“You...” Noir spun around so hard that the hood of his cloak fell loose from his midnight mane. “... did what?!”
“Hey! Relax!” Rainbow Dash smiled nervously from where she stood at the corner of the Fillydelphia warehouse. “Every prisoner got out safe! What's more, none of them know I survived the cave-in!”
“I am not concerned with escaped slaves!” the stallion barked, taking a heated step toward the mare. “As a protector of the Lunar Code, what concerns me is that you boldly and deliberately went against my advice and tampered with another piece of the petrified chaotician!”
“Hey!” Rainbow Dash frowned. “All I did was rescue it from grubby, evil paws! Top Dog is the one who did the tampering!”
“Who?!”
“Uhm... tall diamond dog? Leader of a bunch of spelunking canine idiots who wanted to take over every underground cavern in Equestria with a giant chaos-powered machine of doom?”
Noir stared off into the smokey night sky above the polluted river. “So... creatures were using the shard to power up an infernal device...?”
“Yup. Why?” Rainbow squinted. “That ever happen before in your 'Chaos Chronicles' or whatnot?”
“It... certainly doesn't bode well...”
“Chaosbook? Mychaos? Chaotinterest?”
Noir swiveled towards her. “And yet, you succeeded?” His dark eyes narrowed. “You stole this shard from the clutches of such nefarious creatures?”
“Look, pal, I'm not called 'Rainbow Danger Kickflank Professionalism Dash' for nothing!”
“I've done research since our last encounter, Miss Dash,” Noir coolly said.
Rainbow blinked. “You did?”
“Yes. And I know for a fact that your middle name is J—”
“Can it!” Rainbow hissed, then glanced nervously over her shoulders. “I don't care if we're in Fillydelphia, your whacked-out 'Sanctuary,' or the Gumdrop Dimension. I don't wanna risk anypony hearing it spoken aloud!”
“You're truly as reckless as I learned in my research,” Noir said. “It's a miracle you didn't succumb to overwhelming forces while vaingloriously endeavoring to dabble in affairs of chaos and unpredictability. If those creatures tortured you—”
“But they didn't.”
“—and subsequently discovered where you live and discovered the other shard—the dormant shard—there...”
“They didn't.” Rainbow smirked. “I was too dang awesome for them. Sheesh, dude.” She chuckled. “I know you're all about being dark and mysterious and whatcrap, but would it kill you to have a little bit of faith in me?”
“I cannot fathom what motivated you to track down this shard in the first place.”
“Well, it's a good thing I did, r-right?” Rainbow said with an awkward smirk. “I mean, these creeps were already enslaving a flankton of creatures, and they were literally hours away from tearing Equestria a new one with this killer huge mech thing!”
“From the way you describe it, yes, it does seem they were going to accomplish many feats of diabolical evil with the shard.”
“And now they're not!” Rainbow hovered in place and tossed her hooves. “I stopped them! Simple as that!”
“And where is the shard now?”
“Uhm... well... I have it.”
“So you now possess two?”
“Hey...” Rainbow leaned in with a sly smirk. “Unsuspecting Ponyville weather flier, remember? Who in the hay is gonna bother searching my house for pieces of a chaos statue? And—besides—the bad guys I did the tango with think I'm dead! Isn't that killer?”
“I am relieved to think that no creature has the ability to trace you,” Noir said as he paced along the corner of the warehouse. “But that doesn't make you exempt from scrutiny. Already, Aatxe's Red Drakes have pursued you in the desert. And since the last time I spoke with you, I've lost all contact with Romulus—”
“Ehhh...” Rainbow Dash waved a hoof. “What does that feather-ruffled turkey vulture know? He's off hiding, trying to save his beak like a true blue coward, I bet.”
“These are foreboding times, Miss Dash.” Noir swiveled to face her again. “It helps to be a bit paranoid.”
“Life's too short for that, don'tcha think?”
