Dan Vs. The Magic of Friendship(Season 1)

by Barrobroadcaster

Central: The Fiery InferNOPE Part 3: Plans Were Made

Explosions rocked the walls of the complex. The vibrations made it difficult to stand and keep running as Colress led Marksaline and the others down the hall.

"Uhh, I'm all for helpin' Dan out but..."

"Pretty sure he wouldn't want us running TOWARDS the explosions," Apple Bloom and Scootaloo commented respectively.

"This place is not safe."

"There won't be ANYWHERE safe if we don't realign the core! Now, MOVE!" Lightning Claw barked. Lights in the corridor were starting to flicker- evidence of power fluctuations all throughout the base. Sweetie Belle kept watching the ceiling, scared it could come down at any moment. Colress and his Magnezone seemed to know where they were going, though the explosions became more violent as they ran.

"Stable-Tec would like to remind you that removal of the thermo-arcanic reactor core may cause catastrophic meltdown when not shutdown in safety mode. Please return the thermo-arcanic reactor core to the primary generator housing in the core control room before overload can occur and annihilate the planet. We apologize for any inconvenience. Stable-Tec: A Better Future- Today."

CORE DETONATION:
11:58.42

Applebloom looked up, as if seeing the last announcement hanging above them accompanied by a countdown clock in large red letters. "Wait, did that say somethin' about blowin' up the whole planet?"

"That's exactly what I just said would happen!" Lightning yelled over his shoulder.

"The energy here is seething. The magic is angry, violent, disturbed.," Marksaline said. She seemed to sense something the others couldn't, a constant change in the environment to which only she was privy. Her horn continued to glow, giving the hallway a reddish light as they continued.

Sweetie Belle shrugged. "At least they apologized."

"Just keep running!" Diamond Tiara shouted. Having been released, she had discarded her armor and had returned to her usual filly self, minus her namesake tiara. Full-gallop, they burst through a set of double doors at the end of the hallway.

Colress in the lead held his hands up to stop them. "Hold up. Something's not right here."

"I'll say..." Scootaloo remarked.

"MYYY STUFFFFF!!" Diamond Tiara exclaimed, bursting from the hall. "My investments... my resources... MY COLLECTIBLES!" She fell to her hind knees at the sight of the smashed weapons, warships and armored vehicles in front of them. "THEY'RE ALL RUINED!!"

The weapons factory floor, or what was left of it, was directly ahead of them. Although the corridor they just ran out of had been appropriately sized for people, the room they were in now looked like it had been constructed by giants, for giants. Massive conveyor belts towered overhead and storage racks of weapons, vehicles and all manner of military machine was stacked around the floor.

Almost on the ceiling, the tube running throughout the facility had broken and fallen through one of the conveyor belts and onto the floor itself, smashing to pieces in the process. Several Soviet-era nuclear submarines had been knocked over in the process. They resembled colossal bath toys they had fallen out of some great tub.

"MY STUFFFF! MY BEAUTIFUL STUFF!!" Diamond Tiara pounded the floor with an errant hoof, distraught.

Lightning Claw shook his head and walked over to Apple Bloom. "Hey, uh..."

"Apple Bloom."

"Apple Bloom, you think you could uh... tell Dan about this?"

"About what?"

He pointed to Diamond Tiara. "I've been dealing with this since I was captured and reprogrammed and I haven't been able to talk. I'm just thinking maybe he'll be... sympathetic."

"Uhh... I don't think Dan does sympathy," Sweetie Belle said.

"I've seen him hate something and sympathize with it at the same time," Scootaloo added.

"Yeah, me too," Dan said, pulling himself out of the pile of debris. "Like PEOPLE WHO TALK ABOUT ME... WHEN I'M RIGHT OVER HERE..." He yanked Phoenix out from the metal pile. Both men were covered in bruises and bailing twine. They removed the latter.

"And where have you all been?!" Dan asked angrily.

"Dan!!" the CMC exclaimed in unison and ran up to hug him.

"Dan and Phoenix!" the Blast Sisters sprang up from the refuse and lovingly latched on to their favorite humans.

"Dan and Phoenix and everypony!" Spinner also materialized from the wreckage to embrace her new friends. But Dan wrenched his hand out from the hug pile and blocked her muzzle. Hug-blocked, it's like... yeah, I don't need to explain what that is.

