“Wh-What is this thing?!” Celestia screamed, her voice reaching a fevered pitch that was not often heard.

“Princess, wait! Please! Calm down“

Celestia gave a few sputtering, crying gasps.

“Princess, it’s okay!“

She gazed up at the unicorn mare, her eyes full of tears.

“It’s okay! Really! It’s just…an artificial hoof.“

Celestia stared at her. She had heard her words and understood them, yet she was only filled with questions and still more pure fear. “Wh- Wh-” She heaved heavy breaths as she tried to talk, “Why…is this…thing on me…?“

The mare glanced away awkwardly. “Well,” she said slowly, “a lot of things happened while you were asleep.“

“Unfortunately, during your slumber,” the male pony interjected, causing Celestia to gasp and remember that he was still there, “there was an accident. You lost one of your hooves.“

Celestia’s blood ran cold. She felt her heart skip a beat. “My…my…” She began shivering even more, her eyes trailing down to the metal object attached to her foreleg.

“So,” the male continued, “we grafted this artificial hoof onto you.“

Celestia couldn’t breathe. She nearly began to hyperventilate as she stared at the foreign object that was now somehow attached to her. The terrifying idea that she was now missing one of her limbs assaulted her mind, leaving her with gruesome images of how she might have lost it.

_{_*}

Lost to the Sands: http://www.fimfiction.net/story/86528/lost-to-the-sands

by Giga Bowser NS: https://www.fimfiction.net/user/GigaBowser

Art by Pekou: http://pekou.deviantart.com/