//------------------------------// // Final: Come Kill Somebody With Us, We Got Donuts // Story: Dan Vs. The Magic of Friendship(Season 1) // by Barrobroadcaster //------------------------------// It took me a long time to finally understand why Dan is here. Heroes come and go, they do their job and then they leave. They watch from a distance and only intervene when it's necessary. But we needed more than just a hero. We needed someone who would be there every day. He's a knight because he's always there, always by our side. Through everything. Not just the big things, but the little things, too. And sometimes, he leads the way. He's a knight. He doesn't always wear a cape, or a mask, or armor or even pants. But he's a knight. Right beside us, always. Do you see now? He doesn't just protect our world, he's part of it. He was the missing element. Now, he is Equestrian. There were just over thirty-thousand ponies between Ponyville, Cloudsdale and Canterlot. The entire population of ponies, including neighboring countries, across the globe was somewhere around twenty million. This included the Crystal Empire, Saddle Arabia and even lawless territories like the Badlands and Jagged Crags. Twenty-million ponies throughout all Equestria. One of them was ex-Chancellor Rice Puddinghead, and another was Princess Twilight Sparkle. Recruiting for Dan's final revenge was more difficult than expected. By Equestrian law, the Royal Guards could not exceed a thousand active guardsmen, and no more than two-hundred and fifty were held in reserve. The Praetorian Guard, the personal guards of Celestia and Luna, which included the secretive Night Guards, was composed only of a couple dozen hoof-picked guards. All and all, Twilight estimated no more than fifteen-thousand ponies would be able to rally for their cause. This excluded those that were too young or too old to fight and those otherwise incapable of fighting, but the real reason it was so hard finding ponies to recruit was because- "You're busy?" "I'm sorry, I'm supposed to have company over tomorrow." "But you live in a tent-" The tent flap slammed shut like a door. It even made the same sound a wooden door would make. Twilight and the Mane Six were left outside, somewhat confused at the interaction. It was the fifth time their recruitment plea had been rejected out of five residences they visited. So they were zero for five. "Maybe we should offer cupcakes," Pinkie suggested. "So you want us to knock on ponies' doors and say, "Free cupcakes! Also, do you wanna come kill somepony with us?" Rainbow Dash asked. "We don't have to word it EXACTLY like that," Pinkie said. And after a pause, she added, "We could offer them donuts, too." Twilight turned around. "We are NOT doing that. And we're certainly not going to blatantly ask like that." They all walked to the next residence, another tent in the east-side residential area of Ponyville. There were lots of tents here, some large enough for entire families and a lot of them were travelers, but many also lived in those tents. Remarkably, none of them were actually camping. Also worth noting was that none of them were willing to help Twilight and her friends. So, after the tenth group of ponies turned them down, they went to Sugar Cube Corner and came back with baked goods. "Free cupcakes! Also, do you wanna come kill somepony with us?" Another tent flap slammed shut in front of them. "Pinkie," Applejack took the cupcakes from her friend. "I'll take those. You're not really helping us right now." Pinkie Pie batted away the notion. "Aaand who is it who always says it's best to be upfront and honest about everything?" "You're freaking ponies out, Pinkie," Rainbow Dash said. She said it through bites of cupcake. "And we should've baked more cupcakes." Twilight hung her head low. "This isn't working out. At this point, we'd be more successful reinstituting the draft." Equestria had not formally been at war since Celestia had taken the throne. But, there had been conflicts. The Breakfast Wars, the Hippy Skirmishes, show cancellation, and not long ago when ponies were conscripted to deal with another terrible threat: folk music. Instead of World War 2, Equestria had a massive outbreak of folk music that invaded airwaves across the kingdom. Only a combined effort and cooperation from all nations was able to stop a folk music festival from taking place. Ponies swore never again to let such terrible tragedy befall the kingdom, or to watch anything with Eugene Levy in it. They left the residential area while eating the rest of the cupcakes and donuts. Some ponies past them in the street, completely unaware of what they were doing. Things had largely returned to normal for Equestria