Something More

Caduceus's eyes were nothing like that of anypony she had met before. His irises seemed to glow a metallic gold color, and his pupils were the shape of hourglasses. They seem glazed over, as if he were unable to see properly out of them or there was an obstruction irritating them. Chrysalis didn't know whether to be terrified or awestruck.

"Wh-what is wrong with your eyes?" she asked, her voice starting to shake.

He let out a sigh. "There is nothing wrong with them. They are my blessing as well as my curse."

Chrysalis slowly sat up. "I don't understand.”

"Perhaps it is best if I just show you..." he said. He put his hooves on the sides of Chrysalis's head, slowly drew her in, and pressed his forehead gently against hers. "Please close your eyes," he said moving his hooves away from her face.

Chrysalis complied and slowly closed her eyes. He took a deep inhale and just as he exhaled, she felt a warm tingling sensation emanate from him. This was not all too different from the feeling she got when feeding off of love, but the after effect was far from normal. This feeling focused itself around her eyes and turned into an intense burning sensation, causing her to clench her eyes shut.

She started to panic, "What is happening?” she asked,  her voice a little squeakier than usual. “What are you doing to me?"

"Just relax," he said while pulling away from her. Just as he did so, the burning numbed and she was no longer in pain. "Now, open your eyes."

As she did so, she found that the once tolerable level of light invading the home had become inexplicably bright. Great. Of all the things that could have gotten worse, it had to be the light, she thought.

The room around her was no longer the dark adobe brown that it once was, but a dull grey. Everything she saw around the room was grey. The chairs, the bench, even the once beautifully-decorated bedspread was the same dull hue of grey. Soon, her eyes turned to Caduceus, who appeared to be emanating a very small aura of white and black flames, and his eyes were still their same golden color.

"What is this?" Chrysalis asked, looking around the room completely slack-jawed.

Caduceus released a heavy sigh. "This is how I see the world," he said with a small smile painting his face.

She looked back to him and studied his aura, "What are these black and white flames that I see coming off of you?"

"When I was young, I asked my mother a similar question. She told me that every living thing in this world creates magic, and that fiery glow is just the creature releasing it," Caduceus explained. "She said that each creature emanates a different magical energy that does different things. Using this sight, I can find the right types of plants to mix to create a specific potion..."

"So, like mixing ingredients to bake?" she asked making sure she understood properly.

He smiled. "I suppose so."

Just then, Chrysalis's eyes started to burn once again. Raising one of her hooves she tried to rub out the pain. When she opened her eyes again, everything was back to normal. "Huh?"

Caduceus chuckled lightly. "As you see, I can only share my power for a short period of time," he said before he let out a wince of pain and put a hoof to his forehead.

Chrysalis gave him a concerned look. "Are you alright?"

Caduceus nodded his head. "Mhmm. Sharing my power just takes a lot of magic. Excuse me, I need to go make something." He walked back over to his workbench.

How can a pegasus use magic, especially one so strong that it can change the way somepony sees? He even has the same magic withdraw that allowed me to take control of Shining Armor so easily, she thought, completely perplexed by her companion's strange powers. Well, he is part Zebra, and I don't know much about their kind. Perhaps I should do some research on their culture and history. Maybe I will find some answers then.

Did you hear me?" Caduceus asked, interrupting her train of thought.

"I'm sorry. No, I was thinking," she answered honestly.

"It's okay. I just said that we should check your bandages and redress your wounds. Hopefully you will be able to get out of bed by tomorrow," he said as he drank the solution he was making for his head.

Chrysalis smiled. "That is great news! My legs have been getting stiff from all the lying around. I can't wait to stretch them out."

"Well then let's get started," Caduceus said as he approached the bed with a small journal tucked under his wing.

"What is that for?" Chrysalis asked.

He put the journal in front of her and opened it to reveal all of his medical notes as well as a very well drawn diagram of her basic anatomical structure. "This is a journal I made after I brought you back here. I needed to have a record of your condition so that I could keep track of all the little details," he explained.

Chrysalis scoffed, "Isn't that a little too thorough?"

