S1 E22: A Bird In The Hoof (What If?)
Fluttershy was normally not one to run, no matter what the situation might be. She always preferred to take her time, and enjoy the sights and sounds on her way to whatever destination she had in mind.
But today was different, this was no ordinary occasion. And as Fluttershy ran through the streets of Ponyville, one thought remained at the forefront of her mind the entire time "I'm late, for a very important date!"
Fluttershy managed to reach her destination, Sugarcube Corner, just as the local clock tower struck the hour. She stopped for a moment to catch her breath, while nervously eyeing the two royal guards stationed at the front door.
The guards didn't flinch, or even blink, not even as Rainbow Dash made a wide variety of funny faces directly at them. They stood there so still and motionless, that one could've easily mistaken them for a pair of decorative statues.
After only a few minutes, Rainbow Dash gave up on trying to get a reaction out of the guards. "You're good...." she said to them "too good, I'm bored." And flew past them, and into Sugarcube Corner.
Reluctantly, Fluttershy approached the guards, only to have them block the door with their wings. "Halt!" they ordered "State your name and intention at once!"
Fluttershy gulped, and slowly backed away. "Was it something I did?" she thought to herself.
Fortunately, before Fluttershy could even think about turning around and heading home, Twilight appeared in the door way. "Fluttershy!" she called happily, and said to the guards "It's okay, she's my friend, and one of the invited guests. Let her pass."
The guards parted, allowing for Fluttershy to enter "Sorry for the trouble, miss," they apologized, as Fluttershy made their way past them "But you can never be too careful when you're guarding royalty."
"It's alright, you were just doing your job." Fluttershy said kindly, as she entered Sugarcube Corner. "Never thought there'd be this much security just for a casual visit from Princess Celestia." she thought to herself.
"I'm glad you could make it, Fluttershy," Twilight said, breathing a much needed sigh of relief "This breakfast wouldn't be the same without you."
"Sorry I'm late," Fluttershy apologized, as she noticed Mr. and Mrs. Cake running about, tending to their various customers "I had a patient to take care of first. Poor Mr. Mousey hurt his leg pretty badly, and I had to patch it up."
"Oh, you and your tender loving care of little animals. I just know Princess Celestia is gonna love that about you. At least, I hope she will... I mean, of course she will!" Twilight said with a nervous giggle "Why wouldn't she like that?"
"Wow, Twilight. And I thought I was the only one who got nervous at social gatherings," Fluttershy observed "It's not like the fate of Equestria is at stake or anything, it's just a casual breakfast visit."
"Oh, it's not that. I just want the princess to approve of my friends," Twilight insisted "We may have been chosen to wield The Elements of Harmony, but that doesn't necessarily mean we get a free pass to be friends."
"But she's met us all before, don't you remember?" Fluttershy asked "It's not like she forgot about us."
"Oh, I'm sure she hasn't, and she's heard all about you and the rest of our friends from my letters," Twilight replied, once again giggling nervously "But this is the first time she'll be meeting you all up close and personal. And I want everypony to make a good first impression."
"That shouldn't be too hard," Fluttershy said with little concern "I'm sure our friends will be on their best behavior."
"Well, you already saw Rainbow Dash goofing around as if this were some sort of prank," Twilight told Fluttershy "And just take a look at some of our other friends."
Fluttershy looked around, and quickly took notice of how Rarity and Applejack were behaving. Rarity was wearing a rather lavish dress, and seemed to be taking every precaution to avoid ruining it. "Don't touch me! Watch the dress! Careful, you're gonna spill that on me!" she yelled at random intervals to various guests "Do any of you know how hard it is to get stains out of this dress?!"
Meanwhile, Applejack was struggling with how to eat while not looking like a slob. " Uh... which one's the salad and which one's the appetizer again? And which am I supposed to eat first?" she asked, but nopony answered her, not even The Cakes (they were too busy tending to Princess Celestia to notice anything else).
