EQG Frontier

While the digimon in the Village of Flames celebrated the restoration of the forest that connected them to the rest of the Digital World, the ten humans were in Bokomon's house being served tea by the short digimon. Some were seated at his table, while others stood around the room. All were awaiting answers to their questions though.

"Let's start with the history that led up to the Digital World's current state," Twilight said as she adjusted her glasses, looking at Bokomon while sipping her tea.

Bokomon nodded. "Of course. It all began long ago, when the Digital World was first given form by Yggdrasil, the Mother Computer. At first the Digital World was peaceful. This peace however, did not last. Eventually, seven rose up against this order and plunged the Digital World into chaos. These seven, Lilithmon, Beelzemon, Barbamon, Belphemon, Daemon, Leviamon, and Lucemon, came to be called the Seven Great Demon Lords." Bokomon paused in his story to sip his tea. "For a time, it seemed they would conquer the Digital World. But Yggdrasil had not been idle. Though she could not directly intervene, she was able to provide the Digital World with champions of light.

"She appointed Imperialdramon as her general to lead the war against the Demon Lords, and he in turn appointed a group of thirteen to serve as his lieutenants. These thirteen were Alphamon, Craniamon, Crusadermon, Dynasmon, Examon, Dukemon, Gankoomon, Jesmon, Kentaurosmon, Leopardmon, Magnamon, UlforceVeedramon, and Omegamon. Together they were known as the Royal Knights."

Bokomon paused again to let the information sink in, sipping his tea after talking at length. "With Imperialdramon and the Royal Knights leading the fight, the Demon Lords were defeated and imprisoned within the darkest depths of the Digital World, never to see the light of day again. The Royal Knights and Imperialdramon dispersed and vanished after their victory, as they considered themselves a symbol of war. To ensure the protection of the Digital World in times of peace, Yggdrasil created the Digimon Sovereigns, of which Azulongmon is a member. Each rules one of the four quarters to the Digital World. Azulongmon rules the East, Baihumon rules the West, Zhuqiaomon rules the South, and Ebonwumon rules the North.

"The four of them gave power to the Three Celestial Digimon, Seraphimon, Ophanimon, and Cherubimon, to watch over and protect the Digital World in its day to day affairs. And for a time, there was peace. The Three commanded their champions, the Ten Legendary Warriors, in protecting this world."

"Well they obviously aren't protecting it now," Sunset quipped. "What went wrong? And if the Legendary Warriors were their subordinates, why do I apparently have the spirit of one of them?"

"Over time, The Three were corrupted by their power, and fell into darkness," Bokomon explained. "The Legendary Warriors tried to stop them, but were struck down in their efforts. They would have been corrupted by the Three themselves if not for the intervention of the Sovereigns. Since then, the Celestial Digimon and the Sovereigns have been locked in a war, with the Digital World itself as the prize. However..."

"However?" Applejack asked with a nervous tone.

Bokomon sighed. "We are losing this war. Baihumon, Zhuqiaomon, and Ebonwumon have fallen, and their subordinates with them. Azulongmon, the wisest of them all, does all in his power to stop the Three, but every day, more ground and digimon are lost." He looked at the ten teenagers. "Azulongmon has remained hidden, but there's no telling how long that will be the case. If his castle should fall, if we lose Azulongmon, then all is lost. Azulongmon had one final gambit in mind. Reaching out to your world, he called to those who would be capable of wielding the power of the Ten Legendary Warriors." Bokomon looked at them in desperation. "I have only the utmost faith in Azulongmon's judgment. You humans are our last hope. On behalf of the Digital World, I beg of you to take up the mantle of the Ten and fight to save this world!"

For a moment, there was only silence, then Rainbow slammed her palm on the table. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'll fight! There's no way I'm letting these Celestial Digimon or whatever have their way with innocent people!"

"Rainbow, should we really do this?" Applejack asked. "Sounds like the stakes are pretty high. Higher than we've ever faced."

"Of course we should!" Rainbow insisted. "You heard Bokomon and saw Sunset! We can do this! We have to! There's nobody else that can!"

