//------------------------------//
// Resort: Invitation 
// Story: Dan Vs. The Magic of Friendship(Season 1) 
// by Barrobroadcaster 
//------------------------------//

They stayed on the beaten paths as they walked through the Everfree Forest. Since Zecora moved into the Everfree, the forest had become much less dangerous, but was still untamed. Many of the hippies frequented and even lived in the trees, though even some of the hardcore hippy ponies complained about the trees' lack of wifi. Some of the trees themselves seemed to complain about the hippies- Equestria's tendency to make things more lifelike- but this was not confirmed.

Chrys noticed something about the other ponies. "Hey... is it just me or... does it seem like there should be more ponies?"

"Yeah we just destroyed Canterlot, Cloudsdale and Ponyville," Phoenix remarked. "You'd think there'd be more than just three-hundred ponies, plus us."

"Not enough ponies?" Pinkie asked. "Well, we can always blow up more cities. Oooh can we do Secattle next? Because I have a cousin in a rock band there and they'd be perfect if they came with us and then we could blow up Appleloosa-" And that was when Applejack covered Pinkie's muzzle.

"Thank you," everyone went.

"Actually, I do have plans to blow up the other cities across the kingdom, including Secattle," Dan said.

Phoenix glanced over at him. "Last resort, emergency plans, right?"

"Sure. Let's go with that."

"Ponyville has always had a relatively small population and even more ponies commute," Twilight informed them. "The pegasi and most of the unicorns are on Gust's airships so, this is pretty much everypony."

"True, true," Pinkie said, nodding, "also the fact that this is all the ponies we can fit into these forest shots without them getting too spread out."

Applejack trotted her way up to Dan and the others. "So hey, where exactly are we all headed? I mean, I assume we're not just taking a nature walk for no reason."

"Yeah, Plan X was only meant to get us out of town and leave whoever was invading high and dry, which it did. Except they're kind of low and wet," Dan explained. "We need to come up with a plan now to retake the Ponyville, the Canterlot and the Coudsdale from the Rice bag."

"Easier said than done. He's a lot stronger than he was last time," Phoenix commented.

Twilight nodded. "Faster, too. And he has very powerful magic."

"Question," Chrys leaned inward, "are we suuuure Rice and Vice are the same guy?"

"I am," Dan said. His friends all turned to him as they walked, Dan knew it. But his eyes were faced forward the entire time. "When I fought him above the Crystal Empire, he was conflicted. Off-balance. I wasn't sure why, but it's always felt like he was holding back. This time, nah, he held nothing back. The guy's like a train wrapped in aluminum foil hauling molten steel. Before, he was tough but now he's taking it to the next level. So, we uh, need to level up."

And that was when Discord showed up. "If you want my advice-"

"We don't."

"I would say it's going to take a bit more than the classic training montage to beat this Rice Pudding. Do remember that you happen to have six magical artifacts quite adept at vanquishing the difficult, hmm? Or did you forget to pack those?"

"They're in the library," Twilight said. "And the Elements of Harmony won't work... without Rarity."

"And we're still without our Rars," AJ commented, looking down.

Dan rubbed his chin. "Jackass might be on to something. Do we have any other magical cheat macguffins we can throw at him? Figuratively or literally?"

Twilight shook her head. "None that I know of. The Alicorn Amulet was in the Canterlot vault and... well, there is no Canterlot now."

"I guess it's back to the drawing board," Phoenix said. (Once we find a drawing board to use again. Hope we brought one.)

They continued trekking through the forest. Crossed a river, a gorge and strangely enough retraced Twilight's steps to retrieve the Elements of Harmony. Felt a bit strange doing it as a group and more than a few times, Twilight felt herself stopping to remember how it happened all those years ago. Other ponies did as well, and before long, she was almost leading a tour.

"And this- right here, is where the Shadowbolts tried to recruit Rainbow Dash," Twilight explained.