"No! Begone, unpure moron!" Dan held her in place as she flailed at him.

"Dan, c'mon," Phoenix said, pressed against Dan by the Blasties, "she just wants inclusion."

"Well, why don't I just find the part of this factory that makes neat packages, so I have something nice to put it in when I finally give a *Special Marksaline Squee*," Dan replied. "She tried to kill me. No hugs."

"Oyh neffu trie a kiuh yoo."

Dan rolled his eyes. "Alright, you've never tried to kill me, I get it. We've heard enough muffled-muzzlespeak now that I can actually understand it. So, if wasn't you, it must've been just Scratch all those times."

"Awww," Spinner lowered her limbs in defeat. "Ay wannu buh Scraaah..."

Springer crawled her own way out of the pile- both snuggle and debris. "You don't have to worry about me... hugging you." The ex-Enclave officer adamantly refused cuddles of any form. Naturally, this was sensed by Marksaline. The CMC, Diamond Tiara, Colress and Magnezone all floated by her, levitated in luminescent red and black auras. Springer watched the stream of characters in front of her until finally she, herself was lifted up along with them, realizing only too late what was happening.

"Group hug." Marksaline's voice was a combination of voices repeated over multiple frequencies; she could be felt as well as heard. She, along with the rest of the ponies and the other human and Pokemon came together in a single, quasi-appropriate embrace.

Dan, at the center of the mass, had one arm aimed towards the ceiling as if he apathetic at being slowly overcome by a snuggle-based horde of unconditional, involuntary love. "I just want you to know, though I like SOME of you, I still hate ALL of you."

"Aww, equally?" Fusey asked.

Dan shook his head, what little of his body he could move. "No, no. I don't even hate you all equally- some I hate a lot more than others. Lightning."

"Don't I feel special."

"Springer."

"Back at ya, biped."

"So can we PLEASE STOP WITH THE HUGGING NOW?!" Dan ripped through the aura and threw everyone off of him. "Fine, we're all friends now and everyone who's ever opposed me or just wants to come can join the JERK."

"JERK?" Sweetie Belle repeated.

"Just Everybody trying to Restore the Kingdom," he drew a line under his shirt's logo. "Speaking of, big bug bot is in here and we have to make sure it's squished. Nicky!"

Phoenix nodded and handed Dan his Pain Cane. "We wreck everything until we find the rogue Gear?"

"What? No, that's Plan B. Breaking things is always Plan B, Nicky."

"I thought we were on B. It's all right, we got it." (I have to admit, the letter system really does help understanding the plans.) "So we're on A for Analyze?" Phoenix asked.

"Very good, Nicky. Investigate and find the bot. Seek and destroy."

"Right on it," he said, grinning. (I'm allowed a little joke now and then.) With the two humans in front, they began searching the massive factory floor.

Silver Spoon gradually slipped to the back of the group with Diamond Tiara. She too, removed her armor and reverted back to filly form.

"Magic armor?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Eeyep," Silver replied, even discarding her glasses because of their lack of lenses. "And a bunch of other dreams come true... if it weren't for you guys."

"Here we go..." Scootaloo remarked.

"My father has stalk in FIST," Silver said, disdainfully continuing anyway. "When Blueblood went... loopy and you guys took him down, we knew it was only a matter of time before we were next." Stalk is the pony-equivalent to stock, or shares of interest in a company. The Stalk Market was essentially the same as the one on Earth- a delicate system of entrepreneurship based on investment, risk and reward. It was no secret that the crisis that had befallen Equestria had a significant impact on the economy, but like the country itself, it was beginning to bounce back.

Like Earth, Equestria's economy was driven by that one most cherished and inexhaustible resources: hope. Although Dan and company had only paid passing attention to stalk prices or the investors and businesses they represented, Dan's constant buying and direction toward upgrading and building things had helped rebuild the economy. Unfortunately, not every company had benefited, including the one Dan was vehemently against. Facing bad publicity, a lack of investors and the declining market, Future Integrations Stable-Tec had sought the only financial option left to them: the black market.

"So that's what all this junk is for?" Sweetie Belle asked. "You're planning on selling all of this?"

Scootaloo sighed heavily. "As if you two aren't rich enough already."

