Unexpected Changes

Lily spent half of the night tossing and turning, not in her own bed, but in a cot in the councillor's cabin. They had set her up there because they didn't want the other fillies running in and waking them up every ten minutes with updates as to Lily's condition. It was easier to just passively watch her for a bit with instructions and then let her try to sleep, even when sleep wouldn't come.

Before going to bed, they'd sent an urgent message to her father. She was having a medical problem, and while they could deal with her at the camp, it was best if she saw her primary care pediatrician right away. That would be better than a trip into urgent care.

They'd told her that what she had was not dangerous, was not contagious, and would not be harmful to her or her friends, but she had to sleep on a cot covered in towels, and with as much sweating as she was doing throughout the night, it was pretty easy to see why. Her entire body felt like it was on fire. The councillors had called it "heat," and she could definitely see why. She was burning up, constantly needing to shift positions to let the air cool her sweat-soaked body.

The next morning, she woke up exhausted, and the councillor that had brought her to the cabin escorted her to the showers to wash up. Every step sent shockwaves through her body, so she was glad for the assistance. She definitely needed help, as every touch, every caress set her whole world alight. She was so sensitive that, had she gone in alone, she wouldn't have made it through washing her back legs without collapsing to the floor.

When she came out wrapped in the softest towel they could find, her dad was just slipping out of his wagon harness, having rushed over as fast as he could. She waved to him, and he smiled and waved back as they made their way into the councillor's cabin.

"Heat?" asked her father. "She's too young to be going into heat!"

"Well, I did think we should have a second opinion," answered the councillor that had found her at dinner. "It's certainly odd, and definitely early, but that's what it seemed to me."

"I can confirm that," answered the councillor that had just helped her through the shower. "From my admittedly limited knowledge, it's either a really early heat, or there's something horribly wrong and she needs to see a doctor right away."

"I'm certainly going to seek a doctor," her father almost growled. He put up his hooves. "Sorry, I know it's not your fault, I'm just upset."

"Reasonably so," nodded the male councillor. "Either way, we recommend going to see a doctor. Do you need help packing up her things?"

Lily had passed out on her way back home twice. The road was bumpy, and she was jostled every which way. Yet somehow... it felt fantastic. She couldn't explain it, but every bounce was causing small jolts of happiness to blitz through her mind until everything became too crowded, and she went dark. She thought it might be because she hadn't slept well the night before, but when she told her doctor about the experience, she looked like she knew what was happening.

"Well," she sighed clicking her pen, "That's all there is to it."

Her dad looked up from the entirely-too-small chairs in the corner of the room. "You mean...?"

"She's in heat," confirmed the doctor. "Now," she turned back to Lily, "this is a normal part of life for us ponies. Specifically, for mares. It's perfectly natural. I'd have told you about it already, but usually, it doesn't happen for another year and a half. I would recommend that you stay home while this passes, because from the sounds of it, the effects are hitting you pretty hard."

For some reason, the word "hard" had caused Lily's insides to twist, and she had to lean forward to try to stifle the burning wave coursing through her.

"Is there anything we can do to make it easier?" asked her dad. "A medication, a treatment, anything?"

The doctor rubbed her chin. "There is an apothecary just up the road. I know it's strange to hear a doctor prescribing herbal medicine, but the owner is licensed. There's no official medication to aid in this, but maybe he knows something that can help. Otherwise, I suggest bedrest. Keep her comfortable, keep her hydrated, and make sure she eats and sleeps okay. And one more thing; you really need to keep her up on her hygiene. Other than that, all I can do is give you some pamphlets or send you to the library to look this up on your own time."

"Thank you, doctor," he sighed, standing up.

"This could be a good thing," she offered. "Since she's an early bloomer, she doesn't have to sit there and wonder when it's going to happen. A lot of fillies try to force it to happen when they're later than their friends. It's no fun being the last one to bloom."

"It's no fun being the first," groaned Lily. "Why do I have to go through this?"

"It's part of growing up, dear," smiled the doctor, placing a comforting hoof on her shoulder. "It's just like your cutie mark showing up or graduating from elementary school. It's something that happens when the time is right, and sometimes, that's either earlier or later than what you might expect." She reached up and brushed Lily's mane out of her eyes. "Don't worry over it too much. In a few weeks, you'll look back on this moment at full health and realise that it was silly to be worried about it."

With another round of thanks to the doctor, Lily and her father walked out of the hospital and returned to their house via their wagon. As soon as they arrived, Lily was sent straight to bed to wait while her dad made some soup for her for lunch. She'd skipped breakfast, and this would keep her hydrated while he went out to seek the help of the apothecary. It was times like this that he wished that her mother was still around. A young filly like Lily would benefit greatly from the guidance of a good mare in her life.