Guardians of Equestria Chapter 1: Love is Magic Part 1

by SpiritD3t3ctiv3

Escape from Everfree

Chapter 2 Escape from Everfree

In a bright green flash, Finn and Jay found themselves free falling. They both looked down and saw that they were 20 feet above a forest and coming in fast. Both stallions could feel the wind stinging their faces.

“Looks like we’re in Equestria”! Finn observed.

Jay looked nervously down towards the ground below.

“I just wish we were on the ground”!!! he said worriedly, as the wind began to sting his face.

The black maned earth pony did not have the luxury of dealing with fear at the moment.

“Suck it up Sergeant, We’re Airborne!!! This is what we do”!

He pointed at the knapsack strapped on his comrade’s back. Jay gripped the pull tab on his saddle bag, and watched as Finn gripped his.

“NOW”!

Upon pulling their tabs, they were jerked up into the air as their parachutes unfurled and they immediately started descending slower. It wasn’t long until they finally landed in the canopy, and floated over the ground like piñatas. Luckily, they were both only 10 ft. from the ground.

“What now, Sergeant”? Jay asked sarcastically, angrily staring at his superior.

Thinking fast, Finn pulled a knife from his saddlebag

“Hold still”, he instructed.

He grabbed Jay’s parachute strings and started cutting. After the 8th and finally string was cut, Jay plummeted to the ground with a scream. He hit the ground with a thud and a groan. Finn soon followed, after cutting the last of his own strings, and landed more gracefully on the ground. After getting up and locating his helmet, Jay was quickly mesmerized by all the growth and vegetation.

“It’s been a while since we’ve seen some green anywhere”, Jay observed.

Finn sighed as nostalgic memories of Arion’s past began to fill his head.

“Yeah”, Finn sighed, “Makes you think of the home we had before Draco came into power, huh”? “Totally”, Jay said, nodding in agreement.

All of the sudden, they heard an ear piercing shriek that made their eyes widen. Immediately, they took refuge in a big shrub. Slowly, they peaked through the branches.

“There’s nothing out there, at least nothing we can’t handle”! Finn hissed,” “so let’s just crawl on out and…”

But before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by a loud girly scream, which made Jay quiver.

“AAAAIIIIIIIIEEEEEEE”!!!!!!

They quickly leapt out from the bush, and into a big tree. They were completely covered by leaves.

“Great, First the shrub, now the tree”, Finn grumbled, "What's next"?? “Look!” Jay silently exclaimed, pointing downwards.

Finn looked down in the direction Jay was pointing, and he saw 2 fillies right below them, standing over a ravine and another filly down in it. One was a little orange pegasus with a magenta mane and purple eyes, the one beside her was a regular yellow pony with a red mane tied with a pink bow in the back and light orange eyes, and the one down in the ravine was a white unicorn with a light purple curly mane and green eyes. Their names were Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle. They all wore little red capes with an emblem on it that neither Finn nor Jay recognized.

“Are you alright”?!? Scootaloo called down to Sweetie Belle. “I’m OK”! Sweetie Belle called back, “I’m just stuck”! “Don’t worry; we’ll get ya outta there”! Apple Bloom called, “Somehow”.

“Those little girls need help”, Finn observed. “Yeah”, Jay said nodding his head, “Okay, let’s get out of here”.

Finn was shocked at the lack of compassion his friend was showing.

“Jay”! He protested, “We need to go help them”! “We don’t know them, Finn”, Jay said, “We don’t need to get involved”. “Maybe you don’t want to help them, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t”.

“Finn wait”!

Jay made a swipe for Finn, but in turn lost his balance and fell off of the branch. The young soldier watched as Jay plunged off of the tree and tumbled down into the mouth of the ravine. He landed in a cloud of dust in front of Sweetie Belle.

“Are you OK”?! Sweetie Belle exclaimed out of concern. “Yeah”, Jay groaned, “I’m fine”.

Sweetie Belle noticed a small stream of blood flowing down Jay’s foreleg. After scanning him with her eyes, she saw a cut through Jay’s sleeve. It was stained bright red.

“You’re hurt”, she observed.

Jay looked down at his foreleg and saw the cut.

“I’ll be fine”, Jay said in assurance.