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon exchanged a glance. "Bfff-ahahaha!"

"Oh, they just don't get it, do they?"

"Nnnope."

"Why do you guys need more money?" Blast Fuse asked.

"Because FIST is in the process of being nationalized," Springer answered for them. "Assets are being seized, business shutdown. And there's not much we can do about it," she said. She glanced at Scootaloo. Secretly, Springer was more than just a fangirl; she was a character in a Fallout: Equestria story. Like Colress and the plethora of weapons around them, she had been summoned from a work of fiction tied to a parallel universe to fight on the Director's behalf.

"Wait a minute," Phoenix stopped her, "Who is nationalizing FIST?"

"You guys are," Silver Spoon answered.

Phoenix shook his head. "No one's nationalizing FIST. Dan!"

"What?"

"Are we nationalizing FIST?"

"Natio-what?" Dan turned. "Oh, like... taking over the business stuff? We can do that?"

"Apparently." (Though I have no idea how.)

"Oh... should we do that?"

The ponies shook their heads. Phoenix was reminded that although they were being used as a corporation trying to take over the world, many ordinary ponies worked for them. They could attack the evil, as they were doing and might be able to take down more if they did nationalize FIST. With Twilight's permission, it might have been possible... but it would mean ponies might get hurt in the process. That was something none of them could condone. "I don't think so, Dan."

"Alright," Dan said, and continued on. Sacrifice in the name of the greater good was sometimes necessary... but it wasn't his decision to make. To force that sacrifice on another, well... Phoenix looked at Lightning Claw. Enough crimes had been made in the name of the greater good. Somehow, he knew the new indigo alicorn understood that with his fixed horn. It was time to heal.

"Okay then," Phoenix agreed with his partner. (Potential crisis averted there, I think.) He turned back to Silver Spoon. "None of us here authorized anything relating to FIST. So clearly, somepony did. I'll ask again- who is nationalizing FIST?"

Before she could answer, something rumbled behind them. One of the submarines seemed to come to life. "Guys, I think we have a winner!" Dan announced. But then another sub started shaking. And another... and another...

"Uh... Dan?"

"This might be a problem."

"You might call it that," Magic Gear VOLCANUS' voice said. "I prefer to call it an upgrade. MUAHAHAHAHAHA!!" The weapons in the room turned in unison to face Dan and the rest of them.

Phoenix swallowed. (Oh great... she has Magneto powers. Where's Chris or Cap when you need them?)

Author's Note:

Speaking of Captain America, you guys want him now or should we wait until Season 2? Remember, if there's something you even remotely want to see happen in this story, it's not an question if, it's a question of when. Only ten episodes left and it's about to be 9. Lemme know in the comments or in a message! Thanks for reading! Next chapter is a minigame.

Option A: Captain America full-inclusion(keep in mind, we also have Khan from Wrath of Khan in the story so again, to reiterate, ANYTHING is possible)
Option B: Cap Cameo-(He's in for the rest of this episode and then makes an exit until season 2)
Option C: No Cap
Option D: Screw it, throw in the entire cast of Marvel Vs. Capcom now instead of waiting until season 3. (Might need some leeway with this one but we can make it work. Believe me, we can.)

Comments

[Traveling Soul]

Great chapter as always

I vote on option A

[LadyLeomon]

Wow, I'm early for a change ... I'm first to review for once ... YAY!!! Not to mention: a new chapter means it's ~Sunday~

And since I'm using the ordinary Google app I am now typing at maximum efficiancy! No more late reviews from this Pegasister! Now lemme see here *dons reading specs*:

Ah so Marksaline was with Colress, the CMC, Lightning Claw (so glad he is still un-brainwashed!) and the formerly(?) evil fillies-oh and those two from FIST who were nearly sacrificed! Right-o then!

Urgh, another video game rule: place is about to be blown higher than Dan's blood pressure and yet they find time to make chit-chat (I love the chit-chat by the way, but still!) Wait, is she trying to say Dan and Friends are almost ... advocating for FIST?! SACRILIGE! BLASPHEMY! I will have my reveng and I demand restitution (in the form of a Fluffle and Marksaline moment) :twilightangry:

That but at the end though ... No idea why but I'm picturing the final boss of Jak II: Renegade for some reason? Oh well! We'll just need to build something even BIGGER to beat up Bug Bot's bot! Or ... find another super convenient but presently unnoticed weakness to exploit ... Boss Battle Finale Ho!

