Unexpected Changes

"It's not coming off!" shouted Daisy.

"Well, scrub harder!" shouted Lily back.

With a shrug, Daisy put the brush right up against Lily's thigh and really ground it in there. "How does Snapdragon do this?"

"Maybe we should ask her?" suggested Glory. "She's standing right behind me."

"Hm?" Snapdragon turned around from washing her mane. "What's going on, dear?"

Lily turned her hips to show the green streak in her coat. It was too big to be a cutie mark. "We're trying to remove this grass stain, but it's not coming out."

Snapdragon looked closely, then rifled through her collection of soaps. "I know you all think it's crazy of me to have twenty different bars of soap, but who's laughing now?"

Glory looked around "I don't hear anypony laughing..." She put her hoof up to her ear. "Wait, I think Sparrow might be laughing at Lark a few stalls down! That counts, right?"

Rolling her eyes at Glory, Snapdragon grabbed a fresh washcloth, wet it, lathered up her bar of soap, then slapped the rag over the stained area. "Let that sit for a moment, then scrub lightly. Just the rag, no brush."

Lily sat down on the shower bench. "Let me know when it's done," she said, pressing her hooves against her abdomen.

"So, you don't need a scrub brush to take out those stains?" asked Daisy. "My mom's always using a brush to remove them."

"No offense, Daisy, but your clothes are pretty much ruined."

"That's just normal wear-and-tear," argued Daisy back. "They just end up damaged because I keep active, and they can't handle it."

"No, darling, they're falling apart because they routinely have to be bleached, and that damages the fibres."

"Oh, yeah? What makes you so sure of that?"

"The fact that your workout shorts turn brighter every time you go to hoofball practice," smirked Snapdragon.

Daisy raised her hoof as if to take a swing, but Snapdragon just kept grinning. She knew Daisy didn't have it in her to hit another filly.

"Can we stop fighting?" asked Lily. "I don't know if I can stop you right now..."

They all turned to Lily. Usually, she was the strongest of them, and had broken up fights between Snapdragon and Daisy on multiple occasions. It was only now that they realised she was clutching her stomach.

"Did you hurt yourself?" asked Daisy, walking up to her. "Let me see."

"I don't think so," answered Lily, moving her hoof. "It's on the inside."

"Maybe she's just growing older?" suggested Glory. "My Nana says that her body has strange aches that come out of nowhere all the time. Maybe it has something to do with your age? It could be arthritis!"

"That's ridiculous," snapped Snapdragon. "It's probably just a stomachache."

"Yeah," sighed Lily. "That's probably true."

"So, you won't be joining us for dinner?" asked Daisy.

Lily looked down at her stomach. "I don't know. I'm really hungry; I know that. But I'm weighing that against the churning sensation in my tummy. I don't know if I'd be able to keep it down."

"Maybe we should tell one of the councillors," suggested Daisy.

"Good idea."

By the time they finished their shower, the feeling had gone away, and as a result, they forgot to ask the councillor about it. Lily was clean now, the green stain now her normal orange coat with little red speckles. It wasn't until about halfway through her enchilada that the feeling came back, stronger than before.

"Darling, is everything okay?" asked Snapdragon. "You're sweating. Is the food too spicy?"

"No, just... Feeling really warm all of a sudden."

"Like a fever?" asked Daisy.

Hearing the mere suggestion that one of his wards might be sick, the councillor trotted over to them. "Who thinks they might have a fever?"

Lily raised her hoof. "And I had a churning feeling in my tummy after the game."

He rounded the table and placed a hoof on her forehead. "You do feel a little warm. How's your stomach, now?"

"It feels fine, but... I don't know. I might be able to finish dinner; I'm still hungry, I just think there might be something wrong with my tummy."

He reached down around her midsection. The instant his hoof touched her abdomen, her whole body tensed up, and she let out a loud gasp.

"I need you to hold still for just a moment," he instructed, and she nodded. He touched her again, and she had to resist the urge to pull away. For a moment, his face showed confusion, but that immediately melted away into realisation as her shoulders gravitated into his chest.

"Am I sick?" she asked as he pulled his hoof away.

"Well... Yes and no. You're certainly going to feel some symptoms, but it's nothing too dangerous. Just to be safe, though, let's go find one of the female councillors. They can help you better than I can."

She climbed over the bench and followed him, panting, despite not having done anything exhausting since the game. She wasn't panting on the way in, but now she was.

He led her into the kitchen and had her wait by the door while he went to talk to the young mare by the sink. She was washing dishes, and continued to do so as he approached. They spoke in hushed tones, so Lily couldn't hear what they were saying, but she couldn't pay attention, anyway. Her head was swimming with tangential thoughts about things that she couldn't comprehend. She was seeing images of long tubes, of eggs in bags, and of big hoses spewing milk. None of it made sense to her, and she couldn't keep track of any of it.

She suddenly remembered where she was as a damp hoof touched her abdomen. She yelped and jumped back, but the hoof pressed against her again, and this time, she remained still.

"Looks like I owe you an apology," sighed the female councillor. "You were right."

"What do we do, now?" he asked. "I don't recall seeing anything in the manual about this."

"That's because this isn't supposed to happen," answered the mare. "Not this early. I'll take care of it. You go make sure her chair is clean, then pull out the mop. Send the rest of the kids to their cabins right after dinner. Games are fine, but they can't stick around in the cafeteria, and they can't come to the councillor's cabin."