Dan Vs. The Magic of Friendship(Season 1)

by Barrobroadcaster

A Glimpse of The Future

Phoenix and Twilight moved to join Dan and the others on the couch when a faint buzzing noise was heard.

Dan shifted in the middle of the couch. "Hold on, someone's calling me." From his back pocket, he retrieved his cell phone. "Better not be another telemarketer…….. Hello?"

"Dan, it's Nightshade."

"Nightshade?" Dan asked the phone. "Secret agent gardener guy?"

"Um… something like that, yeah," the distinctive voice came back.

The others turned their attention from the t.v to Dan.

Twilight leaned up to Phoenix. "Nightshade's a secret royal guard, he reports directly to the princesses. We met him in Canterlot."

"Yeah, I know," Phoenix whispered back. "He helped me escape."

"And how can I help the Canterlot botanical espionage service?" Dan asked.

"Uh, how quickly can you guys get to the Crystal Empire?"

"Hold on," Dan cupped the phone's receiver and turned to Twilight. "How quickly can we get to the Crystal…" he uncapped the phone. "What was it again?"

"The Crystal Empire."

"Right… is that a superstore or something?"

"Not really… more of a neighboring nation. As in, allied subject nation."

"You're gonna have to tell me how that works."

"*sigh*"

He turned back to Twilight. "How quickly can we get to the Crystal Empire?"

The purple pony shrugged. "The train ride's only about an-"

"No trains." Dan glared.

"Okay…" Twilight searched her mind for an alternative.

"Why no trains?" Phoenix asked.

"We kind of had a train episode already…" Twilight admitted.

"No, we LITERALLY had a train episode," Dan corrected. "We were able to get back and fourth from Canterlot fine before Christmas but if it's something important, we're not risking another derailing issue again."

"We could go by airship," Chrys suggested. "We could probably get there in about an hour or two, depending on the weather schedule."

Dan took a moment to consider the airship possibility. He then raised the phone to his ear again. "Probably an hour or two. And why do you ask?"

"Dan, it's Vice Grip. I don't know how, but he got control of everything here."

He jumped to a stand. "He what?!"

"What happened?" Twilight asked, reflecting the others' concern.

"I'm not sure but he's settin-ksssssst! the palace and-"

"He's doing what?!" Dan yelled. He moved forward, as if it would boost the signal. "You're breaking up or something! Repeat what you just said!"

"KRZZZZZZZH-Gear……… palace. And Shining-Krsh-sh-sh-zzt!"

The phone cut out. For a moment, they all stood in nervous anticipation. Dan held the phone to his ear, frozen, waiting for any other sound from his cell phone that there was no guarantee would come. He considered trying to call back, return dial Nightshade's number, anything but still he hung there. They all hung there, refusing to hang up the phone.

A response came only a short moment later. But it wasn't a response they could've anticipated.

"Hello, Dan."

Dan's eyes narrowed. "Vice Grip." He looked at the phone, removing it from his ear to check the screen when it somehow switched to speaker.

"You don't sound very surprised to hear from me. Things not going well between you and Mr. Wright?"

The others glanced at each other when they heard Vice's voice. Phoenix stepped forward at the mentioning of his name, like an accused being summoned.

Dan seethed in silence. He knew Vice was taunting him with the knowledge that Phoenix had joined the crew but he didn't want to validate it.

"There's nothing you can do to surprise us, Grippy. All your fancy gadgets are nothing but show; we know you're not trying to help Equestria. You're just trying to help yourself."

Vice Grip's voice came back proceeded by a confident chuckle. "Well, you're wrong about one thing, Dan."

The phone began to shake in Dan's hand, buzzing as if he was getting another call. But he hadn't set it to vibrate. It continued to buzz and shake, quickly loosing itself from his grip and falling to the floor. He reached down to pick it up when the lights in the house flickered.

A blue beam of light appeared from the phone's screen, quickly expanding and projecting a shimmering image in the living room. It materialized into the shape of a stallion wearing a lab coat, standing on his hind legs.

Standing before them, Vice Grip smirked. "I can still surprise you."

Dan's mouth hung open. "H-how?"

"Technoportation, that's what we're calling it, anyway. It was Lightning Claw's idea, actually but it requires a little more charge up time than a teleportation spell. But I think it has some promise, don't you?"

"Profess-Vice Grip!" Twilight said, "What is going on?! How were you able to do that?!"

"How did you get past MY SECURITY GRID?!!!" Dan yelled.

Chrys and Spike held a growling Fluffle Puff at bay.

Still grinning, Vice raised his glove over Dan's phone. The device shot up off the floor and into his metallic palm. "Why, technology, of course. There's no spell, no arcane crap or song you can come up with that I can't duplicate with technology. And improve."

