The ebony hallways and pitch black floors should have been frightening to Twilight. Rainbow Dash looked like she was holding back tears as the tiny silver filly lead them through the endless twisting turning halls, but to Twilight, the castle held a strange notion of comfort. Even though she'd never set hoof inside such a place, it felt familiar. Almost cozy in a strange sort of ethereal way. Black bricks and flickering candles instead of bright white stone and roaring torches. Black and navy and dark blue and royal purple. Somber colors instead of the bright red and yellow and whites of Canterlot Castle. It was like some backwards version of the reality she was used to. 'Midnight Castle' as it were, was large intimidating, and threatening. But Twilight only felt a strange sort of peace blooming inside of her. Like the castle was safe in a scary way, meant to repel those that didn't belong there— and welcome those that did.

"Diamond? What is this place exactly? Where are we? " Twilight asked, her voice not echoing in the vast empty halls, but vanishing as it left her throat, as if it was suffocated into the darkness itself— like she were forced into a whisper. It was a very strange sensation, and not a terribly pleasant one.

"Like I said, dis place is Midnight Castle. As for where we are, dats uh, a bit on da tricky side. See, technically, dis place ain't gots no physical form. Dis is Princess Luna's home away from home, I guess. See, aftah she got back from da moon, adjusting' to the world, and da technological advances, new social norms, and evolving culture was kind of a system shock. It couldn’t’a been easy, being expected to resume duties aftah everyding dat happened. So every now and den, da Princess slips out here to relax or at least, find peace of mind. Dis is da dream realm, and dis castle is a construct of Princess Luna's will, mood, and memories. Princess Luna says the transition to dis place can be kinda jarrin', if you'se ain't expectin it. I bet you'se was having some super crazy dreams before I showed up. She wanted ta talk to you'se without fear of changelings ovah hearin so, uh, yeah, dats dis evenin in a nut shell, " The little filly explained as she darted down this hallway and that, which all looked remarkably similar to Twilight. Dreadfully so in fact. She started to ask how Diamond could find her way around the darkened hallways, but Rainbow chipped in before she could get the chance.

"So, you're sayin’ we're asleep right now? We're still in Canterlot?" She asked, and Diamond poked her head into the next room and shivered.Turning back towards Rainbow and Twilight, she offered a shakey little smile and opened the door to the next room.

"Yeah, still in Canterlot...da throne room is right through here, but we gotta be supah quiet. We don't wanna wake da bat-ponies, and dey can get....uh...grouchy sometimes," The girl squeaked, and slowly beckoned the Elements of Harmony into the next room. Rainbow's ears perked at the notion of 'bat-ponies' but when they entered the next room, she frowned when it seemed to be entirely empty.

"I thought you sai-" She groaned, and yipped when Diamond turned around and pressed her hoof to her lips with a sharp "SHHHHHHHHHHHH" She jerked her head upwards, and Rainbow glanced up and froze on the spot. Above her were dozens of dark furred, shapes hanging upside down. Ponies for sure, but with large bat-like wings, and large, flickering ears.

"Da bat ponies you'se see in Canterlot come from dis realm, but only a few of them are pulled into actual existence by Luna. Dis place is where da night court receive dare missions, and da princess holds her private meetings, so you'se two gettin' ta see da Princess's personal dream world is supah lucky. Not to many ponies get to see dis place, so be honored, and be respectful. " Diamond whispered, glaring at Rainbow Dash as she pulled them into the next room. The Throne Room.

There, in the midst of the darkness, surrounded by flickering blue flame and shadow, sat an ebony figure Twilight had only met once or twice in her entire life. The creature had all the markings of a princess; the glittering horn, elongated neck, the beautiful wings, and the regal posture of royalty, but unlike Princess Celestia, Princess Luna felt.......cold. The comforting warmth from Celestia was absent behind the cold, glaring blue eyes, and the quiet regal posture. Diamond Dancer, however, didn’t seem to notice in the slightest. The bouncy little filly trotted right up next to the throne and cleared her voice.

“A-HEH-HEH-HEM! Preeeeeee-heeeeeeee-zen-ting: Da Duchess of Dreams, da Abbess of da Abyss, da ONE AN' ONLAH AYATOLLAH of ANTI-SOLAH! PRIN-CESS-LUNA!” The little filly hollered, as if introducing a contender to a wrestling match.

For only a moment, in the darkness and flickering candle light, Twilight could swear she caught sight of the smallest ghost of a smile twitch at Princess Luna’s lips. But it was gone in an instant, as she rolled her eyes at her vibrant and explosive introduction.

