//------------------------------// // Truth and Consequences // Story: Guardians of Equestria Chapter 1: Love is Magic Part 1 // by SpiritD3t3ctiv3 //------------------------------// Chapter 6 Truth and Consequences They had reached the castle the next morning, and currently remained hidden on a mountain perch near the kingdom. “Do you see anything”? Twilight whispered into Finn’s ear. “Yeah”, Finn said, adjusting the focus on his binoculars, “The whole place is crawling with vipers, that’s what we call Draco’s Soldiers. There are a bunch of guards tied up too. The castle seems pretty clear though" . “That’s weird”, Rainbow Dash said. “Yeah, if they wanted to invade the kingdom, why in tarnation would they leave the castle alone"? Applejack asked curiously. “It’s most likely a trap”, Rarity said deductively. “Rarity’s right”, Jay agreed, “we’re gonna need a plan”. Finn thought it over for a moment or two, until finally, inspiration struck him. “Bingo! I’ve got it”! He exclaimed. He quickly covered his mouth as the others shushed him, reminding him to be quiet. “Sorry”, he said in a hushed tone, “what I meant is, I just thought up of a great plan”. “Lay it on us Sarge”, Jay insisted. Finn drew with the tip of his hoof on the ground, making a battle plan. “Okay here it is, Finn explained, “There’ll be 2 teams: Team A will act as a distraction and keep the Snakes busy while at the same time freeing the guards, and Team B, who will consist of me and Jay, will sneak into the castle, liberate the princess’s, and beat the crud outta Draco”. “ I volunteer for Team B”, Twilight spoke up. “Count me in too”, AJ said jumping in. “And me”, Rainbow added. “Would you like to be a part of Team A Fluttershy”? Jay offered. “Oh umm, yes please. There are probably more of those soldiers inside the castle than out here”, Fluttershy admitted. “So I’m guessing the rest of you will be on Team A, correct”? Finn assumed, referring to Rarity. “Certainly, darling”, Rarity nodded. Jay looked around. He suddenly realized they were short one pony. “Where’s Pinkie”? Jay asked, “I haven’t seen her since the night before”. Just then, Jay heard something rustling nearby. It was coming from his saddlebag. As he opened up the bag, he found that the source of the noise, was Pinkie Pie! She quickly sprung out of the bag like a jack in the box. “Surprise”! She exclaimed. “How long were you in there”?! Jay exclaimed frantically. “I slipped inside there before you left yesterday morning”, Pinkie Pie answered, “It’s really roomy in there. By the way, thanks for taking your laundry out. Wouldn’t have wanted to roll around in your dirty clothes”. While Jay looked at the pink mare in disbelief, Finn face hoofed himself. A few minutes later, following the plan, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie slowly shimmied against the side of a house, looking over at a pair of tied up guards being guarded by a couple of Mamban soldiers. “OK remember the plan Fluttershy”, Pinkie Pie whispered. Fluttershy nodded obediently. “You will distract the guards, and Fluttershy and I will set the guards free”, Rarity said reciting the plan. Pinkie Pie nodded. As one of the reptilian guards started to doze off and the other bored out of his mind, if he even had one, Pinkie Pie jumped out from the side of the house, and blew on a noise maker really loud. That got the guards’ attention real fast. “Yoohoo! Catch me if you can!” Pinkie Pie said in sing song. And with that, she quickly ran away with a skip and a hop, with the Snakes running after her. With the coast clear, Rarity and Fluttershy ran over to the 2 restrained guards. Fluttershy was untying them while Rarity kept an open eye out for anymore guards. Just then, as Fluttershy undid the knot that held the rope together, Rarity saw something coming down the streets. It was Pinkie Pie, the Mamban ponies right behind her. “Hurry along Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie is coming back with some new friends”! Rarity warned. After exchanging a look of worry, Fluttershy wasted no time in undoing the knot. In an instant, the 2 stallion guards were free, and after recovering their armor, they ran off. Rarity, still aware of the situation at hand, quickly tried thinking of a plan. Then, looking down at the long rope lying at her hooves, inspiration struck. “Fluttershy, grab the other end of that rope”, Rarity instructed. Fluttershy obeyed, and held the other end in her mouth. As Rarity held the opposite end, she hid behind one of the houses, as did Fluttershy. Just then, Pinkie Pie ran right past them. “Now Fluttershy”! Rarity said, her voice muffled a little because of the rope between her teeth. As soon as the Mamban Soldiers