Author's Note: This is purely me horsing around (pun intended). It's not beta'd, so there's probably 1001 mistakes. It might end up being very lame and it may not get finished, heck, I may end up being the only one who reads any of it, but I'm going to (try to) be ok with that. Still, if you want to read it, or leave criticisms and comments, please do. Happy New Year!

Forward

Greetings. I'm assuming you have heard the story of Rapunzel and how she came to reclaim her rightful place as the heir to the kingdom, and how a certain Eugene Fitzherbert aided her in doing just that. Unfortunately, I am also well aware that you have probably only heard the story as told by your fellow two-leggeds… erh, forgive me, I believe 'human' is the polite term these days. As… epic… a story teller as Eugene can be, I am afraid that his view was somewhat limited in certain areas, and, in truth, there is yet another dream, another story, that I am sure he failed to mention.

So now, with no more ado, I would like to present to you, the story of Rapunzel's Return, Eugene's Capture, and My Recognition.

~ Maximus

Prologue

My name is Maximus Valerius Domitius VII, son of Dietlinde and Maximus Valerius Domitius VI. Most call me Maximus for short, and a privileged few are permitted to call me "Max." You, however, are not one of the privileged few, so keep it to Maximus, if you please. I'll spare you the intricacies of Equine culture and tradition, but you must know that I was the youngest colt of my sire, and thus granted his name, for a sire's quality can only be known at the end of his life.

Now my sire was the king's own warhorse, proud and strong, the very one who helped him to build the land known as Corona. My mother was a fine mare. They say that even at a trot, her feet hardly seemed to grace the ground. As the youngest of my seventy-three brothers and sisters, I was expected to carry the fullness of this legacy. I had only just left home when I was presented to Duke Ludwig, the king's greatest champion, as the next horse who would bear him into battle. Needless to say, I was thrilled, for what colt does not dream of high adventure and daring battles with a two-legged… erh… human at his back?

We got along well and all went swimmingly until we walked through the wood one day and he was struck by a bandit's arrow. It was then that I learned humans are mortal, a lesson that every horse hates, but one we all must learn. As a result of this, I was given to Ludwig's nephew, Thomas. Thomas is a good man, don't get me wrong, but his sire and dam were perhaps too closely related, as often happens with nobility, and he was a marginal soldier at best.

All my dreams of glory and honor faded with the knowledge that Thomas would never be good enough to merit as high a post as his uncle, and I was doomed to just be one of a thousand cavalry horses. But then an idea struck me. Humans, it pains me to say, are quite speciest, so I knew better than to hope that I would be promoted for being a good soldier, but the sword cuts both ways, and it dawned on me that all my successes would be associated with Thomas – specism again – and that, perhaps, just perhaps, if I struggled long and hard, I could advance him enough to advance my own lowly station. Thus, out of tragedy, a much more determined young stallion emerged, bound to go above and beyond the call of duty, no matter the cost.

I believe I've given you enough of a back-story to properly set things up – no matter what Eugene thinks about them, back-stories are necessary. So now let's begin the story in earnest, Tangled: Straight from the Horse's Mouth.