I grabbed a coffee cup from the clinic's kitchen, as the coffee machine next to me started to drip coffee into the pot. I rubbed my eyes, trying to wake up as I had to prepare for the day. My routine was going fine, starting with brewing my coffee, as I poured the finished contents into my cup and added a small amount of creamer, before heading out to the lobby, seeing my receptionist, Daisy Pailer entering the clinic with a donut in her mouth as she waved at me.
"Morning, Daisy," I smiled as I yawned softly. She mumbled into her donut as she sat down at her desk, and pulled the donut from her mouth.
"Morning, Dr. Green, still waking up?" I nodded as I yawned once more, taking a sip of coffee, and heading back to my office. I didn't even have time to enter my office as I heard the bell chime from the front door. "Hello, do you have an appointment?"
"No, but I really need to see Dr. Green, it's urgent," the voice sounded shaky and tired, no not tired, sleep-deprived. I resisted my urge to head out and look as I entered my office quietly to not draw attention to the fact that I wasn't already in my office. The early morning was always a hassle, I was never a morning pony, but with the added factor of drunken ponies looking for a miracle hangover remover or foals trying to play hooky by acting sick, it was a pain in my neck.
This morning was rather slow though, as I didn't have a scheduled appointment till around eight o'clock. I could probably do paperwork or something till then. That didn't last, however, as I got a message from Daisy asking me to come to the lobby. I stood up, chugging down the rest of the hot coffee, burning the roof of my mouth as I exited my office and entered the lobby. About halfway, I was met by Daisy.
"Dr. Green, this guy is demanding that he see you," Daisy told me as we entered the lobby. I looked at the pony in question, seeing it was a pony I knew was registered here. His name was Winding Flail, and he had been a patient of mine since I opened my clinic last year. "He says something is moving under his skin."
"Alright, I guess I can take him back, give him a quick examination," I told Daisy as I approached Flail. He had bags under his eyes, his mane, tail, and coat were disheveled. He reminded me of myself when I left Griffonia, he looks like he had just left a warzone. "Flail," I got his attention. "You can come back with me."
Flail gave no hesitation and stood up, giving me a better view of his body. He had bandages on his sides, and his upper arms, some of which were still being bled through. I walked Flail back to my office, had him sit down on the observation table, and sat in my chair.
"What brings you in, Flail?" I started.
"There is something under my skin, I can feel it moving when I lay down." He told me, shakily as his eyes remained locked to the floor.
"Something is under your skin?" I asked a bit confused. "Alright, have you taken any medication, whether it be a pain killer, alcohol, or any form of hallucinogen?"
"No, I'm not fucking hallucinating! I can feel it moving along my back, I can feel it coil around my muscles!" He yelled at me.
"Alright, just making sure. Have you managed to see what it is that is crawling beneath your skin?" I ask as I begin writing down stuff in a notebook. Name, feels something beneath his skin, says he isn't hallucinating.
"N-Not above my skin, but I've seen my skin bulge outward when I was taking a shower or brushing my teeth." He told me, as the thought sends a soft shiver up my spine, my horn twinkling softly as I write down more things."
"Okay, are you noticing anything? Fever? Cough? Sore Throat?" I ask.
"My nose is congested, my wings are stiff and I can't move them without extreme pain, and I feel extremely sore."
"Have you been eating, drinking, sleeping, going to the bathroom, okay?"
"I don't feel hungry, I can't sleep cause I feel it moving under my skin, I can drink fine, and I haven't gone to the bathroom in a few days."
"When did you notice this thing beneath your skin?"
"Two maybe three days ago," I nod, before standing up, grabbing my stethoscope, and approaching him, pushing it up against his chest. "Deep breath."
He breathed in deep, soft wheezing in his chest echoed in my ears, another deep breath, and I heard the same wheezing. I moved over to his heart, listening to it. It sounded normal, at most a bit quick. I took my stethoscope off and looked at the bandages.
"What happened here?"
"I cut my skin to get the things out," I slowly began peeling away at the bandages, looking at the wounds. They where hastially cut into his skin. "The last one I did was last night."
He pointed to one on his upper chest, close to his throat. The wound beneath it was still bleeding slowly.
"Well, I have no real evidence that something is beneath your skin, but I'm going to prescribe to you some medicine to help you sleep, to help with the wheezing in your chest, and I'm going to recommend you go to a therapist," I began writing down prescriptions for him, as I heard him start grunting. "Are you alright?"
I ask as I turn around, finding him ripping at his leg with his teeth, blood pooling from the wound. I quickly rush over, trying to restrain him.
"I SAW IT, LEAVE ME ALONE, I CAN GET IT OUT!" he screamed at me, pushing me away, as he kept tearing at his leg.