Sweetie Belle shook her head in defiance. She tore off a piece of her cape, and wrapped it around Jay’s wound.

“Thanks”, he said plainly. “Well I couldn’t just let you bleed to death”, Sweetie Belle said warmly.

Jay smiled at the kind little filly smiling up at him. Meanwhile, Finn descended from the tree, and went over to Apple Bloom and Scootaloo.

“Who are you”? Scootaloo asked. “My name is Finn”, Finn explained, “We saw your friend’s predicament and decided to help”.

He got out a coil of rope from his saddle bag.

“Either of you good with a rope”? Finn queried.

Scootaloo turned her gaze over to Apple Bloom, who was beaming ear to ear with pride.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile in Ponyville, Rarity was walking down the sidewalk with some knitting supplies. As soon as she returned home, she found it particularly empty. She looked around, and spied a note taped to the fridge. It read:

“Dear Rarity”,

“Went with Crusaders to the Everfree Forest to earn Cutie Mark in spelunking. Be back for lunch”.

-Sweetie Belle

This was grave news to the white unicorn. The Everfree Forest was not a place for fillies as young as Sweetie Belle and her friends. In an instant, she literally dropped everything, ran outside, and towards the forest.

Meanwhile, Finn and the girls were just starting to haul Sweetie Belle and Jay up.

“Keep pulling”! Finn ordered.

They grunted and strained, pulling up the combined weight that of Sweetie Belle and Jay. As the small purple maned filly clung to Jay’s side as they ascended, Jay couldn’t help but feel a tug at his heart. At last, they finally pulled the two out from the ravine.

“Phew! Finally”! Jay said in exasperation. “Thanks for your help”, Sweetie Belle said sweetly. “Sweetie Belle, this here’s Finn”, Apple Bloom said, motioning to Finn. “Nice to meet you”, Sweetie Belle said, extending her hoof.

Finn smiled and shook her hoof.

“And this is Jay”, Finn said, motioning over to his comrade, “His full name is...” “Whoa, whoa whoa! You can’t just tell her that”! Jay objected.

Much to his friend’s chagrin, the young Sergeant just couldn’t help himself.

“Jeremiah Amadeus Yalonsky”, he said with a smirk.

The 3 fillies instantly started to snicker. The embarrassed Jay tried to hide his blush. As she took a breath, Sweetie Belle noticed something of Jay’s, something missing.

“Y-your…your flank”! She said out loud.

Jay made a face and then looked at his backside. Scootaloo was surprised at her friend and scowled at her.

“Sweetie Belle”! Scootaloo exclaimed in surprise. “No, I mean look”, Sweetie Belle said, pointing her hoof at it, “he’s a blank flank”. “Yeah, and that’s a tree and that’s a rock”, Jay said coolly. “So what? I’m a blank flank too”, Finn said, pointing at his flank. “But you’re both….” Apple Bloom began. “Adults”? Finn said, finishing Apple Bloom’s sentence.

Each of the three fillies nodded.

“Where we come from, even the ponies that are old as dust don’t have cutie marks”, Finn pointed out. “Wow”, Apple Bloom said in astonishment. “So, no one there has a cutie mark”? Scootaloo asked, trying not to sound upset. “There aren’t many there”, Jay replied, “It’s all because our attention is shifted to trying to survive, rather than finding our "unique talent" ”. “That’s sad”, Sweetie Belle said dolefully, “Having to work and provide all the time, never really getting to have fun”. “It’s a pretty rough life”, Finn said, nodding his head. “Hey! Maybe you guys should be a part of the Cutie Mark Crusaders”! Apple Bloom suggested. “The what”? Finn asked. “The Cutie Mark Crusaders”! Scootaloo repeated, “We’re dedicated to helping blank flanks find their cutie marks through tons of activities”.

“Hmm, tempting”, Jay said nodding his head. “We’ll sleep on it”, Finn said with smile, “Well come on, we need to get you girls home”.

They walked through the forest for what seemed like hours. The sun was nearly starting to set, indicating that the evening was upon them.

“Man, how long have we been walking”? Jay asked grippingly. “Aw come off it Jay, we’ve gone on longer walks before”, Finn said.

Sweetie Belle’s legs had gotten tired and had hopped onto Jay’s back. She took interest in Jay’s helmet and put it on.

