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Waking to bedsheets covered in wet streaks of crimson and what appeared to be maroon specks of an unknown substance was initially, quite startling. Just hours prior the material had been a pristine white. Currently, they looked like they'd been used to nurse a victim of a stabbing back to health. If they looked this awful then...
Staring at myself in the bathroom mirror sent a chill down my spine. I nearly cried as I examined myself. My own ivory coat was speckled with blood and scabs, not an inch of my body as it had been just a week prior. It was... I was hideous. Disgusting. Grotesque.
I don't know how or why it started. All I knew was it refused to depart. Perhaps it was something I'd eaten? Or maybe it was a product I'd been too enthusiastic to use. Or was I suddenly allergic to something that was plaguing me?
It began as a disturbing red blemish on my forelegs. It was just a touch irritated and so I'd rubbed some balm on it and went about my day. What a mistake that proved to be. Days later, it'd spread over every inch of my coat.
Flames. It was as if I was constantly on fire and all the lotions and salves I slathered on myself did little to aid my plight. Slipping into the cool water of a bath sent a jolt of pain into every cut and gash that decorated me. The first attempt I'd almost leapt out of the water, but I forced myself to endure the pain.
Soap was an even worse source of despair, but I refused to walk around smelling of rotted, mangled flesh. The scented soap that dissolved into the water made it feel as if I was submerged in acid. The feeling made me want nothing more than to tear into every inch of my skin. It turns out gentle scratching is quite the oxymoron.
And so, after weeks of trying solutions, after weeks of hiding away at home, after weeks of suffering, I was forced to schedule an appointment with the best doctor I could find...
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"I'm very sorry, Miss Rarity... but, we really don't know what the problem is..." My heart sank when I was informed that I'd be getting no real help. I'd expected it, but I still hoped...
"Is there nothing you might be able to suggest?" I nearly cried as I pleaded with him, doing my best not to start scratching as the stress of the situation began to make me feel ten times worse.
"I suppose you should just keep doing what you're doing," he sighed as he looked down at the clipboard he held. "take care of your skin and try to eat well, maybe try not to stress out so much."
"Th-thank you, doctor." Leaving the hospital was especially difficult. The cool interior of the building was swiftly replaced by the heat of Celestia's day and with it pinpricks of discomfort peppered my body. I had to get home, quickly. The more my body perspired the more I felt the urge to scratch, thus, the worse my condition became. Under the intense kiss of the Sun Princess' greatest treasure, I clenched my teeth and stumbled my way back home.
I wanted nothing more than to sequester myself to a cold room and sit there, motionless. Movement hurt. Heat hurt. Scratching hurt. Living hurt.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Please, just let me die...
At this point it would be the sweetest release. I laid in my posh bed, the discomfort slowly becoming unbearable. I contemplated getting up, or at the very least tossing the blankets off myself, but both sounded like poor options. How long had this mess truly persisted? Months? Years? It felt as if as far back as I could recall.
Should I try to adjust myself or remain still?
Why was it so darn hot? Why was I so hot? It felt like I might be in a sauna at the spa, but the ambient temperature definitely wasn't that high. If I didn't concentrate my all on breathing I risked a wave of discomfort washing over me entirely.
They would always start out as a slight tingle somewhere on my body. A foreleg, my cheek, or maybe my withers. In an instant it would begin to crawl to other parts of me, like a trail of fire-ants that couldn't be expunged.
Unfortunately, even if I stayed motionless the heat would eventually become unbearable and my entire being would ignite.
Rub
Rub
Rub
I cautiously slid my hooves over the offending spots in the hopes that it would satiate my desire for relief. It didn't. It never did. It was merely the first step in the degradation of the night. With each movement a sharper more demanding ache replaced the initial one. Foolishly, like every time before, I pressed harder and harder. The greater the ache, the harsher my motions.
Scratch
Scratch
Scratch
The vicious scraping of hoof against flesh always felt absolutely delightful, if only for the moment. I'd come to regret it in the morning, but just then it felt absolutely divine. As the falling of dry, flaked skin gradually gave way to a moist, slick feeling, I knew I'd pushed too hard, but in the darkness I pretended nothing was wrong.
