Nightshade

Flower, now travelling under the moniker of Nightshade, continued her daily routine forging deep into the Everfree Forest. The castle had recently commissioned her to supply the guards with a wide variety of helpful potions and deadly poisons on a regular basis. They never mentioned what they needed them for, just that it was ordered by Princess Celestia herself for use in some difficult circumstances that the palace guard was having to deal with.

Mixing herbs was one thing she actually found enjoyable. It gave her a daily escape from life, a way to forget her past for a short while. It never lasted long enough though. When the brewing was completed and the amnesia brought about by her busyness began to wear off it was back to reality. She wished she could just stay in an eternal haze and not have to think about her past anymore.

After a long trek she finally reached the place that she loved the flowers most: the ruins of the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. The ruins were something that she could relate to. They were feared by most ponies and forgotten by the rest. She knew of the beauty that lie hidden within the ruins though, unlike the rest of them. An enormous variety of plant life grew in, around, and on the castle. She could pick most of what she needed for her daily tasks in this area alone.

It was getting close to dusk, so Nightshade knew that she needed to hasten her pace if she wished to be out of the forest before dark. As she finished with her foraging she looked up for a few moments. In her vision was a large stone arch, dilapidated and strewn with crawling vines. She watched as the slowly setting sun fell within the boundaries of the arch and sent beams of radiant light pouring through its many fissures.

The sun was the other thing that she had always loved, though she rarely got a chance to admire it. Most of her daytime hours were spent within the wooded areas of the Everfree where few rays of light were able to sneak through the looming treetops. She enjoyed the sun because it could take simple things and make them look gorgeous and inspiring. The arch it was currently resting within was a sterling example. After taking in her fill of the sunshine she started her journey back through the forest with nothing to keep her company but the sound of her hooves on the dry, crackling leaves that covered the forest floor.

When Nightshade exited the forest the sun was just falling past the horizon and Luna's glowing moon began its ascent into the cool night sky. She began to canter down the rocky dirt path towards her dwelling. As she passed through town the ponies still out and about grew silent and watched her closely, but she simply continued on her way; it was part of the routine. Fillies and colts were herded indoors, shutters were closed, and everypony stayed wary of her passing through the streets. Many truly believed that she was cursed and that they would be too if they got too close to her.

Nightshade came to the decrepit shack that had once been her parent's home, stepped inside, and barred the door. The castle officials had given her the deed to the old house in return for her services. They had offered to provide her with better lodgings but she had insisted that this would be all she needed besides a few brewing supplies. She sat down and began her work.

She started with some of the simpler potions on the list. They were each measured and concocted with utmost care. Nightshade always made enough to keep some for her own use. After completing the more mundane potions she began working with the more elaborate ones: things like healing or feather potions. She didn't make any of those for herself however, as she had little need for them.

Finally she donned her protective gear and began working with the poisonous materials. It was the easiest task for her execution-wise as the plants had practically the exact effects that she needed them to; she just had to extract the toxins. However this task always brought an air of sadness to her being. It not only reminded her of her tragic mistake but she knew these ingredients could be used to harm more innocent ponies if placed in the wrong hooves. That was the last thing she wanted to be responsible for.

She especially hated working with her namesake, the bloom that had killed her parents, but it was one of the most potent and effective poisons she had access to and that was what the castle guard needed. Nightshade finished with her work and began throwing away the scraps of plant that were left over. She placed each of the completed brews into her saddlebag and prepared to catch the night train to Canterlot.

Canterlot’s citizens were no different than the ponies in Ponyville. The ponies that were still awake watched her with fear and avoided trotting too close to her. To them she was a carrier of deadly concoctions, a spreader of disease, a creature of the night.

As her journey to the castle continued she noticed a gruff looking unicorn stallion looming in the shadows, watching her every move. She had noticed him watching her a few nights before. He was different than the others. He didn't have a look of fear; it was something else, but she couldn't quite place it. Nightshade decided to ignore him and started approaching the castle gates.

