//------------------------------// // Wrath of the Princess // Story: Common Ground // by LunasCaptain //------------------------------// "Can anypony hear me?" Cadance cries, pounding her hooves against the crystal walls. Despite her alicorn strength, she can't make so much as a scratch. "Please! Somepony, help! Help me!" There is no answer. She didn't expect there to be. She crumples at the base of the wall, sobbing, and buries her face in her forehooves. If only her talent were actually useful, like Twilight's, but the ability to magnify love won't help her here. She can't teleport. She can't blast her way out of this tiny cavern. She can't even defend herself against those...things... "Help me," Cadance whispers. But nothing equine hears her. "Oh, help me, help me," somepony mimics in an insulting falsetto. "Heeeelp! I'm an all-powerful alicorn and I can't even--" "STOP!" Cadance yells, scrambling to her hooves. She can't keep herself from crying as her doppelgänger emerges from the shadows, eyes glowing green and muzzle arranged in a cruel smirk that she'd never wear. "How are we doing?" the Cadance-thing mocks. "Missing your lovercolt?" "You can't have him, Chrysalis," she shouts, charging her monstrous double with her horn lowered. But she meets only crystal, because the fake princess was just an illusion. "And I suppose you're going to stop me, are you? Please, little princess, you're useless." "N-no, I--I--" Cadance backs up, shaking her head. Suddenly, something cuts through her panic like a lightning bolt, and she looks up, where the voice of the evil queen seems to be coming from. "No! This isn't real! I beatyou! Shining beat you! We won!" "Oh, yes, I'd completely forgotten about that," Chrysalis snickers. "But don't worry, dear Cadance, it will all be remedied soon..." Hooves tap behind her, and she whirls just in time to see a slender unicorn mare emerge from the shadows. White coat, teal mane and tail...massive fangs and Changeling eyes... Cadance shrieks and backs up against the wall, barely registering Chrysalis's cackle as the unicorn draws closer. "Oh, hold still, Cadance, she's gentle. This won't hurt a bit..." ----O---- Cadance sat straight up with a tiny gasp, clutching the heavy pink silks of her bed close to her chest. Almost immediately, tears filled her eyes. They weren't the first of the night, judging by the stains on her pillows, and she tried to force them back. It wasn't the worst nightmare she'd ever had. No, that title fell to the one where Shining or Aunt Celestia or Twilight emerged from one of those horrible cocoons with green eyes and holes in their legs. But it had been so realistic, so horrifying... "Cadance?" somepony muttered sleepily. A magenta glow filled the room, coming from a nest of pillows and blankets in the massive crystal chair that Shining loved. Twilight Sparkle's head emerged, eyes puffy from too little sleep and mane molded into funny little spikes. Relief washed through her. "Er...good morning, Twilight." "Is it morning?" Twilight turned her light on the ornate clock in the opposite corner. "Oh. I guess it is. Barely." "I'm sorry..." "It's okay." Twilight stifled a yawn and offered her a tired smile. "Is this why you wanted me in here?" "Yes." With a Changeling loose in the palace, Cadance could think of nopony she wanted near her more than Twilight. (Except maybe Shining, but one of the maids had told her he was off playing soldier.) She had told Ruffles this, and had her bring in bedding. Maybe the hoofmaiden had seemed a little disgruntled as she made Twilight's bed, but that could be dealt with later. Twilight yawned again, not bothering to hide this one, and disentangled herself from the bedding. She hopped up on the bed next to Cadance, curling up in Shining's spot. It was almost comical to see her there, considering how much smaller than him she was. "I'm right here, Cadance," she murmured with a reassuring smile. "You should try and go back to sleep." Cadance smiled back, knowing she wouldn't be able to but appreciating Twilight's kindness nonetheless. She used her magic to pull the knitted throw at the foot of the bed--a wedding present--up over the smaller mare. Laying back down, she stared into the darkness and listened to Twilight's quiet breathing. Aunt Celestia had once told her that it was possible for alicorns to have premonitions. She herself had had one regarding the first