Chapters Author's Note
As a reminder, I had wayyyyyyy too much sugar while writing this. Why? I was out of my ideas for my other stories and thought sugar was the answer. Now three days later I decided to get your opinion on this. Is it worth continuing?
Prologue
Rarity let out a content sigh, feeling her personal masseuse Aloe and Lotus do their magic on her wings. She couldn’t imagine, how she could live so long without the two constantly at her disposal. Then again, she didn’t always had wings, but still.
“Mmmmm…” Rarity or the Empress of Generosity as most people called her these days, closed her eyes, allowing herself to relax, her arms falling of the table she was lying on. “Oh yes, mmm. What would I possibly do without you two?” she asked, a smile gracing her lips.
“We’re glad to be of service.” Aloe and Lotus spoke at once, carefully cleaning her wings of any out of place feather and little particles, which got caught inside them. The Empress would have loved to just lie there for an hour or two, after all, it had been two straight days, since her last preening session. Unfortunately the Empress of laughter decided to teleport right this moment into the room. Unfortunately, when she teleported, she always did it with a bang, followed by confetti and streamers.
“HEYA!”
“AHH!” All the other girls jumped in place, with one of the twins knocking over the table Rarity had been laying in. The Empress ungracefully landed face first on the ground. The twin masseuses gasped, quickly helping the Empress of Generosity back up on her feet. Both humans had terrified gazes on their faces, but luckily for them Rarity’s anger was directed towards a certain pink Empress, flying in mid-air.
“I hope for you that there is a good reason for your rather rude interruption.” Rarity flew up until she was at the same height as her pink counterpart was. Said pink Empress just giggled, putting a few streamers on her friend’s head. “Oh you need to lighten up, Rares. OF COURSE I have a good reason for coming here. I get to see one of my super, duper, best friends!” the Empress of Laughter shouted, a mad grin stretching on her face. The Empress of Generosity suppressed the urge to let out a groan.
“Well, if that is all-”
“Oh, of course! Almost forgot! Here’s your party invite!” Pinkie put her hand into her hair and took out a very colorful envelope, which looked like a child had drawn on it. Rarity’s eye twitched in annoyance, as this was the third party this week. And the tenth this month.
“Another one?” she couldn’t help but asked.
“Oh this one’s special.”
“How so?”
“Well DUH!” Pinkie flew closer to Rarity, until she was right next to her white counterparts ear. “Because Sunny has woken up obviously.”
Immediately all annoyance was forgotten, as Rarity’s jaw dropped, until it hung lose.
“P-pardon?”
“PSH!” Pinkie pressed a finger on Rarity’s lips, looking over to Aloe and Lotus suspiciously. Both girls gulped, taking a few steps backwards.
“It’s a secret.” Pinkie whispered to Rarity. “See you at the party!” the pink girl cheered, before disappearing with another bang and more confetti and streamers.
Rarity carefully removed the confetti and streamers from her head with her one free hand, while slowly and gracefully descending back on the ground. Once her feet touched the ground, her masseuses didn’t hesitate to help her lay down on her extravagant fainting couch and quickly prepared her some tea.
“Are you alright, my Empress?” Lotus asked with a concerned voice.
“Yes.” The Empress of Generosity said after a while, silently accepting the tea. “Yes my dears, I am okay.” She took a careful sip of her tea, before placing her cup on a nearby table. “I just need a moment. And I am afraid we have to cut this session short. I need to talk to Empress Midnight immediately.”
She smiled at her two servants, reassuring both of them a little. “You two are free for the rest of the day.”
“Thank you, Empress.” Both masseuses bowed, before leaving the room. As soon as the huge double doors were closed, Rarity let out an ear piercing squeal, flying circles in her room, until she had calmed down.
“Finally, finally Sunset! After all those years! Oh, Twilight will be so delighted to hear this. I better go and tell her immediately.” Rarity’s horn glowed in a beautiful azure blue, before she disappeared.
Midnight could feel her fellow Empress Glowing Gem, charging up the teleport spell, before she appeared in her room. As such, the Empress of Magic wasn’t surprised at all, when the other Empress arrived in a flash of light.
“Is there a reason for you to be here?” Midnight asked in an almost hostile tone. “I am very busy at the moment.” she pointed at a book lying open on her desk, along with at least three tablets and the PC was on as well.
“Oh Twilight, I really need to lend you Aloe and Lotus one of these days. Judging by your face, you haven’t heard the good news as of yet.”
“Good news?” Midnight asked with a raised eyebrow. “Unless my brother finally brought me the head of the rebel leader, I fail to see what could be so important to interrupt my studies.” She almost growled, but controlled her temper.
“Oh, it is much better than that. Honestly, I am surprised Pinkie didn’t tell you first. After all, it is your Knight in shining armor, who finally after years woke up in the hospital, after heroically saving your life.”
In less than a split second Midnight was face to face with the other Empress, who was surprised and a little afraid, seeing the mixture of excitement, anger and hope in the eyes of the Empress of Magic.
“Sunset...is awake?” Midnight whispered.