"I agree with Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy said. "The Celestial Digimon have become nothing but bullies picking on those weaker than them. I won't deny that this is really scary..." She looked at them with hard eyes. "But I won't ignore the suffering of innocents."

"Neither will I darling," Rarity said as she stood from the table. "This world sounds like a beautiful one, and I won't let it be destroyed."

One by one, the rest of the Rainbooms and Flash nodded their agreement. Turning to the newcomers, Facet and Sapphire Valley, they fixed them with questioning looks.

Facet pushed away from the wall. "I may not know anything of this world, but I've never been able to turn a blind eye to injustice. I will fight too."

"How exactly is this our problem?" Sapphire asked. "The tracks are fixed. What's stopping us from going home and living our lives. We don't owe this world anything."

"Actually, there's a more pragmatic reason that Azulongmon chose humans to wield the power of the Ten," Bokomon said. "He has seen what will happen if the Three conquer the Digital World. They will turn their gaze to the Human World next. They will use their amassed power to invade your world, intent on ruling both. And Humanity will not be able to stand against them."

Sapphire stood in silence for several seconds as this new information was digested by the group. "Guess it's our problem after all. Fine. I'm in too."

Twilight looked at Bokomon. "Where do we start, Bokomon? Azulongmon did say you'd show us the way."

Bokomon nodded and finished his tea. "The first step is to find the other nine Spirits. But be warned, the Spirits will make you targets for the Three." He stood from the table and walked toward the door. "Before you arrived, Azulongmon informed me that he had sent two of the Spirits to this village, where they lie hidden, waiting for their wielders. You have already found the Spirit of Fire. What the other one is, I do not know. Nor do I know its location."

"Then how do we find them?" Pinkie asked.

"Trust your D-Tectors," Bokomon said. "They will show you the way."

"So they have a radar function?" Twilight asked. "Makes sense, considering Azulongmon can apparently speak to us through them."

A beep rent the air as though on cue from Flash's pocket. Pulling out his D-Tector, a holographic globe appeared over the screen, a pink sphere at the top moving in a direction to point him. "Guess I'll just follow the dot then."

As Flash left to follow his D-Tector's directions, the rest of the group started dispersing to consider what they'd learned. Twilight and Facet stayed to question Bokomon further, Rainbow Dash and Applejack went looking around, Pinkie followed after Flash with Rarity, Sapphire went off alone while Fluttershy went to get to know the various cute digimon around the village and help them get settled back into their forest homes. As for Sunset, she trailed after Fluttershy in deep thought, looking at the image of Agunimon on her D-Tector's screen.

Outside the forest bordering the Village of Flame, on a hill overlooking both, stood a large green digimon with multiple piercings, a grinning maw filled with sharp teeth, a flowing white mane of hair, and a large bone club brandished in its right hand. Behind him stood a large raiding party of smaller goblin like digimon with wooden clubs.

Ogremon turned to his Goblimon subordinates with his grin widening. "Take all the data you can find, and Lord Cherubimon has promised a great prize to whoever brings the great ones the Spirits."

The Goblimon all cheered and started heading into the forest toward the village, eager for the prize of bringing the Spirits to their lords and lady.

Fluttershy giggled as she followed the group of young digimon around her. Koromon she heard them called, and they were the most adorable things she'd ever laid eyes on. "This forest is so beautiful. All that's really missing are all the critters I'm used to seeing."

"They are pretty cute," Sunset agreed as she looked around. "This forest is almost the same as the ones in the Human World, or even Equestria."

"Equestria?" one of the Koromon asked. "What's Equestria?"

"Equestria is where I'm from," Sunset answered with a smile. "It's sort of like the human world, but replace humans with colorful ponies and technology with magic."

"That sounds really neat!" Koromon said as several others gathered around Sunset with him. "Tell us more!"

Sunset was about to oblige when she was interrupted by the sound of bushes rustling nearby. She and Fluttershy looked at the bushes. "Hello? It's alright. We won't hurt you," Fluttershy said in a soft, motherly tone.

They had expected a skittish Koromon to emerge from the bushes. What instead emerged was a hostile Goblimon.

Fluttershy screamed as she narrowly dodged the Goblimon's club. "What is that?! Why is it attacking?!"

