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/ Chapter 3/ Story: Inner Demons/ by Lionblaze103/-/

Twilight Sparkle let out a pained groan as she floated back to the realm of the conscious. Waking up was not a very pleasant experience for her. Her head was pounding like somepony had tried to play a drum solo on it, and her whole body felt as though it were on fire.

Twilight begrudgingly cracked open her eyes, and regretted it almost immediately as the harsh light only served to make her headache even worse. Twilight's eyes watered in irritation, but she resisted the urge to just close them again and go back to sleep. As Twilight's eyes finally began to adjust she could just make out a grouping of dark blobs at the edge of her vision.

As she continued to stare at them the blobs began to mold into vaguely familiar equine shapes before gaining the distinct features of her five friends. "Ugh," she groaned, her muscles screaming at her as she moved a foreleg to her head, "What happened?" In an instant Twilight was swarmed upon by her friends.

"Twilight you're okay!" Pinkie exclaimed.

"We're all mighty glad that you're alright sugarcube." Applejack told her.

"Yes darling," agreed Rarity, "You gave us quite the scare there."

"Ah, I knew she'd be fine." Dash said nonchalantly, though her eyes told a completely different story.

"Don't give me that Dash," Rarity said, "You were just as worried as the rest of us."

"Ah, whatever." Dash retorted, waving a hoof dismissively. Fluttershy was the only one who didn't speak, instead merely offering her a consoling smile.

"What... What happened to me?" Twilight croaked. Upon hearing this everypony's eyes widened and they looked at her in surprise.

"Don't you remember darling?" Rarity questioned.

"No," Twilight said, shaking her head, "The last thing I remember is being in Sombra's trap, and... and a voice?" The others shared a look, and for a moment Twilight worried that they might think she was crazy.

"Well Ah can't rightly say Ah know what happened to ya," Applejack started, turning to face her other friends, "Actually I don't think that any of us can."

"I can." came a voice, startling everypony. They all quickly turned around to see the large regal form of Princess Celestia walking in.

"Princess Celestia!" Twilight exclaimed joyously.

"Hello Twilight," Princess Celestia greeted, smiling at her, "I'm glad to see that you are okay." Princess Celestia then turned to face the others before speaking, "Would the rest of you please wait outside? I have something I wish to discuss with Twilight alone." Rainbow Dash opened her mouth as if to say something but was silenced by Applejack putting a hoof on her shoulder and shaking her head.

Begrudgingly Rainbow let herself be led out of the room followed by her other three friends. Once the door was shut and the two were finally alone Celestia turned back to look at Twilight, a somber expression on her face. "Princess?" she questioned, startled by her mentors sudden change in demeanor, "Is something wrong?"

Princess Celestia let out a long sigh. "I had hoped to forgo this longer," she said, "Perhaps indefinitely, but now I realize that that was foolishness on my part."

"Forgo what?" Twilight asked, more worried about the Princess than she was about herself.

"Before we continue any farther you must understand that all of this was my fault." Celestia told her.

"What's your fault?" Twilight questioned, "What's happening?"

"You have something sealed away inside of you Twilight," Celestia said, staring at her sadly, "A monster."

"A-A monster?" Twilight stuttered, "W-What do you mean a monster?"

"I mean a creature that cares not for the lives of others, be them ponies or otherwise," Celestia said, somberly, "A beast of unfathomable power who would destroy all he got his claws on merely for his own amusement. A beast known only as the Nine-Tailed Fox, and it's inside of you Twilight."

"I-I don't understand Princess," Twilight said, "Why is it inside of me? And how could it be your fault?"

"It is my fault, Twilight," she answered, "Because I am the one who sealed it inside of you."

"I don't understand Princess. How? Why?" Twilight questioned.

"I sealed it inside of you out of my own selfish desires, Twilight," Celestia admitted, unable to look her in the face, "The day you lost control of your magic I saw your true potential, both as my student and as a pony. I knew then that you would be the perfect vessel for the Element of Magic."

