Druids and the Wooden Heart

In the train to Ponyville it was rather empty, there were only a few ponies in the train. A bunch of them stared at Bite but Spirit decided to ret for today. They already made more progress than they had planned so they stayed silent for the whole train ride.

As they finally reached Ponyville both, Bite and Spirit looked around and took a deep breath. After that turned Spirit to Bite. "Should we visited our friends? I really would like to see them again and hear what happened lately."

Bite just nodded with a big smile but as they wanted to walk into town stepped Switch between them. "No you won't. I am sorry but we don't have much time and if they even see they will ask you probably thousand of question. And in the worst case they would invite you to eat with them. Again I am sorry but we don't have enough time for that. You can see them after your meeting with the archdruid."

Both Bite and Spirit wanted to argue but as they saw that Switch raised one eyebrow they remain silent. "Good now. You have a cloak if I remember right. So put it on and Bite you should fall apart so that nopony can see you."

Bite nodded and Spirit reached in one of his saddlebags and pulled out his cloak from his tribe. As he turned around Bite had already fall into pieces. Spirit quickly searched for the core part and laid it into his bag and after that he put his cloak on. He pulled the hood up and nodded to Switch, who had by now also a grey cloak on.

As they were about to enter the ton Switch suddenly stopped and shoved Spirit aside. As Spirit wanted to ask why hold Switch his mouth shut and whispered. "Time to change the plan. I will fly there and you will walk by feet. Just go to the west until you reach a forest, there I should wait for you! Understood?"

Spirit nodded then whispered back. "But why?"

Switch rolled his with eyes and shortly pointed at two ponies on the road. "Because of them! I will explain later more but not now. Don't let them see Bite. See you."

Spirit turned back to Switch to ask further only to see that he was already gone. Spirit turned back to the ponies and looked closely. The pony wore a dark blue cloak and a white mask with blue runes around the eyeholes. "Who are they?"

Spirit walked a bit closer and got an idea. "Bite could you look at their magic aura if you find something special."

Bite agreed and Spirit could fell that Bite stretched his aura out. Spirit took a deep breath and tired to look as unsuspicious as possible while he passed the two ponies.

As Spirit passed them he started to walk quicker but stopped as he heard a voice behind him. "You there stop right now!" Bite quickly moved his aura away.

Spirit turned around to see that the both ponies walked to him. "Who are you?"

Spirit pulled his hood back. "I am Spirit Wood. Did I do something wrong?"

They both scanned Spirit looked over him closely and Spirit tired to turn Bites core as far away as possible. One of them shook his head. "I am sorry we are looking for a unicorn my partner probably just imaged something."

They walked away and Spirit could hear one last sentence. "But I could swear I saw something strange coming from this pony. I suppose I should get a bit more sleep."

Spirit didn't waited any longer, he pulled his hood back up and walked a quickly as he could. "Did you saw something at their aura?"

"No nothing but it seemed like they could see me." Spirit though while he walked how this could be than got an idea. "Maybe the rune around their eyes let them see magic auras like the magic glasses our teacher had."

Spirit could sense that Bite came to the same conclusion and nodded. "We should ask Switch later who they are."

Spirit walked as quickly a possible through the city and was able to do so without any problems and as they finally left the town through the west Spirit pulled his hood back again and looked at his bag where Bite in was. "I hope we don't have to sneak through a city because of our friends again."

As Spirit and Bite came closer to the forest they could see Switch already standing there looking hectically around. As witch aw him he quickly walked over to Spirit and dragged him to the forest. "There you are. Now come. We have to move before one of the magic hunters see me!"

Spirit began to walk quicker but didn't stopped asking. "Magic hunters? Are they the ponies with the cloaks and the strange masks?"

Switch looked back once again while he walked. "Yes they are. Did they see you? Probably not since you are here."

They were already deeper in the forest and Switch started to slow down until he completely stopped. Switch sat exhausted down and breathed one time in and out and dropped his disguise. "Now you can ask your questions. I will answer them till we reach the meeting."

Spirit nodded but first he grabbed Bites core out of his bag and laid it down. After a few seconds it started to shine brightly in green and pieces from trees began to levitated toward it. They began to slowly but steady forming a big wolf. After Bite was finished he stretched his back and Spirit turned to his saddlebags again and pulled out his necklace. Before he put the necklace on he looked at the wooden marks, in the middle a rune from his teacher on the left a mark with a hoof print and on the right a mark with a wolf paw print.

He put the necklace around his neck and looked at Switch who just shrugged. "Hey, I won't judge your taste of fashion but you want to ask a few questions right? You can ask them while we walk."

So Bite and Spirit started to follow Switch as he led them deeper into the forest. "So who were these ponies with the masks? You called them magic hunters right?"

Switch nodded. "Yes. They are a elite group that is specialized in the fight with magic and magical anomalies."

"And why did you flee from them?"

"Because, they have strict rules how to handle a changeling and with their masks it is completely impossible for me to hide from them! The runes around the eyeholes make them capable to see magic auras and also see through illusions like my disguise."

Spirit nodded and looked at Bite. "So that is why they stopped us. I guess they work similar to the rune glasses from our tribe."

Switch nodded. "That could be possible," and suddenly stopped. "Wait they stopped you? How did you managed to escape?"

Spirit shook his head. "I didn't had to. We wanted to know what so special about them is so we came to the idea that Bite would stretch his aura too look at their if that was the special but then stopped me and looked at me for a short time. After that they said that they were searching for unicorn, so they let me go."

Switch nodded. "That is interesting. If they send magic hunters to search for somepony it can't mean anything good."

"But why said you that they should not see Bite? I mean they don't seem like they would hunt Timberwolves."