"It's okay, Twilight," Fluttershy said in a reassuring tone of voice "Nopony's perfect. And so what if our friends' manners' aren't their best? I doubt Princess Celestia will even notice."
But as soon as those words left Fluttershy's mouth, Pinkie Pie came bouncing onto the scene, giggling excitedly. "Whoo-hoo! Cupcakes, candies and pies, oh my!" she cheered, as she hit herself in the face with a pie. She then dipped her head into a chocolate fountain, and somehow managed to eat her way out even after the chocolate encased her face. Then, she jumped onto the table where Princess Celestia was sitting, and scooped up one of the cupcakes "You gonna eat that?!" she asked, before she tossed the cupcake into her mouth.
Mr. and Mrs. Cake were shocked at such a display, and quickly dragged Pinkie Pie off the table. "A thousand pardons, Your Majesty," Mr. Cake spoke up "We are so sorry about that. Pinkie Pie says she's sorry too."
"Yes indeedy," Pinkie Pie said sadly "I got carried away."
"It's alright," Princess Celestia reassured the Cakes "No harm done, it's just one cupcake."
"Still, allow us to make it up to you," Mrs. Cake insisted "Would you like a refill on your cup of tea?"
Princess Celestia looked down at her teacup and appeared to eye it for a moment, then with a warm smile she said to Mrs. Cake "Sure, go ahead," Mrs. Cake did so, only to find out too late that the teacup was already full, and the tea she just poured spilled out of the cup. "Gotcha." Princess Celestia teased, letting out a playful giggle. Mr. and Mrs. Cake couldn't help but laugh too.
"See, nothing to worry about." Fluttershy told Twilight.
"Guess you're right," Twilight realized, then she remembered something "Oh, by the way, Princess Celestia told me she wanted to see you. She said it was very important."
"Me? Whatever for?" Fluttershy asked.
"She didn't say," Twilight answered "But whatever it was, she seemed quite confident you were just the pony for the job."
Reluctantly, Fluttershy made her way over to the table where Princess Celestia was sitting. As she drew close, Fluttershy could see what appeared to be a very sick looking bird, but Fluttershy no idea what kind of bird it was.
"Ah, you must be Fluttershy," Princess Celestia greeted warmly "So nice to meet you, dear. I understand from Twilight Sparkle's letters, that you enjoy tending to the needs of woodland creatures. Is that right?"
"Oh yes, I love to take care of animals." Fluttershy nodded.
"As do I. As Princess, I care deeply about all creatures, great and small," Princess Celestia replied "Which is why I have something I need to ask of you, something very important."
"What is it?" Fluttershy asked nervously.
Princess Celestia turned around, and looked at the bird in the cage to her left. Fluttershy did so as well. "This is my pet, Philomena," Princess Celestia told Fluttershy "She's quite a sight, isn't she?"
"Oh... my," Fluttershy exclaimed, as Philomena coughed a bit "I... I... I've never seen anything like it."
"I apologize in advance for the fact that you have to see her in this state," Princess Celestia said, the faintest hint of sorrow hidden within her tone "Normally, she's a very lively phoneix. But today is the day when she is due to combust and rise from her ashes, fully renewed. I don't tend to take her outside of the palace when she's like this, but the pony I usual entrust her care to when I'm not around called in sick, and Captain Armor has made it very clear that the royal guard does not run a pet sitting service."
"So, you want me to look after your pet phoneix?" Fluttershy asked, her voice both fillied with excitement at the thought of taking care of a new creature, and concern at letting down Princess Celestia.
Princess Celestia nodded "Just until I'm done visting with Mayor Mare. I should warn you though, Philomena can be quite demanding, phoneixs often need extra special care."
"When will she turn to ashes?" Fluttershy reluctantly asked.
"Not for a few hours still, though I can't give you the exact time," Princess Celestia told Fluttershy.
"I'll do it!" Fluttershy said seriously "You can count on me, Princess Celestia! I won't let you down!"
"I'm sure you won't," Princess Celestia smiled "With you, I am absolutely certain that Philomena is in good hooves."
