//------------------------------// // Reunion Tour // Story: The Queen's Revenge // by Listener //------------------------------// ...Beep ... ...Beep ... ...Beep ... Twilight winced, her ears folding down as the repetitive noise assaulted her ears. She groaned softly as her eyes opened slowly, staring up at the ceiling. She blinked, the light making her squint for a few seconds before she was able to take stock of her surroundings. Everything was blurry, for a moment, before she managed to bring everything into focus. Her breathing rose a little as she realized where she was. She was in a bed, sunlight streaming from the window on the wall onto her bed, bringing warmth to the room. Her ears swiveled for a moment as she became aware of a repeating noise, the one that had woken her up in the first place. She shifted her head as the source came into view, the line bouncing up and down in time with the beeping. ‘A... heart rate monitor?’ She thought as she looked at the thing, slowly moving her vision down to look at her arm, an IV in place to give her fluids. ‘My head... Something is wrong... What am I missing?’ The sight of her purple arm brought a fresh bout of pain to her head, causing her to lean back into her pillow, staring at the ceiling for a moment as it subsided. She slowly lifted her head up again, trying to sit up. She managed to, her back against the wall as she looked further. The room was empty for the most part, nothing furnishing it except for the bed and her medical equipment. Looking out the window only brought more confusion as she saw Canterlot. “What...?” She asked, her ears flicking and demanding her attention as the door opened. She swiveled her head and glanced at the door, her eyes widening at the entering pony. “Oh, Twilight, did you really think that you could escape me?” Twilight trembled as she looked up and saw the Queen, the large changeling’s mouth twisted up in some cruel manifestation of a smile. “Twilight, it’s too late for escape. No matter where you go, who you hide behind, I will find you.” Chrysalis said as she walked to the foot of the bed, looking down at the fearful Unicorn as her horn flashed green, leaving Twilight to watch as her body changed into one of that of a changeling, a cruel laugh filling the air as Twilight saw the last of her body go up in a green flame. Twilight did the only thing she could. She screamed, the heart rate monitor going crazy as everything faded to black. --- “Get me a dose of propofol, now!” Doctor Haywick shouted, holding down Twilight gently to keep her from rolling off the bed, green and purple magic fighting as her body changed several times in rapid succession. The nurse ran out into the main room, bottle clanking as she tried to locate the sedative. Dash stood at the end of the bed, worry in her eyes as she watched her friend on the bed, the rapid beeping of the EKG not helping her mood as she watched the doctor. “Miss Dash! If you insist on being here, at least help me!” Haywick said as he looked back, still keeping Twilight on the bed being careful to make sure she didn’t rip her IV out. Dash nodded quickly, rushing over to the other side of the bed, taking over for the doctor as she gently held her down. “Doc, I thought you weren’t supposed to hold down a person having a seizure!” She yelled over the EKG. “That’s right, but she’s not having a seizure! She’s having a nightmare!” He told her as he grabbed the propofol, preparing to give it to Twilight. As he did though, Twilight relaxed, her arms moving around as she grabbed Dash’s arm and gripped it as tight as she could. Rainbow and Doctor Haywick could only watch as Twilight slowly opened her eyes, blinking back tears as she looked around. The heart rate monitor calmed down as Twilight’s heart rate slowed down. The pegasus was the first to break the silence. “Twilight?” She asked softly, her voice breaking a little towards the end. Twilight’s ears swiveled towards her voice, the rest of her head slowly following as she blinked, trying to focus on her. “D-Dash?” She asked, her voice raspy and cracking as she looked at her, tears starting to fall. Dash nodded, slowly, a smile breaking out on her face as she looked back at her newly awakened friend. “It’s me Twilight.” She said as Twilight broke down and started to cry leaning into Dash and hugging her, as tightly as she could. Rainbow hugged her back, looking up at Doctor Haywick, gesturing her head towards the door. He nodded, before silently slipping out of the room, off to go find the princess. Rainbow just kept hugging the weeping Twilight, stroking her back softly as she tried to calm her down. “You’re okay Twilight. We’re in Canterlot.” She said, Twilight pulling back and looking at the pegasus. “You’re home. And safe.” She said, smiling gently. With a sniffle, Twilight started to rub her eyes free of the tears. “This... This is real?” She asked, staring right at her, Dash surprised at the timidness of her voice. “Of course this is real. I’m real as I’ve ever been.”  She said, trying to put on the show of her usual bravado. Twilight looked at her for a moment, trying to understand the warm sensation she was feeling, before finally smiling softly at her multi-chromatic friend. “This is real.” She said, nearly a whisper as the door opened behind her with a squeak. Twilight stiffened as she turned around quickly, fear suddenly in her eyes as she scooted back a bit, only to stop whenever she saw who had walked in, the warm feeling in her increasing until it was a pleasant glow inside of her. She smiled, the largest she had in a long time whenever her friends looked into the room, hopeful looks on their face, expanding into smiles of joy whenever they saw Twilight sitting on the bed, awake. Pinkie Pie was the first into the room. “Twilight! You’re awake!” She said happily as she stood at the end of the bed. “That’s fantastic, now we can throw you your welcome back party!” She said quickly. “Applejack wouldn’t let me throw the party for you before, buuut-” She said as she leaned in with a fake dramatic whisper. “I did get you some balloons!” She pointed, obviously happy with herself. Applejack came in next, smiling at her. “Maybe we oughta wait a bit longer, Pinkie.” She said, before she grinned at Twilight. “Glad to see you up, Twilight. Ya gave us all a scare.” Rarity soon joined Applejack, standing at the foot of the bed. “Twilight, you continue to amaze me with what you do. The doctors weren’t sure if...” She said, before trailing off for a moment. “But we all knew you’d wake up!” She said, tittering embarrassedly at what she had brought up. Twilight smiled gently, still leaning on Dash, now more out of necessity, weak from her time in the bed. “It’s good to see you guys too.” She said, her voice cracking again, dry. Fluttershy was quickly there with a glass of water, helping her drink it as she worried over her friend, looking her over. “Are you okay, do you hurt? Can we get you anything?” She asked, concern written on her face. Twilight looked around at her friends, new tears springing to her eyes. This time, however, they were tears of happiness. She smiled, a happy noise escaping her. “I’m fine.” She said, lightly sniffling again. “It’s good to be home.”