Druids and the Wooden Heart

They traveled with the train for the next two three days and on the third day they would reach Canterlot. On that day woke Spirit really late up.

Spirit, with his eyes still closed wanted he to stand up but as he stood up he suddenly got water splashed in his face. Spirit opened his eyes wide and looked around. He saw Switch sitting on a chair smiling at him. "So you finally you decided to wake up. Bite and I tried to wake you up for the last hour."

Switch threw Spirit a towel in his face. Spirit used it to dry his face then threw it back to Switch who caught it with his magic. "And why did you threw water in my face after I woke up?"

Switch chuckled. "So that you don't fall asleep again, of course. By the way we should reach Canterlot in the next hour or so."

Spirit walked over to the door and stretched his back while walking. Bite also stood up now and walked next to him. "Good to hear. So you are going to get your docu... "In mid sentence the train suddenly stopped. Spirit fell to his side right into Bite and they both fell on the ground and Bites left front leg got smashed.

Switch jut looked at them both and burst into laughter. "I guess we arrived earlier than I thought!" He walked, still laughing, over to Spirit and held a hoof out. "Come let me help you up." Spirit grabbed his hoof and pulled himself up.

Spirit nodded friendly. "Thanks."

Switch now walked over to Bite. "No problem. Should I help you too? Let me hold you up while you rebuild your leg." And just like he said he grabbed Bite one side and held him up while he rebuild his leg.

Switch grabbed his saddlebags and turned to them both. "Everypony ready? No one missing a leg or something like that? No, good then let's go. I don't know about you but I don't want to stay to long in the city with the most guards and unicorns in all of Equestria."

Switch covered himself in green flames for a second and then there stood the pegasus Green Wing again. Spirit quickly grabbed the plant and laid it carefully in one of his saddlebags. After that he turned to Switch and nodded. They left, like most of the train guests the train.

Switch looked around and took a deep breath. "It is good to be outside again. You have no idea how much I hate to be stuck in a building for too long or in this case a train." He took another deep breath and turned to Spirit. "Do you smell this? This is the smell of a city where I don't want to live, even when you would pay me."

Bite nodded in agreement and Spirit jut chuckled a bit. "I think neither of us want to live here. It is too full and they care about the environment way to less."

Switch looked a bit around like he was searching for something. "But don't they grow dragon sneeze trees somewhere in the town?"

Spirit thought for a moment than remembered something that Spike told him once. "I don't think they do this anymore. One year they decided to cut them down because their treetop went to heavy and they were about to brake. And if I remember correctly they did a lot of damage before they were able to cut them down."

Switch looked a bit amused. "How much damage can a tree do in one day?"

Spirit shrugged. "Don't ask me I just tell you what a dragon told me."

Switch looked a bit amused. "I wish I would have seen that but let's get back to business. Follow me, we are going to meet somepony. Do you like flowers?"

Spirit nodded lowly. "Yes of course but why do you ask?"

Switch smiled and started to walk. "You will see!"

And after a few minutes they stood before a mall flower shop. Spirit looked at Switch. "What do we want here?"

Switch stepped inside. "Buy a flower of course! What do thought?"

Spirit and Bite looked at each other confused. Bite followed Switch first then walked Spirit inside at last. From the inside the shop seemed even smaller. There were many shelves and tables full of flowers of many different kinds. It was so full that you didn't had much space to move.

Switch turned to them. "So you both can look around if you want one. Oh and just in case, no I won't pay for you!"

With that walked Switch away and Bite and Spirit walked around for a bit. The problem was that you couldn't walk two feet before some leafs of branches got into your face. o after a few seconds Spirit and Bite decided to leave the shop and to wait outside for Switch. Spirit used that time to meditate a bit but he didn't had much time because after about one minute Switch came out of the shop, on his back was a sapling in a pot who was a bit too big."Could you help me?"

Spirit quickly helped Switch to place the sapling on the ground. Spirit looked at the plant for a few seconds then back to Switch. "Why did you bought this sapling?"

Switch sat down in front of the pot and searched for something. "What? Can't I buy a sapling for no reason? Now where is that thing? Ah found it!" Switch suddenly pulled something out of the pot and held it to Spirit. It was a small card with the identify information for a professor Green Wing.

Spirit looked back at the pot than back to the shop. "Wait, why was your card in this pot?"

Switch put the card in hi bag and shook his head. "I really thought you would came to the solution by yourself. I can just say you one thing. My group know how to do their job."

Spirit topped for a few minutes then nodded. Switch stood up again. "Good now can you plant this sapling in a park or something like that while I go show this to a guard?"

"Wait you want me to go to one random park planting a sapling and nopony would get curios? Don't you think a guard somepony else would ask what I am doing?"

Switch rolled with his eyes. "You don't have to scream around that you want to plant there a sapling and besides, if you would see a strange looking pony with a sapling and a big dangerous looking animal in a park, would your first question would be hat they are doing with that sapling?"

Spirit smiled weakly. "Point taken."

