The Lizardmen Return.

Thanks go out to stormscorpion for editing.

Deep within the forests murky interior a rather humorously dressed lizard ran. His once break neck pace had slowed to a painful trudge, with slow lumbering motions the Priest dragged himself through the cold grime and muck. Unlike outside the floor outside it was moist and most unwelcome. With every labored step the cold sunk its ravenous fangs into his scaly hide, draining what little remained of his energy. At the rate he was going he would collapse soon if he did not find any shelter.

The forest was uncharacteristically silent. He could only hear the slush of every damp piece of flora he strode upon. The forest was almost completely still and void of all life this early out of winter.

He thought himself lucky. If any predator were to attack him in such a state he would surely fall. Counting his blessing he found the strength to carry on.

Meekly, he forcefully dug his claws into the hard bark of a felled tree. With every ounce of strength his weakened body could muster he began to pull himself up. Slowly he lifted his figure up the behemoth of a tree. Every time he placed his feet onto its surface they slipped, causing them to flail about, making the effort all the more difficult, but he was determined and went so far as to sink it's teeth into the rotten wood to gain another pivot point. In doing so he even managed to heave himself onto the tree like a confused lemur.

Not out of breath, but nearly out of energy, the skink slid down the other side. He briefly felt the rush of wind but that was quickly followed by the cold greeting of mud. He once again lost control of his body and fell face first into the unpleasant substance. His body voluntarily contacted to maintain some warmth.

"I have failed... This is as far as I go."

*PLOP*

Beary ears shot up when he heard the faint splash in the still forest. He hurried his pace expecting to find what he sought, and sure enough he did.

There on the muddy forest floor was a tasteless blanket. As mismatched as ever it's color clashed violently with the dark gunk surrounding it. A small bulged rested under it rising as the creature breathed.

"Foolish Lizard."

With little difficulty, but much more mud, Beary secured the lizard on his back for a second time. Beary grimaced at the feeling of the forest mud on his back but shrugged it off.

He only had just began to walk, when he felt a series of familiar claws sink into his fur.

"I swear, If he claws me again I'm leaving him."

Beary looked over his shoulder and met the yellow eyes of the lizard. It had poked it's little blue head out and stared at him. Beary peered back into his eyes feeling something was amiss. It was a look he knew all too well.

As the protector of Fluttershy's land, he witnessed many new arrivals in the animal shelter. The desperation painting more than half of them. To see the same face on the reptile was concerning.

"I am bringing you to a safe place." Beary said in a series of deep growls and whines.

The Reptile however only croaked once and feebly pointed deeper into the forest.To Beary his eyes looked to be desperate , if that was even possible for a lizard, as it continued to pleadingly prod it's claw in an unknown direction.

"Is your home that way?"

The reptile showed no signs of acknowledgement.

"..." Beary weigh his options.

Any part of the Everfree was dangerous regardless of what you are. Even as a large bear he would be easy pickings for others beasts within its depths. Not only are the predators dangerous but the flora can be lethal. Some have been known to consume entire wolfs. There was also the possibility of getting lost when one goes deeper into the maze of century old wood. Even with some creatures still in hibernation the risk's would be high.

"I may regret this..." Beary sighed taken the next few steps that would take him much farther than he had ever been.

Meanwhile thousands of miles to the west, in a forest not like the Everfree, all life was still. With the southern birds returned to their homes in the northern hemisphere, things had settle down significantly, like every year around this time. Some of the smaller creatures had already awoken and begun to scrounge up what food they could find. Some of the larger creatures like the manticores and dire wolves were also up and about, already cutting out their territory in the lush jungle. These zones would quickly become a bone yard in the coming months.

Even with all the natural routines that the forest had undergone going for hundreds of years, something was wrong.

It was too quiet.

Even with most of the birds gone it was far too quiet. No chirping or squawking from the local avians, which was very unlike them (they usually rejoiced when their northern brethren returned home.), no furious roars as competing predators fought over which set of identical trees belonged to them, not even the smallest peep from a mouse.

All was silent, but more so in one place. A place long since lost to the Griffons that hunted these grounds and longer yet to the world.

In the densest parts of the forest one could find nothing but trees that reached hundreds of feet into the sky. With trunks reaches up to a quarter of a kilometer in width. These were the oldest behemoths the world had to offer. Older than Celestia herself these trees stood tall and unwavering to the tests of time.

