//------------------------------// // Chapter Four // Story: Peace Petal goes to Bridlewood Forest // by Peace Petal //------------------------------// I trotted into the library, inhaling deeply through my nostrils. The scents of old pages, dust, and wood mixed in the air. The library was carved into a massive, ancient oak tree. Books lined the exterior wall, going up for four stories. Dim sunlight trickled through the windows, augmented by the subdued, golden light of oil lamps. I heard the dull thud of hooves walking over wood. This felt like the kind of place where a pony could lose track of time, buried in books for hours or days before finally coming out of the library, blinking in the sunlight. There was a central desk with dozens of books piled on it, but nopony was there. I stood at the desk, tapping my hoof and looking around. Did this library have a librarian? “Are you looking for the librarian?” a voice behind me whispered. I turned around and saw Sunny, the earth pony. “You’re still here?” I whispered. “I thought you all left Bridlewood by now.” “Hitch, Pipp, and Zipp left,” Sunny said. “I’m staying with Izzy for a while.” “Yes, I’m looking for the librarian.” “She’s usually wandering the library. You should look around for her instead of waiting. She’s a unicorn with a bay coat, a gray mane, and a question mark cutie mark. Her name is Woody Dust.” “Thank you,” I whispered. “Hey, have you ever heard of the Fluttershy Principle?” Sunny said quietly. “I saw it referenced in an old book about Ponyville, but Pipp and Zipp didn’t know what it was.” I had heard of that in my biology classes. “It’s the idea that animals in captivity or rehabilitation have better health when kept in an environment similar to their natural habitat, even if it means denying them accommodations like protection from the elements or more nutritious foods.” “Really? I think I heard Hitch say something similar to that once.” “Does Hitch know biology?” “He helps at the rehabilitation center for injured animals in Maretime Bay,” Sunny whispered. “Animals simply adore him.” “He likes animals and music? We should hang out sometime.” I looked around. A few ponies were staring at us, but I wasn’t sure if that was because we were having a social conversation in a library or because pegasus and earth pony. “I’m going to try to find Woody Dust.” “Good luck,” Sunny said. I trotted off, wandering through the library. After a few minutes, I found the pony Sunny had described on the second floor. For some reason I was expecting an old mare, but she looked to be about my age. She had a saddlebag full of books, and she was looking through a shelf, muttering to herself. “Hello, are you Woody Dust?” I said quietly. The unicorn looked at another book on the shelf, then put it in her bag. “Who’s asking?” she mumbled. “Peace Petal,” I whispered. “I was told Woody Dust knows everything, and I wanted to ask her some questions.” The unicorn looked at me and seemed to notice my wings for the first time. “What do you want to know?” she asked. “I came here to study the plants of Bridlewood Forest,” I said quietly. “I want to know what the unicorns already know about botany. Not the basics, like flower anatomy or photosynthetic pathways. I’m studying systematics. Have the unicorns named any plant species?” The unicorn—presumably Woody—looked around. “It’ll be a long conversation, won’t it?” she mumbled. She gestured for me to follow her. She led me up one flight of stairs, then another. This was the top floor of the library, but a set of steep, narrow stairs led to a trapdoor in the ceiling. The unicorn climbed the steps and unlocked the door, levitating the key with magic. I followed. We were in a small, dark room. I suddenly felt that something sketchy was about to go down. The unicorn lit an oil lamp, lighting the room and revealing hundreds of books and a bed. She lay on the bed. Uh, is this bad? I thought. “Shall I write down some recommendations?” the unicorn said, levitating a pen and paper. I relaxed a bit. “You are Woody Dust, aren’t you?” I said. “Who calls me Woody Dust?” the unicorn asked. “Izzy,” I said. “Izzy who?” “I didn’t catch a last name, if she had one.” “Why not call me Dust?” she said. “Haven’t I told everypony to call me Dust? Anyway, are you familiar with the Pages Decimal System?” “No.” “Did you see the central desk on the first floor?” Dust asked. “Would a card with a reference guide help you?” “Probably,” I said. Something about the way this unicorn talked was weird. “Would The Field Guide to Bridlewood Forbs interest you?” Dust asked. “Do you need taxonomic relationships, or is a simple list of species and identifying traits still useful?” “Anything is useful,” I said. “I thought I would have to start from zero.” Dust wrote a few things on the paper, which was about the size of an index card. She described a few more books and asked if I would want them. Soon we had a list of eleven books. “Do you have time to read all of these?” Dust said. “Why do