Flames of Blue

by Paw Print

Rating: teen
Tags: Comedy, Adventure, Dark, Alternate Universe
Length: 12550

When a normal guy named Tom gets thrown into Equestria as a giant blue bird, things get a little crazy. After the tutorial level, of course.

I was Tom. I wasn't Tommy, or Thomas. Just Tom.
Tom was a normal guy, who had normal troubles, normal fun, normal everything. He even used to have a dog named Fido. Can't get much more normal than that.

Screw Tom.

Now, Tom is a distant memory, and I'm gouging my name in the history books, one stolen edition at a time.

My name is Cedar, and I'm a Phoenix.

(crappy cover art done by me, will be rated mature in future for violent content)

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2014-01-23 01:03:52 UTC

Introduction- Simple Life

  Typical, I was minding my own business and humming a parody of a song that, sadly, I would never listen to again. In a small café, everyone tends to keep their business to themselves. No one would bother my serenity. No one else at least.

There I sat, sipping some coffee and munching a bagel, getting ready for another boring day at work, another day of bitching from a control-freak boss. I feel like cracking a few of his ribs now and again, but that would be unethical, wouldn’t it? I probably could too. I’m a big guy (not meaning obese, obviously), six foot three and weighing out at 172 pounds, so it would be a piece of cake, considering what a wimp ‘Mr. Dorgin’ is. As I sat, I got a little angry. The place I worked was a hellhole. Every day, there was an increasing chance of getting fired, and not being able to collect the already-dwindling paycheck that was due to me and my co-workers every 2 weeks. I was already running on fumes as it was. I physically pinched myself as I thought of what got me into this mess, sucking in air as the pain went up my arm. I keep blaming my parents, but, even though they were never very supportive, they still provided for me. I was the one who, when they passed, leaving me alone,  I just turned into a pathetic bag of self-pity and aggression. If I had actually listened to them, I could have found a way around all this before I was smashed face-first into it.

Bah, whatever. Forget 'em.

I can’t do much about getting out of my current situation anyway. I’m just going to have to roll with the punches, and ride out the consequences. I glanced down at my watch, and was startled out of my brooding. “Crap,” I muttered a string of semi-obscene words as I scrambled to get my things together while finishing my bagel. I seriously don’t need to be late to work.

I practically ran out of the diner, leaving a small pile of cash to pay the bill. I almost always eat breakfast there, and since I’m pretty much a regular, so they cut me some slack when it comes to going to the register.

I began weaving through the alleys, and after a good ten minutes of jogging I stopped for a quick breather. Even though I know the city like the back of my hand, the shortest route to my place of work was a 15 minute jog, so I wasn’t going to get there without at least one break. Catching my breath as I started to walk again, a golden eagle flew overhead, alerting me of its presence by it’s piercing screeching.

“...aren't the only eagles native to this area bald?”

I watched as it... well, did a barrel roll, and then corkscrewed towards the ground, and me.

I stopped. Staring in partial wonder, and partial alarm, at the substantial  yellow-brown missile aimed at my face. Finally, one of the more functional neurons inside my ‘splendid’ brain decided that I should move over a smidge. I did, and the bird missed. Though I still felt my cheek burn as it flew past my face.

“Crap. Ow!”, I yelped, and turned around to see a blindingly bright light before I blanked out. Falling to the ground, my head hit the hard concrete that I had been standing on not moments before.

I woke up, but kept my eyes shut, as both felt as if they had a nail embedded in them. The pain started to dull though, and I became aware, vaguely, of the sound of sandals slapping, what I thought, was pavement next to my head. I slowly opened one eye, blinking in the sunlight. I wasn’t in an alley in the heart of Manhattan anymore. I heard someone muttering above me, in a deep voice, it sounded like they were pacing.

A weak lift of my head proved I was in the middle of nowhere, or more pointedly, in a great field. Wheat, millions upon millions of stalks tinged orange by the rising sun. I was lying on a road, and slowly began to lift my hand to my pounding head.

“SHIT! How did I let this happen!? He’s DEAD, and he was my last chance! FUCK!”

At that, I nearly jumped out of my skin, scrambling to my feet, and staring at the figure behind me once the blood rush left my head. He seemed startled as well, as he jumped away when he noticed me moving after mumbling a few more choice words.

I made a quick summary of the person in front of me. First things first, It was a boy. No girl could swear in that deep a voice. Next, appearance. He is around 6 foot, and probably weighs no more than 130 pounds. Age, I would say around 17. Hair color is sandy blonde; eyes are a strange reddish-yellow, almost orange, color. He’s wearing an old KISS shirt and plain jeans, with plain black sandals. And, he speaks with a definite European accent. Not British, but definitely somewhere south of that.

“Wait, you’re not dead?!?  Oh, thank Gaia! I thought I’d incinerated your brain.”

At that point, I gave him that good old

‘whatthefuckwhoareyouwhereamIareyouinsanehowcouldyouhaveincineratedmybrain’ look. Strangely, he answered almost all of that within a few minutes.

“Okay, I have to make this brief. I, am Apollo. The god of the sun. Get that past your skull, and I’ll go on.” I nodded, skeptically, and he kept talking. “Okay, then, let me be frank. I know you’re a brony.”

I tuned out at that point. Basically, my thoughts were:

‘Okay, what the fuck. This kid says he is a god, and that, therefore, makes him stark raving mad. No getting around it, if someone says they control all aspects of the sun with that serious of a face, they belong, and should never be taken out of, the loony bin. Wait, he said he knows that I’m a brony, right? Well… sure, anyone close to me could have told him that. It also would have been a simple matter of looking in my apartment’s main window. There’s a poster of the mane six on the living room wall. But, what the hell am I doing here? This looks like somewhere in the middle of the USA, nowhere near New York. Was I kidnapped? I looked up at the kid. He was pointing off into the distance, with his back to me, saying something. I took the chance and peeked at my cell phone, but no, it had only been a few minutes since I remember checking my watch. The sun was only just coming up, and it was on the same day. No way I could have been kidnapped and transported halfway across America in that little time... Well, since I have no actual explanation for what the heck is going on, I might as well listen to what the kid is sayi-’

Pain exploded across my face. The kid, rubbing his knuckles, just punched me, right in the jaw. Now I’m mad.

“The FUCK did you do that for!?” I winced.

“I said for you to listen, but you kept tuning me out. Now just shut up and freaking listen,” the kid that called himself ‘Apollo’ spat.

I nodded, still angry, and continued rubbing my cheek.

“Now, since you finally decided to listen up, I’ll just have to quickly repeat what I said. Keep in mind, we have a limited amount of time, as my connection closes at noon today, so you WILL listen this time.” Apollo said with a proudly stern glare that only teenagers, and stuck up CEO’s, posses.

“Yeah, sure, I guess.” I mutter.

“Finally,” He sighed, “now listen up and memorize this, because THIS is important.”

I nodded, and he continued.

“I know you because I, am in fact, a god. I am Apollo, and I control Earth’s sun.” He emphasized with a point towards the fiery globe in question, with both hands. Then, pinching with his thumb and pointer fingers, he began to move his hands slowly apart.

I sat in utter confusion until I glance up at the sun, that is. It was puckered on both ends, visibly so. Like a lemon.

“What?”  My jaw hit the pavement, metaphorically, and he continued his speech.

“Well, NASA is going to have a field day with this one.” He said with a smile as he opened his fingers returning the sun to its circular shape. “Don’t worry, the massive solar flares I just caused and the accompanying radiation won’t come anywhere near earth. Anyway, with that out of the way, how do you like Equestria?”

