“Come buy, come buy!” shouted a tall, rather gaunt-looking unicorn, pale blue in color, as he went through the busy work of converting his house into a trader’s stall. Through the violet glow of his horn, a part of the wall rose up to become a wooden overhang, revealing a window underneath. From the overhang unfolded a sign announcing, 'Fallen Fortune’s One-Stop Cure-All Emporium.'
Cure-all business was good. Or so it seemed to Radiant Hope. This house was one of the few in all Whinnysburg, from what she had seen, to be two-stories. And it was made of brick; a far cry from the simple thatch hovels which seemed to make up most of the town’s buildings. And then, of course, there was the large crowd that seemed to appear out of nowhere the moment he had let out his cry.
Before she knew it, Hope was being pushed and jostled by all sorts of ponies. It was a bit of a surprise; Whinnysburg did not seem large enough to contain all the ponies that were now squeezing into the square. But here they were.
“Come, come!” said Fallen Fortune, having taken up position behind the window. “Don’t want to die of plague, do you? Come to me, and you never will! I have all sorts of remedies; potions, cures, panaceas. Why, this little beauty–” Here, the unicorn produced a vial. “–is guaranteed to cure both the plague and mane lice! Often at the same time! How do you think I keep this head of black hair so full and luxurious? Then there are these special pellets. Throw them into the fire, and no plague can come near you. You may have wondered how, despite my many ministrations to the ailing of this town, I have never caught the plague. That’s how. Two pellets into the fire of my study every night and the plague doesn’t dare touch me.”
“I’ll take a box of those,” said an earth pony as he approached. “Our neighbors just got the plague. They’ve been dropping like flies. Their home’ll probably have to be burnt, so we might as well get some use out of the fire.”
A bag of bits landed on the window-sill. Fortune floated it into one of the pockets of his long black robe.
“You speak wisely,” he said as he levitated a box of pellets over. “But please, do not come too close to me.”
The earth pony nodded as he pocketed the pellets and returned to the crowd. Soon, there were cheers and calls coming from all corners of the square.
“Yes, yes,” Fortune said. “I have all sorts of useful things here. Besides the potions of my own devising, I have magic spells for the unicorns in the crowd. Then there are these horoscopes I drew up, ready made and guaranteed to be accurate to the nearest celestial conjunction. Just come and pick one up! Or if your tastes in prophecy go in another direction, pick up one of these scrolls and discover the secrets of the future I learned from studying the flights of birds! Come buy! Come buy!”
The noise in the square rose to an absolute clamor as, like a wave, the crowd of ponies rolled toward the house.
Fortune had to raise his voice when he spoke next. “And, as always, each and every one of my products comes with a money-back guarantee! If you die of the plague, I shall refund you all your money, no questions asked!”
“My husband died from the plague,” said a mare in the crowd. “Do I get a refund?”
“Refund only valid for the individual pony him or herself. Spouses and relatives need not apply,” Fortune answered.
Hope just watched as the crowd worked itself up into a near-frenzy. “Does any of that actually work?” she said, more to herself than to anypony.
“Does it matter?” came a voice from beside her.
Hope turned to see a rather dignified-looking gold-colored pegasus mare. This mare with that impeccably styled yellow mane and tail and that look of subdued haughtiness in her golden eyes, exuded prestige. She wore a short red robe, little more than a jacket, but opulently trimmed with golden lacing throughout. Even her cutie mark, a red pendant on an orange-gold pole, suggested an aptitude for authority. She definitely seemed to be what would be called in later times a Very Important Pony.
“What do you mean?” Hope asked.
“We’ve been on our own for so long,” the mare said. “We’ve tried everything. We’ve had to burn down most of our buildings to try and stop it. But nothing stops it. Ponies have begun to give up.”
“What is it that is so bad?” Hope asked.
