A Shifted Family

by Lunatia

Rating: everyone
Tags: Alternate Universe, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Princess Cadance, Cutie Mark Crusaders, Changelings, Queen Chrysalis, Scootaloo
Length: 5684

Scootaloo finds out the reality about her family.

When you don't know where your roots are from, it's hard to believe what you don't want to hear.

Scootaloo grew up her entire life as an orphan. She never lived in an orphanage, however, and chose the life of an outcast. Little did she know, that her life was part of something big.

With the Royal Wedding coming up, Princess Cadance has been acting unusually strange towards the young orange pegasus. Not only her, but her three bridesmaids have been climbing over eachother just to get a glimpse of the filly. Why are they doing this? She has no idea.

Published 2013-08-09 14:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2013-11-11 02:16:29 UTC

The Big News

It was mid-afternoon when Applejack came with the news.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders were in their clubhouse located in Sweet Apple Acres, bored out of their minds. Scootaloo groaned as she leaned back on a chair, Sweetie Belle was pacing, and Apple Bloom was reading a comic book of Daring Do.

Just as Scootaloo was about to suggest something to do, they all paused as they heard Applejack's voice calling.

"Apple Bloom! Sweetie Belle! Scootaloo! Y'all get down here, Ah got some news to share. And Ah'm pretty sure you'll love it!" The orange earth pony called. The three fillies exchanged confused looks before heading outside on to the balcony.

"What is it, sis?" Apple Bloom called, leaning on the railing. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle watched interestingly.

"Guess what?" Applejack said, barely containing her smile. "Twilight's old foalsitter, Princess Cadance, is holding a wedding! And she wants you three to be the flower fillies!"

"A WEDDING?" Sweetie Belle jumped in the air, voice cracking in excitement. "I've always wanted to be in a wedding! Ooh, I can't wait! The dresses, the bouquet..." As she listed on more details about weddings, Apple Bloom clapped her hooves in excitement.

"We're gonna be in a royal wedding! Wait, why does she want us to be the flower fillies? How does the princess know about us?" She asked suspiciously. Applejack shrugged.

"Maybe it's because Twilight's brother is the groom, and she just needed some fillies closely related she could trust." Scootaloo's jaw dropped.

"Twilight has a brother?"

They all laughed. "Don't worry about it, none of us really knew much about him either." The farmer pony assured her.

"Well, I'm in. As long as I don't have to wear any frilly dresses." Scootaloo huffed.

"The DRESSES! We're going to wear DRESSES! THIS IS SO EXCITING!" Sweetie Belle pranced in place. "We're going to be in a wedding! We're going to be in a wedding!"

The train to Canterlot was short. Usually it took a few hours to get there, however being a part of the wedding party, they were sure to take the quickest route. An hour outside of Canterlot, they took a short pit stop. The three fillies wandered out of the train.

"Can y'all believe it? This is so excitin'! In just one day we're going to be a part of one of the biggest events in Equestrian History!" Apple Bloom beamed in delight.

"Well, that is until there's another royal wedding." Sweetie Belle gasped. "I wonder if they'll have a royal baby! That would be sooooo adorable!"

"Yea, I guess it would be. Let's just hope we're not the ones who have to take care of it." Scootaloo made a disgusted look. "I do not want to change a baby's diaper!"

Their thoughts were interrupted as the train's whistle blew. Their faces of joy turned to looks of worry as the train doors slammed shut.

"Oh no! Hurry, girls!" Sweetie Belle ran towards the train, followed by the others. However, the train had already started to move, and had left the station in just a few seconds. They all slowed to a stop, catching their breath.

"W-Well..." Apple Bloom stuttered. "What now?"

Scootaloo bit her lip. The train's tracks went over a large canyon, and there was huge gaps between the tracks. There was no way ponies their size, with no ability of flight or magic, could make it across.

"We'll just have to find another way in." Sweetie Belle decided. "There's got to be an underground entrance. Think about it, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Canterlot Explorers!"

"YEA!" They all cheered and hoof bumped. And with that, they ran over to the canyon edge, however stopping in panic as they reached the cliff.

They all peeked down the large drop. The bottom was about 20 feet straight down. Scootaloo kicked a rock down and watched it directly hit the bottom, splitting in half upon impact. They all gulped.

"Here goes nothing..." Apple Bloom sighed.

