My Little Pokémon: Grander World

by Amarvax

A Health of Information

Equestria. Hayseed Swamp. Nightfall.

At last. Hayseed Swamp. Fluttershy and Applejack had arrived here as this bayou village was the one place tied to Mage Meadowbrook. A pony from long ago. They arrived here on the back of Spike's Flygon since the Dread League already got to the train during the start of the Black Crusade.

However, it appeared to be more than just a bayou. It looked a bit abandoned. The rugged appearance of this village showed no signs of anypony moving around. The trees looked incredibly old and wilted, unable to care for themselves.

"So...where do ya think Meadowbrook lived?" Applejack wondered as they trotted the lands of Hayseed Swamp which didn't seem to boast any life at all. Pony life at least. Some Pokemon and animals were present here, albeit small. A Kecleon could be seen crawling on the rugged buildings, followed by flys.

"I'm not sure. Maybe there's somepony we can ask," said Fluttershy.

"I think we might be the only ponies here." Applejack found it hard to see if anypony else would live here since it was so run-down. She could only imagine it being active since Mage Meadowbrook once lived here. Their heads navigated the area, looking for a sign. Audino was even listening closely for any sounds.

Her ears could mostly hear the sounds of the swamp and the Pokemon that managed to make it their home. Aside from that, not much else. It was just environmental sounds for the most part and nothing else of importance here.

"Wait! I recognize that tree!" Fluttershy was the one to pick up on something. And that was from a tree that was up ahead. This tree stood out from the rest, being larger than all of them and having some life to it. The leaves still looked a bit devoid of colour but it was better than nothing. "Yes! This has to be it! It's just like the illustrations of her home!"

"Raboot?" Raboot would pat his feet on the tree, feeling the ancient aura it gave off. Considering how abandoned this place was, everything here felt like a relic and it was just now being discovered. At least by those who were seeking out. The Pokemon that made this place their home could care less.

"Nice. But it doesn't look like anypony wants us in right now. Check out that lock." Applejack pointed the lock at the entrance of the door and how large it appeared. Exceedingly large. It would take two or more earth ponies to lift a key big enough to open this door.

Fluttershy attempted pushing the door open, only to fail. It was already clear that it was tightly shut and pushing through wouldn't do the trick. Raboot would even try it out, rapidly kicking the door and leaving white afterimages behind.

"I don't mean to harm their home, but it's for the sake of our world," Fluttershy grunted while pushing against the door. As if it wasn't already obvious, she did not have the physical strength for opening something like this. "Just...have to...overpower it!"

"Or we could try the handle." However, Applejack pointed out the handle that was also underneath the keyhole. It didn't have just one way of entering, making things easier for anyone not capable of using a massive key. Sceptile would grab the handle which had an upside-down C design. After opening it, Sceptile and everyone else were expecting to see someone inside at least. But they weren't expecting it to be guaranteed considering how empty Hayseed Swamp was.

But they were met with something rather startling. A bright flash of light suddenly hit them. A light so bright it lit up the dim parts of this area, especially the tree. Fluttershy, Applejack and their Pokemon all had their eyes assaulted by a barrage of lights. And from what they could make out in an instant, they saw various lamps that gave off light before they backed away and fell over.

"Get back! Outta here, vampires!" And following that was the voice of somepony. Indeed, somepony else was still here. A bearded pony with a burly figure appeared. Alongside him was a Hippopotas that had a lamp on its head. But it was rather difficult to see it considering how much light was coming from inside. It was impressive how it did not radiate from the outside at all. This pony was even wearing a garlic necklace, already aware of a vampire's other weakness. Garlic.

"W-We're not vampires...!" Applejack yelled after her eyes were assaulted." Turn it all off!"

"Ya ain't?" The burly pony said, seeing how Fluttershy and Applejack weren't burning up from all of this light. They were just squinting and covering their eyes rather than hissing or sizzling. And their Pokemon certainly weren't vampires. "Oh, my mistake! My mistake!" He chuckled as he quickly shut down all of the lights.

"Aaah..." Fluttershy sighed as her eyes were free from that overwhelming amount of light.

"Sorry about that. Didn't mean to flash ya. I mean, I did but, I thought ya'll were vampires for a second." He apologized, approaching them.