appearance of Nightmare Moon, before Cadance's birth. Supposedly, they came in the form of very realistic dreams. ----O---- "Monster!" For the second time that morning, Cadance sat bolt upright. She threw the heavy covers back with a combination of magic and brute force, burying Twilight. Ignoring the startled whinny behind her, she bolted through several useless rooms before finally reaching the door. She threw it open. Several maids ran past screaming. "There's a monster in the guest wing!" Cadance gritted her teeth even as Twilight appeared next to her with a small flash, a sheet tangled around her like a pink toga. "What's going on?" "That Changeling," Cadance spit, raking a brush through her mane with her magic. Quite a few strands of rose, gold, and lavender stayed in the bristles, and her curls had deflated overnight, but she didn't care. Boots, collar, crown. She had already faced this thing naked once and she wasn't about to do it again. "Do you want me to--" Twilight began. "Yes," Cadance replied, thrusting a different brush at her and yanking off the sheet. Once Twilight's mane and tail were semi-presentable (it only took about thirty seconds--one of the advantages of having such a simple cut), Cadance led the way through the halls of her palace. They passed countless hysterical maids and skeptical guards--news traveled very fast amongst her staff. Twilight tried to talk to some of them, which got her absolutely nowhere. Most babbled incoherently about some massive insectine dragon of something even stupider. Cadance didn't really pay attention. The guest wing was completely deserted, except for the tiny suite at the very end. Cadance made a beeline for it, Twilight struggling to keep up with her shorter legs. The delicate-looking unicorn crouched in the doorway bowed at their approach. "Princess Cadenza--" "Enough," she said sharply, spreading her wings slightly and then bringing them back to her sides to create a harsh snapping noise. "I don't want to hear it. What happened?" "Well, Princess, it's very difficult to maintain a form while sleeping--" "Fascinating," Twilight said under her breath. Cadance ignored her. "My staff works best when they're not having heart attacks," she said. "Keep your door locked." "Of course, Princess." "And stay in your room." "I wasn't planning on leaving, Princess." Cadance spun around, intent on going back to her chambers and scrubbing away this conversation (which, in her opinion, it was far too early for), but the Changeling had other ideas. "Princess?" "What?!" she hissed without turning. "When do you want to discuss--" "Later. I'll send for you." She stalked away. "I have more important things to deal with first." Twilight kept pace as Cadance stomped back to her rooms. "Don't you think you may have been a little harsh?" Cadance stopped. She and Twilight had both been raised in Canterlot, in Celestia's palace, but at very different times and in very different ways. Maybe Aunt Celestia had brought up her protege to put on a good face and approach everything politely, but Cadance's foalhood had been a little different. She had been taught to protect and nurture her people at every opportunity, meet every threat head-on. The Changeling was a threat, and she was going to treat it as such. She just looked at the smaller mare and shook her head. She didn't feel like explaining all of that right now. After sending Twilight off to get something to eat, Cadance called in Ruffles. An hour of letting her hoofmaiden pamper her couldn't hurt. And besides, some time alone with her might be a good way to make up for Twilight staying the night. Halfway through washing her mane, however, a pegasus guard burst into the bathroom. "Oh my goddesses!" Ruffles pulled her hooves out of the frothy mess that was currently the princess's mane. "What in the name of Celestia's--" "Princess!" the guard blurted, ignoring the earth pony. "I--oh, uh..." He seemed to suddenly realize that he had just walked in on his ruler taking a bath. "Sorry. I'm really sorry, Princess. I'll, uh, I'll just come back later..." "No, it's alright." Cadance folded her forelegs across her chest, which didn't actually cover anything important but seemed to make the guard infinitely more comfortable. "What is it?" "Well," the pegasus said, straightening up and switching over into what must have been his "royal guard" voice, "we appear to be at war, Princess."