“So where is it you guys say you’re from”? She asked. “Arion”, Jay answered. “Sounds like a really nice place”, Scootaloo said. “It used to be”, Finn said moodily. “What happened”? Apple Bloom inquired. “Dracon Coatl happened”, Jay answered, “He’s the leader of the VENOM Empire, and Finn’s worst enemy”. “Is that why y’all are soldiers”? Apple Bloom asked. “Not necessarily”, Finn said. “We are airborne ponies of the 41st Equalist Division, We parachute out of airships from 500 feet or more”, Jay recited. “We do this so our families and loved ones stay safe and secure, and may never have to walk out the door”, Finn said, chiming in. “We take on enemies for honor, country and glory and never give it a second glance”, Jay continued. “We do all this so that maybe our homeland gets a second chance”, Finn put in. “With my sword in hoof and shield in grip, I’ll march until come dawn”, Jay said, his voice building up with climax. “I’ll lead or follow my fellow ponies. As Equalists we fight on”! Finn finished, pumping his chest.

The three fillies cheered and clapped their hooves.

“The kids always love it”, Finn said with a smile. “Speaking of kids”, Jay said, turning to Sweetie Belle, “You remind me an awful lot of my daughter”. “Really”? Sweetie Belle asked in surprise. “Ahhh, don’t get him talking about her now”! Finn whined, “He’ll never stop”!

There were many things Finn and Jay poked fun at each other for. Jay’s attachment to his daughter was one of those things.

“What’s her name”? Sweetie Belle asked. “Vanilla”, Jay said, “Vanilla Twilight, but I call her Nilly”. “That’s so sweet”, Sweetie Belle said with a smile, “How old is she”? “She’s about your age”, Jay replied, “It really hurt me to leave her behind, but a job’s a job”. “And orders and orders”, Finn added. “I remember the last time I saw her”, Jay said, thinking back to the day before.

“Nilly sweetie?! I’m home”!!! Jay exclaimed, as he entered a thatched hut.

He looked around the large living room that also served as his bedroom. There was a table with an oil lamp set upon it, a couch and a chamber pot in the far left corner .After seeing it was vacant, he entered the room adjacent to the chamber pot. Inside, there was a small bed with a pink blanket, a few drawings drawn with charcoal taped on the walls, and a small plush dog laying lopsided on the floor. Using his magic, Jay picked up the small stuffed animals.

“Hey Fluffles”, He said warmly, “Have you seen Nilly”? “HEEYAH”!!!

With that loud scream, Jay felt something latch onto the back of his neck. A small, orange and white filly with a snow white mane jumped onto Jay’s back, latched onto his neck and covered his eyes.

“Hey! Hey now! Hahahahaha! Cut it out”!

After finally managing to apprehend his attacker, he pinned her to the floor and started tickling her ribs.

“Hahahahaha! Daddy, stop it! Hahaha”! Nilly pleaded between her laughter. “No! This is the penalty you pay for sneaking up on me”! Jay declared with a smile.

He then picked her up off the ground with his forelegs, lifted her up into the air, and spun her around. As she squealed gleefully, Jay could feel his smile grow larger and larger. This was the part of the day he always looked forward to; coming home to his daughter, Vanilla Twilight. After a few more minutes of twirling her around, he set her on the ground and enveloped her in a big hug.

“How was your day, sweetie”? He asked politely. “It was OK”, Nilly put simply, “I’m just glad you’re home now”. “Yeah, me too”, Jay said warmly.

Afterwards, Jay and Nilly spent the day playing catch outside. Sometimes, Jay would purposefully drop the ball, run over to Nilly, scoop her up into his forelegs, and lifted her into the air. As he lifted her for the 5th time that day, he frowned and then sat her down.

“Nilly, sweetie”, he began, “There’s something I need to tell you”.

His voice was in a low register, and Nilly knew her father long enough to know that whenever he talked like that, it was never good news.

“You have to leave again, don’t you”? She asked precociously. “How’d you guess”? Jay asked, not showing any surprise. “You always start off the whole ‘I have to leave’ speech like that”, Nilly said, looking away. “Hey but I always come back, don’t I”? Jay pointed out. “But what if you don’t”??

