It was evening when I finally awoke from my coma. When I regained consciousness, I did so with a gasp so loud that it alerted everypony nearby. Doctors and nurses rushed in to check how I was doing, and they began assaulting me with so many questions that it made me feel like I was going mad. But despite the questioning, and the fact that my body still felt so numb, I was stable enough to realize that I had been gone for some time. “How long was I out for?” I said, trying my best to sound and stay composed.
“It’s been weeks, your highness.”
“Weeks?” My heart began to race as I remembered how much strife and turmoil Equestria had been facing right before I fell into a coma. I couldn’t imagine how bad the situation must have been now. I thought back to the moment I’d entered my coma, to remember what had led up to it. I remembered drinking coffee that had poisoned me with what I guessed to be sugarcubes. Somepony had come to save me, but I couldn’t recall who they were, only that they felt familiar, like they were a friend.
“Shining Armor is about to take the throne. Listen!” one of the nurses shouted, causing everypony in the room to congregate around a black-and-white TV set. “He’ll know what to do to fix this mess.”
My heart sank from the news. If my brother was taking over, then it meant the situation had deteriorated beyond my friends’ ability to handle it.
“Ooooh, he’s about to speak,” the nurse said. The cameras were stationed around the same location my coronation had taken place.
A person walked out into view. I didn’t recognize them, especially due to their royal garb, but at the same time, they looked so familiar.
“Huh? That’s not Shining Armor.”
“Attention, Equestria!” the mysterious person shouted. Even their voice is so familiar. “Shining Armor has given up his claim to the throne, and in return, he has put me in charge!”
That was when I recognized who it was. Everypony in the hospital room gasped at what they were hearing, except for me. I was frozen, more terrified than any villain or mythical demon had made me before.
The new ruler of Equestria grabbed their mask and took it off. When everypony saw who it was, they froze, replacing the commotion with dead silence. “You shall now address me as Emperor Spike.”