A Bird in the Hoof
Fluttershy takes Princess Celestia's sickly pet bird to nurse it.
Fluttershy secretly takes Princess Celestia's pet bird Philomena to care for it, worried about its health, in this twenty-second episode of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic's first season. Written by Charlotte Fullerton, it aired on The Hub on April 8, 2011.
Quick Facts
- Series
- My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
- Writer
- Charlotte Fullerton
- Director
- Jayson Thiessen; James Wootton
- Air date
- 8 April 2011
- Length
- 22 minutes
Facts from the source article.
Plot
Fluttershy met her friends and Princess Celestia at the bakery for brunch. The princess introduced her pet bird, Philomena, who coughed and lost feathers throughout the meal. When Mayor Mare asked to speak with Celestia, the princess left and accidentally left Philomena behind. Worried the bird was very ill, Fluttershy took her home to treat her, but nothing helped and Philomena seemed to get worse. Twilight arrived and was shocked to learn Fluttershy had taken the princess’s pet without asking. She insisted they return the bird, but royal guards showed up looking for it. The two ponies pretended not to know where Philomena was, and Twilight suggested they heal the bird first. Fed up with the rough treatments, Philomena escaped. The ponies chased her through town while dodging the guards. They lost sight of her until a guard spotted her on a fountain statue as her final feather dropped. Philomena stumbled, fell, burst into flames, and turned to ash in Fluttershy’s hooves. Princess Celestia arrived and asked what happened. Fluttershy confessed she had taken the bird. Celestia told the ash to stop fooling around, and the ashes swirled into a large, flame-colored bird. She explained that Philomena’s molting and sickly look were part of her natural renewal cycle. Fluttershy promised to ask permission next time, and the princess assured her she would not be punished for her well-meaning mistake.
Reception
Sherilyn Connelly, the writer behind Ponyville Confidential, assigned the episode a B- grade. In her SF Weekly review, she wryly noted that when Fluttershy asks Princess Celestia if she should write a friendship letter about her lesson, even Celestia has grown tired of the letters, and that the practice will thankfully be dropped in Season 2. Critic Jen A. Blue viewed the episode as a twist on the rebirth theme that had appeared earlier in the first season, such as in "Swarm of the Century" and "Suited for Success." Blue pointed out that while Philomena the phoenix experiences a literal physical rebirth, the characters themselves do not change, calling this a very postmodern move that questions the whole rebirth idea. Blue also saw the story as a critique of kindness applied incorrectly, arguing that good intentions alone are not enough and that true kindness means understanding what others actually need. She noted Fluttershy's growth from shyness to greater assertiveness, and observed that well-meaning actions without proper communication can lead to harm. Blue compared Philomena's inability to express her needs to that of children, with Fluttershy standing in for caregivers who, despite good intentions, may cause distress.
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