I paused, “Wait, what?” I was already busy getting out of the state mindfuckery that comes with you seeing your entire reality being twisted in front of your own eyes, so that simple question caught me off guard. “I... I like it. It’s a decent place. Everyone is prosperous. It’s a utopia! And yeah, sometimes I wish I could join in on it. Umm… Why do you ask?”

He didn’t answer my question, but instead continued on, like I’d never answered. “Anyway, most gods aren’t so frontal in their confrontations with their chess pieces, but I wanted to enlighten you a little more than the others, since you’re a latecomer.”

I nodded, wondering what a so called “chess piece” is, and what he meant by his ‘other gods’ comment.

“This is going to take longer than I thought,” he said with a light facepalm as he gave a look to the nearly noon-day sun. “Whatever, I’ll explain it anyway. To start, Equestria is worse off than you think. It needs change, and that’s where the chess game comes in. It is officially taking place in Equestria this millennia. The draconnequuiss and many of the nearby human gods have already searched for worthy champions from this Earth, and some of its alternate versions. I have chosen you.”

“May I ask what my purpose would be as a chess piece?” I was a bit skeptical, but the ‘worthy’ bit certainly didn’t hurt my ego.

“I was just getting to that. The chess pieces’ purpose in the game is to cause the most change in the realm it’s taking place on. Some games your purpose might be to cause great destruction and mayhem, some it might be to make the planet a perfect plane of reality. In this case, it’s an attempt at the latter. You must become the savior in Equestria. Of course, after I start you off in Equis everything will be your choice. You may reach for this goal as you see fit... Or you may become a harbinger of chaos. I honestly don’t care, as long as you make waves. Now, I’ve already given you an unfair advantage, as most of the other chess pieces were simply punted into Equis without an explanation. I can’t grant you anything else, except this one choice.  I had a form in mind for you that would have made your task easy, but it seems as if giving you that form will get you disqualified, and worse, me BANNED from the next two games. Therefore I can only give you a choice between two forms in Equestria should you accept.”

If this kid’s insane, he’s got one hell of an imagination. But then again, he just proved that he’s a god, or at least a wizard. (I knew Rowling couldn’t have come up with all of that stuff on her own) I’ll go along with this, don’t want to piss off the guy who can tweak the sun.

“Okay, I’ll bite. What do you mean ‘two forms’?”

“I mean that you aren’t allowed to stay in your form when you reach Equestria. These are your choices: become an Oni, an ancient Japanese-style ogre, and I have to say, they have amazing strength, or become a phoenix, one of the protectors of flame.”

I thought about it for a few seconds, going back to one of man’s oldest dreams, flight, and by your own power. I scratched my chin and nodded slowly, muttering the four simple words that would allow me to leave this life behind.

“I don’t know, phoenix?”

And then Apollo smiled, his eyes turning a glowing red, his left hand swiftly following as it became engulfed in flame, and he sucker punched me with such a force that I flew. ‘And without wings’ I thought.

Boxed in

I woke up in pain. Mother of all things unholy, it’s worse than getting punched in the… chest…

‘Wait, what?’ As the realization of how the pain got there caught up with me, I also found that the pain was, in fact, coming from my chest. I tried to reach up and check myself for broken parts, but… my arms didn’t really seem to want to respond. I could open my eyes, but I couldn’t see anything anyway.

‘Dammit.’

  Calm down. Nothing’s happening that could pose a threat, unless I’m buried underground…  Breathing deeply helps. It always helps when I’m under psychological strain. In and out, nothing to it, just think. Why am I here, where IS here, and why…

‘Oh, yeah.’

My thoughts drifted back to the events of yesterday, recalling the features of that kid… god? Apollo, the blond haired, fiery eyed teenager that had simply walked up to me and asked if I wanted to be sent to another dimension. Or universe, I can’t recall. As the memories filled my thoughts, I simply had an epiphany. ‘Holy shit, I think I’m on Equis.’

‘No way, that crap only happens in fanfictions. The only way I could be- Wait. The kid created solar flares, and he sure didn’t look like an astronomer. There’s no way that could have happened without the public, including me, knowing about it. Much less with only him knowing…’

‘I Honest to god think I’m on Equis. There’s no other reason for any of this to happen, I’m an Average Joe. I don’t owe money to anyone, and I’m pretty sure I don’t have any enemies in New York,  so I don’t think that anyone would waste their time to hire someone to talk about some fantastic trip to another world, then knock me out and bury me alive in whatever… this… is… Where am I anyway?’

‘No, I’m done. I’m not gonna argue with myself pointlessly until I run out of air in… whatever I’m in. After all, I might be on Equis. MIGHT. No guarantees, so I might as well get myself moving.’

This time when I tried moving, I could move my arm slightly. Strange, but it felt weird, like my hand was unresponsive. And that my arm was a lot, I don’t know, thinner and longer? That’s what it felt like. My arms must’ve fallen asleep. No biggie, I can still work with them. I pulled my legs, (which also felt shorter) up a little, trying to find feeling in my toes. I couldn’t really feel my feet very well, either. Strange.

‘Wait…’

Suddenly I didn’t care if my body was unresponsive. I flailed what I thought to be my arms at what was most likely the roof of the object I was inside of. I soon found out that it was long and wide, but not tall. I hit it with my supposed ‘shrunken’ arm, and I heard something scrape and give off a cracking sound. I kept flailing against the ceiling of the confining space until some dust fell on my face, and in my eyes.

“Ugh, dammit…”

‘What was that…?’

“What…?”

‘No way.’

“There’s absolutely no way…”

‘Fuck, I was right. My voice changed. It’s not too much higher though, I can deal with this.’

I continued focusing on my main task of getting the hell out of whatever I’m in, still hitting the roof almost uselessly with my strangely limp arms.

‘Maybe I can bust my way out, I’ll try kicking.’

And that I did. I lifted up my legs, as they were, and smacked them up against ceiling of the large, horizontal-ish box I was encased in. They stuck.

“I knew it.”

I pulled my feet off of the roof of the box, and placed the rough pads of my soles on it instead. From there, I started scratching my way up, out of the box…

Using my brand-new set of talons.

Mail from space

“Giggity.”

Fuck. Yes. There’s light filtering through the hole. I’m on Equis. Yes. This is a good thing. Or is it.

‘I should probably stop hyperventilating.’

I give one last, large push, and a large chunk of the roof crumbles, falling on me. I cough from the dust, but not surprisingly, a huge amount of sunlight is now making its way into my former prison. Blinking, I begin mentally preparing myself.

‘Nothing big, I’m just most likely in a cartoon world in a different body and am not restrained by anything in my past… oh.’

Oh shit, my uncle. My uncle… my uncle needs me. Two years ago, I promised my financially struggling parents that I would take care of my mother’s brother, who has a cancerous lung…

No… No. This isn’t good. I need to get money. I need money for his treatment, for the chemotherapy… How the fuck am I supposed to take care of him if I’m in a… an alternate dimension?

‘Okay, no. Deep breaths. You’re not abandoning him. Apollo must’ve taken care of it, if he’s so high and mighty. There’s no way he would just up and forget that I have a life on earth if he sent me to Equis or Equestria.’

