//------------------------------//
// Chapter 4 
// Story: The Chaos Comes 
// by fatewing1 
//------------------------------//

	Twilight woke with a start. She looked around, finding herself in her room in Cantorlot Castle. She was a little confused. "Was what had happened yesterday just a dream?" she asked herself, hopping out of bed. However, her feet met something that was not her floor. It was warm and furry. She gave another start, and jumped back up on her bed. But it was only one of her friends, Applejack. When she finally calmed down, she saw that Applejack wasn't the only one in the room. All of her friends were there, asleep, resting from their toils. Twilight Sparkle sat down, her head hung low. Yesterday had not been a dream. And that meant that her dream just now, had been real. She had met the enemy, and his name was Chaos. And he was more truly evil than anything they had ever faced before. Discord had been their most trying enemy, but he hadn't been really evil, so much as maliciously tricky. Nightmare Moon had been evil, but she had also been weakened from her imprisonment. Chrysalis had only wanted to feed her hive. Sombra had been the only adversary that had been anywhere close to this evil, and that powerful. And he didn't compare to the tar colored alicorn in her dreams. She shuddered a little thinking of him. 'Surrender, and I won't reduce all you love to less than dust,' he had said. She didn't want to hand her home over to such a monster. She looked at all of her friends, who had started to stir. But she didn't want to see if he could make good on his threat.
The rest of the Bearers got up. Applejack stretched up, Pinkie Pie as well only more resembling a cat as she did. Rarity woke, stretched her neck and went over to the mirror to take care of her hair. Fluttershy gave herself a little shake, then took off for the restroom. Rainbow Dash wasn't in the room, choosing to sleep on a cloud as per usual. She got up and flew into the room. After they were all more awake they checked up on Twilight. She was still sitting on her bed, but she was crying quietly. Everypony rushed forward, trying to comfort their friend.
"What's wrong, sugarcube?" Applejack asked, worry evident in her voice.
"What's wrong, dear?" Rarity asked, her voice soft.
"Did you have a bad dream?" Fluttershy murmured.
"Don't worry silly!" Pinkie Pie said, pulling Twilight into a surprise hug. "We'll chase those mean ol' nightmares away!"
"Yeah!" Rainbow Dash said. "No one makes my friends cry. Not even bad dreams."
Twilight started to shake. Her friends let go of her, looking worried, until she started to laugh. She was suddenly very happy, her fears forgotten, or at least suppressed. She kept laughing, truly glad that her friends cared so much for her. She finally quieted down, a smile plastered to her face. Her friends looked at her, small smiles of their own, and knew she was better. Suddenly, Applejack facehooved.
"That's right," she muttered. Then spoke up. "Twi, we were asked to tell ya' that that feller, Fatewing, wants to talk to us all. He wants us all to meet him in the Star Swirl the Bearded wing or somethin'." 
"That's right," Rainbow Dash said. "And he looked all serious about it to."
"Thanks girls," Twilight said. She started getting everything around. She levitated her crown/Element onto her head, and then opened a specially enchanted safe. Out of it she pulled the other Elements of Harmony, and quickly gave them to her friends, each Element almost flying to its wielder on their own.
"What are we gonna need these for?" Rainbow Dash asked, as Loyalty secured itself around her neck. "We got bad guy butt to kick?"
Twilight laughed. Then she stopped and frowned a little. "Yes," she said. "I had a nightmare just now. In it, the pony that was responsible for the attack on our home told me to surrender."
"And you told him no, right Twi?" Applejack said. Honesty was secure around her throat as well.
"I didn't get the chance to say yes or no. But, in truth, I wanted to surrender," Twilight said, tears thick in her voice.
"Why?" Fluttershy asked, her voice reflecting the Kindness on her neck.
"Because..." Twilight started to cry, "Because he threatened to destroy all of you." Her tears fell in earnest. The thought of losing her friends was too much. Suddenly, sh was buried in a hug from all of her friends. She accepted the warmth.
