//------------------------------// // Stirrings // Story: Side Effects // by AgentSnail //------------------------------// Stirrings "Lyra, where's that washcloth?" Bon Bon yelled, trying to aim her voice as best she could towards the hotel room's bathroom and not into Caramel's ears. "Cool your tits, Bon Bon! The water pressure sucks here anyway!" The faucet turned off, followed by the pitter-patter of drops as she rung out the towel. She could see that things were getting worse, as the sweat was starting to re-appear all over his face and chest. It would only be a matter of time before he woke up, and she wasn't so sure that she would be able to look at his face, all contorted in agony. It hurt to look at him now. She looked at his back, moving a sheet out of the way. She hadn't caught much of a glimpse of anything earlier, but it wasn't hard to determine that he was growing wings. It was almost painful to think about, especially if he was growing a horn as well. But there they were, clear as day. "Why would be just suddenly turn into an Alicorn?" Lyra asked, brushing along a feather of one of the tiny wings. "I mean, what would even prompt that?" Bon Bon sighed, taking a while to answer as she carefully cleared Caramel's face of sweat, dipping the washcloth in a bucket of water and wringing it out again. "The most I can think of is that Princess Sparkle became one at a similar time. But there was none of this painful stuff, as far as I know. I saw her shortly before, and she looked fine and strikingly like a unicorn. So I'm pretty sure it was immediate." "Well then why? What makes him so special? Was it just random, and he somehow got infected by whatever this spell is?" "I know as much as you do, Lyra." Bon Bon mumbled. "Lyra went silent for a moment, her face turning a little more pale than normal. "What if they don't like what happened?" She paused, analyzing Bon Bon's confused look. "What if the princesses see him as a threat? He wasn't supposed to be an alicorn, this could be a death penalty. We can't prove they did it, and we can't turn him back, what if-" "Lyra, calm down. The princesses wouldn't do that." "Then why are there only four alicorns? That hardly seems like enough to keep a race alive, especially when they're all mares. It seems very convenient that no others have popped up." She said, stroking at her chin with the same worried expression. "You're overreacting." The cream mare replied, waving a dismissive hoof. "What if I'm right? What if this is what'll happen? Do you really want to take the chance that I'm right?!" "Lyra, shh! You'll wake Carame-" Caramel let out a groan, that quickly turned distorted as he arched his back in pain. Lyra broke into as much of a sprint as she could in the confined space and knelt down next to the bed, sliding a hoof under his neck and cradling his head on one of her arms. "You scared me, you jerk, I thought you might die," she said, wiping a tear that was threatening to form in the corner of her eye and putting on as confident of a smile as she could. Caramel seemed to relax a little, sticking an arm behind her back in a weak hug. "So..." he started, sticking a hoof to his forehead and then jerking it away. "What the fuck, what is that!?" Caramel touched it again, starting to grow historical as he realized it as real. "Did I break my skull!? Is that part of it jutting out like that?!" Lyra cringed to herself, before she roughly grabbed onto the sides of his head, making sure he was looking at her. "Give me a minute, I can explain everything that happened." He steadily calmed down, his breathing eventually reaching what she would assume was close to normal. "Well, can I get some water at least?" he asked, laying flat on his back once again. "And maybe some painkillers?" Lyra wiped an eye. "Yeah, I'll see what I can do." Caramel only gave a slight nod, staring up at the ceiling. "This doesn't look like a hospital room," he thought out loud. Bon Bon cringed slightly as Lyra walked back in with a couple floating glasses of water and a half empty bottle of pills. The stallion took them almost with an air of excitement, gulping down all three glasses along with several more pills than the recommendation said to. "I feel like that's not going to help. The pain's not as bad as before, but- urgh! It still fucking hurts." "I know." Lyra mumbled, moving next to him again. "I hate seeing you like this, and I'm worried that if I try to hug you or anything you'll just get hurt. But I was so worried, and-" She felt him lean up to meet her, wrapping her in a hug that was tighter than she would've thought he could achieve. The stress from the day finally caught up with her, and she allowed her emotions to run free. Tears slid down Caramel's back as she sobbed, although she was conflicted on what exactly she was crying about. Maybe it was for all the worry, the time she had thought he might die. But she knew that things would never be the same for him, that his life would probably not return to the hardworking and structured life that he enjoyed so much. She tried to calm down, succeeding after a few minutes and reminding herself that she still had to inform him of what had gone on. Besides, she doubted this hug was particularly comfortable for him. Caramel let go before