//------------------------------//
// Central: Avertin' Dat Doom 
// Story: Dan Vs. The Magic of Friendship(Season 1) 
// by Barrobroadcaster 
//------------------------------//

Regarding the primary specimens, the results speak for themselves. After multiple repeated tests, even going beyond the parameters I'm forced to work within, I can conclude what I initially began to suspect, however surprising it may be. Further testing would serve little purpose at this point, and as the "supply" is clearly finite, there is not much point in modifying them. I'm reluctant to try once again to store them somewhere, not because I lack the capacity but because even I don't like repeating history. Keeping them right under your seat- both figuratively and literally- was Tia's mistake. Best to find another use for them just in case, perhaps as a power source.

Amid confirming other "unfortunate theories," we can now at least identify the source of their namesake ability. Specimens undergo physical arcano-biological metamorphosis based on the characteristics of target lifeforms; we can now see this as both a predatory and defensive behavior used in herds and isolation. The subjects are able to use unique arca to change their molecular structure, making themselves a duplicate of the target. What we were unaware of was the process by which the subject changed. It was signals again, this entire time.

Recent tests have indicated that another of our theories has been proven true: magic has more than one property. It's a communicative essence, a transformative energy, a living entity and... more. The changelings have a unique ability to copy not just the appearance of other beings, but also their traits, their talents... and their thoughts. Unfortunately, we have not been successful in reproducing this particular arca in any form and several "volunteers" have been injured as a result. This is yet more evidence to what we now know: the changelings are not natural.

After going through our genetic records, we have found absolutely no existing matches; a mathematical impossibility if the changelings were Equestrian. Where they came from, what they are doing here, what purpose they were brought here for is unknown. The changelings were summoned here, perhaps among the first creatures ever summoned... and although we do not yet know why, I think it's obvious who is responsible.

What else is she hiding from me?

-Vice Grip's notes





The shockwaves of the global magic eruption were felt across Equestria. Magic flowed from the planet's core into the upper atmosphere in a rush of pinkish-purplish-orange glow. The sound it made was somehow musical in nature, like a choir of innumerable voices harmonizing in a single chorus, singing into the infinity of existence.

In truth, this was potential magic- the environmental magic that was natural to Equestria, flowing through and around and connecting all things. When ponies or creatures used magic, it returned to the core of Equestria where it would essentially be recycled, similar to the Crystal Heart. It was a natural process and now, this proto-magic, this pre-energy was being released in droves. The energy itself became physical in the only thing it could: possibility. Countless could-bes and what-ifs, thoughts and feelings and ideas that had the potential to be more, exploded from the core into a semi-physical state.

"Well... don't see that every day," Dan remarked. "So... anyone have any ideas on how to fix... that?"

"You don't have a plan?" Phoenix asked.

Dan rubbed the back of his neck in a Phoenix-like fashion. "No, Nicky, believe it or not, I never really came up with a failsafe for if the planet's core suddenly exploded and started gushing into the stratosphere. Didn't really see this coming. My bad." He got out a notepad and pencil. "Gonna work on something for next time just in case we survive."

"Don't you think it's a bit premature to plan for next time?" Spinner asked. "Especially when we don't know if there's going to be a next time. Hey, is that your list? Like, the list of you're going to brutally maim, murder or seek vengeance against in the immediate future?"

"No, this is just a to-do list," Dan said, jotting down notes. He then put that notepad away and pulled out another one. "This is The List. Also, unrelated, but what's your name again?"

"Spinn-" Springer cupped her hoof over her friend's muzzle before she could reveal anything.

Phoenix walked over to where Cap and Colress were standing. They were both focused on the scientist's armband display as he typed into it. "How long do we have?"

"I'm not entirely sure. The amount of magic isn't something that can entirely be quantified and it seems to be coming from multiple different sources. It's possible that the flow won't cease- that the supply is inexhaustible because it will continue to replenish itself. What I can say is that Equestria itself won't last much longer. The magnetic field of the planet is already rupturing," Colress explained. "It's absolutely fascinating. It's as if every possible Equestria and Earth is connected and magic somehow... flows from both. Like a heart or a brain, a single organ with Earth and Equestria working as the separate halves."

"So... does this mean the multiverse is dying?" Phoenix asked.