"Must work for the Celestial Digimon!" Sunset said as she pulled out her D-Tector, data gathering around her as she scanned a ring of fractal code around her left hand. "Execute! Spirit Evolution!" For the second time that day, she was clad in the form of a digimon, the data clearing away after mere moments. "Agunimon!" Agunimon rushed forward and punched Goblimon out of the air before he could hit Fluttershy. "Fluttershy take the Koromon and run! Find the others! I'll cover you!"

Fluttershy nodded and ushered the Koromon back toward the village, leaving Agunimon to face Goblimon. Surrounded by woodland, Agunimon couldn't use any of her big attacks, and so went pure physical, punching Goblimon again and picking him up, jumping up above the trees and throwing him up. With no woods to worry about, she cocked her fist back. "Burning Salamander!" The flaming dragon that erupted from her fist engulfed Goblimon, causing him to yell out in pain.

While Agunimon landed on her feet, Goblimon fell in a charred heap, his fractal code appearing. Brandishing her D-Tector, Agunimon swiped it over the ring. "Fractal Code, Digitize!" Within seconds, Goblimon was reduced to an egg of data that flew off into the sky and out of sight. Agunimon's moment of triumph was short lived, as she found herself surrounded by at least twenty more Goblimon. Her reaction to this development was a single time honored word. "Shit."

The Goblimon attacked as one, fireballs forming in their hands. "Goburi Strike!" The fireballs were all launched at once, sending Agunimon flying from the sheer force of the combined explosion, though the flames had no effect on her. Skidding to a halt, Agunimon got to her feet, shaking her head to clear away the daze before retaliating, dodging more fireballs and attacking the Goblimon up close to eliminate that. "Salamander Break!" A great blaze whipped up around Agunimon in a fiery tornado as she whipped around, her foot striking ten Goblimon and sending them flying into a pile that a fractal code appeared around. Acting quickly, she digitized the code and removed the Goblimon in the pile from the equation.

Before she could continue her attack, data gathered around her and quickly broke away, revealing Sunset's human form. Her reaction was more emphatic than the reveal of many Goblimon minutes earlier. "Shit!" She tried to run for the village, but the Goblimon shut that down by dog piling her and restraining her. "Get off!" she yelled as her hands were tied behind her back and her ankles tied together, one of the Goblimon fishing in her pocket and confiscating her D-Tector. "Hey give that back!"

The Goblimon were suddenly knocked off of Sunset by a rainbow blur rushing past, striking the hapless digimon faster than they could react. "Sunset!" Applejack called as she ran toward her. "Ya alright, sugarcube?!" she asked as she tore away the ropes binding Sunset's hands and feet.

"One of these things has my D-Tector!" Sunset answered as she looked around for the thief, allowing Applejack and Rainbow to hold off the Goblimon, keeping an eye for the D-Tector themselves.

"These things aren't so tough!" Rainbow gloated as she digitized the pile of Goblimon she and Applejack had beaten the fractal code out of. "Come on! I need a challenge!"

"Tyrant Fist!" A blast of dark energy hit the ground near Rainbow's feet, knocking her flat on her ass as Ogremon came at her while she was down, bone club raised above his head. "Bone Club!" Only Applejack's timely intervention prevented Rainbow from being reduced to a smear on the dirt, with the force of Ogremon's blocked strike still cracking the ground around Applejack's feet as she struggled with the boss of the Goblimon.

Ogremon's arrival was not alone, as he was accompanied by the rest of his raiding party, who jumped in and quickly subdued the girls, taking Applejack and Rainbow's jewel necklaces after having seen them glow, and grinning that they lost their respective strength and speed.

Before her hands could be restrained again, Sunset grabbed onto Ogremon's arm, looking into his mind.

Sunset saw through Ogremon's eyes as he knelt before a trio of holograms of angelic digimon. The Celestial Digimon she realized as the center one with ten wings began to speak.

"You will find two of the Spirits in the Village of Flame. Bring them to us and the humans as well. Alive and unspoiled."

"It will be done, Lord ShadowSeraphimon," Ogremon replied.

"Do not fail us, Ogremon, lest you require punishment," the one female of the three warned in a harsh tone. This one must have been Ophanimon. Meaning the third was Cherubimon.

