

"I didn't mean it!" Nastic shouted.

The camera flashed.

The earth pony colt took yet another picture with his camera. "If you wanna get a few pictures with the changeling, then just run over there!" He looked at Long Winded. "If you don't mind, of course, Long Winded." He smiled.

"You're working for one of the newspapers?" Long Winded asked before a few ponies stood beside him, smiling at the camera.

The colt took a few pictures. "Yes, I do. The name's Shady Daze, staff photographer of the 'Foal Free Press.'"

Nastic took the newspaper away from Long Winded. "Let me see for myself this treachery!"

And he saw it.

He quickly placed the newspaper back to Long Winded's hooves. "OK, have fun with that little photoshoot of yours!" He walked off to a wall and leaned on it. "I'll be waiting!"

"Come on, mister changeling!" Shady Daze called out. "You can take a picture with your friend, too, you know!"

"I wanna picture on the news!" a mint green unicorn shouted while she stood and posed beside Long Winded.

"Me, too!" another pony exclaimed, holding the changeling while also hugging the green unicorn.

"Nastic, help!" Long Winded shouted as more ponies held or hugged him, all smiling at the camera.

As the two left the noisy and full Hay Burger, the cool breeze of conditioned air drifted to the outside.

"Why do we have to take-out?" Long Winded asked, placing his paper bag of food into his bag.

"I don't want any more ponies to be ruining the day we've planned out," Nastic replied. "Ponyville is an important place, but it's just a village, a small town. Maybe Canterlot or Manehattan would be an exciting next stop."

They continued walking on the dirt and stony roads, passing by many nice, dainty, quiet buildings. "Why?" Long Winded asked.

"In Ponyville, everypony knows everypony else. It's a small town, like I said. Sooner or later, you're going to know everypony. In Manehattan, you have the hustle of a fast-pace job, there are towns' worth of ponies in one building—you cannot meet everypony."

"Shouldn't Ponyville be much more relaxing, then?"

"It's not relaxing when everypony wants to be your friend."

"But, what about the magic of—"

Nastic grumbled. "The magic of friendship, I know," he murmured as he faced the road ahead.

Nastic spoke in a deadpan voice, "Explain to me, Long Winded, why are we here, out of all places."

Long Winded didn't answer. He clapped his front hooves giddily while he wore a big grin, looking at the simple suit that was floating in front of him.

"Now, how is this for a happy-go-lucky changeling such as you?"

The suit was monochromatic. Black, gray, and white—they were spread out in an even fashion. Only a single streak of blue broke the theme, but that made the only color stand out.

"It's amazing, Rarity! I'll wear it...uh..." He looked up, wondering. "I...don't know when I'll wear it."

"Suits and dresses are for special occasions, Long Winded, like—"

"Your birthday party?" he answered quickly.

Rarity was taken aback. "More special than a birthday party. Something more fancy."

"My birthday party?"

She gave him a short glare—but her smile appeared again. "Something more fancy than that, darling."

"Are we going to listen to her—"

"Nastic," Rarity interrupted, pacing around in the room, "I'm a qualified, eligible fashionista," —She glowered at the changeling— "so it would be nice if you'd provide me some well-deserved respect!"

He gulped.

She smiled. "Good! Spike!"

Spike ran up to her, love in his eyes. "Yes, my dear Rarity?"

"Just a moment." She looked back at Long Winded. "Now, would you want the suit with or without the gems?"

"Do they cost more?"

"They come free of charge, darling!"

Spike raised his claw. "That's because she's—"

"The Element of Generosity," Nastic said, "I know, I know, I already know about it!" He glared at the dragon. "Wait a minute—it's already ten-thirty, last time I checked!"

He smirked.

"So...?" Spike asked, still staring at Rarity.

"What is this about, Nastic?" Rarity asked, stepping a hoof forward at him.

"Nothing, Rarity," he replied. "Just finish the suit and we'll give you the bits, quickly. You probably don't wanna know what trouble Spike is in now, considering..." He gave out a lone chuckle as he looked out the door.

Princess Twilight Sparkle slept soundly on her double bed, mostly covered under a blanket.

In front of that royal bed which itself had a soft, fabric ceiling supported by four legs arching out from the bed proper, there were six other, simpler beds. They were single beds and had a pillow that looked like a roll.

Adorning the room, there were two large windows that almost stretched to the ceiling. The curtains were tied, bringing in the light of the morning sun into the room.

On one side of the wall, there was a shelf of even more books. However, above that shelf were the more prominent items—there was a mirror and there were several framed pictures. The pictures showed the enduring friendship of Twilight and her five closest friends—in all the pictures, most of them smiled, enjoying the bonds they've had over time. To think that these wildly different ponies would not only remain friends, but that they would still be the best and the closest friends they've ever known—that had seemed unlikely only several years ago. Now, not only were they such, they were also known as the Elements of Harmony, the savior of Equestria half a dozen times—and they still had the time to be together with each other not on world-saving events but on plain, modest events like a simple picnic. Despite all the hardships and the rocky roads, their friendships with each other had proved and still proved to Equestria and beyond that friendship was magic.

That didn't stop Twilight from sleeping although the clock went past ten o' clock.

The peaceful fields of apple trees for miles and miles was what they saw as the two changelings walked on the dirt road.

"Hey, Nastic!"

"What is it?" he replied. "I'm in the middle of reading a comic here!"

"What about you just admire the scenery around you?" Long Winded smiled.

"Congratulations, at least you can appreciate the scenery around you. I don't." He turned back to the comic he was reading.

"Then, why are we walking here?"

"Peace and quiet is all I want for now." He gave a long sigh. "I know the risks of going into Sweet Apple Acres because I might see Applejack any moment now. And if she sees me, she's going to give me a greeting that's too long and too kind."

Nastic turned around. "Long Winded?"

"Hey, I found Applejack!"

"What did I just tell you?!" Nastic whined.

Long Winded arrived running with Applejack. They were both smiling.

"Didn't I—"

"Oh, come on, sugarcube!" Applejack interrupted. "Don't ya' be such a sour one!"

He forced a small smile onto his face. "OK. If we're going to spend some time together to improve our friendship, let's make it quick, alright?"

Applejack blinked. "Wow. He's mighty rude today, isn't he?" She turned towards Long Winded.

"He slept in the library," Long Winded said.

Nastic groaned again.

Among the quiet chatters within the purple and pink room lushed with chic furniture and a refined rug, amidst the soothing mood of the place, Nastic struggled to get out while being pulled in by Long Winded.

"I'm not going into any spa in my entire life!"

"Shh!" Long Winded saw the ponies eyeing what was happening at the door. "You're going to disturb them!"

"Aren't they all disturbed by the sight of two changelings at the spa?!"

Then, a pink Earth pony walked up to them. "Uh, sorry, Long Winded, but we currently do not have any appropriate treatments for you according to your...specifications."

"I guess it's because they haven't figured out how to treat a changeling to a spa," Nastic commented, still struggling his way to get out.

Long Winded kept pulling him back in. "Well, what do you mean, Aloe?"

"Are you sure you want to have a massage while you stand side-ways on the wall?"

"It's called extreme massaging! I just came up with the idea minutes ago!"

Nastic broke free and pulled Long Winded out.

The door closed.

"Here!" Nastic stomped on the dirt. "Let's relax and rest over here!" He gave a scowl at Long Winded who was staring at him, having a face of surprise. "I am tired of your shenanigans!" He wrestled the comic book from his bag. "Don't disturb for the next thirty minutes of my time!" Then, he leaned on the white fence and opened the comic book.

Long Winded looked somewhere and then somewhere else. "What am I going to do without you, then, Nastic?"

"Eat some ice cream, go hang out with any or all of the Elements of Harmony and see if I'm going to be worried."

Long Winded looked around again. "Well, you brought us here over at the schoolhouse—"

"Well, it's a Saturday."

"But, what if the fillies and the colts want to play at the playground—"

"They're probably staying at home or out with their families to some other town." The angry changeling looked up from his comic. "Now, just go and do something other than annoy me!" He went back to readhing his comic, covering his face.

Long Winded beheld the schoolhouse. It was a small, wooden building. The grass around it was plentiful and green. There were simple playground items there like a see-saw and a swing set.

He took one last look at Nastic.

The changeling flew towards the school.

Sneaking up on the walls, he checked all his directions. Nopony in sight. Just Nastic leaning on the fence, reading.

He slowly raised himself, peering through the tall windows.

The darkened classroom held neatly arranged tables and chairs—little ones. The chalkboard had spots of gray. Pictures posted on the wall spoke of history and science and other such subjects along with the amateur yet cute drawings of the children. Beams of sunlight stretched into the room, giving off a warm sense of calm and silence.

A sneeze.

Long Winded looked at all angles. Nopony in sight.

Another sneeze.

He placed his head onto the grassy ground. His ear was planted firmly there. His eyes narrowed.

He eyed a narrow window on the wall. The window almost touched the ground.

"I've seen not a single sign of any colt or filly this mornin', Sweetie Belle," Applejack said, walking with the filly unicorn out of Sweet Apple Acres.

"Really?" Sweetie Belle complained. "Not even Apple Bloom?"

"I'm really concerned abou' her." She sighed.

"I've asked my sister Rarity, I've asked Pinkie Pie, I've asked Rainbow Dash, I even asked Fluttershy and she saw nopony go into the Everfree Forest—"

Applejack wiped the sweat off her face. "Phew! At least she's not lost in the Everfree Forest." She pasued and sighed. "But, wouldn't it make sense since a game of hide-and-seek isn't that worth the trip there?"

Sweetie Belle pondered. "You're right."

"Have you asked Twilight?"

"I went up to her bedroom, but the sign said, 'Don't distrub.'"

Applejack chuckled. "Perhaps they're hiding in the best hiding spot ever in Ponyville. Or, perhaps they cheated and took a train ride to Canterlot. I honestly don't know at this point, sugarcube."

There was a pause.

"Say, did you try checking the place where you started the game?"

"You mean the schoolhouse? But I've already checked it and nopony's there!"

"Maybe they moved back to the schoolhouse when you went away and started asking your sister." She smiled.

"I guess I'll give it a shot."

Then, Sweetie Belle ran off.

Long Winded silently jumped off to the window's side.

He slowly peered through the window.

There were many colts and fillies in the basement. Some were hiding under the desks, the tables, and the inking machines. Others stood proudly out in the open room. The interior smelled of newspapers both old and new.

Diamond Tiara gave out a quiet chuckle.

"Shh! Sweetie Belle might be here any moment now!"

"I don't think so, Silver Spoon," Diamond Tiara answered.

"We've got to keep our voices hushed at all times," Scootaloo reminded everypony there, whispering. "Maybe we can beat Ponyville's record for longest hide-and-seek game ever!"

"Then, we'll all get recognized in the history books!" Apple Bloom declared.

Everypony else shushed her.

"Don't you think we'll have to beat an Equestria-wide record before we can get to the history books?" Pipsqueak quipped.

"That would be better!" Scootaloo whispered excitedly.

Several ponies walked quietly, tip-toeing.

"Can we send somepony to see if Sweetie Belle's there?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Ooh! Send me!" one of the colts shouted.

Everypony else shushed him.

"Can't we all be quiet for at least one minute?" Silver Spoon groaned. "Espcially you, Snips and Snails!" She pointed at the two colts in question—a chubby unicorn and a lanky unicorn. "OK, while we're talking about sending somepony out, why Snips or Snails? They're not exactly the most stealthy of ponies."

"What about I volunteer?" Diamond Tiara asked, raising a hoof.

"That's nice and all," Silver Spoon began, "but, I want to ask this: wouldn't sending somepony out to see if Sweetie Belle's there risk us being found?"

"And think about beating the Equestria-wide record!" Scootaloo added.

Everypony nodded.

"So," Scootaloo cheerfully said, "what's the Equestra-wide record again?"

Twist grabbed a book off a shelf. "Let me check." She opened the huge book and flipped through the pages with her hoof.

The pages stopped.

"Well?" Diamond Tiara asked, poking in.

"Heh-heh." Twist gave an innocent, nervous smile. "Forty-seven hours and exactly fifty-seven minutes, anypony?"

"What?!" everypony else shouted.

Apple Bloom shushed everypony. She was gasping and breathing fast. "I think we just lost the game!" She looked up at the windows. "Did Sweetie Belle see us?!"

"Are the lights turned off?" Shady Daze asked.

"They've been off for twelve hours already!" Pipsqueak replied, exasperated.

Apple Bloom's stomach rumbled. "Oh, no. Any snacks upstairs?"

"That's why I brought this bag," Featherweight said, flying his way to her while carrying a full sack of apples.

She grabbed a lot of apples and stuffed her mouth.

Twist sighed. "I didn't expect to stay here in this boring basement for this long."

"Is there anything we can do to pass the time here?" Cotton Cloudy grumbled. She flew up to one of the windows near the ceiling. "Why didn't any of you think about just sending a pegasus to the windows?"

Sweetie Belle galloped on the dirt road.

Past the many buildings of Ponyville, past the patches of grass, now she's at the schoolhouse.

She ran up to the reading changeling. "Uh, hello, mister—"

Nastic lowered the comic book.

She gasped. "A changeling?! At our school?!"

"Heh. Looks like some colts and fillies are still scared—"

"Awesome!"

And Sweetie Belle jumped to hug Nastic. They fell to the ground.

Another changeling flew up from behind the bushes.

Sweetie Belle looked and gasped again. "This is so cool! We've got two changelings at our school! But, why on a weekend?"

"Relaxation." Nastic stood back up. "Now, just leave me be in peace and quiet." He leaned on the fence again and resumed reading his comic book.

"What he said!" Long Winded happily replied. "I'm not supposed to bother my friend, and there's not much to do, since there's absolutely nopony else around here for now!" He grinned.

Sweetie Belle's smile turned into a disheartened frown. "Nopony's here?"

Long Winded glanced at the bush. He looked back at the filly. "Yup! Nopony's here. Except for you, of course. Why?"

"It's because we're playing a game of hide-and-seek and I'm the one who's supposed to look for the hiding ponies." She tilted her head. "You know that, right?"

Long Winded nodded.

"But, I've looked everywhere and asked several ponies and still I've found nopony! We started at around midnight at the schoolhouse, but..."

"You had to sleep."

"Of course, I had to sleep, and I tried looking for them but I still couldn't find them so I had to sleep." She sighed. "I can't call the game off because maybe they might think the game's still on. Who's going to tell them unless I find them first? I could tell somepony else to tell them if he or shee sees them but...so far, I haven't found anypony who's seen them. All they know is that they went to the schoolhouse, but then, after that, where did they go?"

Long Winded patted the unicorn. "Don't worry. I can positively tell you that they're not in the schoolhosue, so you don't have to look there!"

"Did you check every room there?"

Long Winded nodded.

"Even the basement."

He coughed, though he kept smiling. "Nopony there, Sweetie Belle."

She eyed the changeling with a suspicious eye. "How did you know my name?"

"The Cutie Mark Crusaders are particularly popular in the Changeling Kingdom. Didn't you know that?"

Nastic groaned as he continued reading this comic.

Sweetie Belle gasped again. She made a big grin. "We're popular there?"

Long Winded laughed. "You don't know how famous you are over there!"

"I can't believe it!" Cotton Cloudy whispered, flapping her wings right in front of the window. "Not only do we have changelings here, but they're actually helping us!"

Everypony scrambled as quietly as they could towards the window.

Several jumped, trying to get to the window that was almost at the ceiling.

The pegasi among them just flew towards the window.

"That's cool!" Featherweight said, looking out the window.

"Just keep your voices down, everypony!" Silver Spoon proclaimed to everypony in a whisper.

"You've really checked every possible hiding place, huh?"

"Mm-hmm! You can trust me!"

They walked out of the grassy playground and back onto the dirt road.

Sweetie Belle sighed again. "Where are my friends? Maybe they really did go to the Everfree Forest."

Long Winded's eyes widened. He grabbed Sweetie Belle. "No! Just don't go there!"

"But, what if my friends—"

"You're going to...um...be in danger, of course! Heh-heh!"

She got out of his grasp. "I'll just ask Fluttershy to accompany there."

Long Winded opened his mouth in bewilderment. "Rarity and everypony else in town is going to get worried about you if you go missing!"

"What if everypony in class is already missing, Long Winded?" She threw a short fit, screaming quickly to the sky.

The changeling recoiled at the sound of it.

He glanced at the bush again.

"Just trust me and my instincts, Sweetie Belle!" Long Winded assured. "I'm certain that, if they're not in the school, they must be somewhere in Ponyville! They could hide for hours, but they possibly wouldn't want to hide for days! They ought to think about how upset and worried their families and their friends would be!"

Sweetie Belle looked up to the changeling. A smile appeared on her face. "I guess you're right."

Long Winded smiled, too.

"Which is why I'm going to ask Rarity and Fluttershy to accompany at once to the Everfree Forest."

Long Winded stood there, eyes and mouth wide open in confusion and surprise.

"Heh." Nastic looked up from his comic book. "Let's see you handle the situation, Long Winded."

An Afternoon and a Night

Sweetie Belle hummed her merry way from the school.

Nastic shot an angry look at Long Winded. "I'm serious now. You should do something about this."

"But, I tried everything!"

Nastic gave a long sigh. "That's not everything you can do! Notify her family, probably her sister, hmm?"

"Good idea!"

Then, Long Winded dashed off. He also grabbed Nastic who was now shouting at him to stop as they flew.

As Rarity left the spa, she took a good look around.

She inhaled the afternoon air. "Ahh, isn't this day just lovely? Now, I wonder where Sweetie Belle is." She gloomed, dramatically holding her face in an almost disarray of confusion and terror. "Where's Sweetie—"

"Hey, hi, Rarity!" Long Winded yelled as he held Rarity by the neck, letting go of Nastic and making him fly off to the ground. He placed Sweetie Belle on the ground. "She's still playing that silly hide-and-seek game!" He brushed off the sweat from his face. "Those kids are very skilled, I must say, right?" He nudged the filly, prompting her to wear a big smile.

Rarity mumbled. "Maybe too skilled. Don't you think Applejack is already worried about where her sister is? They've been gone for more than half a day!"

"What about you use your magic to look for them?" Sweetie Bele asked. Then, she jumped and raised her hoof. "Everfree Forest! I almost forgot!"

The fashionista pony balked. "Are you suggesting that they're in the Everfree Forest?!"

"Just maybe," Nastic commented as he walked in to the scene, reading his comic book. "Just maybe, Rarity."

Rarity turned towards her sister. She gave her a concerned glare. "Sweetie Belle! Haven't you already learned your lesson that the Everfree Forest is a dangerous place for a filly like you to enter?"

"But, what if my—"

"No matter how skilled or talented they are at hiding and seeking, I think your friends have the common sense of avoiding Everfree Forest. It's just not worth it to be the last one to be found if it also means risking being turned into stone or being taken prisoner by whatever's inside that...place." She shuddered.

"What if I can join her?" asked Long Winded.

"No!" She was seething mad, breathing slowly but forcefully. "It's a terrible thing to think about! Having your sister get lost all for a game of hide-and-seek?!"

"What about we bring in Twilight Sparkle?"

Sweetie Belle hopped and bounced. "Yeah! I'm sure with her help—"

"No! We're not asking Twilight to help you find your friends because it's a trivial game and what do you get out from seeking your friends in the end?"

"Fun?"

Long Winded nodded. "She does have a point."

"Did somepony say fun?!" a voice yelled.

"Yes!" Long Winded shouted.

Nastic looked up from his comic. "Oh, no..."

Pinkie Pie sprinted her way to the group. "Ooh, what are we going to have? A game of hide-and-seek?" She grinned.

Rarity recoiled from her friend. "How did you—"

"Just a random guess!"

"Well, we're going to have to stop the game of hide-and-seek that my sister and her friends have ongoing!" Rarity stomped a hoof. "I won't allow Sweetie Belle to get hurt or injured by this innocent game any longer!"

"So, you're going to the Everfree Forest with me?" Sweetie Belle asked again.

Rarity sighed. "No! They're just somewhere in Ponyville that you haven't thought about looking at yet, that's all!"

"Any more comics?" Nastic asked amidst the noise of ponies hasting their way through the marketplace, all of those ponies smiling as they bought and sold their goods.

The changeling placed a hoof on the stall. "OK, I know that you're a travelling salespony. Nothing too hard about that except probably shortest distances for the mathsponies. So, do you have any more issues for 'POWER'?" He held up his comic book.

The brown Earth pony eyed his large white hat. He pulled it towards him. The stallion considered the changeling in front of him, holding a comic book with his hoof. "I've got the latest issues, changeling. It turns out that you've single-hoofedly read the entire 'POWER' series in just a few nights."

"What about any new issues of 'MIGHT'?"

"Apparently, you've finished that one, too."

Nastic grumbled and balled up his other front hoof.

"Hey, hey!" The stallion took a step and leaned his head forward. "I'm just an occasional buyer and seller of comics to make some more cash on the side! I'm not a comic book giant in the industry who can tell the ponies making the comics to work faster! Now, it's either you buy some other comic here or you don't!"

"Hmph!" Nastic stormed off the premises.

Long Winded rested his head on a hoof as he sat in front of the round table. As he continued reading his book, he sometimes looked up from the many pages. His happy smile would still be there, showing Long Winded's enthusiasm and eagerness.

And Spike sweeped the floor.

The changeling sometimes took a look at the dragon casually sweeping the floor. He would occasionally whistle along while he brushed and dusted the floor from the dirt and the grime that it had accumulated. Long Winded then returned to his book.

Then, Spike jumped up and sat down beside him.

"Hey!" He placed a clawed hand on his back. "What're you reading? More importantly, why are you here?"

The changeling looked at him. "Well, that was pretty sudden!"

Spike let out a breath. "I don't have much to do. I'm done with the final chore of the day, and I'm ahead of Twilight's schedule!" He slumped on the table, drawling out a long syllable out of boredom.

"How can you have nothing to do here in Ponyville?" Long Winded questioned. "There's so many things to do here in Ponyville—though, I just want to read this book for much of the time—but, there's spas, there's joke shops, there's the town hall, there's even a fountain!"

"What do changelings do with fountains, anyway?"

"It's just something I thought of, Spike."

That sentence, like all that came before it, echoed and bounced off the enormous walls of the library.

"This place contains a lot of things to behold and to comprehend!" He stretched his front hooves wide and grinned at the dragon still slumped on the table. "I'm just talking about the library! There's lots of flavors at Sugarcube Corner and so many kinds of...food there! Yes, food! Food other than love!"

"Ugh...at least you have that one going for you all." He got up from his slouch and yawned loudly.

That yawn, too, echoed through the room and to the hallways through the open doors.

"Yeah, we have that one going for us...whatever that phrase means." The changeling tapped on his head. "What does it mean, anyway?"

"It means it's going well for you."

Long Winded sighed. "Yeah..."

Spike looked upset. "What is it? Did I say something bad or horrible or what?" He turned away from him and whispered, "Oh, no! I hope I didn't hurt Long Winded's feelings! What will Twilight do if she finds out I insulted and berated a changeling, even if it's just by pure accident? I don't think I'm prepare for a lecture from her about being kind to—"

"It's just, that—"

Spike turned back around. With his claws behind his back, he smiled anxiously. "I'm listening, Long Winded!"

"Uh, it's that...it's just that, whenever I see a stall or a store in our kingdom, there's only like three or four flavors of a drink or of a cake or something like that. At the convenience store, we're kinda' lucky—so many brands, so many flavors, so many...versions of so many things! Then, when we got here, every store in Ponyville had so many variations! Sugarcube Corner has more different and unique foods there than all our bakeries and non-bakeries combined! And, I desperately wish for that to come over here. I bet everyone's going to crave all the diverse things to eat and drink!"

Spike licked his lips, his eyes half-open. Then, he opened his eyes wide and scratched his head in shyness. "Uh, yes, I understand your concern, Long Winded." He hid a mischievous smile.

There was silence. Then, a page flip that reverberated through the room and the hallways.

"Hey, where's your other changeling buddy, by the way?"

Long Winded looked up from the book. "He's at the marketplace, looking for some more of his comics."

"The changelings sell comics now?" Spike asked in a deadpan manner.

Long Winded gave a slight chuckle at that. "Not changeling comics, if that's the case."

The dragon had a baffled look. "Why's that funny?"

The changeling slipped in a bookmark and closed the book. Resting a hoof on the book, he replied, "Nastic's one of those...crazier changelings."

"What kind of crazy?" Spike laid a claw on the table.

"The kind of crazy where everything must be changeling-made and everything we consume must be changeling-made. I don't know where he gets those theories from. Do you have any idea, Spike?"

"Hmm..." He scratched his chin as he gazed upwards. He looked back at the changeling and shrugged. "Not really."

"Maybe if I ask King Thorax—he probably knows the answer or at least something that's close to it."

"Yeah..."

Spike rested his head on the table.

They looked at each other. They looked at all the books in the library. They looked at the banners on the ceiling. They looked at the wide hallways past the open doors.

"Do you have anything to do today, Spike?" Long Winded asked.

"Nah..." He waved a claw.

The six mares stood on the balcony. They were high up, beyond the ground. Their attention was towards the yellow-orange sky.

The bright, glowing sun was lowered.

The sky became a dark blue and purple.

Stars appeared, twinkling into view.

The moon was raised, shining its nightly gleam onto all.

Twilight turned to her friends. "Thank you all for taking a few minutes of your time to see the sunset. With all of the Princess work recently—" She chuckled "—and, of course, the book club, as well, there has been less free time just to relax with you."

"At least I went to every single one of your sessions from the very first!" Rainbow Dash boasted.

"To the point that you haven't thought of inviting any of us?" Rarity pointed out.

The rainbow pegasus brushed it off with a hoof. "Heh! Why would I bother since you're not bookish enough for the task!"

"Ya' know," Applejack began, "we do like a read from time to time, Rainbow."

"Sometimes, I just indulge myself into various books to obtain inspiration for my next clothing line!" said Rarity.

"And I read cookbooks!" Pinkie Pie shouted, bouncing up to the air as confetti and balloons appeared around her.

Twilight smacked a hoof on her head. "How could I've forgot! I should've gotten my order of cookbooks this morning!"

"Uh, why do ya' need cookbooks, Twi?" Applejack asked, confused.

"Well, other than that they're books, I also need to learn how to cook other dishes as well! Can't get stuck with the same ones everyday, right?"

"Isn't that the reason why Sugarcube Corner even exists?!" Pinkie Pie yelled. "You can just order a different cake from us everyday, every week, every month, every year!"

"Except that your specialty is dessert—not something appropriate for breakfast or lunch, if you ask me."

She turned towards the sky again. She sighed. She inhaled the cold night air as the windy breeze sped past the mares.

"So," said Fluttershy, "what exactly is your Princess work recently?"

She looked at her friends. "Ever since Starlight Glimmer and her friends saved the Changeling Kingdom and defeated Queen Chrysalis, there have been lots of additional work in order to bring the kingdom up to speed with Equestria. Then, I and the other Princesses realized that, with at least one friend in the surrounding nations, we could start bringing up more plans and more activities to spread friendship to those places and to their inhabitants. Since King Thorax was quite keen on spreading friendship to the rest of the changelings compared to the leaders of the other kingdoms and empires, we've decided to focus on the Changeling Kingdom. That's why I've been there a couple of times to speak and lecture about the magic of friendship to the changelings, that's why we had a Wonderbolt performance there a few days ago, that's why I've had to toil overtime thinking about what else to spread friendship to the changelings."

"Um, Twilight?"

"Yes, Fluttershy?"

"Don't you think we might be in trouble of intervening in their affairs too much?"

"Not much of intervening and more of influencing," Twilight replied. She paced the balcony. "The changelings are indeed reformed and...well, changed, but who will be there to guide them to what's right and to what's good? That's why Equestria is offering a helping hoof to assist them in discovering the wonders that being friends can be! And, we're also giving them physical and material aid as well such as food and water and other things!"

"So, what's so tiring about that?" Pinkie Pie asked.

Twilight groaned. "Paperwork, visits, being visited, attending various events by both Equestria and the Changeling Kingdom, attending bi-lateral talks between the two nations every so often, sometimes personally going to the Changeling Kingdom with the changelings who bring the aid we give them, sometimes going there to conduct friendship talks and lectures, preparing other plans and discussing with the other Princesses about developments within the Changeling Kingdom and with changelings in general, studying changeling culture—and, since there's a shortage of books about changeling culture, I usually have to go and observe and interview changelings myself to get the data—just talking with changelings, accommodating changelings who visit Ponyville and the other places throughout Equestria wherever I go, being updated about changeling news. Sometimes I do all that in one week! Which is why I'm grateful that my workload has been lessened for the meantime and that the other Princesses are carrying some of my work for now." She sighed again.

"Wow! That's a lot of work!" said Pinkie Pie. "What about we join you more often?"

"Yeah! Wouldn't it be better when you have your friends when you do your royal duties?" Rainbow Dash added.

"And, we all get to socialize with the changelings and teach them about friendship along with you, Twilight," Rarity spoke.

"I'm sure it's they're gonna have as much of a fun time as we will!" Applejack said.

"What I can say is...it's a good idea." Fluttershy smiled.

They all smiled.

They hugged Twilight.

She closed her eyes. A tear went down her face.

"Thanks, girls."

Twilight sniffed.

And they hugged each other under the night sky, under the light of the moon, under the twinkling stars, as the cool night breeze kept going.

"Ugh!" Nastic struck the table. "We're here again! Why, Long Winded? There are other places to eat like the café or the Hay Burger or we could make a makeshift dinner by buying some random food over at the marketplace—why here again?!"

Long Winded took a gobble of the tall and towering chocoalte cake as it exuded an air of delicious elegance. "Ith' fun."

"They have proper dinner meals at the Hay Burger! We only get cakes and pies and—"

"Cake pies!" Pinkie Pie celebrated with a shot from her party cannon. And, a cake pie shot over to the changelings' table. "Free cake pie night!"

And, plates with cake pies on them were shot and fired at every table, satisfying the ponies already eating their sweets.

Nastic touched the cake pie. "What is this monstrous hybrid that ponies have come up with?"

"It's half-cake and half-pie, silly!" Pinkie Pie scrubbed Nastic's head. "Aww! You do have a hard head!"

He pushed her hooves away. "I'm trying to spend my night in peace here, Pinkie!"

Pinkie made an exaggerated frown. "Looks like you need some cheering up!" She raised a hoof and the frown disappeared. "Hey! I know you!"

"Yes, we met last night, Pinkie."

She grinned. "You remembered me! A changeling remembered me!"

He opened up a comic book, covering his face from her sight. "So, what's special about that?"

"I never had a changeling remember me before when we met at generally around the same time at generally around the same place when the first time we met was last night and I was doing something similar to what I was doing the first time we met!" She gasped for air.

Nastic placed a hoof on her mouth. "If you want to speak at the speed of sound, save it for somepony, not some changeling." He removed his hoof from her mouth. "Now, thanks for the cake pie, but let us try to have a quiet night."

And a lettuce leaf fell onto the cake pie.

She looked at the changeling, bearing a smug face. "Lettuce, you say?"

Long Winded howled with roaring laughter, throwing a large piece of the chocolate cake onto Nastic's face as he animatedly swung his hooves in boisterous, bursting laughs.

"Cheap puns," mumbled Nastic, wiping off the chocolate cake from his face.

Pinkie laughed, too.

Long Winded took out a camera from his bag and took a picture of the clock tower in front of him, all under the night sky and with the cold breeze.

The tower stood tall in its place, cresting a grassy, green hill. On one of its side was the large clock itself. Above the face, there situated a large, yellow bell. The clock was lit up by bright lights placed just under it.

"Nastic, wanna be in the picture?" Long Winded asked, readying his camera.

"Fine."

Nastic sighed and slowly walked to the foot of the tower. He turned to face Long Winded and his camera.

"Smile!"

He smiled.

A flash.

"Are we done, Long Winded?"

"One more!"

Nastic sighed again and smiled.

Another flash.

"Can I go, now? I wanna re-read the comics I have."

"Wait, just one more picture."

"Really?"

"Just one more!"

Nastic sighed yet again and placed on a smile.

Yet another flash.

Nastic walked away.

"No! Just one more picture, Nastic! I promise!"

Nastic groaned. "OK, Long Winded. You promised, alright?"

He walked back to where he had stood and smiled.

Still another flash.

He trotted off his place. "I'm leaving."

Long Winded flew his way to him, grabbed him, placed him at the foot of the tower, and stood beside him as he held the camera from afar and faced the camera towards them. "Of course, what's a trip without a picture of the both of us standing in front of the Ponyville Tower, Nastic?"

"A more comfortable trip, maybe?"

And, another flash.

The two changelings leaned on the wall of a cottage. The lights inside were on, showing a family of ponies happily enjoying their dinner as they talked about the day, the weather, and the plans for tomorrow and for next week.

Outside, Nastic continued reading his comic. Long Winded eyed everypony that passed by. Hiding behind a bush, he looked at the ponies' movements and heard what they said. The streetlights illuminated the path, clarifying the expressions and the activities of the ponies strolling in aronud Ponyville.

"Hey, Long Winded," Nastic said.

Long Winded looked up from his bush. "What is it? I'm currently observing the ponies of this place."

"What for? You're not even a scout. You've never been a scout or some kind of observer ever! Why would you do it now?"

"Because watching ponies is interesting."

Nastic turned back to this comic. "What do you mean it's interesting? They're going to walk, they're going to talk, they're going to eat, they're going to buy, they're going to sell, they're going to laugh, they're going to sleep. You're going to get bored after a few minutes."

"Well, I want to know why they're walking to where they're walking to. What are they talking about and why? Like Princess Twilight said Sparkle, everypony's unique and, if everypony's unique, then everypony's interesting in his or her own unique and special way!"

"Way to go for Twilight and her sappy sentimentalism."

Long Winded walked out from hiding. "Uh, don't you think you should take Princess Twilight's speeches seriously? Wasn't friendship the thing that saved Equestria a few times already?"

Nastic kept reading his comic.

"Come on, Nastic! Don't ignore me!"

"If you go on bothering and nagging me like that, ponies aren't going to ignore us."

Long Winded gasped and smiled. "What a great idea!"

"That's sarcasm, Long Winded."

"Hey! Everypony! I'm going to bother and nag my friend for attention!"

The ponies that were walking and passing by stopped and took a look at the changelings.

"Is this how you want to spend your free time?" Nastic asked.

"Shh!" Long Winded glanced at his friend. "We already got their attention! What should we do next, Nastic?"

"Well, since you got us into this mess, Long Winded," he whispered, "we might as well blend in and at least try to be friendly, but only just for you and just for this once because I'm already frustrated inside."

"Hmm." Long Winded spun and faced the ponies. "Hey, everypony! My friend, Nastic, likes comics! He has 'POWER,' he has 'MIGHT,' and...he has more comics than that! He has all the issues of a few popular comic series! He is such a dedicated fan!" All the while, he added expression and feeling to his words by moving his hooves here and there as he spoke.

The ponies cheered and approvingly stomped on the floor.

Meanwhile, Nastic wore a smile. He gave Long Winded a silent glare before he turned towards the ponies and smiled again.

Beams of light moved through the dim basement.

A cough. Mutterings and mumblings and quiet conversations among the colts and fillies.

Apple Bloom sat on the large, tall pillowed chair behind the prominent table. Beside the table, a trash can.

The filly yawned as her head rested on a hoof that itself rested on the wooden table. She looked at all that was happening before her.

Several of her friends and her classmates were already sleeping, some on the floor, others on chairs from the ground floor. Many turned on their flashlights, much to the annoyance of Scootaloo who gave a mean look to anypony who dared aim a flashlight towards one of the windows. A lot of the ponies uttered hushed words to each other. Others just observed what was happening around them.

Apple Bloom groaned and placed both of her front hooves on the table. She had a sad face. "This is more boring than ah' thought!"

Scootaloo walked to her side. "Just endure the boredom, Apple Bloom!" she shouted in a whisper. "We're going to beat the Equestria-wide record for the longest game of hide-and-seek! Don't you know how awesome it's going to be when we finally break the record? We'll be famous and we'll be in the history books!" She jumped to the table. "And colts and fillies everywhere are going to admire and look up to us and say, 'Wow! I wish we could be like the Cutie Mark Crusaders and their friends!'"

Apple Bloom sighed. She smiled a little at her close friend. "Thanks for the encouragement, Scootaloo."

"No problem!" Scootaloo jumped off the table and gladly joined one of the muted conversations on the floor.

The moonlight penetrated the narrow basement windows, giving the room a peaceful glow and atmosphere as the conversations and the sleepings went on in the night, the ponies waiting for the end of their game and the reward of their patience.

At the Rock Farm

The train powered its way on the tracks, its big headlight illuminating the path ahead in the night. Looking out the window to see the landscape was not very rewarding at this time—there was not much to see. There were trees that did have lots of leaves but along with them were the barren ones. Rock formations were littered and scattered across the ground, creating a desert without the sand. With little grass and other greenery, this place was arid, almost a wasteland. With no houses or shops in sight, it seemed to be a tragedy that held not much in forms of life.

"Welcome to Rockville!" the hatted train conductor yelled from his spot. "Watch your step, everypony!"

The doors opened.

The two changelings stepped out into the dark night and onto the rocky train station.

Long Winded turned around to see the train. "Wow. The inside of the train is so bright compared to the...well, it's pretty dark outside." He looked around the train station. Nopony was there. "Hey!" he hollered at the train conductor. "Were we the only passengers on the train?!"

"Yes!" he gruffly shouted back.

The doors closed.

"Wait!" Long Winded called out. "Nopony went in, yet!"

"What do you expect? It's the early morning! Now, onward to Appleloosa!"

The train then went away.

"Phew!" Nastic sat on the cold, stony floor of the jagged station. "I can finally have some peace and quiet out in the middle of nowhere!" He took out a few comic books from his bag and picked up one.

Long Winded stood on the ledge and looked out to the gray landscape.

"Long Winded, can you go check and see if there's a newsstand anywhere? Doesn't matter if there's nopony attending it—this place seems abandoned."

He scanned the place. There was a wooden door, a little dusty.

Long Winded pushed it open.

A newsstand stood proudly beside one of the walls.

"Here's one!"

"That's good."

"What newspaper do you want?" Long Winded turned back to his friend.

"Any."

The changeling walked his way towards the newsstand. A sign strutted out of the newsstand—it read, "For Free!"

"Uh, it said that it's for free. You dont' have to pay a single bit!"

"That's even better. Just go get one."

Long Winded took a newspaper bundle by his mouth.

He walked out of the dark room and closed the door.

"OK. Now, let me read it and you can...not get lost or something."

Long Winded dropped the newspaper onto the floor.

"Thanks."

Nastic grabbed the newspaper and opened it wide. "Pretty up-to-date for a train station that looks to be away from civilization. This is the early morning edition."

Long Winded stood on the stony floor of the train station, looking out again at the scenery in front of him.

The sky brightened, turning from a dark blue and purple to a morning yellow and blue. The sun rose, first peeking out from the mountains, and then rising in its full light, shining onto all the land.

The light, just as it showed the true beauty of some things, also showed the true condition of others, placing it in full display for all to see and to behold. The gray of the ground and of the rocks became more visible. The dire state of the land was made more clear. A land that languished and thirsted for life, for water—the trees that did have leaves were the oases of this place. The terrain was jagged and craggy, unlike the smooth, rolling fields of grass that had permeated the landscapes and the countrysides of Ponyville and other such towns. The hard ground was just like the rocky train station and its stony floor—cold from the night, now to be heated up by the day.

"OK, natural sunlight," Nastic blurted out as he flipped through the newspaper. "How are you feeling, Long Winded?"

He gave one simple and straight answer. "Bored."

"Well, if you feel bored, then can you see if there's anywhere nice to stay?"

Long Winded's smile grew.

"As long as the ponies don't bother or irritate or annoy us to no end with their kindness, that is."

He hovered above the ground, rising to a good place in the sky. He surveyed the landscape and the surroundings, turning around and sometimes peering at certain places.

Then, he went back down. "There's a farm over there!" He pointed a hoof towards a direction.

Nastic smirked. "You know what? An idyllic farm in the middle of rocky wastelands doesn't sound strange anymore. I'm sure the ponies here are hardened to the harsh circumstances around here aren't going to make the effort of giving us lots of kind greetings and other annoying pony things." He sighed. "I know you're good with making ponies happy with us—whether I like it or not—so, your job is to make a good first impression. Just be, uh, cheery and friendly enough so they can let us stay there."

"Why not look further and get to Rockville's busy center?" Long Winded glanced at his surroundings. "I'm sure it's more exciting there than just some old boring farm."

Nastic shot Long Winded a nasty look.

"OK, OK! I'll carry your comics as we go."

The two changelings stood at the top of the gray, hard hill.

Not so far off, a farm. It was fenced off, but it looked slightly welcoming. The buildings' architecture and its brown and otherwise dull colors made the farm blend in with its environment. Rocks were disperesed throughout the farm's lands.

There was a tall, brown silo. A windmill stood near it. A nice house was near the windmill.

The two-floor hosue was simple enough—framed with wood and having windows with their curtains. Also, a few ponies were moving rocks.

Nastic nudged his friend.

Long Winded looked back at him. "What is it?"

"Do your best at impressing these ponies."

"Alright!" He saluted and made an enthusiastic smile.

And then, Long Winded flew off.

He landed in front of one of the ponies—particularly, an Earth pony stallion with a tall, traditional hat and gray sideburns.

"Why, this doth surprise us, but, to quicken the introduction—I am Igneous Rock Pie, son of my father, Feldspar Granite Pie. However, you may call me by my shorter name, Igenous Pie."

"Uh, OK!" Long Winded kept smiling.

"To be fortright with you, this is truly the first instance where a changeling, who hath devloped a drastic change of personality and attitude, hath visited this humble abode."

A mare walked up to his side; she wore a chained pair of spectacles and a bunned mane. "I am known as Cloudy Quartz. We hope that thy first visitation here will end up in that good and beneficial cheer for all within this place."

Three younger mares walked up to the lone changeling on the field.

Igenous Pie motioned a hoof towards the three. "These mares are three of our four daughters. Our oldest and our firstborn is Limestone Pie,—" He gestured towards the threatening blue-gray pony "—our second is Maud Pie,—" He made the same gesture towards the rock gray pony wearing a blue sweater, eyes half-open and accompanying a blank expression "—and our fourth and our youngest is Marble Pie." He made the same gesturew towards another gray pony, her long mane covering one eye while she looked sheepishly and shyly at the changeling.

She made a sound. "Mm-hmm."

"So, uh..." Long Winded scratched his head and looked around, laughing a little nervously. "Oh! Where's the other sister?"

"Do you mean our third daughter, Pinkamena Diane Pie," Igneous Pie replied, "who is also known and called by her shortened name, Pinkie Pie?"

"What?!"

"Yeah, typical reaction whenever visitors come by," Limestone Pie commented. "She lives in Ponyville, in the Sugarcube Corner bakery. She makes cakes and pies there."

"Actually, I met—"

"So, what's your business here, changeling?" she shouted angrily at him, planting her hooves firmly on the ground and giving him a terrifying stare.

"Aren't we supposed to ask for his name first?" Maud Pie pointed out in her deadpan, flat tone of voice.

The parents took a low bow. "We apologize for having forgotten to ask your name, kind changeling," Igenous Pie said. "Is it not but proper to know thy name first before any more activites are to be held and to be conducted?

"Uh, I think so!" Long Winded kept looking around the place. "My name is Long Winded!"

"So, we shall call you Long Winded," Igenous said.

He said to Limestone, "So, why do your parents speak like they're from another world?"

In the distance, Nastic slammed a hoof on his face.

Limestone grumbled. She menacingly took a few steps forward, slowly but sharply terrorizing the changeling as he shuddered with each step that went along with her hostile smile. "Is that how you changelings treat our parents?!"

"Um, I just, uh, wanted an e-explanation!"

Igenous stretched a hoof out, blocking Limestone. "We must display and exude understanding towards the changeling, Limestone."

"Alright!" She stepped away.

"Similar to what Limestone hath desired to speak of," Igneous spoke, "what is thy reason and purpose for being in our humble place?"

Long Winded gave a smile. "Relaxation, uh, Igenous." His grin grew.

"What form and mean of relaxation do you seek in this place?" Cloudy added.

"Uh, a place to relax in?"

The ponies were staring at him.

"A place to rest in?"

"Is that all you desire here, Long Winded?" Igenous asked.

"Hmm. Can you suggest what a visitor would do here in this farm?"

"You can buy some of our rocks, you can rest in the house, you can help us work in the farm." Maud Pie blinked, still showing that emotionless expression. "That's all you can do."

"Yeah, what she said!" Limestone appended.

"OK!" He nodded slowly while he grinned. "I'll try...all of them?"

Nastic groaned in the distance.

In the humble house, the dining room was filled with the delicious, delightful, delectable smell of rock soup—soup with a huge rock inside it. Hanging from the ceiling, a simple light fixture brightened up the room. Walls painted in a drab gray, floors made up of dull timber. A long wooden table held up the pot of rock soup and the wooden bowls that were there. A few smaller rocks were there, ready for being placed into the bowl and ready for being eaten. On the walls were somber paintings of various landscapes. On the side, there was a wooden shelf containing additional bowls both wooden and ceramic, a few vases, and several more plates.

Maud Pie stood in front of her bowl of rock soup. Beside her bowl was a smaller bowl—and in front of the bowl was her pet rock, Boulder.

"What does it taste like?" Long Winded asked cheerfully, looking down at the muted green soup with its rock.

Nastic took a bite of the rock. The crunches were loud and broken, rough. Then, there were more such crunches. Finally, he gulped down the rock piece.

"Good, right?" Maud asked.

"Tastes like rocks."

"Nastic!" Long Winded stretched out to him. "You might hurt Maud's feelings! I think she made the rock soup!"

"What feelings does she have? I haven't seen her face change ever since we've come here!"

Maud blinked at the heated conversation.

"Well, maybe she doesn't want to show her emotions because she has a good reason to! She might be OK outside, but inside, in her heart, she might be crying!"

"It's going to take an absolutely crazy pony for that to happen!"

"What about Pinkie Pie? You could call her crazy—and Maud's related to her!"

"So, whose side are you really on, Long Winded?!"

She took a sip of the soup as the shouting match went on. She nudged Boulder. "Go on. Eat your soup."

Nastic slept on his bed which was under a bed. Across the room was another double-decker bed. Between the two beds was a big rug. On the wall was one window with curtains.

Long Winded took a look at him as he slept.

Nastic was holding his newspaper and a comic book while he dozed on.

At the bottom of the deep, spacious quarry, Long Winded stood. Still amazed by the quarry's size and grandness, he looked around and took in the view. Steep, rocky walls; a twisting, circular rough dirt path towards the bottom; wooden and metal tracks that led to a tunnel that shimmered and glimmered with crystals—he beheld all this while Limestone groaned in frustration. "Can you stay focused on just one task, Long Winded?!"

"Oh, uh, alright, Limestone!" He saluted the pony.

"This task should be very easy enough for you!" She dropped a pickaxe onto the floor. "Pick that up and start picking and mining any outstanding rocks you see." She rushed up to one of the rocks that extended out of the ground. "Like this one!"

Long Winded carefully picked up the pickaxe. It wobbled a little under the grip of his mouth.

"Go for it!"

He struck the rock.

The pickaxe fell to the ground.

Limestone groaned. "This is not even a job, Long Winded. This is just the training part!"

"Don't worry, Limestone! I'll try!"

And, he picked up the pickaxe again and struck the rock again and the pickaxe fell to the ground again.

The pony smacked her face with a hoof. "How long are we going to stay here?!"

Nastic was still sleeping on his bed.

"Do you grow any food around here?" Long Winded asked rather innocently as he toiled and worked by pushing a large rock up the quarry, through the sloped path upwards.

Limestone grunted. "We buy from the market!" She pushed her heavy rock further up. "Now, will ya' stop talking and keep walking?!"

"Heh-heh-heh!" He was sweating profusely. "OK!" He forced himself to keep on pushing the rock.

"Any rocks you like?"

"Hmm." Nastic placed a hoof on his hat, thinking much about the decision placed in front of him.

On the dining table, there were now several rocks. They were of different sizes but of similar color.

"These are raw rocks," explained Maud. "Would you want to see the other rocks?"

"Sure," Nastic dismissively answered.

Maud brought up several more rocks, pushing away the other ones. "These are rock dolls, picked and crafted with love and care," she went on with a monotonus voice. She placed and presented them on the table.

They were indeed like dolls except they were made out of hard rock. All of them were rugged and ridged, but they looked somewhat like ponies, if only the shape of the ponies.

"Are you sure about this?" Nastic asked indecently.

"They are rock dolls." She blinked, staring straight at him. "You don't need to cuddle it while you sleep. You can just buy it as a souvenir."

"Uh, anything else?"

"We have some crystals."

Nastic's eyes went wide open. "You're kidding me, right?" He stretched out his front hooves. "You're telling me that there are crystal deposits and the like in a place as boring and as stale as this?! You're telling me that you're able to find crystals in your farm and that you have the means to actually mine the crystals?"

"Yes."

An awkward silence passed between the two.

"OK. Show me the crystals."

She grabbed a bag and poured out a bunch of pink crystals. The crystals plinked as they landed onto the table. They shone under the ceiling light. They reflected their surroundings, the pony, and the changeling that were there.

"Impressive," Nastic blurted out.

Maud grabbed another bag and poured out more of the pink crystals, making a louder sound as they went to the table's surface.

"OK," stated Nastic, "I can see that you're a hard-working family of rock farmers! Heh-heh-heh."

Maud grabbed yet another bag and poured out even more pink crystals onto the table.

"Maud, you can stop now!" Nastic demanded desperately.

She blinked. She dropped the bag. She looked at Nastic. "You said, 'Show me the crystals.'"

"Not all of them, of course! What do you have? A whole mine of crystal deposits?!"

"Yes."

Nastic blinked, surprised and astonished. "Tell me to never underestimate a pony like you, Maud."

"Never underestimate a pony like me."

"I didn't want you to actually say it!"

She blinked. Her face still showed no emotion. "OK. Do you want to purchase some crystals?"

Complaints in Canterlot

Under the afternoon sun, a line of ponies was supposed to be there. Instead, there was a massive crowd of ponies flooding the entrance to the castle, several of them wearing posh and fine clothing but most of them wore casual clothes or indeed nothing at all. The ponies' clamoring for the Princesses outside and within the halls of the royal castle bellowed throughout, showing that they, without a doubt, had a level of respect, of approval, and of love for their dear rulers.

And Nastic covered his ears as he and Long Winded were in the middle of it all as ponies shouted and pushed and walked and ran and talked and flew.

"I knew we should've stayed somewhere else for the day!" complained Nastic. He eyed a pony who had a big smile on his face as he galloped up the stairs to the big front doors. "Hah. Look at all those mindless citizens, running and trotting about to tell their lovely Princesses about their own problems and their own suggestions when they don't even care about the changelings who are standing right here!"

Long Winded poked Nastic. "I think it's because we're the only changelings in this sea of ponies."

Nastic looked away from that pony.

They were surrounded by ponies everywhere of all colors and from all tribes, all looking forward to meeting with the Princesses.

"Not if I could help it," Nastic muttered.

He grabbed Long Winded and flew above the ponies.

As the ponies gathered around in the hall, the sunlight beamed through the stained glass windows, bringing on a wonderful display of light into the noble hall. The royal, cushioned thrones weren't occupied by the Princesses—they were standing on the floor, in front of their citizens.

"Hey! It's a changeling!"

And many of the ponies gasped and pointed at the two changelings that were hovering over a few ponies among the many.

Nastic whispered, "I told you we should've flown more slowly!"

"Don't you dare do anything to the Princesses!" a pony accused.

"Call the guards, already!" another pony yelled.

"Is this another invasion?!" yet another pony shouted.

"Why didn't the Princesses build up a defense system against the changelings?!"

"Who's going to protect us if they capture the Princesses again?!"

"The guards are not going to help us! Somepony, get Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends from Ponyville immediately!"

"What if they captured them already?!"

"Then, call Starlight Glimmer and her friends?!"

"Don't be silly, now! The changelings are smarter than that and they probably captured them, too!"

"OK, let's call in Joe!"

"You mean the donut pony?"

"Joe and his friends might be the ones to save the day!"

"But, the changelings must've captured him and his friends! I don't see Joe here in this crowd at all."

There was an awkward pause.

All the ponies then panicked, running and galloping around and pushing each other as they attempted their escape. Screams filled the room along with the sounds of many hooves.

"There is no need to panic," Princess Celestia said in her soothing tone of voice.

Everypony stopped their panic. There were gasps.

"Have we not told you about the changelings before," Princess Luna spoke up, "that they are good, reformed, and nice, now?"

The ponies calmly yet cautiously walked back to where they were, talking and whispering among themselves as many of them still pointed at the changelings.

Celestia chuckled. "Changelings, you can land on the ground, now. You don't have to fly all the time."

Long Winded fell to the floor on his four hooves, joyfully jittering. "I can't believe it, Nastic! The Princesses themselves, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna—they just addressed us! It's so exciting! What am I going to say to them?!"

Nastic brushed himself off as he slowly hovered himself to the ground. "What about we be a little less optimistic about the event, hm?"

"So, changelings." Celestia walked towards them.

The ponies around them quickly stepped back, giving the changelings space. Many of those ponies weren't smiling—they had faces of fear, faces of concern, faces of terror.

"What is it that you want to tell us?" Celestia looked down on them, smiling peacefully.

Long Winded was jumping up and down in excitement, close to screaming in delight. He was giggling, looking here and there, then back at the Princesses who were looking at them. "I don't know what to say! It's just such an honor and an opportunity and a great, awesome thing to be able to meet the Princessses of Equestria! This might be the best day of my life!"

His words echoed throughout the hall as the sunlight still beamed on and illuminated the room in its tranquil way.

Many of the ponies just blinked in confusion as they stared at the conversation happening before their very eyes.

Celestia chuckled again. "You must be really excited to meet me and my sister." She paced around. "But, we're not the only Princesses of Equestria. What about Princess Twilight Sparkle and Princess Cadance?"

"You and your sister raise the sun and the moon everyday, so it's still very much amazing to be here!" Long Winded jittered and bounced with even more energy and joy.

Nastic tapped his hoof on the floor, sporting an impatient look.

"What's your name, then?" Celestia asked.

"I'm Long Winded, and" —He caught his friend and pulled him closer to the Princesses— "this is my friend, Nastic! We've been buddies even before all the crazy reforming thing happened!" Long Winded placed on a wide smile.

"Is that so?" Luna questioned. "We have assumed that changeling friendships from before your reformation were not a common thing."

"Well, that just means that we're even more special together!" Long Winded hugged his friend, grinning all the while.

Nastic pushed himself out of the hug.

"So, besides being thrilled and delighted at meeting us, what else do you seek from this?" Luna asked further.

"Um...it's...it's just so great to be here that I really haven't prepared anything to say to you!"

Everypony gasped. "Don't waste the Princesses' time!" a pony shouted from the crowd. "We want to talk with the Princesses, too!"

"Actually," Nastic began, "I'm the one who wants to talk to you, not just to be excited by meeting you." He glared at his friend before looking back at the Princesses. "To be really honest with you, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, I have a complaint."

Everypony gasped again. "Wait, I also have a complaint!" another pony yelled.

"Then, wait for your turn, then!" yet another pony yelled back.

"Nastic," Celestia said, "what's your complaint?"

"That Princess Twilight Sparkle doesn't really care much about the changelings!"

And everypony gasped again.

Luna earnestly stepped forward. "This is a serious charge against the Princess, but we shall listen to your plea to understand your predicament."

"Alrighty, then." Nastic clasped his front hooves together, then he stood back on his four hooves. He adjusted his hat. "Ahem."

Everypony and the other changeling in the room stayed quiet as they looked upon Nastic. A few ponies brought up pads of paper and prepared their pencils and ballpens, others readied their sound recorders. Several ponies tried to inch their way through the crowd, trying to better see and hear what the bold changeling has to say.

"I personally talked with Princess Twilight Sparkle back at Ponyville about it," he began, adopting a professional accent, "and this is what I talked with the Princess about: The changelings are too much like the ponies. They admire and adore pony things, they want to wear clothes made by ponies, they want to eat pony food and drink pony drinks and do pony activities. Despite that, you keep on bombarding us with more pony this and more pony that by sending us the occasional pony representative and always supplying us with things that were clearly meant for ponies. And it's not just the essentials, the vital things every living being needs—I can understand ponies giving us their apples for us to eat. What I don't understand is the constant flow of pony books, pony art, pony music, pony events, and the like!" He grabbed a quick breath of air. "The changelings in the Changeling Kingdom—if this doesn't stop, we'll just be like the ponies except in form! That's my complaint in the shortest and simplest way that I can think of right now!"

He was breathing heavily and loudly, seething with anger and resentment, his eyes half-open as they were arched in a mad way.

"OK..." Celestia looked to her left and then to her right and then back at the complaining changeling in front of her. "What does that have to do about Twilight?"

"Did she send you a letter, Princess?" he said rudely. "Did she?"

And a scroll appeared magically in front of the Princesses.

"Yes, she did," Celestia replied.

Nastic covered his mouth and his expression sunk. He stuttered as he gazed upon the rolled up scroll. "B-but...h-how did she...?"

"Looks like you weren't paying much attention to Twilight after your discussion with her," Celestia said. "Apparently, she sent me the letter the afternoon after the discussion. I bet you didn't visit her to follow up on the topic."

The whispers among the ponies loudened.

"I've read through the entire letter myself and my sister has also read it. From what I remember, it seems that either you want to push this agenda despite all odds or you somehow forgot what Twilight said to you."

"L-like what?!"

"That the Changeling Kingdom is, sadly, not in a good position to produce its own books, its own art, its own music—although it has the capability to produce its own events. It's free to do that."

"And, in addition," Luna continued, "what about what Twilight said about culture not just consisting of the obvious items such as the aforementioned books and art and music? That it also consists of the everyday lives of the changelings, that it consists of the everyday activities and everyday gestures, that it consists of the everyday talk and chats, not just the major and occasional books and such?"

"W-well, I, uh...must've forgotten?"

"Being given a talk by a Princess is not something a changeling would forget so easily," Luna said.

"However," Celestia stated, "we do understand that you don't want your friends and the rest of your kind to be much like our ponies. We just ask for your cooperation as we continue helping you, your King Thorax, and your kingdom grow with the magic of friendship. Isn't that why Twilight goes to your kingdom to give a friendship talk every now and then? You've forgotten one thing about not just culture, but about society in general, Nastic."

Nastic looked up at the Princesses

"Friendship," the two Princesses said in unison.

And everypony cheered for their royalty.

Long Winded rushed to Celestia and hugged her.

The guards, wearing their armor, rushed in to protect her.

"It's alright," Celestia assured. She chuckled.

Her sister chuckled, too.

Everypony went on applauding their Princesses.

Long Winded flew from Celestia to hug Luna.

The celebration continued on in the grand, royal hall as the stained glass windows continued to let in the sunlight. The hall was now with a happy atmosphere as the ponies roared their approval and their love for their Princesses.

Nastic held his bag.

He smiled.

"I knew it would taste delicious!" Long Winded said as he took another bite of the pie that he held with one hoof. "Hoof-made pies that you can eat on the go!" He planted his face onto the pie and gobbed up even more of it.

The two changelings walked on the sidewalks of the Canterlot streets. Several ponies did their best to avoid even eye contact with the changelings. There were others who happily and cheerfully greeted them. There were a few who even wanted to have their picture taken with the two changelings.

The streets of Canterlot were busy—many carriages were moving, there were traffic conductors controlling the flow of the carriages through the intersections. The sidewalks were also busy—many ponies were walking, trotting, galloping their way to wherever their destinations were. Ponies rushed into one buildings, ponies rushed out the next onto the sidewalk.

Nastic delightfully opened another newspaper. "It's the Canterlot Newspaper. They seriously named it the Canterlot Newspaper." He sighed. "Well, it's better than a newspaper with no name at all."

"What's in the news?!" Long Winded shouted.

"'Princess Twilight Sparkle to Schedule Another Friendship Talk at the Changeling Kingdom this Friday.'"

"What?! I'm not going to miss that one!" Long Winded rambled. "Somehow, I was able to miss every one of her talks so far! I was always in this place, I was always visiting that place, I was probably sleeping that one time—but, even if Thorax extends our weekends, we're going back to the kingdom before Friday!"

"Uh, that's good." He eyed his friend's steps. "Just watch out or you might trip on somepony."

"I will do!"

And they kept on walking on the busy sidewalks.

The sunset sky was yellow and orange. Ponies walked past the buildings, going to some place, headed for their destinations. Tourists were amazed by the sight of the city, looking and gazing upon the magnificent architecture of the Canterlot buildings. A few held up their cameras and took pictures here and there, smiling at the wonder of Equestria's capital.

Out one building, a building that stood out with its pink tones and yellow highlights and a huge sign that looked like a donut, two changelings went out holding paper bags that emanated the sweet scent of freshly baked donuts.

Nastic placed his donut bag into his other bag. He looked up at his hat and adjusted it. As the two walked, he said, "I'm going to let the Princesses off for now. They're catching on to us—now that the two most important Princesses in the land have finally listened to our complaint."

"Our complaint?" Long Winded laughed as he ate a piece of a donut. Then, his face brightened up. "It's amazing!"

Nastic stopped and turned towards his friend. "Ugh, what now?"

Long Winded held the donut. "It tastes sweet and delicious and...yummy! I wanna buy more!"

Nastic grabbed his friend. "Hold on. We don't wanna go wasting our bits on donuts."

"Hey, I remember you!" a voice called out.

Long Winded's face brightened up even more at the sight of who the pony was. "Princess Twilight Sparkle!"

The Princess was surrounded by four other mares. "Wow. I didn't know you liked donuts! We were on our way to buy donuts, too! Oh, by the way, here's my friends from Canterlot—I've been with them even before I met my friends in Ponyville!"

The four different unicorns smiled at the changelings.

"What about I introduce them to you?"

Nastic whispered to Long Winded, "I'm getting rather uneasy, considering what I just said about her." He was sweating.

"This is Lemon Hearts, the yellow unicorn; this is Minuette, the blue one; this is Twinkleshine, the white and pink one; and this is Moon Dancer, the white and, uh, red and purple one with the black sweater."

"Aww," Minuette interrupted, "Twilight's still awkward after all this time!" She hugged her. "Besides, didn't you introduce us to them back at the castle?"

"Oh, yeah..." Twilight looked embarassed.

"So, what's your names again?" Lemon Hearts asked eagerly. "I forgot; sorry."

Long Winded grabbed Nastic. "I'm Long Winded—" He pointed to himself, then he pointed to his friend "—and this is my best friend, Nastic!"

"I know you probably bought donuts already," Twinkleshine started, "but is it OK if we can spend some time back inside Joe's donut shop and talk?"

"We're going to have a tremendous time together!" Lemon Hearts yelled.

Twilight nodded. "Is it alright with you, Nastic and Long Winded?"

Nastic looked confused. "Uhh..."

"We'd love to talk with the Princess and her close friends!" He faced Nastic. "Come on, Nastic! This is a great opportunity that you don't want to miss out! You've already met the Princess. The Princess and her friends?" Long Winded flew his way inside, Nastic in tow. "Let's go!"

The five friends stood outside, having just witnessed an excited changeling grab his friend and then fly straight back into the donut shop. They laughed.

"Alright, everypony," Moon Dancer said, "let's get inside and have a wonderful bonding time with each other and with the changelings."

The friends cheered as they walked inside the donut shop.

A Talk over Donuts

The sunset sky was still bright despite the lateness of the afternoon. The bright beams and of the sun pierced through the tall windows of the donut shop's entrance, yielding an array of beautiful, stunning rays of sunlight and bringing them into the shop's interior, providing the customers and the sole baker an atmosphere that was sunny and peaceful, serving to liven the conversations and the interactions among the cheery ponies eating and drinking inside.

The two changelings and the five ponies sat around one of the bigger wooden pink tables. Plates decked with donuts and other baked goods filled the table, bringing their smells to be comined and to be mixed into a cacophony of harmonious sweet aromas that further incited Long Winded to lick his lips and to water his mouth as he stared at one of the dounts.

"I'm going to eat!"

And then Long Winded threw down his paper bag and all the donuts inside rolled and dropped onto his plate. He proceeded to smack his face onto the plate, chewing and dining rather slobbily without even using his hooves.

The five ponies gawked at him. Their gaze went towards Nastic.

He had a straight face. "How he eats." He rested an elbow onto the table. "Unlike most other changelings, I wasn't captured by the newfound experience of taste."

"Are you dull?" Minuette innocently asked.

"Probably." He showed a smug smirk. Then, he snagged a donut and took a small bite. "Chocolate donuts are my favorite, by the way. No pizzaz or anything elaborate. Just a donut and chocolate frosting. Well, I think it's frosting."

"Oh, heh-heh-heh..." Twilight exhibited a face of awkwardness. "I like...bagels." A grin appeared on her face—an awkward grin.

"I like the lemon donuts!" Lemon Hearts cried out. "They're sweet and sour!"

"Should've known it," Nastic remarked, "considering your name."

"Well, if you think you're so smart," Minuette said, raising her voice, "then what's my favorite donut?"

He shrugged and gave the same smug smirk. "It only works on some ponies, not all."

"Hah!" Minuette pointed at Nastic. "I've beaten a changeling without even hurting him!"

"Uh, it's just a game," Twinkleshine noted. "And, you're already causing a stir."

Minuette looked around her.

Most of the ponies were eyeing her.

"Heh-heh-heh-heh." She scratched her mane, slowly turning away from everypony outside her table.

Twinkleshine placed her donut down. "I prefer chocolate donuts, too."

Long Winded looked up from his feeding frenzy, his face was covered with frosting, sugar, and other ingredients. "Me, too!"

"Any donut would be nice," Moon Dancer said, "as long as it makes me full." The mare smiled while she picked up her donut with her magic.

"I like every donut in the shop!" Long Winded shouted before he went back to his crazed dining experience, munching loudly and unmannerly, much to the irritation of the other ponies in the room as they glanced at the naive changeling.

"Uh, Nastic, are you going to tell him about being considerate to others?" Twilight asked.

"Alright, Princess," he replied through a grin. He nudged the snacking changeling.

Long Winded kept eating on.

Nastic pushed him off the chair.

A few donuts fell to the floor and Long Winded crashed.

The five ponies glared at Nastic.

"OK, so?" He picked his friend up, dodging the eyes and the looks of the rest of the ponies watching the event. "I just had to do what I had to do."

"You could've at least shouted at him," Twilight said. "That would still be wrong and inconsiderate of the ponies around in the room, but you shouldn't have gone that overboard that quickly!"

Nastic shrugged again, patting his friend as he struggled to regain his composure. "I do that several times in one week and we're still friends; wouldn't that be alright?"

"Long Winded, you're used to this?" Twilight asked further, pressing the matter.

"Tough...love..." he managed to reply before he got back to eating yet another donut, this time calmly and with consideration for others.

The other four ponies looked at each other, exchanging glances. "Did I just see what I just saw?" Minuette asked.

Nopony answered her question. They returned to eating and talking over their donuts.

"OK, let's talk about something else before you end up pushing your friend again?" Twilight demanded.

Nastic nodded as he gave yet another smug smirk. "Yes, of course, Princess Twilight Sparkle." He then took a bite of his donut, watching her as he did.

Twilight watched back, taking a bite of her levitating donut.

All that happened as the other four ponies and Long Winded chatted happily, with their chats dotted and adorned with the occasional laughter. So it also was with the other ponies in the donut shop—they sat and they ate and they talked and, sometimes, they laughed, all under the sunset sky.

"Oh, also," Long Winded declared with a raised voice, "I and Nastic were able to get the Princesses' audience! I mean, the audience of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna! It was a great time, I'm telling you!"

Almost everypony stopped what they were doing (some of them dropped the donuts they were holding) and gasped. They turned their faces towards Long Winded.

"Yeah, it's great, right, everypony?" Long Winded went on. "I think it's happened before, with Neon Guard and his friends, but for us to not just see the Princesses for ourselves but to actually and really have an actual and real audience with them!" He held his face with his front hooves, smiling and almost screaming with pure cheer and gladness. "They actually talked to me and my friend! Not only that, when Nastic was done with his speech about how Princess Twilight was not really a good Princess and all—"

Twilight spat out the water that she was drinking. "What did Nastic say about me?"

"Wow, that's a brave changeling," Lemon Hearts commented, concerned.

"Are you sure that was a good idea, Nastic?" Moon Dancer inquired.

"But, Princess Twilight is a good Princess!" Twinkleshine defended.

"And, who doesn't like the Princesses, including our good old friend, Twilight Sparkle?" Minuette added.

Nastic gulped. He sweated a lot. He brushed off the sweat on his face twice.

"Hey, that's not how you speak about our Princesses!" a pony yelled from his seat.

"Yeah! We love the Princesses of Equestria!" another pony shouted from her chair.

"We've been friends for a long time!" Joe voiced out from behind the counter.

And more ponies joined the one-sided, one-liner shouting match against the apparent changeling critic who dared go against the norm and the tradition of loving and adoring the Princesses by speaking his opinion that was unpopular, not widely shared, and almost provocative. This changeling went closer and closer to the table in front of him, almost hugging the table, as the shouts and the yells of the ponies grew louder, drowning out any possible claim to the contrary, any possible outcry that went against what was normal and traditional, any possible voice that challenged the status quo of the minds at the time—and, in the minds of the ponies, the changeling was wrong to criticize the Princess by calling her "not good," and they were right for not just loving and adoring their royalty, their Princesses, but that they were also right for sometimes offering complaints that was just justifiable and plain for all to see.

In the mind of the changeling, amidst all the pressure, he was right.

Nastic looked at Princess Twilight Sparkle.

She wasn't giving him an angry look or a mean face. She was afraid—her mouth was shivering while she was walking away from the incoming, gathering crowd of offended and outraged ponies. "Uh, everypony, please calm down!" she bellowed. "Uh, everypony! Take your seats and please resume eating donuts!"

The raucous, deafening tumult of the mad ponies continued to increase in volume and in danger.

"OK, everpony, quiet!"

And everypony who dared go against the changeling was caught in a magical field, frozen where they stood.

Twilight sighed. "When I unfreeze all of you, promise me that you won't spontaneously raise an angry mob against some random changeling without actually checking and analyzing why he said it in the first place, OK?!" She took a sweeping look of everypony magically frozen. "OK?!"

Then, she unfreezed them all.

And they quickly rushed back to their seats, hurriedly going back to whatever they were doing, several of them staring awkwardly and apolgetically at Princess Twilight Sparkle who wasn't in a happy mood.

She sighed again.

"Wow!" Minuette looked around, seeing all the ponies trying their best to act normal and calm. "Just the weird things that can go on any day, I guess."

Everypony else around the table and Long Winded just stared in surprise and in confusion at both Twilight and Nastic.

"Sorry for what they just did, Nastic," Twilight pleaded. "I know that there will be ponies that won't instantly accept you and your kind, Nastic, but I didn't expect this to happen, not especially to a changeling who actually has a passion for his kind—even though there were still some mistakes, last time I remembered."

"Hey!"

"So...Nastic." Her face was downcast, showing her sorrow and sadness. "Will you forgive me and the ponies who hurt you?"

Nastic took his seat. "I'll forgive you."

Twilight smiled. Her friends smiled. Long Winded smiled. "Aww!" Minuette expressed.

"Besides, what's going to happen if I didn't forgive you?" Nastic went on. "There's going to be this grudge, your friends are going to get sad, Long Winded is probably going to bother me for not forgiving you, and the ponies might as well make an angry mod again to force me to forgive."

"Uh, that's not how forgiveness works, Nastic."

"I was just explaining to you something, Princess Twilight." Nastic then smiled. He eyed a donut in front of him, on his plate. "So, let's talk about my criticism of you?"

Twilight chuckled, magically levitating her own donut. "I'll try my best to keep a level head, Nastic." She looked at her friends and at Long Winded.

They were all looking intently at Twilight and at Nastic.

"I guess they all want to listen," Twilight noted.

Nastic made a sly smile. "OK."

Twilight shifted her eyes to the left and to the right. She looked back at Nastic. "So, um, what exactly was your criticism about me?"

Nastic took a second. "Basically, I thought you didn't send a letter to Princess Celestia about what we had talked about that night in the castle."

"But, I did."

"And that's where I went wrong. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna gave me..." He observed the ponies outside the table—several of them were giving him uneasy looks. "They just gave me a summary of what you'd said to me. I think that's enough 'being proven wrong' to me." He chuckled anxiously, restlessly as he again saw the ponies and their faces of suspicion towards him.

Twilight threw a glance at the ponies.

They hastily went back to eating their donuts and talking about normal things like the day and the weather and their time with the Princesses back at their royal castle.

Natic saw his friend and Twilight's friends still looking rather engaged in the conversation.

"So, what did you learn today, Nastic?" Twilight finally asked, sporting a professional face.

He again wiped off the sweat on his face. "That...what you said back in the library was right."

She closed her eyes for a while. After opening them, she said, "I can see that the Changeling Kingdom has the means, the ability, and the ambition to be a great kingdom. I know, and I think that it's rather clear here, that you don't want the changelings to just be copying off ponies." She paused, taking in a silence that was peaceful yet tense as Nastic didn't frown nor did he smile. "You have to understand their condition, the condition of your fellow changelings. Like I'd said before, they want pony culture because it's probably the only one they know about. And, besides, like I'd also said before, culture is not just the obvious things."

"I know all about that, Twilight," Nastic interjected.

"OK, you know about it." She gave him a knowing stare. "Then, what else is wrong? Any more reasons?"

Nastic looked away.

Twilight opened her mouth, realizing something. "It's that deep, isn't it, Nastic."

Nastic raised a hoof towards his head. He placed both of his front hooves on his head. The look of misery on his face was subtle, shown in the slight movements of his hooves and of his head. Nastic placed down his hat, revealing a carapace head that glimmered in the sunset sunlight.

Twilight's friends anticipated for something to happen, for a word to appear between Twilight and Nastic. They leaned closer, not saying a word.

Long Winded ate even more donuts, but he also leaned in towards Nastic.

Nastic sighed. "I'm just...I just don't want to see my fellow changelings and our kingdom to be destroyed."

"What?!" Minuette blurted out. "We aren't planning to destroy your kingdom or anything, right Twilight?" She gripped Twilight and did a striking pose at Nastic.

"Not destruction like breaking things." He looked up to Twilight.

Her face was that of expectation and of preparation; her eyes were wide open, her mouth closed. She was looking at Nastic.

"I meant the quiet destruction of a kingdom—by destroying what makes it its own kingdom in the first place, by destroying what makes the changelings...changelings."

Twilight placed a hoof on the table, slowly and quietly. She glanced again at the ponies outside their table.

Only a few of them were still looking at Nastic.

She turned towards Nastic. "I know that changelings being, well, changed in less than an hour—less than a minute, I believe!—it's...not going to go so well for some changelings. You went all the way from creatures that hungered for love and seeked to obtain it with no regards to what other creatures might feel about it—you went all the way from that to creatures that are pretty much good, happy, nice, and seeking to share love with others. I'd say that's a pretty big difference."

Long Winded took another bite of a donut.

"When something like that happens to a society, it leaves it in a new state, a new condition. It's a place where nopony has recorded in, um, recorded history. The closest we've got to something like that was Princess Luna right after she was—"

"Saved by you and your friends," Nastic interrupted.

"Yes, heh-heh-heh-heh, saved by me and my friends..." She made yet another awkward face towards her companions. "Anyway, Princess Luna had to fit in with a society that she hasn't seen that much of for a thousand years. However, that's on an individual level. A society experiencing something similar...that's a different story. To be honest, we don't know everything about you and your kingdom—which is why I'd love to volunteer to gather changeling-related information!" She grinned happily.

"Hey, Twilight!" Nastic yelled.

"OK, OK! I might be going off the track a little, but, really, we don't know a lot about changelings like you and how your kingdom works and operates, so, yes, sometimes, our interactions with you might be somewhat flawed. Maybe we're trying too much? Or, maybe we're trying too little? Anyway, back to the changeling society. What did you do when you became a good changeling some months' back?"

"Oh, uh..."

"Go on, Nastic!" Long Winded encouraged. "It's one of the best days of our lives!" Then, he went back to eating a donut, yet he was still looking at Nastic as he did so.

Nastic laughed a little. "Well, it was one of the best days of our lives, wasn't it? To finally be free from the hunger, from the starvation." A smile crept up on his face. "I went to my friends and we talked, my friends went to me and we talked, we laughed, we enjoyed ourselves as we celebrated the defeat of Chrysalis, the coronation of Thorax, and, well, being free in general. When you possess that freedom and you realize it—isn't that truly a wonderful feeling, when you haven't tasted true freedom ever since the beginning of your life? Then, of course, there was Long Winded." He hugged his friend—his friend hugged back.

"Aww, Nastic!" Long Winded yelled as he cried and as he sobbed tears of joy in that loving, friendly hug.

Nastic said no words—the smile on his face was there as the hug went on.

Twilight's warming smile went away. "So, what went wrong that made you the changeling you are now?"

Nastic got himself out of the hug.

Long Winded was still crying a little. He did not pick up a donut. His eyes were watery as they looked upon his best friend.

Twilight's friends also had watery eyes; all of them tried their best not to break into tears at the sight of such a hug.

Twilight herself smiled again, only for the smile to go away again. "So, what went wrong, Nastic?"

Nastic gazed towards the ceiling. Then, he looked back at the Princess in front of him. "Then, we started attending your events and buying your things, the pony-made items. I started learning that there was this thing called 'culture' and that each society, each kingdom, has its own culture. So, I thought that you were taking away our culture. When I read the news every morning, every afternoon, and every night, there were times that the headlines and some of the major stories were about ponies visiting the Changeling Kingdom and about changelings attending this pony event here and this pony event there, all while advertisements about things made by ponies were also there, brainwashing and manipulating the minds of the changelings that you saved." He took his hat and placed it back on his head. "Did I get emotional over it? Not really. I'm not that kind of changeling. What's the use of crying for your cause when you can casually breeze your way through it by rationale with just a hint of added emotion to make our case more believeable and more close-to-home, hm?" He sighed. "OK, I'll admit it and I probably did it already—I was wrong." He looked upon his plate of donuts with a melancholic face of sadness.

A hoof patted his shoulder.

It was Long Winded's. "Come on, cheer up, Nastic!" His smile was as energetic and as joyful as it ever was. "You probably know all the words and the ideas and what not that Twilight said! So, let's just take it to heart, roll with it, and eat!" He planted his face again onto a plate of donuts—Nastic's plate.

"Well." Nastic adjusted his hat and showed a reassuring smile at the ponies.

Twilight and her friends smiled, too.

"Thanks for the chat."

He stood up.

"Wait, we're leaving already?!" Long Winded whined.

"Hold on, Long Winded."

Nastic walked up to the counter.

Joe paid attention to the changeling customer. "So, do you want some more donuts?" he asked, although there was a sense of intimidation in his gruff tone.

Nastic opened his bag and took out a small sack. He dropped it on the counter. There was the rattling sound of bits.

"More donuts, please," Nastic said.

Long Winded gasped. "Yes! I get to talk even more with the Princess and her friends!" Then, he screamed with joy.

Twilight and her friends cheered, celebrating the moment.

Everypony else cheered and applauded in the donut shop.

Nastic patiently waited for his donuts. He was smiling.

The sun had already set a few minutes ago. Now, the interior lights of the donut shop had been turned on, providing illumination to all the ponies there. The sky outside was now adorned with stars and its bright, peaceful moon. Outside, the streets of Canterlot were lit up by the elegant street lights and by the various lights of the buildings there.

Back inside the donut shop, everypony was having a good time talking and chatting and laughing and eating. Twilight, Minuette, Lemon Hearts, Twinkleshine, Moon Dancer, Nastic, and Long Winded were part of the lively activities.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" Long Winded shot out through his frosting-covered mouth. He scarfed yet another donut.

"Uh, have you drank a single glass of water, yet?" Lemon Hearts asked, distressed as Long Winded grabbed one more donut for the taking. "That's tons of sugar."

"Unless changelings don't work that way," Moon Dancer raised. She faced Twilight. "Maybe we should gather information about the changelings together, Twilight. Being with them has gotten me interested to know more about them!"

Twilight placed on an adorable yet awkward smile. "We're going to have the best information-gathering time ever!"

And the two hugged each other.

Minuette took a drink of her glass of water. She placed it down and eyed Nastic. "Do you still want to order more donuts?"

"Not really—"

"But, you're not really full, are you?"

"We don't wanna spend too much of our bits on just treating ourselves to donuts and all—"

Minuette slammed her front hooves on the table. "It's going to be my treat, Nastic! Don't worry about your bits!"

"Woah, Minuette," Twinkleshine expressed. "Calm down!"

"I'm trying to be nice and friendly to them, OK?!"

She gulped, whimpered, and ate a donut.

The five ponies and the two changelings finally walked out of the brightly lit donut shop, most of them laughing as they exited the eatery.

As ponies passed by the friendly group, there were faces and looks of confusion—they gazed at the changelings following them, then they looked at the alicorn that was among the group, Princess Twilight.

"What about, this time, we take a trip to Ponyville and you can all get to meet my Ponyville friends, formally and for real, for the first time!" Twilight grinned, waiting for her friends' response as they stopped on the sidewalk.

The ponies nodded. Long Winded nodded excitedly. Nastic nodded once and slowly.

"Alright, that's good! Now, off to the train station!"

And, so they trotted on, passing by shining buildings and illuminating street lights, through and past crowds of ponies as they moved through the sidewalks, through busy intersections and on the streets, past lovely music of all kinds and of all sorts, past the sumptuous and scrumptious smells of various restaurants, past the carriages that galloped by, all under the gentle night with its stars and its moon. In the distance, a pony announced that Princess Luna was over at someplace nearby, but another pony yelled back that it was just an illusion or somepony that only looked like her.

Meanwhile, behind a tree, Princess Luna peeked and observed all the activity that her ponies were engaged in under her night sky. She closed her eyes and smiled.

The train decelerated, slowing to a halt.

"Ponyville!" one of the train conductors declared. "Watch your steps as you go down the train!"

And many ponies, several of them wearing bags or hauling baggages or doing both, exited the train and arrived at Ponyville. Among them, Twilight Sparkle and her friends and the two changelings.

"And, we're back in Ponyville!" Long Winded cried out. He was bouncing up and down, a smile on his face confirming his excitement. "And, we're going to meet with the Elements of Harmony, all of them in one building!" He seized Nastic and shouted to his face, "Are you excited? Are you eagerly looking forward to this grand meeting?!"

Nastic moved away from the grip. "Don't give me a concussion."

"Wow!" Moon Dancer spoke, beholding all the sights and the landmarks and the ponies and the stalls and the produce and the structures and the liveliness of Ponyville. The chatter of the ponies, together with the yellow and white lights that brightened up the town under the night, made a suitable atmosphere for a homely nightlife visit. "This is such a...friendly place to live in. It's one thing to know about the magic of friendship, but it's really another when you actually see that magic manifest itself." Her eyes became watery, welling up tears. She levitated her glasses and rubbed her eyes.

Twilight patted her friend. "And, do you want to know what's best of all?"

"What's that?"

"You're going to have another set of friends."

As the five ponies hugged each other, Nastic and Long Winded looked on.

"OK, I know the ponies are nice and all, but this is way too much sentimentalism going on here."

And he was caught in another hug.

"Aww, it's a nice day to give out hugs, Nastic!" He loosened his grip on him. "Besides, you're my best friend, remember?"

Nastic smiled again. "I won't forget that."

Then, they hugged each other once more.

Twilight Sparkle and Moon Dancer stepped into the dark room.

"Uh, hello?" Twilight called out. "Pinkie Pie?"

Her voice echoed through the dark interior.

"Did I forget something?" she asked. "Uh, Pinkie Pie, did I forget to read a memo or a note?" She paused, expecting an answer.

There was no response.

Long Winded pushed his way inside. "OK, let me see if it's something I can handle—"

The lights turned on.

"Happy On-the-spot Friend Gathering Party, everypony!"

Streamers were thrown out, colorful balloons were everywhere, confetti scattered into the air and floated back to the floor, and happy music blared through the speakers as Pinkie Pie stood up from behind the counter along with her friends—Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Rarity. The rest of the ponies there made their appearances, several of them walking into the room, others just giving enough time for Twilight and her friends to catch a glimpse of them before they headed off to another room of the Sugarcube Corner.

"What?!" Twilight yelled, standing firmly though astonished. "How did you know?"

"Whoops!" Pinkie Pie brought up a huge, extremely tall cake covered in different colors and sweet, sugary flavors. "What's a party without a cake?!" And, with the other hoof, she brought up two foals who were quite happy and pleased to be present at the party. "I believe we're going to have a fun time—" She gasped for breath, and then, in one fast, breathless take "—Moon Dancer, Twinkleshine, Minuette, Lemon Hearts, Nastic, Long Winded, and, of course, Twilight Sparkle!"

Twilight just stood there, staring at all the party fixtures and decorations that littered and decorated and place. "Wow, Pinkie Pie. I didn't expect you to prepare a surprise party for my Canterlot friends."

"We just got surprise-partied by Pinkie Pie!" Minuette screamed. "Don't you know how cool that is?!"

Moon Dancer looked at Minuette. "Yeah." The mare smiled.

Pinkie Pie trotted up to her. "Oh, we already met, but you haven't met the rest of Twilight's friends and they're all one-hundred-percent awesome!"

She gestured her friends to come over.

And, the four ponies walked over.

Long Winded couldn't contain himself. His front hooves were on his head, looking fast, darting his sight towards this Element of Harmony and that Element of Harmony, this friend of Twilight and that friend of Twilight. Then, he looked at the Canterlot friends of Twilight. Then, he looked back at Pinkie Pie. "I cannot believe me eyes, Nastic! We have the Elements of Harmony, the five friends of the Princess Twilight Sparkle, all inside the Sugarcube Corner, and, to top it all off, the Pinkie Pie threw all of us a surprise party!"

"If you emphasize the word 'the' again," Nastic replied bluntly, "I'm going to pull you out of this party."

Long Winded went down on his knees. "No, no! Please! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

"Hah. I don't think it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity at this point." He smiled. "But, I'll roll with it."

Nastic helped Long Winded up on his hooves.

Pinkie Pie inched up towards the two changelings. "And, familiar faces?" She blinked rapidly with an unmoving smile.

"I can't begin to process all the awesome things that's happening in this room!" Long Winded screamed. He flew up to Rainbow Dash. "What about we start with the awesome flying, Rainbow Dash herself?!" He hurriedly offered a hoofshake with his hoof. "And then we move on to the rest of you and then we'll all gather around one table and we're going to have the best surprise party ever!"

Rainbow Dash's face contained confused amazement. "Uh, OK, Long Winded?"

"Yes!" Long Winded flew up into the air and flew around and rushed around and glided fast, expertly dodging balloons and other things in the room.

"But, don't forget that we'll also talk with Twilight's Canterlot buddies, alright?" Rainbow Dash asked, keeping her eyes on the speeding changeling. "You can talk with them and us and me around the same table!"

"So, you're the Rainbow Dash I've heard about," Moon Dancer began as the ten ponies and the two changelings sat around the large wooden round table.

On the table, there were plates for each seated pony and changeling. At the center, there were dozens and dozens of plates filled to the brim with sweet, pleasant delicacies like cakes, pies, cake-pies, muffins, donuts, bagels, chocolates, candies, and even more.

"Yeah!" Rainbow Dash affirmed. She looked at all the ponies and the changelings that were there at the table. "Looks like we're going to have one cool party tonight, right?"

The Changelings' Pony Club

Within the vast orchards of apple trees, past deep green foiliage and shrubs and bushes, standing tall and prominently, having a uniqueness that differs it from the rest, this great and sturdy apple tree held the humble yet widely-known clubhouse of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. It was still lightly-colored, still wooden, still small—but, this time, any trace of Cutie Mark Crusaders material was either gone or covered. Instead, in their place were festive, multi-colored balloons; pictures, posters, and paintings of Rainbow Dash in various poses (and even a balloon model of the colorful pegasus); and, there were many colts and fillies, many more than the three popular Crusaders—and they were all wearing rainbow wigs styled Rainbow Dash's way—cool. Some of them were also wearing models of blue wings—just like Rainbow Dash's real ones. Among them, several were wearing shirts that either subtly or obviously showed their adoration to Rainbow Dash.

At the lectern, Scootaloo, also wearing a Rainbow Dash wig, slammed the lectern.

All the noisy chattering was silenced.

"It's been a short while since the official Rainbow Dash Fan Club has convened," Scootaloo began, holding an authoritative voice among her peers. "But, here we are now." She sheepishly grinned at her audience. "We're...convened."

"What do you mean by 'convened'?" Snips asked, raising a hoof.

"Uh, it means to meet together somewhere." Scootaloo kept up the grin. "So, now that we've got that out of the way, let's get back to official fan club business!"

Everypony there made threw shouts and noises of approval.

Scootaloo slammed her front hooves on the lectern again.

And everypony went quiet again.

"First, we'd like to welcome our newest member of the official Rainbow Dash Fan Club!" She cleared her throat and looked at the fan club's many optimistic members. "You all know her, right?"

Everypony stared back at her, confused. "Uh, I thought you'd said that she was going to be a surprise," Snails said, breaking the silence.

"That's because it's going to be an awesome surprise."

The audience stayed silent.

Maintaining her upbeat look, she continued on. "We all know her. She lives here in Ponyville. I and Sweetie Belle have been friends with her for a long time. But, when she asked me if she could join the Rainbow Dash Fan Club, I was honestly surprised, puzzled even. I knew that she and Rainbow Dash were on good terms, even friends, but a fan of Rainbow Dash? I didnt' expect that from her." She cleared her throat again.

She faced the door.

"And, now, may I present to you our newest member of the official Rainbow Dash Fan Club—Applejack's sister and fellow Cutie Mark Crusader, Apple Bloom!"

The door hurled open and there was Apple Bloom, wearing her signature pink bow and also a rainbow-colored wig.

Everypony there cheered for her.

Amidst the happy commotion, Scootaloo rushed her way there, dodging and avoiding the other avid fan club members and stood in front of the smiling Apple Bloom. "So, Apple Bloom! Welcome to your first ever session of the official Rainbow Dash Fan Club!" She then bounced up and down, flapping her wings while she did so, keeping her up in the air for a little longer. "I'm so excited for what we're going to achieve with you inside the club!"

"Well, finally," Apple Bloom replied, exhausted. "Ah' can finally get mah' reward fer all that Ah' had to face 'fore Ah' got here!"

Scootaloo became perplexed. "Can you explain?"

About thirty minutes ago

The peaceful apple tree orchards of Sweet Apple Acres were indeed quiet. The only sound that was there was the rustling of the leaves and of the branches as the occasional gust of wind blew over the fields. The trees bended a little with the force of the wind.

Right outside the family barn, Apple Bloom stood in front of her older sister.

"What did ah' just hear?!" Applejack yelled at her. "Mah' sister, my very own sister, is going to a Rainbow Dash fan club?" She smacked a hoof on her face. "This...this just don't make a little haystack of sense, Apple Boom!"

"But, Ah've seen Rainbow Dash an' her awesome flying skills an' abilities, 'specially now that you an' Twilight gave me permission to use that magic spell that makes Earth ponies an' unicorns walk on clouds. And, the more Ah see her do those cool sunts, Ah wanted to spend some mor' time with her an' now...here Ah' am!" She placed a pleading grin on her face.

"Hmph!" She planted a hoof on the ground and glared at her younger sister. "Ya' do know that Ah am the better athlete 'round here?"

"Uh..."

"Is that a tiny part o' doubt that Ah' just heard now?!" Applejack screamed.

"No, n-no!" Apple Bloom exclaimed, shaking her head, slowly walking away from Applejack while she faced her. "Ah didn't mean to say that, Applejack! You're both awesome in your own ways, that's what I meant!"

"Oh, really, Apple Bloom?" Applejack slowly took her steps forward, each step more intimidating and frightening. "You're really saying that Ah'm just her equal?"

Apple Bloom gulped and stopped her walk. "Uh, y-yes?"

Applejack sighed. "Ah'm pretty OK with other ponies thinkin' that Rainbow Dash's better than me. However, mah own sister believin' that Ah'm just her equal? Just a pony who could match her skills and not a pony who could defeat her 'bout at least half the time?" She looked away from her sister. "What do ya' see in me, Apple Bloom?" she asked downheartedly. Her eyes were closed.

A hug.

Applejack opened her eyes in surprise. She saw her sister hugging her.

She hugged back.

"Nopony could replace my own sister, Applejack."

A good, cheerful silence passed by.

"If that's the case," Applejack said, still hugging her sister, "then, why are ya' joining the Rainbow Dash fan club?"

"Ah' just like her skills an' her atheltic abilities—but you're not just athletic, Applejack. You're still mah' sister, Applejack. Besides, it's just a fan club. Ah' don't think we're supposed to like Rainbow Dash above our own families."

Then, they stopped hugging.

The two ponies were smiling at each other, now.

"Heh." Applejack picked up a small box. "I sorta' anticipated somethin' like this happenin' anway! All the trips to Cloudsdale you've been makin' recently and the Cutie Mark Crusaders get-togethers I've been hearin' about lately—sooner or later, somepony's gonna find out."

Applejack placed the box on the ground.

Apple Bloom ran to open it.

Inside was a rainbow-colored wig styled Rainbow Dash's way.

"A-Applejack?" Apple Bloom stuttered.

She slowly held up the wig with her front hooves, beholding it. She cautiously turned it around, feeling the fake hair of the wig.

"Thank you, thank you!"

Apple Bloom rushed to hug Applejack again.

"Well, little sister," Applejack said, "ya' don't know what Ah' went through just to get that for ya'. Ah' got that from one of the clothing stores 'round town, and it turns out that Rainbow Dash herself was there. Ah' tried to buy it away from her sight, but she caught me and then wondered if Ah, Applejack, was joining her fan club. Couldn't keep a secret that well, so Ah told her mah' suspicion that ya' might be the next member of the fan club."

Apple Bloom gasped. "So, she knows?!"

"Apparently, while Ah thought ya' might be joinin' the fan club, she knew ya' were joinin'!"

The grin on her face grew wide.

"Uh, can ya' let go now?"

Apple Bloom removed her hugging grip. Now, she was bouncing up and down, looking at her sister with that happy grin. "So, does that mean I can join the—"

Applejack nodded.

"Yes! Thanks, Applejack! You're still my sister!"

Then, she rushed off.

The present

Scootaloo patted Apple Bloom. "Now, isn't that cool and awesome, just like what Rainbow Dash might say?"

Apple Bloom's grin stayed there.

She walked, seeing all the smiles and the ponies there saying their greetings to her and telling her that joining the official Rainbow Dash Fan Club was one of the best things that she had ever done in her life. She turned her head around, letting herself see and view all the Rainbow Dash works that were made and produced, finely created with different abilities and skills but united with the common vision of having a common pony to be a fan of: Rainbow Dash.

"So, what about Sweetie Belle?" Apple Bloom asked, taking a seat on the floor as everypony finally sat down as well.

Scootaloo stood up from her position behind the lectern. "I'm working on it."

"Rarity?" Sweetie Belle asked her sister checking the clothes she has made. "Can I go outside and attend Scootaloo's fan club?"

Rarity fixed her glasses, still looking at the fine details of the dress in front of her. "Why, is it that important, Sweetie Belle?"

"But, I wanna at least try!" Sweetie Belle complained.

"Not today, my dear!"

"Everypony! Let's get back to official fan club business, shall we?"

Scootaloo slammed on the lectern another time and then everypony was quiet once again.

"The first item that we shall talk about today is something very peculiar."

Everypony straightened their view towards her.

"It turns out that, without our permission—" And, she began pacing the floor "—someone decided to establish another branch of the official Rainbow Dash Fan Club!"

Several ponies gasped.

"Wait," a pony mentioned. "Isn't that a good thing?"

"Hmm." Scootaloo rested a hoof on the lectern, thinking and wondering and anaylzing as her gaze was upwards towards the wooden ceiling. "It could be a good thing."

Everypony cheered at the positive declaration.

"But, aren't we gonna recognize this new branch or somethin'?" Apple Bloom asked.

"We might as well just invite them to come here," Scootaloo replied, "since you're not gonna believe where this club is and what it's about. I apologize for not being completely honest about it at first, but, it's not just a Rainbow Dash fan club. It's a fan club for ponies."

Gasps were sounded by all the ponies there.

"Ya' don't mean—"

"Yes, I mean it!" Scootaloo took in some air. "We've got a pony fan club made by the changelings!"

"What?!" everypony else screamed in bewilderment.

Inside the rocky, craggy room, a soft green light glowed from a light fixture on the ceiling. The doorway was open, letting in all the changeling noise from outside as changelings walked and passed by on the road and on the sidewalk.

The room was decorated with various balloons. A curtain was used as a makeshift sign—painted on it were the words "The Official Pony Fan Club!" Several books, most of them thick, were lying on the table. Cushioned chairs and couches stayed on the side. This gave way for the changelings there—all in different, various colors; all of them were glimmering and gleaming under the light—to sit on the rocky floor, although they were actually sitting on a carpet.

On a tiny elevated platform which was actually a soapbox, Humerus stood tall above his fellow changelings. He stood there, smiling. "Who's excited as I am for today's session of the official Pony Fan Club?!"

The changelings there cheered and raised their hooves as they did so.

"Alright!" Humerus pointed to one of the changelings. "Long Winded!"

"What?" He pointed to himself. "Me?"

"Yes! You're our volunteer for, uh, today's session!"

And the changelings cheered again, the nearby ones giving Long Winded a hand as he stood up. Then, he flew to Humerus and landed in front of him.

Humerus looked at him. He faced the open window that let the sunlight in.

Several changelings were watching the session take place from the sidewalks. A changeling waved a hoof, trying to catch Humerus's attention.

He smiled at them.

Humerus looked back at Long Winded. "So, would you care to give the new members of the fan club a short history of Equestria and its ponies?" he asked in a professional-sounding voice.

"Uh, y-yes?"

"That's great!"

Then, Humerus pushed him up to the soapbox as Humerus himself stepped down from it and quickly took a seat beside one of the changelings there. He nudged that changeling. "How are you enjoying this so far, Nastic?"

Nastic laughed smugly. "Just...don't take this too far, OK, Humerus?"

Humerus laughed back happily and honestly. "We're going to have a great time here, Nastic! All three of my bestest and closest friends are here!"

Nastic turned his head around.

Among the small crowd of changelings, three changelings waved at him.

Nastic turned back to Humerus. "I see you've brought Blue Alarm, Red Noise, and Neon Guard along."

Humerus grabbed him. "That means more exciting times for the club! They're always better with your friends!"

Nastic pushed himself away from Humerus and adjusted his hat. "I wonder why I have the feeling that this is going to sound very cheesy?"

Long Winded cleared his throat as he stood on the soapbox.

He saw all that was in front of him. There were the couches and the comfortable chairs. There was a lamp. He saw the green lights on the ceiling. He saw more of the house—a hallway and, past the hallway, a room that had a table prepared with plates and chairs. There were several shelves in the room he was in, some sporting books, others boasting pictures of happy, smiling changelings. Right in front of him were the changelings attending this session of the official Pony Fan Club. They were, like the changelings that were there in the pictures, happy and smiling.

Long Winded eyed his fellow changelings.

"Who's new here?" he asked heartily.

Some changelings raised their hats, including the hatted Nastic.

"Of course, I know your names, especially you Nastic!"

The changeling in question groaned.

"Anyway, you can get to talk with the other changelings and talk about ponies after this short introduction to Equestria and to ponies." He gulped, still wearing that glad smile. "Well, I hope that it's going to be short!"

"Don't make this too long!" Nastic yelled from his place.

Long Winded made a nervous smile. "Alright! Who's ready?!"

All the changelings there raised their hooves. Nastic raised his slowly and reluctantly.

Blitheful picked up the lamp.

"Hey!" Long Winded cried out. "Why are you getting that lamp, Blitheful?!"

"Why not?"

"Uh..." Long Winded observed the changeling inspecting the lamp. "OK, why not?" He looked at all the changelings in front of him. "Again, who's ready?!"

And all the changelings raised their hooves enthusiastically again—except for Nastic who didn't even raise his hoof but just gave his friend attention.

"That's good and great and alright, changelings!" Long Winded took up a large piece of paper from the table behind him. He spread it out. The paper showed a huge map of Equestria and its surrounding areas—including the Changeling Kingdom. "You better be listening, because this is going to be a short introduction, so every word and every phrase and every sentence and every section of this introduction is important!"

And every changeling there (except Nastic) leaned in closer towards the map.

Long Winded took in a deep breath. "We start with the three pony tribes: Earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns. They weren't really friends so they fought over food and water. Then, their hatred for each other grew and the winter became worse because of the Windigos who feed on hatred. Because of the harsh weather and climate at the time, the leaders and their right-hand ponies went out to survey for a new place to call home. Then, they bumped into each other and called the same land their home which caused a squabble and the leaders' were frozen in ice and the right-hand ponies were concerned and were talking and laughing and the fire of their friendship thawed out the ice and the leaders were now good and then after that the Princesses—Princess Celestia and Princess Luna—they arrived and helped out but then Discord arrived and made chaos everywhere he went and, after a while, the Princesses stopped Discord and then there was peace for a while until Princess Luna became evil and became Nightmare Moon and then Princess Celestia had to banish her own sister who was Princess Luna and she banished her to the moon and then Princess Celestia reigned for about a thousand years and, after that, she sends out her faithful student, Twilight Sparkle, and she sends her to Ponyville and then Nightmare Moon was there at the one thousandth Summer Sun Celebration in Ponyville and then Twilight Sparkle had to make friends with Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy, and then they saved the day and then it turns out that they are now the bearers of the Elements of Harmony and then they had adventures and friendship lessons and saved Equestria several times and then, some months ago, Starlight Glimmer and her friends gathered around and saved the Changeling Kingdom and then I'm done with the short introduction on Equestria!"

And Long Winded was exasparated, breathing heavily and slowly, taking in big gulps of air while still holding the large map of Equestria.

"Come on!" Nastic complained. "You just displayed the map for us to see—you didn't point to this or that place at all!"

"Like I said, Nastic—short introduction. If I pointed my hoof at things on the map, it would make it longer!"

"I agree!" Humerus agreed.

And the rest of the changelings there mumbled and muttered their agreements with Long Winded, some of them approvingly nodding their heads.

"OK, what about the short introduction on ponies?"

"Really?" Nastic said, annoyed.

"And Changed Chanticleer is going to give us the short introduction on ponies!"

Every changeling there (except Nastic) cheered the yellow changeling on as he hovered to the soapbox. Long Winded hovered down from it, taking his large map with him.

Changed Chanticleer, like Long Winded, cleared his throat.

"You know what ponies are, right?" Changed Chanticleer began.

Every changeling in the audience (except Nastic) gave an enthusiastic "Yes!"

"Have you met at least one pony in your life?"

Every changeling (except Nastic) answered "Yes!" again. Nastic remained silent, though he gave a slow and subtle nod.

"You know there are three types of ponies, right?"

Again, every changeling (except Nastic) answered "Yes!"

"They are very friendly, correct?"

"Yes!" all the changelings said to him (except Nastic).

"OK, I'm done."

And all the changelings (except Nastic) cheered on Changed Chanticleer once again, some of them giving noisy, loud shouts of acclaim and informal respect for the changeling and his short introduction on ponies.

"Why do I have a feeling that this is not going to be as good as I thought?" Nastic whispered to himself.

All the changelings sat around the large wooden table. On it were the various books and also various foods and drinks.

"Of course," Nastic began, "you wouldn't have this fine arrangement of furniture without me, you know, Sunny Perky."

"I know that, Nastic," Sunny Perky replied. "But, let's not talk about the furniture."

"Yeah!" Humerus yelled. "Any pony news from Equestria and from other places?!"

"Heh-heh-heh." Another changeling sipped his glass of water. "I forgot to bring the newspaper for today."

"Which is why I have back-ups!" Long Winded threw a bunch of newspapers onto the table.

Several changelings moved their plates and their glasses away from the incoming barrage of newspapers.

"What's there?" Red Noise asked.

"Let's see!" Long Winded took up one of the newspapers. "It seems like Princess Twilight Sparkle is going to visit the Changeling Kingdom to hold yet another friendship talk!"

And all the changelings around the table cheered at the news (except Nastic).

"Is it going to be free to attend like last time?!" Humerus asked.

"Yes, it's going to be free!" Long Winded answered gladly. "Just like all the other times when Twilight Sparkle went here!"

"What's she going to talk about this time?" the changeling who forgot to bring the newspaper asked.

"I think she's going to talk about, uh, let me see, Critic Steno." Long Winded brought the newspaper closer to him. He read the column in front of him. "She's going to talk about, uh, not bothering your friends and not being annoying to them!"

The changelings (except Nastic) smiled at the news.

"Is she going to be any of her friends to the talk?" Neon Guard asked from his place.

"The column says that it's going to be the first friendship talk where she'll bring all her best friends from Ponyville."

And, every changeling there (except Nastic) gasped or otherwise reacted surprised at that piece of information. Then, the changelings (except Nastic) once again cheered at the prospect of Twilight Sparkle bringing her five best friends to the Changeling Kingdom to attend the friendship talk.

Nastic looked out the window. The streets were normal—changelings were still walking and passing by on the sidewalks and on the streets.

"Are they going to be speaking there, too?" Changed Chanticleer asked, desperate to know the answer.

"The column affirms it."

And, once again, the changelings (except Nastic) roared in joy.

"Don't spill any of the drinks!" Nastic yelled.

And the joyful roaring stopped at once.

"We're going to have the best friendship talk ever!" one changeling shouted, seated at his seat.

"All the Elements of Harmony are going to speak there!" another changeling screamed. "Of course, it's going to be the best friendship talk ever, Go Ahead!"

The two changelings bumped each others' hooves. "We're both attending, right, Rook Castle?"

"We sure are! What about Opty?"

"He attended every friendship talk, remember?"

"OK, alright, changelings!" Humerus announced, standing on the table.

"Watch out, Humerus!" Sunny Perky yelled. "You might spill and ruin something!"

"Don't worry about it, Sunny Perky!" He smiled at her. "I just need the extra space to make myself stand out among the rest so all can listen to the important thing that I have to tell you all!"

"OK, what is it?!" Nastic cried. "I'm getting impatient over here!"

"I'll tell you all..."

And the changelings (except Nastic) leaned in again.

"...later."

"Really?!" Nastic shouted, slamming the table with his front hooves.

"Changelings, it's that time again," Humerus told, gesturing professionally and over-professionally to all the changelings around the table. "It's that time after our afternoon meal time that's after lunch but before dinner."

Changed Chanticleer raised a hoof. "Does that mean we're not having dinner this time?"

"We will."

Changed Chanticleer lowered his hoof.

Humerus paced on the floor. "You know this time—well, those of you that have already attended the official Pony Fan Club before. However, let's show some consideration for the new ones here, the new guys and the new gals!" He quickly hovered to one of the changelings in the audience. "It's pony-item time!"

All the changelings cheered in their various and unique ways—except Nastic who just sat there on the chair, his two front hooves slumped on the table along with his hatted head.

"You've all brought your bags that have at least one item made by a pony, right?"

And everypony (except Nastic) nodded.

"Let's see who will start this day's session! What about—" He pointed to a random changeling "—you, Rook Castle!"

A smile appeared on Rook Castle's face as he casually dropped his simple bag onto the table. "Let me introduce you to something that I have wanted to see for a long time. I've wanted to use it, and to have a good time with my friends with this thing!"

He took the item in question out of the bag. It was a checkered board. Beside it was a container for little chess pieces.

"It's a chess board!"

"I knew you were going to get that one!" Humerus yelled. "I forgot to tell you all about it, but I've been delaying to tell you a story."

"What's the story, Humerus?" Changed Chanticleer asked enthusiastically and eagerly. "Did you play chess with a pony?"

"Both while I was evil and right now." He smiled anxiously, quickly looking at each of the changelings there as he did so. "But, of course we're good now, right?"

All the changelings agreed, some of them bumping some other changeling's hooves, all of them making an obvious noise about their positive agreement (except Nastic).

"Do you want to know who I played a game of chess with?"

There was silence in the room as all eyes were on him, expecting an answer, demanding a definite name of the pony who he had played a game of chess with.

"The Starlight Glimmer."

And the screams and the shouts and the yells and the hollerings grew even more happy and more blaring. Nastic held his ground, holding on to the table as he nervously observed the pleasant chaos that was going on around him.

"You know what?" Nastic blurted out. "This is getting too much!"

"If only Starlight Glimmer were here at least once every two weeks!" Long Winded clamored.

Neon Guard flew around the room, keeping the rest of the changelings from being too out of control by pushing them back to their seats. Then, he sat back down.

Humerus sighed. "Thanks for the help there, Neon Guard."

"Can you tell them to stop being so excited about ponies?" Neon Guard requested. "They're just getting crazier and crazier each time! Why can't we all be like Blue Alarm and just be happy without being excessive about it?" He gestured to Blue Alarm who was sitting quietly and was eating some hay fries. "Look, Humerus—we've only gotten the first item out from our pony-item time—"

"Do you have a better namer, guys?" Nastic interrupted. "The names for the fan club aren't that well-thought out, if you ask me."

"OK, Nastic," Neon Guard went on, "we'll discuss that later, but I'll just call it pony-item time." He turned towards Humerus. "Just look at all this happy anarchy that's going on in this fan club! They're getting thrilled and happy, yes, but if they're too reckless about it, it's not going to end up well for the fan club."

Humerus closed his eyes. "Alright, Neon Guard."

He opened his eyes and faced his audience sitting around the table. "Just be calm guys."

Neon Guard hesitated a little. "Shouldn't you at least be a bit more, uh, more heavy-hoofed than that?"

"I'm sure they're going to behave." He looked at another random changeling. "Alright, Long Winded! What's your pony item that you brought for the fan club today?"

At the end of the pony-item time, though thanks to Nastic, the name of the time is now pending and to be replaced with a new name that is purported to sound better than its current name—the table was filled with pony-made items, all of them from Equestria. Aside from the chessboard, there was also a few ingredients from the common such as apples and oranges to the uncommon such as spices, books both old and new, materials like fabric and stone, rarities such as gems and diamonds.

After all was presented by their respective owners, the items were returned to their respective bags and containers.

Now, all were seated around another table, waiting for the next activity for the official Pony Fan Club.

"Now...we'll have dinner!" Humerus announced.

A few changelings hovered out of the kitchen room and into the dining room. On their hooves were held trays of plates of diffrent kinds of food and drinks—there were sandwiches from the short to the tall, there were bowls of salad sitting beside various containers and bottles of various dressings, there was a large container of peanuts, there were bowls of soup of diverse types, there were batches of apple pies. There was even more—there were individual vegetables like carrots placed in a nice and neat order, there were bowls of ice cream with the air emanating from them being freezing to the point of being even visible to the changelings' eyes, there were oat and hay burgers, there were small dessert plates filled with all sorts of candies like rock candy, and there were caramel apples with the apples clearly fresh from the caramel vat as the caramel was still dripping.

And all the savory smells and fragrances of all the foods were fused together to form a wonderful, united smell that beckoned the changelings to just behold and to admire the food that was served right in front of them.

Humerus and Long Winded already dug in to their food.

The rest of the changelings there took a long concerned look at the two changelings feasting on their dinner.

The loud sounds of unsophisticated dining dotted the experience.

"Who's prepared for tomorrow?" Blue Alarm asked, taking a bite off his burger. "The friendship talk, I mean."

"Thanks, Gabby!" Scootaloo yelled as Gabby flew off to the distance while waving a claw at them. The griffon then flew in the yellow-orange sunset sky—the sky had several clouds, but other than that, it was pretty nice.

She, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle then trotted in to their clubhouse.

Scootaloo closed the door.

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were bouncing up and down, smiling widely and idealistically. "So," Apple Bloom said, "do you think the changelings and their Pony Fan Club are going to accept the invitation to meet up?"

"Just think about all the things that we already have in common!" Sweetie Belle added while she bounced up and down on the wooden floor. "What's going to happen when we end up meeting for real?"

"Well, they probably won't be answering overnight, even though the one sending the invitation letter is Gabby," Scootaloo answered. "But, I'm just as excited as you two, Crusaders!"

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo then walked towards the window. They looked at the sunset sky with its clouds and the light of the sun still there but not for much longer before the night arrives.

The apple orchards gleamed a little under the sunlight.

Ponyville Thoughts

Under the quiet, beautiful night sky, the town of Ponyville had most of its lights on. It was still bustling with activity as ponies socialized with each other on the ground and in the buildings.

And, not a few ponies were there to celebrate the return of Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends as those ponies were greeted with showers of confetti and good cheer. The ponies exchanged talks and short conversations as they walked through the streets of Ponyville, gathering up quite a crowd. The celebration and the festivity was short-lived as the ponies soon trotted or flew their way back to wherever their homes where, giving Twilight Sparkle a happy farewell as they left.

And Twilight Sparkle herself trotted her way to the Castle of Friendship, having Spike in tow.

In the midst of the darkness of the night, the grass and the playground equipment reflected the moonlight. The schoolhouse shone with light from the inside as a lonely cerise mare stood in front of the desk. A few books had been laid on it along with a few stacks of paper.

"It was good to see the Twilight and her friends again," she said to herself, arranging the stacks of paper. "I wonder what it must've been like to do something like that, to host a friendship talk for the changelings."

Then, she went on arranging the stacks of paper, checking the scores of each colt's and each filly's tests.

"The class has been thinking very highly of changelings," she continued to say to herself. "If anything, that must be a good sign. Probably. What if a changeling made his way to the class for a...I don't know, Changeling Day or something?"

She looked upon her work of arranging papers. "Well, that's done," she said, smiling. "And, with better-than-expected results, too! My class is growing so well!"

She walked away from the table and looked at the empty chairs and tables.

She closed the lights, walking out of the room.

The mare took one more look at the room now darkened but embellished with the soft glow of the moon, beams of moonlight through the windows and onto the floor, the chairs, the tables, among the other things in the classroom.

"I'll think about it tomorrow," she said before she locked and closed the door.

The apple orchards of Sweet Apple Acres had not much in terms of a light source other than the moon above them now. However, in the distance, one could make out a faint beacon of light amidst the tall apple trees covering and shrouding it.

Closer to the beacon, one could finally see where it was coming from—it was the Cutie Mark Crusaders' treehouse, now brightened by the light inside and shining through the windows and onto the outside.

Inside, the three fillies were giggling.

"So," Sweetie Belle began, "I think Rarity wants me to go home right about now."

"But it isn't that late!" Scootaloo countered. "It's not even nine P.M.!"

"Or," Apple Bloom suggested, "maybe it already is." She faced Scootaloo. "Can you check the clock?"

"You mean the one we just bought?" she asked. The pegasus filly looked up and saw the clock. "It's around eight forty-five."

"Well, it's close enough to nine!" Sweetie Belle declared with a forceful hoof.

"You know we're just borrowing this clock, right?" Scootaloo asked.

"Ah' thought it looked kinda' nice," Apple Bloom stated. "Oh, well. At least Applejack's finally back!"

Scootaloo beamed. "And Rainbow Dash, too!"

She gasped.

"I almost forgot about Gabby and the letter and the changelings' fan club!" she shouted. "Did I tell Rainbow to tell me about it if she saw the club?!"

"Ah think ya' forgot."

Scootaloo turned quickly towards Sweetie Belle. "Please tell me, Sweetie Belle! Tell me that I told her to remind me and to update me about it if she saw the changelings' fan club!"

"I don't remember it all," she replied. "Sorry, Scootaloo."

With a huff, she sat and pouted on the floor, although there were no tears or any sign of tears.

"Come on, Scootaloo, don't be upset," Sweetie Belle comforted, slowly walking towards her and then giving her a pat on the back.

"It's not much to worry about," Apple Bloom added, also giving her a pat on the back.

"Besides, why do you have to be sad about it if I'm already here, squirt?" a voice said.

Scootaloo's face brightened up. She looked at the window.

Rainbow Dash was hovering in mid-air, looking smugly and smartly at her, under the shade of the night. "I almost forgot about it, too," Rainbow Dash went on, "but then we received the craziest surprise!"

Scootaloo galloped her way to the window.

Rainbow gave her a hug.

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle walked towards the hug, all while saying "Aww!" with tilted heads.

Then, they let go of each other.

"What was the surprise, Rainbow?!" Scootaloo excitedly asked, restless in her motion. "Did you bump into them?!"

"They bumped into us, Scoots."

Scootaloo's eyes opened wide.

"The whole lot of them, actually," she continued, wearing an egotistic grin. "At first, I wasn't expecting to really discover such a fan club, but to see them go to us—I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't a little shocked by that."

"What about the letter?!" Scootaloo told, still jittery. "What about the invitation I gave to Gabby to give to the club?!"

Rainbow Dash blinked. The smile that was on her face persisted. She glanced at the other fillies there. She looked back at Scootaloo.

She nodded.

Scootaloo gasped again. "Yes!" she shouted, pushing her front hooves to the air while she jumped. "Our fan clubs are going to be connected! Imagine all that we can achieve together!" She hastily turned to Apple Bloom. "Apple Bloom, do you know what this means?!"

"What?!" she frenziedly responded.

"It means that you're going to be regularly meeting with the members of the official Pony Fan Club," Rainbow Dash explained. "And, those members are changelings who, I can say, are...very eager about us ponies, to say the least." She flew to the inside of the clubhouse. "Now, isn't that cool or what, Apple Bloom?"

She scruffed her mane as the two fillies and the mare smiled.

"Hey!" Sweetie Belle cried out. "What about me? Don't leave me out of this!" She quieted herself down, placing a hoof on her chin. "Wait, what am I missing again?"

"Join the club, Sweetie Belle!" Rainbow Dash threw at her. "It's something only official members of the official Rainbow Dash Fan Club have knowledge about." She snickered and hid a loud laugh.

In Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie Pie was sweeping the floor, mopping up whatever crumbs had been left there as ponies happily ate their desserts. She whistled, she sang while the sweeping and the cleaning went on. The customers that were there were quite pleased by the performance—both of the entertainment and of the cleaning. They were taking a small break from their eating of their food and their talking with each other as they watched Pinkie Pie whistle a beautiful and upbeat melody as crumbs were thrown and sweeped aside.

Mr. Cake and Mrs. Cake, meanwhile, were also smiling as they baked their cakes and their pies and their other sweet foods, sometimes taking a short glance at Pinkie before they moved on to the next step of the baking process.

"How was the friendship talk, Pinkie Pie?" Diamond Tiara happily asked; her dad and mom were there at the same table with plates of tasty desserts.

"It was fun!" Pinkie joyfully said. "There were so many changelings out there, and who wouldn't wanna be friends with all of them?! Of course, we didn't have enough time, but I hope we'll be back there soon!" She went back to whistling while sweeping.

"You aren't hurt or anything, Pinkie?" Mr. Cake asked from behind the counter while carrying a few boxes.

"Yup!" she said, giving them a smile.

Mrs. Cake wiped off the sweat off her face. "You're sure you're alright, dear?"

"Of course!" Then, while smiling, she went back again to sweeping while whistling.

Mr. Cake and Mrs. Cake looked at each other, then back at the happy sweeping Pinkie, then back at each other. They smiled.

Davenport stood, wearing his formal clothes as ponies walked in and walked out, as customers eyed the beds and the sofas and the shelves of quills that filled the place. He walked to one of the customers there.

"Anything you like, Bon Bon?" he asked the mare with the curly fuschia and dark blue mane. "Do you want a sofa that's big or small, cushiony or not, monotone or multi-colored, with or without installed pillows—we've got a wide variety of sofas here, so don't stop just yet!"

"I just want a sofa," she replied.

"You mean any sofa will do?" he asked, nervously checking the other customers there—so far, none of them were vying for his attention.

"Mm-hmm." Bon Bon nodded.

"Then...what about this brand new sofa?"

He directed her gaze towards an orange sofa. With its neatly placed pillows and its minimalistic style, it seemed to dazzle in its place.

"Eh...it's alright."

Davenport smiled. "I'm sure that you'll be satisfied with this one-of-a-kind sofa!" He looked at Bon Bon. "That would be forty bits!"

Bon Bon walked out to the dark outside with the streets lit up by the street lights and the building lights. There were several other ponies standing and walking, talking to each other.

A mint green unicorn ran up to her.

"How's the sofa purchase, Sweetie Drops?"

Bon Bon hastily shushed her.

The unicorn had a surprised expression on her face. It was visibly shaking in shock.

"Remember!" she whispered angrily at her, moving her front hooves erratically. "Remember, Lyra, that we have to not give anypony a single hint or a single lead about us being a part of the agency!"

"It's alright, Bon Bon!" she said as they continued walking. "Besides, it's better to call you by your actual name, 'Sweetie Drops.'"

Bon Bon shushed her again. "As much as it's nice to call me by that, the organization requires complete secrecy!" she whispered on. "This is no joke, nor is this a laughing matter! If there is a leak of information revealing the existence of S.M.I.L.E., who knows what the ramifications of this will be?"

"That more ponies can help?" Lyra asked innocently.

"No!" she shouted.

The ponies walking around were looking at them.

Clasping a hoof over Lyra's ear, she whispered, as they walked, "Talk about something else!" Bon Bon eyed the ponies.

They hurriedly went back to standing and walking and talking and eating and drinking.

Bon Bon glared at Lyra as they walked. "Well, we can choose not to talk, or we can talk, Lyra, as long as we don't talk about the organization."

"Alright!" she replied happily. "Then, what's there to talk about—ah! That friendship talk that Twilight hosted earlier this afternoon!"

"That's better." Bon Bon relaxed and smiled. "What's there to talk about that? What lesson did she and her friends give to the changelings today? I know that this is the first friendship talk where she brought her close friends."

"Yeah, close friends."

Bon Bon noticed the sad face on Lyra. "What's wrong?"

She quickly wore a smile. "Looking on the bright side of things, at least she's making all sorts of activities for the rest of her friends. The book club sessions at night are just the beginning! What if she invites us to a party just to get-together and to mingle and just to hang out?"

"That would be great."

They kept walking on.

"So, isn't it kind of awkward that the changelings are good, now?" Lyra asked.

Bon Bon looked puzzled. "Why do you think it's awkward? Isn't that a good thing?"

"Well..." Lyra snickered. "Remember that mission when we went to Appleloosa and discovered that there were changelings there?"

Bon Bon shushed her again. She covered her mouth and looked everywhere, eyeing any potential location for ponies to reasonably be there.

There were a few walking on the streets, chatting with each other, not minding Bon Bon and her friend.

"Didn't I just tell you about not talking about the organization?" she whispered. "Do you want a social disaster over all of Equestria if ponies everywhere knew about it?" She removed her hoof from Lyra's mouth. "Do you really understand? Will you comply?"

"OK, Bon Bon!" she answered. "If the organization wasn't so uptight about it, I think we'd be better off."

"The organization does what it does because some things are best kept a secret. So, let's talk about something else again."

They kept on walking.

"What do you think of the changelings?" Lyra asked.

"Not threatening Equestria."

"That's a...nice response."

"That means more creatures to spread friendship to, right? It's not bad for us, it's not bad for them. Although, I'm worried about how they act towards ponies. They like us, but...I get the feeling that it's excessive."

"You mean they obsess over us?"

Bon Bon looked up. "I'd call it an obsession. I can see it. I bet you can see it, too, Lyra. Haven't you heard the occasional story about how some changeling just kept talking to the pony, asking and inquiring all about to no end. Then, there's the other occasional story where changelings sometimes almost mob a pony or a group of ponies. That's not just mere liking or interest. That's an obsession—and, too much of it is going to hurt both us ponies and the changeling."

Lyra looked at Bon Bon. "So, anyway to reduce that side effect of obsession?"

"Teach them how to be disciplined about ponies," Bon Bon replied. "Everything will stem from that. In being friends, you don't have to annoy somepony even if you don't mean to. You've got to be understanding—they've got their own personal preferences, personal likes and dislikes, and also personal standards—like, not being mobbed by changelings."

"And I guess we're already excelling in that, aren't we?"

Bon Bon made a short laugh.

"Aren't we, best friend?" Lyra asked.

"Yeah, best friend."

And, they bumped each other's hoof.

"So, did you buy a sofa or anything? I don't see you carrying a sofa." Lyra looked around the place. "In fact, I see nopony carrying a sofa!"

"Lyra," Bon Bon said, "it's going to be arriving later. I don't think having them get the sofa to our place tonight is such a good idea."

Lyra looked around again. The night, with its stars and its moon and its calm darkness, still was there, lingering with its elegant beauty and beautiful elegance in allowing the lights of Ponyville shine in that calm darkness, providing a soothing nightlife atmosphere to the town. "Yeah, I don't think it's such a good idea if they tried to deliver the sofa at night."

The two ponies laughed.

Surrounded by tall, dark-barked trees, a house stood alone right near a tiny hill. The dirt road that led to it wasn't the most obvious of routes but it was clear enough. The grass was lush, accommodating several bushes and even the growth of foiliage and vines covering parts of the wooden house.

The house itself housed two floors. A stone chimney rose from the slanted dark green roof. A stack of timber logs and some planks rested on one of the walls. The lights inside shone onto the grass and the other plants.

Inside, there was the main living room. Among the things that populated the room was a red sofa, a flowered vase, and a few pictures of peaceful, sunny sceneries. A fireplace rested there, ready with a few logs.

A donkey, with an orange toupee on his head, stood in front of a window, looking out to the night sky and its nightly enivronment that it had brought onto Equestria. The chirping of the birds and the occasional hoot of the owl complemented the restful mood of the hour. Crickets, also, were chirping, although none of them could be seen from where he was looking. Up there in the sky was the moon shining its soft, calm radiance.

"Matilda, don't you just love a peaceful night?" the donkey gruffly asked his wife walking in the room, holding a book with a hoof. He cleared his throat. "Excuse me." He smiled a little at her.

Matilda, with her curly and curled mane, wearing a white simple collar adorned with a shiny stone, placed the book down on the table. "I agree, Doodle."

Doodle kept looking on at the outside. He turned his head towards Matilda and his smile grew.

Matilda smiled back. "I've heard that Twilight Sparkle and the rest of her friends are back from that trip to the Changeling Kingdom."

"Let me guess," Doodle said, walking towards her. "It's that 'friendship talk' they've been talking about since yesterday."

"I gathered that they had a pretty good time there, mingling with the changelings," Matilda stated. She positioned and repositioned the wooden chair in front of the table. "And, I'm sure the changelings had an equally good time with the ponies."

A silence passed between them.

"Any thoughts about it, Doodle?" she asked, giving him a precious smile.

He looked back out the window. "I think it's good."

Matilda giggled.

Inside the Castle of Friendship, Starlight Glimmer flipped through the pages of a book that threatenend to ruin the table it was on by the sheer volume of pages contained within, yet the unicorn had a smile on her face as her eyes went over the words and the sentences.

The wide doors to the library opened.

"Oh, Twilight!" she greeted happily, even waving a hoof at her.

"Yeah, it's me," Twilight replied, walking her way to Starlight's table.

"How was the friendship talk?" she asked. "Any fun and good for the changelings?"

Twilight took a seat. "It was fun and good like the previous ones. Too bad you didn't want to join."

"Nah." She closed the book in front of her. "I just didn't want to be overwhelmed by all the attention that you and your friends seemed to be getting over there. Looks like my suspicion was proven correct, after all!" She gave the Princess a boastful smirk, then reverted it back to a simple smile. "It's not like I missed anything significant. We've got copies and recordings of all the friendship lessons we've learned so far in this library!"

"It's one thing to know a friendship lesson," Twilight began, "and it's another thing to actually live that friendship lesson out. And, how would you know the friendship lesson to start with if you just keep it safe inside a shelf without actually reading it?"

"Yeah..." She tapped a hoof on her chin. "A good point."

"So, how's your day, Starlight?" Twilight asked.

"Oh, the usual! I did my errands, bought a couple of things at the marketplace, managed to be friendly to everypony that I met."

"Did you learn anything new about friendship?"

"Well, not really."

"Hmm..." Twilight glanced at the book and then looked back at Starlight who was smiling. "Just remember that, when it comes to friendship lessons, don't, uh, try to actively look for them. Friendship lessons usually come up in the course of daily life. Maybe, tomorrow, you might find a friendship lesson when you go buy a cake from Pinkie Pie or when you buy a dress from Rarity or when you decide to compete against Rainbow Dash at a race—actually, I don't know why you would wanna do that, but maybe you might." Twilight gave her an awkward smile.

"I might," Starlight said. "Who knows? Maybe I might end up becoming the first unicorn to create a sonic rainboom." She gave Twilight a smirk.

"Now, let's not get carried away—this is Rainbow Dash we're talking about here."

"Thank ya'!" the light amber stallion yelled at Big McIntosh as he carried a small bag of apples.

As he walked away from the apple stall and through the marketplace, the stallion dusted off his brown hat (which had an image of an apple protruding from it) and hastily grabbed an apple from the bag, biting it with his two big front teeth. Eating noisily, loudly, and hurriedly, he walked on through the lit-up streets of Ponyville.

Then, he bumped into somepony.

He looked up.

"Princess Luna?!" he shouted. "R-royalty!" He bowed down humbly, lowering himself to the ground. "I-it's a surprise to see ya' out here in the middle of the night!"

"It is not yet the middle of the night, Half Baked Apple," Luna calmly replied. "However, I do understand if it is a surprise to see me suddenly when you didn't expect such a meeting. I have arrived here in Ponyville merely to visit and to see my ponies revel in the night before they go off and slumber."

"Uh, OK, then!" Half Baked Apple said as he shakily stood up.

"I have heard the news that Twilight Sparkle has returned from her Changeling Kingdom friendship talk," Luna said. "Have you seen her?"

"No, uh, Princess!" he answered. "Ah' was just visitin' to see the sights mahself' and maybe buy some, of course, apples!"

"Hmm." Luna looked down happily on the upbeat Apple family member. "Have you attended one of these friendship talks, if I may ask?"

"Yeah, sure Ah did!" he said, happily nodding his head up and down. "It's a great big doozy of an event—actually, Ah got here from the Changelin' Kingdom right after the talk finished up an' all!"

Luna had a slightly surprised look on her face.

"And, then, there was all this lecturin' an' speechin', but what Ah was excited 'bout the most was all the free talkin' that went on. Well, Ah was just here for the treats an' the food, but, I bet if ya' wer' there, ya'd be pretty pleased to see all the changelins' there enjoyin' the moment!"

The Princess of the Night considered the pony in front of him, his face displaying an honest excitement. "I did not anticipate your being there, since, as far as I know, not many ponies desire to be there other than those who have been selected to host alongside Twilight."

"Just admirin' the land and its inhabitants, Princess!" He took a clumsy yet homely bow, looking up with wide open eyes and his two big front teeth. "Ah'll try to enjoy the rest o' the night!"

"Then, Half Baked Apple," Luna said, "I am pleased to know first-hoof of your eagerness of my beautifully-crafted night." She smiled.

"Good night, Princess Luna!"

Then, Half Baked Apple trotted his merry way through Ponyville.

Breakfast

The twilight sky was purple and lavender in color. Several stars still persisted in the early morning. The sun was not out, yet. A few ponies were walking about at such an early hour.

One of them was Pinkie Pie who was happily going about the process of opening up Sugarcube Corner by gladly opening the doors and the windows, by gladly preparing the counters and the displays by placing in the right cakes and the right pies and the other right sweets, and by joyfully humming while she did all the above. And, there was that happy smile on her face.

She trotted merrily to her place behind the counter, smiling towards the door. "And, Sugarcube Corner's open for the day!" Bringing out her party cannon, she launched streams of streamers and confetti and even a few balloons, joyously celebrating the moment.

Then, she rushed her way to clean the party mess.

She ran back to her place behind the counter, still smiling.

Through the open saloon doors that led to the kitchen that smelled of sweet confectionaries, Mr. Cake appeared, a little dirty with baking powder on his apron and on his striped bowtie. "Er, Pinkie!" he called out. "Have you made sure that everything's OK?"

Pinkie saluted the baker and smiled. "Don't you worry, Mr. Cake! It's all going to be just fine!"

Mr. Cake let out a laugh of relief. "Like always, Pinkie Pie." Then, he stepped back into the kitchen, with Mrs. Cake trotting up to him.

Pinkie turned back to smiling towards the door.

And in arrived Half Baked Apple, complete with his brown hat and his slightly frizzy, slightly unkempt red and scarlet mane. He licked his lips, beholding the delectable and delightful desserts that did attract him.

"Half Baked Apple!" Pinkie yelled, waving at the stallion. "Good to see you! You're rather early this morning—what's the deal?"

As he trotted his way to the counter, he replied, "Ah' decided that mah' place is too far 'way to reach in time last night, so Ah just slept over at some of those benches 'round the park!"

Pinkie gasped. "You deserve better than that, Half Baked!"

"Aww, no need!" He stopped and stood at the counter. "We Apples can live anywhere, Pinkie!" He slammed a front hoof on the counter, noticing the shake he gave to the desserts on display. "Whoops!" He gave an apologetic grin. "Well, ya' know why Ah'm here!"

"Hmm..." Pinkie placed a hoof on her chin, eyeing the stallion supsiciously. "Do you want to meet up with a griffon?"

"Huh?!"

"Silly Half Baked!" she said, grinning. "You didn't tell me you wanted to have some breakfast with a griffon!"

"Uh, Ah didn't bring any griffon or even anypony with me!" he answered, shying away a little.

"Then, how do you explain Gabby?"

Pinkie gestured a hoof past Half Baked.

He looked back.

An ecstatic, overjoyed griffon was happily flapping her wings and hovering above the wooden floor of the bakery.

"N-no!" Half Baked yelled. "Who are ya'?!"

"Didn't I already tell you?" Pinkie said. "That griffon's Gabby, the mailgriffon!"

"Hi!" Gabby gladly greeted. "I'm just here to send the first and last mail of the day! It's for you, Pinkie Pie!"

"Ooh! For me?!" Pinkie shouted.

"Uh, what about mah' breakfast?" Half Baked interrupted.

"Don't worry, whoever you are!" Gabby reassured. "This nice, diplomatic letter is only going to take a few seconds of your time!"

And Gabby dashed her way to the counter, hurriedly opening her bag while doing so, and gave Pinkie a nice, neat scroll.

"Thanks, Gabby!" Pinkie responded while opening up the scroll.

While Pinkie was opening the scrolled letter, Gabby held her claws up to her face, smiling. "I can't believe I just gave my first mail to Pinkie Pie!" she muttered. She noticed the hatted Earth pony beside her. "Oh! Sorry for me interrupting your order!"

"Aww, Ah think it's alright, uh, Gabby!" Half Baked replied. "Mah' name is Half Baked Apple, proud member of the Apple family."

"Oh, right!" she yelled. "I should've known that you were an Apple family member since your hat has something that looks like an apple and that cutie mark of yours definitely looks like a baked apple to me and—" She gasped "—Wait! You're related to Apple Bloom, am I correct?!"

"Yeah! Apple Bloom's a real Apple family member! And—"

"And, you mean the Apple Bloom, the Cutie Mark Crusader?!"

"Yes're, that's right!"

The griffon picked up the Earth pony and hugged him. "Not only do I get to send my first mail ever to Pinkie Pie, but I get to meet a relative to Apple Bloom all in the same day!"

"That's real nice!" Half Baked shouted. "Now, please get me outta' here 'fore ya' start hurtin' me!"

"Hey!" Pinkie Pie announced, dropping the letter. "I didn't know Thorax is coming here!"

Gabby looked straight at Pinkie Pie and dropped Half Baked Apple to the floor.

Half Baked landed with a thud.

Gabby nodded. "And, did you check the time that he will be arriving at?"

"Hmm..." She picked up the scrolled letter. "It says that he's going to be arriving at around sunrise."

And, as the sun rose in the sky, bringing with it all its sunlight and its sunshine onto the land of Equestria, bringing light and warmth to the ponies of Ponyville, bringing a full, triumphant morning blue color to the sky, a tall and regal changeling glimmered under it all, standing right at the entrace.

"Hi, Pinkie Pie!" Thorax said, waving a hoof. "I finally decided to give myself a day-off!"

"Wow!" Pinkie expressed. "I'm having an Apple family member, a griffon, and the king of the Changeling Kingdom all as my first customers of the day!" She turned towards the kitchen and shouted, "Mr. and Mrs. Cake! You won't believe who's our first three customers of the day!"

Mr. and Mrs. Cake rushed out of the kitchen, stained and dirtied with baking powder and other baking and confectionary ingredients. They looked at the creatures in front of their counter.

"Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Cake!" Half Baked Apple happily said, waving a cheerful hoof at them, not noticing the surprised expressions on their face.

Mr. Cake laughed a little. "Nice to meet you!"

Mrs. Cake laughed a little, too. "Uh, hope you have a lovely day here!"

Then, they rushed back into the kitchen.

Pinkie turned towards the customers in front of her. "What about you all eat around the same table?!" she loudly suggested.

"Uh, OK!" Half Baked Apple agreed.

Gabby jumped up and down, still smiling.

Thorax showed a small smile. "What better way to start off the morning?"

"What about starting off the morning just the same except with a dragon?!" Pinkie suggested again, pointing a hoof past all of them.

The hatted Earth pony, the excited mailgriffon, and the regal king changeling looked at the entrance.

"I'm not just here in Ponyville for food," Ember said.

Seated around the round table were four creatures—a pony, a griffon, a changeling, and a dragon. On the table were a few plates—on one plate was a tall chocolate cake, frosted with thick helpings of chocolate frosting and decorated with chocolate pieces. On another plate was another cake, this one a simple cake—not much frosting, but the cake itself was yellow. On yet another plate was a baked pie, with steam still being emitted out of it. And, on yet another plate was a helpful of colorful lollipops, both big and small.

Beside the plates were glasses, though none of them contained water. Half Baked Apple's had apple juice, Gabby's and Thorax's had soda, while Ember did not have a glass at all.

"Come on, you won't believe who was the next customer!" Pinkie shrieked.

And, Mr. and Mrs. Cake once again arrived behind the counter. With a quick smile, they quickly left and went back to the kitchen.

The four customers looked back at each other.

Half Baked Apple took a bite of the chocolate cake as he eyed Thorax.

Thorax eyed Ember as he took a bite of the same chocolate cake.

Ember eyed Gabby while she took a bite of the same chocolate cake.

Gabby darted her gaze between her three companions, munching on all the food that landed on her plate.

Half Baked Apple looked at his second slice of cake. He looked back at the creatures around him. "Well, Ah reckon that this is not a usual day for me!"

Not much of a response appeared from them, other than Gabby continuing in her quest to eat more while having fun.

Thorax smiled. "Sorry for the awkwardness, heh-heh-heh-heh." His smile grew awkward. "Let's say that I didn't expect the Dragon Lord to have breakfast in Sugarcube Corner. I'd say that it's not typical for a dragon to be eating sweets this early."

Ember groaned, grabbing another slice of the chocolate cake. "Princess Twilight Sparkle called us to gather for an informal gathering of the leaders in and around Equestria," she said. "Not as glamorous as the Grand Equestria Pony Summit, but I bet it's something more important."

"Wait, really?!" he blurted out. "I had scheduled today to be my day-off!"

"Short notice," Ember replied. "Looks like Twilight got disorganized lately. Maybe it must've something to do with that 'friendship talk.'"

Thorax laughed nervously.

"Speakin' of friendship talks," Half Baked said, "Ah was there mah'self! Ya changelins' got wonderful sceneries and buildins' with arch'tecture that's unique and changin' all the time!"

"Really, you went there?" Thorax responded, beaming. "How was it?"

"It was mighty great in noise," he went on, "and Ah liked the partyin' that went on!"

"Partying?"

"Yeah!" he yelled. "Your changelins' goin' here an' there an' everywhere else in the area, an' then there were groups 'round each of Twilight an' her friends, an' then there was also the food, an' then Ah went to Ponyville after a while, then Ah' slept in one of the benches, then Ah' arrived here, then now we're here!" He took another bite of the chocolate cake. "Ya' must be proud o' yourself there!"

Ember looked at Thorax. "Now, I wonder why Twilight Sparkle hasn't thought of friendship talks for my kingdom, hm?"

Thorax chuckled even more nervously.

"Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie are returning to Griffonstone with their friends soon!" Gabby declared. "I wonder what they're going to do there! Maybe they might bring the Cutie Mark Crusaders with them, too, so they can learn from them, too! And, with me as a member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, I will also—"

Thorax spat out the soda from his mouth and onto the slice of cake on his plate. "You are a Cutie Mark Crusader?"

"Why, if Ah'd never known 'bout it!" Half Baked said, gazing at the griffon.

"Just more surprises, I guess," Ember stated.

"Isn't that exciting?!" Gabby shouted. "I'm the first ever griffon member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders! What do you think?"

Half Baked Apple, Thorax, and Ember just looked at the happy griffon, mouths open in surprise. Then, they went back to eating.

"That's OK!" she expressed. "Maybe we can talk about it later!" She went back to eating her food as well, eating loudly and hurriedly, though on her face was a smile.

The pony looked up from his food. "So, now that we have me, ah pony, eating with three different creatures at the same time an' at the same table, what's yer' thoughts?"

Thorax took a sip of his soda. "Unexpected." He looked at the creatures around the table. "I was just planning to eat and spend my day-off in Ponyville, that's all. Never thought that I was going to have breakfast with a pony, a griffon, and a dragon."

"I'm just waiting until the afternoon," Ember responded. "Being here early means establishing a good image among the ponies here in Equestria. Also, if I act nice and kind enough during my waiting time in Ponyville, that means ponies will be more accepting of us dragons."

"And, I'm just so excited to have all of you around!" She grabbed all three of them into a group hug. "We still have lots of things to talk about! I can talk about Griffonstone and also, have you tried Gustave le Grand's eclairs? I always liked how he cooked those eclairs and—"

"Hey!" Pinkie said right in front of the table. "You know Gustave le Grand? I met him before!"

"You did?!"

"Oh, no," Ember blurted out. "Not another sappy, friendship story incoming."

"Aww, don't worry about it, Ember!" Pinkie joined the group hug. "That's how the friendship stories and lessons go! They're all sappy! Well, not all of them."

"I'm trying to eat here."

"Whoops!" Pinkie let go of her grip and the group hug was over. "Just remind me if you want to order any more food!" Then, she trotted away.

Half Baked Apple immediately went back to eating his breakfast.

"How was your day?" Thorax asked Ember as Half Baked and Gabby kept eating.

"You mean yesterday?" She took a bite of the simple cake.

"Yeah."

"We just got another set of carts and carriages with food and other amenities from the ponies. I'm still kind of happy over scaring the delivery ponies, but they're starting to be wary of the pranks."

"Anything you built?" Thorax asked. "Like, houses or maybe libraries?"

"Really, Thorax?"

Thorax nodded.

"We dragons live in caves and volcanoes. I don't think that the lack of buildings in the Dragon Lands is a serious concern among us dragons."

"Maybe you'll live better lives if you build houses!"

Ember groaned again, growling even. "Even if we did try to build houses, we need lots of materials which require lots of bits, and, before you even say 'What about selling your gems for bits?', we also eat gems and other precious stones, so don't even think about asking that question."

"OK, then," he said, laughing nervously before returning to his food.

More ponies entered the Sugarcube Corner, noticing the desserts and other sweets but also noticing, rather more obviously and blatantly by the surprised expressions on their faces, the table with its four wildly different customers all chatting in their different ways, eating the same food. A few ponies recoiled at the sight of it, but most of them kept walking on to the counter or to another table—though some of them kept their eye on that table.

As Pinkie Pie exchanged places with Mr. and Mrs. Cake, with her now in the kitchen and Mr. And Mrs. Cake now behind the counter, taking orders and serving customers, the table with its different customers still had its different customers.

Thorax looked out the window. "What time is it, anyway? I don't think it's even near noon."

"Ah think it's mid-mornin'!" Half Baked proclaimed.

"Like that's going to help us," Ember said.

Gabby kept drinking her glass of soda. She placed it down and yelled, "Can I have another glass of soda?!"

"How many glasses did you have?" Thorax asked. "I've lost count after eleven!"

Ember looked startled. "Eleven servings of soda?"

"Ah'm sure that's gonna assist her mail job!" Half Baked interrupted.

"From what I've observed," Ember began, "that griffon has been jumpy and excited ever since I've met her and that's without any sugar." She eyed Half Baked with a menacing look. "So, I don't want to know what would happen after Gabby drinks another soda."

"Good question."

Ember looked surprised. "Question?"

"If yer' a fire-breathin' dragon, then what do ya' drink?" Half Baked asked. "Do ya' get thirsty?"

"Yes, there are times when we drink things like water—"

"Then what happens to yer' fire abilities or somethin'?"

"Yeah, Ember," Thorax added, "if you drink water, then what does happen to your fire abilities?"

Ember growled. "Can we talk about this later?"

Mr. Cake rushed in with a bottle of soda and poured its contents into Gabby's glass. "Is that alright, Gabby?" he asked, exhausted.

"It's alright, Mr. Cake!" she replied, smiling.

Then, Mr. Cake rushed back to the counter.

"How long are we gonna stay here?" Half Baked asked. "Are we gonna stay 'till lunch?"

"Why, any problem?" Ember asked back with a threatening voice.

"Uh, n-no!" he replied shakily.

With Gabby leaving, Half Baked Apple was the only one left at the table. As Pinkie Pie grabbed all the dirty plates and glasses, she happily asked, "So, how did it go?"

"Better than Ah' ever expected, Pinkie," he replied. He smiled. "Thank ya' for accommodatin' us, even though it was probably quite early for ya'."

"Aww, why thank you!"

Then, Pinkie took his hat and placed it back on his head, patting the hat afterwards.

"Pinkie Pie, thank you."

"Welcome!" she happily responded.

Half Baked, still smiling, looked at his surroundings. There were still many ponies in the building, all talking and eating, most of them smiling, too.

Half Baked Apple walked out of the bakery and into the morning outside. Birds were flying and chirping, adding to the cheery atmosphere of the time. Along with the birds, there flew, rather clumsily and haphazardly, a bubbly gray pegasus mare with yellow mane and tail. Adventuring through the sky, she managed to regain and to retain her balance in the air.

Half Baked walked on, beholding and admiring the rural, homely scenery of Ponyville. The white and pink and yellow cottages provided a peaceful mood to the walk, but what made the town lively and bustling with the right amount of energy was the ponies, all amicable in their talk and in their actions, even the ponies that were carrying a sofa while Bon Bon and Lyra oversaw the sofa carrying.

Half Baked headed his way towards the Castle of Friendship.

"So, another friendship problem?" Fluttershy asked, seated around the crystal table with its projection of Equestria and some of its surrounding areas. "What is it gonna be this time?"

"Considering that everypony except Rarity is here," Twilight answered, eyeing the only empty crystal seat at the table, "I'm guessing that it has something to do with...I'll be honest, any guess I'll make is probably going to be far-off."

Then, the doors swung their way open. "I'm here!" Rarity shouted. "I'm here! Is the Map going to take us to Manehattan again? Ooh! If we're going to Manehattan, maybe we can stop by Rarity For You just to check on it!"

Twilight chuckled. Applejack chuckled, too. "We'd better see the look on yer' face when ya' realize where you're goin' with Fluttershy!" Applejack said rather happily.

Rarity galloped her way to the table, not even minding to sit on her chair. She looked at the map.

Rarity's and Fluttershy's cutie marks were glowing and hovering above a busy-looking city.

"Ooh!" she yelled. "We're going to Manehattan today! We're going to Manehattan today!" Then, she sang, "We shall go to Manehattan, oh lovely, lovely Manehattan—"

Rarity stopped and eyed all her friends who were staring at her.

"Oh, y-yes, right. There's a friendship problem to solve and a few poor ponies to cheer up! That's more important."

Twilight chuckled again.

Rarity grabbed Fluttershy. "So, Fluttershy, let's go!"

"W-wait. What about the bags?"

She looked awkwardly at the pegasus. "Oh, yes, the bags. I almost forgot that we need to keep our belongings and our items safe." She grabbed Fluttershy again and trotted away. "We'll get the bags on the way to the train station! See you all, girls, and farewell!"

Half Baked Apple walked up the grand steps that led to the grand double door of the tall, towering, sparkling castle. He held his gaze towards the castle. "That's big, alright! Now, let's see what an Apple family member like me can do 'round here!"

The doors swung open and Half Baked was thrown away, tumbling onto the grassy ground.

He got up. Two mares were moving, one running while holding the other one. "Ya don't see that everyday!" He looked at the open doors. "Wow! That's fine nice that they opened it up just for me!"

Half Baked Apple looked around, seeing the immensity and the grandeur of the regal hallways, carpeted with exquisite carpets of splendid design and decoration, adorned with windows that soared almost to the ceiling—and, of course, there was Princess Twilight Sparkle, who looked somewhat exhausted.

"Oh, hey!" Half Baked greeted cheerfully, waving a hoof. "Ah' think ya' saw me goin' 'bout at the friendship talk yesterday!"

Twilight, meanwhile, looked on towards the outside for a short while. Then, she looked at the stallion. "Hi! Sorry for ignoring you there. Rarity and Fluttershy are just off to another friendship problem." A pause. "So, what brings you here? Wait, are you a member of the Apple family?"

"Why, Ah' sure am!" he replied heartily, bowing down to the Princess while taking off his hat in an honorable gesture.

Twilight chuckled a little. "Well, isn't that lovely? Applejack's inside, if you wanted to talk to her."

"Ah'm not lookin' for her or anythin', but it'd be quite alright if Ah'd go an' talk with Applejack!"

Twilight smiled. "Yes, that would indeed be quite alright, but you better not stay for too long, because we're going to have an informal meeting with the leaders of the nations around Equestria."

"What for, Princess?"

"The usual being up-to-date about everything. Also, it's a nice opportunity to spread friendship around starting from the top then going to the citizens of each nation and kingdom. We're going to have Prince Rutherford, King Thorax, Dragon Lord Ember all attending—"

"Wow! I just met them earlier for breakfast!"

"Wait, what?!"

"Breakfast at Sugarcube Corner, if ya' needed mor' information!"

"That would explain why they're here early," she said. "All we need to do is to wait for Prince Rutherford then we can get the meeting rolling! Hopefully, it's going to turn out just fine."

"Actually, Ah' was here to see if Thorax an' Ember are here."

Twilight looked at the stallion, wearing a surprised face. "Seriously?"

"We ate breakfast together. Ah' think that means that Ah' can get to interact with them well!"

Twilight chuckled hesitantly.

Applejack walked out of the room and into the hallway. "Half Baked Apple?!"

"Cousin!" he shouted, happily waving a hoof again. "How have the days gon' by for ya' at Sweet Apple Acres?"

"Since the last Apple Family Reunion? It's been goin' swell!"

"So, this is the library." Ember turned her head around, seeing all the long shelves filled to the brim with books, books, and more books. "Isn't it dangerous to let a dragon inside? Twilight's going to be mad if she sees all her precious books burned up."

"As long as we tread carefully, we're going to be fine," Thorax said across the table.

Hoofsteps.

Ember and Thorax looked towards the double doors.

There was Twilight Sparkle. "Hi! How are you doing so far in the library?" Her grin brightened up. "Have you found a book to borrow for a while? Because I'd love to have the honor to provide books for changelings and dragons—although the dragons might need to take caution about books. You know, they're made out of paper and leather and all." She smiled awkwardly. Then, she walked her way to the table.

"Where's Prince Rutherford?" Ember asked.

"Oh, I got a letter from him. He'd said that he will be arriving at the scheduled time, which is around seven hours from now."

"Seven?!" both Ember and Thorax yelled out in unison.

Twilight's horn glowed and so did a few books. Those books levitated their way to the table. "While waiting, we can grab a good book and chat about how it's been going!" She took a seat. "We're going to have some bonding time!"

"Really?" Ember asked. "You basically invited us to essentially a diplomatic meeting and we're going to be reading books for seven hours before the actual meeting begins?"

"We're going to chat, of course, Ember!" Twilight responded happily. She eyed the empty seat at the table. "It's going to be a great seven hours with you! Don't worry about food and drinks! Spike's going to be serving up some lunch and snacks later on."

Thorax picked a book and opened it. He looked at Ember.

She looked bored, gazing at the cover of a book.

Thorax opened that book. "We can read at the same time, Ember. Let's have a great time just like Twilight would want!"

Ember brushed off Thorax's hoof. "Thanks for the help, but I'm not going to spend several hours reading books and chatting all day long. I've arrived here just to see how our lands are doing, see if there are some agreements to agree upon, and then leave."

"But, don't forget the friendship," Twilight reminded, waving a hoof at the Dragon Lord. Then, she gladly went back to reading her book, two hooves on her face.

Ember sighed and looked back on her now open book. "OK, might as well improve my friendship skills," she said gruffly. "Thorax, which book do you want to read, first?"

Thorax pushed a book. "Here's the first ever book in the Daring Do series! 'Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone'!"

Ember looked sternly at the elated changeling. "I arrived here for the betterment of the Dragon Lands and you suggest that we read an adventure novel?"

"Maybe that means that you want another kind of book!" Thorax pushed another book. "Here's one of the books for 'The Adventures of Shadow Spade'! Detective books!"

"What about something a little more practical, Thorax?"

Thorax pushed another book. "'The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide'?"

"Are you serious?" Ember asked, sporting an annoyed face.

"It's not a novel, at least. Also, it's not fiction!"

Ember sighed again. "Can you tell me what are we going to learn from that book, Thorax? How is that going to help our diplomatic meeting later?"

"So we can understand the ponies more."

"Exactly how?"

"History lessons. We can be more approachable to ponies when we understand the rich history that they have!"

"I already have more than basic knowledge about the Elements of Harmony through my correspondence with Twilight, so I don't think I need to read that book."

"You're free to read it, Ember," Twilight said before going back to reading.

"Wait, what happened to the chatting part?" Ember said.

Manehattan

Long Winded looked out the window.

The great, sprawling blue sea moved in its calm fashion. A few boats were floating about.

"I wonder where's Manehattan, Nastic," he asked, still seeing the blue sea. "Can this train get any faster? We're already on one of the bridges and yet there's no city to be found!"

"You're on the wrong side of the train," Nastic replied while he was reading his newspaper. "Look at the windows on the other side—as long as you don't rile up anypony."

And Long Winded flew his way past the green carpet, past the middle way between the seats, and up to the one of the windows there.

"Hey, don't you know how to be careful around other ponies?!" the stallion on the seat yelled at the hovering changeling.

Long Winded only opened his mouth as he saw what was there.

The blue sea was still there and there were a few more boats and ships there floating about, too. However, there indeed was a city—a sprawling metropolis filled with tall buildings, skyscrapers creating a sense of grandness to the city. There were the buildings made out of the traditional bricks, there were also the buildings made out of metal and out of sleek glass—both and those in between combined to make up the wonderful, distinct Manehattan that Long Winded was beholding.

At the streets, dozens and dozens of ponies filled even the shortest of sidewalks, providing a lively and restless atmosphere to the city. Carriages filled the streets and the roads.

And, near Manehattan itself, there was a huge statue residing on its own island which itself was populated with threes, bushes, and other foiliage. The blue-green statue depicted a mare in a robe, holding rather proudly a thick piece of paper and a torch—the torch she held highly with a raised hoof. On her head was a crown, on her face was a smile.

"Do you mind?" the stallion asked, irritated at the whole ordeal. He adjusted his white glasses and the orange collar of his green shirt. "Don't you know who you're ignoring over here?!"

"Wait," Long Winded said, extending a hoof at the stallion. "I'm just admiring and cherishing this great city that some of the ponies have been hyping about!"

"They probably made you too excited, then. Now, can you please leave? The buzzing sound of your wings are too loud."

Long Winded turned to the stallion. "Don't worry—Trenderhoof?!"

Nastic smacked a hoof on his face. "Not again." He returned to the newspaper, covering his face.

"I heard Rarity talk about you!" Long Winded shouted, hovering excitedly over the floor. "You're this great journalist, the trend-setter and the trend-finder! Is it OK if you go with us, Trenderhoof? Maybe you can lead us to the best places in Manehattan! And then, we can eat together—"

"I'm also on a schedule," Trenderhoof replied sternly. "I was just trying to collect my thoughts and preparing myself for Manehattan until you started to go crazy about it!"

"Who can not go crazy about Manehattan after they've seen what I've just seen?! Maybe you are secretly crazy about it."

Trenderhoof extended his own hoof at the changeling. "Some ponies have the ability to restrain themselves when necessary—I'm excited myself, but you don't see me jumping around and screaming 'Manehattan' wherever I go, do you?"

"That's a great idea!"

Trenderhoof looked astonished and then defeated. "Oh, no. What did I just do?"

And Long Winded jumped around, screaming "Manehattan!" wherever he went inside the train carriage. Several ponies were covering their ears, others resorted to their newspapers, their books, or just their side windows. A few ponies stood up and left the passenger car to transfer to another one. Most of them gave the ecstatic changeling a mean look before they went back to what they were doing in order to protect themselves from the troublesome threat of Long Winded.

The front side of the Manehattan's train station stood out from the rest of its neighbors—while its neighbors sported a drab brown or gray, the train station showed a white-yellow. Its green windows gave the station a feeling of antiquity. The clock at the top middle of the building delivered the time to all the ponies passing by who managed at least a glance towards it.

Among the many passengers going out of the station and onto the white steps leading to the sidewalk, there were the two changelings. Nastic looked up from his newspaper and smiled a little, beholding the beauty and the magnificence of the city with its towering buildings and its hurrying inhabitants. Long Winded was already looking up and his smile was wide and optimistic.

They walked down the stairs, making their way through the busy crowd.

Several ponies were pulling bags and baggages, others were carrying backpacks and bags of their own. Still, there were others that carried no bag or container. Some scurried off, others were walking around admiring the city.

"There's so many places to go to!" Long Winded said, jittery. "I don't know where to start in Manehattan! Maybe we can take a taxi and quickly see the buildings and the places!"

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Long Winded," Nastic said, grabbing a hold of his friend. "Let's take our time. We have more than enough money to enjoy Manehattan. Not a lot, but I think more than enough."

And the two walked the sidewalk.

Carriages sped by the changelings and the other ponies that walked beside them. The reactions they've garnered from the ponies were varied—some turned away in disgust, others did not mind and continued on in their walk, and still others smiled at them. Yet, the crowd of ponies and two changelings went on.

Then, there was the road in front of them. A pony in police uniform blew his whistle and made a gesture towards the crowd.

The crowd moved along on, crossing the road as the carriages beside them stood in their places.

"We're walking on Manehattan road for the first time!" Long Winded excitedly proclaimed.

"Shh!" Nastic then covered his mouth as they kept walking on. "You better stay well-mannered here! I'm trying my best, too, you know!"

Then, they were at the other side of the road.

The pony in police uniform blew the whistle again.

The carriages resumed their transportation.

"Do you have a map of Manehattan?" Long Winded asked.

Nastic looked surprised. "Wow. I haven't thought of it before."

The double doors were purple and pink. The walls were a brown-yellow—exuding elegance. The wall lights and the rest of the lights were on for now. The seats were simple wooden benches—yet, despite that, a great many ponies were seated there, containing and displaying such diversity as a lot of them talked to each other while a few others were just looking at the curtained stage and then back at whatever they were holding—a book or a newspaper.

One of the double doors opened, letting in a faint stream of light from the room before, giving two long shadows. The changelings closed the door.

The loud yet sophisticated chatter of the ponies there flooded the theater room.

Nastic eyed and checked the place, specifically the benches. "This looks like a full house. Where's the empty seats when you need one?"

"We can always just stand here!" Long Winded answered. He grabbed some of the popcorn from the striped bucket he was holding. "The popcorn's more than enough for me to stay here, be happy, and watch 'Hinny of the Hills'!"

"We're not going to look fit with the rest of the ponies here," Nastic said. "Besides, we need somewhere to sit."

"Then, we'll just find some when we find some!" Long Winded took several pieces of popcorn into his mouth. His smile grew wider, and his eyes opened wider. "I love the salty-cheesy flavor!"

"Good thing you didn't waste any more bits by trying to add any more flavors than that," Nastic said. "The powdering they infuse into popcorns these days—heh, and I'm talking like I know popcorn at all. Ponies and their culinary concoctions." Yet, he smiled as he took a glance at the popcorn bucket.

Long Winded gave him a hoofful of popcorn pieces. "Wanna have some?"

Nastic forcibly grabbed the popcorn pieces from Long Winded's hoof and stuffed them into his mouth. Nastic smiled as he chewed. "Actually, it's not that bad."

"It's the best food ever!" Long Winded screamed.

And everypony shushed him. Then, they quickly went back to whatever they were doing.

"Let's not get carried away like last time with Trenderhoof, hm?" Nastic acutely whispered into his friend's ear. "You need to know the meaning of sarcasm."

"That sounds like a pretty complicated, complex word you made up."

"Check the dictionary—it's there."

The lights dimmed. The spotlight was on the still curtained stage.

"Mares and stallions!" a booming, professional voice declared through the speakers. "We are only ten minutes away from the showing of 'Hinny of the Hills,' the most popular theater show on Bridleway! Amassing critical acclaim from over a hundred professional and seasoned theater critics along with garnering tons of Equestria-wide approval, 'Hinny of the Hills' is best-known for its classic story that has spawned hundreds of successful other shows, both in the theater and beyond!"

And the crowd of ponies and two changelings cheered.

"Now, in order to maximize your enjoyment of 'Hinny of the Hills,' we would like you to follow our Bridleway Rules and Regulations: One, no loud talking throughout the show. You may whisper to the ponies around you, but that is the loudest you can get. Two, do not, in any circumstance unless it's an emergency, attempt to get on the stage. Applauding for the ponies on stage is OK and it is to be expected for such a wonderful show, but please show respect to the ponies on stage. Three, enjoy and have fun! As much as we want you to behave, we also want you to just relax and to be entertained by high-quality acts of entertainment! That's all!"

Long Winded became jittery again, jumpy, even. His bucket of popcorn almost spilled, sending a few pieces of popcorn to the clean carpet below.

"I'm excited!" Long Winded whispered in pure excitement. "I'm going to be watching my first Bridleway theater show in my life! I know that this will be completely unforgettable, especially with you, Nastic!" He hugged Nastic though Nastic had a concerned face on him as he was hugged. "Maybe I'll end up singing the songs, and then I can form a band, and then we'll sing the songs from 'Hinny of the Hills' and then we'll become famous!"

"We?" Nastic retorted.

"And then we'll get record albums, and record records, and record rewards, and record recognitions—"

"Can you please be quiet?!" a pony yelled from the benches.

"Sorry!" Long Winded yelled back.

Nastic groaned and adjusted his hat.

Long Winded returned to eating.

Outside, the sidewalks of Manehattan were typical—dozens of ponies walked and trotted onward to some place while carriages sped by on the streets with more ponies walking and trotting on the sidewalk at the other side of the street.

Inside, the brown and yellow interior of the place had an aroma—a delicious aroma that brought a hint and a whiff of energy to the ponies who entered. Various ponies sat or stood, all holding a cup of some kind of coffee. The talking was clear yet it felt natural. A friendly, homely, welcoming atmosphere that beckoned the ponies to join in the casual conversations even with the baristas behind the counter as they poured cups of coffee—and of various types, too, for there were some that had just coffee, and there were the cups of coffee with cream and sugar, and then there were the more radical cups of coffee like the cup of coffee with biscuits sticking out of the cup.

In spite of the mild and quiet mood of the coffee place, one barista stared rather anxiously at a changeling who was holding a cup precariously—he was a little shaky and he was spouting out sentences at a rapid pace.

"Sorry about my friend," Nastic said, keeping Lond Winded on his seat as he jittered about. "This is his first time drinking coffee. I want to tell you—the coffee here is great."

"Isn't this your first time drinking coffee, too?" the barista asked.

"I know, but it's OK. My friend on the other hand..." Nastic looked at his excited friend. "He really likes the coffee. Don't mind him—I can keep him under control. So, tell me about the history of coffee."

The barista looked surprised.

"A nice topic that you probably have much knowledge about, hm?"

"Well, about the history of coffee..." The barista looked at his fellow baristas.

They were serving and attending to the other customers, though even they and their customers were taking glances at the jumpy changeling holding a cup of coffee that still had substantial amounts of coffee inside.

The barista looked back at Nastic. "You see, coffee...is an unusual kind of drink."

"What do you mean that coffee is an unusual kind of drink?" Nastic asked.

"It's from another dimension," the barista answered bluntly.

Nastic opened his eyes wide. "This is a joke, right?"

"Consult the Canterlot Archives. The history's all there. The short version of the story is that, hundreds of years ago, Princess Celestia and Star Swirl the Bearded encountered a magical mirror and went to another dimension where Celestia is evil and things like that. It turns out that there was coffee in that dimension, so Star Swirl the Bearded got some coffee beans and then from then on, we've got coffee plants in Equestria, and now here's the coffee."

Nastic still had his eyes wide open. His mouth was wide open, too.

"Shocking, right?"

Nastic blinked. "So, you are sure that there's nothing dangerous about drinking coffee?"

"No." He brought up another cup of coffee and placed it on the counter. "Here's a free cup of coffee, by the way, since this is your first time over here."

Nastic studied the cup in front of him. "And you treat it like it's a normal part of everyday life here in Manehattan."

"Yes."

"Hmm." Nastic took a sip of coffee from the new cup. "I've read up about Manehattan and that a lot of the inhabitants here rely on their morning cup of coffee in order to cope with all the work and all the other activities and chores and errands they do in this big city."

"And I'm one of them." The barista smiled as he prepared yet another cup of coffee.

"So, you're telling me that the ponies of Manehattan need their inter-dimensional cup of coffee for a good, stress-free morning that would keep them awake and prepared for the rest of the day?"

"Why not?"

"And, you're telling me that one of the reasons why Manehattan is highly successful in terms of businesses that make a respectable profit is because of this inter-dimensional...coffee?"

The barista chuckled.

The glass door opened.

A young amber mare stepped inside. Her purple and violet mane was bundled with a green ponytail. Complementing her purple, fluffy scarf was a white and blue plaid shirt.

"Hi!" the mare happily announced.

"Plaid Stripes!" the barista said, smiling at her as he placed a cup of coffee on the counter. "Take a seat!"

Plaid Stripes took a seat beside Nastic.

"You know this pony?" Nastic asked.

"Why did I greet her by name, then?" the barista asked back. "Daughter of Mr. Stripes. She works at Rarity For You, though I keep on forgetting where that boutique is."

And Long Winded threw his cup of coffee to the counter, spilling the coffee onto the barista's apron.

The barista looked horrified at the changeling in question. "What did you do that for?!"

"Plaid Stripes works for Rarity?!" Long Winded shouted, leaning towards the barista.

"What're you worked up about?"

Long Winded faced Plaid Stripes. "Plaid Stripes! Where's Rarity For You?!"

She smiled, though she looked nervously at the barista. "I can lead you there, if you want—if you're done with your orders here, of course." She went on smiling somewhat awkwardly at the changeling.

Nastic groaned and placed a few bits on the counter. "This includes a tip. Sorry for the mishap." He glared at Long Winded. "If you make another event like this, we're getting out of here."

"We're not buying clothes! I repeat, we're not going to buy clothes!" Nastic grunted as he walked on the sidewalk, eyeing Long Winded and Plaid Stripes. "I'm not going to burn my money and my time by spending precious hours in a clothes store checking which hat fits my style!"

"What do you suggest then?" Plaid Stripes snootily asked as they still walked.

"I have two hats—one is what I'm wearing now, the other is for back-up, in case I lose this hat."

"But, you can't have the same boring style everyday!" Long Winded said. He pointed at a pony wearing garish, gaudy clothes. "What about something new for a change?"

"You know, there is more to Manehattan than clothes stores! I don't care if an Element of Harmony owns the store!"

A few ponies around them gasped.

And Plaid Stripes and the two changelings walked on.

"Hey!" Plaid Stripes approached Nastic. "Rarity's a good friend and a good boss. She even approved of my glow-in-the-dark teeth idea!"

"That's a ridiculous idea!"

"I'm wearing an experimental version of it right now!" She smiled.

"Long Winded!" Nastic yelled.

Long Winded faced his friend.

"Remember when you asked me about having a map?"

He nodded happily.

"It's probably the best idea to get one right now before we get to Rarity For You."

"But, I want to go there!" Long Winded complained. "I mean, we have Plaid Stripes right here! And, it's Rarity's store! And, it's in Manehattan! What more can you ask for?"

"I can ask for a normal trip around Manehattan. Seems better than staying in one place for a long time, don't you think?"

"Look!" Long Winded pointed a hoof.

Across the street, there was a wide, vast park filled with lush green grass, tall graceful trees, long streaming rivers, and nice cute bushes and shrubs. Ponies walked, trotted—they enjoyed themselves in the various activities in the park, from simple picnics identified by their mats and the food on display to kite-flying groups as can be seen by the several ponies galloping while holding the handles of their kites with their mouths.

Nastic sighed. "Better to relax there at the park."

"Uh, what about Rarity For You?" Plaid Stripes asked, nudging Nastic. "We're still going there, right?"

"We'll be going there when we'll be going there." Nastic looked at the park. "Now, let's get going to the park. We'll be thinking about that fashion shop sooner or later. Let's just enjoy ourselves in the park."

Considerations

The blue sky was peaceful. A few clouds were drifitng by. The sun was bright and brought forth a warm light. Several pegasi flittered through the clouds, all of them looking down.

Closer to the ground, pegasi and changelings were carrying sacks, wagons, jars, and other sorts of containers. Looks of amicable, friendly camaraderie were all around. Laughs were spread around, lightening up the atmosphere of the moment.

At the ground, there were broken houses. Debris of destroyed homes were scattered, littered. The streets were filled with more and more debris, more and more pieces of ruin, evidence of desolation. The grass was now brown, parts of it even a burnt gray, some of it still emitting trails of smoke. Rocks, furniture, pictures—all were strewn about in this destructive mess, displaying a manifestation of disastrous chaos and disorder that defied the harmony of things.

All the while, ponies and changelings were gathering the trash and the debris, bringing other changelings to safer places, and hastily bringing in construction materials of steel bars, concrete, among others.

And a lot of them were smiling. Not all of them, but a lot of them.

Thorax stood on an open street that was cluttered with chunks of rocks forcibly removed from houses and homes. As he walked through his kingdom, he turned his head around as he saw changelings and ponies pass by him, happily going about the important work of helping each other.

No complaints were heard. All Thorax heard from their mouths were words of encouragement, even a few jokes amidst the devastation around them.

And, there was the shouting of a lone changeling as he stood on top of one of the few buildings that remained untouched by disaster.

"Is this what you want?!" the lone changeling yelled, bellowing to the passers-by from his position. "This is what you get for dealing with the ponies in the way they want you to! Do you dare ignore me?!"

Thorax took a few steps closer.

"I stand for what is left of what I know of us!" The lone changeling took a sweeping view of the demolished city before him. "Do you not understand the deception that you've been placed under?!" He stretched out a hoof, beholding all that was laid in front of him and gracing the view with a face of terror. "If you want to live your life as if there was not a single thing that was wrong, then you are only lying to yourself! The smiles that these ponies show for you—they will smile when they see you following their standards, their rules, their plans, their ideals! Look at the structures that you have constructed! They are just like the houses of ponies except made with local materials! Is this truly a kingdom of changelings?!"

Thorax took a step closer.

"Is it?!"

And those two words echoed.

Changelings and ponies walking, flying, running beside each other in front of a backdrop, a background of catastrophe. On the broken streets, on the burnt grass, past the ruined buildings.

"Recognize that, whether you like it or not, you will be defeated! We will all be defeated! They will not fight us with weapons! They will fight us with words and meetings and friendships, all under the guise of a kind attitude!" The lone changeling glared at a changeling that was passing by, happily walking his way on the destroyed street that contained much rubble. "They say that it's for our good! Behold what 'good' their deeds have brought to us!"

Thorax took another step closer.

"It is a barrier, a barricade! A barrier to what?! To true changeling growth! They will only fill our minds with what has been invented by ponies, with what has been created by ponies, with what has been liked, adored, and cherished by ponies! What do we like?! Do they not care about that?!"

The lone changeling looked around him, his face still displaying his anger with his arched, narrowing eyes and a menacing frown.

"The ponies will continue to be nice to us when we're still useful to them! When they no longer need us, then you will see the true nature, their true motives! You will see me not as a crazy changeling! You will see me as the only changeling who saw the truth! It will be too late when you do realize that!"

Then, the lone changeling flew away.

A door appeared in front of Thorax.

A look of surprise appeared on his face. He looked around.

The changelings and the ponies went on assisting others and carrying things.

The door opened.

Thorax looked behind him.

The desolate landscape, the demolished city and its ruins, ravished.

Thorax went through the door.

It was blue and purple and violet. Ethereal, mystical, mysterious. Spheres of light travelled.

Thorax gawked at the place. He turned his head around, seeing everything.

Then, the door closed.

There was no sign nor indication of a door anymore.

"Where am I?" he asked as he walked on the invisible floor. "Is...this all a dream? Was that just a dream?"

"Yes, it was, Thorax."

He turned around.

The Princess of the Night with her flowing, ethereal blue mane and tail stood. She smiled a slight smile. "However, dreams do not occur for no reason," she said in her calm yet regal voice. "I detect that this is not just a random dream or a sudden fear, is it?"

Thorax scratched his head. "Well, where are we, Princess Luna?"

She closed her eyes. "The dreamscape." She opened her eyes. "Another dimension where one can travel from dream to dream. I use this dimension as my means of fulfilling my duty of being in the dreams of ponies throughout Equestria and even beyond. And, recently, my duty has been expanded to also watching over the dreams of others such as changelings."

Thorax looked behind him again. "But, that...that dream was...it's like I was actually there and the Changeling Kingdom was actually in big trouble and—"

"Dreams are such," Luna interrutped, extending a hoof out at him. She returned the hoof. "Dreams feel real, for where do they take their inspiration from other than the real life that you live in the real world?"

Thorax gulped. "That's...amazing."

Luna nodded. "It is, most of the time. Then, one gets to the dreams that are similar to yours: bad dreams, dreams that haunt them, dreams that are no longer dreams—they are the nightmares that you may have overheard from a pony."

Thorax looked around the place again before looking back at the royal Princess in front of him. Then, he looked around the place again, seeing the shifting colors and the abstract shapes that they form, shifting constantly with no true, definite form as spheres of light continue to float around seemingly randomly. Then, he looked back at Princesss Luna. "Am I in trouble or something?"

"You are not in trouble nor in danger at all, Thorax. However, the dream that you have just experienced is a sign, or, rather, a culmination of something." Luna paced around in the mysterious dreamscape. "This something is, no doubt, related to the kingdom you hold." She looked at him straight in the eye. "Do you fear its fall?"

"What ruler doesn't fear it?"

Luna continued pacing around, keeping her gaze on Thorax. "Has there been any recent disaster in your kingdom? Or, is there anypony warning of such a disaster to arrive?"

"I don't think so." Thorax looked around, still beholding the strange place.

"Then, what is it?" Luna asked, stopping her pacing. "You can be open with me, not just as fellow rulers but as friends."

He looked at her, lifting his head and his eyes.

"I am not here to discuss projects and issues. I am here to help you. I do not want this nightmare to make you restless, to create in you an uneasy feeling." Luna took a step forward. "So, can you tell me what has been troubling you as of late?"

Thorax gulped again. "W-well, there's the growing sentiment among a few changelings."

Luna arched an eyebrow. "Can you clarify?"

Thorax glanced at his shifting surroundings. "There are the few changelings who don't want me and the rest of the changelings to go and make treaties and agreements and friendship talks and things like that with the ponies. They think that, in doing so, we're just turning changeling society into something very close to a pony society. At first, I thought they were just being very paranoid. Then, I keep seeing many changelings just going crazy over ponies!" His voice became exasperated. "I like you and your sister and everypony and Equestria, but...I realized that the 'paranoid' changelings were not as wrong as I thought they were. They were so caught up in pony culture, no changeling bothered to contribute to changeling culture, or maybe even to changeling society." He sighed.

Luna stood there, watching him.

"I want my kingdom to become great, to become something good and not something bad. I don't want to rule this kingdom like Chrysalis did. I want to be benevolent to my subjects, and I don't want to even call them 'subjects.' They certainly aren't like subjects to me, in a good way." He sighed again. "I don't want to be conflicted. It's as if the Changeling Kingdom will become better the more we accept pony culture and pony-made things, but in doing so, what happens to our identity? I want the changelings to be changelings; I don't want them to be copying ponies. But, I don't want to disappoint a lot of my citizens. The changelings clearly love ponies and what they do. I cannot just simply take that away from them. What about reducing them? They'll get angry at that, too."

Thorax sighed again. He looked up, seeing Princess Luna. "Sorry if I got so tired and spoke too many words there. But, it's hard to keep it inside your hair, only confiding it to a select few changelings and Equestrian royalty. What if they think that I'm not really a good ruler if I publicly announce to the changelings about it? They wouldn't see me as a good friend, either."

Luna walked towards the changeling king. "It is not easy to rule a kingdom, Thorax. Indeed, many citizens might want something that their rulers may not want. Doing one thing can please many groups but not all groups. However, do you think what you are doing is right, good, and beneficial to your citizens in the long run?"

Thorax was silent for a while. "I think so."

"Then, why are you afraid to do what is right for them? It doesn't matter if it's viewed as an annoyance." Luna paced around again. "Besides, how would you truly know if the changelings will not like your plans? Maybe they like pony culture so much that they ignore their own culture and maybe also their own society because you haven't revealed to them a better option."

"I tried, but it isn't working," Thorax complained. "Whenever they try to make a changeling play or a changeling book or something like that, they would do a horrible job at it."

"Maybe it's because you still need to find the better option," Luna said. "And, maybe the answer lies in a friend or two." She smiled.

Thorax stood on the rocky, rough, brown ground. The dirt was hard, dry, and slightly cracked. The path was in front of him—made obvious and apparent by the smoother surface and by the several changelings that travelled there.

The changelings that passed by him all took a bow of some sort and yelled "Hail, King Thorax!" Thorax himself smiled, though he moved a hoof nervously as more and more changelings passed by and as more and more changelings said "Hail, King Thorax!"

He eyed the hat of one changeling.

The hat was a normal-looking hat. It was blue, looked like a cap fit for a sports game. On the front of the hat was an impression of a pony—a pegasus with rainbow mane and blue coat.

Beside that changeling was another changeling who was also wearing a hat. As they talked to each other and laughed, Thorax eyed the other changeling's hat. Its type was the same as the first one's. This hat was yellow and pink and it also had an impression of a pony, specifically a pegasus with pink mane and yellow coat.

He saw the occasional bags on a few changelings. Most of them were simple with either one or multiple colors. However, some of the bags had impressions of ponies on them. The wearers of those bags were smiling and happy.

Thorax looked at the newstand. There was that hatted changeling advertising the newspapers on his hoof through shouting at the changelings that passed by. Changelings gave their bits, the news changeling gave the newspapers, and the cycle went on.

Walking past the changelings that said "Hail, King Thorax!", he observed the newspapers on the newstand.

Names of newspapers appeared in their unique and distinct fonts—from the bold yet simple style to the elegant and cursive look and everything in between. There was the "Canterlot Daily," the "Ponyville Chronicle," the "Ponyville Express," and even the "Foal Free Press" was there—and that issue of the "Foal Free Press" had a graph on it. A changeling, after exchanging a single bit, obtained for himself a copy of that newspaper.

Along with the newspapers were the magazines and the comics—in contrast with the black and white newspapers with a splash of color from their images, the covers of the magazines and the comics were colorful, vibrant with different hues. Standing proudly and prominently with a special, shiny label was the "POWER" comic, depicting the heroines and the sidekick battling the villain of the issue.

Thorax gulped at the sight of it. He gulped again when a changeling bought that comic. He wiped the sweat off his face as he watched the changeling hastily open the comic book.

Then, Thorax frowned. Though more changelings passed by and more changelings said "Hail, King Thorax!" to him in that affectionate and respectful manner, he didn't smile. His frown didn't leave.

Then, he smiled.

The sound of wings buzzing in the air resonated as Thorax flew. The grass and the trees whizzed by past him. The wind and the breeze was cool.

And the cottages of Ponyville were getting nearer and nearer.

His flight slowed down to a hover, and then he placed himself on the ground.

As ponies were going around, walking and talking and eating and drinking all while sporting smiles and attitudes of cheer, Thorax inhaled a breath of fresh air.

A pale yellow pony with raspberry mane and tail walked up to him, holding a basket of flowers. "I see that you like our flowers!"

Thorax took a step back. "What? I thought I was just smelling the air!"

The pony giggled. "The air's even better with these flowers!" She held out the straw basket filled with flowers of different, differing varieties. There were lilies, sunflowers, and roses, among the other flowers there. "My name's Rose! I'm glad that you could visit our humble town!"

"I don't think 'humble' is the word for the home of the ponies that embody the Elements of Harmony," Thorax answered, laughing a little after. "By the way, have you seen Twilight Sparkle around?"

Inside the Hay Burger, the smell of delicious, fresh hay burgers filled the cool air. Plates and trays rattled, orders were taken, food was eaten, talks were everywhere, and Princess Twilight Sparkle was munching quite loudly on a burger taken from a cardboard-like container with a small bag of horseshoe fries laid haphazardly on the wooden table.

Thorax beheld the paradox in front of him—a royal and noble Princess eating sloppily.

Twilight wiped the ketchup off her mouth with a burger. "So, why were you looking for me, Thorax?" She smiled. "It's not everyday that the king of the Changeling Kingdom would be looking for me."

"I just wanted to know your thoughts about something, Twilight."

Twilight arched an eyebrow. "In the Hay Burger?"

Thorax glanced at the ponies eyeing the royal conversation. "Why, is it too dirty for you?"

"No! It's the perfect place to talk right now!" Then, she took another bite of the burger.

Thorax grabbed his bruger and took a bite. His smile grew, widening to a grin.

"See?" Twilight levitated another burger in front of her. "I knew you'd like the Hay Burger! Is that what you want to talk about?"

"No," he replied shyly, scratching his head. "Rather, I'd like to talk about some kind of...redesign?"

"What will you redesign, exactly?" Twilight asked.

"Changeling Kingdom architecture?"

Twilight opened her eyes wide. "Why?"

"OK, maybe not total, complete redesign, but something like it."

"What's wrong, Thorax?"

The ponies around them kept eating and drinking their fast food and their fast drinks, some of them still watching the conversation from their wooden seats and tables.

"In case of a diaster," he explained, "let's build houses and...buildings that promote and evoke the feel of the changelings."

"Like the caverns in the tower?" Twilight replied.

"Something like that..." Thorax took another bite of his burger. "And, what about bringing Starlight Glimmer and the rest of her friends to the Changeling Kingdom to help you teach me and the rest of us about friendship?"

Twilight placed a hoof on her chin. "I might as well place some thought to that. Anyway, it would be nice for you to meet up again after some time. It's been a long time since you've last met, right?"

"We just met yesterday."

"Oh." She placed on a nervous smile. "Back to the topic on hoof, what about two events? We'll have the friendship talk, while we can have Starlight and her friends have their own friendship session or event with you!" Anxiety was in her tone.

Thorax looked around.

More ponies were looking at them.

Thorax looked back at Twilight. "That sounds nice. Do you have any other plans?"

Immediate News

A few weeks later

As the sun rose in the morning sky, doors and windows opened, ponies smiling and beholding the day.

The pony with a cap throwing bundles of newspapers at the front doors of houses was also smiling.

The clean streets of Ponyville was illuminated by the sunlight. Ponies walked out of their houses. Some stood, looking up to the blue sky.

The houses were also caught in the brightening of the town, especially the windows, reflecting the sunlight and providing a glowing gleam.

Several ponies picked up their newspapers; many walked out of their houses and into the open streets.

A stray cloud floated through the sky, covering the small patch of land that it was over. It moved slowly, silently, even with a calmness that was natural for a cloud close to the ground.

A few ponies gazed up towards the lonely cloud as it stood out all alone in the otherwise clear sky.

The cloud drifted its leisurely way over the streets of Ponyville. A few colts and a few fillies pointed to the cloud. A colt cried out, "Look, mom! There's only one cloud!"

His mom smiled at her child.

As the cloud continued its path, it passed by the Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie Pie looked out from one of the windows.

The market, with its many stalls, began its lively hours as ponies took to their positions and places behind the stalls, preparing their wares and their products, transferring their produce from the sacks and the wagons onto the stalls. Some of those ponies looked up and saw the cloud drifting above them.

Rarity looked out from a window on her boutique. "This is quite unexpected," she said. Then, she went back to one of her shelves containing fabrics.

The cloud went on, passing by numerous houses and other buildings, catching the attention and the gazes of several ponies on the ground. Its shadow was clear, providing a natural shelter from the sunlight.

Then, it travelled its way towards the Castle of Friendship. The castle shined under the sunlight, even giving a glow that was exuberant yet simple because of the sunlight. Its size only made greater and more beautiful the glow of the castle.

The cloud then turned away from the castle and made its way back towards the center of Ponyville.

The dirt path was dotted with smooth rocks. It crested over a few hills laden with trees and occasional houses that were never so close to each other, placed apart.

The pony, carrying one bundle of newspaper, stood at the end of the path, culminating at the two steps of a house that seemed divided. The left side of the door was a simple brown and so was the rest of the house from there with appropriate, accompanying colors. The right side of the door was a garish purple and so was the rest of the house from there with appropriate, accompanying colors. The windows displayed musical symbols together with flower containers styled like the keys of a piano. The chimney of the house was no mere chimney—they were pipes similar to the ones found with organs.

Past the house, there was a wooden fence at the edge of the hill. In front of the house was a hedge in the shape of an eighth note.

A newspaper was thrown at the steps of the door.

The pony whistled and walked away.

And it was raining.

The pony looked up.

There was that lonely cloud, now gray. It was also pouring water on him.

The pony jumped away.

And the cloud followed.

He shielded himself with a stretched out hoof, though the rain just fell on the rest of his body, soaking his uniform. "At least I'm done with this morning of newspapers!"

He jumped again to somewhere else.

And the cloud followed him there, too.

He hid behind the eighth note hedge.

And the cloud soaked him and the hedge.

"What is with the weather today?!" The pony glanced here and there. "Where is a safe spot when you nee done?!"

He jumped towards the house, looking up towards the hay roof. "Octavia and DJ Pon-3 are probably OK with me trying to hide myself from a raincloud that seems to like me!" He placed a hoof on his chin. "Does it like me? Or does it dislike me?"

And the cloud was now above him.

The pony yelled as he ran away from the house and from the cloud as it quickly followed him.

Like the exterior of the house, the interior was also divided between two styles. On one side, there was the classical look of wooden floorboards, curtained windows, a graceful cushioned chair, and a wooden table. A warm color scheme was there, involving brown, hints of red and purple. A music stand stood on the floor in front of a large black piano. A jar of flowers was on top of the piano.

On the other side, there was the sleek look of metal floor tiles, open windows, and a stylish chair. On the wall hung two framed discs, vinyl ones. A few small spotlights hung along with a disco ball.

A white pony with slightly frazzled blue and cyan mane and tail, wearing purple shades, opened the door. She looked down at the newspaper in front of her. The mare grabbed it and closed the door.

She opened the newspaper.

"Are you invited to any gigs lately?" another mare asked. She was gray and was holding her cello. Her mane and her tail were dark gray. She wore a pink bowtie with a white collar.

The white mare shrugged.

"Are we invited to any gigs lately?" the gray mare asked.

The white mare nodded.

"Brilliant. Individually, we are greats within our individual fields, but, when we are together, we can create a wonderful hybrid of music that Equestria is only beginning to wake up to! I, Octavia, and you, DJ Pon-3, working together!" She laughed a little. "I cannot believe that it also all started with a crazy wedding." She eyed the newspaper. "Are you in the news?"

DJ Pon-3 nodded and hoofed out the newspaper to her.

Octavia grabbed it. "'Four Creatures Endowed with Pink Hearts of Courage.'" She pointed a hoof at the headline picture. "Looks like you're there."

The picture, indeed, displayed four creatures who had been endowed with medals that looked like pink hearts. Discord, Thorax, Trixie, and Starlight Glimmer were smiling towards the camera, proudly showing off their medals. The room itself was alive with festivity and celebration, the hall decorated with tall purple curtains, many balloons, plentiful ribbons and flowers, and the ponies and the changelings that filled up the room. They were all talking to each other, laughing with each other, smiling. In the background, at the station with large speakers and a shiny, sleek turntable, there was DJ Pon-3.

"They got rewarded," Octavia said. "Anything else about the party?"

DJ Pon-3 shrugged again.

"OK." She looked up towards the ceiling and then at DJ Pon-3. "What about we perform at gigs outside of Equestria?"

DJ Pon-3 lowered her shades and gave her a questioning look.

"Just imagine the event, the venue—instead of ponies, there will be changelings and dragons and griffons and yaks!"

The white mare placed back her shades.

"But, performing in the Dragon Lands would be quite dangerous. There are so many environmental hazards there. Yakyakistan is way too cold. Griffonstone is pretty far away, very distant. Not to mention also very dangerous—the height of the mountains there might be too much. And the Changeling Kingdom..."

She looked at her friend.

"It would be a great first gig outside of Equestria!"

DJ Pon-3 smiled.

"Well, do you agree?"

DJ Pon-3 just continued smiling.

"I'm just excited about it because...we'll bring our music to even more creatures, not just ponies!"

DJ Pon-3 continued smiling.

"Of course, we still have to pay the money for setting up the venues and letting them know about our concert."

"Rainbow Dash," Starlight Glimmer said, looking at the cloud as they stood on the street, surrounded by houses and establishments. "I know it's you."

And Rainbow Dash appeared from the cloud. "How did you know it was me?"

"Who else pranks ponies using clouds?"

Rainbow lowered the cloud down. "Well, it could be Twilight Sparkle! She can fly!"

Starlight giggled. "I don't think she's the type of pony who would descend into pranking others."

"You're speaking like pranking is bad."

"Well, isn't it bad?"

"Only if the ponies don't like being pranked." Rainbow punched the cloud and it was gone. She stood on the ground. "So, how do you feel now that you have a Pink Heart of Courage? Wait, where is your Pink Heart?"

"I placed it in my room back in the castle," Starlight replied. "I don't want to show off."

Rainbow snickered. "I heard Trixie's showing off her medal."

And Trixie arrived at the scene, wearing her Pink Heart of Courage. She was looking up rather haughtily. "How are you two doing?" She faced Starlight. "I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, and Discord and Thorax have finally decided on the place to celebrate your graduation! Most of the planning and deciding was done by me, but I'll give Discord and Thorax some of the credit they deserve." She smiled at her. "Wait, where's your Pink Heart of Courage?"

"Back in my room in the castle."

"Are you ashamed of saving Equestria?"

"She's just trying to be modest," Rainbow interrupted. "That's all."

Trixie laughed. "The arrogant, egotistic, boastful Rainbow Dash telling me that Starlight is modest."

Rainbow glared at her. "Well, the self-centered Trixie telling me that doesn't seem right!"

"Girls!" Starlight shouted.

And the two looked at her.

Starlight sighed. "That didn't escalate into a disastrous argument." She faced Trixie. "So, where have you decided to go?"

"We've all agreed to spend the rest of the day in Ponyville!"

Starlight looked confused. "I thought we were going out."

"After thinking about it," Trixie began, "we've thought about having a celebration that did not go too far away from where your friendships began. A trip to Las Pegasus or a changeling festival or a stay at Discord's house would be neat—but, seeing you and Twilight—" Her eyes became watery "—seeing you and Twilight hugging each other like that..."

"It's OK, Trixie," Starlight said. "I think I get what you want to say. So, where will we start?"

"What about you ask me for suggestions?" Rainbow Dash interrupted. "I'm the one who's been living in Ponyville for far longer than you two!"

Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Spike stood in front of the Cutie Map. "I heard that Thorax is going to be arriving any moment now," Twilight said, "so, as long as everything happens according to plan, we'll be alright!"

"Ah' don't get why yer' so nervous 'bout a friend," Applejack said. "And, why did ya' call us here if Thorax was just goin' to visit you?"

Fluttershy nodded. "I think I have to agree with her. You're probably going to talk about handling a kingdom, and I have no experience in handling kingdoms."

"You can be here to..." Twilight placed a hoof on her chin. "You can be here to provide examples of good friends!"

"Then, why did ya' call just us?" Applejack complained. "Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie aren't even here!"

"I heard that they're quite busy," Twilight said.

"Rainbow's been busy prankin', Rarity has no big orders for today, and Pinkie can handle being away quite easily!"

"Wait, Rainbow's been pranking the whole time?"

The double doors opened.

Twilight smiled. "Thorax!" Then, she stopped smiling. "And Starlight? And Trixie? And Discord? And Rainbow Dash?!"

"I'm the one you're surprised about?!" Rainbow yelled.

"Sorry to barge in whatever you were talking about, Twilight," Thorax said. He looked at Fluttershy and Applejack. "Hi!"

The two ponies smiled at him.

Thorax looked at Spike. "You, too, Spike."

Spike smiled. He walked towards him. "At least you didn't forget me, buddy!"

"So, ready to talk about how to properly manage a kingdom?" Twilight asked happily. "We can continue the lessons today!"

"Uh, actually," Thorax replied, glancing at his friends, "I'm not here for that."

"What?!"

Fluttershy and Applejack looked at her, bewildered.

"We're here to celebrate Starlight's graduation." He smiled an awkward smile. "Even though it's probably a day late."

Twilight smiled, looking especially at Starlight. She walked closer towards her and her group of friends. "Starlight, you don't need to ask permission from me anymore."

"Uh, it's not about asking permission, Twilight," Starlight said.

"Oh?" Twilight had a surprised look on her face. "Then, what is it?"

"We're celebrating here in your castle!"

Twilight looked even more surprised, now astonished.

"Oops!" Starlight laughed nervously. "Did I mess with your scheudle for tidying up the castle?"

"You can always ask me," Discord said, snapping his claws and making a broom appear in front of him. "I can clean castles in mere seconds."

Thorax, Trixie, and Starlight Glimmer laughed at that. Even Fluttershy and Applejack giggled. Spike joined in the laughing, too. Only Twilight was left not laughing, instead still looking surprised and astonished.

Laughter resonated through the huge, spacious library room as the four creatures sat around the table—two ponies, one changeling, one draconequus. A few books were on the table, though none of the creatures were looking at them now.

"Thorax," Discord began, "how is the Changeling Kingdom so far?" He snapped his claw and a sofa appeared beside him.

Thorax gulped, though he kept and retained a smile on his face. "It's...quite OK. Nothing too fantastic or spectacular."

