//------------------------------//
// True Nature 
// Story: Acceptance 
// by Riddle-Me-Think 
//------------------------------//

I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic




Masquerade gave a long drawn out yawn from his place on the floor where he had chosen to take a nap. He wasn’t tiered, or needed rest for that matter. The changeling was just a tad board and felt like he could take a moment to just do…well, nothing for once.

Still is boring, he thought sorely while laying his head on his hooves. He could feel the small pricks on his back, letting him know that owl of Twilight's had decided to use him as a perch again. Not that he mind, the owl was harmless enough so he had no problem with him just sitting there.

The reason he wasn’t doing anything was that he just felt like laying around and doing nothing at the moment. There was no Twilight to tease or hug. There was no Spike to tease Twilight with or talk to. Most of his documents have what they needed for the day, so he felt that he was finished with the days paper work…

“Mask I‘m back!” Twilight’s voice called from the front door and rousing him up from his partial sleep.

Raising his head and smiling he said, “Hey Twinkles, what‘s got you so hyped up?” Feeling surges of positive emotions coming off in waves from the mare. His answer came in the form of a box that was floated over to the table by Twilight’s magic.

Getting up carefully so not to disturb the bird on his back, Masquerade walked over to the table with some curiosity as the cardboard lid was lifted up. As soon as it was, he could taste bits of love and joy in the pastries before him and asked, “What sort of treats are these, doughnuts?”

Using her magic to hold up one of the pastries she told, “I stopped by Sugar Cube Corner with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy for a small treat for how great they did with the tornado.”

Offering the one in her magic to her still new coltfriend, Masquerade took it up in his own magic, giving a quick thank you while taking a bite. Chewing for a bit, he told, “Is it me, or do I taste you in these?” Referring to the emotions inside. Owlowiscious seemed to chose that time to take to the air and go to his perch, finding this a good time to preen his wings a bit.

With a nod Twilight told, “I ran into Serenity while I was there, and mentioned how changelings liked getting food from those they like.”

Shaking his head, Masquerade sighed, “Changeling grape vines, fastest way to get news out.” Chuckling all the same with the thought that every changeling in town knows about them now.

“You changelings seem to like gossip a lot.” Twilight smirked a little while taking up a doughnut herself, “Anyways, Pinkie Pie offered to help me make a batch, and I think they turned out good.” Taking a bite out of hers and humming in satisfaction.

Looking it over she said, “It‘s not Pony Joe‘s but I like them.” And took another bite.

With a grin, Masquerade told, “I can‘t say the same, since they were made with your love, it already rates high for me!” Nearly gulping down his own treat.

With a start, the lavender mare said, “Mask, I have a question for you.” Watching as he snapped all his attention right to her, “I was wondering if you were willing to tell more about how emotions effect changelings.”

For a moment, Masquerade seemed to entertain the thought of not going in-depth about that, as he only explained mostly the surface of the inner workings of the effects of emotions. But if I really want to go through with this relationship, do I really want her in the dark?

Part of his loyalty to the five clans seemed to demand he withhold information that would tip the scales greatly. But he had to keep in mind, if a fight ever broke out were he had to defend Twilight or an attacking clan mate, he would chose Twilight. Then be branded as a traitor for siding with another that was not part of the clan.

That’s saying if they ever found out, but the situations is the same no matter how one looks at it. So with a nod he said, “Alright, but make sure to bring a good amount of supplies to write this down with.” Getting up to walk.

“Where are you going?” Twilight asked the black unicorn who headed for the basement.

Opening the door he told, “To the lab, might as well keep any prying ears from hearing in.” Then headed down the dark hall.

Twilight rolled her eyes at his paranoid nature, but had to conceded that it was possible for a pony to walk in unannounced at hear something they shouldn’t. Grabbing the last of what she needed, the lavender unicorn headed down the stairs herself, closing the door behind herself.

Making it down the stairway, Twilight was please to see that the stallion had bothered to turn the lights on this time. Apparently, changelings and dark places do just fine, so on occasion the black unicorn didn’t turn on the lights. Gave her a scare when he just seemed to pop out of no where when the light flicked on.

To the side, Masquerade had taken his time to arrange some seats and some paper laying about the room. He also put the chalkboard nearby, ready for use if needed.

Taking a seat with a smile and setting her things down, Twilight waited patiently as her stallion began to use the calk to write down some emotions.

