Difficult Greenery
by NightShine
Prompt: Difficult Greenery
"You wanted my help, Princess?"
Her voice echoed.
"You asked me to meet here?"
Still nothing.
"Princess?"
Blinding light struck her for an instant.
"Roseluck! You're just the pony I wanted to see."
Rose rubbed her eyes. "Really?"
"Of course!"
"What do you need my help for?"
"There's a magic problem. Some, ah… difficult greenery. Come out back with me and I'll show you."
Rose froze. "Princess, what in Equestria happened here?"
"It's… kind of a long story." Princess Twilight took a deep breath. "For centuries, scholars thought that Lemon Balm's Healing Leaves were lost to time. Nopony had seen them since the Third Griffon Rebellion. But two days ago, I found five seeds that perfectly match the description I found in Lemon's ancient scroll. The spellcraft on their stasis spell left them remarkably well-preserved."
"And you tried to plant one?"
Princess Twilight winced. "Two. You're looking at the result."
Rose placed a tentative hoof forward. She slowly scratched what probably used to be dirt. Death coated her hoof, clinging to it and oozing like tar.
Rose swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry. "All of this is from planting two seeds?"
Twilight nodded.
"I… Princess, I've never seen anything like this before. Are you sure I'm the pony you meant to ask?"
"One hundred percent. I'm new to Earth pony magic, so I would need more practice before trying to fix something so delicate."
Fix? Rose frowned. "My specialty is flowers, not… whatever this is supposed to be."
"Trust me."
Rose sighed. "Well, you're the Princess. I'll see what I can do. But speaking as a gardener, it will take a long time before we see anything. Shrubs take years to grow to full size."
The Princess grinned sheepishly. "Well, about that…"
Rose frowned.
"Lemon said that the shrubs grow in only a month. But I kinda… sorta… tried speeding them up with a time spell?"
Rose shook her head. "You do need my help."
Twilight hung her head. "I've read all of Lemon Balm's extant writings, and none of them say what to do after you plant it! I feel like I've tried everything, but nothing works!"
Works? "Alright, Princess l. I'll give it a try, but I'll need to stop home to bring some tools first."
Pressing her hooves into fresh soil always made Rose relax. She welcomed the feeling.
The fresh plot of land lay beneath her. She lowered her head and inhaled deeply, then smiled.
Trotting over to her tools, Rose bent down and grabbed her shovel.
One hole later, Roseluck carefully extracted a seed from its bag and gently lay it down in the spot she dug. She dragged over a bag of fertilizer and tilted her head to pour it in.
Suddenly, something black bubbled out of the topsoil.
"No, no, no!" Rose frantically dug past the fertilizer, ignoring the amalgamation of smells unleashed by its unholy union with the new substance infecting the ground.
By the time she reached the bottom of the hole, nothing was left of the seed.
Alright. No fertilizer this time, thought Roseluck. Leaning on a shovel, she delicately placed the seed into a second plot of land that the Princess gave her.
She covered it back up with dirt and braced herself.
Several minutes ticked by before Rose released some of the tension in her limbs. So far, so good.
Hose in her mouth, she turned the dial with her hooves and filled up her watering can to two thirds of its capacity. She dragged it to the seed and turned her neck to give it a sprinkling of water.
Not three minutes later, the foul-smelling substance erupted again and blackened her hooves. The second seed died much like its brother.
Defeated, Rose glumly stared at the seed in her hoof. "You're my last one, huh? My last chance. I don't know what to do with you."
Sighing, Rose pushed the seed under the soil of yet another fresh plot of land. I hope Princess Twilight doesn't mind me ruining her back yard, she thought.
Rose mechanically dragged her hoe over the seed. She glances at her bag of fertilizer, then shook her head. "No use wasting you on a lost cause."
She bent down to grab her watering can, then paused with her head near the ground. Come to think of it, Ponyville should have enough in the soil already.
Is this really all I can do?
Shaking her head, Rose walked home.
Rose saw something odd the next day; namely, nothing. The ground was absolutely covered in it. Nothing at all sat on top of the soil, a complete lack of black liquid or anything else.
A little spark of hope ignited in Rose's chest. She galloped to her pile of tools and grabbed the watering can, then rapidly hobbled to the site her seed called home.
