~~Ten Hours Earlier~~

Rainbow Dash found herself hovering in her cloud kitchen. This was not the first time that she had awakened from sleepflying. As a filly, Dash had often found herself in a different room than the one she had fallen asleep in, but when she got her cutie mark, the sleepflying had ceased.

Now, years later, it was happening again. It had started a month ago, and had become more frequent since, until it seemed that she never knew where she was when she woke.

This time, she found herself holding a small cloud. Her throat was parched. She squeezed the cloud's water into her mouth and rubbed her eyes. The darkness outside told her that it was between midnight and three.

Walking to the cloud counter, she placed what was left of the small cloud into the water fountain that was running next to it.

"I should probably go see Zecora today and see if she has anything for sleepflying," she said to herself. "Maybe after Fluttershy and I meet with Spitfire."

Rainbow Dash's wings carried her back through her house to her room. She knew her place so well that she got there with her eyes closed. Just as she was about to lie down and try to get back to sleep, she heard a strange sound coming from back in the kitchen. It sounded like thunder.

Dash glanced outside. There were hardly any clouds in the sky, not enough for a lightning storm. She decided to ignore it and settled into her bed. Just as she was about to doze off again, there was another sound from the kitchen, this one louder than the last.

Dragging herself out of bed, she crept slowly toward the kitchen.

"Hello? Is anypony there?" she called warily. Dash stopped before the door of the kitchen, and leaned against the wall. When she peered around the corner, she saw the outline of a pony against the back wall.

"Who's there?" she said challenging. "Show yourself!"

"Hello Rainbow Dash," came the familiar voice of none other than Derpy Hooves.

"Derpy, what are you doing in my house? Get out before you break anything else!" said Dash, noticing the grilled remains of her favourite leavy-snack lying on the floor.

"I would, Dashy, but I have to ask you to come with me. Please," Derpy said.

"What? Why?"

"Because the PIA needs you, Rainbow Dash."

"The PIA?"

"The Ponies Intelligence Agency. We need you to-" started Derpy.

"I know what the PIA is. My dad was one of the top agents. That was before…" Rainbow Dash fell silent for a moment, lost in her thoughts. "Why do they need me? More importantly, why are you the one telling me this?" asked Dash finally.

"I work for the PIA, silly. They even give me free muffins on Fridays," Derpy licked her lips and pulled a half-eaten muffin from seemingly nowhere. She went to take a bite but missed the first time, as her eyes were looking in different directions. She focused one eye onto the muffin and tried again, this time taking a small nibble. Rainbow Dash waited impatiently for Derpy to answer her other question.

"Derpy, for Celestia's sake, what do they need me for?" Dash shouted. Derpy finished chewing and swallowed loudly.

"There have been some new… events that have transpired, and the PIA is calling upon you to help resolve them," explained Derpy.

"Well that doesn't answer any of my questions at all!" replied Rainbow Dash. She rubbed her eyes, fighting the urge to just lie down and sleep.

"Just come with us, everything will be explained later," said a deep voice from behind Dash. She spun around to see a pony clad in black an inch away from her muzzle. She stumbled backwards and reflexively raised her hooves in a fighting stance. Under the black suit, Dash could just make out the cloudlike tint of the pony. His purple and blue striped mane was streaked back to reveal his emerald green eyes. His wings were folded neatly on his back.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"All will be explained later," he said in a soft tone. He leaped toward her and in her sleepy state, Rainbow Dash did not react fast enough before a white rag was pressed to her face. She breathed in to yell and felt her eyes droop. Before she dropped to the floor in a deep sleep, she blindly swung her right hoof in the direction of the colt. She felt it hit something soft, and then she collapsed.