It seems like the game update released yesterday made a big difference in how well the social network is functioning (for me anyway) - I'm seeing a lot more of my GL friends show up in the game now. Maybe add more new friends? I've noticed a lot of the people I added when I first started playing still aren't showing up, but new people are.
On the subject of quests, though - I'm in the questline to get Rarity, and I'm stuck on the quest where Pinkie wants me to buy a Guard Statue, Candy Vase, and Ice Sculpture. That's nearly 100 gems and I'd rather save mine to get ponies instead. It's the only quest I have right now - am I stuck at a pay wall, or does anyone know if I can do anything else to trigger other quests? I suppose I could just sacrifice the 15 gems needed to skip buying each of those things if I have to.