As she bent down, she paused. Something felt off. A cold shiver traveled up her hooves, and she could have sworn that the soil seemed to tighten its grip on her hooves.
She stared at the soil. Then, slowly, she set down the watering can. The strange grip released.
Something clicked.
A smile slowly grew on her face. She trotted away.
"Good morning Rose! Did you water the Healing seed?"
"Nope!"
"Well, are you going to?"
"Nope!"
"Do you have a new kind of fertilizer you want to try?"
"Nope!"
Twilight frowned. "Are you… going to do anything…?"
"No ma'am!"
"Do you… want me to take over?"
"No ma'am. We're going to leave it alone. Just trust me on this one."
Judging by her voice, Twilight didn't. "Well, if you say so. You're the expert."
"Thank you, Princess. I won't let you down."
A day passed. Rose trotted to her seed's home. Her grin widened. She nodded at it and left.
Another day passed, with another smile and another nod.
Rose heard knocking. She opened the door.
Princess Twilight Sparkle, wings and all, stood on her little doorstep. "Hi Rose! I just wanted to check in about the Healing Leaves. Is everything okay? I haven't seen you around the castle in a few days. Did something come up? Do you want me to find somepony else to take over? I'm kind of worried that—"
"Don't worry, Princess. I know what I'm doing."
"Right, right, of course! You're the expert, obviously. I just…"
About five seconds passed.
Twilight's words blasted out like a train. "I'm really worried about growing the seed because it's our last living seed and it might be the last in the world so it's really valuable and if this one dies I have no idea what I'll tell the scholarly and medical communities because I already promised them a paper about my findings and Celestia said it's okay if I can't get it working but I'd still feel really bad because—"
Working?
"Princess!" Rose put a hoof on her shoulder. "Relax. It's going to be fine."
"But how do you know?!"
"I think…" Rose hesitated. "I think the seed… told me? I think it told me it likes to be left alone."
Like a light switch, Twilight's mood instantly flipped. "Wait, it told you? Can plants do that? Can you talk to plants? That's incredible! I've never heard of that in any of my reading about Earth pony magic before. How do you—?"
"I- I mean, it didn't really tell me…"
"Oh."
"…at least, not with a voice. But I felt like I understand what it wants."
Twilight nodded. "That's… still fascinating! Can you tell me more about it?"
"I'm sorry, Princess, but I don't know how much there is to tell. It's kind of just a feeling."
"Okay. Well, thank you! I really hope you're right. I'll, uh… I'll let you know if anything happens." She paused. "To the seed." Her voice became quiter. "That you planted and we're leaving alone. Okay, thanks."
A flash of light cleared her doorstep.
Brutal pounding at the door yanked Rose from her slumber. She sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes.
"Roseluck! Rose? Rose Rose Rose Rose Rose!"
"I'm coming, just give me a minute!" Hoping that her visitor hadn't woken half of the neighborhood, Rose slid out of her sheets and trotted downstairs. She glanced at the clock and recoiled.
Rose took a deep breath and opened the door. The sight of Equestria's reigning monarch bouncing on the tips of her hooves briefly bemused her. "Princess? What are you doing here at this hour?"
"It worked! It worked it worked it worked!"
After extricating herself from an unprovojed royal hug, Roseluck said, "The… seed? It grew?"
"Come with me!"
Twilight's magic cast the sleeping town in a lavender glow as she galloped to the castle.
Rose caught up to her, panting. "What… did you want… to show me, Princess?"
"Look!"
Rose squinted. "I can't see anything."
"Oh, right." The lavender glow brightened.
Rose gasped.
The foliage filled most of her vision. Even cast black against the night, she could make out the subtly shifting , shaking silhouettes of healing leaves.
"Isn't this exciting?!"
Rose turned to her companion and briefly wondered whether Princess Twilight had swapped bodies with Pinkie Pie. Stranger things happen in this town.
"I can't wait to write my paper about this!"
Nope. Definitely Twilight Sparkle.
"I'll make sure to give you credit. I'll make you a coauthor—no, first author! Thank you so much for your help!"
Rose smiled. "You're very welcome, Princess."
Ten minutes later, Roseluck snuggled back in her sheets and fell asleep with a smile on her face.
Author's Note: Please forgive my complete lack of knowledge about, or experience with, gardening and landscaping.
