The sun shined on the snow covered ground, causing the snow to glisten as a soft breeze blew throughout the forest. As the branches were being caressed by the wind, it sounded as if the land was orchestrating a beautiful song that broke the cold winter silence. A pair of bushes shook as a white unicorn with a brown patches of fur covering her muzzle, her ears, and her hooves walked through them. She had an orange piece of cloth wrapped around her neck and her horn was adorned with two gems, one as blue as water and the smaller gem was as white as her coat that looked as if there was water flowing within the stones. She paused for a moment while glancing around. Her blue eye briefly scanned the snowy woodland when a quick movement darted just in view of her peripherals. Turning her head towards the figure, the mare giggled when she noticed that it was a squirrel running away from two chipmunks. Apparently the squirrel had stolen a number of acorns from the chipmunks, since she could clearly see its cheeks were bulging as it jumped from one branch to another.

While the small scuffle was quite entertaining, the mare diverted her attention to the reason why she was in the forest in the first place. Her son, Mooncatcher, spent his time near a small brook whenever he had something on his mind. Today was the day that he'd have to undergo a ritual that all unicorns went through in their tribe. Since the founding of their tribe, each generation had a shaman that was a unicorn and whenever another unicorn was born, the current shaman would take them as their apprentice. Whenever the apprentice reached a certain age and learned everything the shaman could teach, they would undergo a ritual where they would have pieces of their horn hollowed out for two clear gems to be placed into. Once the gems were set, the unicorns magic would merge the gem into their horn and cause the color of the gems to change based around the unicorn's aura.

"Moon? Are you here, sweetie?" The white unicorn pushed her way through a pair of snow covered bushes. She spotted a tan unicorn lying next to the brook with his head resting on his hooves. His black mane was slightly covered with snow and his ears perked up at hearing his mother's voice.

"Yeah, I'm here," Moon's gaze remained fixed on the flowing water as he felt his mother's soft pelt brush up against his.

"You know I saw the most cutest thing on my way here," She said while she curled her hooves underneath her white chest. "It was a squirrel running away from two chipmunks. Apparently it stole the pairs' nuts, because they were barking up a storm!" The mare giggled at the recent scuffle she saw, however she noticed Moon wasn't paying attention and sighed. "Is everything alright? I know you're probably nervous, but it'll be fine. It's not as bad as you think."

"I know, it's just that I have no idea what to expect," Moon glanced at his mother. "What if they say something about this mark I was born with?" The young stallion presented his left hoof to his mother, revealing a pattern in black fur that resembled a Phoenix covering the lower half of his hoof.

"Relax, it'll be fine. Remember that you're no different than anypony else. I promise," Moon's mother smiled warmly and rested her hoof on her son's.

Feeling his mother's touch made Moon feel some comfort. When he was born, the shaman before his mother had helped with his delivery. He had noticed that a small patch of fur on Moon's left hoof had resembled a Phoenix and he walked out, claiming that he had to commune with their ancestors to understand what this meant. After a day, he had returned telling the chief that the young colt was gifted with the soul of a Phoenix, their creators. The chief decided that none of the other ponies must know about what the shaman had learned. For the other tribes may learn of Moon and it would possibly cause a war to break, both in fear for what this would mean and for the want of having Moon for their own gain. To keep this a secret, Moon was required to stay close within the tribe's territory and to never know the true reason behind the mark on his hoof. This had caused Moon to grow up feeling different than anypony else, since the other foals would occasionally tease him and the older ponies tended to stay away from him.

However, Flowing Brook, his mother, had always made him feel loved. When she took him as her apprentice, she had told him the truth behind his mark and that it meant he was special. Moon had always felt that he could rely on his mother for guidance. His dad, Running Leaves, was also there for him. Teaching him how to hunt and survive out in the wilderness whenever Brook wasn't showing Moon different spell types.

"Oh that reminds me," Brook spoke up as caring voice had gained a more serious tone. She arched her brow while her blue eyes stared into Moon's. "Just because you're no longer going to be my apprentice doesn't you're not going to be my little baby anymore, got it?"

Seeing his mother's piercing gaze struck Moon by surprise, the only time she looked at him like that was when he accidentally set the medicine den on fire.

"Huh?! Oh, o-of course," Moon chuckled nervously as he rubbed his neck nervously.

"Then say it," Brook leaned closer towards him, her gaze becoming more menacing.

Realizing what she meant, Moon sighed. "Fine, I'll always be your... eh. Little Moony Pie," saying this made Moon's face turn red from embarrassment despite the fact they were the only two there.

"See! That wasn't so hard!" The mare quickly wrapped her hooves around Moon's neck and nuzzled him. "D'aww! I love you so much! You're so adorable!"

