They ran through many hallways, following the wreckage that Fatewing left behind. They had no idea where they were going until they passed the highly stylized moon.
"Why are we heading towards Princess Luna's room?" Fluttershy asked, just a little to quiet for anypony else to hear.
"Why are we going to Luna's room, Twi?" Applejack asked. "Wouldn't she be asleep right now? What with her bein' the Princess of the Night and whatnot."
"I don't know," Twilight replied, a sudden memory flashing through her mind making her cold. "But I can guess. And I hope I'm wrong." That statement froze her friends in their tracks for a second. Twilight hated being wrong. If what she guessed was so bad, did they want to find out the truth? They still followed their friend though, knowing that she was going to need them.
They rounded another corner to find Fatewing blasting Luna's bedroom doors to splinters. He charged in as soon as the dust settled, the Element Bearers on his heels. What they saw there made all of them freeze. There were three alicorns in the room before they got there. One was Princess Luna, somehow seeming younger and weaker than she had ever looked before. For some reason she was covering her cutie mark, an expression of pain and shame evident. The other alicorn mare was pitch black, as tall as Celestia, and was the subject of children's horror stories still. Somehow Nightmare Moon had her own body, and stood over Luna gloating. The third alicorn was unknown to five of the heroes, but was well known to Twilight and Fatewing. Twilight's face blanched, the blood draining out of it in total fear. Fatewing's face contorted in such a fit of rage, that his companions all took a step back. His mane and tail started to whip as if tossed in a storm, and his eyes and cutie mark started to shine with a fierce silver light. The rasp of his sword leaving its scabbard was the very whisper of death. Both of the alicorns that knew him understood now. Chaos had come. And he had his lieutenant. Nightmare Moon, and Chaos turned their attentions from Luna and faced the newcomers squarely.
"So the Elements of Harmony come to this weakling's rescue once more," Nightmare Moon sneered. "Too bad. I was starting to have fun." She kicked Luna hard, knocking the smaller alicorn over. She then dashed for the window and vanished through it as a cloud of vapor. Chaos chuckled.
"It really is too bad," the tar colored alicorn said. He faced Fatewing, the scene appearing as a twisted reflection. Certain obvious details allowed the Bearers to really tell the difference, but without them, they could be the same pony. Chaos's wings, mane and tail were all various colors of fire, and he had three horns. Fatewing's wings still looked like normal wings, but his power was flickering off of them, streamers of silver flame coming from both wingtips. His eyes were lost behind the silver light of his rage, and his mane and tail resembled a flag in a storm. Chaos turned to leave, only for Fatewing to attack him. Fatewing didn't get very far. Twilight and Rarity grabbed him with their magic. He struggled, his strength almost enough to break out by itself. But then he saw who was within his path of ruin and just stopped. Luna lied not five feet from him, weak and bleeding. He hung his head, a tear falling. Chaos chuckled, derision and scorn within it, and flew out the window.
"It seems that you have not heeded my warning, Twilight Sparkle!" the evil alicorn called as he faded. "So be it!"
Twilight rushed to Luna's side,tears of fear falling again, the light of her Element fading back to a standard crystal. Chaos knew she meant to fight him, and she simply knew that he would make good on his threat. But those were worries for another time. She started to scan Luna for serious wounds, calling each of her friends to action as she did.
"Applejack, we're going to have to move her to the infirmary."
"Fluttershy, see if you and Rarity can make some bandages from the curtains to bind this wound."
"Rainbow Dash, hurry to the nearest guard and tell them to get Princess Celestia."
"Pinkie Pie, try to keep her conscious, she may have a concussion."
"Fatewing," she stopped. "I think it's time for an explanation."
"You're right," Fatewing said, voice flat. "Get comfortable. I'll explain everything I can when Celestia and Discord get here. And we'll be here a while after."
Twilight turned away from Luna to glare at Fatewing. "I demand the explanation now. Princess Luna is laying wounded on the ground in front of you. If Rarity and I hadn't stopped you, you would have crushed her in your drive to kill Chaos," the young alicorn marched up to the dark stallion. "Explain what is going on NOW." Her friends looked at her. She didn't seem to notice, but she was glowing. The Element of Magic upon her head was the source of it. She had also used the Royal Cantorlot Voice, and the power behind it had blasted out the windows.
Fatewing looked chagrined. "You do deserve an explanation. But I want to make sure that my best friend's daughter is okay before I risk the lot of you trying to blast me to bits," he looked Twilight in the glowing eyes, his own matching the glare in both light and severity. "Is that alright with you, child?"
"Fatewing! Enough!" Celestia had finally arrived. "I will not have you talking to my student like that." The alabaster princess turned to the guards that had entered with her. "Take my sister to the infirmary. Have the healers examine her for anything truly serious, and begin treatment immediately. Keep at least ten guards posted around her room, another ten at the entrances to her floor and another five at the entrances to the healing wing in general. No one other than the healers and myself is to so much as look at the healing wing without having to get through you all."
"Yes Princess," the head guard saluted. He than began to give Celestia's orders out to the rest, Rainbow Dash coming back in shortly after they had left.
Twilight and Celestia turned to Fatewing. "Now start explaining, Fatewing," the Solar Princess commanded. "Or I will start interrogating."
Fatewing stood up from his slouch, and seemed even angrier than when he had charged down the hall. "Don't assume to threaten me Celestia," his voice was sharper than the blade he was levitating back into his sheath. "I am far older and stronger than you. I will give the explanation you all seem to want. But only after Discord gets here. For what I'm about to tell you is important to him as well." There was no compromise in the stallion's voice. The Fatewing that had joked with Twilight in the throne room was gone. At the same time this was not the Fatewing that had stood against Chaos in her nightmare either. This was a Fatewing that seemed in more ways than one, older and more dangerous than the rest. This was a warrior that had seen a lot of bloodshed, and still stood before them all.
They didn't have to wait very long, a mere five minutes. But when Discord did show up, he did not want to enter the powder keg that was the atmosphere. So the draconaquis entered silently, and sat the same.
"Now that everyone is ready," Fatewing began, some of the tension leaving his shoulders. "I can start my tale. Many of you will not believe a single word I utter. But I swear that everything I'm about to say is the Truth."
Applejack gave a small shout as her Element started to glow. The orange light passed over every pony, but somehow seemed to stick to Fatewing. "And now that I have a guarantee of Honesty, let's start."