//------------------------------//
// Final: Hope of Some Kind 
// Story: Dan Vs. The Magic of Friendship(Season 1) 
// by Barrobroadcaster 
//------------------------------//

"Rice... Rice," he put his hands on his shoulder. The stallion was sobbing. "Rice, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"It was hopeless... it was always hopeless."

It was starting to rain harder now. The earth ponies were joined by pegasi that rapidly worked to put out the flames.

They had to leave. "Rice, we've got to go. We've got to go now."

He didn't say anything. Dan looked up. There was no way they could get back to the mountain without being seen.

"This way, come on. Come on."

He pulled Rice by the shoulders. Together, they hurried to the edge of the Everfree Forest.

They were soaked again by the time they reached the Everfree Forest. They were just entering the forest when suddenly, Rice stopped.

"Dan, I... I can't do this."

Dan turned around. "Okay, not gonna lie... I know you've been through hell. Today has been hell. On both of us. I promise you, me, promising you right now, we'll get you all the help we possibly can once-"

He shook his head a he was talking. "Dan-"

"ONCE we get back to our time." He took him by the shoulders. "I need you to just keep it together. For a little bit longer."

Rice shook his head. He looked almost like a ghost, or worse. Whatever was in him had died all over again and what was left was barely even a shell. Hollower than hollow, faded light.

"Dan... I can't do this any more." He broke his mile-long stare and looked up at Dan with some amount of clarity in his eyes. "I never belonged in this world. Maybe you did. But I..."

Dan took his face, then. "You CAN do this. For at least like... an hour more, however long it takes us to get back to that damn portal, THEN you can have all the nervous breakdowns you want!" That wasn't getting through to him or even making things worse. Rice wasn't moving at all. So Dan changed strategies again.

He sighed and looked back up at Rice. "Maybe you can go to my world. Make a life for yourself there or something. I think we said something about that already."

"We did." Just a few hours and a few centuries ago, or ahead, they did.

"Then you can try that. Or something else. Look, I know this is..." For once, Dan knew exactly what to say. "There's nothing I can say. There's nothing we can do, either of us, to make it right. But you offing yourself over this, that's not going to do anything, either. This will still have happened. You'll still be a part of the world, just not in the breathing sense."

"I thought I could...." Rice looked down. "I thought we could make a difference."

"We still can," Dan said. "You still can. You have, in your own ways. You brought us all together. And yeah, it was pretty fucked up the way you did it, but that's one thing. You built the Magic Gears, too, and they've been fun. And you can keep building new stuff like that. You can still make the world a better place. There's always something to keep going for, something to hold onto, something to do... some kind of hope. Or hope of some kind."

Rice looked into his eyes again.

Dan continued. "I have Chrys. And she has me. I'm a bigwig now with Equestria. We'll... we'll make sure your side of history is told. You can make sure this doesn't happen to anypony else... and it will start with me and Chrys."

"What are you saying?"

Inhaling, and then exhaling, Dan said, "She's pregnant. I'm not entirely sure how changeling pregnancy works, but-"

"Well, actually, human and Equestrian DNA has a lot of fundamental-"

"Don't explain it."

"How are you sure she's pregnant?'

Dan shrugged. "Well, she's been leaving all these magazines and books on parenting lying around... well, not actually parenting books, more like books on beekeeping and ant farming."

"Just leaving books around the house?"

"Yeah, it's... kind-of a thing girlfriends do sometimes. They leave cues and crap like that where you can see them. Love can be a bit retarded and creepy sometimes."

Rice stared blankly at him. "Listening to you makes me want to leave this planet for different reasons than me going through my son's death... for the second time."

Dan nodded. "Yeah, unfortunately, my planet probably won't make you feel better in that category, sure, but the military will probably love your robots."

"I..." Rice didn't know what to say. Talking with another person, even if it was random rambling nonsense, it distracted him from the pain long enough for him to take another step. It wasn't a cure for his problems, but it could lead to one. It could help him find the path to a place where he wouldn't find pain. It was just a little help, a little kindness.

Friendship. Or at least, friendliness.

"I don't want to be here any longer. Let's... let's go home."

Dan smiled. "Great idea, let's do that." They turned around, and that was when they heard something in the bushes in front of them.

Instinctively, Dan spun around. He spread his arms out, intent on protecting Rice. The rustling continued, but moved further away rather than coming close.

"We-"

"SHhhhh," Dan shushed him. He followed the rustling through the underbrush.

And what they found, just a few bushes into the forest, was... Vice.

"Oh my dear god."

"My... Vice! Vice!!" Rice rushed to him. The colt's body lay in the forest, the throttle from the train stuck through him. "My... my boy... my..." He sobbed uncontrollably. "No..." He picked up Vice's body, cradled him.

Dan rushed over to him. "See? He's still dead."

"SHUT UP!!"

