It was a lovely warm summer afternoon in Canterlot, even if the wind was a little chilly. Fluttershy sat on a red checkered picnic blanket with Twilight, Spike and Peewee as they waited in the Canterlot Gardens. Peewee hadn’t eaten in two days after hatching and Spike had brought him to Fluttershy. She had tried every trick she knew for fussy eaters, without success. Twilight decided to contact Princess Celestia, with her knowledge of her own pet phoenix, Philomina, she might know how to help. Perhaps even having another phoenix around would encourage him to eat. They promptly received an invitation to the Canterlot Gardens, and arrived there that afternoon.
Fluttershy and Spike were trying once more to get Peewee to eat while Twilight had her face buried in a book searching for anything to help the little hatchling. Spike had thoughtfully brought a light lunch for them to share to pass the time, even a little extra in case they were there for while. Spike was now trying to feed Peewee a mushed-up piece of apple; however the stubborn phoenix refused to even try a bite.
“Come on, Peewee, just a little bit? Please?” Spike pleaded as he offered the fruit again. Peewee just shook his head and turned up his beak at the tasty treat. Defeated, Spike threw it into the growing sloppy NO pile. Collapsing to the ground Spike looked towards Twilight. “Anything?”
“Sorry Spike, there is nothing in here on the dietary habits of phoenix hatchlings. There is plenty on the adults...but nothing on why Peewee won’t eat anything. Even the things phoenixes are known to love, I just don’t understand.“Twilight said, never lifting her muzzle from her book—The Pony Ornithologist’s Guide to Equestrian Birds. “Phoenixes are normally very aggressive about their nests and eggs, so nopony has ever gotten close to one to study it.”
“I guess when dragons always try to kill your eggs, you would be a little overprotective too.” Spike sighed, remembering what the teenage dragons tried to do to Peewee’s parents. What he almost did.
Fluttershy looked over at Spike as he let out a heavy breath which let out a puff of flame. She was staring at the no pile and then back to Spike with a thoughtful look on her face.
“Um, Spike...I have an idea. Would you like to hear it? ” Fluttershy asked quietly. “That is, if you’re okay with it.”
Spike shrugged and nodded towards Fluttershy. Twilight looked up from her book interested. Fluttershy smiled and moved closer to the pile.
“Um, breathe fire over this please Spike,” she said as she pushed a little bit of the goo off to the side. Spike raised an eyebrow but proceeded to burn the mashed fruit pile. As the flames died down Peewee let out a squawk of delight and buried his beak in the scalding mess.
“Fluttershy, that was amazing!” Twilight clapped her hooves together excitedly. Spike continued to burn the mash, relieved that Peewee was finally eating something.
“We’ve tried everything to try and get him to eat something! How did you know?” Spike asked happily in between puffs of fire.
“Um, most birds chew or mash up the hatchlings food like we’ve been doing, but since Peewee still wouldn’t eat it, I thought what would a mamma phoenix do?” Fluttershy scuffed her hoof in the ground. “And since phoenixes are covered in magical fire...”
“You thought that, maybe, a phoenix would rather a hot meal?” Asked a cheerful, regal voice from behind them.”Very astute, Fluttershy, perhaps I was not needed after all.”
The group turned to see Princess Celestia and two of her personal pegasus guard carrying Philomina in her cage. Fluttershy bowed respectively and blushed at the compliment from the beautiful mare, trying to hide within her thick pink mane. Twilight and Spike rushed to their mentor and gave her a friendly hug. “Care to join us for lunch Princess? I’m sure we have enough for your guards as well.” Twilight asked hopefully and motioned towards the blanket.
“Of course Twilight. I would be honored to join you.” Celestia glanced at the two pegasi behind her. “Guards?”
The two guards politely refused and Celestia simply nodded to them and they opened the cage door for Philomina. Celestia then dismissed the guards for the day but she was sure that they (and others) were hidden nearby. Fluttershy peeked from her mane and watched as Philomina leapt into the air to stretch her wings. Philomina climbed higher and suddenly Fluttershy felt a slight weight nestle in her hair . Peewee had hopped on her head to watch Philomena's ascent.
