The City of Want

“Thank you, and have a nice day.”

The City of Los Pegasi was cosmopolitan in every sense of the word. Settled many years ago, it had evolved and thrived in the southern reaches of Equestria. Although founded by the Avian Imperium in the times when the nature of the newfound union was still shaky and fragile, the once small town was very accepting of all who would come to seek its shelter. Ponies of all the tribes descended to it, inhabiting the floating structures above and the villages below. Griffins, buffalo, minotaurs and many of the nomadic cultures in the area came to call such a city home. Every language, every culture, every creature could be found there if one searched hard enough. Time had been kind of Los Pegasus for much of the Equestrian Golden Age, but it had been running into problems as of most recently.

A booming population combined with a steadily decreasing revenue was bound to encounter issues sooner or later. Proximity to the deserts and badlands had driven away much of the wealthier residents with revamped activity from the dragons and the changelings. The rich easily found occupancy in the sky rises of Manehattan and behind the walls of Canterlot - safe away from the dangerous world. The poor, the destitute and the dispossessed remained, trying to keep sprawling metropolis going underneath the weight of a tired and overworked middle class. The city had dealt with worse situations, it was often a stopping point for younger drakes on their migrations, but the city had certainly lose much of its splendor and glamour. Still, the peoples kept on, trying their best to keep their home afloat. For some pegasi, they took this objective quite literally.

“The service is free of charge, ma’am.”

Los Pegasi wasn’t dying so much as it was experiencing hunger pains. The true problem was in how dramatic the shift was - no one was really expecting the price hike, or the record breaking lay off of workers. The way that the city was set up had a cascading effect on the whole region. With fewer pegasi working at the weather factories, the climate progressively ruined more and more crops from the farms on the outskirts. Rising costs of food and water resulted in many unicornian crafters and healers to have to close up shop and cut services drastically to have a bit their name. Outsiders, immigrants and small communities suffered the most - being some of the first to lose the system that they had never quite gotten used to in the first place. All in all, it was a nightmare that Canterlot wanted to keep far away from. Much of its attention was directed north, towards the re-emerging Crystal Empire and the massive influx of ponies that it created, while the south was left relatively to its own devices. As bad as their situation was, they weren’t under immediate threat of invasion. At least, this is what Celestia assured them when the topic came up in the courts.

Despite the circumstances, there were those who managed to pull through these rough times in relative contentedness. Equestria, if nothing else, is known for her ability to keep a happy heart. In times of great need, it is often found that great givers will arise. Fortunately for Los Pegasi, this statement rang true. Generosity, being one of the enshrined virtues upon which the nation was built, lead to the creation of many charities for the most heavily affected denizens. Doctors, bankers, artisans and cooks came to donate their time to those in need. While not enough to offset the rot that the city had accumulated, it lessened the suffering of many. One such non-profit operation that had garnered such attention was a clinic known as ‘The Palms’ - the name coming from the grove of its namesake tree that it had lining its lawn.

“May I be of your service?”

The Palms had sat in a sullen silence for several months since its opening, the building that it operated from only being bought a week or so after the Royal Wedding in Canterlot. Standing two stories tall, with a meagre basement for storage, it had taken in the sick and injured in a small rural neighbourhood just outside of downtown proper. This neighbourhood, commonly referred to as ‘the Corral’ for how often squatters found themselves getting bogged down in the area, sat outside of the interest of the law. Peaceful enough that the weary eye of the government did not stray on it for too long, but not so placated for it to be considered a good place to live. The Palms would have remained a small shanty town set up were it not for a sudden surge in popularity after successfully treating a noble from Canterlot that had suffered significant harm in an unfortunate accident.

A young looking stallion sat behind the desk inside the clinic, wiping his forehead with a an old piece of cloth. His smile, almost as white as the coat that he bore, strained to remain upright amidst all the commotion around him. It was difficult to keep up with the demand, there was only so much that he and his siblings could do with so little resources. A small portion of his heart secretly wished that they had left the noble to her fate on the streets - that they might not be plagued constantly by the bedridden, sick and infirm. Stress had been his undoing, it had been ever since his youth, and it seemed that as time went on he’d see more without end.

“V-Veee-gore,” an elderly griffin called, barely able to wheeze out his name as he approached, “Tell me, is your brother busy?”

On a day such as this, when the talking of commonly ailed patients was so loud that one could barely hear oneself think, it was quite obvious that everyone working at The Palms was quite busy. Despite this, Vigor attempted to respond to his elder appropriately.

