A Health of Information Review · 4:56pm Sep 23rd, 2017
Yes, I'm aware that this episode got leaked early in Russian with English subtitles, but I feel like it wouldn't be the same without hearing the original English voice actors and actresses. Anyway, we've got the last of the "Legends of Magic" tie in episodes leading up to the finale (which has been confirmed to tie into the IDW comics), and it's our third TwiShy episode to boot. Last time they were pared up was for "The Hooffields and McColts", a fairly good if somewhat forgotten episode considering what predated it and succeeded it. Sammie Crowley and Whitney Wetta, who previously wrote "A Flurry of Emotions" returned to write this episode, and now I think it's safe to say that Josh Haber is back in the editor's seat for the rest of the season, because there's no way this episode could've originally been written for Season 6. Considering I wasn't a big fan of "A Flurry of Emotions", was this episode able to better deliver on its potential? Well, let's find out.
We begin with Zecora helping Fluttershy gather a moss like substance for a group of badgers that will be visiting Sweet Feather Sanctuary next week. Didn't take long for that sanctuary to find use.
All is going well, even as Zecora slips and falls into the water. But on her way back to shore, she runs into a plant that releases spores that infect Zecora. Fluttershy takes her to the doctor in Ponyville, who confirms Zecora is sick with swamp fever. As it turns out, swamp fever is an actual disease in real life that can affect horses (zebras are from the same family as horses). And there's no known cure, all that is known are the symptoms and that the victims eventually turn into trees which then drop the plants that release the toxic spores. Believing that Zecora wouldn't be sick if she hadn't asked her to help, Fluttershy becomes wracked guilt not unlike that of Daring Do.
But all is not lost, Fluttershy remembers a story her parents used to tell her when she was sick, about a pony known as "Magical Mask". Knowing that the best pony to help her look for information is Twilight, Fluttershy runs to the castle and finds Twilight busy with Spike in a cook off. At least this time there's no need to worry about a fire starting.
Fluttershy enlists Twilight's help to find any leads on the identity of "Magical Mask", searching the whole library from top to bottom. But hours tick by with no results, and Twilight falls asleep atop a pile of books.
Twilight encourages Fluttershy to get some rest too, but Fluttershy is determined to find a cure no matter what. Sure enough, she stays up all night until she FINALLY finds a lead. Cross referencing some books reveals that "Magical Mask" was actually Mage Meadowbrook, who got her nickname due to the special mask she wore to protect herself from getting sick. It's not unlike the masks doctors used to wear in medeveil times in the hopes of not contracting contagious diseases (back before the concepts of sanitation and sterilization were even considered).
Despite Twilight's objections (and Spike eating all of Twilight's confectionary creations), Fluttershy ushers Twilight out the door and the two head down to a byau village that seems to be uninhabited. Fortunately, Mage Meadowbrook's old tree home remains untouched, but the door is locked. Fluttershy decides the only answer is to tunnel her way inside, but Twilight opts for the legal approach of just knocking on the door (almost had a case of "My Little Pony: Breaking and Entering is Magic"). Yet the place is uninhabited, or so it seems, it turns out that one of Meadowbrook's descendants, a pony named CatTail (an actual plant known to grow in swampy environments), lives in the house. Luckily, he's kept a library of books on Meadowbrook's life (including her personal diaries of when she was a foal and then a school filly, where she supposedly put a frog in a colt's hair). Meadowbrook had her own experience with swamp fever, as she learned the trade of curing others from her mother (I believe the technical term for those who practice natural medicine is a wicken, but I could be wrong). Swamp fever once swept through the village Meadowbrook lived in, and even her own mother fell ill with the disease. Luckily, she discovered the source of a cure in the form of flash bees (bees that could shoot lightning), she deduced that their honey might hold the answer since the bees themselves were unharmed by the spores released by the plant.
The honey was indeed the cure, but Meadowbrook didn't document how she was able to get the flash bees to leave her alone. And to make matters worse, Fluttershy starts to come down with swamp fever herself! Yet even in her weakened state, Fluttershy refuses to rest, and even has Twilight and CatTail put on masks to keep from getting infected themselves. She tries to get the flash bees to leave the hive (after struggling to climb up a tree since her flying skills are sapped due to the illness), even opting for the stare. But it doesn't work, the bees sting her repeatedly, and Fluttershy loses consciousness and falls from the tree!