"That day I took you under my wing to try and teach you as much as I possibly could before Nightmare Moon returned. What you do not know however was that the very same day was the day that I sealed the Nine-Tailed Fox inside of you."

"But why Princess?" Twilight questioned.

"There is something that even you do not know about the Elements of Harmony Twilight," Celestia told her, "As you already know each of the Elements needs a living vessel through which to channel their magic, hence the Element bearers. What you do not know, however, is that the Element of Magic also acts as a conduit for the other five Elements."

"It is because of this that the Element of Magic puts an immense strain on its bearer. I was only able to wield it because I am immortal. I wouldn't- I couldn't risk the Elements of Harmony failing. I couldn't risk loosing Luna again." Upon hearing Celestia's confession tears started to form in Twilight's eyes.

"Princess."

"I had to ensure that you were strong enough to wield the Element OF Magic, that is why I sealed the Nine-Tailed Fox inside of you. Now, however, the seal is leaking and the Nine-Tails seeks to escape back into Equestria by taking over your body. You're in danger and it's all my fault."

Princess Celestia squeezed her eyes shut, tears of her own forming. Suddenly she felt herself wrapped in a warm embrace, and her eyes widened in surprise. Just then Twilight said the three words that Celestia knew she didn't deserve to hear.

"I forgive you."

Celestia was unable to reign in her emotions any longer and allowed a flow of tears to slide down her face as she returned Twilight's embrace.

"Thank you."

The two stayed like that for a few more minutes before Celestia stood up and dried the tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry that I can't stay longer, but I must attend to my duties."

"Don't worry Princess, I understand." Twilight told her, giving her a warm smile. As Celestia turned to leave a question formed inside of Twilight's head. "Wait!" she called out, catching the Princesses attention, "What do I tell my friends?"

"That is not my decision to make. You alone are the one who must decide that."

With that Princess Celestia took her leave, leaving Twilight alone with her thoughts. 'What should I do?' she wondered to herself, 'Should I tell them? How would they react? Will they really still accept you?' Twilight did a back take when she came to the startling realization that the last thought had not come from her.

Suddenly Twilight found herself standing ankle-deep in a large, dark pool of water. An unnatural chill sent shivers up Twilight's spine as she looked around the dark, damp room. The walls appeared to be made out of metal, and pipes protruded from several spots in the walls before extending out into several connecting corridors.

"W-Where am I?" Twilight questioned, startled by her sudden change in scenery.

"This is your psyche." a voice deep as thunder growled.

Twilight whipped around only to find herself face to face with the giant red eye of an even more enormous orange beast glaring at her. "Gyaaaaaah!" Twilight let out a screech before pinwheeling backwards as fast as she could before she tripped, landing on her flank with a large splash.

Twilight looked back up to where she had been previously, and finally noticed that there were large red bars blocking the way of the creature, effectively creating a cage. Now that she was further away she could fully make out the beast. It was the largest thing that she had ever seen, even bigger than an ursa minor, and it had deep, blood-red eyes with slitted pupils that were as large as a pony. The beast also appeared to resemble either a fox or a coyote.

"W-What are you?" Twilight questioned once she finally found the will to speak again.

The fox bared his teeth at her and growled, his tails whipping around behind him. "What do you think?" Twilight took notice of the number of tails he had and realization sparked in her eyes as she gasped.

"You're the Nine-Tailed Fox?" He growled in affirmation. "But why am I here?"

"Because I brought you here."

"But why? What do you want with me?"

"I thought that we could have a little chat."

"A... chat? About what?"

"Your friends."

"M-My friends? What about my friends?"

"What will they do once they learn of me?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, will they still accept you as their friend?"

"Of course they will! I mean why wouldn't they?"

"Because you're a monster."

"I'm not a monster! You're then monster!"

"Yes, but will they be able to tell the difference?

"Of course they will!" Twilight exclaimed, suddenly feeling unsure of herself, "I mean they are my friends aren't they?"

The Nine-Tails faded silently back into the darkness, having accomplished what he had set out to do. The last thing to fade was his malicious grin.

