After moments of walking together in relative silence, the trio had finally reached the outskirts of the Everfree forest. Before proceeding any further, Zecora halted and turned around to face Mike and Barb, whom both stopped and stared at her. "Before we enter, I would first tell you what the both of you need to do" she said.

"You see, a few days ago, Ponyville's local spa owners, Aloe and Lotus, both asked me to deliver some herbs, spices and some flowers since their reserves are running low. However, there is still a flower I have yet to get my hands on as of late. So, I need you two to go and gather some of them and return to the spa. Nothing to worry about" Zecora said with a smile.

The duo looked at each other for a while, reading each other's expression before turning their heads back to the zebra.

"Okay then" The duo answered simultaneously, causing both of them to look at each other in surprise before smiling and chuckling a moment later.

"Splendid!" Zecora clapped her hands and smiled.

Once that was done, they all headed their way into the Everfree and towards Zecora's hut.

A few more moments of silence and they have finally reached their destination. There was, however, one tiny difference and that was the fact that there was now a simple wooden cart parked just outside Zecora's hut. Many items were placed, ranging from some fancy clay pots, to different flowers with their own unique fragrance.

"Stay out here for a moment. I'll go get the things you need" Zecora told the duo, making her way inside the hut, closing the door behind her.

"....So, what do you think Zecora wants us to get?" Mike asked, turning his attention to the dragoness beside him.

"I don't know. Probably some nice smelling herbs or something" Barb replied, giving him a slight shrug.

Moments later, Zecora exited the four small pouches. Once she gave Mike two of the pouches and Barb the others, she also handed Mike a small piece of paper with a picture of a flower with a red tip on its white petals and an maroon colored stalk. "This is the plant that both of you must seek. It is a very odd flower as it becomes luminous when light is dim. It shouldn't be a problem to find as it is mostly located in areas with little sunlight" she explained as Barb helped tie the pouch around Mike's waist.

"Inside that small pouch is a powder that will help fight off the beasts found in this forest. But be wary, when you have used the powder, depending on how much you have used, the repellent magic varies in strength. If any of you think you are in very deep trouble, throw every last grain by all means necessary. But only as a last resort. Understood?" Zecora asked the duo, receiving a "Yes ma'am" as well as a mock salute from the duo. Laughing at the two, she made her way towards the wooden cart.

"Take care the both of you. I shall be going now" Zecora said with a smile, tugging on the rope at front and made her way back to Ponyville.

Once the duo have said their goodbye's, Mike quickly turned his head to Barb. "Ponyville has a spa?" he asked, wondering if what Zecora said was true.

Barb giggled before grabbing onto Mike's hand, pulling him deeper into the forest. "Yeap. Come on! We better hurry and get that flower"

Mike chuckled as he allowed himself to be pulled by the dragoness.

After what seemed to be hours of searching, Mike and Barb halted in their tracks and took a small breather. They still had no luck finding the flower that was requested. The back of Mike's shirt was slightly drenched in sweat and so was his forehead as well as Barb's. Looking around to see a good place to settle down for a moment, Mike spotted a boulder and sat on it, wiping off the sweat from his head.

"So...what does the flower look like again?" Barb asked for what seemed to be the third time, slightly irritating Mike.

"I told you already. It's has white petals with a red tip and a maroon colored stalk" Mike replied, panting slightly as the heat was getting to him.

Barb sighed and sat next to Mike on the boulder. However, something managed to catch her attention in a form of a flower. Interestingly enough, the flower was just behind the boulder and to her utter surprise, matched the same description as what Mike said earlier. It also beheld a slight ginger spice smell. Bending down slightly and tugging on the stalk to pull the flower free from the ground, Barb turned her attention to Mike who was looking around.

"You mean like this?" she asked, double checking whether if it was correct.

Barb heard him sigh and saw him turn around to face her. Once his eyes saw what she was holding, he gave the flower a scrutinizing gaze before pulling out the paper and holding it out next to the one Barb was holding.

"Huh...Perfect match. Damn Barb, luck must be on your side today" Mike joked and gave her a slight chuckle, causing the dragoness to pout slightly before giggling. "Where did you find it?" he asked her, putting the paper back in his pant pocket.

"Just behind this boulder we are sitting on" she replied. She turned her gaze behind her and her eyes widened at what she saw. "And I think I found the motherload" she said, pointing a finger behind her. Mike turned his head around and was surprised at what he saw.

Behind her was an entire group of trees that were clustered together, forming what seemed to be a small shelter. Around the base of the group, the same flowers were in full bloom, glowing in a soft scarlet glow.

Mike was shocked at Barbs findings.

"....Hot damn! Well just look at that! We must have been looking at all the wrong areas" Mike said, laughing as he stood up and made his way to some of the trees that was surrounded with the same flower.

"Well....Let's gather some of them and head back" Barb suggested, standing up.

Mike nodded and began to pluck some of the flowers with Barb next to him. The duo had managed to fill their empty pouches full, causing it to give off a rather pleasant smell of spiciness, one thing they both agreed on. With the pouches now full, they nodded in silent agreement to head back to Ponyville and towards the local spa.

However, something caught their attention.

A spine chilling howl.

Barb's eyes widened. She knew what kind of creature would emit such a sound. Then, a menacing growl could be heard surrounding them. The duo stood next to each other back to back. They knew something bad was going to happen.

Moments later, many pairs of green orbs could be seen from the slight darkness. Another howl was emitted and soon, the green orbs started growing larger in size. A few moments later, one of the main creatures that resides in the forest soon gathered around in a circle, trapping the duo.

Timberwolves.

As the name suggests, they were wolves, slightly bigger than the duo, which were made of wood. As frightening as the sight could be, Mike couldn't help but stare at them slightly in awe as their entire body was made of wood, be it thick or thin.

"Barb....Save your magic powder for anything else that may come. I'll use half of mine" Mike whispered, earning a slight nod from the female.

Grabbing the pouch full of the powder, Mike grabbed about half of the amount. "On the count of three, we sprint" he whispered, earning another from Barb.

"One" he started, causing the wolves to take a step closer.

"Two...."

...

"THREE!" Mike yelled, throwing the powder from his hands into the air. The powder soon took into effect as numerous wolves dropped down on the ground and was showing signs of restraint. Taking the opportunity, Mike grabbed Barb's hand and got into a full sprint.

However, the repellent wasn't as strong as Mike thought as a number of the Timberwolves were unaffected and were now on their tail, chasing them not too far behind.

As Mike kept of running with Barb in hand, a thought came to his head and he frowned.

'Why can't I have a single day without any form of danger!'

Author's Note

I'm sorry if the story seems rather bland. My schedule is rather f*cked up due to exams coming up

I do hope you all understand.

With that, I also hope you guys enjoyed this.

Till next time!