Rosey Mangos

“Last stop, Ponyville! Please utilize the nearest exit.”
“What the hay, that was a good dream.” I whispered under my breath. Coming to my senses, I realized all the other ponies were already rushing to get on with their lives. My suitcase seemed quite full, but I guess that doesn’t really matter when I can use my magic.

“Excuse me, could you point me in the direction of the eastern clock tower?” I asked a mare on my way out.

“It’s over thatta way, past Town Hall. Go to Town Hall then make your way down the path until you reach it.” Said the mare.

“Oh okay, thank you,” I reply. Princess Luna told me she had already made arrangements for me to stay in a cottage in Ponyville. After all, a scientist can’t do research in a small hotel room. After searching around for a little bit, I finally came to see a tall building that dwarfed most of the residents' houses that I see around it. That must be town hall I thought. Looking around I spot a bridge over a stream of water that seems to lead outside of the small village. Crossing the bridge and following the path, I take a quiet walk down the dirt road outside of the town taking in the peaceful prairie, a very stark contrast to the busy city of Canterlot. Not that I go out much anyway, the busy streets never really were appealing to me compared to the peace and quiet of being in my lab researching or having nice walks at night under Princess Luna’s moon. With Celestia's hot sun beaming down on me I had to make this walk a little faster if I wanted to get out of this heat sooner rather than later. Praise Celestia and all her might but maybe if she toned down the heat on that thing once in a while I would enjoy it more.

After a bit more of strolling down the dirt path I could finally see a large clock tower coming into view. Picking up my speed a little with my suitcase at my side in my magic I see that there is also a two story cottage near it. That must be the cottage Princess Luna was talking about I thought. Upon reaching the cottage I fish out the key in my saddlebags and unlock the door. Opening it I am welcomed to a cozy living room with a couch, a fuzzy rug, and a large bookshelf that could probably snap my neck in half if it fell on me. There’s also a kitchen with working appliances and an upstairs bedroom and bathroom. The bedroom features a large bed with a window seat area and plenty of plants. As for the bathroom, it seemed pretty standard with a large tub. There was also an empty room, which looks like it will be the perfect space to conduct my experiments, though the skylight was an added bonus. Not that I could see much light through it at the minute, since the sun was already setting. Might as well crawl into bed early and set my lab up tomorrow.

--

The birds here are loud as buck. I roll out of my cozy bed, and slide into the shower to freshen up before heading out for a snack. Even a nerdy pony like myself has to look good when going out. After overhearing what the other ponies were talking about on the train ride, I think I'll fancy myself a sweet treat at a place called Sugar Cube Corner. I am not sure what that is but asking somepony won’t hurt.

As I walk past Town Hall once again, I ask for directions. Apparently it looks like a gingerbread house with candles on top? What the hay is going on here. Walking inside I see a blue earth pony with a pink mane done up like a swirl.

“Hi- uh, I’d like a slice of cheesecake.” I say to the blue earth pony behind the counter.

“Of course darling! My, aren’t you a new face around here? What brings you to Ponyville?” She asks.

“I’m Rose Tint, a Canterlot scientist doing research for Princess Luna. Currently, I have plans to research the Everfree Forest and the phenomenon surrounding its plant life,” I reply while looking over to the seating area.

“The Everfree Forest? Has no pony told you how dangerous that place is? I reckon not even a Canterlot scientist should venture in there alone,” she stated while seeming quite concerned.

“I’m sure I can manage on my own, that’s how it’s always been for me. I mean, I’ve caused a few lab fires in my life and turned out fine,” I assure her.

“Well, I hope you are right,” she says while sitting the cheesecake slice on the counter.

“Thank you, have a nice day ma’am.” I use my magic to carry the plate over to the seating area and enjoy my breakfast. Not going to lie, that was some blessed cheesecake.

Deciding to avoid venturing into town all the time, I head to the market to stock up on the essentials. Afterall, you can’t research on an empty stomach. I see a small earth filly trying to reach up the apples, and decide to use my magic to pass them one.

“Thank you miss- huh you’re new around here aren’t you?” I hear from behind, realizing this mare is probably the filly’s mother.

“Oh, yes I am. I’m Rose Tint, nice to meet you,” I say while setting the apple down for the filly.

“I’m Sky Shine. What brings you to Ponyville?”

“Princess Luna has tasked me with researching the plant life in the Everfree forest.”

