I trotted along the path, sniffing in the chilly, misty air. There was a woody scent. The forest had to be near, although I could not see it yet through the mist. It had been a long trot from Zephyr Heights to Bridlewood Forest. Pegasus flight had been restored by the royal sisters about a moon ago, but I still hadn’t found the time to test my endurance in a long-distance flight. Anyway, I had discovered at the broken bridge yesterday that I was barely able to lift my heavy saddlebags. Well, I would be free to fly wherever I wanted once I dropped all my luggage off at a hotel in Bridlewood.
The edge of the forest came into view rather suddenly. It was a stark contrast, going straight from grasslands to full-sized trees. I felt a moment of intimidation as I looked at the trees. They were larger than anything I had seen around Zephyr Heights, and their leaves were vibrant shades of pink and purple. Since the unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies had reopened their borders, researchers in every field had jumped on the opportunity to study lands that had been inaccessible for hundreds of moons. I had successfully applied for funding to study botany in Bridlewood Forest. I had expected to find maybe a new species of Acer or Populus, but I wasn’t even sure what family these trees belonged to. Did they have different photosynthetic pigments, or was the forest truly enchanted as rumor had it?
As I stepped into the forest, my nose told me something was off. It took me a moment to realize what it was. There were no fallen leaves. The ground was covered in grass, as well as the occasional fern or forb. Given Bridlewood’s elevation, latitude, and inland location, I would have expected it to have cold winters. This nippy, late spring morning seemed to confirm that—I was warmly wrapped up in a black jacket and pink scarf. Were the trees here not deciduous?
I heard flapping wings and cawing crows. I fluttered my wings for a moment, wanting to see the canopy. Find a hotel first. I stopped a moment as I heard another sound. Just a pony trotting. A unicorn, almost certainly. I didn’t really believe all that unicorn phobia stuff, blaming the unicorns for random problems and characterizing them as sadistic sorcerers. Just because a unicorn could fry pony brains didn’t mean they would.
Unfortunately, I forgot all that as soon as a unicorn came around a tree into view. It was a tall, gray unicorn mare with a pink mane. My eyes went straight to the horn, and my thoughts went to momentary panic. This unicorn could read my mind, fry my brain, or even control my mind. Lots of brain stuff, which was frightening because that was the best part of me. The unicorn stepped back, eyes wide. I realized that I had unintentionally flared my wings in a defensive pose. I had reacted to this pony in the same way I would to wild animals I encountered in my studies. Blushing in embarrassment, I folded my wings against my body. “Excuse me,” I said, and I hurried along the path.
Soon I arrived at the edge of a town. The economic disparity between unicorns and pegasi—a result of the war—was evident. There were no paved roads or electric signs. The buildings appeared to be carved into massive trees, which I found to be quite charming. There were unicorns all around. Was it just me, or were they quieter than the pegasi in Zephyr Heights? A street with this many ponies was louder than a train in Zephyr Heights. Of course, none of them had their muzzles shoved into phones like everypony did in ZH. I hadn’t even brought mine; there wouldn’t be any chargers here.
Unfortunately, I did not know where a hotel would be. Many of the buildings had signs, but I hadn’t seen a hotel yet. I did see a restaurant. I was hungry; maybe I could get a hay burger and ask around for the hotel. I walked through the door, just barely fitting with my bulky bags. I walked to the counter. There was one other unicorn ordering. I waited in line. I didn’t set down my bags; I had no idea if theft was common in Bridlewood Forest. I took a moment to look around. The lighting in here was dim, and there was a musky smell. I noticed that I was short in here. I was a tall pegasus; I always noticed when somepony was taller than me. And most of the unicorns in the restaurant were taller than me.
The unicorn ahead of me paid the cashier and trotted to a table. The cashier was a green stallion with a pink mane. His eyes lingered at my sides, either looking at the wings or the bags. “Hey,” he said flatly. “What do you want?”
“I’d like a hay burger please,” I said. “And no cheese or mayonnaise. I’m v—”
“Bing bong!” the cashier said.
“Excuse me?” I said.
The cashier’s eyes seemed unfocused. He took a stiff pose, and he bounced around, almost dancing as he repeated the words “bing bong.” A few others nearby joined in. All I could do was look around in confusion.
Whatever was going on ended. The cashier looked at me and said, “You said a forbidden word. We had to ward off the jinxies.”
“A forbidden word?” I said. “Which one?”
“I’m not about to repeat it,” the cashier said, shaking his head. I thought through what I had said. Which word was forbidden? “How are you paying, pegasus?” the cashier said. “I’m not taking bits with that queen of yours on them.”
“Do you have change for a ruby?” I said, pulling a small gem out of the side pocket of one of my bags. I had brought gems for money, anticipating that pegasus bits would not be valid here.
“Let me see,” the cashier said, opening the register. “Yes, I have enough. You should probably go to the exchange house and get some real bits, though.”
“Ah, yes,” I said. “Where is the exchange house? And do you know of any hotels in the town?” The cashier gave directions to both locations, which I hurriedly wrote down. I sat down, and they brought me my hay burger shortly after. Its flavor was a little different than I expected, but I thought I liked it.
