"Princess Celestia?"

"Yes little one?" She answered,

"What is this place?"

"This is the Royal Sculpture Garden my dear, every statue here tells a story." Princess Celestia explained, gesturing to the whole of the garden.

There were a lot of statues, ones of ponies, griffons, and... whatever that was. Each statue had a stone pathway leading up to and circling it, and each one had a plaque most likely describing what or who statue was about. Further in the garden, several stone pathways disappeared into what looked like a hedge maze, more statues could be seen poking out of the top.

"Woah..." The little filly was awestruck,

She ran up one, hooves clacking loudly against the stone pathway, and began staring intently at the stone eyes of the statue.

“Hey! I think I know this one!” She exclaimed, rearing up and putting her hooves on the pedestal.

“Oh you do now, do you?” Princess Celestia asked, following behind more slowly, “Who might that be then?"

The little filly thought for a moment, and looked the statue up and down, deep in concentration. She began to pace as she continued to think about who the statue was, Princess Celestia stood smiling in wait. After several moments of consideration, the little filly came to a realization.

“That’s Commander Raptor! Legendary Pegasus Commander!” She exclaimed, jumping up and down.

“That’s correct little one,” Princess Celestia smiled, then pressed further, "But do you know why he is famous?"

Another pause as she took several more moments of thought, then the little filly answered uneasily, “Um... He led the Pegasus army?”

“That he did, but so have others” Princess Celestia said, causing the filly to look down, “Alright, let me ask you this, what was his real name?”

“You mean his real name wasn’t Commander Raptor?” The filly asked confused.

“That was the name given to him, as a representation of his leadership and accomplishments.” Princess Celestia explained, “His real name was something else.”

“Oh… Then I don’t know it.” The little filly admitted. “Sorry,” she said quietly.

Quick to react, Princess Celestia reassured her “That’s ok little one, it wasn’t a test.”

“It wasn’t?”

“No, no it wasn’t. I just wanted to know how much you knew, but also to show you that each of these statues has a story to tell.” Princess Celestia explained,

“I don’t know much about Pegasus history,” the filly said,

“I wouldn’t expect you to, given your past.” Princess Celestia said.

The filly stayed silent, looking down at the ground.

Sensing the mood, Princess Celestia decided to try and fix it.

“Here, I'll tell you." She began, "Not many know this, but Commander Raptor’s real name was actually Song Bird,”

The filly perked up at this, she looked up at Princess Celestia. “Really?” She asked.

“Yes, and he had quite the voice as well, even after years of drill instructing.” Princess Celestia continued,

The little filly giggled, “That’s funny,”

“Yes, it is.” Princess Celestia said with a smile, then changed the subject “By the way, how are your magic lesson’s going?”

“Oh! Right! They’re going great, I’m learning so much about magic.” The little filly exclaimed, tapping her horn.

"That's good to here, I'm glad I'm able to help you learn about it," Celestia said, still smiling,

"Mm-Hm!" The filly hummed.

With the mood now successfully fixed, Princess Celestia decided to move along their little trip deeper into the hedges.

"So... Do you see any other statues you want to know about?" She asked,

"Well... There is that one." The filly pointed to a unicorn statue further down the path,

"That's Starswirl the Bearded, a master magician and a close friend." Princess Celestia explained,

"Ooh... And what about that one?"

"That, is Princess Platinum, she ruled Equestria before I did, that was before it was even called Equestria."

"Wow, and that one?"

"That one is..." Celestia paused, "Discord."

"Hmm, his story doesn't look fun," The filly said,

"It's not,"

"Oh."

By now they had reached the end of the pathway, which led to a small clearing that held a very strange looking wall. They both walked up to it.

"What a weird looking wall, why is it even here in the garden?" The filly asked out loud,

"Because my dear, it isn't a wall." Celestia said,

"It isn't?" The little filly was confused,

"Take a step back,” Princess Celestia suggested,

The filly did so, and took a step back to look at the wall from further away. It wasn’t very tall, but still more than enough to stop anypony from jumping over it. Or climbing it it seems, as it looked very rugged and sharp. The wall was long, but not straight, it was curved, almost as if it was surrounding something.

“Ummm…” The filly murmured, still at a loss.

“Why don’t you walk around it?” Princess Celestia said, pointing down the stone pathway that encircled the wall.

“Ok,”

She continued down the pathway, walking alongside the wall. She almost wanted to run her hoof along the side of it, but decided not to. As she continued to walk, the wall began to taper off at a point that was being held above the ground by some supports. The stone pathway wrapped around the edge of the wall and continued on the other side.

Turning the corner, the filly came face to face with the gigantic stone mandibles of the creature that this statue represented.

“Eeek!” The filly shrieked, just as Princess Celestia turned the corner as well.

“It’s okay little one, it’s just a statue,” She was quick to assure her.

The filly took a moment to catch her breath, “It’s scary looking.” She commented.

“Yes, it is,” Princess Celestia added,

“But, also… interesting,” the filly continued.

“Interesting?” Princess Celestia gave a slight frown at that, “Do you recognize it?”

“Maybe?” The filly said, “It seems… familiar.”

“Well, if you knew about Commander Raptor, then it would make sense you would know about this.” Princess Celestia deducted, “Their stories are closely intertwined,”

“Really?”

“Oh yes, ultimately, they were each other’s undoing.” Princess Celestia explained,

“Could you…” The filly began, “Tell me that story?”

Princess Celestia grimaced, “I don’t think that story is suitable for fillies,”

“Oh c’mon please?” The filly pleaded, looking up at her.

