Fiery Cycle
Night Wing
My eyes scrunched up as a frown worked its way onto my beak. Why am I so hot? Yes, we were in a hellish wasteland of fire and sulphur, but normally temperatures didn’t affect me this much. I tried to move my wings and reposition on my sleeping pillow, only to feel the cramping of muscles that had been pulled at weird angles. A strange pressure was on my chest, and my wings seemed to be locked to the ground. Panicking, I opened my eyes to see what was going on. Panic turned to confusion when I could see nothing but a dim silver around me. What the… With a small shift of my head to the left, the silver substance dropped out of my vision. Only to reveal a dark grey ear. What in the world… Still trying to wake up, I turned my head to see what was wrong with my left wing. thestrals were what was wrong with it. A pile of three thestral silently slept on my left wing, and I could only assume the same was true for my right one.
Carefully lifting my head, I checked the situation around the room. Greenhorn was still sleeping across the room, thankfully, but it appeared as though all the other sleeping bags were abandoned. I glanced to the cave entrance to see two thestrals standing guard, peering out into the dim red light. The light was a bit brighter than when I had gone to sleep, so I must have slept through the whole night. Why didn’t they wake me for a guard shift? Narrowing my eyes at them, I tried to get their attention. “Chirp.” As quietly as I could, I called out to the two guards. All I got in response was a slight ear twitch. “Chirp.” A little louder this time, and I could see one of the guards start to turn his head only to quickly look forward again. Oh, you little traitors.
When the portal showing my face, half covered by silver mane, appeared in front of him, he visibly swallowed. ‘Care to explain?’ It was hard to fit the words on my forehead, so I did them one at a time. This slowly worded question seemed to make him more nervous. The other thestral on watch slowly stepped away from him and stared out into the dark like nothing was amiss.
“Yes sir!” The stallion fell back on his guard trained as he snapped a salute and shouted. If I could, I would have facepalmed with my wing. Face-winged? Just doesn’t sound the same… He winced as several groans echoed out from the pile of thestrals on top of me. The first thestral to open their eyes was on my left wing, where the poor mare woke up to a face full of hawk beak. At first she looked confused as I watched her, then it seemed to click that she was laying on me.
“Ah! Sorry Night, sir! I was- uh- we were just-!” Her mouth clamped shut and her face turned a worrying shade of red. She simply stood at attention as the rest of the pile shifted awake. With various yelps and apologies, my body emptied of thestrals until only one remained.
“Caw.” I softly but firmly called out and nudged Silver with my head. She was on my chest, so I couldn’t move without dumping her on the ground.
“Wha-Night!” She jerked up and stumbled away, seeming to step on every wing joint as she did.
“Caw!” With a jerk, I yanked my wing in, covering it with my other one.
“Oh my stars! I’m so sorry!” Her hooves couldn’t seem to decide whether to run forward and help, or step away further.
‘It’s fine, I’m just sore.’ I pulled my wings back to my side and rolled them around a bit, trying to loosen the joints and muscles. ‘So, while not the worst way to wake up, can anyone explain?’ As much as I enjoyed cuddling with adorable thestrals, it was very unusual for them to cuddle me back. It was especially unusual for nine of them to climb on top of me without my knowledge. One might say unheard of, even.
“Well, uh, you see, it got reaaally hot last night.” One of the random thestrals started, but locked up as my head swiveled to look at him.
“You were cool!” Another thestral called out. “Uh, I was trying to cool off, and you were really cold. We all just kind of, joined in, once one went over. We thought we could wake up before you did.” The pony looked down and winced. “You were really comfortable though.”
With a sigh I put my wing over my face. ‘Alright, fine. I understand. Just, ask next time.’ My wing dropped away from my face as I rolled my joints again. ‘I would prefer to get in a better position next time.’ A glance outside confirmed that it was indeed getting brighter. ‘Start getting ready to continue traveling. It should be bright enough for Greenhorn to walk without killing himself soon enough.’ A few chuckles echoed out into the cave, and embarrassed faces turned away to pack up sleeping bags.
“Huh?” A drowsy deer sat up in the corner, finally awoken by the noise. “What did I miss?”
Shaking my head, I moved to take care of my pillow. In the corner of my vision I saw the thestral that had burned himself the previous night walking to the ash pile that caused the issue. Why is there a single pile of ash in here? It seemed strange considering all the other ash in the area was spread out evenly on the ground. My question was promptly answered when the thestral kicked the pile of black dust. Instantly the temperature in the cave skyrocketed, and the thestral fell back with a cry, holding his hoof and rolling on the ground.
