Digital Equestriaby Sword MasterChaptersChapter 2 - The Adventure BeginsChapter 3 - Question and AnswersChapter 4 - Ponyville and PartiesChapter 5 - The TicketChapter 6 - ChampionChapter 7 - BoastingChapter 8 - The Fox and the HoundChapter 9 - The Sparkle of my EyeChapter 10 - Dragon, Cat, & WizardChapter 11 - An Old Threat ReturnsChapter 12 - Following your HeartChapter 13 - A New MonChapter 14 - SleepoverChapter 16 - A King's ReturnIntroductionChapter 1 - Warm Welcome...NotChapter 15-A Zebra Far From HomeChapter 17 - 13th Royal KnightChapter 2 - The Adventure BeginsThe Adventure Begins The game has begun, and the first move has been made. Where shall the game go from here? *** Matt began to open his eyes to see a stone ceiling above him. Glowing green moss grew in patches across the ceiling, giving light to the area around him. He could feel that he was lying on something soft, even though he could feel a chill coming from the ground. Matt got up into a sitting position to see he was lying on a blanket on the stone floor. That would explain that cold feeling. He turned to see Alice stroking Abby's hair in her pigtails. Gummymon, Kokomon, Viximon sat next to them. April was sitting in a corner holding Yokomon, and James leaned against a set of metal bars with Wanyamon next to him. What happened to us? He quickly recalled everything that happened to him. All I can recall before waking up here was seeing those neon-colored ponies, the feeling of being light-headed, and then everything going dark. He rubbed his head and finally noticed Bukamon and Gigimon next to him. "Matt, you're up." Said Bukamon. Everyone turned to see Matt as he rubbed his head. His sister left Alice and run over to him and hugged him. Matt smiled as he stroked her head, "Yeah, I'm up. Mind filling me one where we are?" "Isn't it clear, a jail cell?" Said James "I see that, but where." Said Matt "None of us are too sure. All we do know is that it's underground. Plus, all anyone of us can remember is looking at those neon ponies before falling asleep and waking up here." Said Alice "Yeah, I remember that as well." Said Matt "But I don't understand is how we fell unconscious." Said James "Well, I do remember the white pony's horn glowing gold before we fell asleep." Said April "Yeah, I recall that as well." Said James "Yeah, but how did that cause us to go to sleep?" Asked Wanyamon "Don't look at me for the answer here. I have no idea what's even going on anymore. The last time I looked, Earth didn't have anthropomorphic neon-colored ponies with horns, wings, or both. All I can say is, maybe I've gone insane and imagining all of this." Said James Everyone looked at him before Matt got up and pinching him on the arm. He screamed out in pain, "I think that clears up the fact that this is all real and not in your mind. Now to the important task at hand, getting out of here." "I can't see how we do that. I don't see the keys for the cell around or a guard we can trick," said James rubbing the sore spot on his arm. Matt ran his hand through his hair before looking down at Gigimon, "How about the Digimon?" "I'm not sure how that would work since none of them have claws to break the bars or unlock the door." Said James "I might be able to help." Said Gigimon "Go right ahead, Gigimon." Said Matt Gigimon hopped up to the gate and began to spit all over the bars. In a matter of seconds, the bars started to sizzle. The spit started to eat away at the metal, causing it to fall apart. Soon the group had a hole to escape from the cell. "What was that?" Asked Alice "One of my moves is Frothy Spite, which allows me to spit acid." Said Gigimon "Handy," he turned to James. "I guess we didn't need any claws." James rolled his eyes before all five humans and their Digimon escaped. They passed a small table holding their Digivices, phones, and everything else they had when they woke in the forest. They each took their device and hooked it to their clothing. They then proceed to find an exit. *** Outside Canterlot Castle, a male figure covered in a long black robe appeared outside the castle. It stood hidden from the guards in the gardens that surrounded the castle. He watched as the guards began their shift change from the Lunar to the Solar guards. He raised his left sleeve, and a dark crystal floated out. It had black smoke emitting off of it as it floated in front of the figure. The male figure pushed the crystal to the side of him, and it exploded into a puff of smoke. The smoke began to form the shape of a Manticore. The Manticore now stood fully formed next to the figure. It had a pitch-black coat, dark purple wings, and a blood-red scorpion tail. Its eyes opened to show they were blood red. It stared at the guards as they finished getting ready for the morning. The figure pointed at the castle and said no words, but the Manticore knew what to do. It leaped out at the guards and roared to bring their attention to the guards. The Solar guards turned to witness the Manticore as it glared at them. The figure disappeared as the guards began to engage the Manticore. *** After escaping the underground prison, the group found themselves in a castle. They had been walking around a while in the castle's halls, seeking a way out. They watched for anybody who might be looking for them since breaking out. But they were sure of one thing. They had no idea how to escape the castle. "Ok, I'm sure of it. We have no idea where we are." Stated James "Thanks for stating the obvious." Said Alice "I'm wondering how anybody would find their way in this place," said Abby as she held her brother's hand. "I agree, but it sure is beautiful. The art here is like nothing I've seen or read. What I wouldn't give to spend more than a few seconds admiring it." Said April "I'm guessing you're a lover of the arts, April," stated Matt as he looked back at her "Yes, I love to paint and draw in my free time." Said April "Wow, April, you think you draw a picture of me?" Asked Yokomon April smiled down at Yokomon, "Once we get out of here, I would love to." The group continued to walk around the hallways looking at all doors. They would stop and open the door to see it was a bedroom with a perfectly made bed. The room also had a balcony, a fireplace, a closet, and a few drawers for storing clothing. There was also a door leading to a bathroom with the largest tub anyone in the group had ever seen. It looked like it could fit all of them and still have room for five more people, if not more. The balconies of the rooms they checked showed they were up a few stories. They all knew they needed to proceed down if they were going to get out of here before something or someone found them. They proceeded to find the ground floor, but no path seemed to lead them to the ground floor. Sure it was peaceful and quiet, but they were always on guard. They weren't sure who owned the castle, where they were, and what happened to those neon-colored ponies from before. "I can't imagine why one place would need so many bedrooms." Stated James "Maybe the person who lives here has a lot of guests." Said Alice "Or a large family." Stated April "I'm sure that doesn't warrant this many rooms. I hate to have to be the person who has to maintain and clean all these rooms." James then looked down at Wanyamon, "So do you Digimon have any way to help us get out of here?" Asked James "We are in the same boat as you, James." Said Wanyamon "Great, you can break us out of prison, but not out of this castle." Said James The group only took a few more steps before a figure wearing black armor smashed into the wall in front of them. The figure spat up a little blood from the force of striking the wall. The group watched as the figure fell to the ground face first. The five humans looked at each other before they ran up to the armor-wearing person. The armor looked primitive and something out of the Middle Ages. They could see a pair of folded batwings lying against the armor. Matt placed Gigimon on the ground before stepping towards the person. "Be careful, Matt." Said Alice Matt flipped the person over to reveal it was another pony with a red coat. The pony also had a pair of large white hangs sticking out of their mouth. In some way, it reminded Matt of the fangs of a vampire. Matt removed the helmet to reveal a long flowing white mane with black streaks doing down in three stripes. Matt placed his fingers on the pony's neck to feel for a pulse. "Anything?" Asked Abby "Yeah, the pony here is still living." Said Matt "So, that's the ninth pony we've seen since we woke up." Said James "He's right, and we haven't seen one human beside us." Said April "I do find that strange that we haven't seen of your kind yet." Said Gummymon Abby shook her head before looking back at her brother. Matt was examining the armor as he admired the craftsmanship of it. Matt traced his right hand across the armor before ending at the center where a crescent moon rested. He looked back at the pony's face to see a large scar crossing over the pony's face. The scar started in the upper right part of her face and traveled down, going over her muzzle and ending in the bottom-left part of her chin. Matt wasn't sure if the pony was male or female, unlike the eight he saw before, which he noticed were female from their body features. He rubbed his chin as he tried to think of what to do next. "So, what do we do now?" Asked James "I'm not sure." Said Matt Soon the pounding of feet caught the attention of the five humans and their Digimon. They looked down the hall to see the black Manticore coming towards them. Its red eyes were staring fear right into their souls. It screamed at them as it seemed to begin to pick up speed, charging much faster towards them. "Shit, what the hell is that!" Screamed James "Who cares?! Let's run!" Said April Matt couldn't leave the unconscious pony to this creature. He scooped her up and found her to be slightly heavy but not as heavy as he swore. Strange, I swore a pony in full battle armor would be heavy. Matt turned to see the Manticore lung for him. He quickly moved out of the way as it slammed into the wall. But it didn't seem to faze the beast as it turned to Matt. I was hoping that would stop it for a moment. Soon Bukamon and Gigimon appeared before Matt. "No worries, Matt. We'll protect you." Said Bukamon "Bukamon, Gigimon." Said Matt But before both Digimon could attack, something hit the Manticore on the back, making it turn towards the attacker. That's my cue. He grabbed Gigimon on the head and ran with Bukamon. He made it only a few inches before a pair of hands pulled him into a room. He watched as James closed the door. Alice hugged Matt, which was a little hard, considering he was still holding the unconscious pony. "What happened to you? I swore you were behind us." Said Alice "Sorry, I couldn't leave the pony to that beast." Said Matt "You risked your life for a creature who we have no idea about, attacked us without any reason, and probably put us in that cell underground. Dude, are you crazy!" Said James "It still isn't right to leave her to that thing, no matter what happened to us." Said Matt "But what was that thing?" Asked Abby "I believe that it was a Manticore. A mythical creature from Persian myth." Said Matt "This whole thing is getting crazier every second we spend here." Said James Matt walked over and placed the pony on the bed after dropping Gigimon onto the bed. He looked over to Bukamon and Gigimon, "Thanks for standing up for me." "Hey, we couldn't let our friend get hurt." Said Bukamon He smiled and patted both on the head. "So, now what?" Asked Abby "We still need to find a way out and now dodge that Manticore at the same time. Luckily something took its attention away from me. But I'm unsure for how long before it's looking for us again." Said Matt "Why do you think it would be looking for us?" Asked April "I'm not sure, but the way it looked at me told me that it was hunting for us." Said Matt "Great, just great." Said James "Complaining isn't going to help, James." Said Alice "Then what do you propose we do?" Asked James Alice was going to rebuttal, but the sound of coughing drew her to the pony. Blood leaked from the pony's mouth as it opened its eyes to reveal they were a grey color. It scanned the room as it looked at the humans and Digimon. Matt was the first to speak. "Take it easy." Said Matt "Who are you?" Asked the pony in a stern female voice "I'm Matt, and these are Gigimon and Bukamon." He pointed to both Digimon before moving to his sister and her Digimon. "That's my younger sister, Abby and her Digimon, Gummymon, and Kokomon." Matt moved to Alice, "That's Alice, my best friend, and her Digimon, Viximon." He then moved to James, "That's James and his Digimon Wanyamon." He then moved to April, "And that's April and her Digimon Yokomon. Who are you?" "I'm Dark Crescent, Private Dark Crescent, of the 13th regiment of the Lunar Guards." "Dark Crescent, that's your name?" Asked James "Yes, but everypony calls me Crescent for short." Said Crescent "Everypony," said James with his right eyebrow raised. Matt ignored what James said as he looked at Crescent, "Mind asking what happened to you?" "I was ending my shift, so I could sleep when an order came out about a Manticore on castle grounds. I got in my armor once more and went to support my fellow Solar guards. I was nearing the last location of the beast when it came barreling down the hallway. It turned towards me, and I stood my ground, ready to fight the beast. But, I guess the beast was too much for me, and it threw me down the hallway. I guess I blacked out after striking the wall." She turned to Matt, "I'm guessing you saved me from being that beast's snack." "Yeah, and don't take this the wrong way, but I found it surprising how light you were considering your armor." Said Matt Crescent laughed, "There's an enchantment in the armor to make it light, which allows for more protection without hindering the wearer." "Enchantment?" Asked Alice The sound of heavy steps stomping near them caused everyone to become quiet. They all knew what it was, and they weren't ready to deal with it. "Shit!" Murmured James Everyone stayed quiet until they heard the Manticore runoff from where they were. James opened the door and peeked his head to see if it was gone. "Anything?" Asked Wanyamon "No, it left. But we can't stay here." Said James "I agree. We need to move before it finds out where we are." Said Matt "But where do we go?" Asked Abby "We can hide out in the armory. It's the most secure place in the palace. That beast shouldn't be able to get us in there." Said Crescent "Well, we have no idea where that is." Stated James "No worries. I'll take you to it." Said Crescent She struggled to get out of bed. She was only able to stand for a few seconds before she fell to the ground. Matt helped her back to her feet by looping her left hand over his shoulder. "You're in no condition to walk." Said Matt "I guess that Manticore did more damage to me than I thought." Said Crescent "What now?" Asked James "We continue to the armory. I'll carry Crescent o my back, and she'll point out the way to us." Said Matt "You're not serious. She'll slow us down!" Exclaimed James "Oh, and you think it's a good idea to leave her wounded here for that thing to find!" Exclaimed Matt "I'm only saying that with her, she'll slow us down because we're going not be able to move as fast as we would without her!" Expressed James "Then so be it, and I'm sure you have no idea how to get to the armory without Crescent's help!" Exclaimed Matt "Enough!" The two boys turned to Alice, "Enough arguing like a couple of second graders. Sure we'll be moving slower, but we have no idea where we need to go, and we can't leave her here. Now, if you two finished bickering like children, let's move." Alice went to the door and peeked outside, "The coast is clear, Matt, you take point with Crescent, and I'll take the rear." Matt helped Cresent climb onto his back. She looped her hands around his neck, and Matt gripped her hooves. Alice opened the door and waved for Matt to go out first. He went out with Gigimon and Bukamon following next to him. Abby and April followed behind him, with James going next, and Alice taking up the rear. Crescent pointed the way towards the armory while they all made sure to keep an ear and eye open for the Manticore. They kept a jogging pace but would have to slow down as Matt adjusted Cresent on his back. "This is too easy." Stated James "I agree." Said Matt Once the two ended their talk, the Manticore appeared and tried to slam its fist into Matt, but Gigimon jumped into action. He spat into the Manticore's face, causing it to roar in pain from the acid spit. Matt ran past the howling Manticore with the others following behind him. Alice scooped up Gigimon as she ran past the Manticore. "Damn, I knew it was too easy!" Screamed James "Take the stairs on your right!" Exclaimed Crescent The group turned and began to run down the stairs, "Now left!" The group turned left and heard something slam behind them. Abby turned to see the Manticore looking at them. "It's back!" Screamed Abby The Manticore started to run at the group. "Right!" Screamed Crescent The group turned right and went down another set of stairs as the Manticore slid past them, trying to stop. It slammed in the wall but didn't stop it as it went back to chasing them. The group reached the bottom of the steps to see they could only go right and continued to run. Alice turned to see the Manticore landing at the bottom of the stares and staring at them. It growled before running at them once more. "Damn, doesn't it ever give up?" Asked Alice "Manticores never give up on a meal. A Manticore would rather die trying to catch its meal than give up." Said Crescent "Nice to know." Said James The group continued down the hallway until Crescent ordered them to make a left, which they made. Alice ducked as the Manticore took a swipe at her. "You ok, Alice?!" Asked Viximon "Yeah, but that was way too close for my comfort." Said Alice The team continued to run and turned to see the Manticore right behind them. "The next right, and we'll be near the armory." Said Crescent The Manticore saw where they were heading. It knew it could not fail on catching the group, so it opened its wings. It leaped into the air and flapped its wings to speed ahead of the group. Everyone watched as the Manticore soared above them. It landed in front of everyone blocking them off from the armory. "Quickly, turn left!" Screamed Crescent The group turned left as fast as they could as the Manticore howled before returning to chasing them. They ran down the hall and another two turns, but the Manticore appeared before them, causing them to take a sharp right to dodge the Manticore's scorpion tail. "Shit!" Screamed James The group saw an opening and went out into the gardens of the castle. The group stopped and looked around at all the trees and flowers. "Where are we?" Asked Matt "The meditation gardens." Said Crescent A growl made the group turn to see the Manticore coming towards them with its tail raised high into the sky. The five humans were now at the mercy of the Manticore as this part of the gardens was a dead end. The group had nowhere to escape the Manticore, and it was too large to run around to enter the castle and avoid it. But by surprise, the Digimon leaped in front of the group and readied themselves. "What are all of you doing?" Asked Alice "Defending our friends. Let's go, Digimon!" Exclaimed Bukamon The Digimon began to run towards the Manticore, ready to give it everything they had. "They are not going to survive against that thing, Wanyamon!" Screamed James "Gummymon, Kokomon!" Screamed Abby "Viximon, no!" Exclaimed Alice "Please, no, Yokomon!" Hollered April "Bukamon, Gigimon, don't do it!" Screamed Matt Suddenly a bright light began to emit from each of the Digivices of Matt, James, Abby, April, and Alice. A light began to consume each of the Digimon as they began to transform before the group's eyes. "What's happening to them?" Asked Matt The Digivice began to emit a set of codes to each Digimon, which started transforming them. "Bukamon Digivolve into...Gomamon." "Gigimon Digivolve into...Guilmon." "Gummymon Digivolve into...Terriermon." "Kokomon Digivolve into...Lopmon." "Wanyamon Digivolve into...Gaomon." "Viximon Digivolve into...Renamon." "Yokomon Digivolve into...Biyomon." The light ended, and now seven Digimon stood, but far different from those the humans knew. Bukamon was now a white seal-like creature with two front paws and two rear paws. A set of sharp claws extending from the front paws. Gigimon was now a red dinosaur. Gummymon and Kokomon where now rabbit like creatures with long ears. Wanyamon was no longer a cat, but a blue dog with boxing gloves covering its hands. Viximon was now bipedal fox. And Yokomon was now a pink bird. Now stood seven Digivolved Digimon ready to protect their friends. "What the hell?!" Exclaimed James "They're different." Stated Alice "But how?" Asked Abby "Let's show this thing why you don't mess with our friends." Said Gomamon. Renamon and Gaomon went right for the Manticore. The Manticore tried to swipe at Renamon, but she jumped away from the attack. She spun in the air and came down, striking the Manticore right in the head with the heel of her left foot. She leaped away as Gaomon followed up after her. "Gao Rush." He began to unleash a barrage of punches to the face of the Manticore. Each strike pushed the beast back from the group. Gaomon delivered a final blow before jumping away. Terriermon and Lopmon ran forward to strike the dazed Manticore. "Terrier Tornado." Said Terriermon "Tiny Twister." Said Lopmon Both Digimon began to spin around, using their ears to consume them each in a tornado. They jumped out of their attacks as they went sailing right at the Manticore. Debris from the area became caught in the vortex of winds, which scratched and scrapped the Manticore. Guilmon moved forward to attack, and Renamon jumped into the air with Biyomon. "Pyro Sphere." Said Guilmon "Diamond Storm." Said Renamon "Spiral Twister." Said Biyomon Guilmon spat out a ball of flames while Renamon launched a set of sharpened leaves at the Manticore. Biyomon created a spiral of green flames. "Marching Fishes." Said Gomamon Gomamon pointed at the Manticore, and fishes began to leap from the nearby pond. The fishes slapped themselves against the Manticore. "Double Backhand." Said Gaomon Gaomon began to spin and launched himself right to the beast, and delivered a powerful strike to the Manticore. The Digimon stopped, and the group saw that the Manticore was lying on the ground. Scratches, bruises, and burns covered its body. But it wasn't over yet as it growled before getting back onto his feet. It looked slightly exhausted from the attacks of the Digimon but still ready to fight. Renamon rushed forward to attack once more. The Manticore tried to strike with its tail, but Renamon was too nimble for the Manticore to hit. "Swift Strike." Said Renamon Renamon struck the head of the Manticore with a mighty hand chop. The Manticore hit the ground, and Renamon hopped back to the group. "You think that's it." Said Gaomon "I'm not sure." Said Renamon "Damn, this is awesome!" Exclaimed James "But how did they become that?" Asked Abby Matt moved his vision down to his Digivice. I wonder if that has to do with it. When we thought our Digimon would get hurt, a light emitted from those devices we each got, and that somehow transformed them into what we see right now. But the victory wasn't here yet as the Manticore got back up and stared daggers at the Digimon. Guilmon decided to attack next. He rushed towards the Manticore as it got back to its feet. "Quake-a-lator." Said Guilmon He ran fast and leaped towards it. Guilmon used his claws to tear right through the Manticore and appeared on the other side. There was no blood and gore from the attack. Instead, smoke was coming out of the wound. "Holy crap!" Exclaimed Alice That's when the group saw the pulsating dark crystal in the middle of the Manticore's chest. But it was now slowing being covered back up as the wounds began to close up. "What's that?" Asked April "I'm not sure, but I have a strong feeling that we need to destroy it." Said Matt "I couldn't agree more." Said Crescent "Destroy that crystal, Guilmon!" Screamed Matt Guilmon spun around and closed his mouth, and aimed at the crystal. "Pyro Sphere." Said Guilmon He shot out a ball of fire that struck the crystal. The Manticore howled out in pain before the fire broke the crystal. The Manticore stopped howling as Guilmon landed on the ground to the left side. The crystal fell to the ground in pieces. Once the pieces hit the ground, the Manticore went silent. It stood as still as a statue, but it soon became a dark black stone statue. Upon completion, cracks began to spread across the Manticore. It wasn't long before the Manticore exploded into a pile of rubble and smoke. All that was left of the mighty beast was a pile of rubble and dissipating smoke. "Did we win?" Asked James "Yes, yes, we did!" Exclaimed April Everyone cheered before the Digimon returned to their partners. Terriermon and Lopmon jumped into Abby's arms and smiled with her. She hugged and snuggled the two Digimon. James examined Gaomon thinking about how a cat could become a dog with boxing gloves. Alice looked over Renamon and seemed pleased with her Digimon. April patted Biyomon's head as she smiled. Matt looked at both Gomamon and Guilmon. "You can put me down. I don't think we'll be in any more issues." Said Crescent "Ok." Said Matt He helped Crescent to the ground and let her use him to keep herself upright. Matt then pulled his Digivice and saw that it had pictures for his Digimon, plus a little information on both Digimon. "So Bukamon Digivolved into Gomamon and Gigimon into Guilmon, and it seems these are your rookie forms." Said Matt The others did the same to see that the same thing. "If this a rookie form and they transformed from there in-training forms, does that mean that they have more forms?" Asked Abby "Is that true? Can you Digivolving again?" Asked April "I'm not sure. I feel like that's something we Digimon should know, but I can't seem to remember." Said Biyomon "Well, this thing isn't helpful since it doesn't seem to tell us anything else except what we saw or are seeing." Said James "I guess we'll find out in time, but my real question is, what caused you to Digivolve?" Asked Matt "I was wondering the same thing since none of us touched these devices." Said Alice "Well, we had to become stronger to protect you. We can't let anything happen to our friends." Said Biyomon "Yes, we had to protect you, and the only way was to Digivolve. But it was also your concern for us that also helped us Digivolve." Said Renamon "Well, what now?" Asked April "I believe we should get Crescent somewhere to treat her wounds. Then we can worry about getting out." Said Matt "Thank you. I'll lead you to the medical center in the castle. And before the doctors take me, I'll tell you how to get to the entrance of the castle." The group nodded and began to go back to the doorway that they passed through. Cresent stopped Matt as she pushed the rubbled around. "Before we continue, I need to collect those crystal pieces. I have a feeling the princess will want to examine it." Said Crescent Guilmon helped search through the rubble and found the crystal pieces. He gave them to Crescent, who thanked him. Guilmon smiled as the group reentered the castle, not noticing the male figure in the black cloak behind them. The figure came out from his hiding spot as he pushed around the rubble. He picked up a piece of the once-great Manticore and crushed it. He looked back where the group entered before disappearing in a puff of smoke. *** "So I know you said it was a Manticore, but I'm sure that living creatures don't have crystals in their chests or turn into statues after you destroy said crystal?" Asked James "True, I do find that interesting. It makes me wonder how the crystal was able to give life to the Manticore." Said Alice "Yeah." Said Abby Crescent looked over at Matt, "How did you know that attacking the crystal would destroy the beast?" "A gut feeling." Said Matt Cresent raised her eyebrow, "In other words, you took a shot in the dark." Matt blushed as he rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. "I guess your gut feeling saved us today." Said James "True, but it was our Digimon friends who are the ones who should get all the praise. Without them, we wouldn't be standing here." Said Matt The Digimon smiled as they looked amongst each other. "But now I'm wondering why that Manticore was hunting us." Said April "Who knows and who knows if we will ever figure it out?" Said Matt "Who cares? We'll deal with anything that comes after you like we did today." Said Gaomon "Yes, we'll protect you no matter what we face." Said Renamon "Thanks, Renamon." Said Alice "It's my honor." Said Renamon "How much further?" Asked Matt "Not much further ahead. We should see the signs for the infirmary here soon." Said Crescent "I'll be happy once we get out of this castle and find out where we are." Said James "Yeah, I can't wait to get home. But I m not sure how to explain to my parents about Biyomon." Said April Crescent looked at the humans. She was about to ask where they came from, but the sounds of hooves thundering down both sides of the halls stopped her. The Digimon got ready to fight when two large groups of guards surrounded the humans and Digimon. They all wore gold armor with the image of the sun in the middle. The pony guards pointed spears and swords at the group. "Oh, great." Said James "Back off!" Ordered Crescent She pushed off of Matt as Guilmon with cat eyes, and Gomamon stood in front of him. "I am Private Dark Crescent of the Lunar Guards and order all of you to stand down this instant." Said Crescent "We can't do that, private." Another pony came out of the crowd. The male pony had blue fur and a white and red mane. He had a horn coming out of his head. On his shoulders were a pair of blue epaulets. On his side was a saber resting in its sheath. "Captain Storm Gazer." Said Crescent "I heard a single Lunar Guard was attempting to bring down the beast; I didn't think it was true. But none the less, move so that we can apprehend the monkeys and their beasts." Said Captain Storm Gazer "Monkeys, did he just call us monkeys?" Asked James "Yes, he did." Said Alice "Hey, we are not monkeys. We are humans!" Exclaimed James "Captain Gazer, these humans saved my life from that Manticore, and those beasts you are referring are Digimon, and they defeated the Manticore. I even the evidence of its destruction." Cresent pulled out the shards, "What hold are the pieces of a crystal that seemed to be the life force of the Manticore. Without the help of the Digimon, we would still be dealing with the Manticore rampaging in the castle." "It does not matter. You cannot say without confidence that these creatures were not the ones that brought that Manticore into our castle and threatened out Princess. They could have destroyed it to look good in front of you, private. We need to bring them in for questioning and put them back in their cell. I won't let a bunch of strange creatures and their handlers running free in the castle of Princess Celestia." Said Captain Gazer He raised his hand, and the guards prepared to attack. The Digimon readied themselves to fight to protect their human friends, but another voice stopped every guard. It was a soft motherly voice, but it also had an air of power in it. "Stand down." All the guards turned to watch as a mare with both a horn and a pair of wings stood behind them. She had a pure white coat and an ethereal mane that blew without the presence of any wind. She wore a silk white gown, and gold jewelry adorned her body. Her breast size was easily FF-cup. The guards began to part ways as the mare walked past them towards the group. Each was bowing their head to her as she walked by them. "If I had to guess, she's important." Said Alice "Wait, that's one of the ponies we first saw. I think she was also the one that had the glowing horn when we started to go unconscious." Said James "James isn't wrong. I remember her, as well." Said Gaomon "I wonder what she wants." Said Terriermon "I hope not to put back in that cell," said Abby as she got behind her brother and held his left hand. The princess stopped next to Captain Gazer as she looked at the group. She cocked her head as she examined the creatures next to the humans. She seemed intrigued by them as the Digimon stood ready to fight the second the strange mare went to attack their friends. "Princess Celestia, may I require your presence here?" Asked Captain Gazer The princess seemed to ignore Captain Gazer's question, "Hm, those creatures were all different when I first brought you here." Said Celestia "So, you admit throwing us into that cell." Said James "Yes, I admit I placed a sleeping spell on you when we first met. But I did it because I was unsure about all of you. I brought you to my castle to talk to you and discover who you are. I guess putting all of you in my dungeon wasn't the best option, so I apologize for that. But I had to do it to ease the fear of my loyal subjects." The princess turned to Crescent, "You say these humans defeated the Manticore with these Digimon." Crescent nodded her head, "Then I see no reason to return them to the dungeon." Captain Gazer was going to speak, but Celestia gave him a stern gaze, which caused him to go quiet, "Now, may I have a look at those crystal pieces you mentioned" Crescent showed the crystal shards to Celestia. She picked one up and examined it. She turned to Captain Gazer, "Take the shards from Private Cresent and deliver them to the science division. I want to know what the crystal is by the end of next month." Captain Gazer saluted and walked away, grumbling under his breath, "The rest of you are to return to your positions." Celestia stopped two guards, "Please take Private Crescent to the medical wing." The guards saluted and let Crescent loop her arms around their shoulders. She looked at Matt and smiled, "Thank you again, Matt. I hope to see you after the doctors let me out of the medical wing." "No problem, Crescent. I hope to see you around as well." Said Matt She nodded as the guards escorted her away to the medical wing. Celestia smiled as she returned to the group. "I should formally introduce myself. I am Princess Celestia, the di-monarch of Equestria and, I welcome you to Canterlot Castle." Soon Abby's stomach began to grumble, and then everyone else followed, even the Digimon's stomachs growled, "I know you have any questions, but I think you all deserve a good meal for defeating the Manticore and keeping one of my guards safe. Please follow me to the mess hall, and I'll treat you all to the feast." She turned and began to walk away. The group looked at each other and decided it wouldn't hurt to see what she had planned for them. They began to move to catch up with Princess Celestia. Author's Note So, I never expect Digital Equestria to start so strong. I'm happy to see many people already enjoying the story. I do hope you enjoy chapter two. Also please comment if you want battle scenes with the Digimon to have music, like I did for Solar Sun, Poke Eques, and The Fabled Warrior. I wasn't sure if I should include music or not. I might try it next time, or if you want it, I'll return and put a song for this fight scene and include music for every fight scene after. Well, I think that's everything I have to offer and say. So as always: comment, follow, like, share, and tell. I'm Sword Master, signing off. Chapter 3 - Question and AnswersAuthor's Note So a basic question and answer section. I do hope you enjoy. So as always: comment, like, follow, share and tell. Chapter 3 - Question and Answers Questions and Answers "Oh man, this is great!" Exclaimed James James and Gaomon scarfed down the food that they had on their plates. "I completely agree." Said Gaomon The two continued to eat the feast that Celestia served for the group of humans and Digimon. She wasn't lying when she meant a feast. Her maids brought out a load of food from the kitchen. It ranged from salads, desserts, and fruits. No meat was present, but that didn't stop the group of eating away. "Don't you have some manners!" Exclaimed Alice Alice sat next to James and Renamon next to her. The two had to watch as James and Gaomon stuffed their faces full of food. "Hey, I need to recover my calories from running from that Manticore, plus I'm starving from yesterday." Said James "Still doesn't mean you have to be a slob." Said Renamon April sat next to Renamon and Biyomon next to her. Terriermon and Lopmon shared the seat next to Biyomon, and Abby sat next to them. Matt sat next to his sister with Guilmon and Gomamon next to him. Celestia sat on the other side of the table, smiling as the group ate. There were still eight empty seats around the table. "The only thing we're missing is meat, but who cares everything here is great." Said James "Meat, interesting." Murmured Celestia "Swallow your food before talking! I swear, were you raised in a barn!" Screamed Alice "I have to agree." Said Renamon "How is everything?" Asked Celestia "Excellent, thank you." Said April "I won't lie, I love your cook's cooking more than my mothers." Said James Celestia giggled, "I'll make sure to pass that on to my head chef. He works hard to prepare the food around here." "Please do give him our regards." Said Alice "So what's with the extra chairs?" Asked Matt "I decided to invite some guests. I know you have plenty of questions, and so do I." Said Celestia "How long until they get here?" Asked Matt "They should be arriving soon." Said Celestia "I hope after James and Gaomon are done stuffing their faces." Said Alice After five minutes of eating, everyone had their fill, and Celestia had the maids clean the table. The maids then brought out a bowl of fruit and placed it on the table. Once they left the main doors opened and in stepped a mare. The group turned, and Matt recognized it as Dark Crescent. She was now wearing a plain blue t-shirt that showed off her DD-cup breasts and a black skirt. "I can see you're impressed." Said Crescent "I'll be, it has only been an hour or so since I last saw you. I would have thought you would be in the medical wing for at least a few days." Said Matt "That's magic for you, plus I didn't have to serve wounds thanks to the armor. But," Crescent yawned. "I'm a little tired since I sleep through the morning, but I decided to make an exception for today." "Welcome, Crescent, do you know if the others are coming?" Asked Celestia "I think I saw them coming when I was on my way over." Said Crescent "Great." Said Celestia Crescent took the seat next to Guilmon and Gomamon. She moved it over, and Guilmon and Gomamon moved over. She set it down next to Matt and sat down. His Digimon didn't seem to mind, nor did Matt. The others paid no attention to it, but Alice did find it a little strange but decided to drop it. "So who else is coming?" Asked April "My student, her friends, and my sister." Said Celestia The door opened, and the group turned, and couldn't believe their eyes and the same went for the ponies. The seven ponies walked over to Princess Celestia and took a seat as the group followed them. Crescent just yawned as tried to fight off her desire to sleep. The group moved their eyes to the first pony, a lavender pony with a horn coming out of her head. She had a blue, purple and rose mane. She was wearing a blue tank top with a blue star in the middle. She also had a purple skirt and BB-cup breasts. The pony next to her had a white coat, a curled violet mane and a horn on her head. She was wearing an elegant aquamarine dress, and her breast size was a perfect DD-cup that accented her hourglass figure. Next was a green and purple lizard creature. He had on a plain green t-shirt and cargo shorts. Next to him was a cyan colored pony with wings on her back and a rainbow mane. James knew he would have a hard time not calling the pony Skittles because of her mane. The pony was wearing a warmup jacket and a pair of running shorts. She also had a CC-cup chest. Then there was the pony next to Celestia. She had a dark blue coat and a light blue mane. She had a horn and a pair of wings like Celestia. She had on black jewelry much like Celestia's. She was wearing a dark blue strapless dress that hugged her EE-cup breasts. She seemed not to want to make eye contact with the humans or the Digimon. Next to Celestia was a butterball pony with a pair of wings and a large pink mane. She was wearing a green sweater and brown pants. Her breasts were easily FF-cup. She seemed to hide her face behind her overly large mane, which the humans and Digimon found cute. The pony did poke her face from her mane and looked at the Digimon. Next to her was an orange pony with neither wings nor a horn. She had a blond mane, which a green tie held together into a ponytail. She was wearing a crosshatched shirt and a pair of jean shorts. On her head was an old brown Stetson. Her breast size was easily E-cup. Next to her was an utterly pink pony with neither a horn or wings. Her mane was all puffy. She was wearing a blue and white striped shirt and a pink skirt. She had DD-cup breasts. A large beaming smile rested on her face. "I believe everypony is here, so let me introduce them all to you." Celestia started with the purple pony, "My student Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Twilight's assistant, Spike, Rainbow Dash, and my sister Luna." She moved to point at the ponies on her other side, "Here we have Fluttershy, Applejack and Pinkie Pie." "Nice to meet you all. I'm Matthew Summer or Matt for short." "You can call me, Gomamon." "I'm Guilmon." "I'm Matt's little sister, Abby Summer." "I'm Terriermon." "And I'm her sister, Lopmon." "I'm April North." "You can call me Biyomon." "I'm Renamon." "The names Alice Johnson." "I'm James Smith." "Gaomon is my name." "Now that we have the pleasantries over with let's begin with why we all came here, answering our burning questions." Said Celestia "I guess I'll go first. What are you? Ever since I first laid eyes on you back at the Castle of the two sisters, I tried to research you, but I found nothing." Said Twilight "Well, we're humans." Said Matt "Not monkeys like that one guard said." Stated James "Ok, what about the creatures with you?" Asked Twilight "We're Digimon, Digital Monsters." Said Gomamon "Digital monsters, what a strange name." Stated Rarity "Ok, so what are of you?" Asked April "Well, we are ponies. You see four species make up the pony race. First is the unicorn race, the ponies with horns. Unicorns can use magic. Next is the Pegasus race. They have wings on their backs. The Pegasus race controls the weather. The next race is the earth pony. The earth ponies are the farmers and those who care for the land. Finally, my sister and I are alicorns, the rulers of Equestria. We are a combination of all three races." Said Celestia "Wait, you're telling me that Pegasus control weather." Said James "Yes, we control the weather. Isn't that how it's on your planet?" Said Rainbow "No, the weather is natural." Said James "That sounds like the Everfree Forest," said Twilight as everypony felt a shiver run down their spines "Wait," Matt turned to Crescent. "I was wondering what you are? You have wings, but there batwings instead of bird wings." "I'm a Threstral, a bat pony. My species have always been lunar guards or those that take night shifts thanks to our species being awake during the night and sleeping during the day." Said Crescent "So what's this about magic?" Asked April "I agree, magic is a parlor trick to entertain people." Said James Twilight's horn began to emit a lavender color. An apple started to float from the bowl over to Twilight, who opened her mouth and took a bite before the aura around the fruit disappeared the same time her horn stopped. She caught it in her right hand. She gave James a smug look as she swallowed the piece of apple in her mouth. "Parlor trick, huh." Said Twilight The group of humans and Digimon couldn't believe what they saw as they looked between each other. Even though what they seemed impossible to them, they accepted it as reality, since seeing is believing after all. "Ok, so moving on, can you tell us where we are?." Asked Matt "You are in Equestria and right now in the city of Canterlot, the capital of Equestria. But we are only one of the few nations that exist in the world of Eques. Examples of others are, the dragons, which Spike is, the Griffons, the zebras, the foxes, the cats and plenty more." Said Luna "Let's stop right there. You're saying that the planet that we're all currently standing upon is Eques." Said James "That is correct." Said Celestia "Why is there something wrong with that?" Asked Luna "Yes, because we live on Earth!" Exclaimed James "Yes, we thought somehow we were still on Earth, but in some strange Earth." Said Matt "I'm sad to say that this planet had always had the name Eques from when the first Alicorn walked upon its surface." Said Celestia "No way!" Exclaimed James "James, will you calm down." Said Alice "Calm down! You want me to calm down! I just learned that we somehow are now on an alien planet, and none of us have any idea what brought us here or if it's possible to go home and you want me to calm down!" Screamed James "Yelling isn't going to help anything." Matt pulled his Digivice off of his pants and looked at it, "I'm not sure if it's possible, but could you send us back home." "Yes, I can." Everyone turned their attention to the princess, "As an alicorn, my magic far out rivals any unicorn that has ever lived on the planet. I could send you home, but I sadly can't." Said Celestia "Why not?" Asked Abby "For you see, I need to know what part of the multiverse you all reside. I need to know your Earth so that I can safely send you home, but I sense no way to do that on any of you. Whatever brought you here, did not involve magic, which won't allow me to track you back to your home. And since I can't do that, I can't safely return you to your planet or your homes." Said Celestia "In other words, we're stuck here." Said April "Yes, since whatever brought you here meant to keep you here." Stated Celestia The group looked at each other. The ponies could see the weight of everything beginning to come down on them. Celestia wanted to do something, but she couldn't. She had no way to send them home. The Digimon seemed worried about their tamers. "I know it's not what you wanted to hear, but I do welcome you to my country with open arms." Said Celestia "Thank you, princess." Said Matt "Are there any more questions you like to ask?" Asked Celestia She was hoping to get the five humans from thinking about forever being stuck in a world, not theirs. Luckily, Matt spoke up. "So since we have no way back, where are we going to live?" He asked "I'm glad you asked, I plan on having you live in the town of Ponyville. My student and her friends all call that town, home. It's a beautiful and quaint little town that I think you'll enjoy living in, and I believe there is a house on the market big enough for all of you." Said Celestia "Oh, you'll love Ponyville. It's the best place ever. Plus when we get there, I get to throw all of you a 'Welcome to Eques and Ponyville' party." Said Pinkie "You're going to throw us a party even though you only met us." Said April "That's right! I do it for all new ponies or humans, in your case, who move into Ponyville. I did one for Twilight the night we all faced off against Nightmare Moon." Said Pinkie "Nightmare Moon?" Asked James "Another side me that wished to plunge Equestria into the everlasting night. It came from my anger that the subjects of Equestria loved my sister's mornings more than my nights. But thanks to the Elements of Harmony, I'm freed of that evil." Said Luna "I believe that was about the time you all appeared before us." Said Celestia "Yeah, and when you decided to put us to sleep and put us in that dungeon." Said James Celestia bit her lip, "I am sorry for the way I treated you, but you can't be too careful when it comes to protecting your subjects." "It's understandable, Princess Celestia. I think our country would feel the same way." Said Matt "At least she didn't decide to dissect us." Murmured James The session of answering and asking question continued as the ponies and humans continued to exchange questions. After a while, Celestia ended the session seeing that both sides had answered plenty of questions. In the end, Twilight was rolling up scrolls from the talk with the humans and Digimon. She had a pair of guards take the humans and their Digimon to a room so they can relax. She told them that tomorrow morning, they would head out to see Ponyville. *** The evening sun was beginning to set on the day. Matt stood on the balcony watching as the sun dipped into the horizon, and soon, the moon would rise into the sky. He looked back to see Guilmon and Gomamon snoozing on the couch after another large feast for dinner. Matt turned back to see the sun disappearing and the moon rising. He watched as the stars began to appear in the night sky. He continued to admire the night sky until a knock came to the door. "Open." He said The door opened, and he looked to see his sister closing the door behind her. She walked up and stood next to her brother and admired the sky. "You know, I never saw a night sky like that around our house." Said Abby "Yeah, not even the night skies we saw when camping compare to this one." Said Matt "Yeah," Abby looked back at the twinkling stars. "Do you think we'll make it here?" Matt kept silent as he tried to think of the proper answer for his little sister, "I'm not sure, but people do say humans are an adaptive species. We'll learn to survive here. Sure it might be rough at first, but we'll find our way." "Do think mom and dad are still looking down at us?" Asked Abby Matt smiled as he ruffled his sister's hair and pulled her close to him, "I would bet on it. I know they're watching over us no matter where we are." She laughed as she leaned up against her brother, "You're the best big brother ever, Matt." "I know Abby, I know." He said The two siblings held each other tight as they kept looking up at the night sky as the stars twinkled and shined above them. Chapter 4 - Ponyville and PartiesPonyville and Parties "Man, those ponies sure have sticks up there asses." Said James The group woke up early and had breakfast with Celestia and Luna before Twilight and her friends took the group to the train station to head down to Ponyville. Celestia told them that Twilight would take them to there new home and show all of them around Ponyville. The large group of humans, Digimon, and ponies began to walk through the town of Canterlot. The ponies of Canterlot, who all happened to be unicorns, kept their heads up high. None of them seemed to want to give the time of day to the group of humans. They seemed disgusted by them and their Digimon. The group could also tell by the high-end stores that lined the streets of Canterlot and the way the unicorns dressed that everypony here was rich or of upper-class status. "I would agree." Said Matt "Please tell me Ponyville isn't like Canterlot. And the ponies there aren't the same stuck up jerks like here." Said James "No, the ponies of Ponyville aren't like the ponies of Canterlot." Said Twilight "I'm glad; I don't think I could handle living in a town where the ponies are snobbish and full of themselves." Said James "No worries, you'll love Ponyville." Said Pinkie "I can't wait to see what the princess got for us." Said Alice "I do hope it can fit us all." Said April "The princess did say it would." Said Biyomon The group continued to stand around and wait for the train. Matt turned to see Crescent walking up to the group. He raised his eyebrow as she saw her carrying a pack with her. "What's up, Crescent? What's with the bag?" Asked Matt "I'm coming with you all." Said Crescent "What?" Exclaimed everypony "Yeah, the princess decided I should head down to Ponyville with you all." Said Crescent "So, Princess Celestia doesn't trust us if she's sending a guard along with us." Said James "No more like she doesn't trust her ponies. I'm more to keep the peace between her ponies and all of you." Said Crescent "I guess that would make sense. I mean, we aren't part of your world, so it would seem reasonable that they might be afraid of us." Said Matt "Or disgusted." Murmured James The whistle of a train alerted the group of the incoming train. It started to come to a stop as it neared the station. The train whistled informing all that the train had come to a complete stop at the station. Ponies began to disembark the train and gather there luggage. Twilight waved the group over to one of the front train cars. The conductor stood in front of the door that led inside. "Tickets." Said the conductor Twilight pulled out 11 tickets and showed them to the conductor. He waved the mane six aboard as well as the humans and their Digimon. Crescent showed her ticket, and the conductor allowed her inside. The seats were all plush and looked comfortable. It looked like a place for royalty. "Welcome to the royal car. Princess Celestia uses this car to travel the rails." Said Twilight "Man, this sure is impressive. The princess sure travels in style." Said James "Make yourself at home. It's going to be a three-hour trip back to Ponyville." Said Twilight The group sat around and made themselves comfortable. The train whistled, and the group left the train lurch forward. The train began to make its way towards Ponyville. "So since we have some time, would you answer another question?" Asked Twilight "Don't you think we answered enough questions for you last night." Stated James "Well, I thought of this question after we broke up the session and looking over my notes." Said Twilight "So what's your question, Twilight?" Asked Matt "I wanted to know all your ages." Said Twilight "Well, I'm 18." Said Matt "Same here." Said Alice "I'm also 18." Said James "It's the same for me." Said April "I'm ten." Said Abby "So what's all your ages, since you asked us?" Asked Alice "Well, we're all eighteen and Spike is 10." Said Twilight "I'm eighteen as well. I made Private thanks to my mother's influence in the guard. She happens to be the general of both the solar and lunar guards." Said Crescent "So, Matt, are you going to put your sister in school?" Asked Rarity "Well, I was going to ask if there was a school in Ponyville." Said Matt "Ponyville has a school. My sister goes tah it." Said Applejack "Same here, Cheerilee runs the school and is on the sweetest ponies you'll ever meet. I can take you to her when you get settled into Ponyville." Said Rarity "Thank you, Rarity." Said Matt "Does Spike attend the school as well?" Asked April "Well, I don't attend the school at Ponyville, but I do get schooling from Twilight from time to time. I mostly help around the library and with her studies as her number one assistant." Said Spike Spike puffed out her chest, trying to show off to the humans and Digimon, which caused Twilight to giggle and roll her eyes at her assistant's antics. The occupants of the train car continued to talk amongst each other as the train proceeded down the tracks towards the town of Ponyville. *** The whistle of the train bellowed out as it came to a stop at Ponyville station. Ponies disembarked the train began to gather their bags or embrace loved ones. The large group of ponies, humans, and Digimon stepped off the train to the quaint little town. The humans took in the sights as they gazed upon the small town. "Wow, this place looks peaceful." Said James "Sure is." Said Applejack "Ponyville has been voted one of the best towns in Equestria to raise a family and for retirement." Said Rarity "Well, it looks like it." Said Matt "So how about we find the house the princess got you all?" Said Crescent "Plus it'll allow us to give you a tour of Ponyville." Said Pinkie The group left the train station and began to make there way throughout Ponyville. The residents of the town stopped and stared at the five humans and the Digimon that followed Twilight and her friends. "Well, I can see that the ponies here aren't like the ones in Canterlot." Stated James "Ponyville happens to be a lot more laid back than Canterlot." Said Rarity "I also see that all three races of Equestria live here." Said April "Yes, Ponyville is a melting pot of Equestrian culture. Earth ponies first discovered Ponyville, but over time, unicorns and pegasi slowly made their way to live here." Said Pinkie The girls would point out buildings as the group marched along. Pinkie pointed Sugar Cube Corner, where she worked and lived. The humans and Digimon stared at the giant gingerbread house. Each them had a strong urge to go up and bite into it. "You live in a house made of gingerbread?" Asked Terriermon "I'm not sure if that's healthy." Stated James "It's not real gingerbread. It's made to look like that. The Cakes own Sugar Cube Corner and are the best bakers in all of Ponyville. Everypony in Ponyville loves the sweets the Cakes make, well next to Bon-Bon's candies. The Cakes allow me to live here since I'm not from Ponyville and in turn taught me all my baking skills. Now I use them to throw the greatest parties Equestria has ever seen." Said Pinkie "Still weird." Said James "And I still want to take a bite out of it." Said Gaomon "That's what everypony says when they see Sugar Cube Corner for the first time." Said Pinkie The group moved on, and the girls kept pointing out buildings. Soon the group was in front of a large oak tree. The sign next to it said, 'Gold Oaks Library.' "The library is an oak tree." Said James "A literal Gingerbread house and now a house in a tree, this place sure is strange." Stated April "It's also where Spike and I live." Said Twilight "You live in a tree." Said Alice "That doesn't seem safe." Said April "Do humans live in trees, April?" Asked Biyomon "Nope, trees are for woodland creatures. Now parents will build there children treehouses, but they don't live in them. Plus trees aren't too safe when it comes to thunderstorms." Said April "Well, I have no worries. I have a magical lightning rod that attracts lightning." Said Twilight "This place sure is odd, huh, brother." Said Abby "You said it, sis." Said Matt The group left Twilight and Spike's home to continue the tour. The next place was Rarity's. It looked like a tent with a carousel round it. Carousel ponies rested around the house. "Welcome to Carousel Boutique, my home, and my business. I'm Ponyville's top fashion designer." Said Rarity "Your Ponyville's only fashion designer." Stated Applejack "Well, that's true as well." Said Rarity "Interesting place." Said April "Thanks, and by the way. All of you should come down and let me make you all clothing. I doubt you have any other clothing except the stuff you have on right now." Said Rarity "Thanks, Rarity, but doubtful any of us could pay you." Said Matt "No worries, I'm doing it completely free of charge." Said Rarity "That's very generous of you." Said Alice "Well, I'm not the Element of Generosity for nothing." Said Rarity "The Element of Generosity?" Asked James "What's that?" Asked Gomamon "One of the six Elements of Harmony. They consist of Magic, Generosity, Loyalty, Kindness, Honesty, and Laughter. The elements keep the harmony of Equestria safe. We used them to free Princess Luna from the grip of Nightmare Moon." Said Twilight "Ok, so if Rarity's Generosity, who do the other five go to?" Asked James "Well, I'm Magic." Said Twilight "I'm Loyalty." Said Rainbow "I'm...um...Kindness." Said Fluttershy "I'm Laughter." Said Pinkie "And I'm Honesty." Said Applejack "Interesting, they do seem to fit." Said Matt "Well, do come down when you have some time, and I'll craft you the best clothes you'll ever see. And when ponies see what I can do with making clothing for all of you, I know I'll be one step closer to my dream of being one of the greatest fashion designers of all time." Said Rarity The group of humans looked at each other and shrugged before James spoke up, "I guess we have no other option unless we want to forever live in the clothes we have on right now." "Great, now let's continue the tour." Said Rarity The group continued until they began to reach the outskirts of Ponyville. The humans and Digimon followed the mane six down a dirt road to farm with apple trees. They could see that the apple trees spanned on for miles. It seemed like everywhere they looked, there was an apple tree. And as far as they could see, there were apple trees. "Welcome tah my family farm." Said Applejack "Crap, how many trees do you have?" Asked James "I'm not tah sure. My family is continuously chopping down old trees to plant new ones. I doubt any of my family have ever count all the trees we have." Said Applejack "Man, I couldn't imagine the number of workers it takes to harvest all the apples." Said Matt "In truth, it's only my older brother, me, my granny, and my little sister who watch over the farm." Said Applejack The humans looked at Applejack like she was crazy. She raised her eyebrow as she seemed like she didn't understand their looks of crazy on their faces. "You have to be kidding me! Four ponies deal with this whole farm?!" Exclaimed James "I'm not lying, partner. As the Element of Honesty, I can't tell a lie." Said Applejack "It's the truth." Said Twilight "Those apples sure do look tasty." Said Gomamon Applejack walked up to a nearby tree. Se raised her right hoof before striking it against the tree. The tree shook and down came a bunch of apples. The humans and Digimon couldn't believe their eyes as Applejack picked up an apple and tossed it to Gomamon. He caught it in his mouth. He took the fruit in his claw and bit into it. "Man, this thing is behind sweet and tasty." Said Gomamon "How did you do that?" Asked James "What do ya mean?" Asked Applejack as she tossed apples to the others. "I mean, how can you strike an apple tree without breaking your leg." Said James "My earth pony strength, the magic of Equestria gives us earth ponies far superior strength." Said Applejack "Still hard to believe you could strike a solid tree without breaking your leg." Said James "It is hard to believe, but in truth, everything about this world is hard to believe." Said Matt "I guess so." Said James After enjoying Applejack's apples, the group continued along. They stopped to look at Fluttershy's cottage. "You live out here?" Asked Alice "I live out here to watch over all my animal friends." Said Fluttershy "You seem close to that strange forest." Said Alice "That's true, but the forest near my house keeps me safe from the Everfree Forest," said Fluttershy as a shiver went down the pony's spines. "Well, it sure does look peaceful." Said April "It sure is." Said Fluttershy "Don't you ever feel isolated?" Asked Abby "My animal friends keep me company, and I'm only five minutes from Ponyville." Said Fluttershy The group left Fluttershy's cottage and finally came to Rainbow's house. "You have to be kidding me." James turned to Rainbow, "You live in a house made out of clouds." "Yeah, so what?" Asked Rainbow "So what, clouds are nothing more than water vapor! So how can you walk or even live in a cloud house? Plus how is a rainbow a liquid" Said James "Easy, I'm Pegasus, and rainbows have always been a liquid." Said Rainbow "That doesn't answer the question." Said Matt "Weren't you listening when Princess Celestia told you pegasi control the weather. And thanks to controlling the weather, we make rainbows at the weather factor. Plus, we can't do our jobs unless we can walk on clouds. Hell, my hometown of Cloudsdale is a city on a bunch of buildings resting on clouds. If you look up in the sky, you'll see it." Said Rainbow Everyone turned and spotted the city that Rainbow had pointed out to them. None of the humans could believe that she was right. "Do humans have cities in the sky?" Asked Terriermon "Not unless we all grew wings." Said Abby "And created levitation." Stated Matt "So yeah, I live as I did back in Cloudsdale." Said Rainbow "I'm never going to get used to this place." Stated James "Well, I think it's time we check out your guy's place. And I promise you that it's nothing crazy like Rainbow's home." Said Twilight The humans and Digimon nodded, and Twilight led the way to their new home. After a few minutes of walking the group came to a modest two-story house on the edge of Ponyville, only about a minutes walk to the center of Ponyville. It looked like all the other main buildings that populated Ponyville. "Looks like a neat place." Said James "Let's see inside." Said Matt "I hope we don't need to buy furniture." Said April "No worries, Princess Celestia already furnished the entire home." Said Twilight "Well, I guess we'll have to thank her later." Said Alice "This princess sure is giving." Said Renamon "You said it, Renamon." Said Alice Twilight tossed Matt the keys, and he opened the door. He pushed it open, and the group looked with awe as they all entered the family room. "Man, the princess sure didn't underspend." Said James The family room had an 'L' shaped couch and another smaller sofa next to it. It also had a few other chairs around the couches. A large coffee table rested in the middle. In the corner of the room was a radio. "The only thing missing here is a T.V." Said James "What's a T.V.?" Asked Twilight "T.V. or television is a device we humans made. It captures radio waves and transforms those waves into an image. We use that image to get the news, watch cartoons, and all other sorts of things." Said Matt "Interesting," said Twilight while scratching down what Matt said. Alice and Renamon were standing in the kitchen as Alice admired it, "We sure have a nice kitchen. I can't wait to try it all out." Said Alice "You cook?" Asked Renamon "Sure do." Said Alice Matt and Abby looked at each other with nervous grins as they heard Alice speak about her cooking. "Is Alice not a good cook?" Asked Lopmon "Alice believes she a good cook, but she's not all that good. I swear her food is either burnt or inedible." Said Matt "Is there anything edible she makes?" Asked Guilmon "A few things, but most of the time she can't cook for the life of her." Said Matt "I hope she doesn't teach her bad habits to Renamon." Said Terriermon April and James were upstairs looking at the second floor. It had six rooms, and in each was a queen sized bed. A large chest rested on the wall in front of the wall bed. There was a door that led into a walk-in closet and another on the wall that bed rested upon, which went into the full bath of the bedroom. Overall, it wasn't bad. "Neat that we all have a bathroom, a nice looking walk-in closet, and a large bed." Said James "Plus we have a full spare bath and a half spare bath up here." Said April "It does seem weird to have six rooms, huh, James." Said Gaomon "Yeah, when there are only five of us." Said James James and April came back the stairs to see the others looking at the backyard. "All we're missing is a pool." Said Abby "Or at least some form of a body of water." Said Gomamon The small group of Abby, Matt, and Gomamon came back into the living room through the sliding glass doors attached to the living room. "So we have six nice bedrooms upstairs." Said James "But we're only five people." Said Abby "I guess I should tell the sixth room is mine." Said Crescent "You're staying here, Crescent?" Asked Matt "That's right. The princess thought it best if I stay with all of you, to better ensure your protection and well keep unwanted attention away." Said Crescent "Well, that explains the sixth room." Said James "Well, now what?" Asked Alice "Well, its time for your party!" Exclaimed Pinkie She dug her hands in her mane and pulled out a cannon. The humans and Digimon blinked their eyes as their minds tried to figure out how Pinkie had a cannon in her mane. Applejack could see the humans and Digimon trying to figure out Pinkie Pie. "I wouldn't try tah understand Pinkie Pie if I were ya." Said Applejack "But how did she pull a cannon from her mane?!" Exclaimed James "Darling there's a rule here in Ponyville, never try to understand Pinkie Pie." Said Rarity "You'll learn, quickly that Pinkie is completely random and no pony tries to understand her." Said Fluttershy "I think this place is going to cause me to go crazy." Said James "Let's Party!" Screamed Pinkie She pulled the string to fire the cannon, and out came pink smoke. As the smoke cleared, party supplies covered the entire living room. Party food rested in the kitchen. Pinkie smiled as she picked up her cannon and placed it in her tail. She turned back to the humans and Digimon. "I have no words." Said James "I have two." Everypony turned to Matt, "Let's Party!" Pinkie screamed as the humans and Digimon decided to enjoy the party with the Mane Six to celebrate there welcome to Ponyville and Equestria. Chapter 5 - The TicketThe Ticket "It seems the ponies here are getting used to us." Said Gomamon Matt, Guilmon, and Gomamon were walking through the town of Ponyville. A few ponies would stare at them or wave before they would return to what they were initially doing. A few still didn't know what to think of the humans or Digimon that were now residents of Ponyville. The humans and Digimon had now spent the past three days in Ponyville. The first two days were introducing the group to the residents of the town. It went pretty well, and the group felt right at home. Matt was heading down to the town center to try and find a job. He heard that ponies post jobs at the town center. He knew that they couldn't live off the kindness of Princess Celestia forever. "So whatcha hoping to find?" Asked Gomamon "Anything that makes a good profit." Said Matt "I thought we had plenty of money." Said Guilmon "Yes, but that's money from the princess. I would like to have our own money, and not mooching off on the princess." Said Matt "Is there something wrong with the money the princess gives us?" Asked Guilmon "No, there's nothing wrong, I thought it's time to move past the princess's charity." Said Matt The group made it to the town center and entered the town hall. The inside was a large circular room with a few doors leading to offices. A stage rested in the front of the doors. Matt looked around and found a large bulletin board on his right side. He walked up to it and began to scan the papers for a job. "If you see something, tell me." Said Matt "Can I help you?" Matt and his Digimon turned to see an older mare looking at them. "Sorry, who are you?" Asked Matt "I'm Mayor Mare, the mayor of Ponyville." Mayor Mare was an older mare, but not elderly. She still seemed to have plenty of youth in her. Mayor Mare had an amber coat with a grey mane and a light grey streak. She had phthalo blue eyes. She was wearing a white button-up shirt and a black skirt. She also had a pair of glasses resting on the bridge of her nose. Mayor Mare also was an earth pony from the fact that she didn't have a horn or a pair of wings. "So you're the mayor of Ponyville, it's nice to meet you. I'm Matthew, but you can call me Matt for short." Said Matt "Same here, I've been a little busy that I haven't been able to meet you or your friends formally." Said Mayor Mare "Hey, no worries, Mayor Mare. By the way, I'm Gomamon, a Digimon or Digital Monster." "And I'm Guilmon." "Nice to meet you both as well." Mayor Mare turned her attention back to Matt, "So, as I said before, can I help you?" "Yes, I was looking for work. I heard through the grapevine that ponies post jobs here." Said Matt "Yes, that is true. What job are you looking for?" Asked Mayor Mare "Something that has good pay that doesn't need formal education and something part-time." Said Matt "Well," Mayor Mare walked up and looked at the board. She made a mental note to come out and clean it up. She pulled down and few flyers and handed them to Matt, "I'm not sure about your interest, but these jobs do cover all your other requirements." "Thank you, Mayor Mare." Said Matt "You're welcome, and if you have any more questions or concerns, my office is right next to the stage." Said Mayor Mare She waved to Matt, Gomamon, and Guilmon as she went back to her office. "She sure was nice." Said Gomamon "So what did she give you?" Asked Guilmon "Let's see," Matt held three job offerings in his hands. He looked over them. "We got a hospital night guard, construction worker, and a repair stallion. I would say I'm not cut out for construction or a repair stallion." Matt put up the two job offers. "What about the night guard, me and Guilmon can help you watch the hospital?" Asked Gomamon "True, but people who work night jobs find to have lower lifespans, and I prefer to spend my days doing stuff and not sleeping." Said Matt "So that's a no." Said Gomamon "Yeah." Matt put it back on the board, "Well, I guess there's nothing out there for me." "I still don't understand why you don't want to be a construction worker or a repair stallion?" Asked Gomamon "Sure I could do them, but they're not something I'm interested in doing. I'm not much of a hands-on person like those jobs require me to be." Said Matt He sighed as he decided to leave, but a voice stopped him. "I might have something for you." He turned to see Mayor Mare. "You do." He said "As you can see, I'm not the best at keeping things tidy. I also have a reputation for getting things mixed up or missing deadlines. I could use an assistant if you're up for it." Said Mayor Mare "How would you know if I'm a good assistant?" Asked Matt "Trust me, Matt, I've been working politics for a long time. I can tell when someone is good for the job. So how about it?" Said Mayor Mare She put out her left hand for Matt to shake. Matt wasted no time in grabbing her hand and accepting the job offer. "Welcome to politics, Matt." Sais Mayor Mare "So when do I start?" He asked "Tomorrow, 7 am sharp. Also if you find the time, I would drop by Rarity's and see if you can get some more formal clothing, but nothing too formal." Said Mayor Mare "Ok, and thank you again, Mayor Mare." Said Matt "No problem, I needed an assistant anyways before everything goes crazy." Mayor Mare was heading back to her office when she turned back to Matt, "Feel free to bring your Digimon friends with you. You might need there help as well." "Ok, and thank you once again, Mayor Mare." Said Matt Matt and his Digimon exited the town center and saw Twilight walking away huffing as she walked with Spike following next to her. "What do you think is up with her?" Asked Gomamon "Not sure, let's go see." Said Matt Matt picked up Gomamon and ran over to Twilight and Spike with Guilmon following close to him. "Twilight!" She stopped and turned to see Matt, Guilmon, and Gomamon, in his arms, running up to her. "Hey, what's up?" "Nothing." Said Twilight "You don't look like nothing is up." Said Gomamon Twilight's stomach grumbled, "Sorry, but I'm a little hunger. I'm on my way to a little cafe if you want to follow and we can talk there." "Sure." Said Matt The group went over to the cafe and got a seat outside. The waiter came over and took Twilight and Spike's order. Matt declined any food. "So what's up?" Asked Matt "Yeah, you look frustrated." Said Gomamon "It's these tickets I got." She pulled out two golden tickets, "You see, these tickets are for the Grand Galloping Gala." "The what?" Asked Guilmon "The Grand Galloping Gala is a famous party held in Canterlot by Princess Celestia. Ponies say that if you attend, your dreams will come true." Twilight paused as she tucked the tickets away, "The princess sent me one and Spike one, but Spike doesn't want to go, so I'm allowed to give it away. All my friends found out about it, and now all of them want it, and I can't decide who I want to give it to!" The crowd looked at Twilight. She realized what she did and sunk to hide as a blush spread across her face. "So why does everyone..." Spike stopped Matt before he could continue. "Everypony." "Right, why does everypony want to go?" Asked Matt "Well, Rarity hopes to meet Prince Blueblood, Princess Celestia's nephew, Fluttershy wants to become friends with the animals of castle gardens, Rainbow wants to hang out with the Wonderbolts, Applejack wants to sell her treats, and Pinkie Pie wants to party." Said Twilight Matt could see Spike didn't like the name Blueblood when Twilight brought it up. He wasn't sure why, but let it go as it wasn't all that important. "Sounds like they all have big dreams for this gala." Said Gomamon "They do, and I don't want to hurt any of those dreams by not giving them the ticket." Said Twilight "Yeah, that does sound hard." Said Matt "Yeah, but let's stop talking about that. What were you doing at the town hall?" Asked Twilight "Oh, I was looking for a job. I found one as an assistant for Mayor Mare." Said Matt "Glad to hear, I hope you enjoy it." Said Twilight The waiter returned with the table's food. "Well, I need to get going. I have to see Rarity about making some clothing for me." Said Matt "Well, good luck to you, Matt." Said Twilight "When did it start raining." Said Guilmon "It's not raining." Stated Twilight "Actually, yes, it is." Matt pointed out that it was raining around them. "But what's odd it isn't raining on us." "Hey, Twilight!" The group looked up at the rainbow mane Pegasus "Rainbow are you doing this?" Asked Twilight "I have no idea what you're talking about, Twilight. I'm only helping out a friend from getting wet." Said Rainbow "I hope you aren't thinking that this is going to help you get the gala ticket." Said Twilight "Of course not, I would do this for anypony." Matt and his Digimon turned to look at a few ponies running trying to get out of the rain. They turned back to look at Rainbow as she chuckled while rubbing the back of her neck. "Right, Rainbow I'm not comfortable with accepting unwanted favors. Now please close up the rain clouds." Said Twilight "Fine," said Rainbow as she closed up the clouds. Matt thought a second before speaking up, "If Rainbow closes up the clouds that were keeping us dry and its raining still around us, wouldn't that mean it should start..." The rain began to downpour on the group, "To rain on us." Twilight growled as the rain began to soak her and destroy her food. Matt looked at her and began to blush as he saw that the rain was soaking her clothes so much that it was starting to show off her light purple bra. Matt moved his eyes away so that Twilight wouldn't get the wrong message. "You all know it's raining, right?" The group turned to see Rarity coming up to them with an umbrella and a raincoat. "Yes, yes, we know." Said Twilight "Well, you all need to get out of the rain before you all catch a cold. Now let's get going, my shop isn't far from here." Said Rarity The group followed Rarity to her boutique. *** Twilight, Spike, Matt, Gomamon, and Guilmon all stood at the front door as they dripped water from their clothes. Guilmon and Gomamon shook themselves of any water dripping from them to dry themselves off. The water covered Twilight, Matt, and Spike. The two Digimon turned and shyly smiled at the trio as they stared daggers at them. "Sorry." Said Guilmon Twilight huffed as her horn came to life and surrounded herself, Matt, and Spike. In a second they were dry and warm. "Now that's much better." Said Twilight "Magic sure is impressive." Commented Matt "Well, I see you're all dry." Said Rarity "Thanks to Twilight, now can I ask you a favor, Rarity?" Asked Matt "Sure, what can I do for you?" She asked "I need some formal clothing made up for tomorrow. I got a job as Mayor Mare's assistant." Said Matt "I'm glad that somepony is willing to help Mayor Mare out. I swear she is one of the most unorganized ponies I have ever seen. I swear that pony would lose her head if it weren't attached to her body." Said Rarity "She's that bad." Said Gomamon "Trust me, she is. But we keep her as mayor because she's the best at dealing with the politics of running this town. Now I should have those down and delivered to your place in a few hours." Said Rarity "Thanks, Rarity." Said Matt Matt turned to Twilight, "Good luck with finding somepony to give that gala ticket to, Twilight." "Yeah, see you around, Matt." Said Twilight Matt exited the shop and started to make his way home. Twilight, on the other hand, got pulled into a mess of a day as her friends tried ever so desperately to get the second ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala. It turned into Twilight getting chased all over town with a crowd of ponies wishing to get the ticket from her. She would later get trapped and quickly teleporting back to the library. She found herself in the library were here friends apologized for the way they acted. Twilight understood what she had to do and sent her first friendship report to Celestia and returned the two tickets. But moments later Spike burped up a message from the princess that contained enough tickets for every one of Twilight's friends, and six