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Description
Under the mask
Date started: November 30th, 2011
Princess Celestia lay down and sighed. Reading reports of the doings in her kingdom was as saddening as it was important. Helping others with problems was certainly fulfilling, but it was also distressing, like helping someone with a broken leg across the road. It was always her hardest part of ruling, especially these last thousand years now that she had to rule alone.
Turning to her chief librarian she said suddenly “Quixode, do you like me?”
Choking on his tea he spluttered “I--I beg your pardon Princess? What was the question?”
“Do you like me?” she repeated, stressing the words.
“Why, of course your highness. Everypony does.”
“I don’t think so, no. Everypony loves me, but they do not like me.”
“Highness, we are all devoted for you. We would give our lives in your service, and many have done so. I think that shows the amount of love we all have for you.”
“Love, Quixode, is something that is given of the heart. A parent loves a child; a child loves a parent. There is never any doubt and it is not earned like friendship. That is why the sixth element of friendship is magic, because it needs to be created. I don’t know people personally anymore, so can have no friends.”
Bowing low Quixode took his leave, feeling vaguely insulted at not being considered a friend
---
Celestia sighed, now alone in the throne room. She had worded that badly, or at least too bluntly. The trouble was that there was an invisible wall that surrounded her wherever she went, keeping people at a distance. Friendship was very hard to form from the other side of an impenetrable fortress.
Days passed as she trained her latest student, a filly named Twilight Sparkle. The joy of watching a young mind grow almost filled the space the lack of friendship left. Almost.
Silently, Celestia crept up one night to the upper library to find a book to challenge young Twilight. Having exhausted all of the child and mundane magic books in the collection Celestia had to keep finding new material for her to learn from.
Just as she was leaving with the book she had come for, she saw a book lying on one of the tables. Going over to put it away she saw the title: Shape Changing and Matters of Form. Pausing she flipped through the pages and put it in her saddlebag and returned to her room.
Feeling more like a student than a teacher she read the book well into the night until her eyes started to droop from exhaustion.
The next few weeks went by quickly as she trained Twilight during the day and read the book during the night.
Changing reality on an object can be difficult, especially if you wanted to change it back. You had to keep a link from one to the other but not keep it too similar or the difference would blend together. You had to change it enough to be distinctly different but not so much that you break the thread of reality that connects them.
Careful planning would be required to pull this off. Celestia was sure that what she needed to form friends was to meet them as a normal pony, without hindrance of formal titles. Talking would be so much easier and more natural. One blustery day in late autumn she arranged for Twilight to go tour the University of Magic for a week. Celestia went out alone deep to the woods and cast the changing spell on herself.
Coming back to the road she met a mare coming back to the nearest town and greeted her “This is a fine fall day, or at least so they say.”
“Yes, that is true,” replied the mare. “Are you going my way?”
“I am needed nowhere,” she replied, “Where you go I’ll be there.“
Celestia noticed with some surprise that she was speaking with a distant accent that she could not quite place. Also her unicorn horn seemed to have been hidden, though she could still feel its magic coursing through her. What surprised her the most, however was the stilted way in which she spoke.
“Well, I’m going to visit my uncle.” replied the mare. “Won’t you stay the night?”
“To visit with your uncle this night, I would gallop with all my might. Something made the think indeed, each of our names we’ll need.”
Laughing slightly the mare responded: “Why, my name is Sharon. And what is yours?.”
“I will tell you mine without remora, my name is Zecora.”
“Well then Zecora, let us be off. We have miles to go, thankfully we have no snow. Great, now you got me doing it too.” Sharon said, laughing.

Description
Under the mask
Date started: November 30th, 2011
Princess Celestia lay down and sighed. Reading reports of the doings in her kingdom was as saddening as it was important. Helping others with problems was certainly fulfilling, but it was also distressing, like helping someone with a broken leg across the road. It was always her hardest part of ruling, especially these last thousand years now that she had to rule alone.
Turning to her chief librarian she said suddenly “Quixode, do you like me?”
Choking on his tea he spluttered “I--I beg your pardon Princess? What was the question?”
“Do you like me?” she repeated, stressing the words.
“Why, of course your highness. Everypony does.”
“I don’t think so, no. Everypony loves me, but they do not like me.”
“Highness, we are all devoted for you. We would give our lives in your service, and many have done so. I think that shows the amount of love we all have for you.”
“Love, Quixode, is something that is given of the heart. A parent loves a child; a child loves a parent. There is never any doubt and it is not earned like friendship. That is why the sixth element of friendship is magic, because it needs to be created. I don’t know people personally anymore, so can have no friends.”
Bowing low Quixode took his leave, feeling vaguely insulted at not being considered a friend
---
Celestia sighed, now alone in the throne room. She had worded that badly, or at least too bluntly. The trouble was that there was an invisible wall that surrounded her wherever she went, keeping people at a distance. Friendship was very hard to form from the other side of an impenetrable fortress.
Days passed as she trained her latest student, a filly named Twilight Sparkle. The joy of watching a young mind grow almost filled the space the lack of friendship left. Almost.
Silently, Celestia crept up one night to the upper library to find a book to challenge young Twilight. Having exhausted all of the child and mundane magic books in the collection Celestia had to keep finding new material for her to learn from.
Just as she was leaving with the book she had come for, she saw a book lying on one of the tables. Going over to put it away she saw the title: Shape Changing and Matters of Form. Pausing she flipped through the pages and put it in her saddlebag and returned to her room.
Feeling more like a student than a teacher she read the book well into the night until her eyes started to droop from exhaustion.
The next few weeks went by quickly as she trained Twilight during the day and read the book during the night.
Changing reality on an object can be difficult, especially if you wanted to change it back. You had to keep a link from one to the other but not keep it too similar or the difference would blend together. You had to change it enough to be distinctly different but not so much that you break the thread of reality that connects them.
Careful planning would be required to pull this off. Celestia was sure that what she needed to form friends was to meet them as a normal pony, without hindrance of formal titles. Talking would be so much easier and more natural. One blustery day in late autumn she arranged for Twilight to go tour the University of Magic for a week. Celestia went out alone deep to the woods and cast the changing spell on herself.
Coming back to the road she met a mare coming back to the nearest town and greeted her “This is a fine fall day, or at least so they say.”
“Yes, that is true,” replied the mare. “Are you going my way?”
“I am needed nowhere,” she replied, “Where you go I’ll be there.“
Celestia noticed with some surprise that she was speaking with a distant accent that she could not quite place. Also her unicorn horn seemed to have been hidden, though she could still feel its magic coursing through her. What surprised her the most, however was the stilted way in which she spoke.
“Well, I’m going to visit my uncle.” replied the mare. “Won’t you stay the night?”
“To visit with your uncle this night, I would gallop with all my might. Something made the think indeed, each of our names we’ll need.”
Laughing slightly the mare responded: “Why, my name is Sharon. And what is yours?.”
“I will tell you mine without remora, my name is Zecora.”
“Well then Zecora, let us be off. We have miles to go, thankfully we have no snow. Great, now you got me doing it too.” Sharon said, laughing.