“I’m sorry, Gerulf, he has about three more patients lined up for him right now, but I can see about getting you some medication to tide you over.”

“I’ve tried all the pills and tablets in Pegazein,” Gerulf coughed out, his vocal chords sounding as though they were just scraped with a butter knife, “I will wait for him to finish then…”

“It will take a few hours at the least for him to treat them all,” Vigor informed him, levitating a bowl of losanges over the counter, “At least take something to soothe your throat.”

Gerulf shook his head for a few moments in thought, as though trying to clear away the cobwebs of his mind. Every other day or so he seemed to drop into the clinic, trying to get some treatment for his newest sickness. As of most recently he had been having problems breathing and, unlike previous check ups, there was something legitimately wrong with him this time. The first time that Vigor’s brother, Vitality, had shown some modicum of worry towards the griffin, he had started returning in even shorter intervals.

“Danke sehr, Vee-gore,” Gerulf said soberly, using a sickly claw to take a few cherry candies before going over to sit by the newspaper stand.

Head beginning to ache, Vigor wiped his brow with the cloth again, letting out a low sigh. Being surrounded by so many in such dire needs… it wore a stallion down, that was for sure. The clinic doubled as their home, him and his two siblings residing in the basement. They were fortunate enough to have been gifted with heightened healing powers - well above that of the average unicorn anyways - but even then it was terrible work to keep up with all those that required help. It felt as though for every new patient, he was becoming sick too. Still, for all the pain they went through, he considered it well justified. At one point, he had been unable to help himself, so it only made sense to give the same assistance to others. Life had a funny way of teaching one lessons like that.

“Now, if the condition continues, I would heavily suggest setting some time aside during the day for rest.” Verve, the third sibling that would complete the trio, came down the stairs from her office as she addressed her own patients.

“But she has to go to sch-”

“I will write her a note to excuse her from classes, her brain is overstimulated and she’s experiencing magical feedback. For now I’ll look into additional causes of these symptoms but for now the best I can recommend is rest, avoidance of using magic and to drink plenty of fluids.”

The mother looked to speak, opening her mouth slightly, but shut it close again. Vigor’s ear twitched, trying to listen in to the conversation, only to pick up a low murmur. Nudging her daughter, the earthen mare left the lobby after saying a few short words. Her face was curved into a deep frown, but she remained quiet as she left. The filly attempted to wave goodbye, but was forced outside. Verve allowed her head to droop, apparently muttering to herself again, before looking up to meet Vigor’s eyes. Both of their moods seemed to improve at this, finding someone else who understood their respective miseries. She didn’t spend much time to relate however, quickly gesturing for a nearby minotaur to get up and follow her upstairs. The upright creature struggled to fit himself through the archway of the staircase, but humbly followed her with his head kept firmly down.

The little things were what kept the three of them going: the smiles, the thanks, the tender appreciation of having someone put their health in their hooves. Even with the occasional crab apple that entered their abode, they would be hard pressed to find more genuine folk anywhere else in the city. There’s an innate trust that one gives to a doctor, in the same way that one finds a reassuring feeling in the presence of the Guards or the Royal Family. Was it hard? Certainly, but it would get better. Those that were better off but did not share their proficiency for medicine often donated, and they had volunteers every once in awhile to help with paperwork and its kind.

Fortunately for the three of them, they had received a letter from extended family that was willing to help out. It might get a bit cramped in the basement, but another helping hoof around the lobby would certainly make their jobs much more manageable. Healing and an interesting in health - both mental and physical - was a common interest amongst relatives, so conditions were likely to improve with a bit of extra muscle. Despite the fact that they were not locals to Los Pegasi - they were newer than most of the immigrants in the city - they had managed to make a house a home. With enough time and effort, they could make something really meaningful.

“Hello there, sir, how may I help you?”

Vigor adopted a brave face, greeting a diamond dog that apprehensively walked in through the doors. The dog only requested a certain type of pill, something commonly used to help put insomniacs to sleep, before quickly exiting the clinic. In the few seconds that it took to retrieve him his request, another three ponies had come in looking for an examination. Noon was slowly crawling closer, and it looked like it was going to be a very long day. Still, the three of them could probably pull on through without much problem. Keeping his energetic smile, Vigor welcomed his fellows in with open heart - ready to bare all troubles that burdened them.

With so much love and attention… he didn’t miss the Hive that much.