The castle was dark; although flickering torches which protruded from the stone brick walls did a fair job of lighting the passages, the rain clouds had grown thicker as the hours went on, eventually growing to block out the sun completely, shrouding Canterlot in drab darkness. Spike sighed with each open window he passed, watching the rain continue to fall. He kept walking.

He hadn't expected that his conversation with Celestia would be so short, so he had told Rarity he would be gone a few hours at least—and, despite the fact that he had no more business at the castle, he didn't want to cut Rarity's preparation time short. For all he knew, the unicorn was presently hard at work making sure that everything was just right for their dinner. So, rather than going back, Spike had been wandering the castle's many hallways in search of ponies he knew. However, there were few ponies he passed, and none that looked familiar; even near Celestia and Luna's throne room, the only ponies around were a few guards who Spike guessed had become employed after he'd left with Twilight for Ponyville.

With little else to do, Spike resolved to see if he could take a look at Twilight's old room in the castle; if nothing else, maybe he could get some rest.

It only took Spike about a dozen minutes over three staircases and through several hallways until the dragon found himself in that uppermost wing of the castle. He'd been in the hallway earlier; of the four doors, one led to Princess Celestia's quarters. As Spike passed, he shot the door an odd glance but there it remained, unmoving. Shrugging, the dragon kept walking until he had passed that door as well as that to Cadance's room, for when she stayed at the castle.

When he passed the tall door of dark blue wood, however, Spike heard it creak on its hinges. He turned his head to see the door cracked ever so slightly open—just enough to see that it had been opened, but not enough to make out what lay inside in the darkness. Nonetheless, based on the door, he had a guess. "Princess Luna?" Spike asked, tilting his head.

"Greetings, Spike," the princess's voice replied from within. The door creaked once more as it swung back to reveal the hooded form of a tall equine inside, peeking out. "Would you like to come in for tea and perhaps to... 'chat'?"

"Oh, erm... thanks, really—it's just that I'm staying with Rarity and she'll probably be giving me lots of tea later," Spike explained once more. "Plus I don't want to bother you—I was just gonna check out Twilight's room and maybe rest or something..."

"Well, if that is what you wish to do, by all means we—I urge you to go ahead. But really, it is no trouble to have you here, tea or not. I insist." Spike could see Luna smile under the hood and, while her shrouded face made the gesture look sinister, her tone sounded welcoming and even a little urgent. "We have... important matters to discuss."

"In that case, of course," Spike replied, walking over to Luna's door. The alicorn stepped back, holding the door open with a hoof, and Spike could just make out in the torchlight from the hall that she was shrouded in some sort of black garment with a hood over her head.

"Dig the swell hoodie," Spike commented as Luna shut the door behind them.

Luna scoffed, "It's a cloak!"

"Uh-huh. It's something that you wear, and it's got a hood. Hence, that is a hoodie." Upon finishing this statement, Spike's eyes drank in the room around them. "Oh wow..."

Nearly pitch-black, the only light of the room was that of the glimmering stars, which appeared to be some sort of enchanted gemstones embedded in the walls, ceiling, and even the floor, giving Spike the feeling like he was somewhere high up in space, truly amongst the stars. And directly in the middle of the room was the moon.

The glowing hemisphere that protruded from the floor gave off a warm, organic light that felt almost exactly like the moon itself; although the room had at first seemed pitch-black, Spike's eyes quickly adjusted to the change in lighting. In addition, the surface of the thing was covered in miniature replicas of craters and mountains which, although Spike didn't know for certain, looked pretty darn accurate.

"I can't believe it..." he breathed. "This is... amazing."

In the glow of the moon, Spike saw Luna smile. "I'm glad you like it—I've put quite a lot of work into it over the years. Unfortunately, not many ponies have seen it... I guess there isn't usually much reason for me to invite them here. And you, Sir Spike, are the first dragon to have set claw here."

"An honour," Spike murmured, still marvelling at the wash of glowing dots that surrounded him.

"Now, please, take a seat." Luna gestured with a hoof and Spike's gaze followed it to a large plush armchair across the room that he could only just make out in the glow. He walked over and plopped down onto its softness, and watched as Luna took a seat on the edge of her bed. Finally, she pulled back her hood and Spike could see her face was fraught with worry.

"So, um... what exactly did you want me here for?" Spike asked.

Luna hesitated. "You talked with my sister in the courtyard, yes?"

Spike nodded.

"I need to talk to you about the forcefield," Luna said. "And about Scootaloo. Something... interesting, yet dangerous is going on out there, and Celestia isn't listening to me. I need your help, and Twilight's too."

Spike nodded. "I'm all ears."