• "Not another one," were the first words the colt heard as he first opened his eyes to meet the sun's bright glare.

    "Ah, well, herd him over to the Deadlands, where his kind belong," a second muttered.

    "Yes, of course," the first agreed, and roughly shoved the newborn to his feet. "Come along, then!"

    Blinking away the blur in front of his eyes, the colt asked what looked to be a white unicorn, "Where am I?"

    "That doesn't matter, colt! Move it!" was the response. For several minutes they continued forward, before finally stopping at what seemed to be a line of... Black trees?

    "They're dead," whispered the colt, fearful.

    "Why else would it be called the Deadlands? Now go straight in and don't come back out, you hear?"

    "But it's dark in there!"

    A deep voice cut in. "I'll take care of this from here," he said darkly. "Step away from our territory, Winona." Black fur covered him, and he nipped at the colt's neck. "Come along, young one. We are not welcome here."

    "Why not?" the colt asked.

    "Hmph! Just go away and leave the Brightlands! Off with you both!" Winona growled, trotting away a few feet before turning her head and telling the black unicorn, "And I would watch out if I were you, Fretcher. Us bright unicorns have our eyes on you." With that, she finally turned away.

    The colt shivered. "Why was she so mean to me?"

    "They do not like us black-coats," Fretcher replied. "Now follow me. A newborn needs to eat."

    Turning his head to stare at his own black fur for a moment, the colt nodded slightly. "But why? I didn't choose to-"

    "We've all asked ourselves that," Fretcher sighed, shaking his dark mane. "It's no use trying to change their minds. They will not listen to reason. Now hurry, before Winona comes back to make sure we're on our side of the border!"

    They both trotted off, the colt holding his head low. "There's something weird about this place compared to the other half of the forest."

    Fretcher nodded. "The forest energies that flow through the living side avoid here. Because they never wander this section anyway, the bright unicorns banished us here. Parents will send their own child away if their fur is like ours. It's cruel, but it seems we can do nothing about it. For now, we must live without the energies of the forest, that which makes the bright ones immortal. Because of it, we will age, and eventually die... It is a sad fact of our lives, but as unicorns, the knowledge that we are mortal eventually turns us all cold and bitter..."

    There was a short silence before the colt asked, "Hey, Fretcher? Back there, Winona said the bright unicorns were watching you. What did you do?"

    Fretcher paused for a moment before saying, "I crossed the border not too long ago. There is not much to eat here, and as such we often starve to death... My friend was dying, so I was trying to get him a few leaves from the living trees."

    "And?"

    "The bright ones attacked me," he replied, turning his head and revealing a deep scar that looked like it had been slashed into the area beneath his ear by a horn.

    "What about your friend? What happened to him?"

    "He... Died," Fretcher murmured sadly.

    Fear froze over the young colt's heart as such dangers were revealed to him not an hour after his birth. There was a short amount of silence before he asked, "Fretcher?"

    "Yes?"

    "What's my name?"

    The adult unicorn smiled slightly. "What would you like for a name?"

    "Umm... I don't know."

    Fretcher thought for a moment, before finally deciding, "Sunshine. How's that?"

    Sunshine tilted his head to the side. "But I have dark fur."

    "Have sunshine in your heart, colt," Fretcher sighed. "Never let it go. Once you lose that sunshine, you'll never be able to find it again."

    "What do you mean, sunshine? I can see it right up in the sky."

    "No, colt. I mean the sunshine that allows you to feel love."

    With that, they continued into the dark depths of the Deadlands.