//------------------------------//
// ...By The Color of Their Skin... 
// Story: Together And Equal…? 
// by Wolfe and WindSilver 
//------------------------------//

Mask	

I didn't ask him.

I know, I know, "I'm stupid, I’m an idiot, and a complete moron." But at least give me a chance to explain the situation.

I was going to ask him, I even made it to lunch before everyone else so I could ask him out in private. That didn’t work out as I had planned.

When everyone else got there before he did, I was confused. It wasn't odd for Wolfe to be late, but he was never the last one to the table.

We kept looking around, expecting to see him streaking through the cafeteria. We didn't notice him at all until he dropped his bag at the table and sat down silently. His eyes were bloodshot and strained. His movements were slow and hardly coordinated. Obviously something was up.

For a few minutes no one spoke. We didn’t really know what to say. At least, I had no clue what to say. The situation was entirely new to me. This wasn’t normal for Wolfe.

“Hey, bro?” Spot spoke up. He looked concerned. “You all right?”

Wolfe blinked and shook his head as if he’d been shaken awake.

"Yeah," he answered slowly. He cleared his throat and attempted a smile. "I just..." He deflated slightly, his grin slipping.

"I didn't get much sleep,” he said, looking away.

His answer wasn't fooling any of us, though we couldn't exactly call him out on it.

At least, they couldn't. I could feel the pain and hurt that wafted off of him. Before I could voice an opinion however, Wolfe stood up.

"I think I'll take a nap in the library," he declared. "Last thing I need is coach giving me a hard time for falling asleep mid-flight."

I made to follow him, but a hoof against my foreleg lightly returned me to my seat. I gave Temporal a questioning look. He motioned for me to stay put but didn’t explain himself.

I waited, impatiently, for Wolfe to leave before turning towards the bicorn.

“You don’t seriously buy that excuse do you?” I asked annoyedly.

“Not in the slightest,” he said, shaking his head. He clenched his jaw for a moment, before huffing in frustration. “I don’t like Wolfe lying to us.”

“He has a good reason for it,” Brainiac said. “He must.” she added at my inquisitive glance.

“You guys know Wolfe doesn’t bottle things up. Ever. You have to scream at him to stop talking before he’ll go quiet.”

“Which is why I’m worried,” I interjected. “What would be bad enough to get him to hide things from us?”

No one had an answer.





As I pushed my key into the lock on my door, I heard the sound of shattering glass from inside. I quickly pushed open the door.

“Who’s there?” I yelled.

“It's me, honey,” Mom answered calmly. Shards from a ceramic plate were scattered across the floor near her hooves. “Just had a little mishap with dinner.”

She levitated a broom and dustpan to her side. Even from afar, I could see how the field of energy wavered. The usual vibrant yellow was now pale.

“What are you doing home so early?” I asked, tossing my bag into a chair.

he snorted. “Mr. Heart said I’ve been working too hard. He told me to take the rest of the day off.”

“And yet here you are,” I deadpanned. “Working.”

“I can handle a bit of dinner!” she said indignantly. As she spoke, the cleaning tools slipped from her grasp and clattered against the floor. She sighed and put a hoof to her forehead.

“Not a word,” she said, pointing her hoof at me. “Not one.”

“Mom, please. Get some rest.” I lifted the broom and dustpan. “I’ll clean up and finish dinner. You have been working too hard, and you can’t do anything if you pass out from exhaustion. Alright?”

She sighed and, heeding my advice, stepped into her room, shutting the door behind her. I waited a moment to be sure she wasn’t still moving around before I set about cleaning the broken plate fragments. It didn’t take me too long, and I soon began to work on dinner. She’d already brought out a large package of hay fries, so I went into the refrigerator to find dandelions and lettuce.

As I closed the door to the cooling unit, a large red circle on the calendar caught my eye. I’d nearly forgotten that I would be celebrating my birthday in less than a week. I knew that Lightning and his family would be coming, as we’d planned in advance, but other than that my guest list would be rather small.

