Relax
Hey everyone! I somehow managed to pick up TEN FOLLOWERS! 
So, in honor of that, Chapter Two is being revealed! This one's a bit of a shorter chapter, but I hope you all love it! (Please note, there will be some "updates" to this one. There are a few people helping me sort out minor issues, grammar, etc.) But if you see anything when you read that needs adjustment, PLEASE inform me! I can't make this great without a little bit of help from my readers! So please read and review! If I get something helpful or a lot of views, then I'll set up the next chapter before long!
Enjoy! 
“Woah...” Estrella breathed as they came into the town square and her eye was caught by a giant marbled castle up on the Canterlot Mountain, which seemed to shimmer in the afternoon sunlight. Tall peaks glinted the sun's rays, making them look like beacons of hope, though they also appeared cold like the stone it was made of.
Rarity came up beside Estrella after calling a farewell to somepony behind them and followed her gaze up to the castle. “Amazing, isn't it?” she asked, her voice betraying just how much she adored the brilliant castle. Now, she seemed more calm than before, but it was a tense calm of trying not to become overly excited. “That's the castle if the sister princesses, Celestia and Luna. There's a few small things I would do to make their home truly spectacular, but it's honestly amazing already! There's strong guards at every door, but once they let you in, it's incredible! There's marble towers, ponies milling about, brilliantly decorated sashes on the walls and absolutely beautiful panned glass windows that stretched high up the walls, depicting incredible worlds of the past and many -in my friend Rainbow Dash's words- 'epic moments in history'. Oh darling, don't even get me strted on the thrown room! It's absolutely fabulous! Everything in there is quite the sight to see, as you would expect. Royalty deserves no less! And I just love going there and seeing the princesses. They're always so regal and beautiful, but they're always willing to talk to us normal ponies! Er, normal being a relative term.” Rarity giggled as her horn lit up as if to show off and say she was a par of or above the 'normal' pony. “She'll talk to anyone and I just love her generosity! She's kind beyond measure!” Rarity sighed a bit then as her magic faded away, but soon perked up. “Well, here we are then!” Rarity trotted further into town square and Estrella followed, though her attention was still on the castle at the moment, making her a little too focused on that rather than right in front of her. She ended up crashing into Rarity, who had stopped by the rotunda in the middle of the square. She looked back at Estrella, who returned a sheepish smile and a quick apology.
Rarity smiled back at her and said, “No worries dearie, I know what it can be like when first hearing of a magnificent palace like that. Imagine actually being inside and seeing it all for yourself! Though I'm sure you will at some point, seeing as you have a connection to Celestia herself. I actually did the same thing you just did when Twilight first brought us all to the castle to meet with the princesses. Twilight wasn't quite so understanding then when I did it, but then again, we were trying to save the world back then, and I wasn't exactly paying as much attention as I should have been.” With a shrug and haughty toss of her head, Rarity seemed to just blow off the major memo Estrella hadn't caught quite yet and started trotting around the rotunda-like building in the middle of the square, “Well then, we are here to see Celestia, so let's go find her. I've never known her to miss a meeting. I bet she's right around the corner! Er, circle. You know what I mean.” Rarity laughed jovially at her little slip, but let it brush off just as easy.
The two ponies went around the rotunda to the other side of the square to find it mostly empty. There were ponies along the edges of the square that were looking in, mostly with a wide-eyed stare and some slack jaws. Estrella followed their gazes to the center where two ponies stood facing each other in a deep conversation. One appeared to be a smaller unicorn looking up to a much larger pegasus, but detail beyond that was difficult to pick out. The sun was right behind the taller of the two, making seeing anything of them rather difficult.
Ignoring the small crowd that obviously revered the at least one of two ponies in the middle, Rarity walked out with a more regal and smooth movement to her step, leaving Estrella to hesitate before following shyly after, neck bent and head down as they walked down the seemingly elongated and well-worn path. Several gazes shifted to them, making her already nervousness at everything new, worse. In an attempt to ignore their intense gazes, Estrella turned her attention to the two ahead of her and her guide, and found that they appeared to be talking, but neither could make out anything they were saying from their current distance. As she and Rarity got closer, she started making out words here and there, along with better descriptions of the ponies. Finally, she made out a phrase, which turned out to be almost the end of the conversation.
