“Octavia, you’re on in five minutes.”

“Oh, okay.”

“Good luck.”

“Heh, thanks!”

The cellist sighed and got up. Minutes later the curtains opened and exposed Octavia, her instrument ready in her hooves. Without taking any closer look at the crowd she started singing.

It was a particularly sad song and the recent events of her now ex-marefriend almost supported her. The slow piano melody supporting her soft lyrics, soon to be bundled with her cello, made sure there was nopony in the room without wet eyes or tissues ready at hoof.

She didn’t pay any attention to them and just concentrated on her singing.

“You hurt me now, but I won't cry, I am Octa-vi-a!
You hurt me now, but I won't cry, I am Octa-vi-SCRAAAAAAAAAAAAH—”

Octavia quickly got up as the incredibly loud noise interrupted her dream, responsible for pulling her out of her musical pseudo-melancholy. After a few seconds she realized that it was not her tired eyes missing something, there simply wasn’t anything out of the ordinary there.

She was about to get back to sleep when she realized that something was on top of her head. With an upward glance at her bangs she made out some orange contrast to her dark-hued hair. After another slow second of sleepy thought, she said, “Ugh, morning, Flamewing.”

She rubbed her eyes and looked at her alarm clock. “Eight thirty-one. C’mon, couldn’t you have given me another half hour?” she complained, albeit with a light-hearted undertone. It was a freshly born bird after all, still lacking the knowledge of some basic rules in the musician’s house—one of which was obviously ‘Do NOT wake up Octavia!’

This made her think about her dream, wondering why she would fantasize about herself and Vinyl breaking up in such a dramatic manner. They were different, but the music still connected them. Octavia figured it was merely because her mind needed an excuse to dream of singing such a sad song, possibly missing her already. Thankfully, it was only one more day before she would return.

Since she was awake now anyway she didn’t think trying to find a little more rest would make any less tired, so instead she got up and headed off to the kitchen. Flamewing was resting on top of her again. It seemed to be the small companion’s favorite resting spot.

Octavia started brewing some coffee and toasted some bread. She suddenly thought of something important. “Uhm, Flamewing, what do you want to eat? I’m afraid I don’t have any millet or other bird food…”

Flamewing fluttered down on the kitchen counter, its movements still a little uncertain; it was clear it would need at least a few more days before it could fly properly. Octavia opened the cupboard and laid out some alternatives to grainy food on the plate, letting Flamewing chose what it wanted. After some time, her feathered friend found its desired food: chocolate spread.

“Wait, what? Of all the things I would’ve expected you to eat, it certainly wasn’t Neightella! But then again, it does contain nuts, hehe.” She opened the jar, picked up a knife with her mouth, and put some of the brown on it. Flamewing moved over to it, stared at the thick substance for a second, and then threw its small beak into the sugary pile.

After the spread disappeared from the knife, Octavia failed at suppressing a giggle with her hoof held to her mouth. “Hahaha, you should look at yourself!” Flamewing’s once red head was now almost completely covered in brown, some small strips having even made their way down its body.

“Well, do you want more?” Octavia asked.

Flamewing let out a small burp, not exactly the kind of response she had in mind.

“You can burp?!” she almost exclaimed. “Wow, looks like there are lot of things that make you different from a normal bird. Coming from a feather, eating chocolate spread, and being able to burp.” She paused for a moment. “Hmm, come to think of it, I still don’t even know what you are.”

A loud click came from the coffee machine, signaling that it was done brewing. “Well, we should go to Twilight Sparkle to ask her about you. I’m sure she has read enough books to give us some elucidation on the matter.” She ripped off a sheet from the kitchen roll and wetted it. “First of though, we gotta get that brown stuff off of you.”

She was about bring the wet paper down on Flamewing, but the bird jumped up and tried to escape as fast as it was possible for its tiny body.

“Hey, wait!” Flamewing made no efforts to stop, but eventually realized it just wasn’t fast enough to outrun the full-grown mare after it. It jumped into the bread case, smearing sugary chocolate everywhere.

Octavia saw her chance and was about to forcibly wash the fiery bird who was lightly shivering in the furthest corner of the case, but suddenly stopped and spat out the wet cleaning device. “Hold on a second… Fiery… Wet… Of course, you don’t like water!”

At that statement Flamewing turned around to meet her eyes. “Oh, I’m so sorry! It was pretty obvious, but I didn’t think enough.”

Flamewing got out of the box. It was still a little worried, but nowhere near its former state of mortal terror. Octavia smiled, reassuring her friend that everything was fine. “Still, I can’t let you run around with so much chocolate covering your body. Only problem, how am I supposed to clean you if water isn’t going to be an option?”

At that question, Flamewing lowered its head and started to glow lightly. Octavia took a step back, taking a hint of what was about to happen. Flamewing spread out its feathers, lifting its head with closed eyes, and became engulfed by a small, bright inferno. It wasn’t nearly as bright as it was when Flamewing appeared from the feather the day before, but still bright enough make Octavia squint.

