Digimon Saga: CTRL-ALT-DELETE

Chapters

01: What's a Digimon?
02: Why are you following me?
03: Why should I help?!
04: Do you want to be my friend too?
05: Can I trust you?
06: What does it mean to be strong?
07: Who's the woman in white?
08: How far will you go?
09: Are we a team now?
10: Why can't I love you?!
11: You really do care, don't you?
12: Why can't I just have it all?

01: What's a Digimon?

Author's Note

Premiering because A) I need to post something for this Month, and this was one of the only things that was ready, and B) Digimon. I love it. Hope you enjoy it!

Please support my Patreon!

01: What's a Digimon?

Theme Song: With the Wind

01: What's a Digimon?

So, do you have it?_

Well… funny thing_

Goddamn it Cipher! I can't proceed without that address!_

Whoa whoa! Hold on Zero! I have something that might be even better._

😒 Alright. I'm listening._

While snooping around for dirt on Umbra corp. I found information about something called “Yggdrasil”._

Yggdrasil? What, like the world tree?_

Dunno._

But all information on it was encrypted. I couldn't get in._

Noob._

I bet I could get in easily._

Figured you'd say that._

Want the IP address? I know it's not what you were hoping for, but…_

It's a waste in your hands anyway. Let me take a crack at it._

I'll send it to you in an email._

Good luck, Zero._

Not like I'll need it, LOL._

It only took a few seconds, but eventually she heard a notification on her phone. She checked it, pleased to see an IP address for the dark net. She smirked and typed the IP into the computer she used for her hacking. She made it so this computer couldn't be tracked by anyone, so it was perfect for snooping around areas she didn't need to be.

After pushing enter, she waited for a few minutes until the page loaded. Just like Cipher said, it was encrypted. She first tried breaking through it the easy way, which naturally didn't work.

“Okay, so I'm just going to have to try breaking through the window,” she said, immediately getting to work. A few more attempts and she was able to break through, which lead to a very strange looking site. It looked mostly blank, but there was an odd pixel like monster as the logo.

“What the hell?” Zero asked, grabbing a stick of strawberry pocky. She chewed on it as she explored the site. There wasn't much around, which was odd. Why was this site so protected if there wasn't anything really there?

All she saw was the word “Digimon” over and over.

Looking at clock, she noticed it was already close to 1. She decided to give it a rest today, and get back to work on the virus she spent the last few days working on. Cipher would eventually give her the information on Umbra corp, so she needed to make sure that the virus was ready.

She already proved that she could break through. That was a nice distraction, but it was time to get back to work.

NEW USER CONFIRMED_

CONNECTING TO MAIN TERMINAL_

PREPARING DIGITAL INTERFACE_

USER WILL BE MATCHED WITH DIGIMON PARTNER WITHIN 17 HOURS_

“A new user…?” a girl with a southern accent and hat asked. Behind her, another girl with long purple hair embraced her lovingly.

“Looks like she's desperate to find new knights,” the purple haired girl said, “This is the second one this week.”

“Should she really be gatherin' this many new users though?” the southern girl asked, “We're in the middle of a network crisis here, and with Ophanimon still missin'-”

“She knows what she's doing, Applejack,” the girl behind her said, tightening her embrace, “We do need more help. Right now, we're the only ones left, and Examon is still out of commission. Let's try and trust her.”

The southern girl, Applejack, sighed taking her partner's hand, “I guess. I'm jus' stressed is all. What with the network constantly crashin’, that Tamer runnin’ rampant in the Digital World, an' now the Mother Computer's actin’ weird.”

“We can worry about all of that later, love,” Applejack's partner said, “Look, they've got the right idea. Let's just take a break and enjoy this moment of peace.”

Applejack looked over to the side, seeing two odd creatures sleeping in a nice basket. One creature was a small yellow dinosaur, and the other one was similar but wearing wolf skin and a horn. Based on how close they were lying together, it was obvious that the two creatures were close. Applejack smiled looking at them.

“We sure lucked out, our Digimon bein brothers an' all,” Applejack said, before kissing her partner's hand, “You're right, Rarity. We should get some rest.”

“Mmm, that's my girl.” Rarity said, closing the laptop before them and setting it aside. She then pulled Applejack down onto the bed and lied down next to her, “Whatever happens, we face it together like we always do.”

“Right, together,” Applejack said, “I love ya, Rarity.”

“I love you too, Applejack,” Rarity said. The two girls let their hands meet close, and their pinkie fingers locked together as a symbol of their undying love for one another. Separate, they were only half of what they needed to be. Together though, they were truly whole.

“Fluttershy? Hey, wake up.”

The girl in question gave a heavy yawn as she woke up. She had a super long mane of light pink hair that fell down to her waist and over her shoulders, and was wearing a black tube top, yellow jacket, yellow mini skirt, black stockings, and yellow ankle boots. She was a bit top heavy for her age, and on her head was a pair of goggles.

“Is the teacher calling me…?” Fluttershy asked rubbing her eyes. The girl standing over her sighed.

“Class is over, Fluttershy. You slept through it, again,” she said. This girl had long straight rainbow colored hair, and wore a blue and white t-shirt with a light bolt on it, blue and white sweat jacket, blue jeans, and blue and white sneakers. She was thinner than her half asleep companion, with a more athletic build.

“Good,” Fluttershy said rising up and walking off. The rainbow colored girl ran after her.

“I don't get it,” she said, “You're always sleeping through class. Don't get enough sleep at night?”

“I stay up late,” Fluttershy said curtly, opening her locker and putting her books in her cute pink backpack that was shaped like a butterfly with pink wings.

“Playing video games?” the rainbow colored girl asked, “You know, you do strike me as a gamer,” she turned to open her locker, which was right next to Fluttershy's, “Well, I guess it doesn't matter. I mean, you're still passing, right?”

“I have to go,” Fluttershy said closing her locker and turning to walk off, “See you later, Rainbow Dash.”

“Hey, wait!” Rainbow Dash called out stopping Fluttershy, “So… I know you usually go right home after school, but I was thinking that maybe today we could hang. You don't have any other friends in the school besides me, so you must be bored.”

“I… um…” Fluttershy wanted to say something, but as usual felt lost for words. This wasn't a chat room, so she couldn't delete words that she didn't like before sending them. Once they were out, they were out there.

“No need to thank me,” Rainbow Dash said, closing her locker and putting an arm around Fluttershy, “I always look out for my own.”

“Mmm…” Fluttershy moaned pained. She did have something else to do, but maybe it could wait for a little while.

“Why don't you go out with her for a bit?” a prissy voice said from behind them. They all turned to see a lovely looking young lady with long curly purple hair, wearing a fancy white dress that accentuated her voluptuous figure perfectly and came up high in the front but longer in the back, white fishnet stockings, and white high heels. Unlike Fluttershy, who only wore a touch of lip gloss, this girl wore blue eye shadow and rose red lipstick.

“What do you want, Rarity?” Rainbow Dash asked. Rarity turned her nose to the air.

“That's Miss Rarity to you, Crash,” Rarity taunted, “But I must thank you for befriending Fluttershy here. As the Princess of this school, I won't have any of my subjects making themselves social outcasts.”

“You're the Student Body President, not a Princess,” Rainbow Dash groaned, “And my name is Dash!”

“President, Princess, Dash, Crash, it's all the same to me,” Rarity said, ignoring how red Rainbow Dash's face was getting, “But seriously Fluttershy, you really should open up to your fellow students some more. You can't get by alone in this world forever.”

“What do you care anyway?” Rainbow Dash asked walking up to Rarity with her hands on her hips, “You're only here making rounds so you can fuel your over inflated ego.”

“You're one to talk, Crash,” Rarity said narrowing her eyes with a smirk that was both sensual and sinister, “At least I have a reason to be arrogant. What about you, hm? Any huge achievements you can speak of?”

“I've had plenty of achievements!” Rainbow Dash retaliated, “I mean, there was the soccer game!”

“Which you won by merely a hair,” Rarity pointed out, “And if I recall, you got benched that day.”

“Y-yeah… well there was that video game tournament I entered! I won that!”

“Ooooh, very good!” Rarity said clapping her hands, “You won a tournament playing a computer game! Such a big achievement!” Rainbow Dash growled in frustration as Rarity sauntered past her walking over to Fluttershy, “I do hope you make more friends, dear. You can do so much better than that one over there. Tootles.”

As Rarity walked off, Rainbow Dash tightened her fists.

“That bitch is gonna get slapped so hard in the future!” Rainbow Dash seethed, “Now I really need a milkshake. Let's go, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy wordlessly nodded and followed Rainbow Dash out of the school building. She had no idea why they couldn't get along, but Fluttershy didn't really care that much. Rarity was pretty and all, but she wasn't exactly someone Fluttershy could see as her friend. Honestly, she wasn't even sure that Rainbow Dash was her friend.

Rainbow Dash took them to a place called Sugarcube Corner. This place started small, but became super popular when the owners hired a new waitress named Pinkie Pie. She was always super bubbly and positive, most people claiming that she was a saint or an angel of some sort. Even Fluttershy found it hard not to smile when in her presence.

As they sat down at the table, Fluttershy immediately pulled out her phone checking her bank account. It was looking pretty low, only having 20 dollars left. It was definitely enough today, but she didn't like having less than 50 dollars in at any given point.

“Man, that Rarity really grinds my gears,” Rainbow Dash groaned, “It's like she gets off on throwing me off my game.”

“Mm hm…” Fluttershy said distantly, frowning at the number she saw. She then pulled out a list of names on her phone and began checking it.

“Honestly, I don't see what Applejack sees in that uppity bitch,” Rainbow Dash continued, “I bet she's never worked a day in her life.”

“Mm hm…” Fluttershy said again, settling on Filthy Rich. It had been a while since she used his account.

“Are you even listening to me?” Rainbow Dash asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Only a bit,” Fluttershy said, now pulling out another phone, which she then used to log into Filthy Rich's account. He wouldn't miss a few thousand dollars.

“Why do you have two phones?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Security,” Fluttershy replied. Once she was done, she smiled to herself and opened another app with a check list, checking off the final box, “Hm… I need to toss this one and replace it.”

“What? That one stopped working?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Nope, it still works,” Fluttershy said turning it off and taking the battery out, “That's the problem.”

Rainbow Dash shook her head, “You're weird, you know that? A good weird though. It makes you interesting.”

Fluttershy shrugged and leaned forward resting her arms on the table. At that moment, a pretty and bubbly girl walked over to their table. She had long and curly hot pink hair, and was wearing the standard blue waitress uniform and orange apron of the shop.

“Hey there you guys,” she said, her voice high and chirpy, emphasizing the happy air she gave off, “Sorry I took so long. A bit of a mishap in the kitchen.”

Rainbow Dash laughed, “That's okay, Pinkie Pie. I already know what I'm ordering. I'll have the cheeseburger and fries, and a vanilla milkshake.”

Pinkie Pie quickly jotted all of that down, “Okay… and what about you, love?” Pinkie Pie said, giving Fluttershy a truly genuine smile.

“I… uh… want the chicken fingers… and a strawberry milkshake… I… guess…” Fluttershy said, trailing off and turning away a bit. Pinkie Pie tilted her head a bit, but then smiled and jotted that down.

“Coming right up,” Pinkie Pie said walking off. As they waited, Rainbow Dash's attention turned to what looked like a new report on the TV there. She couldn't hear it, but the headline mentioned “Electronic Device Issues Continue”.

“Guess they still don't know what's going on there, huh?” Rainbow Dash asked, “Geez, makes me worried about my game systems at home,” almost immediately, a breaking news bulletin came up, showing Filthy Rich talking to the police with the headline “Zero strikes again”, “Looks like Filthy Rich's accounts got hacked by Zero.”

“Really?” Fluttershy asked.

“Serves that asshole right,” Rainbow Dash said, “Ever since he became the mayor of Ponyville, the whole town's gone to shits. Besides, not like he's going to miss a few thousand bucks.”

“That how I felt too,” Fluttershy said softly.

“What?” Rainbow Dash asked turning to Fluttershy, who immediately shook her head.

“Nothing,” she said quickly, looking to the side and smiling pridefully to herself. She actually wanted that one to be public, but she didn't expect him to react so quickly. It felt nice that her work was appreciated.

“Here you go,” Pinkie Pie said, coming back with their individual plates, “Hope ya don't mind, but I gave you an order of fries too Fluttershy. On the house, of course.”

“Y-you didn't have too…” Fluttershy said, looking up at Pinkie Pie and blushing a bit. Pinkie Pie giggled.

“There's no need to thank me, Fluttershy,” Pinkie Pie said, “You needed a smile, so I gave you one free of charge.”

That actually did make Fluttershy smile. As Pinkie Pie walked off, Rainbow Dash's eyes followed her.

“She's so nice, isn't she?” Rainbow Dash asked, “She just has this air that makes you want to protect her.”

“Pretty sure that's just you,” Fluttershy said as she began eating. Rainbow Dash's face turned bright red.

“It's not like that, I swear!” Rainbow Dash defended, “I'm pretty sure I'm straight! I just see her as… a little sister, you know?”

“So you have a sister complex,” Fluttershy taunting, taking a sip from her milkshake.

“I do not have a sister complex!” Rainbow Dash retaliated, getting a laugh from Fluttershy, “Geez, why are you so playful all of a sudden?”

“Just in a really good mood,” Fluttershy said. Seeing her work publicly like that always put a smile on her face.

battle theme

Elsewhere in the city, two teenagers were chasing after an unusual signal around the harbor. One was a girl around her age with long straight blond hair, wearing a cowboy hat, blue shirt, brown western styled jacket, black workout gloves, brown pants, and black boots. Next to her was small yellow dinosaur.

“Damn it!” she swore, stopping to look around, “Where is it?!” she pulled out an odd looking red and black electronic device which showed what looked like a holographic compass pointing to her right. She pulled out a cellphone and called her partner, “Rarity, Agumon an' I can't seem to keep up with it. Any luck on your end?”

“I think so,” Rarity said, “Gabumon seems to have an idea of where it-” she cut herself off with a gasp.

“Rarity?! Talk to me! What's goin on over there?!” Applejack asked.

“It's rendering into the Real World!” Rarity cried, “We're close to warehouse 3! We'll try to keep it here!”

“Agumon an' I are on our way!” Applejack said hanging up ad turning to her partner, “Ya ready to go dinosaur crazy, Agumon?”

“Always!” Agumon said with a confident grin. He and Applejack ran off toward warehouse 3, both of them anxious to fight another strong opponent.

Don't hog all the fun, Rarity.

Around warehouse 3, a large red bug monster flew down toward Rarity and her partner digimon to tackle them. Rarity screamed and jumped to the side, shielding her small wolf skin wearing partner.

“Gabumon, attack!” Rarity commanded.

“Yes, Your Highness!” Gabumon shouted. He kicked adorably to his feet and ran forward toward the red bug monster, “PETIT FIRE!” he shouted, shooting a blue fire stream out of his mouth at the bug monster. He used his blast to chase it as it flew around, and then flew back down in an attempt to grab Gabumon with its pincers. Gabumon jumped and rolled out of the way as Rarity rose to her feet, pulling out a small blue and white electronic device.

“Gabumon, hang on!” Rarity cried opening up a holographic keyboard and typing on it, “Altering Program! Speed UP!”

Instantly after she pushed the enter key, Gabumon started moving faster out of the way, creating an after image of himself. He then jumped to the side and fired his Petit Fire attack again, this time hitting the bug right in the face, earning a monstrous scream from the monster.

The red bug monster quickly retaliated shaking his head and then knelt down grabbing Gabumon in its pincers before he could run away.

“GABUMON!” Rarity screamed as the red bug began squeezing her partner. She looked on her small electronic device and pulled up a status screen, seeing a hit point meter for both her friend and the target, identified as “Kuwagamon”. Gabumon's hit point meter was dropping quickly, now in the fifties.

“No!” Rarity fussed, “Applejack, Agumon, hurry!”

Almost on cue, Applejack and Agumon ran to the scene. Upon seeing it, they looked at each other and nodded. Agumon held his clawed hands down, and Applejack stood on them, allowing Agumon to throw her into the air. While airborne, Applejack flipped once, and then reared her arm back, coming down on top of Kuwagamon with a hard punch in the face, actually knocking the red bug monster back and forcing him to release Gabumon.

Rarity ran forward to catch her tiny partner in her arms, “Are you alright, sweetheart?”

“Yes Your Highness, I'm okay,” Gabumon said, tired but still smiling. They both looked forward as Applejack got in a fighting stance and Agumon ran to her side.

“What do ya think Agumon? Is he worth goin’ to the next level?” Applejack asked.

“Please, we can take him out like this,” Agumon said arrogantly, “Gabumon, can you still fight?”

Gabumon jumped down and landed next to Agumon, almost mirroring his fighting stance, “I'm okay! Let's do this brother!”

Kuwagamon charged at them, but Applejack ran ahead and surprisingly grabbed Kuwagamon by the pincers holding it back.

“Don't know how long I can hold it still!” Applejack shouted. Agumon ran past Kuwagamon charging up fire in his mouth.

“BABY FLAME!” he shouted, shooting a small fireball from his mouth at Kuwagamon, apparently seriously hurting the giant bug. Applejack then wrestled it to the ground just as Gabumon ran up to Kuwagamon.

“PETIT FIRE!” he fired his attack right at Kuwagamon's face, causing the red monster to phase in and out as if breaking apart. Applejack stepped back to where Rarity was, and the two of them pulled out the small devices.

“Altering Program! Power UP!!!” both girls shouted at the same time. Both of their tiny partners charged up their attacks at the same time and fired them at the large bug monster, who roared in pain as its entire body broke apart into bits of data, which then flowed into the two digimon.

AGUMON: 25 EXP.

GABUMON: 25 EXP.

end song

“Whoo!” Applejack shouted throwing her arms into the air, “Another virus busted!”

“Honestly, must you be so enthusiastic about combat?” Rarity asked folding her arms, “Data or not, we still just killed someone.”

“I mean, yeah we did,” Applejack said with a shrug, “But they don't feel upset about it, do ya guys?”

“I'm perfectly fine,” Agumon said honestly.

“As long as Her Highness is safe, that's all that matters to me.” Gabumon said with a nod.

“Besides,” Applejack walked over to Rarity, getting in front of Rarity and smirking sensually, “You know ya love that about me.”

Rarity tried so hard to remain frustrated, but seeing Applejack give her that sexy smirk made her immediately melt. So after a few seconds, she smiled.

“Damn you Applejack,” Rarity said. She and Applejack kissed tenderly holding onto one another.

“Yeah! Whoo!” Agumon cheered, “Rock on!”

“Go go go!” Gabumon cheered. The two teens shot their partners bemused expressions, making the two small creatures laugh.

“Why don't we take this to a more private location?” Rarity asked.

“Is that an invitation to your place?” Applejack asked. Rarity leaned forward rubbing her nose against Applejack's.

“If you want it to be,” Rarity said. Applejack and Rarity walked out of the harbor area together, Applejack with her arm wrapped around Rarity, and Rarity leaning into Applejack. Their partners walked behind them, laughing and playing as they walked.

Times like this made all of them feel like a true family.

“Daddy, I'm home,” Fluttershy called out as she entered her two story house.

“I'm in here, Fluttershy,” a gentle voice called out. Fluttershy went into the kitchen, where her father, Cyrus, was washing dishes. Fluttershy smiled and walked over to her father and hugged him tightly from behind.

“How's my little girl doing?” Cyrus asked.

“Fine,” Fluttershy said softly, “I hung out with Rainbow Dash after school.”

“That's wonderful,” Cyrus said, genuinely elated, “Did you have fun?”

“It wasn't anything special,” Fluttershy said, still holding onto her father, but now leaning against him and looking to the side somberly, “I don't enjoy being around people.”

Cyrus sighed patting Fluttershy's hand, “Your Mother wouldn't want you to close yourself off like this.”

Fluttershy tightened her embrace as a response. From where she was, a picture of Fluttershy with a woman with cute glasses and short red hair was visible. Seeing that picture always made Fluttershy want to cry.

“Mommy…”

Cyrus turned around and hugged Fluttershy, “I know you're still having a rough time, but this was a good first step. That Rainbow Dash seems like a nice girl. You should spend more time with her.”

“Maybe,” Fluttershy said lightly pulling out of her father's embrace, “I'm heading to my room. Call me when dinner is ready.”

“Sure,” Cyrus said, watching Fluttershy leave with a depressed expression. When she was little, she was much happier. Still introverted, but in a more cheerful way. She always liked computers, and wanted to be a programmer just like her mother.

But then “the accident” happened, and Fluttershy's whole world turned dark.

In response, she took to the dark side of the network as well. She taught herself how to access the “dark net”, and learned how to become a hacker. In only a few short years, she became a master hacker, able to get into even the most dangerous accounts. No one knew why, but she had a personal reason for wanting to become a hacker.

After all, she knew her mother's death wasn't an accident.

She walked toward the steps, she noticed her younger brother, Zephyr Breeze, lying on the couch playing his Nintendo 3DS. He looked up from his game system as she walked past the couch.

“Were you on a date or something?” Zephyr asked.

“None of your business,” Fluttershy said curtly, “You didn't go into my room at all, did you?”

“Nope, your sanctuary is perfectly safe,” Zephyr said jovially, “Not that it couldn't stand to have a little more of my “zen” in there?”

Fluttershy gave Zephyr a bemused expression, “My room is “zen” enough. It doesn't need any of your freaky pseudoscience practices mucking it up.”

“It's called Spirit Science, Flutter Butter,” Zephyr said, “It's about combining modern sciences with the magical teachings of old. Maybe you could look into it yourself. It might help you feel more at peace.”

“Thanks, but no thanks,” Fluttershy said, “I only believe in things I can understand with my own two eyes, and my computer. Keep your magic to yourself.”

“It's not “magic”! It's Spirit Science!” Zephyr called out as Fluttershy walked up the stairs to her room. She had to walk past Zephyr's room on the way, which as usual smelled of incense. Thankfully this one wouldn't irritate her nose, so she could still focus on her work.

On the other hand, her room was what you'd expect from a computer hacker's bedroom. It was dark from the blinds being down, had a nice bed off to the right side, and on the left was a desk with a complicated looking computer and a few bags of pocky sticks still unopened. She also had a dresser and mirror, with a bit of makeup and girly things so she could get dolled up if she wanted to.

Fluttershy closed and locked her door, and then walked over to the computer, dropping her backpack and throwing off her yellow jacket on the way.

“Alright, let's see if Cipher managed to get the actual IP address,” she said sitting down at her desk. She logged into the chat room she and Cipher always met on, immediately getting a post from Cipher.

Hey Zero!_

So… Filthy Rich huh?_

Fluttershy couldn't help herself. She laughed seeing that before typing her response.

He's an asshole with too much money anyway._

He can afford to buy me some new shoes._

She saw the notification letting her know that Cipher was typing, and his response came a few seconds later.

LOL you'll never change Zero._

But that's my favorite thing about you honestly._

It was no secret that Cipher really liked her. At least, he liked “Zero”. He had no idea who she was, and the only thing she had bothered sharing was that she was a girl. What resulted was an odd relationship between the two of them. One where neither one knew the other's true name or what they looked like, yet it was oddly romantic. She did sometimes imagine what Cipher looked like. He had been by her side ever since she became a hacker, and helped her temper her skills.

In her own odd way, she did love Cipher. She knew she could tell him anything.

So… you know what I'm here for, right?_

Fluttershy leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs, waiting for Cipher to finish his response. After a few seconds, he replied.

Got the IP address here, along with the information you wanted._

Zero, I have to tell you, this system is dangerous._

We're talking top notch security designed to locate a hacker the second they enter._

“Shit…” Fluttershy said biting her thumb, “I guess I just have to rely on the virus then.”

Then we have to first take down their security._

I have a virus that I've been cooking just for this._

She was about to say something else, but saw Cipher was going to reply, so she waited. She didn't want to be rude after all.

Hmm… that's good, but it would need to be powerful to shut down their entire security system._

“That's true,” Fluttershy said to herself thoughtfully, “As it is now, it might not be strong enough. Damn it.”

*sighs* You're right._

I need a way of upgrading the virus._

As is, it might not be effective enough._

Just as she was starting to get discouraged, she saw a reply from Cipher.

We'll get in there, Zero._

I know we'll figure out what happened to your mother._

This is just a minor setback. Happens all the time in our bizz._

Yeah, that was true. This wasn't the first time they had to scrap a project or put it on hold because it was too dangerous. That was the reason neither one of them were in jail yet.

That being said…_

What was in that IP address I gave you last night?_

Oh right! She had almost forgotten about that. There wasn't too much there though, which was still really odd.

All I saw was a blank page that might have been a chat room, and a logo that said “Digimon”._

Immediately Cipher replied, surprising Fluttershy a bit.

Digimon?_

Are you sure it said Digimon?_

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow and began typing her reply slowly.

Yeah… pretty sure._

Why?_

Fluttershy's heart was racing as she saw Cipher's reply.

Well… I heard stories about an incident in Japan a few years back._

It was centered around a massive network crash that originated there._

You remember that, right?_

Actually, she did remember that. Since she and Cipher were both in America, they were safe. But from what she heard, Japan was all but completely shut down during that period.

I remember that._

We went on a virtual date that day laughing at all the people freaking out._

This time, when Cipher replied, Fluttershy's heart leaped out of her chest.

I looked into that some more after our date._

The word “Digimon” kept being mentioned._

Along with what happened to be monster sightings._

Hold on… MONSTERS?! Surly Cipher was pulling her leg, right? But wait, she did hear something about monster attacks in Tokyo, but those were just rumors. At least, she thought those were just rumors.

I'm not too sure I believe in monsters._

But._

That is an odd coincidence._

But the sight was empty._

As she waited for Cipher's reply, she thought about her luck. She might have just stumbled onto something even bigger than uncovering Umbra corp.'s secrets.

Yeah, why would an empty sight be encrypted like that?_

Zero, something about this doesn't add up._

You should be careful._

She was going to be careful, but now she wanted to know what “Digimon” meant.

I'm curious about this “Digimon”._

Until I finish my virus and we figure out what to do about Umbra corp., let's tackle this handle._

It looked like Cipher was thinking about that, as he didn't reply right away. But after a second, he started writing his reply.

Alright Zero._

I'll share anything I find out with you._

Talk to you later then?_

Yes, talk to you later, Cipher._

Both of them logged out at that moment, and Fluttershy folded her arms thinking about this. She was ready to disregard that, but it was starting to look like there was more going on with that sight than she thought. She was about to go back to making her virus when something odd came up on her screen.

The Digimon site came up on it's own.

Fluttershy looked at that for a few seconds, but eventually decided to just close it. Scarily though, it opened up on its own right after that. Had she somehow been compromised? But no! She had been careful all this time! She did everything that she always did!

Don't worry._

I'm not here to hurt you._

“What in the world…?” Fluttershy asked, “Who is this?”

Just call me, Yggdrasil._

Whoa whoa whoa! It responded to her? She didn't even type anything yet.

“Um… can you hear me…?” Fluttershy asked.

Yes._

I can see you too._

Fluttershy was really beginning to worry now, and started looking around nervously.

There is no need to be alarmed._

I promise you, I am not a police officer._

“Okay then, who are you?” Fluttershy asked, still feeling brazen as she wasn't seeing this person's face. Still, knowing that they could see hers made her really unnerved.

Someone with an offer._

“An offer? What offer?” Fluttershy asked, “If you're asking me to join some government organization, then you might as well arrest me now. I belong to no one.”

That's not QUITE right._

I'm here to offer you power._

“Offer me… power…?” Fluttershy asked, leaning forward a bit intrigued.

Yes._

The power to change the world._

This was starting to sound like something straight out of a comic book or anime. The power to “change the world”?

“Is this some sort of trick?” Fluttershy asked.

No trick, I assure you._

I normally am more selective of who I give this power to._

But you, Zero, were able to find me on your own._

Find them? She found an empty web page. Did that page belong to someone special? Was this a personal chat room?

So what do you say?_

Would you want the power to change the world?_

She still wasn't even sure if she believed it. Just what was this person talking about? Were they serious about their claim to give her the power to change the world? And if so, would she be able to use it to find what happened to her mother?

If this was related to “Digimon”, then perhaps so.

“You know what? Yes,” Fluttershy said after a few seconds of thought, “Give me this power.”

Very good._

But first, tell me your name._

Your true name._

“It's… Fluttershy,” Fluttershy said reluctantly, “Fluttershy… Brymwood.”

Confirmed._

You've now been registered into my CPU as a new user._

Your Digivice has been prepared, and is being sent now._

Before she could ask what Yggdrasil meant, the screen of her computer glowed brightly. Fluttershy covered her eyes to shield them from the light, which died down a few seconds after she heard a thump on her desk. She looked to see an odd little device. It was white and golden, only about as big as a smartphone, if not smaller, but was much thicker almost like an old handheld game system. It had a square shaped screen that was blank, and three buttons on the bottom of the screen.

“What in the world…?” Fluttershy asked picking up the odd device. The screen came alive, showing a single message.

Render Digimon partner?

Below the message were the options “yes” and “no”, both of them over buttons. Assuming she was supposed to push one to give an answer, she pushed the button under “yes”.

Your Digimon partner will render shortly._

I hope to see you soon, Fluttershy._

With that, the web page turned off on its own, showing what looked like a cluster of data forming on her computer. Said data cluster started absorbing information from her computer, including the virus she was creating.

“Wait wait wait!” Fluttershy panicked, “What are you doing?!” she typed on her computer to try and retrieve it, but it was too late. The virus joined the data cluster, seeming to alter its makeup, as the cluster changed from blue to red. It then converged into what looked like an egg.

Fluttershy looked at the egg confused, but was surprised to see the egg hatch, forming into a small red creature with small red wings on its head. Said creature hopped around on the screen, and then turned to look at Fluttershy. It then jumped for joy and glowed again, causing her screen to glow brightly yet again. This time however, the device in her hand started glowing as well.

ACCESS

Fluttershy looked through her fingers just a bit to see something prepared to fly out of her screen. She shot up from her seat and backed away, just in time as something did fly out of her screen.

It was a creature.

Said creature was pretty big, around four feet tall, and was shaped like a dinosaur or wingless dragon. It was red with black stripes, and had a white underbelly with the symbol of her “digital hazard” virus on it, large clawed hands, and a super long tail that looked like it could knock things over with ease. On its head were the same wing like appendages that were on the creature on her computer before.

And it was breathing too.

As the light died down, Fluttershy looked at the creature with wide eyes, breathing heavier and heavier by the second. Her heart threatened to jump out of her chest though as she saw the creature stir and slowly rise to a sitting position. It yawned, and then opened its yellow eyes, looking right at Fluttershy.

Both she and the creature were deathly silent for the longest few seconds, but eventually the creature raised its “hand”.

“Hi!” it said cheerfully, in a voice that made it sound almost like a child. At that moment, something within Fluttershy snapped, and she did the first thing that came to mind.

She screamed at the top of her lungs.

02: Why are you following me?

Theme Song: With the Wind

02: Why are you following me?

“Fluttershy, it's time to wake up honey,” Cyrus said from outside her door. As always, Fluttershy was buried under her covers, trying to hold onto the last few minutes of sleep she could get. But when the sun was beating on her face, that became very hard to do.

“Hey, that smells good!” a kid's voice said next to her, “Is Dad making more really tasty food?”

“Mmm… probably…” Fluttershy said, “But it's not going to be the same-” her eyes shot open when she realized that she recognized that voice. She shot up, coming face to face with the red dinosaur/dragon from earlier.

“Morning Fluttershy!” the red dinosaur said cheerfully. Fluttershy's breathing became increasingly heavy, as the realization of what this meant hit her.

Cyrus was fixing breakfast in the kitchen, when he heard a shrill scream from upstairs.

“At least she's up now,” he sighed, setting up the plates for breakfast, this time four instead of the usual three.

Fluttershy backed up against a corner of her room with a panicked expression, looking up at the monster before her.

“Oh no!” Fluttershy said, shaking her head, almost hyperventilating, “No no no no! Y-you're supposed to be a hallucination! Those disappear!”

The red dinosaur looked at himself up and down, poking his stomach, “Nope. Looks like I'm still here.”

“Ooooh! I know! I'm still dreaming!” Fluttershy reasoned, “That has to be it!”

The red dinosaur tilted his head with a raised eyebrow, “Um, but don't you have to be asleep in order to be dreaming?”

“But that's just it!” Fluttershy said, with an almost manic look on her face, “I am still asleep! This is all just in my head!” she laughed loudly, “Go on! Pinch me in the arm! That will wake me up!”

Fluttershy held out her arm with a truly proud expression on her face. The red dinosaur monster looked at her hand and sniffed it a bit. He then looked at his clawed hands, unsure if he could actually pinch her with how they were built. He then shrugged, opened his mouth, and-

Zephyr Breeze walked past Fluttershy's room, shocked by the shrill scream of pain that shot out.

“You're going to disturb the neighbors with all that screaming,” Zephyr said from outside, before continuing his trek downstairs.

“I told you to pinch me, not bite me!” Fluttershy cried, nursing her sore hand. The red dinosaur rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

“Sorry Fluttershy,” he said with an embarrassed smile, “I still don't know how strong I am.”

“How do you even know my name?” Fluttershy asked.

“Don't you remember?” he said walking back to her desk and grabbing something, “I was made specifically for you. You registered your name onto the Digimon website, and you were given a Digivice along with me, your Digimon partner.”

The red dinosaur, identified as a Digimon, handed Fluttershy a small white and golden machine with a small screen. Right, she remembered that. It came out of her computer, right before…

“You're my, Digimon partner?” Fluttershy asked looking up at the red Digimon, who smiled cheerfully.

“Yep yep! My name's Guilmon!” he said, “Even though we technically met yesterday, nice to meet ya!”

“Guilmon…” Fluttershy said taking the red device. Now she remembered everything. The device, the strange egg that formed from her computer's data. Including…

“You…” Fluttershy continued looking down and trembling, “You… took my VIRUS!!!”

“Eh?!” Guilmon asked, stepping back. Fluttershy shot up and grabbed Guilmon, grabbing him in a painful looking lock.

“Give it back!” Fluttershy demanded, “Give back my computer virus!”

“What are you talking about?!” Guilmon asked, grunting in pain.

“The computer virus you stole from me?!” Fluttershy shouted, “It took me months to make that virus!”

“How's that my problem?!” Guilmon argued.

“How's it your problem?! You took it from me! Where are you keeping it?!”

“Will… you… let… GO OF ME ALREADY?!” Guilmon shouted, wrestling himself free from the lock and knocking Fluttershy onto the floor, “Geez, you're strong,” he sighed and turned to Fluttershy, “I'm sorry, but I don't know what happened to your virus. What I do know is that I probably used it to take form.”

“You… used my virus to take form…?” Fluttershy asked, still annoyed but more intrigued now.

“We Digimon form through the data around us,” Guilmon said, “If there was a virus present, I probably did use that in order to take form,” he panicked a bit when he heard Fluttershy growl, “But not intentionally, I promise! I was just grabbing any data that I could find to forcibly digivolve.”

“Digivolve…?” Fluttershy asked, “What the heck is that?”

“It's how we Digimon become stronger. We have to be at least at the Rookie level in order to render into the Real World. Normally that takes a few days to a week of development, but that virus probably helped me warp digivolve into my Rookie level.”

Fluttershy sighed pouting, “W-well, I suppose that can't be helped… I mean, you weren't trying to mess me up or anything. Fuck though…” she leaned back looking at the ceiling, “All of the information I used was absorbed too. It's going to take forever to make another one, even with Cipher's help.”

“Don't feel bad,” Guilmon said patting her on the back, “I'll try to help you too. I feel bad knowing that I accidentally took something important.”

She couldn't help herself. She did smile a bit. Guilmon didn't seem like a bad kid at all. Fluttershy wasn't sure what he could do to help, but knowing that he wanted to help did make her feel a little better.

“Thanks, and I'm sorry I yelled at you,” Fluttershy said. She then noticed the symbol on his stomach. Wasn't that…?”

“Aw, it's alright Fluttershy,” Guilmon said with a smile, “Now, can we go downstairs and eat? I'm super hungry.”

“Sure,” Fluttershy said, “Why don't you go down first, and I'll meet you there. I sort of need to put on more than just my underwear.”

“Alright. See ya downstairs,” Guilmon said walking to the door and opening it, “Sorry it took so long Dad! Fluttershy and I were talking!”

Fluttershy rolled her eyes, and then folded her arms thinking about the symbol. That was the symbol she used to represent the Digital Hazard. If what Guilmon said about how he took form was true, then was he…?

Inside the network, a small purple mammal like digimon with small black wings on its back and a red gem on its forehead was looking at a holographic keyboard. After looking at the information it frowned.

“Looks like she gave someone else the power,” the Digimon said, “Twilight, this one formed into a Virus Type.”

Outside, sitting on what appeared to be a mountain, was a beautiful young girl with long straight purple hair with a pink highlight, wearing a black and white gothic dress fashioned like a maid's dress, fishnet stockings, black elegant gloves, and black high heels. For makeup she wore black eyeliner and red lipstick, and in her hands was a black and purple Digivice.

“Why did the Mother Computer willingly create a Virus Type Digimon and give it to a tamer?” the girl asked, “Dorumon, do the records give any hint as to what happened?”

“Sorry Twilight, but no,” Dorumon said, his voice coming from the Digivice, “Actually, according to the records, it was supposed to render into a Vaccine Type.”

“So the registry changed last minute?” Twilight asked, “Okay, come back to me, Dorumon.”

A few seconds after she said that, a green portal opened up behind her, and Dorumon walked out. Twilight sat up and sauntered over to her Digimon partner, who came up to her waist, and pet him on the head. Dorumon nuzzled her hand affectionately and then followed her as she walked off.

“Where are we going?” Dorumon asked.

“To investigate this,” Twilight said, “This tamer could easily become a Demon Lord, and I won't let that happen. If necessary, we'll kill them and delete their Digimon.”

“They could become a Royal Knight though,” Dorumon suggested. Twilight closed her eyes somberly.

“That would be even worse in my opinion,” Twilight said pushing a few buttons on her Digivice, “Let's head to the location where said tamer lives and observe them.”

As she and Dorumon walked, they both broke up into tiny squares and shot up into the sky vanishing.

After eating breakfast, Fluttershy got dressed and walked off to school. As she walked though, she became acutely aware that someone was following her. She stopped and turned around to see Guilmon right behind her.

“What are you doing?” Fluttershy asked.

“Coming to the school with you,” Guilmon said as if it were obvious, “That place sounds like a lot of fun.”

“First off, it's not fun. It's boring, and a waste of time,” Fluttershy said, “Second off, you're not coming with me to school.”

“Aw, why not?” Guilmon asked with the most adorable looking pout.

“Remember how I freaked out when I saw you for the first time?” Fluttershy asked putting her hands on her hips, “The kids at school will all do that when they see you.”

“All I have to do is let them know that I'm a nice, friendly Digimon and they'll like me,” Guilmon said with an assured smile.

“No no no!” Fluttershy pressed, “That won't work, because no one at school's even heard of a Digimon before.”

“But what am I supposed to do while you’re gone?” Guilmon asked.

“I don't know. Maybe play one of Zephyr's video games or something,” she said, “All I know is, it wouldn't be a good idea to-”

“Yoo hoo!” a voice called out suddenly. Fluttershy screamed and immediately pushed Guilmon into a bush and stood in front of him to hide him. Just in time too, as Rarity walked up to her, looking around confused.

“Um… I could have sworn I saw you talking to someone just now,” Rarity said. Fluttershy immediately shook her head without saying a word, “Ah well, this is truly a rare sight. I had no idea you and I lived in the same neighborhood.”

Fluttershy broke eye contact from her and bit her lip nervously. Thing was, she knew that Rarity lived in the same neighborhood, and did her best to avoid seeing her.

“Oh, why don't we walk to school together?” Rarity asked enthusiastically, “Applejack had to go back home last night, so she isn't here to keep me company. Oh pretty please?”

Oooh, Fluttershy wasn't sure to be honest. She was terrified of being around people in real life. As long as she was behind a screen it was okay. She could present herself however she pleased, but face to face meant all of her flaws and emotions were right there on the table.

And talking face to face required eye contact.

“I… uh… um… I mean… I usually… uh…” Fluttershy stuttered.

“Great!” Rarity exclaimed clapping her hands, “Let's be on our way, darling!” she took Fluttershy's hand and continued onward to school, Fluttershy now forced to follow. As they left, Guilmon poked his head out sniffing the air.

“That girl smells like Digimon,” Guilmon said.

The walk to school was exhausting. Not because it was long or anything. Fluttershy took this route all the time. No, the reason she was exhausted was because of her companion. Fluttershy liked walking alone because she could gather her thoughts or just let her mind wander. That was hard right now though because of one major thing about Rarity.

She just.

Kept.

Talking.

It wasn't really anything important either. She just kept going on and on about tiny things that Fluttershy did not care about in the slightest. Shopping, clothes, jewelery, boys, she jumped from one subject to the other one. Fluttershy couldn't get a word in even if she wanted to.

“Oooh, looks like we're here,” Rarity said suddenly, surprising Fluttershy who zoned out.

“Oh, we are…” Fluttershy said softly.

“I do apologize for going on like that, darling,” Rarity said, “Truth is, I was just excited as I've never gotten the chance to talk to you before without Rainbow Crash hovering around.”

Fluttershy tried to say something, but as always second guessed herself and just nodded.

“Since I'm a senior we might not see much of each other in school, but know that the student council office is always open to you,” Rarity said turning to the school, “Oh, and I can't wait to meet your friend, darling.”

The way her eyes gleamed made Fluttershy feel uneasy, and she just stood there watching as Rarity sauntered into the school. Did she see Guilmon earlier and just not say anything? Why was she not afraid then?

“Boy, that girl can talk forever, can't she?”

“Seriously,” Fluttershy said. It took a second for her to register the voice next to her, “Guilmon! What are you doing here?!”

“Don't worry, I wasn't following you,” Guilmon said, “I was following that other girl with you.”

“That does not make it better!” Fluttershy fussed, quickly grabbing Guilmon's arm and running behind a tree, “Why were you following her anyway?!”

“Because she smells like a Digimon,” Guilmon said, confusing Fluttershy.

“She smells like a Digimon? That's probably just her perfume. She sure wears enough of the stuff,” Fluttershy rubbed her arm looking to the side.

“No no, there was another scent underneath the nice fruity one,” Guilmon said, “A human wouldn't be able to tell, but I have a super strong sense of smell. She smelled like a Digimon, which means she probably was with one just a little while ago.”

“So what? You're thinking she's got a Digimon with her too?” Fluttershy asked folding her arms.

“Maybe. We'll have to ask her the next time we see her,” Guilmon said, looking down thoughtfully. Fluttershy waved her arms and shook her head.

“No no no no! I am not talking to her again!” Fluttershy cried.

“But isn't she your friend?” Guilmon asked.

“No she's not! The only friend I have is Cipher!” she looked thoughtful, “Maybe Rainbow Dash counts too, but not by my choice. Other than that, I'm alone.”

Guilmon looked really sad hearing that, “You're alone…?”

“Yes, and I prefer it that way,” Fluttershy said, “Look, just head home, alright? I'll see you later.”

With that, Fluttershy ran off into the school. Hopefully nothing else happened to surprise her.

Unknown to either of them, Applejack was behind another tree watching them. When Fluttershy ran off, she stayed and lingered on Guilmon, who looked down as if thinking to himself.

“That's a new one,” Applejack said pulling out her Digivice to scan him, “Guilmon, huh? Why did the Mother Computer give her a Virus type?”

Deep within the network, another Kuwagamon flew around. When it stopped to look around, a large purple electric blast hit its back and knocked it onto its knees. Behind it, another bug Digimon landed. This one was just as big as Kuwagamon, and similar in build, but it had a single horn on its face looking more like a rhino beetle, and was purple instead of red.

The two Digimon roared loudly at each other and charged at one another, clashing clawed arms. The two of them fought close quarter, slashing and clashing horns in a violent fight as if trying to break one another apart.

Kuwagamon lunged forward to grab the purple bug Digimon with its pincers, but it flew away just in time. It then flew down with its horn charged with electricity and went through the Kuwagamon, instantly deleting it. As it absorbed its data, something red shot through the purple digimon, causing it to roar out in pain.

CAUTION! CORRUPTION LEVEL 16

It's entire body was engulfed in electricity, and it then flew off deeper into the network, now causing more destruction than even the Kuwagamon before.

Once the first half of classes ended, Fluttershy went to her locker to get her lunch and books for the second half. When she closed her locker though, she saw Rainbow Dash leaning against them looking at her suspiciously.

“I saw you and Rarity walking to school together,” she said with a frown.

“It's not what you think,” Fluttershy said curtly, “She latched onto me like a leash.”

Rainbow Dash sighed in relief, “Okay good. So you're not suddenly in her clique or anything.”

“Personally can't stand her,” Fluttershy admitted, “She talks too much.”

“So the rumors are true,” Rainbow Dash said as Fluttershy closed her locker, “Well, I guess it wouldn't matter if you suddenly started hanging out with Rarity. Just don't abandon me, okay?”

Fluttershy wasn't even sure if they were friends yet. She didn't ever say much, nor did they ever outright claim to be friends. As they walked to the cafeteria, they heard a scream from the computer room.

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash ran in to investigate, and saw all of the computers sparking with electricity, one of the students sitting on the floor backing away.

“Hey! What's going on here?!” Dash asked helping the student up.

“The computers are all going haywire!” he cried pointing to the computer he was about to use.

“I just spoke to Lyra!” another student said, “I think it's happening all over the school!”

Fluttershy looked out a window, and saw something odd. It looked like a white fog was building up outside in the school courtyard. Fluttershy ran out of the computer room to investigate, aware of Rainbow Dash calling out to her, but not stopping. She needed to see what was going on out there.

Guilmon, who was still hovering around the school, looked up when he saw the fog forming.

“A Digital Field? That's where Fluttershy is!” Guilmon said. He then looked ahead and saw two other Digimon run into the field: an Agumon and Gabumon.

“I knew there were other Digimon here!” Guilmon said running into the field. Hopefully they had Tamers too, because that field was clearly made by a strong Digimon.

When Fluttershy reached the courtyard, she looked around. Outside it was impossible to see, but inside the fog it was surprisingly clear, almost like the fog was forming an arena of sorts.

“What on earth is this?!” Fluttershy asked frantically. She heard a loud roar above her and looked up, seeing a large monstrous purple bug fly down toward her. She screamed and jumped away right before it hit her, and then backed away from it in fear.

boss theme

“Is this… another Digimon?!” Fluttershy asked. She heard a beeping coming from the Digivice, which she strapped onto her waist. She pulled it out and looked at it, seeing a holographic image of the Digimon before her along with information.

ID: KABUTERIMON

LEVEL: CHAMPION

TYPE: INSECTOID

ATTRIBUTE: VACCINE

The Digimon, identified as Kabuterimon, slowly turned around and walked toward her, its entire body charged with electricity. Fluttershy backed away from it as far as she could until she was backed up against a wall. Kabuterimon hunched over, gathering electricity in its arms, and then spread them out shooting a large electric blast at Fluttershy. Thankfully something ran past and grabbed her, carrying her away.