“Well, considering Pinkie Pie is normally right with those, things, yes I think it is safe to assume-”
In a flash of light, Midnight disappeared, leaving Rarity alone in the private study. “Oh dear.” Rarity channeled her own magic, following Twilight to the hospital wing of the castle. There she found the doctors cowering in front of Midnight, who was emanating an aura of magic, which normally overwhelmed mortals, as it let others feel her strength. Rarity acted quickly and put a hand on her friend’s shoulder.
“Dear, you’re showing you aura again.”
Realizing what she was doing, Midnight stopped the flow of magic, reluctantly.
“You.” Midnight hissed, pointing at one of the doctors. “Your report, immediately.”
She doesn't know as of yet...
Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. Author's Note
So, I found a cover image, somehow have the motivation to write the next chapter (hopefully it stays 'till tomorrow) and there's some story stuff here. I still have to keep two more promises on other stories. Hopefully I'll get them done by tomorrow too.
Rainbow arrives
Rainbow or rather Spectrum Beam as most folk called her nowadays was NOT having a good day. Somehow someone messed up the weather schedule for the lands around the capital and then some other guy messed up said weather by creating a storm 13 times stronger than the first guy ordered. It ended up with her being summoned three in the freaking morning, by some poor sop who pulled the shortest straw. Five minutes later, she was heading at top speed towards the ongoing storm, which stretched across 200 square miles and subsequently consequently affected the weather around the 200 square miles, which by then could easily be considered a complete and utter disaster stretching across the country. Even with her god like abilities, it took her almost all day, until she got it under control and finally dispersed of it completely. You’d think she’d be able to put herself a cloud bed together and take a nap. Well first off, as Rarity would put it, it’d be “uncouth” for a woman of her status to just nap at a random place. Secondly, her subjects needed her help in order to fix whatever damage the snowstorms, tornadoes and lightning bolts caused. And finally, after being woken up early, having nothing to eat for the entire day and working herself to the bone, she just wanted to blast the guys responsible for this entire mess. But as it just so happened, the Empress of Inconvenience and Annoyance had to show up from her hair (again!!) and told her to get back to the castle immediately. As in really, really immediately. As grammatically incorrect as that sentence was, when the Empress of Pinkness put anything like that, it was better to listen to her.
And so, completely soaked and with ice growing on some of her feathers, she made her way back to the castle. When she arrived, she literally broke through a wall, unleashed a shockwave, which knocked everyone to the ground who had been still standing. And then she punched the next best guy in the face for good measure. Being an evil ruler of the world had it’s perks all right.
“You!” she shouted towards a servant, who was getting back on his feet. “Get me some coffee ASAP!”
“Y-yes, my empress. G-gah!” The servant stumbled over a piece of rubble, before he caught himself and ran towards the kitchen. The Empress of Loyalty and Total Awesomeness in the meantime picked up the guy she punched and pushed him against the wall. “Where’s Pinks?” Spectrum growled, her eyes glowing brighter for a split second.
“T-t-t-the h-h-h-hospital wing.” the guy stammered, shaking like a leaf.
“The hospital wing?” Spectrum repeated dumbfounded, letting go of the guy, who crashed onto the ground. “Why would she go to the hospital wing?” the Empress of Loyalty asked herself. Her brain had a hard time drawing the obvious conclusion. It wasn’t until she took a sip from the coffee, which a trembling servant brought her that a metaphorical switch was flipped inside her sleep deprived brain. Her sore wings and overall chilly body forgotten, the woman tossed the coffee mug aside and sped through the hallways, leaving a rainbow trail behind her. The worker staff looked after their boss with a mixture of relief and disbelief and in one case pain, which came in form of hot coffee.
A guard looked over to the wall, which now sprouted a huge hole with additional rubble on the floor.
“Remind me again why we’re working here?” the female guard asked her male companion.
“Considering no one is stupid enough to attack the Empresses directly, it is the safest workplace?” her male counterpart offered.
“Safest? This is the third time this week alone that she did this!” the woman gestured with her arm at whole mess.
“Not like we can do much about it. I’m gonna call the cleanup crew.” he said and took out his phone. He already had them on speed dial and all he said was. “Hallway 28-3. We got another hole.” He could hear a groan on the other side, before he pressed the disconnect button.
Meanwhile the Empress of Hole Making took another sharp turn, knowing her destination was only about fifty meters ahead. However, she needed to make a full stop, as else she would have accidentally crashed into two of her fellow Empresses. She just arrived in time to see the Empress of Everything Sciency and Nerdy Stuff strangling the Empress of Laughter, who had a nervous grin on her face. And they were both in their human forms for some reason.
“Whoa, what’s going on here?” the newly arrived goddess asked.
Midnight let go of Dianna Pink (apparently no one had a good idea of an evil name for Pinkie Pie), made the breathing exercise her sister-in-law showed her all those years ago and then finally turned to the new arrival.
“What took you so long, Spectrum? It is unlike you to be this late.”
Spectrum Beam in return rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. “First of, Twilight, for the millionth time call me by my birth name. Secondly, do you know what was going on today?!” she asked, taking one of her wings and wringing the water out. She repeated the motion with her other wing and flapped them a little bit. “And third, when you’re done, can I strangle her? I’ve had a pretty shitty day and need some stress relief.”