No rustle of leaves could be heard from the branches hundreds of feet above the floor of roots and overgrowth. A place where only time could touch...

It is understandable why he would make an appearance.

Slowly, and seemingly out of nowhere, a strange and out of place noise came into existence. Where the noise came from a large rectangle began to form, as if fading into the world. Seconds later it was clearly visible as a blue box. ”Police Public Call Box” It displayed in bold white letters, bordering the top of the strange object.

Silence returned when the device finished its loud obnoxious whining. However it was short lived as the set of double doors swung open with the painful screech of unoiled hinges.

“Oh!” Exclaimed a pony, exiting the doors. “A bit off the mark, but this will do fine!”

The lone pony that stood there was perhaps one of the plainest ones in existence. With a simple tan coat and dark brown mess of a mane, it gazed in awe at it's surroundings, with a slight wind licking at his mane.

"Well just look at you!" The fascinated stallion exclaimed once more. "You're beautiful!"

With an excited smile, he trotted up to one of the many mighty roots. His green tie swayed back and forth as he moved with an energetic hope in his step. Upon his flank was his mark, an hourglass.

"Simply fantastic!" He enthused running his hooves over the ancient wood. "You must be older than I am."

The odd pony continued its excited rambling for a few minutes, touching everything as he did so. His exceedingly strange behavior was however misleading. Despite his behavior his guard was not down, far from it in fact. He was very much aware that he was being watched.

"Well then," He said smiling. "Better get to work then."

He reached into one of the pockets on his hindquarters (yes ponies have pockets) and withdrew a shiny smooth cylinder. The cylinder was then placed in his mouth as he trotted up to different points in the area. The strange device would emit a low hum every time he pointed and activated it, turning the thing he scanned a dim blue. He repeated the pattern many times, constantly murmuring senselessness phrases to himself. To anypony he would appear to be a madpony with a big blue box, which he would neither confirm or deny, but there was always a reason to his madness.

"The energy levels should not be this high," He scanned another root. "Matter is just frizzling with it! Fantastic!"

The nameless pony continued to randomly survey the area with great interest. The source of his enthusiasm was so unfounded, and seemingly endless, he could no doubt continue for hours...

Which he did.

Hours past and, what little light penetrated the dense branches above, faded. The overgrown floor was dim enough as it was but with the coming of night it would soon be in total darkness.

Hell bent on finding whatever it was he was looking for, the brown pony hurried back into his blue box. A few crashes could be heard from the box as he rummaged through what lied inside. It was only seconds later he emerged with a set of flood light strapped to his back and an electrical cord hanging from his mouth.

Swiftly he erected the towers around the area. After taking a moment to untangle himself he galloped back to the box.

Soon the pillars came to life with a click and the surrounding area was bathed in bright light.

"Alright then," The earth pony began. "Where was I?" He paused, placing a contemplating hoof below his chin. "Ah yes... You." He pointed a hoof at the largest tree in front of him.

In response the tree... did nothing because it is a tree.

"Yes you... It's you!" He exclaimed. "You are what keeps this place the way it is. There is no other explanation."

The behemoth of ancient bark continued to do what trees do. Nothing.

"How else could this place be so powerful? The very energy that runs through those roots is outstanding! It's as powerful as my Tardis in it's own way. But that not I either! Those bodies of your's are massive."

The pony paused a moment. "And no I'm not calling you all fat. They are simply down right fantastic! But.. that's just it. With bodies like those how is it I can feel this slight breeze. Why there must be a thirty hoof wall encasing this place. With an obstruction like that there should be no wind, and yet here it is." As if to confirm his observation his mane brushed slightly to one side.

"And by the way, it feels great, But let's get to the final point. All that power has got to go somewhere or you would not be here. You would have left a smoldering crater with even a tenth of that energy. And a big one at that, so where is all that power going hmm? Cause I find it hard to believe it goes to this simple breeze, or some kind of pheromone to keep animals away.

"Oh no! Something else is doing that. Something that all the creature either respect or fear far too much. So much so that they would never dare enter this place. That's why I have not been attacked yet. I broke nearly every rule on how to survive in the jungle and yet... here I stand, unharmed. But what possible being could leave such an effect on the animal kingdom? And where did it go?