“Everybody out!” Sensing the danger, Silver rushed everyone out of the cave, dragging a half-asleep Greenhorn by the antlers. Grabbing the downed thestral in my magic, I flapped my wings and shot out of the cave with him in tow. Setting the poor stallion down on the ground, I turned to see what was going on in the cave. With how shallow it was, we could all, see the pile of ashes begin to recollect themselves from the kick they have received.
‘Everybody stay back. Greenhorn, see what you can do about that burned hoof.’ Rapid hoofsteps echoed in the valley as ponies and one deer scrambled to get further from the cave and treat the injured pony. Eyes narrowing, I watched as the ashes lifted into the air and began to spin. An orange-yellow glow slowly grew from within, filling the cave. Heat distortions wafted out, trailing up to join the smoke and ash in the air.
“Keeeeeaar!” With a piercing shriek, much like my own battle cry, the light from the ashes exploded outwards before condensing into the form of a fiery bird. A Phoenix! The sight of the molten animal made my heart race with excitement. Not a dragon, but, it’s probably the next best thing! The phoenix was much smaller than I was, but that didn’t seem to deter it as it sped from the cave directly at me. My excitement turned to panic as I raised a magic shield to block it. It ignored me completely as it swerved over and past my shield, aiming for the group behind me.
“Caw!” Spinning around, I called out a warning. Looking at where the bird was going, it seemed to be locked onto the thestral that had unknowingly assaulted it twice. ‘Everybody out of the way!’ I tried to summon a wall of ice in front of the pheonix, but received a weak puff of steam instead. What? Shaking my head I resorted to pure magic. A black transparent shield popped into existence as a bubble over Greenhorn and the thestral. With a loud THUD the phoenix impacted it, not having time to dodge. It fell to the ground, unmoving with a crooked neck. Everyone stared at the obviously dead bird, the glow slowly fading from it.
“Yeah! Don’t mess wit-!” A random thestral began to shout, before the bird collapsed in on itself and turned back to ash. “Yeah?”
“Shut up idiot!” Another thestral smacked him.
‘Everybody mode back, this thing isn’t done.’ The shield dropped and the two under it rejoined the group further back. ‘Everyone spread out a bit. No fried Thestrals today please.’ Salutes were followed by a rapid dispersal into the surrounding area. The area around the phoenix was cleared just in time. With another screech the ash erupted into fire and reformed the bird, much less dramatically than last time. This time, the phoenix seemed more interested in me. I stepped forward as it rocketed toward me, not so much flapping its wings as it was shooting fire out behind it. I should try that. If nothing else, it looks really cool.
Now that I was more prepared, catching the thing was easy. Halfway to me, a black aura wrapped around it and jerked it to a stop. It struggled and hissed as I brought it closer to me. “Caw!” It jumped at the loud sound and started fighting to get free even more violently. Poor thing is going to break a bone struggling. Not that it matters I guess. It can just reform itself.
My right wing opened, getting its attention, though it kept struggling. ‘Calm. We are not here to hurt you.’ Confusion entered its eyes for a moment as it stopped. Then it shook its head and resumed trying to wiggle out. So, that’s out. Maybe talking? “Chirp!” ‘Silver, come over here.’ The phoenix still struggling, Silver walked over cautiously.
“What is this thing Night?” She was low to the ground, ready to jump and take off at a moment's notice.
‘This, my friend, is a phoenix.’ A smile worked its way onto my beak. ‘Almost as cool as a dragon. Try telling it to calm down?’
“You want me to talk to the murder bird?” An incredulous look was sent my way. The phoenix seemed to have tired itself out as it sagged in my magic, no longer fighting.
‘Just try it.’ My head motioned from her to the phoenix. She rolled her eyes and went along with it. Its head lifted, tired but not beaten, to watch her as she approached.
“Please, stop trying to kill us.” Silver awkwardly began, making me cover my face with a wing. “We mean no harm!” I peeked through my feathers to see a confused expression on the phoenix once again. Hmm. Alright, let’s try actions instead.
Tapping Silver with a wing, I motioned for her to back off. As she did so, I lowered the phoenix to the ground, opening a hole for its feet. Its confused look never left as it put its feet on the ground and I released it. Clearly it wasn’t used to this kind of treatment. ‘No one make any sudden moves.’ Slowly, I lowered myself down and folded my legs under myself. “Chirrr.” Its head tilted at this sound, evidently understanding the nonaggressive stance I was taking.