Midnight raised an eyebrow, but didn’t comment on the statement.
“So what’s up anyway? Is she...you know...”
Midnight took in a deep breath. “First of you need to take on your human form, before you go see her.”
“She’s awake?!” Rainbow shouted and ran straight for the door. Midnight was just barely able to raise up a shield in front of the door, before her fellow ruler was repelled by it and landed hardly on her butt.
“Ow, what’s the big deal?” the woman on the ground asked with one eye closed. Pinkie Pie held a hand in front of her mouth, trying to muffle her laugh.
“Listen, Rainbow . Sunset is in a very delicate state. Her body is weak from literally doing nothing for four years. She can’t eat very well, she will need to relearn the obvious and her heart is so weak, any kind of stress might cause her to have a heart attack.”
“Wow.” Rainbow got back up from the ground and looked over to Pinkie. “Is that why she tried to kill you?”
Pinkie looked down to the ground guiltily. “I...I didn’t know...I thought I could finally make her smile again…” She summoned a tissue with her magic and snuffed her nose clean, afterwards burning it in pink fire. Rainbow put her hand on the girl’s arm giving her a kind, but slightly strained smile. “Don’t worry. This is Sunset we’re talking about. She can shrug off something like this with ease.”
“Back to the point” Midnight intercepted “we need to take on human forms around her, since she doesn’t know what happened the past four years.”
“Er...hate to break it to ya, but she’ll find out eventually.”
“Yeah.” Pinkie agreed. “I mean she just needs to look outside the window and it’d be like I gave her a 21 Party Canon Surprise Salute™.”
Midnight frowned. “No matter. We have to break it gently to her, else we risk her health.”
“Hey Twi, why don’t we just fix her with our magic?” Rainbow asked.
Midnight crossed her arms, her frown deepening both because of her friend’s lack of understanding magic and the use of her shortened old name.
“Healing magic as you imagine it is even impossible in Equestria. If you would have studied magic properly, like I told you to, you’d know that so far the most we’re capable of is healing small cuts. Everything else has let to some admittedly interesting mutations.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Rainbow shrugged it off. “I got all eternity to catch up on that. Besides, why study anyway? We just snip our fingers and get what we want. It’s always like this.”
“It’s not that simple!” Midnight let out a sigh, putting her hand on her forehead. “You know what? Forget it. Let’s go inside. Gem surely managed to calm down Sunset by now.”
“I still say Black Diamond would have been a fantastic name.” Pinkie stated before following.
“Come on, Pinks. That’s so cliché.” Rainbow said back, following her friends inside.
“It is 9 PM, welcome to the morning news.
The fights against the rebels continue, as the royal army continues their campaign through Russia. The rebels under the leadership of Starlight Glimmer, whose whereabouts are unknown, continue to withdraw towards the wilderness.”
The scene on TV changed from the local news reporter towards a wooded landscape, with snow lying on the firs, as well as covering the ground. The voice of a correspondent spoke in the background, as the camera rotated over the landscape.
“It is cold, the ground is slippery and then there are the woods. Latest reports say that a group of rebels are hiding in there, but the army stays out, for the time being at least.”
The camera switched to a group of soldiers patrolling in front of the forest, before it switched towards an officer, who wore a dark purple magic-tech armor, his helmet taken off, showing the stoic expression of a blue skinned man with short yellow hair. An inscription appeared, dubbing the man as Lieutenant Colonel Frost Nova.
“The problem is, the landscape isn’t even. It’s not like we can roll up a tank and let it roll over all the trees. There are cliffs in there, not to mention the mountains the woods are on. We cannot land there anywhere with a chopper and as for going in just like that would be just suicide. The rebels have placed bombs everywhere. We have teams in there searching for them, but until they’re done, we cannot proceed safely.”
The camera changed back to the woods, this time showing the mountain in the background. “The army suspects that a great deal of the leadership is hiding over there, in the mountain. So close, yet so far away.”
The camera switched over to a pilot standing in front of a jet. He had a dark red skin, green eyes and hawk like eyes. The inscription dubbed him as a Captain Night Glider.
“Bombing the region would be a waste.” Said a pilot, wearing a Shadowbolt uniform. “There are old atomic bunkers up there, back from the cold war. Old, but fully functional. They’re literally hiding in a maze down there. It’s going to take a while to crack that safe open.”
“Such is the cruel reality.” The camera switched to a camp, showing soldiers in dark purple armor, conversing, sitting around or being on the lookout. “Everyone here knows, this operation won’t be over in a long time, but still the troops are optimistic.”
The camera switched to a soldier, wearing the complete armor, hiding his face perfectly. No name showed up, instead the inscription said that the soldier wanted to remain anonymous. “I wish we had this stuff 8 years, back when we were fighting Tirek and his group of terrorists.” the man spoke with a discorded voice. “I could literally get blasted away with a mine and stand up as if nothing happened. Of course, everything has a limit. Even magic.”
The camera switched again, this time to an overview of the camp.
“Indeed, magic saved many lives, however it seems even magic won’t be able to speed things up.”
