Fluttershy was watering her plants and enjoying a clear sunny day. She didn't have too much to do, but she decided to take care of it all earlier. Now she had the rest of the day to just relax.
Crack! Snap!
But then Fluttershy heard a sound come from the Everfree Forest and turned her head.
She saw Lazarus emerge from the shadows of the trees and smiled at him.
"Good afternoon, Lazarus." Fluttershy said, approaching the dragon, "What brings you here?"
"Hello, Fluttershy." He greeted, lowering himself down to allow her to hug his snout, "I want to show you something."
"What?"
"Something beautiful."
Lazarus raised his head back to it's normal position and turned toward the forest, motioning for her to get on his back. Feeling curious, Fluttershy flew up and landed between his shoulders.
"Hold on." Lazarus said, before pushing off the ground and into the air.
They flew above the treetops and further into the Everfree Forest than Fluttershy had ever gone before. After what felt like a short time, she saw a very large opening in the trees. At first, Fluttershy thought it was a big clearing, but as they got closer, she realized that it was actually a crater that was almost the size of Ponyville.
"Welcome to the Cradle of the Everfree, Fluttershy." Lazarus said as he descended and landed, allowing her to get down from his back.
"The...what?" She replied, looking down into the mouth of the massive crater in awe.
"The Cradle of the Everfree. This is where most of the animals of the forest are born."
Suddenly Fluttershy's eyes widened as those words entered her ears. She turned her head and looked back at Lazarus.
"Really?!" She squeaked, nearly jumping in excitement.
"Yes." Lazarus replied calmly, "Actually, that's why I brought you here today. There some phoenix eggs that are supposed to hatch in a few days, but I could use some help counting them."
"YES!" Fluttershy exclaimed joyously, but quickly recollected her emotions and blushed, "Um, I mean, I could help you with that."
"Then, by all means, you lead and I'll follow."
There were two ways to get down to the center, either by flying or taking the natural switchback path that was formed in the wall. But since Fluttershy was being controlled by her excitement to see phoenix eggs, she decided to fly down.
In the center was a group of trees that looked a little different than the ones that normally grew in the Everfree. For instance, they were a brighter colour and had bigger leaves, the trunks were as wide around as Fluttershy's cottage and they were three times taller. As they got closer, Fluttershy could see several nests, with fire coloured eggs, sitting soundly on some of the branches. Several of the adults guarding the nests, turned their heads and watched as they approached.
Landing near one of the trees, Fluttershy was greeted by an adult phoenix that had flown down from one of the nests.
"Hello." Fluttershy said, smiling at the brightly coloured bird.
The phoenix responded by opening it's wings and shaking it's feathers, causing small flames to flicker. This confused Fluttershy because she had never seen such a movement.
"Well," Lazarus said, nudging Fluttershy gently with a claw, "aren't you going to greet her back?"
"I just did." Fluttershy replied.
"No. I mean, greet her how she greeted you."
"What?"
Fluttershy looked back at Lazarus, still a little confused by the phoenix's behavior.
"Just open your wings and shake your feathers." He explained.
Looking back at the phoenix, Fluttershy opened her wings and shook her feathers. Upon doing so, the phoenix walked up and gently ran her beak along Fluttershy's neck, cooing softly.
"Hehe, she likes you." Lazarus said, as the phoenix stepped away from Fluttershy and greeted him.
However, Lazarus responded differently, than Fluttershy had. Since he had no wings, Lazarus breathed small blue flames out of the sides of his mouth.
After the flames had ended, he lowered his head down and the phoenix ran her beak along his chin, cooing gently, just like she had for Fluttershy.
"Why did she still approach you, even though you don't have wings?" Fluttershy asked, watching the phoenix.
"To a phoenix," Lazarus explained, "in doesn't matter if it's flames or feathers you use when you're greeting them. As long as you show the same respect."
In a way, the phoenix that Fluttershy was watching, looked almost exactly like Philomena, Celestia's pet. But then again, this phoenix was slightly smaller than her.
Fluttershy smiled, before a thought entered her mind, "But I thought phoenixes were afraid of dragons. At least, that's what I was told by Twilight, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash."
"Actually," Lazarus began, "phoenixes are very friendly. They'll only act hostile or scared when they're provoked."
"So, they won't mind if we're here to look at their eggs?"
"You can look, just don't touch. Parents will protect their young, no matter the species... Or the cost."
