<<<1218 Post-Discordian Era, Everfree Forest, Flare POV>>>

Wind, pure wind as it parted in front of my face. That was the only thing i felt rush past me as i ran through the forest, dodging this way and that as i dodged projectiles of magic that were trying to either stun me or injure me, i didn't care either way, i just had to run, i finally made Celestia snap as she saw me with flaming hands, against the ‘Tree of Harmony’, she and Luna both came after me, Cadence was still at the cave we first met, gathering my things, i never did move them, but i did make a couple of clones to keep them in good condition, i kept heading towards a couple of trees near the cave that would block me, as if it were a dead end, i gave the rest of my clones one mission: ‘Find Fia and my daughters.’ with that i gave the sisters a good run for their money, even exhausting as many spells as possible before not having any magic, i only had one spell left, and that was ‘Sleep’, which i was going to cast on myself just before i would become petrified, i made it to the trees that blocked my path just as the sisters caught up to me.

“Tis thee end of thee line for thou villain!” Celestia says as the Elements start to rotate around them.

“Dormire…” I whisper, casting the last spell on myself, and making sure the clones were already out of the Everfree.

The effect was slow, but it would take effect once i was petrified… that was almost 1600 years ago, I'm now two statues down from the Lord of Chaos himself in the gardens of Canterlot, which is now on the side of a mountain, Luna was trapped in the moon but has returned, I saw Twilight frequently in the garden, always reading under either my statue or one that looked like Starswirl the Bearded, it was amusing how she could tell I was watching her, but could never see me, i saw Luna back in Canterlot about two weeks ago, she stopped by my statue, talking to me as if I didn't hear her, I even saw Cadence again, this time as an alicorn, she still had my bag of holding tied around her neck, still containing all of my items. I was playing cards in the mindscape everyone here in the castle gardens use when there's nothing to do when i heard a very familiar voice that would kick off the start of season two.

“--and here class is a very old being, his name was never specified, though nowadays, he's called Arcana, because he was able to perform feats of magic that not even Princess Celestia and Luna could do.” Cheerilee said as she stopped in front of my statue, looked at the group, i saw the three fillies responsible for Discord’s release.

“What could he do that the princesses couldn't Miss Cheerilee?” I heard the bane of mlp, Diamond Tiara ask.

“Well, the princesses told stories of how he could summon lightning storms on clear days faster than any pegasus weather team, summon beings of pure fire, and even transform into elder dragons with very destructive magic.” Cheerilee replied, getting the fillies to look at me in awe.

“Well, that's not all i could do Cheerilee, i have a wide range of magic, not just lightning storms and transformations.” I say as my astral form appears next to my statue, the ponies look at me in shock. “Relax, i'm just projecting myself so I could update the history books about yours truly." I said leaning against my statue, smirking a bit.

"O-okay… what are you, as it's unclear as to who you are." Cheerilee asked putting up a front of bravery.

"Well… I guess you could say i'm not from Equestria, I come from another land, far off the eastern shores of the Dragon Lands, I won't bore you with the details, but due to certain magical circumstances, I was forced to leave my home by divine intervention and until about 1524 years ago, I roamed Equestria, training ponies in the ways of my magic, I even taught princess Luna a thing or two, especially when it comes to summoning, which reminds me, I need to get my stuff back when i'm released from my petrification…" I say getting them to look at me in awe before looking at me nervously, I noticed that. "Oh don't worry your heads off, i'm not a villain, in fact, i had to be petrified so i could live today, you see, i'm not some monster or some ancient villain that Celestia makes me out to be, in fact, i used her so i could live longer, after all, if I had lived normally, i would've lived for eight hundred years before dying, and now, I've still got eight hundred years left to live, all thanks to me playing the sisters like a fiddle, anyways, i shouldn't keep you lot waiting, it's a very important day today, and something fun is going to start very soon." I say as I look up towards the sky briefly, before jumping up to my statute, and taking my position before disappearing from view.

The class stayed at my statute for a moment longer before moving on towards Discord's statute

"Oh Discord~!" I call put into the mindscape, the driconicuis almost immediately.

"Ah! Hello my little nature master, what's going on for you to call yours truly?" He says just as the class gets to him.

"Oh not much, just get ready for a prison break, found you a small dose of chaos for your enjoyment, the three fillies in the back, yellow earth pony, white unicorn and orange pegasus." I tell him just as they start fighting, gaining both of our attentions, I could feel the chaos those three alone were generating and going straight into Discord.

