The Not-So-Grand Galloping Gala

by Starpony999

7 Twi-lit Night

Twilight made a mad dash for the Magnabolts display. Their big piece this year was a moving replica of the princesses. She took flight once inside the main ballroom and swished over to the statue. There weren't many objects to dodge in the air...or ponies for that matter. Probably because they didn't want to 'ruin' their dresses. Either way, Twilight didn't care because this allowed her to have a quicker path to the latest and greatest invention. She was so focused on her target that she failed to see a certain princess of the night approaching until the last possible second. She back flapped and then flipped full circle so that she was face to face with Princess Luna. The pegasus backtracked further to put a little more than a forehoof's length between them. "Your Highness" Twilight blurted, trying to do a bow in mid-air. It was harder than usual due to her dress.

"Twilight Swish." The Princess returned, in her Old-Ponish accent. "Please, do not bother with the formality of bowing. We have had quite enough of that this evening."

Twilight quickly rightened herself. "My apologies. I mean, sorry for almost running into you. I'll be more careful. Enjoy your night!" She then proceeded to fly around the alicorn of the moon and closer to the statue.

She vaguely heard Princess Luna say "Thou as well, Ms. Swish," Which seemed to be followed by "We no tea shill knot." But that didn't make much sense.

Twilight landed right in front of the red velvet ropes. She marveled at the work before her. It hadn't been quite a year since Princess Luna had returned, and yet the Magnabolts had managed to craft such a wonderful structure. It showed the two princesses back to back, but with their faces turned to face each other. Their horns touched each other's and seemed to glow with their individual colors. Their manes waved behind them; the automation on the mane was amazing. Twilight couldn't see any gears or overlapping panels of metal as they moved. Speaking of perfection, Twilight couldn't differentiate a single panel from the rest of the statue. It was truly impeccable. It seemed they hadn't yet figured out how to overlay fur, or perhaps they rather preferred to show off the bare basics of their machinery. Twilight could appreciate that. The metal princesses' eyes blinked in synchrony before their pupils trailed up to the ceiling. The pegasus let her eyes follow theirs and saw a group of Wonderbolts fly overhead.

There had been a small time in Twilight's life where she wanted to be a Wonderbolt. The few times she attended their shows, it was amazing to see what they could do in the air. Anypony was able to enjoy it, even her parents from the ground below. It wasn't until she learned what the Wonderbolt's main purpose in Equestria was that she gave up on that dream. The Wonderbolts were the elite guard of Princess Celestia. (Come to think of it, it was possible that they were part of Princess Luna's guard too, but Twilight rather liked the idea that the Shadow Bolts they had encountered in the Everfree almost a year ago were Luna's elite guard instead of a collective one). The Wonderbolts trained just about every day of the week, and often had to spar with one another. Twilight didn't like fighting, not even the friendly kind. She was all about giving back to her family and her community. After all, that was the reason behind her cutiemark. It wasn't long after she learned of the Wonderbolt's true calling that she went to a Magnabolt convention with her parents and earned her cutiemark. The Magnabolts were her true heroes.

Twilight brought her gaze back down to the statue so that she could continue admiring the fine work of art. A splash of navy blue caught her attention from her right, and she found the Princess of the Night standing beside her. "What a lovely piece of art." The Princess said, her voice hushed compared to the loud conversations across the ballroom. "They even got our height right." This comment caused Twilight to look between the flesh and blood princess and the metal and wire one. The pony-made version was as tall as her counterpart, whereas the real-life Princess Luna was a head shorter than Princess Celestia.

"They did?" Twilight replied. It was meant to be a question, but the Princess seemed to take it as affirmation.

"How it is rare to find a pony who understand alicorn magic. We art so glad to have found it in twice over: the Magnabolts, and thyself, Ms. Swish."

"You can call me Twilight. We're friends after all."

"Of course, of course." Luna put her pearl-encrusted hoof to her chin and rubbed it in thought. "Does thou perhaps know where the Magnabolts art?"

Twilight shook her head. "I was about to go find them. I had assumed they'd be near this masterpiece," She waved at the statue in front of them. "But I guessed wrong."

"Very well, We shall continue our search." The Princess left almost as swiftly as she had appeared.