ponies check out books and never read them, letting them sit neglected until the due date? What could be worse?” “I’ll at least skim them all for useful information,” I said. “And I’ll return them promptly. Studying is all I’m here to do, so they’ll have my full attention.” “Is there anything else you wanted?” Dust said. “I don’t think so,” I said. I turned to the trapdoor. “Wait, there is one thing. Izzy said you might know why… uh, mayonnaise is a forbidden word.” Dust did no ritual at hearing the word. “Do they eat lots of mayonnaise where you’re from?” she asked. “Some,” I said. “Hmm,” she said. “Was it all false, then?” “Was what false?” “Did you know that unicorns associate pegasi and earth ponies with bad luck?” Dust said. “Where did I read that mayonnaise were long associated with earth ponies? Anyway, why would a condiment associated with earth ponies be cursed? That seems… random? Could it be because they have no wings or horns, so we had to associate their magic with an object instead? Anyway, isn’t all that stuff about the jinxies hogwash?” That was why her speech sounded so weird! “Do you only speak in questions?” I said. “Why not?” “It seems… cumbersome.” “Aren’t you a scientist?” Dust said. “Isn’t it your job to ask questions?” “Yes, but… never mind,” I said. “Thank you for your help.” “You’re welcome,” Dust said. I opened the trapdoor. Wait, that wasn’t a question! I looked at Dust, and she smirked. I decided to leave that alone and glide down from the trapdoor to the fourth floor. A unicorn nearby jumped as I landed. Yeah, maybe I should take the stairs. I got to the first floor and looked at the central desk. There were the reference cards, which showed which shelves contained which numbers in this Pages Decimal System. After some time and trouble, I collected all the books Dust had recommended. I stepped outside, the books in my saddlebag. I flew up towards the top of the library tree and nestled on a branch. I pulled out my last sandwich, careful not to get anything on the book. I had a lot of reading to do. * * * Later that week, I was still reading through the same books. I was copying over some of the more useful information into my notebook. Unicorns had different names for a lot of genera and families, so putting together a whole picture in pegasus botany terms would take some time. But the fact that unicorns classified organisms into species, genera, and families told me that some of this science must have predated the pony separation. Some of their phylogenetic trees were wrong—or the pegasus biologists were wrong. After that conversation with Typhoon Tack, I had to consider the possibility that the unicorns knew as much or more than the pegasi. All this unicorn botany changed everything. Suddenly my research project, which was initially about gathering data on plants in the field, was now confined to the library. I would have to compile everything I could learn about unicorn botany before returning to the field. Technically, this was good, since it meant I was progressing much more quickly than anticipated towards a complete understanding of the plants of Bridlewood Forest. But I did prefer field work to library research. It was evening, and I was in the Crystal Tea Room again. Alphabittle had learned not to bother me with gambling games by now, but I kept coming back because I really liked all these exotic forest teas. I had brought a book and my notebook, but I left them in the saddlebag. I was too mentally tired to keep working. I would just go to bed early tonight to start early tomorrow. For now, I just sipped some heartflower tea and listened to the poet. My eyes wandered through the room, admiring Alphabittle’s collection of rare and odd objects. A pony caught my eye. I noticed her immediately because she had no horn. But she also had no wings. An earth pony, but not Sunny or Hitch. She was a pink mare with a bright, yellow mane. She was talking with Alphabittle at the serving counter, which my table was next to. I overheard her saying, “…here, and I don’t really know what’s what. But I love exotic teas. Any suggestions?” “The house special is the liquid crystal blend,” Alphabittle said. I perked up. That had the crystal flower in it, which Alphabittle never seemed to mention was psychoactive. “Well, why not start there?” the earth pony said. “One liquid crystal, please.” “Coming up!” Alphabittle said. He turned to start brewing. “Do you know that has psychoactive properties?” I said quietly. “Huh?” the earth pony said, turning. “It contains the crystal flower, which has a psychoactive chemical called adamanine,” I said. “It’s a mild depressant.” I had learned that in one of the botany books from the library. “Peace, I appreciate you as a regular, paying customer,” Alphabittle said, glancing over his shoulder. “But I’ll sell my own products, thanks.” “I just think ponies ought to know what they’re getting into,” I said. “Maybe most unicorns know what crystal flower does, but I didn’t. I’m not