"What if I paid a visit there?"

He laughed nervously. "I'm n-not sure. The changelings would love to see a hero of the Changeling Kingdom visit. On the other hoof, I don't think they're ready to handle your tricks."

"Tricks?" Discord repeated. "They're not just mere tricks! I am capable of magical accomplishments that you have never seen or have never been witness to!"

"Which is why I'm really concerned if you did pay a visit."

Discord sat back down on his seat. "You're right."

"You could discipline yourself," Thorax added.

"Discipline?" Discord repeated.

"I get it, Discord," Starlight said. "You're the spirit of chaos, so discipline isn't something you would want."

"Isn't it quite obvious?"

"Thorax!" Trixie yelled.

And the others looked at her. She was raising a hoof towards the air.

"I have a better idea!"

The others leaned closer to her.

"What about we all pay a visit to the Changeling Kingdom next week?!" she declared.

And that declaration resonated throughout the library room.

Thorax laughed nervously again. "What if we're not ready? I mean, there's Discord—"

"Aww, who doesn't want a little disruption once in a while?" Discord asked as he snapped his claw and another sofa appeared beside him. "Soon, we'll have a sofa for each of us!"

And they looked at him and the sofas beside him.

"What?" Discord shrugged his claw and his paw. "The first sofa was to make a punchline. The second sofa was just because I wanted another sofa!"

Then, the double doors opened.

The four creatures looked towards the pony there.

"Sunburst?" Starlight said, surprised in tone.

The stallion unicorn nodded. His coat was gamboge, his mane was vermillion. He wore circular glasses and a dark blue coat or robe. He had a vermillion goatee.

"I didn't expect you to be here!" Starlight said.

She ran to him and they hugged.

"I thought it was just going to be between us, Starlight," Discord said.

"He was my friend from my childhood," Starlight began, looking at the rest of her friends at the table. "Looks like we've got some catching up." She looked back at Sunburst. "Why are you here, anyway? How did you know that we're celebrating my graduation?"

"Just wanted to spend time with my friend." Sunburst smiled. "Besides, even though I admire my job to the point that it isn't even a job at all, I do need friends." He looked at Starlight's friends. "And, this is the first time I'm meeting your friends at the same place and at the same moment!" Then, he whispered to Starlight, "You still need to explain to me how you became friends with Discord."

"I heard that!" Discord shouted.

Sunburst stepped back. "OK! I wouldn't want to annoy Discord."

And they all laughed.

And Discord snapped his claw and another sofa appeared.

Starlight and Sunburst walked towards the table. "Why not take a seat, Sunburst?" Starlight said.

"Heh-heh-heh-heh, thanks!" Sunburst then took a seat.

"I think you need introductions," Starlight said. "Here's Trixie—" She gestured a hoof towards Trixie who smiled at him "—here's Discord—" She gestured a hoof towards Discord who snapped his claw and another sofa appeared beside him "—and here's Thorax." Thorax waved a hoof at him.

Sunburst laughed nervously. "It's...nice to meet you all together. So, let's get into a conversation, shall we?" He looked at Thorax. "How's the Changeling Kingdom?"

Thorax groaned.

Friendship Attempts

The train station was magnificent with its purple, slanted roofs, its wide and numerous glass windows, its style that matched the rest of Canterlot's buildings: regal, royal, refined.

The train arrived, slowing down to a halt. The doors opened and multiple ponies went out and multiple ponies went in, several of them carrying and pulling their bags and their baggages.

Among the ponies that exited the train was an Earth pony mare with brazen fashion and an Earth pony stallion with an adventurer's outfit. The stallion looked irritated.

"Can you tell me again why I have to be with you, Plaid Stripes?" the stallion asked, tired in his tone as the train steamed off and moved away.

The two ponies walked on the platform, moving closer towards the exit. "Because my dad wants me to have more friends and you happened to be walking by." She smiled at him. "I'm wearing glow-in-the-dark teeth!"

"It's not even sunset!"

"Quibble Pants, it's alright!" she replied.

Quibble groaned. "I can understand having to spend time with you to be friends. What I don't understand is having to get out of Manehattan and all the way to Canterlot just to be friends!"

"Friendship problem?" an enthusiastic voice asked.

Plaid Stripes and Quibble Pants turned around.

Two shiny changelings waved their hooves at them. One was yellow and green, the other was green and red. Their wings glimmered under the sunlight.

"We can help!" one of the changelings yelled. "My name's Upbeat!"

"And, I'm Novate Spruce!" the other changeling yelled.

"OK, what kind of names is that?" Quibble asked.

Plaid Stripes nudged him. "They're just trying to be nice, Quibble!" she whispered adamantly. She faced the changelings. "Hi! Yes, changelings, we'd like your help!"

Quibble was now looking surprised. "What?! Help in what? Changelings who are in dire need of a naming committee?"

"So, what's your name?" Upbeat asked.

Plaid Stripes pointed to herself. "I'm Plaid Stripes." She pointed to Quibble. "He's Quibble Pants."

"Quibble Pants?!" the two changelings yelled in unison.

Quibble groaned again. "We're surrounded by high-brow society ponies! I don't want to be embarassed within the first few minutes of getting here!"

"But, you must be related to Fancy Pants!" Novate Spruce shouted.

Plaid Stripes now looked surprised, looking at her friend who sported an annoyed expression. "I didn't know you were related to Fancy Pants!"

"I'm not!" Quibble said through gritted teeth.

"We must take you to Fancy Pants, now!" Upbeat declared as he pulled one of Quibble's hooves. "He can be the answer to your friendship problem!"

"Take me back!" Quibble yelled out as he struggled. He turned towards Plaid Stripes. "Plaid! Please explain to the changelings that I'm not in the right mood for this!"

The street in Canterlot was bordered with many elegant and exquisite buildings that emitted a sense of affluence as ponies, mostly unicorns, walked and trotted the clean sidewalks, some of them wearing fancy clothes. One of them was wearing a black sweater and repaired glasses.

Standing in front of a table drinking tea was a stately white unicorn wearing a fancy suit and a monocle. Beside him was a graceful white unicorn with pink mane and tail. She was also drinking tea.

Approaching the two was an Earth pony pulled by two flying changelings while another Earth pony was catching up to them. All while they shouted at each other, Quibble Pants shouting for help, the two changelings shouting that they are the help, and Plaid Stripes shouting that she's catching up.

Then, the two changelings dropped Quibble.

He stumbled, tumbled, and finally stopped right in front of the table.

Fancy Pants adjusted his monocle and approached Quibble. He offered a hoof. "Are you alright? You seem to have taken an injury or two."

"I'm quite alright, thanks to these changelings."

Fancy Pants looked up.

Two changelings landed on the ground and waved at him. Plaid Stripes looked at the two nervously, then imitated them by waving at him.

"His name's Quibble Pants!" Upbeat yelled. "I think we found a relative of yours!"

"Cousins are good at friendship problems, right?" Novate Srpuce said confidently.

"Uh, I have an extensive family tree and Quibble Pants isn't in it," Fancy Pants said, wearing a stern look on his face. "You must have been mistaken."

"But, you have 'Pants' in your names!" Plaid Stripes added, walking towards Quibble.

Quibble stood up. "Just because we have a word that's the same in our names, it doesn't mean that we're related!"

"Maybe we should consult the libraries," Novate Spruce suggested. "They probably have better family trees."

Fancy Pants laughed.

The rest looked on as he laughed.

"The family trees of the libraries? There's a reason they're called family trees!" He turned towards the changelings. "Again, I assure you that Quibble Pants is not my relative. He can be my friend, though."

And the changelings and Plaid Stripes smiled wide.

"However, is that the entire reason for visiting me?"

"It doesn't seem very valuable for your time and effort," the other unicorn said from her spot. "My name's Fleur Dis Lee."

The two changelings and Plaid Stripes nodded. Quibble didn't nod. He also didn't smile.

Quibble looked at Fancy Pants. "Look, I'm sorry for the inconvenience, Fancy Pants, but those changelings are causing trouble! I'm not here to find out if you're related to me or anything! I was just dragged into this!"

"That's fine, and apologies accepted." Fancy Pants smiled. "So, again, may I ask if you all want to talk about it over cups of tea?" He gestured towards the table that was fitted with a bright and colorful umbrella. "I and Fleur Dis Lee would like company outside of Canterlot."

Quibble made an angry look towards the changelings.

The two changelings nodded. So did Plaid Stripes.

"I can't believe I'm going to be spending time with high-class ponies!" Plaid shouted.

Fancy Pants and Fleur Dis Lee smiled.

Quibble groaned. "At least there are ponies other than Plaid Stripes to be with now."

Fancy ponies walked on the sidewalk, some of them displaying and using a fancy walk, formal in its way, its style, its grace. Some of them looked up with haughty, snooty looks.

Carriages passed by, carrying in them fancy passengers. The carriages were pulled by the bulkier stallions who weren't as fancy as the ponies they serviced even just by looking at the clothes they were wearing.

The ponies did fit with the style of Canterlot's buildings—they were fancy, showing off a sense of ornate quality that could only be obtained by climbing the social ladder of Equestria until one could reach one of the highest rungs.

So, those ponies broke off their fancy and proud looks, even for just a moment, when they caught a glimpse of Fancy Pants and Fleur Dis Lee hanging out with two Earth ponies unknown and two changelings.

The aroma of tea wafted through the air, out of the shop, out of the cups, establishing a flavored hint in the air. Meanwhile, from inside the shop also went out sounds of refined discussions in posh voices by ponies in posh clothes as the ponies serving the tea also wore posh uniforms, levitating the posh cups of tea with their magic.

Back to Fancy Pants, Quibble Pants, and the rest of the ponies and the changelings around the table with an umbrella.

"So, what brings you here to our fair city of Canterlot?" Fancy Pants asked Quibble, gesturing with a hoof. "It certainly is a long way from Manehattan."

Quibble took a glance at his cup of tea. He looked at Fancy Pants. "I didn't come here willingly. Plaid Stripes's dad wants me to be her friend on a trip to Canterlot. Except we could've had bonding times right back in Manehattan and not waste precious time and money on a trip to Canterlot!"

Fancy Pants recoiled. He glanced at the changelings and at Plaid Stripes who looked worried and frowned. "Of course, I do not easily accept accounts from only one side, though I wish you could enjoy being in Canterlot—it's not everyday a pony gets to spend a day or two here." He smiled. Then, he turned towards Plaid Stripes. "So, how did it go for you?"

"At least I can make a friend in Canterlot!" She hugged Quibble. "Although, I do agree that we're probably spending a little too much on bits."

"Yeah, right, a little!" Quibble yelled. "Like that isn't something to worry about! You know I had a full day planned out for myself! I didn't expect to suddenly be pulled into a forced friendship day or whatever this is supposed to be!"

And Upbeat hopped right in between the two ponies. "OK, let's stop this arguing!" He looked at Quibble. "Now, let's remember...uh, a lesson...about...friendship."

Silence passed by. Also, Silence the mimepony passed by on the sidewalk.

"Hey!" Upbeat whispered. "What's the friendship lesson we're supposed to be teaching?"

"You mean the one about understanding each other's situations?" Novate Spruce asked in whisper.

"I can hear you," Quibble said.

The two changelings looked around.

All the ponies around the table were looking at them.

"We endeavor to not meddle in ponies' affairs!" Upbeat proudly shouted.

"You've already meddled enough by literally dragging me all the way from the train station to this tea shop!"

And several onlookers were making themselves obvious by stopping on the sidewalk.

Novate Spruce took a sip of his cup of tea. "What about you drink some tea, Quibble Pants? I'm sure that...will do something."

"I don't think tea is the ingredient that will help this friendship problem," Quibble replied in a gruff tone of voice, "if that's what you're calling it."

"Wait, the changeling said something about understanding each other's situation!" Plaid Stripes yelled.

"OK!" Quibble yelled in response. "If it's going to keep you changelings happy and if it's going to make this trip more tolerable." He looked at Plaid Stripes. "So, what's your situation?"

"I'm having so much fun with all of you!" Plaid Stripes yelled before hugging Quibble again. She looked at Fancy Pants and Fleur Dis Lee looking at her in surprise. "It's such an honor to be part of your company!"

The two unicorns smiled. "And, I think it's an honor to be meeting two very unique ponies. And, also, two unique changelings." He faced the changelings who were smiling at him. "Now, who wants a second cup of tea? After this, we can go to the museum to check the artifacts."

"With these bumbling changelings?" Quibble hastily added, still looking stern at the changelings.

The changelings continued to smile.

Upbeat turned towards Plaid Stripes. "Now, what about you understand his situation?"

Quibble groaned.

Plaid looked at him. Then, she looked at the sidewalks.

More ponies were standing and watching the scene.

She gulped.

She looked back at Quibble.

Quibble looked back at her with a face of irritation.

"What's your situation, Quibble Pants?" Plaid asked.

"I guess I've already said enough."

Plaid slowly turned her head towards Fancy Pants. He wasn't looking that happy. "So, does that mean the friendship problem is solved?"

"I think that means you've already heard of his situation and how he's feeling." Fancy Pants looked at the changelings. "Are you sure this is the best way to handle a problem like this?"

"We're just applying the lessons we've learned, Fancy Pants!" Novate Spruce replied joyously, smiling.

Fancy Pants sighed.

As the two ponies and the two changelings walked by, Quibble occasionally groaned. While Plaid Stripes and the other changelings were smiling and were chatting amiably, Quibble just looked and observed the various buildings, ponies, and other items that slowly passed by as they walked.

Several ponies that passed by them made a gasp or a look of astonishing disgust or both as they witnesses the plaid shirt, the purple scarf, and the green ponytail Plaid Stripes wore. Whispers were exchanged, looks of refined terror were aimed at the pony. However, she moved on, still talking with the changelings.

"Why are you changelings here, anyway?" Plaid asked happily. "Is your king here or something?"

"Yes!" Upbeat answered. "How did you know that?"

"I was just guessing." Plaid smiled. "Why is your king here?"

"In talks with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna!" Novate Spruce replied enthusiastically. "I bet they're very important!"

"They must be," Plaid said. She smiled. "Hey! Would you like to eat at this donut place I heard about?"

"Donuts?!" the changelings asked together.

"My dad went there one time and he loved the donuts!"

Quibble sighed, exasparated and tired, looking at the pony and the changelings there. "OK, how far is this donut place you're talking about?"

"I don't know where it is." Plaid smiled.

Quibble stood on the sidewalk, stopping his walk. "Let me guess." He faced the changelings who were also smiling at him. "You also don't know where the donut shop is."

The changelings nodded, keeping their smiles.

Quibble looked around.

Beside them was a green, quiet park decorated with trees of various sorts and kinds and filled with ponies having various activities such as eating on the marble tables, taking pictures of the place with their cameras, and just watching the environment around them. Across the street, there was a row of buildings that looked different yet contained the same elegant style as the rest of the Canterlot buildings. There was an eatery, although the waiters in their fancy uniforms were serving fancy meals. At another part of the street, there was a shop that boasted of its unique spoon and fork collection and several ponies walked in and out of that shop. At the other side of the street, there was another restaurant yet the food being served there was also fancy. And, the smell of the air was the fragrant, natural smell of grass from the park.

"Let's go ask somepony for a map or directions!" Plaid Stripes said. Her eyes darted around as her head moved along. "First, we find somepony with a map!"

The two changelings nodded. "That's great!" Novate Spruce said, smiling as he also looked around. "Leave the flying to us!"

And then the two changelings took off to the air.

Quibble sighed again. He looked at Plaid Stripes who was looking on at the changelings flying, scouting out the area, observing and watching certain ponies here and there as they flew at high speed. "We could've just asked for directions."

"But, a map is more visual and would give us the location of the donut place in no time!" Plaid Stripes answered assuredly.

Quibble stared at her with an agitated stare. "Nopony carries around a map except tourists."

"Then, the changelings need to find a tourist!"

"How would we know if the pony is a tourist if we don't ask him?"

"Then, we ask him!"

"Are you telling me that it's OK to ask everypony you see if they're a tourist?"

"Not really, but it's the donut place is a good place to relax and to eat...donuts." She made an awkward smile.

"I don't care if we can relax there at all. I'm certainly not getting relaxed by all this waiting! You're just making it worse!" He pointed a hoof at her.

"But...what about the friendship? Our friendship?"

"We've been together for—what? Less than a day?"

"Found it!"

Quibble Pants and Plaid Stripes looked up.

Two changelings landed on the sidewalk, Novate Spruce holding a map with his mouth.

"Now, we can look for the donut place!" Upbeat declared. He grabbed the map and opened it.

"Hey! That's my map!"

The two ponies and the two changelings looked.

A brown stallion was galloping, an angry look on his face. He adjusted his visor, still keeping his face of extreme irritation. "That's my map! You better give it back to me or else!"

Quibble glared at the changelings. "You didn't even ask for permission?!"

"I was told to find somepony with a map!" Novate Spruce replied anxiously.

"Should we run?!" Upbeat yelled, glancing at the raging stallion.

And many of the ponies were now looking on, beholding the run and the pace of the displeased pony and seeing the slight predicament of the ponies and the changelings looking at him with fearful eyes.

"I said, 'Should we run?!'" Upbeat repeated.

Out of the donut shop were two changelings and one pony satisfied with their paper bags of donuts. Also out of the donut shop was Quibble Pants who was holding no paper bags of donuts at all.

Upbeat smelled loudly. "There's that donut aroma!" He held the paper bag close to his face. "I'm prepared to taste these donuts first-hoof! My friends said that it's delicious!"

"I'm excited for it, too!" Plaid Stripes said excitedly, already opening her bag of donuts as they continued walking on the sidewalk. "I'm going to tell my daddy all about this trip!" She looked at Quibble. Her smile went away. "Why are you sad?"

"Like you're actually going to listen to me at this point."

"At least we got out of that mess with the pony and his map," she said. "It's nice that he still gave us directions to the donut place even though we stole the map in the first place." She frowned. "I admit...it wasn't really the best idea."

"Finally, some realization."

And the smell of sweet donuts went to him.

A donut was in front of him.

"Wanna donut?" Plaid asked, smiling.

"Alright!"

And Quibble took the donut and took a bite.

He looked at his regal surroundings as they walked. The ponies were still uptight, still fancy. Even on the sidewalks, how they talked had a fancy tone to it. Even their laughs were restrained, restricted to a quiet yet royal-sounding laugh. Fragrant smells from the colognes and the perfumes of the ponies passing by sometimes mixed together in the air, forming a new, exotic aroma before it vanished. The taste of the donut was a toasting combo of the slightly sweet dough and of the sugary sweet frosting that had a chocolate flavor that was just succulent. He smiled a little. He chewed.

The two changelings, meanwhile, were not just smiling. They were shouting and screaming, affirming and reaffirming to all the ponies that could hear them of their love for donuts.

And Quibble covered his ears. "When will you guys stop?!"

"Anything else on the list?" Novate Spruce asked.

"What list?" Upbeat replied as they stood on the train station's platform.

"We're going to be seeing the ponies off!"

"We can still hear you," Quibble said right beside them. "And, Plaid insisted that we're not leaving Canterlot until after sunset. As much as I want to leave right now, I might as well not upset her and her dad."

"Yes!" Plaid Stripes hugged him.

"Stop with the hugging, alright?"

Plaid Stripes removed her grip on him.

Novate Spruce looked at the small crowd of ponies gathered on the other side of the platform. "Then, why are we at the train station in the first place?"

"I just like looking at the passengers entering and exiting the train!" Upbeat replied.

Quibble groaned again. "Really?! For how long are we going to be staying here watching passengers go?!"

"About a minute," Upbeat said. He smiled at him.

"We went through how many streets to get here? And only for one minute?!"

Plaid nudged him. "What about we try watching the passengers? Maybe it's fun after all!"

"What could be fun in watching passengers entering and exiting trains? I'd rather get myself in a marathon of reading Daring Do books."

"I don't think that's fun," Plaid said.

"What about we read Daring Do books while watching passengers?!" Novate Spruce yelled. "It's going to be more fun than the two of them on their own!" He pulled out a Daring Do book from his bag. "I even brought one of the books!"

Quibble opend his eyes wide, looking at the book. "Are you a fan of the Daring Do books?!"

"I bought the whole collection!"

Quibble stood there, eyes wide open and his mouth wide open. He blinked.

"You must be really surprised."

"Surprised?" Quibble repeated. "I'm not just surprised! Well, maybe I shouldn't be that surprised since I've already met a changeling who was interested in the books—however, I am surprised that you have the whole and entire collection of the Daring Do books!"

"I hope that this doesn't fall into one of those fan coversations where I don't understand a single thing," Plaid commented, moving a step away from the pony and the changeling.

"It's not possible that you have the entire collection in your bags, right?" Quibble said, his excitement and his enthusiasm growing as evidenced by the tone of his voice.

"Of course, not!" Novate Spruce said. "That's why I try to fit more of the books in Upbeat's bags!"

Upbeat waved a hoof.

"This is amazing!" Quibble said, a wide and optimstic smile on his face. "We can stay on this train platform all day long talking about Daring Do!" He looked at Plaid and walked up to her. "Plaid Stripes, I didn't expect you to bring me into this! Those changelings are still annoying, but...I think I can tolerate that."

"Uh...thanks?" Plaid Stripes looked to her left and to her right and then back at Quibble, a bit anxious and worried. She smiled. "It warms my heart that you're happy because of me. It's something to tell my daddy about."

She hugged him.

"We're still not hugging each other that often," Quibble said. Then, he walked towards the changelings. "So, what are we going to be talking about?" He laughed a laugh of joy. "Let's start with the obvious questions: What's your favorite Daring Do book? I mean, your favorite Daring Do book from the original trilogy?"

Upbeat and Novate Spruce hovered around the elegant shelves. Arrays of arranged spoons shone under the bright light. The spoons were of different varieties: Some were simple, others were ornate to the point of extreme, intricate complexity. Some were the simple silver color, others were of bronze or of gold. The numerous designs of spoons were unique, differing from each other in their own ways. Price tags were set in front of each individual spoon, ranging from the simple spoon that costed one bit to the epitome of quality, exuding brilliance and artistic achievement that could only be the work of the finest ponies involved and dedicated in the field, in the art of spoon-making—the spoon that was the pinnacle of dining, the spoon that was the idealization of all that embodied the function and the appeal of a spoon, garnished not too much but with the right and correct and precise amount to the point that it was truly a spoon that would amaze, a spoon that would never disappoint, a spoon that was not luxurious, that was not just a luxury—it was, indeed, the realization, the accomplishment of what a spoon should be if a pony were to have the resources and the time. And the spoon costed a thousand bits.

And Plaid Stripes beheld it, looking at it. She gasped.

"Maybe I should've known," Upbeat said. "Her earrings are spoons." He smiled. "It would be a nice gift to her!"

Another Dimension

The room was circular and its walls were filled with tall bookshelves. On the ground floor, there was a statue of a pony's head. Surrounding this statue was a circular table that contained several computers and chairs. The floor was sea green. A few white tables with chairs were there. Near the glass double door entrance was an area with a counter and a few computers and a few chairs behind the counter.

There was also another floor connected to the ground floor by a wooden staircase. This floor contained even more bookshelves not just lining up the wall but also occupying more of the floor.

The ceiling was a grand glass dome with a yellow top at the center. From the ceiling hung a blue banner with a yellow star.

And an amber human sat on one of the tables, studiously reading a book; she had red and yellow hair. Among the other clothes she was wearing, she wore a leather jacket.

Beside the book, there was a hardcover book. On it was a symbol. It was a stylized red and yellow sun.

And the book beeped.

She looked at the book with the symbol. "Twilight?" she said.

She looked around.

There was no one else there.

She looked back at the book.

"'Dear Sunset Shimmer,'" she read and whispered, "'I know that it hasn't been that long since the last time I wrote to you, but I'm sorry to not tell you this any sooner. I've been so caught up in everything that has happening recently that I just couldn't find much time, and when I did, I thought I could delay writing to you to a more comfortable time. But, here I am now. You do remember the changelings, right?'"

Sunset looked up from the book. "Changelings. The evil shape-shifting creatures I've read about back in Equestria? Oh, no." She looked back at the book. "Did they invade? Did they attack?! Am I being called to help in the fight?!"

She looked around again.

There was no one else there in the library. A few human students were walking by in the hallway, but none of them took a glance at Sunset.

She looked back at the book.

"'It's a rather surprising turn of event,'" she continued on, "'but the changelings did attack and they were soundly defeated by my student Starlight Glimmer and her friends.'"

She sighed. Then, the smile on her face went away. "Wait, what if they still caused a lot of damage to Equestria? Maybe she might still call me to help in the effort!" Her voice was trembing. Then, she sighed again. "Well, it would be nice to pay a visit to Equestria again." She looked back at the book.

"'The surprise was that the changelings are now very different! They're now good! They're no longer love-hungry creatures ready and willing to steal love from others. They are honest and kind changelings, now! King Thorax is their leader and he's as eager to learn about the magic of friendship just like the rest of them!"

And Sunset Shimmer looked up from the book and had a face of shock and wonder with a little bit of surprise.

She looked around again.

The students that were walking in the hallway did not pay attention to the only student inside the library.

"This is big news," she said. "One of the most vile creatures ever...are now...good? And they're excited about friendship?"

She looked back at the book.

"'That's why I haven't been able to write back to you for a few weeks. There were lots of events, lots of things to do to help the Changeling Kingdom get back on its hooves. There were friendship talks, there were friendship lessons, we let changelings go here and there all around Equestria, and there were royal talks and discussions with Thorax and Princess Celestia and Princess Luna and Princess Cadance and other leaders about the situation. Then again, it was a historical event.

"'Now, I'm not sure if you've told your friends about the changelings, especially the other me. It's still awkward having to talk about a you that's somewhat like you but you know is not really you.'" Sunset chuckled. "'Anyway, it's completely OK to tell them about it. I think you should just go and tell the great news about the changelings' reformation! Just don't shout the news or else even more people will know about the magical connection between your world and ours and we wouldn't want any villainous villain from either world to misuse this connection for evil. You know, just tell the news secretly.'" Sunset chuckled again, smiling.

"'Also, do you and your friends still have those magical powers from your time at Camp Everfree? Because I would love to see Equestrian magic operating in your otherwise magicless world! I wonder how differently it operates there compared to how it operates here! Who could imagine the data that we could get from observing this magic in your world first-hoof?

"'So, other than the big news, I and my friends are doing quite fine! A few days ago, we returned from a friendship retreat and we even sang a song! Even though singing a song probably made us lose a world record. Anyway, I hope you're doing well there, learning and enjoying friendship and spreading friendship. Don't be hesitant to write to me.

"'Your friend, Twilight Sparkle. The one from Equestria, not the one from your world.'"

Sunset chuckled again.

And the glass doors opened.

A lavender human wearing among other clothes a pair of glasses and a backpack—she opened the glass doors and entered the library. She looked at Sunset. "Hi, Sunset! How's it going?"

"Actually," she began, "you arrived just in time, Twilight!"

"Just in time for what?" Twilight Sparkle asked. "I was going to borrow some books for the test next week."

"And, here's the portal!" Twilight Sparkle announced, gesturing a hoof towards the contraption.

At the center there was a mirror. Around the mirror was a set of machines and devices all placed together to form a coherent, usable thing.

The two changelings, accompanied by Trixie, looked and beheld the contraption.

"It used to be in Canterlot, then it was moved to the Crystal Empire when Princess Cadance became the Princess, and then it was moved over here. Naturally, it activates every thirty moons, but with this contraption and this book—" She held up a book which had a symbol of the sun on the cover "—we can activate the mirror anytime and we can freely travel from here to there!"

The changelings were smiling even wider.

"However, this is not something to take for granted," Twilight said. "If we send too many to their world, the balance between our worlds would be upset and I don't know what would happen if we upbest the balance. It's better to play it safe."

One of the changelings raised a hoof. "What's it like there? We know you've been there, before."

"Yes," Trixie added, "tell them about the Great and Powerful Trixie that resides there!"

Twilight frowned at her. She faced the changelings. "Well, my trips there were...strange, to say the least. I had to walk on two legs, I had hands instead of hooves, and it was a very different world. However, it turns out that our worlds aren't that different—most of the ponies here have counterparts over there, and they mostly have the same personalities. Not completely the same, but very similar."

"Are there changelings in that world?" The other changeling asked excitedly. "What do they look like?"

"Sunset hasn't told me about changelings actually being there," she replied. "She said that she would know if she detected one. But, I guess you would look like a...creature that stands on two legs and has hands instead of hooves." She smiled awkwardly. "It's my best guess."

"Can we go there?!" the first changeling yelled. "I would like to go to another dimension!"

"Trixie," Twilight said, looking at Trixie with a concerned face, "you didn't tell them that they'd get a free trip, did you?"

Trixie laughed nervously, anxiously gesturing with a hoof. "Well, I wanted to hype up the changelings throughout the tour of the castle, and I probably made the mirror sound like a door."

Twilight arched an eyebrow. "'Made the mirror sound like a door'?"

"Because, you know that you can open and close doors and go through them whenver you want."

Twilight groaned and placed a hoof on her head. She faced the changelings, grumbling a little. "The mirror is not something you could use everyday and whenver you want to. It's a portal to another world! You can't just destroy it and replace it with another one. If you misuse this mirror, the consequences would be terrible! Now, I don't know what the consequences are, but I know that they are consequences that you do not want to cause!"

The two changelings looked at each other.

"In short, it's bad!"

The two changelings quickly nodded.

"Don't worry about them, Twilight," Trixie said. She placed a hoof on one of them. "I can take care of these nice, precious changelings for you!"

"Why do I have a feeling it's not going to turn out the way I expect it to be?" Twilight snided.

"They can be occupied with all these wonderful books instead!" Trixie gestured towards the many books within the long shelves of the library, even turning. "I'm sure there's a book that they'll be interested in. Or, I can just amaze them with my wondrous works of magic!"

"As long as you don't destroy any of the books, especially this one—" She held up the book with the symbol of the sun again "—then, everything is going to be alright. Please don't make me worried, Trixie."

Trixie giggled. She pulled one of the changelings closer to her. "Oh, they're going to be alright!"

The school had a slightly regal appearance to it—yellow statues of ponies' heads were at the corners of the red, slanted roof. The school was painted red with many neatly arranged glass windows on its walls. Beside it was a small group of trees and other green foiliage. On the other side, there was the sports area, containing at least a soccer field. Behind the school was an asphalted parking lot and a basketball court.

In front of the school were asphalt paths towards the glass doors entrance. At the center of the front yard, a statue of a horse. Around the statue were a group of chatting, laughing friends, among them Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle.

The rest of the girls there also smiled.

"So, Princess Twilight wrote to me about what just happened in Equestria lately," Sunset said, holding the book.

The girls leaned in. "What is it?" Twilight asked.

"Is this a guessing game?!" The pink girl with the pink curly hair yelled excitedly. "What kind of guessing game is this? Does it have points? Do the points matter? Is it the normal guessing game or do we have to also guess about the instructions and the rules of the game as well?"

"Ah' don't think it's gonna be that complicated, Pinkie," the light orange girl with a brown hat responded. She looked at Sunset. "Like Twilight said, what's the news?"

"Remember the changelings?"

The six girls in front of her did not respond with a word. They just looked at her.

Then, Twilight raised a hand. "You mean the creatures from Equestria that feed on love? The ones you told me about weeks ago?"

Sunset nodded. "Yes!" She looked at the rest of the girls, still looking at her in confusion. "Well, I think you've heard the most basic and simple explanation about the changelings."

"Isn't that scary?" the light orange girl said. "Ah' wouldn't wanna go near any of them!"

"Well, how's that related to the news?" the blue girl with rainbow-colored hair said. "Just tell us already!"

"Alright, Rainbow!" Sunset opened the book. "Princess Twilight said that the changelings are now not evil!"

And the rest of the girls besides Twilight looked at Sunset in confusion again. Twilight looked at her in amazement. "Looks like my pony Princess counterpart is good at diplomacy!"

"Uh, I don't think it had anything to do with diplomacy," Sunset said.

"Let me guess," the girl with the purple hair said. "They fired beams of magical friendship at the changelings."

"Twilight never told me the details, Rarity" Sunset replied.

"Judging by how we defeated evil creatures with magic, they might as well be using the same methods."

"Maybe friendly diplomacy?" the bright yellow girl with pink hair asked. "Magical friendly diplomacy?"

Rarity looked at her. "Fluttershy, I don't think that in that magical land of Equestria, diplomacy is practiced with mere words. Of couse, there will be magic!"

"Uh, why aren't you as excited as I am about the changelings being good now?" Sunset asked the rest of the girls.

"Think about it, Sunset," Rainbow Dash replied. "We've never enocuntered a single changeling at all. Maybe you have, but that's probably when you were still a student of Princess Celestia. It's not like we're concerned about any magical creatures like manticores because they're over there in Equestria, not here."

The light orange girl faced Sunset. "Rainbow does have a point." She faced Twilight. "Why are ya' excited if yer've never been to that Equestria in the first place?"

"Because of how magical and wonderful Equestria is?" Twilight replied. "Applejack, if you encountered the pony version of yourself and observed her going about a day of farm's work and using the power of Earth pony magic, wouldn't you be at least impressed?"

Applejack nodded. "Why, Ah would like to see how mah' pony self works on the farm."

"And, when you realize that the magic of Equestria isn't really that mysterious, that it can actually be classified, organized, and systemized, don't you think that Equestria's magic is going to be at least intersting?" She faced Rarity. "Would you?"

"I would certainly think so," Rarity replied. "What's your point, Twilight? Is it your desire to study and explore things getting to you again?"

"Yeah!" She smiled. "And, when you see changelings as actual, living creatures that live in another dimension that we can go to just by using a portal that's just right here—" She placed a hand on the base of the statue "—then wouldn't you at least want to know about them more? Wouldn't you then be surprised when something drastic like a whole species becoming good happens?"

And the five girls looked at each other and looked at Twilight and slowly nodded their heads.

"Then, that's why I'm excited!" Twilight said. "How would Equestria react to this? How would the kingdoms around Equestria react to this? How would individual ponies react to this? How would our pony selves react to this? It's great to try to answer these questions."

"Unless you actually go there," Rainbow responded.

"Wait, what will changelings look like if they go here?" Rarity asked.

"Sunset told me that they're like ponies except they're more bug-like, so I guess they'll just look like us."

And the side of the statue glowed brightly.

And two humans flew out of the statue and onto the ground.

The girls moved out of the way, some of them screaming.

"Did Twilight's spell work?" one of them asked. "Like, can we walk like the creatures here?" Then, he stood up.

The other stood up as well.

They looked at each other.

And they looked at the girls.

"Uh, have you been here before?" Sunset asked. "You don't seem...surprised."

"Uh, no...?" the first one replied. Then, he looked around, looking at the school, and the streets, and the many houses and lots that looked peaceful. "What is this place?"

"Didn't you listen to Twilight?" the other said. "We're in that other dimension!" He looked at Twilight. "Twilight?"

"Uh, Sunset?" Twilight said, facing Sunset. "Do you know these ponies, or...people?"

"They don't look familiar," Sunset said.

Rainbow took made fists with her hands. "What if they're trying to infiltrate this world?"

"Now, just wait, Rainbow!" Applejack said, pushing Rainbow aside. "They might be friendly."

Fluttershy walked up to them.

The two's looked surprised, amazed, yet bothered, glancing at the different people.

"What's your names?" Fluttershy said. "I'm Fluttershy. Probably not the Fluttershy you know about back in Equestria. I'm a different Fluttershy." She smiled.

"Uh, my name's Novate Spruce and this is my friend, Upbeat." He gestured a hand towards his friend who waved at the girls.

Sunset looked around.

There was not that many students walking around.

"And, we're the first changelings ever to step forth into another dimension!" Novate Spruce declared.

"What?!" the girls yelled together.

"And with clothes that shiny yet so gaudy?!" Rarity yelled.

Responses

The mirror stopped glowing.

Twilight looked at the two changelings. On her face was an expression of anger, disappointment, and wrath. Her eyes were arched, narrowed meanly.

The two changelings shuddered, sometimes taking a step back. What went out of their mouths weren't coherent words but were fearful mumblings.

And Trixie was also scared.

"Didn't I tell you that the mirror is not a door you can use anytime you want?!" Twilight shouted at them.

And that shout echoed through the library room.

"We can explain," Upbeat said. "This has a really good explanation! I'm sure you'll be OK and not angry when you hear our explanation!"

"What good explanation could you possibly have?!" Twilight yelled. "Didn't you know that you could've upset the balance of our worlds and caused whatever magical problem that would've taken lots of time and effort to solve?!"

"What about you solve it with friendship?" Novate Spruce suggested politely, smiling even.

"Friendship also keeps problems from actually happening!" Twilight countered, raising her voice. She paced the room. She faced Trixie. "And, you, Trixie! I thought you said that you would take care of the changelings and that they wouldn't go into any trouble!"

"Well, that doesn't mean restricting them from doing anything fun and exciting," Trixie replied, "so I gave them an activity."

"You mean you allowed them to enter another dimension?! You call that just fun and exciting?! You could've just consulted me about what books would cater to the changelings!"

"You went away before I could ask that."

Twilight groaned. "Your fun and exciting activity could've caused some kind of trouble that would endanger at least one of our worlds, if not both!"

"I only gave them five minutes," Trixie said.

"Five minutes is too much time for anypony who just wants to visit! What if they bring in magic from here? How would the inhabitants of the other dimension react if they knew about magic?!"

"That it's awesome?" Trixie replied. "Besides, if I went there and showcased my magic, the magic of the Great and Powerful Trixie, then they would be very entertained." She smiled. "And you could thank me."

"This isn't trivial, Trixie!"

And Twilight breathed quickly, eyeing the changelings and Trixie who were staring at her, watching her.

Then, she breathed slowly, inhaling and exhaling while closing her eyes.

She extended a hoof.

She opend her eyes.

"OK, I'm calm now." She faced Trixie. "Do you have anything to say?"

Trixie looked at her nervously. "Uh, probably not." She smiled nervously.

Twilight faced the changelings. "OK, I need to know how much you know and saw about the other dimension and how much they saw you. Do you understand?"

The two changelings nodded, still shuddering.

"Now, did you walk far?" Twilight asked. "I'm sure you could walk there since I've placed a spell there to facilitate anypony new to the other dimension, although I don't know how long the spell will last."

"We just, uh, stayed around the front area of the big building," Novate Spruce said, fearful of Twilight.

"Did you see many students? Like, more than ten?"

"I think it was less than ten," Upbeat answered.

"So, did you introduce yourselves to Sunset Shimmer and her friends? If so, how long did you talk and chat with them?"

"They were strange friends," Novate Spruce said. "They look...just like you and your friends!"

"I know about that already! What I want to know is how long you talked and chatted with them!"

"Some of them were excited about us," Upbeat replied.

Twilight groaned. "Look, the fate of Equestria and that other dimension could be on the line, could be in danger because of you! I'm trying to make sure that it's not in danger! Just please help me out!"

The two changelings nodded.

"Good!" She looked around. "Looks, like nopony else has entered yet."

And the double doors opened and Rainbow Dash flew in, holding a book. "Hey, Twilight! I was just going to borrow—oh." She looked at the changelings and Trixie. "Hi?" She faced Twilight. "What are they doing here?" She looked at the mirror. "And why is the magical mirror here, too? Did Sunset Shimmer write to you? Is there any trouble in that other dimension?" She smiled. "Can I go there?!"

"No!" Twilight shouted. "This is a serious situation!"

"Twilight," Rainbow said, "you don't have to solve whatever problem is there alone or just with Spike!"

"That's not the problem, Rainbow!"

Then, Twilight closed her eyes. Then, she opened her eyes. She looked at Rainbow. "Rainbow, the problem is that these two changelings just went to the other dimension without me overseeing the process. Whatever trouble and whatever problems they could have caused, I'm trying my best to make sure that the consequences will be minimized."

Rainbow smiled and flew towards the changelings. "You went there before I did? You have to tell me all about it!"

"Rainbow!"

She looked at Twilight, smiled nervously, and stepped back.

Twilight sighed. "If you're going to leave now, please don't tell anypony yet about this. I don't want everypony to be clamoring for a five minute trip to another dimension!"

Rainbow saluted. "You have my word!" She looked at the changelings. "But, I still want to know your stories!" Then, she flew towards one of the tables and opened her book.

Twilight faced the changelings. "OK, back to the question. How long did you talk and chat with Sunset Shimmer and our friends? How many words? Did they ask you personal questions? Did they ask you what it's like to live in Equestria?"

The two changelings looked at each other nervously. Then, they looked at Twilight.

Upbeat raised his hoof. "They asked almost everything about us."

Twilight groaned, placing a hoof on her face, frowning. "That means more information to keep a secret from others," Twilight said, worry and exasparation in her voice. "Could they tell it to the other students of Canterlot High School? Probably. However, I'm just not sure if they could manage to keep a secret this world-changing! Most of the inhabitants of that dimension have never seen magic at all! What's going to happen if they see magic?!"

"They're going to astounded?" Novate Spruce replied.

"That's not the point!" Twilight said. "Anyway, just remember that going to that other dimension is not to be treated lightly! It's something serious!"

The two changelings nodded.

"And, have you ever thought about the consequences for you and the rest of your fellow changelings?"

The two changelings leaned closer.

"I know that you're all good and nice and you don't want to steal love from us, and my friends do believe that you're a changed group of creatures now. But, what about the rest of the ponies?"

"I trust them," Trixie said.

"I know you trust them, Trixie," Twilight said. She faced the changelings. "However, not all ponies are going to believe that the evil creatures that attacked Equestria twice are now good. I know it's been several months, but trust is not that easy to build. And, if ponies all over Equestria get word of this, that a few changelings almost brought Equestria and another dimension to a catacylsmic catastrophe or some other kind of problem, then that would hurt their trust. They would just think that it's a covert, subtle operation to undermine Equestria."

Upbeat teared up. Novate Spruce kept looking at Twilight with normal eyes.

"And, I know you admire Thorax as your king, but what would this do to Thorax's image among ponies and the rest of Equestria and the rest of the kingdoms around Equestria? They might think that it's a secret operation ordered by Thorax himself, trying to smile in front of the cameras while secretly thinking of ways to destroy Equestria. You don't believe that, do you?"

The two changelings kept looking at Twilight.

"I think that's a 'No.'"

Upbeat raised his hoof. "Does this mean we can go now?"

"Really, Upbeat?" Twilight said. "Do you really think I'm done lecturing with you?"

Upbeat lowered his hoof, frowning.

Trixie rolled her eyes. "Should've expected that statement from Twilight."

Twilight glared at her.

"I didn't say anything about you!" Trixie yelled. Then, she trotted a few steps away.

Twilight went back to looking at the changelings. "Well, Trixie may have a point."

The changelings smiled, shuddering less.

"However," Twilight went on, "just don't go around causing a big trouble. We're completely OK with you, but a lot of other ponies...may not exactly be OK with it."

"Does that mean you're done?" Rainbow asked from her seat.

Twilight giggled. "I thought you couldn't get bored of reading the same Daring Do book a dozen times."

"Daring Do?" Novate Spruce brought up a Daring Do book from his bag.

Rainbow beamed and flew straight to him, her face glowing with delight and excitement. "You like Daring Do, too?!"

Twilight sighed and smiled. "At least that ended well." She looked at Trixie who was sitting at another table.

As the two changelings flew about Ponyville, they saw the ponies there as they socialized, bonded with each other, spending time together while enjoying it all. A few ponies looked away from the changelings, but most took a glance at them. Some even smiled wider at the sight of them.

"Did you think that other dimension was awesome?!" Upbeat yelled at his friend. "Not only that, we've had a Twilight Sparkle in that other world, even though Twilight Sparkle didn't actually go through the portal." He gasped. "Does this mean that the Twilight Sparkle we saw in that dimension wasn't the same Twilight Sparkle we have here? And she's just a student? And, we also saw the Elements of Harmony in that dimension. Does this mean that the Elements of Harmony there aren't the same Elements of Harmony here? What if we they meet each other?!"

Novate Spruce sighed.

"What's the matter, Novate?" Upbeat asked, concerned. "Is there something going on?"

"I know that the world we went to was cool and different and awesome."

"Well, yes, it was!"

"It's just, I don't want to bring a bad word upon us changelings."

They turned at an intersection.

"What about it?" Upbeat said. "We're the first ever changelings to step into another dimension, another world?! Thorax is going to give us a medal for that one!"

"I don't think he's going to give us a medal, Upbeat. I think he's probably going to punish us. Probably going to give us extra work time."

"Lighten up!" Upbeat nudged him. "Thorax is a laidback, cool guy! Remember when he decided to buy a bucket of popcorn all for himself yesterday?"

"How does that show that he's laidback and cool?"

"Uh, because popcorn is something cool to eat?"

Novate Spruce smiled. "OK, then how is eating popcorn laidback? Is it relaxing? I don't see what's laidback or relaxing about eating popcorn." He glared at his friend. "Unless you're trying to get me off the topic."

"I'm just trying to say that Thorax is going to be alright about us and our travels." Upbeat stretched his front hooves. "It's not that much to worry about, Novate."

"Well, it is if Thorax does punish us. He is our king, after all."

"A laidback and cool king," Upbeat retorted.

They turned again at another intersection.

"Not so laidback and cool that he's not going to punish a single changeling," Novate answered. "Don't you remember what Twilight said? Did you pay any anttention at all?"

"Of course, I did!"

"Then, why are you telling me that it's going to be alright when word is going to get out about it? That we just went into another dimension without the proper instructions, without Twilight to watch us and to help us. Trixie was the one who activated the magical mirror, but I don't think you should blame her."

"She was a nice pony."

"A nice pony that could still cause trouble," Novate Spruce said. On his face was a frown. "Although, at least we did make her happy."

And a pony scooted by with a scooter.

She looked up.

She stopped the scooter.

"Changelings!" Scootaloo said. "I didn't know you were visiting!"

The two changelings stopped and landed themselves on the ground. Upbeat looked around quickly, seeing the nice, homely buildings around them.

"Uh, you're...Scootaloo, right?" Novate asked. "The Scootaloo of the Cutie Mark Crusaders?"

"The one and only!" Scootaloo smiled and took off her helmet. "What are you doing here? It's not like there's an event or anything going in Ponyville."

Upbeat looked at the filly. "Did you say that you're Scootaloo?!"

She looked frustrated. "Uh, yeah. Didn't I say my name already?"

"What about we tell you about our wonderful adventure to—"

Novate Spruce blocked his friend's mouth with a hoof. "Our adventure to Princess Twilight Sparkle's Castle of Friendship?" He smiled nervously at the filly.

"Don't you just fly your way to the entrance?" Scootaloo asked.

Novate placed a hoof on his chin. "Uh, yeah! That's the entire story of our wonderful adventure to Princess Twilight Sparkle's Castle of Friendship!"

"That's not what I was going to tell Scootaloo about!" Upbeat yelled.

"Huh?" Scootaloo said.

"Of course we were going to tell her that!" Novate said. "We don't want to tell her a boring story about how we went to some other place."

"Isn't just flying to the entrance of a castle not that interesting?" Scootaloo asked. "Anyway, what are you doing here?"

Novate extended a hoof, blocking Upbeat. He faced Scootaloo. "We visited Ponyville to go to the Castle of Friendship. We had a tour there, and our guide was Princess Twilight Sparkle. It was a great tour. We went to the room with the Cutie Map where the Elements of Harmony go and meet and discuss friendship problems before they sometimes go and tackle a friendship problem outside of Ponyville, we went to the balcony where we saw the wonderful scenery, we went to Twilight's room where we saw her pictures with her friends, and we went to the library where we saw her many books and we even saw Trixie there."

"And did you know what Trixie helped us accomplish?!" Upbeat shouted.

Scootaloo smiled. "What? Did you help with her magic tricks?!"

Novate glared at Upbeat.

Upbeat shyed away from him.

Novate looked at Scootaloo. "Yeah! We helped with her magic tricks. I think the better way to phrase that is that she helped us accomplish some magic tricks of our own. Without unicorn magic, of course, since we're not unicorns, but simple magic tricks. I don't think it's that great to talk about, anyway."

"Trixie didn't teach us that!" Upbeat complained.

"Huh?" Scootaloo said. "OK, something weird is going on here! One of you must be lying!" She pointed a hoof at them.

And, two fillies were running up towards Scootaloo.

Upbeat looked at them and smiled. "Novate! It's the rest of the Cutie Mark Crusaders!"

Novate gulped. "And, sisters of two of the Elements of Harmony, sisters of two close friends to Princess Twilight Sparkle. This isn't looking good."

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle stopped right beside Scootaloo. The two waved happily at the changelings. "Hi, there!" Apple Bloom said. "How ya' doin'?"

Novate looked at Upbeat. "Don't you understand the situation, Upbeat?" he whispered. "If Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle know that we just travelled to another dimension, they're probably going to tell their sisters, and they're probably going to go to Twilight to talk about it!"

"Relax, Novate!" Upbeat whispered back. "I'm sure they can keep a secret."

"For how long until they accidentally or, worse, intentionally reveal the secret?!"

"Uh, what are you talking about?" Sweetie Belle asked.

The two changelings looked at the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

"I'm not sure what they're talking about," Scootaloo said, irritated. "It doesn't sound normal to me." She looked at the changelings. "Now, are you trying to hide something?"

Novate gulped again. He looked at Upbeat.

Upbeat was smiling.

"Don't tell it!" Novate whispered.

Crystal Visit

The train left the station.

Among the many passengers that were on the crystal platform of the crystal train station, there was one changeling. He carried one bag. He considered and eyed the station he was on.

It was made out of crystal. The architecture was quite polygonal, befitting of several of the crystals that extended out of the otherwise straight walls. There were small groups of crystals protruding out of some of the walls. Even on the ground, just across the railway, there was another group of blue crystals.

The building shone, reflecting the light of the sun with great intensity though not too great to annoy the ponies and the changeling who looked at the train station.

The windows helped give the train station a more glamourous appeal. Inside the train station, there were more ponies, several of them carrying bags and baggages. Others were pulling their bags on wheels. Many of them were talking calmly and happily with each other.

Blue Alarm walked towards the blue door and opened it.

The inside was cooler. The floor was checkered. There were more small groups of crystals adorning the walls. A crowd of ponies was here, making a noise of chats and chatterings. Not a lot of ponies looked at the changeling. Among those who did, several of them gasped. Some of them even pointed, catching the attention of only a few more ponies.

He walked on.

He stopped in front of a framed picture. He looked at it.

The painting depicted the Crystal Empire under a beautiful sky. The Crystal Castle stood proudly, shining and gleaming. The surroundings of the Empire were also beautiful—the mountains, the grass, the trees.

He walked on.

He walked to a stall with a few types of bread and sweets. Displayed prominently were rows of cinnamon buns. Along with the cinnamon buns, another food item that was also displayed prominently was a bag of cinnamon nuts beside other such bags.

A mare was behind the stall. "How may I...help you?" Her smile was not there anymore. It was replaced with a face of uneasiness. "M-my name is Amber Waves. I-I'm just filling in for Sugar Glass today. Or, this hour." She looked at some place, not looking at the changeling customer in front of her. "Where is he?" she whispered, anxiety in her voice, shuddering a little.

"I just wanted to try a sample of Crystal Empire food, that's all," Blue Alarm said.

She recoiled from him. "Just a sample, changeling?" she asked with a surprised tone. "I...didn't expect a changeling like you to be ordering any sweets here." She smiled awkwardly.

"That means I must be the first changeling to order some sweets here." Blue Alarm looked around. "I don't see any other changelings who might be here."

Amber Waves kept her awkward smile, eyeing the doors in the room nervously. "Where is he?" she whispered. "Where is he?!"

"You mean Sugar Glass?" Blue Alarm asked, placing a hoof on the stall.

"No, it's alright!" she said, raising her voice.

Blue Alarm looked at her with a concerned face. "What's wrong?" He smiled. "I think you're scared because I'm a changeling and you're right in front of one, aren't you?"

"Y-yes! There! I said it!" She pointed a hoof at the changeling. "Now, where is Sugar Glass?"

He took a step back. "I don't know. I didn't do anything bad to him. I'm sure he's going to be here soon." He gave her a suspicious look. "Does this mean you don't like your substitute job?"

"Oh, look!" She pointed a hoof.

Blue Alarm looked.

A yellow stallion with orange and yellow mane was walking to the stall. His uniform consisted of a hat and an apron, both sporting white and red stripes.

"How's your hour attending the stall, Amber Waves?" he asked. He glanced at the changeling. "You're even attracting changelings to the snacks and desserts of the Crystal Empire! Thorax would be proud to know about it, especially after I gave him his first ever cinnamon bun."

Amber Waves, meanwhile, eyed the changeling with exaggerated mistrust, her eyes wide open in doubt.

"I guess the pressure is getting on to you," Sugar Glass said. He walked towards her. "It requires not just training to get used to it. Experience is needed, too. But, I hope you've enjoyed your time here behind the stall."

"Thank you," she said. Then, she left the stall, giving Blue Alarm a mean glare before she went out of the train station.

Sugar Glass was now behind the stall.

"Hello! My name's Sugar Glass and I'm more than happy and ready to help! So, what would your order be, uh...what's your name?"

"Blue Alarm."

"Alright, Blue Alarm." He kept on smiling. "What would you like? We have our famous cinnamon buns, loved by none other than your king!"

"That's good to know that Thorax likes it," Blue Alarm said. "I'll have a few cinnamon buns myself."

"OK, then!" And Sugar Glass carefully pulled a few cinnamon buns from their places under the counter.

Blue Alarm placed a few bits on the stall. "Is that enough? I'd like to have my change."

"I'll handle it!"

Sugar Glass placed a few cinnamon buns into a paper bag and grabbed some of the bits. He opened the cash register and dropped the bits into the register. Then, he closed the register.

He gave the paper bag to Blue Alarm. "Here you, go! Your change of two bits is on the stall. Have a great day at the Crystal Empire!"

Blue Alarm walked on the shiny roads. They were like glass, showing the reflections of the ponies and the changeling on it. There was no trash, no garbage littering around—the roads were, indeed, clean.

The grass, too was clean. Its green hue was vibrant, almost shining like the roads it was close by to. Trimmed to perfection, the grass exhibited further the presentability of the Crystal Empire.

The buildings themselves were unique—instead of the normal, homely homes of Ponyville and instead of the straight, functional buildings of Manehattan, the architecture of the Crysal Empire's buildings was different. There was no such thing as a completely straight wall—the walls were polygonal, multi-faceted, just like the occasional group of crsytals that appeared here and there. This led to the buildings having all kinds of irregular shapes. The buildings shone under the sunlight.

At one of the intersections, at the middle of it, stood a large crystal statue of a baby dragon bravely holding a crystal heart.

Blue Alarm walked up to it.

There was a nameplate on the base.

"'Spike the Brave and Glorious, Saver of the Crystal Empire Multiple Times, Grand Hero of the Crystal Empire.'" Blue Alarm looked at the statue itself. "That's a long name to give to a dragon."

A few ponies were walking up to the statue. For a few seconds, they stood and marvelled at the statue, one of them gasping while the rest of them just beheld the statue in all its shiny wonder and in all its implied history which conveyed one baby dragon's heroism. Then, they walked off.

Blue Alarm looked at them. "Looks like the name was necessary. I wonder how much crystal was needed to create a statue this big." He walked around it, looking at it.

Then, he continued walking.

He saw more the crystal buildings, showing examples of more unusual architecture and design. The windows had no consistent shape—even on one building, there were square windows, circular windows, and diamond windows.

There were also the streetlights. They were a bright blue from the crystals they were made of. They were jagged, but the streetlights continued to beautify the place.

There was not just grass on the front yards of the buildings. There were also bushes and shrubs, some of them having flowers. A few buildings had containers for flowers and bushes in front of the windows.

And, there were the ponies of the Crystal Empire. There were reflections of some of them as they walked on the streets. They walked, talked, laughed, ate, drank. They were enjoying the time they had together.

Some of them took a break from the joy they were having, looking at the changeling walking on the street. Some of those who looked at him shunned him, looking away from him with a face that displayed not just sadness but disgust. Others looked at him happily, smiling, even excited.

Blue Alarm kept walking on, observing the ponies' reactions to him.

The Crystal Castle was tall.

It stood on four legs, four pillars of crystals, curving and converging. The castle proper was of great height, shining under the sunlight. The crystals of the castle only made the castle more fascinating in its bright blue color.

Blue Alarm walked under the Crystal Castle. On one of the pillars, there was a staircase towards a double door.

"Halt!"

He looked around.

There were guards wearing their armor and their helmets, walking to the changeling.

"State your business here, changeling," one of them said.

"I was just here to visit," Blue Alarm replied.

"Wait, we didn't ask him his name," another guard said. "Should we ask him now? We already asked him why he's visitng."

"Of course, we should ask him his name even if we're late!" yet another guard replied. "Now, you ask him!"

"No, you ask him!"

"OK!" The guard placed a smile on his face and faced the changeling. "What's your name, changeling?"

"Blue Alarm. Also, if you need to ask any more questions about me, I live in the Changeling Kingdom which is ruled under King Thorax who, as you may know, is a nice changeling and proved himself to be quite friendly here in the Crystal Empire. Also, I respect your admiration for Spike the Brave and Glorious. It is a challenging undertaking to make a statue of his Spike's likeness, unless I underestimated your statue-making abilities. Anyways, I am here to just visit, perhaps see Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor along with their foal, Flurry Heart. I mean no ill intention, and I would like it if I were to gain your camaraderie since you seem to be a nice group of guards that I have encountered. You're not that serious compared to the royal guards back in Canterlot, and I appreciate your laidback style of guarding. I've met some of the Crystal ponies here and they are very welcoming. The Crystal Empire is a good place to live in, considering the joy that I see on their faces and in their actions." He took in a breath of air. "Does that mean you don't have to ask me any more questions?"

"Uh, yes."

The other guards nodded, smiling at him.

"That means I can go in now, right?"

"No," the guard said.

"Why?"

"Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor are off to see an art exhibit in Ponyville. From what Prince Shining Armor told us before they left, they are seeking to bring Flurry Heart to be under the care of Princess Twilight Sparkle while they're gone. Prince Shining Armor told us to also not let in any visitors to the Crystal Castle for the safety of the Crystal Empire."

"I see," Blue Alarm said. "That means we can still hang out sometime, right?"

"Uh, is this a trick to bring us out of our places so you can sneak in and visit the Crystal Castle anyway?"

He smiled. "No."

The guards laughed as they walked with Blue Alarm, then they talked to each other and with him, some of them holding a few cinnamon buns and a few other foods such as apples and slices of apple pies.

"Anything by the Apple family is good," one of the guards said. He held out an apple on his hoof, halting his walk. "I don't know how they manage to turn an apple into something even better than it is on its own, but it's good nonetheless, right, guys?"

And the rest of his friends nodded. Blue Alarm nodded, too.

Their walk continued on, passing by more crystal houses and crystal shops and crystal restaurants and crystal streetlights.

The path grew quieter, became less crowded with ponies and more crowded with buildings. At the end, a building stood out from its neighboring houses. Enshrined in crystals of orange, green, and blue was a house with its roof looking like an orange pointy hat. Like all the other buildings, it shone. Its double doors had a royal design, as if this house was the house of a pony of immense expectations lived here.

Most of the guards hushed their voices as they approached the house.

"This is where the Crystaller lives?" Blue Alarm asked. "I think it's very standard. I heard that he's proficient in magic, so it does fit the wizard style well." He turned towards another guard. "Does he need much protection from you or can he handle himself when things go wrong?"

"He doesn't need much guarding," the guard replied. "Sunburst doesn't need to be protected while he goes out to shop or to eat somewhere, although we are willing to offer him the service of security, since, you know, he's the Crystaller and that's really important for us Crystal ponies. We don't want him to fall into the wrong hooves."

"I'm sure he has a resilient heart," Blue Alarm said.

"W-who's that?" a voice yelled out from inside the house.

"Don't worry!" the guard bellowed. "A visitor wants to see you!"

A stallion's face appeared on one of the windows, scared. "Dangerous? That's a lot of guards for a visitor!"

"We're only three, not including the changeling!"

"Oh, yes, sorry." He laughed a little, nervously.

The double doors opened.

Sunburst, in his blue wizard-like outfit and donning his circular glasses, smiled awkwardly as he stood. "Uh, hello!"

The inside of the house was filled and cluttered with stacks and towers of books, some of them precarious, appearing to tip over, fall and create a mess any moment. Even then, there was disorganization, as books also were littered and scattered around on the floor and on the shelves.

The walls weren't straight. They were curved, jagged, unrefined, yet they bore the quality of the crystals they were made up of, giving the building an elegant, regal feel to it.

Past the anteroom, there was a small wooden table with two small chairs. Around the table and the chairs were more stacks and towers of books both old and new, both short and tall, of various colors.

Not only were there books, there were also glass containers, containing liquids of different colors. Some of them even glowed.

The changeling walked into the room, following Sunburst.

The double doors glowed yellow and closed.

"I understand that the guards want to stay outside," Sunburst said, taking a seat on one of the chairs. He sighed a sigh of relief. "So, you're just visiting? First changeling visitor I've ever had. Other than Thorax, of course." He smiled. "It was quite fun to let him read a few books about magic, knowing that he won't be able to perform any of it, you know, not having any unicorn magic." He smile went away, replaced with a blank expression, then replaced with a troubled face. "I didn't mean to berate you or anything, really! I, uh, I was just telling you that it was an interesting event to watch. At least he was fascinated and amazed by the things that magic can do." He smiled again, awkwardly. "Uh, you can take a book. And read it."

Blue Alarm looked at one of the books. He walked over to it and grabbed it from the top of one of the stacks.

"R-right. I won't laugh at you or anything."

He walked to the table and sat on the chair.

Blue Alarm looked at the cover of the book.

"'Magical Compendium, volumes 1-36.'"

"Very big for something that's supposed to be a summary, r-right?" He faked a cough. "Anyway, what brings you here? It's not like that I have anything that's of interest to many ponies and changelings." He glanced at the many books around them. "Maybe you're here for the book collection! Or, maybe you're here to ask me about...something. I could teach you about advanced magic, but...you know..." He smiled awkwardly again.

"Don't worry, I understand."

Blue Alarm opened the book.

In front of him were double columns of words of short and long paragraphs, dotted and adorned with diagrams, charts, tables, and symbols.

Sunburst eyed the changeling reading the book.

Blue Alarm looked up from the book. "It was a nice read."

Sunburst frowned. "That was a short session of reading."

Blue Alarm closed the book.

"So, does this mean we get to talk about what you want to talk about?" Sunburst asked, still smiling awkwardly. He adjusted his glasses. "It's not everyday one travels to the Crystal Empire and visits me."

Blue Alarm was silent.

Sunburst was silent, too, waiting for an answer.

The changeling pushed the book aside.

"Careful that it doesn't fall," Sunburst cautioned, a little concern in his voice.

The pony looked back at the changeling.

"I wanted to just observe," Blue Alarm said. "Just watching the ponies and experiencing whatever activities and services they have for me. I have pleasure in observing and seeing lives intersect." He smiled. "I also want to have a good time here, even make some friends."

"Because of the magic of friendship," Sunburst interrupted, smiling, also. "Reminds me of Starlight Glimmer. I remember seeing her at the ceremony, both for the Pink Heart of Courage and for her graduation."

"Good friends, right?" Blue Alarm said.

He nodded. Then, he placed a hoof on the table, looking up towards the ceiling anxiously. "Somewhat good friends. She lives in Ponyville, I live in the Crystal Empire, so it's hard to schedule meetups and just plain, nice friendship times."

Then, Sunburst looked at the changeling.

The changeling was looking around at the books.

"That also reminds me," Sunburst said.

Blue Alarm looked back at him.

"Shining Armor's old friend back in the royal guard, Spearhead. He told me about it before he and Princess Cadance went off today. You weren't planning to visit the Crystal Castle, were you?"

"I tried."

Sunburst smiled again. "It's closed until they return."

"Behold!" the brown stallion with blue mane and red scarf announced to the hatted changeling in front of him. He gesutred towards the painting. "This is my latest, my newest painting—'A Thousand Nights in a Hallway'!"

And the painting was just black. There were no other colors.

"You know what," Nastic said, stomping a hoof on the ground, "you call that art?"

The stallion took a step back, a little scared.

"That is not a painting, nor could you call it art! I don't see anything!"

"That's the point," the stallion answered. "That's why I called it 'A Thousand Nights in a Hallway,' because that's what you'd see in one night in a hallway—not much."

"And, what? You just splattered black paint all over the canvas until it's all covered in black paint!"

"It achieves the artistic goal that I had set in mind."

Nastic groaned and placed a hoof on his face.

Spending Time

"I'm glad you could come visit," Fluttershy said, walking on the ground with her taller, younger brother. Around them were stalls and small shops filled with the noise of ponies buying and selling, of products being exchanged and bits being thrown and dropped and transferred. "It's going to make my grocery time much easier and much lovelier having you around."

"Don't worry about me, sis'!" Zephyr replied with a flamboyant accent. "I just wanted to rest from the troubles of my new job as a barber!" He sighed dramtically, stopping his walk to place a hoof above his forehead. "Oh, that is just how the corporate ladder works!"

Fluttershy glared at him. "You know what you were getting into when you wanted to be involved in mane therapy, right?"

"Of course, Fluttershy!" He laughed. "I know that, to get to the top, you must first start at the bottom! And, I'm telling you, it's not that I'm getting bored of snipping and cutting ponies' manes all the time! It's just, the schedule is too hectic!"

"Which is why you went here to spend some time with me, right?"

"Exactly!"

Fluttershy sighed. "Well, as long as nopony else bothers us with their problems or anything else, then this day will go just fine."

Then, a changeling flew in and hovered right in front of them.

"Fluttershy!"

Zephyr looked at his sister. "You were saying?" He smiled.

Fluttershy looked shocked.

"And, why are you here, Humerus?" Fluttershy asked, carrying two bags.

"Because you're one of my favorite ponies in all of Equestria!" Humerus yelled. "Because, you've saved Equestria a few times already, and you're also one of the Elements of Harmony, and the ponies in Ponyville are really having a nice time with you since they're living with all the Elements of Harmony and one of those Elements of Harmony is a Princess and isn't that awesome?" He took in a deep breath. "And, to spend a day with just one of the Elements is fantastic!"

"Yeah." Zephyr picked up one of Fluttershy's bags and placed it on his torso. He chuckled nervously. "My sister's pretty awesome, right? I'm very proud of her!"

"Come on, Zephyr," Fluttershy responded, giving her brother a concerned look. "I don't brag about my achievements in public, or at all, really."

"Saving Equestria a few times is worthy to be proud about, sis'!"

"Yeah!" Humerus shouted. "And, what if I meet the rest of your friends again today, right here in Ponyville where they live?!"

"Don't get too excited, Humerus," Fluttershy said. "I and Zephyr are just here to buy some groceries for the animals and for ourselves, and then we spend some time together as brother and sister." She gave Zephyr a pat. "Zephyr's relaxing from some of his hard work as a barber."

"What about you give me a manecut?!" Humerus yelled.

Zephyr had a look of surprise on his face. Fluttershy, also, had such a face.

"Uh, changelings don't have manes," Zephyr bluntly said.

Humerus frowned.

"Uh, don't you be worried, Humerus," Fluttershy said, getting closer to him. "There are other ways you can spend time with me and Zephyr." She looked at Zephyr and gave him a stern look. "Did you invite him?"

"Uh, actually, uh, probably, maybe, seriously or not, depends?" Zephyr scratched his head while smiling at her nervously. He quickly glanced at Humerus and then back at Fluttershy.

She was still looking at Zephyr with that stern look.

"Come on, sis'! It's not that bad! I wanted to add a little variety to our time together!"

"And you managed to invite the most annoying changeling in Equestria?"

"Annoying?!" Zephyr shouted. "He's just very excited with you and your great friends! I mean, if we just let other ponies be with him, then he won't be that excited and annoying! Just look!"

He pointed a hoof at the changeling.

Fluttershy looked.

Pinkie Pie was passing by a stall.

Humerus flew up to her. He was smiling, even a little jittery. "Pinkie Pie!"

"Oh, hi!" Pinkie Pie greeted. "You're really excited, aren't you?" She gasped. "What about we buy ingredients together?"

"That would be great!"

And then, Humerus rushed off with her to a carrot stall.

Zephyr looked back at Fluttershy, still smiling at her with that nervous smile.

"I'm not convinced," Fluttershy replied.

"And, a few more apples?" Fluttershy asked.

"Sure, Fluttershy!" Applejack said.

Then, the Earth pony threw a few apples into Fluttershy's sack.

"Are ya' sure ya' can handle that?" Applejack asked, looking uneasy at the sack Fluttershy was carrying.

"We can carry this together," Fluttershy replied, looking at Zephyr.

Zephyr, meanwhile, was looking at the many apple trees around them.

"Wow, Applejack!" Zephyr let out. "I can't believe you have this many apple trees!"

"Heh-heh-heh-heh." Applejack smiled. "That's quite thoughtful for ya' to say."

Then, there was a buzzing sound in the distance.

It was getting closer and louder.

The three ponies looked.

There was Humerus, flying past the apple trees.

Fluttershy sighed. "Not again."

And then, Humerus landed right in front of the ponies. He was smiling.

"Alright!" Humerus yelled. "Three Elements of Harmony met in one day in Ponyville! How many times can I do this? How many days?" He looked at Applejack.

She was giving him a tough look.

"Hi, Applejack!" Humerus greeted. "How's the Apple family?"

"Uh, they're doing well. However, don't ya' think that this is getting way out o' hoof?"

Zephyr chuckled and walked to Humerus's side. "Hey! You gotta be a little kind on him! He's, uh, a really good changeling who just needs a little more—what do you call that?—attention!"

"Ah don't know what yer' tryin' to pull off, but 'attention' is probably not the right word," Applejack said, maintaining that tough look on her face. "We have lives to live, ya' know, and we can't have anypony or any changelin' just treatin' us like that all the time!"

"He's just excited to be with his heroines, girls!" Zephyr went on.

Applejack stomped a hoof onto the dirt road. "If that's the case, then he'd better wait! Ah'm mighty tired of this!" She looked at Fluttershy and her tough look went away. "Sorry, Fluttershy, but I had to do something."

"It's alright," Fluttershy said. "I understand."

As they stood outside of Fluttershy's cottage, Zephyr Breeze and Humerus looked at each other then they looked at the cottage.

Sounds of the many animals inside can be heard. There were also the sounds of the many animals outside. There were the birds, there were the ducks, there were the rabbits, there were the mice, and there were more.

It was a peaceful place with the grass, the trees, and the plants giving a sense of calmness to it all.

Zephyr looked at Humerus. "So, now that Fluttershy basically banished us until she's done with giving her animals food, where do you want to go?"

"What about we go to the Castle of Friendship?" Humerus asked. "I'm sure I'm going to meet Princess Twilight Sparkle, and maybe Rarity is going to be there, too, and—"

"No!" Zephyr placed a hoof on his face. "If Fluttershy finds out that I allowed you to go there and go crazy over those ponies, we're both going to be in serious trouble!"

"But, I want to be with them!" Humerus yelled, whining.

"Uh, what about we meet other ponies, Humerus?" Zephyr placed on a smile. "You cannot just spend time with the same ponies all the time! You've gotta learn that there are other ponies out there!"

"What about Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie?" Humerus complained.

"I just told you that you have to spend time with other ponies!"

"But, the Elements of Harmony saved Equestria a few times and they're cool!"

Zephyr groaned. He looked back, scratching his head. He looked at Humerus. "OK, what about you spend time with other ponies who have done something else other than saving Equestria a few times?"

"That's not cool!" Humerus said.

"That's what you think. What I think is that what other ponies are doing is cool, also."

In front of the schoolhouse, swarms of colts and fillies ran towards the changeling, flooding him with shouts and laughters. Not all the colts and the fillies were there—some were sitting at their places inside the schoolhouse.

Cheerilee stepped out of the building. "Well, students, please settle down!"

Yet, the ponies went around the changeling, asking him questions, giving him their names, all while they smiled.

"Students? Class?"

Humerus looked at the teacher. "Hi, Cheerilee!" he said, waving a hoof at him while he was being partially engulfed with ponies. "Just paying a visit to cheer up the little ponies!"

Cheerilee made a smile. "Uh, OK." She looked at the rest of her class in front of her, moving about and looking at Humerus. "Class!"

And the ponies looked at her.

"You can spend time with Humerus after class, so you better get back here!"

"Aww!" the ponies collectively blurted out as they solemnly walked back inside the schoolhouse.

Cheerilee looked at Humerus. Then, she looked at a tip-toeing stallion.

"Zephyr!"

He turned around. "Uh, what?"

"Did you orchestrate this?!"

Zephyr shrugged. "This what?"

"Interrupting the class with a changeling?!" She pointed at Humerus.

Humerus waved at Zephyr. "Am I doing a good job?"

"I'm just doing what I need to do in order to keep him out of unnecessary trouble, Cheerilee!" Zephyr said hesitantly, grabbing Humerus. He looked at Humerus. "I think this idea is not as good as we thought," he whispered.

"You're only causing more trouble!" Then, Cheerilee went inside and closed the door.

Zephyr looked down and sighed. He faced Humerus. "There must be a way to get you to spend time with other ponies without causing a disruption. It's not like I have many friends in Ponyville—they're all back at Cloudsdale! And, I cannot just let you go to Cloudsdale—Fluttershy's going to notice!"

"That's why I wanted to be with the Elements of Harmony!" Humerus insisted. "I don't want any more convoluted plans if it doesn't mean I'm going to be good friends with them!"

"What about you start with making other friends?" He smiled. "Friends other than your changeling friends, I mean."

"What about Rainbow Dash?" Humerus asked.

Zephyr seemed surprised. Then, a smile appeared on his face. "Actually, that's a good idea!"

Inside the Sugarcube Corner, Rainbow Dash was in front of a wooden table, reading the book in front of her. Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie rushed here and there, serving customers delicious sweets like cakes, pies, and cakepies. The sweet aroma of sugary foods was in the air, floating and drifting around, sweetening the mood of the bakery.

Rainbow turned the page.

She read on.

And a plate slammed onto the table.

"Woah!"

Rainbow looked up from the book.

A blue pegasus stallion and a green changeling was there.

"What are you doing here, Zephyr?" She looked at the changeling. "And, sorry." She held out a hoof. "I'm busy reading the latest Daring Do book!"

"And, how many times did you read the latest Daring Do book?!" Humerus shouted. He pushed the plate. "And, here's some cake we bought for you!"

"Wait, you bought me cake?" Rainbow pointed at Zephyr, glaring at him. "Alright, I want to know what's your plan here! I'm not in love with you, if that's what you're thinking!"

"Aww, Rainbow," Zephyr said. "Your attempts at making yourself think that way isn't going to deter you from me. Besides, I brought a book with me!" And, he pulled out a Daring Do book. "See?!"

Rainbow placed a hoof on her face. "Is that what it's all about, Zephyr? I don't even understand why you brought a changeling here!"

"He has his own reasons."

Rainbow looked at Humerus.

"I get to meet four of my favorite ponies today! What's left is Rarity and Twillight Sparkle!"

Rainbow sighed.

The door opened.

"Welcome!" Davenport greeted happily, wearing his blue and white suit. "Would you like a—uh, that's a changeling, right?"

"Yes, uh, what's your name?" Zephyr asked anxiously. He glanced at the changeling who was hovering freely above the ground. Zephyr closed the door. He looked at Davenport. "Uh, again, what's your name?" He raised an eyebrow. "Uh, hello?"

Davenport looked at Zephyr. "Oh, sorry. What were you asking me about again?"

"Davenport!" Humerus shouted, pointing a friendly hoof at him. "Of course, I remember you!"

"Oh, right." He stared angrily at Humerus. Then, he smiled. "I'll try my best to help both of you find the best quill and the best sofa just for you!" He gestured towards the rest of the room. "Behold my colleciton of quills and sofas!"

Lined up on the walls were sofas of all shapes, sizes, and colors. Some were normal—they were quite ordinary. Others were more radical, more extreme, like a sofa with wheels on it. "This sofa is guaranteed to keep you moving!" Davenport proclaimed, walking towards it while keeping his focus on Zephyr and Humerus. "With high-tech wheels that will certainly never scratch your floors, you can even take it out of the house and use the sofa outside!" He chuckled nervously, looking particularly at the changeling.

Humerus was smiling. "I want that one!"

"Come on, Humerus," Zephyr said, "I don't want to spend all of my money on sofas!"

"Don't worry!" Davenport ran to them. "That sofa is, for today only, at the low price of seventy bits! Yes, with the wheels, too!"

"Of course, with the wheels," Zephyr responded, giving Davenport a mean look.

Davenport frowned.

"Well, if you just wanted a normal sofa, then I've got that in supply, too!" Davenport ran towards a sofa that was more normal. It was orange and looked comfortable. "This sofa is also at a low price today, and only today, at the low price of forty bits!"

Humerus's smile grew wider as he looked and beheld the sofa. "Our sofas are usually made out of rocks and other rough materials! I wanna buy that one!" He looked at Zephyr. "I didn't know you could have sofas that are OK to sit on!"

"Uh, I thought you went here before," Zephyr asked, confused.

Davenport glanced at the shelves containing quills. "Uh, don't forget to leave with one of the best quills ever made and produced in all of Equestria!" He grabbed a quill from the shelf and placed it on his hoof. He stretched out his hoof towards the customers in front of him. "Now, this quill is not just any ordinary quill! This isn't a quill you'd fine in normal quill shops! No, this quill is of the finest quality, of the greatest value! You can write with it for hours, and you would never feel tired because of its unique grip!"

"Zephyr!" Humerus yelled, grabbing Zephyr by one of his wings.

Zephyr looked irritated.

"Zephyr! What about we buy one of those fancy quills?!"

"I did not bring you here to buy a sofa or a quill!"

Davenport looked at Zephyr, wearing a worried face. "Wait, so, why are you in my shop again?" His face lightened up. "Maybe you want a bed?"

"No!"

Davenport backed away. "Uh, OK. I'll just stay by the orange sofa and I'll, uh, let you handle this problem yourself." He walked towards the orange sofa.

Humerus looked afraid, shuddering, slowly backing away from the irritated pegasus.

"The reason why I brought you here was to make a friend with somepony other than Fluttershy and her closest friends!"

Then, he sighed.

"OK, Humerus?"

The door opened.

"So, Twilight," Rarity said as the two ponies walked in, "we need to add more royal furniture to your castle! We cannot just let you run away from fashion! You are a Princess, after all."

"As long as we don't spend too much time trying to think about the details of each sofa and bed," Twilight replied with a hint of annoyance.

And the two ponies stopped.

The two other ponies and the changeling looked at them.

Humerus gasped. "Rarity and Princess Twilight Sparkle!" He screamed. "You're here!"

Twilight smiled. "Rarity and I are just looking for some sofas and beds for the castle. It's not much to worry about."

"It is!" Humerus yelled.

"Oh, no!" Zephyr blurted out.

"Oh, hi, Zephyr!" Rarity greeted, waving a hoof. "I didn't know you were friends with Humerus! How has he been?"

"Please, Twilight!" Humerus yelled. "What about we spend the day together?! Also with Zephyr?!"

"What?!" Zephyr yelled.

"Stop your yelling!" Davenport yelled. "I have other customers here, you know!"

"You're yelling, too!" Twilight yelled.

"OK, you're all yelling!" Rarity yelled.

Zephyr looked at Humerus. "Alright, Humerus! That's enough!"

"What?!" Humerus yelled.

"Stop yelling!" Davenport yelled. "Just, keep yourselves quiet, OK?!"

And the rest of the ponies there and the changeling looked at him.

Davenport placed on a smile. "Uh, sorry for that."

"No!" Humerus shouted. "No! I was so close to spending time with just one of them! Why are you this terrible and bad?!"

"Because you're just annoying everypony in town," Zephyr answered as he dragged Humerus on the dirt path, past the bird houses, on the bridge, past the rabbit holes, and right up to the door. "I have tried my best to stay calm and to stay, well, calm with you, but you've proven to be too much even for me! And I was the one who invited you here to Ponyville in the first place. It was supposed to be a good time!"

Fluttershy opened the door. "What's with all the yelling?" She looked at Humerus. She looked at her brother who was holding Humerus. "What happened, Zephyr?"

"Uh, you're the Element of Kindness, right, sis'?" Zephyr smiled nervously.

"Zephyr!"

"So, uh, is it OK if you, uh, be kind to him and teach him a lesson about, uh, not bothering and interrupting ponies' lives like what Applejack said earlier at Sweet Apple Acres?" He maintained his nervous smile. He fixed his bunned hair, still smiling nervously.

Short Trip

Two changelings were walking past the buildings. There weren't that many. There were only two. A line of railroad was there, extending out for miles and miles into the distance, even being seen at the faraway hills.

"So, we're supposed to be waiting for the train," Nastic said. "I don't see how you could destroy such an experience."

Long Winded opened the newspaper and gave it to his friend. "Here, Nastic!"

"OK." Nastic took the newspaper. "There should be some topics of interest here today. I've heard of a couple of happenings here and there around Equestria. Hopefully, the writers are going to keep me occupied and busy until the train arrives." He groaned. "Unless, of course, the train arrives late."

"That means more time for you to read the articles that interest you!" Long Winded replied happily, walking closer towards Nastic and his newspaper. "So, wouldn't you want the train to be late?"

"I admire punctuality."

Long Winded turned around. He saw a few ponies walking on the platform. Some of them were carrying bags.

"What if it's not always good to admire punctuality?" Long Winded asked.

"Because it shows that you are a good changeling," Nastic answered, facing his friend. "You arrive on time, you respect the changelings or the ponies that invite you. If you don't arrive on time, you don't respect the changelings or the ponies that invite you."

"What about ponies?"

"It's like that, too."

Long Winded looked at the railroad again.

"That's a good idea, Long Winded," Nastic said while reading the newspaper. "You can go check and see if the train is arriving. Then, you tell me if it's there."

Long Winded nodded.

"Wait, I have a better idea. You go and fly and then you can give me an advance warning about the train."

Long Winded then flew upwards.

Nastic looked up.

His friend was in the sky.

"OK, that's good." He returned to his newspaper.

Long Winded then returned to the platform, landing on it.

Nastic lowered his newspaper and gave his friend an annoyed look. "You were supposed to stay where you were!"

"It was not so interesting up there."

"What's not interesting about the hills and the trees and the ponies walking by?! Just keep track of the train."

"Alright, then!" Long Winded smiled and went back to the sky.

Nastic returned to his newspaper again, raising it and reading it.

Inside the train, several ponies filled the cushioned seats. Nastic and Long Winded sat beside each other as the train went on. Past the windows on the side, the scenery changed fast. The grass and the trees went by the passengers quickly.

Nastic was still reading the newspaper.

Long Winded looked out the window.

He eyed the trees. He looked at the clouds. There were some pegasi moving the clouds here and there, giving the sky a dynamic feel.

Long Winded turned around, looking at his friend reading the newspaper. "Did you order any food for the train ride?"

"It's not a long trip," Nastic replied without looking away from the newspaper. "It's going to take about ten or twenty minutes. We can eat at the next stop, if you want."

"What's at the next stop?" Long Winded asked.

"Apples, apparently," Nastic said. "Next stop is Appleloosa, that frontier town with the hot climate and the many apple trees. Maybe you could find yourself a bargain there."

Long Winded beamed. "Appleloosa has a few members of the Apple family!"

"OK, that's nice."

"I'm talking about the Apple family, Nastic!"

"Yes, I know about the Apple family," Nastic replied, finally looking at Long Winded." The Apple family is a big family, so, of course, you're going to meet some Apple family members soon. We already met Applejack, so there's going to be a few more Apple family members to meet somewhere else."

Long Winded smiled even wider.

"Don't get very excited, Long Winded. It's supposed to be a relaxing ride, a quiet trip. I don't want any of that to be ruined by you going around and making problems here and there with an attitude that's hard for me to control."

"Alright!" Long Winded smiled at him and looked back out the window.

Appleloosa was a town that fit the descrption of being a frontier town. There were no paved roads, only the dry dirt roads that had little grass on them. The buildings were small and mostly made out of wood. There were cacti in the distance, and even the cacti were not that many. Near the town was a huge orchard of apple trees, all growing well.

The train stopped at the train station.

The ponies and the two changelings went outside the train.

There was the sweltering heat. There was a hot gust of wind blowing by.

On the train station's platform, a yellow stallionn with a brown hat and brown clothes was standing there. Beside him was a cart of apples.

"Howdy, an' welcome to Appleloosa, everypony!" the stallion hollered in that loud and cheerful, even proud, voice. "Feel free to enjoy yourselves here!"

The two changelings looked at each other.

"Definitely an Apple family member," Long Winded whispered to Nastic, smiling.

"Changelins'?!" the stallion yelled. "Why, Ah' haven't seen changelins' gettin' here ever since, well, ever!"

"Let's see," Nastic said, looking at the stallion. "You're going to give us a tour of Appleloosa, right? That's my guess."

The stallion looked surprised. "How did ya' know that?!"

Nastic smirked.

The stallion ran to them. "Anyway, let me get started with the introductions! Mah' name's Braeburn, and Ah' live here in Appleloosa!"

"Do you have to shout the name of your town every time?!" Nastic asked.

"It's just pride in where ya' live, partner!"

Long Winded beamed again. "You're related to Applejack, aren't you, Braeburn?"

"Yes, I am!" Braeburn answered happily. "She's my cousin!"

"I'm so proud to have a cousin of Applejack right here!" Long Winded shouted.

A few ponies on the platform looked at the changeling.

Braeburn chuckled. "Ya' must be real' excited. Don't ya worry! Ah'm going to make this tour of Appleloosa so great an' impressive, yer' goin' to remember it to tell Applejack herself!"

"Why do I feel that it's not going to be just a simple tour around Appleloosa?" Nastic said.

"It is going to be just a simple tour around Appleloosa! We have many and plently of locations to cover! Already, ya' can see the clock tower, and the horse-drawn carriages and the horse-drawn horse-drawn carriages! And, if ya' look over there, ya' can see the orchards of apple trees! So, let's start!"

And Braeburn walked off the platform and the two changelings followed him.

Thorax's Friends

Wooden wagons and carriages filled the simple streets of Ponyville, being pulled by both changelings and pegasi both on the ground and at the sky. The buzzes of the changelings' wings resounded through the town.

Many ponies watched the changelings and the pegasi pull the wagons and the carriages. Among them were Princess Twilight Sparkle and King Thorax, standing beside each other as they saw the wonderul sight of wagons and carriages speeding by.

"Another successful delivery?" Twilight asked, turning her head towards Thorax and smiling.

"It sure is!" Thorax replied gladly, turning his head towards Twilight. He looked back at the wagons and the carriages. He pointed a hoof. "And, I think that's the last one!"

Twilight looked at where Thorax was pointing at.

There was one last wagon at the end of the group. It was now out of Ponyville.

"Now, that's going to give us changelings more than a few things to be excited about," Thorax said. "We have a surplus of food and a lot of reference books to keep every changeling updated about, well, everything! We always knew about your inventions and devices and other things that you ponies made, but it's going to be the first time that we're actually going to use them properly."

Twilight chuckled. "I'm sure those changelings are going to read those books very well! I'm already excited!"

"Giving them inspiration?" Thorax asked. "Inspiration to do some cool things on their own?"

"Why not?" Twilight gestured with a hoof, smiling. "I'm anticipating the things that the Changeling Kingdom can produce with those reference books. Maybe we can have pony and changeling researchers and scientists working together to solve the yet unsolved problems in our fields. And, what about dragon and yak and griffon researchers and scientists, too?! What discoveries are we going to discover together?"

Thorax chuckled. "That's a grand goal that you have there, Twilight."

Twilight sighed. "Of course, the most important thing of all to study and to live by is friendship."

Thorax looked around.

Ponies were already walking, most of them talking to each other.

"I have seen the many times that friendship has made my life and the lives of my friends much better," Twilight went on. "I'm sure that, with changelings travelling throughout Equestria for their own reasons, the magic of friendship will spread farther."

Twilight and Thorax walked.

"So, how's the day?" Twilight asked, looking at Thorax.

"Oh, it's alright," he replied. "It's a normal day, I guess. My friends want me to have a party back at the Changeling Kingdom, so I have that to look forward to."

"Did you invite Pinkie Pie to help?" Twilight asked. "Or, maybe you invited Cheese Sandwich? Or, maybe you invited both of them?"

"No," Thorax replied politely, slowly shaking a hoof. "I just want a simple changeling party. I don't want to say that I don't like your parties—the parties are really great—but, there are some changelings who cannot take all the excitement and the activity of a Pinkie Pie party. They're probably going to get tired very quickly."

"I understand, Thorax," she answered.

As they walked, they saw less buildings and more trees. Then, there were white fences.

"The schoolhouse!" Thorax said, looking at the building.

Twilight chuckled. "When you showed the rest of the changelings that they can indeed, uh, change, you brought a massive change to the history community of teachers in Equestria. Books had to be updated quickly. I think there was this school way over in Manehattan where they were teaching the students about the Changeling Kingdom right before the whole changelings, uh, changing thing happened. Right after, when the teacher got the news about it, he proceeded to teach the topic again—this time, with the new information that the changelings are good now."

"Well, even I didn't expect that."

"Neither did I. But, look at the changelings now. They're quite happy."

Thorax smiled. "Yeah."

And, they walked past the schoolhouse.

"Do you have problems being a Princess?" Thorax asked.

Twilight looked surprised.

"I'm not telling you that you're bad at being a Princess, Twilight," Thorax said, smiling nervously as they walked. "It's just that—did you have lots of pressure at times, being one of the Princesses of Equestria?"

"That's how it is, Thorax," Twilight replied. "There are busy days where I have to attend meetings, attend talks, sometimes go to Canterlot for a Princess meeting. However, it's not really that demanding. I still have time with my friends. We can still go to parties, we can still spend picnics together, we can still go to some far away place in Equestria like Manehattan once in a while."

"What about being one of the Elements of Harmony?" Thorax asked. "I'm sure you've gotten annoyed it recently because of some...very enthusiastic changelings."

"Oh." Twilight rolled her eyes while smiling. "Hopefully, my friends taught them a lesson about not interrupting ponies' lives just because they saved Equestria a few times."

"They're really excited about that," Thorax said, "that you saved Equestria a few times."

"I can understand that," Twilight replied, "but, we're not always saving Equestria. Most of the time, we're just being friends, not having to worry about the next threat to Equestria."

And, as they walked, there were more buildings. More ponies were walking by, talking to each other happily.

"Are you asking those questions because you're nervous, Thorax?" Twilight asked.

Thorax looked at her.

They kept on walking.

Thorax was still looking at her, now having a nervous face. "Well, maybe."

"What are you nervous about?" she asked. "Is it about ruling the Changeling Kingdom?"

"Yeah," Thorax said. "I know I've learned more than a few rules about being a ruler and I already have some experience of it worth a few months, but, to be honest with you, Twilight, I still feel like that you could do a better job at this than I could."

Twilight stopped walking.

Thorax stopped walking, too.

Twilight looked at him. "Look, Thorax. I don't think I could do a better job at ruling the Changeling Kingdom than you could. You're a changeling, I'm not. Only you can understand their needs and their wants. I could, but I would have to ask a lot of changelings and I would have to keep seeing them as they interact with each other. The Changeling Kingdom needs a changeling ruler."

Thorax looked at the sky. He faced Twilight. "OK, Twilight. I understand that." He sighed. "I hope I won't get so nervous."

"Remember that you have that changeling party later today?" Twilight asked, walking a little closer to him and smiling. "That's going to cheer you up."

Thorax smiled and nodded. "Thanks for reminding me about that, Twilight."

"So, what's next on the list?"

"Uh, that's the last one," Thorax replied. "After that, there's the changeling party but that's hours away."

"You could always spend some time with us here in Ponyville," Twilight said. "I'm sure Starlight and Trixie and Discord would be happy to know that you have some free time."

Thorax nodded. "Yeah, that would be cool!"

Starlight Glimmer, Trixie, Discord, and Thorax were all seated around the same table in Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie Pie was behind the counter, eyeing Discord. "You still have to pay me for having to prepare all the cakes, Discord!"

"Oh, please!" Discord replied casually. "I was not thinking right at the time." He snapped with his claw and a few cakes appeared in front of Pinkie Pie. "Maybe that will make you happy."

Pinkie gasped. Then, she munched on the cakes in front of her.

"Discord, are you sure that's a good thing?" Starlight asked. "Distracting Pinkie like that might keep her from doing her job."

"She's very fast and very good at her job, Starlight," Discord reasoned. "I don't think a few cakes is going to cause some serious damage to her work."

The four creatures looked at Pinkie.

She was still eating the cakes in front of her.

"She might get some energy out of those sugary cakes, anyway." Discord turned towards Trixie. "So, Trixie, how's the magic lessons going with Starlight as your mentor?"

"I can already do basic transfiguration spells!" Trixie declared.

Then, her horn glowed and out of her horn shot a beam of magic. The beam went straight to her plate and it turned into a teacup.

Starlight looked at Trixie, having a bored look on her face.

"Come on, Trixie!" Discord complained. "I know that you could already do that." He turned towards Starlight. "Don't you tell me that you've been slacking your magic skills lately!"

"She's still very excited about turning things into teacups," she answered.

Trixie had a giddy grin on her face.

The rest of the creatures around the table looked at her.

Trixie stopped grinning. "Oh, uh, sorry!"

"I think that's amazing!" Thorax said.

"That is amazing to you?" Discord said, looking at Thorax. "I can do that while I multi-task!"

"Of course it's easy for you, Discord," Thorax said. "You're some powerful being, after all!"

Discord placed a shoulder on the table. "Well, I'll grant you that, Thorax."

Starlight looked at Thorax. "So, Thorax. How's the Changeling Kingdom? I heard that the changelings there are having a party with you later today!"

"How did you know that, Starlight?" Thorax asked, looking astonished.

"Some changelings went by and told us about it," Trixie said. "Also, they were trying to bring us and Discord to the party. It would be nice to attend, but the Great and Powerful Trixie sometimes needs to not party. My magic skills need some improving."

"Did they annoy you and irritate you?" Thorax asked, having a serious look on his face.

"Well, honestly, no," Starlight said. "They were all excited about us being the heroines and the hero of the Changeling Kingdom."

Thorax smiled nervously. "Uh, sorry about that!"

"Don't worry, Thorax," Starlight said. "I think that's OK. Those changelings were genuinely happy about their kingdom becoming good and them becoming, well, good." She smiled nervously. She looked at Pinkie. "OK, she's still eating the cakes you gave her, Discord! What if a customer arrives here and doesn't get anything at all because Pinkie is eating your cakes?"

"OK, Starlight," Discord replied tiredly, "if you want to keep the order around here, then you could have it." He snapped with his claw and the cakes disappeared.

Pinkie was surprised. She wiped her face and hopped back to her place behind the counter. "They were delicious, Discord!" she shouted at him.

"Don't mention it, Pinkie," Discord replied, smiling at her. He looked back at Starlight. "See? Problem solved. Just a little bit of chaos here and there for your daily dose of randomness." He grinned sneakily.

"Thorax," Trixie said, "what about we go to the train station and take a trip to Dodge Junction later?"

"Uh, why, Trixie?" Thorax asked, confused. "Is there something going on in Dodge Junction?"

"Oh, there's just a few buildings in that little town. However, it's the pony settlement closest to the Changeling Kingdom. Consider it something nice from the Great and Powerful Trixie!"

Discord and Starlight were looking at her.

"And, of course, her friends!" She smiled. "Meanwhile, I think we've done enough talking here! Let's go outside!"

"So, why Dodge Junction?" Thorax asked as they walked, passing by buildings and happy ponies who were walking and talking. "You said it yourself that there's a few buildings there. That means there's not much to do."

"There's Cherry Jubilee and her cherry farm," Trixie said. "Also, there are ponies living there."

Starlight gave Trixie a questioning look. "Yeah, so?"

"More ponies to amaze with my magic, of course!"

"It's good that you're not bringing me there," Discord said. "I mean, to your magic show. They're probably going to be a lot more amazed by me." He smiled.

"Do you think there will be changelings there?" Starlight asked. "If it's the closest pony settlement to the Changeling Kingdom, there's bound to be at least a few changelings in Dodge Junction, probably buying Cherry Jubilee's cherries."

"Actually, there's always some changelings there," Thorax answered. "They claim that the cherries are quite good, and with plenty of cherries at Dodge Junction, I'm sure that'll add to our food."

"What else do you get from Dodge Junction?" Starlight asked, looking at Thorax.

Thorax looked at Starlight and the rest of his friends as they looked at him. "Well, we also get other kinds of food. Dodge Junction has become a bit busier when the Changeling Kingdom became good. Ponies are selling more than just cherries there. I think they like the new level of activity there."

"That's something good," Discord commented. "However, do you receive any pony visitors? Or, any visitors that aren't changelings?"

"Sometimes," Thorax answered. "Most of them are ponies, but there's the occasional griffon, the occasional dragon, the occasional yak. Tourists, basically." He smiled. "We changelings like our tourists. Heh-heh-heh-heh."

"Aww, are you shy?" Starlight asked, smiling as they stopped walking.

"Uh, not that shy!"

"There's no need in denying it, Thorax," Discord said. "If you're shy, you're shy."

"Somewhat shy, but not too shy!"

"Then, maybe I should be your representative, Thorax!" Trixie declared. "I am here, ready to combat your shyness!"

"That's enough," Thorax said, smiling at his friends. "I think that's enough joking about my shyness."

"Hah!" Discord yelled. "There you go! You said it! You admitted it! You're actually shy!"

"I'm not that shy!" Thorax yelled back, still smiling and with a good-hearted tone. "It's just me being anxious, that's all."

"And, now, behold, the Great and Powerful Trixie!"

The curtains opened on the wooden stage. Trixie was there, wearing her signature cape and hat. Fireworks shot out into the sky as the cheers of the ponies in front of her roared.

"Settle down, students!" Cheerilee said, walking on the stage towards Trixie and looking at the audience. "We don't want to bother Trixie by giving her too much cheering!"

"Don't worry, Cheerilee!" Trixie said, facing her. "I can handle this. Actually, I like it!"

"Oh, is that the case?" Cheerilee asked. She scratched her mane. "Well, I should've known." She looked at the audience again. "So, class, enjoy Trixie's show!"

And the ponies cheered for Trixie again.

"Have you ever thought about inviting her to your kingdom, Thorax?" Discord asked as they stood on the grass, near the bulk of the audience, surrounded by ponies. "I'm sure she will amaze the changelings with her showy magic. I bet she'll like the event!"

"It's a good opportunity," Thorax said. "We changelings will like it—some of us are actually very eager to see her perform her magic tricks!"

"As long as they don't trouble her," Starlight said.

"The guards are going to make sure that they'll be under control!" Thorax assured.

"And, for my first trick!" Trixie declared.

And they looked at her.

Beside Trixie was a table. On the table was a couple of items. There was an apple, a plate, and a chair.

"My first trick is going to be somewhat different," Trixie went on, pacing the stage while eyeing the audience with that glare, "because it involves real magic."

And the ponies gasped.

"I think I know where this is going," Starlight said in a worried tone.

"I'm going to turn these objects—" Trixie pointed a hoof at the objects on the table "—into teacups!"

Starlight groaned and placed a hoof on her head.

"At least it's better than showy magic," Discord said, looking at Starlight. He looked at Thorax. "And, the changelings are just going to go crazy over it once they see it!"

"I haven't seen it myself, yet," Thorax said. "Might as well see this 'transfiguration' trick."

"Oh, don't call it a 'trick'! It's real magic, like what Trixie said!"

"So, are you ponies ready to witness the magic of the Great and Powerful Trixie?!"

And the audience roared their cheers, hollering a resounding 'Yes!' with it.

"Now, behold!"

Trixie faced the apple.

Trixie's horn glowed.

Then, out of her horn, a beam of magic.

The beam went to the apple.

The apple glowed.

Then, it was a teacup.

The teacup glowed.

Trixie levitated the teacup to the air.

The audience could see it.

"This is now a teacup, everypony!" Trixie declared.

And the audience gave her shouts and yells of approval and amazement.

"Wow!" Thorax yelled. "That's really awesome!" He looked at Starlight. "You really taught her that?!"

"Part of her magic lessons," Starlight replied with a nonchalant gesture of her hoof.

"And it's not over!" Discord said.

They looked at Trixie again.

"What about this plate?" Trixie yelled to the audience, gesturing a hoof towards the plate. "Do you think that I can turn this into a teacup, also?"

And the audience replied with a loud, noisy "Yes!"

"Now, behold!"

Trixie faced the plate.

Trixie's horn glowed.

A beam of magic went out of her horn and went to the plate.

The plate glowed.

Then, it was a teacup.

Trixie levitated the teacup to the air.

"Again, I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, have accomplished this momentous task of turning an object into teacup! But, there's one more thing that I need to turn into a teacup!"

Trixie pointed at the chair.

The audience looked at the chair.

"Behold, everypony, the magical power and skill of the Great and Powerful Trixie!"

Her horn glowed and a beam of magic went out of her horn. The beam went to the chair.

The chair glowed.

Then, it was a teacup.

Trixie levitated that teacup to the air. Then, she levitated the other teacups on the table into the air.

"Are you now amazed, ponies?" Trixie asked, walking on the stage while she levitated the teacups, looking at the audience. "You have just witnessed only the first trick of the Great and Powerful Trixie!"

And the audience cheered.

"I should spend more time with you," Thorax said, looking at Discord and then at Starlight. He smiled. "I've got a few more hours before I have to go to the changeling party. Let's say we take a trip around Ponyville and let's see what we can do together."

Starlight smiled. "That's a great idea, Thorax! I was hoping you would say that, since you're always busy with your work, you being the king of the Changeling Kingdom, right?"

"You deserved that break, anyway, Thorax," Discord said.

Friendly Times in Ponyville

"Ah, Sweet Apple Acres!" Discord said before he sighed a sigh of wonder, standing in front of many apple trees. "I flooded this place once, but I decided to stop that." He smiled at his friends. "Maybe you have better ideas on how to have some friendly times here?"

"Uh, what about we talk about apples with Applejack?" Thorax asked. "I'm sure she would tell us more about apples!"

"I'm not ready for a scholarly discussion on apples," Discord replied. "We're supposed to be having fun, not talking about how to plant apples and how to take care of them!"

Starlight looked at the many apples around them. "Well, it wouldn't be bad to talk to Applejack. If she's not busy, then I guess it would be fine."

Trixie glanced at Starlight. "Uh, OK."

"OK, tell me where Applejack is," Discord said. "Because, I don't see Applejack anywhere. We might as well be spending hours looking for her! I mean, there are so many trees! Where could she be?!"

"Maybe right there?" Starlight said, pointing a hoof.

Discord turned around.

There was Applejack, wearing her hat and walking on the dirt path.

"Howdy!" Applejack greeted. "Ah'm wonderin' why y'all ar' here today? It's not like there's anythin' goin' on 'round here, just a normal work day!"

Discord grumbled. "Applejack, this changeling wants to talk to you about apples." He gestured towards the changeling.

Thorax looked at Discord. Then, he looked at Applejack and smiled. "Uh, yes, Applejack! I would, uh, be OK with talking to you about apples."

"And, exactly why?" Applejack asked, staring at him with a questioning look.

"Because I'm not sure what to do in Sweet Apple Acres other than talk about apples and buying some apples," Thorax said quickly.

"Well, ya' should've been here a few days ago," Applejack replied. "Some of our cousins were there and we had some good family time together! Ah' think they would've been alright with gettin' to be friendly with ya'!"

"Yes, Applejack," Thorax said, a little nervous in his voice. "I guess it would've been a really great family time with them. But, what can we do as friends here?"

"Uh, like what ya' said. Talk about apples, buy some apples. Ya' could probably help with the work here, but Ah' don't know about lettin' Discord help."

"You're still doubtful about me?" Discord asked, sounding deeply affected.

"That chaotic magic o' yers' is somethin' I just can't handle!"

"Don't be so angry about it, Applejack," Discord said. "We're just trying to find a place for some nice times as friends."

"Then, Ah'm wonderin' why ya' somehow got here!" Applejack said. "Ah' would think that the Sugarcube Corner or Twilight's Castle of Friendship would be better places for some friendship times if ya' wanted somethin' more energetic!" She looked at Thorax and the rest of his friends. "Not that I don't want ya' to stay here, but it just doesn't make any sense why ya' want to be here."

Thorax slowly, solemnly nodded. "OK, Applejack. Sorry for bothering you."

Applejack smiled. "Aww, that's alright Thorax!"

"That wasn't as great as I thought," Discord said as they walked on the streets of Ponyville, passing by ponies and buildings. He looked at Thorax. "OK, since my idea wasn't great, what about we get an idea from you, Thorax? Your days at the Changeling Kingdom could give us some novel, new ideas for a friendly time together!"

"Yeah!" Thorax replied, beaming.

And his friends were paying attention to him as they walked.

"What about we try visiting the Carousel Boutique?"

"What?!" all three of his friends yelled together.

"It's right here!" Thorax said, pointing a hoof at the building beside them.

The building was ornate, decorated with ornaments and designs that brought out a fancy feel to it. The Carousel Boutique looked regal, standing out from the many normal buildings in Ponyville.

"The last thing that I want to be going to is a boutique!" Discord said. He gestured towards the boutique. "How are we going to spend time together in a boutique?!"

"We can make clothes together?" Thorax asked, smiling. "And, Rarity is probably there, so she could help us?"

"I'm talking about ideas that you as a changeling would have, not ideas you're going to get just by looking around!"

"What about we go inside?" Thorax said. "It's not going to be bad, Discord."

"I'll have to agree with him," Trixie added. "Maybe Rarity might make me a new, dazzling robe for my next magic show!"

Starlight chuckled. "Come on, Discord! It's worth a try."

Discord grumbled. "OK, let's go to the boutique!"

"Which one do you think is good?" Rarity asked while she levitated a few dresses above her. "Is it this one?" She faced the creatures in front of her. "I need your input!" she yelled.

"Are you OK, Rarity?" Thorax asked. "You don't seem fine."

"I'm completely fine!" she shouted. "I'm just running late for some customers from Canterlot! There's a store, a boutique already in Canterlot, but they decided that the clothes made in Ponyville fit their styles better!"

"Are you sure you're completely fine?" Thorax asked.

"Uh, don't ask her any more questions," Starlight said, facing him. "It's best not to annoy Rarity any further."

"Where else?" Discord asked. "Where else? I just want to know where else, where else, where else, where else?!"

"We can always go back to Sugarcube Corner," Thorax suggested.

"We've already been there!" Discord complained. "What about we try something or someplace different? Doing the same old things and going to the same old places is just boring. That's why I asked you, Thorax. You, the one who I thought would have some wacky idea about what to do and where to go, but no, I have thought wrong!"

They looked at Lyra carrying a couch across the street.

"OK, that was not what I expected," Discord commented as they stopped and watched Lyra continue her task.

"Do you want some help?" Thorax asked, walking towards the unicorn.

"Uh, yeah," Lyra responded.

"Oh, let me try to help!" Starlight giddily shouted.

The couch glowed and it zoomed across the street and then it landed on the ground quietly and safely, hitting not a single thing on the way there.

Lyra looked at Starlight. "Uh, thanks?"

"I'm glad to help!" Starlight was smiling widely at her.

Then, Lyra looked at Thorax and his friends. She walked towards the couch.

"Do you want to know why I'm asking you, Thorax?" Discord asked.

"Because you thought I have some good ideas about spending time with friends?" Thorax answered as they walked.

"Starlight and Trixie have already been in Ponyville for some time. I've been in Ponyville for, I don't know, some time, too. You, Thorax, haven't been here that much."

"I guess I know what you're trying to get at, Discord," Thorax said. "So, let me try to think of an idea."

And, they went on walking, passing by more ponies and buildings.

The ponies that passed by were talking to each other, most of them smiling and just enjoying the time together.

"What about we go to the Cutie Mark Crusaders' clubhouse?!" Thorax declared.

Discord groaned. "You know that if the Crusaders are there, we're going to Sweet Apple Acres again! Besides, what are we going to do when we get there?"

In the clubhouse, Discord, Starlight, Trixie, Thorax, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle sat. There was not much space to move around in. There were a few pots and containers of pencils, paint brushes, and cans of paint. A telescope was right in front of one of the windows. On the floor, there was a painted target above the lamp.

"Ah' don't get it," Apple Bloom said. "What ar' we going to do?"

"Yeah, I didn't expect having to accommodate two ponies, a draconequus, and the king of the Changeling Kingdom!" Scootaloo whined.

"Scootaloo," Sweetie Belle said, "they're just trying to find some bonding time. It's not a cutie mark problem, but it's a problem anyway!"

"You could start by blaming Thorax," Discord said, pointing his claw at him.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders looked at him.

"We could teach you how to use a scooter!" Scootaloo yelled.

"You almost broke your scooter the last time you tried that!" Sweetie Belle said.

"Oh." Scootaloo looked down, frowning.

"What about we use the great idea spot?" Apple Bloom asked.

And Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle sat on the target while Apple Bloom turned on the lamp.

Discord, Starlight, Trixie, and Thorax watched the Crusaders as they sat and then stood on the target, thinking.

"You know," Starlight interrupted, "we could contribute our own ideas!"

Discord groaned. "Well, this is not getting us anywhere!"

"Wait!" Thorax said, holding out a hoof at his friends. "Let the Crusaders think! Maybe they're going to get us some cool idea or maybe they'll think of some cool place that we've never thought about before!"

"Don't you remember that I asked you to be the one to think, not to delegate the thinking to other ponies?"

"So, how did you like my magic show earlier?" Trixie asked the Crusaders.

Discord groaned again.

The Crusaders walked out of the target. "It was great!" Apple Bloom shouted. "Ah didn't know ya' could turn an apple into a teacup!"

"And, there was that cool trick where you, uh, tricked us with those cards!" Scootaloo added, excited in her tone.

"What about you levitating a few brooms while also levitating a chair at the same time?!" Sweetie Belle yelled, her voice very happy and eager.

"Well, I would like to say that it was all done by me, but I couldn't have done it without the help of my friend, Starlight." Trixie looked at her.

Starlight smiled. "Oh, I just taught her some lessons about magic, that's all."

"But, you made her an even better magician!" Scootaloo yelled.

"OK, that's enough talking, enough chatting!" Discord said, holding out his claw and his paw. "I am not going to let this descend into just petty conversations! I want activity, I want things to do!"

"What about we go ask Pinkie Pie?" Sweetie Belle said. "I think you're asking for a party!"

Discord groaned again. "Are you telling me to go back to Sugarcube Corner?"

The door opened.

Pinkie Pie looked up from arranging the boxes on the counter. She screamed. "You're back! I didn't know you were going to be back, but then I was thinking about you being back a little while ago, but then you're back here! And you also brought the Cutie Mark Crusaders! What is this, are you going to ask me for a party?"

In front of the counter were Discord, Starlight, Trixie, Thorax, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle.

"Not exactly a party," Thorax said. "But, maybe we could just sit around, order some cakes and pies and other sweets, and just hang out."

Discord sighed. "This is failing rather spectacularly. I don't see how this can get any worse."

"It could get worse if we ask more ponies to try to help us," Starlight said.

Discord brought his face closer to one of her ears. "It would be the best if you could just stay quiet about it," he whispered with a serious tone. "You're not going to be helping me or any of the rest of your friends if you somehow blurted that out again."

Starlight eyed him. Then, she nodded.

"What about I ask my friend Cheese Sandwich?" Pinkie Pie said while she placed another box on the counter. "He's visiting Ponyville today for a delivery of cakes. He's going to be on the way to Canterlot tomorrow for a super-duper party!" She looked at Discord, then she looked at the door behind him. "Oh, that's Cheese Sandwich over there!"

And the ponies, and the changeling, and the draconequus turned around.

A lean, yellow-orange stallion with curly brown mane and tail stood right in front of the door, wearing a yellow shirt. "Hello, everypony!"

Discord groaned again. "OK, what's next, the Princesses somehow join in the commotion?"

"And, look who I encountered on the way!"

Cheese Sandwich stepped aside and Princess Luna stepped into the bakery.

"You weren't completely wrong, at least," Starlight commented, looking at Discord.

Thorax smiled. "Wait, Princess Luna?!"

"Why, yes, Thorax," Luna said. "I was just, well, looking for some beds from Davenport." She scratched her mane, a bit shy and nervous. "I know that it sounds like a mundane thing for a Princess to do, but I have to connect with my citizens in that homely manner where they are most comfortable."

"She's a real, funny prankster!" Cheese Sandwich declared. He looked at Thorax. "Oh, hey! Haven't seen you before! You're the new royal changeling at the new Changeling Kingdom, right?"

Pinkie Pie ran from the counter and stopped right in front of Thorax. "You see? We've got it all covered for you, Thorax! You and your friends are going to have the greatest party in Ponyville!" And she brought out her party cannon and fire it and streamers and balloons went around.

Thorax grinned.

"This is getting confusin'!" Apple Bloom yelled.

"First, we've had Discord and Thorax in our clubhouse along with Starlight and Trixie," Scootaloo said, "and then we have Cheese Sandwich and Princess Luna in Sugarcube Corner?"

"Just look at the bright side of things," Sweetie Belle said, looking at her friends. "It's going to a fun party if we do attend!"

"And, you're invited!" Pinkie Pie shouted.

"That means an opportunity to show more ponies the magic of the Great and Powerful Trixie!" Trixie yelled.

"So, what's the schedule for the party?" Cheese Sandwich asked, looking at the ponies and the changeling and the draconequus in front of him. "Are we going to have the snacks before or after the party games? I brought my accordion, and a few more accordions if anypony wants to try!"

Thorax walked to Princess Luna, leaving the talking and the chatting and the conversations. "Uh, how do you feel about, uh, this, Luna?"

"It is absolutely fine to partake in such festivities for me," Luna said. "I suspect that there is a deeper motivation behind your asking me."

"How did you know?" Thorax asked, stepping back a little in shock.

"I have been alive for more than a thousand years, Thorax," Luna answered in that calm, soothing yet serious voice. "I know when a pony seeks more than just a casual conversation."

Thorax looked back at his friends who were talking to their friends. He looked back at Princess Luna. "It's about the Changeling Kingdom."

Luna raised an eyebrow. "Amidst all that happy talk? Then again, this is not the first time that I have seen a similar situation. Anyway, what is it about your kingdom?"

"I don't want them to be bothering and irritating your ponies, that's all," Thorax said. "Oh, and I also still feel somewhat not that experienced in being an effective king yet."

"I remember that we have talked a similar topic before," Luna said. "You haven't been given the proper training, but would you let that stop you? There are indeed lessons about being a kind, good ruler that can only be learned when you are actually a ruler." She looked at Thorax's friends and then back at Thorax. "I hope that is enough to answer your questions."

"I hope I won't ask more," Thorax said, walking away from her. "Thanks!"

Luna looked at Thorax as he joined the group of happy, talking ponies.

Discord walked to Luna. "I suppose you didn't help Pinkie Pie or Cheese Sandwich in their goal to annoy me, did you?"

"No, I do not," Luna replied, looking at Discord with a calm face. "I just met Cheese Sandwich on the way to Davenport's store."

"Look, Princess Luna," Discord said, placing a paw right in front of her face, looking at the Princess menacingly, "all I want was just a simple time to bond with my friends, and if you want to bring me away from that, if you don't want me to just have some friendly time with my friends, then...well, just don't try to annoy me!"

"Those threats are not going to work on somepony who does not want to harm you," Luna said.

"Alright!" Discord yelled. Then he walked away from Luna.

At the counter, Pinkie Pie opened a box. She smelled the pie inside the box. "That's a fresh pie for the party! Specifically, that's a sugar apple pie, filled with lots of sugar and lots of apples, courtesy of Applejack, of course! Wanna smell?" She showed the open box and the pie to the ponies and the changeling and the draconequus in front of the counter.

The pie indeed had lots of sugar even on the crust.

"That's going to be keeping us awake, Pinkie!" Cheese commented. He looked at Thorax. "What do you think, Thorax?"

Thorax laughed nervously, hesitantly looking at the smiling, cheerful faces of Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich. "It's a nice gift, and I know that you are very excited to set up a party for me and my friends, but I also have a party back in the Changeling Kingdom, so I don't wanna be running late for that."

"Oh, don't worry about that, Thorax!" Pinkie answered, hopping close to him. "We're going to make sure that you'll have the most fun in the shortest amount of time possible!"

"And we're experts at that!" Cheese told, holding an accordion. "With our combined party skills, you are guaranteed to have lots and lots of fun at the party!"

Discord closed his eyes, sighing. "This isn't what I asked for."

"And, I heard that Twilight's castle is free for the afternoon," Pinkie added, "so that's going to be our venue!" She held a box of sugar apple pie. "Want more? It's just appetizers for the party later! And, by later, we mean ten minutes from now!"

"Ten minutes?!" everypony and also the changeling yelled.

"It's not going to take too long!" Pinkie said, walking with Cheese Sandwich out the door. "We're just going to have to prepare everything for the party! See you there!"

Everyone there looked out at the two walking ponies outside.

Discord walked to Thorax, each step a heavy step. He eyed Thorax, giving him a threatening glare. "OK, Thorax, maybe it's time to do something that can save this from being a disaster."

"I don't see it as a disaster," Thorax replied, happy. "I trust Pinkie Pie with her party skills and her promise that it's not going to be a long party. Besdies, she's the best party pony in all of Equestria, so she definitely has something that can give us the bonding, friendship time we need together. Why didn't I think of asking Pinkie before?"

Discord groaned. "That's enough. I'll just go to the party."

Inside, the crystal room shined with much fanciness and royalty. The walls were made out of crystal and so were the ceiling and the floor, giving the room a shiny atmosphere that beckoned ponies to walk inside. The table at the center was long, made out of crystal, and finely yet casually prepared for the party.

The room was decorated and adorned with various party decorations: balloons, streamers, banners, among others. A vinyl player sat on a small table, playing happy party music right beside the DJ station where DJ Pon-3 was seated behind. She looked at the vinyl player, placing a hoof on her head while she watched the vinyl player play.

Around the table, ponies and a changeling and a draconequus were at their chairs, eating the food in front of them. There was a lot of food there, from the simple salads to the sugar apple pies, from the glasses of water to the glasses of soda, from the cakes to the muffins, from the apples to the oranges. There were also bowls of candy.

Pinkie fired her party cannon and more balloons and streamers went out to decorate the room.

"So, we decided to have the snacks before the party games," Pinkie announced, standing beside Cheese Sandwich who was watching all the party-goers enjoying the food. "Please don't eat too much! Just eat enough food to get yourself ready for the games!"

"And, boy, do we have a list of games for you this afternoon!" Cheese declared. "We're going to be keeping those games a secret. Who doesn't like a surprise, am I right, Pinkie?"

"You sure are, Cheese!"

And the two laughed.

The doors opened.

"How are you doing there?" Twilight Sparkle asked, beholding the grand party scene in front of her.

Thorax, at the chair closest to Twilight, turned around and saw her. "Oh, we're just having the greatest party ever from Pinkie!"

"Huh?" Twilight looked puzzled. "What about the party in the Changeling Kingdom later?"

"Pinkie said it's not going to be long," Thorax answered while grabbing a piece of an apple fritter. "By the way, the food is amazing! Maybe we should be asking for more food from Sweet Apple Acres. I'm sure that would help Applejack and the business she has!"

"Anything for the good of the changelings, Thorax," Twilight said, chuckling after she said that. "It's good that you're having a wonderful time here. Not only do you get to bond with your friends, but you're also enjoying that time. Isn't that, well, good?"

"It sure is, Twilight!" Thorax answered in a cheery tone.

Twilight chuckled again, smiling. "That's nice to hear! Well, see you soon! I still have some Princess work to do before dinner!" Then, she walked past the doors.

The doors glowed and then they closed.

The melodious music went on from the vinyl player with DJ Pon-3 still looking at it, a look of irritation on her face.

Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich went to their seats, grabbed some food, and gobbled up whatever was on their plates.

Everyone else was looking at them.

Then, they quickly went out of their chairs and went straight to the DJ station. "OK, DJ Pon-3!" Cheese Sandwich yelled. "Let's have a change of pace!"

Pinkie stopped the vinyl player.

DJ Pon-3 smiled.

She activated the DJ station.

Then, blaring electronic music went out of the tall, large speakers.

And Pinkie and Cheese danced to the music.

Starlight covered her ears. "That's too loud!"

Thorax nodded his head to the beat. "I actually like it. I've heard it before." He smiled as he continued nodding his head to the beat.

Then, the doors opened again.

Several changelings walked inside the room and looked around, beholding the party decorations. Some of the changelings were already dancing to the music.

"Uh, what's going on?" Discord asked. He eyed Thorax. "Just as I was beginning to get used to this kind of party with my friends, you managed to invite some changelings here! You didn't tell us about this!"

And, everyone was looking at the changelings going around in the room.

"I didn't invite them!" Thorax said, holding out his front hooves. "But, that's probably a good thing?"

Pinkie jumped to Thorax. "It's not just a good thing! A party's more great when there's more party-goers!"

"So, it's not a bad thing?" Thorax asked.

"For my parties, it isn't!" Pinkie said. "Cheese is also OK with it! I'm not sure about the other party planners."

The changelings were now partying, dancing around, even grabbing some of the food from the table. And, they looked at Thorax, went to him, and smiled.

"Hail, King Thorax!" the changelings yelled and shouted in unison as they kneeled before him.

And everyone was looking at Thorax.

Thorax laughed nervously as he looked at everyone else. "Uh, I hope you don't mind some of my changelings joining the fun of the party." He smiled anxiously.

Everyone was still looking at him. They glanced at the other changelings.

The electronic music went on in the background.

Thorax took a bite of an apple fritter. He chewed on it as he looked at the changelings around him who were looking at him and smiling at him.

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.

Enthusiasm

The four changelings sat around the table. The noise of ponies talking at their tables was there. The smell of sweet food was there. It was a cheery atmosphere.

"Where have you been?" Red Noise asked. "Probably the Crystal Empire! I'm wondering why you're there. Wanted to visit the Prince and the Princess of the Crystal Empire?"

"Not just that," Blue Alarm said, looking at his friends while he decorated his words with gestures of a hoof. "Sometimes, I just want to see Equestria, to just enjoy whatever Equestria has to offer, to observe the ponies who live there."

"Looks like that observation skill of yours is proving quite useful even when you're just travelling," Neon Guard said. "Wait, is that Pinkie with our food?"

The changelings looked at Pinkie.

Pinkie Pie was gladly walking towards the table, carrying a couple plates of food. Then, she quickly brought the plates to the table. "Have a good time!" she said. Then, she happily walked away.

On the table were plates of cakes, pies, and candies.

"This has to be good," Red Noise said. "We're going to be having a full sugar meal today!"

And then Humerus grabbed a quarter of a cake and placed it on his plate.

Red Noise laughed as he watched Humerus eat his cake. "You must be really eager for this, Humerus!"

Humerus stopped his eating and looked at Red Noise. "I am eager!" Then, he went back to eating.

Neon Guard sighed. "Well, now we're together, what's going to be the plan? We can go out of Ponyville right after the meal. Or, we can stay here and see what we can do."

"There's Twilight's castle," Blue Alarm said.

"What are we going to do there?" Red Noise asked. "It's great to meet a Princess, but what else are we going to do?"

"We can have dinner there," Blue Alarm replied. "We can eat dinner and talk with Twilight and her best friends. That would be a good way to spend the day."

"It's not close to dinner," Red Noise said. "It's just the afternoon. It's early afternoon."

"We could stay at the castle while waiting for dinner."

"And, what, read several books if Twilight's friends aren't there? She's probably busy with her royal duties!"

"Then, we find out," Blue Alarm replied.

"OK, what happens if we find out that Twilight is busy and her friends aren't there?" Neon Guard asked.

Humerus went on eating his cake.

"We just go to other places in Ponyville until it's time for dinner," Blue Alarm replied.

Red Noise raised an eyebrow at him, somewhat angry. "What other places are in Ponyville? I know the places, but how are we going to spend our time together if we go there?"

"We could talk to each other near the clock tower," Blue Alarm said. "It's peaceful there."

"Yeah, there's not much to do there," Red Noise replied gruffly.

"Well, if you want, there's always the town hall," Blue Alarm said.

"What are we going to in the town hall? Are we just going to watch signings of papers?"

"It would be interesting to see what exactly they're signing."

"For you, it's interesting. What about the rest of us?"

"Let's not get into arguing already," Neon Guard said, placing a hoof in front of each of the two changelings. "Let's agree on what to do, alright?"

"Alright," Red Noise answered, annoyed.

Blue Alarm nodded.

Humerus kept eating his cake. He grabbed a slice of one of the pies.

"So, we're not going to go to Twilight's castle since Red Noise doesn't want to stay there. We're probably going to go there for dinner, but not now."

"We haven't asked Humerus, yet," Blue Alarm said. He noticed Humerus still eating his food. "What are your thoughts about where to go after this, Humerus?"

Humerus kept eating, munching loudly and noisily.

"I'm pretty sure he's going to be OK with almost any place we go to here," Red Noise mentioned. "Humerus isn't going to mind much. I, on the other hoof, want something active, something that we can do, not just talk about!"

"Red Noise!" Neon Guard called out, staring at him with a stern face. "Let's not bring this any further!"

Red Noise sighed.

Blue Alarm took a slice of one of the pies. "We might as well start eating. The food might not be that fresh anymore."

"Blue Alarm's probably right," Red Noise said as he got his slice of one of the pies while looking at Neon Guard. "We might have better ideas when we have full stomachs." He laughed before he took a bite of the pie.

Neon Guard took his slice of a pie. "That's better."

The four changelings walked on the street, passing by the humble buildings of Ponyville and passing by the cheerful ponies. Humerus was reading a comic book as he walked with his friends, immersed in the world of the comic as his eyes were focused on each action and on each line of the characters there.

"He's very proud of owning a comic," Neon Guard said as they walked. "Is it too much? Maybe. I don't know. He's keeping himself in line, so he's allowed. Recently, he has collected quite a collection of comics."

"It's getting to the point where he can talk with the pony fans of the comics," Red Noise added, "and he actually fits in! Humerus is very knowledgable about the comics' worlds, characters, storylines, even minor details like the favorite foods of the main characters! The only thing I know about the comics he reads is that there are good ponies fighting bad ponies."

Blue Alarm smiled a subtle smile, taking a quick look at Humerus enjoying himself with the comic he was holding. "At least he's happy. That's a good thing."

Neon Guard sighed. "Of course it is, Blue Alarm. There's no hassle now about having to scramble for the next mission to invade or to attack this or that town. We can all stay quiet, stay peaceful, and be alright without having to hurt any pony." His expression changed into a less happy one. "Uh, have you thought about where to go next? We're just walking around on the streets."

"We don't have a map," Blue Alarm said. "But, Ponyville is a popular enough place. We can revisit some of the landmarks."

"What about we go to a place where we haven't been to yet, Blue Alarm?" Red Noise asked.

"Not this again," Neon Guard said. "Guys, handle this the quiet way!"

A few ponies looked at them.

"OK, this is not looking good," Neon Guard said, glancing nervously at the ponies looking at them.

"Let's just walk," Blue Alarm said, walking already. "They're not going to notice us that much if we keep on walking."

Red Noise hurriedly went back to walking at a normal pace.

Neon Guard did so.

Humerus followed, still reading his comic book.

"We can talk about the history of Ponyville," Blue Alarm said.

"What about we talk about where to go?" Red Noise asked.

"Will you stop that already?" Neon Guard said, almost yelling. "How many times are we going to be talking about that?"

"It's an insurmountable topic until we talk about it," Red Noise replied. "Delay it as much as you can, but you can never avoid it!"

Neon Guard sighed. "Alright. Let's just delay it."

"Here are your utensils!" the pony behind the stall announced to the ponies passing by. "Here are your utensils! We've got the finest around! They are guaranteed to bring you the best dining experience!"

A few changelings walked up to the stall.

The stall was decorated with groups of arranged spoons and forks.

"Ah, some customers!" the pony proudly declared. "I take it that you're changelings, right?"

"Yes," Blue Alarm replied. "I'm Blue Alarm and these are my friends, Red Noise, Neon Guard, and Humerus." He looked at Humerus who was still reading his comic book, happy with his activity. He looked back at the pony behind the stall. "So, what else do you sell other than spoons and forks?"

"I sell not a thing other than spoons and forks, Blue Alarm!" the pony responded with grand volume. "We have a great variety of spoons and forks!" He pointed to a group of spoons. "These are of regal quality!" He pointed to a group of forks. "These are of amazing value!"

"How am I supposed to know which one should I buy?" Blue Alarm asked.

"It's your choice!" the pony replied loudly, smiling. "Choose the spoon or fork that's good for you! You'll never be sad!"

"Sad about what?" Blue Alarm asked.

"Uh, sad about having chosen a spoon or fork that turned out to not be right for you!"

"What if I just want a spoon or fork?" Blue Alarm asked.

"Then, just choose!"

"Uh, Blue Alarm," Red Nosie said, nudging Blue Alarm, "what are you trying to do?"

"Trying to find a good bargain," Blue Alarm replied. He turned towards the pony. "Thanks for your products, but it's maybe not the best place for me to buy something."

"Oh, that's alright, Blue Alarm!" the pony said.

Then, the changelings left.

They walked, passing by ponies, some of them carryings bags that had food and other things. There were many stalls and carts with ponies selling their produce.

"Teach Humerus to not be so involved with his comics," Red Noise complained.

"I don't think he's that dedicated to comics," Blue Alarm responded. "He still has good skill in combat, so he's not going to lose just because he's reading a comic book."

Red Noise sighed. "What if he bumps into a pony?"

"If he bumps into a pony, then we'll start talking to him."

Humerus bumped into Fluttershy.

Humerus fell to the ground, dropping his comic.

Fluttershy took a few steps back, gasped, and ran towards the changeling. "Are you hurt? Sorry, I didn't see you there. I was just looking at the stalls to see if they have enough ingredients for my animals' salad."

Humerus rubbed his head, groaning in pain.

"Oh, no." Red Noise eyed Humerus. He glanced at Fluttershy who was looking at them. "Hi, Fluttershy! How are you?"

"I'm doing fine!" Then, he looked at Humerus. "Are you sure you don't need help? Here, I'll bring you up." She lifted Humerus and brought him back on his four hooves. "There, now, Humerus."

Humerus then hugged Fluttershy.

"Fluttershy!" Humerus yelled. "It's great to see you again!"

Fluttershy sighed. "I should've known," Fluttershy said. "You're the changeling that bothered me and my friends."

Neon Guard sighed. "Uh, we bought him some comics."

"It looks like that's not going so well," Fluttershy replied.

Humerus stopped hugging her. On his face was a great smile. "Fluttershy! I'm excited to have dinner with you and the rest of your best friends in Twilight's castle!"

"What? Twilight didn't tell me we were going to have dinner there."

"Then, I'll tell Twilight about it!" Humerus yelled as he flew towards the castle.

"Hey, don't go away!" Red Noise yelled as he flew and followed Humerus.

Fluttershy looked at the two flying changelings. Several other ponies looked at them as well.

She looked at Neon Guard. "What happened?"

"Humerus looked very excited about his comics!"

"He's still very enthusiastic about us," Fluttershy replied. "This is not good. I already told him about it, yet it turns out that Humerus hasn't learned."

"What about we chase him?" Blue Alarm asked. "You go with us to teach him that lesson."

Fluttershy looked at the stalls. Then, she looked at Blue Alarm. "Alright."

"So, any news about the next Daring Do book?" Rainbow Dash asked, happily flying around in the library room. "Because, I'm really excited if A.K. Yearling is actually writing the next one! Of course, we know that A.K. Yearling is actually Daring Do, so maybe we should go over to her house and ask if she's done an adventure already?"

"Rainbow!" Twilight called out, frustrated. "We're not supposed to be interrupting her daily life! Besides, the journey to her house is very long and very tiring! I don't want to walk all the way there just to ask that kind of question!"

Rainbow floated down to one of the seats at Twilight's table. "Well, I just want to read the next Daring Do book! I've been waiting for days!"

"What about you try reading another book?" Twilight suggested. She levitated a book on the table. "Here's a book about a detective!"

"I don't really like mysteries," Rainbow repliedl. "I'm into an adventure!"

"You've been reading only Daring Do books!" Twilight complained. "How are you going to learn the other types of literature out there?"

"I don't need to learn about other books," Rainbow said, smiling. "The Daring Do books are the only books that I read."

"Other books are good, Rainbow! They have different kinds of stories to tell! Even the non-fiction ones are good to read!"

"I'll still read the Daring Do books!"

Twilight brought the book down to the table. "OK. You have your own interests and I have mine. I'll not let this become a serious argument."

Rainbow smiled.

"How's the weather?" Twilight asked. "Did you clear all the clouds?"

"Yeah!"

"Was it easy?"

"Of course!"

"Was it really easy to clear the clouds?"

"Yes!"

"Alright," Twilight said. "There's not really much on my schedule, so, you can borrow any book you want from the library."

"Alright!" Rainbow yelled. Then, she flew towards one of the books, grabbed a Daring Do book, flew back to one of the tables, and opened the book.

Twilight sighed. "You really like the Daring Do books, don't you?"

Then, the doors opened.

"Twilight!" a voice yelled.

Twilight looked.

Two changelings were flying around in the room, one trying to fly away from the other.

"Why are you flying in the library?" Twilight asked. "This is not the place to fly around in!"

"I'm just excited to meet you again, Twilight!" Humerus yelled as he flew.

"You're irritating me again, Humerus!" Twilight yelled. "And, is that your friend, Red Noise?!"

"I'm trying to stop him!" Red Noise yelled.

Twilight groaned. He flew towards Humerus.

Rainbow looked up from reading her book. Then, she flew towards Humerus, also.

The scene was rapid and fast-paced as the flying ponies and Red Noise zoomed in on Humerus as he flew around, shouting in elation as he took a few glances at Twilight and at Rainbow before he focused on the task of just flying. He flew right beside the books, moving them a little by the wind. Humerus dodged Rainbow, Twilight, and Red Noise before he flew right above the tables.

Then, Humerus landed on the floor.

Red Noise tackled him.

"You have to stop that!" Red Noise yelled at him. "This is not a game! You're annoying a Princess!"

The doors opened again.

"OK, what happened?" Neon Guard asked, analyzing the situation as he walked inside beside Blue Alarm and Fluttershy.

"I flew with Twilight and Rainbow Dash!" Humerus yelled as he was being pulled up by Red Noise.

Red Noise glared at him.

Humerus stopped smiling and shyed away from him.

Twilight stomped her hooves on the way to Humerus, staring at him with a fierce look. "Humerus!"

Humerus shuddered, trembling. He stepped back from the enraged Princess.

Twilight sighed. She looked at Rainbow and then at Fluttershy. "Girls?"

They looked at her. They walked towards her.

The silence in the room was tense. The rest of the changelings eyed Humerus as he continued trembling. With each step of the mares, his shuddering became more obvious, more apparent. On his face was an expression of fear.

"OK, I didn't expect my heroines to be dreadful!" Humerus yelled, shaky. "I don't want punishment! I don't want punishment from you! I know that you could imprison me in stone!"

The three mares looked at him.

Rainbow laughed. "Do you seriously think that we're going to do that?!" she said in surprise.

Humerus nodded his head, still having a scared look.

Fluttershy smiled. "You haven't done anything seriously wrong, Humerus. You were just being extremely annoying, that's all."

Twilight smiled, lightening her expression. "I understand that you're very, well, excited about us. I understand that, since we've saved Equestria several times, there's going to be some fans sooner or later. However, that doesn't make it OK to just intrude our lives."

Humerus stopped shuddering.

"It's OK to like us because of our heroic deeds," Twilight said. "Just remember that we're also normal ponies who have everyday lives. We have our own jobs, we have our own hobbies. We don't live everyday trying to save Equestria."

"Well, I appreciate a bit more approval and honor from my fans," Rainbow interrupted. "I have a fan club! But, I think Twilight's right. You're not supposed to be annoying me when I'm reading my Daring Do books!"

"Does that mean Humerus is alright?" Blue Alarm asked.

"Oh, he's alright," Fluttershy said. "We just really want him to change."

"I'll make sure Humerus won't bother you," Neon Guard said.

"That's good to hear." Fluttershy looked at Humerus. "Don't be so worried, Humerus. We're not that angry at you."

Humerus smiled.

The sky had several clouds and a few pegasi flying. One of them was a gray pegasus with yellow tail and mane. She landed on the ground, on the street.

She walked on, looking at each pony she passed by and greeting them by smiling. She passed by a few changelings, also, smiling at them.

"Who's that?" Neon Guard asked.

"That's Derpy," Humerus said as he brought out his comic book from his bag. "She's a mailpony."

"How do you know their names?"

"I'm just that excited about ponies and Equestria!" Humerus cheerfully replied. "When your heroines live in this town, you're going to end up knowing more about the inhabitants of the place at some point!"

"And you even know the name of the mailpony?" Neon Guard asked.

"Well, I know her name!"

"The intensity of your enthusiasm is astounding," Blue Alarm said. "It brings you to memorize ponies' names. Well, what about that pony over there?" He pointed a stallion with brown coat and black mane and tail. His cutie mark was two cherries.

"That's Cherry Fizzy," Humerus responded. "I talked with him once and he said that he actually saw Twilight right before she got her cutie mark. He was the one pushing the cart with the dragon egg. Spike was from that dragon egg."

"Are you going to end up telling us about what he does everyday?" Red Noise asked, exasperated.

"It's a nice endeavor! I'll go try!"

"I wasn't being serious!"

"OK, what about that pony?" Blue Alarm asked, pointing to another pony.

"That's Half Baked Apple," Humerus answered. "Member of the Apple family, which means that he's a cousin to Applejack. He's not from Ponyville, although I'm not sure where he lives."

"How am I supposed to know if you're not lying to us?" Red Noise asked.

"What about we go ask him?" Humerus said.

Then, he trotted off towards Half Baked Apple.

Half Baked Apple, holding an apple pie, looked at the approaching changeling.

"Good afternoon!" Humerus greeted. "What's your name?"

"My name's Half Baked Apple!" he replied. "Why are ya' here?"

"I'm just asking about your name."

Half Baked Apple looked confused, eyeing the other changelings approaching him. "Uh, what is this about?"

"I heard it!" Red Noise yelled. "OK, but one pony is not enough!"

"What about Cherry Fizzy?" Humerus said.

"Wait, I don't get it!" Half Baked Apple protested.

"Humerus knows the names of a lot of ponies," Neon Guard said. "Sorry to bother you!"

"Aww, that's OK! It's not somethin' ordinary to meet a changeling!"

Then, the changelings left.

Cherry Fizzy, wearing a bag, was headed towards Sugarcube Corner.

Humerus approached him. "Good afternoon! What's your name?"

Cherry Fizzy looked at him, surprised. "My name is Cherry Fizzy." He eyed him. "What do you want to talk about? Do you want to talk about the day? Or, do you want to talk about your favorite food?"

Humerus turned around and faced his approaching friends. "See! He's Cherry Fizzy!"

"This isn't a friendly conversation?!" Cherry Fizzy shouted. "You don't event want to introduce yourself, maybe tell me your name?!"

Humerus turned around and laughed nervously, somewhat enlivening the mood of the conversation. "My name's Humerus! I'm a changeling and these—" he gestured towards his friends "—are my friends! I'm a nice guy, and I'm really honored to meet you!"

"Uh, what did I do?"

"You were the one who pushed the cart with the dragon egg!"

Cherry Fizzy placed a hoof on his chin, thinking and wondering. "You mean what I used to do at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns?"

"Yes, Cherry Fizzy!" Humerus yelled.

"And, why? What's there about pushing the cart with the dragon egg for a test?"

"Because you helped Twilight Sparkle find her cutie mark!"

Neon Guard placed a hoof in his face, disappointed.

A Night and Appleloosa

It was night. The moon was there, shining its light on to the town of Ponyville. The chatter of ponies was still there, livening up the night. There was the noise of a party going on, with streamers and balloons here and there.

Along with a few ponies on the way to the train station, there were Blue Alarm, Red Noise, Humerus, and Neon Guard, all wearing their bags.

"That was a crazy party!" Humerus yelled. "And, Pinkie was there!"

"We know that!" Red Noise angrily replied. "We know that she's the pony throwing all the parties!"

"And, I know that you want to stay, Humerus," Neon Guard said with a tone of concern, "but we cannot just stay here in Ponyville. There are other places in Equestria to visit and to visit again. There's the rock farm where Pinkie grew up in. There's Manehattan, the big city that's bustling with activity. There's the Crystal Empire, and Blue Alarm went there." He looked at Blue Alarm as they walked under the night sky. "I'm sure you had a great time there."

Blue Alarm nodded, smiling a little. He brought out a book from his bag. It was a big, old book. The pages were slightly brown. "I borrowed a book from Sunburst. This one's about the history of Equestria's greatest unicorns."

Neon Guard smiled, looking at the book. "I wonder about all that you're going to learn from that!"

They neared the train station. Then, they went inside.

They went on the platform. They stood in front of the railroad.

"Where's the train going?" Red Noise asked. "Where are we going?"

"I was thinking about going to Cloudsdale," Neon Guard replied. "Then, I changed my mind. We're going to Appleloosa."

Humerus gasped, excited. "Braeburn lives there!"

"And, who is Braeburn?" Neon Guard asked, eyeing Humerus.

"He's a cousin of Applejack! He's related to Applejack!"

Several ponies on the platform were watching him in his excited behavior.

"Uh, are you alright?" one of the ponies asked.

"I'm more than alright!" Humerus answered, looking at the pony. "I'm really alright!"

The pony glanced at his friends. "OK?"

"Would you keep yourself quiet?!" Red Noise yelled at him. "We're already gathering attention we don't want!"

"The train's arriving," Neon Guard announced.

And, the sound of the train arriving was there. The train approached the train station. Then, it stopped.

The train's doors opened. Ponies went outside the train, some of them carrying bags.

Ponies went inside the train, some of them also carrying bags.

The four changelings went inside the train.

After a short while, the train's doors closed and the train accelerated its way towards Appleloosa.

The train finally stopped at the train station.

The train's doors opened.

Ponies and the changelings went outside.

It was hot. The ground was dry and brown. There were several wooden buildings, not that many. Ponies were walking on the path between the buildings. Some of them were wearing hats with wide brims. There was a pony wearing a mustache.

Humerus jumped up and down, smiling.

"I don't know why you're so happy!" Red Noise said. "What can we do in Appleloosa? Just look at it! It's not complete! There's no roads, the living conditions aren't great, and there's really not much to do!"

"That's why it's called a frontier town," Blue Alarm said. "It's not supposed to be like Ponyville. Well, not now. The ponies are going to build it up until it's a town that everypony would want to go to."

"Who wants to live here?!"

"What about being polite?" Neon Guard said, looking at Red Noise with a stern face. "You might offend the ponies living here."

"To answer the question about the ponies who want to live here," Blue Alarm replied, facing Red Noise, "there's the ponies who are adventurous. They like adventure, and they don't want to stay in a town where everything is relatively safe. They like action, they like risk. They like to make a name for themselves, to be the first ponies to settle this place, to be the ponies who will turn this desert into a place where ponies can thrive in."

"Yeah, thrive in what? Apples?" Red Noise pointed at the orchards of apple trees in the distance. "What else do they eat here? Apples?"

"Try being polite!" Neon Guard screeched.

"Alright, alright, Neon Guard!" Red Noise said, holding out his front hooves in self-defense. "There's no need to be loud here, no need to be unnecessarily loud."

"Except you are," Neon Guard answered back.

Then, the train left.

Blue Alarm watched the train leave. "We're going to be staying here for the night."

"What?!" Red Noise shouted. "OK, where are we going to be staying here for the night? Because, it's hot! It's even hotter than the Changeling Kingdom! I cannot withstand this much heat!"

"Is it the temperature you're worried about?" Blue Alarm asked.

"Why am I shouting about it?!"

"Uh, can ya' please quiet down?" a voice asked. "Some o' the ponies here are tryin' to sleep."

Humerus screamed. "Braeburn!"

Braeburn adjusted his hat, his face bearing an expression of bewilderment. "Uh, howdy!" He smiled. "Yer' not the first changelins' Ah've seen here in Appleloosa, but Ah' would be more than glad to answer all yer' questions and to give ya' a nice welcome! Mah' name's Braeburn, and Ah already see that one o' you already knows mah' name!" He looked at Humerus. "Now, what's yer' name?"

"I'm Humerus, and these are my friends, Blue Alarm, Red Noise, and Neon Guard!"

"You brought yourself a good group o' friends with ya' for the time, partner! Ah' live here in Appleloosa!" He stood on two hooves and whinnied. He went back on four hooves. "It's the best town yer' ever gonna see, an' it's gonna get even better! Here, Ah'm gonna give ya' changelins' a tour of Appleloosa!" He stood on two hooves again and whinnied. He went back on four hooves. He hopped off the wooden platform of the train station.

The four changelings followed him.

"Over there, we have our horse-drawn carriages!" Braeburn yelled, pointing a horse-drawn carriage.

The carriage was being pulled by a pony. There was a passenger inside the carriage.

"And, over there, we have our horse-drawn horse-drawn carriages!" He pointed a hoof towards a small group of ponies drawing and painting pictures of horse-drawn carriages.

"Do you sell those paintings?" Red Noise asked.

"To fund the town to make it better, of course!" Braeburn yelled. "We could have here a fine painter from Appleloosa!"

Braeburn trotted.

The changelings followed him.

"There, we have the waterin' hole of Appleloosa, the Salt Block!" He pointed at a wooden building among the other wooden buildings.

The Salt Block was a wooden blue building. There were several ponies inside, drinking containers of water.

Braeburn trotted away.

The changelings followed him.

"Over here, we have the office of Sheriff Silverstar!" Braeburn pointed at another wooden building.

A pony with a mustache and a hat wore a blue shirt with a badge that looked like a silver star. He was standing on the wooden platform of the building, eyeing and observing the ponies walking on the path.

"Anythin' else ya' wanna see before Ah' take ya' to the best sight o' all of Appleloosa?!" Braeburn yelled.

"Uh," Blue Alarm said, "are you going to—"

"Alright, then! We're gonna go straight to the apple orchards of Appleloosa!"

The pony and the changelings stood on the cliff.

The view was wide. Under the night sky, the many apple trees filled the ground. It was a quiet landscape, a peaceful landscape.

"Are ya' now amazed?!" Braeburn shouted. "This is where we get our food for us ponies livin' in Appleloosa! The apples are here o' top quality, unmatched! With these apples, ya' can make the best apple dishes anypony can make!"

Humerus was bouncing, smiling, excited.

Braeburn looked at him. "I guess yer' just in shock at the amount o' great apples that we have here in Appleloosa!"

"That's because you're related to Applejack!" Humerus said.

Neon Guard sighed. "Humerus! We talked about this before! He probably doesn't want to talk about it!"

"Talk about what? My cousin? Why wouldn't Ah be proud of my cousin?" Braeburn asked. He smiled. "She's a great cousin to have, and it's a great family to be a part of!"

"So, how does it feel to be a cousin of a heroine?!" Humerus asked by shouting at him.

Red Noise pulled him away from Braeburn. "Sorry for that, Braeburn, but he's very excited when the topic is about his favorite ponies."

"Ya' mean my cousin Applejack an' her best friends? That's alright to talk about!" He glanced at the many apple trees.

"What about we talk about where to sleep?" Red Noise said.

"Oh, ya' wanna go nappin' already?! There's much more of Appleloosa to see!"

"Like what?"

"We still haven't covered the wild west dances and the mild west dances and the wild-mild west dances!"

"Mild-wild west dances?" Red Noise asked.

"They're not as wild as the wild west dances, and they're not as mild as the mild west dances!"

"And, they're dancing now? It's quite late."

"It's not too late to dance!" Braeburn said. "Now, let's go back to the town and show you the rest of what Appleloosa has to offer!"

Inside one of the wooden buildings, there was a bedroom. It was small. There were four beds. There was a small wooden table. A lamp stood on one of the few desks. A window was at the wall, giving the ponies and the changelings who looked through it a great view of Appleloosa during the night. There were still many lights, there were still some ponies selling their apples to the other ponies passing by.

Red Noise yawned on his bed.

Humerus was sleeping on his bed.

Neon Guard stood beside Blue Alarm as they both looked out the window.

"It's been a nice day," Neon Guard said. "When you don't consider all the trouble with Humerus earlier, it's a nice day." He looked at Blue Alarm. "What did you learn while you were at the Crystal Emprie? Did Sunburst teach you something?"

"A few things," Blue Alarm said. "How magic works."

Neon Guard smiled. "Something very important, considering that there's the magic of friendship."

Blue Alarm smiled. "Seeing the ponies walk by, talking to each other and being friends. It's good to see ponies with their friendships."

"Is that why you're going to be out here for a while, not sleeping?" Neon Guard asked.

"I might as well use my abilities for something good," Blue Alarm said.

Neon Guard yawned. He walked towards his bed. He looked at Blue Alarm. "Well, have a good night, Blue Alarm. Braeburn's going to have breakfast with us tomorrow."

Blue Alarm looked at Neon Guard. "OK. Good night, Neon Guard."

Neon Guard got on his bed and lied down.

Blue Alarm looked out the window. He observed the ponies walking by under the lights of Appleloosa.

Debate and Entering Cloudsdale

The morning sky was clear. The sun shone. The landscape was beautiful with grass and trees and plants. It was an idyllic scene, a place to behold and to wonder at. There were a few animals here and there. A few pegasi were in the sky, flying.

And, on the railroad, a train was going.

Inside the colorful train, four changelings sat along with many other ponies. There were friendly talks and chats while some ponies were reading their books and their newspapers. A few were sleeping.

"So, you're telling me that we're going back to Ponyville, and then we're going to fly to Cloudsdale?" Red Noise asked Neon Guard.

"That's the plan," Neon Guard replied, taking a quick look out the window. "And, what about the nice scenery outside? Why don't you look?"

Red Noise looked out the window. Then, he looked at Neon Guard. "Yeah, I know. It's nice."

Blue Alarm sat beside the sleeping Humerus. "It's quite early to leave, actually."

"I wanted to experience a morning train ride," Neon Guard said. "A morning train ride that was really early."

"Does it encourage you?" Red Noise asked, a little annoyed.

"I don't think 'encourage' is the right word for it."

"Maybe you're looking for a calmer word," Blue Alarm said.

A pony walked towards the changelings. "Uh, here's the newspaper you ordered, Neon Guard."

"Thanks!" Neon Guard took the newspaper.

The pony walked away.

"What's the news?" Red Noise asked, looking at Neon Guard reading the newspaper.

"We've got...Princess Twilight Sparkle on the way to the Dragon Lands for a friendship summit there."

Blue Alarm looked at Neon Guard. "That's interesting. I wonder how successful she will be, considering that the dragons aren't really that accepting of friendship."

"It's not like that they're not that accepting of friendship, Blue Alarm," Neon Guard said. "I think that the dragons are taught to act tough and strong towards others, even towards other dragons. Friendship is indeed tough, but it also entails being considerate towards others."

"You have Dragon Lord Ember being very friendly with Twilight Sparkle," Red Noise pointed out, "so, I'm sure that the dragons are going to get used to easily."

"It's not going to be that easy," a pony interrupted.

The three changelings looked at the pony.

He was seated at the seat behind Blue Alarm and Humerus's. He was a blue-purple stallion, a pegasus. He had scruffy gray mane and tail. His cutie mark was a rainbow. He was eyeing the changelings with a competitive look. "There are a few things about the dragons and their situation that won't make it that easy for Twilight to bring friendship to them, even with a helpful leader like Dragon Lord Ember."

"And, what would those few things be?" Neon Guard asked, sounding competitive.

"One, the dragons have always lived with that same attitude of being tough towards others. To overthrow that traditional attitude is going to take lots of effort. You cannot convince dragons who have always been tough to instantly become nice like Spike."

"But, Ember is their leader!" Red Noise argued. "That's going to make it easy! They'll have to follow her or else she's going to punish them!"

"What about the dragons who decide to against their leader?" the pegasus pointed out. "There's going to be some dragons who won't like their new leader. When you think about it, Ember is extremely nice compared to her citizens."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Red Noise asked.

"Not really. Some dragons are going to tell Ember that she's being too nice, that she's being too lenient on dragons and on ponies. What about the dragons that think the Ember is not really there for the dragons but for the ponies? That's something dragons don't want."

"Well, the ponies are going to be giving them what's good, right?" Red Noise argued. "They're not giving the dragons something that's bad!"

"What about being quiet about it?" Neon Guard interrupted. "Humerus is sleeping." He pointed at the sleeping Humerus.

The red changeling and the blue-purple stallion stared at each other with angry stares.

"Let's try to settle the issue by being more peaceful than that," Blue Alarm said. "I don't want you to go punching each other."

"What about we settle the issue before it gets worse?" the stallion suggested, eyeing Red Noise. "Because, to resume the conversation, the dragons might be hesitant about supporting the ponies."

"I thought we were talking about Ember!" Red Noise yelled.

"Ember is very friendly with Princess Twilight Sparkle. The dragons are going to perceive that as a dragon supporting the ponies. What if the ponies enact something that the dragons don't want, even if it really is good for them? The dragons aren't going to be giving their gems towards something that they don't like."

"That's why there's a friendship summit in the first place!" Red Noise said, getting angrier. "Princess Twilight Sparkle is going to be teaching the dragons about friendship and why it's good for them! She's going to bring the foundation of a good relationship between Equestria and the Dragon Lands with that friendship summit! Then, Dragon Lord Ember will imrpove that good relationship by convincing the rest of the dragons about friendship. Maybe she can invite them to parties, or maybe she can invite them to some games, or maybe she can just talk to them while she does her royal duties!"

"No matter how much effort is placed by both Princess Twilight Sparkle and Dragon Lord Ember, they still have to convince dragons who are very traditional about their attitude and are still somewhat wary about ponies."

"What about Twilight bringing Spike to the friendship summit?" Red Noise said.

"Whether she brings Spike to the friendship summit or not, it's not really going to make much of an impact."

"Why?!"

"Some of the dragons there are not going to be convinced by Spike."

"Why?!" Red Noise yelled. "Tell me the reason! Spike is a great hero in the Crystal Empire and he was even Dragon Lord for maybe a few minutes. He's supposed to have lots of clout, lots of influence with the dragons!"

"That's such a short time for being Dragon Lord that it doesn't even matter in the long run!" the stallion yelled back, pointing a hoof at his opponent. "Dragons won't see that as good enough credentials to believe in Spike and what he's saying!"

"What about the whole Crystal Empire hero thing, then?!"

"They don't care about his heroism in other places, what they care about is what he did for them, for their homes, for their lives!"

"He's made it safer for ponies and Equestria!"

"I already told you, I already made it clear to you, that the dragons don't really think much about ponies and Equestria! They're concerned about themselves and themselves only! It's been with them for how many years, decades, even centuries?! Well, it's a really long time!"

"Just because it takes much effort to make the dragons believe otherwise about friendship, that it isn't just something that the ponies are exporting to make them more like ponies and less like dragons, it doesn't mean that it's worth trying!"

"See?!" the stallion finally cried out, shouting at the changeling with extra volume, catching the gaze of several passengers in the carriage. "Without you knowing it, you've fallen for it!" He stood up on his seat and pointed again at Red Noise. "You've finally conceded, you've finally given up and you didn't even know it!"

"Uh, quick!" Red Noise pointed a hoof at the door. "There's the exit to the next carriage!"

"Why do you want me to go the next carriage? Are you just afraid because you're defeated?!"

"I'm not going to lose to a pony that I've just met in the train!" Red Noise said, flying over to his seat, shaking a hoof at him. "I'm going to prove it to you that it's going to be easy for Twilight Sparkle and Ember to make the dragons believe in friendship!"

The stallion raised a hoof.

Some ponies gasped as they, along with more ponies, watched the scene unravel before them, escalating towards an unwanted point as the peaceful green, grassy landscape dotted with beautiful, peaceful trees and plants and animals raced by them.

Blue Alarm grabbed Red Noise by one of his hooves and pulled him with great force back to his seat, even throwing him there. The red changeling landed with a thud and ended up rubbing his head.

Blue Alarm and Neon Guard observed the passengers.

Most of them were now watching them, many of them quivering in fear, others bearing angry expressions, still others wearing sad, sorrowful faces. A few ponies took a few steps back as the changelings looked at them. "Is this an attack?" a pony whispered, shivering.

The atmosphere, the mood of it all, was tense as both the changelings and the ponies stayed silent. The stallion who had argued with Red Noise gasped, looked at the ponies looking at him with looks that were painful to see, and took his seat with a somber pace.

A few foals cried.

Neon Guard folded the newspaper. "OK, then," he said slowly, eyeing the ponies. "We're very, very sorry for what just happened. It's not much to worry about! Just some heated discussion, that's all!" He raised his front hooves, making an attempt to smile though it wasn't really that much of a smile.

A few more ponies stepped away from him.

"Come on, ponies! I know that your'e much more understanding than this! Uh, can you please speak out? This is a strange quiet! I don't like strange quiets because it makes me feel like that I've hurt somepony! Heh-heh-heh-heh."

A few more ponies backed away, shuddering, having on their faces expressions of fear. Some more looked away from them.

The scenery was still green, still peaceful. A few pegasi were flying in the sky.

Humerus was still sleeping.

"OK, who has the diplomatic skills for this?" Neon Guard said, looking at Blue Alarm. "This is not going to make Thorax proud." He glanced at the staring ponies. "What next? Maybe they'll seek revenge. Maybe they'll want us in jail! I'm not the one who's supposed to be having all these problems, not under this much tension!"

"What about we just explain what happened?" Blue Alarm replied, staying calm as could be heard in his tone, holding out a hoof towards his friend. He looked at Red Noise who was scared, looking at the ponies and being afraid. "Red Noise, it was just a conversation about the news. Why did you have to make it something to battle a pony about?"

"Well, he was the one brought it to such a horrible condition!" He pointed at the stallion.

The stallion looked at him, frowning. Then, he looked away.

"It's just morning and we've done enough quarelling for the day," Blue Alarm said. "Look at all the ponies you've affected! They're not going to be having a great afternoon and evening because they're going to be thinking about that moment when you almost punched a pony over something in the news! That doesn't sound like the changeling that Thorax would be happy to rule over!"

Red Noise frowned.

"Could you at least apologize to the ponies here?" Blue Alarm asked, pleading.

He slowly turned his head around to see the ponies there.

Most of them were still watching the changelings, looking at them with frowns, glares, and stares.

"I'm sorry, ponies."

His voice was quiet, remorseful, yet it could be heard by all the ponies there.

The four changelings were in the sky, flying, along with several other pegasi as they approached the city of Cloudsdale, that floating city of clouds. Its buildings contained the trappings of clouds—the roofs were usually made out of clouds. Waterfalls and rainbowfalls adorned Cloudsdale, giving it a colorful, vibrant feel.

"So, Rainbow Swoop was his name," Red Noise said. "And it turns out that he's a musician. And his albums are on sale at music stores around Equestria." He placed a hoof on his head. "Did I just argue with a musical celebrity?"

"Did you?" Humerus said. "That's great!"

"What's great about that?" Red Noise answered back, having a sorry tone. "What if he ends up writing a song against me? Or against the changelings?"

"He forgave you already, remember?" Humerus told him, smiling, extending his front hooves out as if to prove a point. "If he means it, he means it!"

"We could start a new friendship with him," Blue Alarm said. "We could start by buying one of his albums. And then, we can track him down and tell him that his music is good. A good conversastion starter is going to let a friendship grow into a big tree."

"Did Twilight say that?" Neon Guard asked.

"You could say I'm paraphrasing."

Then, they landed on the clouds of Cloudsdale.

Pegasi were flying about in this grand city. Much of the city was made out of clouds: the streets, the ground, the decorations, even the plants. Placed around in Cloudsdale were numerous flags representing Cloudsdale. The flag was blue with a rainbow circle behind two clouds. Even a few pegasi were holding and waving small Cloudsdale flags as they flew. Several pegasi also walked on the cloud streets and on the cloud grounds of their homes. There was a pegasus tending to his cloud plants—they looked like shrubs, except they were clouds.

In the distance, there were some stadiums decorated with clouds. The sounds of collective cheering and announcers' voices gave the stadiums activity and something to look forward to inside.

Some pegasi wore white uniforms—white shirts and white helmets.

"Those are the ponies working at the weather factory!" Humerus explained by yelling at his friends. "I went there once and Zephyr Breeze accompanied me there! It was awesome how they make the weather and everything that's in the sky! Zephyr even said that, if the pegasi want to, they could weaponize the weather."

His three changelings gave him weird looks as they walked in Cloudsdale.

"It would be cool to see them fight by using clouds and lightning, and then we could see them go, 'zap!', and then the enemies are zapped with lightning, rendering them stunned for a while."

"Where are you getting those ideas, Humerus?" Neon Guard asked. "We're not planning for any war against Equestria."

"Oh, it's just fanciful thinking for me!" Humerus said.

"Fanciful for you, dangerous for me," Red Noise said. "Then again, I do like to see pegasi battles with cloud weapons."

"That would be cool, right?! Hoofbump!"

And the two changelings bumped each others' hooves.

"I'll take you to the weather factory!" Humerus said. "But, they usually require somepony else to guide you there, usually a pegasus."

"I heard you needed a pegasus to guide you!" a raspy, excited voice called out.

"Rainbow Dash?!" the four changelings shouted in unison, surprised, looking at the mare herself.

She slowly hovered her way to the ground.

She sighed a sigh of confidence. She flipped her mane. "So, how do you like it if I, Rainbow Dash, was your guide for your visit to the weather factory?"

Humerus gasped, placing his front hooves on his face excitedly. "How can I ever qualify this as any other day?! This is one of the best days of my life!" He grabbed Red Noise. "Do you believe me?!"

"Uh, maybe?"

Neon Guard smiled. "Well, at least the Rainbow Dash is going to accompany us to the weather factory." He looked at Rainbow Dash, standing with a confident, proud look. "Why are you here and not in your house or in Ponyville?"

"Even though I'm loyal to Ponyville and my friends there, I still have to visit the city that I grew up in. Fluttershy and I grew up as friends here before we moved to Ponyville!"

"That's sweet!" Humerus expressed loudly.

A few pegasi glanced at the excited changeling.

Rainbow glanced at those pegasi.

"Uh, OK." She smiled a bold smile at the changelings. "Now, are you just going to wait there or are you going to fly already?" She flapped her wings and hovered above the ground. "Come on, changelings! Let's go!"

The grand, wide halls of the room displayed the neatness of it all—the clean silver floors, the clean silver walls. Pegasi wearing thick clothes and white helmets stood in front of tables containing many, many unique and different snowflakes of varying sizes. Each had its own design. Some of them were under magnifying glasses as pegasi observed them, sometimes using their tools to adjust the design. More snowflakes were in the baskets and the bowls on the table.

"First, we have the place where they make the snowflakes," Rainbow told them through whispers. "Each and every one of the snowflakes you see not just here but also during the winter are hoof-made. Why am I whispering? This job requires the ponies working to be delicate. Even one shout is enough to make the snowflakes fly about and some, if not many of them, could get broken." She eyed and glared at the very excited and jittery Humerus whose smile was wide. "I'm looking at you, Mr. I'm-Very-Happy."

Humerus placed a hoof on his mouth. "I'll be quiet for you, Rainbow!" he whispered with great enthusiasm and joy.

The working ponies turned around and looked at the changeling with irritated looks before they went back to their snowflake work.

Red Noise nudged him.

"Follow me," Rainbow ordered quietly.

In hushed hoofsteps, they walked towards one of the tables. A stallion pegasus was looking through the magnifying glass. On display on the silver and shiny plate were a few snowflakes, containing beautiful and elegant designs of exquisite quality.

"Now, don't breathe too much," Rainbow cautioned. "Snowflakes are very light, so even a mild gust of wind is enough to send it flying."

The changelings observed the pegasus at his work. He adjusted the magnifying glass which had formations of ice on it. He looked through it. Then, he adjusted it again. He glanced at the bowl of snowflakes, then he looked back at the snowflakes on the plate in front of him.

"He's checking if they're different enough and not too similar," Rainbow explained, accompanying her explanation with hoof gestures. "If he thinks that it needs some adjustments, there's always a few tools that he can use to modify the snowflake."

"And you do this every winter?" Blue Alarm asked. "It sounds like a tedious task to do every year."

"We've been doing this for hundreds of years," Rainbow answered confidently and quietly. "We got used to it. Not only did we get used to it, we improved it, perfected it!" She pointed a hoof towards the ceiling.

The changelings looked up.

White strings were holding large snowflakes.

"Do you like it?" Rainbow asked.

"It's very interesting," Blue Alarm said. "You don't get bored of doing the same thing every year?"

"They make sure that they make totally different snowflakes the next year," Rainbow assured. "Onto the next area!"

Walking outside from the cold snowflake area, Rainbow Dash and the changelings arrived at an ornately decorated room adorned with columns. Pegasi wearing the white shirt and the white helmet were carrying big mixing spoons or stirrers, some of them flying towards some of the floating bowls of rainbows, others already mixing the rainbows inside the bowls.

"This is where we create the rainbows!" Rainbow said, back in her normal volume. "Everyday, we send some rainbows. Makes the sky a lot more beautiful and appealing."

"I remember Pinkie telling me about the time she tried tasting one of the rainbows!" Humerus yelled, pointing a hoof at one of the huge bowls of rainbows. "She said it was spicy, even spicier than a bottle of spicy sauce!"

"You're supposed to admire the rainbows, not eat them!" Rainbow said, laughing a little. She smirked at the other changelings. "Although, if you want to, you can try!" She dipped one of her hooves into the rainbow mixture and presented her rainbow-dipped hoof to them. "Now, you try. I dare you!"

"Uh, it might not be good for me?" Neon Guard said, backing away from Rainbow with a scared look. "I'm alright with just seeing rainbows, not eating them!"

"I'll take the challenge!" Red Noise declared.

He dipped one of his hooves into the rainbow mixture and immediately tasted it. Then, his sure look went away as his face changed colors while he ran around yelling.

"Told ya'!" Rainbow said. Then, her smile went away. "Uh, didn't you see what happened to your friend?"

Blue Alarm dipped a hoof into the rainbow mixture and licked it.

Neon Guard groaned. "I'm really trying my best to stay out of this situation!"

And Humerus dipped a hoof into the rainbow mixture.

"Alright, that's enough eating!" Neon yelled, running towards his friends.

And the other two changelings' faces changed colors as Humerus yelled and shouted in pain while Blue Alarm held a calm face throughout it all.

The other pegasi working there stopped their stirring and looked at the chaotic changelings going about trying to relieve themselves of the spicy pain.

"Rainbow, can you tell them to stop?!" one of the pegasi demanded, glaring at Rainbow.

Rainbow smiled sheepishly. "Uh, changelings, let's go to the next area, shall we?"

Rainbow Dash and the changelings entered another room decorated with grand columns. Inside, there were rows and rows of purple machines spewing out clouds of different kinds—there were the simple clouds, then there were the clouds with complex shapes, then there were the clouds in between. Pegasi were at different places doing different tasks—some pegasi were holding stirrers, stirring the cloud mixture inside the machines, other pegasi were manually keeping the machine going by pushing on a step connected to each machine with it, while still other pegasi were carrying buckets of cloud mixture and pouring it into other machines that weren't so active. All of the pegasi were wearing that white uniform of a white shirt and a white helmet.

"Here's where we make the clouds!" Rainbow said. "Well, one part of the area, anyway!"

The changelings looked around in awe, observing the work of the pegasi as they coordinated with each other to create clouds of different shapes and sizes at regular intervals. Most of them were smiling as they worked, quite content and happy with the jobs that they have.

"I have this to say, Rainbow Dash," Blue Alarm said, facing Rainbow, "that this is quite an amazing accomplishment of the pegasi. Having to maintain and control the weather like this for how long?"

"Check the history books!" Rainbow answered with a proud tenacity. "We've been doing this for a long time, and we've only gotten better since!" She glanced at Humerus who was looking at her with an excited face. "And, didn't you say something about pegasi using lightning as weapons?"

Humerus gasped and immediately grabbed Red Noise. "She listened to us even before we knew she was there!"

"Will you keep it quiet!" one of the pegasi shouted. "Some of us are trying to concentrate! This is isn't an easy job, you know!"

Humerus pushed Red Noise away, almost making him hit one of the machines though he managed to fly away from it in time. Humerus smiled at the pegasus. "Well, I'll give you encouragement to do your job well! You have a great job and it's an important job! If you didn't do it well, there would be no clouds in Equestria and that would mean no rain and that would mean no food and that would mean everypony would starve!"

Rainbow Dash pushed Humerus away. "Sorry about that!" she said to the pegasus. "They're just visitors who are very excited to be here!"

Rainbow Dash closed the door.

"And, behold! The collection and storage of lightning!"

The room was sleek in design. The floor was shiny and metallic. The walls were shiny, too. On the shelves were jars of lightning of various colors, arranged neatly and in order. The glow of the lightnings lightened up the room. Signs on the shelves indicated what kind of lightning they were. Some signs showed a very sharp and jagged lightning, others showed a smooth lightning.

"Lightning wasn't really used as a weapon lately," Rainbow explained, "but, I sometimes take a jar of lightning for one of my pranks with Pinkie." She made a smirk. She grabbed one of the lightning jars. "Hold it with great care. It's amazing when you're this close to touching lightning!"

She held out the jar to Neon Guard.

He received the jar.

He inspected it, rotating it around with his hoof.

The lightning inside glowed a bright blue. It was static.

"This is...brilliant." He gave Rainbow a happy face. "You managed to contain lightning in a jar! How?"

"We're pegasi," Rainbow said confidently. "We place lightning inside a jar." She smiled.

"Can I hold the jar?!" Humerus yelled, reaching out his hoof towards the jar.

"Wait, don't grab it like that!"

"Hey, I was holding it first! Give me some time to look at it!"

"OK, let me try it!"

"Aren't you worried that we might break the jar and the lightning might shock us?"

The door opened.

Rainbow Swoop, in his white uniform, stood there, astounded and surprised at the sight of three changelings fighting over a jar of lightning while Rainbow and Blue Alarm were desperately attempting to resolve the problem.

"Uh, what's happening here?" he asked.

Rainbow Dash and the changelings stopped whatever they were doing and looked at Rainbow Swoop.

"We're still OK, right?" Red Noise asked, carefully holding the jar as his friends and Rainbow Dash went back to where they were. "We're now friends, right?"

"Everypony at the train was OK with it!" Rainbow Swoop said with a cheery attitude. "You don't have to worry about it all day long!" Then, he dropped the cheery attitude. "Although, I'm wondering about how you managed to almost break a jar of lightning. You know that it's dangerous to play with lightning." He looked at Rainbow. "You did tell them about it, didn't you?"

"I did," Rainbow Dash answered, then she pointed towards the changelings, "then one of them decided to take it for himself without being careful!"

"Are you trying to place the blame on another?" Rainbow Swoop asked. "It's not working."

"No! I'm not trying to blame one of the changelings! I'm just telling you the true story!"

Rainbow Swoop sighed. "Fine. I'll take it." He looked at the changelings. "It's not as bad as it sounds. You're just going to get electrified by the lightning as it escapes the jar. Besides, we have an abundance of lightning here!" He pointed a hoof towards the many jars of lightning in the room. "As long as nopony makes lightning production unstable, you'll face no trouble!"

"Does that mean the tour is done?" Humerus asked, saddened.

"Well, yeah, it's done," Rainbow answered. "But, that's just only one place in Cloudsdale! What about you just spend the day here and enjoy yourselves in the amazing city of Cloudsdale? I'll still be your guide throughout the day! And, maybe you might meet Fluttershy and her family!"

"Oh, I already met them!" Humerus shouted.

The three changelings looked at him.

"We know that already, Humerus," Blue Alarm said.

Cloudsdale

The four changelings and Rainbow Dash stood in front of a house.

Like all of the other houses in this neighborhood, the roof was made out of clouds. The ground was made out of clouds and it was decorated with plant-like clouds. A path made out of clouds led towards the purple door of the house which had a nice design. The house was purple and lavender with curved walls and structure. Around the lot of the house was a rainbow fence.

"Humerus," Rainbow called out, looking at Humerus, "I heard that you went here before and that you also met Fluttershy's parents and her younger brother." She laughed, pushing a hoof at Humerus.

"Uh, why are you laughing?" Neon Guard asked. "What's so funny?"

"You're not going to believe me when you see Zephyr Breeze—that's the name of the brother, by the way!" She pointed a hoof at the door. "If he's the pony to greet you, you might be thinking that he's actually the older brother. He's quite tall."

"We believe you, Rainbow," Blue Alarm said.

"OK, let's get inside already!" Red Noise complained as he stormed his way through the cloud path and onto the door.

He knocked on the door with such force and volume.

Rainbow quickly flew her way to him and placed a hoof that separated him and the door. She gave him a sudden glare. "Look, buddy, if Fluttershy was here right now, she would be attacking you for that!"

"It's just a knock on the door, Dash!" Red Noise answered, shrugging and smiling. "There's nothing wrong with letting the ponies know that I'm here!"

"Well, what if they're sleeping? Or, what if they're so shy that a knock like that could even scare them?!"

And, the door opened.

"Rainbow Dash!" Zephyr said, eyeing her as he held the door open. "I didn't know you actually wanted to visit me."

Rainbow groaned, placing a hoof on her head. "No, Zephyr. I don't want to date you or anything! I'm just being with these changelings who are visiting Cloudsdale for the first time—except for Humerus." She gestured a hoof towards Humerus who was frantically waving at Zephyr.

"Ah, old friends!" Zephyr yelled, waving back at Humerus. He noticed the rest of the changelings in front of him. "Come on inside the house! You are entering the Shy abode!"

And the changelings and Rainbow Dash entered.

There was the cloud floor and the cloud ceiling and the beige walls and the wooden cabinets and furniture and the family paintings and the dining table and the dining chairs and the carpet.

"So," Zephyr began as he led the group through the house, "I know that you—" He looked at Rainbow Dash "—are not explicitly here for a date, but you could be here to see if you could have a date the next time!"

Rainbow raised a hoof in anger.

"You don't need to tell me about how you view me, Rainbows," Zephyr said, pushing that hoof away. "It's already apparent from all of your actions recently. It must be an honor to be able to visit me now and then, right, Rainbows?"

"Don't mention anything about this, Zeph," Rainbow said, pointing a hoof at him.

Zephyr eyed Rainbow with a fearful look. Then, he calmed down and sat on one of the dining chairs. "Now, let's not be so dreadful, Rainbow. You still have to cater to the changelings!"

Rainbow looked at the changelings.

They sat down on the dining chairs.

"What shall we eat for snacks?" Zephyr asked, eyeing the wooden cabinets behind him. He stood up and flew up to the level of the higher cabinets. He opened them. "Now, we have some canned food, some chips here." He turned around to face the changelings. "So, what's your choice? Canned food or chips?"

"Zephyr!" a female voice called out. "Who's that?"

"Uh, Mom, some changelings are here to visit!" Zephyr shouted.

"Oh, that's nice!" Mrs. Shy said.

Zephyr looked at the changelings, still hovering. "You still haven't decided yet. Canned food or chips?" He held a can of food on one hoof and a bag of chips on the other. "Canned broccoli?" Zephyr extended the hoof with the canned broccoli. The labeling was very colorful, advertising the broccoli inside to be "the healthiest broccoli ever!"

"You can place broccoli inside cans and you can eat it?!" Humerus yelled.

"It may not be fresh," Zephyr admitted with dodging eyes, "but, you can eat them anytime! They last longer than fresh broccoli, anyway." He smiled. "Of course, I still have to talk about the chips!"

He threw the can of broccoli onto the table. The can landed with a thud.

"What about the chips?" Zephyr said, holding up the bag of chips into the air. The bag was colorful, too, showing depictions of chips. "These chips are cheap, affordable, and tasty! I got one of each flavor from this brand! This one's just plain."

Blue Alarm raised his hoof. "I would like the plain flavor of chips."

"What?" Zephyr asked. "You don't even want to check the other flavors? I dislike the plain flavor myself. But, if you want, here." He threw the bag of chips on to the table.

"Is that how you treat visitors, Zeph?" Rainbow asked, having an annoyed tone of voice.

Humerus jumped and rushed towards the bag of chips and opened it and grabbed a hoofful of chips and stuffed the chips into his mouth and chewed on the chips while his friends and Rainbow Dash and Zephyr Breeze looked at him eat, watching him with stunned looks.

"Zephyr," Mr. Shy said as he and his wife entered the room, "we would like to greet the visitors you've brought—here?" The parents looked stunned, also, as they watched Humerus devour the chips.

Zephyr laughed nervously as he watched his parents, sweating on his face, smiling with his teeth, looking here and there. "I promise you that he's not going to finish all of our food!" he suddenly yelled.

"Who's going to finish the food?" Fluttershy asked, entering the room. Then, she had a stunned look on her face.

Then, Humerus threw the bag of chips on to the table. "I'm done!" He flew towards the cabinet. "What other flavors do you have here? Can I open the can of broccoli, also? How do you open them anyway?" He flew back to the can of broccoli. Then, he tried to open it, struggling to do so as he groaned and grumbled in his attempt to obtain the broccoli inside.

Zephyr took the can away from him.

Red Noise pulled him away from the table and back on to his seat.

Humerus eyed the can, whimpering.

"You have guests who are really exciting, Zephyr," Mrs. Shy said.

"I agree with her," Mr. Shy added. "Haven't we seen you before?"

"I saw you when I visited this hosue for the first time!" Humerus answered by happily shouting at them. "Remember?!"

"Oh, now I remember," Mrs. Shy said, nodding.

Fluttershy walked towards the table and sat down.

Rainbow sat down on one of the dining chairs.

"How often do you go and visit your parents, Fluttershy?" Blue Alarm asked. "You have a house on your own in Ponyville, so the question is valid. It would've gotten to my mind sooner or later."

Fluttershy looked at him.

Zephyr placed the can of broccoli back inside the cabinet, closed it, and hastily sat on one of the dining chairs.

The two parents sat on the dining chairs, also.

"It's like you already prepared the chairs for us," Neon Guard said, facing the parents. "I didn't know you were expecting us to be here."

"Sometimes," Mr. Shy replied, "we just place additional chairs around the table in case there were ponies who want to be here on short notice."

Blue Alarm looked at Fluttershy.

"Oh, you were asking about my parents," Fluttershy said. "Well, I visit them every so often, once a week."

"And, you, Zephyr," Blue Alarm went on, now facing Zephyr who was still sweating a little, "what about you? You already have a job. Maybe you have a good enough income to sustain yourself and your own house. How often do you visit your parents?"

Zephyr gulped. He eyed his parents nervously.

His parents smiled nervously.

Fluttershy gave her brother an irritated stare.

"Oh, I visit my parents...every so often, too, like Fluttershy!" He laughed nervously. He placed a hoof on Fluttershy's mane, scruffing her mane until it was a little messy.

Fluttershy eyed him.

The four changelings were looking at him.

"Do you mean once a week?" Blue Alarm asked.

"Oh, more than once a week!" Zephyr said, shying away from the asking changeling.

"And, do you stay with them for hours and hours?" Fluttershy asked, still staring at Zephyr with irritation.

Zephyr was still sweating. "Uh, yeah." He turned towards the changelings.

"Admit it, Zephyr," Fluttershy said. "You still like to live in this house."

Zephyr nodded. "Yeah. That's...true." He looked at the changelings.

"We are trying to help him through this time," Mr. Shy said, bringing the changelings' attention towards him. "We know that he won't change that easily. So, we accommodate his requests to stay here, although we've already established some rules." He placed a hoof on Fluttershy's head. "Fluttershy helped him the most." He looked at Rainbow. "You also helped him, Rainbow. It must be really great to see Zephyr finally make some good effort on his work."

"Yeah, Mr. Shy," Rainbow said. "However, that still doesn't allow him to, uh, throw food on the table, right?"

"Uh, Rainbows," Zephyr said, "I thought you weren't going to mention that?"

"We didn't talk about it."

"How does it feel," Neon Guard asked, "to have Fluttershy be a heroine of Equestria?"

"Really?!" Zephyr whispered angrily at the changeling.

"What's wrong?" he said. "Is there something bad about asking that?"

"You're making me feel worse!"

"Oh, sorry." Neon Guard turned towards the parents. "Uh, you have a nice house here!"

"Why, thank you...oh, we forgot to ask you your names!" Mrs. Shy said.

Humerus flew right on to the table, making the parents move away from him a little, shuddering at his sudden jump. "I'm Humerus, and this is Blue Alarm—" He gestured towards the blue changeling "—and this is Red Noise—" He gestured towards the red changeling "—and this is Neon Guard!" He gestured towards the green changeling wearing a hat. "And, we're best friends!" He flew up and flew around in the room.

Fluttershy eyed him.

Humerus stopped moving, hovering in mid-air.

He scrambled to his seat.

"Did you just use the Stare on a changeling?" Zephyr asked, a little amazed.

"No," Fluttershy said. "That was just a normal stare."

"What's next on the list?" Blue Alarm asked as they flew past the houses.

"We're going to one of the stadiums," Rainbow replied. "Stadiums are where many of the main events happen in Cloudsdale. Flying competitions, flying exhibitions, conventions—all kinds of activities!"

The relatively peaceful neighborhood of houses was farther and farther away the nearer and nearer they went towards one of the large stadiums.

From the stadium sounded the noise of crowds of pegasi with the muffled voice of an announcer describing the routine and the style of the pegasi flying.

The changelings and Rainbow Dash flew over the stadium.

There were many, many pegasi filling up all the seats. The sound of the crowds was loud, thundering. At the center was open space. A few pegasi flew, performing cool aerial stunts, going fast enough that they made sounds with each turn and with each loop, wowing the audience as could be heard by the loud approval the pegasi gave through their shouts and their stomps. Meanwhile, the announcer went on giving his remarks on the pegasi doing the stunts and the showy flying, sometimes verbalizing his positive impressions about the stunt performed, sometimes voicing his criticism about the maneuver done.

Several pegasi, all wearing similar uniforms, were flying around in the audience section, carrying trays filled with popcorn and drinks. Some pegasi were entering the stadium and taking whatever seats were still free, others were already leaving the stadium.

"This is the Freestyle Exhibition," Rainbow explained as they hovered over the cloud stairs and passing by rows and rows of seated pegasi all watching the entertaining and interesting performance in front of them. "This is where any pegasi can fly his way and try to give the crowds something fun to watch. It's sort of like a competition, but there's no prizes."

"Maybe the prize you're going to get is fame!" Humerus yelled.

Some ponies angrily looked at him, a pony even shaking his hoof at him.

Rainbow laughed as they went on hovering down the stairs. "Fame is something I already have. I'm a Wonderbolt, remember? But, I guess you could start your Wonderbolt journey here, showing off to other pegasi and proving to them that you're very skilled at flying."

The changelings watched.

There were three pegasi flying at the same time. It was a coordinated effort, a planned yet graceful dance—one pegasus would fly up into the air while the other two supported him. One of the two supporting pegasi swooped down and performed a dozen loops. The other flew out of the open area and flew right beside the audience, giving the pegasi there a fascinating experience of a gusty wind as the pegasus sped past them.

"While I do admire their individual talent," the announcer declared through the speakers prepared across the stadium, "I'm just seeing a cacophony. There's no harmony to it! If these were three solo acts, I would've at least given them a great comment or two, but they said that it was a group performance! This doesn't look like a group performance to me! Do you agree, everypony?"

The pegasi just kept watching the performers and the fliers continue their act.

"I must protest against this!" the announcer went on. "There's nothing connecting all these three different performances together! What am I supposed to be looking for? What's the theme? What are you trying to do? Because, I like all the flashy things you're doing, but that's just the surface! What's the inside, the content?"

Rainbow giggled. "Looks like those ponies aren't up to his standards!"

"I don't know," Humerus said, munching on popcorn from the popcorn bag he's holding.

"Wait, where did you get that?" Neon Guard asked, sounding very concerned. "I don't remember you buying popcorn."

Humerus smelled the hot and beckoning, buttery aroma of the steaming popcorn from his bag. "I got this when you weren't looking. You were all paying attention to Rainbow Dash and the pegasi there that you didn't notice me buy popcorn from one of the ponies over there!" He pointed towards a faraway pony in uniform.

"Did you even ask me permission to use the money?" Neon Guard spoke, frantically opening his bag and searching for something.

"I got it while you weren't looking!" Humerus jumped up and hovered over the stairs. "So, the plan is to go to more of these stadiums and events and then buy more popcorn while Rainbow is telling you all about the event!"

His friends and Rainbow looked at him, smiling. "You do know that, in order for your plan to work, we're not supposed to know about it," Rainbow said. "It has to be a secret. Now that we know, we're going to be watching you more closely."

The other three changelings laughed.

The pegasi near them looked at them angrily and some shushed them.

Some pegasi wearing white coats and white helmets were pushing clouds around in the sky. Other pegasi were holding jars and containers including jars of lightning. They moved out in an orderly fashion, with a few pegasi wearing hats directing their pegasi fellows to move out to this direction, to this city, to this place.

The pegasi in the sky were moving, carrying clouds and jars to different directions out of Cloudsdale.

"Those pegasi are going to be travelling to other places in Equestria to place the clouds there," Rainbow conveyed while she pointed at them.

The changelings looked up.

"Some of them are carrying the jars of lightning you saw earlier," Rainbow said. She eyed Humerus with a menacing look before going back to smiling. "They're going to be bringing in storms for a few places. I heard that Ponyville is going to have some stormy weather today. Maybe I might have a sleepover at Twilight's later. I heard Applejack and Rarity are invited, too."

"We know of your competitive streak with Applejack," Blue Alarm said as they stood on the clouds as some pegasi flew past them while others walked past them. Around them, pegasi were entering and leaving buildings, some carrying food and drinks, others carrying newspapers and books, still others were holding bags. One pegasus was carrying a camera, taking pictures of each and every building he passed by, beholding each picture as he smiled at the wonder of the memory. He also took pictures of the pegasi going about. He also took a picture of the changelings and Rainbow Dash. Then, he flew away.

Rainbow looked at the pegasus with the camera. She looked back at Blue Alarm. "What were you saying?"

"You were very competitive with Applejack," Blue Alarm said. "That was back then. Are you still competitive with her now?"

"It depends," she replied, gesturing with a hoof at them calmly and casually.

Then, they hovered over the cloud sidewalk.

"How are you four together?" Rainbow asked. "You're quite different from each other. Well, I and my friends are also quite different from each other and different ponies usually become friends with each other, but I wanna hear your story!"

Humerus took in a deep breath of air.

Red Noise pulled Humerus away from Rainbow Dash. "Let someone else tell the story!"

Rainbow stared at them. "Alright?" She pointed at Neon Guard. "You! Neon Guard! You told me that you were the leader of your friends. Maybe you could tell me the story about how you became friends."

Neon Guard smiled. "I don't wanna bother you with all the details, but, basically, after Thorax taught us about how to share love and, therefore, making us free from our hunger for love and from the evil rule of Chrysalis, I wanted to go straight towards the changelings who were the closest I had to friends: Blue Alarm, Red Noise, and Humerus." He stopped, his eyes watery as he gazed upon his friends who were looking back at him, smiling. "They were always with me whenever we went out to steal love from others."

"Uh, OK?" Rainbow said, recoiling from him a little bit. "You don't have to remind us about all of that, you know."

"Oh, right." Neon Guard scratched his head, avoiding Rainbow's look. Then, he looked back at her. "They weren't really my friends, but they were the closest to friends I could have. We were always planning together, always working together to steal love, always following Chrysalis. We really believed her when she said to us that stealing love is the only way to have our hunger for love fulfilled. So, after all the reformation that happened with us, I went straight to those three changelings. Actually, what impacted and affected me the most was they were all looking for each other and they were now looking for me." He sniffed. He wiped away a tear. "And, that's how it began. We hugged each other. No longer did we have to hurt ponies and other creatures in order to steal love from them. We could instead live peacefully and in harmony with them—and we could do it as friends!"

"Hug!" Humerus cried out.

And the four changelings embraced each other.

Rainbow sniffed and wiped a tear. "Aww, why did you have to make me cry?!" she shouted, whining and complaining about it.

Magic Show

"So, how are the changelings?" Starlight asked Twilight as they arranged the books in the library with their magic, placing each and every book precisely where they ought to be. "It's been a few months now, and...let's say that it's something with a lot of questions to ask about. I mean, I heard about the changelings, but to see them actually change is, well, something."

"I know what you're trying to say, Starlight," Twilight said. She placed another book on the shelf. "For much of our history, changelings have always been portrayed as bad, evil, because they were doing evil things. Now, ponies are still scrambling to add in this new information that the changelings are good."

Starlight giggled, covering her mouth while she did so. "Still taking them a long time to finish everything, I guess."

Twilight sighed, looking upon the books being levitated by magic into their respective places. "It's only been a few months, but that wonderful optimism the changelings have for life is astounding, to say the least. They're always so excited about this, so excited about that. A couple places in Equestria have seen an influx of tourists because of the changelings!"

"Those tourists are changelings, right?"

Twilight nodded. "And, I think that's the last book!"

The two ponies stepped back.

The massive shelves were finally filled with books.

Twilight wiped the sweat from her face. "Now that we're done with our work, we can talk about this comfortably!"

They walked towards one of the tables and sat down.

Starlight looked at the bookshelves. "You really love reading, don't you?"

"Mm-hmm!" Twilight nodded, grinning widely.

"Back to the changelings." Starlight placed a hoof on the table, pondering. "The changelings have an awful lot to learn, don't they?"

Twilight frowned. "Yes, they do. They were always focused on stealing love from others to the point that they don't mind anything else! I asked a changeling a while back about what was their entertainment like when Chrysalis was ruling and he told me that there was no entertainment! There weren't just any books to read or any music to listen to, but all they did was just sleep and train and talk about what to do next in order to steal love."

"That's...boring," Starlight said.

"Then again, you wouldn't care about comforts like books and music if you were starving for love everyday, would you?" Twilight asked pensively, narrowing her eyes down on Starlight.

"Oh, I get it. But, now they have all the love they need. They can pursue other things." She paused, pondering and wondering. "What about Thorax?"

"All the acclaim he's getting from his citizens?" Twilight asked.

"Well, I wasn't thinking about that, but OK."

"The changelings have always been under oppression from Chrysalis. So, to have a ruler that allows his citizens to be free and to do whatever they want—that is something the changelings have never experienced before."

"What about the changelings being too excited about us?" Starlight said, pointing at herself, worried. She shifted her eyes here and there. "Whenever I encounter a changeling, it's very likely that he would just hug me and shout at me about all the heroic deeds I've done for the changelings. It's kind of nice at first, but now it's getting annoying." She pouted.

"I know that it can get to your nerves, Starlight," Twilight said. "But, let's think about it for a moment. The changelings would surely thank the creatures who saved them from Chrysalis. You were one of them. It would make sense to keep on thanking you for a long time."

"Not to the point where they end up replacing my alarm clocks!"

Twilight became surprised. "Uh, what are you talking about, Starlight?"

"One time, I woke up to the alarm of a brand new alarm clock! I didn't remember buying a new one!" Some beads of sweat rolled down her face. "Then, I thought it was probably a gift I forgot about from one of my friends. Maybe it was Trixie's, maybe it was Maud's, I didn't know. Then, when I went outside the castle, a changeling was there and offered me a box of alarm clocks!"

Twilight snickered.

"What's funny about that?!" Starlight roared, smacking the table with her front hooves.

"That's an unusualy way to show your appreciation to somepony!" Twilight replied. "But, I don't see how that's annoying!"

"Twilight, he insisted that I get all of those alarm clocks for free!"

"Why didn't you take the bargain?" Twilight said. "It's actually a nice deal."

"I was thinking about what he might do if I did accept it. What if he would come back and offer me a box of, I don't know, books because he wants to thank me for accepting his box of alarm clocks?!"

"At least he's not going to bother you with excessive thanks," Twilight said, smiling. "Other changelings are so excited about you that they want to spend a lot of time with you, at the expense of you spending time with the rest of your friends."

Starlight sighed. "Any other things you have in mind about the changelings, Twilight?"

"I'm just eager to see what the changelings will do," Twilight said. "Now that they are free to do good, I wonder what they might do and create? I'm looking forward for the day when the changelings start producing things other than food. What about all the literature they will make?!"

"Twilight, your enthusiasm for books is getting to you," Starlight reminded, snickering.

"Oh, yes, right, Starlight!" Twilight said, smiling nervously.

Starlight glanced at the bookshelves before looking at Twilight again. "There's this one thing I've thought about. The changelings were under Chrysalis for a long time, right?"

"Yes. What are you trying to tell me?"

"Well, I noticed that the changelings, before they were free, were all the same. They looked the same. The only thing that differentiated them from the other was the occasional armor they wore. Now, they're wildly different from each other. They have different colors from each other, that's one example of it. As I interacted more and more with the changelings, I realized that they also had different, unique personalities. They had different motivations and reasons for the things they do."

"And, why are you telling me this?" Twilight asked, hopeful.

"Because, the changelings are now trying to live the lives they want to live. They have enough love to keep them full since they now share it between not just other changelings but even with ponies as well, so they're free to just do whatever they want to do, to try to have fun, to see what they can achieve on their own, and to enjoy the times together with their friends—not just the pony friends, their changeling friends."

Twilight nodded. "That's the magic of friendship spreading!"

Starlight lightened up, smiling. She stood up from her seat. "Now, let's go outside! I'll bring Trixie along to the train station!"

Twilight was shocked. "The train station? Where are you going?"

"I got a great idea for the changelings! As long as we can actually find some on the way!"

Then, Starlight hurried out of the library.

A group of changelings gathered around beside the train station. As the train left and made a noisy whistle, the changelings looked at it. They talked to each other, all standing in front of a small, wooden stage with a big curtain on it.

Then, the curtain opened, revealing Trixie in her magician's outfit and Starlight Glimmer. They were smiling.

The changelings cheered and stomped on the ground.

Some of the ponies on the train station hurried their way out of the train station, trying to escape the rumbling vibrations of the stomping.

"Yes, changelings!" Trixie said. "I know that you are all very delighted to behold and to witness the Great and Powerful Trixie perform her latest and greatest magic tricks!"

And lots of magician items levitated around her, giving her a magical spectacle. Cards, streamers, magic wands—Trixie levitated all of them around her.

The changelings cheered again, shouting their approval and admiration for her. A few even went to flying over the ground to shout at her.

"But, the Great and Powerful Trixie must thank her greatest assistant, Starlight Glimmer!" She gestured a hoof towards Starlight.

She bowed.

The changelings roared happily.