"You got past my security system!" Dan shouted, ignoring the phone in Vice's hand. "You're breaking and entering! As a royal guard, I can arrest you for this!"

Vice still smirked. "The same way you broke into ponies' houses to rearrange their decorations?"

"That was classified as a security issue!" Dan shouted back. "And I don't know how you got past my turrets' sensor system but the moment you leave, I'm adding you to the targeting suite!" He angrily marched over to the console by the door update the security information.

Vice tapped a button on his left gauntlet. Before Dan even got to the wall terminal, the screen turned off. Next to it, the door locked with an audible click. Dan slowly turned back around, teeth gritted and fists balled.

"You know why I like technology?" he asked almost too casually. "It doesn't reward those with the shiniest bobbles. It doesn't matter who says the right words, who has the right powers, who dances or sings or praises the right voodoo symbols. Technology simply rewards those who have the reach, the research, the resources and the resolve to use them all together."

Twilight stepped up to Dan's side. "I dunno. I've always respected those who exercise a little restraint and responsibility."

The others turned back to her. "Not bad, Twilight," Chrys remarked.

She blushed, not used to witty retorts but happy to have the support. She got a nod of approval from each of them.

Vice looked less supportive. "Restraint?! RESTRAINT?!" he raised his voice, appalled. "You call keeping the entire nation in a perpetual dark age for the past thousand years RESTRAINT?!"

Chrys raised an eyebrow, more than skeptical. "A thousand years? I remember how things were back then and I can say that Equestria has definitely improved since-"

"You stay out of this," Vice pointed a metallic digit at her like the barrel of a gun. "You're not the only thing the princesses have buried for the past millennia."

Phoenix scratched his chin. "You keep saying a thousand years." They were on the brink of hostility, maybe violence and they all could feel it. Vice was clearly a threat to them but that didn't stop the attorney's analytical mind from picking up on things. Much like Twilight. "What happened that long ago?"

Vice was surprised someone was paying attention. "A lot happened, it would seem," he said in an apathetic tone. "A lot the royally horned ones would like to keep under wraps. But, like myself, the Crystal Empire and our shapeshifting friend here, it keeps finding ways to come back and reassert itself in the future."

"But what happened with you? What made you feel this way about the princesses?" Phoenix asked.

Until then, Vice hadn't answered that question when others asked though not always intentionally. Phoenix was the only one to actually ask him directly, something that not even Vice had expected. What happened next was something neither of them had expected.

Vice's expression changed as he turned to Phoenix. Any confidence or bravado the stallion might've shown was gone an in an instant; he stared at the lawyer with a hard look, the kind where it felt like they were the only two in the room for that moment. His eyes burned with something beyond anger, beyond pity, beyond disgust. Vice's presence had almost been transformed by the question, as if a film had been peeled back. And what lay underneath was only hatred. A burning resentment radiating with the destructive power of a nuclear bomb.

A light flashed though none saw it but Phoenix, not even Vice. The background behind Vice faded to black. The furniture, the walls, the entire room except for Vice Grip turned to pitch black as Vice stared at Phoenix. From the top of Phoenix's perception, two chains descended over Vice, crossing only at the very bottom. In the center between the chains, over Vice's chest appeared a lock connecting the links at the ends. It clacked into place like the slamming of a cell door.

"It didn't matter to anyone then. Why should it matter now?" Vice asked.

(Great, should've known this guy would have psyche-locks. Looks like only one but it's bigger than normal. That's not a good sign. Well, at least the magatama is still working.)

"Well, uh," Phoenix began, "it clearly matters to you, still."

"Does it, now?" Vice asked.

Phoenix had expected Vice to just go through with it. "Um, yeah. I mean, it seems like whatever happened is important to you. Why else would you bring it up?"

"Those who ignore the lessons of the past are doomed to make the same mistakes, Mr. Wright," Vice countered, his demeanor returning to more of his stern confidence. "I mentioned the Crystal Empire, the changelings and my own experiences because they all teach the same lesson: magic-users like the princesses just bury problems, they don't solve them. But I…" he paused, his voice shaking a bit. He looked away briefly, then turned back to Phoenix. "I don't dwell in the past; merely try to learn from it."

(Yeah, right. I think anyone with some common sense could clearly tell that you're lying.)

"Huh," Dan said, scratching his chin. "I actually try to do the same. Part of the reason why I track down those who try to screw with me," he commented, totally buying Vice's explanation.

Phoenix facepalmed. (Emphasis on COMMON sense…) "Well… it seems like you're still dwelling on it."

"I see. And I assume you must have some proof of this?"

"Uh…um…," Phoenix felt sweat form at the back of his neck. (Oh, crap. Crap, crap crap.)