The screen showed once again the reporter in the studio. “A sad reality. On further news-”
The screen went out, interrupting the reporter from further delivering the news. The TV or rather the six TVs, all attached to some sort of device, which pulled them upwards into the ceiling, before said ceiling sealed itself off.
Below where the TVs had been was a round, black, spotless table with seven equally black thrones around it. Only six of them were occupied. The room was illuminated by a few dark, purple crystals, hanging on the walls like lamps. The light they gave off was just enough for a human to make out the outlines of the table, the thrones and the occupants, but it was more than enough for the six winged women.
“This is unacceptable.” One of the women spoke up in a tone that only showed the slightest of irritation. “The news networks are supposed to show the glory and might of our armies and not that they’re struggling to catch some magicless humans.”
“Everyone knows that our armies are superior.” Orange eyes lit up for a split second, before they returned to their usual green. “There ain’t any need ta lie, when ya’re stronger anyway.” The woman spoke with a country accent, which one would not expect from someone who looked like an angel.
“Please watch your tongue. You are an Empress now and as such, you should behave like one.” The wings of the third person in the room twitched in slight irritation. “And you should know that showing any kind of weakness will only give our enemies opportunities to strike back at us.” At those words, the eyes of the woman who spoke showed amusement. “That being said, who says that the news show the actual state of affairs.”
At this, five pair of eyes looked at the woman curiously.
“What do you mean? Explain yourself.” The first voice demanded.
“Simple, really. Let’s assume Starlight Glimmer is watching the news like everyone else and who says she is not? Let’s say I have told your dear brother to stage the entire affair, while in all actuality, right as we speak an operation is going in which our changelings infiltrate the rebel’s hideout, while the army prepares a surprise attack.”
“Oh, how cruel. I like it.” Two of the women giggled like little children, which got them an unapproving glare from the first one who spoke.
“And how d’ya- And how do you plan to get the army actually to them? As far as I know there’s no other way than by foot. Or maybe flying.”
“Not really.” The voice of this woman sounded a little scratched and annoyed. “The trees make it hard to land anywhere with parachutes and flying there by wing is idiotic, since they have most likely snipers hiding in the trees. Besides, there’s a good chance they’re hiding the entrances to the underground with our own magic-tech.”
“Which is why the changelings will set up a teleporter beacon inside their base of operation.”
Everyone’s eyes lit up immediately.
“Wowie! I didn’t know you would be so good in throwing a surprise party.” Pure white and sharp teeth appeared in the darkness, forming a wider grin than humanly possible. Combined with the pink eye’s expression, it almost appeared maniacal.
“So the rebels will think we will take our time and relax, while in reality we’re closer to them than they think. Excellent work. I shall contact my brother after this meeting and see how long this operation will take exactly. Now onto today’s business. Have the doctors said anything?”
All eyes turned towards the woman who had spoken the least as of today. The red pair of eyes looked downcast, making the others feel their small hope being destroyed once again.
“No. The doctors said her condition has not changed. Despite the damage being fully repaired, she doesn’t wake up. They say there is just too little knowledge about the brain, so they cannot say if she will ever wake up at all.”
“That’s bullshit!” The sound of a fist could be heard slamming against the table. Everyone looked towards the scratched voice. “They’re just too dumb to do their job. Just throw them out of the window and get some docs who actually know what their doing!” her shouts echoed through the room.
“Calm yourself!” The first voice demanded in a tone that left no room for debate. “The doctors are the best and as much as I hate to say it, there is nothing we can do but wait and hope for the best.”
“Umm, you know...I could maybe...bite her-”
“Hey that’s a great idea! Just make her a vampire! Then she’ll wake up for sure!” the high pitched voice shouted.
“Ah reckon...I mean, it might work…”
“I’m afraid darlings, it is not that easy, right Twilight?”
“Twilight” let out a sigh. “It is Midni-”
“Come on, Twi’. As long as it just us, we should be able to talk like normal people.”
“Oh silly, Dashie. We’re not normal. Normal is booooooring.”
“Yes, yes, FINE! Do whatever you like.” Midnight or Twilight, however one might take it grumbled under her breath, something about “dignity” and “being superior”.
“In any event, turning her into a vampire is risky on itself, not to mention the weakened state she is currently in. Even with the support of magic, the risk of losing her forever is far too high. And besides, who is to say she approves of her transformation?”
The rest looked at each uncomfortably. They knew Sunset would not react well to what they had become, once she woke up. It had been necessary, but convincing her of this would be very difficult.
“So...we wait?” Applejack asked.
“It’s not like we have much of a choice at this point.” Rarity looked down on the table for a second, before she looked up again. “I suggest we go to the next topic. She wouldn’t want us to mourn over her, but be happy and live our lives to the fullest.”
The others gave her a look, before turning their gazes towards the empty throne.
“Come on, everyone! Stop with all the frowny faces and smile! Once Sunny is awake, I will throw the biggest party around the world!” Pinkie declared her entire body being surrounded by a dark magical aura, giving others the shivers.
“We’ll...speak about this another time.” Twilight finished the topic hastily. “On another matter, we have received a message from Equestria.”