"Without her help," Trixie went on, "we wouldn't be able to wow you and to amaze you with tricks and wonders that would make you be...amazed!"

And the changelings once again cheered.

At the train station, Twilight looked on.

She smiled.

"For my first trick," Trixie announced, "I would like Starlight to bring in a table!"

Starlight's horn glowed and a table appeared on the stage.

"Who wants to be regaled with an illusion?!"

The crowd collectively gasped.

"Starlight, bring in the handkerchief!"

Starlight's horn glowed and a blue handkerchief appeared on the table.

Trixie levitated her handkerchief and brought it close to the audience. "Now, this is a normal-sized handkerchief. Nothing spectacular about it, just a handkerchief to wipe your mouth with when your mouth gets dirty while you eat."

The handkerchief levitated close to each of the audience members. The changelings eyed the handkerchief as it moved from one changeling to another.

"Don't touch it!" Trixie warned. "Or else, you'll ruin the magic inherent in it!"

"Magic?!" a changeling cried out.

"Ah, because I didn't tell you everything about this handkerchief!"

The changelings gasped.

"This handkerchief has a magical property! 'What is that magical property?' you may ask." She giggled. "Well, soon, you shall behold the wonders of this handkerchief!"

The handkerchief levitated back to the stage.

Trixie turned the handkerchief around.

Then, she stretched it.

Another part of the handkerchief appeared out of it. This part was red.

The changelings cheered.

"Oh, that's not all!" Trixie shouted. "There's more to this handkerchief!"

She stretched the handkerchief again and another part appeared out of it. It was a green part. She stretched it again, revealing a yellow part of the handkerchief. She stretched it another time, bringing the purple part of the handkerchief to view.

Now, the extended handkerchief floated above the changelings.

The changelings looked at it.

They shouted and roared their overwhelming approval and cheer for Trixie, stomping on the ground again.

"How do you even do that?!" a changeling yelled.

"I've never seen anything like it ever before!" another changeling shouted.

"I'm going to tell my friends about you, Trixie!" yet another changeling cried out.

"Oh, changelings!" Trixie said. "That's just the first trick! I'm not even done with it!"

The changelings stopped their cheering. Now, they were looking at her, puzzled. Some of them were scratching their heads, thinking about what might happen next.

Trixie levitated the handkerchief back to the stage.

She let it levitate there beside her.

The changelings looked at it.

Trixie kept levitating it.

The changelings kept looking at it.

Starlight smiled from her place near the back of the stage.

Trixie extended the handkerchief. Now, it was very long, consisting of many different parts of different colors, all from one blue handkerchief.

The changelings cheered again, stomping on the ground, causing the stage to rumble a little and causing Trixie and Starlight to panic a little.

"Wait, stop that!" Trixie shouted.

The changelings stopped.

"Sorry for that, but the Great and Powerful Trixie cannot fully concentrate on her tricks if you keep doing that!"

"We're sorry, Trixie!" the changelings said in unison.

Starlight looked at her.

Trixie glanced at her. She smiled.

"Well, you are now amazed by that great display of magical ability!" Trixie paced on the stage, facing upwards and walking haughtily and proudly. "That is only a small part of my skill! Of course, with the help of Starlight!" She gestured a hoof at Starlight who waved at the audience. "Are you ready for my next trick?!"

The changelings clamored loudly, raising hooves of excitement and anticipation.

"For my next trick, I will—"

And smoke appeared.

Trixie could not be seen past the thick smoke.

The changelings gasped. They murmured to each other, asking questions about where she was right now. "Are you sure this is part of the show?" a changeling asked.

"I don't know," the other changeling whispered back. "I'm afraid a pony has decided to teleport her away!"

"Are you blaming Starlight? She cannot possibly do that!"

"Maybe it's only a pony who looks like Starlight but really isn't Starlight!"

Then, the smoke cleared.

Starlight was there, looking worried and concerned, her eyes darting here and there as her mouth shivered.

The table was also there along with the long handkerchief.

Trixie wasn't there.

The changelings gasped again. A few changelings went to flight and searched here and there for Trixie, looking inside the train station, looking at the horizons, looking at the trees, looking at Ponyville. Other changelings ran, trying to bring in more effort.

Starlight hurried to the backstage.

The backstage was cluttered with magician props and items, making it feel cramped.

"A very classic trick!" Trixie whispered, walking into view. "I'll just let them be for a few minutes before I come back on stage to surprise them with my appearance!"

Starlight giggled. "What if one of them decides to look for you here?"

"Which is why we have a door that we can lock for the backstage," Trixie said. Her smile went away, replaced with an annoyed look. "You didn't lock the door, did you?"

Starlight made an uneasy expression as her horn glowed and as the door was closed and locked.

"That's better," Trixie said. "Now, we have nopony else in the room but us! We can spend this time chatting with each other about what the next magic show is going to be like!"

"You're planning way ahead," Starlight said. "You're not even done with this magic show!"

"The Great and Powerful Trixie always plans ahead for maximum magic show efficiency!"

Starlight giggled again, covering her mouth to muffle the laugh. Then, she gasped. "Wait, what if some of the changelings decide to actually go to Ponyville!"

Trixie's confident smile was gone. "Oh, no!"

"Alright!" a changeling on the stage announced. "Trixie is gone! We've checked everywhere! Well, everywhere nearby, but still, that's a good type of everywhere!"

The changelings on the ground nodded.

"We have to do everything we can to rescue Trixie from whoever decided to capture her! We may not know the reason behind it, but rest assured, fellow changelings! We will not be deterred!"

"We will not be deterred!" his fellow changelings repeated loud and clear.

"We will not give up!" the changeling went on.

"We will not give up!"

"We will not rest, we will not sleep!"

"We will not rest, we will not sleep!"

"Until Trixie is saved!"

"Until Trixie is saved!"

"Will you keep it quiet?!" a pony on the train station's platform shouted at them. "I'm trying to wait for a train here!"

"The train's not coming until ten minutes from now!" one of the changelings from the crowd answered.

"I'm here early!" the pony replied fiercely. "I don't want to be late at all!"

"OK!" The changeling turned back towards the stage.

"So, here's the plan: We split into three groups. Group One will go to Ponyville and scan every area of Ponyville for Trixie. Group Two will stay here and watch this area in case the capturer decides to come back. Group Three will investigate the areas surrounding Ponyville. If Trixie isn't found by thirty minutes from now, Groups One and Three will take the train to...somewhere, I don't know the train schedule. But, the capturer might have taken the train!"

The crowd gasped.

"Now that is something smart, something very crafty to keep us from having our magic show! It is too much for one changeling to do, but when we unite, Trixie will surely be found and rescued and the magic show will continue!"

"Hooray!" all the changelings yelled.

And smoke appeared again, covering the changeling on the stage.

"Oh, no!" a changeling cried out. "The capturer is getting Chitinous!"

Several changelings rushed towards the smoke.

The sounds of punching, kicking, and fighting blared out. More changelings joined in the unseen fighting as they battled the unseen character.

The rest of the changelings on the ground watched. One was nervously biting his hooves, anxiously hoping for the capturer to be captured.

Then, the smoke cleared.

Starlight was near the back of the stage again, now having a terrified look on her face.

At the middle of the stage, a dizzy Trixie was recovering from the battle.

The changelings gasped again.

"We're sorry, Trixie!" Chitinous said hastily. "I didn't know that you were there! We're really sorry for hurting you, Trixie!"

"Uh..." Trixie slowly walked towards the table. "I think...I need...to rest a bit." Then, she rested beside the table.

"Does that mean you're OK?!" Chitinious asked by shouting at her.

"No, it doesn't! The Great and Powerful Trixie is not OK!"

The changelings on the stage stepped back, some of them whimpering. They all flew back to the ground.

Starlight galloped to Trixie, worried and shaking. "Are you alright?! Do you need some medical supplies or anything?"

"Nah..." Trixie murmured. "I think...I'll be...better very...quickly. The...Great and Powerful Trixie never succumbs that...easily." She managed a smile. "At least...my outfit...is mostly unharmed."

Starlight smiled. "That's a good thing." She tilted her head. "Are you sure you don't need any help?"

"I'll...just...rest here. Give me something like...ten minutes."

Starlight grew restless, nervously glancing at the murmuring crowd of changelings. She looked at Trixie. "Wait here."

Then, she walked towards the front of the stage.

"Are you going to be the substitute magician?!" one of the changelings excitedly asked.

She sighed. She gazed upon the changelings in front of her—on their faces were eager smiles, waiting for the next thing to stun them with magical greatness and grandeur, with something that they truly have never witnessed before, with something that would not only dazzle them would also bring them to tell their friends about what they saw.

"I'm very sorry to tell you all this, but today's magic show is cancelled."

The changelings gasped again. "What, you can't do that!" a changeling cried out, shaking a hoof at her.

"Well, Trixie is not in a very good condition to continue the show. Let's also not forget who sent her into that condition in the first place." She glowered at them.

The changelings shuddered.

"But, you enjoyed what you did see right?"

The changelings straightened up, stopped their shuddering, and the smiles went back on to their faces. They all nodded.

"I'm glad that you were all amazed at the tricks and at the magical ability of the Great and Powerful Trixie!"

The changelings cheered again, stomping on the ground again.

"Just be there at Trixie's next show to get the full experience! Goodbye!"

Starlight waved at them as the changelings flew away from the stage and happily to other places.

She happily trotted to Trixie who was still unwell, struggling to get a hoofing on the stage. "I'm sorry that it did not work out so well, but you've made a great show for the changelings."

Trixie slowly smiled. "Thanks...Starlight...,but you didn't tell them...something."

Starlight raised an eyebrow. "And, what would that something be?"

"You didn't tell them...to really apologize to me."

Starlight frowned. "Oops. I might have forgotten about that one."

"It's...OK."

Trixie then slowly, with Starlight's help, got up.

"Can you walk well, Trixie?" Starlight quickly asked, glancing here and there nervously.

"I'll try," Trixie said. "But...like I said, I'll be...alright soon."

And, they walked off the stage.

Talking with Ponies

"Isn't it hard to avoid or to thwart it?" Blue Alarm asked Lyra Heartstrings over the metal table.

Lyra looked over at the other ponies eating at the other tables. "To avoid what?"

"To avoid, well, talking about dice?"

Lyra blinked, staring at the changeling with a face that conveyed confusion. "Why dice? What's so special about dice? Isn't it that thing you throw to make a board game run? Besides, I haven't mention the word 'dice' for, well, how long? I don't even know when was the last time!"

"It could be a nice conversation starter," Blue Alarm proposed, tapping his head. "Sooner or later, maybe we'll talk about dice."

"And what's the point?" Lyra asked.

"That I just want to talk," Blue Alarm said. "I know that it might be awkward for you because you talk with your friends everyday. I talk with my friends everyday, too. But, what I'm trying to tell you is that we create memories when we talk to others, and, honestly, I would like to make more friends."

"So, you're asking me to be your friend."

Blue Alarm nodded.

"Uh, probably?" Lyra shrugged, giving him a nervous face. "We're done with breakfast, and I've been here for twenty minutes!" Lyra stood up. "It was, uh, nice talking to you, but I have other things to do. Gotta go, bye!" Then, she scurried off.

Blue Alarm looked at the running mare. Then, he looked at the rest of the ponies seated at the other tables, talking with each other and chatting over food.

He flew away.

He hovered over the streets of Ponyville. The general mood of the place was profoundly happy and light—there were no fights, there was no complaining, there were only ponies happy with each other whether they stood or walked. Inside and outside, there were cheerful ponies cleaning their houses, cleaning the streets, selling their produce, carrying some things. Earth ponies were carrying buckets and baskets of food from apples to carrots and oranges. Pegasi in the sky arranged the clouds, pushing the clouds here and there. Unicorns were levitating various things, some of them beautifying their abodes, others performing simple magic tricks to entertain their friends.

"Seems like a busy yet not-so-busy day," Blue Alarm commented as he observed the ponies around him.

"Ooh!" a female and posh voice cried out. "Do I remember you?"

Blue Alarm turned around mid-air.

"Rarity?" Blue Alarm said.

"Why, of course, darling!" Rarity said in her fancy accent. "You're Blue Alarm, am I correct?"

"Yes, Rarity," Blue Alarm replied. He looked over both of his shoulders. "Why are you outside? I thought you were inside your boutique, trying to create some clothes."

"It would be unthinkable for me to spend all day just working!" Rarity answered in an exaggerated way, throwing her hooves around here and there to enhance the histrionics of the talk. "A pony like me deserves well-needed and well-earned rest! I was hoping to go for a quick trip to the Hay Burger—"

Blue Alarm silently balked a little.

"What? Were you expecting me to eat at a high-class restaurant? I decided to try my hoof at something else, even if it is a bit...messy." She flinched. "I don't know why Twilight, out of all the friends I have, would want to go there, at a messy, horrible, and uncouth eatery like the Hay Burger!" Then, she straightened up and calmed down. "But, if she insists, then I'll be there. Although, I'd have to muster up all the strength that I have to resist running out of there screaming."

"What's wrong with the Hay Burger, anyway?" Blue Alarm asked. "Wait, don't tell me. It's just...not clean enough for you."

"If it isn't even clean enough for me, I understand that cleanliness isn't probably what the Hay Burger aims to achieve. It aims to give fast food to ponies and the ponies who want fast food usually care less about how neat a restaurant is."

"So, you're going?"

"Maybe I should invite Sweetie Belle to join me!" Rarity yelled. "She would love such a place! Also, she could help me stop myself from overreacting there."

Blue Alarm looked over his shoulders again. "Do you have anything else for the day?"

"No, Blue Alarm," Rarity said. "However, you could join us. It would be lovely to have you with us! We could talk about how your life is and how our lives are!"

"I'll pass," Blue Alarm replied. "Thanks for the offer, though."

"It is a little sad you aren't going, but I respect your decision. Goodbye!" Then, Rarity walked away.

Blue Alarm hovered on.

Blue Alarm hovered over the neat and shiny floor inside the Castle of Friendship. Around him were the tall, crystal walls that shimmered brightly and elegantly. Hoofsteps echoed through the long hallways adorned with the huge windows.

A green stallion walked up to Twilight.

"Uh, Twilight," Wensley said. "I was wondering about Ponyville and its place."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure what you're trying to talk about."

"Well, you're a Princess and you live in this big castle—"

"And I don't plan to tell other ponies about that," Twilight interrupted. "Just because I'm a Princess doesn't mean I want all the attention that other ponies might give me. It's very distracting, I think."

"Oh, that's a good point, but I wasn't focusing on that, Twilight. Rather, I was thinking about Ponyville's place as a center of...something. I mean, having a Princess here is already something prominent about Ponyville, something that makes Ponyville stand out from all the other towns and cities in Equestria. Don't you think ponies and citizens of other kingdoms are going to be flocking here?"

"What for?" Twilight asked. "To visit me?"

"That would be one good reason," Wensley went on, "but what about the fact that the Elements of Harmony live here, that the Cutie Mark Crusaders live here, and that Discord also lives here...to an extent. What do you think about that?"

"I know it's going to attract visitors and tourists to the place, but I'm honestly not ready for that."

"Oh, that's a good enough anwer for me. When's the next book club time? Tonight?"

"Tonight," Twilight answered, smiling.

"I'll be around in Ponyville," Wensley said as he trotted his way towards the double doors. He looked at the hovering changeling. "Oh, a changeling. That's nice. Hope you have a good day!" Then, he opened the doors and exited the castle.

Blue Alarm turned around to see Twilight. "Hi, Twilight."

"Oh, Blue Alarm!" she greeted, walking towards him. "Why are you here? Do you have a friendship problem?" She smiled. "Do you have a squabble or a quarrel with any of your friends? I have Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie already inside, so we can settle the issue once and for all!"

"Uh, I was just here to talk," Blue Alarm said. "I have no problems with my friends."

Twilight leaned closer to the changeling, still smiling at him. "Are you sure you have no friendship problems?"

"I'm very sure, Twilight."

She frowned. Then, she smiled again. "That's OK. It's an indicator that your friendship is going smoothly! Aren't you proud about that, Blue Alarm?"

The changeling smiled. "Actually, that's something nice to have."

Twilight nodded. "What do you want to talk about? Do you want to talk about it with my friends or do you want to talk to just me?"

"Either way is fine," Blue Alarm replied. "I just like the experience of talking. It shows more and more of who you're talking to. Plus, it gives you good times to remember."

"Perfect for a friendship," Twilight added.

And, the two walked through the hallway. Their hoofsteps echoed.

"Anything about the Changeling Kingdom?" Twilight asked. "You seem to be out quite a lot lately. Don't you miss your homes there?"

"The truth is, Twilight, when you see the same thing everyday, there's that need to go out and see something new. We still do our part in helping the reconstruction and rebuilding of our place, but we really like to go out because we want to see more than just the Changeling Kingdom everyday."

"Mm-hmm. How does Thorax feel about it? Isn't he getting mad about changelings wanting to go out, even if it's just for a few days or so?"

"He's actually very happy about it," Blue Alarm replied. "He says that it shows that the changelings genuinely want to visit other places, most especially Equestria, and that they really want to make friends. As long as they contribute to the rebuilding, then Thorax is OK with it."

"I understand, Blue Alarm, but I'm concerned about changelings, well, not spending enough time in their own kingdom. They might end up travelling too much and then they might desire a place somewhere else and they might move to a house that's not in the Changeling Kingdom. That would upset Thorax, not to mention the other problems that might cause for the Changeling Kingdom such as loss of changeling power, less changelings to produce goods, and so on."

"I think all of us changelings adore our king enough to stay in the kingdom," Blue Alarm answered. "He's very friendly with us everyday and seeks to enjoy his free time with us."

Twilight smiled, her eyes somewhat watery. She blinked.

"Are you crying?" Blue Alarm asked, tilting his head.

"Uh, no, no! I wasn't crying! I wasn't about to cry, either! Heh-heh-heh-heh!"

Then, they entered the room where the Cutie Map resided. Three other ponies sat on their respective crystal thrones.

"So, it's like a cake but not really a cake?" Rainbow Dash asked Pinkie Pie.

"It's a fake cake!" Pinkie declared by screaming at her. "However, this fake cake is made up of all the ingredients that you would find in a real cake! But it isn't a cake!"

"My head's already hurting," Fluttershy said, rubbing her head.

"Come on, Fluttershy!" Pinkie said. "All you need to understand is that it's a fake cake! It's like a cake but not really a cake, just like what Rainbow said!"

"But, you said that it's made up of the things that make up a real cake," Rainbow argued. "Shouldn't you just call that a cake?"

"That's where you're getting everything wrong!" Pinkie said, giving her a mean face. "This fake cake is made up of sugar, eggs, flour, and all the other ingredients of a real cake, but what makes this different from a real cake is that you don't exactly follow the instructions!"

"You mean the recipe."

"Correct!"

"That just means that it's a different kind of cake," Rainbow reasoned. "It might not be the best cake, it might not even be a good cake, but it's still a cake, right?"

"No, it isn't!" Pinkie screamed.

"Uh, girls," Twilight joined in, "sorry to interrupt, but I was just talking with Blue Alarm."

"Hi!" the three mares greeted together as they went off their chairs and walked towards him.

"So, what's your side on the fake cake debate?!" Pinkie suddenly shouted at him.

"Pinkie!" Twilight yelled at her.

"I believe that the cake you're talking about can be called a fake cake," Blue Alarm said.

"Hah!" Pinkie shouted, pointing a hoof at Rainbow. "I knew it! I knew it all along!"

"What?! How?!" Rainbow protested, showing her utter shock by holding out her front hooves in bewilderment.

"We have to see how Pinkie defines a cake," Blue Alarm said, "but I don't want to be involved in that discussion any longer." He looked at Fluttershy who was a bit farther away from the rest of them. "So, what were you doing before Pinkie talked about what a fake cake is?"

"Oh, we were just hanging out," Fluttershy responded quietly and softly. She slowly approached the changeling. "It was nothing serious—it was all very casual and light-hearted, sharing our stories and laughing at each others' jokes."

"I was hoping that the Cutie Map would show us a cool, awesome adventure!" Rainbow spoke, imitating a fighting stance. "But, the Cutie Map didn't point us towards a place to solve a friendship problem, so we just sat here and talked. And then Pinkie talked about fake cakes." She pointed a hoof at her.

Pinkie was bouncing up and down. "If you want, we could discuss this further!"

"Nah, I'm fine with what I already heard," Blue Alarm replied, anxiously smiling. "I'm here to observe and to watch the ponies and to interact with them sometimes."

"So, you're like a researcher?!" Pinkie yelled.

"Not really. I just do it for myself. It's fun. It's interesting."

"Where's the fun in that?" Rainbow asked.

"The ponies that walk on the street—have you ever asked yourself why they're walking on the street now? Maybe they're going to buy some clothes from Rarity, or maybe they're going to eat at the Sugarcube Corner, or maybe they're going to the train station to catch a train to Appleloosa or the Crystal Empire or Canterlot. I see a wealth of information from just asking one question—or, at least, lots of speculation."

"That sounds...very cool," Fluttershy remarked.

"I know some ponies who engage in that once in a while," Twilight said. "You could meet some of them at tonight's book club session!" She leaned towards one of the changelings' ears. "I promise that it wouldn't end so late!"

Blue Alarm nodded and headed his way towards the doors.

"You're leaving already?" Twilight asked, stunned. Her friends were also looking at him.

"Yeah. Thanks for the time."

"How's the clock tower?" a beige mare with gray mane and tail asked the changeling as they looked at the tower in front of them. "You could hear every single tick and tock that the clock makes. It's one of our great landmarks here in Ponyville. It has quite a history."

Blue Alarm just stood there, still looking at the clock tower.

The mare adjusted her glasses. "I held some speeches here. The crowds of ponies gathering on the dirt path and on the hill—it was a sight to see! And, here are some pictures of the clock tower from the past month or so."

She gave him some pictures.

Blue Alarm looked at the pictures, bringing them closer to his face.

The first picture was that of Twilight Sparkle and her five best friends and Spike and Starlight Glimmer posing behind the tower. Their smiles conveyed a joyful atmosphere, making the picture a happy one. The second picture showed a pony wearing a visor and a shirt, proudly showing off his camera as he stood behind the clock tower. The third picture was that of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, smiling at the camera.

"You might've noticed that the clock can be seen in the first two pictures," the mare told. "If you look closely, you'll notice what appears to be an inconsistency. In the first picture, there are twelve marks on the clock, each mark specifying the hour. In the second picture, there are only ten."

"Why is that, Mayor Mare?" Blue Alarm asked.

"We routinely change the clock, or, rather, the face of the clock every now and then. It gives the clock a sense of change. It also varies the town a little—although nopony would notice that on a normal day. What we do with the clock that we do take is that we clean it. That's it. After a while, when it's time to return it, we bring it back to the clock tower."

Blue Alarm hovered over the grass.

It was windy, the breeze cooling the air and lightly touching the pony and the changeling. The grass bended to the breeze, and so did the trees and the plants nearby. A few leaves flew.

And the ticking of the clock was there.

"Thank you, Mayor Mare," Blue Alarm said, offering a hoofshake to the pony.

"No, Blue Alarm, thank you."

They shook hooves.

The air smelled of tasty food. The beckoning fragrance brought ponies inside where more ponies sat on the chairs and ate the hay burgers and their horseshoe fries and drank their sodas. The chatter there was an easygoing one, composed of different ponies talking to each other and the occasional laugh. It was a pleasant environment, a pleasant restaurant, to be in. The chefs who also served as the cashiers would walk back and forth between the counter and the kitchen, talking with the customers heartily as if they were long-time friends. The chefs, too, would occasionally laugh.

Among the customers were Rarity, Sweetie Belle, Twilight Sparkle, and Blue Alarm, all seated around the same table. Rarity eyed her sister nervously while she sipped her soda. She frowned, gulping, and anxiously glanced at Twilight. Her face was sweating profusely. She placed a hoof on her face.

She looked at the changeling, eating the hay burger with his hooves.

She looked at Sweetie Belle, munching on her hay burger which she levitated with her magic.

She looked at Twilight Sparkle, sipping her soda rather loudly.

Twilight tilted the soda with her magic. "Whoops! It must be empty! Good thing I ordered another one!" She placed the empty soda cup aside and acquired another one using her magic.

Rarity looked at the hay burger in front of her.

It had two buns. There were pieces of fresh lettuce inside along with pieces of fresh tomatoes. Under the vegetables was the hay itself, steaming and fresh from the fryer. It was dripping with oil and had a crispy appearance to it. The smell emanating from the burger was that of a wonderful smell of fried food.

Rarity gulped again.

Her front hooves were shaking.

She placed them on the table.

She grabbed the burger with her hooves.

"Oh, no!" she whispered to herself. "How long shall I wash my hooves after this?!"

She slowly brought it closer to her mouth.

Now, it was right in front of her mouth.

She slowly opened her mouth.

Rarity took a bite of the hay burger.

She chewed the bite.

She placed the burger down.

She wiped her hooves with tissue.

"Are you enjoying your food, Rarity?" Blue Alarm asked.

Rarity screamed and almost fell.

She grabbed the table.

All the ponies inside were now looking at her.

Rarity blinked and looked away from the other ponies.

"Rarity!" Sweetie Belle said. "It's just a hay burger! There's nothing wrong with it!"

Spike

Twilight arranged the books in the library, levitating many books and moving a book here and moving a book there. She hummed a melody. It was a simple melody.

Spike, meanwhile, sat on one of the chairs. He rested his head on the table, holing his head with his claws.

Twilight kept humming while she arranged the books.

Then, the bookshelves were filled.

Twilight turned around.

She stopped smiling.

"Spike?" Twilight trotted her way to him. "Spike, what's wrong? Do you feel sick?"

"No, Twilight," Spike drowsily said, attempting to get a hold on himself. "I was just...thinking and remembering."

"Thinking and remembering what, Spike?"

"Thorax."

Spike rested his head again on the table.

"Aww, do you miss him?" Twilight asked.

"Well, what do you think?"

Twilight looked at him.

On his face was a scowl.

"Before you tell me anything about why he cannot be here most of the time, yes, Twilight, I know about why he cannot be here most of the time! He's a king of his own kingdom and I'm not regretful of that. He has his royal duties to fulfill, he has meetings to go to, he has summits to attend—and you're a Princess, so I can catch a glimpse of him once in a while and we could chat. But, of course, break time's always short before all the delegates and all the members have to convene again to talk about things that are way over my head." He sulked.

Spike sighed. "We had some great memories and times together. Even when he was 'Crystal Hoof,' when he was disguised as a pony, we had a few laughs, a few snacks, a few chats. It got a lot better after Cadance and Shining Armor accepted him. Back then, Thorax had no obligations, no royal duties to attend to. All that he needed to do was to make friends—and I was already his friend. OK, he didn't live in Ponyville—he lived in the Crystal Empire—but, thanks to you, I could go there sometimes and meet him. Thorax would tell me some things about the Changeling Hive, but...I understand why he didn't wanna talk about it much." He paused, the scowl on his face becoming a frown. "We ate together, we played games together. It was fun."

Twilight patted Spike. On her face was a frown, too.

"Then, Chrysalis returned and captured all of us. When I saw Thorax again...he was different. I was happy when I realized that all of the changelings are now free, free to do good. But, I also realized that Thorax was now the king of the Changeling Kingdom—and I knew what that meant. I knew that the Changeling Kingdom needs some work to get back on its hooves, and I knew that whoever is going to lead that kingdom was going to have a lot of work. And, when I realized that Thorax was going to be the king..."

Spike sniffed.

Twilight hugged him.

A tear went down Spike's face.

And then, another a tear.

And then, another.

And another.

Twilight patted Spike while she hugged him.

"Spike, you don't have to sob," Twilight whispered. "You know that you can always go to the Changeling Kingdom."

"But, even if I do go there," Spike whined, "what if one of the changelings tells me that he's busy, that he's currently occupied with some royal work?!"

"I can always ask him what his schedule is," Twilight answered. "I'm sure that by being prepared, you could then go spend some time with him. And, besides, there are times when Thorax goes here, remember?"

"Yeah, but, usually, they're either for royal duties or for his new friends." Spike sulked again, now scowling.

"You mean Discord, Starlight, and Trixie?" Twilight said, slightly balking away from the baby dragon. "Oh, I didn't know that—that they were—that Thorax would be—" She gasped and breathed quickly. She glanced at the library doors. She looked at Spike. "I should've recognized that, if I grouped Thorax with the friends he has now, that I would be exempting you!"

"At least he's OK with the friends he has," Spike said nonchalantly. "At least...he's happy." He sniffed again.

"Spike, I'm going to amend this!" Twilight declared.

"How? Thorax is a king, and he's probably a king who's busy with all the work that he has."

"Oh, I wasn't considering that." She paced the room. "Well, not to worry! With enough planning, this can be solved once and for all!"

"Twilight, friendship cannot be quantified!"

"I know that, Spike," Twilight said before making a light-hearted laugh. "I just need to think about when you could spend time with Thorax! Thorax is, of course, busy and occupied, but that doesn't mean he's going to be busy and occupied all the time! What about you go and join Thorax and Starlight when he arrives in Ponyville. Try taking an active role, Spike!"

"Well, when's the next time he's going to be here, Twilight?" Spike asked, holding a claw as a gesture.

Twilight giggled. "Today, later this morning?" She grinned widely.

"What?! I gotta go to the train station now!"

And Spike hurried off.

"Spike, wait! What about the snacks?!"

At the simple train station, three creatures stood on the platform. It was a cool morning, the sun shining in the clear sky as a few pegasi were flying.

"There must've been a mistake!" Discord grumbled. He brought up a little watch. "According to my clock, the train is supposed to be here hours ago!"

Starlight and Trixie looked at him. "Hours, Discord?" Starlight asked, giving Discord a pensive look. "You do know that trains arrive every fifteen minutes or so."

"What do you know about trains?" He threw a miniature toy train at her.

"Hey!"

"I could always teleport that train here." Discord laughed.

"And then cause chaos for all the other trains who are on a schedule that is dependent on every train being on time, not being too early or too late?"

"I'm the master of chaos, Starlight! I may be reformed, but that doesn't mean I couldn't have a little of my own kind of fun now and then!" He made a fist out of his claw.

"Oh, what if I told Twilight that you were about to hurt Starlight with your magic?" Trixie spoke.

"Trixie," Discord said, "she would just tell me to apologize and to clean up the mess that I made. It's not much of a deal to me, to be quite honest with you."

"What, are you telling me that you really want to hurt me?!" Starlight yelled.

Then, the loud whistle of the train.

"Finally, a train that arrived on time," Discord complained. He checked the little watch. "This watch is probably useless considering the second hand isn't even moving."

"Discord!" Starlight yelled.

"It's called a joke, Starlight," Discord said. "Cheer up!"

And the three watched as the train approached the train station, slowing down until the wheels stopped and the train whistled loudly again.

The train's doors opened and many ponies walked and trotted out of the train, some of them carrying bags and baggages and luggages. One changeling exited the train.

"Thorax!" they yelled as they ran towards him and gave him a hug.

"Aww! You don't have to do that—do we have to do that every time we meet each other?" Thorax looked around.

The other ponies there were watching them hug. A few ponies muttered and murmured among themselves.

They stopped hugging.

"Any plans for today, Thorax?" Discord asked. "This time, let's just leave Ponyville and take the next train to wherever it's going to take us! You won't have to choose between the options you have here in Ponyville!" A map appeared and Discord showed it to him. "There are so many places in Equestria to have some fun!"

"We could go to the Changeling Kingdom!" Thorax said.

Discord remained smiling, blinking a few times before he closed the map and scowled at him. "Any place within Equestria, Thorax."

"You let him decide, Discord," Starlight said, standing up to the draconequus.

"Oh, alright!" Discord took a seat and grabbed a bag of popcorn.

"I suggest Manehattan!" Trixie yelled, raising a hoof and jumping up and down. "It's a city with endless activity, and there's going to be something that you will enjoy there! Like the parks!"

"Yeah, the parks," Starlight said, smiling. "I have a kite with me, Thorax. I can teach you how to fly a kite, if you want to, that is." She avoided Thorax's look, nervously glancing at other places.

"Don't be silly, Starlight," Trixie said.

"Yeah...what is a kite?" Thorax asked.

Starlight and Trixie gasped. "You don't know what a kite is?!" Starlight shouted, shocked and placing her front hooves on to her face.

"Here, this is a kite!" Discord yelled, holding a string that led to a kite that was flying in the sky. The kite was a simple, diamond-shaped kite.

Thorax looked up.

"So, what do you do with it?" Thorax said. "Do you check the weather? Is it like a detector of wind? Or, is it a toy? Is it part of a game? Do lots of ponies use kites or are only the ponies in Ponyville knowledgeable about kites? Is there some sort of kite-flying competition?"

Starlight patted Thorax's shoulder. "Heh-heh-heh-heh. That's a lot of questions for a kite, Thorax!"

And a baby dragon stumbled and fell and tumbled on to the wooden platform. He landed with a thud.

Spike groaned as he recovered and regained his balance and dusted himself. "I made it!"

"Made it to what, Spike?" Discord said, giving Spike a glass of water. "Are you in hot water or something? Because, if you are, here's some cold water to douse the trouble!" Then, drums appeared and Discord performed a quick and funny drum beat.

Starlight, Trixie, Thorax, and Spike looked at him weirdly. Spike shook his head. "Really, Discord? Is that the best you got?"

"And, why are there drums?" Thorax asked. "Does it make it funnier?"

Discord grumbled and threw the drums away. "Well, then, it looks like, according to you, I have to undergo some comedy school! But, let's sweep that away and just think about the day. First, let's ask about why Spike is here?" Discord flew to him and pointed a claw at him; Spike was slowly stepping back with each inch that Discord moved. "Are you trying to spy on us? Did Twilight send you? Because if she did, then tell her that, no, we're not going to be doing anything dangerous." Then, Discord stood on the platform. "Relatively speaking, that is."

"I'm here to just spend time with Thorax," Spike said.

Thorax walked towards the baby dragon and smiled. He nervously scratched his head. "Hi, Spike!"

Spike glanced away from him—then, he looked back at him, smiling though his eyes were a little watery. "Hi, Thorax!"

And he ran to him and hugged him.

"I miss you, too, Spike!" Thorax shouted with joy. "It's good that I managed to get some free time, a day off! And then, you arrived! I'm sure you'll make this day even better and even more awesome!"

"What is Spike going to contribute to our time, anyway?" Discord said. "He's just here to drag us down because, well, he's short and all!"

Then, the train's doors closed and accelerated away, later disappearing in the horizon.

Discord sighed and straightened his tie. He grabbed a hat and placed it on his head.

"Why are you wearing that?" Thorax asked.

"I'm just initiating my backup plan, my royal changeling king," Discord said. Then, he snapped his claw.

They appeared.

The noise of the ponies walking on the sidewalks was almost deafening as the many carriages on the streets only helped increase the sound of the city. Tall buildings surrounded them, lining up the streets. Billboards and other forms of advertisements dotted the place, some of them on the rooftops of the buildings. The ponies themselves were quite varied—a unicorn pony wearing fancy clothes passed by an Earth pony in a normal businesspony's attire who then passed by a pegasus pony wearing no clothes who then passed by another pegasus pony who wore a simple shirt.

The smell of the road was a strange smell.

It was a clear sky.

"Welcome to Manehattan!" Discord announced.

Thorax and Spike were frightened, jumping back from the stream of ponies walking here and there on the sidewalk.

"This is too much!" Thorax shouted, his voice shaky. "Where do we even start with all these ponies moving around so fast?!"

"Hey, step away!" a pony yelled as he rushed his way. "Out of the way!"

Starlight was quickly looking around, taking in the new surroundings. "Discord, you should've warned us that you were about to teleport!"

"It wouldn't be that fun if I did tell you," Discord argued. He straightened his tie again. "Now—" A map appeared and Discord grabbed it "—there are various landmarks in Manehattan that would just captivate you just by being there. There's the ice rink, there's the parks like what Trixie said, there's the top of almost any skyscraper, 'Rarity for You?!' Nah!"

"We should ask a proper tour guide," Thorax said, shaking a little as he watched the ponies walking and running on the sidewalk, some of them carrying bags, others holding foods and drinks. "We might get lost here!"

"I'm Discord, remember?"

"Thorax is right," Starlight said. "We shouldn't split up."

"What about me?!" Spike yelled, jumping up and down as he pointed to himself.

Thorax picked Spike up and placed him on his back. "You're going to be my buddy for the trip, Spike!"

And Spike and Thorax bumped their forelimbs—Spike's claw and Thorax's hoof.

"That's nice," Trixie said, "but we still don't know where to begin? I don't even know where we are exactly in Manehattan!" She smiled, giggling. "However, we're in Manehattan!"

"You don't require a tour guide to see all the sights here," Discord said.

"Actually, you do."

Everyone looked at the source of the voice.

Outside the line of ponies walking the sidewalk, there was an Earth pony with a blue suit. His coat was green. "I'm Trip Taker, your local tour guide for the day!" He offered a hoof.

Discord slapped his hoof. "Manehattan can't be that complex to traverse in."

"It is," Trip Taker said. "I don't care if you're the spirit of disharmony or whatever, Manehattan is a maze to anypony who hasn't seen the streets and the layout of the city. I've been here for my entire life, so you better trust me." He looked at Discord and his friends. "Wait a minute, this is right in the middle of the city and you managed to get yourself here? I didn't see you enter! Don't remember seeing you at the train station or any of the bridges."

"Discord teleported us here," Trixie said, pointing an accusatory hoof at the draconequus.

Discord smiled nervously as he waved his paw at Trip Taker.

"Since we're right in the middle," Trip Taker said, "I might as well tell you all about the districts we have here in Manehattan later."

Trixie bounced up and down and raised a hoof. "Are we going to the Mare Statue?"

Trip Taker giggled. "Of course, the symbol and icon of Manehattan itself. A tourist's dream." He sighed in awe. "Let's get all five of you to the Mare Statue with no teleporting." He eyed Discord. "I'm looking at you, Discord. I'm not afraid of you."

"You dare threaten me?"

"Ask any Manehattan resident here and the answer will always be 'Yes,' so get a move on!"

Trip Taker trotted off and Thorax and his friends followed him.

The breeze was windy, the air was cold, some ponies' clothes bended and flapped by the wind, and the view was astounding.

A heart-shaped telescope was there.

"Here's the view from the top of the Mare Statue!" Trip Taker said.

The five creatures hurried towards the windows.

Trixie gasped. "It's more amazing than I had ever thought of!"

"It's...a beautiful sea!" Thorax yelled. "What if I take some pictures of it so I can show the rest of the changelings? I bet that would bring in more visitors to Manehattan!"

"Manehattan's already a popular tourist destination," Trip Taker said. "It would make me happy to be able to help more tourists if that was the case."

Thorax took the camera and snapped some pictures of the view.

"And, here is the park!"

Thorax and his friends stepped on to the park's grounds.

Trees dotted the place as ponies walked around in the park. Ponies sat on the grass, some of them eating at picnics. Several ponies sat on the seats at the tables, talking to each other as they ate the food on the table. Some ponies were flying kites.

Starlight levitated a kite with its string from her bag.

"Looks like somepony's a kite-flyer!" Trip Taker commented before Starlight galloped off towards some of the other kite-flying ponies.

"Starlight, wait for me!" Trixie yelled before she ran off to follow her.

"Spike?" Thorax asked, turning around to see him on his back. "Are you OK?"

Spike nodded. "I cannot wait to hear what Twilight has to say about it!"

"Well, what can I do, Trip Taker?" Discord asked, exasperated and annoyed. He took out a chair and sat on it. "I would turn one of those trees into a candy tree, but then the police might try to arrest me. Then again, I could teleport!"

"Telling us about your evil plan isn't going to be helping you," Trip Taker said.

"Then, I might as well just sit here and wait!" Discord said. Then, he brought out a watch. Then, he took it away.

Trip Taker faced Spike and Thorax. "Tell the girls that you better meet me here when they're done! There's a lot more to Manehattan than this park!"

"Alright!" Thorax yelled as he trotted off towards Starlight and Trixie, having Spike on his back.

As they walked on the sidewalks, passing by numerous other ponies in their own routes throughout Manehattan, Trip Taker was talking.

"We have several districts here in Manehattan. We refer to them rather unrigidly, since we're not so strict on what the boundaries are."

As Trip Taker was talking, Thorax looked at Spike. "You know what, Spike? I miss the times we had when I wasn't the ruler of the Changeling Kingdom."

Spike stopped smiling.

"We were so free. Nopony told me that I had to do this or that I had to do that. I was the one who decided what to do, and I'm glad I could have you as a friend. But, when we saved the changelings, I was given the task to lead the rebuilding efforts of the Changeling Kingdom. I became the king. I knew that I would not have enough time to spend with you, Spike. So, even just some time here in Manehattan is good, and it's even better now that you could also spend some time with my other friends as well, even if you're already familiar with them."

Spike smiled. "Thanks, Thorax."

"Anything else you want to say, Spike?"

"Why?"

"Because Trip Taker stopped walking."

Spike looked at Trip Taker.

"Who wants to take a break at the sandwich restaurant?!"

And Trip Taker went inside along with Thorax and his friends.

The air was cool as the sound of ponies behind the counter moving around and operating cooking machines filled the air. The smell of freshly-made sandwiches was sumptuous. Ponies, both enthusiastic and bored, lined up as ponies took their orders. Some ponies sat on the chairs in front of the counter, others sat on the chairs at the tables. All of them were eating a kind of sandwich. One pony was eating a simple sandwich with lettuce inside. Another pony was eating a tall sandwich with multiple layers and was using a knife to cut it properly.

A few ponies gasped. "Discord is eating here?!" a pony shouted.

"Just stay calm," the pony beside him assured. "He isn't planning anything bad right now."

"How do you know, anyway?"

"Trust me. He's just going to eat with his friends. Nothing wrong."

A Conversation with a Pony

"You live in the Changeling Kingdom?" the stallion asked, seated on a chair.

Blue Alarm, on the chair from the other side of the table, nodded.

"It's my first time having a real discussion with a changeling!" the pony said, placing his front hooves on the table and somewhat standing up, on his face a big grin. "There were some days when changelings would visit Ponyville, but I've only had ten-second conversations with them before they went away to some other place. Now, we can talk until the start of Twilight's book club session tonight!"

Blue Alarm looked at the orange, sunset sky. The sun shone its bright light onto Ponyville. He looked at the pony. "It's only sunset. It's not even night."

"Do you have errands?" he asked. "I undestand if you have errands to do."

"No, not really. I'm OK with having a talk. There's not much I planned to do today. Just to rest here in Ponyville, getting friendly with the friendly residents. We're not here for just the Equestria-famous ponies—you know, Princess Twilight Sparkle and her closest friends." He smiled. "Well, maybe Humerus—always excited for them. The rest of us are here to enjoy Ponyville for all that it has to offer—there are some storse and other sorts of services here in Ponyville that I didn't expect to see in other towns or, really, anywhere."

"What about Manehattan?" the stallion asked. "Or Trottingham? They're quite bigger than this town and you could have more things to do there."

"It's too busy to stay in those cities for a long while," Blue Alarm replied. He looked at the streets of Ponyville, occupied by ponies casually walking by. "Here, the ponies move at a good pace for us. We don't have much to worry about here."

The stallion nodded. "So, what is it like in the Changeling Kingdom? I'm...quite eager to know more about the Changeling Kingdom and the changelings."

"And, I'm quite eager to know more about Equestria and the ponies," Blue Alarm said. "I understand if you want to ask me about where I live and my fellow changelings. Books are really good to read, but talking to ponies about Equestria and themselves is a good experience."

The stallion smiled. "So, like I said, what is it like there?"

"It's undergoing some great changes," Blue Alarm said. "Thorax has a vision in mind to turn the Changeling Kingdom into something that is clearly a place where changelings live, but he also wants it to be a good kingdom that helps others. Now, he wants it to have lots of changeling culture, but we're having lots of trouble about that."

"What's going on?" the stallion asked, concerned.

"We...don't have much to make a culture about. We used to be under a militaristic and evil leader for such a long time that we don't have much else to write or sing or paint about. We could try writing, singing, and painting about our former lives as evil creatures, but we really don't want to do that. A lot of us changelings also wanted whatever ponies would create and sell. Then, Thorax was worried that we might just be consuming lots of pony items that we could be stifling changeling creativity and culture."

"So, what is Thorax doing now, specifically?"

"Thorax is making big changes, starting with how changeling houses and the like look," Blue Alarm said. "That's the first part of the plan."

"What about the other parts, the next steps of the plan?"

"Thorax himself hasn't thought about them yet. But, we know that whatever he's going to do, it's going to be awesome."

The stallion smiled. He looked at the sky.

"Are you checking for the sunset?" Blue Alarm asked.

"Yeah. It's always nice to see the sun set. Some ponies take pictures of the sunset and of the sunrise."

"Do you have some of them now?"

"They're back in my house." The stallion grinned. "I can show you my house! We can talk there!"

"I'm OK. Sitting here and seeing ponies live their lives is comfortable enough for me."

"Don't worry." The stallion looked at the streets of ponies again. "Well, what's the daily life of a changeling look like?"

"It's not an easy question to answer. Now, because of the plan that Thorax has for the Changeling Kingdom and us changelings, I might give you an answer that will be outdated by next week."

"I'll ask you another question. What about your friends? Do you have lots of changeling friends? Pony friends?"

"I have many changeling friends." Blue Alarm smiled. "I'm making more and more pony friends."

"I could be your friend."

Blue Alarm kept smiling. "We could start with the book club session at Twilight's castle since I think we both like books."

"Yeah!" the stallion shouted. "I have my first changeling friend! I wonder what we're going to be doing together!"

"We're going to be travelling a lot," Blue Alarm said, "so I won't be seeing you that often."

"I still have a changeling friend!"

"You're quite positive about it."

"Why wouldn't I be positive about it?!" Then, the stallion straightened himself up. "OK, what other questions could I ask you, Blue Alarm, about the changelings and the Changeling Kingdom?"

"There's our diplomatic position," Blue Alarm said. "We're currently in good relations with all of the nearby kingdoms that we know of. Equestria is a great kingdom and we are glad to now be friends with it. We changelings love what you ponies do. The Dragon Lands is good, although I don't know much about the customs and the culture of dragons. Thorax and Ember are OK with each other. That means that the Changeling Kingdom and the Dragon Lands are OK with each other, also. Yakyakistan is far away. However, Thorax wants to seek good relations with Yakyakistan."

"The Changeling Kingdom is a peaceful kingdom to live in," the stallion commented. "What about the general mood of the Changeling Kingdom? No changelings fighting each other?"

"No. There might be the occasional fight, but we usually don't fight each other."

"What about if I take a trip there?"

"It wouldn't be the best time," Blue Alarm replied. "All the construction efforts are going to bother you."

"Anything else?" the stallion asked. "I want to go to the castle already! I want to be early to the book club session!"

The spacious library room was abuzz with the chatters of ponies and the flipping of pages and the hoofsteps of more ponies as they chatted. Several ponies, either by using one of their hooves or by using their unicorn magic, were getting books off the shelves. Others were placing the books back on the shelves. More and more ponies were coming in, the big double doors of the library open.

At one table, there was Twilight Sparkle with Moon Dancer and the rest of her friends—Lemon Hearts, Minuette, and Twinkleshine. On the table were some books of various types.

At another table, there were Rainbow Dash and Quibble Pants and a few other ponies who were wearing clothes similar to that of Daring Do. The ponies there argued and slammed their hooves on the table, holding up a Daring Do book or two to prove a point or to counter a point from another pony.

At yet another table, Cheese Sandwich and Pinkie Pie were reading a book together. On the book was the title, "Party!"

Beside that table was another table, one where Blue Alarm and the stallion were seated at. Blue Alarm was holding a book. The stallion was holding one, too.

"Anyway, how's your friends?" the stallion asked. "Are you alright with them? No problems or anything?"

"The best friends a changeling could ever have." Blue Alarm nudged the book aside. "They've been with me for much of my life. Before Thorax arrived to show us the better way, we were together in the same group of changeling soldiers. We were never really friends, but we did share some good times."

"Stealing love from ponies?" the stallion said, somewhat terrified as he slowly recoiled from the changeling.

"We were desperate," Blue Alarm said. "Where else could we get love? We were hungry, starving for love! Nopony and no changeling told us about sharing love with others."

"Then, Thorax arrived and you became good."

"Yeah. The first thing I did after all of us changelings became good was to look for Neon Guard—he was our leader of our group. And, after we got together, we decided to travel Equestria. We had some cool events and occasions, but we had no big adventures or anything like that."

"And, isn't it cool you're able to be here?" the stallion asked.

Blue Alarm raised an eyebrow, puzzled.

"That it's cool to be in this place where ponies aren't scared of you, that they aren't concerned that you might steal their love?"

"The Princesses themselves helped. The speeches assured the ponies that we're not evil anymore. They assured us, too—it meant that we didn't have to face lots of ponies trying to run away from us when we visited their towns and cities. Well, usually that was the case. Some ponies are still scared of us. There are a few who even have some conspiracies in their heads, thinking that we have captured the Princesses. But, you know that isn't true."

"Yeah," the stallion replied. "That's a crazy idea, right?"

"For us, it's crazy," Blue Alarm said. "For them, it's the only idea, the only story, the only explanation that makes sense. I do not want to convince them that we're not involved in that sort of evil plan—too much of a hassle for me."

"Mm-hmm." The stallion looked at the table where Twilight Sparkle and her friends were.

They laughed.

"How does it feel like to live near the Princess?" Blue Alarm asked. "Along with the rest of the Elements of Harmony who have saved Equestria several times? Along with Discord, too? Do you get nervous or excited?"

"Don't forget nervouscited!" Pinkie interrupted before heading back to the table where Cheese Sandwich was.

The stallion giggled. He turned towards the changeling who was looking and watching the two ponies read their book.

The changeling looked back at him.

"It's...great. I've been here in Ponyville for some time, before Twilight arrived here. To have the heroines of Equestria living in the same town you live in—it is exciting and nervous for a while, but it's been months, even years. Sooner or later, you get used to having Twilight and her friends fight some evil creature or having Discord sometimes make a joke by breaking our schedules."

"So, you're OK with it, just living a normal life in Ponyville?"

"I don't want to say 'normal,'" the stallion answered. He glanced at some ponies who were passing by the table. They were carrying some books and were talking to each other. "Life in Ponyville is never normal. Almost everyday, something out of the ordinary happens. Pinkie Pie sometimes throws a party to celebrate some random holiday that I've never heard of. Twilight makes visits with Mayor Mare to talk about Ponyville and how it's going so far—and, somehow, that's not ordinary. Discord—you know, Blue Alarm. Discord's going to teleport here and there, trying to have fun by ruining our day, although we know it's just him being Discord. The Cutie Mark Crusaders are now going across town, helping other colts and fillies get their cutie marks or to understand what their cutie marks mean. The Crusaders are usually engaged in some adventure to help ponies like them. Starlight Glimmer is trying to be active in making friends, and she occasionally slips up and uses magic to speed up the process—it never ends well. That's not everything, Blue Alarm." He laughed a little. "Ponyville life is very out of the ordinary. Trust me—I've lived here for several years."

Blue Alarm smiled. "What do you think of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna?"

"And, you'll tell me what do you think of King Thorax?"

"Why not?"

"Princess Celestia was the Princess most of us grew up with. We've seen her Summer Sun Celebrations. She's so kind! We never thought that she had a sister—we always thought that the 'Mare in the Moon' was just a fictional character, part of the tale. So, when Princess Luna returned, I thought that it was crazy! We were all scared—she used to be Nightmare Moon! She was trying to make the night last forever! Then, Twilight showed us that Princess Luna wasn't that evil anymore. And, from there, we accepted her and we adore her as much as we adore Princess Celestia."

"My turn to answer your question."

The stallion smiled.

"Thorax is a good king. He's shy, he's new to being a king, being a ruler to an entire kingdom. But, he's doing his best. Thorax is quite active in making the Changeling Kingdom a good place to live in and making ponies and other creatures think that it's a good kingdom. Thorax needs guideance, however. I think Thorax sometimes making trips to either Twilight or Celestia and Luna is a good step in that way."

There was laughter.

The changeling and the stallion looked.

Twilight Sparkle, Moon Dancer, and their friends were laughing.

"What about we go to them?" the stallion said. "We can talk to them, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich—there's lots of ponies in this book club. Science, mathematics, mystery books, adventure books, Daring Do, reference books—there's also so much to read and to talk about here! So many topics to discuss—it's amazing that Twilight started this book club session!"

Blue Alarm stood up. "You're right."

The stallion stood up.

The chatter of ponies talking to each other filled the room as many ponies read their books. The arguing from Rainbow Dash and Quibble Pants's table was still loud. Blue Alarm and the stallion walked towards the table of Twilight Sparkle and her friends.

The Book Club Session

Blue Alarm stood on the purple floor. He looked up, seeing the yellow and green banners with their stylizations of a tree. He looked at the ponies that were inside the library room. They were all busy just enjoying the night, talking to each other as many of them held their books. The occasional joyous laughter brightened up the mood, giving the book club session a welcoming sense. There were a few more ponies entering the library, walking in and looking at what was going on.

"Wonderbolt history," a pony said, " Equestrian history, Ponyville history, Canterlot history—what's interesting about history is that we get a glimpse of what happened before."

Blue Alarm looked at where the pony was.

He was wearing a hat and was standing in front of a table of other ponies who were also standing.

"Ponyville, for example, is, today, a good place to live in and a good place to visit," the pony went on. "However, who built the houses? Who used to live here before us? That's when the books about Ponyville's history become not just useful but, honestly, entertaining. You get to appreciate the ponies who decided to settle this place, you get to appreciate the ponies who built this town to be the town that it is now."

His audience nodded and one of the ponies stomped on the ground, approving the words.

Blue Alarm hovered over to another table, passing by more ponies who were walking by. Most of those ponies glanced at him and smiled.

He landed near the table.

"OK, Daring Do fans!" Rainbow Dash announced, looking fierce while she held up a Daring Do book. "Who here has read all the books so far?"

A few ponies raised their hooves.

"That's great! You're like me! You read the entire awesome adventure of Daring Do! But, what about the rest of you who haven't read all of the books?"

"We don't have the time?" a pony said. He was wearing an outfit that looked just like Daring Do's.

"When did you start reading the Daring Do books?" Rainbow asked.

"Just yesterday."

"What book are you on now?"

"Why are you asking this?"

"It's an important question!"

"I'm just here to have fun talking with other Daring Do fans, not get asked questions about my being a fan!"

Blue Alarm laughed a little before hovering off to another table.

That table was where Twilight Sparkle and Moon Dancer and their friends were. Most of them were holding books.

"Who's ready to talk about complex math?" Twilight declared.

Lemon Hearts, Minuette, and Twinkleshine groaned. "Really, Twilight? Is that the kind of things you want to talk with your friends?"

"Not all the time," Twilight said. "It's nice to talk about it, though. When you realize that numbers are more than just things you write on the paper and on the chalkboard, math starts to become something astounding, something that you see in everyday life."

"Like calculating the price of apples at the market, I get it!" Twinkleshine complained. "I understand the simple maths like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Fractions, yes, I get that, too. Maybe algebra. But calculus?"

"Calculus is fun, too. You just have to be interested in it!"

"Let's talk about something else, Twilight," Twinkleshine said. "Like, how's your being a Princess?"

"It's not really a big deal anymore," Twilight replied. "I mean, I don't have to be all arrogant about it. I still have lots of time to spend with my friends to go to other places in Equestria, to talk with each other casually, to have fun." She smiled.

"You've really become a better pony since we last saw you," Lemon Hearts said.

"Mm-hmm!" Moon Dancer looked at Twilight. "What about we talk about history?"

The three mares groaned again.

Blue Alarm hovered off again to another table.

At the table, Cheese Sandwich and Pinkie Pie were laughing.

"That's a great idea for a party!" Cheese said. "We could install balloons everywhere and then we let the party participants get all the balloons that they want!"

"That would cost lots of bits, though," Pinkie said. Then, she grinned. "But, you're right! It's a great idea!"

"And, here's another one: Instead of ordinary cakes, we use birthday pies! The challenge is to make them look just as amazing as a birthday cake!"

"I already have some birthday pies myself!" Pinkie then held a birthday pie. It was a simple pie with a few candles on top.

"Pinkie, I know you could do better than a pie with candles!"

Then, Pinkie held up another birthday pie. This one was more flashy, having lots of chocolate on it. It also had candles on top.

"What about we make it even more extravagant than that?!"

Pinkie held up another birthday pie. This one had tons of chocolate and maple syrup on it and it also had candles on top.

"OK, you might be ruining the floor already, Pinkie."

Pinkie then ate all of the three birthday pies.

Cheese laughed.

Blue Alarm hovered away from the table and landed on the floor.

He walked towards the long bookshelves containing many, many books. Books were being taken and were being placed back by the ponies there.

Blue Alarm picked a book from the lowest shelf.

It was a big book. On the cover was the title, "The History of Ponyville."

He opened the book.

Inside were paragraphs and paragraphs detailing and describing the founding of Ponyville and the ponies who had lived there.

He closed the book and placed the book back to where it was.

He took another book, this one from the shelf above the lowest one.

It was a smaller book. On the cover was the title, "Studying the Government of Equestria."

"I know this one," Blue Alarm said. "'Equestria is ruled by two Princesses, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, who rule over various towns and cities which may have their own governing ponies, an example of which is the mayor of Ponyville, who, as of now, is Mayor Mare.' The simple and short meaning of it. It would be good to know about the details and the more advanced parts of the government."

He placed the book back.

He took another book, this one from the shelf above the previous one. It was called "Equestrian Literature: The History and the Influence of Equestrian Literature."

Blue Alarm placed the book back.

"Oh, Blue Alarm!"

He turned around. "Twilight Sparkle!"

"That was a nice conversation we had with you and your friend!" she said. "I was just looking for some books. Moon Dancer wants to talk about magic and she wants to use the 'Magical Compendium' as a starting point." Her smile went away and she raised a curious eyebrow. "By the way, did you catch the name of your friend before he left?"

"Uh, no. Looks like I must've forgotten about it."

"I've been living here for some time, and I still don't know the names of all the ponies who live here," Twilight said. She laughed. "Silly me! Maybe he's new; that would explain it."

Then, several books glowed—they were enormous ones, their pages forming a considerable block of paper. Twilight levitated them and brought them out of their places and right beside Twilight.

"Your friend must be really interested in magic," Blue Alarm said.

"The rest of my friends are interested, too," Twilight said. "Not as interested as her, though. What were you looking for?"

"Just browsing," Blue Alarm replied.

"Ah, the pony or the changeling who is amazed by this grand collection of books that he doesn't know where to start! Just enjoy and talk with the other ponies here! You're already having a fun time here!"

"Thanks, Twilight."

"You're welcome, Blue Alarm!"

Then, Twilight walked off to her table.

Blue Alarm looked back at the many books in front of him. "Thorax would be so proud to have this many books made by us, written by us. I can imagine all the wonderful stories we could tell. Then, what about changeling life? A changeling could write that, too. Changelings would buy their books. Ponies, also. It would help both us and the ponies—we would get more money and we would enrich our culture, and the ponies would have a good time reading what we wrote."

He heard the chatter and the talking of the ponies around him, all in that happy, interested tone.

"Were you going to get a book?" a pony asked beside him.

"It's OK," Blue Alarm said.

The pony got a book and glanced at him before walking off.

"Too bad our library is not so full," Blue Alarm said. "Now, we're just trying to rebuild the Changeling Kingdom. There are some leisurely things to do, but it's not enough. There are changelings going around taking pictures and sharing those pictures with others. Pictures of Manehattan, pictures of Ponyville, pictures of Canterlot, pictures of the Crystal Empire, even pictures of Griffonstone and of the Dragon Lands! At least there's friendship." He smiled.

He hovered away from the bookshelves.

"May I have all of your attention, everypony?" Twilight announced loudly.

And everypony and Blue Alarm looked at her.

She was flying, flapping her wings. "I'd like to thank all of you ponies and changeling—" She looked at Blue Alarm "—for coming here. It's been a pleasant and fine experience, gathering with other ponies to read books, to talk about them, and to just be together and enjoying our friendships in this library."

The ponies cheered, some shouting and yelling and screaming, others stomping their hooves on the ground, still others just giving Twilight a simple smile.

"I don't have anything else to say. I just wanted to thank you. You may now enjoy the rest of the night!"

The ponies cheered again, bringing a loud volume of sound to the library as Twilight hovered down towards her seat and looked at her friends. Several big books were on the table.

"A book about changeling history?" he heard a pony say.

Blue Alarm's ears perked and he immediately looked at the pony speaking.

He was holding a large book. On the cover was the title, "The History of the Changelings."

He gulped. "Oh, no. Did Twilight buy the new version? I hope she didn't forget—that pony's always organized!"

A few ponies looked their way towards the pony with the changeling history book.

"I am not here to accuse anypony of being a changeling, but does this book contain the changeling-wide reformation?" the pony asked earnestly, eyeing other ponies as they passed by him. "We wouldn't want to give our foals the wrong information."

The ponies around him nodded their heads.

A pony raised his hoof. "Let's open it and see. The author is usually going to talk about it in the beginning."

The pony holding the book opened it.

"OK, this is the authors' notes."

The ponies around him leaned in, striving to listen closely.

"'We did not anticipate this.

"'All of our past editions of this book were about the changelings being evil for that was what their actions told us. When we wrote the previous edition of this book, the memory of the attack on Canterlot was still fresh. That Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor were now the rulers of the Crystal Empire only eased our worries a little. It was a very real threat that the changelings might attack us again. So, we told our readers to be careful, to be watchful.

"'The changelings did indeed attack us again—and they managed to capture the Princesses, the friends of Princess Twilight Sparkle, among others. It was a terrible, devastating attack—yet, we were saved from the changelings by Starlight Glimmer, Trixie, Discord, and Thorax. The interesting hero to talk about here is Thorax—for he himself is a changeling. A good changeling. Nopony in our writing team nor any of our researchers were aware that such a changeling could actually be there. When we heard news about Thorax being accepted into the Crystal Empire and, in general, Equestria, we were quite cautious about it. One of us even argued that it was all a plan to destroy Equestria—that Thorax would capture ponies when they were the most friendly toward him. However, it turned out that Thorax was genuinely good and that he meant no harm.

"'Then, when the changelings attacked Equestria, Thorax joined Starlight Glimmer and her friends to save the captured ponies. While they were trying to save the captured ponies, Starlight told Thorax to share love. When he did, Thorax turned into a being that we have never seen before—a colorful pony-like creature. Then, Starlight told the rest of the changelings there about sharing love. The changelings shared love and they became colorful pony-like creatures, also.

"'Queen Chrysalis was the only changeling to not accept the idea of sharing love. She escaped, but the rest of the changelings remained, now reformed and good.

"'When we heard about this, we were shaken. We were bewildered. The changelings are now good and they now seek to learn the magic of friendship? I personally never thought that this would ever happen. But, it did happen. It is something that we ponies should all accept and that we should help the changelings to adjust into their new lives as friendly creatures.

"'Then, we gathered around in Canterlot to discuss the idea that has been in our minds ever since: What would happen to this book? What would happen to "The History of the Changelings"?

"'We settled on the issue by deciding on continuing the publishing of this book but with the more recent information about the changelings being good. We are truly excited about what is to happen next with the changelings. All of us now have changeling friends.

"'Reader, enjoy this book but, more importantly, welcome the changelings eager to become your friend.'"

"Oh, I was about to tell you that I got the new edition of the book!" Twilight said. She rushed towards Blue Alarm. "I should've told you earlier." She smiled awkwardly.

"Don't worry, Twilight," Blue Alarm said.

Twilight looked at him. "So, is there anything you want to tell me, Blue Alarm?"

"No." He smiled.

"Alright, then!" Then, she walked her way to her table.

"We have the right edition," the pony holding the changeling history book announced. "You can rest easy that your foals will be taught what is correct and not what is false."

The ponies around him approved of him by stomping the ground with their hooves.

Blue Alarm hovered off and went towards Twilight's table.

Twilight Sparkle and her friends were laughing again.

Then, they looked at the changeling.

"Blue Alarm!" Twilight said. "Have a chair and you can talk with us! We were just telling each other jokes!"

Blue Alarm hovered and sat down on one of the chairs.

"What do you do as a changeling?" Moon Dancer asked, adjusting her glasses with her magic. "I've been rather curious about what changelings do now."

"Do they have donuts?" Minuette asked. "We have donuts regularly!"

Twilight giggled. "It looks like you're in for some time, Blue Alarm!"

He smiled. "I'm happy to talk about a lot of things with you ponies!"

Blue Alarm stayed in the brightly lit Sugarcube Corner. Outside, the night sky was adorned and decorated with the glowing stars and the bright moon shining its light on to Ponyville, giving the town a peaceful, quiet look to it as the buildings glimmered with the moonlight. Several ponies were outside, walking and talking with each other.

"You're quite late," Pinkie Pie said from the counter. "There's nopony else here! If you're wondering why the Sugarcube Corner is still open, that's because we're testing something out—it's called a late night dessert! We sell our sweets late at night!"

Blue Alarm sat down on one of the chairs.

"So, what do you wanna order? A cake, a pie, a cakepie?!"

"What about Mr. and Mrs. Cake?" Blue Alarm asked. "Aren't they supposed to be taking care of their foals?"

"They're already asleep! I'm the one who gets to bake all the food here at this time! Isn't that amazing?! It would also be great, too! What about spectacular?"

"Pinkie, I just want to have a simple cake, that's all."

"One simple cake, coming right up!"

Then, Pinkie took out a cake from the counter display, placed it on a plate, and threw it at Blue Alarm.

Blue Alarm caught it with his front hooves.

"You're good! Do you wanna be in the Ponyville Buckball team?"

"Nah." Blue Alarm took a bite of the cake. It was a chocolate cake. "It's a delicious cake, Pinkie."

"Why, thanks!" Pinkie said, grinning at him.

Thorax and the Royal Sisters

The ponies of Canterlot stopped all that they were doing and took a long, respectful glance at the pony walking on the sidewalk.

Under the sunny sky, bright and cheerful, Princess Celestia walked. Her flowing, ethereal and color and bright mane and tail complemented her.

The ponies bowed down to her.

"You don't need to do that," Celestia said in her calm and soothing yet commanding voice.

And the ponies stood up.

Celestia kept walking, approaching the enormous and complex castle.

A few ponies followed her.

"I cannot believe that I'm actually meeting the Princess!" a pony yelled. He was wearing a hat and a formal suit. "It's such a great honor to be here, Princess Celestia! I and my family are happy with what you and your sister have done!" He walked towards the Princess who had stopped and had turned around to pay attention to him.

Beside him was a unicorn mare who was also wearing a hat. Beside them were several foals. They were all unicorns and were smiling, grinning at the Princess.

"We, uh, come from Rainbow Falls. We were there when you were the one attending the Traders Exchange. We did not actually get to meet you because we were so busy with all the trading and the interesting items that everypony had with them there. But, now, we're right in front of you!"

Celestia giggled. "You have lots of enthusiasm." She looked at his family. "I'm going to attend a royal meeting with King Thorax of the Changeling Kingdom. It must be a secret meeting, but you could enjoy the service you can find at the castle."

The entire family gasped together. "Really?!" the stallion shouted. "That's amazing, Princess Celestia!"

"Mm-hmm." Then, she walked towards the castle.

The room was spacious. The sunlight went through the tall windows, giving anypony inside a grand view of the outside. The view showed the wonderful and royal city of Canterlot with its fancy buildings and its fancy ponies.

The floor was clean and neat. The table at the middle was big, accompanied by several chairs with exuberant features such as finely trimmed wood.

The sound of hoofsteps echoed through the room as Princess Celestia and King Thorax walked towards the table.

A few guards were standing at the walls and at the table. Several of them were ponies wearing their armor, others were changelings wearing their armor.

On the table were plates of apples and apple pie.

"Don't you think that this is too much for a simple meeting?" Thorax asked nervously, looking at Celestia.

"I agree, Thorax," Celestia replied. "However, I have learned throughout the years that security is a priority never to be taken lightly. I myself wish that I don't need so many guards."

"What about the guards knowing our discussion?" Thorax said. "Isn't this supposed to be secret?"

"I trust that my guards and your guards will keep a secret," Celestia said. "Besides, we're going to announce it to all of Equestria and to the Changeling Kingdom soon."

"So, why keep it secret?" Thorax said.

"We are just here to discuss," Celestia said. "After the discussion, we then reveal to everypony and every changeling what we have talked about. It is not a really good system, but I am used to it."

"OK, Princess Celestia," Thorax said.

"You don't have to call me 'Princess Celestia.' You're a king, Thorax, so you can just call me 'Celestia.'"

Then, they were at the table.

They sat down on the chairs.

Thorax looked at his plate of apples and apple pie.

He grabbed an apple and ate it.

Celestia giggled, placing a hoof on her mouth. "So, let's talk about the status of the Changeling Kingdom." She placed her hoof down. "How is it so far? I've seen that the changelings are making great progress towards making friends, although they do need some help along the way."

"Yeah," Thorax said, scratching his head nervously. "We changelings are so used to our lives back when Chrysalis was in power that we ended up with some bad, well, instincts and things like it."

"Like being aggressive in settling simple issues?" Celestia asked.

"Ah, yes," Thorax said, now more nervous. His face was sweating. "I'm sorry, Celestia, but Chrysalis was our ruler for a long time. It's going to take us some time and effort to grow out of our old ways."

"Mm-hmm." Celestia kept quiet. "I've heard that you were making a massive overhaul of the Changeling Kingdom. You said yourself that you were doing this to place an emphasis on who changelings are."

"I just didn't want to see us changelings just consuming pony culture without actually a making culture of our own," Thorax said, now still nervous though not sweaty.

"I understand your sentiment, Thorax," Celestia said. "The changelings are quite happy with us ponies with what we have accomplished and the friendships that we do have, but you being caring about the changelings themselves and about them being in danger of losing their uniqueness—that's something. I do not want the changelings to be completely like us—that is something that can never be done nor should it be done. The changelings have their own identity, their own place to live in."

Thorax smiled.

Celestia raised an eyebrow, placing a hoof on the table. "Do you have something to tell me about the Changeling Kingdom? Don't worry about the time—it's a free day for me after this." She smiled.

Thorax looked at the guards.

They were all looking at him and Princess Celestia, on their faces a serious look.

Thorax looked back at the Princess. "Actually, not much."

Celestia nodded. "It's alright, Thorax. I am just so happy that you've helped the changelings on their way to learn friendship by sharing love. You yourself have good friends. You have Starlight Glimmer, Trixie, Discord, Spike, and many more."

"Thank you!" Thorax said.

"Does this mean that you're done already?" one of the pony guards asked.

"Yes," Celestia said.

Then, the guards opened the double doors, revealing a large hallway.

"Why does every room have to be so big?" Thorax asked as they went out of their chairs and walked towards the hallway.

"It is tradition," Celestia said before she giggled. "A royal tradition to have big hallways to show how royal you are. This is an old castle, back when I was very approving of the idea. Now, the big hallways are only very useful if there's parties."

Thorax laughed.

His laugh echoed throughout the room.

"What about Princess Luna?" Thorax asked. "Is she awake?"

"Do you want to meet her?" Celestia replied.

"I'm OK with meeting her," Thorax said, somewhat nervous. "We've already met in a dream."

Celestia laughed. "It was a great first impression of my sister, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, meeting the Princess of the Night in a dream is quite OK."

At the cafeteria, most of the tables were occupied with ponies and their food which were of a great variety—along with apples and apple pies, there were also oranges, hay burgers, cakes, salads, and so on. All of their combined culinary aromas mixed together to create a delicious smell that permeated the room, adding to the clean and pleasant feel of the cafeteria as the ponies enjoyed the food and the drinks on their tables.

A few foals were inside the cafeteria. They were enjoying the sweets such as candies and cakes and pies.

The sound of chefs preparing the meals also filled the room as they placed the food on plates.

Among the ponies eating there, there was the blue alicorn Princess, seated at one of the tables beside the tall windows, giving her a great view of Canterlot.

"Princess Luna!" Thorax said as he walked towards her.

Luna was surprised. She faced the changeling. "Why, I did not expect you to be here, Thorax! Is your meeting with my sister already over?"

Thorax nodded. She looked at Celestia who was beside him. "This is not something formal or anything, Princess Luna. I just want to...uh, eat with you? Maybe share some stories?"

Luna smiled. She glanced at a plate of apple pie in front of her. "I guess that chatting with you casually is a good way to spend the time." She looked at Celestia. "Will you join the chat, sister?"

"I'd be happy to." Celestia smiled.

Celestia brought down, with her magic, several plates. There were apple pies, there were orange pies, there were salads. After the plates, Celestia also brought down glasses of water.

Thorax looked out the tall, clear window.

"Wow!" Thorax expressed, grinning at the sight. "It's just like last time I was here! The beautiful architecture and the ponies on the ground and the greenery and the waterfall!"

"Equestria is indeed a rich land," Luna commented, looking, too, out the window. "It is not right to hoard it for ourselves but to share the bountiful produce with others for them to enjoy and to use. I am pleased that the changelings are also taking part in enjoying this plentiful land of ours."

"And, it's amazing," Thorax said, placing a hoof on the surface of the window.

"The changelings are free to do whatever they want here," Luna went on, "as long as it's not bad or evil. From what I've seen, both changelings and ponies are happy with each other." She faced Thorax. "Cooperation is a topic that, recently, many ponies have been talking about. I am sure that we can accomplish magnificent things together. But, now, there is a matter I must attend to." Luna picked up an apple and took a bite out of it.

Thorax smiled, almost laughing.

Luna chewed on the apple and swallowed the bite. "The Apple family does provide Equestria with lots and lots of its high-quality apples."

"Yeah. The apples are tasty."

"Applejack herself said it herself. The Apple family values quality above all, and it is evident when you eat an apple from them."

Celestia nodded, picking an apple, too, with a hoof. "Do your changelings like the apples?"

"They don't just like them. They love them!"

"Applejack must be aware already of the changelings who want apples," Luna said. "That means more creatures to give apples to."

Thorax grabbed an apple with his hoof. He inspected it, turning it around and looking at it. Then, he took a bite of it.

The Princesses laughed.

The changeling chewed, then he swallowed. He looked at the two Princesses. "Thank you for letting me be here! I didn't plan to have snacks with you, but I have the chance to do that and I'm now eating snacks with you and I didn't imagine that I could actually be doing that!"

Luna eyed the changeling with an assuring look. "Just remember that we seek no harm to you nor the rest of the changelings."

"We know the struggles that you and your fellow changelings face," Celestia said, her voice becoming concerned. "You need more bits for the reconstruction of the Changeling Kingdom. However, what I think is more important is that the changelings are quite eager to learn more about the magic of friendship. That Twilight Sparkle and her friends occasionally hosting friendship meetings with the changelings is good." She sighed. "There are also the changelings that want to go to various places in Equestria and in those places, friendly ponies show them the magic of friendship in many things."

"That's wonderful, right?" Thorax asked, somewhat nervous.

"It is," Celestia said. She picked up another apple. "What about you try a salad?"

Thorax smiled as he grabbed a bowl of salad. He took a hoofful of salad and ate it. Then, he gulped. "I...I never tried salad that's as tasty as that!"

Celestia giggled.

"How many ponies usually go here?" Thorax asked.

"Not many," Celestia replied. "It's exciting when there are lots of ponies here. Ponies from this city and beyond all eating in the same cafeteria with so many opportunities to know each other more. It is a lively display of friendship."

"And, the ponies have a great time here," Luna said.

"What if I bring some changelings here?" Thorax suggested. "They're going to enjoy the food and the friendship they'll have with the ponies they'll meet here! They could also have the opportunity to meet you! Of course, I'm going to make sure that they're not going to annoy you."

The Princesses nodded.

"Amazing! Well, do you have anything to do, Princess Luna?"

Luna pondered with a hoof on her chin. "There is not much that I have planned out for the day. I suppose that spending some hours with you would be quite pleasant and wonderful, but I wonder what exactly you plan to do."

"We could, I don't know, go to the library or go to the museum or go attend a play at the opera! I know that there's so many things here to do in Canterlot! Maybe I'll meet more friends there, too! Maybe even Spike or Starlight or Trixie or Discord might be visiting now!"

"You are very excited, Thorax," Luna said. She smiled.

The Wonderbolts

The sky was clear. There were no clouds—there were only a few pegasi flying. A pair of pegasi were talking to each other as they flew.

The elation of the crowds could be seen and heard on the ground as they cheered and made quite a noise, many of them filling the streets of Manehattan with a rowdy attitude of positivity. Several ponies were wearing blue and yellow clothes similar to the uniforms of the Wonderbolts. A few ponies waved Wonderbolt flags, showing their love and their adoration for the skilled pegasi.

More ponies joined in the festivities as they walked out of their buildings and on to the crowded and loud streets.

"Everypony!" a loud voice announced through speakers placed on the streets. "I know that this is an exciting event, one of the most anticipated events in Manehattan!"

And the crowd of ponies cheered, shouting and yelling. Some were flying, a few were jumping up and down.

"But, let's not cause distractions for the other ponies!" the announcer said.

Still, the crowd was still loud, noisy, and very happy as the ponies continued to show their support for the Wonderbolts.

Then, a soaring sound.

The ponies gasped as they looked up.

Several pegasi in blue and yellow uniforms and wearing goggles were flying, leaving trails of smoke behind them.

And the cheering grew louder as ponies jumped up and down, flew, ran towards the Wonderbolts, police ponies trying to keep the crowds from causing chaos by blocking them and making a show of force.

"The Wonderbolts!" one pony yelled.

"I know!" another pony shouted.

"Ponies, welcome the Wonderbolts!" the announcer shouted.

And the Wonderbolts flew right above the roofs of the tall buildings of Manehattan, wowing the crowds as could be seen by the ponies expressing their amazement with "Oohs!" and "Aahs!"

Then, at the end of the street, the Wonderbolts stopped their speedy flight and landed on the wooden platform that had been placed there on the road. The platform itself was decorated with lots of Wonderbolt pictures and decorations, including blue and yellow balloons.

Many ponies rushed their way there, with no hesitation to bump other ponies on the way as they raced in the attempt to get there first. The police ponies looked at each other, worried, as they then rushed to keep the crowd of ponies in line.

Several ponies brought their cameras and immediately took pictures of the Wonderbolts standing on the platform, smiling with their goggles on, looking here and there.

"There's Spitfire, Soarin, Fleetfoot, Rainbow Dash, Blaze—"

"I get it!" Nastic yelled at the pony beside him. He glared at the pony who was now shivering as the changeling inched closer towards him. "This is no time to be telling me about all their names! What's next? Are you gonna tell me about their personal lives?" He snorted. "Actually, that would be pretty professional if you managed to get hold of that information."

"Well, I do," the pony replied.

Nastic's smug smile disappeared. "You know, I could report you to the authorities since you don't look like an official Wonderbolt member or somepony like that."

"I was just kidding!" the pony said.

"Heh-heh-heh-heh." Nastic looked away from the pony and towards the Wonderbolts.

A mustached Earth pony walked on to the platform, holding a microphone with his hoof. He walked towards Spitfire. "Now, today, you are beginning this new tour of the Wonderbolts starting here in Manehattan. How do you feel about doing these tours?"

Spitfire grabbed the microphone and faced the audience.

The crowd was now quiet.

They looked on at Spitfire.

"It's...a pleasure to be here, and an honor."

The crowds cheered again.

Spitfire grinned as they cheered.

Then, the crowds quieted down.

"To be honest with you, I...don't have much to say to you. We've made many ponies happy with our aerial acrobatics, and we hope that you will be happy, too." She eyed the pony with the mustache and hoofed the microphone to him.

The crowds cheered again, raising their voices and shouting the names of the Wonderbolt members.

"Go, Spitfire! Go, Soarin!" Long Winded yelled right beside his changeling friend who looked at him with a slight disdain on his face. Long Winded was wearing a Wonderbolt hat with the Wonderbolt logo on it. He was also wearing a blue and yellow shirt and was holding a picture of the Wonderbolts. He raised his front hooves and flew into the air. "Go, Rainbow Dash! Go, Blaze! Go, Fleetfoot!"

Nastic groaned as he adjusted his hat and looked around him, wary of the cheering ponies.

"Well, that was, uh, a nice message, Spitfire," the announcer pony said rather nervously as he walked on the platform, holding the microphone. "Without further ado, ponies, here's the Wonderbolts!"

And the Wonderbolts took off into the sky.

The ponies on the streets were shouting, yelling, cheering, jumping, flying, taking pictures of the Wonderbolts. On their faces were smiles of gladness as they witnessed the performance of the Wonderbolts.

The Wonderbolts first flew together in unison, flying at a great pace, creating a windy sound as they flew.

Then, a few pegasi broke away from the group as they performed some loops.

"We're in one of the greatest cities in Equestria," Long Winded said, grabbing Nastic, "and we're watching the greatest flying team in all of Equestria! This is just awesome, Nastic!"

"Yeah," Nastic bluntly said. "It's nice. They're good at what they do."

"Look!" Long Winded pointed a hoof towards the Wonderbolts.

Nastic looked.

All of the Wonderbolts were now doing complex loops and tricks. One pegasus flew beside another as they formed a line of smoke and flew together synchronously.

"And, where's my camera?" Long Winded nervously said as he opened his bag. "I don't wanna miss any of this! This is too amazing to not take a picture of!"

"You might as well try looking up and not go looking for your camera, Long Winded," Nastic said.

The ponies cheered again as they watched the Wonderbolts perform in the sky.

Long Winded closed his bag. "Well, I could always have another Wonderbolt event or performacne to catch!"

"We're really going to the next one?" Nastic asked, annoyed.

"I'll prepare my camera next time!" Long Winded confidently proclaimed.

"Where's the next one going to be?"

"In Ponyville!"

"So, we're going to be meeting Princess Twilight Sparkle again?" Nastic said.

"And her friends, of course!"

"And, where's the next one?"

"In Canterlot!"

"You really do know the entire tour, don't you, Long Winded?"

"Why wouldn't I? I know a lot of things about the Wonderbolts!"

"OK," Nastic replied.

The streets were now back to normal as ponies walked casually on the sidewalks and as carriages were being pulled by ponies on the streets. The bustle of the city was there as ponies hurried to this place or that building, some of them carrying briefcases, others carrying bags. A pony wiped off the sweat from his face as he ran on the sidewalk, passing by the trees and the tall buildings with some ponies looking out from behind those windows.

A yellow carriage stopped. A pony quickly entered and the pony pulling the carriage sped off.

"The smell of the road," Nastic commented as he and Long Winded walked on the sidewalk. He considered the road beside them, occupied by several carriages.

"I got pictures!" Long Winded declared as he held a group of pictures featuring the Wonderbolts.

"You already told me that ten times!" Nastic complained, throwing a hoof into the air.

"And then, we're going to travel to Ponyville again! We'll see the Wonderbolts again, and we'll meet Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends again! This is going to the best tour ever, Nastic!"

"Keep yourself together!" Nastic yelled. "I don't want you to be rambling about this and that concerning the Wonderbolts all the time! There are other things to talk about! Like, well, the economy!"

"Economy? How's that related to the Wonderbolts?"

"See?!" Nastic pointed at his friend; his face showed a great amount of irritation. "How can you not talk about the Wonderbolts? Look at you! You're wearing a Wonderbolt shirt and a Wonderbolt hat and a Wonderbolt bag! You also have a Wonderbolt history book that you bought at Canterlot for tons of bits!"

"And that's a good thing, right?" Long Winded asked nervously, shying away from the angry changeling.

Nastic sighed and looked away from him. Then, he looked back. "OK, I'll have to get used to you screaming about the Wonderbolts, if that makes you happy. I'm not going to be souring the mood. Just don't do anything obnoxious."

And Long Winded hugged him.

"Talk about other things, also, Long Winded," Nastic said. "Ponies and their groups and their items and their actions aren't the only things to be talking about."

"I know, Nastic!" Long Winded yelled happily, still hugging his friend. "And, we're going to be together as friends!"

"Yeah, the magic of friendship, friendship lessons." He brought himself out of Long Winded's hug. "Let's not rush the friendship lessons, Long Winded."

"We still have a lot to learn," Long Winded said. "I heard Twilight say a few words about being helpful and considerate about your friends, about being kind towards others, about staying loyal to your friends—"

"I get it!" Nastic groaned, glaring at him.

They continued walking.

"I wonder what else the Wonderbolts have in their academy," Long Winded said. "Maybe I might become the first ever changeling Wonderbolt! If I join the reserves by training, of course. Spitfire is a very mean leader on the outside, but, on the inside, she has a good heart!"

"Are you going to tell me all about their personalities?" Nastic said. "Because, I am not ready to hear all their personalities and what they do everyday for the rest of this trip."

"That's a nice idea, Nastic! Why didn't I think of that?"

Nastic slammed a hoof on to his hat, frustrated. "I wasn't trying to be helpful towards that!"

"What if I meet a Wonderbolt right now?" Long Winded went on. "Any one of the Wonderbolts! Spitfire, Soarin, Fleetfoot, Blaze, Misty Fly, Rainbow Dash—"

"They already went out of Manehattan to prepare for the Ponyville performance, remember?" Nastic told him, looking at him sternly. He adjusted his hat.

"What about we buy more Wonderbolt merchandise?" Long Winded suggested. "We can buy more Wonderbolt hats, more Wonderbolt shirts, more Wonderbolt pictures—"

"What about not talking about the Wonderbolts?" Nastic said. He stopped walking. "There are plenty of things that one can get engaged in here in Manehattan! Ice skating, that's one activity!"

"It's not as exciting as watching the Wonderbolts!" Long Winded said, grinning.

"Argh! Are you telling me that we're just going to leave Manehattan right now?"

"Yeah!" Long Winded said. "Why not? Take the train to Ponyville, sleep there, and then wake up the next morning and wait for the Wonderbolts to arrive in Ponyville! Isn't that great?!"

"Long Winded," Nastic began, "even if we're going to visit Ponyville to see the Wonderbolts perform there, we still have work to do in the Changeling Kingdom! Soon, we're going to have to get back there and help Thorax rebuild! I can tolerate your enthusiasm for the Wonderbolts, but not for long!"

"I'm still wearing my Wonderbolt clothes, right?" Long Winded held out his Wonderbolt hat, smiling.

A few ponies walking by looked at him.

"I guess Thorax is going to allow you to wear Wonderbolt clothes while we rebuild," Nastic said. "But, I don't want to be hearing about the Wonderbolts every minute of the day!"

"OK," Long Winded said. "What about every other minute?"

"Argh! You're not getting the point!"

The train rolled on as it passed by the beautiful and lush scenery of green fields of grass and trees and plants as pegasi flew in the sky.

A pony was reading his newspaper. Another pony was looking out the window, beholding the greenery outside.

"Who ordered food?" a unicorn pony in uniform yelled out as he levitated trays of apples.

A few ponies on their seats raised their hooves. A changeling raised his hoof, too.

"Alright."

The unicorn levitated the trays of apples towards the ponies and the changeling who raised their hooves.

Long Winded grabbed the tray excitedly, smiling at his food, slurping his mouth.

Then, the unicorn walked away.

Long Winded immediately took a bite of an apple. He chewed on it with great speed and excitement.

"Why?" Nastic asked as he looked at his friend. "It's about the Wonderbolts and Ponyville, I guess."

"Mm-hmm!" He gulped and swallowed. "I'm just so excited to meet the Wonderbolts again! What activities shall we do together, Nastic? Hang out with Twilight Sparkle and her friends? Eat at the Sugarcube Corner? Maybe learn some friendship lessons there? What about we meet our heroines: Starlight Glimmer and Trixie?!"

Nastic groaned and adjusted his hat. "What about you just think about it later? There's the outside you can look at. Talk to somepony as long as you don't get too, well, excited."

"It's just amazing to be able to travel to Ponyville!" Long Winded shouted.

Several ponies looked at him. They looked irritated.

"Yeah, Long Winded," Nastic said. "They're also trying to have a quiet trip."

Apple Pie

"A smorgasbord of the best apples and the best crust, teeming with flavor and tasty pleasure!" a mare said, chewing on the slice of apple pie she was holding. "How do you ever make such apple pies without fail?"

"Well," Applejack began, talking behind the window, "it's a family recipe that involves hard work an' love."

"Can I have one, too?" a changeling asked as he made his way to the window, holding up a few bits.

"Hey, I was here first!" the mare yelled at him. She pushed him. "Wait for me to finish!"

"What about you wait for me to finish?"

He pushed her.

"Oh, is that a fight you want, changeling?" the mare said, readying a fighting pose.

The changeling growled and stomped on the ground with his hooves.

"Uh, Ah don't think ya' should be fightin' over apple pie."

And the two punched each other and fought.

Then, Applejack plunged herself and stood in between the two battlers.

"Stop it, will ya'?!" Applejack yelled.

And the two stopped.

They straightened themselves.

"Ah' know that our apple pies are really good, but ya' don't have to go actin' like that!" Applejack sternly told them, eyeing the mare and then the changeling. "Just, uh, learn to compromise! Agree on somethin'!"

"He started it first!" the mare yelled, pointing at the changeling.

"No, she started it!"

"Quiet!" Applejack shouted. "Can ya' ever stop accusin' each other of who started it first? Ah' don't want friendships to be broken because o' apple pies! Instead o' blamin' each other about it, why not talk about it?"

"Well, he started it!"

Applejack groaned. "That's not what Ah'm talkin' about!"

"Apple pie!" the changeling yelled.

"OK, if an apple pie is goin' to make ya' happy, here!" Applejack gave him a fresh hot apple pie. "Now, why don't ya' apologize to each other?"

The mare's ears drooped. "Looks like I was being too angry. Sorry."

The changeling was looking at the mare. "Sorry."

Applejack smiled. "See? Now, why don't ya' go an' maybe try goin' to a place together like Twilights' castle?"

"Nah, I'm alright," the changeling said as he buzzed away from the scene, holding his apple pie.

"Bye!" Applejack yelled.

"Farewell!" the other mare shouted.

"Apple pies from Applejack," the changeling said as he hovered over the streets of Ponyville. The sound of ponies talking with each other was there as he passed by those ponies. He smelled the apple aroma of the apple pie. "I just cannot wait to have a seat to enjoy this apple pie! Too bad my friends aren't here." His expression saddened as his flight also slowed.

"A changeling?" a voice asked.

The changeling looked to his side.

"Apple Bloom? Scootaloo? Sweetie Belle?"

"You recognize us!" Scootaloo said.

"And, is that my sister's apple pie?" Apple Bloom asked, pointing at the apple pie he was holding.

"Uh, yes!"

"Ya' haven't eaten it, yet?" Apple Bloom said.

"I was just looking for a place to eat, that's all," he said.

"Ya' can eat 'em anywhere!"

"Yeah!" Scootaloo added.

Then, the changeling took a hoofful of the apple pie and stuffed it into his mouth. He chewed on the apple pie as the fillies watched him eat.

The changeling gulped.

"Is that apple pie?" Pinkie Pie, walking towards him. "I can tell you that Applejack's apple pies are the best apple pies in all of Equestria! But, my cakes and pies are the best in all of Equestria!"

"Uh, what are you doing here, Pinkie Pie?" the changeling asked, puzzled.

"Just going to Twilight's castle! I heard that Twilight has this book club session thing and I'm going to join in and contribute by baking cakes and pies and cakepies!"

"Cakepies?" Apple Bloom asked.

"It's a cake and a pie!" Pinkie explained.

"When did you come up with that?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Some time ago!" Pinkie smiled. Then, she looked at the changeling. "Ooh! Can I have some?" Then, she got the rest of the apple pie and gulped it down. "Mm-hmm! It's tasty, delicious!"

"Uh, that was his," Apple Bloom said.

"Don't worry!" Pinkie yelled. "If he comes to Twilight's castle later tonight, he's going to have cakes, pies, and cakepies!"

"Uh, alright?" The changeling looked confused as he looked at Pinkie.

"Maybe I could invite Applejack to give the ponies there some cakes and pies—but not cakepies because that's my invention that only I can actually make! Nopony is allowed to copy the recipe at all!"

Then, she rushed off towards Twilight's castle.

"That's Pinkie," Apple Bloom commented.

"Does that mean you're going to go to Twilight's castle for the book club session?" Scootaloo asked. "Because I'm going there, too! Rainbow Dash is gonna be there!"

"Nah, it's alright," the changeling said. "Thanks for the meeting."

"Bye!" the Cutie Mark Crusaders yelled as the changeling flew away.

"So, how's the apple pie?" Blue Alarm asked as they flew over the streets of Ponyville.

"It was good," the changeling said.

"Flavorful?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Are you going to the book club session at Twilight's castle?"

"Yeah."

"I'm going there, too."

"What do you plan to read there?"

"Anything," Blue Alarm replied. "It's fun to be there. Twilight's friends and Rainbow Dash are there."

"I heard Pinkie Pie is going there."

"Why?"

"She's going to offer her sweets to the ponies."

Blue Alarm smiled. "That would make for an even livelier and friendlier night." He was quiet for a while. "So, how did your trip to Appleloosa go?"

"It was fun," the changeling replied. "Braeburn showed us all the sights and the landmarks and all the events and everything! Before that, some ponies named Flim and Flam were selling these souvenirs. They were nice. Then, when we left, all of our souvenirs started to get broken and break down. I bought a bell and a history book of Appleloosa, but the bell became broken on the way to Ponyville and the history book actually had no words at all on the pages! It was just a collection of pages, that's all!"

"Looks like you've been conned," Blue Alarm said. "They must've been selling you things they knew were going to get broken sooner or later. It's always for a quick way to get bits."

"But, why would they do that?" the changeling said, sounding sad and sorrowful.

"I don't know," Blue Alarm said. "They just think that deception is better than truthful business. Besides, it's quicker to cheat ponies out of their bits than to wait and do things the right way."

White Tail Woods

The forest was astounding. The trees were tall, towering over the changelings and the ponies as they walked on the dirt paths that were decorated with green leaves and occasional branches. The birds created their sweet melodies, the leaves rustled by the wind as it went, and the sunlight made the place seem more magical.

A few animals scurried along. Ducks, butterflies, and more.

"This is White Tail Woods?" Red Noise asked. "This is very beautiful!"

"And, this is where the Running of the Leaves usually takes place in?" Blue Alarm asked the pony leading them.

The Earth pony stallion looked at the group of chanelings as he walked forward. "Not always, but it is a popular choice. Lots of trees, lots of leaves. That means more ponies can participate without wasting too much effort."

"And singing?"

The pony eyed Humerus. "Why singing?"

"Ponies usually sing, right?" Humerus said excitedly. "I mean, there's Twilight Sparkle and her friends singing once in a while. I heard Starlight Glimmer sing, also. Are ponies natural singers?"

"Not everypony," the pony responded gruffly, "but you could say a lot of us like singing and are good at it."

"When do you sing?"

"I live in Ponyville, a place where lots of singing can take place anytime! Pinkie Pie—she's the best at singing spontatenously!"

"How come I don't hear her sing when we're around?"

"Well, she sings spontaneously—we don't know the next time she's going to sing."

Then, a gust of wind arrived, shaking the trees and causing a few leaves to fall off their branches, falling slowly as they floated their way down.

The pony held a leaf. Then, he dropped it.

"What about changelings singing?" Neon Guard asked, holding his hat as he flew above the path.

"I haven't heard a changeling sing," the pony replied. "Maybe if you go to Ponyville—Pinkie Pie might give you some singing lessons. Or, really, anypony who has good singing abilities."

"The Pony Tones?" Humerus asked. "Wait, the Pony Tones?! I almost forgot about the Pony Tones? I didn't attend any of their concerts or events or—I didn't hear them sing at all! We must get back to Ponyville!"

"We just started the tour!" Red Noise shouted at him, stepping a fearful step towards Humerus. "We're not going to throw away the time we have here by going back to the train station!"

"Or, we could fly there!"

"That's even worse! That's worse than taking the train!"

"Can you be quiet?!" the stallion yelled. "Other ponies are trying to relax here!" He pointed at the rest of the ponies who were walking along with the changelings. Some were looking and beholding the wonders of the forest, but most of them were looking angrily at the changelings. Grumbling could be heard.

"It's not my fault that Humerus suggested a terrible idea!" Red Noise reasoned.

"But, Red Noise—the Pony Tones! There's Rarity, Big McIntosh, Torch Song, and Toe-Tapper! Why did I miss the opportunity to listen to them?!"

"Because you're always so amazed and enamored by your favorite ponies that it must've slipped from your mind!"

"Can you two be quiet?!" a pony from the crowd yelled. The blue pegasus stallion stepped forward from the crowd. His light blue mane was trimmed and his tail looked like a lightning bolt. "Wait, I've seen you before. Did I?"

"I don't remember you!" Red Noise yelled at him.

"Stop it!" another pegasus yelled, rushing to his side. She had a white coat and a white and light blue mane and tail that. "Nopony and no changeling talks to Sky Stinger like that!"

"Don't worry, Vapor Trail," the stallion said calmly. Then, he grumbled as he looked at Red Noise.

"Uh, Red Noise?" Blue Alarm said, nudging him. "We don't want a repeat of what happened way back in Canterlot. You know, with the blimp? And those two rich ponies? Remember? Jet Set and Upper Crust?" He gulped as he looked at the angry pegasus, hoofing the ground as he snorted.

"Please, don't fight!" Vapor yelled, holding her friend. "This is just a forest trip!"

"I'm not going to attack," Sky Stinger said under a grumble. "I'm doing my best to prepare a defense."

"Like that's what you want me to think!" Red Noise yelled.

"Everypony and every changeling, stop this craziness!" the leader yelled.

And everypony and every changeling looked at him.

"What about we sing a song of reconciliation?" the pony said, smiling sheepishly. "Uh, or at least sing some nice, happy, kind song? We don't want to have a riot going on over here at White Tail Woods, do we? What were you fighting about, anyway?"

"It all started with the Pony Tones," Blue Alarm replied calmly and casually.

The pony sighed and groaned. "Is this how you talk about the Pony Tones? Arguing and almost fighting and hurting each other just for the Pony Tones?"

"They're not just the Pony Tones!" Humerus shouted as he rushed towards the pony and almost punched him—then, he hurriedly flew back and landed on the ground, gasping.

The ponies gasped.

Humerus looked at the hoof that he almost punched the pony with.

"Humerus!" Neon Guard yelled. "What's wrong, now?!"

Humerus turned towards the ponies.

There were whimpers. Some were crying. Most were afraid.

Sky Stinger and Vapor Trail looked surprised, terrified at what they just saw.

The pony Humerus almost punched—he was shaking, trembling as he stared at the changeling.

"This is not good at all," Blue Alarm said, visibly shaken. "Neon Guard?"

"Now, look what you've done, Humerus!" Red Noise shouted. "This is gonna appear on the newspapers by next morning! 'Changeling Almost Hurts Pony!' If Thorax wasn't having enough problems with ruling a kingdom, now he's going to have more than enough when he has to deal with ponies asking him about you, Humerus! Yeah, you heard that right, Humerus! Kind of strange, isn't it? You're the one who's always so happy and so cheerful about ponies, so enthusiastic and eager to tell your friends about them and about this and about that about the ponies. And, guess who's the changeling who almost hurts a pony?! Guess who's the changeling who would've probably placed an innocent pony—who did nothing wrong towards you!—into the hospital? You, Humerus, that's who!"

Then, tears formed on Humerus's eyes.

Red Noise walked towards Humerus, his tense expression still there.

"This is unbelievable, Humerus! You are going to cause us problems! Soon, ponies are going to close their windows and their doors on us because they think that we're going to hurt them! No, it's not a pony like Solver! No, it's you!"

Humerus whimpered.

"And, what else? You annoyed the heroines of Equestria by constantly trying to be with them, whether they like it or not! You irritated the heroines of the Changeling Kingdom by being so excited about them! And, now, you're so excited about the Pony Tones that you almost punched a pony! What would the Princesses think of that?! What would Thorax think of that?! Most importantly, what do we think of that, Humerus?!"

Humerus cried.

He flew.

"Humerus!" Blue Alarm and Neon Guard yelled together as they followed the escaping Humerus.

Red Noise followed him, too.

The ponies looked on at the changelings flying past the trees of White Tail Woods, causing several leaves to fall off their branches.

"I...I didn't know..." Sky Stinger said, still surprised.

"I hope they'll be alright," Vapor Trail said, looking at her friend.

The ponies looked on at the changelings.

Changelings Talking

Leaves rustled.

The four changelings were speeding, flying past the many trees with their beautiful leaves.

The wind they made as they flew rustled the leaves.

The buzzes of their wings filled the air.

"Humerus!" Blue Alarm yelled as he chased the flying changeling. "Stop this! You don't have to fly this much!"

"Yeah!" Red Noise shouted as he went past several trees. "What he said!"

"We cannot fly forever, Humerus!" Neon Guard said.

Then, Humerus stopped.

He landed on the ground.

The other three changelings landed on the ground.

Some leaves were falling off their branches. The sunlight made the forest look nice and lovely.

Blue Alarm stepped forward.

"Humerus," he said. "What's wrong?"

Humerus's eyes were watery, his mouth was shaky; he looked here and there, avoiding his friends. He whimpered, slowly stepping away from Blue Alarm.

"I...almost punched...a pony..." Humerus said, still walking away. "I...don't know..."

"Humerus!" Blue Alarm yelled again, sounding concerned. "We just want to be, well, good friends with you!"

"But, I could've hurt somepony!" Humerus yelled. "A pony! I could've hurt somepony! They were our heroes! They saved us! They're helping us! And, this is what I did to them! I could've punched somepony!"

"Then, get better!" Red Noise shouted, angry yet conerned as well. "The ponies are quite forgiving, so if I steal some food from them, they would forgive me very soon!"

Neon Guard nudged Red Noise. "That's not what we're trying to tell Humerus!"

"But, would they forgive me?" Humerus said. "I understand annoying them, but almost hurting them?" He paused, whimpering and looking at his friends. "Would they ever forgive a changeling who almost hurt them?!"

"They've already forgiven us for the times we've attacked them," Blue Alarm said, "so you're going to be forgiven easily."

Humerus whimpered more, looking away from his friends.

"Humerus!" Red Noise shouted. "We're trying to tell you that you're OK! The ponies are surprised now, but later, they're going to be friendly with you again!"

"Are you sure, Red Noise?!" Humerus yelled. "Are you sure?! After what I did?! Those ponies are kind, good—and, it wouldn't be right for me to hurt any of them! Twilight and Fluttershy were right! I should've controlled myself!"

Red Noise and Neon Guard stepped away.

Blue Alarm stepped forward.

Humerus stomped a hoof on to the ground, whimpering. "I should've controlled myself! I should've not been so crazy with my excitement over them!"

"Why didn't you learn that weeks ago?!" Red Noise shouted.

Neon Guard nudged him again, grumbling at him.

"Those ponies—they're my heroines! They saved us, they assist us in every way, and they're helping us live new, good lives without having to be evil and having to starve all the time! What else could I do than to thank them and then to be friends with them? I was good at my job! Infiltrating, disguising—but, why did I do that? I didn't have to! Now, I am free to do whatever I want—and what I want is good, something good, something right! Maybe you could understand me more if you knew that! Or, maybe I did tell you but then I forgot or you forgot!"

"Humerus," Blue Alarm said, "we're all new to this friendship thing! Of course, we're going to make some mistakes here and there. That's why we have Twilight, her friends, and the rest of the ponies to help us!"

"And then," Humerus yelled, "there's the cool things that ponies make! Their stories are always awesome, their artwork is so creative, their food is delicious—every dish, every course, they were all tasty! Best of all, the friendships that we all desire! And, look at what I did to them!"

"Are you even listening, Humerus?" Blue Alarm said, tilting his head with an accusatory look. "You're just going on, whining about yourself. You can do better than that, Humerus!"

"What else could I do?!" Humerus complained, throwing his hooves into the air in despair. "What if all that I did to the ponies was just annoy them to no end?"

"You're...a happy changeling, happier than others." He stepped forward.

"No!" Humerus shouted, holding a hoof at him. "You're just telling me that, thinking it's going to make me feel better!"

"Humerus, we don't want to be standing here and talking to you for a long time right here!" Red Noise yelled. "Let's try to settle the issue quickly, OK?!"

Neon Guard nudged him again and gave him a stern, fierce look. "Can you at least be patient with him?!"

"Well, let's speed this up!" Red Noise yelled.

"That's not how you deal with situations like this!"

"Humerus!" Blue Alarm yelled again. "Please, Humerus! There's always another chance for you! The ponies are willing to be friends with you again! All you need to is to change, and that starts with stopping all this!"

"But...what about—"

"The ponies are going to forgive you!" Blue Alarm shouted. "That's the truth!"

Then, he gasped for air, exasperated.

He closed his airs.

He gasped.

He took in air.

He let out air.

Then, he opened his eyes.

He look at Humerus.

Humerus was smiling.

Then, Humerus hugged him.

"That means we're good, right?" Red Noise said.

Neon Guard groaned as they walked towards the changeling embrace.

Blue Alarm smiled.

"Now, calm down," Blue Alarm said as he embraced Humerus. "It's going to be alright."

Then, Neon Guard joined the hug.

"This is just getting very sappy and sentimentalistic!" Red Noise complained, rolling his eyes as he observed the light-hearted hug. Then, he smiled. "And, I'm joining you, guys!"

And Red Noise embraced the three.

"Just be better, OK, Humerus?!" Red Noise then shouted at Humerus. "We don't want anymore things and events like this, alright?"

"Everypony, they're over here!" the guide yelled, pointing a hoof at the embracing changelings as a lot of ponies followed him.

Sky Stinger flew his way towards them. Vapor Trail flew beside him.

The ponies ran and flew past the trees.

Then, they stopped. Some were even screeching as they struggled to stop their run.

The four changelings were embracing each other, sometimes laughing as they talked to each other, assuring each other.

"So, I guess the problem has been solved," the guide said. "Does that mean you're going to continue the tour through White Tail Woods?"

Bow Hothoof and Windy Whistles

"More performances?" a pony asked amidst a crowd of ponies as they extended towards the buildings at the sides of the streets.

"Well, Rainbow Dash does live near here," another pony responded, removing his hat to dust it off. He looked around, turning around as he saw all the many different ponies of many colors, of different kinds, wearing different clothes or no clothes. The grand murmur of the ponies only grew louder as the seconds went by. "That would have contributed to, well, Ponyville having more performances than other places except probably Cloudsdale."

"And, look at all the changelings!"

The pony pointed towards a small group of rabid, radical changelings wearing Wonderbolt clothes and holding Wonderbolt flags, shouting and making noise. Some of the ponies near them were visibly irritated and tried to walk away from them although they faced difficulty in doing that because of the crowd. Their wings shimmered and glimmered under the sunlight as the changelings went on cheering for the Wonderbolts.

"So, how much time do we have?" the pony asked.

"Not much," the other pony said. "The Wonderbolts are going to perform in thirty minutes or so."

"What about I name all the members of the Wonderbolts?!" Long Winded yelled. He raised a Wonderbolt flag containing the symbol of the Wonderbolts. "I'm ready!"

Nastic lightly punched him with a hoof. He grumbled a little as he took a sip from his glass of water. "Would you be quiet?!"

"But, we're surrounded by tons of Wonderbolt fans!" Long Winded reasoned.

Nastic looked around and saw the many Wonderbolt fans cheering and shouting and jumping and down or flying around, all waiting for the Wonderbolts.

"That does not give you the excuse to be as loud and as rowdy as them!"

"But, I want to express my adoration for the Wonderbolts!"

"'Adoration'?"

"Yes, Nastic," Long Winded said, nodding. "The Wonderbolts aren't just a group of pegasi doing cool tricks. They are a group of pegasi dedicated to deliver a wonderful display of aerial feats and achievements, daring to dazzle us with what we might think cannot be done but they have done it anyway. Their fair flights and their skillful maneuvers bring us something that astonished and astounds us, an experience that is unforgettable. The Wonderbolts provide us with a famous sight—the teamwork of pegasi as they work together, striving to create a masterpiece of aerial acrobatics that is sure to wow us to no end!"

"Since when did you get so poetical?" Nastic remarked. "I'm just here because you're my friend. I'm willing to endure, well, anything for you. Just don't get too excited."

"Spitfire!"

Nastic dropped his glass in surprise. He managed to grab it. "Long Winded!"

"Soarin!"

"Soarin!" the ponies around him shouted. They raised their hooves in the air, some of them holding Wonderbolt flags, one was holding a Wonderbolt hat.

"This is getting annoying already," Nastic commented.

"Blaze!"

"Blaze!" the ponies shouted, increasing in intensity and in enthusiasm as could be seen on their wide, happy smiles and in the blue and yellow clothes they wore and in the other Wonderbolt merchandise they were holding: the hats, the books, the figures, the autographs.

"Rainbow Dash!"

"Rainbow Dash!" two ponies shouted the loudest, raising their voices over the murmur of the crowd.

Many ponies looked their way towards the source of those two ponies. Nastic and Long Winded looked also.

"Rainbow Dash, Rainbow Dash!" the two ponies went on. The stallion was bulky and was blue and had rainbow-colored mane and tail. He wore a green shirt and a hat that had an image of Rainbow Dash's face. The mare was also blue and had red and orange mane and tail. She wore an orange shirt and a hat that also had an image of Rainbow Dash's face. The stallion held two flags with the face of Rainbow Dash on them while the mare held a camera and a flag, also.

"Wow," Nastic said. "Those are two very excited fans of Rainbow Dash. They even have Rainbow Dash clothes and flags."

"What about I go meet them?!" Long Winded yelled before he flew off towards the two ponies amidst the crowd.

Nastic groaned and placed a hoof on his face, shaking his head in disappointment and in disapproval. "When does Long Winded ever get tired?"

The changeling flew over flags, hats, and many ponies. Some of them looked up to see the changeling fly over them. "Look! A changeling!" a pony yelled from the crowd as he pointed a hoof at him.

And more ponies were pointing at him. More ponies were looking at him wearing Wonderbolt clothes as he flew over them.

Then, he finally landed near the two ponies.

He struggled his way through the crowd, pushing one pony while budging another. The ponies glared at him, but the changeling went on, walking on towards the two enthusiastic ponies still shouting Rainbow Dash's name.

"Rainbow Dash!" the stallion yelled. "The best Wonderbolt ever of all time! Yeah!" He raised his two flags. "Go, Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash!"

"Go entertain and amaze all these ponies!" the mare shouted. "Rainbow Dash, you're the best!"

Then, Long Winded walked towards them. He gulped.

"Uh, hi," he shyly said.

"Why, greetings," the stallion said, turning to face him. "I've seen changelings at Wonderbolt events before, but I've never been up close with such an avid fan as you!"

"Well, I was here because you seem to like Rainbow Dash a lot," Long Winded replied. "I rather like her."

"Actually," the stallion said, "we love her a lot! Do you want to know why?"

Long Winded placed a hoof on his chin, wondering and pondering. Then, he removed his hoof from his chin. "I don't know. Why?"

"Because we're her parents!" the stallion yelled.

"And, we're just so proud of her for what she's accomplished!" the mare went on. "It's just...so wonderful to have your daughter become a Wonderbolt and that you can get to see her perform there with all her Wonderbolt friends!"

"She's amazing and great and awesome, and that's undeniable!" the stallion yelled. Then, he extended a hoof. "I'm Bow Hothoof."

"And, I'm Windy Whistles," the mare said, extending her hoof, too.

The changeling shook their hooves.

Then, he looked at the parents. "Wow, it's such an honor to be able to meet the parents who've raised and trained such a skilled flyer!"

Bow Hothoof's eyes then grew watery. He quickly placed a hoof close to his eyes.

Then, he hugged the changeling as he cried.

The changeling looked surprised and confused.

Windy Whistles wiped away a tear from her eyes.

Long Winded smiled.

"It's great to meet changelings like you who admire Rainbow Dash," Bow Hothoof said amidst the tears. "Our daughter, adored by so many—such an achievement!" Then, he went on crying on the changeling's shoulders.

"I mean, she's the best at everything!" Windy Whistles said. "Well, the rest of the Wonderbolts are good, too. You have to be good in order to become a Wonderbolt! And, Rainbow Dash is more than good enough to qualify!"

"Anything else?" Long Winded said as he was still being embraced by Bow Hothoof who was still crying.

The tears went down his face as he cried, trying to wipe the tears off his eyes and off his face.

"OK," a voice said gruffly. "I've been trying to get to you, Long Winded, and—"

"Hi!" Windy Whistles said, waving a hoof at Nastic, smiling. "I guess you like our Rainbow Dash, also!"

Nastic stood as he observed what was happening before him.

The mare was smiling at him while Long Winded was being embraced by a stallion who was crying. The two ponies were also holding Rainbow Dash flags.

Nastic grabbed Long Winded and tried to pull him out of the hug. "Alright. It's time to get out. We don't want these ponies to be wasting your time."

"Wasting?!" Long Winded yelled.

He pulled his hoof away from Nastic.

"I'm enjoying my time with these ponies! They're the parents of Rainbow Dash—how would I waste my time with them?!"

"Parents of Rainbow Dash?!" Nastic choked a little and pointed a hoof at the stallion then at the mare. "You mean—you're really—you're not kidding?!"

"Yeah!" Bow Hothoof said, wiping more tears off his eyes as his sobbing stopped. "You must be this changeling's friend, am I right?"

"We're so glad to meet two changelings who are so proud and excited to see our daugher perform as a Wonderbolt!" Windy Whistles went on. She hovered above the ground, her wings moving. "We're also so proud and excited! Besides, she's our daughter!" She giggled. "The best pegasus in all of Equestria!"

"Rainbow Dash must be so happy to have you as her parents!" Long Winded said. Then, he flew away from Bow Hothoof's hug. "She has a fan club dedicated to her, but parents as happy as you?!"

"Wait, she has a fan club?!" the two parents said in unison, surprised, their eyes going wide and leaving their mouths open.

"Led by Scootaloo!"

Nastic groaned again. He forcefully grabbed Long Winded's hoof. "Alright, Long Winded! The crowd around us is already crazy enough as they are! We don't have to deal with these ponies who are apparently even crazier than the rest of them!"

And the murmur of the crowd only grew louder and rowdier as more of the pegasi among them hovered above the ground, crowding the air. There were more shouts and yells of support for the Wonderbolts and more flags and more Wonderbolt merchandise were held up.

The two parents looked at each other and smiled. Then, they looked at Long Winded. "Well," Bow Hothoof said, "I knew that the ponies here would be really proud to have her perform as a Wonderbolt, but Rainbow Dash's own fan club? I didn't expect that!"

"That means there are more ponies who adore our Rainbow Dash!" Windy Whistles shouted. She flew towards the changeling, her front hooves on her face while she smiled. "Who are the ponies there in the fan club? Do they have Rainbow Dash parties? Do they have Rainbow Dash events? Are you part of the Rainbow Dash fan club?! Because we wanna be in it!"

"I guess if you ask Scootaloo, she'll be OK with it," Long Winded said.

"Can I have a talk with you for a minute?!" Nastic yelled. Then, he dragged Long Winded away while the changeling held out his hooves towards the ponies, desperate.

Then, Nastic removed his grip and faced his friend with a stern, angry look that only spoke of intense irritation. "Long Winded, I know that you love the Wonderbolts. You have Wonderbolt books, Wonderbolt clothes, you even requested to have your room painted the color scheme of the Wonderbolts—but, this is too much! I cannot tolerate this kind, this level of—what do you even call it?!"

"What about them?" Long Winded replied. "They're really happy and enthusiastic about Rainbow Dash."

"She's their daughter!" Nastic shouted. "I can understand that! But, I don't get you trying to be all crazy about the Wonderbolts!"

"I explained to you," Long Winded said.

"You mean that poetic explanation?"

"Yeah!"

"Well, a poetic explanation isn't enough for me to understand what you're doing!"

"Why don't you just let me enjoy the event, the time?" Long Winded said, pleading. "You're willing to endure the noisy crowds of ponies all waiting for the Wonderbolts, and you did that for me. So, why not at least let me enjoy another Wonderbolt event?"

Nastic grumbled. Then, he sighed. "Alright."

Then, Long Winded moved his wings, hovered over the air, and shouted as he flew towards Rainbow Dash's parents.

Nastic looked on. "Talking to Rainbow Dash's parents is something new. I might as well try."

Then, he flew towards the parents.

The two ponies laughed along with the changeling as Nastic watched them, looking at them with a watchful eye. He adjusted his hat.

"And," Long Winded said, "what about when Apple Bloom joined the Rainbow Dash fan club?"

"The sister of Applejack?" Windy Whistles said. "Why?"

"Applejack had a talk with her, thinking that Apple Bloom thought that Rainbow Dash was cooler and more awesome than her own sister. Then, Apple Bloom explained to her that she loved her more than Rainbow Dash. The reason why Apple Bloom wanted to join the club was that she thought that Rainbow Dash was quite amazing and fantastic."

"Of course," Bow Hothoof said, "Rainbow Dash having her own fan club is great, but do you want to know what else makes me proud of her?"

"What?" Long Winded said, happily and eagerly expecting the stallion's reply.

"When we realized that Rainbow Dash was an Element of Harmony and that she saved Equestria multiple times—" He wiped a tear off his face "—we discovered that our wonderful daughter—she was awesome! She's the best heroine of Equestria! And, Rainbow Dash is our daugher. A heroine of Equestria! Somepony who saved Equestria! She is truly a good pony and we are so proud to have her as our child!"

"It's a wonderful truth," Windy Whistles said. "We didn't know that Rainbow Dash was among the ponies who saved Equestria from Nightmare Moon! When we got the news, we...cried." A tear went down her face. "Our Rainbow saved Equestria with her friends. We're...proud of her!"

"She's the best, the most awesome pony that saved Equestria! Who wouldn't be proud about that?!" Bow Hothoof yelled.

"Yeah!" Long Winded said. "You do have a cool daughter!"

"And, we're just waiting to see her at this event!" Windy Whistles said. "We've been at every Wonderbolt ever since Scootaloo told us about Rainbow Dash being a Wonderbolt!"

"And, we have all the flags and the clothes to show our love for her!" Bow Hothoof yelled. He brought out additional Rainbow Dash flags and Rainbow Dash clothes.

Long Winded gasped. "Can I have one flag?"

"Why have just one flag?" Bow Hothoof said. "Why not get as many as you want?!"

Nastic groaned.

Stopping in Rockville

The beautiful hills and its lush greenery portrayed a wonderful landscape. Birds flew through the air, humming their melodic songs. The trees swayed by the wind, creating a subtle yet noticeable movement that would comfort the eyes that would look upon them. The bushes and the flowers gave the place a quiet and nice feel. The dirt path that ran beside the train tracks had a few ponies walking by, talking to each other as they carried bags with them, travelling to wherever they were going to.

The sun in the sky brought its sunlight, shining upon all the land. It penetrated the windows of the train as it chugged and moved along the railroad, giving its bright light to the ponies and the changelings who were inside, most of them sitting while a few of them were walking down the middle of the carriage.

A pony in blue uniform swept the floor, cleaning it from all trash and garbage that was left there.

Out the window, the wonderful landscape was rushing by, rolling by as the train moved fast.

"Fifteen minutes," Nastic said. "We have fifteen minutes to Appleloosa, thirty minutes to Rockville, next stop—I forgot." He looked at the pony who was reading a newspaper beside him.

The stallion looked back at him.

Nastic looked away, having a neutral face.

He looked out the window, beholding the scenic outside that was passing by him quickly.

He looked at the changeling beside him. Long Winded was sleeping, his head resting on the window.

"It really is more exciting when Long Winded's awake," Nastic commented. "It's also more irritating and more chaotic when he's awake. All the ponies around us getting angry, getting frustrated at his acts and at his attitude." Then, he smiled. "At least he can improve." He looked at the sleeping changeling, quietly snoozing away the minutes as the train went on.

Nastic looked at the stallion beside him. "What's the news?"

The stallion adjusted his glasses. "We've got Princess Twilight Sparkle going to the Dragon Lands for another time—that's the headline." He arched his eyebrow, looking at the changeling with a curious look. "Are you interested in borrowing my newspaper?"

"Why not?" Nastic replied nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders. "I love being updated about everything."

"Here you go." The stallion hoofed the newspaper to him. "I've read this newspaper a few times already. It's beginning to get boring."

Nastic eagerly opened up the newspaper.

On the front page, a colored picture of Princess Twilight Sparkle shaking the claw of Dragon Lord Ember on rocky brown ground and in front of a backdrop of a brown sky and several mountains with no grass or other greenery was there. Beside the picture were the words in big, bold letters, "Princess Twilight Sparkle Visits Dragon Lands for Friendship Talks Another Time."

There were also other news. "Wonderbolt Performances in Ponyville a Great Time." "The Princesses have Scheduled Meeting Regarding Changelings Next Week." "A.K. Yearling Talks About The Writing of Daring Do Books."

"Twilight Sparkle has been out a lot lately," the stallion commented. "She's been going everywhere in Equestria and out of Equestria. Then, the Cutie Map sends her out sometimes to friendship problems. Then, she's also having to help the process of giving help to your kingdom. My foal would love to be a Princess someday, but, I wonder what she's going to tell me if I tell her about all the actual royal duties and other Princess things that a Princess has to do." He sighed, wiping his glasses.

Nastic did not say anything. He just looked at the stallion wipe his glasses.

The stallion placed the glasses back on. "My filly is a great filly—she's full of energy, excited to meet lots of ponies around the neighborhood. We live in Manehattan."

"So, how's the life there?" Nastic asked. "I've heard that it's quite busy being there and that the tourists are the ones having it easy, having all the time to explore Manehattan."

"You're somewhat right," the stallion replied. "However, the situation's improving. Ponies are getting friendlier and more considerate, thanks to Twilight Sparkle and her friends." He sighed again. "And, my filly and my wife—they're wonderful. I have to work five days of the week, and it's a ferocious task—having to handle the ponies and the work that they do is my work. That's why I take the few free days that I have very dearly."

"And, where's your family?" Nastic asked, tilting his head in concern.

"They've already went ahead to Rockville to buy some of the rocks there. Actually, I'm late." He smiled.

"So, they're going to be waiting for you for thirty minutes?" Nastic said. "That's going to try their patience."

"Oh, they're very patient," the stallion answered, his smile becoming more sincere. "Besides, Rockville is a nice place to be in. My wife's talent is related to rocks, so a place like Rockville would surely attract her. My filly—she has no cutie mark, yet. We actually went to Ponyville to visit the Cutie Mark Crusaders to see what they have to tell us—they haven't fully solved it, yet. We plan to go back to Ponyville before the end of the day. Maybe, by then, they will have solved the problem."

Nastic snickered, covering his mouth.

The stallion glared at him, his face becoming painted with emotion. "What's so funny about that?!"

"Sorry!" Nastic said, holding out a hoof in defense. "Sorry, I was just thinking about, well, that ponies from around Equestria are going to Ponyville to visit three fillies! It sounds ridiculous, to be honest with you!"

"Learning the destiny of your foal is not ridiculous, changeling!" the stallion yelled. Then, he calmed down, adjusting his glasses. "Of course, you're a changeling and we're ponies—only ponies have cutie marks. It's understandable that you wouldn't be able to fully understand what a cutie mark means to us."

"Don't worry about it," Nastic said.

The stallion looked at him, then he looked out the window.

There was less grass, less lush greenery now outside. The ground was becoming more arid, more dry. It was becoming more like a desert.

"That means we're getting closer to Appleloosa," the stallion said. He looked at the changeling. "Do you plan to visit Appleloosa?"

"I'm considering Rockville," Nastic said. "It would be nice to spend time with you and your family."

The stallion smiled. "Really?" he said, surprised and excited and elated.

"It would be nice for us and for you," Nastic replied.

"How would your friend think about it?" the stallion asked, pointing at the sleeping changeling.

"We've been there before," Nastic said. "Or, at least a part of it. He was quite happy to be there."

The train stopped.

The ponies and the changelings exited the train. Several ponies were carrying bags and baggages and luggage. Some were in a hurry, rushing to wherever they were headed towards. Others took a slow walk, looking around to relish in the unique landscape of the area.

The ground around them was mostly dry. There were rocks and stones. There were some trees, but they stood out in contrast to the surroundings.

A line of ponies was there, right in front of a wooden stall.

An assertive, young gray Earth pony mare eyed the pony at the front of the line with sharp, glaring eyes. "So, what do you want from here?! A souvenir? You look like a tourist!"

"Uh, why, I am a tourist," the scared pony said, shaking a little. He quickly looked at the selection of rocks in front of him: small rocks, big rocks, special rocks, crystals. "How much does that crystal cost?" He pointed at one of the shining pink crystals on the stall.

"That would be ten bits," the mare said.

The stallion gulped, backing away a little.

"Ten bits or you won't get your crystal!"

"OK!" the pony yelled as he threw ten bits towards the stall, grabbed the crystal, and hurried towards the train.

"Next in line!" the mare yelled behind the stall, eyeing the next pony.

The train closed its doors and left the stone train station.

"That's Limestone Pie!" Long Winded said, pointing at the mare now trying to sell the rocks to the next pony. "Why are we here again?"

"Because I'm trying to get to know some of the ponies," Nastic replied, looking at the stallion beside him. "Where's your family?"

The stallion looked at the line and at the ponies around the line and at the ponies going here and there. "They don't seem to be near here. They must've moved to somewhere else already! They didn't get to choose their Rockville rocks without me!"

"Let's at least try to see if they're here," Nastic said, patting the stallion on the head. "We need to have one more look at the premises. You probably overlooked a few areas."

"You're right," the stallion said. He walked towards the line, looking left and right and around.

Then, a filly pointed at him. "Daddy!"

She ran.

"Well Read!" he yelled.

Then, he hugged the filly.

"Where have you been, Hard Business?" a mare said, walking towards him.

"Well, Rock Eager," Hard Business said, "I just didn't catch the train on time."

And the ponies hugged each other.

"Can you just get in line?!" Limestone Pie yelled. "Do you want to buy anything?!"

The stallion walked towards the line with his family. He looked at the two changelings. "Do you want to buy some Rockville rocks?"

"So, what do you want?" Limestone Pie asked gruffly.

The ponies looked at the selection of rocks.

"What about that one?!" Well Read yelled, pointing at a particular rock.

Limestone held up the rock. "That would be three bits!"

Rock Eager smiled and gave Limestone Pie three bits.

Limestone hoofed the rock to the filly.

"Yeah! I got myself a rock!" Well Read yelled. "Then, I can research about the rock, ask where it came from, see what else the rock has, what properties it has—"

"Looks like she's very interested in rocks," Limestone said, smiling a little.

"Yeah," Hard Business said, "she's interested in lots of—"

"Then get moving!" she yelled, slamming the stall with her front hooves. "We've got more ponies waiting in line! Unless, you want to buy some more rocks, that is."

"Uh, no, let's get moving!"

And the family quickly rushed away from the stall.

"And, what about you?!" Limestone yelled, looking at the two changelings in front of her. "Wait, I recognize you!"

"Yeah, we're the changelings that visited you!" Long Winded shouted in response.

"We've had a few changelings visit us other than you," Limestone said. "Anyway, what do you want to buy?"

"I would want some of these rocks," Long Winded said, pointing to some rocks, "and some of these rocks." He pointed towards another group of rocks. "A few crystals would be nice!"

"Any in particular?" Limestone asked.

"They're all nice!"

Limestone groaned while grabbing several rocks and a few crystals from the stall and placed them into a bag. Then, she placed it on to the stall. "Fifty bits!"

"That's a lot of money," Nastic commented.

"Well, you pay or you don't get your rocks!"

Long Winded brought out fifty bits and gave them to Limestone. Then, he grabbed the bag and carried it on his body.

"Now, next in line!"

The changelings were inside another train. The landscape of Rockville passed by them as the train moved.

Long Winded opened his bag on the seat. Inside, there were lots of rocks and a few crystals that shone under the train's lights.

"I don't get it," Nastic said. "They're rocks!"

"They're good rocks, great rocks!" Long Winded replied. He brought out a rock. "Here! Try to see what's special about the rock!"

Nastic grabbed it from his friend's hoof and turned it around, looking at it closely. Then, he gave it back to Long Winded. "I don't see what's interesting about this rock other than that it's a rock!"

"But, they're rocks from the Pie family!" Long Winded said. "And, guess who is the pony who lives in Ponyville that is also part of the Pie family?"

"Pinkie Pie," Nastic replied.

"And, that's amazing!" Long Winded said. "We have rocks and crystals that are from the rock farm that she grew up in! Isn't that awesome and amazing and cool?! It's neat!"

"What else are we going to do with those rocks?" Nastic asked. "Decorate our rooms with them?"

"Maybe!"

"OK, what else are we going to do with those rocks? They cannot be toys for long."

"Unless you have an imgination that is as cool as mine!"

"I should've expected that from you," Nastic remarked.

"And, we could have the entire Pie family visit Ponyville and then we can tell Pinkie Pie about the rocks and the crystals we bought from them. Wait, Maud Pie also lives in Ponyville now! Then, that means we have two members of the Pie family in Ponyville! Maud Pie, one of the experts in the field of rocks, in the field of geology—maybe we should go to Ponyville again and show her these rocks! She can tell us all about the rocks and the crystals we have!"

Nastic groaned. He sighed angrily. "What about we wait for the next trip to Ponyville?"

Spending Time

A changeling flew past the grass of Ponyville and stopped right in front of the large steps leading towards the big double doors of the Castle of Friendship as it shimmered under the bright sunlight.

Then, the doors swung open.

Pinkie Pie was smiling at the changeling.

"Hi!" she said, waving her hoof. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm looking for Princess Twilight Sparkle," the changeling said.

"Oh, you should've gotten here earlier!" Pinkie said. "She already went away for some trip with the other Princesses to the Dragon Lands! You know, getting all friendly with Ember and all the other dragons there, spreading the magic of friendship to the dragons, all while having a great time there! It's a very royal duty! We should've been with her—I would like to be with some of the dragons there! Also, did you try some of the sofas from Davenport?! Or, what about the cherries of Dodge Junction? We could always have some nice discussions about the cherries of Dodge Junction! Or, maybe you want something else? What about you tell me what you want? Or, you can let me keep guessing what you want?"

"Uh, that's a lot of information, Pinkie," the changeling said.

"There's never too much information for a friend of Twilight Sparkle!" Pinkie yelled. "I can attest to that! I have read some of the books Twilight has and they have lots of information! Do you like books?"

"Yes," he said.

She gasped. "Oh, wait, you already told me that! That just affirms that you still like books! You know, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash are inside! You can join in on the activities, Blue Alarm! You don't have to be watching and observing all of us from afar, you know! Why not be right there with us?!"

Blue Alarm stuttered, trying to look away from the happy Pinkie Pie. "Well, I just wanted to meet with the Princess. I didn't want to stay for the rest of the day."

"Aww, we're totally OK with you staying for the rest of the day!" Pinkie said. She waved a hoof towards the hallway of the castle. "We have books, we have food, we have drinks, we have all the amenities that you need for friendship!"

"Do you know when Twilight is coming back?" Blue Alarm asked.

"She's coming back tonight," Pinkie said. "But, you can still have lots of fun! Besides, it's morning!"

"And, what are you doing right now?"

"You mean my friends? They're talking right now at the Cutie Map, telling stories to each other. But, you want to know what would be even better?! If I taught them all how to bake a cakepie!"

"Really?"

"That's just a joke! I would never reveal the secrets of the cakepie! Now, go inside!"

Blue Alarm stepped into the castle.

Pinkie hopped alongside him as he walked, each of his steps and each of her jumps echoing through the vast hallways of the castle.

"I can show you how the Cutie Map works!" Pinkie said, her words reverberating through the hallway. "You've never seen the Cutie Map work before, and I don't know if the Cutie Map would send any of us to a friendship mission right now, but it's nice enough for me to explain it to you! Do you want?"

"Nah, I'm OK," Blue Alarm nonchalantly replied as he looked around, beholding the grandness of the hallways.

"What about we try playing hide-and-seek?!" Pinkie yelled, still hopping and jumping. "There was this time when Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and the rest of the colts and the fillies of Ponyville wanted to break the Equestria-wide hide-and-seek record for the longest hide-and-seek game, but you've got to be patient enough! They actually got too bored to break the record!" She laughed. "Can you believe it?! They got too bored trying to break a record! Anyway, that's a lesson for you! If you want to try to break a record, don't get bored! Oh, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, always getting into all sorts of novelties!"

"Did Twilight tell you anything about the Dragon Lands meeting other than what's on the news?" Blue Alarm asked.

"Of course, we're her best friends!" Pinkie said. "She really, really wanted us to come along, but Princess Celestia said that it's still very dangerous to go to the Dragon Lands! Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are quite powerful, so I don't know why she wouldn't allow us to go with her! Maybe it's the leaders of Equestria first, and then we could go along, but it's a friendship event! We're the best when it comes to friendship! We're the experts, the go-to ponies for friendship!" Her voice became angrier.

"But, you understand Twilight, right?"

"Yeah, we understand her!" Pinkie said. "It's cool that she's the Princess, but she also has to attend meetings and summits every now and then! It's awesome when we do get to join her! We always give friendship lessons to the inhabitants there, whether they're ponies, griffons, dragons, and so on! And, it's always fun to party there, too! Twilight tries to have more time with us, and she usually succeeds. But, this is one of those times when she really has to go." She frowned, stopping her hopping and jumping and now just walking. She smiled. "Of course, that means that we could always have a 'Welcome Back, Twilight Sparkle!' party! I have my party cannon safe in the castle, ready for the moment that Twilight comes back, and then all of us will be like, 'Welcome Back, Twilight Sparkle! We hope you had a great time with the dragons at the Dragon Lands! We even brought you some gifts!' And, we really did bring her some gifts! They're secrets, so don't tell anypony if I do tell you what's inside the boxes!"

"OK," Blue Alarm said.

"And, we're here!" Pinkie yelled.

They stood in front of a large double door.

She pushed the doors open.

The Cutie Map and the chairs around them glimmered. The five ponies were sitting around, chatting to each other. Then, they looked at Pinkie.

"You're back!" Starlight said, sitting on Twilight's chair. "And, a changeling, also!"

"And, why are you here?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I wanted to just meet Twilight," Blue Alarm said. "Then, Pinkie told me that she wasn't here. So, she suggested that I just, well, spend the day with you and have fun."

"Well, you've come to the right place!" Rainbow said, flying towards the ceiling. "We're the Elements of Harmony, and we have the best friendships ever in all of Equestria! You're going to having th best friendship time ever with us! Oh, there's also Starlight." She gestured towards Starlight who waved a shy hoof at Blue Alarm.

"And, darling," Rarity added, "we could start with hearing what you would think is a fun activity that would bond us together?"

"Books," Blue Alarm bluntly said.

The ponies around him looked at him. They blinked.

"Daring Do?!" Rainbow Dash yelled.

"Wouldn't that be too fast-paced?" Fluttershy asked.

"Ah' reckon that we let Blue Alarm be the one to decide which books he wants!" Applejack said. "Maybe we can learn why he likes those kind o' books!"

"Or, bungee jumping," Blue Alarm went on.

Then, the ponies looked at him again.

The silence in the room was there. It permeated the room as the ponies eyed the changeling with confused eyes and wondering minds.

"Or, he's suggesting that we should read books while we bungee jump!" Pinkie shouted, pointing at him as if to attract all the attention to the changeling. "We're going to learn and have fun!"

"Isn't learning already fun?" Starlight asked.

"I mean, action kind of fun!" Pinkie yelled in reply, jumping on to the table. "Blue Alarm will pick a book, then we're going to journey to some high place like, I don't know, the Dragon Lands?! We're going to try to read the books as we fall! Isn't that exciting?!"

"And very dangerous?" Applejack quipped. "Some of us don't even know how to bungee jump properly."

"And, I would like to quietly opt out," Fluttershy said before she slowly walked away from the table.

"Not so fast, Fluttershy!" Pinkie shouted.

She ran to her and grabbed her and placed her back on to her chair.

Fluttershy was trembling.

"Honestly, I've never tried bungee jumping before," Blue Alarm said. "I know Scootaloo has some talent in it, but I'm not sure if I should go ask her to help me try it."

"OK," Rarity spoke, "what about we try something less dangerous and risky and more peaceful and relaxed? Like going to the spa?"

"I don't want to go to the spa."

Rarity gasped, her face showing her expression of dismay and of puzzled bewidlerment, almost about to faint since her hoof was now right above her forehead.

"Ya' need yer' faintin' couch?" Applejack asked.

"No, no!" Rarity said, straightening herself up and recovering from almost falling off her chair. "I am not that overly-dramatic, over-the-top! Rather, I am a pony of reason, and I fully understand and comprehend the reasons why Blue Alarm may not be interested in going to such a relaxing place full of relaxing activities as a spa."

The ponies around her giggled, some of them trying to cover their laughter by covering their mouths and looking away from Rarity's piercing looks.

"Are you saying that I am not a pony of reason?" Rarity asked, frusrated and annoyed in her tone.

"OK, OK," Applejack said, her laughter fading. She turned towards Blue Alarm. "Well, any other idea?"

"What about what you want?" Blue Alarm asked. "I'm OK with doing what you would do with each other. Like, baking cakes for Pinkie, or making dresses for Rarity, or maybe seeing some of the animals in Fluttershy's house for Fluttershy."

"Or, what about that bungee jumping idea?" Rainbow asked, flying above him.

The other ponies glared at her.

"What?" Rainbow complained. "What did I do wrong?"

"Or, maybe kites for Starlight," Blue Alarm said.

Starlight became startled, her eyes becoming wide in surprise. "Wait, how did you know I like kites?"

"I've seen you before," Blue Alarm said. "You didn't notice me, but you've been flying kites sometimes. There were times when Maud was there, flying kites with you. Even Trixie was trying to fly her own kite that one time—and then it crashed, and then you and Trixie had to fix the kite, and then you laughed at each other as you fixed it, and then the kite was fixed, and then Trixie's kite flew well enough, and then you had a pretty good time together as friends."

"Alright, I didn't expect a changeling to be watching my every move!" Starlight replied, a little bit troubled.

"What about," Applejack said, "we try to just have a good time? What about we stop all this interruptin' and interjectin' and start, well, actually having fun?"

"First idea wins!" Rainbow Dash said. "Bungee jumping while reading a Daring Do book!" She raised her hoof. "Woo-hoo! I did it first!"

The other ponies glared at her again.

"Maybe reading while bungee jumping isn't a good idea," Blue Alarm said. "But, what about we try...going to the market?"

"And what do you propose that we do there?" Starlight asked. "We don't need to buy anything at the moment."

"Well, I do need to buy some ingredients for dinner," Applejack said.

"And, I need to buy some food for the animals," Fluttershy added.

"OK, it's settled, then," Blue Alarm said. "We're going to spend time at the marketplace with you."

"Wait, what about the rest of your friends?" Pinkie asked. "I know you have Red Noise, Humerus, and Neon Guard! Where are they?"

"They're at the Changeling Kingdom, helping out," he replied. "Thorax told me that I can go early since I've done some overtime work."

"Everypony!" Pinkie shouted. "Let's go!"

The marketplace was abuzz with ponies carrying bags and baskets, some of them holding or levitating lists of items to buy. The combined smells of the various foods there—the apples, the oranges, the pies, the carrots, the lettuces, the tomatoes, the broccolis, the garlic, and so on—created a mood for the marketplace, a dynamic mood that brought ponies into a place where the exchange of goods was facilitated with the aroma of foods.

There were also things other than food being sold there. There were works of craft like vases and jars and paintings and sculptures. Ponies were selling them in various ways, from the standard selling behind the stall, to the active advertising of the product to others, to the ponies passing by that the product was the best.

The ponies talked to each other as they bought what they needed and what they wanted.

Then, there was Blue Alarm and the group of ponies beside him. They talked with each other, sometimes laughing as they passed by the stalls.

Blue Alarm looked at the stalls.

There was a pony selling tomatoes. He looked haggard, tired, as could be seen by his drowsy eyes. There was nopony else at the stall—no customer.

There was a pony selling his paintings. He looked confident as he smiled at each pony passing by, gestuing towards his artistic masterpieces that portrayed beautiful landscapes in his signature style. A pony threw a bag of bits towards him and he hoofed a painting to the customer.

"So, we're going to buy some carrots for Angel," Fluttershy said, "and then we're going to buy a couple more vegetables for the rest of the animals. The usual, the normal ones."

"Starlight," Applejack said, "what yer' plannin' to buy here?"

"Oh, I'm just coming along with you," Starlight replied. She sighed. "There's not a lot of things here that interest me, to be honest." She looked at the changeling, alone walking beside them. "Uh, are you OK?"

"Yeah, I'm OK," Blue Alarm replied. "I am just being comfortable here by looking at all the ponies around me and what they're doing."

"That's nice," Starlight said. She still looked at him as he looked around, Blue Alarm observing the ponies that they passed by, both the ponies at the stalls and the ponies buying the products, the goods.

"We still have much time left!" Pinkie said in the Cutie Map room with the rest of the ponies seated at the crystal chairs, Fluttershy and Applejack tired. "We can go to the Crystal Empire! We haven't met Shining Armor and Princess Cadance for a long time!"

"We just met them yesterday!" Applejack complained.

"But, what about this changeling?" Pinkie asked, gesturing to him with exaggeration. "We need to give him the best impression ever!"

"We've already met him and his friends a few times already," Applejack said.

"Besides," Rarity added, "maybe you should go ask Blue Alarm if he wants to go the Crystal Empire. Preparing for a trip by train is not an easy task—even if you're just visiting, there are some bags to prepare."

"Yeah, says the pony who has lots of bags as her 'necessities'!" Rainbow said, rolling her eyes before laughing.

"What about a tour of the place?" Blue Alarm suggested. "I haven't seen all that this castle has. I don't know. Did you conduct any tours lately?"

"We still don't know the place rather well to give ya' a full, complete tour," Applejack said.

"It doesn't need to be a complete tour," Blue Alarm said. "Just the basics, the essentials. Or, I change my mind. A party?"

Pinkie Pie brought out her party cannon and fired it and streamers and balloons and confetti shot out of the cannon, decorating the entire room in festive decor.

The other ponies glared at Pinkie.

"What?" Pinkie said, shrugging her shoulders. "He was the one who said it!"

"Alright," Starlight said. She whistled a short tune, bringing the ponies' attention and the changeling's attention towards her. "That was quick! Using a magic spell gets you out of the trouble as easy as...pie." She giggled, looking at a furious Pinkie. "And, I'll stop my puns that are related to somepony who is not as happy with me." She smiled awkwardly.

An awkward silence filled the room.

The ponies looked at each other, exchanging glances. Some ponies shrugged at each other. One of them raised a hoof, about to say something. Then, she lowered her hoof.

The changeling joined in the awkward activity, looking at the other ponies as they looked at him.

"Are you sure this is going to be how we spend the rest of the day until Twilight comes home?" Starlight asked, breaking the silence with a concerned voice. "I'm not ready to be quiet for several more hours, just sitting here."

"Maybe we visit the Cutie Mark Crusaders," Fluttershy said.

"I don't think they'll be alright with letting all of us fit inside their small treehouse, if that's what you're suggesting," Rainbow responded.

Starlight groaned and placed her face on to the table. She raised her face, looking at the other ponies. "I don't want to just try to brainstorm a way to have fun with Blue Alarm. I thought this would be easy for you!"

"Don't you try to blame us!" Rainbow said, pointing an accusing hoof at her and taking to the air. "We're not perfect, you know!"

"Well, I expected you to be better than me when it comes to friendships!"

"Uh, can we please stop fighting?" Fluttershy said, raising a hoof slowly. "Please?"

And the two ponies looked at her and calmed down, smiling at her. Rainbow went back to her chair.

"This hasn't been much of an active day, has it?" Applejack said.

"The marketplace was quite nice," Blue Alarm said. "I saw that you were amicable with each other. That made me happy, knowing that the ponies who were with me were good friends."

"So, you had a good time here?!" Pinkie shouted.

"Still wanted to meet Twilight, though."

"Really?" Rainbow said. "After what you said, that's what you're going to end up whining about?!"

"Maybe," Blue Alarm replied. "Or, maybe not. It's just that having a good time with you doesn't mean that I have to spend the entire day with you. Maybe it's something I don't really understand yet. But, I'll just say my farewells." Then, Blue Alarm flew his way towards the door. He turned around to look at the ponies. "Thank you." He smiled.

Then, Blue Alarm left.

"That was a meaningful day with a changeling," Starlight said. She looked at the other ponies there. "Well? At least we made Blue Alarm happy, right?"

Blue Alarm flew above the streets of Ponyville. The sun was still bright, the sky was still blue. Ponies were walking around, talking to each other. There were the Cutie Mark Crusaders, helping a few colts and fillies do some activity. There was Mayor Mare, looking around, walking past the buildings and seeing the condition of her town. There was Derpy, flying through the air.

"The ponies here are friendly," Blue Alarm said. "Just like most of the ponies I've met throughout my reformed life, my changed life. It's a beautiful, creative picture that they paint together, this wonderful piece of architecture that expresses harmony. Ponyville, a place of Earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns, all living together as friends. I think this is a nice place for a changeling to live in—although, I still want to live in the Changeling Kingdom." He looked at a gray pony wearing a blue sweater. She was walking on the street. "The many different ponies here. Maud is here, the Cutie Mark Crusaders are here, all different ponies with different stories to tell. It's fun, it's exhilirating, it's great to be in such a town as Ponyville."

Blue Alarm smiled as he went on flying above the streets of Ponyville.

Starlight Glimmer

"Changelings," Twilight said, pacing the floor of the library, passing by tons and tons of books on their shelves. She levitated a notebook in front of her. It was open. "I've gathered lots of data about them, although, I'll admit, not as much data as I have gathered about the dragons or about the griffons."

"Then again," Starlight said, sitting on one of the chairs at the tables, "we dont' really have lots of information about any of them, anyway. That is, until you decided to place in the necessary effort to document everything."

Twilight giggled. "Aww, that's nice, Starlight. I'm not really that dedicated to it, though. There's still the time that I spend with my friends."

"Talking about what you have just learned?" Starlight said.

Twilight smiled. "It's something good! What's wrong with learning something new?" She turned towards the notebook in front of her. "Back to the changelings—they've progressed well. There's still lots to work on in terms of being kind to one another, being considerate of others, but, otherwise, the changelings are indeed better than they were!" She turned towards Starlight. "How about Thorax? How's your friendship with him? Is it going well? Is it stable?"

"Uh, did you learn anything about not trying to check on every detail of my friendship?" Starlight said, a little exasperated and tired, on her face a slight frown. "You know that I can handle this on my own, Twilight."

"Oh, right!" She smiled awkwardly at her. "Apologies!"

Starlight smiled.

"But, what about Thorax?" Twilight asked.

"We're fine," Starlight replied, gesturing nonchalantly with a hoof. "We chat sometimes. Casual chats. Chats about the day. How our friends are, what happened to us. I try my best to be with him whenever he visits since his schedule is quite chaotic at the moment. Thorax told me about having to bring the changelings to do something about their homes, their houses, where they live."

Twilight sighed, approaching Starlight. She levitated the notebook on to the table. "And, that is how being a leader can bring you down sometimes," Twilight said. She looked at Starlight.

"Are you getting worried about it?" Starlight said, her voice becoming concerned. "You're the Princess of Friendship."

"You've probably noticed my schedule. Every week, I have to go to a place in Equestria to settle some friendship problems, and that's alright. I go with at least one of my best friends. Last week, I went with Applejack and Rainbow Dash to deal with a friendship problem over at Appleloosa. Braeburn arguing about something that Applejack was able to resolve. And, the week before, I went with Rarity to Manehattan. The friendship problem there was about Plaid Stripes and the ponies she's working with at Rarity's boutique there. But, I'm OK with all of that."

"Then, what's wrong with being the Princess of Friendship?" Starlight said. "You get to be on the newspapers for being a good, kind leader. You can travel to other places in Equestria for free with your friends, and even when you're on your royal duties, your royal duties are still about friendship, and you can still be with your friends."

"That's one thing about it," Twilight answered. "The other thing is that it takes up your time. There are moments and times when I have to be with just the Princesses, like when I went to the Dragon Lands. I know that it has to do with being official and being a Princess, but what about my friends? Why can't they attend, too?"

"But, you're still proud of being the Princess of Friendship, right?" Starlight said.

"It was something I didn't expect."

Starlight looked at her. "Alright." She smiled. "But, you're still OK with it?"

"Of course!" Twilight replied, smiling. "Why wouldn't I? Spreading the magic of friendship to other ponies and other creatures makes me joyful!"

Starlight giggled. "Anything else about being the Princess of Friendship?"

"There's what happens when you are friends with creatures you are supposed to have meetings with," Twilight replied. She sat down on one of the chairs. "There's Thorax. He's your friend, and he's also my friend. When we're not meeting to discuss the situation of our respective kingdoms, we share stories, we laugh, we bond and just have fun. When we're on our official duties as the Princess of Friendship and as the King of the Changeling Kingdom, respectively, we act as if we don't really know much about each other, as if we're not really friends. I still have a nice attitude, and he still has a nice attitude, but there's this sense of not-knowing, if you understand what I'm trying to say here."

Starlight nodded. "I understand, Twilight."

"But, when the meeting's over, we're back to being great friends—laughing, talking, bonding." She sighed a happy sigh. "The changelings are happy, the ponies are happy, we're all happy. Speaking about the changelings, they're quite eager."

"Eager about what?" Starlight asked.

"Eager about how to live by being friends and sharing love," Twilight said. "They's responded quite well to our friendship events and my friendship speeches. Whenever I and my friends share friendship lessons, the changelings really do want to hear, to learn the magic of friendship. The changelings talk to each other about it and they almost immediately try to follow it, although, sometimes, they misunderstand what I said, sometimes they don't understand why being a friend means you have to do this instead of doing that. But, the changelings are, overall, eager to be friends."

"And, maybe too eager about ponies," Starlight said, her tone becoming less happy and more irritated.

"We've lived with that and we've taught them about it a few times," Twilight said. "The changelings are going to improve on that."

"Hopefully they'll improve soon," Starlight said.

"They are going to improve, Starlight. You just have to help them!" Twilight smiled.

Then, Twilight stood up. "What about we try taking a book about the changelings?"

"You mean the history book about them?" Starlight asked.

"The updated one," Twilight said. "The edition where changelings are finally seen as good creatures."

She levitated a book from the bookshelf. It was a heavy, big book.

She placed it on the table. On the book were the words, "The History of Changelings."

"The authors have finally decided to do a great overhaul of the entire book," Twilight explained, opening the book. On the pages of the book were paragraphs and paragraphs of explanations and descriptions and stories of the changelings along with illustrations and pictures of the changelings, these illustrations and pictures displaying the newer, kinder changelings. "It was an unexpected, revolutionary moment. A great moment in history.”

Starlight placed a hoof on one of the pages of the book. She looked at the words, reading them. Then, she glanced at the illustrations of the changelings, the new, reformed ones. There were also pictures of the changelings, with the changelings posing for the camera in happy, funny ways. They were all smiling—there was not a single changeling who frowned or even had any other expression on their faces.

Starlight turned some pages back. There were more illustrations and pictures of the changelings, but they were the older, evil ones. There was not a smile on their faces—only evil expressions.

“And, to think that I and my friends...managed to turn them good...” Starlight said.

Starlight turned back to the pages with the new, reformed changelings.

“It must be quite great, right?” Twilight said. “You were probably just planning to save us. Only us, not the changelings themselves. However, you saved the changelings, also. You and your friends, I mean.”

The two ponies smiled as they looked at one particular picture on the book. The picture showed several changelings posing for the camera, smiling. Some were laughing.

“Do you wanna borrow it?” Twilight said. She hoofed the book to Starlight. “It will make you appreciate the changelings more. It will also make you see how much you and your friends have done, how far you’ve gone.”

Starlight smiled at Twilight. She looked at the book. The pictures of the reformed, happy changelings were there on the pages. Then, she looked back at Twilight.

“Are you telling me to borrow this book because you contributed to it?” Starlight asked.

Twilight giggled. “Not really!”

Starlight laughed. “What about I check the list of writers for this book?”

“Really, I didn’t contribute anything to the book at all!” Twilight said.

Starlight levitated the book with her magic. “OK, Twilight. I trust you.”

Then, she walked away, levitating the book in front of her.

She left the library.

Twilight followed Starlight.

Starlight looked back. “Uh, Twilight? Does that mean that you don’t have anything else to do?” she asked, a little worried.

“Oh, it’s alright, Starlight!” Twilight said, gesturing with a hoof. “Do you wanna go join us?”

“Where?” Starlight asked, confused.

“Maybe a picnic here in Ponyville, or maybe a trip to Canterlot!”

“I think I’ll just rest here,” Starlight said, levitating the book towards Twilight, “reading this book. You’re the one who told me to read it, right?”

Twilight placed a hoof on her chin. “OK, Starlight.” She smiled. “But, you’re going to miss out on a lot of fun!” Then, she trotted away.

Starlight sighed, still levitating the book, bringing it in front of her.

Then, she walked. Starlight walked on the clean floor of the hallway.

Thorax stepped onto the wooden platform of the train station.

Ponies walked by past him. Most of them smiled at him, although a few were rushing towards wherever they were going to, not paying attention to the changeling. A few foals pointed at him, smiling.

Thorax walked away from the train station. As he approached the buildings of Ponyville, he took a glance at the glimmering castle. “There’s Twilight and her friends,” he said. “And, Starlight, also.” He smiled.

As he walked past the buildings, he saw the ponies there. Some were just talking to each other—he saw three ponies talking to each other, sometimes laughing. Others were conducting business—a pony with a hat was trying to sell some paintings. There were pegasi arranging the clouds in the sky, coordinating with the other pegasi there. Meanwhile, there were Rarity and other unicorns using their magic to decorate the town hall. Earth ponies were carrying wagons of food towards the marketplace.

Thorax walked on the streets, beholding all the activity that was going on around him.

A knock on the big double doors of the castle.

Starlight looked away from the book she was reading.

“Uh, hi? Thorax here!”

“Thorax?!” Starlight shouted.

She opened the doors with her magic.

Thorax was hovering above the steps.

“Starlight!”

“Thorax!”

And the two hugged each other.

Then, they stopped hugging each other.

“So, what are you doing?” Thorax asked as he landed on the floor.

Starlight closed the doors with her magic. She brought her book towards Thorax. “Well, just reading about the history of changelings.” She smiled. “Twilight said that I’ll be able to appreciate you and your fellow changelings more if I read this book!”

“Heh-heh-heh-heh.” Thorax looked at the book nervously, eyeing it with suspicion. “Are you sure that’s the book with no more evil, misunderstood words against us?”

“Oh, I didn’t mean to do anything bad at all, Thorax!” Starlight said nervously, glancing here and there. “Uh, this book is updated and has a new attitude towards you, so you don’t have to worry about anything at all, Thorax!” She made a wide smile. “See, I’m smiling! That means that you should definitely trust me! I mean no harm nor ill intent towards you nor your kingdom at all, Thorax!”

Thorax smiled. “Looks like we have more in common than we thought.”

And, the two laughed.

Then, they walked the grand, wide hallways of the castle with their tall green windows.

“Spike should’ve been here,” Thorax said. “He would’ve said that you were as awkward as I was back when I was just a changeling in the Crystal Empire!”

“Maybe you still are!”

“An awkward king? Nah, I don’t think that’s me.”

And, they laughed again.

“So, how’s the whole kingdom thing going for you?” Starlight said. “Any progress on your efforts to restructure the Changeling Kingdom?”

“We’re going for a natural look,” Thorax replied. “A lot of my friends are OK with it. They’ve been used to the rooms we’ve had in the hive for so long that it turns out that living in houses was a bit strange to get used to.”

“What’s wrong with houses?” Starlight said.

“They’re big,” Thorax answered.

“Then, why not make small houses?”

“It’s not just that we can make small houses,” Thorax replied. “Houses themselves are big, no matter how small we try to build them. If you want to have a proper house, it must have this room and that room, there must be a dining room and a kitchen and a bedroom and other kinds of rooms. Also, we’re used to having our walls change over time—remember when we entered the hive? We’re so used to an ever-changing place that living in houses where the walls don’t move is jarring. We tried to make houses with changing walls, but that doesn’t seem right.”

“So, you’re just reverting back to the old look?”

“I don’t want to really change it back,” Thorax said. “It can bring bad memories about us trying to steal love.”

“What do you want, then?” Starlight said.

“I want the Changeling Kingdom to fit us,” Thorax replied. “I don’t want us to have to force ourselves to pony standards of living. I want the Changeling Kingdom to be a place where changelings can thrive with the magic of friendship while also trying to make it unique. That’s what I want to do, Starlight.”

“OK, Thorax,” Starlight said. “How hard is it?”

“Hard. It’s hard. It’s really hard, Starlight, to lead the changelings in this effort.”

“Don’t worry, Thorax,” Starlight said, patting the changeling. “I know that, with the magic of friendship, the changelings are all going to help each other!”

“Thanks, Starlight,” Thorax said. “But, the changelings need to be more friendly. And, I’m not just talking about liking the idea of friendship. There’s a reason why I’m OK with Twilight going to our kingdom to give us friendship speeches, friendship lessons. I’m not just OK with the idea, I like it! A lot of us are quite eager to learn about friendship and to become friendly towards others, but we might get too eager and end up not learning anything.”

Starlight groaned, frowning and scowling.

Thorax looked at her, concerned and anxious. “What’s wrong, Starlight?”

“Oh, uh, sorry!” Starlight said, attempting to make a smile. “I was just, uh, having a reaction about something I just thought of while you said what you, uh, just said. Heh-heh-heh-heh!” She kept on smiling at him awkwardly.

Thorax sighed. “I know, Starlight,” Thorax said, adopting a sad tone. “I’ve heard ponies complaining whenever I visit. Not everypony was giving me complaints, but there were enough. Maybe more than enough, I don’t know. Even I get a bit too excited—ponies never had so much, well, things and items before! Even when I was an obedient but reluctant changeling to Chrysalis, I noticed something about the ponies—they were so rich in whatever they had, even the poorest ones! They had traditions, they had stories, they had epic adventures, they had studies of the world—the ponies looked quite cultured to me, to all of us!” He looked at the tall green windows that were on the walls. “Just look at those windows!” He pointed a hoof at one of them. “You’re a pony, so maybe it’s just a nice window. To me, though, it’s more than just a window. It’s the result of progress, the result of, well, ponies working together with all their tradition and their culture building up over the years and the decades to form something beautiful, to form something wonderful to look at while still being a window!”

“I didn’t expect that from you, to be honest, Thorax,” Starlight commented as they went on walking in the hallway, approaching the double doors at the end. “You were so...verbose and wordy.”

Thorax nervously scratched his head, smiling awkwardly at the pony. “That’s me just being fascinated by all that ponies have done! However, I know we cannot just copy them—they are the ones spreading the magic of friendship and they are the ones who are helping the most, but I just want us changelings to, well, be different! I’ve been talking about this for almost as long as I’ve been ruling over the Changeling Kingdom—and, I don’t want to see being a king as a position to desire. I just want to help my fellow changelings the best way I can, that’s all.”

Then, Starlight opened the double doors.

Inside the room, a crystal table with the crystal thrones were there.

Starlight levitated the book towards the table. Then, she placed it there.

“I understand, Thorax,” Starlight said as they walked towards the chairs.

Starlight and Thorax then sat on the chairs. They were beside each other.

“I hope that wasn’t too much,” Thorax said.

“I’ve read lots of books,” Starlight said. “I don’t think you’ve said enough words to rival a book.”

The two laughed.

Thorax placed a hoof on the book. He opened it. “This book—is it OK?”

“Yeah,” Starlight said. “From what I’ve read, it’s pretty OK. Accurate.”

Thorax turned the pages, seeing many paragraphs of words of history. He also saw the illustrations and the pictures of the changelings, of his own kind.

He stopped at a page.

There were pictures of happy, reformed changelings. They were smiling at the camera.

Thorax smiled. “There’s something nice.”

Starlight leaned towards the book.

“Mm-hmm.” Starlight smiled. She looked at Thorax. “Anything else?”

“I want to, well, to build on what you’ve taught me, Starlight,” Thorax said. “But, you weren’t the only one. There was Twilight and her friends—I think that’s when it all started, when they showed how powerful and how great friendship is. And, it just went on from there, Starlight.”

“And, I’m happy to see what changelings spreading the magic of friendship would lead to,” Starlight said. “But, let’s talk about something else for now. Like, I don’t know, what’s your plan for this afternoon? You didn’t just visit Ponyville just to talk with me for a few minutes, right?”

“I was wondering where Trixie and Discord are,” Thorax said.

“Trixie’s busy with practicing for her next magic show. Discord—well, nopony really knows where he is, usually. He could be anywhere—maybe even back in his home dimension.”

“I heard that his home dimension is not a sensible dimension.”

“I’m sure that nopony could understand how to get there without Discord’s help,” Starlight said. “Anyway, what else can we do in Ponyville? We could go to the Carousel Boutique, but what would we really do there? Help Rarity make dresses?”

“But, there are so many things to do in Ponyville, right?”

“Not a limitless amount of things, Thorax,” Starlight said. “We could fly kites together!” She smiled at him.

“Uh, kite-flying is not my thing.” He scratched his head.

“Oh.” She frowned. Then, she smiled again. “Don’t worry. There must be other things to do in Ponyville! Like, going to Sweet Apple Acres!”

“And, what would we there?”

“We could help?”

“Help them with the apples?”

Starlight placed a hoof on her chin, thinking. “We should just go somewhere else, Thorax.”

Thorax smiled. “Like where?”

“For just being together? Canterlot has lots of fancy restaurants and fancy places, and they require strict behavior, and I really don’t know if I would want that. Appleloosa is a bit far away, most of what they have there is fun! Although, there aren’t that many establishments there. Manehattan is exciting, but the pace is too fast if you just want to enjoy Manehattan at your own pace.”

“We have the Cutie Map right here,” Thorax said, placing a hoof on the table.

“I don’t think we should use a magical map just to see where we want to go,” Starlight said. “There are other, better ways that don’t use too much magic to choose on where to go!”

“What about the Crystal Empire?” Thorax suggested. “It would be great to meet Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor again! I’ve heard that several changelings visit that place often now!”

“And the Crystal Ponies are OK with it?”

“They’re not just OK with it! They’re cool with it!”

Starlight giggled. “Alright. So, you wanna go there?”

“But, what about somewhere else?” Thorax asked. “There are more places in Equestria than just the ones you’ve said. There’s Cloudsdale, there’s Dodge Junction, there’s the Dragon Lands, there’s lots of other places to visit!”

“OK, if there are a lot of places to visit in Equestria,” Starlight said, “where would you wanna go the most right now?”

“The Crystal Empire!” Thorax said quickly.

“Alright, then, let’s get to the train station!”

The landscape outside was cold. It was snowy.

Inside the train, ponies were seated on their seats. Some looked at the landscape outside, others talked with each other, still others were just readings newspapers or books.

Starlight and Thorax sat beside each other.

“What do you plan to do in the Crystal Empire, Thorax?” Starlight asked. “You’re not acting as the king of the Changeling Kingdom, you’re just arriving as a friend, right? So, what do you wanna do?”

“It depends,” Thorax said. “It’s a big place to be in. There are so many things that the Crystal Ponies have that I’m not sure if we’ll even be halfway done with a full trip or tour of the place before the end of the week!”

“You can begin with meeting Sunburst again,” Starlight said. “He’s quite OK with spending time with you!”

“And, what will we talk about? I’m not sure I can talk about magic since, well, I can’t use unicorn magic.”

“Sunburst doesn’t just study magic, although that’s what he studies most of the time,” Starlight said. “I’m sure you can talk about other things!”

Thorax smiled. “What about I talk with Cadance and Shining Armor? And then, we could go to some place together, like, I’m not sure, a store or whatever else the Crystal Empire has to offer! There’s still some things that I still haven’t tried or visited at all!”

A few ponies walked down the middle of the carriage, wearing fancy uniforms.

Starlight and Thorax looked at them.

The ponies had neutral expressions on their faces, neither smiling nor frowning, only looking focused on the task at hoof, whatever the task was.

“Who are they?” Thorax asked, nudging Starlight. “I’ve never seen them before.”

“Oh, they’re just the Method Mares,” Starlight casually said. “Some popular acting group of ponies. They’re probably trying to get to the doors first. We’re close to the train station.”

Thorax looked outside.

Gone was the snow and the cold weather. Now, there was grass and trees. The Crystal Empire was there, shining. The crystal train station was also there.

And, the train approached the train station.

And, it stopped.

The doors opened.

Thorax and Starlight joined the group of ponies attempting to get out of the doors quickly and effortlessly, although most of them struggled to exit the train. There were ponies with cameras, trying to get out of the train in their journey to take many pictures of the Crystal Empire. There were the Crystal Ponies themselves inside the train, also trying to get out of the train. The Method Mares themselves showed no irritation on their faces—they were just neutral, calm and collected as they waited for the rest of the ponies to leave the train.

Then, Starlight and Thorax finally went out of the train and on to the platform of the Crystal Empire’s train station.

“There are snacks,” Starlight said. “Do you wanna buy some inside?”

“It depends,” Thorax replied.

Ponies were going here and there around them, all of them trying to get inside the train station. Some of them were carrying bags, others were carrying cameras, still others were carrying no items at all.

“So, let’s go to Sunburst’s house first?” Starlight asked.

“What about Cadance and Shining Armor?” Thorax said.

“We could go to Sunburst first, then we could to Cadance and Shining Armor,” Starlight told.

“But, we could try inviting all three of them to our trip!”

“Good idea,” Starlight said. “But, where can we all enjoy the time together?”

“We could stay inside Sunburst’s house!”

“It’s very tight and small for four ponies and one changeling, Thorax.”

Before Manehattan

“Try to imagine it,” Humerus said as he and Blue Alarm and Red Noise and Neon Guard sat on a grassy field. Across the river, the bustling city of Manehattan resided, its urban noise indicating the rush of activity and business and entertainment to only be found in such a metropolis. “If Princess Celestia controls the sun, and Princess Luna controls the moon, and Princess Cadance is the Princess of Love, and Princess Twilight Sparkle is the Princess of Friendship, then what would happen if they went to a restaurant together?”

“Not much?” Blue Alarm replied, looking at Humerus.

Around them, ponies sat down. Some ponies took out picnic blankets and brought out baskets of food and drinks. Others took out cameras and took pictures of the beautiful city, spouting out words that only showed their amazement of being so near to Manehattan. Still others took out telescopes, trying to see various ponies in Manehattan. A few balloons went up. A pony called for other ponies to go to the train station. Another pony called for others to take a boat trip.

“Why?” Humerus asked. “They’re the Princesses!”

“The Princesses don’t want to relish in their royalty,” Blue Alarm said. “Haven’t you seen Twilight lately? She’s gotten irritated by all that she has to do.”

“But, shouldn’t they have to serve the Princesses something special and spectacular and simply something that nopony else would eat unless they had lots of money?” Humerus replied, trying to counter Blue Alarm.

“It’s the Princesses’ decision if they would have that over something regular ponies can buy and afford like a burger.”

“Why would a Princess want to eat that?”

“Why would Twilight not eat that?”

“OK, you win!” Humerus yelled.

“But, this isn’t a compeitition.”

A breeze blew by them, bringing a cool wind.

“So, let’s go to Manehattan already?” Red Noise asked. “I wanna go there already!”

“Let’s just take some more time to just relax,” Neon Guard said. “Look at all the ponies around us.” He gestured towards a group of ponies, a family, on a picnic blanket. They were laughing. They took bites out of their apples and their vegetables. The stallion rubbed the mane of one of his children.

“Why don’t we just get back here again after the Manehattan trip?” Red Noise said. “I don’t wanna be here on the fields just waiting for the next train!”

“We could derive joy from just observing the ponies like I do,” Blue Alarm said. “I could ask questions like, ‘Where is that pony going? Why is he carrying that briefcase? Why would he be going where I think he is going to?’”

“That’s for you to enjoy, not changelings like me!” Red Noise retorted. “We’re missing out already on a lot of things in Manehattan! No matter how many trips we can take to Manehattan, we could never really fully enjoy all of Manehattan’s, well, activities! Imagine all the food that they’re cooking there!”

Humerus licked his lips and smiled. “And, we’ve already tried a few restaurants there some times, and I don’t think that was enough for me!”

“As long as we don’t throw away our money,” Neon Guard said. “Besides, we still need bits for the Changeling Kingdom. We don’t wanna spend too much on just having fun.”

“I’m fairly certain that we won’t spend a lot,” Humerus said.

“Really?” Red Noise asked. “Because, I’m not going to wait for you to spend all of our money away to sneer at you for being wasteful.”

“OK, I promise that I won’t spend all of our money away,” Humerus said. He was silent for a while. “Is that enough?”

“Just prove that it’s enough, that you’re not going to be wasteful,” Neon Guard said. He took a glance at Manehattan. “If we spend hours there, it wouldn’t be enough to see all of Manehattan. The many stores that they have there, the many eateries they have there, the many other things you could there in Manehattan is, well, many.”

“And, you’re afraid of the money we could waste?” Humerus said. “Don’t worry, Neon Guard! I’m a responsible changeling!”

Red Noise laughed, almost rolling to the ground.

The other changelings looked at Red Noise as he laughed and cackled, almost exaggeratedly.

Then, he straightened himself and calmed down from his laughter. “Responsible? You, Humerus, responsible?!”

“I can give him a chance,” Neon Guard said. “He can become a responsible changeling.”

“Alright. Let’s see if he’s really a responsible changeling. Because, I also wanna go to Manehattan already.”

“But, what about the time we can have here?” Blue Alarm said.

Red Noise sighed, placing a hoof on his face. “Why can I not protest against that successfully? Manehattan is over there!” Red Noise pointed a hoof at Manehattan. “All the great things about Manehattan are there, not here!”

“What about we try thinking about something else?” Humerus suggested, raising a hoof.

His friends looked at him.

“So, what if Thorax and his friends from Ponyville—Starlight Glimmer, Trixie, and Discord—were to go to Manehattan and then went somewhere else after that?”

“What’s your point?” Red Noise said, annoyed.

“What would they have during their trip from Manehattan to that somewhere else?” Humerus said. “Like, what about Starlight’s old village!” Then, he gasped. “That would be great to visit again! I would be visiting one of the places that one of our heroines used to rule over! I could meet the ponies there again and I could eat some of their baked goods there again, and I could tell those ponies about my dancing skills!”

“I don’t understand,” Red Noise said. “What were you trying to tell us again?”

“Actually, I changed my mind!”

Red Noise groaned. “Why can’t we just go to Manehattan already?! I don’t wanna just relax here! I wanna join in in the fun and the energy of Manehattan!”

“OK, well, the train is still there,” Neon Guard said. “I guess I’ve had enough relaxation and rest for now.”

“Yeah!” Humerus yelled. He flew towards the train station. “We’re going to Manehattan again! We’re going to eat lots of food again! We’re going to see the busy streets again!”

Blue Alarm, Red Noise, and Neon Guard followed the excited changeling.

“Think of all the celebrities that we can meet there!” Humerus said. “I mean, think of all the celebrities that we can meet there again!”

“Would you stop rambling about the things that we’re going to do in Manehattan and the word ‘again’?!” Red Noise complained from his seat in the train.

They went past buildings.

“Red Noise is right,” Neon Guard said, looking at Humerus with a stern look. “Besides, there are other ponies in here. We don’t want to disturb them.”

“But, I just cannot hold my excitement over Manehattan, Neon Guard!” Humerus complained. “We’ve been there a few times already, and I just want more!”

“Is there something wrong?” Neon Guard asked. “Or, are you just that excited for Manehattan?”

“I’m just that excited, Neon Guard! Everything about Manehattan is amazing, undeniably amazing!”

“Just don’t try to hurt other ponies while you’re excited, Humerus,” Red Noise said.

“Uh, Red Noise?” Blue Alarm said, looking at him. “Let’s not bring that incident up about Humerus almost hurting that pony.”

“Uh, you’re both not helping Humerus,” Neon Guard said.

Blue Alarm and Red Noise looked at Neon Guard. “Sorry,” they said in unison.

Humerus still had a smile. He looked out the window, seeing the wonderful city of Manehattan.

Manehattan Trip

It was night time. The lights of Manehattan were on, giving the city a beautiful glow, an island of civilization. The noises of the city were even louder, with the carriages rushing their way to their destinations, with the ponies on the sidewalks hurrying their way to wherever they were going to, and with all the sounds coming out of the buildings—music, speeches, shouts, talks.

Out of a coffee shop was the aroma of coffee, vitalizing the ponies who were inside and even the ponies who were just passing by, their eyes opening up a little more as they took a glance at the coffee shop. Beside the coffee shop was a newspaper stand, with a pony wearing a hat yelling to the ponies passing by while he held a newspaper with a hoof. On the newspaper, there was a picture of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna standing beside Princess Twilight Sparkle and a somewhat smiling Dragon Lord Ember as they stood on rough ground in the Dragon Lands.

Beside the newspaper stand was a clothes shop. Most of the ponies going inside were mares, although a few stallions also walked in, eyeing the fancy suits that were on display. The ponies that walked out were carrying bags of clothing, the mares talking much about how the clothes that they bought would be perfect for them.

Beside the clothes shop was an ice cream store with bright colors that attracted the families. Ponies sat on the tables both inside and outside, the colts and the fillies happily eating their ice cream while the parents talked beside them. A happy pony was behind the counter inside, elatedly scooping up ice cream of chocolate flavor, vanilla flavor, strawberry flavor, among others.

Beside the ice cream store was a restaurant, offering a variety of foods and drinks, from pizza to burgers. More ponies were there, lining up. It was a noisy business inside as the ponies behind the counter hurried to prepare the food and the drinks, but the customers were happy as they ate what they bought.

Beside the restaurant was the street. It was a busy street as carriages filled the road and as ponies waited at the intersections, waiting for the carriages to stop. A stallion stood at the intersection, whistling to various carriages and controlling the traffic.

The ponies crowded at the streets, waiting to walk. They talked with each other, discussing how their day had been and what they planned to do for the night. It was a noisy talk, since a pony talking to another pony would also have to hear the talks and the discussions of other ponies that were with him.

Then, the carriages stopped.

Ponies walked on the street, going to the other side of the road.

Then, the carriages went on again, passing by the many ponies on the sidewalk. The stallions pulling the carriages ran as fast as they could, carrying the carriage and the passengers inside. They went past the buildings of Manehattan, passing by ponies as they did so. Some ponies would look at the carriages. Others just walked on, minding their own business.

Then, a carriage passed by a group of four changelings as they stood in front of another newspaper stand.

"Get your news here!" the pony at the stand yelled at the changelings, waving a newspaper at them as they looked at him. "You must be new here. Have you seen what's happening in Equestria?!"

"Uh, I've already bought my newspaper," Neon Guard said.

The pony groaned. "I should've known. It's hard to compete with the ponies here! There's a newspaper stand here, and then when you go to the next block, there's another newspaper stand. Do you want to go to the block after that?! There's another newspaper stand, and another newspaper stand, and there are so many that I don't know how I'm going to get much profit out here!"

"Are you new?" Blue Alarm asked.

"New to Manehattan? Manehattan, a city, a metropolis, a place where ponies can be successful if you can just work hard and if what you're good at is your talent? I'm not new!"

"Then, why are you having trouble?" Blue Alarm asked as more carriages passed by. One carriage stopped to bring down a customer. The customer brought a few bits to the pony pulling the carriage. The pony smiled as he rushed away with the carriage.

"It's not easy!" the pony said, complaining, still holding the newspaper. "You have so many competitors out there! You have ponies living at almost every block of this city! Ponies of different kinds, and that's just the natives, the inhabitants! What about the tourists? They're not here to check the news, they're here to see the city and the landmarks—some ponies see the news as a bad thing!" He groaned, grumbled. "Well, what are you here for?"

"Just enjoying," Blue Alarm said.

"And we're enjoying!" Humerus yelled, flying to the air as he did some tricks to show off his enjoyment and excitement.

Red Noise looked at him with an annoyed look.

"It's good that you can enjoy Manehattan," the pony said. "I've been here for most of my life. I've seen lots of what Manehattan has. I've seen it grow, I've seen the tourists, I've seen the ponies here—I know. It's boring if you already know. You have it well."

"Do you want help?" Blue Alarm asked, approaching the pony.

"You can help if you buy this newspaper," the pony said, holding up the newspaper. "A few bits would help."

"Alright."

Blue Alarm brought some bits to the pony and the pony brought the newspaper to him.

Blue Alarm brought it to Neon Guard.

"What will you do?" the pony asked. "Changelings are, well, I don't know. They always ask about where to go, and they want to go everywhere. They wanna see everything, visit every building, go to every street, see all the parks, take pictures here and there if they have cameras—and seeing changelings with cameras is something that I'm not sure about." He paused. "What did you do for the day?"

"We went to a few new restaurants," Humerus began, "and then we decided to go to the top of some skyscrapers and it was great that we could have ponies who could be at the top as well, and then we went down to go and see more restaurants and other places where we can eat, and then we went to the grocery stores and we saw lots of items on sale there and there's more items there than the Ponyville marketplace, and then we went on to some parks and we talked to some of the ponies there and we had a good time and some ponies were flying kites and I tried to fly a kite but I think I need more practice, and then we decided to go to a music store and see all the instruments that ponies could play and we saw guitars, pianos, drums, violins, and more, and I was excited, and maybe I could try one, but the instruments cost a lot of money so we went away, and then—"

"That's enough!" the pony shouted, tired. "I don't need to hear the entire story, alright?! You don't have to go on talking about it!"

"Are you having a good day?" Humerus said, smiling.

The pony groaned. "Well, it was a nice day. Now, do you have somewhere to go?"

"Well, I wanted to—"

"We'll talk about it!" Red Noise said. "I want to see more of Manehattan at night because it's quite nice."

"Stop interrupting me!" Humerus whined, eyeing Red Noise with anger.

"We don't want to annoy anypony else, do we?" Red Noise said, gesturing at the irritated newspony who was looking at Humerus with an irritated look.

"Alright," Humerus said, balking. "I'll try my best to not do anything bad." He was slightly shivering.

"Have a good evening!" the newspony shouted as the changelings walked away. "Enjoy Manehattan!"

The newspony waved at them and the changelings waved back.

The changelings walked on the sidewalk beside buildings that gave much light, giving many colorful lights on to the street and on to the sidewalks, giving the street a fun feel as ponies walked by, some rushing by, others taking their time as they beheld the sights and the sounds and the smells of Manehattan. There were food stands with ponies selling food and cooking food right there—some ponies were sizzling their food, others were baking their food. The smells combined to create a smell that made the street an aromatic urban food place.

Music blared from speakers as a band of ponies performed a song on stage. It was a mellow, light song. Ponies were gathering in front of the stage, listening and enjoying the music as more ponies walked by.

Some ponies walking by were reading their newspapers. There were police ponies, having no smile nor frown but just expressions that showed that they were focused on the task of protecting the citizens and the tourists. They looked here and there.

"What about we buy some more food?" Blue Alarm asked. "It wouldn't hurt to try some more."

Humerus hurried towards one of the food stands.

The three other changelings followed him.

Humerus stopped in front of a stand where ice cream was being made. The pony behind the stand looked at him, smiling. "How can I help you? We have lots of different flavors!"

"I want half of the flavors, please!" Humerus yelled. Then, he threw some bits at the pony.

The pony gathered the bits that fell to the sidewalk and placed them into the money box. "Are you sure? That's a lot of money to be spending on ice cream."

"Ice cream is good for everypony!" Humerus said. "I don't think anypony can get too much ice cream!"

"I'm trying to sell ice cream, but I don't think you should be eating too much ice cream. You might get sick."

"Well, you better give me some ice cream, the way that I want it!"

"OK!" Red Noise shouted. "We got you!" He flew to Humerus's side. "How much did you give the pony?!"

"Enough for half of the flavors!" Humerus said. He smiled. "I'm going to sample half of the flavors, and then I'll tell you which one is the best!"

"Sample?" the pony said. "Why didn't you say so? If you want a sample, it's free!"

"I like free ice cream!" Humerus yelled. "Where's the bits? I need to get my bits back!"

The pony sighed. "Here." He gave the bits back to Humerus.

Humerus placed the bits back inside his bag. Then, he eagerly looked at the pony, trembling in excitement. "Give me the free samples! Give me the ice cream!"

"Is this a good idea?" Red Noise asked. "Did you even think this through, Humerus?"

"It's the best idea I ever thought of regarding ice cream, Red Noise!" Humerus replied.

Blue Alarm and Neon Guard caught up to the two changelings. "So, what happened?" Blue Alarm asked.

"Don't tell me you wasted your money on ice cream," Neon Guard said, exasperated and worried.

"I've made a good and well-thought purchase," Humerus said. "Even a wise one!"

"Why should I believe you, Humerus?" Red Noise muttered.

"Uh, here," the pony said, giving a bowl of small scoops of different ice cream flavors. "We have the best-selling flavors here. We have the usual vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, mango, and apple."

Then, Humerus grabbed the bowl and gulped down all the ice cream scoops. He threw the bowl back to the counter and sighed. Then, he burped.

His changeling friends and the pony looked at him in astonishment.

"That's the fastest I've ever seen anypony or any changeling eat my ice cream," the pony said. "Should I give you something? Do you want anything?"

"Nope!" Humerus said as he walked away. "I'm completely OK with what I've tasted. It's great! Thanks!"

"Uh, you haven't bought any ice cream!" the pony shouted at him. "If you liked the ice cream, maybe you should try buying some!"

Red Noise groaned. "Let's just follow Humerus!" Then, he flew.

Blue Alarm and Neon Guard also flew.

The pony looked at the changelings. "This is ridiculous! Changelings keep on eating my free samples of ice cream! At least the rest of them paid me! This one didn't even think about paying me! This isn't fair!" He frowned, glowering at the happy changeling as he moved away. He looked at the other ponies passing by him. "If this keeps on going, I'm going to be running out of ice cream to sell by the end of the week!" He sighed an exasperated, tired, and irritated sigh. "At least there's lots of ponies here. Manehattan has lots of ponies. And changelings. And some griffons. And Spike. Spike liked ice cream." The pony watched some more of the ponies passing by. "Maybe I should do something about this."

"There's book stores," Blue Alarm said. "There's camera shops, music shops, fancy restaurants, not-so-fancy restaurants. This street is filled with lots of different buildings! And, the nightlife here is high-quality! Look at all the ponies just enjoying their time here and buying all that they're buying and eating all that they're eating!"

"It makes you think about how the normal Manehattan pony lives," Neon Guard said, passing by more ponies on the sidewalk. Some ponies were carrying bags. Some more ponies were wearing cool clothing. "How does a pony who lives in Manehattan wake up and live a day? It must be quite hectic."

"There's the traffic," Red Noise said, "there's the crowds of ponies, there's the rush of the schedule. That's three things I can tell you about the Manehattan life."

"But, they have so many things!" Humerus said. "What about we try buying a camera?"

"We don't even have enough camera for a good enough camera!" Red Noise yelled. "Cameras aren't cheap!"

"But, they're worth it!"

"Then, try buying one!" Red Noise yelled. "Let's see if Neon Guard would like how you spend your money!"

Ponies stopped walking and looking at the changelings. They weren't smiling. They had concerned looks on their faces.

"Uh, let's not make this worse!" Blue Alarm said. "Let's just walk."

Then, the changelings walked.

The ponies were still looking at them.

"Why did you do that?" Humerus whispered. "That's not nice!"

"What you're suggesting about buying a camera isn't nice!" Red Noise retorted.

"Then, what about we buy something else? Like, a guitar!"

"That's still not good enough! Do you have the money for a guitar?!"

"Uh, it depends!"

"That means that you don't have enough money."

"Uh, yes."

Red Noise groaned, placing a hoof on his head and rubbing his head.

"Let's try not talking," Neon Guard said as they kept on walking. "If you keep on arguing like this, the police ponies might get suspicious of us."

Red Noise grumbled. "OK!"

Humerus smiled.

Blue Alarm kept a neutral expression on his face.

Neon Guard sighed a sigh of relief.

The changelings walked on the sidewalk, walking by the bright buildings of Manehattan and smelling the aromatic smells of the food there, listening to the music blared. The ponies stopped looking at them and went on walking, talking, and eating.

Food, Materials, and Something Else

Changelings and ponies moved along the path, many of them carrying bags and pulling wagons filled with various things such as food, drinks, materials, and more. A wagon broke down and the changelings nearby helped the pony pull the wagon. The pony smiled, saying "Thanks!" to the changelings and the changelings said "You're welcome!" as they went on helping him.

As they approached the Changeling Kingdom, now looking more natural with less pony-like buildings, some ponies gasped in awe of the place.

"Do you like the redesign?" one changeling asked one of the ponies who gasped as they walked. "King Thorax would like it if the ponies liked it."

The pony did not reply. All he did was just look at the kingdom with an amazed face.

"That means that you really like it? I think that means you really like it." Then, the changeling rushed off towards the kingdom, carrying a bag on his back.

The pony looked at the pony walking beside him. He was pulling a wagon. "When I decided to help," the first pony said, "I didn't expect to see the Changeling Kingdom look so different."

"I didn't expect to see you here, Trick Track," the other pony said back. "It's not everyday that I see you pulling wagons and doing this kind of work."

"A break from Manehattan is nice now and then," Trick Track said. "My wife is helping at another department. I'm not sure where, though."

"Is it managing?" the other pony asked.

"Probably," Trick Track replied. "She is able to manage her side of the shop well, so I won't be surprised if she's managing some of the ponies and some of the changelings here."

Above them, several changelings flew.

The two ponies looked up.

"I've met many changelings," Trick Track said. "Ever since the changelings became good, I've seen lots of changelings in Manehattan. They're astounded by Manehattan. The looks on their faces, the big smiles that I see are proof that they really like Manehattan and maybe much of Equestria, too."

"Any stories to tell?" the other pony asked.

"About changelings in our shop?" Trick Track said. "Several. We've had two arguing changelings when Rarity and the Princess herself, Twilight Sparkle, was there. They managed to fix their friendship problem in our shop. That's something I don't want to forget—that some of the most friendly ponies of all of Equestria visited our shop and solved a friendship problem in our shop."

"Anything else?" the other pony asked.

"Do you mean more normal stories about changelings just looking around to buy some of our fountains and board games?"

"Maybe."

"There's lots."

"Then, let's talk about something else, another thing."

Trick Track raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"

"We're close to the Changeling Kingdom," the other pony said. "What do you have to say about it?"

Trick Track looked at the kingdom. "Well, it's nice. I would prefer another style, but I'm not the one who's in control of the kingdom. I'm not even a part of it!"

The other pony laughed a little as he went on pulling his wagon. "I'll go on."

Then, the other pony galloped forward, pulling his wagon with him.

As the pony went past the walls, a few changelings greeted him but he went on, galloping past them. He kept on, galloping forward and forward past more ponies with their bags and their wagons, past more changelings who were also carrying bags and pulling wagons.

Then, he screeched to a halt at the front of the line.

"Alright!" a changeling yelled. "Let's bring the goods out!"

Then, several changelings flew in to carry the bags that were in the wagon. They carried the bags towards the tower at the middle of the kingdom. Those changelings went past more changelings who were going away from the tower and towards the line of ponies with their bags and their wagons.

The changelings carrying the bags finally entered the tower, passing by more changelings who were also carrying bags and other materials. Then, they arrived at a room where there were changelings wearing hats and looking at lists and checking those lists while more changelings arrived.

"Do we have enough?" one of the changelings with a hat asked, his voice echoing through the room. "I mean, is there enough food? Enough apples?"

"We have more than enough!" one of the changelings who just arrived yelled back. He threw a bag towards a pile of bags. "We have more than enough apples to keep us through the year!"

"And that's just the apples?"

"Just the apples! The ponies have lots of other foods as well—there's oranges, there's pineapples—"

"OK, that's nice to hear, but get out and bring in more!"

"Affirmed, sir!"

Then the changeling left.

The changeling placed his hat down on the table and sighed. He took a good long look at the lists in front of him, detailing what was going in and what was expected to be going in later in the day. "King Thorax will be pleased when he hears that we're going right ahead of schedule," the changeling said. "We've been receiving an influx of food from the ponies." He sighed again. "There's also the other things that they're sending us: the writing materials for our literature, some books for more knowledge about how Equestria works and the stories to base our stories on, and more. They're generous." Then, he sighed again, looking again at the lists on the table. "These ponies are generous." He smiled.

"Do you need anything?" another changeling asked as he approached him.

"Not really," the first changeling said. "I was just...admiring how these ponies are quick to help us."

"They've been helping us for months," the other changeling said.

"I know, but, they're still helping us. Isn't it great? Equestria is still giving us what we need and even what we want. The ponies are more than happy and eager to help by giving us things. They even visit the Changeling Kingdom!"

"And, Thorax would be proud."

The two changelings were silent for a while as they looked at the lists. "So, do we have anything else to expect?"

"Any additional materials and other things?" the other changeling said. "Not that I know of. We probably need more paper, though. There are some who really want to write now."

"Any other things? LIke, are we receiving something like a box or something?"

"A box of other things like apples?"

"We already have lots of apples!"

"Then, what are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about, well, just more things," the first changeling said as changelings kept arriving with more and more bags and placing those bags into their respective piles and groups. Several changelings told the changelings arriving about what next to get, then those changelings flew off. There were changelings with lists as they looked at the bags, calculating how much is in that pile or in that group. "These ponies are very creative. They can create lots of things. I used to be on infiltration back when, well, we used to be evil, and I've seen the ponies with all their things and their items that have so many different uses. I wanted to get some of them, but I remembered I was there to infiltrate and to steal love, not to get things."

"I was on infiltration, too," the other changeling said. "I think I felt the same way you did when I first went to one of the towns in Equestria."

"What was it like?"

"Well, I was still trying to remember the mission, but I was distracted—I looked at all these nice buildings, these nice houses that the ponies lived in and the roads that they've built and the other things that they've invented. I heard it all before when I overheard others talking about it from their missions and their adventures, but to actually see it myself, with my own eyes—I was amazed, I was impressed by all the ponies have done for themselves. I wanted one, but I thought that Chrysalis would think that it was just silly if I tried to steal more than just love."

The first changeling laughed a little, glancing at more changelings arriving with more bags of things and items. "I had a similar feeling."

"Did you go to the same town?!"

"I don't know." The changeling shrugged, giving him a casual look. "Maybe we did, maybe we didn't. Even the places at the frontiers have more advanced things than we did."

"Like Appleloosa and Dodge Junction?"

"Yeah."

The two changelings looked at the stream of changelings carrying more things and items into the tower, bringing them to the piles as more changelings took note of what went in with their lists on hoof. The buzzes of the changelings' wings filled the room.

"Anything?" the second changeling asked. "Like, is there anything else to talk about before we go on with the job?"

"Not really. There's a lot to talk about—I still want to know what the news would be tonight. Then, there's going to be the talk and the discussions about changeling literature—Twilight Sparkle will surely try to attend one of those discussions about it. I've heard much from Spike—she's extremely interested in books and in learning in general. Then, what about the rest of the arts? Changeling art? To the gallery!"

"In Manehattan?" the second changeling asked. "It would be very great if I was a painter whose art managed to be shown in one of the galleries there! And imagine all the ponies vying for my attention and for my paintings! With all their bits!"

"If you were a painter, that is," the first changeling said. He took a list. "Now, let's get on to more recording and more noticing, got it?"

"But, they seem to be handling the work pretty well," the second changeling complained as he gestured towards the several changelings with lists and with hats, taking note of all that was coming inside.

"We don't want to be slack about the work!" He took a few steps towards the bags. "Now, let's go or else we're going to get late!"

"But, what about the talking that we're having right now?" the second changeling protested. "We're having lots of fun!"

"Well, I want to have my fun and have a job!"

Then, the first changeling rushed off towards the bags and took notes with his list.

The second changeling sighed. He flew off towards the bags.

"That's the end of the tour!" Thorax announced, taking a bow as he stood in front of the towering tower of the Changeling Kingdom. "I hope that you liked it." He made an awkward smile.

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were silent, looking at the tower and then at Thorax. "That was a wonderful tour," Celestia said in her smooth and calming voice. "I am sure that your fellow changelings will be more than pleased to live and to thrive here once everything is truly ready."

"Your reasons for redesigning the Changeling Kingdom are quite sound," Luna went on. "It is understandable that you would want to have a place where the changelings really feel at home. Your concerns about pony culture being invasive are grounded and understandable, too. We will not try to interfere too much, Thorax."

"Oh, thank you, Princesses!" Thorax said, excited and eager. "I cannot believe that I actually gave you a full tour of the entire Changeling Kingdom!"

Celestia giggled. "Your enthusiasm is quite obvious, Thorax."

Then, Thorax stopped.

Several changelings and a few ponies were looking at Thorax.

Thorax smiled and took on a regal position of standing. "Alright, it was a pleasure having you here, Princesses. Do you want anything else?"

"No more, Thorax," Celestia said. "Your tour alone was enough to show us the wonders of your kingdom. And, thank you, Thorax, for leading your changelings with a kind heart."

Thorax looked on as the two Princesses then flew off to the sky.

Thorax flew towards the top of the tower, racing past the many changelings that were carrying bags. There were several changelings who shouted, "Hail, King Thorax!" but Thorax didn't stop nor did he even glance at the changelings. The wind rushed by him as his wings glittered under the bright sunlight.

Then, he stopped, hovering beside the top of the tower. He looked down at the ground and at the many changelings working.

"It's beautiful," Thorax said. "The Princesses were right. We're going to have a good future ahead." His eyes became watery. He took a hoof to his eyes, trying to stop a flow of tears. "I...didn't think that I would be here, to see the day when we would no longer be evil. And, that I would be the one to lead the effort."

Then, he slowly flew down, towards the changelings carrying the bags.

He wiped away the tears.

As he approached the changelings, there were more shouts and yells of "Hail, King Thorax!" directed at him. He entered the tower, surrounded by happy changelings carrying bags who took the time to tell Thorax, "Hail, King Thorax!" Thorax smiled at them. He entered the room and he was greeted with more shouts and yells of "Hail, King Thorax!" He landed on the floor and took a look at all that was being done inside.

"Thorax," a changeling with a hat and a list said as he approached him, "we have more than enough food for the year, we have lots of materials ready for changeling use to establish our arts."

"Good," Thorax said. "I like that you summarized it. Do you have anything else to tell me?"

"Oh, we were just telling stories while we did our work," the changeling said. "It was fun to socialize while working! It doesn't even feel like work at all!"

Thorax nodded. "Just what Twilight and her friends would have taught us if they were here."

"Did they really teach that?" the changeling asked. "I don't remember hearing that from all the friendship talks that I've attended."

"Maybe they haven't taught it," Thorax said. "There's so many things to learn about friendship that they wouldn't be able to cover everything they learned in that many weeks."

