The Fallen Phoenix
"Isn't this exciting, Philomena? The first chance to see a phoenix migration in over 100 years. Oh, I'm so excited," Fluttershy happily exclaimed as she bounced down the trail with Princess Celestia's pet close behind. It cawed in response, obviously pleased for the chance to see more of its own species.
Fluttershy and Philomena made their way to a wide open field a little way from her cottage and the Everfree Forest for a better view of the nocturnal migration. The Princess had asked the pegasus to take her phoenix to join in the viewing of the rare event. Celestia had explained that, while she would have enjoyed seeing the centennial migration, she and Luna were requested to deal with a problem in Manehattan. Fluttershy said that it was no problem, and was more than happy to oblige. She always enjoyed sharing memorable moments with another being, be it her friends, family, or even Angel Bunny.
They set out a checkered picnic blanket to rest on and Fluttershy laid back and looked at the clear evening sky. The weather pegasi had received strict orders to clear the sky and make it their number one priority to keep it that way. Rainbow Dash had ordered a team of 10 pegasi to keep the sky clear and had told the manager of the weather factory to turn off the cloud making machine for the day. Nothing was to obstruct this special occasion.
A faint glow caught Fluttershy's eye, and she turned her head to the left. The sight that met her gaze amazed her beyond words. At least 200 phoenixes were flying several hundred hooves overhead, casting a brilliant light so bright that it might as well have been daylight again. The feathers of the firebirds ranged anywhere from white to deep red, but the majority were yellow, orange, and scarlet. Some seemed to sense they were being watched and would do advanced acrobatics and show off stunts that Rainbow Dash would balk from doing. Others raced at the ground and pulled up just in time, leaving the grass smoldering in the wake of their fiery feathers.
One phoenix in particular stood out among the rest. This one was considerably larger, with a white underside and maroon top. Fluttershy had heard that as phoenixes got older, they would change color to white and get hotter and hotter until they burst into flame, starting their new life cycle. She had seen Philomena do it once before, and was eager to see it happen again in her lifetime, but under a less stressful situation.
Another flash of light caught her eye, and she turned her head, expecting to see a few birds lazily gliding behind, but what Fluttershy saw chilled her to the bone. She saw dozens of large flaming rocks hurtling from the sky, signaling an unexpected meteor shower. No, she thought to herself. Not tonight.
The phoenixes had caught sight of these intruders as well and dived and spiked and swooped in every direction, trying to avoid the rocky missiles. A few birds collided in mid-air and spiraled to the ground in a fiery tornado of flaming feathers. A few others were hit in non-vital spots by bits of rock, and awkwardly flew off. The larger phoenix turned around while still in flight, and gave a mighty flap of his wings in front of him. A shockwave of white-hot flames fanned out, melting at least a dozen meteors, and passing through the remaining phoenixes without harming them.
For a brief moment, Fluttershy thought the birds would make it out alright, but without warning, Philomena beside her screeched loudly, and took flight.
"Philomena! What's wrong? Where are you going?"
The young bird took no notice of the pegasus' screams and flew fast at the bigger firebird. Fluttershy realized what Philomena was trying to do before the other bird did. Despite her efforts, Philomena did not reach the others in time. With a sickening CRUNCH, several larger chunks of rock screamed through the air and slammed in the bigger firebird's head. It gave a screech as its head was blown back by the force. As it shook its head to recover, another meteorite zipped through the air and hit the phoenix directly between the eyes. This time, it didn't make a sound, but the blazing eyes opened wide as the body started to fall down towards the Everfree Forest.
Fluttershy took off for the place the phoenix fell, with Philomena close behind. Since the bird could sense magic at a higher frequency than the pegasus, she took the lead and took Fluttershy deep into the intimidating forest. As she ran, several branches snapped her across the face, leaving small cuts and scrapes, some that were skin-deep and some that oozed red liquid. Philomena had ignited her wings to see in the dark and burn a clear trail for her companion to follow, but some of the branches were too thick to burn completely. A few times a vine would wrap around Fluttershy's hoof and trip her. Luckily none of them turned out to be a hungry monster hiding, so a quick shake and she was off again.
As the two approached the crash site, Philomena turned off her flare and Fluttershy squinted her eyes to try to see. In the sky, the phoenixes light was dulled slightly, but up close, it was like looking into the sun on a hot day. And it felt that way, too. Fluttershy felt like she was breathing in the fumes of a roaring fireplace out of the chimney. As she drew a breath and advanced closer, the giant head turned and an eye the size of Princess Celestia focused on her. A deep growling was felt in the ground and the firebird let out a blast of flames, incinerating the already smoldering remains of trees in the vicinity. Fluttershy winced and closed her eyes hard, knowing she had made a mistake and was going to pay for it with her life. When she felt nothing but continued to hear the sound of burning trees, she opened her eyes to find Philomena's wings spread in front of her, protecting her from the deadly flames.
"Philomena..." Fluttershy whispered.
Philomena turned her head and smiled as best as she could while still having a beak. Fluttershy moved to where she could see the bird's front and was amazed to see that it was unharmed. Apparently phoenix flames didn't affect each other.
The large phoenix watched warily as Fluttershy got up and made her way over. By now, its flames were weak and its body visible underneath. Legend had it than when a larger phoenix was dying, it would lose its heat control as it imploded to gain enough heat in a concentrated area to burn the bird to ashes and start anew. Fluttershy frantically tried to figure out what to do as the rest of the firebird’s flames were extinguished by a breeze, and the red feathered body lay before her. The bird spread its wing upward; an invitation to approach. Fluttershy hesitantly neared and the bird lowered its large head down to the smaller pegasus. As she watched, one eye welled up and a pony-sized tear fell and splashed across Fluttershy. She heard a faint sizzle and looked at her body. The magic in the phoenix’s tear had healed her cuts and scrapes.
“Thank you,” Fluttershy said and stepped away.
There was a small flash before her sight was completely obscured by a much stronger white light. When her vision returned a few moments later, she saw a few flames licking at the remains of a large ash pile.
At that moment, the breeze that had extinguished the phoenix’s fire picked up, blowing ash out of the forest and into the air. Fluttershy gasped, realizing that the gust was carrying away the firebird’s body. She tried to divert the air around the pile, but the wind picked up speed, blowing more of the deceased bird’s remains away.
This can’t be happening, it just can’t, Fluttershy thought as she flew through the air and tried to grab as much of the ash as possible. She heard phoenixes couldn’t be reborn if most of their ashes were lost. Philomena just watched as the pile got smaller and smaller as the wind continued its relentless torrent. In a matter of minutes, the mountain of ash was reduced to a small pile, similar to Philomena’s when she restarted her life.
A pain in Fluttershy’s chest became apparent. She had felt this when Philomena had burst into flame. It was intense fear from being unable to save an animal from death. She collapsed to the ground, sobs racking her body. Philomena hopped over and put a wing over the crying form before her. Fluttershy pulled herself together as she felt the warm wing on her back. She wiped her nose with a hoof and drew in a shaky breath.
“You’re right, Philomena. Even though I don’t like to admit it, it’s impossible to save everything and everything dies eventually. I just need to accept it.”
She cleared her throat and motioned to the phoenix to follow her. She glanced at the ash pile once more before starting to head out of the forest, with Philomena right behind her. But perhaps, if she had watched for a few seconds longer, she would have seen the pile shift as a tiny head emerged and an even tinier eye open, as a fierce fire burned behind it.
The End
Author's Note
Just a little idea that came to me while listening to Firebird by Dreamtale. Being Russian, I know a lot about phoenixes, but decided to add some alternative lore for fun.
