There was an old saying amongst ponykind; out of the frying pan, and into the fire. Such seemed to be the case at this very moment for Twilight and her friends. Before, they were right on the cusp of being captured by locals. Instead? They now find themselves, under escort by members of the Night Guard, being taken to their leader. The moon, as usual, illuminated the way, and the three Equestrians walked along further farmland, as well as other empty meadows, with vast forest land on either side all the way. Every once in a while, they would get odd looks from other ponies from this region, but for the most part, everything was quiet on this leg of their journey. That is, aside from the remark Pinkie gave to Twilight as she walked alongside her.

"A gust of wind? Really?"

Twilight cast her a frustrated look, but said nothing, for their "guide" looked over her shoulder and called back in an authoritative manner.

"Keep it quiet back there!"

Aurora Dash, Captain of the Night Guard. She was leading this convoy, with two other pegasi guards at the rear. Twilight, Applejack and Pinkie took up the middle, and did their best not to cause any further trouble at this point. But, in spite of the command that had just been given to her, Twilight could not help but ask the obvious question.

"What...what does your Queen want to see me for?"

A grunt preceded Aurora's reply.

"If I were a betting mare, I'd say she wants to interrogate you intruders personally."

She looked over her shoulder, right to Twilight.

"So, you know...no pressure."

Naturally, Twilight took a gulp to that. But, as before, she was not given the chance to respond, as all of a sudden, Aurora stopped, pointing ahead.

"Eyes up, prisoners! We're here!"

As instructed, Twilight, Applejack and Pinkie looked up, and their faces were ones of astonishment at what they now saw. It was, without question, a palace, though quite unlike the one Twilight would have been used to seeing from Canterlot. Much of the architecture seemed, at first glance, almost like an ornate fortress in appearance. But towards the middle of that vast structure, there were three large towers, all crafted from some sort of dark blue stone. Two, while still dwarfing any other towers seen on the complex, only reached half of the height of the whole place. But the third, placed right in the middle, stretched all the way up, with a bright yellow crescent moon adorning its peak. While the three mares stared in awe at it, Aurora smirked at them.

"I love it when they look like that."

But her smile faded as she resumed her march.

"Onwards!"

The two guards at the rear nodded, unceremoniously pushing behind the three mares, snapping them out of their focus and getting them to carry on walking. Closer and closer they went to the palace, and as they did so, they could see other soldiers in the grounds before the palace walls, clad in the same armour as those escorting them. There were whole squads, ordered in formations of about a dozen, being drilled and re-drilled, never stopping, even as Twilight and her friends were brought past them. The whole place just had a sense of order and control to it, emphasised even further when they finally reached the front gates of the palace. The ancient oak doors were pulled open by the simultaneous magic of two unicorn guards who stood on either side. As she gazed within, Twilight whispered to the two behind her.

"Don't worry...it'll be okay."

Of course, her words had little effect, as both Applejack and Pinkie maintained their fearful expressions. As before, they were "encouraged" to move inwards by their escort, and kept up a fair pace as they entered the castle proper. In an almost cliché manner, the doors let out a loud creak as they closed behind them, causing Pinkie to jump at the sound of it.

"Do you guys really have to do that?" she asked in an annoyed tone.

But the rear guards did not reply, merely continuing to stare at her through the visors of their helmets. As for Twilight, she once more found herself focusing on the sight before her. It was, in all honesty, a magnificent and enormous hall. Again, blue was the predominant colour in this place, with the walls contracted from the same stone as the towers outside. The walls were lined with torches, each one ablaze with light-blue fire. Above, the ceiling was glass, allowing all to view the night sky beyond. And everywhere one looked, there were tapestries, expertly-crafted and beautiful. But all of them seemed to bear the exact same dark figure, whom Twilight now narrowed her eyes at.

"Captain Dash! Explain yourself this instant!"

The new voice caught all of them off-guard, and they turned in unison to see an alabaster white unicorn approaching them. Her purple mane and tail were both tied into buns, and she wore formal-looking black and dark-blue attire, giving the clear sign of some sort of official. Though her expression was one of irritation as she approached the Captain.

"You know the rules as well as I do, Aurora! No visitors at this hour!"

Aurora rolled her eyes before replying.

"Cool it, Rarity. These are...the ones she asked for."

Immediately, the one called Rarity halted, looking over to Twilight and the others. There was a pause, and she silently considered each and every one of them, before once more turning to the Captain.

"...Very well. I will announce you."

Aurora nodded, and watched as Rarity began to walk down the hall. Looking to Twilight, the Captain gave a silent gesture, before then starting to follow the unicorn. Twilight looked to her friends, then started to walk in tow. Silence fell over them as they made their way through the hall, looking around with interest at the tapestries they saw along the way. But, in the end, they reached the far side, wherein there was another large wooden door. Again, there were two unicorn guards, and again, they worked together to get it open, just in time for Rarity to get there and pass through. Aurora, Twilight, her friends and the other two guards entered as well, and on the other side, they found yet another hall, almost exactly like the first.

That is, with one notable difference.

"...It's her," Twilight whispered.

At the end of this second room, there could be seen, even from this distance, a throne. Bright blue steps led up it, and it bore not only a crescent moon atop it, but also bat-like wing ornaments on either side. But of greater interest was the one sitting within it. Having spent much of her life around Celestia, Twilight knew an alicorn when she saw one. But this one was different, black in her fur, with a mane almost like the night sky itself. Upon her was azure amour, on her hooves, chest and head. She sat still within her throne, and it was only when Twilight drew closer that she realised that this mare had her eyes closed, almost like she was in the middle of some sort of meditation. Nevertheless, Twilight felt afraid to be here, saying nothing as Rarity knelt before her leader. The nearby guards did the same, and before long, the white unicorn spoke in a polite and refined manner.

"My Lady...the ones you asked for are here."

Slowly, the ruler's eyes opened, and here, Twilight felt a chill down her spine. For those were not the eyes of a pony, and looked more like the eyes of a dragon instead. Their blue gaze was piercing, and Twilight felt as if even the slightest step out of line could anger her. But instead, there was no anger, nor rage, as the mare of the night began to stand from her throne. She spread out her wings, giving an impressive and regal display, and as she focused on Twilight in particular, she did something the young unicorn would never have expected this being of legend to do.

She smiled.

"So, Twilight Sparkle...we meet at last."