"I understand, Thorax," the changeling said. "So, are you ready for the meeting with Princess Twilight Sparkle tomorrow?"

"Yes," he said, smiling. "I'm confident that our discussions will be, well, beneficial."

"I'm so excited for it!" the changeling shouted.

"You're not going to be there," Thorax said. "Unless, you want to. It would be fine."

"It's because I know what you're going to talk about with Twilight Sparkle!"

"The arts?"

"Yes, Thorax, that's the topic!" the changeling yelled, pointing at Thorax with a hoof that only affirmed the changeling's over-enthusiasm and excitement. "I am ready for making art of any kind, and I am more than willing to enrich our culture, Thorax!"

"Uh, that's...nice?"

The other changelings there were looking at the over-excited changeling.

"It's going to be about a nice changeling king—"

"Basically, me."

"Yeah!"

Thorax sighed. "I remembered the play." He placed a hoof on his head. "I hope that you make something better."

"Don't worry, Thoax! What I will produce will definitely be better!"

Thorax sighed again. "Let's see." He looked at the piles and the groups of bags. "Do we have anything else other than food and materials ready? What about clothes? There are some that would really like clothes, especially from Rarity's boutique."

"We have some designer clothes from Rarity," the changeling said. "She said that the clothes were made from some ponies who won a contest or a competition or something like it for clothes design."

"Ah, I remember!" Thorax said as his face lightened up.

"You were there?" the changeling asked, a little confused.

"Not really. Rarity told me about it one day. I was wondering why Applejack was chosen as a judge, but, it turns out that it wasn't that bad of an idea at all! Well, maybe if she wasn't so bad at first, but there were other, more professional and more clothes-oriented ponies there judging, too."

The changeling in front of him lightened up as well, smiling. "Do you mean we have state-of-the-art clothes at our hooves?!"

"Uh, yeah. What's wrong with that?"

"As long as it isn't too expensive," another changeling shouted from where he was, "we're going to get some of those clothes!"

And a small rally of cries and shouts rose up from the small crowd of changelings inside.

"Uh, I didn't know you were all that interested in clothes," Thorax said, a little nervous as his voice trembled. He laughed nervously. "What makes you so, uh, interested in them, anyway?"

"Well, it's the latest!" another changeling answered. "And, it's from Rarity! Or, at least it's approved by Rarity! These clothes must be good!"

Thorax sighed. "OK, anything else other than food and materials and fancy clothes?"

"Apples!" a changeling shouted as he entered the room carrying a bag of apples. An apple fell to the floor. A changeling picked it up.

"I thought we had enough apples!" Thorax said.

"Actually, this is from Applejack and Big McIntosh," the changeling that just entered said. A few more changelings carrying more bags of apples entered, with more changelings catching the apples that fell to the floor.

Thorax smiled. "That means the ponies don't want us to get hungry!" He turned towards the many changelings in the room. "We'll be having lots of fun activities tonight, so get excited! The day's almost over!"

And the changelings cheered, some of them flying to the air to show their excitement and their joy.

Thorax took off to the air and flew out of the tower.

Outside, the sun was there in the sky, shining. The sky was yellow and orange. A sunset feel was there as the sunlight shone. Thorax's wings glittered again under the sunlight.

"This is indeed a good day," Thorax said as he flew in the sky, looking at the Changeling Kingdom below. "And, I hope it will also be a good evening." He smiled. "I think it will be a good evening. The ponies are helping us, we're helping them, and we changelings are getting together, sharing love with each other and with the ponies, too." He sighed a sigh of joy as he looked upon the many changelings that were smiling and having fun at their work, helping the ponies carrying their bags and pulling their wagons. "And, tomorrow, I'm going to talk with Twilight Sparkle about what to do with changeling culture—we're not just going to be here, we're going to amaze and astound the ponies with what we can do!" He was silent for a while as he went on hovering above the kingdom. "The changelings are going to be friendly, and the ponies will see how good we can be!"

Then, Thorax went down to the ground, smiling. He looked at all the changelings carrying bags and pulling wagons full of food and materials.

Thorax walked and took a bag from a pony.

The pony smiled. Then, he gasped. "Oh, King Thorax!"

"You don't have to call me that," Thorax said as he carried the bag. "You can just call me Thorax!"

Thorax smiled.

"Thanks, Thorax!" the pony said.

At the room with the Cutie Map, Twilight Sparkle, Starlight Glimmer, and Spike sat on the crystal chairs. On the table, there were some books varying in size.

"I cannot believe that I'm going to talk with Thorax about changeling culture!" Twilight shouted.

"You've already said that three times this afternoon!" Spike complained from his chair. He groaned, looking away from her and towards Starlight. "When is she going to stop?"

"I was thinking about asking you that," Starlight said. "You're the one who has been with her for a long time. Me? I was just here for, well, not as long as you have been with Twilight."

Twilight levitated a book, a magical glow surrounding it. "We can talk about literature, we can talk about literary devices, we can talk about the great authors of pony history, we can talk about what makes a great book, and we can talk more and more about books!"

"Uh, Twilight?" Starlight spoke. "Wasn't this supposed to be about changeling culture? Not just about books?"

Twilight looked surprised at Starlight. Then, she laughed nervously, looking at her and then at Spike awkwardly while she laughed.

Spike looked at her with an irritated look.

"Well, of course, we're going to talk about other things as well!" Twilight said, still acting nervously. She wiped the sweat off of her forehead. "Nopony wants to forget about the other forms of art as well! Art, music, plays! Heh-heh-heh-heh!" She levitated the book back on to the table. "And, books!"

"But, I want to spend some time with Thorax, too!" Spike whined. "He's always so busy with his royal duties and when he does get here to Ponyville, sometimes it's just for royal duties, too!"

"There will be time for you and Thorax to go to places with each other," Twilight said. "But, that time will have to be later." She eyed the books on the table. Then, she looked at Starlight. "Starlight? You wouldn't mind joining the talks, would you?"

Starlight gasped. "But, I thought it was just between you and Thorax!"

"Actually," Twilight said, "it would be helpful if the discussion was between me and Thorax. However, it would be even more helpful if we brought in some more ponies and some more changelings! Not too many—we're here to discuss important things, not to have a party and have balloons here and there."

Spike frowned.

Twilight noticed. "Spike, what's wrong?" she asked, concerned, leaning towards him.

"I...I just wanna have more time with Thorax, that's all. Not much to tell."

Twilight placed a hoof on his chin. "Don't worry about it, Spike. I promise you, when the talks and the discussions are over, you can spend as much time with Thorax as you want!"

Spike's face brightened up. He smiled.

"I'll even let you go to a few places in Equestria! You'll be the one to decide where to go! I'll even give you some bits in case you're going to a place like Manehattan!"

"Really?!"

"Really, Spike." Twilight smiled.

Starlight placed a hoof on the table, happy. "At least that problem is now solved. So, what about preparing for that talk with Thorax?"

Twilight quickly levitated a book. "Well, we can begin with talking about what kind of culture that Thorax wants to create, and then we can talk about the specific parts of that culture, what direction he wants for it. Of course, Thorax must understand that creating a culture isn't going to be easy—it's going to take lots of work."

Starlight nodded.

Spike jumped out of the chair and ran out of the room.

"There goes Spike," Twilight commented, smiling.

A Changeling in Ponyville

"More changelings?" Soarin asked as he sat on the wooden chair, Spitfire at the other side of the table inside the Sugarcube Corner. "Also, more griffons and more yaks and more dragons attending." He took a bite out of the apple pie, munching on it quite loudly, disturbing the nearby customers as they glanced at him and had disgusted looks on their faces as they tried to get back to their own food and their own talks.

"We've been attracting more and more attendees ever since, well, what happened," Spitfire said. "But, why complain? More creatures watching us is what you wanted, right? Making the Wonderbolts better, more popular and famous." She laughed a little, holding a piece of apple pie, looking at Soarin as he went on in his loud, noisy eating. She placed the piece down. "It's a busy week for all of us—after this, everypony is going to Appleloosa for another show. Apparently, the ponies there really loved our last performance."

Soarin nodded in approval.

"And, what's stopping them? Schedule might have to be adjusted a little, but, otherwise, everything is going to be fine."

The door swung open.

The ponies inside looked.

A brown stallion with yellow mane and tail trotted inside. His cutie mark was an island with a palm tree. "Uh, I've been looking for my book. I've left it here, I think." His voice trembled a little as his eyes went here and there.

Pinkie Pie ran from the counter and rushed to him, holding a book with a hoof. He placed it on his head. "Is this the book you desire, Crusoe?"

Crusoe looked at the book on his head.

He grabbed it and looked at it.

"Thanks, Pinkie!" Crusoe said as he walked out of Sugarcube Corner, smiling at the happy pony.

Pinkie waved a hoof. "You're welcome and have a good day!"

Crusoe sat under a tree.

Beside him were two houses, looking similar to each other in style as they were both white and had hay roofs.

Crusoe held the book with his hoof and looked around. Ponies were passing by him on the street.

"If there was only somewhere, some place," Crusoe said. "I could be here in Ponyville, trying to rest and relax with a book in hoof. Or, I could go in some awesome adventure with some other ponies, maybe finding a treasure. Although, I need to know where I could adventure to." He placed a hoof on his chin. "Well, it's dangerous to just go adventuring—what if I get hurt? What if I have to go to the hospital but the hospital is so far away?"

He looked again at the ponies passing by.

Among the ponies, there was a changeling walking with them.

Crusoe eyed the changeling.

He was a green changeling, eyeing the place—looking here and there, looking at the ponies here and there. While the ponies around him were smiling, the changeling wasn't. He wasn't frowning or showing an angry face. He showed little emotion.

Crusoe narrowed his eyes. "That seems a little suspicious. No, that's very suspicious!"

Crusoe stood up and walked towards the changeling.

Starlight walked on the hallway floor, levitating a scroll as it glowed with her blue magic. "More history scrolls, more things to send to the writing team, and I could be credited in the next edition of the book!" Her smile grew wider, her face beaming with enthusiasm and excitement and joy. "I wonder what would Twilight think! If she gets the next edition of the book and reads it and finds out that I was able to contribute to the updating of that book, she's going to go crazy! She's going to be so proud of me, and she will be amazed at my ability to help the changelings with initiative!"

The front doors opened.

Starlight's smile faded. She looked at the pony who was there. "Uh, do I know you? Do you live here?"

"Uh, I live here, Starlight," Crusoe said. "In Ponyville, not in this castle."

"Yeah, that's what I meant," Starlight said, looking awkwardly at him. "Uh, what's your name?"

"You can just call me Crusoe," he replied. Then, he narrowed his eyes at her, making a serious expression on his face. "Tell me, Starlight. Have you seen a changeling around here? A suspicious-looking one?"

"We don't have suspicious-looking changelings here," Starlight answered, still levitating the scroll. "We have changelings who don't look suspicious at all!"

"But, he went this way," Crusoe said. He closed the front doors.

"The changelings we have here are fun and honest! If you were talking about the new changelings that just arrived here, then he's over at the library—"

Crusoe galloped his way past Starlight.

"Crusoe!" Starlight yelled. "What are you doing?!"

Then, she gasped.

"Oh, no."

She galloped.

Crusoe rushed past the windows of the hallway with Starlight chasing him.

Then, she closed the library doors with her magic, making the doors glow.

Crusoe stopped then turned around, now breathing heavily as he faced Starlight. "Starlight! I don't know what the changeling is doing there, but he looked suspicious, Starlight!"

"He looked suspicious! It doesn't mean he is suspicious!"

The doors opened.

The green changeling waved a hoof. "Hi!"

Crusoe's eyes were wide open, eyeing the changeling with a crazy, tired look. "Alright! Changeling! What are you trying to do?!"

"I was just helping Starlight!" He stepped to the side and showed a table filled with books and scrolls. "We're gathering notes for the next edition of the changeling history book! I'm sure the ponies who are writing the book are going to appreciate the help!"

Crusoe's mouth was wide open, pointing a hoof at the table and looking quickly at the table and then at Starlight and then at the changeling and then at Starlight again. He tried to make words, but they only came out as faint noises.

"I don't know what you are trying to do," Starlight said, "but this doesn't look right at all, Crusoe."

"But, the changeling—" He pointed at the changeling who was smiling at him "—he was the same changeling—looking suspicious—not smiling at all!"

"And, you're probably just worrying too much, Crusoe," Starlight said. "Haven't you heard? Haven't you seen what the changelings have done here? I was there when the changelings became good! Haven't you seen or heard Twilight and her many speeches about friendship for the changelings? Or, what about Princess Celestia and Princess Luna and Princess Cadance?"

"Alright," Crusoe said, slowly walking away from Starlight. He trembled. "Maybe it's just me worrying too much, like you said!" He laughed nervously, looking at the changeling.

"Do you want to help?" the changeling asked, smiling. He pointed at the table. "We have history books, pictures and images of us smiling and enjoying our lives—you can help in your own special way, Crusoe!"

Starlight laughed a little. "And, they're still learning."

Crusoe looked at the changeling. "Well, I think I'm going to be OK."

Starlight looked at him suspiciously. "Wait, weren't you at the party where I and my friends got our Pink Hearts?"

"Yes," Crusoe said. "Why?"

"You were OK with the changelings then, but why not now?"

The changeling flew towards the table.

"Uh, I was making a facade! Yeah, it was a facade!"

"Why would you make a facade when you could've just enjoyed the party?"

"Uh, I don't know?"

Starlight groaned. "Do I have to explain this to Twilight?"

Hexapod and Eucalypti

The changeling held a paintbrush with his hoof. In front of him was a blank canvas on the wall.

The room, with its wooden tiled floors and its simple yellow walls, was lit up by the soft lights, creating an atmosphere of artistic vision and creative future while a pony was tapping his hoof. "Can you hurry up already?! You don't even have paint! Where's your paint?!"

"This is what happens when I try to be creative!" the changeling yelled in exasperation, throwing his hooves up in the air as if he is giving up on the artistic pursuit of art. He walked away furiously from the canvas. "I need my time!"

"This is not your personal art room, Hexapod!" the pony shouted as he walked towards the despondent changeling. "Do you know how many changelings are outside, waiting for their ten minutes of painting in my grand museum?! Not to mention the number of ponies that are waiting, too!" He grabbed the changeling by the neck and pulled him closer. "Do you?!"

"Uh, probably?"

The pony threw him out the door.

"Out! And, next, please."

The pony smiled as he beckoned to the pony in front of the line who took a quick yet considerate glance at the changeling who was standing up from his injury.

The line was long, consisting of many ponies and several changelings. They were all wildly different—some looked prepared and expertly ready to engage in art, while others were apparently novices. With an array of different clothes, the ponies themselves looked artful. The changelings, too, were colorful—their bright colors, combined with their shiny carapaces, made them shimmer in the room, causing a few ponies to look at a changeling just to admire the shininess. There were even a few audible expressions of awe, with one pony saying "Ooh!"

Hexapod, unlike the ponies and the changelings in line who were quite happy as could be seen by their smiles, had a frown on his face as he slowly walked away from the door and towards the exit.

"Hexapod, Equestria is a grand land!" the blue changeling beside him told him as they sat on the grass. Beside them was a paved road with ponies walking towards the bustling city nearby. "Just because you got thrown out of one occupation—even if it was quite literally—you don't have to be so sad about it! Cheer up!"

"Well, Eucalypti," Hexapod said, "why cheer up now?" He sighed and looked at his friend seriously. "There's always going to be somepony who's going to reject me because I'm a changeling."

"That pony probably rejected you only because art might not be your talent," Eucalypti said, smiling as he talked.

"Now, it's like I'm a pony whenever you talk about that."

"Talent isn't unique to ponies. Only the cutie mark is. We already have some that are talented in art like Compound! Maybe not talented in paintings—he's talented in writing!"

"Well, give me an example of a changeling who is talented in painting, not writing," Hexapod said with a solemn voice.

"I don't know their exact names, but there are changelings who are good at painting!" Eucalypti looked at him. "Don't be so worrisome about everything, Hexapod! Like I said, Equestria is a grand land! There's plenty of things to try, plenty of jobs to join, plenty of, well, everything! Most of the ponies here are already quite accepting of us!"

Hexapod looked at his friend for a few moments. Then, he sighed. "Alright." He hovered over the grass. "But, what do you think I should do next?"

"We should try something simple enough," Eucalypti suggested. "Art is a complex thing—there's so many principles to remember and so many subjective things about art, but what if we just try selling some food or some drinks to the ponies? Like, maybe some apples from Sweet Apple Acres?"

"You mean the Sweet Apple Acres that's far away from where we are right now?" Hexapod said. "That's not a good idea, to be honest."

"What about if there are some members of the Apple family from this city?" Eucalypti said, flapping his wings and hovering beside his friend over the grass. "Trottingham is a good place for apples, am I right?!"

"Are there any apple farms in Trottingham?" Hexapod asked.

"We can always ask a local!"

Hexapod sighed. Then, he smiled. "I hope there is an apple farm, Eucalypti."

The two changelings took off towards the city of Trottingham.

"Get your ice cream here!" a pony yelled while ringing a bell with his hoof. He stood behind the ice cream cart that proudly advertised the wonderful flavors of his delicious—undeniably, delectably delicious—ice cream. Many of the younger ponies crowded up in front of the cart—there was no line at all. The parents of those ponies stood a few steps behind, with one stallion having a frown on his face as he watched his colt drop a bag of bits on to the counter.

Ponies walked on the sidewalks along with a few changelings as carriages filled the streets. Larger carriages, pulled by four stallions, held large groups of ponies, including the tourists who took lots of pictures with their cameras.

The two changelings stood near the ice cream cart. "So, there's an apple farm not that far from here," Eucalypti said. "We could ask any of the Apples there if we could try our hoof at selling some of their produce!"

A few pegasi flew above them, one of them shouting, "Hey, watch where you're going!"

Eucalypti looked at the group of pegasi that just flew above them. "And, if we could get to ask one of the pegasi here, they could lead us directly to the apple farm!"

Hexapod sighed again. "I hope you're right about this, Eucalypti. What if the Apples there don't accept me—"

"It's not about you being a changeling," Eucalypti told him. "They're not going to reject you for being a changeling, Hexapod. What I want you to do is to try and sell some apples and that's all. It cannot be that hard, right?"

Hexapod nodded. "I don't think it's that hard to sell apples. How hard can selling apples be?"

"Logically speaking," the Earth pony taught, "you should be selling apples in no time!"

The stallion grinned.

Eucalypti smiled.

Hexapod shuddered.

"So, Apple Cinnamon," Eucalupti said, raising a hoof, "that's all?"

"Yup! That's all!"

"Are you sure you're from here?" he asked, eyeing the pony with a suspicious look.

"Uh, no!" Apple Cinnamon replied. "I'm just here for a family visit! Around this time of the year, I go around Equestria to visit the many apple farms we have all over!"

"That's nice!" Eucalypti said.

"But, what about me selling apples?" Hexapod asked. "We're in the middle of a field of apple trees and I just want to get some baskets of apples and sell them! For some bits, yes, but also because I want to do something! I don't want to just rest and relax!"

"Ah, the changeling who sees rest and relaxation as more fulfilling after a day's work!" Apple Cinnamon said. "That should be enough to motivate you into the business!"

Hexapod sighed again.

Apple Cinnamon's smile faded away. "What's wrong? What's the matter?"

"Don't worry about him, Apple Cinnamon," Eucalypti said. "He's just awfully worried about ponies disliking just for being a changeling."

"You're worried about that?" the pony said. "Trottingham is full of ponies who would love to have a changeling as a friend! If they see a changeling selling apples, that would be a double good thing because, one, nopony has seen a changeling sell apples before and, two, a business conducted by a changeling is guaranteed to get some customers!"

Hexapod's frown faded away. He approached the pony. "Well, I trust you, Apple Cinnamon."

Eucalypti grinned.

"That's good!" Apple Cinnamon said. "Now, follow me! I'll show you where the baskets of apples are!"

Friendly History

It was nighttime. A lonely dirt path went through the fields of grass as the grass slowly moved by the cold breeze. A few trees were there, dotting the place. Several flowers were there, adding their own colors to the vast sea of green.

Under the stars and the moon, a lone carriage was being pulled by a burly stallion. He wore a hat that covered some of his brown mane.

The wheels creaked, although the stallion charged on.

The pony looked at his passengers—two changelings, both of them looking around at the wonderful sights that the nightscape offered.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" the pony asked. "We're out here alone. There's that calmness."

"Yes," Eucalypti said. "It's beautiful." He paused as he went on seeing the outside.

"Quick Fast," Hexapod said, facing the pony as he pulled the carriage, "do you always have passengers who want to go to Starlight's village at night?"

"Believe it or not," Quick Fast answered, "there's always somepony who wants to visit the place. I don't know why—their reasons are different. One pony is there just to visit, another wants to go there because of the historical value the place holds for Equestria. What if I end up carrying a group of ponies who want to study the place, then?" He laughed at what he just said. "I'm not sure if the ponies who live there would be ready to have their place suddenly studied like that."

"Well, there's our home," Hexapod said. "Some adventurous ponies keep asking us questions about what it's like there and how everything is there and how the food is there and if we're growing anything there and if we want to add more things to do there and if we have books and other kinds of art there."

"I cannot blame them," the pony replied. "You are...unique, to say the least."

"Let me try to guess. Ponies go to the griffons of Griffonstone and griffons slowly but surely accept friendship. Ponies go to the dragons of the Dragon Lands and dragons slowly but surely accept friendship. Ponies go to the yaks of Yakyakistan and yaks slowly but surely accept friendship. We changelings?" He pointed a hoof towards himself. "One of our own kind was changed by the ponies to show us the way, to show us that friendship is what we must have. And, while the other creatures I mentioned are accepting friendship slowly but surely, we accepted it quite, well, fast."

"As could be seen by you being, well, different."

Hexapod smiled. "I know what you're trying to say, Quick Fast."

Eucalypti placed a hoof on his friend's shoulder. "Do you know that this time of the night presents the perfect chance, the perfect time, to reminiscence about the days and the weeks and the months and the years before?"

"Uh, that was sudden," Hexapod commented.

"Actually," the pony spoke, "I would like to know how you two became such close friends. Judging from what I've seen of you, you seem quite, uh, close to each other. It's as if that no problem and no trial is strong enough to destroy the bonds of friendship that are between you." He paused as he observed the reactions of the two—Hexapod and Eucalypti were just looking at the pony. "If Princess Twilight Sparkle saw you right now, she would be very happy about the progress she and her friends have made."

"Oh, it's a pleasure for us to tell you!" Eucalypti responded. "So, where do we start?" He faced Hexapod. "Do you want to suggest to me a starting point?"

"We could start with what happened right after everything changed for us," Hexapod replied, turning to face Quick Fast as he pulled the carriage. "Or, we could tell you some stories about our time before that happened. Maybe we could tell you some of our thoughts as we went through our plans to steal love from others."

The pony arched an eyebrow. "And, that's a good thing to tell because?"

"It's not exactly a good thing to tell, but—" Hexapod sighed "—we did steal love, we did disguise ourselves as other ponies to masquerade, to pretend, all while the ponies around us didn't know."

Eucalypti placed a hoof on his friend's shoulder. "Don't worry about the past too much, Hexapod! We could always start with something good! We could tell the past later if we feel like it!"

Hexapod sighed again. "Well, OK." He looked at the pony.

"I'm eager," Quick Fast said.

Hexapod glanced at the beautiful, calm outside at night. The grass still moved by the cold breeze. The trees swayed a little. There was no sound but the sound of the breeze and the sound of the pony's hooves on the ground and the sound of the creaking of the wheels.

"So, let's begin with what happened soon after we all decided to share our love."

Months ago

Thorax walked on the dry ground along with many other changelings. He turned towards them. "Changelings," Thorax said, "I think we've done enough talking about who we are now. Who's ready to rebuild?!"

And the rest of the changelings cheered. Many changelings went to the sky with their glittering wings.

"Alright!" Thorax shouted. "Let's get moving!"

The rest of the changelings followed Thorax. Many carried materials and tools—there were even power tools among them. A few changelings wore helmets.

A blue changeling looked around.

Many had already taken initiative. There were some who brought wood and bricks and concrete and began mixing them together—to no effect. There were some who discussed with others about what to do, all while having smiles on their faces as they then went on towards an empty space and began throwing building materials at it to see if it would somehow work and make a formidable building. There were some who looked at pictures of ponies' houses and looked at the empty space in front of them—where they imagined a new house would be.

But, the blue changeling just looked around, caught up in the rush of reconstruction and enthusiasm. Thorax was happily carrying a bucket of paint beside another changeling carrying a bucket of paint.

"Should I ask Thorax? Hexapod nervously said. "This is all so fast. What should I do? What am I even supposed to do? Did I even listen enough?"

Then, a hoof was on his shoulder.

"Agh!"

"Wait, wait, it's me!" the green changeling said, waving a hoof in front of him. He was wearing a helmet. "Don't you remember me, Hexapod?"

"Uh...Eucalypti?"

And Eucalypti hugged Hexapod.

"Aww, and now, we're together again!" Eucalypti yelled as he continued hugging his friend. "Remember all those missions where we infiltrated ponies' towns and cities and stole love from them? Remember when we did those things together?!"

"Uh, are you sure you're phrasing that correctly?"

"Remember when Queen Chrysalis would teach us about what to do?"

"Eucalypti, I think you should—"

"Anyway, now, we're here! We've seen what is right! So, are you ready to be friends?!"

"Uh, are you—"

"Yes, I'm asking you to be my friend, Hexapod!" Eucalypti said happily. "We've been through many things together, but that was only because we were there together. Now, we can be through many things together because we are friends! The future ahead is going to be great! We can go around and eat together, do some fun activities together, and we can take those things that ponies have that are somehow able to get that visual thing without the audio of it or the sound of the thing and it looks like some kind of telescope but it's a lot smaller and you could bring that mini-telescope around and—"

"That's a camera you're describing," Hexapod said. He let go of the hug. "Well, this is...very, very fast. A few days ago, if you'd ask me to be friends, I would've just lashed out at you for even suggeesting such a thing. Now...well...I don't know..."

"Well, you must know!" Eucalypti responded, bringing his friend closer with a hoof. "I've been enamored—no, we've been enamored by what Thorax showed us a few days ago! Who knew that sharing love was better than stealing love? I thought that if I shared love, I would get nothing! But, now, you realize that—just look!" He turned his friend around to make him face a group of changelings smiling and laughing as they worked together to build a house. "We are living proof that changelings can be friendly! So, are you ready to start an epic friendship?! Are you ready?!"

The sounds of laughter and cheery chats flooded the air. Changelings helped each other, giving materials and tools to each other, exchanging jokes and stories with each other, uniting to help rebuild with each other. The general feel of the place was that of pure friendship.

Hexapod nervously shook his friend's hoof. "Well, this is the start. The start of an epic friendship." He eyed Eucalypti whose smile was trembling. "You seem really excited about this friendship thing, are you? Not that I am rejecting it or criticizing it or anything, but...I need some time to just comprehend and understand all of this."

"You can comprehend and understand all of this with a friend!" Eucalypti shouted happily. Then, he hugged Hexapod again. "We can understand friendship together! I heard that Princess Twilight Sparkle is planning to host some friendship events, to teach all of us about friendship! We can attend those events together! Even if they're far away in Canterlot, we can travel there together! We can be there as friends! The greatest friends! The best friends! The most friendliest of friends that friends have ever seen!"

Hexapod patted Eucalypti as he then cried tears of joy.

Hexapod smiled.

"That was a very happy start," Quick Fast said. "Goes to show the emotion you two felt at the time."

Eucalypti was sniffling. "Well, it's such a good story that I still cry whenever I hear it! Who knew that so many happy memories would stem from that one moment where you were just standing? OK, maybe it was more than just one moment, but it all happened on the same day!"

Quick Fast giggled. "Well, Hexapod, the trip is still long. Any more things to tell?"

More Friendly History

"There's always more stories to tell," Eucalypti announced proudly. "We have an abundance of stories to share and memories to remember! Remember when we met that Solver guy a day later? Wow, was he paranoid or what?"

"It's not good to talk about him like that when he's not around," Hexapod said. "Just like what Princess Twilight taught us, we should make sure to not say anything mean towards our friends—and especially not to only speak meanly of them when they're not around, not there to listen to us."

"Oh, yeah, that's correct," Eucalypti said, throwing a hoof in self-defence. "Anyway, I'm now facing a problem of abundance! We have so many stories to choose that I end up not choosing any story at all!" He shot a hoof at his friend. "So, what about you be the one to tell a story again?"

Quick Fast giggled a little as he continued pulling the carriage through the dark night landscape. The moon shone on their lonely carriage along with the creatures that were there. "As long as you keep me interested. A talk in the night is better than a pony being silent for the entire trip."

"Or," Eucalypti suddenly spoke, "we could tell him about the time when we decided to have some of that pizza from Manehattan? And it was so tasty! Who believed that would even be possible? A flat bread to place cheese, tomato sauce, and vegetables on?! All the other changelings were talking about it—and, when we finally got to the pizza place, the smell was amazing—attracted and engaged my nose and it made me think and think so much about the pizza!"

Quick Fast giggled again. "You were that excited over pizza?"

"Well, we were excited to taste any kind of food at all," Eucalypti said. "I mean, to taste it truly. We could pretend to eat food, but pretending can only get us so far."

"And, we shared the food," Hexapod added, speaking animatedly with an expressive hoof. "It was an astounding experience—we got to taste food for what it was for the first time in our lives!"

"That's good," Quick Fast said. "Did you get that experience again when you tasted other foods like apples?"

"That, too!" Eucalypti shouted. "Apples? They were delicious!"

"I'm glad you like them," the pony said. He turned to face Hexapod. "Hexapod, it looks like Eucalypti really wants you to share the more personal stories, I guess."

"If that's what's best for the trip," Hexapod responded. He looked at his friend. "The next story we tell this pony, you be the one to tell him, OK?"

"I am completely fine with that!" Eucalypti said. "While you tell the story, I will think about what to tell him!"

"Heh-heh-heh-heh," Hexapod laughed as he turned to face the pony walking on the dirt path. "So, there was this time early on while we were rebuilding the Changeling Kingdom."

Months ago

The changelings made much of a noise as paint and bricks and wood and other building materials were carried on to this place and that place, as changelings gave orders by shouting—although the shouting was understandably an understandable and considerate shout and not a shout that would be construed as angry. It was a rush in the workplace—the workplace being the entire Changeling Kingdom. Already, there were some structures that looked almost like complete buildings with the only things indicating that they were still in progress were the scaffoldings. Other structures looked like they had just started, with several changelings hurriedly placing wood and bricks here and there, frantically trying to form a cohesive house.

Hexapod and Eucalypti carried several bricks and buckets of paint together, rushing past other changelings who were stationary and working on their respective buildings. They rushed past a group of changelings who were working on a road. Then, finally, they arrived at their site—a half-finished house. It looked incomplete. The roof wasn't even done yet, although most of the rooms were finished.

"So," a somewhat taller green changeling told the two, wearing a helmet, "as you can see, all we need left are some paints and a few stray bricks. Then—" He pointed at a stack of bags containing a cement-like material "—here is the changing substance. Makes the house's walls and doors move around with a factor of unpredictability just like the Changeling Hive...used to be."

"We're on it, Neon Guard!" Eucalypti yelled, saluting the taller changeling as he hastened to drop some buckets of paint on to the ground.

Hexapod followed suit.

The two changelings dropped all that they were holding on to the ground.

In front of them was an unfinished part of the house—the wall was incomplete, so they could still see what was inside. Inside was an unfurnished room as a yellow changeling hummed a tune while he painted the interior walls.

"Solver!" Eucalypti said, waving a hoof at him. "How are you doing? First thing in the morning is painting the wall, right?"

"Keeps me safe," Solver gruffly replied, only glancing at Eucalypti for a few seconds before looking back to his work.

"Aww, don't be so grumpy, Solver!" Eucalypti said, hovering towards him. "The doors from Ponyville and from Manehattan are going to coming here soon—we always knew you liked intricate work!"

"I never said anything about painting doors," Solver simply said. "Now, don't you have any work to do?"

"Alright," Eucalypti said before he went back to Hexapod. He landed right beside him. "Do you have all things ready?"

Hexapod nodded.

And the two changelings helped each other as Eucalypti hastily laid down the bricks while Hexapod painted each newly-laid brick with speed. As the minutes went by, the wall slowly became complete, making the house look more finished and ready for normal day-to-day living.

Finally, after several more minutes, the wall was done and the changelings rested on the grass as they both wiped the sweat off their faces.

The two laughed.

"Will you stop all this laughing?!" Solver shouted.

The two stopped laughing and suddenly looked at Solver.

"I'm trying to protect this kingdom!" Solver yelled at them. "The ponies must know that we are not to be lied to, not to be tricked!"

"Uh, we were just laughing that our work's done," Eucalypti said.

"Oh, that's just the end of it!" Solver replied. He approached the two changelings. "Soon, all the changelings here will laugh because their work's done? But, I won't be laughing, because I know the truth! I know what's been going on! As long as I find out what the specifics, the details are—everything will be clear soon enough, and I won't be called a crazy changeling anymore!"

"Uh, you're a crazy changeling."

"You'll regret it!" Solver shouted as he flew away in frustration. "You'll regret what you just said!"

The two changelings looked on at Solver.

Hexapod looked at Eucalypti, surrounded by the noise of rebuilding and the rush of the workplace as changelings went here and there accomplishing their tasks. "How come you are friends with Solver? I don't see why you're close to him?"

"Ah, it's probably just because you worked at a different group," Eucalypti said. "Don't you remember Solver? The changeling who comes up with lots of the plans, fixing lots of things? Well, that's probably because you used to belong to a group where Solver wasn't that popular. I don't blame you. Anyway, he's now...like I said, crazy." He sighed. "Tried to be friends with him and I'm still trying."

"You don't have to force that upon yourself, Eucalypti."

"Well, I don't want to leave some changelings in the dark without any friends," Eucalypti said. "From the looks of it, Solver doesn't have any. And, Hexapod, don't you realize that friendship is something that binds us together, makes us stronger? If only Solver would see that."

Neon Guard walked into the scene. He looked at the painted wall. "Wow, that's quite fast for just two changelings at the job." He stayed quiet while he eyed the two changelings. "So, do you want to take a break? Have some snacks?"

"Yeah!" Eucalypti yelled. "I already have some apples I placed at the table!" Then, he rushed towards a wooden table where a few apples were sitting on. He immediately munched on an apple, eating rather noisily.

Neon Guard looked at Hexapod. "And you?"

"I'll join my friend," Hexapod replied, smiling.

Neon Guard smiled. "Well, I'll take my break as well. Blue Alarm, Red Noise, and Humerus must be around somewhere. Have a good day!"

Then, Neon Guard flew off, joining the cacophony of changelings flying in the sky as they tried to get to their own places.

Hexapod flew off to where Eucalypti was.

"What's next?" Hexapod asked as he landed on the ground.

His friend was munching on his apples.

"Uh, Eucalypti? Really?"

"Oh, Hexapod!" Eucalypti said, surprised. He took the half-eaten apple and placed it on the table. "What were you saying? I didn't quite catch what you just said."

"What's next?" Hexapod asked. "I mean, what's the next thing to do after this? I forgot what Neon Guard told us about the next thing to do with the house. Or, maybe we move to a different house? Or, maybe we move to one of those stores?"

"It's the last one," Eucalypti said, pointing a hoof at his friend. "We're going to build what they call a 'convenience store.'"

"And, what's that?" Hexapod asked further.

"From what I've heard, a convenience store is a store that offers convenience."

"In what way?"

"Well, there's all kinds of things there—you won't have to go to certain stores to buy all you need. You only need to go to the convenience store! A convenience store has food, drinks, soda, ice cream, candy, chips, donuts—"

"What about things other than food and drinks?" Hexapod asked.

Present

"And, it turns out that Eucalypti had no idea what a convenience store actually was!" Hexapod finished. "Although, now he knows what it is. We've been to the finished building and it was great! It truly was a store of convenience! And of friendship, since lots of us actually want to spend some time with our friends inside the convenience store. If you visit the Changeling Kingdom, you should stop by there because you get to see one of the best displays of friendship—changelings just sitting on the chairs in front of the tables, just talking to each other and having a good time while they have a good meal. Isn't that good, Quick Fast?"

"And, the food and the drinks are good!" Eucalypti added.

Quick Fast nodded. "Anything else?"

Changelings at Starlight's Town

"Thanks, Quick Fast!" the two changelings yelled in unison as the pony sped away, pulling the carriage along into the rural landscape under the night with its dark, beautiful sky adorned with the stars and the moon.

The two changelings turned towards the town.

Many lights were on in the village, both inside and outside. The lights gave the only street of the town a nightlife feel, even if the feel was quite a subtle one. There were no loud noises, nor was there any loud music to dance to. The speakers on the street played calm, quiet music.

The ponies there were doing a variety of activities even though the town was small—a pink Earth pony was baking, a blue unicorn made balloons that entertained the younger ponies in front of him, a white Earth pony was teaching a green pegasus about skiing by showing him pictures and pointing to certain parts of those pictures. Meanwhile, a blue pegasus stood on top of a building's roof and took off—gliding in the night.

"This is a nice little village!" Eucalypti exclaimed, his shout echoing through the single street. "That's great for us because all the attractions and the interesting places are all in one...place! No need for directions—just walk up and down this street and we'll be fine!"

The pegasus stopped in mid-air, looked at them, and swooped down to them. She landed on the ground with a forceful gust.

The two changelings trembled a little by the wind.

The pegasus closed her wings. "Welcome to the village!" she proudly greeted. "Sorry, we still don't have a good enough name to call it. But, that shouldn't stop you from having a good time here." She looked at some of the ponies on the street. "No pressure. Take your time." Then, she flew off to the sky again. "If you need me, just give me a yell!"

Eucalypti watched her do some aerial tricks and loops. "This town is also home to such talent! Talent that surpasses my standards!"

"You weren't an expert at flying to begin with, Eucalypti," Hexapod said.

"Who said you could be the judge on who's the best flyer?" Eucalypti shot back. But, he regained his happy countenance. "Let's not think about that. For now, we have a town to grace!"

The two changelings walked into town.

The murmurs of the ponies hushed a little as a few ponies looked at the newcomers.

Several ponies waved at them. Others just looked at them, taking note of the changelings.

A few approached the two.

"I see that you are new to our place," the white Earth pony said, walking beside the blue unicorn and the pink unicorn. "I'm Double Diamond. This is Party Favor—" The blue unicorn waved at the changelings "—and this is Sugar Belle." The pink unicorn waved at them, too. "Do you want us to show you around?"

"Ah, absolutely!" Eucalypti heartily replied. He pulled Hexapod as he walked towards the ponies. "Come on, Hexapod! We are about to have a personal tour of this place by none other than the ones who live here!"

"Isn't that normal?" Hexapod asked.

"Not normal for us!"

And the ponies and the changelings were off, trotting on the only street in town.

The changelings looked around. Although the town was quite small, the liveliness of the place made it seem big. The casual discussions some ponies were having, a table filled with baked goods and pastries, several houses having their lights on showing the ponies inside and what they were doing like eating—the changelings looked at them and on their faces were expressions of mere wonder.

"Uh, Double Diamond," Eucalypti asked, "I know that this might seem out of place or out of topic, but where do you get your food?"

"We get it from other places," the pony replied. "Well, most of the food." He glanced at Sugar Belle, who giggled a little. "Sugar Belle is the town's baker. If you want any cakes or pies or anything else like that, you should ask her. Actually, that's the first place we'll stop by!"

And the ponies stopped.

The changelings stopped, too.

In front of them was a house that looked just like every other house in the village—a simple two-story house made out of bricks and a brown roof.

Sugar Belle entered first.

The changelings and the rest of the ponies followed her.

Inside, there were shelves filled with baking tools and baking ingredients, a blue oven, some pictures on the wall, a big blue display case, and a cash register. There were also some tables and chairs for customers to sit and to eat on.

On the display case was an array of baked goods, their culinary aromas wafting out of them to create a mixed smell inside that beckoned Eucalypti to float towards the food. There were apple pies, apple cakes, apple caramel cake, apple fritters, candied apples, caramel apples—all fresh.

"Starlight Glimmer really must've done something bad if you weren't able to do all of this before!" Eucalypti yelled.

The three ponies frowned—Double Diamond backed a little.

"Uh, Eucalypti," Hexapod spoke, "that's not how you speak about, well, Starlight in front of them."

Eucalypti turned around and saw the three ponies' faces. "Oh, uh, then I'm very sorry about what I just said! I know you're a forgiving group of creatures, but I really should've kept myself under control!"

Double Diamond grumbled a little, but he sighed and made a smile. "That's OK, uh, I didn't get your name."

"I'm Eucalypti while he's Hexapod!" He pointed to Hexapod who smiled at the ponies. "And we're the best changeling friends ever!"

Eucalypti rushed to hug his friend.

"Uh, that's...nice." Double Diamond shifted his eyes from left to right, having a nervous face. "So, uh, Sugar Belle, do you want to serve some of your delicious baked goods to these changelings?"

Sugar Belle nodded enthusiastically.

The table was now filled with plates that had crumbs. Eucalypti slammed a hoof on the table, shaking the plates. Hexapod took hold of the plates and quickly brought them to the display case. Then, he wiped the sweat off of his face.

"Eucalypti!" Hexapod shouted. "You could've broken those plates!"

"I was just being thankful to the chef!" Eucalypti responded, gesturing a hoof towards the nervous baker who was watching from behind the counter. "I am sure that she is proud—if not fully proud, then somewhat proud!"

"What are you trying to say?" Sugar Belle asked, having a suspicious tone.

"Uh, let's get moving!" Party Favor interrupted, stepping in between Sugar Belle and the changelings. "This isn't the only place in this town, you know!"

"I know that there aren't that many establishments here," Eucalypti said, "but this must have some place to crash and to relax so we can say 'Ah! This is a good place to stay in!'"

"What about you try and let the ponies who actually live here get us to where they want us to go?" Hexapod whispered to his friend. "They already know that you want to be at the best places in town—you told them that twenty times already!"

"Don't you worry, friend!" Eucalypti proudly replied. "I shall promise you that I will be quiet until the moment is there when I need to not be quiet!"

Hexapod smiled.

"There's, well, some choices for you to choose from," Party Favor said. "There's the clotheshop over there—" He pointed a hoof towards a house that had a sign that looked like a shirt "—or, you could try the market over there." He pointed towards a house that had a canopy and a few wooden stalls of fruits and vegetables. "Or—" Party Favor grinned "—you could go to my place!"

"And, what are we going to do there?" Eucalypti asked.

"There's so many balloons here!" Eucalypti shouted.

The room contained a bed, a carpet, and a shelf that had a few books and a picture of Party Favor, Sugar Belle, Double Diamond, and the blue pegasus hugging each other, smiling. Balloons of different colors and of different shapes were tied around many different things in the room. Some balloons were tied to the bedposts, others were tied to the window, still others were tied to the shelf, and there was even a blue balloon that was tied to the framed picture of Party Favor and his friends. "If you were wondering why the picture is not flying off," Party Favor explained, "it's because I had to tape the picture to the shelf." He grinned.

"So, your talent is related to balloons?" Eucalypti asked.

"Specifically, making balloons?" Hexapod added.

"That's correct, my friends!" Party Favor yelled. He took many balloons, rapidly tied them together, and showed a balloon depiction of a changeling—it was colorful and the changeling seemed to be smiling. He hoofed it to Hexapod. "You can take it home! Show your friends! I'm sure they'll be impressed!"

Hexapod looked at the ponies who were now in the room. "You, Party Favor, are good at making balloons, Sugar Belle is good at making baked goods, and Double Diamond—" He looked at the pony in question. "What are you good at?"

"Skiing!" Double Diamond replied.

"Uh, there are no places to ski here," Hexapod said. "I don't see any snowy mountains from here."

"That's because it's night!" the pony responded. "They're not nearby, but, if you go along a certain way, you'll see some great places to ski."

"Now, let's see you ski!" Eucalypti said.

"Uh, skiing at night? It's better to see it in the morning, when you could better see everything."

"That makes sense!" Eucalypti commented. He turned to see Hexapod. "Well, that's two places of interest that we've been to! Now, where else?!"

"Uh, are you sure about that?" Double Diamond asked.

The other two ponies looked at them with awkward looks.

Balloons floated slowly in the room.

"You do know that this isn't a big place," Double Diamond continued. "You don't really need us to tour you around—we just wanted to make you feel comfortable here, to accomodate you. We don't want to force you to go to this place or to that place."

The two changelings stayed silent.

"Then," Eucalypti said, "let's just eat at Sugar Belle's bakery again! We can talk about our friendships together! Isn't that right, Hexapod?"

A Night and Morning

"Brilliant night, brilliant night!" Eucalypti shouted as they walked on the lone street of town.

"Yes, Eucalypti," Hexapod said, looking at his friend with a little disdain, "it is a brilliant night. You don't have to go and tell everypony in sight about how brilliant the night is."

"We've had the best conversations with the best ponies in this town!"

"So, you don't want to talk with lesser ponies?"

"You know that's not what I mean!" Eucalypti answered, a little shocked in his tone. He grabbed his friend and made him face the sky. "Look at this! We're in Equestria—and, it's a vast land, a great kingdom filled with ponies to talk to and to work with—it's not even work at this point if your co-workers are so friendly!"

"And, what's your point?" Hexapod insisted, tapping an impatient hoof on the ground as they stopped on the street which had buildings on both sides. "I don't want to hear all the good things about Equestria if it's just what you say in order to lead me towards a point."

"I just want to tell you again that—"

"I should enjoy my time here in Equestria," Hexapod said. "Well, I'm trying. But, maybe a certain changeling is sadly meddling with that."

"I guess you're talking about me."

Hexapod nodded roughly.

"Come on, friend!" Eucalypti pleaded, coming closer to him, gesturing to him rather desperately. "We're in Equestria, this grand kingdom, together! We can find something to do together—we could form the first ever changeling band!"

"You're probably a little late—they already formed a few, not to mention some more who want to perform some music."

"Well, we'll be one of the first!" Eucalypti shot back.

"But, not the first."

"Why do you have to be so pessimistic about things, Hexapod?" Eucalypti asked. "All I'm doing is just being positive about things—what is that word that's the opposite of 'pessimistic'? Is it 'optimistic'? Hm?"

"Stop trying to rub that on me," Hexapod said, sounding tired and irritated, trying to avoid looking at his friend.

A few ponies looked at the arguing changelings.

Party Favor ran out to the two. "Are you alright?" he asked quickly, eyeing the two. "Is there anything wrong?"

"Everything is alright," Hexapod said. "I'm just trying to deal with a very positive changeling who doesn't see the dangers that extreme positivity can land him in."

"Well, your 'realistic' point of view isn't giving us that much help, is it?" Eucalypti said, angrily eyeing his friend with arched eyebrows. He groaned and faced Party Favor. "Try to make him see reason, Party Favor! I don't know what you would do, but try something! Make some balloons that can cheer him up or something!"

"Uh, balloons don't work like—"

"I'm no expert at balloons!" Eucalypti snapped at the party pony. "But, you are! Try and go make a balloon something so that Hexapod can—"

"Or," Party Favor interrupted, covering the changeling's mouth with a hoof, " you can try and talk this out gently and quietly." He paused as he slowly turned to see Hexapod who was staring at his friend rather annoyingly, his eyes also arched and focused on Eucalypti in a bad way. "Ask each other why they view things the way they do. I thought you were the best of friends with a long history together."

Eucalypti looked at Party Favor. Then, he looked intently, earnestly, at his friend. He dropped the snarl on his face. "Well, Party Favor's right," he admitted. "I...I have to keep remembering about the importance of our friendship. So, even if I may not fully see why you think the way you think, at least I tried seeing your perspective." He sighed. "Come on, Hexapod! Why don't you give Party Favor's idea a chance?"

"It wasn't my idea," Party Favor remarked.

Hexapod gave his friend a long look. Then, he sighed. "We don't need to ask, anyway."

Party Favor smiled. "That's perfect! So, I don't have to listen to some awkward and lengthy conversation about you trying to understand each other's points of view about how you see the world?"

Hexapod gave the pony a strange look. "That was a weird question to ask."

"I have a party with Pinkie to plan, that's why!" Party Favor said as he hopped away.

The two changelings looked on at the hopping pony. "That ended weird," Eucalypti said. "Out of place."

Hexapod smiled. "At least he managed to fix our problem before it got worse."

Eucalypti looked at his friend. "And, it looks like we can at least end this day on a positive note."

Hexapod nodded. "Hopefully, let's not argue tomorrow morning." Then, his smile faded away. He gasped. "Wait, what's our plan for tomorrow morning?"

Eucalpyti smacked a hoof on his head. "I totally forgot!" He glanced around him. "Don't you get anymore nervous, friend! There's the Crystal Empire we can go to! Yeah, the place where there's lots of political clout! We could meet the Princess and the Prince of the empire!"

"Don't you get ahead of yourself," Hexapod said. "The Crystal Empire is a few train stations away. And, the nearest train station is—actually, I don't know!"

"Which is why we'll find out!"

Hexapod grabbed his friend before he took off with his wings.

"What did you do that for?!"

"Let's stay here for the night," Hexapod said. "It's probably midnight right now."

Eucalypti looked at the sky. "You're probably right. The moon's way high up." He looked at his friend. "Now, let's sleep at Party Favor's house!"

Hexapod made a funny looking face. "Why there of all places?"

"The only bedroom we've seen in this village is his bedroom, and I kind of like the balloons! Colorful, vibrant, brings you the feeling of a party at night even without the unnecessary noise and, well, necessary partying around!"

"Doesn't partying entail noises?" Hexapod asked.

"Nah, nah, don't dive into the details too much, Hexapod!" He trotted his way towards the house, passing by a few torches and a few gasoline lamps that were on some of the tables outside some of the houses. "Too much of that and, well, you'd be standing there until morning, friend!"

"Wow!" Party Favor expressed. He eyed the two changelings—one of them extravagantly smiling and ready to burst with pure joy as his wings rapidly moved, preparing to move him into flight. "I wasn't expecting you to stay here for the night. I...wasn't quite ready to accommodate you changelings, either. Heh-heh-heh-heh." He nervously looked at a few balloons in his bedroom. "I could've given you a tour of the bedroom but...you've already been here."

"And we're going to be the happiest changelings like boats on the coast, friend!" Eucalypti finally let out, hugging his friend and bringing him off the floor and to the air as he dragged him around into the bedroom, making fast yet careful maneuvers near the balloons while Party Favor clapsed his front hooves, fearfully eyeing each balloon the excited changeling neared.

Then, Eucalypti threw his friend to the simple bed and landed himself there, too.

Eucalypti roared with laughter as he regained his stance and sat on the bed. "Alright! Woo-hoo! We're going to be sleeping here!" He hastily turned to face his friend who was still recovering from the landing, his head disoriented and a little dizzy. "This is the first time we're going to be sleeping in somepony else's house! Not just a hotel, friend! This is true and pure hospitality and friendliness from a pony!"

"Can you keep it down?" Party Favor quickly said in a hushed voice. "You're going to wake some of the ponies here. Don't you know how late it is?" He pointed at a clock that had pictures of balloons as its hour, minute, and second hands. "It's past midnight!"

"Your suspicion was right, Hexapod!" Eucalypti mentioned, nudging his friend with a shoulder.

"What suspicion?" Party Favor asked. "But, that's besides the point. It's good that you're here—very fun to have some changelings sleeping at my house, and we're going to have a very special party breakfast together." He approached the changelings. "The breakfast itself will be a surprise," he said in a whisper. "You won't know what the food is." Then, he went back to where he was standing. "But, I don't want you to go around causing unneeded damage—basically, ruining ponies' days on accident. Got it?"

Hexapod nodded.

Eucalypti nodded as he hovered over the bed.

"Now, I'm going to be sleeping on this bed," Party Favor continued, motioning towards a smaller bed that looked just like the one that the changelings were on. He yawned, trying to cover his mouth with a tired hoof. "Anyway, I'll be turning in for the night." He went on to his bed and covered himself with a blanket. He placed his head on the white, soft pillow. His horn glowed pink and the lights inside were off, darkening the room and allowing the moonlight to adorn and to beautify it with its glimmer.

"Have a good night!" Party Favor said.

Then, he snored.

Hexapod looked past his friend beside him and at Party Favor. Then, he closed his eyes.

Eucalypti closed his eyes, too.

"You know, Hexapod? I'm just full of energy—I cannot contain all of it for, I don't know, the next eight hours?"

"Stop whispering."

"But, I'm just so excited—I'm even agitated in a good way to just go out and smile and shake hooves with the ponies who live here. The hotels in Manehattan were quite great, but that's nothing compared to what we have in the rural, homely towns like this one—it's so great, it doesn't even need an official name. Who needs official names, anyway?"

"Every other town, I suppose."

Silence went between the two for a few seconds.

"Just go sleep. I'm trying to sleep, too, Eucalypti."

Hexapod wiped his eyes and yawned.

He slowly rose up from the bed and looked out the window on the wall.

The sky was blue and yellow, the clouds were streams that bedecked and garnished the sky. The sun gave its radiant light towards all that was under the sky, heralding the new day with splendor and with grandeur.

The air was cold. Hexapod shivered a little. He looked at his friend—not just sleeping, Eucalypti was snoring. He looked at Party Favor who was sleeping across the room. Party Favor was snoring, too.

"Party Favor's promise was a bit too much, I guess," Hexapod whispered. Then, he looked out the window again.

Over there where the wooden stalls of fruits and vegetables were, there were a few ponies who were standing close to them, tending to the occupation at hoof. A mare walked towards the stall. She was gray green and a unicorn, her mane and tail yellow. She was carrying a bag. The ponies who were attending the stalls smiled at her.

At another place in the town, there was a yellow Earth pony with brown mane and tail. He was eyeing the green unicorn.

"That's Feather Bangs," Party Favor said.

Hexapod quickly turned around. "When did you get up?!"

"If you want to be good at organizing parties with your special balloons, you need to have a little bit of stealth for the surprise parties!"

Hexapod placed a hoof on his chin. "That makes sense."

Party Favor nodded. "Now, both of you, stay here while I go and make the surprise breakfast!" Then, he hopped out the room and down the stairs.

Hexapod looked on at the open door.

Then, he looked back out the window.

Feather Bangs looked up. There was the sound wind rushing under the glide of the blue pegasus. The pegasus did a few more tricks before landing on the roof of a house.

At another place in town, Double Diamond was showing the green pegasus his pair of skis, pointing to it and articulating the parts of the skis.

And, there were more ponies doing things outside. Some were eating, others were just chatting while they sat on their tables. There was even one who was playing the guitar before Feather Bangs asked for the guitar.

"Even here," Hexapod said, "there is friendship to be found."

"Breakfast is ready!" Party Favor yelled from the ground floor.

"Breakfast is ready?!" Eucalypti yelled as he awoke. He turned here and there. "Where's Party Favor? Does that mean—"

"Calm down," Hexapod said, patting his friend on the head.

"OK!" Eucalypti said. Then, he breathed slowly, inhaling and exhaling loudly. "Alright, I am calm! Where's the breakfast?"

"It's downstairs," Hexapod said.

Then, the two changelings went out the room and down the stairs.

Solver and Princess Twilight Sparkle

"Have a nice day!" the pony behind the counter said as the changeling carried a bag of groceries out of the store.

The cool air of the morning graced the changeling. The cheerful town of Ponyville had ponies being cheerful, all smiling and enjoying the day as they walked, talked, ate, drank, or did other kinds of activities like engaging in some sports or reading some books.

But, the changeling didn't mind.

He flew off, carrying the bag of groceries.

He flew right above the roofs of the cottages. He alighted on one of the hay roof and surveyed the area in front of him. He looked and focused on an open window. Then, he flew his way to the open window and quietly landed on the floor.

The bedroom was a decent one—it had a few carpets, there were bookshelves here and there, there was a light on the ceiling, and the bed was a simple bed—a blanket and a pillow on the mattress.

"Smells very good here," the changeling said. "Of coures, it might contain something magical that might cloud your judgment—this is Ponyville! Who knows what could be hiding here? It's good that I, Solver, am here to continue my search for what's true and what's false, the truth to be separated from the lies!"

He rushed towards the only table there—a wooden desk with a table lamp.

He dropped his groceries there. He took out a few apples and a few pieces of bread. Then, he took out a stack of papers and a few pencils, and he spread them out on the table, pushing aside the food. "There! The pony who lives here—whatever his name is—is not going to be back here for a few hours. That's why it's always good to research, to see whether the enemies are out for work or not! They'll always blame me—I won't be blamed!" He slammed a hoof on the desk. "I will not be blamed!" He slammed it again. "No more blaming me in that terrible game they call 'the blame game'!" He slammed the desk again. "No more of this blaming!" He slammed it again.

He was gasping for air as he looked at the papers before him. The hoofwriting looked good and the paragraphs were long and detailed. "Soon, all Equestria will see what kind of leadership it truly has! The truth is right in front of them—but, why do they not see the truth, why do they not see the obvious?!"

He took the stack of papers and held it up in the air. "I hope they'll never detect me!"

He looked at the door. "Well, nopony is supposed to be here." He looked back at his stack of papers. "Anyway, soon, many changelings will depart from the idea that Equestria—its Princesses—was after their good. Oh, it's not! It isn't! They will see that it's bad! Really bad! Evil! I declare that it's all terrible!"

"What's the problem?" Princess Twilight Sparkle asked the trembling stallion inside one of the grand and royal hallways of the castle.

"There seems to be some crazy changeling inside Bon Bon's house!" the stallion replied in a shaky tone. "He was talking about how b-bad Equestria is and other kinds of crazy conspiracies he must've thought of! I don't remember Bon Bon or Lyra letting a changeling sleep in their house for the night, so that changeling is a little suspicious!"

"A little suspicious?" Twilight asked. "Don't you think it should be 'very suspicious'?"

"Please, Princess!" the stallion pleaded. "I might get bad dreams because of him!"

"And, why didn't you decide to at least ask that changeling to be quiet?" Twilight asked, having a stern face on her.

"I haven't met that many changelings, yet," the stallion answered, his voice still shaky. "What if they have some secret strength that I don't know of?"

"Their strength is like that of a normal pony's," Twilight said. Then, she sighed. "But, if you want me to take care of the changeling, I'll go there."

He flew off, not having a smile on her face. Rather, she was bothered.

"Thanks, Princess!" the stallion yelled, waving at her while she opening the large doors to the outside with her magic. "I promise you that I will never forget what you did!"

"It's not that important!" Twilight blurted out.

"I will never be placed into custody," Solver whispered to himself as he flipped through the pages. "They will never get to me." He glanced at the bookshelves. "Why didn't I think of that before? Of course, more fantasies from the novel writer, and more lies from the supposedly non-fiction books that may be there! Let's see!"

He hovered off to the bookshelves. "Interesting—this pony decided to organize the books in a good way! On one side are the fiction books, on the other are the non-fiction books. What lies!" He took out a book from the non-fiction side and opened it up. "'Right after the banishment of Princess Luna who had become Nightmare Moon, Princess Celestia often felt regret for what she did. Princess Celestia would often not finish the royal meetings of the day for the first few years after due to her heavy heart over her action against her own sister.'" He closed the book and he smiled. "Or, is it true that she felt regret? No, I'll go one step further!" He forcibly placed the book back. "Was Princess Luna really banished to the moon back then? Hm? Everypony that it was just a legend, an old pony's tale, until, apparently, Princess Luna came back here! Why should I believe the eyewitnesses?"

The changeling stepped towards the desk. "It might just be Nightmare Moon—we only think she's Princess Luna, but, no, she hasn't come back! It's still Nightmare Moon, only in disguise! You ponies don't know, you ponies don't know!"

The door opened and Princess Twilight Sparkle was there.

Solver looked at the Princess.

He gasped and jumped back.

"Can you please stop disturbing other ponies?" Twilight said. "I already have lots of work for the day, a lot of royal duties to attend to, I even have to meet with Thorax later this afternoon! So, if you just stay quiet, we can all have a good day, and I can get on with my now-interrupted schedule."

"Y-you're...Princess Twilight Sparkle!"

"Like I don't know my own name." She glanced at the desk. Her bothered face disappeared. "Wait, were you really talking about conspiracies? About Equestria being bad?"

Solver had resolve on his face. His fearful face became fierce. He smiled. "You can take away our rights as changelings, Princess, but you can never take away the desire for freedom, the desire for equality, Princess!"

Twilight looked scared. "Oh, no! He was right!"

Her horn glowed.

The changeling lunged at her.

Solver stopped.

He looked around him.

A pink magic glow was around him.

Solver struggled to get free. "I knew it, Twilight! You imprison changelings, knowing that they're the only ones to stop you from ruling over us with evil intentions!"

"One, I don't imprison changelings—you can leave that to the guards or the police, depending on where you live. Two, we only imprison changelings if they commit crimes—like, I don't know, trying to attack a Princess? I really don't want to harm you any further by bringing you to the guards here, but you seemed like you would be happy to attack Princess Celestia and Princess Luna anyway."

"I am not paranoid, Twilight!" Solver yelled at her. "All my actions are justified! You just don't see the bigger picture—I mean, everypony else and every changeling I've ever met don't see the bigger picture! I am here to show them the truth!"

"Really?" Twilight expressed.

"You may lighten the punishment you've given me, Twilight," Solver shouted, "but you will never be forgotten by me as a pony who keeps up a good image but, inside, has evil plans to rule over us—poor, innocent changelings!"

The guards restrained him as they walked away with him.

Twilight looked on.

She was standing on an almost empty street. The cottages beside her were quiet save for a few noises here and there.

Cheerilee walked to her. "What happened?"

"A crazy changeling."

Thorax and the Night

"So, Fluttershy and Rarity," Twilight said as they stood in front of the Cutie Map, "it's time for you to go quickly off to Canterlot to solve whoever's friendship problem is! I hope it's not the Princesses again—it would be disastrous if they were arguing again!"

She picked the two surprised ponies up with her magic and brought them out of the room and slammed the door.

Fluttershy and Rarity looked at each other. Silence went between them for a few moments.

"Twilight's been pretty busy today, if you didn't know," Rarity said.

They trotted the carpet of the hallway.

"But, why is she busy?" Fluttershy said. "Twilight didn't tell us about anything later today."

"Oh, she is meeting with—"

The front doors opened and a nervous Thorax went in, facing his head in all directions and trying to make out words only to come up with single syllables.

"Ooh, Thorax!" Rarity said, her demeanor brightening while she galloped towards him and leaving Fluttershy.

Fluttershy smiled and fluttered her way to the changeling.

"Uh, hi," Thorax managed, waving a shy hoof at the approaching ponies.

Rarity gasped and moved a hoof towards her forehead. "Thorax! You don't seem to be wearing a crown! You don't seem to be wearing anything regal or royal for the occasion!"

"You've said that several times already, Rarity," Thorax said, lightening up a little. "And, like I've answered you those times, I don't need those royal clothes." Then, his face showed expressions of nervousness. "But, where's Twilight? Is she at the library or at the Cutie Map room?"

"She's over there," Rarity said, pointing a hoof at the large double doors at the end of the hallway.

"Thanks, Rarity!" Thorax said as he spread his wings and took off.

He rushed past Fluttershy. "Hi, Fluttershy!"

Fluttershy's mane was caught in the wind. She watched Thorax bolt through the hallway, making quite a noise with both the wind and the buzz. "Hi, Thorax."

The doors swung open.

Twilight glanced at Thorax.

"Sorry if I'm late!" Thorax said in an apologetic tone. "I...I don't want to cause any more unnecessary inconveniences or, well, any more problems."

Twilight smiled. "You don't need to adopt that kind of speech, Thorax! Look at me!" She paused for a while as Thorax took a look at her and her smile. "I still talk like I always did before I became a Princess!"

Thorax noticed the stacks of paper on the table along with more pieces of paper strewn about on the table. Ballpens and pencils were there, too, making the table look messy with information. "Uh, this looks very serious."

"Serious?" Twilight repeated. She glanced at the table with its many papers and writing instruments. "Oh, that's nothing! You don't have to mind all of that! For now, I guess. Not to mention what happened with a certain Solver this morning, heh-heh-heh-heh." She blinked.

"Wait, what happened to Solver?" Thorax asked. "Do you mean the crazy changeling?"

"Apparently, yes. He's now under the custody of the guards—"

"The royal guards?!" Thorax yelled, breathing heavily and quickly. "I didn't mean to cause a big problem for all of us! Is that what the papers are about? Do I have to sign something in order to get all of this to be gone and to be good and—"

"Not really," Twilight said. "None of the papers here are related to Solver whatsoever."

"Then, why is he in jail?" Thorax asked, sounding concerned and moving about nervously. "This is terrible! This might bring the Changeling Kingdom into straggling conditions!"

Twilight sighed. "There's that royal speech again, Thorax."

"Oh, sorry," Thorax said, flinching a little. "It's just habit, I think. A habit that I keep on going to whenever I'm in front of royalty like you because...I don't want to make a mistake!"

"That's alright, Thorax," Twilight said. "Now, take a seat."

The pony and the changeling took seats right beside each other.

Silence passed between the two as Twilight looked at the papers on the table while Thorax looked at her.

More silence passed.

Thorax touched the surface of the shiny table. "So, what's the topic for this afternoon's meeting?"

"Anything related to your kingdom, Thorax," Twilight said.

More silence passed as they looked at each other.

"You mean, this is some kind of report?"

"I wouldn't say 'report' exactly," Twilight said, gesturing anxiously with a hoof, twirling the hoof. "Rather, I would use the word 'story.'"

"It's alright," Thorax replied immediately. "It's...nice. Although, what about Solver? What did he do? Is this going to cause some kind of incident?"

"Solver is just going to be under custody for the day," Twilight responded. "By tomorrow, he will be free. I hope that's enough to soothe your thoughts. Let's not get very emotive about it."

"Right." Thorax looked at the stacks of papers on the table. Then, he looked at Twilight again, whose face showed some anxiety. "The Changeling Kingdom is, like I said, nice. OK. We're making progress—not fast progress, but it is speeded up thanks to your continuous aid."

"I wouldn't want to leave you and the rest of the changelings without any guidance," Twilight said.

"Thanks again, Twilight," Thorax said.

More silence passed.

"But, now that the Changeling Kingdom is more stable, there's other things that my changelings are talking about, things to improve on. I keep asking them about what they think is best for the kingdom."

"And, what did they say?" Twilight said.

"They had many suggestions, lots of interesting, sometimes wacky, ideas. They talked about me having my own personal guard—but I don't like that. I understand the Princesses of Equestria having their own guards—"

"I don't," Twilight said. "I don't want to be obscured by lots of guards. Makes me look far away from the common pony."

"That's right, that's exactly what I was thinking," Thorax said. He placed a hoof on his chin. "Hmm, actually, it's more than just that. Chrysalis always wanted to be protected—she always thought that the entire hive was her own guard." He sighed as he looked down on the table. "And...the way she just throws changelings away like we mean nothing to her other than just protection." He sulked, a frown appearing on his face as his eyes trembled and became watery.

Twilight went down from her chair, walked to Thorax, and placed a gentle hoof on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Thorax. That's in the past. Chrysalis isn't your leader anymore. You're kind, you're good—and I'm sure that every other changeling is more than proud to have you as their king, Thorax."

The changeling sniffed. "Yeah," he said with a heavy and muffled tone.

Twilight smiled. "Now, let's think about the excellent present we have here! The today that's awesome, the time where changelings don't need to be oppressed!"

Thorax smiled.

Twilight happily went back to her chair. "Back to the topic at hoof—what other ideas are the changelings telling you? It's good to have feedback from them—they're telling you what's good for them, what they want, what would make them happy."

"Well, there's this one changeling—he's a nice guy—Phylum. Phylum told me about how we should have more money, more bits."

"OK."

"And, he told me that, to have more money, we should have to set up our own businesses."

"Didn't you already tell me that months ago?" Twilight asked, a hint of irritation in her voice.

"Well, it wasn't just businesses like stores in Ponyville or in Manehattan," Thorax clarified. "He suggested the idea of changelings handling jobs at stalls and stands like the ones in the marketplace here."

"Ooh, that's a great idea!" Twilight commented, paying him all the attention as her front hooves gripped the table. "I could amend to that specifications and improvements on that concept like which types of stalls and stands are suitable for changelings—maybe changelings will have the best conditions if they apply for being peanut vendors in big cities like Manehattan or Canterlot!"

Thorax cackled anxiously. "Twilight, your friends were right about you consistently being...uh...what do you call this?"

"Crazy?" Twilight said.

She laughed nervously, shifting her eyes here and there and leaning on the table before straightening up. "Well, yeah, sometimes I'm...like that."

And they were silent for a while.

"That's OK," Thorax said. "As long as you don't end up hurting anyone with that."

"I always have it under control, Thorax," Twilight restlessly chattered. "I've never done anything crazy that led to an entire town of ponies to be madly in love with a doll you had way back in your childhood just to be able to keep a good schedule on writing letters to Princess Celestia!"

"That was specific. Did you really do that?"

Twilight had an apprehensive face on. "Uh, yes."

Thorax turned his head to see the large and royal double doors. "I guess the ponies here were willing to forgive you after...whatever that was."

"OK, now we're getting too far away from the topic, from the proper discussion, Thorax!" Twilight hastily asserted while she, using her magic, brought the papers and the writing instruments closer to them. "Let's hear about the rest of the ideas your constituents have thought of!" She levitated a piece of paper and a pencil.

Twilight was smiling quite close to Thorax's timid face.

Thorax slowly moved his face away.

"Uh, the same changeling, Phylum, wanted to plant trees and, uh, other plants."

Twilight furiously scribbled on the paper. "Mm-hmm. What does he mean by that? Does he want to plant them practically everywhere in the Changeling Kingdom, or does he want to establish some grounds on where plants can be planted exclusively for changelings and visitors to admire? Or, does he just want to push a public effort on planting plants in their homes and in other buildings to make the kingdom more attractive?"

"He just said, 'Let's go plant!'"

Twilight looked up from the paper that she was magically levitating. "Uh, that's all? That's it?"

"That's what he said. Then, the next changeling raised his hoof and Phylum never spoke about any of his ideas again for that day."

"Weird." Twilight examined the writing on her paper. "But, that's barely enough to cover even just half of the page, so what did the next changeling say? Also, cite his name—we need this for future reference!"

"Are we running late?" Thorax asked out of the blue. "You seem to be hurrying this up."

"No, we're right on schedule!" Twilight immediately replied loudly. "I am just accommodating for the event that you might tell me all kinds of neat ideas to see, to analyze, to append to! And, I'll have all of these ideas for the record!"

"Then you're going to publish a book?"

"'The Thoughts of the Changeling'!" Twilight announced, raising a hoof to the air and looking towards the colorful lights of memory on the ceiling.

Thorax looked on as Twilight kept her pose.

"Uh, Twilight?"

"Oops!"

Twilight hastily sat back on the chair, still levitating the paper and the pencil. "Now, what else did the changelings have to say?"

"Wow, time flies by so fast that it might as well be a pegasus that could compete with Rainbow Dash!" Twilight gabbled, walking with Thorax into the nighttime landscape of Ponyville with its bright—but, not too bright—lights and the general homely commotion going on inside. "If you want, you could spend some time with us in Ponyville again! It turns out that all of us are free for the night."

"Didn't you tell me that Rarity and Fluttershy were on some friendship mission in Canterlot?"

"They'll be home any minute now!" Twilight replied, her eyes widening while she grinned.

"It's OK, Twilight," Thorax said, holding out a hoof to her. "There's other places in Equestria to explore and to be in. I'll just take a train to another town or another city."

"Wait!" cried out a pony in the distance.

Thorax and Twilight looked.

A pony ran while she dragged another pony.

"Rarity?" Twilight asked loudly.

The white unicorn finally caught up to Twilight, carrying Fluttershy with one hoof and dropped her to the ground. Fluttershy was dizzy, her eyes going around along with her head.

"We're early!" Rarity yelled. "Now, I don't want to be called anymore during this very important week in fashion! You can let Fluttershy explain everything to you!"

Then, she stormed off.

Twilight looked at Thorax. Thorax looked at Twilight. They both looked at the disoriented and woozy Fluttershy.

"I wonder what must've happened in Canterlot," Twilight said. "Anyway, I don't think it was anything too serious. Probably just Fluttershy being caught up by the wind or something—it's sad if she has to go and fly in bad conditions, right?"

"Uh, I'll just go."

"Have a safe trip!" Twilight happily said as Thorax flew away.

Twilight pulled Fluttershy up. "What happened to you Fluttershy?"

"Uh..." Fluttershy said in a flighty tone. "Rarity...too...much...lateness...had...to...go...Carousel...Boutique..."

Thorax flew in the quiet night. He flew alone, passing by the fields of grass and the groups of trees. The hoots of the owls sprinkled the trip with a hushed noise.

Then, he stopped, alighting on the grassy ground.

He looked up.

The sky was beautiful in its dark blue and with its bright stars and its even brighter moon.

"This might be one lonely trip," Thorax said. "At least it's going to give me time to reflect, time to mull over what Twilight said and what everyone said in the Changeling Kingdom, every changeling there." He looked at the dirt path ahead of him, winding through the ground. "Still have to go through several towns, though. At least I could buy some food there, some things to give to my friends." He clasped his front hooves and smiled. "They wouldn't be expecting it—a pleasant gift for them to enjoy!"

Then, Thorax flew off again.

Cherry Jubilee sighed, walking towards a single wooden stall in town.

There was only one other pony on the street. A stallion wearing a big hat walked inside one of the wooden buildings. The doors closed and now Cherry Jubilee was the only pony outside.

It was silent. Although the lights of the buildings were on, there was no clamor, nothing out of the ordinary to make the mare afraid or concerned. All that went on inside the buildings was normal talk, talk about the day, talk about somepony's feelings, talk about what to do for the next day—Cherry Jubilee didn't mind them.

She carefully placed buckets of cherries on the wooden counter. She walked towards the front of the stall and looked at the sign on the top. "'Cherry Hill Ranch Cherries!'" she said.

Then, she went back to the back of the stall, laid a hoof on the counter, placed her head on that hoof, and sighed.

A buzz.

Cherry Jubilee looked here and there.

"It's Thorax!" the voice yelled.

The mare looked at the approaching changeling.

Then, Thorax stopped right in front of the cherry stall. "I wanna buy some cherries, please!"

Rainy Train Ride

Two playful changelings were laughing beside each other inside the train. They gave each other hoof bumps as they chatted, talked, discussed, told, remembered, recalled, and conveyed wonderful and fun memories and stories to each other.

It was raining outside. If one were to look out, one would see a pegasus just escaping a thunderbolt, that pegasus speedily fleeing from the frightful sight. The rain pattered hard on the carriage's roof, creating a loud and constant noise for all the passengers—whether pony or changeling or griffon or dragon or yak—to endure. An audible groan from one of the ponies was heard.

Behind the two playful changelings were another two changelings. Their faces were serious or neutral at best as one of them looked outside. The other opened up a newspaper and hummed a short tune as he read the day's events. "So," Nastic said, "it's been a long time since we've seen each other."

"It's only been a few weeks," Hexapod replied, looking away from the gray and foggy outside.

"Our new lives have only lasted less than a year so far, Hexapod," Nastic said. "A few weeks might as well be a few years."

"Right." Hexapod looked at the reading changeling.

Nastic's eyes were narrowed on the lines of information.

"What are you up to?" Hexapod asked, placing a hoof on the wide open newspaper and causing a little rustle. "You still seem to be the same newspaper-reading changeling I remember from last time."

"Things changed. I've learned to love the ponies for what they're doing but that doesn't mean that I'm going to fully accept them, to fully accept all that they say." He flipped to the next page, showing more pictures that depicted more of the day's events. "Always stay cautious—you'll never know when politics stifle everything we've ever seen."

Hexapod blinked at that statement. "Well, alright. I think that's good advice."

"It ought to be. I'm still here." Nastic finally looked away from the newspaper and faced the changeling beside him. "What about you? What are you up to nowadays?"

The rattle of the train's wheels on the railroad could be heard. Coupled with the pattering of the rain and the chattering of the two playful changelings, it made for a noisy ride.

"Just doing whatever we feel like," Hexapod said. "Eucalypti is always excited about the next thing we plan to do. Dorso is trying to apply for the Wonderbolts, although I have doubts about him passing. They never had anyone other than a pony become a Wonderbolt."

"I know what you're talking about," Nastic said. "Read about him on the news. Wasn't headline worthy, but it made it to the front page."

Hexapod's eyes widened. "No way! That cannot be!"

"Yes, it can be."

"What did it say?!"

"Reporter said that Dorso is going to have to wait for a few days for a response. It's likely they accept him and add him in for training, although to actually be a Wonderbolt is a long shot."

"Yeah, Nastic," Hexapod expressed as he slumped on his seat.

Nastic kept on reading the newspaper.

Hexapod tapped him on the shoulder.

Nastic glared at him.

Hexapod recoiled, wimpering a little.

"Sorry," Nastic said. "I've gotten so much into the news ever since I got to my first ever edition of any newspaper. Forgive me for that."

"It's alright," Hexapod replied, although his voice was a little shaky and jittery. "I was just wanting to have something else to talk about."

"Hm?" Nastic folded the newspaper and placed it beside him. "Well?"

"About...those times."

"Oh. You mean with Chrysalis?" Nastic looked around.

He saw ponies talking, ponies reading, ponies sleeping, ponies looking out the window and watching the rain fall towards the wet grass. The clouds in the sky were gray and large, looking imposing. There were the two playful changelings who were still happily talking with much volume.

Nastic covered his mouth and leaned towards Hexapod. "Why do you want to talk about that?" Nastic whispered, sounding distressed.

"I don't see any other changeling who would want to talk about it," Hexapod said. "Maybe you might be interested in a little chat."

"Everyone else is trying to clamp down on that," Nastic answered quietly. He glanced at the two changelings beside them. "Nobody wants to remember that—terrible and evil times. Nobody wants to get depressed and sad about what they did. I say, 'We can learn from history.' They probably don't want to learn from history, I guess."

"I'm not sure if I agree with you on that," Hexapod quietly said, whispering, too. "But, I think that's a little too much on reacting."

"You mean 'overreaction'?"

"Yeah, that's the word."

Nastic glanced again at his surroundings. "Maybe we should talk about it another time. Whispering to each other like this inside a train full of passengers—especially full of ponies—is going to make us look suspicious."

Hexapod nodded as he straightened himself. "Yeah."

Nastic unfolded his newspaper and read.

At one end of the carriage, a door opened. A fancy-looking and pompous griffon with a chef's hat and long mustache pushed a metal cart containing fresh breads that emanated a savory smell that caught the looks and the attention of more than a few ponies—and also two changelings.

"Who here wants some of these delicious delicacies?" the griffon hollered in a fancy, haughty voice.

Several ponies throughout the carriage raised their hooves. The two playful changelings also raised their hooves. Hexapod and Nastic just looked at the griffon.

"Now, just wait there!" the griffon said. "For I, Gustave le Grand, will deliver to you the food that is, au fond, going to erase your hunger!"

"I want it!" one of the playful changelings yelled at him, still raising his hoof.

"I want it, too!" the other playful changeling shouted.

But, the griffon didn't mind as he slowly walked his way on the carpet, sometimes stopping to serve the pony there with a fancy-looking sandwich or an eclair.

"Is that filled with chocolate?" the first playful changeling quickly asked.

"Quiet, Long Winded!" Nastic said. "You're going to be ruining some ponies' trips!"

"Ah, don't you be so anxious about us, Nastic!" Eucalypti spoke, casually gesturing with a hoof as he relaxed on his seat. "We are having so much fun! Why don't you?"

"Because I have better things to do than just talk," Nastic said with a groan before he went back to his newspaper.

"Then, why do you talk with Hexapod sometimes?" Eucalypti asked.

"Because there are times when talking is better."

"Then, why not talk with us?"

Nastic hurriedly folded the newspaper and placed it beside him on the seat. "Fine."

"Yeah!" Long Winded shouted. "We're four changelings together inside a train!"

"We all know that," Nastic said, sounding more irritated. "I don't need somepony or some changeling to tell me that!"

A few moments of silence passed between the four changelings.

Gustave arrived at their seats with his metal cart.

"So, do you want the sandwich or the eclair?" Gustave asked the two playful changelings.

"Eclairs!" the two changelings shouted.

Gustave smiled. "They're my specialty. I'm glad that you've chosen that." He gave them two elairs, one for each changeling.

"They sound so foreign!" Long Winded expressed. "I don't even know what an eclair is. Well, I used to not know until now!"

"Is that why you chose my eclairs?" Gustave asked, looking annoyed at them. "Because you've never heard of them before? Or, is it because they, like you said, 'sound so foreign'? Has nobody told you the greatness of these—"

Eucalypti chomped a bite off his eclair and chewed on it. "Chocolate filling!"

"Chocolate filling!" Long Winded yelled back.

Then, they bumped each other's hooves.

The griffon groaned. "I might as well not grovel over that grotesque desire of my delicacies." He pushed the cart and walked away from the changelings.

"I wonder when this train ride will end," Nastic said as he watched the two changelings eat the eclairs with delight.

Outside, it was still gray and rainy. The clouds covered the sky; gray and dark they were. The ground was moist and, in some places, somewhat muddy. But, the four changelings walked on the moist and muddy road, moving to the left when a carriage was approaching.

"Canterlot during a storm is quite the sight, isn't it?" Eucalypti asked. "I wish I brought my camera!"

"You don't have a camera, remember?" Hexapod said.

"Besides," Nastic added, "cameras are expensive these days. The photography industry in the big cities is going down because of these postcards taking over, not to mention the bigger problem about it—the ten-bit camera is selling like hot cakes. Low quality hot cakes."

"But, they're selling hot cakes there, too, right?" Eucalypti asked. "I sort of missed that on the way out of Manehattan."

"I tried a hot cake once," Long Winded told Eucalypti. "It was good."

"Was it good to the point that you cannot comprehend what you were tasting?" Eucalypti asked. "I want a hot cake that is that good!"

"I don't think there's any sort of food that can make you forget what you're eating, if that's what you mean," Hexapod said.

A carriage passed by and splashed on a puddle, covering the changelings in even more water than before.

"And now, I'm soaking wet," Nastic said calmly, though his anger was in his voice. "Why are we even walking on the road, anyway?"

"Because we can walk on the road, why not?" Long Winded said.

"Let's say that you can fight one of the large dragons in the Dragon Lands," Nastic told, facing his friend.

"Let's not talk about that," Long Winded said apprehensively, holding his front hooves up in defense.

Then, the four changelings walked on.

"Careful!" Joe said from behind the counter as the changelings washed their hooves on the carpet. "I don't want any muddy hooves to be walking on the tiled floor. I have to clean that myself!"

Nastic looked at the three changelings, pointed at one of the tables, and walked towards the counter.

The rest of the changelins walked towards the pointed table and sat on the chairs.

"Oh, it's you," Joe said. "Nastic, if I'm remembering correctly?"

"Yeah," Nastic said as he neared the counter. "The changeling who was witness to Twilight Sparkle freezing almost everypony in this very room? Now, I don't need any more fame as it is."

"Trying to be funny, eh?" Joe said. He gestured towards the display of donuts. "What's your pick for you and your friends?"

"Just give me an assortment," Nastic replied, sitting on one of the tall chairs on the counter. "I'm not in the mood of thinking about what flavors to choose."

"Alright, then."

Joe went to work, grabbing several donuts of several different flavors and placing them inside a paper bag.

While he did that, the sound of the pattering rain was there. There were no rays of sunlight that beautified the donut shop. And, the place lighted up instantly, then the bright light was gone—then, the sound of thunder in the distance.

"What's with the sudden storm?" Nastic asked as Joe checked the donuts. The changeling brought out his bits from his bag. "If there's a schedule for storms, why am I not seeing them?"

"That's because we ponies are used to not seeing any schedule for the weather," Joe said. "It's time to get used to it, I think, Nastic."

"Fine." Nastic sighed a sigh of irritation.

There was nopony else but Joe. There were Nastic and the three other changelings chatting at the table.

The place felt quiet—and it seemed just right. The storm, the gray outside, the tiled floor, the open and spacious layout of the shop, the small amount of creatures inside, the lone pony behind the counter—it all made for a somber yet relaxing place to eat some donuts in.

Joe grabbed the bits and hoofed the paper bag of donuts to Nastic. "Have a good time, Nastic."

Nastic saluted Joe. "Have a good time, Joe."

Nastic flew away towards the table.

"Now, a snack to energize," Nastic announced as he dropped the paper bag on to the table.

The air was cold. The rain went on outside.

Hexapod was the first to place a hoof inside the paper bag. He took his hoof out. "A glazed donut. Perfect!" Then, he munched on it.

"I want a chocolate donut!" Long Winded yelled as he placed his hoof inside the paper bag. He took out a chocolate donut. "Hooray!" Then, he immediately chomped on the donut.

"I'll look." Eucalypti took the paper bag and saw the donuts inside. "Wow, that's a lot of flavors, lots of variety!" He looked at Nastic.

"I just ordered for an assortment of donuts. It's not really that special."

Eucalypti took a donut with sprinkles and ate on it.

"And, I'll just take a normal-looking donut," Nastic said as he took out a glazed donut.

The four changelings ate their donuts together. They talked with each other.

Casual Discourse

Above the gray, dark, and raining clouds was the blue sky with a yellow sun shining in the distance, setting with its yellow and orange rays. Several pegasi were watching over the clouds; a few of them went through the clouds and into the storm.

"Rainbow Swoop," a yellow pegasus mare with a mane and tail of different hues of blue said as Rainbow Swoop tended to a certain area of clouds, "this taking care of the clouds is making me hungry." She hovered over the clouds. "It's too bad we can't buy anything down there for now. Anything we try to get will end up getting soggy."

"Plastic bags," Rainbow Swoop said without turning his gaze away from hid clouds. "Isn't Canterlot advanced enough to sell food in plastic bags?"

"Only the rich restaurants would do that," the yellow pegasus said. "Open Skies told me that he went to one of those fancy restaurants that require to schedule a breakfast and to wear a suit as well. And, even that wasn't fancy enough for plastic bags!"

"Let's just go with it," Rainbow Swoop said.

"Do I look like I'm the kind of pony that could afford a meal from those establishments?" the yellow mare said, pointing a hoof towards Canterlot down there.

Rainbow Swoop shook his head.

A blue-green pegasus stallion with violet mane and tail landed in stormy Canterlot. He looked around.

The intersection was void of any carriages. The few ponies that were on the sidewalks were hurrying their way to wherever they were headed to. Some covered their heads with their bags, others brisk walked their way while holding umbrellas with either their hooves or their magic. One had a nervous and tense face as he looked at his surroundings while holding a damp newspaper over his head. He was also wearing a fancy suit. A couple merely tilted their heads upwards as they walked haughtily and calmly—no panic at all in their step or in any of their other movements—as they trusted that their fancy hats would protect them from any splash or from any other source of fashion crime.

"This is a massive torrent," the pegasus stallion said as he walked, creating little splashes on the concrete as he walked. "The downpour should've been expected, though. I wonder why the ponies here requested for the storm to be delayed 'till now?"

He walked by a clothes store. He stopped.

He walked inside.

"Stop right there!" the unicorn yelled from behind the counter. "Dry your hooves on the mat first!"

"Alright, alright!" the pegsaus said as he stepped his four hooves on the mat. "You don't have to treat me like I'm an intruder or a criminal."

"A fashion criminal you might be!" the unicorn said.

The pegasus sighed as the cold air of the air conditioners filled the air.

Then he walked towards one of the chrome cabinets inside the fashion store. He opened it. "Can I say something?" the pegasus asked.

"What is it?" the unicorn said, his speech sounding impatient.

"Why are the clothes all hidden inside the cabinets?"

"It is style and surprising the ponies who come inside," the unicorn explained. "When they see this fashion shop, they will think, 'Oh, there are clothes on display here; I wanna see what looks good on me.' Then, when they come here, they will be surprised!"

"They might leave and think that you're misleading them or something. Doesn't sound very professional to me."

The unicorn harrumphed. "Are you the boss here?"

Another pony passed by the clothes store but he did not stop to visit. Rather, he kept walking, walking on the wet sidewalk, minding the puddles.

A flash of lightning and the roar of thunder.

However, the pony kept walking unfazed.

His horn glowed and he brought something out of his bag.

It was a picture. Though the raindrops splashed on the picture, dispersing themseleves there, the picture itself remained unstained, undamaged.

"That's what I get for getting pictures with great materials," the unicorn said, smiling.

The picture showed several colorful changelings posing for the camera. There was no changeling who was conservative with their pose—all of them had their own sense of wackiness when it came to looking interesting for the camera. One changeling made a funny face, two were bumping each other's hooves, another pretended to be sleeping, and another decided to smile but not at the camera—at one of his friends. Overall, it was a chaotic moment—no sense, all disorder. Unless, of course, that was the intention—to have a disorderly picture for the record.

The pony, with his magic, floated the picture back into his bag. "Jogging my memory," the pony said as he continued walking on the sidewalk.

He passed by a guard in full armor—helmet and two other pieces of armor, one for the front of the body and one for the back. The guard eyed the unicorn with a bag. The unicorn did not look back at him.

The guard stood at his post at the corner of the sidewalk. Ponies freely walked through the streets. The guard sighed.

Then, amidst the downpour and the thunder and the wind, a buzz.

The guard immediately glanced left.

The changeling landed right in front of him.

"Name's Arthropod," the changeling said. "And, I'm here to just enjoy the weather."

"Weather doesn't seem all that nice," the guard replied.

The changeling inched closer to the guard.

The guard looked sour—his eyes narrowed a little. But, he kept his composure. "What are you trying to do here?"

"I'm here to enjoy Canterlot under the rain, that's all. You could say that I'm under the weather."

The changeling grinned.

"Of course, you are under the weather," the guard said, sounding a little more exasperated and a little more tired with each word. "Everypony except the pegasi who go over the clouds are under the weather."

"You don't get it?" the changeling said. "It's a pun."

The guard was silent as his eyes darted here and there, making facial expressions that expressed thinking—his eyes narrowing, his mouth staying closed.

Then, the guard's eyes widened.

"I must go! I have an appointment to catch!"

Then, the changeling flew away.

"Arthropod!" the guard yelled. "Why did you make that joke?!"

The changeling snickered as he went up, approaching the rainy clouds and going against the direction of the rain. The raindrops splashed on him and the thunder blared, but Arthropod kept going.

Then, he made a sharp turn away from the clouds and back towards Canterlot.

"Who else to tell a joke to?" the changeling asked as he neared the ground of Canterlot. "Telling a joke to any of the Princesses would be such an achievement for me. They're going to talk about it in the news! 'Changeling Tells a Joke to Princess Celestia!'"

Then, he passed by several tall and royal-looking buildings and landed on the ground. In front of him was a donut shop.

"And, we're done," Nastic said as he finished his donut and threw the empty paper bag to the trash can right beside the door with ease. He hovered from his seat and faced his three friends around the table. "Are we going out or what, guys?"

Joe waved at the leaving changelings. "Have a good day and I hope I'll see you soon!"

Eucalypti, who was in front, opened the door.

"Did you have a good meal? A donut meal?" Arhtropod asked.

"Arthropod?" Eucalypti asked.

Nastic groaned. "Oh, no."

"I do not want to annoy you, but let's go back and eat some more donuts." He grinned again.

"And you left your job for what?" Nastic demanded. "For this?"

"Making all the creatures I meet a little happy with my brand of humor is my thing!" Arhtropod said. "I couldn't handle a library that had very few books—well, from us. We had lots of books made by ponies, but not by us. Let's walk and see the sights—the source of my puns are everywhere!"

"I guess it would be nice to lighten up," Hexapod said. "Let's go to the place where the Princesses are. I bet that it would be great to visit them this time of day."

"Yeah," Arhtropod said as he walked. He looked back. "Why are you just standing there? Come on!"

"And that's a table!"

"When is this going to stop?!" Nastic snapped.

"I'm not going to stop until I stop."

"Let him be," Hexapod said. "I find genuine humor in his jokes."

They were walking up the stairs and towards the grand entrance doors of the white and purple and yellow building with so many floors and so many features.

"'Genuine humor'?" Nastic repeated. "That is a very cheap form of humor, a form of humor that deserves to be placed as a footnote in a book of humor!"

"Really, I like the jokes," Eucalypti said. "They're quite fine to me."

"Yeah, Nastic," Long Winded said. "You should learn this lesson that we should learn from all kinds of humor—from the complex jokes to the simple jokes, from the jokes that take a long time to tell, to the jokes that only take a simple look and a simple statement, and every one of us has to enjoy the humor by our fellow changelings and also by other creatures—the ponies, the griffons, the dragons, the yaks, among others—"

"I did not ask you to philosophize about humor!" Nastic yelled. "Do you want to know what I want?!"

"To be under arrest?" a voice said.

The five changelings looked at the guards who were now in front of the entrance doors.

Nastic gulped. "I guess I spoke too soon."

"Uh, I cannot make a pun out of that, Nastic," Arhtropod said. "I want you to rephrase that, alright?"

Nastic groaned.

The hallways were magnificent in their royal decorations—there were the carpets, there were the banners, there were the tall windows that depicted important events. In some of them were the depictions of the Princesses either fighting a villain or doing something good for Equestria. In others were the depictions of Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends either fighting a villain or doing something good for Equestria.

All of these things made the changelings feel small in this grand building as the guards, all looking similar in their white coats, their blue mane and tail, and their armor, escorted them.

"We caused a disturbance," Nastic muttered. "Now, we're going to be placed here. I don't think the Princesses are irrational to the point that they will imprison us for a few years, but I'm going to be wasting precious hours, precious days if that's how serious this is!"

"You can blame it on security, then," Arthropod said.

Nastic sighed. "I don't want to."

"Or, they're probably taking us to the Princesses themselves!" Long Winded said. "I can't believe we'll negotiate with the Princesses about our release from prison!"

"We haven't even been there yet, Long Winded!" Nastic shouted. "Now, let's at least keep ourselves quiet!"

"Says the changeling who wasn't quiet and ended up landing all five of us in this situation," Hexapod mumbled.

"I heard that!"

"Keep quiet!" one of the guards commanded.

Nastic sighed. "If only I could've just blamed this on maladministration or something similar! On the guards or maybe even the Princesses acting wrongly. But, no, it had to be one of us—no, it had to be poor Nastic."

Then, the double doors opened.

The guards walked the long way to the end of the hallway.

Then, the guards stopped.

They bowed down to the Princesses who weren't sitting on their thrones but just were standing there. They even heard some casual chatter from the Princesses, although it was in whispers.

The two Princesses giggled.

"Oh, no," Nastic said. "What are the Princesses up to now? I hope they're not making jokes."

"We are not trying to make jokes," Princess Celestia said in her calm voice, approaching the guards and the changelings they brought.

Nastic sighed.

The Princesses smiled at them. "What brings you here?" Princess Luna asked the changelings.

Royal Kindness

"I cannot believe it," Nastic said as the sounds of cutlery being laid neatly on the long table accompanying dainty plates of scrumptious foods that emitted smells that were perfumes and colognes of the culinary kind. "I just want to say those words again: I cannot believe it."

The cutlery and the plates stopped glowing yellow. Princess Celestia's horn stopped glowing yellow, too. She yawned, covering a mouth with a hoof.

Windows, both normal and stained, embellished the tall walls, giving a view to a stormy, darkening Canterlot—the sky was now grayer than before, some buildings already had their lights on, and pegasi were hovering in the sky, flapping their wings as their eyes went from this cloud to that cloud, from this portion to the sky to that portion of the sky.

The floor was tiled—black and white were its colors, giving the room a homely feel that made it safe from being too royal. Most of the chairs were wooden but they were carved elegantly—intricate designs were embedded in them, all of them abstract and pretty. Two chairs at one end of the table stood out—they were carved with metal. One had a symbol of the sun, the other had a symbol of the moon.

"I would like to stay and chat, but, it's almost sunset," Princess Celestia said, looking upon the five changelings and her sister who were all seated at the table. "Think about five minutes."

Then, Princess Celestia exited the room.

Silence was in the room.

The changelings looked at each other. Surprise could be seen in their faces.

"So, will you eat?" Princess Luna asked, turning a fork around with her magic. "Look!" She pointed towards a plate of pancakes. "Did you know that my sister made these pancakes?"

"Really?" Long Winded and Eucalypti said in unison as they eyed the stack of pancakes.

The pancake on top had a smiling face made up of blueberries and strawberries.

"It's so cute!" Long Winded yelled. He brought up his fork and scarfed the pancake down and gulped it and drank a glass of water. "I would do that again!"

"Don't you realize the gravity of, well, what we're dealing with?" Nastic said, raising his voice. "We just got freed by the Princesses from a punishment—we should've been in jail or doing some community work or, well, doing something that we wouldn't have liked!"

"Yes, Nastic," Princess Luna said, "we know about that. However, what's done is done. I thank you for saying such words about us, but do not let that distract you from the festivities you should be partaking in."

"You heard the Princess!" Arthtropod yelled. Then, he took a slice of apple pie and downed it with a single gulp. "Let's eat! Chow down!"

And all the changelings except Nastic raced to get the first slices, the first pieces, the first of everything before it was gone in their tummies.

Luna's eyes went wide; the Princess witnessed the speed and the agility that the changelings expressed in their mission to grab the choicest of parts, the freshest of the fresh, the top when it came to the scale of deliciousness.

Lightning flashed and the room was brighter for a second.

Then, thunder.

Yet, the changelings went on eating and feasting. Eucalypti even went up from his chair and hovered over the plates to pick each food he wanted with hsi fork—from fresh fruits like apples, oranges, and strawberries, all the way to the more complex foods like the pies and the eclairs and the cakes.

Nastic merely picked a slice of apple pie and slowly chewed on his food, eyeing Long Winded as he plunged himself into the frenzy of eating. He finally gulped down his first slice of food. "Well, this is going very well."

"I...have not seen such behavior at the royal table before," Princess Luna blurted out.

Nastic caught a glance of Luna's face. "Oh, no. We're going to jail for sure."

Luna smiled.

Nastic looked surprised. "The Princesses...they're not as I thought," he muttered. He looked at his plate that now had crumbs and a fork. He looked at the Princess again. "I...think I should've asked more ponies about how the Princesses were like."

He grabbed the fork.

He turned it around, inspecting it.

The fork was shiny and a little reflective. He could see his reflection on the fork.

He eyed the apple pie in front of him.

Nastic smiled.

"Alright, might as well jump in!" He looked at the Princess. "Thank you for the invitation, Princess Luna!"

"You are welcome, Nastic. Join your friends in...this kind of eating." Luna hesitated, observing the chaos that was going in front of her at the table as the changelings yelled and shouted, their yelling and shouting punctuated by times of eating and gulping food down. "I shall eat at my own pace."

The Princess grabbed an apple with her magic and took a bite out of it.

Nastic, however, happily grabbed a slice of apple pie and chomped it down.

Luna chortled; she quietly got another apple with her magic.

Then, the sky darkened, becoming grayer until it was decidedly very dark, dim. Outside, all of the buildings of Canterlot had their lights on, although the storm and the fog made the lights a little hard to see, a little blurry.

Luna looked at the window. "Oh, it's almost time for me to perform my royal duty of guarding the dream realm." She contemplated and surveyed the disorderliness that was on the table—glasses were shaking, close to being spilled but not quite; crumbs were flying everywhere as pieces of food were being held on precarious grips of both utensil and hoof; the changelings talked to each other about which food was better than the other, often fast.

"I shall leave you to your food," Luna said, smiling subtly as the Princess went off her chair and walked out the room.

The unicorn stood on the red carpet.

Inside the long hallway, a clear view of the outside could be seen through the windows on both walls. The sound of rain continuously pouring on Canterlot was louder than before, the wind howled with more force than it ever had before. Although there were lights in the distance, they were hard to see. Then, there was a flash of lightning quickly followed by the thunder.

The unicorn checked his bag.

Then, he walked towards the big double doors at the end of the long hallway.

The doors opened.

"Princess Luna!" The unicorn bowed down to the blue alicorn with her ethereal and flowing mane.

"You do not need to do that, Opinion Editorial," Luna said.

"You don't need to call me that, Luna," the unicorn said as he stood up. "My close friends just call me 'Op Ed.'"

"Alright," Luna said, nodding. "Do you have any pictures to take inside? There are some changelings eating at the royal table."

"Interesting," Editorial said as he scratched his chin. "I should tell Press Release to cover for me tomorrow. She has more than enough resources for all of Princess Celestia's goings then." He paused. "Wouldn't you want me to take some pictures of you?"

"Doing my work?" Luna asked. She giggled. "I don't think you would be able to go to the dream realm that easily."

"It was nice meeting you, Princess," Editorial said as the Princess walked away.

"It was nice meeting you, too."

"And, we're only halfway done with the food, guys!" Eucalypti yelled as he held up a fork that contained a slice of bread. "Sandwiches for every changelings in the room?!"

The rest of the changelings, even Nastic, held up their forks with pieces of bread.

"On the count of three!" Eucalypti announced. "One!"

"One!" the rest of them yelled back.

"Two!"

"Two!"

"Three!"

The double doors opened.

Eucalypti dropped his fork.

The rest of the changelings looked at the newcomer.

"Uh, this is the place where the Princesses eat in the castle, right?" the unicorn said. "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. My name's Opinion Editorial, but you can call me Editorial. Yeah, some ponies tease me for my long name, but I'm making something of myself, at least!"

"And, what are you doing here?" Arhtropod said. "Are you here to take pictures of us and place them on newspapers for all to see, for all to know that we ate here once?"

"Maybe twice if I can manage to get you there again," the unicorn said, smirking a little. "Anyway—" He brought out a camera "—why don't you just ignore me for a while and get on eating?"

"That would be perfect," Nastic said, placing a hoof around his friend Long Winded.

"Woah, I didn't see that one coming," Long Winded said in surprise and shock.

"What I want to hear," Editorial said.

The five changelings went on feasting on the food in their chaotic, disorderly way.

Editorial brought the camera close to one of his eyes using his magic.

The guards stood outside under the intense rain. The rain hit their armor hard, making a loud noise as it did so. They stood firm, their faces unflinching in the face of such extreme conditions, their stances as hard as concrete and stone despite the storm.

"Any idea why they decided to delay the storm?" one guard said to another. "They should've had it on schedule—if they had, we wouldn't have a downpour this large."

"It's all about the elite ponies here," the other guard responded. "Especially the unicorns—most of them. Fancy Pants and Fleur Dis Lee are the only ones I know of that aren't all pompous, aren't all flashy about their things and about what they own. Always entitled to have the perfect day, so when they get some dirt on their hooves, they're going to complain to the guards here, to the police in Manehattan, to the Princesses, might even write a letter—hoof-written, not typewritten, I'll add."

"I don't think that's how big the problem is," the first guard said.

"I can't blame you," the other guard said. "You're new. I've been guarding the Princesses ever since I first joined the forces several years ago. Sometimes, it's wonderful—you get to escort the Princess to various places. So, you get to go, say, Appleloosa and you get both the excitement that Appleloosa gives you and the privilege of guarding the Princess. But, usually, it comes down to just standing here, making sure nopony does something bad."

Then the double doors opened.

The unicorn walked out of the castle and held his hat in the fierce weather, covering half of his face.

The guards eyed the unicorn as he walked down the stairs and to the road.

"Done!" Long Winded yelled as he held his two hooves in the air.

The table was in a miserable state. Plates were scattered everywhere, glasses weren't in their right places, crumbs were spread all over.

"I think we pretty much ate everything that was edible back there," Arhtropod said as he hovered over his seat. "Now, let's get back to—"

A flash of lightning. And then, thunder.

Arthropod remained silent for a while.

"Alright," the changeling said. "We can still manage to get out of Canterlot, right? The train is still available, right?"

"If we can even get to the train, that is," Nastic said, his demeanor dimming. "Who here brought umbrellas?"

The rest of the changelings looked at each other.

"No umbrellas, then? Then again, we don't need umbrellas, anyway. Who's ready to fly fast against the wind?"

Nastic smirked.

The train doors opened.

Several ponies went out of the train, hurrying to get to the staion. Most of them were quick to check their belongings—some of them placing a hoof over their bags to make sure they wouldn't get wet.

Then, a few ponies were yelling and screaming.

The train conductors looked out the doors.

Five changelings finally crashed into the train, making a dent on the wall.

"I told you we could make it!" Arthropod yelled as he raised a hoof in the air. Before he brought his hoof to the floor and closed his eyes and slept.

The rest of the changelings stood up. "I hope that we made no certain damage to your train, mister," Nastic said, facing one of the train conductors.

"Look at the wall!" the pony yelled as he pointed a hoof at the wall.

The four changelings looked at the dented wall.

"Oh, we're awfully—"

"Just take a seat!" the pony yelled as he held up his yellow watch.

The changelings carried Arthropod and quickl took their seats.

Cutie Mark Crusaders Weathering the Storm

It was a torrid storm, turbulent in its forceful winds and breezes, mighty in the strength of its rain, overpowering in the sound of its winds—the trees swayed, a few apples fell, and the ground was soaked in water as the storm went on, raging.

A flash of lightning was followed by a crack of thunder, eliciting a collective scream from the only source of light in the fields of apple trees.

Inside the brightly lit clubhouse, the clock ticked on, the pictures on the walls were there, and the three Cutie Mark Crusaders were huddling around, hugging each other and fearfully looking out the window and then quickly closing their eyes.

"It's gonna come down!" Sweetie Belle yelled, cowering with her two front hooves on her head. "How are we going to survive this with the entire clubhouse intact?!"

"You're overreactin'!" Apple Bloom said. "Our barn's gone through harder times than this! You should ask Scootaloo! I bet she should tell you about—"

"Don't ask me!" Scootaloo protested. "Just because I'm a pegasus doesn't mean I can tell you if this storm is going to break this building or not!"

Then, another flash of lightning.

"Agh!" the three fillies yelled.

And thunder.

"Argh!"

They were cowering again, hugging and huddling.

"This is even worse than that time in Appleloosa!" Sweetie Belle said. "At least we weren't stuck in one place!"

"Yeah, but we were lost!" Scootaloo yelled. "It was our first time in the forest!"

"Just look at the bright side!" Apple Bloom said, raising her voice above the sound of the raining torrents. "At least we helped out Trouble Shoes!"

"I don't see how that will help us!" Sweetie Belle yelled.

Then, moments of silence as the storm went on, the rain pattering on the roof, the winds howling outside, the thunder bellowings its sound.

"It doesn't look like this storm is going to end soon," Scootaloo said. "We might as well sleep over here."

"Isn't the first time," Apple Bloom noted.

The fillies stood up.

Apple Bloom closed the curtains of one window with her hoof.

Sweetie Belle closed the curtains of another window with her hoof.

The curtains themselves were pink and red in color, showing simple designs—one had flowers on it, the other was mere abstract containing a checkerboard pattern and a few elegant patterns.

Scootaloo flittered a little distance towards the wall of pictures.

A picture with a purple frame depicted a gray pegasus colt with gray mane and tail flapping his wings, holding a chisel with his mouth, wearing safety goggles, and smiling in front of a statue of the three Cutie Mark Crusaders.

A picture beside it had a slightly fancier frame; it depicted two ponies in front of a sunset. They were looking to the left together. The stallion was Big McIntosh, the mare was Cheerilee.

Another picture showed three ponies—Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity—in mechanics' clothes.

Various pictures showed the faces of more—there were Babs Seed, Tender Taps, Pipsqueak, Diamond Tiara, Bulk Biceps. There was even a picture of Gabby's face.

"I'm sorry to distract from the situation, but," Scootaloo spoke, "let's take Apple Bloom's advice and look at the bright side. Like, remembering what we've done for all these ponies."

"Yer' right," Apple Bloom said, approaching the wall of pictures with her gaze upwards.

Sweetie Belled reached the wall. Her horn glowed a green glow and a picture glowed and was adjusted. "There!" she said. "Now, all the pictures are aligned with each other."

Scootaloo snickered. "That's not what I meant!"

Apple Bloom smiled. "Well, it's organizin' ar' fon' memories o' the ponies we've helped 'long the way!"

And the two other fillies nodded in agreement.

"Ah wonder 'bout Babs," Apple Bloom then said, her smile having gone away. "We haven't been talkin' with each other since...a long time."

"What about the letters you've been writing to each other?" Sweetie Belle said, raising the topic.

"Letters can go a long way," Apple Bloom said. Then, she sat down, sulking. "But, talkin' face-to-face, right in front o' each other—that's what Ah've been missin'. All the good times we could've had here in Ponyville—it would almost be the complete Cutie Mark Crusaders' party."

"We just need Gabby," Scootaloo said. "Well, at least she writes more letters to us than Babs."

"More than Ah could read," Apple Bloom said. "She's fine an' all, but sometimes, Ah just couldn't keep up with the pace."

"You know that we write back to her sometimes," Sweetie Belle said. She offered a hoof to Apple Bloom.

Apple Bloom took her hoof and stood up.

"Say, speaking about the griffon in our group," Scootaloo said, "what about we try taking in another creatures into our group?"

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked at her with strange looks, their eyebrows raised in curiosity. "What?" the two said together.

"We already have a griffon," Scootaloo said, "Discord is an honorary member—"

"Ah don't think honorary members, especially one like Discord, is goin' to make much o' a difference for the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Ah mean, what's Discord doing for us, anyway?"

The changelings except Nastic were shivering as they sat beside Discord who was reading a newspaper quietly while sipping a cup of tea. He took the newspaper, sneezed, and it became a chocolate version of itself. He tied a balloon to it and let the newspaper go, letting the chocolate newspaper float around. This caught all of the passengers' attentions.

"And, why are you here?" Nastic asked as nonchalantly as he could—an inkling of trembling was in his voice as he eyed the draconequus before him.

"I am here because I want to," Discord replied. "Nothing more, nothing less. I've never been to the train in a few days. I need to keep up with my train quota?"

"You have a train quota?" Nastic said. "What does that even mean?"

"It means what you might think it means, or a variation of it—does it matter to you?" He tied another balloon and ate it. "Just let me be and let me enjoy the train ride."

Then, a pegasus smacked onto the window beside them. The pegasus slowly slipped off the window.

The changelings and everypony there looked at the pegasus on the window.

"Before you ask, it was my fault," Discord said. "I'm not in the mood for being evasive right now."

Scootaloo shrugged. "I don't know."

"That's the point!" Apple Bloom said. Then, she paced the room. "So, we can't ask a dragon—they're probably too rough."

"We could ask a zebra!" Sweetie Belle said, a smile appearing on her face suddenly. Then, her face suddenly went away. "But, Zecora would just like to make potions—she's content with that."

"And, the breezies are off-limits, too—I think."

"We can try," Apple Bloom encouraged. Then, she frowned. "But, that might take a lot of work—havin' to go 'round to find a way just to get to their place!"

"Yaks may not be so open to the idea," Scootaloo said. "Pinkie Pie just went there like, I don't know, recently. Probably it's best just to let your sisters and their friends which, of course, includes Rainbow Dash—" She grinned "—to let them get used to the idea of friendship."

"Which leaves us with the changelins'," Apple Bloom said.

"What about the Crystal Ponies?" Sweetie Belle asked.

Apple Bloom placed a hoof on her chin. "Yeah..."

"But, a changeling who is a Cutie Mark Crusader would be awesome!" Scootaloo yelled.

Discussions on Society

"It's past midnight," Hexapod said to Eucalypti as they sat on the wooden platform.

There were no ponies on the dry dirt streets filled with dust. A tumbleweed passed by. The night sky was beautiful with its many stars and its bright moon—it brought an astronomical touch to the lonely situation the two changelings were in.

The gas lamps outside the buildings gave the little town some light. The lights that were still on from inside the houses bore no sounds that were out of the ordinary—just the shuffling of hooves, the ruffling of pages, and the quiet whispers of talks and chats.

The breeze was rushing by, bringing up some dust along with it.

The cherry trees in the distance stood out from the desert landscape that the town and its surroundings lived in.

"And, you still want to stay up?" Hexapod asked. "That's ridiculous."

"I've never stayed up this late before," Eucalypti said. "Well, I did but not much."

"There's nothing to do here," Hexapod replied. "There's just us—and, the ponies who are awake won't bother with any of our requests."

"That's because they're the rough ponies of the frontier!" Eucalypti responded, gesturing rather animatedly with his hoof as he spoke each word with confidence seen in his loudness. "Haven't you read your history books?"

"You're treating me like I actually went to a pony school."

"But, have you read your history books? I didn't ask if you went to a pony school."

Hexapod remained silent.

"Think about the kind of life these ponies live here—right out in the frontier, near the borders of Equestria and the borders of other places, places more dangerous!"

"Like, let me guess, our own kingdom?"

"Yeah!"

Hexapod slammed a hoof on his forehead.

"What? There are hazards when you're constructing and rebuilding things here and there!"

"Alright," Hexapod said. "Go on with your analogy or whatever you're talking about—a metaphor, some figure of speech."

Eucalypti cleared his throat.

The night was still lonely and quiet. The background noises were still quiet and hushed. A couple of boxes of produce laid on the platform. An empty carriage was beside the building.

"Let me remember it!" Eucalypti placed a hoof on his head and closed his eyes, making a stressed face as he concentrated. "Ah-ha!" He raised a hoof into the air. "These ponies—they live out here, in the desert, with home so far away! They're lonely, isolated from other ponies! It's just them! So, being as nice as the ponies back home isn't going to help them nor get them very far on their progress to become, I don't know, successful or whatever you define as a good thing in places like this!"

"What's your point, basically?" Hexapod asked. He placed a hoof on his chin and rested his there. "I don't want to tease you or anything—"

"Tease me no more!" Eucalypti yelled.

Then, his cheerful demeanor, his happy face, went away. "Well...I'm not so sure anymore."

The two changelings sat on the platform. Hexapod sat with both his hooves on his face, looking down on the dirt. Eucalypti looked up towards the night sky.

"Have you ever thought about your life before Thorax and his friends came along?" Hexapod asked. "Our lives?"

"Not really," Eucalypti said, inching closer to him. "Why, friend?"

Hexapod sighed. "So much wasted time. So much wasted ability, so much wasted thought. Everything was directed towards stealing love from ponies and other creatures—and what did we get in return? We got satisfied for a little while, then it's gone again in a few days!"

Eucalypti looked at his friend somberly, staying silent.

"How many years have I lived?!" Hexapod yelled. "I've lived for less than three decades—less than thirty years!" Yet, I've lived most of my life believing that I was to be a slave to this horrible system—that I was chained to a hunger for love forever! And, do you want to know what makes it even worse, Eucalypti? Do you want to know what makes it even worse?!"

"I guess I know," Eucalypti said, his voice quieter than normal. "We've went through it all together."

"You got a little taste of freedom," Hexapod said. "A little freedom from the hunger—any taste, any amount of freedom was nice for the moment. But, they're going to go away—then, when you've tasted love—after a while, it's gone. You want that freedom—you wanted to be starving no more! We looked at Chrysalis—the prime example, our queen! Yet, you would think she would give us some of the love she got!" He paused, his breathing becoming quicker as the seconds rolled on. "Chrysalis taught me that that was how life was going to be for a changeling like me! That was going to be how it was! Every time we thought that there could be a better way—no, it would be gone—we always thought that that was a sign of defection, a sign that our will was weaking in the face of the temptations of the societies, of the towns, of the cities, of the creatures around us, unaware that we were among them, stealing their love from right under their noses!" He cleared his throat.

Eucalypti patted his friend's back.

"And, to think that I've lived more than twenty years believing a lie!" Hexapod screamed. "That there was no better way! I'm just angry now that it's only now, only just a few months ago, that we realized that there was a better way—sharing love! I don't know if it's something that Chrysalis kept form us or if she didn't know—either way, she was selfish! Keeping all of the love for herself, giving us only the scraps, only what was left after she was full!

"I even fought against Thorax. I remembered that day—had to look for him, then I saw him. I thought that he was the enemy, having left our kind. But, no, he turned out to be our hero, the changeling, the leader we needed. When I saw Thorax in that new form, with all those shiny wings and that colorful carapace—I knew it was better. Then, I saw one thing about Thorax—there were no holes. Remember when Chrysalis told us about how she fought Celestia and that Celestia gave us our battered forms? Now, Thorax was proof that our old, warring and evil lives can be changed to what's good, what's better, what's truly the best.

"Too much wasted!"

Hexapod placed his hooves on his head, whimpering a little under the moonlight.

"Then, Starlight told us that sharing our love was better. Then, I looked at the others who were sharing their love, becoming these new, wonderful creatures that were still changelings, but...good ones. Then, I shared my love. After that, I felt new. I no longer felt hungry, no longer starved for love. I felt...complete.

"Was that good?" Hexapod finally asked.

"Of course, it's good!" Eucalypti said, his voice raising a little, his cheeriness coming back.

"But—if only we knew. If only we knew, all those years ago, before we attacked the Princesses, before we crashed the wedding at Canterlot, before I was first commissioned to serve in the field, to participate in my first mission to steal love! I wouldn't have wasted all my years and all my time and all my effort on a lie, an evil lie, a deception, a lie!"

Then, Hexapod cried.

Eucalypti patted his friend on the back.

Hexapod sobbed and sobbed, covering his face with his hooves, though the flow of tears went on, going on his hooves.

Eucalypti hugged his crying friend.

"I want to take back all those wasted years!" Hexapod yelled. "But, I know I can't!"

Eucalypti kept hugging him.

Hexapod's sobbings grew softer and slower.

He regained his composure, though he still moved slowly.

"Do you want to know what it's been like these past months, Eucalypti? Especially with you?"

"What is it, Hexapod?"

"It was liberating. It was good. It was freeing—I could finally be free from all the lies that I've listened and believed all these years, I could finally do whatever I wanted to do—as long as I didn't do anything bad, of course. And, there was even more—we could have friends now. We could be friends with the griffons, friends with the dragons, with the yaks and the zebras and the breezies. But, there were the ponies, too. Spreading the magic of friendship all over, telling us—telling us what's good about it and why friendship is better than conflict and how we can apply that to both the normal life and even on those adventures that the ponies sometimes get into. I could talk to changelings like, well, you. And, just talking, just talking about anything other than planning on the next thing to do in order to get our love was great."

Hexapod was then silent.

A few minutes passed as Eucalypti looked at his friend and as Hexapod looked around.

"I think it's time to get back home," Eucalypti said.

The Changeling Kingdom was still abuzz with buzzes and flying changelings. Many lights were still on as the sounds of rebuilding blared on, making the kingdom a beacon of a rebuilding, improving civilization under the night sky.

As Hexapod and Eucalypti entered the kingdom, they passed by many more changelings, most of them greeting them with a wave, a verbal greeting, or both. There were changelings carrying carts and wagons of construction material—the changing substance which was among them. There were a few changelings who were on the sidewalks selling various things from food to tourist items such as postcards and beautiful photos of the kingdom. A few ponies were walking around, all of them wearing cameras as they took pictures.

"Yes," Hexapod said as he walked on the sidewalks beside his friend. "I know that everything is bright. The ponies have been helping us rebuild for a long time already. Now, we have ponies visiting us, checking the place with no more fear, no more anxiety about us stealing love from them. It's all dandy and fine."

Eucalypti nodded. "And, let's go to Ponyville when we wake up?"

Hexapod laughed and brought his friend closer to him. "Good idea. It's a good idea."

Maud Pie's House

Tall trees were the norm in this forest, providing a patched shade to all that was underneath them. Rocks and bushes were strwen around. The sounds of the birds were interspersed in the air, creating that homely forest feeling, that warm forest feeling.

A lone changeling walked on the ground, using his camera to take pictures of the majestic and splendid forest with its trees, its rocks, its bushes, its wildlife—anything that would qualify for a good shot, a good photograph.

"This is lovely!" the changeling exclaimed. "They shall call me, 'Ocelli the Amazing at Taking Pictures!'" Then, his ecstatic smile disappeared. "I really should think of a better title to think for myself. If I cannot make myself sound good, then how will I convince others that I am amazing at taking pictures?"

Then, he glanced to the left. "Wait, what's that?"

He flew a little distance with quiet and stealth and hid behind a tree.

He peeked out.

A wooden mailbox standing upright in the forest.

"What is that doing here?" Ocelli asked himself. "Is this normally normal for forests like this?"

Then, he looked here and there. "Nopony is around to see this mailbox."

Then, Ocelli saw the set of rocks behind the mailbox. "Hm? More organized things in this forest? Must've been done by somepony—camping or maybe it's something else."

He tip-toed his way towards the mailbox and stepped on the rocks.

"Feels like a normal rock," Ocelli said. "Typical rocks."

Then, he looked ahead. There was one hole on the ground.

"Rocks leading towards this hole," the changeling said. "And, there was a mailbox back there. Well, there's only one way to know what is the meaning of all of this!"

He flew down the hole.

Maud Pie was reading a book on the table, sitting on a cozy cushion. Her face remained expressionless as each page was turned by her hoof. She blinked slowly every few seconds or so as her eyes followed the sentences of the book.

The sound of the rushing waterfalls was her background noise.

Then, a buzz.

Maud sat up.

The changeling entered. As he hovered over the floor, his mouth was wide open along with his eyes. He looked around, beholding the lush interior that held a bed, two cushions, a table, a book, several colorful lights and lanterns, and Maud. Then, he looked past that, looking at the waterfalls there along with the many, many gems and other forms rock that were in many colors, sprucing up the place with a unique glow that would never be outshone by anything else.

Then, the changeling looked at Maud.

She was looking at him with a blank and neutral expression.

"You must be Maud Pie, sister of Pinkie Pie!" the changeling said as he extended a hoof. "It is a great pleasure to meet you in this amazing home you have!"

"Hi," Maud said.

The changeling made a strange face and balked. "Uh, OK."

Maud shaked his hoof.

The changeling flinched. "Ow! That's a strong grip you got there! Must be because you're an Earth pony." He removed his hoof and examined it.

"So, as the ponies here talk, why are you here?" Maud asked.

"Uh, I just stumbled upon this place," the changeling said. He took out his camera and pressed a button and the camera flashed.

Maud's pupils were small for a second.

"Alright! This is going to look great when I print these out!"

"What will you do with the photos?" Maud asked, still in her emotionless-sounding tone.

"Show them to my friends," the changeling replied, "then sell them to those who aren't my close friends. That's what I do—take nice pictures of things and creatures and sell them! That's how I make money, by the way."

Maud looked at the changeling.

She blinked.

The changeling's enthusiastic smile went away. "Uh, aren't you gonna say something?"

"I've already said something," Maud said.

"Oh..."

The changeling looked around, now with a less enthusiastic face than before. He eyed the waterfall. "What about you accompany me towards the waterfall over there? Do you have a boat? I noticed you have a pier over—"

"I have no boats."

The changeling blinked. "Oh, alright! We can just stand by the pier and I can take a picture of you. Yes, the perfect picture in this underground place, this underground land of beauty and wonder and other things that I can use to describe!"

The changeling walked down the stairs with Maud.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you my name is Ocelli," the changeling said, pointing a hoof to himself. Then, he eyed the gems that lined the ground. "Ooh! You placed the gems here, too? My friends tell me that you're quite happy about rocks—that you even have rocks as your pusuit, your goal in life. Your destiny, if I may add."

"It is my destiny," Maud said. "It is also the thing I like."

"Pretty fitting for a pony who loves rocks," the changeling said. "Say, how many of your friends come by here to do the activities that ponies who love rocks do? Do you study them, do you meet here and research about rocks—where are your tools? That would be good!"

"I had to do it alone," Maud bluntly replied.

"Oh." The changeling's ardent expression departed from his face. "That's...sad."

Maud merely raised her head. "But, there's Starlight."

"Which means you now have friends and that you're not alone? Does Starlight like rocks, too?"

"Yes."

"What do you like that she likes?"

"Rocks."

"Uh, let me rephrase that."

"She likes rocks, I like rocks—my answer to your question was correct."

The changeling was shocked. "Like I said, let me rephrase that." He cleared his throat. "What does she like, besides rocks, that you also like?"

"Geological places like this."

The changeling sighed. "Alright, what does Starlight like, besides anything related to rocks, that you also like?"

"Almost anything can be related to rocks," Maud said. "My pet rock, Boulder, likes kites. I like kites. Starlight likes kites."

"How does a rock fly a kite, by the way?"

Maud stared at his face with that neutral expression of hers.

The changeling looked around nervously. Then, he moved his hoof on the grass. "Let's talk about the ground that's on our hooves, shall we? Heh-heh-heh-heh! Uh, completely nothing wrong, I'm not completely trying to dodge the possibility that you might be angry at me!" He grinned anxiously, his eyes trembling a little as Maud went on staring at him.

"I tie the kite to Boulder," Maud said.

"Oh."

The rushing of the waterfalls continued. The gems sparkled.

Hoofsteps.

"Oh, hi, Maud!" Starlight said, waving at her. She looked at the changeling. "And you brought a changeling to your house. That's wonderful!"

The changeling looked at the unicorn and smiled, walking towards her. "You must be Starlight!"

"We've met before, remember?" Starlight said. "Back when you organized that camera convention for changelings?"

"And when every changeling decided to tell me to reduce the prices of the cameras because they were too expensive?"

"What?"

"You left before that happened," Ocelli said.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Starlight said, adopting a pitying tone.

"Don't worry, I can recover!" He glanced at Maud who was walking up to him. "Actually, your friend, Maud, is quite the character!"

"Oh, and how do you say so?"

"Quite honest!" Ocelli replied.

Ocelli and Tripedal

Ocelli held the pictures on his hooves.

There was one where the changeling and Starlight Glimmer smiled in front of the rushing waterfall, water crashing to the river, making a continuous splash as gems and other shiny rocks twinkled in the background, dotting the picture with a colorful glow which made some slight colorings on the faces of the changeling and the ponies there. And, there was Maud—standing still, looking at the camera, her face standing out for being ordinarily neutral and blank. Yet, Starlight wrapped a hoof around her—and so did Ocelli.

A tear splashed down on the picture. "That's friendship, isn't it?" he said as he took the picture away from his sight, into the bag, and looked on at the quiet town of Ponyville where a few pegasi were seen flying and hovering above the cottages and moving several clouds above. "This place seems quite ideal for some nice photography shots."

A blue changeling and Bon Bon carried a couch across the street, the changeling flapping his wings, providing enough force to keep the couch in balance as Bon Bon pulled the couch.

"Tripedal," Bon Bon said, looking back at the changeling at the other end of the couch, "you must be the new guy at Davenport's?"

"Not really new," Tripedal replied, grunting as he carried the couch. "I work for whoever. Variety is the joy of the workplace, that's what some other changeling said—I didn't say it, someone else did."

"I expected a changeling like you to say it," Bon Bon said. "My friend Lyra needs this couch pronto, though! Don't know why she ordered super heavy ones!"

"Probably, so they won't get moved around a lot," Tripedal said as he carried it, sweat running down his face, grunting and groaning.

Tripedal landed on the dirt path to Ponyville.

"Ah, such a momentous place!" Ocelli expressed, holding up his camera with a hoof as he smiled towards the town. "Ponyville—a town of humble beginnings, a town of heroes and of heroines, a town that is bursting with friendship. They always said that Ponyville's ponies are the friendliest in town—Blue Alarm, Novate Spruce, Long Winded, Eucalypti, and now even Tripedal is working here! Of course, there's Compound, Phylum, Dorso, and there's so many more to list down!" He sighed. "And, why did I delay my first time to Ponyville to now?"

"Today's a good day as any day, mister!" a colt yelled.

Ocelli looked at the small colt. He was holding a few pieces of paper in his mouth.

"Take one!" the colt said.

"Alright," Ocelli responded as he took one with a hoof.

He opened the piece of paper.

Inside was a colorful picture of Ponyville and the words in big and bold type, "Ponyville: Town of Friendship!"

"Even the camera ponies here are talented!" Ocelli exclaimed. "There's ponies here that must know more than just the basic rules of photography—soon, I will be moving very quickly in the ladder of Equestria's camera creatures!"

"Uh, you came here for photography lessons?" the colt asked.

"No, I didn't! I came here to place my photography skills on display—my expert skills, pony!"

"My name's Pipsqueak," the colt said. "And, I'm also the class president of our school here!"

"Your camera school?"

"No, just a school."

"You mean, for colts and fillies?"

Pipsqueak nodded.

"That's alright," Ocelli said. "At least you're the president of your class—everypony looks up to you. Just like how all of us changelings look up to Thorax!"

"Uh, like that!" Pipsqueak said, hesitating.

"Thanks for the warm introduction, Pipsqueak," Ocelli said. "But, I must now go!"

Then, the changeling flew off, going inside Ponyville proper.

The colt waved a hoof towards the fleeing changeling.

Tripedal wiped the sweat off of his face while Bon Bon pulled the couch inside the cottage in front of them; the door was open and the inside could be seen—a decent house with lots of wooden furniture and modern design. The windows that were open let in a lot of sunlight, brightening a room to a colorful degree as it let out the full range of colors that were inside the room.

"Thanks a lot, Tripedal!" Bon Bon said, waving a hoof at him.

The changeling saluted. "It's for a good cause."

Bon Bon giggled and placed her hoof on her mouth as she did so. "You don't need to be so formal, Tripedal! It's like you're serving in the Royal Guard or something."

"Whoops." Tripedal smiled awkwardly at the laughing mare.

"Well, your job's done." She sat down on the couch. "I don't know if I or Lyra will be seeing you again soon since you basically move here and there throughout Equestria for a new kind of job. But, we travel sometimes—maybe we can get to see you again wherever we meet."

Tripedal walked away. "Thanks for the time, Bon Bon!"

Bon Bon waved at the walking changeling.

Ocelli rushed here and took a picture of the cottage. Then, he rushed over there and took a picture of a few ponies sitting around a table. Then, he rushed to another place and took a picture of a fountain. Then, he rushed to yet another place and took a picture of the pegasi working with the clouds. Then, he flew over to another spot to take a picture of a tree. Then, he flew to another position to take a picture of the river. Then, he hovered to a bakery and took a picture of it. He flew up to the door, placed a hoof right in front of it, then knocked on the door.

The door was quickly swung open as Pinkie Pie grabbed the changeling and his camera and took a picture of him and placed the camera right back on his head. "Amazing!" the pink pony yelled. "Is your camera instant or is it one of those new ones where the pictures can develop anytime you want? I've never heard of a pony coming in with that camera, though, but now I have a changeling who has a camera like that! My dad also has a camera, but it's an old, traditional kind of camera complete with a stand and also this kind of cloth where you have to cover like half your body just to take a good shot of the picture—but, I've never seen you before, which means only one thing, changeling!"

"Can you slow down?" Ocelli said, grinning. "I...I've never been introduced to ponies like you in such a very fast way."

"Slow down, you say?" Pinkie said. "Don't worry—I was talking about your welcome party!"

And she brough out her party cannon, fired it, and the entire interior of the bakery was filled with streamers, balloons, and confetti as happy party music played in the background. The ponies who were eating inside took a few moments to look at the instant party and smiled.

"So, do you want me to sing you a song to welcome you to Ponyville?!" Pinkie shouted.

"Uh, I just wanted to just take a few pictures here."

"A few pictures, you say?" Pinkie said. Then, she gasped. "Oh, no! How could I've forgotten? I didn't even ask your name! So, let me ask you your name!"

Ocelli shifted his eyes here and there, looking at the ponies who were now looking at him. "Uh, my name's Ocelli." He smiled.

"Ocelli!" Pinkie yelled. Then, she hugged the changeling. "We're going to have such a fun time! I can take you through the entire Ponyville tour! You brought your camera, didn't you?" She held the camera with her hoof. "Now, you're going to get more than you asked for, because you're going to have the complete tour! We're not just going around in Ponyville—oh, we're not! We're going for all the places you want to go to, Ocelli!"

Ocelli gasped. "Really?!"

Pinkie nodded. "And, I've already thrown a party for a changeling friend of yours—his name was Tripedal, wasn't it?"

Ocelli gasped again. "What?!"

"Aww, you better stop shouting like that!" Pinkie demanded. "You're going to disturb the ponies' eating time! Now, off we go!"

Then, she bounced out of the bakery, Sugarcube Corner, with Ocelli in hoof. Ocelli shivered and trembled with each bounce, even whimpering a little, but Pinkie remained her happy self, leaping across.

"First, we're going to what could be the most important places of not just Ponyville but also of all Equestria!"

Tripedal flittered to the large and glittering Castle of Friendship.

He stopped at the grand white steps leading to the big and decorated double doors.

"Never been here before," Tripedal said as he looked up in awe at the rest of the considerable structure. A few pegasi were flying overhead, moving a few clouds. "To think that such a building houses one of the kindest and one of the most humble ponies in Equestria. Then again, friendship seems very important to almost all ponies." He looked back at the arrays of cottages. "Everything here is just telling me that friendship is good." He looked back at the castle. "And, here I am, about to enter a castle where the Princess of Friendship herself lives."

The changeling took in a large breath. Then, he exhaled slowly.

He stood there for a few seconds, looking at the double doors.

Then, he flapped his wings, hovered over the stairs, landed right in front of the doors, and knocked.

The double doors were quickly opened.

"Hey!" Spike said, beaming. "Another changeling! Come on in!" He beckoned with a claw.

"You're Princess Twilight Sparkle's assistant, aren't you?" Tripedal asked as he landed on to the carpet that was on the sparkling floor. "We know you more as the first ever friend of Thorax—and, I would like to thank you for what you have done for him. Look at what your friendship to him caused!" He pointed a hoof to himself, smiling.

"Eh, I get that half of the time," Spike said, gesturing with a claw. "But, you're welcome, anyway."

Spike slammed the doors.

"So, what are you doing here?" Spike asked. "Do you want to go and have a chat with Twilight, or maybe you might want to go to the library and read some books there, or do you want to have a tour of the entire castle, or—"

"Or what?" the changeling asked, inching closer to him.

"Do you want to do something cool together?" Spike asked, inching closer to him with a smug face. "Just like how I and Thorax used to go and do, and we still sometimes get together!"

"Thorax himself announces that sometimes," Tripedal said. "So, what's the cool thing to do according to you, Spike?"

"Well, I have a few things..."

"And, here we are!" Pinkie finally said, running out of breath. She pointed towards the castle they were in front of. "Do you think all that bouncing was worth it?"

"Why did we have to go all around Ponyville just to get to the castle?" Ocelli said, a little dizzy as he held his head to try to keep himself balanced. He kept his camera close to him. "I don't know, but maybe you should've known better?"

"I've lived in Ponyville for a long time!" Pinkie said. "Although, I didn't live here for all of my life—my first several years of living were on a rock farm, and that's where the rest of my family lives—I live here and Maud, my sister, lives here, and she is the best! Maud just got her rocktorate and now she's in Ponyville—well, not really Ponyville, more like Ponyville adjacent, but it's still near Ponyville so, under certain conditions, you can still call it Ponyville—but, there are also other things that are adjacent to Ponyville like the clouds sometimes, so maybe the clouds are either inside or outside Ponyville, but what about I ask you for your honest opinion on this matter, hm?"

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Ocelli asked, making a confused face. "I thought we were talking about how we should've gotten here sooner?"

"It doesn't really matter if you get here sooner or later," Pinkie replied. "What we have here that matters is each other!" Then, she hugged him, squeezing him a little. "That means that we can be friends!" She quickly ran out of the hug and extended a hoof to him. "Come on! Who doesn't want a hoofshake to signify the moment of friendship?"

"Uh, OK?"

Ocelli's hoof shook a little as he slowly brought it towards Pinkie's outstretched hoof.

Then, he shook Pinkie's hoof slowly.

And then, Pinkie hugged him again.

"Now, we're friends!" Pinkie yelled. "We can stay in touch either by letter or by letter!" She held up two pieces of paper. "They'll be delivered by one of our mailponies like Derpy! All you need to do is to pay one hundred bits for the entire letter service."

"Did I just hear that right?"

"Just kidding!" Pinkie grinned. "Now, let's get going!"

"Like I said," Spike spoke, "my real room is undergoing some renovation, and by 'renovation,' I mean it's being given a fresh coat of paint."

Spike and Tripedal sat on chairs. Around, there were posters of ponies fighting evil and crime. There were tons of comic books on the bed and even more comic books on the floor. A bowl on the table had several shiny and colorful gems. A few books were on the table.

"But, it's better than this room, right?" Tripedal asked.

Spike nodded. "And, when it's done, I'm going to move all these comic books over back to my room!"

"Don't you think you'll get tired of that?"

"I was the one who moved all the comics here, and I'm not going to complain when I move all of them again." He paused as he smiled. "Just goes to show how dedicated I am."

"That's good!" Tripedal expressed. "Although, who's painting your room now?"

"I asked Rainbow Dash to paint my room for a few bits," Spike said. "Who said that I couldn't do that, hm?"

"So, Rainbow Dash is inside your room, painting it?"

"You could say that."

Tripedal blinked. Then, he looked at the door leading out the room. "I would like to see your room."

"Applejack and Fluttershy," Twilight said, pacing around the crystal table with its map, "you're going to go to Griffonstone. It's a follow-up to the previous friendship summits we had there—just go in, check how the griffons are doing especially friendship-wise, then report to me with all your findings." Then, she levitated a bag that was filled with papers and pencils. "I guess this is more than enough to fill all your reporting needs."

"Uh, Twilight?" Applejack asked, raising a hoof.

"Yes, Applejack?"

"Are ya' sure that we're the right duo for the job?"

"It's because, well, we're not sure if we're the ponies that will do well there. Why not send Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie again like when the Map called them?"

"Well, the schedule for checking on Griffonstone must be followed," Twilight replied, "and it happens that today is the day for checking on Griffonstone. However, Rainbow Dash is currently busy with some housework—actually, she's just painting Spike's room—and Pinkie Pie is busy throwing parties for the changelings that have been visiting Ponyville lately and I wouldn't want to disappoint the changelings or anypony for that matter when I don't have to."

"What about Rarity?" Applejack asked.

"It's hard to tell a friend who is in some important fashion business way over in Manehattan to come over to Griffonstone, especially when big names like Hoity Toity are there. Besides, Rarity might be whining all over all the things she might have missed at the fashion show."

"Alright," Applejack said. She adjusted her hat. "Let's do this!"

Fluttershy nodded.

The double doors were swung open as Pinkie Pie and Ocelli entered the room. "Hi! Look here, Twilight! I brought a friend! He's my newest friend and he's also a changeling and he also likes taking pictures with those new kinds of cameras that everypony has been talking about lately!"

The three ponies inside were looking at her with odd faces. "OK," Twilight said.

"See, this is the Map room!" Pinkie said. Then, she bounced away.

Applejack and Fluttershy looked back at Twilight.

Twilight looked back at them.

"So, are you ready?"

Applejack and Fluttershy nodded.

"Then, have a good time!"

"You too, Twilight!" Applejack yelled.

And, the two ponies were walking away.

Twilight sighed. "At least Pinkie is taking care of the changelings here."

Tripedal walked on the carpet. Spike was following him.

"The next stop is the library?" Tripedal asked. "I've heard that the library is very big and has lots of books."

"What do you expect from a pony like Twilight?" Spike said. "She loves her books."

Then, the two stopped in front of the double doors.

Spike opened the doors.

In front of the vast array of books, a pink pony and another changeling were sitting around a table.

"Pinkie?" Spike asked.

"Spike!" Pinkie yelled. "Come here! Ocelli would love to hear your stories!"

"Ocelli?" Tripedal said. He looked at the changeling at the table. "Ocelli, it is you!"

"Tripedal!" Ocelli yelled.

And the two hovered towards each other and hugged. Then, they stopped hugging.

"How's it going in Ponyville?" Ocelli said. "I haven't seen you for weeks!"

"Actually, I just arrived here a few days ago," Tripedal replied.

"I brought two friends together!" Pinkie said. "I feel like I'm going to cry!"

Spike watched the two changelings talk to each other. "I can see why, Pinkie."

And, Pinkie cried.

Spike looked at the crying pony. Then, he glanced at the two changelings.

They were happy, talking to each other. Then, they looked at Pinkie.

"Wait, is there something wrong?" Ocelli asked.

"She's just happy for you," Spike said, "that she brought you together here, and that you're now talking to each other."

More Talk

A pegasus was in the sky, moving a medium-sized cloud in the open, blue sky. On the ground was the grass with its vast coverage of the land; there were trees that were tall and stood proudly with their leaves and their height. A few ponies were walking on the grass—a group had a nice picnic mat with food on it as the ponies there talked and talked and ate.

The blue pegasus with the blue and violet mane and tail stopped moving the cloud and looked down. Then, he looked ahead.

A zooming figure was fast approaching.

The wind was becoming fast, a breeze.

Then, the pegasus in front of him stopped mid-flight, bringing lots of air towards the blue pegasus.

The blue pegasus blocked the wind with his cloud.

"Woah, sorry to bother you!" the other pegasus said as he recovered from the stop. He took a look of the blue pegasus who was trembling and shaking a little. "Were you on official weather duty?"

"I wasn't" the blue pegasus said. "Say, you look familiar." He narrowed his eyes and focused on the pony's mane cut—it was flat. "Do you have a position in the Wonderbolts?"

"Trainee," the other pegasus said, pointing a hoof to himself as he made a smug smile. "Soon-to-be official Wonderbolt just like Rainbow Dash. The name's Sky Stinger."

"Ah, my name's Open Skies." The blue pegasus extended his hoof.

And the two pegasi shook hooves.

"Not to be offensive, but your name might cause some problems," Sky Stinger said as he hovered in front of Open Skies's cloud. "I mean, what happens when they have to report about the weather?"

"Yeah," Open Skies said, casually gesturing with a hoof. "That's why I feel slightly better when the weather is rough. They won't be reporting my name and I won't be getting confused."

"Any hang-ups?" Sky Stinger asked.

"Not really."

"So, why are you here with that cloud?"

"Just relaxing with the cloud," Open Skies said. "I'm taking a day off from weather duty, weather business. The Earth ponies want their food, the unicorns want their weather to be just right, and I just want to rest." He paused. "How about you? Are you taking a day off from Wonderbolt duty? Are you allowed?"

"We're responsible," Sky Stinger declared, crossing his front hooves. "We're supposed to be. We're representing the best flyers' organization in all of Equestria." He made a smug smile again. He closed his eyes and went up. Then, Sky Stinger opened his eyes and looked at Open Skies. "I'm just taking a responsible rest like you, Open Skies!"

Open Skies nodded and followed Sky Stinger.

Now, they were beside each other.

The cloud was still there.

"So, how is it at the Wonderbolt Academy?" Open Skies asked. "I've only visited the place a few times with my parents when I was young."

"Visiting is the least you could do." Sky Stinger flapped his wings and did some aerial tricks. Open Skies followed the pegasus's movements. "When you're a part of the Wonderbolts, or at least a trainee of the Wonderbolts, you're the one who gets to be doing all the cool things that every young pegasus wants to do! You get to have your own bed, your own locker, and you get to be sleeping in the same place that the Wonderbolts are in, not to mention that you also get to practice with them!"

"And, I heard Spitfire's your coach," Open Skies said, "or something like that."

"And she's as angry as you can get," Sky Stinger responded. Then, he glanced at the ground. He looked at Open Skies. "Do you wanna talk about it on the ground?"

"Why not?"

Then, they flew down to the ground.

The two pegasi landed and closed their wings. They looked at the ponies at the picnic. Then, they looked at each other. They walked.

"How about your friends at the Academy?" Open Skies asked. "I'm sure that you have lots of friends there. It must be great to be a Wonderbolt trainee and to be friends with other trainees."

"There's my best friend, Vapor Trail," Sky Stinger said. "She was the one who gave me lots of confidence in flying. She is also a trainee."

"Any other friends there?" Open Skies held out a hoof. "Wait, is the changeling—I don't know his name—is the changeling there?"

"You mean Dorso?" Sky Stinger asked. "Yeah, but he doesn't train much. But, when he does train, it's always a good time. He's very curious about everything—he's always excited about knowing the history of the Wonderbolts, he's always smiling and happy whenever he gets to be in front of the Wonderbolts." He paused. "Dorso is a very fun changeling, a very happy changeling. He's also the first changeling ever to be a Wonderbolt trainee. I guess you know that."

"That's what makes him interesting," Open Skies said. "The Wonderbolts always just had pegasi, always accepting pegasi and not other flying creatures. Not griffons, not dragons, not changelings. Until now."

"Yeah."

The two pegasi looked at the ponies at the picnic.

"What do you think about changelings?" Open Skies asked.

"What do I think about changelings? They're alright. They're not evil anymore. They're not trying to do something bad or anything like that. They're just good changelings trying to be accepted and trying to be good."

"I think that way too."

The two pegasi kept looking.

They walked towards the picnic.

"So, have you ever been to the Changeling Kingdom?" Open Skies asked. "Some ponies there took pictures of it. I saw those pictures."

"How was the kingdom?"

"It's growing," Open Skies said. "Well, have you ever been there?"

"Not yet," Sky Stinger answered.

Then, they stopped.

"I've never been there either."

"But, it would be nice to meet King Thorax," Sky Stinger said. "To think that Thorax used to be a changeling in the Crystal Empire. Now, he's a changeling who's ruling over the rest of the changelings."

"Thorax has been through much, I guess," Open Skies said. "Maybe not much, but still a lot enough."

"It's getting normal now," Sky Stinger said. "More ponies are now losing their scare and their fear over the changelings and are accepting them. Well, I always accepted them—from the start, back when Starlight Glimmer and Thorax and their friends did that adventure."

Open Skies looked at the cloud in the sky. It was a lonely cloud.

Sky Stinger looked at the cloud. "Are you gonna get it?"

"Nah, it's alright to just leave it there."

"Are you sure nopony is going to fire you or anything?"

"It's not part of the job."

Sky Stinger smiled. "Well, I guess I gotta be going!"

Open Skies waved a hoof as the Wonderbolt trainee flew away. "Bye!" he shouted.

The pegasus now stood on the ground. He looked at the ponies at the picnic. Then, he looked at the cloud in the sky. He kept looking at it. The cloud was still in the sky. It floated there.

He flew to the cloud.

"Rainbow Dash is a Wonderbolt," Sky Stinger said to the pegasus beside him as they stood on the grass. In front of them was a road. There were some trees on the grass. "Spitfire is a Wonderbolt. Fire Streak used to be a Wonderbolt. Blaze is a Wonderbolt. Soarin is a Wonderbolt. And, there are some more pegasi who are also Wonderbolts."

"Why are you telling me that?" the other pegasus responded, a little annoyed. "I already know that!"

"We have the chance to be Wonderbolts," Sky Stinger said. "And, with that, I was wondering about Dorso."

"He's not here," the other pegasus said. "He decided to go somewhere. I don't know—he just said that he's not going to be at the Academy today."

A few pegasi raced past them right above the road, the wind bringing the trees to tilt and making the grass bend. The pegasi stood their ground.

"Some of us might be complaining," Sky Stinger said. "Dorso is a great trainee."

"Great at not being here."

"That's not what I mean! What I mean is, Dorso is a very good trainee."

"How?"

"Well, Dorso is competent to fly and has the ability of a Wonderbolt," Sky Stinger answered. "He's never afraid—he's always ready to do the task at hoof."

"Still doesn't explain why he's not here."

"Maybe Dorso needs some more time with his friends."

The other pegasus sighed. "Is that all?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. I still want to rest, though."

The other pegasus sighed again.

"It's alright!" Sky Stinger said, smiling. "Everypony needs some rest time, including me! I need the energy in order to be at my best for the Wonderbolts!"

Then, Sky Stinger took off and flew.

The other pegasus looked at Sky Stinger as he flew away. He looked at the pegasi that were flying around.

"I'll think about it," the other pegasus said. He walked towards the road and stopped. He opened his wings and flew.

Quibble Pants looked outside as he sat on his place inside the train. He looked around him.

There were ponies who were talking to each other, ponies who were looking outside, and ponies who were sleeping.

Quibble Pants sighed. He looked back out the window.

The green landscape was lush and beautiful. The grass was plentiful and the trees accompanied them. The clouds in the sky made the landscape even more beautiful. As the landscape went by, it still remained nice.

Quibble Pants sighed again. "Why does it take so long to get to the destination? It's just Manehattan! OK, maybe it's not a good justification, but Manehattan is just one place! The trains aren't having any sort of traffic!"

A few ponies shushed him.

Quibble Pants kept looking out the window. "Alright, if I just get to meet with some of them, then it's going to be fine. I hope I'm not late—didn't bring a watch or anything else to tell the time with. Argh! This is not going the way I thought it would go!"

He looked at the clock on the wall. "Alright, why didn't I see that?!"

More ponies shushed him, now looking more irritated.

Quibble Pants went back to looking out the window.

Figure of Speech

The changeling grunted as he pushed with all his might the box. The box slowly moved, scraping a little with each push. The changeling panted, groaned, even screamed a little—but the box only scooted a little. He closed his eyes, he opened his mouth, took in a breath of air, and exerted all his effort on the act of moving the box.

Yet, it only moved a little.

Humerus finally wiped the sweat off of his face and plopped himself on the floor. He was gasping for air. Then, he stood up.

"Really?" Rainbow Dash asked, hovering over him, flapping her wings while she sported a mean look. "Is that all you can do? I didn't place a lot inside that box!"

"You placed an anvil!" Humerus yelled.

"I didn't place an anvil," Rainbow replied. "I only placed a collection of Daring Do books inside. There's nothing heavy about that!"

"For you, maybe," Humerus said. Then, he looked at the sky, the bright blue sky. It was clear. "Can I just take a break and rest, maybe sleep for some time?"

"If you want to be a Daring Do fan, a real one, then you gotta have the ability to prove it!" Rainbow said. Then, she took off to the air and did a few tricks.

But Humerus looked away and looked back at the box. "But, what has pushing a box have to do with being a fan of Daring Do? I just have to read it and talk about it and maybe go to a fan convention here and there—maybe meet A.K. Yearling herself, which I did—and there was also, I don't know, maybe also getting a book signed by—"

"Wait!" Rainbow yelled.

She rushed her way to the changeling.

She stopped right in front of him.

Her eyes were wide open.

Her mouth was wide open.

She was pointing a hoof at the changeling.

"You met A.K. Yearling herself?!" Rainbow Dash shouted, retaining her calm composure.

"Met her in some mysterious jungle," Humerus said. "I didn't know why she lived in such an isolated place—then, she explained to me why. It's because, sometimes, the fans get too crazy for her work, so she has to stay isolated and in a secret place so nopony can damage her or her work. It's for safety reasons."

Rainbow Dash was still pointing at the changeling and still had her eyes and her mouth wide open.

"She was also moving when I saw her."

"What do you mean that she was moving?" Rainbow Dash asked, suddenly adopting a suspicious tone.

"She was moving her things—her belongings, her books, everything. Moving to another house, I guess."

"A.K. Yearling changed places?!"

"Don't know where she lives now," Humerus said. "Just saw her wagon with her things inside and I guess she moved right after I met her."

Rainbow Dash still had her eyes and her mouth wide open. She made no sound; she still stared at the happy and smiling changeling.

"Uh, what's wrong?" Humerus asked. He frowned.

"How come I didn't know that she moved?" Rainbow Dash asked, now having a suspicious tone again. She inched towards Humerus with an angry look on her face. "Don't tell me that you're lying to me! Don't tell me that you're somehow a more avid Daring Do fan than me!"

"Uh, we can, uh, go back to the town, shall we?" Humerus said, trembling and slowly going away from her. "There's lots of, uh, things that I have to do in, uh, some place that I certainly have business in!"

And Humerus flew away.

And Rainbow Dash flew after him.

Humerus was screaming as he flew, flying quickly past the trees of the landscape. He flew over the grass and kept a straight line throughout.

He looked back.

The pegasus was fast approaching. "I'm not even at full effort, Humerus! I just know that you're hiding something!"

"Agh!"

Humerus flapped his wings faster.

Past the trees.

He looked back.

Rainbow Dash was still approaching.

Humerus screamed again.

He flapped his wings faster.

Then, he fell to the ground.

Rainbow Dash swooped him up and placed him on his four hooves on the ground. Rainbow Dash landed on the ground.

"Now, how is that—uh, how did you know about this?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Like you said, Daring Do's house was supposed to be a secret to everypony but the most dedicated of fans!"

"I was just, uh, wandering in the forest, in the jungle!"

"And, why did you do that?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I wanted to." Humerus smiled.

The pegasus groaned and placed a hoof on her face. She closed her eyes, groaned again, placed the hoof on the ground and glared at Humerus while tapping a hoof. "That's not good enough. And, I want a quick answer because I am currently on break from my work at setting up the Daring Do convention over at Canterlot!"

"You're really far away to be on break!"

"We're not even that far!" Rainbow Dash said, pointing a hoof towards the mountain city in the distance. "Look, I just don't want to argue or cause any more trouble because of you, Humerus! I don't want some fan of Daring Do to prove that he's better than me! The only other ponies that are just as avid and are just as dedicated as me are Twilight Sparkle and Quibble Pants—that's all!" She hovered over the grass and inched closer and closer towards Humerus. "So, stop acting like you're OK in this matter, because this has 'suspicious' written all over it. OK?"

Humerus nodded. He gulped.

Rainbow Dash landed on the ground and sighed. She placed a hoof on her head. "Looks like I've gotta help the ponies there. Don't make me even more angry at you than now." Then, she flew off towards Canterlot.

Humerus stood there on the grass, looking on at Rainbow Dash.

Humerus sat beside Eucalypti as Pinkie Pie went around with plates of desserts. On the table in front of them there was one chocolate cake and a few apple pies.

"I didn't know you had such a confrontation," Eucalypti said, sounding concerned and uneasy. "You do like the Daring Do books, right?"

Humerus nodded. "And, now, Rainbow Dash is irritated with me."

"Don't let that bother you!" Eucalypti said as he took a bite out of the chocolate cake. He gulped his food down. "Everything is going to be alright, if not today, then surely by tomorrow! I don't believe it when ponies say that they will remember certain bad things or actions—remember, yes, but they won't demand you to repay them."

"But, this is Rainbow Dash we're talking about!" Humerus said. "I don't want to—well, Rainbow Dash is, well, Rainbow Dash!"

Eucalypti took a bite out of one of the apple pies.

"Are you even listening?"

"I'm indeed listening!" Eucalypti said. "I'm just also enjoying the great food that they serve here! Why don't you relax and enjoy some desserts?"

"I'm not in the mood for that, to be honest."

"Come on, Humerus! It's not that much to worry about!"

"What if Rainbow Dash is—"

"Don't go worrying about this and that!" Eucalypti said. "All that's going to do is make you sad! Instead, just enjoy the food and just enjoy, well, everything else here in Ponyville and in all of Equestria! You can tell Hexapod that—he will surely like what I said to you!"

"Where's Hexapod, anyway?"

"Currently with the Princess herself inside the Castle of Friendship," Eucalypti said, looking out the window. "The Princess will be leaving soon for some kind of conference or meeting or whatever at some place—the Dragon Lands, I guess, if the rumors I've been hearing are correct."

"You mean the news?"

"Yes, that's what I was talking about!" Eucalypti yelled. He placed a hoof on the table and looked around. "Now, let's ignore and think about what else we can do in Ponyville. There are tons of things to do here!"

"Like?"

"You tell me!" Eucalypti said. "I'm all for surprises!"

"Uh, I thought you know this place well?"

Eucalypti flapped his wings and hovered over his seat. He took another bite out of the chocolate cake and gulped the food down. "I'm always open to new ideas—the same old ideas will get boring after a while, and I just want to hear your suggestions about what we'll do next!"

"Uh..." Humerus looked at the food in front of him.

"So, you wanna go eating again?"

Humerus looked at the hovering Eucalypti. "I think we should finish our food first."

"That's a nice suggestion!" Eucalypti said. He took his seat and scarfed down more food.

Humerus grabbed an apple pie and ate it.

"What's going on, anyway?" Eucalypti said as the two changelings left Sugarcube Corner. The outside was filled with the talks and the chats of ponies nearby. "I don't want to leave without knowing what happened to you other than that event with Rainbow Dash."

"Well, at least I was happy to see her again," Humerus said. "Remembering my lessons about not being too excited for the ponies that I adore. That's what I did."

"That's the right thing!" Eucalypti yelled as he hovered over the ground. "Now, what else happened to you since the last time we saw each other? Did you get a new job? Did you discover some food that you've never tasted before? We went to the Tasty Treat in Canterlot, and it was very innovative! The style, the cuisine—it's something I've never seen before!"

"Then, try the rest of the restaurants there," Humerus said.

"I'll certainly do, Humerus!" He paused as the changelings looked around on the street. "What about the rest of the things that we can do here, Humerus? Do you have an idea in your head already? Or, do you want me to help you out?"

"I'm OK," Humerus said. "I just wanted to, well, relax like you said."

"And, relaxation is going to be there! All we need is to hear what you have to say!"

Humerus looked at Eucalypti. "What about we go to one of the stores here? Or, maybe we can go to Sweet Apple Acres?"

"I don't want to hear multiple suggestions!" Eucalypti said. "Just tell me what's in your mind and give me just one choice!"

"That's the thing. There's many choices here."

"Ah, I know what you feel," Eucalypti said, smiling. "You are overwhelmed by the choices that you can make in Equestria! I felt it right after we became good! When I first went outside the Changeling Kingdom as a free changeling, I noticed a lot of things! I saw lots of things! I saw all the options that ponies can have! Look at their stores—you have many different kinds of the same thing! It wasn't like in the days before when we only had one or two options—no, today, in this time, we're going to enjoy all the things that Equestria has to offer. Be like me! Optimistic about it all!" He grinned and flew to the sky and shouted as he did so.

Humerus looked up.

Then, Eucalypti landed on the ground. He looked at the surprised changeling. "Come on! I know that you are excited by just thinking about all the things you can do here in Equestria! You're free!"

Humerus smiled. Then, he frowned. "I think that's why I can't choose."

"Because there are so many options that you cannot choose which one you want. That's alright! Let's go ask—"

"Let me just try to decide," Humerus said. "Just give me time to think about the decision about where to go and why we should go there and we are going to be OK."

"Understood!" Eucalypti said. "Although, we should try going to Sugarcube Corner again. We already tried the popular desserts, but I haven't tried the rest of their food. I would like to try some of their other pies, for example."

"I thought you would let me think abou the choice."

"I'm just as excited as you are!" Eucalypti said. "Maybe a little too excited, but let's not get too far, right?"

Humerus smiled again. "I think I know where to go."

"Amazing!"

Pinkie Pie looked at the two changelings entering the bakery. "You're here again?!" Pinkie asked. "Wow! That's great. Do you know what that means? It means that you're going to enjoy more of the delicious food here!"

"Thanks, Pinkie," Humerus said, smiling.

"Now, what can I do for you?" Pinkie said, rushing to them and smiling. "Can I serve you some cake, or some pie? Or some cakepie?"

"One cakepie, please!" Humerus said.

"Alright!"

Pinkie rushed off towards the counter, grabbed a cakepie, and threw it at the changelings.

Humerus caught it with his hoof. Then, he threw it to one of the empty tables and rushed off towards the table with Eucalypti.

"Another happy customer!" Pinkie said.

Humerus and Eucalypti sat on the seats and looked at the cakepie on the table.

"Now, we have a cakepie to eat!" Eucalypti said. "It's going to be amazing!" he yelled.

Humerus nodded. "Yeah."

"Let's go and be full!"

The two changelings ate.

Changeling Days

The smell inside was filled with flavor—the smells of sweet delights coming out of the displays and bringing ponies inside. The ponies looked around, beholding and taking in the interior of the building—the inside. Ponies were attending the customers at the counter, all wearing smiles and sounding happy. The customers, holding the food with their hooves, were also happy as could be seen on their faces.

Zephyr Breeze sat on one of the chairs in front of a table. He munched on a cookie as he looked out the window and saw the busy street beside him. "Canterlot is quite the place!" he exclaimed, stretching out his free hoof. "It's unimaginable to think that my sister has a window in one of the royal places." He then frowned. He looked at his cookie and turned it around, inspecting it. He sighed. "Oh, Fluttershy. Always Fluttershy. The better sibling—not really better, just more popular. Getting adored by ponies around Equestria, going out with her friends to save Equestria, and being an Element of Harmony, having ties to one of the most rudimentary forces of magic or friendship—or, I don't know. Do I really know what I'm talking about?" He took a bite out of the cookie.

The door opened.

A changeling landed on the ground and stood in line.

Zephyr looked at the newcomer.

Then, he turned back to look at his cookie again. "And, it's just Fluttershy that ponies remember. Only close friends and surely my family knows me. I get appreciated there—but, outside? If I tell them that I'm her brother, they're always going to talk about Fluttershy, Fluttershy, Fluttershy, Fluttershy." He eyed the changeling who was now closer to the place to order food. "Where were the old times, the good old times, when we were all OK just to be siblings, the best of friends? Nopony was there to elevate one over the other. We were just...siblings, brother and sister."

The changeling approached the pony at the counter.

"And, I've already seen it," Zephyr went on in his sad voice. "Did she teach me a lesson? Did Fluttershy teach me something, a lesson? Yes, and there was also Rainbow Dash as well. The lesson was good—to never be afraid of failing. That was good. But, there's still the truth that Fluttershy is still getting all the attention."

The changeling happily received the food and have the pony at the counter his bits.

Zephyr followed with his look the changeling. He was walking towards his table—and the changeling was eyeing him.

"Oh, Fluttershy's brother?" the changeling said. "What's your name? Zephyr Breeze—is that correct?"

"Ah, yes," Zephyr said, adopting a confident tone of voice and extending his hoof, smiling as he did so. "Why don't you take a seat...uh, what's your name? I don't recognize you."

"You can call me 'Arthro,'" the changeling said as he sat down, still holding his food. "Used to work at the changeling library back in the kingdom, now I'm...just going. Enjoying whatever I find, whatever I see, whatever I could, well, do. If it isn't bad, that is."

Zephyr looked at the food that Arthro was holding. "Well, what did you buy?"

"Bought myself some apple pie," the changeling said. "Can you believe it? Sugar Belle is selling her apple pies as far as Canterlot!"

"She sure is climbing up the ladder," Zephyr expressed.

Ponies passed by their table, on their way to their own tables as they held their food with their hooves. The chatter of the many ponies at their tables filled the air.

"Have you ever been to their town before?" Arthro asked. "Starlight's village?"

"Not really," Zephyr said. "I've never been there. What's nice about that place, anyway? It's just one street with a few ponies living there."

"I've never been there, too," Arthro said, "but the place is actually a cool place to be in. The ponies there are quite friendly and are very accommodating. There are tourists there who like the place and it's nice to be there. I would want to go there, but I have a lot of things to do."

"What things?"

Arthro took a bite out of the apple pie. He munched on it and chewed on it.

Zephyr looked on at the eating changeling. He sighed.

Arthro gulped his food down. "I have to go to places. I have to attend events."

"What about being specific?"

"There's this Daring Do convention they're preparing here," Arthro said. "Even Rainbow Dash is helping out!"

Zephyr sighed.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, there's not much to worry about," Zephyr said. "It's just that..."

"Just that what?"

"What about..."

"What about what?"

Zephyr sighed again as he held his cookie. "You just reminded me of..."

"Of what?"

"Fluttershy."

"That amazing pony?" Arthro asked in a surprised tone. The changeling smiled. "It's great to have Fluttershy as your sister, isn't it?"

"Well, it is great," Zephyr said. "It's just...when ponies give all the attention and the adoration to your sister, what are you left to do? She gets to do all these adventures, these amazing adventures, with all of her friends. Does she think and care for me? Of course, she does. What about me? I also care for her. But, when it gets to the ponies outside of the family, it's just...they just focus on Fluttershy. Fluttershy the Element of Kindness. Fluttershy of Equestria, a heroine to all ponies and even more than just ponies—you have Spike, you have the dragons, you have the griffons, you have...the changelings, changelings like you!" He pointed a hoof to himself. "What about me? What do I do? I bet you don't even know what I do for a living."

"I can guess, right?"

Zephyr groaned and placed a hoof on his head. He groaned again. He closed his eyes. Then, he opened his eyes. He looked at the changeling in front of him, seated and holding his apple pie. The changeling ate some of his apple pie.

"I don't want to talk if you're going to be like that, Arthro," Zephyr said. "If you're just going to tease me, then it's best that you should just stay silent and eat your food. If you're unwilling to listen to what I have to tell you, then just eat your apple pie."

Arthro gulped down his food. "I'm willing to listen."

"As long as you don't interrupt me or do anything like that?" Zephyr pointed a hoof at him, having an irritated face.

"I will pay attention!"

Zephyr placed his hoof on the table and his irritated face changed to a sad one. "Thanks, Arthro. At least you're OK." He sighed.

"I think I told you a lot," Zephyr went on. "But, maybe there's still more to tell you, Arthro. When ponies think of me, they only think of me as just Fluttershy's sibling, the sibling of one of the Elements of Harmony."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"It's a good thing," Zephyr replied. "But, after that, they focus on Fluttershy."

"So, you feel..."

"I don't feel that nice, to be honest," Zephyr said. "Everypony wants to talk to Fluttershy—not a lot of ponies want to talk to me outside of my family and my friends."

"Well, you have your friends," Arthro said.

"Flutteshy told me that many times. I know that she's trying to comfort me, that she's trying to tell me that I'm a unique, one-of-a-kind pony. But, everypony still goes to her for advice on how to be kind, everypony still asks her and her friends for friendship advice and how to be better friends. What do they go to me for?"

"Whatever you're good at?" Arthro answered.

"Fluttershy told me that, too." He sighed. Zephyr looked at his cookie. Then, he looked at the changeling in front of him. "If Fluttershy were to be here, everypony would be happy to see her, to greet her, to talk to her. Everypony would just be with her, not minding anything else. And, what happens when I'm here?" Zephyr gestured towards the many ponies at their tables. "Look for yourself. They don't pay much attention to me. Several ponies are going to tell me, 'Oh, you're Fluttershy's brother. May I shake your hoof?' And, those ponies are good ponies—at least they acknowledge that."

"And, are you asking me for advice on your problem?" Arthro asked.

"Not really," Zephyr said. "All I wanted was somepony or some changeling else other than my sister and my family to hear what I wanted to tell, what I wanted to express. At least you wanted to listen to how I am."

"What about I try to cheer you up?" Arthro asked, extending a hoof. "We could go to the Daring Do convention today. They're going to open the doors at sunset, and it's not that far from sunset."

Zephyr looked out the window.

The sky was yellow and orange.

Zephyr looked back at the changeling. "Well, it's not a bad idea."

"A Daring Do convention is never a bad idea! Now, let's just finish the food and get going!"

The night sky had the moon and the stars. The lights of the buildings on the streets brightened the street. Ponies were crowding one sidewalk—they were all going towards one building. There was a poster on the building that declared, "The Official Daring Do Convention!"

All the ponies on the sidewalk were smiling as they approached the building. Some were talking to each other, some were laughing, others just looked on at the building.

"So, are you ready for the convention?" Arthro asked as he and Zephyr neared the main entrance. "Many fans are going to be here! I don't know what they're going to show in this convention!"

"Is Daring Do going to be here?" Zephyr asked.

"Certainly!"

"Then, I am definitely ready for this convention!"

"Now you're happy!" Arthro yelled.

Zephyr laughed a little.

Then, the two creatures entered the building.

"I don't know what is going to be here," Arthro said, "but I will not be disappointed, that's what I am sure of!"

"I am sure of that, too, Arthro," Zephyr said.

The room was large and spacious, having lots of stalls and many ponies walking around. Ponies were talking to each other, having a good time. Daring Do books were on several tables throughout the room.

"Now, where do we start?" Arthro asked.

"No, not now," Zephyr said. Then, he looked at one stall with the books. "Maybe now."

Arthro and Zephyr went to the stall, past several ponies.

The pony at the stall grinned at the two creatures. "Welcome! How may I help you?"

"Do you have any special edition books?" Zephyr asked. "I and my friend here are interested."

Changeling Behavior

"The Elements of Harmony are very good ponies," the pony said as he walked on the sidewalks of Canterlot, passing by many windows that displayed fancy items such as watches, bags, and clothes. He looked at the changeling he was walking beside. "They saved Equestria many times already—they ought to be respected more."

"I see," the changeling said as he nodded. "I agree with that, Fancy Pants."

"It is not a good thing that these nice ponies are just getting ignored, treated as normal ponies when they should at least be given somewhat better treatment." Fancy Pants looked at the changeling again. "When you think about it, there is also the case of Starlight Glimmer and her friends, among them being your very king, am I right?"

The changeling nodded.

"Thorax, your own king. Actually, he is an exception—in the Changeling Kingdom, he is given the treatment that he deserves because of his royalty and because of his good deeds. However, in Equestria, we also give him good treatment, good talk. Of course, he is a king, a leader of a kingdom. Starlight Glimmer, Trixie, and Discord are different—they follow the Elements of Harmony in that they are also not given the treatment they deserve. We gave them their cheer, but after that, there were some medals, but after that—we don't give them much attention or time in our minds." Fancy Pants stopped in front of a clothes store which had lots of luxurious suits on display. He looked at the changeling. "Would you mind if we dropped by here? Maybe I could give you one, if you like."

The changeling placed a hoof on his chin as he hummed. "Can I afford any of this?"

"I'll be the one to pay for the suit."

The two creatures entered the clothes store.

The cool air of the inside only brought the two creatures into a cooler place. The style of the interior with its fancy looks and its grand and fancy tastes made the suits fit in. The floor was made up of black and white tiles, the mirrors made the store look even fancier, and the pony wearing a suit smiled as Fancy Pants and the changeling approached him. "Good morning, Fancy Pants! It's nice to see you again! And, you brought a changeling with you!" His smile turned into an asking look. "I don't know what I can suggest for the changeling, but I'll do my best!"

The pony rushed to one of the suits on display and grabbed it with his magic. The unicorn then brought the suit in front of the changeling. "So, what do you think about this one? It is black and white and blue and red—I think that's going to be a good color combination for you!" Then, he eyed another suit. He grabbed that with his magic. "Or, in order to make you stand out more, here's a white suit with black highlights! Nopony wears white suits these days because their coats are already bright, but what about you? I bet that you will astonish everyone with your fashion taste!"

"You're the one who's suggesting the fashion taste here," the changeling said.

Fancy Pants looked at the changeling. "Uh, is that what you intended to say?"

"Oh, don't worry!" the other pony said, placing the suits back to where they used to be. "I am just too excited to give my first changeling customer a suggestion when it gets to fancy clothing. To be honest, I am not quite ready when it's like that, but I can always try!" He took another suit magically and showed it in front of the changeling. The suit was just like the first one except that it was now just black and white. "What about this one? Simplicity is sometimes one of the artisitic ways to express—"

"What about the cost?"

"Oh, well, uh—"

"I already said that I will be the one to pay for it," Fancy Pants said. "You don't have to worry about the price."

"What about—"

"Oh, don't be so worrisome!"

The changeling looked around inside the store. The many suits there had different variations to them—some were normal-looking with black and white and a color here and there, others were more odd with strange color schemes, still others were just between normal and odd. There were also hats and shoes on display.

"All of it is made with the highest standards in the fashion world!" the pony advertised. "Everypony that I've met has recommended these clothes to their friends and to other ponies! This store has made it to a dozen fashion magazines in Equestria, making it one of the most fashionable fashion stores on the land! You must buy one of these suits—your friends will definitely envy you!"

"But, isn't that a bad thing?"

"I don't mean the bad kind of envy, I mean the..." His smile turned into a serious look as he placed a hoof on his chin. "Wait, I can't say that there's a good kind of envy, since envy is still bad. What about if I say 'neutral' instead of 'good'?" Then, his face lightened up as he held his hoof into the air. "Alright! I mean the neutral kind of envy!"

"What's a neutral kind of envy?"

"It's neither good nor bad!"

"So, does it benefit me or does it hinder me or what does it do, really?"

The pony groaned. "Nevermind about the specifics and the details, the minute things about the envy and whether it can be good or not or that we should just leave it at neutral—just go pick one!"

Fancy Pants smiled. "Go on."

The changeling walked past the many suits on display, stopping by each section to inspect and to check each and every suit. Some of them he felt with a hoof, others he just looked and then moved on to the next one. Sometimes he hummed.

Fancy Pants and the other pony just stood there, watchin the changeling. "I have other customers," the other pony said. "You better make sure that you finish your selection quickly."

"Let him take his time," Fancy Pants said. "He's new to all of this, remember?"

"It's been a long time already," the other pony told.

"Or, maybe he's just one of those changelings that are just so amazed by the many choices they have in clothes stores that they just take the time to choose one suit. They were low on choices when they were under Queen Chrysalis."

"Don't tell me about history."

"It's important."

"I got one," the changeling announced.

The other pony smiled and rushed to the changeling.

The changeling was holding the suit with his hoof. It was a black and white suit but it also had highlights of green and yellow and orange.

"Hmm..." The other pony inspected the suit, felt it, and looked at the changeling. "I think that is perfect!"

The changeling sighed. "Finally."

"Now, these suits were made for ponies, but since you almost have the same body type as ponies, you will just be fine without any modifications."

Fancy Pants approached the changeling. "And, I think you'll look good with that suit."

The changeling smiled at him. "At least there's that."

"Yes, at least there's that."

"Let's get going with the moving of things!" the other pony yelled. "I need to see if it fits but if I think that it already fits, then we can move on to see if you really like this suit or not!"

"I thought you were OK with it?"

"Well, I can tell you all the details that are all about this suit, the fabrics and the other things!"

"I think I'm OK."

"That depends."

The changeling went out of the clothes store wearing the fancy suit. He smiled as he watched Fancy Pants walk out of the store.

"Let's move?" Fancy Pants said.

"Yes," the changeling answered.

They walked again on the sidewalk.

"Everypony has opinions about you," Fancy Pants said. "You can choose to be simple about it and think that everypony in certain places think the same thing. Or, you can try to see what each and every pony really thinks about you, you and your kind, I mean."

"That's good advice."

"It is. That made me realize that the world isn't all a simple thing. Everypony is shaped somehow by various things such as family life, schooling, friends. And then, there's friends."

"What about them?" the changeling asked. "I mean, why are friends so important to ponies, anyway? I know that friendship is good and that Equestria is resting on the friendships of all its inhabitants, but why friendship?"

"Because there's the magic of friendship," Fancy Pants said. "Somehow, the more friendships there are, the stronger we get. And, I don't think it's just ponies. I think it's on everyone."

"But, still, why friendship?"

"Equestria itself was a land that was built because of friendship. You remember the history of that, don't you? When the three ponies became friends and the fire melted the ice and the three other ponies were no longer stuck. That's when Equestria was established. Its entire history had friendship as a very important thing, as a thing that is not to be ignored."

"OK," the changeling said. "What about all the, I don't know, all the—"

"It's alright if you don't have the full question in your mind yet," Fancy Pants said. "Sometimes, you just need to take a look around and admire the beauty of Canterlot. Think about it—you're in the capital and its buildings tower over you with their royal colors. The ponies that walk on the sidewalks are quite fancy and luxurious, rich and famous. The Princesses themselves live here. So, why not just relax, take a break, see everything that Canterlot has to offer?"

"That would be nice," the changeling said.

"Of course, it's going to be nice," Fancy Pants said. "Everypony wants to visit Canterlot. It's a great place to be in."

"OK."

And, the pony and the changeling walked on the sidewalk as they looked around. The two passed by ponies as they walked. They turned around and saw the street. Then, they went back to where they were going. The two smiled as they walked.

"It's very good to be here," Fancy Pants said.

"Yes, it's very good."

The two kept walking.

"Do you have anywhere to go after this?" Fancy Pants asked.

"I'm thinking about that," the changeling said.

Abdo

"It is a lovely day, isn't it?" the changeling said to the pony as they looked at the sky.

The sky was clear with no clouds. The sun shone brightly on to the ground. Several pegasi flew around in the sky, but they weren't clouding the view. A few laughs could be heard.

"It is a lovely day," the pony replied. "But, what are we gonna do?"

"What else do ponies do?" the changeling asked as they stood on the grass. Behind them were a few homely cottages. "I've discovered throughout the weeks that ponies can do lots of things and have lots of abilities and skills, but I'm sure there's still some things that I don't know about yet."

The pony giggled. "Well, do you want to find out?"

"I guess you know about some other things to do," the changeling said. "I heard that it's not, uh, uncommon."

"What's not uncommon?" The pony sported a confused look on his face.

"I don't know what I'm talking about." The changeling made an awkward smile and shrugged. "You're the one who's supposed to know the thing that we can do."

"I'll see," the pony said. "Do you have any of your changeling friends here from your place?"

"Not that I know of," the changeling answered.

"It's to think about," the pony said. "Well, I'm not sure what I can do about it."

"But, what are you talking about?" the changeling asked. "I don't know what it is that you're talking about. You're talking like this and that, but what is it you're talking about?"

"What about I keep that a surprise?" The pony smiled.

"I'm not so happy about surprises," the changeling said. "I'm wary about them."

"Don't you worry!" the pony said. "It's not going to be a bad surprise! I promise you, you'll have a good time!"

"Good time?"

"It's not much to think about."

"What if it is?"

"What about I just lead you there?"

"OK. As long as you won't surprise me badly."

The pony walked away.

The changeling followed the pony.

Pinkie Pie trotted her way through town, smiling while she trotted. She looked at each pony she passed by and greeted them. She waved a hoof at them and the pony would wave back. After a while, she sighed, wiped the sweat off of her face. "That's the happiness quota! Happiness greeting quota, that is! I don't know if I was able to get better on that from last time! Better? I wanna say that it was the best!" She jumped off to the air. "Although I don't know if I have enough confetti for my party cannon for tonight." She placed a hoof on her chin, pondering.

"Pinkie!" the stallion said as he approached the mare. Beside him was the changeling.

"Wensley!" Pinkie said, hugging him and the changeling. "How's the Apple family at Rainbow Falls, huh? I bet you're making tons of Zap Apple jam, huh? Because, the zap apples look like rainbow apples, and there are rainbows that are pouring out of the sky and they look like rainbow falls because they are rainbow falls!"

"Ah, it's alright!" Wensley replied. He looked at the changeling. "So, have you met him yet?"

"Abdo?" Pinkie said. "Of course, I know him, the changeling who likes to talk to other ponies!"

"Is that the thing you know me for?" Abdo asked. "Should I be proud of that?"

"Of course, you should!" Pinkie said, patting the changeling. "Talking to other ponies leads to lots of wonderful conversations about their lives, about their personalities, about their plans, about everything! You can even make more friends! You can ask me!"

"Ask you about what, Pinkie?"

"About the conversation!"

"The one we're having now?"

"Yeah!"

"I'm confused."

"You should be!"

"What?"

Pinkie laughed. Then, she brought a hoof around the changeling's head. "You can make lots of friends by talking with me because I'm friends with all the ponies in this town! Do you want to try and talk to me?"

The stallion laughed.

The changeling eyed the laughing stallion.

"Don't worry about that pony," Pinkie said, "he's sometimes like that. Wensley—always laughing!"

"He wasn't laughing when I first met him."

"That's because that's when you first met him!" Pinkie said. "Now, let's get going to Sugarcube Corner if you're up to the challenge of helping me out at the counter."

"Wait, help you out at your job?"

Pinkie nodded.

Abdo glanced at Wensley.

He was laughing.

"I should've known!"

"Should've known what?" Pinkie asked. "That you were going to help me keep the customers happy?"

"I wasn't thinking about it!"

"Aww, that's alright!" Pinkie said. "I understand if you're tired from whatever work that you're working on, if you do have a job, that is. Oh, I guess you have a job! Otherwise, why would you be here?"

"What does that have to do with me being in Ponyville?"

"Maybe you're here for a meeting!"

"There are no places to meet here!"

"Oh, there's the castle of my good friend, Twilight Sparkle!" Pinkie said. "Twilight always has meetings sometimes! Royal meetings with leaders like King Thorax who turns out to be your king! Isn't this amazing? You're going to meet with your king again and Princess Twilight Sparkle on the same day inside the castle!"

"And you'll take me there?" Abdo asked.

"Why not?" Pinkie asked. "Isn't it great to meet King Thorax and Princess Twilight Sparkle?"

"Uh, I wasn't going to Ponyville for that purpose or reason."

"Changing up the schedule, that's what I do here in Ponyville!" Pinkie said. She laughed. Then, Pinkie grabbed the changeling and galloped towards the castle.

Wensley stood there, his mouth open. Wensley laughed.

"Now, don't look!" Pinkie said, looking at the changeling. "This has to be a surprise!"

"That's what Wensley told me!"

"Wensley will tell you lots of things," Pinkie said, "but what about me? I'll tell you more than a lot of things, OK? Now, you can look!"

"But, my eyes were open all the time!"

Pinkie smiled. "That means that I forgot to open the doors!"

She opened the double doors in front of them.

"And, here they are!" Pinkie said. "Now, are you happy?"

"Happy about what?"

Thorax and Twilight Sparkle were looking at Pinkie Pie and Abdo at the entrance.

"Uh, what are you doing here?" Twilight asked.

"Oh, I was just going to bring one of the changelings along for the trip to the castle because he apparently wants to eat something over here that Spike must've cooked! I wonder where Spike is!"

"Spike is at the kitchen," Twilight said, "if that's what you were wondering. But, why did you decide to come here at this time? You know that I'm having a royal meeting with Thorax."

"It's OK, Twilight," Thorax said. "I was getting tired."

Twilight looked at Thorax. "Oh, you were?"

"Being a king is tiring."

Twilight kept looking at Thorax. "So, you want to do something else other than just talk about the meeting?"

"I wasn't here for a meeting, anyway."

Twilight looked surprised. "Wait, what?!"

"I was just kidding!" Thorax said. "But, I need more than just meetings."

"Wait, who's going to talk to Abdo?" Pinkie asked.

Abdo and the Magic Show

The noise of the crowd diminished as Trixie went up on the stage, becoming silent as they watched the mare, the unicorn, smile arrogantly yet nicely on towards the audience. The curtains were open and the stage was set. There was only one pony on the stage and that pony was Trixie.

It was nighttime—the sky was lit up with many stars and the moon. The lights of the buildings were far away, off into the distance.

And the ponies on the ground kept silent.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie has arrived!" Trixie declared. "It is only good that you be quiet, for that will only make the experience even better for you! So, are you ready to see magic tricks that have never ever been seen before by pony eyes?"

The crowd cheered, with a few ponies even shouting at her.

Trixie closed her eyes, still smiling. "Alright!"

Starlight Glimmer teleported on to the stage, smiling, too.

"My assistant, Starlight Glimmer, will help me entertain you and amaze you!"

And the crowd cheered.

"And now, for my first magic trick, I will ask for the help of a changeling!" She faced her right. "You can now get on to the stage, Abdo."

The changeling walked towards the stage, facing the audience with an awkward smile. Then, he stopped in front of Trixie.

"Now, Abdo," Trixie said, facing him, "are you ready to make these ponies happy?"

"Uh, yes?"

"I like your attitude!" Trixie yelled. She faced the audience. "This is Abdo, a changeling that I just met today here in Ponyville! I don't know much about the changeling, but he seems very nice and very helpful when it comes to magic tricks!"

The crowd cheered again.

Abdo kept smiling awkwardly at the audience.

"Now, who can guess about this magic trick that I have for you now?" Trixie asked, pacing the stage while still facing the audience.

The crowd was silent.

"Looks like the magic trick is not so simple!" Trixie said. "And, indeed, it isn't! For this magic trick is complex and it will make you amazed! The Great and Powerful Trixie is among the ponies, if indeed the Great and Powerful Trixie is not the only pony, who is capable of this great feat of magical capability! The Great and Powerful Trixie will not tell you any details beforehoof about it, however!" She faced Starlight. "Are you prepared, Starlight?"

Starlight nodded. "Definitely!"

She faced Abdo. "Are you prepared, Abdo?"

"Uh, I'm not really sure, but—"

"I'll take that as a positive response," Trixie interrupted.

Her hat glowed a pink glow. She magically removed her hat. Her horn was glowing a pink glow.

"You might think that I'll make Abdo disappear," Trixie said, pacing the stage. "That is too easy and too predictable. You might even say that it's unfair—I might've just teleported Abdo to some place in Ponyville. No—I won't do something so easy! Instead, what I have in mind is something better."

The changeling glowed a pink glow. Trixie then moved the changeling towards Starlight's side.

Starlight's horn glowed a blue glow.

"Ready?" Trixie said. "I don't think I need to know when you're ready."

"Uh, I think you should," Starlight said.

"Maybe I could do it."

"Well, let's not take any risks."

Trixie and Starlight looked at each other.

Starlight brought out a card from her bag. "So, what about we start by you picking a card?"

Trixie's horn stopped glowing and so did the changeling.

Starlight brought out more cards.

"I am not sure about it," Abdo said.

"Just choose one," Starlight said.

Abdo nervously chose a card.

"OK, you chose a card," Starlight said. She faced Trixie. "Trixie, card is now selected."

"Going on as practiced," Trixie said.

The crowd kept quiet as they watched.

"Now, Abdo has picked a card," Trixie said. "You might be wondering now, 'What is the Great and Powerful Trixie going to do with the card? Does the card even matter? Is it just all a distraction to distract us from the real magic trick at hoof?' Well, your questions do have answers, but they will be revealed only when they are supposed to be revealed."

Her horn glowed pink again.

The changeling glowed pink again.

Trixie brought the changeling into the air.

Then, Trixie zapped the changeling with a bolt of magic.

Abdo stopped glowing pink and fell down on to the stage.

The crowd gasped.

"Is he gonna be OK?" a pony yelled from the crowd.

"It is all part of the magic show," Trixie said. "Now, let's see what happened to Abdo." Trixie walked over to him. She helped the changeling get on his four hooves. "Actually, the card didn't matter," Trixie said.

"Then, what did you do?!" Abdo said, irritated.

"I just gave you the ability to fly without using your wings," Trixie said.

Abdo blinked. His mouth was wide open.

The crowd gasped.

Starlight smiled.

"Did you—what—how was that even—I don't know!" Abdo looked nervously at the audience, then at Starlight, then back at Trixie. "How did you do that?"

"Oh, I wouldn't tell you," Trixie said.

The changeling glowed blue as he flew into the air without flapping his wings. "I cannot believe that I'm actually doing this!" Abdo shouted. "I"m actually flying without using my wings! This is real magic!"

Trixie faced the crowd.

Starlight faced the crowd.

"How's that for a first magic trick?" Trixie asked. "Only the Great and Powerful Trixie can begin her magic shows with such a magic trick as that!"

The crowd cheered, with more ponies shouting at her than before with cheerful shouts. Some ponies even jumped, showing Trixie their avid smiles.

Abdo flew around while glowing blue, happy and laughing as he did so. "Trixie, this is great!" he shouted. Then, he landed on the stage. "I cannot believe that's actually possible!"

"Well, I have shown you that it is possible," Trixie said. "It will wear off soon, but not tonight."

Abdo smiled. "So, I can fly my way to the Changeling Kingdom and show my friends what you did to me?!"

Trixie nodded. "I will be more than happy to have more changelings see my magic shows."

Abdo hugged the unicorn. "Oh, thank you, Trixie!" He looked at Starlight who was smiling. "And, thank you, Starlight!"

"Oh, it was only just part of the magic show," Starlight said. "It isn't something to be boasting about."

Abdo flew off to Ponyville.

The crowd watched the changeling.

"Now, look at me!" Trixie yelled.

The crowd looked at her.

"That was only the first magic trick of the magic show," Trixie said. "If you think that that was great, wait until you see the rest of my magic tricks!"

The crowd cheered again.

"However, I shall take a break for now!" Trixie looked at Starlight. "We'll be taking your questions about the magic trick and about other things as well."

The crowd neared the stage as the ponies asked questions here and there.

"Everypony, please get into an orderly fashion," Trixie said.

The crowd became quiet.

"Now, I will choose one of you ponies at random and you will ask me the question," Trixie announced.

The crowd looked at her, looked at the unicorn.

Nastic and Long Winded

Nastic sighed as he sat on the ground.

The laughter of ponies as they played on the grass, whether it was a physical sport or whether it was just a board game like chess or checkers or backgammon. The laughter emanated a sort of happiness and excitement—as ponies ran or flew, as ponies sat and talk. The open space on this otherwise forested area was full of joyful activity.

Yet, Nastic sat on the ground. He sighed again.

"Long Winded," Nastic muttered, "where are you?" His voice sounded droopy. "You may not always be so likable, but...you're still my friend."

The ponies played on in front of him.

"Here, the ponies are having fun," Nastic said. "In the Changeling Kingdom, they're having fun there, too, probably playing the same games these ponies are playing. I could go on and ramble about why that's a bad thing, yet...it doesn't feel the same, anymore. Not to mention the talking down Twilight Sparkle gave to me." Nastic sighed again. "Could I list all the points about why this is bad? I could...but, it's not the same without Long Winded and his bright optimism following me around with him." He smiled. "I have to admire him and his attitude."

Nastic stood up and flew away from the group of playing ponies. He glanced back at them. They were still laughing, still happy.

"I'll be looking for Long Winded."

A few changelings hovered down the sidewalk. They laughed as they passed by a few buildings. One changeling pointed at something, and the other changelings looked. They opened their mouths in awe as they beheld that something—it was a bag that stood on a platform behind a window.

"And it costs hundreds of bits," Long Winded said. "These ponies are really rich."

"I would like to ask about why they need bags like this," Abdo said. "It's just a bag, yet it will lose the pony a lot of money. I wonder why these ponies are falling into this lie, unless it's not really a lie."

Long Winded looked at him.

"Maybe the ponies do know that the bag costs that much money, yet they still buy because they have lots of money, anyway. And, after that, what's there to talk about? The only thing to talk about is being proud of your expensive item."

Long Winded smiled. "Well, that's good."

"Are you sure that it is good?"

"Probably?"

"It definitely is," Abdo said. "I don't know why it's good, but it must be if that means that the rich ponies are going to have a good and fun time."

"What's in the bag, anyway?" Long Winded asked.

"High quality materials," Abdo answered. "And, I think that's it."

"So, where can I get those high quality materials?"

Abdo laughed. "It's not that easy to find. There's a reason why high quality materials are expensive to get—they're not so common even in Equestria."

"I would like to find those materials."

"You might as well try finding those materials without knowing where they are, because, first, we really don't know where they are and, two, if we know where they are, they're probably hard to get."

"Like where?"

"I don't know."

They stopped in front of an intersection.

Carriages were passing by on the streets with their fancy customers inside, most of them smiling as they faced upwards towards the sky.

"I find it hard to think that the Princesses live here," Long Winded said. "Just look at the many ponies that live here, too. They're very not like the Princesses who are so humble and so considerate."

"Then again, this is the capital of Equestria," Abdo said. "This is where the Princesses live, and where the Prinesses live are ponies who want to get rich."

"Because they're royalty?"

"Exactly."

Long Winded sighed as he watched the carriages zoom by. "There's a few good ones here like Fancy Pants."

"Yes, but they're the exception."

"So, why are we in Canterlot again?"

"Just to be here in Canterlot," Abdo said. "It's nice to be here and to just relax inside the captial of Equestria. Everything is so calm."

"Why?" Long Winded asked. "I don't get it."

"Canterlot isn't as busy as the other citites in Equestria," Abdo said. "Also, you know that the Princesses themselves reside here in this city. So, you're already calm and safe knowing that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are here."

"Will they be willing to accept us into their royal room or whatever they call it? Because, I remember this one time—"

"They're always accepting," Abdo said. "I think if you tell me about that one time you went there, you would just make yourself more confident about that truth."

"Oh, uh, let me just save that for some other time," Long Winded said, smiling.

"I guess."

"So," Nastic asked Pinkie Pie, "where have you seen Long Winded?"

"You mean the changeling that was always at your side?" Pinkie asked behind the counter while she looked at the cake in front of her. She looked at the changeling. "Well, you could say that he's now somewhere else, probably in a place like Canterlot."

"How do you know that he's in Canterlot?" Nastic asked.

"Because why wouldn't he be?" Pinkie said. "Besides, he and this other changeling named Abdo decided to come here just a few hours ago and told me that they were going to Canterlot."

"OK!" Nastic shouted as he flew out of the bakery.

"Nastic!" Pinkie yelled. "You forgot your cake! You're going to let me eat it?" Then, she smiled and took a bite out of the cake. "I love customers who do that."

Long Winded and Abdo walked past the bookshelves as a guard escorted them. It was a quiet place with the only sounds being the sounds of their hoofsteps. The guard, wearing his armor, eyed the two changelings as they smiled, whispered, and pointed at certain books and grabbed them.

"Be careful with those books," the guard said. "They're quite valuable."

"Don't worry about us!" Long Winded said. "We're going to be just fine with handling these books!"

Abdo nodded. "I agree with him."

The guard sighed. "That's what they always say before they drop a book. It's as if they didn't care."

"Well, we're not going to do that!" Long Winded declared.

"What about you start with being quiet?" the guard said.

"Quietness is what we will have."

The guard sighed again. "This is not going to go the way you expected it to be, changelings."

Abdo brought a book back to where it belonged. "So, what's next?"

"Another changeling visitor!" another guard yelled from his place.

The guard near the two changelings looked at the guard. "Keep an eye on him!"

"Will do!"

"Another changeling?" Long Winded asked. "I wonder who could that be. I hope it's Nastic. I haven't seen him in a long time—well, it's not that long of a time, but it's been a few days without him. He said that he wouldn't be going because of something that even I didn't know about, and we're best friends!"

"Well, let's say that I lied."

Long Winded looked at the changeling. "Nastic!" He hugged Nastic. "I don't wanna hear about the lie because now you're here and we can read all the booksk here together with Abdo and this guard over here!"

"I'm not going to read books with you!" the guard yelled.

"Aww, you're not being so quiet like you said!" Long Winded yelled. "I wonder what must've happened to you and your behavior!"

"This is me trying to guard this library!" the guard yelled back. Then, he sighed and calmed down. "OK, what you must know is that you should be quiet and that you shouldn't do anything bad and illegal here, OK?"

The changelings nodded.

"I'm certain that, with me here, you're going to be happy," Nastic said. "They're going to be well-behaved."

The guard inspected the changeling. "You seem quite formal compared to the others here."

"That's because I'm quite formal."

The guard sighed. "You can move about, now. I'll still keep an eye on you, though."

Long Winded and Abdo were smiling at Nastic. "Now, you're here! What are we going to be reading together? We can find all kinds of books here!" Long Winded placed a hoof on his friend's head. "We're going to have lots of fun!"

Nastic smiled.

A Time with Friends

The pegasus opened his wings and took off to the air; he flew gracefully and with style, his eyes closed as he smiled in mid-air.

A few ponies watched the pegasus with awe and amazement as they cheered on. With them were a few changelings.