40 minutes later, after many scrapes and bruises, they managed to find a less steep path down the cliff. Not only that, but they were half way to Canterlot. They didn't bother talking along the way, instead let out heavy, panting breaths as they trekked in the bright sunlight.

"L-Look girls! T-There's t-the castle!" Apple Bloom pointed a weary hoof up ahead. Sweetie Belle looked up, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

"Oh no... Look!" Sweetie Belle pointed her hoof as well, however not at the castle, but below it. They all groaned as they realised they had to climb a hill as equally steep as the one they had climbed down.

"Well, let's get to it, then." Scootaloo sighed. They all mumbled "Cutie Mark Crusaders, Canterlot Explorers." and lazily hoof bumped, then set off.

The trek just to get to the mountain took 5 minutes. Getting up the mountain was a different story. About 15 minutes later, after many tumbles half way down, and short rests, they finally made it to the gate to meet two rather surprised looking Canterlot Guard. Their surprise went away as they remained their stern expressions, and held their spears in a magical grasp.

"What are young fillies like you doing out here?" One of them asked. None of them replied, however, as they all collapsed on the ground, panting. The two guards exchanged looks, before one of them knelt down.

"Erm, excuse me? Hello?" He asked.

"We're... Part of... Wedding party!" Scootaloo spoke between breaths, and flung her hooves to her head to wipe her hair off of her forehead. The Guard got up.

"I'm going to need identification. You should have been on the train that arrived a while ago." He said with an affirmative snort.

Sweetie Belle rolled over. "But we don't have identification! We just need to get into Canterlot, so please just-"

"Oh, there you girls are! Everypony has been worried sick!"

Both the guards and the Crusaders turned around to look inside the barrier as they heard a voice. Scootaloo's eyes widened in surprise as Princess Cadance herself approached the gate. The Guards bowed, giving dirty looks to the fillies as they simply stood there, gawking at the gorgeous alicorn.

"Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, why don't you two go on inside and meet up with the others at the castle? I want to talk to Scootaloo for a bit." She smiled sweetly, giving a look that nopony could resist. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle both nodded, giving Scootaloo confused looks as they entered the gate, which the Guards opened by removing their spears. Scootaloo shrugged back at them, giving them equally confused looks.

Scootaloo waited outside of the barrier, waiting for the princess to exit and talk to her. However, to Scootaloo's surprise, the pink alicorn simply stayed inside the city, and nodded as if to tell her to walk along the barrier with her. They stayed silent until the guards were out of earshot. Finally, Princess Cadance spoke.

"I'm terribly sorry, Scootaloo. For all the trouble. I can't believe they left you three at the rest stop! But don't worry, I'll have the servants prepare you guys your own relaxing baths, you deserve it." Again, she smiled sweetly down at the filly. Scootaloo blinked. She couldn't explain it, but something seemed so... Familiar, about the princess.

"Thank you Princess Cadance. But I've got to ask, why did you want to talk to me alone?" The filly asked, looking questioningly up at her.

"Please, you can just call me Cadance. It'll save everypony a mouthful." Scootaloo giggled. "The reason I wanted to talk to you, is just that, well, I haven't met you yet! I just wanted to get to know you a bit more."

"But you haven't met Apple Bloom or Sweetie Belle either." Scootaloo pointed out.

"I've been hearing plenty about them from Applejack and Rarity. Not to mention that we've been searching all around for you guys. Scootaloo, do you have a big sister with you here?" Cadance asked.

Scootaloo sighed. "No." She bit her lip. "I'm an orphan. But the Crusaders take care of me, we have lots of fun. Maybe one day Rainbow Dash can be my sister, though."

"I'm sorry." Cadance shook her head. "It's such a shame to see a wonderful filly like you with nopony for family. But it's great to hear that you have two amazing friends, who could also count as family."

Scootaloo simply nodded as they continued on. Suddenly, Cadance came to a stop, and Scootaloo looked up. "Here we are." The alicorn said. "A secret entrance. A chip in the force field, I like to say. It's too small for me or anypony else to fit in, but it's a perfect fit for a filly like you. Just try not to touch the force field, it might sting." Cadance nodded her head at the ground, where a large flat rock lay over a small hole in the ground, which went under the rock and over, leading into the city. Scootaloo nodded and squirmed under it, careful not to bump the rock. Cadance helped her up, and brushed off the dirt.

