//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Claws, Paws, and Evil In-laws // by K.J. Cragon //------------------------------// "I've got something to say!" Twilight Sparkle declared. "She's evil!" There was a murmur around the room, with ponies - No, her friends - sadly shaking their heads. Some were rolling their eyes. "She's been horrible to my friends, she's obviously done something to her bridesmaids, and if that wasn't enough, I saw her put a spell on my brother that made his eyes go all weird!" Princess Cadence was crying. "Why are you doing this to me?!" She asked. Twilight simply rolled her eyes in response. "Because your evil!" "Stop!" Shining Armor shouted at his little sister. "Do you want to know why my eyes went all weird? It's because ever since I started having to perform my protection spell, I've been getting terrible migraines. Cadance hasn't been casting spells on me, she's been using her magic to heal me!" His outbreak made Twilight shrink back and cringe. He almost never had an outbreak, but when he did, it was mildly scary and out of character. "I was just trying to-" She started but was cut off by her brother "She's been completely stressed out because it's really important to her that her big day - Which I might add is in TWO DAYS - be perfect! Something that obviously wasn't important to you." Twilight gasped, but he kept talking. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go and comfort my bride. And you can forget about being my best mare. In fact, if I were you, I wouldn't show up to the wedding at all." Twilight teared up, looking at her friends for at least some help. They didn't give her any. " C'mon, y'all. Let's go check on the princess," Applejack said as she and the rest of her friends walked out of the room. "I was just-" Twilight started again, but Princess Celestia cut her off. "You have a lot to think about," she said as the doors closed behind her. Twilight began weeping in the now dim lit room. There was a creaking noise in front of her, and she lifted her hooves from her face to see Cadence. "I'm... I'm sorry," She half wept. The princess smiled an evil smile. "You will be." With a scream and a burst of green flames, Twilight Sparkle had disappeared. 'Cadence' walked out of the room with a smirk. "Princess? Princess, y'all in here?" Applejack called. Her friends - Minus Twilight - had gone in search of the crying princess ever since Twilight had upset her. As she turned a corner she heard a sound from a couple rooms down. Starting to turn around, she ran head first into princess Cadence. "Oh, there ya are! C'mon now, we need to get the others and bring y'all to Shinin' Armor. Why's your horn glowing like that? What're you - Ah!" Cadence smirked as Applejack was engulfed in flames just as Twilight had been. "Honesty. Oh so fickle, eh?" She started towards the main hall where she knew her next prey would be. "Oh my," Fluttershy asked Pinkie Pie. "What If something horrible happened to her? What if Twilight did something?" "Now why would Twilight do that, silly billy?" Pinkie responded. "I don't know why I just think that she - Oof!" She had run right into a smirking Cadence. "Oh thank goodness we found you! Pinkie, could you come here please? Pinkie?" She turned her head to find smoldering marks on the floor where her friend had once stood. Here eyes widened and she looked at the princess, expecting her to reassure her that there was absolutely nothing to worry about. But all she say was a glare. "Oh you want it next?" She half growled at the timid pegasus, who fell onto the floor with her hooves covering her head, whimpering. "Well, if you insist, dear." And with a scream, she too got swallowed by bright green flames. "Augh!" She cry echoed around the statue garden, making Rainbow Dash's ears perk up. Mouth still full of just found daisy, she said, "Fruffer fry?" She swallowed the flower and looked around for a moment, confused. Suddenly, a shot of emerald-colored magic shot passed her and hit a random statue. Rainbow whirled around to confront the magician, expecting it to be Twilight. Instead, she found herself looking at the princess of love. "Oh dang," Cadence said with amusement, "I missed." Rainbow Dash looked at her in surprise. She then flew up into the sky. "So," she said. "Twilight was right? Well then, prepare to have your FLANK KICKED!" She flew at top speed towards 'Cadence' hoping to knock her off balance - Or at least faze her. It didn't work. She just side stepped the 'attack' and let her crash into the ground. After that, at the worst possible moment, Rarity walked into the garden from one of the many doors that led into and out of the castle. "What's all of this fuss about? Rainbow what are you doing rolling around the dirt?" Rainbow, still partially stunned, rose her head up. The know known enemy smirked at the unicorn and lit her horn. Rarity's eye's moved back and forth. "What? What's wrong?" Rainbow's body was now full of energy. Right before the blast was about to be performed, she dashed over to rarity and blocked her with her hooves. "No..." She murmured. "Seriously, Rainbow, what's going on?" Rarity asked nervously as the powerful blast of magic engulfed them both. "Killed to Birds with one stone, eh?" 'Cadence' said to herself. "Meh, good enough." "Ugh," Twilight groaned. "What happened?" She opened her eyes to find darkness. She soon realized that she was sprawled - face down - in the dirt. She lifted a hoof to her head, and then pulled it away almost instantly. That's not a hoof, she realized. She also realized that she was standing differently - Bipedal. Looking at the arm that was attached to her body, she noticed a couple of things. One, It was black, and had hands, like her assistant Spike - A dragon - had. Two, there was webbing coming off of it and attaching to her lower body. She was a bat. Well, only one plausible thing to do now, she thought. She screamed at the top of her tiny bat lungs.