From top to bottom came, love, sorrow, excitement, embarrassment, calm, confidence, envy, fear, lust and hate.

With that done he turned back to Twilight saying, “These are the main emotions that changelings feed off of.” Then wrote some more emotions next to the main ones being, joy, pain, thrill, shyness, tranquil, pride, jealousy, terror, greed and rage.

“These emotions fall nearly into the same groups, having nearly similar effects.” Turning to Twilight he told, “I never did cover these in full as I should have, but today I will be.” With a grin he told, “I am Masquerade, your teacher on changeling emotional effects class.”

The mare couldn’t hold back a giggle at his acting of a teacher before he got back to the lesson he was giving by starting with the top one, Love.

“Now love, as you know, is our main source of food, having next to no draw backs and is possibly the sweetest emotion we can get.” Writing this information down on the board while Twilight did the same with her note pad.

Masquerade continued to write down information as he went on, “Now, what love dose to a changeling is reinforce their bodies and minds further, meaning that little amounts do little, but large amounts can make a changeling extremely powerful.” With that down, he turned in time to see a hoof raised and nodded, “Yes Twilight?”

Putting her hoof pack down she asked, “What about your overcharge, wasn’t that a large amount of love?” Only getting a slight tinge to her cheeks at its mention.

With a smile he said, “Yes, but it was too much at once.” Walking to his left explaining, “A changeling can only take in so much at a time. Much like how a pony can only eat so much.” Waving to the list of emotions he said, “When we feed off emotions we need to process it, otherwise we overcharge and can experience side effects.”

“Like you getting drunk?” She smirked.

“Like me getting drunk…” He nodded, flattening his ears to his head. “Anyways!” He perked back up, trying to ignore his own embarrassment, “This emotion can boost all power in a changeling, allowing them to use what we call, Grand Casting.”

Thinking for a moment and holding her hoof up so she could ask, Twilight said, “I remember you saying that emotions can create different spells, what sort of spells does Grand Casting do?”

Using the chalk, the stallion drew an arrow pointing down saying, “Turns normal magic, into grand magic.” Then shrugged, “Simple as that, no fancy spells or new skills, just amplifies what you have more greatly if you have enough.” But then tapped his chin saying, “Though, it has a tendency to turn our magic pink for some reason…”

Shaking off his last thought and tapping the board to the next emotion down he said, “Sorrow, as you know, isn’t sought after because of it‘s negative effects.” Twilight shifted a little at that, remembering what he told, “But those who can wield this yellow colored magic become Hunger Casters.”

Once again, he began to write on the board while explaining, “Hunger Casters can leach magic or emotions off others easily, making them more dangerous to approach when they use their magic.” Quickly, he wrote down three names and tapped each one, “Three spells that seem to naturally occur for them are these three spells.”

“Hunger Vortex: a twisting magic storm that draws in the surrounding emotions from friend’s and foes alike, draining them and strengthening the user.” Tapping the next one he told, “Magic Leach: can be seen as a controlled version of this, making a condensed ball of magic that stick to a target and drains the target of power. But the caster doesn’t get anything from this.”

Looking to Twilight he tapped the last one saying, “This is the more dangerous of the three, Drain Chains.” turning back around to write out and say “This spell is made to launch out chains of draining magic from user to target, taking power for target and bringing it to user safely.”

After writing some of this down, Twilight asked, “Have you ever fought a Hunger Caster?”

He nodded saying, “A few, and the best way to handle them is not to get close, and force them to feed off their soundings to get too full.”

The next one he began to write under was excitement, and the lavender mare could see the grin forming on Masquerades face as he told, “Excitement is much like caffeine or way too much sugar. Too much makes one all hyper active and twitchy.” And joked, “Like Pinkie Pie!”

Twilight snorted at that saying, “Hyper active, yes. Twitchy, no.” Feeling the need to laugh at his joke.

Shrugging he said “Same difference.” And went back to writing, “We like to call this group Hyper Casters, mainly because changelings just start moving around so fast.”

With a curious look Twilight asked, “How fast are we talking about?” Thinking back to the Running of the Leaves last fall and how quickly the ponies ran during that event.

“Fastest we have on record reached nearly forty five miles and hour.” And turned back to her saying, “That is running speed with no spells aiding them.”

Running the numbers in he head she asked, “And when you add in the spells?”

