A baby Phoenix was found by an alicorn filly as an egg. However, when she hears how the life cycle of a Phoenix works, she begins to worry about her life.
UPDATE AROUND OCTOBER 2016: I give credit to Aeluna for helping me edit and fix some edits in this story.
A mother phoenix sat at her nest in silence, ruffling her feathers as she waited patiently. It had been days since she had seen her mate who had left on a hunting trip days ago; she awaited his return eagerly.
To the phoenix’s delight, she didn’t have to wait for long before the fiery plumage of her mate could be seen in the sky. She sat up a little taller and cooed to him as she watched his approach; when he landed by her side, she wasted no time in embracing him. The pair’s delight, however, was soon destroyed when something rustled in the bushes.
"Dragons," the mother uttered. She only had to glance at her mate before both nodded resolutely. As they flew out of the nest to protect their eggs, though, they didn't notice that one had fallen out. Its fall was cushioned by the leaves of its tree and, when it touched down on the ground, it rolled a few meters away. Its escape was blocked by the rear leg of a young alicorn filly.
"Ow!" she cried, but when she saw the egg her complaints ceased. As she picked it up, she felt her awe increasing—until she heard the distinct roar of a dragon when its eyes landed on her.
"Uh oh! I gotta get out of here!" she uttered. With the egg held in one hoof, she ran. Her horn glowed as she shot a blast of her magic at the dragons, but her attack missed and did nothing to deter her attackers. When she shot another beam at the dragons, though, her aim was true and they were flung into the air. The filly, gasping as she collapsed to the floor, took a moment to catch her breath.
"That was close," she said with a sigh. "I'd better get home."
As she transitioned into a gentle trot, she let her thoughts wander to what she was going to do now with the egg. With its fiery, magnificent shell, it was surely something impressive. Hence, when she finally approached a large castle, she hurried inside quickly and grabbed a pillow on which to set the egg.
"There," she whispered. "Safe and sound." As she turned, however, she heard a crack and quickly turned back. She watched with bated breath and fidgeted as she waited, wondering what was inside. When it at last cracked, something small and orange tumbled out with a little chirp.
"A baby Phoenix! Wow!" the filly uttered. "I'm going to call you... Philomena! Hi Philomena, I'm Princess Celestia, and I'm going to take care of you." The filly picked up the phoenix and hugged it, drawing another chirp from the bird. To Celestia’s surprise, Philomena then smiled.
Celestia looked through the bookcase, a frown on her face.
"Where is it? I know I saw it the other day..." She sighed. "Luna probably moved it..." At that precise moment, to her utter surprise, her sister then came galloping in, running rings around her sister.
"Tia, Tia, Tia, guess what?" she cried out, jumping up and down. "Did you know that when a Phoenix dies, it turns to ash?" Luna held up the book to the page and tapped it with a hoof enthusiastically. When Celestia turned her head and scowled, her grin fell.
"Luna, I was looking for that!" Celestia yelled before she snapped the book from her sister’s grip.
"What for?" she asked.
"I found a baby phoenix and was trying to find that book so I can see what food she can eat."
Philomena cocked her head at the young alicorn. She looked worried. Celestia saw the baby phoenix's expression and quickly read the page her sister mentioned.
"Associated with the sun, a phoenix obtains new life by arising from the ashes. According to some sources, the phoenix dies in a show of flames, although there are other sources that claim that the legendary bird dies and simply decomposes before being born again. According to some texts, the phoenix can live over 1,400 years before rebirth.
Huh, that's interesting."
Philomena, previously pruning her feathers somewhat without interest, froze. Thoughts quickly began to plague her mind; what if she couldn’t rise? What if, somehow, something went wrong?
Philomena spent the next few days mostly lying on her pillow, caught up in her worried thoughts. She wouldn't eat or drink; only when she passed out did she sleep.
Celestia quickly grew concerned. No matter what she tried, nothing seemed to help Philomena. The phoenix was much too occupied in fretting. What if bursting into flames hurt? She asked herself many questions, and as she did so her fear grew more intense until, before long, the poor bird couldn't take it anymore. She couldn’t bear to see Celestia so horrified and, even more so, couldn’t imagine facing such a terrifying fate—and so, in a desperate attempt to escape the truth, she made up her mind. She would wait for the two young princesses to fall asleep. Then, she would leave.
But first, before she could go, she had one thing that she had to do. She flew lazily into her first friend’s room and, with watery eyes, she set one of her feathers on the nightstand.
"Goodbye, Celestia..." she whispered before she then she flew out of the room. Before she could leave for good, however, there was another she had to wish farewell; on the younger princess’ nightstand, she left another of her feathers. "Goodbye Luna, and thank you for your kindness..." she thought. Then she soared out the window and into the night, her destination: the forest.
The wind blew cold that night, chilling Philomena to the bone and making her shiver. When she noticed a tree with a hole in it, she swooped in with some slightly damp leaves in her beak to sleep on. Though it was not easy, she curled up and eventually fell asleep.
For Celestia, the years that passed without Philomena at her side felt suddenly dull and void of anything interesting. Often the only thing that would occupy her was the thoughts of new places to search for her lost friend; so many times she went out to search for her. But Philomena would simply hide under tree leaves or inside a tree with something covering the entrance.
Such was the case a few weeks later; Philomena was napping on a tree branch when she heard somepony in the bushes. She hastened to fly into the tree’s trunk, a frown on her beak as she listened intently. The voice, however, came as something of a shock to her; it wasn't Celestia’s, but rather it was Luna’s.
But then the ashes finally arose and a great beam of light burst in the sky. Philomena opened one eye.
"I did it!" she chirped. "I did it Luna!!!"
"I knew you could." Luna smiled. "Let's go home."
Philomena soared into the sky and let the wind catch her wings. She was so beautiful. She soared into the castle window where Princess Celestia's room was.
"Welcome home, Philomena." she sighed.
Philomena landed on her old post where she used to perch back before she ran away. She realized, that she was happy here with the Princesses.