"She asked you to pet sit Philomena?!" Twilight exclaimed once the breakfast had ended.
"She did indeed," Fluttershy nodded "I've never taken care of a phoneix before, I feel so excited!"
"Well, you won't be excited for too long," Twilight commented "I know Philomena well enough to know that she can be quite the troublemaker. She even tricked me once when she was on her burning day, and made me think I was in trouble with the princess when she burst into ashes right in front of me."
"Oh, I'm sure she didn't mean to cause so much trouble." Fluttershy insisted.
"Trust me, Philomena has a cheeky streak a mile wide, if not longer," Twilight warned "If you think taking care of her will be easy, think again."
"I never said it would be easy, taking care of animals is a big responsibility," Fluttershy said seriously "But I gave Princess Celestia my word, and I'm not about to go back on it! I haven't met an animal yet that I couldn't handle!"
"Don't say I didn't warn you," Twilight replied "If you'd like, I can lend you some books on phoneixs and tips on how to take care of them."
"Thank you for the offer, Twilight, but I'll manage just fine on my own," Fluttershy said affirmatively "Now, I'd better get Philomena to my cottage before ponies start staring at her."
"Alright, but I'm still going to stop by later to see how you're doing," Twilight told Fluttershy "And if you need my help, just ask."
"I'll keep that in mind." Fluttershy nodded, and went to fetch Philomena's birdcage.
"Welcome to my home, sweet home, Philomena," Fluttershy said cheerfully, as she carefully trotted through the front door of her cottage, carrying the birdcage behind her with her tail "I know it's probably not as luxrious as the royal castle, but I think you'll find this place has a certain 'charm' to it that you won't find anywhere else."
Philomena's response was to cough repeatedly for about a minute.
"Oh my, we really must do something to get that cough under control," Fluttershy observed "Princess Celestia said it's normal for you to cough from time to time, but not for as long as that. Fortunately, she was kind enough to give me some medicine that will remedy that problem."
Philomena continued to cough.
"Don't worry, Doctor Fluttershy knows just the trick to cure the bland taste of your medicine," Fluttershy said with a wink, as she placed a red and yellow pill on a plate and presented it to Philomena. She then dumped an entire box of bird seed on top of the pill, effectively covering it up. "Go on, eat it all up." Fluttershy encouraged.
Philomena did so, and within seconds the mountain of bird seed was gone. However, the pill remained untouched on the plate.
"Philomena!" Fluttershy angrily exclaimed, before realizing she sounded perhaps a bit too angry and lowered her voice "Why didn't you eat the pill? If you want to stay healthy and stop coughing all the time, you have to eat it."
Philomena's response was to stick out her tongue in disgust, even as she continued to cough.
"I know it probably doesn't taste good, but you need to take it," Fluttershy pleaded "Pretty please? I'll give you a treat if you co-operate."
Philomena appeared to reluctantly reach her tongue out to grab the pill, and swallow it with an audiable gulp.
"Good girl," Fluttershy praised "Now, to get you that treat I promised."
Unfortunately for Fluttershy, even after being given a treat, Philomena continued to be stubborn and uncooperative, much to Fluttershy's annoyance. Philomena soon began to make what sounded like a raspy chirping sound, which drove most of Fluttershy's animal friends crazy.
"I know you miss being with the princess, Philomena," Fluttershy said kindly "But she couldn't take you to see the mayor when you're like this. She's entrusted me with caring for you, the least you can do is cooperate with me."
Philomena responded with another raspy chirp.
"Maybe you'll feel better after a song?" Fluttershy suggested "That always cheers me up. Wait right here, I have someone who I know wouldn't want to miss out on this."
Fluttershy returned a short time later with a hummingbird who's feathers were colored a dark green, which contrasted quite nicely with the brighter green feathers on its chin. The hummingbird proceeded to great Philomena with a sweet sounding hum. Philomena replied with yet another raspy chirp, though this one wasn't as sad sounding.
"This is my fine feathered friend, Hummingway," Fluttershy told Philomena "He always like to sing, isn't that right, Hummingway?"
