Panacea's Mirth
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Panacea's Mirth

The dusty library floor had been neglected for far too long, but that was about to change. Spike focused on blancing the over-sized broom as thin wisps of rising dust shone in the window's late morning sunbeams. His tail skillfully curled around the handle of a dustpan, managing with a practiced pose to hold it in place on the floor as he carefully swept the dust pile into it. Spike's heart was at ease listening to the brushing of his broom and the faint twinkling of magic turning the pages of a book behind him. A slight smile crept across Twilight's face as she studied, subconsciously listening to Spike's quiet broom-strokes. Twilight's ears twitched slightly at the metallic clang of Spike replacing the broom and dustpan back to where they belonged.

Spike scanned over the floor of the library, smiling as naught a spec of dirt nor dust was caught by the young dragon's eye. Just to doubly check—and for a little bit of due pride in his work he rubbed an open claw against the floor and inspected it closely. His claw came up clean. Staring at the oak wood floor, it almost seemed to shimmer in the summer sun.

Spike beamed at Twilight, his smile almost as bright as the freshly swept floor. His pride went unnoticed by Twilight, whose snout was still buried in her book. Slightly disappointed, Spike scuffled up to her side wearing a new expression of inquisition. He peered over the edge of the table on which her book sat. The calm air in the room was broken and Twilight instinctively raised her wing away from the intruding dragon as she turned her attention to him.

"Yes Spike?"

"Twi, you've been reading that book since you got that letter last night. What's it about?"

Twilight giggled and folded her wing back over her side while pulling up a chair for Spike to sit in. "Well, Spike: about a thousand years ago, there-"

Her explanation was cut short by the sound of a hoof pounding distractingly on the front door with three loud and insistent "whump"s.

Twilight glanced up from her old book, ears twitching once more towards the sound of a hoof pounding on her front door. "Who could that be?"

Spike glanced towards the stairs then back at Twilight shrugging. "Want me to get it?"

Twilight sighed to herself and stretched as she got up from her seat, her back cracking loudly as she took a much needed stretch. "That's alright Spike, I can get it. It feels like I've been sitting there for hours!"

Twilight had barely made her way down her stairs before Pinkie Pie burst through the front door, her mane looking even more uncomfortably tangled than usual. A drip of sweat rolled down the side of her head as she looked around frantically before spotting Twilight and racing over to her.

"TWILIIIIIGHT!"

Twilight shut her eyes hard, flinging her wings violently in front of her as Pinkie bounded over to her with the force of a sugar-rush, certain the pink mare would come crashing into her. Pinkie stopped just as suddenly as she had started mere inches away from Twilight's face. Twilight opened her eye slightly, peering out between her feathers only to see Pinkie Pie staring directly at her wide eyed. Twilight unfurled her wings, peering out from behind her feathers cautiously.

"Pinkie, calm down! I'm right here! Are you ok?"

"Ohmygosh, Twilight, it's terrible! Applejack's stuck sick in bed!"

Twilight blinked and stared at Pinkie Pie emptily, her expression instantly shifting to one of contemplation. "Sick huh? Interesting... "Twilight quietly folded her wings back as Pinkie continued her explanation.

"Ohhhhhhh, Twi! It's the worst thing in all of Equestria! I went to Sweet Apple Acres three hours, twenty-two minutes, and- NO! WAIT! Twenty THREE minutes ago! Because we allllllllllways" giving the drawn-out word an extended eye roll "run out of apples right when we have a big order for apple pies but I didn't see Applejack ANYWHERE! So when I saw Big Macintosh bucking trees in the distance I asked him where Applejack was and heeee said..." Pinkie paused momentarily to take a deep breath. "...that she's been sick in bed with a fever all morning! I couldn't believe how bad Applejack must have felt! So then of course I had to go get everypony I could to help cheer her up because being sick in bed isn't any fun for anypony!"

Twilight thought to herself silently as Pinkie's deluge of words continued to wash over her, her gaze still seemingly set on nothing. "If Applejack's sick it must be a pretty strong disease... I think Pinkie said it was a fever... yes, it should be perfect!"

