Guardians of Equestria Chapter 1: Love is Magic Part 1

Chapter 2 Escape from Everfree

Suddenly, in a flash of yellow, pink and blue, the boys found themselves in a dark forest. As they looked around, they saw that all the trees looked as if they were coming at them.

“Are we at the right place?” Jay said his voice trembling a little. “Prismo never pulled up a second portal”, Finn evaluated, “maybe we should ask for directions”.

They looked around for any sign of life. Jay’s eyes quickly fell upon a small picket sign.

“Everfree Forest”, it read, “just outside Ponyville. It would be wise to turn around”.

Jay quickly obeyed and started to run, but Finn caught him by the collar.

“We’re not leaving; we’re going to see this through,” Finn said firmly. “It’ll be hard to do that when some monster’s had our guts for din din”, Jay whimpered, trying to escape Finn’s grip.

Instantly, 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, then pointing downwards.

Finn looked down, and saw 3 little horses, or fillies to be exact, one of whom was trapped inside a hollow log. 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 stuck in the log was a white unicorn with a light purple curly mane and green eyes. Their names were Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle.

“Tell me again, how did you get stuck in there?” Scootaloo asked. “I thought I saw something neat inside”, Sweetie Belle said. “Well how in Equestria are we supposed to get ya outta there?” Apple Bloom said in her southern accent.

“Hey Jay, maybe we should lend them a hand”, Finn thought out loud. “No way man”, Jay said disapprovingly, “we don’t even know them. They could be monsters in disguise”.

Finn looked at them more carefully. It all sounded too far-fetched. As he looked upon the little pony in trouble, his resolve was hardened.

“Fine, stay up here and hide then ya big baby”, Finn said in an irritated tone, “I’m going to go help them”.

As Finn turned to leave, he lost his balance. But Jay caught him, but in turn lost his own balance. The white dog fell to the ground faster than a safe, and landed in the bushes with a loud CRASH! The 3 fillies looked over, and saw something rustling in the bushes. Unfortunately, Jay landed in a thorn bush, and got his head tangled in a bunch of prickle vines and briars. As he jerked his head out, groaning in pain, it looked like he had huge thorny antlers.

The 3 little foals saw Jay, and upon seeing his monster like appearance, they shrieked in terror. Jay, who was still scared of them and startled from the fall, also shrieked in terror. This continued on, until Finn gave a  pitched whistle.

“Everyone calm down!” He exclaimed.

Finn looked at Jay, and after making a freaked out face, he slowly yanked the vines and briars off of Jay’s head. Jay grunted in pain, and after they were off, he slowly began to weep from the pain. Apple Bloom felt bad for screaming, especially after seeing Jay cry. She slowly approached Jay.

“Hey now, it’s ok”, she said consolingly, “you dry those eyes now”.

She slowly wiped his eyes with her hoof. Jay slowly smiled. Finn also smiled.

“We saw your friends predicament, and thought we could be of service”, Finn said, pointing to the entrapped Sweetie Belle. “I’d be very much appreciative if you did”, Sweetie Belle said, “This log’s starting to chafe”.

Finn chuckled and nodded, and slowly unsheathed his sword. The sight of it made the girls nervous.

“Now I’m just gonna hack off the log around you”, Finn explained, “then Jay is gonna help pull you out. You got it”?

Sweetie Belle nodded her head. Slowly but quickly, Finn hastily hacked at the log. 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 and ran towards the forest. Back in Everfree, Sweetie Belle was halfway out, halfway being one third of the log was already hacked off.

“Ouch”! Sweetie Belle yelped. “What’s wrong?!” Finn asked out of surprise, “I’m not hurting you, am I?! “No”, Sweetie Belle said sadly, “I got a splinter on my hoof.”

She stuck her hoof out, and she did indeed have a splinter in it. Finn gently grasped her hoof, and quickly tugged on the splinter, and out it came. The little curly haired unicorn smiled in gratitude. Meanwhile, as Rarity came upon their location, she saw Finn and Jay pulling on Sweetie Belle who was in the log.

“She’s really jammed in there!” Jay grunted.

They then stopped for a moment.

“OK you pull and I’ll push”, Jay said. “Good idea”, Finn agreed, “I already weakened it enough, so she’ll probably slide right out. Don’t worry, this won’t hurt a bit”. “If we’re lucky we might pop her head right off”, Jay joked.

