//------------------------------//
// Chapter 8 
// Story: The Chaos Comes 
// by fatewing1 
//------------------------------//

Each of the friends slept later that day, aiming to leave around 10pm that night, so to avoid any unneeded attention. Unfortunately, their Elements and the Aspects, decided to twist fate. With a flash of light around each's head the color of the Element, their dreams changed.

Pinkie Pie hopped around, aware that she was in a dream and not caring. She was throwing a party, same as always, when she felt something off. She couldn't explain, it wasn't her Pinkie Sense, and it felt wrong. She looked around at her party, and found what was wrong. All of the guest had vanished, leaving only one pony there. She didn't know why, but that pony scared her. Still this was her party, and this was somepony new.
"Hi!" Pinkie called out, trotting over to the stranger. "I'm Pinkie Pie! What's your name?"
"You know me very well, Pinkie," the stranger said, her voice somehow the same as Pinkie's and yet not. Pinkie decided to look a little closer, and, upon finishing her inspection, recoiled in fear. The other pony looked almost exactly like her, except that her mane and tail were completely straight, and the ends were a blood red. The Not-Pinkie, turnd around, and revealed her most frightening feature. Above her too wide smile, were eyes that were almost all black. Only blue irises broke the field of darkness. "After all, I'm the real you."
"No you're not," Pinkie said, false humor in her voice, which cracked under her fear. "I'm the real me."
"Only half right," the Dark Pinkie said. "You are the Pinkie Pie that is released into the world, the one that is seen. I am the darkness, the evil that you harbor within your heart. The voice that you try to ignore or tune out that wonders what a pony's insides look like."
"You're wrong!" Pinkie Pie yelled, turning to run, only to find herself staring into those black orbs.
"You can't run from yourself," Dark Pinkie whispered, before those evil eyes widened in fear.
"BEGONE FOUL EVIL," a very large voice said, laughter evident in the female timber of it. "IT IS NOT TIME FOR THIS TRIAL."
"She will have to face me eventually," the dark mare said, fading into shadow. "And as she is, she will become mine." The shadows completely enveloped the evil Pinkie, and she was gone.
"Thank you strange voice!" Pinkie Pie said turning. "She really...scared...me..." Pinkie Pie fell silent, awe on her face. The source of the voice was another pony. It looked kinda like her, but again it was not. This was an alicorn, wearing a green cape with a gold balloon shaped clasp.
"Who are YOU?" Pinkie asked surprised.
"ALL THINGS COME TO THOSE WHO WAIT," the alicorn mare replied, revealing herself as the source of the large voice. "BUT FOR NOW, SLEEP..." The mare drew and released a breathe, and Pinkie saw no more.