Maybe I should invite my friends at CH?

I wasn’t too sure about doing that. While it seemed the others accepted me as a friend, I still felt disconnected from the group as a whole. They had years together, while I was the changeling barely into his second quarter.

Well, what have I got to lose? At the worst, they don't come. At the best they do, and we have a blast.

“Besides,” I said, a bit sadly. “I’ll rarely get the chance to see them once they leave.” While most of the others were finishing their second year, Spot Weld would be starting an internship in Manehattan, this was only my first. I planned on leaving Canterlot once my schooling was finished. But until then, I had a very low chance of seeing any of my friends again.

Thinking about this, I realized that I knew next to nothing about the ponies I called my friends. I hardly had any idea what they wanted to do with their lives, or their plans for when they left school.

Nearly halfway through the school year and I don’t even know their favorite colors...

Was that why I felt like an outsider? Had I even been trying, or had I stayed purposefully closed off?

Today was a perfect example. I had no idea how to handle the situation with Wolfe, while the others seemed to know exactly how to respond. Give him some space, don’t pressure him, let him come to us. I was ready to fly off the handle and go after him.

Probably would have made the situation worse.

I made the decision to attempt to invite them. I couldn’t simply expect ponies to be friendly, it was a two way street. If I wanted to be a part of their culture, I had to make an effort to include myself. I needed to allow myself to open up, and trust the ponies around me.

Geez, I thought. I pulled the hay from the oven. Cooking is a great time for introspection.








Wolfe

All I could hear was the rain.

The pounding of my heart had slowed until it was a dull ache in my chest. My heavy breathing had subsided. My hoof still stung, but I couldn’t be bothered to get up and bandage it. Blood dripped from the wound.

I realized I was still crying. The salt beginning to stain my fur.

I reached for the letter. Feeling weirdly compelled to read it again.

Because it went so well the last time, I thought, bitterly.

Some of the words were smudged by tears, mine and his. But I knew the message by heart by now.

My eyes scanned the paper, each word was pain. I understood why he sent it as a letter, didn’t mean I respected him for it, or even supported his decision. He was still a coward. He was still too afraid to face me.

My hooves shook, threatening to tear the letter in two. I grunted and threw it. Letting it flutter out of sight. It slid down the wall and under my bed. Joining the now broken picture frame.

I needed to leave.





“Hey, Mask?” I asked suddenly, interrupting his explanation of invisibility spells.

“What?” he asked. It was still a bit cute to see him irritated. And being interrupted was a personal pet peeve of his.

“This is going to sound awkward,” I said, scratching at my neck. “But are you free? After school?”

He blinked. “Uh… What do you…?”

“Just to hang out or something. Nothing special.”

“Oh.” 

Did his face fall just a tiny bit, I wondered. No, I must have imagined it.

“Yeah,” he continued. “Mom’s still on forced rest, and Dad took the day off to spend time with her. I should be alright for a few hours. Meet at the usual spot then?”

I nodded.

“Ahem!”

My head whipped around to face a glaring Mr. Silver Bell.

“You two seem to be having quite the animated discussion. Care to share it with the class?”

“Well-”

“I was just explaining the fundamentals of invisibility to Wolfe. And the importance of one’s mentality when casting a spell. Mostly the idea that you need to believe in a spell or it won’t work. You can’t be invisible if you don’t truly trust the spell to do it’s job.”

“Yes, very true. Wolfe, did you have anything to add?” That chesire like grin made me gulp. I’d completely blanked out during Mask’s spiel.

“Yeah, you said that you could draw a parallel to other types of magic?” Mask added, giving me the smallest of winks.

Celestia above, I loved this guy. It paid to have a friend who could improvise at the drop of a hat.

“Well, I said that it’s similar to pegasi trusting their wings. So much so that it becomes instinct to use them in certain situations.” I had to fight to keep a grin from my muzzle at my quick thinking.