Sweetie Belle laughed nervously.

“What are y'all doing in a scary place like this”?? Jay asked curiously. “We were hoping to get our Cutie Marks in Spelunking, but we got lost trying to find a cave”, Apple Bloom explained. “Hoping to get your what in what”?! Finn asked, completely lost at everything the young filly just said.

But before she could answer, Rarity jumped right out of the bushes with a hearty yell. This in turn startled the others.

“Get away from my sister you ruffians!” she exclaimed furiously.

Finn, who was a better social diplomat than Jay, held his hands up to show he did not mean any harm, and stabbed his sword into the ground.

“Hold on a sec! First, I didn’t know she was your sister, and second, I know this looks bad, but we can explai...AUGH!

Before Finn could finish his sentence, Rarity tackled him to the ground, and started hitting him with her freshly polished hooves.

“Ouch! OOF! OW! Jay!” Finn exclaimed, while trying to block Rarity’s blows, “get this crazy girl horse off of me!

Without haste, Jay grew his hand using his magic powers, stretched his arm over to Rarity, and yanked him right off of Finn.

“Listen lady”, Jay said firmly, “we’re not gonna hurt you or your sister”.

But Rarity did not believe him; instead she swung her back hoof, until it finally nailed Jay right in the kisser. This in turn caused Jay to lose his grip on her, and fall back. As Jay groaned and rubbed his face, he spit into his hand, and there lay in his palm, a tooth.

“Ok that’s it”! He shouted furiously, “girl horse or not, nobody knocks out my teeth!”

In that moment, Jay and Rarity locked horns, no pun intended. As they tumbled around, hitting, slapping, and kicking each other, Finn slowly walked up to them.

“Come on guys, knock it off!” he insisted, trying to pull them apart.

But instead of being heard, he was pulled into the scrap. After a minute of exchanging blows, he slid them away from each other. Rarity was covered in nicks and bruises, and Jay had more of them, along with a black eye and a nose facing the wrong way. They glared into each other’s eyes as Finn, who was also covered in bruises, kept them separated.

“ENOUGH”! Finn exclaimed, “Both of you, GIVE IT A REST!” “She started it! Jay shouted, we were just trying to help her sister out of the stupid log, and then all the sudden I get a reason to see the dentist!” “It doesn’t matter”! Finn barked, “You don’t go fighting girls like that”.

Rarity was surprised. She turned over to her little sister, who was finally being pulled out by Apple Bloom and Scootaloo.

“Is that true?” She asked, “Were they trying to help you?”

Sweetie Belle, along with the other two crusaders nodded. Rarity frowned sadly, feeling guilty over the recent misunderstanding. Finn elbowed Jay, who looked a little guilty about his actions. As she opened her mouth, Jay raised his paw and stopped her from speaking.

“I apologize for my rash behavior”, Jay said sadly. “As do I”, Rarity said apologetically. “Hey strangers”, Apple Bloom piped up, “we didn’t get your names, and I guess we never introduced ourselves either. I’m Apple Bloom. This is Scootaloo, and that’s Sweetie Belle. We’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders, dedicated to getting our cutie marks”.

Finn smiled.

“A pleasure to meet you Crusaders”, Finn said politely, bowing slightly, “my name’s Finn, and that’s my best friend Jay.”

Jay smiled and waved hello to the little fillies.

“And I’m Rarity”, Rarity said bowing her head, “seamstress of Ponyville.” “You sure don’t fight like a seamstress”, Jay teased, while he rubbed his face.

Rarity smiled.

“If anyone doesn’t mind me changing the topic”, Finn spoke up, “how do we get out of here?”

As Rarity looked around, she saw that she was also lost.

“I’m sorry”, she said sadly, “I was so focused on finding Sweetie Belle, I had neglected to keep track of where I was going”. “Don’t worry”, Jay said sanguinely, “it’s not like its night fall or anything”.

3 hours later

“I can’t believe it’s almost night fall and we still haven’t found this confounded Ponyville!” Jay exclaimed, shaking his arms furiously.

They had been wandering around the forest for hours, with no sign of Ponyville in sight, and the sky was getting darker by the minute.

“I don’t wanna be in this forest after dark”, Sweetie Belle said worriedly. “I’m sorry Sweetie Belle”; Finn said grimly, “but it’s too risky to keep walking at night. Let’s make camp”.

