Outcasts of Equestria

by Old Ben Kenobi

Chapter 2-The Meeting in Canterlot

The train rolled inside the city of Canterlot. At night, its glowing, ivory beauty stood out in stark contrast to the dark,cold forbidding mountain which it was built on. The train suddenly shuddered and ground to a halt. Everyone in the train rose their heads;this had not happened before. The ponies and Spike looked out of the window, to see a group of Royal guards standing in front of the train.

"What in tarnation do them Canterlot guards think they're doing?" said Applejack.

Twilight looked puzzled,

"I don't know," she said, "But I think we should go and investigate,"

Twilight and her friends stepped out of the carridge, only to see the point of a spear thrust in her face.

"Halt!" Shouted the white pegasus guard.

Everyone looked at the guard in shock. Rainbow Dash suddenly flew upwards in a rage,

"Hey!" She shouted, "Do you know who you're talking to? This is Princess Twilight Sparkle!"

"Rainbow Dash..." said Twilight, but Dash ignored her.

"Take that lame stick out of her way!" Said Dash, "Or I'll..."

"Silence!" Shouted the guard. "You are all under arrest!"

"What?" Exclaimed Twilight Sparkle, "We haven't even done anything..."

But at that moment, a loud,terrifying voice shouted,

"Guard C-129! Step down immediately!" It was Princess Celestia.

Everyone was dumbstruck. None of them had ever heard her use the Royal Canterlot Voice before, and after that experience, none of them ever wanted to again.

"These are my guests!" Said Princess Celestia in her quiter, but no less angry voice, "And this is Princess Twilight Sparkle! You are dismissed!"

The guard did something which shocked the seven friends even more. He looked at Celestia with a scowl of utmost loathing, then spat at her hooves and galloped away.

Princess Celestia looked at him go with a trace of sadness in her eyes, then said to the company

"Follow me. We need to head towards my chamber as fast as we can."

Twilight Sparkle walked side by side with her mentor, while her six friends followed behind.

"Princess," began Twilight, "Why..."

"Quiet, Twilight," hissed Celestia, "I will explain everything when I can."

They trotted silently through the halls of Canterlot. Twilight Sparkle noticed there were much more Canterlot guards around than usual.

"Don't look," whispered Celestia, "Ignore them. We need to focus on getting to my room."

They ascended a flight of stairs until they reached a wooden door. They walked in, one by one, and Celestia closed the door with her yellow magic. The room was very luxurious; there was a large bed in the corner, the room was painted red and had a dark crimson carpet and there was a flickering fireplace in the wall.

Celestia turned around and faced the others, a look of fear on her face.

Twilight opened her mouth, but Celestia raised a hoof to silence her.

"I know you will all have questions you want to ask me," she said, "But I will have to be brief. I will tell you everything you need to know."

The room was silent, except for the faint crackling of the fire.

"Over the past few weeks,"Celestia began, "I have been noticing my guards have been behaving strangely. Few can still meet my eyes, and the display you saw there was only one of many."

"Why don't you do something?" Interrupted Rainbow Dash,"You're Princess Celestia! You could have them banished or thrown in a dungeon in ten seconds flat!"

Princess Celestia looked at Rainbow Dash.

"I'm afraid it's not that simple, Dash," she said sadly, "You see, I have a feeling that there is something behind this. Someone wants to rise to power, to take over Canterlot. And for that, they would need me out of the way. I know some of the guards are in on it, though I would like to think some remain loyal. If I were to banish anyone in the current situation, it could be just the excuse they need to arrest me and take my throne."

The ponies looked on, wide eyed. All the things that had posed a threat to Celestia so far had been magical and even alien, though now they were seeing a very different threat-a threat from the inside.

"This is why I have called you here," continued the Princess ,"You are the only ones I can fully trust to investigate this issue. I know none of you will let me down."

Suddenly, the wooden door burst open to reveal a dark brown pegasus guard. He bowed to Celestia, then got up.

"My lady," he said, "I have come to warn you,"

"What is it?" asked Celestia,

"Downstairs, in the Hall," said the pegasus, "There appears to be some kind of revolt!"

Celestia's eyes hardened.

"They've made the first move," she said, half to herself, then she rushed down the stairs, followed by her student and her friends.

Comments

[defunct321]

The pacing's a bit off, you could have made it all go a lot smoother. And you have some grammar mistakes you could work on. But just because that's such a good cliffhanger I'm liking it.

[Old Ben Kenobi]

4134432 Sorry about the grammar. I'm still not used to typing on an ipad, so it might be a little funny. I do tend to have a bit of a problem with starting my fics, so I suppose I should try and work on that. Glad you are liking it so far, though!

[defunct321]

4134465 Yeah, you should work on the start. Single most important part, a lot of people might decide to leave on the first chapter and not even bother to see if the other chapters are good. I almost did myself.