"It means everything is dying," Colress said, very matter-of-factly. "Every possibility, every eventuality, everything that occurred, could occur, can't occur or would have occurred. It's an... info death, I'd surmise, in which all knowledge exists here in a physical state, thereby incapable of existing physically anywhere else, depriving parallel dimensions of change while annihilating the fabric of ours."

Cap pinched the bridge of his nose. "If there was a way to save... everything, what would it be?"

"Yes," Phoenix said, nodding. "There has to be some way to stop this. Anything..."

Colress smiled slightly and shook his head. "I'm... oh dear. I am sorry my... my friends. If there is an answer, I'm afraid it's beyond me right now. I... I really do wish I knew." For the first time, the scientist did some genuinely worried, even apologetic. He always exuded a sort of impartial assurance, a cool confidence that came from one who understood. But now, as science failed, there was only the sad admission. Science had always provided Colress with solace, a peaceful shelter and defense, but now with the world literally crumbling before him, there was no solace now. The only answer it provided was unsatisfactory.

The Blasties, holding each other, came over to Phoenix. "Hey Nick."

"Oh. Hey guys," he said, turning back to the magical geyser. "So... this looks like it could be it, huh?"

"Yeah," they both said. "And about that..."

"I know," the lawyer nodded. "I know you both like me, I mean. It's just that-"

"That's not it, Nick," Blast Fuse said.

"What we wanted to say..."

"-was that it was never going to work out."

Phoenix's face scrunched into a frown. "What?"

"Yeeeeeeaaahhh..." the twin pones admitted, "there's just always something going on with you, y'know?"

"Yeah. We kinda need someone who's a little bit more... stable."

"It's not you; it's us."

"Mostly Powdy."

"It's been fun."

"Mostly Powdy."

"I... understand." (I have no squeeing clue.) He patted both their heads. "I appreciate... you letting me know. And our time together." (Freedom? Is that you?)

The two sisters held his hands in their hooves. "Thank you for understanding, Phoenix." They hugged him, causing a squee sound effect in the process.

"Thanks, you guys. I know you'll both-"

"Hey Cap! You got a girlfriend?"

"Once you go pony, you never... umm... you can have us both at the same time!" The pair trotted off to their new potential love interest. Phoenix watched them go, the slightest pang of regret in his heart overwhelmed by the sheer amount of relief. (Good luck with that, Steve.)

The CMC took a spot on VOLCANUS' stomach as the robot was lounged out. They were surprised to see Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon join them.

"Hey... guys," Diamond Tiara said meekly.

"Hi."

"Just so you know..."

"We're happy you tried to come rescue us. And thank you," Silver Spoon said, taking the initiative.

Apple Bloom smiled thankfully at the pair. "You're welcome."

"Yeah, you two might be mean."

"And snobby."

"And rude."

"And stuck-up."

"But.. we still care about you. And we don't want to see bad stuff happen to you guys," Scootaloo finished. The five fillies hugged. For that moment, all five of them were Cutie Mark Crusaders. For that moment, they were all friends.

And finally, there was Lightning Claw. The indigo-colored pony sat with Marksaline next to him, both of them watching the torrent of rushing magic in front of them. They were closer than the others; a bit safer for them, because of their strength.

Phoenix walked up to check on them finally. "I'm sorry we never found your brother."

Lightning sighed. "They weren't really my brothers... not any of them. We signed up because we wanted to make Equestria better, because we didn't think the old way was working." He turned back to the lawyer, "And you know what? After everything that's happened... I'd do it all again the same way. This happened because of all of us. Neither of our plans worked: not yours, not Vice Grip's, not the princesses'. I'm like Dan that way... I don't know what to do. I just get tired of the way things are and I do whatever I can."

The tall human patted the pony on his shoulder. Equestria had been stagnant and the few ponies like Lightning and Springer who fell through the cracks sought change things but didn't know how to improve them. This was how toolbags like Vice Grip were able to manipulate them. 

"Those who want something done but don't have any ideas are often used by those who have plenty ideas and want something else done."

Phoenix took a seat next to Lightning Claw. "This happened for a lot of reasons. But mostly because of Vice Grip and the Director building all of this crap. You could try to say Dan and I had a hand in this, but seriously, if WE'RE able to cause this to happen... anyone could have done this. And especially anypony, because you guys have magic. You could have easily overloaded the core yourself with your electricity."