Fluttershy knew what the last part of that statement meant, but quickly changed subjects in order to keep Lazarus cheerful.
"Do they all have names?" She asked, looking up at the various nests, "The phoenixes."
"Of course they do." Lazarus replied, after the phoenix faced her again, "But I can't remember all of them."
"Well, what about this one?"
Lazarus looked down at the phoenix standing between them.
"Her name is Ashes. She's my favorite and the most social out of the rest. That's why she's the only one to openly greet us."
They watched as Ashes spread her wings and flew back up to a nest. But there was something different about her nest compared to the others.
Looking from one nest to the next, Fluttershy saw that most of them had two parents, while Ashes was by herself.
"Where's her mate?" She asked, pointing up to the nest.
Lazarus looked up at the lone phoenix.
"He's probably out looking for food." Lazarus replied, "Phoenixes don't always hunt together. But there will be one scouting an area, they're smart that way. Plus, they're very good at communicating."
Just then, they saw another phoenix fly up to Ashes and greet her.
"Now that all the adults are accounted for," Lazarus said, "let's have a look at their eggs."
"Accounted for?" Fluttershy asked, "But we haven't even started yet."
"I did when we got down here. Now we move on to the eggs."
Shaking her head and smiling, Fluttershy flew up to a nest and saw six eggs in it. And, like Lazarus had said, the parents weren't bothered.
Meanwhile, at Twilight's castle, a unicorn mare walked casually through the halls, not caring whether or not if she was seen.
"Hey, Starlight." Spike said to the mare, "Are you lost again?"
"No." She replied, raising an eyebrow, "I'm going to the throne room."
"How about that, so am I. Princess Cadence and Shining Armor are coming out for their visit."
"Good for them."
"Yeah. They even brought their daughter, Flurry Heart, with them. I guess Sunburst was too busy to come along, or something."
Starlight's ears perked up.
"Flurry Heart?" She said with some interest.
"Yeah." Spike replied, walking past her, "Come on, they should be here soon."
Rolling her eyes and following the small dragon, Starlight continued down the halls as her eyes lightly glowed green. Spike hadn't noticed, which made a smirk cross the unicorn's face.
Soon they reached the throne room and Spike opened the door. As they entered, they saw Twilight talking with Princess Cadence and Shining Armor. A baby, cradled in her mother's hooves, giggled and squirmed lightly as they approached.
"Hey, you two." Twilight said, turning her attention and greeting them.
"Hi, Twilight." Spike replied and looked at the Crystal Family, "How have you been?"
The two parents smiled at them, while their baby tried to reach out and touch Spike.
"We're doing fine, thank you." Cadence said, walking closer so her daughter could touch Spike's head.
Flurry Heart reached out a hoof and lightly tapped the top of the baby dragon's head, which he didn't mind. To them, it was cute to watch. But for Starlight, it was strange. Not because it was a baby pony wanting to play with a baby dragon, but because it was a baby alicorn that she was looking at.
Shining Armor walked up to stand beside his wife.
"Your friend, Sunburst, has been a great help." He said, gently stroking Flurry's head, "He sends his regards."
"Um, thanks." Starlight replied, still fixated on the small alicorn.
Taking notice in the unicorn's interest, Cadence wrapped Flurry Heart in her magic and levitated her over to Starlight.
"Would you like to hold her?" She asked.
"Um..." Starlight stammered, staring at the baby.
Flurry Heart cooed and giggled, trying to reach out to touch her.
Hesitantly, Starlight took hold of the baby and held her in one of her forelegs.
"Actually," Cadence continued, "could you watch her for a while? We have some things to talk about."
"Sure..." The unicorn said hesitantly, putting on a fake smile, "I'll take care of her."
"Perfect."
Then she turned her attention to Spike.
"Could you help me get some books together, Spike?" Cadence asked in a sweet voice, "Preferably, some on historic artifacts?"
"Sure thing." Spike replied, pointing the way to the library, "Right this way."
Following them out of the throne room, Starlight closed the door behind her, with Flurry Heart still cradled in her foreleg. After, Cadence had kissed her daughter, both Spike and her made their way towards the library. Waiting until they were out of sight, the unicorn wrapped the baby in her magic, which glowed an eerie green. To her surprise, Flurry Heart started to drift to sleep as she was suspended in midair. This caused a twisted smile to appear on Starlight's face as an idea entered her mind.
"Oh yes," she chuckled quietly as she exited the castle, "I'll take good care of you."
