“Do you have any idea what she was doing?” the king asked.
“None at all,” Belissima said.
“I’m afraid I’m not familiar with human ailments,” said Phina, the academy healer. “If she were a pony, I’d have all kind of potions to try.”
“Let me see her bag, please,” Belissima said.
The queen handed the small silk satchel to Belissima. She dumped it out on a nearby table. There was a fern leaf and moss. A shiny rock sparkled on the table. And then she spotted a familiar green mushroom. The same color as the spots on her coat.
“These are some of the ingredients in the magic recipe that left these green spots on my coat,” Belissima explained. “But why would she be collecting them?”
Belissima walked over to the princess, who lay limp on top of a table. “Hi, princess,” she said softly. “We’re all terribly worried about you. I’m very sorry you heard those awful things I said. I didn’t mean them. And I know the truth. Your mother explained everything. I’m so sorry I judged you without knowing you. You have to tell me what happened. How did you get hurt?”
The princess’s eyes slowly opened. “Belissima,” she whispered, sitting up. “I was trying … to show …” She coughed, and the queen rushed over with a glass of water.
Princess Zenia took a few sips and lay back down. “I thought if I had green spots, too … you’d know … I don’t care how you look. Or how I look. I picked you … because you seemed like fun. All those funny tricks you played.”
A huge lump formed in Belissima’s throat. “Princess, that was so kind of you to consider becoming spotty, too. But I don’t understand what happened. Why are you sick?”
“I didn’t have …” She reached for Belissima, her hands covered in cuts. “I didn’t have time to make the recipe, so I thought if I ate the ingredients it might work.”
Phina looked over the ingredients spread out on the table. “But none of these should have made you sick, deary.”
Princess Zenia opened her mouth but no words came out. Her eyes closed and her breaths were shallow. She fell back onto the table.
The king and queen hurried to her side.
What should I do? Belissima tried to remember all the lessons from her healing classes, but they’d never dealt with anything like this.
“Wait a minute,” Belissima said. She returned to the table of items the princess had collected and took another look at the mushroom. “That’s not a sour mushroom. It’s a swamp mushroom. Look, it has a few orange spots on the underside. I didn’t notice them before.”
“But those are poisonous!” Phina said.
“What’s the cure?” the king demanded.
“There is no cure,” Phina said quietly.
Belissima went back to Zenia, stomping her hooves on the ground. She may not have been in the healing study group, but she had taken a few introductory classes, like all the ponies at the academy. There had to be something she could do.
“This sick girl needs a cure, find the perfect one for sure.” She chanted the rhyme again and again.
“It’s not working,” the queen cried.
She tried another spell. “Make this girl heal, bring back her health and zeal.”
The princess didn’t stir.
“Oh, this is awful. Just awful,” Phina said.
“Get the headmaster and headmistress,” Belissima shouted. “There must be something they can do.”
Phina hurried out of the room as Belissima’s mom entered the great hall. “Are you okay?”
“No,” Belissima said, her voice thick. “I didn’t listen to you. I wasn’t thankful for my gifts. I ruined everything.”
“Honey, it’s not your fault,” her mother said, but Belissima didn’t believe her.
Headmaster Elegius and Headmistress Valinica charged in and went over to the girl.
“Is she going to die?” the king asked through his tears.
“Thankfully, the swamp mushroom isn’t deadly,” Headmaster Elegius said, “but it can leave its victims in a permanent sleep.”
The queen fell into the king’s arms, sobbing.
Tears rolled down Belissima’s cheeks, too. She walked to the princess and stood over her. “I’m so sorry. I never even gave us a chance to get to know each other. I will never forgive myself.” One after another, Belissima’s tears dropped onto the princess’s cheeks, shining like little gems.
Princess Zenia’s eyes fluttered open. She sucked in a deep breath. “Oh. Oh my.” She sat up. “I feel so much better. What did you do?”
Belissima couldn’t reply for a few moments, she was so surprised. “Nothing. I was just standing here, crying.”
Everyone in the room stood there, stunned. “It’s a miracle,” the queen said.
“No, not a miracle—magic,” said the headmaster.
“What do you mean?” asked Belissima. “I didn’t do magic. I tried casting healing spells but they didn’t work.”
“Your tears,” the headmaster explained. “I suspect they have healing magic.”
Belissima looked at the scratches covering Zenia’s hand. She let a few tears fall on them. They disappeared.
“You have a hidden Glitter Gift,” the headmistress said. “You’re a healing pony.”
“What? Impossible,” Belissima said.
“Try healing my wound,” the guard said, holding out his arm.
Belissima thought again of how sick Zenia had been, and tears welled in her eyes once more. They splashed onto the guard’s arm.
“Nothing’s happening,” he said. “The gash is still there.”
“How odd,” the headmaster said, tapping his hoof. “The princess has another scratch on her arm. Try healing that.”
Belissima shed a few tears onto the remaining scratch.
“It’s gone!” Zenia cried.
“I don’t understand,” Belissima said.
The headmistress smiled. “It would appear that you have a hidden Glitter Gift. One that is indeed healing—your perfect match. If Princess Zenia hadn’t chosen you, you might have never discovered this. Have there been any other instances of you healing?”
Belissima thought about her own scratches, the ones that disappeared after she ran through the fields. She remembered how her mane grew back. “Actually, yes. Now that I think about it, I’ve healed myself without even trying.”
“So you can heal yourself and your perfect match,” the headmistress said. “What a wonderful gift.”
The princess grinned. “I knew you were my perfect match.”
She threw her arms around Belissima’s neck.
Then she gasped. “Your spots disappeared when I hugged you!”
“Thank goodness,” Belissima said. “I’m never going to take my pretty purple coat for granted again.”
Belissima’s mother came over to her. “Now you have another gift to be grateful for. I’m so proud of you and how hard you’ve worked these past two years. And I’m so glad you found such a wonderful, perfect match.”
“Thanks, Mom. I’ll miss you.”
“I’ll miss you, too. But I’m excited to hear about your new life. Make sure you tell me about all your adventures together.”
Belissima grinned. “I will.”
“I can’t wait to go home tomorrow,” said the princess.
“Neither can I,” Belissima said. And she really meant it, even if she had to dress up and prance around every once in a while. As long as she was with Princess Zenia, everything would be fine. They were a perfect match after all.
Lisa Ann Scott is the author of School of Charm. A former TV news reporter and anchor, she currently works as a voice-over artist and writer. She lives in Upstate New York with her husband and two kids. For more about Lisa and her books, visit LisaAnnScott.com.
#1: All That Glitters
#2: Wings That Shine
#3: Let It Glow
#4: Dreams That Sparkle
Text copyright © 2017 by Lisa Ann Scott
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