As she asked that, the small orange filly felt tears enter her eyes. Seeing his daughter sad and alone was the worst part about being a soldier, Jay knew this. He slowly trotted over to her and wrapped his forelegs around her.

“Don’t worry, princess”, he said soothingly, “Nothing’s going to stop me from coming back”. “Promise”? Nilly asked with a sniffle. “I promise”, Jay said looking down at her.

As she wiped the tears from her eyes, Nilly slowly wrapped her arms around her loving father, who in turn, hugged her closer.

“Love you, Daddy”, she said softly. “I love you too, sweetheart”, Jay said warmly.

As Jay finished his story, he felt a tear run down his cheek. As he turned to the three fillies, he saw that their eyes were glassy as a result of his sad story.

“Now, my only current objective is to finish this mission and get back to her”, Jay said with a warm smile. “That’s so sweet”, Sweetie Belle said with a sniffle. “Do you have anyone back home you want to get back to, Finn”? Apple Bloom asked. “No….there’s nobody”, Finn said half-heartedly. “Really? Nobody”? Apple Bloom said in disbelief. “Not a soul”, Finn replied. “What about your parents”? Scootaloo pointed out. “Dead”, Finn answered quickly. “Oh! Well, I’m really sorry”, Scootaloo said in a low register. “Interesting fact”, Jay said, attempting to switch the topic, “Finn’s father, King Xanthos, was the one who created the Equalists”. “Really?? Cool”! Scootaloo said in excitement. “So wait, you’re a prince”? Apple Bloom asked. “Yes”, he said solemnly, “If it’s all the same to you, Sergeant, I’d prefer you not talk about either of my parents in front of me”, he said solemnly. “Sorry”, Jay said, “I forgot it’s a pretty taboo subject for Finn”. "And if it's all the same with you, girls, I'd prefer it if none of you say anything about it", Finn said to the three fillies. "Oh don't you worry none, Finn, we'll keep your secret, promise", Apple Bloom said assuredly. "Totally", Scootaloo said with a nod. "Mhm"! Sweetie Belle added.

A few hours into the evening and the sun had already gone down. Luckily, the two ever prepared soldier ponies had enough provisions to go around. Finn, after having gone camping with his family on numerous occasions before the war, started pitching the tent with the aide of Apple Bloom. Meanwhile, Jay had seen a stream nearby and went to gather fresh water with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. As they each knelt there, Jay and Sweetie Belle were each holding a leather bota underneath the water while Scootaloo was skipping rocks. The stream was flowing really fast, so much that Jay and Sweetie Belle had to tie the carrying strings fastened on the botas around their hooves to prevent them from slipping out of their grip.

“What did you do before your land went to war”? Sweetie Belle asked. “I grew up on the street, actually, and then I found myself as a squire to the king”, Jay explained. "My dream was to fill my head to the brim with knowledge and become a professor". "A professor of what"? Sweetie Belle inquired, "Science? History? Math"? "I don't really know", Jay said truthfully, "I never thought about it". "Well, don't worry, I'm sure you'll make your decision eventually", Sweetie Belle said reassuringly.

Jay smiled at the young little filly as the image of his daughter became more apparent to him. Just then, there came a rustling in the bushes behind them.

“Finn? That you”? Jay said, turning his head to the bushes.

There was no answer, just more rustling. Suddenly, a white unicorn, with a purple mane full of branches and leaves, jumped out of the bushes. She was breathing as if she had run a thousand mile sprint.

“Rarity”?! Sweetie Belle squeaked in surprise. “Sweetie Belle”! Rarity exclaimed.

They raced towards each other and met in a warm embrace. The white unicorn then cast her gaze at Jay.

“Oh, I’m sorry”, she said, slowly releasing her sister, “Who’s your friend”? “Sergeant Jeremiah Yolonsky, Ma’am”, Jay said, taking a bow, “But please, call me Jay”.

The Sergeant noticed her face was covered in mud. Utilizing his magic, he produced a small rag from his saddle bag.

“Here”, he said, wetting the rag with water from the bota, “Let’s clean you up a little”.

As she raised her hoof to object, he quickly began wiping away all the mud on her cheeks. The young mare kept her eyes transfixed on the strange stallion’s rugged face.