came into view, Fluttershy and Rarity pulled on the rope, causing them to trip. Instantly, Rarity and Pinkie attacked the warriors, mostly jumping up and down on them, while Fluttershy watched from a safe enough distance. Meanwhile, at the castle, Twilight led the others through a secret passage to the throne room. Until at last, they made it to the trashed throne room. It was pretty dark, but Finn found an unlit torch stick. After Twilight lit it using her horn, they all looked around in shock at the broken and cracked stained glass windows, demolished pillars, shredded wall tabards, smashed pots, trampled flowers, and especially the wrecked throne. What was once the royal throne room to the princesses of Equestria, looked like the aftermath of a frat party. “Looks like they didn’t hold back”, Jay said, inspecting the wreckage. “How could this have happened”?! Twilight exclaimed, completely horrified by the state of the throne room. “Where is everypony”?! Finn asked curiously, his eyes darting around the room, " It's almost as if they just decided to trash the place and then split". “I know”, Jay said, “I didn’t think there would be a surprise attack, but I figured there would be at least a guard or…” Before Jay could finish his sentence, the lights flashed on, and suddenly, standing all around them was a bunch of armed Mambans. The 5 companions huddled in a defensive circle, Finn and Jay held their swords close. Suddenly, 2 of the surrounding Mambans stepped aside, and out from the opening walked Draco. He had a chain dangling from his hoof. “Why if it isn’t my dear friends, Staff Sergeant Finn and Sergeant Jay”, he said sarcastically. “Cut the crap, Draco”, Jay said sharply. “Yeah you can’t fool us”, Finn added, “We accounted for anything you might pull”. Draco chuckled. “You boys are indeed sharp”, Draco agreed, “but you’re dull enough to never expect the unexpected like everyone else”! And with that, he yanked really hard on the chain, and following a painful yelp, was Princess Celestia. Stripped of her crown, necklace, and shoes, she looked as if she had been tortured. The once proud ruler of Canterlot, the princess of the sun, was now reduced to a prisoner of war. It was enough to bring the three mares to tears. “Princess Celestia”! The 3 ponies shouted in horror. “Well, except for that”, Jay nervously admitted. Twilight noticed something missing from Celestia. Draco glanced over at the shocked purple unicorn. “You’re probably wondering where her horn is”, Draco assumed, as if reading Twilight’s mind, “well, allow me to answer your question by showing you my new and recently acquired magic wand.” Slowly, using his magic, he pulled out Celestia’s horn out from behind him. The 3 girls stared at it in shock, while the boys grimaced and scowled in disgust at it. “You heartless monster”, Twilight growled. “Sooo, Sergeant”, Draco said, looking over at Draco, his voice smooth like the face of a dagger, “still think you and your new friends can stop me”? Finn glowered. The time had come for him to finally get what had been bothering him off his chest. “That’s where you’re WAY off Draco”, Finn said stepping forth, “NONE of these mares are my friends, ya get me?! NONE OF THEM"!!!! Twilight and the others were shocked. “What”?! Twilight gasped. “Is he kidding”?! Rainbow Dash asked. “Ah don’t believe mah ears”! Applejack exclaimed out of disbelief. “Fiiin”!!!! Jay exclaimed pedantically. Draco chuckled, causing the 5 five heroes to return back to the issue at hand. “But through and through though, you do still care for them”, Draco said, “Don’t deny it, for I can see it in your eyes. You wouldn’t want anything to happen to them”. Finn looked over at the 3 mares. As he who he gazed upon their dismayed faces, he made a slight sad frown. “It’s your choice Finny boy”, Draco said in a sadistic tone, “You can either join your friends, or not friends, whatever you call them, in the dungeon, or you can be the first to see 3 mares cry after watching their beloved ruler forever rest. Then again, you already know what that's like, don't you"? Finn looked over at the 3 ponies, then at the bounded and beaten princess. “What CAN I do”? Finn asked in defeat, “You win”. He slowly knelt down and lifted his forelegs. Chuckling at his greatest victory, Draco slapped a pair of shackles on Finn’s forelegs, along with the others. And with no hope in sight, the villainous scoundrel led them all down to the dungeon. The dimly lit prison chambers slowly ate away at the 5 hero’s’ sense of hope. The constant dripping and the unclean room that they were in really took a toll on Jay. “Auuugh”! He groaned, “How could this have gone so wrong?! I’m always on top of things”!!! There was a long pause of awkward silence. Finn kept looking at the 3 mares, then back down at his shoes. He was on one side of the cell with Jay, and the 3 girls were on the other. He knew what they were thinking, but he didn’t have the heart to ask. "What"?! Finn asked, breaking the silence, "Why are you looking at me like that"?? Twilight was the next to speak. “Why are we not your friends”? She asked curiously, “After all we’ve been through, after all we’ve done, haven't we….”