“...and then he stopped, just like that.” The purple unicorn with streaks in her mane and tail and an odd star patterned cutie mark said, recounting the end of her tale from the adventurous morning. Her gaze spoke of her worry of whatever she was speaking of, but also of reverence towards her companion.
The much taller entity – of which now Estrella could also see a large horn glinting off the sunlight like the spires of her own castle and an equally bright sun cutie mark – tilted her beautifully stark-white head, making her delicately flowing ethereal rainbow mane sway lazily in some unfelt wind. Her expression at first appeared calm, but underneath showed a hint of worry and much thought. Thought that only many, many years of knowledge, practice, learning, and living life could create, and yet this sun god looked as young as any pony, despite the size difference. For the moment Estrella lingered on said princess's expression, Celestia brought a hoof under her chin, though it quickly went back down as she spoke. “It is very strange indeed... I may have to look into this more, but for now, be glad he... somewhat listened to you and your friends. I appreciate you updating me on Discord's actions. For now, keep an eye on him for me, though I will check in on him whenever I am able to do such.”
“Thank you, Celestia, and I will.” The lavender unicorn bowed to the princess as she spoke. As she rode once more, she noticed the new arrivals within the area and even cast a smile their way. She then stepped to the side, letting them come forward to speak with Celestia, but not without noticing the newcomer.
Rarity stepped forward and spoke up the moment she got a chance. “Princess Celestia, I brought you your honored guest, just like you asked me to. Thank you again for the honor! You were right about the cloak, though the colors certainly don't match for her. They work on you, but you see what I mean.”
Celestia laughed softly and said, “Thank you Rarity. I will keep that in mind next time I have a visitor. And thank you for showing her here. Estrella?”
Estrella couldn't help a small shiver as Celestia's gaze fell on her. Though it was warm and welcoming, it was still a princess before her, as she had figured out by now. Estrella took a few tentative steps forward to the spot Rarity had occupied a moment ago, but had left to go stand by the purple unicorn. “Yes, Princess?”
“Please, Celestia is just fine.” Celestia returned with a bright smile. “I trust you had an easy time getting here?”
“Y-yes, the train ride was much smoother than I thought it'd be and Rarity's a very welcoming guide.” Estrella replied a bit hastily. In her mind, she felt niceness was only a front for when something was wanted, but what could a princess want from her? Her thoughts were stalled as Celestia spoke again.
“Wonderful. I am glad you enjoyed your journey. And Estrella, you really don't have to be nervous around me. I'm not going to hurt you, or ask something of you that you don't want to do. I'm not that kind of pony.”
Estrella looked up at Celestia, this time, getting a closer look at her kind, truthful eyes. There was a moment of stillness between them in which Estrella felt some of her worry just melting away and a small bond of trust beginning to form. She even offered a small smile back. “I know. I'm not used to not having to worry about everything yet, I guess.”
“Not to worry. With any luck, you'll settle in soon and it'll be like you've always been a part of Ponyville, if you choose to stay, that is.”
“Thank you, Prin- er, Celestia.”
“You are welcome.” At this time, Celestia cast a momentary glance to the watching audience. Some ponies backed away, most looked at the ground, and a few ran off all together. Celestia smiled slightly and leaned down a bit, lowering her voice just enough that the four of them were all that heard her speak. “And don't worry about the matter we spoke about in our last correspondence. It's being cleared up as we speak.”
Estrella went a little pale for a moment, then took a deep breath to regain herself. “Th-thank you, Celestia. That means a lot to me. And everything. You're doing so much for me and you don't really even know me.”
“I don't need to.” Celestia said as she stood her full height once more and stepped closer to Estrella until they were close enough to look like a pair of old friends catching up on a long-shared past. “You have a good heart, Estrella. I'm sure that with a little time and some new friends, you'll be just fine, and those moving jitters will pass by. And speaking of new friends...” Her smile turned a bit too sweet as she looked at Twilight and Rarity, who had been listening and now had a million questions, but both stood taller as Celestia looked at them. “...Would you two be kind enough to help her get settled into Ponyville and make a few friends to get her started? I know how great you are at that.”
