Sweetie jolted upright in her bed, breathing heavily, sweat and tears intermingled on her cheeks. She had just had the most horrible dream... but what had it been? As the events of her dream faded from her memory, banished by her awakening, Sweetie felt a sudden need to remember them. Try as she might, however, all she managed to snatch from the jaws of wakefulness was that her dream had taken place in... the schoolhouse? Sweetie wasn't sure of it, but despite her efforts, nothing more came to her.
Oh, and something about... Cheerilee?
Sweetie sighed and shrugged. Oh well. If it was such a horrible nightmare, then perhaps it was best that she could not remember it. Sweetie saw no need to unnecessarily burden herself with unpleasant memories. She stretched languidly, working out the... kinks in her muscles? How had those gotten there? Unless Sweetie's memory failed her, the night before had been a calm one, with no roughhousing or playfulness from Rarity. Her older sister had been far too tired from working overtime on a new batch of dresses to devote much energy to playing with Sweetie.
Guess that's just one more question that I won't have an answer for, Sweetie thought, uncharacteristically melancholy. Feeling sufficiently limber, the young unicorn crawled out of bed, nearly slamming her head into the floor of her room when her legs were slow to respond to her commands.
Grumbling, Sweetie got to her feet; with some difficulty, she noted. Obviously, something was wrong with her. Perhaps she had caught a bug or something at school from one of the other students. But no, this didn't feel like any illness Sweetie had ever experienced before. She felt sluggish, slow.
Heavy.
With the first flashes of fear, Sweetie forced her increasingly unresponsive limbs to support her. Sweetie realized she needed to go straight to Rarity, and ask her to help. As she waddled toward her room's exit, however, Sweetie's reflection in the large mirror in her room caught her eye. She turned to face it, and her jaw dropped at what she saw.
She was... bloated. Seemingly, inflated. And as she saw, and felt something slithering beneath her skin, she realized the truth. She was... infected.
The events of Sweetie's "dream" came back to her in a rush at the sight of her body bulging and twisting to make way for the creature. She remembered it all. Cheerilee, her friends, the other students. She turned to run, to get Rarity, Twilight, Celestia, or even Discord, anyone. Or, at least, that's what her brain told her legs to do. They didn't respond.
Sweetie was suddenly aware that she was no longer in control of her muscles.
She tried to scream, but it wouldn't let her.