Princess Luna strode elegantly down the steps in the Royal Castle. Her dark sapphire body was covered by a luxurious dress. Luna's dress consisted of many layers of midnight-blue silk, strapped together around her neck by a crescent moon. Various star patterns on the dress emitted a soft, moonlight aura. As for her mane, she let the cobalt mass float as it usually does.
She laughed silently as she walked into the congregation of ponies that have arrived for the Grand Galloping Gala. Her amusement came from a small quarrel she had with Celestia the week before. Celestia insisted that Luna go to the gala, but due to her sister's introverted nature, things were not going smoothly. Always trying to mess with her sister, Luna thought of a plan to annoy her. Celestia made the foolish error of agreeing to Luna's plan before hearing both sides of it. When told, she avoided communication with her sister for three days afterwards. The agreement was that Luna would go to the gala, but only if Celestia wore a dress worthy of the grand party.
Celestia refused to let Luna see the garment, so at the moment, Luna was looking for her only elder. She almost laughed openly when she remembered she was going to the gala, no matter what. In fact, she thought Celestia would prevent her from going to the Grand Galloping Gala due to her recently being back from her banishment.
The river of ponies flowed through the halls of the castle, through seeming an endless route. Luna, quietly thanking her false demeanor know to most ponies, acquired much free space in her walk. Due to a recent... incident almost exactly one year ago, the Grand Galloping Gala was being held outside, in the gardens. Surprising Celestia's assumption of the upper class, the nobles appeared to be excited for an outdoor gala. Another reason, in which if the gala was indoors, the nobles would be led outside to see, was a new structure. The distinct, new structure was quite immense, but surrounded by a magical tarp, in which no pony could see or break through. What was behind the tarp, only two ponies knew: Princess Celestia, and its architect. This was yet another thing Luna added to her list of things Celestia kept secret from her, and she was starting to run out of room.
Some noble gossip caught Luna out of her thought pattern. "Did you hear about Princess Celestia? I heard she actually is wearing a dress to the gala this year." The noble was responded by another noble. "I know. I'm surprised she is wearing one. It's just so... so awkward to see her basically stark nude while we spend thousands of bits to acquire the right dress. I wish to thank the pony that made her put on a garment."
"You're very welcome, then." Luna spoke quickly, before swiftly trotting forwards, away from the gossip. She managed a tiny look backwards, and almost keeled over laughing at the sight. She observed as the normally snobbish, better-than-everypony-else faces of the nobles turn into ones of shock, surprise, and most noticeably, sheer terror. Barley controlling her amusement, the Lunar Princess briskly strode through the crowd, receiving the occasional shout for lack of attention. She found her way into the rear end of the gardens, where no pony seemed to have noticed the area. In retrospect, Luna was very happy there were no other ponies around; the sight she saw incited one of the most energetic laughs to date in Equine History.
Due to a large hedge separation, no pony heard the laugh. No pony, that it, except for one. Princess Celestia sighed quietly to herself, and created a mental note to thank the distant ancestor of the pony who planted the seeds that now created a sound barrier between the Grand Galloping Gala and her laughing sister. While Celestia could see Luna lying on her back, guffawing loudly, the hedges required she walk around them to confront her sister. Once the large shrubbery was rounded, she faced her sister, who just stood up, and fell down again after seeing Celestia for a second time.
The Solar Princess, while in a very annoyed and grumpy mood, still appeared quite graceful. She had a single gold band in her hair, keeping it from floating apart. In her ears, were two great suns, each sun having eleven rays streaming away in a golden glow. Her dress, while seemingly one piece, was actually two fabrics magically conjoined into one. The base cloth was a very expensive, but still very elegant, gold silk. The affixed fabric had a scarlet hue. It curved and twisted atop its conjoined textile. The result was a complicated mess of red on gold, yet it was magnificent in every spectrum.
"Yes, yes. Laugh all you want." said Celestia grouchily. "Just know, I will get you back. Then, I'll be the pony laughing." After a few moments from her threat, Luna stood up, dusting off the miniscule amount of dirt that resided on her dress. "Oh cheer up, Cel. I just never expected you to actually wear a dress. That's all. No need to get revenge." Luna replied playfully.