Mr. Silver Bell grunted and turned back to the board.  But not without sending a knowing glare my way. I decided to keep the rest of my conversations strictly related to class.








“I mean it’s not like it’s a date or something,” I said.

…

“Okay, yes I want it to be a date," I admitted. "But it’s not one.”

…

“At least. Not yet.”

My reflection in the mirror grinned at me. Agreeing with my plan.

After the mirror pep talk, or weird bathroom moment, take your pick, I made my way outside. I didn’t see Wolfe by the juniper so I sat down and prepared to wait.

“You’d think,” I muttered closing my eyes against the sun’s rays. “That somepony that invites you to hang out, would show up before you do.”

Something moved in front of me, blocking the sun’s warmth from my carapace. I opened my eyes and looked up. A quick chitter escaping me as I jumped in surprise. Wolfe nearly fell out of the tree laughing.

“Don’t do that!” I yelled when I found my voice.

He flapped his way to the ground, clumsily. His flight interrupted by the fact that he was still clutching at his sides.

“T-total accident I-I s-swear,” he managed to get out between bursts of giggling.

I sighed. “Just, don’t tell anyone I did that.”

“That you did what?” he asked, his laughter finally ceasing.

I looked away, my face heating. “The chirping. It’s a primal thing, and most changelings look down on that.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Alright,” he said. “I’ll make sure to never mention it to the hordes of changeling friends that I have.” He started walking away, motioning for me to join him.

“Just don’t mention it,” I pleaded. I grabbed my bag and hurried after him. “It’s embarrassing.”

“Mask, trust me. Nopony is gonna care that you make a chirping noise when you get spooked. It’s actually pretty cool."

"'Cool'. Right."

"I'm serious!" He laughed. "It's like a cricket. Or a cicada."

I winced. "Hey, Wolfe. Comparing changelings to insects..." I let the statement trail off, hoping that he could fill in the gap.

He hit himself in the forehead. "That's a major no-no isn't it?"

I nodded. "Some of us don't take that too kindly," I added.

"Sweet Celestia, I'm an idiot. I'm sorry."

"Hey now, you didn't know," I assured. "It's just a little forewarning. So you don't get ripped to pieces by the one overly sensitive 'ling."

"One I'll take note of." He rubbed at his forehead. "Discord's horns, I'm so dumb."

"Wolfe..." It wasn't that big of a deal. I knew he didn't mean it to be spiteful.

"Not because of that," he said, prodding at his forehead. "I just gave myself a headache." He winced and groaned.

I stifled my laughter.





“Alright,” I said as we sat down. I grabbed a wheatburger from the bag. “What’s been going on with you?”

He sighed. “Look, it’s… complicated.”

I made myself comfortable in the grass. “I’ve got time.”

He didn’t say anything for a moment. Then the moment turned into minutes. I groaned and rolled over, resting my head on his shoulder.

“If you don’t feel like talking, I could just root around your memories. Much more painful but it’s quick.”

He laughed. “That’s not a changeling ability.”

I grinned evilly. Lighting my horn, I gripped his mane, lightly, pulled it back, and styled it in a generic ponytail.

“Who said anything about changeling magic?” I asked. I shifted his style to something a bit more regal. “There are a few unicorn spells that get the job done.”

He glared upwards. As if trying to set his smoothed mane on fire. I laughed and fiddled with it a bit more; stopping when it was back to it’s original look.

“And what was that supposed to prove exactly?” He asked, running a hoof across his head until he was satisfied.

I sighed tiredly. “Just spill the beans. You are the one who asked me out.”

“Here!” I added hurriedly. “Asked me out here!”

“Fine,” he sighed again, not seeming to notice my innuendo. “Just give me a minute alright?”

I nodded and settled into Wolfe’s side. Offering silent support while I waited.

“My parents got divorced when I was little. They never told me why. They just said that it was 'complicated'."