“T-the Everfree Forest?” The filly seemed quite shocked. “Aren’t there timberwolves there? And cockatrices, chimeras, hydras and all types of scary creatures?”

“What’s everypony so scared of? Isn’t it just a forest?” I ask.

“Well, it’s known for being a really dangerous place. Fillies aren’t really fond of it either, as you can see,” she said while glancing down at the filly cowering behind her.

“I’m quite confident in my magic, but alright. I’ll keep that in mind.” I pack my bags and head for home so I can set up my lab. After all, it’s only noon and I’d like to set my lab up by sun down.

--
And done. The lab is set up, complete with a fire proof table, a fire extinguisher, and a fire blanket. I’m really hoping to not burn the whole place down. Of course there’s also the pipettes, the petri dishes, the microscopes, etc.

The sun has set but I’m feeling adventurous. Afterall, what if samples taken at night prove to be different from samples taken during the day? It couldn’t hurt to go visit the forest at night.

Gathering up my supplies I head out, it’s already getting darker outside just how I like it. Trotting down the path the forest I could see in the distance slowly starts to grow as I draw closer to it. Reaching the entrance of the forest I could not believe my eyes, there was no light coming through the forest, it seemed like it was sucking in the light but not letting it pass through. Steeling myself from my initial shock I pull the magic lantern out of my saddlebag and pour a little bit of my magic into it. The magic lantern glows a dim glow but slowly gets stronger until I can see a few hooves in front of me. Not one for being scared of the dark, I still need to actually see my equipment. Going deeper into the forest I am welcomed to darkness, along with that darkness the feeling of there being something watching me suddenly came and gone. Thinking nothing of it I go further into the forest looking around at the plant life. It did seem Princess Luna was right. It surprises me how much plants that I have never seen before are here. With that I gather up some of them in my saddlebag as I stroll through the dark forest.

Finally I gather an acceptable amount of plants from the forest. I set my lantern down, the glow of the lantern dimming a little over time, but still giving me a good amount of light to see the area around me. I unpack one of the plants to take a look at it to see just how much differences it has to the plant life from Canterlot. This was cut short by that feeling again from when I first entered the forest, but now along with that feeling came the sound of snarling. Spinning around I am greeted with the sight of a weird creature. It is like a wolf but instead completely made of wood. In my shocked state of seeing such a strange creature it suddenly springs up and leaps at me. With no time to react I try to flee but upon turning it catches my side, its sick wooden teeth burrowing into me as I scream out in pain. Its sickly green eyes glowing looking down at me like a predator that just caught its prey sends me into a panic. Feeling its teeth go in deeper I try my best to somehow get it off of me, in my panicked state the best I could do was try to buck it which of course failed and only brought more pain. The timberwolf started shaking his head trying to get the meat off my bones. Feeling my tears burning my eyes and blurring my vision from the pain of having my side being mauled by the wooden beast I fire up my horn and fire a bolt of energy at the wolf. It bursts into pieces upon impact freeing me from its strong jaws.
Hyperventilating I try to calm my breaths but mostly fail with the blood currently rushing out of my side the best I can do is get my things and try to get out of there. Gathering my bags and the lantern which is flickering with low energy needing to be recharged I attempt to recharge it yet all that comes is pain from my side and horn. Stupid, you need energy to be able to use magic which you are losing right now.Limping, I held the flickering lantern in my magic.

Making my way back from the path I came from. That is until I hear sounds of something moving behind me. Turning around slowly to the sound I am just in time to see the timberwolf I blew to pieces moments ago is forming into a perfect copy of the timberwolf. My eyes turn to pinpricks as I notice this. Doing the best to ignore the burning in my side and the blood trail I am leaving behind I make a mad dash to get out of the forest, the burning in my side growing hotter with every moment, the tears in my eyes blurring my vision to the point that I can barely see but that doesn’t stop me because I can still hear the thing behind me, it is not as fast I am guessing from it only recently reforming. As I run faster the corners of my vision are starting to darken. I am feeling weaker by the second. More darkness is filling my vision as I finally am able to see the exit to the forest.

Sprinting out of the forest I trip over myself, crying out in pain as I land on my side I slowly lose consciousness but not before I spot a dark figure bucking my pursuer back into the accursed forest. They trot up to me asking me if I am ok, their voice sounding off from what a normal pony sounds like which I try to reply but all that comes out of my muzzle is a whimper as darkness fills my vision completely.