“And if the remaining shards continue to be exploited, then life may be even shorter.” He took a deep breath. “For all of us.”
“Well, it's a good thing I intervened, huh?” Rainbow stretched her forelimbs, flexing her muscles. “Mmmmm—yep. And it felt good to free a bunch of innocent slaves on the side. That always puts the sprinkles on my sundae.”
“I highly suggest you avoid such adventurous inclinations in the future.”
“What?!” Rainbow frowned down at him. “Why?!”
“Diamond Dogs aren't exactly known for their high intelligence,” Noir said. “Not to diminish the sheer guile of your most recent act, but you had a great deal of fortune on your side. It's a miracle you didn't die and compromise the location of the dormant shard in the process.”
“Dude, I'm telling you, I can do this!” She squinted. “Just what are you and the rest of the Lunar Code got to bring to the table?”
All Noir could do was lean back against the warehouse's outer wall and sigh.
“Heh... just as I thought,” Rainbow said.
“It is not quite that simple,” Noir said. “I have very few allies left who honor the code in this day and age. I and two of my estranged associates met for the first time in ages. Together, we flew west to find the Castle of Aatxe the Red Brood King.”
“And...?”
“It was... missing,” Noir murmured.
Rainbow Dash blinked. “What, it up and flew away?”
“Highly unlikely,” Noir remarked. “Aatxe's has made that ancient keep his lair for centuries. It's the only place capable of housing his hoard. And it's also quite improbable that another force—a rival of his, for example—could have possessed power capable of vanishing the castle from the surface of Equestria.”
“So... what in the hay happened to it?”
“My associates and I believe that Aatxe has already come to possess at least one piece of the chaos statue,” Noir said. “I seriously doubt a dragon of his stature would stop there. His dark ambition and greed is too great. Quite likely, the King of Red Drakes is seeking all of the other pieces. And when he finds them—”
“He won't. And even if he does, he'll be in for one heck of a walloping,” Rainbow Dash said.
“Miss Dash, your courage is noble, if not comical.”
“H-hey!” Rainbow frowned.
“In all seriousness...” Noir looked directly at her. “Aatxe has proven time and time again to be a powerful force to be reckoned with. If it's true that he's got pieces of the statue, then there's no telling how much might he currently possesses.”
“Then all the more reason to grab the rest of them before he does!”
“My associates and I came to the same agreement. There's only one problem.” Noir stepped towards her. “We have no way of tracking the remaining shards. So, it begs the question.” He came to a stop, squinting at her. “How did you?”
“Who, m-me?” Rainbow Dash blinked... then blinked again. “Eheheheh.... ha ha... yeah... well... uhm...” She squirmed and fidgeted in midair. “That's a good question, you see... I... uh...”
He stared and stared...
She bit her lip, then eventually blurted, “I-I just sensed it was where it w-was!” She flinched, staring down at him through one thin eye.
Noir nodded. “I was afraid of this...”
Rainbow Dash did a double-take. “You were?”
“Miss Dash, tell me...” Noir shuffled beneath her hovering figure. “Have you experienced any... disquieting visions?”
“Disquieting... visions...?”
“Bad dreams. Perhaps nightmares where you have done terrible, horrible things and couldn't ascertain why?”
“I... uh...” Rainbow Dash stared off into the hazy horizon of Fillydelphian smokestacks. Suddenly, the mirror image of a rainbow-mane'd pegasus stood before her, only the eyes flickered red-on-yellow. She blinked, and for a brief moment imagined a limp orange shape lying on the crest of a burning hill. Within a breath, the shape turned white, joining four identical splotches of alabaster dust in the middle of Ponyville—
“Miss Dash... are you okay?”
Rainbow Dash realized she was standing on her hooves. She teetered on the brink of hyperventilation. “Sorry, I... I... uhm...”
“Have you gotten much sleep, lately?”
Rainbow wiped sweat from her brow and shook her head. “No. Actually. Too... much of a h-hero buzz from my adventure with the diamond dogs, I guess. Heheh...” She gulped hard.