more tickets were for the five humans and one bat pony. *** The beauty of Luna's night now covered the town of Ponyville. Stars twinkled in the sky as the beautiful moon illuminated those still wake. Matt was resting on the couch, reading a book. He stopped when he heard a knock come to the door. Matt closed the book and placed it on the coffee table. He went over to the door and opened it to find Twilight. "What can I do for you, Twilight?" Asked Matt "I came by to give you these," she brought out six golden tickets. "Celestia gave me a ticket for you, and others to attend the gala. I do hope you'll all plan to attend." Matt took the five tickets and looked at them, "I guess if Princess Celestia is giving them to us, I guess it would be a good idea to at least head down and see what's it's all about." "Glad to hear. Now I'm heading back to the library. Have a nice day tomorrow at work." Said Twilight "Thanks, Twilight." Said Matt Twilight smiled and waved as Matt closed the door and looked at the five tickets in his hands. I guess we get to see what makes this party so important. He walked up to the other's rooms so he could hand them their ticket. Chapter 6 - ChampionChampion Matt put yet another file into the file cabinets that lined the walls of the file room. Since he started a week ago, he was now organizing Mayor Mare. Matt still had plenty to do before she was perfect, but he had plenty of time. He was finishing up putting all the files away about the incidents that occurred from when Applejack wouldn't ask for help when it came to harvesting her apples. But luckily Twilight broke through to her and got her to ask for help. Besides that, everything was going smoothly in Ponyville. He left the file room and went back to his desk as he worked on getting Mayor Mare ready for talks or other important events. He placed the paperwork that needed Mayor Mare's signature inside a file folder. Matt walked into her office and put it on her desk. She thanked Matt, and he returned to his desk. "I think this job is perfect for you, Matt." Said Gomamon "Very true." Said Guilmon Matt blushed a little as he rubbed the back of his neck, "Well, I always had a knack for organization. And even though it was rough at first, I think we managed to pull everything together. I think it should be smooth sailing from here on out." Said Matt "Let's hope." Said Gomamon After a few minutes, Mayor Mare came out of her office and handed Matt the signed papers. He thanked and checked them over. "I want to thank you again, Matt, for taking on this job. I swear I haven't been this organized in a long time." Said Mayor Mare "No problem, I'm glad I can help." Said Matt *** Two strange beings walked through the town of Ponyville. One was the cloak-wearing pony, and the other was a unicorn mare. She was wearing a black strapless cocktail dress with a red hourglass on the back of it. She had a red and black mane, which was up in a tight bun with a spider clip holding the bun together. Her coat color was a strawberry-red color. She had a fan in front of her face with a picture of a Black Widow. The two walked through the market as the mare drew the attention of every stallion she passed. She would give them a little wave, causing them to blush and wave back. She chuckled a little before turning to her friend. "I guess I still can turn heads." The mare turned back to the cloaked stallion, "You sure, Stitch, that the humans are here." Said the mare The pony wearing the cloak, now named Stitch, nodded his head up and down. "But where to start?" Asked the mare Stitch pointed his hand, covered by his sleeve, towards the town hall, where Matt and his Digimon were saying goodbye to Mayor Mare. Stitch and the mare watched as he walked away. "Let's follow him; maybe he'll lead us to the others." Said the mare Stitch nodded, and the two began to follow Matt and his Digimon but kept far enough away to avoid attracting attention. *** Matt pushed open the door to the library as a small bell went off. Twilight poked her head up from her book to see Matt and his Digimon walk through the door. She smiled as she closed the book, got up, and straightened her skirt. "Hi, Matt." Said Twilight "Hey, Twilight, I was wondering if that book came in?" Asked Matt "Let me think," Twilight tapped her chin before walking over to one of the bookshelves that line the library's walls. She scanned the spins for the title. She stopped at the book she desired and pulled it out. "Yes, the pony that checked it out returned it today." "Great to hear." Said Matt Twilight walked over to a large book resting on a pedestal and began to fill it out along with the rental card in the back before handing it off to Matt. He took the book in his hands. The book was a guide to the government of Equestria. "Thanks, Twilight." Said Matt "No problem. I can see working for Mayor Mare has made you desire to learn more about our government." Said Twilight "Yeah, plus I want to understand everything about your government before I do something wrong. I'm not like the ponies of Equestria who know everything about their job thanks to a cutie mark." Said Matt Twilight chuckled as she rubbed the back of her neck, "Yeah, I forgot that you humans don't get cutie marks like us ponies." It was a strange day when the humans learned that in Equestria that a mark appears on the rump on a pony. The cutie mark symbolizes a ponies unique talent, which translates to their job. The humans, in turn, told that they don't get cutie marks to determine their destiny. Instead, they go to school and study a specific work field. "Yeah, it sure was strange to find that out. Well, thanks for the book, Twilight." Said Matt "No problem. Remember to bring it back a week from today." Said Twilight While Twilight and Matt were talking inside the library, Stitch and the mare looked at the library from the shadows of an alleyway. "Boo, I was hoping he would take us to the others, not go running errands." Said the mare Stitch turned and pointed to a marketplace where plenty of ponies were shopping and talking amongst themselves. "So what? You have a desire to go shopping for fresh fruits and vegetables." Said the mare Stitch nodded back and forth before pulling out a black crystal from his right sleeve. He showed it to the mare. She blinked her eyes once before a devilish grin appeared on her face. "Yes, why track down the humans, when we can bring them to us. It'll save us more time and effort than waiting for our male friend to give us the location of the others." Said the mare Stitch nodded before tossing the crystal towards the market. The second it touched the ground, it burst into smoke, and from that smoke came a dragon. It roared at the top of its lungs as it ran towards the ponies. "I do love your creations, Stitch." Said the mare Stitch nodded as they disappeared into the alleyway to watch the chaos unfold. Matt was saying his goodbye to Twilight and about to leave the library when the dragon's roar caught the attention of Twilight, Matt, and his Digimon. "What was that?" Asked Matt "It sounded like an enormous creature." Said Gomamon "It sounded like the roar of a dragon, but that can't be right. Spike is the only dragon in Ponyville, and he's not even a fully grown dragon yet." Said Twilight Matt tossed the book on the couch and wasted no time opening the door and rushing out with his Digimon and Twilight close behind him. The group ran down to see a black dragon with red scales on its back. The dragon was walking on two legs with two rows of a red spade-shaped scale following from the tip of its tail to the head. The rest of the dragon was black. It stood at least 12' tall. On each of its arms were a set of five sharp claws. It was bashing away the stalls and buildings that surrounded the Ponyville market. It roared at the sky before closing its mouth and releasing a torrent of flames. Ponies ran for their lives to keep away from the beast. It moved its head and spotted a little filly crying. The group watched as it prepared to attack, but Renamon appeared in time and took the child away as its left claw struck the ground. Renamon landed next to Alice as Renamon dropped the filly off next to its mother, and Alice told her to run off. The group ran over to her. "Great timing there, Alice." Said Matt "Yeah, I know. Luckily, Renamon and I were at Sugar Cube Corner when we heard the roars." Said Alice "The one thing I have to say is that the dragon looks familiar to that Manticore we faced." Said Gomamon "It does seem to have some similar characteristics." Said Matt The dragon turned and looked at the two humans, the unicorn and the Digimon. It roared as it stared daggers at them all. "Get ready. Here it comes." Said Matt The dragon ran towards the large group. They all jumped out of the way as it stopped and turned around on Matt, Twilight, and his Digimon. "Pyro Sphere." Said Guilmon "Marching Fishes." Said Gomamon Guilmon fired off a sphere of fire, and a bunch of fishes jumped out of a small creek nearby. The dragon swatted off both attacks like it was nothing. "That's not good." Said Matt Renamon appeared behind the dragon and began to charge up her Diamond Storm. "Diamond Storm." Said Renamon She launched the sharpened leaves at the back of the dragon. It only seemed to scrap the back of the dragon, but it didn't seem to faze it. It turned around and grabbed Renamon before tossing her right into a building. Alice screamed as she ran off to help Renamon. The dragon again turned his attention to Matt, Twilight, and his Digimon. "Gao Rush." Gaomon appeared and began to strike the dragon in the head with a barrage of punches. With a final blow, Gaomon leaped back and landed on the ground. James came running up as the dragon shook its head to get itself back together. "Nice one, Gaomon." Said James "James, great timing." Said Matt "Yeah, I came as soon as I heard the roars." Said James "Good because Renamon already bit the dust." Said Matt "I don't want to cut in, but that thing looks pissed off." Said Twilight The dragon growled at Gaomon before releasing a torrent of flames at the group. They dodged the fire, but the dragon kept releasing the flames on James and Gaomon. "Oh shit!" Exclaimed James James and Gaomon began to run for their lives as the dragon didn't let up trying to burn them. Luckily, a tornado appeared and pulled the flames away. James and Gaomon sighed as they saw Terriermon land on the ground next to him, Lopmon coming up, and Abby close behind. "Thanks, Terriermon." Said James "Same here." Said Gaomon "It's what I do best. Can't have that beast barbequing you." Said Terriermon The dragon turned and looked at Abby, Lopmon, Terriermon, James, and Gaomon. It growled at them as it looked ready to strike once again. "That thing is huge." Said Lopmon "True, but nothing we can't take down together." Said Terriermon Lopmon nodded as Lopmon grabbed Terriermon's ear and began to spin with Terriermon. The two created a massive typhoon of winds. "Double Typhoon." Said Terriermon and Lopmon The two Digimon went spinning right for the beast. The typhoon was dragging debris from the attack to the mighty beast. The dragon brushed away a lot of the debris that came towards it. It tried to burn the two Digimon, but the winds blew the flames back at its face. Terriermon and Lopmon struck the dragon in the chest before returning to Abby and stopping their attack. Abby, James, and their Digimon watched as the smoke settled around the dragon. But the small group knew the fight wasn't over once the red glowing eyes appeared. Alice finally reached Renamon, who was pushing off a beam of wood. "You ok?" Asked Alice "I'll be fine." Said Renamon The two walked out to see Biymon, now in the fight, flying around the dragon and hitting it with her Spiral Twister. Alice turned to look at April, watching Biymon. She could also see Matt, Twilight, and his Digimon rushing on over, with James, Abby, and their Digimon following close behind. "Glad to see your ok Renamon, and good timing, April." Said Matt "Yeah." Said April The others arrived as Biymon came down to them. "Damn, this thing is tough." Said James "No kidding, I think we've hit it with each of our Digimon, and we've done nothing but piss it off." Said Matt The mare and Stitch stood atop a building, looking upon the battle. The mare smiled as Stitch's beast drew out all five of the humans and their Digimon. She chuckled as she enjoyed watching the humans and their Digimon partners struggle to find a way to destroy Stitch's creation. "It seems the plan worked perfectly. I do love it when everything comes together." Said the mare Stitch nodded his head in response. "What's even better is that those little Digimon are no match for your mighty beast. We should see the end of them all in no time." Said the mare Stitch nodded as the dragon turned and grabbed a part of the building behind it. It raised it above his head and tossed it at the group. They all began to run in all directions to dodge the attack. Matt watched as the dragon took another piece of a building and tossed it at him. Guilmon jumped into action to protect Matt. "Quake-a-lator." Said Guilmon He leaped up and used his claws to rip through the concrete before moving towards the dragon. Guilmon knew that if this dragon was like the manticore, then if he found the crystal, it would end the beast once and for all. But the dragon swatted Guilmon away, and he crashed into yet another building. "Guilmon!" Screamed Matt The dragon looked at Matt and Gomamon before spying on Twilight, who was pushing a small amount of debris from the building off of her. She rubbed her head, not noticing the dragon going in for an attack. Matt didn't stop to think; instead, he ran right toward Twilight. Twilight turned to see a giant claw coming towards her. She had no time to react to bring a spell to life to save her. But luckily, Matt tackled her out of the way. The claw of the dragon came smashing down. Twilight and Matt landed safely away from the dragon. Twilight and Matt looked at each other and blushed from how close they were. Matt was right on top of Twilight, their faces inches away from each other. "Um, thanks, Matt." Said Twilight "Um, yeah." Said Matt The two stayed that way until the dragon roared, causing them to look at it as it stared at them. Matt got up and helped Twilight to her hooves as they ran for it. The dragon was going to release a torrent of flames but stopped as a school of fish came colliding into its head. The beast turned towards Gomamon and the other Digimon beside their human companions. "You leave them alone." Said Gomamon The dragon roared before blowing a thick cloud of smoke at them, causing the group to lose their sense of direction. The dragon again turned its back to Matt and Twilight, who stopped to watch the dragon cover the others in smoke. The dragon smashed both clawed hands into the ground before looking at the helpless human and pony. "Twilight, I think you're up." Said Matt But nothing happened; Matt turned to see Twilight shaking like a leaf in fear. The fear of the dragon was causing her to have no concentration to perform any magic. Matt looked back at the beast as it growled at him. Damn, this isn't good! "Terriermon and Lopmon, clear this smoke," said Abby as she coughed. "Terrier Tornado." Said Terriermon "Tiny Twister." Said Lopmon Both Digimon were able to clear the smoke from the group. They all saw that the dragon had cornered Matt and Twilight. Guilmon finally dug himself out of the building and noticed Matt was in trouble. He got moving to protect Matt. I must protect Matt. But Guilmon wasn't sure how he could hurt the beast when his attacks and the attacks of the others were doing nothing to it. But he could see the dragon getting closer to killing Matt and Twilight as it opened its mouth. Twilight grabbed onto Matt as she prepared for the end of it all. Matt shook as his life began to flash before his eyes, and the dragon's gaping maw moved ever closer to him and Twilight. I can't believe this is how it all ends . The dragon moved to snap the human and pony in its jaw. The others could watch in horror as two of their friends were about to be no more. Matt held Twilight close to him as he closed his eyes and prepared to die. "Matt!" Screamed Guilmon At that second, the Digivice clipped to Matt's pants began to glow. Matt opened his eyes to see his Digivice glowing, and the light seemed to blind the dragon as well. Twilight opened her eyes as well to see what was happening. Guilmon stopped as he looked at himself. He began to shine, as well. The Digivice started to transmit codes to Guilmon, which started his transformation to the next level. "Guilmon digivolve to...Growlmon." Matt and Twilight watch the dragon regain its sight and get ready to chop down on them. But the dragon gets pushed away as Growlmon strikes the side of the beast. The beast goes tumbling back before falling onto its back. "Stay away from them." Growlmon turned down to look at Matt and Twilight. "Are you two okay?" "What, who are you?" Asked Matt "I'm Growlmon, but you might remember me as Guilmon. I digivolved to protect you." Said Growlmon The dragon roared as it got back on its feet. Matt looked up at Growlmon, and the two nodded. "Let's show this dragon what you can do, Growlmon." Said Matt Growlmon roared as he and the dragon ran towards each other. The other humans and Digimon watched as Growlmon and the dragon did battle. "Where the hell did that red dragon thing come from?" Asked James Abby took off her Digivice and pointed it at Growlmon. The screen lit up and displayed information on Growlmon. "The new creature is called, Growlmon and its the digivolved form of Guilmon. It seems Growlmon is a champion-level Digimon." Said Abby "Wait, you're telling me our Digimon can digivolve again." Said James "Looks like it, and it seems that Growlmon might be a match for that dragon." Said Alice Growlmon tossed the dragon to the ground. Growlmon closed his mouth as flames began to leak from the corners of his mouth. "Pyro Blaster." Said Growlmon With a mighty roar, Growlmon released a large fireball from his mouth. The dragon roared in pain from the attack and fell to the ground with smoke emanating from the blast site. "Growlmon, find the crystal and destroy it." Said Matt Growlmon nodded his head, "Growl Claw." Growlmon swung his right claw into the dragon and tore out the crystal. Growlmon crushed the crystal, and the dragon roared before it went silent and darkened in color. Much like the Manticore, it burst into smoke. Growlmon roared from his victory over the dragon. The mare and Stitch watched as the dragon disappeared into a puff of smoke. "When I thought we wouldn't have to worry about those kids, " the mare sighed as she turned to Stitch. "Let's return to base. We'll let them have this win." Stitch nodded as the two disappeared from the top of the building as the others ran toward Matt, Growlmon, and Twilight. "Matt!" Screamed Gomamon He jumped into Matt's arm. Matt caught him and laughed as he held his second Digimon. "I'm glad you're ok." Said Gomamon "Yeah, thanks to Growlmon." Said Matt "Yeah, I'll say it sure is impressive." Said James Growlmon smiled before a light consumed him, and he shrunk back down before the light disappeared and once again showed off Guilmon. Everyone blinked as Guilmon cocked his head to the side. "What?" Asked Guilmon "Why the heck did you go back to being Guilmon?" Asked James "I'm not sure. I think I exhausted all my energy to stay in my Growlmon form." Said Guilmon "So it seems that our Digimon can only keep their champion-level forms for a while. I wonder how long a Digimon can stay in their champion form before returning to their rookie form." Said Alice "Well, that's a bummer. I was hoping that we could keep them in champion form forever." Said James "But could Guilmon digivolve back to champion?" Asked April Matt pulled out his Digivice and looked to see Growlmon, "I'm not sure, but I'll guess we'll have to wait and see." "Well Matt, I can't wait to see how long it takes you to file this away," said James pointing out all the damage to the market from the battle. Matt rolled his eyes as ponies began to came out of their hiding place and started to work on cleaning up the debris with the Digimon and humans helping out. Mayor Mare came out and listened to ponies with Matt taking notes next to her. It took a few hours to clean up the marketplace, but it would take a little longer to fix the buildings. Matt left the town hall near ten o'clock at night after filing everything away. He turned to see Twilight waiting on a park bench under a street light. "Think you two can make it home on your own?" Asked Matt "Yeah." Said Gomamon The two began to make their way home as Matt walked over to Twilight. He sat down next to her. The two didn't speak and instead listened to the nightlife of crickets and other woodland creatures. "I'm sorry." Said Twilight Matt looked over at her, "Sorry for what?" "For not teleporting us away. I could have got us away from that dragon. But I got so scared of it cornering us; I couldn't concentrate on my magic. I never once in my life felt that scared." Said Twilight "Twilight, you don't think I felt the same. You have no reason to apologize. We all get scared; that's a natural thing. When you genuinely get scared, your mind stops thinking, and you can't function. Trust me. I was the same way." Said Matt "Yeah, and I owe you a thank you as well for saving me." Said Twilight Matt blushed as he rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah, no problem." Twilight giggled from the way Matt was acting. He smiled as he looked up at the stars. Soon enough, a shooting star went across the night sky. Matt pointed it out to Twilight. "Look a shooting star, make a wish." Said Matt Twilight and Matt closed there eyes and made their wish before opening them. "Make your wish?" Asked Matt "Sure did." Said Twilight The two sat together in silence as they watched as more shooting stars passed across the night sky. It was a beautiful sight to end on after one crazy day. Chapter 7 - BoastingBoasting "Twenty-five different spells that sure is impressive." Matt, his Digimon, Twilight, and Spike were walking down the dirt path of Ponyville. They had no specific destination in mind. "Yeah, and that easily shows Twilight has to be one of the best unicorns in Equestria." Said Spike "Please, Spike, I'm sure there are plenty of unicorns with the same magical talent as me." Said Twilight "Maybe, but they're probably not like you." Said Spike Twilight blushed as Matt smiled. The group was enjoying the peaceful town, even if at times it wasn't all that peaceful if the pranks that Rainbow and Pinkie pulled on the town didn't show that. Two pulled all sorts of pranks, but the best was when they dyed James' hair and Gaomon's fur pink when the two were napping. Rainbow probably did it more out of revenge because of a prank James and Gaomon played on her, which consisted of a napping Rainbow Dash and a cup of warm water. Then the true chaos came in the form of a Griffon. Gilda was her name, and she happened to be an old friend of Rainbow Dash from flight school. She seemed pretty interesting until they heard rumors about her being a bully, especially to Fluttershy. The truth came out about her when Pinkie threw her a party and Rainbow began to pull pranks on her. In the end, Gilda left town, and everything went back to being the same. But that was the nature of Ponyville. And on a side note, James and Gaomon were still trying to get the pink out of their hair and fur. And today was once again going to be one of those crazy days. "Coming through!" The group turned to see two colts coming running towards them. The first was a colt looked a little overweight. He had an opal coat with an orange mane. He was wearing a plain grey t-shirt and a pair of cargo shorts. The other colt looked a little skinny. He had an amber coat and a turquoise mane. He was wearing a plain orange t-shirt and a pair of cargo shorts. The group jumped out of the way, except Gomamon, who got caught up by the overweight colt. "Stop!" Screamed Gomamon The two colts stopped as Gomamon went tumbling into the dirt with the others following close behind. "Snips and Snails, where's the fire?" Asked Spike Snips was the overweight colt, and Snails was the skinny colt. "Didn't you hear, a powerful unicorn is in town." Said Snips "That's your reason for running without looking where you're going." Said Gomamon "Yeah, we have to get in the front row before other ponies do." Said Snails "Yeah, I'm sure if we're speaking about magical power that award goes to Twilight." Said Spike "Please Spike, now where is this unicorn?" Asked Twilight "In the town square." Said Snips "You better hurry if you want to get a good spot." Said Snails The two colts once again ran off. "They sure think this unicorn is big stuff." Said Gomamon "I agree," Matt turned to the others. "Should we see how powerful this unicorn is?" The others nodded and made their way towards the town square. *** "Man, this unicorn sure did gather a crowd." Said Matt The group pushed through the ponies to get to the front to see the rest of the mane six awaiting for the show to begin along with James and Gaomon. Both still showed signs of the pink dye in their fur and hair but wasn't as prominent as before. "I'm surprised you're out here, James especially with the pink still in your hair," said Matt chuckling a bit. James huffed, "Whatever, I heard there was a powerful unicorn town, and well, I decided to see if it was true." "You wouldn't be pink if you thought about the consequences of your actions." Said Matt "Whatever, I'm glad the pink is nearly out of my hair." Said James "And out of my fur." Said Gaomon "I do hope that teaches you a lesson about doing stupid pranks." Said Alice Alice, Renamon, Abby, Terriermon, Lopmon, and Cresent came walking up to them. The girls were all wearing sports bras and sports shorts. Cresent had her mane done up in a bun, while Alice and Abby had their hair still in pigtails. Sweat was still dripping from each of them. "I'm guessing you finished your run for the day." Said Matt "Yeah, we finished and heard about the stage performance and decided to see what it was all about." Said Alice "I surprised April isn't here." Said Abby "I think April went out to that valley to paint from what she told me this morning." Said Matt "Welcome everypony to the show of your lifetime." Fireworks started to go to owe and awe the crowd before there was a puff of smoke on the stage, and from that appeared the unicorn mare everypony was waiting to see, "Watch now as the Great and Powerful Trixie performs some of the greatest feats of magic ever." More fireworks went off to get the crowd excited. The unicorn named Trixie had an azure coat with a cornflower mane with cerulean stripes running through it. She was wearing a light blue dress along with a wizard's cape and hat. She would wave her hands around and perform different tricks for the crowd to show off her magical skills. "My, my, she does love to boast." Said Rarity "Please, this isn't half what Twi..." Twilight hit Spike in the gut with her elbow to shut him up. "You know, Trixie reminds me of a guy on my football team that would boast about how great he was." Said James "What happened to him?" Asked Gaomon "First game of the season, the guy lost it for us. Let's say he wasn't all to liked by the team." Said James "Her boasting is as bad as some of the guards at the castle. I swear I hate when ponies boast about how they're the best." Said Cresent "There's nothing wrong with being talented right?" Asked Twilight "Nothing at all, Twi unless you're showin' it off like a school filly with new ribbons." Said Applejack "Yeah, especially when I'm better than the rest of us." Rainbow got everypony to stare at her, "Um, boo." Trixie stopped her show and out at the crowd, "I see we have some neighsayers in the crowd." James snickered at that. "Who is so ignorant as to challenge the Great and Powerful Trixie? I see that they don't know they are in the presence of the most powerful unicorn in all of Equestria." Rarity blew a raspberry at that, "Please, who does she think she is?" "Yeah, when we all know that Twi..." Spike got his gut hit again by Twilight's elbow. "Shut it, Spike." Said Twilight "What's wrong, you know you're much more powerful than Trixie." Said Spike "But haven't you seen how our friends are reacting to Trixie. I don't want them to think I'm a show off like her." Said Twilight Rainbow flew right into Trixie's face, "So 'Great and Powerful Trixie,' what makes you so awesome?" Trixie pushed Rainbow out of her face, "I'm glad you ask, for I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, was able to vanquish an Ursa Major." The crowd owed and awed at Trixie's feat. "I thought Ursa Major was a constellation. How do you defeat a constellation?" Asked James "In Equestria, there are beasts called Constellation Beasts that represent many of famous constellations. It's rare to see one in the wild." Said Twilight "Living constellations, well you don't hear that every day." Said Matt "The Great and Powerful Trixie was the last remaining hope for the ponies Hoofington as the Ursa Major attacked their homes. Trixie stepped forth and used her awesome magic to defeat the beast and return it to its cave deep within the Everfree Forest!" Exclaimed Trixie The crowd got memorized by Trixie's light show as she showed how she defeated the Ursa Major. A few fireworks went off after Trixie defeated the Ursa Major. "That settles it." Said Snips "Trixie is truly the most powerful, most talented, and most awesome unicorn in Ponyville." Said Snails "No, in all of Equestria!" Exclaimed Snips "You two can't seriously believe that. How can we trust that everything Trixie says is true?" Said James "Yeah, and besides we all know if it came to defeating an Ursa Major, we would all turn to..." Twilight used her magic to close Spike's mouth shut. "But it is true, my little admirers. Trixie certainly is the best in Ponyville." Said Trixie The crowd went silent as they looked at each other. Trixie's eyes scanned the quiet crowd before smiling out at the group of ponies. "I see none of you believe the Great and Power Trixie." She gave a light chuckle, "Then I, at this moment, challenge any Ponyvillian to prove themselves by doing anything, which I'll do better. So do we have any takers? I guess if no one wants to step up, I guess that makes me the greatest equine who lived!" Said Trixie Fireworks fired off behind Trixie as she smiled. Spike was finally able to get the magic bindings off his face and turned back to Twilight. "Twilight you have to do something, she unbearable! You have to show her who's better!" Exclaimed Spike "Spike I can't use my magic after everything that's been happening." Said Twilight "How about you," Twilight froze as Trixie pointed her finger at her. "Do you think you better the Great and Powerful Trixie?" "Well, um, I," Twilight kept stumbling over her words as she tried to find a way out. "Well, little hayseed," said Trixie gesturing over to Applejack. "That's it! I can't stand for any more of this!" Exclaimed Applejack Applejack made her way up to the stage. "You go get her, Applejack." Said Spike "Let's see if your magic can do this." Said Applejack She pulled the rope attached to her pants and began to do tricks with it, getting the crowd once again back into the show. Applejack did one more trick by using her lasso to grab an apple on a nearby tree and bring it over to her. She took a bit out of it before bringing her rope back together and tipping her hat to Trixie. "Top that." Said Applejack Trixie smiled as she removed her hat, "Watch and be amazed by the magic of Trixie." Trixie's horn to came to life and began to surround the rope with her aura. Applejack and the crowd watched as Trixie moved the rope like a snake, while another end went to the nearby apple tree. Suddenly, the rope began to wrap Applejack up and placing the apple in her mouth. Trixie released her magic and gave a bow to the laughing and cheering crowd. "That hardly seemed fair." Said Terriermon "I would agree." Said Abby Applejack began to hop off the stage. Once she reached the ground, Guilmon snapped the ropes with his claws to free her back up. She spat the apple out of mouth before looking back at Guilmon. "Thanks, Guilmon." Said Applejack He smiled before the two returned to their group of friends as Trixie looked ready to speak once more. "Once again, the Great and Powerful Trixie prevails. Now, who else wishes to challenge Trixie?" Said Trixie Rainbow Dash flew up and got right back into Trixie's face, "There's no need to go strutting around and showing off your stuff." "Is that so." Said Trixie "Yeah, because that's my job." Said Rainbow Her friends sighed as they began to watch her perform one of my many stunts. She landed on Trixie's stage as a rainbow appeared above her. She smiled and held her head high as the crowd cheered for her performance. "They don't call me 'Rainbow' and 'Dash' for nothing." Said Rainbow Trixie gave a sly smile as her horn came to life, "After Trixie is through with you, all they will be calling you is a loser." Trixie's magic began to grab the rainbow above Rainbow's head and wrapped it around her before making Rainbow spin like a top until she came to a stop outside the crowd. Rainbow looking she was about to barf all over the place. "I think I'm going to be sick," said Rainbow as she swallowed a little vomit that came up. "Seems like anypony with a dash of good sense would think twice before tussling with the Great and Powerful Trixie." Said Trixie James and Gaomon walked over and helped her to her feet. She still seemed to look like she was going to puke at any minute. Then Trixie summoned a storm cloud and struck Rainbow in her plot, causing her to scream out in pain and double over against Gaomon, but he saw she was still quite sick. "You take her, James." Said Gaomon James looped Rainbow's right arm over his shoulder and helped her back to her others as she still seemed to be in a daze and looking like she was going to vomit any minute. "I know what we need. We need a unicorn to challenge Trixie. A unicorn with some magical powers." Said Spike "Yeah, a unicorn to show this unicorn who's boss," said rainbow before swallowing done a little more vomit. "A real unicorn to unicorn tussle." Said Applejack Spike, Matt, James, Abby, Alice, Cresent, and the Digimon all move their eyes toward Twilight. She froze as she swallowed the lump in her throat. But luckily for her, another unicorn miss interrupted the message. "Enough, enough all of you. I take your hint, but I am above such nonsense. Rainbow Dash and Applejack may behave like ruffians, but I conduct myself with beauty and grace." Said Rarity "How did she think we were talking about her?" Asked Alice "Who knows." Said Abby Trixie gave a little chuckle, "What's the matter? Afraid you'll get a hair of place in that rat's nest you call a mane." Rarity stood shocked before she glared at Trixie, "Oh, it is on, sister." Rarity began to make her way onto the stage, "You may think you're tough with all your so-called powers, but there's more to magic than your brutish ways. A unicorn needs to be more than muscle. A unicorn needs to have style." Rarity's horn came to life and grabbed a curtain on Trixie's cart and began to wrap around her. She used her magic to make it into a beautiful dress. The crowd went ooh as they looked at Rarity as she bounced her newly transformed mane. "That sure was impressive." Said Matt "Yeah, isn't she beautiful." Said Spike "A unicorn is not a unicorn without grace and beauty." Said Rarity Trixie gave a sly smile as her horn came to life. She wrapped her aura around Rarity's mane and in a flash changed it. The crowd let a large gasp. Rarity began to freak out as she needed to figure out what Trixie did to her hair. "Quick! Somepony get me a mirror! I need a mirror! I must know what she did to my hair!" Exclaimed Rarity "She did nothing." Said Twilight "It's fine." Said Rainbow "It's gorgeous." Said Applejack "It's green." Said Gomamon Matt struck him over the head as Rarity had a panic attack and ran off the stage, screaming and crying about green hair. Everypony watched her leave before turning back to the smug faced Trixie. Spike then turned to Twilight. "Well, Twilight, it's up to you. You have to show Trixie, who's boss." Said Spike "What, but I'm nothing special." Said Twilight "Twilight, you are, and you're far better than Trixie." Said Matt "I'm not better than anyone else." Said Twilight Trixie looked down at Twilight, "You think you're better than the Great and Powerful Trixie. You think you have more magical talent than Trixie. Well, then show Trixie and the crowd that you're better than Trixie." Said Trixie "Who me? I'm only a run-of-the-mill citizen of Ponyville. Nothing special here...um...I think I hear my laundry calling. Sorry, I gotta get going." Said Twilight Twilight turned around and ran through the crowd as Trixie had yet another smug look on her face. "I didn't know laundry can talk." Said Guilmon "Laundry can't call, Guilmon. Now let's go after her." Said Matt Matt and his Digimon ran after the unicorn as Trixie began to chuckle. "That proves that the Great and Powerful Trixie is the most amazing unicorn in all Equestria. But was there any doubt." Said Trixie *** "Twilight will you please listen to me." Said Matt Twilight was right now had her head down in a book. Matt sighed as he walked forward and slammed the book shut in her face. "Twilight tell me what happened back there at Trixie's show." Said Matt Twilight sighed, "Didn't you see how they hated Trixie's bragging, Matt. If I went up there and showed off my magic, then I could risk losing my friends." "Twilight, what we're asking you to do is not what Trixie was doing. You would be using your magic to stand up for your friends." Said Matt "Matt it wouldn't matter, it would still be the same." Said Twilight Matt sighed, "Twilight, you could have used any one of the tricks you've learned, even the teeniest, would have worked to show up Trixie." "Matt it doesn't work like that. If I went up there and did any trick, no matter what it was, I would still look like a bragger, which would make me look just like Trixie." Said Twilight Matt was going to continue to speak when Twilight used her magic to create a door in front of Matt and slam it in his face. The two Digimon looked up at Matt as he growled under his breath. Matt calmed himself long enough to reopen the door and walk back out. "Talk about slamming the door in someone's face." Said Gomamon "Twilight you know, for a fact, you're better than Trixie." Said Matt "Matt, I said NO!" Exclaimed Twilight "She sure is stubborn." Said Guilmon "No, kidding." Said Gomamon Matt sighed, seeing that it was a losing battle to argue with Twilight. He gestured for Guilmon and Gomamon to follow and walked out of the library while Twilight let out a heavy sigh. Matt looked at the door of the library and let out a heavy sigh as well. "You can still try and convince her." Said Gomamon "And she'll find a way to weasel around it." Said Matt "So, now what?" Asked Guilmon "We head home, not like we can do anything else." Said Matt He gave another sigh as he turned and began to head home, only to stop when he saw Spike running towards them. He stopped and started to catch his breath. "Spike, what's wrong?" Asked Matt "Need to talk to Twilight, now! Urgent problem!" Exclaimed Spike The group of four ran back to the library. Matt opened the door and him, Spike and his Digimon rushed inside. "Twilight! You have to come! Quick!" Screamed Spike "Spike, I already told Matt, I'm not showing up Trixie." Said Twilight "No, Twilight this is about something," Spike stopped midway in his sentence as a roar echoed throughout the building. "Is that what I think it is?" Asked Twilight Another roar went across the airwaves of Ponyville as Spike spoke back up, "Majorly." Twilight, Spike, Matt, and the Digimon ran out of the library as more roars began to fill the air. Ponies started to run for their lives as Matt, Spike, Twilight, and the Digimon ran past them. The group stopped when they saw Snips, Snails, and Trixie. "Matt!" The group turned to see the other humans and their Digimon coming towards them. "What is happening?" Asked Abby "I agree, what is happening?" Asked Twilight "We brought an Ursa to town." Said Snips "You what!" Screamed Twilight "Don't worry. The Great and Powerful Trixie will defeat it." Said Snail Everyone looked over at Trixie. "I can't." Said Trixie "What?!" Screamed Snips and Snails "I can't because I never have. No one can defeat an Ursa Major. I made up the whole story of me defeating an Ursa Major." Said Trixie "Made it up!" Exclaimed Snips and Snails "Who could have seen that coming." Said James A mighty roar pulled the group all to turn and see the Ursa Major behind them. The Ursa Major was a large blue bear with stars covering its body. It growled as it looked at all of them. "So any ideas." Said James Spike poked Twilight in the stomach. She looked at him as he pointed at the Ursa. She swallowed the lump in her throat as she stepped forward. Matt held is Digivice ready the second Twilight needed help. He wasn't sure if he could get Guilmon to digivolve back into Growlmon once more. Twilight began to ignite her horn as she started to push magic through it. Her hooves began to dig into the dirt as she pushed her magic to her limit. A purple aura began to cover the Ursa as Twilight lifted it into the air and began to rock it back and forth. As she used her magic to cast a wind over cattails to cause pleasant music to fill the air, further calming the Ursa Major. She then wrapped her magic around the Ponyville water tower and poured out all the water. Twilight then pushed the empty water tower through the barn where the cows reside. The water tower came out full of milk. "That's new." Said Spike "I'm sure that Ponyville might have needed that water." Stated James Twilight continued to push her magic to her limits as her hooves dug deeper into the ground. Sweat rolled down her face as she continued to perform her feats of magic. She placed the top back on the base of the water tower and brought up to the mouth of the Ursa Major, and it began to suck it. The humans weren't sure how that was even possible but went with it. Twilight now began to levitate the Ursa Major back into the Everfree Forest. Once the Ursa Major was back in the Everfree Forest, Twilight released her magic. She began to take deep breaths as she felt incredibly exhausted. She began to fall over, but Matt grabbed her before she fell to the ground. He gave her a warm smile, and she returned it until they heard cheering. The two looked over to see the ponies of Ponyville cheering for Twilight. "Unbelievable." Said Rainbow "That was amazing." Said Spike "That sure was something else." Said James "Heavens to Betsy! We knew ya had magical skills, but not that much!" Said Applejack Twilight lowered her eyes and placed her ears against her head, "I'm sorry. Please don't hate me." "Hate you!" Said Twilight's friends "Whatever do you mean, darling?" Asked Rarity "Well, I know how much you all hated Trixie's showing off with her magic tricks, and I thought..." Twilight stopped as Rainbow spoke up. "Let's stop you there, Twilight. Magic has nothing to do with it. Trixie is nothing more than a loud mouth." Said Rainbow "Preach it." Said Alice "Most unpleasant." Said Rarity "All hat and no cattle." Said Applejack "So, you don't mind my magic tricks?" Asked Twilight "You're magic is a part of ya, sugarcube, and we like who ya are. We're proud to have such a powerful, talented unicorn as our friend." Said Applejack "Yeah especially after whupping that Ursa's hindquarters, we're even prouder." Said Rainbow "You are?" Asked Twilight The humans, the Digimon and ponies, nodded their heads. Twilight smiled as a slight blush came to her face. "See, I told you, you weren't like Trixie." Said Matt "I guess you were right," said Twilight with a slight blush covering her face. "But Twilight, how did you know how to defeat that Ursa Major?" Asked Spike "After Trixie's bragging story, I decided to look into the Ursa Major." Said Twilight "So it is possible to vanquish an Ursa Major all by yourself." Said Spike Twilight gave a slight chuckle, "That wasn't an Ursa Major, that was a baby, an Ursa Minor." Trixie pushed through the crowd with an astonished look on her face, "That was a baby!" "And it wasn't rampaging. It was cranky because somepony woke it up." Her eyes landed on Snips and Snails as did the rest of the crowd. "Well, that was an Ursa Minor, then what does an Ursa Major look like." Said Spike "If had to guess, way bigger." Said James "I hope we don't see an Ursa Major any time soon. So now with that done, how should we deal with miss loudmouth." Said Alice Everypony turned their attention to Trixie. "Whatever, you may have defeated an Ursa Minor, but you will never have the amazing, show-stopping ability of the Great and Powerful Trixie!" Exclaimed Trixie Trixie waved her hands in the air before tossing down a smoke bomb on the ground. When the cloud disappeared, everypony could see Trixie running away from them. "Why that little..." Twilight stopped Rainbow before she went after Trixie. "Let her go. Maybe someday she'll learn her lesson. Now what to do about you two?" Said Twilight as she moved her eyes over to Snips and Snails. Snips gave off a nervous laugh, "We're sorry for waking up the Ursa Minor." "We just wanted to see some awesome magic." Said Snails "Yeah, the way that you beat that Ursa Minor was awesome." Said Snips "Either way, you risked the safety of everypony here." Said Matt "Yes, we know, so we deserve any punishment you give us." Said Snails "For starters, you can clean up that mess," Snips and Snails looked over to Trixie's destroyed stage. " And," She looked over to Spike and smiled at him, "What do you think, Spike? Should I give them, hm, number twenty-five." "Oh, yes, and I deserve it too." Said Spike Snips and Snails looked at each other confused as Twilight's horn began to glow. The faces of Spike, Snips, and Snails began to glow. Snips and Snails had their eyes closed until they opened their eyes to see they all had mustaches. They all seemed pleased by it. *** "Dear Princess Celestia, I have learned a very valuable lesson about friendship: I was so afraid of being thought of as a show-off that I was hiding a part of who I am. My friends helped me realize that it's okay to be proud of your talents, and there are times when it's appropriate to show them off... Especially when you're standing up for your friends." Said Twilight "I do hope you learned the difference between boasting and true talent." Said Matt Twilight rolled her eyes as she walked over and sat next to Matt, "Yes, I learned my lesson." She stuck out her tongue out at him. The two laughed as the door opened as Spike walked into the room looking a little down. "So how did it go with Rarity?" Asked Twilight "She didn't go for the mustache." Said Spike "Sorry to hear that Spike." Said Matt "You know Spike, that mustache has nothing to do with who you are. Maybe you should try being yourself." Said Twilight "Or, maybe the mustache isn't enough. Maybe if I had a mustache and a beard?" Said Spike "Oh, brother." Said Twilight Twilight and Matt laughed as Spike began to tell them about the perfect beards that would go with his mustache. Chapter 8 - The Fox and the HoundThe Fox and the Hound Matt stood next to Mayor Mare as he handed her paper after paper for her to sign. Matt handed Mayor Mare the final document as she signed it and handed it back to Matt. He placed it inside the folder and gave it to Guilmon and told him where he could file it. "Well, that's the last of that." Said Matt "Yes, it seemed to be. Now, what else do you have to do for the day?" Said Mayor Mare Matt pulled opened the notebook in his hands and scanned over the entries. He was checking what he and Mayor Mare had to do next or what was coming up. Matt kept strict and dutiful records of every upcoming event and what needed Mayor Mare signature. He closed the book before turning to Mayor Mare. "Well, Mayor Mare, it seems we're free to relax for some time." Said Matt Before Mayor Mare could say anything, the doors to her office burst open with James running right up to Matt and grabbing his shoulders. Gaomon trailed behind breathing heavily before falling to the floor. "Matt, we have a big problem!" Screamed James as he shook Matt back and forth. Matt broke loose of Jame's grip and placed his hand on his shoulders as he got his bearings back, "James calm down. What problem do we have?" "A female problem." Said James "Is something wrong with Twilight, Cresent, Abby, Alice or our friends," said Matt with a hint of concern in his voice. "Yeah, they're about to hunt us!" Exclaimed James Matt blinked his eyes before giving a deadpan look, "Come again, I don't think I heard you right." "I said they're about to hunt us down. In truth, every mare all across Equestria are about to begin hunting us," said James as his eyes frantically moved across the entire room. "James, you're making no sense at all. Why would every mare in Equestria be hunting you and me?" Said Matt "It's not just you and me, but all the stallions across Equestria." Said James "James, you've completely lost me." Said Matt "I think I might be able to clarify what James is saying." Said Mayor Mare Matt turned to his employer, "Please do." "You see, James is speaking about the bi-yearly heat cycle. A mare goes into heat twice a year one in the fall and the other in the spring. The heat cycle is a time for breeding because that's when our eggs become fertilizable. And James is not wrong about the fact that we do hunt down stallions to have them calm our heat. For a male's sperm is the only thing that calms the burning sensation between our legs," said Mayor Mare with a blush growing across her face. "See, every mare across Equestria is going to become a sex rampaging monster looking for nothing but to drain us dry." Said James "James, can you please calm down. Fall isn't even here yet, so I think we're safe." Said Matt "No Matt, we aren't, Mr. Cake told me we aren't safe until we figure out where to hide for the three weeks, while the mares are in heat. And we only have two months to do it!" Said James "James, you still have plenty of time to figure things out. Mares don't start noticing we're moving into heat until about three days before the cycle begins." Said Mayor Mare "Yeah James, we still have plenty of time to figure this whole thing out." Said Matt "You may be chill about all of this, but I ain't. Now if you excuse me, I have to plan our action plan before these mares turn into sex-hungry mares." Said James James ran out with Gaomon looking at him, "Do we have to run?" Gaomon sighed before running after James. "So I'm guessing girls on your planet don't have heat cycles." Said Mayor Mare "Yeah, the only thing that goes into heat on my planet are animals. But human girls do have something called periods. It's a monthly cycle; it's usually a time in which a girl bleeds out her unfertilized eggs, which reminds me, it's about that time of the month for Alice and Abby to enter their periods." Said Matt "Well, I do recommend you find someplace safe to stay or go. Mares do become sex crazy, and many can't control the urge to mate. As I said, heat is an intense burning sensation between our legs that only sperm can calm, but most males won't risk it because of the chance of getting said mare pregnant since this is the time a male can fertilize our eggs. And well the pain that might come from a mare's desire to mate to relieve her heat," said Mayor Mare with her blush deepening on her face. "I'll take your word for it." Said Matt *** "To think that soon every mare in this town is going to be hunting you down." Said Gomamon "I won't let them hurt you, Matt." Said Guilmon "Thanks, Guilmon, but the mares aren't attacking me because they want to, they're doing it because it's part of their biology." Said Matt Matt looked around him at the multitude of mares that populated the city of Ponyville. He always thought that it was strange how the mare population outweighed the stallions. Matt always meant to ask Twilight that, but it kept slipping his mind. But he did feel a slight bit of unease from how many mares there were. Don't freak out, Mayor Mare said that mares don't start showing signs until three days before the heat cycle begins. "Hey, Matt." Matt screamed and backed away, but turned to see Twilight with a worried expression on her face. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." Said Twilight "No worries, Twilight," said Matt sighing as he placed his hand over his heart. "I sure got you, was something on your mind?" Asked Twilight "Well, you see I learned today that every mare in Equestria is about to go into heat, and I guess from the fact of how many mares populate Ponyville, I began to freak myself out." Said Matt Twilight blushed a little, "Yeah, I guess that would be pretty creepy to learn that every mare in Equestria is about to go into estres and seek out a male to end their heat. But I wasn't planning on telling you or the others until the month before the cycle begins. So where did you learn about heat from?" "Well, I learned it from Mayor Mare after James came barging into her office like a madman and screaming at me that he and I were about to get hunted down by every mare in Equestria. I thought he was crazy, but Mayor Mare explained what he was trying to say." Said Matt "Well, you shouldn't be scared. Mares don't start acting on heat until the cycle begins, and as long as you keep out of sight and out of smell, your pretty much safe." Said Twilight "Smell?" Asked Matt "Yeah, in heat a mare's sense of smell is ten times stronger. We always can tell where a male is from the musky scent that we pick up, and that scent is what further drives our sexual desires." Said Twilight "You know you're not helping calm me down. You're telling me how much worse for it is going to be when estrus starts," said Matt giving her a deadpan look. "Sorry," said Twilight shyly while rubbing the back of her neck. "Well, besides freaking me out, what did you need, Twilight?" Asked Matt "Oh I was wondering if we were still on for Saturday night," said Twilight with a slight blush creeping over her face. "Yeah, nothing is going to change that." Said Matt "Great, so where you off to?" Asked Twilight "Off to check on Alice and making sure she hasn't ripped off somepony's head yet." Said Matt "Why would she do that?" Asked Twilight "This is about the time of the month when Alice enters her period." Said Matt "Period?" Asked Twilight "Well, I guess it makes sense you wouldn't know what that is since mares go into estrus. But understand I am no expert on it, even with having a little sister. I leave all the girl talk to Alice, and she can tell you more about it. Which reminds me, I believe Abby enters her period around the same time as Alice." Said Matt "So what is a period?" Asked Twilight Matt ushered Twilight to follow him, "From what I understand, it's an event that happens once a month, in which a woman bleeds out of her vagina to secrete out excuses eggs that did not get fertilized." "Hm, that sounds painful." Said Twilight "Yeah, and it can cause mood swings in females. I know when Alice always has her period because she gets irritated at the slightest of things. My sister has minor anger problems when she's in her period." Said Matt "What about April?" Asked Twilight "Unsure, I only meet April and James when we all found each other in the Everfree Forest outside that castle before we met all of you." Said Matt The small group arrived at Sugar Cube Corner and walked inside to see it was calm. Matt wondered if Alice was even working right now because she wasn't screaming on the top of her lungs. He walked up to the counter to see Pinkie Pie working the register with a large smile on her face. "Hi, Matt, Twilight, Gomamon, and Guilmon. What can I do for all of you?" Asked Pinkie "I was wondering if Alice was around, Pinkie." Said Matt "No Mrs. Cake sent her home early. I mean she looked like she wanted to beat the living crap out of every customer that did something. Renamon had to hold her back a few times from striking me after I did something to her. I was only having fun with her, and it's not like her to get so angry at my harmless fun. Matt, does Alice hate Sugar Cube Corner or me because she has done a complete 180 from her usual self?" Said Pinkie with her mane slightly losing its puffy nature. "No Alice is fine Pinkie, but she's going to be that way for a while." Said Matt "Why?" Asked Pinkie as her mane went back to its puffy nature, which made Matt and his Digimon look at the pink mare in even more confusion. Matt explained about Alice and how she was right now entering her period. Pinkie seemed to make an 'O' face as something seemed to pop in her head. "I overheard Mrs. Cake and Alice talking. I so was scared for her when I heard something bleeding from her pussy. But I'm happy to hear that Alice hasn't changed." Said Pinkie "Well, she'll be her irritable self for a while, but once she's out of her period, she'll be back to normal until it happens next month. But now that I think about it, what happens to the unfertilized eggs of a mare in heat when she doesn't catch a stallion?" Said Matt "Well, we pass them but far from the way human women pass their eggs. A mare wakes up a day after heat ends, she passes the eggs peacefully, not even knowing it's happening and that's that. A mare then waits for the next estrus cycle to begin." Said Twilight "I bet Alice would like that. She hates when she enters her period." Said Matt "Well, maybe I can use my magic to alleviate the pain she's having." Said Twilight "I bet she would love that." Matt turned back to Pinkie, "Pinkie, can I get a dozen chocolate cupcakes with dark chocolate frosting on top." "Sure, but it'll be a while." Said Pinkie "No problem Pinkie." Said Matt Pinkie took the order and happily bounced back into the kitchen. "What's up with the cupcakes?" Asked Twilight "Something I learned that seems to calm Alice down when she gets into a mood." Said Matt Twilight rolled her eyes as the group of four decided to find a place to sit and wait for Pinkie to come out with the cupcakes. *** Night now loomed over Equestria as Luna now watched over the citizens and made sure they all have a restful sleep. Everything was quiet in the town of Ponyville, but evil was lurking deep within it. In the darkness of the Everfree Forest, something odd was stirring within it. Something sinister. It moved, quickly, as it spotted its prey, a pack of Timberwolves. With a quick flash was job was down and now the Timberwolves went towards the town of Ponyville hunting their prey, five human and their Digimon. The humans slept soundly in their beds. James was snoring with Gaomon on a bed with the covers spread everywhere. Alice sleeping peacefully after an eventful day with Renamon beside her. Abby happily cuddled up with Terriormon and Lopmon. April slept on her back with Biyomon resting next to her. Matt slept with Gomamon on the foot of his bed and Guilmon on the floor. Finally, there was Cresent, sleeping with her upper half on the floor and lower half on the bed. But her cat-like eyes opened in a split second as she heard a howl go out through the night. She knew of the Timberwolves that lived within the Everfree Forest would howl, but this one sounded closer, much closer. She flopped onto the floor before getting to her hooves. She wiped the drool from her face as another howl came across the airwaves. She grabbed her sword. Looks like some Timberwolves decided to hunt in Ponyville tonight. Cresent headed out the door to slay the Timberwolves. At the same time, Guilmon poked his head up, his eye went cat-like, and he began to growl. Matt groaned as he opened his eyes. He happened to be a light sleeper thanks to having to calm his sister some nights after their parents died. He pushed himself up as Gomamon rolled over, trying to ignore Guilmon. "Guilmon, what's wrong?" Asked Matt "Something is here in the town." Said Guilmon Soon Matt's Digivice began to blink. He got out of bed and went over to it. He picked it up to see a message on the screen. It read, 'Corrupted data in the area.' Corrupted data, what does that mean? But it didn't take long before screams of panic filled the night air of Ponyville. Well, I guess I'm going to find out. He attached the device to his pants as he opened the door to see Cresent up and ready along with the others. "What's happening now?" Asked James "Well, let's go see and find out." More screams of terror echoed through the night, "And it sounds like we to move now!" Everyone went down the stairs towards the front door. James groaned as he and Gaomon followed the others outside. "I'm never going to hear the end of this from Rainbow." Said James He ran outside wearing nothing more than a plain white t-shirt and a pair of blue boxer shorts with little cars on them. He wanted to get some pants, but saving Ponyville once more seemed more important than clothes to everyone else. I swear this town is going to kill us one day. The group ran towards the center of Ponyville to see wooden dogs attacking ponies as they ran for their lives. The dogs also seemed to have black gears implanted into their bodies that seem to be spreading a digital code across their wooden bodies. "Wolves made out of wood, well that sure is something I thought I wouldn't see." Said James "Forget that, do you see the digital code covering their bodies." Said Alice Matt grabbed his Digivice as it was blinking once more. He looked to see it was giving off the same message. I wonder if it's talking about the data that seems to be covering the wolves. The wolves turned towards the group and growled as it began to approach them. "I'm guessing they were looking for us." Said James "You think." Said Matt The Digimon stood before their tamers, ready to defend them against the wooden wolves. Cresent pulled her sword and held it tight. The wolves howled and rushed the group as the Digimon went into battle. Matt held his Digivice and hoped it would work. "Guilmon Digivolve!" Exclaimed Matt The Digivice activated once more sending the code of Guilmon's champion form to Guilmon. "Guilmon digivolve to...Growlmon." Growlmon now stood over the wolves. "Pyro Blaster." Said Growlmon Growlmon released a ball of flames at the wolves, destroying a few of them and in a strange turn, turning them into digital code. "Strange normally, a Timberwolf will return to his primary form of sticks or in the ones attacked by Growlmon, burnt to ash." Said Cresent "Timberwolves, I guess that's a fitting name. But enough talk, we need to make sure everypony finds a safe place to hide from these corrupted Timberwolves until our Digimon have made quick work of them." Said Matt The others nodded and went off. Cresent followed Abby since she was the youngest of the group. The humans worked with their Digimon to get ponies out of the open into a building. The mane six also appeared quick and gave a hand. Rainbow stayed near James and Gaomon. Pinkie gave Alice and Renamon a hand. Twilight and Spike gave a helping hand to Matt and his Digimon. Fluttershy helped out April and Biyomon. Rarity and Applejack gave a hand to Abby and her Digimon. Cresent was on her own, dealing with Timberwolves. She was holding her own against the relentless attacks of the Timberwolves. But she didn't have time to react as one jumped onto her back and bit into the flesh of her shoulder. She screamed as she dropped her sword and tried to break free from the Timberwolf. Matt saw that a few other Timberwolves noticed that Cresent was in distress and went towards her. Matt didn't give it a second thought and went right towards her. "Matt!" Screamed Twilight He saw her sword and picked it. I have no idea how to use this, but I can't let Cresent get hurt. Matt approached Cresent as she tried to break the grip of the Timberwolf as it dug its fangs and claws into her body. "Duck Cresent!" Screamed Matt Cresent ducked her head, and Matt swung the sword taking off a portion of the Timberwolf's skull. The Timberwolf exploded into code before Cresent fell to the ground as blood dripped from her shoulder. "Thanks for the save. I guess that's two times you've saved my fur." Said Cresent "I would never leave a friend hanging." Said Matt The growls of Timberwolves approaching made Matt look to see three wolves coming towards him. Cresent tried to stand, but the pain of the wound in her shoulder pushed her back down. Growlmon tried to get to Matt, but the Timberwolves were blocking him. Matt gripped the sword tight as the wolves made their way towards him. But a larger wolf tackled Matt in his side and sent him flying away from Cresent and landing in the dirt. He dropped the sword when he got hit, and the larger wolf walked towards Matt as he laid on the ground, knocked out. Cresent turned back to the wolves approaching her as she reached for her sword and got back to her hooves. Alice ushered a few ponies into a building with Pinkie and Renamon helping her out. Sure she was in her period, but she had to ignore everything of her body to protect the ponies of Ponyville. Alice happened to see the larger wolf approaching Matt. She got worried about her friend. She turned to see Growlmon fighting off multiple wolves with Gomamon, Twilight, and Spike. Cresent was struggling just dealing with the three wolves that were going at her. The others weren't in far better shape to help out Matt either. "Renamon, save Matt!" Ordered Alice Renamon finished another wolf before booking it towards Matt. The massive Timberwolf growled as it drooled as it approached Matt still laying on the ground. The Timberwolf stood over Matt as he began to wake up. He groaned as the Timberwolf readied to deliver the killing blow to its prey. "Matt!" Screamed Alice Suddenly her Digivice began to glow and so did Renamon. Alice watched as Renamon started to Digivolve into her champion form. "Renamon digivolve to...Kyubimon." Kyubimon struck the Timberwolf right in the side, pushing it out of the way. Its claws dug into the dirt as it slid across the ground. The Timberwolf looked at the fox creature that once was Renamon. It howled as more wolves appeared before it. Kyubimon began to charge the ends of her tails with blue fire. "Fox Tail Inferno." Said Kyubimon Kyubimon fired off small balls of blue fire in the shape of miniature foxes. Each went barrelling towards a wolf and destroyed them. The larger wolf still stood firm but wounded from Kyubimon's attack. But before it could attack, Growlmon struck the wolf with his claws, destroying it. "Matt!" Screamed Alice Matt was slowly getting to his feet Kyubimon helped him get to his feet. Matt grabbed his head. "Damn, what hit me?" Asked Matt "An alpha." He turned to see Twilight coming up and began to use her magic check him over. Matt looked over to Kyubimon. "Thanks, Kyubimon and you as well, Alice." Said Matt "Hey, I'm not going to let a Timberwolf eat my best friend." Said Alice Matt saw Cresent struggling over to them and holding her shoulder. Twilight ran on over and grabbed her as she used her magic to heal up the wound. "We need to get you and Matt to Ponyville General Hospital." Said Twilight "Not before we make sure these Timberwolves are no more." Said Cresent James and Rainbow got a family back into their house as Gaomon struck down another Timberwolf. "You sure don't mind showing off those boxers of yours." Said Rainbow She snickered as James rolled his eyes. I knew I wasn't going to hear the end of it from Rainbow Dash. "I don't this is the time to joke about my clothing." Said James "True, but know I'm never going to let you live this moment down." Said Rainbow James rolled his eyes at Rainbow as she continued to snicker at him. Once the family was inside, James turned to see the Timberwolves began to overwhelm Gaomon. "Gaomon, hold them off buddy." Said James A Timberwolf alpha stood above the building growling down at James and Rainbow. It jumped down trying to take a bite out of James, while he kept his attention on Gaomon. Rainbow saw it coming and pushed James out of the way. He hit the dirt and watched as the Timberwolf alpha attacked her. Rainbow felt the alpha's claws slide down her back. She screamed in pain as the alpha pushed her down to the ground and looming over her. Its claws dug into her as it growled at her. Its face was moving ever closer to biting down onto Rainbow's head. "Hey ugly," the alpha looked up at James as he cracked his knuckles and bouncing back and forth on his feet. "If you think I'm going to stand by and let you chomp down on my friend, then your wrong. Now let's see if you can handle me." The alpha growled as it got off Rainbow and faced James. He sighed as the alpha began to run at him with James running right at the alpha. The alpha tried to swipe James, but he sidestepped out of the way and ran towards Rainbow. James stopped as he tried to get her back to her feet, only to feel the force of the alpha slamming into his gut. He hit the dirt hard as the alpha tried to go for his head. James grabbed the gaping mouth and tried to hold back the beast. Gaomon saw what was happening to his tamer as he tried to break free of all the Timberwolves attacking him. I have to help James. I have to save him. James' Digivice began to glow as did Gaomon. The Timberwolves backed away as Gaomon started to digivolve into his champion form. "Gaomon digivolve to...Gaogamon." The Timberwolves looked at the champion form of Gaomon. Gaogamon growled at the Timberwolves, but it didn't seem to cause them to back down. "Spiral Blow." Said Gaogamon Gaogamon closed his mouth before releasing a vortex of wind from his mouth blowing away the Timberwolves and giving himself a clear shot at James, who was still holding back the alpha. "Hold on, James. I'm coming!" Said Gaogamon "I would like that very much!" Exclaimed James "Dash Double Claw." Said Gaogamon Gaogamon ran at an incredible speed towards James and the alpha before launching an 'X' shaped wave right at the Timberwolf by using his large front claws. The wave of air made short work of the alpha, and James watched as it exploded into code. He sighed as he looked at Gaogamon. "Thanks for the save buddy." Said James "Well, I couldn't leave you hanging." Said Gaogamon James rolled his eyes as he got to his feet and went to check on Rainbow. She was slow to get up as blood soaked her shirt. James reached out and helped her to her feet. "So how about we say that since I saved your life, you never bring up the fact of my boxers again." Said James "I guess I can do that." Said Rainbow The Digimon finished off the last of the Timberwolves. The battle was finally over with only a few injuries. Growlmon, Kyubimon, and Gaogaomon all digivolved back to their rookie forms once the battle was over. The hospital staff was right now out, helping those hurt by the Timberwolf attack. Matt happened to spot a piece of the gear from the back of one of the Timberwolves. He picked it up and saw his Digivice going off, once again displaying the message. "So you think that has similarities to the creatures with those crystals in them?" Asked James "I don't think so. Our devices never reacted the way they are now. I have feeling this is the work of somepony else." Said Matt The piece of gear soon disappeared into code as the group watched it disappear, "And I have a feeling this is only the beginning." Chapter 9 - The Sparkle of my EyeThe Sparkle of my Eye Twilight rushed around her room and the bathroom trying to get ready for tonight. She wanted to look her best for her outing with Matt. She straightened out her hair, made sure her clothing looked nice, which consisted of a purple skirt, with her cutie mark on it, and a light blue shirt. She checked herself over, checked over her list, and smiled as everything was perfect. But she was still nervous and would go over her list a few more time before she heard a knock on her door. She stopped going over her list and went down to the first floor to answer the door. Oh that must be Matt. She took a calming breath and did one final check before opening the door. She smiled when she was Matt standing there wearing a plain tan t-shirt, jean shorts, and his goggles around his neck. He gave a pleasant smile as he looked at her. "You like nice, Twilight." Said Matt A light blush covered her cheeks, "And you look nice as well." Matt smiled, "Thanks. Now you ready to go. I think we have fifteen minutes before the movie starts." Twilight used her magic to bring forth a picnic basket, "Let's go." Twilight turned out the lights and made sure to leave a note for Spike. She closed and locked up the library as the two walked off to their destination. "So where's Spike?" Asked Matt "He happens to be over at Rarity's helping her out." Said Twilight "Man he sure does spend a lot of time with Rarity." Said Matt "Yeah, I think he has a crush on Rarity. I'm not sure if Rarity knows about it." Said Twilight "Yeah, I remember when I had a crush on an older girl back when I was his age. But besides Spike, you never told me what we're seeing?" Said Matt "Oh, I want it to be a surprise. But I know you'll like it." Said Twilight She gave him a nervous smile. Matt raised his eyebrow to her but shrugged it off. It didn't take more than a few minutes to reach the large field that faced the large projection screen. Ponies were already staking out their place. Twilight pointed it an open area, and the two walked over to it. She set down the basket and pulled the picnic blanket out of the basket and placed it over the ground. The two sat down as Twilight began to pull out of plates of covered foods. She set them down between them. "You sure made a lot of food." Said Matt "Yeah, I didn't know what to bring, so I decided to bring a little of everything I thought you might like." Said Twilight "Well, everything looks good, Twilight." Said Matt "Thank you; I had Spike help me cook it all up. I'm not all that good when it comes to cooking." Said Twilight "Same here, but I'm not all that bad. In truth, the only one who can't cook is Alice. Now if you want to see how inedible you can make food, look no further than Alice." Said Matt "She's that bad?" Asked Twilight "Trust me Twilight any day Alice isn't cooking is a good day." Said Matt "Well, you'll have to tell me how good my cooking is, and no worries, I made sure everything here is something you can eat." Said Twilight "You're too kind, Twilight." Said Matt Twilight blushed a little before the two began to dig into the food as they made minor chit chat as they waited for the movie to begin. It wasn't long before the film started to appear on the screen. "So mind telling me what we're about to see." Said Matt "Well, a romantic comedy. I'm not sure if you're into movies like that, but I heard it was a great movie and a must see." Said Twilight "So, what is it about?" Asked Matt "A unicorn mare who falls in love with a male griffon." Said Twilight "Sounds interesting. I guess we'll see if it's worth our time." Said Matt Twilight smiled as she looked up at the screen as the movie began to play. As the night continued, Twilight pulled out a light blanket for her and Matt. She scooted over to Matt and wrapped the blanket around him and scooted closer to him. She blushed a little from how close she was to him. She seemed happy with it but felt her face go even more flushed when Matt pulled her closer. She looked up at him as he looked down at her and smiled before moving his attention back to the movie. She smiled as she snuggled up to him. "So I have to ask, do you miss home?" Asked Twilight "I do now and then. There are times where I miss something back on Earth, but I can live without it. So I guess I don't miss as much as I would have thought I would." Said Matt "Glad to hear." Twilight paused as she decided on her next question, "Matt, can I ask you something personal." "Sure." Said Matt "Are you and Alice dating?" Asked Twilight Matt laughed a little, causing Twilight to raise her eyebrow and cock her head, "You aren't the first to say that. Yeah, Alice and I are close, but we aren't a couple. Alice happens to be a lesbian. Sure she jokes that she would go bi to have sex with me. But she strongly prefers women." Twilight smiled a little hearing that. "So any reason why you asked that question." Twilight turned up to Matt, "Oh, I was just wondering since you two seem close." "Well, she is my closet friend, and she's been there to help me raise Abby. But that doesn't answer my question." He looked down to see Twilight turning away with a slight blush on her cheeks. He grabbed her head and brought it towards him, so their eyes met. "Twilight come on you can tell me. What's on your mind?" She felt his thumb gently run across her cheek. She sighed as she wasn't sure what to do here. She didn't know how to proceed, even though she was happy to hear Matt was single, which was one of her hopes for tonight. She gave another sigh as she gave him her answer. "I think it's better if I show you." Said Twilight She got closer to Matt as the world seemed to stop for the two of them. There was no movie going on in front of them, and no one else around them. It was only them. The two looked loveling into each other's eyes. Both sparkled as the movie shined light upon them. Twilight moved her lips ever so slowly towards Matt's. He didn't push her away but instead brought his closer. They could feel their hot breath on each other. "Matt." Said Twilight She inched her lips forward and pressed them against his. The sensation of their connected lips sent shivers down each of there spines. Neither felt off from kissing the other; to them, it felt completely right. They each knew in there hearts this was right. They broke the kiss and stared lovingly into each other's eyes. "So I guess that's your answer, huh." Said Matt "Yeah, I love you, Matt Summers. I've wanted to tell you for some time, so I decided today would be the day after I got confirmation." Said Twilight "And I love you, Twilight Sparkle." Said Matt The two shared another sweet kiss before turning back to the movie, which now seemed to fit them quite well since he was a human who loved a unicorn. Twilight laid her head on Matt's shoulder and interlocked her right hand with his left hand. Matt pulled her close to him. He pressed his lips against her forehead as they sat snuggled together watching the movie. *** "So did you enjoy the movie?" Asked Twilight The movie had finished ten minutes ago, and the two were making there way back to their homes. Matt decided that he would walk Twilight back to her place before heading back to his. Twilight had the blanket covering her as she carried the basket. Matt walked next to her. "It wasn't half bad, but it was cheesy at a few points." Said Matt "Please, that's what makes it good." Said Twilight "If you say so, Twi." Said Matt She rolled her eyes before giggling. Soon the two of them saw them closing in on her home. The two stopped as Twilight and Matt looked at each other. "So I guess this is the end." Said Matt "Seems like it, but I did enjoy spending time with you as well as our kisses." Said Twilight "Yeah, I quite enjoyed them as well. So how about it, want to go out again maybe sometime next week. We can make that our first official date." Said Matt "Wasn't tonight our first date," said Twilight a giggle. "Well, wouldn't call it a date since we weren't in a relationship." Said Matt Twilight rolled her eyes of how technical Matt was being but giggled anyways. "To answer your question before, yes I would like to go out with you again. I'll see when I'm open, and we can plan something. I'm thinking of dinner together." "Sounds good to me." Said Matt The two looked each other before Matt moved up to her and planted another kiss on lips. Twilight moaned happily at the touch of his skin lips to her fur covered ones. Matt felt shivers run down his spine from the sensation of Twilight's fur on his lips. The two broke off their kiss before they went into a hug, and Twilight used her magic to open the door and step inside. She waved goodbye to Matt as he did the same. Once the door was closed, he walked away. Twilight watched from the front window as Matt walked away before he started to do a little dance seemed extremely happy. She couldn't help but laugh and cheer herself. *** Matt yawned as he stepped into the house. He opened and closed the front door as he stretched out his body, ready to go up and hit the hay after an exciting day. Man, what a day today has been. I got to spend time with Twilight, feel her confess her love for me, and we might be heading out on a new date next week or so. He began to make his way upstairs and went towards his room. "How was it?" He turned to see Alice leaning against the door frame of her room. She was wearing an overly large shirt. Matt could also see Renamon fast asleep on her side of the bed. "It