WAY Out of place

I hadn't even noticed their leave until then. "Whatever." I sighed looking around. I shook off a bit more dust before walking on. I could see just in the distance the familiar shape of an enormous oak tree. Well, it was only about noon and I'd wrapped what I had to do up. "I guess I'll just go home." I thought making my way toward the library. "Maybe Twilight can get a laugh in at how ridiculous this is for me. How do you go from president of a brutal biker group to...this?"

"I don't know, how do you?" Bleak asked.

"That was kind of rhetorical."

"Kind of hard to tell." He exhaled. "Jackass."

"Why don't you just leave me alone." I groaned.

"Cause I don't feel like it. That a good enough answer?" He asked.

"I wish I could touch you right now, because I would beat the living shit out of you if I could." I said staring at him.

"Eh, ditto." He sighed.

I neared the library and walked up the pathway, pushing through the front door. Twilight was lying on the floor nearby with a few open books scattered around her along with a stack of another dozen books on standby. She looked up from her book in the middle of flipping a page with her magic. "Welcome hom-... woah, you look good." She smiled.

"Thanks. Hey where's everyone else?" I asked stepping around books.

"Spike went out for a quick errand and Kian actually left long before you." She said looking back down to her book.

"Oh. So what have you been up to?" I asked.

"Nothing really, catching up on my studies, reading some of my stockpile, going over the buildup of mail I'd received. Who would've thought two weeks gone would leave me with so much."

"Well you did disappear with out warning. I bet quite a bit were letters to see if you were okay and things like that." I chuckled looking down at some of the books.

"Not really, no." She said switching books.

"Hmm, weird." I said finding both that and the book I was looking at interesting. I read over the title a few times trying to wrap my head around it. Printed out in a reflective gold atop a worn green hard cover; Everfree: an Equestrian bestiary. "Neat."

I moved the book and turned over the cover and the blank first page. The next was the title in the same font, only printed in black ink. Below it was the author; Leafy Thicket, and a small message. A collection of research and gathered field data accumulated over decades. May whoever ventures into these woods know that this book shall help you greatly in your endeavor.

My interest was peaked, I had to give it that. I looked down the side at the pages. It was at least two whole inches thick. "Challenge accepted." I thought confidently. "But first..." I closed the book and trotted off toward the kitchen. Luckily she had a kettle of her own so I refilled it and lit one of the burners on the stove. While the kettle filled up slowly, I rummaged through the cabinets looking for what I needed. "If you have a kettle then you must have...Aha!" I levitated out a small jar of dry black leaves. The lid twisted off and I held in my blue aura up to my nose, breathing deeply. A strong bittersweet with a strength I could almost taste. "Fuckin' jackpot! This is prime shit. "

The kettle filled and I dropped a few leaves in, setting it on the burner and walking back into the library. I lied down beside Twi and slid the book over, opening it again and turning to the first page. "If this is like a text book then I guess I'll do my own studying." I thought. I used my magic and flipped through pages randomly, one caught my eye. I flatened out the page and read it.

Timberwolves - Canis Arbora Lupus,
A magical wolf species that is native to the Everfree forest and it's surrounding areas. These creatures are entirely similar to their mammalian counterparts, though are entirely composed of wooden materials, lacking any muscular, skeletal, or nervous frame. These creatures instead rely a bodily system like that of a tree. They gain sustenance through carnivore like means by eating smaller animals. Peculiarly, they do not actually eat the creatures, lacking an internal digestive system. Rather, they kill and dismember their prey, swallowing the remains where inside they decompose and transfer nutrients to the Timberwolf.

Timberwolves are known for many strange traits and actions. One of which is their reactions to changes in their environments such as performing different motions, sounds, and actions to signify the pollination of local vegetation. It is assumed that said vegetation may have a magical connection to the Timberwolves, alerting them of the changes.

A Timberwolf is one of the more dangerous creatures of the Everfree, not for the fact that they are pack hunters or have sharp fang and claw like features, but for what resides on the fangs. Because they feed on other animals, the decomposing material inside has been known to accumulate fungus and bacteria which are highly toxic. The highest percentage of the bacteria gathers in the mouth region of the Timberwolf, making their bite much worse than their bark.

Next to it was a sketch of a lone canine shaped creatures with a skin made of bark and fur-like features made of moss, leaves, and sticks. It's eyes were blank and empty.

A sharp whistle from the kitchen caught my attention. I moved my book to the side and hopped to my hooves, trotting over to the kitchen. The scent of the tea washed over me as I moved it to another burner and turned the first one off. I breathed deeply, taking in the calming air as the whistling pot of tea died down. I levitated a few cups down and poured the tea, warm steam rising from them. I levitated the cups and walked back out with them following and lied back down beside Twilight. I set the cups down in front of us.

Twilight closed her eyes and took a deep breath, smiling softly. She let the breath out through her mouth and looked up to me. She leaned her head against my neck, nuzzling it. "I love you." She whispered.

"I love you too." I whispered back, burying my muzzle into her mane. I savored her light grassy scent like I always did. I could feel the warmth I always did burn in my chest. Everything felt right with the world at that moment. It always did at times like this. I planted a quick peck on her forehead and pulled my book back over with my hoof.

Each cup became surrounded by a magical aura and levitated up to us. I sipped mine, the hot liquid trickled down my throat and warmed my stomach. Twi sipped hers and set it down with a content smile. We each went back to reading our own books.