Dan and Phoenix cruised northward towards the Zebra Kingdom. Gust's three carriers followed behind while several groups of pegasi and griffons flanked them to keep an eye out for trouble. They were all thankful that there didn't appear to be any opposition to them approaching the border, though with relief came the stark reminder that most of their problems were behind them. Problems that were marching towards them.
The kingdom was mostly covered in dense forest and lush jungle for miles. Although on Earth, the zebras were largely located in Africa, the Zebra Kingdom of Equestria resembled a combination of Roman, Aztec, Carthaginian and ancient Chinese kingdoms. To the casual observer, certain countries and areas of Equestria resembled other nations on Earth, but that wasn't entirely the truth. In actuality, the nations of Equestria represented time periods rather than parallel kingdoms. The Zebra Kingdom represented the ancient past while the Dinosaur and Dragon Domains, high-tech and barren wastes respectively, represented the uncertain future. Nestled in the middle of them all, Equestria was more or less a combination of past and future, making it a more accurate parallel of any country on Earth than the others.
Saddle Arabians, with their love of stars, represented a spirit of exploration and discovery. But with their country in ruins, it wasn't sure what they represented at present, unfortunately.
"Where are you planning to intercept the zebras?" Phoenix asked. "The border's massive, they could cross it anywhere."
"Those nazi-zebras don't bother going around anything!" Dan yelled. "Thick-headed idiots just machine in a straight line! They'll take the quickest route to the capital, so we'll stop 'em on the way!"
"At least you're confident," Phoenix remarked. (But hey, maybe he is onto something. C'mon, Nick, you can do this. It's only an unstoppable horde of zebras that have kicked our asses like thirty times already. What are the odds it could happen again...? Yeah, I'm gonna have to work on my own confidence.)
"We're coming up on a nice spot now, right between the mountains. This is where we'll make our stand!"
"Okay, we gonna lay in a nice approach so we ca-AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!" Phoenix screamed as Dan dove the MY-Wing almost straight towards the ground. "AAAAHHHAAAAEEEE!!"
"Keep it down, Nicky! I can't hear the radio for weather updates."
"DANPULLUP!!!!!!" the lawyer shrieked.
Dan turned around in his seat. "Nicky, I am driving right now. If you want to drive, you can pilot on the way back home."
"EEEEEEEEEEEE!!!"
Dan pulled up at literally the last second. The MY-Wing landed gently at the edge of a clearing, its four engines reconfigured back into legs and touched down on some vine-covered cobblestones. The canopy of the craft popped open and Dan jumped out, followed by Phoenix sliding out and collapsing to the ground.
"I... I think I'll fly the ship... on the way home," Phoenix said, panting. "I call it... I call it right now."
"Great, we can get some tacos on the way back. Wanna hit up the drive thru?" Dan watched as Phoenix proceeded to vomit. "That doesn't count as no, Nicky."
While the griffon carriers landed, Dan and Phoenix took time to examine their surroundings. The white-green cobblestones underneath them weren't unlike the streets of Canterlot, except long overdue for work. Dried up vines and vegetation crept through the cracks between the stones and the ruins of statues, fountains and ornate sculptures were strewn about the landscape.
"I don't think this place is on the brochure," Dan commented.
"I don't even think this place is on the map," Phoenix added. The pair walked up to the ruined base of a fountain. One side of it was scorched black all around the edges. In the center of the fountain was a pedestal meant to rise out of it, a pair of broken statues had fallen off beside it. Or had been blasted off.
Dan noticed a plaque in the half-crumbled base. "Peace Prevails National Park," he read. "Doesn't look like they did much to keep the peace."
"This site is dedicated to the future of Equestria and Zequestria. As our nations grow and prosper, so shall this garden, cared for by pony and zebra alike. We share our world, our similarities and our differences and as kingdom and kin, we work together to make our future a brighter place for all," Phoenix finished reading.
"Heh, Tia always was schmaltzy like that," a familiar voice said. Dan and Phoenix looked around the pedestal, to the other side of the fountain. And they realized they were not alone. "Welcome to my garden, gentlemen," the Director said. "Here to do battle amidst these deferred dreams?"
But Dan was in no mood for games. He closed the gap between the two of them, fully intending to grab the creature by the cloak and strangle it. He got close to the Director, nearly arms-length away before she turned around. And he stopped.
"Hello, Dan."
"Uhhmm..." he momentarily forgot his courage, lost somewhere in the pony's gruesome visage. But he found it quickly. "Okay! What the heck is your deal, exactly? Are you some fanboy, some kind of monster, or a secret princess or something? Because I'm getting tired of this crap."
