//------------------------------// // What is the Price of Ruling? // Story: The Empressess, A Continuation of a Continuation // by Stalin with Da Spoon //------------------------------// Sunset's Room, Canterlot City Castle. Loud snoring filled the air as Sunset peacefully slept in her hospital bed, lightly shuffling in the sheets as all people who struggle to find comfort in any possible sleeping position do. She was slightly shivering, as the room's air conditioning was quite strong, easily producing enough cool air to combat the spring heat. The only part of her body exposed was her head, which still had light burn marks from the coffee incident, and surprisingly, still stinged a bit. The window to the right of her bed currently had it's shutter closed, blocking any sunlight. Slowly, the door to her room creaked open, as Fluttershy peeked her head in, smiling at the sight of Sunset peacefully sleeping, as she opened the door further, a small amount of light flooding into the room, Sunset being undisturbed as Fluttershy slowly moved over to the window, and slowly opened the shutters, letting a large amount of sunlight flood into the room, a ray of light hitting Sunset square in the face, as she slowly opened her eyes, scrunching up her face in annoyance. "Agh... Too bright..." Fluttershy lightly giggled as she walked over to her friend, sitting on her bed with a smile on her face. "Good morning, Sunset." Sunset fully opened her eyes to look at her friend, smiling back. "Hey, Fluttershy... Man, my head hurts..." Fluttershy had a slight look of worry on her face, as she pressed her hand up against Sunset's forehead. "Oh dear, your head is still quite hot... Are you certain you wish to go out for a walk today? Are your legs even fully healed?" Sunset slowly nodded in confirmation. "Yep, the doctor's themselves said my leg muscles should be fully healed. Or at least partially, so I won't be completely crippled, which is better than being wheeled around in a wheelchair, no offense." Fluttershy lightly nodded, happy to see her friend in happy spirits and full of bravery, an aspect she always admired about Sunset, seeing close similarities to Rainbow Dash. "That is good to hear, Sunset. So, you wish to try and walk on your own?" "Yeah, or at least try to. Like they say, if you don' try, you may never know if you can." Fluttershy simply nodded, as she slowly began to help Sunset out of the bed, helping her sit up before pulling her into a hug, feeling good just to embrace her friend, a couple tears of happiness running down her face. She soon pulled back, as she heard Sunset's stomach gurgiling, and let out a light chuckle. "Are you hungry, my dear?" Sunset rapidly nodded, grasping her stomach. "Yeah... Haven't eaten anything since yesterday morning... Whats for breakfast?" "Oh, well, I believe we can have breakfast in the cafeteria if that's alright with you, I believe that pancakes are on the menu." Cue Sunset having a look of excitement on her face, having always loved pancakes. "Awesome! Alright then, let's get going!" Fluttershy nodded, slowly beginning to help her friend stand up off the bed, as Sunset stood straight, wobbling a bit, but still standing defiantly, as she raised her fists in victory. "YES! I HAVE CONQUERED MY COMA!" Fluttershy let out a silent cheer of enthusiasm, both happy for her friend, and for her increased health and fortitude. Of course, Sunset still had some difficulty walking, as she had not done so in well, four years, so Fluttershy helped support and guide her, at least until she got the hang of it, as Sunset gripped the door handle and managed to open it, doing a silent fist bump, opening a proverbial door to life. "The others are waiting on the observation deck." Sunset nodded, letting Fluttershy lead the way. Meanwhile, Doctor Roberts was watching intently from behind a corner, as he pulled out a phone and texted a message. She's on the move. Understood, continue observation, and if needed, prep the charge. Elsewhere in the Castle... The elevator slowly climbed up through the castle, with the princesses expecting to see things the same they were yesterday. However, it appeared as though the soldiers all around them were moving more frantically, some carrying more weapons and ammunition then usual. And Twilight could swear she saw a cart full of body bags move past them. Before anyone could ask, Midnight answered for them. "If your wondering what has caused us to become so frantic, it is due to the resistance recently launching a large scale counter offensive, managing to encircle a pocket of our forces, something I honestly never expected." Midnight said, huffing out of annoyance, with Luna having a slight smirk on her face. "You of all people should have known not to under-estimate humans. After all, you used to be one." Twilight had a look of confusion on her face, wondering how humans could overcome magic infused armies, especially with their training and technology. "How would those humans be able to overpower your magic infused armies? Was it just dumb luck?" Midnight turned to her, gritting her teeth as she remembered the reason why. "It's that commander of theirs, his tactics are... Whats the word... Brutal. He seems to be utilizing the tactics of the soviet union during operation Barbarossa in World War 2, a clever move. He has even resulted to raiding old army depots of WW2 and cold war era equipment to fight us with." Luna let out a chuckle, finding it funny Midnight's 'unstoppable empire' was being beat by some old war technology, and Midnight proceeded to give her a stare more intense than even Fluttershy's, so Luna knew to quickly shut up. Celestia secretly respected the humans for their courage and willingness to fight. Not even her own soldiers were as brave as them, but then again, her soldiers were not necessarily born for war. Wishing to break the ice, she asked the question her fellow princesses were thinking. "So Sunset is fully healed from yesterday?" Midnight slowly turned and nodded, slightly smiling. "Yeah, she was always resilient... Of course, still have to meet her in human form. Well, actually... We are planning to reveal our true selves to her today... Even if it has a negative effect, the illusion is completely draining of our magic reserves." "So you will cancel out the illusion?" "Not the entire thing, exposing her to it all at once may be too much, likely to overload her senses. Well, I dunno exactly, I studied science more than medical, so you'd probably need to ask Fluttershy." Celestia nodded in acknowledgement, as the elevator reached it's designated floor, opening to reveal the rest of Midnight's friends, except Fluttershy. "Greetings, everyone, again." All the empresses politely nodded, Applejack just tipping her stetson hat, which she absolutely refused to remove even in her empress form, no matter how much her friends begged her. "Is everyone ready? Remember, human forms until she is ready." Midnight's friends nodded, all of them being enveloped in light and appearing as humans, and Midnight then snapped her fingers, as everyone teleported away. Meanwhile... The commander let a small smile creek across his face, watching Sunset appear on the top deck of the castle through his cameras. "Today marks the beginning of our push for ultimate victory... Wait, hang on, that sounded evil, lemme re-phrase... *Ahem* Today marks the day we rise from the ashes and fight off our oppressors. Yeah, that sounds much better."