"But I turned 'em down!" Rainbow declared, zipping around overhead. Her eyes were closed and she still darted over the crowd, that proud of herself. "There's nothing that could get me to turn my back on Equestria or my friends! And that day, I made sure those Shadowbolts knew it."

"That was actually Nightmare Moon in disguise... and we found that out later," Twilight said.

"When did you find this out?" Chrys asked.

Twilight sighed. "When the real Shadowbolts sued Princess Luna for wrongful impersonation. They're an aerial team in Pittsbuck made from Wonderbolt Academy washouts. They have a friendly rivalry with them but beyond that, they're not actually bad guys."

"Did they win the lawsuit?" Phoenix asked.

Twilight nodded. "Thirty-thousand gems and a public apology, plus the Shadowbolts are allowed to sell merchandise here."

"I went as one for Nightmare Night," Rainbow said.

"Ah. I'm uh, sorry I wasn't here to defend Luna back in the day," Phoenix said. (AND THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN SUCH AN EASY CASE, TOO! Seriously, it wasn't LUNA but Nightmare Moon that impersonated them! Why do I always miss the easy lawsuits?)

"Hmm... disguise again," Dan said.

"You think a disguise might fool Rice?" Twilight asked.

"Maybe something like that. Eh, we'll figure it out later." They continued the trip down memory lane, a little bit different in the glow of the afternoon sun. And finally, they reached the ruins of the Castle of the Two Sisters. Located in an immense clearing in the forest, Gust's ships had space enough to land and temporarily re-root the Golden Oaks Library nearby, though it was a tad lopsided. Fluffle Puff took a dive in the lake and then allowed momma Chryssie to sponge her on the tree in order to give it water.

"Thppp-thppp pbbbtt-phbbth phbbb." It's a tree, it needs water.

"This has been here this whole time?" Dan asked, looking at the huge castle. "Well... I guess the fact that it's in the middle of nowhere spooky forest-ville doesn't help the real estate market value. Still, would've thought there'd be use for another castle."

"There's not much here except for the Elements of Harmony," Twilight explained. "We've been back a few times. All the books have duplicates in the library of Canterlot... or they did before-"

"Yeah, yeah, Canterlot blew up," Dan cut her off. "We don't need to dwell. Besides, if the same books are in there, now is the perfect opportunity to get the original prints to save them. Right?"

"Hmm... that's a good idea, actually."

"We'll help you, Twilight. We still have one library to take care of, right?" Rainbow remarked. "Gotta make sure it's fully-stocked."

"Uh, let's have one group at a time in the creepy castle," AJ said. "The rest of us can set up a camp out here."

"Can I be in the group that checks out the castle?" Gust asked. Even from behind his sunglasses, his hopeful sincerity was painfully obvious. As was the fact he wanted to steal from the castle.

"Hmm..." Dan looked at Gust. Then back at the library. Then at the castle. One more time- Gust, library, castle. "Alright drumstick, you earned this one. Go nuts. Take Daring Do with ya. And hey- here's your bag back."

"Oh hey, thanks- woah. Why is it so full and wet and oh mai gawd."

"Yeah, kinda used the Sack 'o Looting for another reason a couple of times. I'm sure you understand," Dan said, patting him on the back.

"I don't feel so good..."

"See, I knew you'd understand. Have fun," Dan said, and the griffon passed out. He watched as the ponies, griffies and humans once again set up camp and rebuilt a semblance of their lives. They did it without a hint of sorrow or regret, no bitterness among them. It was even more of a contrast to when they'd built camp on the island last week.

Twilight, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Pinkie Pie were about to enter the Castle of the Two Sisters once more. Before they entered, Twilight turned back to Dan on the steps, the human observing their subjects... her subjects.

"Hey, Dan?"

"Yes?"

"Did you want to come in with us?"

He shook his head. "Maybe later. Gonna work on getting things set up here first."

"Okay. Hey," She put her hoof on his shoulder, "Thanks."

Dan smiled the way he does. "You're welcome, Twilight. And thank you."