"You wanted my help, Princess?"
Her voice echoed.
"You asked me to meet here?"
Still nothing.
"Princess?"
Blinding light struck her for an instant.
"Roseluck! You're just the pony I wanted to see."
Rose rubbed her eyes. "Really?"
"Of course!"
"What do you need my help for?"
"There's a magic problem. Some, ah… difficult greenery. Come out back with me and I'll show you."
Rose froze. "Princess, what in Equestria happened here?"
"It's… kind of a long story." Princess Twilight took a deep breath. "For centuries, scholars thought that Lemon Balm's Healing Leaves were lost to time. Nopony had seen them since the Third Griffon Rebellion. But two days ago, I found five seeds that perfectly match the description I found in Lemon's ancient scroll. The spellcraft on their stasis spell left them remarkably well-preserved."
"And you tried to plant one?"
Princess Twilight winced. "Two. You're looking at the result."
Rose placed a tentative hoof forward. She slowly scratched what probably used to be dirt. Death coated her hoof, clinging to it and oozing like tar.
Rose swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry. "All of this is from planting two seeds?"
Twilight nodded.
"I… Princess, I've never seen anything like this before. Are you sure I'm the pony you meant to ask?"
"One hundred percent. I'm new to Earth pony magic, so I would need more practice before trying to fix something so delicate."
Fix? Rose frowned. "My specialty is flowers, not… whatever this is supposed to be."
"Trust me."
Rose sighed. "Well, you're the Princess. I'll see what I can do. But speaking as a gardener, it will take a long time before we see anything. Shrubs take years to grow to full size."
The Princess grinned sheepishly. "Well, about that…"
Rose frowned.
"Lemon said that the shrubs grow in only a month. But I kinda… sorta… tried speeding them up with a time spell?"
Rose shook her head. "You do need my help."
Twilight hung her head. "I've read all of Lemon Balm's extant writings, and none of them say what to do after you plant it! I feel like I've tried everything, but nothing works!"
Works? "Alright, Princess l. I'll give it a try, but I'll need to stop home to bring some tools first."
Pressing her hooves into fresh soil always made Rose relax. She welcomed the feeling.
The fresh plot of land lay beneath her. She lowered her head and inhaled deeply, then smiled.
Trotting over to her tools, Rose bent down and grabbed her shovel.
One hole later, Roseluck carefully extracted a seed from its bag and gently lay it down in the spot she dug. She dragged over a bag of fertilizer and tilted her head to pour it in.
Suddenly, something black bubbled out of the topsoil.
"No, no, no!" Rose frantically dug past the fertilizer, ignoring the amalgamation of smells unleashed by its unholy union with the new substance infecting the ground.
By the time she reached the bottom of the hole, nothing was left of the seed.
Alright. No fertilizer this time, thought Roseluck. Leaning on a shovel, she delicately placed the seed into a second plot of land that the Princess gave her.
She covered it back up with dirt and braced herself.
Several minutes ticked by before Rose released some of the tension in her limbs. So far, so good.
Hose in her mouth, she turned the dial with her hooves and filled up her watering can to two thirds of its capacity. She dragged it to the seed and turned her neck to give it a sprinkling of water.
Not three minutes later, the foul-smelling substance erupted again and blackened her hooves. The second seed died much like its brother.
Defeated, Rose glumly stared at the seed in her hoof. "You're my last one, huh? My last chance. I don't know what to do with you."
Sighing, Rose pushed the seed under the soil of yet another fresh plot of land. I hope Princess Twilight doesn't mind me ruining her back yard, she thought.
Rose mechanically dragged her hoe over the seed. She glances at her bag of fertilizer, then shook her head. "No use wasting you on a lost cause."
She bent down to grab her watering can, then paused with her head near the ground. Come to think of it, Ponyville should have enough in the soil already.
Is this really all I can do?
Shaking her head, Rose walked home.
Rose saw something odd the next day; namely, nothing. The ground was absolutely covered in it. Nothing at all sat on top of the soil, a complete lack of black liquid or anything else.
A little spark of hope ignited in Rose's chest. She galloped to her pile of tools and grabbed the watering can, then rapidly hobbled to the site her seed called home.