"Now come on, let's get you cleaned up." Cadance giggled. "I hope they've already prepared a bath, you've got twigs in your mane!" Scootaloo blushed as she swiped the small branches out of her mane, and followed closely beside the pink princess towards the castle.

Author's Note

Another new story! Jeez, I hope this is good, because I wrote this at 1am.

Pretty In Pink

When the two had finally walked back to the castle. Scootaloo was in awe, and had never seen the castle before up close, never mind be in it. Her description? Grand. Everything was grand. The banners of the sun and moon? Grand. The red carpet stretching out of the marble floors? Grand. Cadance laughed as she saw Scootaloo's jaw drop even more with every sight.

They walked down a series of hallways, where at the end, everypony was waiting. They all sighed in relief as they saw the orange filly accompanied by Cadance. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle had already made it, and were protectively being held back by their older sisters. Rainbow Dash swooped up to the filly and gave her a rough noogie in her mane.

"Hey, kid! Everypony was worried sick but, Y'know, I knew you were tough enough to make it back. How was your adventure?" She landed softly on the castle floor, a look of interest on her face.

"To be honest," Scootaloo sheepishly grinned. "I never want to do that again."

They all laughed, before Twilight peeked around Pinkie Pie, getting a better view of the Crusaders. She tutted. "Look at you all! You're all covered in dirt and leaves. Why don't you all go wash up, and then we can get some rest. We've got a wedding to do tomorrow!"

Sweetie Belle squealed in delight and ran from Rarity's grasp. Apple Bloom followed as they trotted up to Scootaloo.

"So, uh, what did the princess want?" Apple Bloom asked in a hushed voice. Sweetie Belle nodded, as if she were about to ask the same thing.

Scootaloo shrugged. "Just checking up on me, she's never really heard of me before. She's really nice."

"Really nice? Ah hear she's getting on Twilight's nerves pretty darn well." Apple Bloom said, and Scootaloo peeked over her friend's shoulder. Sure enough, every time Cadance turned around, Twilight was giving her a death glare.

"Wow." Was all she could say, and looked at her friends again. "Let's just hope she doesn't freak out or something." The two nodded in agreement.

"Where are all of the maids?" Cadance bit her lip. "I usually see one or two running around here."

"Maybe Princess Celestia told them to help out with the wedding?" Applejack suggested. Cadance nodded.

"I still need you girls to work on your preparations for the wedding. Catering, the afterparty, the dresses, music... And I need to go visit Princess Celestia to talk about the wedding. Who's going to take these three to their rooms?"

"We will!" A chant of voices called from the end of the hallway. Everypony turned around to see three unicorns standing at the end of the hallway, noses pushed to the ground in a deep bow. After four long seconds, they got back up. Scootaloo recognised them as Lyra Heartstrings, Minuette, and Twinkleshine.

"As your bridesmaids, it would be an honour if we could accompany these small ponies, we will make sure they do not get hurt any more, and show them to their place of stay."

Scootaloo almost burst out laughing at the formality of Lyra's voice. She covered her mouth with a hoof, blushing with guilt. Cadance gave the three a stern look, however did not say anything. At once, they all whimpered and nodded. "Come on, young... Ponies. Let us show you to the place where you shall be staying." This time, Scootaloo wasn't the only one to laugh. Minuette gave a smirk while nudging Lyra with her elbow. The sea-green unicorn gave her friend a dirty look, and they led the way down the hall and past the seven girls. Twinkleshine gave a devious look, and swept her tail underneath Twilight's hooves, causing her to trip over and fall down.

"Oops, sorry." Twinkleshine giggled along with the other bridesmaids, walking away with the confused fillies as Twilight gave more death glares.

"Wow! We're sleeping in here?"

Sweetie Belle jumped in excitement. The room they had walked to was huge, and could fit a bunch of her rooms inside. Three large queen sized beds, with soft white carpet flooring and a balcony with the view of Canterlot. Scootaloo instinctively leaped onto the bed, however scrambled out quickly as the soft mattress almost ate her up.

Minuette nodded in confirmation to Sweetie Belle. "Shall we show you the washroom?" They all nodded in agreement, and she opened a door made of fine, golden wood, and they all gasped in amazement once again. The bathroom was almost as large as their room, with a tub that could almost count as a swimming pool. It appears that the bridesmaids had heard of their need of a bath already, for the tub was already filled to the brim, with a mountain of bubbles towering over them.