As the ponies and the changelings stood on the sidewalk, looking at the pegasus fly between buildings and over rooftops, Long Winded nudged Nastic. "Do you think this could be the next Wonderbolt?"

Nastic sighed. "I'm not sure, and stop being so happy about the Wonderbolts. They perform frequently—if you want, you can just attend the next one if you wanted some real aerial performance."

"But, I hope this pony gets in!" Long Winded said. "He has lots of ability, lots of talent—"

"What is his talent, anyway?" Nastic asked. "Is his talent flying? That would be alright for a Wonderbolt, but if it isn't flying, then I'm not sure if he's going to be a Wonderbolt."

"Anyone can join!" Long Winded said, raising his front hooves in protest.

"What about Dorso?" Abdo added. "He's now in the reserves or a trainee, at least."

"That's the thing," Nastic said. "Just a trainee."

The pegasus flew past them, breezing by.

Nastic looked at the pegasus and then he looked at his changeling friends. "Dorso is just a trainee. I don't think the Wonderbolts are willing to accept their first new Wonderbolt that isn't a pony."

"Maybe they are," Long Winded said, "and they're just waiting for the perfect moment to announce it to all of Equestria! If Dorso gets accepted, let's get to the party or the celebration! Dorso is going to be so proud of us being there to see him when he gets promoted to a real Wonderbolt! Then, we're going to see all of the Wonderbolt shows, knowing that he's going to perform there alongside Spitfire, Soarin, and the others!"

"Don't get too excited, Long Winded," Nastic said, extending a hoof towards Long Winded. "How do you know Dorso is definitely going to become a real Wonderbolt? How do you know that Dorso is going to perform there with the real Wonderbolts?"

"I'm very excited and happy for it," Long Winded said.

"Me, also," Abdo added.

Nastic eyed Long Winded. "Don't expect much. There will be some tension. A lot of ponies are going to accept us with lots of parties. But, we still have to be wary and we still have to watch out—some ponies might still not be so accepting of us. Maybe some of those ponies are a part of the Wonderbolts."

Long Winded and Abdo gasped. "What would make you say those words?!" Long Winded yelled.

"It's something that could happen," Nastic said, "and that's undeniable—you can't escape that."

"What if we can?"

"Yeah!" Abdo added. "What he said!"

"How would you feel if somepony were to sneer at you just because you're a changeling? Just because they wouldn't forget about what you did in the past, about you stealing love when, now, you're fine and OK and a truly good creature?"

"You know that ponies are forgiving," Long Winded answered. "Very forgiving! They were willing to forgive lots of bad ponies!"

"There must be a point where the ponies wouldn't forgive somepony."

"Maybe they don't," Long Winded said.

Nastic sighed. He tapped the ground with his hoof as he watched the other ponies watching the pegasus. "Actually, this is getting boring. I don't want to stand here just looking at a pegasus fly around." He looked around. "Are there any good places here in Canterlot? Any mentally stimulating activity that would lead to discussions all around and not just lead ponies to just watch an event happen before their eyes?"

"There's the library," Abdo said, "but we already went there. We stayed there for, like, an hour."

"Well, if you don't want monotony, we can always go to some place different."

"Where are we going?" Abdo asked.

"I don't know," Nastic said. "What about we try to find a place together?"

Long Winded flew to the air. "Let's go!"

"Uh, let's think about planning out how we should find the place first."

"I think we should just go and see what places will be fun to go to!" Abdo yelled.

Then, the two changelings flew away to somewhere.

Nastic followed them, sighing.

Long Winded and Abdo looked around in awe, their mouths open. "This is a very historical place!" Long Winded said as he looked at the walls and at the tables and at the chairs and at the ponies sitting on those chairs, eating their fancy food with a fancy attitude while wearing fancy clothes and speaking with fancy accents. "This is going to be one of the best restaurants that we've ever been to! Everything here is very good!"

"I agree with you, Long Winded!" Abdo said as he kept looking around.

"This is meant to be quiet," Nastic said, "so keep quiet and just don't cause any trouble."

They passed by more tables with fancy food and fancy ponies. Waiters in formal suits walked by, carrying plates of fancy food.

"Where is a free seat when you need one?" Nastic asked, sounding exasperated. "It's as if everypony here in Canterlot decided to eat at the same place!"

"Maybe the food here is fancy to the point that they feel fancy eating it!" Long Winded said.

"I wouldn't see that as unrealistic," Nastic said. "Anyway, try to find a free table and let's get ready to eat later."

The three changelings looked around. Here and there, there were tables full of ponies eating their fancy food. Some of them looked at the changelings, most of them not smiling at the changelings. Some of them even gave the changelings a mean face before they went back to eating their fancy food.

"Why did we go here again?" Nastic asked. "I'm not sure if you're willing to spend lots of money on food that's not going to make us full."

"Because it's fancy!" Long Winded said.

"What's so nice about a fancy restaurant when you don't have a table to eat at?"

"You can at least see how fancy ponies eat here!"

Nastic sighed. He eyed each table he could see. They were all occupied. "Well, if we don't find a free table within a few minutes, we're leaving. No questions."

"I have a question."

"What is the question?"

Long Winded looked around. Then, he looked at Nastic. "Why not wait a few more minutes?"

"I don't know how long these fancy ponies are going to be eating," Nastic answered. "Look, just go and do your job of finding a free table and we'll just go away from here if we don't find a free table."

Nastic flew away.

Long Winded and Abdo looked at each other. "I guess we're going to do this as a team," Long Winded said.

"You want me to scout out this area?" Abdo asked, pointing over to one part of the restaurant.

"I'll scout out the other area," Long Winded said.

They both smiled.

Then, they flew away.

Nastic approached one of the waiters. "Excuse me, have you found a table? A free one?"

"You mean the one with two changelings?" the waiter asked.

"They already found a table?"

"I think so," the waiter said.

"I think not!"

"Go ask another waiter," the waiter said. "I'm not willing to waste my time with customers like you." The waiter then trotted away.

Nastic looked at the trotting waiter. Then, he looked at the tables.

All of them were occupied with fancy ponies. There were no other changelings in sight.

Nastic sighed. "Where are you, Long Winded?" Nastic asked. "Don't you go around finding tables without me being there! I shouldn't have asked them to do that when I went away!"

Nastic flew.

He looked around, passing by more and more tables that only had ponies, not changelings.

Then, he turned around and saw more tables. Most of them had ponies on them as well. However, one of the tables had changelings.

Nastic flew towards the table.

"We found one!" Long Winded said. He smiled. "Aren't you excited that we found a table and that we could eat here and eat all the fancy food we can see?"

"We did it as a team!" Abdo added.

"Well, I didn't find a table," Nastic said.

"At least you have us!" Long Winded said.

Casual Time

Neon Guard sat on top of the roof, looking at the many buildings of Ponyville as the sun set in the sky. The yellow sky had a few pegasi moving around as they moved some clouds. A few kites were in the sky, too. Laughter could be heard from the ponies running down the street. Neon Guard looked down. The ponies were chasing each other.

"How does he do it?" Neon Guard whispered. "He seems so calm when it comes to situations like this." He looked at his back. There was nopony nor was there any other changeling on the roof with him.

He turned back to see the sky.

Then, Neon Guard flew down towards the ground.

He landed on the ground.

Neon Guard looked around.

There were more ponies going around. They were walking and talking. On their faces were smiles and grins.

"And, there was this huge book that Twilight brought out!" a stallion passing by said to the mare beside him. "Twilight told me that it contained much of Equestria's history, and that she was going to show that to King Thorax soon."

"I wonder what that's going to be for, though," the mare said, looking at the stallion. "Thorax surely must've known some of Equestria's history."

"Clarification? I don't know about the book that much and why Thorax would need it."

"Do you want to go to the Princess and ask her yourself?" The mare smiled. "It would be a nice opportunity to see her as a Princess performing her royal duty."

"I guess we still have time," the stallion said, looking at the sky. He looked at the mare. "Let's go!"

Then, the two ponies turned around and trotted towards the castle.

"They always have something different," Neon Guard said. "Something that drives them to do things that just amazes the mind. I wish we could have that drive, too. The creativity that they have." He sighed. He looked around again.

The buildings were not that big. They were small and homely. Some lights were already on. Several ponies were sitting on tables, eating food while they talked; some laughed.

"My friends are all out on some cool trip to the Crystal Empire, and here I'm just waiting to guard Thorax. I guess it's still going to be fun—I'm going to talk with Thorax, after all." Neon Guard looked at the castle. "He's going to be over there, talking with Princess Twilight Sparkle about plans for the future. I've seen Thorax—he's also not so comfortable with the whole 'leading a kingdom' thing, too."

Neon Guard flew.

He passed by several buildings and several ponies. After a short while, he entered Sugarcube Corner.

The smell of delicious desserts filled the room and beckoned Neon Guard to approach the counter. Pinkie Pie was behind the counter, looking at him. "Neon Guard!" Pinkie yelled. "It's been a long time!"

"It hasn't been that long," Neon Guard answered. He looked around, seeing the ponies enjoying their sweet food before he turned to look back at Pinkie. "How's it all going, Pinkie?"

"Well, there's a lot of things going on!" Pinkie said while she gestured with a hoof. "Twilight is going to have a meeting with Thorax again—and I guess that that's the reason why you're here!"

Neon Guard nodded.

"But, let me tell you some things that you don't know! First, Rainbow Dash is going to be somewhere in Ponyville. Second, Fluttershy is going to be taking care of the animals. Third, Applejack is going to be at the farm later!"

"I think I already know that," Neon Guard said.

"What about I tell you something else?" Pinkie said. "That will get you to be doing, uh, something like, uh, eat this cake!" Pinkie brought out a cake and placed it on the counter. "It's a chocolate cake! It's just a chocolate cake—no special ingredients, although I consider every ingredient special—so, does that make this cake special or not? What about answering that question about the cake? Is it special or not?"

"I don't know."

"That's not a valid answer!" Pinkie yelled. "I want an answer that's either a yes or a no! Is this cake special or not?"

Neon Guard looked around. The ponies that were eating were now looking at him with concerned looks. He looked back at Pinkie. "Uh, I don't know."

"I know that you have an answer!" Pinkie shouted. "Don't be afraid to tell the answer, Neon Guard! It's the only way to free yourself from anxiety, from worrying all about the thoughts about whether this cake is special or not and why it is like that or not! I know that you can overcome the dread of answering! Please!"

"Uh, are you OK, Pinkie?"

"She's just Pinkie," a pony yelled out from the crowd.

"Uh, how am I supposed to be OK with that?"

"Just answer!" Pinkie shouted. "Is the cake in front of you a special cake or not?!"

"It's a special cake!"

Pinkie wiped the sweat off of her face and wiped the sweat off of Neon Guard's face. "Well, that was easy!" She smiled. "Now, do you want to buy this cake?"

"I don't know."

Pinkie sighed. "Well, that's alright. Maybe my shouting at you wasn't the best idea. I have other ideas!"

"Oh, no."

"Like, what about we try singing? I'm great at singing and everypony here is great at singing. Sometimes, we just sing!"

"But, I'm not a good singer, Pinkie. Now, I'll just take a simple dessert like maybe an apple pie and I'll just eat somewhere here."

"Aww, don't be like that, Neon Guard!" Pinkie said. "We're going to make you smile, whatever you're feeling!"

Neon Guard smiled. "That's great to know, Pinkie."

"Everypony!" Pinkie shouted. "He already smiled. Looks like we're not going to be throwing cakes at him!"

"What?!"

Pinkie laughed and placed a hoof on the counter. "Now, you're going to be guarding Thorax. What I want you to do is to guard Thorax with the best you have!"

"Thanks for the encouragement, Pinkie," Neon Guard said.

"Now, do you want to have some apple pie?"

"Didn't I already ask for that?"

Pinkie quickly grabbed an apple pie and placed it on the counter. "That would be a few bits, please?"

Neon Guard grabbed some bits and placed it on the counter. Pinkie hoofed the apple pie to Neon Guard.

Neon Guard walked away with an apple pie on his hoof.

"Enjoy your meal!" Pinkie yelled.

The changeling walked towards an empty table and sat on a chair. He placed the apple pie down on the table and looked at it. He looked at the ponies who were at their tables. They were talking and eating. Neon Guard sighed.

He looked at Pinkie Pie behind the counter.

A pony went to the counter.

Pinkie smiled and brought out a pie and placed it on the counter.

"Your usual, Cherry Fizzy!"

"Thanks, Pinkie!"

Then, the stallion went out of the bakery, holding the pie with his hoof.

"The ponies here are so friendly," Neon Guard said. "And, every time I go here, they're still friendly, always friendly. I still have to go to Thorax, though. Still have to guard him."

Neon Guard looked at the apple pie on the table. He looked at the ponies at the table and then at Pinkie. She was happy.

"At least Pinkie is here to cheer me up," Neon Guard said, smiling. "No matter what, she's glad and joyful about everything and she's always so positive. And, she makes the best of jokes. She would make me laugh if I asked her to make a joke."

Good Thoughts

"We offer Changeling Kingdom souvenirs!" a changeling shouted as ponies and changelings passed him and his stall by.

The buzzes of the changelings flying filled the air. Ponies looked around them as they beheld the changeling architecture that was ever changing even if it was a little. They looked around and saw the changelings themselves, all of them happy as they talked with one another, all smiling as they did so. A few more stalls were on the sidewalks in front of the changeling buildings—there was one selling apple food, happily yelling, "These apple products are from Sweet Apple Acres, home to one of the Elements of Harmony, Applejack!" Another was pushing a piece of furniture towards a passing pony while the pony was hurriedly trotting away, glancing at the changeling. Yet another was eagerly shouting to passers-by about his amazing sofas. "These are from Davenport of Ponyville!" he proudly declared, even raising both of his front hooves as he did so.

A few ponies wore cameras; they held them and took pictures of whatever and whoever they deemed worthy of a good photo.

"Come on, everypony and every changeling!" the changeling with the souvenir stall yelled as more passed by him. "We have changeling postcards; perfect for you and your family to remember those wonderful memories. Oh, what about some pictures of King Thorax?" He held up a picture of Thorax. The changeling was looking at the camera. "Or, what if I call Thorax himself and bring him here and he will ask any kind of question? I'm sure that that will cheer you up!"

"We don't want any of your produce!" a pony gruffly yelled at him.

The changeling looked at the pony that yelled at him. The pony trotted away.

The changeling placed a hoof on his head; a frown appeared on his face as he held a postcard with a hoof. He looked at it.

The postcard showed a nice picture of the Changeling Kingdom.

The changeling sighed. "Maybe they just don't want the souvenirs now. Probably later."

The changeling walked on the dirt path. The wooden buildings on each side of the path were small yet firm. The sky was yellow. Ponies were walking about, some pulling carts, others just relaxing.

The train made a sound.

The changeling looked at it.

He trotted to the train and entered it.

A few ponies were inside the train. There were some changelings, also.

The changelings smiled as they looked at him.

"Hexapod!" Eucalypti yelled. "The day was indeed rough, but I'm glad that you could get here! I've brought Dorso and Abdo along with me! I tried to bring in Humerus, too, but he's busy in Ponyville trying to talk to Fluttershy."

"Trying?" Hexapod asked.

"I don't know why he said 'trying,'" Eucalypti said. "Probably facing difficulty in getting to Fluttershy because of her schedule."

"But, let's talk about something else, now!" Dorso said, having a confident and eager tone. "Do you want to hear about some of my Wonderbolt tales?"

"I think we'll save that for another time," Eucalypti said, extending a hoof towards him. He looked at Hexapod. "I know about the rough time you had with your souvenir stall, but that's why we're here—to be with you as friends! We're here to comfort you and to tell you that it's going to be OK."

"Are you sure it's going to be OK?" Hexapod asked.

"Just stop worrying too much," Eucalypti said. "You're always wondering about if this is going to be a bad idea, always troubled by this and that—how are you even sure that it's going to happen?"

"It might happen," Hexapod said.

"It doesn't mean it will."

"What if it does happen?"

"You're going to be making more trouble for yourself if you go and live like that," Eucalypti said. "Don't you at least want to have some joy in your life, Hexapod?"

"I do want to have some joy," Hexapod answered, "but I'm not sure if I could get it so easily. It turns out that having a job is harder than I thought."

"That's because you're looking at all the wrong things about having a job," Eucalypti said. "What you need to do is to look at what's fun about your job! You're handling souvenirs, so what you should do is think about your role. You are giving ponies things that they will remember the Changeling Kingdom by! Isn't that good?"

"What if it's not so popular?"

"Ponies are visiting lots of places even within their own places just to see what's there and just to talk to friends there. Friendship in multiple different places; doesn't that sound great?"

"Uh-huh."

Then, the train moved, accelerating; the desert landscape was now moving by as the buildings moved away from view.

Abdo looked out the window. "On our way to Ponyville!"

"Do you think changelings are tired of Ponyville already?" Hexapod asked. "The town is small, it's not a city, and there's not much else to see when you've seen all the popular landmarks."

"What attracts us there is the friendship," Eucalypti said. "The friendship of the ponies there are of the most amazing quality! Also, you have Starlight Glimmer and Trixie there along with Discord, three of the four creatures that brought us to see what's good! And, you have the Elements of Harmony who live there! They're the ones who teach us all about friendship and who would not like to go to Ponyville if one is in search of some friendship advice?"

"That's true," Hexapod said.

"Now you're agreeing!" Eucalypti said. He looked at Abdo and Dorso. "Do you agree with me as well?"

Abdo and Dorso smiled. "Of course, we do!" Abdo said.

Eucalypti looked at Hexapod. "Now, if today was a rough day for you, then just relax with us in Ponyville! We're going to go to Pinkie Pie's bakery and—"

"I don't think you'll have a relaxing time there," Hexapod interrupted.

"Who said that we're going to relax there?"

"You just did, Eucalypti."

"Hexapod, don't you place words inside what I say!"

"But, you just said that we were going to relax in Ponyville."

"Never mind about the small details about words and phrases and other kinds of things like that, Hexapod," Eucalypti said. "It's all going to not matter when we're actually in Ponyville, making lots of noise as we talk about this and that, probably annoying some ponies as they sleep early and making them throw their books and their bottles and their furniture at us, and we end up dodging those furniture and go back to the Changeling Kingdom and tell each other what kind of events happened there in Ponyville and that we managed to survive!" He placed a hoof on Abdo's shoulder. "Is that good or not, Abdo?

"Uh, I wasn't following."

"I don't want to cause any trouble or problem there," Hexapod said.

"Sometimes, problems are what makes things fun!" Eucalypti said. "As long as you're the one who's escaping from the trouble, not the one who started it!"

Hexapod looked at Abdo and Dorso. "Do you want to relax in Ponyville?"

"Yeah," Abdo said.

"Isn't that what you said?" Dorso asked.

"I don't want to be rude or anything like that," Hexapod said, "but to do anything bad in Ponyville, like what Eucalypti said, is a bad idea."

"I think it's a good enough idea," Eucalypti said. "Just think about it, Hexapod!"

"I don't want to think about it," Hexapod said.

"Then, just relax as we go to Ponyville. We'll talk about everything to do in Ponyville when we get there."

"I agree," Hexapod said.

And the train moved on as the changelings remained quiet. Some ponies glanced at the changelings then went back to talking to each other.

"We're here again!" Eucalypti yelled as he beheld Ponyville's buildings in front of him. "This is indeed a place of friendship!"

"As long as you don't annoy the ponies, that is," Hexapod said as they passed by a few ponies that were glancing at him. "Just don't do anything bad and we'll be fine."

The four changelings walked past buildings and ponies; the sky was yellow, the sun was about to set, and a few pegasi were in the sky, moving a few clouds. One pegasus looked down for a while, then he looked back at the cloud he was holding.

"It's great here!" Eucalypti said. "Ponyville!"

Enthusiasm in Manehattan

Blue Alarm sat in front of Rarity and Twilight Sparkle as the train moved, the beautiful green and lush, natural landscape rushing past by at great speed.

"So, you're going to Manehattan for a friendship problem?" Blue Alarm asked, eyeing the two ponies.

"Yes, Blue Alarm," Twilight said, gesturing with a hoof while she spoke. "We've been called awfully a lot these past few weeks. Then again, it's the magic of friendship spreading to more and more creatures, right, Rarity?"

Rarity nodded, sweat on her face while she smiled. "Uh, of course, Twilight." She giggled nervously. "What makes you think that I'm here for more than just a friendship problem that we'll certainly and definitely and absolutely resolve, hm? I am completely here for just that and really, completely, honestly nothing more!" She giggled nervously again, her smile still there.

Twilight arched an eyebrow at her. Then, she looked at the changeling. "Haven't you been here before?"

"Manehattan is a big place," Blue Alarm said. "There's so many things in Manehattan that even if we go here ten times, there's still a lot leftover. The big landmarks are just the tip of the iceberg—all the little stores that all the tourists don't mind on their first trip I take notice of."

"That's true!" Rarity yelled, her expression changing from a nervous face to a confident one. "Manehattan is a wonderful city to be in! The energy and the movement of the city and its city folk! The pace and the sophistication of Manehattan! Oh, it is a great and an amazing city, the best with its equal being Canterlot!"

"Uh, Rarity?" Twilight asked. "I guess your enthusiasm for Manehattan is showing again."

"Is it?" Rarity asked. Then, her eyes opened wide. "Oh, I didn't know. I must've acted very unmannerly, didn't I?"

Twilight smiled. "Well, I would've acted the same way if we were going to solve a friendship problem at a place that I love to visit."

Then, the green landscape was replaced with the blue sea.

Rarity looked out the window. "Ooh! We're almost inside Manehattan!"

Twilight looked out the window, too. She smiled, her eyes tracking something before it went away from view. Then, she looked at the changeling again. "So, what are you going to do here in Manehattan, Blue Alarm?"

"I was planning to meet up with my friends," Blue Alarm replied. "It's going to be good to see them again after, well, not seeing them for a few days."

"And why's that?" Twilight asked, sounding a little concerned. "Why didn't you see your friends?"

"I'm an observer," Blue Alarm said. "I don't know if I told you this already, but I used to be a scout for our missions to steal love. It was while scouting that I gained my love for, well, observing either the creatures or the landscape. And, it just grew from there on—after Thorax and his friends made us see that friendship and sharing love were better things, I realized that I could go around in Equestria and just admire the places you ponies have built. Not just that, but you ponies, too—with all your activities and all your plans."

Twilight smiled. "Well, I think you like being here in Manehattan."

"You have no idea, Twilight Sparkle."

"Well, you have no idea how much I love it here in Manehattan!" Rarity interrupted. She looked at Twilight. "Come on, Twilight! Let's hurry towards the doors now so we can get a move on!"

"I thought we weren't supposed to be moving around in the train," Twilight said.

"Aww, don't worry about getting hit or something like that, Twilight!"

"I'll just stay here," Twilight said.

Blue Alarm looked out the window. He smiled.

Blue Alarm walked on the busy sidewalk. Ponies passed him by. Some pushed him as they rushed and hurried towards some place. The noise of the many carriages on the street only added to the urban noise of Manehattan—the murmur of some ponies and the shoutings of some others were there. Some of the windows of the buildings were open, with ponies looking around at the sights in front of them. Several pegasi flew in the sky.

"Manehattan," Blue Alarm said. "I guess I'm used to its fast speed—so were we fast."

Blue Alarm looked around. He saw three changelings approaching him, exiting a building.

"Blue Alarm!" the three shouted in unison.

Then, they hugged.

They smiled.

They laughed.

"I missed you!" Red Noise yelled.

"And I missed you, also!" Humerus shouted. "I don't want you to go away for more than a day, Blue Alarm!"

"It's nice to be together again," Neon Guard said.

Then, they stopped hugging.

"So, how was your time observing?" Red Noise asked. "I don't know how I could relate to that, but, you being you, Blue Alarm, you must've had a joyful time, didn't you?"

"I've had a nice time," Blue Alarm said. "First, I went to Starlight's old village. It didn't have a lot of plants, but the ponies there were interesting to me. It was a small town only having one street, but the things they did—whether it was a party or whether it was just a normal job that they did for bits—that made me observe them for a little while more. Then, I went to the Crystal Empire and just hovered around town. I overheard various conversations, got a glimpse into what they planned. Then, I went to where Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor were and I saw them with Flurry Heart, too. After that, I travelled to Ponyville and saw the Elements of Harmony—but I was more interested in the other townsfolk. Well, after that, I got on to a train and went here and now I'm with you, guys."

"You should've been here!" Red Noise said. "Then, we could've have had an entire Manehattan trip with all four of us!"

"Well, at least we can be together for the rest of the trip," Blue Alarm said.

"OK!" Humerus yelled. "Now, let's go to the park! There's lots of ponies who are there and I can show them my skills, my kite-flying skills!"

"Uh, do you have a kite?" Blue Alarm asked.

"No, and that's what's going to be great about it!" Humerus said.

"What?"

"I guess when you see it, you'll know," Neon Guard said.

"I was just kidding!" Humerus said.

"Don't tell me you were just kidding, Humerus!" Red Noise shouted.

"Oh, no; not this," Blue Alarm said as he stepped in between Humerus and Red Noise. He looked at Red Noise. "Let's not bring this trip down badly, OK?" He looked at Humerus.

The two changelings nodded.

"Now that we're all here, let's go!" Neon Guard said.

They stopped at a busy intersection. Carriages were passing by, speeding by and going to here and there. Ponies rushed by as they went to this and that. The many noises of the city combined to form the urban noise of Manehattan, drowning out the conversations of normal volume.

"What's our first stop with Blue Alarm?" Humerus asked Neon Guard by yelling at him.

"I have no idea!" Neon Guard yelled. "There's too many buildings here in Manehattan!"

The four changelings stood on the sidewalk as more and more carriages passed by and as more ponies rushed by.

"This is getting crazy!" Neon Guard shouted. "How long do I have to wait here just to pass on to some other place?!"

"What about waiting?" Humerus yelled.

"We can just fly our way there!" Red Noise yelled. Then, he flew and hovered towards the other side of the street.

Neon Guard looked at Humerus and Blue Alarm.

The four changelings walked on the sidewalk, passing by a few stalls and stores.

"What could we buy here?" Blue Alarm asked. "Something to bring home to the Changeling Kingdom."

"There's always souvenirs," Neon Guard said. "But, we always bought souvenirs every time we went here."

"We can try not buying souvenirs this time!" Humerus said. "That way, it will be different!"

"I'd rather just bring something home so I can remember our time here in Manehattan," Red Noise said. He looked at one of the stalls. "What about some food while we're at it?"

Red Noise walked towards the stall while his friends followed him.

Red Noise walked to the counter.

The pony behind the counter smiled. "Good morning! What can I do for you?"

Advice and Good Characteristics

Blue Alarm sat on the seat inside the train as it whizzed past more grass and more trees. His friends were there near him as they smiled and as they talked to each other, sometimes laughing.

The blue changeling looked outside.

Ponies were headed towards Manehattan whether in large groups or in small ones. Several of them were carrying several bags and items, others carried nothing with them. A few pegasi were flying in the sky, going towards the city.

Blue Alarm looked at his friends. "So, we're going to go back to the Changeling Kingdom?"

"Might as well be," Neon Guard answered. "Travelling Equestria is fun but we have our duties to attend to, remember?"

"I know," Blue Alarm said, turning away from him and looking back outside. He glanced at him. "So, anything else after this? Maybe a party or maybe inviting Pinkie Pie to help with a party over at the kingdom?"

"It depends," Neon Guard said. "Pinkie Pie has her own responsibilities—she has her own bakery to attend to or at least a bakery that she's working in, she is also planning parties here and there, and she is also an Element of Harmony. I think you know all of that already, though."

"Yeah."

"And, that doesn't seem good."

Blue Alarm opened his eyes wider.

"Uh, that's not what I meant," Neon Guard said. "You know that and that's good. What's not good is that you've changed your attitude recently."

"What are you saying?"

"I didn't expect you to be the changeling to start a party," Red Noise said, sounding concerned. "I actually find it difficult to imagine you be the one inviting Pinkie Pie or being one of the hosts of a party. It sounds very weird."

"Maybe it's just me lightening up," Blue Alarm said. "Besides, I guess we've all been lightening up ever since we, uh, changed into better creatures."

The three changelings smiled.

"Does that mean we can now go to the part where we order the chocolate bars and the chocolate and the candies and the other sweets from the carriage next to us?" Humerus asked, smiling.

"Uh, why?" Neon Guard asked.

"I told one of the ponies working here that I want to order all the sweets he has in the train! He told me that it was gonna cost a hundred bits."

"Humerus!" Red Noise shouted, grabbing the changeling. "When will you know how to treat your money correctly?!"

"Not this again," Blue Alarm muttered.

Neon Guard sighed.

Red Noise grabbed Humerus's ear. "Tell me, Humerus! Why didn't you think about the money that you wasted? What about the money that we could've spent on, I don't know, something more useful than lots of sweet food?! Tell me!"

"It was so delectable and tasty!" Humerus yelled. "Please, I'm pleading now! Don't hurt me! The sweets are going to be coming here any minute now!"

"I don't care about chocolate or candies of whatever flavor, Mister Waste-a-lot!" Red Noise shouted. "What I care about is using our resources wisely!" He grabbed Humerus by the shoulder and hovered above the floor. "I don't want you to do that ever again!"

A pony stood up from his seat. "Uh, I think you should stop that!" the pony yelled, pointing at the red changeling.

"Oh, Trenderhoof!" Red Noise yelled at him. "I didn't know you were going to be here! It's none of your business, now get away while I teach Humerus something about handling your money!"

Trenderhoof adjusted his white glasses. "Don't make me stop you! I'll use my magic if I have to!"

"You should calm down, Red Noise!" Neon Guard said. "You've already caused enough trouble as it is, Red Noise! If you don't stop, you're going to cause even more trouble!"

"I've already had more irritations and annoyances caused by Humerus than you could ever think of!" Red Noise answered. "You're not going to stop me!" He turned towards Humerus who was now whimpering and even crying. "Humerus, I might as well throw out all of those sweet chocolates and candies even if it means we're going to have to pay for the damages to be done. Do you want to know why?"

Humerus kept on whimpering and crying, his sobbing only growing louder and louder.

Trenderhoof's horn glowed.

Red Noise was surrounded by a blue violet magic glow.

Then, Red Noise was slowly moving away from Humerus.

Humerus flapped his wings and hovered as he watched Red Noise look angrily at him.

"Oh, no," Neon Guard said. He looked distraught. "This is not good!"

A few more ponies rushed into the scene. More ponies were stepping back from the situation. Trenderhoof walked towards Red Noise. There were shouts.

"Can we solve this peacefully?" Neon Guard said, looking at Red Noise. "I already told you that if you went on like this, you would only be causing more trouble!"

"Humerus started it!" Red Noise yelled, still being surrounded in the blue violet magic glow. "I don't want to give up teaching Humerus about what's good about handling money the way we should handle it!"

"It doesn't meant you have to hurt him like that!" Neon Guard said. "Look! You're already making lots of ponies scared and afraid of you, maybe even of all of us! Think about what's going to happen if you keep this up! You're going to make more and more ponies scared of all of us changelings! Red Noise, please stop this!"

Red Noise looked at Humerus.

There were tears running on his face.

He looked at Trenderhoof.

"At least say an apology," Trenderhoof said. "After that, I won't do this again."

Red Noise looked at Humerus. "OK! I'm sorry about what I did and said to you!"

Trenderhoof sighed.

Red Noise looked around him. There was no magic glow.

He flapped his wings and hovered.

Neon Guard looked at Trenderhoof. "Uh, thank you, Trenderhoof."

"Just wanting to be the good pony that stops and helps others," Trenderhoof said. "I'm just relaxing for the day, preparing myself for the journalism work. Journalism? I meant magazine work." He laughed a little.

Neon Guard laughed a little, too. He glanced at Humerus. "You can go down now."

Humerus and Red Noise went down to the floor.

Neon Guard looked around.

Some ponies were trembling a little as they looked at him and his friends. Others were simply just looking at them with varied expressions on their faces.

"I have to go to my seat now," Trenderhoof said. He trotted to his seat.

Neon Guard walked back to his seat. He sat down.

Neon Guard sighed. "How are we going to explain this?"

Humerus sniffled as he placed a hoof on Blue Alarm. He looked at Neon Guard.

Neon Guard looked out the window. Then he glanced at Blue Alarm. "When we get home, we need to have a good explanation for this."

"You mean the honest one?"

"Yeah," Neon Guard said, "the honest one. The honest explanation. No lying. Just telling whoever needs to be told about it the truth and nothing else. That's all and that's what's supposed to be said."

"What about me?" Red Noise said, looking at Neon Guard.

"You tell it," Neon Guard said.

"Me?"

"Yeah, you."

"But, what if I don't want to tell it?"

"You're telling it whether you like it or not."

"But I don't like having to face all the shame!"

"It's not supposed to matter. You did something bad and you're going to get punished for it. You don't get away from it like that."

"But, what if I do what to get away from it like that?"

"That's not how this being good thing is."

"What if I want to do something else?"

"Like what?"

"I don't know."

"Then, just tell them what happened and why you did what you did," Neon Guard said. Then, he sighed and glanced at Blue Alarm. "Let's keep this quiet. Keep Humerus OK."

"OK," Blue Alarm said. He looked at Humerus.

Neon Guard looked at the ponies on their seats.

He looked at Blue Alarm.

Neon Guard sighed and looked out the window.

He looked back at his friends.

Neon Guard smiled. "At least we're still here."

Vivid Life

"What should I write about?" Hexapod asked as he sat on the chair in front of a wooden table.

On the table there was a piece of paper. There was nothing written on it. He held a quill.

He looked around him.

The room was a small yet cozy room. The carpet was blue and the furniture was simple—no complex things.

Hexapod looked out the window.

He saw a few changelings going about, talking to each other.

"Well, I don't have much to write about," Hexapod said, slowly hovering out of his chair, flapping his wings. "I don't know why I would be writing it, anyway. I would just be bored and then I would write. Then, what's the purpose of my writing it, anyway?" Then, he sighed as he stopped hovering and landed on the floor. "Maybe I could write to one of the Princesses." He placed a hoof on his chin as he neared the window. "Or, I could write to Applejack maybe. Probably. Definitely? Hmm. Would Applejack have enough time to read my letter, though? She has lots of work to do." Then, he turned around and walked towards the chair and the table. "Or, I could talk to Fluttershy. Or, write, I mean. It's not like I would like to spend some more time with Fluttershy. Maybe." He sighed again, looking back out the window. "That leaves three or four of the Elements of Harmony left, not to mention the Cutie Mark Crusaders or the mayor of Ponyville or the mayor of any other town in Equestria. What's stopping me from writing a letter to one of the Princesses?" He smiled and sat on the chair, grabbed the quill and placed it on the paper.

He wrote quickly, with a few spills here and there. The words were legible and beautiful as he wrote.

Then, after a while, he held up the paper and laughed. "It's over! I can now send it directly to Twilight myself! Accomplishment is on the horizon, everypony!"

Then, he flew out of the room with paper in hoof.

Twilight sipped on the glass of water. On the round table in front of her was a chocolate and strawberry and blueberry cake with cherry on top. She looked at Pinkie who was behind the counter.

Pinkie looked at Twilight. "Nothing like serving dessert to a friend, right, Twilight?"

Twilight nodded. "Yeah, Pinkie! Nothing like that." She hummed a tune while she looked around inside the bakery. "Looks like you added something new, Pinkie."

"Yes, I did!" Pinkie said in a sing-song voice. She walked towards the alicorn. "I added more streamers for the party today!"

"Wait, what party?"

"Oh, didn't you know? Rarity is going to bring her sister Sweetie Belle over here for a treat! I even got my party cannon ready for the occasion!" She brought out her party cannon. "Always ready!"

"Uh, don't you think that's not a big enough occasion to throw a party over?"

"What happened to the random parties that I threw every once in a while?" Pinkie asked, her smile becoming a frown. "Didn't they make you happy?"

"Yes, they did," Twilight said, "but that doesn't mean that I'm not supposed to ask about why you're throwing a party over something so, uh, mundane. Not that I mean that I don't value the two, but...you know, Pinkie, it's just the two of them visiting your bakery."

"So?" Pinkie asked. She smiled. "You know me, Twilight! It doesn't have to be so grand! All I need is a reason to party!" Then, she blew her party cannon and the cannon fired. The room was now filled with balloons, streamers, confetti, and more party decorations that were colorful. "Now, it's ready!"

"Wait, she's coming here now?"

"Don't just sit there!" Pinkie yelled. "At least try to help me greet Rarity and Sweetie Belle a happy visit!"

"Well, OK."

Twilight stood up and walked towards Pinkie.

Pinkie looked at the door. "Don't be quiet about this, Twilight! Lighten up! Be as happy as you can be! Show Rarity and Sweetie Belle that you're glad to see them here!"

Twilight looked at the door.

Then, the door opened.

"Happy visit, Rarity and Sweetie Belle!" Pinkie shouted.

"Happy visit!" Twilight shouted.

Rarity and Sweetie Belle looked surprised. They looked at each other, then they looked at the two ponies in front of them.

"Oh, you did this for me?" Rarity asked. "And Sweetie Belle, also?"

"Wow," Sweetie Belle said. "I didn't know there was going to be a party here, Rarity."

"That's because I didn't know," Rarity answered.

"And surprise parties are the best parties!" Pinkie yelled, running to them and hugging the two of them. "We're so happy and joyful to see you two here! What can I do for you? Should I get you the usual, Rarity? Or, maybe something new like a chocolate cake and an apple pie?"

"Those aren't new, Pinkie," Rarity said.

"New to your normal schedule, that is!"

Then, Pinkie rushed off to the counter.

Rarity and Sweetie Belle looked at Twilight who was just standing there, looking at them with a confused face. "So, did Pinkie bring you in to this thing?"

"Well, yes." Twilight smiled awkwardly.

"And, I like it!" Sweetie Belle said. "I always like it when Pinkie does that! Always giving us, well, surprises."

"That's nice to hear, Sweetie Belle!" Twilight said. "Now, I don't know what Pinkie is picking and choosing for you, but what about we just enjoy the moment and see what Pinkie would do." She gestured towards a table.

Rarity and Sweetie Belle walked towards the table.

Twilight sighed. "I guess I need some rest." Then, she walked towards the table.

She sat on one of the chairs.

She looked at Rarity and Sweetie Belle who were already seated.

"So, how's the Princess business going?" Rarity asked. "I haven't seen you inside Sugarcube Corner in a long while now. Lately, you've been inside that castle writing official...things and carrying and attending this and that. Always going to some place in Equestria."

"I would ask the same to you, Rarity," Twilight said.

"Our situations aren't the same, Twilight," Rarity said. "You do realize that, as a pony who is famous all over Equestria for her fashion, I have to meet all the ponies who need to meet me, and I also have to be able to check my boutiques all over Equestria as well. All over Equestria, I tell you about it!"

"Rarity?" Sweetie Belle asked, nudging her. "Are you OK?"

"I'm completely OK, Sweetie!" Rarity said. "I was just telling Twilight about how your sister works at her job!"

"You're sure you're OK?" Twilight asked. "Because you don't sound OK." She looked at the counter where Pinkie was. The Earth pony was gathering more sweets. She looked back at Rarity. "You should just try to calm down and relax, Rarity."

"Which is why I'm here!" Rarity yelled. "With my sister!"

"Woah!" Twilight said. "I didn't mean to upset you or anything!"

Sweetie Belle looked at her sister with fear. "Uh, Rarity?"

"You don't need to question me about how I'm doing!" Rarity said. "All I need is cake and I need it now!"

"Rarity, you must calm down," Twilight said. "This isn't going to help you!"

"It's going to help me at least be calm!"

"Are you sure, Rarity?" Twilight asked. "It's not going to help you if you're like that."

"Rarity?" Sweetie asked.

"I just need my cake now!" Rarity yelled.

"You need your cake now?" Pinkie asked. "You should've arrived here earlier, then!" Then, Pinkie rushed towards the table, holding a few cakes in hoof. "Happy to make you glad, Rarity!" She placed the cakes down on the table.

Rarity looked at each cake on the table.

Then, she smiled. "Oh, thank you, Pinkie! You don't know what I'm going through right now!" Then, she took a bite out of one of the cakes.

Twilight Sparkle and Sweetie Belle looked at each other. Then, they looked at the eating Rarity.

"I don't know what your sister has been through," Twilight asked, looking at Sweetie. "What's wrong?"

"Overtime in her boutique, I guess," Sweetie said. "Last time I went to the boutique, she was working on lots of clothes. I didn't want to disturb her because I thought that she needed to have all of those clothes finished by the end of the day."

"Overworked," Twilight said. "She's simply overworked. Nothing too serious to think about as long as we don't let her overwork for too long. It's good that Pinkie decided to have a party here. Or, does Pinkie already know about her problem?" She glanced at Pinkie who was busy gathering more sweets. Twilight looked at Sweetie. "Why not enjoy the dessert, Sweetie?"

Sweetie took a bite out of one of the cakes.

Twilight took a bite out of one of the desserts, too.

Then, the door opened again.

"I have a letter!" Hexapod yelled.

The ponies looked at the changeling. They were surprised.

"What are you doing here?" Twilight asked.

"I'm here to give this letter to you, Princess Twilight!" Hexapod said. "Consider it a beautiful gesture of something!"

"What?"

"Yes, I mean that in the best possible way!"

"Aww!" Pinkie said. "Twilight, you have a changeling who adores you like that!"

"I don't know how to say what I'm about to say," Twilight said.

"Oh, no," Sweetie said. "Is this going to be, well, bad?"

"Let her say what she wants!" Rarity yelled. "I've already had enough work as it is!" Then, she had another bite of a cake.

Hexapod looked at Rarity. "What's wrong with her? Is it related to her work?"

"Overworked," Twilght said. "Now, where's the letter?"

The changeling hoofed the letter to her.

Twilight opened the letter.

She read the letter.

Pinkie and Sweetie looked at her read the letter.

Hexapod looked at her read the letter.

Then, Twilight placed the letter on the table. She looked at Hexapod. "So, what was that all about?"

"Did you like it, Twilight?"

"I don't know, Hexapod. You're just asking me if I could eat with you for a chat."

"And, was it nice?"

"You didn't have to write a letter!"

"Oh."

"But, I appreciate the effort you made," Twilight said. "But, I can't go out and eat with you. I still have more Princess duties to attend to."

Hexapod looked sad. "I understand, Twilight."

Then, Hexapod left Sugarcube Corner.

Twilight looked at Pinkie. "Do you have a way to make him happy? To cheer him up?"

"There's always a way, Twilight!" Pinkie said. Then, she rushed out of the building.

Twilight sighed. She looked at Sweetie. "I hope Hexapod is OK. Did I upset him?" Then, she looked at Rarity who was eating. "Rarity, please don't go overworking."

"I'm doing the correct amount of work, Twilight!" Rarity yelled.

Twilight looked at Sweetie. "Well, Rarity might get even worse if she continues on like this, Sweetie."

"So, what do you think I should do, Twilight?" Sweetie asked. "It's not like I could take her to some exciting place like Manehattan! It's expensive to go there!"

"To go there or to actually keep her happy with what she can buy there?"

"The latter, Twilight."

Twilight looked at Rarity. "I don't know, Sweetie, but maybe I don't have to bring her to Manehattan."

"You're gonna take her around Ponyville?" Sweetie asked.

"Maybe," Twilight said. "Perhaps bring Pinkie along for the ride. And Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy and Applejack and Spike and Starlight Glimmer."

"So, you're going to just have a get-together?"

"Do you want to join?"

"And ask Apple Bloom and Scootaloo to be with me?"

"Let's see," Twilight said. "We don't want too many ponies or else she would get angry about all the noise. I don't know. There should be something else, though."

"What something else?"

"Other than just letting Rarity be here."

"Do you have any other ideas?"

"I'll think about it," Twilight said. She looked at Rarity. "What about you, Rarity?"

"Don't ask me while I'm eating my dessert!" Rarity shouted.

Twilight looked at Sweetie. "Do you have any other ideas?"

"I don't know," Sweetie said. "What about we try just talking to Rarity?"

Twilight looked at Rarity. "Rarity?"

"What is it, Twilight?"

"What about we just try and talk about your problem?" Twilight asked. "I can try!"

"You're just going to make it worse!" Rarity shouted.

"I don't want to make it worse," Twilight said. "I'm here to help you, Rarity!"

"Well, OK!" Rarity shouted.

"Now, we're getting more helpful," Twilight said, looking at Rarity.

Good Time

Twilight Sparkle looked at her books in the library, all stacked and arranged cleanly and orderly on their shelves. She smiled while she saw the shelves.

She looked around in the library. Then, she looked at the double doors which were closed.

Then, they opened.

"Starlight!" Twilight said, looking at the approaching pony. "What's going?"

"Uh, everything's OK," Starlight answered, looking at the Princess shyly. "Ponyville is not in bad condition, so I guess everything's OK."

"Hmm, what about all of Equestria?" Twilight asked. "Something must be going wrong somewhere in Equestria!"

"You're getting bored, aren't you?"

"Bored?!" Twilight exclaimed, making a surprised expression on her face. "Why, I would never be bored since I'm one of the Princesses of Equestria!"

Starlight made a stern look. "I guess you are bored."

Twilight calmed down and sighed. She paced the floor. "Well, that's the thing, Starlight. That's the fact. I'm just bored. Everything is going so well in Equestria. The ponies in Equestria are OK, the creatures outside of Equestria are OK. My friends are OK. Everything is OK!" She lifted her front hooves to the air. "There's no action! There's no problem to solve!"

"You could try, uh, looking for problems to solve," Starlight said. "You can't be that desperate, can you?"

"Well, there's the meeting with Thorax again," Twilight said. "Not much to think about! There must be this or that to talk about, this or that topic, and all the royal duties of being a Princess gets into the, well, I don't know, I'm not sure!"

"Twilight, you're panicking again," Starlight said. She approached Twilight. "You have to calm down. Try relaxing."

"I've already tried relaxing by reading a book," Twilight said. "Then, there's trying to be with your friends."

"Well, why haven't you done that, yet?"

"Maybe it's because I think I have too much on my hooves," Twilight said. "All the things that I have to do to keep everypony friendly and happy!"

"Then, why not let me take care of the castle while you just go and relax?" Starlight asked. "Chill and just go out with your friends, Twilight."

Twilight sighed. "Thank you, Starlight. I hope you don't mind me just leaving you here."

"Oh, no, I don't!" Starlight said. "I'll make sure everypony who visits this place will be happy!"

Twilight trotted out of the library.

Starlight looked around in the library. Then, she sighed. "If only I could bring somepony inside," Starlight said. "Then, this would've been great."

She went to one of the tables. Then, she looked at the many books of the library. "Maybe a little bit of relaxation is OK," Starlight said. "It's not like Twilight would get mad at me trying to calm down."

Then, she went to one of the chairs at the table. Then, she looked at the double doors. She looked at the books on their shelves.

"Then, what will I do?" Starlight asked. "Invite somepony? That means there won't be anypony here to take care of the castle, but a few minutes outside won't be bad."

Then, she went out of the library.

Starlight walked and went out of the castle.

She walked into the town and looked at the ponies who were there, talking to each other.

She went past a few buildings. She went past the boutique, she went past the bakery. Then, she stopped and looked around.

"I'm not going to be here just to wait for a pony, am I?" Starlight asked. She sighed. "Maybe I shouldn't have gone out of the library? But, how long would Twilight and her friends be out? Maybe they're going to Manehattan or some other far off place?" She sighed. Then, she looked at a few ponies who were near the bakery. "OK, the time is not yet over. I could still try!"

Then, she went to the ponies there.

The ponies who were talking stopped and looked at her, having confused looks on their faces. They looked at the ponies around them.

"Don't ignore me!" Starlight said. "I'm trying to be friendly here!"

The ponies looked at Starlight.

"Yes, you're going to be friendly to me, OK?" Starlight said. She had a stern look on her face.

The ponies looked at her.

Starlight looked at them.

The ponies looked at other ponies around them.

Starlight sighed. "Maybe I shouldn't have done that." Then, she walked away. She looked back at the ponies. Then, she looked forward and walked. She looked back at the ponies again.

The ponies looked at her with angry faces.

Starlight hurried out.

Starlight stopped. She looked around. She saw more ponies. She saw a changeling.

She approached the changeling.

The changeling was eating an apple pie.

Starlight looked at the changeling. "Hi!"

The changeling kept eating the apple pie, not noticing the pony.

Starlight sighed. She looked at the happy changeling, munching on his delicious food. "Not even the changelings want to talk to me. Or maybe it's just me. Or, it's probably just that the changeling is enjoying. Enjoying the apple pie. Which is not bad, but that doesn't mean he could just eat on without acknowledging that I'm here!"

The changeling kept eating the apple pie.

The pony placed a hoof on her chin while looking at the changeling. "But, how could he be talked to without being mad or angry? That's the thing. What does he want? Does he just want apple pie? Does he want to be left alone, or does he actually want a friend to talk to? I don't see any other changeling nearby. That could be something."

The changeling kept eating his apple pie.

"But, what am I supposed to do? Should I go to him and ask him nicely or should I go and be strong about it? Maybe not strong; they're still shy. Wait, maybe I'm not supposed to think that they're shy all the time? Shy around me? They're always trying to thank me! That's a good thing! But, what about this changeling, then? He must know that I'm here! Unless, he's enjoying the apple pie so much that he doesn't notice that I'm here!"

The changeling kept eating the apple pie, munching on it.

"Or, what if I bring another pony along with me. Maybe he will notice that there are two ponies now near him! Wait, that probably won't work. What is going to make this changeling notice me and talk to me and follow me to the library just so I won't get bored?" Starlight kept looking at the changeling.

Then, the changeling looked somewhere. He stopped eating his apple pie.

Starlight grinned. "This could be my chance!"

Then, the changeling took a step somewhere. Then, he stopped.

"Please, look at me!" Starlight said. "Just face here and talk to me and let me be the one to invite you to the library!"

The changeling noticed Starlight.

Starlight grinned.

"Starlight Glimmer!" the changeling said. "It's amazing to see you and to meet you here, Starlight!"

"Well, it is!" Starlight said. "Because, I'm going to let you into the castle!"

"Are you sure?" the changeling asked. "This is amazing!"

Starlight grinned. She looked at the castle. "Do you want to read any book from there? I could let you borrow some. You might get excited."

"I'm excited about what is inside the library!" the changeling said. "I've never been to the library before! I always liked books and I want to see what kind of books are there because my friends told me about these books and they're amazing and I just want to see what they're all about and I want to go and see those books and I want to be excited by those books and I like those books and they might be great at making me a happy changeling!"

"You must like books," Starlight said. "So, do you want to go the library now?"

"I'm ready for it!" the changeling said. The changeling smiled.

Starlight grinned.

The changeling flew.

Starlight walked.

They approached the castle.

Starlight looked at the changeling. "Do you want to be amazed?"

"I want to!" the changeling said. "Where are all the books? The books that my friends were telling me about?"

"Just wait," Starlight said. "You'll get to them. Just be patient."

Starlight opened the double doors and walked.

The changeling and the pony finally stopped at the double doors.

"This is the library," Starlight said.

Then, she opened the double doors.

The changeling looked amazed. "It's...what they've told me about!"

"Just calm down, OK?" Starlight said.

Then, the changeling calmed down.

"Now, what do you want?" Starlight asked. "What kind of book do you want?"

"Let me get out first," the changeling said.

"OK? Why?"

"Just, go with me," the changeling said. "I want to think about it first."

Then, the changeling and the pony went out of the castle.

Occasion

The smell of apple pie was delicious and tasty as it wafted through the air, going past several ponies who eyed the delicacy that emanated such a wonderful aroma. A few ponies were already seated at the tables, looking at the pie with great desire. There were a few changelings there, too. They looked at it with great desire, also.

Applejack held the plate up with her hoof. The apple pie on the plate was a pie of meticulous quality. Its crust was superb, its smell was good. The ponies kept on looking at the pie.

"Everypony!" Applejack yelled. "It's time for some food!"

And everypony and every changeling cheered as Applejack walked to one of the tables and placed down the apple pie on it. The two ponies who were at the table smiled.

Some ponies were noisy as they kept cheering on Applejack. She walked back to the farm house.

"Now, we're going to have to wait!" a pony complained. "Why can't we just have waiters here?!"

Applejack looked at the complaining pony. "If ya' can just keep waitin', then you'll have yer' pie, OK?" Then, she went inside the farm house.

The pony groaned and placed a hoof on the table. He rubbed his side.

The pony across the table looked at him. "So, what's the occasion? Why did you get me here? It's sunset, almost nighttime."

"Just an occasional party," the pony who had complained said. "Why not join in? Why not enjoy the tasty food the Apples serve here? Applejack is a great cook."

"You brought me here just to eat some food?"

"Why not?" He looked at one of the changelings. "Changeling! I guess you're here for the free food, too, correct?"

"But, why would I be here if it weren't for the food?!" the changeling shouted. "Everything here is amazing! Everything here is good!"

The pony looked back at his friend. "Everypony and every changeling here is for the food. There's no way you can get out of here without eating some of the food."

"But, what about my plan?"

"What plan?"

"My plan to just visit?" the pony said. "I'm not here to stay for the food. I'm just here to visit."

"Enjoy the visit!" the other pony answered. "Don't get yourself nervous and tired about all the things you have to do tomorrow. Enjoy the day!" He glanced at the changeling. "Enjoy today!"

The changeling smiled. The changeling turned to his changeling friends at the table. "That was a nice pony."

"Kind of you makes you think about it all," another changeling said. "Like, what about all the ponies who decided to make the food just for us. We didn't have to do anything. All we had to do was go here."

"That's called family kindness," the changeling said.

Applejack arrived holding many more plates of apple pies. The ponies looked at her and the food she was carrying. They smiled and gazed upon the pies.

"Get yer' pies here, fellas!" Applejack shouted.

And many ponies grabbed their pies from her plates. They hurried to their tables and munched on their pies.

A changeling grabbed a few pies and placed them on the table. He sat down. "There's going to be lots of eating, I can tell." He looked around. "Just look at the ponies! They're all feasting on the food! They're not talking to each other a lot anymore!"

"That's because they're busy," another changeling said. "Busy eating." He looked at the changeling beside him. "Come on. You can go eat that pie now."

The changeling then ate the pie.

"Lots of food going around," the changeling said. "Everypony is excited for the food. Then, when all the food is done, they can leave or stay. It's a good place they're in."

"Ponyville?" another changeling asked. "I think it is. But, what about other places? There are places like Canterlot."

"I prefer the simple feel of Ponyville," the changeling answered. "Not to mention the ponies who live here are friendly. You have Twilight Sparkle. Then, you have her friends. They're quite friendly."

"That's OK," the other changeling said. "It's good that Ponyville has them."

The changelings then went on with their eating their apple pies.

Applejack looked upon the ponies and the changelings who were eating the apple pies. The mare walked slowly towards one of them. Then, she stopped. She looked around, seeing all the ponies and the changelings who were there. "Ah' think this is a fine event goin' on," she said.

Then, she walked back to the farm house and turned around and looked upon the ponies and the changelings again.

She looked at the changelings who were eating. "Even the changelins' are happy!" She sighed. "This is a fine place to live in."

She went inside the farm house.

The changelings went on eating their apple pies along with the ponies who were there. There were short talks here and there as the eating went on. A few ponies who were walking there looked at all the ponies and the changelings who were eating and joined in. They sat beside friends. They joined in the eating. The atmosphere was friendly as more talking went on.

The occasion went on for a while. As apple pies were eaten, talking went on. The ponies became more talkative, became louder. They talked about a lot of things from how the food, the apple pie, was to how their friends were. They were all quite happy and joyful about it all as they sat on their chairs.

The atmosphere was friendly. Everypony was happy as they enjoyed each other's being there.

Then, the ponies and the changelings left the place.

Applejack watched them leave. "They're good," she said. "They're good creatures."

The changelings went with each other. They walked with the ponies out of Sweet Apple Acres.

The talking went on as they walked. Then, they approached the buildings of Ponyville. The other ponies who were there looked at them and smiled.

A few unicorns walked with each other as they looked at the castle and went there. Several other ponies were going to Sugarcube Corner. Others were going to the boutique. There were some ponies who went to their own houses.

"This is a great and wonderful day!" one of the changelings exclaimed. "We've had apple pie from Applejack! When we go home and tell our friends about this, they're going to be excited to come here!"

"A lot of them already went here," another changeling said. "I think that's OK. They can come here again."

"That's amazing, isn't it?" the changeling said. "Ponyville is the best place to be in if you're a changeling. And, if you're a pony."

"It probably is," the other changeling said. "Now, what else? What's the plan? Do we go out now? Or, do we stay here?"

"I guess we'll stay here," the changeling said. "It's not a bad idea. We can sleep over in the castle."

"Do you think we're allowed to sleep there?" the other changeling said. "It doesn't sound like a good idea to me."

"It probably is. Think about it! We can sleep there in the same building!" the changeling said. He looked around. "We can sleep together in the same room and it will be OK and amazing and good! Don't you like that?"

"It's still a castle," the other changeling said. "Are you sure we can actually sleep there? Maybe they might not like it that we're going to sleep there."

"But, what if we want to sleep there?" the changeling said.

"It doesn't matter if we want to. If we're not supposed to, then we're not going to sleep there. I might like it, but I'm not going to sleep there."

"Come on! Try being positive about it for once!"

"I'm trying to be positive," the changeling said. "I'm just thinking about all that's going to happen if we do this or that, if we do that or this. I'm not going to rush in without thinking."

"I thought about it! It's going to be cool!"

"I thought more about it and we might not be able to sleep there."

"So, where are we going to sleep?"

"We can ask a pony if we can sleep at his house," the changeling said. He looked at one of the houses. "Maybe that house. Or the house beside it. A simple house. A simple bedroom with simple things. Just the way I want it to be."

"That's what you want it to be. I want it to be grand like the castle!"

"Just stick with it. You're going to face less trouble if you're just going to be OK with sleeping in a normal, simple house with no grand decorations. Just a normal house. Just a simple house."

"But, that's boring!"

"To you, it may be boring. To me, it's OK. It's one of the best things to have."

"Boring?"

"No, not boring."

"But, I think it's boring."

"You can keep complaining about it all you want, but I want to sleep in a normal, simple house and you're not going to stop me. It's not going to stop. I'm going to sleep in a normal house and it doesn't matter how much you want to stop me. I will sleep in a normal and simple house despite all that you may throw at me. I will sleep there and not at the castle not only because I want to but because I know that I'm not allowed to sleep at the castle. There is no arguing with that. You won't stop me from sleeping at a normal and simple house and I will sleep at a normal and simple house. This house is going to the best house you'll ever sleep in, and I won't let you stop me from sleeping in a house. I will sleep in a normal and simple house and I will sleep there. There will be no stopping me because it is what I plan to do, it is what I plan to do. There will be no arguing." The changeling sighed.

The other changeling looked at his friend. "That's not good."

"Come on. It's not bad. It's going to be good. Good sleep."

The other changeling sighed.

"Just sleep in a house."

The other changeling smiled.

"That's OK."

The changeling smiled.

Changeling Gladness

The ponies stood on the ground as they waited. They looked here and there. A few ponies were moving around, but there was not much going on.

"Where's the train?" a mare asked. "I thought it was supposed to be coming. Now, it's not here."

"Don't worry," a stallion said. "The train is probably just in need of some fixing. Just wait a few minutes."

"I don't need to wait a few minutes!" The mare walked away from the stallion. "I'm running very late for my scheduled event!"

"What's the event?" the stallion said.

"You don't wanna know!"

The stallion looked on at the mare. Then, he looked away from her.

A changeling walked to his side.

"Now, what do you want?" the stallion asked. "This is supposed to be a day where I can have a good day."

"It's not about that," the changeling said. "I'm just here waiting for the train like you are."

The stallion looked at his left. He saw the green grass and the fields that were beautiful. Then, he looked back to the changeling. "Well, I'm trying to get around in Equestria."

The changeling looked to his left. He also saw the green grass and the fields. Then, he looked at the stallion. "What are you trying to do?"

"I'm trying to participate in my passion!" the stallion answered roughly. "What do I want? I want to be an expert at making the best foods ever! That's correct, changeling! I want to be a chef! I even have my talent in cooking! But, they always don't want me to be a chef! I don't know why!"

"So, what are you trying to do?" the changeling asked.

"I'm trying to improve my cooking skills," the stallion said. He frowned and looked at the green grass and the beautiful fields again.

"You don't have to be sad about it," the changeling said. The changeling went closer to the stallion.

"I'm not sad about it," the stallion said. The stallion sighed. "There was a dream. I was the one who had that dream. I know that I will someday get to that dream of being a chef."

The changeling looked around. Then, he smiled. "I have a few thoughts in mind about your situation!"

"What could they be?"

"Maybe you should go and try just showing other ponies your talent," the changeling said. "I've learned it from a few ponies."

"Which few ponies?" the stallion asked, giving him a questioning look. "I guess that it's the Princess of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle. Is that correct?"

"Well..." The changeling laughed nervously, looking here and there.

"It's alright," the stallion said. "Why wouldn't you look for her and her friends first when you're thinking about friendship? Except that this isn't friendship we're talking about. I'm talking about my talent."

Then, a sound from the distance.

The stallion and the changeling looked at where the sound came from.

"It's the train," the stallion said. He looked at the changeling. "Are you going with me? I'm planning to go to Canterlot—perhaps I might find a pony who's willing to help me with my cooking skills."

"It depends," the changeling responded. "I don't know what to do. Now that we're free, I really don't know what to do other than relax and work here and there and then something else like more rest and relaxation."

The stallion smiled. "You have to figure that one out."

Then, the train stopped in front of them. The doors opened and several ponies went out, some of them carrying bags. There was one pony who had a bag that was being carried by another pony.

"It's one of the haughty unicorns," the stallion said. "Asking others to carry their bags for them. They already have their unicorn magic—why not use their magic to carry their bags?"

"I don't know," the changeling said.

Then, the stallion went inside the train. A few more ponies went inside the train.

The changeling was outside.

The train's doors closed and then the train moved.

The changeling looked at the train.

Then, he flew away.

The changeling landed on the ground. He stopped in front of the castle. "Shiny."

He looked around. "And, there's nopony that I could see. Maybe they're hiding. Maybe there are guards around here and I just don't see them. That's clever and smart."

Then, the double doors opened.

"Oh, hi!" Twilight Sparkle said. "It's nice to meet you! Were you about to go inside?"

"Not really," the changeling said. "Just here to admire your building, that's all. This castle—made out of shiny rocks."

"Well, it is," Twilight said. "So, what are you doing here in Ponyville? Do you have some friends to catch up to?"

"Not really. I just wanted to rest and relax. Just wanted to see what I could do here in Ponyville."

"That's OK!" Twilight said. "Do you want to answer some questions while you're at it?"

"Why?"

"It's for a good reason!" Twilight answered nervously. She smiled. "Anyway, do you want me to guide you around Ponyville? How long have you been in Ponyville today? Did you just arrive or have you been here for a long time already?"

"I just arrived an hour ago," the changeling answered. "It's not going to be boring if you be the one to guide me around Ponyville. I would like to have a proper tour."

"Well, I'm glad to help!" Twilight said. She trotted towards the town.

The changeling followed her.

"So, what do you want to see first?" Twilight asked while they trotted. "Do you want to see the big landmarks first? Or, do you want to start humble and see some ponies' houses and the ponies themselves inside? They won't mind us—they've probably gotten used to changelings going inside their houses with ponies guiding them around."

"They do?"

"Nah, I was just joking!" Twilight said. "But, they're still friendly!"

They trotted, passing by a few ponies. Lyra waved at Twilight and the changeling.

"It's a calm day today," the changeling said. "Do you think it's like that?"

"I think so," Twilight said. "There's not much going on—not many friendship problems to solve today. The journal is helpful for lots of ponies around Equestria and more and more ponies are becoming friendly because of their reading of it! Then, there's not much else to do here for now. Pinkie Pie is planning a party soon, but until the party begins, I don't really have that much to do. Royal duties? Probably. I have meetings with a few ponies around Equestria and I still have to meet with Thorax again."

"How do you think of Thorax?" the changeling asked. "I would like to know how you think of him."

"Thorax? He's a nice guy," Twilight responded. "Kind and caring. Thorax is the kind of changeling to rule over the Changeling Kingdom. Is he perfect? I don't think so, but he's been improving ever since he became king."

"What do you think of him as just a changeling?" the changeling asked.

"Just a changeling? Well, he's nice."

"Is that all?"

"Well, I haven't met him that many times outside of royal meetings. I guess we should do that more often—maybe just go to Sugarcube Corner and eat a cake. More friendship time with Thorax. That would be better."

Then, they stopped in front of a building.

"So, first, we're stopping at Sweet Apple Acres. It's the first place that I've been to in Ponyville! This is where I met Applejack."

"This is the place where they grow their food?" the changeling asked.

"It is," Twilight said. "Applejack and the family live here. I don't know if they're at work now or if they're resting. Do you want to check?"

"But, I haven't been to this place before."

"I'll be beside you," Twilight said.

The changeling flew towards the farm house. Twilight trotted.

Then, the changeling landed in front of the house.

The changeling looked at Twilight.

"Why not try knocking on the door?" she said.

The changeling knocked on the door.

The door opened.

Applejack was there. "Howdy! So, what are ya' doin' here?"

"Just being here," the changeling said. He extended a hoof. "Nice to meet you!"

Applejack shook his hoof. "Well, it's nice to meet ya'!"

Twilight smiled.

"I'm here to see Ponyville," the changeling said. "I don't know anything else about this town other than what my friends have told me. They told me about the names of the ponies here and of the places here, but other than that, I don't know what's in Ponyville."

"It's good ya' started here!" Applejack said. "This is where we produce the apples for Ponyville! Ah' can show ya' 'round the farm! I'll let ya' see the fields o' apple trees!"

Applejack walked towards the fields of apple trees. She looked at the changeling. "What do ya' want?"

"Uh, I'm just surprised at everything here in Ponyville. All the kindness and the friendship that you've shown me so far."

"Well, isn't that what we're known for?" Applejack said. "But, Ah' don't wanna have that much fame, to be honest. If Ah' get too famous, then I can't do anythin' here in the farm!" She looked at Twilight. "And, I think ya' know!"

Twilight smiled. "Oh, I remember!"

Applejack smiled. He looked at the changeling. "If ya' want to stay in the house first, that's OK! I can make some apple pie. It's the best in all o' Equestria!"

The changeling smiled. "Well, thanks, Applejack."

Applejack trotted inside the house.

The changeling went inside along with Twilight.

The wooden furniture and the wooden materials of the house gave the house a farm feel and atmosphere. There was not that many things inside the house. Applejack was inside the kitchen, preparing a few ingredients for the apple pie. She smiled while she did so, humming a tune.

"How do you like the farm so far?" Twilight asked. "What do you like about the farm? Bad? Or is it not bad?"

"It's a good place," the changeling said. "I would like to see what the apple pie might look like. That would be nice to know."

Twilight smiled. "You like apple pie, don't you?"

"Yeah," the changeling said.

Thinking

The changeling flew above Ponyville, looking at the buildings. He smiled as he saw the ponies play, the ponies talking, the ponies walking, the ponies dancing, the ponies laughing, the ponies sitting, the ponies eating, the ponies drinking—all of them engaged in the daily activities of their life. He placed a hoof on his chin as he pondered and thought. "What is it?" he said to himself. "I don't know what is it that they're happy about. Probably friendship—that's all they're revolving their entire lives around. It's all about being friends with everypony you can be with. Your friends here, your friends there, your friends in all the places that you go to.

"The places you go to. The ponies you visit. The ponies that smile at you and you smile back. It's about the interesting experiences you have with them, I guess. The changelings—we changelings—just mulling about, or that's what we used to do, at least. It's good that Thorax brought his friends along and saved us from Chrysalis—evil creature, evil changeling that she is. Where is she? Thorax doesn't know.

"What if he knows but he's not sure? That's OK—don't want to go and do something for nothing. Thorax is king now; he's ruler now. Everything's been a lot nicer since he got in charge. All of us are filled with love because we share it with both changelings and ponies and even other creatures when we come across them. All that we do, all that we say—it's just better now.

"But, what about life after that? Life after the first year or so of a good changeling king, of an understanding, considerate changeling ruler? What will happen after that? Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends said that they're building and thinking about some things that both we changelings and they ponies can do together. Sign of friendship? Hopefully—most certainly, that's the case.

"What are we going to do together, though? Are we going to have a friendship event together? Spread friendship to other places outside of Equestria. Just enrich our own lives and each others' lives? I don't know—I can not be certain about these things, but I can at least enjoy thinking about them, imagining them in my head. Hypothesis, hypothesis—that's what's it's all in my head, all in my mind, but I don't mind.

"Should I mind about everything else, though? Is it getting there? What is that? This whole friendship thing and sharing love. There are some out there who don't want to follow Thorax—I hope that they'll get better like us, or at least we come to agreeable and OK terms." He sighed, still flying in the air. "If only we could just stay here, if only we could just talk and have a few laughs and fun times here and there, going around Equestria and enjoying all the sights that we can see and enjoying all the food that we can eat apart from love—we don't even eat love anymore. We just share love—yet, they don't. They still keep eating love, stealing love from others without those others knowing about it. It's deceptive and it's all horrible, terrible, and just bad. But, they say that's what they've been doing all this time—why change? Why change the way we live?

"What if I told them that this is a better way? It doesn't matter how old the tradition or the thing is—if something is better, should we not just go for that better thing? Why keep to something good when we can get something better? Besides, stealing love is bad, even if it's a tradition that we used to hold to for so long. But, no matter how those changelings are going to talk about it, that tradition is still bad.

"What is it about them? What is it about stealing love? What is it about that thing, where stealing love sounds good and feels great? Is Thorax doing a good job about addressing it? I don't know. Thorax is not doing a good job. If he is, they would have understood what he said or maybe they would have stopped all their insisting about this and that. Yet, I still think Thorax can handle the problem.

"And, there's Thorax himself. Going out with Spike, going out with Starlight Glimmer and Trixie and Discord as well. Having parties here and there. Then, when he comes back, he's bringing those fun times to the kingdom with him. We all smile, we all laugh, we all enjoy the day and the night as the noise goes on, as the fun times go on. Then, when it's all over, we all enjoy the cleaning up of the kingdom—cleaning the streets, cleaning this and that. Not a single one of us minds the job since it's fun. But, what about Thorax as a changeling—not as a ruler, just as a changeling? Trying to cope with everything, that is.

"What about the ponies? Have their views about us changed overtime? I see some still a little afraid of us. I can see it in the subtle movements, in the subtle expressions on their faces. I can sense something is wrong, that, for them, there's something uneasy about us, even though we're completely fine and good and kind. I understand, though. It will take some time to change that kind of view about us. But, it's nice to know that a lot of the ponies are accepting us with open hooves very quickly and very fast. There's changelings at many buildings everywhere, trying to make a living for themselves. Changelings visiting all the popular places in Equestria from Canterlot to Manehattan to Appleloosa to Ponyville, of course. Of course, Ponyville would get a lot of visitors from us changelings. Three out of four of the kingdom's heroes and heroines live there. Well, maybe two since Discord doesn't really live in Ponyville, but, even with two out of four of the kingdom's heroes and heroines, that's still two out of the heroes and heroines. Starlight Glimmer and Trixie—living in Ponyville with great lives, happy times, optimistic outlooks on life, and growing friendships with the ponies, the changelings, and the other creatures that they meet. Who wouldn't be excited to go to them if that creature is a changeling?

"Then, at the end of the day, everypony, every changeling, and all the other creatures go to their beds smiling, knowing that they've had a better day because of their friends. For us, it's a better because we ended up sharing love with others—no longer do we have to use deceptive and evil tactics and strategies and other things to steal love from others. All we have to do is share love and it's all good, it's all OK, it's all fine, it's all amazing." He smiled. "And, maybe that's the life that I want to keep on having. I know that there will be times when that will come into question, but, when everything is done for the day, sharing love is better, the changelings are better, and Thorax is a nice ruler. Mabye I should go to Sugarcube Corner, meet Pinkie Pie again."

Then, he headed to the bakery. He was smiling.

Equestrian Efforts

The changeling landed in front of the bakery. It was now sunset—the sky was orange and yellow, the sun was about to go behind the mountains in the distance. A few pegasi were in the sky, clearing it up as they pushed several clouds away, making the sun shine more brilliantly.

The changeling looked at his surroundings. Ponies were already turning on their inside lights, giving Ponyville an early nightlife look and feel. A few ponies stopped to see the buildings and their lights. They smiled as they admired the timely beauty of it.

The changeling placed a hoof on his ear and looked to his left. He saw Pinkie Pie hopping and bouncing happily towards the bakery. Then, she hopped inside.

"Pinkie," the changeling said. "She's a strange pony. Yet, strange in a good way—always cheery, always smiling." Then, his smile went away. "Should I go and visit her again? Maybe she might get tired of me checking in on her. Am I even checking in on her or am I just finding an excuse to go visit her for some reason? It's the latter, I guess."

He inched closer and closer to the bakery, hesitating at each step. He looked behind him. A few ponies were looking at his awkward position and stance. "Uh, what are you doing?" a curious stallion asked.

"I'm just doing...something," the changeling awkwardly answered.

"Uh-huh." The pony placed a hoof on his chin as he inspected the changeling from afar. "You're not doing anything suspicious or anything? Nothing evil behind our backs?"

"Nope!" the changeling responded, placing a smile on his face. "I'm just walking...the way I'm walking right now. Very slowly." He took a slow step towards the bakery, still looking at the onlookers.

"Alright," the stallion said. He looked to the ponies around him. "There's nothing to see, folks! You can just move along, now!"

Then, the ponies moved along, going here and there as they talked to each other while they smiled.

The changeling sweated; beads of sweat went down his face. "What are you doing?" he said to himself. "Now, you just made yourself look weird! Then again, there's Pinkie—but, they've known her for a long time! They understand why she acts like that! Me? I've been here for how long? Less than a week! My weirdness is not going to make them any more comfortable!" He groaned. He sighed. He straightened himself up and walked firmly towards the bakery. "If I'm going to solve this dilemma, I'm going to solve it myself!"

He stormed into the bakery, smiling as he did so. The customers that were inside stopped their eating and their talking and looked at the changeling who just came in.

Pinkie looked at him from behind the counter. "Oh, you again? You must like the place, don't you?" She smiled and brought out her party cannon. Then, she fired it, decorating the entire room with confetti, balloons, streamers and other party decorations. There were even more cakes on the tables of the customers who smiled at the sight of them.

The changeling looked at it all, confused and perplexed. "Uh, what's going on?"

"Nothing's going on!" Pinkie said. "Well, technically, something is going on—the sun is going down, ponies are moving, ponies are enjoying the delicious treats that we're serving up for all of them!" She brought out a pie. "Would you like some? It's made with the best ingredients you could ever get!"

"Uh, no thanks," the changeling said. "Sorry for declining the offer. I don't feel that hungry now."

"Maybe you will if I show you the rest of the catalogue!" Pinkie said. "First, we have lots of sweets and pastries to fill your hunger, to make you smile and happy! I'm here to make sure that your tummy is full and that your day is glad! Do you want to meet Mr. and Mrs. Cake? You haven't met them before! I know because I've been with them all day and I haven't seen you even approach those two ponies! Don't worry—are you scared or afraid of them! They're not that mean or naughty at all! They're kind and loving ponies! They have their own children, but they're upstairs so I don't think you're allowed to make them cry or anything like that! But, if you wanted to come here for the pastires and the desserts only, then that's alright! I'm here to make sure that you're happy with what you plan to do here, whether it's just to eat or it's to meet the Cakes!" She grinned. "So, did you understand all of that? Do you need me to specify something or to clarify something? Hm?"

The changeling opened his mouth in more confusion. "Uh, what?"

"We don't have a dessert called that, silly!" Pinkie said, grabbing the changeling. "Now, what about I just give you something for free! Maybe it will be a cake, or a pie. Can it be the cakepie? Nah! I won't be telling the secret recipe about that! All you need to know is that you combine a cake and a pie! Wait, did I just say my own secret recipe without me knowing it until just a few seconds ago?"

"You just did?" the changeling asked in confusion.

"Whoops!" Pinkie exclaimed. She looked at the ponies who were looking at her. "Did you hear anything that I just said?!"

The ponies quietly looked at each other. Then, they looked back at Pinkie, their faces remaining straight.

"Alright, then," Pinkie said in a suspicious tone. "If you're not talking about it—" Then, she smiled "—then you must not have heard of it! We're all fine together!" She looked at the changeling. "Today, what is it?"

"Uh, why are you acting like that to me?" the changeling asked. "I didn't ask you to give me monologues that are so fast that I couldn't even understand half of what you said."

"I told you to tell me to specify or clarify anything you didn't understand!" Pinkie shouted. Then, she calmed down. "So, what did you do for today? Did you go on one of those flying trips where you just fly around in Ponyville? Changelings have been doing a lot of that lately. Is it natural? Do you have to fly or else you won't get enough energy for the next day or something?" She gasped. "Maybe I should go tell Twilight about this! She will be so excited about this new discovery and then she'll go and update her changeling notebook!"

"Her changeling notebook?"

"Yes, silly! Twilight has a changeling notebook! That's where she keeps all her notes about changelings. How they live, what their everyday lives are like, what they eat, what they drink, what their events and their parties are like—and, trust me, I'm an expert at parties, but I can also acknowledge that you changelings have a pretty unique kind of partying that I haven't seen anywhere in all of Equestria—what their habits are like, what their culture is like, what their topics are when it comes to talking about them—Twilight just wants to cover everything! See? Everything! She wants to document everything about you guys! Isn't that exciting to know? She will then spread more and more of that knowledge, of that information, to other ponies, and we ponies can relate to you more and more. Then, we can visit you and you can visit us more often, and we'll be together, living happily everyday! Don't you see where this is going, changeling? We're going to have fun together!"

"I didn't even know our kind of parties were unique," the changeling said, glancing away from the pink pony for a short while. Then, he looked back at her. "I...didn't know you were that excited about us. I knew that you were excited, but not this excited. And, Twilight is trying to take notes of everything about us? That's...a lot of work."

"Ponies don't know a lot about dragons as well," Pinkie said. "Or about Yaks. Or about Zebras—maybe? I don't know. But, that's besides the point! The point is that we just want to give you a good time! Enjoy being good and never think about doing evil again like stealing love!"

The changeling looked at the ponies who were watching the conversation. Then, he looked at Pinkie. He smiled. "Well, if that's what you all want. I like it."

"Does that mean that you want some cake or pie now?"

The changeling sighed, yet kept his smile. "No, Pinkie. I'm still not hungry."

"Then, what did you eat?"

"A few hay burgers," the changeling said. "Greasy? Yeah. But, are they good? Yeah."

"Did you know Twilight likes to eat there from time to time?"

The changeling had a surprised look on his face. "Wait? You're telling me that the Princess of Friendship—one of the most influential ponies in all of Equestria—, the Element of Magic, one of the most powerful ponies there in all of Equestria—you're telling me that Princess Twilight Sparkle likes to go to the Hay Burger?"

"Why are you so surprised?" Pinkie asked. "I thought that it would make sense that the Princess of Friendship would go to Hay Burger every so often!"

"It doesn't make sense," the changeling stated.

"It makes sense because she gets hungry! But, other than that, she wants to be just like the other ponies here—she doesn't want to become very formal just because she's a Princess. There are times when she tells us that she misses eating there because of her long trips and journeys to this and that place in Equestria. Sometimes, we just go and eat there and just have fun there as friends—talking about what happened over the course of the day, maybe telling a few jokes—usually I'm the one who tells the jokes because, well, I'm an expert at jokes—and, most of the time, we tell each other what we learned about friendship. We've been together for a long time, and there's still lots of things to learn about friendship. Isn't it nice, changeling?"

"Yeah, it is nice," the changeling answered.

"Does that mean you want a cake or pie now?"

The changeling sighed, though he still smiled. "No, Pinkie."

The Mare and the Hay Burger

"Who has the confidence?" the changeling asked the mare.

The mare had a brown coat and a blonde mane and a blonde tail. She wore a simple and cheap-looking hat. She held a camera with her hoof. Her cutie mark was a currency symbol.

"Who has it?" the changeling asked under the night sky. "I don't want to say about who has it. I'm just here to talk about who has the confidence."

"The confidence to do what?" the mare said. "I'm trying to relax here. It's the time when I can just stay in the place where I have to go and record anything interesting for ponies to scoop up in the newspapers and magazines by tomorrow. I've already done more than half of the work and you're here telling me that you want me to answer a question that's very general, very unspecific, and very unprofessional—there's not going to be an answer from me if you're going to be questioning me like that!"

"Uh, sorry, Long Shot," the changeling said, holding up a hoof in apology. "I'm just here trying to enjoy Ponyville at night. I mean, just look at it all." He stretched a hoof and pointed at the sky. "First, you have Princess Luna making a beautiful night sky. Look at the moon and the stars."

"We see it all the time," Long Shot said. "Besides, you changelings have been living under the same sky for centuries. You're probably going to get bored about it after a long while, and I mean a very long while, changeling!'

"But, I just want to stop and see it again."

"What? Have you not been seeing it? Have you been sleeping before sunset?"

"Not really," the changeling answered, smiling a little. "I just want to admire the beauty that Ponyville has when it's dark, when the moon is up there, shining calmly and with no frills and no thrills."

"What are you trying to be, a poet or somepony?" Long Shot asked. "If that's the kind of conversation that I'm going to have with you, then you better make it quick and hurry it up!"

"I assure that you're not going to waste your time!" the changeling pleaded.

"Well, give me reason!"

The changeling took in a deep breath. "First, look at all the buildings that you see here. Look at all of them. What do you see?"

"That they're buildings?"

"They're not just buildings!" the changeling said. "They can also house ponies!"

"What are you getting at?" Long Shot asked in an exasperated tone of voice.

"I'm getting at the fact that ponies can shape their houses whatever way they want it to!" the changeling said with much enthusiasm.

"So?" the mare asked with a questioning and annoyed look. "Don't leave me here trying to guess what you're trying to say! Are you trying to insult me or what?"

"No, I'm not insulting you or anything like that!" the changeling said, a bit hesitant in his words. "I'm just telling you my thoughts about how I'm just in awe of what you ponies have done!"

"Good for you, then," Long Shot off-hoofedly said. "You can stare at our houses all you want—at a certain point, it all becomes mundane and normal for us. What isn't mundane and normal for me? That's what I take pictures of and that's what I write about and that's what makes headlines and that's what makes ponies coming back for more and more scoops. What you're telling me here? It's boring or, if it isn't boring, it's not going to make ponies talk about it."

"Because you ponies live in houses everyday?" the changeling asked.

"Exactly. Why would I write about something that is just a part of everyday life? I'd rather bring in the interesting tales, the amazing stories, the wonderful adventures of this or that pony. Well, not really adventures since I am working to bring out newspapers to the crowds, but you get what I mean, do you?"

"Yeah," the changeling said, acting somewhat shy.

Long Shot looked around. "What about we get out of here and go to, I don't know, the Hay Burger? It's better there—if you want other ponies to hear us talk, why not? I don't understand why I'm so enamored with whatever you're talking about but if it's good enough, then I'm in. Plus, I'm hungry." She smiled.

The changeling smiled as he walked. "Well, I wanted to try my first ever hay burger."

The mare's smile went away and a look of astonishment replaced it. "Wait, have you tried food before?"

"Yeah," the changeling said, looking at the mare who was now walking beside him. "Are you going to ask me how it felt to try food for the first time as a changeling? Well, it was a nice experience. I haven't really tasted anything with my tongue ever before. The only thing I could do about your food was smell it. Was I able to eat it? Yeah, but we always thought that love was tastier than your boring food. Then, I realized that maybe being so bad dulled our senses, even our taste senses! So, when I tasted my first food other than love—I think it was somewhere in Manehattan because I wanted to have my first time eating food in some big place to celebrate the occasion—"

"I wouldn't be surprised," Long Shot said. "Manehattan is fit for anypony who wants to make lots of money and other things like that. Now, what were you saying again?"

"Oh. So, we were there—I was with my friends. We went to this place where they sold apple pie. Now, you might be thinking that I should've gone to Ponyville—I should've known that Applejack was a pony who made the best apple pie. But, the pie wasn't made by her. It was made by somepony else. Anyway, it didn't matter. What mattered was that we bought some apple pies and I took a bite into one of them. And it was an awesome experience—to be able to truly taste what apple pie was!"

Long Shot smiled. "You're one optimistic fellow, aren't you?"

"Who wouldn't be when we realized that you ponies made great food?!"

Long Shot giggled and looked away from him. Then, she looked back at him. "Don't try to make me blush!"

"Wait, you're a cook, too?"

"Not exactly a cook," Long Shot said. "It isn't my talent, but, let me tell you, I make some real good breakfast when you need one!"

"What kind of breakfast?"

"Just the usual—maybe some carrots roasted. Fritters? It depends. It depends on the fruit. Or does it? I'm not sure, anymore—it's been a long time since I've cooked a fritter."

Then, they stopped in front of the Hay Burger.

They went inside.

It smelled smoky and the sound of frying food filled the air as ponies around them sat on their chairs and ate their hay burgers and their horseshoe fries with their softdrinks at hoof. A few stallions were around a table, laughing; one stallion was laughing so hard, he slammed the table with his hoof.

Long Shot and the changeling looked at the group of stallions. "I don't know what they're trying to be funny about. Then again, I haven't heard the joke at all."

"Do you want to take pictures or something?" the changeling asked.

"That's not how my job works!" Long Shot answered angrily, giving him a mean stare. "I don't just take random pictures of anything that doesn't look normal. You have to consider if it's something that will make ponies buy lots of copies of newspapers and magazines. Instead of just filling the newspapers with lots of riveting stuff, you're just filling the newspapers with many things that are just out of the ordinary—nothing to get excited about."

"Maybe this is one of those times where it's riveting stuff you're in front of."

"I'm an expert," Long Shot. "And, even if I'm not, I still know what's riveting and what's not just by taking a glance at it. So, no." The mare walked to the counter and placed several bits on it. She faced the cashier. "I want two hay burgers, please."

The changeling watched the conversation.

"Is that all you want?" the cashier asked. "Do you want maybe a drink or fries?"

"Yeah, I want drink and fries for two," Long Shot said.

The cashier took the bits. "Alright."

The changeling looked away and sat on a chair. He looked at his surroundings and heard all the noises he could hear—bits being placed on the counter, talks over the table, cooking machines doing their work. A few ponies went inside, those ponies talking to each other as they entered.

Outside, the night remained beautiful. The moon shone along with the stars, giving the sky a comforting feel. There were a few ponies passing by on the street. One glanced at the Hay Burger before looking back at the pony beside him.

Then, he turned to see the mare walking towards him, carrying a tray of food and drink. She placed it down and sat down. "OK. Now, enjoy the food."

The changeling looked at the hay burger. He grabbed it and inspected it—he turned it around, placed it closer to his face.

The mare grabbed her hay burger and immediately took a bite off of it. She gulped it down. "What are you trying to do now, changeling? Are you trying to tell me that that's how you treat every food you will eat for the first time? We have customers waiting!"

"But, it isn't full!" the changeling complained.

"It doesn't matter if it's full now," the mare said, "what matters is giving room to ponies later on. We don't want to stay here for one hour. Not even half an hour!"

"But, just let me take my time and let me make this first time eating a hay burger the best time," the changeling said. "I don't want to miss such an opportunity!"

"What if the opportunity was insultingly bad?"

"It isn't and I know it!"

"This is the first time you've eaten a hay burger, changeling. Why should I trust you?"

"Just let me eat the food when I want to eat it!"

The mare groaned and placed a hoof on the table. "Fine! Take your time! Just don't take too long!"

The changeling smiled in glee. He kept inspecting the burger, turning it around.

The mare sighed.

Under the Night Sky

"At least the hay burger was very good," the changeling said as he sat on the bench in the middle of the park. A fountain was in front of him—a simple fountain that poured out water. It was elegant in its basic way. He observed it. He looked at the water going and going. He looked around—there were ponies sitting on benches, there were others going around in the park. There were some sitting on the green grass, talking to each other in hushed tones as they looked at the moon and the stars in the sky above. There were others who were playing on the grass, their laughters heard from a long way off as they joyfully participated in their games. Still, there was a couple who just looked yearningly at each other's eyes and then looked off into the night sky, holding each other.

Then, a purple pony noticed the changeling. "Oh. Hi!"

The changeling noticed her. "Hi." He waved at her. "What's your name?"

"Cheerilee," she said. "Just trying to wind down, getting my head in the clouds! Well, not really in the clouds, because I'm not a pegasus, but you get what I mean, correct? Right?"

"Yeah," the changeling said. "I'm well-versed in pony phrases and pony expressions. I might have to be."

"OK," Cheerilee said. Then, she took a seat on the bench.

There was silence between the two for a little while.

"So, what do you do?" the changeling asked. "What's your talent? I notice that your cutie mark is made up of three smiling flowers. Are you a gardener? Florist?"

"Cutie marks don't always work like that," Cheerilee said in a cheery tone. "There are cutie marks whose meaning may not be so clear. Applejack, for example, has apples for her cutie mark and that tells you that she's good at...well, doing things related to apples. But, I'm not a gardner nor am I a florist, so what's the meaning of my cutie mark? I taught my class about this some time ago—the flowers signify my desire to make my students bloom by nurturing them mentally."

"I see," the changeling stated. "Anything else? Are you sure you're not a gardener, not even if you don't know it?"

"Oh, I've had my hoof there once," Cheerilee answered, "but I just didn't find the time nor the motivation to actually garden or do anything that has to do with flowers. Although, I'm OK with flowers—I like them and I don't mind the ponies whose talents involve florist things. But, it's just not my passion."

"So...you're a teacher?" the changeling asked, slowly pointing a hoof at her. "You said you were a teacher."

"Oh, yes, I'm a teacher!" Cheerilee happily replied.

"What do you do?" the changeling questioned. "I know that you help foals, but exactly how? Is it like the teachers I remember from back in the day? The teachers who teach with a chalkboard and a lecture?"

"That's what teaching looks like," Cheerilee answered, "but it isn't all of teaching. That's only the surface of teaching. You have to make sure that the foals understand what they're learning, but before you get to make them understand, you have to make them, well, eager to learn. Is it a perfect system? This...chalkboard-lecture thing? I don't think so, but I always try to make clear to my students that this isn't just to make them pass a quiz."

"Which is what I expected," the changeling interrutped. "I sometimes hear the foals say that it might as well be like that. But, what makes you different? I mean, what makes your teaching...effective? Is it 'effective' or some other word?"

"You mean, 'What makes your teaching work?'" Cheerilee said. "It's about guiding each student, knowing that each student is not exactly the same as another. Their minds operate differently, even if only slightly. So, once I'm done with the chalkboard and the lecture, I then encourage my class to ask questions. Why? So that they may understand the lesson more fully."

"That's good and all," the changeling said. "But, what else do you do besides teaching?"

"Besides teaching?" Cheerilee asked. She looked around. Several ponies were walking around in the park, enjoying themselves in the night. "I also have my own hobbies. I appreciate a good concert here and there, especially with the Pony Tones. Even though I already heard that Fluttershy was a part of them, I haven't heard her sing as a member, yet." She placed a hoof on her chin and pondered and thought about it. "Come to think of it, it's been a long time since she sang for the Pony Tones."

"Who are the Pony Tones?" the changeling asked. "Are they a singing group?"

"Yeah, they are," Cheerilee said. "They're always—well, not always, but frequently enough—they perform sometimes and I love to attend their concerts whenever they announce one. When they go out to the rest of Equestria, however, I'm not sure if I'll be able to get to their concerts. If they get popular, I don't know if I'll be able to get in line at all! Imagine all the tickets!"

The changeling smiled. "I don't think you ponies are as excited for your own culture than we arre for...yours."

Cheerilee sighed, yet kept her smile. "I know what you're talking about. Recent events, recent times—what was it? Aww, now look at me! If a pony asked me months ago if I would be comfortable with casually talking to a changeling on a bench in the park of Ponyville at night, I would've said, 'I would never do that!' But, here we are now." She sighed, still keeping her smile. "Great times, aren't they?"

The changeling smiled. "Yeah, great times."

"So, you were talking about...?"

"How we're excited for pony culture?" the changeling said. "I wanted to get to that because...after a long time, we're still enamored, still attracted, still amazed, still lured to all that you ponies make and the kind of culture that you have. I think you've already heard this from some of my friends, but I hope it doesn't hurt to tell you—we always lived inside a culture where everything was done for Chrysalis and for ourselves. You might think that, at least in some ways, we had some stories to tell, some art to paint, some songs to sing, some books to write. But, we didn't. Chrysalis ruled very badly—and I'm not just saying that she's evil. I'm also saying that she's evil to us, not just to you. We didn't realize it before, but when we disguised ourselves as ponies and sneaked into your towns and cities, the changelings that saw a real pony place for the first time had to keep themselves in check. Why? Even here in Ponyville—not a big place, not a bustling city—the sheer amount of...everything you could have there was something that astounded us. You had food—so many choices of food, even the flavors for the same food were in lots of choices! Then, when you get past the neccessities, you get to the things that, as a changeling, I've heard of but I've never seen with my own eyes before: books, paintings, music! I didn't think they were that useful—who needs them? But, I realized that you had the freedom and the ability to actually make them—using your imagination. And, here we are, just sitting here in the gray rooms of our lives! It was hard for some of us to go back to the Changeling Kingdom when you've seen such...good things."

Cheerilee kept paying attention to the changeling.

"We were all disorderly—all going here and there. We were trying to get to this pony and to that pony, but the thought of all those...freedoms kept us from going forward when we should've gone forward. We intended to go to a place like Manehattan to steal love, but then we ended up staying there yearning for what the ponies offered there. Disguised as ponies, we felt the kindness that the ponies had for us. Not all ponies were kind, but most of them were. They offered us a variety of food and drink, they told us that we should go see this or go read that or to visit this or to take a trip there. It was great, it felt great to feel accepted even though they weren't really accepting our true changeling selves.

"Then, we tried to keep this a secret from Chrysalis. She didn't want us to succumb to wanting to stay in those places. She wanted us to stay loyal to her—and, most, if not all of us, actually did. I stayed loyal to her, too. I kept telling myself that it was all going to be ours anyway when we successfully defeat the ponies. And, if it was all bad—if Chrysalis said it was bad, then it must be bad. She was our ruler, after all. What she says we must follow.

"Of course, you know what happens next. Thorax and his friends come along and save us from Chrysalis and he becomes king and we become good creatures. With the Princesses trying to convince you ponies to accept us, we were on our way to visiting places in Equestria—and, when we first went to those places as good creatures, a lot of you accepted us for who we are, for what we wanted to be, for that's who we are.

"I'm sorry if I sound like I'm just rambling along, trying to tell you something imperfectly, Cheerilee. But, sometimes, you just gotta get it out. That's what I feel." He paused for a little while, looking at Cheerilee's curious face. "Thank you for listening, Cheerilee."

"It was a pleasure meeting you, changeling," she said.

They shook hooves.

"So, what do you plan to do?" the changeling asked. "You were walking around in the park tonight. What were you doing?"

"Just relaxing," Cheerilee replied. "I don't have to be working or doing something that relates to my work all the time."

"Yeah, I know," the changeling said.

"So, what are you doing here?" Cheerilee asked. "Are you here on vacation? Is it one of those free days that Thorax gave you?"

"Yeah, one of those free days," the changeling said. "Or, free weeks. I've done intensive work for the kingdom—I was doing lots of rebuilding and redecorating efforts. I could say that it's going to look nice in the end."

Cheerilee smiled. She got up from her bench.

"See you!" Cheerilee said.

"Bye!" the changeling said, smiling.

A Long and a Short Talk

Colts and fillies played around in the park, running after each other on the green grass and on the dirt paths, past the benches, past the older mares and stallions who gave a quick glance and a smile as they rushed past them in their childhood fun. Their eyes glistened in the moonlight shine, their faint shadows were on the ground. The changeling stood a little distance from them as he watched the young ponies run around and play and laugh and live.

He sighed. "I wanted to have something like that. I want to. And, I will continue to want that. To desire that." He sighed again, frowning. "But, at least I have the present time—the time I have now."

He walked away from the park.

"Don't ask me!" Pinkie said happily. "You should ask somepony else who's, uh, more knowledgeable about it like, uh, Fluttershy!"

"What?" Princess Cadance asked from across the counter. "I wasn't talking about animals. I was talking about—"

"Yeah, you were talking about love—and, if you love somepony, you are kind to that somepony, right? Am I right, am I right, or am I correct?"

"I appreciate your upbeatness now, but you're just confusing me now, Pinkie," Cadance said. "I was just asking if you could prepare some surprise treats for Shining, but...I don't even know how we got to talking about love and Fluttershy."

Pinkie looked around suspiciously, her eyes narrowed as if she was scouting out for a certain pony.

"Uh, what are you doing now?"

"I'm checking if we're all safe!" Pinkie said. She quickly turned around to look at Cadance. She leaned towards the Princess's ear. "Do you know what they told me?"

"Who's they?" she whispered back.

"It doesn't matter," Pinkie said. "What matters is that they told me that you were visiting."

"I announced it via letter to you," Cadance said in a slightly stern tone, her face becoming a little more serious, "but, in hindsight, I guess I should've just dropped in unannounced."

"That makes it more surprising!" Pinkie said.

"What's the purpose of this, anywy?" Cadance asked. "Who have you been talking to?"

"Myself!" Pinkie grinned. Then, she threw a cake at a customer's table and it landed perfectly and the customer smiled the customer took a hoofful of the cake and stuffed it into his mouth and ate very loudly and he smiled.

Cadance looked at the customer and then back at Pinkie. "Really, Pinkie."

"Oh, just some old and new friends!" Pinkie said. "You already know that I try to befriend everypony that I come across. I've learned a long way since that donkey...what's his name? I don't even need to say that! Cranky Doodle Donkey!"

"Ah, yes, him," Cadance said.

"You remember him, right? From the wedding?"

"Yes, Pinkie," Cadance replied while she nodded. Then, she leaned on the counter and tapped a hoof on it.

"You look tired, Cadance," Pinkie said, sounding concerned. "Why? Is being a Princess and all getting to your head again? Do you need to go relax with your family? Maybe you should—no, you definitely should invite Twilight to your rest and relaxation time! Then, you can catch up with her, maybe talk about Star Swirl the Bearded and all that other history and geography and astronomy and other stuff like that! I promise I'll bring the sweets!" She grinned.

Cadance laughed a little, glancing towards the side and subtly avoiding the Earth pony's gaze. "No, it's not that, Pinkie. It's just me reminiscing—those memories I've had with Shiny and Flurry." She giggled a little as she looked up to the ceiling.

Pinkie looked up as well. "Yeah. I know what you mean."

Cadance giggled again. "Yeah. Remember when we visited Ponyville and left Flurry Heart under Twilight's care?"

"And how it went so badly and it was almost disastrous but then Twilight somehow saved the day?" Pinkie asked.

Cadance bit her lip. "Uh, yes."

A pony entered the bakery.

"Don't be shy!" Pinkie said, lookin at the pony that just arrived. "Take any of the available seats and I'll get to you in a moment or two! Or, was it three?" She looked at her hooves. "How many moments?"

"Pinkie?"

"Ooh! Yeah, sorry! Where was I?"

Cadance looked around nervously. "You were talking about the time when Twilight took care of our Flurry?"

Pinkie perked up. "Ooh! I know that one!"

Cadance smiled a little. "Pinkie." Then, straightened up, standing slightly more firmly than before. "I also remember the other ponies we've had—there was Spearhead, there was Thorax, there was Maud who was quite excited to visit the Crystal Empire—although, I've had to remember that your sister is—"

"Very different from me?" Pinkie finished. "That makes us even better! I could tell that she was super-happy to be there!"

"She was!" Cadance said, forcing a smile while glancing here and there nervously. Then, her smile faded away. "Speaking of Thorax...have you been hearing what's happening lately in the Changeling Kingdom?"

"What is it?" Pinkie asked.

"It's this...thing," Cadance said. She took in a deep breath. "Thorax told me that there was a group of changelings who refuse to, well, change. They still adhere to the traditions of old, to being deceptive and stealing love from others without them knowing. What makes it even worse is that Thorax's brother is a part of that group—if I remember correctly, his name is...Pharynx?"

"Sounds like a brother to me!" Pinkie exclaimed.

"Anyway, that's what makes it even harder for Throax to handle the situation well. Not only does he have to think about the changelings who are loyal to him, he also has to think of the changelings who aren't loyal to him, not to mention that his brother is one of them. He can't satisfy them all—if he goes one way, there will at least be one who won't be OK with the decision."

"But, if he goes the other way, then all the ponies will be scared and then we have to be on alert all the time!" Pinkie said in a fearful tone, balking from Cadance a little.

The Princess sighed. "What complicates things is that Thorax is a kind leader—probably too kind. I've heard from him that he's learned to be more assertive from Dragon Lord Ember recently, but...he's still working on it."

"What about we go there?" Pinkie suggested, raising a hoof. "I and my friends! We'll also bring Starlight, too, since she's a close friend to him!"

"I don't know about that," Cadance said. "Since Pharynx and the rest of the group are still out there, it might not be a good idea. Even then, I don't think Thorax would like us just interrupting his efforts—he's friendly and all and very nice, but just going into the kingdom without him knowing would just make things worse."

"Yeah..." Pinkie looked down and frowned slightly. "Can't force them, but you can't let them continue that way. That's hard."

"Just want to let that out to you," Cadance said. "Maybe tell your friends. Or, perhaps Thorax would come by first." She was silent for a little while. Then, she looked at Pinkie. "Would you promise me that you'll keep that a secret? Thorax is fine with me telling it to other ponies since he trusts me as well as Spike and the rest of his friends, but he doesn't want it to be spread too much."

"I'll not just promise you, I'll Pinkie Promise!" Pinkie said. "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!"

Cadance smiled. "Thanks, Pinkie."

Then, she left the bakery.

"Bye, Cadance!" Pinkie yelled.

The changeling walked past the buildings of Ponyville. He walked slowly, almost somberly. He looked in front of him and saw a pony that was a little bigger than the rest. A few ponies were talking to her.

"Princess Cadance," the changeling muttered. "I didn't know she was here. The Princess that Thorax first met and talked to. It would be bad to miss the opportunity."

He hurried to the Princess.

As the ponies said their good-byes and left the Princess, Cadance looked around. She looked at the approaching changeling. "Oh, hi!" She smiled. "You must be visiting Ponyville, right?"

"Yes, Princess," the changeling said, "I am. It's such an honor to be right in front of you, to have you just less than a meter or so in front of me, and—"

"You don't have to be so wordy," Cadance said. She giggled a little and looked up. "Just calm down. It's a quiet night. Some ponies are already sleeping."

The changeling looked at some of the buildings then back at the Princess.

"So, how's Ponyville?" Cadance asked.

"It's fine," the changeling said. "Wasn't disappointed." He paused a little. "So, what are you doing here, Princess?"

"Just some personal matters," Cadance said. "Visiting friends. Just talked to Pinkie a few minutes ago. Still as happy and as joyful as she ever was."

"That's good to hear," the changeling said. "Well, I'm still surprised and I'm still honored to meet you, Princess. That's because Thorax met you way back before he ever became king and he told us that you and Shining were good to him while he was staying in the Crystal Empire. It's very, very good to see and to meet you and to talk to you, Princess—I can't express in such simple words—"

"Like I already said," Cadance interrupted, "no need to be so wordy about it. I don't want to have ponies and changelings adoring me like that all the time. That would get on my nerves after a while. I just want to talk and that's all—I don't want to hear a long monologue on how you're going to be this or that because you met me. Sorry if I was too harsh, but it gets to you sometimes."

The changling looked down, slightly sad. "Oh. Is that how you feel about me?"

"Not really," Cadance said. "Just steering you to the right direction."

"OK. Still, it's nice to meet you."

"And, it's nice to meet you," Cadance said. "It would be good if I stayed to chat, but it's getting late for me and I have to return to the Crystal Empire. Shiny and Flurry are waiting for me there."

Then, she took off.

"Goodbye!" the changeling yelled at her.

"Bye!" Cadance shouted, flying towards the train station.

The changeling looked on then he continued walking. He sighed as he walked.

He went back to the park.

He sat on one of the benches. He looked at the ponies who were there.

"Just a little more time to relax here."

Natural and Pharynx

The breeze was cool as it sped past, providing its pleasant feel to the ponies who were there as they walked by. Ponyville in the morning was a sight to behold—the sun inching upwards slowly as it gives sunlight to the ponies down on the ground, the blue sky being the backdrop to the movements and the activities of the pegasi who were there, the buildings having the glimmer of the sunshine, the ponies smiling as they went about with what they did—they walked, they talked, they ate, they drank, they played, they ran, they sat down.

"I still can't believe you managed to convince Pharynx to change!" Twilight said to Starlight and Trixie who were walking beside her, smiling with glee as she did so. "It must've been hard to do it all outright, considering that Pharynx is...a tough changeling, to say the least."

"You can stop gushing about it, Twilight," Starlight responded, smiling a little nervously. "You've been talking about it almost non-stop ever since we came back to the castle!"

"Oh, it wasn't non-stop!" Twilight replied. "It was...according to schedule!" She grinned.

"Schedule, you say?" Trixie asked. "As if you didn't have the time to try the challenge yourself!"

"Of helping Pharynx change?" Twilight asked. "You know why I didn't go! That's because you two sneaked out while I was preparing breakfast with Spike!"

"It's not 'sneaked out,' Twilight," Trixie defended. "It's more of a 'convenient leave.'"

"It doesn't matter what you call it!" Twilight said, close to yelling. "You sneaked out or 'conveniently left' the place without my permission!"

"Uh, we didn't need permission, did we?" Starlight asked.

"I was assuming that you would stay," Twilight explained, anxiously looking here and there, slightly turning her head here and there, too. "Besides, it was one of the best breakfasts that I've ever thought of."

"And, look at what happened because we skipped breakfast," Trixie said rather haughtily. She stopped walking and pointed a hoof at herself; she smirked. "Starlight and I—the Great and Powerful Trixie!—"

Twilight sighed and rolled her eyes.

Trixie's smirk faded away. "Fine! If I have to repeat myself—Starlight and I—the Great and Powerful Trixie!—met Thorax, met more of the reformed and good changelings, talked to Pharynx, helped him change and accept the kingdom—or, should I say, hive—for the good values that it upholds. So, you should be thanking us, Twilight, for doing what you've only thought of accomplishing even with your five close friends." Then, she looked up, closed her eyes, and smirked.

Twilight groaned. "Alright, Trixie! But, it's not completely my fault! I have things to do, schedules to follow to the letter, not to mention that I am a Princess who's being clamped with so many responsibilities and duties and calls and this and that!"

"Yes, we know, Twilight," Starlight said, placing a hoof on her. "We appreciate all the work you do for not just your friends but also for all of Equestria." She shot a mean glance at Trixie—who responded with a shy back down—before turning back towards Twilight. "Just...relax. It's good news, isn't it? Pharynx is now on the side of Thorax, the hive is safer now, the changelings are happy and in peace, spreading friendship and manifesting that friendship wherever they go. Most of the time, anyway." She grinned.

Twilight smiled. "Thanks for that, Starlight." She looked at Trixie. "So, let's say I treat you to some ice cream before I have to head off to Canterlot for some important business?"

"Ice cream?" Trixie repeated. "The Great and Powerful Trixie!" —she stood on her hind legs and, with her magic, produced fireworks that exploded around her— "is more than pleased to be with you and Starlight for some ice cream!"

Starlight giggled a little. "I think that's a 'Yes.'"

Quibble Pants and Party Favor sat in the bakery as Sugar Belle prepared a few pastries and other baked goods from behind the counter. The smell of the goods wafted through the room, bringing Party Favor to smell it with joy before he looked back at Quibble Pants who sat across the table.

"So," Party Favor said, "what you're telling me is...you want to buy some books. From me."

"Mm-hmm." Quibble nodded. "You see, what you have in those books is of invaluable worth to a fan of Daring Do such as I. A great swath of history is covered in those books that you have—history that is very much precious to me."

"OK," Party Favor responded, slowly rolling his eyes while keeping a straight face. "And, you're willing to pay a thousand bits for—what?—three books?"

"They're not just three books, sir," Quibble said, raising his voice a little, "they're super-high-quality books, not to mention that the editions you have are rare."

"Look, you must be mistaken," Party said; "I just bought these books when I was young, an older colt. There's no way that they could possibly be worth a thousand bits!"

"I've already checked the books," Quibble answered. "You've managed to keep them in tip-top condition despite not wrapping plastic around them, the pages have seen virtually no wear or tear. I don't know how you did it, but you did it. And that's without much interest in the books in the first place! I'm surprised."

Party Favor glanced at Sugar Belle. He bit his lip, his mouth quivering slightly. "Uh, Sugar Belle? Do you have the pies ready?"

"What?" Quibble asked. "Are you planning to throw a pie at me?"

"I wasn't!" Party said, holding up his hooves in self-defense. His horn glowed; the table also glowed.

Quibble looked at the table. "You're panicking, aren't you?"

Party kept his frantic look on his face. Then, he calmed down—the glows on both his horn and the table disappeared. The unicorn was close to hyperventilating—he was breathing quite fast.

"Look, Party Favor," Quibble said, "I'm not sure what your problem is. But, don't let that get in the way of this business." He placed a hoof on the table, his face becoming serious along with his tone. "Those first three books you have there are books I want to buy. Nothing more than that. So, I'll give you...not a thousand bits. I'm not that rich. But, let's settle with, I don't know, seven hundred and fifty. Huh?"

"You're asking me," Party Favor said, pointing to himself, "a pony who, now, doesn't care much about Daring Do—although I respect her contributions to literature and all. You're asking me to give you books that, to me, aren't worth a lot. And, you're willing to give me seven hundred and fifty bits? Don't you think it's unfair?"

There was silence between the two as Party Favor looked a little sternly at Quibble and as Quibble placed a hoof on his chin, looking at the table with the look of deep thought on his face—he narrowed his eyes, he tightened his lip.

"I say it's unfair!" a voice yelled from outside.

Party Favor and Quibble and Sugar Belle looked outside.

"Yes!" the changeling yelled. "I say it's unfair, but you should go with it, anyway! It's a bargain!" He jumped up in the air and did a few aerial tricks as if to prove his point.

"Uh, did you invite this changeling?" Party Favor asked. "Because, I'm not sure what you're trying to do here."

Quibble groaned. He looked at the changeling. "Hey!" he shouted. "If you're trying to secretly get those books, well, I got here first!"

"But, I want those books, too!" the changeling said, his voice now becoming sad.

"Well, find some other copies of the books!" Quibble shouted before slamming the table with a hoof.

Sugar Belle balked a little at the sound of the slam. Then, she went on with her baking, although the smile on her face was gone.

The changeling flew away.

"It's natural," Blue Alarm said.

"What is?" Humerus asked.

"What we've been doing for...a long time," Blue Alarm replied, looking off yonder to the distance—over there were birds chirping and woodlife flourishing in the green, lush forests beyond. The sky was blue, the clouds were few, and the buzzing sounds of changelings flapping their wings rapidly in the air completed the picture.

The ground was now filled with grass and shrubbery—all teeming with life, whether it had flowers, fruits, vegetables, or just leaves. There were still remnants of the thorns and the weeds of old—but, they were slowly diminishing as they were overtaken by the vibrant greenery.

A simple dirt path was there, curving its way slightly here and there while it was flanked by more greenery. A few butterflies flew over the path and Humerus looked intently at the pack as they stood near the entrance to the towering hive.

"We tried to be like the ponies," Blue Alarm said, "but...Thorax was right in the end. He pushed for a simple changeling home and that's what he had in mind since day one. And, here it is." He turned around and slightly pushed Humerus towards the hive. "There. We've seen this almost every week, and yet, this is one of the few times I've had just...being stunned how beautiful nature is."

"I want fires," Humerus said.

"I know." Blue Alarm patted Humerus on the head as Humerus kept looking on at the hive. "I know, Humerus. But, don't let that distract you. Who knows?" He sighed and turned back around towards the outside, beyond the boundaries of the hive.

"Just a recap of the situation," Blue Alarm said as he went on with his speech, pacing on the dirt path with Humerus watching him. "Equestria still gives us aid, but not that much—Thorax himself asked for the decrease of aid, not because he doesn't trust Equestria, but because he realized that we didn't need that much money. They still give us supplies, though—lower amounts. Gone are the pony-like buildings, gone are the pony-like streets—now, it's just us, trying to fit in, trying to integrate, trying to...be friendly to all." He smiled and stopped his pacing, looking at Humerus gleefully. "Doesn't that make you feel warm inside?"

Humerus rapidly flapped his wings and smiled. "I still like hearing about that!"

"And, that feels like a happy ending to it all," Blue Alarm mentioned. "But, of course, it's not all fun and games even today. There's still creatures to defend against, there's still relations to handle—and, of course, we still have to get used to friendship." He looked up towards the sky. "It's infinite, in a sense."

"What?" Humerus asked, his ears perking up.

"Friendship."

"Why?"

"Remember the Friendship Journal? That's not the entirety of what we can learn from friendship. From what I've heard, Twilight Sparkle and her friends still learn about friendship—and those are the poster ponies of friendship! So, what about the rest of the ponies who live in Equestria? And, those that aren't ponies, like us?" He pointed a hoof towards himself.

Humerus grabbed a hoofful of dirt and examined it.

"Uh, what are you doing?"

"Picking up some dirt," Humerus bluntly replied.

"Why?" Blue Alarm asked, sounding confused and confounded, tilting his head a little.

"Maybe you would like to use this dirt as an example?" Humerus offered the lump of dirt to Blue Alarm.

"Nah," he said, waving a hoof.

Humerus slowly and carefully placed the lump of dirt back into the ground and patted it, flattening it.

"Then, what?" Blue Alarm asked, approaching his friend. "What will be the plan next time we go out of the kingdom? The hive is pretty much done—too bad we wasted lots of effort trying to reconstruct it. Who knew that just making it natural was the best course of action?"

"I didn't!" Humerus cheerfully stated.

"Well, me, too," Blue Alarm said, shaking his head as he smiled. "But, here we are. A place that's sort of in the middle of the forest but not really because we're also in the middle of the desert but not really. Eh, bad description, but what can I say?" He shrugged.

"Can we go back inside, now?" Humerus asked. "We're already late for the Feelings Forum!"

Blue Alarm giggled and snickered. "Ah, yes. The Feelings Forum."

Then, the two changelings placed a hoof on each other's head and smiled as they flew and looked towards the hive.

"How does it feel to be the ruler of all the changelings, Thorax?" Pharynx, a tall and dark blue changeling with purple eyes and carapace and red orange antlers, asked his brother. He had a gruff and rough voice. "Now that you actually have to care about what other leaders think about you."

"It's been...hard," Thorax replied.

The two were sitting in a secluded area inside the hive. The beautiful, flowery vines gave life to the craggy walls; the green shrubbery was growing in the corners here and there. The sound of changelings flying both outside and inside provided background noise to the whole talk. The poignant and delicious smell of food being cooked and prepared was, in this place, a scent, a faint scent.

"Talking to the Princesses of Equestria is the easiest part," Thorax went on. "They're always kind and understanding and happy about lots of things. And, it's not just the words—their actions speak for themselves: all that they've been donating and forwarding to us was more than enough for us. But, like I said, that's the easy part."

"What about the dragons?" Pharynx asked. "I overheard they finally got a new Dragon Lord after, what, several centuries? I sort of heard about it before, but it's only now that I've confirmed it all."

"Yeah, they have a new leader," Thorax replied. "Ember, Torch's daughter. She visited Ponyville—"

"Wait, she visited Ponyville?" Pharynx said in mild surprise, his pupils in his eyes growing. "How did she not destroy Ponyville?"

"She's many times smaller than her father," Thorax said. "About the same size as you and me."

"Oh." Pharynx looked away for a short moment. Then, he looked back, slightly smiling. "OK." Then, he put on a curious look. "So, how are we going with the dragons? I know it's not that bad since the dragons aren't invading us."

"We're on an OK relationship," Thorax said.

"OK as in 'we're definitely friends' OK?"

"Yup."

"Alright. Hmm." Pharynx placed a hoof on his chin. "The yaks?"

"Not much talk from Rutherford, but he's...complacent about us, to say the least." He grinned.

"So, he doesn't care."

"Nope."

"OK. What about the griffons?"

"Could be better."

"You make this sound easy," Pharynx said. "It can't be that easy, right?"

"No, it isn't," Thorax said. He looked down, looking sad and a little forlorn. "Chrysalis, though she was evil, had it easy for her. All she had to do was say something and every changeling would do that something. Every one of us feared her. There was no room for error, no room for deviation. Now that we're all free to be whoever we want to be, it's actually a complex system, a complicated thing to grasp. Some changelings want this, other changelings want that. What if they don't want the same thing? I have to be the arbiter, but who should I satisfy? Just because this group is right on one thing doesn't mean they'r right on others. And, what if there are personal problems behind it all—so it isn't just about which perspective or point of view is correct, but it's also about who wronged this changeling or who wronged that changeling as well. Should I give repayments or should I just let them forgive and forget? Should I teach them a harsh lesson and give them a stern punishment, or should I be kind to them and let them go free?" He sighed. He groaned. He placed his front hooves on his head, rubbing it as if to relieve some stress.

Pharynx inched closer to his brother. "Are you alright, Thorax?"

"Yes, yes, I'm alright," Throax said. "It's just that I don't think of this as an easy thing at all. It's an immense task, a responsibility that was just thrusted to me out of nowhere."

Pharynx patted his brother on the back. "You do know I'll be here for you, right, brother?"

"Yeah," Thorax said, smiling. "And, I'll be here for you, too."

And the two brothers hugged.

The Ability to Change

Long Winded looked at the fancy unicorn who sat down on the bench beside him amidst the bustling sidewalks that were outside the park. Over there, several unicorns along with a lot of other ponies were headed towards a certain way; some were carrying signs. The overall noise was quite cheery, although it felt subdued as if most of the ponies there were anticipating something huge.

The park itself was quite empty, almost void of anyone except for the changeling and for the unicorn. The grass was well-trimmed and clean, the trees were tall—not towering over the ponies, but tall enough—and the bushes decorated the place with their natural style.

The unicorn took off his monocle and fixed his bowtie. "Say, Long Winded, are you expecting someone?" he asked in his fancy and formal voice.

Long Winded nodded. "I'm expecting a friend. A changeling friend. Best friend I ever had."

"Is his name Nastic?" the unicorn further asked.

"Yes," the changling replied, nodding again. The smile on his face grew. "Do you know where he is?"

"Of course, Long Winded!" The unicorn made a smirk. "I definitely know where he is!"

"What?!" Long Winded exclaimed in shock. He went off his bench and assumed a defensive stance. "How do you know where my friend is? How do you know my name? Have we met before?"

"We have met before, Long Winded," the unicorn said. A green aura surrounded him. The aura then went away, revealing the gray changeling—wearing a hat—before him.

"Nastic!" Long Winded yelled. "You're not supposed to be surprising me like that! I get scared when I think that some nasty pony has taken you away or something like that!" He approached Nastic. He budged his friend. "You should know better!"

"Well, I can still change," Nastic said. "So, why not? I'm not going to go around conning ponies here and there, but it's still fun to do that once in a while."

"Once in a while?" Long Winded repeated. "Once in a while?! The reason why I don't change my form is because I don't have to!"

"Unless you want to join the arts," Nastic said. "Acting turns out to be more than fitting for us changelings. The Method Mares may be one of the best acting troupes in the history of Equestria, but could they change forms in a snap?"

"But—"

"I don't think so, Long Winded," Nastic said. "What about conning the conponies? That would be fun. They would never know what hit them." He clasped his front hooves together and smiled. "Think about it: the changelings who fight crime by disguising as ordinary ponies. When Plan A fails, we just go to Plan B and disguise as other ponies. Or, we don't have to be ponies—dragons or yaks or griffons or zebras would do just as nicely when I see fit."

"But, Nastic—"

"And, comedy?" Nastic said, looking up towards the sky. Then, he looked back at the concerned Long Winded. "We do hvae a place in comedy. Maybe impersonation is one. The good kind of impersonation."

"Nastic!"

"What is it, now?" Nastic asked, frustrated and annoyed in his tone, his smile now gone.

Long Winded flailed his front hooves around. "I don't want to do all that changing stuff!"

Nastic sighed and adjusted his hat. "If it's your point of view, fine. But, don't let that get in the way of other changelings who are quite comfortable doing that."

Long Winded gulped. He was now shivering a little. "Are you...going to do that?"

"Not as part of a full-time job, Long Winded," Nastic said. "Hey, it might rival your position as a Wonderbolt trainee—if you were one, that is, Long Winded."

"Hey!" his friend shouted, pointing an accusing hoof at him. "You know I love the Wonderbolts! You know that you shouldn't be taunting me like that! What happened to the friendship lessons? What happened to the Friendship Journals we bought for ourselves just a few days ago? What happened to all of that?!"

Nastic grabbed a hold of his friend with his two front hooves. "Listen, Long Winded! I don't want to delve into petty arguments about lessons and journals and days gone by! Do I enjoy reading those lessons in the journal? Yes!"

"Then, why are you like that, Nastic?" Long Winded asked, close to whimpering as he was still in his friend's hold.

Nastic looked around. His front hooves trembled. Then, he released his grip and stood on his four front hooves. "This isn't going to sit positively with anypony who witnessed that."

"Good thing they're all busy with...whatever is going on there!" Long Winded pointed at the small crowds of ponies at the sidewalks. Then, he took a look at the crowds. "Wait, are the Princesses there?" He gasped. Then, he flew. "Wait for me!" he screamed.

Nastic groaned, held on to his hat, and took flight amidst the rumbles of the crowd.

The ground was gray blue, the walls were rough and edged and the sunlight poured into the hive in the form of vibrant sun rays, giving the place a calmer look. Grass and other plants were growing on various rocks and inside the holes of the walls and on parts of the ground. The smell of freshly-cooked breakfast wafted through the air, attracting not a few changelings towards its source.

A few changelings in simple armor flew around inside, smiling.

Thorax, that kingly changeling, was sitting down alongside many other changelings in front of a rock covered in grass. Beyond that, there was the open space that was outside the hive—the green landscape of plants overtaking the desolate, arid features that used to dominate the area. The morning sun shone its rays on to the rock, giving the changelings who were on it an elevated look, as if they were using the rays of the sun as their spotlight.

On the rock, there were three changelings on stage: a green one, a yellow one, and a blue one.

"But, what did we ever do to you?" the yellow one asked, gesturing wildly with a hoof. He looked at the two other changelings. "I've never ever done such a thing...ever!"

"What we do know is that you"—the blue changeling pointed a hoof at the yellow one—"were there when the dust settled. You were there!" He growled at the yellow changeling.

The yellow changeling stumbled and landed on the rock. He was shaking, stuttering a few syllables but no comprehensible word came out of his mouth.

The green changeling grabbed the blue one and took him aside. "Hey, we're supposed to be getting him to buy some ice cream for us, not make him cry!"

"Does it matter?!" the blue changeling yelled. "It doesn't matter! All that he has is money, and if there is money, then I won't be playing along for a long time—I'll be stealing that money sooner or later!"

"Don't!" the green changeling shouted. "You don't have to do those bad things anymore! We can just have a happy ending—an ending where everyone laughs while we eat ice cream. Then, we might choke on the ice cream because we laughed, but that's besides the point! The point is that we're already OK—you're the one who keeps causing trouble by continuing to steal money here and there!"

"Then, convince me!" the blue changeling shouted, escaping his friend's grasp. "Convince me that just going out with the both of you and eating ice cream at some small town somewhere in Equestria is going to give me a better life than constantly getting money off of creatures like you!"

The green changeling took in a deep breath and closed his eyes. He opened his eyes. "Do you feel guilty?"

Then, the fierce attitude and look on the blue changeling's face became one of terror. He held his head with a hoof. That confident smile faded away—disappeared. He bit his front hooves in fear. He nervously glanced to the left, towards the natural background of the outside.

Then, a hoof on his back. "There, there. You still have a second chance, sir."

The green changeling hugged the shivering blue changeling. He slowly but surely hugged back, his front hooves still shaking a little.

The blue changeling cried.

His cries could be heard across the entire room. He sobbed.

Lonely tears went down the faces of several changelings. A few sniffled at the sight and at the sound of it.

The sun continued shining down on the acting changelings, giving the scene a redemptive atmosphere, a sense of hope. Amidst the cry of the changeling was the desire for freedom. And, he cried on.

And he kept on crying.

The green changeling patted his friend.

The yellow changeling stood up and walked slowly towards the crying changeling.

"Do you want a helping hoof?" the yellow changeling asked, a little hesitant in his voice. "I d-don't want you to suffer anymore of...what you're going through. I promise I'll help you!"

Between the sobs, the blue changeling managed, "And, can we have ice cream? Please, f-friend?"

He extended a hoof towards the yellow changeling.

The yellow changeling shook his hoof.

The green changeling smiled.

And a few other changelings covered the scene with a makeshift curtain made out of leaves. They held it in front of the actors for a few moments. Then, they moved away.

The actors were now facing the audience, though the blue changeling still had a wet face. They bowed before the audience.

The audience roared in loud approval as they cheered, shouted, hollered, howled at the actors with great applause and positivity.

The actors smiled.

A changeling even threw a couple of plates filled with food at them. The green changeling hurried to gobble up what was there, yet the crowd was still cheering.

"That was a good play," Thorax said as he approached the actors. "I didn't expect the twist about...the ice cream." He scratched his head, tilted it a little in confusion. He looked at the yellow changeling. "Where did you get the idea for that?"

"I just write the script as it comes to me," the changeling replied confidently, closing his eyes and subtly pointing at himself. "Why stop to check if it makes sense all the time?"

"If you were aiming for something strange, then you were alright," Thorax commented. He faced the rest of the cast. "And, you were good, too, guys! You made our heats pound!"

"Glad to be serving you in this way, Thorax," the blue changeling said in a rough, interrupted voice. "Uh, I need some water right now." Then, he jumped out of the rock and ran out of the room.

Thorax walked towards the green changeling. "And, that leaves you. Who knew you had it in you to act so realistically? Well, as realistic as it could get, considering the story and all." He grinned awkwardly.

"It's just a matter of abstraction," the green changeling said.

"Abstraction?" Thorax asked. "What do you mean by that?"

"I don't focus on the details," he answered. "I just do what I am told to do. Then, I act." He made a pose of a changeling who was about to leap into a swimming pool. "Just like this."

Thorax smiled even more. Then, he turned around and faced the audience whose cheer had finally disappeared; they were now just looking at Thorax with anticipation. "So, that's the end of our theater time for today! I hear that one of you is already planning out the story for next week's theater time! So, uh, have a nice day!" Then, Thorax dashed off and flew out.

The changelings dispersed as they talked to each other about the play they had just watched. Most of them were smiling, commenting on the play with critical thought and playful style—yet, behind it all, some of them laughed, just enjoying the memories of what they had just witnessed.

"Green," Red Noise muttered as he sat on the ground beside a green bush. He heard the noise of Humerus flying around inside the room while Neon Guard was sleeping. "Green. Green just like you, Humerus, isn't it?" He stood up and sighed.

"It's going to be fun!" Humerus said, stopping in mid-air and facing his annoyed friend. "We get to sweep the floor, and then we get to plant plants, and then we can go outside again! Why don't you try smiling, Red Noise, huh?"

"I am trying to smile!" Red Noise responded with his gruff voice, snarling at him.

Humerus shuddered, moaning slightly and quietly. He hovered over the floor and then landed.

"I have nothing to do," Red Noise said. "I'm bored. That's it: bored."

Humerus looked up. "Do you smell that?"

Red Noise inhaled the air. "Huh. I don't recognize this." He eyed Humerus. "What is it?"

Humerus's ears perked up. "They're cooking something new! And, new food is always good!" He hurried off out of the room. "Wait for me, chefs! I'm coming for you!"

Red Noise groaned and placed a hoof on his face. "And, here I am. Bored."

"Try sleeping," Neon Guard tiredly said from his bed of leaves and twigs. "Should pass the time. Feelings Forum won't start until later tonight."

"That's what I'm excited for," Red Noise stated, pointing a hoof at his sleeping friend. He paced around the room, looking at him sleeping. "Over there, changelings get to talk about one another with everyone listening—not everyone literally, but you know what I mean. The stories you get to hear of the day—and, now, I sound like Blue Alarm." He stopped his pacing and looked around. "By the way, have you seen him?"

"He's off travelling again," Neon Guard said. "On his own."

Red Noise moaned and slammed his face on the wall. Then, he straightened himself up. "Right. Tell me where he is currently. Ponyville? Dragon Lands? Yakyakistan? Griffonstone?" His voice got more irritated with each location.

"Some place with rainbow waterfalls or something like it," Neon Guard was able to say from his bed. "Was it Winsome Falls?" He turned around, his eyes still closed while he still lay on the bed.

"Nopony lives there," Red Noise mentioned. He glared at the sleeping Neon Guard. "You're telling me he's out there in the middle of nowhere?!"

The sound of a crashing waterfall. The trees with their pink flowers and the grass that was vibrant with lively color. The mountains in the distance with their snowy peaks. Then, there were the clouds that spouted out straight rainbows down to the ground—the rainbow falls of Winsome Falls.

Blue Alarm sat down in front of a lake of fresh water. It was crisp. He took a glass and scooped up some of the lake water. He drank it.

"Clean," Blue Alarm said. "Fresh. Very cold, but that's understandable. It's a bit high up in the elevation scale." He was silent for a while as he observed the beautiful scenery that was Winsome Falls.

"Should I relax?" the blue chagneling said. He smiled. "Yeah, I should definitely relax."

Then, he lay on the grass and closed his eyes.

A Crystal Time

The cool weather of the Crystal Empire made the Crystal pegasus shiver, his teeth clattering as he tried to keep himself warm despite the metal-plated armor that he was equipped with. The cold breeze only made him shiver more. "I didn't know the Crystal Empire could get this cold!" he expressed in his deep voice.

Yet, he continued to stand in his post beneath the Crystal Castle.

A tap on the head.

"Who goes there?!" he shouted as he swiftly turned around and assumed an attack position—four hooves firmly planted on the ground, the pegasus poised to make the first move.

A green changeling waved his hoof at him. "Hi!"

The pegasus immediately relaxed and sighed. "It's just you. What are you doing here? Are you the guards that King Thorax said wouldn't come in advance?"

"That makes me the odd one out, eh?" the changeling said, sounding cool-headed and calm as he approached the pony guard with a slow yet calculated walk. "You could call me the scout of the guard, but I'm not in an official position to be saying those sorts of things." He rubbed his hoof.

"Right..." the pony said, coming off as unconvinced and wary, rolling his eyes as he did so. "Don't want to make Thorax arrive in a sloppy fashion, correct?"

"Correct!" the changeling answered quite cheerfully, nodding his head as he smiled.

The guard looked at one of the main roads with its super clean and reflective asphalt or what was supposed to be asphalt. It was bare save for a few Crystal ponies who were walking by.

"You are very early," the guard said, looking off upon the clear passageway. "That makes you look very suspicious."

"Aww, already doubting me?" the changeling asked as if he were pleading.

"Thorax didn't talk about changelings who are supposed to be coming here this early," the guard explained, still looking at the street. "And, I have a duty: to protect the Crystal Empire and its leaders, Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor along with their daughter, Princess Flurry Heart. We Crystal Empire guards take this duty seriously—the safety of our fellow ponies are in our hooves, and I'm not going to squander it all off just because you're the 'scout' or whatever."

"Trust me this one time!" the changeling begged, motioning with his hooves a gesture of a plea.

"I'm not compromising the Crystal Empire," the guard said, finally turning around to face the changeling. "And, besides, if I decide to trust you and let you do whatever you want here, what will the other guards think of me? That would give them credence to do that as well, and we may as well become lax and tardy about being guards."

"Alright!" the changeling said, stomping the flat and clean pavement with his hoof. "But, at least you're willing to not give up your good guard code." He smiled.

"Wait, was this a test all along?" the guard asked, slinking a little. "Did Thorax send you to test, what, my loyalty? Or, was it Princess Celestia herself? Or Princess Cadance?" He looked up, his eyes wide open as he placed a hoof on his face. "What?"

"Of course, you get minuses for getting disoriented all of a sudden!" The changeling laughed and flew off.

The guard looked on at the fleeing changeling. Then, he went back to shivering. "I forgot how freezing this cold is! What is this, a winter special?!"

"Little echoey," the hatted mare said, holding a camera with her hoof and a saddle bag with a picture of a pencil and a piece of paper on the bag. She looked around inside the spacious room. "Just like I remembered it last week. Hasn't changed." She placed a hoof on her orange, frizzy mane. The other ponies with their cameras looked at her. She looked back at them. "What?" Her black and blue hat glowed a gray blue as she levitated her hat and made a bowing gesture, smiling at them.

The other ponies looked at each other.

"When King Thorax arrives," the guard beside her said, "you may take pictures. Only then."

The ponies nodded.

They stood inside the crystal hallway. The reflections of light brightened it, making it look whiter than it actually was. The double doors were polygonal, having straight lines and clear edges as the frames for their dark purple doors with their yellow knobs. At each end of the hallways were even bigger double doors. The doors at one end were open, leading off towards a spacious and open room; the doors at the other end were closed. The floor itself was clean, even having clear reflections of the ponies who were standing there. One pony even smiled at his own reflection at the floor before another, older-looking pony nudged him with a hoof. The walls were also made of crystal and, at certain points of the wall, there were crystals in their rugged, unrefined form, though they still gave off that precious look.

Hoofsteps.

The guard merely smiled at the ponies as they readied their cameras, placing them at their eyes, facing the open doors.

"Oh, hi! I didn't know that—"

Flashes of light and sounds of clicking.

"Agh! I'm still not used to ponies trying to lure me in with beautiful lights! I must resist!"

Then, Throax flew hurriedly off towards the doors at the end, ponies still taking their pictures of him.

He blasted through the doors and landed on the carpet leading to the crystal throne at the far end of the wide room.

The guards, Sunburst, Shining Armor, and Cadance looked shocked at the changeling's entrance.

"Please close the door!" Thorax said, pointing a hoof at the hallway. "I don't want them to give me any more attacks like that! Light attacks!—I'm still not used to—"

"Calm down, Thorax," Cadance said, walking off of her throne and towards the scared changeling who was moving his hooves around in anxiety. "You know they're just the press, taking pictures for newspapers and magazines throughout Equestria. I'm surprised that you haven't gotten even partially used to them yet, considering you're well..." She looked up and down at him. "You're a king."

"It doesn't mean that I can get, well, mobbed by ponies with their flashing lights!" Thorax said, trembling.

Shining Armor smiled as he walked towards him. "But, you're improving, right?"

"I can take one or two or even three ponies with their cameras at the same time, but those ponies"—he pointed again the hallway—"are probably at least in the tens!"

"Maybe we should issue a statement about that," Cadance said, adopting a serious tone, eyeing the hallway. Her horn glowed and a light blue; so did the double doors. Then, she made a nervous face and the glow on both her horn and the doors disappeared. "But, we could save that for later."

"Now, we have more important matters," Shining said. "Although, like last time, we don't want you to feel like you have to be talking in a certain way. Just relax and enjoy yourself here."

"Oh, OK," Thorax said, still nervous in his tone as he anxiously looked around. He saw Sunburst who was magically holding a carriage where Flurry Heart was sleeping in. The orange unicorn was smiling at him, not saying a word.

Then, the guard inside the hallway closed the doors.

Thorax looked at the doors and then looked at Cadance and Shining Armor.

Cadance's horn glowed that light blue glow again. A crystal table along with several crystal chairs came floating by, glowing that light blue glow, too, and settled right in front of Thorax.

Thorax took a seat and so did Cadance and Shining Armor.

"I'm still amazed at the abilities of an alicorn, Cadance," Thorax said, a touch of glee in his voice. "Like, I see how...useful it is when it comes to, uh, setting tables!"

Cadance giggled, covering her small laugh with her mouth. "It's still a bit weird to use, though," Cadance said. "You know, being born a pegasus and all—you know the story, Thorax!"

Thorax smiled while Sunburst approached the table, taking a seat of his own while still levitating the baby and her carriage.

"So," Shining began, "we've arranged this meeting to discuss how we could further help you and your kingdom. We've noticed the recent redesign of the hive—and I'm sure that your changelings are truly comfortable with how they live now."

Thorax nodded fast. "We're doing all sorts of activities now that we've finally decided on what the hive should look like! We've been doing those things before, but now we're at full swing!" He pushed a hoof across the air in front of him, smiling as he did so. Shining and Cadance looked at his gesture while Sunburst looked on at the baby, whispering a few words to her while magically rocking the carriage.

"There's theater, there's the arts and crafts time, there's the sorts of dancing that we're doing—I think swing-dancing is going to go well! We even had a swing-dancing competition! And, it's still going! It's even on the news!"

Cadance and Shining grinned as they nervously looked at each other while Thorax went on with his exciting story.

"I even brought a newspaper that covers everything!" Thorax dropped an old newspaper on the table. "'Changeling Kingdom's First Swing-dancing Competition Kicks Off to Great Start!'" He looked at the Princess and the Prince with shining eyes. "When the finals arrive—I could just imagine the audience!" He placed his two front hooves on his face as he looked up.

"I...didn't know you were happy about...swing-dancing," Cadance said with hesitation, a hoof on her chin. "It looks like the more we get to know and understand you..."

"The better," Shining completed. "Let's get straight to the point, though, Thorax: is there anything you need in particular? We have lots of resources at the ready. We're also willing to send several ponies who would love to volunteer to help you in whatever needs fixing."

"Well, there are a few things, actually," Thorax said. "Now that the vegetation is growing back around the hive, would it be alright if you send some Earth ponies to help, uh, speed the process up? We just want to make it look beautiful sooner."

"We would be more than happy to give you that assistance," Cadance said. She levitated a scroll and a quill and jotted down a line or two. "What else?"

"I was about to ask for ponies who are good at acting to help in training," Thorax answered, "but I don't think it wouldn't make sense. Sorry to bring the past up, but we've had lots of experience in acting—well, the bad kind of acting where we had to disguise ourselves and, well, eh..."

Cadance and Shining kept smiling and looked at each other again nervously. Cadance was still levitating the scroll and the quill.

"Basically put, we're naturally good actors!" Thorax proclaimed. "So, uh—what else is there to talk about?" Throax placed a hoof on the table and tapped it as he looked up. Then, he noticed the ponies in front of him—even Sunburst was now watching him with a look of interest. "Oh, I didn't prepare for this kind of meeting, did I?"

"It's alright," Cadnace assured. "We know how you're trying to cope being the changeling ruler, Thorax. We're not going to be overly-strict on you—just take your time, recall all that your changelings need."

Thorax groaned and slumped on the table. "Looks like I'm going to need help of my own!"

A few carriages zoomed by, leaving sounds of hoofsteps and of turnings. The pots of flowers and other nice-looking plants adorned the sidewalks as Thorax walked by, Sunburst—with his large robe and glasses—beside him.

The clean, trimmed grass that spread out for miles and miles on end gave the Crystal Empire a vast, grand atmosphere and feel. As pony and changeling passed by the clean crystal buildings that were so tidy that the reflections were clear, they passed by several Crystal ponies, some of them waving at Thorax and Sunburst. They waved back.

"There's still some things I don't get about ponies," Thorax said.

"Like what?" Sunburst asked.

"Like, singing with no warning," Thorax said. "I've been to Ponyville a few times already and I've heard half a dozen songs that weren't scheduled at all—at least I think they weren't scheduled."

"Go on," Sunburst said, nodding.

"Is there an urge to sing that's innate to ponies and to ponies only? Are the majority of ponies, if not most of them, good at singing? Because, I didn't expect ponies to just burst into singing at the drop of a hat."

"Well, Equestria was founded by ponies who kept the Fire of Friendship alive through both chat and singing the songs that would become the Hearth's Warming Eve carols that we all know and love today. So, that's the standard answer I'd give you."

"There's a non-standard answer that you wouldn't give me?" Thorax asked, confused.

"There are a number of alternative theories about why singing is so deep seated into our culture and how we live," Sunburst said. "Some say that singing is actually a form of magic. Others purport that it began with a few ponies who were good at singing and then, somehow, they spread that talent of singing to lots of ponies throughout Equestria. Then, you have the ponies who claim that it's just how ponies are—just like how unicorns have unicorn magic and just like how pegasi have pegasi magic and just like how Earth ponies have Earth pony magic and just like how alicorns have...alicorn magic, then most ponies have that flair of singing."

"I'll just stick to the standard answer," Thorax playfully noted, smiling.

"Well, I first thought that you shouldn't be asking me," Sunburst said.

Thorax stopped. "Why?"

Sunburst stopped as well. "Because I'm a pony. We ponies are so used to, well, being ponies that there are some things that we do that we don't see because we've done it so many times throughout lives and it's become routine. It's just like the sky. Do you look up at the sky everyday and say, 'Wow! The sky is so big!'?"

"No?" Thorax shook his head, then tilted his head in perplexion.

"Exactly," Sunburst said. "A lot of us have grown so used to living with a sky and with a day and night that cycles everyday that we just stop noticing it until somepony tells us to stop to notice it."

Thorax pondered with a hoof on his chin, his eyes half-open as he narrowed them. Then, he smiled. "That's something good to know, Sunburst!"

"That's what you get when you keep asking," Sunburst said. "Just sitting around sometimes and watching the world go by as your neighbors go about their daily life. They don't notice it, but I notice it."

Thorax kept smiling.

Then, the two kept on walking on the sidewalk. They passed by a few more flower pots and a few more Crystal ponies. Some Crystal ponies waved at them and the two waved back.

Welcoming Realization

Blue Alarm sat on the ground as a few birds chirped in the air, flapping their wings and looking happy. He tracked them from where he was, their figures slowly disappearing into the horizon as they flew towards the sun.

Surrounding him was the overflowing shrubbery with its wild variety of plants, having tall and bushy trees, short and dainty flowers, small and bushy bushes.

"Friendship," he spoke. "Friendship."

Several changelings were buzzing by in flight above him.

"It hasn't even been a full year," Blue Alarm said, placing his front hooves on his face as he looked up and saw more of the greenery. "But, we've been through so much...change. Now, every changeling that's here—even Pharynx—is out and about sharing love with everyone they meet. The dragons, the griffons, and the yaks don't see us as enemies; the ponies surely see us as close friends in massive need of lessons about friendship."

He picked up a pebble, groaning a little. Then, he fiddled around with it, though his sight was still towards the trees and the rest of the plants in the distance.

"Freed. That we can choose between choices. No longer did force trap us—now, we have the freedom."

He placed the pebble back on the ground.

"Throax is a good king, the hive is in better condition than ever before, and my friends are..."

He placed a hoof on his head.

"Great."

He smiled.

"Despite our occasional disagreements, we're still together. And, we're together not just in a distance kind of way. We're really friends, and I could tell that it's much better than the mere 'being together' that we've had back with Chrysalis."

He kept on smiling.

Then, a few hoofsteps.

He looked behind him.

"Observing again, aren't you?" Neon Guard said, holding on to his hat.

A breeze, a gust, of wind arrived. The plants swayed, the wind cooled, and the changelings heard the sound.

"Not really," Blue Alarm said, standing up. "At least, not the observing that I usually do."

"It makes sense," Neon Guard went on. "I think you've observed a lot out of our home." He smiled.

"Yeah, I think I have."

"Come on!" He gestured to him with a hoof as he headed back to hive. "We're going to have breakfast!"

Blue Alarm followed Neon Guard back.

The unicorn with the black hat sat on the chair right in front of a long, wide wooden table. Other ponies—some with and some without hats but all with cameras and several pads of paper—were there, sitting on their respective chairs.

The room was quite cramped—there was little room to move around when a pony would move out of a chair; one would be close to touching the concrete walls. There was a water cooler at both sides of the place. Bundles of plastic cups were on top of each cooler. Several small lights emanated from the ceiling, giving the location a bright feel.

On the table were more pads of paper with ballpens and pencils. Cups of various drinks were there—there was a simple cup of water, a plastic cup of soda, a mug of hot chocolate, among others.

"We first deal with international stuff?" the unicorn with the black hat asked. "We're already running late as it is!"

"Maybe we should bump that Dragon Lands Vendor story?" a white pegasus stallion with blue mane and blue tail suggested, sounding hurried and panicked. "Bump it into the headlines!"

"Not important enough," the Earth pony with the yellow mane and the yellow tail answered, sounding a little more calm than the pegasus. "That story is only about that one vendor. He may be selling lots of faulty items, but it isn't enough to cause a ruckus in the Dragon Lands, much less in the world." She held out her pad of paper and showed it for all to see. "We should be having that story from Ponyville about yet another monster attack."

"That place always gets the top spot when it comes to the news these days!" another pegasus—slightly burlier, brown, and also having yellow mane and yellow tail like the Earth pony—replied. "I've always said it and I'll say it again—ponies will get bored of Ponyville this and Ponyville that if we stuff that into their faces everyday!"

"So, what are we left with?" the unicorn with the black hat said. She looked at the brown pegasus. "What are we left with, Big Shot? There's only two more stories besides what we've mentioned, the slow delivery of paper, the hold-up with the locks on the doors—we've got to do something!"

"Press Release," the Earth pony said, "what about the meeting with Throax and the leaders of the Crystal Empire?"

"The ponies already get it," Press Release said. "Besides, Long Shot, there's not much else Thorax can do that's news-worthy. Changing up the entire hive? That's OK. But, implementing weekly potluck lunch? Save that for the history books! Old news!"

"Then, what else do we have?" another Earth pony—gray coat and purple mane and purple tail—asked, raising a hoof. "The only other story left is Pinkie Pie visiting Yakyakistan again." She added a moan to it. "How many times did she visit that place, anyway?"

Press Release placed her head on the table and rubbed it with her hooves. She then removed her hat, revealing more of her frizzy mane. "Alright, let's try to do this as logically as we can in the fastest possible time. We'll have a decision at the end, the newspapers will finally get printed, and everypony can continue their day. No objections?"

"I say we go with it!" Big Shot yelled.

In Cloudsdale, Bow Hothoof stood in front of the door to the magnanimous house. Made up of bricks and clouds, its exterior was unconventional compared to the houses on the ground—though, most, if not all, of the houses in this city were unconventional, anyway: its walls weren't straight for they curved and bended here and there although not too radically; the windows were also not straight, curving and bending here and there as well; the house itself stood on clouds and had its own front yard cloud lawn. It was neat and well-trimmed today. The lawn mower was in front of one of the windows.

"Another day where it's all clean!" Bow Hothoof said. He entered the house.

He walked into the kitchen where it was loaded and decorated with many items: a cloud ceiling, some seats cushioned with clouds, several abstract paintings (a majority of them green), a few shelves filled with an array of things from books to bottles, a potted plant on a small wooden table, a bigger wooden table where the seats were, a big oven, several more shelves but under the sink, and a window with pink curtains—it was open, giving the ponies inside a grand view of Cloudsdale; the cloud streets having pegasi walking about, talking to each other on the clouds. All of these were all within the coverage of yellow, painted walls and purple, tiled floors.

"I guess the newspapers late, huh?" Bow Hothoof asked Windy Whistles who was eating a simple vegetable sandwich at the table.

"Yeah," she replied. "Some rumors are going around saying that it's just the normal hiccup. Hopefully, it will be OK within the hour."

"It still is unusual, though," he said as he sat down beside her. "Newspapers have never been this late before."

She took another bite of the sandwich and gulped it down. Then, she placed the half-eaten sandwich on her plate. "Who knows? Only the ponies inside those big buildings know."

He sighed. "I wonder about what's going to happen."

"To our Rainbow Dash?" she asked with her front hooves on her face, her subtle smile disappearing.

"Yes, that's very important," he said. "But, i was also thinking about other things as well."

She blinked, tilting her head a little. "What do you mean?"

He sighed. Then, he cracked a smile. "Like what they say, you don't know what you have until it's gone. And, there's the newspaper—it's only now that I see how valuable the news is." He relaxed his head on the table, a hoof being its support.

The mare rubbed the stallion's mane. "That means a little more time together. No newspaper to be a barrier between us for a simple conversation over the table."

The sunlight coming in through the window was still bright and ray-like. The chirping of birds could be heard.

The two smiled at each other.

"She's going to be OK," Windy said. "You don't have to worry about it—she's a talented flier. Do you think she'll get in trouble that easily?"

Bow Hothoof laughed a little. "I don't think so. Thanks for reassuring me of that."

He placed a hoof on her shoulder.

She placed a hoof on his shoulder.

They hugged.

"Applejack?" Rainbow Dash asked as she floated above the ground, hovering while the Earth pony walked. "Do you think it's weird to see a griffon, a dragon, a changeling, a pony, and a yak all in the same room?"

"No," she simply replied, passing by rows and rows of apple trees; the slight scent of apple permeated the rolling, arable hills. "What makes ya' say that?"

"Because it's been a weird few years," Rainbow said. "In just a few years, I discovered that I was the embodiment of the Element of Loyalty, realized that we've had a connection with each other even before we met because of my awesome sonic rainboom"—Applejack yawned, exaggerating the features on her face while she did so—"defeated Nightmare Moon and being witness to the beginning of a new era where Princess Luna would reign again with her sister, made Twilight Sparkle as a true, tried, and trusted friend along with Spike; defeated Discord who's the spirit of chaos himself, wrote several letters to Princess Celestia herself about friendship, found out my love for reading books and becoming a fan of the Daring Do books, defeated Queen Chrysalis and her evil changelings, helped protect the Crystal Empire from King Sombra, took Scootaloo in as a little sister to take care of, joined the Wonderbolts as a trainee, watched Fluttershy turn Discord into a good guy, saw Twilight Sparkle become a Princess, brought my element to the Tree of Harmony, realized that A.K. Yearling was Daring Do, became a Wonderbolt reservist, defeated Tirek, became one of the expert ponies on friendship, saw the Cutie Mark Crusaders finally get their cutie marks, seen an evil unicorn become Twilight's student, helped in protecting the Crystal Empire again, became a full-fledged Wonderbolt, went to a Daring Do fan convention, got kidnapped by changelings and woke up to see good changelings, got closer to my parents for the cool mom and dad they are, and witnessed the publishing of the Friendship Journal.

"And, even with all of that, the griffons and the dragons and the changelings and the yaks have all suddenly become friendlier with us ponies!"

Then, Rainbow took in deep breaths of air, inhaling and exhaling loudly.

"Boy, Ah' didn't 'spect you to be makin' a speech like that out o' the blue!"

"It's just something I thought about," Rainbow said, still flittering above the ground. "I've been alive for, of course, more than a few years, yet a lot has happened in those few years than all of my life before that!" She gestured wildy with her hooves, gesturing towards the air beside her as if the years were right there. "Sure, my sonic rainboom was historical and awesome, but that was one great moment, one change that was so dramatic!"

"And, the books have been gettin' to yer' vocab'lary, haven't they?" Then, Applejack snickered.

"So, what?" Rainbow shot back. "At least I enjoy what I do, and that includes reading!" Then, she casually brushed her off with a hoof. "Anyway, I figured out that we're living in a completely different Equestria from the one we know just years ago. And, it just makes me...I don't know what it makes me feel."

"Ya' do know we all have gone through those same changes in that short amount o' time," Applejack said, the two still walking. "But, some things stay the same. Ah' still run the farm with mah' fam'ly, Mayor Mare's still mayor o' Ponyville, an' Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie ar' still good friends."

Rainbow took to the ground and closed her wings. "So, what are you saying, Applejack?"

"Ah'm just sayin' that it's nice to see the changes," Applejack replied, closing her eyes and smiling. "It's not somethin' ya' miss, the ol' days. It's somethin' to remember, to learn from. But, here's today!" She opened her eyes and grinned.

"Why do I have the feeling you wrote that down in the Friendship Journal somewhere?" Rainbow asked, her eyes peering at her friend while she pointed a hoof at her.

"Ah' didn't," she said.

And, they continued walking down the fenced dirt path sided by many apple trees all teeming with growing red apples.

Ember sat on a seat as the scenery past the window moved by, its green fields, green hills, and green plants sped past. She looked out of the window, observing it all with a little scowl on her face. Then, she turned around to the sight of several ponies cowering from her.

Then, she sneezed. A blast of fire went out of her nostrils.

They screamed, several running out of the carriage both ways, while a few took cover and hid as they shook and shivered.

"I'm not used to your train smells!" Ember yelled. "Now, where's the—"

"We can't give you any newspaper!" a pony yelled from under one of the seats. "Even if we did have, you, being a dragon and all—"

"Just because I'm a fire-breathing dragon doesn't mean I'm not allowed to do something as simple as read a newspaper," Ember declared, walking towards the trembling pony in question. Then, she leaned forward, her face approaching his.

"Please!" the pony shouted. "I just work here!"

Ember kept her pose for a while.

Then, she straightened up and went back to her seat and sat down. She made a mean look at the stallion.

He screamed again.

Ember smiled a little. "Looks like Twilight is going to scold me for this one."

"We've got your order for canopies, Davenport," a muscled stallion said as he and another stallion held a long, welded canopy. It was somewhat disorganized.

"I didn't order any canopies!" Davenport said, nervously looking back inside his shop where a few ponies were; one of them noticed him and tried to see what was outside. "You must be mistaken! First, my newspaper, now this?"

"It was said that the canopy was for a pegasus pony named Davenport," the stallion said.

"Pegasus? I'm not a pegasus at all! Who told you that?"

"I heard you had a changeling representative," the stallion went on.

Davenport groaned. "Don't tell me." He held out his hoof as he closed his eyes. "Is it the green, irritating one?"

"He was green."

Davenport groaned again.

Nighttime Activities

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Long Winded asked.

The two changelings lay on the grass, facing the sky. It was a hue of dark purple blue. The moon, surrounded by the stars, shone its soft light on to the land, giving the lake nearby a slight white glimmer. Crickets chirping, owls hooting, a few birds still going. The far lights of Ponyville was nearby with its faint sound of ponies talking.

"Lying down here, gazing at the stars, admiring what Princess Luna does every night. She does this every night?" Then, he breathed a sigh. "I have newfound appreciation of her!"

"Took you that long," Nastic blurted out.

"Well, if Princess Luna was mad at you, she might as well not give you a night," Long Winded said. "She's not pummeling you down or something—aren't you happy about that?"

Nastic groaned. "Just stay quiet and let me think."

Long Winded blinked. Then, he turned back to the sky.

A lone cloud slowly went by, drifting through. A pegasus sat on it, watching the landscape pass.

Then, the sound of fireworks in the distance.

Long Winded quickly stood up and faced Ponyville.

There were several colorful fireworks in the sky—one of them showed the face of a unicorn with a hat before it disappeared. Then, more fireworks—one of them showed the face of another unicorn; this one had no hat.

"Hey, it's Trixie's magic show!" Long Winded said. He went to his friend and poked him. "Do you want to see it?"

"I thought you were the guy who wanted to relax on the grass and just look at stars," Nastic shot back.

"Oh." Then, he slowly lay on the grass again, facing the sky. He placed his front hooves behind his head and smiled.

"I didn't want to go there, anyway," Nastic said. "Magic tricks don't interest me."

A few more moments of silence passed by between the two as they stared at the sky with its twinkling stars and its bright moon.

The air around them was cold. The trees swayed a little under the wind's movements and so did the rest of the plants. The faint talk of Ponyville grew a little louder as it became a roaring cheer. The mountains and hills far away gave a sense of surrounding safety—though not too much since they weren't that tall.

Nastic sighed. "Is that it? What's the use of being here on the ground just looking at the sky other than to relax?"

"We could talk," Long Winded replied. "Just talk. Talk about anything. We could talk about what board games we should get."

A pause.

"I've never played a board game. Have you? Because I want to try out those board games—there's chess, there's checkers and I'm sure there's more. I want to start with checkers—they say it's easier than chess because it has only one kind of piece while chess has multiple kinds to think about."

Nastic remained silent.

"And, the strategies for checkers, if I remember correctly, are simple. There's not much thinking and theorizing and other kinds of mental activity to get yourself deep in. In chess, there's lots of complex factors going on and they seem to have a name for every kind of beginning, middle, and end of a chess game and the advantages and the disadvantages of each one. I'm not ready for that, Nastic. Are you?"

Nastic sighed. "I don't know, Nastic. I've only seen games of chess—didn't understand one bit."

"Money?"

Nastic sighed again. "It's an expression, Long Winded. It's amazing you've made it this far and still don't know what 'one bit' means."

"And I learn something new!" Long Winded said, smiling. "And it's courtesy of you, Nastic! Aren't you proud of that?"

"Why would I be proud of something as simple as that?"

"Looking at the bright side of things, Nastic!" he responded. "With me by your side, I've already lightened up a lot of our days and you can't run away from that fact! Admit it, Nastic—it's always been a better day with me, right?"

"It's also been a better day with me keeping you safe from doing dumb things," Nastic said. "You're being optimistic, I'm being safe and keeping you OK from danger."

Then, Long Winded raised his head a little. "I know that, Nastic! And, I'm always happy to have you by my side. It's not just about me, it's about you, also!"

"As long as you don't go crazy and insane about the Wonderbolts or whatever, then we're going to be fine. Now, if you claim that this is relaxing, why don't you let me relax as well?"

Then, Nastic closed his eyes.

Long Winded looked at his resting friend.

Then, he fully lay down on the grass, placing his front hooves back on the back of his head, and looked at the sky.

"Dreams are fuzzy," Long Winded said.

Nastic's eyes were still closed.

"I don't remember if I did have my first dream or if it was just something crazy I thought of. But, I want to dream. They say it's nice to have dreams—an imaginary adventure or just a made-up experience." A second of quiet. "I want to see Princess Luna in my dreams. Humerus already had her in his dreams. Why can't I? Is it something rare? Can Princess Luna shift to other dreams fast?" Then, he sighed. "If only that were true. Then, I could get a few minutes with Luna. It would be an honor to hvae her inside my dream. What would I do, though? If I only had a few minutes—does she know my name? There's a lot of us changelings and I don't expect to know all of our names along with the names of her pony subjects. But, wouldn't it be cool if Luna would go inside your dream and say your name? 'Long Winded,' she would say."

He yawned.

Then, he closed his eyes.

A gray pegasus mare walked up the grassy hill and towards the two sleeping changelings. They were all facing up towards the sky—one was snoring loudly.

She stood right there, observing them as they breathed slowly and as they slept. She budged one of them with a hoof. He turned slightly and continued his sleep unfazed.

Derpy flittered back to Ponyville, the cheers becoming louder and closer. Several streamers were scattered around on the ground along with a few deflated balloons.

The crowd of ponies was still there, anticipating the return of Trixie and Starlight Glimmer on the now-curtained stage. The cheering had now died down to a cluster of cheerful murmurs.

She hurriedly went to the window on one house and planted her face on it.

Derpy saw a family of ponies at the table—a stallion, a mare, and a few young ponies: one colt and one filly. On the table were pies of different flavors—apple pie, blueberry pie, pear pie, and strawberry pie. There were also a few muffins.

She licked her lips at the sight of the muffins.

Then, she flew back to the main event with its massive clump of ponies.

"I knew Trixie would become more popular," a voice said, "but I didn't know crowds like this would turn out for her!"

Derpy looked around. She saw Twilight Sparkle and her friends walking towards the stage.

"I wanna join in the next act!" Pinkie said, raising a hoof. "Please pick a pony, please pick a pony, please pick a pony! But, what if I don't have the right kind of magic?"

"Pinkie," Twilight said, smiling, "if you want to be a volunteer, you don't need unicorn magic."

"I hope she's changed her wardrobe," Rarity said. "Don't you think the ponies will get bored of the same old costume? Unless they like her that way—if that's the case, I shall not argue with it. I will not meddle in such affairs."

"She still wears the same robe and hat," Twilight said.

Then, they passed by Derpy.

Derpy flew over the crowd of ponies, brushing past a few other peagsi who were hovering over the crowd as well. She went over the stage, heard a few muffled words, then went back to the crowd and landed right beside a stallion who was wearing a hat just like Trixie's.

He turned to Derpy. "I don't know about you," he began, excited, "but I never thought that I would love Trixie's performances until now! Ever since she became nicer, she's been a better pony. Now that she's learning actual magic from Twilight's very own pupil, who knows what's her potential?" Then, he waved a blue flag and shouted at the stage. "Trixie! We're waiting for you! I know that it's going to be awesome, Trixie!"

Derpy slowly walked away from the rabid stallion.

A bump and she fell to the ground.

Another mare fell, too.

The two recovered their stance, the other mare picking up her glasses. Derpy, dizzy, teetered, almost losing balance. Then, the other mare supported her with a hoof.

"There, Derpy," Mayor Mare said in her lightly elderly voice. "Are you alright?" she asked with a tinge of concern.

"Yeah," Derpy said, nodding her head. Then, she gasped. "You're the pony I'm looking for!"

"Why?" Mayor Mare asked, taken aback while she adjusted her glasses. "Is there something wrong?"

"There's some changelings, uh, asleep in the middle of nowhere!" Derpy said, taking a few glances towards the hills. "I don't know if it's a magic spell they're under or if they're lost but—"

"I'm sure they're safe." The mayor placed an assuring hoof on Derpy's shoulder. "They're more than capable of fighting off any thief if they do get attacked in their sleep, Derpy."

The pegasus nodded. "Thanks, Mayor Mare!"

She flew away.

Mayor Mare waved at her. "Now, where was I going?" She looked at the crowd of ponies gathered at the stage.

She walked to it.

Under the same night sky was the multitude of royal and fine architecture that made up most of Canterlot's buildings; spires and towers adorned the city. The streets were lit up by both the street lights and the building lights. Carriages zoomed by, hurrying towards some place.

Princess Celestia, startled, looked at her sister who was at the balcony. "Time to take a break, Luna?" she asked.

"Yes, it is," Luna said with a nod. She turned towards Celestia.

The room was circular; it was white and yellow. There was a single large bed in the room with two blankets and one pillow. There were many windows, allowing the cool night breeze to flow freely within.

"Whose dreams did you visit?" Celestia asked as her sister approached her.

"Met a young filly," Luna said. "Zipporwhill. A pegasus. She dreamed a simple dream—nothing of the ostentatious sort. It was a plain dream where she played with her dog: playing fetch, running around." Then, she smiled. "I did give her quite the surprise when I revealed myself to her from behind the bushes."

Celestia giggled, covering her mouth with a wing. "I always like it when you tell me their reactions to seeing you."

Luna giggled as well. "For nopony suspects me being present. And, it is always a good action to take—to greet your subjects as they are busy in their dreams. You never know what imaginary adventures a random pony might be having even right in this present moment."

Celestia nodded. "Indeed, sister." Then, she raised an eyebrow. "How's your venture into other creatures' dreams?"

"It is a strange yet familiar realm," Luna replied. She paced the round room. "It made me understand the thoughts of others more—why they do what they do. It is quite a benefit to have, considering that they usually will not tell you what's deep in their mind."

"But, it's all good, right?" Celestia went on.

Luna nodded. "There are limits, however. Some may deem it unfair—I am intruding into their minds without their permission, after all. This is why I'm entering the dreams of the calmer creatures first—such as the changelings. I've already met dozens of changelings in the dream realm and most of them were very...happy to see me."

"How happy?" Celestia giggled again. "I think it's hugs and screams of excitement."

Luna nodded again. "It is as if they are admirers of us, sister. Although, I have gotten used to it, already; coupled with their now mild attitude towards me, visiting their dreams is manageable."

Celestia looked at the bed. Her horn glowed yellow. She fixed the bed, straightening it out and keeping the blankets flat, arranging the pillow to be parallel with the blanket. Then, she yawned—she covered her open mouth.

"You don't have to be awake now, Celestia," Luna said, walking towards the balcony. "Go to sleep, sister. I'll take care of our subjects."

Celestia nodded. "Alright, Luna." She walked towards the door. "Have a good night."

"Have a good night, too." Luna waved at her leaving sister.

Then, the doors went shut.

Luna disappeared into the dream realm.

Thorax stood on his wooden throne.

It was surrounded by moss and other green plants. Several vines had crept into it. Leaves had sprout on its branches at the top. The rocky wall that surrounded it and the space around it gave the place a walled yet safe feeling. A few changelings looked up beside him at the night sky, all sounding out their awe. Their eyes glimmered under the moonlight and so did their carapaces.

"This late night activity is—" Throax yawned and covered his mouth "—making me tired." He looked at his subjects. "Do you wanna sleep, yet?"

"No, Thorax!" a changeling protested with a happy tone. "I'm getting inspiration for my next masterpiece!"

"You're going to splatter white paint on a black canvas again?" Thorax asked.

"Exactly, but better!" the changeling proclaimed. "It's going to be infintely better than the last few pieces of art I've done. Everyone is going to be so jealous at tomorrow's arts and crafts time!" Then, he went back to staring at the sky.

The changeling beside him smiled and looked at Thorax. He pointed a hoof at the changeling. "I wanna follow in his hoofsteps, Thorax! Maybe I'll become a great user of art like him!"

"'Great user of art'?" Thorax asked, stepping down from his throne and approaching the changeling. "Don't you mean 'artist'?"

"'Great user of art' has a nice ring to it," the changeling said. "Makes me sound professional."

"Just because you have a fancy title doesn't you're fancy yourself," Thorax said. "Now, why don't you go to sleep? It's getting too late already. Even I'm getting tired."

"No!" the changeling around him yelled in unison.

Thorax stood there surprised and shocked. "Uh, OK. I'll, uh, let you be. I'll still, uh, watch you—in case something bad happens. Pharynx will be at the ready when that happens, alright, guys?"

The changelings nodded.

Then, he sat on his wooden throne again.

Thorax sighed. Then, he smiled. "I've never seen changelings this dedicated to this before."

Then, after a while he stepped down from his throne again.

He looked at his subjects.

"What about something else?" Thorax asked. "Like, sleeping?"

Authority in Equestria

The sunrays made the dust of the books visible. Rows of tall bookshelves reaching to the ceiling populated the room. Sections were of different colors—one part of the room had a green floor, another had a red floor, still another had a blue floor and so went the tradition. The silence was deafening—the lone hoofsteps of the Princess of the Day stood out among the absence of sound.

The Princess smiled as she levitated a book from off the shelf. It had a prominent place—this was clean while the books beside it were dirty and unkempt.

"'The History of Changelings. The Twenty-eighth Edition. They're trying to catch up with everything, aren't they?"

The Princess sat on a chair at a wooden table inside a section where there were other such tables with such chairs. The rest of them were empty.

The turning of the pages with her magic pierced the silence.

On display were paragraphs and various illustrations and pictures. Some of them were pictures of the changelings' old looks—dark colors, blue eyes, and broken legs. Others were pictures of their new looks—vibrant colors, bright eyes, and full bodies.

She saw the smiles on their faces.

Celestia smiled, too.

Her eyes kept trailing the words.

It was still a silent place. Only the sound of her turning of the pages was made. Not so far off from her, there was a pony with glasses watching her from behind the counter. She didn't have a frown nor a smile—she just looked at her.

Celestia looked up from her book. "How's it going?"

"Oh, it's, uh, going swell!" the mare said with panic—eyes going here and there, hastily adjusting her glasses, and glancing at the stack of books beside her. "Nothing too unusual or weird happening here, Princess!" She even saluted her.

Celestia giggled. "You don't have to do that." A second of silence. "Thanks for letting me come here again."

"With pleasure, Princess!" the mare responded with an accent of delightful enthusiasm.

Celestia looked upon her sleeping sister.

She was lying down on her crescent bed, head rested on the pillow. A small table beside her bed had an alarm clock. Her four purple bed slippers were on the blue rug on the dark blue floor.

The windows were closed with their red and purple curtains. The walls were blue and purple. Decorating the room were soft lights on what looked like trees where the leaves were the lights.

"You've had a busy night, Luna," Celestia said, approaching her and then sitting beside the bed, becoming level with her. "Have a good day, sister."

Then, she went out past the open diamond-studded blue door.

"Pinkie Pie has, uh, sent you a letter," a guard in uniform armor said in his deep voice, running through the hallway with gasps for air as he neared the Princess. He held out a pink scroll as he ran.

Celestia levitated the letter with her magic. Then, she opened it.

Confetti exploded on her face. A few balloons went out from it.

She laughed a little.

Then, she read the letter.

The guard finally reached the Princess and went on bowed knee.

Celestia noted the guard. "Oh, you don't have to do that."

"My apologies, Princess," the guard said, quickly standing up with no change of his face towards a certain emotion.

Celestia went back to reading the letter.

The guard stood there, watching the Princess read.

Celestia's eyes moved slowly then hurriedly went back to one side of page to return to going slowly across the page again.

The guard waited as he just stood there, keeping guard.

"She has ordered a royal request for more confetti, huh? For a very big party?" She placed a hoof on her chin as she looked up, thinking. "Well, who's being invited to the party?"

The guard kept watching her, not saying a word.

Then, Celestia magically closed the pink scroll, grabbed it with a hoof, and hoofed it to the guard. "Tell the party delivery ponies to make a shipment of confetti to Ponyville."

"How many boxes of confetti, Princess?"

"About ten will do."

"Affirmative." He saluted the Princess and hurried out the hallway.

The crowd cheered as the Princess approached the only obstacle between everypony outside and the door that led to a sweet-smelling experience inside—a ribbon. The ribbon only went the width of the door—nothing more and nothing less.

She looked at the hatted owner of the bakery. "What happened to the ribbon?" she said, smiling.

The smile on the owner's face dampened, although it did not completely go away. "I didn't want to waste money on the initial celebration." Then, she grinned.

Celestia chuckled. "That's a good mindset." She glanced at the several ponies outside who had stopped their cheeing although kept on smiling. "And, with an extravaganza or not, you have your friends to encourage you and help you to the very end. Is that not right?"

The owner nodded quickly. "Yes, Princess!" Then, she looked at her friends. "She likes it!"

The crowd roared their cheers again.

The Princess chuckled again as she levitated a pair of scissors and cut the ribbon.

The ponies made one final loud, boisterious cheer that rocked the street and caused more than a few passing ponies to turn their heads around. Then, they entered the bakery as the owner ushered them inside with sweet greetings and a hoof wave.

The owner then looked at Celestia who was just standing there, watching the ponies enter with looks of joy. "Princess, you can eat here!"

"It's alright," the Princess said. "I am content with just seeing you happy."

Celestia, in her chariot pulled by a few royal pegasi guards in their armor, flew past the clouds, through the clouds. The wind was fast. The speed was great. The pegasi flapped their wings as they trudged on, passing by miles and miles of fertile greenland with the occasional town or two.

Then, the fields of grass slowly became barren deserts of dry ground. Settler towns such as Appleloosa went by quickly with the railroad coming into and out of view every so often.

Finally, the desert gave way to lush land once again—a thick forest, and then a growing land of many different plants.

A few changelings spotted the approaching chariot. One hurried to the hive.

The chariot slowed down, the pegasi slowing the pace of their flight. They finally landed on the dirt path close to the hive's entrance.

"I appreciate the regular visits, Princess Celestia!" Thorax said jitterly as he walked with her through the hive with its rocky structures covered in beautiful greenery whether it's moss, vine, bushes, or another kind of plant. "You Princesses always keep visiting us to check on how well we're doing. I don't know if I said it before, but you're very nice!"

"And why shouldn't we? I want to make sure that you are progressing well and we have lots of resources to help you with. All you need to do is ask."

"Thanks for reassuring me, Princess!" Thorax said.

"You don't have to call me that," Celestia said. "You're a king now, Thorax, so you don't need to refer to me as Princess all the time."

Thorax nodded. "OK. I understand. Now, what can I do for you? You're here, so what do you want? We have some changeling food right here being prepared! Or, maybe you want to participate in the arts and crafts time? We're about to start that! Or, you can see the actors prepare for their play later tonight. If you want to stay longer, we're fine with you being a part of the audience, Celestia!"

"As much as I would love to watch your play," Celestia replied, "I have other matters to attend to later."

"Oh, I see," Thorax said, his smile diminishing a little. But, he regained his full smile. "So, what can you do here?"

"Nothing specific," Celestia said as she looked around, seeing the plentiful plant decorations on the walls and on the floor; some changelings were setting up some new ones. "I'll do what fits my fancy."

The sun was now high—noontime with its magnified heat and clarity. As the pegasi flew again in the sky, Celestia looked down on the green landscape.

"Another fruitful time with the changelings," Celestia blurted out. "Understanding their situation more clearly—that's the goal, isn't it?" She looked back, her eyes towards the blue distance yonder covered in clouds. "They're still young and they still have much to learn about friendship. They still have that optimistic eagerness ever since that fateful day." The smile on her face grew. "A beautiful thing, isn't it?"

Then, she gasped and covered her mouth. "I'm talking to myself, am I not?" She giggled, still covering her mouth. "Looks like that time where we had our cutie marks and our jobs switched isn't going to go away for a long time."

The cake on the long royal table was the lonely food on its platter. It was a simple cake—white frosting and chocolate base. No fruits or any other kind of toppings—just a cake with frosting.

Celestia levitated a fork and a knife and sliced herself a large portion and gently put it on her plate.

She looked around in the room.

There were the guards at their respective posts near the doors. They were watching her with blank stares. Besides them and herself, there was no one in the room.

The silence was thick.

She slowly cut a morself for herself and munched on it, chewing it. She gulped it down.

"This is what happens on a slow day," Celestia said, looking at the plate of cake in front of her.

The doors opened.

Celestia looked behind her. "Luna!"

Luna, with her droopy and tired face, greeted her sister with an attempt at a proper smile. "Good afternoon, sister!" she said, somewhat forcing a happy tone into her words. "How is your work for the day so far?"

"Not that bad," Celestia replied. "Had a few openings for some businesses in Canterlot, went to Winsome Falls and talked to some of the tourists there, and visited the Changeling Kingdom—or, as they want to call it now, the Changeling Hive—to see what they're doing."

"And, it went successfully?" Luna asked, walking towards her and taking a seat beside her, sitting on it.

"Yes, it did," Celestia answered. Then, she had a curious smile on her face. "Why are you up so early, Luna? You know you don't have to attend lunch."

"I have decided on a whim to spend even just a few minutes with you during your work hours," Luna said, her smile becoming more genuine. "I shall then go back to sleep."

Celestia chuckled at that. "Do you want some cake?" With her fork and knife, she cut out another large portion and placed it on another plate which she levitated to her sister. She smiled throughout the whole ordeal.

"I do not see why it would hurt to indulge," Luna said as she levitated her own fork and knife and took a bite.

"Princess Celestia!" Twilight Sparkle said as she ran towards her and hugged her.

Celestia hugged back in the hallway under the green light of the tall windows accompanied by the crystal walls and the royal carpet on the floor.

"I didn't expect you to be here!" Twilight said. She levitated the scattered books that were on the floor. "I was just in another research frenzy! Who knew that research about rocks was even more interesting after school? There was Maud, yes, but, boy, was she right about how exciting rocks can be as a subject of study!"

Celestia blinked; she looked slightly perplexed yet quickly put on her mild smile. "And, from the looks of it, you seem to have your friends studying with you." She gestured a hoof towards the open doors and the room behind it.

Twilight looked behind her.

Her friends—Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Spike, and Starlight Glimmer, along with a reluctant Trixie—were at the crystal table which was decorated with rocks of various sorts.

"I have come just to pay a visit," Celestia said. "I've managed to squeeze some free time in between two important things."

"Oh, that would be great!" Twilight said as she hurried towards the door. "Why don't you join in?" Then, she stopped right in her tracks. "Oops! Why did I almsot forget?" She turned around to face her. "I should've asked if you were actually interested in it! I shouldn't be forcing you to activities, you being my former mentor and teacher and all—ha-ha-ha-ha!"

Rainbow Dash, way back in the room, looked at Celestia and rotated a hoof beside her head while making a funny face. She then pointed at Twilight while maintaining that silly look.

Celestia giggled. "Only a little chat, Twilight."

The sun was now setting in the orange and yellow sky. The clouds were a plenty yet not too much to fog the atmosphere. Several pegasi were on the move, a few directing the rest and pointing to various spots in the sky as their followers and subordinates obeyed their instructions and moved certain clouds to certain places.

Celestia looked up at the busy work in the sky. She was standing on the balcony.

A door opened.

Celestia looked back. "Luna! You seem well-rested tonight."

Luna nodded, her face now fuller. "I am ready for the duty of the night, sister."

Celestia smiled.

Luna walked past the bed and into the outside on the balcony to her sister's side.

Their horns glowed.

The sun finally set behind the horizon. The sky darkened from its bright orange yellow to its dark purple blue. The stars twinkled into view as the moon rose and shone its soft light onto the land.

The two Princesses opened their eyes.

They looked at each other.

"Now, it is time for you to rest," Luna said.

She placed a hoof on Celestia's shoulder.

A moment of silence passed between the sisters. Behind them was the night sky and the bright city of Canterlot with its royal buildings and its many lights.

"Good night, sister."

"And good night to you, sister."

And Celestia left the room.

As Celestia walked past the many tall windows that gave a concerted and connected view of the city, she looked on through the window. "I wonder if I should introduce to Thorax cake?" she asked. "I guess he already tried it. Princess Cadance threw a few parties with him invited when he was still living in the Crystal Empire. Who wouldn't have cake in a party, anyway?"

She kept on walking.

"It's not like that every leader has to eat cake," Celestia said. "But, it's only an opinion that I want. Only an opinion from Thorax about cake. Nothing more and nothing less. It's nothing serious, nothing too bad." Then, she giggled again. "What am I saying? I'm just like Luna again!"

She then went to the end of the hallway and opened the door.

Cheese Sandwich's Party in Appleloosa

Nastic tapped a hoof on the table. He sighed, holding on to his hat with the other hoof.

He watched the rush of ponies going by as they hurried towards some place. Several ponies wore frontier-style hats—big-brimmed and large. Carts being pulled from one building to another, carrying apples, pears, oranges, barrels, sacks, among others.

The changeling wiped some sweat off of his face. He looked up at the morning sun over the dry desert and its thriving town of Appleloosa.

Noise of the local inhabitants—moderately rowdy yet, over all, nice to each other with their slaps on the back of the head and their positive camaraderie.

Nastic sighed again. He let go of his hat and rested his other hoof on the table.

A blue changeling flittered by and sat on the chair beside the gray one.

"How's it going, Nastic?" Blue Alarm asked. "I didn't expect you to be here."

"Me neither," Nastic said.

Blue Alarm tilted his head a little at his friend. "I know there's something not right with you. What's wrong?"

"Just bored."

Blue Alarm simply looked at him.

"Ask me a few months ago and I would've told you that I was proactively doing something for us," Nastic said. "That we're all drowning in a sea of pony culture and that I and a few others were the only ones keeping us afloat. It was a valiant fight—maybe not much of a fight as it was a repulsion. If we could be free, then I concluded that we should be free our own way; no influence from the ponies, just us growing naturally in a good way. Yet, look at the whole situation now: We changelings are still happily adopting pony things and all the ponies don't mind. Well, most of them. I tried just relaxing, just going away from all of it and just spend time with my friends both pony and changeling."

"What happened with that?" Blue Alarm went on. "You still sound sad."

Nastic glanced away from his friend to look upon a few ponies passing by—one of them was pulling a cart filled with apples. He was smiling. "Apples on the way!" he yelled.

Then, he looked back at Blue Alarm.

"Everything is nice. Not everything, but a lot of things. I was stubborn to not believe that for some time, yet I still stand by my belief that I had some truth with what I said, with what I proclaimed. Now, I'm a changeling who just wants to stand for something yet doesn't have a thing to stand for yet."

Blue Alarm brought a hoof around Nastic's head. "We still need changelings like that, Nastic. Maybe you could go and write a book or a play or a song that would bring your views into something artistic. That way, you would be impacting others and making a good difference."

"But, what use is that if I don't have a thing to stand for?" Nastic asked, straightening himself up on his chair and gaining some sternness in his voice. "The one thing that I stood for is now disproven. We changelings do need some help in order to get on our four hooves, even with more than just friendship lessons and material aid. And, I have no idea what else is there."

"How are ya' doing?" a voice asked.

The two changelings looked at the source of the voice.

"Braeburn?" Nastic asked.

The Earth pony walked off the beaten dirt path and on to the area dotted with tables and chairs. "Ah was just stoppin' by to invite y'all to the big party!" he said. "Cheese Sandwich is gonna hold this one again! How many times has it been since he's held a party here already? But, that don't matter now!"

Blue Alarm looked at Nastic. "You might as well sleep on that. Like you said, let's relax."

Nastic was silent for a few seconds. "You're right." He smirked. "But, I don't think you relax at a party. Considering how party ponies throw parties."

At the wooden stage was a rodeo's country band—several ponies wearing big hats and carryings various instruments. They were setting up.

Various stalls and stands and tents had been propped up, selling all kinds of foods, drinks, and other stuff. Some ponies were holding apples dipped in caramel or another sweet, sugary and thick mixture.

The chatter between ponies was now louder than before as they smiled and as they talked to each other. A train stopped at the train station, bringing in ponies from other towns and cities throughout Equestria into the Appleloosa party. Among them was Applejack with her trusty hat.

"Applejack!" Braeburn yelled.

"Braeburn!"

And the two hugged.

"Looks like ya' received the inv'tation!" Braeburn said as he released Applejack from his grip. "That also means ya' got the other piece o' news!"

"That ya' got a new hat store?" Applejack asked.

"Yeah!" Braeburn pointed to a faraway stall with a large hat sign. "Now, everypony livin' here is guaranteed to get the hat of their choice! Of course, they can choose not to get a hat, but it's how we live here in the outskirts o' Equestria!"

"Yer' gettin' too joyful 'bout that!" Applejack said. "Now, are ya' gonna help Cheese Sandwich the party or what?"

"Oh, right, right!"

Then, the two cousins hopped off of the train station's platform.

Cheese Sandwich, with his curly mane and his curly tail, licked his lips at the line of candy apples on the counter. He turned around to the line of ponies behind him. "It's always good to try the food in the place you're partying in," Cheese said. He then dropped a table on the ground.

The ponies looked at the table.

Cheese slammed the table with a hoof.

Then, the table extended far, reaching to the end of the line in mere seconds.

Cheese placed a small conveyor belt on his end of the table.

The conveyor belt extended far, also, reaching to the end of the table.

Cheese threw a bit, got one candy apple, then scooped up the rest from the counter and dropped them on to the conveyor belt.

The ponies looked at Cheese in awe. There were many gasps from the audience. They were all open-eyed at the party pony.

"And, if you're worrying about germs and other dirty things like that, don't worry! The conveyor belt is made to cleanly handle food."

The ponies stared at the moving pile of candy apples.

Then, the ponies picked candy apples from the pile as it moved, some getting one, others getting two, still others managing to get three or more without leaving anypony without a candy apple.

Cheese leaned on the counter and smiled as he bit on his own candy apple. He looked at the pony who was stunned behind the counter. "I'm willing to let you get one of that for your next hit," Cheese said. "You want it for free?"

The mare nodded, grinning.

"Here!" Cheese said, carrying a table and bringing it over the counter. The mare received it and placed it down beside her.

"Now, you have to be careful with that thing," Cheese said. "Don't hit it whenever you want—or whenever you don't want because there's such a thing called 'accident.' They can happen and you would end up causing damage along the way. Also—" He carried a conveyor belt and brought it over the counter as well "—here's the conveyor belt. I almsot forgot that." Then, he looked up and then at the line. "Wait, doesn't the conveyor belt stand out a little too much from what Appleloosa looks like?"

"Maybe?" the mare said, smiling.

"Don't let that stop you!" Cheese said. He turned around to walk towards the line of happy, eating ponies. Then, two changelings stopped in front of him.

"Hi," Blue Alarm said.

"Oh, it's you two!" Cheese said, pointing at the two.

"Uh, you remember us?" Nastic asked.

"Not really," Cheese said, "although I have seen you somewhere." Then, he grabbed the two and rubbed their heads as they stayed in his grip; the smile on his face was big. "But, it looks like you've never been to my parties before! You just stay here—the party preparations are just as fun as the party itself!" Then, he hoofed them two candy apples and left.

The two changelings looked at each other, holding candy apples with their hooves. "The party ponies are crazy," Nastic said.

"But, you must admit, they make good parties," Blue Alarm said, flapping his wings and then hovering over the brown, dry ground.

"I'm not talking about their profession," Nastic replied, also flapping his wings and hovering. "It's their personalities. It's as if every pony that has any faint connection with throwing parties is bound to be crazy, unhinged, and plain weird. Not to mention forceful."

"It's what the ponies are OK with," Blue Alarm said as he hovered beside his friend, moving towards Appleloosa proper with its wooden rickety buildings and busy ponies watching the fast Cheese Sandwich rush from here to there, tying a balloon to a post and hanging the streamers on the roof. "It's all fun and games and if it means that the crazy, unhinged, and weird ponies are the best ponies to handle those things, then so be it."

"I've never met a normal party pony," Nastic blurted out.

"Why would you, anyway?" Blue Alarm shot back, smiling a smug smile at his annoyed friend. "Then, it wouldn't be an epic party. It would be a social gathering."

"A social gathering that doesn't involve party cannons, loud music, explosive decorations, sweet cakes and pies and other goodies being thrown around for fun, and no schedule. There's nothing arranged about it."

"Why should a party have a schedule, anyway?" Blue Alarm asked.

They landed on a wooden platform in front of a store's entrance. The store had posters on the walls advertising its amazing hats and other clothing accessories with loud words and colorful graphics of hats. They sat on the floor.

"It doesn't make sense if it has a schedule," Blue Alarm went on. "Then, all the participants will end up thinking about the time to do this and then, after that, the time to do that other thing. 'Oh, it's time to go leave!'"

"You're misrepresenting me," Nastic said.

"I'm not. I'm just showing you the logical conclusion of your argument."

"I'm not even making an argument! I'm just telling you that it's bad that parties don't have schedules!"

"Wait."

Blue Alarm held out a hoof and stretched it in front of Nastic.

"Let's stop this before we end up fighting each other because we disagree about what parties should be."

"And, what, silence me?" Nastic said. He crossed his arms. "You can make me say what I want later, but I'm not going to let anyone stop me from saying my honest opinion! And, it's not even a bad opinion. It's just sitting there, being neutral!"

Blue Alarm smiled again at the persistent Nastic. "Maybe that's good. Maybe it isn't. But, I admire your tenacity, anyway. But, we should really not descend into petty word battles like this."

"As long as the petty word battles stay petty," Nastic said, calming down and taking to flight again.

Blue Alarm watched him fly around in the sky above Appleloosa. Some ponies on the ground looked up and saw him, too.

"I'll let him be," Blue Alarm said.

Loud polka music blared through the tall speakers situated around town, embellishing the night sky with a different tune. Ponies slow dancing in the desert open, ponies eating candy apples and other party foods of varying levels of sweetness at the tables (though a lot more were just eating wherever they were, whether it was right in front of a house, in the middle of the dirt road, or while they sat down watching the slow dancing ponies), ponies talking and laughing as the party with its festivities going on around them.

But, there weren't just ponies.

Many buffaloes were there, too. With their own clothing—their beads and their braids—they were partying, also. They talked with not just themselves but also with the ponies there and the ponies talked with them. A bright companionship—a mutual togetherness—was in bloom, if not already in full growth, in this display of friendship in the party all accompanied by the polka music being played in the background.

The sound of a train chugging, decreasing in speed until it stopped at the train station. At this night hour, more and more ponies were more than eager to join in the fun after it started—some even brought bags and their own hats. Among them was a light blue unicorn with curly blue mane and curly blue tail.

"Party Favor?" another stallion asked as he walked out from the party proper, approaching the unicorn. "I didn't know you were coming!"

"I've gotta hang out at these parties more often," Party Favor replied. "But, I don't understand why you're here, Double Diamond."

"Unplanned!" he said. "Just saw that there were lots of spotlights from a town that's out in the middle of the desert. Got curious, stopped here, and look!"

Party Favor got off of the train station's platform. The two walked towards the noisy yet cordial party, passing by the colorful balloons and streamers and confetti, passing by the other ponies and the buffaloes enjoying their time.

"The polka was unexpected," Double Diamond said as they kept walking under the party lights of different colors. "Yet, I find it...calming?"

"I don't think it's calming," Party Favor said. "It's...I don't know what's the word for it." He shrugged. "It's nice, that's what I can say."

"Did somebody say that polka was nice?" Cheese Sandwich asked as he went slid down some stairs and jumped and landed right in front of the two stallions. "Party Favor, glad to meet you!" He extended a hoof and the two shook hooves.

Double Diamond sighed. "I wonder what will happen if you two collaborate on a party."

The flapping of wings.

Blue Alarm looked away from the graceful movements of the slow dancing ponies in their formal frontier outfits of shirts, dresses, and hat. The polka music went on in the background. "Nastic?"

"Yeah." He landed beside him and sat down. "Just saw a party pony meet another party pony. It's as if they know what we're talking about and they're doing what they're doing just to taunt us."

"It's nothing malicious," Blue Alarm said. "Now, why don't you just watch?"

Nastic grumbled. He removed his hat and placed it on the ground. "Fine. I'll relax, but only because you said so."

So, the two changelings watched.

The ponies danced to the beat of the music. Slowly, surely. A jump, a leap. A beautiful landing.

"Can I get out of here already?" Nastic said.

"But, we haven't even gotten to the good part!"

"Long Winded is catching up on his Friendship Journal and I don't want to go home tomorrow morning and find out that he's going on a dangerous adventure because he read about it inside a book."

Blue Alarm laughed. "He's not that intense about it, is he?"

"You underestimate how excited he is," Nastic said. "I don't want to even imagine what sort of actions he would take just to earn a friendship lesson. Yes, not learn, earn."

Blue Alarm tilted his head in confusion.

Ponyville and a Train Ride

"Why did you scrap the train station?" a green changeling asked the changeling king who sat in front of his large wooden throne; he looked a lot like a shorter Thorax.

It was windy—the breeze whistled through the plants, including the vines, swaying them under its might. A few changelings roamed around, just admiring what was in front of them.

"It was too expensive to maintain," Thorax said, "but, more importantly, it didn't go well with the plants overtaking the railroad. That was too much labor for too little reward."

"Oh." The green changeling scrunched his face then smiled. "Thanks, Thorax!"

"You're welcome, Empis!" Thorax said, waving at him.

Empis flew off.

Another changeling was flying in.

Thorax eyed him.

The yellow changeling landed on the ground, holding a scroll with his mouth. He took the scroll out of his mouth and held it with a hoof.

"Good morning, King Thorax!" the new arrival greeted. Then, he bowed down.

"No, you don't need to do that kind of thing!" Thorax said as if in panic—raising his voice though not in anger. "Just talk to me as you would anyone else! I'm actually uncomfortable with all the bowing and the other formal greetings."

"Sorry, Thorax," the changeling said, making a sheepish smile. "It's hard since, well, you're a good ruler and all."

"Don't you flatter!" Thorax said, playfully smiling as he tilted his head.

The changeling nodded. He glanced at the scroll. "Uh, here's the list of places most visited by us changelings! Got it straight from Canterlot by request!" He hoofed the scroll to the king.

"It's always good to know," Thorax remarked as he opened the scroll. "Canterlot has all the records, all the archives, all the repositories."

"Not all of them," the changeling corrected.

"I wasn't trying to being literal."

The changeling gulped.

Thorax scanned the list. "Ponyville is at number one?"

"Uh, yes."

"Huh." Thorax was quiet for a while as he looked up from the letter and towards the blue sky. "It's a surprise, but not too surprising. It's a small and quiet town and places like Manehattan have a lot more tourist spots. But, it's also the town of friendship—Twilight Sparkle is the Princess of Friendship and she lives there, the Elements of Harmony live there, a lot of the friendship lessons that are in the journals were derived there, and there's always something going on in Ponyville—just like the big, uptown cities."

"I wonder—what about the sudden influx of changeling visitors to Ponyville? I haven't been there, yet."

"You should!" Thorax exhorted. "It's a nice place and the ponies there are nice, too."

"Maybe I've been working a lot lately," the changeling said. "Perhaps forgot about visiting Ponyville in the first place."

Thorax smiled. "Well, the next time you get a free day for yourself, you try going there. You're going to be shocked at the welcoming atmosphere of the town with its super-friendly ponies. Just don't go crazy over the Princess and her friends—they've already gotten more than their fair share of rabid changeling fans."

The changeling nodded. "Thank you for that. Do you need anything else regarding the list?"

"I don't think so," Thorax replied.

"Then, I'll go off to the arts and crafts place!"

Then, the changeling went off.

Pipsqueak and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were at the Ponyville train station, standing on the platform and holding several batches of colored paper. Nopony else was there.

Scootaloo looked to the side, peering into the distance. "Uh, are they there, yet?"

"They're not, Scootaloo," Sweetie said. "Wait for the train. It's always going to come on time." Then, she looked to the side as well.

Scootaloo noticed. "Hey! I thought you said 'Wait for the train'!"

"Well, I'm bored waiting." Sweetie made a grumpy face.

"But, it's gonna be worth it!" Apple Bloom expressed. "Just imagine all the visitors we're gonna help! Maybe there's gonna be a pony in need o' ar' help!"

"Yeah!" Scootaloo nodded with her eyes closed. "If she doesn't have a cutie mark and we help her find her talent right here and now, wouldn't that be an awesome story to tell?"

Sweetie nodded.

"I would like to see that!" Pipsqueak told.

"We would, too!" Sweetie responded.

Then, the blaring horn of the train.

The colt and the fillies looked to the side.

The colorful train, with its heart-shaped lights on the bumper, was coming closer. They awaited with looks and no sound as they observed the train nearing the station. Then, it slowed down, finally stopping at the station.

Pipsqueak and the Cutie Mark Crusaders grinned, straightening themselves up and huddling together.

The doors opened.

"Welcome to Ponyville!" they all shouted together.

The stallion in front held on to his hat, standing his ground in his resistance against being pushed by the sheer force of the united shout.

"You look new, sir!" Pipsqueak said. "Is this your first time visiting Ponyville?"

"I visit Ponyville all the time," the stallion said. "I live here!"

"Oh." Pipsqueak pouted.

The stallion walked around them and off the train station. He was followed by more and more ponies walking out of the train station, some who happily greeted the younger ponies holding paper.

"Everypony lives here!" Scootaloo complained. "Not even someone who isn't a pony?"

Then, two more ponies went down to the platform. One was a stout yet burly white Earth pony with trimmed purple mane and a bushy purple mustache; he wore a blue exercising suit and a towel around his neck. The other was also an Earth pony, though shorter and younger: Plaid Stripes.

"Hi!" Pipsqueak said, waving at the two. "You two look like tourists!"

"On business," the stallion said, maintaining a serious look and a serious tone. "I'm Mr. Stripes, and this is my daughter, Plaid Stripes." He gestured a hoof to her.