was good." Said Matt "Good, that's all you have to say." Matt nodded his head up and down. "So nothing juicy happened between you and Twilight." Matt nodded his head back and forth. "Please, I know your lying to me. You can't tell me that Twilight wasn't planning anything by taking you out to a romantic movie, and here you say nothing happened. Well, that's a bunch of bull, so tell me, what happened?" "You sure are persistent." Said Matt "Of course, I mean you're practically attached to that mare. I swear if you have a minute, your usually spending it with Twilight or with Cresent when you're not with Twilight. Then when you're not spending time with them, you're usually here. From that, I know that you have some feelings towards the personal student of the princess. So fess up, what happened?" Said Alice "Well, she asked me if you and I were a couple. I laughed as usual and told her that you're a lesbian. I tried to seek why she asked that question, I had a theory why she asked me out to the movie, but I wasn't sure. Well, one thing led to another, and well, we kissed. And to tell the truth, it wasn't half bad. Her lips were soft against mine, and even though fur covered them, it never felt strange or off-putting." Said Matt "So what's next?" Asked Alice "I guess to see where it goes from here. We're planning on going out sometime next week for a dinner date." Said Matt "I'm happy to see she made the first move because I know you wouldn't have if she gave you some excuse why she was asking a question about our status. Now here's a question for you, why Twilight over April. April is human like you, but instead, you went towards the species of Equestria, can I ask why." Said Alice Matt chewed at the inside of his right cheek, a telltale sign he was thinking. "I guess it's that I don't think it's right to pursue April just because she's human. I don't think there's anything wrong with me going out and dating a mare or any female in this world. From what little I've read on Equestria culture, it's quite common to find a couple of different species together, since Equestria is excepting of all creatures." Said Matt "I guess that makes sense, but you might never have a human child with Twilight when the time comes to make a family with her, hell who knows even if you can get her pregnant while she's in heat." Said Alice "True, but I'll worry about that when we cross that bridge. For now, I want to see where this goes before I start thinking about family." Said Matt "I guess that's true. Well, I'm happy to see you got yourself a girlfriend. Well, see you in the morning." Said Alice "Night, Alice." Said Matt He slipped into his room and threw his shirt into his dirty clothes pile. He yawned and stretched as he maneuvered around Guilmon and picked up Gomamon, who groaned in annoyance, before setting him down again and slipping under the covers to sleep. The second his head hit his pillow he began to fall right to sleep. Chapter 10 - Dragon, Cat, & WizardDragon, Cat, & Wizard It was yet another peaceful day in Ponyville. Nothing out of the ordinary was happening. Matt and Mayor Mare were hard at work, putting the finishing touches on new legal documents. Alice was running around Sugar Cube Corner trying to make it yet another lunch rush with Pinkie working hard in the back with Renamon trying to keep up with the orders. April was out painting with Biyomon sitting next to her watching April work. Abby was lounging at home with Cresent, Terriermon, and Lopmon. She was trying to relax as much as she could before school started. And finally James at his construction job with Gaomon working on a building. He got hired a week ago, and it seemed to suit him quite well. Not mentioning the pay wasn't all that bad. But all of that was about to go to the wayside, as today, would be another one of those days — a day where the fate of Equestria was once again in jeopardy. Celestia would soon once again call upon her student and her friends to once again save the day and keep Equestria safe. But they weren't the only ones who would also seek out this new threat. *** Gatomon bit into the apple in front of her. She chewed it a bit, taking in the flavor that came from the red fruit. Never before had she tasted anything like it in the digital world. She savored every bit of it before swallowing. A shiver of pleasure ran down her spine as the delicious apple hit her stomach. She took around bite before she heard something coming towards her. She primed her right hand and readied her claws to strike. She kept her pose until she saw it was her friend, Wizardmon back with a few more apples. "Oh, Wizardmon, you're back." She said "Yes, and I brought more of this delicious fruit from that nearby orchard." Said Wizardmon "I'll say, I've never tasted anything so sweet and savory in my life." Said Gatomon *** Mean while at Sweet Apple Arcers Applejack scratched her head as she looked at a few bare trees. She couldn't understand how trees that once had apples on them no longer had apples on them. Her mind continued to work as she tried to figure where some of her crops went. I know, for a fact, Big Mac didn't harvest these trees yesturday. She scratched her head, wondering about the whole ordeal. *** Back to Gatomon and Wizardmon "I'm glad we found that orchard, I thought I was going to starve to death before we found any food." Said Gatomon "Yes, but do you think it's right to steal from those trees, Gatomon. How do we know that other Digimon aren't using those trees for food themselves or to feed a village of Digimon." Said Wizardmon "Well, I would say no to the Digimon theory, Wizardmon, seeing as we haven't seen any other Digimon since we woke up a week ago in that strange forest. But I doubt anybody would care if we took a few apples. Did you see how many trees covered that orchard, I doubt they would miss a tree or two of apples." Said Gatomon "I guess so." Said Wizardmon He lowered the front of his shirt to expose this half sowed mouth as he took a bite. Gatomon took a bite of another apple as she looked at the sky to see black smoke starting to fill it. Wizardmon happened to look up and see Gatomon looking up at the sky. "Has something caught your eye, Gatomon." Said Wizardmon "Yeah, look up." Said Gatomon Wizardmon looked up to see the black smoke beginning to fill the air. "What is causing that?" Asked Wizardmon The two Digimon followed the trail of smoke to a mountain. "I wonder what upon that mountain would be causing that much smoke." Said Wizardmon "Who knows, it might be a Meramon." Said Gatomon "You may be right; I believe we should go and investigate it. We might find some more Digimon and get an answer as to how we got here and where we are." Said Wizardmon "Right Wizardmon, let's head out." Said Gatomon The two Digimon ran off towards the mountain in hopes of finding out answers to their burning questions. *** "What in the name of all things cinnamon swirled is a full-grown dragon doing here in Equestria?" Asked Applejack After Twilight had pointed out to everypony the black smoke was coming from a dragon, she gathered all of her friends. "Sleeping." Said Twilight "What?" Asked James "According to Princess Celestia, he's taking a nap. His snoring is what's causing all of this smoke." Said Twilight "He should see a doctor about that. I'm sure that isn't healthy." Said Pinkie Alice turned to Matt, "Reminds me of that Samarui Jack episode where he has to deal with that farting dragon." "Sure seems to be the same." Said Matt "At least he isn't snoring fire." Said Rarity "I hate to see that. But what does the Princess want us to do about it?" Asked James "Easy we go up and there and give him the boot," said Rainbow as she showed off a few fighting moves. Twilight sighed, "No, we need to encourage him to nap elsewhere. Princess Celestia believes we are the most qualified to undergo this mission, and we can't fail her. If we do, smoke will cover Equestria for the next hundred years." Everyone gasped in the room upon hearing that. "Shit." Said James "Talk about your beauty sleep." Said Rarity "So why are we going?" Asked April "In case something that needs us to use our Digimon, and if things go bad, to use them to make the dragon leave." Said Matt "Alright everypony, I need to you gather supplies for our journey. We got a long journey ahead of us. Let's meet back here in an hour to head out." Said Twilight "You heard, Twilight, the fate of Equestria is in our hands. Now, do we have what it takes?" Said Rainbow Everybody nodded before heading out the door. Everyone went towards there homes and gathered everything they needed. It wasn't long before they arrived once again, ready for the journey ahead of them. "Alright, listen up." Twilight began to walk down the line of ponies, humans, and Digimon. "I'm mapping out the fastest route, but we've all got to keep a good pace if we expect to make it up to the mountain by nightfall." Fluttershy turned to the mountain where the black smoke was coming from it. She shivered in fear as Twilight once again continued her speech. "The dragon is sleeping at the top of that mountain in a cave," said Twilight pointing to the top of the mountain. Everyone turned to look at the top of the mountain where the smoke was coming out. "Damn we have to go all the way up there." Said James "Looks pretty cold up there." Said Applejack "Yeah, the higher you go, the colder it gets." Rainbow "Damn, if I had known that I would have packed for the cold." Said James "Good thing I packed my scarf." Said Rarity Rarity put down her bag and proceeded to pull out a scarf from her bag and tie it around her neck. "That looks pretty, Rarity." Said Abby "Yeah." Said Pinkie "Oh, that will keep you quite warm." Said Rainbow Matt was looking at the top of the mountain as he chewed the inside of his cheeks. Alice walked up to him as she could see he was thinking about something. "What's on your mind?" Asked Alice "Thinking about the mission." Said Matt "Worries about what we might find up there." Said, Alice "A little, I'm not sure if three champion level Digimon can handle a full-grown dragon if we have to force him to move." Said Matt "Yeah, but we have to put our faith in that Kyubimon, Growlmon, and Gaogamon. Not to mention, Biyomon and Gomamon might digivolve in her champion forms, giving us a hand in battle. But I doubt we'll have to do that when we got Fluttershy on our side." Said, Alice "Are you sure we should bring her?" The two looked at James coming up to them, "I mean, have you seen Fluttershy? She's the most scared pony we have ever met." The three looked over to see Fluttershy jumping into a bush. James gestured to her, "See what I mean." "She's just a little nervous about the mission." The three humans put their attention to Twilight. "Now we have done enough standing around. We need to get moving and get that dragon out of our lands." Everyone nodded, knowing what was next for them. Matt hugged his sister and told her to be good and stay safe. He believed the mission wasn't right for her. He asked Terriermon and Lopmon to keep her safe while she remained at the library with Spike until they got back. The two Digimon nodded their heads. After that, she and Spike watched as the other ran towards the mountain, dragging Fluttershy with them. They completely ignored her screaming as they carried her off towards the foot of the mountain. *** "Now that's steep." Said James The group was looking at the mountain as they stood at the foot of it. Soon the ground around them shook along with the mountain itself. "Whoa! What was that?" Asked Applejack "I believe that was the dragon snoring." Said Twilight "Damn that sure was powerful." Said James "Well, we sure do have a climb to get to the top." Said, Alice "Yeah, and it's so high up." Said Fluttershy "Well, it is a mountain. Now, I'm going to head up and check things out." Said Rainbow "Now hold on," Applejack took hold of her tail and pulled her back. Rainbow yipped and had a slight blush covering her face. "We should go up together. There is safety in numbers." "She's right, Rainbow." Said Matt "Alright." Said Rainbow The group began to scale the side of the mountain. Gomamon rested on top of Matt's head with Guilmon next to him as Matt walked next to Twilight. Renamon, Gaomon, and Biyomon had no problem walking up the mountain. Cresent and Rainbow flew next to the group. "Ddi you all know that the jewels a dragon build their homes with sparkle more than there scales? Oh, I bet if I play my cards right, maybe I could get a few of them." Said Rarity "Welcome to my cave Rarity, would you like a diamond," said Pinkie imitating a dragon. The others began to laugh at Pinkie's joke. "This isn't a laughing matter." Everyone sighed and began to continue on their adventure up the mountain. "Fluttershy, you're the animal expert, what do you think the dragon will be like?" Fluttershy didn't answer Twilight's question or even speak up to her, "Fluttershy." Everyone turned and saw that Fluttershy was still on the ground. "You have to be kidding me. She's still on the ground." Said James "Hey, what are you waiting for, an invitation?" Asked Rainbow "Oh, I think I might have one." Said Pinkie She disappeared for a few seconds before she returned with an invitation in hand and streamers going off, covering Rainbow and Rarity. Alice giggled a little at Pinkie's antics. "But it's far to steep for me." Said Fluttershy "Of course, it's a cliff. But you don't have to walk, oh because you happen to have a pair of wings," said Rainbow gesturing to her wings. "Yeah flap those wings of yours Fluttershy." Said Pinkie "Yeah, you can do it, Fluttershy." Said April "Ok, I'll give it a try." Said Fluttershy She stepped out of her hiding place and began to flap her wings and ascend into the air. "That's it, Fluttershy." Said Matt But that all came to an end when the dragon once again snored, causing Fluttershy's wings to fold back against her back, causing her to fall back to the ground. She crashed into the bush she was once hiding behind. "What?!" Screamed James "We don't have time for this." Said Twilight "Can I have the map, Twilight." Said Applejack "Sure, but why do you need it?" Asked Twilight as she gave Applejack the map. "Because I need to know where to go if I'm going to take her around a different way." Said Applejack Applejack gave the map back to Twilight and slid her way back down the side of the mountain towards the ground level. "But that'll take them forever." Said Rainbow "I'm going to agree with Rainbow here." Said James Applejack reached the ground as Fluttershy was trying to free wings from her back. Then the dragon snored once more, causing Fluttershy to flip herself onto her back. "Alice, follow Applejack and make sure they're safe." Said Matt "Not a bad idea. Let's go, Renamon." Said, Alice The two slid down the mountain and met up with Applejack and Fluttershy. "No worries, Twilight, we'll be there lickety-split." Said Applejack "Be safe." Said Matt "No worries, we'll be." Said, Alice The two groups split off heading there sperate ways. *** "How high is this mountain?" Asked Gatomon The two Digimon had made it up a good portion of the mountain. Gatomon looked up to where the top was. Wizardmon huffed as he stood next to Gatomon. The two felt the mountain shake as the dragon snored once more. Gatomon and Wizardmon got themselves together after the shaking stopped. "There must be a powerful Digimon resting upon the top of this mountain." Said Wizardmon "Yeah, by the sounds I would bet either an ultimate or mega level Digimon." Said Gatomon Soon, her ears began to pick up a sound, "Hide!" The two Digimon jumped behind a tree and peeked past it towards the path before them. "What's up, Gatomon?" Asked Wizardmon "I hear something coming." Said Gatomon The two watched as Alice, Renamon, and Applejack carrying Fluttershy on her back came towards them. "What are those furry creatures?" Asked Wizardmon "I recognize the human and the Digimon as Renamon. But I have no idea what Digimon those furry creatures are." Said Gatomon "How are you doing, Applejack?" Asked Alice "I'm doing fine." Said Applejack "So it's an Applejack Digimon, but I never heard of such a Digimon." Said Wizardmon "Maybe it's a new species." Said Gatomon The two finished their conversation and turned back to the group. "You sure, I can carry Fluttershy a while." Said Renamon "I got it, Renamon. Now, let's keep moving. We have to meet up with the others if we're going to reach the top before it gets dark." Said Applejack The small group continued to follow the path. Once they were out of sight, Gatomon and Wizardmon came out of hiding. "It seems they're heading to the same place we are." Said Gatomon "So I'm guessing we're going to follow them." Said Wizardmon "Of course, better than us getting lost out here." Said Gatomon Wizardmon nodded, and the two followed where the small group went off, but keeping to the shadows. *** The others sat around, waiting for Applejack, Fluttershy, Alice, and Renamon. Matt was leaning up against a rock with Twilight. Twilight had her head on his shoulder, enjoying her time with her new boyfriend. Guilmon and Gomamon rested next to him. Pinkie and Rarity were playing tick-tack-toe in the dirt. Rainbow was impatiently tapping her hoof on the ground. James rested on a rock, trying to find something to do. Gaomon leaned against the same rock. April was sketching the scene before her with Biyomon sitting next to her. Cresent was leaning against a rock, keeping her ears open for anything. Finally, the group heard something coming towards them. They all turned to see Alice, Renamon, who was carrying Fluttershy, and Applejack approaching them. "Finally, you arrive." Said Rainbow "Yeah, it took us a little longer than we thought." Said Applejack "Well, I guess Rainbow was right about them taking them forever to get to us." Said James "Ok, now that everyone is here, let's get moving. We've wasted enough time sitting around." Said Twilight Everyone nodded and began to move towards the summit of the mountain. Guilmon stopped and looked towards some shrubbery. His eyes went cat-like, and his ears stood on end. He began to growl. Matt stopped and looked back at Guilmon. "Guilmon, come on." Said Matt Guilmon didn't stop until a rabbit hopped out and looked up at him. Guilmon stopped and cocked his head to the side and watched the rabbit hop away. Matt chuckled a little at Guilmon's antics. "If you're down staring down that rabbit, let's get moving. We need to catch up with the others." Said Matt Guilmon looked back at the bushes and cocked his head before running to catch up with Matt and the others. Gatomon and Wizardmon poked their heads up and nodded to each other as they ran to catch up with the group. The group continued to move at a constant pace but made sure to check to see if Fluttershy was behind them. Twilight studied the map with Matt and pointed out the way to him. The two nodded before reaching a ravine. James walked up, kicked a rock over the side, and watched as it fell towards the bottom. James whistled before they heard running and saw Rainbow run past them and leap over the ravine. She landed, looked over to the others, and waved them over. Matt picked up Gomamon, and Guilmon followed him. The two ran for it and leaped over the ravine. Twilight followed suit along with Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie. Alice and Renamon went next. Biyomon flew over to the other side as April jumped for it. The final one to make the jump was Fluttershy. "Come on, Fluttershy. You're the last one." Said Twilight "But that ravine is so wide." Said Fluttershy "Oh, you have to be kidding me." Said James "Fluttershy, everything is ok. We made it just fine, and so can you." Said Matt "Yeah, we don't have much further to go." Said Twilight "Leap over it like the rest of us, Fluttershy." Said Applejack "But I don't think I can." Said Fluttershy "Fluttershy you have to jump, any other way will set us back." Said Twilight "I don't know if I can." Said Fluttershy "Nothing to be afraid of, Fluttershy. It's only a hop, skip, and a jump." Said Pinkie "Why do I feel like she's going to start singing." Said James "Because she is." Said, Alice "It's not very far. Just move your little rump. You can make it if you try with a hop, skip, and jump." Sang Pinkie as she jumped back and forth over the ravine. "We don't have time for this." Said Twilight "A hop, skip and jump. Just move your little rump. A hop, skip, and jump. A hop, skip, and jump. A hop, skip, and jump. A hop, skip, and jump. A hop, skip, and jump!" Sang Pinkie "Okay, here I go. A hop," said Fluttershy, making a hop. "That's it." Said Applejack "You've got it." Said Twilight "Almost there, dear." Said Rarity "A skip." Said Fluttershy "Just don't look down." Said Twilight Fluttershy happened to turn her gaze down towards the world below. She suddenly couldn't jump over, but luckily, the ravine wasn't too long, as she could catch the edge of it. "Why did you say that?" Asked Matt "Sorry," said Twilight, rubbing the back of her neck. Matt grabbed Fluttershy's hand and pulled her over to the other side. "I guess I forgot to jump." Said Fluttershy The group began to make their way towards the summit, but Guilmon again stopped and growled at the other side. Matt stopped and looked at his Digimon partner. "Oh, not this again." Said Gomamon Matt walked up to him, "What's up, boy?" "Something's following us." Said Guilmon "What like that bunny from before," said Gomamon with a smug grin. "No, what I felt before we came up here." Said Guilmon Matt looked around and saw two shadows running towards the edge of the other side and making a jump over the ravine. But one of the shadows didn't make it all the way and began to slip over the edge. Matt's instinct to help meant running toward the two unknown creatures. Guilmon and Gomamon behind him. "Help me, Gatomon!" Exclaimed Wizardmon Gatomon turned to look at Wizardmon, holding onto the mountain's edge for dear life. "Hold on, Wizardmon!" Screamed Gatomon Gatomon ran to save her friend, but Wizardmon's grip began to fail, and he started to fall back to the world below. Gatomon reached the edge but missed grabbing her friend. "Wizardmon!" Screamed Gatomon Gatomon could only watch her friend begin to plummet to his death, but Matt appeared in time and grabbed Wizardmon's hand. "I got you." Said Matt Guilmon and Gomamon held Matt's backpack as they pulled him up from the ravine. Matt pulled Wizardmon back from the opening and back to solid ground. He fell on his ass as he sighed. "Wizardmon, I thought I lost you forever!" Exclaimed Gatomon She ran up and hugged Wizardmon. He patted her back, "Yes, I thought the same until this stranger saved me." The two looked at Matt as he brushed the dirt off his clothes, "Thank you, stranger." "No problem, I couldn't leave someone hanging. Matt, Matt Summers, and behind me are my Digimon, Guilmon, and Gomamon." "I'm Wizardmon." "And I'm Gatomon." "You both don't happen to be Digimon?" Asked Matt "Yes, we are, and we know you're a human." Said Wizardmon "What?! How?" Asked Matt "We Digimon always knew about your species. Many humans, throughout our history, have come to our world." Said Wizardmon "Interesting, well, what brings two Digimon up here." Said Matt "That," Gatomon pointed to the smoke. "We were hoping to figure out what Digimon is causing all that smoke. Along with maybe figuring out more about where we are." Said Gatomon "I don't want to burst your bubble, but there's no Digimon up there. At the summit of that mountain is a sleeping dragon who's snoring, which is causing all the black smoke, and I assure you it isn't a Digimon." Said Matt "What!" Screamed both Digimon "Yeah." Said Gomamon "Interesting." Said Wizardmon "But isn't this the digital world?" Asked Gatomon "No, you're in a country called Equestria." Said Matt "He's right." Said Guilmon "So we aren't the digital world anymore. But then, how did we get here?" Asked Wizardmon "I was going to ask the same question. Seeing that the only other Digimon I've seen are the ones my friends have as partners." Said Matt "Well, all we remember is things going black and waking up a week ago not far from an orchard." Said Gatomon "Interesting." Matt tapped his fingers as he mulled Gatomon's words, "I guess that explains Applejack's missing apples." "Matt, where are you!" Screamed Alice "I'm coming, Alice!" He turned to look back at the two new Digimon, "Look, you're already up here. Why not follow my friends and help us move the dragon away? Then maybe we can figure out your whole situation." Gatomon and Wizardmon looked at each other before looking behind them, "Well, I guess since you did save my friend, and we're already up here, I don't see why not." "I agree with Gatomon; it's the least we can do for you." Said Wizardmon Matt nodded and followed them back to the larger group. Once he got back, everyone looked at him. "Where were you, Matt?" Asked Alice "Saving someone." Said Matt He revealed the two Digimon behind him and told them how he meant them and that they were also going to the same place. The group once again moved towards the summit. They continued until they entered an area that looked far more dangerous than the other parts of the mountain. "Alright, let's keep it down, everypony. We're entering an avalanche zone, and even the smallest peep could cause a rock slide." Whispered Twilight "What?! Why would you take us through an avalanche zone?" Whispered James "Because it's the fastest way. And if we keep our voices down, we'll be fine." Said Twilight The group stayed quiet, making sure not to make too much noise so as not to cause a rock slide. The group looked up at the jutting rocks sitting on the cliff, each of them always aware of their surroundings. But their peace wouldn't last long as Rainbow flew under a tree, causing a leaf to fall onto Fluttershy's head. She began to freak out and started to scream. AVALAN..." But Applejack stopped her by covering her mouth. The sound of Fluttershy's voice echoed around the area. Everybody looked around to see if her scream had caused an avalanche, but nothing happened. They all sighed, only for that to quickly disappear as the ground shook and rocks began to fall from the mountain. "Oh, fuck!" Screamed James "AVALANCHE!" Screamed everyone else "Head of the other side!" Screamed Matt The rocks started to come down upon the group. The ponies and humans did all they could to dodge them while Guilmon, Renamon, Gaomon, and Gatomon worked on destroying the falling rocks, trying to mitigate the problem. After destroying another rock, Gatomon landed on the ground and saw Fluttershy running for her life and a large rock coming for her. Gatomon went into overdrive, heading towards Fluttershy. She leaped into the air right above Fluttershy as the rock was about to strike her. Fluttershy could only watch as the rock came right down towards her. But she couldn't believe her eyes when she saw Gatomon appear before her with her legs outstretched. "Cat kick." Said Gatomon She landed a powerful kick to the center of the rock, which shattered into pieces. She landed on the ground and looked back at Fluttershy. "You saved me." Said Fluttershy "Yeah, I could let you get hurt." Said Gatomon "Well, thank you, Gatomon." Said Fluttershy Wizardmon came running up to them, clearly out of breath, "I think...we...should save...the conversations...for later." Gatomon and Fluttershy nodded as they got up and ran for it. It wasn't long until it was all over, and everyone was coughing as the smoke cleared the area from the rock slide. Matt helped Twilight to her feet after saving her from a falling rock. Everybody else was also getting to their feet. "You ok?" He asked "Yeah, no thanks to you, Matt." She kissed him on the cheek before looking at the others. "Alright, how's everypony doing?" "What do you mean, how are we doing?! We nearly got fucking killed!" James then turned to Fluttershy, "And you're the reason why!" "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for that to happen." Said Fluttershy "Sorry, that's all you have to say after you nearly killed us!" Exclaimed James Fluttershy hid behind her mane, trying to hide that she was starting to cry. "Hey, ease up on the girl. She didn't mean to cause that avalanche." Said Gatomon "Yeah, James, ease up." Said Gaomon "Is no else seeing that bringing Fluttershy on this mission was a big mistake. I could tolerate her when we started this trip, but not anymore. You are a completely worthless Fluttershy! I'm not sure anypony would want to be your friend!" Said James Everyone gasped and soon heard crying coming from Fluttershy. Gatomon looked at the butter-yellow Pegasus now with tears streaming down her face. She couldn't explain why she was starting to feel rage for what the human, named James, had said to Fluttershy. She had only met the Pegasus a few minutes ago, but deep within her, she felt a connection to Fluttershy. "James, that was way too far." Said Applejack "Way too far. She nearly killed us all." Said James "True darling, but she never meant for it." Said Rarity "Yeah, James." Said Gaomon "Ok, that's enough. We've hit some rough patches, but let's not start getting at each other's throats. All we have to do is climb over our new obstacle, and we'll be at the cave entrance, where we'll get the dragon to leave." Said Matt "I'm surprised you're not fuming with rage seeing that Fluttershy nearly caused the death of your friend and your girlfriend." Said James "Yes, I'm mad, but I know it wasn't Fluttershy's fault. Anyone of us could have caused an avalanche." Said Matt "Whatever you say." Said James "I never meant for that to happen." Said Fluttershy "I bet." Muttered James Pinkie hugged her crying friend, "Don't listen to that big meanie, Fluttershy. We know you would never hurt us." Pinkie turned and glared at James for a second before working on calming Fluttershy down. "Whatever, let's go. I want to get this over with and forget about this whole day." Said James James began to make his way over the mound of dirt and rocks as Gaomon followed. The others followed behind him, leaving Fluttershy in the back with Wizardmon and Gatomon. Gatomon ushered Wizardmon to go ahead of her, and she would follow once she got Fluttershy back together. She looked up at Fluttershy as she wiped away her tears. "Don't listen to that idiot." Said Gatomon Fluttershy sat on the ground, still slightly crying, "But he's right. I nearly caused the death of all my friends." "Matt said that any one of us could have caused that avalanche. Plus, you never meant to do it." Said Gatomon "But what if somepony did get hurt because of me? What if my actions did cause somepony's death? James was right. I am worthless, and I don't deserve such good friends." Said Fluttershy Gatomon saw Fluttershy beginning to cry once more. She sighed, trying to figure out how to calm her down. Finally, she decided on a way. She wrapped her arms around Fluttershy and gave her a warm, loving hug. "Fluttershy, you never meant for any of that to happen. Accidents happen to us all, and we never intend them to happen, but they do. All we can do is learn from those mistakes and move on. Your friends understand that and won't think of you any differently." Said Gatomon "But what about James?" Asked Fluttershy "Forget him." Said Gatomon "But." Said Fluttershy "No, butts Fluttershy. Ignore what that idiot human said. He was only venting his frustration. He'll come to his senses and realize what he said." Said Gatomon "I guess, but what if he never does? What if he hates me for the rest of his life?" Asked Fluttershy "Fluttershy, he's only one guy. You saw that your friends still care deeply about you, and that is what matters most." Said Gatomon Fluttershy smiled at the cat Digimon as she wiped away her tears. She smiled as she brought Gatomon into a hug. Gatomon was a little surprised by the action but didn't push her away. She wrapped her arms around Fluttershy. Fluttershy set Gatomon down after she finished hugging her. "So Gatomon, why did you stay and decided to cheer me up instead of going with the others?" Asked Fluttershy "I'm entirely sure, but I had this feeling deep inside me that I was meant to be here for you. So here I am." Said Gatomon Before Fluttershy could ask any more questions, a mighty roar filled the air. Fluttershy knew that roar was from none other than the dragon. She started to shake in the fear but realized that her friends might be in trouble. She began to take flight and grabbed Gatomon and flew towards the cave. When she arrived to see a large adult red dragon staring down her friends, she could see Gaomon, Guilmon and Renamon looked exhausted meaning that the dragon already beat them in their champion forms. "It looks like your friends are in trouble." Said Gatomon "Yes, and I think it's time I stop being a scaredy-cat and do what I do best." Said Fluttershy "Which is?" Asked Gatomon "Dealing with misbehaving animals." Said Fluttershy "Then let's go!" Exclaimed Gatomon The dragon growled as it looked at the helpless group. They had no way to push back the dragon, as it showed it could deal with three champion level Digimon. All seemed lost until a female voice pierced the dragon's growls. "You big meanie!" The group looked to see Fluttershy flying down and landing on the face of the dragon and dropping Gatomon next to her. "How dare you hurt my friends. Just because of your size doesn't mean you get to be a bully." Everyone couldn't believe their ears or eyes as they heard the timid Fluttershy speak out against the dragon. "You may have huge teeth, sharp scales, and snore smoke, and breath fire. But you do not - I repeat - do not! Hurt! My! FRIENDS! You got that!" The dragon whimpered under the glare of Fluttershy. "Yeah, you messed with the wrong group of friends, big boy." Said Gatomon "Who is that, and what did she do with Fluttershy?" Asked James "That's our Fluttershy." Said Twilight "Well, what do you have to say for yourself." Said Fluttershy "But that Rainbow one hit me." Said the dragon "Holy shit it can talk!" Exclaimed James Fluttershy peeked back at the rainbow-maned Pegasus as she gave Fluttershy an embarrassed smile, "And I'm very sorry for that. She tends to not think before she acts, like another individual I know." She paused as she and Gatomon looked back at James. He looked away, trying to keep his gaze from the Digimon and butter yellow Pegasus. "But you're bigger than her, and you should know better. You should also know better than to take a nap where your snoring can become a health hazard to other creatures." "But I..." But Fluttershy cut him off. "Don't give me any butts, mister. Now, what do you have to say for yourself?" The dragon was silent before Fluttershy got real close to him, "I'll repeat myself, what do you have to say for yourself?" Suddenly the dragon began to cry. The group down below started to get showered in its tears. "I find this all so wrong and disgusting." Said James Fluttershy patted his head, "There, there. There is no need to cry. You're not a bad dragon. You just made a bad decision. Now pack your stuff and find a new place to sleep." The dragon nodded his head as Fluttershy picked up Gatomon and flew back to the ground. The dragon wasted no time collecting his jewels and gold and flying off. Rarity whined a little that she didn't get a single diamond or gemstone from the dragon. Fluttershy landed on the ground and got embraced by her friends. "You did it, Fluttershy." Said Twilight "We never doubted you could." Said Applejack "I guess we did need you after all." Said Rainbow Fluttershy laughed but saw James looking away from her. She hid her face behind her mane as everyone's attention went to James. He looked at all the faces staring at him. He turned away, trying to ignore there gazing stares. Gaomon pushed him forward and gestured towards Fluttershy. He sighed as he knew it was the right thing and nobody was going to let him get off scot-free after what he said to Fluttershy. "Listen, Fluttershy. I'm sorry for what I said. I had no reason to say those things to you. I guess all my frustration of having to deal with you, finally exploded. I knew you never meant to cause that rock slide back there, but I guess it was the straw that broke the camel's back. I'm sorry for what I said to you and hope that you can forgive me, and we can go back to the way things were." Said James "Listen, James. You said some pretty nasty things back there. I'm not sure if just an apology can make up what you said to me, but I'm happy to hear you say you're sorry. But I think it'll be some time before I can think of you as a friend again." Said Fluttershy "Oh." Said James Fluttershy walked up and placed her hand on his shoulder, "But that doesn't mean we can't try again. Maybe in time, we'll be back where we were before this whole ordeal." Said Fluttershy "I would like that Fluttershy." Said James James brought her into a hug; Fluttershy smiled and returned. "Air please!" Screamed Gatomon Fluttershy pulled back, totally forgetting about Gatomon, "Sorry Gatomon, I forgot I was still holding you." "Yeah, and I told you he would realize what he did and come around." Said Gatomon "Yeah, and thanks again Gatomon for being there for me." Said Fluttershy "You're welcome, Fluttershy." Said Gatomon Fluttershy and Gatomon seemed to connect. That's when a bright light appeared before Fluttershy. Everyone watched as the orb of light slowly drifted towards Fluttershy. She outstretched her hand, and the light landed on it. Once the light touched her fur, it exploded and revealed a pink colored digivice like the ones the humans have. Fluttershy looked at it as it showed a picture of Gatomon before it went dark. "Somebody tell me what just happened?" Asked James "It seems Gatomon is meant to be with Fluttershy, as her Digimon partner." Said Wizardmon Fluttershy examined the device in her hand as she looked at Gatomon who looked up at her. They both smiled at each other. "Well, it looks like you're stuck with me now, Fluttershy." Said Gatomon "It would seem that way." Said Fluttershy "Well that was completely unexpected, but I guess that's what we should all expect when it comes to living here. Now, I think it's time we make our way down the mountain and return home." Said Matt "I believe so, and I have an important letter to send Princess Celestia about what I learned about friendship today." Said Twilight "But what about you, Wizardmon." Wizardmon turned to April, "Where will you go since you don't have a tamer?" "If it wouldn't be too much, Fluttershy. I wish to stay with you and Gatomon. And I would also like to give my assistance in any way I can to help you all, even if I don't have a tamer." Said Wizardmon "Oh, you're more than welcome to live with me, Wizardmon. I don't mind it at all." Said Fluttershy Wizardmon smiled as the group began their descent down the mountain, though taking a different path instead of the one they took up. *** Spike ran around the house trying to deal with Angel Bunny, gripping how Fluttershy ever dealt with the little thing. Terriermon and Lopmon watched as the rabbit eluded Spike's grasp. Terriermon laughed every time Spike failed to tame Fluttershy's pet rabbit. Abby kept her head in a book, only poking up to watch Spike fail, giggling herself. Then they all heard the door open, and in came Twilight and Matt, along with his Digimon. "Spike I need you to take a letter." Said Twilight "Yes, ma'am." Said, Spike He tossed Angel away, and he hopped out the door, and Spike returned with a piece of paper and a quill. Meanwhile, Abby hugged her brother as he picked her up and held her tight. She wanted to hear all about his mission. They turned to Twilight as she cleared her throat before speaking, "Dear Princess Celestia, I am happy to report that the dragon has departed our fair country and that it was my good friend, Fluttershy, who convinced him to go. This adventure has taught me never to lose faith in your friends. They can be an amazing source of strength and can help you overcome even your greatest fears. Always your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle." Spike finished writing the letter, blew fire over it, and sent it off towards Princess Celestia. "Twilight, Matt, Spike, and Abby, you guys have tah come out here and see this." The three of them recognized it as Applejack's voice calling them. They approached the balcony and looked out to see Rainbow bouncing a ball on her head. Applejack looked up when she saw them, "She's just five away from a new pony record!" Rainbow continued to count until a roar of a dragon filled the air freaking her out. Everyone laughed at her, causing her to raise her eyebrow and look around frantically for the dragon. "Why are you all laughing?! That awful dragon is back!" Exclaimed Rainbow She turned as Pinkie was doing her dragon voice before joining in on the laughter. "Not funny Pinkie Pie. You scared me!" Rainbow paused as she realized what she said. "I mean... you made me lose my concentration." "It's okay, Rainbow. Not everypony can be as brave as me." Said Fluttershy Rainbow rolled her eyes as she pushed a falling leaf up into the air and had it land right on Fluttershy's head. She freaked out and flipped herself over and landed on her back. Gatomon sighed, "Well, we still have some work to do." Everyone went back to laughing as Gatomon worked on getting Fluttershy back to her usual self. Chapter 11 - An Old Threat ReturnsSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Chapter 12 - Following your HeartAuthor's Note Well, here you go, a new chapter for you all to enjoy. Now its off to start the next exciting chapter of Digital Equestria. So as always: comment, like, follow, share, and tell. See you all in the future. Also, if you have any favorite Digimon you want to see in the story, feel free to leave a comment and I'll work my magic to include it in the story. Chapter 12 - Following your Heart Following your Heart "I want to thank you again for coming out here with me." Matt chuckled at Crescent's enthusiasm. Matt and Crescent were standing in a line of ponies to enter a concert in Canterlot. Crescent a day ago asked Matt if he would come with her to a concert. Matt said he would love to go with Crescent, so here they were. They were going to stay the night at the castle, and Celestia was kind enough to allow them each a room in the castle. "Hey no problem, I'm not going to say no to spending time with one of my friends." Said Matt "I'm surprised since you wanted to come since you've been spending most of your time with Twilight." Said Crescent Crescent wasn't wrong. Matt had been spending most of his free time with Twilight. He wanted to ensure he was the best boyfriend for Twilight. Twilight never seemed to mind all the time Matt spent with her. Most of the time, it was the two talking about something intellectual or Twilight clarifying anything Matt didn't understand about pony culture. Other times Twilight would lean her head against his shoulder and enjoy his company as he read a book. "That is true; I guess I'm trying to make sure this relationship works." Said Matt "Well, you shouldn't fear not living up to being a good coltfriend. You and Twilight seem to be a perfect fit. Who knows maybe you'll decide to marry her and have cute foals together." Said Crescent Matt laughed nervously, "Crescent, that's sweet, but I don't think I'm ready to make that commitment yet." Crescent rolled her eyes as she looked back at the two bouncers watching the entrance to the area. Matt happened to see her tail wagging back and forth. He could also tell a slight blush clung to her face. Matt knew these were the tell-tale sign she wasn't starting to feel the effects of heat. Matt swallowed the lump in his throat as his thoughts went to the estrus cycle that wasn't far off from now. The males of Ponyville were already preparing their exit strategies to escape the mares. I hope the one me and James planned with Big Mac is going to work. Crescent turned to see Matt seemed a little flustered. "You ok?" She asked "Oh, I'm fine," he said with a nervous grin. She squinted her eyes at him, "You're lying." He sighed, "I guess I'm still a little nervous about my first estrus cycle here in Equestria. I can see the effects of estrus already starting to affect the mares of Ponyville, not mentioning here as well." Matt looked at the mares around him, "I'm not sure if James or I am ready for it all." Crescent placed her hand on his shoulder and gave him a warm smile, "Come on, you'll be fine. I'm sure you already worked everything out." Crescent looked around before leaning next to his ear, "But I bet Twilight wouldn't mind if you stayed in the library." Matt's face went red in a matter of seconds. His mind filling with dirty thoughts of a needy Twilight begging for him to end her heat. He could see Crescent holding back her laughs as he huffed. "Not funny, Crescent." He said "You should have seen how fast your face got red." She couldn't hold it anymore and burst out laughing. "Laugh it up." Said Matt Crescent got ahold of her herself, "Sorry that was inappropriate of me. But I guess I couldn't help myself." Matt rolled his eyes as he tried to keep his mind clean of any dirty thoughts of his girlfriend. But his mind did have many questions of how Twilight would look without her clothes. He felt his face started to darken again, and he was sure he was starting to pop a boner. Crap, need to get my mind off sexy Twilight. "So Crescent, what's the concert tonight?" Asked Matt "Oh, I forget to tell you. Well, we're about to see none other than one of the best heavy metal bands of all time, the Pony Knots." Said Crescent "Huh, I never pegged you liking heavy metal." Said Matt "Oh, yes, I am! I've been a Pony Knot's fan since I was a little filly. I can't say when I truly found my love for heavy metal. What about you, you a fan?" Said Crescent "Sure am, I may not look like it, but my phone is jammed pack with all the heavy metal bands of Earth." Said Matt "Well, I never would have thought you would be a metalhead as well. But I guess you never know until you see the pony's music collection." Said Crescent We both laughed as we turned to see the bouncers allowing ponies into the concert grounds. "Still looks like we'll be waiting a little longer." Said Matt "Yeah, so I've had a burning question for a while. What's up with wearing those broken goggles you wear?" Said Crescent Matt looked up at the goggles on his head. He pulled them off and looked at them. "I got these when I was ten years old as a present from my grandfather. He was a pilot before he passed away when I was twelve, and when my sister was four. I used to wear them when I rode my bike and pretend I was flying an airplane. I got into an accident on my bike and broke the right lens. I cried over it for a while, but I'm not entirely sure why I never went to get it fixed. Since that day, I wear them to remember my family." Said Matt "Interesting." Said Crescent It wasn't long after Matt finished his story that they reached the bouncers. Crescent pulled out two tickets and showed to the bouncer. They allowed Crescent and Matt into the area, and Crescent seemed like a filly in a candy store. Matt chuckled before getting pulled by Crescent to a table selling merchandise. Crescent browsed all the items and landed on the shirts. She browsed through them all and bought a black one with the picture of the band. Matt looked at it, and the band seemed to remind him of something. For some reason, I get a Slipknot vibe from them. She looked around and pointed to a set of portapotties. Matt raised his eyebrow, but he had no time to think as Crescent dragged him over to them. She opened one and stepped inside. Matt was still quite confused why Crescent dragged him over to the bathrooms when she didn't need him. He didn't have to wait long as she stepped out wearing her new shirt. She gave him a warm smile. "What do you think?" Asked Crescent "Looks good on you." Said Matt She smiled as she tied her other shirt around her waist as the two decided to find a place to stand to watch the concert. Along the way, Crescent happen to bump into a stallion. "Watch where you're going!" Said the stallion "Oh, sorry." Said Crescent "Oh, you should be you, freak." Said the stallion Matt growled under his breath as the stallion left. Assholes like that always grind my gears. He turned to see Crescent looked a little down. He pulled her into a hug, knowing that would get her mind off that rude stallion. "Ignore that guy, Crescent." Said Matt "No worries, I've heard it all before, and it doesn't bother me." Said Crescent "What do you mean?" Asked Matt Crescent sighed as she pushed herself off of his chest and grabbed his hand and continued to find a good place to stand. Along the way, Crescent spoke to him. "You see, Thretrals aren't all that liked, and it all started when Luna turned into Nightmare Moon. Threstals served as Luna's guards, but when she turned, many of the bat ponies that served her did as well. But ponies always forget that not all bat ponies turned to evil, many followed Celestia and her solar guards into battle to defeat Nightmare Moon. But no one ever remembers those Threstals and what they sacrificed to keep Equestria safe. People only remember that Threstals stood next to Nightmare Moon and against Princess Celestia. It's all too common to see ponies showing disgust for us." Said Crescent "Wow, and I thought my world had some bad blood between people." Said Matt "But enough depressing topics, let's have fun. The concert should be starting real soon." Said Crescent Matt nodded his head as the two found a pleasant place to stand. It wasn't far from the center of the stage. It wasn't long before a stallion came out and stepped up to the microphone. "Hello, everypony!" The crowd cheered, "Now if you're ready to bang your head, let me hear you scream!" The crowd went crazy for the stallion at the mic, but Matt didn't seem to care as his mind was on something else or in this case somepony else. He looked at the screaming and smiling Crescent. For some odd reason, Matt felt a deep seeded desire for her. He loved seeing her smile and how even though history paints her race as traitors, she never let it get to her. Matt loved spending time with her as much as he did with Twilight, but for some reason, something inside him ached for her. Something in his body told him how much he desired her as it does with Twilight. What's wrong with me. Why do I feel so strange around her? I'm in a relationship with Twilight, and Crescent's only a friend. But why doesn't that answer settle things for me? He got pulled from his thoughts by Crescent screeching, and he turned to see the band, the Pony Knots walk onto the stage. That clarifies it, Pony Knot is a ripe off of Slipknot on Earth. The lead singer, a stallion, stepped up to the mic and spoke out to the crowd. "Ponies of Equestria! Let me hear you scream!" The crowd screamed out with complete joy. Matt was sure his hearing was going to take a hit from Crescent's screeching. "That's what I like to hear!" The singer turned back and motioned for the others to begin playing. Feel free to play your favorite Slipknot songs here It only took a few seconds before the music started to blast out of the speakers. This concert happened to be Matt's first. He always wanted to go out and see a concert, but he never got around to going out to one. He looked over to Crescent having the time of her life as she screamed at the top of her lungs. She was also jumping up and down and getting into the music. Matt couldn't lie. The music was something else. It reminded him of the heavy metal music bands he used to listen back on Earth. He felt a bump on the shoulder and looked to see it was Crescent. She had a big smile on her face. "Come on! Let the music move you!" Exclaimed Crescent Matt smiled and jumped like Crescent, making her giggle as she joined along with him. "What's so funny?" Asked Matt "As you said, I would have never pegged you as a metalhead." Said Crescent "Well, you learn something new every day." Said Matt Crescent smiled as she and Matt let the music take over them. They danced around, allowing the music to move them. Matt and Crescent were having the time of their lives. Soon, the band decided to take a quick break. Cresent mentioned using the time to hit the bathroom. The two walked off to where the portapots were. There was already a line forming for them. They decided to wait together and talk about the concert so far. After a while, both had a chance to use the bathroom and had time to spare. Cresent mentioned that Matt should hit himself a shirt as well. He didn't see a reason why not, so they began going to the merchant, selling all the band's merchandise. As they were walking and talking, suddenly, Cresent was hit with a cup of water on the back of her head, soaking her back. Matt turned to see the stallion that Cresent had bumped into earlier with a few other friends. All of them chuckling at the soaked Cresent. Cresent spun around with rage in her eyes. "What's the big idea?!" "Oh, sorry, I thought I was aiming for the trash. Oh wait, it was!" The three stallions once more began to laugh as Cresent growled under her breath. Matt touched Cresent's shoulder, "Leave them. It's not worth it." Cresent sighed, knowing he was right. They are probably drunk anyway. I'll write a report tomorrow and have the princesses deal with it. I came here to enjoy my time with Matt. Cresent nodded, and the two walked off, clearly not engaging the stallions. The lead stallion wasn't too pleased that the two were ignoring them. "That's right, traitor, run back to your cave where your kind belongs. No one wants to see your freaky face in public at all. You don't even deserve to be a part of Equestria after what your kind did when your traitorous princess turned against ours." Cresent stopped hearing them bad mouth her princess. "Hell, Princess Celestia should have exiled your whole kind out of Equestria. So run along, dirty fucking bat, run back to your filthy kind and your filthy princess. No one wants to see your fucking face here over anywhere in Equestria. Hell, who even wants to take you as a mate? No one wants to fuck a dirty fucking bat. I bet you can't even perform in bed." Cresent held back her anger and her rage. She wanted to spin around and strike the bastard. But she was a guard and had to uphold the honor of the Lunar Guard and the guard of the princesses. She wanted to cry and scream, but she didn't want to make the situation any worse. She wanted to go home as the stallion had gotten a crowd to look at her. She hid her face behind her mane, attempting to stifle her anger and sadness. She was going to ask Matt to take her home, to take her away from her, but he wasn't next to her. She turned to see him approaching the stallion. The stallion stopped laughing as he saw Matt standing before him, "What you want, freak? Oh, are you that stinky fucking bat's friend. How cute!" The stallion laughed again before Matt raised his fist and punched right into the stallion's snout, causing him to scream in pain and grab his muzzle. "You bastard, you broke my nose. You broke my fucking nose." before the stallion could say another punch, this time a right jab that sent him into the ground. The stallion only lay there clutching his muzzle and the side of his face. He looked up to see nothing but hate and rage in Matt's eyes. The stallion shook on the ground. Everypony was silently watching what would happen next. Matt huffed before turning and walking back to Cresent and taking her hand. He led her out of the concert as the bouncer approached the area and watched the two exit. Cresent looked up at Matt, seeing his eyes soften, but she could still see the rage and hate behind them. Cresent smiled and tightened the grip around his hand. "Thank you." Cresent leaned herself against Matt as the two walked back to the castle together hand-in-hand. *** It took fifteen minutes to return to the bridge that separated the castle from Canterlot. Two Lunar Guards stopped them before they made their way inside. Cresent and Matt present a badge that Celestia gave them so they can enter the castle once the concert is over. The two guards nodded and let the two of them inside. Once inside, Matt took Cresent to her room. Once they were there, Cresent turned around, planted a kiss on the cheek, and thanked him again. Matt stood there stunned at Cresent's actions but not surprised. She turned, opened the door to her room, and waved goodbye once more before closing the door. Matt rubbed the cheek where Cresent kissed him, and that feeling he had at the concert returned to him. He sighed before making his way to his room for the night. After fumbling around trying to find his way, he found his room, but when he grabbed the doorknob, he only held it. His mind was too busy for him to even think about sleep. I need to clear my head. He left his room and began walking down the castle hallways. The only activity was a few lunar guards patrolling the castle. They gave no mind to Matt. He would stop and star out the windows at the night sky or a piece of artwork that dotted the halls. Matt finally stopped when he saw a picture of Celestia and Luna circling each other with the sun and the moon next to them. Matt could best describe it as a Ying-Yang symbol. "Lovely, isn't it." Matt turned to see Princess Celestia coming towards him in a white robe with gold lines running down the sleeves and around the bottom and ends. She had none of her royal jewelry on. She stopped next to him and admired the painting with him. "This is the flag design the three races posted when they founded Equestria." Said Celestia "Strange, seeing as you weren't born yet." Said Matt "Yes, but this flag was painted after Luna and I got our cutie marks. The original flag design disappeared centuries ago. Many historians believe the first flag had the same design but consisted of my mother and father, the first rulers of Equestria. Others believe it was a painting of the three main races of Equestria coming together and discovering friendship for the first time." Said Celestia "Were your parents alicorns like you and Luna?" Asked Matt "Yes, powerful alicorns. My father had powers over the natural world. Some said he could destroy the natural order of things with only the snap of his fingers. My mother had the power over the celestial bodies my sister and I watch over now. My mother was fun-loving, and my father was stern. But we were a happy family nonetheless." Said Celestia "What happened to them, if I can ask." Said Matt "If I'm honest, I have no idea. One day, they left Luna and me, and well, never came back. I sent the guards to find them, but after a month of looking, no pony could find them. No pony even had a clue where they were. I contacted a few allies, but they said they didn't see them either. Today, it's still a mystery to me. I wonder some days if they'll come strolling back through the castle doors. Even when I banished Luna to the moon, I half expected them to come waltzing through the castle, seeking to bring judgment down upon me for what I did to my dear sister, but that didn't happen either. In the end, Luna and I accepted that they're dead." Said Celestia "Sorry to hear that princess." Said Matt "Please, Matt, I've lived for thousands of years. I've come to accept the fact that my parents may no longer reside in this world. I hope Faust guided them to the golden gates, leading them into the golden pastures." Said Celestia "What?" Asked Matt Celestia giggled, "Oops, I guess I should explain that. You see, Faust is our goddess, we believe she created all pony kind and our nation of Equestria. Many say that our world of Eques came from all the gods and goddesses of all creatures that cover Eques came together to make our world. When a pony dies, Faust guides their soul to a golden gate where two gatekeepers judge the pony's soul. If the gatekeepers believe the soul is pure, they shall let their soul into the golden pastures, a beautiful place where all will bear witness to Faust herself. But if the gatekeepers see that taint and evil fill your soul, then you shall find yourself in the depths of Tartarus." Said Celestia "Doesn't sound far off from how Christianity believes life after death is." Said Matt "Interesting, but can I ask why you're up, Matt?" Asked Celestia "I got a lot on my mind." Said Matt "This wouldn't have to do with Crescent or that you assaulted one of my citizens?" Asked Celestia Matt looked up at the princess of the sun, "How did you know that?" "I make it my business to know what happens in my country. I must ensure peace and that ponies will never have to live in fear. Not only do the guards patrol the castle, they patrol the city as well. To keep my subjects safe, I must know everything happening across Equestria. Sure, Luna hears about most of it now since she watches the night. But Luna is still getting her hooves wet with royal duties, so I ask the guards to report anything significant to me, even if I am asleep. And well, having a human punch one of my subjects twice at a concert is something for me to hear." Celestia looked down at Matt. He looked back at her. He was about to speak to her when she raised her hand to stop him, "Know that I am displeased with your actions tonight. But, I will not take any action against you." Matt raised his eyebrow at her words, "My guards tell me that you were defending the honor of Private Dark Cresent. They told me everything the stallion said to Cresent and what he did to her." Celestia sighed, "I can still see my subjects cannot move past my sister's past actions, nor when the Thresteals turned against Equestria. Even today, I see the fear in their eyes that Luna will once more turn against me and our country. But, that still doesn't excuse your actions. I will let you off with a warning, Matthew Summers, but know that is the only one you will be getting. Strike one of my subjects again without provocation. I will take legal action against you. You may not be a pony, but you still live under my rule and the laws of Equestria." Matt nodded, "I understand your highness." Celestia smiled, "Glad to hear, though my guards were quite impressed when with your punches. Where did you even learn to fight?" "After my parents died, my head was filled with so much rage, anger, and hate towards the man who took them. I stewed in that mixture so much that I began to push away my sister and Alice. It festered in me like a sickness that darkened my mind. Eventually, Alice snapped me out of it before I did anything drastic or severe to my body. She became my rock and, to this day, still is. To make a story short, I found someone at a local gym teaching MMA fighting. I needed an outlet for everything, and well, to me, that was my outlet. But not only an outlet, but I wanted to protect my sister and Alice, so I also saw it as a way to teach myself how to defend them." "Thank you for sharing. I can see the events of today have left your mind stewing. How about I brew a cup of tea for us in the kitchen? Tea always helps calm me down when my mind is stewing." "I would love that, princess." The two walked off down towards the kitchen. Celestia opened the door to the kitchen and used her horn to turn on the lights. She made her over to the stove and got to work making the tea. Matt sat down as Celestia's horn came to life, and two teacups and ingredients flew out from the pantries. Celestia hummed a little tune to herself as she worked, but it wasn't long before the kettle began to whistle. Celestia used her magic to pick it up, pour the hot tea into the two teacups, and place the pot back on the stove. She walked over with both cups and put one in front of Matt and one in front of her. She took her seat, grabbed the teacup, and took a sip. "My mother used to make this herbal tea blend for Luna and me. Whenever we would have nightmares, she would make this and sing the song I was humming. It would always put my sister and me at ease. After she disappeared, I continued to make the tea for Luna and me. I even sing her song to Luna from time to time." Said Celestia "I bet living for a century without your sister was hard." Said Matt "Yes, I would look up at the moon every night and wonder if I did the right thing banishing her to the moon. I would spend days alone in my room crying and trying to rationalize what I did and how it was my fault that I caused my sister to turn into Nightmare Moon." Celestia sipped her tea, "When I first saw Twilight perform her magic, I knew in my heart that she was special, and I guess I was right. Thanks to her and her friends, I have my sister back, even if ponies only see her for Nightmare Moon." "So you said." Said Matt "I always believed my little ponies could see past what happened in the past and see the good in all. But there will always be those who cling to the past." Said Celestia "You can't change everypony, princess. Trust me. It's no different than Earth. Long ago, my country of America used to have slave labor, and then, one day, we got into a big civil war. The war ended slavery, but it didn't end the treatment of African Americans. Today, people are still stuck to the past and can't seem to move towards the future." Said Matt Celestia nodded, "Do you ever miss your home, Matt?" "Twilight asked the same question the night we kissed. I told her I missed a few things, but nowadays, not so much. Maybe it's because I'm dating Twilight, or I didn't have much back on Earth. But I don't miss it one bit. I truly think Equestria is my home now." Said Matt "That's glad to hear, but now let's move trains. You care deeply about Cresent if the incident is anything to go off. So tell me, what are your thoughts and feelings for Dark Cresent?" Said Celestia Matt took a sip of the tea. The flavor was incredible as the liquid touched his tongue. He could barely describe the taste. He could feel his mind settling down as he placed the cup back on the table. Celestia watched him with her soft, motherly eyes. Matt sighed as he leaned back in his chair. "She's a great friend and somebody I enjoy hanging out with as much as Twilight. And there lies the problem that I seem to be having." Celestia didn't say a thing as she let Matt mull it over, "I love Twilight with all my heart. And I would certainly consider her the perfect mate. I would love to wake up next to her. To see her beautiful smile every time I wake up." Celestia still didn't say a thing as Matt sighed, "But tonight, something felt odd. Seeing her happy today, smiling and screeching, it all acclimated when that bastard began to speak down to her. At the time, I was only defending a friend, but a single thought hit me when Cresent kissed me and thanked me again before entering her room. I love Dark Cresent as much as I love Twilight. All the things I mentioned previously with Twilight, I want with Cresent." Celestia watched as Matt slammed his fist on the table. She did nothing to stop him as she took in every word he said, "Why does my heart want to do this to me? Why does it want me to choose between Twilight or Crescent? I love both, but I feel like I'm cheating on Twilight if I have loving thoughts for Crescent, but I don't want to bury my feelings for Crescent." Matt huffed as he leaned back in his chair, "So now I'm struggling to figure out what to do. If I should bury my feelings for Crescent inside my subconscious or feel like I'm cheating on Twilight every time I look at Crescent." Celestia picked up her teacup and took a sip before putting it down. "Are you sure you love them both?" Matt looked at the princess with a quizzical look, "Or do you desire them as nothing but your play toys?" "How could you say that about your student and one of your guards?" Asked Matt "So is it true, do you desire them as mates or for your pleasure?" Asked Celestia "Why would you ask such a question to me? Do I look like a guy trying to bed every mare in Equestria? I would rather stab myself with a rusty knife in the dick if I started to think that way. I want to spend my life with both of them. I want to wake up with them near me; I want to feel their fur against my skin, to listen to the gentle beat of their hearts, and I would do anything to make them happy, even if I had to go to the ends of the earth to do it." Said Matt Celestia sipped her tea and lowered with a smile, "Then why not have both as your mate." "Huh," said Matt with a confused expression on his face. "Why not love them together?" Asked Celestia "Princess, I'm unsure what you put in your tea, but you sound crazy. If I were to date both Crescent and Twilight, I would be cheating on them both, and I would never do that. I would rather be alone for the rest of my than cheat on them." Said Matt Celestia giggled at his little speech, causing Matt to only stare at the princess of the sun with a confused look, "You are indeed an extraordinary human, Matt. But you haven't spent much time reading about pony culture." Matt scratched his right cheek with his index finger, "Well, that is true. But what does this have to do with Twilight and Crescent." "A herd." "A herd?" Asked Matt "Yes, as you probably have seen by now from your time in Ponyville, the stallion population is far less than the mare population. The stallion population only makes up 1/3 of the entire population of the Equestria." Matt blinked his eyes in surprise by that, "So, to combat the ever-growing stallion shortage. I put in a law to allow stallions to create a herd of twenty females. At first, it was only ponies, but after a year, I opened it up to the females of other creatures." "Wait, you practice polygamy here." Said Matt "Yes, we've been practicing it for about ten years now, and I can say, without a doubt, it seems to be working, though a little slow. I know it's probably not something you would have thought to hear from me if your reaction is anything to go by." Said Celestia "Yeah, humanity is monogamy. Polygamy happens to be illegal in many countries on Earth." Said Matt "Well, here, polygamy is an option for any stallion. It's open for you as well." Celestia finished her tea before putting down the cup. She got up and walked over to Matt. Celestia placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked at her as she smiled warmly, "Listen to your heart, Matt. If you wish to love Twilight and Crescent, the only thing holding you back is yourself. Take tonight to think it over." She walked away from him as she headed for the kitchen doors but stopped when she heard Matt's voice call out to her, "Princess." She stopped and turned back to the human, "Thank you for letting me talk to you." "You're welcome, Matt, and please call me Tia. I don't think you need to be so formal with me. We are friends, after all." Said Celestia "Tia?" Asked Matt "My birth name, Celestia, is the name I took when I took over the rule of Equestria." Said Celestia "Well, thank you, Tia." Said Matt "You're welcome, Matt. Please leave the cups on the table; the maids will handle them in the morning. And have a restful sleep." Said Celestia Matt watched her leave through the door. He looked at his cup of tea, his mind swirling with what Celestia told him. Could it work? Could I try a herd? I mean, I would be able to have both Twilight and Crescent as my mates. I would be able to wake up next to each one of them. But is it still cheating? Matt huffed as he leaned back in his chair and sipped his tea. Tia's right, I should sleep over it. Matt finished his tea, placed the cup back on the plate, turned out the kitchen lights, and returned to his room. Along the way, his mind and body felt heavy as he yawned and stretched his body. Man Tia was right, that tea sure does help. *** Matt tapped his fingers as he sat alone at one of the dining room tables. He was nervous while waiting for two mares to walk through the door. Well, I hope this works. But if it doesn't, I got it off my chest. He looked up at the clock. It was noon. He looked at the doors and saw Crescent and Twilight walk through the dining room doors. Well, here we go. Twilight walked up and planted a kiss on Matt's cheek as he hugged her and hugged Crescent. The trio sat down at the table. "Well, what is it, Matt?" Asked Twilight "Yeah, why did you bring Twilight up here to Canterlot when we will be going back today?" Asked Crescent Matt was silent as he tapped his fingers on the table. He still didn't know how to tell them he loved them and his insane idea. His mind raced with all the possible outcomes that might happen, which didn't help ease his mind. Twilight and Crescent looked at each other with a concerned look. They turned back to Matt as they reached, rested a hand on his, and stopped him from tapping. He looked up at both; they each had a concerned look. "Matt, what's wrong?" Asked Twilight "Yeah, you're acting odd." Said Crescent Matt sighed as he brought up his left hand a grasped both girls hands. "I want you both to listen closely to what I'm about to say." He looked up at both girls as they nodded their heads up and down. "Last night, I talked with Princess Celestia or Tia, and she wanted me to call her about something important. Something that bothered me last night after leaving the concert with you Cresent." Matt paused in an attempt to get the correct words. "I realized I didn't have feelings for one girl, but two." He looked up at Crescent, and she blushed, "I love you, Dark Crescent," he then turned to Twilight. "And I love you, Twilight. But that's where I started to hit a roadblock. How could I love you both without hurting one of you? I didn't want to bury my feelings for either one of you. But Tia told me of a way to love you both, and I'm hoping you both will join me." Matt paused and took in a big breath, "I want you girls to start a herd with me." The girls looked at each other and then back at Matt. They could hardly believe that Matt wanted to start a herd with them. Matt began to grow worried, worried that their silence was their answer to his question about forming a herd. But he heard them both speak before he could pull any deeper into sadness. "We would love to." Said both Twilight and Crescent "Yeah, I knew you might have some affection towards Crescent, so I was waiting for the day you asked to start a herd. I'm a little surprised it took you this long. You should have read it by now in the Equestrian culture book I lent you." Said Twilight "Honestly, I didn't get all that far in the book." Said Matt Twilight rolled her eyes as Crescent spoke, "I was going to tell you how I felt, but seeing how happy you were with Twilight, and I wasn't sure if you knew about herds, so I wasn't going to harm your relationship with her. But I'm glad you're starting a herd because I love you, Matthew Summers." "As do I." Said Twilight Matt smiled as he got up, walked over to his new herd mate, and hugged them. "I promise you both I'll be the best boyfriend I can be." "Herd stallion." Said Twilight Matt pulled away and looked at Twilight, "What?" "A herd stallion, that's your new title." Said Twilight "Yeah, which reminds me, don't we have to file all that paperwork with Celestia to make it official?" Asked Crescent "Right, I'll go see Celestia right now and get that. Might as well fill it out while we're all here." Said Twilight She kissed Matt on the cheek and went walking out of the room. Matt turned back to Crescent, "What paperwork?" "Celestia made it mandatory that every stallion that wishes to form a herd file with her so she knows which out there have herds and how many females exist in each herd. She monitors herds to ensure the stallion isn't busing their power to form relationships with twenty females." Said Crescent "I guess that makes sense." Said Matt "Now, about you help me seal our love for each other." Said Crescent Matt smiled as he pulled Crescent in close and placed his lips against her in a loving kiss. Crescent moaned a little in the kiss. Matt's heart soared high in the sky as he felt Crescent return his love. The two broke loose of their passionate embrace and smiled at each other. "So, should we catch up with Twilight and get working on that paperwork." Said Matt "Might as well, seeing as it is important if we're going to get this herd going." Said Crescent The two walked out of the room with intertwined hands as they sought to catch up with Twilight. *** Celestia was making her way back to her room after a long day of morning court. She was happy it was over but also delighted to hear that Matt decided to form a herd. I see you took my advice, Matt. She already filed away their paperwork for them, making Matt an official herd stallion of Twilight and Crescent. "Matt, watch it!" Celestia stopped as she looked at the room to her right. That sounded like Twilight. "Matt, that's my tail!" Exclaimed Crescent "Sorry, um, how about this?" Asked Matt "Ouch, watch where your foot is." Said Twilight "Sorry, Twilight." Said Matt "Watch the wings, there sensitive." Said Crescent "Watch the fangs, Crescent." Said Matt "What if I move you here?" Asked Twilight "Woah, warn a girl before you grab those." Said Crescent "Huh, sorry Crescent." Said Matt Celestia couldn't help but giggle as she decided to leave the new herd to their problems. Well, Matt, you are now feeling the first real pains of having a herd, snuggle time. Celestia couldn't hold back laughing as she could only imagine Matt struggling to snuggle with both Crescent and Twilight. Chapter 13 - A New MonA New Mon "Pyro Blaster." Explosions echoed outside Ponyville as the DigiDestined fought to protect the town of Ponyville once more. Manticores with black gears in trapped in their backs were the ones this time threatening the peace of Ponyville. The valley was already becoming scorched from battle. "Fox Tail Inferno." Another Manticore screamed out as Kyubimon's attack landed its mark. The Manticore soon disappeared into digital code. But the victory was short-lived as more Manticores run up trying to bring down Kyubimon. Kyubimon leaped into the air and began to spin. "Dragon Wheel." Kyubimon ignited herself on fire, and from the fire came a dragon. The dragon went right for the Manticores destroying them and turning them into digital code. Kyubimon landed on the ground and saw a Manticore trying to attack her from behind, but it disappeared. Gaogamon appeared next to her. "Thank you, Gaogamon." "No problem, Kyubimon." Matt bit the inside of his cheek as Growlmon brought down another Manticore using his Dragon Slash attack. But they were still outnumbered. Gomamon was next to Matt, ordering his fishes to attack certain Manticores, distracting them, and allowing Growlmon to take them down. He then decided to look at his friends. Terriermon and Lopmon put their ears together and began to spin towards the Manticores. He saw Byiomon firing down on the Manticores from the sky with her Spiral Twister. Gatomon leaped from Manticore, striking the gears in their back with her claws as Wizardmon gave her support. He then turned to see Crescent pulling her sword free from the skull of a Manticore. He tried to get her to stay behind with the others when they first heard of the Manticore attack. But being a guard and stubborn, she came along. It had only been two days since he announced his herd to his friends. Sure, James, Alice, Abby, and April couldn't believe what Matt told them but seemed to accept them. Everypony else congratulated Matt, Twilight, and Crescent for creating a herd together. And now here Crescent was fighting dangerous Manticores to protect Ponyville, while his other mate was safe in Ponyville. He sighed as he kept his eyes on Crescent as she dodged attacks and struck down another Manticore. The team would only fight another minute before the remaining Manticores began to return to the Everfree Forest. The Digimon decided not to pursue the retreating Manticores. They all sighed as a few of the Digimon began to return to their rookie forms. All the Digimon looked exhausted from the fight. "Yeah, you better run!" Exclaimed James Crescent tried to pursue them, but Matt stopped her, "Crescent leave them!" Crescent turned back to look at her mate, "Leave them! We need to go after them! If we don't, they'll come back with reinforcements, and we'll be back where we started ten minutes ago!" "I sad no, Crescent. Look around you," Crescent looked around at the exhausted Digimon. "Our Digimon are exhausted from the fight. We need to rest and think of a new plan because attacking them straight on will only end up with use getting overwhelmed." '"Yeah, but I can scout ahead and find where they are. We can use that to our advantage to strike," said Crescent as she landed on the ground. "No, it's far too dangerous, those aren't average Manticores," said Matt as he made his way over to her. "It seems you forgot you're talking to a trained lunar guard. I'm more than capable of handling myself." Said Crescent The two continued to argue as the others watched the two bicker back and forth. "You two should get a room. I bet it would help!" Exclaimed James as he started to snicker. Matt and Crescent turned towards James, "Stay out of this!" The two went back to bickering