“My, what type of a question is that? The plague, of course! The worst plague any of us have ever seen. There’s been plagues in Equestria before, sure, plenty of them. But I doubt there’s ever been a plague like this. All the medicines, all the spells, have done nothing to stop it. Surely, you must know that. You must have seen what it’s done, the lives it’s taken. Unless you’re….”
Hope had by now fully turned her head in the mare’s direction. The mare, for the first time, got a good look at the face underneath the brown hood.
“You’re not from around here, are you?” the mare said, the tone of her voice growing more and more suspicious with each word.
Before Hope could respond, the mare knocked the hood from Hope’s head with her hoof. Now, Hope had never been one to care much about personal space, but this seemed too direct ever for her liking.
The hood fell and revealed Hope’s long mane of sky-blue hair and face of lavender. The sun’s light danced upon and shimmered off the crystalline surface of both.
The other mare was temporarily blinded. But when she recovered – or forced herself to recover – she said, “I thought not!” with altogether too much force for it to mean anything good.
Hope would have been concerned save that she had other things on her mind. More important things.
So that’s why Princess Celestia didn’t want me to come to Whinnysburg, she thought. But why wouldn’t she want me to stop the plague? I’m sure I’ll be able to do it like that, and then all these ponies’ lives will be saved. Why wouldn’t the Princess want that?
“I don’t know how you thought you’d go unnoticed, especially looking like you do,” said the pegasus. “We never got that many crystal ponies here, and there aren’t any in town now, other than you. Oh, but you must have done something pretty terrible up in the Crystal Empire that you were willing to try and hide out here!”
Hope tilted her head. The pegasus couldn’t know how close to the mark she had actually come.
“So that’s why there were guards,” Hope said. “It’s a quarantine.”
“You should have turned back, then,” the pegasus said, “because, though we may be plague-infested and fewer by the day, we Whinnysburgers are still a law-abiding folk! Just wait until you see what we do to ponies of your sort.”
This could have gone better, Hope thought.
“I’m not a fugitive!” Hope said. “I’m not running away from anything. I just came to Whinnysburg because I need to–”
“I’ve heard it all before, missy,” the mare said. “Lies won’t get you anywhere.”
Things were going from bad to worse, Hope recognized. She had two options, as she saw it. Either a): Teleport out of there and forget both about saving the townsponies and saving Sombra. Or b): Figure out how to get herself on this pony of authority’s good side.
It has to be b), Hope thought. I can’t just leave now. These ponies need me. And so does Sombra.
But how was she going to do this? As she turned it over in her mind, Hope remembered something. With a nudge of the hoof, the folds of her cloak shifted just enough to reveal the sun-badge Princess Celestia had given her.
“See this?” Hope asked. “This shows I’m not a fugitive. I’m here with Princess Celestia’s permission.”
The mare’s eyes grew wide and round, as round as the sun-badge reflected in them. Before Hope knew what was happening to her, the mare pulled her into a hug. She squeezed Hope so tight that Hope felt like her insides were being launched upward toward her throat.
“Oh, thank heavens!” the pegasus said. “They finally sent someone! The Princesses haven’t abandoned us after all!”
“Well, um, it’s not that simple….” Hope choked out. But it was all she could manage.
“We never thought you’d come!” the mare said. “They left us for so long to ourselves! They said they’d save us, that they’d be back when they had a cure! But we never saw them again. And then the blockades appeared on all the roads. We thought they were just going to let us die off, one by one.”
Why didn’t Princess Celestia and Princess Luna do anything? Hope wondered. And why didn’t Princess Celestia want me to do anything? And how long before my lungs pop out of my mouth?
But thankfully, the mare finally set Hope down. Hope wanted to say something, but couldn’t speak. Instead, she cast a small healing spell to repair the internal damage she was sure had been done to her midsection.
“Oh, but forgive me, since I haven’t introduced myself!” the mare said.
That’s what you want me to forgive you for? Hope thought as she rubbed her sides, making sure that the spell had done its work.
“I’m Oriflamme, Lady Mayor of Whinnysburg,” said the mare with a flourish.