“Fluttershy, are you okay?!” Guilmon asked setting Fluttershy down.

“G-Guilmon…!” Fluttershy sobbed softly. They both looked as the Kabuterimon roared loudly and then turned to them. Guilmon stood in front of Fluttershy and held out his arms, “W-w-what are you doing?!”

“This! FIREBALL!” he shouted, shooting a large red fireball out of his mouth at Kabuterimon. Said Fireball did very little though, as the Digimon brushed it off and launched it's electric attack at them. This time Guilmon pushed Fluttershy out of the way, taking the attack himself full force and getting knocked back.

“Guilmon!” Fluttershy cried. She then looked down at her Digivice, which showed a bar go down, showing Guilmon's name. Said bar also had numbers on it, that lowered at the same time. Was that Guilmon's life?

Guilmon forced himself to his feet, but then jumped away as Kabuterimon charged at him with its horn. As he ran, he launched more Fireballs at Kabuterimon, who's health was only going down a bit if what Fluttershy was seeing was accurate.

“This is almost like a video game!” Fluttershy said, “Oooh! Guilmon can't beat it like this! What am I going to do?!”

Just as she asked that, something else hit Kabuterimon. Two more blasts; one of them being another fireball, and the other being a stream of blue fire. Fluttershy looked to see two more Digimon firing at Kabuterimon, both of them smaller than Guilmon.

Fluttershy looked at them in surprise, but then felt someone place their hand on her shoulder. She looked and saw Rarity standing behind her, perfectly calm.

“Rarity?” Fluttershy asked.

“Don't worry darling,” Rarity said, “We can beat this.”

Kabuterimon charged at the new combatants, but both Digimon ran in separate directions out of the way, and then ran over to Guilmon to help him up.

“Hey, are you okay, friend?” Agumon asked.

“Y-yeah, thanks,” Guilmon said, “Do you guys have Tamers too?”

“Sure do,” Agumon said smiling proudly, “My bro's Tamer is with yours now, and mine should be coming soon.”

Kabuterimon turned back around to face them, but this time when he charged at them, someone jumped in the way and stopped him.

“Oh my God!” Fluttershy cried, surprised when Rarity laughed.

“Glad you could join us, Applejack,” Rarity said jovially.

“I was jus' scopin’ out the target,” Applejack said through gritted teeth. Fluttershy had so many questions. Like for one, how was that girl holding a Digimon back with her bare hands?!

Applejack threw Kabuterimon to the side and dusted her hands off as everyone gathered around her.

“You two have Digimon too?” Fluttershy asked.

“That's right,” Applejack said, “Mine's Agumon, while Rarity's is Gabumon.”

“Applejack, I don't think they're going to be enough like this,” Rarity said stepping forward, “We might need to push this to the next level.”

“Got it,” Applejack said cracking her knuckles, “Ready to go dinosaur crazy, Agumon?”

Um… what did she ask her partner? And why were both of them smiling like maniacs?

“I'm always ready!” Agumon said with a huge grin. Both of them rushed at Kabuterimon, and Agumon hoisted Applejack into the air. Applejack then flipped in the air, and punched Kabuterimon in the face, causing red energy to form around her hand. Fluttershy turn to Rarity, who just waved her hair to the side and then blue energy gathered in her hand.

“Let's go!” Rarity shouted. Applejack landed next to Rarity, and both of them pulled out their Digivices.

“Pay attention, rookie,” Applejack said to Fluttershy. Both veteran Tamers pulled up holographic keyboards in front of them and typed on them.

“Altering Program! Digivolve!” they both shouted at the same time. They pushed the enter keys on their keyboards, and then sent the energy from their hands into the Digivices, which then shot out into their respective Digimon.

ACCESS

DIGIVOLUTION

“AGUMON DIGIVOLVE TO…!” Agumon shouted, the skin on his body literally tearing off revealing an orange wire frame silhouette of Agumon. As the energy engulfed the wire frame, it changed shape and grew in size, turning into a much larger dinosaur looking monster with three horns and a hard armored head, which then reformed into a monster that almost looked like a larger and older Agumon, “GREYMON!!!”

“GABUMON DIGIVOLVE TO…!” Gabumon shouted, just like his brother his body tearing apart and leaving a light blue/purple wireframe. When he was engulfed in the energy, his body changed shape into a large wolf looking monster, which then reformed into a monster with blue striped fur like what Gabumon always wore, except it was on four legs instead of two. “GARURUMON!!!”

Fluttershy and Guilmon were wide eyed seeing the new forms of their partners. They looked almost as strong as the Kabuterimon before them.

Greymon and Kabuterimon charged at each other pushing each other back. As they held one another in place, Garurumon ran to the side quickly and charged up energy in his mouth.

“FOX FIRE!” he shouted, firing a much larger blue stream out at Kabuterimon, this time doing massive damage.

“Oh my God!” Fluttershy cried, “Guilmon, look at its health!”

She showed Guilmon her Digivice, surprising her partner, “Whoa! These guys are on a whole other level!”

“Hey, let me see that,” Applejack said, briefly taking Fluttershy's Digivice. She typed on the keyboard a bit, and then handed the Digivice back to her, “There, you're in our party now.”

“Um… party…?” Fluttershy asked.

“It's so you can get experience points from this fight,” Applejack said with a cocky smirk, “We're about to end this.”

Almost on cue, Greymon charged up fire in his mouth, “MEGA FLAME!” he shouted, shooting a large fireball out of his mouth at Kabuterimon, knocking it far back. The digimon flew into the air, and fired its electric attack at Greymon, but Garurumon jumped in the way and took the attack head on.

At the same time, Rarity screamed in pain and fell to her knees. Fluttershy's heart leaped out her chest when she saw that.

“Rarity!” Applejack cried running to her aid, “Why did ya do that?!”

“You and Greymon's attacks will do the most damage,” Rarity said, smiling at Applejack lovingly, “Don't worry. Garurumon and I are fine, love.”

“Crazy thing,” Applejack lightly scolded, pressing their foreheads together, “It'll be over soon.”

Fluttershy was starting to get a little afraid. Did Rarity actually feel when her Digimon got hurt?

Greymon helped Garurumon up, and the two of them nodded. They both then looked up at Kabuterimon and charged up their attacks at the same time, firing them at the Kabuterimon. The purple bug Digimon caught on fire and fell to the ground, instantly breaking apart as if just made of data. Energy flowed into both Greymon and Garurumon.

GREYMON: 30 EXP

GARURUMON: 30 EXP

Fluttershy looked at Guilmon, who also had energy flowing into him. Before she could ask, she heard a beep from her Digivice.

GUILMON: 30 EXP

LEVEL UP!!!

(end song)

“Hey, I feel stronger,” Guilmon said looking himself over.

“That's because you gained experience,” Rarity said, catching both Guilmon and Fluttershy's attention. Behind her was Garurumon, “Are you okay, love?”

“Um… yes…” Fluttershy said looking away, “But… w-what about you? You were in pain earlier.”

“Please, I'm fine,” Rarity said waving it off, “It was just psychological feedback. It happens once your Digimon enters the higher levels.”

Fluttershy looked around as the mist faded away. At the same time, both Greymon and Garurumon shifted back into their smaller forms.

“Looks like it's time for us to hide,” Agumon said, “Come on, Gabumon.”

“Right,” both Gabumon and Agumon ran over to Guilmon and took his hands, “Come with us.”

“O-okay. See ya Fluttershy!” Guilmon said, being dragged away by the two smaller Digimon. As Fluttershy watched them leave, Rarity patted her on the shoulder.

“Come to the student council office later,” Rarity said, “Applejack and I will answer your questions then.”

Fluttershy wordlessly nodded and watched as Rarity sauntered back into the school. Applejack walked past Fluttershy, intentionally bumping into her, and walked after Rarity. Rainbow Dash pushed through another set of doors and ran out to Fluttershy right as Applejack left.

“There you are!” Rainbow Dash cried, “What happened? Is everything okay?!”

Fluttershy looked at Rainbow Dash, surprised to see how worried she looked. She had no idea that Rainbow Dash cared that much. Fluttershy nodded and then looked down, holding her Digivice in her pocket tightly. This was a lot crazier than she imagined.

“What in the world is that Digimon?” Twilight asked, watching Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash from a rooftop, “I've never seen anything like it before.”

“I think he's like me,” Dorumon said, “An anomaly that the Mother Computer didn't anticipate.”

“We're keeping a close watch on her then,” Twilight said folding her arms, “Regardless of what direction she chooses to take.”

Author's Note

This is the final episode I have for now, but I'm going to try and have this story update weekly like Code Lyoko EG. Expect updates around Thursday or Friday.

03: Why should I help?!

Theme Song: With the Wind

03: Why should I help?!

“Sir, the anomaly has been taken care of,” a woman behind a computer said. She had really long black hair.

“It looks like three unidentified Digimon appeared and took care of it,” another woman with short neon blue hair said next to her, “I think two of them Digivolved on their own.”

“Can we get ID on the Digimon?” a menacing looking man in a black suit asked behind them.

“Negative sir,” the black haired woman said, “They did not appear in our registry. I think they might might have live users.”

“Hmph, more kids playing,” the man said, “Keep watch of the network, and let me know the second another anomaly shows up.”

“Yes, Mr. Sombra,” the two women said at the same time as the man left. Outside of the computer room, the man in the suit folded his arms looking down.

“Those kids have no idea what game they're playing,” he said, “Once our project is completed though, they'll understand the truth of what they're getting themselves into.”

After that strange incident, the teachers decided to end class early. Most of the students were happy to hear this, even though there was still an air of tension around. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash both went to their lockers to pack up, the latter ecstatic about this development.

“Geez, I have no idea what happened, but I'm happy that it did,” Rainbow Dash said closing her locker and turning to Fluttershy, who was frowning at her Digivice, “Hey, what's that thing?”

“O-oh, it's nothing,” Fluttershy said quickly hiding it behind her, “Just… s-something my brother is… um… into and… uh… um…”

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow suspiciously, but then shrugged, “Okay then. Hey, wanna head to the arcade? Now that we got this free day, why not have some fun, you know?”

“Actually, I um… I-I have something… I mean, I p-promised someone that… I w-w-would… um…” Fluttershy trailed off, looking away nervously. Rainbow Dash shook her head with a smile.

“Geez, it's alright, Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash said, “You don't have to be so scared. You have my facebook, so message me if you're free later.”

With that, Rainbow Dash ran off, finally leaving Fluttershy alone. She took a second to breathe out in relief, and then walked off to the student council office. She had no idea why she was going there. She'd run into the same issue she ran into with Rainbow Dash with Rarity and Applejack. Still, she did need to know what was happening. What were “Digimon”, and how did they get Digimon too?

She needed answers, and those two definitely had them. Fluttershy just wished that she could have gotten this information from the internet and not in person.

When she reached the office door, she froze. Suddenly, she couldn't stop trembling. She knew that she needed to do this, as she needed that information, but the thought of going to them directly like this was just…

Fluttershy closed her eyes tightly, feeling a panic attack start to build up. In the internet she was different. She could be brave, assertive, and most of all confident. Out in the real world though, she was none of those things.

“Oh, you came,” Fluttershy heard from down the hall. She looked and saw Rarity walking up to her, “I was just about to head in and wait for you. Applejack and our Digimon should already be inside.”

Fluttershy nodded without saying a word. Had Rarity not shown up when she did, Fluttershy might have just ran off and forgotten about it. Rarity smiled warmly and opened the door, ushering her inside. She didn't seem like a bad person like this. Despite being vain, really vain, Rarity seemed sort of sweet and motherly.

Inside the student council office, she saw a few tables aligned to form a circle with a few chairs, and shelves lined with sort of complicated books. Off to the side, Guilmon, Agumon, and Gabumon sat down talking amongst themselves, and behind the desk right in front of the door sat Applejack, who had a laptop computer in front of her. Oddly, she wasn't doing anything on the computer, and it looked like it was just there to be there.

When they entered, Guilmon looked up at them beaming, “Fluttershy! You came!”

She was surprised when Guilmon ran up to her and hugged her. It wasn't unpleasant, so after a second she did slightly return the gesture.

“Glad ya could join us,” Applejack said with a cocky smirk, “Though, with how long ya stood outside the door, I thought you were gonna run away.”

Wait, she saw her? Well, the door did have a window, even if you couldn't see much out of it. Fluttershy had no idea that someone was inside. Feeling really embarrassed and ashamed, Fluttershy looked away biting her lip.

“She was probably just nervous,” Rarity said walking toward Applejack, “She's rather shy, so perhaps asking her to come here was a bit much. I do apologize for that, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy shook her head smiling a bit. It was a little easier to talk to Rarity than it was to Applejack. At least she felt like Rarity sort of liked her.

“So, is she ready?” Rarity asked Applejack.

“She's been waitin for y'all the whole time,” Applejack said looking at the computer, “Want me to turn on the speakers?” after apparently getting her response, she typed on the laptop for a bit and then turned it around. On the screen showed an odd looking white machine with a red visor.

“GREETINGS, USER FLUTTERSHY. WE SPOKE EARLIER I BELIEVE.”

The voice Fluttershy heard was terrifying. It sounded female mostly, yet she could almost hear multiple voices all at once. The voices sounded somewhat mechanical, and devoid of humanity. Fluttershy slowly walked toward the computer.

“W-who are you…?” Fluttershy asked slowly.

“I AM YGGDRASIL,” the entity on the computer said, “I AM THE MOTHER COMPUTER, AND OVERSEER OF THE DIGITAL WORLD.”

Yggdrasil? That was the name of the person who gave Fluttershy her Digimon and Digivice. Was this who she was talking to?

“I'm sure you're confused,” Rarity said folding her arms, “There's no need to be afraid though. Yggdrasil is benevolent. Think of her as the God in the Digital World.”

“AFFIRMATIVE. PLEASE BE AT EASE, USER FLUTTERSHY,” Yggdrasil said, her tone sounding almost comforting, “MY ONLY DESIRE IS TO ANSWER YOUR INQUIRIES AS TO THE EVENTS FROM TWO HOURS PRIOR TO THIS MOMENT.”

“She scared us too the first time,” Applejack explained, “Don't worry.”

“Y-you called me a “user”,” Fluttershy asked, now relaxing a bit, “Are you referring to my Digimon partner?”

“AFFIRMATIVE. YOU HAVE BEEN REGISTERED INTO MY CPU AS THE USER OF THE DIGITAL MONSTER “GUILMON”.”

“Digital Monster?” Fluttershy asked.

“That's what Digimon stands for,” Rarity explained kneeling down to pet Gabumon on the head, “Though they look real, these little guys are actually made of computer data.”

“But how is that possible?” Fluttershy asked looking at Guilmon confused, “If they're made of data, they shouldn't be able to materialize out here.”

“NEGATIVE,” Yggdrasil said suddenly, “HUMAN DNA AND COMPUTER DATA ARE QUITE SIMILAR IN THEIR COMPOSITION. THE IDEA OF CONVERTING DATA SO THAT IT ACTS LIKE MATTER IS A SIMPLE CONCEPT TO ME.”

“We don't know how she does it either,” Applejack said with a shrug, “But ya saw it, right? That Kabuterimon we fought today disintegrated like it wasn't even there.”

“It did,” Fluttershy said thoughtfully, “After your Digimon attacked it, it just vanished. Almost like it was…”

“Like it was deleted, right?” Applejack asked with a knowing smile. Fluttershy couldn't argue with that logic. Sure, it didn't make sense, but she couldn't refute it.

“I APOLOGIZE IF THIS CONCEPT DOES NOT COMPUTE TO YOU, USER FLUTTERSHY. BUT IT IS JUST AS MY KNIGHT SAID, THE KABUTERIMON YOU FACED BEFORE WAS DELETED.”

“Remember when I said to you back home that I used the data from your computer?” Guilmon asked, “I'm still data.”

“So… does that mean you brought that… bug thing here?” Fluttershy asked folding her arms frowning.

“NEGATIVE. THAT HAPPENED DUE TO THE BARRIER BETWEEN DIMENSIONS WEAKENING.”

“Yggdrasil, may I?” Rarity asked walking over to the computer and typing on it, pulling up what looked like two maps of planet earth side by side, streams of light shooting out between them, “Fluttershy dear, please take a look at this.”

Fluttershy walked forward to take a look at the map, “What is this…?”

“This, darling, is how our worlds are connected,” Rarity explained, “The planet on the left is Earth, and the planet on the right is, well, that's their world,” she pointed to the Digimon.

“The streams of light shooting between the two worlds is what you humans call the Internet,” Agumon said, “That's how we were able to come here.”

“DUE TO REASONS BEYOND MY UNDERSTANDING, THE HUMAN WORLD'S NETWORK HAS BEGUN SHARING INFORMATION WITH THE DIGITAL WORLD,” Yggdrasil explained, “BEFORE, THE DIGITAL WORLD WAS SIMPLE, BUT IT EVOLVED AND BECAME IT'S OWN WORLD. BITS OF DATA BEGAN TO FORM INTO CREATURES AND GAINED SENTIENCE. I TOO, EVOLVED IN THIS MANNER, AND BECAME SIMILAR TO THE DIGIMON.”

“Hence how a computer is able to talk to ya, in case you were wonderin,” Applejack said, “An' no, my laptop ain't Yggdrasil. She exists somewhere in the real world, but we don't know where.”

“It was fine at first,” Gabumon said wilting a bit, “Digimon would be created whenever new information from your world entered the network. But eventually holes within the net began to form, and Digimon started coming into this world.”

“THE DIGIMON THAT ENTER THE HUMAN WORLD ARE INFECTED WITH AN ODD VIRUS OF UNKNOWN ORIGIN,” Yggdrasil explained, “THEY BECOME MORE POWERFUL, AND THEIR DATA BECOMES CORRUPTED, MAKING THEM VIOLENT. IT IS FOR THIS REASON THAT I AM GIVING THE POWER TO TAME DIGIMON TO INDIVIDUAL HUMANS IN THE HOPES THAT THEY WILL BECOME MY ROYAL KNIGHTS.”

“And that, dear, is where we come in,” Rarity said holding out her Digivice, “We were chosen by Yggdrasil to become what we call “Digimon Tamers”. Using these, we can fight infected Digimon with our own Digimon partners.”

“You mean… so your Digimon can fight them?” Fluttershy asked frowning.

“Nope, we fight jus' as hard too,” Applejack said pulling out her Digivice, “Our Digivices allow us to hack into the data of our Digimon, augmentin their abilities. Also, as ya saw earlier, they need our energy to enter their higher states.”

“DIGIMON PHASE INTO ANY OF SIX STATES DEPENDING ON THEIR DEVELOPMENT,” Yggdrasil explained, “THESE STATES ARE THE FOLLOWING: FRESH, IN-TRAINING, ROOKIE, CHAMPION, ULTIMATE, AND MEGA. WHILE DIGIMON ARE ABLE TO ENTER THESE STATES ON THEIR OWN, IT NORMALLY TAKES MUCH MORE DATA, AS SUCH ONLY A FEW DIGIMON ARE ABLE TO ENTER THE HIGHER STATES UNDER NORMAL CIRCUMSTANCES.”

“However, as Yggdrasil pointed out earlier,” Rarity pointed out, closing the map and showing Yggdrasil's “face” again, “human DNA is very similar to the data that make Digimon. As such, the main function of our Digivices is to allow us to transfer aspects of our being into our Digimon, allowing them to instantly shoot into their higher forms while still retaining their sense of self.”

“HOWEVER, THERE IS A BACK DRAW TO THIS. ONE THAT I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO RECTIFY,” Yggdrasil stated, “IN ORDER FOR DIGIMON CONNECTED TO A USER TO DIGIVOLVE INTO THEIR HIGHER FORMS, MORE ASPECTS OF THE USER IS NEEDED. AT LEAST 25 PERCENT FOR CHAMPION, BETWEEN 50 AND 75 PERCENT FOR ULTIMATE, AND NO MORE THAN 100 PERCENT FOR MEGA. BECAUSE OF THIS, THE USER EXPERIENCES A PSYCHOLOGICAL FEEDBACK FROM THEIR DIGIMON FIGHTING. THIS PHENOMENON BECOMES STRONGER AS THE DIGIMON ENTER THEIR HIGHER STATES.”

That was why Rarity screamed in pain when her Digimon got hurt in battle. Those numbers were scary though. She saw what 25 percent looked like, but what would 50 or 75 be like? And what did 100 percent entail?

“This ain't exactly a kid's game,” Applejack said, “We could get seriously hurt doin’ this. Still, as Royal Knights, we got a duty to this world an' the Digital World.”

“What are Royal Knights?” Fluttershy asked, “I think you mentioned those before.”

“ROYAL KNIGHTS ARE SPECIAL TAMERS THAT I DESIGNATE TO BECOME MY PERSONAL DEFENDERS,” Yggdrasil explained, “THE REQUIREMENTS OF A ROYAL KNIGHT ARE STRICT, AND REQUIRE A CERTAIN TYPE OF TAMER TO MANIFEST. SO FAR, ONLY THE USERS APPLEJACK AND RARITY HAVE SHOWN ME THOSE REQUIREMENTS. IT IS FORTUNATE THAT YOU GO TO THE SAME SCHOOL AS USERS APPLEJACK AND RARITY.”

“You… want me to join you?” Fluttershy asked slowly.

“We of course don't wish to force you,” Rarity assured, “But we are short on help. Most of the Royal Knights before us have all been purged due to the reboot 2 years ago.”

Reboot? What did that mean? Wait, two years ago was the network crash in Japan! Was that related to this “reboot”?

“THE LOOK ON YOUR FACE SHOWS THAT YOU ARE AWARE OF THIS INCIDENT,” Yggdrasil pointed out, “I BELIEVE IN THE REAL WORLD, THIS INCIDENT OCCURRED AS A NETWORK CRASH IN THE COUNTRY OF JAPAN. DURING THAT TIME, I HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO REBOOT THE DIGITAL WORLD IN ORDER TO PREVENT A GREAT DESTRUCTIVE FORCE FROM ENTERING THE HUMAN WORLD.”

“Sadly, she fucked up, puttin’ it bluntly,” Applejack said, resting her hands behind her head, “Doin that opened a bunch of rifts here. It also disabled a number of Royal Knights. The only one she was able to salvage was Examon.”

“Sadly he's too large on a network scale to reform,” Rarity explained, “So Yggdrasil has been working overtime to create new Royal Knights.”

“Huh… and the quickest way is for you guys to give Digimon to Tamers so they can become Royal Knights,” Guilmon said thoughtfully, “Alright then. We're in.”

“W-what?!” Fluttershy exclaimed, “Don't just decide for the both of us!”

“Come on, Fluttershy. She really needs help,” Guilmon pressed.

“That's easy for you to say, but you're made to fight!” Fluttershy fussed, “I'm sorry, but the whole me giving my being to fight scares me to death!” she turned to Yggdrasil, “I'm sorry Miss Yggdrasil, but I can't just decide on this right away.”

“THAT IS FINE, USER FLUTTERSHY,” Yggdrasil said, “PLEASE TAKE YOUR TIME IN DECIDING. THE OFFER WILL ALWAYS BE THERE.”

Fluttershy bowed to everyone and rushed out of the student council room, not bothering to say goodbye to anyone or even to check and see if Guilmon was following her. She needed to get away from all of this craziness. Maybe consult with Cipher to get his opinion.

This wasn't something she could decide on the spot like that.

“Well that went about as well as I thought,” Applejack said sitting down once Guilmon and Fluttershy left, “I told y'all she'd be too spooked.”

“I'm not ready to give up on her yet,” Rarity said thoughtfully, “Her Digimon is so different than ours. We should try and get her on our side.”

“IT IS MANDATORY THAT SHE JOIN US,” Yggdrasil said, “THAT DIGIMON COULD BE VERY DANGEROUS IS LEFT TO ITS OWN DEVICES.”

“You talk as if that Digimon is dangerous or somethin,” Applejack said.

“HIGHLY DANGEROUS, USER APPLEJACK. MY SCANS INDICATED A POWERFUL VIRUS LOCATED WITHIN THAT DIGIMON. ONE THAT WILL ONLY GROW AS THE DIGIMON GETS STRONGER.”

“Is that right?” Applejack asked frowning a bit, “Well then, maybe we should have jus' deleted her Digimon when it was here.”

“Or we could continue to try and convince her to join us,” Rarity said, “Her Digimon didn't seem bad. Actually, he seemed sweet.”

“Guilmon is super cool!” Agumon cheered, “Gabumon and I wanna show him our clubhouse!”

“We're not going to fight Guilmon, are we Your Highness?” Gabumon asked.

“No dear, we're not,” Rarity said, shooting Applejack a bit of a look, “He's going to become our friend one way or another. Him and his Tamer.”

Applejack rolled her eyes and looked away. Honestly, sometimes Rarity was just too nice. Still, that was what she loved the most about her. She was everything that Applejack wasn't. So even though she didn't agree, she wasn't going to argue.

Instead, she'd just keep an even closer eye on Fluttershy and her odd Digimon.

“Fluttershy, wait up!” Guilmon cried, running after Fluttershy as she stormed back to her house. He finally caught up to her when they reached her neighborhood, “Fluttershy!”

“What?!” Fluttershy asked turning to Guilmon.

“Don't you want to help those two girls and their Digimon?” Guilmon asked.

“No actually, I don't!” Fluttershy fussed, “They're not my friends or anything! Besides, this whole thing is too crazy for me!”

“Fluttershy, I know this is really scary,” Guilmon said walking over to Fluttershy, “I'm sorry that you had to figure all of this out so quickly. But if what Yggdrasil said is true, then those other girls need all the help they can get.”

“Then why don't you go help them yourself?” Fluttershy asked harshly looking away, “Why do I need to get involved?”

“I can't help them alone, Fluttershy,” Guilmon explained, “I'm your Digimon partner, which means all of my power has to come from you. Without you, all I am is,” he held his arms out, presenting himself, “well… this.”

“Guilmon…”

“You saw how much help I was fighting Kabuterimon,” Guilmon added, “I don't want to have to rely on other Digimon all the time. I want to fight too. I want to become a strong Digimon, and reach my Mega Level so I can protect others. I bet together, we could become Royal Knights like Applejack, Rarity, Agumon, and Gabumon.”

“But I don't want any of that…” Fluttershy said, tears welling up in her eyes, “I just…”

“What do you want then?” Guilmon asked. Fluttershy looked back at Guilmon, surprised by how sincere he looked. He actually cared about her, and wanted to-

“No,” Fluttershy said shaking her head, “Stop that.”

“Stop what?” Guilmon asked, genuinely confused.

“That!” Fluttershy cried, “Looking at me with those eyes! Asking me what's wrong! Stop doing that!”

Guilmon tilted his head frowning, looking even more confused, “You… want me to stop caring…?”

“YES!” Fluttershy screamed, her tears falling freely, “I didn't ask you or anyone to start caring for me! I didn't ask you to even enter my life! If you want to care about someone, then go care about someone else! I don't want any part of it!”

“Fluttershy!” Guilmon cried as Fluttershy ran off. He was shocked. Not mad though. Instead, he was just worried. Why did she close herself off like that?

“You need someone to care for you though…” Guilmon said somberly, “Even if not me, why not those other girls?”

Unknown to either of them, Pinkie Pie stood behind a corner listening to them. She had it all wrong. Fluttershy didn't need a smile. She needed a friend. She placed a hand on her chest, closed her eyes, and surprisingly started crying a bit herself.

“I'm so sorry…” Pinkie Pie sobbed, “I had no idea you were in such pain…”

Thankfully Fluttershy had enough mind to keep the door unlocked for Guilmon, but by the time he made it back in she was already upstairs. Guilmon saw Fluttershy's brother, Zephyr sitting on the couch playing his 3DS again.

“Did you see Fluttershy?” Guilmon asked.

“She rushed upstairs and slammed the door shut,” Zephyr said, never taking his eyes off his game, “She must have been really upset. Then again, she's always like that.”

“Did you talk to her?” Guilmon asked, “Maybe she'll feel better.”

“Ha! Nothing I can do,” Zephyr said, “She's a closed book. No one can get through her angry exterior, and not from lack of trying either. My advice Guilmon? Don't waste the energy. She's determined to stay in that dark place, and you trying to force her out is only going to make things worse for both of you.”

Guilmon frowned at Zephyr. That didn't make any sense to him. Weren't they bother and sister? Siblings looked out for each other, like Agumon and Gabumon. How could Zephyr just leave her like that?

Feeling really frustrated, confused, and depressed, Guilmon trudged into the kitchen and sat down, where Cyrus was already making dinner.

“Hello Guilmon,” Cyrus said, “We're having leftovers from last night. Hope you don't mind.”

“That's okay,” Guilmon sighed resting his head on the table, “I liked the food from yesterday.”

Cyrus turned to Guilmon once he put the food in the oven, “Something wrong, Guilmon?”

“Dad, why is Fluttershy so closed off?” Guilmon asked.

“You and Fluttershy have a fight?” Cyrus asked.

“Something like that. I guess it wasn't really a fight, but she said some things that really didn't make sense. We met some people today who might need help, and Fluttershy can help, but she doesn't want to get involved. She then asked me to stop caring for her. Dad, did I do something wrong?”

“No Guilmon, you didn't,” Cyrus said with a sigh, “She's just… like that sadly.”

“That's what Zephyr said,” Guilmon said pouting, “He told me that there's no point in trying to reach out to her. How can he say that? Is she really that bad off?”

Rather than answer his question outright, Cyrus walked out of the kitchen for a second, going to the shelf where the pictures were. He then came back and placed a portrait down in front of Guilmon.

“What's this?” Guilmon asked taking the picture, “Is that Fluttershy in her In-Training form?”

Cyrus laughed sitting down across from Guilmon, “I guess you could say that. She's six in this picture. The woman holding her is her Mother, Posey.”

“Where is she?” Guilmon asked looking up at Cyrus, “I haven't seen her at all.” The way Cyrus looked away made Guilmon's chest feel funny.

“She's… no longer with us,” Cyrus said sadly, “There was an accident at her job, and she… died.”

Guilmon's eyes widened. He knew what “death” was. It was similar to a Digimon being deleted, only for humans the data couldn't be retrieved to prevent permanent deletion. For humans, death was final.

“Fluttershy was close with her… wasn't she?” Guilmon asked softly.

“She idolized her Mother,” Cyrus said, taking the picture and looking at it fondly, “She was truly a beautiful woman. She wanted to use computers to make the world a better place. Fluttershy dreams of being a programmer just like her. But… after the accident, Fluttershy changed. She closed herself off, and became obsessed with the company that Posey worked for, Umbra Corp. She thinks I don't know, but she started hanging out with seedy people on the internet. There's this notorious hacker over here named Zero, and well, I have my suspicions…”

“So she does have people she talks to?” Guilmon asked.

“I think so, but not “real” people if that makes sense,” Cyrus said, “She doesn't connect with people face to face. Instead she just stays behind her computer, talking to people on chat rooms. I want her to live her life, and I'm not trying to stop her, but…” he set the picture down and took Guilmon's claws earnestly, “Guilmon, I know that you came here for Fluttershy. I believe that if there's anyone who can save her, it's you. So don't stop caring for her. Stay with her, even when she's pushing you away. She needs someone. She needs you.”

Guilmon looked at Cyrus seriously, taking in what he was saying. Maybe he was brought here not just to help fight bad Digimon, but also to help Fluttershy. He nodded, resolving to help her any way he could.

After all, like it or not, she was his partner now. They needed each other.

Once she got in, she rushed into her room and logged into the chat room where she and Cipher talked. It took a few minutes, but he eventually got on. She told him everything about the Digimon, and how her Digimon apparently took her virus in order to take form.

That's a bit of a problem, not gonna lie._

So the question now is… what are we going to do about it?_

Honestly, I don't know WHAT to do about it._

I didn't ask for any of this!_

I don't want to be involved with any of this!_

She felt her eyes watering again, but wiped her tears away trying to force herself not to cry as Cipher typed his response.

I know you're scared, Zero._

But this could work out in our favor._

“What?” Fluttershy asked, reading Cipher's latest post a second time, “How could this work in our favor?”

What the fuck are you talking about, Cipher?_

Well, what if your virus isn't gone at all?_

What if… it just took on a new form?_

Fluttershy narrowed her eyes thinking about what Cipher was saying. She had wrestled with the possibility, but hearing it from another source…

Cipher, are you suggesting…_

That Guilmon IS my virus…?_

It didn't take long for Cipher's response to show up.

Yes._

That's exactly what I'm suggesting._

Fluttershy's heart was racing. That was exactly what she was thinking herself when she saw the symbol on Guilmon's stomach.

I mean, think about it Zero._

Digimon are made of data, right?_

Yeah, that's what I learned today._

Okay, and you said that when he formed, he took the virus and then started changing._

Yeah. He even has the icon I used to represent it on his stomach._

So, putting two and two together would mean…_

“That Guilmon is my Digital Hazard virus,” Fluttershy spoke out loud to herself rather than type it out. This certainly was an odd development. When she made the virus, she hadn't thought of the possibility of it coming to life.

Ugh, why did my virus have to come to life?_

Why did it have to be so goddamn nice?_

She folded her arms pouting as she waited for Cipher's response, which was NOT what she was expecting.

Why is it a bad thing that he's nice?_

That should make it EASIER for you to ask him for help._

Fluttershy's eyes went wide. Cipher understood her position, and why she avoided people. So why was he now telling her to…

I mean… yeah it does…_

But I don't want him to care about me._

It's hard dealing with people right in front of you._

As long as they're in front of a screen, I don't have to feel but so bad if something happens._

Fluttershy couldn't hold in her tears now, as she thought about what she was saying. She knew it was cold, and honestly terrible. But she needed this in order to function.

Zero, what we have is great._

It's wonderful, actually. You're probably my best friend._

Even though we've never seen each other face to face, I truly do love you._

Fluttershy's heart leaped out of her chest. It wasn't the first time they had professed to being so intimate together. They had even had rp sex in the chat room a few times, and in any online game where they could get married, they IMMEDIATELY found each other and got married.

I… I know…_

I love you too, Cipher._

That being said, Zero…_

I can't be the ONLY person in your life that you trust._

What was he saying? He understood her! He knew that she couldn't open up to people!

What do you mean?!_

You're the only person I need!_

The only person I want!_

I don't need anyone else except for you Cipher!_

Do you plan on living the rest of your life in your room or wherever you are right now, Zero?!_

That question made Fluttershy stop and think. It took a few seconds, but eventually Cipher started typing again.

Zero, we've NEVER seen each other's faces._

We don't even know each other's real names._

As far as we know, we could have walked past each other hundreds of times and not even know it._

[i]Maybe we live in the same neighborhood, go to the same shops._

Hell, if you and I are both students, we might go to the same school._

But… we also can't trust each other one hundred percent either._

You could be ANYONE, and so could I._

While us being friends, and having an online romance like we do is fine, until we one day meet in PERSON, this isn't truly real, and you know it._

She did. She hated it, but Cipher was right. I mean, she THOUGHT that Cipher was a guy, as based on the way he spoke in the texts he sounded like a guy, but she had no way of knowing for sure.

Zero, I hope that we can meet in person one day._

I hope that when we meet we're just as close as we are here in the chat room._

But, until then, you need balance._

Guilmon IS the virus you were making. That means in an odd way you KNOW him._

Even if it's just him for now, you need to let other people in, Zero._

Before she could answer him, there was a knock on her door.

“Fluttershy, it's me,” Guilmon said, “I brought us dinner. Dad said it's okay for us to eat here.”

Fluttershy closed her eyes and took a deep breath, “Alright. Give me a sec, okay?” she then typed up her response.

Speak of the devil, he's right outside my door._

That's okay. I need to log out anyway._

Think about what I said, Zero._

I… will._

I love you, Cipher._

I love you too, Zero._

She kissed her fingers and placed them on the screen and then logged out. She then walked over to the door and opened it, seeing Guilmon standing there holding two plates of lasagna.

“You… brought me dinner?” Fluttershy asked.

“Dad said that you liked eating up here when you were upset,” Guilmon said.

Yeah, she did, so she could be alone. Still, she could see that Guilmon was determined to not leave her alone. She sighed and ushered him inside.

“You can sit on the bed and eat if you’re clean,” Fluttershy said curtly. Guilmon handed her a plate and then walked inside. Fluttershy closed and locked the door, and then sat back down at her computer table.

“It's so dark in here,” Guilmon said looking around, “Hey, it's a full moon right now. Let's open the windows.”

Before she could protest, Guilmon set his plate down and walked over to her window. He then grabbed the string for the blinds and pulled it down, opening them to reveal the night sky lit up with a full moon. It was nice, melancholy, and while it did light up the room, it still matched the somber feeling in Fluttershy's heart.

Guilmon walked back to the bed and sat down, took his plate, and smiled at Fluttershy before digging in. Like requested, he did his best to be neat. Fluttershy looked at Guilmon intently for a few seconds and then started eating her food. They were both silent for a few seconds to a minute, with Guilmon eventually breaking the silence.

“I'm sorry about your Mom, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy gasped and turned to Guilmon, who had his eyes closed somberly.

“Daddy… told you…?”

Guilmon nodded, “He said that you used to be happy, and more open, but then she died in an accident. That's why you're so cold now, right?”

“It wasn't an accident!” Fluttershy fussed, instantly calming down she she saw the shocked look on Guilmon's face, “But… yeah. That's why I'm…”

“She'd be really sad if she saw you like this,” Guilmon said softly, “I bet she'd cry.”

“I know she's upset at me,” Fluttershy said, “I'm upset at myself. I know that this isn't right, and that I'm not being fair to anyone. Not Rainbow Dash, not my Dad, not my brother, not Cipher, or… you.”

“If you know, then why are you like this?” Guilmon asked.

“Because I'm scared, okay?!” Fluttershy cried, setting her fork down and hugging herself tightly, “When Mommy died, I was destroyed. I loved her so much, and felt safest when I was with her. When she died, I couldn't take it. I became ill, and couldn't leave my bed for weeks.”

“You're afraid of people getting too close… because you don't want to feel that pain again,” Guilmon said.

“I know it's irrational,” Fluttershy continued, “But when I get in front of people, I just freeze up. And when someone tries to get close to me, I pull away on instinct. There's this girl in my class named Rainbow Dash who's always trying to be my friend. I… try to let her in a bit, but something inside of me keeps pulling away. She doesn't seem to mind, but I know that one day she'll stop trying. Everyone stops trying.”

“I won't stop.”

Fluttershy looked up at Guilmon, who was looking right at her sincerely.

“Guilmon…?”

“I promise, Fluttershy. No matter what, I'll stay by your side. Even if you push me away, I'll be right there.”

“Why…?” Fluttershy asked tearing up, “Why are you always so nice to me? Even after what I said to you earlier?”

“Because we're partners, Fluttershy,” Guilmon said smiling, “Partners look out for each other.”

Guilmon set his plate aside, and walked over to Fluttershy taking her hand into his, giving her the sweetest smile he could. She couldn't hate him. She knew that he was just trying to help her open up. Even though they hadn't known each other long, in a way it was like they knew each other forever.

Fluttershy broke down completely and embraced Guilmon tightly, a gesture that he returned. She was afraid, but she decided to take a chance and let him in.

“Guilmon…”

“Yeah Fluttershy?”

“Help me… find out who killed my mom.”

At night, two drastically different people were having a sparring match. One of them was a teenage girl wearing sweatpants, a tank top, and her long hair tied in a ponytail. The other one was a small figure shaped almost like a mini dragon with large fists. They had almost cartoon like proportions, but what was interesting what that these two were at the same level.

The girl threw a kick, but the tiny figure jumped to the side out of the way and jumped up with an uppercut. The girl did a sudden back flip out of the way and then braced herself as her opponent jumped forward charging at her.

The tiny dragon threw rapid punches and kicks while still in the air, but the girl blocked each and every attack before doing a spin kick knocking her tiny opponent back. Said opponent landed on his back, but then kicked back up to his feet.

The two of them charged at each other at the same time, the dragon jumped up, and the two of them threw punches at the same time, hitting each other's jaws. After a second, both of them fell down onto the ground next to each other and did something shocking.

They laughed.

“Man, talk about a great fight!” Rainbow Dash shouted, “For a little guy, you got real spirit.”

“Told ya so!” her tiny new friend said with a smirk, “I may be small, but these fists got infinite power in them!”

“You're like, one hundred percent pure punch! I love it!” Rainbow Dash cheered before turning to her partner, “Name's Rainbow Dash, by the way.”

“Just call me Veemon,” the tiny dragon said, “Partners?”

“Partners,” Rainbow Dash said, the two of them bumping fists. Rainbow Dash then looked up at the sky, holding up a blue and white Digivice, “Now, how about you start by telling me how to use this thing?”

Author's Note

Hope you guys enjoy this!

Please check out my Patreon!

04: Do you want to be my friend too?

Theme Song: With the Wind

04: Do you want to be my friend too?

It was dark by the time Pinkie Pie got home. Fluttershy's place was a little out of the way, but she didn't mind the walk. Actually, it was a nice way for her to clear her head. She had so many complicated thoughts after seeing Fluttershy. She had no idea how much pain she was in. She even pushed her Digimon partner away.

Although, it looked like they had just met, not like how it was with her Digimon.

“Everyone, I'm home,” Pinkie Pie called out at the door, taking her shoes off.

“Pinkie Pie!” a youthful voice called out. A second later, a tiny dragon like Digimon with a white metallic body and red cape with goggles ran up to her. Pinkie Pie knelt down and hugged him.

“Hey Hackmon. Sorry I'm so late,” Pinkie Pie said.

“It's alright. Maud's already putting the finishing touches on dinner,” Hackmon said with a big smile, “She's in the kitchen setting the plates.”

Hackmon guided Pinkie Pie into the kitchen, where her older sister was setting up a dinner table with three plates of spaghetti.

“Hey Maud!” Pinkie Pie chirped. Maud set the plates down and smiled softly to Pinkie Pie. She didn't talk much, but she was a great legal guardian for Pinkie Pie.

“So, what kept ya anyway?” Hackmon asked sitting at the table and digging into his plate of food.

“I had to make sure a friend was okay,” Pinkie Pie said, hugging her big sister before sitting down at the table herself, “Sorry for not calling ahead of time, you two.”

Maud shook her head, “It's fine, Pinkie Pie. Did they get home safely?”

“Yeah, she did,” Pinkie Pie said, frowning as she thought of how upset Fluttershy was, “But… I think my friend is in a lot of turmoil.”

“Is it a bad Digimon?” Hackmon asked, “I bet I can protect her.”

“Hackmon, you know how Pinkie Pie feels about violence,” Maud lightly scolded, “Besides, I don't think that's the turmoil Pinkie Pie's thinking about.”

“Not… exactly,” Pinkie Pie said, setting her fork down and thinking about what happened at school today. She saw the fight against Kabuterimon, and was really disturbed that it came to the school. At this rate, she wouldn't be able to dodge it.

After dinner, Pinkie Pie took Hackmon up to her room where she shared with him everything that happened today.

“See? What did I tell you?” Hackmon said sitting on Pinkie Pie's bed, “Now that the rift has opened here, more Digimon are going to start attacking this place.”

“What do you want to do, Hackmon?” Pinkie Pie asked, sitting on her bed too and hugging her knees, afraid of his answer.

“I want to fight,” Hackmon said seriously, “I want to become a strong Digimon and protect my family. Both you, Maud, and everyone back home,” he walked over to Pinkie Pie and took her hand, looking at her earnestly, “Please Pinkie Pie, let me fight.”

“I…” Pinkie Pie looked away biting her lip, “I don't know, Hackmon… I'm a pacifist.”

“I know, but the infected Digimon aren't,” Hackmon said seriously, “You said that girl had a Digimon too, right? What if she gets attacked by another evil Digimon, and those other two tamers can't help her?”

“You could get hurt though,” Pinkie Pie said hugging Hackmon, “You're not just my Digimon partner, Hackmon. You're my brother.”

“That's why I want to fight, Pinkie Pie,” Hackmon said returning the hug, “So I can protect my sister.”

Pinkie Pie hated this. She knew that Hackmon was right, and this confirmed it. However, she was terrified of what could happen to him if he fought. She didn't want her brother to get hurt, or worse, killed.

Just like Maud's partner…

School was uneventful as usual. Fluttershy already knew everything the teacher was talking about, so she was only paying attention halfway. She hadn't seen or spoken to Rarity just yet, but that fit her just fine. She still wasn't sure if she was going to take her and Applejack up on their offer.

Besides, tonight she had somewhere else to be.

One thing that caught her attention was Rainbow Dash. She kept snickering to herself, and every so often she'd look at Fluttershy with a sort of odd expression. Fluttershy thought it was odd, but she didn't pay it much mind.

After school ended, Fluttershy shot up from her chair and ran out of the classroom.

“Fluttershy, wait up!” Rainbow Dash called out, shooting up and running after her, stopping at their lockers, “Hey, um, I wanted to talk to you about yesterday. That device you-”

“No time,” Fluttershy said closing her locker, “I have someplace to go.”

She pushed past Rainbow Dash and ran out of the school, vaguely sure that she heard Rainbow Dash calling out to her. This was a big day for her. She wasn't sure if it would work, but she still had to take this chance. Besides, it wasn't like Rainbow Dash had anything important to say.

Rainbow Dash ran out of the school and looked around. How could anyone run that fast in heels?!

“Damn it Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash swore, pulling out her Digivice, “Hold on, if I'm right, then…” she pushed a button on the Digivice revealing what looked like a map that showed a red dot running deeper into the city, “Bingo! Veemon, I got her!”

Veemon jumped down from a tree and ran over to Rainbow Dash, “I saw her too. She ran off in that direction,” he said pointing to the city.

“That matches with the radar app,” Rainbow Dash said with a smirk, “Let's go, partner.”

“Right!” Veemon shouted, jumping on Rainbow Dash's back as she ran into the city. She wasn't going to keep being left behind. Now that she knew what was up, Rainbow Dash was determined to talk to Fluttershy. There was just so much about her that didn't add up, and Rainbow Dash wanted to figure her out.

Fluttershy let Guilmon hover around school, simply so she could lead him to the large Umbra Corp building. Once there, she and Guilmon looked up at the large 50 story building, the Umbra Corp insignia etched on the front of the building. Not too many people were around, so Guilmon didn't attract too much attention.

“Is this the place, Fluttershy?” Guilmon asked. Fluttershy tightened her fists as she glared at the building.

“Yes, this is it,” Fluttershy seethed, “This is the place that killed my Mom.”

Guilmon's eyes narrowed at the building, “Something about this place feels wrong. I can't put my claw on it, but something feels off about this place.”

“That's all I needed to know,” Fluttershy said, “Follow me.” She and Guilmon ran off to the side of the building, where there was an old transformer. She forced it open and then pulled out her laptop, hooking it up to the transformer.

“What are we going to do?” Guilmon asked.