Apple Bloom helped Jay fetch some branches and leaves to make a lean to, which was helped being made by Rarity and the other 2 Crusaders. Meanwhile, Finn worked on trying to make a fire. After it was lit, Finn got out some marshmallows. Jay passed around some sticks he had fashioned to a point along with a mallow. As they ate the marshmallows, Finn and Jay told them stories of their adventures. Finn and Jay sat on a log, while Rarity and the CMC’s laid under the lean-to. The four ponies paid close attention as the two boys told them tale after tale.

As the boys entertained the 4 ponies with their stories, Finn could feel their eight bright eyes scanning every part of him, from his clothes to his raven black hair.

"So if Jay is a dog, then what are you"? Sweetie Belle asked, trying not to sound rude. "I'm a human", Finn said simply. "Huh, I don't think we have many of those here in Equestria", Scootaloo said sadly, "But there are a lot of weird creatures in this world so, I don't know".

Finn smiled warmly at the orange filly. He knew that there probably wouldn't be any humans in this world, but all in all, he remained content.

“So where is it that you boys say you come from?” Asked Apple Bloom, finishing off a mallow. “It’s called ‘The Land of Ooo’ ”, Finn answered. “What a very interesting name, and it sounds like a very marvelous place”, Rarity said. “It is pretty great”, Jay agreed, “but that’s why we left”. “What do you mean?” Asked Sweetie Belle. “Well you see”, Finn began, “we had fought there for so long, it kinda got boring”. “So we came here”, Jay finished, “it looked like a promising ‘land of opportunity’ ”.

As Jay finished the story, Scootaloo started to yawn.

“I think it’s time for you girls to hit the hay”, Jay said observingly. “But I’m not...”

Before the Apple Bloom could finish her sentence, she was struck by another yawn. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom began yawning as well.

“What do you think Rarity?” Jay asked. “I think you make an excellent point”, Rarity said in agreement, “it’s time for you fillies to go to sleep”.

But the little ponies refused. It was then that Finn had a brainstorm.

“Hey Jay”, he said.

He then whispered his idea to Jay, who nodded in astonishment at his idea. Jay then looked at the tired eyed fillies, and smiled.

“Ok then”, Jay said, “You can stay up”. “Yay”! Cheered the CMC’s. “If you don’t sleep through the lullaby Finn’s gonna sing”, Jay added. “What?!” they exclaimed in surprise.

Finn pulled out his grandmother’s music box. As he cranked the lever, and the chimes started playing, he sang.

“Don't be weepy sleepy puppies.

Slip your slippers on your footies. In the morning you'll get goodies;

Puppy hats and puppy hoodies.

No stripes or Polk-a-dots;

Heather grey and feather soft, Baby pink or baby blue...

All the draw strings you can chew”.

While Finn sang, the 3 fillies’ eyes started to wilt, but they were resilient, and forced their eyes open. As the song progressed, each one of them soon fell under song’s influence, and soon enough, the three little ponies fell fast asleep. Finn and Jay smiled as the 3 fillies lightly snored in their sleep. Jay laid a blanket over them, allowing them to keep warm as they slept. As the fire crackled and the embers flew up, Jay spread out on his stomach, allowing Finn to rest his head on the dogs back. Rarity lay beside them.

“That was a very sweet lullaby you sang, Finn”, she complimented. “Our great grandmother used to sing it”, Jay said nostalgically.  “Yea”, Finn added sadly, looking up at the stars, “but that was before she and Grandpa passed away”. “Oh I’m sorry”; Rarity said sadly, “you must miss them”. “We occasionally think about them”, Jay said yawning; “we barely knew them though”. “But that doesn’t mean we don’t still think about them”, Finn pointed out, “Dad used to tell me stories about them all the time”.

Rarity smiled.

“That’s very sweet”, she said.

Jay nodded. Then after a big yawn, he lowered his head, and fell fast asleep. Finn also yawned, but not as loud.

“Goodnight Rarity”, he said sleepily. “Goodnight Finn”, she replied. “Tomorrow, when we find Ponyville, Jay and I will have lots of totes new adventures”, Finn yawned.

At last, Finn fell asleep. Rarity, who rested her head on Finn’s pack which Finn let her use as a pillow, also fell asleep, dreaming of what tomorrow may bring.