“If you don’t mind my asking, Mister……”. “Jay, you may call me Jay”, he said in a soft, debonair voice. “Mr., uh, Jay, you seem very young, yet your appearance suggests otherwise”.

Jay looked at her with a raised eyebrow and a frown.

“Oh! My dearest apologies, I’ve upset you”! “No, its okay, I get asked that a lot. My age is 19, but my looks suggest otherwise”. “My word, you’ve certainly must have spent some time in the, how do you say, combat zone”. “Enough to make you look old, Madame”.

Rarity was caught off guard at his sudden charm.

“Madame? My, you’re quite refined for a soldier pony, no offense.”

“None taken, a lot of grunts where I’m from aren’t really schooled in manners now a days. I, however, was taught proper etiquette at a young age.”

“Well, I must say you’ve certainly got your money’s worth from those lessons, Mr. Jay.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome.”

As Jay wiped away the last of the mud from her face, he heard slight giggle escape from Rarity’s lips.

“So uh, Miss…Rarity, was it?”

“Mhm?”

“Care to join us back at our camp for Military Grade S’mores?”

“I’d be delighted”. “Come along girls.”

With that, the purple maned unicorn followed her new friend back to the aforementioned camp, where Finn and the CMC were waiting for them.

“Sure took your time, Sergeant”, Finn said with a smirk.

The young Stallion’s eyes widened and his cheeks turned bright red with embarrassment.

“There wasn’t any funny business, I swear!”

The three fillies, along with Rarity, all snickered as Jay’s face turned redder and redder.

“Relax Sergeant”, Finn said reassuringly, “I know how you’re saving yourself for that very special somepony”.

Jay cleared his throat as he motioned over at Rarity. After immediately taking notice, Finn slowly

trotted up to the snow white mare next to Jay.

“Pleasure to meet you, I’m Staff Sergeant Finn Lioghais”.

As he extended his foreleg towards the mare in front of him, Finn put on his best smile.

“I’m Rarity, likewise”.

She brought up her foreleg, wrapped her hoof around his and shook. Moments later, everypony gathered around the fire and started socializing. Telling jokes, exchanging views on certain topics, eating and making s’mores. The three young fillies took an especial interest in listening to Jay’s stories.

“And so, even with little ammo and rations, the soldiers of 1st platoon in the 41st Airborne managed to push back the Mamban shock troopers and save Foaltia”!

Jay puffed up his chest as he finished his bravado. The three fillies, including Rarity, all clapped their hoofs together as Jay took a bow.

“Hoo-wee! I don’t think I’ve ever heard a story like that before”.

Having grown up on Granny Smith’s tall tales, it was rare for Applebloom to hear an impressive tale such as Jay’s.

“So, is Foaltia is your only safe haven for the children”?

Even after being told this saddening information, Rarity still found it hard to accept. Hearing her question, Jay put on a reassuring smile.

“Not really, just the safest”.

“Um, why did this, uh, Dr-Draco guy invade Arion anyway”?

Being a young filly, Sweetie Belle had many questions on her mind.

“Power, mostly”.

The five ponies looked over at Finn, who until that point, had spent his time buffing up his sword. Mainly just rubbing out streaks and stains off the blade with a small hoofkerchief.

“And he won’t stop until he’s fulfilled his lifelong mission to exterminate every single pony in the land”.

As he spoke, Finn found himself rubbing at the blade faster and more furiously.

“Which is why we.won’t. LET HIM”!

Upon exclaiming those last two words, the young soldier pony threw the small piece of cloth against the ground and started breathing heavily. The other ponies looked at him with both fear and concern in their eyes. Being the most seasoned veteran of Finn’s outbursts, Jay slowly trotted over to him and placed a gentle hoof on his shoulder.

“Easy, Sarge, s’alright you hear”?

Finn inhaled deeply and then wiped his mouth across his foreleg.

“I’m good”, he said, nodding his head.

A concerned Rarity trotted over to Jay’s side.

“Do you want to talk about it, dear”?

Finn looked over at the two ponies standing before him. Throwing on a smile, he chuckled as he shook his head. There was a long pause, before anypony made a noise, which was the adorable yawn from Scootaloo. Jay was the first to notice this.

