Moonlight

"Ugh, my head," Mooncatcher's eyes flickered as he regained consciousness. "Is this the spirit world?"

The last thing he remembered was the light that had struck his horn while him and his mother were performing the ceremony. Now the stallion was lying in the middle of a clearing. It looked as if the seasons had changed overnight, the grass was a soft green that tickled at Moon's stomach while a faint breeze carried the scent of the sweetest flowers that only bloomed during the spring. Birds chirped happily among the fully grown oak trees that were tightly scattered next to each other. Mooncatcher's ears perked up when he heard the distinctive cooing of a dove. Being in this place made an overwhelming amount of peace wash over the unicorn and he felt as if he was in total bliss.

"We have been waiting for you, young shaman," a soft voice that sounded like a mare had arisen from behind Moon. Her tone sounded so heavenly like it was carried by the wind.

Moon rose to his hooves and turned to face the pony. It was a cream colored unicorn with a blonde mane. Her horn was adorned with two clear gems and she had three feathers in her mane. The outer feathers were white and in the center were colored a calming yellow. The mare's fur gently flowed as if there was a constant breeze surrounding her. On her flank, there was a cutie mark of a pair of leaves being blown by the wind.

"Do not be afraid, I am Whispering Breeze," a warming smile spread across her face as she began to walk towards Mooncatcher. "It is a blessing to finally meet the one who bears the soul of the Phoenoc. We have awaited your arrival for many seasons." The mare was now near Moon and sat down next to him in the grass. "Please, sit."

Moon nodded as he lowered himself next to the shaman. He could feel his fur that was facing her being gently caressed by a breeze that apparently was being created from her body. He could feel her aura, it was light and calming like the air around them. He had never seen a shaman with their element being based off the air, he only heard about them from the stories the tribal elders would tell when he was a small colt.

"Are you here to tell me about why I was born with this?" Moon asked while he raised his left hoof towards the mare.

"Yes," Breeze gently took Moon's hoof into her own and began to gently trace the marking with her other hoof, tickling his fur. She studied it patiently with her emerald green eyes and then spoke. "You will determine the fate of this land, as well as harsh trials will be thrown upon you and your tribe."

"Wait, what do you mean by determining the fate of this land?" Moon tilted his head as anxiety began to emerge in his voice. "Do you mean that we're going to have a harsh year with crops or worse?"

"No, war is coming, you must learn to hone your true power that resides within you and save your tribe." Breeze sighed heavily, Moon could see that sorrow was filling behind her green eyes. "Invaders from foreign lands gather together to claim our home for their own gain. They are at war with a pony who bestowed herself the title of Princess Luna. She claims leadership over our lands, her enemies disagree and are willing to fight over who it truly belongs to."

Moon paused for a moment, he had heard of this Princess Luna once before. A scouting party had returned to his tribe, informing the chief about a group of heavily armed ponies bearing a flag with a symbol of the moon in the center. One of the guards were talking about how Princess Luna wanted the extra defenses along their trade routes. "What about the other tribes? Are they in any danger?"

"Yes," Breeze stopped tracing her hoof along his hoof and stared into Moon's eyes. Her soft voice was filled with sorrow. "You are the only hope for this land. The threat spreads even farther to the Northern realm, where the Krystelletines dwell."

The Krystelletines were a group of ponies that were created when the first ancestors of Moon's tribe were created. The Windigos had helped the Phoenoc form the lands around them, creating the snow, the ice, and the glaciers that filled the north. Once they had finished, the two species wanted to create something that was living and could have feelings like them. So they decided to create the ponies. However, both had different views on how the ponies should be created. The Phoenoc believed that ponies should be blessed with their abilites, the gift of flight, magic, and strength. While the Windigos believed that ponies shouldn't have the ablities of flight or magic, but instead to have the strength of the land around them. That and they should be kept under a strict code of living in order to keep their bloodlines pure.

"But this doesn't even make any sense!" Moon shook his head frantically and took his hoof away from Breeze. "The Windigos should be able to protect the Frosts! The same goes for the Phoenoc! Shouldn't they protect us?!" The stallion asked the former shaman in disbelief.

"It's not that simple," Breeze lowered her hooves and her eyes focused on Moon. "Yes, the Windigos will be able to protect the Frosts, however it is much different for us." She sighed as she continued. "Do you know the truth behind what happened after our creation?"

"Yeah, that once all four Phoenoc guided each tribe to their home, they created smaller Phoenixes to watch over us as they returned to ash to rest, right?" Moon tilted his head in confusion. "What is this mare getting at?" He asked himself.

"Somewhat right. There were actually five Phoenoc."

Mooncatcher's ears quickly perked up while his eyes fixed onto Breeze. "What?"