“Of course Celestia!” Twilight responded as soon as she unfroze from trying to look like she hadn't been listening.
“Thank you Twilight. I'll be sure to check on Discord. Estrella, do you know how to get to your new home?”
“I think so, Prin-Celestia. Sorry, again.” she muttered the last bit of her sentence for her slip up once more.
“Quite alright. I understand. If you need help, it's not far from Twilight's home. It's the new house that just went up.”
“The one they put in one of the hollow trees like mine?” Twilight asked, referring to her library home which resided in a tree.
“Yes. Help Estrella there if she needs it please.”
“Sure thing Celestia. Is that everything?”
“I believe so. Is there anything else you have to report?”
“Um, Celestia?” Estrella called softly as she started to undo her cloak. “Here's your cloak back. Thank you for letting me use it.”
“I am Glad you enjoyed it.” Celestia said as her horn glowed and she took the cloak in her magic. It was then neatly folded and hovered in the air near her flank, ready for Celestia's take of leave, but neither of the unicorns in the room were paying any mind to the adept magic usage. Instead, they found themselves staring at Estrella's cutie mark, which was revealed now with the cloak off and depicted what looked like a pale yellow, unmarked, faceless pony with a white mane and tail similar to Celestia's falling, shown by white slashes underneath that looked like speed lines. However, their moment of staring at Estrella when she wasn't looking at them was cut short and they were brought back to reality as Celestia spoke once more, even if it wasn't to them. “I look forward to seeing you again, and feel free to come by the castle or send a letter if you find you need something or just someone to talk to, alright?”
Estrella nodded, feeling a bit more relieved now that she had returned the cloak. She looked at the other two, Twilight and Rarity, and started towards them to greet and head out, but was stopped one final time by Celestia, who leaned down and whispered just to her, “And don't worry. Twilight's group of friends are safe, but you only have to reveal as much as you want to. It's your past and your choice what to do with it.”
Estrella shivered softly as if she had become a part of some promise she didn't want to be in relation with, but shook it off as she nodded to Celestia and said, “I understand. Thank you.” before she went to tentatively join Rarity and Twilight. She offered a smile at them, attempting to be friendly, and they smiled back at her. Without saying much, the three of them turned in unison and waved as Celestia took to the skies and arched off back towards her castle in the mountains. Now, just the three of them were left to find out what was past town square and their meeting with Celestia. With Rarity on her left and Twilight on her right, Estrella felt a little boxed in, but in a good way, almost like some sort of protective shield. Once Celestia was little more than a speck, Rarity and Twilight both gave huge sighs of relief.
“Man, I always feel like I'm being tested when I talk to her!” Twilight said as she wiped a hoof over her brow.
“Probably because you're always taking a test of some sort with her.” Rarity returned with a dramatic throw of her hair to settle herself. “I, on the other hoof, always feel like I am sitting right next to my one and only, simply greatest role model in all of Equestria, but next to her I really have to shine to be given even the tiniest hint of notice by others! She is simply overbearing at times! But in a god way, don't get me wrong.”
Estrella quickly looked between the two unicorns, confused. “You two seemed so calm a minute ago. Why such a change?”
“It's just what we've gotten used to.” Twilight explained lightly and with a smile, back to her usual self. “She's my teacher, so I do often take tests with her, but I look up to her so I feel like every day is a test.”
“Teacher?” Estrella asked as she tilted her head a little. “You mean she is actually teaching you-”
“Everything there is to know about magic, yes!” Twilight finished for her. “And I'm learning the magic of friendship along the way.”
“That's where we come in.” Rarity interjected. “I and four others consist of her main friend group, the 'Mane Six' if you will, and together, we all learn the magic of friendship and hold strong through the trials and tribulations we experience! Then we can pass that on to others. It's come in quite handy, you know.”
“Sounds... cliche.” Estrella returned. Twilight and Rarity both shared a look, then started laughing.
Once they settled down, Rarity cleared her throat and said, “Yes, I suppose it does, but it's real. It's gotten us out of more scraps than I can count!”
“Let's see, there was-”
“Don't even start Twilight. That was a rhetorical statement.”
Twilight paused a moment, then gave a sheepish smile. “Oh... Well, guess I'm still learning some stuff. Speaking of learning, who's your friend?”