"One can never be too sure. It's usually the small details that are the most important," he explained getting out his quill. "Now, let's begin. Please remove the covers and turn towards me."

Chrysalis carefully pulled back the covers to reveal her bandaged figure and lay on her side. The first things he wanted to check were her ribs. When he found her, her chest was slightly collapsed. It was amazing that none of the broken fragments had caused any serious internal damage. He carefully ran his hooves up and down her ribs, gently applying pressure here and there and recording her reaction.

"Your ribs have healed quite nicely, and it seems that all but one of the bones has completely healed," he commented as he made a note in the book. "There's a little bruising in your midsection, but nothing too severe. Still going to keep an eye on it."

He moved on to her plaster-covered forelegs and carefully removed the casts and bandages. Chrysalis shivered as her legs were exposed to the air they were so deprived of the past few days. She could feel the moisture and sweat dripping off her once-covered appendages and felt rather embarrassed. Caduceus took a small rag and gently dried her legs.

She winced in pain as he touched her right ergot. Caduceus quickly pulled his hooves back, "I'm sorry!"

After the pain subsided, Chrysalis chuckled. "Don't worry. It's just sore I guess," she stated trying to move it around. However, as she started to bend it, the pain came rushing back. She tried to play it off, hoping that it wouldn't interfere with his plans to let her walk around tomorrow.

To her dismay, he noticed.

"Oh that's not good. We'll have to keep that wrapped up until tomorrow," he said making another note in his journal.

Seeing him writing in that black ink made Chrysalis think for a moment. "Can you even see what you are writing?" she asked blatantly.

Not even taking his eyes off of her wounded leg, he answered, "Of course I can. Just because I see the world in shades of grey does not mean that I can't see the black of ink on a piece of paper."

Chrysalis looked over his diagrams again, noting the fine detailing and shading. She wanted to press the issue further, but decided to drop the matter. I don't think I can handle much more information without my head exploding.

The rest of the examination went by rather quickly. He very carefully removed all of the bandages, applied some kind of liquid to any wounds that were still open, and redressed the wounds. She found out that the green plant juice was from a local cactus called Aloe Vera and that it helped seal wounds and sooth any kind of skin irritation, which she found completely fascinating. Soon, they got into a very long conversation about different kinds of plants and how to tell the difference between poisonous, edible, and healing plants and what they do based off of their leaf structure. Chrysalis noticed herself laughing more than she had in a long, long time. She was genuinely happy with this colt. She enjoyed being around him, hearing his voice...

Chrysalis could feel her heart pounding in her aching chest and she started to blush. Why do I feel this way? she wondered, placing a hoof to her chest. She watched as he continued to write in his medical journal with a small smile gracing his features, blissfully unaware of her gaze. Again, she felt her heart beat getting stronger and stronger. Suddenly, Chrysalis could hear the howling winds whipping at the windows and doors. The sun was setting, and the cold winds were rushing in.

Caduceus looked up from his notebook and over to the door. "Wow, is it that time already?" he said sounding rather surprised. Standing up, he donned his rags and glasses and walked to the door. "I need to go into town tonight and get some supplies," he said wrapping his face in cloth.

"Isn't it dangerous to go out this late?" she asked. From what she understood about desert ecology, predators were most active during the night and tended to travel in packs. If he were to be attacked, he would have to defend himself against the group of hunters. Not even a full-grown earth pony stood a chance against a pack of wolves.

"Don't worry about me," he said with a wave of his hoof. "This isn't my first time going out after dark and I know my way around. I'll be fine."

Caduceus opened the door and the harsh winds pushed their way past the door frame, charging Chrysalis in full force. She could feel the bone chilling cold rushing towards her and quickly grabbed for the comforter. However, she was far too slow, and the wind bit at her exposed body, causing her to shiver and her teeth to chatter violently. It got to the point where she was worried she would chip a fang. Pulling the blanket over herself, she tried to rub her hooves together to create any warmth she could. After the shock had subsided, she glared at him with as much spite and anger she could muster.

He chuckled lightly, "Sorry. Goodnight." With that, he closed the door behind him, leaving Chrysalis alone to sleep.