Fluttershy and the Wild Stallion
Part 1: Meeting Mossy Mane

Fluttershy wandered about the edges of the Everfree Forest, picking mushrooms and flowers as she went. Like a modern-day druid, she knew what was good to eat and what was not. She had little deals with ponies all across the marketplace and even with Zecora the witch-doctor for various items. Keeping so many pets and adopted animals cost a lot of bits, after all! Humming the usual innocent theme, she stuck her head over a log and smiled when she spied some mushrooms clinging to it. Leaning gingerly, she plucked them from the root so they would stay in one piece. “My, you’re a big one!” she giggled a little, opening her wings for balance as she leaned further. Pluck. Into her herbal bag it went. Not only was Fluttershy a pretty good vet, but hunting for herbs and such helped her financially.

Fluttershy’s herb bag was inlaid with the softest of materials so nothing would moosh together or mix up on accident. It had plenty of extra little pockets for items that were poisonous when eaten raw, and even had a supply of little zip-baggies for things that tended to excrete juice when squeezed. It was embroidered with her cutie mark to show it was hers, of course, and she took it out with her whenever she went herbing.

“Oh my, hullo there!” she leaned, pushing her mane out of her eyes when she saw a purple mushroom with black spots on it. “Deathcaps are no good for this area, I’m afraid!” turning, she got out a little zippy bag. Turning it inside out with her hoof, she used it like a glove to pick the poisonous mushroom and zipped it closed. “There.” She chirped, stuffing it in a special pocket. “Oh wow, mint leaves! They’re early this year!” she trotted along, smiling wide. The Cakes over at Sugarcube Corner and the chefs at Ponyville’s resturaunts loved mint leaves. Gently, oh-so-gently, she pulled at the vines so that their removal wouldn’t harm their host trees too much.

The butter yellow Pegasus trotted gaily back and forth in the early-morning mists of the forest. It was still mostly dark and cool, but the edges of the forest were perfectly safe and friendly. She fluttered her wings a bit, kicking up the layer of mist and peering along the ground. Oh my! A Ghost Mushroom! She lay down on her belly, staring at it intently. Ohhh, she would have to mark this spot somehow. She peered around, and got a little stick with a leaf on it. Ghost Mushrooms were pale, brittle things that came apart like icicles in a wind-chime if mishandled. She would have to come back and get this when her rounds were over for the evening.

Trotting along and coming to the edge of the river, she peered about some more. Special mosses could be used by medical ponies like nurse Redheart and such… were there any around? The shy pony wandered along, her eyes fixed intently on the edge of the water. The rocks that made up the edges of the rushing waters were often home to mushy, furry mosses that would rake in quite a few bits for her. “Hmm… not much here this morning…” she murmured with a little sigh. Ah well. She’d gotten a nice haul of mushrooms and other little things. She would package each thing, weigh it, and go about the marketplace when it opened this morning to make some money. “I just wi…!” her sentence died in her throat, for she saw something she only saw once in a blue moon. “Mare’s Blush.” She whispered reverently. Opening her little wings, the Pegasus flew under the Ponyville arch bridge (it connected the park to the main part of town, crossing the rushing river).

There it was. The rarest moss in the area. Fluttershy recognized it right away because it was a rare and rather bright pink hair moss. It fluttered a little in the moving waters, but was soft and furry up on the rock it was growing on. Hovering in place, Fluttershy wondered how best to get it. Should she scrape it off? Oh no no, that wouldn’t do. If it got mixed with mud, the purity of it would be tainted and she wouldn’t be able to sell it. Should she… oh dear, what should she do? She fretted, staring at it. It was worth its weight in gold, she couldn’t just LEAVE it there! She flew in slow, worried circles around the little rock. She’d only ever found one patch of it per year, if that. This would pay for a month’s wages when sold to the proper ponies. (Truth be told, Mare’s Blush was usually used to ‘help’ in the bedroom when consumed, but it did have several other medicinal qualities… yeahhh…)

“Maybe I can just take the whole rock!” she smiled, leaning down and sticking her hooves in the chilly water. The current pulled at her, but she beat her little wings as hard as she could. “Hynn!” she heaved at it with all the strength her fragile little frame could muster. Groannnnning with effort, she dislodged it from its resting place with a sucking sound of mud. “You’re gonna--MYEEP!” she yelped a little, almost falling into the water. She beat her wings faster. “You’re gonna help pay for a bunch of new bird houses! And some deer feed! And maybe a new quilt!” she giggled a little, sweating with exertion.