"I will not fail," Ogremon vowed with a solemn, reverent tone.

"Do not neglect the data of the forest and Village of Flame either." Even through the secondhand filter of a memory, Cherubimon's deep, menacing voice sent chills down Sunset's spine. "I will see to it that whoever brings us the Spirits will be well rewarded. More so if you manage to follow ShadowSeraphimon's order that the humans be delivered alive and unspoiled."

Sunset saw no more as her crystal necklace was torn away and her arms and legs tied up again. But she'd seen enough to know the faces and voices of their enemies.

"Sure hope the others are okay," Rainbow muttered as they were hoisted over shoulders and carried toward the village, their D-Tectors confiscated.

When Fluttershy came running warning everybody of the Goblimon, Twilight directed them to stay together as she, Facet, Sapphire, and Fluttershy searched for Rarity, Pinkie, and Flash in the expansive tunnels beneath the Village of Flame. Twilight's hands were glowing lavender, her telekinetic magic prepared to slam attacks around like ragdolls at a moment's notice.

"This place is like a damn labyrinth!" Sapphire complained as they all kept their eyes peeled for Goblimon.

"Yeah. I've been trying to figure out if our D-Tectors are still phones after the change," Facet said, fingers dancing over the buttons on his D-Tector as he tried to raise any of their missing companions. "Wish these things came with manuals."

"Goburi Strike!" The fireball impacted mere feet in front of the four and sent them flying back, Facet's D-Tector knocked from his grip and into the hands of one of the Goblimon as its fellows joined it in surrounding the teens.

Twilight's hands glowed again, several of the Goblimon having their clubs ripped from their hands and used to bash them in the heads, Twilight's keen eyes and analytical mind allowing her to block and parry attacks made against them and respond in kind. Until she was painfully reminded that the Goblimon had weapons besides their clubs.

"Goburi Strike!" More fireballs struck and knocked her and her friends from their feet, their skin feeling hot and somewhat blistering from the heat of the fireballs. Before they could recover, they were restrained, their D-Tectors and Twilight and Fluttershy's necklaces confiscated.

"Seven down, three to go," Ogremon gloated with a chuckle as he looked over his band. The humans were surprisingly effective fighters, most of them were. Of the thirty Goblimon he'd brought with him, only nine remained. "Five of you stay with the humans. The rest of you come with me. We're going after the last ones."

Flash looked at the wall in front of him, curious as to his Spirit being past it. "According to my D-Tector, my Spirit's behind this wall."

"Oh! I got this!" Pinkie chirped as she pulled a bottle of sprinkles from her hair and shook some into her hand, throwing them at the wall and blowing a hole in it. The smoke cleared to reveal a bust of a warrior in meditation that emitted a bright white light that momentarily blinded the three.

"A clever hiding spot considering the importance of these Spirits," Rarity commented with a smile.

"Yeah," Flash agreed as he lifted his D-Tector and pushed the button on the side, a beam of light shooting out and drawing the Spirit into the device. "Now I can actually do something useful when some big bad guy comes along and not just be dead weight."

"Goburi Strike!" Mere moments before the fireballs hit, Rarity had erected a shield to protect them. The cleared smoke revealed Ogremon and the four Goblimon that had accompanied him. "So we arrive too late to prevent them from claiming the second Spirit. No matter. We'll just take them by force." He cocked his fist back with a sadistic grin. "Tyrant Fist!" The dark energy impacted against Rarity's shield with greater force than the Goblimons' fireballs, making Rarity grimace as a crack spread across it, which she quickly repaired.

"Flash, darling! If you're going to do something, please do it now!" Rarity implored.

Flash nodded as his Spirit appeared on the screen of his D-Tector, a ring of fractal code appearing around his left hand as data gathered around him. Raising his D-Tector to the fractal code, he scanned it. "Execute! Spirit Evolution!" Data gathered closer around Flash, indents of his body appearing in the data along with pieces of white and purple armor that overlaid over his body, closing in and engulfing him. The data dispersed to reveal him clad in the form of the white and purple armored warrior, only his eyes and mouth exposed. "Lobomon!"