“That shall suffice, Errant. Resume thy duties,” the princess said coolly, flickering a hoof in Diamond’s direction with a dismissive gesture. Diamond gave a quiet sigh, but quickly offered a salute, and turned sharply on her hooves- leaving the throne room the way she came in, and leaving the three of them alone.

The room grew quiet. Even though it was quiet before, now it felt like it was drowning in silence. Slowly, Princess Luna rose from her throne, and made a grand gesture with an arm, slowly sweeping out to step into the space of Twilight and Rainbow, as if the two weren’t there. Behind her, along the shadowed walls of the castle itself, images began to flicker and glow, climbing onto the walls to describe the words that fell from Luna’s lips.

“ONCE...once……...once… before The Great Cataclysm...Before the Call of Chaos and before the Steps of Starswirl, there was an Age of Alicorns. Even then we were few. So very few...Sun, Moon, Autumn, Spring, Summer, Winter, Earth, Fire, Wind, Water...Father Time and Mother Nature...Once…” Luna sighed wistfully, her steps echoing off the soundless chamber around her as she walked, strolling through the memories as they came to her.

“With so few, we fell victim to an ache thou cannot fathom. The loneliness that stems from the being last of your kind has no equal nor successor. And it is in the depths of this maddening suffering, that thou come to knowth of thy symbol that haunts thee. “ Luna whimpered quietly. Above and behind her, the memories on the wall continued to form and fade away, regardless of the pause in her speech.

“...In the depths of such depression...oft ...Oft even Gods and Goddess will seek to end their suffering. With the Great Cataclysm our kind had suffered a tremendous loss...and after the Call of Chaos; The Rule of Discord, there was only so much more that we could bare. Once, our desire had been to create, to flourish and to nourish, but now it had simply become to survive. And to survive, our numbers needed to be replenished.

Here, in this time, we meet a promising young unicorn...much like Star Swirl...He is powerful, and he is stalwart. He is of noble birth of the crystal kingdom, and he has taken fancy to a young princess. She too, finds him desirable, but at the time, the law prohibits marriage of a princess with anything other than a prince. So their passion is a secret one…

But passion as such between two can rarely be contained by mere secrets and late night visits. And so he concocted a stunning plan...He would become hers the only way he could and through means no mare would dare face, he would become king. He was in love and it knew no boundaries. He rallied his supporters, and set about a campaign for political power, and magic to match that of his beloved princess, for it was his wish, that they would be equals in all things.

For this love, the young prince sold his soul. To be with his love, he gave up his morals, to gain what was needed to trounce his enemies, and silence those whom might rival him. Through his black gains, he rose to power quickly. To his supporters he promised fame and fortune. They too, sold their souls to deliver power to this mad prince of a pony. They became known as the Circle of Sorrow...A secret group of six, which fed the prince’s unquenchable lust for power. They destroyed his enemies and paved the path to ascension.

This prince you know as Sombra who lost sight of his goal, and his love, and became corrupted by the very power he sought. The power to be with his heart’s desire. His one true love.” Luna said sadly, staring into the distance as the tale circled around her- the wall slowly fading to black as she spoke.

“So...Sombra is behind this? He’s the big bad?! All we gotta do is kick his tail again?!” Rainbow Dash snapped, only to yelp when Luna turned around with a snarl.

“NO! King, Sombra, is, DEAD! You and yours saw to that. “ Princess Luna hissed darkly, ears splaying against her skull as each word dripped from her lips like poison. “But...The symbol which you spoke of is that of the Circle of Sorrow.” Luna said quietly, and gestured towards the wall- where the large faded S slowly reappeared.

“So, these circle guys are the jerks that are messin’ with us? Heh...circle jerks,” Rainbow snickered. Twilight rolled her eyes and stepped forward to point at the symbol on the wall.

“Yeah…Yeah, I saw that in Sombra’s castle...I remember now...What does it mean, Princess? Why would they come after us? What do they want?” Twilight whimpered. Princess Luna drew in a cold growling breath and shook her head slowly.

“The Circle of Sorrow has long been eradicated from existence. The moment Sombra was removed from power we sent orders to root out any remaining members. Of the six, there are no more left. And even if there were, should they make a move, they will be punished for crimes against Equestria. As for what they want...Their only goal as always, and shall ever be to offer Sombra more power. ” Luna hissed darkly. Twilight frowned and shook her head slowly.

