Guardians of Equestria Chapter 2: Love is Magic Part 2

Chapter 1 Aftermath

As day turned to evening, Celestia had requested Finn and Jay to stay in Canterlot until they were fully healed. Finn, who had bandages on his foreleg, temples and cheek, sat in his room and tried thinking of a way to track down Princess Luna and Draco. He had spent the last 5 hours drawing up ideas and possible leads on some scroll paper and using a pencil he had found in his saddlebag. There was just one slight problem.

“No…Noo…NO….we don’t have time to wait for that! No, no NO”!

As he screamed, he crumpled up the piece of paper he had been writing on and threw it down to join the large pile composed of other failed ideas. He sullenly walked over to the window and, after noticing that the sky had gone already dark, he leaned against the window sill and rested his head against his hoof.

"It's amazing how she still remembers to bring up the moon after being turned", he thought, "This more than likely the calm before the storm. I have feeling that when the storm inevitably comes, that's when things are going to get tough".

"Hey".

His thoughts were dashed as he heard a familiar voice. He turned to see Twilight standing in the doorway.

"What are you doing here"? Finn asked, "Not that I'm not delighted to see you". "We were just about to head out and I just wanted to check on you.How're you feeling"?Twilight asked, wondering about his recent injuries. "Well, the bleeding's stopped and the swelling on my tongue's gone down", Finn said with a smirk as he turned back towards the window, "But....I just.....". "Are you still upset about what happened"? Twilight asked, slowly trotting towards him.

Finn felt a lump suddenly form in his throat. Knowing Twilight, he knew he'd have to talk about it sooner or later. Ignoring the lump, he let out a big sigh.

"If I hadn't have been so tired from saving you, maybe I could've been able to save Luna", Finn said, regret and guilt noticeably sewn into his tone, "I promised myself a long time ago that no other kingdom would fall to that foul usurper. I swore on my parent's grave that he would pay for all that he's done. How can I be a leader when I can't even lead you and the others, let alone save a....".

He stopped as he felt a gentle hoof place itself on his shoulder. The image of Twilight came into the corner of his eye.

"You've gotta stop beating yourself up over this", Twilight said, looking up at the stallion before her, "I know this is hard, and I know this may make you feel like you've failed to uphold your own personal oaths, but you have to realize that this just wasn't a battle you could win. We haven't lost the war; we WILL find Draco and save Princess Luna".

Twilight paused as she suddenly took Finn's hoof.

"And we'll do it..together", Twilight said with a large amount of enthusiasm in her voice.

After allowing her words to sink in, a smile suddenly grew across Finn's face.

"You ponies never cease to surprise me", he said softly, shaking his head, "What with your friendships and your unwavering optimism". "Welcome to Equestria", Twilight said, beaming with pride.

They suddenly became lost in each others' gaze, feeling an unexpected warmth overtake them. After 3 minutes of intense staring, they both snapped back to reality, grinning nervously and blushing rapidly.

"Well uh...ahem..thank you for that...short but meaningful speech", Finn said, scratching the back of his head. "Sure...no problem", Twilight said, doing her best to hide blushing face. "Uhhh, Twilight"? Finn said. "Yeah"? Twilight glancing over at him. "You can let go of my hoof now", Finn said sheepishly. "What? Oh! Right"! Twilight said, quickly remembering  and releasing Finn's hoof.

They both shared an awkward laugh as they looked away.

"Uh, don't you have a train to catch"? Finn said, suddenly remembering.

Twilight's eyes suddenly widened as she too quickly remembered. Without warning, a loud train whistle sounded off, and as Finn glanced out the window, he saw as the train to Ponyville departed to its destination. He grinned sheepishly as he turned towards the princess.

"Looks like you missed your ride", he said nervously, "but hey, you could stay here, with me. I mean, here in the castle. With me. And Jay. And the Princess".

Twilight giggled at his sudden awkwardness.

"I mean, I'm sure the Princess will let you spend the night", Finn said, quickly regaining his composure. "Yeah, I know", Twilight said, "And I think I will. I mean, it's pretty late and I won't be able to catch the next train until tomorrow morning". "I guess you're stuck here", Finn said, turning away. "Guess so", Twilight said nervously.

Both ponies soon entered yet another brief period of awkward silence.

"Well", Twilight said, breaking the silence, "we've had a really.....busy day so, I think I'll turn in". "Yeah, me too", Finn said looking away.

Just as she was about to leave, she turned her head and glanced back at Finn.

"By the way, I think you're wrong", she said softly, "I think you're an excellent leader".

With one last smile, she slowly trotted out of the room. Feeling a sense of slight re invigoration, Finn smiled as he repeated the words "Excellent Leader" in his head.

"Maybe I can make things right", he said to himself, "Maybe I CAN lead these ponies to victory and SAVE Princess Luna".