Once the fire was gone, Flamewing was completely free off any brown substance. “Heh, cleansed by fire.” Flamewing smiled. Octavia noticed at that moment that it had grown a little, the feathers and fur bearing a darker, more reddish hue. “So this is how you grow? You are full of surprises!”

She turned to her coffee machine. “I could use some warmth as well…”

After the interesting breakfast and Octavia making herself look presentable, combing her mane and putting on her pink bow, she left her house and headed off to Twilight’s library; Flamewing sat on her head again.

Ponyville only had the few early workers on their streets which had to get up at that sleepy morning. If it wasn’t for the early interruption of her sleep, Octavia may have been one of the many ponies still in their dream world.

The ponies she crossed all greeted her kindly, although it was obvious they were slightly confused by the red thing sitting on her head. But as she’d expected such reactions, she didn’t pay them any heed.

That was until she noticed a ‘Missing’ sheet with the goofy bird from the day before on it. Octavia knew they wouldn’t find it, at least not in the way it appeared on the drawing, but she didn’t want to risk anything. She decided it was best to increase her tempo to Twilight’s library, hoping that nopony on her way would ask unwanted questions.

Thankfully, her trip didn’t have any such ponies on it. She knocked at the door of the tree-house (or house-tree?).

“Coming!” a boyish voice came from the inside. The door opened and small, purple dragon emerged from behind it. “Hello, what can I… Peewee?” He interrupted his greeting as he saw the bird on Octavia’s head. “Uhm…”

“Oh uhm, hello, I’m Octavia. This is Flamewing.” She looked up at her companion. “I wanted to talk to Twilight Sparkle. Is she available?”

“Right…” The dragon turned around and shouted, “Twilight, here’s someone who wants to talk to you! She has a phoenix with her.” As if on cue, Twilight rushed to the door, an excited expression on her face.

“Oh, hello, hello! Please, come in! Make yourself at home!” she said before even taking a closer look at the cellist. Once she did so, her overly happy expression turned into a slightly frown, but she remained friendly.

“Thank you,” Octavia said as she entered the library. Twilight showed her the way to a table with a few chairs and motioned her to sit down.

“Do you want some tea? I’ve just finished brewing some,” she asked.

“No, thank you. I just had coffee.”

“Alright, no problem.” She poured herself a cup and set down. “So, what can I do for you? I’m guessing it’s about phoenix on your head? What’s it called?”

“So that’s what they are called? Good to know,” Octavia said, happy to finally know the name of her pet’s species. “Well yeah, I would like to get some questions about phoenixes answered. Her name is Flamewing.”

“Her?” Twilight asked.

“Uhm, yes. I wasn’t actually sure about the gender, but I just went with female.” Octavia started to understand why the librarian asked and felt awkwardness building up inside of her. “Oh, let me guess… ‘she’ is a ‘he’, right?” Twilight nodded. “Well, dammit.”

“Male phoenixes have slightly darker fur and feathers than female ones and are a tiny bit taller as well,” Twilight explained. “It’s okay though, I see a lot of ponies making that mistake. Phoenixes aren’t that common to begin with.” She giggled. “But that’s actually a good point: how did you find Flamewing?”

Octavia hesitated at first, not sure whether she should tell her about the crazy vet that looked like she wanted to end her life after the cellist found the feather. However, she decided it wouldn’t make a difference, so she told her the full story. She started with how she just wanted to eat some cupcakes and how she found the red feather.

Twilight interrupted her as she told her about the ‘goofy’ bird. “Hold on, d-did you say an almost featherless phoenix burst into flames and its ashes were scattered everywhere? Oh no, this is bad, this is very bad!” The calmness of her was almost instantly replaced by worry. She noticed the gray mare starting at her, begging for explanation. “You see, phoenixes are technically immortal. Once they get old and weak they get rid of their feathers and eventually burst into flames, incinerating themselves. From the pile of ashes that is created, the phoenix is brought back to life, healthy and well-up.”

“But why is that a problem?” Octavia asked.

“Because it wasn’t a pile! If the ashes aren’t in one place, there is no way the phoenix can revive itself, trapping it in limbo and basically killing it that way.”

“Oh… okay, I understand. But excuse me if I sound rude, I still don’t understand why it is such a big deal.”

“It wasn’t just any phoenix. It was Philomena, the pet phoenix of Princess Celestia!” Twilight almost screamed at her. Octavia’s jaw dropped to the floor. “What was the princess’ pet doing in Ponyville?!” she exclaimed.

“When she visited Ponyville a few days ago she brought Philomena with her. She has gone missing after that, and from your story I can only imagine it was Fluttershy who took her. It’d be fitting for her, she often lets her kindness do things which have good intentions but do more harm than good. You said she was in rage?” Octavia nodded. “Yeah, that’s her. You being here—talking to me and being fine—lets me assume you took some cover?”

“You have no idea,” Octavia said bemusedly. “Anyway, my story wasn’t done yet. May I continue?”