Rarity perked up at that and laid a hoof on Estrella's shoulder before saying in a sweet voice, “This here is Estrella! She just came to Ponyville today and from what I gather from in there, by Celestia's power too! Oh, and this is Twilight Sparkle, by the way. You'll learn a lot about her if you spend any sort of time in this town. Librarian, savior, best friend, magical prodigy, you name it and she's done it!”
“Nice to meet you, Twilight. I'm nothing special like all that, and all I did was ride the train here.” Estrella returned nervously.
“Not many ponies have Celestia send someone to meet them and then get to meet with her directly! I know that at least this is my first time getting to do such a thing for her.”
“Really? So why'd you come to Ponyville, Estrella?” Twilight asked.
“Um, well first off my name's actually Little Star. I just prefer Estrella. As for coming here, I uh...” Estrella paused a moment as her mind immediately tried to come up with a lie out of old habit, but Celestia's words rang in her head. She could trust these ponies. But still, how much was she willing to give? After a moment of debate, she returned with what she felt was a 'safe' statement. “I used to live in not such a great place. I sent Celestia a letter once, never thinking she would actually receive it, and had asked what it was like being around ponies who cared about her. I was shocked to say the least when she not only returned my letter, but offered to pay for my coming here and spend at least a year here!”
“Wow, talk about a lucky break! And a whole year at that too! Its actually a little like my story, except for she brought me here to be her student rather than to get me away from a bad situation.” Twilight said a moment before her curiosity had her start spitting out one question after another. “What kind of place was it you came from? What happened there that was so bad you had to leave? What was the thing Celestia's clearing up for you? And mmf-” Twilight's string of questions was broken off by Rarity's hoof in her mouth, effectively muffling anything she was saying. “Slow down Twilight, even I couldn't follow that! One at a time.” Rarity then removed her hoof from her friend's mouth, though she shook it, a momentary expression of disgust crossing her features and she shook it to rid herself of the slobber. Twilight wiped her mouth on her hoof before saying, “Right. So, did you catch any of that, Estrella?”
“If you don't mind her asking.” Rarity added in. “We get it if you'd rather not share. I'm sure after whatever you went through, it'll take sometime before you're ready to talk about it.”
“Um, yeah.” Estrella said. She had caught most of it, but each one just made her want to shut down. “I'd rather not answer though. Sorry.”
“No worries dearie!” Rarity said, though she sent a glare Twilight's way.
Twilight's disappointment quickly turned to a faked smile. She understood, but still wished she could have learned more of this land she didn't know of yet. “Yes, it's perfectly alright. We get it. Even if you never want to talk about it, but if you ever do, we'll be here for you.”
Estrella blinked a few times before letting out a small sigh of relief. “Thank you for understanding. I've... never had that before.”
“Really? That's absurd!” Twilight twirled her hoof around like she was trying to think of some specific number. “Everyone has understanding, but there are very few ponies who don't use it and to have several all in one place-”
“What Twilight is trying to say is that she's glad you're out of wherever you came from.” Rarity interjected once more, simplifying her friend's ramble for Estrella. “Now, how about we go and introduce you to our other friends? Then we can head to your new home and help you get settled in!”
“That sounds wonderful, actually.” Estrella smiled at the thought of meeting ponies she could trust and get to know some of the town while they were at it.
“Wonderful! Off we go then! Think Fluttershy's not busy, Twi?”
“It's after feeding time so she should be free.” Twilight said as she and Rarity trotted out of the castle, leaving a momentarily frozen Estrella behind. “Feeding time?” she muttered, only loud enough that the others could just barely hear.
“Yeah, Fluttershy takes care of pretty much all the animals around here. She's incredibly sweet and shy though so don't feel bad if she doesn't warm up to you right away.” Twilight said over her shoulder before she paused, seeing Estrella stopped, and asked, “Hey, are you alright?”