"Delivery!" she shouted out to the gate guards, who then took notice of her. One made a motion with his hoof. Soon the main gates opened and she entered the courtyard.

She proceeded to her regular drop-off spot and knocked on the door. Shortly, two castle guards and another pony, who was adorned with white robes, opened the doors to make the trade with her. The robed pony took the potions from Nightshade and in return placed a small satchel of bits in her saddlebag.

"Are you sure you can manage with that amount, Miss Nightshade? Wouldn't want to be cheating you," he enquired politely.

Nightshade offered a rather cold reply. "I'll be fine. Don't worry about me."

"Well, alright then, goodnight." The pony shook his head and headed back into the castle as the two guards closed the door behind him.

As the main gates shut firmly behind Nightshade, she began trotting down the paved path back to the train station. She noticed that most everypony that had been out on the streets when she first came by were no longer anywhere to be seen. The silence of the city was almost deafening.

As she passed an alleyway a small shadow broke into her field of vision, followed promptly by a faint breeze brushing across either side of her face. Suddenly, something pulled taught around her throat and began choking her. A lasso had been thrown out of the pitch blackness and found its rest around her neck. It dragged her into the alley as she bucked her hind legs and tried to scream.

Her eyes quickly adjusted to the change of lighting and she recognized the strange stallion that had been watching her earlier. That look he had given her had been a look ridden with cruel intentions. He lifted her with the rope and hit her head hard against the brick wall, then dropped her to the ground. Blood started to seep through Nightshade's mane.

"Stop struggling and then maybe I won’t slit your damn throat," the stallion threatened without a trace of remorse in his voice.

When she realized she wasn't escaping without a fight she quickly reached towards her saddlebag to grab something, only to find that it had fallen off her when she was jerked into the shadows and was far from her reach. The stallion tied the end of her noose around the leg of a nearby dumpster and started rummaging through her saddlebags.

"What a horrible night to have a curse, eh? Even if you scream nopony would help you for fear that you'd curse them too. The superstitious fools. All the better for me though."

She realized she had no way to stop this from happening. This stallion was going to rob her. Nightshade began crying, praying to Celestia that this pony wouldn’t hurt her.

As quickly as she had been pulled into the alley, a shadow stormed through the air and straight into the side of her attacker. It knocked the stallion on his back, but not for long. He swiftly regained his balance and turned to face this new being that dared to interrupt his plans.

"This ain't none of your business, so I suggest you get on out of here before you get yourself hurt." He tried to sound threatening, but it was obvious he was slightly shaken by the hit.

Almost the instant the stallion finished his taunting the dark figure landed another hit directly across his face, knocking one of his teeth out. Once Nightshade finally realized what had happened she looked up to see her attacker magically unsheathe a large knife and start swinging it at the dark figure. She now noticed that the figure was one of the town's batpony night guards.

The guard deftly maneuvered his way around the attacks of the enraged stallion but couldn't seem to find a window to retaliate. Nightshade remembered her saddlebag and quickly untied herself.  She hurried over to begin searching through the bag for something. The other two ponies continued their combat and the unicorn began identifying the patterns in his attacker’s dodges, causing him to start gaining the upper hoof. He lunged his blade directly at his combatant, but stopped just short of his mark.

Nightshade cut him with a blade, which had been poisoned with a paralyzing agent that she had been keeping in her saddlebag. It was just a small cut but it allowed the poison to do its work, instantly immobilizing the stallion. The guard looked shocked at first but quickly regained his composure and started putting the seemingly lifeless stallion in hoofcuffs.

Nightshade wasn’t staying around to be questioned about the encounter. She was still terrified from the ordeal, and shaking from the adrenaline rush it had given her. Getting home was the only thing she wanted to focus on. The guard had seen all he needed to make an arrest anyways she figured. She began trotting towards home, still dizzy from the head trauma that she had endured. As she went on her way two other guards arrived at the alleyway to take the unicorn stallion into custody. Her defender, the batpony, noticed that she had disappeared and immediately began surveying the area. He spotted her and started a quick but non-threatening approach towards her.