Thinking he said, “Two or three times that, depending on the hyper spell they use.” Writing out one called Blure Speed, “Blur Speed works by coated one self with a light amount of magic, allowing for extremely fast and agile movements by reducing friction and adding some sort of adrenalin effect.” Putting down max speed at seventy.

He made another saying, “Hype Charge is basically a amplified common spell known as kamikaze fall. A changeling cloaks themselves into a magic shell for protection and charges at whatever they wish, usually from the sky like a bomb. Unlike the falling spell however, they are to move in a straight line and tackle aside things, or cause a magical explosion if hitting object full on, so they can‘t adjust their coarse during this.”

He then wrote down it’s max speed, being hundred-sixty miles per hour.

The last one he wrote down was Reaction Dilation, “This spell is like the Blur Speed, but instead of just making you faster, it increases reaction speed and recognition to even greater heights, meant so they can dodge about.”

With a smile he told, “Ebony and Ivory are Hyper Casters, and let me tell you, they can move when they use that blur spell or be hard to hit with the reaction one.”

Thinking about his earlier comment about her friend, Twilight said, “Is that part of the reason their around Pinkie Pie so much, they can use this type of magic with her emotions?”

Masquerade nodded some saying, “That, and excitement has a spicy tinge to it and also has a knack of turning magic a magenta color.” Seeing Twilight's puzzled look he shrugged, “Don’t ask me why, but magic takes on a certain color with one select emotion.”

As if remembering sometihng he added, “It should be mentioned that Hyper Casters lose steam if they use this sort of magic too much, being like caffeine and what not.”

Turning back to the blackboard once again he said happily, “Right, my favorite emotion, embarrassment!” And grinned to Twilight saying, “As I have told you, this can make changelings a bit shy, but with the bonus of making our magic slightly disruptive and allowing us to be Disruption Casters.”

Quickly, the changeling wrote down the three spells saying, “Disruption Wave is the most common one to gain. It’s a wave of magic that destabilizes other magic users within range, at the cost of disrupting their own magic.”

“Magic Blocker is used on a exit point for magic, and can block it to cause a build up or feedback.” Looking this one over he turned to the lavender mare and told, “Was on the receiving end of one of these, not pleasant. Feels like your burning up on the inside since your magic can't get out.”

Twilight grimaced at that saying, “I sort of know what you mean.” And thought back to her more younger times where she was just learning magic, “I had so much magic in me, that sometimes it felt like my horn was burning because too much was being forced out at once.”

He nodded to that before smiling and saying, “Disrupter Shot is the spell I was able to learn, letting me use a shot of magic that disrupts the signals in the body and mess with the magical flow for a tad bit.”

Walking away from the chalk board he told, “Want a demonstration?”

Seeing this as a good opportunity to learn more, Twilight got up and stood next to him as he asked, “Mind putting up a light shield over there?”

Nodding and casting the spell she asked, “Why do you want it to be a light shield?” Watching as his green magic was replaced with a aqua color.

“Don’t want to give backlash, it disrupts magic remember?” He explained, apparently worried about causing some form of harm, “Ready?”

Giving a nod, she watched as he pointed his horn towards her shield and fire a gout of aqua disruption magic. When it hit, it seemed to splatter like some kind of goo, making the shield fizzle out when hit.

Twilight flinched as she felt the told backlash, feeling a numb feeling much like the first time she was paralyzed by the fake Sweetie Belle. She gave a shiver at the thought while a hoof touched her back.

“You alright Twilight?” Feeling her discomfort and wondering if he had used to much power. The idea was ridicules, as he was sure it was low powered, and Twilight as a powerful magic user, but he still wanted to be sure.

With a sigh she said, “Sorry…it just felt like the time I was…you know, paralyzed.” Scuffing the floor a little. Taking a deep breath in Twilight said, “Come on, you still need to explain six more emotions.”

With a concerned look Masquerade asked, “Are you sure, we can talk about it if you want?”

Smiling to him, Twilight said, “Thank you, but it‘s alright.” Then looked over to the board, “Just a bit of a bad memory is all.”

Shaking his head Mask told, “Alright, but remember, you can talk to me about it any time.” Getting a nod from her, he went back to the lesson.

“Calm emotions don’t provide much in the sustenance category, as they lack energy unlike the rest.” He said, putting down a number percentage that read one-forth when compared to the rest of the emotions, “It turns magic blue, and can make casting magic easy.”