I pressed on, scratching and kicking at the hole with my talons. And yes, talons. I’m not sure about the rest of my body, because I’m half blinded by dust, and I haven’t raised my head, but yes, I have talons. This, so far, has confirmed my theory that what Apollo said is true, and that I have in fact, been sent to Equis as a phoenix. I start stretching, getting ready for what I was going to do next. As far as I could tell, the hole was plenty wide enough for me. I was going to pull myself up and out using my feet and talons, and dang do I hope they are strong enough. The last thing I need is to pull myself halfway up, just to run out of strength and get myself a concussion on the way down.

I let out a satisfied grunt as my back popped in several places, having been lying down for a good hour or so on a hard stone surface. My talon tipped feet reached up, grasping the edge of the hole firmly. I started to bend my knees (backwards, because bird anatomy ftw), and suddenly found that it wouldn’t be a problem at all to get out. I weighed practically nothing, or my legs were extremely strong. Or both. I swung myself up, out of the hole, ducking as to not hit my head on the edge. I did so with too much enthusiasm, though, and flung myself face-first onto the roof of the stone box. And yes, I was right about it being a box. As I opened my eyes, I saw that I had been encased in a large box made of a concrete-like material.

“That explains why it was so easy to scratch myself out… the box was made of mortar.” I said, crawling my way to the edge of the box. By now I had seen that my arms had turned to wings, and that they had a strange color about the feathers. They were blue, not navy blue, but not exactly sky blue either, with an indigo outline. The outline proved further that I was in a cartoon world full of ponies, as did the wings. The color of the feathers is strange, though. I thought I was going to be red and orange, as normal phoenixes are colored, so I might not even be one. Whatever, that has to wait. For now I have to get on the ground, re-learn how to walk, and hopefully Apollo would be around.

I reached the edge of the box, and I simply flipped myself off. I landed on my back, but I wasn’t winded. Apparently my feathers have cushioning powers, or it might have to do with the fact that I landed in grass that reached up to just under the box’s edge. I grabbed a handful (talonful?) of grass, dirt, and roots with my new feet, and pulled myself up. I was unsteady, but I could stand up easily enough. The real trouble was going to be walking. When I stood up, I was a couple feet higher than the box. That should mean that I’m a good four and a half feet tall or so.

‘Whatever, let’s get walking.’

I took my first, unsteady step onto the dirt in front of me, toward the box. It wasn’t so bad, so I took another, then another, and another, till I was at the base of the box. I was going to try jumping, but suddenly I heard a rumbling sound. I looked around, looked down, and finally looked up…

Just to see that there was a fiery fucking missile headed for my face.

‘Shit, run. Runrunrunrunrun.’

Unsteadily, I started off at a faster pace away from the box, toward the only tree I could see. Maybe it would provide some cover. After about two seconds, I was under the tree, and I could see the miniature missile headed straight to where I was standing a couple seconds ago. I crouched, bracing for impact, as the thing got closer and closer, and it finally hit, shaking the ground.

‘That wasn’t so bad. Just a small shockwave and fireball.’

I half jogged back over to the crushed remains of the box, trying to find the source of the explosion.

“Gotcha.” I had circled around to the back of the rubble, and found a crater a meter behind it. Smack-dab in the middle was a still glowing arrow, and it had a metal box behind it, attached by a chain. I ran over to the crater, hopping down over the side.

“Dang it.” I had lost my balance, and just as I hit the ground, my feet slipped out from under me, sending my head into the crater wall.

‘ouch.’

Getting back up, I walked over to the box. The lid was closed and held that way with a small clasp. Reaching out with my wings, I flipped open the clasp, and kicked over the box, letting the contents fall onto the ground. There was a piece of paper, a… ring? And there was a compass, it seems. I flipped over the piece of paper, and began reading it.

‘Hey Tom, Apollo here.

Just saw you get out of that old casket and thought I would send you a status report. I’ll go ahead and break the news to you; your friends and family don’t remember you. At all. I erased their memories of you and replaced them of that with another person. Your uncle is healed completely, because I’m Apollo and I can do that. You’re free, Okay? Don’t worry about anything from your life back on earth. I’m sure you’ll have mixed feelings for a while, but for now, this is your reality. Your form has been optimized for you by me, and you should be flying by the end of tomorrow. Remember, things won’t be so easy going after this. I’ve already said this, but I’m giving you a head start. You started in on the chess game late, or I did, so I’m giving you a little push. From here, you should be fine, and I’ll have no further contact with you. Good luck, and have fun in the chess game.

--Apollo

P.S.- Almost forgot. When you’re good at flying, you won’t need that ring. All it does is transfer you knowledge of other birds of prey, so you’ll learn to fly faster.

P.S.S.- When you’re used to flying, use the compass to go north-northwest. After you start for that heading, things won’t be so easy.’

‘Okay then, that was… informative… fuck. I seriously can’t go back now, can I?’ I shook my head slightly, and wiped my wing across my face.

‘Might as well try on the ring.” I sighed, as I slipped my talon into the ring. It was a perfect fit, and I immediately felt a change. When I thought of flying, I had at least a hundred thousand different, vivid, crystal clear memories of taking off, aerial maneuvers, and landing.

‘Whoa. This is gonna be useful.’

I spread my wings, and flapped them experimentally. ‘My’ memories corrected me whenever I made a mistake, and soon I was able to make myself hover for a few minutes at a time. I look around, not being able to see much beyond the grass. Looking up, though, it seems like it’s already turning dark.

I landed, and went on to cut some of the taller grass stems around me using my talons, and arrange them into a sort of pad on the ground. Sighing, I flop down onto it, falling asleep eventually.

A new way to nom

I woke up hungry.

“Ugh… My stomach…”

I rolled over, looking for the granola bar I usually keep on my bedside table…

‘Oh, yeah. Almost forgot.’

I got up, sitting on my haunches (is that possible as a bird?), and rose up to my full height. I started hopping over to the box, and flipped over one of the stones left over from yesterday’s explosion. There were, as I thought, a couple bugs. They’re larger and more colorful than the ones on earth, but I might as well try, right? I grabbed a large, purple beetle from the ground, holding it up to my beak. I sniffed it, and it smelled… almost like grape juice, actually.

“Huh. Might as well, I’m a bird, right?” I said to myself, popping the critter in my beak.

‘Mmm… not bad. Crunchy, with a tangy inside. Almost like a chocolate.’

I grabbed another, which looked like a bloated, orange earwig.

‘This one tastes like mango. Numyummy.’

After a good hour of experimenting with bugs, I had found that most all of them taste absolutely delicious. Also, some taste like fruits, some taste like vegetables. It depends on their color for the color of the food, and the species for the type of food.

‘Meh, I’m not hungry anymore, might as well get going with the flight thing.’

I flap my wings, getting used to hovering again. After a couple minutes of practice, I could hover for a few minutes just by flapping my wings constantly. The harder I flapped, the higher I would go, and if I stop flapping and angle my wings, I can go into an easy glide down to the ground.

After about an hour of this, I tried to go as high as possible. I knew for a fact that I was on a coast somewhere, as for the cliff about fifty meters away from the crumbled remains of the box. The cliff drops off onto jagged rocks and a foamy sea, which I want no part of. I cracked my neck, looking up at the clouds. Crouching, I take a deep breath, and then spring upwards. Flapping harder and harder, I reach the lower clouds without even looking down. I bust through them, but then stop.

‘Shouldn’t I be able to sit on a cloud?’

“Why not.”

I spin around, a large cloud right below me. I start gliding down, coming closer and closer, until finally I land on it.