The others looked with great interest, when Twilight put the book with Sunset’s cutie mark on the table.
“Oh, oh, really? Really?! What did they say, what did they say?!” Pinkie asked excitedly, jumping up and down in her chair.
“Nothing too special. Celestia and Twilight simply wish to visit Sunset themselves next week. Standard procedures apply. You all know what you have to do.” The other’s nodded grimly, except for Pinkie Pie who was grinning even wider than she was before.
“Well, if that is all, I have some news of myself.” Everyone turned towards Rarity. “You see, we have been cooped up in our home for an awfully long time. Sure every now and then one of us appears in public for one thing or another, like myself, as I appear to last month’s fashion show in Prance.” Rarity gestured at herself, elegantly. “And so I suggest that we should all make an appearance for the upcoming Bearlinale in Bearlin.”
The other’s murmured among themselves for a little while, until Twilight spoke up.
“I don’t think this is a good idea at all. Germane-ia is a little too close to Russia for my taste. Security detail will be a big issue and aside from that, we still have work to do over here.”
“Oh, come on Twilight.” Rainbow groaned. “Rare’s right, it’s been awhile since we did something together.”
“Yeah! Last time we did something together we squished the protesters in Manehatten!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed.
“I like squishing Protesters.” Fluttershy gasped. “Can we go and squish some protesters, somewhere? Anywhere is fine, really. My poor, poor animals aren’t getting enough outlet as of late.”
The other stared at Fluttershy and her enthusiasm towards torturing the innocent. Despite her behavior being like this for years, it was still so surreal imagining Fluttershy, enjoying tormenting others for fun.
“Ya know, if we show up there, there’s a maghty high chance somethi’ maght happen.” Applejack said slowly.
“Which is why we should not go there.” Twilight crossed her arms. “There’s no reason on wasting time in-”
Before she could finish, Fluttershy appeared in front of her, giving her the dreaded puppy dog eyes, complete with a few tears streaming down her face. They were very effective, despite the reddish glow or maybe even because. Twilight suspected some kind of magic at work here. Still even with that knowledge, she wasn’t able to resist for very long and said:
“Fine.”
Sunset’s eyes lit up, upon not only seeing Pinkie and Twilight returning, but that Rainbow Dash was with them in tow.
“Hey, Sun. How was your nap?”
Despite everything, Sunset managed to chuckle. “Awesome, I would say. Bed’s really comfy. Managed to oversleep 4 years.”
“Heh…” Rainbow let out a chuckle, a tinge of sadness attached to her voice. The woman took a seat on Sunset’s bed, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Glad to have ya back, Sun.”
“Yeah!” Pinkie came from the opposite side, gently hugging the girl on the bed. “Do you know how many parties you have missed?! We have A LOT of catching up to do.”
Sunset for her part actually chuckled, wrapping an arm around the girl’s back. “I can hardly wait,” she replied.
Pinkie giggled mischievously, hugging her friend just a little tighter.
“By the way…” Sunset continued, looking up to the rest. “Where are Applejack and Fluttershy?”
“Oh, I texted them,” Pinkie explained, not breaking the hug. “I bet they’re already on their way.”
“Good to hear…” the girl in bed closed her eyes for a second. “It sucks...I feel tired already. But I don’t wanna sleep.”
The others didn’t look all too happy about this news, but it was understandable. After being in standby for so long, her body quite frankly needed to “train” working again. That didn’t mean that all of them outright accepted it.
“Noo!” Pinkie shouted, grabbing Sunset’s shoulder. “You’ve slept enough, Sunny!”
“Pinkie.” Rarity put a hand on her friend’s arm, shaking her head. “Sunset needs her rest-”
“No.” The girl in question interrupted her fashionista friend, her eyes wide open. “I don’t want to sleep anymore. I have” Sunset yawned “slept plenty enough.” She tried to laugh at her own joke but didn’t have the strength to do so.
Rarity smiled sympathetically at her friend. “I understand that you don’t want to rest now of all times, Sunset, but please mind your health.”
“My health is fine.” the girl in bed retorted, her eyes closed. “I’m...fine…” Her breathing calmed down and before any more could be said, Sunset Shimmer was fast asleep once again.
“Oh man, really?” Rainbow complained. “Why don’t we just give her a little boost?” she asked, magic already gathering around her hand.
“Because” Twilight quickly grabbed the hand of her friend, before she could do anything recklessly “we don’t know what kind of complications might come up if we use magic on her now, as I already explained!”
“Oh fine.” Rainbow broke her hand free, stopping the magic flow. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked down on Sunset. “I just can’t stand seeing her like this anymore! Especially now that she’s woken up!”
“We all feel that way, Dashie,” Pinkie said in a slightly depressed tone. However just one second lately she gave everyone a bubbly smile, pumping her fist into her palm. “But from now on it can only go up! Oooooh, this is going to be a doozy!” She gasped! “I need to prepare the coronation too! I better get to work!” Without saying another word, Pinkie Pie disappeared in a small explosion, leaving only streamers and confetti behind.