“Wooooo~” Discord said as the energy filled him up all the way before the class left. “Talk about a POWER RUSH!” he says breaking out of his stone prison, looking at me with a very sincere smile gracing his face. “I suppose I should repay you for the chaos you gave me to actually break free today… so in return…” he says before snapping his eagle claw, I slowly turn back to flesh and blood, collapsing onto the ground with a weakened body and very little magic.

“You have my thanks Discord… as you were the only one who kept me sane in that prison…” I say as I slowly get up, leaning against the base of where my statue once was. “But how did you know the ‘Stone to Skin’ spell? I haven't even taught Luna that spell, and i doubt Cadence would let her see it.” I ask glancing over to him, he chuckles at the question.

“I saw Cadence with your spellbook on a page that had that spell, I just had to memorise how the spell worked.” he explained in the simplest way possible.

“Oh… thanks anyways Dis, if you ever need help with the Elements, let me know, I'll come and snach them up.” I say standing up before turning to leave.

“I'll let you know, Tyrone.” he says making me become stock still before relaxing and chuckling a bit.

“You know… you're the only being in the last sixteen hundred and eighteen years to call me by my real name… and not by the nickname I gave myself… though i suppose that how you kept me sane Dis… by reminding me of who I once was.” I say looking back at him with a small smile on my lips before I walk away holding my fist up to the sky, I could tell Discord did the same before disappearing in a puff of multicolored smoke.

I put on my cloak that's tied around my waist, as i've never worn it except for when Cadence first found me, so none of the ponies know who i am, i was able to get out of the castle grounds quickly as i snuck by the guards at the front entrance and went towards the train station, I knew it wasn't the right time to reveal myself, I would go into the Everfree first, and meditate, letting me regain my Druidic magic, also grab my whip, just in case.

"Hello good sir, one ticket to Ponyville please." I say to the pony at the booth.

"Alright, that'll be four bits." He says getting out the ticket, I quickly took out four coins and stacked them in front of him, he hands me the ticket before taking the gold pieces. "Next train to Ponyville is in ten minutes, have a nice day." He says putting the bits away.

"Thank you, and have a nice day as well good sir." I say bowing briefly before heading over to the train, as scheduled, the train came in ten minutes later, i get on and the train departs to Ponyville.

"Excuse me, can I see your ticket?" I hear as I wait for the train to stop in Ponyville, looking over, i see a pony that has a stamp in one hand.

"Sure." I say before handing over my ticket.

"Thank you." He replies before checking it over. "Everything looks good, have a safe trip to Ponyville sir." He says stamping my ticket before handing it back.

"Thank you, and have a nice day." I reply taking my ticket and closing my eyes again.

The train stopped fifteen minutes later in Ponyville, I notice that I got on the same train as Cheerilee's class, as they got out of the train car next to mine, Scootaloo saw me and her eyes widened when she did, I know she could see my smile, so i just put a finger to my lips, telling her to stay quiet, she nodded quickly an i nodded back before i walked away from her and into the heart of Ponyville. I could see that the main six were coming towards me, Pinkie looked at me and gasped in surprise before leaping at me, I simply waited until she was right in front of me before jumping over her, she landed on the ground face first before the other girls come over to check on her.

"HII'MPINKIEPIEWHATSYOURNAME?WHATSYOURFAVORITECAKEFLAVOR?ICECREAMFLAV--mmmfffph." She starts going off before i place a finger on her lips.

"You can plan my 'Welcome to Ponyville' party after you get back from Canterlot." I say getting all of them to look at me in surprise.

"Now how'd ya know we were headin' ta Canterlot?" Applejack asked looking at me in suspicion.

"Because you six were running for the train station, and the next train to leave is the one to Canterlot, i also know who you six are, but don't worry, all will be explained in time, by the way, egghead, tell your mentor and her sister that their brother says hi, they'll know who you're talking about." I say before walking off, the girls watch me for a few moments before rushing towards the train station.

"This is going to be fun." I think, before heading towards the Everfree, nopony stopped me and i noticed Scootaloo following me.

It didn't take me long before getting to the forest, I could already tell that the episode started once I saw a flash of light in Twilight's treebrary/house. Once I went in, I notice that nothing about the forest has really changed, only that there's more animals living here than there was before, probably because ponies don't live here anymore. I took the same path that I used when I first came here, noticing Scootaloo taking the same path, only slower. I make it to the cave I once called home, inside i see that there's a female manticore, with three cubs, it noticed me immediately and started growling.

"Leave this place pony, or i'll attack you where you stand." It said in it's growl, i simply raised
my hands and start talking Druidic to it.

