That Strange Stallion
The Strange Arrival
It was a gorgeous day in Ponyville, the sun was shining and the birds were singing, which was especially important on this day. Almost every pony was doing their part to prepare for the Summer Sun Celebration. It is an especially important celebration to the ponies of Equestria, and Ponyville was pulling out all the stops, for her Royal Highness, Princess Celestia herself, would be gracing the little town this year as she raises the sun.
One yellow colored pegasus with a pink mane and tail was a little out of the way doing her part for the celebration with a flock of birds rehearsing for the song they planned to sing.
“Alright everypony,” her voice was soft, not willing to raise it too high so to not scare the birds. “We all know what song we’re going to be singing, so we’d best start practicing. We don’t want to disappoint anypony. N-not that any of you are bad singers, you all tweet beautifully. Now on my count, a one” however she was not able to get further then that as a ‘Pomf’ sound came from nearby. She gave a small squeak before diving into the bushes. The birds scattered in fear of the noise.
Almost immediately after she landed in the bush, a light green stallion with a slightly unkempt brown mane and tail tumbled out of nothing. There was no flash or burst of magic, he just seemed to fall out of an invisible door. She saw no horn or even wings. He was just an ordinary earth pony. She wondered how he could have teleported. Did he have a unicorn friend? He was alone though.
He came to a stop with his face buried in the dirt. The pegasus took a hesitant step out to go and see if the stallion was alright but immediately went back into the bush when he sat up. The tumble wasn’t that violent and she could tell he had no scratches from where she was. She was glad he wasn’t hurt but that didn’t make her feel like coming out, he was still a stranger after all.
The stallion blinked several times and shook his head. He raised a hoof and smacked the back of his own head, exhaling loudly out of his nose. His efforts were rewarded by some dirt and rocks pushed out of his nostrils. Then he did something odd.
He brought his hoof close to his face and looked intently at it as if he was seeing it for the first time. His eyes wandered up his foreleg and down his back only to stop at his flank and tail. She took a glance at his cutie mark and saw that it was two interlocked hooves, one was green like him and the other a sort of pale white. She wondered if his talent had something to do with couples. The thought made her blush and hide behind her mane.
“Wow” his voice was excited but friendly, not mean or scary as she feared. “I’m a quadruped again, neat!” he waved his foreleg smiling as it wiggled around.
That confused the pegasus as she peaked out of her mane. ‘Again’? Did he lose the leg and the weird teleportation gave it back? That sounded horrible, losing a limb. The thought made her shudder.
He stood up and trotted in place, seeming to test his limbs. Then, without warning, he galloped out of sight. She waited a few seconds before sticking her head out of the bush, looking in the direction he left.
“Nope still here,” said a voice from behind her.
“Eek!!” she screamed jumping out of the bush, turning around and practically cowering before the strange smiling stallion.
“Hi there!” he greeted her but she didn’t greet him back. “I’m Martin, who are you?” he continued without breaking his smile.
The pegasus tilted her head a bit at the odd name. She’d never heard of a pony name like 'Martin'. It was the name of a species of bird not common in Equestria, but on a pony? She didn’t voice these thoughts, not wanting to offend him.
They stood quietly opposite of each other for a while but he didn’t falter even a bit. It seemed like he wasn’t going to take her silence as an answer. So she decided to indulge him. With as much courage as she could muster, she answered him.
“I-I’m Fluttershy” the now identified pony’s voice couldn’t have been more than a mumble, not willing to meet his eyes as she spoke.
“That’s a nice name, Fluttershy,” he complimented her somehow able to hear her name.
She looked up at him in surprise, ponies aren’t normally able to hear her when she gets really nervous, especially around new faces or in large crowds.
He seemed to understand her look and responded, “I have really good ears.” As if to emphasize that point, his ears flopped out of sync on top of his head. His eyes crossed as he made the effort.
The goofy look got a little giggle out of her but she quickly put her hooves on her mouth. She didn’t mean to laugh at him. She hoped she didn't offend him.
He read her again like an open book. He didn’t tease her, but gave a reassuring smile. “It’s okay. I’d like it if I can bring a smile to a pony. It’s actually what I do best,” he said with such certainty in himself.
Fluttershy hesitated but her curiosity bested her fear. “Is that what your cutie mark means?” she asked, glancing at his flank. The question seemed to confuse him and he followed her eyes towards the mark.
He smiled in understanding and turned back to her “That’s a helping hoof, I love to make another’s day brighter, if even only the littlest bit. Personally, I like to accomplish this with physically helping them. You know, helping them when they fall, moving things that are too heavy or are in the way, give them a shoulder to lean on, general things. It feels more heartfelt when done that way.”
“Oh, that’s nice of you,” she complemented him back. She could see that in the mark. Making lives of others better was something she liked to do too. But helping other ponies was a little much for her. She preferred helping animals.
“Thank you, I’m glad I was able to make your day a little brighter” his smile grew with those words.
“Huh?” she tilted her head in thought, did he?
“Yep, you’re not as scared of me as you were before. Plus you’re speaking more clearly, not mumbling quite as low,” he answered the unasked question.
“Oh,” so he did. She HAD gotten a little comfortable with just talking to him, but now that he had pointed it out, her nervousness was creeping back up on her. She avoided his eyes and kicked nervously at the ground.
He seemed to notice that and turned to leave, “Well, I think I’m going to explore this town. It was nice talking to you Fluttershy.” With that he started walking by her and towards another part of the town.
“Oh, um, you too Martin” she mumbled quietly towards him. Her ears dropped. She felt ashamed that she had shied away from giving a proper response to the strangely named but nice stallion.
Her spirits were quickly lifted however, when his head turned slightly and his smile grew. She just knew he HAD heard her. With a little more confidence in herself, she gathered up the birds again and began practicing.