Applejack was resting beneath the zap apple tree on her ranch, catching a quick catnapp before returning to harvesting. She was just about asleep when she smelled something weird. If she wasn't aware of the safety measures that her family had installed, she would of said it was fire. She followed her nose to the source only to start charging forward. Her home and barn were on fire! She ran for the well, thinking to go in to safe some pony, only to find that even it was on fire.
"Isn't it beautiful?" a mean prissy female voice asked. Applejack looked back behind her, only to turn around in shock. The pony behind her, looked a lot like her, and yet didn't. Her coat was too fierce a yellow, her mane and tail a fiery orange.
"I find that fire is the best way to express something," the strange mare continued. "What better way to say 'I love you all' than to set everything they love, and themselves, ablaze?" The obviously psychotic mare stared at the flames a little while, as Applejack studied the stranger closer. She finally got to the eyes, and drew back in fear. What she had thought was just a reflection of the conflagration befallen her home was not a reflection. The eyes of this strange pony were fire, somehow contained within the eye sockets.
"Who are you?" AJ finally asked. "I ain't ever seen anypony with eyes like yours."
"Why silly girl," the mare said. "I'm you. Your friends have seen these very eyes whenever you get passionate about anything. Those feelings deep inside, of burning all of your past behind you to ash, and starting over? That fire that's in your belly? That's all me." The mare finally looked away from the fire and looked at AJ, head cocked to the side. "I'm the real you."
"LIAR!" AJ shouted, the first statement she ever made that she wasn't sure to be honest. She knew of the darkness that this mare was bringing up, but that wasn't the real her, was it?
"Oh, you only wish," the mare said, then she suddenly went quiet. AJ felt another source of heat at her back, but this wasn't like the fire that consumed her home. This one felt like a hearth fire, warm and inviting.
"BEGONE, PARASITE OF THE DARK," a huge, powerful male voice said. "TROUBLE HER NO LONGER THIS NIGHT."
"She will have to face me for real some day," the fiery mare stated, before fading in the angry orange light. "And I WILL finally be free."
"NOT THIS NIGHT," the voice replied. "NOW LOOK AT ME APPLEJACK."
AJ looked behind and had to blink a few times in order to make sure she was seeing this right. An alicorn stallion was standing there, his appearance some how similar in all ways to Applejack's. He wore an earring with a topaz apple set in it.
"Who in all of tarnation are you?" Applejack asked, after finding her voice again.	
"WHEN YOU ARE READY TO TRULY KNOW THAT, I WILL TELL YOU," the stallion said, revealing himself as the source of the huge voice. "UNTIL THEN, SLEEP." He drew in a deep breath, and released it at AJ. She immediately fell into a peaceful dreamless slumber.


Rainbow Dash was living her dream. She was challenging the head of the Wonderbolts to a race. If she won, crossing the finish line nearly ten miles away, before Spitfire, she would be given immediate acceptance into the Wonderbolts. If she lost, as unlikely as that was she would be forced to re attend Flight School. She was at the starting line when she felt a chill run up her spine. This wasn't the chill of excitement though. This felt like fear. She looked at Spitfire, only to do a double take. The fiery mare she was suppose to be racing was gone. Instead, Rainbow Dash could of sworn that she was staring at herself in her old Shadowbolts costume. The eyes are what let her know that this wasn't a reflection. Instead of her rose irises, this pony's eyes were a uniform ruby red. There were no whites or a pupil. Only a cold, hard red.
"What's the matter, coward?" the dark costumed mare said. "Afraid to race a Shadow?"
"Who are you?" Rainbow Dash asked. "And who do you think you're calling coward?"
"The answer to both questions is the same, wimp," the doppelganger said. "You. You're only loyal when it's easy to you. When you know you'll succeed, or that if you did back down it would look bad for you. I at least don't hide the fact that I don't want to help them at all. I take great joy, true joy, at seeing my 'friends' hurt because I didn't help them."
"I'm not like that," Rainbow Dash said. "And I know that I'm nothing like you."
"Oh, but you are," Shadow Dash said. "At least deep down. Where the darkest corners of your heart lie, where there are no lies to cover the truth. I'm the voice that whispers deep down 'safe yourself, forget these losers.' You're so afraid that someone will find out that you're only loyal to yourself, that even your dream situation is you cheating past the entrance exams for the Wonderdolts."
"No it's not!" Rainbow Dash yelled angrily. But then she stopped and looked at the situation closer. She was cheating past the exams wasn't she? After all, she had failed out of Wonderbolts Boot Camp, because she couldn't be loyal to her wingmare, or the rules of the camp. Maybe this mare was right, maybe she was only loyal when it was easy.
"DON'T THINK THAT FOR A SECOND," a huge voice called from behind her, a prism shining from the same direction. "I KNOW YOU BETTER THAN THAT. BEGONE POISONER OF HEARTS. TONIGHT IS NOT THE TIME."
"She WILL face me in truth someday," the dark pegaseus said in parting, a shadow trail in her flight wake. "And she will be mine."
"BUT NOT TONIGHT," the voice said. "LOOK AT ME RAINBOW DASH."
She turned, and the sight waiting for her was not what she expected. There was an alicorn mare standing there, majestic as could be. She resembled Rainbow Dash, all the way down to her rainbow tail and mane. The alicorn wore a gold helmet with a lightning bolt etched into it.
"WHEN NEXT WE MEET," the mare said to the awestruck Rainbow Dash. "WILL YOU BE READY? DON'T ANSWER RIGHT NOW. FOR NOW, SLEEP." The mare took a deep breath and released it at Rainbow Dash. She then fell into a deep, dreamless slumber.