"Mm-hmm!" Hummingway hummed in reply.
Philomena coughed, then chirped.
"Oh, singing is fun, every creature's capable of doing it," Fluttershy said eagerly "You've just got to find the music inside you and let it out. It's easy."
Philomena coughed some more.
"Just watch, you'll see," Fluttershy said cheerfully "Ready, Hummingway?"
"Mm-hmm!" Hummingway hummed happily.
"Okay then, let's start with something simple," Fluttershy suggested "That way, Philomena can join in once she knows how it goes." Fluttershy proceeded to cheerfully sing a happy little tune that she always liked to sing whenever she was busy doing something, but especially when she was busy cleaning. After all, a little bit of singing always helped the job to get done faster.
Hummingway quickly joined in, humming along as he and Fluttershy performed a delightful melody that echoed out of the cottage windows, and into the wilderness of The Everfree Forest (not to mention into Ponyville). All of Fluttershy's animal friends gathered round to watch, including Angel Bunny for whom the music seemed to have an almost hypnotic effect on, as his ears moved up and down to the beat of the song.
Even Philomena seemed to temporarily forget about her current surroundings, as she became entraced with the music's soothing melody and cheerful chorus.
Alas, the song ended all too soon, much to Philomena's displeasure. It seemed like she had just gotten into the song, only for it abruptly end a few seconds later.
"Oh, thank you, thank you all," Fluttershy said to her animal friends "I'm glad you all enjoyed it, you're such a wonderful audience," then she turned to Philomena "Okay, it's your turn now, Philomena. Go ahead. You can do it."
Philomena opened her mouth, and attempted to sing in the same tune she'd just heard Fluttershy singing in. But she only managed to produce a really raspy and sickly sounding voice that made every last critter in the cottage cover their ears.
"Oh! Um... good try?" Fluttershy said nervously. Philomena got a sad look in her eyes, and it seemed as if she was about to cry. "No, no, it's okay," Fluttershy reassured her "Please, don't cry. I should've realized you wouldn't be able to sing very well in your current state. I'm sure that once you've risen from your ashes, you'll be able to sing even better than I can."
That appeared to make Philomena feel better, as the sad look in her eyes faded. Then, she looked at Fluttershy as if she were curious about something, and indeed she was, for she let out a faint chirp.
"'Why don't you sing in front of other ponies with that lovely voice'?" Fluttershy translated "Because, I'm still working on overcoming my shyness. I'm actually working my up to singing in front of a crowd step by step. Some day, I know I'll get there, because my friends will be there to make sure I don't give up."
With her question answered, Philomena chirped happily, before she started to cough again. This caused some of the feathers still attached to her coat to fall off.
"Oh my goodness!" Fluttershy exclaimed, as she remembered what Princess Celestia had told her "Philomena will lose all of her feathers gradually, and when the last of her feathers have been shed, she will burst into flames and turn to ashes." "Philomena's losing her feathers far sooner than I thought she would," Fluttershy thought nervously to herself "Something I'm doing must be speeding up the process!"
When Twilight arived at Fluttershy's cottage, she was amazed at what she saw. Fluttershy and Philomena were sitting comfortably on the sofa, reading a book about a scientist that attempted to create new life and ended up creating a monster, only for said monster to turn out to be a gentle (not to mention misunderstood) giant. Philomena was still coughing a bit, and most of her feathers had fallen off, but she seemed to be giving Fluttershy no trouble at all.
Twilight was most impressed "Wow, Fluttershy," she observed "I knew you were good with animals, but I didn't think you were this good. Whenever I'm around Philomena, she's been a major hoofful. How did you manage so well?"
"I simply showed Philomena that I wanted to be her friend, and helped her get to know me for who I am," Fluttershy explained "It wasn't easy, but I think she's really grown to like me."
"But how is that possible? You're not Princess Celestia, and whenever I tried to take care of Philomena the same way the princess did it, it never worked!" Twilight said, her voice a mixiture of confusion and frustration "What's your secret?"