"Well?"

"Unnnngh," the lawyer gritted his teeth, thinking. (I can't believe I forgot about this part. My court record is completely empty, I have no evidence! Wait, let me check again………… and it's empty. Oh crap. Why didn't I remember this could happen? I guess I have to back off.)

"Umm, nevermind," Phoenix finally said, exhaling sharply.

"Ah. All right, then. It would seem Dan isn't the only one of Twilight's friends that relies on baseless accusations."

"HEY!" Dan shouted. "You're the one who's been… who's…" he stopped when he realized he was playing right into Vice's hands. The raging human grumbled, eliciting a smile from the scientist stallion.

"I… guess I was mistaken," Phoenix said, even though he knew he wasn't. Getting to the truth behind a wall of deceit wasn't easy, even for attorneys like Phoenix Wright who's job it was to do it. It was like a game; each question, each statement, every word and syllable and the tone in which it was uttered was a move. Fighting for the truth, Phoenix knew he'd always be able to win but still required the right pieces sometimes. But advocating the truth meant those pieces existed, they were out there and he just had to find the evidence. For the deceivers, their walls could only protect them for so long. The game wasn't over, Phoenix was just regrouping.

"Oh, and Mr. Wright?" Vice turned back to Phoenix.

"Um, yes?"

"Don't think you're getting off from this unscathed."

(Oh no) "Uhm, wha-what do you mean?"

"I'll remember this conversation, Phoenix. You can bet on that. I happen to have a very long memory."

KA-BASH!! (Gah!) An explosion rang in Phoenix's ears, the distinctive sound of a fifth of his Confidence Gauge being depleted. One of the consequences of risking and failing to uncover the truth when accusing someone was a hit to his confidence, though it was more of a hit to the spirit and it felt like a punch to the gut. Without his confidence, represented by the gauge, he would be unable to object, to advocate or accuse. If the Confidence Gauge hit zero, he would be unable to function in court and the game would be over. In a manner of speaking.

The living room of Twilight's house faded back into focus, the chains and lock barring Vice's secrets disappeared. Phoenix's perception returned to normal, everything else having been a result of the magatama's mystical powers.

Twilight and the others noticed Phoenix's drained appearance, the lawyer clutching his side. A battle of wits was still a battle and they could tell their friend had made a costly temporary retreat.

"But I didn't come all this way just to discuss the past and show off my latest inventions," Vice said casually. "I came here to invite you all personally to be my guests."

"Guests to what?" Twilight asked.

Vice smiled. "To the future, Twilight Sparkle. I come to offer you all a glimpse of the future and invite you to the New Crystal Empire."

Comments

[Shadow Bolt]

I guess it might be because I just got back from watching Avengers 2, but I kept imagining Vice's voice as Ultrons.

[Booster Spice]

If you want a voice for Vice Grip, the really intelligent evil guy, might as well go for Jim Cummings? Voice of Dr Robotnik from SatAm, and Megabyte from Reboot amongst others.

As for how Vicegrip got past the security, well, just like a Vampire crossing the threshold, Dan, Accepted The Phone Call.

That why you hold back with piggy squeals. He gives you the next link in the chain. And vice versa.

[Barrobroadcaster]

5935040 Jim Cummings is a legend and one of my personal favorite voice actors. Winnie the Pooh, Robotnik, every male voice in the Army Men games, he's one of the best.

That being said, unless Curtis Armstrong wants to volunteer, both Dan and Vice will be voiced by myself when the time comes. I'm told my Dan is pretty spot-on(at least when I'm angry XD) but we'll have to see what happens.

[Dustchu]

This is getting crazy man, holy crap I love it!
Nice job!

[LadyLeomon]

Phoenix lost?! Against Mr Grump Y. Pants?! Let Fluffle at that twerp right now

[Razzy]

I sooooo want Vice to get his comeuppance, hard.

[Rhulain]

Stupid lawyers always s needing to have physical evidence. You can tell he's still hung up about it

BECAUSE THE DOUCHEBAG IS GIVING EVERYONE MAGICAL NUKES WHILE SAYING MAGIC IS BAD HELLO IS ANYONE EVEN PAYING ATTENTION TO THIS IDIOT?

[Vaalintine]

7812255
Yeah, that's one thing I don't get about the plot. He's obviously the bad guy and has been for a long time, but instead of just up and shooting the evil mastermind in the head or clapping him in irons, they let him go free and don't do anything even though he's been attempting to create an a massive interdimensional war that will kill billions. Or that everyone ignored that Luna was planning atomic genocide of a human city. I'm surprised everyone hasn't just jumped off of a cliff to let the villians rule the world unopposed honestly.