Fluttershy was in her cottage. She was looking for Angel Bunny, hoping to get him to take some medicine. She went out to the yard, noticing something strange. None of her animal friends were there. She went to her shed, thinking that maybe one or two of the squirrel families might know where they went. She opened the door into something straight from a horror movie. The room was somehow much larger than her shed. The walls were still wooden, though what type could not be determined, covered with blood as they were. At an examiner's table, there was a pegaseus, surrounded by the corpses of animals, torn to shreds. Angel Bunny's corpse was on the table, the pegaseus slowly peeling his skin off.
"Nothing felt as good as finally killing that stupid rabbit," the dark mare said. She turned to Fluuttershy, who let out a little shriek of fear. The mare looked like her, except for the eyes. While Fluttershy's were a pleasant blue, this stranger's eyes were a flat blue. And they shed constant tears of blood. "He was always treating us with disrespect, and was more rude to everyone than even I could be."
"Wh-wh-who are you?" Fluttershy whispered, fear and sadness coloring and breaking her voice.
"I am the darkness in your heart. I was let out twice before. Once when Discord worked his magic on us and then when Iron Will gave us those lessons. Unfortunately, you were able to get me back in this box before I could really have any fun with our animal friends." The Nightmare Pegaseus licked the blood from her knife. "As for my name, I am Shadowshy. I am all of your malice, the shadow that you hide when others are walking all over you." She then pointed her blade at Fluttershy. "I look forward to  the day YOU'LL be under this."
Fluttershy started to cry with fear. She then felt a warm presence at her side, shielding her from the darkness. She felt the outer edges of a great power being directed at Shadowshy, who seemed to have frozen in midstride.
"BE SILENT NOW, DARK CREATURE," a massive, yet kind voice said. "SHE IS NOT READY TO FACE YOU IN TRUTH JUST YET."
"She'll have to be soon," Shadowshy said, The Stare in her eyes, but it being somehow blocked. "And when she does, she will be on my table as my new toy. HE promised me."
"I KNOW HIS PROMISE, DARK FOOL,"the voice replied, the strength of The Stare somehow magnified and directed at the Nightmare. "AND I WILL NEVER ALLOW IT. BEGONE, AND DO NOT RETURN."
The dark mare suddenly gasped, before being wrapped in chains and locked in the shed. Fluttershy found herself outside of it, wondering where that voice was from.
"I AM HERE, DEAR CHILD," the voice said from behind her. "TURN AROUND."
Fluttershy turned to look at the speaker. There, right where she said she was, was an alicorn of magnificent beauty. Her pale pink mane and tail flowed in an ethereal wind, wearing shiny silver boots.
"NOW IS NOT RELlLY THE TIME FOR INTRODUCTIONS I'M AFRAID. SLEEP AND KNOW THAT SHE WILL NOT DISTURB YOU FOR WHILE." The mare took a deep breath and released it towards Fluttershy. The cream colored pegaseus curled up and slipped into a deep sleep.