"...everypony hates being sick in bed! I remember the last time I was sick in bed and my mane wasn't poofy and oh it was so wrong! Of course I had to go get everypony I could to help because what would we do if Applejack couldn't-!" Pinkie let out what sounded like a gasp of life or death "WHAT IF THERE WERE NO MORE APPLE PIES?!!"

Pinkie braced her hooves against the stairs and shook her head as hard as she could to force the idea out from her mind. Twilight cocked an eye at the poofy-maned mare. Almost losing her balance, she wobbled a bit as her eyes circled around in her head before she focused once again on Twilight with a smile.

"So will you come with me to Sweet Apple Acres? To help Applejack get better? Pretty please with apple pie on top?" Pinkie gave Twilight the best puppy dog eyes she could muster.

"Don't worry Pinkie, I'll come with you, but first I have to wait for something."

"Wait? Whaddya mean wait!? What could possibly be more important than cheering up poor Applejack!?"

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Medicine and bedrest for starters. But never mind that, follow me and I'll show you." Twilight quickly trotted up the stairs with Pinkie bounding after her.

The pair trotted up to see Spike looking over Twilight's book. With a loud magical pop, Twilight teleported to the desk just a few inches away from Spike, making him jump.

"Gah! Twilight! You know I hate when you do that!"

Spike glared at Twilight as she smiled at him in innocent awkward shame. "Sorry Spike!"

Pinkie raced over, grabbing onto both Twilight and Spike hard making them both lurch towards her. Pinkie lowered herself mere inches from the book while holding herself up by her makeshift armrests. Pinkie glanced over the name Panacea P. Bo. before deciding that reading the entire book would take too long and a more direct approach was necessary.

"What's all this Twilight? Who's Pah-nah-kyuh? Are you putting off seeing Applejack to read a book?!" Pinkie hopped back from the two, pointing an accusing hoof at Twilight.

Spike shifted his glare to Pinkie Pie, rubbing the top of his head as Twilight began to speak.

"Spike, could you do me a favor and find that letter we received last night?"

Spike sighed and stood from his seat, walking towards Twilight's bed. "Sure thing Twilight."

Pinkie lowered her hoof as Twilight began to explain herself. "That's 'pan-ah-see-uh" Pinkie. She was a famous unicorn from about 1000 years ago, said to be one of the greatest doctors in all of Equestria! From head colds to the worst diseases ever heard of in medical history, it's said that Panacea knew magics and healing practices able to cure anything."

Pinkie's eyes grew with astonishment as Twilight spoke. "Any disease ever? Even the pony pox?"

Twilight shrugged, unfurling her wings as she did so. "Well that's what the stories say." Twilight glanced over to Spike who returned with a scroll adorned with the royal Canterlot seal in hand. "Thank you Spike. Last night, Princess Celestia sent us this letter."

Pinkie snatched it from Spike's claws with such speed that he had to stare at them to realize that it was gone. Pinkie looked it over as Twilight talked, her tail swishing back and forth along with her head as she scanned each line while Twilight continued.

"Canterlot archaeologists suspect that they've discovered something of Panacea's in the ruins of a village from about 1000 years ago. If it's what I think it is, it will definitely be worth the wait!"

Pinkie slowly rolled the scroll back up in her hooves, too distracted from listening to Twilight speak to actually bother reading it. "Well what is it?"

Twilight motioned towards her book, grinning with the joy of at last being able to share the fruits of her study. "That's what this book is about. I've been reading about her all day, but information about her is surprisingly hard to find. What I do know however, is that while Panacea was a good doctor on her own, she had something to help her. She had a secret weapon for curing ponies, a magical stethoscope of her own design which she called 'Panacea's Mirth'."

Pinkie cocked her head in not so silent contemplation as she brought a hoof to her chin. "A stetho-whatsit?"

Twilight groaned and lowered her wings. "You know Pinkie, those things doctors wear over their ears to hear your heartbeat!"

"Ohhhh, that thing! You know, I've heard some ponies say that it's too cold whenever the doctor sticks it on them but I always thought that it tickled!" Pinkie giggled as she put a hoof over her heart and felt it beat.