"Dad promised me nothing would change. That I'd still see him around. That we'd hang out and talk; still do father/son things, you know?"

I nodded.

"At first, he kept his promise. But it didn't last. He found a marefriend, and I think that's what really drove us apart. I guess that I kept up the idea that my parents would get back together before that. I guess he sensed how I felt. He stopped asking for me. He stopped showing up at events for me. And it hurt."

He gave a bitter laugh. "Though, not as much as the times he did show up. For my sister that is."

"Anytime she had something planned. Birthday parties. Musical performances. Graduation. He was there for every single one. I remember telling him off. On Father's Day no less. Pretty cold of me."

"No way!" I interjected. "You were angry, and for a good reason. And that took some guts."

"I thought it was over. Thought that the worst I'd have to do is say "Hi" if I saw him around town. But then he surprised me. He came to a parkour competition for me. All the way over in Vanhoover. At first, I didn't even want him there. But when he asked for a second chance..." He stopped, shaking slightly.

I put a hoof around his shoulder. Urging him to continue.

"I gave him the chance, and it went well at first. We started hanging out. He was the first pony I came out of the stables to. The first pony to give me full support."

After a minute's silence, I said, " He sounds like a great stallion."

A genuine smile crossed Wolfe's face. "He is.” The smile faded. “And he's moving."

I felt the pain in his words. Changeling or not, you could sense Wolfe's hurt.

"Where?" I asked.

"Las Pegasus," he whispered. "He got a job transfer that he can't say no to."

He sniffed. "I get it. And I don't blame him. But he tells me in a letter. A freaking letter!" He gets angry. Producing said letter from his bag, he tossed it to the ground. “He puts this crap in my mailbox and hightails it out of there.” 

I picked up the paper and began reading. “He doesn’t give me an address, area, time, or anything!” he continues. His voice rising with each word.

“This isn’t the full letter.” I interrupted.

He stopped mid rant. “What?”

“There’s more, or at least, there should be.”

“How do you-”

“It’s the style.” I pointed at the writing itself. “If he wanted to rush the letter, it would be much sloppier.” I pointed at the inked out sections. “And you’d see more edits to it.” I stared at the letter for a moment. I think you may have dropped the second half somewhere.”

“You sure?” I could detect hope in his voice. “Why are you so confident?”

“Come on, I’m a changeling.” I bumped him in the shoulder and hoofed over the letter. Half-jokingly, I said, “We are masters of espionage and analyzing details.”

He still didn’t seem convinced.

“Wolfe,” I turned towards him, placing a hoof on his shoulder. “Just hearing you talk about all that you went through, and what he went through, to get this relationship working. I firmly believe that this is something neither one of you wants to throw away.”

He smiled. Now was the perfect time. I’d more or less saved a relationship he cared about. We were sitting in some grass. I was looking at him, he was looking at me. Anypony would be crazy to say “no”.

He turned away, rooting around for his double hay burger with extra lettuce.

“Hey, Wolfe?”

“Yeah?” He came up with half the burger hanging from his mouth. I couldn’t help but snort and roll on my side in laughter.

He joined me in mirth for a moment before pulling my mind back on track.

After my sides stopped heaving, I gathered my courage. “I was just wondering…” I begin

“If you thought you could make it to my birthday party next weekend?”





Wolfe walked me home that night, we took a shortcut through downtown Canterlot, which I both regret and feel indebted for. It happened just as it was getting dark.

“Well, looks like we got ourselves a bug and a bug lover!”

Without even turning around I recognized the now obnoxious voice. As did Wolfe, who groaned.

There were three of them again. The same three that attacked me. But now we weren’t in the small hallways of school. We were outside, where I could stress my abilities to the max.

“What do you want, Stormbringer?” I growled.

“Well, for starters. How about banishing all the insects to the sun, eh? See if it works the same as a magnifying glass.”