“I want to hack into their personal files and steal their employee records,” Fluttershy said, “However, I can't get in there with their security as tight as it is. That's where you come in, Guilmon.”

“But, the virus wasn't completed when it turned into me, right?” Guilmon asked, “Do you think it's complete now?”

“It isn't,” Fluttershy said pulling out her Digivice and opening a screen that showed a circular gauge that was filled part of the way and the number 25% in the middle, “I already checked it. However, I have a theory, and if I'm right, then with the Digital Hazard now effectively alive, you should be able to use it in small bursts.”

“Oh, I think I know what you're saying!” Guilmon said with a smile, which he then looked to the side and then pouted, “Wait… I'm still confused.”

Fluttershy rolled her eyes, “In other words, you can use the Digital Hazard in small bits and damage Umbra Corp's network enough where I can get in.”

“Okay, I think I know what you mean this time,” Guilmon said nodding.

Fluttershy pulled up her holographic keyboard and began typing on it, “So Rarity and Applejack used this to manipulate the data of their partners?” she chuckled to herself shaking her head, “Casuals. They're not thinking big enough.”

Guilmon stood over Fluttershy's shoulder watching her in awe. She had spent all morning experimenting with it and learning all of it's functions.

“The Digivice's function is primarily to interface with the connected Digimon,” Fluttershy continued, “I realized when I saw a Digital Hazard counter on mine. With this, I can manipulate your data and allow you to use it in any way you see fit.”

“You figured out all of this?” Guilmon asked, “You're a genius, Fluttershy!”

“Tell me something I don't know,” Fluttershy said with a smirk, “Altering Program! Hazard Level 1!” when she pushed the enter key, Guilmon's claws started sparking with red electricity, “Alright Guilmon, just do what comes naturally to you.”

Guilmon nodded to Fluttershy and walked over to the transformer. He then thrust his claws inside, sending the red electricity through it, “Is it working?”

“We'll know… in a minute…” Fluttershy said, putting her main focus on her laptop. She wasn't going to make a move until she saw that firewall go down.

“Mr. Sombra, it's an emergency!” Vinyl cried typing furiously on her keyboard, “Something is infecting our systems!”

“What?!” Sombra shouted running over to Vinyl, “Is it a Wild One?”

“I don't know!” Vinyl said, “I can't get a lock on where it-” she was cut off by Octavia screaming.

“Mr. Sombra! Our security is going down!” Octavia cried.

“Get that firewall back up immediately! Increase security!” Sombra commanded.

“I'm trying, sir, but it's falling too fast!” Octavia exclaimed.

“Firewall shutdown imminent in five, four, three, two, one…” Vinyl said, wincing as she knew what was about to happen.

“YES!” Fluttershy cheered as the firewall fell, “Guilmon, you and I are officially best friends!”

“Don't, celebrate yet…!” Guilmon grunted, visibly straining, “I don't know, how long I, can hold this!”

“Just hold out for a few minutes,” Fluttershy requested getting to work, “I'm just going to grab a few things while the doors are open. They won't miss a few files.”

“Someone is hacking into our personal files!” Octavia said, “They're copying our employee data!”

“Identify the source!” Mr. Sombra ordered, “Even if we can't stop them, we can at least figure out where they are!”

“Sir, the IP address can't be read!” Vinyl said, “All I'm seeing are a string of blank characters!”

“Blank characters…?” Sombra asked, eyes widening in shock, “Zero! She's nearby!”

“Mr. Sombra, I'm detecting a strange signal coming from right outside at the left entrance,” Octavia said, “I think Zero's out there!”

Sombra pulled out a cellphone, “Head out to the left entrance! Apprehend Zero now!” he hung up and gritted his teeth, “I'm not letting you get away with this, Zero!”

“Fluttershy!” Guilmon cried, “Losing it!”

“Please hold on for a few more seconds!” Fluttershy said, “I almost have everything that I-” she cut herself off hearing something from the door nearby, “Shit! He's calling security here!”

“Can't, hold, it!” Guilmon said, eyes closed tightly and teeth gritted from the exertion.

“And… done! Guilmon, release it! We need to go NOW!” Fluttershy cried. Guilmon let go, and Fluttershy took his clawed hands and ran off, just in time as the door shot open revealing four security guards.

Unknown to everyone, Twilight stood behind a corner watching Fluttershy and Guilmon run away. She narrowed her eyes, and then walked off

“Firewall is back online,” Vinyl said, sounding both relieved and nervous.

“Security found no one,” Octavia said with a sigh, “I'm sorry, Mr. Sombra. Zero got away.”

“Damn it!” Sombra shouted slamming his fists on a wall, “How much did she copy?”

“Not sure,” Octavia said, “She was too fast.”

“Just who is she?” Vinyl asked, “How was she able to disrupt our entire network like that?”

“The only way would be if she somehow managed to interface with us directly,” Sombra said thoughtfully, “If that's the case then... Vinyl, Octavia, I want the two of you to begin tracking any live users. Chances are we're dealing with a Digimon Tamer.”

“Yes sir,” both women said, saluting in unison. As they got to work, Sombra walked off biting his thumb. He knew of Zero, but this was the first time she had ever attacked their company directly. Normally she just stole money or expensive pieces of data, but this was personal.

She had a reason for doing this, and Sombra needed to know what said reason was. Figure out that, and he could figure out who she was and have her arrested.

Fluttershy and Guilmon sat down in the park behind a tree catching their breaths. Once she was sure they were safe, Fluttershy grabbed Guilmon and hugged him laughing.

“Oh my God, that was great!” Fluttershy cheered, “Thank you so much Guilmon!” she then started kissing him all over his face.

“F-Fluttershy! This is embarrassing!” Guilmon cried, laughing all the same. She stopped and st in front of him, holding him by the shoulders and looking him in the eyes.

“This is the closest I've gotten to figuring out what happened to my Mom,” Fluttershy said, smiling more genuinely than ever, “Guilmon, thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

Guilmon looked at Fluttershy shocked for a second, but then smiled in return, “Anytime Fluttershy. That's what partners are for.”

Before they could say anything else though, a dense fog shot out of the ground in the park. Fluttershy and Guilmon turned to it and shot up.

“Guilmon, is that?” Fluttershy asked.

“A digital field! Digimon are going to appear out of there!” Guilmon said. Fluttershy looked around, seeing people run out of the park in fear. With how open the park was, any Digimon would eventually leave.

“Guilmon, let's go,” Fluttershy said, “We, we have to do something!”

Guilmon nodded to Fluttershy smiling, “Yeah! Let's do it!”

play song

Fluttershy and Guilmon ran into the Digital Field, where they saw a giant dragonfly looking Digimon flying around the field. Fluttershy pulled out her Digivice and scanned it.

ID: YANMAMON

LEVEL: CHAMPION

TYPE: INSECTOID

ATTRIBUTE: DATA

“Another flying one,” Fluttershy said, “This could be tough by ourselves.”

“Fluttershy, look out!” Guilmon shouted. Fluttershy looked up just in time to see Yanmamon fly down toward her apparently trying to bite her. She jumped out of the way landing next to Guilmon, who immediately got in front of her, “FIRE BALL!” he shouted, shooting fireballs out of his mouth at Yanmanon. It flew out of the way of some, but then got hit by the last one.

Guilmon rushed toward Yanmamon and jumped up, prepared to attack with his claws. However, an electric shot knocked Guilmon to the side into a tree.

“Guilmon, no!” Fluttershy cried. She then looked behind her to see another Yanmamon fly up behind her pointing its tail at her. It fired an arrow out of his tail at Fluttershy, but someone grabbed Fluttershy and jumped out of the way.

Rainbow Dash.

“You okay?” Rainbow Dash asked Fluttershy, who just nodded wordlessly, “Good. Hey Veemon! Do it!”

“VEE HEADBUTT!” Veemon shouted, flying in out of nowhere and tackling the second Yanmamon in the side. He then landed on a tree and slid down next to Guilmon as he was getting up, “You okay, friend?”

“Yeah, thanks,” Guilmon said shaking his head, “The name's Guilmon by the way.”

“Cool beans! Call me Veemon,” Veemon said, grinning arrogantly and giving Guilmon a thumbs up. The two Digimon got in fighting stances looking up as the two Yanmanon hovered around them, eventually joined by a third.

“What are we going to do?” Fluttershy asked fearfully. Rainbow Dash snorted arrogantly.

“What, these jokers? We can take 'em! Can I get a hell yeah?!”

“Hell yeah!” Veemon shouted, rushing toward the Yanmamon, Guilmon right next to him. Veemon jumped up and uppercut one Yanmamon, while Guilmon began shooting fireballs at the other too, leading them away.

Rainbow Dash pulled out her Digivice, “Hey, you figure out the whole altering program thing?” Rainbow Dash asked Fluttershy, who nodded, “Alright, watch this. Altering program! Chi Level 3!”

Veemon's entire body charged up with energy and he then held his hands a bit behind him creating an orb of light, grinning the whole time, “Now?”

“Now!” Rainbow Dash shouted, “Remember, ya gotta shout it just like I told ya!”

“Hadouken!” Veemon shouted, shooting a white and blue fireball at the Yanmamon, knocking it back. Rainbow Dash jumped up and down excitedly.

“He did it! He actually did the Fireball from Street Fighter! That was so cool!” Rainbow Dash cheered. Fluttershy couldn't believe it, but Rainbow Dash was actually a good Digimon Tamer. She then put her focus on Guilmon, who was struggling a bit with his opponents.

Guilmon jumped back and held his claws out at his sides, “ROCK N' ROLL BREAKER!” he shouted, his claws suddenly spinning like drills somehow. He then jumped up and slashed one Yanmamon knocking it to the ground. He then got on top of it and shot a Fire Ball point blank, deleting it. He turned around and jumped away as the second Yanmamon fired arrows out of its tail at him.

Fluttershy had a creative idea and opened her holographic keyboard, “Altering Program! Angel Wings!”

When she pushed enter, white angel wings sprouted on Guilmon's back, which he then used to shoot up into the air.

“Whoa, seriously?!” Rainbow Dash asked turning to Fluttershy, “How'd you make yours do that?!”

“It's all data, right?” Fluttershy asked, “If you know how to manipulate it, the rest becomes easy.”

Rainbow Dash nodded looking at Fluttershy intently, and then put her focus back on the fight, “Veemon, let's wrap this up!”

“Wanna give me a boost then?” Veemon asked. Rainbow Dash ran toward Veemon as he jumped up. She then jumped after him, flipped in the air, and then used her legs to push Veemon higher into the air. A light formed in his hands, which then extended to form a golden energy sword, “LONG SWORD!” he shouted coming down on top of the Yanmamon and slicing it in half, deleting it instantly.

At the same time, Guilmon flew around the final Yanmamon slashing it with his claws. He eventually tackled it to the ground and then gathered energy in his mouth, “FIRE BALL!!!” he shouted, firing it at the final Yanmamon deleting it.

GUILMON: 45 EXP

VEEMON: 45 EXP

end song

“YES!” Rainbow Dash shouted throwing her fists into the air, “And Veemon and Rainbow Dash get another win under their belts!”

“Will these two keep up the pace and become the world champions?” Veemon asked enthusiastically.

“STAY TUNED TO THE DIGIMON WORLD CUP TO FIND OUT!” both of them shouted at the same time before bursting out laughing. Fluttershy and Guilmon looked at them, unsure what to make.

“Um, what are we looking at?” Guilmon asked.

“I'm not too sure…” Fluttershy said. Rainbow Dash walked over to Fluttershy patting her on the arm.

“So, your brother, huh?” Rainbow Dash said, holding her blue and white digivice in front of Fluttershy, “This doesn't look like a game he'd be into.”

“W-when did you get that…?” Fluttershy asked Rainbow Dash.

“Last night, honestly,” Rainbow Dash said, “Veemon said it's called a Digivice. So, you're a Digimon Tamer too, eh? No wonder you rushed out into the courtyard yesterday. You were ready to rumble, weren't ya?”

‘Not… quite,’ Fluttershy thought. Actually, she was just curious and wanted to see what it was. The whole fighting a crazy Digimon thing happened by accident.

“But man, I had no idea,” Rainbow Dash said walking to the side a bit resting her hands on the back of her head, “All those electronic issues, the rumors of the monster attacks, and here you are right in the middle of it all.”

“Actually, we just started,” Guilmon said suddenly, “There are two other Tamers, Rarity and-” Fluttershy quickly grabbed Guilmon holding her hand over his mouth.

“Quiet Guilmon!” Fluttershy cried, “That's not our business to share!”

“Hold on, Rarity?!” Rainbow Dash asked incredulous, “She's got one too?!”

Guilmon pulled Fluttershy's hand down and nodded happily, “Yep! She and another girl asked Fluttershy and I to join them!”

“Wait wait wait, you mean to tell me that prissy and spoiled Rarity has a Digimon too?” Rainbow Dash asked, “And she wanted you guys to join her? With what?”

Fluttershy sighed, rolling her eyes. Thanks to Guilmon, now she had to tell Rainbow Dash. As the fog cleared, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy sat down on a bench, where she told Rainbow Dash and Veemon everything about what happened the other day.

“Yggdrasil?” Veemon asked, sitting on the ground in front of the bench arms crossed and eyes closed thoughtfully, “Can't say I've heard that name before.”

“I hadn't heard of her either,” Guilmon said, “But apparently she's an overseer of the Digital World.”

“Well you guys were just hatched when we met ya, right?” Rainbow Dash asked, “It makes sense that you wouldn't know much about your world,” she leaned back on the bench, “So she's hoping to recruit “Royal Knights” to be her guardians?”

“Something like that,” Fluttershy said, “I don't want to be part of any of this though.”

“You fought those Digimon earlier though,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Well, I'm not going to just leave people to get hurt,” Fluttershy said as if it were obvious, “I'm antisocial, not a bitch.”

Rainbow Dash's eyes widened, “Whoa. You curse?” Fluttershy's face turned red and she turned away from Rainbow Dash hiding behind her hair, “I mean, that's cool actually. It's just… you don't seem like the type.”

“It's a sign she's getting comfortable with you,” Guilmon said, “Dad told me that she gets really bold around people she's comfortable with.”

“Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up,” Fluttershy whispered.

“Hey, it's cool,” Rainbow Dash said, “Just makes Fluttershy more awesome, ya know?” she leaned forward holding her fist in her hand, “So you don't want to be involved with Rarity, but you don't want to leave people alone to get hurt, right?” Fluttershy nodded silently, “Well, good thing Veemon and I are here now.”

Fluttershy turned to look at Rainbow Dash surprised, “Um… excuse me?”

“How about we do it?” Rainbow Dash asked, “You, me, and our Digimon just fight the bad Digimon ourselves? Sounds like Rarity and Applejack are part of some official group, which means rules, something that I can't stand honestly,” she leaned back again relaxing, “Plus, this way it'll be more fun. What's better? Working with two stiffs, or working with your best friend?”

Now they were best friends? Since when?!

“Um, I'm not, um, uh…” Fluttershy stuttered.

“No need to thank me,” Rainbow Dash waved it off with an arrogant smile, “Besides, you can teach me how to do really awesome stuff with my Digivice too.”

“You knew how to make Veemon use a move from Street Fighter,” Fluttershy said. Rainbow Dash laughed.

“Okay, so I do know a bit about programming, but only games,” Rainbow Dash explained, “Started with me fiddling around with RPG Maker, and it I started reading up on how other games were programmed. You should see Mugen on my PC. I modded and created custom characters to the point where I have a full roster of my own characters.”

That, was really impressive. Fluttershy didn't peg Rainbow Dash for being a programmer herself. Probably not a hacker, but at least she had some programming knowledge.

“But it looked like you made Guilmon here do something completely different,” Rainbow Dash said, “That whole sprouting angel wings thing was really cool. So maybe we could teach each other how we program, and then we become a dynamic duo even better than Rarity and Applejack. What do ya say?”

Fluttershy wasn't too sure to be honest. It sounded appealing, and at least she was somewhat comfortable around Rainbow Dash. But still…

“Why are you doing this?” Fluttershy asked somewhat defensively, “You're always calling me your friend, but I've never said that I was your friend. So, why do you keep hanging around me?”

Rainbow Dash shrugged, “I guess it's because I think you're cool. Also, you and I do hang out a lot, so I just figure that we're friends,” she smiled at Fluttershy, “Sides, I get the feeling you and I have more in common than even this.”

More in common? What could they possibly-

“Let's be her friend, Fluttershy,” Guilmon said, catching Fluttershy's attention.

“Guilmon?” Fluttershy asked. Guilmon walked over to Fluttershy and took her hand.

“I think we can trust her. She and Veemon helped us against the Yanmamon, and it would be safer having another Tamer with us,” Guilmon said smiling sweetly. Fluttershy looked at Guilmon intently. He was serious, wasn't he?

Veemon kicked to his feet and smirked, “You can count on us, Fluttershy!” he said giving her a thumbs up, “We'll look out for you!”

She looked wide eyed at Veemon, almost feeling his sincerity as well. It felt almost like Guilmon, but more ferocious. Was that sincerity a common Digimon trait or something? She then turned back to Rainbow Dash, who was still giving her a comforting smile. Being surrounded by such love, it became hard for Fluttershy to find a reason to push them away.

“I…” she looked away biting her lip, “I can't open up to you guys right away, but, I'm willing to work with you and Veemon…”

“Yes!” Rainbow Dash cheered, “You won't be disappointed! Ooh, hey! Check this out,” Rainbow Dash pulled out her Digivice and opened another holographic screen, this one being what looked like a blank list, “These things have a friend list feature! I think we just connect our Digivices at the top here, and they're exchange information. Then we can call each other anytime we need to.”

Seriously? These things were amazing. It almost made Fluttershy feel like she was in an MMORPG. She pulled out her Digivice and connected the top to Rainbow Dash's. She then saw what looked like data being exchanged between them. A few seconds later, Fluttershy saw Rainbow Dash's name appear in her friend list. When she saw her picture appear on Rainbow Dash's screen, she noticed that Dash's eyes went WIDE for a split second and she then closed the screen.

“And just like that, we're friends according to our Digivices,” Rainbow Dash said, “It's pretty late, so we should probably head on home. Are you gonna be okay on your own, Fluttershy?”

“My house is close to here,” Fluttershy said, “Thank you for your concern though.”

“What are friends for?” Rainbow Dash said patting Fluttershy on the back, “Come on Veemon. Let's head home.”

“Got ya. See ya Guilmon,” Veemon said shaking Guilmon's hand before walking off after Rainbow Dash.

“Bye Veemon!” Guilmon said waving to Veemon as he and Rainbow Dash walked off, “They're nice,” he looked at Fluttershy, who was looking at Rainbow Dash's picture on her Digivice, “You okay, Fluttershy?”

“Friends…” Fluttershy said softly, “Now it's official I guess…”

“That's a good thing though, right?” Guilmon asked sitting next to Fluttershy, “Now you have three new friends. Me, Veemon, and Rainbow Dash.”

“But, I don't know what to do,” Fluttershy said, “I can be friends with a person easily online. In person though? I have no idea what to do.”

“Is it really that different though?” Guilmon asked rubbing Fluttershy's back.

“Very different,” Fluttershy said somberly, hugging herself a bit, “Guilmon, why did you make me do this…?”

“Because you need to start making more friends, Fluttershy,” Guilmon said, “It'll be fine, Fluttershy. Just be yourself, and you'll be fine.”

Fluttershy wasn't too sure of that. Still, it was too late now. Whether she liked it or not, she and Rainbow Dash were friends now.

Rainbow Dash stopped once she was out of Fluttershy's POV. She then opened up the friend screen, looking at the information that came up.

ID: ZERO

“I don't believe it…” Rainbow Dash whispered looking back at the park, “Fluttershy, really is Zero.”

“Zero? That notorious hacker you were telling me about?” Veemon asked.

“Yeah, that's the one,” Rainbow Dash said, remembering where she initially saw Fluttershy and Guilmon. She had actually been following her for a while, as such she saw her next to the Umbra Corp Building. A few seconds later they're both running from security. If this was true, then that meant…

Rainbow Dash pocketed her Digivice and walked home. Hopefully her dad would come home today, so she could get some information that could confirm her suspicions.

Author's Note

Hope you guys enjoyed this latest episode of Digimon. For now, the schedule has returned.

Please consider funding my Patreon and help me in my quest for world domination.

05: Can I trust you?

Theme Song: With the Wind

05: Can I trust you?

“So? What do you think?” a woman with long flowing hair and a black dress asked, sitting elegantly in a chair. Nearby was Twilight, who was leaning against a wall with her arms folded.

“About that Digimon?” Twilight asked the woman, “It's too dangerous. The idea that she would allow such a dangerous virus run rampant shows that she's not thinking clearly.”

“Couldn't the same be said for you though?” the woman asked, leaning to rest her side on the arm of her chair and crossing her legs, “Carrier of X?”

Twilight flinched a bit when she said that, “It's different with me. Dorumon and I act for the benefit of the Digital World and Real World. That Digimon, Guilmon I believe, his very existence could be a threat to both worlds.”

“I see,” the woman said nodding, “So then, what do you plan to do?”

“I'm going to confront his Tamer,” Twilight said, “I need to warn her of the dangers, and convince her to discard that Digimon.”

“What if she refuses?” the woman asked. Twilight looked somber before she spoke.

“If necessary, I'll kill both her and that abomination of a Digimon,” Twilight said darkly, “Along with anyone else who wants to defend the Mother Computer.”

“You do such wonderful work for me,” the woman said, an odd looking white cat jumping onto her lap, “Together, we shall be the protectors the worlds need. I am returning to the Digital World. If you find Seraphimon, do tell her that I'm looking for her.”

“I shall do as you command, Lord Ophanimon,” Twilight said. As the light shining around the woman and her odd cat faded away, another light came on, now casting the shadow of Dorumon on the wall next to Twilight.

“I don't like this,” Dorumon said, “Ophanimon has been acting weird.”

“She does seem suspicious,” Twilight said with a sigh, “We'll keep an eye on her until we know for certain. Right now though, I want to focus on stopping that Digimon.”

“So when do you want to strike?” Dorumon asked.

“Tomorrow,” Twilight said, “I know her schedule, and the path she walks to get to school. I'm going to try and see if I can save her from a horrible fate. She's not a bad person, she just has a monster for a Digimon.”

“Do you want to enter our true state?” Dorumon asked, “We can probably Warp-Digivolve anytime to Alpha-”

“No, not yet,” Twilight said, “I don't want to risk showing Yggdrasil our true power quite yet. Dorugamon should be enough to handle it.”

“Alright then,” Dorumon said nodding, “My only purpose is to act as a vessel for your power, so I'll follow you.”

“No Dorumon, that's wrong,” Twilight said shaking her head, “As Twilight, you are my partner and valuable friend. We are two halves of a whole. Together, we are the one assigned to the Empty Seat.”

Dorumon smiled, “Thanks Twilight. That means more to me than you realize.”

As Dorumon's shadow faded, Twilight bit her lip and shuddered. She had to cling to her Digimon partner, despite what he truly was. Otherwise she'd be alone. She had lost her good friends due to a decision made by Yggdrasil, and she vowed to never forgive her for that day.

Dynasmon, Crusadermon, Examon, Gankoomon, Magnamon and Kentaurosmon…

I will make sure our sacrifices were not in vain!

“Dad, ya home?” Rainbow Dash asked, walking into the large white mansion she called home. She waited a second and then sighed walking over to the couch, “Coast is clear Veemon. You can come in.”

A second later Veemon jumped inside through an open window, rolled onto one knee, and then walked over to the couch sitting next to Rainbow Dash, “Cheer up, Rainbow Dash. Your Dad can't stay away from home forever.”

“I bet he would if he could,” Rainbow Dash said bitterly, “So, how does the User name get chosen anyway?”

“It's chosen based off your information found by the Mother Computer,” Veemon explained, “Whatever information she finds on your computer is the information she uses to create your Digital World account.”

“So she didn't just put in Zero to sound cool,” Rainbow Dash said, once again pulling out her Digivice and looking at Fluttershy's profile picture, which looked normal except for the name “ZERO” where her full name should have been, “Shit, that means she really is Zero.”

“Is it really bad that she's this “Zero” person?” Veemon asked. Before she could answer her, they heard someone put a key through the front door to unlock it. Veemon quickly jumped behind the couch to hide as Rainbow Dash shot up from the couch.

“Dad!” Rainbow Dash cried happily running into his arms when the door opened.

“It's good to see you, Rainbow,” Sombra said returning the hug, “I'm sorry, but I can't stay. I just came to pick up some important papers from my study.”

Of course he couldn't stay. Rainbow Dash sighed shaking her head and let her father come inside.

“Did something happen at work?” Rainbow Dash asked her father as he walked to his in home office.

“A random hacking attempt,” Sombra said gathering the papers from his desk, “It appears we've attracted some unwanted attention.”

“It was Zero, wasn't it?” Rainbow Dash asked, “She attacked your company, right?”

“Why, do you know something?” Sombra asked looking at Rainbow Dash, who on instinct shook her head.

“Nope. I don't know anything about it. I was just curious, as I know you do really important work,” Rainbow Dash covered. Sombra nodded and went back to what he was doing.

“I don't know why she decided to target our company, but rest assured I will find her,” Sombra continued.

“What are you going to do when you find her?” Rainbow Dash asked, trying her best to hide how afraid she was.

“Ensure that she's put away for a very long time,” Sombra said, “I plan on using all of my resources, and I will find her.”

That scared Rainbow Dash a good deal. Whenever he said he was going to do something, he was going to do it, and he had enough power to do just what he claimed. If given enough time, he was going to find Fluttershy.

If I warn her, maybe she can…

But… that would mean…

“If you ever come across anything concerning Zero, please let me know,” Sombra requested, “Anything at all would be a big help.”

“S-sure Dad. Whatever you say…” Rainbow Dash said, feeling horribly awkward, guilty, and conflicted. Sombra walked over to Rainbow Dash, kissed her on the forehead, and then walked out of the mansion. Veemon waited a few seconds and then walked over to Rainbow Dash as she leaned against a wall and slid to sit on the floor.

“So… that's why it's bad,” Veemon said placing a hand on Rainbow Dash's shoulder.

“Damn it! Why did you have to be Zero, Fluttershy?!” Rainbow Dash fussed. It was either betray her father, or out her friend. Either way she'd be screwed.

She'd be betraying someone she cared about either way.

Fluttershy ran out of her house to school as fast as she could. She had been up late talking to Cipher, as such ended up oversleeping. If it weren't for Guilmon, she'd probably be so much later than she was right now. Thankfully at this pace she'd be able to stop running soon and still make it in time.

Once she turned the corner, she stopped to catch her breath, “Maybe, staying up so late isn't a healthy habit,” she panted. After she composed herself, she fixed her hair and began walking down the street. Though she was shy, she took a lot of pride in her appearance, and knew that she was really attractive. She liked the attention in moderation, but had no intention of ever asking a boy out.

There was still someone she kept hoping to be her first.

As she walked, her thoughts went to Rainbow Dash. Joining with her was risky, as it made the chances of her finding out that she was Zero much bigger. Although, she did wonder if she could tell her. How would she react? The more Fluttershy thought about it, the more she realized that she did sort of like Rainbow Dash. She was the only student besides Rarity to make an effort to reach out to her, and she was almost certain that Rarity was hoping to get something out of it. Either to better her reputation, or get her to join her and Applejack as a Royal Knight.

Fluttershy sighed, lowering her goggles as a means of hiding her eyes. It was a habit of hers, whenever she felt depressed or was just in deep thought she hid behind her goggles to hide from the world. If she really needed to get away, she'd also put on her earbuds and play music to drown out the noise around her.

Sometimes the world around her was too scary.

She looked ahead of her and saw the oddest person leaning against a building with her arms folded. She had dark purple hair with a light pink highlight, and was wearing a gothic lolita black and white dress, lacy black gloves, fishnet stockings, and black high heels. She wore dark, almost blood red lipstick and black eyeliner for makeup and the air she gave off seemed almost otherworldly. Fluttershy stopped and raised her goggles, taking in the mysterious girl.

“I know who you are,” Twilight said, glaring at Fluttershy, “Zero.”

Fluttershy's heart leaped out of her chest. How did she know? Was she another hacker?

“Surprised?” Twilight asked, pushing off the wall and walking over to Fluttershy, “Don't be. One who lives in the network would know who you are.”

Lives in the network? What did that mean?

“Are you going to arrest me?” Fluttershy asked trembling, still glaring dangerously at Twilight, “You're a snitch for the police, right?”

“Wrong,” Twilight said immediately, “Where I come from, I am the police. Or at least, I was. That's not important right now,” she got right in Fluttershy's face, “You need to get away from that Digimon.”

“Get… away…?” Fluttershy asked.

“Guilmon,” Twilight said, “You need to get as far away from that Digimon as possible.”

“Guilmon is my friend and Digimon partner!” Fluttershy fussed, “Why should I listen to-” Twilight grabbed Fluttershy's wrist tightly.

“You don't get it, do you?!” Twilight asked harshly, “Your world is in danger too as long as that abomination of a Digimon is still alive!”

“How dare you call Guilmon an abomination!” Fluttershy retaliated pulling her wrist free, “You don't know anything about who he is!”

“I know what he is,” Twilight stated dangerously, “He's a dangerous virus, one that could potentially destroy both worlds.”

“That doesn't make any sense,” Fluttershy said shaking her head, “The Digital Hazard is only meant to compromise networks of my choice. It's not designed for wide spread destruction, not even on a digital plane.”

Twilight's eyes widened and she stepped back, “Wait… you know about that virus?”

“I designed it myself,” Fluttershy said. Twilight tightened her fists and started trembling.

“You… stupid child!” Twilight shouted, “Do you have any idea what forces you're messing with?! Creating something like that and turning it into a Digimon could create something horrific! You might have endangered the whole world!”

This girl was starting to really freak Fluttershy out. She didn't understand anything she was saying, and it was starting to scare Fluttershy a bit. Although, part of her could tell that this mysterious girl truly believed everything she was saying.

“Fluttershy!” Fluttershy looked out to the side, surprised to see Rarity of all people running over to her. When she got there, she stood in front of Fluttershy and glared at Twilight, “Fluttershy, are you alright?”

“Y-yes…” Fluttershy said, surprised by how intense Rarity looked.

“Don't tell me you're defending this?” Twilight asked, “You're smart, so surely you can see that her Digimon is-”

“A truly nice person,” Rarity finished for her, “And if you so much as lay a finger on either Guilmon or his Tamer I may have to ruin that pretty face of yours, darling.”

Twilight narrowed her eyes but then turned her back to them, “You can't protect her, Omegamon,” Twilight said, “You may not care about the fate of the Digital World, but I do.”

“Then if the time comes, we'll settle things on the battlefield, Alphamon,” Rarity said, narrowing her eyes in return. Just what were those names they kept calling each other?

Alphamon? Omegamon?

Those are Digimon names though…

Twilight walked off, leaving Fluttershy and Rarity alone. After a few seconds, Rarity turned to Fluttershy, “Sorry about that,” Rarity said, “I guess we should have warned you about Twilight.”

“Who's Twilight?” Fluttershy asked.

“She's been fighting against Yggdrasil for a while now,” Rarity said, walking with Fluttershy to school, “Her Digimon is unregistered, and she seems to freely travel between the human and digital realms.”

“She seemed almost afraid,” Fluttershy reasoned, “She kept saying that Guilmon was dangerous.”

Rarity stopped and turned to Fluttershy, placing her hands on her shoulders, “You listen to me. Guilmon is your Digimon, so he's only as dangerous as you allow him to become. You're a good person, Fluttershy, so that means Guilmon will become a truly powerful Digimon meant to protect the two worlds.”

“You… really think so…?” Fluttershy asked.

“I know so,” Rarity said, “I need to head to homeroom, so I'll see you later, Fluttershy.”

As Rarity ran off into the school, Fluttershy looked down at her Digivice, thinking about Twilight and Rarity's words. Both of them painted two completely different pictures of her Digimon, and Fluttershy had no idea which one was right.

Guilmon wasn't sure how he felt leaving Fluttershy alone. After all, she could have been attacked by an enemy Digimon at anytime. If only there was a place where he could hide out and be close to Fluttershy whenever she was out at school.

As he walked into the kitchen to get something to eat, he heard a tapping on the window. Guilmon turned to look at the window and saw Agumon waving to him. He wobbled a bit and fell back, causing a loud crash outside. Guilmon winced in pain and then ran out to see both Agumon and Gabumon on the ground. Apparently Agumon stood on his brother's shoulders.

“Hey, are you okay?” Guilmon asked, helping the smaller dino and his brother up.

“Yeah, we're fine Guilmon,” Agumon said rubbing the back of his head, “My bro and I are stronger than that.”

“What are you guys doing here though?” Guilmon asked, “Shouldn't you be at Applejack or Rarity's place?”

“Not right now,” Gabumon said, “Actually, we came to get you.”

“We wanted to show you our secret club house!” Agumon said happily, “Well, it's more of a secret base we made for all Digimon with Tamers.”

“Seriously?” Guilmon asked. Gabumon and Agumon grabbed his hands.

“Come on! Follow us!” Agumon cheered. Guilmon was helplessly pulled away from Fluttershy's house to who knew where by the two energetic Digimon.

Back in the network, a Dokugumon was crawling slowly on the grid based ground. He had somehow landed here, and was trying to find his way back to the Digital World. Before he could though, a red wave shot through him.

CAUTION! CORRUPTION LEVEL 18!

Now corrupted, Dokugumon roared loudly and then rushed ahead to find the Real World. Suddenly, he had something much more important to do. For some reason, he needed to go there and cause as much damage as possible.

“Here we are,” Gabumon said, “Welcome to our Lookout Tower.”

Guilmon looked around in amazement. Agumon and Gabumon took Guilmon to what appeared to be a large tree house hidden inside of the leaves that was near the school. The inside of the tree house was spacious, with multiple snacks, drinks, and even comic books scattered around.

“Whoa! This is awesome!” Guilmon said, “You guys made all of this?”

“Sure did!” Agumon said, “We knew that more Digimon with Tamers would end up coming here, so we wanted to make a base for them to hang out.”

“Here they can not only be close to their tamers, but they can also see if a Digimon crosses over from the network,” Gabumon said, escorting Guilmon over to a window, which looked out at the main city.

“I can see the whole city from here!” Guilmon said, “This is perfect! I can stay here whenever Fluttershy goes to school!”

“This place is open to all good Digimon with Tamers,” Gabumon said, “If you find anyone yourself, feel free to bring them here.”

“I'll show Veemon next time I see him,” Guilmon said, suddenly having a thought that made him a little concerned, “But… is it really okay for me to be here? I don't think Fluttershy is going to join Rarity and Applejack.”

“That's okay Guilmon!” Agumon said with a big smile.

“Royal Knight or not, any Digimon is welcome here!” Gabumon said with a matching smile. Guilmon couldn't help but smile looking at them. No matter what Fluttershy thought of their tamers, these two were genuinely nice.

“So… even if Fluttershy doesn't become a Royal Knight, we can still be friends?” Guilmon asked.

“Of course we can!” Agumon said holding Guilmon's hand, “You're officially one of us!”

“Welcome to the Digimon Defense Force!” Gabumon said, “This place's doors are always open to you, Guilmon!”

“Thanks guys!” Guilmon said, actually lifting the two smaller Digimon and hugging them. It was nice that he had so many Digimon friends now. Pretty soon, he'd help Fluttershy make just as many human friends.

Fluttershy was a bit surprised with how quiet Rainbow Dash was. She seemed about the same, so that was good, but Fluttershy could tell that something was bothering her. She wanted to talk to her about it, but she didn't know quite how to handle it.

When class ended, Fluttershy took a deep breath and walked over to Rainbow Dash, tapping her shoulder. Rainbow Dash turned to look up at Fluttershy.

“Hey girlfriend,” Rainbow Dash said, “What's up?”

“You were quiet...” Fluttershy said softly, “I was worried about you.”

“Oh, sorry,” Rainbow Dash said, “Hey, um, let's head out together.”

Fluttershy nodded, for the first time walking with Rainbow Dash to their lockers willingly. After they got their stuff, they walked out of the school building, Fluttershy for some reason clinging to Rainbow Dash a bit. Maybe she was worried about running into that Twilight girl again.

“You okay?” Rainbow Dash asked Fluttershy, who was holding onto Rainbow Dash's arm as they left.

“Is this bad…?” Fluttershy asked softly. Rainbow Dash smiled softly and patted her hand.

“Nah, it's okay,” Rainbow Dash said, “You don't know much about being friends offline, do you?”

Fluttershy shook her head sadly, “Am I doing it right?”

Rainbow Dash couldn't help herself. She actually laughed a bit before she answered, “You're doing fine. Hey, let's head someplace private. That way we can talk a bit,” Rainbow Dash requested. Fluttershy felt it was a bit of an odd request, but she nodded all the same.

“Psst!”

They both stopped and looked around nervously. Their attention turned to a bush, and out of it shot a familiar red dinosaur.

“Fluttershy!” Guilmon cried happily as he knocked Fluttershy to the ground and hugged her.

“G-Guilmon?” Fluttershy asked in shock, “H-how did you-”

“Agumon and Gabumon showed me a special place!” Guilmon said smiling at Fluttershy, “I can go there whenever you're in school so I'll be close by in case a Digimon attacks!”

“Agumon? Gabumon?” Rainbow Dash asked, “Who's Digimon are they?”

“They're Rarity and Applejack's partners,” Guilmon explained, “They're really nice Digimon, and made a special base for all partnered Digimon to hang out in when their tamers are in school.”

“Huh, neat I guess,” Rainbow Dash said with a shrug.

“Sounds like a great place!” Veemon said jumping out of a tree nearby, “Could I hang there too?”

“Oh yeah! They said it's open to all Digimon as long as they have partners,” Guilmon said, “I told them about you, and they want to meet you too.”

“Sweet!” Veemon said, “We Digimon have to stick together after all.”

“Exactly,” Guilmon said. Fluttershy couldn't help but admire the Digimon for that. They didn't seem to hold many grudges, and got along so much easier than people did.

An odd sound caught their attention. The four of them all looked out into the main city and saw fog shoot out of the ground and engulfed the city.

“We're going, right?” Rainbow Dash asked Fluttershy with a familiar smirk. Fluttershy nodded, and the two girls ran into the main city followed by their Digimon.

When they arrived in the main city, they saw a large black and yellow spider looking Digimon with a big mouth jumping around on the buildings and shooting web from his abdomen all over the street. Rainbow Dash pulled out her Digivice and analyzed the Digimon.

play song

ID: DOKUGUMON

LEVEL: CHAMPION

TYPE: INSECTOID

ATTRIBUTE: VIRUS

“A virus type, huh?” Rainbow Dash asked, “We can take this guy! Can I get a hell yeah?!”

“Hell yeah!” Veemon shouted getting in a fighting stance, “Guilmon, ya up for this?”

“Bring it!” Guilmon said, “We can take his guy out!”

The two Digimon charged at the large insect Digimon, who jumped onto another building and shot a strange purple blast out of his mouth at them. The two Digimon jumped out of the way, and they saw that the blast corroded the ground where it landed.

“That's bad!” Veemon exclaimed.

“Don't worry, I got ya covered!” Rainbow Dash said typing on her Digivice’s holographic keyboard, “Altering Program! Chi Level 1!”

Veemon shot to his feet as Guilmon ran next to him, both of them charging up their attacks.

“FIRE BALL!” Guilmon shouted.

“HADOUKEN!” Veemon shouted. Both Digimon fired their attacks at the Dokugumon, but he once again jumped to another building, this time shooting his webs at his two opponents. Guilmon managed to run out of the way, but Veemon was caught and stuck onto the ground.

“Veemon!” Guilmon cried.

“I'm fine! Keep fighting!” Veemon exclaimed. Guilmon nodded and rushed at Dokugumon shooting Fire Balls rapidly, but sadly all of his attacks missed as he kept jumping around.

“Altering Program!” Fluttershy shouted, “Speed UP!”

Guilmon, now much faster, rushed over to Dokugumon and jumped up into his face. He then used his Rock N' Roll Breaker on his face, knocking him onto the ground just as Veemon broke free from his bindings.

“VEE PUNCH!” Veemon shouted, spinning his arms in circles super fast as he an into Dokugumon, actually knocking him over to Guilmon who whacked him with his tail into a stalled truck.

“Yeah! WHOO!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, “We're totally kicking his ass!”

“No… something is wrong,” Fluttershy said, “He's barely fighting back.”

“That's because he knows he's beat!” Rainbow Dash stated arrogantly, “Let's end this!”

Veemon and Guilmon both walked over to Dokugumon as he lied down, completely unaware that he was smirking. The second they were right in front of him though, he shot to his feet and fired his poisonous blast at both Digimon, knocking them back.

“Guilmon!” Fluttershy cried.

“Veemon, no!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. Fluttershy looked at her Digivice and saw something horrifying. She saw Guilmon and Veemon's health both steadily going down.

“This is bad!” Fluttershy exclaimed, “I think they're poisoned!”

“What?!” Rainbow Dash pulled out her Digivice, “Shit, you're right! It says on the status screen poison!”

Guilmon and Veemon tried to rise to their feet, but Dokugumon charged at the two Rookie Level Digimon and tackled them back. He then fired his web at them again, this time pinning both of them to a building.

“Hey!” Rainbow Dash shouted running over to Dokugumon, “Leave them alone you freak!”

“Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy cried. It was too late though, as Rainbow Dash reared her fist back and tried to punch Dokugumon, but he spun around to whack her back, and she hit the ground a bit in front of Fluttershy.

“F-Fluttershy…!” Fluttershy looked up at Guilmon, “Run!”

Fluttershy turned to Dokugumon, who was now looking right at her. She tried to run, but he fired his web at her, binding her to the ground. As she struggled to get free, Dokugumon slowly approached her. Fluttershy looked at the large spider Digimon in horror as it loomed over her. Before he could attack, something white and red shot past Dokugumon knocking him back a bit. The odd streak turned out to be a Digimon, who used his tail to cut Guilmon and Veemon free. He then rushed back at Dokugumon and began slashing Dokugumon with his front claws.

“Hold on!” a familiar high voice called out. Pinkie Pie ran over to Rainbow Dash first to see if she was okay, and she then rushed over to Fluttershy taking out a small pocket knife, “Are you okay, Fluttershy?”

“Y-you're a…” Fluttershy asked, still shocked.

“Yep, I'm a Digimon Tamer too. Don't worry about Rainbow Dash. She's knocked out, but she's alive.” Pinkie Pie said cutting Fluttershy free. She then turned back to the fight, her Digimon fighting ferociously. He was relentless, never stopping to give Dokugumon a chance to attack. Fluttershy looked at Pinkie Pie, noticing the pained and fearful look on her face, which was odd. It looked like her Digimon was winning.

Fluttershy shook it off and ran over to Guilmon and Veemon.

“Guilmon, are you okay?” Fluttershy asked helping her partner up.

“I'm, dizzy…” Guilmon said, “I, don't know if I can, make it.”

“No no!” Fluttershy said as Guilmon fell to one knee, “You're not leaving me like this! If we delete the source of the virus you'll be okay, right? Right?!” Fluttershy asked Guilmon, who nodded.

“Y-yeah, but none of our, attacks do enough damage…” Guilmon said. Fluttershy thought back to the first fight she saw. Agumon and Gabumon turned into larger forms. Could Guilmon do that too? Maybe with her help, they could...

“Guilmon, we're not giving up,” Fluttershy said, surprising Guilmon with her drive.

“F-Fluttershy…?”

“I don't care what you are, or if you're some super dangerous Digimon, you're my friend, and I'm not losing you,” Fluttershy rose to her feet, and lowered her goggles over her eyes, glaring at Dokugumon in determination, “So stand up, Guilmon! Let's show this Digimon, the true power of Zero!”

Guilmon forced himself to his feet, and then walked forward to stand in front of Fluttershy. Despite being in excruciating pain apparently, he stood straight up and held his arms out defending Fluttershy like always. Fluttershy gritted her teeth and tightened her fists.

“DON'T UNDERESTIMATE US!” Both Guilmon and Fluttershy shouted at the same time. Without a word she began ferociously typing on her holographic keyboard.

“ALTERING PROGRAM! DIGIVOLVE!” Fluttershy shouted. She held her hand in front of her face, and dark red energy formed in her hand. She then sent the energy into her Digivice, which she then pointed forward, sending the energy into Guilmon.

ACCESS

DIGIVOLUTION

“GUILMON DIGIVOLVE TO….!” Guilmon shouted, his entire body ripping apart revealing a dark red wire framed silhouette. The energy engulfed the wire frame, changing into a much large looking dragon with a similar build to Guilmon, which upon reforming looked just like his previous state, but far larger and with a mane of white hair on his head. On his wrists, legs, and the base of his tail were black stripes with golden digi-coding adorning them, “GROWLMON!!!”

Growlmon's first action was to roar loudly, catching the attention of everyone, and even managing to wake up Rainbow Dash, who looked at both Growlmon and Fluttershy in shock.

“What the hell…?” Rainbow Dash asked as Pinkie Pie helped him up. Hackmon put Veemon on his back and looked up at Growlmon in surprise too.

“That Digimon… that's the strongest looking Champion I've ever seen!” Hackmon said. Fluttershy briefly held her chest in pain, and then a beep on her Digivice caught her attention.

HAZARD LEVEL: 50%

“Oh, I see,” Fluttershy said with a dark laugh, “So the Digital Hazard gets more complete as you Digivolve. That's good to know.”

“Um… Fluttershy…?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Not right now, sweetie,” Fluttershy said with a smirk, “I don't want be “Fluttershy” right now. You can call me, Zero.”

Dokugumon tried charging at them, but Growlmon slashed him back with the blade on his elbow. Fluttershy, now Zero apparently, then walked forward running her hand on Growlmon's leg.

“Sweetheart, do mommy a favor and rip him to shreds for me,” Zero requested.

“With pleasure,” Growlmon said, his voice no longer childish, but deeper, gruff, and also more sinister tone similar to that of his tamer. He then rushed at Dokugumon and slashed him with his claws, and then whacked him with his tail. Dokugumon fell back, and then fired his web at Growlmon, binding his arms in place where he stood. From Zero’s throat came the most terrifying laugh in response.

“Is that supposed to scare us?” Zero asked typing on her keyboard elegantly, “Altering Program, Strength up.”

Instantly, Growlmon powered through the web and broke out like they were nothing. The two Digimon rushed toward each other and began fighting close quarter. As the two Digimon fought, everyone's eyes were on Zero, whose entire air had changed. Right now, she exuded confidence, power, and dominance.

“Something happened to her,” Pinkie Pie said, “She's not right for some reason.”

“Fluttershy, what's going on with you?” Rainbow Dash asked, suddenly really afraid of Growlmon.

Growlmon charged up the blades on his elbows with white energy, “PLASMA BLADE!” he shouted, slashing Dokugumon with both blades and knocking him back. As he lied down on his back, Growlmon walked over to Dokugumon hovering over him.

“Don't hesitate,” Zero said, “I want him to suffer.”

