"I am not Fidelita!" I snapped. "She's just hitching a ride for a little bit!"
"Oh, right, I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash," that cold, evil voice said. The shadows kept spreading across the room, and my friends were pressed into a corner, trying not to touch them.
"H-how do you know my name?" I'll admit it, I was scared. Just a little, though. I could totally take this guy.
"I told you, I am all-knowing. I am the creator of the night! And I will make it so the night will last forever!"
"Uh... yes, Lord-All-Knowing-Creator-of-the-Night-Guy," I faked a bow, though my hitch-hiker was pushing at me to fight. "Listen, that's a bit lengthy, so what's your name? We should probably shorten that up so your excellency's subjects won't mess up on your name, right?" I grinned.
"Rainbow! What are you doing? Run!" Twilight shouted from behind me, but I ignored her.
"Ah, yes, you're right, Fidelita," Lord-All-Knowing-Creator-of-the-Night-Guy mused. "My name is- wait." he paused, and I desperately prayed that he wouldn't call my bluff.
He did. "You tricked me!" he roared, and the shadows came rushing at my friends like a tsunami, while Fluttershy, Twilight, and Celestia struggled to lift Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie into the air. They needed me.
Fight him, Fidelita urged. Let me take control, and we can defeat him forever.
You mean YOU'LL defeat him forever. This is my fight! I snapped.
We grappled for control of my mind, which gave me a huge headache.
"Stay away from us!" Celestia shouted at the chuckling darkness, and shot a beam of light at it. When it hit, the darkness sizzled and retreated, and it seceded into the corner, where it belonged.
Pinkie stuck out her tongue at it for good measure.
Suddenly I was exhausted. I sunk to the ground, and Applejack caught me before I could collapse.
"Sister!" A royal blue alicorn swooped into the throne room, her eyes full of fear. "Thy heard you shouting! Are you okay?"
"Luna." Celestia greeted her younger sister. "We have a major problem. He is back." Luna nodded, then got under Applejack to hoist me up.
"Sleep, Rainbow," Celestia murmured, touching my forehead with her horn. It made me really drowsy, and my eyes started to close. "Standing up to a neigh-sayer of that power would make any lesser pegasus pass out for hours. You need rest."
And as I drifted into darkness, the last thing I saw was Celestia's horn glowing with golden magic.
I was looking down at my own body. I mean, I shimmered like a mirage, but a sleeping me was lying in the bed in front of me. I shook my head to clear it, but I didn't wake up.
I felt a tug on my tail, and there was this breezy-thing pulling me towards an open window. I didn't know what was going on, but I decided to let the wind take me somewhere. After all, it was just a dream.
The wind whisked me through Canterlot castle until I was floating on the balcony. The sun was just going down, which was funny, since last I remembered it was late afternoon.
"Hello, Rainbow," said a voice, and I turned to the other side of the balcony. There, watching the sunset, was me.
Uh, let me rephrase that. She looked just like me, but there was a spiraling horn coming from her forehead, and she was much taller than me, about Celestia's size.
"Fidelita?" I asked. Don't ask me how I knew, the name just popped into my head.
The alicorn nodded. She turned her head to me, and I saw my eyes. Same magenta irises, same determined sparkle, just different shape.
"Why are you here?" I demanded.
"I am able to appear in your dreams because we are connected, Rainbow. I have lived in your mind since you were born," she said with a smile.
"Did my parents know about this?" I asked with strange calmness. None of this surprised me very much. Ever since I was little, there has always been a voice in my head telling me to aim higher, offering encouragement. Now I knew who she was.
"No. They have always seen you as their little Rainbow Dash, and nothing more. Little did they know that without me, you wouldn't even be Rainbow Dash, the only pegasus able to do a Sonic Rainboom. You wouldn't even look like you," the goddess explained.
"What do you mean by that?" I demanded. She chuckled, and it dawned on me that she had expected me to do that.
"If I hadn't chosen you as my host, you would look like this." Fidelita's horn glowed magenta, and she conjured up an image of a hot pink pony with a royal blue mane and tail, with three hot pink lightning bolts on her flank.
"You would've been named Firefly, and you still would've been able to fly fast, but not even close to what you are capable of now."
"If you'd suddenly leave my body, would I become Firefly?" I asked. Honestly, this was all very interesting to me. Not able to do a Sonic Rainboom? I can't even imagine.
She chucked again. "No, you would still be Rainbow Dash, just without me, you would never achieve your true destiny," she said.
"What true destiny?" I asked, but her face was fading.
"I cannot say. But our time is up," she smiled once more, her voice growing fainter. "Now, wake!"
My eyes snapped open into the dawn light. It was all too bright at first, but then I made out seven figures sitting at a table, drinking something. It smelled good, and my stomach growled.
"Oh, good, you're up," said Twilight casually, as if she were saying Oh, good, you finished your book. "We were just discussing our situation."
"Without me?" I asked.
"We're sorry," Fluttershy said softly. "You've been out all night, and we didn't want to disturb you-"
"Good," I interrupted. "because I've been disturbed enough already."
I described my vision of Fidelita on the balcony. Twilight seemed deeply troubled by the news.
"You're trying to say that I would not be me without this goddess inside of me?" Rarity inquired. I nodded gravely. She gasped with fear.
"I can' believe it," muttered Applejack.
"Ooh! Who would I be, who would I be?" Pinkie squealed.
"I don't know!" I exclaimed. "She only said who I would be!"
Fluttershy sank into her seat while the others stared at me, and I realized that I might have been a bit too harsh.
[Oh, shut up, guys.]
"Guys, I'm sorry," I sighed. "This is all a little strange for me. I didn't mean to snap at you."
"It's strange for all of us, Rainbow," soothed Twilight. "But we'll figure it out, like we always do."
"And you will need to begin your quest immediately if there is any hope for Equestria." Celestia strode into the room, looking grim.
"A quest?" Twilight stared up at the princess with her purple eyes.
"Yes," she confirmed.
"Will it be like a test?"
"If one more pony rhymes, I'm going to be sick," I grumbled.
"Sorry. When do we begin?" Twilight turned back to the princess.
"Right now. I have had Spike pack your bags already." Celestia gestured to the doors, where the dragon was carrying six saddle-bags. "The fate of Equestria is yet again in your hooves."