"Don't worry about it." Applejack groaned before sitting up. "I'm guessing you heard that the Black Crusade's just started, huh? I'd do the same thing."

"I think your counterpart did the same thing from what Ash told me." Fluttershy recovered, shaking her head to recollect herself as the light was potent enough to leave quite a mark on her eyes.

"I heard all about it from Princess Celestia. News travels fast when she gives it out. I just had to get ready in case any vampires came crashing in my home."

"Hippo." Hippopotas would help up the Pokemon who were hit by the light. And while they weren't vampires, Raboot cringed once the garlic around Hippopotas' neck approached him.

"R-Ra...!" Raboot put his paws on his nose and mouth, disgusted at what his nose was picking up on. The garlic got a reaction out of him but not one that belonged to a vampire.

"Nice place you have here by the way. Even though it looks like this place has been abandoned for years." Fluttershy complimented his home and also called out how ancient it appeared. Her eyes then focused on something else aside from the scenery. It was a lilypad. A very specific lilypad. Her eyes lit up instantly, hovering over to this lilypad that sat next to an assortment of objects. "Applejack, look! It's the same kind of lilypad that gave Zecora Swamp Fever! Hmm. I wonder if Meadowbrook was looking for a cure for Swamp Fever, too. Do you think she found it?"

"Hope so. Let's not get ahead of ourselves though. Might have to ask uh..." Applejack turned to face the burly pony. "What's your name, by the way?"

"Name's Cattail. Pleased to meet ya." Cattail introduced himself at last.

"Well, Cattail. This home used to be Mage Meadowbrook's home. I'm guessing it's now yours, right?" Fluttershy questioned. "And that goes for everything here?"

"Oh, I take care of the place. I ain't much of a cleaner, but from what I hear, my kin wasn't neither. So I doubt they'd mind a few cobwebs in our ancestral home. It's just a heritage thing. That's why I'm here."

"You're related to Mage Meadowbrook?" Fluttershy gasped. From what Cattail was spouting, a descendant of Mage Meadowbrook was right here in front of her and her friends.

"Mhm." All it took was his response to get another excited reaction from Fluttershy.

"Oh, my goodness, Applejack, we did it! Not only did we find Mage Meadowbrook's old house – we actually found one of her descendants!" Fluttershy felt like she struck gold. A double whammy. The home of a legend and a descendant too.

"So you're lookin' for some kind o' cure, huh? Well, now, I know Meadowbrook was known to always be writin' in her journals. If she had the cure you want, I reckon that's where it'd be. Come on. I'll show ya the library. If you're up for heavy reading."

"Not really, but whatever helps. We've got a lot of sick ponies back at Ponyville thanks to that Despair Plant. If Mage Meadowbrook has a cure for Magehold Curses, that'll be great." said Applejack.

"Curses? I don't know about that...Haven't checked. Only one way to find out." Cattail would then show them an assortment of books nearby while Raboot shuffled away from Hippopotas who as a bit too close for his liking with that garlic necklace.

Even the books were old as they appeared to have been resting there for so long, untouched by many. Dust covered the covers along with some cobwebs. Audino gently blew on one of the books, sending a wide wave of dust out. And thankfully, these were all records of Mage Meadowbrook. A way to peer into the past.

"This is good. It'll take us less time to go through everything." Fluttershy said before reading one of the words from a book. "'Today, my mom made me eat peas. Peas are yucky.'". And we can probably skip this one unless she found a cure when she was a foal."

"I met a colt today. He pulled my mane, so I put a frog on his head." Applejack read another batch of words talking about Mage Meadowbrooks's past. But not exactly the necessary one. "That ain't helpful, but I do kinda want to see where it goes. Cattail. Do ya have something for curses?"

"The vampires can pull off horrible curses that come directly from Magehold. We were wondering if she was aware of it."

"Mmm?" Cattail shrugged. "Ya gotta find out about that one ya self. There might be a book for it."

"Okay. Applejack. You'll focus on finding a book about Magehold curses and I'll focus on Swamp Fever for now." Fluttershy suggested.

"You got it. Let's get looking, Sceptile. Before the vampires show up here as well." Applejack would start looking for the book covering the rarest diseases. Magehold Diseases.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy continued the book she was reading, seeing what could be discovered here. And while reading it, she envisioned the scenario in her head and what it could've been back then. "Today, I tried again to brew an unsniffle elixir......and I finally got it right!"