In the distance, Fluffle Puff had donned a saddle with the words FLUFFY THERAPY PONY emblazoned on the side. She ran around, dispensing hugs, cuddles and snuggles to those who needed them most. Marksaline hovered through the air, following her sister but did not need to use her own special healing powers. Both of them snuggled Lady Leomon, just because. The Pokemon Traineress was surprised but also delighted by this development.

The Plasma Frigate landed and Tuxley and Reginald established a small British colony in the ruins of one of the castle's turrets. As with all British colonies, the Dutch were quick to follow and establish their own colony to do important Dutch-related activities. Probably involving chocolate. 

Finding a nice spot in the shade, Dan put his back to the wall and slid down to relax. Phoenix was quick to join him.

"So, I've gotta ask."

"Well, you don't but, you've already started so go ahead."

Phoenix slid to the ground, worked his hands as he looked at the others. "What happens when we can't rebuild? When we an't just... start over?"

Dan mashed his lips together. He squinted, the way he does when he's thinking about the unknown, trying to see what can't yet be seen. "I'll find a way."

"A way to rebuild?"

Dan sighed. He looked at his hands, both of them. "I have no idea what's going to happen. But I know I'm going to keep going. Keep fighting. I'm like Vice Grip, or Rice Grip, in that way. That's what makes him so tough; he's like me. He's like me..." He closed his hands into fists. He wondered if right now, Vice or Rice, either of them... or both of them, were doing the same thing.

Phoenix turned to him. "So, there's the question."

"What question is that, Nicky?"

"How would you beat you?"

And that actually made Dan think. The answer was obvious. "Use what he wants against him. Use... what he loves."

"But he doesn't love anything," Phoenix said.

Dan looked up at the ponies. "He loves his son." He got up, finally understanding what he had to do. "We haven't hit him with everything yet. We still have Fort Jerk, the Crystal Empire and the satellites."

"Uhh, no we don't," Lightning Claw said, landing near them. Colress got off the larger pony's back. "We have more problems now."

"Hello! Sorry I wasn't able to help more with the Rice/Vice situation." The moment he appeared, he had been tapping at his forearm gauntlet computers. Which honestly refreshed Dan; he liked not being the only one who was similar to Vice Grip/Rice Puddinghead.

"Let me guess, the satellites aren't working?" Dan asked.

"Well, no. They're gone."

"They're gone?!" Dan and Phoenix simultaneously exclaimed. Little bit anime style, both of them.

Colress nodded. "We, uh, seem to have some uninvited guests. Or, rather, more uninvited guests, as is the case." He extended his arm and a holographic Equestria appeared in front of them, complete with its moon. A few structures were also orbiting Equestria, or at least appeared to be.

"What are those things?" Phoenix pointed. "That diamond-thing behind the moon- what's that?"

"That's um, well, we know about that. We don't know about this," Colress tapped something and the space between Equestria and the moon zoomed in. Tiny sparkles that had been encircling Equestria materialized into shapes- debris. Scrap, solar panels, bits of chrome-like substance, not unlike a Magic Gear, floated in orbit over Equestria.

"Great. Great," Dan said, throwing his hands up. The satellites' weapons were one of the things he was going to hit Vice with, now those were clearly not an option. "Well, they were his satellites to begin with. Should've known he'd blow them up."

"Actually, they were the news satellites, most of them," Colress said. "Barro's news company owned and maintained them, Vice just weaponized them. Also, Vice didn't destroy them."

Dan turned to him. "Then WHO did?"

Colress turned a dial on his gauntlet and the feed from his holographic display reversed. The debris turned back into the satellites, slowly turning in space. There were a couple dozen satellites in orbit over Equestria, most of them oddly had Soviet Union markings on them. One of them, in fact, was a Goldeneye EMP weapon, but only Phoenix recognized it.

The display zoomed out again. A spaceship of some kind appeared from behind Equestria's moon and slowly moved into orbit.

"The heck is that thing?"

Phoenix shook his head. "No idea."