Twilight looked after the disappearing princess with curiosity. "I wonder why she's looking for the Magnabolts?" She muttered, before preparing to take flight again. She quickly forgot about Luna as soon as she spotted the co-captain of the Magnabolts: Flam Apple. She dashed towards him, but quickly realized there was a long line of ponies lining up to meet him. She floated downward slowly, landing at the end of the line with a sigh. She wondered if Flam would remember her. It had been many years since she had last run into him.

---

Twilight had but one pony between her and Flam at this point. She hopped between her four hooves in anticipation. Her smile was almost too wide for her to keep on her face. She would have tried to calm down if she was capable of it. It was genetic: When a Twilight gets excited, there is no calming her down.

"Flam! Flam! It's showtime!" A voice called from their left.

Flam's head swooshed to his right, nodded, and then turned back to the pony in front of him. "I'm sorry miss, it was really nice meeting you, but I have to get going now." The mare bowed and Flam rushed off in the direction the voice had come from. Twilight guessed that it was his brother, Flim, the other co-captain of the Magnabolts.

"That is truly disappointing." Twilight turned around to see Princess Luna behind her.

"Princess!"

"Well do not act so surprised, Ms. Sw---Twilight. We did tell thee that We were looking to talk with the Magnabolts."

Twilight rubbed the back of her head with her hoof. "Yeah, I guess you did. I just didn't notice you standing there."

"And here We thought our presence was head-turning." Princess Luna's eyes twinkled with mischief. She gestured for them to start walking away from the area and amongst the partygoers.

Twilight laughed at the joke as she followed her princess. "Yeah, you would think having the night sky attached to your head would cause ponies to gawk." She chuckled again before composing herself. "I was just awfully focused on meeting the Magnabolts tonight. I guess I will just have to go, sit back, and watch their show."

"Will thou not have a chance to see them after the show?"

"No, their show goes until the end of the gala. At least you will be able to speak with them, you are a princess after all."

Princess Luna nodded thoughtfully. "We suppose thou art correct. But We just wanted to give them our thanks and appreciation over this fine work of art. We plan to have it placed in the courtyard where we will be able to see it everyday."

Twilight sighed wistfully. "How lucky they are to make something worthy of royalty."

A smile overtook the princess's face. "If thou thinks they are quite lucky, then thou ought to consider thyself lucky as well."

"Huh? Why?"

"Thou hast been chosen to repair our old castle." Princess Luna's face then mirrored the confusion on Twilight's. "Hast thou not received the official summonings yet?"

"No, no I haven't. But that's an absolute honor, your majesty! I would be honored. Thank you!"

"Well, it was mostly our sister's decision, but We will be overseeing the proj--"

"Twilight! Twilight!" A voice called, interrupting the Princess. The midnight duo looked over to see Apple Jet just outside in the gardens. She was at Rainbow's tables selling apple treats. She had only a few left, but the line from her cart was quite long.

Princess Luna gave Twilight a knowing look. "You should probably go over and help your friend out."

"Will do! See you around, Princess! And thanks again!" Twilight leaped into the air and glided over to her friend. She began to help her cut the remaining treats into smaller pieces as she explained the balance of supply and demand.

Author's Note:

Oh my word it's been over a month--almost two!--since I last updated this! I am so sorry you guys. Life has been taking me for quite a ride. I think once I go back to uni I'll be able to get back on a schedule.

Statue inspiration taken as a combination of these two pictures:
Pic 1 Pic 2

Oh! Fun Fact! A new story about this world's cutiemark crusaders will be coming out this fall, and as the first draft is almost finished (as it was started long before this one, sorry! The order got switched around a bit), it will be updating every Saturday as per usual once it starts. (Probably September or late August.)

Comments

[Comickook]

Excellent job on this latest chapter. It took a while, but was VERY well worth the wait. Love the exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up.

I especially liked Twilight's reflections on how she grew to admire the Magnabolts AND her interactions with Luna. Though, all things considered, I wonder how Twilight's thoughts on the Magnabolts would sour if she found out the co-captains were her best friend's worst enemies. And, yeah, I have to admit, I got a real kick out of Luna mentioning to Twilight that she got picked to help in the restoration of the Royal Sisters' old castle.

Anyway, I WILL definitely be looking forward to more of this, but will also respect the need for patience.

And, yeah, I will also most certainly be looking forward to your spin on the Cutie Mark Crusaders' origin.