"Last one in is a rotten apple!" Apple Bloom yelled, and took a running start. She leaped over the brim of the tub, and dove in, splashing them all. A few seconds later a yellow hoof could be seen through the bubble mass. "This is awesome!" She yelled, and dove back in.

"Well, I'm not being the rotten apple." Sweetie Belle smirked, and ran towards the tub. She climbed up onto the brim, and lowered herself in carefully. She beamed. "BUBBLES!" And swam towards the middle.

Scootaloo's turn. She took a running start, and leaped before the brim. Too early. Her wings buzzed rapidly as she glided over the edge, landing in the pool-tub with a soft splash.

"I don't ever want to leave this place!" Scootaloo lay on her back, smiling.

A long while after getting in the tub, all of them getting pruney hooves and the bubble mountain reduced to a bubble mound, they made their way out, sparkling clean. The bridesmaids gave them towels to dry off, and by the time they were all done, it was ten o' clock. The fillies let out big yawns, and drowsily wandered over to their beds.

"I'm glad I don't have to share a bed with y'all, like at Fluttershy's." Apple Bloom mumbled as she got under the covers. "Scootaloo kept stealin' the blankets."

"Only because Sweetie Belle kept kicking me..." Scootaloo yawned again, pulling the covers over her. "Goodnight."

The other two murmured words of "Goodnight" as well before Scootaloo assumed they fell asleep. As her heavy eyelids dropped over her eyes, she swore she could see the three bridesmaids hovering protectively around her bed, staring down at her.

The next day, Rarity opened the door to the Crusader's bedroom. The bridesmaids had left sometime in the middle of the night, apparently, as Scootaloo could no longer see them when she awoke from Rarity coming in.

"Good morning you three!" The elegant unicorn chirped happily, rousing the other two fillies. "Time to practice for the wedding!"

"Whatemsit." Sweetie Belle mumbled from under her pillow.

Rarity blinked. "Sweetie Belle, speak up. I didn't hear you."

"What. Time. Is. It." the young unicorn lifted herself up, before collapsing onto her pillow again. Rarity rolled her eyes.

"It's already six thirty! We let you three sleep in, since we all know you needed it. Now get ready, and meet us in the Grand Hall. I'll help you with your dresses once we're there." And with that, she left. Scootaloo groaned and rolled out of bed, onto the floor.

"C'mon girls, don't want to keep them waiting." She sighed, and the other two finally got up once she had opened the balcony curtain.

After brushing their hair, and having a quick breakfast from the maids, they trotted off to the Grand Hall with the help of directions from some Royal Guards. Once they got there, they saw that the entire hall had been decorated with bouquets of colourful flowers, large silk banners, with a large archway at the end on top of the stairs. Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie were all there, along with Princess Celestia, Cadance, and Shining Armour.

"Look who got up!" Rarity chuckled and ushered the three over to a small stand which was surrounded by mannequins and dresses. "These are your dresses, girls. Try them on before we do anything else." Rarity levitated over three smaller mannequins, each presenting a different dress. They all shared the same flower wreaths which sat on their heads.

All of their dresses were pink, which made Scootaloo sick at the thought of simply wearing it. Sweetie Belle's dress had three different lines of purple lace, Apple Bloom had floral patterns on the bottom of hers, and Scootaloo had real flowers going along the bottom edge of her dress, and also had a purple bowtie to wear.

"They're lovely!" Sweetie Belle squeaked in delight.

"I am not wearing pink in front of all of Canterlot." Scootaloo gagged, pushing her dress away.

Rarity sighed. "This is a royal wedding. You should be glad you even get to be in it. Now put on the dresses, please."

Scootaloo bit her lip and slipped easily into the dress. Despite the ease of getting the dress on, it was a perfect fit. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle both fit into theirs perfectly as well.

"They fit perfectly!" Apple Bloom beamed. Rarity grinned and after they had removed the dresses, put them to the side.

"That's great to hear. I don't want any trouble bigger than fixing Rainbow Dash's dress."

"Why are you guys wearing dresses? You want to look that fancy?" Scootaloo asked.