"That won't stop me from getting revenge, though." The smirk on Celestia's face made Luna's blood freeze instantly. Trying to change the topic, and hopefully make her sister forget her threat, "So, you never told me what the statue was." The Solar Princess smiled slyly, knowing Luna's reason for the change of topic, but decided to play along. "I know, but you'll find out soon enough. I kept it secret, mainly to see if I can fill your so-called secret list of things I keep secret from you."
The sight Celestia received from Luna's face was enough to incite her into a giggling fit. Luna recovered quickly, but not quickly enough. She stood impatiently as her sister slowly revived herself from laughing. "Okay, you had your fun, now can you please tell what it is? And who is the sculptor, anyways?"
"You will see the statue, or statues in this case, in approximately ten minutes, when I reveal them. As for the sculptor, he is a pegasus named Kalksten. He-" Celestia stopped after seeing Luna's confused face. In her mind, Luna mulled over that name. She knew, no, she felt, the name was familiar to her. Her sister broke her out of her daze, "Do you think you know him?"
"Well," Luna began, "the name seems too familiar. Is it from some pony we knew back before Nightmare Moon?" Instead of replying with words, Celestia gave a small, quiet chuckle. "I'm surprised Luna, you remember that quite well. It took me over a year to recall the origin of his name. He is named after his distant ancestor, who was our chief architect."
The Lunar Princess's eyes widened slightly as some of her memories became known. "I didn't know he had children." she said after some memory recall. Celestia gave another one of her chuckles, which Luna secretly thought she should patent. "I didn't either until a few hundred years after his death. A pony came, claiming to be his heir. I doubted him at first, but he proved himself. In truth, that one pony was better than his forefather."
"How exactly did he prove himself? From experience, you aren't the easiest mare to impress." Celestia gave Luna a flat look, from which she instantly defended herself. "Hey, I'm just being honest here." The Solar Princess broke the gaze after a few seconds, and sighed, bowing her head forward. "Always yourself, Luna" she mumbled, incoherent to her sister. "For my own sake," she said, loudly enough this time, for her sister to hear, "He built the castle."
Luna stared at Celestia, not speaking. Celestia, in turn, only stood where she was, waiting for Luna's reaction. After half a minute, Luna thought of something unusual about her sister's tale. "He designed the entire castle as it is? There weren't any rooms he didn't create or create for separate purposes?" Celestia gave a puzzled look, and then answered, "Yes, why do you ask?" Luna spoke again, but in a slightly quieter voice, "How did I receive my room then? Both of us know very well I never saw the internal structure of Canterlot Castle until I returned from the moon, so the room would have sat alone for almost a thousand years."
The Solar Princess gave another sigh, which Luna though she should also patent, and explained, "I told him little about you. I said you disappeared and that one day you would return. Surprisingly though, he immediately guessed about Nightmare Moon. Apparently, Starswirl couldn't keep his muzzle shut and wrote some prophecy about your return after witnessing my spell." She paused, and Luna knew why. No matter how many times Luna forgave her sister, Celestia would never excuse herself for her actions. The Solar Princess bowed her head forward and almost let a tear escape from her eye, but she felt her sister's hoof underneath her muzzle.
Giving only slight pressure, Luna raised Celestia's head upward and stared into her eyes. "I will say this again, Celestia." Celestia internally winced; Luna never said her full name unless she was annoyed, or there was something serious going on, and Celestia chose the latter option. "It was not your fault. You cannot keep kicking yourself over it. We are here, now. Let it be in the past." The Lunar Princess quit talking and stepped forward to give her sister a hug. It was quickly returned. The two princesses stood there, not as princesses, but as friends, as sisters. Many times, one would argue with the other about just leaving Equestria and living somewhere else. They would still provide movement of the sun and moon, but control over the country would fall to someone else. Each argument ended when the pony who wanted to leave realized the complications that would arise would be too elaborate to continue.
"Now," started Luna, breaking the pensive silence, "I think it's time to show everyone this sculpture." Celestia rubbed her eyes with her foreleg, and chuckled softly, "Of course, Luna. They are probably waiting for us." With that, the Solar Princess strode forward, reviving her autocratic composure. Deciding it would seem too awkward to follow, Luna snuck out the other end of the row of trees and stood attentively behind the gathering of ponies. She quickly gazed over the crowd to find Twilight Sparkle and her five friends, but Celestia's voice stopped her reconnaissance.