like an old married couple. Alice sighed as she stood next to James. "You had to say that." Said Alice "It's not my fault they can't take a joke. I mean Matt only started his herd two days ago, and they're already at each other's throat." Said James "Yeah still strange to think that Equestria openly practices polygamy." Said April "Yeah, it sure is strange." Said Alice "Well, should we break them up or leave them to bicker. I'm afraid one of them is going to say something they shouldn't." Said James "When did you start caring about Matt's relationship?" Asked Alice "Hey, I'm only stating the obvious." Said James The group watched as they continued to bicker back and forth, and it didn't seem to end. No one from the group wanted to go and try to break up the bickering couple. It seemed like a bad idea to step between Matt and Crescent. "I'm surprised they haven't run out of things to scream at each other." Said Wizardmon "Yeah, and they probably have better control over their minds, unlike James." Said Gatomon She looked up at the African American. He huffed and looked away. James was still working on repairing his friendship with Fluttershy after the whole incident with the dragon. Fluttershy looked at James before looking away, she still didn't consider James, a friend, but she was happy to see him working on becoming her friend once more. "You're never going to let me live that down, are you, Gatomon?" Asked James "Not until your on good terms with my tamer." Said Gatomon James rolled his eyes as he looked back at the bickering couple. "You know I can do this, so why don't you let me?" Demanded Crescent "Because..." Matt said before getting stopped by Crescent "Because of what, Matt? It is because you want to be the hero. Is that it, you want to show how strong you are? Are you trying to prove something?" "No..." Crescent once again stopped Matt. "Then what is it?!" Demanded Crescent Matt grabbed Crescent on the side of her arms, "I don't want to lose you." Everyone was silent, "I can't lose you, Crescent, I only started my relationship with you. I can't go on in life if something happened to or Twilight. I'm your herd stallion, which means I'm responsible for you, and I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you." Matt paused as he let go of Crescent, "I know you're a guard, Crescent, and it scares me. I know you're strong and trained to handle anything, but I'm not sure if you can handle those Manticores alone or the strange blue creatures we have been facing. I almost lost you to those Timberwolves, and that was before we were even a couple. I...I...I wouldn't know what to do if you got hurt by one of those things or if something worse happened to you." Crescent blinked her eyes as a lone tear fell from her herd stallion's eyes. She rubbed his cheek as she wiped away the tear, "Matt, I know you're scared. But as a herd, we mares stand next to you as you stand next to us. Twilight and I would do anything to make sure you were safe. And I know the danger of these new enemies, but it's my duty as a guard to defend the ponies of Equestria from danger." "I...I wish you didn't have to get right up in combat. In a way, I wish you were a tamer." Said Matt Before Crescent could respond, something warped around her waist. It was the tail of a Manticore, and before anybody could even react, the tail pulled Crescent back into the forest. "Crescent!!" Screamed Matt He tried to run after her, but a Manticore leaped out, blocking Matt and stopping him in his tracks. He saw its tail raise into the sky and come down at him. He rolled out of the way. He looked to see it turn its gaze on him, but the slap of fishes brought its gaze to Gomamon. But the Manticore didn't have time to react as three different attacks came at it. "Diamond Storm." "Bunny Blast." "Pyro Sphere." Guilmon's, Terriermon's, and Renamon's attack all struck the gear in the Manticores back, destroying it and, in turn, turning the Manticore into data. Once it was gone, Matt decided to head into the forest. But Renamon held him back. "Let me go, Renamon!" "Are you crazy, Matt?! You go in there; you'll end up dead." Said Alice Matt growled in spite, but he had to save Crescent even if it cost him his life. He wasn't going to lose Crescent, not when he only started his relationship with the bat pony. I'm sorry for this Renamon. Matt threw his head back hard and bashed it right onto Renamon's muzzle. She cried out in pain, and everyone gasped at what Matt did. Renamon's grip loosened, and he roundhouse kicked her to get her away from him. Once free of Renamon, he booked it into the Everfree Forest. "Matt, wait!" Exclaimed Guilmon Gomamon and Guilmon ran in after him. Alice ran up to help Renamon as blood leaked from her nose. Everyone looked at the forest entrance. Alice helped Renamon to her feet as she covered her bleeding nose. "Wow, he kicked your ass, Renamon." Said James Renamon glared at James and made a mental note to give Matt a piece of her mind. Renamon thanked Alice for the help as she pinched her nose and bent her head back to stop the bleeding. Abby was heading to the forest, but Alice stopped her from going into the forest. "We have to go in after him!" Exclaimed Abby "No chance Abby, we can't go in underprepared. We need to regroup with the others and think of a plan of attack. Going in now will only lead to casualties." Said Alice "What about Matt!" Cried Abby Tears were running down Abby's face. Terriermon and Lopmon tried to calm her down, but it didn't seem to be working. Alice bent down and hugged Abby, "Matt's going to be ok. You know we can take care of himself ever well, and he has Guilmon and Gomamon." Abby hugged Alice as she looked at the entrance to the Everfree Forest. Matt, stay safe. Alice picked up Abby, and she looked at the others. They all nodded and booked it back to town, knowing that they all needed a plan of attack and could only hope that Matt wouldn't get into to much trouble by myself. *** Crescent struggled to break loose from the Manticore's tail. Damn, I'm stuck. Crescent looked down at her sword and smiled as she tried to reach for it. If I can reach my sword, I get into the sky and escape this Manticore. The Manticore noticed Crescent going for her sword and stopped immediately and threw Crescent against a tree. She struck it hard, feeling the armor creaking as she coughed up blood and fell to the ground. Crescent's body was beginning to shut down as she watched the Manticore come near her. Fuck. She laid there waiting for death to grip her and take her away. Matt. She closed her eyes and fell into an unconscious state. *** "Well done, my pets." Crescent began to open her eyes. "Now, we can use her to bring down the DigiDestined." Crescent groaned as her body started to come back to her. She looked to see she was tied up on a tree. Damn. She looked to see the Manticores surrounding a dark area bowing before it. What are they bowing to? She couldn't see anything, but she swore she heard somepony talking a minute ago. She looked around and saw the Manticores stripped her of her sword and armor. All she was wearing was her midnight blue shirt and her sport shorts. She struggled to break loose from the bindings, but they were far to tight. Great, looks like I'm stuck. Crescent saw the Manticores walking away from the area as if they were no longer needed. She raised her eyebrow since she still didn't see anypony around to even give commands to the Manticores. She noticed that none of them were looking at her. Hm, whoever tied me up here must think I'm not going to escape or able to escape. She tried once more trying to move in the ropes, but it was pointless, they were far to tight around her. Damn! She huffed and sat there, thinking about what Matt said to her. I beat he's freaking out right now, trying to come in here and save me. Crescent lend her head back against the tree and looked up at the crystal clear blue sky. Matt, don't do anything crazy. She sighed as she accepted she couldn't do anything in her situation. Soon a Manticore ran into the area and began to converse with the other Manticores. In a second, the Manticores went running off, leaving Crescent alone. "Well, that was strange." Said Crescent "Are they gone?" Crescent turned to see a white blob-like creature with streamers coming from its head. It seemed to be scared of something as it peaked from behind a nearby tree. "Who?" Asked Crescent "The big creatures with the gears in their backs." "Oh, you mean the Manticores. Yeah, they're gone." Said Crescent "Oh, I thought they would never leave." The creature started to walk over to Crescent and looked up at the tied up bat pony. "So, what's your name, little fellow?" Asked Crescent "I'm Tokomon, what's yours? "I'm Crescent, and why were you hiding from the Manticores?" Asked Crescent "I didn't want them to notice me. I was sure they were going to find me and give me over to their master." Said Tokomon "Master?" Asked Crescent "Yeah, and if those Manticores found me. Their master would have probably implanted a gear into me as well." Said Tokomon "Harsh," Crescent looked down at the small white blob, and an idea came to her mind. "Tokomon, think you can help me escape. If you do that, I can get you out of this forest. Plus, get you as far away from the master of the Manticores." "Really." Said Tokomon "Yeah." Said Crescent "Ok." Said Tokomon Tokomon walked up to Crescent and opened his mouth to reveal rows of sharp teeth. Tokomon began to chew through the ropes one by one. Yes, I'll be free in no time and back with Matt and the others. Crescent's ears began to pick up the sounds of howls from the Manticores. Damn it! "Hurry up, Tokomon, I think the Manticores are coming back." Said Crescent Tokomon worked harder, chewing through the ropes and working on freeing Crescent. It would only take Tokomon another two minutes to tear through the last rope and let Crescent free from her bindings. She got up and stretched her body. Now time to get out of here. She tried to flap her wings, but pain shot throughout her body. Damn it! "What's wrong?" Asked Tokomon "It seems when that Manticore tossed me against the tree, it might have damaged my wings or paralyzed them. I was hoping to fly out of here, but looks it's going to be on foot." Said Crescent Soon three Manticores appeared before both Tokomon and Crescent. Each them growled as they looked at the small Digimon, who hid behind Crescent's hoof. She looked at them as her mind raced with ideas, and only one came to mind. She picked up Tokomon and booked it. "Where are we going?" Asked Tokomon "Anywhere where those Manticores aren't." Said Crescent Crescent could hear them coming towards her. She looked behind her to see the Manticores trying to catch up to her. Nothing seemed to be putting a stop to them. Nothing was going to be holding them back as they charged after Crescent and Tokomon. She pushed her legs to their max as she tried to dodge any roots or low lying branches. She needed to try to find a way to ditch the Manticores behind her. "Crescent, they're gaining." Said Tokomon Crescent peeked behind her to see the Manticores were gaining on her. Damn it! Crescent pushed her body even further. She could feel her heart pounding like no tomorrow in her chest, and her lungs were burning as she tried to fill them with oxygen. She left her legs growing weak as she pushed them to the limit. Finally, she saw a clearing and pushed her body to use whatever it had left. But once she left the trees, she came to a screeching halt. She was barely able to stop in time before she went right over a cliff into a raging river down below. A few pebbles feel from the cliff down to the river as she and Tokomon looked down at the raging water below. She quickly backed away from the end of the cliff. "That was close." Said Tokomon "I'll say." Said Crescent Crescent turned to see the Manticores still rushing towards her. They leaped out of the forest and began to push her towards the end of the cliff. She looked at the raging waters and began to think of her options. I clearly can't run around them, or else those Manticores will get me. And it looks like the Manticores corned me. The other option is to jump and see where the river takes me. She watched as the Manticores grow closer to her. I guess no other option. Crescent took a few steps back and held onto Tokomon tightly. "Get ready to take a swim, little buddy." Said Crescent The Manticores rushed her as she turned around, ran for the edge, and leaped off. One of the Manticores was able to reach her and get a swipe off on her back. Crescent hissed as she felt the Manticore's sharp claws breakthrough her shirt and claw into the flesh of her back. She ignored the pain as she concentrated on the task before her, surviving the rapids below. The Manticores watched Crescent plummetted towards the water below. Crescent braced herself for the strike against the water and splashed down into it. The rapids immediately pulled her away as she stayed underwater to keep out of sight of the Manticores. The Manticores looked around for her, but couldn't find her among the raging water. They growled but didn't dare to jump into the water themselves. The Manticores decided to find a way down to the river below and search for Crescent and Tokomon. They knew if they didn't find the bat pony that their master wasn't going to be pleased. *** Crescent pulled herself up onto the shore as she huffed and puffed from the exhaustion of fighting the current. After a few minutes of fighting the current, it settled down long enough for her to reach the shore. She laid there as she caught her breath and let her body relax for a few seconds. She looked to Tokomon, shacking himself off before turning to her. "You ok?" He asked "Yeah, I'll be fine. I only need to rest for a minute or two." Said Crescent Tokomon nodded his head and sat watching Crescent catching her breath. "Can I ask you something." Said Tokomon "Sure." Said Crescent "Where are we?" Asked Tokomon "We're right now in the Everfree Forest. A place that doesn't follow the laws of Equestria and a place that no pony should ever enter." Said Crescent "So, why are you here?" Asked Tokomon "One of those Manticores drug me in here." Said Crescent Crescent finally felt her body coming back to her and slowly got to her feet. She was still exhausted, but exhaustion never stopped her for long. She stripped her shirt, deciding to get the wet cloth off her body. Under her shirt was a light purple sport's bra. She reached back and found the scratch marks from the Manticore. She hissed as she found the wounds and pulled her hand back to see blood. She sighed as she tore her shirt, hearing Rarity screaming in her mind, and tied the strips around her injuries. "Tokomon, did I get all the wounds?" Asked Crescent She turned around to let Tokomon, "Yeah." She smiled as she picked up Tokomon, "Now, let's find a way out of here. I believe if we follow the river, we should find our way out of this forest." Said Crescent Crescent began to follow the river hoping it would lead her out of the Everfree Forest and back into the arms of her stallion. After a while, she felt tired of carrying Tokomon. "I'm sorry to say Tokomon, but you're a little heavy, and I'm still exhausted." Said Crescent "Oh, then let me do something." Said Tokomon Tokomon wiggled out of Crescent's grip and climbed up to the top of her head. "How's that?" Asked Tokomon Crescent smiled up at him, "Much better." Crescent continued her walk through the forest, following the river. She made sure to watch out for things that might hurt Tokomon. "So what type of Digimon are you, Crescent?" Asked Tokomon Crescent chuckled, "I'm not a Digimon. I'm what's called a Threstral or bat pony." "Bat pony, that's a strange name to call yourself." Said Tokomon "Well, maybe to you, Tokomon. But here in Equestria, you'll find that ponies are the common species." Said Crescent "Oh, but what about Digimon, are they common?" Asked Tokomon "Not so much, only recently have Digimon been appearing. But my friends have a few Digimon and are even tamers." Said Crescent "Tamers?" Asked Tokomon "It's the name for my friends who have partner Digimon and use them to protect Equestria." Said Crescent "Wow, are you a tamer?" Asked Tokomon "No, I don't have a partner Digimon. But I still fight next to my friends. I have to protect the ponies of Equestria as a royal guard; it is my duty." Said Crescent "Aren't you scared of getting hurt?" Asked Tokomon "Sure, who isn't scared, Tokomon. Going into battle is never easy, but somepony has to do it. Otherwise, we would live in a world where ponies are afraid to live or even go outside. We guards keep the gates of chaos closed to ensure peace is always present in Equestria." Said Crescent "Ok." Said Tokomon Crescent followed the river but stopped when her ears picked something up. Her ears twitched back and forth, trying to pinpoint the sound. She grabbed Tokomon and jumped behind a tree. She poked her head out to see two Manticores sniffing the area, trying to pick up her scent. Luckily, the water washed most of my scent away. The Manticores probably found my torn shirt. She stayed silent, keeping Tokomon from talking as the Manticores searched the area. Crescent knew she had no way to fight back and wasn't fully back to her usual self. If one of the Manticores found her, she would be dead in the water. She held her breath as one of the Manticores began to move closer to her. She began to shake in fear, and sweat began to form on her brow as the Manticore drew ever closer. Its nostrils were flaring, trying to find Crescent's scent. Please don't find me! Faust must have heard Crescent's plea, for an explosion pulled the attention of the Manticore away from her. It wasn't long before a howl filled the air pulling the Manticores off towards the explosion. Crescent poked her head from her hiding spot, making sure the area was clear. Once she made sure that the Manticores were no longer around, she left her spot. She let out a heavy sigh of relief, "Thank you, Faust." "Man, I thought that thing was going to find us." Said Tokomon "Yeah," but Crescent might have spoken too soon when she felt something breathing down her neck. Her fur stood on end as she turned her head to see a Manticore staring at her with rage-filled eyes. "Shit!" Crescent began to back up from it as the Manticore growled at her. She didn't know what to do, but Tokomon knew what he had to do. He wiggled out of Crescent's grasp and stood right in front of the Manticore. "Tokomon!" Screamed Crescent "Frothy Spit!" Tokomon spat up a bubbling spit that hit the Manticore right in the eyes. It howled in pain as Tokomon smiled. Crescent could see the Manticore was trying to get the spit out of its eyes. Time to make a break for it. Crescent picked up Tokomon and booked it away. She ran through the forest, thinking that the Manticore might think she followed the river. "What was that?" Asked Crescent "Frothy Spit, an acid spit." Said Tokomon "Wow, that's impressive, and thank you, Tokomon." Said Crescent "I couldn't let that beast harm you, Crescent." Said Tokomon Crescent smiled at Tokomon as she pushed her exhausted and wounded body to the limit it could reach. But she only lasted a few minutes before she had to stop and rest. She placed a hand against a tree trunk and started to huff and puff. Crescent looked around her but didn't see any Manticores, and her ears weren't picking up anything. She then heard another explosion, and it wasn't far from her. I wonder if that's Matt and the others. She walked towards the sound and came out to a small clearing and watched as a fireball blasted away a Manticore, turning it into digital code. That had to be Pyro Blaster, which means Matt's nearby. She stepped out and saw her herd stallion ordering Growlmon to fire on another two Manticores. Gomamon was resting on top of his head. Both Manticores didn't stand a chance against Growlmon. "Matt!" Matt turned, and his eyes widened when he saw Crescent running up to him. He smiled as Gomamon jumped off his head as he ran for his mate. Crescent could feel tears of joy running down her face as she was finally safe. But fate was not on the lover's side as the Manticore that Tokomon wounded, appeared with scars running over its face from the acid, and its right eye was milky. Everything went into slow motion as it rammed right into Crescent, sending her right into the tree across from the Manticore. Crescent slammed into the tree, and the force broke both of her wings. She heard and felt the sickening snap of her wings as she screamed out in pain. She fell to the ground as she laid there in agonizing pain as she coughed up blood. "Crescent!!!" Exclaimed Matt More Manticores came out of the forest and surrounded Matt and his Digimon as the wounded one walked towards Crescent and Tokomon. Matt cursed under his breath as the Manticores surrounded him and Gomamon. Growlmon tried to get to the two of them, but the Manticores around him kept him at bay. "Damn it!" Exclaimed Matt The Manticores now surrounded both Matt and Gomamon. Gomamon stood in front of the Manticores, ready to defend his tamer. "Gomamon, you can't handle them." Said Matt "Who cares, I can't let them hurt you. It's my job to protect you." Said Gomamon The Manticores leaped at Gomamon, who was ready for them, "Gomamon!" Suddenly Matt saw his Digivice glowing white and Gomamon following suit. Is Gomamon digivoling? "Gomamon digivolve to... Ikkakumon." The Manticores now looked at a large walrus and polar bear hybrid creature with a horn coming out of its head. Ikkakumon swatted away the Manticores with ease. Ikkakumon looked back at Matt, "Now I'm more than capable of handling these Manticores." "Looks like it, buddy." Said Matt Matt pulled his Digivice and looked to see Ikkakumon was Gomamon's champion form. "Now, let's do this, you oversized kitty cats." The Manticores growled and rushed toward Ikkakumon, "Harpoon Torpedo." Ikkakumon launched the horn on top of his head. It went a little way before opening to reveal a torpedo, which struck the black gear on the back of the Manticores destroying and turning the Manticore into digital code. Ikkakumon did the same for the other charging Manticores. Soon it was over, and there were no more Manticores. "Alright, Ikkakumon." Said Matt "Wow, that was amazing Ikkakumon," The two turned to see Growlmon walked over to them. "Thank you, Growlmon," but more growls pulled the group to see more Manticores approaching them. "Looks like we have more friends to deal with." "It would seem that way, Ikkakumon." Said Growlmon Matt gritted his teeth as he didn't have time to deal with all of these Manticores. He looked to see a small creature standing in front of Crescent as the Manticore that attacked her approached, but the arrival of a few Manticores blocked his site on his mate. Please strange creature, protect Crescent. Matt turned back to the Manticores facing him and his partner Digimon. "Let's show them what we got, boys." Said Matt "Harpoon Torpedo." "Pyro Blaster." Tokomon stood in front of Crescent as the Manticore approached them both. It growled as it looked at the creature that blinded one of its eyes. Crescent coughed as she struggled to get to her hooves, but the searing pain traveling through her body made it impossible. "You keep away from her." Said Tokomon "Tokomon." Said Crescent The Manticore growled at the in-training Digimon. Tokomon was scared out of his mind, but he stood his ground. I won't let that thing hurt you Crescent. Tokomon felt Crescent grab hold of his back. "Tokomon, run for it. You can't stop that thing." Said Crescent "No, I won't leave you." Said Tokomon Tokomon felt something wet drip onto his back. He looked up, and the Manticore was hovering over him right now. Tokomon swallowed the lump in his throat but stood his ground. The Manticore looked down at the small Digimon and smacked him away. He landed against the ground, not far from Crescent. Tokomon sat on the grass as his mind spun as he tried to get his body together. Crescent could feel the hot breath of the Manticore on her. She knew this was it. She spied Matt and his Digimon, fighting off a horde of Manticores. He would never make it to her in time. She accepted that this was the end of it all. She recognized that she had no luck to spare, and Crescent would find out if she were worthy to enter the Gold Pasters and meet Faust. She closed her eyes as a few tears leaked from them as she accepted death's grip. Tokomon shook off his daze and looked at the Manticore hovering over her. He ran right for Crescent. I have to protect her. Soon a light began to envelop Tokomon. "Crescent!" Exclaimed Tokomon The Manticore and Crescent looked at Tokomon as he leaped into the air as light entirely took him. "Tokomon digivolve into... Patamon." Crescent couldn't believe that Tokomon digivolved. But why did he digivolve into his next form. Was it because of me? The Manticore turned to Patamon, seeing it as a nuisance. It growled at Patamon, and he did the same. "Let's see if you can handle me now." Said Patamon The Manticore tried to strike Patamon with its tail, but Patamon dodged it. Patamon flew behind the Manticore and began to inflate his stomach. "Boom Bubble." Patamon released the built-up air into a solid mass of air that struck the Manticore's gear. It howled in pain before turning to look at Patamon. The Manticore used its wings on its back to take flight, even if it was a limited flight. "Wow, those wings do give you flight." Said Patamon The Manticore howled before flying towards Patamon. Patamon was able to dodge since the Manticore moved slower than Patamon. But it wasn't going to let the Digimon attack from its back once more. The tail went shooting at Patamon as he tried to get behind the Manticore. He quickly ducked under the attack and got far enough away from the tail. Shoot, how do I deal with this. "Harpoon Torpedo." Three torpedos smashed into the Manticore. "Pyro Blaster." Growlmon followed that up with a fireball to the Manticore. "Now, Patamon, finish it off." Patamon looked down at Matt and his two champion level Digimon. He nodded his head as he inflated his stomach once more. "Boom Bubble." Patamon spat out another ball of air that struck the gear, which exploded. The Manticore howled for a minute before it was over. The Manticore turned into digital data, and the battle was officially over. Not a single Manticore remained around the group. Matt sighed as he ran over to Crescent as Ikkakumon and Growlmon went back to Guilmon and Gomamon, who was exhausted from his first time digivolving into Ikkakumon. Patamon landed on the ground as he watched Matt gently pick up Crescent. Patamon watched the strange creature pick up her friend, but he didn't seem dangerous to her. She smiled up at him. He smiled back with a few tears running from his face as tears ran down hers. He held her tight as if he let go. She would disappear once again. Crescent lifted her hand and wiped away his tears before bringing him into a sweet little kiss, even if it strained her body. The two released the kiss, and she snuggled up into Matt's chest. Patamon smiled as he knew this stranger was not going to hurt Cresent but seemed to care deeply about her. He smiled that she was in his arms as he wiped away her tears. "Alright, let's head back." Said Matt His Digimon nodded, and off they went leaving Patamon standing there looking at the group. Crescent looked back at Patamon. "Come on, Patamon. Let's get out of here." Said Crescent Patamon nodded and took flight and flapped next to Matt. He looked up at the new Digimon. "Thank you, Patamon, for protecting Crescent." Said Matt "I couldn't let that thing hurt my friend." Said Patamon Matt nodded his head and walked out the way he came in. But the group didn't notice that in the darkness behind them, a figure watched. Guilmon turned his head but didn't see anything, but he thought he felt something watching them. He shrugged it off and ran to catch up with Matt. *** Crescent laid in her hospital bed, looking up at the ceiling. There was nothing much to look at in the white hospital room. The sound of her heart monitor beeping echoed around the room, keeping the silence at bay. Her mind flared with everything that happened to her yesterday. To think that I nearly lost my life yesterday. If Matt hadn't come when he did, and Tokomon hadn't digivolved when he did, who knows what would have happened. She sighed as she kept her eyes on the ceiling until she heard the door open. She looked up to see Matt, Twilight, and Patamon. She smiled as Patamon flew over to her and rubbed his head against her cheek. She noticed that Matt had a piece of cloth stuffed up his left nostril. She raised her eyebrow as to why he would have that stuffed up his nose. "What's with the cloth?" Asked Crescent "Renamon got her revenge when I gave her a bloody nose. She sure does have a strong right hook." Said Matt "You're lucky, that's all she did to you." Twilight sighed, "But he also received a good left hook to his face from Alice and a hard slap from me. Maybe that will teach you not to be stupid." Matt rubbed the back of his neck as he chuckled. Twilight rolled her eyes. Crescent giggled as she held Patamon. "I'm glad to see you're ok, Crescent." Said Patamon "Yeah, glad to see your feeling better." Said Twilight "Yeah, but doctors said I wouldn't be able to fly for at least three weeks. It looks like I'm stuck walking for a good while." Said Crescent "Ouch, but I'm glad to see you're fine." Said Twilight "Same here, when I saw you the strips of your shirt by the river, I thought the worst happened." Said Matt Crescent was silent for a minute as she thought what to say, "Matt, I want to apologize the way I acted yesterday. I knew you were only trying to look at for me." Matt walked up and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Crescent, I said those things back there because I care deeply for you. I already lost my parents, and I can't take losing someone I care about again. But I understand you have a job to do, and you are a defender of Equestria." He grabbed her hand with his right hand and cupped her chin with his left, "But promise me you'll be careful from now on and listen to me when I say to disengage." "I can agree to that after today." Said Crescent "And you sir have to promise not to go charging recklessly into situations ever again." Said Twilight Matt nervously chuckled as he rubbed his neck and adverted his gaze from the stern look Twilight was giving him. He sighed, knowing it was the right thing to do. I guess she is right, I did go in recklessly, even if I had Guilmon and Gomamon by my side. He looked back at Twilight, "I promise." She smiled as her stern deminer disappeared. Matt smiled at back at Twilight as he placed a kiss on Crescent's lips. Twilight smiled as Crescent and Matt shared a loving embrace. They didn't stay connected long as Matt pulled away from her. She smiled at him before looking back at Patamon. "And I have to thank you to Patamon. You saved me back there." Said Crescent "Don't mention it. I was only protecting a friend. I am your friend, right?" Asked Patamon Crescent rubbed the top of his head, "Of course we are. We're the best of friends." Patamon smiled and laughed, but stopped when a sphere of light appeared before him and Crescent. Everyone in the room knew what that sphere meant as the light exploded to reveal a black and silver digivice. Crescent reached out and grabbed it. The screen lit up and showed a picture of Patamon. "What's that?" Asked Patamon "A digivice, and it has a picture of you on it." Said Crescent "What does that mean?" Asked Patamon "It means you and I are partners, and I'm a tamer now!" Exclaimed Crescent "Really!" Exclaimed Patamon "Yes!" Exclaimed Crescent Crescent held Patamon's front paws as he jumped up and down with a smile on both of their faces. Matt walked over to stand next to the Twilight to watch at the cute display. She intertwined the fingers of her right hand with his left as she leaned her head on his shoulder. She looked up at him as he watched Crescent. "You think I'll get a Digimon to?" Asked Twilight He looked down at her and placed a kiss on her forehead, "Who knows, but anything is possible." Chapter 14 - SleepoverSleepover Rain poured down from the sky. It soaked the ground, causing puddles to form across the land. Lightning flashed across the sky as the wind wiped around the town Ponyville. Everypony was snuggled safely in their homes as the storm poured down much-needed rain after the pegasi forgot a sprinkle the week prior. No pony would be caught dead outside in the rain, but two such ponies were. Rarity and Applejack ran through the rain after hearing Twilight calling out to them. They had no other option but to take shelter in her house as it was the closet place for them. "Come inside, girls." Said Twilight Rarity quickly went outside as not to let the rain further soak her clothing, which was an aquamarine shirt and a black skirt. She used her magic to dry off her clothes and mane so she could get it right back the way it should be. Applejack, on the other hand, still stood outside, looking at Twilight's home and the lightning that was flying across the sky. "Is the inside a tree the best place to be in a lightning storm." Said Applejack "It isn't unless you have a magical lightning rod protecting it. Now come inside before you catch a cold." Said Twilight "Thank you for the invitation, Twilight." Said Rarity "Yeah, thanks for the hospitality." Said Applejack Rarity looked down to see mud-covered Applejack's hooves. She stopped Applejack from passing the doormat and pointed down to her hooves. "Do be a polite guest and clean yourself up." Applejack growled and muttered under her voice as she went back outside to clean off her hooves. Rarity smiled as she closed the door. "Some storm, huh. The pegasi sure outdid themselves this time. I hope you and Applejack will be able to make it home." Said Twilight Rarity looked outside at the raging storm, "Yes, that might be a problem." "Well, you are more than welcome to stay here. Spike's off in Canterlot on royal business. It's only Matt and his Digimon here." Rarity looked around and raised her eyebrow, "Oh, he's upstairs sleeping in my bed. He came back today after a three-day business trip with Mayor Mare. He came to see me and well conked out on my couch only after a minute or two of sitting on it. Guilmon and Gomamon are in the kitchen." As if on command, the two Digimon came out of the kitchen with Guilmon stuffing his face full of bread, "So I'm quite lonely tonight since I don't want to wake up, Matt." Twilight suddenly seemed to have an idea pop into her head, "You and Applejack should have a sleepover. We'll have a slumber party! I've always wanted to have one!" Rarity chuckled as Twilight ran over to the many shelves of the library, seemingly looking for a book, "Oh, well, that's nice darling, but I remembered have something important I have to do. How could I forget that?" She looked back at Applejack, working on cleaning her hooves, "I possibly can't stay here all night with Applejack." When she turned back, Twilight had a book right in her face, "Slumber 101: All You've Ever Wanted to Know About Slumber Parties But Were Afraid to Ask." "I always wanted to use it, but never got a chance. Now I can, oh this is going to be great." Said Twilight "Oh, can we join too?" Asked Guilmon with Gomamon nodding his head. "Why not, the more we have, the more fun we can have." Said Twilight "Slumber party!" Shouted Guilmon "Great," said Rarity with a nervous chuckle. Twilight placed the book on a pedestal and flipped to the first chapter. "What's first?" Asked Guilmon "Well, it says the first thing we do is makeovers." Said Twilight "What's that?" Asked Guilmon "Better to show than explain." Said Rarity "Well, you have fun. I am not putting makeup on or anything else you girls do for makeovers." Said Gomamon Rarity ignited her horn and grabbed Gomamon and pulled him into the air, "Not so fast, Gomamon. You wanted to be part of this sleepover, which means you have to do what the book says. I would hate for you to hurt Twilight's feelings about not wanting to enjoy the fun of her first slumber party." Gomamon looked over to Twilight, and she had a puppy dog look on her face. Guilmon was also trying to pull it off, but it wasn't working. Gomamon grumbled, "Fine." "Great, now let's get to work." Said Rarity *** Applejack closed the door as she looked at her cleaned hooves. I hope that satisfies little miss fussy. She then looked up and raised her eyebrows as Rarity began to place a green liquid that looked like mud on Twilight's face and move it around. Rarity also had it on her face along with Guilmon and Gomamon. Gomamon also had cucumbers around his eyes. "What in tarnation is going on here?" Everyone turned to look at Applejack, "You call me out for mud of my hooves and make me clean it off, but it's ok to put mud on your faces." "Silly, it's called a mud mask. It's to refresh and rejuvenate your complexion." Said Rarity "I do feel my face getting refreshed and rejuvenated," said Gomamon, with Guilmon nodding his head to agree with Gomamon. "We're giving each other makeovers! We have to do it since it is right here in the book." Said Twilight She used her magic to float the slumber party book over to Applejack's face, "Slumber 101: Everything You." Applejack instantly stopped reading, "Oh, look at the time! I gotta skidaddle on home, quick! I'm late for, um something." Applejack began to make her way towards the door, but a flash of lightning followed by a tremendous clap of thunder stopped her in her tracks, "Or maybe I'll stay here for a spell." "Hurray slumber party!" Exclaimed Twilight Applejack nervously chuckled but stopped when Rarity smiled at her as she began to put the mud mask across her face. She then placed two cucumbers over her eyes. "What's up with the cucumbers?" Asked Applejack Rarity sighed, "They are to reduce the puffiness around one's eyes." "I would agree with that." Said Gomamon "Whatever, but these are good eatin'." She threw both cucumber slices into her mouth and chewed them. "Oh, this is so exciting! We'll do everything by the book, and that will make my slumber party officially fun." Said Twilight Gomamon looked behind him as he heard Applejack and Rarity going at it. Guilmon stood next to him as the two Digimon watching the ponies go at it. "You wouldn't know that those two are friends from looking at it." Said Gomamon "Yeah." Said Guilmon Twilight appeared and hugged her friends before using her magic to bring in Gomamon and Guilmon into the hug, "This is going to be the best slumber party ever." Everybody nodded as Twilight brought the book over to them, "Let's see here to finish makeovers, we have to braid our mane and tails." Twilight let go over everybody and ran up the stairs to her room. "I've been meaning to ask what you and Guilmon are doing here, Gomamon?" Asked Applejack "Matt is out cold upstairs in Twilight's bed. He collapsed only after two minutes after coming here from his trip with Mayor Mare." Said Gomamon "How was that?" Asked Applejack "Boring." Said Gomamon "I have to agree, everypony there was so boring and dull. I had to fight every chance not to fall asleep." Said Guilmon "Oh, I let it put me to sleep." Said Gomamon Twilight came down with hair curlers. She set it down and smiled, "Now, let's get to work." After fifteen minutes of working on the braids, each of the mares had their manes and tails curling. Applejack didn't want the curlers in her mane, but she didn't want to upset Twilight as it was her first sleepover. Gomamon and Guilmon helped curl the girl's manes and tails since they couldn't participate. It wasn't long before the mares removed the curlers to reveal their manes were all the same. Gomamon and Guilmon cocked there heads to the side as Twilight went to work on her book. The two Digimon looked at each other before shrugging it away. "Makeovers check, now its time for us to tell ghost stories. Who wants to go first?" Said Twilight "I think I'll go first. Let me tell ya the story of the prissy ghost who drove all mad with her unnecessary neatness." Applejack looked over to Rarity, "I'm sure y'all familiar with that one." Rarity rolled her eyes, "No, I don't think I heard that one. But let me tell you one. I'm sure you well aware of Applejack. It's the horrifying story of the messy, inconsiderate ghost who irritated everypony within a hundred miles." "Oh, please, you made that up." Said Applejack "There ghost stories, they're all made up." Said Rarity "Not all ghosts are," both mares looked at Gomamon. "Let me tell you the story of the Bakemon. Ghost Digimon that every year gathers in mass." Gomamon began to stalk slowly towards both girls, "Then they head out to hunt helpless Digimon to feast upon them. If you ever hear the sound of cloth waving across the night sky, then know that you will never return." Both mares raised their eyebrows at Gomamon as he stood on his back legs with his claws in the air. He cocked his head to the side, "What?" "Darling, no offense, but that was a horrible story." Said Rarity "I have to agree. A ghost Digimon that eats other Digimon." Said Applejack "Oh, they're real, alright." Said Gomamon "Sure, darling." Said Rarity "Well, I have one. It's the story about the Legend of the Headless Horse." Twilight dimmed the lights and pulled out a lantern. She sat on the floor and patted the area around her. The group sat down around her as she placed the lantern in the middle of the group. "It was a dark and stormy night, just like tonight. And three ponies were having a slumber party just like this one." Twilight spent a good while recounting the story of the Headless Horse. The group was starting to get creeped out as Twilight continued her tale. "And just when the last pony thought she was safe, there, standing right behind her, just inches away was..." Twilight paused to raise the tension in the room and the perfect opportunity, "The Headless Horse!" A bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, and Twilight took the opportunity as she quickly threw a blanket over her head and acted like the Headless Horse, causing Rarity, Applejack, Gomamon, and Guilmon to scream in horror. The group held each other in a large ball of fear. Twilight laughed as she threw the sheet off her head and went over to her book. She also brought the lights back on. "Ghost stories check." Everybody let each other go and tried to calm down their nerves. "Now it says here that it's time to make s'mores." Said Twilight "What's a s'more?" Asked Guilmon "It's a roosted Marshmellow between two pieces of chocolate and graham cracker." Said Applejack "Oh, that sounds tasty." Said Guilmon "It sure is." Said Applejack "Do we even have the necessary materials to make s'mores?" Asked Rarity Twilight zipped off into her kitchen and brought everything out they would need. "Well, I guess let's get started. First, we're going to need a fire to roast the Marshmallows and then a table to work on assembling the s'mores." Said Rarity "I think I have a spare table in the basement and wood in the basement." Said Twilight "I'll give you a hand, Twilight." Said Applejack Applejack followed Twilight down to the basement. After a while, the two came up with a table and wood. Applejack tossed a few logs into the chimney and asked Guilmon to light the fire. Guilmon fired off a Pyro Sphere to ignite the fire after which, Applejack gave him a thumbs up and began to work on the Marshmallows. Guilmon decided to help out, with direction from Applejack. Rarity worked at the table, sorting everything out with Twilight and Gomamon. "Now you place a Marshmellow on top of the chocolate and be sure it's centered - that's critical - and then carefully put another perfectly square graham cracker on top." She showed off the perfectly made s'more to Twilight Gomamon. "And that's how you do it." "Wow." Said Twilight "That all seemed way too complicated for a snack." Said Gomamon "That's because it is, Gomamon." Applejack picked up Rarity's perfectly made S'more, "Nah, ya just eat 'em." Applejack tossed the treat into her mouth and chewed. The Digimon followed Applejack's example, as did Twilight. Twilight ate her treat as she went over to her book. "S'mores check, now it seems we play a game called truth or dare." Said Twilight "Well, I dare Applejack to do something carefully and neatly for a change." Said Rarity "Oh yeah? Well, I dare Rarity ta lighten up and stop obsessin' over every last little detail, for a change." Said Applejack "I don't think this game is going to well." Said Gomamon Twilight scratched her head as her friends continued to argue. I don't think that's how we play the game. Let's see if they have a guide here. Twilight flipped through a few pages before she found what she needed. "It says here you have to give an honest answer to any question or do whatever anypony dares you to do." Said Twilight Applejack looked at Rarity with a devilish grin, "Then, I dare Rarity to step outside and ruin her precious mane." Rarity gasped at what Applejack dared her to do. "You have to. It's the rules." Said Twilight Rarity growled before marching over to Twilight's front and stepping outside. She did pause once she had the door open, but accepted her fate and went out into the rain. She only stayed outside for a few seconds before returning to the inside of the library. She stood at the front door, shivering and dripping water as the rain had soaked her from head to toe. Her clothes hung tight to her body, and her mane was now straight as it dripped water. Applejack placed her hand over her mouth as she snickered at Rarity, making the fashion mare growl before making her way towards Applejack, leaving a trail of water. She got right in front of Applejack's face. "Now, I dare to wear a frou-frou, glittery, lacy dress." Said Rarity Applejack huffed as she stomped off to Twilight's basement. She was down there for an entire three minutes before coming back up wearing a frou-frou princess dress. Rarity snicked a little as Applejack made her ways back to stare daggers at Rarity. The two began to give each other dares. Gomamon turned to look at Twilight. "Is that yours?" He asked Twilight blushed and turned away from Gomamon, "I think that's enough of that. Let's see our next fun thing to do is...pillow fight." Rarity huffed as she finally got herself dry, "Oh, please. I will not participate in something so crude." Once she finished her sentence as a pillow hit her in the head. She looked at Applejack, who was holding another pillow. Applejack also was out of the dress that Rarity made her wear. "Oh! It! Is! On!" Guilmon and Gomamon looked at each other before booking it as pillows began to go flying across the library. Both Digimon took cover behind the couch as they watched Rarity and Applejack go at it. Twilight didn't seem to pay much attention as she was trying to figure out what the new game was. Finally, she figured it out after turned around. "Oh, I get it. A fight with pillows." She watched as Rarity and Applejack were picking up the fight, "Don't you girls think you should take it down a notch." "I will if Applejack does." Said Rarity "She started it." Said Applejack Both mares dodged pillows they launched at each other. Twilight was going to try to stop them when pillows began to slam into her. Rarity and Applejack stopped when they completely covered Twilight. Twilight poked her head out from the pile of pillows. "Maybe it's time to get some sleep." Said Twilight Everyone else seemed to agree as Twilight got to her hooves and pulled a few feathers from her mane and out of her mouth. She took a few pillows upstairs with her. She opened her bedroom door to see Matt was still sleeping in his bed, but quite sprawled out. Twilight offered Rarity and Applejack some of her PJs for them to wear to bed as she prepared the extra bed in the room. Applejack and Rarity took turns getting changed as the Digimon made themselves some makeshift beds on the floor. Twilight moved Matt around, without waking him, and curled up next to him. She laid her head on his chest and listened to his gentle breathing as she fell asleep. But Twilight wouldn't stay asleep for long as she could hear Applejack and Rarity arguing once more. She had tolerated it for most of the sleepover, but she finally had enough of her friends bickering at each other. She tried to ignore them and concentrate on her lover's breathing or the rhythm of his heartbeat. But neither of those was working. She growled as she got up and glared at her friends, who looked at her. "I hope you're happy, both of you. You've ruined my first slumber party." Gomamon and Guilmon were both waking up right at the moment, "The makeover, the s'mores, Truth or Dare, the pillow fight... I mean, is there anything else that could go wrong?" Soon everyone turned to watch as a bolt of lightning struck a tree next to Twilight's house. "Sorry, I asked." Everyone ran to the window and looked at the tree as it swayed in the rain and wind. It looked close to falling onto the house next door to them. "Ya, see? That's why we needed to take down all those branches around town, not spiffy 'em up." Said Applejack Rarity wanted to say something, but Applejack pushed her out of the way and went to her clothes, where she got a rope. She tied a knot and made a lasso out of it. She walked over to the window and pushed Rarity out of the way as she opened it. "Are you sure that's such a great idea." Said Gomamon "Applejack, wait!" Exclaimed Rarity "No time for waitin'!" Applejack tossed her rope out and caught the broken tree and smiled over at Rarity, "That's how we get it done." Applejack pulled on the rope, and in came the tree. Everyone screamed as the top of the broke tree came right into Twilight's room. The screaming, of course, woke up Matt, who wasn't able to get a word out before the tree began to fill Twilight's room. Everyone poked there heads out from the foliage of the tree. Rarity saw the mess that the tree caused and gasped as she went right to work on trying to clean it as the rain started to come into the room. "I tried to tell you it would come crashing into here." Said Rarity Applejack growled, "Well, ya should have tried harder." Applejack turned back to look at Twilight, "I'm mighty sorry, Twilight." "Its..." Twilight paused as she thought about it, "Well, it's not okay. There's a giant tree branch in the middle of my room, and the book doesn't say anything about having a giant tree branch at your slumber party. Or least I haven't found that entry yet." Twilight flipped through the book but struggled against the storm. Matt poked his head up from the tree and looked around as Gomamon and Guilmon were next to him. He looked at both of them and then the tree that was inside Twilight's room. "What's going on here?" Asked Matt "We're having a slumber party." Said Guilmon "A slumber party." Said Matt "Yeah." Said Gomamon Matt kept trying to understand what was happening as Applejack argued with Rarity, and Twilight attempted to figure things out. Soon Rarity's horn came to life, and the tree became covered in the light from her horn. Then in a flash of white light, the tree was now potted topiaries. Applejack was going to kick out the rest of the tree out of the window, but Rarity glared at her. Applejack stopped and pick up the trunk of the tree and drop it outside. Rarity smiled at her until she looked at herself. "Oh, I look awful." Said Rarity Applejack also saw she didn't look too good either. She rubbed her chin, and a light bulb went off in her head, and she ran off and got to pieces of cucumber and put them over Rarity's eyes. "Better." Said Applejack "Yes, thanks." Said Rarity Rarity tried to find Applejack to hug her as she waved her hands around to find Applejack. Applejack smiled as she moved forward and returned Rarity's action. Matt stood with his Digimon partners and scratched his head. "I'm still completely lost." Said Matt Applejack released Rarity and walked over to Matt, "No worries, partner, I'll fill you in." "While you do that, I'm jumping into the shower. I need to get cleaned up." Said Rarity She removed the cucumbers to make her way to Twilight's bathroom as Applejack filled Matt in on everything much better than Guilmon and Gomamon could do while Twilight tried to figure out what part of the slumber party consisted of topiaries. *** "Dear Princess Celestia, It's hard to believe that two ponies who seem to have so little in common could ever get along. But I found out that if you embrace each other's differences, you just might be surprised to discover a way to be friends after all." Twilight rolled up the scroll as Rarity, Applejack, Gomamon, and Guilmon played a little game in the background. Twilight would make sure that when Spike got home, she would have him send that off. Matt came up and hugged her from behind as she placed a kiss on her cheek. "So, how was your first slumber party?" He asked Twilight looked back at him as he rested his head on her shoulder, "Sure, it was rough at first, but I think it ended up being perfect. So as for my first slumber party, it's a complete success." She then turned to the ponies and Digimon, "Now shall we have another tomorrow." The ponies and Digimon looked at her and began to laugh, "How about a week from Thursday? Oh, how about two weeks from Saturday? A month from now?" The laughter continued as the clouds disappeared, and the sun came out once more. Chapter 16 - A King's ReturnSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.IntroductionIntroduction The sun was shining on another beautiful day in the state of Indiana, as summer had arrived. With summer comes the freedom of all students from the terror and torture that was school. For many, this was the end of a few months of school, but also the beginning of an adventure for five individuals, an adventure that would change everything. For in the depths of space, a lone beam of light traveled at incredible speeds towards the planet Earth. In no time at all, it quickly cut through the vacuum of space and into Earth's atmosphere, which did not falter the speed it was going at. As the beam of light enters the stratosphere and above the state of Indiana, it splits into five individuals beams. Three from the group move in one direction, while the remaining two went in different directions. These lights were on a collision course with five destined humans. Three human youths walked alongside each other after finishing their last day of the school semester. "Summer, the time for no school, no homework, no bossy teachers, and no worries. Nothing but sun and fun." Alice Johnson, Eighteen-years-old with dirty blond hair, kept in a ponytail and sapphire blue eyes. She stood at 5'11'' Wearing a white and blue tank-top with a pair of jean shorts and white sneakers. Her chest size BB-cup, but she had a perfect hourglass figure and a small bubble butt. She had finished and graduated high school and ready to rest before college. "You've got that right. Time for some downtime." Next, Matthew Summers or Matt for short. He was also eighteen and graduated high school with Alice. Matt stood at 6' with raven black hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a plain blue t-shirt, a pair of cargo shorts, and red and black sneakers. Matt has an average body with muscle definition. He also had a pair of pilot's goggles resting on his head, which had a large crack running across the entire right lens. The crack came from a childhood accident. Matt was also smart with an IQ of 150; he was only ten points off of being a genius. Last was Abby Summer, Matt's younger sister by eight years. She was currently ten. She had brown hair, which she kept in twin pigtails and emerald green eyes. She was wearing a plain white t-shirt, a black skirt, and white sneakers. She stood at 5'4''. She had an average body build for a child with a little pudge around her stomach. But overall, she was cute, which meant her brother was overprotective when it came to boys. She was right now getting ready to enter middle school. "So what should we do for summer vacation?" Asked Alice waking ahead of the sibling before turning around, walking backward with her hands behind her back. "Anything sounds good to me," Abby added while she walked alongside her brother while holding his hand. With his free hand, Matt cupped his chin as he thought about his answer. "Well, I was thinking about visiting a few theme parks." This caused his little sister to squeal with joy, bouncing up and down. "I'll see if my parents will let us rent a week out in their condo in Hilton Head Island." Said Alice while pulling out her phone to message her parents "You sure we can afford a week at Hilton Head Island," Matt asked, sounding concerned. "I know my parents could lend me some money to cover some of the cost. Plus, I know you have the money your parents left you." Alice said after sending her text message Matt lowered his at the mention of his parent. "That's true." Two years ago, a terrible car accident took Abby's and Matt's parents' lives. Their parents had the foresight to create a savings account for their children with plenty of money for them, along with making sure both children were in their will. After losing her friend's parents, Alice, a friend of the family, offered to help Matt raise his sister and manage their finances. She was one of Matt's closest friends. He cherished their friendship and knew that he could never repay her for all she had done for him and his sister, those two years without his parents were made slightly bearable thanks to her. Abby also looked up to Alice like a big sister and talk to her about girl things that her brother would never understand no matter how hard he tried. "It would be fun to go to the beach, and I know Matt would love to play golf down there," Abby added, knowing her brother's hobbies. "Plus, I bought a new bikini," Alice said in a teasing tone as she sways her hips while glancing at Matthew. Matt turned his gaze elsewhere as a noticeable blush appeared on his cheeks. "Well, it would be fun." He spoke in a flustered tone earning a giggle from the two girls. The trio continued to talk about their summer plans, unaware that three beams of light were heading straight for them high above them. Elsewhere, an eighteen-year-old African American was waving goodbye to his friends. "Same time next week, James." A teenager called out as he and a group of his friends were leaving. "You know it." James Smith. He stood at 6'2'' with short black hair and emerald green eyes. He was wearing a white shirt, sport's shorts, and a pair of red Jordans. He had finished playing a fun round of basketball with his closest friends but enjoyed football more since he was the wide receiver for his high school. He graduated this year and wanted to start his summer fun early before heading off to training camp to prepare for when he joins the football team at the college he'll be attending. James also had a large scar running down the side of his right cheek. It came from a fight he had with his father when he was thirteen. James sighed as he took a long sip from his water bottle as he walked out to his car. He was happy he could spend time with his football buddies before they all went their separate ways. He stopped at his car and fished around in his pocket for his keys to unlock it. 'Well time to get home and shower.' He thought, unaware of the beam of light heading straight for him Elsewhere a teenage girl exits her school stretching her arms above her head. "At last. I'm finally free." April North, an eighteen-year-old female. She stood at 5'8'' with short chocolate brown hair and seafoam green eyes. She had DD-cup breasts. She liked to wear dresses. Right now, she was wearing a strapless aquamarine dress and light blue sneakers. She also graduated from high school and was enjoying her summer before college. April is a shy girl and kept to herself but loved to express her feelings through art. She especially liked painting. She wanted to one day have her paintings spotlighted at a large art gallery. "Time to go home and start on that new painting I had been planning." The fifth and last beam of light was making its way toward her. Soon the lights began to make their way to their distended host. Abby, Matt, and Alice walked back to Matt's car when the lights made their descent to their targets. James, who was about to enter his car, stopped when he saw a light that suddenly hovered right in front of him. The light meant for April, who had already sat down in the car, zoomed through the open window of the car before stopping in front of her. A light hovered in front of Abby, Alice, and Matt. Each of the lights stopped short of their destined recipient before flashing and dropping a device in front of them. Out of curiosity, the children moved to pick up the small device before and examining them closely. The device looked similar to a plus sign with a screen in the middle and a light ring that lit up when each of the humans took hold of the device. Matt's was red, Alice had blue, Abby had pink. At the same time, James and April had also received the same items. James's was gold, while April's came in green. Each of five humans scrutinized the device, wondering what it could be and where it came from. Before they knew it, the screens of each of them began to glow. A white aura envelopes each of the human's bodies. "What's happening?" Matt asked, feeling restricted in his movement. Soon he felt as though a sensation was pulling his body up. Looking down, he could see that he was indeed being pulled up towards the sky. "Matt!" Alice screamed as she tried to break free from the white aura. "Big brother!" Abby cried out, sounded scared and worried as she looked to her brother for support. Simultaneously, both James and April experienced the same phenomenon as they too started to float upward into the sky. Once the five humans had reached a certain altitude, they were immediately and without warning shot straight up at incredible speeds. The highest of the five was Matt, with Alice and Abby not too far behind. James, who looked terrified, looked all around him as the ground beneath him started to move further away from how high he went. April hid her face in her hands as she had wished that this was nothing more but a bad dream. Five beams of light began to speed through the atmosphere of planet Earth heading towards space. Each occupant was screaming as the light pulled them further away from their plant and their homes and families. Once they had reached a high enough altitude, the beams of light shot across the inky darkness of space as they made their way to their intended destination. Each occupant was screaming as the light pulled them further away from the ground and their homes. Soon each beam shot like a bullet into space towards its final destination. Chapter 1 - Warm Welcome...NotWarm Welcome...Not The five lights soared through the night sky over the Everfree Forest. The lights started to make their descents down towards different parts of the forest, where odd creatures awaited the lights' occupants to arrive. Once the light reached its destination, it stopped above the forest floor and descended downward. As it rested upon the forest floor, the light vanished without a trace leaving the humans lying on the ground, unconscious from the momentum as it traveled across the stars. The odd creatures each made their way towards their respective unconscious humans as they knew that this was who they were waiting to appear to them. *** "Hey, you! Are you ok?" Matt’s body began to stir as he heard a high pitched voice speaking out to him. "You think he's alive?" His brain began to send signals across his body as he heard yet another voice, even though the statement happened to be directed towards the first voice. "I'm not sure, but I hope so." Matt groaned as he felt his body coming back to him. Matt slowly opened his eyes to see nothing more than blobs, and mutated colors fill his vision. He groaned as he closed his eyes and opened them again. His vision was coming slowly, coming back to him. "Oh, he's awake." Matt rubbed his head as he sat up. He looked around to see he was sitting in the middle of a forest. Matt looked up to see a dark sky full of stars, which meant night had fallen. He looked around, and soon his eyes came down to two strange creatures. One looked like a grey seal with no back flippers and orange hair. The other looked like a red blob with legs, a tail, and batwings. He blinked his eyes, but the two strange creatures were still there. He rubbed his eyes, but there they still stood. "Ok, this has to be a dream." He reached over to his right arm and pinched himself. He flinched out from the pain, "Ok, I felt that, which means this isn't a dream, and I'm looking at two strange creatures out of a children's coloring book." "Creatures, no, we are Digimon," said the red blob in a high pitched voice. "Digimon?" Asked Matt "Yeah, Digimon, Digital Monsters." Said the grey seal "Digital Monsters?" Asked Matt "Man, you sure love repeating things. But anyway, I'm Gigimon." "And I'm Bukamon." "Um, well, I'm Matthew Summers, but you can call me Matt." "Nice to meet you." Said Bukamon Matt looked around at the towering trees around him, "So you two have any idea where we are?" "Nope, we arrived only a few minutes before you appeared here from a strange light." Said Gigimon Matt scratched his head and closed his eyes. A light, could he be talking about the light that enveloped me when I touched that strange object. But why did it take me to a forest? And where does this forest happen to be? Matt rubbed his head as he had way too many questions and barely any answers. Matt looked back at Gigimon and Bukamon. "So, I'm guessing you haven't seen any other humans around?" Asked Matt "If you're referring to what you are, nope." Said Bukamon Matt sighed as he got up and that when he felt something in his right hand. He looked to see the strange device from earlier. He spun it around in his hand as he looked at it. I wonder what's up with this thing. Matt decided that worrying about the object in his hand wasn’t necessary at this moment. He attached it to his pants before looking around him. He was happy that the bright moon gave him some form of light to see in the dense forest surrounding him. At least I can see. I guess that’s one good thing. Now I need to find Alice and Abby. Matt wasn’t even sure if Alice and Abby were also in the forest. He sighed but looked down at Gigimon and Bukamon. Maybe they saw another light coming into the forest. Matt looked at both of the Digimon, “Did either of you see any other lights come down to this forest?” “Yeah, we saw four other lights along with yours. I think the nearest one is that way.” Matt turned to see Bukamon was pointing to the way in front of him. “Thanks, Bukamon.” Said Matt Hold on, Abby and Alice, I’m coming to find you guys. But now I’m wondering who the other two lights belong to if Abby, Alice, and I were three of them. I guess I’ll find out sooner or later. Matt began to make his way towards the way Bukamon pointed out to him. "Where are you going, Matt?" Asked Gigimon "I'm going to look for my sister and my best friend. I have to make sure they're both ok." Said Matt "Then, wait for us." Said Bukamon "You want to follow me?" Asked Matt "That's right." Said Bukamon "Ok, I guess I could use the company. Let's get moving." Said Matt Bukamon and Gigimon smiled at each other before Bukamon flew over to Matt, and Gigimon hopped over to him. Matt picked up Gigimon and looked at him. "Thanks." Said Gigimon "No problem." Said Matt Bukamon followed close behind Matt as he carried Gigimon. Abby and Alice stay safe. I'm going to find both of you. *** Matt, Gigimon - now riding his shoulder - and Bukamon - floating close behind - continued to walk in the forest. Matt yelled out to his sister and Alice, but he wasn't sure if they would even hear him. Matt sighed as he tucked his right hand into his pocket. He pulled his phone out again to see if he had acquired a signal, but still nothing. Damn! He put it away and continued to walk. Then he heard the sound of something coming towards him and his Digimon. He turned to his right and prepared to meet whatever animal he awoke from its slumber. I knew I would attract an animal sooner or later with my screaming. Matt steadied himself for the creature to appear. His mind ran rampant with what could be coming towards him, but he never expected another human to come barreling out of the forest. Matt didn’t even have time to react as James struck him. James and Matt hit the dirt hard. Gigimon luckily jumped away before Matt hit the dirt. The two Digimon looked at the two eighteen-year-old males tangled together. Both groaned as they got themselves untangled and sat on the forest floor. “Man has anyone ever told you that you hit like a freight train.” Said Matt "Yeah, my friends have plenty of times pointed that out to me.” Said James “Yeah, no kidding.” Said Matt Matt was the first to get up and stretch out a hand towards the boy, "So, what's your name?" "James Smith and you?" James took Matt’s hand as Matt helped him back to his feet. "Matthew Summers, but Matt for short." "And I'm Bukamon." "And I'm Gigimon." James turned to look at the two Digimon before feeling his eyes twitch. "I finally found you!" The small group moved their heads towards the sound. They were now looking at a blue fuzzy ball that looked like a cat. "I thought I would never catch up to you." Said the cat creature "You see those strange creatures as well?" Asked James as he leaned in close to Matt, pointing to the Digimon. "Yes, I see them as well." Said Matt "What are they?" Asked James "Well, you let never let me introduce myself. I'm Wanyamon, and I am a Digimon, Digital Monster." "This can't be happening," said James as he rubbed his eyes. "Trust me. It's happening." Said Matt "And who are all of you?" Asked Wanyamon "I'm Matthew Summers, Matt, for short." "I'm Bukamon." "I'm Gigimon." "Well, you going to introduce yourself. I think it’s rude not to introduce yourself and to run off as you did.” Said Wanyamon James sighed as he looked at Wanyamon, “James Smith.” "So, I'm guessing your first encounter didn't go over so well." Said Matt "Yeah, when James woke up, he took one look at me, and once I said the word, 'hello.' He was off screaming like a little girl, calling me a freak of nature." Said Wanyamon "Well, he is." Said James “That’s hurtful, James. You can’t say that to a friend.” Said Wanyamon James had a look of shock on his face, “Friends, when did we become friends? I’ve only just met you.” “I know, but I have this feeling in my gut that tells me otherwise.” Said Wanyamon James wasn’t even sure how to comprehend any of this. He rubbed his head as he sighed as he looked at the blue puffball, smiling at him. He then turned to see Matt picking up Gigimon and walking off with Bukamon floating right behind him. “Hey, where are you going?” Asked James “My sister and friend are somewhere in this forest, and I plan on finding them.” Said Matt James watched as Matt continued to walk away from him. He looked at Matt and then around him. James then looked down at Wanyamon, who had a smile on his face. He sighed as he picked up Wanyamon and ran to catch up with Matt. Better to be with someone else than alone in this creepy forest. "Matt, wait up." Matt stopped and looked back at James, running towards him. “You can't leave a brother all alone in a strange forest. Don’t you know that's how the black guy always dies in the horror movies?" Said James "But you’re not alone. You got me." Said Wanyamon "I'm sure all the creatures in this forest would be afraid of a blue puffball." Said James "Besides the point of you thinking that the tropes in horror movies are real. But seeing how we are both in the same boat, it wouldn't hurt to stay together. Now let's get going." Said Matt James nodded his head as the two went off to find Abby and Alice. *** Abby shook as she continued to walk through the dark forest. She looked around her as she tried to figure a way out. Every movement in the forest made her jump and shack. Luckily, she wasn’t alone as she held two Digimon in her hands, Gummymon and Kokomon. Both looked like store-bought Halloween ghosts. Gummymon was a greenish color, while Kokomon was a brown color. Gummymon had a single horn on his head, and Kokomon had three horns on her head. Upon waking up on the forest floor, she found both Gummymon and Kokomon looking at smiling at her. She felt afraid at first, but she felt comfortable around the two Digimon after a minute of talking with them. Abby could not see her brother or Alice around her. She began to get scared. But Gummymon and Kokomon quickly calmed her down. She decided to wait where she was in hopes of either of them finding her. But after a while, she decided she couldn't sit around. She had to find her brother and Alice even though she knew that she had a better chance of being found if she stayed put. But she was stubborn, so off she went with Gummymon and Kokomon in her hands to find her brother and Alice. "Now, I'm not so sure my idea of wandering around this forest was a good idea after all." Said Abby "No worries, Abby, Kokomon, and I will protect you." Said Gummymon "Yeah, we won't let anything happen to you." Said Kokomon "Thanks, you two." Said Abby Abby hugged both Digimon close to her as she continued to walk. But the sound of a twig snapping not far from her made her stop dead in her tracks. She looked around but couldn’t see much in the dense darkness that surrounded her. She swallowed the lump in her throat as she held Gummymon and Kokomon tighter. Please, don’t be a wild animal! She looked around and finally turned to see April walking out of the darkness carrying a Digimon that resembled a plant. The two girls looked at each other. Abby backed away, hugging both Gummymon and Kokomon. She wasn't sure if this new girl, April, was a good person. April could see Abby was scared and decided to play it easily with her. She bent down so that she was on Abby's level. "Who are you?" Asked Abby "I'm April North, and this is Yokomon." "Please to meet you." Said Yokomon "So, what's your name?" Asked April "I'm Abby Summers, and in my right hand is Gummymon, and in my left is Kokomon." Said Abby "It's a pleasure." Said Gummymon "What my brother said." Said Kokomon "I'm guessing you're trying to find your way out of this forest too." Said April "No, I'm trying to find my friend, Alice, and my brother, Matt. Have you seen them?" Said Abby "Well, I know I haven't passed any other people since I woke up and started exploring. I swore I was the only one in this forest until I ran into you." Said April Abby gave a heavy sigh with tears forming in the corners of her eyes. That made April feel bad for her. She walked up to her and placed her right hand on her shoulder. "Hey, don't cry, I'm sure you'll find them. How about I help you search for them?" Said April Abby smiled at April, "Yeah, that would be nice." "Great, plus staying together in this creepy place is much better than continuing alone." Said April April showed her right hand for Abby to take. She moved Gummymon to her right side with Kokomon and took April's hand. The two girls went off trying to find Matt, Alice, and a way out. *** "So, I have to ask?" Matt looked at James, "You remember anything before waking up in this forest?" Matt tapped his chin as the two continued to walk the forest, trying to find his sister and Alice. "Well, I remember going towards my car with Alice and Abby when a bright light appeared." Matt pulled his Digivice from his pants and looked at it, "Then this thing appeared from it. I took ahold of it, and the next thing I know, I'm rocketing into space surrounded by a bright light. Then I woke up here with Gigimon and Bukamon." "Same here." James removed his Digivice, "I still wonder what's up with these things. I mean, why we of all people got this thing." "I'm not sure; I'm not even sure where in the hell we are." Said Matt "Yeah, something about this place doesn't seem right." Said James “Yeah, like it’s out of place or something.” Commented Matt "Hey, I think I see an opening." Said Bukamon Bukamon pointed in front of them, which looked like the way to a large opening of space based on the amount of light coming from it. "Finally, an exit!" Exclaimed James The two boys ran until they came out to a vast chasm with a rope bridge hovering over it. In the distance was an old stone castle that had seen better days. The two could see that the forest still surrounded them. “Looks like we only found an opening in the forest and not an exit to it.” Stated Matt James walked forward and kicked a small stone and watched as it fell into the gorge. After a minute, he heard it hit the ground. By the way, it took the rock to hit the ground and echo back a sound. It seemed that the gorge was quite deep. "Well, that sure is a long way down." Said James "Matt!" Matt and James turned to see Alice running up to them. "Alice!" Alice stopped and hugged Matt being careful of Gigimon. "Am I glad to see you?" Said Alice "Same here." Soon Matt spotted a yellow fox creature in Alice's hands, "I'm guessing you got a Digimon as well." Alice looked down at her, Digimon, "That's right, Viximon is her name." "Nice to meet you." Said Viximon "I'm guessing she's your friend." Said James Matt turned to see James coming up to him, "Right, this is Alice. Alice, I want you to meet James." "Nice to meet you." Said James "Same for me. I'm Wanyamon, by the way." "I see you have a Digimon as well, James." Said Alice "Don’t remind me." Stated James "Hey, you didn't introduce us, Matt." Said Bukamon "Right, Alice, meet Bukamon and Gigimon." Said Matt "Nice to meet you both." Both Digimon smiled and nodded their heads, "So have you seen Abby?" "Nope, I was hoping she was with you." Said Matt "Sorry, I didn't see her when I was trying to find my way out." Said Alice "I hope she's safe." Said Matt "Big brother!" Matt turned to see his little sister and another girl coming out of the forest. His eyes went to the size of dinner plates as he dropped Gigimon and ran over to his sister. She put down Gummymon and Kokomon and ran to her brother. The siblings joined in a hug as they were once again united. Matt held his sister tight. He felt a wave of relief pass over him as he held her in his arms. After breaking the embrace, Abby introduced April and Yokomon and her Digimon, Gummymon, and Kokomon. Matt introduced April and Abby to everyone else. "So, now what?" Asked James "I would say finding out where we are, and that means finding a way out of this forest." Said Matt “Well, clearly, we have to be in England.” Said James “Where did you get that idea from?” Asked Alice “Old run-down castle in the middle of a forest seems like something you would see in England.” Said James Alice sighed, "Besides James thinking we somehow are in England, any ideas on figuring out how to get out of this forest.” Everyone scratched their heads, trying to think of something to do. They weren't sure what the next step was or where to even go. The Digimon were also silent, trying to think about what to do next. Bukamon happened to catch a small flash of multicolored light from the corner of his eye and turned to the dilapidated castle. "Hey, look," everyone turned to see the bright multicolored light in one of the castle's towers. "Do you think that means there are other humans around?" "Could be, Bukamon." Said Matt “Yeah, maybe it’s a night tour.” Said James “Still on the England thing.” Stated Alice “I don’t hear anyone else giving ideas on how to explain any of this.” Said James “I think it’s our best bet to head towards the castle. Maybe we will find someone who can help us.” Said Matt The group looked at each other and nodded. They all knew that if somebody was in the castle, they could help them get out of the forest and figure out where they were. The group proceeded over the rope bridge cautiously. It creaked and squealed with every step someone took. Abby held tight to her brother’s hand as he led her across. Once across, the group went towards the castle. They reached the entrance and ran inside to find a way to the tower where the light came from and hopefully find somebody to help them. Soon they found the entrance to the tower and knew this was it. Matt took the lead with the others behind him. He sighed as he got his nerves together. He poked his head through the doorway and gasped. Everyone else piled around him to look inside. None of them could believe their eyes. They were expecting to see a group of humans, but instead, they were looking at eight anthropomorphic neon-colored ponies. Two had horns on their heads, another two had wings on their backs, another two had neither, and the final two had both wings and a horn. They had a wide variety of fur colors and mane colors. They could also tell by their body type that they were all female. "What the?!" Exclaimed James “Watch your voice!” Exclaimed Alice in a whisper. James pushed in a