“More power? From what I remember, Sombra was insanely powerful to begin with. The only way he could receive even MORE power is if he...became...a....” Slowly, Twilight Sparkle swallowed as the echoes of Princess Luna’s story came racing back to her. All he wanted was the power to match his Princess. His love. Sombra’s end goal was to become an Alicorn...

“Princess Luna...You said that Princ- Err, King Sombra was dead. Is it possible that if his closest supporters were still around, they might be searching for a way to revive him? I’ve heard of spells-in myths and legends and stories, mind you, but even Star Swirl said…” Twilight trailed off quietly.

Princess Luna stared into the distance for what seemed like an eternity. Slowly, but surely, her eyes focused down on the little purple unicorn standing quietly in her chambers, and she dipped her head in a slow nod.

“There is a spell...forbidden...and horrid. It is never to be spoken, or learned or even written down. But it exists in the old texts. A life, for a life...and it would require an incredible source of magical energy,” Luna explained. Twilight felt her mouth go dry, and the heat from the room vanish. With her face turning pale, she swallowed the lump in her throat. An incredible source of magical power... The elements of harmony.

“We are the ones being targeted...it is us. The element bearers. We're all in danger,” Twilight whimpered. She turned towards Rainbow Dash and then towards Princess Luna.

"Princess Luna, I need t-...what...hey?!" Twilight squeaked, discovering she was beginning to float. Lifted into the air, as if gravity was just a polite suggestion, and the world no longer cared about her weight.

"Your mind cannot remain in the dream realm for too long without proper training. Thou art awakening. I shall seek you out tomorrow night to conti-" Princess Luna began- but her words melted along with the world around her.

With that, the world faded to white, and Twilight found herself sitting up in bed. Canterlot Castle's guest room, a beautiful sunny morning, and Rainbow Dash was slowly raising up next to her.

"Geez, if this is what it's gonna be like to be your girlfriend, I'm gonna need a whole new diary, just for the weird stuff. " Rainbow groaned. Twilight clocked her with a pillow.

"So you're heading out to the Crystal Empire?" Rainbow asked quietly, settling down next to Twilight, who was idly peering at a stack of travel brochures at the train station.

"Thats the plan. I'm going to talk with Cadence to see what I can discover about the castle there and this Circle of Sorrow." Twilight explained, perking her ears as the train's whistle rippled through the air. Rainbow Dash glanced around nervously, and rubbed the back of her head with a hoof. Things had moved so fast and now things had come to a dead stop, now that they were going their separate ways for the moment. Rainbow had wanted to travel along with Twilight, but she argued that somepony had to keep an eye on everypony else, and Rainbow Dash couldn't deny that. They had to search the laboratory for more clues, discover what they could about the forbidden spell, keep an eye on the Elements of Harmony, while Twilight discovered more to the mystery. Why steal their juices? Could they really bring Sombra back? Was it really the Circle of Sorrow? Not to mention, Twilight had a feeling that Princess Luna wasn't quite telling them the entire tale. She was snapped from her thoughts by a tug at her shoulder from Rainbow Dash, who was standing next to her and looking worried.

"Hey...just...just be careful, okay?" Rainbow whimpered as the train slowly pulled up to the station. Twilight smiled quietly, and wrapped her arms around the pegasus, giving her a firm hug.

"Rainbow...I don't...I don't know what we 'are'...but...we'll figure it all out when I get back, and all this is over, okay?" She cooed softly. Rainbow Dash blushed, but sheepishly nodded her head.

"Well-Well regardless of what we are, egghead, I don't want anything to happen to you, you hear me?" She stammered, and gasped when Twilight leaned forward and pressed her lips softly against Rainbow's in a gentle peck.

"Don't worry. 'Sides...I owe you one "The unicorn winked, beaming at how red Rainbow's face turned. As she climbed onto the train, and final waves were given, she sat down and gave a quiet sigh. She wanted rest before she got to the Crystal Empire; she had a feeling her adventure was just beginning.

Author's Note

...So.

It's done. This is the longest story I have EVER written. 42k words. yikes. And it's kind decent, too! I'm proud of myself. This has become a thing that I've 'done' Something I've accomplished.

I like the way it's turned out, and I'm quite pleased on the ideas that spawned from it.
The changeling language
Midnight Castle being the meeting place for the Night Crew
Sombra's Circle
Where the bat ponies come from
And the love story between Sombra and the mysterious prin-OH COME ON YOU KNOW IT'S LUNA XD

That being said, I've got ideas for whats coming up next, so...we'll see when I get to writing this new story. Now that work has a strong hold of me, my writing time might be eaten up...