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              A Strange Set of Circumstances               
                       -by Natmare-                        
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                         Prologue                          
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Prologue
Herbal Essence.
Lets see where to start, childhood I suppose.
Herbal was always quite short, gaunt, had a big nose, a need of reading glasses and had an unruly mane but, she also had loving parents, magical talent, and a love of nature.
Her mother was a stay at home mom and her father was a professor at Princess Celestia's Gifted School for Unicorns.
She had always shown talent with healing magic but natural remedies were always more interesting. Her father wanted her to attend his school but she still had to pass a test, professor or not. There was different test for the skill the subject wished learn, her test was to hatch the egg of an Ibong Adarna, a mystical, rainbow colored bird with healing properties. Let's say she passed with...Flying colors (I'm so sorry). She named her new friend Melody.
Accepted into the prestigious school she was not as easily accepted by her peers. Pencil legs, Four eyes, Big nose,etc. Not very creative mind you it still left an impact. She turned to her old friend nature for comfort and took daily nature walks through the schools massive garden. On one of these walks she found a sick mourning dove, so close to death she was sure she would be the one in mourning. For the next week she tried everything to heal the bird but nothing seemed to work. Magic, salves, potions, pills, Melody was still too young to work her magic, nothing was working! She then again turned to nature for the answer, using all her knowledge of natural healing she finally healed the bird now named Flower. As well as getting her Cutie Mark!
Growing further and further away from her classmates Herbal grew closer to nature and her bird friends. Graduating early to escape the ingrates she still continued to reside in the school for research and to prove her studies we not in vain... Until the incident after her work in field study, after which she abandoned the school to live alone, with her birds, where no ignorant ponies would bother her natural studies. She makes her living by selling medicine and other soother products through a middle mare in Ponyville, delivery by bird.
Pumpkin Spice,A little Herbal Essence, Spell Binder