//------------------------------// // Resort: Homecoming // Story: Dan Vs. The Magic of Friendship(Season 1) // by Barrobroadcaster //------------------------------// The sun was setting as the All of My Rage returned home. Ponyville was a welcome sight to all of them and Rainbow Dash and a few pegasi and griffons raced ahead, eager to check on the town. They returned with the relieving news that the town was fine, as was Cloudsdale, Canterlot and the surrounding area. There had been no attacks or signs of Vice Grip or the Director, no signs of their manipulations or machinations. Almost the entire town's population had been gone and everything was fine. "Sweet Apple Acres," Applejack said, almost a tear in her eye, "you never looked so downright beautiful." "The whole farm missed you!" Apple Bloom exclaimed. She hugged her big sister for the umpteenth time since she'd returned. "Everypony missed you, Applejack." "Eeyup. Eeyup indeed, AJ," Big Mac said. In the background, Dan and Phoenix were chasing the tank across the deck of the ship. "Ohh, I knew you'd be back. Strong mares like us know how to handle ourselves," Granny Smith said with just a hint of knowing in her eyes. "Ain't nothin' nowhere able to keep a good apple down." AJ nodded. "I reckon the first thing I'm gonna do is sit down with about the biggest mug of cider we have... and relax the whole rest of the day." "Sounds like a plan ta me," Granny said. The Apples shared a smile and a hug, about the warmest one the family had shared in a while. Since returning, they'd only had to assure AJ about two-dozen times that the farm and Winona had been taken care of and everything was fine while she was gone. Seeing it though, and seeing them especially sealed it for the farmgirl. "Cider! Did I hear cider?" Rainbow Dash's head popped up. Pinkie's head popped up next, with Fluttershy on her head for some reason. "I heard cider! I heard cider and cupcakes!" "I didn't hear anypony say anything about cupcakes," Fluttershy said. "I did!" Pinkie said. "I definitely heard cupcakes, just not with my ears." Her tail twitched like a dousing rod. "Ooooh! There it is again! Does anypony else hear that?" "Yes," Marksaline said. "See! It's not just me." "It's okay, Pinkie," Twilight said. "There's no doubt in Equestria who the authority on cupcakes is." "Is it me?" Twilight sighed. "...Yes, Pinkie, it's you." "YES! I've still got it, Ponyville!" she yelled through the space in the center of the ship to the town below. Several birds and critters turned their eyes skyward, all of them recognizing the undeniable fact that Pinkie Pie was back. "What exactly were we vacationing from again?" Chris asked. "And by that, I mean why did we bother leaving in the first place?" "Absence makes the heart grow fonder," Captain America mused. "And vacation stress causes high blood pressure," Chris fired back. Dan and Phoenix ran up, out of breath. "Twilight... Twilight..." "The tank..." "Fluffle Puff got control of the tank?" The two humans nodded. "And Chrys," Phoenix added. Chrys was busy wrestling with the tank's turret, trying to get the hatch open. The tank itself continued racing around the deck of the ship, nearly running over a group of griffons playing volleyball. Twilight flew over and levitated the tank off the deck. She knocked on the hatch, which immediately opened to reveal a Fluffle Puff. "Fluffle?" "Thppth?" "I think it's time we give Tanky a rest," Twilight said. "That was very dangerous, young lady," Dan chastised. Chrys joined her and they both put their hands/hooves on their hips. "Just what do you have to say for yourself?" "Thpppth." Total number of people who did not see that coming: 0 "Thppp-tppppp-thpppth-thpppthpppth." I had fun, I regret nothing. "Ahh, nothing like the sight of Ponyville in the glow of the morning sun," Dan remarked. "It's a quarter to seven in the evening," Phoenix said. (And Phoenix Wright is half-passed caring.) "Same difference. I'm going to head up to the bridge and help Gusto find us a parking space," Dan said. Phoenix, Twilight and Chrys took a moment after Dan laughed to take in the sight of Ponyville. All the colorful buildings and tents, even the ones more hastily-rebuilt than others, were a beautiful rainbow bathed in the orange glow of Equestria's setting sun. The buildings became bigger and the ground grew closer as the airship started its approach. And then Phoenix asked, "Does Dan know how to land the ship?" The All of My Rage crashed through the south gates of Ponyville, destroying them utterly and knocking off the tops of several buildings. The large smashed its way through rebuilt block after block, turning the town into rubble once again. It finally came to a stop, plowing its way into dirt in the middle of Mane Street just before the town square and the mayor's office. Despite the carnage, there was one vendor's stall at the end of Mane Street, just before the square that remained intact. Red Ring's Really Easy Repairs, an outlet that repaired appliances and video game consoles, had survived many of the console wars, the launch of Steam and the rise of Looty the Lootbox pony. Now, it had also survived the landing of Dan's airship, which had destroyed Blue Screen's Simple Solutions, a PC repair vendor outlet right next door. Unfortunately, it would not survive the landing ramp of the vessel deploying, which destroyed it, reducing it to a pile of sawdust and broken boards in an instant. "Crap," Dan said, disembarking. "I think we might've scratched the paint." "Ahh, Ponyville. Just like I remembered it," Pinkie said. "Pretty sure half the town wasn't destroyed when we left," Rainbow said. "Ehh, it'll buff out," Dan said. "Yeah, this would be a bit more... devastating if it hadn't happened just before we left," Twilight commented. "At any rate, at least we're back!" Tuxley and Reginald disembarked along with more of an assortment of