//------------------------------// // Chapter 00 // Story: Equipoise: Celestia on Trial // by February Write Off //------------------------------// Author's note: I'd like to thank a number of people who pushed my lazy bum to write. Guys from FimFiction, Ponygoons, and even Mitch Larson. I hope you enjoy the story I've been working on since May (mainly ideas. Started really writing in October) and feel free to critique the story. There's more of this story on the way. The sound of steel wheels against the metallic rails sent rumbles along the compartments. The compartments were either internally dimly lit or not even lit at all. Anyone in them would've experienced an ominous feel of dread and voidness. It was a train to Canterlot, the grand capital city of the Equestrian Kingdom. But it was no ordinary train schedule today. No ordinary citizen boarded the train, leaving a numberof the cabooses unoccupied. The windows on the cabooses were all shut, save for one. "Ugh... nothing but open fields and towns in the distance. I can barely take another hour of this ride." He languished. It was an attempt to strike up a conversation with what could sadly be called 'company' in the same compartment. Deep down he knew it was a futile effort to start a conversation since his better half wasn't much of a talker who preferred just lingering silent in the shadowy corner. After that failed attempt, he retreated from the window to the center of the compartment. He sunk his head inwards, finding it unbearably jaded. Five hours have gone by and Canterlot’s famed mountain ranges were still nowhere to be seen. The lack of any indoor light but the scant sunlight entering the compartment windows didn’t help much either to brighten the atmosphere. For him, an arduous journey were the long and lonesome ones. For a pony such as himself, to be apart from others was as good as digging your own grave. After some time, he decided to try striking up another conversation, this time something that might interest his better half enough to converse from the shadows. "Sir? With all due respect, I'm not sure if this'll work." He immediately noticed an eyebrow raising across the room, even in the darkness. "I- Uhh... what I meant to say was that we're walking into the Heartland of this country. The Hornet's Nest." He explained, recovering from the hesitant stumble he had earlier. “Everything has been meticulously planned out," he said, replying from the shadows, "I know the dangers involved. That's why I'm well assured to risk everything on this. Besides, the city's defenceless. No one will stop us." “Yes Sir...” He replied skeptically. Despite knowing that they still haven't reached Canterlot, he took a few steps toward the window again, this time looking at the sun setting. “A lot of troops from the Kingdom will converge onto Canterlot. Royal Guards, Frontiersmares, and Legionnaires. We're outnumbered.” “Are you done grieving like a filly?" His voice teemed with annoyance. "What we have is just enough. Most importantly, we have the element of surprise. And from what I’ve been hearing, the politics happening behind closed doors is turning in our favor.” Suddenly, mountain ranges came into view. “Well well well, the infamous colossal mountains covered by snow, and the waterfall trickling down its side," he said, looking out the window. "I'd say you should come see this but, I know how often you visit Canterlot." “Have you ever gone to Canterlot?” “No, sir. I was born in the Southeastern reaches of the Kingdom. Baltimare. Nothing like Canterlot, really. Small, fairly contemporary. It lacks the old world charms of Canterlot, for better or worse.” “And how’d you know that if you haven’t even been to Canterlot?” “Oh, the colts and mares talk about it at meal time. The grand mountains, towering spires, the unique beautiful sun rays that illuminate the Canterlot skies, the fine dining, the endless stream of night events, and everything else that’s glamorous. Well hay, some were even from Canterlot, which I could tell by their... pretentious mannerisms, if I must say. Not just their way of speaking but by their level of smugness as well." He withdrew from the windows and set himself by the center of the compartment, again. Something uneasy crossed his mind. “And what about them?" "Yes?" "The six girls. They've singlehandedly or collaborated in the defeat of Nightmare Moon, Discord, the Changeling Queen and other monsters, including dragons. All of these larger-than-life menaces have brought Equestria, in one way or the other, down to its knees. All we have is a couple of soldiers and a suicidal plan." "You seem to forget that these six defeated Nightmare Moon and Discord through the use of the Elements of Harmony. Don't assume that I've forgotten about these things. And as for all your other concerns. Just remember what I'm about to say, now and after all of this..." He slowly emerged from the shadows, coming closer and closer, finally showing his face. "It doesn't take the unbelievable powers of the few to start a far-reaching fire. Just the Will of a certain few... with a plan."