I could make believe only for so long. Once the acrid scent of dead or rotted flesh began, I knew I'd gone off the deep end. Falling asleep in a pile of your own expired skin is one of the most unpleasant feelings in the world.
The worst part? I knew tomorrow... I knew the next day after that... they would all be the same.
I would wake to bloodied, filthy sheets. My body would be covered in lesions and blemishes, cuts and blood. I'd take a painful bath and have a horrid day.
This was my life now.
There was no escape.
This was my own hell.
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Feels like pretty inspired read, kudos
Can't even imagine rn a worse fate for Rarity, to be with such condition.
11629423
Thanks for the comment! Yeah this is definitely a personal experience thing.
As somebody whose family has a long history of skin conditions, this really hit home. Rarity's condition sounds like eczema on steroids, or alternatively something more serious.
11629470
Yes, I've been told this as well. Doctors were like "we think it might be eczema or psoriasis, but this is... a lot worse than we've seen."
Thank you for reading, I really appreciate it!
11629478
No problem.
Dang that sounds painful!
11629873
It sure is!!
Thanks for reading and the comment!
Sorry that you have to endure all of that :(, you're a warrior for continuing on despite it
11674433
Thank you. It really does mean a lot to me.
oof, that sounds like a horrifying experience already, especailly for poor Rarity!
oh wow that is very not good!
augh, poor Rares! too bad “she went to the hospital and they made her all better” doesn’t make for a good story :(
oh that is so horrifying. having a mysterious, incurable malady that destroys my ability to even be comfortable lying in bed is basically my worst nightmare. i could keep on going in the face of any hardship besides that, i think
augh. all too relatable and awful
i can imagine few things worse. poor Rarity! :(
well, i was certainly horrified. thank you for writing!
… And then what?
This is a medical tragedy, yes, suffering without clear cause or recourse, but it’s not really a story. It’s a presentation of fact with barely any development and zero indication of where it goes from here. Also, where are any of Rarity’s friends in this? I don’t expect most of them to be able to help, but some kind of commiseration would be nice.
My apologies given how, going by the comments, you drew on your own experiences for this. This isn’t a narrative, but I do hope you find some answers and a clear course of action.
11697923
https://youtu.be/7j1T0Dpi0to?si=e91-quHEI4bmL5Me
11699028
https://youtu.be/PONh5NKo_WU?si=0LZ2qsOjrb6p6GWO
As someone with eczema, I relate so hard to this (except the skin rotting off)
11860972
It's hellish. Hope you've found a a balance or a method of coping that works for you.
11861159
Sometimes there is no coping. Just gotta satiate the itch. I don’t have my eczema so bad that I have visible dry rash patches of skin, but my skin does get fast dry if I don’t moisturize often. And I get random area flare ups (like on my back in spots I can hardly reach) and it’s a nightmare. Especially when I cut my nails and have to wait for them to grow back.
11861514
Too true. I have a bad habit of biting my nails and that practically turns them into saws.
11861561
I’ll cut a nail off if it breaks because then that’s like asking to go to self harm route since depending on how the nail breaks it could be really sharp. But then when I cut the nail off and have a really bad itch then it’s like I missing something and I can’t get to every part of the itch.
11861601
Yep. I tried using hair brushes to alleviate the cuts but it doesn't work. I've also tried rubbing, but that's just as bad.
11861996
That’s life I guess
11862097
This sounds like eczema that Rarity has, could be wrong there, maybe you weren’t going for anything.
This is some good body horror, seems very real, it’s short and sweet.
Definitely can relate it to the unbearable nature of having a sickness that lasts longer than you are comfortable with, like more than a week.
Cool, fic uhhhhhhh 6/10.
11879656
Man I wish it was eczema. Lol. Thank you for reading.
Again 1000 word contest. Terrible work imo tbh.
11879659
Cool, might read a longer one then
11894706
OMG THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BRINGING THIS TO MY ATTENTION! I'm subbed to Lotus but I somehow missed this. Such a humbling experience. You've made my week! Thank you again!