“Ha! Fuck yea, this is awesome!”

I hopped to the edge of the cloud, a warm breeze ruffling my feathers.

“Whoa, since when do I have raptor vision…?” I said, stunned. I can make out each individual leaf on that one tree. There’s a ladybug on one of them. Huh. I looked around, making sure to keep my balance on the cloud. There was ocean all around one side of the landmass, but the rest was obstructed by the cloud. I hopped to the other end, and nearly fell off.

“Oh crap. How am I supposed to get out of here…”

I was staring at a huge stretch of sea. I couldn’t see any sort of land on the horizon, even with my newly found amazing eyesight.

‘I’m fucked. I’m on an island with practically no resources, one tree… wait. A. Second.’

Survival Island... Minecraft. It’s all about using your surroundings, making the land work with you.

'I have plenty of ways to get out of here, if I think about it.'

I swooped down to the tree, landing on one of the branches. Looking around, I see the crater, with the box still attached to the arrow. There was the paper too, next to my sleeping mat. I have wood, a storage unit, chain, an arrow, stone… and there’s a small pond over yonder. It’s freshwater, I drank from it yesterday. Hmm…

‘Think, it’s just like an island survival or escape map from Minecraft, use your head.’

Thinking cynically is something I’m good at. So I went ahead and did so. I flew down to the crater, a plan already in mind. I picked up the box in my wings, and opened the lid, looking inside. Surprisingly, there were two compartments, instead of one large space. Perfect. I unhook the chain, and pull the arrow out of the ground, dropping off all three items at my sleeping mat, next to the piece of paper. I also drop off the ring, which was quite useful. I started circling upwards, scanning the area for any stray wood. Since the island was less than three kilometers in diameter, it would only take about two hours to scan the whole thing.

In just over three fourths of an hour, I spotted a ruin, and swung myself in its direction. When I touched down, I immediately felt that something was wrong. There wasn’t any sound, no crickets chirping, and no cicadas whirring. Something, a predator, was in the area. I slowly went up to the eroded wall, careful to not make much sound. From the base, I could tell that this small shack had been here for more than a century, and it had weathered some extreme storms. But it hadn’t survived all of them, it seems. It had collapsed recently. I crouched, and then jumped, flapping my wings once, but with lots of force. I quietly landed on top of the wall, and looked down. There, in the middle of the broken timbers and stone, was a strange creature.

Strange is probably the best way to describe it, considering that it looked like Discord had his way with Dr. Frankenstein’s lab. The… thing… below me looked like it had been a giant lobster that had come out of the ocean and merged with a tree, and then promptly grew wooden spines and a huge snout. The snout, of course, being filled with razor sharp teeth that are tearing into a snapped timber.

Basically, imagine a big ass dog, with a really long snout and that has the lower body of a lobster. Instead of skin and fur, it has bark, and the whole thing is lined with spikes.

*Shiver*

The creature has an appetite for wood, apparently. So far, in the five minutes I’ve sat on the wall, its eaten most of the caved-in roof. As it finished the last of the sticks, it got up, holding a thick plank in its mouth. It was probably the height of an average alligator, and as it began lumbering out of the broken door frame, its tail hit the side.  This set me off-balance, and I had to snap out my wings and start flying to avoid falling.

“Rrrrggghhh…”

‘Shit, it heard me.’

The beast had heard me flapping my wings, and began turning around. To avoid being seen, I stopped flapping and half glided, half fell behind the wall. I looked through a hole in the masonry to see if it had noticed me, but it seems as if it hadn’t. It began walking away again, and I decided to follow it. Maybe I could steal some wood from it. I’m going to need some for what I have planned, after all. I looked up, seeing the noonday sun, and then started after the thing.

A good fifteen minutes later, I arrived at a small, rocky outcropping at the base of a slight incline. The creature walked up to the rocks, and went around a larger one. I followed, peeking around the rock to see that the thing had gone into a cave. I followed, again. Quietly as possible, I crept into the hole after it. It looks like not only do I have great eyesight, I have some degree of night vision. It wasn’t long until the tunnel opened up into a larger cavern. There were stalactites hanging from the ceiling, and a small underground stream flowing off in the distance. I crept behind a boulder, watching the creature take a left around a bend. I followed, sticking my head around the corner, to find quite the surprise.

Sitting now, the thing was surrounded by sticks, timbers, and even a few logs. It placed the plank that was in its mouth onto the pile carefully, making the stack even. The creature wasn’t alone now, though. There was a much smaller animal of the same type, sleeping on the floor. The larger one curled up and started off to sleep, too. I sat for a solid twenty minutes before I made a move. I silently flapped over to the pile of wood.

‘Strange how such a creature could be so organized.’

The pile of wood I was standing on top of was consistent of only planks, and they were all stacked in three piles next to each other. Unusual. I started looking around for the five lightest, flattest pieces of wood I could find. After three minutes of silently scanning the room, I had found three of the five pieces. Two were balsa, so they were very light. I don’t know what the third is made of, but it’s light as well, so it will work. I hop over to another stack of wood, where I find a large, thin plank of balsa wood.

‘Great, this’ll work. Now I don’t need the fifth piece. It’s amazing how this... animal? Gathered so much driftwood.’

I gather up the four pieces under my left wing, and begin heading out of the cave. A few feet from the exit, I see a piece of heavy twine, and pick it up. I can use with any kind of supplies I can get.

I walked outside the cave, placed my loot on the ground to look at, and when I was satisfied, I grabbed them in my talons and started my trip back to my side of the island. Even before I had flown twenty meters, I heard a bloodcurdling roar.

And was knocked out of the sky.

A Henduraan's history

I woke up with something looming over me, a huge silhouette with a giant snout and long teeth.

*Ya dun goofed, kid.*

‘Shut up brain, I know.’

The thing that I had been following earlier must have woken up when I left the cave. It seemed extremely organized, so I have no trouble imagining it waking up and immediately noticing that something was gone.

‘It must’ve seen me flying away… how did it knock me down though?’

I noticed promptly that one of its many spikes on its tail was gone, and a new one was growing in its place.

‘Typical, I should’ve known that it could launch those spikes. Wait. It knocked me out of the air with a razor sharp wooden spike, and the only pain I can feel is in my chest, lower back, and a slight ache where it hit. It must’ve bounced off when it hit, instead of impaling me.

It must’ve noticed I was awake, because it looked down at me, growled and inched its snout closer to my face. It was breathing heavily, and I couldn’t help but notice, but its breath actually smelled… minty. It kept inching closer until its rough nose barely bushed my beak.

“Ewerid, nestia gal marud?” It growled, promptly scaring the living shit out of me, as well as confusing me. I tried wiggling out if its grip, but it held tight, keeping a stout leg on my wing.

It rolled its eyes, saying, “Do you speak Ponish?”

“Wha, ye- yes I do, why..?” Great job, brain. Keeping a nice brave image sure is your thing, isn’t it.

*No, why do you ask?*

Shut up.

Anyway, the wooden dog-lobster raised its eyebrow as it heard me talk.

“You have a strange smell. Are you a phoenix?”

“Uh, yes, I am, but I know that I don’t look like one, but uh, yeah I am.” I blurted.

“Now, I agree that you don’t look like one, but why would a noble such as a phoenix, a pet of the gods, want to steal from such a humble creature as me? Much less when I am raising a child.” The thing rumbled.