"Silly Filly! You shouldn't worry about us," Pinkie Pie laughed. Laughter decorated her neck.
"Let us worry about you," Rarity said. Generosity glittered on her throat.
Twilight felt another tear leave her eye, only not one of fear but of gratitude. Her friends truly cared. She hugged them back. "But friends do worry fr each other after all," she said. "That's what makes them friends." Her Element, Magic, rested on her head. Suddenly, all of them started to glow, their power flowing. The girls did not find themselves taking their standard formation though. Instead, they felt as if a huge shield suddenly protected them. Twilight felt lighter, the fear and grieve from her dreams easing off of her, becoming but a memory. Each of the girls felt their worries vanishing, leaving only their friendship behind, it rapidly growing to fill the void left behind.
As suddenly as it had begun, the phenomenon ended. The feeling still remained though. They all took a step back and studied their Elements. They still held a small glow, but were otherwise as they always were.
"What in tarnation was that?" Applejack asked.
"I don't know," Twilight answered. "I've never heard of something like that before."
"It was your friendship," a male voice explained. "Made nearly tangible by the Elements of Harmony, giving the correct way to repair the damage that Chaos had inflicted." Fatewing walked into the room. He still looked as Twilight had last seen him, but something seemed off. With her Element still glowing slightly, she had a hard time looking away from the strange bracelet that he wore on his left foreleg.
"I came to check up on you all," the dark alicorn explained. "I was not expecting you all to have unlocked that particular aspect of your Elements."
"What do you mean 'that particular aspect' ?" Rainbow Dash asked, her eyes drawn to the helmet strapped to his side. "I thought that the Elements were just used for kicking bad guy butt."
"For the most part, they are," Fatewing replied. "But that is not their actual purpose. They were created to wield the true power of Harmony, of Friendship. The reason they work so well on most bad guys is that they are not in Harmony themselves."
"So what yer saying," Applejack tried to summarize, studying the earring Fatewing was wearing. "Is that the Elements of Harmony are just helping us better express our friendship?"
"Yes, and no," Fatewing clarified. "They allow you to wield your friendship in the best way for each situation. You have only ever used them as weapons against Disharmonious foes. They worked on Nightmare Moon because she was not at Harmony with herself. She questioned why she had to do what she was doing. They worked so well on Discord because he was the very Spirit of Disharmony. Not that he has found friendship, you would find the Elements all but useless against him. They also would have never worked against Sombra. He had come to accept what he was, and he didn't care. While evil, he was still at Harmony, both with himself and with his true weakness."
"So the Elements only work on people that aren't truly able to accept themselves?" Fluttershy asked quietly, her attention on Fatewing's boots.
"Yes, Fluttershy," Fatewing replied. "It also explains why just now, they helped to remove all of your negative worries. They were bringing their Bearers into Harmony." He sighed sadly. "They are, however, almost useless against the one who leads the newest threat though."
"Who is he and why are they useless?" Rarity questioned, her eyes not quite leaving the the ring Fatewing had on his horn.
"Oh, oh I know!" Pinkie Pie said, raising her hoof in the air. "He's a big ol' meany that knows he's evil. He's a Nightmare from a time before Equestria that was sealed away forever, but he somehow escaped and is trying to take ver everything with evil clones of the ponies and what nots that fight him," she took a deep breath, "Right?!" She smiled at Fatewing, eyeing his cloak.
"Sweety," Rarity began. "There is no way.."
"That's about right, Pinkie," Fatewing said.
"YAY!" Pinkie whooped.
Fatewing turned and left the room. Meet me in the library in about-" he suddenly stopped talking, his eyes going hard, wrath rolling off of his coat.Suddenly the girls felt it too. A cold, and almost evil feeling draft had blown in from the direction of, "LUNA!" Fatewing roared. He ran down the hall, putting on his helmet and drawing his sword as he went. His speed created a minor vacuum behind him, causing many paintings and statues to fall over as he went. The girls followed him, not near as fast, fearful of whatever was behind this weird feeling.