//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: The Secret(That We Never Really Knew We Had) // Story: The Goddess Inside Us All // by That_G3_Obsessive //------------------------------// [Give me the mic.] Hey. Rainbow Dash here. Sorry about Twilight's total drama queen ending there, and her rambling. Before I continue the story, let me clarify a few things about the balcony-incident. [Oh, no. You are not getting this back now. It's my turn.] Now, to business. I did not push her off the balcony, I only gave her a helpful shove towards the edge to give her confidence. I didn't know that she would pitch off the edge, and if she did, that she would just open her wings like we've been practicing. Not her freaky horn-magic. Fast-forward to the present. Now you know why I was so angry at Twilight. When I said that we were leaving, I lied. The rest of us were just waiting outside the throne room while Twilight and Celestia had their little "talk". I was pacing in front of the enormous doors, impatient for Twilight to come out. The others kept their distance from me, sensing that I was in a bad mood, which was fine by me. The last thing I needed was for somepony to stick their nose where it didn't belong. Anyway, I got impatient pacing, and went to listen in on their conversation. "Uh, Rainbow?" Applejack looked nervous. "I don't think that you should listen in on that there conversation. It's supposed to be, uh, private?" "Relax, Applejack." I shrugged and kept listening. "I won't get caught." As I moved my ear along the wood, I caught occasional snatches of conversation. History, alicorns, Imperia, Luna, etc. I didn't really understand what I was listening to until I caught a good reception. "--have sensed an alicorn host." Celestia's voice carried through the thick doors. "W-what?" Twilight sounded confused. I wondered what they were talking about, and what alicorn hosts were. I kept listening. "And they are standing in this very room," the princess continued. "Standing here?" Twilight repeated. "But there's nopony here but... y-you mean..." she trailed off, and there was the sound of hoofsteps, like she was backing up. "No, no, no, no!" she cried. "That's right, Twilight." Celestia's voice was hard as rock. "You are hosting an alicorn. You are a goddess." I heard the sound of Twilight flopping on the marble floor, and I imagined her crying in shock, staring at nothing. It, surprisingly, wasn't that hard. "Your friends can come in now," Celestia continued. I felt the doors shift beneath my cheek, and tried to scramble backwards, but it was too late. I did an epic face-plant in front of everypony. "Told ya'," Applejack whispered as she trotted past me. I glared at her smug, orange face. "R-Rainbow Dash?" Twilight looked at me, and I saw her eyes were red. "W-were you spying on us?" "Ye-NO!" I yelped. "I was, ah, inspecting this door. I thought there was a scratch on it, but I was wrong, he he..." I trailed off. What a pathetic lie. [You weren't supposed to agree with me, Twilight.] "She was eavesdroppin'," Applejack cut in. Twilight giggled, despite her ragged condition. Princess Celestia turned to me. "So you know why you're here," she said in that hard, stern voice. I gulped. "Uh, you told Twilight about alicorn hosts, and how she was one..." I glanced at Twilight, whose brief smile had now disappeared. "That's not all of it." Celestia turned away, staring at the domed ceiling. "There were six guards of Imperia and Astros. Twilight is one of them. Can you guess the other five?" Twilight looked around at the rest of us, desperate for an answer, but I was drawing a blank. This was egghead stuff. Why would I study history? "I-I don't know, princess," Twilight stared at the floor, a blush forming on her cheeks. Suddenly, Pinkie raised her hoof. I hadn't heard from her in a while, which was odd. I hadn't even thought about her unusual silence. "It's us, isn't it?" she asked in a grave tone that was not the Pinkie Pie I knew. More like her freaky alternate self. I shuddered as I remembered her talking to the turnips. Celestia nodded, still not looking at us. I could not believe this was happening. I was possessed?!? "Get her out of me!" shrieked Rarity, turning in circles frantically. I sat down, thinking about the information that had just been dished out to me. "What are their names?" Twilight nearly whispered to Celestia. The white alicorn snapped out of her trance and focused on her student. "You are Arcana," she said. She turned to the rest of us. "Applejack, you are Probita, Fluttershy is Benevolentia, Rarity is Liberalis, Pinkie Pie is Risumna, and you, Rainbow Dash," she turned to me last. "You are Fidelita. These goddesses do not control you, only reside in you mind since your birth. They are the reason you are who you are, what you look like, your special talents, and even the reason you are the Elements of Harmony." Uh, Fidelita? I thought, feeling really silly. Anypony home? Hello, Rainbow Dash, said a voice in my mind, though it wasn't mine. It was deeper, older, wiser. "Somepony get a can opener," I cried. "I've got an alicorn in my head!" "You communicated with her directly?" Celestia's eyes lit up. "That's excellent progress!" "Excellent progress indeed, Celestia," said a voice from nowhere. "By explaining to these playthings about their riders, you have alerted me to their presence. Great job!" "Who are you?" I shouted into the darkness without thinking. I zipped up to the shadows, and was about to go in, but Fidelita's voice stopped me. No, she warned. We do not dwell in darkness. Reluctantly, I heeded her warning and backed up. "I am your worst nightmare," the evil voice said. "I am the most ancient spirit of all, like nothing you have ever faced, Fidelita. I am the creator of the world."