And the Director just smiled back at him. Her dark blue eyes would be almost haunting, even cute if they weren't so predatory. Underneath her cloak, every part of her that was visible, anyway, screamed creature of darkness. When she spoke, her voice sounded like two voices overlapped- one of a young boy and another of an elderly woman. "I told you before, Dan. I'm a lot of things."
"That's... not exactly, um, helpful," Phoenix said. He raised his hand cautiously. "If I could ask, what is it you want?"
"What every good director wants, Mr. Wright. A good performance. A long time ago, Equestria had that, until Tia and Lulu lost sight of it," she said. She turned back towards the pedestal. "Let me ask you both a question: do you think redemption is real?"
They both exchanged a glance and asked simultaneously, "What?"
"Is it possible to truly forgive something? To forgive someone? Tia wasn't able to forgive herself for banishing her little sister. It's only just now they've finally started talking again. A thousand years, Tia ruled and because she wasn't able to get over one little thing... well, you see the results."
Phoenix understood right away, but it too Dan a minute. He continued to look around. "What? Celestia did this?"
The Director turned towards Dan. For the first time, she wasn't smiling. "She let this happen. She let a lot of things happen. THEY let a lot of things happen," she said, teeth gritted. Her voice had just the smallest amount of venom in it, but it dissipated quickly. It wasn't much of an effort to hide it, but Phoenix realized it was there. She was hiding something.
The lawyer stepped forward. "You sound like you're talking about something specific. What exactly happened to you?"
The Director slowly turned to Phoenix. And what the ace attorney was hoping would happen, happened. His view of the world became black, the background faded away. The Director's form appeared in the center but... no chain. The magatama's reactions were like this, a lot of times, but never this way specifically. The stone magically enhanced his own perception, seemingly stopping time and allowing him to see into the soul of any person he used it on. If they were trying to conceal the truth, a psyche-lock and chain would manifest over them, often times, more than one, representing layers of deception he needed to unlock to break through.
But nothing appeared this time. Phoenix felt cold, wanted to turn to Dan but he couldn't look away. The Director's large blue eyes simply stared at him, as if he was the one being investigated and not the other way around. Finally, after what felt like too long, a lock did appear over the Director. A psyche lock in the shape of a heart. "Is there something wrong... Mr. Wright?" her words echoed in his skull. In the black abyss of thought, he felt unable to move. Unable to speak. "You look like... you just asked something you don't want to know the answer to." Her form started walking towards him.
"Nicky..."
She came closer. "Or maybe it's something you already know the answer to... but you don't realize it yet."
"Nicky..."
"Because the answer is staring you... right in the face!!"
"NICKY!!" Dan shook him.
"GAAAHH!!"
"Are you all right, Wright? You were in one of those trance things again!"
"I'm... I'm fine," Phoenix said, catching his breath again. He checked his magatama. (And so are you... don't go freaking me out like that again. Please.)
"Alright," Dan said, releasing his taller friend. He turned back to the Director. "And as for you, either you start helping us, or stay out of our business, because we don't need any more of your vague-riddle crap, OR your meddling, but I don't know why I'm still talking because it's obvious you're already gone again. So there."
The Director had vanished. Even before Dan had turned back to her, she was already long gone.
"I hate that... guy. I think," Dan said.
"You think you hate him or you think he's a guy?"
"Yes."
Phoenix sighed.
"Wow," Gust, who had apparently been behind them for some time, remarked on the scene. "That guy is scary."
"Nuggets!" Dan ran up to him. "Tell me you stole something from him."
The griffon looked puzzled. "Um, how am I supposed to steal something from... that thing?"
"I thought you were going to sneak around and steal something while no one is looking. Aren't you a ninja... pirate... chicken or something?"
Gust thought. "I'm at least one of those things. But no, I didn't steal anything from him. I'd be kind of afraid to. Like, inside his pocket might be just another pocket or like, a dimension of darkness and weird swirly lines. Or the Reverse World."
"He does kind of remind me of Giratina," Phoenix said.
Dan growled. Again, they were getting nowhere. The whole world felt like it was against them and they couldn't even find out why. There were no answers to any of their questions: not how to beat Zen Zeal, not how to beat Vice Grip, not who the Director is or what they even wanted. Somewhere, in the middle of a ruined park representing broken peace, they were stuck trying to separate fact from fiction, myth from legend, in an effort to avoid having their home becoming what they were standing on.
The future and the past were mysteries they would have to solve another day. "We can't deal with him now. We have to stop Zen Zeal," Dan said.
"We're ready. For whatever you need, Dan," Gust said.
"We're here for you. I've got your back," Phoenix added. (And I'm looking over mine just to be safe.)
