Dan Vs. The Magic of Friendship(Season 1)

by Barrobroadcaster

Lightning's Clause

"Uh, Dan?" Twilight asked the triumphant Dan as he stood in the hatchway of the Flutterbird.

"Yes, Twilight?"

"Are you sure you know how to fly that thing?"

Dan smirked. "How hard can it be?"

Approximately four minutes later, at the scene of the crash, Dan and company learned exactly how hard it was to efficiently pilot the Enclave FB-06 Flutterbird: very. Fortunately, despite having crashed the aircraft, the Flutterbird was still in nearly-perfect working condition. Unfortunately, the same could not be said of the roof of the Wubway where the chopper landed. Vinyl and Octavia's music store once again had been partially obliterated, though the two mares had apparently taken the day off. After getting out of the craft, Dan and company learned how hard it was to remove an Enclave FB-06 Flutterbird from a destroyed building: very.

"I really hope their insurance covers this," Twilight said, remarking on the state of the Wubway.

"They'll be fine," Dan reassured her in a tone that informed her that he wasn't sure/didn't care.

"At least the Flutterbird looks intact," Phoenix said, climbing out of the craft.

"Maybe you shouldn't have KO'd those two pilots…," Chrys said, following Phoenix.

"Flying in this thing is creepy enough," Dan retorted. "Flying on the bad guy's terms, even worse. Let's go to the aerodrome. We'll rent a… blimp or something," the human grumbled, defeated.

"Why not flying on your own terms?" The door jingled as a figure entered.

"You again," Dan balled his fists. He then grinned as an idea came to him. "You know what? You might want to stick around. As a representative of FIST, you can explain to Vinyl and Octavia why one of your helicopters crashed through their ceiling."

Lightning Claw rolled his eyes. "Fine, if you don't want my help-"

"No, wait," Phoenix, followed by Twilight, stopped the young alicorn. "What do you mean by flying on our own terms?"

"Why are you asking him?" Dan accused. "He WORKS for Vice Grip, remember?"

Lightning shrugged, looking down and away. "It doesn't feel like it lately. But it's not like I have a choice."

Twilight approached him. "What did you mean when you said you could help us? Can you fly us to the Crystal Empire?"

Lightning nodded. "I can, actually. I can even help you wreck Vice Grip."

"Why would you help us?" Dan asked, his voice rife with hostility. "You're working with FIST, building all those crazy gadgets WITH Vice Grip. Why would you betray him?"

"Because I never really worked for Vice Grip," Lightning said. The statement shocked all of them, even Dan.

"What do you mean?"

Lightning stepped inside the building fully, walking up to the Flutterbird. He stopped just short of the logo that read FIST. "When I got fired from being Ponyville's weather manager, I was distraught. I couldn't get another job, I couldn't do anything because of this stupid horn. But then, this pony calling himself the Director showed up and offered me a position in FIST. He introduced me to Vice Grip, told me I was supposed to help him. But I never really understood how he wanted me to help him."

"Who's the director?" Twilight asked, puzzled.

Lightning shook his head. "I don't know. He just appeared out of nowhere one day. He says he's from Ponyville but… I don't think he's like anything else in Equestria. When Vice told me to attack you in the forest, the Director told me not to hurt you. Any of you, for that matter."

Dan folded his arms. "So, you finally admit that Vice ordered you to kill me?"

The indigo alicorn grinned. "If I wanted to kill you, you'd be dead, Dan. Yes Man was watching us at the time so I had to make it look good," he walked over and patted the human on the back. "If it makes ya feel better, you did make me get desperate."

"Try it again, we'll see what I make of you next time."

"Pass," Lightning smiled over his shoulder. "But I can help you, if you let me."

Chrys, Phoenix and the others looked at each other, considering their options. They all knew what Dan would say… but maybe they didn't. Of all the things that were happening, the changing of roles and how they perceived things, maybe now was the time to start trusting new sources. Making new allies, new friends.

"How?" Chrys asked.

Lightning turned to face them. "Vice trusts me with a lot of stuff. I'm kind of his go-to guy, I guess. And while he sent me to escort your Flutterbird, I was also supposed to look for something while I was here…"

Annoyed, Dan asked, "And what, pray tell, was that?"