"Ladies and Gentlecolts, I welcome all of you to the-" she paused for half a second. Luna smirked to herself as Celestia continued. "1276th Grand Galloping Gala." She received a loud ovation for her simple sentence. Once quiet, The Solar Princess spoke again to the crowd, "Many of you are wondering why we are outside right now. One reason is a certain complication with the ballroom." She gave a very subtle wink, inconspicuous to every pony, except for a certain group of six mares. "The more important reason, though, is a new addition to the gardens of this castle." Celestia gestured behind her, where a large tarp hung over the long-awaited sculpture, concealing it from view. "Although glass already express their adventures for this nation, they themselves deserve something more in recognition." Celestia's horn illuminated to a yellow hue, and the gray tarp behind her shifted slightly before flying off the statue completely.
Everyone gave a genuine gasp of surprise, except for two: Princess Celestia who remained silent, and Kalksten, who pretended to gasp to remain concealed in the crowd. The sculpture represented six mares, each facing a different direction as they formed a circle with their bodies. From their vantage point, the ponies could see the figure of Twilight Sparkle in unblemished white marble. The marble statues each stood about 5 feet tall, larger than their living models, who all were as surprised at the detail as every other pony in the gardens, save for the two.
Each marble figure seemed to be an exact replica of the true mares, causing them to become paranoid that someone has been watching them to acquire such detail. The six mares noted that their marble counterparts had their respective Elements of Harmony. Soon, they were bombarded with questions by the surrounding ponies about how they were involved with the creation, which thoroughly scared Fluttershy. Once the visible amazement of the crowd started dwindling down, Celestia spoke again, surprising some of the guests.
"Our sculptor wishes not to be named at this moment, but he offers everyone of you a challenge." Celestia grinned as she let the congregation of ponies murmur amongst themselves before explaining further. "He challenges you all to find out which pony he is at this party." Letting the crowd think this was an easy test, she continued after a slight pause. "When you find him, you must tell him which statue in this garden his family did not carve." Several gasps were heard from the party. "If you are correct, then he offers his service. For anything. Whether it be a statue or establishment of any size, he will build it, at no charge."
All the ponies erupted into a cacophony of questions, statements, and shouts. Even through the noise, Celestia heard her student say, "Well the statue part will be easy, we just have to find him." She smiled as she heard this comment. They have no idea, she thought. Laughing silently, she walked off the stage to mingle with the ponies that require mingling from the princess to survive each year.
As the party went into full swing, Luna treaded across the gardens. She received the occasional greeting, but no pony actually continued a full conversation with her. She thought over her sister's and Kalksten's challenge. Her intuition first led her to Discord, but after speculating this idea, she dismissed it. Celestia isn't that daft to let the challenge be that simple, she thought. Although, Discord isn't a carved statue, so it seems it has to be him. Ideas popped into her head, but were easily dismissed as incorrect. None of the statues seemed to be fit for Celestia to use in her test with Kalksten. Her thought process ended abruptly as she heard loud noises arising from where Discord's statue was. At the base was a collection of ponies. Six of them were her only friends in Equestria, or at least most of the six were her friends. The last was a stallion facing away from her. She couldn't see them very well, but Luna noticed the stallion point a hoof upwards.
She followed his hoof, and it appeared to be facing Discord's face, more precisely, his mouth. All she regarded was the single tooth and the snake tongue that curved up, and then fell at the end. The Lunar Princess was about to walk over and ask herself until it hit her.
Since Discord's return from stone, Luna rethought her opinions of him. She secretly befriended him, mainly because they were both alone in this world. She found comfort in speaking to him at times, due to the fact that they were both imprisoned for large quantities of time. He would reply, but through her mind. Discord didn't try any tricks to influence her for any reason. Luna would often spend her free time sitting in front of his statue in the darkest part of the night, when Celestia thought she was in her room. This allowed her to almost entirely memorize Discord's structure.
His tongue, she recalled, grinning evilly at her epiphany, should be curved down, then end upwards, not the other way around. She strode forward towards the small group. After only a few steps, the six mares left the stallion at the statue, who turned out to be a pegasus. Assuming that he was the architect, she decided to give him her own answer to his challenge, which was none of the statues. While still a decent distance away, the stallion's ears perked slightly, and he turned to meet his newest companion of the party.
That was when their eyes met.