Ah, the lovely and inevitable author's note prologue.

First, this is under the category "Romance/Parody" for a reason. It is a satire-ish thing actually, and it is so because it is romance. I, like many others, am sick of Legomances, particularly the kind that involve a girl with a flawed background, yet she is perfect yet feisty yet gentle yet romantic yet a kick-orc-butt warrior woman, yet she is also royalty.

Yes, there are many "yet"s.

This story is not funny/hilarious/hahaha in the way of a story that involves a Sue dying a horrible and most painful death. Though I do like to see that. Often. This story is funny/hilarious/actuallyIdon'tknowifitisornotcauseIcan'tjudgemyownwritingsobearwithmehahaha because I have taken the Sue genre and bent it into a pretzel.

This is a Shadowmance. With Shadowfax, obviously. Yes, I mean that Shadowfax.

Before this prologue ends, I should like to thank everyone on the PPC message board for your wonderful ideas that I use in this story. I would particularly like to thank Otik (a.k.a. Jay, if the board constitution lies not) for the name Sleipniara. It's perfect, pseudo-mythology and pseudo-Elvish (i.e. "I know Orialares doesn't actually mean anything in Elvish, but it sounds kewl!!!!!1!" Or that's how I see it.) all in one wonderful name!

Also, any OOC or un-horselike behavior is here for satiric purposes. (Do Sueists even care about keeping people IC and IS? [In species]) And while we're on the subject of impossible happenings, forget about common sense, because who cares about the fact that a horse cannot braid its own tail, yet no people have been mentioned yet in the fic?

And lastly, Shadowfax and anything else of Middle Earth belongs to Tolkien. I own the horrible clichéd SueHorses and the horses with My Little Pony sounding names.

So, o masochistic readers, without further ado I do present most formally to you The Epic Romance of Shadowfax and Sleipniara, written with much inspiration from the PPC board, much hate towards Sues, and as much cliché as is bearable.

~

The lovely mare had not been part of Shadowfax's herd for long. When she turned up, attacked by Wargs and bleeding heavily (though she recovered quickly and with no ill effects), they had had no choice but to take her in. Now it seemed like some were regretting their generosity.

The gorgeous creature that had joined them was not full Meara, which was their reason for disliking her. Moonstar whinnied, "She's half Pegasus!!! Can you believe such a thing??"

"Personally, I feel sorry for her," nickered Sunsea. "D'you think she'll ever find herself a love, looking like that?"

"Even as a foal, I hated those tales of flying horses and such nonsense," put in Silvermane. "I always said: horses are horses and birds are birds. Silly to mix 'em up in a horrible creation like that." She inclined her head towards where the fairly new arrival was grazing and the elderly mares all nodded sagely.

Sleipniara paid no heed to the gossipy elders. She was a perfect vision of confidence; her gently ferocity and humble vanity seeped from every cell of her being. She was pure white, a testament to her Mearanean heritage, though her coat gleamed as though it were a dragonfly's wing, in glimmering, shining iridescence. Her mane and tail were long, and her tail was plaited exquisitely in a complicated braid. Both tail and mane were shining midnight black, with streaks of gold like sunlight, and they sparkled as though all the stars of the heavens were mirrored in them. Her hooves were dainty and delicate, though her body was athletic and lean, yet feminine. These things, though they made her beautiful, they were not what made here different from the others. What made her so strange were her wings. The wings were feathery dusted with a gold glittering that reminded one of stardust.

With such a gorgeous appearance, it's impossible to believe that she didn't capture the attentions of at least one eligible young stallion. However, most of the horses thought her a freak, although she was lovely. Despite this, though, there was one horse enraptured with her.

A/N: Oooooooh, I wonder who the mystery stallion could be. Hmmmmm…*oozes out sarcasm through the ears*  Anyway, if you are a complete masochist, or at least enjoy moronic clichés, then stay tuned for the next riveting chapter.