“Well, uh, I can sort of explain, if you want me to, I mean, it would take a w-” I was cut off as the creature used its large front paw to cover my mouth… beak, I meant beak. It’ll take a while to get used to this body completely, I realized.

“I don’t like pointless babbling. I would say come with me, but seeing as you have no choice…” As he said it, the thing opened its mouth, a gaping maw filled with large, bent teeth. He reached down, and I started struggling.

‘Oh shit oh shit oh shit he’s gonna eat me… or not.’

I corrected my own thoughts as he gingerly placed his maw around my form, picking me up and carrying me back to his cave. I got a look at the sun, and it seemed about two o’clock. I stopped struggling, seeing as he wasn’t going to eat me yet, and I might as well act half reasonable. After a short walk, he dropped me off in the cave section with all the wood.

“Now, mister…”

‘Oh, he wants a name… umm… quickly…’

*How about your old name, Tom?*

‘No, that won’t do… think… how ‘bout Cedar? Always liked its smell.’

*It’ll work.*

After that, I realized that I had been thinking for at least three seconds.

“My bad, its Cedar. Sorry about that, I must’ve blanked out or someth-”

“Ha! GAHAHAHAHAHA… Heheh, Cedar… heheh, a tree stealing trees from a tree… heh, that’s a good one…” The thing laughed, causing me to realize the irony of the situation.

I cracked a smile, chuckling along with him. After a few more seconds, he stopped, as did I.

“Anyway, I might as well introduce myself too. The name’s Jornad. I’m a Woodland Henduraan, a guardian of the forest. My kind is rather peaceful, and we don’t harm others unless they give a reason. I don’t consider you stealing a couple pieces of my wood collection to be a reason to kill you, so I will let you explain yourself. Please, go ahead.”

‘Well, he sure is straightforward.’

“Well, I don’t know how to explain myself really… I just needed some wood, and saw you taking a plank back here, and followed you…”

“Strange, I should have smelled you…”

“I think I was downwind.” I deadpanned, causing Jornad to shrug.

“Okay then. Why do you need the wood anyhow?”

“I was, uh, going to build a raft…” I muttered, bringing a questioning look from the Henduraan.

“With four sticks and a string?”

“Yeah, actually. I don’t need much, and it has to be light. I just need to strap something to my back while I’m flying so I can drop it into the ocean if there are no clouds to sleep on. That way I can roost while floating.”

“Where are you flying anyhow?”

“North-west, do you know what’s up there?” I asked. This sent a chill up Jornad’s spine, and he leaned onto his side.

“Heh, you’re really going to go the eastern jungle?

“What? What do you mean jungle?” I implored. At this, Jornad sighed, closing his eyes.

“Listen up kiddo. Northwest of here is a jungle. It goes by plenty of names, but most call it the feline jungle, or the great southern rainforest. It’s called that because, obviously, there are cats there. I don’t mean the domestic and tiny ones they have in Equestria, either. There are large, diamond dog sized cats there. You won’t stand a chance. All of them know how to use tools, and plenty are very smart, there are even a couple with scholar level intelligence. I know this… because I was considered to be a pet for one of their village’s leaders, for over a century. They captured me from my forest home, and shoved me in a metal cage. Anyway, when the bastard finally died at one hundred ‘n ten, they dropped me and my mate on this godforsaken island, and stuck his body in a big ol’ piece of brick on the other side of the island. They expected me to guard it, but why would I? I have no reason to take care of that bastards’ corpse after the treatment he gave me…”

Piece of brick? On the other side of the island? So I WAS in a casket…

*blegh, nasty.*

‘Shut up brain, ya wuss.’

Wait a sec…

A hundred and ten years ago?

“Jornad?”

“Yes?”

“No offense intended, but how old are you?”

“Two hundred and fourteen.”

“Oh…”

“Anyway, as I was saying, you wouldn’t stand a chance in the jungle. Those cats will eat any bird roosting within their territory. They rely on their sense of smell for finding food, so they can smell you anywhere you go. Not only that, but they’re deathly quiet. Silence and stealth is their specialty, so they can sneak up on you wherever you go.”

“Wait, can normal birds sit on clouds?” I blurted, making the Henduraan shrug.

“I don’t think so. They have no innate magic. Why?”

“I can, though. I’ve tried. I don’t think that the cats can reach me while I’m sitting on a piece of fluff half a mile in the sky.” I explained.

“True,” he said, his eyes thoughtful. “Maybe you’ll make it, I don’t know. Listen, if you wanted this wood so bad, you could’ve asked. The seeding season starts in four weeks, so the trees are going to be popping up in five. I have plenty of wood to last me and my son that long, and I’m probably going to have a surplus, anyway. Plus, balsa tastes like cow pie on a cracker, so I would gladly let it go. I would be kind of mad if you took some aspen, though. It tastes delicious.”

“Heh, okay. So, can… can I just go? I’m allowed to have the wood and string?” I asked.

“Sure, kiddo. Just, if you’re heading for the rainforest, make sure to stick to the clouds. Oh, and bring lunch. You don’t want to have to go down to the ground every time you need something to eat.”  As it finished talking, the hulking Henduraan got up, walked over to his (apparent) son, and plopped down.

“Just don’t let me catch you trying to steal again. Again, if you want something, just drop by and ask. G’night.” He finished off by grabbing a few twigs in his snout, chomping them down, and curling up.

“Thanks…” I whispered, as I got up, making my way to the front of the cave.

‘Thank… Celestia? I dunno, but thank whatever caused Jornad back there to not eat me. That was scary.’

*Hey, he let you have the stuff you need. Be thankful.*

‘Okay, okay. Just be quiet.’

I was at the front of the cave, and it seemed like it was around four o’clock. Seems like, despite it feeling much shorter, that whole ordeal took about two hours.

“Oh well, might as well head back.” I say to myself as I tie off the wood with the string. I tie the loose end of the string to my foot using my beak, and start flapping my wings.

Taking off, I could see that the ocean had gotten choppier than when I had left. Oh well, it’d probably calm down before I leave. Hopefully. If there are no clouds around and I have to sleep on my little raft thingy in a messy ocean, I’ll never get any sleep.

‘No use thinking about it, it’ll happen if it does, and it won’t if it won’t. Plus, the more you think, the more you’re baiting that asshole named Murphy to ruin your day.’

I reached my sleeping mat in less time than usual, it seems I’m getting better at flying. I’ll need it if I’m going to fly all that way. I pick up the compass, staring at the little notches under the glass dome.

I just sit there, doing nothing until a breeze blows past. It’s cold, unlike earlier on that cloud.

‘Better get a fire going while I still have light. I’ll use some bark from that tree.’

I flap over to the tree, grabbing a couple twigs, dead leaves, and broken bark that’s sitting on the ground. I look up, at the leaves. Even though the underside of the tree is dark, I can still see all of the leaves, a few bugs, and what looks to be an old birds’ nest. I can also see why Jornad said that the ‘seeding’ will take place in a month… every branch was lined with small, immature, green berries. After a month of maturing, they would drop to the ground, sprouting into smaller plants. What I don’t understand is why he said that the trees would be growing by the fifth week. Usually, large tree saplings take one and a half weeks to seed, root, and sprout up to at least an inch. Maybe things grow faster here? The grass sure is tall, and it looks like plain old grass. I have a feeling that if there was some sawgrass growing here, it would be taller than me. It must be increased growing rates, for lack of a better explanation.