“Chirp!” It hopped forward a few times, testing the waters. Progress! Now if only I understood bird. How ironic.
“Cooo.” A wing reached out towards it, moving slowly. No one in the valley made a sound, terrified of being cooked by one bird, or glared at by the other. The phoenix tilted its head questioningly before seeming to come to a decision. It slowly walked forward, staying low to the ground, until it came within touch distance of my wing. Slowly, ever so slowly, it stretched its head forward.
Then it pecked me, singeing off a few feathers, and took off into the air. “Chirchirchir! Chirchirchir!” It died a barrel roll, rolled a few times, then slipped up into the ash covering the sky.
“Caw!” I shouted ineffectually after it. Yeah yeah. Laugh it up you little showoff.
“Are you ok!?” Strawberry called out across the valley. Looking at my wing, it was only missing a couple of feathers on the wing tip. That’ll probably make flying difficult though.
‘Yeah, I’m fine. Let’s move on. The little psychotic chicken should be gone.’ I glared at where it disappeared. If it comes back, I’m going to freeze one of its wings in a block of ice. See how it likes it.
2 Hours Later
“Ok, I’m ready to leave.” A panting Greenhorn walked up beside me, dragging a sack through the gravel behind him. Another bag of herbs levitated in front of me, slinging several pieces of gravel into my side as it did so. I flinched in irritation and opened a portal under it with a snort. The bag fell through the portal with a distant THUNK.
“Ow!” A squeaky voice came through the portal, startling me into stopping. The hot and tired Thestrals behind me didn’t notice and ran into me before falling on top of each other. A sigh escaped me at the commotion before I stuck my head down in the portal, seeing who was in Greenhorn’s room. The only creature on board with that squeaky of a voice… I lifted my head, the portal following it, so I could look around easier. As my eyes scanned the room, I came face to face with a tiny, light green, macaw. “Hello… Where did you come from?”
I flinched as she hopped on top of my head. Her head, now upside down, entered my vision again. “Is the nice bat pony lady with you?”
“Chirp!” She jerked back, confused.
‘Silver, someone wants to see you.’ I pulled my head out of the portal, the macaw coming with it.
“Weee!” The, admittedly adorable, green macaw held on for dear life as I swung around to look for Silver. I spotted her picking her way through all the thestrals laying on the ground. She shook her head at them as they unashamedly took an impromptu break. “Wow, this place is hot!” The little macaw's beak scrunched up. “And it stinks.”
“What is it, sweetie?” Silver came up to me and stood on her back hooves to look at the child on my head. I just rolled my eyes and kept a watch out for anything approaching us.
“Being on the boat is boring. Me and mo-“ She stopped and Silver winced. “I only used to stay on the boat for a week or so. But we’ve been out here for Years!” My head shook as I laughed. I felt tiny claws tighten to hold on, though they didn’t tighten enough to hurt.
“Lime, you need to go back to the boat, it’s dangerous out here. I’ll be back in a couple of days.” Silver’s eyes narrowed at the edge of my vision, and Lime leaned back away from her on my head. “And what have I told you about going in other ponies' rooms?”
“But, Mr.Green isn’t a pony…” The flimsy excuse made Silver narrow her eyes further. “Yes ma’am…” Chuckling, I stuck my head back through the portal. A despondent macaw glided down and landed outside Greenhorn’s bedroom door. There she sat and sulked with her front claws crossed over her chest. Silver’s head replaced mine as I backed away from the portal, going back to watching for danger.
“Please behave, and don’t get in anyone’s way.” Silver’s voice came through the portal, along with a mumbled agreement. “Thank you. I’ll be back soon.” She pulled her head out and the portal closed.
“Sorry about that.” A tired smile was on her face. “A boat is no place for a child.”
‘It’s fine Silver. It gave the other a break anyways.’ A distant rumble drew my gaze away from her. We were surrounded by small mounds of sand and gravel, with boiling water between them. Small, dry, sand trails cut the boiling pools apart. We were on one such trail, winding our way through the geyser field. With a swoosh of water, a bubble of steam pushed free of the water nearby and shot up into the air. ‘Get everyone ready to move again, I don’t want to stay here long. It’s too open and dangerous.’
“Everyone up! We need to find shelter before night falls!” The ponies and one deer all groaned, but got ready to move despite their exhaustion. We would have started carrying Greenhorn and just flown further inland, but the phoenix yesterday made everyone wary of the sky. Not that the phoenix is the worst thing out here.