Writing down the three common spells he said, “Needle Line is a extremely fine and focused beam of magic that users use to hit specific targets, and can be used for surgical needs.” Putting out a few other uses such as helping to make fine edges on weapons, removing potential dead tissues and some other uses.

“Hexagon Shield is self explanatory, a hexagon shaped shield that is extremely strong and resistant to most other spells.” Putting down ‘Anti-magical’ next to it, “It really does handle magic attacks well, but not so much physical.” And laughed, “I‘ve heard of some that break just by tossing small rocks at them, but take a beating if you only use magic.”

The next thing written down was Needle Storm as he told, “This spell is basically fast and continues line of needle sized beams that can cut through defenses due to there high magic concentration.”

“Much like how one would make a stream of water become a jet of water by making it more focused.” Twilight  thought aloud while looking at the board stating, “These spells don’t look hard to do.”

Nodding to her, Mask said, “There not, the only reason changelings become Pierce Casters is because they get great control over their magic.” Before going onto the next emotion, “Confidence on the other hoof, can be seen as the complete opposite of what I told you.”

“Head strong, and powerful output, Surge Casters lack control, but make up for nearly over the top magic with plenty of muscle behind it.” The lavender mare took interest of the sudden turn about of style of magic use, writing down each thing Masquerade told, “This orange magic may make control next to impossible, but none dispute that it can get a job done with a few pushes.”

“Magic Blast is a short but powerful blast all around. Magic Pulse is a strong push of magical power in one direction. Magic Bomb is…well, a bomb.” Underlying them all as he explained them.

Turning to Twilight he told, “These emotions I have just told you are possibly the most safest for a changeling to feed off of. It may slightly change our psyche, but it‘s not too harmful in small amounts.”

Looking to the board, the student pointed out, “What about those four, envy, fear, lust and hate?” She knew of their effects, but Masquerade still had not gone into full detail as to what they could do.

With a gulp he said, “These last four are dangerous.” Marking a skull next to each one, “Not just to those around them, but to themselves.”

Tapping to sorrow he asked, “Remember when I told you sorrow was slightly addicting before?” Getting a nod from the mare, he pointed to the last four saying, “These are very addicting, and part of the reason they're dangerous.”

“Envy is going to be our kick off.” Writing down the information he knew, “It turns out magic a darker green, makes us extremely focused on goals, resentful to those that may surpass us…” Taking a breath to steady himself he said, “And grants the ability to control that which is dead.”

Twilight seemed to splutter at that saying, “C-control the dead?” Not sure if she should let Spike near any zombpony comics any time soon.

He nodded grimly saying, “Necro Casters is what we call them. Using their magic to raise the dead and use them as they wish.” And wrote out some notes on the what their magic does, “They have all the usual spells one would think of raising the dead. But, they can also use the shadows of the dead to make wraith's to do their bidding, or cause body parts to form into some sort of monster.”

Twilight felt a tad sick at the thought of somepony using the dead, or disgracing it for that matter, just to fulfill their goals. With a somewhat green face she said, “And they willingly do this?”

The changeling heir shook his head saying, “Not all the time, some just get a taste of it and lose themselves.” While he wrote up the next emotion he told, “Don’t get me wrong, not everyling that feeds on these become inherently evil, they just have a harder time controlling themselves.”

When he finished with aspects of fear saying, “Blood Casters, users of fear and magic as red as the blood they use to power their magic.” Turning to Twilight he said, “I told you about how I encountered a Blood Caster for the first time.”

Twilight nodded from where she sat and flipped through her notes saying, “I remember, and have it written down here.” Finding the page she said, “You told me he took control of their bodies and used their…blood, as a means to fight and even heal themselves.” The idea still scared her, that somepony would dare go into such magic.

Looking up from her notes she told, “I can see why you changelings don’t like talking about this…It‘s rather…”

“Dark, vile, brutal?” Masquerade surmised mostly to himself before shrugging, “I‘ll admit, it‘s not a pretty thought knowing that we can cause so much suffering.”

Taking up the chalk again he put down Lust next saying, “Lust belongs to the indigo magic Mind Casters, who as name suggests, knows magic that effects the mind.” Turning to the lavender mare again he smiled sadly, “My mother happens to be a Mind Caster, and has shown others that though dangerous, can be useful.”