“She seems so happy to be out of her cage, I wish she didn’t have to stay in it,” Fluttershy thought out loud. As the words hung in the air, she felt a surprised glare from Twilight,
but a reassuring laugh from Celestia cleared the air. Twilight breathed a sigh of relief.
“Oh, I would never keep Philomina in against her will. She simply enjoys having somepony carry her around.” Celestia winked. ”My fault for spoiling her, really. “
Fluttershy nodded and continued to watch Philomena’s aerial display as she danced through the sky leaving a fiery trail behind her. As Fluttershy looked over to Peewee, the little hatchling was transfixed by her aerobatics. Fluttershy tried to stifle a laugh as Peewee began trying to imitate Philomena's moves with his tiny wings. A squawk of terror from him brought Fluttershy’s eyes back to the sky. Philomena was falling and her fire seemed to flicker and die out, becoming a dull smouldering glow. Fluttershy’s wings sprung into action before she even knew what was happening but before she could lift off, Philomena pulled out of her nose dive, spinning upwards with ease, a small corkscrew of smoke now trailing behind her. At the apex of her flight, her feathers began to crackle and spark with life and she ignited in a dazzling ring of fire.
Everypony was speechless as Philomena returned to Celestia’s side with a bow and even she seemed impressed. Peewee was the first to pipe up with an excited chirp and he fluttered over to his new hero.
“Princess that was amazing! I’ve never seen anypony fly like that!” Twilight exclaimed, her eyes glued to Philomena. “Well...except for Rainbow Dash.” She added quickly and Fluttershy nodded in agreement and with only a twinge of jealousy.
“Yes it is impressive,” Celestia admitted and looked down at her grandstanding friend. ”Which is why she was supposed to save it for the next Summer Sun Festival.” Philomina just trilled in response, getting a giggle from all. The rest of the afternoon was spent chatting about various things, Twilight asked about events in Canterlot, how Luna was adapting and, of course, the study of magic. Fluttershy asked a lot about caring for phoenix fledglings. Philomena was playing with Peewee, much to his delight. Spike helped himself to the remainder of the picnic basket.
They continued talking well until it was time for the sun to set, reflexively Celestia rose from her seat and began her spell. Almost immediately she felt a familiar magic take hold of the moon and gently move it away from her own magic. Celestia simply smiled and allowed the other spell to take hold. Her smile radiated so much that Fluttershy smiled as well. Fluttershy had heard Celestia was more beautiful in the sunset, only now did she think it was possible.
“It seems Luna has given me the night off.” Celestia hummed happily, and looked at the others. “Now, what to do with all this free time? Perhaps a walk through the Canterlot Gardens?”
At the mention of the Canterlot Gardens, Fluttershy scuffed the ground hesitantly, remembering the last time she was in the gardens during the Grand Galloping Gala.Celestia noticed the young pegasus’s apprehension and placed a hoof on her shoulder.
“Don’t worry, Fluttershy, the animals will love you. They just aren’t used to other ponies and they normally only trust my gardener and myself. If I’m with you, I promise they won’t be afraid.“
“I’d love to go then Princess.” Fluttershy meekly replied blushing. Twilight on the other hoof was nearly jumping out of her fur with joy. She nodded eagerly towards both Celestia and Fluttershy, until a loud snore snapped her attention back to Spike. He was sleeping curled up sucking the tip of his tail. Peewee was napping on top of his head with a full belly.
“Poor Spike, he hasn’t slept since Peewee hatched, he’s been so worried about the little guy.” Twilight gently lifted them onto her back. ”I better get these two to bed.”
“I could do it...” Fluttershy started but Twilight lifted up a hoof in dismissal. She knew how much her friend regretted that night.
“No Fluttershy, you and Princess Celestia should go on ahead, I’ll take them back to our room. I’ll catch up.’” Twilight smiled at her friend and bowed to Celestia.
“Very well, Twilight, I shall await your return,” Celestia said calmly but Fluttershy thought she could hear a little sadness hidden in her voice. Twilight trotted off down the road with her charges in tow, being careful not to wake the pair. Philomina flying behind them protectively.