"Vice Grip wasn't the only pony Luna contracted to make create a defense system," Lightning said casually.

The jaws of the group collectively dropped. Fluffle Puff's thbbbp was considerably lower in tone to emphasize surprise in her own way.

"You mean… Princess Luna commissioned another group to build a weapon system?" Phoenix asked, fear in his voice. "A weapon… capable of matching the power of a nuclear bomb?"

Lightning nodded.

Twilight was speechless. Chrys was speechless. So many mixed feelings overwhelmed each of them, it was like the wind had been knocked out of them. Chrys' body slumped to the floor.

"It's one of the reasons Vice has been so busy trying to refine Magic Gear," Lightning continued. "Luna contracted some pony in Ponyville to develop a parallel defense program, sort of an anti-Magic Gear."

"P-P-PONYVILLE?!!" Dan repeated. "They're developing a new weapon... RIGHT IN OUR OWN BACKYARD?!!"

"I actually thought you guys knew already," Lightning said. "According to FIST's database, you helped field test it."

"M-me?!!" Dan yelled. "I didn't field test any weapon! Not one that wasn't mine, anyway. Only the ones that I was FORCED to fight to save the town! As usual!!"

Lightning paced a bit. "Vice wasn't worried too much about it anyway. The reports indicate that the weapon's designer canceled the project after losing some kind of contest."

"A… a contest?" Dan repeated, confused. "That's ridiculous!"

"Wait," Twilight held her hoof up. Something just occurred to her. "What kind of a weapon was this? The one that was field tested? Why does Vice want you to get it?"

"It's not complicated, really," Lightning explained. "Magic Gear's invulnerable to just about everything- magic, electricity, computer viruses, extreme weather and temperatures, you name it. It's nearly indestructible but it was still designed to look, behave and act like a pony. A filly."

Dan couldn't help but smile as Lightning described the monstrosities. All the talk about them being invincible machines, perfect defense systems, and he had taken down two of them.

"Magic Gear is still a machine, though, and its components are vulnerable to high-energy harmonic reverberating sound waves, the kind made by amplifiers," Lightning said. "Even putting earmuffs on them doesn't work because the sound waves can travel through surfaces. Once a Gear gets hit by a concentrated pulse of bass, the systems just seem to shutdown… and then, sometimes they start dancing. But either way, it won't respond to commands if-"

"Dan," Twilight said, thinking back. "What if… we already knew this weapon designer?" She turned to him. "What if you tested this weapon without even knowing it?"

"What if it was you who won the contest?" Chrys asked.

Dan stared at the floor. He had already figured it out. "I sabotaged the only thing the Magic Gears are weak against."

Advanced Auditory Amplification Anti-Magic Gear Artillery
Vinyl Scratch's Bass Cannon
Officially Commissioned by Princess Luna

"Okay…" Phoenix said. "We need your help."

Comments

[Booster Spice]

DearDan, if you really want to ramp up the power output of a given sized acoustic transducer, you want to use cell phones. No, not the speakers, the dense wavelength division multiplexing tranciever and the fractal antennas, put two together in beat frequency mode, and even when Gear uses a forcefield and vaccuum to protect against sonic attacks, the RF beat cuases acustic generation in the hull or any deeper conductive materials.

Just a problem I had to solve years ago.

then again, I wasnt working with matter. I was working with plasma.

[Warrior Kitten]

'Claw, dafuq you doin'?

As Vice says:

Have you been taking your medication?

[Dustchu]

Oooohohoho, he sabotaged the only thing that could beat em Dx
Oh Danny boy... I feel bad for ya.

Nice chapter!

[LadyLeomon]

Say what?! Vinyl's canon can save the day?! All praises to Vinyl and her degree in Wubology!

Not too sure about this Lightning guy ... but anyone who loves Pokemon can't be a really bad guy (an anti-hero at best)! Now I command thee: Dan, Phoenix, Chrysalis, Lady Fluffington and company ... kick Vice Grip's ass!

[Razzy]

Way to fuck it up, Dan!