The others just smiled at their fellow Empresses antics. No matter what happened, Pinkie would always be Pinkie. Just then Rainbow let out a yawn. She stretched her arms, groaning during the process. “I’m gonna take a nap, I think. Been up since three. Wake me up, when she’s up again. And remind me, I still have to torture, what’s-his-face, for that stupid storm.”
“I’ll look up his name,” Twilight said in a deadpan.
“Thanks,” Rainbow stated, before teleporting away as well.
“I swear” Twilight grumbled, “one of these days, I am going to rewire her brain with my own two hands, unless she learns to be responsible in the future.”
“Oh, you can hardly blame her this time.” Rarity pointed out. “Heavens forbid me missing my beauty sleep. Now then, I think I better look where our other two friends are. They’re awfully late after all. I take it you will stay here?” the empress of generosity asked with a coy smile.
Twilight looked at Rarity unimpressed. “I told you over and over, my feelings for Sunset are purely that of a friend and not romantic in any way possible.”
“Keep deluding yourself, darling.” the other girl said, turning into her empress form. “I have all eternity to convince you of your true feelings. Ta-ta!” And with a wave of her hand, Rarity was gone, leaving only Twilight in Sunset’s room. Shaking her head, the lavender-skinned girl placed herself back on the chair next to the bed and watched her friend sleeping.
It wasn’t until hours later that finally Fluttershy and Applejack walked inside. They found their fellow Empress slowly feeding Sunset with a fresh bowl of soup. Luckily the embodiment of laughter had warned kindness and honesty beforehand, so they both entered the room in their human forms.
Looking up from her position, Sunset smiled upon seeing the newcomers. Twilight herself turned her head and smiled a little herself. Before any words could be exchanged, Fluttershy let out an ear piercing squeal. The girl ran up to the bed, forcefully slammed Twilight out of the way, somehow managed to catch the spoon and bowl of soup, which again somehow stayed in mid-air (Sunset swore she saw a light flickering for a second) and the sat down on the chair Twilight previously sat on.
“F-Fluttershy?” Sunset stuttered, surprised. She subconsciously pulled the covers closer to her face.
“There, there little one,” Fluttershy cooed “Mama is going to take good care of you. Now say ahhhhh.”
“Fluttershy” Applejack suppressed a chuckle, as she helped a groaning Twilight back on her feet. “Sunset ain’t one of yer critters.” the farm woman said amused.
Fluttershy, however, ignored the other woman and began to make train noises, while slowly moving the spoon towards Sunset’s mouth. The girl in return at what to stare at. Twilight, who was going to have a bump on her head from hitting the heater or Fluttershy, who had the creepiest of all smiles on her face. So she chose the third option and looked over to Applejack, who just smiled apologetically.
“Flut-mmph!” The moment Sunset tried to say something, the woman she spoke to (rather violently) shoved the spoon into her mouth.
“There. Doesn’t it taste good?”
All Sunset could do was scrunch up her face, as she forced the liquid down her throat.
“Oh my, it’s not too hot, is it?”
“Fluttershy…” Sunset needed to take some deep breaths. “Are you alright?”
“Shh.” The yellow woman put a finger on Sunset’s lips, shushing her. “Don’t overextend yourself my little pony. Mama is going to take good care of you.” She gently petted Sunset’s cheek, confusing the woman in bed even more. Once again Sunset looked over to her other two friends, this time silently pleading for help.
Applejack let out a chuckle, before quickly grabbing the spoon and bowl and placing both away.
“Applejack!” Fluttershy exclaimed, looking angrily at the orange woman. “Why did you do that?!”
“Calm down, Fluttershy,” Twilight spoke up. “Sunset isn’t allowed to eat too much at the moment, as it could be counterproductive for her recovery.”
“Oh! Oh. I’m sorry.” And just like that, the woman was back to her meek self, just like Sunset remembered her being. However, she was still confused at the overall behavior the woman showed earlier.
“Uh...girls?” Sunset spoke up, getting the attention of everyone in the room. “As glad as I am to see you all again, really I am. Just...Fluttershy, are you feeling alright?”
It took Fluttershy a second to register the words the woman in bed had spoken before she answered. “Of course, I’m alright.” The woman insisted. “Why do you ask?”
“Well, no offense, but...how should I put this? You almost acted like I was one of the animals at the shelter.” the fiery haired girl pointed out.
Fluttershy blushed and the other two women laughed a little at Sunset’s bluntness.
“Ah, don’t blame poor Shy.” Applejack produced a chair and placed it next to Fluttershy so that the two could sit together. The orange woman also put an arm around the other woman.
“She’d just been worried about ya. We all have.” The orange woman put a hand on her friend’s arm.
“It’s good ta have ya.”
Sunset smiled. “It’s good to be back. Just wish, I wouldn’t be condemned to this bed.”
“Don’t worry, sugar cube. Ya’ll feel better in no time. Ah’m sure of it.”
Just then a beeping sound could be heard in the room. Twilight sighed and took out her phone, which had her starburst mark on the back.
“What? I have been asleep for four years and we still don’t have holographic phones?” Sunset joked, to which the other girls smiled.
“They’re still figuring out how to not damage the eyes with them,” Twilight explained. “Excuse me a moment girls, I have to call someone...from work.”