"There is no secret, Twilight," Fluttershy replied "I just took care of Philomena the way I'd take care of any animal. No matter what, I can never be exactly like Princess Celestia, even if I were to ask her personally how she cares for her pet. Whenever you were sick while you were studying under Princess Celestia, did she try to take care of you exactly the same way your mother would take care of you?"
"No. At least, after a while" Twilight responded "For the first couple of times, she would ask me how my mother would nurse me back to health, and she tried her best to recreate the experience. But as I got older and got more comfortable around her, she'd take care of me in her own special way. Some things stayed the same regardless, but not everything was exactly as it used to be."
"And was that a bad thing?" Fluttershy asked. She knew what the answer was, but she wanted to see if Twilight knew it as well.
"Of course not," Twilight told Fluttershy "So, do you still need any help? Because it seems like you have everything under control."
"Actually, there is one thing I'm still having trouble with," Fluttershy confessed "For some reason, Philomena refuses to cooperate and take her medicine. I managed to get her to swallow one pill, but every time since I haven't had any luck."
"Then you have to MAKE her take it," Twilight said seriously "You've got to put your foot down and let her know you're the boss. This is one time where you really can't be a pushover."
"But what if she doesn't like it?" Fluttershy asked in a worried tone "I don't want to force myself or my ways onto her, that wouldn't be right."
"Tough love, baby," Twilight replied "Sometimes, that's what it takes. You want her to get well, don't you?"
"Of course, but..." Fluttershy began.
"No excuses!" Twilight interrupted, grabbing a pill "Now, where's the patient?"
"Well, she's right here," Fluttershy said nervously, before she noticed that Philomena was no longer on the couch "Or at least, she was here just a minute ago. You must've scared her."
"I didn't mean to," Twilight apologized "But where could she have gone?"
As if to answer Twilight's question, a raspy chirp that was interrupted by a cough filled the air. Twilight and Fluttershy spun around, just in time to see Philomena run through the open door, and off down the path leading from the cottage.
"No! Philomena! Come back here!" Fluttershy cried, but it was too late. Philomena was already well on her way into town. "Where does she think she's going?" Fluttershy wondered outloud.
Meanwhile, Twilight was beginning to panic "Oh no. NonononononoNO!" she exclaimed "This, is bad. Very, very bad. You have no idea what Princess Celestia is gonna do if she finds out you let her pet run away, do you?!"
"Do you?" Fluttershy asked.
"Well... no," Twilight admitted "But it can't be anything good. She might banish you from Equestria. Or throw you in a dungeon. Or banish you, and then throw you in a dungeon in the place that she banishes you to!"
"You really think the princess would do that?" Fluttershy asked Twilight "Sounds a bit excessive, don't you think?"
"Okay. Granted that probably won't happen," Twilight realized "But wouldn't you be mad if you trusted somepony else with looking after you pet, and they let said pet run away?"
"I guess so," Fluttershy considered "But we'll worry about that later. Right now, we've got a bird to catch!"
"Then we'd better not waste anymore time," Twilight said seriously "Knowing Philomena, she'll try to trick an unsuspecting pony into thinking she's worse than she really is." And with that, the two mares set off to chase after Philomena.
After what felt like an eternity chasing Philomena (during which time Twilight and Fluttershy had learned just how clever Philomena could really be), Twilight and Fluttershy were exhausted. But they had nothing to show for their efforts, Philomena had appeared to have given them the slip.
"I knew we shouldn't have made that left turn at Aloe and Lotus' Spa." Twilight groaned.
"For a phoneix who's close to combusting, she sure is hard to find," Fluttershy added "Maybe we should just go to Princess Celestia and tell her what happened, I'm sure the royal guard could find Philomena in a heartbeat."
"You're joking, right?" Twilight replied "The royal guard has better things to do than look for the princess' missing pet, especially when it's not even supposed to be missing in the first place."
"But we've looked just about everywhere," Fluttershy protested "The only place we haven't checked yet is the fountain in the town square."
