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Stumped

PROJECT HIVE

Stumped

As medical ponies bustled around, doing their best to work through the small herd surrounding their patient, Damsel stared dumbly at where her leg used to be. Her hibernation-slowed mind hadn't quite put the pieces together yet, only a vague sense that something was wrong, that what she was seeing wasn't quite right.

One ear twitched, listening to the familiar voices around her as she raised and lowered the stump where she was sure she'd had a leg just a short while ago... hadn't she?

Slowly, gradually, as she instinctually drank in the love pouring from the ponies chatting, laughing and crying around her, Damsel's mind sparked towards full wakefulness, placing names to faces and voices and reinforcing the idea that something was definitely missing. Memories crept to the forefront... a long journey... a companion... something important being so close, but just out of reach...

After what seemed like an eternity, everything seemed to snap into focus. The whispering of voices in the back of Damsel's mind suddenly sounded like a roaring crowd, her connection to the hive almost deafening after so long in near silence. One voice in particular stood out, faint as it may have been compared to the full-blooded members of the hive, noteable for being her only contact for so long. Coughing, trying to work saliva into her dry mouth, she raised her head as much as she could with a broody pegasus mare latched onto her neck, Damsel made eye contact with the source of the voice in the hivemind. "Are we..." She coughed again, wincing as unused vocal cords protested with every word, turning her voice husky and rough. "Are we home?"

At the raspy question, Lorikeet simply nodded. It was Merry May who answered properly, redoubling her grip on the changeling with both hooves and wings, much to the frustration of a nurse wielding a stethoscope. "Yes, Damsel. You're home. You're finally home..."

Elsewhere in the Hive, news of the Security Chief's recovery was spreading quickly, mostly from the relieved conversations of the Security division. One changeling in particular, in her office overlooking the atrium, was relaying the reports of the Medical changelings to her pony counterpart with no small amount of relief.

The Medical staff had finally pried the herd from their patient, literally in Merry May's case, and gotten Damsel situated on one of the beds where she could be properly checked out. The beleagured changeling suffered through the indignity of being poked, prodded, pushed and pulled as the doctors and nurses inspected every inch of her, testing the full range of motion for her remaining limbs.

"I lost my leg," Damsel repeated for the fourth time, looking down at the stump where her leg had been, her tattered ears pulled back and confusion clear on her face. She waggled what remained of her leg, the entire lower half simply gone as, despite being fully awake, she just couldn't quite believe what she was seeing. The was meant to be a leg there, a leg with chitin on it, holes in the middle and a hoof at the end. Not... nothing. By the Queen, she could still feel it! So why wasn't it there anymore?

Just like they had the last three times, one of the doctors spoke up, their voice gentle and calming, trying to keep their patient from getting worked up. "Yes, you did. You got hurt and we couldn't save it; we've already talked about this, remember?"

Turning to face the doctor, Damsel almost toppled as she tried to put weight on a leg that wasn't there anymore, Merry May almost bowling a poor nurse over in her haste to get onto the bed and offer support, her pegasus instincts driving her to protect her potential herdmate. For their part, the Medical staff just rolled their eyes, already used to the overprotective mare getting in the way of their examination, while the rest of the herd chuckled and did their best to stay out of the way, but near enough that Damsel would be able to find them just by turning a little.

"But I can still feel it... it aches..." Damsel waved her hoof to prove her point... and stared blankly at the space where the hoof should have been, ears flat against her skull with concern. She continued to stare as Merry took the stump in her fetlock and made soft, soothing noises.

The doctor blinked in surprise, this was new. At least, it hadn't been mentioned the last few times. "Erm, I believe that would be phantom limb pain." They paused and, with a sigh, shook their head. "Chief Damsel, I... we," they clarified, "are all very sorry for your loss." Their gaze softened. "We'll do everything we can to help you, we promise."

Only half-listening, distracted by Merry's soft, calming noises, Damsel went back to staring at the empty space where a part of her body should have been.

The Medical staff had finished their work hours ago, their patient had been fed, watered and checked over in every concievable way and found perfectly healthy... or as healthy as could be expected. Since then, though, they'd basically left Damsel to the care of the herd, ordering bed rest, plenty of food and as much love as they could cram into the changeling. She was still confined to the Medical bay, but that didn't stop the group from giving her a proper welcome home.

With Damsel's awakening, Lorikeet had perked up, and the pair had started telling the story of their journey, ending with the wild storm, the giant beast they'd just glimpsed within the clouds, and their venturing into the maze of tunnels leading to Flutter Valley. Holly, finally hearing more than the vague descriptions she'd pried from Lorikeet since their return, had found herself a flutterpony to squeeze in excitement.

Time passes, though, and night had quickly approached, the lights outside of the Medical bay dimming as evening set in, and the herd found themselves being shooed out by the night shift, much to their collective disappointment, but not before a round of crushing, caring hugs were exchanged.

As they were being herded out, Ironside turned to look over his shoulder, a mischevous grin on his muzzle. "Hey, Damsel, want to hear a joke?" He waited until he had the changeling's attention, his partner looking past the nurse tucking her tightly into the bed with a curious look on her dark face. "What do you call a Security pony with no legs?" Damsel raised on eyebrow questioningly. "Baton!" Ironside laughed, and there was a chorus of groans from the rest of the herd. As he was chased out by one of the nurses, he felt relieved. Damsel had smiled, he'd seen it, and seeing it had made him realise how much he'd missed it. It was even worth the wing-slap he got from Merry for making such a bad joke.

Left alone in the near-darkness, Damsel shuffled around under the blanket, raising her leg to stare at her stump. Her smile faded slowly as she looked on, still not entirely sure she wasn't dreaming.

As the Hive around her went to sleep, she muttered softly to herself. "I lost my leg..."

Author's Note:

Busy, busy, busy. So much to do, so little time.

Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter!
I finally got around to watching the FiM movie recently, and I might watch it a couple more times then do a review of it. It's... interesting.

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Fallout: Equestria - Project HIVE - Cascadejackal

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