"I don't mean you or your cubs any harm ma'am," I say getting the manticore to look at me surprised. "I am simply here to grab something that i left when this was my home." I continue, keeping my hands up and slightly in front of me.

"You speak my language, how?" She asks before looking me up and down.

"Because I have been trained since birth to speak to the wild and what calls it home, what I seek is right above you, i will grab it and go, not disturbing your cubs." I reply inching my way towards her, i sense Scootaloo at the mouth of the cave, watching me and the manticore.

"Very well, grab it and leave, but first tell me your name pony." She says letting me relax.

"I am simply called Forest, the master of nature." I reply bowing before walking up to her and reaching above her head, feeling my whip almost immediately.

"Very well, thank you for not disturbing my cubs Forest." She said bowing her head to me as I backed up and placed my whip on my belt.

"Of course ma'am, I know how hard being a parent is, i'm the father of three daughters myself after all, the biggest bane and gift of my life." I say bowing before leaving the cave, the manticore giggling at the statement.

I look for the waterfall me and Cadence used to train near before calling Scootaloo out.

"You know, it's not nice to stalk people who aren't doing anything." I say loud enough that a bush shook, most likely her being surprised.

"How did you know i was watching you?" She asks as she comes out of the undergrowth.

"I knew since Ponyville that you were following me." I reply looking over at her, taking the hood of my cloak off.

"What!? But how, i was being stealthy and everything!" She exclaimed in surprise.

"Stealthy, yes, quiet, not so much." I reply as I shrug my shoulders, she pouts in sadness, her face reminding me of Cadence when she was younger.

"Darn it, i thought it was good." She says halfheartedly, getting me to chuckle.

"It was good, i'm just better, not to mention, we're in my domain." I say before spreading my arms out wide, as if i was showing off the forest.

"You mean, your domain is the forest?" She asks getting me to notice the hope and excitement in her slightly.

Hearing that, I decided to try something, something that would let me train somepony in my true talent: I spoke the next sentence in Druidic.

"Why of course, i'm one with nature, but tell me young filly, what's your name?" I ask, seeing if she gives an answer or a question next.

"I'm Scootaloo, but my friends call me Scoots for short." She replies as if i didn't just switch languages on her, this brought me untold amounts of joy.

"You understood that…" I said just loud enough before clapping my hands excitedly, much to her confusion.

"What do you mean? You just asked a question." She says as if ponies switching languages on her was a daily occurrence.

"True, but I asked it in a very rare language, the fact that you not only understood it, but responded to the question means you have a great potential in you to learn a magic that I never had the honor of teaching anyone before." I explain to her, getting her to look at me shocked.

"R-really?" She asks, hope filling her voice.

"Yes, you have great potential Scootaloo, and i can help you unlock that potential, if you'll accept my offer to teach you." I say bowing before her, as if she was royalty.

"What do I do to unlock this potential?" She asks, getting me to smile.

"Well, I'll have to teach you Druidic, the language i just spoke in, and Sylvan, as those two languages are at the core of being who we are." I say, she looks at me in wonder.

"What else?" She asks, getting me to remember what I had to do.

"Well, you'll need an understanding of how a Druid's magic works, as well as how to direct that magic into your hands and hooves, then once you got that down, i can start teaching you my magic, but for now I must rest, as I had not been able to gain my magic back in over sixteen hundred years." I say, getting her to nod, before asking another question .

"Can you teach me how to gain my magic now?" She asks, I ponder that, as it would help in her training, plus it would let me regain my magic too.

"Very well, come on over, I'll teach you how we Druids gain our magic when we're low on it." I say beconing her over to me, she jumps over as I sit down, I motion for her to do the same. "Okay, so how a Druid gathers magic, is letting nature flow through them." I say getting in position to start.

"And how do they do that?" She asks, sitting in the same position i'm in.

"By meditation, we let all the sounds of everything around us take place over our hearing, we clear our minds, and relax, the energy that nature holds then begins to flow into us, filling us with its energy, giving us the gift to control every aspect of nature, through magic." I say closing my eyes, letting nature flow through me, letting me regain my magic, i could tell that Scootaloo was doing the same. "Do you feel something deep within you, wanting to flow free?" I ask as I meditate, listening for her response.

"Yeah, but it seems blocked, as if something was stopping it from flowing through me." She replies sighing in sadness.