We slowly made our way through the geyser field to the mountains on the other side. Volcanic activity had been increasing once again, getting closer to the conditions on the shore. Lava trailed down the hills and cliffs ahead and we had to be careful when we arrived. Carefully we picked our way through the valleys, going around or over any lava streams and pools we came across. The temperature was higher here, but not as high as on the beach to the relief of everyone.
A few miles in, we had yet to find a place to stop for the night. “I can’t go on like this much longer.” Greenhorn had long abandoned his search for plants, opting to do as little as possible instead.
‘As soon as we find a place to stop, we’ll settle in for the night.’ Despite all the desperate eyes searching for a cave, none had been found that weren’t full of lava. The ravine we were navigating seemed determined to deny us rest.
“Look! There!” Turning I saw one of the thestrals pointing a little ways up a cliff ahead of us. It looked as though the lava around it had cooled significantly. Hopefully that meant it would be suitable for an overnight stay.
‘Strawberry, go check it out.’ I tapped the thestral on the shoulder, and he nodded before flying up. We continued approaching but waited before going up the cliff. After a minute or two, Strawberry poked his head back out.
“Looks clear! There are some weird crystals in here though.” With the all clear, or mostly clear besides weird rocks, the group took off up the cliff. I opened a portal to the entrance for Greenhorn and followed through.
‘Alright, everybody settle in for the night. Get some rest.’ At several questioning looks, I sighed. ‘Yes, you can use me to cool off again.’ I wasn’t really upset, but I had an image to uphold. ‘Show me these crystals Strawberry. And check that thestrals hoof Greenhorn. Make sure it’s still ok.’ The thestral that was burned by the phoenix wasn’t actually hurt that badly. After a few minutes, the hoof was just tender to the touch. It would probably end up blistering some though.
“Follow me sir.” Leading the way, Strawberry walked to the back of the cave. It narrowed down a bit and, judging by the patterns on the floor and walls, I guessed lava flowed through it at some point. Ducking down, Strawberry walked deeper and I followed him in. A few feet in, the walls began to change. Starting with a couple, then whole clusters, crystals began to cover the walls. It was the same bloody red crystal we had found the previous day. Further back in the tunnel, the walls transitioned to solid crystal, before ending at a solid wall of cooled lava. ‘Have you ever seen anything like this?’ Strawberry looked at me in the dark.
‘No.’ The words glowed slightly in the dark, making them easier to read. ‘Let’s head back. We can figure out more tomorrow.’
“Yes sir.” Slowly we worked our way back out of the tiny lava tube. In the main cave, everyone was getting settled for the night. As the last bit of light faded outside, and I got ready to drown in thestrals again, my head snapped to the entrance. In the distance, far off, a shriek echoed around the mountains. It was far from the avian call of the phoenix. The thestrals shuffled nervously at the noise, and Greenhorn just snored, already asleep.
‘Keep three on watch tonight. Pay special attention to the sky.’ A thestral left the group to join the other two at the entrance already. ‘Get some rest everybody. Tomorrow may not leave room for sleep.’
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A playful pheonix? Sounds like Philomena has been found!
The chapter was just as enjoyable as the ones that came with your much-welcome return! Just be sure not to burn yourself out by writing chapters daily.
I wonder what comments would taste like? if you could eat them I wonder if this comment would taste like an existential crisis.
Hm I think night will have a Phoenix
following him. Also I just realized Night could be considered a cryo-pheonix.
Just curious but do you plan to go up till luna return or not?
11485419
Close to it at least. Either right before, or after. Depending on how I feel when I get there.
A cuddlepile
Well, I finally finished all 56 chapters published so far... Great story, needs work, mostly with spelling, and a bit of grammar, but it's a good read nonetheless.
11485357
They taste amazing. That’s why I want more. Every time someone reads a chapter without commenting, a baby thestral goes without eating somewhere. Thestrals eat comments to, don’t ya know.
11486046
Then theoretically would someone Who spammed a short comment multiple times such as “E” would that be their equivalent of candy?
11486091
Sure.
11486153
Then would profile pictures be like decorations? Kind of like edible stickers or what not.
I often let my random thoughts ramble
11486197
You should make this into a oneshot. Ponies that live off compliments.
11486209
Random thoughts are the best inspiration! I wonder what passive aggressive wood taste like?
Lucky they ran across such a young firebird, the volcanic ones are much bigger.