Born this Way

In response to this bantering pair:

He had been brought up by his mother, his home in the beautiful Sapphirean forest had protected him from the cruel world outside. His youthful days were spent in the company of the talking toadstools and swinging from the arms of the cocobongo trees. He was the happiest, shiniest uni-foal anyone could ever wish to meet.

His mother adored him and would spend evenings building his confidence, telling him that he was the most talented, the most handsome, and the most excellent of them all. One day he would be crowned uni-king of the forest. He was excited for his future and saw no danger in the world around him. Why would he?

The time had come, his mother had told him in earnest, her iridescent mane shimmering like a kingfisher’s wing. He would go to Equi-school as all future Kings must. Kali was besides himself with joy. The prospect of meeting new friends and learning new things filled his colourful heart with Maypole tibbons of glee.

But younglings, as I am sure you are aware, taught by their keepers, don’t like different. Kali was not aware of anything even remotely different about himself. But they were immediately. "Knob head," they jeered, a term that pierced his heart like a thorn from the very first day he flew into the playground.

Of course, the fact that he could fly didn’t help the, 'fitting in' cause either but the horn. Now that’s what tipped them over the hay.

And oh they were cruel. Poor Kali just didn’t have the tools to deal with it. He was trapped in boarding school, far, far away from the protective film of the forest. He lost his effervescence and his coat began to dim. He wished so many times that he could cut off the horn that was causing him such pain. The relentless teasing stripped away the layers of confidence his mother had so carefully nurtured. He was laid bare. Confused and hurt, Kali retreated into himself.

As the days turned into weeks, and the weeks into months, Kali's despair deepened. He just wanted to fit in. Everyone deserves a break and Kali’s came unexpectedly

It happened one stormy night when the sky was torn with lightning and the winds howled with the ferocity of a menopausal Zeus. The school was under threat. The students were vanishing into the ringmaster’s cloak. Kali had heard vague neighs of the phenomenon – an evil overlord who kidnapped calves for his underground circus- but he had thought it was just young minds and clever teachers trying to enforce the canter of good behaviour. They were all at his mercy on that dark day.

Except Kali of course, who stood stoic, his purple tale swishing in confusion, as he watched his bullies vanish into the cape.

“Your difference is your strength."

His mother's voice vibrated in dulcet tones; bouncing off the translucent rainbow that had spread like a path before him. He felt it then, as the ringmaster cast his evil red eyes in his direction. His strength.

Summoning all the courage he could muster, Kali stepped forward unafraid. The power of his own self-acceptance swirled within him, its abiding heart combining with the natural magic of the Sapphirean forest before crescendoing in an almighty beam of prismatic light cascading from his horn. The night was filled with his innocence, shafts of colour illuminating the sky; dousing it in the beauty of his integrity – the darkness shattered and mirrored pieces of the ringmaster fell in glass shards around him. They settled momentarily on the ground before shooting out of the ground in flower form- Snowdrops and Daffodils; Forget-me Nots and Tulips filled the playground floor until it became part of the Sapphirean forest.

The foals returned but their cruelty did not. They had seen in Kali his true strength and were ashamed of their behaviour. They realised that his difference was his power. And so too did Kali. Never again would he wish to fit in, why would he, when he was born to stand out? With...or without a knob on his head.

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Scrawler's note:

Hope you'll join in this rather silliness

Inspiration taken from a card I saw many years ago