---

The Past.

The past. A time where Hayseed Swamp wasn't that abandoned. And living in the massive tree with some more vibrancy to it was none other than Mage Meadowbrook.

At this time, she was mixing an elixir to cure a common affliction. Sniffling. Rather small, but Mage Meadowbrook was seemingly willing to tackle the smaller things just for the sake of health. And the one under a rather harsh sniffle was a chipmunk that had its nose as red as Santa's clothes. Mage Meadowbrook held up the liquid from the elixir in a ladle spoon, letting the chipmunk sip from it.

And in an instant, the chipmunk was healed. Barely even needed time to heal or even a day or two. It happened just as fast as the chipmunk drank it. And watching this occur was Mage Meadowbrook's own mother. And even though it was such a miniscule affliction, it was still something to take notice of with how effective it was.

"Meadowbrook, I think it's time you had this." So effective that her mother lent her box. Meadowbrook's hooves met with the box, opening it to see what contents it was holding. And within it was a mask that resembled an avian.

"My very own healer's mask! You think I'm ready, mother?" Meadowbrook asked her mother as this was a gift for her based on her achievements.

"Mm-hm." Her mother saw it as a worthy gift for her daughter. But before she could really take in and admire the gift she was given based on what she accomplished as a medicinal expert, a knock on the door interrupted her. Quickly, her mother opened it to see who stood before their home.

A hooded pony with tired eyes appeared, appearing a bit out of it. But she was more than just out of it. When removing the hood, she revealed to have what Zecora had in the current day.

Swamp Fever.

"What caused this?" Meadowbrook's Mother gasped. The afflicted pony would reveal what brought this spotted disease to her body. And it appeared to be a lily flower that possessed spots as well. The cause of Swamp Fever was right before them and the only help this pony sought out was this town's local healer. However, this was far different and rarer than a sniffled nose.

Once it was brought in, the time to test it out was prepared. A cure for this was being pursued already and Meadowbrook's mother dubbed it Swamp Fever. Fitting since it originated in a swamp but it was only until now that it had been made aware to others. The poor pony who came across this flower was the first to be made aware.

"Mother calls it Swamp Fever. We've been tryin' to find a cure, but it hasn't been easy." Mage Meadowbrook wrote down her experience as this was also being read from Fluttershy in the present day.

Speaking of her mother, Meadowbrook's mother was the one testing it out, pouring elixir liquid on it. The immediate reaction was a puffy combustion. The lily would puff some of its near Meadowbrook's mother, causing her to back away. That obviously did not work. And unfortunately, it was only going to get worse from here.

"The fever spread like wildfire." Opening the door once more showed Meadowbrook and her mother more ponies that had been afflicted with Swamp Fever. The number was so vast it might as well be the entire town. And unfortunately, since her mother was hit by the lily earlier, she showed signs of contracting it based on her coughing. Those who already had it could be seen coughing. "I fear if we don't find a cure soon, everypony will be in grave danger!"

Naturally, for Meadowbrook, this was rather pressurizing. To take care of this many ponies, including her own mother while also attempting to find a cure for this was an incredibly tall order.

---

"Oh?!" Meanwhile, Applejack seemed to have found something of interest while Fluttershy continued her book. Her eyes widened to see the book that sat before her. The title was rather promising as Applejack herself read it out. "Odd Collection of Odd Diseases. This might be it!"

"Sceptile!"

"Find what 'yer looking for?" Cattail asked, leaning over as Applejack opened the book to see what contents it held.

"I think so," Applejack said with a hopeful voice. When opening the book, the first thing that caught her attention were Meadowbrook's comments on diseases she had never even heard of or thought of as a possibility. "I've come across some pretty weird diseases that are past what I'm used to. Some of these can just be downright fatal...Or lethal! I think this is it! This has always been here the whole time?"

"Eh. Never bothered to look into them myself." Cattail shrugged as he wasn't really into books. It showed by how much dust had been collected over the years. "Plus, this place is pretty abandoned. Nopony's coming here looking for any cures to curses."