“I’m… I’m….” Hope still found herself having trouble speaking, despite being, as far as she could tell, healed. She wondered whether the hug had inflicted emotional damage alongside the physical.
“So you’re here from Princess Celestia?” Oriflamme said. “You can help us?”
“I can,” Hope said.
“Excellent!” Oriflamme said with a decidedly undignified clap of the hooves.
“But it looks like you already have all the help you need,” Hope said, nodding her head toward Fallen Fortune and his (obviously very lucrative) business.
Oriflamme sneered. “If only. As far as I know, he’s never been able to cure a single pony. I’ve wondered whether he’s not helped one or two of them along with those ‘cure-alls’ of his.”
“Then why haven’t you shut him down?” Hope asked.
“It’s not that simple,” Oriflamme said. “We were never a large town, even before the plague. And the one or two doctors we had were the first ones to fall victim. We asked for help from the Princesses, but they never gave it to us. So here comes Fallen Fortune, and he promises that he can cure the plague. Well, none of us gave him much thought before. Nopony took alchemists like him very seriously. But what could we do? After the blockade, we couldn’t get help from the rest of Equestria. And none of us knew anything about healing. So we had to trust him.”
“That makes sense,” Hope said. “But it hasn’t worked out.”
Oriflamme let out a sigh. “You know, my mother was mayor before me, and her father before her. They had it easy. I thought I would too. But ever since this plague, I’ve had to make some tough decisions. He’s one of them. I know he hasn’t done us any good. I think all of them know it too. But we need to keep thinking that maybe, just maybe, he can save us. You see, it’s not really the tonics he’s selling. Do you know what he’s actually selling?”
“Hmm?”
“Hope, he’s selling hope. It’s not great hope, but it’s about the only thing that keeps the whole town from giving in to despair. The only thing we have left to us is hope, and I can’t let this town lose that.”
Oriflamme shook her head suddenly, “Oh, but forgive me, since I never asked. You must be somepony important for the Princesses to send you. Just who are you?”
“I am Hope,” Hope answered.
“You certainly are!” responded Oriflamme. “And a far better hope than that buffoon over there. At least, I hope you are.”
Hope shook her head. “No, my name is Hope. Radiant Hope. I’m a student of Princess Celestia’s.”
Once again, Oriflamme’s eyes widened. “A student of Princess Celestia? That must mean that you have access to some pretty powerful magic!”
Hope nodded. “My specialty is healing. I’ve never met an ailment I couldn’t fix. Some ponies think that I’m powerful enough to be a princess someday.”
“Then we are saved!” Oriflamme shouted. “They’ve sent a princess to save us! You’ll be able to heal us all!”
“No, I’m not a princess yet!” Hope said.
But it was too late. Oriflamme had been loud enough that several nearby ponies heard the pronouncement. Soon, the whole crowd was abuzz with it. Before Hope knew it, the good people of Whinnysburg had completely forgotten about Fallen Fortune and had set their eyes squarely upon her.
“On behalf of all of us,” Oriflamme said, bowing low, “I would like to ask you to use your considerable talents to bring us some relief from this dreaded plague, Your Highness.”
Hope looked swiftly around to see row after row of ponies kneeling to her. “No, no, I’m not a–”
“A new princess in Equestria?” came a sharp voice. Hope did not need to look, but she did. Sure enough, it was the one pony who had not knelt; Fallen Fortune.
“Funny, I had no news of a new princess in Equestria,” he said as he approached. “And a crystal pony, to boot? I had no idea that Princesses Celestia and Luna had taken such a leave of their senses. Or are they just governing the country by throwing darts and rolling dice now? Maybe they have a little wheel that they spin to make decisions.”
“Hold your tongue!” Oriflamme said, rising swiftly. “How dare you speak like that to a princess!”
“No, I’m not a–” Hope tried again. But it was still too late.
“If there was a new princess, I would know about it,” Fortune snapped back.
“How?” the mayor asked, incredulous.