As Twilight left the room, Sunset looked after her, a small frown on her face.
“Right...you all graduated.” she sighed, looking over to the other girls. “So, what have you been up to? I guess you’re now helping on the farm full time, aren’t you? And Fluttershy I bet has her own veterinary clinic by now.”
“This better be important, Moondancer.” Midnight Sparkle spoke to her assistant, back in her true form and hovering above the human threatening. Said human was on her knees and sweating bullets.
“I-it’s Celestia, my Empress. The other C-Celestia I mean.” Moondancer stammered, looking at the ground the entire time. “She wished to inform you that her sister will be visiting as well for the next time it is scheduled. Apparently, the Night Pony wishes to talk to you personally.”
“Is that so?” Midnight asked. That was an interesting development. So far only Celestia and the other Twilight had come to the human dimension. The Princess of the Night either never bothered to come or was talked out of it by her sister.
“Tell Celestia, Luna has my permission to visit, as long as she undergoes the same preparations as her sister.”
“U-understood, my Empress. A-anything else I can do to serve you?” the human asked, looking up for the first time.
“Actually, there is. Send the doctors here immediately. And while you’re at it, go and find Spike. I haven’t seen him in two days.”
“Actually, your highness, I just saw him an hour ago. He told me he was preparing something you might need in the near future.”
“Hmm.” Midnight smiled. Oh Spike. I am like an open book to you, am I not?
“Alright, let Spike do his work. Now go and do your own.”
“At once, my empress.”
Author's Note
Man, been a while since I wrote anything about ponies, really.
Chapter 6
“You’re doing great, Miss Shimmer.” the doctor praised Sunset, as the girl made her way across the room, using a walking aid. The girl was sweating bullets just by taking those few simple steps from the one end of the hospital room to the other. When she finally reached her temporary bed, the yellow skinned girl collapsed on it with a thud and a groan escaping her lips.
“I feel like I just ran a marathon.” Sunset groaned. “I’m pretty sure my legs just fell off. Oh wait, they’re still there.”
The doctor let out a chuckle, taking notes on his electronic clipboard.
“I wasn’t expecting you to be able to move so much after just three days. You have an exceptional recovery rate, Miss Shimmer.”
“Hah...I guess that’s a good thing?”
The doctor nodded. “Oh it is, but I cannot guarantee you will be walking on your own very soon.”
“Oh man.” the girl put both hands on her face. “So, how long do you estimate it will take for to fully recover?”
“Hmm, well that depends on a few things.” The doctor looked up from his clipboard and at Sunset. “Medicine has advanced in quite a way, Miss Shimmer. There exists a new therapy method to help muscle attrition. If you decide to take it, we would be able to speed up the process of recovery significantly.”
“Really?” Sunset asked looking up. “Does this count for the stomach as well? I’m kinda tired of eating soup all the time.”
The man chuckled once again, shaking his head. “I’m sorry, but your stomach has to get used to solid food on its own. Anyways, I take it I have gotten your interest.”
“Y-yeah,” Sunset replied hesitantly. “But just how much would it cost?” she asked wearily, already expecting at least a four digit number.
“That depends on how long it takes for you to recover. However, I should also mention to you that this method is relatively new and won’t work for ten percent of the people who have undertaken this therapy. So far no one has shown any side effects-”
“Side effects?! From a physical therapy?!” Sunset exclaimed.
“Well...you see…” the doctor started nervously but was interrupted by a beeping sound coming from one of his pockets. The doctor took out a smart phone and looked at the display, frowning. “Excuse me, but I need to go now. If you need anything, just call the nurse.”
And with that the doctor went outside, leaving Sunset alone in the room. The frowned at the doors for some time, before slowly sitting up and looking at the windows, which were positioned on the other side of the room. Seeing the blue clear skies, Sunset felt the sudden craving to go outside for a walk.
“Tch should have asked the doctor if someone could put me in a wheelchair. Oh right, I can just call a nurse. Hopefully, none of them is too busy right now.”
She worried for nothing. Only ten seconds after Sunset pressed the button, a nurse came right. She was a little taken aback by how fast the nurse came in but brushed it off as mere coincidence.
“You called, Miss Shimmer?” the nurse asked.
“Y-yeah. I have a little favor to asked.”
“Oh, what is it? Do you need anything to eat? Want me to change your bedsheets? We have a couple of plush dolls available if it helps you sleep at night.”
“What? NO!” Sunset shouted, a little blush forming appearing on her cheeks. “I just wanted to ask, if you could help get outside?”
“Out-side?” the nurse repeated. “What exactly do you mean, Miss Shimmer?”
“Umm, just getting some fresh air, you know? I’ve been cooped up in this room for so long, I thought some fresh air would do me some good. Also, see the outside world. I don’t think it has changed that much in four years, but I’m still curious. This should be okay, right?”
“Umm, well…” the nurse bit her lip “I will have to console the doctor about this...but I’m sure he’ll give his okay. Please excuse me a moment, I’ll talk to him right away.”
“Thanks!” Sunset called after the nurse.
“She wants to go outside?” Midnight rubbed her chin, as she stared down at the trembling nurse.