I walked back to my mat, cutting down some of the grass to the left of it. I dropped the tinder in the newly cleared spot, and hunched down, using my surprisingly dexterous primary feathers to manipulate the wood. As I was arranging the sticks, I felt a chill down my back. Sure enough, a shadow passed over me soon after.

“A storm is coming…” I muttered to myself as I turned back to the wood. I finished, got up, and turned around to look up at the clouds.

‘Looks like they’ll just pass over. The storm might hit the other half of the island, but even then, just the edge. Now, how do I start the fire?’

…

…

…

*You’re a phoenix…*

‘Shut up brain, you’re mocking me.’

I turn around, looking at the sticks neatly arranged over the kindling.

“How the hell do I use fire…?”

*Try breathing in, and concentrating your energy on your breath as you breathe out*

‘This better work brain, there’s nothing worse than feeling embarrassed of yourself when there’s no-one else around.’

*Whatever, get on with it.*

I pushed my thoughts aside, taking in a deep breath, and closing my eyes.

‘Concentrate; think of your breath turning into flame…’

I exhale slowly, and open my eyes cautiously…

Just to see a blinding, orange-yellow light. It explodes, sending me flying…

‘Dammit, this is the second time this week.’

How do I magic

For the second time this week, I’ve been sent flying backwards by a fiery ball of… well, fire. Also for the second time, I’ve just woken up with a large shadow hovering over me.

“Agh!” I yelped, pushing myself backwards with my talons.

Looking back down at me, questioningly so was Jornad.

“Oh, hey, uh, mind telling me why you like scaring me when I wake up?”

“Heh, you scare easily. No, I am part of the forest, young one. I have the patience of a tree, meaning that I have

stood over you for the last three hours. I don’t plan your waking up, I just wait for it.”

“Three hours? Wait, why is it still light out… oh, the fire’s started.” I noticed, shaking my head to clear the grogginess. I got up, and looked at my feet.

“Was that all me?” I scratched my wing, puzzled.

“Was what you?” Jornad rumbled, sitting next to the flame.

“The explosion that knocked me out, what else?”

“Oh, that’s what it was? I thought that was thunder. I honestly don’t know what happened to knock you unconscious; I just came over here because I thought the seeding oak was on fire.”

At that I cocked my head, asking “What do you mean, seeding oak? The tree over there?” I pointed to the apparent oak tree sitting about thirty feet away.

“Yes, quite a tree it is. Every year in the spring, it releases thousands of acorns. As they sit, a monsoon washes over the island, and it spreads them to all corners of the landmass. The water that comes out of the clouds that day has a magic in it, one that ushers forth the roots and stems of the plants. Within a week, every last one of the trees has grown to its full size.”

“Huh, okay then. Makes sense; I can understand why you would be worried about the tree being on fire.” I stated, looking at the flaming pile of sticks in front of me.

‘Wait a minute…’

“Wait, did I, or did I not start that fire?” I asked, pointing at the flame in question.

“Oh, you did much more than start the fire. When your little explosion woke me up, it was almost night out, a storm brewing to the south. I looked out of my cave home, and saw some flames higher than the tree, and I assumed it was on fire. When I got over here, though, I saw that this is what had happened.” He gestures to the area around the fire, making my eyes grow wide.

“I did this?” I said, unbelievingly

“You mean you didn’t mean to do so?”

“No, not at all…” At that, I walk to the area around the fire.

Through the flickering light, I can see that the grass is singed down to about half its original height.

“Wow, do I really have that much power?” I said, causing Jornad to perk up.

“Of course you do. What you did though, was not use your normal magic. You used blank magic, which you wanted to turn to flame, and it did. The thing is, you didn’t tell it to go anywhere. So it just sat there. With nothing else to do, it exploded. You’re a phoenix, you have the power to control flame. That does not mean anything if you know not how to control it, though. Do you not know of your species?”

‘I know just as much of phoenixes and this “controlling flame” crap as a three year old knows of nuclear physics. How should I explain this? There’s no way I can go with the amnesia gimmick, it’ll fall off as a lie pretty quickly. I’ll just tell him I’m an outcast.’

“No, I was cast out as a fledgling.” I lied, trying to make and keep a sad, oppressed expression.

“I’ve never heard of that happening before in the phoenix culture. What happened to cause this?” he questioned.

‘Damn, think. What would happen to make a flock cast you out… ponyfeathers, what am I gonna say… feathers… Feathers! My feathers!’

Sighing, I continued. “It’s my feather coloring. They thought I was of a different species, and somehow my egg had gotten into their nest by accident. They fed me until I was large enough to fend for myself, and then told me to find my real parents. I believed them, what they told me, until today. I actually made fire… They never taught me how to control flame, obviously, because they thought me to be a regular bird.” I explained, giving myself a sad look in my eye, pretending to thoughtfully gaze into the night sky.

*Damn, you never told me you’re a good liar. If Pinocchio had said that, his nose would be half way across the Pacific by now, poking some poor pelican in the ass.*

‘Thanks for that beautiful image…’  I thought, mentally shaking my head.

Jornad, on the other hand, DID shake his head. “It’s strange how such noble creatures such the phoenix could do such a thing…” After a moment of silence, he continues. “...Of course, I could fill you in on the knowledge that they did not…”

“Oh, you would do that?” I asked, giving myself a perkier look.

“Anything for a friend.” He said, ripping up some grass and gnawing on it.

“You consider me a friend, even though the only two things I’ve done concerning you was attempting to steal from you, and nearly burning down the only source of food and wood this island has ever had?”

“Bah, nonsense. Those aren’t reasons to consider someone an enemy! Anyone is a friend until proven otherwise. Besides, if this island loses its resources, my son and I can just swim to the next island.” He slapped his lobster tail against the ground, emphasizing his point. I nodded, and proceeded to yawn.

“You look tired,” He continued, “Get some rest. I’ll begin teaching you of the use of magical energy tomorrow.”

“Alright, thanks. I owe you, and never let me say otherwise.” I say cordially, receiving a smile from Jornad.  I turn to where my sleeping mat lay, and cringed. The top layer of the entire mat was burnt to a crisp, a full half inch of charcoal lying on top of grass of questionable freshness. I turned in a circle, looking for a patch of fresh grass.

Behind where Jornad was getting up from was unaffected by the blast. As he got to his feet and walked off, I walked over to where the Henduraan lay; grabbing a patch of grass with my primaries, and lopping them off near the bottom with my talons. I then walked over to my old mat, and laid them on top of the charcoal, repeating the process thrice.

*Gurgle*

I looked down at my stomach and groaned. Of course I was going to be hungry; I had nothing to eat since breakfast. It seems I had been holding out pretty well with what little I ate during breakfast though. Meh. I look around for some stones to turn over, when my eyes land on the small metal box that was next to the arrow, and chain. I push it over, revealing a plethora of small insects.

*Oh children…. IT’S DINNER TIME*

‘Oh dear God... Celestia? Just please don’t remind me of that video… ever. Please?’

*Huehuehue*

My brain was partially right, it was dinner time.

(Insert annoying intermission advertisement here)

Many a nom later, I lay on my mat, my stomach full.

“Ahhhh…” I let out a satisfied sigh as I breathed in the smell of smoke, which had become surprisingly pleasant in the last day or so. Not only was the charcoal under me simply nice to have, it was also functional. Blood sucking insects? Not around smoke, nuh-uh. They hate the stuff. Not only that, it was still warm.

I closed my eyes, rolling over. I was exhausted from the day’s happenings, and soon fell deep into Morpheus’s arms.