Fluttershy was grateful it was only just past dawn. Nopony would see her flying through the air with her head down and her rump up like she was expecting a stallion to pounce on her. But, so heavy was the rock she could barely stay aloft! Pulling slowly out from under the arched bridge, she gritted her teeth and whimpered fretfully. If she could just get to shore, she could rest there for a minute. Whimpering again and gritting her teeth as sweat went down her face, she gave a yelp when a salty droplet went in her eye. The loss of concentration sent her rock into the rushing waters and it took her with it! She hit the bottom hard, and her face connected when her prize so swiftly she was knocked out.

Limp and drifting like a corpse, Fluttershy was carried away by the river’s flow. By chance her body hit a rock and she slowly turned end over end until she hit the surface. On her back with her wings limply open, she drifted while the world was darkness around her—deep into Everfree.

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Mossy Mane trotted along, enjoying the brand new day. Stopping in his favorite field, he set to grazing for a bit. It was a warm, sunny day and he was glad for it. Rainy days were no good, and he had to spend the entire thing under the canopy of trees.

He was an earthy-brown thing, a stallion with a muddy-green mane and tail. His eyes glittered with intelligence, though he did not speak as he bent his face to the ground to pull grass from the ground. Crunch-crunch-crunch. He stood idle, enjoying the sun on his back and the taste of grass in his mouth. The endless wood that was his home was ever-inviting, ever-bountiful with food, and ever-free for a stallion like himself to do whatever he pleased. Cocking his head and standing there with a bored expression, he leaned and got another mouthful of grass. Hmm, maybe he would try more yellow grass today. That tended to be crispier. He liked the crunch in his mouth.

Turning about, he spotted some clover. Oh, clover was nice too. He leaned and pressed his face into it. Mossy stood with his ears perked for predators while he ate. He wasn’t in a herd, per say, he’d never seen any other creatures like himself, but he did get lonely sometimes. However, being alone meant he had to be alert, even when he was eating. Crunch-crunch-munch. His ears turned this way and that was he trotted along through the open field and towards the river. Yellow grass grew in the brightest sunlight, near the river. His morning eating was like a ritual to keep, though he had no such word for a thing like that.

Kicking leaves for fun, Mossy bucked at the air a few times, nickering with laughter. Flailing his hooves about to stretch his muscles, he gave his mane a toss as he found himself at his destination. Ah, yellow grass, so crunchy. Mmm…

Standing about and watching birds move along the branches, he stopped to stare at them. The birds were acting oddly today-- and the squirrels too. They were all running towards a certain spot at the riverbank, pointing and chittering. Curious as to what his little forest friends were so upset about, Mossy got another mouthful of yellow grass and crunched at it as he went to go see.

There was a yellow creature with wings and yellow fur laying splayed out on the sandbar. She (he knew it was a she, for she was splayed out on her back) was a mess of mud and sand particles and looked dead. He wrinkled his muzzle. Dead things attracted scavengers. He didn’t want to be around when that happened. Ohh, what was that? She seemed to have something attached to her body, and it was giving off a heavenly scent.

Wandering close and with caution, the stallion poked the yellow creature a few times. Poke. Poke-poke. When she didn’t move and he was sure she was dead, he stuck his muzzle into the little sack attached to her hip and rooted around. Yummy leaves! They tasted like the cold season in his mouth. He loved yummy leaves! She had whole vines of them, too. Well, waste not want not. He shoved his whole head into her bag. Why, she was carrying all sorts of goodies! Mossy ate noisily. It wasn’t everyday that a whole pile of edible goodies just landed in front of him in the morning. In fact, that never happened. Chewing on the mint leaves and slurping up the vines like spaghetti, he favored the dead mare with a second look, leaning over her. He held up his hoof, near hers. Huh. She must’ve been a female of his species. Too bad she was dead, he did wish he had a companion. Maybe even a mate. Other forest creatures got mates every year. Why not him? Ah well.