“Well, I… um… there is a… I have in my study a magic… um… a magic mirror! Yes, that’s it! A mirror which shows me everything that goes on in Equestria. That is how I would know.”
“Oh, please!” the mayor responded. “The only thing you spend any amount of time looking into is the bottom of a tankard at the alehouse! I can still smell the fumes on you!”
Hope judged that, given the raucous laughter than erupted from the crowd, the accusation had some truth to it.
Fortune seemed very annoyed by the laughter. Yet, he quickly calmed himself. “Fine,” he said. “Maybe she is a princess. She’s not an alicorn, but then neither is Princess Amore, I suppose. They really do just let things slide up in the Crystal Empire, don’t they?”
Hope grit her teeth at the mention of Princess Amore.
“But before we take her word for it,” Fortune continued. “I suggest we put her to the test.”
“And what do you propose?” The mayor’s tone was harsh, and yet Hope could see from the look on her face that she was not totally opposed to the idea.
Fortune considered for a moment, rubbing his hoof against the small van-dyke beard that hung down from his chin. Something seemed to occur to him.
“It is a simple enough matter,” he said. “As you know, I’ve recently made some renovations to my modest home. The fellow who did it, Cross Beam the carpenter, his son has long been suffering. He broke his leg a year or two ago and it has never set quite right. It causes him tremendous pain and he walks with a limp. His father has implored me time and again to come up with something to help him. But, of course, being so busy treating the plague, I just haven’t found the time….”
“Of course,” the mayor said.
“But it should be no trouble for our ‘distinguished’ visitor here.”
“It would be no trouble at all,” Hope said. She considered whether she should make the point about not being a princess again, but decided that it could wait. Her magic abilities were real, after all, and that was what was going to be put to the test. Protest too much and the ponies might hear the wrong message. She might lose any chance of convincing them to let her help.
“Come forward, my friend,” Fortune called out.
Out of the crown stepped a tall, brown earth pony, thin but apparently not without some strength. His most notable feature was a rather pronounced beard, littered with wood shavings. He was covered in soot and dirt, but still carried himself with great dignity. His cutie mark was a hammer. He walked slowly so as to allow the young colt at his side to keep pace.
Hope felt her heart breaking as she looked upon this colt, barely older than a foal. He was rather plump, with the same brown coloring as his father. From underneath a very messy mane, two deep blue eyes were visible. His blue eyes locked with Hope’s blue eyes. She smiled a warm, reassuring smile. He immediately huddled against his father in fear.
The father put his hoof reassuringly on the boy’s shoulder. “Go ahead, son,” he said.
The boy hobbled over, made all the slower by his reluctance. Hope saw how serious his situation was. Despite the makeshift cast around it, the weird angle of his back left leg told her that Fallen Fortune’s remark about it “not setting properly” was an understatement. It had been mangled.
Hope stepped forward so that the colt did not have to walk. When she reached him, she lowered her head to his eye level.
“Hi, there,” she said. “My name is Radiant Hope. What’s yours?”
“Wood Chip,” he mumbled.
“That’s a nice name!”
“It’s not as pretty as yours.”
Hope smiled. “I’ll tell you a secret. I’ve never really liked my name. I’d much rather have one like yours.”
The boy smiled a little. But Hope could see he was still frightened. It would take more from her to get his trust.
“You don’t have your cutie mark yet, do you?” Hope asked.
The colt shook his head. “No, ma’am. My pa says it should come in soon, but sometimes the other children tease me since I don’t have one.”
“You want to know another secret?” Hope said. “I didn’t get mine until I was nearly full-grown. You’ve got plenty of time.”
“Weren’t you upset that it took so long?” the boy asked.
“No,” Hope answered, “because it just meant that mine was extra-special. It lets me help sweet little ponies like you.”
The colt seemed to brighten up considerably. He was still nervous, but Hope sensed that she was getting through to him.
“What are you going to do to me?” he asked quietly.
“I’m going to make you better,” she answered, as kindly and calmly as she could.