luggage than they'd boarded with. They planted a Union Jack in the center of the town square and Reginald immediately began raising it. Tux held his twin-taloned-claw over his chest. "In the name of God, Queen and Country, I hereby claim this land for the commonwealth-" "The heck are you two doin'?" AJ asked. They stared at her. "Oh, umm... my apologies," Reginald said. The pair removed their hats. "Yes, sincerest apologies, Lady Applejack," Tux said, holding the brim of his hat nervously. "Tis a bit of an instinct, I'm afraid." "It's your instinct to establish a British colony wherever you land?" Twilight asked. The pair eyed each other again. "...Yes." Dan looked around. "Well, I guess we should check in with Colress and the mayor, see how things have been. Good idea?" "Good idea," everyone said. Morale was high, even though the town had been wrecked yet again, confidence in Dan and each other kept spirits up. And now, Dan felt the same way about them as well. If this vacation had done anything, it had created trust among this crazy community. They had protected the town together, partied together and gone on an epic quest into the unknown together. Former rivals like Flim and Flam, Gust and Trixie were now truly a part of the gang. This was the beginning of a family. And then Dan noticed something on the way to the Mayor's office- a poster tacked to the wall. It was the portrait of a golden-yellow stallion with a silver mane. The captions read in bold: A Brighter Future To Light The Way. Reelect Rice Puddinghead for Chancellor- Vote today! Other posters held other ads. "Democracy Now" and other slogans, some which sounded like slants against the princesses were plastered neatly around the building. On every building as Dan looked around and realized someone had put these up since they'd left. "Twilight?" She, Chrys and Phoenix walked up to him. "Isn't this guy...?" "Vice's father," Phoenix said. "Chancellor Rice Puddinghead the fourth." "Yeah, that's him..." Twilight said. Twilight took down the poster with the stallion's face on it. "They called him Equestria's second sun. He invented things, cured diseases... he was a legend back in his day." "A thousand years ago," Dan reminded them. "Yeah, yeah, we remember the story. And he was assassinated by some princess before Celestia's time." Twilight rubbed the back of her neck. "We're still... not entirely sure about that..." Dan turned around to all of them. "Look, it's obvious what happened. Vice Grip's dad was this chancellor, he challenged the princesses for authority and... well, they killed him. NOT CELESTIA. Or anypony that's alive, for that matter." Chrys nodded. "Celestia and Luna wouldn't take the throne until years after the three tribes united. The unicorn royal family ruled after Equestria was founded during the Hearth's Warming." "And they killed this pudding guy," Dan said. "It's very sad, it sucks, but that's no excuse for Vice to try to nuke a planet. Right?" "Right," Phoenix said firmly. "I know a lot about these kinds of things. Retribution exacted upon the innocent is not justice." "Right, what Nicky said," Dan said. "Vice Grip's machines are all busted up, or on our side now, so he's run out of crap to send our way. He's trying to play the sympathy card, that's all this is. This is his last resort." The Unicorn Royal Family began with the unicorn seers that were able to use their magic to accurately predict the future. They used this power to help the other tribes, but in time their power corrupted many of them. Even after the Hearth's Warming when the three pony tribes founded Equestria, they were not immediately united. After the death of Chancellor Rice Puddinghead, the princess at the time, Quintessa Quartz, would blame the incident on the pegasi and remove both the office of Chancellor and Pegasus Commander. Effectively, this put Equestria under the princesses' control. Mourning the loss of their beloved elected representative, the earth ponies were in no position to challenge this decision. The pegasi's shame at having supposedly caused the accident would lead to a trend of pegasi in Cloudsdale being ultra-loyal to the princesses, a painful regret passed through generations that even modern pegasi would work to make up for. Princess Quartz reign would eventually be challenged by a unicorn that was really Discord in disguise. After overthrowing her, he convinced the three tribes to ratify a treaty accepting anarchy, which allowed Discord to take control. Princess Celestia and Luna would later defeat Discord and restore the kingdom, enacting reforms that eliminated birth segregation and opened diplomacy with other countries. The office of mayor, however, would remain an appointed role rather than an elected one. It would have gone down as the worst crime in Equestrian history, if it had not been buried. Still, the past isn't something that stays buried. "No matter what he says, he tried to kill us all," Dan said. "There isn't really a "my bad" moment after that. I'm looking at you, Twilight." "I know..." "The past is past. Rice Puddinghead is dead and nothing is going to change that. So Vice is going to have to deal with that if he wants to join us in the present, comprende?" "Yes..." Twilight said. Chrys and Phoenix nodded more resolutely. Twilight, ever the moral compass, didn't like anything bad happening to anyone. She was like Dan in that she didn't get over things very easily. Unlike Dan, she was quick to forgive and try to make up for things, even smaller things, while Dan liked to exact revenge for smaller things. They both needed to learn to let go of the past. And they were not the only ones. Dan kicked in the door to the mayor's office and they all entered. Marksaline and Fluffle watched them enter. "The songs have... stopped. This is a moment of silence long overdo." "Thppppth." Let us watch and be careful. A critical moment approaches.