Dan Vs. The Magic of Friendship(Season 1)

by Barrobroadcaster

Your Enclave: Dan Vs. General Sharp Winter

Halberd Base- Sublevel 2

Dan had been surprisingly quiet since Sharp Winter scorched the upturned table. "What's the matter? Can't take the heat?" the general taunted, walking closer. "What did you think? Just because you beat my soldiers, took my base that you were somehow unstoppable?" he scoffed, reaching the table. "Just like the two of them: complacent, deluded in your own power until somepony rises up to take you down. Well now, the Enclave has risen. And you should be happy, they all should be happy!"

"The hell are you on about?" Dan's voice asked, echoing off the walls.

Sharp looked around. Scanners didn't reveal him and with all the heat, infrared was almost useless. He stepped carefully, anticipating a surprise attack. "You think it was easy for me to betray Celestia? Heck, I was forced to do it!"

"Bull. Sh*t." Again, his voice echoed.

"Look, we both know Vice Grip's a worthless idiot."

"We're in agreement there. No points for stating the obvious, though."

Winter switched directions. "He's just the first, though. Every species outside Equestria knows the princesses can't lead and half the ponies here know it, too. Celestia and Luna do nothing, they rely on Twilight and her little friends, that system was bound to be scrapped. Griffons, zebras, dragons, the friggin' sea ponies, you should be thanking the Enclave! AT LEAST WE'RE PONIES!!" he raged, his voice made mechanical by the helmet's mouthpiece. "The Enclave IS Equestria! There might be civilian casualties now and then but you can be damn sure it's a lot less than if the zebras were here! YOU SHOULD BE HAPPY IT WAS US AND NOT THEM!!"

Dan's voice came right up to his ear in a whisper. "I could say the same."

"Wa-AAARGH!" Sharp tripped, his legs yanked out from under him. From the table adjacent to him, Dan leapt out from under it and atop him, raising his Pain Cane high.

"Well I *clang* could say *Clang* THE SAME! *CLANG*" Dan said, smacking the General in the head with each pair of syllables. "Why weren't you happy with the way things were?! What if the zebras were in charge here?!" He hit the Enclave pony in the stomach with the head of the cane, smashing the edge of Granny Smith's horseshoes into the center mass of his armor.

"Yes! Yes! Go angry guy! Hit 'em right where it hurts!" TF2's Red Scout cheered. "Bonk! Bonk! Bonk, yeah, that's the stuff! Get him in the kneecaps! That's what I'd do!"

Dan paused, holding Sharp by his collar. "And you are?"

Scout shrugged. "Me? I'm just here for the tacos. You guys got good tacos."

The two went back to fighting. "What would you know?!" Sharp yelled. "You're just another lackey of theirs!" He raises his hoof but Dan blocked with his cane, pinning his limb to the ground. Sharp raised the other hoof and Dan grabbed it with his free hand and slammed it against the floor. Their faces were centimeters apart- Dan trying to keep the armored pony pinned and Sharp Winter struggling to break free. He wrested loose his right foreleg and sprayed a jet of fire and molten cheese at him. Dan grabbed his hoof and forced it away just in time to divert the flamethrower blast away from him.

"So what if I am?!" Dan raged, face-to-face with the general. "You're Vice Grip's lackey! And I just beat the crap out of a bunch of Vice Grip's lackeys!"

"Get off!" Sharp activated a pair of leg jets on his back legs. He flew with Dan, the human refusing to let go as the pair skidded across the floor and into the far wall.

They stood back up at the same time. Dan dove underneath another table just as Sharp unleashed another dual blast of flames.

"Grrrrr-aaaaaaaahhhhhh!!" Sharp roared, blasting underneath the table with the flamethrowers. Dan scrambled away as best he could, pulling against the floor with his hands, on all fours yanking himself forward to escape the flames. In moments, he was out of range of the flames.

Sharp Winter jumped onto the table he only just blasted. Like most things in the base, the table's construction was of a sort of metal construction that resisted heat and energy and could support his armor, at least for the moment. "No more games, Dan! Get out here and face me!"

"No thanks," Dan's voice came back. The human had already disappeared under the rows of tables.

"Coward! None of Twilight's other friends would be sneaking around! Any one of them would face me!"

"Pinkie would!" Dan hopped back up on one of the tables towards the entrance. "Fluttershy, maybe. Probably AJ, too. You obviously don't know anything about Twilight or her friends. But you did get one thing right."

"And that is?"

Dan smirked. "Any one of them could face you. And defeat you. Very easily."

"I got your easy right here!" Sharp engaged both flamethrowers and sent twin flares at Dan once again. But the taunting human was too far away for the flames to reach. Dan folded his arms in smirking triumph.