"O-Of course they are," Twilight continued to ramble, unaware of the Nine-Tails' absence, "They accept me for who I am. They know I'm not a monster... don't they? Don't they?! But what if they do? What if they look at me and all they see is a monster?! What if-"

"Twilight!" Applejack's voice broke through Twilight's thoughts, startling her. Twilight took a deep breath as she gazed at her surroundings and realized that she was back in her hospital room surrounded by her friends.

"Oh, hey girls." she greeted them.

"Ya okay Twi?" Applejack questioned, "Ya kinda spaced out there for a bit."

"I'm alright Applejack." Twilight assured her, forcing a smile onto her face.

"Are you sure darling?" Rarity asked, "You seem a bit pale."

"I'm fine Rarity," she answered, "I was just..." Twilight paused for a moment, searching for the right word, "...thinking." Twilight could tell that her friends didn't buy it, but they didn't push it.

"Okay darling," Rarity told her, "But if you ever need anything just tell us."

'Should I tell them?' Twilight wondered to herself, 'Of course I should, they're my friends, they won't think any differently of me.'

"Listen girls, I need to tell you something."

"Sure sugarcube, what is it?" Applejack questioned.

Twilight looked around at the expectant faces of her friends and opened her mouth to speak only to find it dry. It was then that the Nine-Tails' words once again rang in her head. 'Will they still accept you as their friend? You're a monster. Will they be able to tell the difference?'

Twilight couldn't help but imagine what would happen if they really did think she was a monster.

"I can't believe I ever thought myself friends with such an uncouth monster." Rarity sneered at her.

"You're a big meanie pants, I can't believe I threw parties for you." Pinkie spoke, her mane and tail flat.

"So not cool Twilight." Dash said.

"Ah can't believe ya lied to us." Applejack said, shaking her head sadly.

"How dare you pretend to be our friend!" Fluttershy said, looking angrier than Twilight ever remembered seeing her.

"P-Please," she stuttered, "You don't understand, I'm not a-"

"Monster!" Pinkie called out, cutting her off.

"Monster." Rarity agreed.

"Monster."

"Monster."

"Monster."

"I'm not a monster!"

"...Twilight. Twilight!"

Twilight was suddenly snapped out of her fantasy to see a stallion in a doctor's coat. "Hello there," he greeted Twilight, "My name is Dr. Horse, I'm the head doctor at Canterlot General Hostpital. Would I be correct in assuming that you are Twilight Sparkle?" Twilight simply nodded in response.

"Good," he continued, "You have probably already been made aware of this, but you have been given a clean bill of health and may go home soon. I just need to talk to you for a little bit, is that okay?" Twilight nodded again. "Good. Now I'll just give you a basic rundown as I'm sure you're eager to leave."

"When you were brought here three days ago you had sustained a few cuts and bruises, but nothing that was too pressing. Our main concern were the burns."

"Burns?" Twilight questioned.

"Yes, burns." he said, "It appeared as though you had suffered several magic induced burns. We tried to treat the burns, but no matter what we did or what kind of magic we used your body rejected the healing."

"But I don't feel any burns." Twilight argued.

"Yes, and that's the amazing part," he told her, "This morning your burns just started healing and within minutes they were completely gone. It was as if something had just willed them away." Twilight swallowed nervously at this revelation. "Anyways after that we ran a few tests on you, but everything popped up normal which brings us to where we are now."

"At any rate you're free to go, but I suggest taking it easy for a little while just in case." With that the doctor trotted out leaving Twilight with her friends.

"Well you heard the stallion Twi," Applejack said, "Why don't we get you home."

"That sounds great," Twilight said, flashing her a smile, "I am getting a little bit homesick."

"Then it's settled, "Rarity agreed, "Next stop Ponyville."

Deep within the Everfree a dark blue mist writhed before coalescing into the shadowy form of a pony. The pony's eyes opened to reveal deep turquoise orbs with slitted pupils. "Soon." she muttered, thinking through the week's events.