Putting down the information he knew once me he spoke, “I remember she would use this magic to subdue enraged warriors, cure the insane and ensure loyalty in the ranks before changelings lost their lives…”

Coughing to clear his throat he straightened up, “But as I said, they can be dangerous.” Quickly finishing the information he had down, “They can persuade the minds of others, hypnotize with song, or make those of the opposite sex their slaves with pheromones.”

“Do you miss her?” Twilight suddenly asked from where she sat, getting the stallion to pause and look to her.

With some sadness he nodded, “At times, when I might feel angry or confused…Mother knew just what to say and how to say it.” And gave a dry laugh saying, “Mostly because she knew how the mind worked so well, she didn’t need to use her magic to calm me down.”

Smiling softly the mare said, “She sounds nice…do you think I‘ll ever meet her?”

“I don’t know.” Masquerade admitted, not knowing himself, “She‘s mostly an elder now…still eligible to become Queen if she wants to, but she wouldn’t do that unless necessary.” Shaking his head before returning to the lesson.

With a sigh he said, “Last one, Savage Casters.” Writing out information for this one as well, “I‘ve told you some about them, makes them more aggressive, less sociable at times and vicious fighters.”

Near the end of the things he wrote, Masquerade drew some insect like symbol and tapping on it saying to her, “I can’t say what a Savage Caster all gets, but one thing they have in common is the bestial form.” On the inside the changeling shook a bit, a little scared of the idea.

Making sure to take a deep breath to calm himself and not let Twilight see his nervousness he told, “Since bestial forms are the only largely known spell they use, I‘ll tell you right now that when used, changelings turn into insect or arachnid like monsters.”

Drawing out a wasp and a scorpion he said, “Those that do, more then not, lose their minds. But those who can remain in control can gain powers that we changelings don’t fully understand.”

Putting down the chalk now, Masquerade sat down and looked over everything he had written down, knowing there was more there then he had told. Plenty for Twilight to go over and glean from if left alone.

His ear twitched slightly when Twilight moved next to him to take a better look at everything he had put down. To say, she was fascinated by all the information before her. Sparing a look to her coltfriend, she asked, “What else can you tell me?”

With a grin he asked, “What is it you wish to know?”





Twilight gave a long drawn out yawn and ran a hoof over her face after hours of going over everything she could think of at the time to ask Masquerade. Before her sat what could only be called a book's worth of gathered information she had on changelings. It held everything she knew now, adding notes, scrolls or the odd piece of paper she grabbed at random, it was everything she knew.

She had played with the idea of asking the Gem sisters some questions on female changelings, as Masquerade had mentioned that he still only knew so much. True he could take on the body of a mare, but that did not mean he also got the urges or instincts of them.

That was another thing she had learnt. Despite their shape-shifting powers that exceeded anything she knew, they still could copy so much. Apparently instincts did not come with the packaged deal, just like they couldn’t just use spells that others naturally knew or completely act like others without learning a bit about them. 

Part of her wished she could send a letter to Celestia on what she had learned, but the fear of what might happen still clung to her mind. She had gone to the trouble of asking the surrounding changelings of what they thought about their rulers. They said they loved her, but also said they would never show their changeling nature, scared of her wrath. When asked about Luna, half didn’t know what to think, while the other half came to like her.

What happened back then to cause the changelings to fear the Princess's so greatly? Twilight had asked herself more than once, wondering what was hidden in the past of the changelings.

Coming from the stairs, Masquerade silently walked down and gave a look over Twilight, absently thinking how cute she looked to him. This was brushed aside when he remembered why he had come down, and smirked a little at an idea.

Going into full stealth mode, he snuck towards the unsuspecting mare, already feeling some excitement at the idea of stalking something. Creeping closer, he waited for the unicorn mare to set down her quill and read over what she had written. That’s when he decided to strike.

“What‘cha doin‘?”

Twilight squealed at the sudden voice next to her and fell to her side. Before she could get up, Masquerade pinned her down and began to tickle her relentlessly.

“M-Mask!” She yelled while laughing uncontrolled, “S-stop it!” Trying fruitlessly to escape from under her coltfriend that was over her.

Stopping for a moment he grinned innocently, “But you looks cute and adorable when tickled.” Poking a spot on her tummy that elected a giggle from her.

With her own magic, she pushed the stallion and making him fall onto his back. As quickly as she could she got up and began poking and tickling him, and finding out something very interesting. The stallion was apparently, extremely ticklish.