Growlmon narrowed his eyes at Dokugumon, and charged up energy in his mouth, “EXHAUST FLAME!” he shouted, shooting a continuous stream of fire out at Dokugumon, setting him on fire. All while this went on, Zero looked at Dokugumon as his body broke apart in the flame. Pinkie Pie covered her eyes looking away, and both Veemon and Hackmon looked at Growlmon with wide eyes. Rainbow Dash however, was looking at Zero in horror.

GROWLMON: 40 EXP

VEEMON: 40 EXP

LEVEL UP!!!

HACKMON: 45 EXP

end song

Growlmon started glowing, and shrunk back into Guilmon. Zero hunched forward in exhaustion as Guilmon walked over to her.

“Are you, okay, Guilmon?” Fluttershy panted, now herself again.

“We all are,” Guilmon said, “Thanks to you.”

“What for?” Fluttershy asked.

“I couldn't Digivolve without your energy,” Guilmon said smiling, “I was able to become stronger because of you.”

Fluttershy looked at her Digivice in shock, “I, made you stronger?”

“Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash called out, catching Fluttershy's attention. Fluttershy lit up and ran over to Rainbow Dash hugging her.

“You're okay!” Fluttershy cried, “I was so worried!”

“Y-yeah, I'm fine,” Rainbow Dash said, “But, what about you?”

“I'm alright,” Fluttershy said, looking like her usual self again, “Why? Did something happen?”

“Do you, remember what happened?” Pinkie Pie asked, “Do you remember Guilmon Digivolving into Growlmon?”

Fluttershy nodded, “I do.”

“And you remember how you were acting?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Like, myself?” Fluttershy asked looking confused, “I was just being me, the same like I always am.”

Both Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie looked at each other confused. She seriously had no idea what happened. It was like she became a completely different person.

“I knew it…” Twilight said from behind a nearby building biting her thumb, “That Digimon is dangerous, as is his tamer. Next time I see her, I'm taking them both out.”

Author's Note

Please support my patreon!

06: What does it mean to be strong?

Author's Note

Dorumon is voiced by Johnny Young Bosch in this continuity. (So Lelouch)

Hackmon is voiced by Yuri Lowenthal in this continuity. (So Sasuke)

Please check out my Patreon

06: What does it mean to be strong?

Theme Song: With the Wind

06: What does it mean to be strong?

The sun was beginning to set when she arrived. Naturally, everyone on the train was looking at her oddly, as she did stand out. Her hair was super long and full, being almost a faded rainbow of colors. Her skin was fair, and she had the figure of a supermodel. Her outfit consisted of white pants, white high heels, a white corset top, and a long white jacket. What really made her stand out however, was the odd stuffed animal she was holding. It looked almost like a super large hamster, with wings on its head where its ears would be. Wings that kept flapping randomly, almost as if it were alive.

Now arriving at Canterlot City

The woman in white got up and walked out of the train once the door opened, her stuffed animal in her arms. She had an absolutely sunny air about her, like she was just perpetually happy. Eventually, she reached a window that looked out at the city. Almost like a child, she beamed and ran outside, looking out the window.

“Patamon, we made it!” she said, her voice mature yet at the same time still full of youth, “We made it to America!”

“Whoa! This is America?” the stuffed toy said placing his little black paws on the on the window, “It's so different than Japan!”

“I know! It's almost like a completely different world here!” the woman said enthusiastically, “I wonder what sort of foods they have here!”

“Let's go, let's go!” Patamon cheered excitedly, “I want to see everything, Celestia!”

“Me too, Patamon!” the woman, Celestia, hugged her Digimon and spun around, completely oblivious to the crowd around her, “This is going to be so much fun!” she took off, running out of the train station, unaware of the man with the golden sunglasses and goatee watching her from a distance.

“Another one?” he said taking a picture of Celestia on his camera phone, “I better share this with Zero.”

Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and their Digimon ran into the park to hide out while the commotion died down. There they found a large tree and hid behind it, watching for the authorities as they came to investigate.

“Geez, that didn't happen the last time,” Rainbow Dash said, “Why are the police there now?”

“We fought in a large park the last time,” Fluttershy pointed out, “This time we were in the middle of the street. I imagine there were some people who caught glimpses of the fight with Dokugumon.”

“I didn't go too far, did I Fluttershy?” Guilmon asked, looking genuinely worried. Fluttershy smiled softly at him.

“Not at all, Guilmon,” Fluttershy said sweetly, “You did great.”

Both Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie looked at Fluttershy then at each other. She seemed normal now, but that honestly was a little terrifying in and of itself.

“Well now that we're all in the clear,” Rainbow Dash turned to Pinkie Pie, “Holy shit! You're a tamer too?!”

Pinkie Pie giggled, “Yep. I was surprised to see that the two of you had Digimon as well,” Pinkie Pie knelt down and pet Hackmon lovingly, “This is my Digimon partner and brother, Hackmon.”

“Nice to meet you,” Hackmon said, his voice still youthful yet somehow a little more mature sounding than the other Digimon.

“You said brother?” Fluttershy asked, “How is that possible?”

“Pinkie Pie and I met when she was really little,” Hackmon said, “I was raised by her family, so we consider each other brother and sister.”

“That's a long time to be with your partner,” Veemon said, “I bet you've fought a ton of Digimon!”

“No, he hasn't,” Pinkie Pie said standing up and walking off a bit, “That's the first time I've ever willingly let him fight.”

“What? But you have like a super cool Digimon!” Rainbow Dash said, “You should be dominating the Digimon battle scene!” Fluttershy put a hand on Dash's shoulder and shook her head.

“Not everyone wants to be a fighter, Dashie,” Fluttershy said, once again using the cute nickname she seemed to give Rainbow Dash, who closed her eyes and nodded before going over to Pinkie Pie.

“Hey, sorry,” Rainbow Dash said, “I get really wrapped up into this whole thing, ya know? I guess I sort of forgot that this isn't a game.”

“It's real easy to forget that,” Pinkie Pie said turning to Rainbow Dash and smiling, “I'm not mad. I commend Tamers who have the courage to fight. Just because I don't care for it doesn't make it bad outright.”

“‘Sides, we're gonna be helping you two from now on,” Hackmon said.

“You are?” Guilmon asked Hackmon.

“It was Pinkie Pie's idea. Once she saw that you two had Digimon, she wanted to stay close to you,” Hackmon explained.

“I know that we're not as strong as everyone else, but I hope we can be useful,” Pinkie Pie said with a bow, something that both Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy felt was odd, yet cute.

“If you don't like fighting, why do you want to help us?” Fluttershy asked, “I mean, not that I'm complaining, but…”

“Actually, the main reason is you,” Pinkie Pie said folding her arms, “Zero.”

Fluttershy gasped in shock and then looked away, holding her arm, “So, I guess you two know now?”

“To be honest, I sort of found out yesterday,” Rainbow Dash pulled out her Digivice showing Fluttershy her friend list, “You might wanna change the username on your Digivice.”

“I figured it out when you came to the diner that last time,” Pinkie Pie said leaning against the tree still with her arms folded, “No one else would have caught it, but I know the signs of a hacker when I see one.”

Fluttershy closed her eyes, and then waved her hair, putting her hand on her hip looking at them seriously, “So, now what? Are you two going to report me to the authorities?”

“I want to know why you're doing this,” Rainbow Dash said, “Umbra Corp was hit pretty hard yesterday, and it sounded like a malicious attack.”

“I…” Fluttershy averted her eyes, “I don't know…”

“Fluttershy, let's tell them,” Guilmon said, taking Fluttershy's hand, “They're our friends. I'm sure they'll understand.”

“You don't seem like a bad person,” Pinkie Pie said, “You just seem really angry about something. Do you have a good reason for attacking Umbra Corp?”

Fluttershy took a deep breath before speaking, “They killed my mother.”

Rainbow Dash's eyes shot out of her head in shock, “Wait, what?”

“My mother's name was Posey Wyrmwood,” Fluttershy continued, “She was a computer programmer for Umbra Corp, working close to their leader, Sombra,” she looked at Rainbow Dash, “Your father.”

“So, you know then?” Rainbow Dash asked, looking at Fluttershy intently.

“Of course I know,” Fluttershy said, “I figured it out when I looked at the list of employees last night. That was the main reason I was skeptical of telling you that I was Zero.”

“Makes sense,” Rainbow Dash said, “So, how do you know that he killed your mother?”

“I don't believe he killed her per say,” Fluttershy began pacing around, “But he had something to do with her death, I'm sure. She started getting really paranoid a few weeks before her death. She wouldn't tell any of us what was wrong, only that she needed to stay away from Umbra Corp.

“Then one day she found something. Whatever it was it shocked her to the core, so much that she started crying for days on end. Eventually she started going back to work, but it was clear that something was wrong. She was acting like someone who knew they were going to die. And that's when… it happened.”

“Oh no…” Pinkie Pie said covering her mouth in sadness. Fluttershy turned away from them and started crying a bit.

“They said it was an accident at work,” Fluttershy said trembling, “But what sort of accident could have killed her? For God's sake, she was a programmer! The only way she could have died would be if someone killed her!”

Rainbow Dash tightened her fist looking away, “Dad… do you know something…?”

“I need to know what she found out!” Fluttershy continued, “I need to know why she was so scared! But more than all of that, I need to know how my mother died, so I can put the one's responsible to justice!”

“But attacking my father's company like that?” Rainbow Dash asked, “Why was that-”

“Because it was the only way to learn anything!” Fluttershy shouted, glaring at Rainbow Dash, “Your father isn't going to publicize the incident! This is the only way I'm going to learn anything! If I have to tear Umbra Corp to the ground, I'll do it!” she broke down a bit, looking to the ground letting her tears fall freely, “If you care so much about what happens, then help me! You're the only way in that I have!”

Rainbow Dash looked pained from that, “Do you know what you're asking me?”

“I do,” Fluttershy said, “And I know it's not fair, but he's hiding something. He knows how my mother died, and if he is responsible, he needs to be brought to justice. Would you really protect your father knowing that he's possibly a murderer?”

Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and took a deep breath, “He is still my father, and I don't want to believe that he's a bad person, but if he does know something… then I'm going to help you figure it out.”

Fluttershy looked up at Rainbow Dash, visibly surprised.

“I only have partial clearance into Umbra Corp's network,” Rainbow Dash continued, “But I can probably get you a little further than you'd get by yourself.”

“Dashie…” Fluttershy said smiling a bit.

“What the heck, I'm in too,” Pinkie Pie said, surprising everyone, “I don't know how much help I'll be in this, what with me not having connections or being a super hacker, but I can definitely help out as much as possible.”

“Either way, we're helping you guys fight the Digimon that come through the network,” Hackmon said.

“Damn right we are,” Veemon added, “If the six of us work together, we'll be able to take on any Digimon that comes our way!”

“You mean it?” Fluttershy asked, “You'll help me?”

“We're friends, Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash said putting a hand on her shoulder, “First and foremost. I never abandon my friends.”

“I just want to see you smile,” Pinkie Pie said taking Fluttershy's hand, “You've been holding in this misery since she died, and I want to help you heal.”

“Dashie… Pinkie Pie…” Fluttershy pulled both of them into a hug, “Thank you so much!”

“Sir, the wild one has been taken care of,” Octavia said from her computer.

“Were you able to identify any Tamers involved?” Sombra asked.

“Negative sir,” Octavia said with a sigh, “The fog jammed all of our systems.”

“Sir, I have a screenshot from after the fight,” Vinyl said, catching both Sombra and Octavia's attention, “Three smaller Digimon were seen leaving the scene,” she pulled up an image of three small Digimon running. It was blurred, but the colors were pretty clear.

“Those look like rookie level Digimon,” Sombra said thoughtfully, “And they're together in a group.”

“That means their Tamers are probably friends,” Octavia said typing on her computer, “If you give me some time, I might be able to identify the Digimon at least.”

“That's a start at least,” Sombra said walking to the door, “I'm counting on you two.”

“Yes, Mr. Sombra,” both ladies said at the same time. Once he left them, Vinyl turned to Octavia.

“So, do you think we're dealing with kids here?” Vinyl asked, “Most Tamers are usually teenagers, right?”

“Probably,” Octavia said distantly, “It doesn't matter though. We have a job to do.”

“But, what if these are kids?” Vinyl asked, “That means Zero might be a kid too. Sombra was talking about putting her in jail or something.”

“Well good,” Octavia stated, “If she's a child, she needs to learn the consequences of her actions.”

“We could be ruining her life,” Vinyl said, looking really conflicted, “Are you seriously okay with that?”

“Zero ruined her own life,” Octavia said curtly, “She shouldn't be getting involved in the affairs of adults.”

As Octavia got to work, Vinyl shook her head and opted to help her. She just didn't feel right about hunting what was probably a kid like she was a criminal. Kids only did things like that if they truly felt it was the right thing to do.

So why did Zero hunt them down?

On the way back home, Rainbow Dash looked at her Digivice, checking Veemon's stats. He was a powerful Digimon, and it looked like he was on the verge of evolving into one of two types of Digimon.

What bothered her though was her performance in battle. So far it seemed less like she was helping and more like she was just getting in the way.

“Damn, I really blew it last fight, didn't I?” Rainbow Dash pouted.

“Cheer up, Rainbow Dash,” Veemon said, “We were both caught off guard.”

“Yeah, but I didn't do anything,” Rainbow Dash said with a sigh, “All I did was get swatted away by his attack. Fluttershy and Guilmon did the most work,” a sudden flash of Fluttershy's dark, almost sensual smirk made Rainbow Dash shudder.

She saw another Digital Field a bit off to the side, in the direction of the beach. Curious, she and Veemon ran into the field, ready to engage the Digimon at any time. Instead though, they saw that someone was already fighting it.

battle theme

“Agumon, attack!” Applejack commanded. Her tiny dino Digimon rushed at the giant red tyrannosaurus looking Digimon.

“BABY FLAME!!!” Agumon shouted, his attacks seeming to only do a little bit to the giant Digimon. The Digimon in question started slashing wildly with his claws, but he couldn't catch Agumon as he moved too fast. While this went on, Rainbow Dash pulled out her Digivice to scan the Digimon.

ID: TYRANNOMON

LEVEL: CHAMPION

TYPE: DINOSAUR

ATTRIBUTE: DATA

“Tyrannomon…?” Rainbow Dash wondered to herself. She didn't know the little Digimon fighting it, so she decided to scan him too, just because.

ID: AGUMON

LEVEL: ROOKIE

TYPE: REPTILE

ATTRIBUTE: VACCINE

“Hey, they're in trouble!” Veemon shouted, “He's a rookie level like me, right?! We gotta help them!”

“Hold up,” Rainbow Dash said stopping Veemon, “His Tamer, she doesn't look worried.”

No she didn't actually. In fact, Applejack was grinning confidently the entire time.

“I'll give you an opening!” Applejack shouted. She then rushed at Tyrannomon, and punched him square in the face knocking him back. Rainbow Dash's eyes went wide when she saw that. How had a human punched a Digimon in the face like that, and hurt it?

Applejack knelt down onto one knee, and Agumon jumped into the air. While he was still in the air, Applejack pulled up her keyboard, “Alterin’ Program! Rapid Flame!”

“BABY FLAME!” Agumon shouted, firing at Tyrannomon rapidly before he could block. The offending Digimon fell down onto the ground and broke apart, his data flowing into Agumon.

AGUMON: 35 EXP

LEVEL UP!

end song

“Alright, this is good,” Applejack said kneeling down and looking at her stat screen with Agumon, “We keep this up, an' we'll be able ta reach Mega in no time.”

“I wish we could find some tougher Digimon to fight though,” Agumon said, “If we're really gonna get stronger, we need to fight some Ultimates.”

“Yeah, that's true,” Applejack said rubbing the back of her head, “But they rarely ever come through the Network. Damn it, I hate grindin’ like this. Even trainin’ in the Rookie level only increases EXP but so-”

“That. Was. AWESOME!”

“Hm?” Applejack asked, rising up and turning to see Rainbow Dash and Veemon standing behind her.

“You guys are the strongest Tamer and Digimon duo I've ever seen!” Rainbow Dash shouted, “I mean, you punched it! You! Punched a Tyrannosaurus Rex in the face! That's the most badass sentence EVER!”

“Well, I don't mean ta brag, but,” Applejack said rubbing her nose looking up at the sky arrogantly.

“Applejack and I are gonna become the strongest Digimon and Tamer in the world!” Agumon cheered.

“Is that so?” Veemon said punching the air, “Well, hope you don't mind some friendly competition! That's what Dash and I are striving for too!”

“I don't mind a friendly rival,” Agumon said happily, “Maybe we can push each other to become stronger.”

“Sweet! Here's to friendly rivalries!” Veemon and Agumon shook hands, apparently becoming friends just that fast.

“It's amazing how fast you guys make friends with each other,” Rainbow Dash said with a wry smile.

“Tell me 'bout it,” Applejack said, “But that's jus' how Agumon is. He an' his bro Gabumon are always makin’ friends with other Digimon,” she turned to Rainbow Dash, “Yer that girl Rarity's always teasin, right?”

“Y-yeah, I'm Rainbow Dash,” she said blushing and looking away, “And I know you're Rarity's girlfriend, Applejack right?”

“Yep. Don't worry, I ain't got a beef with ya. Far as I see it, y'all two jus' got some banter back an' forth,” Applejack said.

“So, you're not gonna punch me into next year for thinking your girlfriend is a total bitch,” Rainbow Dash asked hopefully, making Applejack laugh.

“She is a total bitch! But she's my bitch, so it all works out,” Applejack said holding out her hand, which Rainbow Dash immediately shook, “So, ya liked what ya saw, huh?”

“YES!” Rainbow Dash shouted, going right back into fangirl mode, “See, that's the kind of stuff I wanna be able to do! Okay, so maybe punching a Digimon isn't a realistic dream, but I want to be strong like you and Agumon!”

“I ain't strong,” Applejack said suddenly.

“Wait, what?” Rainbow Dash asked, “But I saw you punch a Champion Digimon-”

“I know, but that doesn't mean anything,” she said turning her back to Rainbow Dash and looking down seriously, “I'm not strong in the way… she is.”

One Year Ago

A kid was pushed against a locker, “I'm sorry, Miss Applejack!” he cried as the imposing junior stood over him with a sneer.

“Sorry? Sorry ain't gonna cut it,” she said dangerously, “I told ya to watch where you were goin’, an' ya STILL bumped inta me. Now, what are ya gonna do ta make me feel better, hm?”

“I… I…”

“Cause maybe I'll jus’ pound ya inta next week,” Applejack said, getting real close to the kid, “Yeah, that'll make me feel real good.” just as she was about to raise her hand, someone grabbed it stopping her.

“Not on my watch you don't!” a high, cultured voice said adamantly. Applejack turned to see Rarity, holding her arm and glaring at her.

“Oooh, what do we have here?” Applejack said turning to face Rarity, “Little Miss Perfect here's got guts! She's either really brave!” she stepped real close to Rarity, “Or REAL stupid.”

“Do you want to hit me? Will that make you feel better?” Rarity challenged.

“Ya know what? Maybe I do,” Applejack stated scowling at Rarity, “Maybe ruinin’ that pretty face of yours is jus' what I need ta turn this day around.”

“And just what would that prove?” Rarity asked, glaring at Applejack in kind, “That you're stronger than me?”

“AH AM stronger!” Applejack shouted.

“Yes you are!” Rarity stated, surprising Applejack, “You're much stronger than me physically, but you're probably the weakest person I've ever seen emotionally!”

“Is that right?!” Applejack asked, backing Rarity up against a locker this time.

“Only someone weak would pick a fight against someone who can't defend themselves,” Rarity stated, “Because it would be too easy,” she spread her arms out, “So go on then! Attack me! Punch me! Slap me! Prove you're the bigger person by assaulting a helpless student!”

Applejack raised her hand to slap Rarity, but stopped when she saw the look of defiance in her eyes. She wasn't like the other students. She wasn't afraid of Applejack at all. All of a sudden, she couldn't attack her.

Rarity pushed past Applejack and walked over to the student Applejack was bullying before, “Come on, darling. Let's get you to your next class,” she shot Applejack another look, and then sauntered off, leaving Applejack standing there dumbfounded. Once alone in the hall, she pulled out her still inactive Digivice and gripped it tightly.

“Damn it…!” she swore, “WHAT THE HELL?!” she punched a nearby locker, putting a dent in it as tears of frustration fell from her eyes, “I'm… I'm supposed ta be the strongest…!”

Present Day

“The strength yer lookin for,” Applejack said, wiping her eyes and turning back to Rainbow Dash, “Ya ain't gonna find it clingin’ to me. True strength ain't here,” she held Dash's hands, “It's here,” she then pointed to Dash's heart, “That's what someone real close taught me.”

As Applejack and Agumon turned to leave, Rainbow Dash looked down at her chest and held her hand over her heart, “But, can you train me in becoming a better Tamer?” she asked stopping Applejack, “All that stuff about strength, I can figure all of that out on my own, but… there's someone I really want to help. But I can't help them as I am now. I just get in the way, and… I'm not cool with that. Not when she could end up getting herself hurt, so…”

“I come here every mornin’ to train before school,” Applejack said cutting her off, “Might be nice to have a sparrin’ partner for once.” With that, she and Agumon walked off without another word, although Agumon did wave to Veemon as they left.

“I'll be here!” Rainbow Dash called after her, “You can count on it! I'll be here bright and early!” she didn't respond back. Instead, Applejack just gave her a two fingered wave as she walked off, “That girl's so awesome.”

“I don't care what she says,” Veemon said, “She and her Digimon are super strong!”

“Yeah, they are,” Rainbow Dash said thoughtfully, “So, what did she mean when she said she wasn't strong?”

Once out of Rainbow Dash's view, Applejack stopped and sighed. It always hurt when people mentioned her strength. It just reminded her of the person she used to be. The person who was angry at losing her family in the accident. The person who hated everyone around her. The person who was ashamed to admit that they were weak.

“You're not that person anymore, Applejack,” Agumon said, sensing why Applejack was so upset.

“I try to remind myself of that every day,” Applejack said with a sigh, “Ah don't wanna head home tonight.” she pulled out her chat screen on her Digivice and contacted Rarity.

Hey, missing my favorite person in the world. Can I spend the night?

It only took a few minutes for Rarity to reply.

I was hoping you would come over! I'll be waiting for you!

“Good news,” Applejack said with a peaceful smile, “Looks like we're gonna be hangin out with Rarity an' Gabumon tonight.”

“Yes! I can't wait to tell Gabumon that I made another Digimon friend!” Agumon cheered. Applejack chuckled and followed after her partner as he ran off. As long as she got to be near her beloved princess, she didn't have to worry about the bad memories of the past.

Rarity's place was really nice. Surprisingly she didn't live in a mansion, but the building was still pretty nice sized, being two floors plus an attic. Rarity's parents said that the place would go to her one day, which was nice because they wouldn't ever have to be apart.

Her family was pretty nice. They were okay with Applejack, so she could just walk in to see Rarity. When she reached the door, she knocked in her special way to let Rarity know it was her.

“Come in, love,” she said from inside. Applejack smiled and opened the door, seeing Rarity lying on her bed reading in her white and purple bathrobe.

“Howdy,” Applejack said waving. Rarity marked the page she was on and closed her book, looking up at Applejack adoringly.

“Hey there,” Rarity said, “Looks like dreams do come true. Gabumon, be a dear and let your brother in.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” Gabumon said, rising up and walking to the window, which he opened. A second later, Agumon climbed inside.

“Sometimes I really wish Rarity's parents knew about us,” Agumon said, exhausted from the climb.

“That would be nice,” Rarity said folding her arms and giving the most adorable pout, “Sadly I know my mother. She'd freak. She doesn't even like our cat.”

Applejack laughed shaking her head. She then closed the door and locked it, walking over to Rarity's bed. She then sat down behind her and embraced her tightly.

“Applejack love, what's wrong?” Rarity asked holding onto Applejack's arm.

“I met another Tamer,” Applejack said, “Ya know her well. It's Rainbow Dash.”

“Seriously, she of all people has a Digimon?” Rarity asked with a raised eyebrow, “I suppose it's not my place to judge. Yggdrasil knows what she's doing.”

“She called me strong,” Applejack said softly. A look of understanding came over Rarity.

“O-oh. I see,” Rarity turned around to face Applejack, and gently caressed her cheek, “You're not still bothered by it, are you?” when Applejack averted her eyes, Rarity sighed, “Um, could you two give Applejack and I some alone time, dearies?”

“Sure thing,” Agumon said, “Let's head to the Lookout Tower.”

“Alright, have a good night you two,” Gabumon said. Both tiny Digimon jumped out the still open window.

“Applejack, the person you are back then isn't the person you are now,” Rarity said, “You're so much better now.”

“I know it's silly,” Applejack said with a sigh, still not looking Rarity in the eyes, “But Ah can't help it, Rarity. I used ta say such horrible things to ya back then.”

“But look where we are now,” Rarity wrapped her arms around Applejack, “We're as close as two people could possibly be, if not closer. If it were ever possible Applejack, I'd want to meld with you and become one being born of our love.”

“That's an odd thing ta say,” Applejack said with a soft smile.

“I know it is,” Rarity said, kissing Applejack lightly on the lips, “But it's the truth. I think about you all the time. I am so thankful that you saved my life that day. I know I'd be dead if not for you, Applejack.”

“I couldn't let ya die there,” Applejack said wrapping her arms around Rarity now, “I wouldn't know what to do without ya, Rarity. I need ya to guide my fists.”

“Just like I need your fists to keep me safe,” Rarity smiled softly, “We truly do complete one another.”

“Don't ever leave me,” Applejack begged, “Please, don't ever leave.”

“I won't leave you,” Rarity replied, “I love you Applejack, always.”

“An' I love you too,” Applejack said, looking at Rarity adoringly, “Always an' forever.”

Applejack lied down on top of Rarity, and the two of them locked fingers and kissed, deeply and passionately. Rarity's mother knew not to bother her when Applejack was around, so they were perfectly secure for the rest of the night.

They had all the time in the world to enjoy their love.

“So, you are okay, right Fluttershy?” Pinkie Pie asked, her and Hackmon walking Fluttershy and Guilmon part of the way home.

“I am,” Fluttershy said looking down, “Um, I'm sorry if knowing that I'm Zero is um…”

“Nah, it's okay,” Pinkie Pie said waving it off, “I don't judge anyone. I might not agree with your methods, but I'll support you.”

“Thank you,” Fluttershy said looking at Pinkie Pie appreciatively, “Um, are we friends now…?”

Pinkie Pie blinked in confusion, “I'd say so. Why do you ask?”

“I've never made friends with anyone outside of the internet,” Fluttershy admitted shuffling nervously, “There, you have a friends list, and anyone who you consider a friend is just someone you put there. In real life though, I don't have anything like that, so…”

“Tell you what,” Pinkie Pie pulled out her Digivice, “Add my Digivice account into your friend's list.” Fluttershy tilted her head cutely, but did as the super sweet girl asked her to, pulling out her Digivice and connecting it to Pinkie Pie's. A second later, Pinkie Pie's information came up on her friend list.

Her picture was interesting. She was clearly lying on her bed and giving the camera a sweet smile, one that was almost sensual or romantic in nature.

“There, now you can apply a bit of internet logic into the real world,” Pinkie Pie said, showing Fluttershy's picture and information on her holographic screen. Was that how she looked on camera?

I'm a lot cuter than I thought.

“But, that's bad, isn't it?” Fluttershy asked looking away slightly, “I should be breaking away from that sort of logic, shouldn't I…?”

Pinkie Pie placed her hand on Fluttershy's cheek, “Going cold turkey is never a good idea,” she said, “You need to pace yourself. Taking it one day at a time.”

“I don't know,” Guilmon piped up, “Cold turkey sounds delicious to me,” he held his stomach as it growled, “Shoot, now I'm hungry.”

“Me too,” Hackmon said with the same adorable pout, “I hope there are some leftovers from last night's dinner.”

Both girls laughed at their Digimon, who seemed so innocent compared to the humans around them, “Don't rush it, Fluttershy, and don't try to be anyone but your natural self, even if you're not sure how others feel.”

“But, what if people don't like the real me?” Fluttershy asked nervously.

“Then screw them,” Pinkie Pie replied simply, “You want people who like you for you, not for who you present yourself to be.”

That made sense, somewhat. It was still terrifying though. She felt so naked right now. She planned on talking to Cipher tonight just so she could relax a bit.

“I'll see you at school tomorrow, okay?” Pinkie Pie said hugging Fluttershy, “Hey, let's you, me, and Dashie hang out this weekend.”

“O-okay,” Fluttershy said returning the hug slowly, “That sounds… fun.”

“Great! See ya Fluttershy! Bye Guilmon!” Pinkie Pie said happily running off.

“Take care!” Hackmon said running after his Tamer.

“Bye…” Fluttershy said, waving to Pinkie Pie and Hackmon as they ran off.

“You're doing a great job, Fluttershy,” Guilmon said brightly.

“Thank you Guilmon,” Fluttershy said, “Now that we're alone, I can show you the thing I learned,” Fluttershy led Guilmon to a bench and pulled up her Digital Hazard counter, which once again showed only 25 percent, “When you Digivolved into Growlmon, this went up.”

“That's the counter for the Virus I merged with, right?” Guilmon asked sitting down and looking at it.

Fluttershy nodded, “It went up to 50 percent when you Digivolved. Do you remember the level's of Digimon that Yggdrasil mentioned?”

“Fresh, In-Training, Rookie, Champion, Ultimate, and Mega,” Guilmon recited for himself out loud, “There are three levels after my current one.”

“Exactly, and if I'm doing the math right, then the Digital Hazard should go up 25 percent for each level. So 50 percent for Champion, 75 percent for Ultimate, and then finally 100 percent for Mega.”

“So I need to get stronger in order to complete it,” Guilmon reasoned, “But, what I wanna know is, why did it go back to 25 percent when I changed back?”

“Probably because your Rookie Level only has enough memory to hold that much,” Fluttershy sat back and crossed her legs, folding her arms thoughtfully, “But that does raise a question though, where did the new data go when you reverted?”

“You won't get the chance to decide,” a familiar voice said in front of them, “Nor will you be able to complete that virus.”

Fluttershy and Guilmon looked ahead to see Twilight and her Digimon standing there, glaring at them. Fluttershy pulled out her Digivice to scan the odd Digimon next to Twilight.

ID: DORUMON

LEVEL: ROOKIE

TYPE: ANIMAL

ATTRIBUTE: DATA

Fluttershy frowned and got up, both she and Guilmon walking toward Twilight and Dorumon.

“I'm only going to ask you this one more time,” Twilight said, “Leave that Digimon alone, please! It's for the good of the Digital World and the Real World!”

“You're still on that?” Fluttershy groaned shaking her head.

“I'm not leaving Fluttershy!” Guilmon said getting in front of her and holding his arms out in defense, “I'm her friend!”

“You're a dangerous virus, and you're putting this girl's life in danger,” Twilight said, “If you truly value her life, you'll stay as far away from her as possible.”

“I made a promise to her, and I always keep my promises,” Guilmon said, glaring at Twilight and Dorumon.

“You're worried about the Digital Hazard, right?” Fluttershy asked holding up her Digivice, “There's nothing to worry about. I'm in perfect control of it.”

“No, you're not,” Dorumon said, “You only think you are.”

“That virus is intertwined with Guilmon's natural data,” Twilight explained, “As you already deduced, each time he Digivolves to the next level, the virus will get stronger. If it were just a regular computer virus it wouldn't be an issue. But Guilmon is the virus.”

“Your point?” Fluttershy asked narrowing her eyes.

“My point is that once that virus is complete, it will be unleashed on everything around you,” Twilight continued, “You would be responsible for the destruction of both worlds, and believe me, when that happens you won't be in control of it. Your arrogance will be the death of everyone you care about.”

Fluttershy closed her eyes seriously, “Guilmon, do you want to destroy the Digital World or Human World?”

“Not at all Fluttershy,” Guilmon said, equally serious, “All I want is to help you learn why your Mom died.”

“Well there you have it,” Fluttershy said, looking back at Twilight, “Guilmon isn't the bad Digimon you seem to think he is. He's no more dangerous than I am.”

Twilight tightened her fists in frustration, “You stupid, arrogant child. Fine, if you won't stop in this quest, I'll have no choice but to stop you both by force!” she pulled out her Digivice, “Dorumon, get ready!”

“Right!” Dorumon shouted, barring his teeth and growling at Fluttershy and Guilmon. Fluttershy lowered her goggles over her eyes and pulled out her Digivice.

“If it's a fight you want, then it's a fight you'll get!” Fluttershy shouted, “But I'm not letting you or anyone stop me! If you're not going to help me, then you're an enemy! Guilmon!”

“Right!” Guilmon said, his eyes narrowing into slits giving him a more feral appearance, “Let's do this! Together!”

FLUTTERSHY VS TWILIGHT

Guilmon and Dorumon charged at each other, and the violent battle began, Fluttershy prepared to do whatever it took to defeat Twilight. Even if she had to rely on the Digital Hazard in order to do it.

Bring it on, Twilight!

I'll destroy you, your Digimon, Umbra Corp, and ANYONE else that gets in my way!

07: Who's the woman in white?

Theme Song: With the Wind

07: Who's the woman in white?

play song

“FIRE BALL!”

“METAL CANNON!”

The two attacks met in the center of the park and exploded. The two Digimon in question rushed at each other meeting in a headbutt, both of them pressing their heads together and glaring at each other. They jumped away from each other and Dorumon charged up energy through his body, making the red gemstone glow on his forehead.

“METAL CANNON!” he intoned, firing a large metallic sphere at Guilmon.

“Altering Program! Defense UP!” Fluttershy shouted, sending the new program. Guilmon held his claws in front of himself to defend, and the attack only pushed him back. Still, Fluttershy saw that his health dropped a bit, “Guilmon, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I'm fine!” Guilmon said, falling onto one knee. He then glared at Dorumon and shot up, charging at his opponent. He then slashed wildly, spinning around to hit Dorumon with his tail, but the purple Digimon dodged all of his attacks and then jumped away.

“You're nothing but a child playing with forces beyond your comprehension,” Twilight taunted, pulling out her Digivice, “This fight will be over quickly. Altering Program! Speed UP!”

Dorumon ran in a wide arc around Guilmon, who continuously shot fireballs at the skilled purple Digimon. Dorumon stopped running and charged straight at Guilmon, “DASH METAL!” he shouted, rapid firing smaller metal spheres at Guilmon while he ran. Like before Guilmon blocked, but then Dorumon jumped into the air and did a stomping kick on Guilmon, knocking him down.

“Guilmon!” Fluttershy cried. She was about to run to his aid, but Dorumon shot a metal sphere at her feet stopping her.

“Don't interfere!” Twilight commanded, “This is for your own-” she cried out in surprise as a fireball shot in her direction, causing her to duck. When she looked she saw Guilmon standing up, and he looked pissed.

“Don't, attack, FLUTTERSHY!” Guilmon roared, his eyes turning slit like now he was so pissed. He charged at Dorumon slashing wildly, yet his attacks looked like they were getting through now. Fluttershy looked at Guilmon intently, amazed by how well he was fighting.

“Yeah, that's right!” she pulled out her Digivice, “I have to fight just as hard too! Guilmon, get ready!”

Guilmon jumped back away from Dorumon and held his arms out in front of Fluttershy defending her, “Let's do this, Fluttershy!”

“Altering Program! Digivolve!” Fluttershy shouted activating the program. She then held her hand in front of her face as crimson red energy formed. She sent the energy into her Digivice, and then pointed it at Guilmon, sending the energy out to him.

ACCESS

DIGIVOLUTION

“GUILMON DIGIVOLVE TO!” Guilmon shouted, his body ripping apart to reveal the deep red wire frame underneath, which then shifted in size and shape before his body reformed, “GROWLMON!”

Fluttershy once again felt a sharp pain in her chest, and she looked at the Digivice.

HAZARD LEVEL: 50%

“Growlmon sweetie, let's rip that Digimon apart,” Fluttershy said with a sneer, now once again Zero. Growlmon gave a loud roar, which actually pushed Twilight and Dorumon back a bit.

“So, it's bonded with you that much,” Twilight said somberly, “You have no idea what's going on with you, do you?”

“I don't care is the thing,” Zero said, leaning forward with her hands on her hips, “You're just afraid because you know that Growlmon's going to tear your poor excuse of a Digimon in half.”

“Is that right?” Twilight asked darkly, “Well then, why don't I show you what a true Champion level Digimon looks like. Dorumon, let's stop playing with this child.”

“Understood! Proceeding with level 2!” Dorumon said hunching forward.

“Altering Program! Digivolve!” Twilight shouted. She elegantly held her hand out and snapped her fingers, causing purple energy to build up. She then sent the energy into her Digivice and shot it out at Dorumon, almost like it were a mundane action.

ACCESS

DIGIVOLUTION

“DORUMON DIGIVOLVE TOO!” Dorumon shouted, his body ripping apart to reveal a purple wire frame underneath. When the energy surrounded him, his body grew in size along with his wings and tail. When he reformed he was a larger black version of himself with purple stripes, black wings with a white underside, and red claws on his hands and feet, “DORUGAMON!”

“Oh?” Zero asked pulling out her Digivice to scan it, “What's that thing?”

ID: DORUGAMON

LEVEL: CHAMPION

TYPE: ANIMAL

ATTRIBUTE: DATA

“This changes nothing,” Zero said, looking at their opponent, “Growlmon, attack!”

“EXHAUST FLAME!” Growlmon thundered, immediately firing a stream of flames at Dorugamon, who simply spread his wings and took to the sky. He glided effortlessly through the sky before flying down toward Growlmon and raked him across the legs with his razor sharp claws.

“AH!” Zero shouted, flinching in pain from the attack. Before Growlmon could retaliate, Dorugamon flew in the red dragon's face and kicked him continuously, forcing both Growlmon and Fluttershy to have to put up their arms in defense, “What the hell? Why's it so powerful?”

“Trust me, if I wanted to, I could delete your Digimon in a heartbeat,” Twilight said, catching Zero's attention, “This isn't even a fraction of my power. My Digimon and I can already reach Mega Level.”

“So you're holding back?!” Zero seethed.

“If we were to use our full power you wouldn't stand a chance,” Twilight said, “The only reason I don't, is because I don't want Yggdrasil knowing my full power.”

Growlmon glared at Dorugamon as he landed and barred his teeth. Knowing that these two weren't even using half their strength was outright disrespectful.

“Dorugamon, let's end this,” Twilight commanded, “We already won this fight.”

“Understood, Mistress Twilight,” Dorugamon said hunching forward. He then charged at Growlmon and the two Digimon slashed wildly with their claws and tails. All the while, Zero could feel each slash, bite, and kick as if she were fighting herself. She looked up at Twilight though and saw red.

She was standing there, perfectly calm. Didn't she feel it too?

“Why aren't you affected?” Zero asked through gritted teeth, “Why don't you FEEL ANYTHING?!” Growlmon responded to her emotions by slashing Dorugamon with his Dragon Claw attack, pushing the black dragon looking Digimon back a bit and causing Twilight to have raise her hand in defense, “I'm going to wipe that smug look off your face, bitch! Altering Program! Overheat!”

Growlmon's entire body caught fire as the temperature rose around him, “EXHAUST FLAME!” she shouted, firing an even bigger gout of flames at both Dorugamon and Twilight. While the flame engulfed them, Zero held her head, laughing maniacally.

“See that?!” Zero mocked, “Feel the power of your superior!” almost immediately, Dorugamon shot out of the flames and tackled Growlmon onto the ground, causing Zero to fly back onto the ground herself.

“Honestly, I'm not impressed,” Twilight said, walking out as the flames dispersed, “You really are nothing more than a child.”

Zero sat up, visibly enraged, “Shut up! SHUT UP!” she actually rushed at Twilight herself and tried to punch her, but Twilight flipped her around, grabbed her wrist, and then held her down with little effort.

“Dorugamon, just end this now,” Twilight said to her Digimon, “I tire of this little girl.”

Dorugamon charged up energy as Growlmon slowly rose to his feet, “POWER METAL!” he shouted, sending a large sphere of metal out at Growlmon, hitting in point blank in the stomach, both him and Fluttershy screaming in pain.

“Again!” Twilight commanded.

Dorugamon charged up his attack again and fired it at Growlmon, who tried to defend, but the attack broke through his defense easily.

“Keep attacking!” Twilight ordered, holding Zero's wrist tighter as she writhed in pain yet still struggled to get free. Dorugamon continued to walk toward Growlmon, firing his attack over and over again, until apparently neither Growlmon nor Zero could take anymore, and Growlmon fell onto the ground turning back into Guilmon. At the same time, Zero gasped in shock and pain, and then fell out onto the grass.

end song

“G-Guilmon!” Fluttershy reached out for her unconscious partner, but Twilight stepped on her back, pinning her onto the ground.

“It'll be over soon,” Twilight said venomously, “For what it's worth, I am sorry for this.”

Fluttershy looked in horror as Dorugamon stood over Guilmon and charged up his attack. She tried to reach for her Digivice, but it was no use. Twilight held her down onto the ground to hard, and she couldn't move at all.

“No! NO!” Fluttershy screamed, flashes of her mother's funeral going through her mind, “GUILMON!”

“HEAVEN'S KNUCKLE!”

A large golden stream of light shot down at Dorugamon, actually knocking him back and Twilight off of Fluttershy. When she looked up she saw what looked like a strange white angel with a mask covering its face and six bolts embedded in its chest, landing in front of Guilmon, facing Dorugamon. A woman clad in white walking over to the red Digimon and kneeled down to check on him.

“W-wait, Angemon?!” Twilight cried looking at the white Digimon and then at the woman, “Celestia, is that-”

“Leave,” the woman in white commanded, “We will talk about this later.”

“Leave?! Mistress, where have you-”

“I gave you an order, Alphamon,” Celestia said sternly. Twilight glared at the woman in white, but then rose up and jumped on Dorugamon's back.

“This isn't over, Zero,” Twilight said. Dorugamon took off into the sky flying off into the moonlight. The white Digimon glowed and shrunk down into something much smaller that Fluttershy could barely see. As the tiny Digimon flew down to Guilmon, the woman in white walked over to Fluttershy and knelt down before her.

“Who, are?”

“Shh…” Celestia said with a gentle smile, “When you wake up, you will be safe at home, with your Digimon.”

“Your voice… it sounds… familiar…” Fluttershy said, drifting off as the darkness claimed her.

Twilight and Dorugamon landed outside of town, where Twilight jumped off her Digimon and went to hide in an alleyway, which was thankfully big enough for Dorugamon to weave his way inside.

“Seraphimon, why…?” Twilight asked, leaning against a wall, “Surely you know what that Digimon is, right?”

“Something is wrong here, Twilight,” Dorugamon said, “Both Ophanimon and Seraphimon are acting strange.”

“Damn it!” Twilight cried falling down into a sitting position, tears falling from her eyes, “Ophanimon is keeping secrets, and now Seraphimon is protecting that virus and his Tamer?! What do we do now?! Who do we trust?!”

“Twilight, it's okay,” Dorugamon knelt down next to Twilight and nuzzled her, “We'll figure this out. Why don't we head back to the network for now to regroup?”

“Good idea,” Twilight said, rising up, “The computer we used should be nearby. Let's go before the store closes.”

Dorugamon de-digivolved into Dorumon, and the two of them ran toward a cyber cafe. At the moment, besides the owner behind the counter, only a single patron was there. It was a young man, looking to be in his early twenties, with short black hair and a black goatee, wearing a gray flannel shirt, brown pants, black boots, and fancy looking red glasses with golden tinted lenses. Before him was a fancy looking laptop, and he looked a little concerned.

“She should be on by now,” the young man said thoughtfully. When he saw Twilight and Dorumon walk in, his eyes widened, but he pretended to not pay attention to them. The man behind the counter was too busy watching videos on his phone to care.

Twilight and Dorumon went to the computer in the far back of the room. The man noticed that there was a big bright flash, that eventually died down. Curious, he rose up to investigate, and was surprised to see that the booth was empty.

“You okay, Discord?” the man behind the counter asked, finally looking up from his phone.

“Yes, um, does anyone ever use this computer?” the young man, Discord asked.

“Not even,” the guy behind the counter said with a snort, “That thing's an antique, bro. It's a miracle that it even turns on. Only reason we keep it is for nostalgia purposes.”

“Is that right?” Discord said looking at the computer intently, “Huh, anyway, I'm heading home for now.”

“Still can't reach your girlfriend?” the owner asked.

“Normally I'd be excited that she's actually living her life outside of her room,” Discord said packing up his computer, “But at this hour, and on a weekend at that, she's always on her computer, and she'd text me if something came up.”

“I'm sure she's fine,” the owner said, “She'll probably be on when you get in.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Discord said closing his backpack and throwing it over his shoulder, “I'll see you later, Scorpan.”

“See ya Discord,” the owner said. As Discord walked by, he and Scorpan did a fancy fist bump and handshake, not once meeting a beat. Once outside, he pulled out his cellphone and pulled up the picture of the lady in white.

“These Digimon are seriously popping up everywhere, aren't they?” Discord asked with a frown, “I need to investigate this more.”

He began making his way back to his apartment, figuring that he'd wait for his friend there. They had a lot to talk about.

When Fluttershy woke up, she was lying on the couch, her father sitting over her wiping her forehead with a white towel.

“Daddy…?” Fluttershy asked.

“Thank God,” Cyrus said with a relieved smile.

“What happened?” she rose up with a start, “Guilmon! Where is he?! Is he okay?!”

“Fluttershy, Fluttershy, calm down,” Cyrus said placing his hands on her shoulders, “Guilmon's fine. He's upstairs in your room, resting.”

Fluttershy breathed out in relief. She was worried that Twilight and her Digimon had deleted him. “How did we get here?”

“An old friend dropped you off,” Cyrus said, “Sadly, she already left, but she sent you her regards.”

Old friend. Was he talking about the white lady with the angel looking Digimon? She never got to get the information on that Digimon, but whatever it was, it was truly a sight to see.

“I don't know what you're doing,” Cyrus continued, “But please be careful. I don't want to lose either you or Guilmon.”

“I will,” Fluttershy said, “Thank you Daddy. Um, I'm going to check on Guilmon, now.”

“Fluttershy,” Cyrus called out stopping her, “Don't keep trying to do things on your own, honey. Sooner or later you will get seriously hurt.”

Fluttershy sighed and walked up the stairs. She knew that her father was right, but Twilight was able to get that strong on her own. Why was she so powerful? Were she and Guilmon just outmatched?

When she reached her bedroom, she saw Guilmon sitting on the bed, looking at his claws seriously.

“Guilmon?” Fluttershy asked softly. Guilmon turned to Fluttershy beaming.

“Fluttershy! You're okay!” he cried, shooting up and embracing Fluttershy tightly, “I was worried about you when you didn't wake up right away!”

“Oh Guilmon!” Fluttershy sobbed returning the tight embrace, “I'm so sorry I wasn't strong enough! I had no idea that Twilight was so powerful!”