Celestia looked over to Fluttershy and gestured with her hoof towards the center of the Canterlot gardens.
“Shall we go?”
Fluttershy nodded softly and walked with Celestia deeper into the garden. She kept close by Celestia and Philomena’s side. Both were keeping a slow deliberate pace, Celestia seemed lost in thought but Fluttershy didn’t mind; she enjoyed the quiet moment, the stars slowly sparkling into view. They danced between the leaves of the garden trees.
As they slowly made their way to a fountain along the garden trail, Celestia paused. After moment of thought, she turned her attention to Fluttershy. “Well Fluttershy perhaps we should wait for twilight here before continuing with the tour. What do you think?”
“I think that would be lovely, Princess.” Fluttershy nodded and sat on a nearby bench. Celestia followed behind.
“There is no need to be so formal, Fluttershy,” Celestia said as she sat next to her. “You and your friends have more than earned the right to simply call me Celestia. You’ve saved Equestria no less than four times now,”
“Okay Pri...I mean...Celestia.” Fluttershy stammered.
They both looked up in the sky for a few moments and a content smile grew along Celestia's face “This is nice. Most ponies are too busy with trying to please me to actually spend time with me.” Fluttershy blushed in response.
“Do you know what it’s like to be fawned and gushed over in a room full of ponies, and still feel so alone?” Celestia continued and stared at the ground.
Fluttershy was silent for a moment as she thought.
“Uhm... I think I do Princess... when I was a model... no, I’m sorry I brought it up. Nevermind,” Fluttershy said somberly.
“No, Fluttershy, please continue!” Celestia entreated. “What happened?”
Fluttershy braced herself for the worst but continued on. “When I was a model, the only thing I wanted was for somepony to notice me and not what I looked like or how graceful I seemed...” Fluttershy turned her head in embarrassment. “I just wanted to be back with my friends and animals. They knew me for me. If that makes sense.” Fluttershy shut her eyes tightly, in tears.
“Yes, dear Fluttershy, it does. That is exactly how I felt...” Celestia draped a comforting wing over Fluttershy. ”...and I’m glad somepony else understands as well.”
Celestia looked over at the moon’s reflection in the fountain. “ I thought only Luna really understood. Cadance will understand and maybe even... one day... Twilight.”
“What about Twilight?” Fluttershy asked.
“Hmm? Oh...I think I hear her coming up the path,” Celestia said nodding towards Twilight’s distinct hoof beats. ”I’m afraid she never did learn to be stealthy.”
Fluttershy giggled as a puzzled Twilight came into view.
Celestia stood and started down the path and called out, “Come! It is getting late and if we wait too long all the animals will be asleep and I’ll have to raise the sun!” Twilight and Fluttershy happily trotted behind.
As they neared the center of the garden, Celestia began to sing a simple and old tune, and one by one, the animals began to respond in a way that harmonized with the song as if each animal was made for the song rather than it made for them. Fluttershy was enchanted and even Twilight was surprised and fixated on Celestia’s singing.
“Oh that was lovely! You have a beautiful voice Celestia!” Fluttershy said excitedly. “I’ve never heard anything like it before!”
“Yes it was amazing! Princess Celestia!” Twilight nudged Fluttershy with her foreleg to remind her of the royal edict.
“Don’t trouble yourself, Twilight, Fluttershy is simply doing as I asked. You and your friends have more than earned the right to address me as such,” Celestia chided as she held out her hoof to a small squirrel. Twilight resigned herself and nodded.
“It’s a tune my mother used to sing to my sister and I when we would go for a stroll in the forest, before Discord... before Nightmare Moon,” Celestia said sadly but quickly returned to her regal and confident self. ”This is why I love coming here, it reminds me of the past and I can be myself, nopony and no creature judges me here. They know me as well as I know them. After the Grand Galloping Gala, I come out here to comfort them. The music frightens them and makes them jumpy. Have you noticed the sun always rises ten minutes later the next morning?”
Both Twilight and Fluttershy nodded.