While his mother tightened her hug around Moon's neck, he let out a small cough as his face burned from embarrassment. "Mom... I can't breathe..."

Hearing his words, Moon felt his mom pause for a moment and look at her son. "Pfft, don't be a wimp. You sound just like your dad." After she said that, Moon felt her give one last squeeze around him before she let him free.

"Alright, let's get going," Brook straightened herself up. "As soon as we get back, we'll need to start the ritual. Once you're in the spirit world there's no telling how long you'll be in the trance."

Moon nodded while he stood on his hooves, clumps of snow had attatched themselves to his fur. A feeling of nervousness had crept its way back into his stomach when his mother reminded him. She must have realized it, because she gazed over to him and gave him a small smile.

"Don't worry, I'll be by your side the whole time. I promise."

~~~~

As they began to walk back to the tribe, clouds had filled the sky and snow began to fall. On the way, Brook showed Moon where she had seen the squirrel and chipmunks were. After a few moments of walking through the forest, the two spotted a small fox rummaging through the snow. It looked as if it were trying to find a meal but when it spotted them, it made a dash towards a near tree and awaited for the ponies to pass. Brook playfully waved at the fox as its head peeked from the side of the tree. When the fox saw her wave, it tilted its head confusingly, trying to figure out what in the world she was doing.

Moon knew the ways around the forest very well. Both from the times he went hunting with his father and the other from when he snuck out every once in a while at night. As the pair passed a fallen tree, Moon recalled the time his father taught him how to use a bow and arrow. Of course since he was a unicorn, it was rather easy for him to learn how to shoot accurately. He could levitate the bow with ease instead of using his hooves. Once him and his father had returned, Moon asked his mother if he could learn how to summon a bow. At first, Brook was reluctant to teach her son but she decided to teach him on one condition, either her or his father had to be with him whenever he used it. Moon agreed and only summoned the bow when his parents were around, usually at least.

"So what do you think the colors of your gems will be?" Brook broke Moon's recollection of his memories.

"Oh that? Well they change to whatever color a unicorn's magic is based around, right?"

"Right, and yours is primarily based around fire. It wasn't too hard to figure that out when you first started to use your magic," the white mare's face grimaced for a moment and she looked up at her mane. "I never thought my mane would grow back after all the times you burned it off."

"Those were all accidents! I swear!" Moon couldn't help but let out a chuckle at his mother's reaction.

"Oh sure, I totally believe you," Brook rolled her eyes playfully. "I was surprised the whole village didn't burn down. You were a little pyromaniac back then. I'm just glad that stage didn't last long."

"Well that's only because you were there to put out the fire," Moon stuck his tongue out while he casted a small flame spell that hovered above his horn. However, Moon suddenly felt freezing water pour onto his head and it caused the stallion to gasp from the cold. He heard Brook's distinctive giggle through his teeth chattering and glared at her.

"You were saying?" Brook innocently smiled at Moon while water was flowing around her horn and into the air. She soon broke out in laughter seeing Moon's expression. "What? At least your mane isn't singed!"

"Speaking of which, your mane looks a little hot," Moon smirked while his horn flashed momentarily, causing Brook's mane to appear on fire.

"Nice try, but I'm not failing for it," Brook gave him a deadpan expression, which caused the flames above her head to disappear. "I should've never taught you that illusion spell, but I did anyway because I'm your mother."

After Moon dried his mane so it wouldn't freeze in the cold weather, the two eventually arrived back into the tribe that was surrounded by fallen trees that protected the inhabitants from the harsh winds. Moon walked behind his mother when they passed a small opening that was left on the outer wall. Glancing around, he saw that the ponies were going on with their daily lives. A group had returned from trading with the neighboring tribe and were placing a bundle of furs near one of the huts that were used for storage. Foals were playing in a small clearing near the nursery as their mothers talked amongst each other, however they still kept an eye on their mischievous offspring. There was also a fire in the center of the village that was big enough to keep burning for hours. The tribe elders were lying next to it as they reminisced on their past while occasionally complaining about the cold weather.

A dark chestnut colored stallion was talking with the group that had returned from trading spotted the two who had just returned from the forest. He was taller than most of the ponies there and had a long black mane that went down past his shoulders. Moon saw him nod to a smaller stallion as he walked towards Moon and his mother. His face lit up when he saw Brook.

"What are you smiling at, you big dummy?" Brook smirked as her mate caught her gaze.

"Yeah, I missed you too," Running Leaves chuckled heavily. He looked over at Moon, who was as tall as him. "I see you found our son, was he hard to find?"

Brook shook her head, "No, of course it was easy for me to find him. A mother's intuition is always right. It's something you'd never understand."

"Let me guess, he was by the brook that's near the bundle of jazberries?" Running Leaves raised an eyebrow with a sly grin.

"Nope, he was totally by the eagle's nest." Brook playfully winked at him. "Anyway, it's time we get his ritual started. It was actually a good thing you found us, I wanted to let you know that Moon can't be disturbed by anything. I'll be with him the whole time, but I wouldn't recommend coming into the den."

Running Leaves nodded briefly. "Alright, do you know how long it will last?"

"Sadly no, it could last a few hours or even a day. It varies with each shaman," Brook nuzzled her mate. "I promise you that when it's finished you'll be the first to know, okay?"

"Okay," Running Leaves returned her nuzzle and then looked at his son. "I'm proud of you, Moon."

"Thanks, dad," Moon smiled at his father. "It means a lot."

"If you need anything before you two start the ceremony, let me know. I'll be helping Creaking Log and Wolf Fang with patching up a few of the huts. Some of the snow broke through the roof and we need to clear it out before nightfall."

"We will, we promise." Brook smiled warmly before Running Leaves started to walk away.

"I love you guys!"

"I love you too!" Both Moon and his mother said at the same time.