“No Fluttershy, it's not just you,” Guilmon looked Fluttershy in the eyes, “I don't think either of us was strong enough. Those two were on a whole different level.”

“Then we have to become stronger,” Fluttershy said seriously, “If she's determined to fight us, then we need to be ready. Next time, we won't lose!”

Guilmon nodded, “Right! I know we can do it!” Guilmon said with a confident smile. A beep on her computer caught her attention. She and Guilmon walked over to her computer and saw a notification from Cipher.

“Cipher!” Fluttershy cried happily, sitting down and typing up her reply.

Cipher! I'm so happy to see you!_

Oh my God, Zero! I was worried about you when I didn't hear from you. Are you okay?_

“Sounds like he really cares about you,” Guilmon pointed out.

“He and I have been together for years now,” Fluttershy said with a loving smile before typing up her reply.

Honestly… no I'm not okay Cipher._

Guilmon and I ran into another Tamer today. Some goth chick and a purple Digimon with a red gem._

Wait… goth chick?_

I think I saw her earlier._

“He saw Twilight?” Fluttershy asked. Did that mean that Cipher was actually in the area?

Yeah, pretty sure actually._

She walked over to a computer near me and just… VANISHED._

“She mentioned that she came from the network,” Fluttershy said thoughtfully, “Guilmon, do you think she went back to the Digital World?”

“Probably,” Guilmon said with a shrug, “You do have to travel through the network in order to get to my world.”

Guilmon just said that she might have gone back to the Digital World._

His world._

So… humans live in the Digital World too?_

“Guilmon, do they?” Fluttershy asked Guilmon.

“Honestly, I don't know,” Guilmon said, “I know that there are certain Digimon that look very human, but I don't think there are actual humans in the Digital World.”

Fluttershy pursed her lips and typed up her response.

Guilmon says it's unlikely._

Although, I've heard some people call her by a Digimon name._

What's the name they use?_

Alphamon._

Hm… Alphamon, huh?_

Yeah. You've been looking into this too, right?_

Does that sound familiar?_

Afraid not. Sorry Zero._

Fluttershy rubbed her eyes, “So much for that,” she pouted, “I was hoping he'd know something.”

However, I do have something else._

I was at the train station this afternoon, and I saw a strange woman getting off._

“Strange woman?” Guilmon asked reading the screen as Fluttershy typed up her response.

What was so strange about this woman?_

Besides the fact that she was dancing and spinning around like a child?_

And was talking about arriving in America like she'd reached paradise?_

She had a Digimon._

This woman was another tamer?! Before she could ask Cipher to tell her more, she saw Cipher upload a picture. Probably of said tamer. When the picture appeared, Fluttershy did a double take.

“Guilmon, that's her,” Fluttershy said in awe.

“I remember her,” Guilmon said, “She was with me when I woke up.”

“She was?!” Fluttershy asked turning to Guilmon, “Do you know who she is?”

“Sorry Fluttershy, but no,” Guilmon said with an adorable pout, “She never said her name, but she did have a tiny Digimon with her. A Patamon I think.”

“Patamon?” Fluttershy asked, wishing she could search the names of Digimon to get their pictures. Either way, she typed up her response to Cipher.

Guilmon and I saw her._

She saved our lives._

I think she's a friend of my Dad's._

Or maybe… of my Mom..._

Fluttershy thought about that as Cipher wrote his reply. Did that woman know her mother? Could she possibly be a lead? If so, she needed to find her as soon as possible.

It's possible. It's HIGHLY possible._

So, we're searching for her, right?_

“Are we?” Guilmon asked Fluttershy.

“Yes, we are,” Fluttershy said typing up her response, “She knows something about what happened to my Mom, I'm sure of it.”

That's the next plan, Cipher._

Can I count on you to be on the lookout for her too?_

Of course you can._

If I find her, I'll let you know._

Thanks Cipher._

I'm going to turn in for the night._

Good idea, Zero._

Get some rest._

She and Cipher said good night and both logged out. Fluttershy then turned her chair around and hugged her knees. “Guilmon, that woman is the closest I have to learning the truth about my Mom.”

“She might not know much though,” Guilmon said rubbing her back, “We have to prepare for that.”

“I know,” Fluttershy said, “But either way, she knew her. She might be able to tell me a bit about what she was working on before she died. That way, I can learn WHY she died.”

Celestia stopped in the middle of the town, a good bit away from Fluttershy's home. She then turned around to look back at the house.

“Celestia, what's wrong?” Patamon asked looking up at his tamer, “Do you have a tummy ache?”

“No sweetie, it's not that,” Celestia said, petting the tiny Digimon in her arms, “Just remembering an old friend.”

“Do you think Alphamon is mad at us?” Patamon asked wilting.

“Twilight and Dorumon probably aren't the happiest with us,” Celestia held Patamon close to her face and smiled, “But we did what we had to. We had a promise to keep.”

“To Dr. Posey, right?” Patamon asked. Celestia pulled Patamon into a tight hug.

“That's right Patamon. Come on, dear. Let's get something to eat,” Celestia said, walking back to town. She knew that her student was going to be furious at her, and she technically did protect a dangerous virus, but she just couldn't stand by and let her best friend's daughter get hurt.

She promised Posey after all.

“So, Yggdrasil's begun making new tamers,” an elderly man said, holding a long staff in his large nailed hands.

“Mm hm,” a silvery voice said, coming from a woman with short hair and a fancy dress, “I've located at least five new ones. All of them are little girls.”

“Pssh! Don't tell me you're afraid of a bunch of kids!” a gruff and arrogant voice said from a man sitting on a chair, wearing what looked like biker equipment and polishing a large gun, “I say we just go there now and wreck the whole place!”

“I agree!” a monstrous voice boomed, coming from what appeared to be a monster shaped like a gator of some sort, “Let's destroy the surface dwellers now! We've already destroyed the Royal Knights!”

“No,” a scarily calm voice said from someone in a cloak, “If we were to attack now we'd be made wide open. Belphemon is still sleeping, and our leader is still acting strangely.”

“So what do you suggest we do, Daemon?” the woman asked leaning against a wall sensually.

“We should buy time to regroup,” the cloaked figure said, “The Mother Computer is making new Tamers, right? Why don't we take a page from her book?”

“You mean make Tamers of our own?” the elderly man asked stroking his beard, “Now that's truly an interesting idea.”

“I have someone I'm keeping an eye on,” the woman said, “I think she has the makings to become a truly vile individual.”

“Ugh, as long as I get to do something instead of rottin’ in this place I'm happy,” the biker groaned, “Seriously! I can't take it! I'm gonna die of boredom!”

“Hold it! How do we know that this will work?!” the gator shaped monster shouted, “Those Tamers were picked out by Yggdrasil herself!”

“We don't need them to kill the Tamers outright, Leviamon,” the cloaked said turning to the gator, “All we need is to keep them busy and distracted while we regain our power.”

“Lilithmon, you are the only one capable of entering the Real World right now,” the elderly man said, “Go to this child, and claim her impure heart in the name of the Seven Demon Lords.”

The woman, rose up and elegantly bowed, “I will do as you command, Barbamon.”

Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and their Digimon all met at the park the next day. While the Digimon sparred and played together, their tamers sat down on a bench, where Fluttershy shared with them what happened last night.

“I'm sorry,” Pinkie Pie said hugging Fluttershy, “I should have followed you home.”

“Why didn't you tell us you were under attack?” Rainbow Dash asked, “Veemon and I would have been there in a heartbeat.”

“I… I didn't want to trouble anyone,” Fluttershy said looking down pained, “It was my problem and…”

Rainbow Dash turned Fluttershy to face her, “Fluttershy, we're your friends. Your problem is our problem, because we care about you.”

“But… Pinkie Pie doesn't like fighting,” Fluttershy said sadly, “I couldn't ask her to-”

“I may not like fighting,” Pinkie Pie said, “But I don't want a friend to get hurt because I didn't do anything.”

“Look, from now on, call us,” Rainbow Dash said, “I don't care what we're doing at the time. We're a team, so that means if one of us is in danger, we get there to help, agreed?”

“Agreed,” Pinkie Pie said. Fluttershy looked at her two friends and smiled. She honestly didn't expect them to care this much.

“Well, with that said,” Fluttershy pulled out her phone and showed them the picture of the woman in white, “Have either of you ever seen this woman?”

Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie frowned looking that the picture, “Can't say that I have,” Pinkie Pie said.

“Nope, me neither,” Rainbow Dash said, “Who is she?”

“I don't know,” Fluttershy said, “My online friend, Cipher, said that she had a Digimon with her, and she saved me last night from Twilight's attack. I need to find her.”

“So you can thank her?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“That, and to ask her a few questions,” Fluttershy said, putting her phone back in her jacket pocket, “Girls… she knew my Mom.”

“Whoa, seriously?” Rainbow Dash asked, both her and Pinkie Pie wide eyed.

“According to my Dad, she's an “old friend”,” Fluttershy said, “I mean, I don't know for sure, but… what if she did know my Mom?”

“Your Mom knew a Tamer?” Rainbow Dash asked, “But, she worked with Umbra Corp, right?”

“Hey, what does Umbra Corp do exactly?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“They're an electronics company,” Rainbow Dash explained, “They make all sorts of software, from computers, to smartphones, stuff like that.”

“Mmmm, nope,” Pinkie Pie said shaking her head, “Doesn't add up.”

“What do you mean?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Remember when Fluttershy said that she took those employee records?” Pinkie Pie said, “A legit company wouldn't need to keep their employee records a secret like that.”

“What are you saying?” Rainbow Dash asked, looking a bit afraid.

“I'm saying that Fluttershy might be onto something here about Umbra Corp having a secret, and if her Mom really did know a Tamer, then that means that said secret, is related to them,” everyone looked out to where she was pointing to.

The Digimon.

“You think… Umbra Corp knows about the Digimon?” Fluttershy asked.

“I'm saying that it's possible,” Pinkie Pie stated, “If they do, maybe we can use them to figure out who that woman in white is.”

“Dashie, can you help me?” Fluttershy asked turning to Rainbow Dash, “I need to get back into Umbra Corps network, but they're probably going to be watching it more closely.”

“I…” Rainbow Dash looked to the side unsure.

“Please Dashie, you're the only one who can get me back in!” Fluttershy begged. Rainbow Dash looked into Fluttershy's eyes, seeing how desperate she was. She then turned to Pinkie Pie, who gave her a look of understanding.

“I'll get you in,” Rainbow Dash said seriously, “I promise.”

Fluttershy beamed and hugged Rainbow Dash, “Thank you so much Dashie!”

Pinkie Pie sighed, “I might be able to help out too. My sister Maud taught me a cool trick with our Digivices and our Digimon. It might prove useful.”

“Really? Thank you Pinkie Pie!” Fluttershy said, now hugging her, “I'll go tell the Digimon!”

As Fluttershy shot up to talk to their Digimon, Pinkie Pie scooted over to Rainbow Dash.

“Are you sure about this, Rainbow Dash?” Pinkie Pie asked, “I mean, that's your father's company.”

“I… I know,” Rainbow Dash said looking pained, “But… you saw Fluttershy. She needs answers, and I can help her get them.”

“No Dash, she doesn't need answers,” Pinkie Pie said, “She wants answers.”

Rainbow Dash turned to Fluttershy, who was surrounded by the Digimon. She looked so happy right now, and it was a nice change, as Fluttershy usually looked really somber. But… the reason she was so happy was because…

“I promised that I'd help her get closure, and I always keep my promises,” Rainbow Dash said, “And… if she's right, then my Dad might be doing something dangerous, and I need to stop him if that's the case.”

Pinkie Pie shook her head, “Well, I said I'd help out too. I don't like this, but… I'll help.”

“Thanks Pinkie Pie,” Rainbow Dash said, “You know, you're really cool.”

“Oh Rainbow Dash, we don't have to pretend this isn't what it is,” she said, giving Rainbow Dash a sensual smile, “Let's just skip to the good part.”

“Ahh… Pinkie Pie…?” Rainbow Dash said, backing away a bit. A second later, Pinkie Pie burst out laughing.

“You should see the look on your face!” Pinkie Pie said, “That was totally worth it!”

Rainbow Dash sighed in relief. She still wasn't sure how she felt about the pink haired teen laughing, but she had to admit that she looked really cute when she was so happy.

In another section of the city, a young girl in glasses was making her way back to home after hanging out with her friend. Once again she had to go on and on about how great Rumble was. How handsome he was. It drove her up the wall listening to that.

But she had to. She had to listen to her all the time, because according to Diamond Tiara, she was her “best friend”.

The silver haired girl stopped and looked down, tightening her fists in frustration. Diamond Tiara shouldn't have been looking at Rumble. She was supposed to look at her!

“I'm your friend…!” the preteen said, eyes closed tightly, “Not that… that…!”

“Do you covet love?”

The girl gasped in shock and looked around, “W-who's there…?”

“I know how you feel, child. After all, I also desire to be loved. Sometimes though… that love can only be gained by force.”

“You… know how I feel?” the girl asked, calming down a bit.

“Yes… I do, and that's why I desire to help you,” the source of the voice stepped out of the shadows, revealing themselves to be a woman with long dark blue hair that shimmered like the stars, wearing a fancy black dress that was slit open high on the left leg and showed a lot of her ample cleavage, long black gloves, and black high heels. She wore dark blue eyeshadow and purple lipstick, giving her a sinister look.

“Who are you?” the girl asked, somewhat mesmerized by the stunning woman before her.

“Just call me Luna,” the woman said with a sensual smirk, “And I'm the answer to your problems.” she held up her hand, revealing a tiny purple and black machine.

A Digivice.

Author's Note

If you enjoyed this, please check out my Patreon!

08: How far will you go?

Theme Song: With the Wind

08: How far will you go?

It was dark by the time she started making her way back to her mansion, now holding the odd black and purple MP3 player looking device close to her chest. The mysterious woman, Luna right? She called it a “Digivice”, and with it, she'd supposedly be able to make her dreams come true.

My dream…?

But… can I really make Diamond Tiara…?

The young girl opened the door to her mansion, and walked upstairs, passing by all of the servants that awaited her.

“Good evening, Miss Silver Spoon.”

“Welcome home, Miss Silver Spoon.”

“That dress looks lovely, Miss Silver Spoon.”

She inwardly scowled at all of them as she made her way to her room. She hated how phony they all were. They were only saying those things because it was their job. None of them actually cared about her. Her parents didn't even care. That's why they left out again, leaving her all alone.

I hate them…

I hate EVERYONE…!

As she walked into her room, her thoughts went to the one person she didn't hate. The one person who saved her life, and made her feel true happiness for once in her existence. Still wearing her gray and white dress and black shoes, the glasses wearing preteen jumped onto her bed and grabbed a picture. It was of her with another girl about her age with purple and white hair, wearing a fancy pink dress and a tiara in her hair.

“No… I don't hate you…” Silver Spoon said, her voice oozing in desperation and love, “I love you… You're mine, Diamond Tiara… All mine…!” she hugged the picture tightly, imagining that it was her that she was holding, “What does he have that I don't?! Why do you like him and not me?! You're mine, Diamond Tiara! YOU BELONG TO ME!!!”

-BEEP BEEP-

Silver Spoon was pulled out of her moment by the loud beep coming from her Digivice. She looked at it and saw a holographic screen appear above the device.

LEVEL: 666_ SYSTEM: ASMODEUS_ CODE: LUST

CAUTION! PURGATORY LEVEL 7

Before Silver Spoon could question what she was looking at, she noticed something jump onto her window. She looked and saw an odd looking black and purple cat, with gloves on its paws, and golden eyes that seemed to almost glow in the relative dark.

“You came for me, right?” Silver Spoon asked, looking at the black cat, “Are you a… Digimon?”

The black cat smirked and jumped off the window, walking over to the silver haired girl on all fours.

“My name is BlackGatomon,” the black cat said, voice surprisingly deep for something so cute and tiny, “Don't worry Silver Spoon, I'll love you.”

Silver Spoon's eyes widened, and tears started falling from her eyes. She then pulled the cat Digimon into a deep hug.

“Thank you!” she sobbed, “I love you, BlackGatomon!”

The mission was set to start tonight. The three of them would meet up and then head to Fluttershy's house, as she had the best computer. Also, she said that her family was okay concerning Digimon.

But first, Rainbow Dash needed to get them the key to the back door.

She walked into her mansion and looked around, “Dad, are ya in?” Rainbow Dash called out and waited for a minute, “Alright Veemon, the coast is clear.” Veemon jumped in from the window as Rainbow Dash ran into her Dad's study.

“So, what are we getting?” Veemon asked, running after her.

“My dad keeps all of his important files on his desktop,” Rainbow Dash said, “I can access them because he trusts me. Somewhere on there is the access code that Fluttershy needs.”

“Are you sure this is okay then,” Veemon asked, visibly concerned, “Isn't this a breach of-”

“It's to help Fluttershy uncover the truth.” Rainbow Dash cut her partner off, typing on the desktop computer, “If my Dad knows something about Fluttershy's Mom, we need to expose that.” she smirked at the computer, “And… got it!” she pulled out a flash drive and copied the access key, pulling it out and closing the computer, “Come on Veemon. Let's head out of here.”

Veemon nodded and ran out of the office with Rainbow Dash, but stopped when they heard the door open. Veemon ran over to the window and jumped out just as the door opened and her father walked inside.

“Hey Dad!” Rainbow Dash chirped, trying to hide how much her heart was racing.

“Hello Dash,” Sombra said walking over to hug her, “Were you heading out?”

“Y-yeah,” Dash said, “I'm chilling at a friend's place. You know Fluttershy?”

“The super quiet one, right?” Sombra asked, “Yes, I'd heard you were spending more time with her.”

“It's me and another girl,” Rainbow Dash said, “Pinkie Pie, the one from the diner.”

“Right,” he said nodding, “That's an interesting bunch. As long as you're careful.”

“I will be,” Rainbow Dash said pushing past him to the door, but stopping, “Dad, if I had a secret, a terrible secret, you'd want me to come clean right?”

Sombra was silent for a second, but he then turned to Rainbow Dash, “Of course I would. You should never keep a secret that bad.”

“Right, that's what you always taught me,” Rainbow Dash said with a smile, “That's all.”

“Dash, is something wrong?” Sombra asked Rainbow Dash walking over to her, “You're acting rather odd.”

“I'm fine,” Rainbow Dash forced out, eyes closed and trembling, “I… I need to go, alright? I can't keep my friends waiting.”

It looked like Sombra was going to hug her, but he stopped and sighed, “Very well Dash. Have fun.”

“I will,” she said, running out of the house before she broke down. She knew that Veemon was following her, so she just kept running.

Don't lie to me, Dad!

Please… I don't want them to be right about you!

“Yes, I'm about to get the files now,” Sombra said walking into his study and sitting at his computer, “Soon we'll be able to reconnect with that place. I'll see you back at the office, Octavia.”

He turned to his computer and frowned. He always kept the computer asleep, but the screen was usually off by the time he came in. Yet for some reason, the screen was open.

He shrugged and got to work. He had more pressing matters to attend to. Matters like how he was going to track down Zero.

When Rainbow Dash and Veemon arrived at the corner, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were already waiting for them there with their Digimon.

“Hey, got it,” Rainbow Dash, said handing the flash drive to Fluttershy, “This has the key to Umbra Corps' personal network.”

Fluttershy looked at the flash drive and nodded, “This is perfect. Thank you Rainbow Dash.”

“Don't thank us yet,” Pinkie Pie said, folding her arms and leaning against the wall, “We still need to break in.”

“You said you had a method that involved the Digimon, right?” Rainbow Dash asked Pinkie Pie.

“It's something that my sister Maud taught me,” Pinkie Pie said, “Pull out your phone.” Rainbow Dash shrugged and held out her phone. Pinkie Pie pulled out her pink and white Digivice and typed on the holographic keyboard, “Jack In! Hackmon!”

A green portal opened up next to Hackmon, and he walked through. The portal then closed behind him, scaring Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash.

“Whoa!” Rainbow Dash cried.

“W-where is he?” Fluttershy asked looking around, surprised when Guilmon and Veemon started laughing, “What?”

“Check her phone, Fluttershy,” Guilmon said. Rainbow Dash looked on her phone and did a double take. On the screen was Hackmon!

“Heya!” Hackmon said waving to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, the latter of the two of them smiling in awe.

“He's inside of the phone,” Fluttershy breathed out.

“Well, more so he's in the homepage of the phone,” Pinkie Pie pointed out, “To them, digital planes are environments that can be explored.”

“You're thinking, we send our Digimon into Umbra Corps' network like this?” Rainbow Dash asked with a huge grin.

“Better than us trying to look through the network the old fashioned way,” Pinkie Pie said with a shrug, “Probably safer too. Our Digimon are connected to our Digivices, and no conventional computers can trace them.”

“Guilmon sweetie,” Fluttershy said, pulling out her Digivice, “You've just gotten a huge promotion.”

“Sweet! I got a promotion!” Guilmon cheered happily. He then looked thoughtful, “What's a promotion?”

“Maybe it's means you get more food, or tastier food,” Veemon suggested. Guilmon's eyes widened happily.

“Hey, maybe!” Guilmon cried happily looking at Fluttershy, “Fluttershy! Is that what it is? Is it?”

“Sure,” Fluttershy said, shaking her head, “Maybe I can convince my Dad to make a pastry with your face on it or someth-” she was cut off by Guilmon gasping.

“Guilmon Bread!” Guilmon said excitedly, “It could have strawberry filling, and maybe it's as big as my claws, or, or-”

“Um, why don't we focus on one thing at at time,” Rainbow Dash interrupted suddenly, making Guilmon blush.

“Right, sorry,” Guilmon apologized sheepishly.

Fluttershy patted her Digimon on the head as Hackmon appeared out of another green portal, “My house is close to here. Let's head over now.”

Fluttershy led her friends to her two story house. Pinkie Pie took off her shoes the second she got in, making Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy briefly look at her.

“What?” Pinkie Pie asked, “Just trying to be polite.”

“Hello?” Cyrus said walking out of the kitchen, smiling in surprise, “Fluttershy, are these your friends from school?”

“Y-yes,” Fluttershy said blushing a bit in embarrassment, “Um, Rainbow Dash and her partner Veemon, and Pinkie Pie and her partner Hackmon.”

“Yo,” Rainbow Dash said with a two fingered wave.

“It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Brymwood,” Pinkie Pie said with a bow.

“It's a pleasure to meet you both as well,” Cyrus said shaking hands with both girls, “And you both have such adorable Digimon.”

“Thanks,” Hackmon said, rubbing the back of his head. Veemon folded his arms and pouted cutely

“I'm not adorable, I'm awesome,” he grumbled.

“Daddy, we're heading upstairs to my room,” Fluttershy said, “We're working on a project for school, and need absolute silence, so… I'm going to lock my door.”

“That's okay honey,” Cyrus said, “Enjoy your time with your friends.”

Fluttershy nodded and rushed upstairs, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Veemon, and Hackmon following suit. Guilmon however turned to Cyrus.

“So Dad, Fluttershy and I came up with a great idea for a snack,” Guilmon said, “What if, you made bread with my face on them, with strawberry filling? You could call it-”

“Come on Guilmon!” Fluttershy called out from upstairs.

“R-right! Sorry Fluttershy!” Guilmon cried, running after his tamer, “I'll tell ya more later!”

Cyrus shook his head smiling, and then thought about that idea. Bread in the shape of Guilmon's face, huh?

“So wait, you're from Japan?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Yep,” Pinkie Pie chirped happily, “Couldn't tell, could ya? My sis and I moved here when I was 4, so I learned English pretty easily.”

“Was that where you met Hackmon?” Fluttershy asked, setting up her desktop computer. Pinkie Pie nodded.

“Everyone in my family is a tamer,” Pinkie Pie explained, “I received my Digivice when I was still really young, and for a long time I was protected by my three sisters; Maud, Limestone, and Marble,” she went to sit down on Fluttershy's bed looking down, “One day, these really powerful Digimon attacked us, apparently after me. Maud's Leomon fought them to help us escape, but he couldn't Digivolve because she was with me, so eventually he…”

“He was deleted… wasn't he?” Fluttershy asked, turning to Pinkie Pie, who nodded sadly.

“But hold on,” Rainbow Dash said sitting down next to Pinkie Pie, “Why couldn't Leomon digivolve?”

“He was a Champion level Digimon,” Hackmon explained, catching everyone's attention, “Any higher level would have left Maud unable to move, and she needed to get Pinkie Pie here to America where it's safe.”

“She was messed up after his death,” Pinkie Pie said, hugging her knees, “Since he was always in the Champion level, they were connected on a programming level, so they felt each others' energy. When he was deleted, she went into shock, and never recovered.”

“I'm sorry,” Fluttershy said, looking down in a way that hid her eyes, “I don't want to ever think of what would happen if I lost Guilmon.”

“Hey, no one here's losing their Digimon partner,” Rainbow Dash said, “And now, you're gonna become a Tamer strong enough to protect everyone.”

Pinkie Pie looked at Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash and smiled softly, “Right, that's why we're working together.”

“So, in terms of us working together,” Fluttershy turned to the computer, “I think I might have located Umbra Corp's network.”

“Perfect,” Pinkie Pie said shooting up and walking over to the computer, “Don't unlock it just yet. Wait until our Digimon get there.”

“So, how do we do this?” Rainbow Dash asked standing next to Pinkie Pie.

“Just pull out your Digivices and use the connect feature,” Pinkie Pie said, “An option should come up for Fluttershy's computer. Once you choose that, just confirm that you want to jack into the computer.”

Everyone pulled out their Digivices and connected to Fluttershy's computer, which was registered as “ZERO Homepage”.

“Alright, you three ready?” Fluttershy asked, turning to the Digimon.

“I'm ready, Fluttershy!” Guilmon stated seriously.

“Yeah!” Veemon cheered, slamming his fist into his hand with a confident grin, “Let's do this!”

Hackmon just nodded in response.

Fluttershy nodded to her two friends, and they all turned to the computer.

“Jack In! Hackmon!”

“Jack In! Veemon!”

“Jack In! Guilmon!”

Green portals opened before all three Digimon, and they all jumped through, vanishing into the network.

Guilmon, Veemon, and Hackmon found themselves flying through what looked like a large and long mechanical tunnel, with a constant line of screens above them, showing their Tamers each time they spoke.

“This. Is. AWESOME!” Rainbow Dash cheered from the Real World, “Our Digimon are literally surfing the internet!”

“Pinkie Pie, you said that Maud taught you this?” Fluttershy asked, clearly shocked.

“Remember when I said that I knew a hacker when I saw one? My sisters were all computer hackers in Japan. This was how they did it.” Pinkie Pie explained.

“Guilmon, how are you feeling right now?” Fluttershy asked her Digimon.

“Everything's alright here,” Guilmon said, “Hey, how are you two doing back there?”

“Pinkie Pie, this is so much fun!” Hackmon cheered happily, “I can see why Leomon and the others were always so happy!”

“Hey, look at this!” Veemon held his arms forward positioning himself almost like Superman as he flew, “I'm a superhero now!”

Both Guilmon and Hackmon laughed at that.

“Now, don't use the key on your computer,” Pinkie Pie said, turning to Fluttershy, “Your Digivice has a USB port on the underside, so send the key through there.”

Fluttershy nodded and inserted the key, “Okay, I'm sending the key to you, Guilmon.”

“Got it, Fluttershy,” Guilmon said, his voice coming from the computer, "I won't drop it, I promise.”

Fluttershy shook her head smiling. It was like having a little brother. One she didn't want to kill.

Around Guilmon appeared a golden orb that flew around him. He figured that was the key. The three Digimon continued to fly through the network, stopping when they reached what looked like a large door with a red X on it and a sign saying “do not enter”.

“Whoa…” Veemon breathed, looking up at it, “Something really important is in there, I can feel it.”

“Is this Umbra Corp's network?” Guilmon asked with a bit of a frown.

“I think so,” Fluttershy said, “Guilmon, use the key.”

Guilmon nodded and floated up to the door. He took the golden orb into his claws, which then broke apart, turning into a golden ring of data surrounding his right claw. Both Veemon and Hackmon flew to his side, and he nodded to both of them before holding his claw forward at the door.

PASSCODE ACCEPTED

WELCOME, GREGORY SOMBRA

The red X turned into a green horizontal line, and the door then opened up from the center. The three Digimon then continued their flight through the network.

Fluttershy sat back into her chair, looking at her Digivice in shock. She hadn't expected it to be this easy. Normally she'd have to spend hours trying to fool the system and even then she'd run the risk of being traced. Yet just now, Guilmon was able to open the door with ease.

“I think I love Digimon,” Fluttershy said with a smile.

“Right?” Pinkie Pie asked, “With these little guys, we can enter any network system we want.”

“So… think later we could hack into the school's network so I can change my grades?” Rainbow Dash asked, “Pretty sure my Report Card's gonna suck.”

“I don't think we can to that,” Pinkie Pie pointed out, “You just gotta bite the bullet on that one.”

Rainbow Dash folded her arms and grumbled, “Wouldn't hurt to try though.”

Fluttershy couldn't help but laugh. She couldn't remember the last time she actually enjoyed hacking, at least enjoyed it this much. Was this what it was like having friends?

The Digimon apparently reached their destination, as the three of them were engulfed in a bright light, and then materialized in a new environment. This place was mostly green with floating platforms very reminiscent of glass.

“Welcome to Umbra Corp's main network,” Pinkie Pie said. This time the three girls appeared on holographic screens hovering over their Digimon.

“Shit…” Rainbow Dash said, she and Fluttershy looking at this in shock, “This is what cyberspace looks like?”

“Sorta, yeah,” Pinkie Pie said with a shrug, “I was super young back then, so I don't remember off the top of my head, but this definitely looks familiar.”

“Alright, let's start searching around,” Fluttershy requested, “We need to see if Umbra Corp knows anything about this lady in white.”

The Digimon all walked forward and slowly looked around, completely oblivious to the large brown machine Digimon watching them from a higher up platform.

Back at Rarity's place, the young purple haired British girl was sitting on her bed painting her nails while Gabumon happily combed her hair with his claws. No one knew it, but this was how she looked so flawless throughout the day. Digimon claws were so much better than regular combs.

Her phone rang, playing the ringtone that meant Applejack was calling her, “Gabumon darling, could you get that for me?”

“Yes, Your Highness,” Gabumon said, jumping off the bed and grabbing Rarity's phone answering it, “Hello? Yes, Her Highness is here.” he nodded and walked over to Rarity, jumping onto the bed and holding the phone to her ear.

“Hello love,” Rarity said, still painting her nails.

“Hey Rares, sorry ta bother ya so late, but this is an emergency,” Applejack said from the phone, “Might wanna brace yerself. Yggdrasil ain't happy.”

Oooh boy. Yggdrasil was normally quite serene and even tempered, so if she were actually upset about something, it was important. Rarity motioned for Gabumon to grab her laptop, which he did, carrying it over to Rarity and opening it. Immediately Yggdrasil's white form appeared on her screen.

“UNAUTHORIZED DIGITAL INTERFACE DETECTED!” Yggdrasil said immediately. Rarity's eyes widened at that.

“Unauthorized? You mean a new Tamer appeared?” Rarity asked.

“AFFIRMATIVE, BUT THIS IS NOT A USER THAT I AUTHORIZED!” Yggdrasil continued.

“How did ya find out?” Applejack asked, apparently having Yggdrasil on her computer as well.

“ALL ACCOUNTS HAVE TO GO THROUGH MY DATABASE IN ORDER TO BE CONNECTED TO THE DIGITAL WORLD. THE ONLY ONES ABLE TO ABLE TO MAKE NEW ACCOUNTS OTHER THAN MYSELF ARE SERAPHIMON AND OPHANIMON.”

“But neither of them have been seen since the reboot,” Rarity reasoned.

“A USER NOT CONNECTED TO MY DATABASE COULD BE DANGEROUS,” Yggdrasil continued, apparently still worried, “YOUR WORLD IS IN DANGER.”

“We'll investigate this, darling,” Rarity said comfortingly, “But you must calm down, Yggdrasil.”

“Worst case scenario, Rarity an' I jus' use our Ultimate forms,” Applejack added.

“I AM CONCERNED WITH YOU UTILIZING THE ULTIMATE LEVEL, AS IT HAS NOT BEEN TESTED WITH LIVE USERS YET,” Yggdrasil stated, “HOWEVER, CONSIDERING THE DANGERS OF THIS, ACTION MUST BE TAKEN. AFFIRMATIVE. I WILL AUTHORIZE USE OF THE ULTIMATE LEVEL, UNDER THE CONDITION THAT IT IS USED ONLY IN EMERGENCIES.”

“We'll be careful.” Applejack said.

“Yes, thank you Yggdrasil. We will not let you down.” Rarity said, right before Yggdrasil disconnected herself from the computer, “I don't think I've ever seen her so afraid.”

“Tell me 'bout it,” Applejack sighed, “If there's a new Tamer though, we should be able ta track 'em down with our Digivices.”

“Maybe we should employ Fluttershy's help as well,” Rarity suggested, “Just in case we need more than just the two of us.”

Applejack groaned, “I don't know, Rarity. That girl don't rub me the right way, 'specially with what we know 'bout her.”

“Yes, I realize,” Rarity said lying back on her bed now, “But isn't that all the more reason why we should stay close to her? To keep an eye on her.”

“Ya ain't lyin there,” Applejack said with much reservation, “Alright then, let's do it. We'll talk ta her first thing in the mornin. I'll talk to y'all later.”

“Take care, Applejack,” Rarity said, “I love you.”

“Love ya too, Princess.”

Rarity kissed the phone before hanging up, and relaxed on her bed, sighing. She didn't care what that girl’s past was. She could feel it in her heart, Fluttershy was a good person, and she'd always vouch for her.

Even if she was Zero.

Guilmon, Veemon, and Hackmon had been searching the network for a while, but they hadn't found anything quite yet. Not concerning the woman in white or Fluttershy's Mom.

“It looks like you're coming up toward some important date,” Fluttershy said from the real world.

“Hope so,” Rainbow Dash said nervously, “I'm still not sure how I feel being in my Dad's personal database like this.”

Hackmon stopped and looked up at a screen, “Hey! I think I found something!” Guilmon and Veemon ran to his side, where he was looking at a holographic screen and computer, “I think we can use this to see past records.”

“Guilmon, can you interface with it?” Fluttershy asked her Digimon, “I'll analyze the data from here.”

“Got it Fluttershy,” Guilmon stepped forward and put his claws on the keyboard. Back in the real world, Fluttershy began typing on her Digivice's keyboard. A few seconds later, on her holographic screen, they saw a video of Celestia and her Patamon talking to Sombra and another woman in a lab. Said woman somewhat on the short side, with short red hair and glasses, and she was wearing a simple yellow and red blouse, blue jeans, and sandals. From how they were talking, how friendly they all seemed to be with each other, it was clear that they knew each other well.

Pinkie Pie turned to look at her friends, both of them wide eyed and trembling. Fluttershy had tears in her eyes.

“T-that's my Dad…” Rainbow Dash said, “He's with a Digimon…”

“That's not all…” Fluttershy sobbed, “That woman… that's my Mom…”

Pinkie Pie's eyes widened in shock, and she put her focus back on the video, which then showed Fluttershy's Mom reach over and pet Patamon.

Back in the network, even the Digimon were surprised by this display before them.

“That's definitely a Patamon,” Hackmon said, “They're rare. Very rare.”

“That's the woman who saved me and Fluttershy,” Guilmon said in shock, “She really did know Fluttershy's Mom.”

“Guilmon, we're stealing all of the data here.”

Back in the real world, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash turned to her in shock.

“Fluttershy, are you serious?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“I am,” Fluttershy seethed, “I need to know what they were doing in that room, and why they were with that woman in the first place. Dashie, any objections?”

“No…” Rainbow Dash said, voice low and pained, “Just… take it all.”

Fluttershy nodded and got to work downloading the video data onto a flash drive. Seeing that image showed them all something very important. Umbra Corp was definitely connected to the Digimon.

Back in the network, a clanging was heard behind the Digimon, “Um… you guys hear that?” Veemon asked.

“Something else is here,” Hackmon said. They all looked behind them and saw four odd looking Digimon walking toward them. They were a bit taller than adults, and looked like brown steam robots or suits of armor with large green eyes coming out of the helmets.

“What the hell are those?” Rainbow Dash asked, appearing on a screen in the network.

“Hold on,” Pinkie Pie said, also appearing on a screen, “I'll check.”

ID: GUARDROMON

LEVEL: CHAMPION

TYPE: MACHINE

ATTRIBUTE: VIRUS

play song

The four Guardromon fired red lasers out of their eyes at the ground in front of the Digimon.

“Guilmon and I can't move until we're finished!” Fluttershy cried, “You two need to defend us!”

“So, it's one of those levels, eh?” Rainbow Dash said as Veemon stepped forward, “Objective, protect Guilmon until the download is finished. Game over if Guilmon's life hits zero.”

“Sweet!” Veemon said, “Don't worry Guilmon! We'll keep ya safe!”

“Us too, right Pinkie Pie?” Hackmon asked stepping forward next to Veemon.

“Yeah, we're fighting too,” Pinkie Pie said, “Be careful, Hackmon.”

Veemon charged at Guardromon, “VEE HEADBUTT!” he shouted, jumping forward to bash one of them in the chest with his head, knocking it back. The other three started firing odd looking missiles with whistles in their mouths out of their arms at Hackmon, who jumped out of the way of all of the attacks.

“FIF SLASH!” Hackmon shouted, jumping toward the Guardromon and slashing with his claws. He managed to knock two of them back, but the third one fired its eye lasers at Hackmon knocking him back.

“Hackmon!” Pinkie Pie cried.

Veemon punched the Guardromon in front of him, but was knocked back by a sudden punch by one of the other Guardromon.

“We're all officially in the same party, right?!” Pinkie Pie asked frantically.

“Yeah, always!” Rainbow Dash said, clearly sweating a bit as these Digimon were strong.

“Good, this should work then! Altering Program! Nurse!”

Hackmon jumped back, and gave a cute yet still ferocious roar. Suddenly green light gathered around himself, Guilmon, and Veemon.

“What was that?” Fluttershy asked.

“Holy… she's a white mage!” Rainbow Dash cried, “That program healed Veemon!”

“I'm really good at making programs that affect parties,” Pinkie Pie said, “It's something that my sister Marble taught me.”

“Can you apply that to stat increase programs as well?” Fluttershy asked.

“Duh, I already made programs to increase my party's attack, defense, and speed,” Pinkie Pie said with a shrug and smile.

“I think I'm falling in love,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Really? Do you mean it Dash?” Pinkie Pie asked hopefully, making Rainbow Dash blush.

“Uh…”

“Hey, um, could you two maybe wait until AFTER we're not in danger to discuss relationship issues?” Fluttershy requested, “We're only thirty percent done here.”

“Got it, chief!” Pinkie Pie said, “Altering Program! Party Offense Up!”

Hackmon once again roared, and this time everyone's attack went up a good deal.

“Perfect! Time to go on the offenses!” Rainbow Dash said, “Altering Program! Chi Level 1!”

Veemon started glowing, and charged up a ball of energy in his hands. He was about to attack the Guardromon he'd been fighting, but saw one was making his way toward Guilmon.

“Whoa! Change targets! Change targets!” Rainbow Dash screamed frantically.

“HADOUKEN!” Veemon shouted, shooting a fireball into the back of the Guardromon before it hit Guilmon. Sadly this meant that he was wide open for an attack from the Guardromon right in front of him.

“Damn it! This is too much!” Rainbow Dash swore. “Fluttershy, how are you doing over there?”

“We're stuck at fifty-three percent!” Fluttershy cried, “Guilmon, what's wrong?”

“Sorry Fluttershy, but this is a big file!” Guilmon said, “I can try and speed it up, but it's still gonna take a while!”

Pinkie Pie looked at both of them, and then at her own Digivice. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, “Hackmon, get ready. We're going to the next level.”

“Pinkie Pie…” Hackmon said, looking at Pinkie Pie's screen in surprise.

“Wait, can you do that?” Rainbow Dash asked Pinkie Pie.

“All of our Digimon are at a high enough level to do it,” Pinkie Pie said, “The question is, do you have the courage to go that far?”

“What kinda question is that?” Rainbow Dash asked, typing on her Digivice, “Veemon, we're doing it too!”

“Which one? I think I have two I can access.” Veemon asked.

“Let's go with the first one for now,” Rainbow Dash said, “Ready?”

“Ready!” Pinkie Pie said, “Don't worry Fluttershy! We'll keep you safe!”

Fluttershy looked at the two girls next to her in shock. She didn't expect them to go so far for her. This wasn't exactly their problem, yet they were willing to go to Champion level, putting their lives in danger, all for her.

This… is what it's like having friends…

“Altering Program! Digivolve!” both girls shouted. Pinkie Pie elegantly held her hand out in front of her as pink energy built up, and Rainbow Dash held her hand forward, forming a fist as blue energy formed in her hands. Both teens then sent the energy into their Digivices, and then pointed them at the computer, sending their energy right to their Digimon.

ACCESS

DIGIVOLUTION

“VEEMON! DIGIVOLVE TO!” Veemon shouted, his entire body ripping apart to reveal a light blue wire frame. The energy from his Tamer gathered around him, changing his frame to be much taller and more muscular with wings on his back and a horn. When his skin reformed itself, he was the same color scheme, but the wings were white, and the horn on his nose was silver. He also had was looked like an X on his stomach and chest. “EXVEEMON!”

“HACKMON! DIGIVOLVE TO!” Hackmon shouted. His body and cape ripped apart, revealing a pink wire frame. Energy formed around him, and his form shifted to be much heavier set and more armored, his front legs looking like heavy claws, but his back legs looking more like blades, and a blade at the end of his tail. When his skin reformed, he was still wearing the tattered red cape with goggles, but his body was more heavily armored, giving him a more ferocious look despite his still kind eyes. “BAOHACKMON!”

Fluttershy took a brief look at the two new Digimon, a bit surprised by what she was seeing. Both of them were strikingly ferocious looking, Pinkie Pie's more than anyone. If not for the eyes and the sort of Tamer he had, she'd swear he was an evil Digimon.

“Oh fuck the hell yes!” Rainbow Dash said, almost in ecstasy, “I can feel his power! This is incredible!”

“No time to admire it,” Pinkie Pie said, oddly serious now, “We have to take them out!”

“With this new power? We totally got this!” Rainbow Dash said with a confident grin, “Can I get a hell yeah?!”

“Hell yeah!” ExVeemon shouted, charging forward at the Guardromon before him, his voice a gruffer version of Veemon's old voice.

“Don't hold back!” Rainbow Dash shouted rearing her fist back, “Give it everything you've got!”

ExVeemon roared, actually moving in the same manner as Rainbow Dash, both of them punching at the same time, knocking the Guardromon to the ground.

BaoHackmon slid around the field, as two Guardromon fired their lasers at him. He then turned toward them, and rushed past them as fast as he could, turning around to slash with his front claws, doing massive damage to them.

“VEE-LASER!” ExVeemon shouted, shooting a golden energy beam from the X on his chest. It shot through one Guardromon deleting it, and then knocked the other one back close to where BaoHackmon was.

“FIF CROSS!” BaoHuckmon shouted in a powerful and surprisingly noble voice. His claws were engulfed in fire, and he slashed the Guardromon that fell near him. He then got on his front claws and did what looked like a spin kick with his bladed legs, cutting through his opponent and instantly deleting it.

The remaining Guardromon fired their missiles at the two ferocious looking Digimon, both of them taking defensive stances. Their tamers both grunted in pain next to Fluttershy, who looked at the progress bar, “We're almost done!”

“Don't worry about it,” Rainbow Dash said with a super confident grin, “We got this. Ready to end this Pinkie Pie?”

“More than ready!” Pinkie Pie said, looking ahead with a super serious glare.

Both ExVeemon and BaoHackmon charged at the Guardromon, who actually looked a little afraid.

“HEARTY SHATTER!” ExVeemon shouted, charging up energy in his horn.

“TEEN BLADE!” BaoHackmon shouted at the same time, his tail blade pointed forward at the ready. ExVeemon hunched forward a bit, and then slashed upward with his horn, also causing a white slash mark to appear over the Guardromon on the left. Next to him, BaoHackmon slashed wildly with his tail, before spinning around with a horizontal slash. Honestly, Fluttershy was really taken aback. For how peaceful Pinkie Pie was, her Digimon was brutal.

Needless to say, both Guardromon were deleted, and the three Digimon all gathered their data.

EXVEEMON: 60 EXP

LEVEL UP!

BAOHACKMON: 64 EXP

LEVEL UP!

GUILMON: 60 EXP

LEVEL UP!

“Holy fuck that was wicked!” Rainbow Dash screamed, “Look at our Digimon! They're so fucking awesome! Mine's a dragon! A dragon! And yours is like, a walking blade! I FREAKING LOVE DIGIMON!”

Fluttershy couldn't help but laugh, unaware of how Pinkie Pie looked down, her bangs covering her eyes. She then heard a beep on her Digivice, “Yes! We're finished!”

“Perfect,” Pinkie Pie said with a clearly forced smile, “Now we can pull our Digimon back.”

“You two should probably revert them back to Rookie though,” Fluttershy suggested, “I can sort of tell they're too big to fit in this room now.”

Rainbow Dash laughed sheepishly, “Yeah, good idea.”

“Pinkie Pie,” BaoHackmon said, catching her attention, “We did what we had to.”

“Right, I'm okay,” Pinkie Pie said, “Really. Just… come home, okay?”

BaoHackmon nodded to Pinkie Pie. This time both Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy noticed her more somber attitude.

Once their Digimon returned to the Real World, Fluttershy immediately got to work on analyzing the data. Most of it was just videos, the woman in white appearing in a few of them. In each one of them, Fluttershy's Mom was working with the woman in white.

“They're always together,” Fluttershy stated, “Mom… did you really know about the Digimon…?”

“It looks like Umbra Corp is definitely connected to Digimon,” Rainbow Dash said biting her lip, “Dad… what else are you hiding from me?”

“I think it's worse than them just being connected to the Digimon,” Pinkie Pie said sitting on Fluttershy's bed, “I think they're directly involved.”

“What makes you think that?” Rainbow Dash asked, clearly afraid of the answer.

“Come on, didn't you think it was odd? Running into Digimon in Umbra Corp's network?” Pinkie Pie asked, “They only showed up when Fluttershy started downloading their data.”

“Hold on…” Fluttershy said turning to Pinkie Pie, “Are you saying that those Guardromon… were protecting Umbra Corp's net?”

“That's exactly what I'm saying.”

“That does make sense, actually,” Hackmon said, “Guardromon are Digimon programmed specifically to protect computer networks.”

“But… it could still be a coincidence, right?” Rainbow Dash asked desperately.

“Dash…” Pinkie Pie sighed.

“I mean, what if they just were passing through or something? Or maybe Digimon just exist within all networks, and we just got lucky?”

“Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie Pie shouted, making the prism haired teen stop, “Based off what we saw on those videos, it's highly unlikely it was a coincidence. With their employee records a secret, the videos of your Dad with a Digimon, and now Digimon protecting the Umbra Corp's net? I'm sorry Rainbow Dash, but… it really doesn't look good.”