Spirit wanted to continue but Switch interrupted him. "And also there should be a hole for it in a park to the north, if everything is correctly prepared."

Spirit nodded. "Ok I will do it, should I meet you at the train station again when I am finished?"

Switch nodded. "Yes but you don't have to hurry I don't know how long that will take and also we would have to wait for the next train to Ponyville."

Spirit nodded and Switch flew away and Spirit grabbed the pot with the sapling and laid it on his back with Bites help. They both walked slowly to the north.

The pot was a bit heavy and they walked through the midday sun, so Spirit began to sweat and after a while he turned to Bite and stopped. "Can you tell me if there is a reason why I am carrying everything?"

Bite continued walking. "Because you didn't said anything."

Spirit rolled with his eyes. "Hahaha very funny!" Bite first waited till Spirit had caught up with him then grabbed the pot and Spirit bag and carried it for the rest of the way on his bag.

It took them not long till they reached the park and just as Switch told them there was a hole next to another tree. The carried the sapling to the hole and planted carefully. After that they both rested under the lager tree Bite suddenly sat straight up.

Spirit also sat up and looked around. "What is it?" Instead of answering he sniffed the air. Spirit raised an eyebrow. "You smell somepony? Who is it?"

Bite sniffed again then turned around. "I don't know who that is but I smelled the same day we were visited by our teacher. Maybe one of the high mages?"

"Maybe, I would really like to talk to one of them. Last time we didn't had the chance but maybe this time. So where does it come from?"

Bite jut looked up the tree and a he followed his eyes he could see a pony levitating over the tree. Spirit was so surprised to see a pony levitating himself that he couldn't bring a word out.

Suddenly a voice coming from the pony. "I think you wanted to ask me something?" The pony stopped levitating himself and jumped down. A he stood now in front of Spirit he could see that the pony was a big stallion with a grey-blue mane and a slightly pale red coat. The stallion also wore a ice-blue cloak with flames one it.

The stallion bowed a bit. "Greetings. I am Ice Eruption, the high mage of the elements. How can I aid you?"

Spirit was a bit overwhelmed by that but quickly pulled himself together. "I wanted to ask you a few questions."

Ice Eruption nodded. "Then follow me, let us drink some tea while we talk." Ice Eruption walked away without any more words. Bite and Spirit looked at each other then quickly followed Eruption.

They reached a cafe and they sat down. They remained silent until the waitress came to them. As they ordered their tea and a bowl of water for Bite the pony looked all the time nervous between Bite and Ice Eruption back and forth. They got their tea and the water surprisingly quickly and after Spirit had strew the powder for Bite in the bowl he turned to Ice Eruption.

Ice Eruption sipped at his tea than looked at Spirit. "You wanted to ask a question. So you may ask now!"

Spirit also sipped at his tea before he started. "What do you think of Timberwolves?"

Eruption sipped at his tea again. "They are creatures all any other. They breath, eat and live like everything else."

Spirit and Bite looked at each other, they both hadn't expect an answer like this but as Spirit saw that Ice Eruption was waiting for another question he quickly turned back. "So what do you do as a high mage?"

"I am a bearer of balance, who travel through the lands."

Spirit tried to clarified that a bit. "So you fight the darkness?"

" Yes but I don't strike it down."

That surprised both Bite and Spirit because Ice Eruption doesn't seem like someone who holds back. "Why?"

Ice Eruption created a ice crystal and a flam in the air while he explained. " Where heat is there must be cold. Where light is there must be darkness. Darkness may bring death but that doesn't mean that death should be its ultimate fate."

Spirit nodded and felt like he was back in one of his teachers lessons back at the zebra tribe and bowed a bit in respect."You remind me much of my teacher, you both are very wise and strictly."

He bowed a bit back. "And you remind me of my student ,you both have much to learn."

Spirit looked around. "Where is your student?"

Ice Eruption drank the rest of his tea. "By now he should reach Tartarus to bring me a insignia from there."

Spirit was again very surprised how the high mage said it like it was nothing. As Spirit didn't ask more questions stood Eruption up. "That seemed to be your last question. That we may meet again, Spirit Wood from the Zebra lands." With that he walked off.

Spirit waited a bit to pay for the tea but the waitress said that they don't had to o they left to the train station.

As they reached the train station they saw Switch already waiting for them. As he saw them Switch walked up to them. "Where have you been so long? We missed a train because of you!"

Spirit smiled weakly. "I am sorry I drank a tea with one of the high mage his name was Ice Eruption do you know who he is?"

Switch seemed to calm as he heard that name. "Of course I know who he is. No other pony had ever done so much for the balance of the nature! We wanted to recruit him long ago but before that he became a high mage." And with a chuckled he added. "And by now he is stealing some of the most promising recruits for us."

They heard the train coming but Spirit wanted to ask another question. "Does he know from existence of the druids?"

Switch shook his head. "No I don't think so but if somepony would know it would be him. Now come, we have to go in the train now."

Spirit and Bite both nodded and so the three entered the train to Ponyville.