A Millions Feathers and a Shell
The History of the Phoenix
"Hello."
She says in a melodious voice, just like her owner. To show her that I respect her as a royal pet, I slowly lower myself to one knee
"Who might you be?"
By then, I am bowing and staring at the bird's beautiful figure basking in the glow of the setting sun. The odd thing is, she doesn't even notice that I am staring at her. I am assuming that she is used to being the center of attention, ponies and animals must stare at her all of the time. When she finally does notice that I am staring and bowing, all she does is let out an exasperated sigh. As quick as a whip, she extends her right wing, and combs her feathers so that they appear straighter. While doing so, she reveals that she has a much bigger wingspan that I thought, and that those wings are covered with even more feathers, amber red feathers, with a hint of golden color at the tips. These colors make her look like she could ignite any second.
"I would appreciate it if you wouldn't stare at me. Or bow. I am not anything special."
That crushes my theory, she must not think that she is anything special. That's funny, I Fun fact about tortoises, we may be slow as molasses, but we are able to speak close to the same speed of most other animals. I slowly give her a sincere smile
"I am sorry milady. It's just that I have never seen any creature as magnificent as you."
She looks confused, it's like she has no idea what I am talking about, or no idea how spectacular she is. I offer my wrinkly green foot, and she hesitates. It is as if she is worried that I will hurt her, but she eventually shakes.
"I am Tank. And who might you be Miss? And might I ask what species you are?"
I say
"It's Philomenia. And I am a phoenix."
I have no idea what I phoenix is, and I don't think she will mind me asking
"I am sorry, but I don't have a clue on what a phoenix is. I assume you are an endangered species?"
She lives me a sore look
"Not many do. And yes, it's a rare species. And we have an interesting story. Maybe I'll tell you later."
I look at Celestia and Rainbow Dash chatting along about who knows what, and I point in the general direction of them.
"I think we have time, and I am definitely one who likes to hear stories."
She pauses for a second, takes a deep breath, and then opens her beak to speak
"The first phoenixes were a species created by Celestia herself, not long after she had banished Princess Luna to the moon. I am sure that you already know that she is an immortal princess, but with Luna out of the picture, she had only mortal companionship for a brief amount of time. I am also sure that you know, alicorns aren't able to die from age, so Celestia was a very lonely mare, and unable to visit her friends that had passed on. And as a result, she decided to create an immortal species that would accompany her through her struggles, the way that Luna had done before she was exiled. And how we were created is an odd way for a species to come into existence indeed. Since she was in possession of the elements of harmony, she was able to take a tiny bit of magic out of each element. She used a generous amount of most elements, generosity, honesty, laughter, kindness, loyalty, but no magic. Now for the part of why we are birds, she took eagles and quite literally put the elements and fire from the burning sun into the hearts of them. Right before they were engulfed in flames, she casted an immortality spell that allows us to rise from our ashes. Those phoenixes created more, and very soon they were a very common species. Phoenix means time a phoenix gets old, we burn up, and rise anew from the ashes."
I don't know what to say. She is so extraordinary and special, and I am just a slow ordinary tortoise
"Wait, if you are immortal, can reproduce, and you said that one male and one female were the first of your kind, why aren't there more of you in Equestria?"
That question made her frown
"Four key reasons that we aren't flourishing. One of them used to be ponies. Hundreds of years ago, it was a right of passage of a warrior for them to steal an egg. The parents are very protective of them, and you were considered a real hero if you did so. If they escape the parents, the main tradition was to take a needle, and scramble the insides before it hatches. Even though it was a while ago, it caused a lot of phoenix deaths. The second reason is the dragons, teenage ones crush the eggs for fun. The third reason is our feathers. They used to be considered very beautiful and valuable..."
And she just trails off and mumbles to herself. I feel terrible about brining the subject up, it was none of my business
"I am so sorry milady. I didn't mean to bring up a sore subject."
She gives me a false smile
"It's fine. Not your fault."
And that ends our conversation. I also realize she didn't tell me the fourth one, but I have gotten enough information from her so I don't push it. I turn over to Celestia and Rainbow Dash so that I can listen to their conversation. Apparently, one of them started a conversation about all sorts of exotic food that they have eaten. The Princess is babbling about the most delicious cake that she had ever eaten. While she describes the masterpiece, Rainbow Dash seems to be drooling while she describes the exquisite taste. Just then, Celestia seems to have an amazing idea.
"Would do like to come to dinner with us? We had a reservation at the Lucky Horseshoe for two, but I am sure that we will be able to make it four."
Rainbow Dash smiles
"You kiddin' me? It would be an honor!"
Celestia looks at Rainbow Dash's overfilled suitcase and giggles
"You sure look prepared, which is a good thing! Would you have any fancy attire in there by chance? Thats the one thing there that even I can't get away with."
Rainbow Dash looks embarrassed
"No... I didn't bring anything fancy with me, sorry. I didn't think that I would need it, I just thought that it would be a casual sorta thing, you know?"
Celestia casts a spell, and three small sized pouches appear in front of her. She opens them, and reveals many bits resting inside of it.
"If you want, we could go buy you some attire. I know that your usual clothing designer is Rarity, but we could go to the shopping district to see if we can find something to your liking."
Rainbow Dash scrunches her nose
"Fancy clothing isn't really my thing... But if I have to to get into the fancy restaurant, I guess that I will."
Celestia smiles
"You are such an adorable pegasus Rainbow Dash, now come. Let's find you something to wear."
Rainbow Dash tries to haul up her suitcase, and Philomenia scoots close to me. She whispers.
"I know it's crazy, but animals have to wear fancy clothing as well. I'll see if I can get you a cute little bow tie to wear the the restaurant tonight."
Fancy attire isn't my thing either, but if it means I get a delicious dinner, with a famous pony, and a beautiful bird, I think that it might be worth it.
