Moonlight

A blasting wind pelted Mooncatcher's coat, a blizzard had suddenly appeard as if it came out of no where. The stallion's teeth chattered ferociously as he slowly marched on through the snow. "I need to find a place to rest..." he thought to himself. Moon could hardly see even a few hooflengths away from him.

The stallion's hoof gave way when he pressed his weight on it, causing him to fall on his muzzle into the cold powder. Pain shot through his shoulder as he realized that he accidentally stepped into a burrow. Lifting his head and trying to regain his posture, an intense flash of red appeared in front of him. Moon couldn't clearly see what had caused the bright flash due to the blizzard disrupting his field of vision, but soon after the red flash was accompanied by a turquoise light that looked as if it were ice.

"What is that?" The unicorn mumbled to himself as he shook his hoof, squinting to see if he could make out what was causing the flashes.

Suddenly a loud screech filled the air, Moon's eyes widened when he saw a flaming object breach through the blinding snow. The object flew over his head and crashed into the ground. Mooncatcher quickly turned to see what it was, but within an instant, he recognized what it was. It was a Phoenix.

"Why is there a Phoenix all the way out here?!" Moon felt his heartbeat quicken rapidly when he saw it stare at him as it regained its footing. The Phoenix screeched loudly at the stallion, spreading its enormous wings that were aflame. A bone chilling neigh sounded behind Moon, causing the hairs to stand on his back while he turned slowly to see what had created the noise. Within the blowing winds, a pair of glowing white eyes appeared. A bright flash appeared behind it to reveal that it was a Windigo, its glare caused Mooncatcher to freeze where he stood.

The Phoenix screeched behind Moon once again, this time as it flew over the unicorn's head and landed in front of him. It spread its wings and waved them towards the Windigo, sending a large flame hurling towards its icy adversary. However, before it struck the Windigo, the creature dispersed into thin air as it turned into snow. Moon could see the Phoenix was surprised while it glanced around quickly, trying to discover where the Windigo disappeared to.

Before both Moon and the Phoenix realized it, the Windigo charged directly into the firey bird, knocking it over onto its side while the Windigo stood over it. The Phoenix struggled beneath the creature's weight, shooting fire directly into its face. Before the flame struck the Windigo's face, it summoned a wall of ice so the flames would miss its target completely. The Windigo then slammed its hoof into the Phoenix's throat, causing the fire to end while the bird gasped for air. Mooncatcher could see the fear filling the Phoenix's eyes as its gaze met the Windigo's chilling, heartless stare. The large bird flapped its wings in a panic, trying to break free from the Windigo's grip.

Blowing in disapproval, the Windigo created two spikes of ice out of the thin air around it. Its stare not wavering from the Phoenix's as it quickly shot the giant spears of ice into the bird's wings. A blood chilling shriek broke through the air as the Phoenix laid there in the snow, its wings lying still while its chest heaved in pain. Moon also felt a sharp, piercing pain fill his shoulders, which caused the stallion to fall onto his side in agony. His cry of pain echoed with the Phoenix lying in front of him.

A warm liquid seeped underneath Moon's fur while he panted, soon the snow beneath him was stained red from his blood. Mooncatcher attempted to move, but to no avail, his body felt numb and limp. All the stallion could do was watch the two beings in front of him stare at one another as time seemed to slow down. Moon saw the Windigo summon another ice spike from thin air, he could see the snow spiraling and forming into hard ice.

The Windigo lowered itself down to where its muzzle was almost touching the Phoenix's beak. It blew out, lightly covering the feathers on the Phoenix's face with small ice particles while it levitated the spike of ice over the bird's chest. Mooncatcher felt his adrenaline pumping through his body, he tried to call out to catch the Windigo's attention so the Phoenix could have a moment to defend itself from its attacker. However only a weak whimper escaped his frozen lips.

Within an instant, the Windigo thrusted the ice spike into the Phoenix's chest, piercing its heart. Moon felt a sharp pain fill his heart at the same time that was soon followed by a wrenching sensation as he watched the Windigo twist the spear deeper into the Phoenix's chest . He felt the air escape from his lungs as his vision began to fade away. As his eyes slowly closed, Mooncatcher watched the Windigo's body turn to snow while the breeze carried it away into the blizzard.

~~~~

Mooncatcher awoke with a sudden gasp, he grabbed his chest while his eyes darted around in distress. It was only a nightmare.

"Oh thank the Phoenoc," the young shaman sighed in relief while he looked up into the sky.

Mooncatcher glimpsed over at the horizon, seeing if the sun had risen yet. It had been two days since he left his tribe to begin his journey. Within another day, he would have finally reached the mountain and begin his training to hone his power of the Phoenix. The Phoenoc had blessed him with clear weather and safe travels for the past two days. This was the only time he had this nightmare, so the stallion decided to push it out of his mind while he began to pack his belongings before he continued his journey. However the nightmare still haunted his mind.

Once he had finished, Mooncatcher put the fire out. The first night Moon had set up camp, he decided to try out his magic to see if it had changed it all, it definitely had. The fire within him had grown and he felt as if he could cast any type of spell without tiring as quickly.

"There we go, now it's back on the road," Mooncatcher yawned slightly while he stretched, getting his muscles ready for the final trek before he had to climb the mountain. The stallion could actually see the mountain off in the distance, it was the tallest one that he had ever seen before. "Oh Laas... why did it have to be so tall?"

~~~~

The sun had now reached its peak, it shined straight above Moon, telling him that it was about midday. The unicorn was walking through a large forest that had been rather quiet then how the wilderness was for the past few days he was walking through it. The only thing Mooncatcher could hear was the soft wind blowing past the bare tree limbs. Soon, the sound of a river tickled the stallion's ears that he guessed was just over a small hill in front of him. He decided that it'd be a nice place to take a small break and to drink whatever he needed.