"I am NOT GOOD AT THIS SHIT! I'm just saying, we came ALL this FUCKING WAY for FUCKING NOTHING! NOTHING!!" Dan shouted. "So thank you, thank you for ALL you've done, you're probably fucking up history just by standing in it right now, so thank you! Great going! Great job, Vice Grip!"

*gaasssp* And Vice woke up.

"Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god."

"Oh shit," Dan rubbed his head. "This day just isn't going to fucking end, is it?"

"D-d-d..."

"D-don't talk, don't try to speak." Rice felt his heartrate explode. The throttle from the train had pierced his son in the chest, probably punctured his left lung, but he was still alive. Somehow, he was still alive.

"D-Dan. Dan, he's alive, he's still alive," he turned around frantically. He clutched his son to the chest. "I know it hurts, hang on. Just hang on, Vice."

"Dad..." His teeth were gritted. Vice had to be confused, disoriented, but he was alive.

But for how long?"

"Dan, I think... I think it's punctured his lung. Probably some bleeding, but... but I'm not a d... doctor. He needs..."

"He needs a hospital," Dan said.

"Yes!" Rice said. He started out of the clearing. Then stopped. "The... the hospital..."

"The hospital won't be built for another two-hundred years," Dan said. He turned around.

"Damn it... damn it, Dan... Dan, this isn't fair."

Dan sighed. "No, no it's not. That's the one damn thing we agree on, this is not fair."

"I can... I can save him, I just..."

Dan turned around again. And he had Rice's gauntlet. He held it up, ready to snap his fingers. "I know you can. So get your son to a hospital." He stepped towards them.

"No," Rice stopped him. "No, Dan... you take him."

"Bullshit! You're his father."

"But-"

"He belongs with his father." Dan was right. He spoke with such certainty, such assuredness, it was undeniable. "Now hold him tight and hold your breath."

"What?"

Dan grabbed him and snapped the fingers on the gloves. They were gone in a flash.





"Dan!! Da-"

"JUST SHUT UP!!" Dan yelled. Hanging onto the ceiling with one hand and Rice in the other, the three of them were in the cavern again. The water was rushing around them, threatening to carry them if Dan wasn't hanging on.

"Cleo wanted this..." Dan said. "For herself and me. Or you. I understand why now."

"What are you-"

"Will you just shut up, you idiot? You wanted a second chance with your son... you've got it." Dan threw him into the current.

The water carried Rice, clutching his son Vice, to him. They were rushed right into the portal and went through it.

In a burst of white light, the portal vanished completely. They were gone.

The water calmed a bit, but was still surging. The fingers on the gauntlet broke off, and Dan dropped it. The current took it somewhere far, out of sight.

Dan was rushed out with the water again, poured out into the lake on the mountainside. 

Soaked, burned, bruised, battered, beaten, exhausted... done. Dan was done.

Nah, he wasn't. He was never done.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!" Dan shouted at the top of his lungs. He pounded the ground with his fists. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGHHH!!!"

He roared angrily, ripped chunks of dirt and grass, ground them into his fists as tight as he could and screamed in agony, 


"AAAAAAAAAAAAGGGHH!!!"


So loud his voice could be heard throughout Equestria. But at such a distance, it only sounded like the roar of a dragon or some other beast. The pegasi that heard it, the unicorns and earth ponies, none recognized it for what it was.

Dan dropped to his knees and pounded the ground again. "AAAAAAAAAAAHH... You dumb, stupid, son of a bitch dumb bastard!! You asshole... you stupid, fucking, worthless asshole!!" What was he talking about? Was he blaming himself?

Again, nah.

"IF you had just teamed up with me in the FUCKING FIRST PLACE, NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE FUCKING HAPPENED YOU WORTHLESS SON OF A BIIIIIIIIIIITCH!!!"

Once again, Dan was blaming Rice. And once again, he was completely right to do so; if they had planned to come to back to the past, instead of just getting sucked into a portal like this, they could've prepared for it better. All it would have taken would have been a little cooperation. They could've fixed Rice's gauntlets so they didn't break after one teleportation, they could've brought Twilight or someone who could've stopped things in some other way.

So once again, there was only Rice to blame. But now, Dan was alone to blame him. Completely alone in the past.

He pulled himself together. He went to the edge of the mountain and sat down.

"Stuck in the past... is this some kind of metaphor?" he asked no one in particular.

Cleo had meant for the portal to be for two. Two ways, two passengers, two trips... she wanted both. Finally, Dan understood what the Director truly wanted. She wanted to have her cake and eat it, too. It was her way of saying she wanted it all. She wanted to be happy, she wanted things to be perfect in Equestria... she wanted them all to be together.

But she couldn't have it, not without sacrifice. So she made her choice: she wanted both. She would have it all, and give it up. One of the only ways one ever knew they had it all was when they lost it. She paid the price for all of them.

Now, Dan was paying his price. The price for his second chance. A chance for a chance, a future for a future.

At last, he had gotten even. And at the end, on the edge of a cliff, he knew he wanted nothing of the sort.