Lightning put his head in his hooves. "So it's all my fault. Again. And all of us who just wanted something different, who wanted real change."

"It's not anyone's fault for wanting change. It's the fault of those who went about that the wrong way, at the expense of everyone else... in existence, now."

Colress and Captain America came to join them. "Nick. Is there... is there anything you can do with your magatama?" He shook his head apologetically. "Well, it was worth a shot. I have to say, things are... kind of bleak."

"They are indeed," Colress added. "But... that's the fun of being a scientist. There's always more to learn, new surprises every moment. You never know what's going to happen next."

"Yeah," Lightning nodded, rising. "Maybe the next everything, the next existence or multi-whatever, maybe it will be better. Maybe we'll be a part of it."

"Maybe." They gathered around in a half-circle, ground crackling beneath their feet. In the distance, purple lines of energy and magic rose up to the sky with the immense pressure of the core breaking through. Vice Grip's goal, the future, had arrived on Equestria. Unfortunately, something even the scientist would regret, wherever he was, was that it would mean more than just the end of today but also the end of everything. That was what the future had to be to arrive: for everything now to end.

Dan ran up and grabbed Phoenix by the arm. "Nicky! What the heck are you standing around for?!"

"What- what do you mean? I thought you said you didn't have a plan!"

"I don't!" Dan admitted, "There's too much magic pouring out of that and we can't call Twilight! But I'm not going to do nothing! So c'mon... let's do something! We've got doom that needs averting!" He tugged the lawyer back to where Knight, Ace and VOLCANUS were, apparently trying to get in touch with Ponyville.

"What are we going to do? What do you think is going to stop this?" The others turned around, eager and curious to hear what Dan had to say.

Dan turned around. "Okay, so... the magic is flowing out of that hole, right?"

"Yeah."

"Alright, so, this is going to sound a little unorthodox."

"I'd be surprised if it didn't."

"We reverse the magic flow and plug up the hole," Dan said. Silence followed.

"I... I don't think magic works like that," Phoenix said. (Not that I'm an expert, but I think it's probably going to be a little more complicated than reversing the flow. Magical planet plumbing.)

"What if we could replace the magic?" Cap asked. "Colress, you said that the magic flowing out of the planet is coming from other sources, right? What if we could find another source?"

And then the idea hit Phoenix. "The Sword Spells! We might be able to use their magic to restore the core!"

"They've probably all been blown up, though," Springer said.

"We could make more!" Blast Fuse said, popping up from Cap's shoulder.

"We can even make them more powerful," Powdy said, appearing from the opposite shoulder. The two ponies lounged on Captain America, cute and contented.

"How did you two get on me?"

"We're ninjas."

Cap grabbed them by their delicate midsections. "Right, well, let's just set you two back down."

"Careful! We might explode!"

"In more ways than one."

"Gonna wash your hands, Steve," Phoenix said. "I know from experience." (In more ways than one.)

"Well... maybe not the Sword Spells. What about those Markers?" Phoenix asked. "Marksaline, didn't you say they were... what exactly did you say about them again?"

"Their chorus is an angry one. They sing for Convergence but their voices do not harmonize. It is sad that they cannot hear each other."

Phoenix nodded. "Right... does anyone know what that means?"

"Oh, she means they're trying to bring about a Convergence event, like a unity of magic between all universes. Kind of like a big party and the Markers are all cell phones, but they're not getting any signal," someone explained. Phoenix turned back to Marksaline... and saw Gary Busey standing with her. "How y'all doing?" the somehow simultaneously disturbing and charming actor said, waving.

"Is that Gary Busey?" Captain asked.

"Hey Steve!" the actor waved.

Phoenix ran over to him. "Gary! Can you translate Marksaline's... Marksaline-speech?"

"Aww, of course I can," Gary said, petting Marksaline's mane.

"I am uncomfortable."

"Dawww, aren't you sweet?"

"Your kindness does not alleviate discomfort but assuages concern."

The actor smiled. "I like you too, sweetheart." He stroked her mane and she let him, which said enough.

"Marksaline, can you somehow use the Markers to reverse the flow of magic? They were able to channel it into another universe... would they be able to channel it back into the core?" Phoenix asked, hopeful.

