//------------------------------// // 5 - Partition // Story: A Brief History of Canterlot Castle // by Rambling Writer //------------------------------// Dear Princess Celestia, I’m sorry this letter is so late, but it was a busy week and I’d forgotten to set aside time to write it… It was strange enough, Gabion thought, that he was writing letters to Celestia, ranging from weekly to semi-weekly, but stranger still that she was writing back, and writing back personally. As his quill traced out black lines and curves in the flickering lamplight, Gabion idly turned back time in his mind; he’d been doing this, having casual correspondence with one of Equestria’s diarchs, for over a year and a half. Most ponies would gnaw their own legs off for this opportunity. And Gabion just wanted to write his letter. It was late, some time after sundown. It was the first free moment Gabion had had all day, after an intense argument with one of his assistant builders on the consistency of some of their new mortar. Tomorrow wasn’t looking much better on that front. So he was left up after his bedtime, scratching away at a sheet of parchment. He set his quill down for a moment to suppress a yawn. There was some ruckus outside. Gabion ignored it; it didn’t sound serious. …had a disagreement today on mortar. I’ll spare you the technical details; they could bore even most builders… More ruckus. Yelling. Gabion wished he had a pair of earmuffs to block it out. Scratch scratch. …issue of ease of creation versus long-term strength. Don’t worry, it’s far less dire than it sounds… Hooves beat against the ground outside. The tent flap flew open and a courier nearly fell inside. “Um, excuse me,” she said uncertainly. “But, uh, the princess just arrived and she’s here to see you.” Gabion snorted and didn’t glance from his writing. “If she’s going to come this late, Princess Celestia can-” “Princess Luna.” A pin was jabbed into Gabion’s flanks and he was halfway across the camp with the courier before he realized it. He’d spent so much time talking with Celestia that he’d nearly forgotten that Princess Luna existed at all. Logically, of course, she did — how else would the moon move? — she was simply never on his mind. In less than a minute, he skidded a halt in front of Princess Luna and her chariot. Before construction on the castle had begun, he’d thought her so similar to her sister, the same separation of worlds. But now, after seeing both of them up close, they seemed so different. Celestia was sleek like a kingfisher; Luna was sleek like a tiger. Luna’s blue coat almost looked like it was hiding something or that there ought to be something more in it. And she was… cold. The flickering light of the torches cast strange shadows on her face that made her feel distant and odd, as if she were a pristine statue in crumbling ruins. She looked down at Gabion with an expression that wasn’t quite a frown. “Princess Luna,” he said, bowing, so low his beard tickled the ground. “Mason,” Princess Luna said tautly. “I would like to see your progress on my sister’s and my castle.” Gabion twitched. “Now?” he asked, tentatively raising his head. A yawn attempted to force its way out of him. “Is there a problem with doing it now?” asked Princess Luna. Her voice sounded a touch hostile, somehow. “It is the best time for myself.” “No,” Gabion said quickly. “It was- merely- a surprise, is all, Your Majesty.” He stood up. “The castle isn’t finished yet, so you can’t see the whole thing, but-” “I realize that, mason,” cut in Princess Luna. “Nevertheless…” When Gabion realized Princess Luna wasn’t going to continue, he bowed again. “Then if you’ll follow me…” Thankfully, even if the castle hadn’t been completed, enough of it had been built for lamps to be put up, so in spite of the lateness of the hour and the crescent moon, there was more than enough light to see by as Gabion led Princess Luna to the castle. He wasn’t sure what she was looking for, so he settled for pointing out anything that could be relevant. “As you can see,” he said, “the stonework of the gate is almost done. We hope to have the portcullis in in about three weeks — it’s still under construction — and the drawbridge is completely functional.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Hmm.” Princess Luna glanced vaguely at the fortified walls. Gabion had seen that look before; her attention was elsewhere. “I was told the walls would glimmer.” “There’s still cladding that needs to be done,” Gabion said quickly. “Once we have the core of the wall up, it’ll be covered with stone enchanted to reflect moonlight and starlight.” Princess Luna’s ears twitched. “Hmm.” “…The, the grounds here, I’m sorry they don’t look like much, we haven’t even begun landscaping…” With a long, currently bare walk from the gates to (the beginnings of) the castle, Gabion was strapped for things to talk about. Princess Luna wasn’t helping things at all, staying mostly silent the whole way. Whenever he stole a glance at her, she was looking at some architectural feature without really seeing it or looking at him and very much seeing him. He did his best to keep his face straight. “And, of course, the front gate to the main building,” Gabion said, gesturing grandly at said gate. It was mostly complete, if only to look nice, and torches burned brightly in their sconces. “We’ve got a lot of the rooms behind here completed, including the throne room, so if you’d like to see them-” “Mason.” Gabion froze at the sound of Princess Luna’s voice. He slowly turned around. She was looking at- no, analyzing him. What for, he couldn’t say. He quickly inclined his head in a brief bow. “Yes, Your Majesty?” “I understand you… have something of a relationship with my sister,” said Princess Luna. She flicked her tail and her gaze bore into him like a drill. The statement might as well have been lined with poison stakes. It was the deliberately-vague comment meant to garner a response for judgment. Gabion forced himself to not swallow. “We write letters,” he said, hoping it didn’t sound dismissive. “It’s nice, and she’s a- very interesting pony.” He hoped the emphasis would convey that he was writing to Princess Celestia, not Princess Celestia. “She speaks highly of you.” Gabion’s muscles promptly stopped working and he felt ready to melt. Princess Celestia telling Princess Luna he was a good pony? Why? That- That- No. He was just a- But he’d already used that argument with Celestia herself, hadn’t he? And she had