"I guess. Makes sense why it's so hard to find anything about Magehold Curses. But how come it's abandoned in the first place?" Applejack wondered before focusing on the book. At last, she had something that related to fatal diseases and she couldn't waste the opportunity to miss out on it. "I don't think these diseases are that common. They look like they come from somewhere else that we've never seen before. There were these creepy-looking black cracks around some of 'em."

"With Mother sick, I didn't think I'd ever find a cure. But starin' at those cursed flowers today, I saw somethin'." Meanwhile, Fluttershy continued her story on Swamp Fever while Audino was picking up on both stories, using her amazing sense of hearing to do so. This way, she could know what both sides were saying.

---

Meadowbrook searched for a cure and her search lead her to the area where the flowers could be found. There, a lily flower containing Swamp Fever but Meadowbrook wasn't sure what to do with it and the others that sat in this swamp. That was when her eyes met with two bees who approached the flower. She had to eye this down, wondering how they would affect insects and other animals.

The flower puffed it smoke once the bees got close, spraying them. However, instead of backing away, the bees approached it. In fact, they even stood on the flower as if they were collecting honey. Meadowbrook paused for a moment before shifting her attention to more of these bees that approached the other flowers. They all did the same thing. Have the flower puff in front of them and land directly on them.

"Flash Bees!" Meadowbrook exclaimed before seeing the two Flash Bees that landed in front of her take off. And after absorbing parts of the flower, their bodies lit up, fitting their names. They became flashes of light, moving through the swamp with an illuminating presence. All the other bees flew off, prompting Meadowbrook to pursue them.

"I realized the flowers' poison didn't affect the flash bees. And if they were immune to Swamp Fever, their honey could be the cure!" Her pursuit led her to a tree where the Flash Bees all entered. Refusing to let this escape her for the sake of health, Meadowbrook would climb the tree. And by climb, that meant jump. She jumped the tree, reaching a higher place with each leap. From branch to branch, followed by a swing that was done by biting onto a vine. Eventually, she reached the top of the tree which had a hole in it.

And in that hole, from what Mage Meadowbrook could see, housed all the Flash Bees. And not just Flash Bees but also a Queen Flash Bee as seen by her rather regal appearance compared to the rest. And the bees here all looked completely fine. Not a trace of swamp fever was starting to kick in for them. They all looked rather peaceful.

That is until that peace was broken once Meadowbrook's hoof snapped a tree branch. This immediately caught the attention of all the Flash Bees as their peaceful eyes intensified, ready to defend their hive. And when they spotted Meadowbrook's face, they immediately went on the attack. Once more, they became bodies of light, dashing directly at the earth pony's face. Meadowbrook grimaced, backing up as she narrowly avoided the incoming bodies of light that nearly crashed into her.

Unfortunately, it didn't take long until one of the bees got her. A swift yet painful sting got to Meadowbrook's hoof. And another one on her back. Meadowbrook already received three stings from the Flash Bees, causing her to feel a bit woozy. Afterwards, she would fall off the tree, landing back on the ground with a perplexed and dazed expression on her face.

But they were so aggressive defendin' their hive, I didn't know how I was gonna get it! Meadowbrook got back up immediately, desiring to achieve her goal. It would be difficult when dealing with aggressive creatures but this as seemingly the only way to deal with Swamp Fever.

Something had to be devised and right now, while everypony else was ill, she had only herself to count on for success. However, a part of her mother would assist her in the form of the mask she was gifted recently. Specifically, the Mystical Mask.

"Here goes nothin'!" She said with full determination, placing the avian-style mask on her face. And when putting it on her face, the Flash Bees all approached her in a rather menacing way. It was up to Meadowbrook to decide what had to be done next for the sake of her mother and her town.

---

Present day.

"Today...I cured my mother and the rest of the bayou!" And from Fluttershy's perspective, she already reached the part where Meadowbrook did find the cure. There was even an image to illustrate it. On it, Meadowbrook could be seen holding an elixir that had honey inside of it. She took the risk and came out victorious with the cure to Swamp Fever. "It was the greatest feeling I've ever experienced, and I promise to dedicate my life to curing ponies all over Equestria!"

"And she did just that. Right up 'til she disappeared without a trace." Cattail added.

"Yeah, but not before leaving behind something important. It's a shame she just vanished. Nopony else knew about a way to deal with Magehold curses since it's all been here." Applejack said. "I'm guessing ever since she left, that's when this place became pretty abandoned."