I walked out of the restaurant and navigated towards the hotel at a trot. As I moved through the town, I noticed a place called “The Crystal Tea Room.” They had a whole building dedicated to tea? I could only imagine they had exotic flavors, with all the forest flora available. I would have to visit there later. But first I wanted to drop off my stuff at a hotel, change my money, and actually get some work done today.
* * *
My work in the first day consisted mostly of realizing that the plants here weren’t as different as I initially thought. Although the leaves came in shocking shades of pink and purple, upon closer examination I recognized the leaf structure, flowers, and fruit. I did know these plants. They were different species, but I could put most of them into a genus or at least a family.
It was my goal to catalogue and classify plant life in Bridlewood Forest. I would have to collect more data before making any decisions. Was I looking at one new species of Ulmus or several? And what would I name them all? I had never imagined finding so many. I couldn’t just slap petalii or pacifica on every plant I found. I did like the idea of having my name in the scientific name of the plants I discovered, but I figured at least a few of them should be bridlewoodii or unicornia or something.
I came back to the town feeling slightly overwhelmed. Classifying the species of Bridlewood was going to be a much bigger endeavor than I had initially imagined. I went to the Crystal Tea Room at the end of the day. The sweet aroma of a dozen different tea flavors hit me. A gloomy poet was reciting on a little stage, with another pony beating drums. I really liked the poet’s hat. It was red and… floppy? I had never seen one like that before.
I sat at a table. A very large unicorn approached me, levitating a notebook next to him. There was a gray, sparkling glow around the notebook and his horn. I didn't know whether to gaze at his magic or his impossible stature. “Another pegasus in town?” he said. “What can I get for you?”
I had to be careful. I didn’t actually drink tea tea, as in Camellia sinensis; with my ADHD, even a little caffeine was not a good idea. “Do you have any floral teas?” I said.
“Sure do,” the unicorn said. “I have crystal flower, hibiscus, jasmine, heartflower, lavender, and chamomile. I also have blends of those flavors. The local favorite is liquid crystal.”
I had heard of some of those. Going off my experiences today, probably even the familiar ones were different species of a familiar genus. I’d start with one of those. “Hibiscus, please,” I said. “No sugar or honey. How much will it cost?”
“Eh, don’t worry about it,” the unicorn said. He turned to the counter and said, “One hibiscus.” Some creature, a little mammal with a hard shell, scrambled in response.
“It’s on the house?” I verified.
“Sure is.”
“Thank you.”
“What’s your name, pegasus?” the unicorn said.
“Peace Petal.”
“Petal?” the unicorn said. “Like the pegasus pop star? Hey, her music’s not bad.”
“No, she’s Princess Petals,” I said. “My name is Petal. No relation.”
“My bad,” the unicorn said. “Name’s Alphabittle. This here is my joint.” The creature at the counter pushed a teacup to the near corner of the counter. Alphabittle levitated it to my table.
“Thank you,” I said. “I never would have expected to find an establishment that sold only tea. But I guess you have more options when you’re living in a forest.”
“What brings you to Bridlewood, Peace?”
I sipped the tea. It was delightful, with a nice, tart flavor and a deep, red color not too far off from the shade of my own coat. I kind of wanted to drink my tea and ponder my day, but I obliged Alphabittle, since he was kind enough to give me this cup for free. “I’m here to study the plants of Bridlewood,” I said. “I’ve already seen probably dozens of species that we don’t have catalogued in Zephyr Heights. I don’t suppose I’d be able to see some live examples of the plants you use to make tea?”
“Could be,” Alphabittle said. “Say, that’s a nice scarf you have there.”
“Thank you,” I said, sipping again.
“I figure I could show you some live plants, and even give you a bag of each kind of tea to take back to Zephyr Heights,” Alphabittle said. “I’d wager that against the scarf, if you’re up for a little game.”
“A little…” I understood what he meant. “Oh, no. It was not easy finding a scarf that matches my eyes so closely. It’s worth more to me than you.”
“And I figure a trip to the back room to see some of those plants is worth more to you than me,” Alphabittle said. Didn’t he have other customers to attend? “Come on. It’ll be easy. You see that colored cube on the shelf there? You’d just have to solve it in a limited time.”
I eyed the cube. I could solve that thing. I had beaten 3x3 colored cubes, and it was only a 2x2. But just because I could win didn’t mean I would. “No, thank you,” I said.
“Eh, suit yourself,” Alphabittle said. “Enjoy the tea.” He walked off towards the counter.
I sighed. Social interaction wasn’t really my thing, and it had seemed like Alphabittle just wouldn’t quit. I sipped my tea and turned my attention to the poet. Her poem was about the rain. I liked the rain, unlike most pegasi, who couldn’t get enough sunshine. Yes, unicorns definitely had a different way of talking and acting than pegasi. I might have an interesting cultural experience here on top of a botanical experience. I made a mental note to look for a hat shop.