"Hold on, let me run go get some marshmallows and we'll make some s'mores with those things. I bet your campers would like that, huh?"

"Grrrrr," the general cut off the flames.

"They prefer hot dogs? Shishkebab? Hey, that's actually a weapon from Fallout, too-"

"Like cookouts, huh?!" Winter announced, removing his armor's sombrero-attachment. He spun it around on his hoof and ignited his free flamethrower on it. The hat-like accessory absorbed and regulated the flames on its brim, spinning faster and faster. "Let's see if this is spicy enough for ya!" At maximum heat, the general sent it flying at Dan.

"That's new," Dan said, just before he was forced to dodge the incoming projectile. It bounced off the wall behind him, forcing him to duck again as it flew back to Sharp on the same trajectory. "Missed again, herr kommandant!"

"That's the thing about revolutions," Sharp caught the hat, growling angrily at Dan. "They keep coming back at ya!" He spun around with the hat, throwing it harder this time. It flew at Dan even faster, spinning brightly and becoming one big fireball.

The human had no time to react. His trusted makeshift weapon in his hand, he delivered a hard, vertical swipe and smacked the sombrero flying back at Sharp Winter. He spun around again, kicking it with both legs. The fiery hat spun right back at Dan, who quickly smacked it back with an upward vertical swipe. It flew back at the general, who kicked again. Both of them became stuck in a game of Dead Man's Tennis aka Dead Man's Volley, a game so aptly named because the loser didn't usually walk away from the match. Frantically, they both continued smacking the burning sombrero back at one another, a deadly hot tamale between them.

"I can keep this up... *ung!* longer than you can, biped!" the general announced.

And Dan knew he was right. The pony's four legs and power armor allowed him to put plenty of power into each return while maintaining a standing position. Dan on the other hand was already feeling the muscles in his arms start to burn. If he dropped his guard, he'd be burning all over, though he knew he couldn't keep returning Winter's serves forever. But maybe, he didn't need to. He smirked and smacked the sombrero back again.

"Gnah!" Sharp grunted, kicking the fireball hat back again. "This was inevitable, Dan! If it wasn't me and my Enclave, *Nguh!* it would've been something else! Something... worse, even... *Gah!* The princesses, the mayor, the elements... none of them know how to fight a real war! *Nnngah!*"

*Tink-tink-tink* Something tapped General Winter on his right shoulder. When he looked over, Dan was standing right next to him.

"And neither do you." He gently swept the pony's forelegs out from under him.

"Wo-woah!" Sharp face-planted, forcing his hind legs to remain firmly in the standing position. "What was that for?!"

"This."

The fireball-sombrero slammed into Winter's armored plot with more force, heat and energy than even the armor could absorb. "GAAAAHHHHH!!!!" It hit the general so hard it knocked him off the table, set him ablaze and sent him spinning with his hat all the way across the room.

"That's the problem with your revolution, I guess. You don't have a leg to stand on!"

"AAAAAAHHHHHAAAA!!!" The general became part of the whirling fireball all the way up until he smashed through the cafeteria's separating glass into the kitchen. He collided with the back wall and exploded, covering the kitchen in fire and cheese. Finally, Sharp Winter slid off the wall and landed in a flaming heap just before the fire suppression system triggered, putting out his fires.

"And now, all your base are belong to ME, herr kommissar. I mean, uhh, kommandant. Or... ummm..." Dan thought for a moment, then shrugged. "Guy-who's-ass-I-just-kicked. Yep, that'll work." He strode into the kitchen, Pain Cane clasped on his back somehow and approached his defeated foe. The general made no attempt to stand against Dan, barely made an attempt to stand after the fire on his armor was doused. Dan stood over him with a proud smirk and his hands on his hips. "By the authority of the Sparkle Guard, you're under arrest, bub."

Armor melted and smoldering, helpless on the floor before him, Sharp Winter looked up at him. Through his smashed visor, he was able to make out Dan above him. He saw the human's proud, satisfied grin, imagined how he might look to him, and then, for the first time, saw the letters on the shirt. Particularly, General Sharp Winter saw the capital "E" in the middle of Dan's JERK logo.

"I... I understand now," the general said weakly. "She was right; the Enclave IS the future. But... it wasn't my Enclave. It was yours."

"Don't give me that garbage," Dan picked up the pony by the shoulders and stood him up, burnt pieces of his armor falling to the floor. "You and all your little tin can nazi fans are finished. Every last pony in the Enclave is going to face justice, REAL justice and the only armored thing any of you will be wearing for the next few months is going to be an electric hoof bracelet or a good ole' fashion ball'n chain. Hope you like orange jumpsuits."

But Sharp only smiled at him. From his Enclave Officer's uniform, somehow still pristine after all the fighting, he picked off a single medal from his chest. He hooved it to Dan- a small, circular pendant of the capital letter E surrounded by matching gold stars. Emblazoned on the edges were the words: Aegis Semper Caelum, Protect Always Our Skies.