"Hey, are you okay?" he questioned worriedly as he caught up with her. "That looks like a nasty hit you took on the head."

"It's nothing; please leave me alone." Nightshade didn't want to speak to anypony right now, she just wanted to get back to her home, her haven.

"Nothing? He nearly robbed you! That wound on your head is swelling; are you sure you don't need to go to a hospital?" He was visibly troubled about not getting her medical attention but he didn’t seem to want to force it on her either.

"I don't need any help." Nightshade increased the speed of her gait.

"You damn sure needed help a few minutes ago!"

Tears began running down Nightshade's face but she didn't stop trotting. The batpony must have realized how harsh his statement sounded and he began to apologize. "Hey, I uh... That was uncalled for. I shouldn't have said that to you when you've already been through so much. I know you probably don't want to trust anypony right now. I'm sorry."

"No. I'm sorry." Nightshade stopped and turn towards him. "You saved me from that stallion and I haven't even had the decency to thank you. What is your name?"

The batpony's demeanor picked back up a little. He seemed to be making progress with her now.

"The name's Lucky Star. Everyone calls me Lucky. Might I ask your name?"

"Thank you Lucky Star; if you hadn't come along... I'd probably be taking a beating from that pony, but I'm not. Thank you." Nightshade continued on towards her home now. Lucky continued following her, even going so far as to board her train back to Ponyville. She assumed he did so to make sure she got there safely.

Once they arrived at her shack she turned to face him once more. "Thank you for escorting me to my home and for... for everything else." Nightshade stepped inside her home and began to shut the door behind her, but it was stopped by Lucky's hoof.

"Standard protocol that I check the victim's home for anypony or anything else dangerous in case there's more than one pony out to get you. I'm afraid you're gonna have to deal with me for a bit longer." Lucky stepped inside and began searching the house.

Nightshade resigned to the fact Lucky would be there a for a few more minutes and went through her cabinets to find something appropriate for her wound. She quickly mixed up a healing poultice that would numb the pain and stop the swelling and she started to apply it.

"Here, let me do that for you," Lucky stated as he came back into the room. "I was a field medic before I got recruited into the town guard."

She hesitantly handed him the healing poultices and bandages and allowed him to begin gently applying the medicine to her head. As he worked it in, it produced a calming effect for her and the tension in her body began to fade.

"Nightshade," she began. "I'm called Nightshade."

Lucky continued applying the salve. "So, now I know what you're called, but what's your name? Most parents wouldn't name their foal after a poisonous plant."

Nightshade had almost forgotten that she had been called anything else in her life, but she didn't want to remember. She wanted to be Nightshade.

"Nightshade is my name. If you don't like it that's your problem," she shot back, hoping to throw him off the subject. It worked.

Lucky finished wrapping some bandages around her head. "Well then Nightshade, I think you're all cleaned up. Take a look."

Nightshade observed herself in the small, cracked mirror that she owned and saw that Lucky definitely had experience with treating wounds. The bandages were applied very cleanly and professionally. The pain had almost completely faded but a dull throbbing still remained.

Nightshade noticed that Lucky appeared to be staring at her. He almost seemed to be examining her in the moonlight that was creeping through a crack in the wall. She turned to look more closely at him and noticed a very strange expression on his face; it was something she had never seen before. She began to grow uncomfortable as the pony continued looking her up and down.

Nightshade softly spoke. "If you’re done you may leave now..."

Lucky's ears dropped and he backed away a bit. "Oh uh, right. I... I hope you heal up soon."

He slowly headed out the door and closed it behind him. Nightshade lay in the silence of the night.

Somepony... helped me... he didn't have anything to gain, he could have been killed by that stallion. He must not have recognized who I was, but he didn't seem shocked when I did tell him my name. He was so helpful, while I only responded coldly to him. I guess not everypony is superstitious of me. What was that look he gave me before he left? It doesn't matter. I'll probably never see him again.

Her mind continued asking all these questions but was unable to come up with any answers. She kept recounting the events of the day over and over in her head until they lulled her into a deep sleep.