little further to get a better view of the strange creatures. “Will you please stop pushing your weight onto me?” Said April “Tell that to Alice.” Said James “I am doing nothing to you.” Said Alice Matt turned back to everyone, “Will you all be quiet. We need to leave this place before those horse creatures see us. I don’t want to think about what they’ll do to us if they do see us.” Everyone nodded, but as they began to get off each other, James lost his footing on a loose flooring piece and went down on top of April. James instinctually took hold of Alice and pulled her down as well. April felt atop Matt, who fell onto his sister. There was a tremendous crash and screams as the group of humans and Digimon fell into the entrance. The sound pulled the attention of all the ponies in the room to the pile of humans and Digimon. The humans groaned as they saw that they had caught the attention of the horse creatures. There was silence between all of them. They all exchanged looks before the white pony's horn began to glow a gold color. The glow surrounded the group, and before they could say anything or retreat, they felt something come over them. They each began to get sleepy as their bodies started to feel heavy. They all felt a sense of calm take over and their bodies starting to shut down. They all struggled to stay awake, but the efforts were fruitless. They each fell into an unconscious state, but Matt was the last one to fall unconscious. He struggled to stay awake, and it took his entire willpower to resist falling asleep. Matt could hear the sounds of hooves coming near him and saw a pair of white hooves stop in front of him. He didn’t have the strength to look up at the face of the horse now looming over him. He finally felt his body give in as he looked at his sleeping sister. He tried to reach out to her to grasp her one last time since he wasn’t sure what would happen to any of them. Abby! But his body wouldn’t listen to him as he laid his head down and his eyes closed to the world around him. He heard the sounds of more hooves and saw more hooves surround him and the others. That was the last thing he saw before darkness took over. Author's Note So here we are, the first two chapters of my newest story, Digital Equestria. It seemed plenty of people were interested in seeing me do a Digimon story, so I decided to please all of you. So I do hope you enjoyed the introduction and this chapter. Feel free to give all the feedback you wish. I will try to keep this story updated as much as I can, but it'll have to take a backseat because my college courses do come first. So as always: like, comment, follow, share and tell. See you all around. Chapter 15-A Zebra Far From HomeA Zebra Far From Home Matt lay with his back on the couch as Crescent lay on top of him. Their mouths connected in a passionate kiss. Their tongues were wrestling against each other. They broke from the kiss, but their tongues tangled around each other like a couple of snakes. Matt was quite enjoying his day off from work. Once they caught their breath, they returned to their mouths locked up again. Crescent pushed her body into Matt as the hot make-out session continued. Crescent ground her hips against Matt's hardening member. Matt moaned into the kiss as he felt Crescent push her butt into his stiff crotch. He didn't know if Crescent was doing it subconsciously with estrus around the corner or if she was doing it on purpose. Either way, he had to stop her as he wasn't ready to commit to that part of the relationship. He broke from the kiss and grabbed her ass, making her moan in pleasure. She looked down at him with a smirk and lust, "Grabby, aren't we." "Crescent, I know what you're doing." Said Matt "Oh, what's that?" Asked Crescent with lust dripping from her words. "You want to make love, but I'm not quite ready for that step of our relationship. So, please stop trying to get me to have sex with you." Said Matt Matt watched as the lust in Crescent's eyes became a look of pain, "Sorry, Matt, our make-out session caused my estrus to spark up." Matt smiled as he ran a hand across her cheek, brought his face up, and planted a kiss on her lips. "I know, Crescent, but I promise that we'll make love when I'm fully ready to take the next step in our relationship." Crescent smiled and kissed him before pushing Matt back on the couch and laying on his chest. Matt ran his fingers through her mane and down her back. She purred in happiness to his touch. Crescent looked at him as she moved her head towards him to continue making out when the front door opened. "I can't even fathom why you thought going into the Everfree Forest was safe! And don't say that because you have Terriermon and Lopmon!" Crescent growled as she and Matt looked to see Alice scolding Abby. Crescent and Matt sat up, and Matt decided to figure out what was happening. "Ok, what's going on?" Asked Matt Alice turned towards Matt, "Your sister decided to go into the Everfree Forest with Apple Bloom, Applejack's little sister, in pursuit of a zebra named Zecora. Luckily, we found them before they went too deep into the Everfree Forest." "Please, she had us." Said Terriermon Alice and Renamon glared down at the Terriermon, causing him to swallow a lump in his throat. He turned his gaze so as not to look at the two any longer as Lopmon shook her head. Abby looked up at her brother, who had an angry look on his face. "Abby, head up to your room. We will talk later." Abby nodded her head and walked up the stairs. Terreirmon and Lopmon followed behind her. Matt watched her until she disappeared and sighed. "So mind explaining what happened." Said Matt "Well, we were out finishing school shopping when we ran into Twilight and Spike. We then noticed the town was quiet, and the next thing we knew, Pinkie called us into Sugar Cube Corner. We found the rest of our friends and Apple Bloom hiding inside. They told us they were hiding from a zebra named Zecora. She happens to live in the Everfree Forest. Next thing we know, your sister and Apple Bloom were off to find Zecora." Said Alice "Interesting to hear a zebra living here in Equestria. They usually live in Zebrica, a desert nation far from here." Said Crescent "Are they dangerous?" Asked Alice "Not sure. I have never met one in my life. I've heard that they live in tribes across the sands of their nations. I can't say if Zercora is dangerous since zebra and pony meetings are rare." Said Crescent "Strange she desires to live in the Everfree Forest. It hardly seems like a hospitable place to live." Said Renamon "Well, Zebrica isn't a hospitable place to live either. The heat the desert sun, pop-up desert storms, and worms that can swallow a pony whole." Said Crescent Everyone looked at Crescent and shivered, thinking about a worm big enough to get a zebra or a pony. "Well, if you excuse me, I have a sister to talk to." Said Matt He walked up the stairs and looked at his sister's door. He knocked and heard her voice, allowing him inside. He opened the door and looked at his sister sitting on her bed with her head hung low. Matt sighed as he motioned for Terriermon and Lopmon to leave. They left the room, and Matt closed the door, walked over, and sat next to his sister. I hate when I have to do this. "I'm sorry, I went into the Everfree Forest." Said Abby Matt sighed, "Mind telling me why you decided to go into the Everfree Forest?" "I went in with Apple Bloom after everypony pushed us away from being in the conversation. So, Apple Bloom and I got to talking. We decided to show them we could be brave, and off we went. I know it was wrong, but I didn't like being looked down on." Said Abby Matt sighed as he put his hand on his sister's head, "Abby, even if everypony else was looking down at you, it doesn't give you the right to go heading into the Everfree Forest. What would have happened if a Manticore attacked you or something worse? You have Terriermon and Lopmon, but they might not always be by your side. You must remember that just because we have Digimon doesn't mean they will always be by our side. Do you know how Alice or I would react if something happened to you?" Abby began to sniffle and cry as she grabbed Matt's chest and cried into his shirt. Matt rubbed his hand through his sister's hair to calm her down. He pulled her tight into his chest as he let her continue to cry. He cooed at her to help her stop crying as he held her. "I'm sorry, big brother. I never wanted to make you or Alice worry." Said Abby "I know, little sister, I know." He said Abby continued to cry for another minute as Matt held her tight. Once she was done crying, she pulled away from her brother's chest and wiped the last tears from her eyes. Matt smiled as he placed a kiss on her forehead. "Now, don't think you are getting off scot-free, sister. I am grounding you for an entire week. Do you understand me?" Abby nodded at her brother. He smiled as he brought her into a loving hug. "And know that I'm never going to stop loving you." "I know, big brother." Said Abby Matt smiled as he held his little sister. He ruffled the hair on the top of her head, causing her to laugh. "Now, you need to apologize to Alice for scaring her." Abby nodded and left the room to apologize to Alice and Renamon. Matt realized that since they all had arrived in Ponyville, they had not seen another creature of Eques besides ponies. I wonder who Zecora is? Is she a good zebra or an evil zebra? And why does it sound like everyone fears her? And why does she live in the Everfree Forest? Maybe I should go and visit this Zecora? Matt got off his bed and went downstairs to get Cresent and see about finding this Zecora. He wanted to meet this zebra mare in person and see who she was exactly. *** Cresent, Matt, and Guilmon marched through the Everfree Forest, looking for the elusive Zecora, the zebra. "Why exactly are we looking for Zecora?" Asked Cresent "The way Alice put it, everypony we know fears Zecora for being a witch. It's hard for me to believe she's all that dangerous. Alice made it sound like nopony had ever spent any time getting to know Zecora. It doesn't seem nice to me not to say hello to a neighbor even if they live in the Everfree Forest. Plus, if she lives here, maybe she has some clues on who is behind those black gears. Maybe we can use her insight to end their deeds finally." Said Matt "I see the logic, but what if this Zecora is dangerous? I am not entirely battle-ready as I still have two weeks before I can even take flight, and the only Digimon we brought was Guilmon. Pony society has ever little when it comes to knowledge on the zebra." Said Cresent "And why is that?" Asked Matt Cresent shrugged, "Not too many ponies want to travel three months to walk around an unknown desert. Sure, I know of some ponies out there traveling with zebra herds, as most zebras are nomadic and travel the sands, never staying in one place. Plus, the rumors of large worms and dangerous dust storms don't make one want to visit the country of Zebrica." "Is the entire society nomadic?" Asked Matt "Most zebras are nomadic, but those that are not nomadic, follow a democratically elected president in the few civilized areas of the country." Said Cresent "For somepony who has never visited Zebrica, you sure know a lot." Said Matt "Princess Celestia requires all guards to understand, with whatever knowledge we have on our allies or those we trade with. As Celestia said, when we officially met, Eques comprises a wide variety of nations and creatures. Most other countries in Eques are either allies or trade with Equestria. But there are a few that Equestria does not trade with and/or see as a threat, such as dragons. Equestria has had very little to no good favor with dragons. Then there are the foxes of Judo. Equestria and the Judo foxes have had plenty of blood conflicts over issues." Said Cresent "Hard for me to believe the friendship-loving ponies would not attempt to be friends with everyone. But I guess not everyone can be your friend." Said Matt Guilmon stopped when he smelled something delicious in the air. He sniffed repeatedly, trying to pinpoint the smell's location. "What you got, Guilmon?" Asked Matt "I think I smell food." He said Cresent and Matt sniffed the air. Matt could barely smell any form of cooking wafting across the air, but Cresent could smell what Guilmon had mentioned. "He's not wrong, I do smell somepony cooking something." Matt ushered Cresent and Guilmon to lead the way since his sense of smell wasn't as strong as theirs. The three of them eventually found a home made out of a hollowed-out tree. Tribal masks sat outside the tree. Matt placed his finger to his mouth as they sneaked up to an opening in the tree. The three quietly walked up to the tree and peered inside and found what looked to be a large black cauldron over a fire cooking a soup. Guilmon's nose flared as he picked up the smell of the food. He had to fight his urge not to simply bust down the door and gorge himself on the soup. Matt eyed up the entire room. In the middle was the cauldron cooking up the soup. On the walls were shelves lined with bottles, flowers, tools, and plenty of tribal items. A few more tribal masks sat on the ground. The tribal items reminded him of African culture back on Earth. "I wonder if this is her house." Whispered Cresent Before Matt could respond he heard somepony knocking and turned to see Guilmon knocking on the door of the home. "Guilmon, what are you doing?!" Exclaimed Matt in a whisper "I'm hungry." Before Matt could respond to Guilmon, Cresent tugged his shirt and pointed back to the window. He turned his eyes back to see an anthro zebra come walking into the room. She had the standard zebra black and white stripes. She stood at 5'9" with Cyan eyes. She had a mohawk mane with the same zebra stripe pattern of her fur. Her tail even had the stripping as well. She had a set of gold rings around her neck and right hoof and a large gold ring hanging from her left ear. She was wearing a brown loincloth and a stripe of brown leather attempting to hold back her EE-cup breasts. Both items of clothing barely left anything to the imagination. Cresent and Matt ducked down and turned to Guilmon as the door opened. She turned down to Guilmon and smiled as he looked up at her and tilted his head. "Hello, little dino, what brings you here? Are you lost, my friend, or just want to play? I didn't expect a dino today!" "Food." Matt rolled his eyes at Guilmon's comment. "I see, have you come alone this way, or did some company choose to stay?" Guilmon turned his head to see Matt and Cresent. Zecora followed Guilmon's eyes and found Cresent and Matt. They both got up trying to act normal. "Can I have some of your food?" Asked Guilmon Zecora smiled, "I see I've drawn a merry throng, Come in, dear guests, where you belong! The food's close now, no need to roam, So make yourselves at home!" Guilmon didn't hesitate to go right inside after Zecora moved out of the way. As Matt and Cresent proceeded inside, Matt was surprised that Zecora seemed to speak in rhymes. Sure is a strange way to speak? Matt and Cresent walked inside and down the step that led to the main room. Matt felt quite at home in the cozy hollowed-out tree. Reminded him of Twilight's home, but with way fewer books. Zecora had stepped away as Guilmon stared into the pot looking at the green liquid that gently bubbled inside. He licked his lips as Zecora turned with a few bowls. Her ears flicked as Guilmon's stomach let out a low growl. "Rumble, rumble, what's that sound? Your tummy's craving, all around! For cooking, it pleads, 'Let's start the fun!' A yummy meal is about to be won!" Guilmon tilted his head as if his brain was having a hard time processing what she said. But he watched as she gave him a bowl filled with soup. He looked at the bowl and then at the cauldron. "That's not food?" Asked Guilmon Zecora handed Cresent and Matt their bowls before turning to Guilmon, "This ain't no broth, no veggie stew, no bowl of comfort, clear and true. That's not soup, my friend, I say, but a potion for a brighter day!" Guilmon shrugged before bringing the bowl to his mouth and began to slurp without any manners. Matt again rolled his eyes. "Thank you Zecora for the meal." "No issue, my friend," Zecora declared with a smile, "I'm glad to share, it's worth your while. But tell me, just out of curiosity's hold, what brings you this way, to my humble abode?" "I wanted to say hello to the zebra of the Everfree that everypony fears." "Well, here I am, a sight to see, do you fear me? Maybe a little, agree? I might be mischief, I might be fun, But watch me close, 'til the day is done!" Zecora said with a smile before giggling. "I see nothing scary about you at all. Your home is cozy and nice, and you have freely given us a meal. So, what brings you into Ponyville that causes everypony pony to run and hide?" Said Matt Zecora motioned for them to sit, which everyone did, "I trot to town, with basket light, for herbs of green, to make things right. I search the stalls, with happy stride, but everypony seems to quickly hide." "So you come to Ponyville to buy herbs to make your potions." Zecora nodded as she took a sip of the soup in the bowl. "Do you know why everypony runs and hides when you come into town?" "I do not know why everypony flees, like leaves scattered by autumn breeze. My heart feels a little bit low, where did they all go, I don't know!" Zecora's ear laid down slightly showing her sadness. "Do not take this the wrong way, Zecora. But I think the fear comes from them not knowing who you are. I mean, you come from the Everfree, a place ponies of Ponyville are told to fear. So, I bet everypony fears you because of our natural fear of the Everfree." Said Cressent "Seems wrong to me." Said Matt "Was Princess Celestia or the ponies of Ponyville any different when you and your friends arrived? Princess Celestia locked you into the dungeon and ponies kept their distance from you for the first week or so after you arrived. Everypony fears the unknown until it is known." Said Cresent "I guess that's true." Matt turned back to Zecora, "You mentioned potions. Do you like to brew potions then?" "In cauldrons deep, my world resides, where bubbling brews, my heart confides. With herbs and roots, and mystic might, brewing potions is my life's pure light. From dawn's first blush till evening's call, I mix and stir, embracing all. A splash of this, a pinch of that, my bubbling craft, where I am at! So let the fumes and vapors swirl, potion brewing is my world!" "So, that's what your cutie mark means?" Asked pointing to the spiral that sat on her rump with triangles sitting on the largest part of the spiral. Zecora nodded her head, "So what brought you to Ponyville?" She turned to Cresent, "I sought a life outside my desert home. Where sand stretched wide and I was left to roam. The sun beat down, a constant, fiery guest, and yearned for green, a vibrant, leafy crest." "Interesting, I would have never thought that a zebra would want to leave their home or their tribe." Cresent looked around her home, "But I see you brought your home with you." "It echoes in my heart, a solemn plea, this was my fate, it was meant to be." "Fascinating." Said Cresent "How long have you been living here, Zecora?" Asked Matt "Two years and counting, that's my time here, filled with adventures, banishing all fear! I've explored the corners, learned the lay of the land, this place feels like home, it's just so grand!" "I find it strange to live in the Everfree Forest, but each his own." Said Cresent "It seems sad that you have been here for two years and ponies still fear you." Matt chewed the inside of his cheek before an idea came to his mind. "How about I introduce you to our friends? If they get to know you, we can then introduce you to the rest of Ponyville. So that way, ponies will understand who you are and you can shop for your herbs in Ponyville without everypony running to hide." "Great idea, Matt. If everypony sees us with you, Zecora. We can help them understand that there is nothing to fear with you." Zecora smiled, "Thank you, my friends." "But before then," Guilmon showed his empty bowl. "Can I have more please?" Zecora smiled and took Guilmon's bowl and got some more soup for him. The four of them continued to talk as Matt and Cresent got to know Zecora the zebra and how they would introduce her to their friends and eventually all of Ponyville. Eventually, the night was beginning to fall, so Matt, Cresent, and Guilmon decided to get back to town. Matt had asked Zecora about the black gears, but she had no information for him about them. But she said she would keep an eye out if she saw anything. The trio said goodbye to Zecora and made their way home. After making it home, the trio went up to Matt's room. He opened the door to see Gomamon out cold sleeping on his bed alongside Patamon. The two woke up to acknowledge their tamers before going back to sleep. Guilmon found his bed and fell right to sleep. Matt and Crescent pulled the covers across the bed before getting inside and covering themselves up. Matt spooned Cresent and it wasn't long before both of them were fast asleep. *** The DigiDestined, their Digimon, and Cresent were making their way to talk with Twilight about Zecora the zebra. Matt explained to the others about Zecora and who she was. He planned to take them and the others to see Zecora personally and finally help Zecora fit into Ponyville. "Man the way Pinkie spoke about her, you think she was an evil witch looking to rule over Ponyville." Said Alice "Interesting to see a zebra living in the Everfree Forest seeing how ponies fear it." Said James They all soon reached the library for Twilight. Matt had decided to recruit Twilight first and use her to recruit the others since Twilight was still new to Ponyville. Matt opened the door to the library only to get nailed in the head with a book before he could even say a thing. Alice caught him before he hit the dirt. Matt held his nose as he felt a nosebleed beginning. Spike came running to the door to pick up the book and looked at the group as Matt held his head back trying to stop the flow of blood. "Mind explaining why I got hit with a book, Spike." Said Matt "I think it would be better if you saw." Said Spike The group came into the library to see books all over the floor. The shelves look disheveled as Twilight ran from section to section scanning the spins of the books before taking one out, skimming it, and then tossing it to the ground muttering something under her breath. "Is it reorganizing the library today?" Said James "she's been like that since she woke up this morning. She trying to figure out what's wrong with her horn." Said Spike "What's wrong with her horn?" Asked Matt Twilight turned and saw everyone in the library as she held another useless book. "When did you all get here and what happened to you, Matt?" "Only a few minutes ago and you hit your boyfriend with one of your books." Said James Twilight panicked and ran over to him and began to check his nose, "I didn't break did I." Twilight looked to be on the verge of tears, but nobody noticed that instead keeping their eyes on Twilight's floppy horn. James snickered under his breath, making Twilight turn her attention to him. "What's so funny?" Asked Twilight "Oh you know, that nowadays we have pills for that." James snickered again as well as Spike in the background Alice walked up and hit James in the arm and glared at him. He began rubbing the spot that Alice hit keeping his gaze away from Alice's. "What's up with your horn Twilight?" Asked Alice "I don't know. I was working on my mane this morning after having an odd dream about Zecora cursing me. When I noticed my horn was all floppy, which isn't natural. And I swear if anyone else makes a pill joke again, I will zap them once I can use magic again." Everyone knew that was a threat, "now if you all can help me find a way to cure myself that would be great." Everyone began to dig through the books and look through the shelves. Twilight ran off to the bathroom and came back with some tissue paper, which she shoved up Matt's nose. She kissed him on the cheek and went back to being frantic. After Matt got the bleeding under control, he decided to help out as well. He scanned the spins of the books that Twilight hadn't thrown to the floor yet and a book with a green spine. He pulled it from the shelf and held it in his hands. He felt like he had seen this book before, but could not remember where. "How about this one Twilight?" Asked Matt Twilight turned and looked at the title of the book, "Supernaturals, Matt that's about ghosts and spirits. That's not going to help me with my horn." Matt raised his eyebrow and was about to tell Twilight to look at the book again, when a voice broke out, "ah pfurse" "Purse, why do we need a purse?" Asked James "Pinkie!" Everyone turned to see Pinkie standing in the door with a swollen tongue which made her unable to say the correct word. Everyone in the room let a little snicker at Pinkie's situation. "What happened, Pinkie?" "Pee pah Zthecora! Sthe put a cursthe on me!" Said Pinkie Spit and slobber went everywhere as Pinkie spoke. "Hey watch where you're talking, Pinkie. I do not want to be covered in a shower of spit." Said James "And can you repeat what you just said?" Asked April Before Pinkie could repeat herself, the sound of something hitting the tree echoed in the room. Everyone turned to see Rainbow hitting the side of the tree. She kept trying to talk with them and get inside at the same time. But she missed and hit the tree every time she went for the door. Eventually, she was able to hit the door and flew inside. Everyone watched as she crashed into a pile of books and got her head stuck between the rungs of Twilight's ladder. "Pinkie is saying that Zecora slapped us all with a curse." Said Rainbow getting to her feet and beginning to get the ladder off her as Pinkie nodded her head in agreement. "I am afraid so, darlings." Everyone turned to see Rarity covered from head to hoof in dreadlocks walk through the door. She huffed to push them out of her face so she could see. "Damn Rarity, didn't think we were into dreadlocks." Said James "Trust me, darling, this is not my style. I woke up this morning with my fur and mane looking like this. And not to mention, it's hard to see anything with the way my mane is." Said Rarity "I hate to tell ya Twilight," everyone turned to see Apple Bloom walk in but, she motioned for everyone else to look at her head where a tiny Applejack sat. "But I told ya so, Twilight. It's a curse, Zecora cursed us all." Before anyone could say anything, the last of the mane six, Fluttershy entered the room. "Let's all calm down here. Something is wrong with everypony, but clearly, Fluttershy doesn't seem to have been affected and she was with you when you encountered Zecora." Said Matt "Yes, Fluttershy and Alice seem to be both fine after encountering Zecora yesterday." Said Rarity Everypony turned to Alice, "Yeah don't look at me, I feel completely fine." Then everypony turned back to Fluttershy who was holding Gatomon and hiding behind her mane. "Well, Fluttershy, are you ok." Fluttershy adverted her gaze from Twilight and said nothing. "Is there something wrong with you?" Fluttershy nodded her head up and down. "Would you care to tell us?" Fluttershy once more hid her face behind her mane." So, you're not going to tell us what's wrong." Fluttershy nodded her head up and down. Applejack sighed bounced off her sister's head and ran over to Fluttershy. "Yes you're not, or yes you will?" "Good gravy, girl! What's wrong with you?!" Said Applejack in her high-pitched voice Fluttershy sighed, "I don't want to talk about it." Everypony was stunned when Fluttershy spoke in a deep masculine voice. But the silence was soon broken by laughing from the humans, Cresent, Spike, and the Digimon. Fluttershy immediately regretted speaking and hid behind her mane with Gatomon giving James a death glare as he continued to laugh. "This is hilarious!" Spike laughed a little before continuing, "Harity," pointing to Rarity. "Rainbow Crash," pointing to Rainbow. "Spitty Pie," pointing to Pinkie "Apple Teeny," pointing to Applejack. "Flutterguy," pointing to Fluttershy. "And...and...I got nothing for Twilight. I mean I have nothing for Twilight's floppy horn. But still, this is great." Twilight growled under her breath at Spike's comment before glaring at her herd mates who were both recovering. "Enough!" Everypony turned to Twilight, "This is not a laughing matter. Something is seriously wrong with us and we need to find a cure for it." Rainbow finally broke herself from the ladder she had been stuck in and lifted herself into the sky trying to get herself to hover, but it was hard for her to do so, "We need to find Zecora and have her lift this curse." Rainbow then began to fly back and forth in the library making everypony dodge her she bounced around the library, attempting to get her flying under control. Twilight felt her eye begin to twitch, "This is not a curse!" "I agree with Rainbow, we find Zecora and have her remove this hex." Said Applejack "This is not a hex either!" Exclaimed Twilight Soon everypony was beginning to argue about whether this was a hex or a curse and that they needed to find Zecora to remove it. In the chaos of the yelling and arguing, Abby made her way over to Apple Bloom. "This all our fault, we hadn't run after Zecora they wouldn't look like they do." Said Apple Bloom "I am not sure, it was Zecora. My brother said he and Cresent spent time with her and discovered she's a good zebra and not how Pinkie described her." Said Abby "But everypony is blaming her for what's happened to them." Apple Bloom paused before thinking of a solution, "I know our siblin's won't let be happy with us. But we need to find Zecora before they do and have her help us solve their issue." Abby paused thinking about the talk she had with Matt when she first went after Zecora with Apple Bloom. Sure, she was already grounded, but she knew she needed to get Zecora's help before everyone went after Zecora believing she did everything to them. It would certainly mess up her brother's plan to help introduce Zecora to Ponyville, so ponies would no longer run and hide when she came into town. Abby looked over at her brother trying to calm the situation. I am sorry, Matt, but I have to do this. She looked down at Terriermon and Lopmon knowing they had her back. "Well, ya in?" Asked Apple Bloom Abby nodded her head and the two young girls began to slip out of the library while everypony was busy arguing with each other. Expect their escape was noticed by two ponies. First was Applejack who muttered under breath about where those four were going. Thanks to her smaller size, nopony noticed her as she jumped from where she was onto Apple Bloom's mane. Cresent was the second one noticing them leaving the library. She decided to follow them as well, to ensure they were safe, even if she was still healing from her wounds. She motioned for Patamon, atop her head, to stay quiet as she slipped out of the library and ran after the two young girls, knowing they were going to look for Zecora. "Enough!" Everypony turned to Rainbow who was trying her best to hover and not crash into the walls of the library "I say we go to Zecora and force her to make us better. Whether this is a curse or a hex. She's the one that turned us into what we are currently. So, she can currently revert us to normal. So who's with me!" "Ah am-pft!" Said Pinkie with spit going everywhere "I am in darling, I do not want to be Harity any longer than I have to." Said Rarity "I don't know, it seems dangerous." Said Fluttershy James and Spike snickered a little, causing Gatomon to give them both a death glare. "Who cares if it's dangerous, we need Zecora to cure us. What about you, Applejack." The library was quiet as everypony waited for Applejack to respond. Rainbow spoke back up, "Applejack did you hear me?" Again the library was quiet as everypony looked for her. "Where's Applejack?" Asked James After a quick search nopony could find her. "Pf-she's gone-pft!" Said Pinkie "At her size, what if somepony stepped on her!" Exclaimed Rarity Everyone checked their feet and saw no squished Applejack. "What about Rarity's hair, she is practically a walking mop." Said James "Mop, did you call me a walking mop!" Rarity exclaimed before feeling Pinkie invading her privacy and searching her. She pushed Pinkie away from her feeling her face going red with embarrassment. "That's enough Pinkie, please give me my personal space." "What if Guilmon ate her?!" Exclaimed Rainbow Everypony turned to Guilmon who looked at them all and titled his head, "Guilmon did not eat Applejack. Guilmon knows the difference between food and friend." That's when Twilight realized that Apple Bloom, Abby, Terriermon, Lopmon, Cresent, and Patamon were all missing from the library. "Not to mention that Apple Bloom, Abby, Terriermon, Lopmon, Cresent, and Patamon are missing as well." Said Twilight That was when Matt realized his sister and her Digimon were no longer in the library. He could feel a migraine coming on but relaxed a little knowing that Cresent went after them. But it didn't ease him completely since she was still recovering. She's going to get an earful from me when this is all over with. "I bet they all went after Zecora without us." Said Rainbow "I only think that applies to Apple Bloom, Abby, Terriermon, and Lopmon. Cresent disappeared to go after them with Patamon." Said Matt "You see calm for a guy whose sister just ran back into Everfree Forest." Said Alice "Oh, I'm pissed, but I know she's safe with Cresent following them alongside their partner Digimon." Before Matt could speak with Twilight again, he saw them all running out of the library. After Twilight and her friends were gone, all that was left was a mess-filled library, the humans, their Digimon, and Spike. "Well, there they go. Should we catch up to them?" Said James "No point, by the time we catch up, they will have found Zecora and probably gotten the entire issue solved." Said Matt "You think." Said April "Yeah," Matt then looked down at the book he held that he attempted to get Twilight to read. Supernaturals: Natural Remedies and Cure-alls That Are Simply Super. He recalled that Rarity mentioned that Alice was with them when Zecora cursed them. He turned to his friend, "Do you recall where everypony was standing when Zecora 'cursed' our friends?" Alice closed her eyes and pondered the thought, "When we caught up to Apple Bloom and Abby, Applejack picked up her sister and Twilight used her magic to give me Abby. I remember the girls were standing in a field of blue flowers and Zecora saying, 'Beware, beware you pony folk. Those leaves of blue are not a joke.'" "That's a strange thing to say to curse someone." Said James Matt looked back down at the book before flipping it open. Something about Zecora's words seemed to point to the answer. He flicked the book until he found an entry talking about a blue flower in the Everfree. "I think I found something." Everyone pilled around Matt to look at the book, "It says here that the flower is called Poison Joke. A flower that resides in the Everfree Forest that when somepony inhales the spores of the flower, will be transformed into a practical joke. The flower is meant to give all of those around the pony a good chuckle. To remove the effect of the flower is to bathe in the below herbal compound to reverse the effects of the flower." "So what they all think is a curse is a joke caused by a flower." Said James "I guess that's why I wasn't affected, because I never got close to the flowers. Something felt off about them when I first saw them." Said Alice "So, if Twilight hadn't pushed away this book then they wouldn't have run off to go after Zecora thinking that she cursed them." Said Spike "I guess it is true what they say, 'Never judge a book by its cover.'" Said Matt Matt closed the book and looked at the cover again and it clicked that he saw it in Zecora's house as well. She mentioned that she was working on a potion for someponies in need. I bet she was making it for Twilight and her friends. But she said she needed a few more herbs to complete it and would look to get them in the morning. So, Twilight and the others should be cured by the time they reach Zecora's if they don't mess anything up when they get there. "Well, now what?" Asked James "Well, I need to get the library back together before Twilight Flopple comes back." Said Spike "Who?" Asked James "It was the only name I could think of for Twilight. Not my best for sure." Said Spike "No reason for you to do this all alone Spike, let us help out." Said April Spike smiled as the humans and Digimon helped Spike get the library back together. Alice turned to see Matt had walked outside. She followed behind him to see him staring down at this Digivice. She stood next to him before speaking, "I was surprised by your comment about not going after your sister." Matt sighed, "Oh, I want to go after her, but I trust Cresent to get to them first. Even though Cresent is still wounded, I know she can put up a fight." Matt reached back pulled his Digivice off his pants and stared at it, "But I also know that my sister is meant to for bigger things since the day we woke up here with our Digimon and these Digivices. I have this feeling that if I continue to baby her and attempt to defend her, she will never grow. And if she doesn't grow she will never be able to Digivolve Terriermon and Lopmon to their champion forms." He passed again to look at the device in his hand before turning to look at his Digimon. Alice peaked back at hers as well. "The Digimon seem to Digivolve when we are in danger to protect us. So if Abby is never in danger, then I feel that Terriermon and Lopmon will never learn to Digivolve and if that happens they will be unable to help when we encounter more and more powerful enemies." Matt attached his Digivice back to his pants before peering off to where the Everfree was, "I hate to say it, but I cannot shelter my sister from all danger. She will have to learn to defend herself, so that she can use that strength to help Terriermon and Lopmon become stronger much like we will have to do to Digivolve our partners as well. Because I have this feeling that we have only just begun down this path before us. Alice smiled at Matt's comment before leaning in and giving a kiss on the cheek. He blinked with surprise as he looked at a smiling Alice, "That's the speech of a leader. And I have the same feeling that I cannot baby her as her sister figure. We both need to be more of a teacher than sheltering protectors. I know that it will be hard for us both, but I have the same feeling that if we shelter her, then she will never grow as a DigiDestined and that puts her in greater danger." Matt smiled and hugged his friend before James called out for them to come in and help them get the library back in order. The two smiled before entering the library, but before Matt went inside, he turned his head to where the Everfree was. Stay safe sis. He turned back and walked inside to help clean up the library and to think of a punishment worthy of his sister for running off again. *** Apple Bloom, Abby, Terriermon, and Lopmon walked through the forest looking for the home of Zecora. After entering the forest, they both heard Applejack's high-pitched voice telling the four of them to stop. Apple Bloom didn't listen to her sister and instead put her on a branch and left with Abby and her Digimon. Abby turned back to where they left Applejack, "Was it a good idea to leave her there?" "She'll be fine. My sister is stronger than she looks, even if she's small. Anyways, she would only get in the way of us finding Zecora." Said Apple Bloom "Do you think Zecora can help us?" Asked Abby "I'm not sure, but she's the only one who can help us." Said Apple Bloom The four of them continued to walk through the forest unaware of Cresent and Patamon who were following them from the shadows. As a lunar guard, she was taught to use the shadows to stalk her enemies and spy on them. She had been taught how to move without making a sound whether it was via her wings or her hooves. She watched as Terriermon stopped and turned to where she was. He tilted his head as he had felt they were being watched, but said nothing. He then turned and ran to catch up to the group. Crescent continued to keep the shadows as she tracked them. "Do you think everypony noticed we left the library?" Asked Abby "I would assume so since Applejack was hitching a ride with me." Said Apple Bloom "Then we should hurry to find Zecora." Said Abby Before all four of them could pick up the pace. Cresent appeared before them. The group stopped and looked up at the bat pony. "Where do you four think you're going?" Said Cresent "Cresent, what are you doing here?" Asked Abby "I saw you and Apple Bloom sneak out of the library. So I decided to follow you to make sure you four didn't get into any issues." She turned her gaze to Abby, "I thought you had a conversation with your brother about going into the Everfree. Did you simply decide to ignore your brother's words?" "I know, but I am willing to take my brother's anger and disapproval of me to help our friends get better since it was me and Apple Bloom that caused the issue our friends are having, even if it is funny." Cresent sighed as she chewed the inside of her cheek. She knew she should return the two fillies home, but she also knew that Zecora might have a remedy to cure Twilight and her friends. Matt forgive me. "I'll take you two to see Zecora and see what we can do to help her get a cure for the others. Then after we get the cure, cure Twilight and the others, you are both going to face your siblings and take whatever punishment they give you for running into the Everfree Forest." Abby and Apple Bloom nodded their heads and agreed to her terms. She turned around and motioned for them to follow her as she led to them Zecora's house. After arriving the group told Zecora about Twilight and the others and Zecora told them that she had been working on a brew to cure them, but was missing some much-needed herbs for the potion. But they were only sold in Ponyville, and she was unable to buy them due to everypony running off when she arrived in town. The group agreed to get the herbs for Zecora and ran back into town. While they were in town, to buy the herbs, Twilight and her friends were stalking through the Everfree Forest to find where Zecora lived. Gatomon used the trees to spy ahead and finally said she spotted what looked to be a hollowed-out tree ahead that had lights coming out of it. The group soon found Zecora working over a cauldron that they thought was a soup made to cook Apple Bloom and Abby. Led by Applejack riding Rainbow Dash, they bashed into Zecora's home and wrecked it. As they began to confront Zecora about Apple Bloom, Abby, Terriermon, Lopmon, Cresent, and Patamon came back with the ingredients needed to complete the brew only to find the room trashed and the cure all over the floor. Apple Bloom and Abby helped calm down Twilight and her friends letting them know that they were infected by Poison Joke, a plant that turned them into a walking joke. The cauldron, they had tipped over, was the cure that would return them to normal. After apologizing for their actions, Zecora showed them the book that held the cure and Twilight realized it was the book that Matt attempted to show her. After clearing up the air, Zecora stated that she would need more ingredients from Ponyville to finish her brew and cure the group. Twilight led the charge back to Ponyville where she was able to acquire the ingredients for the cure and then Rarity took them to the Ponyville Spa where they used Aloe and Lotus's tubs to bath in the cure and be free of the Poison Joke. Once free from the joke, everypony went their separate ways. Abby swallowed the lump in her throat as she headed home to face her brother. *** Matt sat on the living room couch flicking through the Supernaturals: Natural Remedies and Cure-alls That Are Simply Super book. He found it interesting how many different plants existed in Equestria, what they did to the body, and how to cure them. He flicked another page as the door opened. He turned his gaze to see Cresent, Patamon, Abby, Terriermon, and Lopmon enter the room. Cresent gestured for Abby to speak with her brother. She nodded and went over to him as the rest went upstairs. She sat next to her brother. She stayed quiet as her brother flicked another page of the book. Abby looked up to see it was the same book that Zecora used to cure Twilight and her friends. She then watched as her brother closed up the book and gave it to her. She stared at the cover, confused as to why he had given her the book. I would have thought he would have exploded on me by now. "Let me guess, Twilight and the others went to Zecora and probably did something dumb and she then showed them that book and told them they had been infected by Poison Joke. And if Twilight had stopped to look through it, she would had a cure to her and her friend's problem and not assumed that Zecora 'cursed' them." Said Matt "Yeah, that's pretty much how it was." Said Abby "I am never going to let Twilight live this down. I guess everypony got cured?" Said Matt "Yeah." She paused as she put the book on the table in front of her before turning to look at her brother. "Are you mad at me for going into the Everfree again with Apple Bloom?" Matt didn't answer her, "I know you're mad, but I did it because everypony thought that that Zecora had cursed or hexed them instead of being level-headed. Apple Bloom and I knew we were the cause of all of this, so we decided we had to fix it." She paused again as she looked at her brother, who eyed her, "I am sorry, brother for worrying you. I accept any punishment you give me for breaking your trust in me not to go back to the Everfree without you or somepony else." The two siblings sat in silence before Matt smiled picked her up and placed her on his lap. He ruffled her hair as he smiled down at her. She smiled and giggled as she lay against his chest. "I am mad, sis. But I am also proud to see you do what is right while everypony else wanted to believe in something wrong. I know I baby you a lot, but that's because I care deeply about you and I don't want to lose you. But I also know I cannot stop you from growing up and becoming your own woman." He smiled as he looked down at his sister and kissed her on the head, "You're growing up in front of my own eyes and it's hard for me to accept that. It's hard for me to accept that I cannot protect and shelter you forever. I cannot protect you from being a DegiDestined and helping protect those around us with our Digimon. I have this feeling that you will have to grow strong outside of my protection if you are to go down the path fate has put before us. But that doesn't mean you can throw yourself into every dangerous situation without thinking first and without help. I am not sure what the future holds for us, but I know you will have to fight your own battle without me." Abby smiled at her brother. He smiled back and ruffled her hair again, "As for your punishment, we will handle that tomorrow. For now, head upstairs and jump into a shower. I also want you to say sorry to Alice and thank Cresent for watching over you." Abby nodded her head upstairs as Matt watched. He leaned back against the couch and stared at the ceiling. I hope I am making you proud Mom and Dad. I know you want me to protect her, but I know she'll have to fight her own battles without me. I can only hope that you keep an eye on us both. Matt closed his eyes and sighed before heading upstairs to get ready for bed. Chapter 17 - 13th Royal Knight13th Royal Knight It was a quiet night in Canterlot. Only a few bars and nightclubs were still open serving those who lived or were visiting the capital of Equestria. Princess Luna held her night court to hear the issues of her citizens, mainly bat ponies, who came to speak with her. She recorded anything of note for her sister to investigate in the morning. While she listened, she also monitored the realm of dreams to ensure everyone who slumbered in Equestria slept peacefully. Rarely did she need to enter the realm and dispel a nightmare, but she was ready when she needed to do so. Bat ponies patrolled the castle ensuring it was safe for the slumbering Princess Celestia and their princess of the night. A few flew through the skies over Canterlot, monitoring the streets for any disturbances or anything unusual. The patrols had to be increased since several break-ins occurred at night for the past few days. The target of the break-ins were grocery and convenience stores. The culprit only seemed interested in stealing the food. Princess Luna had requested far more patrols to be sent around Canterlot to watch the streets around the grocery and convenience stores to catch the criminal in the act. A figure watched as a patrol of two bat ponies flew overhead. The figure was a quadruped dragon-like creature with white metallic armored skin. A red cloak and hood with goggles sowed into the hood covered his body. Three sharp dark blue claws were on the end of each of its legs. A single black horn vetted out from the front of his face. The figure went by Hackmon, the 13th and finalRoyal Knight of the Digital World. He watched as the patrol left the area before making his move. Hackmon stayed in the areas with the heaviest cover to hide from the patrolling bat ponies. He only moved when he was sure the area had no patrols. Damn, it looks like they have increased their patrols since I first started stealing. I know Master would be very displeased with me if he learned of what I was doing. But I need to get food for young the Digimon in the village. Hackmon continued until he arrived at his target, a grocery store. He looked to the sky seeing if another patrol was overhead. I need to move quickly before the next patrol comes. He reached the back of the store and spotted the rear door lock. He once more turned his attention to the sky. It seemed to be clear for the time being. Hackmon used one of his claws from his right leg to break the lock. He continued to work, but something was up, he couldn't break it. Then he felt a sharp sensation shoot up his claw. He pulled it back and waved his leg back and forth attempting to relieve the pain. Damn, what was that? Was the lock booby-trapped? I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Hackmon looked to the sky to see no patrol. I should check the front. Hackmon knew that could be dangerous and expose him, but he knew the village needed the food. He took another glance at the sky and saw nothing. I would estimate I have only a few minutes before the next patrol comes over. Hackmon ran to the front of the store and looked for the lock, eventually finding it. He once more stuck a claw from his right leg into the lock. But unknown to Hackmon two bat ponies were watching the store. Private Night Caller was a male thretral that stood at 5'8'' with a midnight blue mane and tail. His fur color was a dark navy blue. A single light blue stripe ran down his mane. His cutie mark was of a mace sitting over a crescent moon. A mace sat attached to his hip as his weapon of choice. Next to him was a greenhorn thretral named, Crimson Star. He was fresh from the academy and today was his first big night out. He stood at 5'7" with a crimson red mane and tail. His fur was a pastel blue. His cutie mark was of three red stars. His weapon of choice was a long sword with magic runes that allowed him to ignite the sword in a blaze of fire. Both wore black armor with the crescent moon in the center of it. The standard armor of all guards who served the night. "I still do not understand why we are watching a grocery store?" Asked Crimson "If you read the report that the general gave, our culprit only hits stores that sell food. As per our orders from Princess Luna, we are to watch all grocery and convenience stores for the culprit." Said Night "But how do we know they will hit this store?" Asked Crimson "We don't, but that does not mean they will target this business next. Whether they do or not, it is our job to bring in this culprit." Said Night Crimson sighed, "Not what I was expecting when I enrolled in the academy." Night chuckled a little, "what were you expecting when you enrolled for the academy? You live in Equestria, a nation that hasn't seen a conflict that requires us guards for more than a century." "Well, I thought I would be patrolling Equestria. Seeing the country and being praised by locals. Who knows maybe getting a little lucky with the local mares. I didn't think I would be bored senseless watching a building." Said Crimson Night laughed, "Yeah, this career can get quite dull from time to time. But no worries, rookie, you'll get your wish soon enough. But for now, our orders are clear. We are to monitor the store, catch the culprit in the act, and bring him in for questioning." Crimson sighed as he sat bored staring at the business. Neither was sure how much time had passed, but soon enough they both watched as Hackmon appeared at the front of the store Night smiled, "Looks like princess's plan was a success." Luna had ordered her guards watching over the stores to curse the rear door lock, the door the culprit used, forcing the culprit out into the open. But, she also requested that the front door lock be cursed as well. This was accomplished by runes on the opposite side of the lock. Only the business owner's key or the princess's magic could disable the rune. This completely ensured that if the culprit did escape, they would not be able to rob any grocery or convenience store. "Now what?" Asked Crimson Night didn't say a word but gestured for Crimson to follow and stay quiet. The two moved quietly across the rooftops keeping their eyes on the culprit, who was struggling to break the lock. Night smiled as he and Crimson approached. They stopped one building away from the culprit. "What is it?" Whispered Crimson "I am not sure, but that doesn't matter. What matters is that we bring it in. You will confront the culprit and I will sneak behind it and knock it out." Said Night Crimson nodded his head as he watched the private fly off to get behind the creature. Crimson stared down at the creature who was waving his leg back and forth. Before jumping he took note of the culprit. His eyes looked at the three sharp claws that sat at the end of each leg and the horn at the front of its head. Need to be careful of those. Look like they could tear through my armor easily. Noting that looked to be the only weapons on the culprit, he jumped into action. Hackmon shook off the feeling in his leg as he had encountered the same pain as with the rear lock. Damn, another booby-trapped lock. What else could go wrong tonight? "Halt criminal scum!" Hackmon turned his head to see Crimson landing before him. I had to speak into existence. "By the order of Princess Luna, di-monarchy of Equestria, you are under arrest." Said Crimson Hackmon growled as he began to back up. Crimson, readied himself for the creature to either run or attack. He flexed his right hand, ready to pull his sword to defend himself, if need be. His eyes quickly darted up to the building behind the creature. He spotted Night readying his mace. He then turned his sight down to the creature to ensure it wouldn't catch on to the plan. "I would come quietly if you know what's good for you." Said Crimson I need to get out of here. But I need to make sure I don't lead him back to the village. Hackmon was about to run when he saw the bat pony smile at him, causing him to raise his eyebrow. Before Hackmon knew it, something hit him hard in the back of the head. He suddenly felt woozy and his vision was beginning to go blurry. Fuck! He fell face first into the ground as he closed his eyes and fell into a state of unconsciousness. Night placed his mace back on his hip as he looked at the creature. He gave Crimson a thumbs-up before picking up the creature. He then stretched out his wings and began to take flight. Crimson followed suit as the both of them flew back to the castle. Once inside, they reported to Princess Luna, who ordered the creature to be restrained in the dungeon. She would have her sister deal with it in the morning. The two of them acknowledged the order from the princess and took the creature to the dungeon where it would wait to meet with Princess Celestia for questioning. *** Hackmon groaned as his body began to awaken. He growled as he felt a throbbing pain running through his head. What happened? He tried to move his right leg to rub his head in an attempt to soothe the pain but felt it was impossible to move it past a certain point. He moved his head to see what was holding him back. His vision was still hazy, but he could make out the shapes of chains straining his leg. He blinked and shook his head to clear the clouds in his vision. When his vision was back to normal, he saw that both of his front legs were chained up. The length of the chain was short, which limited his mobility. It also meant he couldn't use his claws to pick the locks of the chains. Not that he thought he could, because he believed they were also booby-trapped. He then looked around to see he was in a cave with iron bars before him. Damn it! I need to get out of here! Hackmon attempted to pull the chains to break them, but he wasn't strong enough to do it. He huffed as he felt his stomach growl with hunger. He ignored his stomach and continued to try to break the chains. But he didn't have the strength to do it as his stomach let out another growl. He also felt that even at full strength, he wouldn't be able to break the chains. He bashed his front legs into the ground in frustration. That's when he heard a door opening and closing. He stayed quiet as he heard the sounds of hoof steps on the concert floor coming near his cell. He waited until Princess Celestia appeared before him. In one hand was a metal bowl with what looked to be two loaves of bread and an apple. In the other was a cup. Hackmon raised his eyebrow at who this stranger was and why she was bringing him food and drink. He watched as her horn ignited with a warm yellow glow. He was expecting her to shout out her attack and blast him as he was completely defenseless. But instead, he saw the same glow appear on the chains straining his front legs. He watched as each chain unlocked itself and fell with a loud clatter as each hit the stone floor. He rubbed the area where the chains were attached to his legs before rubbing his head. He then watched as the glow enveloped the bowl and cup. Instantly they disappeared in a flash of white light before appearing before him. It started with Hackmon, who looked at where it once was to now where it is. He continued this attempting to understand what had just happened. The princess giggled a little at Hackmon's antics. He shook his head as he stared at the food. He approached it with caution as he still was unaware of the stranger's intent. He sniffed the food seeing if he could pick anything up from the smell. I wonder if she poisoned it? I doubt they would have a poison that would hurt me. But still, I shouldn't eat it. Hackmon stared at the food and drink. But when's the last time I ate? Most of the food Hackmon stole, he gave to the Digimon of the village. He preferred their stomachs to be full than his. His stomach answered his mental question as it echoed loudly around the room. He cursed at himself, but he was starving. He grabbed one of the loaves with the claws of his right leg. He was still hesitant, but the growl from his stomach, made him disregard it. He took a gingerly bite from the loaf of bread. As he chewed, he realized it was sweet bread, a very delicious sweet bread. The taste was wonderful on his tongue, he began to scarf down the loaf of sweet bread. While consuming the loaf, he used the claws on his left leg to pick up the apple and bite down into it. Again a pleasant sweetness hit his tongue from the juice of the apple. He consumed both happily. Princess Celestia smiled as she used her magic to pull a stool over so she could sit. After sitting, she straightened up her dress and waited for the Hackmon to finish eating. Soon enough, Hackmon placed the cup, filled with orange juice, down. He gave a content huff, but he still felt hungry. He looked up at the princess, unsure if she would grant him another meal. He was also hesitant to speak to her, but his stomach decided to speak for him as it growled. Celestia giggled a little, "Would you like some more food and drink?" Hackmon nodded his head in agreement. Celestia's horn came to life and in a flash of white light, the bowl and cup were filled once more. Hackmon grabbed the newly appeared food and began to gorge himself on it until he had consumed it all. Hackmon let out a content huff as he patted his full stomach. He could hardly remember the last time he felt his full. Certainly not since awakening to this new world. "I see you were quite hungry. Odd considering the amount of food you have been stealing from the local grocery and convenience stores. That tells me, you are stealing food for somepony else. So, tell me who you are and why you've been stealing from my ponies?" Hackmon only stared at the princess before adverting his gaze. He had no desire to speak to her, even after she fed him. He still wasn't sure of her intent. "So, giving me the silent treatment after I fed you." Hackmon did not knowledge her. "And I know you can understand me since you nodded when I asked if you wanted more food." Hackmon continued to stay quiet. Celestia sighed as she got up from the stool knowing it was pointless. "Whether you want to answer me or not, you still stole from my ponies. I will determine your sentence with the courts, until then you will be staying here. I will return once I am free, to see if you are willing to speak then." Celestia's horn came to life, attached the chains to Hackmon's front legs, and returned the stool to its rightful place. She then teleported the bowl and cup out of the cell before turning and making her way out of the dungeon. Hackmon growled, Damn it! The village needs me. I cannot stay here and certainly cannot serve time in a prison cell. I have no choice but to speak with her and resolve all of this. Celestia was about to exit when a voice called out to her, "Wait!" She turned and walked back to the cell and looked down at Hackmon. Celestia was silent as she waited for Hackmon to speak. Hackmon let out a sigh, "My name is Hackmon, I am a Digimon and more importantly a Royal Knight of King Drasil. Celestia pulled the stool back to her with her magic and sat down. She gestured for Hackmon to continue speaking. "As I said, I am a Digimon, Digital Monster, from the Digital World. I am the 13th and final member of the protectors of the Digital world and its king, the Royal Knights. We are an elite group of Digimon who were formed by Imperialdramon Paladin Mode to defend our home from threats that seek to plunge it into darkness. I am also the personal student of Gankoomon, a Royal Knight who saw my potential as the final member of the Royal Knights. He took me under his wing and began to train me. He also had me chaperoned by three Digimon named the Sistermon. They would also help me train when Gankoomon had to leave." Hackmon paused to collect his thoughts, "Everything in the Digital World was going smoothly until the darkness came. One day out of the blue, an unforeseen darkness began to cover the Digital World. Before we knights could respond, the darkness enveloped us. From the moment the darkness took me to the moment I awoke to this world, I have no memories. I am not even sure how much time passed while I was in the darkness. But the next thing I know after the darkness consumed me, I awoke to this unfamiliar world." "I see, but that does not explain the thievery you have been committing. Hard to believe a knight, protector of Digimon, would be so open to stealing. What would your master think of you if he knew his student was stealing?" Said Celestia Her stern words hit Hackmon's core. He knew what he was doing was wrong and that it was unbecoming of who he was and what his master taught him. But he was also doing it for young Digimon back in the village. "I wasn't doing it for myself," Celestia raised an eyebrow at Hackmon's comment. "When I awoke to this world, I stumbled onto a Digimon village full of baby and in-training Digimon. They were starving and needed food. Their only protection was an Elecmon, a rookie-level Digimon. He had been trying to find food for the young Digimon but had a hard time getting enough for them. He told me of this town. I came here a few nights back and found plenty of food. I know it's wrong of me, but the village needed food. So, I accepted what I had to do, and began to steal from the stores to feed the Digimon of the village. Elecmon had warned me that I would get caught sooner or later and that we needed to find a different way to feed the village. I ignored him and I guess that ignorance caught up to me." Celestia was quiet as she mulled over Hackmon's words, "So, you stole only to help feed the Digimon you swore you to protect." Hackmon nodded in agreement, "That does not excuse your actions, but I do understand them." Celestia stood up and ignited her horn. She freed Hackmon from his chains and then opened the prison door. "To ensure the truth of your story, I need you to take me to this village." Hackmon wasn't sure if he could trust her. He didn't want to put the young Digimon and Elecmon in harm's way for his actions. But he could also feel that she had no ill intentions to hurt the Digimon, she seemed more curious than anything. "Before I show you this village, how about you answer something for me?" Celestia nodded her head in agreement. "Who are you?" "I am Princess Celestia di-monarchy of Equestria." "Princess Celestia, I ask you to promise me that you will not hurt or harm the Digimon village. I was the one who stole the food for them and will accept the punishment for breaking your laws. They are innocent in all of this." Said Hackmon Princess Celestia smiled, "I promise you as the ruler of Equestria that I will not bring any harm to the Digimon of the village." Hackmon was still hesitant, but he could feel she was genuine with her answer that she would not harm the Digimon. He sighed, "Alright, I will lead you to them." Celestia smiled as the two left for the Digimon village. *** Hackmon had led Celestia to a path that led to the base of the mountain where Canterlot rested. The two stayed quiet throughout their entire trip. Hackmon had been thinking about leading the princess somewhere else and then ditching her to return to the village. He would then round up the young Digimon and leave the area to find somewhere else to live. But he felt that was a dumb idea. He felt that she could use the power of her horn to catch him and strain him. Plus, he felt that he had some good grace with the princess, so he didn't want to jeopardize that grace. Eventually, the two stopped before a set of head-high bushes. "Elecmon, are you there?" It was quiet for a moment before the bushes began to rustle and out came Elecmon, "Hackmon glad to hear your voice. Where have you been? What happened? Did you bring..." Elecmon stopped mid-sentence as he looked at Princess Celestia who smiled and waved. Elecmon turned to look at Hackmon with a deadpan face. He looked away from the rookie Digimon. "Let me guess, you got caught." "Yes." "Hello Elecmon, my name is Princess Celestia di-monarchy of Equestria. I am here because Hackmon said that he was bringing food here to feed some young Digimon." Elecmon turned his attention to the princess, "That is correct your Highness." "May I see these young Digimon?" Elecmon turned to look at Hackmon who nodded his head. Elecmon motioned for them to follow. The three of them pushed through the bushes to find a small village of Digimon. Little hunts had been set up as well as what seemed to be the start of a garden. Celestia saw a wide variety of different Digimon that had been playing before the three of them appeared. Some looked like black blobs with ears and yellow eyes. A few were green blobs with a pacifier in their mouth, black eyes, and a leaf for a tail, which shaded their body. Then there some that were looked like a metal cat toy mouse with red eyes. That was the majority of the village, but there were a few other Digimon in the village. First was a pink blob with pink ribbons coming out of its head with red eyeshttps://digimon.fandom.com/wiki/Koromon. Then there was a cat-like blob with white and blueish stripes. It wore a metal helmet with two horns coming out of it. Lastly was a larva-like creature with its head coming out of a pine cone. When all of them laid their eyes on the Princess, they ran and hid from her. They poked out from their hiding spots shaking with fear. They were not sure who she was or what she wanted to do. Princess Celestia, seeing their unease, decided to make herself smaller. Hackmon and Elecmon watched her every movement, ready to spring into action. Even if she gave off an aura of a loving and caring mother. Celestia got down on her knees, not caring if she got her dress dirty, and reached out a hand to one of the Botamon. It seemed scared to move towards Celestia, but a warm smile on her face seemed to change its mind. It slowly moved forward and sniffed Celestia's hand. The Botamon once more looked up to see the warm smile still present on her face. It seemed to ease the Botamon to allow Celestia to begin to pet the little black blob. It closed its eyes and seemed to be happy with the petting as it began to spit out a few bubbles. Celestia stared at them surprised. "You seemed to have made the Botamon happy." Said Elecmon "Botamon?" Asked Celestia "Yes ma'am, that Digimon is a baby Digimon named Botamon. All Digimon start our life as baby Digimon after we hatch from our digital egg." Elecmon pointed to the green blob Digimon and the larva Digimon. "The babies there are Leafmon and their in-training form, Minomon." Elecmon then pointed to the remaining Botamon and the pink blobs. "You already know about Botamon but the other one is one of their in-training forms, Koromon." Then he pointed to the mouse and the cat-like Digimon, "And finally the baby is Metalkoromon and one of their in-training forms, Kapurimon." The other Digimon began to walk out from hiding spots seeing that Princess Celestia was not a threat to them, but were still cautious about her. She smiled at them all, "Hello everyone, my name is Princess Celestia. I came here to say hello to you all." While they were still uneasy about her, they felt like she meant them no harm. Once they felt that way they began to go near the princess. She smiled and petted and stretched them making them all happy. "Glad to see the little ones are warming to her." Said Elecmon Hackmon walked over and sat next to Elecmon and watched as the young Digimon played with Princess Celestia, "Yeah." Hackmon turned his head to see a small cave where he stored stolen food. He could see that they were running dry and growled at his failure last night. Elecmon turned to see where Hackmon was looking, "Yeah, we're running dry again. We have enough for probably tonight and that's it." Elecmon then turned to the laughing princess as the Digimon played around her, "Do you think she could help get us some food?" Hackmon turned to Elecmon before turning to Celestia. 'I'm not sure. But a part of me believes that she would be more than willing to help us." After a while of playing with the Digimon and letting them warm up to her, they decided to leave her alone. She continued to watch them play among each other with smiles on their faces, well for those that had faces. She then saw Hackmon and Elecmon walk over to her after she was free from the young Digimon. "I am impressed how quickly they warmed up to you, your highness." Said Elecmon She smiled, "I have that effect on others." She turned her eyes to watch them play, "Elecmon you mentioned that Koromon and Kapurimon were only one form of Botamon and MetalKoromon, what does that mean?" "Many different Digimon have different digital lines they can digivolve to. For example, a Botamon can digivolve into Koromon, Wanyamon, or Budmon. But then there are some Digimon that have a singular line they follow. For example, Leafmon only has a single digivolution line they follow until they reach their rookie form, Wormon. The vast majority of all Digimon have different digital lines they can follow. It's rare for a Digimon to only have a singular digital line." "Not to mention that there are other evolution forms as well. Armour, DNA, DigiXros, and Slide Forms are other ways a Digimon can digivolve. But these evolutions are rare as they can only occur with certain Digimon." Hackmon turned to Celestia, "I find it interesting back in your castle, that when I said I was Digimon, you seemed to understand what that meant." "Yes, because before I saw you, I had already met some Digimon before you. They live in Ponyville with their Tamers." Said Celestia "Did you say, Tamers?" Celestia nodded her head, "They wouldn't happen to have devices that allow for a Digimon to digivolve." Celestia once more nodded her head. "They wouldn't happen to be human would they?" "Well of the seven of them, five are human and two are ponies." Responded Celestia "I see." Said Hackmon "Why is that important?" Asked Celestia "Throughout the history of the Digital World, when a great evil threatens the Digital World, an evil that no Digimon alone can face. A phenomenon calls out to humans and gifts them a powerful device known as a digivice. An object that allows a human to digivolve a Digimon through its line by the use of an unknown connection between Digimon and Tamer. This connection grows the strength of the Digimon and Tamer creating the bond necessary for a human to digivolve a Digimon at will. Typically, a Digimon must absorb enough digital data to perform the evolution themselves, this is bypassed by the digivice. These chosen humans become known as DigiDestined. These DigiDestined alongside their Digimon work together to stop the evil that threatens the Digital World." Hackmon paused as he thought about what he said before continuing, "But what I find odd is this is not the Digital World. The minute woke in this place, I felt like my connection to Digital World was served, but I swear that I can still feel digital data flowing around me. It's like this world and the Digital World are connected somehow. But now the question is asked, what brought the DigiDestined here? It is because of the darkness that consumed the Digital World. And this time around, not only were humans chosen and brought, but it would seem that the local populace of this world might be chosen as DigiDestined as well." Hackmon sighed, "It seems the mystery deepens before us. A mystery with no clues or leads to follow. I guess will have to be patient and wait to see how this all unfolds before us." "It would seem that way. Tell me Elecom," he turned his gaze to the princess. "How much food do you have left?" Elecmon sighed, "Probably enough to get through tonight and that's it." "I see, I will have to have food delivered at once to this village." Said Celestia Both rookie Digimon turned to look at Celestia. Elecmon was the first to speak, "You would give us food. Even after Hackmon stole from you." "While Hackmon broke the law, I understand why he did so. And as princess of Equestria, I cannot let these young Digimon or yourself go hungry." She then turned to the little garden of the village, "I will also have supplies dropped off to further help you grow your food." "Even though we are not your subjects." Said Hackmon Celestia smiled, "All those who live in Equestria are citizens of Equestria. No matter if they are a pony, human, griffin, zebra, or Digimon. All those who live in this nation are my sister and I's subjects." "Thank you, princess! We are more than grateful for your kindness." Said Elecmon Celestia smiled as she got up and dusted the dirt off of her dress, "Hackmon and I should be getting back to the castle. I will have a couple of my guards deliver the food and supplies before sundown. I will also have them drop something off so that you can get in contact with me or my sister if you need more, in case, you do not wish to leave the village to meet with us in person." Elecmon nodded happily as the two began to leave. Before the two left, a Kapurimon stopped them, "Where are you going, Hackmon? Aren't you staying?" Hackmon turned to look at the in-training Digimon before walking over to and placing his hand against the Digimon's head, "You see, I broke the laws of this nation young one, and when you break the law, you have to accept the punishment given to you. I plan on returning with the princess and facing judgment for my crimes. I am not sure how long I will be gone, but Elecmon will be taking care of you." Soon all of the other young surrounded Hackmon, "I promise that once I have completed my punishment, I will return." Hackmon wanted to say more but the Digimon ran past him and confronted Princess Celestia. "Please forgive Hackmon, he didn't do anything wrong. He was only trying to keep us fed and safe." Said the Kapurimon which was echoed by the other Digimon whether by their voice or body language. Celestia gave them all a warm mother smile as she bent and placed a hand gently on the Kapurimon's head, "I know, but in our nation we have rules. And when someone breaks the rules, they must face the consequences for their actions. But," she turned her gaze to Hackmon, "I promise you all that I will keep Hackmon safe until he can see you all. But if it's too long for you all, you all are more than welcome to come visit him." The Digimon seemed to cheer at this idea and Celestia giggled as she stood up and waved for Hackmon to follow. Hackmon turned and said goodbye to Elecmon and then each of the young Digimon, telling them once more to listen to Elecmon. Soon, he left with the princess and headed back to the castle. "Princess," Celestia turned her head to look at Hackmon. "Thank you." Celestia smiled at him, "You are welcome." *** The doors of the throne swung open as Hackmon entered the room. He turned to watch as the guards closed the doors behind him. He turned his gaze back to Princess Celestia who sat upon her and her sister's throne. Her horn was ignited in her yellow glow as papers and documents floated before her. A quill worked tirelessly scratching down notes, scratching out lines, and making signatures on all of the floating documents. "I see you have finally arrived, Hackmon." "I have your highness, but I am confused. I thought I was going to court today to face punishment for my crimes?" Asked Hackmon Celestia used her magic to roll up all of the documents placed them on a table next to her and put the quill back into the ink pot, "That would be true, but I struck a deal with the courts." She got up and walked over to Hackmon, "Since the day my sister and I rose to power following our parent's disappearance. I have learned to lead all manner of creatures that come to find a life in Equestria, but Digimon are something else. So, I need someone with knowledge of Digimon to help me lead this new age Equestria is entering. So, the bargain I broke the court is that you would serve your sentence working for me as an official advisor of Digimon. You will have to complete one year of service to fulfill your sentence. Once you have completed your year, you may go your way." "If I decline this?" Asked Hackmon "Then it will be up to the courts to decide your fate. Whether that's time behind bars or so many hours of community service. You chose to work for me, neither of those things will happen to you. You will live here in the castle, helping me and my sister and learn more about Digimon and how we should help them. And no matter which way you go, I will continue to protect and keep the Digimon village safe and send supplies to them when they need them." Said Celestia Hackmon was silent before closing his eyes to think, but he didn't have to think hard about it. He opened his eyes and reached out his right leg. It took Celestia a second for her mind to figure things out, but she understood. He took hold of Hackmon's leg and shook it. The two smile at each other. But as both shook on the offer, they both felt something inside of them, deep within them. Something that felt like a connection. Faint, but it was there for them both. A feeling that they were meant to be together. Author's Note A new Digimon has entered the fray. Are these two destined to become partners? Will Celestia become a DigiDestined? What is ahead for Equestria as more Digimon awaken in his new world? What is this darkness that consumed the Digital World? You will all have to find out as the story of Digital Equestria continues to unfold. P.S.: Make sure, to like, follow, and tell your friends.