<<< ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>>

There was a small town below me. It was night time, but I could still see fine. glancing at my left, then my right wing, I turned back to the place below me. It looked to be… ravaged. But happy. Everything was torn and twisted surrounding the town. I saw trees around the place, on a proceeding line of vegetation, covering a mass of stumps in between the town and forest. There was a wall, and there was a gate around the front of the town. Each of these features was gouged and ripped, and yet… the inside was teeming with life, happy-go-lucky citizens of a place with troubles long past. I liked it. It looked like a grand place. Suddenly, I noticed a light drizzle on my back, and heard a sizzling sound. I slow myself, peering over my shoulder to see a trail of flame coming off my back, wings, and tail feathers.

‘Fireflies can suck it.’ I thought dreamily, and noticed that down below, the town had stopped its activities… no, it was a different town. In fact, it was a village, based around a temple of some sort, a large pyramid. I hazily noticed the arrows flying towards me. Smiling dazedly, I pumped my wings once, somewhat noticing that I went up somewhere around thirty feet in less than a second. I flapped my wings lightly to keep myself hovering, and saw a missile of pure energy headed in my direction. Sizzling over my head as I fold in my wings, I dropped a good meter or two to avoid the magic. I snap my wings out again, continuing a barely registered flight pattern to avoid the longspears and magic, not to mention the poisoned and flaming arrows flying past me. Suddenly, I look over my shoulder, frowning at the color of flame that is emitted as I soar over my enemies’ heads.

‘Why,’ I thought distantly, ‘is my fire blue…’

<<< ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ >>>

I came around, but without opening my eyes.

‘I swear if something’s standing over me this time, I’ll use that fucking giga-blaster thing again.’

*Arm the missiles, buddy. With your luck, there’s an orc encampment waiting for your body to get medium-rare on the spit roast.*

‘Whatever…’ I mentally sighed as I gingerly opened one eye, taking in the light from the mid-morning sun.

*Coast’s clear, up and at ‘em.*

‘Shut up, I can tell.’

I opened both eyes, glancing around my mat as I sat up.

‘Fire’s out, but still smoking. I’ll drop some tinder on it to keep it smoldering. Damn I’m hungry, I’m gonna grab some grub real quick…’

Lol. Grub. It’s funny because I’m literally eating a fucking grub. And it tastes like blueberries. Nomnom.

After I’d gotten my morning breakfast, I flapped back to my sleeping mat. Next to it were my scattered possessions; A metal box, some chain, an arrow, string, four pieces of balsa, the flight-assisting ring, and a rolled up piece of paper. I picked up the ring, twisting it around in my talons.

‘I wonder how it works…’

*Magic, my friend. Magic.*

‘Yup, you’re right… I’m right. Dammit, I need to stop thinking to myself.’

*That’s not your choice to make, hehehe…*

Shaking my head, I reminisced on what I’m going to do here, in Equestria. Or… am I in Equestria? I know I’m on the planet Equis. That’s for damn sure. But where do the Equestrian borders start, and end? Is Equestria a country, or the name of a continent? Meh, I’ll ask a pony when I get to that area.

Speaking of which, where exactly am I right now? I know my general location, on an island south-east of the great southern rainforest. From what I gather from what Jornad said about it, that’s the southern border of Equestria, which means… I’m just south of Equestria! Sure is a strange place considering from what I’ve seen so far, compared to the show. Oh well.

*Speaking of Jornad, didn’t he offer you lessons on magic control today?*

‘Oh, yeah. I guess I’ll head over there now, but I need to set out soon. I don’t want to stay on some stinkin island forever.’

As I take off for Jornad’s cave, I recalled part of my dream from last night. Didn’t I have a flame trail? That would be badass. I looked at my tailfeathers, but no amount of flame was trailing behind me as I flew. Oh well. I’ll get it to happen eventually.

I finally landed at the entrance of his cave, looking inside for any sign of him.  I call out, my voice echoing in the dark hole. Something moved inside, and the smaller version of Jornad showed up in front of me. Rubbing his eyes, he stared up at me.

“Are you looking for my daddy?” he said, in the cutest, most fucking cuddly voice I've ever heard.

I resisted my urge to glomp the shit out outa him, and instead chose to simply nod in answer.

“He should be up there.” He said, pointing to the top of the hill with a paw.

I looked up, past the boulders near the entrance. Up on top of the hill that the cave was at the base of, I saw something glowing green.

“Huh, thanks. What’s your name, by the way?” I asked the kid.

“My name’s Pikooni, what’s yours?”

“I’m Cedar.” I said, beginning to take off.

“Is that Jornad? Strange…” I muttered to myself, as I flew to the top of the hill, glancing back down at the entrance to the cave. Pikooni had gone back inside, apparently.

It was, in fact, Jornad, and when I reached the top of the hill, he was sitting there, already staring at me, surrounded by a field of glowing, green light.

“Now in session, class is," he said.

Colors

“How the hell did I get myself into this…”

Grunting, I toss another rock onto a growing pile.

“Not so fast, you have to keep them in the right order.” Jornad said, promptly poking me with a plethora of pine poles of many a different proportion.  (Alliteration, get some.)

I stuck out my lower lip, if that was even possible for a bird. I think I have a mouth set at the base of my beak, and just a really long tongue that pokes out of my mouth and into my beak.

Hopping up to the pile, I move the rock into position next to its similarly placed brothers. After another good hour of this, the Woodland Henduraan motioned for me to stop.

I flopped onto my ass, propping myself up using my wings, only to have Jornad pull me to my feet again.

“Hey, what gives!?” I offered hotly, bringing a grunt from him.

“Get moving, bring some leaves from the seeding tree, twenty of them should be fine. Just don’t mess with the immature acorns.” He stated bluntly, giving another, satisfied grunt as I flapped off.

“For fucks sake, I thought I was going to be learning to use fire. Not doing some big ass animal’s dirty work.”

*Calm yourself, it’s all in good time. Haven’t you ever watched karate kid? He’s gonna show you how to control your chi an‘ stuff.*

I grunted, landing on the top branch of the tree. Looking around, I found a branch with unaltered, young leaves, fresh and untouched by bugs or weather.

Quickly gathering what I need, I headed back to the hill, dropping them off, and sliding to a landing next to my stone pillar.

“Good, that took a lot less time than I expected. You’re a good flier.”

Mumbling my thanks, I walked over to where I had dropped the leaves before landing. I gathered them up, and looked to Jornad expectantly. Noticing my look, he walked over, picking them from my wing with a dog paw.

“Thanks,” he mumbled, before stuffing the lot of them in his mouth, chewing and swallowing as he walked to the stones.

My beak managed to find its way to the dirt.

“You asshole! I’m exhausted from two hours of work, and you send me on a snack run!?!” I exclaim, angrily digging a talon into the ground.

“Calm down, Cedar. Did I say that you were not allowed to rest, eat or drink while you were gone?”

I adapted a confused expression at this, which soon turned into frustration.

“What the hell is tha- no, nevermind. Freaking forget it. What do you want me to do now.” I asked flatly, inciting a curious look from Jornad.

“Get on top of the pillar.” He instructed.

I obeyed, wrapping my talons on the top rock. It’s strange, but something looks… off… about the Henduraan. I squinted my eyes at him, trying to spot the difference.

“Close your eyes.” He ordered.

I huffed indignantly, closing them tightly.

