//------------------------------// // Plan X Part 2 // Story: Dan Vs. The Magic of Friendship(Season 1) // by Barrobroadcaster //------------------------------// Every great artist seeks to create a masterpiece. A masterstroke, a piece de resistance, a work of art that stands out and shines brightest among their collected works as a definitive statement, a magnum opus. As the master of disaster(planning), Dan was an artist of the unexpected, a cosmic catastrophic cataclysmic connoisseur, the prince of proper preparation preventing poor performances, the undefeated, undisputed, undeniable paperweight champion of the world and the grand master guru of getting it done. While Plans Y and Z did exist, they were before Plan X in the order, to further confuse anyone who might try to anticipate him. Plan X was Dan's last plan, currently. Only, it wasn't exactly his plan. He hadn't come up with it. Plan X did not stand for eXplosives, eXperimental or eXpulsion, any number of acronyms Dan could have used to help the team remember them as he did with his other plans. Plan X stood simply for "Extreme Circumstance." It was a last resort, Dan's last resort, because it was designed for the most extreme of circumstances in the event they were losing it all. Which, at this moment, they were. Plan X was the plan to destroy Equestria. And that's as profound as we can possibly make that statement. It wasn't common knowledge that Equestria was designed to be able to destroy itself if necessary. The princesses and a few other ponies knew about it, but none of them knew exactly why. Why would the founders build and position Ponyville, Cloudsdale and Canterlot in such a way that it could easily be destroyed? It was a simple process, like a cell containing within its composition the necessary components to cause it to lyse. And once started, it could not be stopped. "Are we sure about this?" Chrys asked. "Are... are you sure, Dan?" Dan nodded. "Whoever the heck he is, he's got the upper hand. He wants take back the whole town which means he'll probably run us out of town on a rail, keep us as captives to experiment with or we wind up in jail. Again." Twilight sighed. Dan, Chrys and Phoenix saw it in her distant eyes, knew right away how hard this was for her. It was hard for all of them. "Are you okay, Twilight?" Phoenix asked. She nodded. "I'll be fine. I never thought it would come to this but... it's the best thing to do. It's what Celestia and Luna would do and what they would want us to do. The most important part of Equestria has always been the ponies. The rest... we can rebuild. I endorse Plan X," she said. She looked around to them. "Any objections?" None of them said a word. "Alright. You know what to do. Twilight, Chrys, I want both of you to head to Cloudsdale. Nicky and I will-" "I want to do this together," Twilight interjected. "I want us... to be together for this. To do this together." "We're not always able to do that," Dan said through partly-gritted teeth. But then, he suddenly un-tensed. "But... we can do it now. Together." Phoenix chanced a peek over the fallen column they were hiding behind. Chancellor Rice Puddinghead was apparently not immediately recognized by the population as Vice Grip. Unlike his son, Rice was a golden-colored pony with a silvery-white mane, but in the guise of Vice Grip, Rice had worn the same prosthetic limbs and lab coat he was wearing now. Apart from a color swap, he looked exactly the same, yet the townsfolk were treating him like he was an entirely different pony. Or... at least, that's what Phoenix might have been looking at. In truth, the audience stared blankly at Rice, the same way they did whenever there was a speech by Mayor Mare or another politician. It was the kind of look parents had for their children at a school play; they weren't paying attention to the content or the spectacle itself, just marveling that their child was somehow on stage. Because that's what a politician was- it was the people's special needs child. Their chosen moron. "Rice is still speaking. I think he might be at this for a while," Phoenix remarked. (Which would be great if I had to cross-examine him, but outside of the courtroom, it's just annoying.) "Is he winning anypony over?" Chrys asked. Phoenix squinted. "It's... kind of hard to tell. Either they're smiling merrily or... wait, no. They just replaced the crowd with a static backdrop." "That's the animation budget for ya," Dan said. "Let's get going while blowhard's still blowing." They snuck out of the building, careful not to be seen by anyone. The first stop was at Sugar Cube Corner, which Pinkie had been busy repairing until they told her of the news. She was sad, but resolved herself in the knowledge that no matter what, there would always be another party. And this was the first and hopefully only opportunity for a "Destroyed Ponyville" party, so there was that to look forward to. Second stop was at Applejack's. The family had just arrived back home and was getting settled in. Having come from a long farm family, they knew about such disasters. The destruction of land, of nature, wasn't as shocking to those who farmed because they usually prepared and weathered their fare share. They packed up and headed out- the Magic Gears had taken up residence with Apple Bloom and were quite adept at helping farm. Third stop was to Fluttershy's. Reluctantly, she released her animals and told them to run, fly, scurry and scamper to safety. Except for Angel Bunny, Barry and the Cobra Commander(who was still just a cobra named Commander). Strangely, Discord was with her for some reason, but no one thought much of it. Fourth was Rainbow Dash who had the duty of being the primer. Being the most loyal among them, she was the trigger by which the entire process began. "I wouldn't ask you to do this if I wasn't sure." "I know," Rainbow said. She managed a teary-eyed smile. "Thanks, Twilight." "You get it done quick. You hear me?" Dan said. He put his hand on her shoulder, held her close. "You get it done quick." "Heh, like I'd do it any other way." "Wait," Dan stopped her, "You'll need these." He handed her a Blast Fuse and a Blast Powder. "Yayyyyy Rainbow-senpaiiiiii~" The twin ponies cooed softly and latched onto their... hero. We'll call it that. Rainbow looked at them, clinging to both of her legs, then back up to Dan. "Kinda running this joke into the ground, aren't we?" Dan leaned into her face. "Name ONE joke we HAVEN'T run into the ground." The entire story so far flashed before her eyes. And there wasn't a single gag that had not been run with and then subsequently ran into the ground. "I see your point, Dan." "Good. You all have your assignments so... best of luck." Dan gave them a salute. They returned it and departed quickly, each to their individually assigned objectives. That left Dan, Phoenix, Twilight and Chrys. They walked back to the Golden Oaks Library to execute the final part of Plan X.