"What blocks you is both your fear of the forest around you, a fear that has been ingrained into you since you were born, and your doubt, doubt that you could do the impossible, let these feelings go, let them be washed away in the rivers of your emotions, and lost to the sands of time." I say, picking up my 'wise man' voice again, my magic is almost back completely, just as i notice that the sun and moon are starting to switch places every few minutes. "Do you feel it now?" I ask after she took a big deep breath, calming herself inside.

"Yeah… I can feel the flow of the water as it goes into the waterfall to the lake below… the whisper of the wind as it dances through the trees and the grass… the running of Timberwolves and other animals as they hunt for food… it's almost overwhelming…" she describes the forest around us, all sorts of animals started to gather around us, even a pack of Timberwolves and a couple of Manticores.

"The first couple of times usually are, but the more you do it, the more accustomed to the feeling you'll get." I say smiling at the description she gave the surrounding area and slightly beyond that, my magic fully back, we both open our eyes, smiling at the animals that are around us.

"Are these animals usually this calm?" She asks, I smile a bit longer before answering.

"Only when people like us are here, we naturally calm animals down, sort of like we're creating a zone of peace, letting all of them have no need to hurt each other, no matter if they are predator or prey." I say getting her to squee at a small timberwolf lying down with a bunny, and a bluejay resting on top of it.

"We truly are masters of nature aren't we…" she says, getting me to chuckle as a rather large wolf, even bigger than the timberwolves comes up behind me.

"Not really, we're more protectors or servants than masters, as we do not control nature, but nature lets us use her powers, since she can't use them herself, the same goes for the creatures we summon to aid us in battle." I reply, just before the wolf nudges my back. "Speaking of creatures, it's good to see you again… Artimus, my old friend." I say reaching up and behind me, scratching the ears of the Dire Wolf behind me, Scootaloo looks at me in shock as Artimus places her head on my shoulder.

"Where have you been brother, i missed you all these years." She whispers to me as she nuzzles my neck.

"I've been around here for a few years… then i was petrified for just over fifteen hundred years, i just got back an hour ago, i'm sorry if I worried you Arty." I reply hugging her neck, Scootaloo starts looking confused.

"It's okay, i'm just glad to know you're safe." She says before looking over at Scootaloo. "Who's this?" She asks sniffing her, making Scoots go rigid.

"This is Scootaloo, she's like me Arty… I finally found another Druid." I say, getting her to look at me in shock and surprise before looking at Scootaloo.

"Um… sir, who's this and what is she doing?" Scoots asks me as Artimus starts circling her.

"Don't worry Scoots, this is Artimus, my companion, friend and sister, and as for what she's doing… she's currently getting a size up of you, but that's nothing you have to worry about… it's just that it's been a long, and i mean long time since we've met another Druid…" I say getting her to look at me worried, she immediately hugs me.

"I don't know what you've been through, but I do know the pain that you're feeling, i've been feeling it for nine years."she whispers to me, getting me to hug her, this reminded me of when Cadence had that nightmare of two of my memories.

"Don't hold your tears back Scootaloo, let them flow like the rivers that carve the land they flow through." I say just before she breaks down in tears.

We sat there for ten minutes before a scroll pops into existence in front of me and unfolding: it was a letter from Discord, he needed my help and the Elements were about the be at his location to petrify him again.

"I did say I'd help…" I think sighing, Artimus just looks at me curiously. "Arty, can you keep Scoots company? The person responsible for getting us both out of stone is about to be petrified by the same method we were." I ask moving Scootaloo over to her, she simply nods before curling up around her.

The walk there was a quick one as i simply used 'Tree Stride' to get to the edge of the Everfree and started walking towards Discord's throne, the girls were all lined up and ready to go, the necklaces glowing and shooting off their respective shapes. I took the liberty to sneak up behind them before anything major happened and got my whip out, the girls started floating in mid air, a white light coming from all of them, and just as the rainbow shot out from them; I cracked my whip, it flew towards them and wrapped around the element of magic, I begun smiling at the accuracy of that.

"I still got it after all these years." I think as i pulled back, lifting the crown up and off Twilight's head, the 'Rainbow Laser of Friendship' faltered before dissipating before it hit Discord, I left the scene right after, Discord seeing me with the crown in my hands. I went and put it in the one place nopony would bother looking: my D.O.T. which blocks all magical items, like the elements, from being tracked, not to mention it's imbued into the right side of my cloak, making it open and close with my thoughts.

Author's Note

YES FINALLY! I've been wanting to do this chapter for awhile, now here it is, how will the ponies take this prolonged chaos? Well, you'll just have to wait until i type up the next chapter! AHAHHAHAHAHAH!!!!

Until next time my lovely little night terrors!