Plaid Stripes waved shyly at them.

"Oh!" Sweetie's eyes went wide open. "You must be the pony managing Rarity's boutique over in Manehattan!" She extended a hoof. "I'm her younger sister, Sweetie Belle!"

Plaid Stripes hesitated. She briefly glanced at her father. Then, she shook Sweetie's hooves, grinning and showing her braces.

"And, Ah'm Apple Bloom!" Apple Bloom said, extending her hoof at her as well.

Scootaloo offered her a hoofshake, also.

Pipsqueak, as well.

Plaid Stripes shook their hooves.

Mr. Stripes smiled a little. "Well, greetings are done and over with. Thanks, but my daughter has a very important appointment with Rarity. Something to do with utensil clothes becoming fashionable."

Sweetie Belle's face looked confused. "What?"

"What? You think it's not a good idea?"

"Uh, no, Mr. Stripes!" Sweetie said, balking. "It's just, uh, it's, ah, something I haven't heard of. Uh, not that much."

"You must hear of it," Mr. Stripes went on. "My daughter is a fashion revolutionary for introducing spoon clothes to the world, and now, she will expand her green horizons." He stretched out his hoof and moved it in the air, looking at the sky. "Brilliant ideas: fork clothes, spork clothes, knife clothes—"

"Aren't knife clothes dangerous?" Scootaloo asked.

"My daughter is more than capable of rectifying that!"

Scootaloo gulped.

"I apologize, but we are on tight schedule," Mr. Stripes said. He looked at his daughter. "Let's go qiuckly!"

Then, the two ponies ran, though Plaid Stripes took one last glimpse of the younger ponies before she went back looking forward.

"Spoon clothes?" Pipsqueak said. "That's something I've never heard of."

"You'll end up hearing more about it if the appointment goes well," Sweetie said. "Soon, everypony in Ponyville is going to wear cutlery on the clothes because it's trendy."

"What would you do with them?" Scootaloo asked.

"Eat with them," Sweetie said. "I've seen the spoon clothes myself—Rarity brought some here and it's in the boutique."

"Could I wear some of them?" Pipsqueak asked, excited. "I wanna know what it's like to have them!"

"I don't know, Pipsqueak," Sweetie said, a look of worry on her face.

"Train?" Empis asked as he stood in front of another colorful train in the middle of the dry desert.

"What are you waiting for?" the bulky train conductor asked, gesturing a hoof towards the inside of the train and giving Empis a mean look. "Do you wanna get to Ponyville or not? Get off the platform and get in!"

Empis looked left and right.

There was no one else on the platform.

Then, Empis went inside the train.

The conductor went inside and the train closed.

The train started chugging along again, the moving of the wheels becoming faster until it became a rhythmic sound. The dry and arid landscape, complemented with bright sun and its blue sky with minimal clouds, sped by the train as Empis looked out the window and at the outside.

Several things stood out. A few wagons of ponies moving through the desert, a herd of buffaloes stampeding on their stampeding grounds, dirt paths where some ponies walked on, signs that told where the nearest towns and cities where.

"I'm Locomotive," the train conductor said, approaching the changeling. He pointed a hoof to himself. "Apparently, you're the only one aboard on this train. Then again, this is the frontier—not that many ponies want to use the train at this time. Afternoon? You better wait until sundown—that's when they start visitng their friends in the larger, more populated towns for parties and other friendly times."

Empis blinked. "Do you get lonely here?"

The conductor sat down on the cushioned seat across the changeling's. He sighed a sigh of relief, stretching his front hooves. "Yes, I do." He stayed silent for a while. "What's your name?"

"Empis," he replied. "It's Empis."

"That's a good name," the conductor said. Then, his face disppeared. "I'm not kidding you, am I? I don't know what's a good name for a changeling. Thorax and Pharynx have good enough names—but, how am I supposed to know?!"

"It's one of the things that we changelings understand, I guess," Empis said. "Some of us didn't even have a name when we were born. The queen just saw us as brood-mates of some changeling that did have a name."

Locomotion's face dampened. "Shame. It's a sad shame, a sorry shame, isn't it?"

"I was glad that I had a name," Empis went on. "You had something to hold on to as your own besides your personality. Ownership wasn't that big of a thing back in those days. Getting too attached to things would drive us away from the hive and from getting love—that's what she taught."

"Did you end up getting some things anyway? For yourself?"

"Definitely," Empis said. "But, I had to throw them away—at first, I didn't want to get caught. Then, I just told myself that Chrysalis was correct in everything she says. Besides, without her direction, we would be even more starving than before. So I thought."

"Of course, you knew the truth, you became a colorful changeling, and you shared love," the conductor said. "It's becoming a common story among us ponies. History books are catching up to it, the foals are learning it even early on. Then again, they would end up catching up to it when there's all the buzz around it back some months ago."

Empis nodded. "I just want to think back to that moment, to those first few days: We were all wondering what we were going to do. Everything we've ever learned about the world was shattered, to be replaced with what I know to be the truth. It's a strange thing: It's all broken, and yet you're fine. I had suppressed those thoughts about thinking that you ponies were right—that friendship was the best way, and that, maybe—a big 'maybe'—stealing love wasn't the only way we could survive and flourish. After Thorax left the hive and betrayed us, there was something that nagged in the back of my mind—that maybe Thorax was right. Perhaps Thorarx saw it was all wrong because it was wrong."

Locomotion looked out the window. Then, he turned to Empis. "I can see that you're getting somewhat emotional about it, Empis. I understand."

"It's alright, Locomotion," Empis said. "I don't mind telling you my story. I'm sure my friends don't mind telling their stories, too—about they all thought that Chrysalis was right, and then Thorax and his friends came in and showed us that sharing love and not stealing love was the better way, and we all accepted that truth and we became better for it. I'm not that expressive about my feelings as the rest of my friends—they would gush about how great it felt for them to reunite with their brood-mates—that time, it woudn't just be any reunion. It would be the first time they would meet as friends—free to share with each other, free to laugh with each other, free to go with each other, free to live with each other as life-long buddies. I'm not surprised if one of them ends up crying about it—it is something revolutionary and unheard of for us changelings. Well, we did hear about things like friendship and sharing love, but to actually practice it? That's something we dared not do at all before."

"And, look at you now," Locomotion said, pointing at him with a hoof. "Free creatures with good lines of work and even better fun days and nights. You can do anything now."

"I don't want to regret my decision," Empis said. "And, it turns out that I won't be regretting it anytime soon."

They remained silent as the landscape slowly became greener and lusher. Grass became commonplace, now covering the ground with the trees and the rest of the plants. Pegasi moving the clouds here and there in the sky. More buildings appeared, though of the rural, quiet and homely kind.

"What is it?" Locomotion asked.

"Huh?"

"Do you have something on your eye?"

"Nah," Empis said. "Probably just an illusion."

Locomotion snickered. "Just small talk like that. Do you ever have those kinds of conversations with your friends these days?"

"Usually," Empis replied. "Who knew that even small talk was liberating?"

"Liberating? You must've been oppressed during her rule!"

"Yeah...."

Empis looked out the window again and so did Locomotion.

Then, the pony stood up.

The rythmic sound of the wheels slowed down.

Bushes appeared in the landscape. The bright and shiny purple castle came into view.

"This is where you're stopping?" Locomotion asked, nearing the train doors.

Empis nodded.

"First time here?"

"No."

"How do you like the ponies here?"

"Just as I expected: Very friendly."

"Hm!" Locomotion smiled. "Just as I expected, Empis. What do you plan to do here?"

"Walk around, hang out, relax, talk, play some games. See what I can do."

"Exercising your freedom, I see?"

Empis nodded, his smile becoming a beaming grin, even showing his teeth while he closed his eyes.

Then, the train came to a halt.

The doors opened.

Empis stepped out of the train and on to the platform.

"Hi!" Pipsqueak and the Cutie Mark Crusaders yelled.

History Book

Empis held the big book close to his chest. The pages were white and the cover was unstained from any dirt. Surrounded by trees, he sat down on the grass and opened the book.

A cool gust of wind, a far away sound of ponies playing in the park. The leaves and the grass gave off a fresh aroma. Chirping birds were in the air and on the branches. Bag in hoof, Empis read.

"'If one wants to read about the history of Equestria, then you've come to the right book. While other history books abound, this is the most comprehensive, the most exhaustive, the most researched, and the most sought-out book concerning Equestria's history—from before its founding to the present day (as of the publishing of this edition).

"'Equestria is a land of a rich past. From before Equestria's official existence, there were already ponies—heroes and heroines—who performed feats of not only great might and expert prowess, but who also had the ideals of friendship in mind and in heart. They were the ones who undoubtedly paved the way to the uniting of the Three Pony Tribes, forming Equestria as we know it.

"'Then began the era of the two Princesses—Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Leading a young nation of ponies, they kept Equestria safe and fine as the country of ponies. With their knowledge and magic, under the training of Starswirl the Bearded, they governed Equestria in a time wrought by troubles, foes, and uncertainties—evil magical creatures threatening to destroy all that the ponies have built over the decades, and the surrounding kingdoms and countries whose opinions of Equestria varied from close friendship to distant enemies.

"'As everyone knows, especially us ponies, there was the time when Princess Luna became Nightmare Moon. It was a sad night—Princess Celestia having to banish her own sister to the moon.

"'Yet, despite the sorrow of it, this began the famous and popular age of the sole rulership of Princess Celestia. It was during this long era of peace and prosperity that Equestria slowly became the power that it is today—the spread and expansion of ponies into various, untrodden areas; the flourishing of pony culture as ponies created various forms of creative pursuit, experimenting and innovating to make new ways of conveying the ideas and the concepts and the emotions of the time; the establishing of an official military that, through the centuries, was bolstered with bolder ponies who not only defended Equestria but also inspired ponies to do their part in protecting Equestria. This, combined with Princess Celestia's political efforts to be as friendly as possible with Equestria's neighboring countries while having a firm hoof in case things went awry, brought Equestria from its small and humble beginnings into a great time of friendship.

"'Then, after a long time of Princess Celestia's rule, Nightmare Moon returned to Equestria to bring in eternal night. However, six ponies defeated Nightmare Moon through the magic of friendship: Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie. It turned out that not only did they defeat Nightmare Moon, but that they were also the embodiments of the Elements of Harmony—Applejack was honest, Rainbow Dash was loyal, Rarity was generous, Fluttershy was kind, Pinkie Pie brought laughter, and Twilight Sparkle had magic. With the return of Princess Luna to the throne, the two sisters ruled together again.

"'Princess Celestia allowed Twilight Sparkle to study the magic of friendship with her newfound friends in Ponyville. So began the journey of these six friendly ponies as they not only learned the magic of friendship together, but also spreading it to wherever they went and to whoever they met. This brought the ponies, who were already well-known for their friendly attitude, even closer together as friends.

"'Then, Twilight Sparkle became an alicorn. Now, she was a Princess.

"'The journey of friendship continued on. She became the Princess of Friendship; she and her friends discovered more and more about the magic of friendship. With their help, Equestria became more friendly with various kingdoms—Yakyakistan, Griffonstone, the Dragon Lands, the Changeling Kingdom/Hive. With not only ponies but other creatures living and prospering in Equestria, this is what Equestria is in the current time: a powerful, creative, and friendly nation of ponies led by kind and considering leaders as they seek only peace and friendship for all the creatures of the land.

"'It's well-understood that knowing history is no game. It is true that a lot of the events that are to be described here are not so cleanly cut and simple. However, this understanding of history—of what happened, of where it happened, of who made it happen, of how it happened, and of why it happened—enriches the mind with what is good. We learn from our past to make sure that our future will be brighter without also forgetting the present, to make it as worthwhile and as good as we can make it. Helping out a friend, reconciling with foes—the magic of friendship seen throughout history is that same magic that emanates everywhere you see at least one friendly pony—or any friendly creature for that matter. Even those who are only learning the basics of friendship have that magic of friendship.

"'And, surely, the magic of friendship that persisted from pre-Equestria times to the present day shall continue on into the future.

"'But, of course, to go into a great future, one must understand the past and see what can be done in the present.

"'The accomplishment of that is the goal of this history book. We, the authors and the editors, hope that this proves to be an invaluable resource not just to your library but to your life as well.'"

Then, Empis flipped a page.

He looked behind him.

The sound of ponies playing in the park still persisted. Besides that, it was very quiet with the chirping of the birds wherever they were and also with the rush of the cool breeze. Some leaves fell to the ground.

Empis looked at the book. "This is going to be good book." He smiled and read.

"I don't know how you would be OK with carrying that around in your bag," Twilight said, eyeing Empis who was holding the book.

Several ponies were reading books in the castle's library. Some of them were sitting down, reading at the wooden tables; others were standing up, reading either with their hooves or with their magic (levitating the book).

"Not to mention that you want another book to borrow," Twilight went on. "Are you sure you're completely fine with that arrangement?"

Empis nodded. "It's completely fine by me."

Twilight stayed silent as she inspected the bag and the changeling from where she was. "What if I say that it's not fine?"

"Why?"

"Because, how are you capable of going around without perhaps bumping into somepony because of your book?"

"I can manage, Twilight," Empis said, smiling as he did so. "I can assure you."

"I need more assuring than that," Twilight said. "Sorry, but I don't think you'll be able to get through the day properly carrying that heavy book around in your bag. It's too unwieldy and it's also too big if you want to carry it around with your hooves, which is even worse than just carrying it in your bag. Do you get what I mean?"

Empis glanced at the book. Then, he looked at Twilight. "Alright. You've convinced me."

Twilight smiled. "That's going to help you, uh, stay in shape!"

"What's gonna help me stay in shape?"

"Not stressing your body unnecessarily."

Empis blinked.

Twilight sat, beckoned Empis to follow with a hoof, and sat down at a round wooden table. Empis sat down beside her.

"They're printing out so many copies of 'Equestrian History,' they can't keep up with the sudden rise of demand!" Twilight said. She placed a hoof on the cover of the book. "Schools always ask for this book above all else. We ponies love a good story or two."

"I can see that." Empis looked at the vast shelves of books of varying descriptions.

Twilight grinned as he looked. "Colts and fillies love it because they end up having their own favorite historical figures—the colorful illustrations and laid-back writing helps. Teachers love it because it's well-researched and well-written—it's very in-depth and encyclopedic in its breadth and, uh, depth of knowledge. The everyday reader loves it because it has so many pages to read through and it's about reality!"

Empis nodded. Then, putting his hoof on his chin, he said, "My friends were right in telling me that you were a lover of books."

"How did you not know?" Twilight said, gesturing a hoof towards the wide bookshelves. Then, she took in a deep breath. "Of course, I'm not supposed to be shooting magical lasers, forcing ponies to read all the time. But, some ponies have a flawed, distorted image of me in their heads. Some seem me as a perennial book-reader, others see me as a perfect Princess who does no wrong, and there are more others that see me as just a complaining panicker. Not to mention that we fought evil creatures before, so those evil creatures certainly don't have good thoughts about us." A pause as they looked at each other in silence. "I'm not a simple pony. Which sounds weird coming from me." Her ears flayed as she displayed a grin of awkwardness. "But, anyway, none of us ponies are that simple. I guess you knew that, being, uh...you know, infiltrators before?"

Empis groaned. "Are you gonna try to bring up our past?"

"Uh, n-no! I didn't mean to offend nor to insult you, Empis! That's your name, right?"

Empis nodded. Then, he cracked a smile. "I can't believe the Princess of Friendship is acting like such an apologetic pony in front of me!"

"Well, I don't always have to act formal, do I?" Twilight then smirked at the changeling.

"Good...one?"

Cheerilee pored over the book.

She was sitting on the tall wooden stool in front of teacher's desk of the classroom with Empis seated at another tall stool at the other side of the table.

Sounds of ponies playing in the playground—the younger ones. The high-pitched squeals and the lively laughs made the feeling bright.

She looked up, facing the seated changeling, while rapidly flipping through the pages of the large book. Then, she closed the book. "It's interesting to see you get a book like this for yourself. What do you do on a daily basis, Empis?"

"I'm not really certain about that," Empis said. "I do random work around the hive: painting, cleaning, arts and crafting, dancing, acting, being in the Feelings Forum."

"Ah, the Feelings Forum," Cheerilee said, slightly leaning her head in confusion. "This is to make sure that you changelings are open to each other, that all but the most secret of secrets are told to understand one another?"

"Yes," Empis said.

"That's good. It's because I have a history lesson coming up about, well, you!"

Empis pointed a hoof to himself, looking here and there. "Me? But, I didn't do anything heroic? Is the book already old? Do they have ponies in secret places to take pictures of random changelings to see if they do anything cool?"

Cheerile snickered. "No, they're not that invasive. I was referring to you and the rest of the changelings, not just you. Although, isn't the thought of it interesting enough? Just to see your picture there—'A Hero of the Changeling Hive.'" Her eyes went half-open as she made a slow waving motion with a hoof.

Empis blinked. "But, I don't want to be known for fighting."

"I wasn't telling you that you should do that," Cheerilee said. "I was just telling you that it's alright to—"

"Uh, Miss Cheerilee? Is that ar' new visitor?"

Empis and Cheerilee looked at Apple Bloom at the front door.

The filly waved at the changeling, beaming. "Hi, there!"

Empis waved back, though slowly.

"Oh, I'm just having a little chat with Empis here," Cheerilee said, motioning a hoof towards the changeling. Then, her eyes went a little wider open. "And, he's also providing a little help for your next history lesson!"

Empis swiftly turned back to Cheerilee. "But, I didn't ask—"

"You don't have to come to class," Cheerilee said, now talking to the changeling. "You've already said more than enough about your home from personal experience."

"So, I can be a teacher without having to be with the students?"

"Officially, you don't have to be a teacher, but, whether you have the job or not, you can still teach ponies." Cheerilee smiled cheerfully at that.

"Can he come?!" Apple Bloom said, hopping up and down. "Having Gabby come by to teach us 'bout Griffonstone was amazing, even if it's just for twen'y minutes!"

Cheerilee covered her laughter with a hoof. Then, she looked at Empis. "Well, what do you think? Empis, do you have the time to spare for these colts and fillies eager to learn more about your hive?"

Empis looked out the window, not saying a word. Then, he turned back to Cheerilee. "When's the class?"

"When their playtime is over."

Empis pretended to look at his watch.

He had no watch.

He looked at Cheerilee. "Uh, I'll say a 'Yes.' I've lived there my whole life. How hard can it be?"

Apple Bloom then jumped and hopped. "Woo-hoo! Another fun history lesson comin' ar' way!"

"And all of this happened just because I wanted to ask a teacher about what she feels concerning 'Equestrian History.'"

"What did you say?" Cheerilee said.

"Just mumbling some thoughts. I think the chalkboard is lovely!"

Cheerilee smiled.

"We don't have chalkboards in the hive, that's why."

And the class gasped.

The changeling gulped. His teeth were jittery, his body was shivering.

The silence was heavy.

Cheerilee walked in front of the chalkboard, facing the class with her smiling face. "So, for our next history lesson, I've brought in a special guest from the Changeling Hive! It was unexpected—I haven't even met him until today! But, considering that you loved your session with Gabby, I figured that you would love a history lesson about the Changeling Hive taught by none another than a changeling himself. So, please welcome: Empis!"

The class cheered and applauded as Cheerilee stepped back and as Empis stepped foward.

The changeling gulped again.

The cheering and the applauding faded away, leaving everyone in the room with that silence again.

A cool breeze went inside the room. Manes were flying, swaying in the air; a few grabbed hold of their manes. Some open books were already flying through the pages, prompting several ponies to either close their books or to hold on to them to keep them from deviating any further from the lesson's pages. A pony coughed, further breaking the silence.

Cheerilee coughed as well, eyeing the changeling.

"Uh, hi."

"Hi, Empis!" the class yelled in unison.

Empis balked a little. "Uh, I've never done this teaching thing before. But, I'll try my best. I think."

Thorax and a Night Out

A swirl of buzzing and of words filled the air; attempts at filtering to a single conversation was like switching to a different wavelength—the phasing out of all others to listen to that one chat about how tomatoes should be treated as vegetables and not as fruits.

Then, a green hoof raised.

All became silent, hushing themselves.

In the center, a ray of sunlight shone. Every changeling sat shy of it.

A calm blue-green changeling wearing garb in a midst of clotheless changelings—small, round glasses; a headband and a neckband, and a purple robe—sat in front of a beetle-shaped gong. "Now, Feelings Forum commences." She looked at all the audience surrounding her, sitting on the rough ground that served as the floor. "Who is so kind and so brave as to be the first to speak his or her feelings to the Hive?"

A blue changeling raised his hoof. "Uh, I do."

"Cornicle, I see," the clothed changeling said. She slowly nodded her head, closing her eyes. "Tell us, Cornicle, what bothers you. Or, more positively, what has enlightened you? Or, more casually, what's on your mind?"

"Uh, I just want to get it out of my system," Cornicle said, shuddering, biting his lip as he took a look at the changelings behind him—who were watching him with suspicion. Then, he took a deep breath, walked a few steps forward towards the clothed changeling—smiling at him—and asked, "What do you think about tomatoes?"

"You mean the fruit?"

Cornicle grinned. "Yes. That's all I wanted to hear."

The blue changeling then sat down.

"Your time may have been short," the clothed changeling went on, "but you have made your time meaningful, nonetheless. Like they say, a day of celebration is better than a week of mundaneness."

"Who are the ponies who say that?" another changeling asked, raising his hoof.

"Those who decide to say it and to say it regularly."

"Specifically, who?"

"The ones who are fond of the wisdom found in that saying. Or, those who just want to seem wise. It's either of those two."

Yet another changeling rasied a hoof. "Uh, I also have a question."

"Yes, Gryllo?"

"It's been in the back of my mind for the longest time."

The clothed changeling merely nodded, beckoning Gryllo with a hoof to come closer.

The yellow changeling walked towards the center. "Why don't we have all of us changelings attend Feelings Forum at the same time?"

"It's understandable that they be absent," the clothed changeling answered. "There is no need to condemn them for that act. All that we want for them is that they be good changelings—and, for some of them, the Feelings Forum may not be the best way. For example, where is Thorax in this room?"

"Gone?"

"Not gone," she said, slowly shaking her head. "He is only relaxing, taking a well-needed rest considering that he has had lots to do with the whole Hive lately."

"And, a few more necessities," Discord said as he snapped his claw and a couple of electric fans appeared, directly above Thorax. He narrowly avoided it, dashing his way out of danger.

"What was that for?!" Thorax yelled.

"We wouldn't want you to get a draft," Discord said, fixing his bowtie. "And, by 'we,' I mean the company that you will meet once you get past this door." He walked away, giving the purple and green door full display of itself.

Discord and Thorax stood in the purple, crystal hallway littered with such doors. This one—bigger than the rest.

"Isn't that the Cutie Map room?" Thorax asked. "Are you sure this is a good idea? I hope this is not some kind of heist that's actually sort of a prank." He gulped and faced Discord. "Is it?"

"Not really," Discord said. "It's just guys' night. Except, in order to accommodate you, we've decided to do something a little different." A teddy bear fell from the ceiling and he caught it with his paw. "If you don't mind me saying so, myself."

"I don't know how to say this, Discord," Thorax began, adopting a nervous voice, "but having you as a friend is...interesting."

Discord grinned a mischievous grin. "I know that look. It's the kind of look you want to have when you want to adjust your words a little to not offend poor me!" His eyes grew big as he inched closer to the changeling king. Then, they reverted back to normal. "But, I understand. All rulers have to put on a facade of some sorts to keep up the political semblance of the day. Wouldn't want all-out war, would we?" Then, he clasped his paw and his claw together. "Although, being the spirit of chaos, I wouldn't mind a little...let's say, 'kerfuffle.'"

"Are you going to cause a war?!" Thorax yelled. "Are you crazy?!"

"Thorax, take a chill pill!" Discord patted the changeling king on the head. Then, he dribbled a basketball on his head, then a baseball, then a volleyball, then a golfball with a mustache.

"Uh, Discord?"

"Oh, you were surprised to see this?" Discord said, pulling out the golfball and showing it to Thorax in all its beauty and form—including its mustache. "I've been waiting to show it to somepony. It's always a tiny secret I've kept ever since a few hours ago when I thought about it. I've been thinking about lying to them whenever they see it—always thinking that I just thought about it when the idea had been formed weeks ago!" Then, he snapped his fingers and the door in front of them disappeared, revealing a shocked Spike, Big McIntosh, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie. "But, whatever! Enjoy guys night!"

Thorax looked at the creatures seated at the table. He waved at Spike. Then, he leaned his head in confusion. "Uh, you know Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie aren't guys, right?"

"Honorary participants," Discord said. "Just like how I'm an honorary member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders."

"Wait, but you can't have a cutie—"

"Which is why I added the word 'honorary.'"

Then, Discord skated his way to the table and jumped over to a chair.

Thorax stood there, looking at the varied characters at the crystal table. They were looking back at him—Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie waving at him, Spike really waving at him, Big McIntosh merely giving him a nod, and Discord twirling a ballpen around.

Thorax flew towards an empty seat—right beside Spike's.

"Glad you could make it, Thorax!" Spike said, holding up his claw in the air.

Then, Thorax and Spike high-fived each other.

"So, in case you didn't know, this is Big McIntosh." He indicated a claw towards the big red Earth pony. "We call him Big Mac."

"'McIntosh' sounds intriguing," Thorax said. "Didn't expect that from an Apple."

The Earth pony grinned.

"Of course, you've already met Discord," Spike said, gesturing towards Discord who wasn't paying attention—he continued to twirl with multiple ballpens and a traffic light. "I guess that explains almost everything about him."

Thorax nodded.

"And then, you're wondering why we're here!" Rainbow Dash interrupted.

"Yeah! Good guess, Dashie!" Pinkie said in her usual cheery voice.

Thorax faced them. "Yeah, why?"

"We joined one of their games because Discord made the board game look so real! Have you heard of Ogres & Oubliettes before?"

"No?"

"Which is why I've decided to expand upon guys' night," Discord said, dropping all the ballpens and the traffic light that he was juggling, causing a clattering crash on the floor.

Everyone was now looking at him.

"Why are you looking at me? You've already played lots of other games, not to mention doing other activities as well besides playing board games. However, we haven't tried...'One-Pony Business' yet."

Thorax raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"

"I don't have my own copy," Discord said. "But, that's no worry." He snapped a claw and the board game apppeared—fully boxed—and fell on to the table. An old stallion with a mustache and a top hat was smiling on the cover of the box, followed by the words: "One-Pony Business."

"Are you sure that's a safe way of getting board games?" Thorax asked, his voice becoming nervous.

"As long as we don't tell the proper authorities." He added a snicker. "Besides, who would want to investigate the castle of a Princess, anyway? That would be close to treason. Enough to banish the offender to the moon like a certain other Princess did. Or, encase into stone, but that's another story."

"Wow. You're really snarky."

"I thought you got used to him by now," Spike said, wondering. "You seem to hang out with him more than we do!"

"Don't forget that your perception of time might be different from others'," Discord said, "but, who cares?" He threw his shades on to the floor which exploded into a roll of tissue paper. He teleported it on to his open paw and sneezed while covering his mouth with it. "Let's get this show on the road!"

Big Mac opened the box with his mouth.

Inside was the board and several items—player pieces (which consisted of pony figurines sporting different suits and holding different business-related items like a suitcase for one), different types of cards, stacks of paper play money, miniature houses of two sizes, and two dice. There was also a little booklet.

Discord quickly grabbed the booklet and threw it away, letting it explode into another pile of tissue paper—but, this time, it was colored green. Then, he teleported it on to his open paw and blew his nose with it. "A fancier way to fix yourself, hm?"

The five creatures who were there just looked at Discord with open mouths and widened eyes.

"What?" He pointed his claw at them. "Stop staring at me and let's get to the game!"

"But, how are we going to play it?" Rainbow Dash asked. "You just turned the instructions into tissue paper! Turn it back!"

"Don't be so pushy, Dash," Discord said. "It's not as if it's the end of guys' night, is it? I was thinking that we could learn how to play this game without knowing it all beforehoof."

"And, how are you gonna justify that?"

"Emergent gameplay."

"What?"

"Nevermind!" Discord said. "We're wasting enough time as it is just dilly-dallying and discussing about bringing back the instructions because I'm not. I memorized the rules, which makes the past twenty seconds meaningless."

"Why didn't you tell us that?" Spike complained, bringing a claw on to the table.

"And risk making those twenty seconds a little bland?" Discord said. "Don't call me out on my inconsistencies—I'm not a creature known for keeping things tidy."

Then, he snapped his claw.

The table flashed a bright white light.

The flash disappeared.

It was all prepared on the table—all the stacks of paper money were at each player's part of the table in their appropriate amounts, all the different types of cards were at their correct positions, the board was arranged properly at the middle of the table and somewhat enlarged, all the player pieces were at the starting corner, and all the houses—both big and small—formed a pile at another corner of the board.

"Wow, Discord!" Pinkie exclaimed. "That was so un-Discord of you to do!" Then, she glanced at the pile of houses. "Except for that."

Thorax scanned the table. "So, this is what you guys do during guys' night. You play board games—at least that's the main thing I'm getting off from here."

Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Big Mac, and Spike all grinned. Discord merely smiled as he crossed his arms from where he was standing.

"Uh, why are you all looking at me like that? Do I have something on my face?"

"Well, Thorax," Spike said, slapping Throax on the shoulder, "we don't just play board games." He shot a glance at Discord.

Spike nodded.

Discord nodded back.

He snapped his claw.

Thorax opened his eyes; he was tired and groggy. He rubbed them. "Sunlight? W-where are we?" He stood up. "Where are we Discord?"

He looked around. He gasped.

It was a sprawling urban center. Carriages galloping full speed, skyscrapers towering above them, ponies rushing in their business suits, clankings of bits abundant in the soundscape. Thorax whirled around, taking it all in with suspicion. "Discord?!"

"Don't turn yourself around, Thorax. You're going to make yourself dizzy."

Then, Thorax stopped. He gasped again.

Discord, Spike, Big Mac, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie were there. But, they had business suits of coat and tie; Discord had shades along with his business suit. Briefcases were beside each of them.

"Before you ask, you have one, too," Discord said, pointing a paw at him.

Thorax looked down.

He was wearing a suit with a bowtie.

"Like it? I prefer bowties over the regular ones," Discord said, displaying his black bowtie. Then, he snapped a claw and an orange hat appeared on his head. "Of course, each player must have something different—a unique identifier—so, why not some colored hats?"

He snapped his claw again and different-colored hats appeared on each of their heads. Spike's was green, Big Mac's was red, Rainbow Dash's was rainbow-colored, Pinkie Pie's was pink, and Thorax's was purple.

"Uh, OK," Thorax said, "but what are we doing out here in Manehattan? On the sidewalk? With lots of ponies coming in and out?"

"Here's the thing, Thorax: We're not in Manehattan. Well, not the Manehattan you know. This might as well be Las Pegasus and the only thing I have to change are how many pegasi are here and the surface of the city. Other than that, it's functionally the same."

"Wait, not the Manehattan we know?"

Spike ran up to him. "You see, Thorax, Discord can bring you in the board game!"

Thorax's face contorted. "What?!" He darted his view at random spots. "How are we going to get out of here? Do we have to beat the game to get out?! What if we're not good enough?!"

"Relax, Thorax," Discord said. Then, he placed a paw on his chin. "I like the sound of that, to be honest. 'Relax, Thorax.' 'Thorax, Relax.' 'Relax, Thorax.'"

"Come on, Discord!" Pinkie yelled cheerfully, jumping into the air. "What's the goal of this game and what are the rules?"

Discord grinned. "Now we're talking. So, here's a quick run-down of the rules."

Everyone there huddled together.

"Goal is to be the last one standing. How? Buy colored properties you can see throughout the city. Be sure to be quick—buy one and it's yours for a long time. Anyone who steps near it has to pay you rent. Don't have money? Mortgage your properties away. Still don't have money after all of that? You lose, you get to be put on a bus as you travel around and see the rest of us duke it out like royal leaders—but, not really. Random events will happen from time to time like the Smooze coming to your hotel which will affect your standing amongst the other players. If you go to jail, you must go there and stay there for some time—I'm sure the police here are more than sufficient for that. Free parking is free parking—no questions about that one, since we're not going to be following any house rules other than mine. So, in order to survive, you gotta buy a lot and charge a lot—probably not the only way, but does it matter? You gotta find your own way to victory! Nothing else? OK, good! Run!"

Then, they ran—Rainbow Dash flew.

Thorax looked on. "Oh!"

Thorax flew as he joined in the laughter that ensued as the game of One-Pony Business began in earnest. The smiles on their faces were clear. It was going to be a fun guys' night.

Once Again About the Mirror

Starlight looked at the horeshoe-shaped mirror surrounded by a cobbled-up yet functional-looking wooden magical contraption of lights, containers, and cables.

"It's not really that of a secret," she said, looking at the small crowd of creatures in the spacious castle library—not just ponies, but also changelings, griffons, dragons, and even a few yaks there.

Twilight nodded. "While we don't benefit much from announcing its existence to everyone, we also don't benefit much from keeping hush-hush about the mirror." She became anxious. "If that's how you say it." She glanced at Starlight.

She replied with a shrug.

"What's it do?" one of the griffons asked, raising a claw.

"Well, it's not really a mirror," Twilight said. "It's more of a portal, you see."

This elicited more than a few gasps. The younger ones among the audience gasped even louder than their parents or the other adults.

"So, anyone can teleport?" Ember, who was part of the crowd, asked with crossed arms. "Sounds like a good advantage to me."

"Will you be able to mass-produce this kind of magical item?" another griffon asked, wearing a simple hat.

"Uh, Galena," Twilight spoke up, "if you allow me to explain—"

"Is this the same mirror that those two went through some time ago?" Thorax asked.

"If you meant the ones who almost caused inter-universe incident, then yes," Twilight said, giving Thorax a stern look.

Thorax gulped.

"Can Twilight pony get to exhibition already?!" Prince Rutherford, a bulky and hair yak dressed in golden decorations, asked.

"Wait, you're asking me to show you how it works?" Twilight said.

"Well, we want to know where it's a portal to," one of the press ponies, Press Release, said, levitating a pencil and pad of paper with her magic. Then, she stepped forward. "I volunteer to join the trip with you."

"Uh, I'm not so sure about that," Starlight said.

"And, why so?" she said back, taking on a more aggressive tone.

"I think I mentioned the word 'inter-universe,'" Twilight answered. "Are you sure you're willing to handle going to another dimension?"

The unicorn nodded. "I've been to the most dangerous of locations just to snap a shot and to get a scoop. I think I can handle it."

"But," Twilight went on, sounding more and more worried, "one final word: You're not going to be a pony at the other end of the portal."

Then, more gasps.

"Hold up!" Ember yelled. "You're saying that this portal changes your form? Just like some of your unicorn spells and potions?"

"Let's just say that...I don't know." She sighed. Then, a grin sparked on her face. "I knew that camera would come in handy!"

"Handy?" Press Release repeated.

She galloped to one of the bookshelves, took out one of the books using her magic, and took out something else. She levitated that something else in full view of everyone in the room as she walked back to the mirror.

It was a heavy, quite unwieldy, boxy gray and black object with camera lens on one side. With her magic, Twilight flipped open one side of the box.

"It's a camera, like the ones in this world," Twilight said. "Only, somehow, they've made more types of cameras. This one can not only take pictures but also take videos—something that only the most advanced and the most expensive of cameras can do here, they have in abundance and at a cheap price over there."

"So, you've encountered a future version of Equestria?" Press Release asked. "Wait, then why won't you be a pony when you go to the future of this same world?"

"It's not a future version of Equestria. It's more of...a different yet same world."

"An alternate Equestria?"

"You could say it like that," Starlight said.

"So, what is at the other side? Is there, say, a Princess Celestia and a Princess Luna over there or what?"

"Not really as Princesses, but as principals."

"Of a school?" Press Release said, bending her neck a little. "That sounds interesting." She jotted down a few notes on the paper.

"Just tell it straight to us, Twilight," Ember said. "What world is out there?"

"I've heard some of the stories from them," Thorax added, "but, they're now kind of fuzzy in my head."

"We demand knowledge!" Rutherford demanded, stomping the floor and causing more than a few to move away from him.

"I'm in with them, too," Galena said, raising her claw.

Twilight sighed.

Starlight grinned.

"We'll do this in two parts," Twilight began. "First, a quick run-down of what this world is: It's, like what Press Release said, an alternate Equestria where our Princesses are principals, there are versions of us there but mostly as either students or teachers or just someone that doesn't live that far away from the school the portal drops you in to, and there's no magic."

Even more gasps from the crowd.

"A world with no magic?!" Press Release yelled. "How does the weather go? Do they experience lots of storms or droughts or other meteorological calamities? And, what about the plants? It's probably swarming with creepy vines and other sorts of strange plants right now! And, they've managed to build a school in the middle of such a wasteland?!"

The crowd erupted into a furor of questions filled with curiosity and a hint of fear, asking for knowledge in order to quell that nagging thought.

"I know this is gonna surprise all of you," Twilght said, "but...they've managed to live pretty well without magic for such a long time. It's just as clean and as green as our good ol' Equestria!"

"So, there are clear skies and nice grass? Not the pegasus, I mean."

"Just imagine a mix of Ponyville and Manehattan. Or, just the suburbs of Manehattan. It's pretty close to that."

"Without magic?!" a colt shouted. "That's unbelievable!"

"Yes, I know, it's unbelievable," Twilight said. "But, that's just the quick run-down. I could go on more: that those who populate the world aren't ponies but are these bipedal...creatures. Oh, by the way, if you're a pony, you'll turn into such a bipedal creature. I don't know about other species, but Spike turned into a dog when he—"

"So, you're saying that if I, Dragon Lord Ember, go there, I'll be a dog?"

"Well, yes."

"Are dogs ruling over these bipedal creatures or are they're the ones being ruled over like how ponies are doing it now? Or, are they on equal footing?"

Twilight laughed nervously, staring at Ember with an uneasy smile.

Ember closed her eyes a little, giving herself a mean look. "I guess that means that we dragons aren't so lucky if we go there, huh?"

"Moving on!"

Ember groaned.

"Oh, I almost forgot—" Twilight looked at Thorax "—because of that one time where those two changelings went through the mirror, I figured out that changelings become those same bipedal creatures that ponies turn into."

"Over the dogs, I guess," Ember muttered, snarling right after.

Twilight glanced at the angry dragon. "Eh-heh. I'll get back to you after the show."

Then, she cleared her throat, still levitating the camera.

"So, you might be wondering why I brought this camera here from the other world!"

"It's to record your trip there so, when you come back, we can look at the footage and see this all-new alternate and other Equestria ourselves," Press Release said.

There was silence for a few seonds.

"Do you have a projector?"

Starlight pushed a projector into view. "Ready!"

Twilight gasped. "I almost forgot that one, too!"

The alicorn put down the camera, picked up a book from one of the top shelves, and brought it down with her magic, her horn glowing that purple glow along with the book.

She placed it down on the small table beside the mirror. Grabbing a quill from beside the book—which had that stylized sun on the cover—she opened the book and furiously wrote down several lines, closed it, and brought it to an open slot or space at the contraption.

"Had to make it work more quietly," Twilight said. "Sometimes, it's just too noisy when other ponies might be doing delicate work in other rooms." She put on a grin.

Starlight looked at her oddly

Then, the glass of the mirror swirled and twisted, emitting a purple glow and a strange sound.

Everyone gazed upon it, all amazed and bedazzled at the now-working portal.

Twilight levitated her camera. "So, I don't wanna waste anymore of your time—I hope five minutes would be enough to cover as much as I could?" She looked at Starlight. "You know how to keep them busy right for five minutes? Make it ten, just in case I bump into something." She looked at the audience. "Well, wish me, uh, well!" She waved at them and leaped into the mirror with her camera.

And, everyone gasped.

Except Starlight. She smiled.

Then, she looked at the audience. "Alright! While we wait for Twilight to come back, what about we play some board games? Like chess or checkers?" Starlight levitated two board games from behind the contraption.

Many of those in the audience just looked at each other. They all shrugged.

It had grown to a quiet, weary time. Creatures of all kinds interacted with each other as they played various table games—a game of cards, a game of chess, a game of checkers, a game of "One-Pony Business." Some settled for simple talk—a yak relaying a tale, a legend, of his homeland; a griffon and a pony cracking jokes together and doing their best to make those around the table laugh; a dragon groaning as she listened to a changeling retell what just happened at arts and crafts time back at the hive.

Starlight wasn't even playing a game anymore. She merely observed a match between two ponies—one was wearing a pair of glasses. Her eyes darted around the board, analyzing each and every piece that it covered, seeing what potential moves it could take—analyzing each move and checking which one was the best possible move. With every questionable move that was made, she restrained herself from shouting at them, from ranting at them about how easy it was to see the pitfalls of such a mistake. Not to mention what happened when there were moves that went below the dubious level—moves that simply astounded her mind, making her mentally slap herself on the face.

Yet, she kept a calm face and a cheery tone throughout.

Then, a sound.

Everyone turned towards the glowing mirror.

Then, a bright flash of purple light, blinding them.

When it was over—when they opened their eyes and caught first a passing glimpse—they saw Twilight Sparkle, smiling. The camera was laying on the floor, though she quickly picked it up with her magic.

"Alright, everypony! I knew it would be ten minutes, but that means more than enough video to show you what this alternate Equestria is all about!"

The crowd gathered close to her, combining hushed whispers and outspoken concerns.

"Are you OK, Twilight?"

"You're alright?"

"Do you need a glass of water or something, Princess?"

"Tell us what happened over there!"

"Can you give us the video already? I've been waiting here since I got first to the venue!"

"This is crazy! How did you survive without magic, Princess Twilight?"

"You look fine! That's good!"

"Yaks demand footage now!"

"Quiet!" Twilight bellowed.

Everyone then went quiet. Starlight's horn was already glowing.

Twilight looked at Starlight and gave her a mean look—a grouchy frown.

Starlight stepped back, shying away.

"Everyone!" Twilight said, camear still in her magical glow. "Let's do this in an orderly fashion. Get to your seats—all of you. Those who are officially of the press, sit right in front. No lying!"

Everyone shuffled their way to their seats, with the paparazzi ponies and a few other creatures—a few griffons, several changelings, a couple of yaks, and some dragons—moving their way towards the front chairs.

Starlight lit her horn up again.

"I and Sunset Shimmer—my friend over in the alternate Equestria—figured out a way to translate those videos into a usuable magic form for our projectors. It's a trying combination of more than a hoofful of spells but, I assure you, it gets easier the more you use it."

Then, she levitated the camera on to the table right in front of the large projector. Her horn glowed.

A few curtains floated towards the green windows, dimming the room.

"It's all set up, Starlight?" Twilight asked.

Starlight nodded and gave her an approving hoof.

Twilight nodded back. "Then, get ready for a wild ride out of this world, everyone!"

She zapped the camera with a beam of magic.

The camera glowed and ejected out a beam of light like a projector.

A bright white screen at first.

"Ooh's!" and "Ah's!" went out from the audience.

The screen now displayed a group of friends—bipedal creatures with colors that seemed awfully familiar and voices that sounded eerily close to known figures and personalities.

"Now, wave for the camera!" Twilight said, her voice there but herself not really there as someone who looked a lot like her but not quite like her waved for the camera alongside the rest of her friends.

"Hiya, ponies!" Pinkie Pie—yet, not the same Pinkie Pie—shouted. "And, other magical animals out there! That's what Twilight said, right? The Princess one, not the student one, right?"

The Twilight Sparkle on screen gave Pinkie an annoyed look adorned with her thick glasses. Pinkie shyed away with a wide grin.

They neared the camera.

"It's still weird visiting myself," the on-screen Twilight said as she neared the Twilight holding the camera. "But, I'm getting used to it." She smiled.

"Ah' don't think Ah'll get used to talkin' to another me!" Applejack—but, not quite Applejack—said. "A twin me wou'd be mor' than enough to freak me out, let alone a magical pony that does all the farmin'."

"So, uh, why exactly are you recording this again?" Fluttershy asked.

"Because I think it's about time more of us know about this world," the Twilight off-screen said, walking back so that everyone could be seen in a single shot. "Enough time has passed for it to be safe. I think Sunset's told you the rest already, keeping you up-to-date about how our Equestria is doing."

The girl with the yellow and red hair nodded, holding a book that had a stylized sun on it.

"So, I have like five to ten minutes," Twilight said. "What do you think I should record in that span of time?"

"What about just us hanging out?" Rainbow Dash suggested.

"She does have a point," Rarity said, mildly raising a finger in the air. "If the magic in your world is based on friendship, then we might as well show them something that's not that far-off—this could be our worlds' common ground!"

"Actually, I was about to tell you girls that," Twilight said.

"Aww, come on!" Rainbow yelled, complaining.

"This is going to be one long five-to-ten-minutes, I guess," Twilight muttered.

Finally, the video ended and the camera stopped glowing. Starlight took out the projector and Twilight took out the curtains, bringing in the full sunlight and the full sunshine back into the room, brightening it up.

"So, I understand if you need some more time to process what you've just witnessed," Twilight said. "But, I'm sure that, with the days and weeks passing by, we can come to terms with how we can use this mirror for more than just visiting another world." She paced the room, looking at the audience. "So, we might still keep this a secret. It all depends on your reactions right at this very moment." Then, she took a few steps forward towards everyone else.

Starlight did so, too.

"What do you think?"

Everyone's eyes were wide open, all their mouths were wide open, and they were all quiet. They didn't say a word.

"Uh, everyone? You're allowed to speak. Uh, say a word? Please?"

Starlight placed a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "I think that's a sign that we're not supposed to show them this yet."

"I don't know," Twilight said. "At least the press ought to be writing this down, right?"

"Uh..."

"They're not, are they?"

"No."

Twilight groaned. "Nevermind, then?"

Starlight sighed. Then, a little smile. "Can I go back when they go?" she whispered.

Thorax and Ember at a Ponyville River

Whispered words traveled the air along with the silent, unspoken faces of some as the myriad of creatures exited the castle, with Twilight and Starlight accompanying some of them. It was sunset once again—orange sky, sun close to the horizon and close to being hidden by some of the mountains in the distance.

Among the creatures were Dragon Lord Ember and King Thorax, walking side-by-side alone and away from the main crowd.

"Can you imagine it?" Thorax said, speaking in cautionary tones of wonder. "I've already heard about it for some time, but to see it for yourself! What do you even call those creatures that stand on two legs?"

"Why are you asking me?" Ember curtly replied, a little grump on her face. "You're the one who's known about it while I had no idea what was going on for half the presentation."

"Twilight was showing the new world off to us."

"That's not what I meant!"

"Oh." Thorax retreated a little.

Hoofsteps and footsteps on the less trodden grass, parallel to the dirt path leading to Ponyville proper.

"But, still, can you just imagine it? A whole other Equestria!" Thorax looked up to the sky. "Out there—beyond the sky, there's a place that's called Equestria! They call the school 'Canterlot High,' Everfree isn't a wild forest but a camping place, and the Crystal Empire is just a rival school...'Crystal High.'"

"Yeah, way to ignite a diplomatic incident there, Thorax," Ember remarked.

"Hey, it didn't actually happen!" Thorax shot back, flapping his wings and getting a little annoyed. "Twilight managed to get them out of there before they caused trouble!"

"Well, you still let it slip by. That's not gonna look good in your history, hm? 'King Thorax of the Changeling Hive once allowed some of his subjects to sneak into another version of Equestria and even interacted with the inhabitants there.' Bleh!" She stuck out her tongue. "I almost sound just like Twilight just saying that!"

"At least it didn't escalate to something disastrous!" Thorax said. "I didn't cause tears in the timeline or whatever Starlight was talking about after that."

"I pretty much walked out after that," Ember said. "Went to see Spike—see how he was doing."

"So that's why you went missing when I was looking for a buddy to sit with when Starlight wanted all of us to have seat buddies!"

"What are 'seat buddies'?"

"Seatmates!" Thorax yelled, holding his front hooves out.

Ember gave him a stern look.

Thorax landed on the ground. "OK, it may not have been the most exciting thing in the world."

The two kept on walking together as they entered Ponyville, passing by several ponies who stopped whatever they were doing—walking, talking, eating, drinking, flying fast—and watched the throng of diverse creatures come in. A few at their stalls hurried to wake from their lazy half-slumber to serve all of them. A few others ventured out to give them a few gifts or souvenirs, with three ponies wearing flowers on their manes offering bouquets of fragrant flowers to the passers-by. Still, there were some that just gave them a simple and quiet wave or a short and true "Hi!" or "Hello!" and thought themselves content with that.

Lights inside and lights outside were being turned on, illuminating the town.

Then, several looked up.

The sun moved its way down, fully behind the horizon as the sky darkened from a bright orange through a faint purple to a black blue. Stars twinkled into view as the moon rose from the same horizon, emanating its glimmering glow on to the land.

A few "Ooh's!" and a few "Ah's!" were heard.

Thorax and Ember looked at the sky. Then, at each other. "I don't think I'll ever get tired of that, knowing the ponies who handle it everyday and every night."

"How many days have you been alive?" Ember asked.

"Wow." Thorax had a baffled look on him. "That was sharp."

"Just asking," Ember said. "I know you have tough skin inside of you. Or shells. Whatever you call a changeling's skin."

"It's chitin."

"Oh. That sounds...nice?"

Thorax nodded under a streetlight.

The two kept on walking, now under the scattered yet close lights of a village at night. Clanks and clunks of cutlery being arranged either by unicorn magic or by pegasus wing or by Earth pony hoof inside the houses and the restaurants. With everyone in the crowd going their separate ways, that left the two of them on their own as they quietly—silently—observed Ponyville at this hour.

Then, they came by a river—a flowing creek with a few rocks strutting out of it, foaming the waters for a while before they went on, diluting though staying fresh and crisp and clear, transparent. The water rushed, making a quickening sound.

Smell of fresh air with tinges of baked goods.

Thorax and Ember sat down on the grass by the river.

A bridge was nearby, offering passage over the creek. On the other side was Ponyville's town hall; a few ponies were fixing it up, decorating it with various signs, posters, streamers, and balloons. Utterances of a secret nature were exchanged, making sure no one else heard what they were saying.

The two watched.

"So, how's it going, Thorax?" Ember asked. "Been some time since we first talked like this. Face-to-face, with nobody to bother us, in front of a body of water."

She turned her head towards the river.

Thorax's purple eyes glittered in the moonlight as he looked at the dragon. "King-wise, I'm doing OK. The changelings are quite tame now compared to the first few months of rule. None of them are mobbing the Elements of Harmony. At least as far as I know."

Ember hid a snicker. "Well, don't think that I didn't know about that happening." She smirked. "When I first heard of it, I thought that you changelings became a crazy bunch of fans."

"I didn't want that to happen," Thorax said, "but, after a while, I could sympathize with them."

"What do you mean?"

The changeling sighed. "What do you do to someone if he saves you from living a life full of lies, deception, and imprisonment? If he shows you that you can be a good guy without starving? That you can live a normal life without thinking about hunger and resorting to evil ways of staying full?"

Ember placed a finger on her chin as she thought deeply about it. Then, a wistful smile on her face as she looked at Thorax. "You thank them?"

"Right." Then, he looked on at the river, bearing a solemn yet caring appearance. "Most of us didn't know that that's what we wanted all along. It was a vicious cycle: You get hungry, so you steal love from others. You get full, but then you get hungry after a while—just like how normal creatures get hungry after a while. So, how do we keep ourselves from being more hungry? Steal love. Steal, steal, steal. Infilitrate, disguise, deceive—a little fib here, a little fib there. But, no matter how good we get at stealing love, we still got hungry."

"Didn't you think that was normal?" Ember asked. "Besides, all of us get hungry after a while—no one stops eating forever even if he eats a lot of gems."

"Yeah, but, at least with ponies, they can grow their own food and their food grows fast—you're sure that, after a few months, apples will regrow on their branches. Same with oranges, pears, lemons, mangoes, even non-fruits. But, stealing love isn't that stable: One unrelated incident can cause a rich source of love to go away, even if the creatures themselves are still there. And, how will you know until you get there? Which is frustrating if the love is in a place that's hundreds of miles away."

Ember slanted her head a little. "That does sound very desperate."

"We lived in the badlands down south," Thorax said. "There was Dodge Junction, the closest town with enough ponies to guarantee a source of love for about...two months or so. Only for a brood of changelings, which sounds a lot, but it's not, really. The ones who got there—they were lucky." He sighed. "Of course, if one of them gets caught, then the authorities there would report about it and sometimes, even the Princesses can get involved to make sure Dodge Junction was changeling-proof, forcing us to go out of our way to far-and-out towns."

Ember sighed. "It's a good thing you became the good guys, huh? No longer having to deal with being hungry all the time?"

Thorax managed to make a smile. "Yeah. That's always a plus. No matter how many hiccups we have to go through as the good guys, it's much better than having to suffer as the baddies."

Then, Ember placed her hands on her face, still sitting down on the grass. "So, let me guess: You had to face some heat when you were starting out."

"What does that mean?"

Ember took a second to think about it. "Everyone had to adjust to you being good, right?"

"Oh, I know what you mean." His demeanor dampened.

"Just remember—you're not alone on this one." She placed a hand on Thorax's shoulder. "We dragons may not be facing that much flak, but we're still gettings lots of...misunderstandings when I or some other dragon comes into Equestria. We're a free bunch." She crossed her arms. "We're big and menacing, but that doesn't always mean that we're out to steal your gems or burn your town."

Thorax nodded and smiled a little. "Yeah. Why should it always mean that way?"

"Yeah." Ember also nodded and smiled a little.

The two kept quiet, remaining silent for half a minute as they looked upon the flowing river and the ponies working on sprucing up the town hall.

"What's going on, Ember?" Thorax asked, cutting through the silence. "How's ruling the Dragon Lands so far?"

"It's alright," Ember replied. "Nothing important happened past few weeks. More of having to settle squabbles between complaining dragons than of going out in epic journeys to search for a natural hoard of gems and crystals somewhere."

"I heard that you're regularly sending notes about dragon culture to Twilight," Thorax said. "How's that going?"

"Going fine," Ember said. "There are times when Twilight is too demanding, though. One time, she asked me if we dragons had a complex and complicated system of narratives that evolved throughout the millenia." She scoffed. "Well, I told her that we didn't care about that for millenia, so there was no complex and complicated system."

"What did she say?"

"She insists that I make one up," Ember said, rolling her eyes.

Thorax smiled again. "That's the Twilight I know! Books are a priority in her mind."

"What did you expect when she has her own personal library?"

The two smiled at each other and looked upon the flowing river once again.

"What do you think of the Princesses?" Thorax asked. "I mean, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna?"

"They're OK," Ember said. "I don't want to make them angry—they're the ones raising the sun and the moon, after all." She lightened up in her face. "What about you?"

"Considerate, kind, and understanding," Thorax answered.

"Did they tell you to say that to anyone who asks you the question?"

"No. It really is my honest opinion."

They became quiet again one more time, letting the rush of the water fill the air for several moments.

"Want some refreshments?" Thorax asked. "We can go to Sugarcube Corner."

"It's amazing that I haven't sneezed yet here," Ember said. "Going there is probably going to ruin it."

"Come on, Ember!" Thorax playfully insisted, patting her on the back. "You must be hungry after the occasion!"

"Didn't I tell you that I ate some gem pastries back in the castle?"

"You could then eat normal pastries in Sugarcuber Corner! And, you get to talk to Pinkie again!"

"She's very overwhelming for a pony," Ember admitted. "Talks a lot, talks too fast, makes you celebrate every single thing that you do besides walking, eating, and breathing. When I went here the second time, Pinkie threw me a 'Welcome-to-Ponyville-for-the-Second-Time' party. And, another time, she threw me a party just because."

"You're not in the mood for parties?" Thorax asked.

"Not the parties she throws. I'm less for talking, more for shooting fireballs at rocks that I just flung into the air. In other words, action. I don't want to celebrate something by chatting with you about what your favorite color is or by smelling all the pretty flowers and laughing at them."

"You know that Pinkie isn't like that," Thorax said.

"I'm just saying."

A silence passed between them once more.

"So, what do you dragons do when you party? Other than burning rocks?"

"Competitions," Ember said. "It's not the only thing we do, but it's pretty much a staple in our celebrations—we don't call it 'parties.' Sounds too childish."

"Well, what about the baby dragons?"

"We're not that childish. Not even our baby dragons are childish compared to foals or fledglings. From birth, they learn how to breathe fire and how to do, well, awesome feats of strength."

"Like throwing rocks and shooting fireballs at them at an early age?"

"Pretty much."

One last time, they became silent.

The minute passed by, them watching the river and the ponies.

"Let's go!" Thorax said happily, standing up. "Set the course for the bakery!"

"Wait, we're going to Sugarcube Corner?" Ember asked in panic, standing up in a hurry. "But, I told you—"

"It can't all be that bad, Ember!" Thorax said, already flapping his wings and hovering over the ground, making that buzzing noise. "I overheard that there's a contest going on in the bakery. A competition. Hm?" He raised his eyebrows at her.

Ember groaned. "Fine."

"How many opinions do you need?!" Ember complained as she sat at the table beside Thorax and a few ponies eagerly watching the intense cook-off going on between Twilight and Spike—Twilight messy and covered in flour (though wearing an apron and a toque blanche), Spike clean and not covered in flour. The smell of culinary art was rising from the two ovens at the front—the customer tables spaced away from the ovens.

The crowd was silent as they watched, allowing all the noise from Twilight's fierce method of cooking and Spike's calm-and-collected way of baking—Twilight focused on speedy precision, Spike just having a laid-back face as he simply walked from one part of his kitchen to another.

"It's so exciting, I can't watch!" Pinkie yelled. She grabbed the pony beside her, carried her, and used her mane to cover her eyes. "Hey! I don't see shampoo over here!"

Ember sighed from where she was. "You know, the competition could be more exciting if I was a part of it."

"You can cook?" Thorax asked, brightening up.

"Yeah. Just burn the food with my fire breath!"

The two chuckled a little at that.

Vitalization

Secluded was the place, echoed became the sounds of hoofsteps as Thorax and a few other changelings walked beside him into the cave.

Craggy, rough and stone terrain. Some sharp and pointy protrusions that they managed to avoid.

Then, a dead-end. A stone, ragged dead-end.

"So, that means nobody's left here," Thorax said, looking at those who accompanied him.

"That's a relief!" a changeling said. "All the grubs are safe in the outside, then!"

"It has been that way since everything changed," Thorax replied as they walked out of the cave. "We've had to make sure there weren't any eggs back in the cave."

"And, why again did you think that?" another changeling asked.

"There are some caves that are just too dark and scary for them to begin life in. I don't wanna scare them into thinking that life is like a cave."

Some of the changelings nodded. Others didn't say anything.

Then, they ventured out to the open, public area in the hive—changelings just swarming around and flying freely, speaking freely as well. Several ponies were there along with them, holding up cameras and taking pictures, joining in the conversations with the changelings, even watching some of them shape-shift into their friends and family and other ponies of interest. One pony even threw a bag of bits at them; a changeling disguised as Flam, complete with appropriate clothes and bushy mustache, received it and bowed with a held hat and a beaming grin.

Thorax sighed. "You know? Our children are going to have it better than us."

"Why?" one of the changelings around him asked.

A pause as Thorax's smooth and calm smile went across his face. "They won't have to experience the unnecessary pain that we grew up with under Chrysalis. These grub deserve a life better than one of a constant hunger for love. Smiles to see, parents to be with—maybe I've been thinking too much about how ponies structure their families. Huh." He shook his head a little. "Anyway, still, I've seen pony parents with their foals. Happiness in a small house. And, I don't want to give everyone here a chance to have that. I want to give them the assurance and certainty that they'll have that."

"Aww," the changelings surrounding him let out.

"That's so sweet!" one of them expressed.

"Eh!" a pony passing by shouted. "Too sappy for me!"

"And, here is the woodwork section!" a changeling tour guide—having a nice, fancy top hat to distinguish him as such—said, motioning a hoof towards a small group of changelings churning out wooden things and items. And, there was a lot they were working on—including both the works-in-progress and the ones that were sitting around finished: tables, desks, chairs, stools shelves, cabinets, clocks, doors, windows, floorboards and roofboards, not to mention the odd piece of abstract art here and there.

The ponies following the tour guide took several pictures of the artistically functional (or functionally artistic) work being done. In those moments, two groups of changelings became apparent: those who halted for a while to make a pose that they thought looked cool, and those who remained fixed to the task at hoof while bearing faces of neutral concentration.

"Uh, so how do you handle the wood?" the pony said. "I personally like the forest that goes around the hive. Or, around half of the hive, because, there's that big desert behind it that has no forest whatsoever."

"Wensley, what does 'around a half' mean?" the pony beside him said, adjusting his visor.

The changeling tour guide placed a hoof on his chin as he pondered. "Let's not think about that and let's get up close to the woodwork, shall we?" He motioned a hoof again at the working changelings.

Then, his eyes went wide.

"Well, it's King Thorax himself!"

The ponies looked behind him.

Thorax, in the middle of tip-hoofing, stopped. Turning his head at them, he gave an awkward and sheepish smile. "Uh, hi? How are you doing? Fine or not fine?" He coughed. "I was just, uh, passing by in a new style?"

More pictures and flashing lights.

Thorax then flew away, shouting "Please don't let me get attracted to shiny things everyday!"

Yet, the ponies kept taking shots at the fleeing changeling.

"Sorry," the tour guide said in the midst of all the photo-taking. "Thorax is not exactly the kind that likes to have pictures of him being taken."

"Just another one," Thorax said as he sat beside his wooden and sprouting throne on the raised moss-covered platform of rock.

He was also sitting beside Pharynx. "Another one of what?" he asked his brother.

"Another group of tourists taking pictures out of nowhere. It's as if they're constantly stalking me."

"Don't you remember that you're king here?" Pharynx pointed out, giving him a curious look. "Those ponies love taking pictures of royalty. First time I went out of the hive with this new form—" pointing to himself "—I saw tons of pictures of you on newspapers!" Then, he leaned closer to Thorax. "I thought you would be used to it by now, not having to run away like that."

"It's hard," Thorax said. "I don't want to act unprofessional, but the camera has lights and it's so bright!"

Pharynx groaned, shaking his head while doing so. Then, he pushed a hoof on to Thorax's face. "Resistance, Thorax. You've got to keep up that professional look no matter what."

"I know that," Thorax answered, pushing the invasive hoof away.

The two remained silent for a while as they looked off upon the sky.

Several changelings were flying up there. A lone pegasus hanging out with them.

"I also overheard what you said about the grub."

"Uh, you did?"

Pharynx nodded. "And, I guess it's good enough."

"Good enough?" Thorax repeated. "What's not good about giving them a very nice—"

"I love the grub as much as you do," Pharynx interrupted, placing a hoof on Thorax's mouth. "But, I don't want you showering them with too much this or too much that. It's gonna make them fat and lazy."

"Of course, they're supposed to work," Thorax said. "I didn't say that we should not let them work at all just so they could be happy all the time!"

"Trying to dodge the question, huh?" Pharynx retorted. "I know you want them to work. That's obvious. What I don't want is you thinking that a pony's childhood is what a changeling's childhood should be!"

"But, isn't it all good?" Thorax said. "They're the ones who are experts at friendship and—"

"Experts at friendship, Thorax," Pharynx interrupted again. "Not family."

"But—"

"Yeah, let's see: dragons have a good family, zebras have a good family, yaks have a good family, the creatures at that strange place that you go to using a mirror seem to have a good enough family from what I've heard—only doubtful one there is the griffons."

"But, I think a pony's—"

"And, before you start going on about following the ponies when it comes to the important things—I thought you were serious about it, about making this a place where changelings are changelings."

"Well, I was, but you keep on interrupting—"

"I may be too mad at you right now, Thorax. Not really mad, just very concerned. I don't know if that's all." Then, he sighed and relaxed.

The two once again took to the silence and looked up at the sky.

The same changelings were flying in the air. There was also that same pegasus from before. Now, they were playing some sort of game—chasing each other around while outrunning each other. A few laughs emanated from there, providing a sense of joy in the sky.

"I guess joining you in the Feelings Forum is making me talk about my feelings more," Pharynx said, smirking at his brother.

A few seconds.

Then, both sighed.

Shouts and sounded joys aired throughout as the changelings heralded and welcomed those six ponies arriving at the hive: the Elements of Harmony themselves. Acknowledging head nods, calming smiles, greeting hooves and wings,—the ponies brought those out as they passed by the scrambled line of disorderly changelings.

At the end of the long journey, Thorax stood along with Pharynx. Thorax had a smile on his face, quite giddy as he moved all four of his hooves about in anticipation.

Pharynx, meanwhile, stood there with an on-guard expresion on his face—serious as his eyes darted and hurried from this and that vantage point.

Finally, the six ponies reached the two large changelings, still in the midst of chaotic cheer.

"Let's take this to a, uh, quieter place, shall we?" Thorax offered.

"That would be nice," Twilight said, keeping up that slightly off grin.

In front of the wooden throne, the alicorn princess and the changeling king, with his brother, sat comfortably. The not-so far-out noise of loud voices—both changeling and pony—formed the backdrop of the solitary scene.

"How's the hive?" Twilight asked, with a cheery and optimistic voice—even closing her eyes and smiling.

"It's...thriving." Thorax made yet another sheepish grin.

"Thriving in what way, exactly?" Twilight inquired.

"They're...happy and having merry lives."

Twilight nodded.

Thorax nodded, though more slowly.

"This is getting boring," Pharynx said, pushing away an imginary object with a hoof. "I didn't expect this royal meeting to be this bad."

"We're just easing ourselves into the meeting, that's all," Thorax said, raising a hoof and emphasizing with it. "It's standard!"

"No one else is here, Thorax," Pharynx shot back. "Who's gonna judge you for being chummy with Twilight?"

"Actually, Thorax is right," Twilight said. "While I may disagree with some of the finer points of the rules of royal meetings, it's a custom that's been tried, tested, and true for thousands of years."

"Wow. No revision at all?"

"There were some, but it's mostly the same thing," Twilight said.

Pharynx grunted, crossed his arms, and straightened his sitting stance. "Fine. I'll participate in this royal meeting."

Thorax sighed. He turned to Twilight. "Alright, Twilight. Let's get to what you wanted to talk to us about."

Twilight nodded again. "I've noticed that you've been ramping up the various kinds of activities that are being done in the hive. First I heard, it was just acting, arts and crafts, dancing, weekly potluck lunch, the Feelings Forum, and a few others. Now, you've expanded to include gardening, education, emergency services training, woodwork, collection and research in the field of botany, a small business of repairchangelings going across Equestria repairing simple furniture, not to mention the guards and officers you have been training—" She faced Pharynx "—and, Pharynx, you've done a good job at keeping all the changelings here protected, safe in the knowledge that you and your force are always there to guarantee them freedom."

Pharynx managed a tiny glimmer of a smile. "Heh."

Twilight went back to facing Thorax. "I could go on listing more of the activities, Thorax." Twilight levitated the list beside her. "I've memorized all items of the list, but I guess you don't want to hear me ramble on about this for ten minutes, do you?"

Thorax smiled, remaining quiet.

"I'll take as a 'No.'" Twilight covered a chuckle.

"So, what are you trying to say, Twilight?" Thorax prodded.

"I'm here, in part, to just congratulate you on vitalizing the hive into an extremely productive nation! If I just walked here without all the applause surrounding me and my friends, I would see that this place is teeming with tons of things going on at the same time. It might as well be a city like Vanhoover or Manehattan if it weren't for the fact that it's not really a city—what with the abundance of leaves and plants and all."

"It's a thing here," Thorax answered.

"Well, I'm still trying to get used to it," Pharynx interrupted. "The plants look too pretty for me."

Twilight giggled. "Looks like there's a bit of sibling rivalry there, huh?" She leaned her head to the side at that.

"It's not much of a rivalry, Twilight," Throax said. "It's more of, uh..."

"Thorax, admit it," Pharynx said, budging his brother. "It is a rivalry."

"But, we aren't fighting. How could it be a rivalry?"

"You don't notice? All the little arguments here and there?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean that it has to be a rivalry. 'Rivalry' sounds like you're trying to beat the other guy at being the best. But, we're not." He turned to Twilight, wearing still another sheepish grin. "Right?"

Twilight sighed yet still smiling. "It is a rivalry, but it's not all that bad. You can let that one aside."

A few seconds of quiet as Thorax retracted his sheepish grin and as Pharynx gave him a playful glare.

"Back to the topic at hoof," Twilight went on, "that was one reason why I came here: to tell you that you're doing good for the hive. On the other hoof, there's also two matters of interest between Equestria and the Hive."

"Are they pressing matters or they're not that important?" Thorax asked, his voice moderating a bit.

"Not that important, Throax. Trust me."

Thorax smiled. "OK."

Pharynx groaned.

"One, there's a growing amount of ponies who are more than interested to see what the changelings are producing and making. They have expressed their liking towards changeling-made things because they want to see the new perspectives that they can provide. So, some large businesses in the urban centers are asking if you can send some talented changelings their way. The money that they'll provide for the talent is extravagant, to say the least."

"They're that desperate?"

"It means that they see the potential in them. Who knows? Maybe before Hearth's Warming Eve this year, a changeling will end up being inducted as one of Equestria's greatest painters."

Thorax grinned, his eyes glittering.

Pharynx maintained that slight grouch on his face.

"That's just me saying, but, it is a possibility."

"That sounds good," Thorax said. "What about the other matter?"

"I was about to get to that." She cleared her throat. "We can't force upon our culture to you. You know this one the most, I'm sure of that."

Thorax nodded.

"Having said that, I noticed that the changeling demand for pony goods is still on the rise. Above all else, changelings are just so excited and enamored about all things pony. We still get reports of changelings being amazed by pony-made kitchenware." She smiled a little. "The same businesses who are asking for changeling talent from you—they also noticed that and are asking you if it's OK to bring in some of their stores here."

"Hmm." Thorax brought his hoof to his chin, scratching it as he squinted his eyes.

"I'd say we talk about this more," Pharynx said, raising his hoof and having a more serious attitude. "I'm not going to accept those kinds of things willy-nilly."

"I have all day to talk about this," Twilight said, gesturing with a hoof. "You're free to talk to me about all your concerns about this."

Pharynx groaned. "More of these fancy sentences, huh?"

Twilight frowned in confusion. "But, it's a royal meeting standard."

No Interruptions

Twilight peeked out of the big double doors.

"Moon Dancer?" She had a puzzled look on her face. "You're quite early tonight!"

The cream-colored Moon Dancer, still wearing her thick sweater though somewhat cleaner and fixed up, merely smiled at that. "More time to spend with a close friend, right?"

Twilight giggled, covering her embarrassment on her face with a hoof. "Well, let's not just stand here! Come on in!"

And, with an invitation of a hoof, Moon Dancer went inside the library.

"We're almost all set!" Twilight said, topping the enormous stack of books with one final piece to the structure, sticking out her tongue as she gently and slowly placed it with her magic.

Moon Dancer watched it, too, bearing a scared expression.

Finally, Twilight's horn stopped glowing. "Phew!" She wiped the sweat off of her face.

Moon Dancer smiled. "So, I guess with that out of the way, we can start in earnest?"

"What about the rest of them?" Twilight said. "It's still not even nine in the evening!"

"We can just let them come in when they come," Moon Dancer replied. "I don't think they'll mind that I got a headstart."

Both of them were now smiling.

"How have you been doing, Twilight?" Moon Dancer asked, adjusting her glasses for a second with her magic. "When you cancelled the previous hang-out with all of us, we were concerned and worried about you."

Twilight's smile shrank a little. "It's Princess work. That's the simple version."

Moon Dancer gave a sneering smirk. "Of course, you know me. What are the specifics, Twilight? Why exactly did you cancel it? Because, Twinkleshine said that you probably have too much work on your hooves for now."

Twilight sighed, her ears flaying. "More royal meetings with the usual: the rest of the Princesses, Dragon Lord Ember, King Thorax, Prince Rutherford, Griffonstone representative Galena, not to mention all the domestic meetings that I had to hold to settle disputes and matters between two or three towns and cities here."

"That's still not specific enough, Twilight," Moon Dancer said, still smirking.

"Eh?"

Moon Dancer still kept that smirk.

"First, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna and Princess Cadance and I all came together at Canterlot to talk about investing more in our old school."

"You mean Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns?!" Moon Dancer spoke up, surprised.

Twilight nodded. "With all the new advancements in almost every field of magic, they're updating the lessons and bringing those innovations to the classroom.

"Now, the debate was whether or not we should bring in all the funds in one go or give them a part of the funds, let's say, every month. Princess Celestia and I voted for giving all the funds in one go, Princess Luna and Princess Cadance voted for giving them a part of the funds on a schedule."

"So, which one went through?"

"We're bringing the school representatives for the next meeting," Twilight said, slightly grumpy as could be seen by the sour expression on her face.

Moon Dancer giggled a little. "I understand, but you've been having these meetings at least every month and that didn't stop you from attending our hang-outs."

"Yeah, there was an influx of meetings and discussions all around the spectrum recently," Twilight explained. "There was Ember and her gripe about dragons being too aggressive on visitors. That's certainly not helping any tourism factors there, what with dragons shooting out blasts of fire from their mouths and being much bigger than the average pony. We talked about some possible solutions to the problem, yada-yada-yada, then I had to move on to Thorax. My friends—well, you know who those friends are."

Moon Dancer nodded. "I don't mind at all, Twilight." She gave a caring smile.

Twilight smiled back. "So, they wanted to join me on my trip to the Changeling Hive. Pinkie Pie said that it was going to be a lot like the 'old days' when we were constantly visiting the hive to host friendship events there left and right. Then, we went. What was the reason I was there? First, it was to give Thorax a good, positive talking to for the job well done in turning the changelings into dynamic creatures who always contribute for the good of the hive. Second, there were some businesses and companies who want to expand their reach to officially include changelings in their roster and also to bring some of their wares to the hive by building some branches there."

"What did Thorax say?" Moon Dancer asked. "From what I've gathered, Thorax should've at least checked which ones would get access to branches in the hive. There must be some sort of regulatory law that he should enact if he's going to just allow them to enter the kingdom freely an do business there. Also—" She raised a hoof "—even if all of them do follow those rules and regulations, not all of them should then be permitted. What about, for example, the logging industry? Yes, Earth ponies have both the skill and the love to keep forests tidy and clean while maximizing the amount of wood and timber they could get, but, if you remember what ponies were talking about when it came to visiting the hive a week ago—it was on the newspapers, if you forgot—one of the greatest appeals of the Changeling Hive was that it had a lush and varied forest nearby; there were a few changelings who even wanted to take training from Fluttershy, your friend—"

"And that they wanted to take care of the animals in their forest?" Twilight finished. "I remember that!"

Both giggled.

After the laughter faded away, Twilight resumed her serious composure. "So, what you're saying is: Thorax should analyze each and every company that's coming his way?"

Moon Dancer nodded, closing her eyes for the effect. Then, she adjusted her glasses again with her magic. "It pays to be careful, even scrutinizing, to ensure that both parties benefit the most from the situation."

"Funny you should say that," Twilight said. "Because, that's exactly what I told Thorax after a while!"

"We must be reading the same books lately, haven't we?"

Both giggled again.

Then, after that, Moon Dancer said, "What else? I should've told you earlier that you have been working too much on your Princess duties, but this stuff is and has always been interesting to me ever since I first deeply thought about the fact that I had a Princess as a close friend."

"You already told me that," Twilight said. "But, hearing you say that again honestly makes me want to hug you!"

Twilight lunged at her and hugged.

Both of them laughed on the floor as they lay there, just going on laughing with faces towards the crystal ceiling, their laughter echoing throughout the spacious room.

A minute of this and the two ponies were back on their seats.

"That was fun," Moon Dancer said. Adjusting her glasses once again, she went on. "Maybe I should try that on Minuette, huh?"

Twilight nodded. "Definitely."

"OK, back to what you were doing in your royal duties." Moon Dancer grinned.

Twilight sighed, though it was a sigh that kept, if not emphasized, her smile. "After the meeting with Thorax, I went to Yakyakistan with Pinkie Pie and Applejack to talk to Prince Rutherford about preventing disasters like snowslides from happening again. We set up a few necessary barriers just outside, did a few tests on them, and they looked more than sturdy enough to handle even the worst of snowslides. Because of that, I think Yakyaykistan will have less time trying to repair the place and more time to dedicate to other aspects of their society like, say, seeing what new jobs and occupations they could have there."

Then, the double doors opened.

"Hi, Twilight! Hi, Moon Dancer!" Minuette talked, waving a happy hoof with her happy grin, with Twinkleshine and Lemon Hearts and Lyra Heartstrings in tow.

The group of four walked over to the table of halted conversation and, with their differently-colored magic, they levitated some chairs to it and sat, forming that wondrous, reminiscing circle of friends.

"Right just on time, right?" Minuette said. "Not a second early or late! I even brought my watch to prove it!" She levitated a watch out of her bag—an analogue one.

"Uh, I guess that is too late to prove," Twilight pointed out.

The mares laughed at Minuette, whose confident grin turned sheepish as she floated her watch back into her saddle bag on the table.

"I guess you two are early," Twinkleshine said. "Nothing's gonna stop you from talking about those books—you two!"

"We still hold you in higher esteem," Moon Dancer said. "It was just us making the best use of the time by cozing up to a talk about books—well, usually, you know, but not tonight."

"Ooh!" Minuette expressed, holding her hooves to her cheeks.

Lyra, Twinkleshine, and Lemon Hearts glared at her.

Mineutte glanced at all three of those ponies. "Yes, they're not all about books—what do you think I am?"

"A pony who hasn't been paying attention after all these years?" Lyra cracked, covering a snicker.

"Come on, Lyra!" Minuette yelled, pointing at her. "You're better than that!"

"Well, you're better than just reducing our friends to ponies obsessed with books!"

"I think we should stop this fight before it escalates any further!" Twilight said, getting a hoof in between the two daring ponies.

The two looked at her.

Twilight returned the hoof. "Now that everything is all tidy and organized for the hang-out at the library, that only means one thing." Taking in a deep breath, she then asked, "Did you bring the things I asked you to bring over here?"

All the mares, including Moon Dancer, responded with an enthusiastic nod—Minuette being the one with the brightest grin.

Their horns glowed and out of their saddle bags were books with that heroic mare of adventurous fiction on the cover. Though the books had different titles and different covers, they all had that famous name: Daring Do.

"What?!" Twilight yelled. Her irises shrunk, her words diminishing into mere syllables incoherent and gabbling. "How—uh—I—what?!" She finally shot her front hooves to her mane, pulling it.

"I and the girls decided to surprise you," Moon Dancer said, levitating her Daring Do book. "I know that we've been out and about together for some time now, but what I figured out was that all of us liked the Daring Do books in some capacity. You may have expected me to like the books, but I was almost certain that you didn't expect the rest of us to at least have one on the shelves—and, surprisingly, all of us has at least read two of the books in the series."

All the mares in front of Twilight kept up their unique yet collected smiles as they observed Twilight's utter shock.

She was still as still as a stone, the only things moving being the irises that rapidly darted from looking at one smiling pony to the next.

"My personal favorite is the original, of course," Lyra said, her eyes now turning into a relaxed half-open state. "But, 'Daring Do and the Seven-Sided Chest' was a very fun read. I stayed up all night curled up just to see what happened next, and the Daring Do convention setting was much more than just relatable!"

"My favorite is 'Daring Do and the Ring of Destiny'!" quipped Minuette. "Beginning of a new stage for Daring Do's life, no longer having to do her treks and journeys alone? I call that a revolutionary break in the formula—but, I like all of the Daring Do books, following the formula or not! Who doesn't like to imagine Daring Do breaking into some secret ancient building to recover an old treasure to place it in a museum and away from the wrong hooves?"

"I'm just a casual fan," Twinkleshine said, pointing to herself and giggling a little before going on. "My favorite is the latest one, but I don't think too much about why it's my favorite. It just struck me as cooler than the others for some reason."

Finally, Lemon Hearts straightened herself on her seat. "Since I pretty much exhaust myself at planning events back in Canterlot, being dedicated to almost twenty or so books is out of the question. But, I've read the first two over the months and it's very good."

Moon Dancer then turned to Twilight. "Of course, you already know about my liking for the Daring Do books, so there's no need to explain myself there."

Several seconds of happy faces looking upon the still shocked Twilight.

Twilight took in another deep breath and brought back in her normal composure. "So, you're saying you're all Daring Do fans?!"

"I'm not, technically," Lemon Hearts said. "But, a Daring Do reader? Then, yeah."

"I—I just told you to bring in any book you wanted to bring!"

"Well, we wanted to bring these books to give you a warm welcome," Moon Dancer said.

"A warm welcome?" Twilight repeated. "A welcome to what?"

"A warm welcome to an impromptu Daring Do convention organized by us!" Minuette yelled as she jumped on the table and stood up there on it.

Several ponies came rushing in, carrying and wheeling in carts and boxes and other stuff.

As the fast construction of the roughshod yet recogniziable convention whirled and buzzed around Twilight, her face grew to a bright smile as she hugged all five of her friends there. "I love you, girls! Thank you, thank you!"

"Don't mention it," Moon Dancer said, caught in the encomapssing hug.

Meanwhile, though, a few pegasi were flying their way out of the library, lugging something.

Thunderlane and two other pegasi of coats and manes that were quite similar—periwinkle coats, light blue manes—carried a wooden sign out of the brightly lit crystal corridors of the Castle of Friendship, through the large open double doors, and into the dark yet glimmering, gleaming night.

The two other pegasi brought the sign down on the ground while Thuderlane, having brought out a hammer, fixed the sign firm.

The three pegasi landed and read the sign.

"'Daring Do fan convention at Twilight's Castle,'" Thunderlane read. He looked at his pegasus friends. "Thanks, Cloud Chaser and Flitter!" He saluted them with a wing.

The two saluted him back with their own wings.

"Are you going in, Thunderlane?" Cloud Chaser asked.

"Why not?" he replied. "I like the atmosphere of a fan convention—it's a bit like being at Wonderbolts HQ."

"How?"

"You see how the Wonderbolts come together to participate in flying awesome? Fans from around Equestria and beyond also come together like that for the books. Gonna be a refresher for me when I get back to HQ to report!"

Then, Thudnerlane hovered his way back inside, the two watching him fly.

The two followed him inside, re-entering the castle and the Daring Do fan convention.

"A Daring Do convention? In Twilight's Castle?!" Rainbow Dash shouted, sitting on a floating cloud hovering close to the ground. "Why didn't you tell me sooner, Scoots?!"

"It's the soonest I could!" Scootaloo answered with a huff. "Had to run all the way here! Forgot to bring my scooter along!"

"Well, you don't need a scooter for this one!" Rainbow proclaimed.

She scooped up Scootaloo and dashed her way towards the castle.

All the while, a yellow changeling stood beside one of the house's walls, the house being at the fringe of Ponyville, close to the castle in question.

"Unexpected," the changeling said. "But, I always like the little things that no one expects."

He flittered his way to the castle.

Past the library doors, the changeling accessed a marvelous event: though its exteriors were shabby and though there were pieces of that chaos that came along with hurried work, the Daring Do fan convention was active in full swing, with spunky discussions being lit up by ponies—and more than just ponies—who all showed their eagerness and their passion for the Daring Do books. A few even showed up wearing the costumes of certain characters—not just Daring Do, but also Doctor Caballeron, underlings of Ahuizotl, and even an attempt at dressing up as Ahuizotl himself.

Food and drinks of various kinds and of large quantities and amounts were served, stirring the air up into a smell that invited a feeding frenzy—a hint of steamed carrots, a whiff of garlic and onions fried, a pinch of fresh fruit, among others.

Ignoring the stalls selling Daring Do merchandise—cups, shirts, hats, key chains, posters, paintings, plushies, toys, figurines—the changeling looked fondly at the table on which a tall stack of Daring Do books was.

A tap on the shoulder.

He turned around.

"Hi!" Minuette said, waving at the changeling.

"What?!" the changeling yelled, taking a few steps back at the greeting. He was shuddering a little. "Uh, what do you want from me, miss?"

"You don't have to call me that! I'm Minuette!" She pointed a hoof at herself. Then, she pointed that hoof at the changeling. "I haven't seen that many non-ponies join a convention like this. What's your name?"

"Monoclad," the changeling answered, shaking the mare's extended hoof. "I'm Monoclad, and I'm pleased to meet you, even though we had, uh, a rocky start, to say the least."

"It was a start that only lasted, what, ten seconds?" She giggled and chuckled.

Monoclad only watched her laugh.

"Anyway, I'm glad we got those formalities out of the way! We can start on the right hoof!" Her horn glowing, she brought out a Daring Do book from her saddle bag. "Obvious questions first! What's your favorite Daring Do book? If you have one, of course!" Throughout it all, she maintained that sturdy smile.

Monoclad gulped. "Wow, Minuette. You're, uh, somepony who likes these books a lot."

"Yes, Monoclad, I know!" Minuette said. "'Monoclad,' right? Well, I know my limits—I'm a pony who has these books as one of my weaknesses! I'm quiet about it in front of everypony else, but when it comes to places like this—it's like I'm a totally different pony!"

"Uh-huh," Monoclad said, nodding his head as he observed the giddy mare. "I'm only intrigued. That's all. Heard that Blue Alarm got into the books out of curiosity and then went further because of a fan. I think I might be going that way, too."

"That's how it gets to those who start out in the conventions!" Minuette yelled. "Not the conventions that the Princesses make that form laws that everypony has to follow or something like that—you know what I mean, right?"

"What?"

"It all begins with the innocent pony being curious. Then, a fan like me gets to that innocent pony, sparks up some interest. That interest leads to an asking for more, a desire for more Daring Do adventures. Before you know it, whoops!" She moved a hoof fast through the air. "You've bought the entire series and are willing to buy a few shirts and hats for yourself!"

"I honestly wouldn't be caught off guard by that," Monoclad responded. "I've heard word that this series is one of the great classics of Equestrian literature. If it's a great classic, then it must be read and loved by lots of ponies."

"You've read that one right!" Minuette said. Curling a hoof around Monoclad's neck, she brought him over to the table of Daring Do books.

"And, if you're really interested, you can purchase one of the books right now! You wouldn't wanna miss out on this while it's still here, would you?"

"I'm sure there will be a Daring Do book on the shelves of the bookstore down the road," Monoclad replied, struggling to get out of the mare's grip.

"Oh, I'm sorry!"

Minuette let go of Monoclad, with Monoclad whizzing past the table and flying close to the ceiling.

A few ponies pointed their hooves at him, looking upon this curiosity.

"I didn't know you wanted to show me your flying ability!" Minuette said. "By the way, Rainbow Dash is here! Are you trying to get her attention?"

Monoclad flew back down to the ground, stopping right in front of her. "No, Minuette. I'm just making sure that I won't get caught in a strong carry like that again."

"I didn't mean to hurt you!" Minuette replied, her voice cooling down if only slightly.

"It's alright," Monoclad said. "I can see you being in the moment, being excited by being surrounded by all things Daring Do. It's an understandable thing."

"Aww! If that's the case, then, I hope you can enjoy the rest of the night here! I have some splurging to do!"

Minuette happily ran to one of the merchandise stalls.

Monoclad smiled at the mare as she tapped her foot impatiently at the back of the long line of ponies who were as equally eager, if not more so if some of the ponies dressing up as Daring Do characters were telling anything.

Monoclad sat on one of the wooden tables, Daring Do book nearby and at hoof.

Around him was the flooding sound of talks and of chats, of hoofsteps and of wings flapping.

Then, the buzzing of wings.

The changeling's ears perked up. He looked off towards a certain place.

"Blue Alarm? Humerus?"

"Yeah, that's us!" Humerus replied, shouting.

The two newcomers settled down on some of the empty seats at the table.

"Wasn't planning to see you two," Monoclad said. "Do you love the Daring Do series?"

"I love it!" Humerus screamed. "I'm waiting and waiting for the next Daring Do book. There's news going around that she's already in the process of writing the next one. That means that it's coming really soon!"

"I'm here out of special interest," Blue Alarm said. "Not a fan per se." Then, a raised eyebrow. "Are you one, though?"

"I'm not, either," Monoclad replied. "You could say that I'm in the same situation as yours, Blue Alarm. Special interest."

"Sooner or later, if you're not careful, that 'special interest' might end up getting you to read the entire catalog before you think it's over."

"I know—some pony named Minuette told me something similar."

"Trust me, Monoclad. I've been through it before."

Monoclad

Several bits spilled from his bag. Quick to pick them up, he brought it inside his saddle bag and Monoclad resumed his flight under the night.

It was one peaceful night there—the cold air that permeated it all, the plants that remained still, the evening sounds of the animals that were awake, and that Monoclad was the only changeling on the path.

"There's something," Monoclad said to himself. "Just one more night, just another night." He looked up at the moon which was shining its bright glow. "And, there's the Princesses controlling how long or short the day and the night are." He sighed. "They could stay, but me? I still have some jobs in the morning." He put on a smile. "Come on, Monoclad. Different schedules—that's what it all is, nothing malicious."

He stopped in his tracks and took in some fresh air. He exhaled it with a long breath.

"I'm sure that didn't help things go smoothly along," Monoclad commented as he continued his walk towards the moss-decorated hive where he could see a few glimmers hanging around it, moving about and dashing.

Costumes and accessories being taken down as they were being scrubbed and rubbed clean, dusted off from any dry dirt by a hoofful of hard-working changelings who sweated through the neat ordeal. Beside them, there were carts of produce—apples, oranges, mangoes, pears, strawberries, cabbage, lettuce, onions, garlic, carrots—being hauled by more changelings, bringing upon the hive a slight smell of the harvest.

Over near a craggy wall, Monoclad sat down and watched it all unfold. His eyes widened and his ears perked up at the smell of food.

He flittered to one of the carts, eyeing his saddle bag.

A changeling flew right towards the side of the cart, immediately facing the incoming customer. "Why, hello, kind sir!"

"Yeah, hi," Monoclad said with less enthusiasm and joy in his voice.

"It's the midnight delivery!" the saleschangeling advertised, gesturing a hoof towards the assortment of fruits and vegetables, not to mention some sweets, settled on the cart. "Very fresh, I guarantee!"

"Just a few apples and a few pears and some cabbage," Monoclad said, opening his saddle bag and picking up the bag of bits inside with his mouth. He flung it at the saleschangeling who caught it, eyes wide open at the throw.

Monoclad got to the cart and gathered those few apples and those few pears and some cabbage, storing it inside another compartment of his saddle bag.

The saleschangeling, having counted the bits that were inside, threw the bag to the cart. "That's the exact amoutnt! No change! I'm impressed by your tidiness."

"I'm managing my resources," he said as he walked away. "I don't wanna waste my time."

The saleschangeling looked on at the leaving Monoclad. "Ah, someone who doesn't fumble around with loose change! Hm, did I say that correctly? Probably not." He only shrugged as he whistled along and stood by the cart, watching any passing changeling who came near to the cart.

In the morning

Big McIntosh stood in front of Rarity on the dirt path leading to the Castle of Friendship; they weren't that far off from the rest of Ponyville.

"It is...unsettling, to say the least," Rarity said, backing away from the burly Earth pony. "I am used to—no, I expect it to be this identical, but to see such a thing performed again? I have to get the negative motives for such out of my mind since I know and trust that you are doing this for nothing more than to entertain and to make some bits like you said."

Big Mac nodded, smiling at the mare.

"Although, it would only be complete if you managed to actually say something. If it's convincing enough, then I'd be simply amazed."

He gulped, cleared his throat, and took in a deep breath.

Rarity eyed his movements, having on her a scrutinizing look of half-open eyes.

"It's a lovely day outside, isn't it, Rarity?" Big Mac said in his deep voice.

Rarity smiled. She brought out a few bits and hoofed it to the pony.

Big Mac smiled, also, before a green light surrounded him, covering him. When it went away, a yellow changeling appeared in his place although retaining that same smile.

"It's surprising to think that this is a real job," Rarity said. "Using your ability to shape-shift and to disguise as a way to make money. I find it creative, if I were to be honest myself." She held her curled mane with a hoof. "Considering just how good you changelings are at that, I'm not surprised that you would fare well in plays—I would also not be surprised if a troupe of yours manages to get to Bridleway within a year!"

"Aww, that's too much for you, Rarity," Monoclad said.

Rarity nodded. "But, next time, don't go walking around disguised and telling other ponies that you're a changeling. You're bound to get some strange looks, not to mention making the actual pony you're disguised as garner an unneccesarily bad image if only for a while. That was quite unmannerly."

Monoclad nervously laughed at that, rubbing his front hooves as he avoided her gaze.

"But, again, you've done a good job deserving of well-earned bits. Now, if you excuse me, I must go."

Then, Rarity hastened her way to the castle, entering it with the doors opening by her magic.

Monoclad looked at the bits he had on his hoof. "Huh. This might end up being a nice occupation. An odd job, but it's a nice odd job nonetheless."

A smile appeared on his face.

Then, as soon as it appeared, it went away as he looked off at the many buildings of Ponyville with its ponies walking by here and there. "But, I don't want to do it too publicly—I'm certainly not a showpony. Well, I should be, but those crowds." He shuddered. "The ponies call it 'stage fright,' don't they? I think I have that. Maybe a one-on-one approach would be the best for me."

The smile appeared again on his face.

The changeling walked the streets, looking at each pony that was in sight—talking, walking, eating, drinking, laughing, flying, playing, sitting—his eyes moving here and there as more ponies came.

Then, Spike and Derpy hanging out at a table, eating a few muffins and drinking some soda, talking.

The changeling hid behind an adjacent wall, peeking out just enough to see the two. His breathing quickened; there was sweat on his face. He retreated his face back behind the wall.

"There's Spike, good friend to Thorax," he said. "I can't disguise as Thorax—too easy, not to mention a little deceptive. Wouldn't want to disguise as a king—I can't imagine all the consequences of that. So, who else?"

He peeked out again, now eyeing the pegasus mare across the table from Spike.

"Who's her?"

Then, he brought out an ear—and only an ear—out from behind the wall.

"...and, that was when I tripped on some spaghetti," Spike told. "I knew that Rainbow Dash wasn't that good as a cook, but I didn't expect her to be so messy about it that I couldn't see the pasta and I still fell for it!"

Derpy giggled, Spike watching her laugh with some confidence on his face.

"So, what happened this morning for you, Derpy?" Spike asked.

Derpy looked at him as she ate a muffin. "I was able to order a delivery of baked goods for Twilight!"

"Wait, what?"

Derpy nodded. "She was cooking something about sweet potato muffins, so I thought that she would like the gift."

"But, why?"

"Why not?"

Spike leaned forward. "Is that it? I was hoping that there was something deeper behind it."

"Nope." Derpy shook her head, that smile on her face.

"Am I going to eavesdrop here for hours?" Monoclad whispered. He groaned as he flittered away.

"Hey! Who's that?" Derpy asked Spike, pointing at the fleeing changeling. "Is he another changeling friend of yours?"

Monoclad slapped himself on the face and groaned.

Fan

A stack of comic books, all topped off with a comic cover of the Power Ponies.

Nastic groaned, standing in front of the stall on a ground or surface of cloud, looking at the pegasus bewildered at the tall comic stack beside him—his eyes wide open and a surprised look.

It was a windy day—the breeze, continuous and fair, characterized the time. Pegasi flying about, flying more than walking. The neighborhood of clouded houses with cloud lawns and yards wasn't far off. Closer by, scattered about coliseums and columns made sure that anyone visiting Cloudsdale knew for certain that this had a pegasus history.

"I've come here with the comics you've asked," Nastic said, putting on a slight smile and taking off his hat. "Feel free to examine any issue of your choosing."

The pegasus in front of him neared the comic books. Halting and then picking up the top issue, he then raised the issue to the sky—as far as his hooves could reach, though, without the help of flying.

"I can't believe it," Nastic muttered under his breath, watching Soarin inspecting the issue with scrutiny. "First, there was that Flash Sentry pony from the royal guards and, now, the Wonderbolts. What's next? The Princesses love the Power Ponies? They're sending some money to the ponies who make these stories? Is there some kind of group of ponies in the E.U.P. Guard that likes the Power Ponies? Shining Armor—heh, he could've been a founder for that one."

Now, he was seeing Soarin open the comic book and then reading it, a big smile on his face. Nastic smiled more at the sight of that.

Looking up from his reading, Soarin said, "Any special things about this particular issue other than what I have seen?"

"If my memory isn't going bad," Nastic answered, "then that copy is among the first to be published—first publication, that's one. Next, if you haven't noticed, it's clean—mint condition. No, not the pony Mint Condition."

"Yeah, I can tell," Soarin said, cracking a smile of his own at that.

Nastic rotated his hoof. "Moving on, you can clearly see that it's in mint condition. I placed it in plastic the moment I could get it to a safe place. That's when I realized that there are ponies who are not only good at placing plastic around comics, I thought to myself that there are ponies whose cutie marks may have something to do with plastic as well."

"Why does it surprise you?" Soarin asked, looking a little confused. "If that's the pony's destiny, then that's his destiny. Not to mention that it's his talent."

"Still, it's plastic."

"So, what if it's plastic?" Soarin glanced at the comic book he was holding. "Anyway, back to the topic at hoof: How much are you selling for this?"

"I'm open to three hundred and fifty bits as the minimum," Nastic said, putting on his hat back.

"Uh, is there any chance that you could lower the price?" Soarin asked, sounding half-desperate as he grinned.

"I thought Wonderbolts get really good salary for their job."

"Does it matter?"

"You're not denying it, though," Nastic said, smirking at him. "Which means you have more than enough to pay for several of the high-tier comics here. And then some more."

Some pegasi rushing by, bringing along them a gust that moved the Wonderbolt's mane about though he didn't give the group any attention.

"But, I won't force my offer on you," Nastic said, walking closer to the stack. "I fully understand if you're saving that money up for something else. I'm just trying to find some way to make a pony happy while also getting money. Nothing too bad, right?"

Soarin turned the comic around, flipping the pages and, at times, stopping to intently check on certain details. He sometimes looked up to see Nastic again before going back to the comic.

After a while, he hoofed the comic book back to Nastic who placed it back on the comic stack.

"Thanks, Nastic, but I don't think I'll be having one of your copies for now."

Nastic nodded, adjusting his hat . "OK, Soarin. At least I talked to a Wonderbolt like you. That's always a good thing."

"And, at least I talked to a changeling like you, which is also a good thing."

Both of them smiled as they went their separate ways, walking away from each other.

Then, Nastic's smile faded away. "Knowing where Long Winded is, I can't keep a good mood."

The changeling took off to the sky, flapping his wings.

Near Ponyville, in the sky, there was a floating house. It was a tall house—three floors. Designed with that Cloudsdale architecture of columns, adorned with rainbow falls and even a small lake of rainbow, its entrance embellished with a stylized representation of Rainbow Dash's cutie mark, this cloud house was slowly floating about.

A winding path made of clouds led to the entrance which was a wooden double door with fancy handlebars. It was open, revealing to whoever wanted to look inside what it, indeed, looked inside.

Immediately past the entrance, there was a circular foyer. A polished, clean floor—probably made up of marble—was where the ponies stood as balloons, streamers, and confetti decorated the place. Stairs leading up to the second floor of the foyer and the circular platform and railings that made up that part of the foyer—ponies, too, were standing there, talking in festive manner. Near the entrance, there was a statue of a pegasus in flight; it was smiling.

In the open foyer, ponies were talking and discussing, sometimes glancing here or there at some part of the house they could see. After that, there was a short bit of worried silence before the conversation went back to other topics, although most notable of them was the topic of Rainbow Dash. In fact, among the collected chatter that could be heard there, "Rainbow Dash" was being said a lot by different ponies in different places of the house.

Not to mention that more than a few of them were holding and wearing an array of Rainbow Dash stuff—shirts, hats, flags, plushies, figurines, posters, pictures, among others. Laughs and coughs in the air, a display of Rainbow Dash merchandise was here. From calm and collected to pure excitement, the range of ponies that were there also displayed varied attitudes and personalities in the house.

Among these ponies were the Cutie Mark Crusaders, all at a table talking and laughing, sporting Rainbow Dash hats and flags—even Sweetie Belle, much to the dramatic dismay of Rarity who was watching from beyond the entrance with Twilight looking at her, worried.

"I—I can't believe after all that we have done together!" Rarity exclaimed in that high-falutin voice of despair. "You chose to join Rainbow Dash's fan club?!"

"Uh, Rarity," Twilight said, patting her, "you know that just because she's a part of the official Rainbow Dash Fan Club doesn't automatically mean that she likes Rainbow Dash more than you. Besides, you're sisters—I'm sure that if you ask Sweetie, she will definitely say that she loves you more."

"But, if that's the case, why doesn't she join my fan club!"

"None of us have an official fan club, Rarity," Twilight said. "Well, except for Rainbow Dash, but that's not the point. The point is, it's just a fan club—I want to go to a Daring Do convention but that doesn't mean I like A.K. Yearling more than you or any other of our best friends." Then, she placed a hoof around her head. "Rarity, your sister likes Rainbow Dash. A lot."

"Thanks for that."

"But, she loves you a lot more," Twilight assured. "You understand that, right?"

Rarity groaned. "OK, I understand, but I'll give Sweetie quite a talking when she comes back home!"

Twilight groaned in response.

And, several pegasi were flying in, passing by the unicorn and the alicorn; one of them waved at them though he got no response. They entered the house and had only on them faces of astonishment—open mouths and closed grins, all with those open eyes that indicated a fan's admiration and enthusiasm for being right in a very important place.

"I can't believe I'm in Rainbow Dash's house!" one screamed. "All the way from Manehattan, but this was totally worth it!"

"Keep it down!" his friend told him. "Gotta stay cool for Rainbow Dash. We don't want what happened with, well, you know—the book."

The pony's smile disappeared. He quickly nodded. "Yes, I must've forgotten that on the way here!"

"Conveniently forgotten it, eh?"

"Just let yourself free!" He raised his forehooves in the air. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

"Two things wrong with that. One, conponies are bound to say that, so you saying that out loud isn't helping matters. Two, it's not a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If the fan club is successful here, then we'll be having these once a year at the very least. I'm sure Rainbow Dash would be accepting of that—she's egotistical, so why pass up on that?"

"If the fan club succeeds, you forgot the 'if'!"

His friend sighed, shaking his head. Fixing his Rainbow Dash hat—which had a depcition of the pegasus's cutie mark—he looked at the pony. "It's going to be up to us for this to succeed. So, don't go crazy and we'll be—"

The pony zipped away.

The friend sighed. Then, a large grin sprouting on his face, he followed the pony, laughing and joining in the fun of hte party.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders, at the stairs, were laughing, too.

"I don't know if I told you this before," Scootaloo said, "but I brought my entire collection of Rainbow Dash pictures that I've gotten through the years!" Bringing the huge book out of her saddle bag, she placed it on the floor and opened it.

The other two fillies went closer to it.

An assortment of pictures were on the pages, sometimes having scribbles on the side. There was a photo of Rainbow Dash flying in the sky, though too far away to see what her facial expression was. There was another photo of Rainbow Dash—this time, she was much closer and there was Scootaloo in her grip. Both were smiling, Rainbow Dash smiling a dashing and arrogant smile while Scootaloo was grinning, eyeing her. Yet another photo showed Rainbow Dash smiling at the camera mid-flight amongst the clouds.

"I got this one thanks to Fluttershy," Scootaloo said, pointing to that picture. "While photos of Rainbow Dash are great enough, Rainbow Dash truly shines when she's flying so I had to take pictures in the clouds!"

"Wouldn't it be difficult to balance your cam'ra?" Apple Bloom asked, tilting her head sideways and raising a hoof.

"It's not as bad as it sounds," Scootaloo replied. "I think it's my pegasus abilities kicking in. Or, maybe it really is that easy."

They turned back to the book and Scootaloo turned the page.

More photos of Rainbow Dash which included one that showed her about to prank Scootaloo—the innocent filly approaching a telescope while, in the foreground and hidden from her sight by the bushes, a giggling Rainbow Dash holding a rope attached to the telescope. Another photo—Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo at an ice cream store, eating simple ice cream on simple ice cream cones.

"Hey, that's where I and Rarity used to eat when I was little!" Sweetie exclaimed. She budged Scootaloo out of her place and looked at the photo in question more closely.

"Uh, Sweetie Belle?" Scootaloo asked, poking her on the shoulder. "You can do that when I let you borrow it for real. But, now, I've gotta show you the rest!"

"Wait, if Ah' borrow it, I could still see the rest of it," Apple Bloom said.

"It's way cooler if I'm the one who guides you through my photos," Scootaloo replied. Then, looking at Sweetie—who was now holding the book up with her magic—she frowned a little. "But, we have to get past Sweetie first."

And, a pink pony passed by, though Sweetie Belle was so engrossed in the book, flipping the pages hurriedly, while Scootaloo and Apple Bloom were attempting to persaude her away from the book—they were too busy to acknowledge Pinkie Pie who was hopping her way towards Bow Hothoof and Windy Whistles who had a gaudy yet endearing aggregation of Rainbow Dash merchandise: clothes that had their daughter's cutie mark on them, fake rainbow-colored tails and fake rainbow-colored manes, flags that had her cutie mark on it and saddle bags with that cutie mark, too, along with plushies and more photos in their hooves.

"How's it going?" Pinkie Pie asked—and she was also holding a Rainbow Dash flag. "Glad to be able to see your daughter in an official Rainbow Dash Fan Club event, huh?"

The two parents nodded, grinning. "We're so proud of her, and we wouldn't want to miss joining in the fan club!"

"Uh, you're her parents," Pinkie said, pointing an asking hoof at both of them. "I don't think you should be joining her own fan club."

They looked at each other. Then, Bow Hothoof looking at Pinkie: "If that's how things go around here in the fan club, then that's fine. But—" Now with concern in his tone and voice "—where's Rainbow Dash?"

"It's supposed to be a secret," Pinkie said. "Rainbow Dash is hanging out with Starlight, which was Twilight's idea. After we get things going—and, I think they're going—I'll signal Twilight."

Bow Hothoof and Windy Whistles nodded again. "Good idea!" Windy yelled. "But, what is she doing with Starlight?"

"I don't know, honestly," Pinkie answered, shrugging.

"You want me to do what?" Rainbow Dash blurted out.

"Do I have to say it again?" Starlight said as she sat on one of the crystal thrones at the crystal table.

"Yes! Because, I can't believe what you just told me to do!"

Starlight sighed and rolled her eyes. "Watch butterflies. Take pictures of butterflies near the forest. What's wrong with that?"

"You should go ask Fluttershy for that, not me," Rainbow said, taking to flight, hovering over the table, and crossing her arms.

Starlight sighed again. "I already did it with Fluttershy. And it was boring."

"See?" Rainbow said, flailing her forehooves. "If you think it's boring, why would you think I would join you?"

"Well, I was thinking that you would be able to add a bit of flair to watching butterflies."

"Look, Starlight—if I end up sleeping in the middle of the trip, you'll sleep, too! I'm not going."

Then, Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes at Starlight.

"This doesn't sound right. Why would you want me to join you in an activity you don't like? With Fluttershy, no less? She's the one who can make it not boring for anypony else!"

Starlight looked shocked. Then, right after, she covered her mouth, her eyes darting here and there.

"You're hiding something, aren't you?" Rainbow asked. Flying closer and closer to Starlight. "What's the plan, huh?!"

More and more ponies and even a smattering of other creatures had gathered in the intervening time, the clock on some table ticking with more and more seconds going by without even a single sign of Rainbow Dash nearing. Pauses and halts cut into the conversation at times but it was not noticeable—the somewhat echoed syllables heard in the foyer drowned out any such hint at that. In fact, with the increase of visitors and celebrators inside, the overall mood of the place was getting better with more to talk about Rainbow Dash to, not to mention the arrival of several pieces of Rainbow Dash merchandise that otherwise would not have been seen there at all, some of which caught the attention of more than a few attendees who directed their sight towards what was novel.

Tables were being brought out, pushed and pulled and adjusted by a diversity of ponies all united and unified under that great interest, beyond intrigue, for Rainbow Dash. Seats, too, were delivered to the tables.

The cheerful clamor, the slowly rising commotion of similar energized discussions—further making the house the fan club's loud place of frolic, of peaceful joy. All were smiling, though the smiles did stop for a while on some of them before they returned.

Twilight and Rarity entering the house, Twilight having normal eyes but a downward mouth. "Pinkie?"

Pinkie's ears perked up and she leaped a great distance over several ponies and several tables and right in front of Twilight, almost hitting her.

Twilight flinched then went back to her normal posture. "Uh, are you sure it won't take any logner? I don't know how Rainbow's doing, but I hope Starlight is keeping her busy."

Pinkie nodded, grinning. "Everything is OK to go, Twilight!" Facing Rarity now, she said, "Don't you worry about your sis', Rarity! She's gonna be just fine!"

She patted the unicorn on the head.

Rarity, stumped as could be seen by her open mouth, eyed Pinkie who kept smiling throughout it all. She sighed as a sly smile went on her face. "I could never truly understand how you could deduce how others feel, Pinkie Pie, but I more than appreciate it." She placed a hoof on the mare's shoulder. "Thanks, Pinkie."

"Well, duh!" She rolled her eyes. "Haven't you heard of listening to other ponies while they're not looking? I was watching you two from the window earlier!"

Rarity, sharpening her eyebrows for a quick second, rolled her eyes and moaned. "Of course."

Twilight giggled at that.

Nastic whizzed and flew through clouds and over grass and feeling the stream of the wind racing past him. Despite the ponies sometimes pointing at the changeling in the sky, he paid no attention to them, not even giving them the shortest of glances or glimpses away from forward ahead.

Front hooves stretched there, staying in that position as he moved at a speedy pace, his immediate surroundings becoming a blur to him as he went even faster. His saddle bag struggled to be free, yet it stuck to his body with nothing flying out of it into wherever the wind would take them.

Gritted teeth, clenched jaw, focused eyes, lowered head, flapping wings that glistened and sparkled in the morning sky with the shining sun.

From far away, back on the ground, if one were to bring a gaze towards Nastic, one would see a colorful glitter of miniscule size in the sky. One would see that glitter move quite casually if he was far enough, but the closer one would get towards the changeling's altitude, the better of a sense one would get of how fast he was really moving. Nevertheless, ignoring that, one would notice it—for, it was different from the colorful twinkles that pegasi would make in the sky, from the relatively uniform spots that griffons would appear to be, from clouds and forms of aerial transportation.

This was a singular, single parade that the lone changeling was making, forcing his way past the distances and the miles he thought he still had to traverse before reaching his destination—and, it was getting closer and closer, now, that speck over there in the horizon, growing into that distinct shape of a cloud-material house nearer and nearer.

"I don't want to let this descend into an embarrassing moment," Nastic uttered, his voice drowned out in the wind's rush. "Long Winded, don't make a fool out of yourself!"

Nearer and nearer, closer and closer.

Past the windy sounds and noise, happy talk.

Eyes widening, though mouth still closed and pursed, Nastic kept at it—his flight.

"Does that mean Rainbow Dash is almost here?" Scootaloo asked, her eyes brightening and gleaming with quivering pupils and irises accompanied with an ear-to-ear smile.

Fluttershy nodded, both of them near the window and a bit far away from the main cluster of the crowd. "Twilight is on her way to pick her up and get her here." Then, moving her head a little bit, she asked, "If you don't mind, how's her fan club?"

"I don't know if you noticed, Fluttershy," Scootaloo gabbed, "but we've accepted several new members, and one of them is—" pausing "—Sweetie Belle!"

"Oh? I, uh, didn't see that one coming." Another pause. "So, that means that all three of you are Rainbow Dash fans now?"

"Officially, no doubt!" Scootaloo said. "I've already given Sweetie Belle some things to help her get started: some photos and pictures of Rainbow Dash, some clothes and memorabilia, and also a schedule of our weekly activities!"

"Which involves ziplining, from what I've heard?"

"Yeah!" She jumped up, her flapping wings slowing down her descent. "And, it's the perfect addition to the fan club! It gives non-pegasus ponies the chance to experience the thrill of flying just like Rainbow Dash! Anypony can try it out and—"

"What?!"

And, all the festivities went quiet.

Silence, save for the breeze.

Rainbow Dash at the entrance, dumb-founded look on her face as she stood still, only her eyes moving though they scurried to random places here and there; mouth shivering open, irises shrunken, head shifting little.

A gasp. A scream.

Scampering Scootaloo to the mare.

Hug.

All else staring, all else still, too.

"Bet you didn't expect this, huh?" Scootaloo asked. "I heard you liked to meet the fan club with all the members some day, so why not take it up a notch and surprise you?"

No words. Just a surprised face on her.

Several leaned in, towards seeing Rainbow Dash.

"I...I...I..."

Scootaloo's grin grew wider.

Rainbow smiled and hugged Scootaloo back.

Scootaloo hugged.

And the two were in a simple embrace, a simple and loving embrace.

"Aww!" the crowd went.

Rainbow, gently pushing the filly aside—with Scootaloo responding with just smiles and silent excitement—walked a few steps forward, now in full and clear view of everyone inside.

"So, this is the official Rainbow Dash Fan Club I've been hearing about," she said, smirking at whoever she was looking at. "Smaller than I expected."

This elicited much laughter and a round of good-natured hoof-stomping.

She hovered over the floor.

"Let's get this party started!" she yelled, throwing a fist in the air.

Party cannon fired, electronic music activating, fan club revelries resuming in greater magnitude of both movement and noise as ponies went about more energetically—dancing, running about. More party decorations spread about.

And, lots of ponies gathered around Rainbow Dash who placed on a pair of shades as she smiled and sat on the foot of the stairs, cameras flashing and even a few microphones right in front of her mouth.

"Best fan club ever!" she shouted, throwing yet another hoof in the air.

And causing a collective whoop.

Long Winded walking about on the cloud path when, out of the blue, his friend appeared in front of him.

"Nastic?!" Long Winded yelled. "I thought you're—"

"I'm just going to be with you, OK?" Nastic told sternly, pointing a hoof at him. "You're not leaving my sight until this party's over!"

"But, this was supposed to be a fun time for me!" he complained, slouching. "Just me and the rest of the Rainbow Dash fan club to hang out with—I don't have to worry about you watching me and making sure I don't overstep my boundaries in being a fan. I can handle myself!"

"I just don't feel good about it, that's all," Nastic said.

"Is that it?"

Nastic sighed.

He turned around, seeing the grand celebration going on as shouts of "Rainbow Dash!" echoed.

Then, he turned back to look at his friend. "I just want to see you happy without causing trouble. That's why I flew all the way from Cloudsdale to here. You understand?"

Long Winded hesitated, shaky mouth and eyes.

"Do you understand, Long Winded?"

He nodded.

"Therefore, I won't be watching you," Nastic said, pointing a hoof at him again.

Long Winded gasped.

"I've trusted you for a long time," Nastic said. Then, forcing a smile, he said, "Make use of it."

"Because we're the best of friends?!" Long Winded yelled. "Yes! Thanks!"

Then, the changeling sped all the way to the house.

Nastic looked on and smiled.

Changeling and Griffon

That sweet and familiar sugary aroma drifted through the vast room of bright colors and checkered tiles. Several ponies at the round wooden tables chatting and talking and laughing, all smiling with that smile that most ponies seem to have anytime of the day or night when one would casually bump into them; donuts and glasses or bottles of various drinks from water through tea and to soda.

There was a long line at the counter; some ponies had saddle bags, others were wearing fancy clothing—there was Upper Crust, giving nervous turns of the head and having on her a face of moderate fear. Then, the pony in front of her grabbed a paper bag and trotted away, making her the first in line.

"Upper Crust!" Joe said, strong in his gruff voice. "Didn't expect to see you in here, but, you're here! What can I do for you, ma'am?"

"Uh, hmm!" Rubbing her chin and scanning the variety of choices telling of different types, flavors, and sizes—all pleasing to the eye and bringing some ponies to water their mouths.

"Also, will you hurry up?!" the hatted stallion behind her yelled, holding in his hoof a balled up fist of money.

Upper Crust flinched at that and went closer to the counter, wearing a slightly scared face. Pointing to one of the donuts, she said, "I'll have that one!"

"You mean the plain chocolate donut?" Joe asked.

Upper Crust nodded, still wearing that slightly scared face—now with some worry in it.

Joe took out his tongs and grabbed one of the many plain chocolate donuts out from its line inside the heated and lit display. After placing it inside a paper bag, he hoofed the container to the mare.

"Enjoy, ma'am!" Joe said as he waved at her.

She was already trotting her way to one of the few remaining empty tables. She sat on her chair and, her horn glowing green, levitated her donut out of the paper bag. Rotating it around, she kept looking at it. Looking left and right once more before turning back to the donut, she resumed rotating it with her magic.

"Do you like the donuts here?" a male voice asked from another table.

"I think so," a female voice answered, authoritative in the delivery.

Upper Crust turned her gaze towards the table beside her, one occupied by Thorax and Galena.

Galena, the griffon, had her wide brown wings folded. Brown coat with black stripes, a darker brown head.

She was holding a half-eaten strawberry donut with sprinkles and chocolate syrup drizzled on it. Within her reach was an unopened bottle of soda.

"Fun as a snack and as a dessert!" Thorax said, gesticulating with one hoof as he smiled while holding a blue donut with the other. Close to him was a bottle of soda, this one being open and close to being half-full.

"What did you order again?" Galena asked. "Because, I don't remember seeing blue fruits around here."

"Blueberry," Thorax answered. "It's blueberry."

Galena nodded her head. She rested her head on a claw as she looked around and saw what wasn't surrounding her—griffons and changelings or any of their old homes of either mossed and plant-like hive or hay-sheltered houses and trees. Instead, there were ponies and more ponies all talking to each other while eating donuts and drinking drinks.

Yet, between the two of them, it was a crowded silence, a bothersome quiet with only a table, two donuts, and two soda bottles in the way.

Thorax's smile faded, becoming similar to Galena's neutral expression as they both ate their donuts. Thorax, though, kept a subtle smile about him, whereas Galena only had a neutral expression and not much more than that.

"I never thought much about it before," Galena said. "Historians always speak of an empire's long night."

Thorax placed the donut down on his plate. "What's that? I've never heard of that before."

Galena sighed, closing her eyes. "Some say that kingdoms and empires rise and fall based on cycles. A great empire grows, taking territory and spreading influence. Then, it stabilizes, making sure that its territory, wealth, and influence doesn't go away. After that, it declines, and there are lots of reasons for it: maybe well-intended bureaucracy becomes too much for the normal griffon to handle, or perhaps it's something sudden like what happened to us, as you know."

Thorax leaned closer. "Then, I guess the last step is—"

"—the long night," Galena said, raising a claw. Sighed again. "The Griffon Kingdom, Griffonstone, is far from what it used to be in the past. I'm sure you've read the history books—whenever you see Griffonstone of millenia and centuries past, you see these beautiful paintings of griffons wallowing in prosperity. Everything is clean and whole; ponies, dragons, zebras, and more visited our lands to see what was there, to behold the wealth we've amassed and to feel the influence that we had. Had." Looking off to one of the windows, she saw some ponies on the sidewalk, smiling and talking. "And, now, this is our long night. You've already visited Griffonstone, so I won't waste my time telling you what's there."

Thorax placing a hoof on his chin, resting. "I can see that and you and I both know that it doesn't have to be that way. It can be much better than it is now."

"Thanks for the encouragement, but you can't rebuild Griffonstone overnight," Galena said. "Being its representative taught me that. It's bad enough when Griffonstone is in a tattered state without all of us squabbling and fighting over the most petty of things while being stingy to the point of making a business out of anything that you can imagine. One time, if anyone who wasn't a griffon took an extended walk to sightsee—and, I don't get why anyone would go sightseeing in our place—they would be hampered by lots of griffons who'd demand them money just for walking in Griffonstone. It must feel bad to those who travelled such a long way just to be let down by griffons who want their money." With a bigger sigh, she continued: "Even I fall into that, and I fall into it a lot, but maybe you shouldn't blame me. Or, I guess you should, since I'm the representative."

"What about all those friendship meetings with Princess Twiligth and her friends?" Thorax asked, hopeful. "They must've done something to help your condition."

"It's something you can't erase in a week," Galena responded, still sounding depressed. "I do my best to convince others that friendship is good and that we should be friends and not just neighbors and griffons who live in the same kingdom, but we're getting desperate here."

"If you're getting desperate, why not turn to friendship?" Thorax asked further; after that, he took a bite out of his donut, watching Galena.

"Before you say the standard argument of, 'Look at what friendship did to the ponies,' understand that ponies' society is practically built upon friendship. Equestria was founded in friendship and ponies have been living in friendship ever since. Maybe friendship is just a peculiar pony thing. We didn't have to rely on friendship for greatness—if you know your history, you also know that we got lots of what we wanted by force. Invasion, coercion, rough-and-tumble fights and battles to take away what they have and make it our own and to turn it into something better than what they could ever make it to be—that's our thing. So, don't be surprised when we griffons resort to being grumpy than to this pony thing."

"What about Gilda and Gabby?" Thorax said. "And Greta, also?"

"They're better," Galena said. "They're better."

Then, she took a bite out of the donut.

"At least this can take my mind off of the situation," she said, glistening and smiling for a quick moment at Thorax before it went away and turned back to an expression of fatalistic distraught.

Griffon Time

Musty and dusty as rays of sunlight pierced the windows and the open air of the large library. Columns could be seen on the outside concrete porch, establishing the literary institution as a classical one, complete with grand and wide steps.

Bookshelves tall and endless to the casual reader, they were filled with numerous books that held, in their collected and total span, infinite reams of information, of history, of tales told whether to many or to few. Some were dusty, some were clean, some were in between. Stairs on the side led to another floor of more bookshelves which themselves contained their own open secrets within the book bounds. All of this was complemented with a crafted fragrance that smelled of books.

It was also a quiet library.

The mare on the counter had a pair of glasses and a bored expression on her face as she observed the two creatures chattering in front of a row of bookshelves. Somber was the griffon as could be seen in the downward face of hers; caring and hopeful was the changeling as could be seen in his slight smile and half-open eyes that focused on Galena's demeanor—which was of solemn walk and slow turnings of the head.

It was still quiet.

"So, what are we doing here now, Galena?" Thorax asked in a hushed volume.

"Find anything," Galena answered, her voice choked as she sharply faced away from the changeling for a second. "There's a storm of ideas in my head: a play, a painting contest, a competition with the dragons, perhaps re-inspiring us griffons by borrowing some of the history books here." Looking at the librarian still appearing bored—accentuating that with a big yawn—she then said, "This is how bad things have gotten. We can't even hold on to our own history—we have to thank the cute, 'naive' ponies for preserving our written chronologies. You've seen our library—or, what was left of it, anyway." Grabbing a book and examining it with a rotation of a claw, she became silent, her gaze falling upon the cover.

Thorax became silent, too, not making a step forward or backward or anywhere else; instead, his gaze was also falling upon the elegant cover.

On the cover, within an intricate and detailed frame, was a historical depiction of a griffon standing on his two hind legs; his wings were spread out and he balled up one of his claws as he looked upon somewhere in the distance with a triumphant air about him, having on his attitude the character and the background of a proud and domineering creature that belonged to an old time of chaotic conquest.

Galena opened the book, flipping through the pages.

Illustrations of griffons in squabbles and fights over bunches of gold and other riches. Illustrations of that king—"That's King Grover?"

"Yes," Galena replied, retaining that somber tone.

Illustrations of King Grover in magnificent form and fashion as griffons stood in awe of and in attention to him. Illustrations of a healthy and prospering Griffonstone: clean and swept paths filled with griffons in arrays of gold and other precious metals as their ostentatious yet modest displays of clothing wealth, whole and full houses at the bottom on the solid yet mountainous ground and at the top on the perilous yet apparently safe nests at the tips of the natural massive tree-like structure behind the foreground, all under a sky that had a bit of orange which made it unclear whether it was a sunrise or a sunset. The griffons in the illustration looked haughty and their smiles weren't exaggerated or even very obvious; several of them had their heads looking upward with their eyes closed; some griffons talking were quite happy as could be seen by the curved beaks.

Galena skimmed through the book, the pargraphs and sections being drowned in the rush and in the flurry of the pages yet the illustrations stood out when they did appear even for a brief moment before they went away under to give way to the next page which, too, would go away as quickly as it appeared.

Then, she closed the book with a loud thud.

It echoed throughout the entire library.

A sigh from her.

Returned the book, gloomy face and eyes closed.

"You've had it easy, Thorax," Galena said, not looking at him as she looked at another bookshelf. "Your days of prominence are still here, just in a different form. Back then, you were a hive that was successful in stealing love—and, you weren't successful all the time, but we griffons faced that, too, even in the greatest of times. And, now, you're successful in sharing love and you're getting even more fame for that—the image of the curious, inquisitive changeling who can harness raw imagination with a child-like attitude and outset. The ponies love that kind of disposition, but I don't care what the ponies have to say about you—you and the rest of your kind are what I care about now." She turned around—her face still as somber-looking as before. "You're enjoying this, aren't you? All of you, really. And, it took you guys less than a year to be this happy, to be this stable and prosperous. You're all content with what you're doing and you want to do more than just that." She gave a little smile. "That's something I want to see in our home." The smile went away, returning to that gloomy face. "But, it's getting hopeless."

"You don't have to be hopeless, Galena," Thorax said. "We've seen each other before, and I know that you're the griffon who can do the job!" He said this with a sense of optimistic cheer as he extended a hoof.

"Pony customs are getting to you," Galena replied, brushing off the offered hoofshake and sounding concerned yet mostly still sad. "I've been in my post long enough to know when a statement is said honestly and when a statement is said just to 'encourage' me," Galena said. "Speaking of pony customs, the Princesses have continousuly sent us aid in many forms—which is already astounding when you think about our...uneasy history."

Thorax gulped.

"But, that's in the past—we just don't want to talk to anyone else in general." Galena looked away, flapped her wings (though with gentleness and quiet as she also eyed the other books around her, her face having a bit of trepidation), and grabbed another book. After landing on the floor, she placed the book on a nearby shelf and went on: "Isolating ourselves is what we've been doing while we gobble up all that Equestria's given us for decades. And, for what? Decades of foreign help and the end-result is a Griffonstone that's only slightly better."

Balling up a claw, then relaxing it, she faced Thorax and said, "Ponies are avid about helping others and that's something admirable. But, they may not be the brighest when it comes to how they help. It's only recently that the Princesses realized the reason why just sending resources to Griffonstone wasn't helping: it's all being hoarded up into our personal stashes and we end up exchanging only a little. We might as well have lots of gold in our homes yet we're still in terrible conditions because we're just not that selfless enough. I also have my own personal stash, but I would like to say that it's modest compared to the amount of riches my neighbors have gathered through the years."

Sighing once more, she said, "I guess what I want to say is: What worked for you is not gonna work for us. You went the route of accepting as much help as you can from the ponies and turning that help into something that you and your fellow changelings can call your own. Good—it works for you since you now want to do good. The want is there for you changelings—for us griffons, it isn't so." A pause, a moment of tense silence between the two while they themselves were between the bookshelves. "It's not going to be so easy for us as it was for you—it's something deeper than just not wanting to cooperate. I coordinate with Gilda and Gabby and Greta and a few others to try improving Griffonstone with friendship which I have finally accepted as truly magical, yes, and that it can—no, will do wonders for us—but it's a slow path to go through, with what intense resistance we're getting from almost all sides of griffon society. The older ones telling us that it's been the way things were done so 'Why change it up?' and the younger ones being uncomfortable with the additional work that they have to do in order to bring about a better Griffonstone. Add to that the international and foreign aspects of my being a representative of Griffonstone, and it just makes any ordinary griffon more stressed than usual." Another pause as she looked upon the changeling. "The Princesses of Equestria and you, Thorax, have made it more tolerable for me. But, Dragon Lord Ember and Prince Rutherford, among others, aren't giving me such an easy time.

"And, that's it, I think." Opening the book but still facing Thorax—now looking at her with a sadder expression—she said, "I've told you all I could think of about it. Thanks for any help you'll be giving, but just know that Griffonstone will take a long time to get up from its long night."

She sighed, closing her eyes.

Thorax took a step forward.

He gently closed the open book.

"That was...brave of you, Galena," Thorax said. "Well, not really that brave since we're both leaders of our respective homes and all and you could freely talk about that and—"

"You're not helping, Thorax," Galena shot at him, giving him a glare.

"Whoops! Uh, sorry!" He shrunk back, wearing that sheepish smile.

Smiling a little and placing the book on the shelf again, she said, "It's always nice to hear a complement. Which I don't get that often unless it's from the friendly griffons I've already mentioned and several more."

Thorax smiled, too, though more widely and placed a hoof around her neck and brought her closer. "Happy to help!"

Galena sighed, keeping that smile, and just rolled her eyes at the gesture.

"If you're not going to spend your time reading books, then I advise that you please leave!" the librarian hollered from behind the counter.

Thorax's and Galena's went wide open, their smiles becoming faces of shock.

Outside the train's windows, one could see the expansive landscape once again of what lay beyond Canterlot—that included the small village of Ponyville with its dainty and quaint houses and the tall and shiny Castle of Friendship that stood out from the rest of the relatively humble houses. Rolling fields of grass with rows of apples trees on the hills in the distance, the Sweet Apple Acres property not really so far away in view.

The blue sky was dotted with clouds—not too many. It was enough to decorate the sky, to embellish the sky with a graceful beauty that a moderate amount would give. Some pegasi could be seen in the sky, moving about and travelling or fixing some of the stray clouds, making sure that they were in their proper places and they they would properly bring that graceful beauty to the sky.

All of this was accompanied by the low rumble of the wheels, though the passengers did not mind. Instead, they went on talking to each other, reading their books and newspapers, sleeping and napping and dozing, watching the wondrous visage of the outside through the clear windows, eating and drinking whatever food and drink was on their hooves, observing the interior of the carriage and seeing what the other ponies were doing—even in a 'small' passenger carriage, there was a flow of activities that hastened in the otherwise still and static room.

The smell of freshly cooked food permeated the air, causing more than a few heads to turn round to where it all was. Plates of chocolate cake and steamed carrots along with some bags of chips and bottles of water were being carried by trays levitated by the unicorn servers in their fancy—but, not too fancy—outfits. Several went out of their way—which meant out of their chairs—to get to the food quickly, though they were stopped by the stern faces of the unicorns, warding any impatient pony off from an early opportunity of getting food. Meanwhile, the ponies who had waited for the servers to get there got what they were waiting for: food and drink from the train's staff.

"Look!" a foal yelled, pointing at the window beside her.

Most of the ponies looked.

Rainbow Dash flying right in front of the window, flapping her wings and keeping up with the train. She was waving at the passengers, bearing a confident and big grin.

"It's Rainbow Dash!" some shouted, others murmured as many went up from where they were to the windows on the pegasus's side.

Gasps were let out, faces were brightened and lightened—turning into smiles of joy and giddy enthusiasm and excitement. Several waved back at Rainbow Dash as she did a few aerial tricks of her own right in front of the window, all the while still keeping up with the train.

Then, with one more wave, she flew away, her figure approaching Ponyville.

And so, many of the passengers went back to their seats, now energized by talk about what just happened—the noise inside the carriage became, truly, a noise as the passengers discussed back and forth about how unexpected the event was.

"I really didn't expect Rainbow Dash to be here," Galena said to Thorax who were the only ones occupying the row of seats they were on. "Does she do that to every train she comes by?"

"I haven't been on these trains a whole lot, so I can't tell," Thorax said, shrugging. "But, it's always awesome to see Rainbow Dash fly by when you least expect it!"

Galena nodded.

Then, she gasped, looking behind Thorax's shoulders.

"Gustave, is that you?" she asked, raising her voice and standing up.

Gustave, carrying a tray of eclairs and muffins, stopped. "Yes, Galena," he went on in that fancy accent, "it is I, Gustave." Bringing up a slight smile and walking towards her, still holding the tray, she looked at her and the changeling king in front of her. "And, I zee that you have brought your changeling friend with you. I do not remember offering him my undeniably delicious delicacies yet, but serving food to a king is no light matter for it is usually à grands frais." Striking a bigger smile, he looked at Thorax and gave him a tray. "Whether I have met you before directly or indirectly, it is my hope that you will enjoy, above all, these eclairs that I have created myself!"

Galena smiled as she grabbed one.

Thorax, smiling, grabbed one as well.

"I would like to stay and engage in chat with you but, enfin, there are others awaiting my baked goods!" He even pointed a claw upwards.

Then, he went away with that haughty way of walking, still holding a tray with his wing.

Galena's smile departed from her face, returning, once again, that reflective look of half-open eyes and pouting beak. "That's Gustave le Grand for you." She placed the delicacy on the seat, beside her.

Thorax observed the motion.

"His home is, technically, Griffonstone just like most griffons. But, he doesn't visit that often, if at all for some months."

"Hard work?" Thorax prodded, leaning closer. "Tight schedule? Overtime at the job or something like that?"

"It's not any of those things," Galena replied. Looking off into the green landscape past the window: "Being a rising chef in the culinary world of Equestria isn't that demanding. The reason he's been away from Griffonstone for so long is because he's grown...let's say grumpy and sour, to say the least."

"But, he enjoys being here!" Thorax said, protesting, pointing a hoof at the hatted griffon with the mustache—he was engaged in casual chat, adding in a few fancy expressions here and there which made the ponies incline their heads here and there in a bit of perplexion before they just went on nodding and accepting the chef's offers. "Or, at least that's what I see."

"He does enjoy being here," Galena said. "He doesn't enjoy being at home."

Thorax looked at the griffon, bearing that solemn face not too different from Galena's.

"Yes, it's what I've talked about with both you and the Princesses before," Galena said. "I find something interesting there between you and us—you changelings were crazy over everything pony; we griffons have seen it on both in the news and right in front of us. But, when those of us went over to Equestria and saw what was beautiful and great about it, do you know what a lot of them did? All but did away with their home altogether to make a new life there. The occasional return is the mandatory one—visit family once in a while before they go off back to Equestria in a house that has more than one floor and equipped with all the necessities of a pony house along with a few more. And, who could blame them, really? What opportunity do they have in Griffonstone? Gilda is happy with making scones but she's the exception rather than the rule—and, even then, she used to be unpleasant about it."

Thorax was silent amidst it all.

"You might think I'm just rambling on, that I'm just using you as a way to tell someone else my ordeal and the ordeal of the rest of us griffons. And, maybe you're right, Thorax." She closed her eyes, sighed once more, and opened them, making a sharp glance at Thorax. "Does it matter, though? Like I said before, I'm desperate. I have those three griffons and more helping me out and maybe—just maybe—Griffonstone can become what Pinkie Pie promised: that it can become grander and greater than it ever was before with the magic of friendship." She paused, looking off again to the window then quickly turning back to Thorax. "I believe them. But, the journey isn't going to be easy and I know it and, well, I need your help, Thorax, in any good way possible."

They looked at each other, the landscape becoming slightly different as Ponyville was nearer and nearer. The grass was now level to the train, the far away greenery that spread to the horizon and blanketing the ground with its decorum now right there, just a few meters away close to being within reach had there not been a window and a wall between pony (or griffon or changeling) and the outside.

"You know that I'm always there to give you and the griffons a helping hoof," Thorax said, adopting that cheerful and happy tone, his eyes widening along with his smile as he also, with energy, moved around with zest as he talked. "If you need anything, just ask me or Pharynx!"

Galena smiled at that, though she did not say anything.

"So, I'll take that as a 'Yes'?" Thorax smiled even wider.

"Well, I did say that I was deseprate," Galena said, still wearing that hopeful smile. "And, I always accept everything that you give because we can find a way to make it contribute to helping Griffonstone."

Thorax extended a hoof.

Galena eyed the hoof.

She shook it with her claw.

And they shook hoof and claw.

They were both smiling.

"So, Galena, remember to keep on hoping for the best," Thorax said as they ended the hoof/clawshake.

"And, I hope that you also learned that it's not always the easiest of paths for everyone, Thorax," Galena said.

They were still both smiling at each other when Thorax looked at the eclair beside the griffon. "Uh, aren't you gonna eat that?"

Galena's eyes went wide open in surprise. She glanced at the eclair—it was stil sitting there in its whole, complete form. She chuckled as she brought the delicacy to her mouth. Then, she consumed it.

Thorax chuckled, too, before he ate his eclair.

Galena wiped her mouth free from any chocolate or crumbs. "Ah! Just as I remembered; Gustave hasn't lost that genius!"

Griffonstone—that weary and wearisome home of the griffons with its broken pathways, its broken houses and homes, its broken nests, and its broken inhabitants roaming about with permanent, fixed frowns that conveyed emotions from indefference to depression, from anger to apathy. Some sat on their nests and on the byways, mulling about something—one griffon spoke, "Who cares about these new projects? What's the use of them if I was OK without them? I didn't have to go to some weird new building to learn about this or that skill and to help make Griffonstone pretty, and I've held the great position of having the greatest hoard in Griffonstone!"

"So what?" another griffon, passing by, shot back in a gruff voice. "It's just sitting there!"

"I'm not going to spend my gold just to see griffons learn how to do what I think to be things that fledglings will learn in the normal course of time. Investing my money to teach them to fly? That's instinct, as far as I can tell!"

Another griffon joined the passer-by. "At least they'll be able to fly earlier!" Gilda said, using an even gruffer voice than the griffon beside her. "And, when we train griffons before they do the actual work, they'll do better than griffons who don't prepare themselves for the task. It's common sense!"

"What is the value of a few more or a few less hours in the scheme of this Griffonstone work?" the first griffon asked back.

"Lots," Gilda curtly replied, crossing her arms as she hovered over the ground.

The first griffon groaned, walking away from the two without even saying a word.

"Stiff," Gilda commented, facing the former passer-by. "Greta? Wanna report this to Gabby and Galena?"

"It's just one griffon," Greta replied, holding on to her gray scarf around her neck.

"One out of a million," Gilda shot back. Groaning in irritation, she flew off to the distance.

Greta followed.

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.

Soup

A white steam was flitting through the air, winding and turning out of and into the unroofed rooms of the hive. Though there were the natural scents of the plants that were everywhere, that steam had a distinct smell—one that was delectable and appetizing as could be seen by the nearby changelings licking and watering their mouths and some of them slowly meandering their way to where they thought the steam—or, rather, the delicious aroma—was going which led to some funny accidents such as one changeling bumping into a rocky and mossed wall mid-flight and then falling to the ground.

Finally, the changelings who achieved the task of getting to the aroma's source found themselves in the biggest open area in the hive. Near the table where some changelings were making their improvised artwork and near the raised rocky platform where other changelings were preparing costumes, there was on another table a humongous and massive pot. It had no lid, letting out all the savory fragrance and the hot, drifting steam that came along with it.

One of the changelings put his giddy face right over the pot and looked straight at the soup.

It was beige and thick. Herbs were floating around on it. Plenty of mushrooms were floating around, too.

"It's mush soup?" the changeling asked.

A blue changeling wearing a white hat walked up to him. "Yes, it's 'mush' soup," he answered in a raspy voice. "Made it myself!"

"Hey, weren't you the one who brought soup into the Feelings Forum?" another blue changeling asked.

More and more changelings gathered around the table.

A few changelings brought in tall stacks of empty wooden bowls and placed them on the table.

"Yeah." The hatted changeling smiled. "Ever since I've had my soup problem solved by all of you guys, I thought that maybe—just maybe—I should share my love for soup!"

Some changelings looked at themselves and nodded.

"Of course, I need your feedback. Maybe I overcooked it; I probably stirred it too much." He put on a timid face. "Too many mushrooms?"

"We haven't even gotten a taste of the soup, yet," one changeling pointed out.

"Oh. Uh, everyone fall in line and get your soup?"

And, the changelings who were there arranged themselves in a straight line at the table. The hatted changeling stood behind the table and the pot, holding a ladle.

The changeling in front got a bowl and held it out.

The hatted changeling scooped up some soup—and even that portion was still steaming hot as could be evidenced by the little trail of steam rising from it—and poured it on to the bowl. Then, he did this again. And again.

"Don't spill any, Extant!"

"I won't and thanks!" Extant said as he flew away, holding the bowl of soup with his two hooves.

The hatted changeling, smiling wider, looked upon the rest of the line left. A few more changelings farther off were headed their way there and there was no one showing any signs of leaving. All of them wore smiles as they talked to each other in line or just gazed upon the immense pot of soup.

"This is going to be fun!" the hatted changeling said to himself as he gestured the next one in line to come forward.

"Guards!" Pharynx yelled, standing in front of an arranged and organized group of armored changelings.

They were outside the hive, at the more barren part of their surroundings. Dry, desert-like and rocky ground was still prevalent; the arid conditions with its hot air and its lack of many green plants characterized the place. The reminiscent rock formations protruding from the ground, the trees with no leaves bent and crooked—it was a desolate wasteland still.

"I want you to hold your positions with high regard! You're going to be risking your lives in defense of the hive and for the protection of the hive, for the safety of the hive!"

The guards saluted Pharynx, their faces stoic.

"No! Did I command you to salute yet? I didn't! You should wait for the command to salute!"

A changeling made a weird face of confusion.

"And, what was that?" Pharynx asked in accusing fashion, flying straight to the changeling in question.

The changeling shuddred beneath his armor. "Uh, it was just a muscle reflex! Just a r-reflex, sir—uh, I mean, uh, Pharynx, uh, sir!"

"You dare disrespect the head of the hive's defense?" Pharynx raised an eyebrow and snarled.

The changeling yelped in fear.

"You'll be off scot-free for now, but remember to not do that again!"

Then, Pharnyx flew back right to his prominent place right in front of all those arranged and armored changelings.

"Today, you will learn your patrol routes!" Pharynx began. "I will fly ahead of you and I will teach you where your route goes! Every one of you, pay attention! I will not repeat myself!"

A shy and shaky hoof was raised.

Several pairs of eyes were on him.

"What is it?!" Pharynx yelled. "And, make it quick!"

"I smell...food!"

Pharynx grumbled as he flew to the next changeling in question. Giving him a hostile glare, he said, "Don't let that distract you! You just had breakfast!"

"But...there's m-more." He pointed his still shaky hoof back towards the hive. "Can you smell it?"

Pharnyx sniffed the air.

So did most of the changelings there.

"Did I tell you to do the same thing I was doing?!" Pharnx yelled.

The guards lowered their heads.

Pharynx smelled the air again. His eyes grew but only slightly. "Yes, I do smell food, but that doesn't mean you should go and eat whenever you feel like it!"

"What if I'm hungry on my patrol?" the changeling asked.

"You're not supposed to be hungry on your patrol. It's a tiring job so you should know by now to fill your stomach with as much food as you can—not too much, but more than usual!"

"What if I still get hungry?"

Pharnyx sighed.

"The royal guards in Canterlot have snack bars with them," a changeling said, raising his own hoof. "Why can't we?"

"Yeah, why not?" another changeling asked in complaining voice.

"I like chocolate on my patrol!"

"We need a snack cafeteria on patrol!"

"A food patrol, anyone?!"

"Quiet!" Pharynx shouted.

He struck the ground with a hoof.

There was a sizeable hoof-shaped hole on the ground.

The changelings became silent and shivered at him.

Pharnyx looked around at the terrified guards. "Well, do you have anything else to say about food and patrols?"

The guards remained quiet.

"I thought so." He paused as he cracked a menacing glare at them. "It's a waste of my time and yours just whining about you having snack bars and chocolate bars and sweet bars and what else! The royal guards in Canterlot have their snack bars because that's how ponies keep their citizens safe—by feeding their guards with dessert!"

"Uh, they also have armor and patrols like we do," a changeling said.

"Don't interrupt me!"

The changeling whimpered.

Pharynx paced slowly, keeping a mean eye on the guards. "All I'm saying is: We're not ponies. We've been able to protect this hive from all kinds of threats with ease and I'm here to make sure all of you are disciplined to the point of expert and adept defense. If you're so easily distracted by hunger that could've been easily avoided by common sense and some simple planning, then I'll make sure you won't be so distracted! I won't let some random changeling tell you that, what, there's soup ready—"

"There's mushroom soup!" a changeling cried out.

Everyone else looked at the changeling.

He had no armor and was hovering over the ground. "Oh, hi, Pharynx!" He waved at him. "You want some soup,p too?"

Pharynx groaned again.

"Cherry Jubilee?" a brown stallion with a big and nice hat asked the mare as they both stood on the dry and yellow ground with endless empty mountains of not much ahead and behind and almost all around; in front and behind the ponies were the short rows of timber colorful buildings.

"Yes, Strudel?" Cherry Jubilee responded in that thick accent.

"Have you ever made cherry soup?"

The mare looked startled, taking a step back. "Cherry soup? Why, I've never heard of such a contraption such as that before! What made you say that?"

"Apparently, the Changeling Hive's undergoing some kind of soup frenzy," Strudel reported. "First, it was just mushroom soup and I now just received some news few minutes ago about an entire feast or buffet of soup and just soup. And water, I guess. But, all the food there is soup."

Now, she looked puzzled. "That doesn't make a lick of sense! Changelings bending over for soup?"

He nodded. "I'm sure it'll go away in a few days at most."

"At most?" she repeated in more confusion. "Strudel, this is most unusual!"

"Do you think we should prepare cherry soup, then?" Looking back in the direction of the hive, he then said, "'Cause I think changelings are gonna cook up new ideas and start asking for soup you can make."

She hummed as she placed a hoof on her chin. "Does it have to be cherry soup?"

"It's the craze."

A non-interesting odor filled the air of the small dining room with the drab outside of a dry surface of gray and brown and many rocks and stones.

At the table was, once again, rock soup: that same green substance with a rock inside the bowl.

Limestone, with newspaper in hoof, downed the bowl of rock soup including the rock itself, crunching it. Reading the newspaper then, she quipped, "'Changelings Going Mad for Soup!' Hah!" Glancing at the pot of rock soup in front of her, she said, "They should've invited us. Let's see how they'll like that!"

"It must be a slow news day," Mr. Shy said as he unrolled the newspaper on the table, he and Mrs. Shy standing on the floor of clouds. The grand words of the headline along with its vivid picture of changelings, indeed, in a soup frenzy were lit up and clarified by the sunset sunlight pouring through the window.

The image showed a super long table filled to the brim with lines of soup pots, lines of soup bowls, and lines of changelings either waiting or already eating. The changeling that stood out form the rest was the blue one with a white hat, making a pose that showed that he was proud; he was also grinning at the whole occasion. Even Thorax and Pharynx were shown in the picture, Thorax slurping down his soup with giddy glee while Pharynx stood with a frown and a cold bowl of soup right in front of him on the ground.

Mrs. Shy, grabbing a pear and taking a bite out of it, inspected the picture and pulled it a little closer to her. "'Changelings Going Mad for Soup!' That's...an interesting tidbit."

Inside the crystal castle, Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor—with a flying Flurry Heart—walked on the reflective sidewalks of the reflective streets beside the reflective, polygonal crystal buildings, breathing in the fresh air. The sky and its setting sun brought about a gleaming glow that glistened and, without artifical lights, made the Crystal Empire sparkle bright, its cool colors along with the cool mountains contrasting the hot red and orange of the sky.

"The shenanigans they're having there," Cadance said with a touch of playfulness. "I don't know what's going on with the newspapers today, but most of them are reporting about a soup festival in the Changeling Hive."

"A soup festival?" Shining repeated, minding the whirling and twirling Flurry Heart in the air and, with his magic, gently pulling her back to him. "What's the story behind it?"

"Not much of a deep story," Cadance replied. "A changeling went to the Feelings Forum once with soup that was too hot. After some arguing there, the soup cooled down and he thanked everyone there for solving his soup problem. Now, he's returned the favor by serving soup to all his changeling friends there and now it's spreading like wildfire."

Shining chuckled a little. "When will the soup festival end?"

"Doesn't say," Cadance said. "At least as far as I remember."

"'Changelings Crave for Soup!'" Twilight yelled as she read the newspaper. "What did I just see?!"

"The headline," Spike answered as he wiped wooden table clean, glancing at the massive collection of books in their shelves.

Twilight groaned. "Now the changelings are going crazy as well!"

The double doors opened.

"Are you alright?" Starlight asked as she entered the room. "What's going on? Is there something terrible in the news?"

"If by 'terrible' you mean 'changelings eating soup,' then yes."

Starlight slanted her head a little to the side. "What?"

Discord sat on his sideways couch on the wall as he drank his glass of tea while excluding the tea from being consumed. Meanwhile, in front of him and on the floor and on the ceiling were dancing and singing pillows producing a tune—or, it might have been a tune if it weren't for the lack of tonal harmony.

Discord snapped his claw and newspapers appeared at his side. Grabbing one without looking, he scanned it, his eyes moving fast from left to right then back to the left.

"'Yakyakistan Seeks Better Relations with Griffonstone.'"

He put on his funny glasses—a pair of glasses with an attached fake mustache on it—and read the informational article.

"So, the Evening Edition of the Ponyville Express has this headline: 'Changelings and Soup: What's Going On?'" Princess Celestia floated the newspaper back on to the table as she and her sister stood in front of the railings of the balcony which oversaw a palatial view and vantage of Canterlot with the setting sun overhead.

She giggled.

"There is nothing serious about it?" Princess Luna inquired. "Just an innocent event of much soup?"

Celetsia casually nodded. "It's comforting, really. Almost everyday, it's something that's of great concern to lots of creatures that make it on to the headlines and rightfully so. But, the special pieces such as this—they sure know how to cheer ponies up when they least expect it."

Luna, smiling, levitated the newspaper to her. She skimmed through the headline piece with Celestia watching at her side.

It was night. The moon and the stars were again in the dark blue sky.

Balloons, streamers, confetti—all these and yet even more party decorations littered the hive as not one but multiple super long tables of soup filled that open area of the hive. Changelings were going around, partying as they danced, sang, acted impromptu, made crafts that had some sort of relation to soup—they made wooden bowls, for example. Even the guards, watching over the event with keen eyes and other senses, had bowls of soup nearby.

Thorax was in a conga line of other changelings, dancing in beat and in tune to the simplistic music being played by a band on a raised platform. Most of them, including Thorax, were holding bowls of soup in the air.

Pharynx, meanwhile, sighed as he covered his face with both of his hooves, sitting not so far away.

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..."

Inevitable

A changeling held up a picture of a fence to the ponies passing by on the dirt road in the middle of a vast swath of grass. The ponies gave him a declining hoof and they went on their merry way.

Humerus then frowned.

"Sand Side," Humerus begged on his knees, having that desperate position on the wooden floor, "please, I want a fence!"

The yellow pony looked around him—shelves of power tools and construction materials. "Why do you need a fence? I'm just very curious—I've never had a changeling ask me for a fence before, so I assumed you didn't require any."

"But, if I don' get a fence, then—then—"

"You're just becoming hysterical over something trivial," Sand Side said, patting the changeling on the head. "If you want to buy some equipment to help you build a fence, then I'd be more than willing to assist you. But, I'm not going to go out there and sweat all the details in making a fence for you."

"But, they also want—"

"I don't know who 'they' are, but you must've misunderstood what they're saying if you think they're telling you to buy or make a fence based on that picture of yours," Sand Side said, picking the picture up from the ground. "I admit, it's a pretty standard fence—white picket fence."

"So, will you make—"

"No. I'm sorry, but we're limited to only selling you what you need to make a fence; we're not here to make a fence for you becase that's not our expertise."

Humerus's eyes watered; whimpers could be heard.

"Oh, come on! You're not going to cry because you're not going to get yourself a fence, are you? But—here, don't worry." He stooped down to his level and patted him on the back.

The changeling remained silent, his eyes half-open as the tears were held back. Finally, he spoke: "B-but...I could...I w-want to..."

"So, what I'm going to teach you is called 'guerrilla gardening,'" Thorax began as he stood in front of rows of changelings seated on no seats but the mostly rocky ground. Behind him was a cragged wall that curved the sunlight into something that beheld the audience with its ethereal, unholdable rays. "I know, it sounds very weird, maybe even dangerous. But, don't worry—it's completely innocent, if not a bit unexpected for those who, uh, aren't expecting it."

He gave an awkward smile before continuing.

"So, you may be asking yourself, 'What is guerrilla gardening?'"

A changeling raised his hoof.

"Yes, Ecto?"

"But, I'm not asking myself that," the changeling declared.

Thorax scrunched his face. "Uh, that is why I added the word 'may' because I can't tell if you are asking yourself. It's a qualifier."

Ecto nodded his head and lowered his hoof.

"Alright, I'll just tell you what guerrilla gardening is. Guerrilla gardening is gardening in places other than your own home. You might be saying to yourself, 'But, Thorax, that's illegal!' First, as your King, I declare it to not be illegal in the Changeling Hive."

"So, you're saying that it's legal now?" Ecto asked, raising his hoof again.

"Yes, Ecto. It's legal."

"Now?"

"Now."

"Not later."

"Not later, Ecto."

"As in, I can just plant a plant now?"

"Why not?"

And Ecto made a shallow hole on the dirt inside the plant pot he just brought out and planted a budding tulip on it. He patted the dirt, flattening it and then brought a watering can and doused the flower in generous measures of water. He placed the watering can on the ground and smiled a content smile.

The rest of the changelings, including Thorax, looked surprised at that act. "I...didn't know you were that prepared."

"I happened to have a pot and a flower at hoof."

Thorax nodded his head. "You were almost correct, but you bought the pot yourself. Right? I hope you didn't steal it."

"I bought the pot myself."

"And, you picked the tulip from some public pathway here?'

Ecto nodded.

"So, that's not guerrilla gardening."

"OK, why?"

"You bought the pot so it's your property. You're not planting it somewhere outside of your property."

Ecto nodded again. "I see. I have made a potted plant, though, so I am happy with myself on that front."

Then, every changeling's gaze was now upon Thorax again.

A bit of silence between the king and his subjects.

"To help you understand guerrilla gardening more, I'll tell you why ponies usually participate in guerrilla gardening. Some do it because they want to—maybe it's their talent. There is no questioning with that. Some do it on accident—maybe they planted some trees a bit too far away from their lawn and it's already growing in someone else's lawn. Some do it because they want to send a signal to a pony in authority—and they want to send it in a way other than words. Some do it to spruce up their local community; and, who doesn't like that?

"Guerrilla gardening, beyond that, is up to you. You could go out and plant whatever as long as it's not something poisonous or toxic. Also, please don't annoy others while you're guerrilla gardening."

The changelings then erupted into a clamor of questions, suggestions, and exclamations all mixed up into nonsense. There weren't that many arguments—just a flood of too many statements directed at the overwhelmed Thorax as he was being approached by more than several changelings.

"Uh, could you calm down?" Thorax ordered in a shy way. "I can't hear what you're saying if you're all speaking at the same time, guys!"

The changelings quieted down and stayed where they were.

More silence.

"Phew!" Thorax wiped the sweat off of his face. "Let's try to have some sort of line here, OK? Actually—no, not a line. That's too strict. Alright, what about everyone huddle up together around me—that way, all of you will feel nice and cozy and friendly with each other as you tell me and the rest of us here what you have to say about this new thing."

And, so they did. The changelings shuffled, shifted, or shimmied their way to random places around the king. Chatter rose from the formation of a changeling circle, talk being their first thoughts and impressions about guerrilla gardening—unbuilt yet said, anyway.

Then, they finally sat down, all of them.

Quiet once more.

"Let's start with you, Cornicle!" Thorax said, pointing at the blue changeling who was raising his hoof.

Cornicle gave a big grin. He stood up. "Where did you get that idea, Thorax?"

"Well, I got it when I went to Canterlot last week and noticed that some ponies wearing hats were planting some foiliage at a park. I thought they were the park's gardeners so I asked them how their job was going for them. One of them told me—Wellington, I think—that they weren't the park's gardeners but they were some tourists from Trottingham. He then told me that, back when he was a colt, he planted more than a hundred cabbages in his home town in the middle of a huge vacant lot. Nopony there, uh, expected it and ponies from all over the region and even from the rest of Equestria travelled to see the Wellington Cabbages of Trottingham. When it was time to harvest the cabbages, the entire city celebrated with a large festival filled with music and food and parties and other kinds of activities. After he told the story, Wellington told me to read up on the subject of guerrilla gardening at the local library, and that's what I did. Did you know that, though nopony knows who was the first to do that, it was a pony named 'Apple—'"

Then, he covered his mouth.

"Uh, I think I went on too far on that line of thought. So, anyone else?"

A few more raised their hooves.

Humerus arrived at the hive, passing through stony, rough walls and their lovely, graceful vines and moss and bushes and other plants. His ears were flayed, his head was hanging, and his face was downcast.

The changeling passed by several more who were busy with their potted plants. Preparing the pot, bringing dirt inside the pot, planting the plant, watering it—all of this was taking place inside the hive and all of this Humerus did not take notice of as he walked in that somber, sober gait.

"Oh, Humerus!" Thorax said, turning away from his plot of flowers and looking at the changeling in question. "You're late for guerrilla gardening! Where's the rest of your friends? I'll explain it all later, but I'll teach you and—"

Then, Thorax's smile disappeared.

"Oh. You're not that excited are you?"

Humerus glumly shook his head, eyes closed.

"That doesn't sound so good." He beckoned him with a hoof. "Here. Come here and tell me what's wrong, Humerus."

And Humerus stepped his way there. Then, he sat down beside the seated Thorax.

"What's going on?" Thorax asked in a quiet, caring voice. "Did someone hurt you or punch you? Did you hurt yourself?"

Humerus shook his head.

"Did somepony not accept you wanting to be his friend?"

Humerus shook his head.

"Then, what's wrong?"

Silence.

A whimper. A sniffle.

Thorax held his shoulder. "Are...are you going to...?"

Then, Humerus cried. He lunged himself into a despondent hug, embracing Thorax with arms and tears.

Thorax opened his mouth, not saying anything as he looked on at the sky with a look of sympathy.

Of sorrow.

"Let it out," Thorax whispered, his gaze still skyward. "Let it out. Don't hide it—let it all out, Humerus."

The crying went on, turning into a howling that pierced whatever semblance of normalcy was left. This was no respecting outburst—this was a bitter mourning, a wailing of dismay as tears flowed down his drenched face, oceans of agony in those tears.

The changelings gardening stopped and looked. Their happy faces were gone, instead replaced with faces of shock. All held their shovels and other gardening tools, not moving any of them as they watched him sob.

It was a still moment, a moment broken by the misery.

"It's going to be alright, Humerus," Thorax said, patting Humerus on the head. "It's going to be alright. Everything is going to be OK. We'll work it out—just tell us what happened."

But Humerus did not tell him what happened. Instead, he continued his grief, flooding the air with that expression of his affliction.

Thorax looked at the sobbing changeling.

Thorax hung his own head down.

A small secluded place. Filled with sunlight although no one was in view. Out there, past the short wall, an enormous territory of arid brown ground, the rest of the what surrounded the hive.

The only ones there were Thorax, Humerus, Blue Alarm, Red Noise, and Neon Guard—the latter three watching their friend crying.

"How did this happen?" Neon Guard asked, having a surprise's trace. "I saw him earlier this morning and he was OK. He was chipper and his usual self."

"That's the thing," Thorax said. "It's not his usual self." He looked at the still sobbing changeling. "Humerus, your friends are already here. Tell whatever you want to tell to them—it'll never be solved unless you tell them."

Humerus gave him a glance. Then, he turned around to see his friends.

Not one of them was smiling. Even Red Noise had an open mouth, displaying only a confused sadness.

"Humerus, we're not going to be mad at you if you let us know what's bothering you," Blue Alarm said, walking to him and placing a hoof around his head. "We've been through ups and downs before, and we'll not let this problem get the better of you, Humerus."

He sniffed and wiped away a tear from his struggling eyes. "Y-you will?"

Blue Alarm nodded.

So did Neon Guard and Red Noise.

"T-then, i-its about—" A choking of tears "—it's a-about—I thought—my t-time, going away!"

Everyone else looked at each other, giving each other solemn yet puzzled looks.

"You don't have to go away," Red Noise spoke up, walking to his friend and placing a firm hoof on his shoulder. "Besides, you can also go wherever you want to go with us."

"I-it's not that!" Humerus managed past the whimpers. "The past—I can never ch-change!"

"Hm?" Neon Guard then walked to him, now standing beside Blue Alarm and Red Noise. "What's with the past? Is there something wrong with—"

"I've wasted time!" Humerus shouted, his voice cracking. "Those thoughts—I regret a-all that I've done for Chrysalis—am I t-too late to say that? I've heard o-others talk—cry—but I th-thought that I would just s-stay happy and have f-fun!"

Silence. Listening.

"H-how old am I?"

Silence.

"How old am I?!"

"Twenty-three," Red Noise spoke, shivering a little.

"I've lived twenty-three years of my l-life, most of them under a deception! A lie! At l-least o-others were j-just minding their o-own business—I wanted w-what the ponies had. You know—I k-kept quiet about it, but it dragged me to anguish j-just thinking about the m-many things ponies could do—and t-they a-always smiled—h-happy! W-when I h-heard y-you, Thorax—a-abandoning the h-hive—I shed a t-tear, hoping you w-would s-save us! I also k-knew you were e-experiencing everything ponies had to o-offer—f-freedom, peace, everything! I kept wanting and yearning for it, d-dreaming but it w-wasn't even the d-dreams that Princess L-Luna gives—just d-daydreaming, l-longing for that day e-even though I th-thought you w-would never come back. I d-didn't want to l-lose hope—i-infiltration m-made me think o-of those we were s-stealing from—I s-saw all they owned with th-their houses and their j-joy. B-but, what did I do? Evil! I kn-knew th-there wasn't something r-right about what w-we were doing—was i-it the ponies' voices? Or, w-was it just m-me, knowing a-above all t-that—bad!"

Flailed arms.

"I've wasted almost twenty-three years of my life trapped b-by her! At the b-back of m-my mind, I knew—I knew—that th-there is something b-better than doing this g-great evil on innocent cr-creatures who d-did n-nothing w-wrong t-to us! W-why w-were we always hungry? I kn-know n-now, but I didn't b-back then—I a-asked! The p-ponies never got h-hungry in m-my e-eyes! I sh-should've s-seen—she was never h-hungry a-and—and—and—"

Descent to crying; covered eyes, streaming rivers of tears.

And that was the only sound that they heard. No hoofsteps, no buzzing or flapping of wings, no cart or wagon wheels creaking and rolling, no words at all.

Only crying.

A tear went down Thorax's cheek.

Blue Alarm's face had a few drops of tears. So did Neon Guard.

Red Noise—his eyes were watery, open mouth though the only sound that came out of his mouth was a single sound—close to whimpering of his own.

Blue Alarm hugged Humerus.

Then, Red Noise.

Then, Neon Guard.

Then, Thorax.

A hug, an embrace of love, of understanding, of sympathy, of tender care.

Silent words passed by, comfort being given.

Humerus cried in that hug.

In the midst of that friendly affection, Blue Alarm made a small smile and said:

"Now I really know why you're always happy."

Months ago

Humerus was silent as he stood on a sharp crest of solid ground which overlooked the swarm of newly reformed changelings gleaming in their carapaces' nascent splendor, wings and eyes glittering and sparkling of newborn sight. Happy faces all occupied with that of smiles, grins, and beams—laughter, camaraderie, friendly revelry of hugs, hoofbumps, high-fives, hoofshakes—greetings, jokes, newly-found chat that took shape in growing forms as changelings attempted to create a real and truly chummy talk. It did not matter to them that what they were standing amidst were fragments—debris—of their home; the collapsed and shattered ruins gave way to what was, to them, a new life.

The changeling's mouth quivered, blinking his eyes rapidly and slapping himself on the face. "I-I—I must be dreaming. It can't be that simple—it's all so sudden! No—it c-can't be true! I'm just living a delusional dream—I'll wake up and it'll all be back to a horrible, terrible normal—b-but, I want this to be real." He stretched out his hoof towards the united—or, rather, reunited—mass of changelings before him, all moving about in renewed vigor and strength as could be seen by the vivid flows and actions of their hooves and bodies, a part of which was that wide smile.

"B-but—i-is it really real this time? Am I r-really awake? D-does this mean that...it's over? W-we're free?"

He looked at his green hoof—a whole hoof. The changeling turned around to see his flashy wings—whole and shiny.

"C-could this be reality? I th-think s-so!"

He turned around back to see the many happy changelings on the ground, continuing their whirl of fresh life.

A step forward, closer to the edge.

He spread his wings again.

Another step forward, now half a hoof over open air.

Humerus looked up at the sky.

It was blue, the orange clouds indicating that it was becoming late afternoon. More importantly, however, were the changelings flying free in that sky—not in restrained paths and controlled patrols but in liberating motions whether it was flittering wings' casual stroll or intense aerial tricks like a loop—or somewhere in between.

Humerus opened his mouth, grinning. His eyes were wide open in pure anticipation. His wings were already spread open.

"Whoo!"

He flew.

He was flying over the crowd of probable friends—in his mind, they were now definitely going to be certain friends. A few waved at him from below as he felt the wind's rush and heard the buzzing of his own wings—a new buzz of a rising melody, of a song only beginning in its prelude before its proper thundering introduction to be heralded not by an orchestra complete with strings, woodwind, brass, and percussion but by a harmony of similar buzzes—similar pairs of wings—joined together in the air, displaying for all to see and for all to hear that magnificent victory over a brutal past, that sight and first day's experience of exuberating liveliness—of a new life.

Humerus landed on the ground, not returning to the short cliff he was on earlier but straight on to the changeling throng. In the middle of it all—a flurry of activity—he took on a face of confusion before lightening up, smiling as he heard it all:

"Hey, Cornicle!"

"I could finally say 'Good morning' to everyone!"

"I don't feel hungry anymore! I think I'll get used to this 'sharing love' thing."

"Thorax is so cool! To act so mean to him before—"

"Where's everyone else? I want to thank those three other heroes—we should call them 'Heroes of the Changelings' along with Thorax!"

"There's so many things we can now do! Imagine it all: we can paint, we can sing, we can read adventure novels, we can just hang out with each other and—be friends!"

"Equestria really does look beautiful. I want to travel there now that I think they're going to be nice to us!"

"This joy—I can only seek to spread it even more!"

"Where are they? Now, we can be actual friends and not just buddies in the same brood. The memories we'll make together—waking up everyday to see each other's faces when we go outside, the picnics and the parties we'll throw for each other with food that we make with our own skills, the gifts we'll give to each other and maybe we'll make those gifts, too; also, just the idea of friendship! It's the first time I'll really get to meet them, to know them! Does Ocelli like pursuing a field of chemistry? Or, maybe he wants to just spend time making some street in some town look more beautiful with trees and flowers? What about Forewing? He probably wants to study history—I remember him telling me about how interesting Equestria's history would be. Maybe he also likes to skydive. Wait, that doesn't make sense. We're changelings—silly me! We can fly!"

"Humerus?"

His ears perked up. "Blue Alarm?"

He turned around.

There the three were: Blue Alarm, Red Noise, Neon Guard.

"We've been looking all over for you again, Humerus," Blue Alarm said. "Don't go wandering off like that when we're not looking."

Humerus smiled. "I'm so glad to see you again, guys!"

"Uh, then why did you go away from us?" Red Noise asked, sounding perplexed.

"Oh, I was just admiring the view and, well, enjoying everything else, really!" Humerus said, getting giddier and more excited with each second. "I say that we explore the boundaries of what a changeling can do!"

"Wow!" Neon Guard expressed. "You're in a sprightly mood today."

"Who isn't?!" Humerus yelled, spreading his front hooves wide. "Look around, friends! Everyone here can do wahtever they want whenever they want however they want for whoever they want! No useless rules to lock me down, no sir!" He shook his head. "I'm a free changeling, and I'll make sure all of us get to do everything we can do together as friends—no, more than run-of-the-mill friends! We're best friends and I'm delcaring it right now!"

Then, he hugged all of them in a single bound.

Looks of surprise were on their faces.

Then, they hugged him back.

"I love you guys!" Humerus yelled.

"Best friends forever, I guess!" Red Noise responded.

"I won't forget this moment," Neon Guard said.

Blue Alarm was silent—but, his smile was wide.

Then, he said something: "Looks like everything is going to end up alright."

In the present

"What's with the fence?" Thorax asked.

"I think that was his breaking point," Blue Alarm said. "He didn't talk much about his freedom because, I guess, he didn't need to."

Back in the past

The four changelings were huddled together in the crowd, among them yet somehow separate as some space was around them. They were laughing, telling jokes to each other. They were exchanging stories—well, not that many stories for there weren't that many good-natured ones to begin with. They were speaking their own plans to each other, what they plan to do over the next few weeks. Then, they conveyed the rest of their thoughts—views, opinions, descriptions, curiosities, even mere trivia. Then, after a few minutes, laughter erupted onced again from the four changelings.

Then, they embraced.

Closed eyes, big smiles.

Flashback to That Time

That time, months ago again

A big bonfire was at the center of the hive—or, what remained of the hive, that is.

It was night and it only accentuated the barrenness, the desolation, of the otherwise empty land. Gust of dust, mites and bites to escape; watchful, wary, wondering eyes taking bounds here and there with a tiny tremble for only changelings were here.

Only changelings. Colorful against the scenery's dominating gray and brown, glimmering and sparkling in their wings and eyes and carapaces as they reflected—reminiscent of the moon—the lights in the sky and the fire in front.

The ashy smell—but, the changelings still rejoiced as they sang, dance, talked, flew, walked. A scrambled party, but it was a party nonetheless—no balloons nor confetti nor fun music on a vinyl player, but the changelings paid no mind to that as could be seen by the smiles that persisted despite the lack of what may be called "party essentials."

A sound that rose up for no one else but the passing pegasus to hear, and, even then, the pegasus that was passing by right now took a little detour away from the hive, panic on her face.

On the ruins—shattered pieces—of the hive some changelings sat, not contemplating on what to do next or what the future might hold but singing merry songs and chatting with each other in a lively manner. A few beside them were already sleeping upright but the happy tumult around them was not rousing them up anytime soon.

Around the bonfire, several changelings were engaged in more of the party activities mentioned—sure, some of the dancing was awkward and some of the singing was out of tune, but it was all endured as could be seen by the changelings still happy in their smiles.

Standing beside some of his own fellows, Thorax looked upon the bonfire. The fire gleamed in his eyes, a smile graced his face. No words were said, no hissing was made; all Thorax did was to look away from the fire and to behold the many changelings now revelling in their new-found freedom, in their new life.

Farther away from Thorax and the bonfire, those four changelings were huddled together again, gathered around, all wearing smiles—an air of curiosity and questions, though.

Neon Guard clasped his front hooves together. "I still can't believe it. I was expecting something slow, but, here we are!" He spread out his front hooves as if inviting a hug. "It's a brand new day, and we're charging into the known unknown, guys. Everything out there—" He stretched out a hoof toward the forests not too far away, straddling between lush greenery and arid emptiness "—is open to us, to all of us. Tomorrow is going to be a great day, and I know it—what will be the first thing we will do when we finish the work Thorax gave us?"

"I know, right?!" Humerus yelled. "There's lots of things that I can imagine and there are more that I can't even imagine right now! I still remember what they were doing back when we were disguising ourselves—but, I just know that there's more I haven't heard of yet!"

"Hey, calm down, Humerus!" Red Noise said, placing a hoof on his shoulder and restraining him. "Let the rest of us talk, OK?"

Humerus nodded, grinning. "I'll happily wait—besides, the four of us probably know more than just me!"

Blue Alarm smiled, turning to face Neon Guard. "So, things to do tomorrow? We could go out to Dodge Junction—little steps first. See how the ponies there live without having to hide ourselves under a pony name and pony form."

"Are you sure they'll be welcoming, Blue Alarm?" Neon Guard asked.

"I think so, rationally speaking. Dodge Junction, being the closest pony village to us, has to be kind to us—and, from what I remember from my missions there, they're kind if not rougher than the usual pony. Those ponies don't want to destroy any plans that the Princesses may have in regards to helping us. That would make more than just a few other ponies angry, not to mention hurt more than a few of us changelings."

"Good point," Neon Guard said, leaning back. He turned to Red Noise. "You—anything to add to the list of activities?"

"I don't know about you, but I'm prepped up for an Equestria-wide travel trip!" Red Noise suggested in a blare. "I was so famished and desperate for food during our infilitrations before that I didn't care about what Equestria looked like at all—unless it helped me steal somepony's love. Now that we're fine and full, I say we go everywhere in Equestria! I hope cameras aren't too expensive."

Neon Guard nodded, placing a hoof on his chin. "I don't know about cameras, but that's a nice idea. Not now, though—like what Blue Alarm said, little steps first." Then, he turned to Humerus. "What about you?"

"I have no idea!" Humerus shouted in happy joy.

Neon Guard tilted his head in confusion. "Uh, what?"

"I wanna be surprised!" Humerus went on, extending his hooves out into the open air, smiling while he did so. "There must be so many things to do in any city of ponies! I don't think anything ponies are doing is boring—even just reading a book or painting a wall is so exciting compared to having to suffer a lot for a daily portion of food that isn't even enough! And, what's the best part of it? I get to do it with all of you! Thorax looked happy when he was enjoying all the friendships he had with ponies. That's the best part of it! I get to do things with you!"

And he gathered them together in a hug.

Silence within the group as they enjoyed each other's friendly company.

Then, they let go of each other, Humerus laughing.

Neon Guard sighed. "I have to agree with you. That is the best part of all these sudden changes in our lives. And, really, anything is possible with us now that we can do, uh, anything." He made a sheepish smile before going on: "Gone are those times of strife and never-ending hunger. Now, before us we have something great: freedom."

"Yeah!" Humerus shouted. "Precious freedom!" He raised a hoof in the air.

Neon Guard nodded. "Let me finish, Humerus.

"So, where was I? Oh, right, talking about freedom. As long as we obey Thorax, we'll do everything that we want to do, see what we've been missing out on. We shouldn't be afraid to ask the ponies about what to do—two ponies helped save us, after all. Think about it: a civilization built not on war but on peace. What did they develop and invent throughout the centuries? What kind of jobs do they have, what kind of relaxation and recreation do they have? I'm sure all of us have solid ideas about what they are because I know all of us had to do some eavesdropping and we overheard strange terms like 'sports' and 'Daring Do' and the like. But, we'll finally get to see what they are. In short, I'm just as excited about this as you are."

His friends smiled.

"And, to think that this day was going to end just as any other would!" Humerus yelled. "I should've known something was suspicious when Thorax wanted to give himself up to Chrysalis!"

"Good thing it was the good kind of suspicious," Blue Alarm said. "I'd rather start anew with sharing love than to continue on stealing love knowing that it was all based on a ruse and an evil lie."

And his friends nodded in agreement.

"Thorax may be king," Red Noise spoke up, "but he's much better than Chrysalis!"

"Alright, let's wind down now, guys," Neon Guard said, holding up his front hooves. "We still have a few more hours of partying to do so, what, let's get to the bonfire and sing?"

"Sing?" Blue Alarm asked. "But, we never sang before."

"Who said you needed to sing at all until now?" Neon Guard asked back.

It was still night. The bonfire was gone, the ruins were still there, and most of the changelings were asleep, breathing slowly but surely as they dozed off the remaining hours until the expected morning. A few were flying about, looking here and there before moving about to a new location.

Blue Alarm stood alone on that crest, that cliff. But, he wasn't looking at the many sleeping changelings. Rather, he was looking at the forests beyond the hive—the trees, the bushes, the grass, the nocturnal animals he could see such as the owls and the crickets hooting and chirping.

He sighed. "This is it. The day has arrived. Chrysalis is gone, Thorax is here. We're done with stealing love, we're with sharing love now. We're no longer hungry—now, we can live in peace. We can be really happy now."

The blue changeling sighed again, glancing at the changelings sleeping. Then, he turned back, looking at the forest. "Beyond these trees is Equestria. Ah, Equestria—a beautiful kingdom of many wonderful inhabitants, shining in their success. I don't know its full history—it started small and humble, I am sure of that. But, how you've turned into a society that cares for more than just surviving and taking. In fact, I think it threw away the 'taking' part some time ago."

He took a few steps toward the forest, the hooting and chriping becoming a little louder.

"I remember the faces—the loving ponies who never suspected a thing. To see their smiles, to hear their cheery voices and accents, to see them play under the sun in their innocence, to listen to them say words of love to me—to who they thought was their lover, their husband, their dad, their friend. How cruel was I keep up that facade—I could say I didn't know, but I know that it isn't enough. I did feel something different and strange when they said those words to me—I knew they weren't fake. They were true—from a good heart, an honest heart. To play with their feelings like that, to deceive them until I had gotten enough—"

He clenched his jaw, he gritted his teeth.

A tear.

"It was terrible. Now that I think about it, I was more than just mean. I was vicious. I should've known—I should've run away like Thorax did, but I didn't know better. Chrysalis—it's unbelievable that she was lying to us all along, telling us that it was for the good of the hive that we were stealing the love of this town or that city. No—just her, giving us only what was enough for us to stay alive."

A stomp on the ground.

Silence, only broken by the crickets now.

"And then what? What is it all for? Was she just leeching off of us? Then, what would happen when she has enough—or was our never-ending hunger because of her? If she only shared...yes, shared. She was selfish all along."

A few more steps toward the forest.

"But, now, I don't have to keep up a lie. I don't have to say false things, false words—I didn't really love those ponies, did I? Just saying, 'I love you.'" He sighed. "I didn't really mean those words. Just to make sure that they would continue trusting me as the pony I was pretending to be. I knew that if I showed my true colors, not a single pony would like me—but, did I really care back then?"

Then, he sat down on the ground and sighed, looking up and seeing the stars that twinkled there—the moon shone bright, his eyes glinting with its soft light.

"It's over, now," Blue Alarm said. "That's it. It's a new day tomorrow, I don't really know what we're going to do past the rebuilding effort. I'm sure Thorax has the answers—the Princesses, too. They'll tell us what's up next—what's there to look forward to.

"And then, there's the freedom. It's so big—I don't know what to do with it. Should I invent something? Should I study and research, throw myself in there? Be a tourist and see what Equestria and the rest of the kingdoms look like? It's going to be an awesome time—just like how they would say it. If anything is possible, then I don't know, really, what to do since there's so many things that fit 'anything.' I don't know everything about pony culture, pony traditions—more than enough to help myself in stealing their love, but we're past that."

He paused, looking intently at the sky.

"The day and the night—I almost forgot that the Princesses of Equestria control the skies and what's in them. Come to think of it, they're the ones with the greatest martial potential. The Earth ponies have inconsiderable physical strength, the pegasi can control and weaponize the weather, the unicorns have a mastery over all sorts of offensive and defensive magic, and the alicorn Princesses themselves—the thought of controlling the sun and the moon to turn the tide of battle! We can be the subversive selves we've always been before, but enough brute force can break that, too.

"And, look at how they use that enormous power—not wielding it over others, not imposing others to submit or to be slaves, but to use it for friendship. And, look at where they are now—the pinnacle of civility, advances, and progress. Us?" He placed a hoof on his own chest. "The outside intruders who use their unique abilities to raid, to take, to run away with what we can get."

The changeling continued his sitting position, still looking up at the sky as he breathed out yet another sigh.

It was a quiet, lonely night for him. No one was around him, nobody near him except the crickets who had been hopping ever so inchingly closer to him. Blue Alarm's ears perked up at their noise—a faint song appearing through.

Then, he saw one of them.

Right there, in front of him, its eyes like his as it kept chirping.

He held the cricket up.

Examined it, observed it.

Placed it down.

The cricket walked away.

The changeling watched it move.

Then, he looked up at the sky again.

"It's said that it will be a new day tomorrow." He chuckled. "And, I don't wanna wake up late for that."

He hovered over the air and travelled back to the crowd of sleeping changelings.

In the morning

The morning sun pierced the sky with its sharp rays of soothing, shining light.

The hive—broken, destroyed—was under the rejuvenating day in its first hour of life, under sunrise's warm glow and cool early breeze bending the grass and the trees with their leaves.

One by one, several by several, changelings woke up to the auroras above—blue and yellow playing around in the horizon, dressed in dormant clouds as it danced around that bright sun. Distant mountains gave the sky a fair image, bringing pretty distinction to the landscape. The forests came alive with the cadent melodies of brids and the sprawling of woodlife—rabbits, butterflies, ducks, bears, and so on. Though the bleak dryness of the hive's surroundings had not gone away, even that was somewhat improved by the morning hours as the light brought upon it its fresh zest of life. All of this was accompanied and completed by the buzzing of changeling wings.

However, as a changeling said after a moment's contemplation of what was laid before him, this morning "doesn't look that different to me!"

And, so it was. He went on, "I woke up yesterday and the day before that and the days and months and years before that to the same old morning. So, what's different?" There was in his words, however, not a scathing doubt but a curious, wanting desire for an answer.

Other than the hive now being in a bad shape, there was, at least on the surface, not much difference between this morning and the previous one. The same forest was there, the same animals lived there, the same sky was there with the expected and understandable variation of clouds. The mountains, too, had not moved in as if on short notice. The barren ground around them had not moved a single meter at all; not even a flower had sprouted in the middle of the night. The breeze was also there—it could be said that it was there on schedule. Even the buzzing of the changelings' wings was still there.

But, within the words and the sentences they exchanged with one another, their talk was indeed different. Instead of planning yet another attack or stealthy skrimish, instead of moaning and complaining about the hunger that never went away, instead of hidden whispers about what one might do to bring about some semblance of reform (often with guarded looks and ever-glancing eyes side-to-side and never in the open spaces)—instead of all these, there was in them talk about a hopeful future.

It could be said the non-stop, incessant talking was painful to listen to after a while, even intolerable, for there was no pause or break to the fast track of desires, longings, dreams, and optimistic and amibitious ideas. Yet, these were all conveyed by changelings who, with no fail, smiled and smiled and kept on smiling no matter where they were, regularly eyeing the wonderful, wondrous morning sky with its restoring visage.

Blue Alarm stood among the many changelings who were hurrying to this or that spot, hastening to this or that friend that they've met before yet, now—now was the time to truly be friends with them. Hugs, embraces, pats on the torso or on the shoulder or on the head, hoofshakes and hoofbumps and laughter all around as harmony sparked up inside them.

"Blue Alarm!" a voice called out.

The blue changeling looked around.

"It's about time you woke up!" Red Noise blabbed, pointing a chummy hoof at him as he stood his rocky ground. "We have like thirty or so minutes left until Thorax makes his announcement about what we'll do for the day! Then, we're going to have those 'free days' and 'free time' he's been talking about."

"Yeah; as you can see, Red Noise, I'm awake." He gave him a smirk.

"Don't you go acting that way to me!" Red Noise yelled. "Only I can do that!"

"Then, what else? Are you going to say that I can't go and fly about because it's something only you can do?"

Red Noise groaned. "Just—come here and let's regroup with Neon Guard and Humerus, alright, buddy?"

"Alright, friend," Blue Alarm responded, flying alongside him.

Red Noise had a strange look on his face. "Huh. Looks like I'll have to get used to calling you 'friend.' Friend. Hm."

So, the red changeling placed a hoof on his chin as the two of them flew.

Curriculums, Blunders, Ignorance, and Sunlight-Infused Chocolate

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."

The Method Mares

A rising noise from a gathering, forming crowd.

Blue Alarm's ears perked up and he looked. He hovered between walls and rocky spires, over the stony ground, and simply flapped his wings over several fellow changelings as they gazed upon the approaching party.

Walking between bushes and on the dirt path was a group—a troupe—of ponies in chic clothes: sweaters, coats, berets and another trendy casual hat, and black shades that obscured and covered the eyes of two of the ponies. Two stallions, two mares—flashes of the camera did not make them flinch, never straying away from their serious faces.

"It's the Method Mares!" a voice shouted.

Yet none of them looked at that changeling's direction.

Blue Alarm did not smile nor did he frown. He only placed a hoof on his chin and scratched it. "This is going to be very interesting."

Changelings in other kinds of hats and glasses and also in none were pressing their way to the famed four who were handling the entire situation with unspoken grace and professionalism—that is, they just kept quiet and kept walking. They did not concede to the demands of "I want your signatures and those other things that famous ponies do with their writing instruments!" as one changeling shouted. They just kept moving along and that was that.

Farther ahead, several changelings—who had already caught sight of them—sweated profusely as they doubled the pace on the rough stage work: wooden stage of nailed planks, homemade light stands to brighten up the performance, a few curtains here and there to control the sunlight, another curtain to cover the backstage, and a rack of costumes laying nearby. Rush of wheels and hooves and wings—there they went off, panic in their words as they were unsteady—stammers and hesitations and repetitions.

Blue Alarm looked around in the active mess he was in—a rabbling and troublesome crowd about to step on significant ponies, a hurried and somewhat unfinished stage over there, and several more changelings were flying in to add to the problem.

"I'm sure they know what they're doing," Blue Alarm said. "The Method Mares have survived far worse, probably."

An hour later, there the changelings were at the "seats."

The "seats" consisted of the open floor in front of the stage.

The chatter was only growing as time went on, ticking by. Two of the changelings who were just arriving were none other than King Thorax himself along with his brother Pharynx—who had a slight disdain on his face.

"So, you've mentioned this 'entertainment' aspect of the hive," Pharynx said, accenting his words a little. "Why do you think it's going to help the hive again?"

"We don't worry about food and safety anymore for the most part," Thorax said. "We've got our friendships and relationships up and running—usually." He said, making yet another sheepish smile before bursting into a cackle.

Pharynx slapped his brother in the face.

"Ow!

"That's for leaving me in the dirt to take care of that soup changeling!"

Thorax was rubbing his cheek. "You know, that hurt!"

"It's gonna go away," Pharynx said. "Now, tell me again why this play and entertainment is going to help the hive instead of to hurt it?"

Thorax rubbed his cheek a little more then, after giving his older brother a glare—to which Pharynx only snorted—Thorax went on: "What else are we going to do? We're not struggling to stay alive, we're not suffering to keep ourselves safe, and we have more than enough love to share to create lasting friendships. So, what are one of the ways to help that friendship propser and develop?"

"Letting some ponies do a bad job at pretending?"

"They're not bad, Pharynx," Thorax said.

"I've seen some of them try," Pharynx said. "They only have a surface level understanding of how true acting works."

"Pharynx, I'm not saying that they're trying to shape-shift and mimic others," Thorax said. "All I'm saying is that they're going to act—they're going to be a part of a play which will bring in good memories to all of us who will watch the show. Then, we're going to talk about it, take pictures of ourselves enjoying the moment, and we'll all fondly remember it days and months and years afterward as a time of bonding."

Then, they took their "seats" in the middle of the crowd, surrounded by various changelings who were all egnaged in their own conversations and discussions, sometimes dragging in another changeling into their own talk and topic.

"Well, I can't stand watching them be so bad at our talent," Pharnyx commented. "I don't think I can stay here and watch a full performance."

"Come on!" Thorax said, poking him with a hoof. "You're not going to miss out on anything if you watch."

A few seconds of silence.

Then, a groan. "Fine, Thorax. But, this is only because you desperately wanted me to watch."

Thorax grinned. "That's great!"

Pharynx groaned again and looked away from his brother and toward the stage. "This is gonna be one fun night."

Outside of the two brothers' conversation, there were other changelings involved in other discourses. Over there was a changeling wearing a top hat and some black shades, gesturing a hoof to himself as he smiled and gave a small smile to all who were paying attention to him.

"It's outrageous and astounding—the prices!" the hatted and shaded changeling exclaimed, having—or imitating—a haughty, high-falutin accent. "I didn't buy these myself, but they don't feel like a thousand bits to me."

"Maybe if you bought them, Ptery!" another changeling replied, pointing at his hat. "Maybe you'll feel their worth!"

"It's going to take me months to accumulate all those bits!" Ptery said. "Even then, I have other things I want to buy! I like to buy food—"

"Doesn't everyone here like food?" some other changeling shot at him.

"What do you know about everyone here?" Ptery shot back. "Did you personally ask every single one of us here if they liked food?"

That daring changeling locked up, stuttering. "Uh, uh, I...d-didn't, b-b-but th-that—"

Ptery looked up and pointed his chin at the stuttering changeling. "Then, you have no right to say those things."

"But, you don't have to ask literally everyone to know that," yet another changeling said, taking the challenge and standing fiercely in front of the fancy changeling.

A few gasps from those around them.

"Hmph!" Ptery tipped his hat a little to the left. "Is that so?"

"We can settle that question with reason!" the betting changeling answered, garnishing his statement with a balled up hoof at the ready.

Ptery sighed, sounding disappointed and annoyed. "Alright." He looked at the changelings behind him. "Who has my papers?"

And a few changelings rushed out.

But, while Ptery and his challenger were preparing for a rational fight over whether it was necessary or not to inquire each and every changeling in the area to know if, truly, everyone there liked food, there was another group of changelings—over here, closer to the front of the stage—talking about the Method Mares themselves.

"I've read up on their history," a changeling with a pair of glasses said, raising a hoof in the air as if to signal the beginning of a speech. "It turns out—they used to be con ponies, some of the worst in Manehattan."

"So, they were bad at conning?" another changeling quipped.

"Uh—no. I should've rephrased that." He cleared his throat. "They were some of the best con ponies in Manehattan."

The changelings around him nodded, looking at each other with smiles. "So, that's why they're so good in what they do now!"

The glassed changeling nodded his head in return. "But, sooner or later, they were caught by the police. In fact, the reason why they're going about doing plays now is because they wanted to do some good for their neighbors, realizing that what they did before was wrong. And, here they are—free of charge!"

Those around him were now stomping the ground in growing affirmation.

"But, you just told us who they used to be," one changeling said, raising a hoof.

"What do you suggest, then?" the glassed changeling asked.

"Who our favorite Method Mare is?!" the changeling replied while throwing his hooves to the air and waving them about.

The chitchat then descended into squabbles and quibbles about who, out of the four Method Mares, was the best one.

Another dialogue was occurring over there, even closer to the stage—right in front of it, with no one between the two changelings talking and the wooden stage.

"Protur?" the yellow changeling spoke. "Are you sure you want to stay here for the rest of the week?"

"Why not, Collem?" Protur, a blue one, said. "There's not much going on outside—no major happenings in any of the major cities."

"But it doesn't have to be anything major," Collem said. "I've learned recently that, if you just take a step back from all the hurrying and dashing to this and that, there's a bit of beauty to be found. Actually, a lot of beauty is to be found by just stopping to catch a breath, seeing the wonders of the hills yonder on the other side of this place." He pointed a hoof past the stage and towards the forested ground beyond the rocky, plant-covered walls.

Protur looked there, too.

"Living does not always consist of being in an awful scramble to work and party. You'll find that living also consists of sitting down and just relaxing—taking in what's there and adoring the charm and the good looks of—"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm tired of all your boring speeches about how beautiful the world is and things like that. You're the one who's driving me to more work! I don't want to be asleep and to do nothing all day!"

Collem sighed.

"I don't want to be known for doing nothing! Of course, I'll sleep and rest once in a while, but I'm not going to rest everyday! That's your excuse—hah! Is that why you were late for crafts time yesterday?"

"Uh..." Collem cleared his throat. "On the contrary—"

"I'm not listening to you!" Protur said, turning his head away from his companion.

And there were more conversations like that throughout the crowd.

Time went on.

Finally, after several more minutes, the curtains were closed, the light was dimmed, the spotlight was on the stage, popcorn was being brought up and served by a changeling in typical popcorn-pony garb: red and white striped shirt with a white, plus a dainty soft cap. The popping of the popcorn did little to bother anyone in the audience which, by now, almost flooded the entire area with several outliers resorting to standing on their four hooves because there was no more room to sit down.

It was almost silent, some changelings whispering to each other and pointing at certain changelings or things.

Then, the curtains opened.

The backdrop for this scene depicted a row of several buildings, uniform in height and style and differing only in how that style was executed—a few trimmings added or subtracted, color schemes in a mixed diversity, and—surely—the ponies who were on some of the windows.

A big stallion with a stubble walked into the scene—holding a few stacks of paper close to his chest. A look here, a look there. Then, he beckoned somepony with a hoof's motion.

A mare then appeared at his side—and she was clothed with a grand gown that sparkled with its glitter and a hat of royal decor.

Whimpers from her—tears drenching her face. She tried to wipe them away, but more came.

The stallion patted her head; on his face was a sulking frown—downcast eyes. "Soon, you'll be safe," he muttered.

Held her close to him.

"For now, don't cry. You have to stay strong."

The mare nodded, answering in unworded words—a moan, a sob.

The stallion, holding her close, looked about him, regaining his vigilant pose. "Come on, this way."

The two ponies leapt and bounded on the fake sidewalk, whizzing by the detailed background.

Then, it was only the background, the backdrop for a while.

Another stallion stepped into view.

He had a curly mane and a curly tail. His coat was orange, his clothes were a jacket and a coat and a tie and a pair of shades, and his mouth curled upward.

"Nopony gets away from me," he uttered in a gritty voice. "Nopony. Not even a royal Princess from another land. What must be done will be done. You can't get away from those calling you, miss."

A grin.

"It doesn't matter where you go. There will always be a trail of evidence—something that slips up. And, do not tell me about the 'why' and the 'what'—I have a mission and you won't stop me from that."

So, he walked, walking to the other side of the stage.

Then, the curtains closed.

The curtains opened again, revealing the background of a simple home. A carpeted floor, a kitchen with the dining area just beside it, windows letting in the sunlight and emphasizing the brightness of the house—which had yellow walls and a yellow ceiling—and a couch on the side. Some stairs over there, too.

A mare was at the dining table, reading the newspaper with a bowl of hot soup in front of her.

"Hey, that's my—"

Several changelings around him shushed the disturber.

The actress did not glance his way—she did not even blink.

The mare continued reading.

Then, the door opened.

The mare looked at the two visitors.

She gasped.

"Who are you?!"

Dropped newspaper, stood up.

"Ma'am, it's fine, it's fine!" the stallion yelled, carrying the whimpering dressed mare and throwing her on to the sofa at the other side of the room.

She landed—continuing her wailing.

"Wha—y-you don't just invade my house!—intruder!"

"I can explain!" the stallion said.

The resident stood her ground, taking on a defensive position. "I'm giving you ten seconds to explain!"

"Alright!" the stallion said, holding up a hoof in his own defense.

Glanced one more time at the sobbing mare on the sofa.

Looked behind him. Open door.

He closed it; he slammed it shut.

"So rude!" the resident said. "No decency to even close the door proper—"

"I wouldn't be doing that if I thought that it was just OK," the stallion said, remaining firm in his voice. "Well, it's not OK to leave it open because the situation is that serious. If things blow over, there's going to be, I don't know, war or something equally terrible!"

"Don't you go gibbering about war and things you don't know about!" the mare yelled. "I've seen your kind, sir! Up to bring about a ruckus to help me give some of my bits to you! I've seen your friends before."

She pointed at him.