"Oh, I completely forgot to tell you girls! Cadance got rid of her old bridesmaids and instead made us her new ones." Rarity grinned sheepishly. "These dresses aren't my best work, but I think they're great for something put together last minute."

"Why did she get rid of her old bridesmaids?" Sweetie Belle asked, putting a hoof thoughtfully to her chin.

"She didn't say, and it's none of our business anyway. I'm sure she has a valid reason why she did what she did." Rarity huffed. "Now, we're going to practice in a few minutes. Take place at the door, you girls are going first.

Practice wasn't exciting at all for Scootaloo. She didn't have to wear her dress, nor did anypony else, which made it easier for her to bear, but didn't make it pass by any more quickly. Princess Celestia and Shining Armour stood at the end of the room, both underneath the flower arch. Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom would skip down the middle, of course in the real wedding holding baskets of flowers. After they took their place, the bridesmaids would walk down the aisle. After the bridesmaids took their spots on the stairs, Cadance would make her way down.

The doors opened, and the Crusaders bounded happily down the regal red carpet. The regal, red, long carpet. By the time they had reached the end Scootaloo's hooves were sore from bouncing up and down. Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack made their way down after them, all keeping their heads high with proud smiles on their faces.

"Perfect girls, no need to rush!" Princess Celestia encouraged. "Then of course, Cadance will enter."

As if on queue, the two guards standing by the door opened the double doors with their magic while remaining in their still position. The doors revealed the pink alicorn waiting patiently for her queue to come out. Scootaloo almost burst out laughing at Shining Armour's wide, loving eyes.

Cadance took her time walking down the aisle. Either that, or Scootaloo was in a trance. She couldn't help but admire the mare and her beauty. Of course, being the princess of love, she had a way with her inner and outer beauty.

"I'll say a few words, then we'll begin with the vows." Celestia nodded as the bride and groom brushed horns, a tradition for Equestrian Weddings. "Shining Armour, you'll get the ring from your best mare." Everypony peeked over the couple to look at Twilight. However the moment was broken as they discovered the lavender unicorn's absence.

"Hey... Has anypony seen Twilight?" Shining Armour frowned. They all looked around the room. No sight of any Twilight Sparkle. Just then the doors opened, enveloped in a purple aura.

'This can't be good...' Scootaloo thought to herself. Twilight would never be late to anything, especially a wedding practice she was in.

The guards stepped back in surprise as Twilight burst through the doors. "I'm here! I'm not going to stand next to her, and neither should you!"

Shining Armour gritted his teeth, ears pulled back. "I'm sorry, I... I don't know why she's acting like this." He explained to Cadance, who wore an annoyed expression on her face.

"Maybe we should just ignore her." She suggested. However, it seemed Twilight heard her.

"You have to listen to me!" Twilight shouted with even more annoyed expression. Her friends walked up to her, troubled looks on their own faces.

"Oh goodness, are you ok?" Fluttershy asked.

"I'm fine." She replied.

"Yer sure about that?" Applejack questioned suspiciously. Instead of saying anything, Twilight levitated the earth pony's hat to cover her face. As Applejack pulled the hat off, grumbling, Twilight walked up to the group.

"I've got something to say." Twilight stopped to point a hoof at Cadance. "She's evil!"

Shining Armour stood protectively in front of Cadance. Her friends gasped, with words of "Huh?" and "What?" chorusing from the mares. The guards gave each other confused looks.

Twilight didn't stop there. "She's been horrible to my friends-" Teleporting behind the couple, she began to creep up on Cadance, forcing her into a corner. "-She's obviously done something with her bridesmaids, and if that wasn't enough, I saw her put a spell on my brother that made his eyes go all-" She continued her statement by rolling both of her eyes in different directions. After the everypony gave her confused looks, she simply huffed and turned back to Cadance, a smug grin on her face.

Silence gripped the air. Tense looks came from everypony, not including Twilight and Cadance. The pink alicorn's face faltered, and she broke into tears. "Why are you doing this to me?" and ran off.

Nothing mattered to Scootaloo. Nothing. Nothing but the pink princess running off, with tears in her eyes and sobs in her throat. The world slowed down as the orange filly watched Cadance run off, and eventually disappear out of sight into the hallway.

