Book 1 - The Behemoth came to Canterlot

by Equimorto

Still Alive

"How long have I been out for?"

The question was calm, almost unemotional. Nevertheless, it still tore the silence of the room like a knife through a canvas.

Tempest didn't lift her head to ask. She didn't move from her position on the bed, she didn't look around, she didn't make any noise. She just opened her mouth, a little bit, and asked.

Twilight's head jerked to the side, towards the bed. There was worry on her face, and relief, and feeble traces of an anger never meant to last, and the signs of more than a few hours of lost sleep. But just a moment later, it was all gone, tucked away beneath the surface. She wore the same kind of calm expression Tempest had while she answered the question. "About a week."

"What time is it now?"

Again, the unicorn's voice was calm, and again, Twilight answered it in the same matter-of-fact tone.

"Pretty late. Just a couple hours to midnight, I'd say." She looked out of the window, towards the stars in the sky. "I haven't checked after coming in here though. I'm not sure."

Tempest took a breath that was just a little deeper than the previous ones. "How long will it be before I can get out of here?"

"I don't know. The doctors will have to run exams on you, only then we'll be able to tell. Speaking of which." Twilight got up from her chair, and walked to a small table resting near Tempest's bed. There, she tapped a small crystal with her hoof, and the gem began to glow purple in response. "They will be here soon. A couple of minutes at most, probably."

"Twilight?" There was a slight, subtle crack in Tempest's voice, and silence followed her question for a while.

Twilight finally looked towards the other mare, whose head was only barely raised to allow her to see the alicorn behind her.

"I can't feel my hind legs."

If any shadow crossed Twilight's face, she hid it too quickly for anyone to notice. "It's the drugs." Then, in a softer tone, she added, "We had to numb the whole area. You wouldn't stop screaming otherwise." She bit her lower lip, and her mask of detachment cracked. "I can tell you, if you don't want to see it yourself."

Tempest didn't answer. She lifted a hoof past her white blanket, took hold of it in her grasp, and pulled up just enough for her to curve her neck and look down.

Then she set her neck straight again, put the blanket back in place and straightened it, and tucked her leg back under it. And then she gave a brief chuckle.

"You think it's funny?"

"In a way," Tempest answered. "Entertaining, I suppose. Seeing it there, and knowing it's your body, and feeling nothing at all. Will it hurt, when the meds run out?"

"Like Tartarus." Twilight began to walk towards the exit, as the hoofsteps of approaching doctors and nurses were heard echoing closer down the hallway.

"Twilight?"

The alicorn looked back, her hoof on the doorknob.

"I'm sorry."

"And I'm glad you're okay."

Comments

[FanOfMostEverything]

Good to have you back. And I can only imagine what happened to Tempest. Though I suppose pain, even unimaginably excruciating pain, is something of a good sign. At least the area is still alive enough to send nerve signals.

[Sunny]

10276850
Tempest was the POV character earlier who went into a massively irradiated area to retrieve notes and stuff, so presumably whatever is wrong with her legs has to do with massive radiation damage