She crept quietly through the town, doing her best to stay hidden and unnoticed. But since it wasn't a busy day, making her way to where she was going was easy. Or, at least, halfway to where she was going.
"I know just what to do with you." Starlight said, as the halfway point of her journey got closer.
Soon she was standing at the edge of the Everfree Forest. Looking around to make sure that nopony had seen her, Starlight entered the dense forest, with Flurry Heart in tow. She kept a watchful eye on her surroundings and an ear out for differences in the trees. But one thing was for certain, the Everfree Forest was no place for a baby filly, even if she is an alicorn. And where they currently were heading was one of the worst places.
After a few minutes of trotting through the woods, Starlight entered a small clearing that had bones and fresh animal tracks running through it.
"This will do nicely." She grinned, placing the sleeping baby on a bed of leaves, "Good bye, little princess."
Her eyes glowed sickly green as she turned and started to leave. As she got further away, Starlight could hear the sound of the baby alicorn waking up and crying. Shortly after, the sound faded away and Starlight trotted proudly out of the forest.
"She got away from me..." She rehearsed, putting together a lie, "...the last time I saw her..."
But she was unaware of the fact that she had been seen. Not by a pony, but by two crows who had watched her enter the forest with a baby. And watched her leave by herself.
Lazarus and Fluttershy were just finishing up with the eggs, when the sun started to go down.
"Eighty-three." Fluttershy said, flying back to Lazarus, "On my end, anyway."
"I counted ninety-five." Lazarus replied, smiling at her, "So, in total, that's one hundred and seventy-eight. That's a very good way to start a generation."
Some of the phoenixes were settling in for the night, while others spread out along the branches. Fluttershy didn't need to ask what they were up to, because she had seen such behavior before.
In some species of birds, whenever their nests are clustered together, several adults will stay in their nests, while others kept a lookout for danger.
"Alright," Lazarus said, giving a single nod, "let's go."
Fluttershy started to turn towards him, but stopped when she saw something.
Next to one of the trees, hidden under a small pile of leaves, she saw a single flame coloured egg. Approaching it, Fluttershy thought that she had seen it move. Lazarus noticed too and watched as Fluttershy carefully extracted the egg from it's hiding place.
"Why are you alone?" She said, holding the egg in her hooves.
She flew up to the nests and showed the adults the egg, wanting to return it to it's home. However, every adult that she showed, either shrugged or shook their heads, refusing to take in the egg.
Looking over at Lazarus, Fluttershy had a worried expression on her face.
"None of them want it." She said, looking at the egg, "And I can't just leave it."
Lazarus raised a claw to his chin, pondering their options. Then an idea came to him. One that would ensure the safety of the egg, without going around and looking for the parent that had abandoned it.
"Then," he said, "maybe you could take it, Fluttershy."
"What?" Fluttershy asked, looking at the egg, "Why?"
"Because there's a good chance that the parents either abandoned it and want nothing to do with it. Or it rolled out of a nest and the parents believe that it might have damaged the little one inside. But as you can see, there doesn't appear to be any cracks or imperfection on the shell."
"But-"
Just then, Fluttershy felt the egg twitch in her hooves. She nearly dropped it, but held still as the egg started to move.
Crack.
Peep, peep.
The top of the egg cracked and popped off, revealing a small, cute, and brightly coloured baby phoenix. It looked at Fluttershy and peeped quietly, but loud enough that most of the adults, except for the ones keeping watch, were looking at her.
"Well, someone's early." Lazarus said, smiling at them.
The little phoenix broke the rest of it's shell and nuzzled Fluttershy's neck. Then it turned around and saw the large dragon starring back at it.
EEEPP!!!
The baby phoenix let out a terrified squeak and dove into Fluttershy's hair, trying to hide.
"Oh, don't worry, little one." Fluttershy cooed, coaxing the hatchling out of her mane, "He won't hurt you."
The baby phoenix poked it's head out of the pink hair and cautiously stepped onto her back. Lazarus, however, didn't approach them, as to not scare it anymore than he already had.
"Now who do you belong to?" Fluttershy said, looking at the nests again.
"I think he belongs to you now." Lazarus grinned.
"No he doesn't. He should be with other phoenixes, not me."
"True, but you're the first thing he saw. Plus, he nuzzled your neck, which means that he believes that you're his mother."
The hatchling nuzzled her again. This made Fluttershy's heart melt a little as she brought a hoof up to him. The phoenix walked onto her hoof and they looked at each other.