Noir nodded thoughtfully. “Miss Dash, I think it may very well be possible that you've acquired a connection of sorts.”
'
“A connection?” Rainbow Dash cleared her throat, breathing easier. “With what?”
“With the shards.”
“The chaos pieces?”
“Indeed.” Noir gestured. “Perhaps it was from the initial delivery you made, or your possession of the dormant shard. But, one way or another, I think your essence has become attached to the pieces—scattered as they may be. This wouldn't be an impossible thing. It happened back in the Chaos Wars, thousands of years ago. It's how the Chaoticians formed legions of equine followers, you see.”
“Right...” Rainbow was too busy gazing off in thought. She envisioned the royal garden of Canterlot at night. Stars spun, and her body twitched upon remembering a violent jolt—as if impacting with something that crumbled beneath her. “So, what, I'm becoming a chaos goon or something?”
“No, but the process is hypothetically simpler. For better or for worse, it might explain your—how should I put it—sensitivity to the shards.”
“Uhhhh...”
“Which would explain how you 'just sensed where it was' in regards to the last shard.”
She stared blankly.
“Am I to assume correctly?”
“Huh? Oh! Totally!” She smirked.
“So, in that case...” Noir stared at her. “Can you sense where another one is?”
She bit the corner of her lip, fidgeting. “I'm... working on it.”
“I rather that you wouldn't,” Noir said. “There's too much at stake.”
“Pffft. Like what? Aatxe and his red brood going to town on Equestria with the pieces he's got?”
Noir sighed. “The rest of the defender of the Lunar Code are already in the process of tracking him down—”
“Right! You're covering your end!” Rainbow Dash hovered again, this time resting a proud hoof over her fuzzy blue chest. “So let me take care of mine!”
“It wouldn't be wise to—”
“What?! Save Equestria's flank? I mean, it's up to us and us alone, right?”
Noir avoided her gaze.
“Right...?”
“One of the reasons why the Lunar Code was founded... was to protect the Royal Sisters.” Noir gazed quietly at Rainbow. “Alicorn magic is uniquely vulnerable to the corruption of pure chaos. It's one of the reasons why the Elements of Harmony were utilized as a defensive barrier against the chaoticians of the past.”
“Yowsers...” Rainbow hung on drooping wings. “It totally is up to us and us alone...”
Noir gravely nodded. “The primary reason Nightmare Moon rose to power in the first place was due to Princess Luna's exposure to the last chaotician that the Sisters defeated. Ever since, the defenders of the Lunar Code have endeavored to stifle chaos with the devices at our disposal.”
“Well, now you've got the best one yet!” Rainbow Dash flexed her forelimbs with a manure-eating grin. “Rainbow Device! At your service, dude!”
“Ennnghhh...”
“What? I'm the best thing that happened to you since shades were invented!”
“I still do not believe it is right to throw you so hazardously into this situation.”
“Hey. Let me do the throwing.” Rainbow Dash pointed. “You and your buddies just catch up on Aatxe and keep his stupid broodlings off my tail. Mmmmkay?”
Noir squinted at her. “Even if I do entertain this notion, you must show me a better sign of commitment.”
“Pffft. Like what?”
“Take better care of yourself. If you're to assist the Lunar Code, then you must be in peak condition.”
“Meaning...”
“Get some goddess-forsaken sleep.”
“Hah!” Rainbow Dash waved a hoof. “Please, buddy. If there's anything I'm good at, it's dozing off without a second thought!”
“Duahhhhhhhhhhh...” Rainbow Dash drooled across the table-top, her eyes shut and her tiny ears twitching.
Feminine voices snickered and giggled in the background.
“Oh my...”
“She's been working herself to the bone lately, the poor dear...”
“Heeheehee!”
“Uhhhh... you girls think one of us should wake her up or something?”