“I think maybe it’s time you three fillies got some shut eye”.

“Hey, I’m not ti…”

Before Apple Bloom could protest, a loud yawn escaped her lips.

“Yeah, me nei….”.

Sweetie Belle was just about to object as well, but she found herself giving into her tiredness and yawning too. That’s when her big sister stepped in.

“Now, now, Mr. Jay is right. You all have had a long and busy day, and we’ll be getting up extra early if we’re going to escape this….ghastly place”.

Rarity shuddered as she finished her sentence. Despite their firm demands, the three fillies refused to comply. It was then that Jay thought of a highly effective solution. He turned his head toward Finn.

“Hey Sarge, why don’t you sing them your mothers lullaby”?

The black maned stallion was busy rolling out the blankets when Jay made his request. A sly smile soon spread across his face, reason being was because since it was first composed, no pony, no matter how strong or awake, was able to withstand the alluring melody of the Lioghais Family Lullaby.

“Fine, girls, if you please”.

Finn motioned over the blanket he stood on, beckoning the three fillies forward. After going over and lying down on the soft covers, the three fillies paid close attention as Finn began to sing. As he sang, Jay pulled out a small wooden flute and began playing, harmonizing with Finn’s singing.

Sun grows cold, the moon burns red

Peaceful rest, tonight I give

Sleep descending, dreams arising

Land of dismal moonlight shadows

Onward and upward, dreams take flight

Mercy and love, wash tears away

As the singing and musical accompaniment continued, each of the three fillies could feel their eyes become heavier and heavier with each passing second. There was a rise in the number of yawns from each of them.

Dawn of ages, timeless raptures

Lay your weary heads to rest

Here I stand, your valiant defender

Peaceful sleep, this night I guard

Onward and upward, dreams take flight

Mercy and love, wash tears away

Onward and upward, dreams take flight

Mercy and love, wash tears away

Since the song began, Finn kept his gaze focused on the fire. As he finished, he looked over to see each of the Cutie Mark Crusaders fast asleep. Each of them lightly snoring and leaning against each other. Rarity walked over to the three snoozing fillies, a stack of blankets clenched in her teeth, and gently placed one over each of them. After seeing that they were properly wrapped, she trotted back over to the two stallions by the fire. She then casted her gaze towards Finn.

“That was a very sweet lullaby you sang. Forgive my curiosity, but where exactly did it come from”?

Finn turned to Rarity and gave the snow white mare a quarter smile.

“My mother used to sing it to me every night before I went to sleep”.

He sighed as he felt his eyes begin to fill with tears.

“That was a long….time ago”.

Rarity placed a hoof over her mouth, doing her best to stifle her gasp.

“Oh I’m terribly sorry, I didn’t know”, she said apologetically. “It’s fine whatever”, Finn said, quickly wiping his eyes.

By good fortune, for Finn at least, Jay released a big sigh, which caused the two other ponies to glance over at him.

“Permission to rest, sir”? He asked. “Granted”, Finn said, giving his brother in arms a half smile.

Jay let out a sigh of relief as he pulled out a pillow from his ruck and plopped down on the ground. He was fast asleep before either of them could blink.

“You can get some rest too”, Finn said turning to Rarity, “we’re getting up pretty early”. “What about you”? Rarity asked, rubbing one of her eyes.

Finn procured his pole rifle which lay next to him, erected it as if it were a flagpole and leaned against it.

“I’ve got first watch”, he replied, “it’s okay”.

Rarity let out an ever so delicate yawn.

“Very well then”, she said, lying down on the blanket lain out for her, “when we return to Ponyville, I must remember to….”.

She paused as she let out another yawn.

“To introduce you to my friends. They’ll enjoy seeing I had made new ones”.

After that was said, Rarity shut her eyes and slowly began to drift off into slumber. Finn winced as he repeated the unicorn’s words in his head. He never liked the idea of making friends, not since his parents died. That, however, did not keep him from focusing on the task at hand; Keeping watch over the ponies in his company. Which is exactly what he did, all through the night.

Author's Note:

I don't own MLP. I do own Finn and Jay, and all other GOE characters. Special thanks goes to my friend SierraSparx for writing the lullaby. http://sierrasparx.deviantart.com/