"DAISY, I NEED SOME HELP!" I call out, as I pull him off the table, and pin him to the floor, holding his head down. Daisy entered in, as I look up. "Call his parents, tell them to come pick him up!"
Daisy nods and runs to call his parents, as I keep Flail restrained. Thankfully I didn't have to wait long, as Flail's parents where right outside, having brought him here. I still had Flail restrained when his parents came in. I quickly explained what had happened, how he had began biting at his leg. They nod as I told them what I had prescribed Flail, and after finally getting Flail calmed down, they left. Leaving me alone again, staring at a small pool of blood.
The larva inside of Flail had progressed rapidly in the past few hours. From the moment the larva's barbs had pierced his skin, it slowly migrated into his body, the slowest part of this whole process. As soon as it passed the dermal layer of Flail, it entered the bloodstream, following it along to the lungs.
Currently, it sat in the lungs, having hatched from the larva and was now a small worm-like queen, with hundred of eggs prepared to be planted in the lung. Some eggs have already hatched, leaving to perform their tasks, entering into the brain, slowly diverting his thoughts away from his own.
Flail was doubled over a trashcan, vomiting up everything he ate, as sweat dripped down his brow. He kept feeling worse and worse, more bandages were covering his body. In warm places, like the underside of where his legs connect with his body, his ears, or his groin, have rashes spreading through the area, feeling inflamed and itchy. Flail felt awful, he couldn't breathe through his nose, his head pounded and his eyes wouldn't focus on anything. His mother rubbed his sweaty back, trying her best to ignore the sweat coating her hoof and the sole of her hoof.
I stared into my bathroom, as I looked at my bloodshot eyes and tired expression, the bags beneath my eyes sagging. I got closer to the mirror as a small bottle of eye drops floated up next to me, as I lined up the dropper with my eye. I stopped, however, when out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw a slight amount of movement on my skin. I put the eye drops down and looked at the spot I saw movement at. The spot didn't seem any different to anything else, just my fur with my skin underneath, but then I felt it, a small unsubstantial movement under my hoof which was holding the peeled back fur. I didn't jump, scream, flinch, I remained still, as I traced the movement with the tip of my hoof, the movement heading up towards my eye. Closer and closer still, until the movement hit the outer corner of my eye. Then I saw it, a small worm sliding out from my skin, and into my eye.
I bolted upright in a sweaty, panting mess. I breathed heavily as I collected my thoughts, taking a moment to check myself over physically and mentally. I had been extremely stressed today, after the shocking events that unfolded yesterday with Flail. I had been so shocked about it that I canceled every appointment, and sent Daisy home early, leaving me alone in the clinic to recover from the shock that had filled me. I was a doctor, I had been trained to deal with suicide and self-harming patients, even patients who bite themselves due to formication, but nothing can truly prepare you for dealing with something like that.
I slowly got of bed, and groggily walked to my bathroom, ready to do my morning routine for my off-days. Shower, teeth, eye drops. The shower was my personal favorite part, as it gave me time to think about things, today was no different. Flail's case had taken over my thoughts, it had intrigued me and confused me as nothing made sense. I had seen Flail since I moved to Ponyville 9 years ago, and he was only 7 at the time. I've never once heard him using drugs, so suffering from withdrawal makes no sense, unless if he has very cleverly hidden his habits from everyone. Without doing heavy metal panels I couldn't check for mercury poisoning, but I doubt it even is as he shows no other symptoms of mercury poisoning.
I interrupted my own thoughts by turning the shower off and stepping out, grabbing a towel and wrapping myself up. I brushed my teeth before looking into the mirror, staring at the outer corner of my eye, right where the little worm came from in my dream. Flail's ranting of stuff beneath his skin got to me, it's seeped into my brain, into my sleep. I took a deep breath before finishing up my morning routine.
I couldn't even get breakfast before being interrupted by my home phone ringing, the annoying ringing filling my ears. I approached the phone and answered it.
"Hello, Dr. Green?" The voice on the line was the worried voice of Flail's mother, she sounded shaky and tired.
"Yes, how may I help you, ma'am?" I asked as politely as I could. I'm not a cynical pony, I just really am not a morning pony.
"Flail's gotten worse," She stopped for a moment, taking the phone from her head, as I hear in the background as the sound of someone puking in the background faintly comes through. "And I believe him, I've seen the worms, the ones under his skin."
I was frozen. I couldn't respond, I couldn't even breath as my mind exploded in red alarms.
"Dr. Green?"
"Yes, sorry, I... I can't help, ma'am, you're going to have to take him to Canterlot general," I got no response, except for a soft sniffle from the mare, before she hung up. I remained frozen, standing still as I shook, panic rising through me. I whispered softly to myself, into the phone's mouthpiece. "Am I sick?"