decided his best arguments weren’t remotely good enough. Public speaking not being one of his stronger traits, it wasn’t that surprising, and yet… Was he really nothing special, or was he something? Was it just his ability to treat Celestia as pony that she so valued? His capacity to listen without wanting something from her or fawning over her? His plain, simple acceptance of her? His- He yanked himself back to the present. “Oh,” he said, and forced himself to bow a little. “I try.” Not really. It just came naturally. “She especially valued the way you listened,” Princess Luna said quietly. She didn’t take her eyes from him. “I- saw that- she needed it,” Gabion said. “She was- alone and- needed help. And then we- kept it up once she left.” He felt like he was walking on a bed of nails, and the slightest mistake would end with him skewered. And he didn’t even know why. Silence. Princess Luna kept staring at him. Her face was blank, pensive. “Is… Is something wrong? Your Majesty?” Gabion asked. For a few seconds, nothing. Then Princess Luna turned away to look up at the door’s archway. “No,” she said quietly. Her voice sounded tired. “Nothing’s wrong.” A pause. “I would like to see the throne room, if you please.” “Oh- Oh, yes, of course, right this way.” Gabion led Princess Luna deeper into the castle, quietly thanking the stars that she wasn’t looking at him like that any more. Gabion pointed out different features of the castle as they passed them, noting when something was still under construction. “That way goes to the barracks — it’s boring, trust me… The royal apartments are- um, will be down that corridor… The banquet halls are over there… And here we go, the throne room.” He pushed the door open and bowed as Princess Luna walked in. In all honesty, it wasn’t a throne “room” so much as a throne “hall”. The place was gigantic, with the ceiling alone towering seven or eight stories above them. Each wall was lined with magnificent stained glass windows; moonlight streamed in through the ones on the right. The room itself stretched out ahead of them; it’d take a good ten seconds (at least) to gallop from one end to the other. And far, far on the end was the multi-tiered dias that would eventually hold the throne. It was already impressive, with one level alone almost as tall as the average pony. “The throne will be over there,” Gabion said, pointing. “If you’ll just-” Princess Luna’s horn glowed. Powerful magic rippled across Gabion’s coat and, for a single instant, it felt like he was getting stuffed down an inch-wide pipe. “-follow me…” He blinked to orient himself, which didn’t help, considering he’d crossed the room in less time for said blink to happen. He alternately stared at the door he’d just exited and his current location as Princess Luna ascended the dias to examine it more closely. By the time Gabion had properly grasped what had happened, Princess Luna was talking. “Perhaps it is merely me,” she said, “but this… stand seems rather small to hold two thrones.” “It’s not just you,” Gabion said, quickly pulling his mind together. “There’s only going to be one throne.” Princess Luna looked down at him. “But one?” she asked. It might’ve been Gabion’s imagination, but it sounded accusatory. “It’s Celestia’s during the day and yours during the night,” said Gabion. “Having one throne be unoccupied all the time would be unbalanced.” “And should we both be required in court at the same time?” “…Um.” Princess Luna’s not-quite glare hammered into Gabion like river rapids and his mouth dried out. “I… suppose… either you or Celestia would be in the throne, depending on the time, and the other would stand at her right hoof. Perhaps.” Princess Luna pursed her lips. “With respect, Your Majesty,” Gabion said quickly, “I didn’t design this castle.” “Hmm.” Princess Luna looked at the dias for a moment longer before striding down. “Mason, I have seen all I need to. I th-” Gabion remembered something at the last moment. “Wait. We’ve finished and clad one of the towers on the outer wall with the glimmering stone you mentioned. If you’d like a better idea of what the castle will look like, we can visit that before you go.” After a second, Princess Luna’s head twitched up and down. “Yes,” she said, “I think I would.” In spite of just being a guard tower, the structure was almost out-of-place in how beautiful it was. Soft, pure white against the mottled gray of the unclad walls, it glowed subtly in the starlight, like the moon, with scattered motes seeming to twinkle. It wasn’t very tall, but it was far more elegant than it had any right to be. Even the silver-trimmed pennant flapping from the roof looked grand. When Princess Luna saw it, her wings twitched and her eyes widened slightly. “This… is… most agreeable,” she said. She took to the air, scanning it from multiple angles. Gabion sat and waited, stifling a yawn. He wasn’t sure what she saw in it, but if it made her happy, what the hay. Several minutes later, Princess Luna alighted again in front of Gabion, still looking at the tower. “It is… like solid moonlight,” she said quietly. “Or perhaps that is merely my own bias.” Gabion shook his head. “It’s not just you. It…” He scratched his head. “I think the precise phrasing Celestia chose for the look was, ‘bring the moon down to Equestria’.” “…Yes. That has been done admirably.” Princess Luna’s mouth twitched. It almost looked like she was going to smile. But then the moment passed and she was stoic again. “Thank you for your time, Mason Gabion,” she said, inclining her head. “I am pleased to see that construction continues as scheduled.” Gabion bowed deeply. “And thank you for your time. It is a pleasure to serve.” After that, Princess Luna departed and Gabion headed back to his tent. His weariness, though undeniably there, wasn’t overtaking him like he’d feared it might. There was something strange, electrifying about Princess Luna, something that wasn’t in Celestia. Maybe, if he knew Princess Luna better, he could’ve said what, but not after less than an hour. He wanted to go to bed, but he had a letter to finish for Celestia. He scribbled out the remainder of the thought that’d been interrupted, added a little bit about Luna, and looked the letter. It was short, but it’d have to do. I apologize for this letter being so short, but it’s late and my bed is crooning sweet nothings into my ear. Your faithful servant, Gabion P.S. Luna needs to work on her people skills. And with that, Gabion blew out the lamp.