"I suppose I could..." Fluttershy said, slowly accepting the role and smiling at the hatchling, "Oh, you're just too cute to refuse."
"In that case," Lazarus continued, "you should give him a name."
Fluttershy thought for a moment, sifting through the various names that entered her mind.
"Would you mind," she said, after a moment, "if I named him after you."
"I think you should choose something else." The dragon said, "It might get confusing if both of us have the same name."
"Then... How does 'Pyro' sound?"
Rolling the idea in his mind, Lazarus smiled and nodded in approval, as did the hatchling.
By this time, the moon was illuminating the sky and the other phoenixes were beginning to fall asleep. Both Lazarus and Fluttershy, with the baby phoenix on her back, made their way out of the Cradle of the Everfree. As usual the forest was very dark and groaned with strange sounds. But since Fluttershy was traveling with a full-grown dragon, she wasn't as concerned with the forest as she used to be.
Caw! Caw, caw!
They heard the sound of a crow in the trees, which made Lazarus abruptly stop. Fluttershy stopped to listen to the sound as well. They both knew that it was a message, but what the message carried, made Fluttershy's heart thump wildly in her chest.
"You found a what?!" Lazarus called, sounding very concerned, "Where?!"
Caw!
Fluttershy watched as Lazarus' eyes widened in horror, after hearing the crow respond. She didn't know where the "Boneyard" was, but she knew very well what the name entitled.
"Fluttershy," Lazarus said, lowering himself down, "get on."
Without hesitating, Fluttershy flew up and landed between his shoulders again.
Lazarus pushed himself off the ground and pointed toward their destination. He surged forward, causing Fluttershy to brace herself slightly in order to keep herself from losing her balance. Pyro, however, decided to ride in her mane as the air rushing by them, threatened to sweep him off Fluttershy's back.
The flight was short, because Lazarus was moving as fast as his magic allowed him to travel. Which was nearly as fast as Rainbow Dash, when she was busting clouds. From where they were in the air, Fluttershy could see various bones and smell something revolting. But, upon sniffing into the air, Fluttershy recognized the scent almost immediately.
"Lazarus!" Fluttershy whispered harshly, "Do you know what that is?!"
"Yes." Lazarus replied darkly, "Timber wolves. One of the few creatures in this forest that don't respect me. But they do fear me. With luck, we'll be in and out before anything bad happens."
Descending, Lazarus touched down in a large clearing that was full of skeletons. Fluttershy opened her wings, but didn't take to the air, because Lazarus held up a claw.
"The safest place for you, right now," he cautioned, "is right where you are. Just keep an eye out for anything unusual."
"O-okay." Fluttershy stammered, closing her wings and turning her head from one direction to the next.
It was clear, that the Boneyard was far bigger than Fluttershy hoped it would be. But, thankfully, they hadn't met any threatening animals. She kept her ears perked up as well, listening for anything suspicious.
Then, Fluttershy saw what they were looking for, laying motionless in a bed of leaves.
"Lazarus, turn left." Fluttershy said, directing the dragon towards it.
But once Lazarus reached the pile, Fluttershy gasped at what they were looking at. Without hesitation, Fluttershy flew off of Lazarus and quickly landed in front of the baby pony, who lay very still. She reached out her hooves and cradled the little baby, which she recognized the second she saw her. But what had her attention the most, was the fact that the baby felt cold. And that frightened Fluttershy more than anything.
"Flurry Heart." Fluttershy whispered to the baby, starting to cry, "Please, wake up."
At that moment, Flurry Heart twitched, allowing Fluttershy to breathe a sigh of relief. But, she was still concerned about her temperature. By how cold she felt, Fluttershy figured that she had been out in the forest for at least a few hours.
Fluttershy pivoted on her hind legs and looked at Lazarus with hope.
"She's very cold." She murmured, "Can you warm her?"
"Yes." Lazarus said, making a relieved smile cross Fluttershy's face, "Give her here."
Lazarus gingerly wrapped his tail into a loop, which would serve as Flurry Heart's cradle. She was too small and too fragile for Lazarus' claws. So, the tail would have to do.
Hush.
Blue flames exited Lazarus' mouth and lightly showered down onto Flurry Heart. Fluttershy knew what his healing flames felt like and was thankful that Lazarus could control such a force. Shortly after, the flames stopped and Lazarus lowered the baby alicorn down to Fluttershy.