“I do it so the animals can have a few minutes of peace... and so some of the ponies who were up late can sleep in.” Celestia nodded with a wink.
Fluttershy nodded. “That’s very thoughtful!…is that a real Buzzing Buzzard?” she gasped and Fluttershy’s wings fluttered in excitement. Floating towards a large black-plumed vulture who puffed up his chest at the attention. Twilight began looking up Buzzing Buzzards in her book.
“Yes, I rescued him along with a few of the other animals you see here, this poor fellow’s wing was broken in Whitetail Forest, so I brought him back here.” Celestia nodded and scratched under his beak. ” Since then, he’s become very protective of the other animals here.”
“Uhm Princ..I mean Celestia... did you rescue Philomena too?” Fluttershy asked timidly.
Princess Celestia shook her head and chuckled demurely. “No, in fact it was Philomena who rescued me!”
Fluttershy’s eyes widened in surprise and even Twilight looked up from her book, listening intently for an explanation.
“It was many centuries ago back when I was young mare, even younger than Twilight is now. Luna and I were playing near the Everfree Forest...” Celestia took a deep breath and continued. “Luna had decided to hide in the forest. Our parents had warned us to not play in there and I didn’t want to her to get in trouble... so I followed her in...”
“It wasn’t long before I came across a hungry manticore...” Celestia shuddered at the memory. “Looking back now, I know that the poor thing was sick, its mane unkempt and its fur hanging on in patches. It was a terrifying sight and I still remember its hot breath behind me. It chased me deeper into the forest...” Celestia shuddered for a moment. Fluttershy placed a reassuring hoof on her shoulder and the animals chittered in support.
“I didn’t know you could even be afraid of anything Princess!” Twilight yelped in surprise.
“We all have something we fear Twilight,” Celestia chided. Twilight looked away sheepishly and Celestia continued. “We came upon a clearing. I had hoped I could escape by flying, but when the beast’s massive wings unfurled, I knew it would be on me in seconds. I was headed for certain death. I tried my magic, but I didn’t have any spells that wouldn’t destroy the forest as well as the manticore. Luna was always better with magic than I.”
“Oh my, then what happened?” Fluttershy asked worriedly.
“Suddenly a shrieking fireball drove itself between the manticore and myself. It had seemed as though the sun itself had come down to save me. It was Philomena, she had driven off the monster. She flew over to a nearby tree and waited for me to catch my breath. When I calmed down, I rushed to thank the one who saved me. I had nothing to offer but a pomegranate. Luckily, Philomena loves pomegranates. When she finished gorging , I asked her if she could join me in my search. She was more than happy to, as long as she could get more pomegranates.” Celestia paused and gave a big reassuring smile to Fluttershy.
“Did you ever find Princess Luna?” Twilight asked quietly; Fluttershy could only nod timidly, eager to hear the end.
“Oh yes! Soon after, Philomena and I found her hiding in a log. She had fallen asleep waiting for me to find her from our game.” Celestia chuckled loudly. ”Just don’t tell Luna I told you, she gets terribly embarrassed about it.”
Fluttershy and Twilight both had a good chuckle along with the princess, and after the giggling had died down, Celestia looked up to the sky and sighed
“It is getting early, I suppose I should raise the sun. Otherwise everypony might think that Nightmare Moon has returned!” Her horn lit up and she began to raise the sun. ”I am glad that Peewee is in capable hooves... and thank you both for keeping me company, I haven’t had good company like this in a thousand years. We should do this again.”
“I’d like that.” Fluttershy muttered, barely audible to anypony as she scuffed the ground with her hoof.
Celestia smiled and whispered into Fluttershy’s ear. “Then perhaps we should have tea some time. I’m always glad to make a new friend!”
Fluttershy turned as pink as her hair. Celestia had heard her! However a tiny smile slipped out of the shade of pink as she and Twilight made their way back to Ponyville. Twilight wondered how Fluttershy could seem even more quiet than usual. Sleep, however, overpowered her curiosity and soon she and Fluttershy were asleep. Those that were awake said that this morning's sunrise was one of the most beautiful and cheerful they had ever seen.