“Y-yes, my Empress. S-she said she was c-curious how much the world changed ever since she fell into a coma.”
“And can her heart handle the surprise?”
“I-I-I don’t think so. W-we’re surprised she’s able to walk already, granted she still needs some help, but still. We d-d-don’t want to risk Miss Shimmer overexerting herself.”
“We could create an illusion” The Empress of Generosity suggested. “And I suggest we let her go to the rooftop, just to be sure. We tell her the hospital doesn’t have a courtyard, due to a lack of space.”
The Empress of Honesty didn’t even try to suppress the sigh escaping her lips.
“Do you have any objections?” asked Midnight.
The former apple farmer shook her head. “No. Ah, know it’s fer her best. Still don’t like it, mind you. First, we lie ta her, now we use illusions...what next? Brainwashing?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, darling. We’re her friends and not some B-Movie cliché villains.”
No one pointed out that if Sunset knew the truth she might just exactly think of her friends exactly that.
Moondancer was always a busy person. When she wasn’t running an errand for her favorite Empress, she always tried to find a way to impress the embodiment of magic. So far this had led to mixed results. Right now she was inside her personal laboratory, various machines working non-stop and various crystals floating inside equally various chemicals. Magic had been proven as a nice substitute for electricity, however, it was far from perfect. A lot of magic was lost simply due to the humans’ inexperience with it and the Equestrians weren’t too fond of helping the Empire in that regard, since it could (and frankly will) be used in order to boost their military power even further.
Another approach on the matter was whether the shape of the gems had anything to do with the magic output. On her worktable, Moondancer was carefully cutting a ruby into a cylinder form. She had already done so with various other gems and diamonds. Her table as a result of the dust now looked like it had a sparkling, rainbow-colored blanket put upon it.
She was just finished with her work, turning off the diamond cutter machine, when her door was rudely opened. Moondancer wanted to give the person who didn’t even knock a piece of her mind, at least until she saw that it was none other than Lord Spike who entered her laboratory. In order to fit in he had resumed the guise of a twelve-year-old pre-teen. He had green spiky hair, the same eye color, only those had the slits of a reptile, wore a purple hood vest, jeans, and sports shoes.
“Lord Spike!” Moondancer immediately wanted to bow, but unfortunately, she hit her head on the table, causing all the dust to fly into the air. Spike for his part laughed at the scientist misfortune.
“Hey, Moondancer. Working on the next mad scientist project?”
“Yes, I mean, no! I mean-”
“Hahaha, oh man you’re so easy.”
Moondancer suppressed her anger at the disguised dragon and instead kept a polite tone. “How can I be of service, my lord?”
“Ah, nothing. I just came here to bring you what you wanted.” Spike grabbed in one of his pockets and took out a gem attached to a small chain. The gem was actually made out of a multitude of gems cut in a specific way and attached together. The finished product now resembled Midnight’s banner symbol.
Moondancer accepted the gift with great eagerness.
“Oh thank you, thank you my Lord!” she pressed the gem against her heart and fell on her knees, bowing so deep her nose touched the ground for a split second.
“Yeah, yeah, don’t mention it.” Spike casually ruffled her hair. “Just keep up with the good work and you won’t end up in my stomach. Anyways, gotta go again. Been working overtime, I tell ya. Only got a two-hour nap today.”
But Moondancer wasn’t really listening to him anymore. She was squealing like a five-year-old on a Christmas day, as she put on the necklace. Spike left her like that and casually strolled down through the seemingly endless hallways. Guards, maids, and butlers all made way for him, bowing their heads in respect. A smug smile appeared on the young drake’s face. Four years ago this kind of situation would have been unthinkable, as he was still a dog back then. Not that being a dog was a particularly bad thing, but being a ferocious fire breathing dragon did have its advantages. Especially if you’re one that can change shape, because your sister is literally magic incarnated.
Speaking of, his destination was Twilight’s personal chambers. She could change her name as often as she wanted, for him, she would always be Twilight. This time he did bother knocking at the door, as he knew a cranky Twilight was a bad Twilight.
“Who is it?”
“The Pizza Service.” Spike joked and opened the door. Inside he found Twilight already approaching the door, only to stop, once Spike came into view.
“Spike.” The woman smiled, waiting for the dragon to step in. As soon as the door was closed, the disguised dragon took out another necklace from his pocket, this one looking like Sunset’s cutie mark.
“Not sure why you need a second one, but here you go.”
“Thank you, Spike.” Twilight levitated the necklace over to her, while at the same time she went over to her queen sized bed and took a seat there. Spike immediately followed her. He laid down on the bed, but placed his head on her lap, from where one of Twilight’s hands stroked through his green hair. With the other hand, she held the necklace he made for her and inspected it in every detail.
“So, what do you need a second one for? I already made one for Sunset.”
“Oh, this one is for me.” she said and put the accessory on.
“For you?” the disguised dragon rolled over, now looking directly at Twilight’s face. “Twi, you do remember the last time we did something like this? I know Big Mac really wants a canyon named after him, but that doesn’t mean we should make another one.”
“Don’t worry, Spike.” Twilight continued to stroke his hair. “This time I know what I am doing.”
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