she did, laying flat again with a grunt that turned into a pained squeak. "So listen Caramel," Lyra started, "after you passed out in the hospital we moved you to manehattan, hoping that a specialist in private practice could help." "Oh, so that's where we are?" Lyra sighed, shaking her head. "The fucking retard doctor looked you over and called your case a fraud, that what was happening to you was fake." She continued before he could interrupt. "We brought you to a hotel, and you woke up a few minutes after we got here. Now, that thing jutting out from your head is a horn and the reason your back hurts is because you're growing wings." Caramel stared, his face screwed into a new level of confusion. "What?" "We think you're turning into an Alicorn." Caramel went silent for a time, looking down at his plain hooves and occasionally letting out grunts of pain. "Why? Why me? I don't want this, I'm perfectly happy being an Earth Pony! Why's the universe gotta decide that suddenly I should get all this other shit that I don't need?!" "I don't know," Lyra replied sadly. "Do you know when things started?" "There was only one thing before the headaches and stuff. I was walking around at night to get some milk, I think. And so I got this head rush, and it kept getting worse. I laid down and it stayed, and then I must've passed out, because when I woke up the clock read five minutes later. I shook it off as weird, but seriously, how could that be connected?" "We don't know," Bon Bon spoke from her spot on the other bed. "But any information is good information if we're to find out." "Yeah, I guess..." His head whipped towards the bathroom; he could've sworn he'd seen something run across the door. "What?" Lyra asked, looking the same way. "Nothing, must have been my eyes playing....tricks on me." He sighed, putting his face in his hooves and wetting them with sweat. "It hurts..." he mumbled, shaking his head in annoyance. "I'd hate to ask this, but if it's kinda a good time can I try to sleep?" "Listen, if you want to do anything, don't expect us to stand in your way." Lyra said softly, rising to her hooves. "Plus, I feel drained anyway. I could use some sleep." "Oh, thanks." he replied, a slight smile appearing on his face as be buried his head in the pillow. He jerked slightly from discomfort as she presumed his horn hit the fabric. A wave of sorrow washed over her again. He didn't deserve this... Maybe a few punches occasionally but nothing of this caliber. It almost seemed like overkill, and yet here Caramel was, acting like he had a slight headache and a muscle spasm. But she knew where to look, the pain that flooded his face and tweaked his emotions ever so slightly. It tore her up a little, just thinking about it. Lyra pulled herself into the other bed, feeling Bon Bon climb in next to her. She just wanted to wake up, realize that it had all been a dream and that Caramel had woken up without the changes still forming across his body. And on some level, she knew he wanted the exact same thing. ________________________________________________________________ "No, get away!" Lyra awoke with a start, looking to her side as caramel flailed a hoof into his headboard, striking at an enemy he saw only in his dreams. She hardly thought about how to react before she jumped out of her bed and into his, pinning his forehooves down above his head. He continued to thrash, making her worry not just about him but his wings. If slight touches between him and other things hurt... She shuddered just thinking about it. Lyra straddled his stomach, gambling as she let one of his hooves go to slap him across the face. He woke up immediately, holding a hoof to his cheek as he stared upwards. The silence stretched on, as she stuck a hoof down to lay against his as it still rested against his cheek. "I'm sorry, you were just thrashing around and I figured you might hurt something." She said after a short silence. "No I get it, I would've done the same." He gritted his teeth, letting out a slight groan as he shifted. "You should have told me you were into alicorns." He replied with as much of a smirk as he could muster. At least he was starting to get back to his old self, she mused. He put a hoof to her chest, gently pushing her off as she realized that his face was suddenly much darker in the dim light. "Did I tease you too much there?" she asked, returning his previous smirk as she went back to her own bed. "Yeah, because blushing is out of the question when I wake up and a mare is all over me like that." Now it was Lyra's turn to blush, as she faltered during her short walk. "Holy shit-" "What?" she asked, trying to get comfortable again. "You wanna tell me why you were thrashing around?" "No," he replied, looking towards the door. "I just thought I saw somet- oh fuck there it is again!" He backed up and plastered himself against the headboard, his breathing picking up to easily audible huffs. "Lyra, do something..." She raced back over to him, staring intently into the dark as she sat down on top of the covers in between him and whatever he was so intent on staring at. Caramel pulled her into himself as if moving her out of the way of an attack, before throwing his own punch behind her. He grunted and keeled over to one side, either