“Oh. Yeah, yeah I'm fine. I just didn't expect that.” Estrella gave a shaky smile and a sigh of relief as the feeding time they mentioned was nothing like the one she knew. She then trotted to catch up with Rarity and Twilight and the three of them talked all the way to their friend Fluttershy's house, telling Estrella stories of different things they had done with Fluttershy, including hilarious and even some of the more embarrassing moments that made Estrella laugh and sometimes go, “Really?” or “Wow!” or use some such other exclamation of surprise. Though she didn't have any stories she wanted to share with them, she couldn't help feeling more relaxed now that they shared a bit of their lives and laughs with her.
All too soon, they were actually at Fluttershy's house, which stopped the conversation for the moment as they trotted up and knocked on the door.
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Nice chapter.
*Activate Error Detector*
What did Rarity show off, that she could do magic? I think that would be a given, considering she's a unicorn pony.
This sentence can be broken up into two.
Again, can be broken up into two sentences.
I think the paragraphs need a line break between each of them. It's little bit hard to read with them so close together.
Last issue, and it's a glaring one. If they're in Ponyville, as established in the previous and current chapters, how are they at Canterlot Castle talking with Celestia one minute and then at Fluttershy's cottage after a short walk/conversation the next? I know the show changes the time it takes to get to Canterlot from Ponyville by hours or even days, but I still think it wouldn't be that fast.
Speculation Time: Sense you specifically stated that the pony depicted in Estrella's cutie mark has the same and/or similar mainstyle to Celestia's, I believe that her special talent/destiny is to bring about the fall of Celestia's rein of Equestria. I also believe that this secret past of hers is that she was raised in a cult that wanted to use her to do just that. Maybe one that worships Nightmare Moon, considering Estrella's full name and color palette.
6806267 Thank you! ^-^
6799304 I only just read your edit. XD But thank you! I'm trying to write in an actual book fashion so hence how it's set up. I'm glad it's helping you. ^-^
6806740 Gotta say, I love your error detector!
I'm glad you caught that moment with Rarity. ;D Later there's going to be some specuilation/question about the unicorn/pegasus/earth pony standings, and that moment will be mentioned.
My turning two sentences into one is a problem of mine I'm working on. I'll go back and look at the instances you mentioned.
The "Glaring issue" You brought up is completely 100% my fault. Of the few episodes I've seen, it always seemed to me that Twilight had relatively close and easy access to the castle. I didn't realize they're two far-distant towns. I'm trying to think of how to fix that, but so far I've come up with only Celestia's visiting or Twilight opens a unicorn's version of a skype call with Celestia. xD Either option is pretty meh... So for now, I'm sorry but it is what it is until I can figure out how to fix it.
I'm so sorry, but your speculation just made me laugh. xD I did NOT expect someone to guess what's going to happen! I have to say though, that I do not have the guts to take it that far. I find Celestia very much like real world leaders and I'm okay with her in control. I like her manipulative side, etcetera. I could go on for a little while about why I like Celestia. (But I honestly like Luna a little more.)
As for the color palate, blue and gold are my favorite colors, it's as simple as that. XD I'm not that much of a deep-thinker, but it does come in handy for later moments I have planned. I'm making several Spanish references and my first Spanish teacher was named Estrelita, a way to say little star, and I've always thought it was a beautiful name/idea. Plus, again, it fits in with the plot line.
This last one I think will make you laugh. The mane style was actually thanks to the pony generator! I wanted long hair and that was one of the only options and then I just tied it in because hey, why not? XD And now it's a huge part of the plot!
Hope I didn't reveal too much with this, but a few real-world mentions are neat to explain.
6806817
I might have a solution for the glaring issue. How about you write that Celestia came to Ponyville on account of Discord's misdeeds, and an added bonus of checking to see is Estrella made it safely.
6807150 That could work! I'll lose a bit with the description of the castle, but I could save it for a later scene or some such thing. ^-^ Thank you for the help! This is why I love having actual MLP fans around. You all catch my uninformed mistakes.
I apologize again to everyone who is probably confused. I haven't seen enough episodes and honestly thought the castle was close. My bad. I'll work on fixing that here in a few minutes. Shouldn't take too long.
I'm going to temporarily take chapter 2 down until I fix the "bad spot". I'm busy making a family dinner so I can't fix it right this moment, sorry, but it should be back up before tomorrow. ^-^
6807150 Thank you again Lord, for the very helpful suggestion! I believe I have it fixed now and reposted. Enjoy everyone! =D