Don Mane De Polo and the centermare

Chapter one: a stranger approaches

As the dried leaves crunched like the bones in a dragon’s lair and the wind sowed bleakly through skeleton trees, Fluttershy wondered to herself why she had even considered coming to the everfree in the first place. Of course she knew the was answer was ‘it’s the only place where I can get the bitterweed needed for Angel’s chronic whooping cough’ but even that seemed like an inconsequential answer in the cold, silent darkness of the everfree forest.

“I just know that gorge is around here somewhere,” Fluttershy whimpered to herself as she crept sideways through some bushes. It was fortunate enough that through those bushes stood the edge of the gorge. Fluttershy didn’t quite see it that way at first, and shrieked like a banshee before leaping up into the branches of an overhanging tree. All the courage she had felt when she had left her friends just moments earlier seemed to melt away like an icicle in the summer heat.

Ten minutes later when she had stopped shaking, the timid Pegasus slipped back onto the edge of the gorge and peered over, immediately wishing she hadn’t. The gorge was deep, but not deep enough to conceal the almost inappropriately sharp rocks at the bottom. The world around her span like a merry-go-round and Fluttershy was just considering turning back when she saw it: a bright orange flash of bitterweed just a few feet away from her on a ledge. Fluttershy beamed and then, thinking of Angel’s grey face and drooping ears, started to slowly, very slowly, inch her way down the face of the gorge to reach the bitterweed.

If there was anypony around to observe fluttershy’s descent down the face of the gorge (and there may well have been; the everfree forest is a mysterious place) they would have seen a quivering, butter-yellow Pegasus clambering, and occasionally hovering, down some pretty precarious-looking ledges and hoof-holds. They would have seen a knarled branch of bitterweed, just enough for a small rabbit to ingest, creaking in the wind. And they would have also seen a small, green, shimmering flash of magic slide up the gorge like a slithering snake and flash under the hoof of the intrepid Pegasus.

Fluttershy did not see all this, of course. She did, however, see the swirling clouds above the everfree forest falling away from her at great speed, as a chunk of the rock-face crumbled under her hooves and sent her hurtling down into the merciless pits of the everfree gorge.

Fluttershy screamed like a newborn filly and flailed her limbs wildly as if she were trying to run on air. She was vaguely aware that she could, in fact, fly but she was so terrified that her wings were clenched to her sides and wouldn’t move, no matter how hard she tried. As tears streamed out from under her tightly-clenched eyelids, Fluttershy braced herself for a gruesome impalement.

“Goodbye friends,” Fluttershy thought to herself in her terror. “I want to be thinking of you before I die.”

But death didn’t come.

Instead, she felt herself being held in strong arms and lifted up above the treetops of the deadly forest. She dared not look up at her savior but she could tell that whoever had saved her had big, powerful wings. And a strong, smooth ribcage. And smelt like fresh spices and wood smoke. Soon, Fluttershy was back on the ground, and once she had stopped shaking like an apple-tree in hurricane season she looked up to see who had rescued her.

He was quite simply put, the most magnificent stallion she had ever seen. He was about as tall as princess Luna and built well; not quite as bulky as Big Mac but sleek and strong and graceful. His coat was deep indigo blue and his mane cascaded in long violet waves down his strong shoulders. He had deep, panther-like green eyes and a little patch of lilac hair on his chin like a goatee. Fluttershy saw that he did indeed have wings and they were as strong and beautiful as she had imagined. His cutie mark was of a big red heart with outspread wings and a golden crown and she also saw that he had a really rather large horn on his head. An alicorn! “Is he a relative of Princess Celestia?” Fluttershy though idly to herself. The stallion was also dressed rather finely with a short blue cape covering his back and a large trilby in a matching colour perched jauntily on his head. The strangest thing about him though was that he wore a black domino mask, like the kind Canterlot stallions wore to masquerade balls.

“Hola Donna mare,” the stallion said in the dreamiest accent you could possibly imagine and bowed low before Fluttershy as if she were Princess Celestia herself. “It is a pleasure to be making your fair acquaintance.”

Flutteshy emitted a sound which sounded like a beach-ball being deflated. Her eyes were as wide as dinner-plates. The stallion just smiled at her like it was the cutest thing ever.

“Allow me to introduce myself: I am Don Mane de Polo, traveling port and stallion of fortune, at your service.” With this the stallion bowed his head, took Fluttershy’s hoof gently in his and planted a kiss on it. It was the softest, tenderst, sweetest kiss Flutteshy could have ever dreamed of and it felt so good that the tips of her wings tingled as if sparklers had been set off in them. But what really got her was the way Don Mane looked right into her eyes as she did it, as if he could scarcely bare to keep his eyes off her for a second. Fluttershy’s stomach turned over and her head and mouth felt as if they had been filled with cupcake icing. Somehow she managed to stutter out; “I…I’m…F…Fluttershy.” Don Mane’s tender-yet-dangerous smoulder that he had managed to maintain suddenly melted away into an expression of genuine delight.