the exertion or extra pain forcing him to stop. "Caramel, there's nothing there!" "The fuck are you smoking? They- aah!" First the transformation and now this? Wait. Something in her head clicked and she wrapped her arms around him, bringing him into a kind of half hug while he still stared out, his eyes unmoving. "They're not real, Caramel. It could just be the sedatives wearing off, or the other drugs mixing." "What do you mean those blade armed things aren't real?!" He reached over and grabbed a bedside lamp, which he proceeded to throw at the wall before Lyra could stop his arm. It blew into a million pieces, as Caramel only appeared to stare dumbly. Hardly a second passed before he buried his face in her chest, reveling in as much comfort as he could seem to attain. "I just want it to end!" He yelled into her fur, his voice muffled. "Just get those stupid things away so I can return to my nightmare!" Lyra sighed, rubbing her hoof along his lower back where she was sure she wouldn't hit anything painful. "Listen to me, they aren't real. You've got to believe me Caramel, they aren't." She paused, as silence dawned once again, minus a snore from the brick of a sleeper Bon Bon. She made herself comfortable--if she had to stay the whole night, she gladly would. "They're just a figment of your imagination. A mirage, a fake." She continued to try to soothe him, feeling the muscles in his back start to loosen as be seemed to understand that be wasn't about to be attacked. Her chest started to wet with his tears, and she couldn't help but feel sorry for the stallion again. He'd just been thrust into this scenario, and he was probably taking it much better than she, or most other ponies would for that matter. Lyra felt his back heave, sighing to herself as she looked down at the stallion that she'd usually only seen collected and calm, the polar opposite of how she normally acted. And yet here they were, roles ironically reversed. But everypony has their breaking point, she figured. It was scary to look at though, her near life-long friend brought to tears for-well, the second time she'd ever seen him that way. It scared her though, watching somepony be brought to tears that she'd always thought was too tough to break down completely. The first time he'd cried through had been under completely different circumstances, back when he'd caught his marefriend cheating. She'd been alerted by a few bangs on the door, before he stomped inside and started yelling. Caramel'd come with a forming bruise around his left eye, but he hardly seemed to care for the pain as he continued his rant of grievances. There were a large number, many of which she had easily seen ahead of time. Not that Lyra'd liked Cloverfield in the first place, but she found it hard to take any solace in the fact that the other mare was out of her life. Eventually though, Caramel had broken down much like he had now, wetting her fur with trails of frustration. He'd stayed fairly secluded for a while after, almost to the point of making Lyra worried. But he never turned her away, always welcomed her with that same goofy smile. Although it had kept that shadow of pain and distrust behind it for longer than she would have liked. But that was just his marefriend. Not that she wanted to undersell the bitch, but somehow she figured that suddenly being forced through days of pain to get turned into something he wasn't was worse. She just hoped he wouldn't push her away as well this time, that he'd still let out whatever trickle of feelings he felt comfortable with. "Caramel, you won't push me away, will you?" She asked, only recieving a light snore in reply. At least he had fallen asleep, although she wasn't sure how much better his nightmares were. Lyra moved a hoof up on his back, gently touching at one of his wings. The feathers were still downy, and she doubted that they would allow him to fly even if he was proportionally sized. But they were bigger than she'd last seen them, before they'd slept. So there was still magic in play here, it wasn't as if he'd simply had the process started, to grow at the rate a cut healed. She wasn't sure which was worse. This gave him hardly any time to figure of a plan on how they could even integrate him back into society. Especially if they decided to keep these hidden. Lyra could teach him some magic, assuming his horn wasn't just for show. But then there was flying, and that would mean finding somepony else to teach him, or letting him figure it out for himself. She was still convinced that the princesses wouldn't like having another Alicorn around, though. She'd worked in the castle briefly, she knew how many hushed things went on. Not that she knew what they were, but she could tell they were hushed for a reason. Lyra sighed again, resigning her thoughts until morning as she hugged her friend more tightly. Her cheeks threatened to redden, flooding her mind with slightly conflicting feelings. Shit, that could wait too, none of this was about her anyway. Lyra carefully leaned back onto the pillows, bringing Caramel with her. She was still wiped out, and all of this hadn't helped. She hardly had time to ponder the lack of sleep before she passed out as well, resigning herself to the rest her body so laboriously lobbied for.