Ogremon grinned as Lobomon jumped through a briefly opened hole in Rarity's shield. Looking at the Goblimon, he gestured with his head toward the shield. "Break it down."

"Goburi Strike!" Four more fireballs struck the shield in different spots, followed quickly by another volley.

"Not on my watch!" Lobomon said as he reached behind his waist. "Licht Sieger!" He whipped out one of the pair of cylinders kept behind his waist, a beam of blueish white light extending from it with a sound that he found was identical to a lightsaber. He dashed at the Goblimon to stop them, only for Ogremon to step into his way and block his Licht Schwert.

"Don't forget about me, Warrior of Light," Ogremon mocked as he pushed Lobomon back. "If you want to stop my band, you'll have to get past me! Tyrant Fist!"

Lobomon dodged out of the way of Ogremon's attack, rushing in with his blade and slashing at Ogremon with powerful blows, mixing in punches and kicks to keep Ogremon off balance. He needed to win quickly so he could help his friends. Ogremon wasn't making it easy. He had less refined technique, but he made up for it with pure power and sheer pragmatism. He fought just as dirty as Lobomon, his club delivering a number of crushing blows.

Unable to meet Ogremon strength to strength, Lobomon changed tack. He no longer tried to block Ogremon's strikes, but rather to guide them slanting away. And all the while, Rarity's barrier was shelled with fireballs by the Goblimon. She was holding it steady, but cracks were appearing in it, slowly but surely. It wouldn't be much longer before the barrier gave way and the girls would be exposed.

Gritting his teeth as he was forced into a bind by Ogremon, Lobomon angled his left forearm more forward as he struggled against his opponent. Lucky for him, the Licht Schwert were not his only weapons. "Licht Kugel!" A beam of light the same color as the Licht Schwert fired from the apparatus on his left arm, right into Ogremon's face. With Ogremon off balance, Lobomon reached for his second Licht Schwert, "Zwei Sieger!" Now using both blades, Lobomon tore into Ogremon with multiple slashes all across his body. As Ogremon's fractal code was exposed, Lobomon sheathed his blades and pulled out his D-Tector, scanning the code. "Fractal Code: Digitize!"

Seeing their commander fall, the Goblimon broke off their attack and started running, only to take lasers to the backs, their fractal codes digitized in short order as Lobomon ran back the way Ogremon and his flunkies had come, finding the remaining five Goblimon standing guard over the others. "Licht Kugel!" Five lasers each hit one Goblimon forehead, knocking their fractal codes out. As they were scanned, the stolen D-Tectors and necklaces fell to the floor, quickly being reclaimed by their rightful owners.

"Wow... Is that you, Flash?" Sunset asked as she looked at Lobomon.

Data surrounded Lobomon and dispersed to reveal Flash. "Yeah. That was me alright," he said as he met Sunset's eyes with a small blush.

"Well... Clearly our enemy isn't fucking around," Sapphire said. "We need to be on our toes from now on."

"Yeah," Twilight agreed. "Most of us were so easily captured even with our access to magic. Until the rest of us find our Spirits, we're vulnerable." As the rest voiced their agreement, a noise came from Twilight's D-Tector. Pulling it out, she saw the emblem of Azulongmon on the screen. "I assume you have some instructions for us, Azulongmon."

"I see you have obtained the Spirits of Fire and Light," Azulongmon said. "The Celestial Digimon will indeed be relentless in their hunt. Return to your own world. I have unlocked the D-Tectors' ability to open gates between the Real and Digital Worlds. Any computer can be used to form a gate from the Real World. Additionally, your D-Tectors can be used to communicate even from the different worlds and unaffected by most forms of interference. Even when not in the Digital World, remain vigilant. Our enemy will not be idle."

His instructions given, the screen went blank, leaving them in silence. "Well that's that," Facet said as he held up his D-Tector, a light shining from the screen and opening a gateway before them. "Let's go home and wait for further instructions. All we really can do at the moment."

"I agree," Sunset said. "Keep your ears to the ground, guys. No telling what to expect."

Agreements voiced, the ten chosen humans stepped through the gateway and exited the Digital World, not knowing that their passage was being watched.