"So how about? What are you so keen on hiding that would require all that energy?"

A long silence followed after the ponies rant, as if he had not spoken at all. That faint breeze he spoke of earlier.

However much to his pleasure the tree... stopped being a normal tree.What was once a calm and tranquil space of serenity, was now a ocean of movement and activity. With powerful forces unknown to him the tree's massive roots parted. The ground rumbled and cracked as they forced their way through the earth, splitting it. Once immobile vines, slithered away like thousands of snakes, who have grown tired of each other over the centuries.

Several of the pony's lights toppled over with such the great forces at work. The tremors brought brilliant smiles to the pony's face as he watched in awe.

He began to laugh joyously. "Magnificent" He praised, fighting to maintain his balance.

The creeping vines gave way to decorative stone walkways and head high walls. All were aged and heavily weathered but the mastery carved into every inch was clear. Ridged and clean the cuttings ran down the path way leading the largest tree.

Once the rumbling subsided, the brown pony found himself even more impressed. An ancient civilization laid before his eyes. One that may have not been explored for thousands of years. All for him to explore and uncover.

His sense of adventure kicked in right away, as he made an immediate left. Nearly pressing his face to the stone he eyed up the carvings in the walkway.

"It's hieroglyphic!" He cheered. "Oh that's brilliant!"

As thrilled as he was the earth pony moved cautiously around the area. Everything about the place was interesting and pluck the strings of curiosity in his mind. Even with the strings being strum something was... Off.

Something much more ominous was brewing.

-Everfree and The Southern Jungles of The Griffon Empire.-

The Everfree forest is a forest as vast as it is dangerous. With an average radius stretching ten miles. The forest’s size is not as outstanding as it’s density. It is nearly impossible to tread in the forest do to the ancient timber obstructing most paths. Even most game trails are too obscure to travel along on hoof, they are simply too small or perilously narrow. Trees tend to intertwine with one another creating strange images that are often mistaken for monsters.

Although the trees may be mistaken for monsters, it should be understood that there are indeed fearsome creatures within. Some include but not limited to: Manticores, Timber Wolves, Cockatrice, Hydras, rockodiles, and all a sorted sizes of Ursi and a few Dragons, the list goes on. The forest is a place to be feared. Few expeditions have been made into it’s depths and never have ponies reached it’s core. Teams either returned with heavy losses, with little information, or never returned at all. Because of the dangers the forest posed no further attempts were made into it, for fear of more lives lost. Princess Celestia, although not deeming it forbidden, Did warn the populace of the dangers and advised against it. Thankfully many headed her warnings and stayed clear of the death trap.

However a few still ventured inside but were mostly never heard from again. All except one. A common Unicorn by the name of Emerald Dancer. A simple mare from Filadelphia was daring enough to enter the forest and uncover one of the most important discoveries to ever be made. Embedded in stone inside cave along the edge of the forest lay one largest skeleton to ever be found. As large as an average dragon It’s skeletal form was perfectly preserved in the stone wall. It would later become known as a “Carnosaur Ancient King of The Jungle.”She soon became famous and gained much funding from nobles to continue her search for fossils of the ancient world. Her fame and riches reached an all time high when she uncovered eighteen new species. Some of them were, Bastiladons, Terradons, Ripperdactyles and many more.

However exciting it was to discover the new existence of the carnivores that once roamed, it help solve a greater mystery in the future. A few years after christening the fossils, thousands of miles to the west, the very same fossils were being found within Griffon borders. The naturally competitive race was expectantly disappointed that they did not uncover the creatures first, and began work on a theory immediately. Equestria recognized this as a race and began word as well although two weeks later. In the end the Griffons came ahead with a theory that is widely accept to be the truth. The theory goes like so:

If one were to take a map of the two coastlines it would look almost like they used to fit together, like puzzle pieces. To support this where the Jungles abruptly end in The Empire, and the forest that abruptly begins in Equestria matches up almost seamlessly. Additionally the forest and jungles ages are close give or take a ten years.

It was a stunning revelation that lead to the idea that at one time the whole world was one supercontinent, and using the same ideas it was proven to be so.

Needless to say the descendants of the Emerald Dance were furious to be beaten by the Griffons and aggression would be shown for generations to come in the newly founded house.