"Cadance!" Scootaloo blurted out. She broke free from her position, chasing after the princess as fast as her hooves could carry her. Her desperateness to get to Cadance is what fuelled her as she followed the sounds of sobbing. She was so focused on her chase that she didn't even notice Apple Bloom calling her name, and her two friends giving chase after her. She was too focused to even hear the loud argument coming from the Ceremony Room. The sobbing sounds died out, leaving no trail for Scootaloo to follow. Her pace slowed until the pegasus had stopped in the middle of the hallway she was in.

"Scootaloo! Slow down!" Apple Bloom called. The world came back into focus as she turned around to see her two best friends panting as they trotted up to her. "I didn't know you ran that fast! Why did you run off like that?" Her yellow friend asked.

"I just... I needed to..." No matter how hard Scootaloo thought, she didn't really have a reason. Biting her lip, she shrugged. "I don't know. I just felt like I had to."

Sweetie Belle gave a single huff of a laugh as she caught her breath. "You do know that the princesses' room is over there, right? We could visit her any time." She pointed across the grand entrance they faced, to another hallway where beautiful golden doors were attached to the wall.

"Oh. Heh, right." Scootaloo blushed and together they trotted over to Cadance's room. There was no sobbing sounds, however after they knocked a faint choke could be heard.

"C-Come in." Cadance sniffled. The Crusaders opened the door to find Cadance sitting on her four-poster bed. The room did not have a balcony, however was bigger than the one they had stayed in. Sunlight streamed through the tall windows, and mannequins of ponies wearing suits and dresses were randomly placed around. Other than that, it was empty besides a small mirror and dresser.

Cadance's mane was an absolute mess. Stray strands of hair stuck out, and mascara was running down from her eyes. She straightened up as she saw the fillies walk in, and stopped crying. "Oh, it's you three. I-I'm sorry you had to see me like that back there."

"It's alright, princess," Apple Bloom smiled. "What Twilight said was uncalled for. We all know the truth.

"Y-You do?" Cadance looked shocked. She tensed for a few seconds before Apple Bloom spoke again.

"Uh-huh! You're the princess of love, you would never do anything to hurt Shining Armour!"

She sighed in relief. "Oh, right. Thank you Apple Bloom."

Hoofsteps could be heard coming from the hallway. Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Spike, Shining Armour, and Princess Celestia all came into the room.

"Heya princess, we thought we'd just check on ya." Applejack tipped her hat.

"I'm so sorry Cadance, Twilight usually isn't like this." Princess Celestia gave a sad smile. "Let's hope she comes and realises her mistakes."

"Honey, I am so sorry." Shining Armour walked forward, embracing Cadance tightly. "You won't have to worry about her being in the wedding any more. She's not my best mare."

Cadance looked at her fiance in shock. "Really? You did that for me?"

He smiled and nodded. "I don't want you two hating each other in the future, and this wedding is the best way to connect."

"Oh," Cadance blushed. "It will be fine. Speaking of Twilight, why don't I go talk to her? Knowing her, she would feel guilty for months."

"Are you sure?" Shining Armour asked cautiously, but Cadance nodded.

"I want to. You said that we should connect, and I don't want the poor darling to feel alone." Cadance got up, and walked to the other side of the room, and left the group of ponies in the room.

Scootaloo couldn't help but feel excited as she stood with Cadance and the rest of the Crusaders behind the doors. They did some more rehearsing until all Scootaloo thought about for the rest of the day was the wedding and what she had to do.

Finally, the trumpets sounded, and the doors opened. The two wedding helpers behind the doors with them waved for them to go, and Scootaloo gripped her basket of flower petals tightly. Joining her friends, she bounced into the aisle with her basket swinging back and forth, placing purple petals onto the carpet. Cadance followed after them, walking elegantly down the aisle.

The music continued even after the three had taken their spot on the stairs. Finally, the pretty pink alicorn arrived at the top of the stairs, her groom giving her a dazzling smile.

"Greetings everypony." Celestia started after the music had come to a stop. "We are gathered here today to celebrate the union of Princess Cadance and Shining Armour. Through the good days, and through the harsh days, they continued hoof in hoof, proving themselves worthy of not only eachother, but to each and every one of us. Princess Cadance and Shining Armour, it is my great pleasure to pronounce you-"

"STOP!""

Scootaloo looked to the doors, and sighed. Twilight stood in the doorway, a furious look in her eyes. Everypony began to mutter to eachother, and her friends gave dissapointed looks.