“Will it hurt?”
Hope forced herself not to grimace or frown. Healing spells accelerated natural healing, but they did not fundamentally alter it. It would be painful to put the boy’s joints back in line no matter how it was done. All Hope could do was to make it quick. She did not want to have to tell him that. She did not want to lose what little trust she had gained, nor did she want to frighten him. But she knew it would be better if he knew now rather than it being a terrible surprise.
“It’s going to hurt for a little while,” Hope said. “But I’ll go as fast as I can, I promise. And then after I’m done, there’ll be no more pain. So can you be brave for just a teensy bit?”
The little colt did not answer. He just looked at the ground, avoiding Hope’s face.
Hope thought for a moment. Then her horn lit up and her saddle-bag opened. Out floated a green lollypop.
“How about this?” she said, floating the lollypop in front of him. “If you can be a brave little pony, you can have this when I’m done. How’s that sound?”
The colt looked from Hope to the lollypop, from the lollypop to Hope. Finally, he gave a little nod.
Hope comfortingly put her foreleg around the boy. The light from her horn intensified. A beam of blue light came forth and enveloped him. It began to do its work.
Hope could sense that the colt was in pain. He was trying to be strong and hide it, but she could tell.
“It’s alright,” she said soothingly. “It’ll be over soon.”
Hope knew that the worst of it had not begun yet. This was not a new situation for her. At least the boy was not struggling, which would just have made it much harder for both him and her. Hope hated when ponies tried to fight it, because she would have to use more force and then it felt like she was deliberately hurting them.
It still felt like that. Hope almost did not want to push through with the final part of her spell. But she knew she had to. If her healing experience had taught her anything, it was that, no matter what, she had to push through. It might cause a little more pain, but it was just so that better things could come after.
So Hope pushed through.
She thought she heard the boy cry a little.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered.
Then it was over. The magic from Hope’s horn dissipated.
“All done,” she said to the colt.
She watched the colt relax. The relief in his face was evident. The fear, she knew well, had been much more powerful than even the worst pain. And now that it was over, the pain was forgotten. The colt practically beamed.
Then his look changed. He tried to hide his excitement.
“That wasn’t so bad,” he said.
Hope laughed, recognizing the façade of toughness which young colts are apt to put on at that age. She remembered when Sombra used to do it.
Sombra.
Before Hope could think too much about him, she felt little forelegs wrap around her neck. The boy was hugging her. She quickly returned it.
“Thank you!” he said cheerfully.
“You’re welcome, little guy,” Hope said, just as cheerfully.
The boy let go. “Can I have the lollypop now?” he said, in complete earnest.
Hope let out another laugh. “Of course,” she said, as she floated it to him.
The colt quickly put the lollypop in his mouth and began to gallop back toward his father.
“Be careful!” Hope called out. “Don’t go so fast when it’s in your mouth!”
With a look back, the boy dutifully slowed his steps. But his father covered the remaining distance to pick him up into a large hug of his own.
It was only then that the sounds of hooves pounding the ground in applause finally made an impression on Hope. The whole crowd had erupted with them.
For a moment, Hope had forgotten that they were all there. Now she felt a twinge of guilt at having made the work of curing suffering into a spectacle for public entertainment. But, at least it had earned their trust.
Then her eyes alighted on Oriflamme and Fallen Fortune. The mayor was grinning smugly at the alchemist.
“How’s that for proof?” the mayor asked.
Fortune turned to Hope and approached. Hope caught herself as one of her legs began to step backward. No, she would not give ground to him. Even if that smile on his face unnerved her far more than when he had seemed so hostile.
“Maybe I was a little too hasty,” he said. “Now, by looking at you, I see you are the very picture of a princess! My, how the sun shines through your mane! How your eyes sparkle! Why, I don’t think Celestia in her youth looked quite so beautiful as you do now. You’re every inch a princess!”
“I’m not a–” Hope began again.