? Finn sighed before he spoke. “I can’t have any friends”, he finally admitted. “For lands sake, why”?! Applejack asked, joining in. “Is it because you’re too wrapped up in your studies? Cause Twilight had the same problem”, Rainbow Dash asked, bringing up Twilight’s old inability to make friends. Twilight frowned at the Cyan Pegasus. “They already have you on the ropes, might as well tell them”, Jay sadly suggested. Finn took a deep breath, and then exhaled. “I can’t allow myself to develop any sort of friendship”, Finn explained, “the more people who’re close to me, the more I put in danger. And look what’s happened because of it; Your Princess is now a P.O.W., Draco’s using her horn like it’s some sort of new toy and we’re stuck in a dungeon like a bunch of rats”. At that moment, a group of rats scurried by the 5 ponies. None of them decided not to speak about the irony of the passing rodents. Getting back to the subject, Twilight slowly trotted over to him. “Is that why you said we’re not your friends”? She asked, “Because you think you’ll get us hurt? Finn slumped back and shrugged his shoulders. "Everyone who has ever gotten close to me, save for a few ponies, have all either walked out of my life......or died", he said in a sad tone. "If I could just turn off these hurt feelings that I have, then I would but I CAN'T, I just CAN'T! I can't.....". He looked away and sighed, feeling a slight pressure build up in his chest. Twilight slowly walked over to him and placed her hoof on his foreleg. “Finn, we’ve handled some pretty tough creatures and villains over the years”, She said, "Sure, they were probably pushovers compared to what you and Jay have faced, but they were challenging all the same". “If you knew what we faced sugar cube, you wouldn’t need any reason to worry”, Applejack added. “We kick butt on a regular basis”, Rainbow Dash boasted. Twilight and AJ looked at her with a hairy eyeball. “Well, we do don't we”? She asked. Twilight slowly patted Finn’s shoulder. “You don’t need to worry about us” Twilight said reassuringly, “We’ve always been able to take care of ourselves., and we’ll help you to take down Draco”. Finn turned his attention from the floor to Twilight. He then looked to the side, and then sighed. “Anyone got a plan”? He asked. Twilight smiled. “We should regroup with the others so we can us the Elements of Harmony”, Rainbow Dash suggested. “Yeah, The elements of Harmony”, Jay agreed, “what are the elements of Harmony”? “They’re 6 magic artifacts that represent the 6 elements of friendship”, Twilight explained, “Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty, Loyalty, and the most powerful of all, Magic. My friends and I are the ones who represent the elements; Applejack is Honesty, Rarity is Generosity, Fluttershy’s is Kindess, Pinkie Pie is Laughter, Rainbow Dash element is Loyalty, and…" “Let me guess”, Finn interrupted, “you represent magic”. “That’s right”, Twilight said with a smile and a slight blush, “But I don’t see how we can get to them when we’re locked up down here”. It was then Jay remembered something important. “Do you really need to ask”? Jay asked sarcastically. Jay then used his magic to unlock the cell door. The 4 of them cheered and clapped at Jay’s quick thinking. “Hold your applause for later”, Jay said sternly, “You girls gotta get to those elements, while Finn and I go and put the whooping on old Scale Face”. “You got it”, Rainbow Dash said. “I’m going with you”, Twilight said. “No way”, Finn said, “we can’t risk anyone else getting hurt”. “He hurt Princess Celestia”, Twilight said irritably, “I’ve got as much of a score to settle than you do”. Finn sighed and rubbed his eyes with both his hooves. He looked over at Twilight, who made an irritated face, and then at Jay, who just shrugged and nodded. “Fine”, he said grouchily. Jay made a cheery face, and then went back to being serious. Twilight went over to Finn and embraced him in a light but warm hug. The young princes’ face turned light pink as his Alicorn acquaintance hugged him closely. The lavender mare also blushed as she hugged the young soldier. After what seemed like hours, Finn gently exited Twilight’s embrace. “Well then”, Finn said weakly, “Let’s go”!