“What a relief,” he said, somewhat breathlessly. Fluttershy was puzzled

“What is?”

“Usually a mare’s name is nowhere near as pretty as her face. I’m just so pleased to meet one whose is.”

Fluttershy could not see, but she guessed that her face had turned as pink as her mane, and was right. She beamed at Don Mane who smiled back at her, his eyes filled with a light that could power Fillydelphia for a week. Fluttershy’s heart was flying better than she ever could: doing loop-de-loops around the moon and pinballing between the stars. She had never felt this kind of connection in all her life. She felt suddenly calm, as if nothing could ever be quite so bad or scary again when somepony as small and insignificant as her could feel like this. She was just about to say something, anything, when Don Mane suddenly took a sharp step towards her and looked deep into her eyes. Fluttershy suddenly stood stock-still and rigid, as if Don Mare’s gaze had turned her stone. The mysterious stallion’s eyes slowly began to fill with a pulsing green light that seemed to enrapture Fluttershy like a moth to a flame.

“It was always you Donna Fluttershy,” Don Mane said in a soft, lilting voice that nonetheless suddenly has a strange, scratching, echoing quality to it.. “Before I knew you, it was you. I never knew how lonely I was until I found you…”

The words he was saying: they sounded so…beautiful. Nopony had ever spoken to her like that before. Fluttershy felt so complete and happy. She adored Don Mane de Polo; she worshiped him. She would follow him to the ends of Equestria, she would do absolutely anything for him.

Don Mane was centimeters from Fluttershy’s face. “You are the Princess of my dreams, the goddess of my heart. You are a fallen angel cast down from heaven to purify my soul and make me born anew.”

Here, he opened wide his mouth, revealing sharp fangs, dripping with saliva. Fluttershy was just thinking that he had the most beautiful fangs she had ever seen when something clicked in her mind. ‘princess…goddess…angel….angel?…ANGEL!’

“OMIGOODNESS!” she shrieked, suddenly. I forgot the bitterweed for Angel’s whooping cough! I must go back for it!” Fluttershy was too busy running around in circles to see Don Mane’s expression melt into a dark glare that would strike fear into the bravest of ponies, before fixing itself back into his trademark smoulder.

“You mean: this weed?” he purred, producing the weed from under his cape.

“Oh yes!” squealed Fluttershy. I need that to make my bunny Angel better! Oh thankyouthankyouthankyou!”

“So; the angel has a pet named Angel. How strange…”Said Don Mane softly, smiling and casted his eyes downwards as if this information somehow deeply affected him. Her heart pounding, Fluttershy took the root from the Stallion’s outstretched hoof and placed it in her, now rather battered and broken, wicker basket. She the turned to head for home. She paused.

“Say; um…Mr Don Mane?”

“Si Donna flutter shy?” said Don Mane, suddenly all wide eyes and innocent smiles.

“In which direction are you…um…headed?” At this question Don Mane turned his head to the horizon and sighed wistfully.

“I wasn’t headed anywhere Donna Fluttershy. I only travel for travel’s sake. Many years ago I was turned away by a mare: a beautiful Mare who taught my heart to sing. Then she left to follow her dreams and left me behind with my broken heart. That is why I wear this mask.” He gestured towards his masked visage. “To hide my humiliation I swore I would never show my face to anyone again…until I found someone I could love half as much.”

‘Like me,’ thought Fluttershy. Don Mane suddenly turned vague, unfocused eyes to look at her. He looked to lost and helpless that Fluttershy was struck with the urge to embrace him right there and then but before she could he had turned away again.

“So you see; I have no home-for home is where the heart is and I lost mine long ago. And so I travel from place to place, searching for…” There was a brief silence as his violet mane blew dramatically in the wind.

“Searching for?…” whispered Fluttershy. Don Mare turned to look at her and smiled. His smile was so sweet and full of hope that Fluttershy’s stomach did it’s 137th consecutive somersault.

“Searching for a reason to stay.” After fighting the urge to swoon, Fluttershy somehow managed to say “you know…um….it must be hard sleeping rough all the time…er….you know…I may not be able to give you a reason to stay…b…but you’re welcome to stay at my house until you’re ready…to get back on the road, that is. Hehe.”

Don Mane beamed at her like a foal tasting Honey for the first time and swept her off her hooves in a giant bear-hug.

“Oh Donna Fluttershy; Gracias! Muchos muchos gracias!” He then put her down, looking a little embarrassed. “You are truly kind.”

“Yes I am,” said Fluttershy dreamily as she led him out of the forest by his hoof, never once noticing that wherever he stepped, flowers would die beneath him.