Wolfe took a step forward, his wings already unfurling. I knew how hot headed he could be, and moved to intercept him.

“He’s not going to start a fight out here, Wolfe. Just let it go. It’s not worth the trouble.”

I turned my back on the enemy. And that’s where it went wrong. I can hardly describe what happened.

I remember a hoof, I assume Wolfe’s, pushing me to the side. Seconds later there was a sickening crack, and when I looked up both Wolfe and Storm were gone.

“Not worth it, huh?!” Storm yelled.

I glanced upwards to see the two of them engaged in another aerial fight. But this one seemed a lot more one sided. With Wolfe on the losing side.

“What are you two idiots waiting for?!” Storm yelled. “Beat that bug into a pulp!”

I ducked just in time to avoid the clumsy lunge from the earth pony. And spun back around to face the unicorn. Lighting my horn in the process.

He blasted an energy beam at me, which I blocked with a small dome shield. I shot a quick blast his way and tried to circle around him. Chancing a glance upward, I nearly took a hit to my legs. I leaped back and sent a blade of energy at the colt.

I was forgetting something.

A quick roll to the left allowed me to evade the large hoof that would have stunned me. And a quick jab to his gut made him stagger into the beam meant for me, sending him skidding along the ground. I blasted the unicorn while he was distracted, and he flew backwards.

I turned to see if there was anyway I could help Wolfe. I got him in my sights mere seconds before he took a punch that grounded him. I remember time slowing down. I remember watching him crash into a wall, and from there to the concrete.

I remember feeling something snap inside, and I started to burn.

Extremely dangerous, burning love. Life threatening if abused. Every changeling had the ability to burn the essence of love in their bodies like fuel. In doing so, we heightened our physical attributes. Strength, speed, stamina, and magic. The problem? We need love to survive. Burn too much of it, and we’d be left in a comatose state. That’s what happens to a changeling drained of love. Stay too long in that, and your body would die from malnutrition. It was a fate I wished to avoid. But at the moment I was far from thinking rationally.

I clamped a vice grip around Stormbringer, and tossed him at the earth pony. Who was trying to stand at the time. The two of them went flying backwards, I heard them crash into something. Probably a wall, I didn't care. The unicorn hit me with a charged blast. Not enough to do damage, but it was enough to stun me. Just long enough for him start running. I lunged at him, seeing his plan. But he made it to the other two before I could get my hooves on him, and teleported himself and his friends out of my sight. I growled, starting to give chase, but a voice stopped me. A very faint and weak voice.

“Mask?”

Immediately, all of my rage disappeared. I turned back and ran to Wolfe. He scooted backwards and screamed in pain. I couldn’t see why until I got closer. His left wing was stuck under his right shoulder. His right shoulder.

“Luna’s Moon,” I whispered. “Help!” I turned and ran, searching for somepony, anypony who might know what to do. “Please! Anypony! Please!”

The streets were empty, doors were shut, blinds were down. But I could see the eyes. They just sat there. They made no indication that they heard me, but it was impossible not to.

“I’m begging you! Please! He needs help!” I ran up to a door and started banging on it. “Please! I’m not trying to cause trouble, we just really need some help.”

The door opened quickly and I sighed in relief. “Thank y-” A broom hit me square in the face, forcing me backwards.

“Get out of here!” The brown mare brandishing the broom yelled. “I’ll not have your kind attacking my masters again.” 

I stood there, stunned.

“I said go!” She whipped the broom around wildly, catching me in the side of the head.

“You heard her, changeling!”

“Leave!”

“Your kind is not welcome here.”

“H-he just needs some help,” I whispered. “Wh-”

The broom caught me in the face again. Smearing my tears across my muzzle.

Doors opened, windows as well. I could hear the shouting.

I did the only thing I could.

I walked away.

I went back to Wolfe, helped him onto my back, and left. I tried to make the trip as comfortable as possible, but I could still hear him whimper with each hoofstep.