Her wings flared with the sheer strength of her kin, each feather shining like the finest fire ruby in the light of Her Mistress's rising Sun. She accompanied Her Highness every morning, swirling higher and higher as the night shadows returned the land to the hooves of sunlight.
~ Philomena the Royal Phoenix, by unknown Post-classical author
A little more poetic opening than usually, but those creatures deserve it. They are even rarer than poison jokes these days, but it would be a shame to not give them some spotlight.
Phoenixes
Given the old reports, there used to be large flocks of phoenixes residing in the Everfree. The same sources also mention the periodical phoenix migration every once in a while, and I suspect it has something to do with phoenixes following the great dragon migration to new nesting sites. Being used to your feathers burning surely allows you to live in a neighborhood of fire-breathing creatures. It seems that we're currently in the phoenixless period of the Everfree.
You can only find a few pairs of phoenixes in the southern drier parts of the Everfree, some birds are also residing in Whitetail Woods. The rest now lives at the edge of the Badlands.
Surprisingly, not many ponies comprehend that these regal birds are also birds of prey, the bane of squirrels and forest voles. They are deadly effective when it comes to hunting, the patches of forest they inhabit are almost devoid of small mammals. This might be another reason for them having to migrate from time to time.
Of course, phoenixes are most well-known for their unique life cycle. Their feathers serve both as a fireproof shield and as a burning weapon. The rachis--the stiff line in the center of the feather--has the ability to channel their fiery magic, allowing it to burn around their wings and tail. They can activate this at will, though the feathers don't lose this feature even after being pulled out as they still contain some leftover magic. However, its discharge becomes random afterwards. So, those of you not blessed with the magic of telekinesis, try to avoid using phoenix quills... and those of you who can levitate things, make sure that your face and other body parts you hold dear are far from it.
But back to the phoenixes' defenses. Their bright feathers can tell that their bearers aren't afraid of being spotted. Instead, their bright colors are a warning to predators. Much like a poisonous salamander's aposematic colour scheme gets labeled as Don't eat. Let it be. in the mind of any animal that tried tasting it, the bright red feathers are an unpleasant reminder of the fire that burned your muzzle. Even the eggs are brightly coloured.
A phoenix's feathers can vary from yellow to red with lighter markings, females always have a pink stripe at the tip of their beak, pinkish markings on wings also occur. Another difference between the genders are the feathers on the top of their head. A male has a crest of thick feathers, while the female's head is adorned by a peacock-like crown thingy.
But how is it with them burning to ashes if their feathers are fireproof? And why do they even have to burn down?
If they didn't, they'd die. Fire is a great weapon, but it needs huge amounts of magic and energy to be controlled properly. Of course, there isn't an indefinite amount of energy, so the phoenix's body has to compromise. The trade off for having fire-controlling abilities from a young age is that their bones, muscles, and internal organs take quite a short while to get worn out. Their beak becomes distorted, wings are no longer able to carry them, neck muscles atrophy to the point that they are unable to support the head anymore, and the bird starts to cough heavily, lungs slowly collapsing and filling with mucus. Very regal.
Their feathers start to fall off on their own as the small muscles operating them fail. This messy period of molting takes about a week, and it's the only time when they are truly vulnerable. You can find a hidden molting phoenix’s location by shed feathers lying all around, though it's almost impossible to spot the bird itself hiding in the treetops. It lies there quietly--except for the coughing--and waits till its fireproof shield is down. Then the remains of its magic are called, igniting the phoenix from inside and turning it to ashes.
Nopony knows if getting incinerated alive is painful for them or not. In my opinion, it's far better than what they must feel when their body starts to wear out. Anyway, it seems that they fall into some sort of coma right before catching fire, so it’s possible they don’t register the flames licking at them at all… or maybe it’s just their nervous system giving out.
Despite them being able to manipulate their ashes and precisely recognize every part of their body--or at least, if you throw their ashes into an already cinder-filled hearth, you get a phoenix of the same mass and volume--they try to choose their hiding place to be in the lee of the branches. Another interesting fact is that their fire doesn't ignite their surroundings.
There is a second, somewhat romantic version of their renewal cycle, one used for courtship and mating. After the female chooses the male--one sporting a nice feather crest and bright colors, but the same should go for the female, because males don't accept the proposal from just anybody--they both start to perch and fly around, gently pulling out each other's feathers. When just a few are left, they soar high to the sky, getting rid of the remaining feathers and together fall to the ground in fire. When their ashes land, parts of them mix together. This mix then gets absorbed into the female's body. She lays up to five eggs after a few days.
The hatchlings’ feathers take just a few days to fully grow, and the young birds start to fly shortly after. As they grow up, their burning period prolongs from a few weeks to months till it stabilizes on periods lasting roughly half a year.
So, what to do when you have a phoenix nearby? Don't disturb them, not even in the ash form. And if your good behaviour somehow managed to annoy them, it’s best to lay down and stop moving. They'll just fly over you with ignited wings a few times and then leave. Furthermore, if a phoenix is scared in the worn-out state, it can explode in your face.
The only situation when I suggest touching a worn-out phoenix is if it somehow fell in freezing water, ate some ice cream or otherwise got cold and might be in need of your help.