*Dammit, be nice to him. He just forgave you for stealing from him, nearly burning down his source of food, and he even offered you these lessons. Be grateful, you jerk.*

‘Okay, okay. It’s just that I don’t think that he should have sent me off while I’m tired and thirsty to get him a damn snack, that’s all.’

*Bah, humbug. Listen to what he says, and be thankful for him not eating you.*

At that, I peeked through one eye, but Jornad was nowhere to be seen. I closed it again, not wanting to be caught defying his orders.

“Good. Now clear your thoughts.” Came the Henduraan’s voice from behind me.

‘So that’s where he went. Anyway, might as well…’

I mentally cleared my recycle bin, leaving nothing but blank space in my field of thought.

“Now, think of fire. Flame. Think of the magma below your feet, the heat of the blazing sun.”

I complied, thinking of the biggest bonfire I had ever been around, and that one time I went to Hawaii with my uncle, how the volcanoes there erupted every other day. I thought of the lava flowing down the side of the mountain, the extreme heat of the molten rock… the heat of my chest?

“Don’t lose concentration; you have just broken into your magical reservoir.”

I kept my thoughts limited to those of heat and flame, and the concentration of the heat in my chest grew.

“…..Good. Now, channel it through your feet, into the pillar below you.”

Thinking hard, I felt the heat seep out of my chest, through the center of my torso, and split in two as it hit my navel area. As it traveled through my legs, the heat intensified, almost becoming painful. When it hit the soles of my feet, it didn't leave my body. I let it pool until the entire store of energy in my chest had gathered in my talons, and in the soles of my feet. I thought of it gushing out of my feet, and that it did. I pushed mentally, harder and harder until every last ounce of magical energy had left my lower limbs, and then I slumped, my eyes still closed.

“Hehe, very good. Now, open your eyes, young one. You ought to see this.

I slowly cracked a lid, unwilling to see if I had failed or not. Strangely, I could see Jornad standing below me, but behind a hazy layer of color. Pinks, blues, greens, reds, and purples all obscured my vision, causing the view of Jornad and the hill we were standing on, to flicker and warp.

My other eye shot open, and I moved my head from side to side, taking in what was happening. I was inside a veil of some sort. And it was rather warm. I flapped my wings, and they went right through the substance, causing me some confusion. I tried flying, and I could hover just fine in the colorful fog, going forwards until I got out of it. I flapped to the ground, next to where the Henduraan was standing, staring at where I came from, smiling. I turned around, only to have my breath catch in my throat.

“Holy shit…” I breathed, barely keeping my balance as I saw what I was incased in a moment before.

Before me was a pillar of flame. It went sky-high, punching through and incinerating some clouds that were unfortunate enough to be above it. That wasn't the impressive part, though. What took my breath away were the colors. There were more colors stuck in the vortex in front of me than I had ever seen in one place at one time. Some I had no name for, too.

We stood there in awe until it died down about fifteen minutes later.

“Daaaayyyyuummmmm” I said, glancing at Jornad, who wore a large smirk.

“I thought that a normal phoenix’s fire was only red, or orange or yellow. Not… not a freakin’ rainbow. How the hell did that happen?” I said, pointing to the smoking embers and molten rock where the flame had emitted from.

“Simple. Look here, and I’ll explain.” He said, putting one of his woody paws into the air.

As he moved his leg upwards, I could see a row of much smaller spikes along the back of the leg...

Wait! That’s it! That’s what looked off about him; All his spikes are missing! Some new ones were already growing in though.

Jornad grunted as one of the spikes in his arm exploded from its original location, leaving a trail of green magic. It dug into the ground, and he picked it up in his paw.

“This,” he said, holding it out and dropping into my open wing, “contains a certain amount of my energy. I can store almost any amount of magic that I wish in this little piece of wood, unless I fill it so full that it bursts, and trust me, it’s messy. Now. I have filled it with a slight amount of magic, but still enough for me to alter its shape. If you have magical control of something, you can make it do pretty much anything you want it to, unless it resists. And, since that,” he pokes it with a paw, “is a part of me, I can do much more with it than I can to a normal sliver of wood, which flows with a different kind of magic, its own. Since I made that spike, I can do this to it with enough energy.” He proceeded to cast his paw over the length of polished wood, and when I looked at it again, it was in a new, much more complicated shape.

“As you can see, with your magic, if applied correctly, you can control the shape of objects. It all depends on the variables.” He picked up the newly formed wooden leaf, and threw it a few feet away. At this, he pointed at it.

“Burn it.”

“What? Why?” I asked, suddenly confused.

I glanced at the pile of molten stone, then back at Jornad’s expectant face, putting two and two together.

“Wait, you put your spikes in the pile of rocks while I was getting those leaves, didn’t you?”

Jornad smiled, and jerked his head at the shaped piece of wood on the ground.

Walking over to it, I closed my eyes again, thinking the same thoughts as last time… but nothing happened. I looked questioningly at Jornad, and he got the message.

“You don’t have to do the same as last time. Your magic is now able to be tapped into any time you wish, simply by whim. You have broken the dam, now the waters flow free.”

“Oh, awesome! That means I can just use my magic instead of building it up, right?”

“Yes. That was what I was implying. Care to try it out?”

“Hel- sorry, heck yeah I would!” I said with a child’s enthusiasm.

I turned, once again, to the leaf on the ground. I raised a wing, and thought of flame shooting out of the end, onto the wood sliver before me. It kind of worked, making a flare of heat shoot out a couple inches from my wingtip. I got closer to the leaf, making the flames touch it, catching it on fire. As it caught, it started burning a fierce red, and suddenly switched to a deep green, to a blazing magenta. It kept up this histogramiccal roulette until it burned completely out, simply turning to ash.

“So I was right. How does that work, what causes the color?” I asked, turning back to my (Apparent) new mentor.

“It’s magic.” He says, making me face-wing.

“But honestly,” he said, still chuckling at my reaction, “The magic that I placed into that spike was there to stay. When your magic flames touched my magical wooden leaf, they battled for dominance, and your flames won, due to the fact that there was more of it. The battle that took place between our magics was represented by the colors you saw. This doesn’t always happen, though. Only if the elemental magic of one user is the opposite of the other. For example, if a user of wind magic goes up against the user of earth magic, the same colors will ensue. Same for water and lightning, and life magic against fire magic. Of course, I am a Woodland Guardian, so I know how to take care of myself against flame.”

At this, he extends claws that are at least four inches long each, from both his front paws. As he digs them into the ground at his feet, he takes a huge breath, exhaling onto the dying embers of the small fire that took place moments before. This scattered them, right into a dry patch of… grass? It spread like wildfire, causing a large area to spring up in flames.

“What the hell? You just started a fire for no reason!” I said, exasperated. He smiled, rolled his shoulders, and pulled up, straining his legs. Suddenly, after about half a second of pulling, he ripped up a HUGE chunk of earth with his front paws, balancing on his hind legs and tail. He chucked the mound at the flames, the dirt spreading out in mid-air, and landing on top of the smoldering patch of grass.

*Gulp*

‘Remind me to not swear at the guy who can move boulders with a couple paws, has long, razor sharp teeth and claws, jaws strong enough to splinter oak without so much as a thought, and the ability to launch magical shape shifting spikes at me. And don’t even get me started on the intelligence bit.’

*Gotcha…*

At that, I thanked him for the day’s lessons, and flew off to my sleeping mat and meager possessions.

Not that I gave a shit.

I was having too much fun with my brand new MO’FUCKIN FLAME TRAIL

*Manly Squee*