"B-but I'm the genuine article!" the stallion said. "I'm the real thing! This is a real problem and if it doesn't get stopped—"

"I don't care about fights and conflicts and other bad things like that!" the mare shouted. "I know how you operate, criminals. Trying to exploit me. I've lived here in Manehattan for over a decade and I know all the tools of the trade!"

"B-but, you have to—"

Winced at the door.

"Ma'am, please!" Voice becoming desperate.

"I'm not—"

"She's the Princess of the Qualtay Kingdom!"

"I haven't even heard of that name. But prove it!"

He glared at the supposed Princess.

She removed her dress.

Opened up—spread—her wings.

Removed her hat.

Unicorn horn.

The resident merely sneered. "Can she fly? Can she use unicorn magic? Preferably at the same time, too?"

The stallion nodded.

The resident looked at the Princess.

The frown on her face was still there.

She flew, hovering over the ground—flapping her wings.

Grabbed something with her magic—a box.

Her horn glowed.

The box levitated.

The mare took a few steps back, staggering away from the Princess before her.

"Before you say anything," the stallion said, "you have to keep her inside and never let her into the public until I bring in back-up." He placed a hoof on her shoulder. "There's no telling how badly this will go and we don't have enough time before—"

Door kicked open.

The shaded and clothed stallion at the entrance.

"N-no!" the first stallion yelled.

"Quite a yes, really," the second one said, taking careful hoofsteps—towards the stallion.

Looked at the resident.

"You don't have to worry about me, ma'am," the stallion said. He pulled a badge off of his jacket. "I'm part of the National Equestrian Protection Guard—undercover branch, ma'am; right under the E.U.P. These two ponies you have here are suspects at large—took us days to—"

Punch.

"You're not bringing her to jail!" the stallion yelled. "You mistook us for the wrong—"

A throw and he was sent flying to the other side of the room.

The Princess gasped. Then, glaring at the offending pony, she flew at him.

The resident cowered, taking cover behind a table.

Princess stopped.

Punched.

Knocked down.

Eyes closed.

The stallion cackled a little. "Real Princesses don't get defeated so easily. Me? I'm just an undercover cop—Earth Pony, yes, but a Princess is much stronger than that." Grinned. "Too bad. If you took me out, I would say all of my sorry's. But, that's all you are. A fake."

Both mare and stallion down, eyes closed.

"I believe we have it all under control," the undercover cop said, picking the resident up from her hidding place. "I only need to ask you a few questions and then I'll pull these ponies out and we won't be interrupting your day anymore."

"Oh, th-thank you, sir!" the mare said. "What questions do you have?"

"I want you to take care of the ponies—check their pockets, see if they've stolen any money or other valuables you have. I'll go upstairs—see if they have their own form of back-up. Crimes like these are risky, so a back-up plan is always necessary." He showed off his badge again.

The mare nodded. "Th-thank you, sir! Just do whatever undercover cops do!"

The stallion saluted her. "This is for the safety of Equestria, ma'am. Thanks for co-operating."

"Your help is much appreciated, ma'am!" the cop said as he pulled the two ponies out of the door.

Then, the resident closed the door and sighed.

"Now that's over," the mare said, "I'll check and see how much money I have left after all that drama. Heh, I'm sure it's just the same—I didn't spend anything during that whole commotion!"

She whistled her way upstairs.

The undercover cop plopped the two ponies on the fake sidewalk.

"Got the cash," he said.

The two ponies stood up and dusted themselves off.

"Fooled her right off," the second stallion said. "She has no idea how much money she has now."

The pair of ponies in front of him smiled. "Looks like we did it, then!" the mare said, taking off her fake wings and her fake unicorn horn, dropping the box she brought along with her.

The first stallion merely nodded.

Then, the resident appeared on stage.

All the Method Mares now faced the audience.

"That's a little short play we made up on the way here," the big stallion said. "Think of it as a prologue to the actual play we've prepared for and performed for many months now—although, it's not really a prologue, but you know what I mean."

No changeling response. A few crickets chirped.

"But, you enjoyed what you've seen, right?"

And all the changelings responded with a furious, collective shout and scream and yell and roar and cry of approval and of grand affirmation, shaking the stage a little.

But the Method Mares were unfazed.

"Thank you, everyone!" the big stallion said. "I've heard you've done good share of studying so you must know our names by now, but as an act of courtesy to those who still don't: I'm On Stage."

"I'm Raspberry Beret," the fake Princess said.

"I'm Stardom," the resident pony said.

"And I'm Late Show," the fake undercover cop said.

"I'm sure that we all know each other by now," On Stage said. "So, with that, give us a few minutes and we'll get on to the play you've been waiting for: 'The Equestrian Prisoner'!"

And the changelings burst once again into that mix of noise as the Method Mares went behind the curtain.

The Legends are Back

"Thorax!"

Nothing.

"Thorax!"

Nothing.

"Uh, Thorax!"

"What?! All my fans and my stairs!"

Thorax woke up, looking around in the early morning with its slightly blue sky and its partially covered sun in the distance, yawning and stretching his forelegs on the rocky ground he had been sleeping on.

"You've got to read what's in the news!" the changeling shouted as he smacked the headlines right on his king's face.

Thorax pushed the crumpled newspaper aaway, revealing an unamused expression. "That's not funny, Coleo. How many times have I told you to stop pranking me with—"

"But, I'm serious this time!" Coleo explained.

Thorax blinked, grabbed the newspaper, and saw the headline news.

It was the Ponyville Express—as could be seen by the firm and no-hassle type of lettering used for its title. The headline image displayed seven ponies at the foreground, smiling for the camera in varying levels of smiling, all of them in the middle of a royal hallway filled with its usual decor of flowers and curtains and banners—and it was coupled with party decor(ations) with various tables of party food (cake, pie, cakepies, and so on), and a lot more ponies hanging out with each other in the background—though some of them were pointing at the foreground group of ponies.

Four stallions and three mares. One stallion was a very muscular pony, much larger than the rest of his supposed companions; one was a pegasus clad in metal armor, holding up a bronze shield and smiling brashly; one was wearing a cloak; and, one had a gray beard and was wearing proper wizard clothes—tall hat and robe with bells on both. One mare looked quite old and elderly, though her mane was flowing about; one was garbed in fancy, ancient clothes and, if one could look closely, had blue make-up on her eyelids; and, one had a tall, curled up mane while wearing a green dress of some sort.

The headline: "The Pillars of Old Equestria have Returned After 1000 Years, Now Living in Present Day! Equestria Celebrates with Party!"

Thorax read and re-read and re-re-read the headline, squinting his eyes at the last read. Then, he looked up at Coleo. "This isn't a hoax, right?"

"Uh, it's not pranking day? Not joke day?"

"You do know those days themselves are jokes and not real, right?"

"I could make it happen, if you want, Thorax."

Thorax raised an eyebrow, still unamused in his look. Then, he returned to the newspaper, reviving his shock and wonder. "But, still—if this is real, then that means—that means..."

He scratched his chin and pondered.

"Actually, I have no idea what that means."

Coleo sighed. "So, that means that it's not bad news?"

"Well, I've only heard of the pony with the nice hat," Thorax said. "Twilight kept talking about him to me that one time when we had to come together at Canterlot for a royal meeting. Showed me the Star Swirl wing or something of the Canterlot Archives or something—I forgot the names. It's as if she's so fanatical about him—then again, she said it herself that he was a powerful wizard, and her talent is magic so it sort of makes sense?"

Coleo merely blinked.

Thorax invited him with a hoof to look at the newspaper with him.

Thorax pointed at the burly pony. "The pony that I'm second most sure of is this one over here. Overheard Applejack talk about a strong stallion named 'Rockhoof' one time when I and Pharynx decided to sit in at a friendship council thing with the Elements of Harmony."

"How come none of us weren't invited?" Coleo asked.

"Well, it was a private function," Thorax replied. "I think Twilight wanted to make sure that there would be no chance of a changeling going rabid because he's in the presence of some famous mares."

"I'm not rabid like that," Coleo answered, "certainly not deranged like some others here."

"Twilight wanted to combat against all possibilities of changelings ruining their time together, so she had to be that strict. I myself wasn't one-hundred percent OK with it and neither was she, but she said that it was for the best."

Coleo nodded. Then, he placed a hoof on the picture. "So, back to the story!"

"Story?"

"Uh, news! I keep on mixing up between my novels and my news!"

"You do know that novels are completely different from newspapers, right?"

Coleo nodded.

Thorax just sighed and groaned. "Nevermind."

"What about the rest of those famous legendary ponies?" Coleo asked, becoming a bit more giddy. "Do you know them?"

"There's a mare named Meadowbrook and another mare named Somnambula, but I can't tell which one is which. Mistmane—no idea who he or she is. Flash Magnus—Dragon Lord Ember told me that the name rang a bell with her father—a very bad bell, from the way she sounded. Said that he beat him up a long time ago."

"Who beat who up?"

"Flash Magnus beat up Ember's father."

"You mean the very large dragon that's as big as a Manehattan skyscraper?"

"Yeah." Thorax smiled at that.

"How? A pony is tiny compared to a skyscraper!"

"I asked that question, too. Ember didn't want to talk about it—I guess it showed when she pushed me out of the way."

Coleo giggled, putting his hoof at his mouth. "She wasn't so happy about that, huh?"

"I respect that there are some things that she just won't tell," Thorax said. "Which is fine, really. She's a dragon, after all—a sappy dragon is not your usual dragon."

"But, they still wanna be friends with everyone, right?" Coleo pressed.

"Ember did announce to all dragons that they should make peace with ponies, so there's that."

"Not us?"

"I'm sure she's working on that."

Coleo gulped.

"Come on! At the very least, she's super friendly with me and likes just being out there in Ponyville or Canterlot with me when we do have to meet up and talk about royal political matters."

Coleo nodded, humming. "So, what are we going to do about the news today? Are we going to have a party for them, too?"

"Wait," Thorax said, holding up a kind hoof at him. "I need to read the rest of the article."

And so he did.

"'Star Swirl the Bearded, famed wizard of Equestrian history, along with previously-thought-of-as-only-legendary ponies Rockhoof, Mistmane, Flash Magnus, Mage Meadowbrook, Somnambula—plus Stygian, formerly infamous Pony of Shadows himself of lore—have returned from limbo after over a thousand years. They're in perfect condition, not having aged during the interim.

"'All of them expressed surprise at how Equestria is now; otherwise, they're amicable, kind, and friendly to us present-day ponies.

"'The Princesses have decreed that extreme respect be given to the aforementioned ponies—though not formally.

"'Last night, the legendary ponies had a party held by Pinkie Pie in the whole of Canterlot, celebrating their return.

"'During this party, Star Swirl the Bearded, in response to an inquiry about their future plans, stated: "We shall travel throughout Equestria, see for ourselves what has changed and what has remained the same in our old home now expanded. I believe that it is necessary for us to do that before we settle down on any permanent residence or occupation."

"'Interviews of each of the legendary ponies are in page 1-10 to 1-20.

"'So far, no word has been retrieved from Star Swirl regarding the Star Swirl traveling museum—he has willfully ignored all inquiries related to it.

"'Article by: Colloquy'"

The two remained silent.

"Equestria is now a different place, I guess," Thorax said, "having ponies over a thousand years old going around when they missed out on a lot of those years. I think I'll have to take a sudden trip to Twilight—see what I have to do since I have no idea what's really going on beyond what I just read."

Coleo sighed, looking away.

"What's wrong?"

"We want you to stay here, Thorax," he said.

"I know. I want to, too, but a king has to go and meet other leaders and monarchs to make sure the political side of things are OK so that all of us will be OK."

Coleo sighed again. "I understand."

"Tell Pharynx that I'm going to be meeting with Twilight Sparkle," Thorax said as he opened his wings and took off.

And Coleo did not say anything—just waved at him goodbye.

It was now later in the morning though still early in Ponyville. In the wake of last night's hours, a growing and rising disturbance was upon the town: Newspapers were being spread, gasps and double takes were made, calm nerves turned into heated outlets of questions' barrage, a pouring out of surprised exclamations—hooves running and going, heads turning (a good many of them towards either the town hall or Twilight's castle)—books dusted off and foals' eyes widened in delight alongside older brothers' and sisters' and parents' at the sight of that party and its great guests of old, look back and look back again between the crisp sharpness and clarity of the image and the drawn depictions and imaginvative interpretations put into visual form on their old books that retold those bygone tales and, well, legends—"They're not just real but they're here?!" "Who's the pony who sent this story?! This must be fake!" "I'm going to find them and I'm going to have a picture taken with them, too!"—and, following that last statement, a pony took on his traveler's hat and shades and wore a camera around his neck and proclaimed himself the first passenger on the first train to Canterlot, leaving everyone else who had witnessed the spontaneous event standing with open mouths and a few seconds of getting their bearings before they returned to the confusion compounded by even more action exemplified by more running about—more panicked, more excited—and even bumps were there, too, since carts were being pushed out of balance and produce was being spilled and threats were exchanged between the two and, though a fight was to be displayed, Fluttershy—who had been passing by—looked upon the to-be attackers and frowned, causing the belligerents to shake hooves, making Fluttersehy smile but, after that, she looked around her and, seeing the commotion of ponies running and flying and walking and talking and shouting and reading and comparing and analyzing and theorizing and planning and going and pointing and yelling and asking and—

"What's going on?" she finally uttered.

In the sky, Thorax was flying, his wings and his carapace once again gracing the sky and their beauty being amplified by the sun, shining a little multi-colored glow on Ponyville that nopony noticed, all caught up in the nasty swath of disoriented, undirected activity.

Down to the dirt path, knocked on the Castle of Friendship's grand double doors.

He looked back. A disorganized line of ponies were coming up.

"They know, too, huh?" Thorax said to himself.

The doors magically opened inward, revealing the Princess of Friendship herself—frowning.

"You, too, huh?" Twilight said.

"Wait, why?" Thorax said, quickening his speech. "Is it because of the visitors—"

"You're likely the last royal visitor to be here today!" Twilight said, her speech even faster, almost gabbing. "Ember's here, Rutherford's here, Galena's here, I'm not sure about the other lands, but word is they'll probably come at a later date—come with me!"

Twilight grabbed Thorax by the hoof, closed the doors with her magic, and ran off through the hallway.

The various leaders were sitting on the crystal thrones at the Cutie Map.

The atmosphere was tense. Galena was shaky, Ember was wearing an aggressive look on her face, and Rutherford was bellowing out complaints about how the biscuits were not good, much to the dismay of Spike who, now, was wearing an apron and was giving out plates of biscuits.

"But, you haven't even tasted them," Spike said, tapping a foot. "In fact, you haven't even touched them!"

"Biscuits too little! Yak demands jumbo plate biscuits!"

"That's going to take a while, Prince Rutherford. You see, everyone likes their biscuits—"

"Not us yaks!" Rutherford insisted. "Yaks pride selves on food size!"

"Uh..." Spike turned to the remaining leaders present—"Help?"

Galena just looked away.

Ember groaned. "Don't mind it, Spike," she said, irritated.

Spike gulped.

Doors opened.

Twilight threw Thorax at one of the crystal chairs and he landed there with ease.

Everyone else looked at that act with some shock on their faces.

Twilight magically closed the doors and ran to her own chair.

"Alright, everyone," Twilight began, still speaking fast and eyeing each of the leaders (and Spike, too, who went to the his little crystal throne), "I didn't expect this at all, but to have the rulers of four of Equestria's neighboring kingdoms come here after what happened during the past few days needs to be addressed. Before you ask, I have all of the information I could gather about what the Pillars plan to do within the next few weeks. Any questions so we can get straight to the matter at hoof?"

Silence, even from Prince Rutherford. Blinking eyes.

"Any questions?"

Silence again.

"OK, here we go!"

She inhaled lots of air and gripped the table with her forehooves.

"Yes, the Pillars will be travelling together and that includes Stygian. They will be going to the principal locations of Equestria first, though, of course, individual Pillars will be making their own excursions to other places either ahead or behind scheduled time depending on both external circumstances and personal decisions—especially so for Rockhoof and what used to be his home and for Somnambula and Somnambula—the town, I mean. Star Swirl is a wildcard—he has mastered even the advanced branches of teleportation so he can choose to visit any place that he wishes to visit and that includes places outside of Equestria. That's where you come in—you all know who Star Swirl the Bearded is, right?"

Everyone nodded, including Spike.

"No need to state his credentials. This isn't going to be too complicated—all you have to do is to make sure everyone is prepared for his visit at any time, especially during this week. His visit might just be a few minutes or it might even be a few days althought that's not probable.

"Accommodating Star Swirl's unpredictability, the Pillars will be travelling Equestria using Tourist Plan A which means that, if all goes well, they will be done with going through much of Equestria by early next year. Why that long? Well, it's not just sight-seeing—excited historians, among others, will be taking their time, as well doing their best to getting with these times.

"The reason why I'm telling you this upfront is because we don't want to cause any international dilemmas from accidentally injuring—whether physically or verbally—the Pillars. They are historical, legendary, extremely important ponies. Of course, don't be too stiffy about it—"

And here, she wore a happy grin.

"I'm still so excited that Star Swirl's here!"

Spike groaned and placed a claw on his head.

Thorax raised a hoof.

"Yes?" Twilight asked, still having that giddy look on her face.

"That means I have to tell the changelings to get ready for the Pillars?"

"At least Star Swirl! Although, it's hard to prepare for him since, well, you don't know when that pony is coming!"

Thorax laughed nervously.

Star Swirl the Bearded

There were only a few changelings at the rock table—a lot of them were going buzzing around, walking and talking and flying and hovering and, despite it not being crafts time, making some crafts anyway—though they were random, with the changelings producing crude sculptures made out of twigs, leaves, moss, rocks, pebbles, and other such natural materials that they could pick up from the ground or from the nearby forest.

At the table was only one pie—all the changelings there except one were occupied with talking to each other, the topic being about "these legendary ponies. What were they called again? Fillers of Old Equestria? Mailers of Old Equestria?"

"Pillars of Old Equestria!" another changeling shouted at him. "You think they got famous for, what, pouring water for others' glasses? Or for delivering mail?"

"Why do pony history books have a dedicated section about the history of mail, then?"

"They're completely unrelated, Matics! Unrelated!"

Matics shuddered, cowering behind—well, there was only open space between the attacker and the attacked.

While he was suffering the embarrassing moment of remembering that he misnamed the Pillars, the changeling who wasn't engaged in any conversation at all ate the only pie that was there—strawberry and blueberry pie. Beside the pie was a big book—"The Great History of Equestria" was on its cover.

After gobbling up yet another piece of his own pie, the changeling glanced at the bitter discussion taking place—the topic was still about the Pillars of Equestria; yet, a nearby changeling was approaching them, having a solemn look about him.

The pie-eating changeling turned back to his book and opened it. Ruffling through the pages, speedily flicking each page that was not the correct one, he then stopped.

In front of him was a painted illustration of one of those Pillars: Star Swirl the Bearded. Gray, thin, bearded. He seemed elderly due to the white beard. This renowned unicorn—this was his section in the book and paragraphs upon paragraphs, exposition upon exposition, details upon details, explanations upon explanations were heaped and cobbled up together in this section of the book. It was all fuzzy, however: there were always words like "probably," "most likely," "according to the most trustable sources." An uncertainty was then upon this noted pony—and, when the changeling went to the pages of the other Pillars, they had no dedicated sections of their own—they were all relegated to a part of the book known as "Other Myths and Legends (and Semi-Legendary Ponies)." Their individual sections were short, giving a brief summary of their life and their accomplishments—all in the span of seven or so paragraphs each, if not shorter, with appropriate painted illustration of the pony in question.

"Seen them before, but not familiar with them," the changeling muttered. "And now, they're saying in Canterlot that they're out and about—today, and not figuratively. They're literally here." A bit of awe could be found in his words.

The furious argument that had been going on was now calmed down—that solemn-looking changeling now had a smile on his face along with the former aggressor and the former aggressed. The topic still did not budge, though.

"Hey, everyone! Look who's just arrived!"

Most of the changelings present turned their heads toward where the voice was.

Then, they moved their way toward it, dropping whatever activity they were doing, all focused on what was over there.

Not a small crowd was gathered close to the visitor robed in a wizard robe and wearing a wizard hat—standing on the dirt road graced on both sides by rock formations and wild yet beautiful plants.

The visitor narrowed his eyes at the approaching swarm of colorful bug-like creatures, stroking his beard as he did so.

He also looked annoyed and irritated—and even more so as the swarm steadily got closer and closer.

Star Swirl sighed. "Even non-ponies are so excited and zealous about me."

Thorax's ears perked up.

His expression turned glum.

"That's not good," he said, opening his wings and taking to flight.

Pharynx stood there, watching his brother fly in the sky, looking confused.

Then, he took to flight, too, wearing serious face.

The bearded unicorn sighed again.

The crowd, though not mobbing him, was making a ruckus about him—requests (if not outright demands) to take pictures with him or to write his signature down on a piece of paper, shouts of facts about his life that he already knew, screams of pure surprise and shock and amazement which amazed the unicorn, too (not in the same way, though).

"Everybody, stop what you're doing!"

Everybody looked up, including Star Swirl.

Thorax landed on the ground with his brother beside him, standing between the near-reckless crowd and the legend.

The king faced his subjects. "Haven't I already told you more than a couple of times? If and when Star Swirl or any of the other Pillars come by, you should, uh, give them respect! They have their own things going on and we don't want to overwhelm them, alright?"

The changelings shuddered.

"Do you understand?"

And everyone nodded and slinked away back to the hive.

Thorax and Pharynx turned around to look at Star Swirl.

"So, uh, hi." Thorax waved at the legend, having a sheepish smile—before Pharnyx slapped him on his torso. "Ow!"

Star Swirl smiled a little, stroking his beard as he looked around. "This is what used to be the Badlands of the Mysterious South. Last time I was here, there was nothing but dreary stretches of dry, broken ground." He faced the two changelings in front of him "Now, apparently with your presence, you have changed this land for the better."

Thorax nodded, smiling. Pharnyx just stood still with a bored expression—half-open eyes and neutral mouth.

"If you do not mind," Star Swirl went on, "may we have a little talk right out here? I think I have had my complete share of ponies announcing my name on the streets—their enthusiasm has proved to be too much." After a short pause, he said, "I should have believed Twilight to the fullest extent when she said that you changelings have an unparalleled excitement about life and what it entails." Then, he looked off to the side. "Hm. Changelings."

"What's wrong, Star Swirl?" Thorax asked.

"That is the very thing that I wish to talk to you about first—it is something that I should not hide from at least the two of you. It is up to you to tell it to your populace or not after I am done with my story."

The two looked at each other. "I don't like the sound of this."

"Just go along with it," Pharynx said, pushing his brother forward as Star Swirl walked away from the hive.

Under the shade of a tree, at the edge of the forest near the hive, the unicorn and the two changelings were standing on the grass. A few rabbits hopped along, paying them no mind. The morning sunlight pierced through the thick foiliage of the trees, creating individual rays of light constantly shifting, constantly changing the atmosphere of the forest even if it was ever so slightly.

Star Swirl sighed. Looking upon the two—who had worried faces themselves—he began:

"Do you know of magic ponds?"

Thorax and Pharynx looked at each other. Then, they looked at Star Swirl. "Uh, we know that they exist and there's one near Ponyville."

"Ah, yes, the Mirror Pool," Star Swirl said. "Although that is not relevant to what is at hoof here.

"Before I and the Pillars sent the Pony of Shadows and ourselves into limbo, I travelled to another magic pond. Though I did not see anything particularly dangerous about it, I knew that this was not the safest location to find oneself in. In order to protect anypony who wished to visit the surrounding area, I posted a sign on a strange plant in the hopes that, having discovered danger, I would not let other ponies fall into that danger I knew.

"That pond did not come to my mind that often after that. I thought that the sign was enough. I am sure that I have prevented numerous ponies from coming into harm—for a while.

"I did hear of reports of certain villages being raided by 'changelings' before we went to limbo, but there was something peculiar about the timing of events that I only realized years later: It was only a few weeks after I posted that sign that somepony ran to me and told me about this odd new group of creatures who call themselves 'changelings.' It was there and then that I got a full description of what they did—steal love. It was something that I knew was possible, but never have I heard actually being done by non-ponies.

"I came by the town and had my first encounter with them—among them was Queen Chrysalis who was the leader of the changelings then. I do not need to tell you everything about that—what you may know is that I defeated them though not with some struggle for they were a new enemy.

"After that, before Stygian assembled us Pillars to defend Equestria, I've had more encounters and fights with her changelings. She had an unexpected skill in military strategy—she did not strike whenever she pleased, for she used her shape-shifting abilities to good—or, shall I say, bad—use, and encouraged her underlings to do the same. While outright sieges are common, they were almost always prefaced by infiltration—if a town proved to be too strong physically to take down, then she and several others will disguise themselves as the inhabitants of that town and drain the love—and, therefore, the mental energy—of key ponies. With that, the usual case for towns that called for my help was that they were on the brink of destruction—it was astonishing to remember how many towns were saved for but just a second before complete devastation.

"When I and the other Pillars came together, we've encountered her changelings still. She did not attack towns every week—however, she proved to be a continual villain, never truly taking a rest—for, to her, 'rest' was only recovering from the last offensive in order to gain strength for the next one. She became one of the recurring evils by which Old Equestria was regularly damaged. She no longer was the focal point of our lands' pain—there were many others to defend our homes from.

"However, after so many fights with them, both alone and with the Pillars, I found a fact hidden beneath, admittedly, a small number of layers. But, it might as well have been shrouded in unsolvable mystery—if it were not for me being the cause of that fact."

He drew in breath.

Thorax and Pharynx took on sad looks.

"I...if I am not mistaken, I was the one who made you. All of you changelings.

"It does not matter if you knew about this already or not—I expected Chrysalis herself to relate to you the story. But, what matters is that I claim the responsibility right in front of you, personally.

"In all honesty, I do not know what to say to you. I cannot only say 'Sorry' for I cannot regret giving creatures a chance at life—life so precious, beyond the value of even the most precious of diamonds and gems. I cannot only say 'You are welcome' for I brought to your life a wicked ruler who has tyrannized you, trampled you down for her own gain—and I had even better thoughts for her than you do now, for I thought she was evil for her whole hive, not for herself. If only I knew that it was only her that was truly evil—you would have had more than a thousand years of peace and prosperity, of love and friendship—but, that opportunity has long gone and those thousand years have passed. Not even time travel is an option, for I know, too, the perils of that.

"It is more than rude to just leave you without a parting word, however."

A look on the side.

"Just remember—I apologize for the pains I have caused you over such a tremendous time, and I am glad that you have survived to a happy present where you can wholly say that you are living a good life—a life, Twilight taught me, not only enriched but filled with friendship.

"I am sorry for having to cut this short, but I wanted to let my so-called secret out to you before I forget anything.

"Anyway, thank you for taking the time to hear my monologue." He smiled a little. "I have to let you permit me that—I exhaust even myself at times with my own speeches, but I justify myself in saying they are necessary. Well, I may have said more than enough, so farewell."

Then, a moment's hesitation—a darting of the eyes.

"Apology accepted, Star Swirl," Thorax uttered—somber, quiet, firm.

The unicorn nodded, smiling even more though only a little. "Thanks."

A poof.

He was gone—not a trace of him was there.

Thorax looked upon where the unicorn had been.

He looke down.

No words.

Pharynx stretched out a hoof, opening his mouth to say something.

No words.

A few rabbits were going about, hopping and jumping along. The chirping of the birds continued, bringing about a melody to that part of the forest. A group of ducks were walking about; two deer were running through between the trees. Several beavers were collecting broken branches and twigs—whatever timber they could find on the ground.

In the distance, the hive—partially covered in overgrown moss and vines and other plants. If one could strain their ears, they could hear the changelings' buzzing that kept on going and faint semblances of words mashed together with others so that they formed something that could not be understood—at least from this distance.

The sky was bright and blue—the sun was shining and a few pegasi were up there, arranging the clouds above the Changeling Hive. Directions were shouted overhead, though they could not be heard so clearly from this far.

There were mountains over there, past the hive proper and in the wastelands beyond.

And that was all the two changelings saw when they looked around.

There were no words said—nothing said. Just an exchange of glances—Thorax's were sober, Pharynx's were contemplative.

Without saying a word, the two flew out of the forest.

"Aww! He's gone already?" one of the changelings yelled at the table.

"He didn't plan an extended stay, really," Thorax said, sitting at the table as well. "He wanted to see the sights and us. He had to go on to other places—he said that he wanted to go here before he forgot. Star Swirl must be very busy—but who could blame him? They've been gone for about a thousand years—they want to know what's happened through that time and they want to do it by going around Equestria."

The changeling calmed down. "Oh, OK! That's nice! Don't you worry, Thorax!"

Thorax smiled.

Chili and Tomato

Several firm rock tables were arranged in a neat order—all in all, eleven. On the tables was a lineup of cooking tools and equipment: a considerable gamut of cups, knives, chopping boards, spoons, whisks, mortars and pestles, and what not. Beside them was a wide diversity of ingredients—beside the usual apples and oranges and onions and garlic and sugar and salt and chocolate and chili peppers (tons of chili—there were sacks of chili for each table), there were also those unique to the changeling diet, namely various bugs: cockroaches, flies, worms, and the like.

Strangely (or not strangely) enough, there was dim sum in their respective little wooden, polygonal bowls—but, at the dining table, not at the arranged rock tables. Also, some jelly.

A lot of changelings were gathered around at the rock tables—all of them but one, the lonely eleventh way up ahead. The changelings were wearing aprons of different colors, with blue aprons for one table, red aprons for another, yellow aprons for yet another, and so it went—green, purple, brown, orange, cyan, black, white. They talked amongst themselves and even with each other, inspecting the ingredients and equipment they had at hoof with child-like curiosity—"Ooh's!" and "Aah's!" and turning it around and, like a typical child, refusing to give it up to the one who owned the item in question because they had not held it for long enough yet.

On the eleventh table, there was a cooking timer. Behind the table were Thorax and Pharynx—both of them wearing aprons as well (though Pharynx gritted his teeth).

"Attention, every changeling!" Thorax declared.

And all the talking—and childish fighting and grabbing—stopped.

"Today, we're going to be having a chili cook-off! I'll make this quick." He cleared his throat. "The rules are simple! Make the best chili you can, uh, make in one hour!"

"Don't we already have chili, Thorax?!" one of the changelings yelled, holding a hoofful of chilis dripping out of his grasp.

"I mean chili...soup? Now, to make it harder, no vegetables—you can use—"

And the changelings instantly went to work, grabbing the necessary pots and brandishing the necessary peppers and knives. Chop-chop-chop.

"Huh?" Then, he muttered, "Well, I had to think of a rule just then."

And Thorax just set the timer to one hour and let it tick.

"Nice going, Thorax," Pharynx said, sounding bothered. "At the rate you're going, you'll end up having the entire hive eating nothing but soup by Hearth's Warming."

"It makes sense, though!" Thorax said, trying to make a comeback. "It's going to be a cold winter by that time!"

"You know there are hot dishes other than soup. You've heard of steaming? Frying? Roasting?"

"Pharynx, I know!" Thorax replied, sounding bothered himself.

"Heh, cheer up," Pharynx said, smirking. "At least it's not pure soup. I'd be willing to down a few peppers myself if it meant avoiding a swarm trying to steal my soup."

Thorax giggled at that.

"I'm serious—wanted to try it myself, see what's so good about it. Thought they were hyping it up too much—it's good, it isn't revolutionary. It's as if they wanted to throw me out of the hive for saying that." Taking a firmer stand, he said, "And, you see, this soup is making us changelings crazy."

Five minutes to go.

Most of the changelings were merely waiting at the fire they had made at their respective tables, a pot over the fire as the chili soup bubbled and boiled. Since there were no lids over those pots, the individual aromas of the chili soups combined, forming a savory bouquet of chili in the air.

Pharynx was asleep, his head resting on the table. Thorax, meanwhile, kept a happy face as he moved about, going to each table and examining the work-in-progress of each team. Sometimes, he would give general words of encouragement: "You can do it!" for example, though the team had nothing else to do but wait (however, they can wait). Other times, he would give words that affirmed them: "I can taste the delicious soup already!" was one of the sentences he used.

The team usually gave a cheerful response to him. "I hope we'll win!" was the sentiment of one changeling, which he said straight to his face.

This went on until the final minutes were up and the timer rang.

All the changelings looked at the ringing timer and the sleeping Pharynx.

Pharynx picked up the timer and slammed it on the table.

It stopped.

"OK, that's it!" Thorax yelled. He clasped his forehooves. "It's time to know who the winner is! But first—taste test!"

At the eleventh table were gathered ten bowls of chili soup. Each of them looked very similar to each other—they were red and had chili and were hot.

The judges at the table were Thorax, Pharynx (who looked bored), and Starlight Glimmer—who looked squeamish with her big (forced) grin at the sight of all the chili soup to be tasted and, perhaps, eaten.

All the teams were huddled together in front of the table—a large mass of changelings who were already colorful and, yet, that was compounded by the different colors of aprons they were wearing.

"You're ready, Starlight?" Thorax asked.

Starlight gulped. "Eh-heh?"

"I understand if chili is not your thing," Thorax said. "I mean, you're only here because I didn't know you were visiting."

"Oh, it's nothing, Thorax!" Starlight said, shoving something imgainary away with a hoof. "I don't wanna just stand around and watch—I want to help, and if being one of the cook-off's judges is one way to help, then I'll take it!"

Thorax raised an eyebrow. "If you say so."

Then, he turned round to the teams

"This is the grand moment you've all been waiting for!" Thorax announced. "Prepare yourselves! In a few minutes, one of you is going to win—"

"Uh, one of us?" a changeling asked.

"Uh, one team out of, uh, all of you teams." He grinned. "Anyway, some of you are gonna win and that's that!"

"What's the prize?" another changling asked.

"Oh, uh—" Then, he muttered, "—I didn't think this through."

Pharynx and Starlight now glanced at him. "Isn't that just great?" Pharynx said. "All of that hard work and effort for nothing. You could've told them while they were cooking."

Thorax sighed. "I'll think of a prize when it's over."

Thorax and Pharynx took a few sips out of the first bowl of chili soup. Now, they looked at Starlight.

She gulped again. "You sure there's no bugs inside, right? Because I don't know what that's gonna taste like."

"It depends on what bug you're talking about," Thorax said. "Cockroaches, for example, are like biscuits. Only crunchier. And has a meaty taste to it. But, like biscuits."

"That's not helping."

"Well, I don't taste any bugs here," Thorax said. "So, I guess you're fine for this one."

He pushed the bowl toward Starlight.

She glanced at the bowl and then at Thorax. "Sure?"

Thorax nodded. "Absolutely sure! Trust me!"

Starlight looked at the chili soup again.

It seemed normal. It was red, it had chili, and it was hot.

Then, she levitated a spoon and ate some of the soup.

"Hm. Has a nice juicy flavor to it." She looked at the changelings with blue aprons. "You added tomatoes here?"

"Yes, Starlight!" said the changeling with a blue apron and a blue toque blanche—the only one of the blue team to have that hat.

Then, several of the teams looked at him.

"Hey, that's not fair!" a green-aproned changeling shouted. "I accuse you of disobeying the rules!"

"What?! The only rule that was in force was the one about no vegetables!"

"Yet you blatantly use a vegetable! Hah! You knew the rule yet you went on ignoring it! How rebellious can you be?!"

"Isn't a tomato a vegetable?" a yellow-arponed changeling asked. "We also used tomatoes and—"

"You're also a cheater!" a purple-aproned changeling screamed.

"Tomatoes are fruits!" another blue-arponed changeling shouted.

"Vegetables!"

"Fruits!"

"Define 'fruits' and 'vegetables'!"

"I don't want to!"

"Why, because you admit defeat?!"

"No?!"

"Why can't I join in the fight?!"

"You stop right there! Tomatoes are fruits!"

"Tomatoes are vegetables!"

"No, they aren't!"

"You have ulterior motives, don't you?!"

"You're the one who wants to cheat us out!"

"You're the cheater!"

"No, you're the cheater!"

"Who left the tomatoes in the basket?!"

"I thought they were alright! I was growing some tomatoes my—"

"Tear down his tomato crops!"

"What?!"

"He's the instigator—the evil mastermind behind all—"

"I'm just a simple farmer!"

"That's what you want us to think!"

"Seize his farms!"

"Do we have farms?!"

"Tomatoes!"

And the controversy escalated into melee. Changelings throwing each other about, punching, kicking, organizing ordered attacks only to be side-tracked and defeated before the first strike by another more organized attack. Food was the main weapon—alongside tomatoes there were also entire pots of chili soup being thrown about, covering entire changelings in scorching hot chili soup, resulting in more than a few screaming about and flailing their legs and wings about, taking down even their own teammates in the turmoil. Denunciations were flung against each other—one side alleged the other of setting up the entire cook-off to humiliate some changeling named "Cornicle," the other side alleged the one of stirring up pure emotion without considering the rationality of the situation. No matter how high-falutin the words were, they were all accompanied by straightforward uppercuts and roundhouse kicks, knocking out several and injuring many.

"Uh, guys?" Thorax uttered.

Pharynx groaned and glanced at his brother with an irritated face. "Really?"

Starlight glowed her horn blue, pressure on her face.

A dark green hoof obscured her view.

"I'll handle this, Starlight," Pharynx said.

Starlight's horn stopped glowing as she looked upon the charging Pharynx.

He hovered before the tumultuous crowd of fighting and fought changelings.

Then, he arched his eyebrow. "Guards?! Why didn't you do your jobs?!"

The outlying changelings—wearing armor—panicked and then hurled themselves into the fight, joining in the pain and the hurt administered by blows. More changelings were being thrown about here and there, some of them coming back to the fray for a second (or even third) round of battle.

Pharynx growled and then went into the mass itself. He became a blur amidst a storm of blurs, subduing—it was unclear what he was doing, at least from Starlight's and Thorax's eyes.

Starlight was leaning towards them, her horn glowing again. She faced Thorax. "Come on! Let me use—"

"I don't know," Thorax said. "Don't you remember Twilight telling you that you can't always 'magic' problems away!"

"I'm a unicorn!" Starlight answered back. "Sure, I'm not supposed to solve every little trouble with magic, but—this is a serious dilemma, Thorax!" She pointed a hoof at the swirling, churning throng of inflicted changelings—lobbing and delivering abuse both physical and verbal at each other.

Thorax did not answer. He just watched the anarchy on display. "Wow. I can't believe tomatoes brought us this low."

Starlight groaned. Her horn glowed even brighter. "When I'm done with this, I'm taking this 'tomato issue' to a higher authority!"

Then, she engulfed the entire area with a blinding magical glow.

Princess Twilight Sparkle stood in front of a wooden table, levitating a gavel.

All parties involved in the debacle known as the "Changeling Tomato Issue" were represented in her castle's library. There was the judge—Twilight Sparkle with the gavel. There were the prosecutors—represented solely by that same green-aproned changeling who first raised the question to public light; he was battered and bandaged. There were the defendants—represented solely by that same blue-aproned changeling whose team had the first (and so far, only) chili soup to be tasted by the cook-off's judges; he was also battered and bandaged. And, finally, there were the jury which consisted of Thorax, Pharynx, Starlight Glimmer, Sunburst, Mayor Mare, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Cheerilee, and Gustave le Grand ("After this, I do not want to be involved in your inzignificant cases!"). No onlookers except for the press—who all had their cameras out and ready.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Twilight said, still levitating the gavel. "I'm going to be the arbiter on the issue of whether a tomato is a fruit or a vegetable."

"It's a fruit!" Pinkie yelled, jumping up.

Applejack brought her down and shushed her. "We're s'pposed to be neutral!"

"But, duh! Everypony knows tomatoes are—"

And Applejack plugged a hoof into Pinkie's mouth, which did not stop Pinkie from attempting to continue speaking though her words were now garbled.

Everyone's gaze was now centered on Twilight.

"The matter itself is not going to be easy, Pinkie," Twilight said. "Botanically speaking, tomatoes are fruits. Apples, cherries, grapes, and so on grow either on trees, on bushes, or on vines; tomatoes grow on vines. Like the fruits I mentioned, tomatoes come from flowers. Like fruits, also, tomatoes have seeds inside—they are not merely similar to leaves of plants like cabbages, nor are they root crops like onions or turnips. When it comes to the long and short of it, all things being equal and placed in a completely unbiased situation and jurisdiction, tomatoes are fruits."

"A-ha!" the green-aproned changeling shouted at the defendant, furnishing a pointing hoof at him. "The Princess of Friendship said so!"

"Not so fast," Twilight said, turning to the prosecuting prosecutor. "Even though tomatoes are scientifically fruits, tomatoes are both culinarily and legally considered vegetables."

"What?!" the prosecutor exclaimed in disdain.

"Hah! We're in a legal proceeding!" the blue-aproned changeling shouted at the prosecutor. "Since this will be settled legally, we're going to win!"

"Do even care to know why tomatoes are considered vegetables here?" Twilight asked the defendant.

The changeling gulped.

Twilight sighed and lifted her head. "As I'm sure all of you are aware of, tomatoes aren't cooked the same way most fruits are. While most creatures inside and outside of Equestria treat fruits as sweets and, usually, are reserved for desserts and as sweets to garnish or decorate food with, tomatoes are treated as vegetables—cooked as the main part of the dish for main courses and other kinds of courses outside of desserts. They've been treated as such for more than a thousand years, predating even the founding of Equestria.

"Tomatoes are also considered vegetables in a legal sense. This is because of a court case known as 'Neighs vs. Hoofen.' About a century ago, when vegetables from inside of Equestria were being exported on a large scale, they had to have additonal tax. Nightshade Neighs, owner of a popular fruit farm, complained to Princess Celestia about how that was hurting him financially since tomatoes were his cash crop. Without getting into any more details, Neighs won and, because of that, tomatoes are legally considered a vegetable here in Equestria. Complicating this is the fact that the Changeling Hive has no official law regarding food."

Then, she sighed. She took a long, sweeping look at everyone present in the library.

"Why do I have the feeling we're going to be in for one long afternoon?"

What Else?

Weeks later

"Over here," a tour guide—for he was wearing a visor—said, leading a group of ponies, griffons, and changelings with a forceful hoof, "we have the Canterlot Royal Musuem. Let's go inside."

So, the group and its tour guide walked inside, entering through its massive gilded doors.

They left two changelings at the sidewalk.

Nastic sighed.

"What's wrong?" Long Winded said, patting his friend on the head.

"Nothing," Nastic said. "And, maybe, that is what's wrong."

"So, no wrong is wrong?"

Nastic just shrugged his shoulders as he took his hat out and examined it with hoof and eye. "I don't really know anymore, Long Winded"—an air of unwanted boredom—"but here we all are. We're the new and improved changelings—we come in many different colors and in many different flavors of harmonious friendship. You can't rebel against that—well, not without accidentally picking on the entire hive for a fight—and, before that, they'll convince you with arguments that do support the truth that friendship is magical and statements like that."

"So, you don't like friendship?" Long Winded asked, slowly and articulating the accented word.

"I don't just like it. I love it." Nastic smiled. "But, after that, what else? Barring the changelings who try their best to go on crazy adventures like the Elements of Harmony, what else? What do we ordinary changelings do when we've done our jobs for the day?"

"Better than preparing every moment of your life for a military invasion, if you ask me," Long Winded said.

Nastic sighed.

The two walked down the paved sidewalk, passing by several fancy ponies who paid them no mind—whether good or bad. They just walked on.

"Yes, better than that," Nastic said, "knowing that what you do now is infinitely better than harming others for your own gain—and then you realize you're not even getting your own gain. But, really, it's starting to get routine—dull."

"What's dull with friendship?" Long Winded said, sounding a bit shocked. "Endless memories and experiences to have!" He sweeped a hoof across the space in front of them—beaming.

"Maybe it's not friendship itself," Nastic said. "It's maybe the way we do friendship. Thorax may invent one activity for each day of the year, but even then, he doesn't have a limitless supply of creativity—nor do we. I've talked to my share of ponies—Silver Spanner, Natural Deduction, Stormfeather, Half Baked Apple, Zephyr Breeze, Bluenote, Check Mate—and I have a list of other notable ponies that I've had a chat with. They never seem bored at all with having a society solely based on being friends with each other—as cheesy as that sounds."

"It has good results, though," Long Winded said as they crossed the street and went on to the other side. "I mean, just look at what Equestria is now. Prosperous, peaceful, and a great place to visit! The inhabitants surely testify to it!"

"They're Equestrians," Nastic said. "Of course, they'll tell you that their land is the best. In fact, we're the odd one out because a lot of us think that the Changeling Hive isn't a great place to visit—compared to Equestria, that is. But, that's beside the point."

"What is your point?"

A pause—thinking, wondering.

"I just don't know what else to do after I'm done with work," Nastic said. "Thorax lets us out quite leniently and I'm fine with that. But, what's the use of that if I don't have anything to do?"

"The world beyond the hive is big!" Long Winded said. "Remember when Equestria opened up relations with Klugetown and Hippogriffia and Seaquestria after that whole invasion of Canterlot? I heard they're already preparing some tours for those places!"

"That's just delaying the inevitable when it comes and, when it comes, what else?"

"Don't be such a worrier, Nastic!" Long Winded said. "You've already let go of your hostility against ponies a long time ago! Why don't you let your worries go, too?"

"Because I'm not going to blind myself with false optimism, Long Winded," Nastic answered.

Long Winded sniffed. "Ah!"

"I know—flowers. They're beautiful and fragrant—but, like I said, I'm not the optimistic kind of guy."

"Why do you always have to steer the topic back?" Long Winded complained.

"Because I think it's important and because I think you won't stop pestering me about it until I give you a good enough answer."

"Oh. Right." Long Winded grinned.

"Anyway, what else is there for us? While I like the idea of continuing to go throughout all of Equestria and beyond for fun, what will we do when we finally get home? Are we just going to make plays, craft art, and learn complex dance techniques? I know there's more to it than just that, but unless the hive expands considerably, then I'm going to be awfully bored."

"You have me and the rest of your friends, Nastic!" Long Winded said. "No matter what, we're going to be there for you to brighten up your life! Isn't that what friendship does? Enriches your life to the fullest? And, it's essential for a good life!"

Nastic smiled again as they still walked. "Well, good thing I kept you around as my optimistic friend."

"Hey! I think I just thought of something! Don't we, uh, balance each other out?"

"Why?" Nastic looked confused.

"You're pessimistic, I'm optimistic—we provide the best opinions out there!"

Nastic giggled at that. "I don't think so."

"Oh, and there's also Hearth's Warming Eve coming up!" Long Winded said. "They're already preparing for it—even though it's not gonna start until several more weeks down the line—but, it's still there! Come on, Nastic! This is going to be the first Hearth's Warming we're going to celebrate! Just imagine all the fesitivities!" Then, he hugged Nastic. "We're going to have the largest potluck meal ever, we're going to be singing Hearth's Warming carols all day and night long, and we can even stage our own pageant for the occasion! And, from that, we can make our own Hearth's Warming traditions! We can end up, well, creating Hearth's Warming bells for the carolers! We can take pictures of us creating those bells! We can take pictures of those of us taking pictures of those of us creating those bells!"

"You're getting too far with this," Nastic said.

"Am I, though?" Long Winded asked with a raised eyebrow. "You can never go too far when your'e going all out for our first ever Hearth's Warming!"

Nastic nodded. "Looks like I have to agree with you."

A few hours later

"Uh, exactly how many chess boards do you need?" Nastic asked.

"Just twenty!" Long Winded said as he plopped the chess boards to each table of the room (which was lined with bookshelves), flitting about from one table to the next. "I figured that, since you were bored and since chess is a fun game, I thought we could have lots of fun if we had lots of chess boards!"

"Who's gonna play them all?" Nastic inquired, irritated. "There's only two of us here and, well, twenty chessboards. You need thirty-eight more in order to have a full session!"

"That's why I invited random ponies to wait in the other room over there!" Long Winded said, pointing to some wooden double doors through which muffled conversations could be heard.

"How were you able to convince them to come here?" Nastic said, slightly surprised.

"Whoever's the winner of the tournament gets a year's supply of chocolate," Long Winded answered.

"What?!" Nastic placed his forehooves on his cheeks. "We don't have enough bits on us to afford a month's supply of chocolate!"

"I thought so, too. Which is why I cut the chocolate up to tiny pieces! That way, the winner has to ration his chocolate! One crumb per day for the next year!"

"A crumb per day?!"

It was now Long Winded's turn to shrug. "How else am I supposed to fulfill my promise of a year's supply of chocolate?"

"You know we don't even have enough chocolate for them!"

Then, the double doors opened.

"What's going on?" one of the many participants of the chess tournament asked—he was bearded.

The two changelings glanced at the group of concerned chess players.

Nastic shot a glare at his friend. "You explain the situation to them."

Wondering

It was night.

Blue Alarm stood on a grassy hill.

The breeze winded by, swaying the grass with its gentle touch—a soft, continuous blow that ushered in a cold bout.

Below, some ways ahead, was the town of Ponyville—once again brightly lit up by the many lights both on the street and in the cottages. An illuminated village—here it was.

The blue changeling looked up. That moon, those stars, that beautiful blue sky—his eyes reflected that glistening beauty with the glitter in his eyes.

He looked down on Ponyville, hearing the sounds—the noise—of the ponies living there. "There's the Princess of Friendship and Spike carrying several scrolls—perhaps delivering it to Starlight and—hm, Discord sitting at an umbrella'd table. 'Umbrella'd'? Could it be a word." He shook his head. "Nah. I don't think so."

He spread his wings, flittered closer—feeling the cool, late breeze—and, shooting up, leveled; flew for a while—immersed in the sounds—then stopped at a house's roof, standing at the edge of it.

Blue Alarm looked down, seeing a part of the broad view he had in front of him.

Right across him, on the street was Filthy Rich—with his signature combed hair—conversing with Fancy Pants and Fluer Dis Lee in their regal form. Filthy Rich was biting his lip any time that either unicorn was talking.

At the right—a bit farther away—there was a black pegasus with a younger gray one, "presumably brothers. The 'colors' are too similar to each other and they're both pegasi—even the voices are not so different, accounting for age." The younger pegasus lifted up a small bowl toward his "presumed brother." The latter sipped whatever was in that small bowl. Then, his eyes went large. A comforting smile and a comforting hug—with the younger pegasus holding the bowl of food behind his "presumed brother's" neck.

At the left, there was a wagon that Pinkie Pie was pushing. It contained a messy stack of many individual pies. Painted in a sloppy way on the cart were the words: "Happy Random Pie for Everypony in Ponyville Day!" The pink mare whistled about with her eyes closed as she pushed the vehicle of pie through the street. She was eyeing Filthy Rich and his very rich acquaintances.

"A normal night for Ponyville, then," Blue Alarm said. "Nothing too out of the ordinary. Yet, why is Filthy Rich talking to those two? An impromptu business meeting? Is it an exchange of some sorts that I haven't heard of yet? Is he trying to expand his business beyond Ponyville? Then, Zap Apple Jam and other Sweet Apple Acres produce can easily go beyond Ponyville as well. Can't just stay here—or, maybe they can. The family, down-to-Equestria atmosphere of that place is directing me toward that line of thinking. Then again, they'll be getting more bits if they let Filthy Rich sell their produce in other places. The ponies and other creatures in those places will certainly like Zap Apple Jam, among other things, and then they'll become semi-regular customers of the Apple family. Sending the food outside isn't enough—visitors also have to come in. But, that's all moot if they're content with where they are. It's also all moot if that's not what Filthy Rich is talking about with those two."

He turned his head, leaning an ear closer to the conversation.

"You couldn't possibly be ordering such a massive undertaking of an order, could you, Fany Pants?" Filthy Rich asked, in surprise, in his standard rural-like accent.

"Why not?" Fancy Pants answered in that upper-class yet kind tone. "Zap Apple Jam, as far as I know, only grows at Sweet Apple Acres, and you seem to be the only one here who has more than enough jars of Zap Apple Jam to bring about quite a new sub-set of cuisine in Canterlot especially at Restaurant Row. I know a few chefs there whose creativity will mold exquisite fare with that admittedly mysterious and magical rainbow-colored jam."

Filthy Rich had his mouth wide open along with his eyes.

"I see, Mr. Rich. I do apologize once more for just bumping into you without any advance notice, but I simply do not want to lose the idea the moment I got it."

Filthy Rich's teeth were now slightly clattering. "Well, that is a nice reason behind it all, but, sir, five hundred jars of Zap Apple Jam?"

"I understand if you have to cut the number down to, say, one hundred," Fancy Pants said. "It's smart either way—one hundred is a choice for the cautious businesspony in case, for some factors beyond what I can see, Zap Apple Jam fails to be a big hit in Restaurant Row. Five hundred, on the other hoof, is what a very optimistic business pony would choose if the special product does become a big hit."

Fleur Dis Lee nodded. "It would be interesting to see how it would all play out at Restaurant Row with its present culinary renaissance."

"Of course, if it does succeed," Fancy Pants went on, "I'll make sure that you and your family—and any friends you might like to mention—get a substanstial slice of the profits; I'll personally talk to each of the chefs about that matter."

The surprise on Filthy Rich's face was intensified—his irises now shrunk and he placed a hoof close to his chest.

"So, what will it be, Mr. Rich?" Fancy Pants asked. "I myself haven't had a good enough taste of it and so does my dear Fluer Dis Lee over here—" motioning a hoof at her who flipped her light pink mane.

"Why, uh—if I—uh—"

"Hi!" Pinkie screamed, waving a hoof at them. "Wanna pie?"

"Just a moment, Pinkie," Fancy Pants said, smiling and holding out a hoof at her. "We're in the middle of some very important discussions with Mr. Rich over here."

"You mean Filthy Rich?"

Fancy Pants kept smiling. "I prefer to be polite and just say 'Mr. Rich.'"

Pinkie smiled back. She took a good glance at the state of the "very important discussions": Filthy Rich was silent, quickly looking at the unicorns in front of him and at Pinkie Pie.

"OK!" Pinkie said with eyes closed as she returned to pushing the cart. "I'll be coming round here later!"

She went back to whistling, the wagon's wheels creaking under the weight of all those pies which towered over her.

Pinkie stopped her whistling and opened her eyes. "Hi, Thunderlane and Rumble!" She grabbed two pies with one hoof. "Wanna pie?"

"Yeah, Pinkie!" Thunderlane yelled as he grabbed both pies with a hoof. Looking at his "presumed brother," he said to him, "Do you wanna sit down at the table over there?" He pointed at an open and free table near an intersection—"Definitely an eatery," Blue Alarm whispered.

"Is there anypony else there?" Rumble asked him.

"A few, and that's more than enough for me!" Thunderlane said as he hovered over the ground. He looked back at Pinkie and said, "Thanks!"

"No problem! Just spreading happiness through pies the Pinkie Pie way!" Then, she giggled as she waved at the two pegasi flying away from her and approaching the eatery over there.

Blue Alarm sighed and walked a few steps away from the road, getting higher and higher towards the top of the roof he was on. He looked at the hay he was standing on.

"And, right now, there's some ponies who are living right under my hooves. Can't instantly tell what exactly they're doing, but I'm sure it's also nothing out of the ordinary—late dinner? Maybe a game. Or they're sleeping early. It's OK if they're sleeping—then again, I wouldn't know until I show myself to any passers-by at the road. Or not."

Then, he flittered away from the cottage, going once again into the nighttime air with its cool, late breeze—feeling it.

Inside a moving train, Blue Alarm sat alone inside the carriage. Several ponies were scattered sparsely throughout on their seats, most of them on their own. A stallion with a stubble had a briefcase on his hind legs as he sat upright. A mare who smelled of sweet cake frosting had a batch of baked goods inside a box—for the box had the words in big and bold font: "Baked Goods!" A pegasus—Night Glider—merely watched the dark landscape rolling by as it blitzed from one place to the next. Mayor Mare, with her glasses, was nervously tapping a hoof—anxious glances here and there. There was only one seat that had more than one passenger on it; it was occupied by Cranky Doodle Donkey and Matilda, looking out of the window and at the dark landscape just like Night Glider was—only, instead of having a wistful eye bringing in deep thought, they were leaning on each other's head, smiling.

Blue Alarm, too, looked out at the dark night landscape.

"Soon, everyone's going to celebrate Hearth's Warming," Blue Alarm said. "After that, it's going to be the first year of peace for the Changeling Hive—for us. A full year of no conflict, no war, no oppression, nothing. Just what is good for all of us—truly good.

"I have good friends—more than just good friends. They're the friends that, I'm certain, will stick around until the very end—friendship of the highest quality. It's the magic that permeates everything—from making daily life all the better to defeating monsters. It's all about friendship—nothing is better than that, and that's what they tell me. And, shouldn't it be true? Evidence number one is Equestria.

"Yet, I still remember those early, tumultuous months right after everything changed. We knew nothing other than the life we knew—glimpses of a friend-filled life were suppressed, iterated and re-iterated to us that it's only good on the surface—that, behind the shiny smiles and all the happy faces, it's really an evil system that needs to be destroyed down to the very core of it. Without anything else, what could we do? There wasn't anything to do other than work—for work was the only other thing we knew.

"And then, what? After that, it's building up an identity. Which is funny—we didn't have one. We were only known as those creatures that act like bugs and also steal love from innocent ponies. We had to prove ourselves we were otherwise.

"Imagining all of us just going about inside a pony city or village, asking all kinds of questions and seeing everything as if it were some magical relic—even though it's just a toaster. Heh." He smiled.

The train stopped at the train station in Manehattan.

Blue Alarm stepped out of the grand structure and went down the white steps.

The many taxi carriages being pulled, the many ponies walking on the sidewalk, the many lights that were on in streetlights, in buildings, on walls—advertisements on posters, billboards both traditional and electronic yelling, with sheer size and lack of tact, to try this or to try that because it's at a serious sale right now. That combination of scents was back—colognes, perfumes, food both cold and hot and either sweet or savory(frozen or chilled or grilled or steamed or roasted or fried—there were lots of food stands on the sidewalk), flowers and trees with their natural fragrances, a whiff of ashpalt from the road—all did not overwhelm the blue changeling who merely walked in the middle of the night in Manehattan, keeping to the sidewalk most of the time.

The ponies who passed by him did not pay much attention to the changeling, if at all. He himself passed by not just ponies but all kinds of establishments in their blocky and tall buildings: sandwich shops, department malls, florist outlet, book store, fancy boutique—over there, for the door was open, Plaid Stripes could be seen beside a customer in front of a pair of dresses, talking to her and asking her several questions—diamond retail, furniture store, office row, prestigious banks, looming headquarters, soaring hotels, lanky apartments, wide cinemas.

Then, there he was at the Bridleway Theater District. The junction there was an immense one—a large patch of just road where several already wide avenues came together to meet here. Tons of carriages and ponies, even at this late hour, filled up the roads and the sidewalks, almost crowding the changeling out of there and on to the road. There, the audacity of the posters and the billboards was in full force: covering more than a hoofful of floors, taking up a great space, exclaiming to one and all what it was all about while being surrounded by more that were different yet were also just like it because they were just as big, if not bigger, and were just as gaduy, if not gaudier.

The high-rise buildings themselves were among the tallest in the city of high-rise buildings, reaching to the sky—yet Blue Alarm had already seen them before.

He looked at Bridleway Theater.

"But, sir!" the stallion with a black hat yelled at an older, mustached one who sat on in front of a plastic table. "You can't let our good ol' town die out like this! I'm a citizen of this town as much as you are!" He pointed a hoof at him. "I have a passion for this town—a flame that surely should never be quenched! If, I am patriotic for my home, then I shall do everything that I can do to ensure that this town shall rise up and bloom into something better, something greater!"

"Look at me!" the older stallion said, his voice gravelly, pointing to his eyes and leaning forward. "I've been councilor in this town for more than you've been alive! I've never had to go to a night school when I was a foal! Think how absurd your suggestions are, even willing to blast past regulations so that anypony who doesn't know any better—they'll gladly throw their bits at you, you with the fiery voice! But—listen to yourself! A school for cooking or knitting? Bah! Half of the parents in this town are experts—fine experts, mind you! Who needs a year's half's training to learn rudimentary baics like that!"

"Employers these days are attracted by trained ponies," the younger stallion shot back. "I'd rather pick a trained pony than an untrained one, and I think you do, too."

"That and that—waste of money!" the older stallion shouted.

"What are you going to with the money that's been sitting in those boxes inside their own safes? Don't you know that it's an ethical crime to just let it sit there, to not let it act for the good of others, to not let it be a word to everypony here that, yes, there's a brighter future coming and we're going to use all our resources, including our money, to plunge ourselves forward to it and to welcome this future with open arms?!"

And on went the play on stage, the argument between younger and older.

Blue Alarm said nothing as he ate his popcorn, watching it and smiling as he sat beside a few ponies who were also smiling at the unravelling story before them.

"Maybe I just need to take my mind off of this for a while," Blue Alarm then said.

He ate another mouthful of popcorn.

Discourse

The pegasus stallion, white in coat and black in hair, held up a potted plant on his hoof as he sat down right in front of a table with stacks of paper—disheveled and messy, scattered about on the table.

The nameplate on the table proudly displayed the pegasus's name: "House Style."

Along with the papers, several photographs were peeking out of a folder; on that folder were written the words: "For immediate addition."

He could make out who were the figures portrayed in those photographs even without fully pulling them out: here was a unicorn with a broken horn (most probably Tempest Shadow—or, as they now called her, Fizzlepop Berrytwist) and with her some kind of gray creature holding a slice of cake (most probably Grubber); here were the six Pillars of Equestria smiling rather awkwardly for a camera and among them was Stygian who, out of the posing ponies there, made quite a modest smile; here was that cat with a coat (and there were some words written in ink on the photo: 'Capper, con artist; take statements with salt and sugar'); here was a group of parrots wearing pirate garb—an eyepatch was there, for one—and brandishing a couple swords (without a doubt Captain Celaeno and her crew); here were the Cutie Mark Crusaders having a joyful time in Camp Friendship, helping other colts and fillies find out what their talent was; here was King Thorax and Dragon Lord Ember shaking hoof and claw respectively; here was Princess Twilight Sparkle smiling beside the Friendship Journal; here was Prince Rutherford and several other yaks standing still in front of the camera and smiling normally—normal according to pony standards, that was.

"When can historical events catch a break these days?" House Style moaned, slumping on to the table. "When I got on the editing team for 'The Complete History of Equestria,' I wasn't expecting to have a slew of world-changing occasions on hoof every year! Now, this is the craziest one, yet! Besides legendary ponies turning out to be real and alive and being with us, there's another invasion of Canterlot, another defeat of some major enemy, a defining publication from a Princess—what else is gonna happen?"

The door opened, creaking.

"Oh, it's you, sir."

"I don't like just being called, 'sir,'" the newcomer said—an Earth pony with short mane and short tail; his coat was yellow and his hair was also black.

"Right, Volume Number," House Style said.

Volume Number sat down with a sigh. "Sorry for the grumpiness, House Style." He rested a hoof on the table. "When a pony on the history team just had a talk with a Pillar, a lot of things change for him. Want proof?" He pointed at himself, smiling.

House Style gasped. "No way! Which one did you talk to?!"

"None other than Star Swirl the Bearded."

"Did he bring the rest with him?" He hastily added, "And Stygian, too?"

"Mostly relaxing in the lobby," he said, pointing at the door. "Downstairs, chatting with whoever else is on the team. And visitors—you've got to see their faces when they come in and see the Pillars sitting on couches. It's a sight to behold, trust me." He then snickered.

House Style replied with a snicker of his own. "We've got one of our photographers downstairs, correct?"

"Two of them are on it."

"The couple recruit?"

Volume Number nodded. "Hired them only a few days ago. You know—" straightening himself up on the chair "—it's kind of heartwarming to unite two married ponies with very similar cutie marks. Whoever handled their marriage must've had felt the same way I did when I brought in two natural cameraponies into the same job with the same working hours, even."

"But, you're sure they're downstairs, taking pictures of unwary visitors?" House Style prodded.

Volume Number groaned. "You certainly don't have a desire for light stories."

"Too sappy for my taste," House Style said, ending his words with a "Blah!" of the tongue.

"Still same old you."

House Style nodded. Then, he eyed the folder of photographs. Pushing it with a hoof, he said, "So, you're the one who sent me these photos and files."

"I bet you know the situation we're having here," Volume Number said. "Too little time between significant events—no need to further clarify without repeating myself. We want to do this as fast as possible and finish the twenty-ninth edition of this thing by Hearth's Warming—a good gift for all of us."

"Wait, we have a deadline?"

"We're in full gallop for this one," Volume Number said, slamming a hoof on the table yet keeping his calm composure. "New biographical sections on the Pillars and associated figures—the biggest change in our Pre-Equestria and Early Equestria chapters since the twenty-first edition. At the end, a very short piece on how their modern lives might work out—and, for this edition and probably the next few, warnings to respect the Pillars and Stygian for the ponies that they are. Besides that, under the Modern Literature pages, we'll need a thorough analysis yet condensed for the Friendship Journal—we need to conduct one last interview for Princess Twilight about whether she'll make another edition with new friendship lessons for next year. We need an update on Prince Rutherford's recent acts—we've been playing too much catch-up on that line ever since Subheading got lost in the snow on the way there."

"Wait, do we have any update on him?"

"Recovering in a Crystal Empire hospital since yesterday. I sent him my good wishes via letter." Then, perked eyes. "Oh, and the second modern invasion of Canterlot—almost forgot about that one." With an increduluous face, he said, "Can you believe almost nopony in Equestria has heard of the Storm King until then?"

"That's what you get when you don't send historians out to the lands beyond here."

"That reminds me of the new locations we have to document in this edition," Volume Number went on, resting his hoof on the table again. "Abyssinia, Klugetown, Mount Aris with Hippogriffia and Seaquestria, Basalt Beach—and certainly even more when we ask the locals of those places. We're still receiving reports of Abyssinia trying to recover from their own invasion, by the way—wanna be the one out there and ask the cats about some good ol' history of their own?"

"I think I've got my plate full with all the homework," House Style answered, spreading his forehooves wide as if emphasizing the folder with photos and files on the table.

Volume Number rubbed his head. "Sorry. It's just—it's hard for me to cope with the influx as well. Teachers, librarians, casual readers, hardcore readers or fans—they've been waiting up for this one since months ago."

"Don't we do this yearly?" House Style asked, raising his head.

"Yes—looks my mind's getting scrambled out of all this. Ugh." The Earth pony rubbed his head again—eyes closed.

"You need some medicine?"

"I'll be fine," Volume Number said, holding out a hoof. "Besides, it's break time already. Nothing's gonna defuse my headache like talking with legends—and medicine, although I won't talk to medicine." Then, he stood up from his chair.

"I've got some medicine for you," House Style said, picking up something from behind another stack of papers

"It's alright. You've got your own for your headaches, not mine. I have mine."

With that, he exited the small room.

The door closed.

House Style sighed and slumped on his table again.

He looked at all the photographs and at all the papers in front of him and on the table.

"All I know is that I have to get this done sooner or later. I'm gonna do nothing if I only sleep here. Not to mention having to face disciplinary action, among other things that's gonna happen. I can't blame it on all the creatures who are causing all of this. They're not working to make us work."

His ears perked.

"Wait, didn't he say it was break time?"

He looked once more upon the folder with its photographs. He placed them all fully back inside the folder, closed it, organized the papers to neater stacks.

He hovered to the other end of the room, beside the door.

One look at his work table with his nameplate: "House Style."

He smiled as he opened the door and left his room.

"At least I'll talk to some of the Pillars—that would be nice."

"Grilled Vegetables" was a generic name for a restaurant whose specialty was, well, grilled vegetables. Yet, there it was, the name for such a restaurant in front of a busy street in Manehattan, beside a chocolate shop and a newsstand building as these and more basked in the nightlights and the nightlife of the bustling city that did not want to sleep.

The floor was checkered, the tables were white and green, and the aesthetic of the place was like that of a run-of-the-mill diner: tacky yet homely, urban yet cozy. More than several ponies occupied the tables and the counter—and the customers who were at the counter were in for a good treat since they would order, wait, have, and eat without having to walk a single meter.

Besides the general chatter going on, sizzles and fizzles were heard—one could see, even from a table, the cooks grilling various vegetables such as lettuces, cabbages, tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, garlic, and so on. Some fruits were also being grilled such as apples, oranges, strawberries, and so on. Some cooks were using charcoal grills, others were using gas grills. Common words that went around between customers and order-takers were "Charcoal!" and "Gas!" which was usually followed by a nod from the order-taker who then relayed the word (plus the rest of the order) to the cook who would then respond appropriately by placing the ingredients on the appropriate grills.

The smell of the place was faint—there was not much in terms of a culinary aroma going around, but it was there.

As one of the counter customers left his seat with a burp, House Style took over and rested a hoof on the metal counter.

An order-taker—or a waiter—walked over to him. "Ah, House Style! How are you doing?"

"Lots of work for this year's edition, Char Broil," House Style said in a raspier tone.

"Not too hard?" she asked.

"It should be par for the course by now," he said, smirking.

"So, any extra job you're gonna have besides editing?"

"Volume Number suggested that I go out to Abyssinia and interview the residents there." He rested his head on a hoof.

"That far?"

"That far, but he understood that even I couldn't handle that considering the rest of the workload."

She nodded. "Want your usual?"

"I want something heavier for tonight," he said. "The usual plus a few charcoal apples and charcoal onions—full onions. And a few charcoal peppers."

"Hefty bite, no?" she said, curling her lips and raising an eyebrow in curiosity. She turned back to shout: "House Style's usual with extra charcoal apples, onions, peppers!"

"House usual, extra charcoal apples, onions, peppers!" a deep baritone voice called out from the unwalled kitchen.

She rested her hooves on the metal counter, with him right across. "I've heard rumors and hearsay that the Pillars are staying there. Is that true?"

"True," he curtly replied.

Her eyes widened—gasping. "Really, now?"

"I already said 'True,'" he said, smirking. "Aren't you gonna believe any of my words?"

"It's just...unbelievable, House," she said. She looked up dreamily. "Could you just think of yourself standing right in front of somepony who mom and dad told you about endlessly during story time? I certainly can—although Rockhoof and Meadowbrook were just two among the many bedtime stories they told me—still, it's just—it boggles my mind, really, how some of my bedtime heroes can—"

"I've heard that story a ton of times already," House Style cut in, waving a hoof in the air as if dismissing something. "It's always at the top of our 'Most Talked History Topics of the Day' list. Ponies come to our town just to see our reaction to all that's been happening—from truly interested ponies who want to know our honest opinions and the objective facts about it to those who have their fill by just seeing our faces to whatever story they can concoct whether real or not. This...return, so to speak, is just what broke the floodgates."

"Lots of mail?" she asked, raising an eyebrow again.

"Lots of mail," he answered. "And there were yet more after the whole Storm King thing ended. This thing is not yet over, though—even with all the mail overflowing from our mailboxes, there will be the massive news coverage during Hearth's Warming. There will be speeches by the Princesses during that time and certainly at the end of the year." He raised a wing and counted that item with one pinion, ready to count yet more. "No doubt there will be at least a few delegates from throughout Equestria visiting for the grand Hearth's Warming celebration in Canterlot. We have to record that as well." Another pinion counted. "No doubt newspaper will also be reporting on the Dragon Lands' second Hearth's Warming celebration—or, whatever they could pull off during the time." Another pinion counted. "Then, there comes the Changeling Hive's first Hearth's Warming celebration." Closed three pinions on one wing, restarted with the first pinion. "Almost nopony—well, nopony in the public—knows what they're gonna do. We have guesses and approximations judging from their usual behavior." He retracted his pinions.

"Like lively parties and telling their feelings to each other?" she asked.

"That's an approximation," he said. "Only some know for sure what's gonna happen there."

"Wait a minute—that's reserved for the newspaper ponies."

"Some complications with the newsstands here, if you haven't noticed," he said. "A lot are on strike—even though the fire was completely by accident."

"There was a fire?"

"It was controlled before it blazed outside, but it burned more than enough equipment and personal property to enrage the writers. Some of those writers moved to our offices—and, what else can I do for them than to gather info?"

"Yikes." She raised a hoof to her mouth.

"It's going to be fine," he said in a matter-of-fact way, casually fixing his posture. "As long as we all work together and co-operate, we're going to bring the newspaper ponies back to the fray and we're going to publish the twenty-ninth edition—eventually."

"Hah. Eventually." She sneered at that. "You've delayed it three times this year! If you guys keep this up, this year's gonna go edition-less!"

"Oh, no, ma'am!" he said, imitating another's accent. "That would be a disaster if we happen to release it on the first day of next year!" He placed his hooves on his cheeks as if to prove his point. "Oh, no! What are we going to do, ma'am?!"

She giggled at that. "Stop it—you're making a fool of yourself!"

"Well, I don't have much to do until I get back to work," he said—an air of dreaded anticipation. "The next few weeks are going to be difficult for all of us—rushed papers, hasty interviews and talks, fast editing."

"But, don't forget that we're here to cheer you up while you're at it," she said, smiling.

He sniffed the air.

A plate down in front of him.

"It's already here?" he asked, amazed at the sight of the plate and its grilled contents—with steam still rising from them and a bit of carbon on them. "Wow, that's—"

"You don't have to say it," she said.

With that, she went to the customer who had just arrived right beside House.

"Ah, hello! You must be new here, sir...?

"Blue Alarm," the changeling replied. "I'm Blue Alarm."

House looked at him—and had a little surprise on his face.

He did not say a word. He just watched the changeling.

"What's the bestseller here?" Blue Alarm asked. "Or chef's recommended item? Hm—could there be a waiter's recommended item? Isn't their opinion as valuable as a chef's?"

"I'm not so sure, really," she said. "And, before I forget, my name's Char Broiled."

"Fitting that you work here," Blue Alarm said.

She smiled with closed eyes. "I guess it's my talent that led me to this place—I've done a fair part of grilling and broiling myself. Also charbroiling."

"What does it feel like?" he asked, tapping the metal counter with his hoof. "Living up to your name in the literal sense of it, I mean?"

"It's pleasant, to say the least," she said. Then, she cleared her throat, looking back at the menu above her before looking back at the changeling. "But, I don't wanna waste your time—we could talk more after you place in your order."

Blue Alarm nodded. "That's good. I've already decided, though: just three stalks of celery, gas grilled."

She smiled once again. "Coming right up, sir!" She turned around to one of the cooks at the back. "Three celery stalks; gas!"

"Three celery stalks; gas!" he replied—that same deep baritone voice.

She turned back to see Blue Alarm. "I noticed that this is your first time here in Grilled Vegetables."

"I haven't had many chances to try out grilled food," he said. "Our methods of cooking in the hive are limited—we sent some of our idealistic chefs to some cooking schools throughout Equestria."

"Don't you think that's too much?" she asked.

"Might as well make a good impression on everyone else, don't you think?"

"Mm-hm."

He looked around, seeing the various ponies who sat and ate their grilled vegetables on the tables. A few met his gaze—one sheepishly waved at him with an clumsy, stiff smile. Blue Alarm waved back.

"How's the hive?" she asked. "How's living there?"

"It's not as radical as some make it out to be," he said. "Most of us got used to it at this point. Thorax being king is one of the best things about it, though—when you consider that he's had lots of friends in the Crystal Empire back before he became our ruler, he's had more than enough experience in the art of friendship."

House Style was still watching the discourse unfold, slightly leaning closer, straining and stressing one ear.

"Speaking of friendship," she said, "care to tell me who your closest friends are? I'm sure you have many friends both changeling and pony—but, what about the names to begin with?"

"Easy." He smiled. "Red Noise, Humerus, Neon Guard. Stuck with me even before the entire change."'

"You used to be, uh, squad buddies or something?" she asked, a twinge of nervousness in that question.

"Yes." He nodded with that.

"Oh, uh...." She cleared her throat. "Well, uh, ah, that's...nice to know."

"I know you're uncomfortable with me telling you that," he said. "Just to let you know, Char Broiled—right, is it?"

"Don't worry," she said, clearing her throat right after that. "It's all in the past—it's all in the past and I don't have to think too much about that right now." Then, she smiled.

A tap on her shoulder.

A big and muscular Earth pony wearing a pair of thick glasses had, on his hoof, a plate of three grilled celery stalks. "Here's three celery stalks, gas!"

"Thank you!" she said as she took the plate and placed it right in front of the changeling.

It was hot.

"Careful, Blue Alarm," she said. "If you aren't, you might end up burning your tongue."

"I've seen something far worse than just burning my tongue," Blue Alarm said, "so I think I'll be very careful this time."

"Now, what could be possibly be worse than burning your tongue by some stalks?"

"Seeing your friend breathe fire out of his mouth and ears?"

"It's not that an uncommon occurrence here," she said.

"Really?"

"Yes, really!" House Style interrupted, raising a hoof as he faced the changeling and the waiter.

He gulped.

She looked surprised.

The changeling looked at him.

"Ah, you're her friend," Blue Alarm said, turning fully to him. "I've seen you chatting with her right before I came in. I bet you're close friends with her."

Moments of silence. "Yes, I am close friends with her."

"That's good," he said. "You must be a regular here, then."

"Yeah, I am." He rested a hoof once again on the metal counter. "And, I bet your travelling around in Equestria—sight-seeing and all—brought you here."

"You're correct. You have good observational skills—" pointing a hoof at him, though an uncertain one for he hesitated "—you're probably an investigator, working for the police department here in Manehattan."

"I'm flattered that you think so highly of me. I'm just an editor for 'The Complete History of Equestria.'"

"Not bad!" Blue Alarm told. Then, a bigger smile. "If you're willing, I could have, say, twenty minutes of my time for some talk with you." He picked up one grilled stalk. "I'll nibble at this—I can make this last for twenty minutes and more. It just takes expertise and patience."

"It'll grow cold!" Char Broiled complained. Then, with a change of face—a smile—she said, "But, I think this will be very interesting."

House Style nodded at that. Then, he narrowed his eyes. "How do you know that I needed such an interview with a changeling like you?"

"Wanted to buy a newspaper and I overheard some tidbits about some newspaper staff forced to move to a history building or something."

House Style's eyes opened wide at that. He glanced at Char Broiled. "Small world, huh?"

"For all you know, House," she replied, beginning in jest, "your parents might have secret connections to the Royal Sisters!"

"Very funny. My parents are definitely not related to either of the Princesses at all. Otherwise, I would've been a real Prince by now and I wouldn't be here talking to you two!" He pointed at her and Blue Alarm.

"What you're saying is that the Princesses are worse at friendship than you are?" she asked—still in jest.

"Still funny."

"Come on! You know it's just a joke!"

"I know it, I know it, I know it!" he yelled, raising his forehooves in the air.

A few seconds of silence.

"We'll start?" Blue Alarm asked, positioning the stalk near his mouth.

"Why not?" House Style answered.

Two-way

Twilight Sparkle poofed back into the room.

The unicorn, the dragon, and the changeling looked at her in surprise.

"Is everything alright?!" Twilight yelled at Spike. "I just received confirmation of all the plans that we could ever have for this significant event in Equestrian history and beyond!" A pause—turn to Thorax. "Oh, hi, Thorax!" She waved at him.

"Uh, are you OK?" Thorax asked nicely and politely—as nicely and as politely as a smile could get him.

"She's neurotic," Starlight said, motioning a hoof toward the crazily waving Twilight—who also had a scruffled mane.

"That means she's...OK?"

Twilight gasped. "Wait! Thorax is here!"

Starlight groaned and covered her face with her hoof.

"That means everyone is here! All the delegates! The visitors! The caterers! Applejack!"

"Why Apple—"

"No time to lose, Spike!" Twilight said as she levitated her assistant into the air. "We need all of you to set things straight!"

"I'm pretty sure Amethyst Star's doing a good job!" Spike managed to say as he was floating (helplessly).

"Twilight," Starlight began, "I think you need to take—"

"Thorax, Starlight, come with me!"

And Twilight went off, galloping out of the room and then out of the castle—while levitating poor Spike out as well.

Starlight and Thorax looked at the swinging double doors of the room.

"What happened, Starlight?" Thorax asked.

"Twilight's worried today," Starlight said. Then, she shrugged. "You'll get used to it if you hang out with her long enough."

"Is that normal?" Thorax asked. "Do all the Princesses get so worried like that?"

"I bet she's the only Princess who's gone mad eight times in a single year," Starlight said.

"Eight?"

The two walked their way out of the room and into the hallway.

"This is time number eight," Starlight said. "You don't want to know what happened with number seven."

"What happened then?" Thorax asked. He added, "You think she needs a doctor?"

"Oh, she always gets better—eventually. And, to tell you what happened with the last time she got so worried: Well, that involved Discord, Lyra borrowing somepony's window, and Twilight teaching Rainbow Dash about—what was it? Ah, Daring Do...."

"The sky!" a mare cried out as she pointed there.

Slowly but surely, there was an approaching horizon of many flying creatures, their buzzes growing louder and louder. Dragons and changelings—that's what they all are. A bit of small talk here and there but it was drowned out by the wind and by the chatter of the ponies down on Ponyville proper.

They were descending—closer and closer to the ground. Then, lots of touchdowns as dragons and changelings landed on their two feet and their four hooves respectively. While the changelings immediately went to walking around and talking with each other and the locals—who responded with smiling and happy talk back—the dragons, meanwhile, were endeavoring to not flatten any pony with a single movement of theirs. More than a few ponies were biting their hooves as they watched the dragons try to move about carefully—and one or two would scream when a dragon narrowly missed a house, avoiding destruction and damage.

Ember flew her way to the town hall where already several changelings were seated and a few dragons were not seated—those dragons had decided to stand up for the entire length of whatever was ahead of them for, apparently, the chairs were not appropriate for them.

"The ponies haven't prepared us dragons with comfort with mind," Ember murmured. "Then again, ponies don't have much space to begin with." She sighed—a scowl on her face. Then, she sniffed the air. "At least they threw away all the bad smells! This smells a lot more like home!"

The seated changelings, on the other hoof, had other opinions about that.

"Yuck!" a yellow changeling exclaimed, pinching his nose. "What's going on here? I can't stand the smell—it's even worse here than a few minutes ago!"

"Look on the bright side, Subphyl!" the blue changeling on his left said. "Maybe it's the pony chefs working up a savory meal!"

"With that much vinegar?!" Subphyl retorted.

"It's better than not having to eat anything for three days," the green changeling on his right replied.

"We're changelings," Subphyl said. "We can live on sharing love alone."

"Yeah, but I like to eat food I can hold with my hooves!" the green changeling answered, raising up his forehooves into Subphyl's view.

"I haven't tasted everything pony cuisine has to offer," the blue changeling said. "Today's a good opportunity to try it all!"

"With a smell that bad? No thanks." Subphyl then dismissed both of his friends with a hoofwave.

"Pinkie Pie? Applejack?" Amethyst asked as she poked her head into Sugarcube Corner, looking here and there but not catching sight of either of the two. "Pinkie Pie? Applejack?"

"Present!" Pinkie Pie yelled as she hopped out of the counter, throwing some confetti into the air.

"Oh, Pinkie!" Amethyst said, walking to her. "You don't have to do that!"

"And, that's alright!" Pinkie said. "Nopony needs requirements to have fun, silly!" And she laughed.

Amethyst smiled. "OK. Where's Applejack?"

"Back in the back!" Pinkie replied, hurling her hoof toward the kitchen doorway. "She's busy with the second-to-last batch of apple sweets with Mr. and Mrs. Cake!"

"And, what are you doing?"

"Same thing, 'till you came over!"

Amethyst took a step back, nodding. "That means that everything's going smoothly."

"Mm-hm!"

"That's good," Amethyst said. "Now, if you excuse me, I have to take care of a crisis going on outside about some smells. See you later, Pinkie!"

And she dashed off.

"Some smells?" Pinkie asked. Then, she shouted, "Applejack! Do you smell something?!"

"Yer' tellin' me you haven't smell'd the vinegar?!"

"Thorax was right," Spike said, pinching his nose as he walked on the streets with Twilight—passing by many dragons and many changelings on their own way to town hall, filling the air with noisy conversations. "It smells awful!"

"I don't get it," Twilight said. "I told her to not let anypony give Ponyville a different smell! Nothing too fragrant. I didn't expect her to go the opposite extreme and have something noxious for the town!"

Spike coughed. "I have no idea what she's thinking, Twilight!"

"Me, too, but—she's Amethyst Star! There's a good reason behind all she does, even if that includes making Ponyville stink like a garbage dump."

A unicorn was running—running to the two, passing by dragons and changelings who glanced at her with passing interest.

"Twilight!" Amethyst Star said, somewhat panicked. "We have an emergency on our hooves!"

"You mean the stench?" Twilight asked, a little panicked as well. "What's happening here, Amethyst?"

"We had to spray vinegar all over Ponyville, Twilight!" Amethyst explained quick, fast, and not so clearly—gesturing and gesticulating with her hooves at an almost agile ability. "Mayor Mare ordered some ponies to perfume the town, but you and I know that dragons can't stand aromas like that! So, we had to remove the perfume as early as we could—we were already late at the job! It's going to take an hour to remove the smell, but it's better than the alternative!"

Twilight, at first, took on an upset face. Then, she had a solemn smile. "Yes, Amethyst. It's better than the alternative of burning our village down by accidental sneezing." She looked at Spike. "Looks like we have to get used to the smell—it's gonna go away soon, right?"

"You said an hour?!" Spike said, facing Amethyst. "How am I supposed to survive an hour of stench?!"

"I'm sorry, Spike," Amethyst said. "But, this is to make sure that the rest of the dragons don't destroy our homes all because of some fragrances they're allergic to."

Spike sighed. "Alright." He went back to pinching his nose.

"Barring the smell," Twilight said, "how's everything going, Amethyst?"

"Actually, pretty OK," she replied. "I managed to bring Pinkie Pie and Applejack and the Cake couple to work under the same roof."

"B-but, I thought Pinkie Pie was busy!" Twilight blathered.

"Apparently, she wasn't," Amethyst responded. "She was very aware of today's summit."

"Oh. Right. She's Pinkie." Twilight had a fretting face on.

"Applejack was more than willing to help with the catering efforts and what not," Amethyst said. "Rarity had some fancy cloths which she used up in a split—I think Rarity's almost done now."

Twilight looked up at the clear sky—clear from clouds, that was, for there were still some straggling changelings and dragons not yet on the ground. "And, I can see Rainbow Dash and the weather team did their job as well."

"Yes, Twilight," Amethyst said. "Also, Fluttershy diverted most of the animals away from Ponyville."

"According to the plan, then!" Twilight said. "We still don't know much about how dragons and changelings will react to certain animals. What else did you do?"

Spike sighed as he hopped on Twilight and sat there. "This is going to be one long day."

Twilight looked around. "Spike, it is going to be one long day—no, three long days!" A pause. "If you're bothered by the smell, just remember that it'll go away in an hour. An hour is nothing compared to three days, Spike."

"And the paperwork?" Spike asked, raising an eyebrow while crossing his arms.

"I think you deserve a more exciting job than just handling paperwork," Twilight said. She looked at Amethyst and said: "You've done very well with helping Ponyville get ready for the summit. You even took care of the last-minute perfume problem as effectively as you could—you certainly prevented Ponyville from being engulfed in flames."

"Thank you, Twilight!" Amethyst said—choking a little.

"I should be asking you to organize for Ponyville even more," Twilight said, "since I can't fathom having to juggle between being the Princess of Friendship and organizing Ponyville events full-time on both!"

Amethyst giggled. "It will be a pleasure to be under your service, Princess."

"Nah, just keep calling me Twilight!"

Now both ponies giggled.

Twilight looked at Spike. "What about I bring you to the town hall and see if there's anything better than paperwork, huh?"

Spike let out a small smile. "OK, Twilight."

With that, she took off into flight.

Long Shot wore her cap on her head and her camera around her neck. A saddlebag around her torso with some pencils and a pad of paper sticking out of it.

She turned her head around as she passed by the dragons and the changelings that swarmed the streets with their numbers. She could see the ponies inside their houses—foals, colts and fillies were watching the entire pseudo-parade with awe and with shouts of excitement and novelty; mares and stallions, on the other hoof, were busy either being scared of what was right outside their front doors or chiding their children to stop distracting the ones over there—to no avail, for the young ponies stuck to the windows.

Past the figures both normal and large, she could see the prominent ponies doing whatever they were doing at the town hall—the band ponies playing a soothing, quiet piece that could not be heard so well behind the many words being said in front of her; Princess Twilight Sparkle, Spike, and Dragon Lord Ember having a talk with each other—Ember wearing a smile throughout; Amethyst was pointing a hoof here and directing a hoof there as several ponies carried light fixtures, more wooden platforms, and some tables; Starlight and King Thorax were walking side-by-side, chatting with each other amiably as could be seen by the occasional laughter, the perennial smiles, and the active gesturing they were engaged in; Mayor Mare sitting on one of the chairs, sighing and breathing slowly; several more press ponies with their own cameras and their own saddlebags gathered together near the many rows of chairs; changelings sitting on the aforementioned chairs and conversing with one another freely; some pegasi going around in the air and, perhaps, fetching some far-off items—there were two who were just ordered by Amethyst to get "some good books from my house—that will help ease the boredom for the changelings, but don't give any of them to the dragons—well, not yet! I don't want to see my precious books destroyed in seconds!"

Over there, appearing from a block of buildings, there were four ponies: Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Mr. Cake and Mrs. Cake. They were all pulling a great wagon or cart of food which was filled to the brim with all kinds of edibles: besides the cakes, the pies, and Pinkie's mysterious cakepies, there were also donuts, bagels, muffins, jars of pure icing and frosting, apple strudels, bowls of hot mushroom soup and of corn soup, tall sandwiches, fresh leafy salads, fruits and vegetables.

Long Shot quickly shyed away from looking at the ponies there.

A pony from the press group over there caught sight of her. "Hey, Long Shot!"

Long Shot gulped. "They caught me, didn't they?" she whispered to herself.

"Sis, you've got to let me participate in the festivities!" Zephyr said as he sat on one of Fluttershy's green couches beside Fluffly Clouds—who was standing over there.

"Zephyr, what will you do?" Fluttershy asked in a stern manner as she stood in front of him.

"I could cut the manes of the attendants—"

"The attendants have no manes to cut, Zephyr," Fluttershy pointed out. "Have you seen a changeling with a mane?"

"On the news last week, yes!" He nodded as if to emphasize his point.

"Well, you haven't read on to see that it was a hoax—he was wearing painted leaves."

"Painted leaves?!" Zephyr cried out loud. "Why, the Breeze—" pointing a hoof to himself as he smiled smugly, his teeth sparkling even "—can tell you, with confident expertise backing me up, that the mane you and I saw was real."

"Uh, can I take this moment to leave?" Fluffly Clouds asked, raising a hoof. "It seems you're having a, uh, personal discussion between cherished siblings."

Before either of the siblings could say anything, he zipped out of the cottage.

"And, you three are on stand-by to help anyone who suffers any medical difficulties, alright?" Amethyst told the three hospital ponies as they stood right in front of town hall—with Twilight, Spike, and Ember only a few meters away as they talked amongs themselves.

The three ponies—two stallions with white doctor coats and glasses, and one mare with a nurse's cap—nodded.

"Which one of you is Doctor Horse, by the way?" Amethyst asked.

The two stallions raised their hooves. They looked at each other with awkward faces and both cleared their throats.

"Uh—what? You're both Doctor Horse?"

"Officially, yes," the doctor with a stockier build and brown mane said.

"But," the other doctor—having curly orange mane and rangy form—said, "I've garnered the name, 'Doc Top,' so you can call me that."

"Wait a minute," Amethyst said, holding up a hoof. "I've lived here in Ponyville for practically my whole life—how come it's only now I know this? Or is it because I'm too healthy to go to our own hospital?"

The three medical ponies shrugged.

"Wow! We have standing room even though the chairs aren't all taken, yet!" Pinkie yelled.

"Whaddya' expect from chairs so small if you're a dragon?" Applejack said as she and Pinkie pulled the wagon of food. "Good thing to know that these dragons here 'ave some courtesy."

"Courtesy not to crush any chairs?" Pinkie asked.

"We don't wanna cause a war, do we, now?"

"War?"

"Ah' myself don't know how aggressive these dragons are. Or, how 'xactly we're gonna answer to any threat they pose. Ah' have the feelin' it's a mix of runnin' and fightin'."

"Isn't that why we're having these dragons coming here and talk peacefully about not causing trouble?"

"It's not specifically 'bout us," Applejack said. "It's about them and the changelings. We're only here because Ponyville's the town to have all the fancy delegates an' all."

"But, what if they don't have fancy delegates?" Pinkie said. "What if they have non-fancy delegates?"

"Pinkie, you're just pushing the questions now, aren't ya'?"

"Pushing questions? Why, I'm just asking questions!"

Applejack sighed. "Pinkie."

"How else are you gonna make pulling a cart so exciting, Applejack?" Pinkie asked. "I mean, without going all out and firing my party cannon—which I can bring out and—"

"Pinkie."

"Oh, alright!" Pinkie said, twirling a hoof around and pulling out a balloon from her mane. "Here! We'll just have a balloon—that way, everyone knows that we're the travelling food cart ponies!"

"We're not travelling, Pinkie," Applejack said.

"Uh, duh, we are! Walking implies travelling!"

Applejack sighed and smacked herself on the face.

"Is somepony jealous?" Crusoe asked as he sat down on the green grass in front of the river—though he was facing the summit or convention or whatever it was called as it unfolded, each second leading up to its commencement.

"I'm not jealous," Toe-Tapper said, not wearing his entire Pony Tones uniform—just his striped bowtie. "Are you jealous?"

"No," Crusoe said.

And in front of them were the dragons shuffling around, trying to make some more space to join in. Changelings were flocking to the chairs, slowly filling up the seats and reducing the amount of available chairs left for anypony who would want to seek the the relaxation that could be found in sitting down. Ponies themselves were the busiest of them all—under the command of Amethyst Star, who kept telling ponies this and that, they mustered the energy to place things into position, to fix things so that they (hopefully) will not break, and to coordinate with those who would speak, with those who would perform, and, most importantly, with those two grand leaders of their respective nations or kingdoms.

"I guess you've sang before," Toe-Tapper said out of the blue. "You must have—Pinkie Pie lives here and she's prone to getting everypony here to sing."

"Yeah, I do sing," Crusoe said. "So"

"What about you sing for the big event?" Toe-Tapper said

"Me?" Crusoe pointed to himself, backing away from the Pony Tones singer. "Why? Aren't you supposed to perform for the audience later on?"

"Yeah, we are," Toe-Tapper said. "But, I thought to myself that, if everypony in Ponyville can sing well, then why not help ponies develop that singing voice? That way, everypony can sing better."

Crusoe held up a hoof. "Thanks for the offer, but I'm not taking it."

Toe-Tapper smiled. "It's alright. It's just a little idea I had in mind."

And the two stayed there on that patch of grass as the chairs filled up.

"So, you wanna sit down on one of those chairs?" Crusoe asked.

"We have to practice with the rest of the Tones, remember?" Toe-Tapper said. "We'll be up in about three."

"Oh."

As Twilight walked away from the porch, leaving Ember and Spike there at the town hall, her ears perked up.

A slow, graceful flap of wings—heard and then seen as she looked up.

"Princess Skystar?!" Twilight exclaimed as the hippogriff—half-pony, half-griffon creature; winged, hind leg hooves, front leg claws; beaks instead of snouts—landed on the ground at the isle between the two groups of chairs.

Skystar was light yellow or cream colored in coat; her mane and her tail were light blue, very cyan.

"Did you missed me, Twilight?!" Skystar said in a high-pitched voice and in a quick pace while waving a claw at her. "This place looks so jolly! What's it for? My mom told me that I had to go to Ponyville because there was this super important meeting that was gonna take place between some two kingdoms, I think, and she told me to be there in order to get 'national bearings,' whatever they are."

Twilight just had her mouth open the whole time throughout the speech.

"In short, I'm here to get some 'national bearings'!" Then, leaning toward Twilight's ears, she whispered: "What are 'national bearings'? Can clams wear them?"

Twilight cleared her throat. "Uh, your arrival was—"

"Unexpected? I know! Ooh! Forgot to shake your hoof!"

And, she shook Twilight's hoof, bobbing Twilight up and down.

"I didn't expect my arrival, too, you know! Because, I had my own thing going on for the week! Actually, today was the day we had to go and do some rebuilding for the good ol' Hippogriff Kingdom! Trying to fend for ourselves, having to recover old things we lost on the way when we swam—to flee, not just fleeing—and other little things on the checklist that my mom prepared for me to finish and so on and so forth—how are you, Twilight?"

"Uh, I'm doing...great!"

"Great!" Skystar said. "So, where can I get the 'national bearings'? Are they magical artifacts? Stones? Minerals? Maybe it's a plant!"

"Skystar," Twilight began, facing her with a kind face, "'national bearings' isn't something you get. I think what your mom meant by that was that she wanted you to see how the surface world was doing—like, is it peaceful? Is it filled with conflict? Who are the major kingdoms besides Equestria that have lots of influence and power? You've been underwater for quite some time—not too long, but long enough. It only makes sense that she would want you to check how everything's doing up here—or, down here, since many of you are now in Mount Aris."

"Oh! So, that's what my mom meant!"

"And it's a good thing," Twilight said. "In fact, I think it's the best move that the Hippogriff Kingdom can make during these times. How's Princess Celestia and Queen Novo, by the way?"

"They're doing alright!" Skystar said. "It's not going to be easy to convince my mom to fully open up the kingdom to the rest of the world—I mean, before you came here, she trusted Tempest Shadow and you know how that went over—but, I'm sure that she will get to that sooner rather than later!"

Twilight nodded. "I like your optimistic point of view, Skystar." Then, she looked around—there were the changelings on the chairs, there were the ponies still preparing everything—hauling stuff here and there—and there were the dragons just standing around, some of them talking with each other but most of them not bothering with even their own. "Where are you going to stay, though?"

"Anywhere?" Skystar said, unsure. "I don't know, really. What's the duration of this, anyway? An hour, two hours, a day?"

"Three days," Twilight replied.

"Three days?! Are you sure you can stand here all the three days!"

Twilight laughed a little. "Of course, not. That's why we have accommodations for everyone attending. I've booked several hotel rooms for some of the changelings and outside ponies visiting—the hotels are in Canterlot. The dragons, however—they're a different story and we'll deal with them...soon."

"And me?"

"Feel free to ask around," Twilight said, gracefully moving a hoof about as she pointed toward all of Ponyville with it. "I'm sure there's somepony who would like to give you a guest bed."

"That's superb, Twilight!" she said, shaking her hoof once more without warning. "I'll go ask around just like you said—bye!" With that, she took off with her wide wings.

Then, she stopped in mid-air, turning around—in the midst of several changelings and dragons who were now observing her—to face Twilight. "When is the shindig gonna begin?"

"Five minutes! We're late as it is!"

But Skystar did not say anything else—she flew away.

Twilight shook her head though still smiling. "Skystar..."

"It's been some time since I've heard you say something about the 'Sweet Apple Admirers,'" Pinkie said as she and Applejack, along with the Cake couple, laid the food down on the long wooden tables with their benches and their respective chairs—at this point, about half of the tables was completed with full plates and platters of food and glasses of drinks ranging from water all the way to apple cider with soda, juices, and smoothies in between. "Have you really answered all apology letters yourself?" She scratched her chin. "When was the last time I asked you that question?"

"Two weeks ago," Applejack said, arranging a plate with its proper utensils—knife and fork on one side, spoon on the other. "And, yes, Ah' already finished mah' responses two months ago, Pinkie. What's pesterin' your mind, Pinkie?"

"Oh, nothing much," Pinkie said as she threw a few plates of food into the air; they landed on the table with the food dropping on to them with skillful precision. "I wanted to make sure that you're not leaving anypony hanging."

Applejack sighed. "Ah' know that ya' want to look after me, Pinkie, but this ain't the most appropriate of times to be discussin' something like this—especially when it's all so sudden."

"Is the cafeteria ready?" a changeling asked, just landing right in front of the two ponies.

Applejack groaned. "It'll be ready when it's ready, now get outta' here." She pointed at the many chairs—although not many of them were free.

"Aww!" the changeling let out before he turned around and flittered—with dejection as his hooves were drooped—back to the chairs.

"I don't know about this," Ember said, looking down on Spike as both stood on the town hall's porch in front of an increasing audience both on chairs and on the ground—and some even in the air as they hovered over the ground. "Then again, you're the Friendship Ambassador to us."

"Well, it's better than just sitting around and listening to boring speeches," Spike said.

A sly smile on Ember's face. "Oh, I know how to make a boring speech not boring."

Spike's eyes opened wide. Stepping away, he said, "No, no, no, no, Ember! Are you seriously thinking about—"

"I'm not going to breathe fire during the speech," Ember said. "Most of the time." Then, with a frown, she said, "However, I still don't get the logic behind this summit. Twilight wants us to talk a lot, question a lot, answer a lot, talk, talk, talk. And, yeah, I get why we need to talk."

"But...?" Spike said, leaning closer to her—trying to elicit the right answer.

"But, I sympathize with you. It's boring. I'm sure the dragons here feel the same way, and I'm sure that Thorax also feels that way, too."

She looked at Thorax—who instantly waved a hoof at her, grinning a wide, almost awkward grin. "Hi, Ember! Hi, Spike!"

The two dragons went back to looking at each other.

"Hold on," Spike said, holding up both of his claws in front of him. "What's going on here?" he then asked, taking on a suspicious yet wanting tone.

"Call it whatever you want," Ember said. "We're going to be—ahem!—making some minor adjustments to Twilight's plan."

Spike then tapped his claws together as sweat formed on his face. "Uh, what did you say again? I didn't really get what you just said, Ember?"

"You didn't suddenly go deaf on me, did you, Spike?"

"Ah, no, I didn't! I totally didn't!"

Ember crossed her arms. "Fine. That means you understood what I said, correct?"

Spike nodded—slowly, almost as if laboring to move his head. "Yes?"

"Don't tell her," Ember said. "It's a secret between me, you, and Thorax. If you let Twilight know, I'll find you myself and then we'll talk—OK?"

A nasty glare on her face.

Spike gulped. "A-alright! But, it's for fun—all for fun, right? You're not gonna burn Ponyville or anything like that?"

"Think of it as helping everyone here escape from boredom, Spike," Ember said. "You said it yourself—you don't wanna listen to boring speeches, do you?"

Spike did not say a word—now shaking a bit.

"I can treat you to ice cream after it's over. Fair exchange?"

"What?"

"I won't be eating the ice cream myself," Ember said, pointing at herself with a forceful claw. "Weakens the power of my fire. I won't even consider it as a reward for deserving dragons—it's more of a detriment than a prize. Actually, I'm impressed that you're still formidable for a baby dragon despite your unhealthy diet through the years."

Spike then laughed nervously. "Yeah! I'm, uh, unsusually strong for a baby dragon?"

Ember shook her head, as if rejecting the notion; that sly smile was still on her face. "Spike, really? But, you've gotta go—go do whatever a Friendship Ambassador does!"

And Spike then went scurrying off.

Thorax saw Twilight in the distance, talking even more with Amethyst Star and now with Pinkie Pie. On the porch and in front of the just-arrived podium was Ember who was tapping her foot—impatient in her looks. The sound of the crowd drowned out every noise that happened outside it, outside what was considered to be the main event.

The changeling king walked over to her, stepping on to the porch.

"Ember?"

"What is it, Thorax?" Ember said with crossed arms and evasive eyes.

"Do you have the feeling that...this is unnecessary?" Thorax asked.

Ember gave him a strange look—a gaze of disgust. Then, she softened. "Yes, Thorax. Wasn't the ceremony a while back enough?"

"It was," Thorax said. "Remember, after that, when Twilight insisted on, uh, 'officializing' it?"

"Yeah," Ember answered, smiling now. "Lots of papers to write out—not good for a dragon like me. We don't do paper contracts and treaties."

"Eh, me, too," Thorax admitted.

"I know," Ember said.

"So, we're going to pull this one off?"

"I don't see it going any other way without causing everyone here to sleep."

Both laughed—keeping it to themselves, though, as each covered their mouths while they laughed.

"Great timing!" Twilight said as she trotted into view. "You're all in position! We'll start in a minute! Stay there—don't go anywhere!" And then, she trotted away.

Thorax and Ember looked at each other.

And smiled.

Relations

Thorax and Ember stood on the podium and in front of a large audience of ponies, changelings, dragons, and one hippogriff—all watching, waiting for the entire summit or convention to start.

Then, all eyes were on the trotting Princess who was levitating a stack of index cards—reading, practicing, then shuffling to the next one.

A quick walk, then she was there on the podium with the other two leaders who were staring at her with curious looks—but not without giving each other another knowing glance at each other.

Twilight cleared her throat, still levitating the index cards.

The audience was now silent—a cough here but, otherwise, it was silent. Everyone there did not say a single word as they watched her.

It was mid-morning—the sun was still rising in the sky, the day surely getting brighter and hotter.

Twilight looked upon all those who were in attendance. "Good morning, everyone!" she began in an upbeat fashion, smiling along. "I hope you've had a good time travelling here and talking to your pals!"

The changelings then talked amongst themselves though most of the dragons remained silent. Skystar smiled as she raised two clams with pairs of google eyes on them, letting others see them.

"And, as you should know by now, talking with your friends is a sign of friendship! Which leads us to what we're all gathered here for: a changeling-dragon friendship summit right here in Ponyville! Aren't you excited?"

Many changelings and many ponies cheered for her.

Most of the dragons remained reserved about their cheers.

"Alright! I see that you are excited for what's going to happen and what you can do while you're staying here. After this introductory speech, I'll let King Thorax of the Changelings and Dragon Lord Ember of the Dragons to speak to you about the conditions of their respective kingdoms and to entertain your questions so that the both of you will have a better, more cordial understanding of each other in friendship!"

A pause as she cleared her throat again, moving her index cards about with her magic.

"Ah!" She stacked the index cards properly—making sure that they were all straight. She faced the audience again. "I don't want to overstay my being here without hearing your leaders talk to you about their concerns and their wishes for all of you so that you'll be even closer friends. So, I'm Princess Twilight Sparkle and...uh, see you later!"

She trotted away, levitating her stack of index cards with her out of view.

Everyone else—her friends, Thorax, Ember, the audience, among others—were looking at her with odd stares.

Ember crossed her arms and walked closer to the edge. She looked at Thorax. "What are you doing?" she whispered. "Come up here!"

"Oh, uh—" and Thorax walked his way to her side.

Ember stood proud, in a magnificent and pronounced pose and stance. Thorax tried to do so as well—only to look awkwardly at her and give up the grand effort, resorting to a relaxed posture.

She gave Twilight a look—the Princess was beside one of the chairs though not sitting on any of them. Twilight waved, smiling.

Ember smiled back.

Thorax waved shyly back at her, smiling, too.

"Here we go," Ember muttered.

Exhaled.

"Dragons!" she began, thrusting a fist into the air.

The dragons finally looked up, their ears perked up as their rather bored faces regained that vigor.

Then, a breath of fire into the air—that purple fire, bright and blazing (causing some changelings to scamper to the chairs behind them for cover against that thermal threat to them).

"And changelings!" Thorax ended, flying into the air and throwing lots of glimmering glitter into the air as he flew around under the sun—directly under—his wings magnifying, amplifying, that already brilliant sunlight into a colorful display of tinted rays—first here, now there in less than a second, a fast dance of visuals.

Twilight, during all of this, looked scared, biting her own hooves in the process.

Skystar poked her with a claw. "Uh, are you alright, Twilight? Biting your hooves isn't the best thing to do, you know. Right, Twilight?"

"They didn't tell me about this!" Twilight whispered back to her, half-alarmed and half-panicking.

"Well, it looks pretty cool," Skystar said as she turned her gaze to the spectacle in front of her—that continuous purple flame, those multi-colored lights under the wings, covering all under them.

The rest of the ponies took a step back at first—murmus of trying to get out of here were heard. But, they slowly returned, their frightened expressions turning into happy smiles of renewed wonder, of beholding something that was unseen.

And the fire stopped, and the changeling landed.

The two leaders were back together on the podium.

Silence.

And the crowd erupted into boisterous roars, shaking the ground with hoofstomps and the lifting of chairs and breaths of fire into the air and flying changelings in the sky and laughter and hoofbumps and clawbumps and unauthorized eating of food which stirred up a ruckus since Applejack was out policing the cafeteria area and warning the changelings and the dragons who dared eat food too early with a word and a hoof scratching the ground—among other things that contributed to the delightful turmoil in front of the town hall.

Twilight was now biting her hooves even more as she dodged a changeling throwing himself right into the sky as he narrowly avoided the nervous Princess in his path.

"Wow, Twilight!" Skystar said amidst the chaos—standing right before a changeling picked up a chair and cheered on his king with the chair, shouting Thorax's name constantly. "I didn't know summits like this are this awesome! You should totally invite me to one of these summits! No wonder she wants me to come here more often! Does she always go to these parties?"

"They're not supposed to be parties!" Twilight uttered, still trembling and biting her hooves. "They probably didn't expect that reaction either—unplanned. I can say it was unplanned."

"Oh, Twilight!" Skystar said, shaking her a little and causing her eyes to go doozy. "You didn't plan for a party this big?"

Then a shot of fire right above their heads, burning some strands of Twilight's mane as it smoked off.

"This was supposed to be a peaceful event," Twilight said, managing to sound a little less scared—though her forehooves were close to her mouth. "I should go stop this and—"

"No, wait!"

Skystar was holding back Twilight's wings.

"I...actually like this," Skystar spoke above the crashing of chairs and yells and screams and laughter.

"You like this?!" Twilight asked back, unbelief in her loud words.

"Well, I always thought that it was going to be some boring gathering of important figures and then we talk about boring things and make boring decisions that nobody can understand unless they're at the boring talk. But, Twilight, you made me realize that these summits are nothing like that!"

"Uh..."

"I'll go show up at every one of these things from now!" Skystar exclaimed, floating over the ground as she flapped her wings and brought her claws close to her smiling lips, creating a cute face.

"You...will?" Twilight asked—with halting.

"As long as I don't get hurt or anything," Skystar said, pointing at one of the changelings who was busy picking up chairs and throwing them about. "Because, uh, those chairs look heavy to me!"

Twilight groaned as she looked around her.

A tap on Ember's shoulder as the disorder was growing and piling up.

She looked at an anxious Thorax.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked. "I'm not fond of making a mess out of this, Ember."

"It surprised me too," Ember said, a little flustered, "but we've gotta get them riled up. Let them know that this is not your ordinary meeting of two nations."

"And, when will they stop?"

"We dragons are very disciplined with ourselves," Ember said, gesturing a claw toward her subjects present—most of them were done with breathing fire and were now calm though still giddy; there were some other dragons who were doing their best to calm the changelings down, taking the chairs away from them so that the changelings would not pick those chairs up and throw them.

"But," Thorax spoke, "I didn't know they were going to—"

"I don't know what's going on in your hive, Thorax," Ember interrupted, holding up a claw, "but it seems like you're not as disciplined." She took a quick look at the crazy changelings going about, shouting and trying to get their chairs. "The changelings tell me you're a great king, so there's that going for you." A snarky grin.

"That's not helping, Ember," Thorax said. "Those are chairs made by ponies. I don't want to pay lots of money because my subjects are crazy."

"Let it all simmer down," Ember said. "They'll be fine sooner or later. We can talk about costs later on, alright?"

Thorax sighed. "I'll just sit down here and wait this out."

So he sat down on the podium.

After a few minutes of calming the rest of the audience down—which involved confiscating all the chairs and forcing everyone to either stand up or to sit on the hard ground—the situation was back to normal though all who were there were now in a more excited state; there were eager eyes of expectation, looking up to those two leaders now hoping for something to top the recent extravaganza.

Thorax hovered over the podium and spread his forehooves wide. "So, is everyone OK? Did you like that?"

And everyone nodded, some replying verbally with shouts of "Yes!" and "Of course, Thorax!"

Thorax nodded back. "That's great to know, guys! Because, well, Twilight said we had to understand each other so we can be better friends, right?"

And everyone nodded again.

A bead of sweat went down Twilight's face as she shivered, watching the two over there.

"We should be friends and we should be closer to each other, to talk to each other and have fun and enjoy our time together," Thorax continued.

Twilight bit her hoof.

Skystar caught her. "Twilight?"

"So, I and Ember brought some things that, we think, will help enrich that friendship more than just some long speech or two."

And at that, Twilight gasped. Then bit her hooves even more quickly, her irises shrunk.

A poke on her shoulder.

"Twilight?" Skystar asked.

"They're throwing away the...speeches?!" Twilight sputtered as the crowd exploded into even more roars of cheer and approval.

Hooves on her cheeks—despair on her mind, apparently.

"They didn't give me any advance notice!" Twilight said, hyperventilating between words, irises still shrunk. "They didn't tell me about any of this! I supervised everything and I would have been told about everything if they were trying to pull some kind of trick on me! I should've known but how come they got past?!"

Skystar placed a claw on her. "Twilight, I think you should go see a doctor—because, uh, you don't look healthy."

"Healthy?!" Twilight repeated, phrasing it in stress. "How could I not be healthy? I'm perfectly fine and I have no need of a doctor or any kind of medical expert whatsoever—who told you that, anyway?"

"Myself?" Skystar answered, pointing to herself.

"Over here," Thorax declared, aiming at an open spot in front of the podium, "will be the craft time area. We've already brought lots of art supplies so no one's gonna run out of them. You can make whatever you want and you can make it together—a painting by both changelings and dragons? Why not?"

To coincide with the question, a few changelings dropped several boxes of the art supplies—easels, paint cans, paint brushes, pebbles, and papers.

"Strength competitions will be held at this side," Ember announced, pointing at another spot in front of the podium where several dragons were hauling large boulders to. "We didn't bring in everything because we might stamp Ponyville out but we didn't do that because we wanted the changelings to join in—even if we're going to win every single time." She ended that with a sly smirk on her face and with her arms crossed.

"The rest?" Thorax went on. "That's for all of you to figure out—we've deployed various activity stations throughout all of Ponyville; they contain all kinds of fun activities to do together! There's singing, there's dancing, there's...uh, there's many!" He grinned awkwardly once more.

"You sent the boxes to who?!" Post Parcel exclaimed in dismay to Derpy behind the counter.

"I sent it to Twilight," Derpy said, shrugging as she bit a letter from one of the cubby holes at the back wall. She placed it on the counter. "She said she needed something with creative force."

"You sent twenty boxes of art materials to Twilight Sparkle?!"

"But, she's attending the big event going on just outside," Derpy said in defense. "I'm sure she can just give it to Thorax."

Then, the door opened.

A few changelings and a dragon leaned inside. "This is the mailing activity station, right?" one changeling asked.

Post Parcel gasped. His eyes shifted fast between Derpy and the newcomers. "What's going on here?!"

"Alright, Twilight," Skystar said, patting the Princess on the head as the leaders stepped down from the podium and joined with their fellow changelings and dragons in whatever they were doing—now, Thorax was in the craft time area, introducing to all who were there (including dragons who mostly towered their changeling co-artists) the goal of trying to paint friendship, to capture it in one still; Ember showed to her dragons and the occasional changelings who felt themselves up to the task of smashing a boulder with raw strength a large rock which she held with only one arm—having no signs of strain. "You need to see a doctor. Does Ponyville have a clinic? I know it has a hospital, but I'm glad you're not too sick, so a clinic would be fine."

"I need paper!"

Twilight's horn glowed and a piece of paper materialized in front of her and she levitated it immediately.

"And quill!"

And a quill materialized in front of her and she levitated that as well.

Paying no heed to Skystar's troubled face nor to the movement of changelings and dragons as they scattered to the rest of Ponyville in search of bonding hobbies and occupations, she wrote furiously, her hornwriting not so legible—writing without a table.

Skystar watched her, hearing the fast scribbles.

A minute passed; the town hall was less full but the noise was still there.

Then, she teleported the letter away.

A pause.

"Uh, who did you send it to?" Skystar asked.

"Spike," Twilight said, pointing a hoof at the craft time area as she and Skystar looked there, too.

There, Spike was surprised with the sudden appearance of a letter; his changeling friends were surprised as well, halting their progress on a shared painting. He opened the letter, skimmed it, and breathed fire on to it, turning it into a magical green stream that floated its way into the sky, travelling toward the distant mountains. The changelings around him then expressed their amazement: "Ooh!" and "Aah!" were abundant before they attacked the baby dragon with incessant questions about his life with ponies, how the magic fire worked, and how his friendship was with their king.

"That was a letter to Princess Celestia," Twilight said, turning back to Skystar, speaking in a bold way. "I've told her of the current condition of the circumstances here. This convention between changelings and dragons is going smoothly—but it's getting out of hoof. If they're OK with not having those formal speeches, then what's stopping them from taking out other things as well? Like, well, treaties and contracts that make sure everything is OK?!"

"You don't need paper to declare friendship—you know that," Skystar said.

"I know, but I'm not talking about the friendship that everypony thinks about," Twilight answered, speeding up her pace. "I'm talking about the formal friendship of these nations! How exactly are they going to behave in terms of their relations with each other? How?"

"They...act nice?" Skystar then slowly made a nervous smile of not being so sure about her answer.

"Well, how do they act nice to each other? The rules? What if there are no rules? Then, everything will end up a disaster because no one knows how it's gonna work out and everyone's gonna argue about what's this and what's that and everyone will descend into useless squabbles and there won't be friendship!"

"What if it doesn't turn out that way and everything turns out swell?" Skystar said, turning her head a bit as she said it. "Won't that be better than that very bad picture about them?"

Then, a rush of steps.

"Twilight, a reply!" Spike said in between gasps for breath—sweating.

"Thank you, Spike," Twilight said, regaining some of a smile as she levitated the letter. "Your hasty reaction has never disappointed me!"

"You're welcome!" Spike said—then, a frown. "And, loosen up, Twilight. You don't have to be so upset whenever there's an important occasion."

Without waiting for a reply, he hurried back to the craft time area where several changelings were expecting him with happy hoofwaves.

With that soft smile on her face, Twilight opened the letter and read it.

A minute passed.

Then, she closed it.

Twilight opened her mouth—not to say something.

"Are you OK?" Skystar then asked.

"I'm fine," she said. "Actually, you should accompany me and Spike over there."

"Huh?"

"Even Celestia wants me to loosen up," Twilight spoke, showing an awkward smile as she trotted her way to the craft time area. "And—" a sigh "—they're right."

Finer

Blue Alarm sat down at the table, ponies shuffling through in the open space as they looked for empty tables, greeted friends old and new, and brought their delicious orders on trays—an assortment of various foods for there were sandwiches, pies, chips, marshmallows, hayburgers, and so on.

Beside the changeling was the window wall, giving him a clear, wide view of the congested roads of Manehattan ocne again—lines of carriages stuck in gridlock, a few shouting at each other in the impatience of it all and some ponies on the sidewalk stopped to watch.

"Is that you?" a familiar voice asked. "I didn't expect to see you so soon! And, so early, too!"

Blue Alarm looked at the pegasus who just entered the diner through the glass doors—which reflected a little of the sun in the blue-yellow morning sky.

The pegasus raised a hoof as if ordering the changeling to halt. "I'll get my food and then we can talk!"

And so he flew to the back of the line.

The hoofsteps, the sizzlings, the chatter, the eating—those sounds continued on as Blue Alarm looked away from him and looked at the various ponies around.

"Half of the customers: tourists," Blue Alarm muttered. "Other half: residents. Hm—now there's a pony who seems half-cosmopolitan at best. Purple glasses, orange...sweater? Around his neck, tied like that?" A chuckle. "No matter how many times I run in to fashionistas, there's some things I still won't get."

The pony in question—a light yellow Earth pony stallion with some grapes as his cutie mark—was talking in a rather lively way (gestures and all) with a gray unicorn.

"Written Script, right?" the Earth pony said, holding a cup of water with his hooves.

"Yes," the unicorn replied. "Have we met before?"

"Last time I saw you was in the whole Friendship Journal dilemma. You were...who were you protesting against?"

Written Script leaned away from him. "I don't wanna say. I wasn't in my best that time."

"Well, that was where I last saw you."

"Admit it, Wisp," Written Script said, raising his voice as he held a half-eaten sandwich. "If you were there, you were also involved in the angry crowd—and, who were you angry about, huh?"

"It's a...topic that we should not discuss," Wisp said—hints of regret.

"Come on," Written Script said, clasping his forehooves.

"Well, it can't be that hard to guess," Wisp replied, pushing the cup away. "There are only six ponies to be angry about, and you were either a lover or a hater—except you can't really hate Twilight Sparkle because she's the Princess and I think she would've arrested anypony who dared express their hatred toward her."

"Must be why I didn't see anypony reacting against her," Written Script said, becoming thoughtful for a moment.

A clanking sound.

Blue Alarm looked back.

"Hey!" the pegasus said, sitting down on the chair across the changeling's table, smiling. "You know who this is, right?"

"I know," Blue Alarm said. "House Style."

The pegasus pointed a hoof at him, still smiling. "Got you and me some oatburgers." He hoofed an oatburger to the changeling. "Ketchup?"

Blue Alarm shook his head as he grabbed his burger.

"What are you doing here anyway without food?" House Style asked as he distributed the softdrinks among themselves. "If you wanna talk, that's fine, but you're taking up precious seats if you're not eating."

"I just do that sometimes," Blue Alarm said. "It's been my favorite hobby ever since that day."

"And that day refers to...?"

"I think you know."

House Style furrowed his eyebrows as he pondered. Then, wide open eyes. "Oh. Right. That day."

Blue Alarm nodded.

"We haven't really thought much about it together," House Style said. Then, another raised hoof. "How about this? Since what we had some days ago was too formal—because, well, there's the hurry and all—but, today, you wanna just think about whatever?"

"You're not busy, I guess," Blue Alarm said before biting the oatburger. Some chewing later and a swallow—"Flaky."

"First time having a real oatburger?" House Style asked. "I see that face all the time when ponies all over Equestria come over to see Manehattan for what it is. It's one thing to see this city form afar—it's another thing to actually be here."

"And it's another to have lived here for your whole life, I may add," Blue Alarm said, placing the burger down on to his plate.

"Right!"

Blue Alarm looked out the window.

The road was now free from any heavy traffic—hardly any carriages were present. The ponies on the sidewalks, however, have not decreased in their number for they still swarmed the paved walkways.

"You're a changeling with insight," House Style complimented, "so I'm sure you know about what I'll say, but a Manehattanite is really different from the usual visitor. His outlook on the city itself—for them, it's a city of wonder, a place where you can do lots of things before the first hour's up, and that's true. Just look at how many different things you can do here: you can bungee jump, you can watch a theater show, you can fly kites in the park, you can take a steamer to the Mare Statue, you can take a taxi carriage—that's just the things that come at the top of an ordinary tourist's head. Now, me?" He pointed to himself. "I don't see a lot of Manehattan on a normal day. I wake up, I eat, I go to work, I work, I eat, I work, I go away from work, I eat, and I go back home."

"Don't you go around at night for some leisure time?" Blue Alarm asked. "This city is known as the City That Never Sleeps."

"Manehattan is not quite as big as you think," House Style said. "It's certainly bigger than Ponyville, but since most of the city is on an island—there's only so many buildings you can fit on an island."

"Isn't that why the architects of Manehattan opted for high-rises?" Blue Alarm asked, now tilting his head a little in curiosity.

"There's a limit," House Style said. "We can go past that limit with the help of unicrons who specialize in structural magic—they're needed here—but going past that limit is not practical, not to mention nopony's asking for it." A pause. "But, back to why I'm not galloping left and right to all the cool establishments."

Blue Alarm leaned closer, a foreleg on the table.

"Like I already said, Manehattan is not that big. So—believe it or not—I'm tired of most of the activities here."

A pause.

"Yes, Blue Alarm. You don't look shocked, but you are shocked—you don't have to hide it."

"I'm not shocked," Blue Alarm answered.

House Style blinked. "OK, you're not shocked? That's fine. Anyway, I've seen and I've done all that a tourist would do here. And, I'm bored."

"Isn't there always something new?" Blue Alarm asked. "This city can't be growing so well if it just stayed the same. If it had the same buildings with the same things, then it wouldn't be the Manehattan you and I know, would it?"

"Maybe it's just a matter of perspective," House Style said. "I really don't know for sure." He shrugged his hooves. "I was about to tell you that, since I live here, I don't see the changes as well as you do—you, a changeling who certainly doesn't visit everyday, right?"

Blue Alarm nodded.

"By the way, what is your line of work? I've never asked that before from you. You seem to be up and about all the time."

"Maintainer," Blue Alarm said. "I keep the hive neat. I take out the weeds, clean the mess after craft time, sweep the ground—"

"Why would you sweep the ground?" House Style asked—it was his turn to tilt his head. "You don't have to—"

"It's dirty. Thorax likes it clean."

A pause as he scratched his mane, looking at the changeling in askance. "I won't question it. He's your monarch, your ruling king—I won't question him."

"We question him a lot," Blue Alarm said before he took another bite of the oatburger.

"Well, we question our monarchs as well," House Style said. "Or diarchs, to be more exact. Pedantic? I know—that's what you get when you're on the history team."

"Because the terms always have to be exact?" Blue Alarm asked.

"Yeah, pretty much."

Some silent moments as they ate more and drank more—Blue Alarm sipping loudly as if he was trying to consume all the soda in one gulp.

"How's life in the hive?"

The changeling set aside his softdrink. "Always different in some tiny way. Just yesterday, we've had a road-making competition."

"A road-making competition?" House Style repeated.

He nodded. Then, he placed two hooves on the table, each of them far apart from each other. "From the hive all the way to Dodge Junction."

"That doesn't right."

"Thorax told us that he asked permission from the Princesses. They said 'Yes' and off we went."

"You joined with your buddies?"

"Decided to opt out"—discarding the event with a hoofwave—"but they still joined as a team."

"Hmm." The pegasus scratched his chin; on his face, an interested look. "What are the conditions of winning such a competition?"

"Simple," he replied with terseness. "Reach Dodge Junction first."

"Prize?" House Style raised an eyebrow.

"A hundred bits."

"Your team won?"

He shook his head. "No. Another team led by Lato. Almost got disqualified, though. He tried to bring in over twenty others into his team above the maximum of seven. He said that he wanted his team to be open to all—ended up being talked down to by Pharynx, which isn't the best of experiences to say the least."

"So, this Pharynx guy," House Style cut in: "What's he like, really? Personally, not historically or politically or anything like that?"

"Has a better personality these days," Blue Alarm responded before he took another long and loud sip of his softdrink. Placing the cup down, he continued: "Despite us accepting him almost right after he changed, it took us some time to really get used to him. We've always known him as an agitating fellow—a changeling who kept stirring up trouble no matter what. Made us lose some confidence in Thorax—if he couldn't handle even his own brother, then why be so confident in our king?"

"I see," House Style merely said, nodding in agreement. He looked out the window—seeing again the scarce amount of carriages on the streets. "Anything else, Blue Alarm? I haven't asked about your history—which isn't fitting, since, well—you know, me being a historian. Hah. Not really a historian, but I'm associated with—you know what I mean."

Blue Alarm smiled at that. "You're nervous, aren't you?"

"Why wouldn't I?" he asked—his voice having a serious flavor, his smile gone. "I've been part of the editing team of 'The Complete History of Equestria' for several years now—long before Thorax and his friends came and saved all of you. I know that asking about your history meant knowing stuff about you before you became good."

"Don't worry," Blue Alarm said.

And sighed.

A long pause.

"You're remembering, aren't you?" House Style asked—bleak.

More than a year ago

Jet Set and Upper Crust—those two upper-class unicorns in their shirts and scarves—walked past valuable pieces of ages gone by: old papers, jars, paintings, hats and other clothes of times ancient and not-so ancient. In the museum's grand rooms facilitating such dear items in their unbreakable containers of glass, a few other ponies walked about, too, admiring what was before them.

"I did not know that you had such a niche liking," Upper Crust said to her husband. "In all our years of being together, it is only just now you've told me about how you appreciate such outdated letters."

"I do not just see them as outdated letters, dear," Jet Set answered—rising to defend his newfound hobby. "In these letters are the actions that brought Equestria to the good state that it is today. I have had more than enough of my lessons in Equestrian history, and that was what sparked my pursuit in obtaining what you call 'outdated letters.'"

"Then, how come we have none of them?" she asked, stopping both herself and her husband with a hoof. "I don't see yellowing, crumbling papers all over our rooms."

"You do know that these are quite uncommon," he replied. "We combined do not have enough wealth to come clsoe to that of Fancy Pants or even some of those new food ponies who arrived recently. My only way to get such treasured letters is to make some connections."

"Then, make those connections!" Upper Crust said, raising her voice in a haughty manner. "You have the influence, the power, the position—all you need to is act!"

"The world of old souvenirs is not an easy world to enter, much less to be successful in. I think of myself as a skilled conversationalist and observer of even the most minute of details, but judging from what I have seen myself, that world is a foray into a daunting mission."

"Wow, you sound so...grandiose, dear!" Upper Crust said, smiling just a bit bigger. "You are improving your status—and I thought that we could not get even better!"

Just then, a group of three fancy-looking stallions—two unicorns, one Earth pony—approached the couple from behind and then around a wall.

The Earth pony removed his hat and bowed down half-way. "Good morning, mister and misses!"

"It's afternoon," Upper Crust corrected.

"Ah, yes!" he took out his golden watch and opened it. "I often forget that I have this one on my person!"

"And, you must be?" Jet Set asked.

"Nitty Gritty," the Earth pony said, extending a hoof.

Jet Set shook his hoof.

"And, you, too, misses!"

And Upper Crust shook her hoof.

"What is your business here, Nitty Gritty?" Jet Set asked.

"I and my colleagues have been watching your steps within the antique-letter community here in Canterlot."

Jet Set's eyes opened wide and he fixed his glasses. "What? You have?"

Upper Crust gasped and just looked at her husband—bewildered.

"It's not the most famous nor is it the most vocal of the groups here," Nitty Gritty said, "but, rest assured, I'm one of the leading members. My personal collection of letters from history: seven hundred, estimated."

"Exact number?" Upper Crust asked, that amazement (almost doubt) resounding in that question.

"Seven hundred and ninety-three!" Nitty Gritty yelled, his declaration echoing throughout the spacious halls. He opened his watch, looked at it, and gasped. "Oh, I'm sorry, misses, but I'd like to have a quick chat with this fine novice of Canterlot's antique-letter community!"

A pause—the mare placed a hoof on her head. "You are saying that he is already a part of—"

"As of the moment that I just said that!" Nitty Gritty said, pulling in surprised Jet Set. "I am sorry for not telling you beforehoof, but I am already running late for my early dinner with Fancy Pants."

"You have early dinner with—"

"I and my colleagues will get to you! You will meet Jet Set at the house—hopefully, with some good letters!"

And the three ponies brought a startled yet accepting Jet Set behind a wall.

"Be alright and well, dear!" Upper Crust called out before she walked away.

The four ponies were alone near the wall; the room had more of the same old historical items.

"Not the best," Jet Set said. "But it'll do, Humerus."

"Really, Blue Alarm?" Humerus—in the guise of Nitty Gritty—said.

"I say we keep up the disguises on until sundown," one of the two other unicorns said. "Neon Guard said so."

"I didn't," Neon Guard—disguised as the other unicorn—corrected.

Infiltration Memories

It was a perilous path if it was on the edge of a cliff. The fall down was long and far, the wind was strong and forceful, and the width of the path was not so large to fit a hearty group of ponies.

Upper Crust passed by several tourists flashing their cameras at the beautiful, awe-inspiring landscape of the towering mountains forested, of a valley cut by a fresh and flowing river, of yet another gigantic airship moving with grace and might—its yellow envelope with an open-air gondola where several passengers waved at those at the cliff while the operators, with their stoic faces, brought the airship to the station nearby.

A tap on her shoulder.

She turned around.

"You're back so soon!" she said.

Jet Set nodded, sporting a smile. "The sudden meeting turned out quite amiably. I have obtained a novel position in the antique-papers community."

Upper Crust nodded back, smiling, too. "That is good, dear. That way, we would look even more sophisticated—not everypony here in Canterlot will have as many historical documents as you will have if you maintain that...admittedly niche interest of yours."

Then, she eyed Jet Set's fancy saddlebag—a few diamonds were on it.

"I say," she said, "where did you get that?"

"Nitty Gritty hoofed it to me," Jet Set said, removing it and showing it to her, hanging from his hoof. "He told me to consider it as a token of appreciation since, according to him, I am one of the few who could leverage his society into royal importance and pertinence."

"Mm-hm." She touched the bag, taking a closer look. "I have never even heard of Nitty Gritty until today, but he is already proving himself to be quite the pony."

"Yes, he is quite the pony," Jet Set said—a glance over there.

"Do you have a schedule with that community?" Upper Crust asked. "It would be a shame to miss out on that opera next Friday. I've heard that a good number of fashionable ponies are going to be in attendance there. Perhaps we could leverage ourselves into royal importance and pertinence, hm?"

"Yes, I do agree with you, dear, but it is next Friday. Don't you have any other things in mind for today and tonight?"

"Haven't we talked about going on the Blue Horizon?"

"What Blue Horizon?" Jet Set asked. "I must've forgotten it so soon."

"The airship, dear!" Upper Crust said—louder than before. She pointed at the yellow airship that just landed at the station—now, ponies were up the long white ramp from the airship to the station from which they then walked down the short flight of white stairs on to solid ground.

"Why, yes, dear," Jet Set said. "I was overwhelmed by all the responsibilities and all the perks of being a member of such a community that I've forgotten what the Blue Horizon was for a moment!"

"Well, I understand."

Jet Set gulped. "So, I'll take you there, dear. I'll pay for all the expenses and we can see the sights."

"You only?" Upper Crust exclaimed—a whiff of surprise was in her voice. "I'd imagined that we would both pay together."

"We were?"

"Your genorisity is truly endearing," Upper Crust said, taking a few steps forward toward the airship.

Jet Set looked on for a few seconds. He sighed. "What did I get myself into?"

The Blue Horizon floated along between the mountain ranges, escaping them and into the colossal stretches of untapped rivered forests with their unending spaces of only trees and what other plants could be beyond.

The gondola, with its wooden floor and structure, hosted all the passengers in plain view of all who could see it—which was no one but those of other airships that happened to pass by. Whenever that happened throughout the trip, some of the ponies there waved at the ponies over here in the Blue Horizon, although most of the ponies refused to entertain such a "lowly form of interaction" with other ponies.

It was windy, moderately cold.

A lot of the passengers were wearing posh clothing—fancy suits, fancy ties, fancy gowns, fancy dresses. Necklaces, watches, earrings—ornaments to a dazzling display of ostentatious wealth and status. The diverse colognes and perfumes mixed with each other, creating, therefore, a smell that was unlike any other smell for it was a little bit of everything fragrant.

Jet Set and Upper Crust were leaning on the golden ledge, their faces sticking out of the airship, looking out into the orange sunset sky.

"I don't know what to say," Upper Crust uttered, slowly turning to her husband. "I was content with sharing all that must be paid for the cruise, but to hear you tell me that you would take in everything for me—it's...it's something you did not have to do, dear."

He smiled, facing her. "I did not have to do it—that is true. But, what is stopping me from showing to you that, through everything, I love you, dear?"

A hoof around her neck.

"Because—let me tell you, Upper Crust—I want to see you happy. If flying through the air on an airship without worrying about the cost would make you happy, I would see to it that we would fly. If eating at the fanciest restaurant in all of Canterlot without you worrying about losing money would make you happy, I would endeavor to see you eat and to eat with you. If..."

He glanced up for a second.

"If letting you talk to the Princesses and giving ourselves clout and fame would make you happy, then I will do everything that I can to let you see that day, to let ourselves be there."

And a hoof stretching toward the sky.

"Dear," Jet Set said, "I'm sorry if I ignored you or just treated you without the love that I should have had. I promise you, dear, that all the days we'll spend together will indeed be spent together."

"Why..." Upper Crust placed a hoof on her mouth. "I...I knew you were a brilliant stallion, but I did not expect that you would be so lovely with your declarations of love!"

"Probably because I love you, Upper Crust."

"Well, I love you, too."

And the two hugged each other under the orange sky.

"Hey, Jet Set!"

Jet Set let go of his wife and turned to see Nitty Gritty and his entourage of two unicorns. "What is it now? Don't you see—"

"You're on the Blue Horizon, too?" Upper Crust asked.

"Of course, I am!" Nitty Gritty said. "I was hoping to relax, but to see you two on the same airship—that is something great, isn't it?"

"Sir, I—"

"You don't need to speak anymore, Jet Set!" Nitty Gritty yelled, still happy in his tone—close to jumping, even. "Come, there has been some good news that have just arrived. Some ponies over in Ponyville have uncovered a hidden cache of letters from a hundred years ago!"

Jet Set glanced nervously at Upper Crust.

"You've done more than enough for me," she said—a big smile on her face, her eyes open in optimism. "Go! Make me even prouder of you!"

He smiled back. "Thank you. You're welcome."

And he trotted to Nitty Grip and his retinue.

The airship floated on, moving at its slow yet graceful speed.

Behind a wall, the four ponies got together.

Jet Set looked here and there. "Coast is clear."

"What are you doing, Blue Alarm?" Neon Guard—still disguised as a unicorn—whispered.

"Upper Crust is not the easiest to trick," Blue Alarm—still disguised as Jet Set—said. "What I mean is, she is easy to trick into thinking that I'm Jet Set, but it's not so easy to trick her into actually loving me. I don't know if she knows—in all likelihood, she doesn't know, though; all the signs are pointing to that. However, that does not matter because I have enough love—no more trying to distract her anymore."

"May I ask why we have to let you steal more love than we do?" Red Noise asked, scratching his mane while showing an annoyed face.

"All of us are going to steal more love than usual," Blue Alarm said. "Don't you remember? Chrysalis is going to launch a massive infiltration mission soon."

"I do remember," Red Noise said. "You don't have to remind me."

"Before you ask," Humerus—in the form of Nitty Gritty—spoke, "I already stole enough love including the friendship love. I didn't know this Nitty Gritty had so many friends! There was even this pony who wanted to paint the entire library white—I never thought he was a friend of him—but, he is and I don't know why."

"It turns out whoever this pony is," Red Noise said, pointing to himself, "he must be famous, too. Or semi-famous, at least."

"His name?" Blue Alarm asked.

"Creative Skill," he answered. "Didn't even have to say his name. Everyone was calling me 'buddy' or 'friend.' I was safe for the most part."

"Have you stolen enough?" Neon Guard asked. "We have Jet Set inside that crate over there."

Blue Alarm looked behind him and saw the crate. "That's not part of the plan."

"Leading him over to the airship wasn't a viable option," Neon Guard said. "So, I improvised."

Blue Alarm sighed. "It's better than him not being here for the switch." He looked at his companions. "You have a blunt weapon?"

"Knocking them on the head with a hoof will do!" Red Noise said, raising a balled up hoof.

Blue Alarm sighed again. "Fine. Next time, though, we're not going without a blunt weapon again. You know what happened last time over in Dodge Junction. Don't want the sheriff to have any more ideas that we're there, right?"

"Alright," Red Noise responded with a disdaining groan.

"So, how long do we have to wait for?" Humerus asked. "Can we go now?"

"We'll wait for the airship to land at the station," Neon Guard said. "Then, we can go back to hive." He looked at Blue Alarm. "You have a second disguise ready?"

"I have it ready," Blue Alarm said.

Neon Guard nodded. "If Upper Crust comes here too early, we do the switch now. You know what to do." He faced Red Noise. "You know?"

"I already know!" Red Noise whined.

"It was a magnificent trip, dear," Upper Crust said as Jet Set—laboring hard to keep a steady pace as he wobbled up the long white ramp to the station, the airship standing still just off the cliff. "It was wonderful to experience such a journey with you without me stressing myself over how much I had to pay."

"It was a cheap flight," Jet Set answered.

Now, they were walking down the stairs. Then, they were on solid ground with the rest of the passengers.

"What took you so long back there, anyway?" Upper Crust asked.

Jet Set rubbed his head. "Somepony told me that I had a few papers to send or something of a similar nature. He was going so fast that I did not catch all that he said."

"You mean that Nitty Gritty fellow?" Upper Crust asked.

"Nitty Gritty?"

"Yes, that was his name." She looked at him, narrowing her eyes. "Have you forgotten again?"

The three ponies—with a fourth new one, a purple pegasus—were running up the path back to Canterlot proper, back to the clean stone streets and sidewalks with their slow carriages, their fancy ponies, their haute establishments, and their royal atmosphere.

"You think it's enough?" Humerus asked between gasps for breath as they ran.

"More than enough!" Neon Guard yelled. "So, stop asking questions!"

And they ran on, catching the attention of some ponies on the way but they never followed the curious four ponies just running down the street.

Back to the present

"So, you're telling me you scammed two wealthy unicorns from Canterlot, the rest of your group did their job by stealing love from other ponies, and you ran away without anypony being suspicious of you at all?" A pause. "Actually, I'm impressed. Or, maybe I shouldn't be—the guards in Canterlot aren't the brightest when it comes to, uh, guarding."

"That was our last mission before Chrysalis set out to take over Equestria a second time," Blue Alarm said before he took yet another sip of his softdrink. "You know that we had many more before that one."

"As much as I want to hear the rest of your accomplishments," House Style said, "I'm not so sure if it's something we could talk about in public."

"I understand," Blue Alarm said. "I don't want to unnecessarily remind ponies of our past."

"At least you're trying to be nice. You're a changeling who also understands others. And, I guess a lot of other changelings are like you. You're not constantly asking for one of the Princesses to take a picture with you."

"I don't."

"That's good to know," House Style said. Then, he finished his oatburger. "I would like to stay here and talk some more, but I have some business myself to do."

"The history book?" Blue Alarm asked.

The pegasus nodded. "Hope you visit Manehattan some time soon. You'll be able to find me—somehow."

With that, he left the diner, flying to the air and out of view.

Blue Alarm looked at the food and drink in front of him.

His oatburger was half-eaten and his softdrink was half full.

"Looks like I'll be here for a while more," he muttered.

Blue Alarm stood near the corner of the sidewalk.

The large intersection in front of him had lines of carriages flowing forward in both directions. Some broke off to another road. Ponies on another part of the junction hurried their way through to the other side—brisk walking, running, galloping. The pegasi, of course, had the great advantage of flying over the intersections without having to wait for the pedestrian light to go green, causing some ponies to be upset at the flying ponies.

Stands and carts of all kinds stood outside the buildings knit close together. There were carrotdog stands, there were newsstands, there were souvenir stands, there were candy stands—more than half of the stands and carts that Blue Alarm could see were selling some sort of food. The smells that emanated from them were enticing—a savory flavor in the air. He sniffed at it.

He hovered over to a carrotdog stand.

There was a line there—a long line of ponies waiting for a carrotdog.

The vendor—a bored unicorn mare—levitated several carrots rolling over a heater and placed them inside carrotdog buns. Then, the completed orders were floated to the customers at the front—"Thanks!" "Thank you, miss!"

The vendor did not say anything—just the same bored look.

Blue Alarm hovered in line and waited.

A few minutes passed by and the line moved along.

Finally, Blue Alarm was at the front, face-to-face with the bored vendor.

"What would your order be, sir?" she said in deadpan speech.

"One carrotdog, please," he said, raising a hoof and smiling at her—"plain."

Winter

Months later

A cover of snow.

The trees of the forest over there were nigh lifeless—dead branches with no leaves in sight. So were the bushes' husks—void of anything green or pretty or edible, they stood there, only serving as an obstacle lest injury would come forward.

Not everything was under the white, cold blanket. The small cliffs and crests, for instance, showed some strutted ground rising up only to meet the snow at the surface. Any underhanging protrusions of land from such ground had small, simple plants growing out of it, still in their own patches of grass but under the shadow of a soil ceiling.

Some weeds and a few thorns stuck out from amongst snow, sprinkling the clean landscape with bits of color other than brown.

Some changelings—wearing beanies, jackets, sweaters, scarves, anything that would warm their bodies—were plowing the snow with their snow scoopers, collecting some snow and putting it all into small metal boxes.

The hive, though mostly unotuched by the snow, still had some craggy, rocky tips of white.

A logfire burned in the middle of the open area as yet another cold, chilling wind flew past.

Several changelings around it shivered, clattering their teeth despite the layers of clothes they were wearing. Others held on to being comfortable by moving around, walking or flying about and doing whatever was being done—at that time, craft time was still ongoing with the changelings there making even more popsicle stick trees, games of chase and catch were being played as the players laughed in their frantic fun, and even some sport was being conducted.

This sport equipped all those involved with long wooden branches and a black round puck. The changelings wore hard helmets and plastic joint guards as they duked it out on an ice rink just outside—as a few ponies wearing construction worker uniforms (with their own hard helmets) sat on the bleachers and drank scorching coffee or chocolate.

Back to the hive, however:

There were yet even more changelings doing other kinds of work and this work was to decorate the hive in the festive festivities of Hearth's Warming. Some boxes of jingling bells just arrived by pegasus delivery and after a few signatures were signed, the boxes were opened and impatient carollers snagged some of the clanky instruments and, well, jingled them. After a while, Pharynx, without saying a word, confiscated all the boxes and took them away from any prying hooves.

On a more positive note, other changelings were setting up tall pine trees (both real and fake) with hanging socks and reflective spheres and fun images of the changelings themselves—this one depicted a changeling throwing a snowball at another, this one displayed many changelings huddling together for one big smile, and this one showed Pharynx being disgusted at Thorax's collection of pine trees.

Wires and more wires were strewn across the ground, then climbing up like the vines beside them—in some cases, being completely entagled with the vines beside them—culminating in a string of colorful lights that alternated between green and red although it was still daytime.

Evergreen wreaths with red ribbons (and some having lights of their own) livened up the hive even further.

Through it all, a familiar smell permeated the entire hive: a savory and sweet smell.

In the kitchen area, tens of chefs were hurrying to this and that spot, commands were being ordered across the culinary range, and all that comprised a respectable Hearth's Warming feast—jelly, dim sum, roasted beetle, hot soup, apple pie, apple cake, and soda.

In another part of the hive—farther away from the logfire center—a group of ponies and a group of changelings were talking to each other as the ponies plopped down crates and more boxes from their carts. The open boxes showed what they and the rest contained: bright, multi-colored, smaller boxes wrapped in gift wrapper and tied up neatly in a ribbon. Receiving their gifts of varying sizes and weights, the changelings exclaimed their thanks— "Thank you, guys!" "Wow! There's so many we're getting!" "I don't know what to say! How can we give back to you?"

Rarity shook her head, lifting a hoof as she lowered her head. "You don't have to. I am quite content with seeing you fulfilled. What is Hearth's Warming without some selfless giving, anyway?"

And with that, the ponies waved the changelings good bye and the changelings waved the ponies good bye.

"Thorax!" Pharynx yelled as he landed in front of the unoccupied wooden throne, landing on a thin sheet of snow. He was holding the confiscated boxes of jingling bells. "I've seized some nuisances in the form of these bells. I suggest that we refit them for the guards so that they—"

Thorax turned around, looking away from his decorating work of his many pine trees. "Pharynx!" he yelled, alarmed. "That's for the Hearth's Warming carols!"

"These are musical items?" Pharnyx asked, puzzled as he raised an eyebrow and showed a confused face.

"Yes!" Thorax said, rushing to the boxes and placed them on the snow. "It's a Hearth's Warming tradition—in Equestria, it's a custom for ponies to go around town and sing the holiday carols."

"That is a disruptive practice, Throax," Pharynx said, picking up the boxes. "Bells don't produce nice melodies. They're loud, annoying, and hurt my head."

"You're thinking of a different kind of bell," Thorax said, calmer now as he pulled out a bell. He jangled it around, letting it jingle.

Pharynx gritted his teeth and covered his ears and closed his eyes, hovering over the ground. "Make it stop!"

Thorax threw the bell back into the box.

Pharynx landed on the ground again and opened his eyes. "You dare use a weapon against your own brother?!"

"It's not a weapon!" Thorax said. "It makes pleasant, gentle sounds."

"Pleasant?!"

"OK, maybe pleasant to some..."

Thorax made an awkard smile.

"Sorry, brother."

Blue Alarm flew over to the logfire, landing right in the middle of the crowd gathered around it. The ones in front stretched out their hooves toward it, rotating them around as they let their forelegs bask in the cozy warmth.

He inched forward, moving slowly but surely, and finally reached the front row. He let out a sigh of relief as he did what his fellow changelings did—stretching out his hooves and warming them in front of the fire.

"Woah. Didn't see you there, Blue Alarm," Red Noise said.

The blue changeling looked to his right. "I did see you, though."

"What else should I expect from you these days?" He smirked. "You have a sharp eye and you keep honing that skill of yours."

Blue Alarm nodded.

"Have you ever wondered about...what exactly is the use of it?"

He looked at his friend.

The fire cackled, hushed conversations and exchanges of whispers—the whirl of the wind failing to snuff out the fire.

"Of my observational talent?" Blue Alarm asked, pointing to himself—a slight downward play of his lips.

"Yeah, Blue Alarm," Red Noise said, patting him. "You know what you're good at. But, how is it going to be useful?"

Blue Alarm shook his head as he smiled. "Ah, always a little brash no matter how polite you try to be, Red Noise."

"You're my friend," Red Noise said. "I can't be too polite with you—feels distant."

He nodded. "However, you should at least try to break it down to your friends, too, in a nice way."

"And, what, you learned it from one of the Elements of Harmony?" Red Noise said, leaning away.

"I still take my lessons from them," Blue Alarm said, "even if it's just the lessons. They are good at friendship and all."

"But, that's not what I'm talking about." He placed a firm hoof on his shoulder.

The fire cackled on.

"What else are you going to use your good eye for?"

Keeping Warm

The sky was a little dark, overcast, but of a thin rainbow hue. A darker morning but altogether a cozier one—the blanket of snow reaching here and covering most of the ground, with only the dirt paths free from it; over there, on the rooftops, chunks and covers of snow. Even then, snowflakes were falling down.

Ponyville's thatched and hay-roof houses (among the other buildings there) were dressed up in the timely decorations of the season: colorful lights hanging on a wire across walls and streets; evergreen wreaths under balconies and on windows and doors, red and white stripes on candy cane-like structures scattered about town—accompanied by glowing yellow stars on sticks and ponies licking real candy canes with their sugary, minty tastes; bells hanging either on the wall or on the closed windows, sometimes jingling and ringing; tall pine trees (also evergreen) decorated with flowing robes and ribbons and stockings and such, almost always topped with a star.

The ponies themselves were wore ear muffs, coats, sweaters, scarves, hats—anything to keep themselves warm, though despite that, a few were shivering.

A shadow loomed ahead near an establishment whose lights were on in the morning, shining.

A pony inside went to a tiny window and looked up.

Pegasi were moving clouds about, clearing the colorful sky from any obstruction.

It was getting a little brighter.

The pony turned away from the window.

Inside, it was much warmer. Wooden tables and chairs lined with cloth were not the only pieces of furniture here. Cushioned seats and couches on ornate carpets and rugs before a few fireplaces with their collective burning and cackling, several ponies sitting close to the fire and spreading their forehooves out; bookshelves away from the windows and at the far end alongside candy canes dangling from strings as ponies grabbed them and as the staff—identified by their red and green shirts and hats—replenished them by tying new candy canes to the strings; linen-coated counter of invigorating coffee and tea and chocolate served on tiny platters or directly on mittened hooves as the clothed ponies there sat, drank, and talked to the waiters and servers at the other side; all the while, some musicians played old-time carols in jazz—saxophones, trumpet, double bass, drums all handled by ponies in suits that would have been gloomy had they not been in the festive colors of red and green, for even their ties were red and green.

Quiet, hushed, peaceful inside.

As Blue Alarm walked inside through the single wooden door, there was the rush of warm air out. Looking outside at the slightly-blue surroundings lit up by many hues, he then closed the door.

"Welcome!" a voice called out.

It came from a mare who walked out of the counter; she wore a red and green shirt but no hat, she was yellow and had a blue and purple mane.

"Make yourself comfortable," she said. "And your name would be...?"

"Blue Alarm, ma'am," he said as he gandered with a face of awe—open mouth afterwards. "You, uh, hold a perfect place here."

"I open my house to all during Hearth's Warming," she said. "Twilight has her Hearth's Warming party over in the castle, but even she curls up for a good read or two once in a while during the celebrations. This—" she turned a hoof about, calling to his attention, once more, all that was inside the room "—this is for the pony who wants to celebrate the season but doesn't want to get caught up in all the loud and gaudy activities outside."

Blue Alarm took a step forward, observing all the different ponies who were there.

A couple of amber and yellow sat at a small table, talking to each other over individual cups of tea. The mare—her orange mane was tall in three layers; the stallion—his green mane was combed, as if waxed or gelled. Their cutie marks? Slices of orange for the mare and a whole orange for the stallion.

Moon Dancer, in her scraggly black sweater, sat on a hoofchair made up of stuffed fabric; her horn glowed pink as the book she levitated was, too. Her eyes moved left to right—back to the left; a smile as she read through her glasses.

A sturdy stallion of silver coat and gray hair—and a long jaw and chin—wore only a bowtie as he pulled out from behind his hoof an endless string of colored hankerchiefs, amazing his audience of young and old as they "Ooh'd" and "Ahh'd".

Trenderhoof was seated at the counter, drinking water from a bottle. Donning a tall hat that shadowed his face, he cleared his throat and glanced about anxiously, eyeing newcomers the moment they came in before making a swift turn back to his bottle.

"You attract quite the crowd," Blue Alarm said as he turned to the owner.

"It's up and rising!" she said, shooting a hoof across the air. "It's the place to be when you just wanna escape from the galloping about—having to buy this, having to check that one off the list, do I have enough to please this or that one?" She held her cheeks in a frantic way. Then, she let go, revealing a relieved smile. "I'm not sure if you've noticed, but preparing for Hearth's Warming just gets exhausting after some time, so I want to help those exhausted ponies, too."

Blue Alarm nodded as he watched the candy canes hovering over the rug, three ponies heading their way there. He turned to see her again. "What was your name? I didn't catch it."

"Calca Ream," she said.

"Calca Ream?" he repeated, leaning his head.

"My dad works in the timber industry, and my mom makes paper—which, I guess, is still a part of the timber industry. Kind of fitting, even more so because of my cutie mark—a pine tree."

"And...?" He tapped his chin. "I get the 'Ream' part of your name but not the 'Calca' part."

"'Calca' from calcium," she said. "Pine trees can grow on chalky, calcium-rich soil."

"Alright," he said, nodding. "Your parents were...creative?"

"That's how pony names work," she said. "Besides, your name sounds like a pony's name." She smirked. "I guess Chrysalis was running out of ideas when you came along."

"She wasn't running out of ideas," he said. "She ran out."

Calca Ream raised an eyebrow wide, giving Blue Alarm a skeptical look. "What you're saying is...you were born without a name?"

He nodded.

She eyed a table. "We need to sit down. This is proving to be interesting."

As "Hearth's Warming Eve is Here Once Again" was played and performed by the jazz band on stage, the changeling and the mare were seated at a small table, a bit far away from the fireplaces; nearby, a pony tried to read a book but kept shivering every so often. The silver stallion had already left, though the secretive Trenderhoof was still about.

"I don't get it, though," Calca Ream said, holding a cup of chocolate and marshmallows—the cocoa smell wafting its way around. "Why did you call yourself Blue Alarm? Even the changelings who had to name themselves had bug-related names like Cornicle or Ocelli; even the not-related ones don't sound like pony names to me."

"I had to give myself a name," Blue Alarm reasoned, having nothing to drink on his side. "Since I was a changeling, why not name myself after a creature that wasn't a changeling? So, I did some thinking and thought up of 'Blue Alarm' since it fitted my role back then."

"But, do you ever feel...weird?"

A pause as she looked at him.

He glanced away. "Now that you think about it..."

"I'm not asking you to change your name," she said. "A name's a very big thing. I know better than to meddle in naming. But...just give it a piece of your mind, OK?"

Blue Alarm blinked.

He then looked at the counter, feeling the heat of the distant fireplaces.

Ongoing

"I could help you with whatever else you want," Calca Ream said.

"What else do I want?" Blue Alarm asked back.

"Well, you're here for more than just to relax, but I could give you a good book to read, or maybe I could show you one of my friends here—well, everypony here is my friend, but you know what I mean." A scunched up face. "You changelings know what we mean by that, right?"

"I think we've been out long enough to know what your pony expressions mean," he said.

She nodded, smiling. "It's been nice chatting with you—" standing up, out of the chair "—but, I have more to cater to." A look at the crowd there—quiet and polite—and a look back at Blue Alarm. "You sure you're gonna think about it?"

A raised eyebrow, a lifted cheek. "Yeah."

"Splendid! Have a wonderful Hearth's Warming time here!"

And she walked away, already transitioning into pleasant greetings with those who had just entered—"Good morning, Glacieral!" A gasp. "Why, you've grown! When was the last time I saw you—just four years ago? And, look at you!" She carried a foal—already able to fly about properly with his wings as he escaped from her grasp, prompting her to gasp.

The father—wearing a tie, nervously eyeing the foal flying about—said, "Time has flown by so quickly. Sorry we couldn't keep in touch—it's been hectic juggling between taking care of a new family and guarding a big museum in Vanhoover."

No words as he finally caught his child and brought him down before closing the door, stopping the chilling wind from coming in.

"Really?" Calca Ream said in a skeptical way—aimed at him like an anxious detective. "You don't say!" She looked behind him, peeking about. "Uh, where's Sectored Plate?"

"Ah, you're looking for my wife!" he said, pointing a hoof about. "She's busy collecting the snowflakes as usual. She was ecstatic during our first winter in Vanhoover—up North, you know, tons of snow."

Calca Ream looked at the foal, examining him under his father's embrace. "Does he have his cutie mark?"

"You're too eager to see him grow up, huh?" He smiled. "The moment he gets it, I'll tear up."

"That honest about it, huh?" she said back, mimicking his accent before laughing. "Come on, Glacieral. You're better than that!"

"Better than telling the truth?" he retorted with a playful attitude.

Trenderhoof, still in his disguise, glanced at the two talking there, and coughed before taking another sip of water.

Blue Alarm went out of his seat and hovered over the carpets and the rugs, buzzing along until he landed in front of a fireplace.

There was the fire with neatly-cut logs burning. The fire was a warm yellow, its heat refreshing as he extended his hooves, stretching his forelegs out at it.

The pony beside him—stallion with ruffled mane, stuffed in thick clothes—took an odd look at him. Then, a shrug as he continued stretching his hooves out at the fire, too.

The changeling turned to him as they sat on the rug. "What can you say about fireplaces?"

"Uh, me?" the pony said, pointing to himself, leaning away. "I don't know. They're cool."

Inside the Castle of Friendship, the long hallways with their carpets of dark purple stretched on to great lengths, accommodating many more ponies as they partied on. A phonograph played some Hearth's Warming carols loud enough to be heard all around as Vinyl Scratch tapped her hoof impatiently beside it, glaring at it.

A single fireplace stood alone, decorated and swarmed with wreaths and ribbons and robes and fabric and flowers. Framed in brick, a pot of apple cider was bubbling on, a pegasus stirring the ladle around while serving a short line of ponies ready with their drinking mugs. A basket of coal and barrels upon barrels of apples lay beside the fire.

The Hearth's Warming tree in the middle of the hallway was huge, humongous. Bedecked with the typical ornaments and the like—spheres, lights, ribbons, stars, stockings, hanging gifts, pictures and images of friends from everywhere—this tree also, like other Hearth's Warming trees, had a ring of gifts around it, growing and growing as more and more ponies placed their gifts there—with labels on there, a great many of which had the receipient's name but not the giver's.

The rest of the hallway had been fitted to match the occasion. Crystal columns dressed like candy canes, doors headed by wreaths of green, walls brightened up by wires of colorful lights, even the balconies were furnished with twisting ribbons.

As Rainbow Dash and Thunderlane flew about—donning their Wonderbolt uniforms and wowing the foals as they cheered on—and as Fluttershy helped the rabbits, ducks and beavers eat their own food on their own small table at their own Hearth's Warming feast; and as Pinkie Pie was talking with Vinyl Scratch, pointing at a DJ station just ahead—a smile looming on the musician's face—and as Applejack hauled in a train of wagons filled with heaps of fresh apple dishes that hungry ponies scarfed down in a jiffy; and as Rarity, with her glowing horn, further decorated the halls with fancy banners; and as Spike was busy with helping himself to Applejack's delicacies (with Applejack smiling at him)—

Starlight and Twilight stood a good distance away from the tree, watching as the pile of gifts increased.

"I was wondering," Starlight said, "is Hearth's Warming celebrated by just us ponies?"

"Not really," Twilight replied. "Other societies celebrate Hearth's Warming—or, at least, the winter in general. While they don't say 'Hearth's Warming' per se, there are festivities. Well, except for the yaks—it's always winter there but they don't mind."

Starlight looked on at the tree.

Twilight looked at her—a concerned face on the alicorn. "Is there anything you have in mind, Starlight?"

She sighed. "I was thinking that maybe I should throw a party with my friends. Trixie's easy—she has a big magic tour leading up to Hearth's Warming proper, but I think she will be available by then. The others, however..."

"They're occupied, I guess," Twilight said.

"Maud is opening up, but she has plans to spend the day on a mining expedition. Sunburst has to fulfill his duties as the Crystaller and take care of Flurry Heart—she and her family would be ecstatic with the party in the Empire over there. Thorax is going to be swamped up with handling his own winter celebration in the hive, and Discord—"

"—is unpredictable so no one knows," Twilight finished.

Starlight let out another sigh, scratching her mane and crinkling it up.

"Spike's free," Twilight said. "I'm free." She pointed at herself.

"Yeah, but you're...how am I supposed to say this?"

Twilight closed her eyes and nodded. "Don't worry, Starlight. You don't have to say it. I understand—you just can't stand spending the entire morning reading a book with me."

"Probably."

Twilight smiled. "Different strokes for different folks. But, you can at least try inviting them. Maybe they'll change their schedules just to suit a friend like you."

Starlight smiled back.

Then, Twilight's smile was gone. "I'm curious, though. What are you going to do at your Hearth's Warming party?"

"Oh, just a few ordinary things like sipping cocoa and baking pies and, I don't know—I could be having magical competitions with Trixie and Sunburst just like you and I had when we used to be student and teacher!"

"Yeah..." Twilight said, her voice trailing off though keeping up a smile.

"Maud and Thorax could make an entertaining play on their own—"

"What, a play?!"

"—and, since Discord is, well, you know, chaotic, we can leave it to him to surprise us—maybe make upside-down side-ways muffins or something just because it's Hearth's Warming!"

Twilight let out a nervous laugh. "I only hope that he doesn't flood Ponyville with tables...again."

A Glimmer of a Chat

The sky was still overcast—in fact, it was even darker now than before, though the colorful Hearth's Warming lights (plus the regular lights from the houses and the stores) were more than enough to illuminate the way. It was a cold, cozy place—hazy lights up against glittering snowflakes fluttering through to the ground or to a curious pony's stuck out tongue.

Sugarcube Corner, just like the rest of the buildings in Ponyville, had a sheet of snow on top of it; it was rather uneven, though, because of the uneven roofs.

"Huh." Starlight took a good look at the snow-covered bakery before her. "It does fit the season better."

"That's because it's a gingerbread house, silly!" Pinkie said, appearing just beside her.

"What?!" She almost jumped—shivered. "Pinkie! How do you...do that?"

"I...move." She put on her detective's cap and, with a mysterious gait, trotted into the bakery.

Starlight shrugged before she entered.

There were less customers inside the bakery than usual. A lone filled-out table stood amongst a sea of unoccupied one—and a few more tables scattered about did have one or two customers munching slowly on their food.

Pinkie Pie popped up from behind the counter, wearing a pink and purple scarf, and dropped a plate of towering chocolate cake right in front of her. It was covered in chocolate frosting, topped with various fruits such as apples, oranges, grapes, and cherries; strawberry-flavored icing topped the cake's rims, and a picture of a smiling Pinkie Pie stood in front of it.

"Anypony want a free cake?!" Pinkie declared.

All the customers looked her way. They shook their heads—though smiling back at her.

"Alright! More for me!"

She turned the plate around at a fast speed—the cake then became a blur. Pinkie opened her mouth wide and accumulated the cake into her mouth as it spun and spun and spun slowly until it was all gone.

Only a single gasp erupted from the meager number of ponies there. The rest only shrugged to themselves or rolled their eyes—a mumble of "It's just Pinkie being Pinkie—don't think too much about it."

Starlight, who was walking by while watching her eat the chocolate cake, raised an ear. "You know what? That's not a good enough explanation."

"The Princess herself gave up on explaining her," the mumbling pony—Crusoe—said to her. "One of the most intelligent ponies in Equestria gave up on making a plausible theory about Pinkie—why bother?" He raised up his hooves and then let them fall down—as if mimicking surrender.

"Maybe it's sleight-of-hoof," Starlight said. "Trixie and Sunburst could do...something like that."

"I understand gobbling up a cake as it spins around," Crusoe said. "But—you've hung out with her a couple times, haven't you, right?"

Starlight nodded. "Yeah, so?"

"So? You haven't noticed the times she just...arrives at a place faster than any of us?"

"Less than a minute ago."

"That's the least of it," Crusoe said—retreating to his food on his table. "But, take it from me: She's Pinkie and that's that." He turned to his food and went on eating.

"O...K?"

She turned around and walked farther inside.

Then, she opened her eyes wide at a figure near the window.

"Just when I was thinking about Thorax..."

On Blue Alarm's table was a glass of bubbly soda, a single slice of apple pie with a dollop of cream, a full plate of glazed butter cake, and a big lollipop.

The changeling picked up the lollipop. "This is an...interesting way to prepare food." He rotated it—even threw it into the air, catching it with a dextrous hoof. He smelled it—"Sugary, just as I expected it."

Then, hoofsteps coming closer.

He stuck his head out. "Ah, Starlight Glimmer!"

"Yes, it's...me," Starlight said—forcing a grin as she sat down on the chair opposite to him, awkwardly gawking at the food, glancing then at him. "You're...well, I have to be honest with you—there's just so many changelings that it's hard to keep track whether I met you or if it's the first time. And, there's only six regular color schemes for you."

"We first met when you were playing chess with Humerus," Blue Alarm said.

"Humerus?" Starlight said, raising the pitch of her voice. "You mean one of those...rabid fans from before?"

"He's not so rabid now," Blue Alarm said.

"But chess with him? I don't know...I've played a few more games of chess with other changelings, including Thorax."

Blue Alarm took a sip of his soda. "Well, that's in the past. Actually, I'm a little happy that you're here."

"Why?" Starlight said. "Is it because you're in front of one of your heroes?"

"More than that," Blue Alarm said as he lifted the lollipop into clear view. "I would like to know what is the ideal way of eating a lollipop."

"The ideal way of eating a lollipop?" Starlight repeated, shrinking back.

"I've seen most ponies lick lollipops," Blue Alarm went on, gesturing with his lollipop, "but other ponies just bite it. From the looks of it, it hurts a lot if you bite it, but maybe changeling jaws are stronger—I like to think so."

"Uh..." Starlight scratched her mane, looking out the window at the sky and at the other snow-covered buildings. Then, she looked back. "Why are you asking, again?"

"It doesn't matter to me how the majority of ponies eat a lollipop," he said. "I'm concerned with the best way to eat one."

"It's to lick the lollipop," Starlight answered. "I really don't know why you would want to know, but...now you know."

Another awkward grin from her.

"Thanks!" Blue Alarm expressed before he licked his candy.

Starlight looked at the counter—Pinkie was taking an order from the only pony in line.

"That was...amazing," Blue Alarm said, looking at the lollipop with awe. "I've already tasted a few sweets myself, but having a piece of hardened sugar on a stick and then being able to easily hold it as you fly around—an innovative invention. No wonder it's a hit with the kids."

Starlight giggled a little—and she covered her mouth.

"What's funny?" he asked with an inquiring tone, leaning forward even.

"It's...it's just that—" Starlight cleared her throat "—that you still have that innocence about you."

"Aren't you ponies innocent as well?" he asked. "The griffons seem so grumpy all the time, the dragons are always competing against each other, the yaks smash things a lot. You ponies look very innocent to us."

"Well, whenever I see a changeling," Starlight began, crossing her forehooves on the table, "there's that sense of...wonder at everything you encounter. Me, personally? I have that...not much of the time, though. But, you have it all the time—whether for good or for bad, that depends."

"You can call it a second shot at a good life," Blue Alarm said, placing the lollipop down on the plate beside the cake. "Given the chance to start over with something new—I'm sure that will make most of us treat everything as if it was new."

Starlight nodded. "That's true."

"But, I don't think of myself as that kind of changeling," Blue Alarm said. "Well, not as much as the others like...Humerus."

Starlight sighed, smiling. "Not him again."

"I used to be a scout for our team or squad," Blue Alarm said. "That was because I developed a talent for remembering almost everything with just one or two looks at a place. Then, I honed that talent even further and, as time went on, I grew a liking for catching the small details—and, as a hobby of mine, guessing where this or that pony is going and why. I don't always get it right, but I get a good amount of them correct."

"So—" she pointed at him, a giddy look on her face "—you can tell a pony's entire schedule for the day without having to ask him? Like some sort of investigator?"

"Not really," Blue Alarm said. "Well, not exactly—that's what I meant."

"Have you ever considered joining the E.U.P. Guard or some other related branch of the Equestrian military?" Starlight then asked out of the blue.

He took another sip of the soda. "No."

"Why not? I mean, they're quite open to non-ponies joining the guard."

"We changelings declined the offer together," he said. "Also, Pharynx would get really mad at us."

"Oh—Thorax's brother, I see."

Blue Alarm slid the plate toward her. "You want some?"

"Nah, I'm fine," she said. "Hearth's Warming food is too much for even my sweet tooth."

"I thought you ponies were fine with eating sugar and sweets all day long," Blue Alarm said. "Well, I used to think that way, way back when I was still new to this friendship thing. I knew you ate vegetables and fruits and grain, but a confectioner's is in almost all the towns and cities in Equestria."

"There's foals," Starlight said.

"Yet, how many full-grown mares and stallions do I see milling about in the candy shops? In the choclate shops? At the softdrink establishments or those vending machines?"

"There's a perfect excuse for the vending machines," Starlight said, brushing something imaginary with her hoof with nonchalance.

"I already have a formed answer, but I am ready to hear from you, Starlight," Blue Alarm said.

She cleared her throat again. "Where do you see the vending machines? Usually?"

"In the cities, the urban centers," he said.

"And, what's one of the rules that a lot of pony parents give to their children when they go outside?"

"It's either 'Don't go outside without us' or 'Don't talk to strangers.'"

"Eh, 'Don't talk to strangers' is good enough." She slid the plate back to him. "Anyway, if a foal is told to never go outside without a parent, what does he end up doing?"

"Not going outside without a parent, of course," the changeling replied.

"And, since there's lots of strangers for a foal who lives in a big city like Vanhoover or Fillydelphia, you would not see foals running around on the streets there. The only kids you'll be seeing there are those who have their parents nearby."

"Makes sense," Blue Alarm said, nodding with a hoof on his chin, leaning back on his chair and about to prop his hind legs on the table.

"So, that means that there are not a lot of foals outside on the sidewalks. Which means that the sidewalks are filled with adult ponies. Yet, you always hear it in the news—every week—that a vending machine runs out of soda cans in stock. Which means that ponies use vending machines very often. But, since children aren't frequenting the sidewalks, that means other ponies are the ones emptying the vending machines—and those vending machines are constantly resupplied."

"It could be tourists from other lands," Blue Alarm said. "I myself have used a vending machine. It was a pretty sight—the technology that's in those things. I insert a coin, I press a button, and the machine just knows what to do—it never fails!"

Starlight giggled again—this time not covering her mouth. "You really are innocently optimistic, aren't you?"

Blue Alarm kept up his big smile. "It was the first time I saw a vending machine without having to bother about who to steal love from or without having to mind my starvation."

"A huge relief when you realized you could share love, isn't it?" Starlight said, a hopeful smile on her face with large eyes and an encouraging expression.

"It was, indeed," Blue Alarm said, nodding again. "I don't know about you, but at least I'm not repeating the same mundane cycle of motions to fulfill a hunger I realized would never be fulfilled anyway."

"That would've been a desperate situation," Starlight said.

"So, as much as I think that it's redundant at this point, Starlight Glimmer—"

He took her hoof and shook it

"—thank you."

She looked here and there, then straight at the changeling. Smiling, she said: "You didn't have to do that."

Twilight Sparkle sat on a wooden stool as she read another book: "Around Equestria in Eighty Hours". On the round table was a few stacks of many books, each stack having its own paper label—one was labeled "Sci-Fi", one was labeled "History", and the last one was labeled "Encyclopedia Verification".

The castle library's double doors opened.

"Twilight?" Spike said—a little worried. "Everyone's gonna play hide-and-seek in the castle. Wanna join?"

The alicorn turned around and yawned—stretched her forehooves. "I'd love to, Spike, but I'm just beat from flying around and putting in the final touches for the holidays."

Spike sighed. "Tomorrow, then?"

"Tomorrow, Spike." A pause. "Thanks for checking on me."

"Don't mention it!"

The double doors closed and the baby dragon was out.

Twilight turned back to her book.

A poof.

Twilight's eyes went wide open and turned around again. "Starlight?! What did I tell you about teleporting your way through doors?"

"I...didn't want to disturb you," Starlight said. "In hindsight, maybe knocking would've done the trick."

Twilight blinked and then yawned.

"You're sleepy already?" Starlight said. "But, it's not even sundown!"

"I volunteered for preparing all of Ponyville for Hearth's Warming—and, I even sent out some boxes of decorations to Appleloosa as well, courtesy of Applejack. It's been a tiring day."

Then, she stopped levitating the book.

"What's the matter, Starlight?" Twilight said. "Or, did you learn something about friendship today?"

Starlight looked up. "It's not precisely about friendship, but it's close to it."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

Starlight took a seat, sitting down beside her. She rested a forehoof on the table, looking at Twilight's baggy eyes. "Do you remember when you taught me about how casual chit-chat is a sign of a growing friendship?"

"You mean when you and Trixie came over?" Twilight said, straightening up.

"Mm-hmm. And, I noticed something today."

"What is it?"

"Well, I've noticed it today, but I've been noticing for a long time—the thought of it was building up in my mind."

Twilight leaned forward. "What is it?"

"Everyone here chit-chats."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "I don't get it. What's your point?"

Starlight sighed. "I was planning to make some epic speech about how friendship enriched our day-to-day lives and that the small talks that ponies—and more than just ponies—have in this town and throughout Equestria and beyond was irrefutable evidence of how friendship not only does things like destroy evil but also makes life here better for all who would open up to the idea of friendship—but, you wanted me to get straight to the point."

Twilight blinked, gently pushing her book out of view. "I...didn't expect that."

Then, Starlight hopped out of her stool. "Since you're very tired—and, it looks like you don't want any more unwelcome visitors—I'll leave you be, Twilight. Thanks for your time!"

And Starlight teleported her way out of the library, disappearing in a glowy explosion of magical blue.

Twilight looked on at where Starlight used to be.

"At least you still learn new things about friendship everyday, Starlight," she uttered as she smiled, levitating the book back to her.

Joe and Radar

Minuette, Twinkleshine, and Lemon Hearts, all wearing festive clothes such as scarves and sweaters and boots—that group of mares—walked into the donut place which still smelled of sweet sugar being glazed on to the donuts on the conveyor belt over there. Ponies still occupied the usual chairs and tables, the checkered floor had not changed—but, the windows did not bring in the dousing of sunlight it had in warmer times. Instead, there was just a bit more light—purple or blue light, to be exact, for the sky was not only overcast, it was also getting even darker. However, that was OK since the lights hanging from above were turned on, turning the eatery into an early nightlife center with donuts.

Minuette poked Twinkleshine and then pointed at the counter. "Uh, is that...Fancy Pants?"

Fancy Pants—in his fancy black suit with bowtie—was serving the line of customers with a few rich laughs before sending one off.

"It is!" Twinkleshine expressed. "Why would Fancy Pants, of all ponies, be in Joe's place today? In fact—" she raised a hoof "—where is Joe?"

Joe groaned, resisting the urge to shiver or clatter his teeth since he was under jackets upon jackets of warmth. His white uniform and his small hat were still there, though. On his face was, then, a smile—a wide one, almost too wide—as he looked at the changeling swarm upon his donut cart.

The snow around the hive had gotten thicker—it was half-way to the knees at its deepest. Overhead, a few pegasi were bringing more and more clouds, pushing them into one big lump of gray clouds that further darkened the sky.

The changelings—more varied in color now because of their many clothes—had no line to speak of. They were all around the cart—the many were at the front, some were at the sides, a few were waiting at the back trying to chat with Joe to no avail. There was even a changeling sitting on the roof of the cart—he went on to dance around, garnering the attention of most of the changeling herd.

And Joe sighed. "Finally, some rest!"

His horn glowed and levitated the mass of bits down to a counter in front of him. The cart shook and jolted, but Joe managed to hold it in place with a firm grip. He looked up, hearing the loud tapping of the changeling dancing above.

"Better than not knowing when they're gonna stop," he muttered.

He looked under the counter and saw his inventory of donuts—or, lack thereof. All the racks were empty, the only items of note still there being the labels and the price tags for donuts that were not present.

"I should've known," he said. Eyeing a locked cabinet: "Good thing they didn't detect this."

He jangled the lock with his magic.

It didn't come off.

"Still in perfect condition." He smirked as he lifted his head to see what was going on now.

The changeling swarm erupted into cheers and stomping of the ground, all looking up on the dancing changeling that Joe could not yet see.

It was night when Joe reached Dodge Junction.

The dusty, sandy ground under him, he saw the few ponies—all wearing country hats—walking about on the unpaved pathways. The vibrant buildings were all under the night's blue tint, their windows glittering the soft moonlight.

Joe detached himself from his donut cart, removed from himself all the extra clothes wearing down on him, and sat on a bench at the train station.

And sighed.

Minutes passed by with no words nor any unusual sounds. Only hoofsteps, wheels grinding, and some chatter or conversation muffled and obscured by both distance and walls. A slam, another slam, a shout—but, nothing much came of it, for all became quiet after that.

Joe looked at the right.

No train.

He looked at the left.

No train.

"Want a hat?" a gruff voice asked.

"Thank you, sir," Joe began, turning to see him, "but, I already—"

And he only blinked at the hat-wearing changeling carrying a box of country hats of different colors—there was even a hat sporting four colors at once. He brought the box forward. "You need a big hat. It will help cover you from the sand."

"The sand comes from the ground, not from the sky," Joe said.

"You can't say for sure around these parts," the changeling said, still imitating a gruff voice. "I've seen sandstorms suddenly spring up without notice—endangering all the land."

"That's because somepony probably kicked up some dust without you knowing it," Joe said. "And, no, I don't want a hat."

"Alrighty, then."

Then, the changeling sat down on the bench, sitting beside the pony.

The pony eyed the changeling with a suspicious look.

The changeling just looked on at the rows of colorful buildings, looking on at peaceful Dodge Junction at night.

An owl hooted.

"Wait a minute," Joe said, raising his head, "owls don't live in the desert."

"That's my owl," the changeling said. "I own an owl. He lives on the rooftops, on the chimneys."

Joe looked at him square in the eye. "What's his name?"

"Yeast."

"Why 'Yeast'?"

"I ran out of ideas." The changeling shrugged. "So, I read a dictionary and picked a random word. I came up with 'Yeast' and my owl's 'Yeast' because of that."

"Huh." Joe slouched on the bench.

A minute passed by as the two gazed upon Dodge Junction—a window went off, and so did another one, slowly bringing Dodge Junction to a darker night.

"What's your name?" Joe finally asked.

"Radar," he said. "I bet you have those in the works."

"What?"

"I got myself that name because I wanted to make myself sound cool," he said, pointing to himself before putting down his large hat on the bench. "Checked the archives, checked what new thing those researchers in Canterlot are researching on—and, it's a radar."

Joe remained silent.

"You know—I think they paraded it around one time and I was there. It looks a grill and then there's a vent in front of it and then it goes around and it spins and it makes me dizzy. Then, without looking up, the ponies with the screen were able to tell who's flying up there—can even tell how fast exactly and they can tell you where, too."

"I think I was away when that happened," Joe said, rubbing his head. "But...there we go. I don't see the immediate uses for a...radar?"

"Me, too. Will it catch on?"

"I have no idea, Radar." Joe said. "I have no idea."

Then came along the whistling of a train.

His eyes half-open, a yawn coming out from him as he stretched his forelegs out to the window—even pushing the window a little outward. Then, smacking his lips, he rested his head on the window.

He saw the capped All Aboard walking down the aisle.

Joe raised his hoof. "Mister? May I...know where we're going?"

"Ponyville," the bearded pony said. He took out his watch and opened it. "We'll be on schedule."

"And...what's the schedule?"

"We'll be there by 11:30 tonight," he said as he clsoed his watch.

"Thanks."

All Aboard walked away.

"That late?" Joe said. "I won't be able to make it back to Canterlot in time—with enough sleep. At least I have some caffeine."

And then, he pulled out a donut that smelled of coffee and took a bite of it. Munching on it, he looked out the window.

"It does taste delicious, after all," Joe said, smiling. "Maybe I am on to something. Probably give the changelings who don't know what coffee tastes like..."

He trailed off.

"And they'll taste it for the first time."

As the train moved on, its wheels rapidly turning, he looked up to the moon and the stars.

"For the first time..."

A smile, his eyes glittering the soft moonlight.

To Build Upon

Filthy Rich gazed upon the carts of apple products standing in front of his store. All the crates and boxes were labeled with apples.

Rich's Barnyard Bargains was open, though there were no customers yet. It was sunrise but it was not obvious that it was sunrise—the sky was still overcast, now even more damp and gray than the last few days. Snow was falling and several burly Earth ponies were hard at work in scooping and shoveling excess snow out of the way.

Filthy Rich looked at them and tugged at his own tie.

A buzz flew down.

Filthy Rich turned around.

"Oh, it's you again," he said, smiling. "Another griffon, another dragon, another changeling in town."

Blue Alarm nodded. "It would be nice if I could buy some of your produce."

He kept that smile. "Why not?"

Blue Alarm entered the store, walking on its wooden floor and passing by the several aisles and shelves of more than just apples—there were watermelons, cabbages, chocolate bars, and butter scattered here and there. However, most of what was being sold were apples and apple-related products: apple juice, apple cider, apple pie, apple fritters, and so on.

Filthy Rich stood behind the counter and smiled as he watched the changeling fly around his shop. He saw the changeling hold a jar of apple jam—Blue Alarm examined it, rotated it, zoomed in on it, read the nutrition label at the back, shook it, placed his ear to it. He did the same to a box of apple pie, being careful to not open it.

The stallion raised an eyebrow. He looked left and right. "Just usual changeling behavior, I guess."

Blue Alarm placed the jar and the box back to where they were on the racks.

"Is the apple theme something you chose because...?"

"It's a family tradition," he said from his counter. "Uh, it's more than just that. The Rich family and the Apple family have been close to each other since the founding of Ponyville. It goes way back to Stinkin Rich, my grandfather—he's the one who built what became this very store you're standing in." He pointed to the floor below the changeling.

The changeling looked down.

"But, he couldn't have done it without the help of Granny Smith. She's the one who cooked up batches of what he sold as his first product—zap apple jam. The rest is history—the town grew and here we are now."

The changeling looked at him and nodded. "Nice story."

"Of course," he said, "there's always something more. The life of a business such as this never ends—at least it ain't supposed to. I've been thinking about hoofing it down to Diamond Tiara when she grows up—from her talent of getting others to do what she wants, she's just a business pony waiting to meet the field."

Blue Alarm smiled. "You're hopeful about it, then?"

"I'm mighty hopeful," he said. "There's nothing that's going to break the Apples and the Riches apart. As long as we treat each other right, then that's that."

Blue Alarm walked forward to the counter.

"Anything else?" he asked.

Silence.

"What does it feel like?"

Filthy Rich raised an eyebrow again.

"To have a family?"

He took a step back. "What?"

"I mean it," he said, being polite. "If there's one thing I've noticed about lots of ponies and how they interact with each other, there's this...family. There's a father, there's a mother, and then there's children."

Filthy Rich said nothing as he looked upon the changeling—looking away as he pondered.

"We never had a family like that," he said. "We were all raised by the same queen. We did not feel loved by her—it was always to do this or to do that because we're going to steal love very soon."

Filthy Rich looked down, stammering. Then, looking up, he said: "So, what was your question again?"

"What does it feel like to have a family, Filthy Rich?"

He coughed. "Uh, not 'Filthy Rich,' please."

"I thought that was your name?"

"I'd rather that you call me 'Mr. Rich,'" he said.

"Oh. OK."

Then, the pony sighed. "What does it feel like to have a family?" he repeated to himself. Turning to face the changeling he said, "It's...magical."

Blue Alarm tilted his head at that.

"I'm sure you know how it all starts—with marriage. I loved Spoiled Milk because she was a wonderful pony—you could say that she was the apple of my eye. She had many ideas in her head and she often told me a few things about my family business that I sought to bring in. While I do admit that she might be...rude at times, she was and is still a lovely pony.

"Where were we? Marriage?"

Blue Alarm nodded.

"So, it starts out with marriage. Then, later on, we have a foal of our own—our little Diamond Tiara."

Then, a sigh as he looked up to the ceiling.

"Now that I mention it, it has been years—even if it feels like it was only yesterday. Being married and the being a father—it changes your perspective on many things. As a businesspony—before—I always had my two eyes on the present. What could I do to improve sales here? What could I do to make sure more and more ponies patronize Rich's Barnyard Bargains? What could I do to spread awareness of this old store beyond the confines of Ponyville? I was wrapped up in work, always asking myself about today.

"Then, when I got married, I slowed down. There wasn't just me anymore—there was Spoiled, too. A pony to love and to care for—to treat her out to fancy, extravagant dinners and expensive romantic trips out to the far reaches of Equestria. But, it was more than that. In love, I would do all that was good to her—whether in the easy times or in the hard. She would do the same to me, too. In love, it did not matter what was the cost—what mattered was that we gave our all to each other, that we lived for each other—to see a smile on each other's face in the end.

"Then, Diamond Tiara arrived. That changed me even more. I had to take a hoof away from the business to make sure that this foal will grow up to be a good pony. This life—this precious life—was a pony grabbing for a chance at anything. And, to see her slowly grow up—"

A choke.

"Sorry."

Blue Alarm nodded.

"You...you have to think deep about what life is, really. You'd have to teach life to a foal—'How does it all work?' You'd want to see her happy, you'd want to see her excited and joyful—you'd want to shower her with all you could give to her, to tell her that you love her. More than that, I wanted to teach her about what's right—for what's the use of a mansion if my very own Diamond Tiara kept on bullying foals that did not intend her harm? But, now, she's better and we've never been a happier family."

Blue Alarm rested a hoof on the counter, leaning on it.

"What I'm trying to say is: It feels good because it is good. I don't know about how a changeling family would work out, but having it like us—I honestly can't think of any other way. I'm guessing you're not married, right?"

Blue Alarm nodded.

"Well, I can tell you to enjoy the freedom you have—you even have wings! Fly around, go everywhere, hang out with your friends, see what this great land has. But, having a family—it brings you to love no matter what, to do all and to sacrifice everything just so you could give a smiling future to those close to you. The ups, the downs, the good and the bad—only a family could give a life something so touching, so beautiful."

A hoof on his chest, his eyes upward, and a smile.

Blue Alarm nodded. A few bits jangled in his saddle bag as he got them out.

Hoofsteps echoed and a few picks of the axe echoed, too. It was dark, though a few lights signalled where the ponies where in the cave.

Blue Alarm looked about him as he stood by the gray mare accompanied by a few others wearing the same mining helmets—complete with lights. Those ponies, too, were picking away at the rocks before them—here and there, a few glitters and sparkles went out and a pony would stop, stand back, and examine the crystal or other shiny gem before him.

"So," Blue Alarm began, grunting as he picked up an axe with his hoof—struggling, muscles failing yet holding it up.

"Mm?"

"I know that this might be a sudden question," he asked, "but what does it feel like being a part of a family? A pony family, I mean?"

A hurtle down on the rock.

Cracks.

"Good."

"Oh."

The other ponies paid no attention, all focused on their rocky excursion.

"Thanks, Maud."

And he flew away.

Blue Alarm walked over to a green hill that overlooked some of Ponyville's "backyard": green plains, several patches of tree, and a pristine lake where several ponies were playing a stone skipping competition. It looked official enough since there was a table of judges (ready with eleven placards each), bleachers full of wild fans wearing all kinds of team memorabilia and merchandise, and reporters with cameras and notepads recording the event in earnest. There were yet more ponies flocking to the growing sport as a recognized form of competition.

"I've lived here for years already, and the ponies of this town are still crazy!" he heard Twilight mumble as he saw her fly overhead along with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, the three of them heading for the lake where they took a seat beside the bleachers.

A bit farther ahead, just a stone's throw away from the event, was Trixie and Starlight laying out a wooden stage on the sand.

"I see that you're taking a liking for skipping stone."

Blue Alarm turned around. "Mr. and Mrs. Cake?"

The couple—each holding one of their sleeping foals—nodded. "It's not something unique to Ponyville, sure," Mr. Cake continued, "but it brings us all together nonetheless. I've yet to see a pony who would dedicate his whole life to skipping stones, though."

Blue Alarm smiled. "Good timing."

Mrs. Cake made a curious look. "Why so?"

"I was asking around about families?" he said.

The couple looked at each other. Then, they looked back at him. "What for?" she asked.

"Just wondering."

Mr. Cake squinted his eyes. "Won't it better if we talk about it down at the lake?"

Blue Alarm looked at the lake. "Yes, I think."

The changeling stepped on the sand.

The noise swelled more. The main competitors—three of them, one wearing shades, another wearing a cap, and yet another wearing shades and a cap—were flexing their hooves. On a table were stacks of stones all categorized and set apart into different groups. Scorers and judges stood close together—the judges conversing among themselves in shouts, trying to rise above the upheaval of the rabid audience; the scorers, meanwhile, looked at their notes and their other papers, investigating in silence and without moving an inch from where they were. Farther away, a few tents were arranged—even more competitors were residing there, some wearing towels and others just chatting as they drank cups of water.

Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy were among the ponies who were late to get a good seat—or any seat—at the bleachers, resorting to sitting on the sand as they watched the preparations for the next game. Twilight waved at somepony—Starlight waved back from afar.

A pegasus walked up to a microphone and announced, "Coming up, everypony, is the moment you've all been waiting for! The grand finals of the annual Ponyville Stone Skipping Competition! Who will it be, folks? Will it be the seven-time reigning champ, Caramel?!"

And screams and shouts bursted forth for Caramel as he stood tall and made a striking pose with a stone—and then a judge hastily returned the stone back to the table.

"Or, will it be one of the daring challengers: the businesspony Davenport or Written Script?!"

The Earth pony and the unicorn, respectively, rose up to the ardor awe of the crowd—this time with a fiercer voice.

Caramel shuddered but resumed his calm and collected facade.

"What does it feel like, mister and misses?" he asked the two Cake ponies.

The foals were still sleeping.

"It's tiring but rewarding," Mr. Cake said.

"It's a labor of love," Mrs. Cake spoke, patting Pound Cake with a hoof. "It's not so bad when you see that it's all for a good cause."

Blue Alarm nodded. "Anything else?"

"Well, there's not much else I could explain to you right now," he said. "Some things you could only really know when you get to it. Besides—" pointing at the competitors "—we're in the middle of a throw."

"Right. Sorry."

Then, he turned toward the ponies standing in front of the lake.

The lake was peaceful, probably pacific.

A pony wearing spectacles walked up to the lake and looked at it.

A few seconds passed.

The pony smiled and yelled, "Ready for throw!"

"Ready for throw!" the announcer repeated through the microphone.

Blue Alarm sat down on the sand along with the Cakes.

"First up: Caramel!"

Caramel wobbled a bit though regained his balance before he reached the threshold of the lake. Another pony rushed up to him and hoofed him a stone—a flat stone.

The champion nodded and smirked as he faced the lake.

He twisted his rock-holding hoof around, stretching it the last couple of times—turning it around.

The crowd collectively leaned forward.

The judges opened their mouths and leaned forward, too.

The scorers did the same.

The announcer was alone in resisting the urge to open his mouth and lean forward.

Then, a throw.

Bounced once.

Another bounce.

One more bounce.

Still another bounce.

Once more, a bounce.

Several bounces.

Some more bounces.

A few more.

A couple more.

Not that many left.

Sill three more.

Then, it sank.

"Twenty-three bounces!" Caramel yelled—disappointed.

"Twenty-three bounces!" the announcer shouted. "This is woefully below his average of thirty bounces! Twenty-three is not a number to sneeze at, folks, but it might just be short enough to jump over for these promising rivals!"

Caramel snorted as he stormed his way to the the camp of tents. Most of the other competitors there watched him as he retreated to his own tent—stamped with the words "Champion's Tent".

"Ooh! That's not a good sign!" the announcer observed. "If the champion himself is this mad about his unusual score, then that means that even he doesn't believe that the title will remain with him for much longer!"

A few ponies from the bleachers pre-empted a cheer with some more shouts—but, they stopped when they realized that no one else took it up with them.

And Blue Alarm watched as Davenport, next in line, went to the lake's edge.

Family

"What's going on, Blue Alarm?" Humerus asked. "I think you're going to reveal something very important!"

Red Noise shoved Humerus to the side as he walked in. "You're the one holding him up!"

"How are you two so sure Blue Alarm is going to tell all of us something close to him?" Neon Guard spoke.

The four changelings were all huddled in a small cold space in the hive where some rocky beds were laid out. There was not much of a ceiling. The ground was smoothened but not completely flat—and there were patches of snow scattered about though a snow shovel was laid near the passageway out. Plants abounded at the walls—moss, vines, flowers, bushes.

Blue Alarm sat on his bed. "All of these years, and yet I can't really articulate it—at least, I don't think I can right now."

"Just spit it out already!" Red Noise chided.

Neon Guard glared at him.

"Alright, alright! I concede!" And he raised his front hooves up in surrender.

Humerus was giddy with joy—a wide smile was on his face as he flew to Blue Alarm. "Come on, Blue Alarm! You have to tell us! I know that you're gonna tell us something!"

"You know because I told you."

"Oh." Humerus laughed. "That's me!"

Neon Guard smiled, too, though shaking his head about. Then, turning to Blue Alarm: "So, what is it about?"

His three friends were now in front of him as he sat on his bed.

"I've been talking to several ponies lately," Blue Alarm said.

"Uh-huh!" Humerus exclaimed, nodding rapidly.