“AGH, U-uncle, un-cal!” He cried, while laughing even more loudly then his fillyfriend was just moments ago. Twilight didn’t waste this moment and continued her assault, apparently able to stop him from escaping because he was laughing so hard.

Twilight stopped her tickling when the stallion had all but emptied his lungs of air, only making wheezing sounds for his laughter because of how empty they were. Taking his time to fill the organs back up with air, Masquerade sat up and grinned to a smiling Twilight saying, “Feel better?”

With a small giggle she asked, “I do, but it‘s not like I was feeling down?” Wondering what his little playful actions were all about.

With a shrug he asked, “So what, you‘re feeling better then before right?” Grinning as he did.

Shaking her head she said, “I can never win with you, can I?”

Standing up and motioning her to follow he asked, “Which is better, to win with prestige, or to lose and learn from it?” Going back up the stairs to let the mare ponder on his words some.

After following him up the stairs, Twilight spotted a rather familiar basket on the table with a just as familiar white and red checkered blanket tucked in it. Giving a curious look to the stallion that had strapped on Blades, Twilight continued to follow him as he brought the basket into his green magic and made for the door.

With a quick realization she asked suspiciously, “Is this some sort of date?”

Looking to her he asked evasively, “Is it?” Not giving an answer to her question while exiting through the door.

The librarian followed along, trying to get an idea what the stallion was up to. After a while and nearly exiting town she said, “Well, you did ask me to follow you, and you‘re bringing a basket of food for a picnic for apparently just us two…”

Still with his grin on he said, “I don’t recall actually asking you anything, you just started following me after I stretched my neck a little.” Laughing on the inside while Twilight gave a annoyed look.

“I also just happen to find a basket to carry a few things I wanted to snack on later, and found a blanket that I thought would help keep it cold.” And gave her a playful look, “So who is to say I was going for a picnic?”

They stopped talking from there and just enjoyed their surroundings while heading towards the outer edges of Whitetail Woods. Taking some time to find a nice hill that was surrounded by some trees, only then did Masquerade begin to set up the blanket and the food with it.

He soon waved his hoof for Twilight to take a seat as he began to serve out food to her and himself later on.

Looking at the daisy sandwich in her magic, she turned to the stallion and said, “I‘m pretty sure this is some date you planed.” But smiling anyways while she took a bite.

Rolling his eyes he admitted, “Alright, guilty as charged.” And took a bite out of an apple he had packed. Chewing and gulping it down he told, “But in my defense, I‘d like to say I thought we both needed it.”

With a inquiring look she asked, “Why do you say that?” Finishing the rest of her food off quickly before washing it down with a bottle of water the black unicorn had brought along.

Smiling he said, “We‘ve been working ourselves a bit much, and Rarity had told me I needed to take some time off.” That was two weeks ago, but who cares? “So, I thought that since we‘re a couple now, why not I do this?” Putting out his forelegs out for emphasis.

Twilight smiled at him, happy to know he was thoughtful to go to the trouble and bring her along. Maybe I could use some time to relax. She nodded to herself some while saying, “You‘re probably right, we all need a break now and then.”

They just stayed on the blanket and enjoyed the day that slowly passed by while absently talking and eating. Masquerade discarded his belt of swords to the side, and laid down on the blanket. After a while, Twilight reached with her magic to grab the last daisy sandwich that was made--

Rather quickly, it was snatched up by Masquerades green magic that hung it before her. Giving her coltfriend a look, she only saw a lopsided smile on his muzzle as he lazily laid were he was. Shrugging in her mind, she went to grab it again, but found it move aside as soon as her magic began to touch his.

Casting a glare towards the stallions location, she found that he had gone and vanished on her again. Looking around, she saw her sandwich begin to float away from her. Following it direction, she saw Mask off to the side with a playful grin and holding the sandwich tauntingly.

Getting up, Twilight could not hold her own playful smile that began to form, getting into a pouncing position much like a cat would. Almost mimicking her, Masquerade suddenly dropped down some, much like a dog would before running off with something they shouldn’t.

With an unspoken signal, Twilight took off after the stallion, who also ran away from her with the daisy sandwich right next to him. With swiftness that seamed natural for his skinny form, Masquerade weaved and jumped about the wooded area, Twilight keeping pace and using her own routes to catch him.

Scanning with his eyes quickly, Mask saw a nice place for a jump, speeding up so he could build the momentum needed. Tensing his legs at the right time, he sprang from his place on the ground to a heightened log that was sticking out of the ground. Using his skills form being an infiltrator, he turned around and leaped over Twilight, bypassing her and getting away again.