“Don’t let him flatter you,” Oriflamme said. “I heard him try those lines out on the mare that raises pigs the other day. She was covered head to hoof in mud at the time, too!”
I’m never going to get them to listen, am I? Hope thought.
“He tried that sun line on me!” said another mare. “And it was night when he said it!”
Fortune ignored the peals of laughter from the crowd. Instead, he moved his hoof toward the far end of Hope’s cloak.
“Yes, clearly, you’re a princess,” he said. “Any pony with that sort of healing talent must be. But, if you’ll forgive me, I didn’t get a look at your cutie mark. It must be something truly special with magic like that.”
He then fell to the ground. The mayor had slapped him with her wing.
“You’ll do anything to see a mare’s flank, won’t you?” she said. “Now, I’ve tolerated your antics when it was just the townsfolk, but I’m not going to let you treat a princess like that!”
“I’m not a princess!” Hope finally managed to say, practically shouting. But she was drowned out by the loudest round of laughter she had yet heard.
All of it directed at Fallen Fortune, lying prostrate on the ground.
“Now you’ve got the proper position of respect,” Oriflamme said.
Whereas Fortune had seemed unfazed by the taunts and jeers up until now, Hope could see that this last had gotten to him. He seemed genuinely hurt.
“Stop it, all of you!” Hope said. “He didn’t deserve that!”
Assorted ashamed whispers of, “Yes, Your Highness,” came from the crowd.
Hope rolled her eyes. She would have to disabuse them of this ‘princess’ notion sooner or later. But there was something more pressing before her. Hope offered her hoof to Fallen Fortune.
He did not take it. Instead, he lifted himself up as swiftly as he could and began to wipe himself off. All the while, he glared at Hope. She practically shivered to see the disdain in his grey-blue eyes.
But then he bowed his head and said, “Your Highness,” before disappearing into the crowd. Hope could not be certain, but she had thought she heard a sliver of anger in those words.
Before she could reflect on it further, Hope felt her spine once more come dangerously close to snapping. Oriflamme had pulled her into another giant hug.
“You really are going to save this town,” she said, her voice breaking up. “At long last, we’re saved.”
They do like to get all touchy-feely in this town, don’t they? Hope thought, in between wondering if her diaphragm was collapsing.
Hope felt tears landing on her shoulder. She smiled and, as best she could, returned the hug.
“I’ll do my best,” Hope said once she had been released – and thus could speak again, “Now, take me to the ponies that need me! If this plague is as deadly as you say it is, we don’t have a moment to lose!”
The square stood empty, and all the surrounding buildings were similarly vacant. Where there had been noises and shouts, there was now only the faint whistling of the wind. Other than that, all was silent. It was a deathly silence.
Everypony was gone. All of those gullible marks had left, taking their new savioress with them. They had practically carried her on their shoulders to the nearest plague-infected hut.
How revolting, Fallen Fortune thought.
He turned from the deserted square back toward his own home.
“At least I still have that bag of bits,” he said.
He put his hoof to the pocket nearest his chest and felt around. There was nothing there. Fallen Fortune’s next action was to pound his hoof against the window-sill.
“Blast! Some little fiend must have picked my pocket while I was pushing through the rabble!”
As he began to close up shop, Fallen Fortune shook his head and cursed his fortune. That, and the pony who had brought such an unexpected turnabout.
“Princess, my left hoof!” he muttered. “I’d bet money she’s just as much of a fraud as I am! I mean…. Oh, forget it. There’s nopony here to hear.”
Of course, he knew the whole town saw him as a charlatan. But when they had needed him, none of that mattered. That plague had been the best thing to ever happen to him. And now it seemed like he would lose everything it had brought. How could it all just vanish? How could he stand for that?
The answer was, of course, that he could not. He would not. Suddenly, as he looked upon the swiftly setting sun above, Fortune’s eyes lit up with defiance.
“No paper princess is purloining my post as town physician! That Radiant Hope had better be ready for a battle.”
What did Fallen Fortune have in mind?
Read on.