Atropa Belladonna
Discovery & Banishment
Four years later
Night Flower hurried out into the square. "Hi Greyhoof!" she cheerfully greeted her friend. "What're we gonna do today?" she asked.
Greyhoof said, "Wanna play tag?"
"Yeah!" Flower said. "You'll never catch me!" Giggiling, she ran off.
Flower's mother watched from a distance. It seems as though that "bump" was, in fact, a horn. She had told Night Flower to hide her horn for the others were extremely racist, and they would cast her out into the woods if they found out what she truly was.
Greyhoof barreled towards Night Flower. They ran around in crazy circles and zigzags, until Flower stumbled, and was tackled by Greyhoof. They tumbled around, laughing. That is, until, Greyhoof saw her horn. His eyes bulged, and he continued to stare at her forehead.
"Greyhoof, what's wrong?" Night Flower asked.
Greyhoof backed away slowly, his eyes wide. "You're a unicorn," he whispered softly.
Flower gasped. "Please don't tell anypony!" she begged. "They'll send me away!" She trotted towards Greyhoof, who backed up even further.
"Get away from me," he snarled. "Get away from me, you FREAK!" Ponies gathered around to watch the spectacle.
Night Flower blinked, Greyhoof's words echoing in her head. FREAK! Tears formed in her eyes. "I-I'm not a freak," she whimpered. "I'm just..."
"Night Flower!" her mother said. "It's time to go go home."
In a daze, Flower followed her mother. She looked back at Greyhoof, who was watching her leave with disgust engraved on his features. Then, Flower bumped into her mother's leg. She had stopped.
"Mama?" she asked timidly. Then she saw why her mother stopped. They were surronded by a ring of ponies. All of them looked enraged. The ring slowly closed around them, blocking any chance of escape.
"Night Flower", her mother said. "When I say run, you run. Forget about me. Do you understand?"
"But, Mama-"
"DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"
"Y-y-yes…"
The ring had shrunk so much by this time, it almost touched the pair. One pony grabbed Flower's mother, who screamed, "RUN!"
And Night Flower ran. She wove between ponies' legs, causing them to trip over each other. She ran in chaotic circles and spirals, with no rhyme or reason. Unfortunately, fillies cannot run as fast as a full-grown stallion, and she was tackled to the ground. "MAMA!" she screamed, as she was suspened in midair, the pony who had caught her rushing towards the Everfree. But her mother was nowhere to be seen. Flower screamed, and accidently let loose a blast of purple magic, blasting out the eye of her captor. He screamed in pain, and dropped her. Flower hit the ground, but this time they were ready. She was captured by many ponies, and the lot of them dove deep into Everfree. Trees and strange shadows flashed by, until the group thought that they were deep enough in the forest. They dumped her some bushes, and ran off.
Night Flower lay there for some time, but eventually got up on shaky legs. " Mama...?" she whispered, almost unaudibly. No response. She was totally, utterly alone, and nopony loved her, except Mama, and she was gone. Flower couldn't hold it in anymore. She collapsed onto the ground and sobbed, with only the trees to listen to her cries.
Atropa Belladonna
Prologue
Once, beyond time immemorable in the universe of magical ponies, there was once a radical group of ponies. They were all Earth ponies who believed that they could get along without the other races, and that they were superior. They left to make their own lives elsewhere. Some moved far north and founded Stalliongrad. Others moved into what would eventually be Everfree Forest, founding a cheerful little village called Sunny Town.
The Sunny Town ponies never left their home, for they had everything they needed, and were completely independent. However, this independence had negative repercussions. Such as forgetting about cutie marks.
And so, it here our story starts.
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The mare was in labor. She had been alone when her water broke that night. If only her dear husband was here....... She breathed rapidly, the pain coming in quick waves. The mare let out one final howl as the foal finally exited her body. She lay gasping for a minute, then started licking her little one clean. As she was finishing up, she noticed an odd bump on the filly's otherwise perfect head. How strange, she thought, but then decided to think nothing of it. Besides, the mare thought, as her foal began to nurse, it'll probably go away after awhile. Then, an awful thought slithered into her mind. The others are so superstitious. They'll think she's cursed! Quickly, she rearranged her foal's mane to hide it.
"You need a name," she mused aloud. She took in her filly's black coat, the evergreen mane, and deep purple eyes. "Night Flower," the mare decided. "You are purple and green like a flower. You are black like the night. And," she said, kissing Night Flower's head, "you are as beautiful as both."