Switch shook his head. "That wasn't what I feared. I don't think they would hurt you at all but if they had seen that you had a tamed Timberwolf." Bite gave him an angry glace for that and Switch apologized. "Oh sorry. I meant if they had seen that you are traveling with a Timberwolf and that you have a magical connection with him, they would probably stop you and ask you thousands of questions."

Spirit wanted to reply something but Switch continued. "Then you would be held in place and all your statements would be checked and then they would, eventually ,let you go. For that we just don't have enough time, first of all you would miss the meeting, second I couldn't wait here for long since somepony could see me anytime."

Spirit nodded. "Ok I think I understand that but I still wonder why they are here. But I should focus on my meeting with the druids!"

Switch smiled. "You know that I am a druid too, so you basically met already one. That reminds me." Switch stopped and reached in his bag and pulled out a dark green headband and tied it around his head. Spirit looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

Switch started walking again while he explained. "I wear this so the druids know who I am. It was made with a rare plant and give a magical signal and with that they can identify me. For you ponies it seem almost impossible to tell which changeling is which."

Spirit nodded. "I think you are right with that but with what do identify changeling who of them who is?"

Switch chuckled. "That is hard to explain. First of all we normally use numbers instead of names. You get your number when you are old enough, you can also choose a name but they don't really matter except when you have a very high rank, then other changeling have to call you by name. The number also tells how high your rank is, the smaller the number the higher the rank. We look for the number or name with some kind of extra sense, don't ask me how that works, I only know that it works. I mean I worked with thousands other changelings and never got the numbers wrong."

Spirit looked at Bite. "I wonder which number Switch had." Spirit nodded and wanted to the question from Bite but Switch was faster. "We are there." They stood in front of a tall thorn bush wall. Spirit looked to the left and right and it seemed that the wall never ended.

Switch walked along the wall and searched for something while Spirit and Bite followed him every five feet or so he shoved a bit dirt to the side then continued to walk.

"What are you doing?" Asked Spirit while following him.

Switch suddenly stopped and pointed at a stone in the dirt which had small symbols on it. "I searched for this. We are lucky this could be on the whole other side."

Switch laid the bag down and searched for something. "So you will pull your hood up again and look down. The other druids will also have their hoods up so that you can't recognize them if you are not accepted. Next thing, you won't say a word to anypony there, only when we reached the archdruid then you are free to talk." While Switch explained this he pulled out a small rock with a rune that Spirit never saw before but as he looked closer he saw that it was the same rune as on the stone in the dirt.

Switch levitated the rune directly in front of the thorn bush and activated it. Slowly a path opened in front of the three. Switch nodded threw the rune back in his bag and walked to the entrance.

Switch was about walk through the entrance but Spirit stopped him a lat time. "Wait I have a last question for you, what was your number at the swarm?"

Switch new that this question would come and smiled. "16." He turned immediately around and walked through the entrance. While Spirit turned to Bite. Bite jut nodded in the direction of Switch and they quickly caught up with him. Switch meanwhile waited for them on the other side of the entrance. As he saw Spirit and Bite he nodded and pulled his hood up.

They walked directly forward and Spirit kept his head down like Switch told him and just followed him. Bite there while looked round while he walked. Everywhere there stood ponies with cloaks to hide their faces. All standing in groups and talked to each other, Bite could also see that there were a few griffon in the groups. Bite could also spot a few tents and even tables and chairs but the strange thing was that their more look like there were grow naturally like this instead of made.

On the way Switch sometimes looked back and looked after Spirit and Bite and a he saw that Bite was looking around he turned to him. "Bite stop looking around or they going to kick you out! Also if we accept you two, you have plenty of time looking around but for now heads down!"

So Spirit and Bite both held their heads down and just kept following Switch. They stopped a they reached a tent were two druid in front of it. They turned to witch and Switch just Looked a bit up so that they could see his headband. They nodded and stepped aside.

Switch Bite and Spirit walked in. It was very dark inside and Switch immediately walked a bit to the left and whispered to them. "Step next to me in line."

Bite and Spirit did as he told and waited for someone to say anything. After a few seconds Spirit wanted to say something as suddenly blossom on the wall opened and filled the room with a warm glow.

Spirit looked a bit around and could see a few shelves with potion and powders. in the middle of the room stood a table who seemed like it grew out of the earth. Spirit turned to Switch and wanted to ask some question but he just shook his head and pointed to the other side of the room.

Spirit looked to the other side of the tent and saw a pony in a cloak but this time the cloak the cloak had a bunch of symbols stitched on it an also a hole in the hood for the horn. 'This is probably the archdruid.' Spirit bowed down and waited.

The archdruid walked toward the three and topped at the table. "Did you frighten the recruit again Switch?"

Switch chuckled and threw his hood back. "What did you expect from me?" He suddenly began to cough. He reached in his bag and quickly drank one bottle with the medicine. "Sorry, I should have taken my medicine before I came inside."

The archdruid chuckled also. "Nothing else. I know how good you are to keep the identity of the other druids a secret and I respect you for that. But now to you two, Bite and Spirit Wood from the Zebra lands. Spirit you should know by now that you don't have to bow before somepony like me also you can pull your hood back now, here is nopony except us four. Now come, sit down we don't want to waste too much time."

Suddenly three chairs grew out the earth right next to the table. Switch immediately walked to one of the chairs and sat down. Spirit threw now also his hood back and walked to one of the chair and sat down while Bite walked behind him and then sat next to him on the earth.

The archdruid walked to the last chair and sat down. He turned to Switch then back to Spirit and Bite. "Now let us begin, soon we will see if you are worthy of being called a druid."