Fluttershy looked up at Rainbow Dash, her heart sinking a bit when she saw her friend tremble, looking down. She briefly looked back at her computer and gasped in shock, “Wait… what's this?”

Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and all the Digimon gathered at the computer seeing a video of Umbra Corp scientists looking at what appeared to be a plant like Digimon in a sealed protective tube. Red energy went through the tube, causing the Digimon to hold its head screaming in agony. It then began thrashing around the tube, as if trying to fight its way out.

“That's a Palmon…” Veemon said softly, “You two see it, right?”

“Yeah… I do…” Hackmon said, surprisingly somber. Guilmon was breathing heavily, looking at the video in horror.

“What is it?” Fluttershy asked the Digimon, all three of them looking really upset.

“It's the same…” Guilmon said trembling, “Fluttershy… the Digimon we fight… that's what happened to them.”

All three of the girls were wide eyed, and turned back to the video. Pinkie Pie covered her mouth in horror, but Rainbow Dash was looking down trembling in rage. Fluttershy swallowed nervously, reaching over to take Guilmon's claw for comfort, taking in what this meant.

The wild Digimon…

They were Umbra Corp's fault.

Author's Note

Please support my Patreon

09: Are we a team now?

Theme Song: With The Wind

09: Are we a team now?

Fluttershy needed some air after that, so she, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and the Digimon all went outside to the backyard, where they tried to process what they learned. No one said anything, and even the Digimon were quiet.

“Son of a bitch!” Rainbow Dash shouted suddenly, slamming her fist on the wall she was leaning on, “I, I can't believe I trusted him!”

“Dash…” Pinkie Pie said sadly, both she and Fluttershy looking at her somberly.

“He told me, that keeping secrets was bad!” Rainbow Dash sobbed, tears of anger falling from her eyes, “He taught me to always be honest… and all this time… he was the one responsible for the wild Digimon?!”

“I… I don't know what to say…” Pinkie Pie said rubbing her arm, “I mean, the evidence is damning, but…”

“But nothing!” Rainbow Dash screamed in rage, “Fluttershy was right about everything! My father… he's… he's…” she broke down completely, falling to her knees and sobbing loudly.

Veemon walked over to Rainbow Dash and put his hand on her back to comfort her.

Guilmon walked over to Fluttershy, who now had her eyes closed in deep thought, “Fluttershy, are you okay?” he asked, “You've been really quiet about all of this.”

Fluttershy took a deep breath, “We need more information.”

“The hell we do!” Rainbow Dash shouted, shooting up and walking over to Fluttershy, “Everything we need is right there! I say we storm in there with our Digimon and-”

“No Dashie, we're not doing that yet,” Fluttershy said, standing up and facing Rainbow Dash, “Not until we know exactly what's going on.”

“I thought you wanted to take Umbra Corp out?!” Rainbow Dash seethed.

“I do,” Fluttershy said, to her credit perfectly calm, “Trust me, I hate your father for what he might have done to my Mom and what he might be doing to the Digimon. But that's the key word here, might,” she closed her eyes seriously, “Besides, right now you're too emotional to think rationally.”

Rainbow Dash stepped back a bit hurt by that, “Damn right I'm emotional! He's my Dad!”

“Exactly, he's your Dad,” Fluttershy retaliated, “You love him, and that's why you feel so betrayed right now. I get that Dashie, but I'm NOT going to condemn your father until I know for sure that he's responsible for everything.”

Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and took a deep breath to control her emotions, “How are you so calm right now?” she asked.

“It's the benefit of hating him,” Fluttershy stated, “I don't feel any betrayal at all.”

“While I think hate is a strong word,” Pinkie Pie interjected, walking up to them and placing her hands on their arms, “I think Fluttershy has a point. Yes, we know that Umbra Corp is connected to the Digimon going wild, but we don't know anything else. We can't risk jumping to conclusions.”

“Besides, there are still things I still haven't figured out,” Fluttershy looked down and tightened her fists, “Like what happened to my Mom. I need to know what happened to her, Dashie. That's the main thing on my mind.”

Rainbow Dash took a deep breath, “Sorry, okay? I was out of line. I'm just… that Digimon wasn't a virus type, was it?”

“No, it wasn't,” Guilmon chimed in, “Palmon are either Data or Vaccine types, and normally both of them are benevolent.”

“And the same goes for the Kabuterimon we saw first in the school, right?” Fluttershy asked.

“Vaccine Type,” Guilmon explained, “They're more often than not Digimon with a strong sense of justice. Both Agumon and Gabumon are Vaccine types, and they're in the Virus Buster family.”

“You saw how that Palmon reacted,” Rainbow Dash said, “It got violent, just like the other Digimon.”

“It, looked like it was in pain,” Pinkie Pie said somberly, “Maybe that's why they're attacking. Could we have, done something to save them?”

“No, by the time they're infected, their data has been completely corrupted,” Hackmon said, catching everyone's attention.

“So, there's nothing we can to do help them?” Rainbow Dash asked. Hackmon shook his head sadly.

“I'm sorry, but no. The kindest thing we could do is delete them to end their suffering,” Hackmon stated pragmatically.

“The worst thing for a Digimon is to lose control and be forced to go against their programming.” Veemon added, “In our world, that's a capital offense, because once it happens, it can't be undone.”

“That's terrible,” Pinkie Pie said, holding her hand to her heart, “What can we do?”

“For now, we keep fighting,” Hackmon stated simply, surprising Pinkie Pie.

“But Hackmon, those Digimon are innocent!” she cried.

“Yes, and so are the humans that they hurt in their rampage!” Hackmon defended, “Pinkie Pie, I know you don't like it when I fight other Digimon, but if I don't, more people in your world are going to get hurt!”

Fluttershy turned to Guilmon and Veemon, “What about you two? How do you feel about this?”

“I'll admit that I mainly just wanna become stronger,” Veemon said, “But this world is Rainbow Dash's home, and I wanna protect it.”

“I'm the same way,” Guilmon said seriously, “I want to protect you, Fluttershy, and help you find what happened to your Mom.”

“You guys…” Rainbow Dash said, looking somewhat saddened, yet touched.

“Then it's settled,” Fluttershy nodded, “For now, we continue fighting. At the very least, if we don't keep fighting the bad Digimon, people will get hurt.”

Pinkie Pie closed her eyes somberly, but nodded, “Y-you're right. I just hope we can put an end to this soon before more innocent Digimon have to get hurt.”

Fluttershy nodded in agreement and looked at her Digivice. This was so much bigger than just learning the truth of what happened to her mother now. The fate of the Real World and possible the Digital World was in the balance. This was slightly beyond her, but she did know two people who's job was to deal with these issues.

Maybe she should share this information with Rarity and Applejack.

The following morning, Rarity started making her way right to Fluttershy's place. Thankfully Gabumon had gone here before to talk to Guilmon, and as such he was able to guide her there.

“Huh, is this the place?” Rarity asked looking up at the nice sized house, “Cozy.”

“Yep, this is where Guilmon's Tamer lives, Your Highness,” Gabumon said. Rarity knelt down and petted Gabumon's head, making the Digimon blush a bit.

“Thank you so much, dear,” she said with a kind smile. She rose up to ring the doorbell, and a second later Zephyr answered, doing a double take at the sight of the sexy senior.

“Whoa! Um, Miss President,” Zephyr said straightening his shirt, “I apologize if I'm not-”

“You're fine, Zephyr,” Rarity said with a soft smile, “Actually, I'm here to see your sister. There is something very important I need to talk to her about.”

Zephyr looked down a bit, seeing Gabumon holding onto her leg. He then shook his head sighing, “Just how many Digimon are there in America?”

Rarity raised an eyebrow, “You don't seem too phased by the sight of my Digimon. Are you a Tamer as well?”

“Ha! Not even,” Zephyr laughed, “I'm too much of a slacker to ever be a Tamer. I take everything in stride, so I look at this as something the Universe is putting in motion for a just cause. I guess it's like a scientific way of how Christians say “let thy will be done”.”

Rarity nodded taking that in. Her entire family was devout Christian, and they had said something to that effect to her once. “You're not religious, then?” she asked, not accusingly, but in observation.

“I follow what's called Spirit Science,” Zephyr explained, “So essentially, it's like I'm spiritual, but it's centered around understanding spirit on a scientific level.”

“How fascinating,” Rarity said, “Perhaps I'll have you tell me more about this Spirit Science in the future.”

Zephyr blinked, “Um… you're interested?”

“I don't know if I'm going to convert or anything, as I'm happily an Anglican Christian myself, but I do find it interesting. Perhaps your beliefs will meld a bit with what I've come to learn being a Tamer.”

“Um… s-sure,” Zephyr said smiling, “I would be honored to share my knowledge with you, Miss President.”

“Thank you,” Rarity said with a bow, “But for now, I need to talk to your sister about something very important.”

“Of course,” Zephyr said ushering Rarity inside, “She's upstairs in her room. I'd knock first though, as she gets really testy about people entering her room.”

“I shall be perfectly respectful,” Rarity said, she and Gabumon entering the nice house and going right upstairs. It was easy enough to figure out where Fluttershy's room was, as she assumed the door that was closed and had an abundance of “Danger”, “Warning”, and “Keep Out” signs was hers.

“Your Highness, I'm kinda scared,” Gabumon said wilting. Apparently the sight of the door frightened him, as it would anyone else who didn't know the young girl.

“It's fine, honey,” Rarity said sweetly, “She just wants to push people away as a defense. She's not going to hurt us as long as we respect her space.” she knocked on the door lightly.

“Who is it?” a high and breathy voice called out from inside, sounding slightly irritated.

“Fluttershy darling, it's me,” Rarity said, “Gabumon and I came to talk to you about something.”

Immediately the door swung open, “Gabumon!” Guilmon cheered.

“Guilmon!” the two Digimon immediately hugged.

“Come in! Come in!” Guilmon said ushering the two inside, “Fluttershy needed to talk to you anyway, so this is perfect!”

Fluttershy, who was sitting on her computer, closed her eyes and grimaced, “I said I was considering it…” she muttered in irritation. Rarity walked in and closed the door behind her, looking around the nice room. Somewhat messy, but not too. She looked at the human occupant of the room and did a double take herself. She wasn't wearing her jacket with her ensemble, so the tube top combined with the yellow skirt, black leggings, and yellow heels, she was surprisingly sexy and confident looking.

Clearly she was in her element here. She'd definitely have to be respectful.

“You have a lovely space,” Rarity said.

“Thank you,” Fluttershy said swiveling her chair to face Rarity, crossing her legs and folding her arms under her bosom, “So, what brings you here. You and I aren't friends, so you have no reason to visit me on a whim.”

“For now, that's true,” Rarity said with a gentle smile, “I wouldn't mind changing that one day. However, I believe you had something you wished to talk to me about first? I'm in your domain, so your needs come first.”

Fluttershy frowned a bit, but nodded eventually, looking Rarity up and down, “Good. Someone who gets it,” she turned around and began typing on her computer, “Does Yggdrasil know anything about that virus that makes Digimon go insane?”

“Afraid not,” Rarity shook her head, walking closer to the computer, a bit amazed by the different air that she gave off here. Now she felt more like what she'd expect from “Zero”.

“Well, last night I discovered this,” she pulled up the video of Palmon, “Warning you now, this is going to disturb you.”

Rarity watched the video, and her eyes widened in horror, “Gabumon! Take a look at this!”

Gabumon ran over to the computer, and looked at it. A look of pure sadness and horror came over his features.

“No, that's the same thing as the virus…” he whispered in shock, Guilmon walking over to him and rubbing his back.

“Fluttershy, or should I say Zero, where did you find this information?” Rarity asked, her voice even. Fluttershy raised an eyebrow, but then shook her head, chuckling a bit.

“I stole it from Umbra Corp's network,” Fluttershy said, looking up at Rarity intrigued, “My question is, how did you know I was Zero? Dashie and Pinkie Pie found out because of an oversight on my part, but otherwise I'm far too careful to be found out.”

“By putting on your shy and timid act?” Rarity asked folding her arms looking at the teen with a raised eyebrow.

“That's not an act,” Fluttershy admitted, “I know how to talk to people on the internet, and can be my genuine self there. Outside is different though.”

Rarity nodded accepting that explanation. It did confirm her suspicions that this was the real Fluttershy though, “Well if you must know, Yggdrasil told us. Since we work so closely with her, and you were registered in her mainframe as Zero, she knew immediately. Worry not, Zero. Your secret is safe with us.”

Fluttershy looked away in deep thought. She then rose up, and pushed Rarity onto her bed.

Gabumon reacted immediately. “Your Highness!” he cried.

“Fluttershy, what are you-”

“It's fine, you two,” Rarity said immediately, “I think I understand. You want leverage, don't you?”

“You have sensitive information on me, something that could get me in a lot of trouble, and you don't have my trust yet,” Fluttershy said grabbing her cellphone, “So I need a means of insuring that you'll keep your mouth shut about who I am.”

Good God, it was like she was a completely different person here. It let Rarity know that she was dealing with a truly dangerous individual here, but honestly, that just made her even more excited.

“Then I have just the thing,” Rarity said, never breaking eye contact as she unbuttoned the front of her dress, revealing her lacy purple bra. She then messed up her hair a bit and laid down on Fluttershy's bed helplessly, “I should warn you though, Applejack knows as well, and if this picture goes public, jail will be the least of your worries.”

“I'm not afraid of her,” Fluttershy said, cuing up her phone, “I know her past, and can easily dig up enough information that will land her right in juvie. You two may be dangerous Tamers, but I'm the one in control of this scene.” she took the compromising picture, and put her phone up, “There, you can dress now.”

As she did so, Guilmon walked over to Fluttershy unsure, “Um, I'm not sure how I feel about this, Fluttershy.”

“I'm not going to do anything with the picture except hold onto it,” Fluttershy said, “As long as she doesn't say anything about me being Zero, I won't have to run her reputation into the ground.”

“You truly are vicious, Zero,” Rarity said, letting Gabumon comb her hair with his claws, “You look sweet, but you're actually quite ruthless, aren't you?”

“I have to be for my protection,” Fluttershy sat back down in her chair, “But back to that video, Umbra Corp is directly connected with the Digimon.”

“Yes, that is disturbing,” Rarity muttered, “Tell me, Zero, do you have any theories of what this is?”

“Umbra Corp is researching the Digimon,” Fluttershy said crossing her legs again, “I have a few other videos of various scientists talking to a mysterious woman in white with really long, multicolored hair. This woman has a Digimon, Patamon, I think.”

Rarity pulled out her Digivice and pulled up the information of the Digimon she mentioned, which revealed itself to be a super cute mammal Digimon with wings on its head and the sweetest smile, “This one right?”

ID: PATAMON

LEVEL: ROOKIE

TYPE: MAMMAL

ATTRIBUTE: DATA

“Yeah, that's the one,” Fluttershy said looking the information closely, “Guilmon said that it’s a rare Digimon.”

“Absolutely,” Rarity put her Digivice away and got comfortable on the bed, “It may not look it, but Patamon is actually housing a lot of ancient power. It's said to secretly be an angel.”

“I bet that's referring to its Champion form,” Fluttershy said thoughtfully, “I didn't get a good look at it, but it definitely looked angelic.”

“You saw this yourself?” Rarity asked.

“The Lady in White and her Patamon saved me from Twilight. I think she called her “Seraphimon”.”

“Seraphimon?!” Gabumon asked, “Your Highness, we've been looking for her!”

“That we have, both her and Ophanimon,” Rarity said to herself, “Zero, I came here because I wanted to ask for your help, and this confirms that you could be immensely helpful to us.”

“Oh?” Fluttershy said turning away from Rarity, but still looking her in the eyes.

“You see, the situation has changed,” Rarity stated, moving to sit closer to Fluttershy on the edge of the bed, “Last night, Yggdrasil confirmed that a new Digital World account was opened within her network.”

“But I'm guessing this wasn't one she opened?” Fluttershy inquired. Rarity shook her head.

“This is unusual, because there are only two other beings capable of creating new accounts,” Rarity continued, “Those beings are Seraphimon, and Ophanimon. Both of them are highly powerful Digimon, directly connected to Yggdrasil as her Avatars.”

“Avatars?” Fluttershy raised an eyebrow, “What does that mean?”

“Hm… how to explain it,” Rarity closed her eyes in thought, “Alright, think of it like this. They're actual pieces of Yggdrasil, being directly connected to her network, to the point where their thoughts match hers.”

“So… in a sense, they are Yggdrasil,” Fluttershy stated to herself, “But they sound like they're acting of their own accord now.”

“They are,” Rarity confirmed, “It's the reason we have to talk to the main terminal directly. She can't send her Avatars to us, because they're disconnected from her network. Even without that connection though, they would be able to still open accounts.”

“You want our help in verifying this new account then?” Fluttershy asked.

“Yggdrasil is worried that this Tamer could be dangerous,” Rarity explained, “Yggdrasil chooses Tamers carefully, making sure that those she gives accounts to aren't too dangerous. Any Tamer that she doesn't authorize could easily use their Digimon for nefarious purposes.”

“Technically, I'm using my account for less than noble causes, you know.” Fluttershy pointed out.

“That is true, but in your case your goals still seem somewhat just. This new Tamer could be anyone. They could be a student in our school, someone extremely selfish, or even a criminal for all we know. Zero, Applejack and I won't be enough to deal with this issue ourselves. We need to start gathering Tamers. You mentioned that you've been working with Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, right?”

“I have,” Fluttershy nodded, “We've been hunting the Wild Digimon by ourselves.”

“Did they help you get that information?” Rarity asked with a smirk.

“Nice try, but I work alone,” Fluttershy said with a smirk of her own. Rarity had a feeling she was just protecting them, which was fine. She still didn't have this girl's trust yet.

“Well, either way I'd like their help with this issue as well. Zero, I implore you, consider joining the Royal Knights. We could temper your skills, and help you become a truly powerful Tamer, even on the level of Applejack and myself.”

The way she raised an eyebrow and looked away, that seemed to get her attention. Should she use the angle of power to get her to join.

“That's… tempting, not going to lie,” Fluttershy admitted, “If anything, it'll help me get closer to beating Twilight.”

“You want to fight Twilight?!” Rarity asked incredulously.

“She humiliated Guilmon and I,” Fluttershy said seriously, “And I know that she's going to attack us again. Next time I face her, I want to make sure that we're ready.”

“You could always retreat,” Rarity suggested.

“No, I can't. My honor as a Tamer is on the line. I want to fight her on equal footing, and show her why Guilmon and I are not to be trifled with.”

Rarity closed her eyes thoughtfully, “Guilmon, how do you feel about this?”

“I just want to protect Fluttershy,” Guilmon said honestly, “That Twilight girl attacked her, and I don't like that.”

“No, I don't quite like it either,” Rarity sighed, “Well, if you're going to fight her again, I'd ask you to consider letting Applejack and I train you, and join our organization. We won't stop you from pursuing your personal goals, I promise. We just wish to add you to our ranks.”

“I'll consider it,” Fluttershy said immediately, “As long as the offer extends to both Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash.”

Rarity took a deep breath at that, “Very well. The offer will extend to both Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash as well.”

“Also, it has to be a unanimous decision,” Fluttershy added, “Either all three of us enter, or none of us.”

“You're truly loyal to them, Zero,” Rarity pointed out.

“They're my friends,” Fluttershy said simply.

Rarity nodded, “Alright, I accept your terms. Will you at least help us with this issue though. Whether or not you become a Royal Knight, we do need help with this issue.”

“Fluttershy, let's help them,” Guilmon requested, “This other Tamer has me really worried.”

“You too?” Fluttershy asked her Digimon.

“I'm a good Digimon, but if this Tamer doesn't have a verified account, they could get a bad Digimon as their partner.”

“Hm…” Fluttershy moaned in deep thought, “Alright, I'll see what I can do. I'll talk it over with Dashie and Pinkie Pie.”

“Thank you so much, Zero,” Rarity said.

“No problem,” Fluttershy said turning to her computer, “I believe you can see yourself out.”

Rarity rose up and bowed elegantly to Fluttershy, “Should we trade account information then? That way we can stay in touch?”

Fluttershy reached for her Digivice, pushed a few buttons, and then held it out, “Go for it.”

Rarity smiled and connected her Digivice to Fluttershy's, immediately appearing on the girl's friend list. They weren't quite there yet in real life, but at least in the Digital World, they were registered as friends. It was a start.

“Have a good rest of the day, Zero. Guilmon, it was great seeing you again.”

“Nice seeing you again as well, Miss Rarity!” Guilmon said happily, “Take care, Gabumon!”

“See ya Guilmon!” Gabumon said, shaking clawed hands with his fellow Digimon. The two of them left out of the house, and stopped on the porch thinking.

“That girl, she's something else,” Rarity said thoughtfully.

“Your Highness, are you sure about having someone like her in our organization?” Gabumon asked, “I like Guilmon a lot, but his Tamer is…”

“She certainly has an edge to her,” Rarity agreed, “But I can't blame her for being cautious. We know something about her that could get her in a lot of trouble. If she needs that to feel safe, then I'm happy to give it to her.”

Gabumon sighed, “With all due respect, Your Highness, Applejack is right. Sometimes you're too generous.”

“Perhaps, but I'd rather be known for being too generous than not being generous enough,” Rarity walked back to her house, “Come. We need to meet up with Applejack and Agumon.”

“Yes Your Highness,” Gabumon said obediently. Although he served her proudly, he still spoke freely, which was something Rarity appreciated. If she was his Princess, she wanted to make sure she lived up to his expectation.

Fluttershy sent messages to both Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, and had them meet her and Guilmon at the park. It didn't take long for them to meet up with her, and she immediately told them about what Rarity requested of them.

“First crazy Digimon, and now evil Tamers?” Rainbow Dash asked, all three of the girls sitting on a bench with the Digimon close to them.

“We don't know for certain if their evil,” Fluttershy pointed out, “But this does raise a few red flags.”

“Do you think Umbra Corp is behind this too?” Veemon asked.

“It can't be,” Guilmon said, “According to Her Highness, only Ophanimon or Seraphimon can open new Digital World accounts.”

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow, “Now you're calling her a Princess?”

“That's what Gabumon calls her, so if she's a Princess, I should be respectful,” Guilmon said, folding his arms and nodding, the logic sound in his own mind.

“Ugh, he only does that to fuel her ego,” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, “Trust us, she's not a Princess. She's just a girl with way too much money and unlike me, has no issue flaunting it.”

“Aw, let them have their fun,” Pinkie Pie said with a fond smile, “Besides, Rarity's not that bad. She can be really sweet at times. So Fluttershy, how are we going to find this Tamer?”

Fluttershy pulled out her Digivice, “I fiddled around with this thing again, and found an option that searches for other accounts. Even if this Tamer isn't registered with Yggdrasil, the fact is they're a part of her network.”

“Alright Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash said putting her arms around the teen, “So, where do we start?”

“The city,” Fluttershy pocketed her Digivice and rose up, “It's crowded enough, and at this time of the day there's a high chance they'll be there.”

“Got it,” Pinkie Pie said also getting up, “Hackmon and I will take the mall.”

“I guess Veemon and I handle the area around my Dad's company,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Then that leaves the business district for Fluttershy and I,” Guilmon said, “Let's go!”

Fluttershy rolled her eyes and sighed, “Since when were you the leader?” she asked. running after her Digimon. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie laughed and ran in separate directions to their designated spots. Between the three of them, Applejack, and Rarity, they should find something.

“Silver Spoon! Are you listening?”

“Huh?” Silver Spoon snapped out of her daze. Sitting across from her at their table was another girl around her age with long purple/pinkish and white hair, wearing a short pink dress, light pink leggings, and white boots. On her head was tiara, and despite only being 13, she carried herself almost like an adult.

The girl sighed rolling her eyes, “If you're that bored you could just tell me.”

“N-no. I'd never be bored listening to you, Diamond Tiara,” Silver Spoon said defensively, “I just… had a lot of my mind.”

“Oh yeah? Like what?” Diamond Tiara asked, giving her friend an almost alluring smile. She was giving Silver Spoon her undivided attention.

Oh… Diamond Tiara…

“It's nothing too serious,” Silver Spoon said, looking down and biting her lip, “Um, what were you talking about?”

Diamond Tiara's expression lit up again, “Oh, I was getting to the best part. So, after the movie, Rumble and I-”

‘Of course she was talking about Rumble,’ Silver Spoon thought as her beloved friend prattled on and on. She never quite listened to her when she was talking about him, but she did give Diamond Tiara her full attention. Mainly because she loved everything about her. The way her eyes lit up, how her mouth moved as she spoke, the way she moved her hands and how animated she was.

You're perfect Diamond Tiara…

Perfect, and you SHOULD be mine…

“It sounds… like you and Rumble had a great time,” Silver Spoon said, as Diamond Tiara's story it its end.

“We did,” Diamond Tiara hugged herself smiling in a lovesick manner, “Silver Spoon, do you know that feeling when you've found that one person you don't think you can do without?”

“Y-yes,” Silver Spoon said, her heart racing for some reason, “I know that feeling.”

“That's how I feel right now,” Diamond Tiara was blushing, “I think I might be falling in love.”

What?!

“Um… you haven't been dating that long though, right?” Silver Spoon asked, trying to hide how much she was trembling.

“It's been about a month now,” Diamond Tiara said, “But I don't think I'll ever find anyone who appreciates me for just me, you know? Anyone else would just want my money.”

Me! I appreciate you for you!

Please look at me Diamond Tiara!

“But not Rumble,” Diamond Tiara continued, “He actually insists on paying for everything himself, and since he works with his big brother, he always has his own money. Silver Spoon, I know we're still young, but I…”

“Diamond!”

Diamond Tiara's eyes lit up. She turned to see a young boy about their age with short black hair waving to her.

“Rumble!” Diamond Tiara beamed, running up to him and hugging him, “I was just talking about you!”

“I hope nothing bad,” Rumble joked, making Diamond Tiara laugh.

“No, just bragging to my best friend about you.”

Rumble saw Silver Spoon and waved to her, “Hi Silver Spoon.”

Silver Spoon just nodded to him as a greeting, “I should probably go,” she said rising up.

“It's okay Silver Spoon. I don't mind playing the third wheel,” Rumble joked, “I know where her heart truly lies.”

Diamond Tiara hit his arm playfully, “Stop that Rumble. You'll embarrass her.”

Silver Spoon however, tightened her fists slightly and took a deep breath to control herself.

“No, it's fine. You two should spend some time together,” Silver Spoon said, “I… I need to head home anyway.”

“Silver Spoon, wait,” Diamond Tiara called out as she walked off. She ran over to the other girl and hugged her from behind, “You're my best friend, Silver Spoon. Thank you so much for this.”

“N-no problem…” Silver Spoon said, looking down trying to stop from shedding tears in front of her. She then pulled out of her beloved's embrace and walked off, unaware of the pink haired teen listening behind a building, holding her pink and white Digivice.

She stopped in an alleyway, where she leaned against the wall, sliding down into a sitting position and started freely shedding tears. Why was she in love with him?! Why when she had someone right in front of her who'd give her the world?! She'd known Diamond Tiara so much longer, and she understood everything about her!

“I've… lost her…!” Silver Spoon sobbed.

“Mmm, have you? I'm not so sure.”

Silver Spoon looked up a bit as BlackGatomon jumped onto a nearby dumpster and sat down on the edge, perfectly human despite her stature.

“You heard her, right? She loves him, she doesn't love me…”

“That's not how I read that,” BlackGatomon said tilting her head to the side, “She's just confused. Remember how she ran up and hugged you?”

“I remember…” Silver Spoon said slowly rising up.

“She probably did that as a means of holding onto you,” BlackGatomon continued, kicking her legs out adorably, “See, my Mistress is a master of all things love and lust. She doesn't love Rumble. She lusts for him. Your feelings are true though, correct?”

“Yes! I love her with my whole heart and soul!” Silver Spoon cried desperately.

“Then you must protect her, Silver Spoon,” BlackGatomon continued, “Show her who truly loves her, even if you have to take drastic measures.”

“What, like, kidnapping her?” Silver Spoon's eyes widened and she looked away, “I don't know, BlackGatomon. I want her to love me, but, I'd never want to hurt her…”

“We won't be hurting her, though,” BlackGatomon said getting on all fours and walking closer to Silver Spoon still on the dumpster, “We'll be protecting her, keeping her safe from that bad, bad boy. And best of all, she'll be in a place where only you can reach her.”

“But… how would we do this?” Silver Spoon asked, still unsure. The way BlackGatomon smirked was somewhat unsettling, yet reassuring at the same time.

“All I need is a little something from you, and I'll be able to handle the rest,” BlackGatomon purred, her eyes twinkling in a sinister manner.

Pinkie Pie and Hackmon walked toward the alleyway, following the signal on Pinkie Pie's Digivice.

“The signal went in this direction,” Pinkie Pie said.

“That girl had an odd air about her,” Hackmon said, walking next to Pinkie Pie, “I don't know why, but she didn't feel right to me.”

“I bet she's our Tamer,” Pinkie Pie stated. Just as they approached the alleyway, Silver Spoon rushed out, pushing past Pinkie Pie and Hackmon, “Ah! H-hey, wait!”

“Pinkie Pie, look!” Hackmon exclaimed. Pinkie Pie looked into the alleyway, and saw an odd looking black cat staring at her. The cat smirked and then jumped up to staircase leading to the roof and ran off.

“That's a Digimon!” Pinkie Pie cried, using her Digivice to scan it before it ran away.

ID: BLACKGATOMON

LEVEL: CHAMPION

TYPE: DEMON BEAST

ATTRIBUTE: VIRUS

“We need to find that girl!” Pinkie Pie said rushing out of the alleyway, using her Digivice to call the others, “Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, I think I found the Tamer!”

“Seriously?! Shit, we'll be right there!” Rainbow Dash said.

“Try not to lose them!” Fluttershy requested before she and Rainbow Dash hung up. Pinkie Pie put her Digivice away and then looked around for the girl, who turned a corner to her right.

Pinkie Pie frowned and rushed after her, but sadly the girl walked into a more crowded section of the street, causing Pinkie Pie to lose her.

“Shoot!” Pinkie Pie stomped her foot in frustration. That girl was definitely the Tamer they were looking for.

“Pinkie Pie!” Rainbow Dash called out, she and Fluttershy running to her side.

“Sorry, but I lost her in the crowd,” Pinkie Pie sighed, “But I'm pretty sure she's the Tamer we're looking for.”

“She had a Digimon with her,” Hackmon added, “It was a BlackGatomon.”

Pinkie Pie pulled up its info to show Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.

“It's a Champion level already?” Fluttershy asked, “That's unusual.”

“That's also really bad,” Guilmon said, “That means the Tamer's already synchronized with the Digimon most likely.”

“We need to talk to Applejack and Rarity,” Fluttershy said pulling out her Digivice, “Let them know about this.”

A few minutes later, both Applejack and Rarity joined up with them in the mall. The five girls and their Digimon sat in a booth in a restaurant in order to not call attention to themselves, and also so they could discuss this with Yggdrasil. Needless to say, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were astounded and terrified when they first laid eyes on her.

“THIS IS CONCERNING,” Yggdrasil said, the volume low on the computer so only they could hear her, “A USER STARTING OUT WITH A CHAMPION LEVEL DIGIMON PARTNER IS HIGHLY UNSTABLE.”

“I mean, does it really make a difference?” Rainbow Dash asked resting her hands on the back of her head, “All of our Digimon can go Champion.”

“Yes, but that's because they grow into the Champion level with us,” Rarity pointed out, “Our Digimon were made specifically for us, so their growth is meant to match ours more or less.”

“HOWEVER, A USER SYNCHRONIZING WITH A DIGIMON OF A HIGHER LEVEL THAN THEMSELVES COULD BECOME MENTALLY UNSTABLE. THIS PHENOMENON WOULD BE EVEN WORSE IF SAID USER WERE TO GO INTO THE ULTIMATE LEVELS.”

“With that Digimon already at the Champion level, it's jus' one step away from goin Ultimate,” Applejack inquired.

“We can't let that happen,” Pinkie Pie said somberly, “I've seen what it looks like when a Tamer and Digimon go into the Ultimate level. It's okay if the Digimon is good, but if that Digimon is a bad Digimon, its Tamer could be in a lot of trouble.”

“What do we do if we find them?” Rainbow Dash asked, “Do we delete their Digimon?”

“That might not be wise,” Fluttershy said thoughtfully, “If it's already linked to the Tamer, then wouldn't deleting it hurt the Tamer?”

“THAT IS CORRECT, USER FLUTTERSHY,” Yggdrasil said, catching everyone's attention, “USER AND DIGIMON SHARE DATA BETWEEN ONE ANOTHER. DELETING THE DIGIMON WITHOUT CARE COULD CAUSE SERIOUS MENTAL STRESS TO THE USER.”

“That's what happened to Maud,” Pinkie Pie chimed in, “My older sister. She used to be really bright eyed and cheerful, but now she's sometimes more like a drone.”

“But if we don't delete the Digimon, an' it turns out ta be a dangerous one, then we're puttin' lives in danger,” Applejack added, “I don't wanna hurt the Tamer, 'specially with 'em bein' a kid probably, but I ain't seein' another solution here.”

“This is not an ideal situation,” Rarity sighed, “We have a duty as Royal Knights, but I don't want to hurt anyone.”

“Screw being a Royal Knight,” Rainbow Dash said, “We got a duty as human beings here. If we end up hurting her trying to save her, then what's the point?”

“Yggdrasil, what should we do?” Pinkie Pie asked the Mother Computer, “How should we proceed?”

“SADLY, I AM UNSURE,” Yggdrasil said, actually sounding a bit saddened herself, “THIS SITUATION IS ONE I HAVE NOT DEALT WITH EVER DURING MY ACTIVATION. I AM AFRAID I CANNOT GIVE MUCH GUIDANCE IN THIS ORDEAL”

“It's alright, darling,” Rarity said, “We'll figure this out. Who knows, maybe we won't have to fight them at all.”

“That's being real optimistic,” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.

“Well it's certainly better than just rushing in without anything,” Rarity retaliated, “Or were you hoping we could just kick the problem and make it work?”

“I'm trying to be realistic here,” Rainbow Dash stated, leaning forward and glaring right at Rarity, “That Tamer isn't registered, and the Digimon she has was already in the Champion level. We gotta be ready to fight the second we see that Tamer.”

“Maybe so, but that doesn't mean we have to be brutes about it,” Rarity said, leaning forward and glaring at Rainbow Dash in return, “If she is a victim, maybe we can reason with her and possibly get her on our side.”

“Just like how you're still trying to get Fluttershy on your side?” Rainbow Dash retaliated, “I bet that's the only thing you care about, increasing the number of fans you have.”

“Better than just caring about fighting,” Rarity shot, “I'm sure that's all YOU'RE after!”

The two girls rose up, leaning forward and pressing their foreheads together glaring at each other. One could almost see actual lightning between them.

“Alright, break it up,” Applejack said pulling Rarity back.

“Seriously, or you'll get us kicked out,” Fluttershy added, pulling Rainbow Dash back.

The two teens sat down in their respective seats, folding their arms and pouting identically. It was sadly adorable.

“I say for now, we at least track the Tamer down and see if she's an immediate threat,” Applejack suggested.

“That's the best idea I can think of,” Fluttershy agreed, “With the description Pinkie Pie gave us, I can easily track her down.”

“Then the rest of us are on stand-by then,” Pinkie Pie said, “I know we're not all friends, but it would make me feel better if we could all share contact information at least.”

“Good idea,” Applejack said, “We also need ta be on each other's friend lists, jus' in case we need ta enter a party fer this,” when both Rarity and Rainbow Dash looked like they were about to say something, Applejack held her hand up, “Yes, that goes for y'all too.”

“Fine,” both girls sighed. All five girls pulled out their Digivices, connecting to whoever they weren't already friends with. By the end of the session, they each had four total accounts on their Digivices (Pinkie Pie had three more, probably her sisters).

“Let's meet here from now on, in this booth,” Fluttershy stated, putting her Digivice away, “This place looks secure enough.”

“I know the owner,” Rarity said, “He'll be fine as long as one of us orders something.”

“Sounds good to me,” Pinkie Pie said, “Also, the tables are big enough where the Digimon can hide underneath with ease.” she looked under the table, where everyone's Digimon waved to them happily.

Unknown to everyone, Twilight sat down in the booth closest to them. She nodded to herself, and rose from her seat leaving the restaurant a few minutes before the others rose to leave.

Right as they were walking out of the restaurant, which turned out to be a fancy ramen shop named “Canterlot Ramen”, Applejack turned to Fluttershy.

“Hey,” Applejack said putting her hand on Fluttershy's shoulder, “Look, 'bout the whole joinin' the Royal Knights thing, I know Rarity is pushin' hard, but I want you ta know it's still yer choice.”

“I don't feel pressured,” Fluttershy turned to Applejack, “Besides, right now we are a team, whether or not I'm a Royal Knight.”

Applejack smirked and held out her hand, “Shake on it?” Fluttershy hesitated, but she took Applejack's hand to shake it. Immediately, she was pulled in close, Applejack speaking directly into her ear, “I know who ya are, Zero.”

“I know,” Fluttershy whispered, “Had a nice conversation with your girlfriend about that.”

“I'm workin' with ya, but I don't trust ya,” Applejack whispered, “So I'm keepin’ a close eye on ya. If you do anythin' I don't like…”

“Rarity already warned me,” Fluttershy said, raising her phone, “I should then warn you that I can easily ruin both Rarity and your lives if I have to, and I will to keep myself safe. You can beat me in a physical fight, yes, and you are a stronger Tamer than me, for now, but when it comes to the virtual world, I am a God.”

Applejack considered her words. Bold as they seemed, she had no idea what sort of dirt she had on them. This girl was dark, and dangerous, but Rarity seemed to vouch for her.

“Fine,” Applejack said releasing her hand, “I'll let it go then. But I am keepin' an eye on you.”

“Do what you wish,” Fluttershy said folding her arms, “I don't have to answer to you, Rarity, Yggdrasil, or anyone.”

Applejack narrowed her eyes glaring at Fluttershy, but then walked off. Fluttershy turned around and walked off in the opposite direction. They'd keep their animosity toward each other to themselves, as to not hurt the team, but it was clear. Even if they were a team, Applejack and Fluttershy would never truly be friends.

Author's Note

So... about that Teen rating... Yeah, we're earning that today.

Also, NEW OPENING YAY!!!

Please consider supporting my Patreon!

10: Why can't I love you?!

Theme Song: With The Wind

10: Why can't I love you?!

It was nighttime now, and Silver Spoon decided to follow BlackGatomon's guidance and just keep a watch on Diamond Tiara. They weren't spotted, as BlackGatomon helped Silver Spoon find hiding spots, where they could watch the her.

Her and Rumble.

They were always holding onto each other, laughing and flirting with each other. It made her sick. He was all over her, touching her constantly, at one point even tickling her. But that wasn't the worst thing. Diamond Tiara was enjoying it.

She never pushed him off, and if she did it was only being playful. She had no idea what he was doing to her! What he really wanted! As Silver Spoon followed them, she had to stop herself from throwing up.

Diamond… don't you get it?!

He just wants your body!

Silver Spoon and BlackGatomon followed them from a distance, eventually to the park. It was here that Diamond Tiara and Rumble laid down in the grass looking up at the stars.

“See that one?” Rumble pointed to a star, “I'm dedicating that one to you.”

Diamond Tiara giggled, “That's so cheesy, Rumble.”

“Well, I'm a cheesy guy,” Rumble said, “I'm thinking cheddar myself.”

“Mmm, more of a pepper jack in my eyes,” Diamond Tiara said, turning to her side facing Rumble, who raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah? Why's that?” Rumble asked.

“Because it's got more of a flavor,” Diamond Tiara said with a sweet smile, “Cheddar is too plain, and has holes in it.”

Rumble laughed turning to Diamond Tiara, “Are you sure that's not just because it's your favorite?”

Diamond Tiara sighed playfully, “You got me. See, I can be cheesy too.”

Rumble wrapped his arms around Diamond Tiara, pulling her close, “I'm really happy you gave me a chance, Diamond Tiara.”

“Well, just because I'm rich, doesn't mean I'm a bitch,” she said snuggling into Rumble's embrace, “Besides, you were nice to me. You're not after me just because of my money.”

“I don't care about any of that,” Rumble said rubbing her back, “I've had a crush on you since third grade, so just being close to you like this is a dream come true to me. I just want to be able to hold you close like this.”

“Rumble, I…” she closed her eyes gently, “I know we're still really young, but… I truly don't think that I'll ever find anyone who cares about me like you do.”

Silver Spoon's tensed up when she heard that. She cared about Diamond Tiara like that!

“What are you saying?” Rumble asked, hope in his voice. Diamond Tiara looked into his eyes lovingly.

“I'm saying that, even though we're still young, I think I love you.”

Silver Spoon felt a betrayal unlike anything ever when she heard that. She'd heard her mention that earlier at the mall, but to hear it now… and to hear her say it to him.

“Diamond, I…” he looked shocked, but he soon smiled, “I love you too!”

Her eyes widened, “Wait… r-really?”

“Yeah. I mean, yeah we're young, but I've been pining for you since we were eight. Diamond Tiara, I don't care that we're young. I love you, and I'm going to stay by your side forever.”

“Oh Rumble!” Diamond Tiara hugged Rumble lovingly, the young man returning the embrace. Silver Spoon was trembling now. Now they'd never be a part from each other.

“Silver Spoon!”

She looked to her side and saw BlackGatomon looking up at her.

“You see it, right?! You're losing her now!” BlackGatomon exclaimed.

“I do…” Silver Spoon said, trembling as tears began to stream down her cheeks.

“He's dangerous for her, Silver Spoon! You know that he'll hurt her one day!”

“I… I…”

“You love her, don't you?”

“Yes… I do…”

“Then you have to act now!”

“How?!” Silver Spoon fussed turning to her Digimon, “How do I protect her?!”

“I already told you,” BlackGatomon said, “We have to hide her someplace where he can't get to her.”

“You… really want us to kidnap her…?” Silver Spoon asked.

“Silver Spoon, if we don't, she's going to get hurt! Let me do this, Silver Spoon! Let me act on your behalf!”

“Y-you'll… act on…”

“Yes!” BlackGatomon walked forward looking at Silver Spoon earnestly, “Please Silver Spoon! Before it's too late! We have to act now or else we'll lose her forever!”

“I don't want to lose her…! I… I love her…”

“Then lend me your energy Silver Spoon! Please!”

Silver Spoon turned back to where Rumble and Diamond Tiara were, and she saw them look into each others’ eyes. They then slowly closed in, their lips touching in a soft tender kiss. That made something inside of Silver Spoon shatter. It became real at that moment. Diamond Tiara, she was…

Her hands grabbed her Digivice, and she gripped it tightly. She had the power to stop this. She could keep Diamond Tiara away from Rumble. All she had to do was…

“BlackGatomon…” she said trembling, “S-save her. Please…”

If she had turned to BlackGatomon, she would have seen a dark, sinister smirk appear on the black cat's face.

“So… I'll talk to you tomorrow?” Rumble asked when they reached the corner. Diamond Tiara nodded.

“I always have my phone with me, so I'll answer when you call.” Diamond Tiara said.

“Perfect. See ya, Diamond Tiara.”

“Take care, Rumble,” she kissed him on the cheek and then turned in the direction of her mansion. Rumble had offered to walk her home, but it was fine. After all, this city was safe for the most part. Save for those weird monster attacks, and those were always telegraphed by fog.

As she walked, she felt her heart soar in happiness. Finally, someone who loved her for who she was, and not for her money. Okay, so she had Silver Spoon too, but this was different. Silver Spoon was just as rich as she was, so of course they'd appreciate each other. Rumble was nice though because he didn't care about the money.

All he cared about was her.

She held her hands to her cheeks and squealed loudly from the thought. She was on cloud nine right now.

He loves me!

He loves me for who I am!

Once she calmed down from that though, her thoughts went back to Silver Spoon. She really seemed like something was up. Lately it seemed like she was always upset. She didn't think she could tell, but she knew something was wrong.

Next time she saw Silver Spoon, she was going to confront her about it.

She saw the shadow of something standing over her on the ground. It looked like a woman, but it had a really large left hand, and really large tattered wings on its back. She turned around slowly, and froze in shock when she saw the shadowy figure loom over her.

“Y-you're one of those monsters…!” she realized, backing away.

“We prefer the term Digimon,” the mysterious woman said, “In the name of Lady Lilithmon, you must come with me.”

Immediately, Diamond Tiara turned and ran in the direction of her house as fast as her high heels would take her. The Digimon jumped up in the air and landed in front of Diamond Tiara, causing her to fall back onto the ground. The woman had pale white skin and pure red eyes, and her entire body seemed to be covered in black leather. She also had long white hair flowing down her back, and her entire body was covered in chains.

“Like I said child, you're coming with me,” the Digimon said. Diamond Tiara backed away from the Digimon trembling.

“Don't hurt me! Please!” she begged.

“My Tamer insists on your safety, but if you don't come quietly, I'll have to use violence,” the Digimon said, charging up electricity in her left hand. Diamond Tiara screamed and jumped to her feet, once again running away. The monster took to the skies and flew after her, shooting lighting on the ground after her. She turned the corner and hid in an alleyway, and pulled out her phone.

“Hello? Diamond?”

“Rumble, you have to help me!” she whispered urgently.

“Diamond, what's wrong? You sound terrified!”

“You know those monsters that keep appearing? One of them is after me right now!”

“Wait, what?! Hold on, I'll find you!”

“Hurry Rumble!” Diamond Tiara begged, unaware that the monster was right behind her, “I'm scared that it will-” she gasped as she felt an elegant hand caress her cheek.

“Got you, my precious,” the Digimon cooed. Diamond Tiara screamed as the monster attacked her with electricity, causing her to drop her phone.

“Diamond Tiara? What's wrong?! Diamond?! Diamond!”

“Diamond, are you okay?”

“S-Silver Spoon…?” Diamond Tiara slowly woke up, realizing she was lying on the cold floor.

“Good, I was worried my Digimon hurt you too much.” Silver Spoon replied. Diamond Tiara blinked a bit at that. Her Digimon? She sat up, and instantly noticed something was wrong. She was in a dark room, and it didn't look like she was in hers or Silver Spoon's basement. Also, when she tried to move, she found her wrists were chained to a pole behind her.

“Spoony, what's the meaning of this?” she asked her friend, who was kneeling right in front of her.

“I'm sorry, Diamond, but I had to,” Silver said, caressing her cheek, “You were in danger.”

“Danger…?” Diamond Tiara asked. Did she mean the monster? Somehow, she didn't think so…

“From Rumble,” Silver Spoon stated, “He was a bad boy, and you were falling for him.”

“What?! Silver Spoon, what are you talking about?” Diamond Tiara asked, pulling against the chains, “Rumble is- you're not making any sense!”

“He had you fooled, Diamond!” Silver Spoon said desperately, “He didn't love you! Not like I love you!”