Now for my favourite quotes:

"Stable-Tec would like to remind you that removal of the thermo-arcanic reactor core may cause catastrophic meltdown when not shutdown in safety mode. Please return the thermo-arcanic reactor core to the primary generator housing in the core control room before overload can occur and annihilate the planet. We apologize for any inconvenience. Stable-Tec: A Better Future- Today."

Sooo ... If someone at their place donks up then the world goes boom? ... They at least had the manners to apologise ... I guess

"MY STUFFFF! MY BEAUTIFUL STUFF!!" Diamond Tiara pounded the floor with an errant hoof, distraught.

As a lover of several fandoms and someone with a lot of treasured items I feel your pain and sympathise DT ... but just this one time!

"I've seen him hate something and sympathize with it at the same time," Scootaloo added.

This is true! It's a very difficult mindset to enter: equal parts rage and sympathy, neither one over-powering the other, but Dan can do it! You'll still be punched in the face but still

"And where have you all been?!" Dan asked angrily.

Oh my ... this is a nod to Episode 1 isn't it? Omaigawd that feels like an eternity ago ... Good times! So many good times! Anyone got a tissue? I'm just so happy remembering and knowing I'm still here to read this (in the absence of a happy-cry Pony emoji this is the best I can offer!)

Well, why don't I just find the part of this factory that makes neat packages, so I have something nice to put it in when I finally give a *Special Marksaline Squee*," Dan replied. "She tried to kill me. No hugs."

Yeahhh ... sorry Phoenix I'm with Dan ... though Phoenix makes an acceptable argument (cos it's Phoenix) ... Oh fine! Hug now, beat her up later! I wonder how Marksaline's special *squee* is different than the normal? Oh the possibilities!

This next one was long sorry:

"Group hug." Marksaline's voice was a combination of voices repeated over multiple frequencies; she could be felt as well as heard. She, along with the rest of the ponies and the other human and Pokemon came together in a single, quasi-appropriate embrace.
Dan, at the center of the mass, had one arm aimed towards the ceiling as if he apathetic at being slowly overcome by a snuggle-based horde of unconditional, involuntary love. "I just want you to know, though I like SOME of you, I still hate ALL of you."
"Aww, equally?" Fusey asked.
Dan shook his head, what little of his body he could move. "No, no. I don't even hate you all equally- some I hate a lot more than others. Lightning."
"Don't I feel special."
"Springer."
"Back at ya, biped."
"So can we PLEASE STOP WITH THE HUGGING NOW?!" Dan ripped through the aura and threw everyone off of him. "Fine, we're all friends now and everyone who's ever opposed me or just wants to come can join the JERK."
"JERK?" Sweetie Belle repeated.
"Just Everybody trying to Restore the Kingdom," he drew a line under his shirt's logo. "Speaking of, big bug bot is in here and we have to make sure it's squished. Nicky!"

Aww ... Only Dan can infuse a group hug with his natural rage and yet no one feels threatened! And Dan's right! He doesn't discriminate! He hates us all in some way, shape or form ... Does this mean Dan hates me for being a clingy fan-girl? I feel so loved Also finally finding out what JERK stands for is sooo cool! Even before he came to Equestria Dan was prepping to save the world (in his own way)

Stalk is the pony-equivalent to stock, or shares of interest in a company.

... Don't ask me why but I found this little section hilarious! Applejack's family must be rolling in stock! HAHA!

Somehow, he knew the new indigo alicorn understood that with his fixed horn. It was time to heal.

Wait! *re-reads line* ... I have spent this entire time, since Lightning was introduced, thinking he was a RED lightning pony! And now I find out he is indigo?! I've gone colour-blind! NOOOOOO!!!

"This might be a problem."
"You might call it that. I prefer to call it an upgrade. MUAHAHAHAHAHA!!"
Phoenix swallowed. (Oh great... she has Magneto powers. Where's Chris or Cap when you need them?)

Oh buck me ... Also is Phoenix talking about one his comrades or Dan's? I just had a mental image of Chris running around the battlefield for some reason???