"Looks like a juice mixer attached to a golf bag," Dan said. A Hammerhead-class cruiser, not a vessel any of them were familiar with, made its way into Equestria's orbit. The moment the satellites came into range, the cruiser fired on them with its cannons. The satellites, not programmed at that time to defend themselves, offered no resistance. The cruiser held its position and destroyed the satellites that orbited Equestria one by one with green lasers. When they were gone, it launched a trio of objects at the planet. The feed was lost as the ship vaporized the last satellite.

"What in the hell was that?!" Dan asked.

"From what we can tell, the objects didn't appear to be weapons. They landed near Dodge Junction," Colress explained. "We weren't able to make out much about the ship itself, but we did pick up one thing." The display zoomed in on the cruiser. On the side of the hammerhead's 'head' was a blue symbol they did recognize- the Rebel Alliance starbird.

"Ah, crap," Dan said. "It's Barro's bumbling bomber brigade buddies. Bungling something else again, as usual. That's their logo on the side, there."

"You sure?" Phoenix asked. "That doesn't look like any ship they've used before. And that's not even the right logo." (Didn't we see bombers like those in the Mirror universe?)

"Probably friends of theirs," Dan surmised. "Right, where is Baron O' Broadcast? Him and his flying circus and I need to have words. Words like 'I told you' and 'I was right' and 'you owe me now.'"

"He's with Michael and the Blasties in the Plasma Frigate," Lightning said. "I think he tried to fight Rice, too."

"And I'm sure Rice could've beaten them and then sold them fake raffle tickets," Dan said. "C'mon, Nicky, let's go give news to the reporters."

"Coming. Thanks for the help, Colress."

"Sorry I couldn't do more, Mr. Wright." He went back to typing at his gauntlet.

Dan and Phoenix made their way through the bustle of the camp. Pegasi and griffons already had begun gathering stray clouds to make a temporary cloud outpost, or cloudpost. Unicorns hung tarps in between the grapple lines and created shade with the Golden Oaks in the center. The Plasma Frigate was moored towards the edge of the forest in a shallow lake.

As they made their way through the crowd, a lime green pony walked next to them, almost seeming to walk with them. The new pony walked so close to them, intentionally close, and bumped into Dan.

"Oh-ooops. I'm so sorry- excuse me."

"You in a hurry, buddy?"

The pony trotted in front of Dan, looking at the ground. "Oh, uh, not really. Say, you're Dan, aren't you?"

Dan stared, brow furrowed at him. "You must be new."

"Sorry, I'm normally in Canterlot," the pony said. He reached down and seemed to pick up something, but neither Dan nor Phoenix saw it. "Aren't you the one who beat General Zeal?"

"Yeah," Dan said. "And his army. What of it?"

"And you're Phoenix Wright," the green pony said, coming closer. "You fought Boba Fett and lived to tell the tale."

"Oh uh, yes. That's right," Phoenix said. (Though I don't remember telling that tale to anyone... except Dan and Twilight.)

"What's your deal, pal?" Dan asked.

"Uh, nothing. But uh, you dropped your cell phone," the pony said, hoofing it to them.

Dan shook his head in annoyed confusion. "No I didn't," he reached for his pocket and pulled it out. "See? That must be yours."

The pony shook his head. "I don't have a phone. No- I saw you drop it. This is for you," he said. It was a curious choice of words only Phoenix picked up on, and the pony hoofed it to Dan again.

Instinctively, Dan grabbed it, if only to prove it wasn't his. It was the same make and model as Dan's iPhone. "Uh, this is definitely not mine, buddy, so you can take it back and-"

"You should check to make sure it's not broken," the pony stated flatly. "Safe travels to you." He then trotted back the way he came. Phoenix and Dan both looked at the phone- clearly not Dan's, but when they turned around to get the pony's attention, he was gone.

"The *squee*. Seriously, this place gets weirder every moment," Dan remarked.

"What's on the phone?"

Dan checked it. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary- no features or data had been used, no applications or anything irregular installed. There was only a single message in the phone's databanks:


GenoHaradan say to talk to Visor in Pone Depot. Come alone.