"Then that's where Philomena must be," Twilight realized "Sherlock Hooves once famously said 'When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.' In this case, since we know Philomena couldn't have run into The Everfree Forest, and we've already checked everywhere else in town, the fountain has to be where we'll find her. Now come on!"
Fluttershy reluctantly followed Twilight to the town square, only for them to discover that their friends had decided to hang out there. They also discovered, to their horror, that Philomena was perched atop one of the fountain statues. Nopony seemed to notice her, or if they did they chose to ignore it.
"Looks like you were right, Twilight," Fluttershy whispered "Maybe we should ask our friends to help us out? Twelve hooves are better than four hooves."
"Hopefully, that won't be necessary," Twilight replied confidently "We'll just carefully sneak in, grab Philomena, and get back to your cottage before anypony even knows what happened."
"Then we'd better be fast!" Fluttershy said seriously "Philomena could burst into ashes at any second!"
"So let's stop talking, and start doing!" Twilight replied "I'm right behind you!"
Pinkie Pie was happily munching on a treat from Sugarcube Corner, while Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash spent time talking amongst themselves about Princess Celestia's visit. None of them were aware of Philomena's presence (largely due to the fact that Philomena was perched so still and silently, that one could easily mistake her as part of the fountain statues).
All of a sudden, Pinkie Pie felt herself being lifted up a bit, courtesy of Fluttershy. "Excuse me!" Fluttershy apologized.
"Hi!" Pinkie Pie called "Where've you been all day, Fluttershy? Today's such a glorious day."
"I'm sure it is, but I'm very busy with something," Fluttershy replied, as she set Pinkie Pie down "Just forget you saw me."
Meanwhile, Twilight was moving past Rarity and Applejack, who were not too pleased with Twilight shoving past them. "Beg your pardon!" Twilight apologized "So sorry about this, just coming through!"
"Put me down!" Rarity demanded "This is no way to treat a lady!"
"What in tarnation ya tryin' to do, Twilight?!" Applejack asked angrily "This ain't like ya."
"Sorry, but we're looking for a bird." Fluttershy apologized.
"What bird? I don't see any bird," Rainbow Dash replied "Except maybe for that weirdly colored bird statue."
"That's the bird we've been looking for!" Twilight exclaimed. As soon as she said that, Philomena announced her presence with a cough. Everypony (except for Twilight and Fluttershy who already knew) gasped.
"Philomena, come down from there this instant!" Fluttershy demanded "You'll hurt yourself!"
Philomena responded with a long, drawn out cough, before she plunged off of the statue she had been perched on.
Reacting quickly, Fluttershy raced forward with her front hooves ahead of her face, as she prepared to catch Philomena in mid air. But then, to the shock of everypony present the last of Philomena's feathers flew off, and she burst into flames! Despite the shock of this, Fluttershy managed to catch the ashes as they fell into her hooves.
"That was a close one," Fluttershy said, breathing a much needed sigh of relief "Are you okay, Philomena?" she asked the pile of ashes.
"Uh, is Fluttershy okay?" Applejack asked nervously.
"Oh, she's fine." Twilight reassured Applejack.
"Then how come she's talking to that pile of ashes?" Rainbow Dash asked "And since when does a bird just suddenly catch fire like that?"
"Just watch, you'll see," Twilight said eagerly "Philomena's just playing with you all, just like she did with me. She'll rise from the ashes any second now."
Several seconds passed, but nothing happened. An awkward and uncomfortable silence loomed over the ponies. Nopony dared to say much of anything, even Pinkie Pie was silent.
"Um, Twilight, it's been over a minute," Pinkie Pie said in a worried tone "Nothing's happening. You're sure everything's okay?"
"Of course I'm sure," Twilight replied, then she glared at the pile of ashes and said "Okay, Philomena, you've had your fun! Now stop fooling around, and quit being so dramatic! You're scaring everypony!"