“Oh, of course,” Twilight said.

Octavia talked about how she got home and how the feather made loud noises as she was playing cello, eventually exploding and bringing Flamewing to life. “I don’t understand it, so that’s why I hoped you could help me get some answers.”

“Well, I’ve never heard about a phoenix being born from a feather, as they normally hatch from eggs. My guess would be that it was some sort of ‘plan B’ after the ashes couldn’t revive Philomena. That would at least explain why it’s only a baby and doesn’t remember anything. What I don’t understand, though, is why it’s male, as Philomena was female.” She sighed. “I need to tell the princess about this. She will not be pleased that her pet phoenix was literally reborn and had a gender switch on top of that.”

“Wait, does that mean I can’t keep Flamewing?” Octavia asked, slight sadness building up in her. “I only found him yesterday and we already became good friends… Does he really need to go?” She looked at him, understanding by his frown that he also unhappy about this.

“I’m sorry, but rules are rules. I mean, I can ask Celestia if she is okay with you keeping Flamewing, but I wouldn’t get my hopes up too high.” She put a hoof besides her mouth and shouted, “Spike!”

The dragon appeared just a few seconds later, quill and parchment ready in his hand. After Twilight finished narrating to him, he set the paper on green fire as the magical ashes escaped through an open window. Surprisingly, the reply from the princess took only a few seconds. Spike unfolded the burped-out letter and started reading.

Dear Twilight,

From your report it looks like my pet has found a new owner and is happy that way. I won’t break their new bond if she promises to keep good care for Philomena—or rather, Flamewing—and also keeps me informed about her well-being. My recent schedule was so full that I barely had time for her anyway, so this isn’t that bad actually.

But please tell her one thing: Should she hurt my former pet in any way, I’ll personally take it away from her.

Your mentor and ruler of Equestria,
Princess Celestia

Octavia didn’t need to think twice to know that having to take care of Flamewing was quite a burden, and the tone towards the end of the letter made clear that failing to do a proper job would have consequences. Big consequences.

“Well… hehe, thanks, I guess,” she chuckled.

“Oh, don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll do a fine job,” Twilight assured her. “Now with that being cleared up, is there anything else you want to know about phoenixes?”

Octavia thought for a moment and said, “Well, today, while I had breakfast with Flamewing, he engulfed himself on fire after he refused to get cleaned with water. After that he was not only clean but also taller and a little darker.”

“Yeah, that’s how phoenixes grow up. They burn themselves and reappear a little bigger than before, their bright fur eventually being replaced by a nice and smooth red. There’s one thing you should keep in mind though…” She hesitated.

“What is it?” Octavia asked.

“Well, most of the time this is a self-controlled process, but sometimes it happens randomly, often triggered by small impacts, such as sneezing. That’s why these uncontrolled growth moments are called ‘sneeze eruptions’.” She noticed Octavia’s mouth opening and said, “Before you ask, yes, phoenixes can sneeze. The can also burp and fart.” Both ponies started to laugh.

“Well, this was certainly good to know. I think I got everything I need now. Though, what do phoenixes like to eat? As I said, Flamewing pretty much dove into my Neightella. Do they like sugary food?”

“Yes, they do. However, I wouldn’t only resort to that, as they can still get fat, just like any other bird. It’s not wrong to sometimes just get some normal bird food from time to time, such as millet,” Twilight explained.

“Yeah, I can agree here,” Spike said. “My own pet phoenix, Peewee, wouldn’t stop eating whatever sweets he could find.”

“Hold on, you have a phoenix yourself?” Octavia asked in surprise. “That’s cool! Maybe they can hang out from time to time and play a little?”

“Yeeaahh… not gonna work,” Twilight said. “Baby phoenixes are incredibly self-righteous amongst other ones. Trust me, it’d be better if we keep them apart from each other until they are older.”

“Hm, if you say so.” Octavia put Flamewing on her head again. “Anyway, I think I’ll be going. Thanks for all the information and asking Princess Celestia if I could keep Flamewing. I really appreciate it!”

“Ah, it’s no problem at all. I’m glad I was able to help. And if you have any more questions, feel free to come around again and ask them. My door is always open.” She looked at the huge pile of books she built up for her recent studies. “Well, almost always.”

The four of them moved towards the door and said their farewells. After it had closed, Octavia asked Flamewing, “Well, now that you’re officially part of the family, want to get some cupcakes?”

The happy chirping made the answer to that question obvious.

“To the diabetes factory then!”

Author's Notes:

I apologize for the terrible I Am Octavia opening scene. It sounded much better in my head. This was a lesson for me to not take other fan works without making sure I wouldn’t drag its name into dirt.

Another thing, I know this story doesn’t exactly follow the original time- and storyline of the show, but I don’t think it’s different enough to warrant an Alternate Universe tag.

Finally, this chapter’s name was inspired by more metal, although not by Fleshgod Apocalypse, but this. Contrary to popular believe, Death Metal isn’t the only kind of distorted noise I listen to.