and everyone was happy about it. They still felt the elation and the relief from having gotten through a major crisis. It also made them less keen to join the next one. "Hi! Would you like a free donut? Also, do you wanna come help us kill somepony?" The random stallion Pinkie ask looked back with a wide-eyed stare. "Honey," he said, staring at Pinkie, "the ponies want me to kill again." "Thomas, you are a pony," his wife said to him. "Oh. Yeah." He took a donut and walked away. "Alright," Twilight said. "Let's... take a break for now." She turned back to her friends. "We're going with Dan tomorrow, regardless of who else comes. Or, maybe he'll reschedule. Whatever happens..." she took a deep breath and let it out, "happens." That was a hard thing for her to accept as a princess. Having so much power to control and influence things, and things still happened on their own anyway. "There's a new museum that opened up," Fluttershy suggested. "We could go see it today." Twilight sighed. "That sounds like a good idea to me." Her other friends agreed. They finished off the rest of their treats and headed to the new museum. "Good afternoon!" Tuxley greeted them all. "Welcome, your highness! Welcome, all! So good of you to drop by." "Hi Tuxley!" the ponies greeted him in unison. The tyrannosaurus rex tipped his hat to them. "Thank you all for coming. It's taken quite a while to prepare, but we're finally open!" "What kind of museum is this?" Rarity asked. The dino smiled. Arms outstretched wide, he announced, "The first of its kind. Miss Rarity... my dear Twilight Sparkle, welcome... to Historic Park!" Silence followed. Would've been perfect for a score by John Williams, as Tuxley swept his talons across the breadth of the main lobby. Six branching pathways extended to various exhibits. Halls filled with artifacts, culture, history and science from Equestria and worlds beyond. Truly, it was one of the most complete museums ever built. "Historic park?" Rarity asked. "Is that in referencing to something?" "Unfortunately, yes," Reginald said. The crystal exemplar greeted them from the steps to the upper level. "Ah, Reginald! Perfect timing, as always. Would you mind watching the front desk while I take the ladies on a tour?" "Of course, sir," Reginald said, bowing. He took position behind the front desk. "Do remember to behave yourself in front of the girls." Tuxley clutched his chest. "I'd do nothing less, dear friend. Come, ladies! You might recognize some of these early exhibits." And so, Tuxley led them through the museum. He was very excited, very enthusiastic as he took them on the grand tour, beaming with pride at almost every piece. It was almost as if he was showing off his own private collection rather than multiple donated items and historic exhibits. But for Tuxley, each piece had a story to tell, a way it got here. He loved history for that fact, and especially the progress that could come with it. Tuxley loved both history and progress. There could not be one without the other. In that regard, like Dan and Rice, he was also working towards the future. The girls followed Tuxley throughout the museum. Slowly, Twilight began to get lost in each of the exhibits, especially when they got to the aquarium. "Twilight?" "Huh? Oh, um, I'm fine." Applejack raised an eyebrow. "That's not what I was gonna ask." "Oh! Oh, uh- I'm sorry, what is it?" "Well," her friend turned to her, "now that you mention it, are you doing alright? I thought we were taking a break." "I..." she trailed off, looking back at the fish. "I'm sorry. I have... a lot on my mind." "I know how that is these days," Pinkie Pie said. "Should we get more donuts?" The aquarium was massive and gorgeous. Something about the numerous fish was distracting Twilight. So many various types and species, all plucked from where they had been originally in the ocean, placed here in this tank. Along with the coral and seaweed and crustaceans, and they were all expected to somehow get along. And somehow, they were getting along. Swimmingly. One of the fish in front of her even resembled Fluffle Puff. "Oooh, there's some fluffer fish," Pinkie said. The fluffer fish even noticed Pinkie pointing her out, and gave an aquatic, bubbling gasp in response. Splishle Plish was one of the more brave fluffalafishpones in the tank. Her boyfriend, Splashle Plish was a fan of classic Snorks as opposed to the Snorks reboot. "So, do any of these fish fly?" Rainbow Dash was having a conversation with Tuxley. Something tugged at Twilight's mind. But she forced it out. "I'm fine," she told Applejack and the others. They enjoyed their afternoon at the museum. Afterward, Twilight went home, and that was when she bumped into Daring Do.