//------------------------------//
// The Beginning 
// Story: Sugar Loaf 
// by monkeylegs 
//------------------------------//

  Equestria was normal. Ruled by Princess Celestia, raising and lowering the sun and moon, and thats all thats special about it. Theres pony residents, who do their normal things, every now and then glancing at a weird statue of discord. No one questions why there's the alicorn shape in the moon, it doesn't matter much. Everypony was either a pegasus,unicorn,or earth pony. They had a mane and tail made of hair, cutie marks, no designs or patterns on their fur, and normal eyes that all looked the same besides for some it might have been bright pink instead of bright blue, or maybe bright green. 

Then there was a small little foal in Everfree. How strange! A foal, in the Everfree Forest.. Her eye color was dull grey, and she was a unicorn. But she was colorful.. very colorful. White horn with green,pink,and blue stripes.. Striped ears of the same pattern, and her muzzle was hot pink! Her tail wasn't made of hair either. It looked like a furry lizard tail! Nopony saw her, nopony knew her, everypony was to afraid to go in the forest. Why? Couple beasts near the entrance. 

But there was a way she lived, zebras. She was protected and helped by zebras. A filly named Zecora liked the young foal, named her Sugar Loaf. Zecora was a smart filly, she was skilled in potion-making for her age. The zebra villagers deeper into the forest believed she'd be skilled enough to make a living of making advanced potions that challenged unicorn spells! Sugar Loaf liked zebras, they were like family to her. Due to her age, she even thought she was a zebra herself! 
Zecora lived with Sugar Loaf, she was an orphan, like Sugar Loaf. She lived in a small abandoned hut, she thought she'd probably fix it up when she was older. 

A bit closer to the back of the forest, there was a zebra village. Zebra's weren't native to the forest, but some decided to live here. Why? No one else would, and the forest has many many secrets. The ponies were to scared, the griffins didn't want to, the minotaurs were to far (There were only a few in Equestria), the seaponies couldn't leave the ocean,but the zebras had full ability to live here. They weren't to far, they were curious about the old forest, they weren't afraid, and unlike seaponies, they had four hooves perfect for walking. So they made a small town, it had some houses and huts, businesses, and many zebras. Travelling merchants loved the village, those who were afraid to enter the forest but wanted to sell the plants,seeds, and potions hidden in the forest could go to the village, as there was an entrance that was guarded from monsters. Time to time Zecora visited the town, usually to sell some of her potions and buy some food. It was extra work for Zecora, taking care of this rainbow foal, but she knew it would be worth it, and she was kind enough to care for the helpless thing.

Sometimes she wondered what ever happened to Sugar's parents, and what species exactly she was. She looked like a pony, but.. Different. She wasn't a zebra, not a dragon, not a zebra, and definetly not a seapony. She had crazy striped colorful designs, and grey eyes. She wondered what her talent would be, she wondered all of this, but knew soon she would know, in time. Sugar was interested in Zecora's potions, and liked to simply sit and stare when Zecora made them. Zecora's only talent wasn't simply potions, but she was better then most at rhymes, and had a good understanding of the forest, for one of her age. Almost every time she spoke she spoke in rhymes, for her vocabulary was astounding. She also knew of poison joke, and many other plants and what they did. She used her understanding to help with potion-making. She could make healing potions that helped heal wounds faster, which was good for the times Sugar got herself into trouble.