"It's like I told you, Dan. If it wasn't me, it would've been someone else. Someone worse," Sharp said as Dan took the medal. "There will be others. More will rise to test you, to test all of Equestria. You have to stand against them all. For them," he rose his right hoof weakly to give a salute. "Commander Hurricane would be proud someone so vigilante was in charge. This is your Enclave now, Dan."

Dan looked at the medal in his palm. It was pretty big; an obvious symbol of prestige, honor, significance. All to something that was so fundamentally flawed, so abused, had so much potential but was used only for bad. And like the organization is so clearly, proudly represented, it was cheap, made to look good but had been crafted by some kind of fake material and shined until it flaked on the bottom. It was like an evil version of Phoenix's lawyer badge. In the end, the symbol didn't matter. What was important was what it represented.

"There is no Enclave." Dan broke the medal in half in his hand. Before Sharp could say anything, the human grabbed him by his forelegs and spun him around, shoving him against the wall. "All you know how to do is complain at the system. That's the difference between you and me: I don't attack the system. I don't do anything that might hurt the innocent... or at least, I try not to. It's individuals that will always be the problem and the solution. So that's what I work on solving." He pressed him against the wall, hard. "You're just part of the problem, you pathetic ingrate. And I'm your solution."

It was Sharp's turn to grin at that. "Are you a final solution, Dan?"

"I'm a final resolution," Dan corrected. He used some cord from the kitchen to tie Winter's hooves behind his back. He then tied the CO up to a metal table and stood back. "Because I share Equestria's beliefs. That's what you don't understand- there might be more like you out there but there's more like me, too. And we work together better than you guys do. That's why we won. Maybe you'll take that into consideration next time you plan sucker punching us. Because I'll always get ya back for it," he said, smirking. He turned around and began walking to the rest of the tables. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take the rest of your Mexican food up to my friends. Play nice, and I'll send somepony down with a taco later."

Just as Dan was walking away to procure delicious treats, the lights in the kitchen began to flicker. "Gonna have to get those fixed before I use this place, I guess."

Still restrained, the general looked up at the lights. They didn't just flicker on and off; they dimmed and fluctuated, as if something was draining the power itself. "She's coming."

Dan tried some of the cheese in one of the nacho fountains. "Not bad, Twilight might like this."

"She's coming!" Sharp yelled.

"Who?" Dan looked around. "I didn't see that Springer-chick around here. Was she at this base or did you ship her to a different summer camp location?"

The lights continued to flicker, more erratically now. "The Faceless One! She's almost here!!" Sharp yelled. Still bound to the table, he looked up at Dan intently, something between horror and total lucidity in his eyes.

"The squee are you even on about, Sharpy?"

"Listen to me," he said, staring right into Dan's eyes. "Two sisters- one saved and the other forsaken. To reverse this curse, would see both worlds taken. She will go to any length to receive such grace... but only one knows her true place."

Dan's mouth hung open for a moment as he processed the information. When he was finished, he drew only one conclusion. "Um... should I have written that down?"

"SHE WANTS BOTH!!" Sharp screamed. He began struggling against his restraints as the lights flickered, the kitchen constantly changing from lit to pitch black. "SHE WANTS BOTH! SHEWANTSBOTHSHEWANTSBOTHSHEWANTSBOTHSHEEEEE WAAAANTTTSS BOOOOOOOTTHH!!!!" at the top of his lungs, he screamed.

Suddenly, the lights went out and stayed that way. Everything suddenly became silent. No noise from Sharp Winter, no nose from anything as Dan soon found himself fumbling around in the dark. He knocked over a utensil or something he hadn't seen and it clattered to the floor, making the only noise that broke the silence just for a moment. He felt around the wall for a light switch but didn't find one. A cold fear crept its way up inside of him.

The lights turned back on again, just as suddenly as they'd gone out. Except, they weren't the same lights as before: they now were all red. The kitchen, the room's walls and everything was now cast in an eerie red glow. Dan turned around to where Sharp Winter was tied up.

But the general was gone. In his place, there was only the cords that had held him in place, still tied.

"Alright, uhh... I'm outta here." Dan had had enough. He immediately turned and walked out of the kitchen at a brisk pace, suddenly wanting to be very far away from here. The air only moments ago had been hot from all the heat trapped but now was ice-cold. In fact, there was a layer of condensation on the tables that was clearly visible.

Dan's heart began to beat a little faster. It was time to leave. Fast. Now. He continued his brisk walk through the red light-bathed cafeteria and was almost halfway to the doors... when they opened for him.

"Hello, Dan," the Director greeted him.

