Princess Celestia visits Ponyville along with her seemingly sick pet bird, Philomena. Fluttershy, worried about the bird's health, secretly takes Philomena to her cottage and tries to help her, but everything she does seems to worsen the bird's condition. When Twilight discovers this, she gets involved in helping cure Philomena, and learns that Celestia's guards are looking for it. Eventually Philomena escapes, leading Twilight and Fluttershy on a chase through town. The chase ends when Philomena falls from the top of a statue, bursting into flames and falling as a pile of ash into Fluttershy's hooves just as Celestia arrives. Fluttershy profusely apologizes, ready to take any punishment, before Celestia reveals that Philomena is a phoenix. Philomena rises from the ashes as a powerful bird, and at Celestia's insistence, apologizes to Fluttershy for messing with her.