"We know that," Red Noise muttered as he moved his head.

"And, I saw that some ponies have...have..."

"They have candy!" Humerus guessed, shooting his hoof up to the air.

"Well, some did have candy, but that's not what I'm talking about."

"I'm still right, right?"

Blue Alarm sighed and smiled. "Yes, Humerus. You're right."

"Cool!"

Red Noise groaned as he took a step away from his happy friend.

"Those ponies had something a lot of us don't have," Blue Alarm went on. "OK, maybe some of us, but a lot of us don't have...don't have..."

Humerus and Neon Guard leaned closer.

Red Noise watched those two and moaned.

"They don't have a...family."

Humerus blinked. "What?"

Red Noise gasped. "Hold on! I know where you're going with this!" He pointed at him. "You want to have a family of your own, don't you?!"

Blue Alarm looked at him.

A few seconds of silence passed.

He nodded.

"That's a big change when it does arrive!" Neon Guard expressed, smiling. "I...I honestly had no idea you had it in you!"

"Congratulations!" Red Noise shouted, shaking Blue Alarm's hoof. "I was hoping that it was something else because having a family is, uh, something tough from what I've heard!"

"And you're going to have a wife!" Humerus yelled, bumping Red Noise out of the way and being the next friend to shake his hoof. "And then, you'll have grub of your own! Let me be the one to take the family photo!"

Blue Alarm smiled. "Thank you, guys. I myself didn't know how you would react to the news." He inhaled, opened his mouth—and, a long sigh as he rested his head on a hoof that rested on his hind leg. "I'm...speechless. Speechless for myself."

"Uh, don't you need love?" Humerus asked.

"Of course, of course," he replied, wagging his hoof at him. "That means I need to love someone here—some female changeling out there, whoever she may be. I've never strayed from you guys, so this is going to be a difficult quest."

"What about Sunny Perky?" Humerus suggested.

Red Noise groaned again as he grabbed his friend's head and pulled him closer. "She calls herself Cicada these days, remember?"

Humerus swatted his friend's hoof away. "Why do we even have an official naming commission, anyway?"

Neon Guard shook his head. "You were sleeping when Thorax introduced it to all of us last week, didn't you?"

"I wasn't sleeping, sir!" Humerus said, rising up with his wings. "I was...uh, storing up energy. Yeah. Hibernating. Because it's winter. And it's cold."

"We have bonfires for that," Red Noise said.

Blue Alarm smiled.

Neon Guard caught sight of that. "Oh, sorry for interrupting this significant moment of your life."

"I'm not really there yet," he answered, standing up on the snow-laden ground, feeling the crisp crunch of the snow with all his hooves. "I love the prospect of having a family—settling down, spending time with my wife and our own offspring."

"Watch it," Red Noise said, growling. "You're gonna make me all sappy and mushy if you go too far with this."

Blue Alarm smirked.

"But, does that mean we won't get to hang out with you anymore?" Humerus asked—whimpering coming on. His eyes were shaky, jittering about.

"We'll still go out together, exploring Equestria—this enormous tract of land. And the seas, too—we haven't really gotten to riding boats and coasting the coast, have we?"

"No, we haven't," Neon Guard said.

Blue Alarm nodded.

"You still haven't decided on who to marry," Red Noise pointed out. "Are you sure you're treating this family thing right?"

"I think I am," he said. "Give me time to think about it—it will come to me naturally sooner or later."

"I have a list of suggestions, if you want!" Humerus offered, drawing up a big scroll.

Neon Guard stepped back from Humerus. "Uh, where did you get that?"

"It was with me all this time."

"You prepared for this very moment?"

"Not really—it's blank."

Blue Alarm snickered.

More changelings were moving across the hive to wherever they were going. The main area (or main hall or main room or main place, whichever name a changeling would give to it) consisted of a bonfire even larger than before—stacks of wood and timber of various kinds all joining together to burn brightly for the benefit of the shivering changelings who were still suffering from the biting cold of winter despite the amount of clothes they put on themselves. The roasting aroma of burnt wood wafted from there and throughout the rest of the hive.

Dotting the hallways and the auxiliary rooms (such as the dedicated craft time room where several changelings still materialized their artistic visions although crudely, the research and science room where some other changelings wore white coats and goggles as they poured specialized containers of specialized chemicals down to other specialized containers of other specialized chemicals, and the record-keeping room where a few brave changelings took on the strenous task of listing who's who in the hive) were Hearth's Warming trees: those pine trees with lights and many colors. Real and plastic trees mixed together—and the plastic trees had unrealistic colors like silver, pink, and blue for their leaves. Vinyl players, too, were scattered about in the hive, with a changeling stationed at each player, moving it about when he heard music from another so that his music would not blend in and cause a grating sound.

Troupes of changeling carollers, jingling bells and singing songs, hovered over the ground, spreading and sharing the joy they had as their voices soared to marvelous heights and descended to bass-like lows. There was one troupe that took a step further—an entire band of changelings being moved on a platform with wheels. Complete with drums, guitars, keyboard, and saxophones, the band toured their way through all the hive (or at least the parts of the hive where they could fit), adding a new perspective to the familiar Hearth's Warming carols of old.

As Blue Alarm sat near a wall, sitting on some white snow, he saw it all being done and more. All the changelings there were having a good time—smiling, laughing, chatting while never taking the grins off of their faces as they clinked their mugs of cocoa.

"A family," Blue Alarm muttered. "A...family. What would we end up like?"

Then, a hoof to his chin. The hoof moved to his head.

"Symphyla is a good changeling," he said. "She's always on the lookout for what's best for the hive. She's involved with the guard, she's very active when it comes to being outspoken about her ideas, and she has a tender heart, especially with the younger ones." A pause. "Does that mean she is well-skilled in handling grubs?"

A smile was plastered wide across his face.

"Heh. Listen to me talk. I used to be touted as a skilled observer invaluable to the service of Chrysalis. I've collected much information about ponies and Equestria as a whole without having to ask beforehoof because I have a keen eye for the smallest of details. Yet, when it comes to raising a family—even choosing who would be my lifetime partner to love and to hold..." and trailed off, looking yonder. "Listen to me. I have almost nothing to count on when it comes to a family." He shook his head, his hoof still there. "This isn't a trifle. This isn't trivial. I've got to think this through."

A few seconds.

"I don't know. Symphyla isn't the only choice. There's Diplura. There's Parane. Lots more. All different, yet all endearing to me when I think about who they are."

Then, he looked up.

"Huh. Why was Symphyla my first choice? Was it just random? Was it that thing those romance ponies were writing about and singing about on the streets and on the stage? Or, was it just a 'top of my head' kind of guess?"

A groan.

"I know having a family isn't going to be easy, but I didn't expect the very first step to be that hard! Then, when I'm done with choosing who, I still have to—what? Date? Court? How long will that have to last? A month or two? A year? How long do ponies date? Wow—I've been in Equestria for a long time but I haven't obtained any data about a pony's average romance life other than the basics! Not anything more! I can't go out right now—that would be awkward for the ponies who are dating and, I guess, for those who aren't. Then, after the date—how do I propose? Engage? Wedding rings are expensive. I don't even have half of a wedding ring's worth of bits!"

He let his hoof go of his head.

"Then, the wedding! How does a normal pony marry another? I know there are binding contracts, there are laws stipulating a good amount of freedoms and regulations. Is there a proper place to marry? Then, how should I take care of my own grub, my own children? Are pacifiers there? I don't see them cry, so I don't see the market for pacifiers here. What about baby bottles? Then, that means I have to send them to school, and then after school's done, send him off to do work and—"

And he checked himself by breathing in and out, calming down.

Sweat was pouring down on his face.

"Being a father...it's not terrifying, isn't it? Or, maybe I'm just overloading my brain with too much thought to the future." A pause, then a slow nod. "Yes, yes. I'm thinking too much about what's ahead when I should be concerned about how I'm going to get Sympyla!"

A few changelings passing by looked at him odd.

Blue Alarm covered his mouth. "I'm going crazy," he muttered as he stood up.

Several changelings hovered over the hive, looking here and there as they observed the harsh conditions.

A winter storm was brewing in the distance.

An agitated changeling was talking with a pegasus. Hooves were moving about as they conversed—the changeling switching from irritation to panic to pleas. The pegasus replied with flowing motions of his hoof and assuring words, ending it with a head hung low.

The pegasus flew away.

Blue Alarm, from below, watched the scene unfold.

"Looks like the weather won't be letting up," Blue Alarm said.

He saw the platform where the big Hearth's Warming band had played on. Some were fixing the wheels, replacing them with newer ones while friends of the band members gathered around and took pictures with them, reveling in their laughter. All the while, a changeling shouted, "Happy Hearth's Warming!"

"It's not even Hearth's Warming Eve!" another changeling shouted back.

"Does it matter?!"

"It does!"

"Don't be sticking too much to the rules!"

"Do you want a proper Hearth's Warming party?!"

"I do!"

"Then, don't argue!"

A sigh from the first changeling.

Blue Alarm passed by that, walking on through the hollow hallway of Hearth's Warming decorations in lights and trees.

Then, Red Noise landed beside him.

"Oh! You came as a surprise to me!"

"I'm still surprised about the news," Red Noise said.

"You mean...that?"

Red Noise rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that!"

"Are you bothered, by any chance?"

"About your decision to have a family?" Red Noise asked as they floated above the rocky floor. "That depends."

"You don't have anything against families, do you, Red Noise?"

"I don't," he said, adding an angry glare to his face. "What I'm bothered about, Blue Alarm, is that it was all of a sudden. You didn't drop any hints to us! If you weren't so good at seeing things we didn't see, I would be next in line to take your place and I would have spotted any suspicious moves from you. But, you're...adept at hiding even that, you know? And, what?" He spread his hooves out. "Are you trying to avoid us? You think we couldn't handle information like that?"

"I think you can, I know you can."

"Yeah, your words say so, but your actions speak otherwise."

"Well, the idea came on a whim, while I was away in Ponyville," Blue Alarm reasoned. "I could not contact you instantly. It's not like there's some means of communication that goes in and out in a second."

"That dragon assistant of the Princess," Red Noise countered. "Spike? Does that ring any bells?"

"I don't think she would let Spike go that low and become the go-to magical mailbox of the town."

Red Noise rubbed his chin. "You're right." Then, he exclaimed, "That's not enough to excuse you from being very annoying—hiding and keeping secrets from us."

Blue Alarm lifted a hoof. "It was only a secret because I was not able to talk to you! I didn't want to fly all the way to the hive just to tell you something that sparked in my head."

"What was that?" Red Noise said, turning his ear toward his friend in flight. "You didn't want to fly all the way here to tell us that? That you wanted a family? I thought having a family was a huge responsibility, Blue Alarm. Surely, you would be able to risk the freezing temperatures and the painstaking distances to tell us something that huge, right? Or, what, a letter?" A groan. "That's right. A letter, Blue Alarm. It wouldn't have been instant, but at least we would've gotten the memo, eh?"

"It's much more than just that! It's not right to just blurt it out to you on a letter. I had to be there—personally, face-to-face, right there with the three of you!"

Red Noise grunted and landed on the ground.

Blue Alarm did so, too.

Silence.

"Do you know what a family is?" Blue Alarm asked, staring at his friend with piercing eyes.

"A mom, a dad, and at least one foal," Red Noise responded. "There. Happy?"

"Don't you get it?" A step forward. "When I stopped to think about it—when I took the time to consider what a family was—it...made sense to me."

"What sense?"

"I don't know about you, Red Noise, but I believe that having a family—there's...there's..."

"Not this again," Red Noise cut in. "Spill the beans!"

Blue Alarm snapped his mouth open.

Then, stopped.

He looked around him.

Several changelings were watching the scene unfold. A few, noticing he saw them, flew away in shame and decency as they hurried out.

Then, holding his head high, he said: "Sharing love, Red Noise."

Some gasps from the remaining audience.

The red changeling tilted his head at the answer.

"I knew the ordinary reasons why we chose tight-knit families as our prime targets on a normal mission. There was great potential from them—so much love to be gained from them. But, when I walked in Ponyville just days ago and saw some families again, I saw an innocent reason why a family would have so much love."

"They're with you for life, I get it," Red Noise said.

"That's true," Blue Alarm said. "But, that's it. The compassion, the kindness, the love—they're your...family. Why wouldn't you share your love freely with them? And, if I'm going to share love as a fellow changeling, then a family is the best path for me!"

And he placed his hoof firmly on the ground.

Red Noise took a step back. "Woah. You've changed over the months."

Blue Alarm smirked.

"OK, OK!" He raised his hooves up, conceding and surrendering as he flapped his wings. "You win! You had a compelling speech there—emotional, alright? But, we're still f-friends, right? Right?"

Blue Alarm walked closer. "You're still my friend. You're all still my friends and being a husband and a father won't change that."

Red Noise was speechless—his eyes ran to many places.

Then, a hug.

"Uh...that's...nice?" Red Noise said.

The audience that was still there all said "Aww!"

Learning

A green changeling wearing glasses and a top hat and a cane and a suit and a bowtie and some cologne—he stood in front of a makeshift chalkboard. The chalkboard itself had three figures: two adult ponies and one foal.

Blue Alarm and his friends sat on the cold, hard, snowy ground—sunlight hitting most of them through the gray canopy of clouds although barely.

The teacher cleared his throat. "As you will see," he said in a high-falutin accent, smacking the chalkboard with his cane, "here are the minimum requirements you must meet in order to have a family—a stallion, a mare, and a foal."

Humerus raised his hoof.

"Ah, yes!" The teacher grinned, his face beaming. "You have a question." Glancing aside, he said, "It's a gift to have such a curious student in our midst!"

"Uh, who are you looking at, Sensulato?"

The teacher cleared his throat again as if he had a bad coughing fit. "Those guys, of course!" And, he pointed to the several changelings at the side, watching the class unfold.

Red Noise groaned and leaned his head on Humerus who patted him. "Who needs a class on families, anyway?"

"All of us changelings," Sensulato said. "You're among them as well." He pointed his cane at him. "Don't you claim that you know better than the average changeling!"

"Well, what if I do?" Red Noise asked, hovering over the ground and being level with the teacher. "What are you gonna do about it?"

Sensulato raised his cane. "Ah, ah!"

"Red Noise, down!" Neon Guard ordered.

The red changeling moaned "OK, I get it!" and went back to his place, sitting there.

Sensulato made a smile of relief. "Now that all of our unpleasantries have been eliminated, we shall now continue with the fundamentals of raising a family."

Red Noise raised a hoof.

"What is it?"

"What if I plan to be 'single,' as the ponies speak it?" Red Noise asked.

"At least you'll understand Blue Alarm more—you'll be able to empathize with him when he has a family because you know having a family will bring upon not just him but also upon you as a dear friend."

Red Noise shot up to the air, hovering again. "And when did you know so much about having a family? You're a changeling yourself, am I right?"

"I was under the tutelage of several ponies who have had real, actual families in their lives," Sensulato answered, making his high-falutin voice more elaborate. "I've asked them many questions and I've recorded their eye-opening answers all in my greatest work yet—you could call it my magnum opus, even!"

"Your magnum opus was a long paper about family?"

"Don't you dare—!" and he raised his cane.

Neon Guard grabbed Red Noise and brought him down. He glared at the rowdy changeling who responded with a shrug and then crossed forelegs.

Sensulato sighed. "Will I get interrupted anytime soon?"

A changeling on the side raised his hoof.

"Now what?!"

"Uh, you stole my chalkboard."

"That ended quickly," Neon Guard said as the four walked around in the hive, passing by other changelings doing whatever it was that they were doing: in this grand craggy hallway, one could see a carrot dog eating competition where the two finalists were battling it out as they consumed carrot dogs by the second in front of a cheering audience; over there, some changelings were playing with electricity as they turned on and off lightbulbs connected to wires and sockets all leading back to a portable generator; still, over there in another part of the hive, a few changelings were playing a variety of musical instruments in front of a fire as they sang to songs and hummed along.

Red Noise shivered. "Can't we do something about the weather? It's freezing!"

"The pegasi said the cold weather is necessary," Humerus replied. "And, even if it isn't, lots of us still want it!" He scooped up a few snowballs and showed them to Red Noise. "See?"

"What about Thorax?" Red Noise asked. "I'm sure he doesn't like the cold."

"I just saw him an hour ago when you weren't looking." He smiled. "I think he likes the cold."

"Thorax!" Pharynx yelled as he watched his brother throw snowballs at a group of changelings—who were also armed with snowballs.

The throne area was covered in snow including the throne itself. On one side were dozens of changelings with stacks of snowballs on their side while wearing scarves, sweaters, and other warming clothes. On the other side were dozens more, also equipped with stacks of snowballs and winter clothes—and that other side had Thorax and Pharynx as their leaders.

Pharynx shot past a few broken rock columns to where Thorax was—hiding behind yet another column.

They were now back-to-back, a snowball in one hoof each.

"What's the plan?" Thorax said between huffs. "I don't know if we're winning or losing or—"

"Nobody expects a charge," Pharynx said, creating more snowballs from the snow below. "You go out and fly to their territory while storming them with snowballs. I will give you supporting fire."

"Supporting fire?!" Thorax yelled. "But, where did you get all the firewood? And, don't you think fire is, uh, not allowed in a snowball fight?"

Pharynx groaned as he slammed his head with a hoof. "I'm going to help you by pelting snowballs on our enemies while you charge."

"Oh, right!" Thorax said, smiling and nodding as he held up a snowball for his brother to see.

Pharynx pushed the hoof away. "Style won't be necessary—just go!"

Then, Thorax flapped his wings and flew, holding many of the simple snow-based projecticles in one hoof.

He hailed the changelings with snowballs and they were retreating.

Pharynx, not having fired a single snowball yet, smiled. "Huh. I guess my brother might be more powerful than I thought."

"And, how come we haven't heard a single word about it?" Red Noise pointed out.

"Because we're talking!" Humerus said. "You're not paying attention because we're talking!"

They reached the end of that hallway, turning to the left to begin another one decorated in more Hearth's Warming decorations—bright trees, bright lights, bright banners and ribbons and wreaths and even a fireplace on wheels.

The changeling moving the fireplace had a little gathering of changelings who were hovering as they warmed themselves while kept up with the fireplace.

Humerus's eyes lighted up. "Ooh! I wanna take another ride on the Fireplace Express!"

"You've taken it more than a hundred times already," Neon Guard reminded. "Are you sure you want to—"

"Whee!"

And out Humerus went to join his fireplace buddies at the moving fireplace, being greeted warmly by his fellows who recognized him as yet another recurring "passenger." Then, it wheeled into a side room, disappearing from Neon Guard's eyes.

"No matter what time it is," Red Noise commented, "Humerus will always be Humerus."

The three walked on, passing by those Hearth's Warming decorations that a few changelings were fixing up.

"So..." and Neon Guard looked up, not facing Blue Alarm. "Any concrete plans? Any solid arrangements about your, uh, future family?"

"Symphyla," Blue Alarm simply said.

"Oh, you mean the changeling who reads up on baskets of books," Neon Guard. "I'm sure the both of you will do pretty well together, considering your matching interests."

"Matching interests?" Red Noise interrupted, now flying with them. "They're alike in a plethora of ways!" He spread out his forehooves as if to emphasize that.

"I know," Blue Alarm said. "But, she's also different."

"And, how different is your 'different'?" Red Noise said.

Blue Alarm stopped by a Hearth's Warming tree.

The other two stopped there as well.

Blue Alarm picked from the tree a candy cane of the usual colors: red and white. Then, he picked another candy cane of less usual colors: blue and white. He turned around, held the two candy canes out, and said: "This different."

Red Noise grabbed the more usual candy cane and licked it. "Good explanation. Tasty, too."

Neon Guard slapped his wing.

"Hey!"

"That's for the eye, not for the mouth!" Neon Guard said.

"It's sweet! It has taste! That means it must be eaten!"

Neon Guard rolled his eyes. "I give up. I'm sure we have a lot of candy canes in stock, anyway."

Blue Alarm then licked the blue candy cane. An innocent smile appeared.

Neon Guard smiled, too, though only a little. "So, this one's gonna get your heart or what? Or, you'll get your heart?"

"It's going to be...awkward," Blue Alarm said, blushing.

Red Noise spotted that. "Wait, did I just see you blush? Did I just see your face go red?" He snickered—though did his best of covering it up. "You better confess it right now, Mr. Lucky Guy! You're in love!" Then, shouting it out: "In love!"

Blue Alarm blushed even more, covering a cheek with a hoof. "Uh, that's not what I meant or...even implied—"

Neon Guard brought out a mighty guffaw at that—he would have collapsed had he not leaned on the rocky wall.

A few changelings passing by looked at the strange and unusual sight—but they moved on.

Red Noise rounded a hoof on his blushing friend's neck. "And, what's so awkward about a little bit of love? A crush?"

"Uh, you don't get it?" Blue Alarm said, pulling himself away but keeping a close distance with him. "It's our time when we were the bad guys, stealing love. It turns out that...it's gonna be a trip down memory lane. An awkward trip down memory lane as both of us fall in love and, uh, talk about our favorite things and hang out together at our favorite places and, uh, other things."

"Eh." Red Noise cracked his candy cane and crunched it up inside his mouth. Then, after a harsh gulp: "After Hearth's Warming, our lives will get a whole lot more interesting with you being dazzled by love—the romance of the day, the romance of the hour! We'll get to see you and her eat at those fancy restaurants with candles and with that tiny food that's so bland and disgusting but you do it because it's a lot of bits for her! Eh, eh?" He budged his blue friend with his shoulder.

Blue Alarm blushed yet even more, his face becoming redder—almost as red as his friend's.

"Ah-ha!" Red Noise shouted, rubbing his cheeks with a circling hoof. "This is undeniable, no? You can do your best to hide your feelings, but there's a reason why they call me 'Red Noise'!"

"Because it's your name?" Blue Alarm muttered.

Red Noise halted his rubbing. "Ha-ha. Very funny." He arched both of his eyebrows. "Trying to be smart. And funny."

Neon Guard stepped in between the two. "Let's not get too ahead of ourselves here."

Blue Alarm kept licking his blue candy cane as he looked at the two of them.

Red Noise looked at the far end of the hallway. "Yeah, there's a better opportunity for you out there."

"Uh, and you mean...?" Blue Alarm then continued licking his candy cane.

"Symphyla's right there."

Blue Alarm gasped and closed his mouth with his candy cane there.

A changeling was pushing a cart of yet even more candy canes along with packages of other mouth-watering sweets—muffins, cakes, pies, jelly, chocolate, sugar bread. That changeling was of a sea green chitin; her wings were pink, her carapace was yellow. Eyes of blue—only blue, a blue that glittered and shimmered under even the dimmest of afternoons. She had a smile—a smile that spoke of a changeling ready to laugh and to enjoy all that she was doing.

Blue Alarm coughed, looked away, bended his ears, and kept his candy cane in his mouth.

"This is your only chance!" Red Noise whispered before shoving him right into the cart's path.

Neon Guard took a step forward.

Red Noise stopped him with a hoof. "Let's see where this goes."

Neon Guard glared at him once again—then, stayed his hoof and watched.

Blue Alarm was in front of her.

Symphyla was in front of him.

And a cart stood between the both of them.

Blue Alarm scratched his head. He cleared his throat. He bended his ears again.

Symphyla merely giggled. "You're really bad at this, aren't you, Blue Alarm?"

Red Noise's eyes went wide. "What?!" he whispered to himself.

Neon Guard made no expression—just a neutral face taking in the scene before him.

The hallway was awfully quiet and lacking in many changelings—here and there, some changelings were crossing it to get from one side to the other, from one room to another. But, only a few even took notice of what was happening as they either walked around or flew above it.

Symphyla giggled again. "You're forgetting that I'm a changeling. I can sense love, even when it's right in front of me."

Blue Alarm opened his mouth to say something—and, only single syllables came out, accentuated by the persistent blush.

"But, I know you didn't want to talk to me. Well, I am busy, too. I got to resupply and replenish all the Hearth's Warming trees and stockings hanging around, you know!" She gestured to the cart she was holding. "This one arrived only three minutes ago. Straight from Whinnyapolis!" She smiled. "If you excuse me, Blue Alarm, they've been waiting for these treats for too long! These should've arrived hours ago."

Blue Alarm, hesitant at first, then nodded and moved out of the way, letting her and the cart pass by with the wheels creaking and squeaking before it turned right, disappearing so.

The three changelings looked at where the cart and its changeling had been.

Then, Red Noise floated in and grabbed Blue Alarm—still blushing. "What do you know? She was polite and you always liked polite changelings right?"

"Why wouldn't I like a polite changeling?" he responded. "Or a polite pony? Or a polite anyone, for that matter?"

Neon Guard nodded. Then, turning to Red Noise: "I think we should respect his boundaries. He's clearly not in the mood to talk to Symphyla—not yet, if that should soothe you." Then, raising his head, he said, "Let's go and see what Cornicle is cooking up in the kitchen. I'm sure he's got lots of suggestions about what to make for the season!"

"Yeah, yeah, that's...cool," Blue Alarm said, still eating his candy cane.

Nastic looked at the tiny room he and Long Winded lived in.

Two rock beds—bunk beds protruding from the rocky wall. A rug was on the snowy floor of stone. A hard table of concrete was the only thing there that was not made of rock or stone—and on it were unfixed piles of newspapers, all depicting various events in color while their headlines blared something, but not much could be gained anyway since they were all so scattered and disorganized. Holes in the ceiling made rays of sunlight a part of this room.

Nastic groaned on the top rock bed as Long Winded sat on the bottom one—that changeling was holding a humongous book in his hooves, and his eyes were racing through the pages.

Nastic rose up from his bed and sat on it, too.

"Oh, you're awake!" Long Winded said cheerfully, looking up to meet his grumpy face. "You've been asleep for half the day already! Are you hibernating?"

"What do I look like to you?" Nastic answered in a tired way. "A turtle?"

"Turtles don't hibernate. They brumate, remember?"

"You're reading that big book on animals again, aren't you?"

"Again? This is my first time reading through this massive roll!" He held the book up, pages open with its vivid photographs and illustrations of a variety of animals. "Wanna take some time off and read? You'll learn which animals hibernate and which ones brumate! They're not the same!"

Nastic turned over on his bed.

"Aw, really?" Long Winded expressed, disappointment in his words—ears flayed and sagging, too. "You're still sleepy?"

"Actually, I like the idea of hibernating for the moment because it sounds so comfortable."

"Are you sick?"

"No."

Silence.

"Then, what?" Long Winded asked.

"I'm still not used to winter. I didn't ask to survive these frigid conditions."

"That's winter for you. It's cold and it has lots of snow so we can have games that we wouldn't have!"

"Snowball fights? I know. It doesn't feel so good when your own king smacks your face with dozens of snowballs."

"You joined that fight?" Long Winded said, surprised. "You didn't tell me!" Then, he flew up to Nastic's bed. "Come on, you have to tell me everything! I've never played in that kind of game before. That's because everyone else is calling the both of us to do something like help set up the wires and the lights, arrange the arrival of the Hearth's Warming materials, make sure the vinyl players work correctly, carry the carts and wagons of Hearth's Warming trees, analyze the snow to see if they're viable for snowball fights—wait a minute." He then took off and floated right beside the bed. "Did they...did they just desert me and leave me out to play that game?" Irritation was on his face as he balled up a hoof. "Too bad! They missed me! They're missing me even right now. Why would they wanna run away from a skilled snowball fighter like me?"

"I thought you never participated in a snowball fight before," Nastic said before standing up on his bed, facing the hovering Long Winded.

"That's because it looks easy. Just form a snowball in your hooves by picking up the snow from the ground." He mimicked that by scooping imaginary heaps of snow from the air. Then, he patted that imaginary heap until it became an imaginary snowball. He held it in his hoof. "Then, when you are ready to throw it at someone...throw it." Then, he threw the imaginary snowball. "Easy!"

"I don't think it's that easy," Nastic said, taking a step forward but also watching that step—he was now on the edge of his rocky bed.

"Maybe it is! I don't know." Long Winded shrugged and landed on the snowy ground.

Nastic sighed.

He went off his bed and landed, too.

Then, a red changeling came inside.

Nastic and Long Winded looked at the outsider who landed on the crunchy snow.

"I got confirmation that Blue Alarm has a crush with someone in the hive!" Red Noise announced.

Nastic and Long Winded looked at him, then at each other, then back at him.

Long Winded smiled. "Really?! You're serious?!"

"I'm one-hundred percent serious!

Nastic groaned. Then, eking out a grin: "At least there's something to think about. Blue Alarm won't be busy snooping on anyone's business for the time being."

"And," Red Noise continued as if ignoring what Nastic said, "he's planning to marry her!"

Long Winded dropped the book and his jaw. "No way that's possible!"

"Yes way it is since you just heard it," Nastic snarked.

Gesturing about with his hooves, Red Noise went on: "So, I don't have all that we need to know about what's gonna happen in the next few weeks, months, or years! This is gonna change everything about him! Not literally everything, but everything enough about him!"

"But, who's his crush?" Long Winded prodded, leaning closer with his ear facing Red Noise.

"Symphyla."

Then, a confused frown. "Sounds familiar, but I can't quite recognize who she is...."

"She's the changeling who collects food and sings? Also, greenish in color."

"Oh! OK."

Nastic looked at Red Noise. "Look, I know that it's great news and all, but the reality of it is—it's not that important—"

But Red Noise took off without saying anything else.

Nastic stood there, looking on at where that red changeling had been.

"Just imagine the wedding!" Long Winded exclaimed as grabbed Nastic's hat from the table of newspapers.

Hearth's Warming Eve

Some days later

It was nighttime.

Back in the middle of the hive, in that large bonfire area, Thorax and Pharynx stood in front of that heap of flammables—wood and paper mostly. It was not burning yet though a changeling held a box of matches, watching the two brothers as he slowly took out a match.

The lights that were sprawled all over the rocky walls and formations lit up the place in so many colors, and more than a few changelings were still amazed by it as they looked at it and neared it.

"Is everything ready?" Thorax asked the match changeling.

He nodded.

Thorax smiled. "Then, let's get this party started, guys!"

And the changeling lit the match and threw it to the heap.

Fire.

A great big fire grew, blowing upward, emanating its heat in all directions.

At the sight and sound and feel of it, many of the changelings looked up.

Swarmed into the area, their buzzes flooding the air.

Restless—they were moving around here and there, flying and talking to each other, only a few willing to sit down and stay still, their fellow changeling friends going everywhere they could in the area.

Bells ringing and jingling from the hallways.

Most of the changelings looked at those hallways.

"We have presents!" a changeling announced.

And several changelings, all pulling carriages of boxes and other containers wrapped in colorful wrappings, floated their way to the trees that adorned the walls of the area.

Many changelings hurried to those carriages and destroyed the wrapping and opened the boxes, revealing so many gifts: toys, dolls, books, candies, chocolates, postcards, pictures, paint, art materials, cups, pairs of glasses, hats, sweaters, shirts, colognes and perfumes, lightbulbs, chairs, tables, bits, guitars, pianos, violins, drums, cameras, microphones, recorders, clocks, hourglasses, tape measures, chemicals, more boxes—and more.

The changelings were quick to show off their new finds and items to their friends and the conversation steered there. Almost everyone was in the middle of some kind of chat—if it wasn't about a cool gift or present they got, it was about the bonfire; if it wasn't about the bonfire, it was about Hearth's Warming and how they felt during this precious time; and if it wasn't that, it was the general pleasantries of "How are you?" or "What've you been up to?"

Near the bonfire, Thorax and Pharynx exchanged a few gifts with each other.

"Here, Pharynx," Thorax said, hoofing him an elongated pouch holding something. "I'm...not so good at gift wrappers. But, I did my best." He made an awkward smile.

Pharynx grabbed it and opened it. He pulled whatever it was out.

It was an oval-framed picture of the two brothers, smiling—well, Thorax was smiling; Pharynx made the most muted of facial expressions that resembled a tangible smile.

"They say that pictures lock up memories!" Thorax said, giddy as he shook his hooves, watching his brother examine the picture. "What better memory to have on our hooves than the memory of our time together?"

Pharynx said nothing as he held the picture and rotated it, twirling it around with his hoof. "Uh, OK?"

Now, it was his turn to give a gift.

Pharynx placed the picture slowly back into the pouch before pulling out a box covered in wrapper. "And, here's one for you, Thorax."

"Ooh! What could it be?" Thorax grabbed it and shook it close to his ears, sticking out his tongue as he racked his brains over the question. Then, he shook the box again.

"Try opening it," Pharynx said in a deadpan tone.

Then, Thorax opened it.

He gasped.

It was a lightbulb in the shape of Thorax.

"Wh-wha-what?!"

He stretched his hoof out, letting the lightbulb go far away. Then, he held it close to his eyes.

"It's like...a small me! But it can glow!"

He flicked the switch.

And it glowed—mostly green.

"Ooh! So pretty!"

Pharynx smiled. "Always the distracted one, aren't you, Thorax?"

"I'm sorry, but I just can't help myself when it comes to these lights!" Thorax said. "They're so...innovative?"

Pharynx slapped his brother on the head. "Admit it, brother: You still can't resist bright lights."

Thorax smiled back. "It's not a bad thing every time, right?"

Among the many changelings in attendance at the bonfire area were those four changelings. Blue Alarm, Red Noise, Humerus, and Neon Guard got some gifts from the gift carts and carriages and wagons and, huddled together at a relatively quiet spot—away from the noisiest of the noise and a good distance from the beautiful yet destructive bonfire—they laid their gifts out in a messy way.

"So, which one's mine?" Red Noise said, standing up first. "How can I tell?"

"Just pick," Neon Guard said, pointing to the pile of gifts of mostly green and red and white wrapping and cover. "It doesn't matter—as long as you're happy, we're happy."

"What if we all get boring gifts?" Red Noise asked.

"There's nothing boring to me if it's a gift!" Humerus said.

"So, what if you get a box of water?" Red Noise proposed.

"Someone was so thoughtful that I would get parched and weak if I did not get water!" Humerus answered, remaining optimistic in his voice. "He or she cared about me so much that my health and my existence mattered more than just giving me a smile on my face!"

Blue Alarm smiled at that. "I'm glad you're our friend, Humerus."

Humerus yanked him and pulled him closer to the pile of gifts. "You, too!" Then, swooping a gift up and breaking it open, he saw it and gasped.

It was a pot. A cooking pot.

"It's...beautiful!" Humerus exclaimed as he raised it high, letting the light of the fire shine on it. "I've never seen anything like it!"

"You've seen it in a kitchen," Red Noise said. "This is getting ridiculous pretty fast."

Then, he put it on his head. "I'm your leader now! Obey me! Or, you'll face the blunt force of my cooking pot!"

Neon Guard had a quiet laugh as he picked a few small presents for himself but placed it behind himself.

Blue Alarm, being the closest to the pile, chose one box—a small box, too—and immediately opened it.

It was a dictionary.

"Aww, it's perfect for you!" Humerus exclaimed as he flew over to his side to behold it with him. "Big—does it have all the words ever?"

"Well, there are new words made every so often," Blue Alarm said.

Then, he flipped the book open.

It was par for the course for an ordinary dictionary. Lists of words, both common and not, alongside their definitions.

Blue Alarm closed the book. "I'm sure it will be useful as a reference, especially when there's so many things that I still can't fathom about Equestrian society yet."

Neon Guard opened one of his presents and got a fancy bronze watch.

"That's cool," Blue Alarm commented as he saw the watch—before Humerus zipped over and stood beside it.

"How accurate is it?" Humerus asked. "How precise? Does it tell the day and the month and the year? Miliseconds, microseconds, micro-microseconds?"

"Who needs something that precise?" Neon Guard asked. "I'm not going to be using such miniscule measurements."

"What if you need it in a pinch?" Humerus suggested. "What if you were given a task and you could only do it by checking the micro-microseconds of something?"

"Who's gonna do that?"

"Not me," Red Noise said as he tore open one of his gifts.

A megaphone.

"Alright, guys!" the red changeling proclaimed, brandishing his newfound device. "We're going to have some fun!"

Neon Guard flew over, grabbed the megaphone, and placed it back inside the box, all while facing him with a glare.

"Aww! We haven't even started and you ruined it!"

And the other three changelings laughed, their noise mingling with the noise around them as the changelings' Hearth's Warming Eve went on around the huge bonfire.

Together

And now, it was past midnight.

It was not Hearth's Warming Eve anymore.

It was Hearth's Warming.

However, in the very early hours of the morning—the sun was not out yet—many changelings were asleep. One could hear a collective snore if close enough. Few were awake and most of those few were guards in their armor, patrolling with happy smiles—there was one who was holding a picture of him and his friends both changeling and pony as he flew about, winding through halls, rooms, open spaces.

As he passed by the quarters, the individual living rooms, he took quick glances at each. Most of those he saw were sleeping soundly in their beds, dozing off and, usually, snoring as well. The exceptions that were awake made him curious—one was reading a book under a bright night light, another was writing something on a piece of paper with a tear-drenched face, yet another was eating his midnight snack as he did his best to make sure no one was watching him or even caught a glimpse of him eating his stash of secret food. Then, there were the rooms which had more than one changelings awake: a room where two or three changelings whispered to one another, for example.

One of those rooms had those four changelings talking in hushed voices.

The guard smiled as he passed by each room.

"Do you want to sleep yet?" Neon Guard asked as he sat on one of the four rock beds there.

It was a small room just like the rest. It felt cramped with the four of them there, but none of them had annoyance on their faces. Rather, all four of them looked OK with it, none of them growling about as they sat on their own rock beds. A table and a cabinet was what finished the room.

"No!" Humerus shouted as loud as he could while whispering. "I want to stay up all night, as ponies say, and I won't be staying up all night if I sleep now!"

"That's just an expression, you know," Red Noise quipped. "It's not like ponies will sleep in the middle of the night and then feel regret at lying to themselves. That's ridiculous."

"Ridiculous to you, but not to me!"

"Stop it with your antics, Humerus."

Blue Alarm just smiled.

Red Noise turned to that blue changeling. "And, what do you have to say, now that Humerus's wrecking about caused all of us to jolt awake?"

"Not much. At least we had a good Hearth's Warming Eve. Now that it's the actual day, I'm kind of excited."

Neon Guard nodded. "Good, that's good." He looked at his hat that was on the table. "I'm prepared for it, too. Well, I need to have the energy, so I need rest right now."

"You won't be resting until you give this one—" gesturing to a smiling Humerus "—a proper punishment."

"Are you gonna send me to jail for, what, waking you up?" Humerus protested.

"In some places, it's a serious offense. Their cultures value sleep that badly."

"You're just making that up!" Humerus accused, pointing at Red Noise in disgust.

"Equestria is ruled by a pony who can get into your dreams," Red Noise countered, crossing his forelegs. "It's not much of a stretch, really."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Weren't you the first one of us to be visited by Princess Luna?"

"I can retract my statements!"

"OK, you're just here to win an argument, aren't you?"

"I'll prove myself innocent in front of all the hive so I can show everyone that—"

"Woah, woah there," Neon Guard said as he stepped in between the two. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. I know that both of us want to sleep—even Blue Alarm. So, why not call it a night and wait for the morning to, uh, settle this in a non-vitriolic way." A pause as he looked at the two of them. "You might just be grumpy because it's very late. The day is going to refresh everyone's minds."

Humerus looked at Neon Guard, then at Red Noise. He nodded and smiled.

"Ugh" was what Red Noise said before he lay down on his bed.

Blue Alarm stood on a natural balcony.

This balcony overlooked the great forested expanse before the hive. It was not that much of a sight since a good chunk of it was covered in snow and many trees had shed their leaves for the winter. However, the evergreen plants stood out in the sea of white and brown and gray—vivid points of colorful color against a dreary backdrop.

It was also cold as a chilling breeze descended on the hive.

Blue Alarm, not wearing any clothes, shivered as he felt it.

Then, he drew in breath.

He took another step closer to the balcony's edge.

"Here it is. Hearth's Warming. That Equestrian holiday, famed as it has been even through now. Ponies celebrating by giving gifts because of something that happened over a thousand years ago, uniting the three tribes together in harmony and friendship, fighting against enmity and disruption. Everyone here knows that.

"And here we are. Over half a year. Maybe even more. I'm not sure. To think that...we used to not care about all of that. That the lives in front of us were food as long as we hung around them, getting their love without them knowing it.

"To think that it all happened in one day. Just one day. Only one day. Some didn't believe us because it was one day. They would've if perhaps the Princess sent some of her best friendship ponies here every once in a while—that sounds more believable. But, here we are—evil in one minute, good the next.

"It was...sudden. I did not expect it myself until Starlight made that riveting speech. I don't think it was peer pressure when I saw my comrades join Thorax in sharing love.

"Was it because I did not want to be boxed in? Was it because I finally wanted to be an individual?

"Not really. It was because of love. Sharing love.

"I didn't think that well. I was hungry, hungry hungry. Starving. It stays in your mind.

"That's the reason, I think.

"And, look at how far we've gone. A hive full of loving colorful changelings. Not what I expected, but I'd take it over continued slavery under an evil queen.

"We're not even done with the first year of being good, yet I could think of the many things we've done both on our own and, more importantly, together as a hive, as friends.

"I knew from the beginning that most of us would treat life outside the hive as a foal would. We knew a lot about it before, but it was only so that we could steal love better. After that, knowledge alone was not enough to help us live life. Funny—we've been pretending so much that, when it comes to the real thing, we know nothing.

"But, there's the wonder.

"Everything was new. Everything was a lesson about life—from the morals to the simplest of things like a kitchen sink. Everything was outside the hive was a thing to experience.

"And not just the things. Everyone, too. The ponies, most especially. But it's not just the ponies—griffons, dragons, yaks, and more. All of them unique, all of them with their own likes and dislikes, all of them with their own passions and desires, all of them with their own characteristics that make them different from one another. Conversation is had, relationships are formed, and friendships are made, and that's how it goes."

Blue Alarm sighed, looking upon the vast nighttime winter landscape before him.

Then, the snowflakes were falling.

"Where next? Where to? I don't know. This is only the beginning for this hive, for all of us, for me and my friends. One thing is for certain, though: I won't be abandoning my friends and they won't be abandoning me. Friendship is just that good."

And he contented himself with one smile on his face.

The wind grew harsh—rougher. The howl of the pre-dawn gust hurtled and threw snowflakes into the changeling's face. More leaves of what remained of the evergreens were snapped off, floating away into any and all places nearby. It was slowly becoming a winter tempest.

Then, hoofsteps.

Loud, distinct hoofsteps.

Not of one, but of three changelings.

Blue Alarm turned around.

"What are you doing out there?" Neon Guard asked above the wind's commotion, bracing the many snowflakes and the forceful gale. "I know you like your contemplating nights, but don't you think this isn't the best time?"

Blue Alarm looked back.

And saw a fog descending upon the hive.

"Right," Blue Alarm said.

Then, he flew back under good cover, safe in the confines and the shadows of the hive.

As they passed by the Hearth's Warming lights that were still on, Red Noise asked, "Let me take a gander at what you're thinking about: the holiday, I presume."

"In reality," Blue Alarm replied, turning to all of his friends who were walking beside him, "it started that way. But, I thought about the close friendship we have..."

And, after a night's sleep, most of the hive awoke to a new day.

Unlike the last few days, the sky was clear and blue. Not a cloud was in sight. The sun shone with nothing to obscure it—a sight for sore eyes, as one would say.

Although the snow did not melt instantly, there was at least no more additional snow for the time being. What was left was the accumulated amount of cold white substance—or, snow.

A few minutes later, a great noise arose.

It was the chatter, the talk, the conversations, the discussions, the words—exchanged greetings of "Happy Hearth's Warmings!", the usual rounds of "How do you do?" and "How are you today?", their respective responses of "I'm fine" and its variants—jokes and riddles and puns being pushed to the forefront, plans and ambitions being made and created, ideas and concepts articulated and examined.

Aromas of food wafted out, a great aroma that reached far beyond the hive: a hearty breakfast feast that combined the best of changeling and Equestrian cuisine as could be seen by the cakes, pies, and cakepies (although Pinkie Pie was not there) being on the same tables as beetles, bug jelly, and stuffed worm.

Music blared from within, all of different voices and of different instruments but playing the same song, the same carol that celebrated Hearth's Warming—a carol that was from a long time ago, perhaps all the way back to that cave where three certain ponies sang and lit up the Fire of Friendship.

And, even though it was daytime, no one thought of turning off the decorative lights.

The hive stood as a beacon of harmony and friendship in a thriving land where its plants were growing back. The hive stood as a civilization in its early years, in its days of child-like innocence and curiosity. The hive stood as a ray of light, of hope, for the changelings themselves—that though their past was one of darkness and despair, their future would only be better than their joyous present.

This was their society.

Author's Note

Whether you've trudged your way through the whole story or just clicked here to see what the ending is, I'm happy to know that you've read at least some of it—that the premise was intriguing enough to catch your attention and that you invested your time into a (hopefully) worthwhile tale.

While I myself don't believe that all good things must come to an end, I realize that there are some good things that must end. This is one of them.

To be honest: Do I believe that this is a decent story? Yes. Do I believe that it is a good story? Likely, for, when it comes to my own work, I'm somewhat a pessimist. Realistic, probably, but certainly not an optimist for my own creation. I know that just because my fan fic is epic in size doesn't mean it's epic in quality. Have I learned a few thigns about writing throughout the course of the year? Yes.

But, if there are two things that I am content with, they are:

One, that I've made a decent story about the new changelings. This story started out in January where criticism about the Season 6 finale (specifically, the changelings' new forms and their sudden redemption) still lingered. I thought to myself, "Hey, what if I write a fic about these guys?" And, I ended up creating a 400k+ work about them.

Two, that I've actually finished a story. I know that, in the realm of fan fiction, the dead fic is commonplace. Even if it's a good story—if it's dead, it's dead. The original author may never continue it, and even if someone else does, there will be that nagging feeling that, well, it's not the original author (even if it ends up being good anyway). So, here's a complete fan fic. Download the .epub version and read it on long trips or long flights—you might find something great here as you pass the time.

And, really, this is the end of the story. Will I write some kind of side-story featuring at least one of these characters? I don't know—probably not.

But, I am happy and I hope that you are happy, too.

Have a good day.

Donuts

It was a normal day for Joe. Wake up in the morning, walk to the donut shop (and occasionally meet the fancy unicorn dressed in the best of clothes but not in the best of attitudes), turn on the equipment and stand behind the counter.

The sun was normal. Out the windows of his shop, the morning sunlight colored the checkered floor with a bright yellow tint.

The donuts themselves were normal. There were chocolate donuts, strawberry donuts, donuts with sugar glaze. Some had the colorful sprinkles. There were also little donut balls with sugar on them. All these were displayed on the shelves behind the glass, lit by bright lights so that everyone would see what's on stock and what's not.

The smell of heated bread and sugar wafted through the shop. Joe had smelled the smell enough times already, but it was stronger this time. The glazer, as Joe had called it, was shiny with no rust at all. The plain donuts went slowly on the conveyor belt to the barrier of sugar glaze. When the donuts went out, they were covered in liquid sugar. The glaze soon dried and the donuts were now officially ready to sell.

Joe let the donuts fall off into the tray below the glazer. He bit a dowel and grabbed the donuts with it, placing it nicely into the shelves. He looked back up at the counter.

"Ah!"

There was a strange blue bug-like creature in front of him with strange eyes and a bag.

"What's wrong, sir?" the creature asked.

Joe stared at it for a few seconds, still bewildered. Then, he calmed down with a sigh.

"Sorry, there," Joe said. "I keep forgetting that you're the changelings now, with new forms and all."

"I'm used to that," the changeling said. "A couple of ponies were still terrified at seeing me on my way here."

"I guess not everyone could forget...the wedding."

The changeling frowned. "Yeah, I think that's why. I should have thought this through."

Joe laughed. "Don't worry about it. The Princesses already declared you friends of Equestria, so I bet it's just habit."

The changeling laughed back. "I hope so."

"It is so!" Joe looked at the donuts. "So, how about a donut?"

"A what?"

Joe looked surprised. "You don't what a donut is?"

"So those holey things are what 'donuts' are?" the changeling asked.

"Yes, they are!"

The changeling eyed the shelves of donuts. He seemed to ignore Joe's ramblings of donut flavors, types, toppings, whatever else there was about donuts. The changeling just looked at the donuts. He went from one line of donut to the next, his face showing interest but not emotion.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Joe finally asked.

"I'm...curious about these donuts."

"Why, exactly?"

"It's...the first time I'm going to eat something."

"Well, it is just morning, changeling."

"My name is Blue Alarm."

"And why are you called Blue Alarm?"

Joe looked around. There was nobody in the shop except him and Blue Alarm who was still staring at donuts.

"I'm from a line of changelings who specialize in alarming the Kingdom of any threat to us. When it comes to fighting, we're usually part of the scouting teams, seeing where the enemies are. We then alarm the rest of the changelings about where they are." And Blue Alarm kept on looking at the donuts.

"That's...interesting," Joe said. "So, why are you staring at donuts?"

"I told you already, it's my first time eating something," Blue Alarm said.

"Well, usually, the ponies and the griffons and the occasional baby dragon who go here don't stare at donuts even if they have new flavors." Joe looked around again. It was just him and the donut-staring changeling.

"It's not that it's the first thing I'll eat in the day," Blue Alarm answered. "It's that it's the first time I'm eating something at all."

"What?!" Joe yelled.

"Yes, what," Blue Alarm replied. "Surprise to you, I guess. We used to feed on love, remember? That meant that we don't eat anything else because that wouldn't satisfy us. Now that we're not constantly hungry for love, we can eat food without worrying about it being a waste of time."

"OK..." Joe said. "Do you know how to eat?"

Silence was in the shop.

The yellow mare with white facepaint took a seat on one of the chairs. Dressed in gaudy and colorful clothes, she smiled and waved a hoof at Joe.

"Who's that?" Blue Alarm said, still not looking away from the donuts.

"That's Silence, the local Canterlot mime." He smiled. "I know her usual order: three chocolate donuts with three strawberry donut along with one whipped cream donut."

"You sound proud about that accomplishment," Blue Alarm said.

"Well, wouldn't you be proud of remembering most of your customers' orders?"

Blue Alarm said nothing as he kept on looking at the donuts.

"Uh, buddy—"

"I'm still looking at these nice donuts."

"There are other ponies who want to eat donuts here," Joe said. "So, may I have your order?"

"I'll have one donut."

Joe smacked a hoof on his face. "Can you tell me what donut you want? A plain one? A chocolate one? A whole donut?"

"Don't they all have holes?" Blue Alarm asked.

"Not all of them have holes!" Joe shouted.

Silence gasped silently. Blue Alarm kept staring at the donuts.

Joe looked at Silence. He looked back at Blue Alarm. "Uh, OK. Just tell me what donut you want." Joe chuckled nervously.

"I want the plain one," Blue Alarm said. No emotion, just inerest in donuts.

"A plain donut or the bagel? They look very similar." Joe pointed at the lines of plain donuts and bagels. The plain donuts looked like beige pieces of bread with holes in the middle and the bagels looked like pieces of bread with holes in the middle.

"The donut one," Blue Alarm said.

Holding the dowel with his mouth, Joe got the plain beige donut. A plate glowed and magically levitated to the counter. He slid the donut to the plate and nudged the plate closer to Blue Alarm.

"That will be three bits...sir."

Blue Alarm still stared at the donuts.

"Hey!" Joe shouted. He looked at Silence. She was frowning, even glaring at Joe. Joe mouthed a "Sorry!" at her.

"I think that means that you're done with the donut," Blue Alarm said. He opened his bag with his mouth and spat three bits at the counter. "Coins taste bad."

Joe opened his mouth but the sight of Silence stopped him from shouting at the changeling yet again.

"Thanks for the donut." Blue Alarm smiled.

"You're welcome, Blue Alarm," Joe said. "Enjoy the donut!"

Blue Alarm bit the plate and walked to a table. After sitting down, he stared at the donut.

"The plain donut looks more sugary than the bagel," Blue Alarm said. "The bagel must be healthier." He tapped the donut with his hoof. "Fluffy."

He gulped. Sweat was rolling down his face.

"I haven't eaten anything my whole life other than love." He held the donut with his two forehooves. "I've seen ponies do this all the time back in scouting. Eating a donut shouldn't be that hard, right?"

He slowly opened his mouth, his hooves now shaky. The donut was already in his mouth, but he still had to close it.

Joe looked at the changeling with the open mouth and a donut in front of it. A loud thump on the counter knocked him back. He looked back at Silence who was already there. Her expression was menacing.

"All right, all right, Silence!" Joe said. "I'll get you the usual order, OK?"

Blue Alarm, mouth still open and donut still not eaten, turned around. There was no one coming into the shop. The ponies outside just walked by. He turned back to the table. You can do it, Blue Alarm, he thought. Just bite the donut a dozen times after you let go.

And he let go and closed his mouth. He chewed. The sweetness of the sugar mixed well with the fluffiness and the ordinary taste of the bread. The heat of the donut added to the taste. The taste also became smell. A delicious thing. He smiled. "Mm-mm!"

So caught up in the experience, he did not notice Silence sitting on the table beside him. On her plate was a stack of donuts. On top of the stack was a donut topped with whipped cream. A donut levitated to her mouth and Silence ate the donut.

Joe looked at his first customers of the day. At least they were enjoying his donuts. At least he was getting his bits. The noise of Blue Alarm's loud chewing did annoy him, however. The donut pony walked to the glazer and grabbed a batch of donuts to place in the glazer.

"Joe!"

Joe looked back at the counter.

"So, how's the donut?" he asked the smiling changeling. "It was good, isn't it?"

"It's very good!" Blue Alarm shouted.

"That's nice to know that you're satisfied," Joe replied, dusting off the donut crumbs from his uniform. "Thanks, Blue Alarm."

"My friends would love to have their first eating experience if I told them about your donuts!"

"That would be great, also," Joe said.

And Blue Alarm flew away out the shop.

"That was sudden," Joe said. And there was a noise. He looked at Silence. She was chewing loudly.

Joe went back to the glazer. He poured the donuts from their container into the conveyor belt.

There was yet another noise. It was louder than Silence's chewing. Joe eyed the glazer. Nothing seemed to be wrong with it.

The noise grew louder.

Joe looked at the store's doors.

The doors opened and a group of changelings were flying their way to the counter, cheerily buzzing along.

Joe gulped. He rushed back to the glazer, ready to grab a dowel at the right moment. He turned back to the counter.

In front of it was a row of changelings. A lot of changelings. Some were holding their bits in the air, others were talking to each other, and some others looked at the donut pony who they expected would give them the best donuts ever.

"Give me those donuts, now!"

"The donuts smell great!"

"I want one of each!"

"Blue Alarm said it was good! I want one, too!"

Joe bit the dowel and hurried to the donuts. Many plates were levitated on to the counter. He dropped the dowel on to the counter. "So, form a line so I can take your orders well."

The noise did not quiet down. They were still holding bits in the air, still talking, still shouting, still sniffing the smell of donuts.

"Will you form a line and be quiet?!"

The changelings stopped. They rushed to form a line.

"Good!" Joe said.

"You sound exasperated, sir," a changeling said.

"What about donuts?" another changeling demanded.

"I'll give you your donuts if you can just be patient, everypony," Joe said.

"But we're not ponies," Blue Alarm said.

"It's just an expression, remember?" replied the red changeling at the front of the line. "Not everything has to be literal."

"All right, Red Noise," Blue Alarm answered.

Joe chuckled at the fitting name.

"Who are you laughing at, donut pony?!" Red Noise yelled.

Joe straightened his face. "Uh, it's a nice name you have there, Red Noise. Now, what donuts do you want?"

"I want two of each donut you have here!"

"Really?"

"Yes, really," Red Noise replied. "Now here's my bits!" He dropped a bag on to the counter. The noise of coins rattling caught Joe's attention.

"Two of every donut coming up!"

Joe rushed to grab the dowel. Some donuts were on the dowel, other donuts were levitating to Red Noise's plate. One plate wasn't enough, so another plate floated to the counter. And then another plate floated to the counter. Then, three plates full of donuts along with bagels were on the counter.

"Enjoy your donuts, Red Noise!" Joe said. "Get to your table 'cause I'll have to carry your donuts there."

Red Noise ran to the table. The plates and the food glowed a magical glow and Joe levitated them to the changeling's table.

The changeling quickly grabbed a donut and threw it into his mouth. The changelings looked at the smile on his face. They looked back at Joe. They were back to shouting for donuts.

Meanwhile, Silence walked out of the shop, satisified with her order of donuts. She was still chewing loudly. The fancy unicorns walking by looked at her and laughed.

She was the local Canterlot mime, after all.

A Time with Changeling Culture

The sun rose behind the horizon's mountains. Sunlight poured in to the forest and its various animals. Birds flew, bunnies and rabbits hopped. The leaves of the trees and the grass of the ground, with their morning dew, reflected the sun's rays. The light sparkled on the dewdrops.

Sunlight broke through the thick foliage and to the vast swaths of dreary, dry, gray wasteland. Thorns, weeds, and dead trees decorated the wastes. Craggy rocks were abundant. Farther away, there was more of the same. There was more thorns, more weeds, more dead trees, more craggy rocks. No buildings, no houses, no homes. There were no streets, no roads—only one. It was a paved road. A lone changeling in armor flew his way above the road.

Up ahead, two changelings carried on their backs a huge sack as they flew slowly, fighting to keep the sack upright while keeping themselves upright in flight. Ahead of them were two more changelings carrying another huge sack. Ahead of them was another pair of changelings carrying another huge sack. Ahead of that pair were more and more changelings carrying sacks and bags and other sorts of containers. Ahead of all of those changelings was a tall gray wall surrounding the changeling hive itself.

The hive had wooden scaffolds littered around it. Several changelings wearing hard hats and orange construction uniforms were carrying buckets of paints, hoofuls of tools such as hammers and screwdrivers, bags of materials like steel and timber.

The hive itself had numerous holes in it. Debris still surrounded the hive. A hole opened. Another closed. The hive's shape was irregular, but it reached up to the sky. A few spires arched upwards. The central spire, the tallest of all of them, towered above all the makeshift houses and stores whose holes occasionally opened and closed, whose walls were slanted and also curved.

Flying above the spire was a green changeling. With orange antlers, purple and sparkling insect-like wings, purple eyes with no pupils, King Thorax was bigger than the rest of the changelings now. He looked up at the changing sky. Gone, for now, were the stars and the moon. A happy bright blue sky arrived with the sun to greet all that was under its sky.

Though Thorax was king, there was no crown that adorned him.

"Another beautiful sunrise." He looked down. The barren wastelands were now more visible. So was the beautiful grass in the kingdom. The sign of civilization in a dreadful land made the Changeling Kingdom stand out.

He lowered himself down the hive. The sounds of construction and repair re-entered his head. He wasn't looking at the hive nor at the construction workers. He stretched his head, eyeing a certain green changeling wearing glasses. He was holding a bunch of books.

Thorax flew towards that changeling.

Many of the construction changelings stopped their work and turned to see Thorax, their king. "Hail, King Thorax!" they said in unison.

"Thanks, everyone!" He nodded and went back to chasing. "Bookworm!"

The changeling paused his flight and landed on the road. "What? King Thorax?"

"Uh, yes." Thorax gulped. "Remember the meeting I want to have with you...that we planned yesterday?" Thorax turned his head to the hive.

"I remember it, King Thorax," Bookworm said. "What is it that you want to talk about?"

"I want to talk to just you about something."

The library, like the hive and the rest of the kingdom's buildings, had an irregular shape. Curved stone columns surrounded the small door.

The two changelings went inside.

"So, what is it, King Thorax?" Bookworm said. His voice echoed through the library.

Thorax closed the door, making the grand background of roads and establishments populated by busy changelings working or having fun disappear.

"It's...something I've noticed a few days ago." His voice quivered but still stayed firm.

Soft green lights turned on. Hanging from the ceiling were lights the shape of larvae. On the stone floors were tall empty bookshelves—there were a few that had books in them.

The two walked under the green light, between the empty bookshelves, surrounded by the stone walls.

"In my visit to Canterlot, I overheard that we changelings don't have 'culture.' I...didn't know what the word meant but I didn't want to appear to the ponies that I didn't know a lot of things and fancy words. I was able to ask for a dictionary and I thought it meant that it was how a society lives its live, what it believes in, what art and books and other things it produces." He paused. "I think that's what it meant."

"That's the informal definition of culture. You want to know the formal definition, King Thorax?"

He waved a hoof. "I don't need to know the formal definition. When I saw that meaning, I looked at the library I was in. There were bookshelves and bookshelves of books! There were sections for books of the same kind. There were books about history, books about geography, books about cooking—books about cooking? I didn't believe that these ponies need books to teach them on cooking! That's just the non-fiction ones. The books of fiction, they were even more interesting—I didn't read them but I read the backs of the books. They told me of love stories, adventure stories, stories about ponies going to space. There were old books and new books there. Almost everyone of them was different. And look at our bookshelves!" He waved another hoof at the empty shelves. "We produced no books at all! We've lived for centuries, even thousands of years, and what did we make? No books! The only books that are here are the essentials of pony literature that I'd ordered. No changeling book at all."

"So, do you want to establish a policy of encouraging changelings to write books?" Bookworm was grinning.

"It's not just about books, Bookworm."

They stopped in front of the desk. A changeling sat on the chair, just staring at the shelves. Around the desk and the lone changeling were more empty bookshelves. A big green light shone on him, making the desk's changeling the star of the library. The changeling sat up and saluted. "Hail, King Thorax!"

"You don't need to hail me every time, Arthros."

"But,"—Arthros pointed at Thorax—"you're our king! We're supposed to hail you!"

"I'm not like Chrysalis, and you should know that."

Arhtros bowed. "I see, Thorax. So, what's your business here?"

"We're just walking around, talking with Bookworm about some important matters."

"Do you want me to do something for you?" He beamed with a smile.

"Are you that desperate for orders?"

Arthros nodded. "Yes, yes I am desperate for orders from the nice King Thorax!"

"Uhh." Thorax looked to his left and to his right. There was only him, Bookworm, and Arthros. He looked back at Arthros. "Go sleep and don't listen to our conversation, OK?"

"Anything for Thorax!" Then, he slept, his face on the desk.

Bookworm turned to Thorax who had a mean look at him. "I didn't know Arthros would be here!"

The mean look disappeared. "Well, everyone's going to know about it, sooner or later." He watched the snoring changeling. "He's not going to wake up soon, is he?"

Bookworm shook his head.

The two walked again between the bookshelves.

"Like I said, it's not just about books. There's the music—other creatures have all kinds of music. Ponies have classical and whatever the DJ pony is pumping out. What music do we have?"

"I'm not a music changeling. Go ask Tick Note."

"I don't need an exact number, Bookworm."

Bookworm gazed up. "We have...zero songs?"

"Then, we get to art. Ponies, griffons, and others have museums that treasure their works of art. Changelings? We don't. There are even no plans for a museum anytime soon—no one's expecting it, anyway. What games do we have? Just look at the Equestria Games. There's aerial relay, running, displays of magic, ice archery—and there's the board games. Chess and checkers are the only the most popular ones. In Canterlot, I saw arcade machines—they made video games! What games do we have? Only the ones we learned from others." Thorax sighed and looked at another empty bookshelf. "Then, there's our traditions. What traditions do we have? We don't celebrate Hearth's Warming Eve, we don't have our own flag, I didn't know there was a thing called a hoof-shake until my first infiltration mission—"

Bookworm laid two hooves on Thorax. "Calm down, king!"

Thorax was breathing fast. "Sorry, Bookworm. It's just, we're so different from the others not because of our culture but because we don't have one!"

"Well, if you place it that way, King Thorax—" He paused and looked at the bookshelf beside him "—what about we make new kinds of culture? Something other than literature or art?"

"I don't think it's easy to think of something else." Thorax halted. He looked at Bookworm.

He trotted back to Thorax's side. "I remembered something, Thorax! One of the changelings told me that he's making a play!"

"What's his name?"

Bookworm contorted his face. "Uh...I'm not sure...he didn't tell me..."

Thorax groaned and sticked a hoof on his face. "He's one of the changelings who haven't given themselves a name yet, isn't he?"

"King Thorax...maybe...I'm uncertain..."

"It's OK, Bookworm. But, think about it—we don't even have names for every one of us while all the other creatures in Equestria have names for each other!"

Bookworm gasped.

"Sorry for that, Bookworm." He looked down, pouting. "I want us changelings to be special in Equestria, but it's...it's hard when the only thing your species have been doing for centuries is thinking of the best way to steal love from the next town." He sat down on the hard floor, resting on the bookshelf. He gazed silently at the other bookshelf in front of him. That bookshelf, like most of the others, had no books.

Bookworm sat down beside him. "And maybe that could be the solution to our problems."

Thorax glared at him.

"That's not what I mean!" He held up two hooves in front of him. "What I mean is that, since ponies and griffons and dragons and others haven't lived in a state of war all the time and we changelings have warred for...ever, that means that the culture we can produce would be very different from the others!"

"War books?" Thorax asked. Then, he hissed. "I don't want the changelings to be known as those kinds of creatures."

"Well, I don't have much of a solution, to be honest with you."

Thorax sighed. He stood up. "I'll think about it." He turned to see Bookworm. "So, what about the changeling that's making a play?"

Bookworm stood up happily. "He's gathered a group of changelings—three males, three females—and he wants to show the play to you as gratitude for what you've done for us changelings!"

Thorax didn't smile. "At least it's some relaxation, but do they have to thank me so often?"

"Don't you see it, Thorax?" Bookworm placed a hoof around Thorax's head. "You are seen as the savior of the changelings! You freed them from the tyrannical Chrysalis! You've given them freedom! That's why they made you their king!"

The king sighed again. "I didn't know being king also made you work almost everyday."

"That's only because you're the one who is managing the entire Changeling Kingdom! Don't you think that's awesome?"

Thorax looked towards the door. "I'll have some rest by watching the play first, Bookworm."

"Can I go with you there?"

He nodded.

On the green, open field of grass was a huge wooden platform. A thin wooden wall stood tall, painted with various colors to form only one background—a street with a few houses under a blue sky. Speakers lined the stage. The curtains were already parted, the chatter behind the stage was quiet and mumbled, the ruffles of paper were heard as many changelings took their seats on no seats but the ground. Many had a smile on their face but they weren't looking at the stage.

Thorax was flying to the back of the audience.

Stomps and claps of hooves thundered the field. Even the changelings who were passing by on the sidewalks paused to say "Hail, King Thorax!" and to salute the king.

Thorax wore a sheepish grin. He wiped off the sweat on his face.

He looked around him. There were at least a hundred changelings either sitting on the grass or hovering above it. There were no trees, no flowers—the only plant on this field was grass.

The streets had changelings eating food, exchanging items, buying things from street vendors and paying for those things with bits, carrying on the roads and sidewalks sacks of items. The atmosphere was amicable—most of the changelings were smiling. They smiled even more when they looked at their king, assured that he would lead the Changeling Kingdom to a prosperous peace.

The curtain closed.

Every changeling was silent.

Bookworm sat down next to Thorax. "I heard that the play is going to be great!"

"Let's hope it's great," Thorax said.

Spotlights turned on in broad daylight and focused on the floor. Nobody was there.

Loud microphone feedback echoed through the speakers.

"Ahem, sorry for the inconvenience!" a voice announced. "So, welcome to the first ever changeling play made by changelings, for changelings!"

The cheers and the stomps and the claps returned. Thorax and Bookworm clapped.

"I'm glad that you're all excited for the event! With no more delaying, we present to you: Beginnings!"

The changelings clapped and cheered and shouted.

The curtains opened to show the background of houses and a street. It was lit by redirected spotlights, redirected by changelings flying and holding the tall lights.

"In the city of Changeling, many changelings lived there." The narrating changeling paused. "From a time long ago, several migrating changelings decided to settle in the wonderful mountains. Then, time flew by, and now we're here. Many move here and there, minding their businesses and their leisure. Carraiges roamed the streets. In the city, there was a changeling known as Changed Chanticleer. He had lived in the city for all of his life. He liked playing the drums and selling ice cream to every changeling that passed him by. The smiles on their face saw the smiles on his face and that was nice."

Thorax sticked a hoof to his face again. "I hope I can still enjoy this play."

"And, when changelings decided to go about their daily business, they would usually go towards Changed Chanticleer to buy his world-famous wares and goods—"

"Can you move to the actual play?!" a voice yelled from the audience.

"Uh, OK."

Ruffles of paper were heard through the speakers. Whispers behind the walls were amplified although they were only heard as mumbles.

The spotlights focused on a yellow changeling beside a pink one.

"So, how was your day?" the yellow changeling asked.

"Changed Chanticleer said," the narrator said.

"I'm fine, Changed Chanticleer," the pink changeling said. "How are you?"

"The pink changeling said," the narrator said.

"Does the narrator have to do this every time they speak?" Thorax said.

"I'm telling you, the script is great! It's not perfect, but it's great!" Bookworm smiled.

Thorax sighed and looked back at the stage.

Another changeling, a red one, flew into the stage. "Give me your money!" he yelled.

"The red changeling yelled."

"No way, thief!" Chanticleer said. He flew straight to the thief.

"Chanticleer said. He flew straight to the thief."

Immediately, the two got into a fight. Flying Trotter, the pink changeling, gasped at the fight going on.

"Immediately, the two got into a fight. Flying Trotter, the pink changeling, gasped at the fight going on."

"The narrator should give time for what's happening right there," Thorax said. "He's just narrating what we can already see right now! Are you sure this is a good play now? Did he even show you the script?"

"He only told me that the play was going to be good." Bookworm smiled. "But I trust him! We've been best buds ever since we met!"

"When did you meet?"

"A few days ago!"

Thorax rolled his eyes.

Several changelings were flying from their houses and their stores to the field and the stage. The phrase "Hail, King Thorax!" were said, shouted, yelled, cried out. All that went there saluted to their king, many bowed down on their way. Thorax kept saying "Thank you," trying to focus on the play.

The rest of the play's troupe arrived on the stage. More joined in the fight, one thief versus four good guys and girls. The stage and the background trembled under the ferocity of the fight. Only Flying Trotter stayed behind, sometimes stepping back, sometimes stepping forward, never getting too near to the fight.

"This is just a brawl, Bookworm."

"This is just the first part," Bookworm replied, not turning his focus away from the stage.

The fight seemed to go on and on. There were throws, shouts, punches, even aerial combat.

Thorax looked away from the stage at the audience. They were all enamored by the fight in front of them.

Then, finally, after minutes of brawling, the thief fell down.

Surprisingly, Changed Chanticleer helped the evil thief up to his hooves.

"Suprisingly, Changed Chanticleer helped the evil thief up to his hooves. Ahem." Papers were ruffled.

"Don't worry, you can join our group of good changelings!" Changed Chanticleer gave the thief a hoof.

"Changed Chanticleer gave the thief a hoof."

The spotlights now faced the red thief. He looked up to the sky, to the spotlights, to the background, to Changed Chanticleer. With a shaky hoof, the two shook hooves.

"My name's Rednosed Rob, but you can call me Rob!" And Rob smiled for the first time in his life.

"And Rob smiled for the first time in his life."

The curtains closed.

All were silent on the grass under the sunny sky with the sun shining on them. There were no clouds.

"That's a little play," Thorax said.

"There's more after that. I promise!" Bookworm stared at the stage, waiting for the next scene.

Then, the curtains opened.

All six changelings were lined up in front of the backdrop. The spotlights shone their bright lights on them. They took a bow together and closed their eyes, smiling.

The audience roared its approval with cheers, whistles, shouts. Confetti was thrown at the actors and the actresses. The six changelings on the stage took another bow, revelling in the applause that everyone was giving.

Then, another changeling appeared on the stage. He held with his hoof a microphone. Like the others, he was smiling. "How do you like the show?"

The audience roared and shouted and cheered again, ringing the sounds to all of the Changeling Kingdom.

"I'm glad that you enjoyed the first ever changeling play!"

Thorax and a trembling Bookworm walked to the front. The audience, while still cheering the performers, made way for their king and the changeling wearing glasses and holding a book. Thorax flew to the stage along with Bookworm. Bookworm now held a sheepish grain, trembling a little while he landed on the wooden floor. Thorax held a face of disappointment, looking down, from his height, on the nameless changeling narrator.

"Hail, King Thorax!" The narrator bowed down. He stood up. "So, what did you think of our good play?"

"Uh..." Thorax placed a hoof on his chin. "I'm not sure." He saw the audience. He looked back at the narrator. "I'm not sure?"

All the audience gasped at Thorax's statement.

"The king disapproves of the play?" a changeling cried out from the crowd. "Then, we've cheered on garbage!"

Thorax turned around to the audience. "Don't worry, uh, guys! It's alright to like the play if you liked it. It's that I expected a lot from the play and it turned out that...it wasn't as good as I thought."

The narrator dropped his jaw and his microphone. The loud feedback blasted through the speakers and to the open grass field.

Thorax sighed. "I know, it's hard. It's the first ever changeling play, made by changelings, for changelings. It's also your work, and I can see that you worked hard to make the play and the backdrop and to hire the right changelings for the roles. But...you could've done much better."

The narrator looked down and frowned. "I...I thought you would love it!"

"Well, Bookworm finally got angry and he told me that, one, you narrated too much in the beginning; two, you narrated too much through the play; three, the story was extremely simple; four, the dialogue was very typical."

Bookworm was still trembling. He waved a hoof at his narrator friend.

"But, that's only the surface of the play. Inside the play are symbols and allegories. The play may seem simple, but the meaning inside must be unlocked through interpretation of all elements of the play!" The narrator laughed and cackled.

"And why are you not giving us the meaning of the play?"

The narrator gulped and his grin disappeared.

"Why give us a hard time trying to find the play's meaning? You know the meaning, so give it to us."

The narrator stammered. He finllay shrugged. "I don't know the meaning. I made that explanation up."

Thorax groaned. He turned to the audience. "You can go home now, everyone. The show's over."

The audience bowed down and then went up and left the field, going back to the streets, the sidewalks, and the buildings.

Bookworm shot a glance at his friend and flew away with the rest.

Thorax turned to the narrator who was now shivering and bearing his fangs, although his eyes were downcast. "So, Bookworm told me that you don't have a name yet. Why?"

"I-I don't know..."

Thorax patted him on the head.

"You want to give me a name?"

"I'm not so confident about that..." He gazed at the backdrop still showing to the world a painting of a street and a few houses. "I can't just give every changeling here names. Besides, why not give yourself a name? You have the freedom to do that here." Thorax smiled.

"I'll call myself 'Critic Steno!'"

Thorax winced. "Why 'Critic Steno?'"

The yellow changeling, from his group of performers, raised his hoof. "Changed Chanticleer is actually my real name!"

"I knew that," Thorax said.

Newspaper

Just outside the kingdom, the path was filled with changelings passing by. The common noise commanded the area, some looking here and there to see what they wanted to see.

A changeling with a brown hat stood beside a short newspaper stand. It was stacked and stocked with newspapers sporting and displaying and boasting of different names and titles. Vivid, colorful pictures of various ponies, various other creatures, various events, and various landscapes were all stored in that neat little newspaper stand.

"Get your newspaper! One bit per copy for any newspaper!"

The shout echoed as a few changelings raised their hooves and gave their bits to the news changeling with the hat.

Newspapers were taken.

Beside the newspapers, there were magazines and comic books. A Daring Do comic book stood out in the open. Alongside it, there was a newspaper touting the name "Foal Free Press." The Ponyville Express was there, beside a copy of a comic entitled "MIGHT."

Some changelings stood and walked with their big newspapers open. Talks began and went on.

A changeling opened up his newspaper as he walked into the kingdom proper.

"'Changelings and Dragons now in Beneficial Alliance.' Hmm."

The yellow changeling walked on, newspaper covering his face.

"'King Thorax of the Changeling Kingdom and Dragon Lord Princess Ember of the Dragon Lands have arrived to an alliance agreement that will allow hassle-free movement of their citizens within each other's territories, increased mutual trade and investment of resources and goods, and stronger levels of detterence against those who wish to attack either or both kingdoms.'"

The noise changed, yet still remained the same type—talking, laughing, conversing, discussing.

The sun shone softly on his carapace. The buildings now revealed changelings who sometimes read newspapers. There was more moving, more words spoken, more emotions or, rather, more variety of emotions to be seen through the windows and out on the backyards and on the sidewalks.

He bumped another changeling.

"Hey! Keep watch of your walk!"

"Sorry!"

He walked on, still reading the newspaper.

The changeling looked back at the large picture under the headline. Clear and crisp images of Thorax and Ember together were placed there. Other images were there, depicting forestry, ponies, and celebrations and other events.

"'By both the leaders' requests, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have arranged certain days within the next few months to guide them in the political world.'"

"Seems too nice," the changeling commented as he read on while walking.

"Long Winded!"

The changeling turned his back.

Another changeling was approaching, also wearing a hat that was similar to his.

"Nastic?"

"Old buddy!"

They bumped their hooves, still holding their individual newspapers with the other hoof.

"Uh, we just met each other last night."

Nastic laughed to the sky.

The other changelings that were passing by took a glance at the weird changeling.

"You can stop now, you know, Nastic."

His laugh trailed off.

"Anything new, other than what we have here in the headlines?"

They began walking on the rocky sidewalk again.

"You're late for the news today, by the way. What gives?"

The two changelings then held up their newspapers, covering both of their faces from the rest of the populace.

They passed by the green, open field of grass. On them, there were changelings fumbling and tumbling with the hoofball, baskets or buckets being thrown around lazily and clumsily.

Nastic loudly inhaled the fresh, air. "Smells like trimmed grass scented with...something nice!"

"Ran out of words to say?" Long Winded smirked at his friend.

"Hah! Not really!" He tipped his hat at Long Winded. "Let's get back on the topic, shall we?"

"You mean about the newspaper?"

"Yes, Long Winded. About the newspaper." He tapped his copy with a hoof. "Do you think that Thorax taking lessons about being a leader from Princesses Celestia and Luna is a good idea?"

"Where else to learn than from the Princesses who lived a thousand years?"

"You mean Princess Celestia, since she ruled for a thousand years while Princess Luna was banished for a thousand years."

"You know what I mean, right?"

Nastic stretched a hoof right in front of Long Winded.

The intersection ahead was empty.

"What's this all about?"

"Just checking, in case we might have an accident with any of the carriers."

"Oh, right."

They crossed the road.

"Well, either way, it's still a good idea, Nastic."

A glass of water was spilled onto Long Winded's newspaper.

He grumbled and looked up.

"Sorry about that, sir!" the changeling yelled from his window. He quickly hid from sight.

"Anything else other than the headlines? I've already the headline news a few times!"

Long Winded had an angry face, looking silently at his drenched news. "Let's get moving, Nastic."

"At the convenience store again, Long Winded?" Nastic sniffed the air. "It smells of artifical chemicals!"

"It's what Thorax can afford, OK?" Long Winded replied. "Just because we get subsidies from Equestria doesn't mean we're instantly rich."

"The Princesses have a surplus of money; it's not like they have a reason to spend a meager amount on us changelings." Nastic took a sip from his glass of water. "Water's OK, at least. We couldn't complain about that. That just means we can complain about other things."

"Look, why don't you—"

"Wouldn't it be unwise, Long Winded, if—"

Long Winded held up his newspaper and covered his face with it.

The front wall was made up of clean, simple windows, giving a nice and graceful view of the outside as many changelings flew about and played or talked with each other. A few changelings carrying sacks of items, things, and materials buzzed by over the street.

"Are you alright, Nastic?" one of the cashiers asked, flying slowlyl towards him and his table.

"I'm quite alright, miss."

"OK, I see." She flew back to the counter.

Nastic looked at his own copy of the newspaper. Something was sticking out from it.

He pulled it out.

He read the action comic. The word "POWER" was written in bold, big letters on the front cover.

Long Winded peeked. "You...read...action comics?"

"The Power Ponies are quite entertaining to read, if you ask me." A smile crept up Nastic's face. "Sooner or later, the news will get into your head. You cannot stop thinking about them, the implications, the ramifications that it will have on us. The news are sold because they're negative, and I wasn't born yesterday, Long Winded." He motioned the comic towards Long Winded. "This is what keeps me stress-free: a fantastical story about ponies with super powers that always save the day."

Long Winded took a bite from his peanut butter sandwich. Beside it was a little sign that had an image of Thorax's face on it. Long Winded looked at Nastic. "You do know that Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends always save the day, too."

Nastic laughed again. "Not always. Just look at us."

Friendship Talk

The sun shone its light on to the large field of grass. Already there were benches and seats of various kinds scattered and arranged throughout the field. Changelings haphazardly sitting down here and there, wherever they felt like. The noise of the chatter and of the prattle of the changelings only grew louder as more and more changelings entered the grass field, not to mention the buzzing sound of the changelings' wings flapping adding to the commotion.

Despite all odds, the changelings guards that weren't showing their immense enthusiasm and joy over Princess Twilight Sparkle's upcoming friendship talk were placing their best efforts into the regulation of the audience, no matter how rowdy the audience itself was. Their faces showed no emotion, or at least the guards tried to make their faces show no emotion. There was one guard that, every few seconds, glanced at a certain spot.

"I hope that's Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends!" the changeling guard muttered before looking back to keeping the peace.

Various makeshift stands were standing and were present on the field, serving and selling a wide variety of things and items from the typical food stands with their bottles of water and other drinks to the sellers of changeling souvenirs—which were shoddily-made crafts of rock. They weren't making that much money, judging from the lack of any customers.

More changeling guards roamed the streets, watching and looking at every nook and cranny of the kingdom.

As the crowds of changelings grew, more guards moved away from the streets and towards the crowds, hovering around them, making sure that no trouble was to be caused or to be found among them.

The changelings whispered, said, spoke, and shouted to each other. Others played it quiet, watching the rest of their fellow changelings making an unpleasant, combined noise.

There was the smell of good food on the field. Lines of changelings flocked to those stalls.

There were also lines of changelings at other stalls, specifically the stalls that sold items from Equestria such as souvenir items. The lines for those stalls were as long as the lines of changelings waiting for their food. The lines for the Equestria-items stalls were also louder, if not ruder as well.

Now, many of the changelings were checking a certain road, a certain place. Changeling guards were stationed there, standing firmly and sometimes glancing here and there. Those guards were the only ones who showed no emotion—the rest of the changelings were showing their excitement in different ways, from the humble smile to the jumping up and down to the flying around while making loud buzzes while flapping their wings to the point that some of the quieter changelings were annoyed and irritated.

Moving around within the crowd was now getting difficult. Sometimes, changelings bumped into each other, although there was no dangerous escalation to a fight. Instead, there were even a few hugs from the would-be attackers.

Many changelings were wearing something that showed their enthusiasm and eagerness for Equestria and its ponies. Some were recycling their Wonderbolts marchandise. Others were sporting new, fresh clothes that showed that they were indeed admirers, even fans, of Equestria. Still, others were wearing plain clothes, yet they were still excited that the clothes were made by ponies.

The excitement of the moment intensified as the minutes passed.

The changeling guards had looks of worry. The changeling audience was getting rowdier, getting impatient. There were still no fights. Peaceful talks and the occasional hugs were the things that defused the situation. However, the changelings were becoming disorderly, all with the constant moving around.

"It's Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends!" a changeling shouted from her place.

And the changelings roared into a happy, large group of elated joy.

Princess Twilight Sparkle was not arriving on a royal carriage, not even a normal one. She was just walking and smiling at the changelings that were now swarming the sidewalks. Cameras flashed their lights at her, but her face remained calm and happy. Beside her were her five closest friends from Ponyville—generous Rarity, honest Applejack, loyal Rainbow Dash, kind Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie who was already laughing. Of course, beside Twilight Sparkle was also her dragon assistant, Spike, who made charming waves towards the cameras.

Surrounding this warm and friendly group of friends were pony guards dressed in their metal armor, looking serious and even gruff at the changelings that were attempting to get their way to the Princess and her friends.

"Wow!" Rainbow Dash expressed, walking with her friends on the clean yet rough streets of the kingdom, seeing all the unrestrained enthusiasm and intense interest of the changelings. "You get this kind of reception every time, Twilight?"

She sighed, still smiling. "And it gets even crazier every time."

Fluttershy struggled to keep her face away from any possible and potential camera angle. "How do you manage this level of attention?" she asked quietly.

"I...just sort of get used to it." She looked at Fluttershy. "When you've attended enough events and visited enough places as a world-famous Princess, changelings covering the streets isn't out of place anymore."

"I, for one, do adore the endless amounts of attention!" Rarity blurted out. "I wonder if they're going to write about my dresses in their fashion magazines soon, hm?"

Applejack gave a small chuckle. "Come on, Rarity! We're going to show those changelins' how to be better friends, and all ya' ar' thinkin' about is fashion?"

"Why," Rarity countered, "I might open up a boutique here!"

Applejack sighed.

"Ooh! Twilight!" Pinkie Pie yelled, bouncing up and down her way on the street. "It's going to be my first time attending one of those friendship talks! Is it going to have any cake in it? Wait!" She took out a cake from her bag. "I've got some cake! I'm so nervous and excited for this! Nervous because there are so many changelings out there to see you, but excited because maybe they made cake! First, Equestria cakes! Then, Changeling Kingdom cakes! What's going to be next? The cakes from the Dragon Lands?!"

Twilight glanced at the gabbing Pinkie Pie and chuckled to herself as they walked on while being close to being mobbed by the changelings clamoring for them.

Spike was still acting charming towards the changelings' cameras, posing for the many pictures.

The Princess and her friends walked their way past the crowds of changelings on the field of grass. They walked up the large, wooden platform. They placed on their headed microphones. Another pony gave them a signal.

The six ponies walked to the front of the stage.

"Let's see how well this one goes," Nastic commented as he sat way behind the crowd.

A changeling was flying towards him. "Hey, Nastic! Why aren't you joining us? The official Pony Fan Club is at the front row!"

"Because, Long Winded, whether you like it or not, I don't like all this ruckus!" Nastic complained. "I don't think I'd be able to hear a clear word from any of th ponies there if I sit at the front!"

"OK, then," Long Winded said. "I hope you won't miss anything out!"

Then he flew back to the front seats.

"Hopefully, this is worth my time," Nastic said.

Thorax sat on the grass just some of his changelings. He looked up to the platform and the ponies that it held. He smiled as he observed and watched without a changeling interrupting him.

Twilight Sparkle cleared her throat and closed her eyes. Then, she opened her eyes, facing and viewing the grand audience before her.

The changelings were cheering, many raising their hooves and several flying about, delighted and thrilled to see, to listen, to live out whatever lesson about friendship the Princess was about to bestow upon them.

She took a glance at her friends.

They all gave her smiles.

Twilight looked at the audience again.

The field was immense, enormous in its width, tremendous in its area, massive in all the space that it covered. Again, she considered the crowd of changelings that were watching her. There were so many—a row of changelings there was already a lot. Most of them were smiling, truly and genuinely happy to see yet another friendship talk or maybe excited to attend one for the first time.

There were no lines at the stalls. Even the changelings tending the stalls were looking at her, paying attention to her and her friends from faraway.

The guards, though quiet, showed their interest—or, rather, their joy—on their faces as they stood at their respective positions.

Twilight saw all of that as the cheering of the changelings went on.

Then, the cheering became quiet.

Twilight's smile went wide.

"I...guess you're pretty excited today, aren't you?" Twilight began. Her voice blared through the speakers.

And the changelings answered with a resounding applause that rumbled the platform, slightly wobbling the ponies on it.

Then, the applause went quiet.

"Are you ready for another friendship talk, changelings?"

The changelings answered again with a loud, boisterous, approving cacophony of shouts and yells that were certainly positive and happy.

"OK, but if you want to listen, you have to quiet down, alright?" She smiled nervously at the changelings.

And they quieted down.

"Let's get straight to the point, changelings." She levitated a scroll and presented it to all the audience with her magic. "I've written this friendship lesson right after my first ever slumber party with AJ and Rarity. But, of course, the lesson isn't just about us. This also applies to your friends."

The changelings listened quietly and silently. Some were waving pieces of pony merchandise at the speaking Princess, though she did not take a long look at any of them.

"Now, as many of you probably know, Applejack and Rarity aren't quite the most similar of ponies."

Applejack and Rarity took a few steps forward together.

"Applejack's the simple farmer while Rarity's the sophisticated fashionista. 'How are they possibly the best of friends?' you may ask."

A changeling among the crowd raised his hoof.

"Why, yes," Twilight said, "what is it?"

A microphone levtiated towards the changeling.

The changeling grabbed the microphone. "Uh, 'How are they possibly the best of friends?'"

Twilight wasn't smiling. "You weren't supposed to actually ask that question."

"Oh..." The changeling then shyly lowered his hoof as the microphone levitated away and back to its place near one of the background edges of the platform.

She smiled again. "So, again, how could two ponies who don't have much in common be best friends? Well, what I've learned from my slumber party was that, though two ponies getting together might seem impossible due to their differences, it turns out that if you embrace the differences of the other pony, you can see the astonishing ways of how to be friends with that other pony."

And the changelings gave out a collective nod of approval. Whispers and mutterings of attained friendship knowledge were made among the changelings. Overall, the changelings were delighted by this newfound lesson.

"Ya' might be wonderin' how Ah' was able to endure the fussin' about of Rarity," Applejack said, gesturing towards the unicorn. "However, Ah've learned that ya' can't force a pony to change to suit yer' likins'."

"Besides," Rarity went on, "having a diverse set of friends will lead you to a couple of surprises on the road. I, for one, would never have discovered the true wonder of having a sister if 'simple farmer' Applejack hadn't been my friend, if I hadn't decided to live with a friend who was slobby and had a pretty informal way of life. Because of her, Sweetie Belle and I have been closer than ever before."

The changelings stomped on the ground, exhibiting their appreciation of the anecdote.

"And," Applejack said, "Ah wouldn't have learned the lesson that just because ya' know all the general details, it doesn't mean that ya' don't have to consider all the small ones, too, if Ah hadn't had 'sophisticated fashionista' Rarity as one of mah' best friends."

And again, the changelings showed their love for the talk by stomping on the talk.

"But, it's not just AJ and Rarity and I who learned the lesson," Twilight said. "It started with Applejack and Rarity with my first slumber party, but I've found out that my other best friends also learned that lesson about embracing the differences of our friends, even though those differences might be hard to, well, embrace."

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy flew forward.

"How can I, the most awesome flyer in Ponyville and also a member of the Wonderbolts," Rainbow Dash started, "hang out with Fluttershy, timid and shy and pretty much somepony who doesn't want all the attention? How can I hang out with her, a pony who used to be pretty scared of almost anything, and, let's be honest, she still is."

"Hey!" Fluttershy exclaimed.

"Well, we've been friends with each other since we were fillies, but I didn't get to know much about her until after we all saved Equestria for the first time. Heh-heh-heh. At first, I thought that her constant politeness was just annoying, getting in the way of the real action. But, I figured out that being brash and totally upfront isn't always the best way to go. With the help of Fluttershy and by spending time with her, I've learned that you've got to be considerate with other ponies. I think I've finally learned that lesson way back when I wanted to pull a seemingly harmless prank and then it ended up with me thinking that I've made a bunch of cookie-craving zombies. The prank my friends pulled on me wasn't funny at all—and that's what the ponies who were victims of my pranks were feeling at the time."

"What prank?" a changeling asked loudly from the audience.

"Let's not talk about it, little guy."

Fluttershy flew a little lower, hovering closer to the platform. "Um, it's honestly not easy at first to be friends with a proud pegasus like Rainbow Dash, always loving fast-paced action." She glanced at Rainbow Dash—she was giving Fluttershy an irritated look. "But, we've grown up as friends back when we were fillies at Cloudsdale, so I guess that it's easier when you've been friends since your foalhood."

Rainbow Dash groaned and displayed more of her irritation through a smack on the face with her hoof.

"However, if it hadn't been for Rainbow Dash's call for the pegasi of Ponyville to make a tornado to bring water to Cloudsdale for the rain later on, I wouldn't have realized that, no matter how small or how litle or how insignificant your contribution to an effort feels like, it actually does matter. On that day, this was the lesson I learned: If you remain ideal and hopeful about things, do your best, and believe in yourself, you could do anything."

And the changelings, once again, showed their loving approval and approving love for the talk and the lessons so far by stomping their hooves and roaring with elated shouts.

"But, I-I wouldn't have learned that if it wasn't for Twilight, too."

Rainbow Dash groaned again. "Really, Fluttershy?!"

And, then, Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie walked forward. In Pinkie's case, she bounced forward.

"And, finally, there's us," Twilight said, gesturing a hoof towards Pinkie who was smiling and grinning and still bouncing up and down, even giggling. Meanwhile, Twilight just stood there, calm and collected, having a simple smile. "Rational me versus irrational Pinkie. Because of my studies, I've always expected there to be a good, reasonable enough explanation for everything. I've wanted to confirm whatever rumors I hear about—or, more appropriately, try to disprove them. If something proves to be true despite all the studies and experiments conducted, I'll be more than likely to accept that its true." She levitated several notebooks and books into the air, presenting them for the changelings to see. Then, she placed them back to where they had been—on the platform. "So, when I see Pinkie Pie, I don't see much sense in her. She's random, but at least she makes us happy. However, Pinkie Pie taught me that, you should always listen and be open to the opinions and ideas of others even if they don't make any sense." She gave the audience a wide grin. "Maybe they're right."

And Pinkie Pie bounced right in front of Twilight. "And, what I learned from being friends with Twilight, was a lot of wonderful things about friendship!"

"Pinkie! Out of the way!"

"But, if I were to pick one to tell all of you super-duper-friendly changelings," she went on while bouncing on the wooden platform, "it's that, sometimes, our desire for responsibility might actually be too much for what we can actually handle!"

"Uh, you learned that from Mr. and Mrs. Cakes' foals, Pinkie," Twilight said. "I wasn't even there!"

"But you were there!" She pointed at Twilight. "You had lots of studying to do when the Cakes were asking if you could be the babysitter."

"How is that related to—" She stopped herself and chuckled a little bit. "Nevermind, Pinkie. At least the changelings have a good friendship lesson to learn from you."

And the changelings, once again, cheered on, the sound of their cheering blaring not through the speakers but just through the open air, slightly shaking the platform the ponies were standing on.

All the ponies there had a look of concern on their faces as the platform shook a little.

Then, the cheering stopped.

"So, with the first part of the talk over," Twilight declared, "let's get to the favorite part—the open questions!"

And, again, the changelings were cheering and roaring. This time, several changelings were already making their way forward; a few were daring enough to rush their way to the platform, though they were stopped by their other fellow changelings that seemed more polite and considerate.

"And, yes, changelings," Rainbow Dash announced while she flapped her wings in the air, "you get to ask not just Twilight but all of us!"

"And, even me!" Spike shouted as he ran up the stairs, waving at the changeling audience.

But, the changelings were all looking at the ponies.

"Just don't get too unruly, all right?!" Applejack yelled from her place. "We need some lining up like ya' did with the stalls!"

And the changelings obediently formed a line, though the line was fragile, even volatile, as changelings were clamoring for an instant, immediate question and talk with any of the Elements of Harmony there. Shouts and yells of friendly admiration were made.

Spike waved at the changelings again.

But, the changelings were still looking forward to meeting their favorite ponies.

"Good thing we have guards to keep the order and the peace," Twilight said as both pony and changeling guards swooped in and surrounded the changeling crowd, several of them protecting the line from any further decay into chaos.

Twilight felt a hoof tapping her shoulder. She looked behind her.

"Fluttershy, what's wrong?"

"Are you sure about this?" Fluttershy asked. "Even with all six of us, I don't think we can entertain all those changelings."

Twilight smiled. "Which is why I've scheduled no important events or occasions for tomorrow."

"Really?"

She nodded. "Just enjoy yourself there."

And Fluttershy flittered away to her place on the platform. The changeling line was straightening up, the guards were in their positions, the ponies were ready.

"I can't believe it!" Long Winded yelled as he stood on the stairs to the platform. "I can't believe we're going to ask all of the six best pony friends ever, the Elements of Harmony, right in front of us!" He grabbed Humerus who was behind him in line. "Are you as excited as I am, Humerus?!"

"I'm just as excited!" Humerus yelled.

"Are you excited?"

"I'm excited!"

And the two bumped each other's hooves.

Neon Guard sighed behind Humerus in line, now on the grassy ground.

"Anything wrong, Neon Guard?" Blue Alarm asked before Neon Guard in line.

"Too crazy."

"I can see that," he commented as he eyed the two changelings in front as they were jumping, almost dancing even. "They're really excited about meeting the ponies. Who can blame them? They've saved Equestria a few times already."

"They weren't exactly the ones that saved us," Neon Guard responded.

Long Winded and Humerus moved a few steps forward. So did Neon Guard and Blue Alarm and the rest of the line before them.

In the background and all around them, the constant, animated chattering of the changelings both before and after them filled the air with the sense of liveliness, a sense of optimistic and young fervor, an innocent form of joy flooding the place. The occasional laughs were no longer occasional—one laugh at either a joke or just at the pleasant event rang throughout the field at any given moment now. More than a few changelings were joyfully uneasy, having to bear with wobbling hooves as they inched and inched closer every minute or so. The line was indeed long—and, though several minutes have already passed, it seemed to refill itself.

The voices of the Elements of Harmony, the greatest and most heroic best friends in all of Equestria, were muddled in all the cheerful noise—yet, if one were to strain their ears enough, their conversations could indeed be heard with clarity. In all of their voices, there was the tone of genuine amusement even as Rarity voiced her disgust over the apparel of the changeling in front of her, all in her high-falutin accent.

The line continued on. Long Winded was now in front. And he was bouncing up and down, unable to restrain his excitement as his grin and wide eyes showed.

"Now, now," Twilight said, facing the excited changeling. She faced her friends who were busy with talking with a few changelings. "Just enjoy the talk." Then, the Princess gave him a smile and gestured a hoof.

Long Winded instantly flew his way to the group of ponies there as the changelings who were already there made their way out of the platform.

He looked back at the line. "Come on! Let's introduce the official Pony Fan Club to them!" he hollered.

And a small swarm of changelings were rushing their way to the ponies.

"Not this again!" Pinkie Pie screamed, running to the edge of the platform.

As the ponies were moving fast, trying to escape the potential mob, Twilight quickly glanced at the guards.

Changelings shoved them aside.

Twilight arched her eyes at the changeling swarm. Her horn glowed.

Then, there was no more noise and no more stomping.

Her horn stopped glowing.

In front of her was just a small group of changelings. Leading the group was the changeling who was bouncing up and down. "Uh, sorry for making you all have to run and panic," Long Winded apologized rather unprofessionally. "We'd just like to introduce ourselves to you and your friends, Princess Twilight Sparkle." He cleared his throat. "I'm Long Winded. I'm a member of the official Pony Fan Club. Yes, we changelings have a fan club for not just you, but for ponies!"

And Twilight Sparkle and all her friends stood there with eyes and mouth wide open.

"Good surprise, right?" Long Winded added.

"I get two fan clubs?!" Rainbow Dash cried out. "Awesome!"

"I think that's not the point, Rainbow," Twilight responded. She faced Long Winded who was standing right in front of her. "You're not joking about this, are you?"

"Nope!" he said, smiling and cheerfully.

"Hmm..." Twilight glanced her friends who were still shocked. She looked back at Long Winded. "What do you do in the fan club?"

"We just adore ponies and what they do!" Long Winded screamed, flying to the air in such raw emotion.

"And I get to lead the fan club!" Humerus yelled.

Twilight sighed. Then, she placed on a smile. "Isn't that...nice?"

Humerus nodded happily and rapidly.

Twilight looked at all the members of the fan club. Although there weren't so many, they were so varied—one was slightly bigger than the rest and was also wearing a hat. "And, I guess you adore friendship, too, right?" she asked, smiling, too.

"Who doesn't in the Changeling Kingdom?!" Long Winded replied loudly.

"Well...this is unexpected."

And a silence passed by between the two sides.

"Does this mean I get to use my party cannon?!"

And Pinkie Pie brought out her party cannon and it blew out confetti and balloons and streamers right at the members of the official Pony Fan Club.

Her five friends glared at her.

"What?" she defended. "A fan club like that is a cause for celebration, right?"

Her five friends continued to glare at her.

"OK, celebrating their celebration of friendship?!"

"Eh, I think that's passable," Rainbow Dash conceded.

After the second part of the friendship talk was over, there was now the third part: Just hanging out with the changelings. The six friends were spread out and just walked along and talked with whomever was there to talk with. The changelings made themselves look approachable and their efforts to do so paid off—or, it could be that, even if they weren't approachable, the six friends would still hang out with them and chat.

Rarity laughed in her fancy accent while she opened up several bags and revealed several nice dresses and suits. The changelings around her were impressed, judging by the elated looks on their faces.

Pinkie Pie was giving a rapid yet understandable explanation on how her party cannon works, pointing and gesturing at some parts of the cannon. A few unruly changelings scrambled their way to the cannon but Pinkie managed to move the cannon away from their hooves, leading to a few accidents and bumps into each other. Despite that, Pinkie and the changelings there laughed.

Fluttershy, meanwhile, was being pressured by over-enthusiastic, over-excited, even fanatical changelings, the word "Stare" being thrown about. The timid yellow pegasus was making her stand by diverting the attention away from the Stare to another thing worth talking about—like her pet bunny.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack were standing side-by-side, casually talking with the changelings around them as they walked through the grass field.

Twilight Sparkle was levitating several books, recommending which ones were the best to read for a changeling. However, the changelings themselves wanted some other books—books about pony history, books about Equestria, books about certain great ponies throughout history, books about great adventures that were written by ponies. A subtle frown appeared on her face. Twilight attempted to make the changelings want to borrow the first books—but, they were desiring the pony books.

Nastic looked at all of this from afar, standing in the sunset glow of the sky. His carapace, like the carapaces of the rest of the changelings, shone and glimmered in the sunlight. After adjusting his hat, he continued looking on. On his face was no obvious smile, nor was there a clear frown. He wasn't beaming nor was he glooming. His face was that of a neutral, blank expression—the only thing that it conveyed was that of observation, in contrast to all the changelings that were merry in their way as they walked and talked among their favorite ponies, the ponies that they've wanted to see for a long time though most of them had already met them just a short time ago.

He held his bag. He slowly opened it and brought out his comic book.

He stared at the cover of the comic.

Several ponies in masks and in costumes were fighting whoever was the bad villain of the day in front of a backdrop of a skyscrapered city.

He looked up from the comic cover and onto the ponies that were there.

He smiled.

Nastic hurried his way to the group where Twilight Sparkle was.

Better Friends

On top of a tall brick building, the stone rooftop was adorned with fancy tables and fancy seats. The tables were covered with white fabrics while the seats were decorated with a stately design. Various ponies ate in that dignified manner, while some hastily chewed their way through their small meals, one of them having just finished and was hurrying out the door, holding a briefcase.

Out the door went an orange unicorn, dressed in fancy uniform, levitating a few covered plates. He walked to certain tables, carefully placing the plates and opening them, revealing to the hungry customers what the food was. One plate contained a simple soup, another plate had a nice, tall, multi-layered sandwich, and another plate boasted of both soup and sandwich.

As he passed by tables and their customers, he also passed by the several colorful decorations above.

Finally, he arrived at another table.

He eyed the customers with a suspicious eye. He didn't smile. His face had a look of distrust as he looked at the customers at that table.

He placed down the two remaining plates and opened them.

On one plate was a bowl of corn soup and beside the bowl was a tall sandwich and beside the sandwich was a few apples and beside the apples was a muffin.

On the other plate was a bowl of corn soup and just a bowl of corn soup.

The waiter walked away.

The two changelings looked at each other. "I hope this trip to Manehattan is better than the last one," Nastic said.

"You're the one that made the trip short in the first place!" Long Winded replied, pointing an accusatory hoof at his friend.

And several ponies looked at them.

Long Winded noticed.

He lowered the hoof and ate his soup.

"I had to make it short because you were going around, ruining ponies' kites. I didn't want to make a bad impression, and I certainly don't want to spend some time in Manehattan when ponies are giving us bad looks."

Long Winded eyed him as he continued eating the soup. "Well, let's just hope that we have more fun this time around."

Nastic sighed and held his sandwich. "That's a better mood."

He looked at the scenery.

The tall buildings in the background gave the view an urban feel. The bustling streets filled with ponies and carriages were indeed loud but weren't noisy. Rather, they only contributed to the urban, city atmosphere of the place. Nastic looked at certain ponies. Some were rushing towards some place. Others were walking at a normal pace. There were other ponies standing, looking around just like Nastic was.

A few places had long lines of ponies waiting at the entrance. One of those places was a sandwich shop and there were many ponies in line for a sandwich. As the ponies went out, they held a paper bag or a sandwich. The line would get shorter, but, sometimes, a few ponies would enter the line. Some of the ponies that left the sandwich shop with sandwiches on their hooves looked happy. Others looked dull.

"Then again," Nastic said, eyeing one of those dull-looking ponies, "it's probably the same sandwich shop they go to everyday." He smirked. "Or, maybe the sandwich menu is the same everyday."

He looked back at the his food and took a bite of the sandwich.

Long Winded looked up and saw Nastic eat the sandwich. He smelled the smells of the restaurant—an aromatic mix of bold flavors and subtle scents.

"Are you going to eat all of that?" Long Winded asked innocently, pointing a hoof at the sandwich.

"You're the one who ordered just a bowl of corn soup, Long Winded." Then, Nastic took another bite of the sandwich.

Long Winded looked at the other tables.

The waiter wasn't there.

There was a table with several ponies around it. There was a stallion, a mare, and a few younger ponies. They all smiled as they ate their delicious food and drank their refreshing drinks, sometimes laughing. One pony would tell a story and the others would lean in to listen with intent. Another pony would tell a joke, and the resulting laughters were loud, though not too loud that other ponies would glare at them.

Long Winded sighed as he looked upon the happy family. "Such cheerfulness." Then, he smiled. "Of course, we could still have the same amount of cheerfulness in this trip!"

"What are you planning?" Nastic asked, adjusting his hat.

"I don't know!" Long Winded proudly replied.

And Rarity and Twilight Sparkle walked out the door.

"Keep your head down!" Nastic whispered. "Just eat."

"Why?" Long Winded asked, almost looking at the door.

"Just eat!" Nastic said.

"Why?"

Nastic sharply gestured a hoof, slamming the table. "Just eat! I don't want ponies to think we have a friendship problem."

"Was it because we were arguing about our first Manehattan trip?"

"I just want to relax," Nastic said, "and even if Twilight Sparkle and one of her friends are here in Manehattan looking for a friendship problem, I am not letting them ruin my relaxation."

"Your relaxation?" Long Winded eyed him with a suspcious look. "I thought this was our time to relax together!"

"I brought you with me because you're my friend," Nastic said, assuring Long Winded with a firm smile.

"OK, then why—"

Nastic shushed him. He glanced at the two ponies.

Rarity and Twilight Sparkle were talking to the family of ponies at a nearby table. The younger ponies were excited, smiling as they looked at them. The stallion and the mare talked kindly with them.

Nastic looked back at Long Winded.

"Who's that?" Long Winded asked. "Are you talking about the family? They're not agents or anything. Don't be like Solver, Nastic." He smiled. "Solver's ideas are just crazy thoughts!"

"I'm not talking about Solver!" he replied gruffly. "I'm just telling you to eat and to just eat!"

"I want to know why I have to just eat," Long Winded said. He extended a hoof towards the scenery. "Am I not allowed to be in awe of what Manehattan has to offer?"

"You're allowed to look there, but not at the tables," Nastic replied. He pointed a hoof at the scenery. "Good idea, Long Winded. You look over there, be in awe of the scenery, observe what the ponies are doing, and be amazed by the wonder of Manehattan. And just eat."

"Why, is there a friend that's here already?" Long Winded said. "I have many changelings I could think of."

"No, it's a pony!" Nastic said.

"OK, I don't get what you're trying to tell me." Long Winded looked at his friend, confused. "Are you referring to one of my pony friends?"

"I don't have to tell you! Now, just eat like a normal changeling and don't mind the reason!"

Long Winded turned his head.

Nastic placed his friend's head onto the bowl of soup. The bowl spilled, bringing soup all over the fabric of the table.

A few ponies looked their way. One pony gasped.

Nastic was still holding his friend's head. He made an awkward, anxious smile. "Uh, how was the corn soup? Was it delicious? Was it great? Good thing I have a bowl of corn soup!" He looked around.

The ponies were still looking at him with uneasy faces.

Long Winded struggled to get out of his friend's grip.

Nastic glanced at the two ponies.

They were still talking gladly with the family of ponies at the nearby table.

Nastic removed his grip from his friend.

He hastily placed his bowl of soup right in front of Long Winded.

"Sorry," Nastic said, glancing again at Rarity and Twilight Sparkle, "but I don't want those ponies to be bothering our rest day. If they do get to us, they might go asking about our problems, they might bring us on a trip through Manehattan that we don't want to go through, and we might end up missing a lot of other landmarks because they're going to go look for specific places, and they might be trying to hurry."

"Who are 'those ponies,' Nastic?" Long Winded asked. "You seem very distressed over just a few ponies. Are they some of the royal guards?" He gasped. "Did you do something bad?!"

"No, I didn't commit a crime!" Nastic said. "Well, probably ruining your meal, but that's not a serious crime!"

Long Winded looked long on his now empty bowl. He held up Nastic's bowl of soup. "I have you to thank for, at least. I now have a new bowl of soup!" He hugged Nastic with one hoof while holding the bowl of soup with the other.

He eyed the bowl. "You might drop that bowl, Long Winded. It's going to fall to the sidewalk." He glanced at the two ponies. His face became uptight, troubled.

"Is that the cue for me to eat normally?" Long Winded asked, still hugging his friend.

Nastic quickly smiled and nodded rapidly. "Yes! Just don't look at any pony on this floor, eat the soup, and you'll be fine!"

"Does this mean we're in trouble?" Long Winded replied, letting go of his friend and placing the bowl of soup on the table. "I hope it's just the police. If the royal guards of the Princesses are after us, then that's clearly not good."

"Long Winded." Nastic held out a hoof. "Just trust me. We're not in that big kind of trouble. It's just, there are some ponies looking for some other ponies and if they end up asking us, we might end up being stuck on a journey that's undesirable. Am I clear?"

Long Winded nodded. Then, he ate his soup.

Nastic sighed. He looked at his food. His sandwich only had two bites. Much of it was still left intact.

"Hello!"

Long Winded looked up from his bowl of soup. He looked beside him.

There was one unicorn and one alicorn.

"Rarity and Twilight Sparkle?!" he screamed. He gasped. He looked at Nastic.

He hugged him again.

"Thank you for this surprise, Nastic!" he yelled.

Now, more ponies were looking at the two changelings, halting their eating and their bonding with each other to witness this hug.

"Uh, what surprise?" Nastic asked, worry in his voice.

"You managed to invite Rarity and Twilight Sparkle here! I didn't you know you maintained close ties with the Princess and her friends!"

"Uh, he doesn't," Rarity bluntly said. "We're just here to look for a friendship problem to solve."

"Maybe the changelings are the ones with the problem," Twilight suggested.

Rarity placed a hoof on her chin, looking towards the blue sky. Then, she smiled and opened her mouth. "That's a great idea, Twilight!" She looked at the changelings, still smiling a wide smile with her wide open eyes.

Nastic sighed. "This is what I was afraid of, Long Winded."

Long Winded became jittery, smiling, making sounds that emanated a sense of pure cheer and delight.

"I knew it!" Nastic groaned. "I knew it all along!" He stomped on the sidewalk. "All I wanted was a day, one single day, and what do I get? An interruption by none other than the Princess of Friendship herself!"

"What is he muttering about?" Rarity asked Long Winded as they walked.

Around them were skyscrapers all displaying billboards both traditional and digital. Colorful posters advertising this product and that product, promoting this brand and that brand, cluttering and beautifying the urban atmosphere of Manehattan. In front of them was a humongous intersection, a wide space of asphalt where carriages in a disorderly yet systematic fashion carried on their ways, on their routes to somewhere.

The Bridleway theater proudly showed its latest play, "The Grand Adventure." Its poster displayed a nice, greenland scenery with a few ponies looking yonder to the background.

Crowds of ponies jammed the sidewalks, sometimes pushing each other, though there was not much of a fight. Rather, there was the sense of getting to the next destination, as there were some ponies that pushed and budged others, moving their way to some place.

The individual chatters and talks of the many ponies there combined to create a cacophony of words that wasn't annoying. It only helped build the feel of being in a big city. There were also the loud stomps and hoofsteps of the running carriages and the occasional whiste of a police pony as they guided the traffic.

"He's just irritated," Long Winded said, a smile still on his face. "So, you arrived here to solve a friendship problem, right?"

"Why, yes," Twilight replied. "Wait, do you want us to solve your friendship problem?"

"Uh, if we have one, then, of course!" He nodded rapidly, still smiling.

The two ponies looked at Nastic.

He adjusted his hat and looked away from the ponies. He glanced at his friend.

"I guess we already solved the problem of actually looking for a friendship problem," Rarity said. She faced Long Winded. "Now, did you have an argument lately? Did you get into a fight? Do you have a conflict of interest?"

Long Winded looked up towards one of the skyscrapers. "Well, we went here for the first time some weeks ago. Then, Nastic had to bring me out of Manehattan for some frivolous reason."

"He was disturbing the peace!" Nastic yelled out from where he was.

Then, they stopped at the intersection.

In front of them was the vast road with streams of carriages from certain roads going past each other. The sounds of the hoofsteps of the ponies running the carriages were loud.

And Rarity beheld the many ponies there, looking at the carriages, at the action and the life that the ponies exhibited. She squealed a little.

"There she goes again," Twilight commented. She turned towards Nastic and Long Winded as they were surrounded by a sea of other ponies, chatting and talking and waiting as they stood there. "So, what exactly did you do that made Nastic have to drag you out of Manehattan?"

"He ruined some ponies' kites, that's what!" Nastic shouted.

"Nastic, if it happened weeks ago, why are you still angry about it?" Twilight asked. "I want to hear the story from his side, not just from yours. Maybe you did something that ruined the experience for both of you, souring your friendship into something terrible." She smiled. "Hopefully, we'll be able to fix it together." And, she glanced at Rarity who was still stunned by the sights and wonders of Manehattan, looking here and there, smiling. "And, by together, I mean with Rarity, too, of course."

Between several tall buildings, a building stood out with a sign that depicted a fountain and a checkered square.

The glass windows displayed a variety of fountains and a variety of board games.

The fountains were many—some were almost as tall as the room, others were miniature and were to be held on one's hoof. Some were traditional in design and in material—created and crafted in stone. Others were wackier—there were the plastic fountains, and then there were the fountains that had lots of squares in its design. Some were already active with flowing water, others were just on display. All of them had a corresponding price tag.

The board games were like the fountains—there were lots of them and there was a big variety of them. Some were simple board games like Chess or Checkers. Others were unconventional like a hexagon Chess board. There were some that boasted of great size, others were very small. Like the fountains, they had their price tags, too.

As the ponies and the changelings entered the shop, a bell rang.

Rarity looked up.

There was a bell above the door.

"Welcome!" a mare clothed in casual sweater and bunned mane greeted, walking towards the customers. Beside her was a stallion wearing a checkered suit and laidback mane. Both had no wings nor unicorn horns.

"This is the Fountain and Board Games Shop!" the stallion declared, smiling at the customers. "I'm Trick Track, and she's Decor Lavish. We're the number one place to fulfill your fountain and/or board game needs!"

"We have antique fountains, we have modern fountains," she informed, "we have classic board games, we have new board games!"

"And we're willing and happy to help you find the right fountain and the right board game!" he told.

The two ponies and the two changelings looked at each other.

"Can you tell me how this shop is going to help us?" Nastic asked, gesturing bitterly.

Long Winded smiled. "Maybe the plan is to make us bond over a board game and talk about our perspectives and then we forgive each other and then we buy a fountain!"

The four ponies looked at him. On their faces was confusion. "Oh, is this one of those friendship problems of yours?" Trick Track asked Rarity.

"I was thinking that a trip to your shop could spark some ideas," Rarity said. "And, maybe we already got one?"

Trick Track looked at the changelings. "Changeling! You, the one without the hat!"

"Me?" Long Winded asked.

"What's your idea again?"

"That we bond over a board game, talk about our perspectives, and forgive each other?"

"And buy a fountain?"

"Yes! Looks like I forgot that one."

Decor Lavish smiled. "Then, we'll be happy to help you with that!" She looked at Trick Track. "Honey, go get one of the board game tables!"

"Are you sure about this?" Twilight asked, standing beside Rarity. "We haven't even given them any of our suggestions!"

"I say that we have a hoofs-free approach for this friendship problem," Rarity said. "We usually solve these problems by involving ourselves deeply into the situation and interacting a lot with the ponies in question. Well, with this set-up, when you have a changeling effectively solving the problem on his own, then what we must do is not interfere a lot."

"OK, then why did the Cutie Map call us here at all?" Twilight gasped. There was a smile on her face. "Unless, the Cutie Map didn't want us to interfere a lot with the changelings in the first place. Maybe all they needed was a nudge in the right direction!"

Rarity smiled. "Maybe that's all they really needed!"

"Sorry, girls, but you have to stay quiet or you'll shatter the experience for them," Trick Track said.

"Oh, right." Twilight smiled awkwardly.

And she and Rarity looked at the two changelings.

They sat across the table. Between them was a board game. It was Chess. The pieces were set.

"Now, talk!" Trick Track shouted.

Twilight looked puzzled. "What? I thought we were supposed to be playing a game of Chess?"

"The point of it was to solve whatever friendship problem they were having, right?"

Twilight groaned.

Nastic looked at Long Winded. "OK, great idea. Any other great ideas you have?"

The fountain beside them was a beauitful fountain. The details were impressive, showing the skill of the ponies who made it. The water that flowed did so with elegance, grace, and style. It was a magnificent piece of decorative art.

And Long Winded leaned on the fountain while looking at Nastic.

"Your idea of reconciling with me by using a fountain," Nastic said. "I am amazed by your creativity. OK, being honest, I don't see how this is going to help our friendship." He turned towards Rarity and Twilight Sparkle who were standing there, observing them. "You're some of the Elements of Harmony, experts on friendship. Give us some advice, some way to be friends again. I've heard enough stories about this, so just do whatever you need to do and just let us go and relax already!"

And the two ponies in question looked at each other. "That was unusual," Twilight said. "So, uh, how is your generosity going to help the two?"

"Hmm." Rarity placed a hoof on her chin and looked at the changelings that were looking back at her. She smiled. "How about being generous with each other and learnign how to accept one another because of their flaws. That's what makes your friends unique, different, and fun to be with!"

"Wait, so you didn't need our help?" Trick Track asked.

"I thought we could solve this friendship problem with you!" Decor Lavish said, irritated.

"We might've solved it in a rather inefficient way," Rarity went on, "but, at least we think we have the problem solved."

Twilight walked forward to the changelings. "And, Rarity's right. None of my friends are perfect, but do their flaws make me not like them? Actually, over time, they made me like them more. So, Nastic, what makes you annoyed with Long Winded?"

"That he's too happy all the time and that he's often causing trouble," he bluntly replied.

She faced Long Winded. "And, Long Winded, what makes you annoyed with Nastic?"

"That he's still too serious about things, even though I know he's trying to be better," he cheerfully replied.

"So, Nastic—" She faced him "—that's a good effort to lighten up, but if Long Winded was just like you, wouldn't he be a duller friend? And, Long Winded—" She faced the other changeling "—please try to be more considerate of others, but, if Nastic was just like you, you would be causing more trouble and annoying even more ponies and changelings and other creatures. So, like Rarity said, what you need to do is to be generous with each other."

Long Winded hugged Nastic. Nastic recoiled a bit, looking at his friend with frustration.

"Does that mean you're best friends again?" Rarity asked, anticipating.

As the two ponies walked on the sidewalk, they looked back at the shop. There was the noise of the city—the chatter of the ponies, the hoofsteps of the carriages. There was the smell of different foods emanating from different eateries.

"With our cutie marks glowing, I think that means the friendship problem is solved and two changelings are best friends again!" Twilight said confidently. "However, I feel that we didn't really do much. Your idea about us not needing to interfere a lot is probably right."

Rarity smiled.

"I should be reminded that there are many friendship problems and that, sometimes, not all of them require us having to talk to them a lot and having to do a lot of things for them. Maybe just the right word or the right lesson is what they need to become better friends. Now, that's a lesson."

"And at least we helped a few changelings," Rarity said, "and that we learned something. However, I do feel a little sorry about bothering Trick Track and Decor Lavish. They were certainly unhappy about it."

"Isn't that why we bought some of these fountains?" Twilight replied, holding a few miniature fountains. She smiled.

The Flim Flam Brothers

In the heat of Appleloosa, ponies walked, pulled carriages, carried bags as they passed by the wooden buildings on the desert ground. There were a few cacti. Several ponies wiped the sweat off of their faces, others pulled their hats closer to their faces as they tried to block more of the heat.

At the train station, on the wooden platform, two lanky unicorns wearing quite similar clothing—a straw hat, a shirt with white and blue stripes and a black bowtie—were standing behind a stand. The two unicorns looked very similar to each other—they both had yellow coats and manes and tails with red and white stripes. One of them had a red mustache.

"So, brother," the one without the mustache said in such a confident accent, "do we have all the supplies for the con?"

The unicorn with the mustache levitated a few wooden boxes as they glowed green. "Check!"

"And, how long will it take for the next train full of unwary customers to get here?"

The unicorn with the mustache pondered as he tapped his chin with a hoof. "About a minute, brother!"

"Assortments all ready?"

He opened the wooden boxes. He peered inside. Then, he closed them and turned to face his brother. "All ready!"

"Have you memorized the lyrics for the song in case the amazing qualities of our products isn't enough to lure them in?"

"I did! How about you, Flim?"

"I practiced for it," he said as he pointed a hoof at himself and then smiled. "I heard that there are lots of changelings inside the next train. Is that why you picked this certain spot at this certain time?"

"Oh, why, yes, brother! The changelings are surely gullible for our tricks—I bet that the ponies in Ponyville, including that Applejack, haven't told them about us."

"More bits for us, then, Flam?"

"More bits for us!"

Then, a loud train whistle sounded in the distance.

The colorful train was approaching.

"Alright, brother," Flim said, pointing at the stand and the boxes there, "prepare everything now!" He held his hat as he watched the train.

Flam quickly threw the boxes on to the stand and hurriedly placed everything in its place, decorating and filling the stand with decorations and products to sell along with the price tags.

"Microphones?!" Flim yelled.

Flam levitated two microphones. He brought one to his brother.

"Alright, Flam," Flim said, facing his brother as the train neared. "Con the changelings?"

"Get their bits?"

And the two unicorns laughed and cackled.

The train stopped.

Smoke went out of the train.

The doors opened.

Many changelings exited the train, some of them walking, others buzzing as they flew. They all looked excited as they looked around, beholding the wonders of Appleloosa.

The two unicorns looked at each other and grinned.

Flim walked forward towards the changelings. "Why, changelings, Appleloosa is a great place to visit, but it's quite necessary—

"—and," Flam continued, smiling as he walked forward to be beside his brother, "let's not be contrary!—"

"—to buy some of these to truly have the authentic Appleloosan experience!"

The changelings looked at each other.

They smiled.

Flim leaned towards Flam's ear. "Let's sing now?" he whispered.

"Let's sing!"

Flim grabbed a bottle of apple cider.

Then, he sang, "Appleloosa is a town full of ponies and establishments!—"

"—but if you're not excited, you might as well be under banishment!"

"And let's be quite honest, the souvenirs in this town are quite lacking—"

"—which is why we have decided to give you our own with our backing!"

"Yes, changelings, it sounds too good to be true, but it is true!—"

"—just have a taste or a trial, and you'll never be blue!"

"We have apple cider, photos, postcards, and more!—"

"—and all you need to do is to pay a visit to our store!"

Flam was pointing a hoof at the stand as a vinyl player was active, playing the background music. The stand had bottles and barrels of apple cider, photos of Appleloosa, postcards of Appleloosa, books, medicines, bottles that boasted of various beneficial effects, and cameras, also.

A changeling raised a hoof. "Uh, are you from Appleloosa?"

Flam went to him, levitating the microphone. "That's an irrelevant question—what you need is our products!—"

"—all of these guaranteed to fill your appetites and stomachs!"

"We have apple cider ready for your refreshment!—"

"—and, if you need a snack, try our apple pies beside the beverage!"

"If you aren't looking to be filled, we still have things to show—"

"—to advertise, to let you see that it's no joke!"

"Our books about Appleloosan history will quench your thirst for knowledge!"

"And, when you're done touring, you can have some photos for your family!"

The changelings were now dancing to the catchy beat of the song. Then, they lined up, all of them eager. Some of them were already holding out their bits on their hooves.

"Ah, yes, a line of needy customers requiring something!—"

"—whatver it is they need, to them we shall fling!"

"Do you want food, do you want drinks, do you want anything else?"

"Here's a fan, here's a window frame, and, oh, here's an Appleloosan bell!"

Flam rang the bell.

"I'll take one!" a changeling shouted as he grabbed the bell and threw his bits.

Flam caught the bits with his hoof.

The two unicorns looked at each other and grinned.

Then, they faced the changelings.

"A satisfied customer, that is what we want to see!—"

"—and, if you want to be like him, just step up! There's no fee!"

"Unless, of course, you count the pice of our lovely, fine items we have here!"

"But, that's OK, because our discounts are the greatest—they are not just mere!"

"And, before we forget, let's introduce ourselves to you!"

"My name is Flim!"

"My name is Flam!"

"And we're the Flim Flam brothers!" they sang together.

And, they bowed, holding their hats.

The changelings cheered and rushed towards the stand.

"We could've done better," Flim whispered.

"I think that would be enough, anyway," Flam whispered back as they looked at the changelings all amazed by the products on sale. Several were all rotating the items around in curiosity and wonder. "The changelings have no idea what they're getting themselves into."

"Escape plan ready?"

"Escape plan ready!"

The two unicorns cackled quietly.

"There's something wrong with my Appleloosa history book!" a changeling whined as they sat on the train. The desert scenery was rolling by.

"What's that?" the changeling beside him said.

The changeling opened the book. "There's no words at all! It's just blank pages! And, so many pages!"

And, another changeling spit out something. "This apple cider doesn't taste like apple cider at all!"

"My bell's already broken!" yet another changeling yelled as he held up his broken bell.

The two unicorns were pushing their cart as they looked at the leaving train.

"Alright, where's the next town?" Flim asked.

"We could go straight to Dodge Junction!" Flam replied. "Nearest pony settlement to the Changeling Kingdom—there's bound to be lots of changelings there willing to buy our products!"

"And lots of money!"

"Plan approved, brother?"

"Plan approved, brother!"

"To Dodge Junction!" the two unicorns yelled.

A Changeling's Efforts

The busy streets were filled with ponies walking, murmuring and talking whatever topic there was to talk about, from the simple and casual ones like what they were planning for the day to the more complex ones like what was the pony's plan for next year. All of these murmurings and talkings combined to form the sound of the sidewalks, and Hexapod stood patiently behind some baskets of apples and a sign that had the words "Apples Here! One bit for one apple!" written in large, bold letters.

A couple of carriages passed by the changeling, not paying him any attention as they went by.

Hexapod gulped and glanced somewhere.

Eucalypti and Apple Cinnamon were grinning at him as they ate on some hay burgers. "You can do this!" Eucalypti shouted.

And several of the ponies passing by looked at him with strange looks.

Hexapod looked back at the ponies on the sidewalk.

The sky was blue, a bright blue. The sun shone its light down on to the town.

Hexapod kept looking at the ponies passing by him.

Then, a stallion walked towards him.

"A changeling in the business of Apples?" the stallion exclaimed. "That's unexpected!" He took out a few bits from his bag. "Here, give me three of your high-quality apples, please!"

Hexapod smiled. He took three apples and hoofed them to the stallion.

The stallion grinned. "Thank you! I wish I could stay to chat because I want to know how you were able to land a job here, but I have some business to attend!" He placed the apples inside his bag.

Hexapod waved as the stallion rushed away.

The changeling looked at his friend and at the pony beside his friend.

They were smiling at him. Eucalypti was more expressive; he was moving his front hooves around in excitement and celebration. He flew into the sky and did a few tricks, all without saying a word. He even got the attention of more than several ponies who looked at him with awe and amazement, with several ponies pointing at him.

Eucalypti's wings glittered under the sunlight.

Then, he flew back down towards Apple Cinnamon.

Hexapod placed a hoof on his chin, pondering and thinking as more ponies passed him.

"Get your apples here!" Hexapod shouted as he flew about near the baskets of apples and the sign that was there. "These are Apple family apples, so you know that these apples are guaranteed to fill your hunger! Everypony, why not at least try some of the apples here?"

A crowd gathered in front of the performing changeling.

"You, yes, you, pony!" the changeling quickly said as he pointed at a stallion. "Let's see what you want!" He stepped aside, making the baskets of apples more prominent. "This is what you have been waiting for, is it not, pony?"

"I have a name, you know," the stallion gruffly responded. "Now, ask me what my name is."

"Oh, uh, yes!" The changeling gulped. "Well, uh, what's your name?"

"I'm Firm Schedule," the stallion said. "And, can you just please hurry up? Stop all this advertising and flying and talking to me like I don't know what an apple is or the importance of the Apple family—I just want some apples and then I want you to leave me be."

"Uh, alright, then, Schedule!" the changeling said a little nervously. "Here are the apples that you will surely and certainly enjoy!"

"Didn't I tell you to stop?"

"At least let him speak and do whatever he's doing!" a mare called out from the audience. "I don't wanna buy any apples right now, but at least what the changeling is doing is interesting!"

"OK, changeling!" the stallion said, approaching Hexapod. "I need to be at my office in five minutes, so you better give me those apples or else!"

"Or else what?" Hexapod asked with that advertising voice.

"Are you trying to insult me?!"

Hexapod threw some apples at him.

Firm Schedule caught the apples with his hooves.

"Next time," the stallion said, "don't try to distract anypony, alright?!" Then, he ran off.

The noise of the crowd only grew as the changeling flew around again. "So, that's one pony who will have a better day because of these apples from the Apple family! Now, who else wants some apples?"

The sun was setting. The sky was orange. Several pegasi flew in the sky, some of them looking down on the fields of apple trees that adorned the rural lands just outside the city of Trottingham. Far away from the carriages and the hurry of the urban ponies, Apple Cinnamon and the two changelings sat on the grass near an apple tree. Apple Cinnamon collected the bits and placed them inside a bag.

"That would be more than enough to get you something very nice," the pony said. He hoofed the bag of bits to Eucalpyti.

Eucalypti passed the bag to Hexapod.

"And, you earned it," Apple Cinnamon added, smiling at the changelings with a subtle yet warm smile.

Eucalpyti hugged Hexapod. "We're moving in Equestria, Hexapod! Aren't you proud?! Maybe we can get to work in Canterlot! Maybe work for the Princesses as guards!"

"I don't think I want to be standing at one place for hours on end everyday," Hexapod said as he let go of his friend.

"Of course, you won't! You get to move around in the room!"

Apple Cinnamon sighed a happy sigh as he watched the two changelings exchange their dreams and their thoughts about their dreams. He looked at the baskets beside him. There were only a few apples left.

"Or, what about we try and work at the farm in Ponyville?" Eucalypti suggested in excitement. "We can work directly for Applejack! Who hasn't heard of Applejack, the Element of Honesty, one of the heroines of Equestria? It would be awesome if we worked for her and she would reward us with our bits and we can talk to her about anything and we could—"

"Let's not get too quick about things," Hexapod said. He looked at Apple Cinnamon. "So, do you have anything else for us to do?"

"Well, not really," the pony replied. "I'm just here to visit the apple farm here. Tomorrow, I'll be travelling to Starlight's old village and see if there are any of my family. I once heard from Applejack that there was no Apple family member in that village, so they must be visiting, too, if they're there."

"So, what can we do here?" Eucalypti asked.

"You can always try your hoof at a job somewhere else," Apple Cinnamon answered. "Ponyville is an obvious first answer, but Ponyville is not the only place in Equestria to dream about. I am sure that you know the various jobs you can have here in Equestria. Just ask anypony on the street tomorrow, if you're staying here."

"Well, we have to go back before night," Eucalypti said. He hovered over the grass.

Hexapod also hovered over the grass.

"Where are you going?" Apple Cinnamon asked.

"I don't know," Eucalypti said. "Anywhere where we can get a stable job. Get some bits. Then, we bring those bits to the Changeling Kingdom."

"We're just trying to help our fellow changelings in our ways. It's the best that we can do."

"Why not work in the Changeling Kingdom?" Apple Cinnamon asked, tilting his head and frowning a little. "What's wrong with working there?"

"There's nothing wrong with working there," Hexapod replied. "It was our decision to work out here in Equestria. We get to meet lots of nice and friendly ponies. And, I want to be honest with you, Apple Cinnamon."

Apple Cinnamon did not say anything as he looked at the changeling.

"Thank you for letting me see more of the good things that you ponies have."

The pony stayed quiet for a while. "Actually, I want to thank you for letting me see more of the good things you changelings have."

Then, the sun went down. The sky darkened. The stars appeared and the moon went up, shining its moonlight on to the fields of apple trees.

Apple Cinnamon giggled. "Looks like you're late."

"Alright, Apple Cinnamon is right!" Eucalypti said as he flew out of the field. "Come on, Hexapod! Let's go!"

Hexapod glanced at the pony. "Thanks, Apple Cinnamon!"

Then, Hexapod flew away, following Eucalypti.

Apple Cinnamon looked at the changelings as they flew.

Ocelli and his Camera

The two changelings bumped each other's hooves as they laughed outside Sugarcube Corner; they were all under the night sky, with the lights from the houses and the other buildings protruding out to provide the streets with a homely night feel. There were also laughs coming from inside—and Pinkie Pie's laugh was the most distinct, the one that stood out. A pie flew out of one of the open windows, but a pegasus managed to catch it before it crashed on to the ground.

The two changelings walked outside, walking past the brightly lit buildings and the talking ponies.

"And, that's the end of the Ponyville tour!" Tripedal said. "We can leave Pinkie to be doing what she does best."

"Making other ponies happy," Ocelli completed. "And, changelings, too." He smiled as he held his camera with a hoof. "Tonight, what are we going to be taking pictures of? Landscapes? Portraits? We can pay some ponies to be with us for a few seconds to take the picture that's perfect!"

"Would anypony meet your critera, though?" Tripedal asked.

"It all depends on what the shot calls for," Ocelli said, adopting a haughty and confident tone as he raised a hoof. "It's subjective, really, but what I want to do is the best—subjectively speaking? Is that how you use 'subjective'?"

"How can you be the best subjectively?" Tripedal asked.

"Let's ignore all that," Ocelli said as he waved a hoof. "I have more than enough to make my wallets need wallets!"

"You don't have any wallets."

"Which is why I shall buy one!"

"But, you need a wallet to buy one."

"No, you just need bits."

The double doors opened.

"Twilight," Applejack hollered beside Fluttershy as they walked towards the sitting Twilight on her crystal chair in front of the crystal table, "let me just place it in the most simple o' terms: The griffons ar' OK."

Twilight grinned and placed her front hooves on her cheeks as the unicorn levitated a few books into the air. "Really?!" Then, she let out a sigh of relief. "That's good to know!"

"And," Fluttershy continued, "they were getting better."

"What do you mean by that?" Twilight asked.

"Oh, they were improving. Slightly."

"How?"

"They were somewhat nicer than before?"

Applejack stepped slightly in front of Fluttershy. "What she's trying to say is that the griffons are OK. Ah' already said that."

"Did you write it all down?" Twilight asked, smiling.

"Ah' wish we brought a camera so we wouldn't have to do all that writin'!" She stomped a hoof on to the stony floor.

"Urk! Spike just polished that!" Then, Twilight sighed. "Well, at least the griffons are doing good, becoming better friends."

"Uh, Twilight," Fluttershy uttered, "what if the griffons—"

"Might just be faking everything?"

Twilight's face became contorted at that. "I didn't think that would be a possibility."

"Well, it is."

Twilight gulped.

"But, it's just a possibility," Fluttershy added. "There's nothing to worry about, really."

"But, if it could happen," Twilight said, her breathing becoming faster, "then it might have happened!"

"Please don't tell us you're sending us back to Griffonstone, are you?"

"I'm not going to send you back!" Twilight yelled.

Applejack and Fluttershy stepped backwards from Twilight. "Uh, Twilight? Ah' think ya' should take some good night's sleep now."

Fluttershy nodded.

Twilight's hyperventilating then disappeared as she slumped on the table. "Alright, girls. I'll try to relax and to take it easy."

Then, the two ponies walked away.

"Goodbye, Twilight!" Applejack said. "I hope ya' get better!"

"Ah' didn't know Twilight was so caught up in her Princess work!" Applejack said as the walked towards the bright houses of Ponyville. "Ah' think Ah' should've noticed the moment we arrived."

"Now, let's just let Twilight relax," Fluttershy responded. "Tomorrow morning, she's going to be a better pony."

"Define 'better' when tomorrow, she's goin' to the Crystal Empire to do some kind of Princess conference or whatever they're holdin' in that fancy place! Twilight is a good pony, but she doesn't have to do all this kind of work. Ah' know that she's a Princess, but that's gettin' to her."

"And, how she manages to smile at all the ponies and all the other creatures when she goes out," Fluttershy said. "Even when she's not really happy, like that time when she was at Griffonstone herself but she wanted to go to the Daring Do convention."

Applejack sighed. "Ah' worry 'bout that mare."

Then, two changelings arrived and one of them took a picture of the two ponies.

"Hey!"

"Don't you worry, Applejack!" Ocelli said. "I'm here to take some pictures of you and Fluttershy!"

"Now, what's the meanin' of this?!" Applejack exclaimed. "Is this some kind of magic trick ya' got?!"

Fluttershy flittered a little backwards, covering her face with her hooves.

"Changelings would love to have a picture of the Elements of Harmony," Ocelli said. "You have a great base of fans over there in the Changeling Kingdom. Starlight Glimmer, Trixie, and Discord are the more popular ones these days, but you still have lots of changelings who would fly from the kingdom to Manehattan just to see you!"

"Uh, that's very nice," Fluttershy said, still covering her face, "but I...I don't want to have too many pictures right now."

"That's alright!" Ocelli said. "Tripedal!" He looked at his friend.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for accompanying me, OK?"

Tripedal gave his friend a quick hug.

"Alright, it's just like being the pony to be featured on the cover of a Daring Do book! I know that Rainbow Dash is an avid reader of the Daring Do series." He faced Tripedal. "That's correct, right?"

Tripedal nodded.

Applejack punched Ocelli on the face.

Ocelli fell to the ground. His camera clattered to the ground, rolling on the grass before it stopped. The changeling groaned as he massaged his face with a hoof.

"Ocelli!" Tripedal screamed as he rushed to his friend.

"That is for not respectin' boundaries!" Applejack said.

Applejack felt a tap on her shoulder. She looked back.

"Uh, Applejack?" Fluttershy said, hovering over the ground. "Aren't you going to regret that?"

"After all that we've been doin' today..." Then, her confident face of anger disappeared as her eyes trembled and a frown appeared. "OK, maybe that wasn't the best thing to do."

Meanwhile, Tripedal was pulling his friend up to the ground on his four hooves.

Applejack sighed. Then, she looked at the two changelings. She looked at Fluttershy.

Fluttershy nodded.

Applejack gulped. She faced the changelings. "Ah'm sorry for hurtin' ya."

"That's OK, Applejack!" Ocelli said. "I've never had that happen in my life before—getting hit by an Element of Harmony. I wasn't exactly specific, though."

"Exactly specific?" Fluttershy said.

"Nah, I'll explain it to you when I have the time," Ocelli said as he flapped his wings and took off to the sky with his friend.

The two ponies looked at the flying changelings in the night sky. "Now, those are weird changelins'."

"They're still enthusiastic about us, I guess," Fluttershy said. "I still remember when my brother brought a changeling to Ponyville and when we were in the market when that happened."

Applejack smiled. Then, she giggled. "Yeah. Ah' remember."

Thoughts

"What about Fluttershy?" a changeling asked a pony as they sat on their respective chairs across each other.

"What about her?" the stallion said. "She's...shy. Well, not really shy, but she's still shy."

"That's good to know," the changeling said. He looked out the window and saw a few ponies playing. He turned to see the stallion in front of him. "Well, she may be shy, but is she also a good business pony?"

"Why?"

"I'm not here to make you wonder about the position of where I am," the changeling said.

"What?"

"You're not here to ask me questions like that."

The pony looked confused. He looked at Pinkie who was working behind the counter. He looked back at the asking changeling. "What are you trying to do? Are you trying to do something? Trying to make yourself look, I don't know, cool?"

"I'm just asking a simple question."

"What kind of a question are you asking?"

"Just a question."

The stallion stood up. "I don't know what you're trying to do! I don't know what's the whole plan behind what you're doing, but you're not going to make me waste my time here!"

"No, I'm not wasting your time!" the changeling said. "I'm here to make some good conversations with you."

"This is a bad conversation!"

The changeling looked around. Then, he looked at Pinkie. "Try asking her about it."

"About what?" The stallion looked at him. "I don't want to hear about it!"

Pinkie looked at the two. "So, what are you doing?"

The stallion looked at the changeling. Then, he looked at Pinkie. "I don't know what he's trying to do!"

"Of course, you do!" the changeling said, looking at the stallion. "I'm trying to talk to you and that's all! There's nothing I'm trying to hide, OK?"

Pinkie approached the two. "Well, if you're not going to stop fighting about it, what about I tell you something?"

"Tell me what?" the stallion said, looking at Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie looked at the stallion. "You just need to be friends!"

The stallion looked confused. "What? Why?"

Pinkie went to the changeling. Then, she looked at the stallion. "It's for what's good, that's what! That's what I want to tell you, and that's OK!"

"What?"

"Don't worry," Pinkie said. "You're going to comprehend it all soon."

"What?" The stallion still looked confused.

"It's going to be good for the both of you," Pinkie said, looking first at the stallion then at the changeling. She smiled. "It's going to be great! Seeing you two as friends! We'll have parties!"

"Parties?" the stallion said. "I don't want parties with this changeling!"

"Well, it's probably for the best of us that we should," the changeling said. "Otherwise, we wouldn't be having a good friendship just like Pinkie said."

Pinkie looked at the stallion and smiled. "See? The changeling is correct! You should be having a fun day together! Maybe you should go to Canterlot and see what sites are there—or, maybe you should go to the Crystal Empire and you can talk to both Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor about how life is in Ponyville and in the Changeling Kingdom and everypony is going to be amazed at your talking skills and how you're very close friends and then ponies and changelings will learn from the both of you and you'll become one of the greatest friends of all time! You must be joyful to hear that, aren't you?"

The stallion looked at the changeling. Then, he looked at Pinkie. He placed a hoof on one of his ears. "What? I didn't know you were going to do that, Pinkie! This is not cool or nice at all! This is bad!"

"What's bad about being friends with a changeling like him?" Pinkie asked. "Are you afraid? Is that what you are?"

"It's not that I'm afraid," the stallion said. "I'm just not wanting to be friends with him, that's all!"

"Don't be like that! It's not nice to be like that!"

The changeling looked at Pinkie.

Pinkie looked at the changeling. Then, Pinkie looked at the stallion. "What about you at least be with him for a few hours? Maybe you'll change your opinion."

The stallion looked at the changeling. Then, the stallion looked at Pinkie. The stallion looked at the door. Then, he walked towards the door.

Pinkie looked sad. She turned to face the changeling. "Don't worry about ponies like him. They're probably going to change their attitude soon."

"I don't worry," the changeling said. "I've seen ponies like that."

"Are you OK?" Pinkie asked. "Do you need something like a pie?"

"It's OK," the changeling said.

"I just don't want to see you sad, that's all," Pinkie said.

"I'm not sad," the changeling said. "I just wanted to have a friend."

"Don't you have any changeling friends?"

"I have. But, I wanted a pony friend, also."

"Well, at least you're in Ponyville," Pinkie said. "There's lots of friendly ponies who live here! There's Lyra, there's Davenport, there's other ponies!"

The changeling looked at the door. Then, he looked at Pinkie. "I'll be OK, Pinkie."

"Do you want me to see you later?" Pinkie asked. "Because, I think I will if you're going to the castle."

The changeling flew away.

Pinkie sighed.

The changeling hovered. He passed by a few buildings and several ponies. They had smiles and were talking to each other. The changeling looked sad. He flew over to the boutique. Then, he went to the door.

He looked around. There were a few ponies nearby.

Then, he flew away from the boutique. He looked around.

He stopped in front of one of the buildings there. There were sounds of talking. He approached one of the windows. Then, he went away from the window. He flew.

The changeling placed a hoof on his chin. He looked at one of the buildings. Then, he stopped. He went back to the bakery.

He went inside.

There were sounds of eating and of talking. Pinkie was behind the counter, bringing more and more desserts on to the counter. She looked happy.

He looked at the customers who were there. They were happy.

The changeling looked at Pinkie.

Then, Pinkie looked at him. "Oh! You! It's nice to see you!"

"Yeah, it is," the changeling said, slowly walking to the counter. He looked at the customers.

Pinkie went to one of the customers.

The changeling looked at her.

She went back to the counter.

He looked at the customer.

Pinkie went back to the customer.

The changeling looked at another customer.

Then, Pinkie went back to the counter.

The changeling looked at Pinkie.

Pinkie looked at the customer.

The changeling looked at the customer.

Pinkie went back to the customer.

The changeling looked at Pinkie.

Pinkie looked at the changeling.

The changeling looked away. He walked to one of the customers.

The customer looked at him.

Then, the changeling walked back to the counter.

Pinkie looked at the changeling.

The changeling looked at Pinkie.

The changeling looked away. Then, he looked back at Pinkie. "I don't want to be lonely, Pinkie."

"Of course, you shouldn't want to be lonely!" Pinkie said. "Do you want to go to the boutique later? Rarity is there! Maybe she has a few customers there, though. That would be a problem. That would be bad if we just went there."

"What about I invite some of my friends?" the changeling asked.

"You should!" Pinkie said. "The more the better! We would have a good time!"

"What about not at the boutique?" the changeling asked. "I want another place. Some other place like the castle. Is that allowed?"

"Is Twilight busy?" Pinkie asked. "I don't know if Twilight is busy, but if she is busy, then I don't think we can go there. Or, maybe we can but we'll have to go to another place."

The changeling looked around. "But, what if I want to go the castle?"

"The castle is a good place," Pinkie said. "But, Twilight also has work there. Royal duties. Princess duties. She is the Princess of Friendship. Maybe you want to meet her!"

"That would be nice," the changeling said. "But, if she's busy, then I won't get to meet her."

"Maybe not today," Pinkie said. "But, tomorrow is a good time to meet her! She's free and she's planning to go to a place with all of us!"

"What's the place?"

"I don't know!"

"Maybe you should know!"

"Well, I don't know!"

The changeling looked around. Then, he looked at Pinkie. "How do you like this town? This place? Ponyville, I mean."

"I've been here for years!" Pinkie said. "The ponies here are always happy to see me! I even met my best friends here!"

"You must be happy to be here," the changeling said.

"Of course, I'm happy!" Pinkie said. "There are lots of ponies here who are happy, and I'm here to make sure everypony is happy!"

The changeling looked around again. Then, he looked at one of the customers. Then, he looked at Pinkie. "Do you want to go out with your friends?"

"Of course, I do!"

"What about going out with more friends?"

"That would be even better!"

"If I brought my friends along with yours, how would you feel?"

Pinkie smiled. "That would be one of the best ideas ever!"

The changeling looked at one of the customers. Then, he looked at Pinkie. "Do you want to go now? Or, do I have to wait?"

"Wait until tomorrow? You still have to wait. Twilight is busy today. She cannot go with us now. Tomorrow, she's free."

"That's not bad."

Pinkie looked at one of the customers. Then, Pinkie looked back at the changeling. "Do you have any plans?"

"What?"

"Plans for tomorrow. You're going to be with us, and you're going to go with us and you'll be having fun there. You must have it all planned. There's going to be lots of things to do there."

"I don't know," the changeling said. "I haven't planned for it."

"You should!" Pinkie said. She looked at one of the customers. Then, she looked at the changeling.

The changeling smiled. "OK, Pinkie!"

Changeling Day

The changeling ran. Then, he stopped.

He looked around him and saw the green grass that was around him. The trees were there along with the sky that was blue and nice. There were a few pegasi that flew in the sky. They were moving some clouds.

He saw the buildings of Ponyville and heard the noise of the ponies that were there—talking, laughing. There were shouts and yells of a happy nature.

The changeling smiled as he looked and heard all of that he saw and heard. A few ponies were running around, chasing each other and trying to get away.

Then, the changeling turned around. He saw the castle.

Then, the changeling looked at the other buildings of Ponyville.

He flew towards those buildings.

He passed by a few ponies who were smiling. He smiled at them. Then, he passed by more ponies and more buildings.

Then, he landed on the ground.

He looked around.

He sighed as he looked around. There were stallions and mares; there were ponies all around, all who were doing what they were doing and talking what they were talking.

He looked at the pony beside him. "It's my first time to be here," he said. "I just like being here, being in this place. You ponies are indeed full of friendship and kindness. My friends told me a lot about this place and they weren't lying when they said that it was an amazing place to go to. How does it feel like to be here, to live here?"

"It's OK," the pony said. "It's not like that I'm in Canterlot. It's just a normal thing. It's just me living with my friends and I'm happy and I'm glad with it. Do I want some other things? Yeah. But, it's not too much to move to another town or another city like Manehattan or Cloudsdale. I just want to stay here because it's OK to live here."

"What about the ponies who live here?"

"My friends. They're OK. We've had many good times together, and I think that we'll have many more good times together in the coming days and the coming weeks. Parties with Pinkie Pie are great, especially when I bring along my friends." He smiled. "But, what's there other than what you see here in Ponyville? There's not much to it. There's nothing grand about it. I like Ponyville."

"That's nice," the changeling said.

"It's nice," the pony said. "It's not that exciting, but I'm OK with it. Maybe I could go to Manehattan or some other nicer place—I don't want to move there. I just want to have a little change once in a while, not having to do the same thing everyday. It's a simple thing."

"I understand," the changeling said. He looked around him then looked back at the pony.

The pony looked around. "I'm gonna go, now."

"OK."

Then, the pony trotted away.

The changeling looked at him as he trotted.

The chagngeling sighed.

Then, he flew again.

He passed by more and more ponies, some who smiled at him. He smiled. Then, he passed by even more ponies. He looked at them and observed them—some were reading books, others were just relaxing, still others were talking to each other. There was not much noise.

The changeling looked around. There was the boutique. Then, he looked around. There were more ponies nearby.

He walked towards the boutique and went to the door. He placed a hoof in front of the door. He moved a little to the left. He inspected the door. He placed both front hooves on the door. Then, he went back to standing on his four hooves. There was a little sound coming from inside the boutique.

He walked towards one of the windows.

There was Rarity, busy at her clothes work. She was focused, even wearing her glasses. She looked here and there then went back to her work. The unicorn was busy.

The changeling watched the pony while she did her clothes work.

Then, the changeling flew away from the boutique. He looked at the ponies nearby. They were still doing what they were doing, still talking what they were talking.

The changeling went to the train station. The train was not there. There were a few ponies waiting.

He looked at the ponies. One had a few bags with him, looking nervous. Another pony had a few bags and looked calm. There was another pony who had no bags at all. And, there was another pony who had a few bags.

The ponies did not notice or look at the changeling. They just looked at each other. Then, one walked towards him. "How are you?" the pony said.

"I'm OK," the changeling said. "Where are you going?"

"I'm gonna go to Manehattan," the pony said. "I have some bags for the trip. I'm gonna meet a few friends there and then we'll go around the city, see all that we have to see in Manehattan, and do whatever's there to do. The big place, isn't it?"

"It is," the changeling said. "Don't you think it's quite busy there? That it's very fast?"

"I don't mind," the pony said. "I want a change of pace from time to time. What is it that I find there? Everything famous is there, I think. Don't let that bother you, changeling. Have you been there?"

"I think," the changeling said.

"You don't remember whether you've been there or not? That's not possible, changeling! Manehattan is one of the biggest cities in all of Equestria and you don't remember your time there clearly?"

"I remember," the changeling said. "Just not that much, that's all."

"Why? Isn't it a wonderful place to visit and to be in?"

"It is," the changeling said. "I just don't mind everything inside the city that much. Too fast for me. The ponies there don't walk. They brisk walk. The carriages move fast. The business and the events feel fast. There's so much to think about that I end up just walking around, trying to calm down. That's what I did in Manehattan—just walk around and admire the city for what it is. I don't want to participate in the fast life."

"I don't want to participate in the fast life," the pony said, "but I don't mind it for a while. My friends there are used to it already and I don't think they're bad ponies. They're better ponies, I think. They can handle a lot for the day and then when the time for sleeping arrives, they're OK. They're not tired at all, at least that's from what I hear from them whenever I visit."

"How many friends do you have in Manehattan?"

"A few," the pony said. "But, even just a few friends is good enough because they can show you around the city. They know everything about the city. Makes me like a pony who's just like a pony who has lived there."

"That's nice," the changeling said. "Anything else about Manehattan and your friends there?"

"One of my friends has a very nice job," the pony said. "Other than that, I don't know what else to say. You just have to go to Manehattan with me because the city is a good place to be in."

"But, what if I don't want to go?"

"That's OK," the pony said. "It's not like I have to bring you with me. Besides, I wasn't planning on bringing anypony with me to the city. Just me visiting my friends and having a fun time with them in the city. You should do that some time."

"Go to the city with my friends and have a good and fun time there?"

"Yeah," the pony said. "Nothing wrong with just enjoying the day inside Manehattan. You can meet a lot of different ponies there and you can do a lot of things there. You can go here and there and you'll never get tired of it all. It's a very good place, a very good city, changeling. You have to go there again."

The changeling looked around. Then, he looked at the pony. "OK. I'll try to go to Manehattan. I hope I won't get tired of the fast life there."

The pony looked around. Then, he looked at the changeling.

The changeling looked at one of the ponies there. Then, he looked at the pony.

The pony looked at one of the ponies there. Then, he looked at the changeling.

"Manehattan is a busy city," the changeling said. "How can you be there for a long time?"

"I just have to keep a calm mind. Keep it cool. That's what I do. Don't get nervous at all—that's bad in Manehattan. You have to keep it cool, and you have to stay with your friends at all times. That's the best thing to do in Manehattan. Staying and sticking with your friends at all times. Isn't that a nice thing to say? Maybe some other ponies might think it's a cool thing to say. Isn't it good?"

"That's nice," the changeling said. "But, I still don't know if I could handle what a pony would do in Manehattan. What does he have? Does he have a lot of money? Does he have a lot of places to go? Where does he go? That's a lot of questions to ask, but I'm not sure if you want to answer them."

The pony looked around. Then, he looked at the changeling.

The changeling looked around. Then, he looked at the pony.

"Manehattan is busy. The ponies there move fast and the carriages also move fast. It's bad to slow down. The ponies there keep moving fast and moving fast. They're always going somewhere. That's how it is in Manehattan. If you slow down, you're bad. Nopony there wants slow. Everypony there is always moving fast. Do I want to move fast all the time? My friends do and they're not getting tired at all. It's not that bad, if you think it's bad. I think it's OK, quite OK for the ponies who live there in Manehattan. It's not bad. It's what they do."

"OK," the changeling said. "That's nice."

About the Friendship Journal

"What is it?" Crusoe asked, scratching his blonde or yellow mane as he faced the changeling. "I know that I've been paranoid about things before, but it's going to take time for me to change—for me to stop getting scared every time I see a changeling who isn't smiling all the time."

"I'm not forcing you to do anything," the changeling said. "I'm not going to coerce you to do anything bad. I'm a good, kind changeling, Crusoe. I'm just asking you to be a bit more considerate and a bit more...friendly."

"Well, why like this?" he asked.

They were sitting under the shade of a large tree. Its leaves were wide and big, giving much shade. The air was cool around them—it was past sunset and now it was night; the stars were up in the sky along with the moon that was shining. A few ponies looked up towards the moon. A pony that was passing by even said, "I wonder if Princess Luna is going to pay us a visit? Not in the dream realm but here. Wouldn't it be fun? It would be a royal day for us."

"Yeah, it would," the stallion beside the mare that was passing by stated. "It would. But, I guess she has a lot of ponies to attend to even in the dream realm. Imagine all of us, dreaming dreams, experiencing things that aren't real. Yet, when we wake up, there we are, in our beds. When we do see her, it's just in the dream."

"But, I've only met her a couple of times in my life." The mare stopped her walking.

"That's more than enough for some ponies or some creatures," the stallion said. He took his hat off and held it near his face. "There are ponies out there who haven't met her in a dream at all. Most of them are young foals, but some of them are older ones—the older ponies among us. I've seen her once—there I was, looking out the window and seeing the clouds of the beautiful, sunny sky when my friends were with me. There we were, just running down the grassy hills and climbing this and that; we were just enjoying the day. Then, I heard a voice. It was a royal voice, a calm and soothing one. I looked behind me and saw the Princess herself. I gasped at the sight of her. But, she just smiled. 'Just checking on you,' she said. She said those words to me. She said those words to me!"

"Was it your first time?" the mare asked.

"I guess so," the stallion said.

Crusoe and the changeling looked back at each other. "Have you had a dream?" Crusoe asked. "I'm honestly curious about this. I don't know if changelings do dream at all—I hope they're not nightmares. Just OK dreams—dreams where you just...I don't know, dream."

"I can tell you the first time I've had a dream," the changeling said.

Crusoe straightned his pose up, leaning towards the changeling. "I'm ready to listen."

"You don't have to do that," the changeling responded. "I'm not going to give you a full-fledged story filled with so many details. It was a short dream."

"A dream's a dream." Crusoe smiled. "Any dream is good enough for me as long as it's not a nightmare."

"OK, then." The changeling took in a large breath of air. "So, I was inside a house. There were ponies and changelings there. They were talking about random things like what stairs were or what their favorite color was. It was strange to just keep walking past them and hearing those random conversations coming from those ponies and changelings. They were asking what kind of food they were eating when it was dinner—it wasn't weird, but it was specific. Very specific. I don't know what it was all about—does Princess Luna know about it?"

"She probably was at least aware that you were dreaming that kind of dream," Crusoe said. "Nothing too bad. Just a weird dream."

The changeling sighed.

"What's wrong?" Crusoe asked. "Is there something wrong?"

"Not really," the changeling answered. "Just wondering and thinking and imagining—maybe even conceptualizing, although I'm not sure if the word 'conceptualizing' fits my situation. It's an odd word, isn't it?"

"No, it isn't," Crusoe said. "It's a word that's supposed to be used professionally. It's a fancy, formal kind of word. It's the word you'd see in fancy old books. It's the word you'd hear when the ponies in Canterlot talk about their complicated subject matters. It's the word you might hear Twilight use. Yeah, I would expect to hear that word from Twilight."

The changeling giggled.

Crusoe just smiled. "At least you got a laugh."

"But, it just fits Twilight Sparkle's personality so well!" the changeling stated. "Or, maybe it's just what I've heard from my friends. Anyway, I did meet her and it was a fun experience, although I didn't get to be with her for a long time to be able to see that side of her."

"We Ponyville residents have known her for a long time," Crusoe said. "Not as long as her friends in Canterlot like Minuette and Lemon Hearts and Moon Dancer and Twinkleshine, but long enough to know that she is...weird. Obsessed with this and that kind of book. Actually, she's obsessed with all books, likes making lists, and is very interested in the formal, complex topics that most of us ponies wouldn't mind or care about at all. Then again, it's better now because she's a Princess—she's probably supposed to know what she knows. But...it's still there."

The changeling scratched his head, looking here and there. There were ponies passing by on the street. There was a burly stallion pulling a wagon filled with apples. He looked back at Crusoe. "Have you met them many times?"

"Many times," Crusoe answered. "By them, I guess you mean Twilight and her friends. They're not always out on adventures like what some changelings might tell you. Or what some of us ponies might tell you. I don't know. Anyway, they're normal ponies. Yes, we respect them because they're the Elements of Harmony and they've saved Equestria numerous times—but, they're normal ponies. It might be strange to see a heroine of Equestria just walking around buying a few gifts for her friends, not demanding any additional thing to be done about it. She just asks for things and buys things and lives her life just like one of us would."

"I guess you're right," the changeling said. "I like your perspective on this."

"It's not just a perspective," Cruose said. "I'm telling you what it is. It's also for your own good—a month or two ago, there were a few crazy changelings going about in Ponyville all super-excited over the Elements of Harmony. Twilight Sparkle had to make them do some work in Ponyville—not that they didn't like working for the Princess herself, but still. It was fun seeing what happened at the time—the changelings were shouting their names, asking for autographs. I know that not all of you are like that, but it just made the changelings look so poorly-mannered."

The changeling sighed. "Yeah, I remember that. Made some ponies angry at us. It wasn't a great event for us. Then again, what about you guys? Just recently, I heard that there was a big problem about the ponies and the Friendship Journal Princess Twilight Sparkle published. What was going on? I've heard the news and I've seen the newspapers, but I haven't really heard about it from a pony like you."

Crusoe made an awkward smile. He laughed nervously. "Uh, well, I guess it's best that we shouldn't mention that at all." He made an awkward grin. "There's not much I can tell you other than that...well...I was involved in that whole problem. I...was..."

"Was what?" the changeling asked. Then, he smiled. "I guess you were one of the fans, huh?"

"Yeah," Crusoe said. "Fan of Pinkie Pie. She even wrote her autograph on my copy of the Friendship Journal. Then, I ended up complaining to everypony that she was the best out of the Elements of Harmony. I've always liked a good laugh, so I naturally liked Pinkie more than the others. But, why would you go and stop my enthusiasm for her and her laughter? I debated and even fought with the ponies who thought that some other pony was better than Pinkie—there were the Fluttershy fans, the Rarity fans, the Rainbow Dash fans, the Applejack fans, and a few Twilight Sparkle fans. We were all competing—or, was it competing to begin with? It was just pure chaos—and, even though Pinkie and her friends sang that song about them not being perfect, we still argued over who was the best out of the ponies there. I could tell you for certain that Pinkie Pie is the best."

"I don't know if that means you've learned your lesson," the changeling said. "It doesn't sound like you did."

"That's why I said 'could,'" Crusoe said. He sighed and looked forlorn. "After that, it got better, but Twilight Sparkle wasn't happy with us—being very unfriendly over the ponies who wrote the Friendship Journal. That wasn't good, was it? She was frustrated with us—she smiled less often the days immediately after she sang that song. I understand why she was mad at us—she was the Princess of Friendship, after all. To see your neighbors go on bickering at each other would make her feel angry."

"I would see why," the changeling said. He looked around. There were more ponies passing by on the street. "What about the ponies themselves? The Elements of Harmony, I mean."

"They've gotten better, too," Crusoe answered. "All this time, they just recovered from what happened. Now, it's all back to normal. But, I am still sad about what happened. We could've been better ponies."

"Well, at least you're the ones who are spreading friendship around," the changeling said. "Because of you and your friendship, we wouldn't have realized how great friendship is."

"Well, there's that," Crusoe said.

The changeling smiled.

Crusoe smiled. "I have to go," he said. He stood up.

The changeling stood as well. "It was nice talking to you, Crusoe."

"You, too, changeling," Crusoe said.

They shook hooves.

Then, Crusoe walked away.

The changeling looked at the buildings with their bright lights. There were more ponies on the street under the night. The changeling walked.

Trixie in the Changeling Hive

Thorax walked past a group of changelings working on something—glue and tape, pieces of wood, paint cans and paint brushes laying about. The changelings there were in the procress of creating art in its various stages of completion: the mentally chaotic yet physically quiet first step of actually knowing what to make, the social second step of talking with others about how to go about making that thing and sparking in others an inspiring thought—or, rather an inspiring modification to improve upon their work though, of course, they would give their thanks and their credit beforehoof—and, finally, the long and most active third step which involved the actual doing of artistic and creative work.

Nevertheless, their eyes glistened with glimmer and joy as they marvelled at the result of their own imaginative undertaking. There was nigh a frown or a similar expression among them and even when there was, it was only on the changelings who focused almost purely on the job at hoof.

Thorax walked to them who were all huddled together at an open, spacious place in the hive, moss and vines and other plants decorating the room with natural beauty.

"Hi, King Thorax!"

"Hey, Thorax!"

"Thorax!"

"Do you need something, Thorax?"

"Uh, it's alright, I don't need anything," Thorax replied, waving it away with a hoof. Then, he sat down among a group of changelings sitting on the floor, engaged in their art. He looked at the changeling beside him. "So, what are you making now?"

"We're making popsicle stick trees!" he answered by shouting, bringing his unfinished product right in front of Thorax's eyes.

The trunk and half of the leaves and branches were done.

"That's great!" Thorax answered, grinning. Then, he gave the changeling an asking look.

Without saying a word, the changeling nodded.

Thorax slowly took it out of the owner's hoof and examined it, turning and rotating it around with eyes wide open. "I can't wait to see it when it's done." He hoofed it back.

The changeling smiled at that.

"May I join?" Thorax's grin grew even wider.

"Why not?!" the changeling yelled in reply, throwing both of his forehooves in the air (while not throwing the art he had away). Then, he stood up and placed a hoof around his mouth. "Guys, Thorax is going to make a popsickle stick tree!"

And loud, roaring cheers and shouts and even screams came out of the area.

Thorax shyed a little, backing away and displaying a now timid grin, his eyes a little bit angled now.

"Hooray for craft time!" the changeling shouted.

"Hooray for craft time!" everyone else shouted in reply.

Except Thorax.

He was shivering, but he then raised a hoof in the air and shouted, too, "Hooray for craft time!"

"Hooray for craft time!" everyone else again shouted in reply.

A few changelings went out to Thorax and brought him the materials: glue, tape, pieces of wood, paint cans and paint brushes.

"We can go with the standard design," the changeling who had given him his half-finished popsicle stick tree said, "because that's what we're going for. Hearth's Warming Eve is getting closer by the minute. Nearing the end of spring, that's it!"

Thorax smiled at him. "Tell me more, Antenna."

Then, he relaxed, gathered the materials in front of him, and immediately held a popsicle stick.

He joined in the happy discussion that ensued from there, not only talking about what to do and admiring others' work but also drifting to how the day was going, what their plan was for the day and for the week, and what they wanted to make the next arts and crafts time.

Thorax walked on in the hive, passing by more of his cheery subjects who were either walking or flying. Several gave him a waving greeting, and Thorax waved back. Others gave a simple verbal "Hello!" or "Hi!" or "Good morning!" Thorax replied by nodding or saying "How are you doing?" In response to the latter, the changelings quipped a short answer: One said, "Just fine!"—another said, "Going out to see some of my pony friends in Dodge Junction!"—yet another said "I was about to finish up reading a book!"

Combined with the plants that livened up the hive and the bright blue sky with its shining sun, it was indeed a lovely place.

Then, creaks of a cart.

His ears perked up as he turned around at the sounds' source.

That wooden cart or, rather, wagon, pulled by Trixie herself who was clothed in her robe and her hat.

"Trixie!"

"Thorax!"

Thorax flew to her and landed in front of the wagon. "Another magic show for us?"

"Well, you changelings have always been a good audience to the magic of the Great and Powerful Trixie." Trixie then adjusted her hat which was about to fall from her head.

"But, you've been here several times already," Thorax said, his tone cooling down to an anxious one. "Are you sure about this?"

"They have always been dazzled by the fireworks. The Great and Powerful Trixie is more than certain that this day's magic show will be more astounding than the last one! Besides—" She turned her head up, half-closing her eyes "—I have brought my magic up to a caliber that only the Great and Powerful Trixie can handle."

"Just you?" Thorax asked, leaning his head to the side. "You're forgetting to tell me about how Starlight helped you get there in the first place."

"Why should I forget?" Trixie said, putting on a surprised face. "I was about to mention her before you decided to ask!"

"Yeah." Thorax then gave her a smug look.

"I was serious, Thorax."

He gave a sigh. "Well, if that's the case—what are you planning for this one?"

"Why should the Great and Powerful Trixie reveal the secrets to her tricks?"

Thorax sighed, but still smiling. "Alright, then."

Then, they both walked on, Trixie pulling the wagon.

Thorax looked at her. "Uh, do you need help with that?"

"I am used to it by now," Trixie replied. "I have travelled far greater distances than the one from Dodge Junction to here with my wagon." A slight look away.

Thorax's ears perked up again. "Are you sure you're OK, Trixie?"

"I am about to perform in front of a pleasing crowd," Trixie answered. "What makes you think that the Great and Powerful Trixie is not OK if she is about to do what she is talented at and loves?"

"Well, I noticed that you weren't so, uh, cheerful just a few seconds ago."

"What? My face does that from time to time, and probably everypony else's! Facial expressions are not always a sure way of indicating somepony's feelings!"

"They are indicating your feelings now," Thorax replied.

"Now, you're sounding a lot like Twilight."

"I was just repeating what you said."

"Not exactly, Thorax!"

"Woah!" Thorax finally let out, holding his front hooves in the air. "Are you really sure you're OK?"

Trixie became silent and still, looking at Thorax with neither a smile nor a frown.

"Come on, Trixie. We're friends!"

He walked up to her, and patted her on her torso.

"If you want to tell me something, then go! There's no need to be afraid.

A few seconds of silence, Thorax patiently waiting for a response.

Then, Trixie sighed and opened her mouth. "I was just remembering the long days and nights I've had when I had nopony to stick with me, before you guys: Starlight, Discord, Thorax. I have other friends, of course, but you're the ones who I can trust to be with me. But, when I look back to those days on the open path with no one to talk to—and, even if there was, it's just some fan, not really a true friend."

Trixie then sighed, adjusting her hat.

A few more seconds of silence, a while of it.

A steady, gentle hoof on her shoulder.

A head faced upward.

A smile.

"That's all in the past now—in the old days, right, Trixie?"

Looking at each other, intentful faces.

"Like I said, I was just remembering." Her voice was a little choked. "It's not like I don't believe in the f-friends I have today."

"Then, why are you so sad about it?" Thorax asked. "Today, you have a bunch of best friends who won't leave your side and will come to your call whenever you need us! So, what's wrong?"

A wider smile. "Nothing."

"Why the sadness?"

More silent seconds, the wind coming by to grace the two with its loud gust.

The two paid no attention to it. They kept on looking at each other.

"It's because—" A glance away—a glance back "—because, w-when I remember those lonely days when I was alone with just me and my wagon and my load of tricks, I also remember that I now have someone to talk to—more than just a someone, I have several someones!"

She raised her forehooves in the air, a desperate smile clinging on to her.

Landing back on her four hooves.

"And, when I remember that, I also remember that these days are just...better. There's no need to do it all alone when you have...such f-friends."

Watery eyes. No tears.

Thorax smiled.

A firmer grip on her shoulder.

A walk closer.

A hug.

It was quiet.

"I knew that you were more than just a showpony," Thorax said, still embracing her, "but I haven't heard you open up like that so emotionally."

Trixie stepped away from the hug, her calm smile turning into a full-blown grin—complete with arched eyebrows and an adjustment of her hat. "Well, Thorax, that was...good."

Then, a laugh.

"Thanks for telling me that, Thorax. And, for just being there. But, now, the Great and Powerful Trixie has a craving crowd to entertain—no, not to just entertain but to bring your changelings under the awe for the magical feats of the Great and Powerful Trixie shall shock them into pure amazement at the sheer display of ability!"

Thorax giggled. Then, walking away with a beckoning hoof, he said, "Well, follow me, Trixie!" Then, he eyed the wagon. "And, I almost forgot one more thing!"

"What would that be?" Trixie asked, sounding curious.

Eyeing the changeling king, she saw him hover over to the back of the wagon.

"Now, get in!" Thorax said. "I'll push this for you!"

"Aww, you don't have to, Thorax," Trixie said. Then, laughing with glee, she hurried inside her cart and closed the door.

Thorax smiled as he pushed the heavy wagon, its wheels creaking more loudly than before.

"A mini circus," Monoclad muttered as he sat down in front of a large wooden stage. "This is going to be interesting."

The stage was abuzz with rumbling activity as changelings assisted Trixie—who was merely standing on the stage itself—by delivering requested items and by fixing all the stage equipment there which included lights despite the bright sky as of current. However, Trixie also delved into the good that could be done by, sometimes, going out of her famous and outstanding place and helping the changelings herself, adjusting this and tweaking that and bringing this and rotating that with her unicorn magic.

"It's always interesting to you," Nastic replied, sitting beside him and holding a bucket of popcorn while Long Winded grabbed greedily from the pile and stuffing his mouth with the buttered food and making a rude and unmannerly noise about it as he did so. "No matter my opinion on this whole matter, I can enjoy some fun." He then took out a modest portion of popcorn and simply ate it, still facing Monoclad.

As the minutes went, the small audience gradually grew as more and more changelings either walked or flew to sit down on the floor, watch the preparations advance, and talk with each other in light-hearted, casual fashion. Among those that arrived later on was that group of four changelings: Blue Alarm, Red Noise, Humerus, and Neon Guard. They sat in front of Monoclad, Nastic, and Long Winded.

The two groups looked at each other.

"Another one, huh?" Neon Guard said first, bringing out a hoof as Nastic and then Long Winded shook his hoof. "That Trixie sure is creative—she never runs out of ideas, or else we'll be getting bored of her very quickly."

"I think we're not supposed to," Nastic responded. "She's a Changeling Hive hero. Who knows the consequences?"

"She's not that mean!" Humerus spoke up, still seated. "Trixie—actually, the Great and Powerful Trixie—"

"Do you have to say that every time you mention her name?" Red Noise interrupted, shooting a glance at his enthusiastic friend. "You're wasting precious time! What if you're in an emergency and you couldn't get help in time because you had to spell out her name plus the title she gives to herself?"

"Oh, but that's what makes Trixie...uh, Trixie!"

"I bet even she doesn't call herself 'the Great and Powerful Trixie' all the time," Red Noise answered, folding his arms and resuming his mean glance at Humerus.

"I agree," Long Winded said, raising his hoof in the air and causing a few pieces of popcorn to drop.

"Hmph!" Red Noise unfolded his arms. "At least someone agrees with me. Now, what do you have to say about that, Humerus?"

"Actually," Long Winded said, "I think that Trixie calls herself 'the Great and Powerful Trixie' most of the time."

Red Noise groaned.

Blue Alarm looked at Monoclad. "So, what's going on with your new job?"

Monoclad's ears perked up as he faced the blue changeling. "It's doing well."

Blue Alarm nodded. "How well, exactly?"

"Better than I expected," Monoclad answered, then, scratching his head, he went on. "Although, it didn't have the greatest of starts. Yes, I was able to make Rarity give some bits to me for my Big McIntosh impression—guess I shouldn't be calling that an impression, then."

"They're clearly not," Blue Alarm commented. "They're much more than that."

"Yeah, but, moving on—" Monoclad moved his hoof around, rotating it "—it was good that Rarity was one of my first customers, but she's the Element of Generosity. I bet that if I did a good enough job, she would've given me those bits anyway."

Blue Alarm looked on, leaning closer with his ear toward him.

"I know that it doesn't excuse me being lazy and only doing my best when certain ponies are looking at me. But, Rarity was there.

"So, I moved on to the next set, the next group of customers. Spike was there but so was this other pony named Derpy."

"You mean one of the mailponies of Ponyville?" Blue Alarm asked.

Monoclad nodded. "Yeah, her. Pegasus. I thought that Spike and Derpy, together, weren't viable options for me as a changeling in this field. But, I slipped somewhere and Derpy caught me trying to go away. That caught the attention of Spike and then I ended up having to do a number of requests. Shining Armor, Trenderhoof, Hoity-Toity, Zephyr Breeze, Thunderlane, Cherry Fizzy, Tall Order, Cranky Doodle Donkey—and that's one long list of names."

"And, they were happy with what you did?"

"Happy? I was surprised when they kept telling me to disguise myself as this and that pony after ten minutes of constantly telling me the same thing!" He placed his front hooves on his head, looking confused. "It's certainly weird now—ponies now love it when we shape-shift for some cash, saying that it's good for them since it can bring in some good laughs here and then. I thought that's what Pinkie Pie was for."

"She cannot perfectly impersonate other ponies, that's what I know," Blue Alarm said. "If you manage to impress her, tell me about it. I would like to know."

Monoclad let out a hearty laugh that lasted a while with Blue Alarm watching it all along with those around him before he finally calmed down. Looking at Blue Alarm, he said, "I'm going to do just that tomorrow? About that, huh?!"

"Wait, you're going to be shape-shifting in front of Pinkie Pie?!"

"Yes." Monoclad gave Humerus a dashing smile. "And, that's how I want it to be. Give her a laugh of my own. Just look at me! I liked doing work to get an honest salary, but this doesn't feel like work at all!"

"Good to hear that my advice has gotten you a steady life," Nastic said, smiling at him though not so obviously. "If we're good at shape-shifting and acting, why not go after those as jobs? I've already said it before and I'll say it again just so you'll remember it all—" He eyed the rest of the changelings there who replied with mixed looks "—that ponies will be intrigued to see how a good changeling makes money out of the former and ponies already have the latter as a big thing especially in places like Bridleway. Would I love to go to Bridleway and see a changeling act there—not to be left as just changelings you bring in because some of the ponies were sick." He gave a mean, low scoff at that and regained his smile.

The others looked at him with silence and neutral expresions.

"Hey, Monoclad was following what I just said and he's making money, so isn't that good? I'm just stating the obvious, the logical conclusion to the facts that we have here." Then, he took another hoofful of popcorn and just held it there as he looked at the stage.

The rest turned their gazes toward the stage as well.

More minutes went, the crowd continuing to grow in number, the chatter among them rising in volume. Trixie and Thorax helping along with the materials, the tools, the equipment—everything that was supposed to bring the magic show from its start and all the way through to its end. Several laughs, several questions, and the lights turned on, brightening the already lit up open space area in the hive.

With that, Trixie rushed her way to the back of the stage and Thorax flew his way to the back of the bustling audience.

"What happens if she starts getting all to the next level of flashiness?" a changeling asked. "She'll have lights as the theme of her magic show today and then we're going to be having lots of lights here. I don't know about that."

"Trixie is a competent mare," another changeling replied. "She's also close to Thorax, so he must've already told her that we changelings have a thing about bright lights."

"But, there's the stage lights already," the first changeling pointed out. "More stage lights than I can ever remember."

"Probably just to to show that she is going to have a much better magic show this time than last time."

The first changeling placed a hoof on his chin and nodded.

The second changeling didn't say anything at all and both looked on at the stage.

The loud chatter became quiet yet collective mutter which then turned into hushed silence, with even the quietest of questions standing out among the changelings.

Finally, Trixie walked on the brightly lit stage, strutting on it.

The changelings, already, rose to a grand roaring cheer, smiling at her entrance and shouting at her with much joy and delight.

Trixie merely basked in it all, turning her head around while her eyes were closed.

Then, she stood on her two hind legs, grinned, and fireworks appeared and exploded behind her, dotting the air with sudden noise and clamor which only escalated the level of excitement that the audience had.

"You have come to the magic show, the magic tour, of the Great and Powerful Trixie!" Trixie yelled, going back on her four hooves. "Yes, the Great and Powerful Trixie is right on this very stage, about to show you what spectacular acts of magic I shall perform today! I shall bring you up on your hooves and will astound you with unheard of tricks that you have certainly never even thought of or imagined! You may want to do so now, but it is a useless effort, for the Great and Powerful Trixie is not only great and powerful in the feats of magic but also even in the thinking up of those very feats of magic that you are about to be a witness to. So, behold, the Great and Powerful Trixie!"

She stood again on her two hind legs. More fireworks exploded behind her.

The crowd grew to a rousing, roaring cry of cheer.

Thorax smiled.

And, it was over. Confetti, streamers, balloons—these several changelings were collecting for clean up yet they had smiles on their faces.

All around, there was merriment in the air as the changelings went about, telling to each other how great this act or how dazzling that trick was. There was in those discussions a sense of respect, of admiring wonder at "the Great and Powerful Trixie."

When Trixie was in the vicinity, the changelings looked at her. Before saying anything, they allowed several seconds of silence to pass, observing her every major move. Then, after that time has gone, they attempted to go near her, some running and flying their way there, others taking their time and moving about at a leisurely pace.

Inquiries and questions were asked, requests for her thoughts about this topic or that thing—Trixie answered them with a haughty yet kind enough feel, a gentle arrogance if there could ever be such a thing. This is coupled with the robe and the hat that she was still wearing there.

They were all smiling, the changelings meeting Trixie off the stage with happy smiles and excited minds and Trixie getting the attention that she was getting—which was a lot since, at one point, a huge crowd was around her and there wasn't much room to walk around in.

After a while, things calmed down as the changelings went about their separate ways and said their goodbyes to Trixie as she brought several things back into her wagon or trailer. Some changeings helped her bring them up inside.

And, as Trixie pulled her wagon away from the hive, with changelings waving at her, she also saw Thorax.

"Have a good day, Trixie!" Thorax yelled.

Trixie smiled at that.

Thorax kept looking at her until she was gone beyond the horizon.

Expecting the Changelings and Dragons

The headlines for today's edition of the Canterlot Chronicle was "Changelings and Dragons to Meet in First Exclusive Inter-Governmental Summit!" Several ponies in Ponyville—despite not being in Canterlot—were holding these newspapers alongside other newspaper-holding ponies who had other newspapers—most of them, nonetheless, proclaiming the same story in different words.

Sitting at a table just outside Sugarcube Corner, across each other on chairs, were Pinkie Pie and Lyra Heartstrings.

"I didn't know you were so updated on...politics?" Lyra asked with a rising tone of incredulity.

"You see, Lyra," Pinkie began, closing her eyes a little and forming an imaginary drawing with her hooves, speaking in a serious voice, "baking is not just another area of cooking. It's an art—a strategic art, a state-of-the-art art which also the art-of-the-state—but, if you take that literally, then that means that the Princesses themselves have declared that we are the only bakers allowed in all of Ponyville, which is not the case—I like myself some fair competition to push each other to higher standards."

"What?"

Pinkie pulled out a newspaper and pointed at the headlines. "You see this again?"

"Uh, yes, Pinkie."

"That means that there will be friendlier ties between the hive and the lands," Pinkie said, wearing a tie as she said those words. "You wanna know what happens when there are friendlier ties between changelings and dragons, Lyra?"

"Uh...what?"

"An opportunity to bake."

Lyra blinked. "So?"

"You know I bake, right?" Pinkie asked, smiling and upbeat. "Come on, Lyra! Don't be so silly that you forgot who I am!"

"I just said your name less than a minute ago!"

Pinkie sighed and brushed some sweat off of her face. "Phew! Glad we avoided a disaster on a scale of Ponyville!" A pause as she looke at Lyra with an even bigger smile. "I'm glad you never forgot me, especially after ponies started liking those knock-knock jokes again!"

"What?"

"Spike?" Twilight said as she sweeped the floor clean from dust by magically using her broom.

The baby dragon rushed his way into the room—double doors open and stopping right at the crystal table. "Yes, Twilight?"

"I'm sorry for the short notice, but I have to go to Canterlot right away."

"Now?" Spike asked, raising his eyebrows.

"In all my preparations for overseeing the entire changeling-dragon summit coming up, I forgot to tell the Princesses of my plans!" Twilight said.

"You could just teleport there, tell them, and be back in ten minutes, right?" Spike said in a snarky way.

"The contingencies, Spike! The contingencies!" She slapped herself with a hoof.

Spike sighed. "Twilight..."

"What I mean is," Twilight replied, pacing around the Cutie Map while keeping her gaze on Spike, "what if I'm not completely prepared. Talking about the plans I have with the Princesses—who know much more about the current state of things than I do—is going to help me a lot!"

"Aren't you the Princess of Friendship?" Spike said, leaning on the wall and still speaking with snark. "Aren't you supposed to know the summit so well because, well, this means friendship between—"

"I know!" Twilight yelled in panic as she raised her front hooves in the air. "Yet, I'm beginning to run out of precious time to have all possibilities accounted for!"

"Possibilities like what?"

"What if we don't have enough refreshments?"

Spike sighed once again. "Really, Twilight? You could always ask Pinkie Pie or—"

"According to my schedule," Twilight said, poofing the aforementioned schedule into view and then pointing at it, "Pinkie Pie would be busy with preparing several large cakes and pies—and cakepies!—for some birthday parties all of which she has to attend today and tomorrow!"

"Pinkie's not the only pony who cooks food, you know," Spike noted. "There's Applejack—"

"And drag her out of the family business for three days?!" Twilight interrupted. "The catastrophies that can arise from Applejack being away for three days!"

"Twilight, you're getting crazy over—"

Teleported a Starlight into view before saying, "Starlight, take care of Spike, bye!"

And she teleported away.

Starlight looked at Spike.

Spike looked at Starlight.

Both surprised.

"Another Twilight worry attack?" Starlight asked.

"Another Twilight worry attack," Spike replied.

They looked at each other and the room they stood in for a short while.

"Wanna...help me finish up a spell?"

"Why not? There's not much else to do for now—just waiting for Twilight to return."

Starlight tried to cover up a giggle.

"Fluffy Clouds?" Fluttershy asked as he stepped into her cottage which was slightly infested with animals. "What are you doing here? I wasn't expecting you—was it an appointment I forgot?"

The newcomer was a lanky blue pegasus stallion with fluffly mane and fluffy tail (both looking a lot like fluffy clouds). He wore an orange bowtie and a sincere smile; his cutie mark was three clouds.

"I heard that the dragons and changelings are coming to sum something up," Fluffy answered. "I think."

"But, that doesn't explain why you're here," Fluttershy said—accommodating. "Do you need a glass of water? Do you want me to take care of—"

"They're going to be summitting here in Ponyville for—how many, three days? So, a few want to sleep here during the time."

A gasp. "What?"

"The changelings, not the dragons!" Fluffy Clouds said, holding his hooves up and hovering a bit away from the surprised mare. "It's obvious that dragons won't want to sleep here because—uh, the bedrooms are tiny?"

King Thorax and Dragon Lord Ember flew together in the air over the rolling fields and hills of grass—over trees, over dirt roads and railways, over rivers and lakes and ponds as they and hundreds of creatures—either changeling or dragon—flew behind them.

"A-are you sure this is a good idea, Ember?" Thorax asked as they continued flying in the sky—nervous. "This isn't exactly what I had in mind when you said that we'll make an entrance!"

"It's a show of force, Thorax," Ember replied—a grin growing on her face. "It tells all the ponies there that this summit is no joke—we're not push-overs."

"Well, you're dragons! All of you are bigger than the average pony! I'm sure they won't be pushing any of you over!"

"Yeah—what about you?"

"I'm good friends with several ponies and, of course, Spike," Thorax answered. "I think I'll be OK with that."

"And, how many of those friends make up Ponyville, huh?"

"Uh...five percent?"

Ember poked Thorax on the shoulder. "You've gotta let them know who's the boss around here! Don't let them barge into the discussion!"

"But, this is a friendship summit," Thorax said. "Aren't ponies supposed to barge in at times? They're the ones with all the know-how about friendship."

"As long as they don't dictate to us a list of step-by-step instructions!"

"Uh, I don't think that's how ponies work—"

"Hey, Thorax!" Ember pointed a finger at him. "You want to make sure this works in our favors?"

"Uh-huh?"

"Then, we have to tell those ponies that they're not going to meddle into something that's between the two of us and the two of us only."

"But, friendship—"

"I'll let them suggest. I won't let them interfere."

"Don't you understand, Ember?" Thorax asked. "Ponies know what's best about friendship. Nothing less than that and that's the truth. We know parts about friendship, but only ponies know practically everything that can be known about friendship today. Even then, they're always ahead when it comes to finding out new things about how to stay best friends with your...uh, best friends."

"Like I said, Thorax—suggest, not interfere." She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Do you have some issues with somepony?" Thorax asked, taking on a defensive tone—yet, attempting to keep it nice. "I hope that you're not saying that just because one pony—"

"It's not about one pony," Ember said. "It's about me being on the lookout for my kind, OK? I know we can stomp any pony village in mere minutes, but then what?"

"You're still thinking about trampling all those innocent ponies—"

"I'm not gonna do that, if that's what you're thinking," Ember said, feigning a smile.

And so went the two—behind them, that massive flock of changelings and dragons, mixing the up the air in glitter and wind, in fierceness and power.

A magenta unicorn levitated several chairs into position—helped by several other ponies both unicorn and not—set against the the town hall which itself was decorated and crowned with banners, streamers, flags, and a lovely painting standing on the porch: a painting that depicted, in no uncertain strokes, a changeling and a dragon holding hoof and claw as they walked into the sunset behind the pristine mountains.

"Amethyst Star?" Moon Dancer asked, tilting her head to the side. "Aren't you the—"

"Ponyville's has-been organizer?" she finished, raising an eyebrow. "I've caught a few breaks since the Bugbear incident."

"You mean the one with the wedding at the same day?" Moon Dancer asked.

"Yeah." Another raised eyebrow, then a gleeful smile. "Did Twilight or one of her friends tell you that?"

"I'm one of her friends back in Canterlot," Moon Dancer said. "I guess you've seen me before, haven't you?"

"Probably!" Amethyst Star answered—more enthusiastic this time. "You do look familiar."

Moon Dancer nodded. Then, she looked past her. "What's the occasion?"

"Twilight tasked me to prepare everything for the changeling-dragon summit today, specfically—" pulling out a watch "—twenty minutes from now if there have been no untoward events while they're en route."

"Ponyville's hosting a summit?" Moon Dancer somewhat repeated in slight curiosity.

"I know, right?" Amethyst blabbed, smiling. "The main figures aren't even ponies for that matter! What happens in this town today and for the next few days are going to chart the course of two thriving nations for hundreds of years! I'm doing my best with the rest of Ponyville to make this a memorable time for all involved."

"Wow. You've moved up from being a 'has-been,' huh?"

Amethyst grinned. "It's nice to meet one of Twilight's older friends."

The two shook hooves as both of them smiled.

Over there, Octavia sighed as she saw the wooden platform behind a nearby tree; it already had a few ponies wearing bowties and tuning their instruments with a prelude's prelude (with piano, harp, violin at the ready). Hoofsteps and words about—Octavia then went to the stage and, with a few nods and a few words of her own, she joined the group tuning, filling the air with unguided notes.

With the music being formed, several ponies gathered around—not bothering with any of the chairs at all as they just stood in front of the classical band. Among them was Mayor Mare standing beside Fancy Pants.

"I say, I believe that the musical accompaniment for the diplomatic convention will be splendid if we're having these"—oustretching a hoof at them—"at your employ!"

"It is uncommon for Ponyville to be the host to such an occassion," Mayor Mare answered. "For that, I'd certainly want all of Ponyville to be at their utmost best to show the visitors how kind and hospitable we can be."

Fancy Pants's face turned to a frown. "And, exactly how?"

Mayor Mare smiled at the chance. "As you can see, we have a schedule for the entire three-day experience. The first day will have—"

"I'm afraid I haven't clarified myself," Fancy Pants said. "What I mean is, did you implement any fancy perfumes or colognes?"

"Why, of course!" Mayor Mare said. "We had professionals do the job of sprucing up Ponyville with—"

Fancy Pants sniffed the air.

A frown into an aghast face.

"Mayor!" Fancy Pants exclaimed. "Have you forgotten that dragons are quite sensitive to these smells?!"

The mayor's eyes then opened wide.

Batches of vinegar were hauled down the fragrant streets of Ponyville—floral, actually. Rose, Lily, and Daisy—those three Earth pony florists with their baskets and bouquets of flowers just near them—watched the stallons pull the vinegar wagons at rapid speed.

"I wonder what's going on?" Daisy asked.

"What if there's a cooking disaster and one of the kitchens is on fire?!" Lily screamed, holding her head whose mane was graced with a lily.

"The utter disaster!" Rose shouted.

And the three ponies fainted on the ground.

"Come on, Starlight!" Spike said, waving a "POWER" comic book with a claw. "You can't knock it if you don't try it!"

Starlight—her head resting on a hoof—chuckled. "Oh, Spike! It's not like I have to be falling over every single comic you have in stock."

"But, you liked the first issue!"

Starlight chuckled again. "Doesn't mean I want to go to the next one."

"You said it was good!" Spike said (still smiling), striking a firm fist on the table.

"Doesn't mean I am obligated to read the next issue," Starlight said. "Besides, you have so many of them. I don't think I'm ready for a long night just reading all of 'POWER' and the Power Ponies."

"But, come on, Starlight! Please? Just for one more comic, Starlight!"

"My 'No' is a 'No.'" With that, Starlight shook her head.

Spike sighed.

The double doors slammed open.

"Spike!" Thorax yelled.

Spike brightened up. "Thorax!"

Starlight smiled. "Thorax!"

"Spike! Starlight!"

And the three went for a quick hug.

And then they let go.

"You're here!" Spike said.

"Yeah! I sure am!" Thorax said as he sat on one of the crystal thrones. "All that flying has made me tired. I can't wait to get to the end of the first day of activities."

"Don't you worry about—"

Spike's smile disappeared.

"Twilight's not back," he said fast.

"What was that?" Thorax asked, rising from his seat.

"Twilight's not back!" Spike said, clearer and with more panic.

"Not back from where?" Thorax pressed.

Starlight gasped. "She's not back from Canterlot!"

"Canterlot?!" Thorax shouted. "But, that's miles away! And, everyone's gonna be here in a few minutes! Everything's gonna start in a few minutes!"

"What are we gonna do?!" Spike yelled.

"I think you forgot that Twilight can teleport back here," Starlight said, adopting Spike's own snarky tone of before.

Spike blinked. "Yeah! Right! I almost forgot about that one!"

"Still, that doesn't explain why she's still not back!" Thorax noted with a hoof on his chin. "And, she's the one who's overseeing the ceremonies!" Then, with a regained vigor, he smiled and said, "But, she's Twilight—she must have a substitute somewhere."

"One teensy problem, Thorax," Spike said, raising a claw. "She doesn't."

"Oh, no."

"'Oh, no' indeed," Starlight commented, sounding worried. "I have a copy of Twilight's job list for the 'Overseer of Ceremonies.' I don't think handling a two-way conversation between two groups of creatures is going to be that hard, right?"

"I hope it's that easy," Thorax said. Then, turning to Spike, he said, "Uh, may I ask you one question?"

"What is it, Thorax?" Spike asked—dreading as could be seen by the clatter of his teeth.

"Why does Ponyville smell like vinegar? Is there going to be another cooking contest or something like that?"

"Vinegar?" Spike said out loud. "I didn't know Twilight wanted that."

"That doesn't sound like it's part of the plan," Starlight said, becoming even more worried.