Author's Note:

Okay there, Dan Fans! It's time to decide what to do with the Enclave!

That's right people; voting begins now. Please post in the comments or somewhere I'll see what your choice is. Remember, you're answering the question: what will Dan do with the Enclave and Gust Grasp's Griffons? Will he:
A. Only keep Gust(Raider/merc faction)
B. Only keep Sharp Winter(Enclave faction)
C. Kick 'em both out!
D. Keep 'em both and possibly make them fight each other
or secret option E. Sell both to Reed Roamer, securing Equestrian Mob as allies(Gangster faction)

Your choice affects the future of Dan Vs. The Magic of Friendship, people! Decide now, votes will be tallied and a winner will be decided by next Friday! Thanks for reading, all! Next time... the Director takes the stage...

Comments

[Terabyte West]

I liked Gust. Let's keep him in. (As the curator of your fic's TVTropes page, this counts as two votes. Also, How about the next set of people watching the show for the next episode are the trolls from Homestuck, spurred (heh. pun.) on by Equius.

[Razzy]

I vote for the griffons, option A. Much less crazy and Gust had already helped, his griffons too.

Nice chapter. I fully expect Dan to punch the Director in the face.

[Dustchu]

I wanna say D, because at first I was thinking he could make them team up... that and Spinner and Springer I think
But everyone is leaning towards Gust... so I'll say B, I feel like Dan could do something good with them, hehe.

Nice job!

[Booster Spice]

I vote for keep Gust and crew, the kiddies can always enjoy pillow fighting with the feather dusters till they prove themselves otherwise. Enclave guys can renounce their position by running away in terror, or be fed to Angel.

The Director is TOK King or equivalent?

[lordalexander74]

B

Maybe Dan can turn em around and do some good.

[TheUltimateBrony-Class-S]

B.

...what? Are you still here?

...don't you have anything better to do?

???☝✋❄☝?????❄
???☟❄❄????????☞✋?☞✋?❄✋⚐☠?☠☜❄??❄⚐☼✡????????❄☟☜??⚐?☹??⚐☹☹☜?❄⚐☼

[start from top]

[LadyLeomon]

Ooh Option D please! I like Gust Grasp now Dan has him terrified for his safety if he doesn't listen to Derpy, and I think Sharp Winter would be a good sparring buddy for him!

I say this every new chapter but I loved this from start to finish! Dan messed him up good and didn't even need to cut the cheese doing it (sorry couldn't resist)!

But that ending ... Be afraid, be very afraid! Is it weird it I'm both dreading this meeting and super psyched at the same time! The Director has been an unseen (kind of) ally all this time and now the magic moment is here at last!

Oh, question please? If the vote ends with Sharp Winter not being saved, would we ever find out what happened to him? Or would it be like the GS Ball in Pokemon and be an unresolved plot line forever left to our imaginations?

Like always thank you for another Dan-making chapter, I feel so spoilt by the epic action and then hi-larious dialogue!

Awesome as always and see you next chapter ^_^

[adamthegoodguy]

b

[Barrobroadcaster]

7592537 Honestly, I'd go with D if you were thinking about that route. To elaborate a bit more, we're not just going to say, "Okay, Dan is fed up with these clowns and tells them to take a hike," No, he's going to have plenty of reason to make any decision. But it will fundamentally alter characters people may like as well as affect their role in the story. Not something to be taken lightly. Again, I'd go with option D. We did make it "D" for a reason, after all...

As far as Springer is concerned, she is the constant rival character, so... she isn't going anywhere whether people want her to or not. She's stuck here. Like glue. Glue that you hate. Hate glue. And she still will represent the Enclave in theme and the whole idea that "working towards a brighter future might make it darker for everyone else."

[Dustchu]

7603421
Well if you say so, then I'll vote D, because my real name and my internet handle begin with D :D
That and I love Springer and Spinner, hehehe.

APPROVAL!

[Barrobroadcaster]

7604380 Well, it's what you want. If you want them all to be in it, pick D. If you want just the Enclavers, pick B. For more information or to speak to an operator, yell your frustration into the phone. But Spinner and Springer are independent of the Enclave despite being and directly representing the... Enclave. So yeah, it is a bit confusing but I hope that clears it up.

[Dustchu]

7606429
I want mass chaos, so D! hehehe!
And really now? Yeah it may have been, but its clear now... maybe hehe.
Keep it up!

[Warrior Kitten]

"Yes! Yes! Go angry guy! Hit 'em right where it hurts!" TF2's Red Scout cheered. "Bonk! Bonk! Bonk, yeah, that's the stuff! Get him in the kneecaps! That's what I'd do!"

I like TF2

[CarolMAssphault]

Wouldn't this fear make Dan angry, and wouldn't that rage protect him from the fear the Director seems to cause by drowning it out?