"Alright," Lazarus said, lowering himself again and sniffing the air, "we best be going. The timber wolves are coming back."
Fluttershy beat her wings and flew onto his back. Feeling her position herself between his shoulders again, Lazarus rose into the air and towards Ponyville. They were glad to leave when they did, because they saw five large timber wolves creep into the clearing, right where they had been standing.
Cadence sobbed and cried as Shining Armor held her. They were near the Everfree Forest where Starlight had told them, Flurry Heart had "gotten away from her."
"I followed her as far as I could," Starlight said, "but she was too fast and I kept getting hung up on shrubs."
"Then you should've used your magic!" Cadence sobbed, glaring at the unicorn, before burying her face into Shining Armor mane.
"I tried, but like I said, she was too fast."
It had been several hours since they had entrusted Starlight to take care of Flurry Heart. But when Starlight returned, she had told them that their daughter teleported out of her hooves and raced towards the forest. She even said that she went as far as she could into the forest in order to catch Flurry Heart, but got tangled up in some vines.
Twilight scanned the forest, hoping to catch a glimpse of her niece, even though she knew that it was nearly impossible to see anything in the trees.
Caw!
But a small glimmer of hope appeared in the form of a crow, that had been watching them. Twilight saw it and immediately remembered that she had a friend in the forest, who could help.
"Excuse me." Twilight said, trotting up to the crow's tree, "Could you get Lazarus for me?"
Caw!
The crow responded, but it didn't move. Since Twilight didn't have the same capabilities as Fluttershy, whenever it came to animals, she wasn't able to understand the crow.
"Please." She pleaded, "It's an emergency! We need Lazarus!"
At this point, both Cadence and Shining Armor were looking at her in some confusion. True, they had heard about Lazarus from a rumour that spread across Equestria, but they had never seen him.
"Why are you talking to a crow?" Shining Armor asked, "They're not going to help us."
But then the crow looked up, which made Twilight look up as well and was glad that she did.
Flying above the treetops, she saw a large wingless dragon fly in front of the moon. Twilight recognized the dragon and followed him until he had landed a fair distance away from them.
"Oh, Lazarus!" Twilight exclaimed, racing towards him, "Please, have you seen a baby alicorn?"
Cadence and Shining Armor kept their distance as they watched Twilight approach the dragon without fear. Lazarus was looking at them, head-on, his crest blocking their view of his back.
"Funny you should ask that, Princess." Lazarus grinned calmly, "Fluttershy."
Twilight watched as Fluttershy flew over Lazarus, with Flurry Heart cradled in her forelegs. The little baby was sound asleep and unharmed, making Cadence gasp and race to her. Shining Armor followed close behind, keeping a watchful eye on the dragon.
"Oh, thank you!" Cadence cried as Fluttershy gave her daughter back to her, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"You're welcome." Fluttershy said, watching Cadence gently plant kisses on Flurry Heart's head, "But you should thank him too."
They looked at Lazarus as he gazed down at them. A deep shade of blue faded across his eyes. To him, seeing a parent reunited with their child was enough of a reward.
"You don't have to." Lazarus said, before they had, "Your expressions and reactions are enough."
Then Shining Armor stepped forward.
"So," he said, looking up at the dragon, "you're Lazarus?"
"Indeed, I am." Lazarus replied, "And you must be Prince Shining Armor and Princess Cadence. Twilight's told me a lot about you two."
"Really? She's never mentioned you."
They looked at Twilight, who had a sheepish grin on her muzzle.
"I, um, haven't had the time." She said, which made Shining Armor smile at her.
They were so busy talking, that none of them noticed that Starlight had slipped away and headed back to the castle.
For an hour or two, the ponies and dragon talked, allowing the Royal Crystal Family to get to know the Guardian of the Everfree. But, as most things go, it was getting around time for them to turn in for the night.
"I have to go." Lazarus said, looking at the position of the moon and leaving, "There are still some things I must tend to."
"Wait." Cadence said, flying up to his head and kissing him under his eye, "Thank you, for bringing my daughter back."
"You're welcome."
They watched as the dragon approached the crow, who had been watching them.
"Come, Black Feather." He said, "I want to talk to you."
Caw!
With that, Lazarus and the crow entered the forest, leaving the ponies at the edge of the forest. They waited until, Lazarus' tail had disappeared into the shadows, before leaving. But then, Twilight looked around and noticed something missing.
"Where's Starlight?"