“Reckon it wouldn't hurt to send her on her way. Ahem.” A strong, warm hoof shook Rainbow's shoulder. “Hey. Hey! Rainbow, sugarcube, high time you headed home for a nap. Don'tcha think?”
“Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm...” Rainbow's hooves fumbled until they grasped a soft slender body pillow. She nuzzled it, smiling drunkenly as her nose sniffffffffffed the fragrant scent of apples, wildflowers, and sweat. “But I ammmmmm hommmmmme...”
More and more giggles.
“Heh heh heh...” A voice guffawed, accompanied by that same warm limb shaking her shoulders. “Ya might wanna take a second gander, darlin'.”
Rainbow Dash's bloodshot eyes flashed open. She tilted her head to see that she wasn't nuzzling a body pillow, but instead a very familiar ponytail of a very familiar gold color tied by a very familiar red ribbon belonging to a very familiar—
“Acklejack!” Rainbow Dash flew back into her seat in Sugarcube Corner. “I mean, Applejeez! I mean...” She scoot-scoot-scoot'd away from the table. “Guhhhhh...” She blink-blinked at everypony. “Wh-what am I doing here?!”
Pinkie Pie was dying of laughter while Rarity suppressed a dainty snort and Fluttershy blushed like a burning bush. Twilight smiled awkwardly. “You decided to treat us to breakfast, remember?”
“Ya doin' alright, sugarcube?” Applejack's smirking freckles leaned into view. “Last time anypony ever used my mane for teethin' was when Apple Bloom was a lil' sprout.”
“I... I-I-I...” Rainbow's eyes flew nervously toward Fluttershy's. The mare looked back with a helpless grimace. Rainbow gulped and fought the pale urge to sweat. “I-I didn't g-get much sleep last night,” her voice cracked.
“Well, that much is certain,” Twilight said with a slight chuckle.
“Awwwwww... ya poor thang...” Applejack patted Rainbow's shoulder, making the mare flinch. She blinked. “Ya feelin' alright, sugarcube? Ya know I was only teasin' about my mane.” She flipped the ponytail in question over the other side of her neck. “No harm, no foul.” She winked.
“Right...” Rainbow nodded... then nodded again and exhaled. “Right right right... right.”
“It's such a heapin' nice thang that you'd pay for our meals again, Rainbow, but ain't no fun enjoyin' it while yer noddin' off,” Applejack said. “Why don'tcha head on back home and get some shuteye?”
“Yeah, Dashie!” Pinkie Pie nodded. “We won't be offended!”
“We'd rather you be well rested and healthy than not at all!” Rarity smiled airily. “Besides, it'll give me a chance to catch up on my Element.”
“Yeah, you show off!” Pinkie stuck her tongue out.
“Pinkie, darling, it helps to be subtle.”
“That's why I stopped before giving a raspberry!”
“I'm... I-I'm fine, you guys,” Rainbow Dash said with a nervous smile. “I'm just... uhhhh... y'know...” She gulped and fought the shivers. “So comfortable around you five that I can't help myself!”
All of the mares stared blankly at her. The seconds ticked by, during which Rainbow's teeth threatened to chatter.
At last, Fluttershy broke the silence. “I know! How about a stroll through the park to walk off the meal?”
“Ooooh! Neato!”
“That sounds positively delightful.”
“Sure, I'd like that!”
“Well, alrighty, y'all!” Applejack sat up first. “Dun mind a bit of sunshine myself.” As the mares trotted off, she glanced over her shoulder. “You comin', Rainbow?” She winked. “Or does one of us have to carry ya? Heheh....”
Rainbow Dash scooted out of her chair and stood on all fours. She flinched, pausing to flex her forelimbs. A slight numbness tingled through her joints. “Hmmmm... oh, how I wish,” she quietly murmured to herself. With a slight sigh, she flapped her wings and eventually caught up with the group.
Part Nine: Easy Dashing
(Where we catch up with being caught up)