As Moon made his way over the small hill, the river was now within sight. Stones had covered the shore while the flowing water was so clear, Moon could see the trout swimming beneath the water's surface. Mooncatcher soon made his way down to the shore, the smooth stones shifting beneath his hooves while he levitated his satchel onto the ground.

The freezing water was the best Moon had ever tasted in his entire life. It's pure taste quenched his thirst as he gulped down mouthfuls of the life giving liquid. Once the unicorn had his fill, he then walked into the river. He let out a small gasp when he felt the cold seep through his fur but continued to walk until the water was flowing beneath his belly. Inhaling, Moon held his breath before he dunked his entire head underwater. The flowing water filled his ears as he exhaled, watching the bubbles flow upward past his muzzle.

Mooncatcher lifted his head out of the water and took a breath of air, the cold filled his lungs. The young stallion felt fully awake now while he made his way out of the river. His fur was weighed down from the water, he soon shook his entire body to dry himself off. Once he shook off as much water as he could, Mooncatcher concentrated his magic, casting a small fire spell and ran the flames over his fur to dry himself off completely. Over the years of being his mother's apprentice, she had taught Moon how to control the temperature of his flames that he casted. Making it perfect for him to be able to keep warm no matter how cold the winter was.

"Much better," Moon smiled to himself while he walked back over to his satchel.

Upon opening it, Mooncatcher levitated out a hoofful of snowberries that he had found while on his journey. He put the red berries into his mouth and chewed them, enjoying their sweet yet slightly bitter taste. It was a nice change to eat these instead of eating the plain grass that covered the forest floor. Not to mention having to dig through the snow to even find a suitable patch of grass that could fill him up.

The tan unicorn laid down next to his satchel, watching the trout swimming through the river. Soon, the trout began to leap out of the water, causing a loud splash whenever they landed. Moon chuckled to himself while the trout continuously leapt into the air. He thought that it was funny how they were meant to live in the water, but even they had a little fun by flying into the sky.

Suddenly, a loud crash startled Mooncatcher. He quickly jumped to his hooves and tried to discover where the source of the noise came from. It sounded as if it was lightning cracking across the sky, but Moon knew otherwise, it was a clear day.

A grey mare came crashing through the trees behind Mooncatcher and he could see that she was afraid. She was an earth pony with a black mane and red eyes. She was wearing some type of armor that was made of worn leather. When she had noticed Mooncatcher, the mare quickly dashed towards him.

"Please! You have to help me!" The mare panted as her hoof slipped somewhat underneath the smooth rocks.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Mooncatcher tilted his head curiously at the sudden interruption.

"No time to explain!" She quickly dug her hoof into a saddlebag that was near her hip. The earth pony pulled out a small jeweled necklace and threw at Moon. "Here! It's yours!"

Before Mooncatcher had anytime to react, the necklace had fell down on his horn and it hit him in between his eyes. "I don't understand, what is wrong-?"

"There she is!" A small group of armored ponies bursted through the treeline where the mare had came from. Their armor was made of bronze and had the emblem of a sun engraved into the front of their helmets. "Halt! By the name of Celestia, you both are under arrest for stealing jewelry from a caravan under our protection!"

Moon felt his heart stop while his eyes widened. "Under arrest?! What are you talking about! I don't even know this pony!"

The words Mooncatcher shouted were simply ignored, because soon the group of ponies were charging towards him and the mare he just met. The earth pony that was actually a thief looked around in a panic and quickly made a break for the river. However one of the armored ponies was a pegasus and attacked her from the air, sending them both flying into the river. Moon felt a brute force that had the same power of a tree knocking into his shoulder. He smacked into the ground with a loud thud and grit his teeth when the rocks underneath him pierced his shoulder.

"What are you doing?! I didn't steal anything!" Mooncatcher hissed at the pony who tackled him, a large white stallion that towered over Moon.

"Oh really then? Well what are the odds of a pony traveling out here all by himself?" The stallion scuffed at Moon. "Even if you aren't a part of that thief's scheme, you're still considered an enemy of the Celestial Empire!"

"Celestial Empire?! I don't even know what the hell that is! I'm just a traveler!"

"Um... Captain, what if he's telling the truth?" A brown unicorn walked up behind the white stallion. She had a small frame compared to the other ponies there and her blue eyes were actually filled with concern. "You remember how General Ironwall informed us that there were native ponies living out in the wilderness of Moonlight."

"Yes, but then how you would you explain the gems that are in this piece of dirt's horn?" The captain huffed loudly as he shoved Moon's horn into the ground, sending a sharp pain throughout Moon's body. "Or he could be a spy for the Lunar Republic, disguised as a simple native of this land! You know all ponies who live here are the scum of the earth anyway! They don't even know of Her Majesty's grace! If it weren't for her, the sun wouldn't even rise!"

"But, Captain-"

"Enough! We're taking him in as a prisoner!" The white stallion barked over the brown unicorn, causing her to cower slightly.

Mooncatcher quickly casted a flame spell that ignited the stallion's hoof that was standing over him, causing him the howl in pain. When Moon felt the weight over him lift away, the shaman rushed to his hooves and tried to flee. However when he did, the smooth rocks slipped out from underneath his hooves and he tripped back onto the ground. Before he could regain himself, he felt a blunt force strike him on the side of his temple. His vision blurred while his consciousness faded in and out briefly. The sound of the river filled his ears once more before he saw a hulking figure standing over him.

"He'll be executed with the rest of the prisoners..." the figure above him spoke deeply as it raised its hoof over Moon's head. It then slammed its hoof into Moon's head, knocking the stallion unconscious.