"Do you need more water, Twi?!" Rainbow hollered from her high position.
Twilight shook her head while scribbling onto a notepad. "We're good for now, Rainbow! Thank you!" she chanted in a distracted tone from where she stood in the castle's open foyer.
Trixie looked up from where she monitored an elaborate machine housing glowing crystals and a pair of bubbling water tanks. "The leyline buffer is sufficiently cooled! We may need more rainwater in a bit, so standby! If Twilight's too distracted to call for backup, then Trixie will!"
Rainbow nodded, then backtrotted until she sat squarely atop a plush cloud that was dark gray with stored up moisture. She wasn't alone; a sarosian stallion in a thick cloak sat beside her. Together, they gazed down at the busy experiment taking place. Several unicorn scientists from Trottingham formed a circle, their horns glowing. Meanwhile Twilight and Zecora dutifully placed items into the center for long-range transportation.
"Rain clouds are... curiously warm in the daytime," Noir commented.
"Yup." Rainbow nodded, eyes locked on the experiment below. "That's convection for ya. Especially this time of year. The sun's heat can cause the clouds to heat up, bubble upwards, and generate more moisture—which leads to thunderstorms. So you and I might have to drain this cloud regularly in order to keep errant lightning bolts from frying our friends down below."
"Splendid," Noir droned. "Also, I had no idea that you were so meteorologically minded."
"Eh... it's about the only eggheaded thing about me," Rainbow stated. "You kinda gotta know your stuff if you wanna be a weather flier. Kicking clouds may look awesome on the outside, but it's all complicated and nerdy on the inside."
"I can only imagine," Noir said. "Have you ever kicked clouds at night?"
"Erm... to be honest, not a whole ton. Why?"
"Navigating the lower atmosphere is a great deal difficult with so many nocturnal creatures in the air."
"Hah!" Rainbow grinned. "Must suck to slam into so many bats while on the job! That'd have to be like running over your cousin or something!"
"That... is too grossly inaccurate to even acknowledge," Noir remarked. "But your attempt at humor is not lost to me."
"You're welcome." She blinked. "I think."
"This is a most curious experiment," Noir stated. "I feel honored to assist Zecora and Miss Sparkle in the matter."
"Yeah. But it can't be all too impressive to the likes of you."
A pair of slitted eyes blinked at her from beneath his hood. "And what do you mean by that, exactly?"
"Well..." Rainbow scratched her chin. "Twilight's always kinda sorta had a knack for teleportation. And, sure, it'd be nifty to fart things halfway across Equestria." She turned to smirk at him. "But still, that can't hold a friggin' candle to having a gate that can take you all the way through the cosmos to a random moon!"
"The doorways to New Saros are beyond the Lunar Code," Noir explained. "Only the Princesses have firm knowledge of how they work, and it must remain that way."
Rainbow arched an eyebrow. "You... make it sound like Luna and Celestia have a bunch more super mysterious doors to elseworlds that we don't know about."
"And what if they did?"
"Yeah, okay, fine..." Rainbow looked off with a sigh. "I ain't poking that with a ten foot scimitar."
"This mare who's closely assisting Twilight," Noir remarked. "I do believe I recognize her."
"Oh?" Rainbow looked at him. "You do?"
"She's the unicorn from Dredgemane, is she not?" Noir said. "The one that our agent in the field, Daring Do, wrote about."
"Oh." Rainbow's ears folded. "You do."
"All you needed to do in that town was retrieve the chaos shard that had been missing," Noir said. "And though Daring Do has no written records on exactly how you accomplished that..."
"Uhhhhhhh—"
"...she did mention that you had somehow found it in your heart to give Miss Lulamoon a new home, and a new life."
"Pfffffffffft!" Rainbow broke down, giggling. She beat the cloud repeatedly with her hoof. "Hah hah hah hah!"
Noir cocked his head aside. "Is... something amiss?"
"Snkkkt—Lulamoon?! Seriously?! That's her last name?!"
From down below: "Did somepony call for Trixie?"
"No! No no no no... snkkkt... hahaha..." Rainbow fought hard to clear her throat. "We're good. Just... floaty, floaty cloud, is all. Pffft heheheheh..."
"Hrmmmm..." Trixie pouted, then attempted to return to her note-taking. A nearby Zebra snickered slightly, and then the experiment resumed.
"Ahem. I'm sorry." Rainbow rolled over, smiling dumbly at Noir with her forelimbs curled up. "You were s-saying... hehe."
"I simply find it curious," Noir remarked. "You risked a lot by venturing to Dredgemane for the shard. And although you succeeded—by mysterious means, it would seem—you still somehow found the time to help a former acquaintance turn a new leaf."
"Yeah, well, the mare had kinda sorta lost her shack," Rainbow remarked.
"Regardless, it was selfless and bold, considering the limited resources at your disposal."
"Uh huh..." Rainbow tilted her head back and stared at the old castle upside down. "Your point?"
"Zecora's told me a lot about you."
"Erm... yeah?"
"About your career, your aspirations, but—most of all—your friends."
"... ... ...y-yeah?"
"It would seem that your Element of Loyalty has a great deal of literal meaning. You really would go above and beyond for your fellow pony, Rainbow Dash, as if everyone alive is your best friend."
"Mrmmmmm..." Rainbow stared aside, wings twitching. "I'm not exactly perfect."
"I doubt any of us will ever know what perfection is," Noir said. "But considering the lengths you've gone to procure these shards, to protect Equestria, and to ensure the harmony of your fellow equine beings, it would seem that perfection is greatly overrated." He glanced over. "Twilight, Zecora, and the others are quite fortunate to have you as a friend. I think I might even envy them."
Rainbow exhaled out her nostrils. As she gazed up at the sky, a sparkle came to her eyes. Her lips moved, as if producing six words from the blue.
"Did you say something, Miss Dash?"
She merely smiled, her eyes distant and pondering. "Just thinking..." She gave a happy sigh. "Been a while since I felt that cool."
"Then, I'm curious, why do you look vaguely melancholic."
"Cuz perfection isn't the only thing that's overrated." Rainbow Dash sat up, exhaling. "You're a nifty bat-dude, bat-dude. No wonder Zecora digs you."
"I don't understand. How would she be able to apply a shovel to my—...wait."
"Snkkkt-Heeheehee!"
"For the last time—"
"Hah! Give it up already, bat-dude!"
"Unnngh..." Noir face-hoofed.
"Heheheh... uhhhhhhh Luna's nipple..." Rainbow turned and gawked over the side of the cloud. "Friggin' port in a giant hydra or something already! Goddess!"