As she bent down, she paused. Something felt off. A cold shiver traveled up her hooves, and she could have sworn that the soil seemed to tighten its grip on her hooves.
She stared at the soil. Then, slowly, she set down the watering can. The strange grip released.
Something clicked.
A smile slowly grew on her face. She trotted away.
"Good morning Rose! Did you water the Healing seed?"
"Nope!"
"Well, are you going to?"
"Nope!"
"Do you have a new kind of fertilizer you want to try?"
"Nope!"
Twilight frowned. "Are you… going to do anything…?"
"No ma'am!"
"Do you… want me to take over?"
"No ma'am. We're going to leave it alone. Just trust me on this one."
Judging by her voice, Twilight didn't. "Well, if you say so. You're the expert."
"Thank you, Princess. I won't let you down."
A day passed. Rose trotted to her seed's home. Her grin widened. She nodded at it and left.
Another day passed, with another smile and another nod.
Rose heard knocking. She opened the door.
Princess Twilight Sparkle, wings and all, stood on her little doorstep. "Hi Rose! I just wanted to check in about the Healing Leaves. Is everything okay? I haven't seen you around the castle in a few days. Did something come up? Do you want me to find somepony else to take over? I'm kind of worried that—"
"Don't worry, Princess. I know what I'm doing."
"Right, right, of course! You're the expert, obviously. I just…"
About five seconds passed.
Twilight's words blasted out like a train. "I'm really worried about growing the seed because it's our last living seed and it might be the last in the world so it's really valuable and if this one dies I have no idea what I'll tell the scholarly and medical communities because I already promised them a paper about my findings and Celestia said it's okay if I can't get it working but I'd still feel really bad because—"
Working?
"Princess!" Rose put a hoof on her shoulder. "Relax. It's going to be fine."
"But how do you know?!"
"I think…" Rose hesitated. "I think the seed… told me? I think it told me it likes to be left alone."
Like a light switch, Twilight's mood instantly flipped. "Wait, it told you? Can plants do that? Can you talk to plants? That's incredible! I've never heard of that in any of my reading about Earth pony magic before. How do you—?"
"I- I mean, it didn't really tell me…"
"Oh."
"…at least, not with a voice. But I felt like I understand what it wants."
Twilight nodded. "That's… still fascinating! Can you tell me more about it?"
"I'm sorry, Princess, but I don't know how much there is to tell. It's kind of just a feeling."
"Okay. Well, thank you! I really hope you're right. I'll, uh… I'll let you know if anything happens." She paused. "To the seed." Her voice became quiter. "That you planted and we're leaving alone. Okay, thanks."
A flash of light cleared her doorstep.
Brutal pounding at the door yanked Rose from her slumber. She sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes.
"Roseluck! Rose? Rose Rose Rose Rose Rose!"
"I'm coming, just give me a minute!" Hoping that her visitor hadn't woken half of the neighborhood, Rose slid out of her sheets and trotted downstairs. She glanced at the clock and recoiled.
Rose took a deep breath and opened the door. The sight of Equestria's reigning monarch bouncing on the tips of her hooves briefly bemused her. "Princess? What are you doing here at this hour?"
"It worked! It worked it worked it worked!"
After extricating herself from an unprovojed royal hug, Roseluck said, "The… seed? It grew?"
"Come with me!"
Twilight's magic cast the sleeping town in a lavender glow as she galloped to the castle.
Rose caught up to her, panting. "What… did you want… to show me, Princess?"
"Look!"
Rose squinted. "I can't see anything."
"Oh, right." The lavender glow brightened.
Rose gasped.
The foliage filled most of her vision. Even cast black against the night, she could make out the subtly shifting , shaking silhouettes of healing leaves.
"Isn't this exciting?!"
Rose turned to her companion and briefly wondered whether Princess Twilight had swapped bodies with Pinkie Pie. Stranger things happen in this town.
"I can't wait to write my paper about this!"
Nope. Definitely Twilight Sparkle.
"I'll make sure to give you credit. I'll make you a coauthor—no, first author! Thank you so much for your help!"
Rose smiled. "You're very welcome, Princess."
Ten minutes later, Roseluck snuggled back in her sheets and fell asleep with a smile on her face.
Author's Note: Please forgive my complete lack of knowledge about, or experience with, gardening and landscaping.