Chapter 2 - The Adventure BeginsThe Adventure Begins The game has begun, and the first move has been made. Where shall the game go from here? *** Matt began to open his eyes to see a stone ceiling above him. Glowing green moss grew in patches across the ceiling, giving light to the area around him. He could feel that he was lying on something soft, even though he could feel a chill coming from the ground. Matt got up into a sitting position to see he was lying on a blanket on the stone floor. That would explain that cold feeling. He turned to see Alice stroking Abby's hair in her pigtails. Gummymon, Kokomon, Viximon sat next to them. April was sitting in a corner holding Yokomon, and James leaned against a set of metal bars with Wanyamon next to him. What happened to us? He quickly recalled everything that happened to him. All I can recall before waking up here was seeing those neon-colored ponies, the feeling of being light-headed, and then everything going dark. He rubbed his head and finally noticed Bukamon and Gigimon next to him. "Matt, you're up." Said Bukamon. Everyone turned to see Matt as he rubbed his head. His sister left Alice and run over to him and hugged him. Matt smiled as he stroked her head, "Yeah, I'm up. Mind filling me one where we are?" "Isn't it clear, a jail cell?" Said James "I see that, but where." Said Matt "None of us are too sure. All we do know is that it's underground. Plus, all anyone of us can remember is looking at those neon ponies before falling asleep and waking up here." Said Alice "Yeah, I remember that as well." Said Matt "But I don't understand is how we fell unconscious." Said James "Well, I do remember the white pony's horn glowing gold before we fell asleep." Said April "Yeah, I recall that as well." Said James "Yeah, but how did that cause us to go to sleep?" Asked Wanyamon "Don't look at me for the answer here. I have no idea what's even going on anymore. The last time I looked, Earth didn't have anthropomorphic neon-colored ponies with horns, wings, or both. All I can say is, maybe I've gone insane and imagining all of this." Said James Everyone looked at him before Matt got up and pinching him on the arm. He screamed out in pain, "I think that clears up the fact that this is all real and not in your mind. Now to the important task at hand, getting out of here." "I can't see how we do that. I don't see the keys for the cell around or a guard we can trick," said James rubbing the sore spot on his arm. Matt ran his hand through his hair before looking down at Gigimon, "How about the Digimon?" "I'm not sure how that would work since none of them have claws to break the bars or unlock the door." Said James "I might be able to help." Said Gigimon "Go right ahead, Gigimon." Said Matt Gigimon hopped up to the gate and began to spit all over the bars. In a matter of seconds, the bars started to sizzle. The spit started to eat away at the metal, causing it to fall apart. Soon the group had a hole to escape from the cell. "What was that?" Asked Alice "One of my moves is Frothy Spite, which allows me to spit acid." Said Gigimon "Handy," he turned to James. "I guess we didn't need any claws." James rolled his eyes before all five humans and their Digimon escaped. They passed a small table holding their Digivices, phones, and everything else they had when they woke in the forest. They each took their device and hooked it to their clothing. They then proceed to find an exit. *** Outside Canterlot Castle, a male figure covered in a long black robe appeared outside the castle. It stood hidden from the guards in the gardens that surrounded the castle. He watched as the guards began their shift change from the Lunar to the Solar guards. He raised his left sleeve, and a dark crystal floated out. It had black smoke emitting off of it as it floated in front of the figure. The male figure pushed the crystal to the side of him, and it exploded into a puff of smoke. The smoke began to form the shape of a Manticore. The Manticore now stood fully formed next to the figure. It had a pitch-black coat, dark purple wings, and a blood-red scorpion tail. Its eyes opened to show they were blood red. It stared at the guards as they finished getting ready for the morning. The figure pointed at the castle and said no words, but the Manticore knew what to do. It leaped out at the guards and roared to bring their attention to the guards. The Solar guards turned to witness the Manticore as it glared at them. The figure disappeared as the guards began to engage the Manticore. *** After escaping the underground prison, the group found themselves in a castle. They had been walking around a while in the castle's halls, seeking a way out. They watched for anybody who might be looking for them since breaking out. But they were sure of one thing. They had no idea how to escape the castle. "Ok, I'm sure of it. We have no idea where we are." Stated James "Thanks for stating the obvious." Said Alice "I'm wondering how anybody would find their way in this place," said Abby as she held her brother's hand. "I agree, but it sure is beautiful. The art here is like nothing I've seen or read. What I wouldn't give to spend more than a few seconds admiring it." Said April "I'm guessing you're a lover of the arts, April," stated Matt as he looked back at her "Yes, I love to paint and draw in my free time." Said April "Wow, April, you think you draw a picture of me?" Asked Yokomon April smiled down at Yokomon, "Once we get out of here, I would love to." The group continued to walk around the hallways looking at all doors. They would stop and open the door to see it was a bedroom with a perfectly made bed. The room also had a balcony, a fireplace, a closet, and a few drawers for storing clothing. There was also a door leading to a bathroom with the largest tub anyone in the group had ever seen. It looked like it could fit all of them and still have room for five more people, if not more. The balconies of the rooms they checked showed they were up a few stories. They all knew they needed to proceed down if they were going to get out of here before something or someone found them. They proceeded to find the ground floor, but no path seemed to lead them to the ground floor. Sure it was peaceful and quiet, but they were always on guard. They weren't sure who owned the castle, where they were, and what happened to those neon-colored ponies from before. "I can't imagine why one place would need so many bedrooms." Stated James "Maybe the person who lives here has a lot of guests." Said Alice "Or a large family." Stated April "I'm sure that doesn't warrant this many rooms. I hate to have to be the person who has to maintain and clean all these rooms." James then looked down at Wanyamon, "So do you Digimon have any way to help us get out of here?" Asked James "We are in the same boat as you, James." Said Wanyamon "Great, you can break us out of prison, but not out of this castle." Said James The group only took a few more steps before a figure wearing black armor smashed into the wall in front of them. The figure spat up a little blood from the force of striking the wall. The group watched as the figure fell to the ground face first. The five humans looked at each other before they ran up to the armor-wearing person. The armor looked primitive and something out of the Middle Ages. They could see a pair of folded batwings lying against the armor. Matt placed Gigimon on the ground before stepping towards the person. "Be careful, Matt." Said Alice Matt flipped the person over to reveal it was another pony with a red coat. The pony also had a pair of large white hangs sticking out of their mouth. In some way, it reminded Matt of the fangs of a vampire. Matt removed the helmet to reveal a long flowing white mane with black streaks doing down in three stripes. Matt placed his fingers on the pony's neck to feel for a pulse. "Anything?" Asked Abby "Yeah, the pony here is still living." Said Matt "So, that's the ninth pony we've seen since we woke up." Said James "He's right, and we haven't seen one human beside us." Said April "I do find that strange that we haven't seen of your kind yet." Said Gummymon Abby shook her head before looking back at her brother. Matt was examining the armor as he admired the craftsmanship of it. Matt traced his right hand across the armor before ending at the center where a crescent moon rested. He looked back at the pony's face to see a large scar crossing over the pony's face. The scar started in the upper right part of her face and traveled down, going over her muzzle and ending in the bottom-left part of her chin. Matt wasn't sure if the pony was male or female, unlike the eight he saw before, which he noticed were female from their body features. He rubbed his chin as he tried to think of what to do next. "So, what do we do now?" Asked James "I'm not sure." Said Matt Soon the pounding of feet caught the attention of the five humans and their Digimon. They looked down the hall to see the black Manticore coming towards them. Its red eyes were staring fear right into their souls. It screamed at them as it seemed to begin to pick up speed, charging much faster towards them. "Shit, what the hell is that!" Screamed James "Who cares?! Let's run!" Said April Matt couldn't leave the unconscious pony to this creature. He scooped her up and found her to be slightly heavy but not as heavy as he swore. Strange, I swore a pony in full battle armor would be heavy. Matt turned to see the Manticore lung for him. He quickly moved out of the way as it slammed into the wall. But it didn't seem to faze the beast as it turned to Matt. I was hoping that would stop it for a moment. Soon Bukamon and Gigimon appeared before Matt. "No worries, Matt. We'll protect you." Said Bukamon "Bukamon, Gigimon." Said Matt But before both Digimon could attack, something hit the Manticore on the back, making it turn towards the attacker. That's my cue. He grabbed Gigimon on the head and ran with Bukamon. He made it only a few inches before a pair of hands pulled him into a room. He watched as James closed the door. Alice hugged Matt, which was a little hard, considering he was still holding the unconscious pony. "What happened to you? I swore you were behind us." Said Alice "Sorry, I couldn't leave the pony to that beast." Said Matt "You risked your life for a creature who we have no idea about, attacked us without any reason, and probably put us in that cell underground. Dude, are you crazy!" Said James "It still isn't right to leave her to that thing, no matter what happened to us." Said Matt "But what was that thing?" Asked Abby "I believe that it was a Manticore. A mythical creature from Persian myth." Said Matt "This whole thing is getting crazier every second we spend here." Said James Matt walked over and placed the pony on the bed after dropping Gigimon onto the bed. He looked over to Bukamon and Gigimon, "Thanks for standing up for me." "Hey, we couldn't let our friend get hurt." Said Bukamon He smiled and patted both on the head. "So, now what?" Asked Abby "We still need to find a way out and now dodge that Manticore at the same time. Luckily something took its attention away from me. But I'm unsure for how long before it's looking for us again." Said Matt "Why do you think it would be looking for us?" Asked April "I'm not sure, but the way it looked at me told me that it was hunting for us." Said Matt "Great, just great." Said James "Complaining isn't going to help, James." Said Alice "Then what do you propose we do?" Asked James Alice was going to rebuttal, but the sound of coughing drew her to the pony. Blood leaked from the pony's mouth as it opened its eyes to reveal they were a grey color. It scanned the room as it looked at the humans and Digimon. Matt was the first to speak. "Take it easy." Said Matt "Who are you?" Asked the pony in a stern female voice "I'm Matt, and these are Gigimon and Bukamon." He pointed to both Digimon before moving to his sister and her Digimon. "That's my younger sister, Abby and her Digimon, Gummymon, and Kokomon." Matt moved to Alice, "That's Alice, my best friend, and her Digimon, Viximon." He then moved to James, "That's James and his Digimon Wanyamon." He then moved to April, "And that's April and her Digimon Yokomon. Who are you?" "I'm Dark Crescent, Private Dark Crescent, of the 13th regiment of the Lunar Guards." "Dark Crescent, that's your name?" Asked James "Yes, but everypony calls me Crescent for short." Said Crescent "Everypony," said James with his right eyebrow raised. Matt ignored what James said as he looked at Crescent, "Mind asking what happened to you?" "I was ending my shift, so I could sleep when an order came out about a Manticore on castle grounds. I got in my armor once more and went to support my fellow Solar guards. I was nearing the last location of the beast when it came barreling down the hallway. It turned towards me, and I stood my ground, ready to fight the beast. But, I guess the beast was too much for me, and it threw me down the hallway. I guess I blacked out after striking the wall." She turned to Matt, "I'm guessing you saved me from being that beast's snack." "Yeah, and don't take this the wrong way, but I found it surprising how light you were considering your armor." Said Matt Crescent laughed, "There's an enchantment in the armor to make it light, which allows for more protection without hindering the wearer." "Enchantment?" Asked Alice The sound of heavy steps stomping near them caused everyone to become quiet. They all knew what it was, and they weren't ready to deal with it. "Shit!" Murmured James Everyone stayed quiet until they heard the Manticore runoff from where they were. James opened the door and peeked his head to see if it was gone. "Anything?" Asked Wanyamon "No, it left. But we can't stay here." Said James "I agree. We need to move before it finds out where we are." Said Matt "But where do we go?" Asked Abby "We can hide out in the armory. It's the most secure place in the palace. That beast shouldn't be able to get us in there." Said Crescent "Well, we have no idea where that is." Stated James "No worries. I'll take you to it." Said Crescent She struggled to get out of bed. She was only able to stand for a few seconds before she fell to the ground. Matt helped her back to her feet by looping her left hand over his shoulder. "You're in no condition to walk." Said Matt "I guess that Manticore did more damage to me than I thought." Said Crescent "What now?" Asked James "We continue to the armory. I'll carry Crescent o my back, and she'll point out the way to us." Said Matt "You're not serious. She'll slow us down!" Exclaimed James "Oh, and you think it's a good idea to leave her wounded here for that thing to find!" Exclaimed Matt "I'm only saying that with her, she'll slow us down because we're going not be able to move as fast as we would without her!" Expressed James "Then so be it, and I'm sure you have no idea how to get to the armory without Crescent's help!" Exclaimed Matt "Enough!" The two boys turned to Alice, "Enough arguing like a couple of second graders. Sure we'll be moving slower, but we have no idea where we need to go, and we can't leave her here. Now, if you two finished bickering like children, let's move." Alice went to the door and peeked outside, "The coast is clear, Matt, you take point with Crescent, and I'll take the rear." Matt helped Cresent climb onto his back. She looped her hands around his neck, and Matt gripped her hooves. Alice opened the door and waved for Matt to go out first. He went out with Gigimon and Bukamon following next to him. Abby and April followed behind him, with James going next, and Alice taking up the rear. Crescent pointed the way towards the armory while they all made sure to keep an ear and eye open for the Manticore. They kept a jogging pace but would have to slow down as Matt adjusted Cresent on his back. "This is too easy." Stated James "I agree." Said Matt Once the two ended their talk, the Manticore appeared and tried to slam its fist into Matt, but Gigimon jumped into action. He spat into the Manticore's face, causing it to roar in pain from the acid spit. Matt ran past the howling Manticore with the others following behind him. Alice scooped up Gigimon as she ran past the Manticore. "Damn, I knew it was too easy!" Screamed James "Take the stairs on your right!" Exclaimed Crescent The group turned and began to run down the stairs, "Now left!" The group turned left and heard something slam behind them. Abby turned to see the Manticore looking at them. "It's back!" Screamed Abby The Manticore started to run at the group. "Right!" Screamed Crescent The group turned right and went down another set of stairs as the Manticore slid past them, trying to stop. It slammed in the wall but didn't stop it as it went back to chasing them. The group reached the bottom of the steps to see they could only go right and continued to run. Alice turned to see the Manticore landing at the bottom of the stares and staring at them. It growled before running at them once more. "Damn, doesn't it ever give up?" Asked Alice "Manticores never give up on a meal. A Manticore would rather die trying to catch its meal than give up." Said Crescent "Nice to know." Said James The group continued down the hallway until Crescent ordered them to make a left, which they made. Alice ducked as the Manticore took a swipe at her. "You ok, Alice?!" Asked Viximon "Yeah, but that was way too close for my comfort." Said Alice The team continued to run and turned to see the Manticore right behind them. "The next right, and we'll be near the armory." Said Crescent The Manticore saw where they were heading. It knew it could not fail on catching the group, so it opened its wings. It leaped into the air and flapped its wings to speed ahead of the group. Everyone watched as the Manticore soared above them. It landed in front of everyone blocking them off from the armory. "Quickly, turn left!" Screamed Crescent The group turned left as fast as they could as the Manticore howled before returning to chasing them. They ran down the hall and another two turns, but the Manticore appeared before them, causing them to take a sharp right to dodge the Manticore's scorpion tail. "Shit!" Screamed James The group saw an opening and went out into the gardens of the castle. The group stopped and looked around at all the trees and flowers. "Where are we?" Asked Matt "The meditation gardens." Said Crescent A growl made the group turn to see the Manticore coming towards them with its tail raised high into the sky. The five humans were now at the mercy of the Manticore as this part of the gardens was a dead end. The group had nowhere to escape the Manticore, and it was too large to run around to enter the castle and avoid it. But by surprise, the Digimon leaped in front of the group and readied themselves. "What are all of you doing?" Asked Alice "Defending our friends. Let's go, Digimon!" Exclaimed Bukamon The Digimon began to run towards the Manticore, ready to give it everything they had. "They are not going to survive against that thing, Wanyamon!" Screamed James "Gummymon, Kokomon!" Screamed Abby "Viximon, no!" Exclaimed Alice "Please, no, Yokomon!" Hollered April "Bukamon, Gigimon, don't do it!" Screamed Matt Suddenly a bright light began to emit from each of the Digivices of Matt, James, Abby, April, and Alice. A light began to consume each of the Digimon as they began to transform before the group's eyes. "What's happening to them?" Asked Matt The Digivice began to emit a set of codes to each Digimon, which started transforming them. "Bukamon Digivolve into...Gomamon." "Gigimon Digivolve into...Guilmon." "Gummymon Digivolve into...Terriermon." "Kokomon Digivolve into...Lopmon." "Wanyamon Digivolve into...Gaomon." "Viximon Digivolve into...Renamon." "Yokomon Digivolve into...Biyomon." The light ended, and now seven Digimon stood, but far different from those the humans knew. Bukamon was now a white seal-like creature with two front paws and two rear paws. A set of sharp claws extending from the front paws. Gigimon was now a red dinosaur. Gummymon and Kokomon where now rabbit like creatures with long ears. Wanyamon was no longer a cat, but a blue dog with boxing gloves covering its hands. Viximon was now bipedal fox. And Yokomon was now a pink bird. Now stood seven Digivolved Digimon ready to protect their friends. "What the hell?!" Exclaimed James "They're different." Stated Alice "But how?" Asked Abby "Let's show this thing why you don't mess with our friends." Said Gomamon. Renamon and Gaomon went right for the Manticore. The Manticore tried to swipe at Renamon, but she jumped away from the attack. She spun in the air and came down, striking the Manticore right in the head with the heel of her left foot. She leaped away as Gaomon followed up after her. "Gao Rush." He began to unleash a barrage of punches to the face of the Manticore. Each strike pushed the beast back from the group. Gaomon delivered a final blow before jumping away. Terriermon and Lopmon ran forward to strike the dazed Manticore. "Terrier Tornado." Said Terriermon "Tiny Twister." Said Lopmon Both Digimon began to spin around, using their ears to consume them each in a tornado. They jumped out of their attacks as they went sailing right at the Manticore. Debris from the area became caught in the vortex of winds, which scratched and scrapped the Manticore. Guilmon moved forward to attack, and Renamon jumped into the air with Biyomon. "Pyro Sphere." Said Guilmon "Diamond Storm." Said Renamon "Spiral Twister." Said Biyomon Guilmon spat out a ball of flames while Renamon launched a set of sharpened leaves at the Manticore. Biyomon created a spiral of green flames. "Marching Fishes." Said Gomamon Gomamon pointed at the Manticore, and fishes began to leap from the nearby pond. The fishes slapped themselves against the Manticore. "Double Backhand." Said Gaomon Gaomon began to spin and launched himself right to the beast, and delivered a powerful strike to the Manticore. The Digimon stopped, and the group saw that the Manticore was lying on the ground. Scratches, bruises, and burns covered its body. But it wasn't over yet as it growled before getting back onto his feet. It looked slightly exhausted from the attacks of the Digimon but still ready to fight. Renamon rushed forward to attack once more. The Manticore tried to strike with its tail, but Renamon was too nimble for the Manticore to hit. "Swift Strike." Said Renamon Renamon struck the head of the Manticore with a mighty hand chop. The Manticore hit the ground, and Renamon hopped back to the group. "You think that's it." Said Gaomon "I'm not sure." Said Renamon "Damn, this is awesome!" Exclaimed James "But how did they become that?" Asked Abby Matt moved his vision down to his Digivice. I wonder if that has to do with it. When we thought our Digimon would get hurt, a light emitted from those devices we each got, and that somehow transformed them into what we see right now. But the victory wasn't here yet as the Manticore got back up and stared daggers at the Digimon. Guilmon decided to attack next. He rushed towards the Manticore as it got back to its feet. "Quake-a-lator." Said Guilmon He ran fast and leaped towards it. Guilmon used his claws to tear right through the Manticore and appeared on the other side. There was no blood and gore from the attack. Instead, smoke was coming out of the wound. "Holy crap!" Exclaimed Alice That's when the group saw the pulsating dark crystal in the middle of the Manticore's chest. But it was now slowing being covered back up as the wounds began to close up. "What's that?" Asked April "I'm not sure, but I have a strong feeling that we need to destroy it." Said Matt "I couldn't agree more." Said Crescent "Destroy that crystal, Guilmon!" Screamed Matt Guilmon spun around and closed his mouth, and aimed at the crystal. "Pyro Sphere." Said Guilmon He shot out a ball of fire that struck the crystal. The Manticore howled out in pain before the fire broke the crystal. The Manticore stopped howling as Guilmon landed on the ground to the left side. The crystal fell to the ground in pieces. Once the pieces hit the ground, the Manticore went silent. It stood as still as a statue, but it soon became a dark black stone statue. Upon completion, cracks began to spread across the Manticore. It wasn't long before the Manticore exploded into a pile of rubble and smoke. All that was left of the mighty beast was a pile of rubble and dissipating smoke. "Did we win?" Asked James "Yes, yes, we did!" Exclaimed April Everyone cheered before the Digimon returned to their partners. Terriermon and Lopmon jumped into Abby's arms and smiled with her. She hugged and snuggled the two Digimon. James examined Gaomon thinking about how a cat could become a dog with boxing gloves. Alice looked over Renamon and seemed pleased with her Digimon. April patted Biyomon's head as she smiled. Matt looked at both Gomamon and Guilmon. "You can put me down. I don't think we'll be in any more issues." Said Crescent "Ok." Said Matt He helped Crescent to the ground and let her use him to keep herself upright. Matt then pulled his Digivice and saw that it had pictures for his Digimon, plus a little information on both Digimon. "So Bukamon Digivolved into Gomamon and Gigimon into Guilmon, and it seems these are your rookie forms." Said Matt The others did the same to see that the same thing. "If this a rookie form and they transformed from there in-training forms, does that mean that they have more forms?" Asked Abby "Is that true? Can you Digivolving again?" Asked April "I'm not sure. I feel like that's something we Digimon should know, but I can't seem to remember." Said Biyomon "Well, this thing isn't helpful since it doesn't seem to tell us anything else except what we saw or are seeing." Said James "I guess we'll find out in time, but my real question is, what caused you to Digivolve?" Asked Matt "I was wondering the same thing since none of us touched these devices." Said Alice "Well, we had to become stronger to protect you. We can't let anything happen to our friends." Said Biyomon "Yes, we had to protect you, and the only way was to Digivolve. But it was also your concern for us that also helped us Digivolve." Said Renamon "Well, what now?" Asked April "I believe we should get Crescent somewhere to treat her wounds. Then we can worry about getting out." Said Matt "Thank you. I'll lead you to the medical center in the castle. And before the doctors take me, I'll tell you how to get to the entrance of the castle." The group nodded and began to go back to the doorway that they passed through. Cresent stopped Matt as she pushed the rubbled around. "Before we continue, I need to collect those crystal pieces. I have a feeling the princess will want to examine it." Said Crescent Guilmon helped search through the rubble and found the crystal pieces. He gave them to Crescent, who thanked him. Guilmon smiled as the group reentered the castle, not noticing the male figure in the black cloak behind them. The figure came out from his hiding spot as he pushed around the rubble. He picked up a piece of the once-great Manticore and crushed it. He looked back where the group entered before disappearing in a puff of smoke. *** "So I know you said it was a Manticore, but I'm sure that living creatures don't have crystals in their chests or turn into statues after you destroy said crystal?" Asked James "True, I do find that interesting. It makes me wonder how the crystal was able to give life to the Manticore." Said Alice "Yeah." Said Abby Crescent looked over at Matt, "How did you know that attacking the crystal would destroy the beast?" "A gut feeling." Said Matt Cresent raised her eyebrow, "In other words, you took a shot in the dark." Matt blushed as he rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. "I guess your gut feeling saved us today." Said James "True, but it was our Digimon friends who are the ones who should get all the praise. Without them, we wouldn't be standing here." Said Matt The Digimon smiled as they looked amongst each other. "But now I'm wondering why that Manticore was hunting us." Said April "Who knows and who knows if we will ever figure it out?" Said Matt "Who cares? We'll deal with anything that comes after you like we did today." Said Gaomon "Yes, we'll protect you no matter what we face." Said Renamon "Thanks, Renamon." Said Alice "It's my honor." Said Renamon "How much further?" Asked Matt "Not much further ahead. We should see the signs for the infirmary here soon." Said Crescent "I'll be happy once we get out of this castle and find out where we are." Said James "Yeah, I can't wait to get home. But I m not sure how to explain to my parents about Biyomon." Said April Crescent looked at the humans. She was about to ask where they came from, but the sounds of hooves thundering down both sides of the halls stopped her. The Digimon got ready to fight when two large groups of guards surrounded the humans and Digimon. They all wore gold armor with the image of the sun in the middle. The pony guards pointed spears and swords at the group. "Oh, great." Said James "Back off!" Ordered Crescent She pushed off of Matt as Guilmon with cat eyes, and Gomamon stood in front of him. "I am Private Dark Crescent of the Lunar Guards and order all of you to stand down this instant." Said Crescent "We can't do that, private." Another pony came out of the crowd. The male pony had blue fur and a white and red mane. He had a horn coming out of his head. On his shoulders were a pair of blue epaulets. On his side was a saber resting in its sheath. "Captain Storm Gazer." Said Crescent "I heard a single Lunar Guard was attempting to bring down the beast; I didn't think it was true. But none the less, move so that we can apprehend the monkeys and their beasts." Said Captain Storm Gazer "Monkeys, did he just call us monkeys?" Asked James "Yes, he did." Said Alice "Hey, we are not monkeys. We are humans!" Exclaimed James "Captain Gazer, these humans saved my life from that Manticore, and those beasts you are referring are Digimon, and they defeated the Manticore. I even the evidence of its destruction." Cresent pulled out the shards, "What hold are the pieces of a crystal that seemed to be the life force of the Manticore. Without the help of the Digimon, we would still be dealing with the Manticore rampaging in the castle." "It does not matter. You cannot say without confidence that these creatures were not the ones that brought that Manticore into our castle and threatened out Princess. They could have destroyed it to look good in front of you, private. We need to bring them in for questioning and put them back in their cell. I won't let a bunch of strange creatures and their handlers running free in the castle of Princess Celestia." Said Captain Gazer He raised his hand, and the guards prepared to attack. The Digimon readied themselves to fight to protect their human friends, but another voice stopped every guard. It was a soft motherly voice, but it also had an air of power in it. "Stand down." All the guards turned to watch as a mare with both a horn and a pair of wings stood behind them. She had a pure white coat and an ethereal mane that blew without the presence of any wind. She wore a silk white gown, and gold jewelry adorned her body. Her breast size was easily FF-cup. The guards began to part ways as the mare walked past them towards the group. Each was bowing their head to her as she walked by them. "If I had to guess, she's important." Said Alice "Wait, that's one of the ponies we first saw. I think she was also the one that had the glowing horn when we started to go unconscious." Said James "James isn't wrong. I remember her, as well." Said Gaomon "I wonder what she wants." Said Terriermon "I hope not to put back in that cell," said Abby as she got behind her brother and held his left hand. The princess stopped next to Captain Gazer as she looked at the group. She cocked her head as she examined the creatures next to the humans. She seemed intrigued by them as the Digimon stood ready to fight the second the strange mare went to attack their friends. "Princess Celestia, may I require your presence here?" Asked Captain Gazer The princess seemed to ignore Captain Gazer's question, "Hm, those creatures were all different when I first brought you here." Said Celestia "So, you admit throwing us into that cell." Said James "Yes, I admit I placed a sleeping spell on you when we first met. But I did it because I was unsure about all of you. I brought you to my castle to talk to you and discover who you are. I guess putting all of you in my dungeon wasn't the best option, so I apologize for that. But I had to do it to ease the fear of my loyal subjects." The princess turned to Crescent, "You say these humans defeated the Manticore with these Digimon." Crescent nodded her head, "Then I see no reason to return them to the dungeon." Captain Gazer was going to speak, but Celestia gave him a stern gaze, which caused him to go quiet, "Now, may I have a look at those crystal pieces you mentioned" Crescent showed the crystal shards to Celestia. She picked one up and examined it. She turned to Captain Gazer, "Take the shards from Private Cresent and deliver them to the science division. I want to know what the crystal is by the end of next month." Captain Gazer saluted and walked away, grumbling under his breath, "The rest of you are to return to your positions." Celestia stopped two guards, "Please take Private Crescent to the medical wing." The guards saluted and let Crescent loop her arms around their shoulders. She looked at Matt and smiled, "Thank you again, Matt. I hope to see you after the doctors let me out of the medical wing." "No problem, Crescent. I hope to see you around as well." Said Matt She nodded as the guards escorted her away to the medical wing. Celestia smiled as she returned to the group. "I should formally introduce myself. I am Princess Celestia, the di-monarch of Equestria and, I welcome you to Canterlot Castle." Soon Abby's stomach began to grumble, and then everyone else followed, even the Digimon's stomachs growled, "I know you have any questions, but I think you all deserve a good meal for defeating the Manticore and keeping one of my guards safe. Please follow me to the mess hall, and I'll treat you all to the feast." She turned and began to walk away. The group looked at each other and decided it wouldn't hurt to see what she had planned for them. They began to move to catch up with Princess Celestia. Author's Note So, I never expect Digital Equestria to start so strong. I'm happy to see many people already enjoying the story. I do hope you enjoy chapter two. Also please comment if you want battle scenes with the Digimon to have music, like I did for Solar Sun, Poke Eques, and The Fabled Warrior. I wasn't sure if I should include music or not. I might try it next time, or if you want it, I'll return and put a song for this fight scene and include music for every fight scene after. Well, I think that's everything I have to offer and say. So as always: comment, follow, like, share, and tell. I'm Sword Master, signing off.
Chapter 3 - Question and AnswersAuthor's Note So a basic question and answer section. I do hope you enjoy. So as always: comment, like, follow, share and tell. Chapter 3 - Question and Answers Questions and Answers "Oh man, this is great!" Exclaimed James James and Gaomon scarfed down the food that they had on their plates. "I completely agree." Said Gaomon The two continued to eat the feast that Celestia served for the group of humans and Digimon. She wasn't lying when she meant a feast. Her maids brought out a load of food from the kitchen. It ranged from salads, desserts, and fruits. No meat was present, but that didn't stop the group of eating away. "Don't you have some manners!" Exclaimed Alice Alice sat next to James and Renamon next to her. The two had to watch as James and Gaomon stuffed their faces full of food. "Hey, I need to recover my calories from running from that Manticore, plus I'm starving from yesterday." Said James "Still doesn't mean you have to be a slob." Said Renamon April sat next to Renamon and Biyomon next to her. Terriermon and Lopmon shared the seat next to Biyomon, and Abby sat next to them. Matt sat next to his sister with Guilmon and Gomamon next to him. Celestia sat on the other side of the table, smiling as the group ate. There were still eight empty seats around the table. "The only thing we're missing is meat, but who cares everything here is great." Said James "Meat, interesting." Murmured Celestia "Swallow your food before talking! I swear, were you raised in a barn!" Screamed Alice "I have to agree." Said Renamon "How is everything?" Asked Celestia "Excellent, thank you." Said April "I won't lie, I love your cook's cooking more than my mothers." Said James Celestia giggled, "I'll make sure to pass that on to my head chef. He works hard to prepare the food around here." "Please do give him our regards." Said Alice "So what's with the extra chairs?" Asked Matt "I decided to invite some guests. I know you have plenty of questions, and so do I." Said Celestia "How long until they get here?" Asked Matt "They should be arriving soon." Said Celestia "I hope after James and Gaomon are done stuffing their faces." Said Alice After five minutes of eating, everyone had their fill, and Celestia had the maids clean the table. The maids then brought out a bowl of fruit and placed it on the table. Once they left the main doors opened and in stepped a mare. The group turned, and Matt recognized it as Dark Crescent. She was now wearing a plain blue t-shirt that showed off her DD-cup breasts and a black skirt. "I can see you're impressed." Said Crescent "I'll be, it has only been an hour or so since I last saw you. I would have thought you would be in the medical wing for at least a few days." Said Matt "That's magic for you, plus I didn't have to serve wounds thanks to the armor. But," Crescent yawned. "I'm a little tired since I sleep through the morning, but I decided to make an exception for today." "Welcome, Crescent, do you know if the others are coming?" Asked Celestia "I think I saw them coming when I was on my way over." Said Crescent "Great." Said Celestia Crescent took the seat next to Guilmon and Gomamon. She moved it over, and Guilmon and Gomamon moved over. She set it down next to Matt and sat down. His Digimon didn't seem to mind, nor did Matt. The others paid no attention to it, but Alice did find it a little strange but decided to drop it. "So who else is coming?" Asked April "My student, her friends, and my sister." Said Celestia The door opened, and the group turned, and couldn't believe their eyes and the same went for the ponies. The seven ponies walked over to Princess Celestia and took a seat as the group followed them. Crescent just yawned as tried to fight off her desire to sleep. The group moved their eyes to the first pony, a lavender pony with a horn coming out of her head. She had a blue, purple and rose mane. She was wearing a blue tank top with a blue star in the middle. She also had a purple skirt and BB-cup breasts. The pony next to her had a white coat, a curled violet mane and a horn on her head. She was wearing an elegant aquamarine dress, and her breast size was a perfect DD-cup that accented her hourglass figure. Next was a green and purple lizard creature. He had on a plain green t-shirt and cargo shorts. Next to him was a cyan colored pony with wings on her back and a rainbow mane. James knew he would have a hard time not calling the pony Skittles because of her mane. The pony was wearing a warmup jacket and a pair of running shorts. She also had a CC-cup chest. Then there was the pony next to Celestia. She had a dark blue coat and a light blue mane. She had a horn and a pair of wings like Celestia. She had on black jewelry much like Celestia's. She was wearing a dark blue strapless dress that hugged her EE-cup breasts. She seemed not to want to make eye contact with the humans or the Digimon. Next to Celestia was a butterball pony with a pair of wings and a large pink mane. She was wearing a green sweater and brown pants. Her breasts were easily FF-cup. She seemed to hide her face behind her overly large mane, which the humans and Digimon found cute. The pony did poke her face from her mane and looked at the Digimon. Next to her was an orange pony with neither wings nor a horn. She had a blond mane, which a green tie held together into a ponytail. She was wearing a crosshatched shirt and a pair of jean shorts. On her head was an old brown Stetson. Her breast size was easily E-cup. Next to her was an utterly pink pony with neither a horn or wings. Her mane was all puffy. She was wearing a blue and white striped shirt and a pink skirt. She had DD-cup breasts. A large beaming smile rested on her face. "I believe everypony is here, so let me introduce them all to you." Celestia started with the purple pony, "My student Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Twilight's assistant, Spike, Rainbow Dash, and my sister Luna." She moved to point at the ponies on her other side, "Here we have Fluttershy, Applejack and Pinkie Pie." "Nice to meet you all. I'm Matthew Summer or Matt for short." "You can call me, Gomamon." "I'm Guilmon." "I'm Matt's little sister, Abby Summer." "I'm Terriermon." "And I'm her sister, Lopmon." "I'm April North." "You can call me Biyomon." "I'm Renamon." "The names Alice Johnson." "I'm James Smith." "Gaomon is my name." "Now that we have the pleasantries over with let's begin with why we all came here, answering our burning questions." Said Celestia "I guess I'll go first. What are you? Ever since I first laid eyes on you back at the Castle of the two sisters, I tried to research you, but I found nothing." Said Twilight "Well, we're humans." Said Matt "Not monkeys like that one guard said." Stated James "Ok, what about the creatures with you?" Asked Twilight "We're Digimon, Digital Monsters." Said Gomamon "Digital monsters, what a strange name." Stated Rarity "Ok, so what are of you?" Asked April "Well, we are ponies. You see four species make up the pony race. First is the unicorn race, the ponies with horns. Unicorns can use magic. Next is the Pegasus race. They have wings on their backs. The Pegasus race controls the weather. The next race is the earth pony. The earth ponies are the farmers and those who care for the land. Finally, my sister and I are alicorns, the rulers of Equestria. We are a combination of all three races." Said Celestia "Wait, you're telling me that Pegasus control weather." Said James "Yes, we control the weather. Isn't that how it's on your planet?" Said Rainbow "No, the weather is natural." Said James "That sounds like the Everfree Forest," said Twilight as everypony felt a shiver run down their spines "Wait," Matt turned to Crescent. "I was wondering what you are? You have wings, but there batwings instead of bird wings." "I'm a Threstral, a bat pony. My species have always been lunar guards or those that take night shifts thanks to our species being awake during the night and sleeping during the day." Said Crescent "So what's this about magic?" Asked April "I agree, magic is a parlor trick to entertain people." Said James Twilight's horn began to emit a lavender color. An apple started to float from the bowl over to Twilight, who opened her mouth and took a bite before the aura around the fruit disappeared the same time her horn stopped. She caught it in her right hand. She gave James a smug look as she swallowed the piece of apple in her mouth. "Parlor trick, huh." Said Twilight The group of humans and Digimon couldn't believe what they saw as they looked between each other. Even though what they seemed impossible to them, they accepted it as reality, since seeing is believing after all. "Ok, so moving on, can you tell us where we are?." Asked Matt "You are in Equestria and right now in the city of Canterlot, the capital of Equestria. But we are only one of the few nations that exist in the world of Eques. Examples of others are, the dragons, which Spike is, the Griffons, the zebras, the foxes, the cats and plenty more." Said Luna "Let's stop right there. You're saying that the planet that we're all currently standing upon is Eques." Said James "That is correct." Said Celestia "Why is there something wrong with that?" Asked Luna "Yes, because we live on Earth!" Exclaimed James "Yes, we thought somehow we were still on Earth, but in some strange Earth." Said Matt "I'm sad to say that this planet had always had the name Eques from when the first Alicorn walked upon its surface." Said Celestia "No way!" Exclaimed James "James, will you calm down." Said Alice "Calm down! You want me to calm down! I just learned that we somehow are now on an alien planet, and none of us have any idea what brought us here or if it's possible to go home and you want me to calm down!" Screamed James "Yelling isn't going to help anything." Matt pulled his Digivice off of his pants and looked at it, "I'm not sure if it's possible, but could you send us back home." "Yes, I can." Everyone turned their attention to the princess, "As an alicorn, my magic far out rivals any unicorn that has ever lived on the planet. I could send you home, but I sadly can't." Said Celestia "Why not?" Asked Abby "For you see, I need to know what part of the multiverse you all reside. I need to know your Earth so that I can safely send you home, but I sense no way to do that on any of you. Whatever brought you here, did not involve magic, which won't allow me to track you back to your home. And since I can't do that, I can't safely return you to your planet or your homes." Said Celestia "In other words, we're stuck here." Said April "Yes, since whatever brought you here meant to keep you here." Stated Celestia The group looked at each other. The ponies could see the weight of everything beginning to come down on them. Celestia wanted to do something, but she couldn't. She had no way to send them home. The Digimon seemed worried about their tamers. "I know it's not what you wanted to hear, but I do welcome you to my country with open arms." Said Celestia "Thank you, princess." Said Matt "Are there any more questions you like to ask?" Asked Celestia She was hoping to get the five humans from thinking about forever being stuck in a world, not theirs. Luckily, Matt spoke up. "So since we have no way back, where are we going to live?" He asked "I'm glad you asked, I plan on having you live in the town of Ponyville. My student and her friends all call that town, home. It's a beautiful and quaint little town that I think you'll enjoy living in, and I believe there is a house on the market big enough for all of you." Said Celestia "Oh, you'll love Ponyville. It's the best place ever. Plus when we get there, I get to throw all of you a 'Welcome to Eques and Ponyville' party." Said Pinkie "You're going to throw us a party even though you only met us." Said April "That's right! I do it for all new ponies or humans, in your case, who move into Ponyville. I did one for Twilight the night we all faced off against Nightmare Moon." Said Pinkie "Nightmare Moon?" Asked James "Another side me that wished to plunge Equestria into the everlasting night. It came from my anger that the subjects of Equestria loved my sister's mornings more than my nights. But thanks to the Elements of Harmony, I'm freed of that evil." Said Luna "I believe that was about the time you all appeared before us." Said Celestia "Yeah, and when you decided to put us to sleep and put us in that dungeon." Said James Celestia bit her lip, "I am sorry for the way I treated you, but you can't be too careful when it comes to protecting your subjects." "It's understandable, Princess Celestia. I think our country would feel the same way." Said Matt "At least she didn't decide to dissect us." Murmured James The session of answering and asking question continued as the ponies and humans continued to exchange questions. After a while, Celestia ended the session seeing that both sides had answered plenty of questions. In the end, Twilight was rolling up scrolls from the talk with the humans and Digimon. She had a pair of guards take the humans and their Digimon to a room so they can relax. She told them that tomorrow morning, they would head out to see Ponyville. *** The evening sun was beginning to set on the day. Matt stood on the balcony watching as the sun dipped into the horizon, and soon, the moon would rise into the sky. He looked back to see Guilmon and Gomamon snoozing on the couch after another large feast for dinner. Matt turned back to see the sun disappearing and the moon rising. He watched as the stars began to appear in the night sky. He continued to admire the night sky until a knock came to the door. "Open." He said The door opened, and he looked to see his sister closing the door behind her. She walked up and stood next to her brother and admired the sky. "You know, I never saw a night sky like that around our house." Said Abby "Yeah, not even the night skies we saw when camping compare to this one." Said Matt "Yeah," Abby looked back at the twinkling stars. "Do you think we'll make it here?" Matt kept silent as he tried to think of the proper answer for his little sister, "I'm not sure, but people do say humans are an adaptive species. We'll learn to survive here. Sure it might be rough at first, but we'll find our way." "Do think mom and dad are still looking down at us?" Asked Abby Matt smiled as he ruffled his sister's hair and pulled her close to him, "I would bet on it. I know they're watching over us no matter where we are." She laughed as she leaned up against her brother, "You're the best big brother ever, Matt." "I know Abby, I know." He said The two siblings held each other tight as they kept looking up at the night sky as the stars twinkled and shined above them.
Chapter 4 - Ponyville and PartiesPonyville and Parties "Man, those ponies sure have sticks up there asses." Said James The group woke up early and had breakfast with Celestia and Luna before Twilight and her friends took the group to the train station to head down to Ponyville. Celestia told them that Twilight would take them to there new home and show all of them around Ponyville. The large group of humans, Digimon, and ponies began to walk through the town of Canterlot. The ponies of Canterlot, who all happened to be unicorns, kept their heads up high. None of them seemed to want to give the time of day to the group of humans. They seemed disgusted by them and their Digimon. The group could also tell by the high-end stores that lined the streets of Canterlot and the way the unicorns dressed that everypony here was rich or of upper-class status. "I would agree." Said Matt "Please tell me Ponyville isn't like Canterlot. And the ponies there aren't the same stuck up jerks like here." Said James "No, the ponies of Ponyville aren't like the ponies of Canterlot." Said Twilight "I'm glad; I don't think I could handle living in a town where the ponies are snobbish and full of themselves." Said James "No worries, you'll love Ponyville." Said Pinkie "I can't wait to see what the princess got for us." Said Alice "I do hope it can fit us all." Said April "The princess did say it would." Said Biyomon The group continued to stand around and wait for the train. Matt turned to see Crescent walking up to the group. He raised his eyebrow as she saw her carrying a pack with her. "What's up, Crescent? What's with the bag?" Asked Matt "I'm coming with you all." Said Crescent "What?" Exclaimed everypony "Yeah, the princess decided I should head down to Ponyville with you all." Said Crescent "So, Princess Celestia doesn't trust us if she's sending a guard along with us." Said James "No more like she doesn't trust her ponies. I'm more to keep the peace between her ponies and all of you." Said Crescent "I guess that would make sense. I mean, we aren't part of your world, so it would seem reasonable that they might be afraid of us." Said Matt "Or disgusted." Murmured James The whistle of a train alerted the group of the incoming train. It started to come to a stop as it neared the station. The train whistled informing all that the train had come to a complete stop at the station. Ponies began to disembark the train and gather there luggage. Twilight waved the group over to one of the front train cars. The conductor stood in front of the door that led inside. "Tickets." Said the conductor Twilight pulled out 11 tickets and showed them to the conductor. He waved the mane six aboard as well as the humans and their Digimon. Crescent showed her ticket, and the conductor allowed her inside. The seats were all plush and looked comfortable. It looked like a place for royalty. "Welcome to the royal car. Princess Celestia uses this car to travel the rails." Said Twilight "Man, this sure is impressive. The princess sure travels in style." Said James "Make yourself at home. It's going to be a three-hour trip back to Ponyville." Said Twilight The group sat around and made themselves comfortable. The train whistled, and the group left the train lurch forward. The train began to make its way towards Ponyville. "So since we have some time, would you answer another question?" Asked Twilight "Don't you think we answered enough questions for you last night." Stated James "Well, I thought of this question after we broke up the session and looking over my notes." Said Twilight "So what's your question, Twilight?" Asked Matt "I wanted to know all your ages." Said Twilight "Well, I'm 18." Said Matt "Same here." Said Alice "I'm also 18." Said James "It's the same for me." Said April "I'm ten." Said Abby "So what's all your ages, since you asked us?" Asked Alice "Well, we're all eighteen and Spike is 10." Said Twilight "I'm eighteen as well. I made Private thanks to my mother's influence in the guard. She happens to be the general of both the solar and lunar guards." Said Crescent "So, Matt, are you going to put your sister in school?" Asked Rarity "Well, I was going to ask if there was a school in Ponyville." Said Matt "Ponyville has a school. My sister goes tah it." Said Applejack "Same here, Cheerilee runs the school and is on the sweetest ponies you'll ever meet. I can take you to her when you get settled into Ponyville." Said Rarity "Thank you, Rarity." Said Matt "Does Spike attend the school as well?" Asked April "Well, I don't attend the school at Ponyville, but I do get schooling from Twilight from time to time. I mostly help around the library and with her studies as her number one assistant." Said Spike Spike puffed out her chest, trying to show off to the humans and Digimon, which caused Twilight to giggle and roll her eyes at her assistant's antics. The occupants of the train car continued to talk amongst each other as the train proceeded down the tracks towards the town of Ponyville. *** The whistle of the train bellowed out as it came to a stop at Ponyville station. Ponies disembarked the train began to gather their bags or embrace loved ones. The large group of ponies, humans, and Digimon stepped off the train to the quaint little town. The humans took in the sights as they gazed upon the small town. "Wow, this place looks peaceful." Said James "Sure is." Said Applejack "Ponyville has been voted one of the best towns in Equestria to raise a family and for retirement." Said Rarity "Well, it looks like it." Said Matt "So how about we find the house the princess got you all?" Said Crescent "Plus it'll allow us to give you a tour of Ponyville." Said Pinkie The group left the train station and began to make there way throughout Ponyville. The residents of the town stopped and stared at the five humans and the Digimon that followed Twilight and her friends. "Well, I can see that the ponies here aren't like the ones in Canterlot." Stated James "Ponyville happens to be a lot more laid back than Canterlot." Said Rarity "I also see that all three races of Equestria live here." Said April "Yes, Ponyville is a melting pot of Equestrian culture. Earth ponies first discovered Ponyville, but over time, unicorns and pegasi slowly made their way to live here." Said Pinkie The girls would point out buildings as the group marched along. Pinkie pointed Sugar Cube Corner, where she worked and lived. The humans and Digimon stared at the giant gingerbread house. Each them had a strong urge to go up and bite into it. "You live in a house made of gingerbread?" Asked Terriermon "I'm not sure if that's healthy." Stated James "It's not real gingerbread. It's made to look like that. The Cakes own Sugar Cube Corner and are the best bakers in all of Ponyville. Everypony in Ponyville loves the sweets the Cakes make, well next to Bon-Bon's candies. The Cakes allow me to live here since I'm not from Ponyville and in turn taught me all my baking skills. Now I use them to throw the greatest parties Equestria has ever seen." Said Pinkie "Still weird." Said James "And I still want to take a bite out of it." Said Gaomon "That's what everypony says when they see Sugar Cube Corner for the first time." Said Pinkie The group moved on, and the girls kept pointing out buildings. Soon the group was in front of a large oak tree. The sign next to it said, 'Gold Oaks Library.' "The library is an oak tree." Said James "A literal Gingerbread house and now a house in a tree, this place sure is strange." Stated April "It's also where Spike and I live." Said Twilight "You live in a tree." Said Alice "That doesn't seem safe." Said April "Do humans live in trees, April?" Asked Biyomon "Nope, trees are for woodland creatures. Now parents will build there children treehouses, but they don't live in them. Plus trees aren't too safe when it comes to thunderstorms." Said April "Well, I have no worries. I have a magical lightning rod that attracts lightning." Said Twilight "This place sure is odd, huh, brother." Said Abby "You said it, sis." Said Matt The group left Twilight and Spike's home to continue the tour. The next place was Rarity's. It looked like a tent with a carousel round it. Carousel ponies rested around the house. "Welcome to Carousel Boutique, my home, and my business. I'm Ponyville's top fashion designer." Said Rarity "Your Ponyville's only fashion designer." Stated Applejack "Well, that's true as well." Said Rarity "Interesting place." Said April "Thanks, and by the way. All of you should come down and let me make you all clothing. I doubt you have any other clothing except the stuff you have on right now." Said Rarity "Thanks, Rarity, but doubtful any of us could pay you." Said Matt "No worries, I'm doing it completely free of charge." Said Rarity "That's very generous of you." Said Alice "Well, I'm not the Element of Generosity for nothing." Said Rarity "The Element of Generosity?" Asked James "What's that?" Asked Gomamon "One of the six Elements of Harmony. They consist of Magic, Generosity, Loyalty, Kindness, Honesty, and Laughter. The elements keep the harmony of Equestria safe. We used them to free Princess Luna from the grip of Nightmare Moon." Said Twilight "Ok, so if Rarity's Generosity, who do the other five go to?" Asked James "Well, I'm Magic." Said Twilight "I'm Loyalty." Said Rainbow "I'm...um...Kindness." Said Fluttershy "I'm Laughter." Said Pinkie "And I'm Honesty." Said Applejack "Interesting, they do seem to fit." Said Matt "Well, do come down when you have some time, and I'll craft you the best clothes you'll ever see. And when ponies see what I can do with making clothing for all of you, I know I'll be one step closer to my dream of being one of the greatest fashion designers of all time." Said Rarity The group of humans looked at each other and shrugged before James spoke up, "I guess we have no other option unless we want to forever live in the clothes we have on right now." "Great, now let's continue the tour." Said Rarity The group continued until they began to reach the outskirts of Ponyville. The humans and Digimon followed the mane six down a dirt road to farm with apple trees. They could see that the apple trees spanned on for miles. It seemed like everywhere they looked, there was an apple tree. And as far as they could see, there were apple trees. "Welcome tah my family farm." Said Applejack "Crap, how many trees do you have?" Asked James "I'm not tah sure. My family is continuously chopping down old trees to plant new ones. I doubt any of my family have ever count all the trees we have." Said Applejack "Man, I couldn't imagine the number of workers it takes to harvest all the apples." Said Matt "In truth, it's only my older brother, me, my granny, and my little sister who watch over the farm." Said Applejack The humans looked at Applejack like she was crazy. She raised her eyebrow as she seemed like she didn't understand their looks of crazy on their faces. "You have to be kidding me! Four ponies deal with this whole farm?!" Exclaimed James "I'm not lying, partner. As the Element of Honesty, I can't tell a lie." Said Applejack "It's the truth." Said Twilight "Those apples sure do look tasty." Said Gomamon Applejack walked up to a nearby tree. Se raised her right hoof before striking it against the tree. The tree shook and down came a bunch of apples. The humans and Digimon couldn't believe their eyes as Applejack picked up an apple and tossed it to Gomamon. He caught it in his mouth. He took the fruit in his claw and bit into it. "Man, this thing is behind sweet and tasty." Said Gomamon "How did you do that?" Asked James "What do ya mean?" Asked Applejack as she tossed apples to the others. "I mean, how can you strike an apple tree without breaking your leg." Said James "My earth pony strength, the magic of Equestria gives us earth ponies far superior strength." Said Applejack "Still hard to believe you could strike a solid tree without breaking your leg." Said James "It is hard to believe, but in truth, everything about this world is hard to believe." Said Matt "I guess so." Said James After enjoying Applejack's apples, the group continued along. They stopped to look at Fluttershy's cottage. "You live out here?" Asked Alice "I live out here to watch over all my animal friends." Said Fluttershy "You seem close to that strange forest." Said Alice "That's true, but the forest near my house keeps me safe from the Everfree Forest," said Fluttershy as a shiver went down the pony's spines. "Well, it sure does look peaceful." Said April "It sure is." Said Fluttershy "Don't you ever feel isolated?" Asked Abby "My animal friends keep me company, and I'm only five minutes from Ponyville." Said Fluttershy The group left Fluttershy's cottage and finally came to Rainbow's house. "You have to be kidding me." James turned to Rainbow, "You live in a house made out of clouds." "Yeah, so what?" Asked Rainbow "So what, clouds are nothing more than water vapor! So how can you walk or even live in a cloud house? Plus how is a rainbow a liquid" Said James "Easy, I'm Pegasus, and rainbows have always been a liquid." Said Rainbow "That doesn't answer the question." Said Matt "Weren't you listening when Princess Celestia told you pegasi control the weather. And thanks to controlling the weather, we make rainbows at the weather factor. Plus, we can't do our jobs unless we can walk on clouds. Hell, my hometown of Cloudsdale is a city on a bunch of buildings resting on clouds. If you look up in the sky, you'll see it." Said Rainbow Everyone turned and spotted the city that Rainbow had pointed out to them. None of the humans could believe that she was right. "Do humans have cities in the sky?" Asked Terriermon "Not unless we all grew wings." Said Abby "And created levitation." Stated Matt "So yeah, I live as I did back in Cloudsdale." Said Rainbow "I'm never going to get used to this place." Stated James "Well, I think it's time we check out your guy's place. And I promise you that it's nothing crazy like Rainbow's home." Said Twilight The humans and Digimon nodded, and Twilight led the way to their new home. After a few minutes of walking the group came to a modest two-story house on the edge of Ponyville, only about a minutes walk to the center of Ponyville. It looked like all the other main buildings that populated Ponyville. "Looks like a neat place." Said James "Let's see inside." Said Matt "I hope we don't need to buy furniture." Said April "No worries, Princess Celestia already furnished the entire home." Said Twilight "Well, I guess we'll have to thank her later." Said Alice "This princess sure is giving." Said Renamon "You said it, Renamon." Said Alice Twilight tossed Matt the keys, and he opened the door. He pushed it open, and the group looked with awe as they all entered the family room. "Man, the princess sure didn't underspend." Said James The family room had an 'L' shaped couch and another smaller sofa next to it. It also had a few other chairs around the couches. A large coffee table rested in the middle. In the corner of the room was a radio. "The only thing missing here is a T.V." Said James "What's a T.V.?" Asked Twilight "T.V. or television is a device we humans made. It captures radio waves and transforms those waves into an image. We use that image to get the news, watch cartoons, and all other sorts of things." Said Matt "Interesting," said Twilight while scratching down what Matt said. Alice and Renamon were standing in the kitchen as Alice admired it, "We sure have a nice kitchen. I can't wait to try it all out." Said Alice "You cook?" Asked Renamon "Sure do." Said Alice Matt and Abby looked at each other with nervous grins as they heard Alice speak about her cooking. "Is Alice not a good cook?" Asked Lopmon "Alice believes she a good cook, but she's not all that good. I swear her food is either burnt or inedible." Said Matt "Is there anything edible she makes?" Asked Guilmon "A few things, but most of the time she can't cook for the life of her." Said Matt "I hope she doesn't teach her bad habits to Renamon." Said Terriermon April and James were upstairs looking at the second floor. It had six rooms, and in each was a queen sized bed. A large chest rested on the wall in front of the wall bed. There was a door that led into a walk-in closet and another on the wall that bed rested upon, which went into the full bath of the bedroom. Overall, it wasn't bad. "Neat that we all have a bathroom, a nice looking walk-in closet, and a large bed." Said James "Plus we have a full spare bath and a half spare bath up here." Said April "It does seem weird to have six rooms, huh, James." Said Gaomon "Yeah, when there are only five of us." Said James James and April came back the stairs to see the others looking at the backyard. "All we're missing is a pool." Said Abby "Or at least some form of a body of water." Said Gomamon The small group of Abby, Matt, and Gomamon came back into the living room through the sliding glass doors attached to the living room. "So we have six nice bedrooms upstairs." Said James "But we're only five people." Said Abby "I guess I should tell the sixth room is mine." Said Crescent "You're staying here, Crescent?" Asked Matt "That's right. The princess thought it best if I stay with all of you, to better ensure your protection and well keep unwanted attention away." Said Crescent "Well, that explains the sixth room." Said James "Well, now what?" Asked Alice "Well, its time for your party!" Exclaimed Pinkie She dug her hands in her mane and pulled out a cannon. The humans and Digimon blinked their eyes as their minds tried to figure out how Pinkie had a cannon in her mane. Applejack could see the humans and Digimon trying to figure out Pinkie Pie. "I wouldn't try tah understand Pinkie Pie if I were ya." Said Applejack "But how did she pull a cannon from her mane?!" Exclaimed James "Darling there's a rule here in Ponyville, never try to understand Pinkie Pie." Said Rarity "You'll learn, quickly that Pinkie is completely random and no pony tries to understand her." Said Fluttershy "I think this place is going to cause me to go crazy." Said James "Let's Party!" Screamed Pinkie She pulled the string to fire the cannon, and out came pink smoke. As the smoke cleared, party supplies covered the entire living room. Party food rested in the kitchen. Pinkie smiled as she picked up her cannon and placed it in her tail. She turned back to the humans and Digimon. "I have no words." Said James "I have two." Everypony turned to Matt, "Let's Party!" Pinkie screamed as the humans and Digimon decided to enjoy the party with the Mane Six to celebrate there welcome to Ponyville and Equestria.
Chapter 5 - The TicketThe Ticket "It seems the ponies here are getting used to us." Said Gomamon Matt, Guilmon, and Gomamon were walking through the town of Ponyville. A few ponies would stare at them or wave before they would return to what they were initially doing. A few still didn't know what to think of the humans or Digimon that were now residents of Ponyville. The humans and Digimon had now spent the past three days in Ponyville. The first two days were introducing the group to the residents of the town. It went pretty well, and the group felt right at home. Matt was heading down to the town center to try and find a job. He heard that ponies post jobs at the town center. He knew that they couldn't live off the kindness of Princess Celestia forever. "So whatcha hoping to find?" Asked Gomamon "Anything that makes a good profit." Said Matt "I thought we had plenty of money." Said Guilmon "Yes, but that's money from the princess. I would like to have our own money, and not mooching off on the princess." Said Matt "Is there something wrong with the money the princess gives us?" Asked Guilmon "No, there's nothing wrong, I thought it's time to move past the princess's charity." Said Matt The group made it to the town center and entered the town hall. The inside was a large circular room with a few doors leading to offices. A stage rested in the front of the doors. Matt looked around and found a large bulletin board on his right side. He walked up to it and began to scan the papers for a job. "If you see something, tell me." Said Matt "Can I help you?" Matt and his Digimon turned to see an older mare looking at them. "Sorry, who are you?" Asked Matt "I'm Mayor Mare, the mayor of Ponyville." Mayor Mare was an older mare, but not elderly. She still seemed to have plenty of youth in her. Mayor Mare had an amber coat with a grey mane and a light grey streak. She had phthalo blue eyes. She was wearing a white button-up shirt and a black skirt. She also had a pair of glasses resting on the bridge of her nose. Mayor Mare also was an earth pony from the fact that she didn't have a horn or a pair of wings. "So you're the mayor of Ponyville, it's nice to meet you. I'm Matthew, but you can call me Matt for short." Said Matt "Same here, I've been a little busy that I haven't been able to meet you or your friends formally." Said Mayor Mare "Hey, no worries, Mayor Mare. By the way, I'm Gomamon, a Digimon or Digital Monster." "And I'm Guilmon." "Nice to meet you both as well." Mayor Mare turned her attention back to Matt, "So, as I said before, can I help you?" "Yes, I was looking for work. I heard through the grapevine that ponies post jobs here." Said Matt "Yes, that is true. What job are you looking for?" Asked Mayor Mare "Something that has good pay that doesn't need formal education and something part-time." Said Matt "Well," Mayor Mare walked up and looked at the board. She made a mental note to come out and clean it up. She pulled down and few flyers and handed them to Matt, "I'm not sure about your interest, but these jobs do cover all your other requirements." "Thank you, Mayor Mare." Said Matt "You're welcome, and if you have any more questions or concerns, my office is right next to the stage." Said Mayor Mare She waved to Matt, Gomamon, and Guilmon as she went back to her office. "She sure was nice." Said Gomamon "So what did she give you?" Asked Guilmon "Let's see," Matt held three job offerings in his hands. He looked over them. "We got a hospital night guard, construction worker, and a repair stallion. I would say I'm not cut out for construction or a repair stallion." Matt put up the two job offers. "What about the night guard, me and Guilmon can help you watch the hospital?" Asked Gomamon "True, but people who work night jobs find to have lower lifespans, and I prefer to spend my days doing stuff and not sleeping." Said Matt "So that's a no." Said Gomamon "Yeah." Matt put it back on the board, "Well, I guess there's nothing out there for me." "I still don't understand why you don't want to be a construction worker or a repair stallion?" Asked Gomamon "Sure I could do them, but they're not something I'm interested in doing. I'm not much of a hands-on person like those jobs require me to be." Said Matt He sighed as he decided to leave, but a voice stopped him. "I might have something for you." He turned to see Mayor Mare. "You do." He said "As you can see, I'm not the best at keeping things tidy. I also have a reputation for getting things mixed up or missing deadlines. I could use an assistant if you're up for it." Said Mayor Mare "How would you know if I'm a good assistant?" Asked Matt "Trust me, Matt, I've been working politics for a long time. I can tell when someone is good for the job. So how about it?" Said Mayor Mare She put out her left hand for Matt to shake. Matt wasted no time in grabbing her hand and accepting the job offer. "Welcome to politics, Matt." Sais Mayor Mare "So when do I start?" He asked "Tomorrow, 7 am sharp. Also if you find the time, I would drop by Rarity's and see if you can get some more formal clothing, but nothing too formal." Said Mayor Mare "Ok, and thank you again, Mayor Mare." Said Matt "No problem, I needed an assistant anyways before everything goes crazy." Mayor Mare was heading back to her office when she turned back to Matt, "Feel free to bring your Digimon friends with you. You might need there help as well." "Ok, and thank you once again, Mayor Mare." Said Matt Matt and his Digimon exited the town center and saw Twilight walking away huffing as she walked with Spike following next to her. "What do you think is up with her?" Asked Gomamon "Not sure, let's go see." Said Matt Matt picked up Gomamon and ran over to Twilight and Spike with Guilmon following close to him. "Twilight!" She stopped and turned to see Matt, Guilmon, and Gomamon, in his arms, running up to her. "Hey, what's up?" "Nothing." Said Twilight "You don't look like nothing is up." Said Gomamon Twilight's stomach grumbled, "Sorry, but I'm a little hunger. I'm on my way to a little cafe if you want to follow and we can talk there." "Sure." Said Matt The group went over to the cafe and got a seat outside. The waiter came over and took Twilight and Spike's order. Matt declined any food. "So what's up?" Asked Matt "Yeah, you look frustrated." Said Gomamon "It's these tickets I got." She pulled out two golden tickets, "You see, these tickets are for the Grand Galloping Gala." "The what?" Asked Guilmon "The Grand Galloping Gala is a famous party held in Canterlot by Princess Celestia. Ponies say that if you attend, your dreams will come true." Twilight paused as she tucked the tickets away, "The princess sent me one and Spike one, but Spike doesn't want to go, so I'm allowed to give it away. All my friends found out about it, and now all of them want it, and I can't decide who I want to give it to!" The crowd looked at Twilight. She realized what she did and sunk to hide as a blush spread across her face. "So why does everyone..." Spike stopped Matt before he could continue. "Everypony." "Right, why does everypony want to go?" Asked Matt "Well, Rarity hopes to meet Prince Blueblood, Princess Celestia's nephew, Fluttershy wants to become friends with the animals of castle gardens, Rainbow wants to hang out with the Wonderbolts, Applejack wants to sell her treats, and Pinkie Pie wants to party." Said Twilight Matt could see Spike didn't like the name Blueblood when Twilight brought it up. He wasn't sure why, but let it go as it wasn't all that important. "Sounds like they all have big dreams for this gala." Said Gomamon "They do, and I don't want to hurt any of those dreams by not giving them the ticket." Said Twilight "Yeah, that does sound hard." Said Matt "Yeah, but let's stop talking about that. What were you doing at the town hall?" Asked Twilight "Oh, I was looking for a job. I found one as an assistant for Mayor Mare." Said Matt "Glad to hear, I hope you enjoy it." Said Twilight The waiter returned with the table's food. "Well, I need to get going. I have to see Rarity about making some clothing for me." Said Matt "Well, good luck to you, Matt." Said Twilight "When did it start raining." Said Guilmon "It's not raining." Stated Twilight "Actually, yes, it is." Matt pointed out that it was raining around them. "But what's odd it isn't raining on us." "Hey, Twilight!" The group looked up at the rainbow mane Pegasus "Rainbow are you doing this?" Asked Twilight "I have no idea what you're talking about, Twilight. I'm only helping out a friend from getting wet." Said Rainbow "I hope you aren't thinking that this is going to help you get the gala ticket." Said Twilight "Of course not, I would do this for anypony." Matt and his Digimon turned to look at a few ponies running trying to get out of the rain. They turned back to look at Rainbow as she chuckled while rubbing the back of her neck. "Right, Rainbow I'm not comfortable with accepting unwanted favors. Now please close up the rain clouds." Said Twilight "Fine," said Rainbow as she closed up the clouds. Matt thought a second before speaking up, "If Rainbow closes up the clouds that were keeping us dry and its raining still around us, wouldn't that mean it should start..." The rain began to downpour on the group, "To rain on us." Twilight growled as the rain began to soak her and destroy her food. Matt looked at her and began to blush as he saw that the rain was soaking her clothes so much that it was starting to show off her light purple bra. Matt moved his eyes away so that Twilight wouldn't get the wrong message. "You all know it's raining, right?" The group turned to see Rarity coming up to them with an umbrella and a raincoat. "Yes, yes, we know." Said Twilight "Well, you all need to get out of the rain before you all catch a cold. Now let's get going, my shop isn't far from here." Said Rarity The group followed Rarity to her boutique. *** Twilight, Spike, Matt, Gomamon, and Guilmon all stood at the front door as they dripped water from their clothes. Guilmon and Gomamon shook themselves of any water dripping from them to dry themselves off. The water covered Twilight, Matt, and Spike. The two Digimon turned and shyly smiled at the trio as they stared daggers at them. "Sorry." Said Guilmon Twilight huffed as her horn came to life and surrounded herself, Matt, and Spike. In a second they were dry and warm. "Now that's much better." Said Twilight "Magic sure is impressive." Commented Matt "Well, I see you're all dry." Said Rarity "Thanks to Twilight, now can I ask you a favor, Rarity?" Asked Matt "Sure, what can I do for you?" She asked "I need some formal clothing made up for tomorrow. I got a job as Mayor Mare's assistant." Said Matt "I'm glad that somepony is willing to help Mayor Mare out. I swear she is one of the most unorganized ponies I have ever seen. I swear that pony would lose her head if it weren't attached to her body." Said Rarity "She's that bad." Said Gomamon "Trust me, she is. But we keep her as mayor because she's the best at dealing with the politics of running this town. Now I should have those down and delivered to your place in a few hours." Said Rarity "Thanks, Rarity." Said Matt Matt turned to Twilight, "Good luck with finding somepony to give that gala ticket to, Twilight." "Yeah, see you around, Matt." Said Twilight Matt exited the shop and started to make his way home. Twilight, on the other hand, got pulled into a mess of a day as her friends tried ever so desperately to get the second ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala. It turned into Twilight getting chased all over town with a crowd of ponies wishing to get the ticket from her. She would later get trapped and quickly teleporting back to the library. She found herself in the library were here friends apologized for the way they acted. Twilight understood what she had to do and sent her first friendship report to Celestia and returned the two tickets. But moments later Spike burped up a message from the princess that contained enough tickets for every one of Twilight's friends, and six more tickets were for the five humans and one bat pony. *** The beauty of Luna's night now covered the town of Ponyville. Stars twinkled in the sky as the beautiful moon illuminated those still wake. Matt was resting on the couch, reading a book. He stopped when he heard a knock come to the door. Matt closed the book and placed it on the coffee table. He went over to the door and opened it to find Twilight. "What can I do for you, Twilight?" Asked Matt "I came by to give you these," she brought out six golden tickets. "Celestia gave me a ticket for you, and others to attend the gala. I do hope you'll all plan to attend." Matt took the five tickets and looked at them, "I guess if Princess Celestia is giving them to us, I guess it would be a good idea to at least head down and see what's it's all about." "Glad to hear. Now I'm heading back to the library. Have a nice day tomorrow at work." Said Twilight "Thanks, Twilight." Said Matt Twilight smiled and waved as Matt closed the door and looked at the five tickets in his hands. I guess we get to see what makes this party so important. He walked up to the other's rooms so he could hand them their ticket.
