Princess Cadance woke with a start. A moment passed as she sat up, letting her breathing slow down. Gathering her bearings, she found herself in bed, snuggled against her husband, Shining Armor. Her fur was ruffled and matted in sweat, and several strands of her mane were out of place. Shining was out cold, snoring softly as he was.
Despite the adorable sight that normally calmed her down if she woke up from a bad dream, it didn’t help.
Getting up to get a glass of water, she passed by their suite’s balcony. It was near dawn, the moon falling down near the horizon as the dark sky lightened at the horizon.
Stopping at the sight, she remembered the nightmare. She softly spoke, barely audible in the room, “Am I a real princess? What if Celestia and Luna put me here in charge as a figurehead?”
She stepped closer, placing a hoof on the door. “What if they made me the Crystal Princess only because I became an alicorn?”
Luna’s coat was pale as she rushed to her sister’s room.
Knocking frantically, she let herself in as Celestia sat up groggily. “‘S going on, Luna?”
“Cadenza! She hath–has figured it out!” Luna almost shouted.
Still waking up, Celestia could only mutter, “What?”
Luna shook her sister’s shoulder. “She knows he has no real power!”
Celestia’s blood chilled as she yelled, “Fuck! She’s onto us!”
Luna bolted to her hooves, pacing in a circle. “We must enact the contingency plan: Hide Under the Covers!”
Both alicorns immediately dove under Celestia’s bed. The entire frame shook as two pairs of eyes, one magenta, one blue-green, were the only things visible.