She stood her ground, “I don’t think so.”

“Pleeaasee???” The filly pleaded even harder, intentionally watering her eyes.

Now, over the time they had spent together, Princess Celestia had built up a tolerance to this, but that's all it was, a tolerance, not an immunity. So she eventually caved to the filly's desires.

“Ok, fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” She said, “I’ll try to censor whatever's necessary.”

“Yay!”

“Let’s find someplace to sit, this story is a long one,” Princess Celestia said,

“Okay!”

She then guided the filly along the stone path back out of the hedges, and towards a gazebo that was placed nearby. The two walked into it, and sat down.

"Alright, are you sure you want to hear this story?" Princess Celestia asked once again.

"Yes Yes Yes!" The filly repeated, bouncing a bit.

Princess Celestia smiled, but she still wasn't so sure about telling this story, at least not just yet. Maybe she shouldn't have shown her that statue just yet. Never the less, she cleared her throat.

"Once upon a time, in the magical lands of Equestria..."

One fateful day, a great worm appeared in the sky, not one of fortune or prosperity, but one of death and destruction...

The worm's power was unmatched, for its speed was faster than any Pegasi, and its size could rival even dragons. The terrible worm descended upon Equestria with reckless abandon, proving to even be a match for the Princess herself.

In only three day’s time, the worm caused untold destruction. In the meantime, Pegasi from all over rallied together against the new threat, and when the time came, they launched a great hunt against the worm.

They delved into the worm’s storm, and a fierce battle took place, but it ended quickly. Many perished, as hundreds of Pegasi unknowingly flew into their own demise. The worm survived, now stripped of its armor, it fled to live another day.

The Pegasus commander, Raptor, was furious with their loss against the worm, and swore vengeance over his lost kin. But he could not continue the hunt, for his forces were depleted, and he was forced to wait as the worm escaped.

For three years, the worm evaded capture, and it continued to wreak havoc on Pegasus settlements. Any and all cloud cities had to be grounded for fear of being obliterated by the scourge of the skies. Commander Raptor never gave up however, and he relentlessly crusaded against it.

He was able to find allies and soldiers wherever the worm had passed through, and using the best of the best, he formed an elite team of Pegasi to specifically take down the worm. Several times they proved themselves effective, thus they were named the Wonderbolts.

Time and time again, Commander Raptor along with his Wonderbolts and army would engage the worm and time and time again, the worm would escape once more. The worm was simply too fast to chase, so they could only prepare for the next time it would appear and attack. This infuriated Commander Raptor, who began to search for ways to confront the worm and win, besides a direct conflict.

Then, an opportunity presented itself, the worm was spotted engaging in battle with a dragon. The Pegasus army was mobilized, just in time to unveil their latest weapon against the worm. The cockatrice, able to turn an opponent to stone with a single gaze, was to be utilized to defeat the worm once and for all.

The ensuing battle was by far the worst of them all, almost all had perished, save for a few lucky souls. The worm had defeated both the dragon and the Pegasus army, but still hadn't left the battle. Seeing his chance, Commander Raptor bravely took a caged cockatrice into battle, and when he faced down the worm alone, he managed to triumph against it.

The worm was turned to stone, but as some sort of last laugh, the massive stone worm fell upon Commander Raptor, crushing him underneath as they crashed into the ground below.

The filly gasped at that last part, and Princess Celestia cringed a bit, she should have probably left that part out.

“Are you okay? I told you this story wasn’t very nice.” She reminded,

“I’m fine.” The filly said, “I just didn’t expect that.”

Princess Celestia just hummed,

“So you fought that thing?” The filly asked,

“I did. Once. A long time ago,” Princess Celestia answered, “I wish I could’ve done more, but the worm was wary of my power, and would flee every time I appeared.”

“Was it afraid of you?” The filly asked,

“I believe it was. When I fought it, it spoke to me before it fled.” Princess Celestia answered.

“It spoke!?” The filly asked, flabbergasted, “What did it say?”

“One word," Princess Celestia said, "Fear.”

The filly sighed, “That’s sad,”

“I suppose it is,” Princess Celestia replied, then thought for a moment, “Though it isn’t all bad.”

“It isn’t?”

“No. There was a huge celebration after the worm’s defeat. The Pegasi of Equestria were finally able to fly once more. In fact, I know that several cloud cities still celebrate it, and every three years Cloudsdale holds a festival for it. There is a parade, specialty food, and even the 'worm dance'," Princess Celestia detailed,

"Worm dance?" The filly asked,

"Yes, it's where several ponies team up to weave around a long puppet, it can be quite the spectacle." Princess Celestia described.

"That sounds fun," the filly said, smiling.

Princess Celestia smiled back, she was glad she was able to save the mood once again. She wondered why the filly was so interested in the worm, but pushed that off to the side. There was still the rest of the castle tour to get through, and this story had eaten up a lot of their time together. Then Princess Celestia thought of something.

"You know, the festival is this year I believe," She started, looking down at the filly, who looked back up at her. She continued, "Would you like to go to it?"

The filly gasped, "Really? You mean... we could go to... Cloudsdale?"

"That's right." Princess Celestia said,

"Oh my gosh! Yes!" She beamed, almost jumping with joy.

Princess Celestia smiled at her, "Now doesn't that sound fun...?"

"...Cadance."

To Be Continued...

Author's Note

Did I getcha? Probably not, I tried to make it as hard as possible to discern whether the filly was Twilight or Cadance, but given some context it might be a little easy to guess. Also the "worm dance" is based off of the dragon dance, I thought it made sense.