Chapter 6 - ChampionChampion Matt put yet another file into the file cabinets that lined the walls of the file room. Since he started a week ago, he was now organizing Mayor Mare. Matt still had plenty to do before she was perfect, but he had plenty of time. He was finishing up putting all the files away about the incidents that occurred from when Applejack wouldn't ask for help when it came to harvesting her apples. But luckily Twilight broke through to her and got her to ask for help. Besides that, everything was going smoothly in Ponyville. He left the file room and went back to his desk as he worked on getting Mayor Mare ready for talks or other important events. He placed the paperwork that needed Mayor Mare's signature inside a file folder. Matt walked into her office and put it on her desk. She thanked Matt, and he returned to his desk. "I think this job is perfect for you, Matt." Said Gomamon "Very true." Said Guilmon Matt blushed a little as he rubbed the back of his neck, "Well, I always had a knack for organization. And even though it was rough at first, I think we managed to pull everything together. I think it should be smooth sailing from here on out." Said Matt "Let's hope." Said Gomamon After a few minutes, Mayor Mare came out of her office and handed Matt the signed papers. He thanked and checked them over. "I want to thank you again, Matt, for taking on this job. I swear I haven't been this organized in a long time." Said Mayor Mare "No problem, I'm glad I can help." Said Matt *** Two strange beings walked through the town of Ponyville. One was the cloak-wearing pony, and the other was a unicorn mare. She was wearing a black strapless cocktail dress with a red hourglass on the back of it. She had a red and black mane, which was up in a tight bun with a spider clip holding the bun together. Her coat color was a strawberry-red color. She had a fan in front of her face with a picture of a Black Widow. The two walked through the market as the mare drew the attention of every stallion she passed. She would give them a little wave, causing them to blush and wave back. She chuckled a little before turning to her friend. "I guess I still can turn heads." The mare turned back to the cloaked stallion, "You sure, Stitch, that the humans are here." Said the mare The pony wearing the cloak, now named Stitch, nodded his head up and down. "But where to start?" Asked the mare Stitch pointed his hand, covered by his sleeve, towards the town hall, where Matt and his Digimon were saying goodbye to Mayor Mare. Stitch and the mare watched as he walked away. "Let's follow him; maybe he'll lead us to the others." Said the mare Stitch nodded, and the two began to follow Matt and his Digimon but kept far enough away to avoid attracting attention. *** Matt pushed open the door to the library as a small bell went off. Twilight poked her head up from her book to see Matt and his Digimon walk through the door. She smiled as she closed the book, got up, and straightened her skirt. "Hi, Matt." Said Twilight "Hey, Twilight, I was wondering if that book came in?" Asked Matt "Let me think," Twilight tapped her chin before walking over to one of the bookshelves that line the library's walls. She scanned the spins for the title. She stopped at the book she desired and pulled it out. "Yes, the pony that checked it out returned it today." "Great to hear." Said Matt Twilight walked over to a large book resting on a pedestal and began to fill it out along with the rental card in the back before handing it off to Matt. He took the book in his hands. The book was a guide to the government of Equestria. "Thanks, Twilight." Said Matt "No problem. I can see working for Mayor Mare has made you desire to learn more about our government." Said Twilight "Yeah, plus I want to understand everything about your government before I do something wrong. I'm not like the ponies of Equestria who know everything about their job thanks to a cutie mark." Said Matt Twilight chuckled as she rubbed the back of her neck, "Yeah, I forgot that you humans don't get cutie marks like us ponies." It was a strange day when the humans learned that in Equestria that a mark appears on the rump on a pony. The cutie mark symbolizes a ponies unique talent, which translates to their job. The humans, in turn, told that they don't get cutie marks to determine their destiny. Instead, they go to school and study a specific work field. "Yeah, it sure was strange to find that out. Well, thanks for the book, Twilight." Said Matt "No problem. Remember to bring it back a week from today." Said Twilight While Twilight and Matt were talking inside the library, Stitch and the mare looked at the library from the shadows of an alleyway. "Boo, I was hoping he would take us to the others, not go running errands." Said the mare Stitch turned and pointed to a marketplace where plenty of ponies were shopping and talking amongst themselves. "So what? You have a desire to go shopping for fresh fruits and vegetables." Said the mare Stitch nodded back and forth before pulling out a black crystal from his right sleeve. He showed it to the mare. She blinked her eyes once before a devilish grin appeared on her face. "Yes, why track down the humans, when we can bring them to us. It'll save us more time and effort than waiting for our male friend to give us the location of the others." Said the mare Stitch nodded before tossing the crystal towards the market. The second it touched the ground, it burst into smoke, and from that smoke came a dragon. It roared at the top of its lungs as it ran towards the ponies. "I do love your creations, Stitch." Said the mare Stitch nodded as they disappeared into the alleyway to watch the chaos unfold. Matt was saying his goodbye to Twilight and about to leave the library when the dragon's roar caught the attention of Twilight, Matt, and his Digimon. "What was that?" Asked Matt "It sounded like an enormous creature." Said Gomamon "It sounded like the roar of a dragon, but that can't be right. Spike is the only dragon in Ponyville, and he's not even a fully grown dragon yet." Said Twilight Matt tossed the book on the couch and wasted no time opening the door and rushing out with his Digimon and Twilight close behind him. The group ran down to see a black dragon with red scales on its back. The dragon was walking on two legs with two rows of a red spade-shaped scale following from the tip of its tail to the head. The rest of the dragon was black. It stood at least 12' tall. On each of its arms were a set of five sharp claws. It was bashing away the stalls and buildings that surrounded the Ponyville market. It roared at the sky before closing its mouth and releasing a torrent of flames. Ponies ran for their lives to keep away from the beast. It moved its head and spotted a little filly crying. The group watched as it prepared to attack, but Renamon appeared in time and took the child away as its left claw struck the ground. Renamon landed next to Alice as Renamon dropped the filly off next to its mother, and Alice told her to run off. The group ran over to her. "Great timing there, Alice." Said Matt "Yeah, I know. Luckily, Renamon and I were at Sugar Cube Corner when we heard the roars." Said Alice "The one thing I have to say is that the dragon looks familiar to that Manticore we faced." Said Gomamon "It does seem to have some similar characteristics." Said Matt The dragon turned and looked at the two humans, the unicorn and the Digimon. It roared as it stared daggers at them all. "Get ready. Here it comes." Said Matt The dragon ran towards the large group. They all jumped out of the way as it stopped and turned around on Matt, Twilight, and his Digimon. "Pyro Sphere." Said Guilmon "Marching Fishes." Said Gomamon Guilmon fired off a sphere of fire, and a bunch of fishes jumped out of a small creek nearby. The dragon swatted off both attacks like it was nothing. "That's not good." Said Matt Renamon appeared behind the dragon and began to charge up her Diamond Storm. "Diamond Storm." Said Renamon She launched the sharpened leaves at the back of the dragon. It only seemed to scrap the back of the dragon, but it didn't seem to faze it. It turned around and grabbed Renamon before tossing her right into a building. Alice screamed as she ran off to help Renamon. The dragon again turned his attention to Matt, Twilight, and his Digimon. "Gao Rush." Gaomon appeared and began to strike the dragon in the head with a barrage of punches. With a final blow, Gaomon leaped back and landed on the ground. James came running up as the dragon shook its head to get itself back together. "Nice one, Gaomon." Said James "James, great timing." Said Matt "Yeah, I came as soon as I heard the roars." Said James "Good because Renamon already bit the dust." Said Matt "I don't want to cut in, but that thing looks pissed off." Said Twilight The dragon growled at Gaomon before releasing a torrent of flames at the group. They dodged the fire, but the dragon kept releasing the flames on James and Gaomon. "Oh shit!" Exclaimed James James and Gaomon began to run for their lives as the dragon didn't let up trying to burn them. Luckily, a tornado appeared and pulled the flames away. James and Gaomon sighed as they saw Terriermon land on the ground next to him, Lopmon coming up, and Abby close behind. "Thanks, Terriermon." Said James "Same here." Said Gaomon "It's what I do best. Can't have that beast barbequing you." Said Terriermon The dragon turned and looked at Abby, Lopmon, Terriermon, James, and Gaomon. It growled at them as it looked ready to strike once again. "That thing is huge." Said Lopmon "True, but nothing we can't take down together." Said Terriermon Lopmon nodded as Lopmon grabbed Terriermon's ear and began to spin with Terriermon. The two created a massive typhoon of winds. "Double Typhoon." Said Terriermon and Lopmon The two Digimon went spinning right for the beast. The typhoon was dragging debris from the attack to the mighty beast. The dragon brushed away a lot of the debris that came towards it. It tried to burn the two Digimon, but the winds blew the flames back at its face. Terriermon and Lopmon struck the dragon in the chest before returning to Abby and stopping their attack. Abby, James, and their Digimon watched as the smoke settled around the dragon. But the small group knew the fight wasn't over once the red glowing eyes appeared. Alice finally reached Renamon, who was pushing off a beam of wood. "You ok?" Asked Alice "I'll be fine." Said Renamon The two walked out to see Biymon, now in the fight, flying around the dragon and hitting it with her Spiral Twister. Alice turned to look at April, watching Biymon. She could also see Matt, Twilight, and his Digimon rushing on over, with James, Abby, and their Digimon following close behind. "Glad to see your ok Renamon, and good timing, April." Said Matt "Yeah." Said April The others arrived as Biymon came down to them. "Damn, this thing is tough." Said James "No kidding, I think we've hit it with each of our Digimon, and we've done nothing but piss it off." Said Matt The mare and Stitch stood atop a building, looking upon the battle. The mare smiled as Stitch's beast drew out all five of the humans and their Digimon. She chuckled as she enjoyed watching the humans and their Digimon partners struggle to find a way to destroy Stitch's creation. "It seems the plan worked perfectly. I do love it when everything comes together." Said the mare Stitch nodded his head in response. "What's even better is that those little Digimon are no match for your mighty beast. We should see the end of them all in no time." Said the mare Stitch nodded as the dragon turned and grabbed a part of the building behind it. It raised it above his head and tossed it at the group. They all began to run in all directions to dodge the attack. Matt watched as the dragon took another piece of a building and tossed it at him. Guilmon jumped into action to protect Matt. "Quake-a-lator." Said Guilmon He leaped up and used his claws to rip through the concrete before moving towards the dragon. Guilmon knew that if this dragon was like the manticore, then if he found the crystal, it would end the beast once and for all. But the dragon swatted Guilmon away, and he crashed into yet another building. "Guilmon!" Screamed Matt The dragon looked at Matt and Gomamon before spying on Twilight, who was pushing a small amount of debris from the building off of her. She rubbed her head, not noticing the dragon going in for an attack. Matt didn't stop to think; instead, he ran right toward Twilight. Twilight turned to see a giant claw coming towards her. She had no time to react to bring a spell to life to save her. But luckily, Matt tackled her out of the way. The claw of the dragon came smashing down. Twilight and Matt landed safely away from the dragon. Twilight and Matt looked at each other and blushed from how close they were. Matt was right on top of Twilight, their faces inches away from each other. "Um, thanks, Matt." Said Twilight "Um, yeah." Said Matt The two stayed that way until the dragon roared, causing them to look at it as it stared at them. Matt got up and helped Twilight to her hooves as they ran for it. The dragon was going to release a torrent of flames but stopped as a school of fish came colliding into its head. The beast turned towards Gomamon and the other Digimon beside their human companions. "You leave them alone." Said Gomamon The dragon roared before blowing a thick cloud of smoke at them, causing the group to lose their sense of direction. The dragon again turned its back to Matt and Twilight, who stopped to watch the dragon cover the others in smoke. The dragon smashed both clawed hands into the ground before looking at the helpless human and pony. "Twilight, I think you're up." Said Matt But nothing happened; Matt turned to see Twilight shaking like a leaf in fear. The fear of the dragon was causing her to have no concentration to perform any magic. Matt looked back at the beast as it growled at him. Damn, this isn't good! "Terriermon and Lopmon, clear this smoke," said Abby as she coughed. "Terrier Tornado." Said Terriermon "Tiny Twister." Said Lopmon Both Digimon were able to clear the smoke from the group. They all saw that the dragon had cornered Matt and Twilight. Guilmon finally dug himself out of the building and noticed Matt was in trouble. He got moving to protect Matt. I must protect Matt. But Guilmon wasn't sure how he could hurt the beast when his attacks and the attacks of the others were doing nothing to it. But he could see the dragon getting closer to killing Matt and Twilight as it opened its mouth. Twilight grabbed onto Matt as she prepared for the end of it all. Matt shook as his life began to flash before his eyes, and the dragon's gaping maw moved ever closer to him and Twilight. I can't believe this is how it all ends . The dragon moved to snap the human and pony in its jaw. The others could watch in horror as two of their friends were about to be no more. Matt held Twilight close to him as he closed his eyes and prepared to die. "Matt!" Screamed Guilmon At that second, the Digivice clipped to Matt's pants began to glow. Matt opened his eyes to see his Digivice glowing, and the light seemed to blind the dragon as well. Twilight opened her eyes as well to see what was happening. Guilmon stopped as he looked at himself. He began to shine, as well. The Digivice started to transmit codes to Guilmon, which started his transformation to the next level. "Guilmon digivolve to...Growlmon." Matt and Twilight watch the dragon regain its sight and get ready to chop down on them. But the dragon gets pushed away as Growlmon strikes the side of the beast. The beast goes tumbling back before falling onto its back. "Stay away from them." Growlmon turned down to look at Matt and Twilight. "Are you two okay?" "What, who are you?" Asked Matt "I'm Growlmon, but you might remember me as Guilmon. I digivolved to protect you." Said Growlmon The dragon roared as it got back on its feet. Matt looked up at Growlmon, and the two nodded. "Let's show this dragon what you can do, Growlmon." Said Matt Growlmon roared as he and the dragon ran towards each other. The other humans and Digimon watched as Growlmon and the dragon did battle. "Where the hell did that red dragon thing come from?" Asked James Abby took off her Digivice and pointed it at Growlmon. The screen lit up and displayed information on Growlmon. "The new creature is called, Growlmon and its the digivolved form of Guilmon. It seems Growlmon is a champion-level Digimon." Said Abby "Wait, you're telling me our Digimon can digivolve again." Said James "Looks like it, and it seems that Growlmon might be a match for that dragon." Said Alice Growlmon tossed the dragon to the ground. Growlmon closed his mouth as flames began to leak from the corners of his mouth. "Pyro Blaster." Said Growlmon With a mighty roar, Growlmon released a large fireball from his mouth. The dragon roared in pain from the attack and fell to the ground with smoke emanating from the blast site. "Growlmon, find the crystal and destroy it." Said Matt Growlmon nodded his head, "Growl Claw." Growlmon swung his right claw into the dragon and tore out the crystal. Growlmon crushed the crystal, and the dragon roared before it went silent and darkened in color. Much like the Manticore, it burst into smoke. Growlmon roared from his victory over the dragon. The mare and Stitch watched as the dragon disappeared into a puff of smoke. "When I thought we wouldn't have to worry about those kids, " the mare sighed as she turned to Stitch. "Let's return to base. We'll let them have this win." Stitch nodded as the two disappeared from the top of the building as the others ran toward Matt, Growlmon, and Twilight. "Matt!" Screamed Gomamon He jumped into Matt's arm. Matt caught him and laughed as he held his second Digimon. "I'm glad you're ok." Said Gomamon "Yeah, thanks to Growlmon." Said Matt "Yeah, I'll say it sure is impressive." Said James Growlmon smiled before a light consumed him, and he shrunk back down before the light disappeared and once again showed off Guilmon. Everyone blinked as Guilmon cocked his head to the side. "What?" Asked Guilmon "Why the heck did you go back to being Guilmon?" Asked James "I'm not sure. I think I exhausted all my energy to stay in my Growlmon form." Said Guilmon "So it seems that our Digimon can only keep their champion-level forms for a while. I wonder how long a Digimon can stay in their champion form before returning to their rookie form." Said Alice "Well, that's a bummer. I was hoping that we could keep them in champion form forever." Said James "But could Guilmon digivolve back to champion?" Asked April Matt pulled out his Digivice and looked to see Growlmon, "I'm not sure, but I'll guess we'll have to wait and see." "Well Matt, I can't wait to see how long it takes you to file this away," said James pointing out all the damage to the market from the battle. Matt rolled his eyes as ponies began to came out of their hiding place and started to work on cleaning up the debris with the Digimon and humans helping out. Mayor Mare came out and listened to ponies with Matt taking notes next to her. It took a few hours to clean up the marketplace, but it would take a little longer to fix the buildings. Matt left the town hall near ten o'clock at night after filing everything away. He turned to see Twilight waiting on a park bench under a street light. "Think you two can make it home on your own?" Asked Matt "Yeah." Said Gomamon The two began to make their way home as Matt walked over to Twilight. He sat down next to her. The two didn't speak and instead listened to the nightlife of crickets and other woodland creatures. "I'm sorry." Said Twilight Matt looked over at her, "Sorry for what?" "For not teleporting us away. I could have got us away from that dragon. But I got so scared of it cornering us; I couldn't concentrate on my magic. I never once in my life felt that scared." Said Twilight "Twilight, you don't think I felt the same. You have no reason to apologize. We all get scared; that's a natural thing. When you genuinely get scared, your mind stops thinking, and you can't function. Trust me. I was the same way." Said Matt "Yeah, and I owe you a thank you as well for saving me." Said Twilight Matt blushed as he rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah, no problem." Twilight giggled from the way Matt was acting. He smiled as he looked up at the stars. Soon enough, a shooting star went across the night sky. Matt pointed it out to Twilight. "Look a shooting star, make a wish." Said Matt Twilight and Matt closed there eyes and made their wish before opening them. "Make your wish?" Asked Matt "Sure did." Said Twilight The two sat together in silence as they watched as more shooting stars passed across the night sky. It was a beautiful sight to end on after one crazy day.
Chapter 7 - BoastingBoasting "Twenty-five different spells that sure is impressive." Matt, his Digimon, Twilight, and Spike were walking down the dirt path of Ponyville. They had no specific destination in mind. "Yeah, and that easily shows Twilight has to be one of the best unicorns in Equestria." Said Spike "Please, Spike, I'm sure there are plenty of unicorns with the same magical talent as me." Said Twilight "Maybe, but they're probably not like you." Said Spike Twilight blushed as Matt smiled. The group was enjoying the peaceful town, even if at times it wasn't all that peaceful if the pranks that Rainbow and Pinkie pulled on the town didn't show that. Two pulled all sorts of pranks, but the best was when they dyed James' hair and Gaomon's fur pink when the two were napping. Rainbow probably did it more out of revenge because of a prank James and Gaomon played on her, which consisted of a napping Rainbow Dash and a cup of warm water. Then the true chaos came in the form of a Griffon. Gilda was her name, and she happened to be an old friend of Rainbow Dash from flight school. She seemed pretty interesting until they heard rumors about her being a bully, especially to Fluttershy. The truth came out about her when Pinkie threw her a party and Rainbow began to pull pranks on her. In the end, Gilda left town, and everything went back to being the same. But that was the nature of Ponyville. And on a side note, James and Gaomon were still trying to get the pink out of their hair and fur. And today was once again going to be one of those crazy days. "Coming through!" The group turned to see two colts coming running towards them. The first was a colt looked a little overweight. He had an opal coat with an orange mane. He was wearing a plain grey t-shirt and a pair of cargo shorts. The other colt looked a little skinny. He had an amber coat and a turquoise mane. He was wearing a plain orange t-shirt and a pair of cargo shorts. The group jumped out of the way, except Gomamon, who got caught up by the overweight colt. "Stop!" Screamed Gomamon The two colts stopped as Gomamon went tumbling into the dirt with the others following close behind. "Snips and Snails, where's the fire?" Asked Spike Snips was the overweight colt, and Snails was the skinny colt. "Didn't you hear, a powerful unicorn is in town." Said Snips "That's your reason for running without looking where you're going." Said Gomamon "Yeah, we have to get in the front row before other ponies do." Said Snails "Yeah, I'm sure if we're speaking about magical power that award goes to Twilight." Said Spike "Please Spike, now where is this unicorn?" Asked Twilight "In the town square." Said Snips "You better hurry if you want to get a good spot." Said Snails The two colts once again ran off. "They sure think this unicorn is big stuff." Said Gomamon "I agree," Matt turned to the others. "Should we see how powerful this unicorn is?" The others nodded and made their way towards the town square. *** "Man, this unicorn sure did gather a crowd." Said Matt The group pushed through the ponies to get to the front to see the rest of the mane six awaiting for the show to begin along with James and Gaomon. Both still showed signs of the pink dye in their fur and hair but wasn't as prominent as before. "I'm surprised you're out here, James especially with the pink still in your hair," said Matt chuckling a bit. James huffed, "Whatever, I heard there was a powerful unicorn town, and well, I decided to see if it was true." "You wouldn't be pink if you thought about the consequences of your actions." Said Matt "Whatever, I'm glad the pink is nearly out of my hair." Said James "And out of my fur." Said Gaomon "I do hope that teaches you a lesson about doing stupid pranks." Said Alice Alice, Renamon, Abby, Terriermon, Lopmon, and Cresent came walking up to them. The girls were all wearing sports bras and sports shorts. Cresent had her mane done up in a bun, while Alice and Abby had their hair still in pigtails. Sweat was still dripping from each of them. "I'm guessing you finished your run for the day." Said Matt "Yeah, we finished and heard about the stage performance and decided to see what it was all about." Said Alice "I surprised April isn't here." Said Abby "I think April went out to that valley to paint from what she told me this morning." Said Matt "Welcome everypony to the show of your lifetime." Fireworks started to go to owe and awe the crowd before there was a puff of smoke on the stage, and from that appeared the unicorn mare everypony was waiting to see, "Watch now as the Great and Powerful Trixie performs some of the greatest feats of magic ever." More fireworks went off to get the crowd excited. The unicorn named Trixie had an azure coat with a cornflower mane with cerulean stripes running through it. She was wearing a light blue dress along with a wizard's cape and hat. She would wave her hands around and perform different tricks for the crowd to show off her magical skills. "My, my, she does love to boast." Said Rarity "Please, this isn't half what Twi..." Twilight hit Spike in the gut with her elbow to shut him up. "You know, Trixie reminds me of a guy on my football team that would boast about how great he was." Said James "What happened to him?" Asked Gaomon "First game of the season, the guy lost it for us. Let's say he wasn't all to liked by the team." Said James "Her boasting is as bad as some of the guards at the castle. I swear I hate when ponies boast about how they're the best." Said Cresent "There's nothing wrong with being talented right?" Asked Twilight "Nothing at all, Twi unless you're showin' it off like a school filly with new ribbons." Said Applejack "Yeah, especially when I'm better than the rest of us." Rainbow got everypony to stare at her, "Um, boo." Trixie stopped her show and out at the crowd, "I see we have some neighsayers in the crowd." James snickered at that. "Who is so ignorant as to challenge the Great and Powerful Trixie? I see that they don't know they are in the presence of the most powerful unicorn in all of Equestria." Rarity blew a raspberry at that, "Please, who does she think she is?" "Yeah, when we all know that Twi..." Spike got his gut hit again by Twilight's elbow. "Shut it, Spike." Said Twilight "What's wrong, you know you're much more powerful than Trixie." Said Spike "But haven't you seen how our friends are reacting to Trixie. I don't want them to think I'm a show off like her." Said Twilight Rainbow flew right into Trixie's face, "So 'Great and Powerful Trixie,' what makes you so awesome?" Trixie pushed Rainbow out of her face, "I'm glad you ask, for I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, was able to vanquish an Ursa Major." The crowd owed and awed at Trixie's feat. "I thought Ursa Major was a constellation. How do you defeat a constellation?" Asked James "In Equestria, there are beasts called Constellation Beasts that represent many of famous constellations. It's rare to see one in the wild." Said Twilight "Living constellations, well you don't hear that every day." Said Matt "The Great and Powerful Trixie was the last remaining hope for the ponies Hoofington as the Ursa Major attacked their homes. Trixie stepped forth and used her awesome magic to defeat the beast and return it to its cave deep within the Everfree Forest!" Exclaimed Trixie The crowd got memorized by Trixie's light show as she showed how she defeated the Ursa Major. A few fireworks went off after Trixie defeated the Ursa Major. "That settles it." Said Snips "Trixie is truly the most powerful, most talented, and most awesome unicorn in Ponyville." Said Snails "No, in all of Equestria!" Exclaimed Snips "You two can't seriously believe that. How can we trust that everything Trixie says is true?" Said James "Yeah, and besides we all know if it came to defeating an Ursa Major, we would all turn to..." Twilight used her magic to close Spike's mouth shut. "But it is true, my little admirers. Trixie certainly is the best in Ponyville." Said Trixie The crowd went silent as they looked at each other. Trixie's eyes scanned the quiet crowd before smiling out at the group of ponies. "I see none of you believe the Great and Power Trixie." She gave a light chuckle, "Then I, at this moment, challenge any Ponyvillian to prove themselves by doing anything, which I'll do better. So do we have any takers? I guess if no one wants to step up, I guess that makes me the greatest equine who lived!" Said Trixie Fireworks fired off behind Trixie as she smiled. Spike was finally able to get the magic bindings off his face and turned back to Twilight. "Twilight you have to do something, she unbearable! You have to show her who's better!" Exclaimed Spike "Spike I can't use my magic after everything that's been happening." Said Twilight "How about you," Twilight froze as Trixie pointed her finger at her. "Do you think you better the Great and Powerful Trixie?" "Well, um, I," Twilight kept stumbling over her words as she tried to find a way out. "Well, little hayseed," said Trixie gesturing over to Applejack. "That's it! I can't stand for any more of this!" Exclaimed Applejack Applejack made her way up to the stage. "You go get her, Applejack." Said Spike "Let's see if your magic can do this." Said Applejack She pulled the rope attached to her pants and began to do tricks with it, getting the crowd once again back into the show. Applejack did one more trick by using her lasso to grab an apple on a nearby tree and bring it over to her. She took a bit out of it before bringing her rope back together and tipping her hat to Trixie. "Top that." Said Applejack Trixie smiled as she removed her hat, "Watch and be amazed by the magic of Trixie." Trixie's horn to came to life and began to surround the rope with her aura. Applejack and the crowd watched as Trixie moved the rope like a snake, while another end went to the nearby apple tree. Suddenly, the rope began to wrap Applejack up and placing the apple in her mouth. Trixie released her magic and gave a bow to the laughing and cheering crowd. "That hardly seemed fair." Said Terriermon "I would agree." Said Abby Applejack began to hop off the stage. Once she reached the ground, Guilmon snapped the ropes with his claws to free her back up. She spat the apple out of mouth before looking back at Guilmon. "Thanks, Guilmon." Said Applejack He smiled before the two returned to their group of friends as Trixie looked ready to speak once more. "Once again, the Great and Powerful Trixie prevails. Now, who else wishes to challenge Trixie?" Said Trixie Rainbow Dash flew up and got right back into Trixie's face, "There's no need to go strutting around and showing off your stuff." "Is that so." Said Trixie "Yeah, because that's my job." Said Rainbow Her friends sighed as they began to watch her perform one of my many stunts. She landed on Trixie's stage as a rainbow appeared above her. She smiled and held her head high as the crowd cheered for her performance. "They don't call me 'Rainbow' and 'Dash' for nothing." Said Rainbow Trixie gave a sly smile as her horn came to life, "After Trixie is through with you, all they will be calling you is a loser." Trixie's magic began to grab the rainbow above Rainbow's head and wrapped it around her before making Rainbow spin like a top until she came to a stop outside the crowd. Rainbow looking she was about to barf all over the place. "I think I'm going to be sick," said Rainbow as she swallowed a little vomit that came up. "Seems like anypony with a dash of good sense would think twice before tussling with the Great and Powerful Trixie." Said Trixie James and Gaomon walked over and helped her to her feet. She still seemed to look like she was going to puke at any minute. Then Trixie summoned a storm cloud and struck Rainbow in her plot, causing her to scream out in pain and double over against Gaomon, but he saw she was still quite sick. "You take her, James." Said Gaomon James looped Rainbow's right arm over his shoulder and helped her back to her others as she still seemed to be in a daze and looking like she was going to vomit any minute. "I know what we need. We need a unicorn to challenge Trixie. A unicorn with some magical powers." Said Spike "Yeah, a unicorn to show this unicorn who's boss," said rainbow before swallowing done a little more vomit. "A real unicorn to unicorn tussle." Said Applejack Spike, Matt, James, Abby, Alice, Cresent, and the Digimon all move their eyes toward Twilight. She froze as she swallowed the lump in her throat. But luckily for her, another unicorn miss interrupted the message. "Enough, enough all of you. I take your hint, but I am above such nonsense. Rainbow Dash and Applejack may behave like ruffians, but I conduct myself with beauty and grace." Said Rarity "How did she think we were talking about her?" Asked Alice "Who knows." Said Abby Trixie gave a little chuckle, "What's the matter? Afraid you'll get a hair of place in that rat's nest you call a mane." Rarity stood shocked before she glared at Trixie, "Oh, it is on, sister." Rarity began to make her way onto the stage, "You may think you're tough with all your so-called powers, but there's more to magic than your brutish ways. A unicorn needs to be more than muscle. A unicorn needs to have style." Rarity's horn came to life and grabbed a curtain on Trixie's cart and began to wrap around her. She used her magic to make it into a beautiful dress. The crowd went ooh as they looked at Rarity as she bounced her newly transformed mane. "That sure was impressive." Said Matt "Yeah, isn't she beautiful." Said Spike "A unicorn is not a unicorn without grace and beauty." Said Rarity Trixie gave a sly smile as her horn came to life. She wrapped her aura around Rarity's mane and in a flash changed it. The crowd let a large gasp. Rarity began to freak out as she needed to figure out what Trixie did to her hair. "Quick! Somepony get me a mirror! I need a mirror! I must know what she did to my hair!" Exclaimed Rarity "She did nothing." Said Twilight "It's fine." Said Rainbow "It's gorgeous." Said Applejack "It's green." Said Gomamon Matt struck him over the head as Rarity had a panic attack and ran off the stage, screaming and crying about green hair. Everypony watched her leave before turning back to the smug faced Trixie. Spike then turned to Twilight. "Well, Twilight, it's up to you. You have to show Trixie, who's boss." Said Spike "What, but I'm nothing special." Said Twilight "Twilight, you are, and you're far better than Trixie." Said Matt "I'm not better than anyone else." Said Twilight Trixie looked down at Twilight, "You think you're better than the Great and Powerful Trixie. You think you have more magical talent than Trixie. Well, then show Trixie and the crowd that you're better than Trixie." Said Trixie "Who me? I'm only a run-of-the-mill citizen of Ponyville. Nothing special here...um...I think I hear my laundry calling. Sorry, I gotta get going." Said Twilight Twilight turned around and ran through the crowd as Trixie had yet another smug look on her face. "I didn't know laundry can talk." Said Guilmon "Laundry can't call, Guilmon. Now let's go after her." Said Matt Matt and his Digimon ran after the unicorn as Trixie began to chuckle. "That proves that the Great and Powerful Trixie is the most amazing unicorn in all Equestria. But was there any doubt." Said Trixie *** "Twilight will you please listen to me." Said Matt Twilight was right now had her head down in a book. Matt sighed as he walked forward and slammed the book shut in her face. "Twilight tell me what happened back there at Trixie's show." Said Matt Twilight sighed, "Didn't you see how they hated Trixie's bragging, Matt. If I went up there and showed off my magic, then I could risk losing my friends." "Twilight, what we're asking you to do is not what Trixie was doing. You would be using your magic to stand up for your friends." Said Matt "Matt it wouldn't matter, it would still be the same." Said Twilight Matt sighed, "Twilight, you could have used any one of the tricks you've learned, even the teeniest, would have worked to show up Trixie." "Matt it doesn't work like that. If I went up there and did any trick, no matter what it was, I would still look like a bragger, which would make me look just like Trixie." Said Twilight Matt was going to continue to speak when Twilight used her magic to create a door in front of Matt and slam it in his face. The two Digimon looked up at Matt as he growled under his breath. Matt calmed himself long enough to reopen the door and walk back out. "Talk about slamming the door in someone's face." Said Gomamon "Twilight you know, for a fact, you're better than Trixie." Said Matt "Matt, I said NO!" Exclaimed Twilight "She sure is stubborn." Said Guilmon "No, kidding." Said Gomamon Matt sighed, seeing that it was a losing battle to argue with Twilight. He gestured for Guilmon and Gomamon to follow and walked out of the library while Twilight let out a heavy sigh. Matt looked at the door of the library and let out a heavy sigh as well. "You can still try and convince her." Said Gomamon "And she'll find a way to weasel around it." Said Matt "So, now what?" Asked Guilmon "We head home, not like we can do anything else." Said Matt He gave another sigh as he turned and began to head home, only to stop when he saw Spike running towards them. He stopped and started to catch his breath. "Spike, what's wrong?" Asked Matt "Need to talk to Twilight, now! Urgent problem!" Exclaimed Spike The group of four ran back to the library. Matt opened the door and him, Spike and his Digimon rushed inside. "Twilight! You have to come! Quick!" Screamed Spike "Spike, I already told Matt, I'm not showing up Trixie." Said Twilight "No, Twilight this is about something," Spike stopped midway in his sentence as a roar echoed throughout the building. "Is that what I think it is?" Asked Twilight Another roar went across the airwaves of Ponyville as Spike spoke back up, "Majorly." Twilight, Spike, Matt, and the Digimon ran out of the library as more roars began to fill the air. Ponies started to run for their lives as Matt, Spike, Twilight, and the Digimon ran past them. The group stopped when they saw Snips, Snails, and Trixie. "Matt!" The group turned to see the other humans and their Digimon coming towards them. "What is happening?" Asked Abby "I agree, what is happening?" Asked Twilight "We brought an Ursa to town." Said Snips "You what!" Screamed Twilight "Don't worry. The Great and Powerful Trixie will defeat it." Said Snail Everyone looked over at Trixie. "I can't." Said Trixie "What?!" Screamed Snips and Snails "I can't because I never have. No one can defeat an Ursa Major. I made up the whole story of me defeating an Ursa Major." Said Trixie "Made it up!" Exclaimed Snips and Snails "Who could have seen that coming." Said James A mighty roar pulled the group all to turn and see the Ursa Major behind them. The Ursa Major was a large blue bear with stars covering its body. It growled as it looked at all of them. "So any ideas." Said James Spike poked Twilight in the stomach. She looked at him as he pointed at the Ursa. She swallowed the lump in her throat as she stepped forward. Matt held is Digivice ready the second Twilight needed help. He wasn't sure if he could get Guilmon to digivolve back into Growlmon once more. Twilight began to ignite her horn as she started to push magic through it. Her hooves began to dig into the dirt as she pushed her magic to her limit. A purple aura began to cover the Ursa as Twilight lifted it into the air and began to rock it back and forth. As she used her magic to cast a wind over cattails to cause pleasant music to fill the air, further calming the Ursa Major. She then wrapped her magic around the Ponyville water tower and poured out all the water. Twilight then pushed the empty water tower through the barn where the cows reside. The water tower came out full of milk. "That's new." Said Spike "I'm sure that Ponyville might have needed that water." Stated James Twilight continued to push her magic to her limits as her hooves dug deeper into the ground. Sweat rolled down her face as she continued to perform her feats of magic. She placed the top back on the base of the water tower and brought up to the mouth of the Ursa Major, and it began to suck it. The humans weren't sure how that was even possible but went with it. Twilight now began to levitate the Ursa Major back into the Everfree Forest. Once the Ursa Major was back in the Everfree Forest, Twilight released her magic. She began to take deep breaths as she felt incredibly exhausted. She began to fall over, but Matt grabbed her before she fell to the ground. He gave her a warm smile, and she returned it until they heard cheering. The two looked over to see the ponies of Ponyville cheering for Twilight. "Unbelievable." Said Rainbow "That was amazing." Said Spike "That sure was something else." Said James "Heavens to Betsy! We knew ya had magical skills, but not that much!" Said Applejack Twilight lowered her eyes and placed her ears against her head, "I'm sorry. Please don't hate me." "Hate you!" Said Twilight's friends "Whatever do you mean, darling?" Asked Rarity "Well, I know how much you all hated Trixie's showing off with her magic tricks, and I thought..." Twilight stopped as Rainbow spoke up. "Let's stop you there, Twilight. Magic has nothing to do with it. Trixie is nothing more than a loud mouth." Said Rainbow "Preach it." Said Alice "Most unpleasant." Said Rarity "All hat and no cattle." Said Applejack "So, you don't mind my magic tricks?" Asked Twilight "You're magic is a part of ya, sugarcube, and we like who ya are. We're proud to have such a powerful, talented unicorn as our friend." Said Applejack "Yeah especially after whupping that Ursa's hindquarters, we're even prouder." Said Rainbow "You are?" Asked Twilight The humans, the Digimon and ponies, nodded their heads. Twilight smiled as a slight blush came to her face. "See, I told you, you weren't like Trixie." Said Matt "I guess you were right," said Twilight with a slight blush covering her face. "But Twilight, how did you know how to defeat that Ursa Major?" Asked Spike "After Trixie's bragging story, I decided to look into the Ursa Major." Said Twilight "So it is possible to vanquish an Ursa Major all by yourself." Said Spike Twilight gave a slight chuckle, "That wasn't an Ursa Major, that was a baby, an Ursa Minor." Trixie pushed through the crowd with an astonished look on her face, "That was a baby!" "And it wasn't rampaging. It was cranky because somepony woke it up." Her eyes landed on Snips and Snails as did the rest of the crowd. "Well, that was an Ursa Minor, then what does an Ursa Major look like." Said Spike "If had to guess, way bigger." Said James "I hope we don't see an Ursa Major any time soon. So now with that done, how should we deal with miss loudmouth." Said Alice Everypony turned their attention to Trixie. "Whatever, you may have defeated an Ursa Minor, but you will never have the amazing, show-stopping ability of the Great and Powerful Trixie!" Exclaimed Trixie Trixie waved her hands in the air before tossing down a smoke bomb on the ground. When the cloud disappeared, everypony could see Trixie running away from them. "Why that little..." Twilight stopped Rainbow before she went after Trixie. "Let her go. Maybe someday she'll learn her lesson. Now what to do about you two?" Said Twilight as she moved her eyes over to Snips and Snails. Snips gave off a nervous laugh, "We're sorry for waking up the Ursa Minor." "We just wanted to see some awesome magic." Said Snails "Yeah, the way that you beat that Ursa Minor was awesome." Said Snips "Either way, you risked the safety of everypony here." Said Matt "Yes, we know, so we deserve any punishment you give us." Said Snails "For starters, you can clean up that mess," Snips and Snails looked over to Trixie's destroyed stage. " And," She looked over to Spike and smiled at him, "What do you think, Spike? Should I give them, hm, number twenty-five." "Oh, yes, and I deserve it too." Said Spike Snips and Snails looked at each other confused as Twilight's horn began to glow. The faces of Spike, Snips, and Snails began to glow. Snips and Snails had their eyes closed until they opened their eyes to see they all had mustaches. They all seemed pleased by it. *** "Dear Princess Celestia, I have learned a very valuable lesson about friendship: I was so afraid of being thought of as a show-off that I was hiding a part of who I am. My friends helped me realize that it's okay to be proud of your talents, and there are times when it's appropriate to show them off... Especially when you're standing up for your friends." Said Twilight "I do hope you learned the difference between boasting and true talent." Said Matt Twilight rolled her eyes as she walked over and sat next to Matt, "Yes, I learned my lesson." She stuck out her tongue out at him. The two laughed as the door opened as Spike walked into the room looking a little down. "So how did it go with Rarity?" Asked Twilight "She didn't go for the mustache." Said Spike "Sorry to hear that Spike." Said Matt "You know Spike, that mustache has nothing to do with who you are. Maybe you should try being yourself." Said Twilight "Or, maybe the mustache isn't enough. Maybe if I had a mustache and a beard?" Said Spike "Oh, brother." Said Twilight Twilight and Matt laughed as Spike began to tell them about the perfect beards that would go with his mustache.
Chapter 8 - The Fox and the HoundThe Fox and the Hound Matt stood next to Mayor Mare as he handed her paper after paper for her to sign. Matt handed Mayor Mare the final document as she signed it and handed it back to Matt. He placed it inside the folder and gave it to Guilmon and told him where he could file it. "Well, that's the last of that." Said Matt "Yes, it seemed to be. Now, what else do you have to do for the day?" Said Mayor Mare Matt pulled opened the notebook in his hands and scanned over the entries. He was checking what he and Mayor Mare had to do next or what was coming up. Matt kept strict and dutiful records of every upcoming event and what needed Mayor Mare signature. He closed the book before turning to Mayor Mare. "Well, Mayor Mare, it seems we're free to relax for some time." Said Matt Before Mayor Mare could say anything, the doors to her office burst open with James running right up to Matt and grabbing his shoulders. Gaomon trailed behind breathing heavily before falling to the floor. "Matt, we have a big problem!" Screamed James as he shook Matt back and forth. Matt broke loose of Jame's grip and placed his hand on his shoulders as he got his bearings back, "James calm down. What problem do we have?" "A female problem." Said James "Is something wrong with Twilight, Cresent, Abby, Alice or our friends," said Matt with a hint of concern in his voice. "Yeah, they're about to hunt us!" Exclaimed James Matt blinked his eyes before giving a deadpan look, "Come again, I don't think I heard you right." "I said they're about to hunt us down. In truth, every mare all across Equestria are about to begin hunting us," said James as his eyes frantically moved across the entire room. "James, you're making no sense at all. Why would every mare in Equestria be hunting you and me?" Said Matt "It's not just you and me, but all the stallions across Equestria." Said James "James, you've completely lost me." Said Matt "I think I might be able to clarify what James is saying." Said Mayor Mare Matt turned to his employer, "Please do." "You see, James is speaking about the bi-yearly heat cycle. A mare goes into heat twice a year one in the fall and the other in the spring. The heat cycle is a time for breeding because that's when our eggs become fertilizable. And James is not wrong about the fact that we do hunt down stallions to have them calm our heat. For a male's sperm is the only thing that calms the burning sensation between our legs," said Mayor Mare with a blush growing across her face. "See, every mare across Equestria is going to become a sex rampaging monster looking for nothing but to drain us dry." Said James "James, can you please calm down. Fall isn't even here yet, so I think we're safe." Said Matt "No Matt, we aren't, Mr. Cake told me we aren't safe until we figure out where to hide for the three weeks, while the mares are in heat. And we only have two months to do it!" Said James "James, you still have plenty of time to figure things out. Mares don't start noticing we're moving into heat until about three days before the cycle begins." Said Mayor Mare "Yeah James, we still have plenty of time to figure this whole thing out." Said Matt "You may be chill about all of this, but I ain't. Now if you excuse me, I have to plan our action plan before these mares turn into sex-hungry mares." Said James James ran out with Gaomon looking at him, "Do we have to run?" Gaomon sighed before running after James. "So I'm guessing girls on your planet don't have heat cycles." Said Mayor Mare "Yeah, the only thing that goes into heat on my planet are animals. But human girls do have something called periods. It's a monthly cycle; it's usually a time in which a girl bleeds out her unfertilized eggs, which reminds me, it's about that time of the month for Alice and Abby to enter their periods." Said Matt "Well, I do recommend you find someplace safe to stay or go. Mares do become sex crazy, and many can't control the urge to mate. As I said, heat is an intense burning sensation between our legs that only sperm can calm, but most males won't risk it because of the chance of getting said mare pregnant since this is the time a male can fertilize our eggs. And well the pain that might come from a mare's desire to mate to relieve her heat," said Mayor Mare with her blush deepening on her face. "I'll take your word for it." Said Matt *** "To think that soon every mare in this town is going to be hunting you down." Said Gomamon "I won't let them hurt you, Matt." Said Guilmon "Thanks, Guilmon, but the mares aren't attacking me because they want to, they're doing it because it's part of their biology." Said Matt Matt looked around him at the multitude of mares that populated the city of Ponyville. He always thought that it was strange how the mare population outweighed the stallions. Matt always meant to ask Twilight that, but it kept slipping his mind. But he did feel a slight bit of unease from how many mares there were. Don't freak out, Mayor Mare said that mares don't start showing signs until three days before the heat cycle begins. "Hey, Matt." Matt screamed and backed away, but turned to see Twilight with a worried expression on her face. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." Said Twilight "No worries, Twilight," said Matt sighing as he placed his hand over his heart. "I sure got you, was something on your mind?" Asked Twilight "Well, you see I learned today that every mare in Equestria is about to go into heat, and I guess from the fact of how many mares populate Ponyville, I began to freak myself out." Said Matt Twilight blushed a little, "Yeah, I guess that would be pretty creepy to learn that every mare in Equestria is about to go into estres and seek out a male to end their heat. But I wasn't planning on telling you or the others until the month before the cycle begins. So where did you learn about heat from?" "Well, I learned it from Mayor Mare after James came barging into her office like a madman and screaming at me that he and I were about to get hunted down by every mare in Equestria. I thought he was crazy, but Mayor Mare explained what he was trying to say." Said Matt "Well, you shouldn't be scared. Mares don't start acting on heat until the cycle begins, and as long as you keep out of sight and out of smell, your pretty much safe." Said Twilight "Smell?" Asked Matt "Yeah, in heat a mare's sense of smell is ten times stronger. We always can tell where a male is from the musky scent that we pick up, and that scent is what further drives our sexual desires." Said Twilight "You know you're not helping calm me down. You're telling me how much worse for it is going to be when estrus starts," said Matt giving her a deadpan look. "Sorry," said Twilight shyly while rubbing the back of her neck. "Well, besides freaking me out, what did you need, Twilight?" Asked Matt "Oh I was wondering if we were still on for Saturday night," said Twilight with a slight blush creeping over her face. "Yeah, nothing is going to change that." Said Matt "Great, so where you off to?" Asked Twilight "Off to check on Alice and making sure she hasn't ripped off somepony's head yet." Said Matt "Why would she do that?" Asked Twilight "This is about the time of the month when Alice enters her period." Said Matt "Period?" Asked Twilight "Well, I guess it makes sense you wouldn't know what that is since mares go into estrus. But understand I am no expert on it, even with having a little sister. I leave all the girl talk to Alice, and she can tell you more about it. Which reminds me, I believe Abby enters her period around the same time as Alice." Said Matt "So what is a period?" Asked Twilight Matt ushered Twilight to follow him, "From what I understand, it's an event that happens once a month, in which a woman bleeds out of her vagina to secrete out excuses eggs that did not get fertilized." "Hm, that sounds painful." Said Twilight "Yeah, and it can cause mood swings in females. I know when Alice always has her period because she gets irritated at the slightest of things. My sister has minor anger problems when she's in her period." Said Matt "What about April?" Asked Twilight "Unsure, I only meet April and James when we all found each other in the Everfree Forest outside that castle before we met all of you." Said Matt The small group arrived at Sugar Cube Corner and walked inside to see it was calm. Matt wondered if Alice was even working right now because she wasn't screaming on the top of her lungs. He walked up to the counter to see Pinkie Pie working the register with a large smile on her face. "Hi, Matt, Twilight, Gomamon, and Guilmon. What can I do for all of you?" Asked Pinkie "I was wondering if Alice was around, Pinkie." Said Matt "No Mrs. Cake sent her home early. I mean she looked like she wanted to beat the living crap out of every customer that did something. Renamon had to hold her back a few times from striking me after I did something to her. I was only having fun with her, and it's not like her to get so angry at my harmless fun. Matt, does Alice hate Sugar Cube Corner or me because she has done a complete 180 from her usual self?" Said Pinkie with her mane slightly losing its puffy nature. "No Alice is fine Pinkie, but she's going to be that way for a while." Said Matt "Why?" Asked Pinkie as her mane went back to its puffy nature, which made Matt and his Digimon look at the pink mare in even more confusion. Matt explained about Alice and how she was right now entering her period. Pinkie seemed to make an 'O' face as something seemed to pop in her head. "I overheard Mrs. Cake and Alice talking. I so was scared for her when I heard something bleeding from her pussy. But I'm happy to hear that Alice hasn't changed." Said Pinkie "Well, she'll be her irritable self for a while, but once she's out of her period, she'll be back to normal until it happens next month. But now that I think about it, what happens to the unfertilized eggs of a mare in heat when she doesn't catch a stallion?" Said Matt "Well, we pass them but far from the way human women pass their eggs. A mare wakes up a day after heat ends, she passes the eggs peacefully, not even knowing it's happening and that's that. A mare then waits for the next estrus cycle to begin." Said Twilight "I bet Alice would like that. She hates when she enters her period." Said Matt "Well, maybe I can use my magic to alleviate the pain she's having." Said Twilight "I bet she would love that." Matt turned back to Pinkie, "Pinkie, can I get a dozen chocolate cupcakes with dark chocolate frosting on top." "Sure, but it'll be a while." Said Pinkie "No problem Pinkie." Said Matt Pinkie took the order and happily bounced back into the kitchen. "What's up with the cupcakes?" Asked Twilight "Something I learned that seems to calm Alice down when she gets into a mood." Said Matt Twilight rolled her eyes as the group of four decided to find a place to sit and wait for Pinkie to come out with the cupcakes. *** Night now loomed over Equestria as Luna now watched over the citizens and made sure they all have a restful sleep. Everything was quiet in the town of Ponyville, but evil was lurking deep within it. In the darkness of the Everfree Forest, something odd was stirring within it. Something sinister. It moved, quickly, as it spotted its prey, a pack of Timberwolves. With a quick flash was job was down and now the Timberwolves went towards the town of Ponyville hunting their prey, five human and their Digimon. The humans slept soundly in their beds. James was snoring with Gaomon on a bed with the covers spread everywhere. Alice sleeping peacefully after an eventful day with Renamon beside her. Abby happily cuddled up with Terriormon and Lopmon. April slept on her back with Biyomon resting next to her. Matt slept with Gomamon on the foot of his bed and Guilmon on the floor. Finally, there was Cresent, sleeping with her upper half on the floor and lower half on the bed. But her cat-like eyes opened in a split second as she heard a howl go out through the night. She knew of the Timberwolves that lived within the Everfree Forest would howl, but this one sounded closer, much closer. She flopped onto the floor before getting to her hooves. She wiped the drool from her face as another howl came across the airwaves. She grabbed her sword. Looks like some Timberwolves decided to hunt in Ponyville tonight. Cresent headed out the door to slay the Timberwolves. At the same time, Guilmon poked his head up, his eye went cat-like, and he began to growl. Matt groaned as he opened his eyes. He happened to be a light sleeper thanks to having to calm his sister some nights after their parents died. He pushed himself up as Gomamon rolled over, trying to ignore Guilmon. "Guilmon, what's wrong?" Asked Matt "Something is here in the town." Said Guilmon Soon Matt's Digivice began to blink. He got out of bed and went over to it. He picked it up to see a message on the screen. It read, 'Corrupted data in the area.' Corrupted data, what does that mean? But it didn't take long before screams of panic filled the night air of Ponyville. Well, I guess I'm going to find out. He attached the device to his pants as he opened the door to see Cresent up and ready along with the others. "What's happening now?" Asked James "Well, let's go see and find out." More screams of terror echoed through the night, "And it sounds like we to move now!" Everyone went down the stairs towards the front door. James groaned as he and Gaomon followed the others outside. "I'm never going to hear the end of this from Rainbow." Said James He ran outside wearing nothing more than a plain white t-shirt and a pair of blue boxer shorts with little cars on them. He wanted to get some pants, but saving Ponyville once more seemed more important than clothes to everyone else. I swear this town is going to kill us one day. The group ran towards the center of Ponyville to see wooden dogs attacking ponies as they ran for their lives. The dogs also seemed to have black gears implanted into their bodies that seem to be spreading a digital code across their wooden bodies. "Wolves made out of wood, well that sure is something I thought I wouldn't see." Said James "Forget that, do you see the digital code covering their bodies." Said Alice Matt grabbed his Digivice as it was blinking once more. He looked to see it was giving off the same message. I wonder if it's talking about the data that seems to be covering the wolves. The wolves turned towards the group and growled as it began to approach them. "I'm guessing they were looking for us." Said James "You think." Said Matt The Digimon stood before their tamers, ready to defend them against the wooden wolves. Cresent pulled her sword and held it tight. The wolves howled and rushed the group as the Digimon went into battle. Matt held his Digivice and hoped it would work. "Guilmon Digivolve!" Exclaimed Matt The Digivice activated once more sending the code of Guilmon's champion form to Guilmon. "Guilmon digivolve to...Growlmon." Growlmon now stood over the wolves. "Pyro Blaster." Said Growlmon Growlmon released a ball of flames at the wolves, destroying a few of them and in a strange turn, turning them into digital code. "Strange normally, a Timberwolf will return to his primary form of sticks or in the ones attacked by Growlmon, burnt to ash." Said Cresent "Timberwolves, I guess that's a fitting name. But enough talk, we need to make sure everypony finds a safe place to hide from these corrupted Timberwolves until our Digimon have made quick work of them." Said Matt The others nodded and went off. Cresent followed Abby since she was the youngest of the group. The humans worked with their Digimon to get ponies out of the open into a building. The mane six also appeared quick and gave a hand. Rainbow stayed near James and Gaomon. Pinkie gave Alice and Renamon a hand. Twilight and Spike gave a helping hand to Matt and his Digimon. Fluttershy helped out April and Biyomon. Rarity and Applejack gave a hand to Abby and her Digimon. Cresent was on her own, dealing with Timberwolves. She was holding her own against the relentless attacks of the Timberwolves. But she didn't have time to react as one jumped onto her back and bit into the flesh of her shoulder. She screamed as she dropped her sword and tried to break free from the Timberwolf. Matt saw that a few other Timberwolves noticed that Cresent was in distress and went towards her. Matt didn't give it a second thought and went right towards her. "Matt!" Screamed Twilight He saw her sword and picked it. I have no idea how to use this, but I can't let Cresent get hurt. Matt approached Cresent as she tried to break the grip of the Timberwolf as it dug its fangs and claws into her body. "Duck Cresent!" Screamed Matt Cresent ducked her head, and Matt swung the sword taking off a portion of the Timberwolf's skull. The Timberwolf exploded into code before Cresent fell to the ground as blood dripped from her shoulder. "Thanks for the save. I guess that's two times you've saved my fur." Said Cresent "I would never leave a friend hanging." Said Matt The growls of Timberwolves approaching made Matt look to see three wolves coming towards him. Cresent tried to stand, but the pain of the wound in her shoulder pushed her back down. Growlmon tried to get to Matt, but the Timberwolves were blocking him. Matt gripped the sword tight as the wolves made their way towards him. But a larger wolf tackled Matt in his side and sent him flying away from Cresent and landing in the dirt. He dropped the sword when he got hit, and the larger wolf walked towards Matt as he laid on the ground, knocked out. Cresent turned back to the wolves approaching her as she reached for her sword and got back to her hooves. Alice ushered a few ponies into a building with Pinkie and Renamon helping her out. Sure she was in her period, but she had to ignore everything of her body to protect the ponies of Ponyville. Alice happened to see the larger wolf approaching Matt. She got worried about her friend. She turned to see Growlmon fighting off multiple wolves with Gomamon, Twilight, and Spike. Cresent was struggling just dealing with the three wolves that were going at her. The others weren't in far better shape to help out Matt either. "Renamon, save Matt!" Ordered Alice Renamon finished another wolf before booking it towards Matt. The massive Timberwolf growled as it drooled as it approached Matt still laying on the ground. The Timberwolf stood over Matt as he began to wake up. He groaned as the Timberwolf readied to deliver the killing blow to its prey. "Matt!" Screamed Alice Suddenly her Digivice began to glow and so did Renamon. Alice watched as Renamon started to Digivolve into her champion form. "Renamon digivolve to...Kyubimon." Kyubimon struck the Timberwolf right in the side, pushing it out of the way. Its claws dug into the dirt as it slid across the ground. The Timberwolf looked at the fox creature that once was Renamon. It howled as more wolves appeared before it. Kyubimon began to charge the ends of her tails with blue fire. "Fox Tail Inferno." Said Kyubimon Kyubimon fired off small balls of blue fire in the shape of miniature foxes. Each went barrelling towards a wolf and destroyed them. The larger wolf still stood firm but wounded from Kyubimon's attack. But before it could attack, Growlmon struck the wolf with his claws, destroying it. "Matt!" Screamed Alice Matt was slowly getting to his feet Kyubimon helped him get to his feet. Matt grabbed his head. "Damn, what hit me?" Asked Matt "An alpha." He turned to see Twilight coming up and began to use her magic check him over. Matt looked over to Kyubimon. "Thanks, Kyubimon and you as well, Alice." Said Matt "Hey, I'm not going to let a Timberwolf eat my best friend." Said Alice Matt saw Cresent struggling over to them and holding her shoulder. Twilight ran on over and grabbed her as she used her magic to heal up the wound. "We need to get you and Matt to Ponyville General Hospital." Said Twilight "Not before we make sure these Timberwolves are no more." Said Cresent James and Rainbow got a family back into their house as Gaomon struck down another Timberwolf. "You sure don't mind showing off those boxers of yours." Said Rainbow She snickered as James rolled his eyes. I knew I wasn't going to hear the end of it from Rainbow Dash. "I don't this is the time to joke about my clothing." Said James "True, but know I'm never going to let you live this moment down." Said Rainbow James rolled his eyes at Rainbow as she continued to snicker at him. Once the family was inside, James turned to see the Timberwolves began to overwhelm Gaomon. "Gaomon, hold them off buddy." Said James A Timberwolf alpha stood above the building growling down at James and Rainbow. It jumped down trying to take a bite out of James, while he kept his attention on Gaomon. Rainbow saw it coming and pushed James out of the way. He hit the dirt and watched as the Timberwolf alpha attacked her. Rainbow felt the alpha's claws slide down her back. She screamed in pain as the alpha pushed her down to the ground and looming over her. Its claws dug into her as it growled at her. Its face was moving ever closer to biting down onto Rainbow's head. "Hey ugly," the alpha looked up at James as he cracked his knuckles and bouncing back and forth on his feet. "If you think I'm going to stand by and let you chomp down on my friend, then your wrong. Now let's see if you can handle me." The alpha growled as it got off Rainbow and faced James. He sighed as the alpha began to run at him with James running right at the alpha. The alpha tried to swipe James, but he sidestepped out of the way and ran towards Rainbow. James stopped as he tried to get her back to her feet, only to feel the force of the alpha slamming into his gut. He hit the dirt hard as the alpha tried to go for his head. James grabbed the gaping mouth and tried to hold back the beast. Gaomon saw what was happening to his tamer as he tried to break free of all the Timberwolves attacking him. I have to help James. I have to save him. James' Digivice began to glow as did Gaomon. The Timberwolves backed away as Gaomon started to digivolve into his champion form. "Gaomon digivolve to...Gaogamon." The Timberwolves looked at the champion form of Gaomon. Gaogamon growled at the Timberwolves, but it didn't seem to cause them to back down. "Spiral Blow." Said Gaogamon Gaogamon closed his mouth before releasing a vortex of wind from his mouth blowing away the Timberwolves and giving himself a clear shot at James, who was still holding back the alpha. "Hold on, James. I'm coming!" Said Gaogamon "I would like that very much!" Exclaimed James "Dash Double Claw." Said Gaogamon Gaogamon ran at an incredible speed towards James and the alpha before launching an 'X' shaped wave right at the Timberwolf by using his large front claws. The wave of air made short work of the alpha, and James watched as it exploded into code. He sighed as he looked at Gaogamon. "Thanks for the save buddy." Said James "Well, I couldn't leave you hanging." Said Gaogamon James rolled his eyes as he got to his feet and went to check on Rainbow. She was slow to get up as blood soaked her shirt. James reached out and helped her to her feet. "So how about we say that since I saved your life, you never bring up the fact of my boxers again." Said James "I guess I can do that." Said Rainbow The Digimon finished off the last of the Timberwolves. The battle was finally over with only a few injuries. Growlmon, Kyubimon, and Gaogaomon all digivolved back to their rookie forms once the battle was over. The hospital staff was right now out, helping those hurt by the Timberwolf attack. Matt happened to spot a piece of the gear from the back of one of the Timberwolves. He picked it up and saw his Digivice going off, once again displaying the message. "So you think that has similarities to the creatures with those crystals in them?" Asked James "I don't think so. Our devices never reacted the way they are now. I have feeling this is the work of somepony else." Said Matt The piece of gear soon disappeared into code as the group watched it disappear, "And I have a feeling this is only the beginning."
Chapter 9 - The Sparkle of my EyeThe Sparkle of my Eye Twilight rushed around her room and the bathroom trying to get ready for tonight. She wanted to look her best for her outing with Matt. She straightened out her hair, made sure her clothing looked nice, which consisted of a purple skirt, with her cutie mark on it, and a light blue shirt. She checked herself over, checked over her list, and smiled as everything was perfect. But she was still nervous and would go over her list a few more time before she heard a knock on her door. She stopped going over her list and went down to the first floor to answer the door. Oh that must be Matt. She took a calming breath and did one final check before opening the door. She smiled when she was Matt standing there wearing a plain tan t-shirt, jean shorts, and his goggles around his neck. He gave a pleasant smile as he looked at her. "You like nice, Twilight." Said Matt A light blush covered her cheeks, "And you look nice as well." Matt smiled, "Thanks. Now you ready to go. I think we have fifteen minutes before the movie starts." Twilight used her magic to bring forth a picnic basket, "Let's go." Twilight turned out the lights and made sure to leave a note for Spike. She closed and locked up the library as the two walked off to their destination. "So where's Spike?" Asked Matt "He happens to be over at Rarity's helping her out." Said Twilight "Man he sure does spend a lot of time with Rarity." Said Matt "Yeah, I think he has a crush on Rarity. I'm not sure if Rarity knows about it." Said Twilight "Yeah, I remember when I had a crush on an older girl back when I was his age. But besides Spike, you never told me what we're seeing?" Said Matt "Oh, I want it to be a surprise. But I know you'll like it." Said Twilight She gave him a nervous smile. Matt raised his eyebrow to her but shrugged it off. It didn't take more than a few minutes to reach the large field that faced the large projection screen. Ponies were already staking out their place. Twilight pointed it an open area, and the two walked over to it. She set down the basket and pulled the picnic blanket out of the basket and placed it over the ground. The two sat down as Twilight began to pull out of plates of covered foods. She set them down between them. "You sure made a lot of food." Said Matt "Yeah, I didn't know what to bring, so I decided to bring a little of everything I thought you might like." Said Twilight "Well, everything looks good, Twilight." Said Matt "Thank you; I had Spike help me cook it all up. I'm not all that good when it comes to cooking." Said Twilight "Same here, but I'm not all that bad. In truth, the only one who can't cook is Alice. Now if you want to see how inedible you can make food, look no further than Alice." Said Matt "She's that bad?" Asked Twilight "Trust me Twilight any day Alice isn't cooking is a good day." Said Matt "Well, you'll have to tell me how good my cooking is, and no worries, I made sure everything here is something you can eat." Said Twilight "You're too kind, Twilight." Said Matt Twilight blushed a little before the two began to dig into the food as they made minor chit chat as they waited for the movie to begin. It wasn't long before the film started to appear on the screen. "So mind telling me what we're about to see." Said Matt "Well, a romantic comedy. I'm not sure if you're into movies like that, but I heard it was a great movie and a must see." Said Twilight "So, what is it about?" Asked Matt "A unicorn mare who falls in love with a male griffon." Said Twilight "Sounds interesting. I guess we'll see if it's worth our time." Said Matt Twilight smiled as she looked up at the screen as the movie began to play. As the night continued, Twilight pulled out a light blanket for her and Matt. She scooted over to Matt and wrapped the blanket around him and scooted closer to him. She blushed a little from how close she was to him. She seemed happy with it but felt her face go even more flushed when Matt pulled her closer. She looked up at him as he looked down at her and smiled before moving his attention back to the movie. She smiled as she snuggled up to him. "So I have to ask, do you miss home?" Asked Twilight "I do now and then. There are times where I miss something back on Earth, but I can live without it. So I guess I don't miss as much as I would have thought I would." Said Matt "Glad to hear." Twilight paused as she decided on her next question, "Matt, can I ask you something personal." "Sure." Said Matt "Are you and Alice dating?" Asked Twilight Matt laughed a little, causing Twilight to raise her eyebrow and cock her head, "You aren't the first to say that. Yeah, Alice and I are close, but we aren't a couple. Alice happens to be a lesbian. Sure she jokes that she would go bi to have sex with me. But she strongly prefers women." Twilight smiled a little hearing that. "So any reason why you asked that question." Twilight turned up to Matt, "Oh, I was just wondering since you two seem close." "Well, she is my closet friend, and she's been there to help me raise Abby. But that doesn't answer my question." He looked down to see Twilight turning away with a slight blush on her cheeks. He grabbed her head and brought it towards him, so their eyes met. "Twilight come on you can tell me. What's on your mind?" She felt his thumb gently run across her cheek. She sighed as she wasn't sure what to do here. She didn't know how to proceed, even though she was happy to hear Matt was single, which was one of her hopes for tonight. She gave another sigh as she gave him her answer. "I think it's better if I show you." Said Twilight She got closer to Matt as the world seemed to stop for the two of them. There was no movie going on in front of them, and no one else around them. It was only them. The two looked loveling into each other's eyes. Both sparkled as the movie shined light upon them. Twilight moved her lips ever so slowly towards Matt's. He didn't push her away but instead brought his closer. They could feel their hot breath on each other. "Matt." Said Twilight She inched her lips forward and pressed them against his. The sensation of their connected lips sent shivers down each of there spines. Neither felt off from kissing the other; to them, it felt completely right. They each knew in there hearts this was right. They broke the kiss and stared lovingly into each other's eyes. "So I guess that's your answer, huh." Said Matt "Yeah, I love you, Matt Summers. I've wanted to tell you for some time, so I decided today would be the day after I got confirmation." Said Twilight "And I love you, Twilight Sparkle." Said Matt The two shared another sweet kiss before turning back to the movie, which now seemed to fit them quite well since he was a human who loved a unicorn. Twilight laid her head on Matt's shoulder and interlocked her right hand with his left hand. Matt pulled her close to him. He pressed his lips against her forehead as they sat snuggled together watching the movie. *** "So did you enjoy the movie?" Asked Twilight The movie had finished ten minutes ago, and the two were making there way back to their homes. Matt decided that he would walk Twilight back to her place before heading back to his. Twilight had the blanket covering her as she carried the basket. Matt walked next to her. "It wasn't half bad, but it was cheesy at a few points." Said Matt "Please, that's what makes it good." Said Twilight "If you say so, Twi." Said Matt She rolled her eyes before giggling. Soon the two of them saw them closing in on her home. The two stopped as Twilight and Matt looked at each other. "So I guess this is the end." Said Matt "Seems like it, but I did enjoy spending time with you as well as our kisses." Said Twilight "Yeah, I quite enjoyed them as well. So how about it, want to go out again maybe sometime next week. We can make that our first official date." Said Matt "Wasn't tonight our first date," said Twilight a giggle. "Well, wouldn't call it a date since we weren't in a relationship." Said Matt Twilight rolled her eyes of how technical Matt was being but giggled anyways. "To answer your question before, yes I would like to go out with you again. I'll see when I'm open, and we can plan something. I'm thinking of dinner together." "Sounds good to me." Said Matt The two looked each other before Matt moved up to her and planted another kiss on lips. Twilight moaned happily at the touch of his skin lips to her fur covered ones. Matt felt shivers run down his spine from the sensation of Twilight's fur on his lips. The two broke off their kiss before they went into a hug, and Twilight used her magic to open the door and step inside. She waved goodbye to Matt as he did the same. Once the door was closed, he walked away. Twilight watched from the front window as Matt walked away before he started to do a little dance seemed extremely happy. She couldn't help but laugh and cheer herself. *** Matt yawned as he stepped into the house. He opened and closed the front door as he stretched out his body, ready to go up and hit the hay after an exciting day. Man, what a day today has been. I got to spend time with Twilight, feel her confess her love for me, and we might be heading out on a new date next week or so. He began to make his way upstairs and went towards his room. "How was it?" He turned to see Alice leaning against the door frame of her room. She was wearing an overly large shirt. Matt could also see Renamon fast asleep on her side of the bed. "It was good." Said Matt "Good, that's all you have to say." Matt nodded his head up and down. "So nothing juicy happened between you and Twilight." Matt nodded his head back and forth. "Please, I know your lying to me. You can't tell me that Twilight wasn't planning anything by taking you out to a romantic movie, and here you say nothing happened. Well, that's a bunch of bull, so tell me, what happened?" "You sure are persistent." Said Matt "Of course, I mean you're practically attached to that mare. I swear if you have a minute, your usually spending it with Twilight or with Cresent when you're not with Twilight. Then when you're not spending time with them, you're usually here. From that, I know that you have some feelings towards the personal student of the princess. So fess up, what happened?" Said Alice "Well, she asked me if you and I were a couple. I laughed as usual and told her that you're a lesbian. I tried to seek why she asked that question, I had a theory why she asked me out to the movie, but I wasn't sure. Well, one thing led to another, and well, we kissed. And to tell the truth, it wasn't half bad. Her lips were soft against mine, and even though fur covered them, it never felt strange or off-putting." Said Matt "So what's next?" Asked Alice "I guess to see where it goes from here. We're planning on going out sometime next week for a dinner date." Said Matt "I'm happy to see she made the first move because I know you wouldn't have if she gave you some excuse why she was asking a question about our status. Now here's a question for you, why Twilight over April. April is human like you, but instead, you went towards the species of Equestria, can I ask why." Said Alice Matt chewed at the inside of his right cheek, a telltale sign he was thinking. "I guess it's that I don't think it's right to pursue April just because she's human. I don't think there's anything wrong with me going out and dating a mare or any female in this world. From what little I've read on Equestria culture, it's quite common to find a couple of different species together, since Equestria is excepting of all creatures." Said Matt "I guess that makes sense, but you might never have a human child with Twilight when the time comes to make a family with her, hell who knows even if you can get her pregnant while she's in heat." Said Alice "True, but I'll worry about that when we cross that bridge. For now, I want to see where this goes before I start thinking about family." Said Matt "I guess that's true. Well, I'm happy to see you got yourself a girlfriend. Well, see you in the morning." Said Alice "Night, Alice." Said Matt He slipped into his room and threw his shirt into his dirty clothes pile. He yawned and stretched as he maneuvered around Guilmon and picked up Gomamon, who groaned in annoyance, before setting him down again and slipping under the covers to sleep. The second his head hit his pillow he began to fall right to sleep.