Twilight scrambled to a stop, turning around to the stallion that was getting way. With narrowed eyes, she lit her horn, knowing a way to catch up quickly. In a flash of magic, where Twilight once stood was now empty one pony.

Masquerade blinked when he felt Twilight just implode from his senses, but soon felt that confusion turn into panic as she reappeared not only in his sense, but before his eyes in a flash of pink. With surprising agility, he ducked under the mares lit magic and passed her up, just getting by the skin of his teeth.

Just when he thought he was free, he felt somepony tackle him and make the both go rolling down the hill. Reaching the bottom, he made sure he was on the bottom to take any possible bad landings before flipping Twilight over and saying, “Pinned ya!” Now forgetting about the sandwich.

Looking up at him, Twilight gave a smirk and quickly reached up, kissing him quickly on the lips and making him freeze up for a moment. That was all she needed to flip him over and be on top and say, “Tricked ya.” Already hearing him hiccup slightly.

“Go--hic!--good one Twin--hic--Twinkles!” He grinned, before hiccuping again. He wasn’t overcharged, but apparently she loved him more then he knew. With another hiccup he said, “Aw s--hic!--stag, not this--hic!--again.” He grumbled a bit, but smiled all the same when Twilight began to giggle at his predicament.





After Masquerade had worked off a bit of the suddenly gathered love and they both cleaned up the site they ate at, they both laid on the checkered blanket, watching the sun begin to set. They both laid side-by-side, both enjoying the others presents, Masquerade possibly more because of his changeling nature.

“This was a good day.” Twilight sighed as the sky was washed over with dark hues and the stars began to come out to play for the night. She snuggled up to her stallions side, taking some comfort in being closer to him.

With a smile she asked, “Remember when we were younger and we would snuggle up to one another after one of our study times?” Thinking back to the times she spent so much time in the Canterlot Library.

Gaining a grin he said, “I thought it was your study time, I was just there because you dragged me with.” And got a light shove from his fillyfriend. With a small laugh he said, “Yes, I remember Twinkles.” Looking up to the star filled sky.

The mare continued to smile and say, “You use to ask me so many questions as to what some of those books said.” Leaning her head on his neck, “It felt nice to know that others did appreciate what I learned.”

Looking down to her he told, “Well, you were a special filly back then, even if everypony didn’t realize it.”

With a smile, Twilight said with confidence, “I love you Mask.” Nuzzling into the crook of his neck.

With a light kiss below her horn he told, “And I love you, Twilight Sparkle.” Resting his head over hers.





Dear Princess Celestia

I’m sorry I have not written back about your reply about my inquiry, but I had found myself quickly busy.

When you had given me the reply you did, I was confused as to why you couldn’t give any details I wished for. Now however, I can see what you mean.

Love, in a way, can not be explained simply. It is like friendship, but with bonds unlike any I can think of. It calls for trust between the two whom decide to become lovers, and faith that the other will know what the other might need.

I have learnt this today because of my own coltfriend.

As to who I speak of, I must ask: do you remember that little colt named Masquerade?

He had came into town almost a two months ago now, and we have just recently become a couple. Today he took me out on a surprise date, and I have to say that I never felt so close to another like him. We seem to understand one another, and I admit, share some secrets now.

I don’t know what may come out of our relationship, but I for one will make the most of it. Thank you for your help.
From your faithful student--

“Twilight Sparkle.” Celestia smiled to herself while reading the latest letter that she had received from her student. The sun monarch looked over the name of the stallion in question, remembering quiet clearly the young colt that was so shy around every pony around him.

Despite his sneaky behavior, she found him a perfect influence on the young filly she had taken on as her student. If not to help boost her self esteem, then to gain a friend. She had watched the two grow up, eventually watching the colt show signs of a crush for her student.

It was sad to see him leave in a way, leaving Twilight nearly alone to study in that library they had. But now, she was more the elevated to know they had found one another again, and as lovers no less!

“Another letter from thy student Twilight, my sister?” Luna’s voice asked from the balcony as she slowly flew herself in.

With a soft smile Celestia nodded, “Why yes, and you wound not guess what she had sent!” Having a little trouble holing back her joy. Seeing her sister waiting to hear she told, “My young student finally got herself a stallion!”

This made the lunar monarch smirk and note to visit the mares dreams that night.