Fluttershy awakens three days later, still sick, and learns that Zecora has started to sprout leeves. It seems that despite the best efforts of Twilight and CatTail, nothing can get the flash bees to back off. However, Fluttershy has a moment of realization when she sees a stray flash bee land on Meadowbrook's mask. As she explains, the mask looked just like the queen bee, which meant the male bees would leave Meadowbrook alone and enable her to get the honey needed for the cure. Well, it's better than the other way to get the bees' attention.
With the cure in tow, Twilight and Fluttershy return home to cure Zecora. Zecora tells Fluttershy not to dwell on her guilt, as Fluttershy gives the message about how it's important to take care of yourself. Just then, the doctor comes in, already late into the progression of swamp fever, hopeful for a cure. Which of course makes you wonder just how contagious swamp fever is. Perhaps work should go towards developing a vaccine?
And that's the story, so what do I think of the episode? Well, it's pretty good, I can't really think of anything that I'd find fault with. Well, aside from one or two things perhaps. They do a good job of showing how determined Fluttershy is (you'd expect Twilight to be that driven, she tends to be more fixated on her goal once an idea pops into her head) but given that Fluttershy has taken care of animals, you'd expect her to understand the importance of resting once you're sick, especially with a disease like swamp fever that has no known cure. The time skip of three days feels a bit sudden and you'd expect Meadowbrook to have documented the importance of the mask in getting the honey, if only because she might need to consult it again herself. There's also the question of how contagious swamp fever is, since Zecora was able to infect both Fluttershy and the doctor in Ponyville (apparently he's called Doctor MuffinTop because of his mane style), yet Fluttershy doesn't appear to infect either Twilight or CatTail even in the span of three days. Yes, Fluttershy likely hastened the spread of the disease by not getting rest, but three days should be enough time for any disease to at least start wearing down the immune system. The scene where Twilight and Fluttershy stop at Zecora's before setting off on their journey also feels pointless, since although it shows Zecora not being able to rhyme, nothing else happens. Still, those are mostly minor nitpicks in what is otherwise a solid story. I don't know if I can say for sure whether this is a better TwiShy episode than "The Hooffields and McColts", as I feel like that one provided a bit more of a contrast in approach and beliefs, but in terms of story I feel like this one has more to offer, "The Hooffields and McColts" didn't do anything wrong but it does seem questionable how both sides could just forget what they were fighting over (if they couldn't remember, what reason would they have to keep fighting? Even a vague memory or story of wrong doing would've provided more of a reason to continue the feud). Spike's cameo was nice, though I feel like the bake-off bit mentioned didn't need to be brought up. Speaking of Spike, I know some people will inevitably compare this episode to "Friends Forever #21" in which Spike and Zecora were tasked with curing an epidemic in Ponyville, and Zecora ultimately fell ill. But it's not a direct copy of the story from there. It's also fitting that Zecora gets two episodes back to back (albeit unintentionally since the episodes themselves are different in production order and are broken up by "To Change A Changeling"), though "It Isn't The Mane Thing About Her" gave her a bigger role. Here, she was just used to instigate the plot, you could swap her out for just about anyone close to Fluttershy and the stakes would probably be the same, not that I'm complaining. In the end, I give this episode a borderline A/A+, putting it just above "Rock Solid Friendship" which took a while to getting going, but below "Discordant Harmony" because it could've easily been a bland FlutterCord episode and instead it was able to give us something we'd never expected.
Next week we have episode 22 in production order, but the 21st to air, "Marks and Recreation". In which the CMC set up their cutie mark camp, only to be surprised when they encounter ponies who don't want a cutie mark. Considering their previous episode dealt with a non-pony who wanted a cutie mark, this should be an interesting contrast. I just have to hope they're not drawing inspiration from Starlight's village.
Which is EXACTLY what it was, so if i end up thinking this episode is weaker, it'll be my least favorite of the season.
Next week's episode, however, is already among my faves of the season just based on the song alone
Next to Discordant Harmony this is one of the best Fluttershy episodes to date.
I have to admit, this is the most slap stick comedy that I've seen them use in a while since the beginning of the show. And to be honest........ I didn't know Twilight Sparkle could cook......... that sparks a new idea for a story, or perhaps a chapter for one of my existing stories.
I would think that Fluttershy would want to be infected with a virus that turns you into a tree.
At last, we get an episode with decent writing for once.
Let's see if the next episode can keep that up.