Oooh tough one! Hmm ... I vote for Option B! Maybe someone (Dan or Phoenix cos ... humans) can channel the spirit of Cap for the finishing blow (like PewDiePie channels the power of his fans at the end of Legend of the BroFist), if Phoenix does it I'd imagine Cap giving him a pep talk about having the strength of fortitude to stand his ground against any injustice or if Dan I imagine him telling Cap to shut up already and give him the boost ... Sorry Cap I couldn't resist! Whatever you do next I really can't wait and will look forward to it!

Like always thank you for making my Sunday, this week has gone okay and reading this made my weekend even better!

Awesome as always and I'll see you ~next time~

Your Eternal Fan ^_^

[Booster Spice]

Lets see, all we need now is for Volcanos to use its computer power to distribute itself accross all the computational logic available, making it unkillable, but then someone points out that means that it has included itself into at least One device that run Windows, which means little girl with laptop can just walk right past all its security and go full Pinkie on its internal coding.

Bark like a little puppy.

I didnt think I was still allowed to vote, what with that problem with getting the Vote button cnfused with The Big Red Button, and having to reenter the four million digit seed value for the universe by hand and Im not sure if I got it exactly the same given the value written as backup depends on the seed for its generation.

[Dustchu]

Oooohohohoho this is good shit! Hahahaha, glorious work you guys!

And Marvel VS Capcom? I am sorely tempted to say yeah to that one, if only for the potential inclusion of Albert Wesker, Chris Redfield, and some other RE favorites.

Keep it up man, this is going awesomely

[Razzy]

Welcome to die!

Hmm... I vote option A.

[The REAL Mister Pkmn]

Option B! I don't think full integration is wise at this point. Nevertheless, I hope to see you do him justice. I wonder how his entrance will go?

[proto20]

D
Because I'm curious on how you'll pull it off.
Especially with Deadpool, Rocket Raccoon, and Viewtiful Joe.

If not, oh well.

[Barrobroadcaster]

8377017
8377329
8377809
8378570
8377072
8377181
So we have 2 so far for Option A- Captain America Arrives, one for Option B- Cap's Appearance and one for Option D- Early introduction to the Golden Archive. We also have two on the fence- Dustchu again and Booster. Yes, you can vote, Booster. Seriously, we have a hard enough time understanding what you say already, don't make it harder on us. We love ya, buddy. You can vote on anything here.

Voting is going to close on Friday this week, just fyi. Also, we're going to be using the MCU Captain America because the comic book and game iterations are just wayyyyyy too hammy and the movie variant will be a lot more fun to integrate. So he'll be adapted MvC/MCU. It'll be good.

[Barrobroadcaster]

8377042
Your comments make my week about every week. And Phoenix was talking about Chris Redfield, one of his own comrades. Chris himself is... well, with Elise at the moment. Can't say where.

[Dustchu]

8379353
Ehh fuck it, I'll go with option A, as much as I'd love some epic references to Resident Evil (One of my most fav game franchises ever) I don't wanna end up causing you guys to get overwhelmed including it all.

[Booster Spice]

8379353

Ah, OK.

I vote Deadpool, if only between him and Pinkie and the Librarian, the Director is outnumberd.

Personally, I blame the Luggage.

[Barrobroadcaster]

8379560
Booster, it's Captain America we're on. We're gonna have Deadpool and Rocket and everybody in here eventually but right now, it's whether or not we get Cap. Short for Captain America. There's a reason we're going with him first- it's because he's one of the most in different types of media. The voting is whether or not you want to see Captain America now as a full-time character, whether or not you want him to only be in for the rest of this episode and then departs for a while, whether you don't want to see him yet in this season or whether you want the entire cast of Marvel Vs. Capcom in its entirety, including DLCs and all versions, right now. Because we can do it all.

[Booster Spice]

8379600

Ahhh.. the movies are confusing, but given he keeps being put on ice, Id say have him be here, that indistructable shield should be good for something, then maybe take a wrong tun and end up in Johneses fridge when something violent explodes?

[howard035]

I can never get enough adorable pony hugs, even in the face of overwhelming danger.

[Psyco Josho]

I like Option D. Mainly because it will probably put the Hunter from Monster Hunter in it.

I really wanna see Monster Hunter in this story. Mainly the Felynes.