Rainbow trotted quietly towards where Noir lay. Nighttime had fallen outside the castle, and the sarosian breathed with greater comfort in the darkness.
“Rainbow Dash...” The stallion gulped. “You've returned...”
“In a way, I never left, dude.” Rainbow sat down beside the bandaged pony. “And if you're about to freak out over your wounds, don't. Zecora's gonna look after you for a while. She just only briefly left for her hut to grab a bunch of things. She'll be back shortly.”
“And... and then you?”
“Me?” Rainbow smirked. “Well, I've still got a shard to find.”
“I...” Noir grimaced from his wounds. “I can't believe you're still dedicated to the hunt.”
“Why not? I'm awesome!”
“But the stakes now are so m-much higher.” He wheezed. “All things considered, you should never even have gotten involved.”
“Yeah, well, you're not the only one in it deep. Besides...” Rainbow squirmed. “I-I'm kinda sorta responsible for what happened to you.”
“In what way?”
“Isn't it obvious?” Rainbow muttered. “I brushed Romulus the wrong way and now he's got a bunch of scarred stallions serving a fat criminal on his side.”
“It was Romulus' own decision to betray the Lunar Code,” Noir said. “Not yours. If anypony's to blame, it is myself for putting so much trust in him. After all, he is a sociopathic bounty hunter, not to mention a griffon of extremely surly contentment.”
“Yeah, well, birds of a feather about-face together... or something.”
“I don't understand his motives, though.” Noir's slitted amber eyes opened. “By allying himself with common thugs, he's popularized the nature of his chaotic pursuits.”
“Yeah, so?”
“I cannot imagine what he would have to gain from such partners. Surely, they could pay him—but not as handsomely as other ancient parties who would undoubtedly be interested in gathering the shards.”
“You mean like Big Boss?”
“Aatxe, yes.” Noir nodded. “He could most certainly spare some of the hoard in his lair. Even a tiny claw-ful of golden treasures would be enough to set a mercenary like Romulus for life.”
“Well, I threw him off pretty nicely in Fillydelphia,” Rainbow said. “And nopony in Manehattan—aside from maybe two business associates of mine—know that I'm from Ponyville.”
“Either of them connected with the mafia?”
“Actually...” Rainbow Dash opened her muzzle to speak, then blanched. Her face paled slightly as her ears drooped. “Ah jeez. Could they g-get to Filthy Rich?”
“Who?”
“No... no no no...” Rainbow straightened her bangs, thinking aloud. “None of them heard my conversations with the stallion. They... they could only know about 'Firefly,' and she was a total cover-up. I was f-fooling anypony! Unless they intend to interrogate everypony who was at the studio...”
“Rainbow Dash, I don't know if I've emphasized this properly or not, but...” Noir gulped and continued, “You really shouldn't be involved in this search. You are but a normal citizen—”
“Don't you mean an awesome citizen?!” Rainbow Dash grinned proudly. “One who's single-hoofedly collected more shards than anypony else who pretends to follow the Lunar Code?!”
Noir's nostrils flared. “Even still, you could very well be putting your friends in grave danger. Your companion, this... shaman named Zecora—”
“She's safe. You're safe.” Rainbow Dash gestured. “You've got the whole friggin' Everfree Forest giving you guys cover! It's okay! Nopony with a scarred face or beak will ever find out that I live in Ponyville!” She gulped and patted the stallion's shoulder. “Or that you—y'know—still live.”
“Ow!” he winced.
She withdrew, smiling sheepishly. “S-sorry...”
“No, it's okay...” Noir sighed. “You did save my life, after all.”
“Yeah, well...” Rainbow flapped her wings and paced in the air. “Too bad I was too late to save your warehouse... and your moon gate.”
“You've hardly sacrificed the Lunar Code's access to New Saros,” Noir said. “There are many more gates just like it.”
Rainbow spun to face him, blinking. “There are?! Where?”
“Scattered all over the world,” Noir explained. “Hidden in secret. We've been serving Luna for millennia, Rainbow Dash. In that time, we've battled forces far worse than the kind who committed their cowardly attack in Fillydelphia just now. We're more than prepared for whatever might await us.”
“Yeah... but—like—there are so few of you.”
“An unfortunate consequence of our patron alicorn's thousand year exile,” the sarosian said. “But, in spite of that, we've made key alliances all the same. One such agent I have sent far north to scavenge for the shard.”
“Whoah wait what?!” Rainbow did a double-take.
“We had met no less than two hours before the explosion happened,” Noir exclaimed. “It was fate that I was able to send her on her way before disaster struck.”
“Noir, no offense, but I'm a little bit wary of your choice in 'allies.'” She gestured to herself. “Present company excluded, can you really trust someone else after Romulus has so royally moon-humped you?!”
“This agent, I most certainly can,” Noir said. “She's sacrificed more than her own well-being on multiple occasions, and her tracking skills are impeccable.”
“But—”
“The shard is located due north, among the arid mountains, is it not?”
“Well... yeah! How'd you know?”
“I didn't. She did. However, for all of her gifts and skills, she still doesn't possess the same innate ability to locate the shards as you do. With your honing skills, I'm certain you can assist her in retrieving the artifact before any enemy to the Lunar Code—such as Romulus—does.”
“Wait...” Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth. “You want me to work with this mare?! Like... partner up or some crap?”
“It would be in our mutual benefit, don't you agree?”
“But... b-but I work alone, Noir! You know that! I can't just—”
“Is there some special reason you must acquire the shard... alone? Rainbow Dash?”
Silence.
Rainbow hung her head with a sigh. “...when did you send this agent again?”
“Last night, right before the explosion,” Noir replied. “Knowing her, she would be closing in on the destination just as we speak.”
“Well, joy of joys,” Rainbow groaned, rolling her eyes. “Guess I'm having to play catch-up!”
“Perhaps so. Whatever you do, Rainbow...” Noir gulped. “Don't trust anypony unless they're your close friend or a member of the Lunar Code.”
“And how will I know somepony is on your side?” she asked. “Including this Agent Miss Whatshername?”
“They will bear the mark of the crescent,” Noir said. “Which only glows when another bearer is present.”
“Uhhhh...” Rainbow fidgeted. “I hate to break it to you, but...”
Noir motioned her closer.
Rainbow trotted to him—then gasped when he suddenly seized her right forelimb.
“Wyn'hrmmum lyn'wynhym wymyhm h'runmym!” Noir's eyes flickered brightly, and the very tip of his hoof glowed with a brilliant silver. He dragged a half-circle across Rainbow's fetlock, and released it.
Rainbow hobbled backwards, staring at her leg. A crescent mark glimmered with silver energy across her coat. She glanced at him to see a similar mark twinkling from beneath his bandages.
“Welcome, Rainbow Dash,” Noir rasped. “To the Lunar Code.”
Rainbow blinked at him, then at her flickering insignia. “...groovy.”