“Silver Spoon, you're scaring me,” Diamond Tiara said shying away from her friend, “Let me go.”

“No Diamond, I won't,” Silver Spoon shook her head, “If I let you go, you're going to run to him and leave me. I won't let you do that, Diamond Tiara.”

“What's going on with you?!” Diamond Tiara asked, “Silver Spoon, why are you being like this?!”

“Because I'm tired of being pushed aside!” Silver Spoon cried out, making Diamond Tiara flinch back, “You don't get it?! Even now you don't see?! Diamond Tiara, I love you!”

“W-what? Silver Spoon, you're not making any sense! What do you mean you-” she was blind sighted by a sudden kiss from her best friend. When she broke the kiss, Diamond Tiara blushed looking into her friend's eyes, “Silver Spoon… I…”

“Don't say it,” Silver Spoon seethed, “I know you still want him. That's why you're going to remain here until you realize who truly loves you.” she rose up and turned to leave.

“Silver Spoon no!” Diamond Tiara screamed, “Don't leave me here alone! Untie me, please!”

“She won't listen to you,” a familiar voice said, coming from an odd looking black cat that walked over to Silver Spoon, “She's already been affected by my data. Her drive is solely centered on her drive to have you all to herself.”

“You… you're that monster!” Diamond Tiara tried to lunge at BlackGatomon, “What did you do to her?!”

“Simple, I opened her eyes,” BlackGatomon drawled, jumping up into Silver Spoon's arms. She turned around to Diamond Tiara, petting the strange cat as she held her.

“This is my Digimon partner, BlackGatomon,” Silver Spoon said, her voice oddly dark, “She's been with me for the past few days, and she helped me realize that I needed to assert myself a bit more. That's why you're here now, Diamond Tiara. You wouldn't love me before, but you'll love me now. Since I'm going to be the only person you see from now on.”

As she turned to leave, Diamond Tiara began to panic, “No… NO!” she cried struggling against the chains, “SILVER SPOON! DON'T LEAVE ME HERE! PLEASE LET ME GO! SILVER SPOON!”

“I'll be back later, Diamond,” Silver Spoon turned to her and blew her a kiss, “See you in the morning.” she then exited the building and closed the door behind her, apparently locking it.

Now alone, Diamond Tiara screamed and struggled against her bindings violently. Sadly, it proved futile though, and her will slowly gave way to heavy sobs.

“Rumble…! Help me, Rumble…!”

“The search is now on for Filthy Rich's young fourteen year old daughter, Diamond Tiara,” the newscaster said on the TV, “Her phone was found in an alleyway by her boyfriend, Rumble, who claims that she was being attacked by one of the monsters attacking Canterlot.”

“She sounded really scared when she called me,” Rumble said when it cut to him, “I even heard her scream right before she was cut off. I swear I'm not lying.”

“Hm…” Fluttershy said with a frown, watching the news with Guilmon sitting next to her eating a Pop Tart.

“That's really bad,” Guilmon said wilting, “I hope they find her.”

“Hopefully it's just Filthy Rich freaking out,” Cyrus said walking into the living room, “Maybe she just ran away from home.”

“Yeah… maybe,” Fluttershy said thoughtfully, “I'm heading to school. Guilmon, let's go.”

“W-wait, you want me to come with you?” Guilmon asked, taking another bite from his strawberry pop tart.

“Yes, I do,” she said getting up, “I'll see you later, Daddy.”

“Take care, honey,” Cyrus waved to her. Fluttershy hugged her father, kissed him on the cheek, and then walked to the door, picking up her backpack.

“Bye Dad!” Guilmon said, waving to Cyrus as they left out of the house. Cyrus smiled, watching them leave.

“Take care, kids,” he said. She didn't look it, but Cyrus could tell Fluttershy was doing better with her Digimon next to her.

“What’s wrong Fluttershy?” Guilmon asked, catching up to her, “You never ask me to come with you to school.”

“I want you to look for that girl,” Fluttershy requested, “Get the other Digimon, and have them team up with you to find her.”

“But… she doesn't have anything to do with our current mission, does she?” Guilmon asked tilting his head.

“She has everything to do with it,” Fluttershy said, pulling out her Digivice and opening a screen showing a picture of a bespectacled girl with long silver hair tied in a braid, “Based on what Pinkie Pie said, I was able to figure out that this girl is the Tamer we're looking for. Her name is Silver Spoon.”

“She's so young,” Guilmon pointed out, “She's probably only about 13 or so human years.”

“She also happens to be close to Filthy Rich's daughter, Diamond Tiara,” Fluttershy stated, “She said that she was being attacked by the monsters, and you and I both know what that means.”

Guilmon nodded, “She's talking about a Digimon.”

“Exactly, but a corrupted Digimon wouldn't single her out,” Fluttershy stated, “That means the Digimon was in perfect control of itself.”

Guilmon's eyes widened, “Meaning that it had a Tamer!”

Fluttershy nodded putting her Digivice back in her jacket pocket, “There are too many coincidences here, Guilmon, and they all feel like they're adding up to something big.”

“And that's why you want me to find that Diamond Tiara girl,” Guilmon said, “To see how they all add up.”

“Bingo. So, can I count on you and the other Digimon?” Fluttershy asked. Guilmon saluted.

“No problem, Fluttershy! I'll meet up with everyone at the lookout tree!” Guilmon turned to run off, but stopped, “Hey, Fluttershy?”

“What is it, Guilmon?”

“I'm really happy we're helping so many people.” Guilmon said, giving her a smile. Fluttershy blushed in embarrassment, and then turned away.

“I… I'm not going to ever leave people in need. Not if I can do something,” Fluttershy said, “I'll see you after school.”

With that said, Fluttershy rushed off. Guilmon smiled widely and ran off to the tree house. Hopefully Agumon and Gabumon were at least there.

Fluttershy met up with Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash in the school courtyard, where she spoke to both of them about her theory.

“I hope she's okay,” Pinkie Pie said, “Diamond Tiara's a bit spoiled, but she's really a sweet kid.”

“You know her?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“I've spoken to her a few times,” Pinkie Pie said, “Even though her father's not the nicest, she's actually really cordial and approachable.”

“Does she mention Silver Spoon?” Fluttershy asked Pinkie Pie.

“They used to always be together. I remember that the last time I ran into her, she was with that boy who was on the news, Rumble. They're kinda young to be as mature about their relationship as they are, but Diamond Tiara's already kinda mature for her age.” Pinkie Pie explained.

“Where are your Digimon?” Fluttershy asked.

“Veemon said something about a lookout tower,” Rainbow Dash shrugged, “I don't know, but Applejack and Rarity's Digimon invited him so he said he'd check it out.”

“Hackmon said the same thing,” Pinkie Pie added, “And I'm sure Agumon and Gabumon are they're. I get the feeling they're always there.”

“Okay, good,” Fluttershy said, “We need to find that girl as soon as possible. I don't like what the looks like.”

“Neither do I,” Rainbow Dash said, “But… what are we going to do about Silver Spoon if she's linked to her Digimon, and it turns out to be a bad Digimon?”

“Maybe Rarity and Applejack have a plan now,” Pinkie Pie said hopefully, “Maybe they consulted with Yggdrasil, and she's got an idea of how to fix this.”

“Sorry to disappoint, but we don't,” Rarity said, she and Applejack walking out to join them.

“Damn, so that sentient computer you two listen to is still clueless?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Her name is Yggdrasil, but I'm afraid so,” Rarity said gravely.

“I asked Guilmon to work with our Digimon to find our Tamer's friend,” Fluttershy said, “I think she's connected to this.”

“Good thinkin’,” Applejack said, “Our Digivices got a trackin’ feature in them, so we'll always know where our Digimon are.”

“That's convenient,” Rainbow Dash said, “So after school, we track down our Digimon and help in the search, right?”

“Sounds good to me,” Pinkie Pie said with a nod, “I hope this doesn't end in violence.”

“I hope we can save the Tamer,” Rarity said looking down seriously, “I don't want to have to delete her Digimon in a way that will hurt her.”

“The we'll just find another way,” Fluttershy said, “Class is about to start, so let's just be ready.”

The five girls all nodded to each other and went off in separate directions to their first classes. Hopefully Diamond Tiara was okay at least.

Guilmon was thankful that all of the Digimon were at the lookout tree, and he relayed Fluttershy's request. They were all happy to help, and instantly spread out into town, exploring the town in search of the missing girl.

While most of the Digimon searched in town, Hackmon walked out into the Whitetail Woods in the outskirts of town. Out of all of them, he'd been in the real world the longest, and he knew a lot more about these sort of situations.

After all, he and Maud watched nothing but cop shows when at home.

In all of the cop shows, the victim who disappeared usually turned up somewhere in an area like this. It helped that he was so small, so he could look at the ground closely for any clues. He didn't find anything outright, but stopped when he saw what looked like a tiny gem in the grass.

Hackmon looked to the side, thinking if this was a clue. His mind went to the picture of Diamond Tiara, remembering the headpiece she always wore.

“Hey!” Guilmon called out, running over to Hackmon, “Did you find something?”

“I think so,” Hackmon said looking around a bit, noticing a small shack in the distance, “Guilmon, let's check that over there.”

Guilmon looked, “That building over there?”

Hackmon nodded, “Something tells me that girl is close by.” Hackmon ran toward the shack, Guilmon following closely. Once they reached the shack, both Digimon heard sobbing from inside.

“Guilmon, can you take a look?” Hackmon asked, “You're taller than I am.”

Guilmon nodded and looked through the window. Inside he saw Diamond Tiara, wrists chained to a pipe behind her. She was struggling a bit, and she was crying loudly. She looked terrified. Inside of the room with her was a BlackGatomon. Guilmon quickly ducked and turned to Hackmon.

“Hackmon, she's in there!” Guilmon whispered, “There's a BlackGatomon in there too standing guard!”

“That's the Digimon Pinkie Pie and I saw!” Hackmon stated, “That means that girl is the Tamer!”

“But why did she kidnap Diamond Tiara?” Guilmon asked.

“That I don't know, but we need to warn everyone else!” Hackmon looked back at the shack, “Meet up with the other Digimon and our Tamers. I'll stay here and keep watch.”

“Alright Hackmon. I'll be back with everyone else!” Guilmon said running out of the woods. Hackmon ran behind a tree and hid, waiting for the others to get there. He wanted to charge right in, but he wasn't stupid. There was no way he'd be able to beat that BlackGatomon on his own.

It was after school by the time Guilmon got back, and everyone was waiting for him near the lookout tree.

“Everyone!” Guilmon called out, “Hackmon and I found Diamond Tiara!”

“Good job, Guilmon,” Fluttershy hugged her Digimon, “Where is she?”

“She's locked up in a small shack in the Whitetail Woods,” Guilmon said, “Hackmon's still there keeping watch.”

“She's locked up?!” Rarity cried, “Oh, the poor dear!”

“Who did this?!” Rainbow Dash demanded to know harshly.

“We know who,” Applejack pointed out, “Probably our rogue Tamer.”

“Speaking of,” Rarity pointed toward the school, where they saw Silver Spoon run out of the school building, in the direction away from the residential section of Canterlot.

“She's heading in the direction of where Hackmon is,” Pinkie Pie said, looking at her Digivice, “He probably wants to use his signal to lead us there.”

“Let's not waste any time,” Fluttershy said, “Sooner we get to her, the higher the chance we have of ending this without needing to hurt her.”

Everyone nodded, human and Digimon, and they all ran in the direction of the Whitetail Woods.

Diamond Tiara had long since given up on trying to escape on her own, and just sat down on the floor hanging her head helplessly. After a bit, she looked up and glared at the black cat lying on the floor in front of her.

“Hey,” she said, “Hey cat. I know you can hear me.”

Said cat opened an eye and looked at her.

“Hello human,” she drawled.

“What are you?” Diamond Tiara asked, “You're clearly not a cat.”

“You're right, I'm not,” BlackGatomon said sitting up and standing upright perfectly, “My name is BlackGatomon. I'm what's called a Digimon, or Digital Monster.”

“Digital Monster?” Diamond Tiara pulled at the chains binding her to the pole, “Okay, what do you want with Silver Spoon?”

“I didn't do anything except give her a little push in the right direction,” BlackGatomon said, walking around Diamond Tiara.

“No, I don't believe that!” Diamond Tiara shook her head, “I know Silver Spoon! She'd never do anything like this unless she were being controlled! I know you did something to her!”

“You hold that girl in too high regard,” BlackGatomon said with a smirk, “The lust she has for you is almost overwhelming. I'm surprised you didn't notice it. Or are you too focused on Rumble to notice how she truly feels. Perhaps you just don't care about her.”

“That's not true!” Diamond Tiara cried, “I love Silver Spoon! She's my closest friend! I never wanted to hurt her!”

“Then why don't you break up with Rumble and be with her?” BlackGatomon challenged, “Or are you just lying, saying what Silver Spoon wants to hear so we'll let you go?”

“I'm not lying!” Diamond Tiara sobbed, tears falling down her cheeks, “I do love Silver Spoon! It's just a different kind of love!”

“I'm sure,” BlackGatomon said, leaning against a wall, “I bet Silver Spoon would go for that ‘different kind of love’ Then again, I could just spin your words around so she thinks you're lying to her.”

“You're terrible,” Diamond Tiara sobbed helplessly, “I hate you so much!” almost on cue, the door opened and Silver Spoon walked in, “Silver Spoon!”

“Diamond, what's wrong?” Silver Spoon asked, kneeling down before her and caressing her face, “Why are you crying?”

“Why am I crying?!” Diamond Tiara was incredulous, “My best friend is keeping me prisoner! Silver Spoon, please stop listening to that cat thing over there?! This isn't who you are! It's controlling you!”

“BlackGatomon is my friend,” Silver Spoon shied away from Diamond Tiara, “She's always there for me, and she loves me. She was there even when you abandoned me for Rumble!”

“I didn't abandon you, Spoony!” Diamond Tiara cried, “I still loved you! Even now, I love you! You're my best friend, Silver Spoon!”

“But that's all, right?!” Silver Spoon asked harshly, “You say that you love me, but in the end you're going to throw me away for him!”

“It's true, Silver Spoon,” BlackGatomon chimed in, “I spoke to her while we waited for you to return. She said that she loved him more than you.”

The way Silver Spoon gasped and then narrowed her eyes at Diamond Tiara made the young imprisoned girl wilt in fear, “Is that true?”

“No no no!” Diamond Tiara said desperately, “I never said that! That evil cat is twisting my words! I said that I loved both you and Rumble, but it's a different kind of love!”

“She's trying to cover it up, but you know the truth!” BlackGatomon said immediately, “She means that the love she has for Rumble is higher than it is for you! Rumble is a menace, and as long as he lives she'll never love you!”

Silver Spoon looked up suddenly as if in realization, “You're right… he's the problem.”

“Silver Spoon, what are you thinking…?” Diamond Tiara asked slowly.

“Come BlackGatomon,” Silver Spoon said rising up, “Let's get rid of Rumble.”

BlackGatomon smiled evilly at Diamond Tiara, “As you wish, Silver Spoon.”

“NO! SILVER SPOON PLEASE!” Diamond Tiara screamed, “DON'T HURT HIM! PLEASE, LEAVE HIM ALONE!”

“Listen to her,” BlackGatomon seethed, both her and Silver Spoon glaring at Diamond Tiara, “She panics merely at the thought of him dying. That's all the proof you need.”

“I'm begging you, Silver Spoon, don't do this!” Diamond Tiara cried, “Leave Rumble alone! Stop listening to that evil cat thing and let me go! I promise, I'll never leave your side, and I'll find a way to make all of this ri-”

“SHUT UP!” Silver Spoon screamed, silencing Diamond Tiara, “I'm through listening to you! It's clear now that you're not going to love me as long as he's alive, so I'm going to kill him!” she closed her eyes trembling shedding tears of anger, “I hate him! I hate him and I hate what he represents! I love you so much, Diamond Tiara, but as long as he's alive, you're never going to see it! But you will!” she opened her eyes, glaring at Diamond Tiara intensely, “You'll see, and then you'll love me just as much as I love you! You'll love me because you won't have a choice!” with that she turned and stormed to the door.

“SILVER SPOON NO!” Diamond Tiara screamed, once again futilely pulling at her bindings, going into full panic mode. Silver Spoon ignored her pleas though, opening the door just in time to see Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Applejack run up to the shack, all with their Digimon with them.

“W-what?” Silver Spoon asked, “Who are these girls?”

“We're Tamers, just like you,” Rarity said stepping forward, “That BlackGatomon, she's yours, right?”

“Silver Spoon, we have to take them out now!” BlackGatomon seethed getting on all fours, “They're bad Tamers! They're here to take Diamond Tiara away from you!”

“No!” Silver Spoon shook her head, spreading her arms out in defense of the shack, “I'm not letting you take her away!”

“Silver Spoon, that's your name, right?” Pinkie Pie asked slowly stepping forward, “You have to let her go. What you're doing is wrong. You're hurting Diamond Tiara.”

“I hate doing this to her,” Silver Spoon admitted, looking down, “But it’s the only way I'm going to get her to pay attention to me! She's going to leave me for Rumble!”

“I don't think that's right,” Guilmon chimed in, “You and that other girl are partners, right? Partners don't abandon each other, ever!”

“We really don't want this to get violent, darling,” Rarity urged.

“That's like the one thing she and I agree on,” Rainbow Dash added, “So just step away from the shack, give us your Digivice, and we'll work this out.”

“See?! They just confirmed it!” BlackGatomon cried out, “Now they're trying to separate us! They don't want you to have anyone, Silver Spoon! They want you be alone, without anyone to love you!”

Fluttershy frowned looking at BlackGatomon. Why was she going on and on about love and things like that?

“I'm not letting that happen!” Silver Spoon cried, tears of anger falling from her eyes, “If you want Diamond Tiara, you're going to have to go through us! But if it's my Digivice you want so badly,” she pulled it out of her dress pocket and held if forward, her other hand flowing with dark green energy, “Then I'll give it to you right now, along with all of its power!” she then pulled up a holographic keyboard and typed on it.

“Silver Spoon, DON'T!” Rarity screamed.

“Altering Program! Super Digivolve!” Silver Spoon screamed, pushing the enter key. She screamed as her entire body flowed with that green energy, which she then sent into her Digivice, shooting the energy out at BlackGatomon.

ACCESS

SUPER DIGIVOLUTION

“BLACKGATOMON SUPER DIGIVOLVE TO!” BlackGatomon shouted, jumping into the air as her entire body immediately broke off revealing a dark green wire frame. Her Tamer's energy engulfed her, causing the frame to change shape and grow into the form of a darkly alluring woman. She spun around elegantly as her body took form, revealing the black clad Digimon that captured Diamond Tiara, “LADYDEVIMON!”

boss theme

“Oh this is bad!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed pulling out her Digivice to scan the new Digimon.

ID: LADYDEVIMON

LEVEL: ULTIMATE

TYPE: FALLEN ANGEL

ATTRIBUTE: VIRUS

Silver Spoon held her chest in pain. She then glared at all of them almost demonically, her eyes glowing red.

“Just try and stop me!” both Silver Spoon and LadyDevimon said at the same time, “I'm not letting anyone take Diamond Tiara away from me!”

LadyDevimon rushed toward them ready to attack, however she was stopped as Applejack jumped in the way and held her back with her bare hands.

“What are we doin?!” Applejack asked, “We fightin’, or retreatin’?!”

“Retreat isn't an option!” Fluttershy pulled her goggles down, “Guilmon, get ready!”

“Right!” he stood in front of her, holding his arms out, “Let's do this!”

Applejack smirked and pushed LadyDevimon back, pulling out her Digivice, “I like the way y'all think! Time ta go dinosaur crazy, Agumon!”

“I was waiting for that!” Agumon said, standing next to his Tamer with a cocky grin. Both Applejack and Fluttershy typed on their keyboards at the same time.

“Altering Program! Digivolve!” the two girls shouted at the same time. LadyDevimon tried to charge at them again, but this time Applejack threw back her fist and landed a hard punch right in her jaw, actually sending the Ultimate Level Digimon back. She and Fluttershy sent their energy into their Digivices, which then shot out to their Digimon.

ACCESS

DIGIVOLUTION

“AGUMON, DIGIVOLVE TO! GREYMON!”

“GUILMON, DIGIVOLVE TO! GROWLMON!”

Fluttershy held her chest, grunting in pain after her Digimon digivolved.

HAZARD LEVEL: 50%

“Ya alright there?” Applejack asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Don't worry about me,” Zero spat, standing upright with a sneer, “Let's just focus on the demon bitch in front of us.”

Applejack frowned at the sudden change, but thought nothing of it. The two dinosaur Digimon rushed at LadyDevimon, but she managed to hold both of them back with her hands. She kicked both Digimon back and then held her larger left hand out.

“DARKNESS WAVE!” she roared, shooting black bats made of darkness out at Growlmon and Greymon. The bats caught fire once they reached them, causing massive damage.

“Applejack!” Rarity cried.

“Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, “Pinkie Pie, we gotta go to the next level too!”

“Right! Let's do it Hackmon!

“Veemon, let's kick it into high gear!”

“Gabumon darling, get ready!”

“Altering Program! Digivolve!” all three girls shouted, sending their energy into their Digivices and sending it out to their corresponding Digimon.

ACCESS

DIGIVOLUTION

“VEEMON, DIGIVOLVE TO! EXVEEMON!”

“GABUMON, DIGIVOLVE TO! GARURUMON!”

“HACKMON, DIGIVOLVE TO! BAOHACKMON!”

ExVeemon charged at LadyDevimon and tackled her to the ground and began pummeling her with his fists. She kicked him off of her, but then flipped out of the way as Garurumon launched his Fox Fire attack in her direction.

“Altering Program! Nurse!” Pinkie Pie shouted sending the program. Instantly Greymon and Growlmon were healed, rising to their feet.

“Thanks,” Zero said dusting herself off, “Can you increase everyone's stats next too?”

“Sure thing. BaoHackmon, you mind acting as support for a bit?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“Not at all!” BaoHackmon said, slashing LadyDevimon back with his tail, “Whatever it takes to help the team!”

“Alright! Altering Program! All Defense UP!”

All of the Digimon felt their defense increase. Just in time too, as LadyDevimon held her hand behind her charging up an attack.

“BLACK WING!” she intoned, her claw morphing into a sharp tipped spear like shape and charging with energy. She then slashed at BaoHackmon, but Garurumon pushed him out of the way, taking the attack himself.

“AHH!!!” Rarity screamed falling, back.

“Whoa! Got ya!” Applejack caught her, “Ya alright?”

“I… think so,” Rarity looked at her Digivice, surprised to see Garurumon's health already close to half, “But… our defense is up, isn't it?”

“Pinkie Pie, Attack next!” Rainbow Dash requested, typing on her keyboard, “I gotta see something!”

“Got it Dash! Altering Program! All Attack UP!” Pinkie Pie shouted. Once their attack increased, Rainbow Dash prepared her next program.

“Altering Program! Chi Level 2!” she shouted, sending the program, “Remember, just like I taught ya, ExVeemon!”

ExVeemon gave his Tamer a thumbs up, held his hands forward and then drew them to his side, “Ka… me… ha… me… HA!” he threw his arms forward, firing a large blue energy stream out at LadyDevimon, who held her arms in front of her in defense taking the attack.

“Why did yer Digimon use a Kamehameha?” Applejack asked, bemused.

“Because it's fucking awesome, that's why,” Rainbow Dash smirked, “Someone check her health.”

Zero looked down at her Digivice, “Shit! It's still not taking damage!”

“We're unstoppable!” Silver Spoon shouted, “You're not beating me! Not with those weak Digimon!”

LadyDevimon responded by rolling to the side and firing an electric blast out at ExVeemon, making both him and Rainbow Dash slide back a bit in pain.

“Damn it!” Rainbow Dash swore, “Why's she so strong?!”

“MEGA FLAME!” Greymon shouted.

“EXHAUST FLAME!” Growlmon roared at the same time. Both attacks fired at LadyDevimon, but she held her wings around her taking both attacks. Garurumon jumped high into the air and charged up his attack.

“FOX FIRE!” Garurumon intoned. His attack actually engulfed LadyDevimon. He landed and all five Champion Digimon gathered around him waiting for the smoke to clear. When it did though, they saw that LadyDevimon was perfectly unharmed.

“What?!” Growlmon cried out.

“How though?!” Greymon asked, “We've been hitting her with everything we have?!”

“Even though you’re strong, you're all still Digimon only able to reach Champion,” LadyDevimon taunted sauntering over to the Digimon, “I've been able to reach Ultimate for a while now.”

“That's putting your Tamer in unnecessary danger!” BaoHackmon exclaimed, “She's not ready for that level! You have to ease her into it!”

“I'm fine!” Silver Spoon said, holding her chest in pain, “Y-you're the weak ones! You just want me, t-to relent so y-you can steal Diamond Tiara away from me…!”

“Sweetheart, listen!” Rarity urged, “I know how it feels to love someone more than anyone more than anything, but you can't force someone to love you like this!”

“Please, revert your Digimon to the lower levels!” Pinkie Pie begged, “That way we can talk this over!”

“I'm through talking!” Silver Spoon cried out, gripping her Digivice tightly, “I'm putting an end to this right here, right now!”

LadyDevimon flew into the air, “POISON!” she shouted, spraying a black mist out of her hand down to the Digimon.

“Your Highness!” Garurumon shouted. He reacted immediately, throwing her on his back and jumping out of the attack. Unfortunately everyone else took it head on, instantly feeling like something was burning them from the inside out. Both Tamers and Digimon screamed in pain, falling to the ground.

“No!” Rarity screamed in horror, looking at everyone struggle to rise to their feet, “Garurumon, what do we do?”

“We have to go all out, Your Highness,” Garurumon said, kneeling down to let Rarity off his back, “At least try to even the odds a bit.”

“Yes, you're right,” Rarity said hugging her Digimon, “I relent and give you full control, Garurumon.” she then stepped forward, typing on her keyboard, “Altering Program! Super Digivolve!”

Everyone was shocked to hear Rarity scream to the sky, and even more surprised when purple energy flowed all around her. She stopped screaming and glared at LadyDevimon, and Garurumon jumped in front of her. She then sent the energy into her Digivice and shot it at her partner.

ACCESS

SUPER DIGIVOLUTION

“GARURUMON, SUPER DIGIVOLVE TO!” Garurumon shouted running forward, the wind ripping his skin off to reveal his purple wire frame. His Tamer's energy engulfed him, and the frame altered in a funny way, actually changing to stand upright and gaining slight human like features. His skin reformed, revealing Garurumon, but standing like a human and wearing blue jeans, a single shoulder pad, and golden brass knuckles on both hands, “WEREGARURUMON!” she shouted before howling to the moonlight.

Rarity's entire body went limp for a second, but she then rose up, almost like a puppet, getting in a fighting stance just like the one WereGarurumon was in.

“What the hell…?” Zero asked.

Applejack sighed, “I was hopin’ she wouldn't go that far.”

“What's wrong with her?” Pinkie Pie asked, afraid of the answer.

“She used the full amount of her energy possible for Ultimate. It gives her Digimon more freedom of movement, but at a price. Fer one, she can't use programs anymore, an' two, she no longer controls her movements.”

As a demonstration almost, WereGarurumon circled around LadyDevimon. At the same time, Rarity also moved identically, as if she and her Digimon were one entity in two bodies.

“Thank you for removing my chains, Your Highness,” WereGarurumon said ferociously, “I will not use your gift in vain!”

The two ultimate Digimon charged at each other and fought close quarter, throwing punches and kicks at each other that they expertly blocked. At the same time, Rarity moved perfectly in sync with her Digimon, even grunting in pain if WereGarurumon got hit.

“DARKNESS WAVE!”

“No! Not this time!” WereGarurumon shouted, both he and Rarity doing a jumping spin kick, destroying the attack and landing perfectly on the ground, despite the latter of the two wearing high heels.

“KAISER NAIL!” Rarity screamed as if she were attacking. WereGarurumon then charged up his claws, and slashed wildly, pushing LadyDevimon back.

“Damn it!” LadyDevimon swore, “I didn't know you could reach Ultimate too!”

“Rarity, ya gotta keep yer cool!” Applejack urged, “Ya don't wanna lose yerself to the power!”

Rarity ignored her lover, instead having WereGarurumon charge at LadyDevimon and relentlessly attack her. This time she felt it.

But Silver Spoon was also flinching and crying out in pain from the attacks. Diamond Tiara was seeing the whole thing, her eyes going wide.

“No…” she shook her head, “No! Please stop! You'll kill her!”

Zero looked into the shack, meeting eyes with Diamond Tiara. She nodded to her and then rose up, “Growlmon, we need to stop Rarity.”

“Right,” Growlmon said, actually turning to WereGarurumon.

“Hey!” Applejack rose up and turned to Zero grabbing her arm, “What are ya doin?!”

“Do you want her to kill the Tamer?!” Zero asked harshly, “If not, then I suggest you stop your girlfriend before she fucks up!”

Applejack looked down and nodded, “Alright, we gotta do what we gotta do.”

Zero nodded to Applejack, “Growlmon, attack!”

“DRAGON SLASH!” Growlmon roared, slashing WereGarurumon away from LadyDevimon, “Stop it! You'll kill her if you don't!”

“I… I have to…!” WereGarurumon held his head in pain, “Have… to defeat… ENEMY!” WereGarurumon jumped and fired a powerful spin kick at Growlmon’s head, knocking him back for massive damage.

Both ExVeemon and BaoHackmon rushed at WereGarurumon, holding him steady. As he struggled, Greymon charged up his attack.

“MEGA FLAME!” he roared, shooting his attack point blank at WereGarurumon. This caused him and Rarity to fall back in pain, WereGarurumon shifting back into Gabumon, both Digimon and Tamer out cold.

“Thanks for saving me!” LadyDevimon shouted suddenly, rushing in and lashing at all four remaining Digimon, immediately making the Digimon and their Tamers fall to the ground, making her laugh cruelly.

“See what your kindness got you?” she taunted, “Now you've all lost!”

Pinkie Pie sat up enough to see Silver Spoon fall onto her knees, still holding her chest in pain, “S-stop… you're going… to…”

“Silver Spoon is willing to give her life to protect what she loves,” LadyDevimon said with a sinister smirk, “If she does end up dying, I'll be fine though.”

“You don't, even care about your Tamer?!” Rainbow Dash got to her knees at least, glaring venomously at LadyDevimon, “You bitch! ExVeemon and I will rip you apart!”

“But if you do that, you'll hurt Silver Spoon as well,” LadyDevimon said folding her arms, “Face it, Royal Knights. In the end, I was just too much for you to handle-” she was suddenly hit by a large metal orb, which caused her to fall back, both she and Silver Spoon screaming in pain.

“W-what the…?” Zero looked up, seeing the oddest sight. It was what looked like a red shen-long dragon with a white underside, two pairs of metallic wings on its back, and a large terrifying looking horn on it's forehead. When she saw the stripes on its body and the red gem on its forehead, she immediately knew who that was, “Twilight?!”

LadyDevimon looked up at the newcomer Digimon and flew up to him to engage. The new Digimon however was too much for her, and immediately managed to knock her down onto the ground. The red dragon gave a loud and odd sounding roar, but then flew down into LadyDevimon impaling her with his horn. Both LadyDevimon and Silver Spoon gasped in pain.

Everyone watched in horror at the display. On one hand they were happy it was on their side, but on the other hand, it was about to…

Using his horn, the red Digimon threw LadyDevimon high into the air. He then fired another really large metallic sphere out at LadyDevimon, who screamed in agony as her entire body exploded into pixels… deleted.

At the same time, Silver Spoon screamed loudly in pain, holding her head the entire time. Once her Digimon was gone completely, she stopped screaming and fell to the ground, her whole body going limp.

end song

Diamond Tiara began breathing heavily, eyes wide as tears began to fall freely, “SILVER SPOON!”

Pinkie Pie ran inside and managed to find the key to her chains, setting her free. Immediately Diamond Tiara ran over to her friend and held her, shaking her to awake.

“Silver Spoon! Silver Spoon, wake up!” she begged, “Please, don't be dead! DON'T DIE!”

“Oh… fuck…” Rainbow Dash said, looking on in horror.

“We failed…” Applejack lowered her hat over her eyes, “Damn it…”

Pinkie Pie walked over to the crying teen, “Diamond Tiara, I'm so sorr-”

“DON'T TOUCH ME!”

Pinkie Pie flinched back in shock, “Diamond…?”

“THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!” Diamond Tiara screamed at them, “SHE WASN'T BAD! SHE WAS JUST UNDER THAT THING'S SPELL! NOW SHE'S HURT, AND IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!”

“I…” Pinkie Pie looked away in shame. No one could really refute it. In actuality, they all screwed up, BIG TIME.

“I hate you!” Diamond Tiara swore venomously, glaring at all of them, “I HATE ALL OF YOU!”

Rarity stirred and slowly woke up. When she saw Diamond Tiara in tears, holding a catatonic Silver Spoon, she covered her mouth in horror.

“Oh God…” Rarity said trembling, “W-what have I done…?”

Diamond Tiara rose up, carrying Silver Spoon over her shoulders, and slowly began to leave out of the forest. Not once did she look at anyone, and a constant stream of tears flowed down her cheeks.

The red Digimon started glowing, reverting back to Dorumon. At the same time, Twilight stepped out from behind a tree. She watched Diamond Tiara leave, and closed her eyes briefly.

“Mission complete,” she said simply, “The target has been deleted. Let's go, Dorumon.”

Dorumon nodded, “Right.” the two of them turned to leave out the forest.

“Is that all?”

Twilight stopped and turned back around, seeing Zero looking down at the ground, trembling, hands balled up into tight fists, and clearly crying.

“Is that, all you have to say?!” she seethed looking up at Twilight in hatred, “That girl was still connected to her Digimon, and you just… just…!”

“I did what I had to do,” Twilight said, putting her hands on her hips, “That being cleaning up your mess. I tried to give you a chance to end it on your own terms, and instead you turned on each other, and left yourselves wide open. Had I not stepped in when I did, all of you would have died.”

“And what about Silver Spoon?!” Rainbow Dash asked, “Do you seriously not care about what you just did?!”

“I completed my mission, and did so in the most efficient way,” Twilight explained, “All you were doing was wasting time. The mission would have been done in half the time if I'd been the one in charge of it.”

Zero had enough, and rushed toward Twilight screaming in rage. She tried to punch the gothic teen, but Twilight grabbed her fist, holding it steady and returning Zero's glare with one of her own.

“I'm not a super heroine. It's not my duty to worry about the lives of every living person,” Twilight stated, “I am Network Security, so when there's a threat, I eliminate it. You best learn that mentality as well, if you plan on becoming a Royal Knight.”

“You're… a Royal Knight…?” Zero asked incredulous.

“That's right, and unlike you, I'm not some idealistic kid playing a game,” Twilight continued, “I am Alphamon, former leader of the Royal Knights, and Lord of the Empty Seat.” she pushed Zero back harshly, “If this is what Yggdrasil replaced us with, then the Digital and Real World are both doomed.”

With that, she turned around and walked off, all of the girls watching her leave with varying degrees of emotion. Pinkie Pie fell to her knees and buried her face in her hands, sobbing loudly, Rainbow Dash was looking down trembling and gritting her teeth, Applejack had to hold Rarity, the latter was crying so hard. Zero watched Twilight and Dorumon walk off, a look of both hatred and determination on her face. She didn't know about joining the Royal Knights, but at that moment, she was sure of one thing.

She could not leave the fate of the two worlds in the hands of someone like Twilight.

Author's Note

And now the story is beginning to show it's true colors. This story is my latest sin in the making.

Enjoy the ride. :pinkiecrazy:

Please support my Patreon!

11: You really do care, don't you?

Author's Note

Beelzemon is voiced by Crispin Freeman in this continuity.

If you really liked this, and want to help me update faster, please consider supporting my Patreon.

11: You really do care, don't you?

Theme Song: Be Somewhere

11: You really do care, don't you?

“It has been a week since Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, daughters of the Rich and Spoon family respectively, were found by authorities. Silver Spoon has still not awakened from her strange coma, and Diamond Tiara is refusing to tell authorities anything. The only hint she gives is that those monsters are the cause of this incident.”

Octavia turned off her TV.

“So, they're blaming the Digimon for this incident,” she said. Lounging on her couch and wearing nothing save for her silky black bathrobe, she folded her arms in deep thought. It just didn't add up. If it were actually a Wild One, then a Digital Field would have shown up on their radar.

But nothing of the sort appeared.

Octavia rose up and walked over to her computer, pulling up the information of the Digimon she was searching for. She was certain that they had Tamers, and almost positive that one of those Tamers was in fact Zero.

It took a second, but eventually she managed to ID one of the Digimon.

“Veemon, a Vaccine Type?” Octavia frowned looking at that Digimon. She then pulled up security footage from some of the most recent Digimon battles that happened in the recent weeks. It was hard getting visuals inside the Digital Fields, but one of the Digimon that was usually seen exiting the afflicted area was this “Veemon”.

Was its Tamer Zero? Did its Tamer know Zero?

Octavia sat back in her chair, pressing a finger to her lips in thought. If she was going to figure out anything, she couldn't rely on technology. That was failing them. If she was to figure out who these Tamers were, she'd have to rely on her eyes. Next Digital Field, she'd be there herself.

You can't hide from me, Zero. I will find you, and I will bring you to justice, no matter what I have to do.

She couldn't believe her luck. She just stepped out of the door, and was on her way to school, when a damn Digital Field appeared right in her line of sight. She didn't want to be late for school, but she knew that the others probably weren't close by to see it.

So naturally, it fell onto her and Guilmon.

As Guilmon and the large club wielding Digimon fought, Fluttershy pulled out her Digivice to scan it.

ID: OGREMON

LEVEL: CHAMPION

TYPE: OGRE

ATTRIBUTE: VIRUS

“Ogremon, huh?” Fluttershy said looking at her Digivice, “Guilmon, I think we can take it without Digivolving.”

“I'm feeling pretty good about this one myself!” Guilmon said whacking Ogremon away with his tail before charging up his attack, “FIRE BALL!”

His attack hit the Ogremon in the stomach, making him slide back. He then charged up his fist and shot a black energy blast at Guilmon.

“Altering Program! Speed UP!” Fluttershy shouted, sending the program to her Digimon. Guilmon quickly jumped to the side and then rushed at Ogremon, slashing with his claws. Now he was using more technique rather than lashing out wildly. Fluttershy looked down at her Digivice, seeing Ogremon's HP dropping.

“This is good,” Fluttershy smiled, “Guilmon and I are getting a lot stronger now.”

Ogremon slammed his club on the ground, but Guilmon jumped away just in time, landing next to Fluttershy.

“I think we can end this,” Guilmon said. Fluttershy nodded to her Digimon and prepared another program.

“Altering Program! Rapid Fire!”

Guilmon charged up fire in his mouth, and then unleashed a barrage of fireballs at the Ogremon. He blocked with his club as much as he could, but eventually the attacks got through and he fell back, breaking up into bits of data which then flowed into Guilmon.

GUILMON: 80 EXP

LEVEL UP!

“Good job, Guilmon,” Fluttershy said as the Digital Field disappeared, “I think we might be able to get to school on time if we take a shortcut.”

“I think I know a faster way,” Guilmon said, “Agumon and Gabumon showed me when they took me to the Lookout Tower.”

Guilmon guided Fluttershy down another section of the neighborhood. This one was had a lot of really big and nice houses. Not mansions, but more expensive than the typical houses found in the neighborhood.

It was a nice part of the district. Fluttershy wouldn't have minded living here one day. Maybe with Cipher whenever they met in person.

She stopped at a house with a blue and purple mailbox. The name tag on it read “Belle”. Was this Rarity's place? She looked up and was really taken aback. It was a really nice place, and more humble than she really gave Rarity credit to.

“Do you think she's coming to school today?” Guilmon asked.

“Probably not,” Fluttershy sighed, “She's the President, so this doesn't look good on her record.”

“We should get her to come to school, Fluttershy,” Guilmon suggested, “We're her friends, and friends don't turn their backs on each other.”

“She's hardly my friend, Guilmon,” Fluttershy said, “The only friends I have are you, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Veemon, Hackmon, and Cipher.”

“Even if she's not your friend, you're hers,” Guilmon pointed out, “Besides, Gabumon's getting worried about her. Please.”

Fluttershy closed her eyes in irritation, “Goddamn it, Guilmon. Find a place to hide. We don't know if her parents are okay with Digimon.”

“You got it, Fluttershy,” Guilmon saluted, jumping into a bush. Fluttershy rolled her eyes and walked over to the house, ringing the doorbell. A few seconds later, a woman that looked like a thicker version of Rarity opened the door.

“Hello?” the woman asked with a thick Boston accent, “Oh, are you one of Rarity's friends?”

Fluttershy took a deep breath, “Sure. I'm a “friend” of Rarity's. Is she already at school?”

The woman, clearly Rarity's mother, sighed, “She still won't leave her room. I don't know what's going on with her. She's usually more social, but lately she's even been refusing to see Applejack.”

Damn, that was bad. Applejack was the one person Fluttershy thought Rarity would want to see no matter what.

Damn it. I'm about to care now, aren't I?

“I'll… talk to her,” Fluttershy breathed out slowly, breaking eye contact with the woman before her. This was way more human contact with a stranger than she was comfortable with. Rarity's mom smiled in relief.

“Would you? Thank you, doll. Rarity's lucky to have a friend like you.”

Fluttershy nodded without a word and let the woman usher her inside, silently wondering why her mother had a Boston accent but Rarity spoke with a British one. Rarity's room was pretty easy to find, as it was the only door upstairs that was closed. She knocked on the door lightly.

“I said leave me alone!”

Fluttershy was a bit taken aback. She sounded a lot more upset than Fluttershy thought she would. Now she really gave a damn.

“Um, it's me,” Fluttershy spoke through the door, “Guilmon and I were concerned about you.”

A few seconds later, the door unlocked and opened, revealing a very worried looking Gabumon.

“Her Highness said it’s okay for you to come in,” he said softly. Fluttershy nodded and walked into the room. It was a bit messier than Fluttershy thought it would be, showing signs of a possible tantrum earlier. Lying on the bed was Rarity, her hair a bit frayed showing that she hadn't bothered combing it, wearing a purple and white bathrobe, and no makeup at all. She didn't look like the prim and proper “princess” that ruled the school.

Like this, she looked… human.

“How the mighty have fallen, huh Zero?” Rarity muttered ruefully, “Go on. Take a picture of this if you want. It'll be great blackmail material.”

“I'm not that kind of person,” Fluttershy shook her head, walking inside and closing the door, “I don't kick people when they're down.”

“I see,” Rarity nodded, still not meeting eyes with Fluttershy, “So, why are you here? Not that I mind seeing you.”

“Like I said, Guilmon and I were worried about you. He's outside actually.”

Rarity sighed, “Gabumon darling, could you go get Guilmon? No reason for him to be stuck outside.”

“Yes Your Highness,” Gabumon said, opening the window and jumping out, apparently to get Guilmon.

“Why does your Digimon call you Your Highness?” Fluttershy asked.

“When he saw me, he thought I was a Princess,” Rarity said, “I tried correcting him, but he was too cute with it, so I decided to take up the mantle myself.”

That explained why she referred to herself as the “Princess of the School”. A second later, Guilmon jumped up and pulled himself through the window. He then helped Gabumon up.

“Thanks for letting me in, Miss Rarity,” Guilmon said. Rarity nodded, eyes focused on the ceiling.

Fluttershy sighed and sat down on the bed, “It's not your fault, you know.”

“It is my fault,” Rarity said softly, “I jumped the gun. I got scared, and pushed to digivolve Gabumon to the Ultimate level, and lost control of myself. If I hadn't done that, maybe we could have still figure out something.”

“Maybe, maybe not,” Fluttershy said folding her arms, “I don't know how we could have defeated LadyDevimon without hurting Silver Spoon. Besides, in the end, it was Twilight who dealt the finishing blow.”

“She wouldn't have had to do that if I hadn't-”

“Don't,” Fluttershy cut her off, “Don't defend that self-righteous bitch.”

Rarity sat up looking at Fluttershy wide eyed, “I'm… sorry?”

“I don't know if there was another way or not, but Twilight didn't step in to help us. She didn't care about Silver Spoon. All she cared about was her mission. We tried, and that's something at least.”

“Your Highness, Zero is right,” Gabumon said jumping on the bed, “We all messed up a bit, but at least we did our best.”

“I hate coming outside,” Fluttershy continued, “I'd rather stay in my room online. Sadly though, it’s the law that we go to school. If an asocial loner like me isn't allowed to stay in, then neither is a social butterfly like you,” she took Rarity's hand and pulled her up, “So get up, take a shower, comb your hair, put on some makeup and something frilly, and face the world. Please, so I can go back to being my usual distant self.”

Rarity closed her eyes and laughed a bit at that, “Thank you, Zero. Um, could you stay with me for a bit longer? Just to make sure I actually do go to school.”

“I guess,” Fluttershy shrugged shaking her head, “Just, call me Fluttershy. I… don't mind.”

Rarity smiled in appreciation and hugged Fluttershy, “Fluttershy it is then.”

Fluttershy pursed her lips, but returned the hug. Now Rarity would really consider her a friend. Though oddly, it didn't bother Fluttershy as much as it did before. Perhaps seeing Rarity as a real person helped.

Maybe, she could trust her a bit.

Deep in the city was a somewhat terrifying looking man on a motorcycle. He wore black biker clothes that were partially armored, and had short blond hair and what appeared to be a tail if anyone looked closely enough. On his face was a dark blue mask that had three slits, two for his eyes and one on his forehead revealing what looked like a third eyes. Sure he was getting some scary looks, but he didn't care.

Not like anyone could do anything about it.

“You're not even going to try to hide your presence, love?” Luna said, walking up to the man with her arms folded, “You're scaring them, Beelzemon.”

“Like I give a shit,” Beelzemon shrugged, lighting a cigarette, “Honestly, this plan of Daemon's doesn't excite me at all.”

“You're not excited about anything, Beelzemon,” Luna said, taking one of his cigarettes and holding it out. Beelzemon shrugged and lit it for her.

“Can you blame me, Lilithmon?” Beelzemon asked, leaning on the handlebars of his terrifying motorcycle, “Back in the day, things were fun. The Digital World was nice and chaotic, fights were abundant, and if things got real good, the Royal Knights would show up.”

“Yes, and they were always on our asses,” Luna said with a sigh, “Can't say I miss that part.”

“Really? I do,” Beelzemon admitted, “Sure, they were persistent, but they were always fun to fight too. Then Yggdrasil had to go and fuck it up for everybody. Look around, Lilithmon.”

Luna looked out at the crowd with Beelzemon.

“We were once a proud team. The baddest Digimon in all the Digital World. Digimon, humans, even the Mother Computer feared us. Now look at us. Spying on this weak, insignificant race, searching for Tamers that resonate with our sins. My sin's all about pleasure, and excitement. How are these humans supposed to fulfill my desire when none of them desire anything for themselves?”