"I can see why. If this town came down with something else, Mage Meadowbrook's disappearance would leave a hit on it. Nopony could handle medicine like she could. By the way. What did you find, Applejack?"

"Check this out. I think we got what we're looking for." Applejack brought the book over to Fluttershy. "Meadowbrook talked about black cracks around the body. It looked like they were eating away at not just ponies but animals and other creatures too. Sounds familiar?"

"Magehold Curses..." Fluttershy uttered slowly. "So Meadowbrook found about them as well? And it looks like it was while she was still here at Hayseed Swamp. So maybe, she came across someone that was attacked by a vampire."

"Well uh...that's what it says here." Applejack's hoof pointed at that exact text that Fluttershy uttered. "Says here she ran into some ponies who were running for their lives, escaping from somepony fast and stronger than them combined. They lost this pony once the Sun came up and got away safely. That's when they came across Meadowbrook."

"So vampires already showed up near here..." Faster and stronger than those ponies while also disappearing once the Sun came up sounded a lot like a vampire. "So how did she find a cure? Did she find a cure?"

"Here's this. Says here she worked for months trying to find something but there wasn't anything to go off on. Not like that flower that has Swamp Fever all over it."

"I guess the only thing to go off on are the vampires themselves." Fluttershy sighed. "But there's no way to keep them around since they combust."

"But she did find this." However, Applejack's next words made Fluttershy's ears shoot up. She find out that there were some plants that took in the Black Cracks themselves. They absorbed 'em."

"They took in it? They absorbed the cracks?!" Futtershy gasped. This was incredibly valuable information to them. "What else, Applejack?! What are they called?!"

"She had to really get out there and find the rarest flowers imaginable. These flowers were almost magical since they could absorb the cracks from the body. But...Meadowbrook found the last ones ever. They were called Sunrise Flowers. And she got lucky to grab the last batch that were found."

"The last ones...That can't be..." Fluttershy backed away as that wasn't what she wanted to hear.

"Said that these flowers don't normally ground around Hayseed Swamp. That's what makes 'em rare. But they're even rare across the world. And they even blend in with other flowers." Applejack continued. "Meadowbrook must've also gone out to find a cure for that after her Swamp Fever problem was solved."

"Oh...But I was really hoping we could have the flowers here." Fluttershy sighed, disappointed that the one thing to deal with Magehold's Curses was possibly either extinct or hard to find. "They're almost magical and they blend in with the environment. So does that mean that it could be any flower?"

"Maybe." Applejack shrugged. "We could've passed by some of them during our adventures. Meadowbrook said here there's no way to know what's a Sunrise Flower and what isn't. But it looks like that's the cure for Magehold's Diseases. Either we start looking extra hard for those Sunrise flowers or..."

"That could take forever and I don't know how much time we have," Fluttershy bit her hoof as Audino and Bayleef went up to comfort her.

"I'm sure...I'm sure we'll figure out something." Fluttershy kept herself optimistic. "At least we have an answer for Swamp Fever, so there's that. All we have to do is find those aggressive flash bees and get them to give us their honey! Of course, it doesn't say how she did that..." She stood back up prompting Applejack, Cattail and all the Pokemon to gasp at her. "What? Is my mane messy?"

"Uh...Y-Your hoof, Fluttershy!" Applejack pointed out as her hoof was trembling.

"My hoof...?" Fluttershy would look at her own hoof before seeing what everyone else was seeing. It blindsided her completely as she never saw it coming. Her hoof was plastered with spots.

She had contracted Swamp Fever. And at the worst possible time too. At last, cures had been found. A cure to Swamp Fever and even a cure for Magehold's Diseases. However, for Magehold's Diseases, that was the most elusive as the one thing that could seemingly cure them was incredibly rare.

Disturbingly rare since they blended in with everything. Even so, Meadowbrook left behind a wealth of information about health that was desperately needed. For the sake of Zecora and all of Ponyville, cures had to be found at once. Before it was too late. As the journey continues.

Chapter 144 End,

Comments

[GamePlayer64]

Oh no... Fluttershy got hit with the fever! Now how will they get the honey? I mean I doubt the Flash Bees was it? Will communicate with other bees AKA Vespiquen and all her Combee