Just as soon as Twilight had finished saying those words, there was a gust of wind that blew the ashes out of Fluttershy's hooves. Everypony watched in awe, as the ashes rose into the air, and disappeared in a blinding flash of white light. When the light faded, there stood the most beautiful bird that anypony had ever seen. Its firey red and orange feathers glistened in the bright afternoon sun, and it let out a majestic sounding squawk.
"Well, I'll be," Rarity exclaimed "A living, breathing phoneix. I always thought they were just legend."
"Oh, they're quite real, and born pranksters no less," a familiar royal voice called out "Perhaps that is why Philomena here took such a shine to me."
Everypony turned around, and their mouths dropped open in surprise. There stood Princess Celestia in all her glory, accompanied by two of her royal guards. "Princess Celestia!" the ponies all exclaimed.
"Indeed, it is so lovely to see you all gathered together on such a splendid day," Princess Celestia said with a warm smile "And I see you've all met my pet, Philomena. She is quite a sight to behold, isn't she?"
"She sure is," Applejack replied "But just what she was doin' tryin' to trick us into thinkin' she was sick? That wasn't very nice."
"It would seem that Philomena decided to take the occasion of her annual burning day to have a little fun with you all," Princess Celestia explained, as she strecthed out her front right hoof, allowing for Philomena to perch on it "Say you're sorry, young lady." she ordered.
Philomena turned to face the six ponies, and let out a sad sounding cry. Fluttershy translated "She said she's very sorry, especially for giving me such a hard time early on. She was just bored of waiting for her feathers to fall off so she could combust, and wanted to have some fun. She never intended to cause trouble."
"I'm sure she didn't, and do not feel bad," Princess Celestia reassured Fluttershy "This is hardly the first time Philomena has done such a thing. She is quite the mischievous creature, but I love her with all my heart. I trust you did a good job taking care of her?"
Fluttershy nodded "It wasn't easy, but I realized that it was better if I tried to take care of her in my own way, rather than try to do everything the way you did it. You have your methods, and I have mine. And today, I think Philomena learned that different methods aren't always bad. Just because someone does something a bit different from how you're used to does not mean their way of doing it is wrong. But Philomena also taught me something."
"And what would that be, Fluttershy?" Princess Celestia asked.
"Philomena taught me that just because I have experience with something, it doesn't automatically make me an expert on that subject," Fluttershy explained "I thought that because I had taken care of so many other woodland critters big and small, I would automatically know how to take care of a phoneix. But Philomena was unlike any animal I'd ever taken care of before, and I should've taken that fact into consideration, instead of assuming I would know what's best for her. I was just lucky that everything worked out in the end."
"Sounds like a valueable lesson to have learned, Fluttershy," Princess Celestia smiled "I can see that you are truly worthy of being The Element of Kindness, and one of Twilight Sparkle's friends. It takes a great deal of courage to admit when you've made a mistake, no matter how small it might be."
"Should I write you a letter about that lesson, Princess?" Twilight asked.
Princess Celestia giggled "No, that's quite all right. I think I can remember."
"Hey, Philomena," Rainbow Dash called, attracting the phoneix's attention "You know what you should do? You should go over to those royal guards and tickle them. Get 'em to lighten up a little."
"Hey, I was gonna suggest that!" Pinkie Pie insisted "I guess great minds think alike."
"So, whadya say, Philomena?" Rainbow Dash asked "Wanna give it a try?"
Philomena squawked, and flew off of Princess Celestia's hoof. She then swooped around and appeared in front of the two royal guards accompanying Princess Celestia. She extended her wings out towards their noses, tickling them a bit.
The royal guards tried to remain stotic and expressionless, but the tickling was too much for them. In a matter of seconds, they burst out laughing, as did everypony else.
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Trolling ensues.
I'm feeling quite tricksy! 
rewrite twas good, lov'd it
Now this is what Princess Celestia should've done. If she had explained about her pet phoenix to Fluttershy, then the pointless gross out humour would've been avoided.
Happy to see the third instalment, guess I have a lot of catching up to do.
I never thought of that . . .
ACCEPTED AS CANON!