Twilight cocked an eye at Pinkie's antics, but quickly shook them off. “Pinkie Pie is as Pinkie Pie does.” She thought. "Rrrright.. Anyway, the princess is sending it to me to study. Imagine it Pinkie, if the artifact is really as powerful as they say it is, this could save lives! Disease across Equestria will be a thing of the past!”

Pinkie's eyes lit up as she threw her hooves in the air, the letter falling down like a large single flake of confetti. "It could help Applejack!”

"Exactly! It should be arriving any time now so once it gets here we can-"

Twilight's thoughts were once again interrupted by the sound of a hoof pounding on her door. Twilight once again made her way down her stairs, but Pinkie whizzed past her in a pink blur, ruffling the feathers on her wings and making her mane fly into her face. Before she could even brush the hair out of her eyes she could hear Pinkie squealing with delight downstairs.

Twilight appeared in front of her door with another magical pop just in time to see Derpy waving goodbye as Pinkie closed the door with a cardboard box in hoof. Before Twilight could say anything she tore open the box scattering packing peanuts all over her floor.

Twilight gasped as Pinkie rummaged through the open box with her head like a wild animal. "Pinkie stop! You're making a mess of things and you could break the-"

"Found it!" Pinkie cried triumphantly before raising her head, which was now coated with a thick and spotty layer of styrofoam holding up a faded blue leather bound stethoscope.

"Alright Pinkie, now if you can just give me the stethoscope I can run a few quick tests on it to make sure it's safe to use on Applejack, and then we-"

Twilight's request was cut short as Pinkie Pie burst through her door, racing away towards Sweet Apple Acres. "Don't worry Applejack, help's on the way!" Pinkie fixed the stethoscope around her neck and held it close to her side, giggling ecstatically as she sprinted off towards Applejack's house with the same speed that initially brought her to Twilight's.

"PINKIE! Wait!" Twilight sprinted off after her, her worry rivaled only by her annoyance at Pinkie's reckless actions.

Pinkie bounded away as fast as she possibly could, leaving small clouds of dust behind in the wake of her hooves. With a combination of sprinting and teleportation spells, Twilight did her best to keep up, but Pinkie always managed to take unexpected turns between buildings and trees. Pinkie's giggles turned into a full fledged laughing fit as she dodged every attempt Twilight made to stop her.

Pinkie's laughter began to quickly wear away at Twilight's patience. She scowled and silently cursed Pinkie Pie's Pinkie sense as buildings and trees swooshed by in a blur of colors. The chase eventually led the two to the dirt road leading to Applejack's house.

Twilight finally got a lock on Pinkie as she ran down the long straight pathway to Sweet Apple Acres. She judged her distance from Pinkie and teleported in front of her in a loud magical pop, bracing herself to tackle Pinkie if need be.

"Pinkie that's far enough! We don't even know if-" Pinkie giggled and bounded over Twilight. Staring at her in disbelief, she dove forward, only barely missing Pinkie's hooves with her own. Pinkie laughed so hard that she snorted while Twilight found herself with a face full of dirt. Twilight glared at Pinkie through a fierce blush. Not since their fight against Discord had Twilight felt such frustration towards her friend.

Pinkie was quickly becoming a giggling trail of dust disappearing into the background. Twilight steeled her nerves and snorted angrily. Focusing her magics into her horn, she pictured Sweet Apple Acres in her mind. Magic began to swirl and glow around her horn, enveloping her in a pale lavender glow. Twilight pictured with the utmost clarity in her mind Applejack's home, and with a sharp crack loud enough to echo through the Apple groves, Twilight teleported herself directly to the front of the Apple family's home.

Twilight braced herself, spreading her hooves apart as she traveled through space in the blink of an eye. The few inches of a drop she was expecting turned out to be a few feet however, and Twilight fell forward on her unsteady hooves. Fighting off exhaustion and a slight sense of nausea, she tried to pull herself together.

"Uuugh... what was I thinking trying a teleportation spell of that range after so many short range ones... not to mention the run over here.." Twilight coughed and shakily rose to her hooves as she tried to slow her breathing down.

"Heee hehehe! Hi Twilight! See ya in Applejack's room!"

Frustrated and winded, Twilight watched as Pinkie Pie raced in with Panacea's Mirth still around her neck. Twilight staggered towards the fading sound of Pinkie's gigglefit.

"Pinkie! Hah..hahhh.. wait!" Twilight cried with a hoof stretched towards Pinkie in vain as her tail disappeared into Applejack's house.

Twilight trotted forward shakily into the Apple home to the sound of hooves racing towards Applejack's room overhead. Twilight muttered to herself between sharp shallow breaths as her aching hooves climbed up the creaky staircase.

"How anypony... can manage... to run that much... is beyond me!"

Twilight slammed her hoof into the side of the door to stabilize herself as she peered into the room. Twilight was greeted with the sight of Fluttershy and Big Mac standing on the other side of Applejack who was laying in bed with a thermometer in her mouth and a bag of ice on her head.

"Whah? Pinkie? What'er you doin' with that thing on yer neck? What's so funny?" Applejack muttered in a congested sounding voice.

Pinkie Pie approached the bedridden pony with a slightly unnerving smile. "Let me show you!"

Twilight's attempts to speak out against the act were silenced by a minor coughing fit as she tried to catch her breath.

Applejack gulped and edged away from Pinkie slightly, not having the will or energy to attempt a more thorough getaway. Pinkie put the stethoscope over her ears, pulled Applejack's blankets back slightly and pressed the end of it to Applejacks chest. Twilight looked on in horror, beckoning breathlessly with an extended hoof from the doorway. Almost immediately, Panacea's Mirth began to glow a faint yellow glow. Applejack looked down at it and smiled. Then beamed. Then burst out in laughter. She glanced from pony to pony first with a bit of worry, then with pure happiness as her gigglefit quickly escalated into full blown laughter as hard as she could.

Twilight watched in a state of abject horror, still out of breath as Applejack began to laugh uncontrollably. "Pinkie...! I said... wait!"

"W-whaa ha haa happening t-to meeeehee hee hee!" Applejack wheezed out in between bursts of laughter.

"Get ready Applejack, the best part's coming up next!" Pinkie beamed at Applejack amid several looks of worry and disbelief from everypony else in the room.

Fluttershy stepped back from Applejack's bed, her ears folded back, eyes darting back and forth unsure of what to think or look at. Big Macintosh stared at Applejack as her expression fought back and forth between mirthful laughter and heart-stopping terror.

Big Mac turned towards Pinkie, a glint of anger growing in his eyes. "What'd you do to Applejack!?"

Still panting heavily in the doorway, Twilight spoke up. "Ancient relic... don't know effects.."

"Just cheered her up is all!" Pinkie Pie smiled innocently at Big Macintosh as though nothing were out of the ordinary.

Big Mac blinked for a moment trying to make sure that Pinkie had indeed said what she had just said. "Cheered her up!? Your magic doohicky is makin' her-"

Big Mac's accusation was cut short as Applejack began to almost scream with laughter, tears streaming down the corners of her eyes as she began to swing her hooves around in the air. Finally, her laughs became so powerful that she could barely breathe, letting out short wheezing giggles as everypony besides Pinkie watched in horror.

Big Mac reached a hoof out towards Applejack, then pulled it back as she retched, attempting to cough in between her laughs. Big Macintosh narrowed his eyes and turned his attention to Twilight and Pinkie.

"I've seen enough. Somepony call a doctor, she can't breathe! Applejack, you've gotta stay strong until... Applejack?"

Just as soon as it had arrived, Applejacks impromptu laughing fit stopped. Breathing heavily and wiping tears away from the corners of her eyes, Applejack sat up in bed, leaning on her hooves for stability. She looked around the room with a little smile on her face as she caught her breath. Fluttershy and Big Macintosh immediately moved to the edges of the bed, watching her intently.

"Applejack? Are y'alright?"

"Phew.. Yeah, I think so. Somepony mind tellin' me what that was all about!?"

Twilight heaved a sigh of relief as she realized that Applejack was OK. "It's called Panacea's Mirth... it's an ancient relic... cures disease..." wheezed Twilight between heavy breaths in the doorway.

"Whoa whoa whoa, easy there sugarcube. Take a breath and start from the beginnin'."

Twilight nodded and sat on her haunches as she practiced the deep breathing exercises that she learned in the Crystal Kingdom before beginning her explanation. Everypony sat and listened as Twilight retold the legend of Panacea's Mirth and her chase with Pinkie Pie.

Applejack wiped a tear from her eye. "Well I dunno about bein' cured, but I gotta admit that bit of laughin' sure helped!"

"Well of course it did silly! You can't expect to get better if you're feeling sick and down in the dumps all the time! You gotta remember to smile!" Pinkie demonstrated with a giant beaming grin to the room. "Shee? Like thish!"

"Pinkie! You can't just go around messing with random magical things! Give me the stethoscope, please!" Twilight pleaded with her friend.

Pinkie tossed the medical instrument to Twilight, who cast a quick identification spell on it. As the nature of the magics surrounding the relic entered into her mind, she sat staring at it in disbelief. “What!? But why!? That makes no sense!"

"What is it Twilight? What's it do?" Fluttershy asked as she remained at Applejack's side, rubbing her back with a hoof.

"All it does is make the pony that it's used on laugh! How is that supposed to help anypony!?" Twilight stuck the relic over her neck carefully with her magic.

Pinkie Pie giggled at Twilight. "Well of course it makes ponies laugh! Didn't you hear me laughing on the way here?"

Twilight blinked in disbelief at Pinkie Pie. "Wait... so the whole time you were laughing because you used it on yourself?"

Pinkie giggled once more. "Yep! Well, for a little while anyway. Then I was just laughing because it was fun!"

Twilight mashed a hoof into her forehead. "Pinkie! That's just as dangerous as using it on Applejack!"

Pinkie shrugged. "Eh. I had a hunch! I am the element of laughter you know." Pinkie giggled a few more times and snorted, then laughed even harder at how silly her laugh sounded. Applejack began laughing as well, with Big Mac and Fluttershy not far behind. Twilight reluctantly let out a small laugh before her smile faded back into a look of disappointment.

"Twilight? What's wrong? Everything worked out didn't it?" Fluttershy asked, her demeanor considerably lighter after having had a much needed laugh.

"Panacea's Mirth was supposed to be a powerful relic that can cure any disease imaginable. But all it does is make ponies laugh! I thought that we could end disease in Equestria!"

Twilight looked at the ground in frustration until Pinkie placed a hoof on her shoulder. "But Twilight, don't you see?" She lifted Twilight's head up towards Applejack who was looking at her with a smile. "It did help!"

"Eeeyup", exclaimed Big Mac.

"Ya know Twilight, I've been stuck in here so long I thought I'd go crazy from boredom. I really needed a good cheerin' up! Thank ya kindly Pinkie, Twilight."

"They say that laughter is the best medicine!" chirped Pinkie.

Twilight stared blankly as the words rang out in the back of her head. "But.. but that can't.. can just laughing cure diseases?"

Fluttershy stood up from her haunches and talked to Twilight. "Well, um.. That's kind of one of the biggest things I make sure to tell sick animals. If they can manage to stay happy then they almost always make full recoveries from anything they've got!"

Applejack took the thermometer out of her mouth and glanced at it. "I think my fever went down a lil bit already! ...Maybe. Either way, I honestly do feel a lot better."

Pinkie threw her arms up in the air. "Everything's better with a good laugh, silly!"

Once again, a smile crept up over Twilight's face, and she began to giggle, and then laugh loudly as she leaned into Pinkie Pie who laughed with her and pulled her into a hug.

"Aw shucks. C'mere you two." Applejack extended her hooves towards the pair. Pinkie immediately stuck a hoof behind Applejack's back, sticking her hoof out towards Fluttershy.

"Oh. Well, um, alright then. I guess." Fluttershy held the two of them gently as Twilight and even Big Macintosh piled on the sides into a giant group hug.