~~~~

"Alright, that should be everything we need," Brook walked through the walkway of the medicine den levitating two colorless gems and a bundle of herbs. "I'm going to mix some white willow bark into the mixture. You may not need it because you'll probably be in the trance, but it'll do wonders for you when you wake up."

Moon was sitting on the floor of the den as he watched his mother set the things she was carrying next to a stone bowl that rested above a bundle of sticks. She placed the mixture of herbs into it and began to crush them into a pulp with a small rock. Once she finished, she set the rock aside and started to fill the bowl with a water spell she had casted.

"Now we need it to warm up over the fire," Brook explained while she opened a small hatch on the ceiling. "Moony, can you please light the fire?"

The nervous stallion gave a short nod before he focused his spell onto the bundle of sticks. Within an instant, the sticks were set aflame.

"Thank you," Brook sat down in front of her son. "I'm going to go over what you have to do again before we begin. This is a very precious custom that only happens once a pony is ready to become a shaman." The mare cleared her throat before she proceeded. "First, when the brew is ready you will drink it while I'm reciting the words of our ancestors. The magic that will come from my horn will be a light that will wrap around you and touch the tip of your horn. Then after that, you'll suddenly become unconscious. So in order to prevent you from hurting yourself I want you to lay down. Once you're finally in the spirit world I will begin to perform the ritual by using my magic to place the gems within your horn. It'll take time for them to bond with your horn, but when it's done the gems will turn into a different color, thus showing that the ceremony has been completed. Do you have any questions before we begin?"

"No, I'm ready," Moon sighed heavily while lying down, trying to prepare himself for the unexpected. He was finally going to meet the founders of his tribe, those who had seen the darkest days and those who know about the days yet to come.

"Then let us begin. Take the bowl before you and drink its contents," Brook slowly closed her eyes as her horn began to shimmer before she started to speak.

"Alnahn zii do fin wuth, aal hei gestahdim daar sil wo lost been kiin voth hein onikaan. Gelaad mok wah kos tok wah gevoth voth hei ahst hein fen."

The gems that were embedded into his mother's horn started to brightly shine as a blue light emerged from them, reminding Moon of the sky at night during the winter. As they began to create formations the stallion glanced at the bowl in the fire. Levitating it, he sipped the mixture, which caused his throat to burn. Moon then set the bowl on the floor and watched the beam of light elegantly dance towards him. His heart felt as if it were going to burst from his chest when the light burst forward and touched his horn. The sudden sensation of the immense amount of magic was a surprise to him as it filled his body. However, instead of feeling any discomfort, he only felt a shroud of peace wash over him. Moon's eyes grew heavy while he fell to his side, knocking the bowl to its side. Before his eyes closed, his mother's words rang out in his mind.

"Don't worry, I'll be by your side the whole time. I promise."

Author's Note

First story I've ever written so I'm new to this. Go easy on me. ^^; It's an idea I've had in the making of a Skyrim crossover with Phoenixes instead of dragons. Please let me know how you guys like it and if I need to work on anything! I plan on making this thing HUGE!

Also as for the OCs, all of them are made by me except for a few selected ones. I decided to include OCs that belong to my friends. As they appear, I will let you know who they are owned by.

You can also find my story posted on deviantArt. You can find the first chapter there as well as the other ones I have posted.

http://moonofsouls.deviantart.com/gallery/57467102/Devious-Folder

The Dovah language is owned by Bethesda.