“*Cough*!” Fluttershy suddenly gagged with consciousness, curling up and breaking into a coughing fit. Mossy reared up, spooked, backing up and stamping his hooves animatedly. Stamping his hooves made some predators run, after all. But no, she lay there and coughed, holding herself. “Ohhh…” she said weakly as her beautiful eyes slid open. Mossy was entranced. She stared blearily at the sky, her vision sliding in and out of focus while her brain tried to restart itself. “What happened… ?” Fluttershy whispered, holding her head. Mossy backed up, intimidated by the strange creature as she rolled over and opened her wings with a weak little flutter. He didn’t like it. Didn’t like it at all. He spooked a little, tromping up and down on his front hooves and stirring the dust of the earth a little. The yellow Pegasus slowly looked up, and the stallion came into focus before her. “Oh my.” She said, wilting shyly behind her mane. She turned to look at the river, then at herself. Had he saved her?

Mossy jittered a little, but didn’t quite bolt yet. She wasn’t rising to come at him, just laying there on her belly. Cocking his head, he tossed his mane and gave her a firm snuffle-snort. Huffing steam from his nostrils to assert his dominance, he stomped his front hooves a bit.

She wilted back a little, looking up at him with big soft eyes.“Oh my!” said Fluttershy. The Pegasus studied the stranger. He was big. Not as big as Big Macintosh, but still big. Not a lick of fat on him, though he did look well-fed. His mane was moss-green, tangled with twigs and leaves. His coat was brown like mud, and his eyes of the deepest shining emerald. “Did you… save me?” she asked softly, leaning at him.

Mossy leaned back at her until their muzzles were almost touching. She smelled nice. Like flowers and sweetness. He honked his nose against hers in a friendly gesture, then backed up a bit. Fluttershy turned pink, easing slowly onto her hooves and holding her head. He backed up more, as though she might spring at him.

Fluttershy stood there awkwardly, and the silence between them stretched on. “H… hullo?” she tried again. He stared at her silently, blink-blinking. He had lovely eyes. She’d never seen such deep green eyes before. Though he seemed mute for the moment, and quite dirty, he hadn’t done anything super-agrerssive. “I’m… Flutter-*mumble*…” she introduced herself, looking to one side and hiding her face behind her mane. He didn’t ask her to speak up, only kept staring at her intently, like she was the most interesting thing he’d ever seen. “What’s your name?” she wanted to know who the stallion who’d saved her from the river was. At least his name.

Mossy’s response was to nonchalantly lift his tail, poop, and then flick leaves over the mess with his back hooves. All the while he was idly chewing on some grass. He liked this female, her mouth-sounds were soothing to his ears.

Fluttershy stared, a little slack-jawed. Little alarms started going off in her head, and she began to back away. He lifted a hoof, leaning at her like he was about to follow. “A-anyway, th-thank you for your help goodbye!” she spread her wings and labored off the ground, still a little woozy from her trip down the river.

Mossy cocked his head in awe, his eyes growing large. He couldn’t fly! How come she could?! He took off at a full gallop to follow her. Fluttershy was too focused on finding her way back to Ponyville and getting above the trees to notice him. One had to get quite high in order to get above the canopy, but now and then Mossy would see a fleck of yellow flapping through the sky. The yellow mare spotted the Ponyville clock tower in the far distance and made her way towards it. Thank goodness. It would only take an hour or two as the crow flies to get there. It was a good thing she hadn’t drifted too far into the Everfree Forest. The wild land had no borders if you went in too deep, and you could get lost forever! She’d been very, very lucky indeed.

...Little did she know she was leading a wild stallion back to civilization.

End of Part 1

Next Chapter: Reaching Roseluck's Roseary Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour