In a small, swampy section of the Everfree Forest, Fluttershy and Twilight were working together to collect a generous helping of something known as crisscross moss. It was a slimy, slippery substance. But between Fluttershy's knowledge of the forest, and Twilight's magic and flying skills, collecting the moss was proving to be no trouble at all.

Fluttershy was most grateful for the help from her alicorn friend, as she carefully filled up a large cloth sack with the moss. "Thanks again for helping me on such short notice, Twilight," Fluttershy said as she set the sack down. "I would get it myself, but it's hard to do that and hold the sack."

Twilight just smiled as she continued flying around, using her magic to pull up large amounts of the moss with relative ease and float it over to Fluttershy. "You're more than welcome, Fluttershy. I'm glad I could help," She then saw fit to ask. "But what exactly do you need all this crisscross moss for?"

The animal loving pegasus explained. "Oh, it's for a pack of otters that are staying at Sweet Feather Sanctuary. They really love this stuff! They can't get enough of it."

The alicorn princess nodded. "So I can see," She proceeded to float over more of the moss. "So, think this'll be enough? It feels like I've gathered almost all the moss there is to be had around here."

Fluttershy looked at her sack, seeing that it was filled up quite aways but not quite all the way. "Just a little bit more, Twilight. I want this pack to be filled up completely. That way I'll know for sure I have enough."

Twilight frowned ever so faintly. "Well, that might be a problem. I don't see a lot more crisscross moss on the trees. And it doesn't seem like there's anywhere else in the Everfree Forest where it grows," She gazed down towards the swamp. "Although, maybe I can find some a little bit closer to the ground."

"Be careful, Twilight!" The pegasus mare with pretty pink bangs cautioned as she stood up, setting the sack aside and unfolding her wings. "I can get the moss from there easily."

The book loving alicorn shook her head from side to side. "It's okay, Fluttershy. You asked for my help. Besides, it's just water. It never hurt anypony." And she flew down to the swamp's surface, eyeing some lillypads that appeared to have a strange bright green glow to them.

Then, suddenly, a small, white, bulb like plant with pink petals dropped from one of the trees. It landed on a lillypad close to where Twilight was, then opened up as it emitted an orange colored mist. The mist completely enveloped the unsuspecting princess, causing her to cough as she tried to dispell the mist.

"Twilight!" Fluttershy exclaimed in concern! She immediately ran to the edge of the swamp, just in time to see her alicorn friend slowly but surely stumble onto the bank. She appeared to be a bit frazzled. "Are you okay?"

The studious alicorn mare nodded, albeit in a very weak and unconvincing way. "I... think so," But then she started coughing, and as she brought up a hoof to cover herself, she was shocked to discover that it had bright orange spots that she knew hadn't been there a moment before! And they seemed to be spreading with alarming speed! She proceeded to add. "Huh, suddenly I don't feel so good!"

A horrified Fluttershy immediately rushed to her weakened friend's side, preventing her from falling down. There was only one thing she could think to do in a situation like this. "We need to get you to Zecora! She'll know what's wrong with you!" But even Fluttershy couldn't have anticipated the dreadful news Zecora was going to give. As it would soon turn out, the orange spots were the least of Twilight's concerns.

Luckily for both ponies, the trek to Zecora's hut passed without incident for either of them. However, as the journey progressed it was possible to notice a strange and concerning detail: Whenever Twilight coughed, bubbles would come spewing out of her mouth. That was definitely not normal.

Upon reaching the hut where the zebra enchantress lived, Fluttershy wasted no time in knocking on the hut's door. Zecora had to be home, she just had to be!

And indeed, Zecora was. And soon as she got a good look at Twilight, she became just as concerned as Fluttershy.

"Zecora, do you know anything about this?" Fluttershy questioned. "Please tell me you do! Please!"

Zecora was silent for a moment, eyeing the spotted alicorn princess very carefully. Then, she gave a firm nod and motioned for both ponies to come inside. "This situation is most urgent, I believe. You must come inside and listen to me."

"Come on, Twilight!" Fluttershy encouraged as she helped the alicorn into the hut.

Twilight was soon standing before Zecora as the enchantress examined the alicorn carefully. She seemed to be especially concerned about the coughing up of bubbles and the orange spots that had spread all over Twilight's body with alarming rapidness. At last, she held out a vial and brought it before Twilight, who without even meaning to coughed into it.

Zecora then sealed the vial shut and started shaking it vigorously. "Hope for your sake that the color does not turn red. If so, you will be filled with more than dread." After shaking the vial for about a moment or so, she stopped and let the liquid settle. To the shock and horror of all inside the hut, the vial's contents quickly turned a most ominous shade of red.

Twilight swallowed hard. "What does this mean, Zecora? How bad is it?"

The zebra enchantress began to explain. "This confirms my worst fear. You've caught swamp fever, my dear."

"Swamp fever?!" Twilight and Fluttershy exclaimed in unison as their eyes went wide!

Fluttershy nervously questioned. "What is swamp fever, Zecora? I've never heard of it before."

Zecora ominously replied. "Neither have I, I must confess. I have only heard stories from ponies in duress," She promptly retrieved an old book and flipped it open, showing horrifiyingly detailed images depicting ponies stricken with the aforementioned disease. "It starts when a pony gets too close to a certain flower. The spores are unleashed, and the pony finds their health turning sour. Soon come the spots and the coughing of bubbles. But that is the least of your troubles," She turned the page, revealing that where a pony had once stood there was now only a tree. "Eventually, a pony can't even sneeze. They turn into the very trees that spread the disease."

The afflicited alicorn princess let out a gasp! "What?! That's what going to happen to me?!"

The animal loving pegasus, meanwhile, was remarking to herself. "I can't believe a flower did all of this. I take back thinking it was nice!"

Twilight then grabbed ahold of Zecora, desperately pleading with her! "Please, you must know something! You can whip up a cure for just about anything, I know you can! How do we get rid of this before I turn into a tree?!"

But Zecora swallowed hard and confessed. "There's nothing I can do, I must admit. My attempts at a cure have caused me a fit. I'm afraid I cannot be of more help to you. I must be careful, or I will be afflicited too."

Fluttershy was stricken with horror and dread upon hearing the news! "No, that can't be! You can't turn into a tree, Twilight! There's gotta be a way to cure you!"

"But how?" Twilight pondered. "If even Zecora only vaguely knows about it, what chance is there that Equestria's best doctors will know? Even I didn't know swamp fever was a thing until now."

The zebra enchantress then spoke up as something suddenly came to her mind, prompting her to gasp. "Oh. There's a healer of legend who never would fail. But I only know of her from ancient folktales. Mystical and masked, she came in the night, and cured everything from hoof cough to fur blight. What became of the healer, nopony knows, for she disappeared ages and ages ago."

Hearing those words stirred a realization in Fluttershy, causing her to exclaim! "Of course, The Mystical Mask! My parents would tell me about her whenever I was sick in bed. She could cure anything, even diseases nopony else knew about."

Zecora gave a firm nod. "There's so many accounts of her power to heal. She can't just be a legend. I think she's real."

That was when Fluttershy decided. "Then we need to find her, wherever she is! She's our only hope!"

"But how are we going to find her?" Twilight questioned. "She could be anywhere. She might not even exist anymore for all we know."

The pegasus mare with pretty pink bangs protested. "We'll just have to search every book we can find! It's my fault you're like this to begin with." And she was already flashing back to what had prompted her to recruit her alicorn friend in the first place.

Only hours earlier, Fluttershy had come literally rushing up to Twilight's castle! There was something she needed the book loving alicorn's help with, and on very short notice too. Pushing open the castle doors, she was a bit dismayed to discover that her friend was nowhere in sight. "Twilight?" She called, but there was no reply. Undeterred, she started searching the whole castle from top to bottom, looking for any trace of her alicorn friend.

At last, the pegasus mare's search brought her to the castle's kitchen. And that's where she found Twilight, who alongside Spike seemed to be covered in flour whilst wearing a chef's hat. "Oh, I'm so sorry to bother you!" She exclaimed, before taking notice of what was happening. "Wait-are you... cooking?"

Twilight beamed with pride and answered. "Yeah! Spike and I are having a cook-off!"

Spike happily replied while pulling a tray out of the oven. "My cauliflower bites blow your sweet potato muffins out of the water, Twilight!"

With a grin on her face, Twilight declared. "I'm glad you're here, Fluttershy, because we're gonna need a second opinion on that. I was gonna ask Starlight, but when I mentioned the cook-off she ran off and said she had something more important to take care of," She then added in a bit of a concerned tone of voice. "There's nothing wrong with my cooking, right? Sure, it's nothing compared to Pinkie Pie or Applejack's, but it's still good, isn't it?"

Before Fluttershy could protest, she had her face stuffed full of the aforementioned muffins, followed by a generous serving of Spike's cauliflower bites. She quickly swallowed them. "Um, they're both delicious, really. But..."

"But what?" Spike questioned. "You're gonna pick the cauliflower bites, right? Right?!"

The animal loving pegasus just explained. "Actually, I was hoping I could borrow Twilight for a little while. I could really use her help right now."

"Well, I always have time for a friend," The alicorn princess insisted as she took off her chef's hat and carefully set it aside. "What's wrong, Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy explained. "Nothing's wrong, really. I just need some help gathering something for my sanctuary. It's for some visiting otters. And there's only one place we can gather it," She began nudging Twilight towards the door. "I'll explain on the way. Rainbow Dash is with the Wonderbolts, so you're the next best flyer I could think of."

As for Spike, he could only stand there and stare in disbelief. "Aw come on, that's not fair!" He complained. "If you don't like my cauliflower bites, you can just say so." But no one heard but him.

The flashback ended as Fluttershy unhappily sighed. "If I hadn't insisted on you helping me, Twilight, you wouldn't have gotten sick. And I won't rest until we find a way to cure you!"

Twilight shook her head from side to side. "You didn't know this was gonna happen, Fluttershy. It's not your fault. And beating yourself up about it won't help either," She slowly started trotting over to her friend. "For now at least, I'm fine. I'm not sure how much time I've got exactly. So let's not stand around here, feeling sorry for ourselves. If this Mystical Mask you mentioned is real, maybe we can find out where she went and what happened to her," She put a hoof to her chin. "Somehow, I have this strange feeling that I've heard of this pony before. And not just through stories."

"Well, the only way to find out is to hit the books!" Fluttershy firmly declared. "We'll search your castle's library from top to bottom! There has to be something in there that can help us!" And she quickly led Twilight away. "Come on, let's get to searching before you start sprouting leafs!"

It fortunately took very little time for the friends to get back to Twilight's castle, largely because Twilight was still able to use her horn for the time being.

Spike was waiting when the two ponies returned. And as soon as he got a good look at Twilight, he became very frightened and very concerned! "What happened to you, Twilight?!"

"It's nothing to worry about," Twilight tried to insist. "Fluttershy and I are already looking for the cure."

"Cure?! To what?!" Spike frantically inquired. "What's going on?!"

Fluttershy let out a sigh and confessed. "Twilight's got swamp fever. It's all my fault. She was helping me gather crisscross moss, and she got too close to a flower that infected her. And if we don't find a way to cure her, she'll turn into a tree."

"Oh, is that all?" The little dragon remarked, before the realization of Fluttershy's confession hit. "Wait, turn into a tree?!"

"That's not going to happen, Spike!" Twilight furiously insisted. "This is exactly why I didn't want to tell you."

Spike was anything but convinced and started to whimper with tears in his eyes. "Oh please, please, you just can't turn into a tree, Twilight! Without you, I don't know what I'll do! Please, tell me you'll be okay!"

The young alicorn had to fight back the urge to tear up herself. "Spike, you're old enough now. I'm not going to lie to you. I can't promise you that everything will be okay," She looked him firmly in the eyes. "But you getting all upset like this isn't going to make anything better. So please, help Fluttershy and I with our research. We're trying to find more information about a pony called The Mystical Mask. Apparently, she could cure anything."

"Isn't she just an old pony's tale?" The little dragon replied with a puzzled expression. "Then again, that's what Nightmare Moon was supposed to be, and she was real."

"The only way we're gonna find out is if we get to researching right away," Twilight insisted as she coughed up a few bubbles. "So come on, Spike. It'll go much faster if there's more of us doing the searching."

And soon, Twilight, Fluttershy, and Spike had all made their way to the library inside of Twilight's castle. It was stocked with multiple shelves of books on every subject that was known to ponykind. If there was any sort of lead or further information about this magical curer, Twilight's library seemed like as good a place as any to start.

Hours ticked by as the three friends hastily pulled books off the shelves and read through them. They soon amassed a large pile that grew only larger as the hours passed. Eventually, they had built up so large a pile that it all but reached up to the ceiling.

Unfortunately, however, the three had very little to show for their efforts. Book after book had been tossed aside and discarded. No new information had come to them, which did little to ease their nerves. All the while, Twilight would remind Fluttershy and Spike of her condition with audible coughs, followed by several bubbles floating out.

At last, Twilight seemed ready to give up as she unhappily sighed and tossed away yet another book. "Well, that's the last book there is on ancient ponies. And still nothing on The Mystical Mask."

"Really?" Fluttershy remarked in disbelief and questioned. "Did we think to check the unabridged versions?"

Twilight reluctantly replied. "Yes, and the books on rare diseases, the books on rare plants, and the entire section on bog habitation. None of them even mention swamp fever, let alone this Mystical Mask," She groaned, planting her forehead on a desk. "I swear I heard about her once, and for the life of me I wish I could remember where it was. Any lead's better than no lead at all."

"So that's it, it's hopeless?!" Spike exclaimed in dismay! "There's nothing we can do to stop Twilight from becoming a tree?!"

Fluttershy would hear nothing of such a suggestion! She furiously stomped a hoof down and with a look of firey determination she vowed! "No! I can't give up! I won't give up! We might have to look through every book in this entire library, but I know we'll figure it out. And if that doesn't work, we'll search every library in Equestria! The information we seek has to be somewhere, I just know it!"

The young alicorn let out a sigh as she felt her eyes start to grow heavy. "Maybe we should take a break, Fluttershy. I hate to admit it, but I'm getting tired. And you probably are too. It'll be eaiser to continue our search once we get some rest."

"No, Twilight!" Fluttershy shook her head from side to side. "I said I wouldn't rest until you were cured, and I meant it! I'll stay up all night if I have to! One way or another, I'll find that cure even if it's the last thing I do!"

"I'll stay with Fluttershy, Twilight," Spike insisted. "I know this library a lot better than you do. Plus, if we hit a dead end, I can try to contact Princess Celestia for help. She might know where to look next."

Twilight slowly stood up, struggling to do so as she tried to keep her eyes open. "Well... alright. But please, don't stay up all night, you two. I've got enough to worry about as it is," She yawned and trotted out of the library. "Goodnight, Fluttershy. Goodnight, Spike. I'll see you both in the morning," Under her breath she hesitantly answered. "I hope." She had no way of knowing how fast swamp fever progressed. So far her symptoms hadn't progressed beyond the spots and the coughing of bubbles. But who knew how long it would be before she would begin growing branches?

Sleep did not come easy for Twilight Sparkle that night. Concerns about not only her own well being, but also the well being of her friends and her son kept her awake for quite a while. She dreaded the possibility that she might go to sleep and never wake up, transformed overnight into a tree.

Despite this, the alicorn princess eventually managed to fall asleep. And to her relief, she was able to wake up the next morning, albeit while mumbling in her sleep. "9-by-13-inch pan..."

"Twilight?! Twilight, wake up!" Fluttershy frantically called to the still sickly alicorn!

Twilight woke up with a start, falling off her bed as she screamed! "Nonstick pans!" Then she shook her head and came to her senses. Looking at herself, she could see that although her coat color had started to dim, she did not yet have any branches or leafs anywhere on her body. For now at least, there was still hope. And much to her surprise, Fluttershy and Spike were standing over her bed, looking down at her with smiles that seemed optimistic and full of promise.

"We figured it out!" Spike happily exclaimed! "Well... Fluttershy did, mostly. I just helped a little with some of the translations."

Fluttershy nodded, and explained. "It was all so simple: All we had to do was cross-reference a book about masks with another book on ancient Equestrian healers, then use a third book to translate it all from Olde Ponish, and there it was! Zecora was right! The Mystical Mask wasn't just a legend. The Mystical Mask was none other than Mage Meadowbrook!"

An excited gasp escaped the alicorn princess as the realization struck her! "You mean the ancient sorceress from Hayseed Swamp? We studied her at Celesta's School for Gifted Unicorns. Why didn't I think of it before?!"

Fluttershy just continued to smile, excitedly proclaiming! "It's okay, Twilight! I figured it out for you! Mage Meadowbrook wasn't just a sorceress. She was also a healer, and back then, healers wore masks so they wouldn't get sick themselves! Nopony ever knew who she really was because she was always wearing her mask."

"We couldn't find anything about her enchanted items, though," Spike admitted. "That's still the one thing we don't know about her."

"That's okay," Twilight replied as she slowly stood up. "I'm so proud that the two of you were able to use your research skills to figure out the answer for yourselves," She then hesitated, however, as a concerned look flashed across her face. "But didn't Mage Meadowbrook disappear a long time ago, like before Princess Celestia banished Princess Luna to the moon?"

The pegasus pony with pretty pink bangs proclaimed. "Maybe. But I bet if we went to Hayseed Swamp, we can find something she left behind! Something that could lead to a cure! She has to have found a cure for swamp fever, I'm sure of it!"

The studious alicorn pondered the proposal for a minute, then decided. "Well, it seems like a long shot, but I guess it's possible. It's as good a lead as any. Alright, let's go to Hayseed Swamp, wherever that is!" Yet only seconds after saying that, she felt her legs betray her as she fell to the floor. She struggled to get back up, coughing long and loud as she did so. The bubbles she emitted from her mouth also seemed to take on a much more sickly color.

Spike immediately rushed to Twilight's side, taking hold of her by the claw and insisting. "You're not going anywhere, Twilight! You're sick! You need to rest!"

"But... but... I have to go! I can't let Fluttershy do this all by herself!" Twilight tried to protest.

"It's okay, Twilight," Fluttershy insisted as she watched Spike help her alicorn friend back to bed. "I already mapped out where to go. I can handle it by myself. You need to stay here where I know you'll be safe. Spike can go with me for backup."

The little dragon quickly shot down the idea. "No! I'm staying here with Twilight. She's always been there for me when I was sick, now it's my turn to do the same," When he saw the concerned and anxious look on Fluttershy's face, he insisted. "Don't worry, she can't infect me. Ponies can't get dragons sick any more than dragons can get ponies sick. Trust me, I speak from experience."

"Spike, please, I'll be fine on my own!" Twilight tried to plead. "Fluttershy might run into danger in Hayseed Swamp. She probably doesn't even know where Mage Meadowbrook might have lived."

The animal loving pegasus immediately replied. "I don't. But I'm sure there's somepony I can ask there who will know. Mage Meadowbrook was a real pony, not just a legend. If she's as famous as the legends make her out to be, ponies are sure to have known about her," And she locked eyes with Twilight, firmly declaring. "This is not up for debate. I'm doing this whether you want me to or not, Twilight! And I won't come back until I have the cure!"

The sickly alicorn groaned in frustration, sensing that there was nothing she could say or do to change her friend's mind. She sighed deeply. "Guess there's no convincing you otherwise, Fluttershy. Just please, please be careful! If anything happens to you, you'll be of no help to anypony. It's not a bad thing to worry about yourself, you know."

Fluttershy just raced to the bedroom door. "I'll be fine, Twilight! You would do the same for me, that's what friends are for," She then turned to Spike. "If I don't come back with the cure before Twilight starts sprouting leafs or branches, contact Princess Celestia right away!"

Spike gave a firm salute. "You've got it, Fluttershy!" And then he and Twilight watched as their animal loving friend departed.

The journey out to Hayseed Swamp didn't seem to take very long for Fluttershy. It was a ways from Ponyville, to be sure, but it felt to her like she covered that distance in no time. And this was despite the fact that she wasn't used to flying long distances on her own power (that was really Rainbow Dash's thing).

Upon arriving in Hayseed Swamp, however, the animal loving pegasus' hopes were all but dashed as she took in her surroundings. All around her, there seemed to be nothing but abandoned huts built on wooden planks. The only sound that could be heard was the croaking of frogs and the buzzing of mosquitos.

Undeterred, Fluttershy pressed on. She hadn't come this far just to be defeated. She wasn't leaving without a cure for swamp fever. If nothing else, if she could just find where Mage Meadowbrook lived, maybe she could find out what the healer knew about swamp fever and how it might be cured.

Suddenly, the pegasus mare's cyan blue eyes spotted something up ahead. Tucked away into a corner of the swamp, far from any other dwellings, was a long and tall tree. And what luck, there was a door that had clearly been carved out of the tree's trunk. That meant somepony had to have lived there. The realization struck her all at once, as she remembered what else she had learned about this ancient healer mistaken for a great sorceress. "Yes! This has to be it! It's just like the illustrations of her home!" She said to herself and quickly raced up to the door!

Try as she might, however, the pegasus pony couldn't get the door to budge an inch. All she accomplished was expending a great deal of effort, growing steadily more exhausted in the process. She groaned and grit her teeth. "Alright, have it your way!" She said aloud as she stepped a ways back from the door. "If you're not going to open willingly, then I'll just have to break you down!" With eyes narrowed, she rushed up to the door and raised her hooves into the air, preparing to throw her entire might against the door to force it open!

Yet just before Fluttershy could make any sort of assault on the door, a gust of wind caused it to creak open ever so faintly. She had no time to react to this, however, and ended up rushing through the door as it swung open. She then tripped and stumbled, tumbling to the floor in dusty darkness. It took her a moment to rise back to her hooves and regain her senses. All around her, there seemed to be no light of any sort. And everything looked as if it had been abandoned for over a thousand years or so.

Then, out of the corner of her eyes, Fluttershy spotted something in a jar! Racing up to it, she recognized at once what it was: A small, white flower with pink petals that rested on a lillypad. There was no mistaking it, it was the very same type of flower that given Twilight swamp fever! "I was right!" She exclaimed in hopeful joy! "Meadowbrook was looking for a cure for swamp fever! But did she find it?"

As if answer to that question, there suddenly came the sound of audible rocking and squeaking. And the pegasus pony knew it hadn't come from her. She turned around fast, and to her horror she saw an ominous looking figure rocking back and forth on an old rocking chair! She wasn't alone inside this old tree after all! And that made her scream in fright!

The figure soon emerged from the shadows, revealing himself to be a short, stout earth pony stallion. He had a bright brown colored coat, eyes a dark bluish-violet, and a mane and tail that were a greenish-brown. He had a beard and a mustache that hung beneath his snout, and a cutie mark depicting two cattail reeds crossed over in an x while the sun hovered above them. He was wearing a brown top hat with two green leafs in place of a scarf, and a red bandana underneath it. "It's okay," He greeted his unexpected guest, speaking in an accent that indicated he was an inhabitant of the swamp village. "I didn't mean to scare ya," A somewhat nervous chuckle escaped his lips. "I tend to do that."

"Do what? Scare ponies or rock creepily in the dark?" Fluttershy questioned.

The stout stallion replied with a shrug. "Well, both I suppose," He lifted off his top hat and cleared his throat. "Name's Cattail. Pleased to meet ya, miss."

"Name's Fluttershy," Fluttershy answered. "And the feeling's mutual, Cattail. But uh, what are you doing in Mage Meadowbrook's home? I thought it was abandoned."

Cattail chuckled a bit. "Oh it is. Really, I'm just more of a caretaker for this place. I ain't really much of a cleaner, but from what I hear, my kin wasn't either. So I doubt they'd mind a few cobwebs in our ancestral home."

The pegasus pony's eyes went wide! "You're related to Mage Meadowbrook?!"

Cattail gave a firm nod. "Mm-hmm. Not directly, mind you. She never had any foals before her disappearance, too busy to ever settle down and start a family. But one of my cousins was her mom's sister, and that's as good a connection as any."

The animal loving pegasus struggled to keep herself from getting giddy and overwhelmed with excitement! "Oh my gosh! This is my lucky day! Not only did I find Mage Meadowbrook's home, I also found one of her descendants!"

The stout stallion replied as he put his top hat back atop his head. "Well, I reckon if you came all this way, you must be lookin' for a cure. Swamp fever, was it?"

Fluttershy gave a firm nod. "Yes. One of my friends caught it yesterday. I was told there wasn't a cure, or at least not one that was known."

Cattail put a hoof to his chin, contemplating. "Meadowbrook had a book of cures she apparently always traveled with. But when she disappeared, so did it," He then suggested. "But I know she was always known to always be writin' in her journal. She might have written about discoverin' a cure in there," He trotted over to a small bookshelf and pulled out a dull brown book covered with dust. "Here ya go." He said as he blew the dust off the cover and presented it to his guest.

Holding the journal carefully in her hooves, Fluttershy opened it up and started reading aloud from the first passage she saw. ""Today, my mom made me eat peas. Peas are yucky, I hate them.'" She blushed and quickly skimmed through the rest of the words before deciding. "I should probably skip that one. It's not like she found the cure as a foal. Nopony's that talented."

The stout stallion nervously chuckled. "Yeah. From what I gather, healin' was a family trade. She learned it from her mother, but not until after she got her cutie mark. And that took a while."

Fluttershy read a little further, spoting a passage that made her blush. "Oh my!" In spite of her better instincts, she read aloud. "'I met a colt in school today. He pulled my mane, so I put a frog on top of his head. Mother wasn't too happy about that.'" She gave off a nervous laugh. "I'll just... pretend I didn't see that. Probably was just a crush or something."

Cattail sheepishly replied. "Meadowbrook didn't have much schoolin' either. Sorry you had to read all that stuff. She had that journal for a really long time. Maybe skip ahead a little more."

The animal loving pegasus skimmed through several more pages of the journal, then at last she spotted something that caught her attention in a good way. "Wait, I think this is it," Clearing her throat, she began to read. "'Today, I tried again to brew an unsniffle elixir...'" And as she continued reading, it was like she was Mage Meadowbrook herself, reliving the events as they happened.

Mage Meadowbrook was an earth pony, not a unicorn. She had a pale light blue coat, bluish-green eyes, a pink and moderately light red mane and tail done up in swirls, and a cutie mark reflecting her desire to be as great as a healer as her mother. But it was covered up by a green skirt that she wore around her flanks. And around her head, she proudly wore a dull yellowish-white headban that came down to beneath her ears.

"-And I've finally got it right!" Mage Meadowbrook proudly proclaimed as she held up a spoon containing a green colored liquid brewed from a large pot inside her house. Her mother was watching her the whole time: She was an earth pony mare with a darker blue coat, orangish-yellow eyes, an amber brown mane and tail in a bushy style, a two toned purple skirt and matching purple head dress, and a pink head ban and scarf.

Of course, the real test of the concotion had to come from giving to an afflicited patient. In this case, it took the form of a squirrel that had a noticeably reddened nose. It sniffled loudly and sneezed. But as soon as it took one sip of Meadowbrook's brew, its stuffy red nose disappeared completely, and it breathed a sigh of relief.

Meadowbrook's mother had observed the whole thing, and her smile couldn't possibly have been bigger. "Meadowbrook," She said with pride as she presented a small box to her daughter. "I think it's time you had this."

The excited earth pony with a green skirt happily lifted up the lid of the box, and discovered a large mask roughly shaped like a bird. It had blue stripes alternating throughout it. She recognized at once what it was! "My very own healer's mask!" She looked to her mother and excitedly asked. "You really think I'm ready to be like you, Mother?!"

Meadowbrook's mother happily nodded. "Yes indeed, Meadowbrook. I've taught you all there is to teach you about being a healer. Now it's time for you to put everythin' I've taught you to good use. With you by my side, I'm confident we'll be able to find a cure for everythin'."

Seconds after saying that, however, Meadowbrook's mother was surprised to hear a knock at the door. She immediately went to go answer it, and upon opening the door she was greeted with a most unusual sight: There stood a bluish-gray coated earth pony mare with faded yellow eyes, and a grayish-white mane and tail that were in a very rough cut. She was wearing a tattered greenish-brown cloak over her body, which was covering in orange spots. And when she coughed, bubbles spewed out from her mouth.

Immediately, the elder earth pony was stricken with a sense of dread! One look on her face conveyed more than words that this ailment was quite serious. "What caused all this?!" She demanded of her patient. "How did you contract it?!"

The patient replied by producing a small, white, bulb like plant with pink petals. She couldn't speak a word because she was coughing so much, but it was clear that she was suggesting that the plant she held was responsible for her sudden affliction. To make matters worse, it seemed as if several other ponies had also come down with the illness, because all of them had the same orange spots and were coughing up bubbles every few seconds.

Meadowbrook quickly found herself pressed into service helping her mother try to figure out how to cure the disease that was spreading through Haysweed Swamp with alarming rapidness! "Mother calls it swamp fever. And we've found out that if a pony isn't cured, they eventually become the very trees on which the flowers that spread the disease grow. There's nothin' we can do once a pony reaches that stage. Once they're a tree, they're a tree forever. We've been tryin' to find a cure, but it hasn't been easy. That bulb we obtained refuses to give up its secrets, and we've tried just about everythin'."

Worse was to come for Mage Meadowbrook. Only a few days after she and her mother had first learned of swamp fever, and soon after they attempted an experiment in which they dropped a tiny potion of an elixir into the bulb, Meadowbrook's mother fell ill with the disease herself! And within three days, she was so sick that she couldn't even leave her bed, all the while the orange spots spread across her whole body and she constantly coughed up bubbles. With each passing day, the bubbles' colors dimmed, and the spots became darker and darker in shade.

Now things were truly taking a turn for the dire. Meadowbrook was the last pony in Hayseed Swamp who had not yet contracted swamp fever. "That fever spread like wildfire," She wrote in her journal. "I fear that if we don't find a cure soon, it'll be too late for our little village. There won't be a pony left, we'll all be nothin' but trees. And with Mother sick, I don't see how I'm gonna find a cure by myself. At least, that's what I thought. But then, today, I observed some local wildlife. And I noticed somethin'."

Sure enough, the earth pony mare with a dull light blue coat was watching the lillypads on which the bulbs responsible for the spread of swamp fever rested. She didn't dare go near them, least they emit their mist and infect her too. Yet to her surprise, she saw a bunch of yellow and blue striped bees with similar patterns to the ones on her healer's mask. They swooped down onto the lillypads, and were not affected in the least when the bulbs released their orange mist. "That's it, the flash bees!" She exclaimed as she ran off after them!

While following the flash bees, it seems Meadowbrook had explained why she had done so, because she had written in her journal later. "I realized that if the flash bees weren't affected by swamp fever, their honey could be the cure! I had to obtain some of it for myself! It was the only lead I had!"

Unfortunately, try as the earth pony mare might, she was unable to get close enough to the flash bee hive to take some of their honey. Whenever she got close, they would zap her with their natural electricity, and it stung! It even went so far as to temporarily char the sides of her flanks black, that's how powerful it was. "But those flash bees were so darn aggressive defendin' their hive, I didn't know how I was gonna get it. It was a miracle I found the answer when I did."

Indeed, Meadowbrook only just thought of the solution after several failed attempts to get the flash bees to give up their honey. "Here goes nothin'!" She said to herself as she stood on a branch nearby, holding up her mask as she did so.

Luckily, this time around, the young healer had much better look. And her hunch was right, the flash bee honey was indeed the cure. Once she had brewed some of it up and placed it into a vial, she gave it to her mother. And when her mother had consumed every last drop of the honey within, her spots disappeared and she stopped coughing. The color returned to her coat and she rose from her bed, smiling as she did so. "You did it, Meadowbrook! You have saved us all!" She proudly proclaimed! "There's no doubt about it! You'll be an even greater healer than I am now!"

And it wasn't long after that that Meadowbrook and her mother had obtained enough honey from the flash bees to cure every afflicted pony in the village. "So it was that today, I cured Mother..." She had begun to write in her journal, proud of her great accomplishment.

"...And the rest of the bayou!" Fluttershy read aloud as she reached the end. "It was the greatest feeling I've ever experienced, and I promise to dedicate my life to curing ponies all over Equestria!"

Cattail smiled. "And she did just that. Right up 'til she disappeared without a trace. It's good to know her legend still inspires ponies to this day."

Fluttershy nodded. "It most certainly does," Then she declared. "Now I just have to find those flash bees and convince them to give up their honey," She then gulped. "But it sounds like the flash bees won't do it even if I ask nicely," Flipping through the journal, she continued. "And it doesn't say what Meadowbrook did to convince them otherwise."

The stout stallion swallowed hard. "I reckon that information must've been in the cure book Meadowbrook took with her when she disappeared all those years ago. She probably never anticipated anythin' happenin' to her, so she never wrote it down anywhere else." Then he noticed a more troubling detail as he turned to Fluttershy, eyeing her with concern.

The animal loving pegasus pony was most surprised and confused by Cattail's sudden, strange behavior. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?" She questioned. "Is my mane messy? I mean... I know I haven't slept in a while, but..." By chance, as she was speaking, she happened to spot a mirror. And when she observed how she looked, she nearly recoiled in shock and horror! The same orange spots that had appeared on Twilight were now appearing on her, and her coat color was already dimming! That meant only one thing! "Oh no!" She cried in dismay! "I've caught swamp fever!"

Cattail jumped back! "I was afraid you'd say that!" Yet he was most surprised when Fluttershy suddenly flew about the abandoned cottage, snatched up a mask that had sat neglected and forgotten on a shelf, and placed it over his face. "Is this really necessary?" He questioned as he lifted up the mask to speak.

Fluttershy immediately moved to force the mask back down! "Yes! I won't risk infecting you too!" She firmly insisted! "Now it's even more important I get that honey from the flash bees!"

The stout earth pony gulped. "I wouldn't recommend it, especially not in your state. Those flash bees are nasty creatures. Trust me, I speak from experience. I'm not sure what it is Meadowbrook did to win 'em over, and I ain't too keen on tryin' to find out."

The pegasus pony with pretty pink bangs refused to be persuaded. She trotted to the door while turning back to Cattail and saying to him. "You don't understand, Twilight is counting on me! I promised her I'd come back with the cure, and I'm not about to break that promise! I have to help her, just like Meadowbrook helped her mother and all those bayou ponies long ago!"

Cattail sighed. "Meadowbrook took care of herself too, I'm sure. You should rest, let me figure out how to get that honey."

Fluttershy just smirked, boasting. "Well, you don't know this about me, Dogtail..."

"It's Cattail." Cattail corrected.

The animal loving pegasus went on. "-I'm pretty good with animals. I've never met an animal yet I couldn't charm. Those flash bees will be no different," She then raced for the door! "You're not going to change my mind! Either help me, or get out of my way!"

The stout stallion could only groan and shake his head as he remarked. "For bein' sick, she sure is stubborn." And he reluctantly followed her as she headed out the door.

It was a very good thing that Cattail chose to follow Fluttershy in her frantic rush out of Meadowbrook's home and out into the wilderness near Hayseed Swamp. He hadn't gotten very far before he realized his unexpected guest didn't know which way to go. In just the short amount of time she had visibly displayed symptoms of swamp fever, she was already apparently starting to become disoriented.

"If you're lookin' for the flash bee hive, it's just up yonder," The stout stallion explained as he gestured a hoof to a tree off in the distance. Sure enough, it was possible to see vivid displays of static electricity, and the sound of loud and ominous buzzing. "You sure you wanna do this? I'll gladly take a few stings if it means gettin' some of that honey for ya."

Fluttershy immediately shot down the proposal. "No, Cattail! I've already gotten one friend in danger because of me, I won't risk it happening to you too!" She took a few deep breaths. "I can do this. I know animals."

Cattail gulped as he watched the pegasus pony slowly fly towards the hive. "I hope you know what you're doin." He remarked with concern.

Meanwhile, as the animal loving pegasus mare approached the hive, she attracted the attention of the flash bees. They swarmed towards her, buzzing angrily and refusing to let her come any closer. Undeterred, Fluttershy tried to talk to them. "O-oh, hello, flash bees!" She greeted. "I was hoping I could get some of your honey. I only need a little bit, it's for a friend."

The bees just buzzed loudly and angrily, and they did not part.

Fluttershy kept on pressing and pleading. "Oh! I see. You don't let others have any. Well, I'm sorry, but I really need it. You see, my friend is sick. And your honey is the only thing that can cure her. Please, you must understand."

Still the flash bees buzzed around, refusing to leave. They didn't appear to be moved at all by the pegasus' plea. One even zapped the pegasus just to make it clear how angry they still were with her.

With a yelp, the pegasus pony with pretty pink bangs squeaked! "Well, I didn't want it to have to come to this, but you leave me no choice. I'll just have to use: The Stare!" She glared harshly at the flash bees, unaware that in her sickly state she couldn't maintain it for very long. As a result, it had no effect on the flash bees. Worse was to come. The flash bees did not appreciate being subjected to The Stare, and they thus turned their full fury on Fluttershy. They buzzed around audibly and angrily, zapping and stinging her repeatedly.

Fluttershy, for her part, could only cough and sputter as she felt herself growing dizzy and lightheaded. "Oh... dear!" Was all she could force out, before all of her strength left her, and the pegasus pony plunged to the ground! Her entire world went dark.

How long Fluttershy was unconscious for, she could not tell. All she knew was that she awoke later within the confines of Meadowbrook's abandoned home. And there was Cattail standing at the foot of a bed in which she had been placed. His face conveyed more than words how anxious yet relieved he was to see her awake.

"W-where am I?" The animal loving pegasus pondered as she moved to sit up in the bed.

Cattail immediately tried to shoot down the attempt. "Easy, easy! You've been out for a very long time. I was startin' to worry you might never wake up. That was quite a fall ya took back there. I told ya, those flash bees don't mess around."

"No kidding," Fluttershy remarked. "I don't know why I can't get them to listen to me, or why my stare isn't working. I've never had this kind of problem before."

The stout stallion just sighed. "I wish I could help ya. But I've tried just about everythin': From disguises to..." He shuddered and shivered as he shut his eyes. "Things I won't even mention. I've been through a lot over the past day."

Upon hearing those words, the pegasus pony with pretty pink bangs gasped in horror! "What?! I've been asleep for over a day?!" And when she received a confirming nod, she questioned with concern! "What about Twilight! Have you heard anything from her?! Is she a pony?! Please, please tell me it's not too late!"

Cattail let out a long, sorrowful sigh. "Got word from Ponyville just before ya woke up. Apparently, your friend's started sproutin' leafs. Princess Celestia's been contacted but..." He trailed off, ultimately saying. "It's not lookin'. The end must be near, I reckon," And he apologized. "I'm sorry. Wish there were somethin' I could do to help. If Meadowbrook were here now, I reckon she'd know what to do. But I ain't her."

Almost immediately, a sense of urgency came over the still sickly pegasus pony. "No! It can't end like this!" She protested! "I won't break my promise to Twilight! There has to be a way to get that honey from the flash bees! There just has to be!" Then, suddenly, she noticed something out of the corner of her eyes. One of the flash bees was resting astop the yellow and blue striped mask with a beak. The very same mask that had once belonged to Mage Meadowbrook, but had been left behind after her disappearance. That sparked a realization. The answer came to her at once. "That's it!" She exclaimed as she sat up all the way! "I know how she did it! I know how Meadowbrook got the honey!"

There was no time to waste. Fluttershy had to get back to the flash bee hive right away!

Cattail, against his better judgement, brought his guest back to the flash bee hive. And he was most perplexed by her insistence on taking Meadowbrook's healer's mask with her.

Fluttershy explained her reasoning when she got near the hive. "This is how Meadowbrook got the honey from the flash bees! I can't believe I didn't think of it sooner."

"What? By throwin' a mask at them?" Cattail blinked in concern. "I wouldn't recommend that if I were you. "

Fluttershy shook her head from side to side. "I'm not gonna throw it, I'm gonna wear it," And she explained further. "The male bees aren't aggressive around the queen bee. And this mask has the same stripes as her," She then let out a sneeze, causing a bolt of electricity to shoot out from her mouth, nearly singing Cattail in the process! Her smyptoms were getting worse! If she didn't hurry, not would Twilight become a tree but so would the pegasus. "There's no time to waste! Mind over matter!" She insisted, as she slipped the mask onto her face and quickly scurried up the tree towards the hive!

Sure enough, when the flash bees drew close, they were drawn to the mask on Fluttershy's face. And as a result they did not retailiate the way they had last time. They seemed to believe the pegasus pony was their queen. They parted, and let her approach the hive, dipping a hoof into it.

Once the pegasus pony had gotten a generous helping of honey from the hive, she swooped back and lifted up her mask as she excitedly exclaimed! "It's working, Cattail! I've got the cure!"

The stout stallion blinked in amazement and disbelief. "I never thought of touchin' that mask. It just didn't seem right usin' somethin' that belonged to Meadowbrook."

"If she were here now, I have a feeling she'd understand," Fluttershy replied. "Now I've got to get back up there! I need to get enough honey to cure myself and Twilight! I just hope it's not too late."

And luckily for the animal loving pegasus, it was indeed not too late. Once she had been cured, she was able to race back to Ponyville in time to cure Twilight. Never were both ponies more relieved than when they saw the spots and branches on Twilight's body disappear. The cure had worked. Swamp fever had been defeated.

Afterwards, Twilight breathed a sigh of relief, even as she opted to remain in her bed for the time being. "Thank you, Fluttershy," She spoke slowly and sincerely. "If it wasn't for you, I'd surely be a tree by now."

"Don't thank me, Twilight," Fluttershy replied in a regretful tone of voice. "It's my fault you got sick in the first place."

The studious alicorn protested. "Fluttershy, I already said it's not your fault. It could've happened to anypony. What matters most is that you found the cure and all is well," Then she added. "And I hope you learned something from this ordeal."

The pegasus mare firmly nodded. "I most certainly did, Twilight. I certainly learned that if you don't take care of yourself, you won't be able to take care of anypony else. It never even occured to me that I might catch swamp fever too. And not resting probably made it worse, it meant I wasn't thinking clearly."

Twilight nodded back. "Well, at least it's all behind us now. And if swamp fever ever infects anyone else, we'll be ready for it and know how to cure it," Then she looked to the pegasus pony and asked her. "By the way, did you learn anything interesting about Mage Meadowbrook during your trip?"

A bright smile crept over Fluttershy's face. "Oh, I definitely did. Just wait 'til I tell you all about it. It'll blow your mind!"

Author's Note

This episode was both a low priority and a backburner for quite a long time. There were some things I knew I wanted to do differently, but the biggest thing holding me back until now was something I didn't realize until LittleshyFiM's Cinemare Sins video on this episode just recently. I realized that Twilight could easily use her magic to get the honey from the flash bees while Fluttershy was unconscious. And that meant I'd need to find a way to remove Twilight from at least that portion of the episode.

I ultimately decided it was best to have her be infected in place of Zecora, and have Zecora be the one who diagnoses Twilight with swamp fever. That way I could write Twilight out of the majority of the episode and preserve the stakes for the climax. Pacing is probably the biggest issue with the episode, namely when it's revealed that Fluttershy was unconscious for three days, and neither Twilight or Cattail tried to call for additional help. But there is also the problem with the episode sometimes opting not to treat swamp fever like a serious disease, even though they state that it has a fate worse than death. It's as if they feared that if they were too serious, the episode wouldn't work. And for something like this it was better to treat it seriously when the disease has a fate worse than death.

Spike being immune to swamp fever because he can't be infected by ponies is something that was established in the Friends Forever comic series, the issue in which he teamed up with Zecora to combat a mysterious plauge afflicting Ponyville. As for Mage Meadowbrook in the flashback, all I really needed to rectify was why she didn't write down how she obtained the cure for swamp fever. Obviously, it was done for the sake of the plot, but in-universe there is no stated reason for her to omit that vital information.

~~Stare Master~~
~~Pinkie Apple Pie~~
~~The Cutie Map, Parts 1 and 2~~
~~The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone~~
~~Hard to Say Anything (Bonus Chapter)~~
~~A Health of Information~~
Uprooted
The Royal Apologies (The Point of No Return)
The Big Mac Question (Bonus Chapter)