When Steve woke up, he knew something was up. First of all, he couldn’t find Celestia anywhere. He looked around the castle everywhere, but couldn’t find her. Secondly, Jean was there. He had figured out she was there by a guard telling him a dragon was there and requested to speak with him. He had a pretty bad feeling in his gut. He wasn’t sure, but he had a good feeling he knew what it was. He headed for the gardens where the dragon landed. When he arrived, he saw Jean’s familiar face.
“Guards, at ease.” He said.
“Yes sir.” They said, before moving their weapons away from Jean’s direction.
“Come in, Jean.” Steve said. They walked through the doors and began walking through the halls to nowhere in particular. “Why are you here?”
“It’s raining some weird brown liquid in Ponyville.” She said. “As weird as it was, it tasted pretty good.”
Steve’s face fell. He rubbed his chin with his hand as he thought. It can’t be Discord. Can it?
“Shit.” Steve whispered under his breath.
“What is it?” Jean asked.
“Discord.” Steve stated. “He must’ve escaped.”
“Who is Discord?”
“Read this.” Steve said handing her a book. “Celestia gave me this just in case. Section 2, chapter 12, page 369. I’m gonna go figure out what happened.”
“Okay.” She said. She watched as he ran. She looked for a nice place to sit, before reading the book.
Steve sprinted through the halls. He looked for anyone who knew what was going on. He entered the dining room. The first thing that he saw was plate come flying at his face. He quickly put his arm up to block it. It pushed him back a little, but he held his ground. Several more plates were sent flying his way. The crafter pulled out his sword. He dodged to his left, then dropped to avoid another. A chair charged at him, but he easily sliced it with his sword. He then blocked three more with his sword, the pieces of the shattered plate falling to the floor. He sliced another chair as he advanced to the other side of the room. Once he made it there, he pushed the doors open and left the room. He ran down the halls, avoiding furniture as it attacked him. He rounded a corner and saw a familiar face.
“Stone!” He called out.
“Steve?” The stallion replied, turning to face him. “Hey.”
“What the fuck is going on?” Steve asked.
“Discord broke out.”
“Of course he did.” Steve whispered. “Where’s the rest of the guard?”
“They’re dealing with the chaos he’s caused throughout the castle. Corporal Eagle is on the East Wing and Captain Armor is on the West Wing. We were sweeping up the south side and are going to rendezvous with them at the North Entrance.”
“I just came from there.” Steve said. He sighed. “Let’s go.”
They, along with ten other guards, headed for the rendezvous point.
“Watch your right!” Steve yelled. Stone looked to his left and sliced a chair in two. Steve focused his attention back to his own fight. He sliced a table in half before kicking down a chair and putting his sword through it.
“Sir! Watch your left!” A guard cried out. He glanced to his right and saw a bookshelf coming at him. It hit him right in the chest, pushing him over. “Sir! Are you okay?!”
“Yeah, I’m good.” He quickly got back to his feet. The eleven guards lined up behind the crafter. They stared at the bookshelf. “It appears it has become shelf-aware.” Steve stated.
There was a chuckle behind him, and a few ponies face-hoofed. Steve led charged right at the bookshelf. Steve plunged his sword right through it. They jumped on it, bringing it to the ground. They got up, seeing the damage they had done. Several tables and chairs laid sliced in half. There was a broken stool next to the bookshelf that lay in front of them.
“Who knew having all this furniture would be so dangerous?” A guard asked.
“Come on, troopers.” Steve said. “Let’s move.”
The group of guards made their way throughout the castle. They fought their way through whatever attacked them.
“This is utter chaos.” Steve said under his breath. “Which, I guess, in this instance, makes sense.”
They made their way to the North Entrance. Steve expected the other guards to be there waiting for them because their squad had a few delays. However, when they arrived, there was no one there.
“It’s quiet.” Stone said.
“Too quiet.” Steve added. He then remembered something. “Jean!” He called out. “Are you there?!”
“Steve?!” A faint voice cried out. “Steve, can you help me?!”
“Shit. Come on.” Steve said. He ran towards through the halls in search of the voice. “Jean! Which room are you in?!”
“I think it’s a kitchen!” She yelled back. Steve pointed to a room on the left. He pulled out his sword, and the rest of the guards prepared their spears and swords. Steve kicked open the doors, quickly taking the scene in. The place was a mess. Shattered plates lay scattered everywhere. Pots and pans were clanging, making an extremely loud noise. Forks and knives were animated and attacking Jean. She was backed into a corner and blocking them with her claws.
“Jean!” Steve cried out.
“Steve, help!” She cried with distress.
“Damnit. Do I have to do everything myself?” He rhetorically asked. Steve ran through the kitchen, dodging plates knives and forks. He slid across a countertop, landing near Jean. He sliced at the utensils, his diamond sword cutting many of them in half.
“Let’s go.” He said, pulling her out of the corner. The duo ran back to the kitchen entrance where the guards were waiting for them.
“Come on!” Stone yelled. They ran through the door. Two guards quickly shut the door, one wedging a spear between the handles, preventing it from opening. They all breathed a sigh of relief.
“Come on guys.” Steve said. “Let’s get back to the rendezvous point. The guards picked all their weapons up and headed back to the North Entrance. When they arrived, the Corporal and captain were waiting there with their troops.
“Took you guys long enough.” The captain said.
“Oh, shut up.” Stone said. “We were here first, but we had to rescue Jean.”
“Jean? Who’s Jean?” The captain asked. Then Steve remembered, he never introduced Jean to Stone’s friends.
“This is Jean.” Steve said. “She’s my kickass dragon friend.”
“Oh.” The captain said, “Hello Jean.”
“He-.” Jean tried to respond, but Steve cut her off.
“Come on guys, we don’t have any time to waste.”
“Right. Let’s go.” Stone said. The group headed out the front entrance. They were about thirty strong. Outside they ran into a familiar face.
“Celestia?” Steve asked. The alicorn was just outside the castle. She wasn’t looking at him, so Steve got her attention. “What are you doing?”
“Steve? I was looking for you.”
“Where’s Discord?” Steve asked, not waisting any time.
“Ponyville.” She told him.
“Where are the element bearers?” Steve asked.
“I don’t know.” She said solemnly. “He teleported the elements somewhere. The bearers went to look for them.”
“Shit.” He turned to his troops before sighing. “I guess we’re off to Ponyville.”
“Are you insane?” She asked.
“Hell yeah, I am.” Steve answered.
“Steve, there’s no way you can stop Discord. Even with the guards.”
“Well, what would you rather have us do?” He asked. She stood in silence for a second. “Listen Celestia, we’re soldiers. This is our job. We don’t care about the risk because we’re expected to lay our lives down for our nation. This is what we signed up for. We know what we’re doing. Right guys?” He asked.
Celestia stated at him for a second, before sighing.
“Fine. Be careful, though.” Steve smiled and nodded.
“Alright, let’s move out.” He told them.