saying it’s bad. It relaxes you and lowers your focus and inhibitions, but nothing too severe. But I didn’t know it did anything, so when I started acting weird after drinking a cup, I took a nap for fear of doing something irresponsible that I would regret. Lost half a day of work.” “Alright, we get the idea,” Alphabittle said. “Do you want something else, Strawberry?” “No, it’s no problem,” Strawberry said. “But thanks for letting me know… Peace, right?” “Yep,” I said. “Peace Petal.” “Strawberry Sunrise,” she said. She sat at one of the stools by the serving counter. I was on a cushion next to a low table. But we were right across from each other, easily within conversation distance. “You said you’re into teas?” I said. “Do you have a favorite?” “Oh, wow… I like a lot of teas,” Strawberry said. “It’s hard to pick a favorite. Just off the top of my head, strawberry hibiscus?” I noticed her cutie mark was a preserves jar with a strawberry label. “I’m partial to hibiscus, as well,” I said. “I also like this heartflower tea they have here.” I took a sip from my teacup. “I’ll have to try it,” Strawberry said. Alphabittle gave her a cup of tea, and she paid. Turning back to me, she said, “Hey, do you know plants well?” “I know mountain plants better than the plants of Bridlewood Forest,” I said. “But I’m learning. I’m here to study Bridlewood plants.” “Lucky me,” Strawberry said. “Do you know which berries are safe to eat or poisonous here? I’m trying to make some preserves.” “I can’t be sure, but I can guess based off what plants they’re related to,” I said. “Or, actually… I happen to have a book on identifying edible plants in Bridlewood with me.” I reached into my saddlebag. “You can borrow it, if you’d like.” “Really!” Strawberry said. “Wow, that’s nice of you. How soon do you need it back?” “I’ll be in Bridlewood for quite a while,” I said. “But the book is due at the library in a moon. I’d like it back at least a few days before that.” “I can do that,” Strawberry said. I passed the book to her. “How do I get in contact with you to give it back?” “How long have you been in Bridlewood Forest?” I said. “Just arrived today.” “You like exotic teas,” I said. “I like exotic teas. We’ll probably bump into each other here.” “That works for me,” Strawberry said. She sipped her tea. “Say, this liquid crystal stuff is pretty good.” “I did like the flavor,” I said. “So where are you from, Peace?” Strawberry said. “Zephyr Heights,” I said. “You?” “Caville,” she said. “It’s a small town west of Maretime Bay.” “What are you doing in Bridlewood Forest?” I said. “Oh, I don’t know,” Strawberry said. “I just think it’s so cool that earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi are getting along again. I’ll probably visit Zephyr Heights at some point. I am getting some foraging done here. I sell jams. What about you? What brings you to Bridlewood?” “I’m… studying plants,” I said. “I’m a botanist.” “Oh, yeah, you already said that,” Strawberry said. She seemed to be staring at something behind me. That crystal flower is taking effect, I guessed. But it took longer to have an effect when I drank it. Maybe this was just how she normally was? Or it affected me sooner than I realized that day. Was I already acting weird before I left the Crystal Tea Room? Strawberry sipped some more tea and focused on me again. “Hey, I like that flower you have in your mane,” she said. “Thank you,” I said. The rose had wilted. I now had a yellow willow catkin in my mane. “Hey, I have a question, if it’s not too personal,” Strawberry said. “What kind of ponies are you attracted to? Mares, stallions, both?” “Umm… I’m not completely sure?” I said hesitantly. “It’s not really at the front of my mind right now. Between God, plants, and trumpet, I have more than enough to think about already.” “That’s interesting,” Strawberry said. “I’m more into mares. Some ponies thought I was weird for that. But those are the same ponies who blamed the unicorns and pegasi for everything that goes wrong. I think they’re just scared of what’s different.” “I know what you mean,” I said. “I like wearing dresses sometimes. But I rarely did it in Zephyr Heights because I’m anxious about how some ponies I know would react. It’s been nice to get away for a while.” Strawberry drank the last of her tea. I had already finished mine. “I need to get back to my hotel,” I said. “I want to get an early start tomorrow. But it was nice meeting you.” I stood up. “Absolutely!” Strawberry said. “You’ve been very helpful. I can’t believe they said pegasi are brutes…” “I’ll see you around,” I said. I saddled up my bag and trotted out of the Crystal Tea Room. That was the third earth pony I had seen in Bridlewood. Were there unicorns and earth ponies trotting around Zephyr Heights when I left, and I just hadn’t noticed? Or had things changed in the last couple of weeks? Probably the latter. Things would never be the same after the royal sisters had extended the hoof of friendship to the other pony tribes.