"Ugh!" Cadance stomped her hoof. "Why does she have to be so possessive of her brother?" The alicorn snapped. The wedding party gave her a surprised look, and she blushed. "I mean... Why does she have to ruin my special day?"

"Because it's not your special day, it's mine!" A familiar voice called from the doorway. Scootaloo looked back, and gasped. Beside Twilight, a pony that looked exactly like Cadance, scratched up and with a messy mane, stared her down. Gasps were emitted from the crowd, and some people even screamed.

"You!" The Cadance near Scootaloo shouted angrily. "How did you escape?"

Scootaloo looked at her in confusion. What was Cadance talking about?

"Let's just say that you should have better trained followers." Twilight smirked.

"Hmph!" Cadance huffed. "Clever, but you're still too late."

"A-ah don't understand! How can there be two of them?" Applejack asked the question everypony was asking themselves.

"She's a Changeling!" The Cadance beside Twilight stepped into the room. "She takes the form of somepony you love, and gains power off of feeding your love for them!"

Scootaloo shrieked as there was a sudden boom of magic beside her. "Cadance!" She yelled. The alicorn had been encased in a tall cocoon-like case of green magic. Scootaloo twitched as she watched the form of the young princess turn into a tall, black insect-like pony with dragon-like eyes.

She couldn't exactly explain it, but it made her feel more comfortable, yet also filled with fear.

The flames lowered down, and her true form was revealed. She cackled with laughter, and stared down at the shocked crowd.

"Indeed I am, princess! My name is Chrysalis, and I am the queen of the Changelings!"

Scootaloo felt inclined to go up to the Changeling queen. She felt like she would be safer. But she brushed those feelings aside as Chrysalis continued.

"Equestria has more love than any other place in this world. As we speak, my Changeling army is breaking through, ready to sap up so much of it!" Chrysalis giggled in delight, but Cadance growled in anger.

"Your army will never break through! Shining Armour's shield can stand everything!" She protested, and Twilight joined her in the hallway.

"I doubt that. Isn't that right, Shining Armour?" Chrysalis' horn lit up with a green hue, and Shining Armour's eyes glowed, and his head nodded slowly. Scootaloo gasped. Shining Armour was under Chrysalis' control!

"Queen Chrysalis." A voice boomed from the side. Everpony, even the Changeling looked back. Celestia, who had apparently avoided the magic, was stomping towards Chrysalis angrily.

"My name is Princess Celestia, the co-ruler of Equestria." She growled. "And I can protect my subjects... From you!" Princess Celestia leapt into the air, and fired a beam of yellow light at Chrysalis. The Changeling gasped and fired her own spell, and the two beams of magic met.

"No!" Chrysalis shouted. Celestia's magic was slowly descending further, just feet away from her. Chrysalis growled, and Shining Armour's eyes glowed again once more. The short beam of green light shot forward, and even Chrysalis was surprised when the beam of energy knocked Celestia to the ground.

The Changeling grinned, ignorant to Twilight runnning forward. She exchanged a few words with her mentor, and nodded. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy all nodded before tossing their dresses onto the floor, and racing out the door.

"Leaving so soon?" Chrysalis called. "I have something else to show you." Suddenly, the six stopped at the door, and turned around. Chrysalis looked down to Scootaloo, who flinched as her gaze turned from hatred to caring. "Caelia." Scootaloo flinched yet again. The name felt so familiar to her.

"I'm taking my daughter back with me!" Chrysalis proclaimed. Everypony looked confused, and Scootloo shrieked as Chrysalis bent down, and tapped the filly with her horn.

"Scootaloo!" Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle called. The pegasus felt a tingling sensation ripple down her body, and felt as if a big burden had been taken off of her. Everything felt weird. She could feel a strange source of power near her forehead, and she could barely even feel her wings. She looked down and gasped at her hooves, which were black and covered with holes.

Scootaloo looked up at Chrysalis, who was smiling sweetly. "My Caelia, I've awaited this moment." She spoke softly.

The filly looked back at her friends, and felt herself shatter into a million pieces. They looked at her with an expression she had never seen them look at her with before. Fear.

"Scootaloo... You're a Changeling..." Apple Bloom whispered, and the two slowly stepped back.

Author's Note

I changed the dialogue a little to make it more interesting to read. Anyways, second chapter! Woo!