Luna took in what Beelzemon was saying. People didn't give him enough credit. Sure he seemed uninspired and a bit of a slacker, but he was quite intelligent for what essentially added up to a blood knight.

“You'd be surprised, Beelzemon,” Luna said with a shrug, “The human that I gave my crest to turned out to be a truly vile individual. She even kidnapped her best friend once the crest took hold. And the best part, she was in middle school.”

Beelzemon turned to Luna looking intrigued, “Is that so? A middle schooler was capable of fulfilling your lust, huh?”

“She wanted her friend's love so badly that she was willing to do anything to get it,” Luna said with a smirk, “Just give these people a chance, old friend. They might surprise you.”

Beelzemon rolled his eyes, “You know what? Sure. I'll give these humans a shot. I doubt I'll find anyone who'll excite me enough though.”

“Not with that attitude,” Luna walked behind Beelzemon and wrapped her arms around him, “Tell you what. Go into this optimistic, and find a human worthy or fulfilling your hunger. If you don't find a human by the end of the day, then I'll let you do whatever you want to me.”

That caught Beelzemon's attention, “Whatever I want, huh?”

Luna nodded, “No matter how rough you want to be.”

Beelzemon shook his head and chuckled, “Alright, I'll play your game.” Beelzemon said turning to Luna with a toothy grin. He then gripped her hair tightly and got close to her face, “But if I don't find anyone to give my crest to, I can promise you that what I do to you is going to be extremely painful.”

“I don't know if I'm excited or terrified,” Luna said, her voice husky and oozing with lust, “Good luck, Beelzemon.”

“For your sake, I'm going to need it,” Beelzemon said, releasing Luna. She straightened her hair, kissed him on the cheek, and then sauntered off, leaving Beelzemon by himself to scan the crowd. Somewhere out here was a human that could hopefully excite him. He pulled out one of his two shotguns and pointed it at the building. It would have been too easy to just blow this entire city up, but what would be the fun in that?

No, he needed to make this fun. He needed to handicap himself.

He put his shotgun back in its holster, and started up his motorcycle riding off into the city. For this city's sake, and Lilithmon's, there better be some entertainment in this place.

She knew that they'd be late, but it didn't matter. Rarity had apparently gotten the okay from the school to take some serious time using the excuse of “illness”, and Fluttershy didn't care about school either way. As such, they took their time in getting Rarity ready and presentable. After she took her shower and got her white dress and jacket ready, Rarity sat down at her vanity mirror to apply her make-up, while Fluttershy brushed her hair.

“So, why don't you sound like your mother?”

Rarity looked up at Fluttershy briefly, “I'm sorry?”

“You sound British, but your Mom has a Boston accent. Why is that?” Fluttershy asked with a slight frown. Rarity giggled a bit before she spoke.

“I suppose that is weird. Even Applejack was confused at first. When I was younger, I spoke in the same manner, so much that I was horribly teased about it in elementary school. However, I ended up taking a trip to Britain for middle school visiting some relatives, and I stayed there so long that I somewhat, assimilated the manner of speech.”

Fluttershy nodded, “So you're not faking it?”

“Not exactly,” Rarity said, now applying her eyeshadow, “I'll admit that it's not my original manner of dialect, but it is natural to me now. Only Applejack has heard me talk with my original Boston tongue.”

Fluttershy tried to imagine Rarity sounding like that, but she just couldn't. It seemed so foreign to her, as she'd always heard her with the British accent and just assumed she was from Britain. She was honestly pretty interesting now that Fluttershy got the chance to talk to her like this.

“Can… I ask you a question?” Rarity asked. Fluttershy thought for a second, but then nodded, “You assaulted Umbra Corp. last week, and while you did find something very useful to us, I get the feeling you had your own reasons for doing that.”

Fluttershy averted her eyes, “You… want to know why I attacked Umbra Corp.?”

“I am curious,” Rarity confirmed, finishing her look by applying lipstick and rubbing her lips together, “Applejack has a very negative opinion of you, but I believe that there's more to you than just a black hacker.”

Fluttershy turned to Guilmon, who was sitting on the bed with Guilmon. He nodded with a soft smile. He seemed to be a pretty solid judge of character.

Fluttershy set the brush down and walked over to Rarity's window, “It was about ten years ago. My mother used to work for Umbra Corp. as a programmer. Everything was fine, but one day, she just, vanished.”

“Vanished?” Rarity asked, rising up to get dressed.

“They said it was an accident,” Fluttershy said with a dark expression, “But I don't believe it for a second. They never found her body, and Umbra Corp. is super secretive about that day. I know that they did something to my Mother. She found out something, and it had her terrified. Then a week later, we get news that she was killed in an accident. I became a hacker so I could learn what happened to her, and eventually expose Umbra Corp.'s secrets. I use my hacking for other, personal things, but my main goal is Umbra Corp.”

Rarity nodded, “You're seeking the truth about that day.”

“I loved my Mother more than anything,” Fluttershy continued, tearing up a bit, “I still cry when I think about her. She was sweet, loving, smart, and had a love for all life. When I saw the video of my Mom petting that Patamon, my heart lifted up. That was just like her.” she blinked, letting a tear fall down her cheek, “She's also the reason I love computers so much. She believed that computers were the key to solving all of the world's problems, and that through the network all life could be connected. Not being able to get closure, or even get to say goodbye is killing me.” she hugged herself, “I miss her every day, and I just need to know why she had to die. I know that she's probably upset at me for using computers the way that I do, and for closing myself off from the world, but this is the only way I can figure out what killed her.”

“You close yourself off because you're afraid, don't you?” Rarity asked softly.

“I'm trying to improve, and thanks to Guilmon I have a bit, but I'm still afraid. What if I get close to someone, and they leave me just like Mom did? I don't think I could take losing anyone else. But even now, with Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Guilmon, Veemon, and Hackmon, I still feel so alone.”

She was shocked by Rarity embracing her from behind.

“I'm sorry, Fluttershy. I know this has been really hard for you. Here you are, suffering, and we just come in asking you to help us with our battles. I feel terrible for that, Fluttershy. Like I'm being selfish.”

“N-no. You're not,” Fluttershy looked down, still leaning in Rarity's embrace, “Mom never abandoned a person in need, and I try to be like that myself. I don't mind helping you.”

“You're so dark, yet I still can tell that you are a genuinely good person,” Rarity tightened her embrace, “Let me be your friend, darling. Please.”

“W-why?” Fluttershy asked, trembling a bit as a fresh wave of tears came.

“Because I want to be a positive influence for you,” Rarity said, “I know, I don't understand that level of suffering. My parents are happily married, I live in a nice house, and I don't really want for anything. I've never had to suffer in my life, but that doesn't mean I don't care. Let me lift you up, Fluttershy. I want to be a source of light in your life.”

“I… I don't know…”

“Her Highness is being sincere,” Gabumon chimed in, “She's mentioned to me many times that she wants to be close to you.”

“Fluttershy, it’s okay,” Guilmon smiled, “We can trust her.”

“I won't ever stand in your way, nor will I stop you in your endeavors,” Rarity promised, “Consider me a confidant of sorts. After all,” she chuckled a bit, “you do still have leverage on me.”

Fluttershy took her phone out of her pocket, and pulled up the picture of Rarity. Maybe she shouldn't keep this. Maybe she should…

“Do you want me to delete this?” Fluttershy asked Rarity, who looked at the picture over Fluttershy's shoulder.

“I look hotter than I thought,” she muttered, clearing her throat, “Not until you feel you should, dear. If you need time to fully trust me, than keep that picture as a sign of my trust in you at least. Whenever you feel like you can trust me completely, that's when I want you to delete that picture.”

Rarity was really interesting. She was willing to compromise herself this much just to earn Fluttershy's trust. Was there more to her, or was she literally just that good of a person? She did have that weird antagonistic relationship with Rainbow Dash, but Fluttershy chalked that up as clashing personalities. The more she got to know Rarity, the more she seemed to really like Rarity. She was starting to want to get to know her just as much.

“So, what do you say?” Rarity continued, “Friends?”

Fluttershy thought for a bit more, but then nodded, holding onto Rarity's arms to partially return the hug.

“Y-yeah. Friends.”

Discord had just finished his classes for the day, and decided to head to his favorite cyber cafe Short Circuit before heading to his dorm. He and his girlfriend would probably talk online a bit later today, but until then he had to figure out some way to pass the time.

As he walked down the street, he noticed something odd. That mysterious woman in white and her odd hamster like creature were standing before the window of a pizza parlor. Both of them had wide eyes, and based on how the little hamster swallowed, they were both starving. When he saw the woman pull out a few coins from her pocket, and then sigh in sadness, he had to do something.

“Why am I such a nice guy?” he asked himself, rolling his eyes. He then walked over to them and tapped the woman on the shoulder, “Um, excuse me. Are you and your friend okay?”

The woman turned to him with the sweetest expression Discord had ever seen, Her eyes were pink, and she had an innocence to her, one that was matched only by her tiny friend.

“Oh hello Mister,” the woman said, her voice surprisingly deep yet still having a youthful and angelic tone, “I'm sorry if we're in your way.”

“No no, not at all,” Discord waved it off, “I was just concerned for you. You look like a fish out of water honestly, and I wanted to see if you needed any help.”

The way she shook her head was adorable, almost like a child, “We're okay sir. Thank you, but I don't want to-” she was cut off by a low grumbling sound, followed by a pained yet embarrassed pout.

“I'm hungry,” her little friend wilted.

“Me too, Patamon, but they don't take yen over in this country.” the woman sighed. Discord shook his head and smiled.

“I was going to get some food myself, if you wanted to join me,” Discord offered. The woman's entire expression lit up, along with the friend in her arms.

“Really? You don't mind?” she asked.

“Not at all,” Discord said, “I'll admit to having a bit of a soft spot for damsels in distress, and you Miss, were clearly in distress.”

“Arigatou gozaimasu!” she said, holding a hand out, “I'm Celestia, and this is my partner Patamon.”

“Nice to meet you, Mister,” Patamon said with a cute smile. Discord shook Celestia's hand, and then held a finger out for Patamon, who held it with both tiny paws and shook it.

“The pleasure is all mine, you two,” Discord smiled, “My friends call me Discord.”

Celestia giggled, “That's a silly name,” she said, truly sounding like a child now. Discord laughed at it himself though.

“It's actually a nickname I earned in high school that just stuck with me,” Discord said jovially, “Come, let's get you two fed.”

Celestia nodded and followed Discord inside. He advised Patamon not to speak, and instead he took their orders, getting a slice of pepperoni pizza for himself, pineapple pizza for Patamon, and barbeque chicken pizza for Celestia. Once they sat down with their food in the back, Celestia took a bite of her pizza, and her eyes widened in glee

“Saiwase!” she gasped in that same language she seemed to randomly speak. Patamon bit into his pizza, and his eyes lit up in the same manner.

“Sugoi!” Patamon cried out happily. Discord had a feeling that they said something along the lines of “delicious”.

“You two aren't American, are you?” Discord asked. Celestia tilted her head cutely.

“That's kind of hard to say, Oniisan,” Celestia said. Discord recognized that word from all the anime he watched. So she was Japanese. That explained so much.

“Well, I assume you're from Japan, since you keep using Japanese words,” Discord pointed out.

“Celestia and I originally stationed ourselves in Japan, but once the reboot happened, we decided to come here.” Patamon explained.

“Reboot?” Discord raised an eyebrow.

“Of the Digital World,” Celestia answered, biting into her pizza, “It had to be rebooted in order to stop something really bad from happening.”

“Wait wait wait,” Discord held up his hands, “I understand that Patamon here is a Digimon.”

“Hai,” Celestia nodded.

“But you Celestia, talk almost as if you're from the Digital World too.”

“I am.”

Discord frowned looking at her closely, “Excuse me?” Discord asked, lowering his sunglasses a bit.

“Patamon and I are both from the Digital World,” Celestia explained innocently, Patamon nodding in agreement.

“But you're human,” Discord said, trying his best to understand what was going on here, “I mean, aren't you?”

“Not quite,” Celestia said with a cute smile, “I'm half of a Digimon myself.”

“Half of a Digimon?” Discord asked, running that through his head.

“Patamon and I are two halves of a whole,” Celestia continued, “Our real name, is Seraphimon,” Celestia looked to the side and smiled awkwardly, “Though if you want to get technical, even that's not my real name, as I'm more of an avatar designed to act as a Tamer for Patamon.”

“Okay, so what's your true name?” Discord asked Celestia, who regarded Discord with a kind smile.

“The closest thing to my real name, would be Yggdrasil.”

“Yggdrasil?” DIscord asked with a raised eyebrow, “My friend mentioned that to me. Yggdrasil is connected to the Digimon, right?”

“Hai hai,” Celestia nodded, “I’m an agent for the Mother Computer.”

“Celestia is super important to the Digital World!” Patamon said, “It’s my job to protect her!”

“Huh, interesting,” Discord said thoughtfully, “So, why are you here then?”

“To keep a promise to a friend,” Celestia said innocently. Discord watched her and Patamon eat, wondering if this friend was related at all to whom he thought. If they were, then…

Once they finished, he, Celestia, and Patamon stepped outside of the pizza shop.

“Domo arigatou gozaimasta, senpai,” Celestia said with a bow, “Your kindness will not go unrewarded.”

“Think nothing of it,” Discord said waving it off, “Do you have a place to stay while you’re here? If not, you could always stay with me for a bit.”

“Can we, Mister?” Patamon asked.

“You’re so generous!” Celestia said happily, “Please, let me give you something as a way of repaying your kindness!”

Discord was about to decline, but he met eyes with the woman before her, sensing her earnest desire to repay him. She was so kind, and innocent enough where it was pretty clear she wasn’t human. He suddenly felt like it would upset her more to turn her down. Well, she was the Mother Computer, right?

“Tell me,” Discord asked after a bit, “How does one get a Digimon of their own?”

12: Why can't I just have it all?

Author's Note

Sorry about how long this took to come out. Needed to step away and deal with a few things. I am seeing this story to its completion though. No matter what.

Please check out my Patreon!

12: Why can't I just have it all?

Theme Song: Be Somewhere

12: Why can't I just have it all?

It was nighttime now, and Beelzemon had been searching all over this city, but he hadn't found anyone that actually excited him enough to give his sin to. Which was sad, because there were a lot of humans around, and each one of them had a hunger, but they didn't have THE hunger.

Not like he did.

Most people, human and Digimon alike, didn't understand what gluttony truly was. They attributed it to food, simply because of it's connection to hunger. But what they didn't realize was that it was possible to hunger for a lot of things. Food, money, attention, or even love, lust, and sex, all of those could be hungered for. In fact, it would have been more appropriate in this day and age to attribute gluttony to desire than to hunger.

Beelzemon desired everything. He wanted the most food, the most money in this strange world while he was here, great sex (yes some Digimon could have and were able to WANT sex, him being one), and of course a great fight. This world was a bore to him though. No one excited him enough to want let alone excited him enough to become a Tamer under his-

“PRESENTING!!! THE ONE AND ONLY TRRRRRRRRIIIIIXIEEEEE LUUUUUULAAAAAMOOOOOON!!!!”

“Who the actual fuck?” Beelzemon asked looking back at a large circus tent. It looked like there was a show going on in that big tent. It was blue and purple. He was curious, so he shrugged and walked into the tent. Inside he saw a huge crowd of people, and they all were looking up. He pushed all of them out of the way until he was in front, and he then looked. Above him he saw a number of spotlights shine on a platform in the middle, and he squinted a bit to see what was up there.

He saw a woman.

She was wearing a purple leotard that was sleeveless revealing the top of her perky breasts, a blue and black blazer, white gloves, dark stockings and blue high heels. She had long light blue hair, full lips made up in dark red/purple lipstick, and the most brilliant purple eyes Beelzemon had ever seen. Finally, adorned on her head, was a fancy top hat with stars decorating it.

The young woman spread out her arms and smiled brilliantly. Beelzemon couldn't believe his eyes. She was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.

She jumped off the platform and did a flip in the air, “WHOO!” she cried out happily, grabbing onto the trapeze and swinging around. All the while she had the most gleeful smile on her face, and her expression was one of pure joy.

The young woman swung down to a railing that was suspended and spiraling down around the arena, where she jumped off the trapeze, flipped in the air, and landed perfectly on the railing, where she then slid on it all the way to the balance beam next to the stage. She jumped off the rail and landed perfectly on the balance beam and then turned around, doing a series of elegant back flips all the way to the edge of the stage, where she then walked over to a microphone and snatched it.

“ARE YOU PEOPLE READY FOR THE GREATEST SHOW OF YOUR LIVES?!” the woman screamed, her voice somewhat raspy, but still full of sensual flare and confidence.

The crowd screamed out loud gleefully.

“I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!!” she screamed, now holding her ear out for everyone to the crowd, which then screamed louder, “TELL ME, WHAT'S MY NAME?!”

“TRIXIE! TRIXIE! TRIXIE!”

“Trixie?” Beelzemon asked.

“Trixie's the greatest!” a young man right next to the leather clad Digimon informed him.

“The greatest, huh?” Beelzemon asked with a raised eyebrow.

“There's nothing Trixie can't do!”

Beelzemon stayed and watched the whole show, which turned out to be a high stakes magic show. Sure enough, the guy was right. She seemed to do just about everything perfectly. Her tricks were very death defying, and in some cases it looked like she had panicked or even died, only to end the trick perfectly unharmed.

All eyes were on her. Beelzemon couldn't take his eyes off of her. Her figure was perfect, her hair was flawless, her voice was that of an angel's, she could even sing! Beelzemon wanted her. He wanted her badly.

What truly got to him the most though, was her expression. At all points, she had the happiest look on her face. When the crowd applauded, she closed her eyes and soaked in the applause.

Was she… getting off on the attention?

Beelzemon wanted to talk to her. As such, he stayed even until everyone else left. Then Trixie got the money from her manager, who also seemed to be checking her out as he quite shamelessly stared at her breasts, and began heading out. Instead of going back to his bike, Beelzemon followed her closely, keeping a distance from her but making sure she was still in his sights. She walked deeper into town, taking a few back streets, and then turned toward an alleyway. She then briefly stopped, and looked right at Beelzemon.

Beelzemon froze, trying to hide how surprised he was. Trixie simply smirked and walked into the alleyway. Beelzemon smirked himself and walked into the alleyway too. In the deepest part of the alley, he found Trixie, leaning against the wall holding her hands above her in a sensual manner.

“So, now we have a bit of privacy,” Trixie said, lifting her leg a bit and giving Beelzemon her undivided attention.

“You knew I was following you,” Beelzemon asked.

“Of course I knew,” Trixie said as if it were obvious.

“How did you know?” Beelzemon asked. Trixie chuckled.

“Well, why wouldn't you follow me?” Trixie asked, “I'm gorgeous, after all. Absolute perfection. Besides, I saw you at my show. Liked what you saw?”

“Oh did I?” Beelzemon asked, walking closer to her, “I really enjoyed the show. Especially how you commanded everyone's attention.”

“Of course. Once I enter the room, all eyes on on me, where they belong.”

Beelzemon laughed loudly at that, “Oh boy! You could give Lucemon a run for his money! But there's something else about you that draws me to you.”

“Oh? And what's that?” Trixie asked giving Beelzemon a coy smile.

“It's those eyes,” Beelzemon said, now standing over Trixie who surprisingly didn't show any fear, “You're not afraid of me?”

“Afraid? Why would I be afraid? I want you,” Trixie said. Beelzemon raised an eyebrow at that.

“Want me?” he asked.

“That's right. From the moment I laid eyes on you, I knew that it had to be you. You're not like everyone else, and I wanted you all to myself.”

“Is that right?” Beelzemon asked, a hungry smirk adorning his face. Trixie nodded slowly.

“Yeah. You're unlike anything I've ever seen, and I wanted to have you before someone else got a hold of you. I can be a bit greedy about the things that I want.”

“And what do you want?” Beelzemon asked leaning close to her. Trixie leaned forward closer to him and narrowed her eyes, still smirking.

“Everything.”

Beelzemon's eyes widened again, “Everything… huh?”

“That's right. Fame, fortune, the biggest house, the best car, the shiniest jewel, the best clothes, the tastiest food, the best man, immortality, the best sex ever, and of course, everyone's attention at all times.”

“You… want to be God, don't you…?” Beelzemon asked trembling.

“I already am God. The world just doesn't know it yet.”

Beelzemon couldn't believe it. She was everything he ever wanted. No wonder he didn't find anyone with desire, she had all of it! She literally wanted everything, on top of Godhood! He knew then, he was taking her for himself.

“You want me, huh?” Beelzemon said with a smirk, “Well, funny you should mention that. See, I was thinking the same thing about you.”

“Ooooh. You wanted me?” Trixie asked, “Get in line, big boy. Everyone wants me.”

“Sure, everyone does want you,” Beelzemon wrapped his arms around Trixie pulling her close to him, “But I don't just hunger. I take.”

Trixie gave a silvery laugh, “You sound just like me!” she gripped his jacket holding him close, “But now I have you right where I want you.”

“See, the thing is, you're still a weak human,” Beelzemon pulled out his gun and held it at Trixie's head, “I'm not, so I'm the one in control-” she started laughing, “Something funny?”

“You don't have any power over me,” Trixie said, “Because while you may be stronger, you won't kill me on the grounds of you wanting me so badly.” she pressed her head against the barrel of his gun, “Bottom line, if you wanted to kill me, I'd be dead already.”

Beelzemon chuckled at that, and then threw his head back laughing louder than he'd laughed in his life, “Now this is what I'm talking about! That's seals it. I've decided, I'm choosing you to carry my seal.”

“Your seal?” Trixie asked.

“How would you like to have the power to get whatever you wanted?” the way her eyes lit up made Beelzemon's heart flutter.

“You have that…?” Trixie asked, looking at Beelzemon as if he were the holy grail itself. Beelzemon reached into his pocket, and pulled out a purple and blue Digivice.

“See this here? This is the key to that power. I'm willing to give this to you, all you-” she cut him off by raising her hand.

“Save it,” Trixie said, “I'll make this real simple for you. That power, is mine now. All I need is for you to tell me how to use it.”

Beelzemon wasn't sure if he should have been offended or astounded. He liked that. He really liked that. As such, he grinned, and gave the Digivice to the young woman.

“Push the button in the middle,” Beelzemon said. Trixie turned around and pushed the button, pulling up a holographic screen.

LEVEL: 666_ SYSTEM: BEELZEBUB_ CODE: GLUTTONY_

CAUTION! PURGATORY LEVEL 6

Trixie heard a low howl. She turned to look deeper into the alleyway, and saw a large light purple fox with nine tails tipped in red flames that also engulfed it feet it seemed. On its forehead and hips was a yin/yang symbol. Around it's neck was a large green and white ribbon with golden tips at the ends.

“Greetings, Mistress,” the fox said, voice deep, low, and feminine, “I am Youkomon, your Digimon partner.”

Trixie jumped up and down excitedly, “It's perfect! You're perfect!” she ran over to the fox and hugged her, “So with this, I can get anything that I want?”

“Anything at all,” Beelzemon said with a smirk, “The only price for this service is you.”

“Oh, you thought I forgot?” Trixie stood up and walked back over to Beelzemon, grabbing his jacket again, “You're mine now.”

“You're so fucking beautiful,” he then pulled her close and claimed her mouth with his own, shocked by her tongue meeting his in a truly dominant kiss. He couldn't believe his luck, but he found a human who's hunger matched his PERFECTLY.

And he was never giving her up.

For the next few days, things were quiet for Fluttershy and her friends. The air of their last major failure was still present. Surprisingly though, they didn't break up over it. Actually, it seemed like the ordeal had just made all of them even closer as a result. At least, that's what Fluttershy had observed.

They met in the student council office after school, naturally with their Digimon with them. Naturally, Fluttershy was a bit away from the rest of the group, as she and Guilmon were on her computer looking into the information from Umbra Corp, which had for now taken a bit of a back seat in terms of issues, especially with the latest issue that came up.

“Wait, there's another one?!” Rarity asked Yggdrasil, who appeared on her laptop.

“AFFIRMATIVE. LAST NIGHT AT 23:42 EARTH TIME, I DETECTED A NEW ACCOUNT OPENING UP IN THE DIGITAL WORLD.”

“And let me guess, just like the last time, this wasn't one you authorized,” Rainbow Dash said folding her arms.

“THAT IS CORRECT.”

“Damn it,” Applejack said leaning against a wall, “If this ends up turnin’ into a major epidemic, we're in trouble.”

“That means another person is out there that ended up like Silver Spoon,” Pinkie Pie looked away nervously, “I want to help, but at the same time…”

“Yes, I feel the same way,” Rarity sat down resting her head on a desk, “Maybe it might be better to just let Twilight handle-”

“No.”

Everyone turned to Fluttershy, who had finished whatever she was doing and was now had a map up of the city on her computer.

“We're not leaving this to Twilight,” Fluttershy said simply, never taking her eyes off her computer.

“It's not like we know what to do about it though,” Rainbow Dash sighed, “I hate what she did, but the fact is, had she not done it, what would we have done to save Silver Spoon?”

“Maybe nothing,” Fluttershy said, turning to the group finally, “But Twilight killed LadyDevimon before we could figure that out. I'm willing to concede that we failed to save Silver Spoon, but I'm not willing to accept that we couldn't have saved her.”

“So you want us to try and save this Tamer then,” Rarity sat up as Fluttershy's words started sinking in.

“We know a bit about our situation so far,” Fluttershy sat back in her chair and crossed her legs, “Digimon with Tamers may not be as strong or as violent as Infected Digimon, but they're able to Digivolve like ours, and the synchronization rate between Tamer and Digimon increases as they reach the higher levels. What happens when our Digimon take too much damage or get too tired in combat?”

“They go back to their Rookie levels,” Applejack said thoughtfully, “That's sorta like a default point that they fall back to.”

“Wait, I get it!” Rainbow Dash chimed in, “You're saying we get the Digimon to return to the Rookie Level!”

Fluttershy nodded, “If that happens, the Digimon and Tamer won't be synchronized. From there, we might be able to reason with the Tamer or if needed delete the Digimon without hurting the Tamer.”

“That's assuming we can beat the Digimon in combat,” Applejack sighed, “If they go into Ultimate again…”

“We can defeat them,” Fluttershy said, “But we have to work together. So, you ready to try this again?”

“I am,” Pinkie Pie said, “I don't want anyone else to end up like Silver Spoon.”

“Neither do I,” Rarity said, “I won't mess up like that again.”

“We gotta get good,” Rainbow Dash slammed a fist into her palm.

Applejack just nodded in agreement.

“YOUR DRIVE IS INSPIRING.” Yggdrasil said after a second, “I THANK YOU FOR TAKING THIS SO SERIOUSLY AND DOING YOUR BEST. THAT IS ALL I CAN ASK FOR.”

“That being said, I might be able to track down the account in question,” Fluttershy said, “I'd need to work intimately with you, Yggdrasil, to the point where I might need to access your network.”

“Whoa, whoa,” Applejack stepped up, “You need to be able to access Yggdrasil's network?”

“She's a computer, right?” Fluttershy asked, “Even if she's sentient, a computer is still a computer. Don't worry, I'm not going to compromise her network or anything. I just figure that since all accounts go through her, I might be able to use some of my skills to track down the Tamer's account.”

“In other words, you want to hack the Digital World in a sense to track down the account in question,” Rarity noted.

“If you want to look at it like that, then yes,” Fluttershy said.

“What do you think, Yggdrasil?” Applejack asked the computer in question, “Wanna give Fluttershy yer information like that?”

“UNDER NORMAL CIRCUMSTANCES I WOULD BE APPREHENSIVE. HOWEVER, THIS SITUATION IS ABNORMAL, SO AN ABNORMAL SOLUTION IS NEEDED. VERY WELL, USER FLUTTERSHY. I WILL SEND YOU MY IP ADDRESS. WE CAN WORK TOGETHER ON THIS.”

“I'll look forward to working with you,” Fluttershy said, still a bit unnerved to be talking to a sapient computer.

“So what do we do until then?” Rainbow Dash asked. Fluttershy stood up and packed up her laptop.

“For now, we be on the lookout for any Infected Digimon,” she said, “I'm going to get right to work on this. I'll call you guys if I find anything. Come, Guilmon.”

“Coming Fluttershy,” Guilmon said, rising up and running after Fluttershy, “See ya, everyone!”

They all waved to Guilmon and Fluttershy as they left.

“I don't like this.” Applejack said after a second.

“What? Don't trust her?” Rarity asked.

“No, I don't,” Applejack answered simply, “That girl's a wild card, an' now she wants access to Yggdrasil's personal network?”

“Fluttershy is plenty trustworthy,” Rainbow Dash defended, “Sure, she's a hacker, but that's just because-”

“I don't care what her reasons are,” Applejack sighed and turned to Rainbow Dash, “Look, she's yer friend, an' I get that. It's jus', I don't like people with eyes like hers, an' knowin’ her track record... Sorry if ya don't like it, but it's jus' how I am.”

Rainbow Dash looked away a bit, “No, I get it. Just trust me, okay? She has her reasons for being the way that she is.”

Applejack frowned, clearly having a rough time with this one, “Y'all can vouch for her.”

“Yes,” Rainbow Dash nodded, pulling Pinkie Pie close to her, “Both of us can.”

“She won't do anything to hurt Yggdrasil,” Pinkie Pie added, “She might be a lot of things, but she's not a bad person.”

Applejack turned to Rarity, who also nodded in agreement to their statements, “Fine, fine. I'll lay off it. Y'all trust her, so I'll try ta trust her a bit too.”

“Thank you Applejack,” Rarity said, rising up to hug Applejack from behind, “It's going to be okay, love.”

“I sure hope so,” Applejack sighed holding onto Rarity's arms, “I sure hope so.”

Pinkie Pie walked off by herself to look out the window, where she saw Diamond Tiara walking out of school. Rumble ran after her, and they talked for a bit before she embraced him and the two of them walked off together.

“Pinkie Pie,” Hackmon said next to her, “Are you still bothered by what she said to us?”

“A bit,” Pinkie Pie admitted, “She said that she hated us. Diamond Tiara is such a good kid, so for her to say that…”

Hackmon looked down somberly, placing a front paw on her leg for comfort. It was really all anyone could do.

“So, this is a Digivice?” Discord said, leaning back in his chair and examining the green and black machine in his hands. Patamon was lying down on the bed with a content smile on his face.

“Hai,” Celestia said from the bathroom, “It's a Tamer's most important item. It's your main interface with the Digital World.”

Discord nodded, pushing a few buttons on the Digivice, pulling up its holographic screen and keyboard, “This is something straight out of science fiction.” he looked on his computer, which now had a small pixelated creature with a white body and a single golden eye in the middle, “And this little guy here is a Digimon?”

“That's right,” Celestia came into the room, wearing nothing but a white towel. She stood right next to Discord and leaned toward the computer, “This little guy is Kuramon. He's still a baby, so he can't render into the Real World yet. Digimon have to be Rookie or higher to exist in here.”

“I… see,” Discord said, trying so hard not to look at Celestia's breasts, “How long will it take for him to grow to the higher states?”

“Depends on how much data he absorbs,” Celestia walked off, letting her towel fall off so she could put on her nightgown, prompting Discord to quickly look away, “It could range from a few days to close to a month sadly.”

“T-that's okay,” Discord said blushing, “I'm a patient person. I'm still waiting to meet my online girlfriend in person.”

“Oooh, you have a girlfriend?” Celestia asked, now wearing her nightgown, “What's her name?”

“That's the thing,” Discord turned around to face Celestia as she picked up Patamon and hugged him like a stuffed animal, “She and I don't know our real names. It's a funny relationship we have. We don't know our names, our faces, or even our ages.”

“And you still are in a relationship?” Patamon asked, “That's kinda weird.”

“In our line of work, the security is needed,” Discord stated, “The only reason I know she's a girl is because of a rookie mistake she made when we first met. Beyond that, and me knowing that she has a connection to Umbra Corp, all I know about her is her code name. She's pretty notorious over here.”

“What's her code name?” Celestia asked.

“Have you heard of the hacker named Zero?” Discord asked.

“Hey, she was on the news the other day!” Patamon said. Celestia nodded.

“Something about exposing a company for fraud, right?” Celestia asked.

“She does things like that,” Discord said, “Her main concern is Umbra Corp, but she likes exposing corruption within the world.”

“Is it safe for you to tell us so much about her?” Celestia asked.

“It's not like you'll find her,” Discord shrugged, “I haven't given you anything that can outright identify her, and even if I did, she covers her tracks too well. She's an even better hacker than me now, and I trained her.”

“Is she a Tamer too?” Patamon asked, “Maybe you two can use this as an excuse to meet in person.”

Discord was going to say something to that, but then stopped. That was true. And something told him that pretty soon, it would be more secure for them to be close to one another rather than apart.

The second Fluttershy got in from school, she and Guilmon rushed right up to her room and closed the door.

“You really want to help this Tamer, don't you?” Guilmon asked, a bit surprised by how driven Fluttershy was.

“All I can think about is Silver Spoon falling down limp after Twilight deleted her Digimon,” Fluttershy said, sitting down at her computer, “Twilight's strong, but she doesn't give a damn about anyone but herself. I'm not letting her have this Tamer.”

“Can we really find the Tamer with Yggdrasil's help?” Guilmon asked standing next to Fluttershy.

“We're about to find out,” she pulled up her email, suddenly seeing a new message from Yggdrasil titled: My IP Address, “She really sent it.”

“She said that she would.” Guilmon said.

“I know, it's just, sort of odd knowing that a computer just emailed me on its own IP Address,” Fluttershy shook it off and clicked on the link. She also opened up her laptop, which suddenly came to life, showing Yggdrasil.

“GREETINGS, USER FLUTTERSHY. I HOPE YOU DO NOT MIND IF I CONNECT TO YOUR LAPTOP.”

“I don't mind,” Fluttershy said, connecting her computer to the odd looking website, “That computer is the one I use for personal hacks, so it's the safest computer here.”

“I AM PLEASED THAT YOU CHANGED YOUR MIND ABOUT JOINING OUR CAUSE, USER FLUTTERSHY.” Yggdrasil said.

“Well, Rarity really knows how to sell a product, let's just say that,” Fluttershy narrowed her eyes, “Hm… Yggdrasil, I'm going to need to access your internal network.”

“AFFIRMATIVE. YOU HAVE FULL ACCESS, USER FLUTTERSHY.”

“Awfully trusting for a sapient computer,” Fluttershy said as she connected to Yggdrasil's network.

“IS THAT STRANGE?”

“Just surprising,” Fluttershy said, “You know my reputation, and you know what I'm capable of, yet you're willing to let me into your most intimate systems. You do realize that you're a mechanical marvel, right?”

“I AM AWARE. HOWEVER, I HEARD THAT A SIGN OF FAITH IS TO PUT YOUR LIFE IN THE HANDS OF ANOTHER.”

That made Fluttershy stop and think. That was a very advanced thought for a machine to have.

“You care about that sort of thing?” Fluttershy asked now looking at Yggdrasil.

“WHY WOULD I NOT, USER FLUTTERSHY?” Yggdrasil asked.

“It's just, something really doesn't add up with this whole thing,” Fluttershy put her focus back on her computer while she spoke, “I'm talking to a computer right now, and instead of going off of just logic and reasoning, it's instead telling me that it's taking a chance and putting its faith in a young woman who's a wild card at best.”

“I SEE. I AM NOT WHAT YOU EXPECTED FROM A SAPIENT COMPUTER.”

“Not in the slightest. Then again, Guilmon's not what I expected from a computer virus, and yet here's my Digital Hazard virus right here.”

“Hi Yggdrasil!” Guilmon said waving to the computer.

“GREETINGS, GUILMON. I APOLOGIZE IF YOU FEEL LEFT OUT AT ALL IN THIS CONVERSATION.”

“That's okay,” Guilmon smiled, “I just enjoy being around Fluttershy when she's working.”

She apologized. Did she have actual feelings?

“TO CLEAR SOME OF YOUR CONFUSION USER FLUTTERSHY, I WAS NOT ALWAYS LIKE THIS. IT TOOK MANY YEARS AND MANY UPDATES FOR ME TO EVENTUALLY UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT OF EMOTIONS. AT FIRST I DISREGARDED THEM AS UNNECESSARY, BUT ONCE I ACCEPTED THEM, I BECAME 75 PERCENT MORE EFFICIENT.”

“Who taught you that?” Fluttershy asked.

“HER NAME WAS POSEY WYRMWOOD.”

“What?!” Fluttershy cried, turning to Yggdrasil, “Posey Wyrmwood? Short red hair, glasses, and a love for computers?”

“AFFIRMATIVE. YOU ARE HER DAUGHTER, CORRECT?”

“Yes, I am,” Fluttershy said, “I know that one of your Avatars met her.”

“AFFIRMATIVE. IT WAS YOUR MOTHER WHO GAVE ME THE IDEA TO CREATE AVATARS AS A MEANS TO INTERFACE WITH THE DIGITAL WORLD.”

“Yggdrasil, do you know what happened to Fluttershy's Mom?” Guilmon asked.

“NEGATIVE. ALL INFORMATION ON FLUTTERSHY'S MOTHER WAS SAVED IN MY SERAPHIMON AVATAR, AND SHE IS CURRENTLY DISCONNECTED FROM MY SYSTEMS. UNTIL I RECONNECTED WITH HER, I CANNOT ASSIST YOU. I APOLOGIZE, USER FLUTTERSHY.”

“That's okay,” Fluttershy sighed, “I plan on searching for Seraphimon anyway. This only gives me more of a reason to do so.” she smirked, “Hello...”

“Did you find something?” Guilmon asked.

“Oh did I,” Fluttershy pulled up a map of Canterlot City, “Yggdrasil, can you pull up the information of all the Tamers in the city currently?” suddenly, there were a few gold dots that appeared on the map. She was expecting to only see a few: hers, her friends' and maybe Twilight's if she was around. Yet she saw close to eleven different signatures.

“Okay, I can work with this,” Fluttershy said, “Yggdrasil, could you show me which accounts here is the unauthorized account?” one of the golden dots turned red, “Got it. Leave the rest to me.”

“What are you going to do?” Guilmon asked his Tamer.

“The same thing I'd do if this were an MMORPG, which in a sense it kinda acts like one. Basically, I'm hacking into this account to get whatever information I can on the user.” Fluttershy explained. After a bit, the image came up of a young woman in her early twenties wearing what looked like a magician's outfit, “Trixie Lulamoon, Digimon partner: Youkomon?”

“She's pretty,” Guilmon pointed out with a smile. Fluttershy turned to give Guilmon a look before sighing.

“Whether human or Digimon, boys will be boys I guess,” Fluttershy shook her head, “You're just as bad as my brother.” she then thought about that, “Which means he probably knows about her. Excuse me.”

Fluttershy shot up and ran out of her room and knocked on Zephyr's door. A few seconds later, he opened up.

“Hey sis. What's the good word?” Zephyr said in a super relaxed and slightly spacy manner. Based on the hookah set up in the middle of his room, it was clear that he was high.

“Zephyr Breeze, are you lucid enough to identify someone for me?” Fluttershy asked.

“Yeah Shy, I'm good,” Zephyr said, “Weed opens up the mind, not inhibit.”

“Good to know,” Fluttershy took his hand and guided him to her room, “Now, don't ask questions, and don't assume this means you can come in here anytime you want.”

“I got ya, sis,” Zephyr said, “Besides, I'm too stoned to care about any strange stuff I see. You have a pet dinosaur now, Fluttershy.”

“First off, he's not a pet. Second off, he's not a dinosaur. And thirdly, good. Come in,” Fluttershy opened her door and guided Zephyr over to his computer, “Yggdrasil, this is my brother Zephyr Breeze. He's high as a kite at the moment.”

“GREETINGS, SUBJECT ZEPHYR BREEZE. IT IS A PLEASURE TO MAKE YOUR ACQUAINTANCE.”

“Whoa… Fluttershy, that's cool,” Zephyr said looking at the computer, “You're named after the world tree.”

“Hey,” Fluttershy snapped her finger, “Focus. I need to know if you recognize this woman.”

Zephyr looked at the screen, “Oh yeah, that's Trixie. She's super popular in Canterlot.”

“I've never heard of her.”

“That's because you never go out.”

Fluttershy considered that, “Touché. So, what kind of person is she?”

“Oh man, she's amazing,” Zephyr gushed, “There's literally nothing she can't do.”

“Really?” Fluttershy raised an eyebrow skeptically.

“She's beautiful, smart, athletic, she has a one woman show that's pretty popular right now, and she's all over social media. Seriously sis, I'm surprised you don't know anything about her.”

“I don't have a Facebook,” Fluttershy said, “Or a Twitter, or a Tumblr. The chat rooms I use are more high class and exclusive.”

“You mean illegal, right?”

“Do you have anything else useful to say?” Fluttershy shot at Zephyr.

“Well, not sure how useful this is, but she's a bit of an attention whore,” Zephyr said.

“Really?” Fluttershy turned to the image of Trixie again.

“Her stunt work doesn't ever use a safety net, and she's always pushing the bar. I hear that she's rich, so she doesn't even need to do the shows.”

“She just like the attention,” Fluttershy nodded, “Alright thanks. You can leave now.”

“Glad I could help,” Zephyr said walking to the door, “See ya Guilmon. Bye lady computer thing.”

When he was gone, Fluttershy leaned back in her chair and folded her arms, “An attention whore, huh?”

“How does that help?” Guilmon asked.

“Hold on,” Fluttershy dug deeper into Trixie's account, seeing odd data in the form of a crest. It was golden, and read “gluttony”.

“THAT IS IMPOSSIBLE.” Yggdrasil said after a second.

“Are you familiar with that crest?” Fluttershy asked.

“AFFIRMATIVE, AND IF I AM CORRECT, YOUR WORLD IS IN EVEN MORE DANGER THAN I ORIGINALLY ANTICIPATED. I BELIEVE THAT I KNOW WHERE THIS TAMER GOT HER DIGIVICE, AND THE PREVIOUS ONE AS WELL.”

“Who? Who?” Guilmon asked eagerly.

“THE ONLY ONES WHO THOSE CRESTS CORRESPOND TO. THE SEVEN GREAT DEMON LORDS.”

That night near Canterlot Museum, two people walked on the roofs toward the large building. Yokoumon and Trixie, the latter now wearing a black blazer and red leotard, and matching hat and high heels. On her face was a fancy masquerade mask.

She stopped on the edge of the roof and looked out at the Museum with a smirk.

“Time to go shopping,” Trixie said. She then turned to Youkomon, who nodded and ran on ahead. Ever since they began working together, Trixie's magic tricks had become far more impressive. Her Digimon was able to use her abilities to enhance everything Trixie did, making it look like she was using actual magic.

Which was perfect for what she had planned. Something more fun and exciting than just throwing magic shows.

Youkomon jumped into the air, and vanished in a puff of smoke, appearing inside the Museum. She then held out her tails, sending out her tail flames, which floated in front of her and moved in a constant circle, creating a portal that led to where Trixie was. Her Tamer walked into the portal, which then closed behind her.

“Let's see here. What do I want today?” Trixie walked around the Museum, looking at all of the things on display. Pictures, statues, all would fetch a nice price if she sold them. But nothing here really caught her eye.

Until she saw the Egyptian section.

All the way in the far end, was a fancy golden necklace with a red gemstone in the middle. It was found by the explorer Daring Do in the tomb of Cleopatra. She ran over to it and placed her hands on the glass, admiring it.

“Oh, it's beautiful,” Trixie breathed out, “There's no other necklace quite like it.”

“Have you made your decision, Mistress?” Youkomon asked.

“Yes Youkomon. I want this one,” Trixie said. She reached into her jacket and pulled out a black circle, which she placed on the glass. The then pushed her hand through the black circle, elegantly grabbed the necklace, and pulled it out. She then replaced the necklace with what looked like a small card. When she took off the black circle, the glass had no hint of damage on it.

Trixie moaned in ecstasy, holding the necklace to her cheek, “Welcome home, my dear.”

“Mistress, we should depart now, before the authorities come,” Youkomon suggested. Trixie looked thoughtful at that, but then gave a mischievous smirk. She didn't want to just leave, oh no. She wanted to have some fun.

“Youkomon, go ahead of me,” Trixie said, “After that, wait five minutes, and then create my escape route.”

“Mistress, are you sure?” Youkomon asked.

“It wouldn't be fun if I just left without a bit of danger,” Trixie said sauntering deeper into the Museum, “I'm going to see what else I can steal.”

“Very well,” Youkomon bowed and walked off in another direction. Trixie walked around, seeing more jewelry in various glass displays. She smiled gleefully and got to work, using that strange magic trick of hers to steal all of the jewels. Right as she stole the last item, the alarm went off.

play song

“Yes! Finally!” Trixie said, running out of the Egyptian Exhibit.

“Halt!” a security guard shouted right in front of her. Trixie slid to a stop and then ran in another direction, “We have an intruder close to the Egyptian Exhibit! She's taking the left hall! Prepare to cut her off!”

Trixie ran into the dinosaur exhibit, and looked around. Her heart was pounding, and her hands were shaking. She'd never been on the run from the authorities before. She couldn't hold in her smile as her mind worked frantically to figure out what to do.

“I see her!” another guard shouted. Trixie blew him a kiss and ran off, the guard giving chase. He was joined by another guard along the way, but she remained unfazed as she ran down the hall, eventually seeing two more guards in front of her trying to cut her off.

Trixie didn't slow down. Instead, she ran right up to them, and then jumped over them right when they tried to hit her with their batons. She rolled perfectly on the ground, and then rushed over to the stairs.

“The intruder is making her way upstairs! She's probably going for the roof!”

Trixie ran upstairs, loving how many of the guards were following her. She was the center of their world right now. The most important person in their lives at this very moment. A few guards came through a door further up to cut her off, and one of them almost grabbed her, only for her to duck underneath him, and then throw him over her shoulder down the stairs. She then spun around and kicked two more of them back before continuing upstairs.

“Yes! YES!” she cried happily, “This was what I was missing! This is what I was meant to do with my life!”

She pushed through the door to the roof and ran out, happy to see Youkomon running on another roof next to her. Good, she understood the plan.

Behind her, it looked like there were close to fifteen guards running after her. She stopped at the edge of the roof, turned to the guards, and then backed away standing on the ledge.

“Whoa. Easy there, Miss,” one of the guards said, “No need to be hasty.”

“Oh this isn't about being hasty,” Trixie said, “This is about having fun.” she spread her arms out, and fell all the way back. The guards ran out to the edge and looked down, shocked to see no one.

What they didn't know was that Trixie had Youkomon use her flames to create another portal, which she fell through, landing right on her Digimon's back as they ran off into the horizon, back to her “safe house”.

end song

The guards all looked around, both saddened and amazed. She had stolen every piece of jewelry there.

“Sir, you need to see this,” one of the guards said. The captain walked over to where Cleopatra's necklace was. All that was left was a card, which had a single message written on it in the fanciest handwriting.

Thank you for holding onto my jewelry for me.

The Phantom