"Yes, there are five," Breeze nodded slowly as she continued. "You already know the four, Sun, Water, Earth, and Air. The fifth Phoenoc though, is known as Death, or Dinok, in their language. It was responsible for bringing death into this world. For all living things cannot live forever. That is not even a gift that our creators wanted to bless us with. " The mare shifted slightly. "Dinok felt as if he were above the other Phoenoc, even his counterpart, Life."

"Wait, wouldn't that mean there are a total of six Phoenoc then?"

"No, in their tongue, his name was Laas, however you already know him as the Sun," Whispering Breeze flicked her blonde tail around her hooves. "With fire, there is life, with life, there is birth. As every Phoenix dies, it turns to ash. It doesn't matter which type of Phoenix it is, even the Water Phoenixes turn to ash."

Moon silently paid attention to her as she spoke on.

"Now, back onto what I was saying before. Dinok's mind was filled with thoughts that he were the one who was the most powerful of all his brothers and sisters. He had the power to take life from anything he wished and it made him crave to rule over his siblings as well as the ponies. However they did not see eye to eye with their brother, so they banded together to defeat him. It was easy for them to overcome him. In the end, Laas sealed him into the earth behind a barrier. Never allowing him to break free. Once he had finished, Laas was nearing the end of his life cycle and told his siblings that one day, Dinok would return and take control of the Phoenixes in the world, using them for his destruction. Laas foretold of a day where a pony would be born with the soul of a true Phoenoc. That pony would help them destroy the evil that would fill the land. You, are that pony, Mooncatcher. You, are the Phoenixborn."

The words that this pony spoke, his ancestor, had made Moon felt sick to his stomach. He didn't expect to hear that the fate of the world rested on his shoulders. He didn't even want to be held responsible for something that could end the entire world. Moon knew that if he didn't, countless of lives would be lost because of him, even his parents. The young stallion breathed slowly and closed his eyes, trying to calm himself down.

"I know this isn't something that you wished to have been born with," Moon flinched slightly when he felt a warm breath tickle the inside of his ear. "I can only imagine the thoughts spinning through your mind. However our creators have entrusted you with this destiny."

"But I'm just a pony! How can I even defeat something that will end the entire world?!" Moon snapped at his ancestor. "The deadliest thing I can cast is a simple fire spell! I'm not a Phoenix!"

"But you are," Breeze sat down in front of him. "There is a mountain to the north, far beyond our territory that borders the Krystelletine lands. It will take you at least a three day journey to arrive. Inside are ponies outside our lands that have studied the way of the Phoenoc and Windigos for their entire life. Go to them, and they will teach you to hone the true power within your soul. They'll know you are coming."

"How will they know I'm coming though?"

"Let me see your hoof," Breeze placed her hoof in front of him.

Mooncatcher slowly placed his hoof into hers, waiting to see what she would do. He noticed that Whispering Breeze began to speak in a different tongue that he couldn't understand. The stallion knew that it was the Voice of the Phoenoc, but he hadn't learned to speak it yet. Suddenly magic had burst from the gems in Whipsering Breeze's horn, the beams of light danced around his hoof as she continued to chant.

"Alok nol fin kii, gorann Phoenoc. Kos orkiin nawah daar lein." Breeze started to chant louder as her magic started to form above the marking on his hoof. The mare immediately opened her eyes to revel that they were glowing a bright white. It had caught Moon off guard when he felt an intense burning in his hoof, as if it were on fire. Gasping in pain, the unicorn tried to snatch his hoof away but failed. His hoof was being grasped in Breeze's magic and the pain intensified as he felt it shoot into his chest. Moon could literally feel his insides burning from the fire within. The unicorn opened his mouth to yell in pain, but instead only smoke filled the air in place of his voice. He could feel the inside of his lungs fill with fire.

A sudden burst of fire shot into the sky from Moon's horn, causing the trees around them to catch on fire. The pain that filled his entire body vanished within an instant and the young stallion fell to the ground panting in pain. The grass around him was singed as his chest heaved up and down. Whispering Breeze was no longer beside him, as if she vanished into thin air. Moon glanced at his left hoof and saw that the marking on his hoof that was once black, was now on fire. However the fur surrounding the mark wasn't even singed. He placed his other hoof over the mark and saw the fire form around his arm. The stallion felt no pain from the fire, only its warm kiss as it caressed his tan fur.

Rising to his hooves, the young shaman glanced around to see the once green and healthy forest he had first seen was now a forest of fire. He looked in amazement while the smoke filled the sky, a pang of guilt struck him for doing this to the forest, but then a calming breeze blew past him.

"With fire, comes new life. The forest will grow again, young shaman. It will be grow even bigger than it was before, thanks to you..."