Tuxley raised a claw. "Shouldn't the Sword Spell have gone off by now?" They all turned to look at him. "Oh, my apologies. I forget that loose lizard lips do often sink ships."
"He's right, Dan," Phoenix said. "We should've seen the Sword Spell fly overhead. Something might've happened to Twilight and the rest of the group."
"Like what?" Rainbow asked. "Don't tell me the zebras have a bomb now, too."
"The zebras have a bomb?!" Becky panicked. All around them, griffons and ponies started whispering among themselves.
"Everybody, relax," Dan said, trying to calm them. "I'm sure they'll launch the Sword Spell soon. We'll see it any minute now." He looked to the sky to the south, confident in his words.
"Are you sure, Dan?"
"Of course I am, Nicky. It'll be any minute now."
Two Hours Later
"Dan, I don't think it's coming."
"Nicky, don't worry. I'm sure they're just waiting for the last minute."
The Last Minute Later
"Dan-"
"It'll be fine, Nicky, it'll be fine," he reassured him, now with the moon hanging overhead. "It won't be long now."
Long Now Later
"Okay, that one doesn't even make any freaking sense!!" Dan yelled at the transition card.
"Dan, I don't think they're going to launch the Sword Spell," Phoenix said.
Tuxley removed his hat again. "I'm afraid our friends may have hit a spot of bother."
"By which, he means they've been captured," Reginald explained.
"Reginald!" Tuxley gasped. "Tact, my dear boy! Tact! This is no time to remind Dan how dire his circumstances are! That last thing he needs right now while preparing for the upcoming battle is to be reminded that his closest friends and loved ones, not to mention his own girlfriend have likely been defeated and are being held captive by the and I just realized I'm not helping at all, am I?"
"Unfortunately, you may be having the opposite effect, sir."
"Indeed," Tuxley agreed. "Dash it all. I'm afraid it's been quite a long day."
"It's okay, Tuxrex," Dan said. "It's good to be... reminded of what we're fighting for. Our friends and loved ones."
"Our homes and families," Phoenix added.
"The greatest treasure of them all- family," Gust said, offering his own rare gem of wisdom.
"And I'm not gonna lie," Dan continued, "if we lose here, we're boned. Totally boned. Like Blast Fuse and Blast Powder-levels of boned."
"We're not even in this scene. That's how boned he means."
"And we don't have much chance of winning!" Dan shouted. They were all surrounding him. And he spoke to each and every one of them, turning each time. "No, we're probably going to lose! We've tried everything against these guys and they've taken it! In fact, I can honestly say that we're already boned! That's a likely prediction at this time! If I could place my bets right now, I'd put every dime I had on Zen Zeal!"
"Dan?" Phoenix tapped his shoulder. "Not exactly words of encouragement."
"Oh, right. Yeah, that was probably bad for morale, wasn't it?"
"But not inaccurate," Phoenix said, raising his voice. "What Dan's saying is that this is our last chance. Our last chance to save Equestria, our last chance to save our friends, our families, our last chance to stop these zebras in their tracks!"
"He's right!" Dan yelled. "Now look, all of you, I don't know what they're going to say about what we do here."
"They're gonna say you started with the famous "We're Boned" speech."
"But no matter what, I'm going to fight today," Dan said, looking into their eyes. "I'm going to stand against those zebras, against every last one of them, against everything they have and everything they try to take and everything they want to destroy!! Now, who is with me?!!"
They all cheered, and as one voice yelled, "We're with you, Dan!!"
"That's the spirit!" Dan yelled. He drew his cane and pointed it towards their opposition. "Now, let's go out there and be SLIGHTLY LESS BONED!!!"
They were all silent until Phoenix added, "AND KICK SOME ZEBRA ASS!!!" And they all cheered again.
"Objection!" Tuxley raised his claw. They all turned to him. "Dan is supposed to say that."
"Ehhh," Dan slapped Nick's shoulder. "He did good. Good job, Nicky."
They formed up- ponies, griffons, and at the front two gentlemen, a lawyer and a Dan. They were at the head of a ragtag army of battered, random individuals, the only defense Equestria had left. They had little hope of victory, but they were all determined to fight. And that was when Wedge/Edge Antares and Derpy flew down to them.
"Dan!" Derpy said.
"Mail girl and pizza guy, what's up? You're just in time to get your butts kicked along with us!" Dan said.
Wedge hovered up to him. "With all due respect, I think you need to reconsider meeting them head-on."
"Why's that?"
Wedge came in close. "I have a plan."
"Oooooooh," Dan said. "I'm listening." And the former general told Dan his plan.