The Necralicorn Overlordress seemed to think about the idea and listen at the same time. "I can encourage them to sing to make Equestria whole again. If enough of them sing, it will create harmony even if they are deafened. But then Convergence will come here."

Gary turned to Phoenix. "She says yeah, she can do it. But she's gotta talk to each of them with like necromorph sign-language or something because none of them can hear anything with all the stuff going on. She can switch the Markers to pump magic into the core of Equestria again. Then we'll probably have to turn 'em off or something. But doing this will alert the other Sisterhood and Brethren Moons to Equestria's position."

"Moons? Okay, look, we can deal with moons- just tell her to get on that right away!" Dan said. Gary hopped on Marksaline's back and the pair disappeared in a flash of red and black. "Alright, now, the problem with the planet's crust. We need to close up that gaping hole or the magic is just going to explode outward again."

"I don't advise touching it," Colress said. "The magic is concentrated in a volatile form. It would destroy any of us if we came into contact with it."

"But not us," Knight said.

"YES!" Dan yelled. "You guys are resistant to magic! Alright, this is how we'll do this- Springer, you and Spinner take Ace. Blasties, take Knight. You're the only ones among us with experience piloting the Gears, you'll know how to get the most out of them. The pair of you, fix that giant hole in the ground!"

"On it!"

"Yeah! Avert all the doom!"

The Magic Gears nodded and saluted.

"That's actually a good idea. Surprising, coming from you," Springer commented snidely, but saluted. She and the others flew off to their assignments.

"The rest of you- we need to fix the rest of these holes. Let's get to work, people and ponies, we've got doom to avert!" Dan announced.

VOLCANUS finally picked herself up. A bit shyly, she walked over to them. "I... I guess I'm most responsible for this happening, huh? It's probably too late to say I'm sorry..."

But Dan just smiled at her, sympathy in his eyes. "I'm probably the least-forgiving person on this entire planet. And even I have to say, it's never too late to say you're sorry." He patted her giant pincer, the kindest gesture she had ever received.

She almost had a tear in her eye. She knelt, letting him pat her. It made her feel good, something she didn't think she had the capacity to feel as a machine. It didn't matter if she hadn't been programmed to feel it; this was right. This was good. "But... what can I do to help? All I can do is make weapons."

Dan grinned, a glint in his eye. "I'll bet you can make shovels, right? Because we're gonna need a squeeload of shovels." And so, she did. From the tubes that were jutting from the ground, parts of the underground base that had been upheaved through the crust, VOLCANUS forged shovels and tools for the ponies and humans. Dan passed them out to everyone and told them where to dig and what to do. They all listened and worked together.

Dan gave six shovels to Lightning Claw. "What are these for?" the electric stallion asked.

"You think you can do things a better way- here's your opportunity. Thought you might want to use that magic of yours and try to get some of those chasms in the distance," Dan said, pointing to the glow pouring up into the horizon.

Lightning smiled. "Dan, I... thank you. For the encouragement. That's all I ever really wanted, just a chance, a real opportunity to-"

"That's great, kid, we're really happy you've overcome all this diversity-"

"You mean adversity."

"Yeah, that, but we need you to help us save the world now. So get going."

"Right. You got it, D-Boss!" Lightning said, zapping off in a flash of his namesake.

"It's DAN!!" Dan yelled back. He grumbled, grabbed a shovel and made good use of his anger to start filling the small cracks where the magic was escaping.

A few meters away, Chris Redfield finally woke up. "Jill? JILL! Oh... oh, squee," he said, shaking himself out of the dream.

"HEY! REDFIELD!" Dan yelled. "GRAB A SHOVEL UNLESS YOU WANNA BE CALLED DEADFIELD REAL QUICK! WE'VE GOT DOOM TO AVERT!"

He stood slowly and noticed the two massive mech ponies pushing against the edges of an exposed mountain to try and cover a giant geyser of purple magic. "Right... and whose idea was this?"

"EVERYONE'S!!"

"Except mine, you mean! I was still unconscious!"

"Not my fault!"

"Errrgh," Chris growled. He picked up a shovel that had been thrown at his feet. "At least you're finally making a plan, Dan!"

"Don't start with that crap!"