Rarity was busy working on a major new dress. She could sense she was dreaming, a new design being born, so she began the meditation that would imprint the dress idea into her conscience mind. But as she started, she sensed a shift. The dress before horribly changed in every way. The colors inverted, the beautiful powder blue turning blood red, the purple trim turning a poisonous green. The material even changed. The soft velvet grew rougher, taking on the consistency of skin. When the garment started to suddenly rip and scream, Rarity started to scream in fear. Just as suddenly, everything returned to normal. Her fear was still sharp as her scissors, when she heard cruel laughter coming from behind her.
"AHAHAHA!" a mare's cruel laugh went. "I never dreamed that this would be so much fun!" Rarity turned to look at the mare, only to double take. The mare was an inverted version of herself. The white coat replaced with black, the purple mane and tail changed to a moss green. Most disturbing were the eyes. They were not inverted in color, as the rest had been. They were an evil red, glowing with the light of an inner evil. Right now they shone with a special cruelty.
"Who in Celestia's name are you?" Rarity asked the mare. "I've never seen a pony quite like you."
"Ah, dearie, have you really forgotten me so easily?" the mare replied. "I mean, I was your go to mare for quips against the upper crust after all. I am the darkness in your heart. While you take pleasure in watching others smile, I take pleasure in watching them cry, preferably from something I had said to them. My name is Cruelty."
"What utter nonsense," Rarity said. "I would never take pleasure from a pony's tears, even in the deepest part of my heart." Rarity glared at the mare. "So stop trying to scare me."
"Scare you?" Cruelty said. "No, if I had wanted to scare you, there were several thousand things I could have done beyond changing that dress." The dark mare's horn started to glow, the magic aura the same color as Rarity's. "I could have had that dress enfold you," the image appeared in Rarity's mind, "or shown you the process of where the skin came from," a skinned Sweetie Belle appeared and disappeared in a flash, "and many others beside." She walked closer to the shell shocked Rarity. "But instead, I've come to really test you mettle."
"BACK AWAY, FOUL THING," a voice, sounding like church bells right behind Rarity, commanded. "THIS NEITHER THE TIME NOR PLACE FOR THIS MATCH."
"I know, darling," Cruelty sneered. "I was merely introducing myself. Isn't that what proper ladies do?" Cruelty started to laugh derisively.
"YOU HAVE NEVER BEEN A PROPER LADY. YOU ARE BUT THE SHADOW THAT FOLLOWS," the voice replied. "BEGONE."
"I'm going," Cruelty flipped her mane as she walked out the door. "But she will face me again someday." With the last word, Cruelty slammed the door.
"I'M SORRY, RARITY," the voice said. "I WAS HOPING THAT YOU WOULD NEVER MEET THAT NIGHTMARE."
Rarity turned to face the voice, only to drop her jaw. Before her eyes was quite probably the most beautiful alicorn mare she had ever seen. All of the grace of every noble mare seemed distilled and concentrated into this one mare. All of the beauty of the three alicorn princesses seemed to have found the same vessel. The mystery mare wore a horn ring with a diamond in it.
The mare laughed, a pleasing sound. "I MUST ASK YOUR FORGIVENESS, BUT I WILL NOT BE REVEALING MY NAME TO YOU. HOPEFULLY SOON YOU WILL BE ABLE TO GUESS IT FOR YOURSELF. FOR NOW THOUGH, SLEEEEP..." The mare took a deep breath and released as a cloud of dust and mist at Rarity. The white unicorn found herself drifting into a dreamless slumber.

The six friends all woke near the deadline they had set. Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash had the strangest feeling that they were forgetting something. Something important and dangerous. But for the life of them they could not remember. But Pinkie Pie did. She was well acquainted with the dark mare within her. She had thought that she had died, especially when she didn't appear after the Mirror Lake incident. But somehow she had returned, and Pinkie was not going to allow her to hurt her friends. Not in this world. She walked with her friends, her thoughts a more chaotic mess then normal, trying to figure out how to contain the evil within her.
"Are you alrigh' sugarcube?" Applejack asked.
"Of course AJ!" Pinkie lied. " What would make you think I'm not?"
"You're walking," Rainbow Dash replied. "Normally, you'd be bouncing at the idea of meeting new ponies."
"Oh don't worry about me, silly billies," Pinkie said. "I just didn't sleep well."
"Alrigh'," Applejack replied. "But if there's anything wrong just let us know. We are your friends after all." Applejack walked away after patting Pinkie Pie on the shoulder.
"That's what I'm worried about," Pinkie whispered to herself. "She always targets my friends first."