Applejack spoke up from within the mass of ponies. "Thank ya everypony for bein' here for me, and I appreciate it really. But if it's all the same to y'all, I think I could use a lil shut-eye."

Big Mac nodded and climbed off of Applejack's side. "Eeyup. C'mon now everypony, lets let AJ get some rest."

"Bye Applejack!" chirped Pinkie Pie.

"Get well soon!" said Fluttershy.

"Take care!" exclaimed Twilight.

Applejack waved to the ponies as they left and snuggled under her blankets, soon resting peacefully.

The three ponies stood outside of the Apple house.

"So what now?" asked Twilight.

"It was good that I got to see Applejack, but I've gotta get back home. It's almost time for Angel Bunny's lunch! Good to see you two, bye!" Fluttershy flew off waving to the two of them, leaving the pair to walk back to the Golden Oaks Library, Panacea's Mirth still dangling from Twilight's neck.

About halfway back, Twilight's eyes perked open and she glanced to Pinkie Pie. "Hey Pinkie Pie?"

"Yes Twilight?"

"You said that you were getting everypony you could to see Applejack didn't you?"

"Yep! What about it?"

"Well what happened to Rainbow Dash and Rarity?"

"I couldn't find Dashie anywhere, not even when I set up my super-duper extra bouncy cloud-height jumping trampoline under her house and popped up through the floor! I think she's off on weather duty or something."

"I see. And Rarity?"

"Well, looking for Rainbow didn't work out. So then I took a hop skip and a jump over to Rarity's! I was there in no time and knocked on the door, but Sweetie Belle said that she was extra busy and didn't want to be disturbed! I was gonna try and find her anyway, but then I remembered how busy Rarity gets when she gets busy, and boy does she get busy! I didn't wanna bug her if she was really as busy as Sweetie Belle said."

Twilight gave Pinkie a warm smile. "Well that was awfully nice of you Pinkie Pie!"

Pinkie smiled back. "Thanks Twilight. So then after that, I figured that I'd go look for you! I was getting a little worried about not finding anypony to cheer Applejack up, so I ran to your house super fast! Then I burst into the door and told you that Applejack was sick! You didn't wanna come right away though because you had some sort of thing that was coming in the mail and-"

Twilight gave Pinkie a stern look. "Yes, thank you Pinkie, I was there. You don't have to say anymore. Really."

Pinkie merely shrugged as she walked. "Well. Suit yourself!"

The two walked up the doors of Twilight's house and pushed them open. Sweetie Belle and Spike were digging around shelves with a small pile of them gathered on the floor.

"Hi Sweetie Belle! Didn't expect to see you here!"

Spike brightened up at seeing Twilight walk in. "Oh Twilight thank goodness you're here! Where'd that book about supernatural remedies go? It's not where I thought I filed it!"

Twilight tapped a hoof on her chin before smiling while flaring her wings up. "That's right, I left it upstairs the other day! I'll go get it. What's it for anyway?"

Sweetie Belle ran a hoof along a shelf of books before looking back at Twilight disappointed. "This morning Rarity was saying that she didn't want any interruptions while she was working on her latest dress, but as the day went on she got sick and now she's lying in bed! So I was trying to find some remedies to help-"

Pinkie Pie casually slid up next to Twilight before pointing a hoof to the top of a bookshelf. "Hey Twilight, isn't that the book you were looking for?"

"Huh? Where? No I'm pretty sure tha- hey!" Twilight was interrupted by the swift movement of Pinkie's hoof stealing away Panacea's Mirth from around her own neck.

"Pinkie! Give it back! It's a hundred year old artifact, you can't just keep snatching it!"

"Don't worry Rarity! Help is on the way!" Pinkie smiled a goofy smile as she mashed the end of the stethoscope against her forehead and went sprinting away towards Carousel Boutique, giggling uncontrollably all along the way.

"PIIIIIIIINKIIIIIIIIEEEEE PIIIIIIIEEEE!" Twilight raced after her once more, determined to keep Panacea's Mirth in one piece.