Chapter 10 - Dragon, Cat, & WizardDragon, Cat, & Wizard It was yet another peaceful day in Ponyville. Nothing out of the ordinary was happening. Matt and Mayor Mare were hard at work, putting the finishing touches on new legal documents. Alice was running around Sugar Cube Corner trying to make it yet another lunch rush with Pinkie working hard in the back with Renamon trying to keep up with the orders. April was out painting with Biyomon sitting next to her watching April work. Abby was lounging at home with Cresent, Terriermon, and Lopmon. She was trying to relax as much as she could before school started. And finally James at his construction job with Gaomon working on a building. He got hired a week ago, and it seemed to suit him quite well. Not mentioning the pay wasn't all that bad. But all of that was about to go to the wayside, as today, would be another one of those days — a day where the fate of Equestria was once again in jeopardy. Celestia would soon once again call upon her student and her friends to once again save the day and keep Equestria safe. But they weren't the only ones who would also seek out this new threat. *** Gatomon bit into the apple in front of her. She chewed it a bit, taking in the flavor that came from the red fruit. Never before had she tasted anything like it in the digital world. She savored every bit of it before swallowing. A shiver of pleasure ran down her spine as the delicious apple hit her stomach. She took around bite before she heard something coming towards her. She primed her right hand and readied her claws to strike. She kept her pose until she saw it was her friend, Wizardmon back with a few more apples. "Oh, Wizardmon, you're back." She said "Yes, and I brought more of this delicious fruit from that nearby orchard." Said Wizardmon "I'll say, I've never tasted anything so sweet and savory in my life." Said Gatomon *** Mean while at Sweet Apple Arcers Applejack scratched her head as she looked at a few bare trees. She couldn't understand how trees that once had apples on them no longer had apples on them. Her mind continued to work as she tried to figure where some of her crops went. I know, for a fact, Big Mac didn't harvest these trees yesturday. She scratched her head, wondering about the whole ordeal. *** Back to Gatomon and Wizardmon "I'm glad we found that orchard, I thought I was going to starve to death before we found any food." Said Gatomon "Yes, but do you think it's right to steal from those trees, Gatomon. How do we know that other Digimon aren't using those trees for food themselves or to feed a village of Digimon." Said Wizardmon "Well, I would say no to the Digimon theory, Wizardmon, seeing as we haven't seen any other Digimon since we woke up a week ago in that strange forest. But I doubt anybody would care if we took a few apples. Did you see how many trees covered that orchard, I doubt they would miss a tree or two of apples." Said Gatomon "I guess so." Said Wizardmon He lowered the front of his shirt to expose this half sowed mouth as he took a bite. Gatomon took a bite of another apple as she looked at the sky to see black smoke starting to fill it. Wizardmon happened to look up and see Gatomon looking up at the sky. "Has something caught your eye, Gatomon." Said Wizardmon "Yeah, look up." Said Gatomon Wizardmon looked up to see the black smoke beginning to fill the air. "What is causing that?" Asked Wizardmon The two Digimon followed the trail of smoke to a mountain. "I wonder what upon that mountain would be causing that much smoke." Said Wizardmon "Who knows, it might be a Meramon." Said Gatomon "You may be right; I believe we should go and investigate it. We might find some more Digimon and get an answer as to how we got here and where we are." Said Wizardmon "Right Wizardmon, let's head out." Said Gatomon The two Digimon ran off towards the mountain in hopes of finding out answers to their burning questions. *** "What in the name of all things cinnamon swirled is a full-grown dragon doing here in Equestria?" Asked Applejack After Twilight had pointed out to everypony the black smoke was coming from a dragon, she gathered all of her friends. "Sleeping." Said Twilight "What?" Asked James "According to Princess Celestia, he's taking a nap. His snoring is what's causing all of this smoke." Said Twilight "He should see a doctor about that. I'm sure that isn't healthy." Said Pinkie Alice turned to Matt, "Reminds me of that Samarui Jack episode where he has to deal with that farting dragon." "Sure seems to be the same." Said Matt "At least he isn't snoring fire." Said Rarity "I hate to see that. But what does the Princess want us to do about it?" Asked James "Easy we go up and there and give him the boot," said Rainbow as she showed off a few fighting moves. Twilight sighed, "No, we need to encourage him to nap elsewhere. Princess Celestia believes we are the most qualified to undergo this mission, and we can't fail her. If we do, smoke will cover Equestria for the next hundred years." Everyone gasped in the room upon hearing that. "Shit." Said James "Talk about your beauty sleep." Said Rarity "So why are we going?" Asked April "In case something that needs us to use our Digimon, and if things go bad, to use them to make the dragon leave." Said Matt "Alright everypony, I need to you gather supplies for our journey. We got a long journey ahead of us. Let's meet back here in an hour to head out." Said Twilight "You heard, Twilight, the fate of Equestria is in our hands. Now, do we have what it takes?" Said Rainbow Everybody nodded before heading out the door. Everyone went towards there homes and gathered everything they needed. It wasn't long before they arrived once again, ready for the journey ahead of them. "Alright, listen up." Twilight began to walk down the line of ponies, humans, and Digimon. "I'm mapping out the fastest route, but we've all got to keep a good pace if we expect to make it up to the mountain by nightfall." Fluttershy turned to the mountain where the black smoke was coming from it. She shivered in fear as Twilight once again continued her speech. "The dragon is sleeping at the top of that mountain in a cave," said Twilight pointing to the top of the mountain. Everyone turned to look at the top of the mountain where the smoke was coming out. "Damn we have to go all the way up there." Said James "Looks pretty cold up there." Said Applejack "Yeah, the higher you go, the colder it gets." Rainbow "Damn, if I had known that I would have packed for the cold." Said James "Good thing I packed my scarf." Said Rarity Rarity put down her bag and proceeded to pull out a scarf from her bag and tie it around her neck. "That looks pretty, Rarity." Said Abby "Yeah." Said Pinkie "Oh, that will keep you quite warm." Said Rainbow Matt was looking at the top of the mountain as he chewed the inside of his cheeks. Alice walked up to him as she could see he was thinking about something. "What's on your mind?" Asked Alice "Thinking about the mission." Said Matt "Worries about what we might find up there." Said, Alice "A little, I'm not sure if three champion level Digimon can handle a full-grown dragon if we have to force him to move." Said Matt "Yeah, but we have to put our faith in that Kyubimon, Growlmon, and Gaogamon. Not to mention, Biyomon and Gomamon might digivolve in her champion forms, giving us a hand in battle. But I doubt we'll have to do that when we got Fluttershy on our side." Said, Alice "Are you sure we should bring her?" The two looked at James coming up to them, "I mean, have you seen Fluttershy? She's the most scared pony we have ever met." The three looked over to see Fluttershy jumping into a bush. James gestured to her, "See what I mean." "She's just a little nervous about the mission." The three humans put their attention to Twilight. "Now we have done enough standing around. We need to get moving and get that dragon out of our lands." Everyone nodded, knowing what was next for them. Matt hugged his sister and told her to be good and stay safe. He believed the mission wasn't right for her. He asked Terriermon and Lopmon to keep her safe while she remained at the library with Spike until they got back. The two Digimon nodded their heads. After that, she and Spike watched as the other ran towards the mountain, dragging Fluttershy with them. They completely ignored her screaming as they carried her off towards the foot of the mountain. *** "Now that's steep." Said James The group was looking at the mountain as they stood at the foot of it. Soon the ground around them shook along with the mountain itself. "Whoa! What was that?" Asked Applejack "I believe that was the dragon snoring." Said Twilight "Damn that sure was powerful." Said James "Well, we sure do have a climb to get to the top." Said, Alice "Yeah, and it's so high up." Said Fluttershy "Well, it is a mountain. Now, I'm going to head up and check things out." Said Rainbow "Now hold on," Applejack took hold of her tail and pulled her back. Rainbow yipped and had a slight blush covering her face. "We should go up together. There is safety in numbers." "She's right, Rainbow." Said Matt "Alright." Said Rainbow The group began to scale the side of the mountain. Gomamon rested on top of Matt's head with Guilmon next to him as Matt walked next to Twilight. Renamon, Gaomon, and Biyomon had no problem walking up the mountain. Cresent and Rainbow flew next to the group. "Ddi you all know that the jewels a dragon build their homes with sparkle more than there scales? Oh, I bet if I play my cards right, maybe I could get a few of them." Said Rarity "Welcome to my cave Rarity, would you like a diamond," said Pinkie imitating a dragon. The others began to laugh at Pinkie's joke. "This isn't a laughing matter." Everyone sighed and began to continue on their adventure up the mountain. "Fluttershy, you're the animal expert, what do you think the dragon will be like?" Fluttershy didn't answer Twilight's question or even speak up to her, "Fluttershy." Everyone turned and saw that Fluttershy was still on the ground. "You have to be kidding me. She's still on the ground." Said James "Hey, what are you waiting for, an invitation?" Asked Rainbow "Oh, I think I might have one." Said Pinkie She disappeared for a few seconds before she returned with an invitation in hand and streamers going off, covering Rainbow and Rarity. Alice giggled a little at Pinkie's antics. "But it's far to steep for me." Said Fluttershy "Of course, it's a cliff. But you don't have to walk, oh because you happen to have a pair of wings," said Rainbow gesturing to her wings. "Yeah flap those wings of yours Fluttershy." Said Pinkie "Yeah, you can do it, Fluttershy." Said April "Ok, I'll give it a try." Said Fluttershy She stepped out of her hiding place and began to flap her wings and ascend into the air. "That's it, Fluttershy." Said Matt But that all came to an end when the dragon once again snored, causing Fluttershy's wings to fold back against her back, causing her to fall back to the ground. She crashed into the bush she was once hiding behind. "What?!" Screamed James "We don't have time for this." Said Twilight "Can I have the map, Twilight." Said Applejack "Sure, but why do you need it?" Asked Twilight as she gave Applejack the map. "Because I need to know where to go if I'm going to take her around a different way." Said Applejack Applejack gave the map back to Twilight and slid her way back down the side of the mountain towards the ground level. "But that'll take them forever." Said Rainbow "I'm going to agree with Rainbow here." Said James Applejack reached the ground as Fluttershy was trying to free wings from her back. Then the dragon snored once more, causing Fluttershy to flip herself onto her back. "Alice, follow Applejack and make sure they're safe." Said Matt "Not a bad idea. Let's go, Renamon." Said, Alice The two slid down the mountain and met up with Applejack and Fluttershy. "No worries, Twilight, we'll be there lickety-split." Said Applejack "Be safe." Said Matt "No worries, we'll be." Said, Alice The two groups split off heading there sperate ways. *** "How high is this mountain?" Asked Gatomon The two Digimon had made it up a good portion of the mountain. Gatomon looked up to where the top was. Wizardmon huffed as he stood next to Gatomon. The two felt the mountain shake as the dragon snored once more. Gatomon and Wizardmon got themselves together after the shaking stopped. "There must be a powerful Digimon resting upon the top of this mountain." Said Wizardmon "Yeah, by the sounds I would bet either an ultimate or mega level Digimon." Said Gatomon Soon, her ears began to pick up a sound, "Hide!" The two Digimon jumped behind a tree and peeked past it towards the path before them. "What's up, Gatomon?" Asked Wizardmon "I hear something coming." Said Gatomon The two watched as Alice, Renamon, and Applejack carrying Fluttershy on her back came towards them. "What are those furry creatures?" Asked Wizardmon "I recognize the human and the Digimon as Renamon. But I have no idea what Digimon those furry creatures are." Said Gatomon "How are you doing, Applejack?" Asked Alice "I'm doing fine." Said Applejack "So it's an Applejack Digimon, but I never heard of such a Digimon." Said Wizardmon "Maybe it's a new species." Said Gatomon The two finished their conversation and turned back to the group. "You sure, I can carry Fluttershy a while." Said Renamon "I got it, Renamon. Now, let's keep moving. We have to meet up with the others if we're going to reach the top before it gets dark." Said Applejack The small group continued to follow the path. Once they were out of sight, Gatomon and Wizardmon came out of hiding. "It seems they're heading to the same place we are." Said Gatomon "So I'm guessing we're going to follow them." Said Wizardmon "Of course, better than us getting lost out here." Said Gatomon Wizardmon nodded, and the two followed where the small group went off, but keeping to the shadows. *** The others sat around, waiting for Applejack, Fluttershy, Alice, and Renamon. Matt was leaning up against a rock with Twilight. Twilight had her head on his shoulder, enjoying her time with her new boyfriend. Guilmon and Gomamon rested next to him. Pinkie and Rarity were playing tick-tack-toe in the dirt. Rainbow was impatiently tapping her hoof on the ground. James rested on a rock, trying to find something to do. Gaomon leaned against the same rock. April was sketching the scene before her with Biyomon sitting next to her. Cresent was leaning against a rock, keeping her ears open for anything. Finally, the group heard something coming towards them. They all turned to see Alice, Renamon, who was carrying Fluttershy, and Applejack approaching them. "Finally, you arrive." Said Rainbow "Yeah, it took us a little longer than we thought." Said Applejack "Well, I guess Rainbow was right about them taking them forever to get to us." Said James "Ok, now that everyone is here, let's get moving. We've wasted enough time sitting around." Said Twilight Everyone nodded and began to move towards the summit of the mountain. Guilmon stopped and looked towards some shrubbery. His eyes went cat-like, and his ears stood on end. He began to growl. Matt stopped and looked back at Guilmon. "Guilmon, come on." Said Matt Guilmon didn't stop until a rabbit hopped out and looked up at him. Guilmon stopped and cocked his head to the side and watched the rabbit hop away. Matt chuckled a little at Guilmon's antics. "If you're down staring down that rabbit, let's get moving. We need to catch up with the others." Said Matt Guilmon looked back at the bushes and cocked his head before running to catch up with Matt and the others. Gatomon and Wizardmon poked their heads up and nodded to each other as they ran to catch up with the group. The group continued to move at a constant pace but made sure to check to see if Fluttershy was behind them. Twilight studied the map with Matt and pointed out the way to him. The two nodded before reaching a ravine. James walked up, kicked a rock over the side, and watched as it fell towards the bottom. James whistled before they heard running and saw Rainbow run past them and leap over the ravine. She landed, looked over to the others, and waved them over. Matt picked up Gomamon, and Guilmon followed him. The two ran for it and leaped over the ravine. Twilight followed suit along with Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie. Alice and Renamon went next. Biyomon flew over to the other side as April jumped for it. The final one to make the jump was Fluttershy. "Come on, Fluttershy. You're the last one." Said Twilight "But that ravine is so wide." Said Fluttershy "Oh, you have to be kidding me." Said James "Fluttershy, everything is ok. We made it just fine, and so can you." Said Matt "Yeah, we don't have much further to go." Said Twilight "Leap over it like the rest of us, Fluttershy." Said Applejack "But I don't think I can." Said Fluttershy "Fluttershy you have to jump, any other way will set us back." Said Twilight "I don't know if I can." Said Fluttershy "Nothing to be afraid of, Fluttershy. It's only a hop, skip, and a jump." Said Pinkie "Why do I feel like she's going to start singing." Said James "Because she is." Said, Alice "It's not very far. Just move your little rump. You can make it if you try with a hop, skip, and jump." Sang Pinkie as she jumped back and forth over the ravine. "We don't have time for this." Said Twilight "A hop, skip and jump. Just move your little rump. A hop, skip, and jump. A hop, skip, and jump. A hop, skip, and jump. A hop, skip, and jump. A hop, skip, and jump!" Sang Pinkie "Okay, here I go. A hop," said Fluttershy, making a hop. "That's it." Said Applejack "You've got it." Said Twilight "Almost there, dear." Said Rarity "A skip." Said Fluttershy "Just don't look down." Said Twilight Fluttershy happened to turn her gaze down towards the world below. She suddenly couldn't jump over, but luckily, the ravine wasn't too long, as she could catch the edge of it. "Why did you say that?" Asked Matt "Sorry," said Twilight, rubbing the back of her neck. Matt grabbed Fluttershy's hand and pulled her over to the other side. "I guess I forgot to jump." Said Fluttershy The group began to make their way towards the summit, but Guilmon again stopped and growled at the other side. Matt stopped and looked at his Digimon partner. "Oh, not this again." Said Gomamon Matt walked up to him, "What's up, boy?" "Something's following us." Said Guilmon "What like that bunny from before," said Gomamon with a smug grin. "No, what I felt before we came up here." Said Guilmon Matt looked around and saw two shadows running towards the edge of the other side and making a jump over the ravine. But one of the shadows didn't make it all the way and began to slip over the edge. Matt's instinct to help meant running toward the two unknown creatures. Guilmon and Gomamon behind him. "Help me, Gatomon!" Exclaimed Wizardmon Gatomon turned to look at Wizardmon, holding onto the mountain's edge for dear life. "Hold on, Wizardmon!" Screamed Gatomon Gatomon ran to save her friend, but Wizardmon's grip began to fail, and he started to fall back to the world below. Gatomon reached the edge but missed grabbing her friend. "Wizardmon!" Screamed Gatomon Gatomon could only watch her friend begin to plummet to his death, but Matt appeared in time and grabbed Wizardmon's hand. "I got you." Said Matt Guilmon and Gomamon held Matt's backpack as they pulled him up from the ravine. Matt pulled Wizardmon back from the opening and back to solid ground. He fell on his ass as he sighed. "Wizardmon, I thought I lost you forever!" Exclaimed Gatomon She ran up and hugged Wizardmon. He patted her back, "Yes, I thought the same until this stranger saved me." The two looked at Matt as he brushed the dirt off his clothes, "Thank you, stranger." "No problem, I couldn't leave someone hanging. Matt, Matt Summers, and behind me are my Digimon, Guilmon, and Gomamon." "I'm Wizardmon." "And I'm Gatomon." "You both don't happen to be Digimon?" Asked Matt "Yes, we are, and we know you're a human." Said Wizardmon "What?! How?" Asked Matt "We Digimon always knew about your species. Many humans, throughout our history, have come to our world." Said Wizardmon "Interesting, well, what brings two Digimon up here." Said Matt "That," Gatomon pointed to the smoke. "We were hoping to figure out what Digimon is causing all that smoke. Along with maybe figuring out more about where we are." Said Gatomon "I don't want to burst your bubble, but there's no Digimon up there. At the summit of that mountain is a sleeping dragon who's snoring, which is causing all the black smoke, and I assure you it isn't a Digimon." Said Matt "What!" Screamed both Digimon "Yeah." Said Gomamon "Interesting." Said Wizardmon "But isn't this the digital world?" Asked Gatomon "No, you're in a country called Equestria." Said Matt "He's right." Said Guilmon "So we aren't the digital world anymore. But then, how did we get here?" Asked Wizardmon "I was going to ask the same question. Seeing that the only other Digimon I've seen are the ones my friends have as partners." Said Matt "Well, all we remember is things going black and waking up a week ago not far from an orchard." Said Gatomon "Interesting." Matt tapped his fingers as he mulled Gatomon's words, "I guess that explains Applejack's missing apples." "Matt, where are you!" Screamed Alice "I'm coming, Alice!" He turned to look back at the two new Digimon, "Look, you're already up here. Why not follow my friends and help us move the dragon away? Then maybe we can figure out your whole situation." Gatomon and Wizardmon looked at each other before looking behind them, "Well, I guess since you did save my friend, and we're already up here, I don't see why not." "I agree with Gatomon; it's the least we can do for you." Said Wizardmon Matt nodded and followed them back to the larger group. Once he got back, everyone looked at him. "Where were you, Matt?" Asked Alice "Saving someone." Said Matt He revealed the two Digimon behind him and told them how he meant them and that they were also going to the same place. The group once again moved towards the summit. They continued until they entered an area that looked far more dangerous than the other parts of the mountain. "Alright, let's keep it down, everypony. We're entering an avalanche zone, and even the smallest peep could cause a rock slide." Whispered Twilight "What?! Why would you take us through an avalanche zone?" Whispered James "Because it's the fastest way. And if we keep our voices down, we'll be fine." Said Twilight The group stayed quiet, making sure not to make too much noise so as not to cause a rock slide. The group looked up at the jutting rocks sitting on the cliff, each of them always aware of their surroundings. But their peace wouldn't last long as Rainbow flew under a tree, causing a leaf to fall onto Fluttershy's head. She began to freak out and started to scream. AVALAN..." But Applejack stopped her by covering her mouth. The sound of Fluttershy's voice echoed around the area. Everybody looked around to see if her scream had caused an avalanche, but nothing happened. They all sighed, only for that to quickly disappear as the ground shook and rocks began to fall from the mountain. "Oh, fuck!" Screamed James "AVALANCHE!" Screamed everyone else "Head of the other side!" Screamed Matt The rocks started to come down upon the group. The ponies and humans did all they could to dodge them while Guilmon, Renamon, Gaomon, and Gatomon worked on destroying the falling rocks, trying to mitigate the problem. After destroying another rock, Gatomon landed on the ground and saw Fluttershy running for her life and a large rock coming for her. Gatomon went into overdrive, heading towards Fluttershy. She leaped into the air right above Fluttershy as the rock was about to strike her. Fluttershy could only watch as the rock came right down towards her. But she couldn't believe her eyes when she saw Gatomon appear before her with her legs outstretched. "Cat kick." Said Gatomon She landed a powerful kick to the center of the rock, which shattered into pieces. She landed on the ground and looked back at Fluttershy. "You saved me." Said Fluttershy "Yeah, I could let you get hurt." Said Gatomon "Well, thank you, Gatomon." Said Fluttershy Wizardmon came running up to them, clearly out of breath, "I think...we...should save...the conversations...for later." Gatomon and Fluttershy nodded as they got up and ran for it. It wasn't long until it was all over, and everyone was coughing as the smoke cleared the area from the rock slide. Matt helped Twilight to her feet after saving her from a falling rock. Everybody else was also getting to their feet. "You ok?" He asked "Yeah, no thanks to you, Matt." She kissed him on the cheek before looking at the others. "Alright, how's everypony doing?" "What do you mean, how are we doing?! We nearly got fucking killed!" James then turned to Fluttershy, "And you're the reason why!" "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for that to happen." Said Fluttershy "Sorry, that's all you have to say after you nearly killed us!" Exclaimed James Fluttershy hid behind her mane, trying to hide that she was starting to cry. "Hey, ease up on the girl. She didn't mean to cause that avalanche." Said Gatomon "Yeah, James, ease up." Said Gaomon "Is no else seeing that bringing Fluttershy on this mission was a big mistake. I could tolerate her when we started this trip, but not anymore. You are a completely worthless Fluttershy! I'm not sure anypony would want to be your friend!" Said James Everyone gasped and soon heard crying coming from Fluttershy. Gatomon looked at the butter-yellow Pegasus now with tears streaming down her face. She couldn't explain why she was starting to feel rage for what the human, named James, had said to Fluttershy. She had only met the Pegasus a few minutes ago, but deep within her, she felt a connection to Fluttershy. "James, that was way too far." Said Applejack "Way too far. She nearly killed us all." Said James "True darling, but she never meant for it." Said Rarity "Yeah, James." Said Gaomon "Ok, that's enough. We've hit some rough patches, but let's not start getting at each other's throats. All we have to do is climb over our new obstacle, and we'll be at the cave entrance, where we'll get the dragon to leave." Said Matt "I'm surprised you're not fuming with rage seeing that Fluttershy nearly caused the death of your friend and your girlfriend." Said James "Yes, I'm mad, but I know it wasn't Fluttershy's fault. Anyone of us could have caused an avalanche." Said Matt "Whatever you say." Said James "I never meant for that to happen." Said Fluttershy "I bet." Muttered James Pinkie hugged her crying friend, "Don't listen to that big meanie, Fluttershy. We know you would never hurt us." Pinkie turned and glared at James for a second before working on calming Fluttershy down. "Whatever, let's go. I want to get this over with and forget about this whole day." Said James James began to make his way over the mound of dirt and rocks as Gaomon followed. The others followed behind him, leaving Fluttershy in the back with Wizardmon and Gatomon. Gatomon ushered Wizardmon to go ahead of her, and she would follow once she got Fluttershy back together. She looked up at Fluttershy as she wiped away her tears. "Don't listen to that idiot." Said Gatomon Fluttershy sat on the ground, still slightly crying, "But he's right. I nearly caused the death of all my friends." "Matt said that any one of us could have caused that avalanche. Plus, you never meant to do it." Said Gatomon "But what if somepony did get hurt because of me? What if my actions did cause somepony's death? James was right. I am worthless, and I don't deserve such good friends." Said Fluttershy Gatomon saw Fluttershy beginning to cry once more. She sighed, trying to figure out how to calm her down. Finally, she decided on a way. She wrapped her arms around Fluttershy and gave her a warm, loving hug. "Fluttershy, you never meant for any of that to happen. Accidents happen to us all, and we never intend them to happen, but they do. All we can do is learn from those mistakes and move on. Your friends understand that and won't think of you any differently." Said Gatomon "But what about James?" Asked Fluttershy "Forget him." Said Gatomon "But." Said Fluttershy "No, butts Fluttershy. Ignore what that idiot human said. He was only venting his frustration. He'll come to his senses and realize what he said." Said Gatomon "I guess, but what if he never does? What if he hates me for the rest of his life?" Asked Fluttershy "Fluttershy, he's only one guy. You saw that your friends still care deeply about you, and that is what matters most." Said Gatomon Fluttershy smiled at the cat Digimon as she wiped away her tears. She smiled as she brought Gatomon into a hug. Gatomon was a little surprised by the action but didn't push her away. She wrapped her arms around Fluttershy. Fluttershy set Gatomon down after she finished hugging her. "So Gatomon, why did you stay and decided to cheer me up instead of going with the others?" Asked Fluttershy "I'm entirely sure, but I had this feeling deep inside me that I was meant to be here for you. So here I am." Said Gatomon Before Fluttershy could ask any more questions, a mighty roar filled the air. Fluttershy knew that roar was from none other than the dragon. She started to shake in the fear but realized that her friends might be in trouble. She began to take flight and grabbed Gatomon and flew towards the cave. When she arrived to see a large adult red dragon staring down her friends, she could see Gaomon, Guilmon and Renamon looked exhausted meaning that the dragon already beat them in their champion forms. "It looks like your friends are in trouble." Said Gatomon "Yes, and I think it's time I stop being a scaredy-cat and do what I do best." Said Fluttershy "Which is?" Asked Gatomon "Dealing with misbehaving animals." Said Fluttershy "Then let's go!" Exclaimed Gatomon The dragon growled as it looked at the helpless group. They had no way to push back the dragon, as it showed it could deal with three champion level Digimon. All seemed lost until a female voice pierced the dragon's growls. "You big meanie!" The group looked to see Fluttershy flying down and landing on the face of the dragon and dropping Gatomon next to her. "How dare you hurt my friends. Just because of your size doesn't mean you get to be a bully." Everyone couldn't believe their ears or eyes as they heard the timid Fluttershy speak out against the dragon. "You may have huge teeth, sharp scales, and snore smoke, and breath fire. But you do not - I repeat - do not! Hurt! My! FRIENDS! You got that!" The dragon whimpered under the glare of Fluttershy. "Yeah, you messed with the wrong group of friends, big boy." Said Gatomon "Who is that, and what did she do with Fluttershy?" Asked James "That's our Fluttershy." Said Twilight "Well, what do you have to say for yourself." Said Fluttershy "But that Rainbow one hit me." Said the dragon "Holy shit it can talk!" Exclaimed James Fluttershy peeked back at the rainbow-maned Pegasus as she gave Fluttershy an embarrassed smile, "And I'm very sorry for that. She tends to not think before she acts, like another individual I know." She paused as she and Gatomon looked back at James. He looked away, trying to keep his gaze from the Digimon and butter yellow Pegasus. "But you're bigger than her, and you should know better. You should also know better than to take a nap where your snoring can become a health hazard to other creatures." "But I..." But Fluttershy cut him off. "Don't give me any butts, mister. Now, what do you have to say for yourself?" The dragon was silent before Fluttershy got real close to him, "I'll repeat myself, what do you have to say for yourself?" Suddenly the dragon began to cry. The group down below started to get showered in its tears. "I find this all so wrong and disgusting." Said James Fluttershy patted his head, "There, there. There is no need to cry. You're not a bad dragon. You just made a bad decision. Now pack your stuff and find a new place to sleep." The dragon nodded his head as Fluttershy picked up Gatomon and flew back to the ground. The dragon wasted no time collecting his jewels and gold and flying off. Rarity whined a little that she didn't get a single diamond or gemstone from the dragon. Fluttershy landed on the ground and got embraced by her friends. "You did it, Fluttershy." Said Twilight "We never doubted you could." Said Applejack "I guess we did need you after all." Said Rainbow Fluttershy laughed but saw James looking away from her. She hid her face behind her mane as everyone's attention went to James. He looked at all the faces staring at him. He turned away, trying to ignore there gazing stares. Gaomon pushed him forward and gestured towards Fluttershy. He sighed as he knew it was the right thing and nobody was going to let him get off scot-free after what he said to Fluttershy. "Listen, Fluttershy. I'm sorry for what I said. I had no reason to say those things to you. I guess all my frustration of having to deal with you, finally exploded. I knew you never meant to cause that rock slide back there, but I guess it was the straw that broke the camel's back. I'm sorry for what I said to you and hope that you can forgive me, and we can go back to the way things were." Said James "Listen, James. You said some pretty nasty things back there. I'm not sure if just an apology can make up what you said to me, but I'm happy to hear you say you're sorry. But I think it'll be some time before I can think of you as a friend again." Said Fluttershy "Oh." Said James Fluttershy walked up and placed her hand on his shoulder, "But that doesn't mean we can't try again. Maybe in time, we'll be back where we were before this whole ordeal." Said Fluttershy "I would like that Fluttershy." Said James James brought her into a hug; Fluttershy smiled and returned. "Air please!" Screamed Gatomon Fluttershy pulled back, totally forgetting about Gatomon, "Sorry Gatomon, I forgot I was still holding you." "Yeah, and I told you he would realize what he did and come around." Said Gatomon "Yeah, and thanks again Gatomon for being there for me." Said Fluttershy "You're welcome, Fluttershy." Said Gatomon Fluttershy and Gatomon seemed to connect. That's when a bright light appeared before Fluttershy. Everyone watched as the orb of light slowly drifted towards Fluttershy. She outstretched her hand, and the light landed on it. Once the light touched her fur, it exploded and revealed a pink colored digivice like the ones the humans have. Fluttershy looked at it as it showed a picture of Gatomon before it went dark. "Somebody tell me what just happened?" Asked James "It seems Gatomon is meant to be with Fluttershy, as her Digimon partner." Said Wizardmon Fluttershy examined the device in her hand as she looked at Gatomon who looked up at her. They both smiled at each other. "Well, it looks like you're stuck with me now, Fluttershy." Said Gatomon "It would seem that way." Said Fluttershy "Well that was completely unexpected, but I guess that's what we should all expect when it comes to living here. Now, I think it's time we make our way down the mountain and return home." Said Matt "I believe so, and I have an important letter to send Princess Celestia about what I learned about friendship today." Said Twilight "But what about you, Wizardmon." Wizardmon turned to April, "Where will you go since you don't have a tamer?" "If it wouldn't be too much, Fluttershy. I wish to stay with you and Gatomon. And I would also like to give my assistance in any way I can to help you all, even if I don't have a tamer." Said Wizardmon "Oh, you're more than welcome to live with me, Wizardmon. I don't mind it at all." Said Fluttershy Wizardmon smiled as the group began their descent down the mountain, though taking a different path instead of the one they took up. *** Spike ran around the house trying to deal with Angel Bunny, gripping how Fluttershy ever dealt with the little thing. Terriermon and Lopmon watched as the rabbit eluded Spike's grasp. Terriermon laughed every time Spike failed to tame Fluttershy's pet rabbit. Abby kept her head in a book, only poking up to watch Spike fail, giggling herself. Then they all heard the door open, and in came Twilight and Matt, along with his Digimon. "Spike I need you to take a letter." Said Twilight "Yes, ma'am." Said, Spike He tossed Angel away, and he hopped out the door, and Spike returned with a piece of paper and a quill. Meanwhile, Abby hugged her brother as he picked her up and held her tight. She wanted to hear all about his mission. They turned to Twilight as she cleared her throat before speaking, "Dear Princess Celestia, I am happy to report that the dragon has departed our fair country and that it was my good friend, Fluttershy, who convinced him to go. This adventure has taught me never to lose faith in your friends. They can be an amazing source of strength and can help you overcome even your greatest fears. Always your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle." Spike finished writing the letter, blew fire over it, and sent it off towards Princess Celestia. "Twilight, Matt, Spike, and Abby, you guys have tah come out here and see this." The three of them recognized it as Applejack's voice calling them. They approached the balcony and looked out to see Rainbow bouncing a ball on her head. Applejack looked up when she saw them, "She's just five away from a new pony record!" Rainbow continued to count until a roar of a dragon filled the air freaking her out. Everyone laughed at her, causing her to raise her eyebrow and look around frantically for the dragon. "Why are you all laughing?! That awful dragon is back!" Exclaimed Rainbow She turned as Pinkie was doing her dragon voice before joining in on the laughter. "Not funny Pinkie Pie. You scared me!" Rainbow paused as she realized what she said. "I mean... you made me lose my concentration." "It's okay, Rainbow. Not everypony can be as brave as me." Said Fluttershy Rainbow rolled her eyes as she pushed a falling leaf up into the air and had it land right on Fluttershy's head. She freaked out and flipped herself over and landed on her back. Gatomon sighed, "Well, we still have some work to do." Everyone went back to laughing as Gatomon worked on getting Fluttershy back to her usual self.
Chapter 11 - An Old Threat ReturnsSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
Chapter 12 - Following your HeartAuthor's Note Well, here you go, a new chapter for you all to enjoy. Now its off to start the next exciting chapter of Digital Equestria. So as always: comment, like, follow, share, and tell. See you all in the future. Also, if you have any favorite Digimon you want to see in the story, feel free to leave a comment and I'll work my magic to include it in the story. Chapter 12 - Following your Heart Following your Heart "I want to thank you again for coming out here with me." Matt chuckled at Crescent's enthusiasm. Matt and Crescent were standing in a line of ponies to enter a concert in Canterlot. Crescent a day ago asked Matt if he would come with her to a concert. Matt said he would love to go with Crescent, so here they were. They were going to stay the night at the castle, and Celestia was kind enough to allow them each a room in the castle. "Hey no problem, I'm not going to say no to spending time with one of my friends." Said Matt "I'm surprised since you wanted to come since you've been spending most of your time with Twilight." Said Crescent Crescent wasn't wrong. Matt had been spending most of his free time with Twilight. He wanted to ensure he was the best boyfriend for Twilight. Twilight never seemed to mind all the time Matt spent with her. Most of the time, it was the two talking about something intellectual or Twilight clarifying anything Matt didn't understand about pony culture. Other times Twilight would lean her head against his shoulder and enjoy his company as he read a book. "That is true; I guess I'm trying to make sure this relationship works." Said Matt "Well, you shouldn't fear not living up to being a good coltfriend. You and Twilight seem to be a perfect fit. Who knows maybe you'll decide to marry her and have cute foals together." Said Crescent Matt laughed nervously, "Crescent, that's sweet, but I don't think I'm ready to make that commitment yet." Crescent rolled her eyes as she looked back at the two bouncers watching the entrance to the area. Matt happened to see her tail wagging back and forth. He could also tell a slight blush clung to her face. Matt knew these were the tell-tale sign she wasn't starting to feel the effects of heat. Matt swallowed the lump in his throat as his thoughts went to the estrus cycle that wasn't far off from now. The males of Ponyville were already preparing their exit strategies to escape the mares. I hope the one me and James planned with Big Mac is going to work. Crescent turned to see Matt seemed a little flustered. "You ok?" She asked "Oh, I'm fine," he said with a nervous grin. She squinted her eyes at him, "You're lying." He sighed, "I guess I'm still a little nervous about my first estrus cycle here in Equestria. I can see the effects of estrus already starting to affect the mares of Ponyville, not mentioning here as well." Matt looked at the mares around him, "I'm not sure if James or I am ready for it all." Crescent placed her hand on his shoulder and gave him a warm smile, "Come on, you'll be fine. I'm sure you already worked everything out." Crescent looked around before leaning next to his ear, "But I bet Twilight wouldn't mind if you stayed in the library." Matt's face went red in a matter of seconds. His mind filling with dirty thoughts of a needy Twilight begging for him to end her heat. He could see Crescent holding back her laughs as he huffed. "Not funny, Crescent." He said "You should have seen how fast your face got red." She couldn't hold it anymore and burst out laughing. "Laugh it up." Said Matt Crescent got ahold of her herself, "Sorry that was inappropriate of me. But I guess I couldn't help myself." Matt rolled his eyes as he tried to keep his mind clean of any dirty thoughts of his girlfriend. But his mind did have many questions of how Twilight would look without her clothes. He felt his face started to darken again, and he was sure he was starting to pop a boner. Crap, need to get my mind off sexy Twilight. "So Crescent, what's the concert tonight?" Asked Matt "Oh, I forget to tell you. Well, we're about to see none other than one of the best heavy metal bands of all time, the Pony Knots." Said Crescent "Huh, I never pegged you liking heavy metal." Said Matt "Oh, yes, I am! I've been a Pony Knot's fan since I was a little filly. I can't say when I truly found my love for heavy metal. What about you, you a fan?" Said Crescent "Sure am, I may not look like it, but my phone is jammed pack with all the heavy metal bands of Earth." Said Matt "Well, I never would have thought you would be a metalhead as well. But I guess you never know until you see the pony's music collection." Said Crescent We both laughed as we turned to see the bouncers allowing ponies into the concert grounds. "Still looks like we'll be waiting a little longer." Said Matt "Yeah, so I've had a burning question for a while. What's up with wearing those broken goggles you wear?" Said Crescent Matt looked up at the goggles on his head. He pulled them off and looked at them. "I got these when I was ten years old as a present from my grandfather. He was a pilot before he passed away when I was twelve, and when my sister was four. I used to wear them when I rode my bike and pretend I was flying an airplane. I got into an accident on my bike and broke the right lens. I cried over it for a while, but I'm not entirely sure why I never went to get it fixed. Since that day, I wear them to remember my family." Said Matt "Interesting." Said Crescent It wasn't long after Matt finished his story that they reached the bouncers. Crescent pulled out two tickets and showed to the bouncer. They allowed Crescent and Matt into the area, and Crescent seemed like a filly in a candy store. Matt chuckled before getting pulled by Crescent to a table selling merchandise. Crescent browsed all the items and landed on the shirts. She browsed through them all and bought a black one with the picture of the band. Matt looked at it, and the band seemed to remind him of something. For some reason, I get a Slipknot vibe from them. She looked around and pointed to a set of portapotties. Matt raised his eyebrow, but he had no time to think as Crescent dragged him over to them. She opened one and stepped inside. Matt was still quite confused why Crescent dragged him over to the bathrooms when she didn't need him. He didn't have to wait long as she stepped out wearing her new shirt. She gave him a warm smile. "What do you think?" Asked Crescent "Looks good on you." Said Matt She smiled as she tied her other shirt around her waist as the two decided to find a place to stand to watch the concert. Along the way, Crescent happen to bump into a stallion. "Watch where you're going!" Said the stallion "Oh, sorry." Said Crescent "Oh, you should be you, freak." Said the stallion Matt growled under his breath as the stallion left. Assholes like that always grind my gears. He turned to see Crescent looked a little down. He pulled her into a hug, knowing that would get her mind off that rude stallion. "Ignore that guy, Crescent." Said Matt "No worries, I've heard it all before, and it doesn't bother me." Said Crescent "What do you mean?" Asked Matt Crescent sighed as she pushed herself off of his chest and grabbed his hand and continued to find a good place to stand. Along the way, Crescent spoke to him. "You see, Thretrals aren't all that liked, and it all started when Luna turned into Nightmare Moon. Threstals served as Luna's guards, but when she turned, many of the bat ponies that served her did as well. But ponies always forget that not all bat ponies turned to evil, many followed Celestia and her solar guards into battle to defeat Nightmare Moon. But no one ever remembers those Threstals and what they sacrificed to keep Equestria safe. People only remember that Threstals stood next to Nightmare Moon and against Princess Celestia. It's all too common to see ponies showing disgust for us." Said Crescent "Wow, and I thought my world had some bad blood between people." Said Matt "But enough depressing topics, let's have fun. The concert should be starting real soon." Said Crescent Matt nodded his head as the two found a pleasant place to stand. It wasn't far from the center of the stage. It wasn't long before a stallion came out and stepped up to the microphone. "Hello, everypony!" The crowd cheered, "Now if you're ready to bang your head, let me hear you scream!" The crowd went crazy for the stallion at the mic, but Matt didn't seem to care as his mind was on something else or in this case somepony else. He looked at the screaming and smiling Crescent. For some odd reason, Matt felt a deep seeded desire for her. He loved seeing her smile and how even though history paints her race as traitors, she never let it get to her. Matt loved spending time with her as much as he did with Twilight, but for some reason, something inside him ached for her. Something in his body told him how much he desired her as it does with Twilight. What's wrong with me. Why do I feel so strange around her? I'm in a relationship with Twilight, and Crescent's only a friend. But why doesn't that answer settle things for me? He got pulled from his thoughts by Crescent screeching, and he turned to see the band, the Pony Knots walk onto the stage. That clarifies it, Pony Knot is a ripe off of Slipknot on Earth. The lead singer, a stallion, stepped up to the mic and spoke out to the crowd. "Ponies of Equestria! Let me hear you scream!" The crowd screamed out with complete joy. Matt was sure his hearing was going to take a hit from Crescent's screeching. "That's what I like to hear!" The singer turned back and motioned for the others to begin playing. Feel free to play your favorite Slipknot songs here It only took a few seconds before the music started to blast out of the speakers. This concert happened to be Matt's first. He always wanted to go out and see a concert, but he never got around to going out to one. He looked over to Crescent having the time of her life as she screamed at the top of her lungs. She was also jumping up and down and getting into the music. Matt couldn't lie. The music was something else. It reminded him of the heavy metal music bands he used to listen back on Earth. He felt a bump on the shoulder and looked to see it was Crescent. She had a big smile on her face. "Come on! Let the music move you!" Exclaimed Crescent Matt smiled and jumped like Crescent, making her giggle as she joined along with him. "What's so funny?" Asked Matt "As you said, I would have never pegged you as a metalhead." Said Crescent "Well, you learn something new every day." Said Matt Crescent smiled as she and Matt let the music take over them. They danced around, allowing the music to move them. Matt and Crescent were having the time of their lives. Soon, the band decided to take a quick break. Cresent mentioned using the time to hit the bathroom. The two walked off to where the portapots were. There was already a line forming for them. They decided to wait together and talk about the concert so far. After a while, both had a chance to use the bathroom and had time to spare. Cresent mentioned that Matt should hit himself a shirt as well. He didn't see a reason why not, so they began going to the merchant, selling all the band's merchandise. As they were walking and talking, suddenly, Cresent was hit with a cup of water on the back of her head, soaking her back. Matt turned to see the stallion that Cresent had bumped into earlier with a few other friends. All of them chuckling at the soaked Cresent. Cresent spun around with rage in her eyes. "What's the big idea?!" "Oh, sorry, I thought I was aiming for the trash. Oh wait, it was!" The three stallions once more began to laugh as Cresent growled under her breath. Matt touched Cresent's shoulder, "Leave them. It's not worth it." Cresent sighed, knowing he was right. They are probably drunk anyway. I'll write a report tomorrow and have the princesses deal with it. I came here to enjoy my time with Matt. Cresent nodded, and the two walked off, clearly not engaging the stallions. The lead stallion wasn't too pleased that the two were ignoring them. "That's right, traitor, run back to your cave where your kind belongs. No one wants to see your freaky face in public at all. You don't even deserve to be a part of Equestria after what your kind did when your traitorous princess turned against ours." Cresent stopped hearing them bad mouth her princess. "Hell, Princess Celestia should have exiled your whole kind out of Equestria. So run along, dirty fucking bat, run back to your filthy kind and your filthy princess. No one wants to see your fucking face here over anywhere in Equestria. Hell, who even wants to take you as a mate? No one wants to fuck a dirty fucking bat. I bet you can't even perform in bed." Cresent held back her anger and her rage. She wanted to spin around and strike the bastard. But she was a guard and had to uphold the honor of the Lunar Guard and the guard of the princesses. She wanted to cry and scream, but she didn't want to make the situation any worse. She wanted to go home as the stallion had gotten a crowd to look at her. She hid her face behind her mane, attempting to stifle her anger and sadness. She was going to ask Matt to take her home, to take her away from her, but he wasn't next to her. She turned to see him approaching the stallion. The stallion stopped laughing as he saw Matt standing before him, "What you want, freak? Oh, are you that stinky fucking bat's friend. How cute!" The stallion laughed again before Matt raised his fist and punched right into the stallion's snout, causing him to scream in pain and grab his muzzle. "You bastard, you broke my nose. You broke my fucking nose." before the stallion could say another punch, this time a right jab that sent him into the ground. The stallion only lay there clutching his muzzle and the side of his face. He looked up to see nothing but hate and rage in Matt's eyes. The stallion shook on the ground. Everypony was silently watching what would happen next. Matt huffed before turning and walking back to Cresent and taking her hand. He led her out of the concert as the bouncer approached the area and watched the two exit. Cresent looked up at Matt, seeing his eyes soften, but she could still see the rage and hate behind them. Cresent smiled and tightened the grip around his hand. "Thank you." Cresent leaned herself against Matt as the two walked back to the castle together hand-in-hand. *** It took fifteen minutes to return to the bridge that separated the castle from Canterlot. Two Lunar Guards stopped them before they made their way inside. Cresent and Matt present a badge that Celestia gave them so they can enter the castle once the concert is over. The two guards nodded and let the two of them inside. Once inside, Matt took Cresent to her room. Once they were there, Cresent turned around, planted a kiss on the cheek, and thanked him again. Matt stood there stunned at Cresent's actions but not surprised. She turned, opened the door to her room, and waved goodbye once more before closing the door. Matt rubbed the cheek where Cresent kissed him, and that feeling he had at the concert returned to him. He sighed before making his way to his room for the night. After fumbling around trying to find his way, he found his room, but when he grabbed the doorknob, he only held it. His mind was too busy for him to even think about sleep. I need to clear my head. He left his room and began walking down the castle hallways. The only activity was a few lunar guards patrolling the castle. They gave no mind to Matt. He would stop and star out the windows at the night sky or a piece of artwork that dotted the halls. Matt finally stopped when he saw a picture of Celestia and Luna circling each other with the sun and the moon next to them. Matt could best describe it as a Ying-Yang symbol. "Lovely, isn't it." Matt turned to see Princess Celestia coming towards him in a white robe with gold lines running down the sleeves and around the bottom and ends. She had none of her royal jewelry on. She stopped next to him and admired the painting with him. "This is the flag design the three races posted when they founded Equestria." Said Celestia "Strange, seeing as you weren't born yet." Said Matt "Yes, but this flag was painted after Luna and I got our cutie marks. The original flag design disappeared centuries ago. Many historians believe the first flag had the same design but consisted of my mother and father, the first rulers of Equestria. Others believe it was a painting of the three main races of Equestria coming together and discovering friendship for the first time." Said Celestia "Were your parents alicorns like you and Luna?" Asked Matt "Yes, powerful alicorns. My father had powers over the natural world. Some said he could destroy the natural order of things with only the snap of his fingers. My mother had the power over the celestial bodies my sister and I watch over now. My mother was fun-loving, and my father was stern. But we were a happy family nonetheless." Said Celestia "What happened to them, if I can ask." Said Matt "If I'm honest, I have no idea. One day, they left Luna and me, and well, never came back. I sent the guards to find them, but after a month of looking, no pony could find them. No pony even had a clue where they were. I contacted a few allies, but they said they didn't see them either. Today, it's still a mystery to me. I wonder some days if they'll come strolling back through the castle doors. Even when I banished Luna to the moon, I half expected them to come waltzing through the castle, seeking to bring judgment down upon me for what I did to my dear sister, but that didn't happen either. In the end, Luna and I accepted that they're dead." Said Celestia "Sorry to hear that princess." Said Matt "Please, Matt, I've lived for thousands of years. I've come to accept the fact that my parents may no longer reside in this world. I hope Faust guided them to the golden gates, leading them into the golden pastures." Said Celestia "What?" Asked Matt Celestia giggled, "Oops, I guess I should explain that. You see, Faust is our goddess, we believe she created all pony kind and our nation of Equestria. Many say that our world of Eques came from all the gods and goddesses of all creatures that cover Eques came together to make our world. When a pony dies, Faust guides their soul to a golden gate where two gatekeepers judge the pony's soul. If the gatekeepers believe the soul is pure, they shall let their soul into the golden pastures, a beautiful place where all will bear witness to Faust herself. But if the gatekeepers see that taint and evil fill your soul, then you shall find yourself in the depths of Tartarus." Said Celestia "Doesn't sound far off from how Christianity believes life after death is." Said Matt "Interesting, but can I ask why you're up, Matt?" Asked Celestia "I got a lot on my mind." Said Matt "This wouldn't have to do with Crescent or that you assaulted one of my citizens?" Asked Celestia Matt looked up at the princess of the sun, "How did you know that?" "I make it my business to know what happens in my country. I must ensure peace and that ponies will never have to live in fear. Not only do the guards patrol the castle, they patrol the city as well. To keep my subjects safe, I must know everything happening across Equestria. Sure, Luna hears about most of it now since she watches the night. But Luna is still getting her hooves wet with royal duties, so I ask the guards to report anything significant to me, even if I am asleep. And well, having a human punch one of my subjects twice at a concert is something for me to hear." Celestia looked down at Matt. He looked back at her. He was about to speak to her when she raised her hand to stop him, "Know that I am displeased with your actions tonight. But, I will not take any action against you." Matt raised his eyebrow at her words, "My guards tell me that you were defending the honor of Private Dark Cresent. They told me everything the stallion said to Cresent and what he did to her." Celestia sighed, "I can still see my subjects cannot move past my sister's past actions, nor when the Thresteals turned against Equestria. Even today, I see the fear in their eyes that Luna will once more turn against me and our country. But, that still doesn't excuse your actions. I will let you off with a warning, Matthew Summers, but know that is the only one you will be getting. Strike one of my subjects again without provocation. I will take legal action against you. You may not be a pony, but you still live under my rule and the laws of Equestria." Matt nodded, "I understand your highness." Celestia smiled, "Glad to hear, though my guards were quite impressed when with your punches. Where did you even learn to fight?" "After my parents died, my head was filled with so much rage, anger, and hate towards the man who took them. I stewed in that mixture so much that I began to push away my sister and Alice. It festered in me like a sickness that darkened my mind. Eventually, Alice snapped me out of it before I did anything drastic or severe to my body. She became my rock and, to this day, still is. To make a story short, I found someone at a local gym teaching MMA fighting. I needed an outlet for everything, and well, to me, that was my outlet. But not only an outlet, but I wanted to protect my sister and Alice, so I also saw it as a way to teach myself how to defend them." "Thank you for sharing. I can see the events of today have left your mind stewing. How about I brew a cup of tea for us in the kitchen? Tea always helps calm me down when my mind is stewing." "I would love that, princess." The two walked off down towards the kitchen. Celestia opened the door to the kitchen and used her horn to turn on the lights. She made her over to the stove and got to work making the tea. Matt sat down as Celestia's horn came to life, and two teacups and ingredients flew out from the pantries. Celestia hummed a little tune to herself as she worked, but it wasn't long before the kettle began to whistle. Celestia used her magic to pick it up, pour the hot tea into the two teacups, and place the pot back on the stove. She walked over with both cups and put one in front of Matt and one in front of her. She took her seat, grabbed the teacup, and took a sip. "My mother used to make this herbal tea blend for Luna and me. Whenever we would have nightmares, she would make this and sing the song I was humming. It would always put my sister and me at ease. After she disappeared, I continued to make the tea for Luna and me. I even sing her song to Luna from time to time." Said Celestia "I bet living for a century without your sister was hard." Said Matt "Yes, I would look up at the moon every night and wonder if I did the right thing banishing her to the moon. I would spend days alone in my room crying and trying to rationalize what I did and how it was my fault that I caused my sister to turn into Nightmare Moon." Celestia sipped her tea, "When I first saw Twilight perform her magic, I knew in my heart that she was special, and I guess I was right. Thanks to her and her friends, I have my sister back, even if ponies only see her for Nightmare Moon." "So you said." Said Matt "I always believed my little ponies could see past what happened in the past and see the good in all. But there will always be those who cling to the past." Said Celestia "You can't change everypony, princess. Trust me. It's no different than Earth. Long ago, my country of America used to have slave labor, and then, one day, we got into a big civil war. The war ended slavery, but it didn't end the treatment of African Americans. Today, people are still stuck to the past and can't seem to move towards the future." Said Matt Celestia nodded, "Do you ever miss your home, Matt?" "Twilight asked the same question the night we kissed. I told her I missed a few things, but nowadays, not so much. Maybe it's because I'm dating Twilight, or I didn't have much back on Earth. But I don't miss it one bit. I truly think Equestria is my home now." Said Matt "That's glad to hear, but now let's move trains. You care deeply about Cresent if the incident is anything to go off. So tell me, what are your thoughts and feelings for Dark Cresent?" Said Celestia Matt took a sip of the tea. The flavor was incredible as the liquid touched his tongue. He could barely describe the taste. He could feel his mind settling down as he placed the cup back on the table. Celestia watched him with her soft, motherly eyes. Matt sighed as he leaned back in his chair. "She's a great friend and somebody I enjoy hanging out with as much as Twilight. And there lies the problem that I seem to be having." Celestia didn't say a thing as she let Matt mull it over, "I love Twilight with all my heart. And I would certainly consider her the perfect mate. I would love to wake up next to her. To see her beautiful smile every time I wake up." Celestia still didn't say a thing as Matt sighed, "But tonight, something felt odd. Seeing her happy today, smiling and screeching, it all acclimated when that bastard began to speak down to her. At the time, I was only defending a friend, but a single thought hit me when Cresent kissed me and thanked me again before entering her room. I love Dark Cresent as much as I love Twilight. All the things I mentioned previously with Twilight, I want with Cresent." Celestia watched as Matt slammed his fist on the table. She did nothing to stop him as she took in every word he said, "Why does my heart want to do this to me? Why does it want me to choose between Twilight or Crescent? I love both, but I feel like I'm cheating on Twilight if I have loving thoughts for Crescent, but I don't want to bury my feelings for Crescent." Matt huffed as he leaned back in his chair, "So now I'm struggling to figure out what to do. If I should bury my feelings for Crescent inside my subconscious or feel like I'm cheating on Twilight every time I look at Crescent." Celestia picked up her teacup and took a sip before putting it down. "Are you sure you love them both?" Matt looked at the princess with a quizzical look, "Or do you desire them as nothing but your play toys?" "How could you say that about your student and one of your guards?" Asked Matt "So is it true, do you desire them as mates or for your pleasure?" Asked Celestia "Why would you ask such a question to me? Do I look like a guy trying to bed every mare in Equestria? I would rather stab myself with a rusty knife in the dick if I started to think that way. I want to spend my life with both of them. I want to wake up with them near me; I want to feel their fur against my skin, to listen to the gentle beat of their hearts, and I would do anything to make them happy, even if I had to go to the ends of the earth to do it." Said Matt Celestia sipped her tea and lowered with a smile, "Then why not have both as your mate." "Huh," said Matt with a confused expression on his face. "Why not love them together?" Asked Celestia "Princess, I'm unsure what you put in your tea, but you sound crazy. If I were to date both Crescent and Twilight, I would be cheating on them both, and I would never do that. I would rather be alone for the rest of my than cheat on them." Said Matt Celestia giggled at his little speech, causing Matt to only stare at the princess of the sun with a confused look, "You are indeed an extraordinary human, Matt. But you haven't spent much time reading about pony culture." Matt scratched his right cheek with his index finger, "Well, that is true. But what does this have to do with Twilight and Crescent." "A herd." "A herd?" Asked Matt "Yes, as you probably have seen by now from your time in Ponyville, the stallion population is far less than the mare population. The stallion population only makes up 1/3 of the entire population of the Equestria." Matt blinked his eyes in surprise by that, "So, to combat the ever-growing stallion shortage. I put in a law to allow stallions to create a herd of twenty females. At first, it was only ponies, but after a year, I opened it up to the females of other creatures." "Wait, you practice polygamy here." Said Matt "Yes, we've been practicing it for about ten years now, and I can say, without a doubt, it seems to be working, though a little slow. I know it's probably not something you would have thought to hear from me if your reaction is anything to go by." Said Celestia "Yeah, humanity is monogamy. Polygamy happens to be illegal in many countries on Earth." Said Matt "Well, here, polygamy is an option for any stallion. It's open for you as well." Celestia finished her tea before putting down the cup. She got up and walked over to Matt. Celestia placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked at her as she smiled warmly, "Listen to your heart, Matt. If you wish to love Twilight and Crescent, the only thing holding you back is yourself. Take tonight to think it over." She walked away from him as she headed for the kitchen doors but stopped when she heard Matt's voice call out to her, "Princess." She stopped and turned back to the human, "Thank you for letting me talk to you." "You're welcome, Matt, and please call me Tia. I don't think you need to be so formal with me. We are friends, after all." Said Celestia "Tia?" Asked Matt "My birth name, Celestia, is the name I took when I took over the rule of Equestria." Said Celestia "Well, thank you, Tia." Said Matt "You're welcome, Matt. Please leave the cups on the table; the maids will handle them in the morning. And have a restful sleep." Said Celestia Matt watched her leave through the door. He looked at his cup of tea, his mind swirling with what Celestia told him. Could it work? Could I try a herd? I mean, I would be able to have both Twilight and Crescent as my mates. I would be able to wake up next to each one of them. But is it still cheating? Matt huffed as he leaned back in his chair and sipped his tea. Tia's right, I should sleep over it. Matt finished his tea, placed the cup back on the plate, turned out the kitchen lights, and returned to his room. Along the way, his mind and body felt heavy as he yawned and stretched his body. Man Tia was right, that tea sure does help. *** Matt tapped his fingers as he sat alone at one of the dining room tables. He was nervous while waiting for two mares to walk through the door. Well, I hope this works. But if it doesn't, I got it off my chest. He looked up at the clock. It was noon. He looked at the doors and saw Crescent and Twilight walk through the dining room doors. Well, here we go. Twilight walked up and planted a kiss on Matt's cheek as he hugged her and hugged Crescent. The trio sat down at the table. "Well, what is it, Matt?" Asked Twilight "Yeah, why did you bring Twilight up here to Canterlot when we will be going back today?" Asked Crescent Matt was silent as he tapped his fingers on the table. He still didn't know how to tell them he loved them and his insane idea. His mind raced with all the possible outcomes that might happen, which didn't help ease his mind. Twilight and Crescent looked at each other with a concerned look. They turned back to Matt as they reached, rested a hand on his, and stopped him from tapping. He looked up at both; they each had a concerned look. "Matt, what's wrong?" Asked Twilight "Yeah, you're acting odd." Said Crescent Matt sighed as he brought up his left hand a grasped both girls hands. "I want you both to listen closely to what I'm about to say." He looked up at both girls as they nodded their heads up and down. "Last night, I talked with Princess Celestia or Tia, and she wanted me to call her about something important. Something that bothered me last night after leaving the concert with you Cresent." Matt paused in an attempt to get the correct words. "I realized I didn't have feelings for one girl, but two." He looked up at Crescent, and she blushed, "I love you, Dark Crescent," he then turned to Twilight. "And I love you, Twilight. But that's where I started to hit a roadblock. How could I love you both without hurting one of you? I didn't want to bury my feelings for either one of you. But Tia told me of a way to love you both, and I'm hoping you both will join me." Matt paused and took in a big breath, "I want you girls to start a herd with me." The girls looked at each other and then back at Matt. They could hardly believe that Matt wanted to start a herd with them. Matt began to grow worried, worried that their silence was their answer to his question about forming a herd. But he heard them both speak before he could pull any deeper into sadness. "We would love to." Said both Twilight and Crescent "Yeah, I knew you might have some affection towards Crescent, so I was waiting for the day you asked to start a herd. I'm a little surprised it took you this long. You should have read it by now in the Equestrian culture book I lent you." Said Twilight "Honestly, I didn't get all that far in the book." Said Matt Twilight rolled her eyes as Crescent spoke, "I was going to tell you how I felt, but seeing how happy you were with Twilight, and I wasn't sure if you knew about herds, so I wasn't going to harm your relationship with her. But I'm glad you're starting a herd because I love you, Matthew Summers." "As do I." Said Twilight Matt smiled as he got up, walked over to his new herd mate, and hugged them. "I promise you both I'll be the best boyfriend I can be." "Herd stallion." Said Twilight Matt pulled away and looked at Twilight, "What?" "A herd stallion, that's your new title." Said Twilight "Yeah, which reminds me, don't we have to file all that paperwork with Celestia to make it official?" Asked Crescent "Right, I'll go see Celestia right now and get that. Might as well fill it out while we're all here." Said Twilight She kissed Matt on the cheek and went walking out of the room. Matt turned back to Crescent, "What paperwork?" "Celestia made it mandatory that every stallion that wishes to form a herd file with her so she knows which out there have herds and how many females exist in each herd. She monitors herds to ensure the stallion isn't busing their power to form relationships with twenty females." Said Crescent "I guess that makes sense." Said Matt "Now, about you help me seal our love for each other." Said Crescent Matt smiled as he pulled Crescent in close and placed his lips against her in a loving kiss. Crescent moaned a little in the kiss. Matt's heart soared high in the sky as he felt Crescent return his love. The two broke loose of their passionate embrace and smiled at each other. "So, should we catch up with Twilight and get working on that paperwork." Said Matt "Might as well, seeing as it is important if we're going to get this herd going." Said Crescent The two walked out of the room with intertwined hands as they sought to catch up with Twilight. *** Celestia was making her way back to her room after a long day of morning court. She was happy it was over but also delighted to hear that Matt decided to form a herd. I see you took my advice, Matt. She already filed away their paperwork for them, making Matt an official herd stallion of Twilight and Crescent. "Matt, watch it!" Celestia stopped as she looked at the room to her right. That sounded like Twilight. "Matt, that's my tail!" Exclaimed Crescent "Sorry, um, how about this?" Asked Matt "Ouch, watch where your foot is." Said Twilight "Sorry, Twilight." Said Matt "Watch the wings, there sensitive." Said Crescent "Watch the fangs, Crescent." Said Matt "What if I move you here?" Asked Twilight "Woah, warn a girl before you grab those." Said Crescent "Huh, sorry Crescent." Said Matt Celestia couldn't help but giggle as she decided to leave the new herd to their problems. Well, Matt, you are now feeling the first real pains of having a herd, snuggle time. Celestia couldn't hold back laughing as she could only imagine Matt struggling to snuggle with both Crescent and Twilight.
Chapter 13 - A New MonA New Mon "Pyro Blaster." Explosions echoed outside Ponyville as the DigiDestined fought to protect the town of Ponyville once more. Manticores with black gears in trapped in their backs were the ones this time threatening the peace of Ponyville. The valley was already becoming scorched from battle. "Fox Tail Inferno." Another Manticore screamed out as Kyubimon's attack landed its mark. The Manticore soon disappeared into digital code. But the victory was short-lived as more Manticores run up trying to bring down Kyubimon. Kyubimon leaped into the air and began to spin. "Dragon Wheel." Kyubimon ignited herself on fire, and from the fire came a dragon. The dragon went right for the Manticores destroying them and turning them into digital code. Kyubimon landed on the ground and saw a Manticore trying to attack her from behind, but it disappeared. Gaogamon appeared next to her. "Thank you, Gaogamon." "No problem, Kyubimon." Matt bit the inside of his cheek as Growlmon brought down another Manticore using his Dragon Slash attack. But they were still outnumbered. Gomamon was next to Matt, ordering his fishes to attack certain Manticores, distracting them, and allowing Growlmon to take them down. He then decided to look at his friends. Terriermon and Lopmon put their ears together and began to spin towards the Manticores. He saw Byiomon firing down on the Manticores from the sky with her Spiral Twister. Gatomon leaped from Manticore, striking the gears in their back with her claws as Wizardmon gave her support. He then turned to see Crescent pulling her sword free from the skull of a Manticore. He tried to get her to stay behind with the others when they first heard of the Manticore attack. But being a guard and stubborn, she came along. It had only been two days since he announced his herd to his friends. Sure, James, Alice, Abby, and April couldn't believe what Matt told them but seemed to accept them. Everypony else congratulated Matt, Twilight, and Crescent for creating a herd together. And now here Crescent was fighting dangerous Manticores to protect Ponyville, while his other mate was safe in Ponyville. He sighed as he kept his eyes on Crescent as she dodged attacks and struck down another Manticore. The team would only fight another minute before the remaining Manticores began to return to the Everfree Forest. The Digimon decided not to pursue the retreating Manticores. They all sighed as a few of the Digimon began to return to their rookie forms. All the Digimon looked exhausted from the fight. "Yeah, you better run!" Exclaimed James Crescent tried to pursue them, but Matt stopped her, "Crescent leave them!" Crescent turned back to look at her mate, "Leave them! We need to go after them! If we don't, they'll come back with reinforcements, and we'll be back where we started ten minutes ago!" "I sad no, Crescent. Look around you," Crescent looked around at the exhausted Digimon. "Our Digimon are exhausted from the fight. We need to rest and think of a new plan because attacking them straight on will only end up with use getting overwhelmed." '"Yeah, but I can scout ahead and find where they are. We can use that to our advantage to strike," said Crescent as she landed on the ground. "No, it's far too dangerous, those aren't average Manticores," said Matt as he made his way over to her. "It seems you forgot you're talking to a trained lunar guard. I'm more than capable of handling myself." Said Crescent The two continued to argue as the others watched the two bicker back and forth. "You two should get a room. I bet it would help!" Exclaimed James as he started to snicker. Matt and Crescent turned towards James, "Stay out of this!" The two went back to bickering like an old married couple. Alice sighed as she stood next to James. "You had to say that." Said Alice "It's not my fault they can't take a joke. I mean Matt only started his herd two days ago, and they're already at each other's throat." Said James "Yeah still strange to think that Equestria openly practices polygamy." Said April "Yeah, it sure is strange." Said Alice "Well, should we break them up or leave them to bicker. I'm afraid one of them is going to say something they shouldn't." Said James "When did you start caring about Matt's relationship?" Asked Alice "Hey, I'm only stating the obvious." Said James The group watched as they continued to bicker back and forth, and it didn't seem to end. No one from the group wanted to go and try to break up the bickering couple. It seemed like a bad idea to step between Matt and Crescent. "I'm surprised they haven't run out of things to scream at each other." Said Wizardmon "Yeah, and they probably have better control over their minds, unlike James." Said Gatomon She looked up at the African American. He huffed and looked away. James was still working on repairing his friendship with Fluttershy after the whole incident with the dragon. Fluttershy looked at James before looking away, she still didn't consider James, a friend, but she was happy to see him working on becoming her friend once more. "You're never going to let me live that down, are you, Gatomon?" Asked James "Not until your on good terms with my tamer." Said Gatomon James rolled his eyes as he looked back at the bickering couple. "You know I can do this, so why don't you let me?" Demanded Crescent "Because..." Matt said before getting stopped by Crescent "Because of what, Matt? It is because you want to be the hero. Is that it, you want to show how strong you are? Are you trying to prove something?" "No..." Crescent once again stopped Matt. "Then what is it?!" Demanded Crescent Matt grabbed Crescent on the side of her arms, "I don't want to lose you." Everyone was silent, "I can't lose you, Crescent, I only started my relationship with you. I can't go on in life if something happened to or Twilight. I'm your herd stallion, which means I'm responsible for you, and I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you." Matt paused as he let go of Crescent, "I know you're a guard, Crescent, and it scares me. I know you're strong and trained to handle anything, but I'm not sure if you can handle those Manticores alone or the strange blue creatures we have been facing. I almost lost you to those Timberwolves, and that was before we were even a couple. I...I...I wouldn't know what to do if you got hurt by one of those things or if something worse happened to you." Crescent blinked her eyes as a lone tear fell from her herd stallion's eyes. She rubbed his cheek as she wiped away the tear, "Matt, I know you're scared. But as a herd, we mares stand next to you as you stand next to us. Twilight and I would do anything to make sure you were safe. And I know the danger of these new enemies, but it's my duty as a guard to defend the ponies of Equestria from danger." "I...I wish you didn't have to get right up in combat. In a way, I wish you were a tamer." Said Matt Before Crescent could respond, something warped around her waist. It was the tail of a Manticore, and before anybody could even react, the tail pulled Crescent back into the forest. "Crescent!!" Screamed Matt He tried to run after her, but a Manticore leaped out, blocking Matt and stopping him in his tracks. He saw its tail raise into the sky and come down at him. He rolled out of the way. He looked to see it turn its gaze on him, but the slap of fishes brought its gaze to Gomamon. But the Manticore didn't have time to react as three different attacks came at it. "Diamond Storm." "Bunny Blast." "Pyro Sphere." Guilmon's, Terriermon's, and Renamon's attack all struck the gear in the Manticores back, destroying it and, in turn, turning the Manticore into data. Once it was gone, Matt decided to head into the forest. But Renamon held him back. "Let me go, Renamon!" "Are you crazy, Matt?! You go in there; you'll end up dead." Said Alice Matt growled in spite, but he had to save Crescent even if it cost him his life. He wasn't going to lose Crescent, not when he only started his relationship with the bat pony. I'm sorry for this Renamon. Matt threw his head back hard and bashed it right onto Renamon's muzzle. She cried out in pain, and everyone gasped at what Matt did. Renamon's grip loosened, and he roundhouse kicked her to get her away from him. Once free of Renamon, he booked it into the Everfree Forest. "Matt, wait!" Exclaimed Guilmon Gomamon and Guilmon ran in after him. Alice ran up to help Renamon as blood leaked from her nose. Everyone looked at the forest entrance. Alice helped Renamon to her feet as she covered her bleeding nose. "Wow, he kicked your ass, Renamon." Said James Renamon glared at James and made a mental note to give Matt a piece of her mind. Renamon thanked Alice for the help as she pinched her nose and bent her head back to stop the bleeding. Abby was heading to the forest, but Alice stopped her from going into the forest. "We have to go in after him!" Exclaimed Abby "No chance Abby, we can't go in underprepared. We need to regroup with the others and think of a plan of attack. Going in now will only lead to casualties." Said Alice "What about Matt!" Cried Abby Tears were running down Abby's face. Terriermon and Lopmon tried to calm her down, but it didn't seem to be working. Alice bent down and hugged Abby, "Matt's going to be ok. You know we can take care of himself ever well, and he has Guilmon and Gomamon." Abby hugged Alice as she looked at the entrance to the Everfree Forest. Matt, stay safe. Alice picked up Abby, and she looked at the others. They all nodded and booked it back to town, knowing that they all needed a plan of attack and could only hope that Matt wouldn't get into to much trouble by myself. *** Crescent struggled to break loose from the Manticore's tail. Damn, I'm stuck. Crescent looked down at her sword and smiled as she tried to reach for it. If I can reach my sword, I get into the sky and escape this Manticore. The Manticore noticed Crescent going for her sword and stopped immediately and threw Crescent against a tree. She struck it hard, feeling the armor creaking as she coughed up blood and fell to the ground. Crescent's body was beginning to shut down as she watched the Manticore come near her. Fuck. She laid there waiting for death to grip her and take her away. Matt. She closed her eyes and fell into an unconscious state. *** "Well done, my pets." Crescent began to open her eyes. "Now, we can use her to bring down the DigiDestined." Crescent groaned as her body started to come back to her. She looked to see she was tied up on a tree. Damn. She looked to see the Manticores surrounding a dark area bowing before it. What are they bowing to? She couldn't see anything, but she swore she heard somepony talking a minute ago. She looked around and saw the Manticores stripped her of her sword and armor. All she was wearing was her midnight blue shirt and her sport shorts. She struggled to break loose from the bindings, but they were far to tight. Great, looks like I'm stuck. Crescent saw the Manticores walking away from the area as if they were no longer needed. She raised her eyebrow since she still didn't see anypony around to even give commands to the Manticores. She noticed that none of them were looking at her. Hm, whoever tied me up here must think I'm not going to escape or able to escape. She tried once more trying to move in the ropes, but it was pointless, they were far to tight around her. Damn! She huffed and sat there, thinking about what Matt said to her. I beat he's freaking out right now, trying to come in here and save me. Crescent lend her head back against the tree and looked up at the crystal clear blue sky. Matt, don't do anything crazy. She sighed as she accepted she couldn't do anything in her situation. Soon a Manticore ran into the area and began to converse with the other Manticores. In a second, the Manticores went running off, leaving Crescent alone. "Well, that was strange." Said Crescent "Are they gone?" Crescent turned to see a white blob-like creature with streamers coming from its head. It seemed to be scared of something as it peaked from behind a nearby tree. "Who?" Asked Crescent "The big creatures with the gears in their backs." "Oh, you mean the Manticores. Yeah, they're gone." Said Crescent "Oh, I thought they would never leave." The creature started to walk over to Crescent and looked up at the tied up bat pony. "So, what's your name, little fellow?" Asked Crescent "I'm Tokomon, what's yours? "I'm Crescent, and why were you hiding from the Manticores?" Asked Crescent "I didn't want them to notice me. I was sure they were going to find me and give me over to their master." Said Tokomon "Master?" Asked Crescent "Yeah, and if those Manticores found me. Their master would have probably implanted a gear into me as well." Said Tokomon "Harsh," Crescent looked down at the small white blob, and an idea came to her mind. "Tokomon, think you can help me escape. If you do that, I can get you out of this forest. Plus, get you as far away from the master of the Manticores." "Really." Said Tokomon "Yeah." Said Crescent "Ok." Said Tokomon Tokomon walked up to Crescent and opened his mouth to reveal rows of sharp teeth. Tokomon began to chew through the ropes one by one. Yes, I'll be free in no time and back with Matt and the others. Crescent's ears began to pick up the sounds of howls from the Manticores. Damn it! "Hurry up, Tokomon, I think the Manticores are coming back." Said Crescent Tokomon worked harder, chewing through the ropes and working on freeing Crescent. It would only take Tokomon another two minutes to tear through the last rope and let Crescent free from her bindings. She got up and stretched her body. Now time to get out of here. She tried to flap her wings, but pain shot throughout her body. Damn it! "What's wrong?" Asked Tokomon "It seems when that Manticore tossed me against the tree, it might have damaged my wings or paralyzed them. I was hoping to fly out of here, but looks it's going to be on foot." Said Crescent Soon three Manticores appeared before both Tokomon and Crescent. Each them growled as they looked at the small Digimon, who hid behind Crescent's hoof. She looked at them as her mind raced with ideas, and only one came to mind. She picked up Tokomon and booked it. "Where are we going?" Asked Tokomon "Anywhere where those Manticores aren't." Said Crescent Crescent could hear them coming towards her. She looked behind her to see the Manticores trying to catch up to her. Nothing seemed to be putting a stop to them. Nothing was going to be holding them back as they charged after Crescent and Tokomon. She pushed her legs to their max as she tried to dodge any roots or low lying branches. She needed to try to find a way to ditch the Manticores behind her. "Crescent, they're gaining." Said Tokomon Crescent peeked behind her to see the Manticores were gaining on her. Damn it! Crescent pushed her body even further. She could feel her heart pounding like no tomorrow in her chest, and her lungs were burning as she tried to fill them with oxygen. She left her legs growing weak as she pushed them to the limit. Finally, she saw a clearing and pushed her body to use whatever it had left. But once she left the trees, she came to a screeching halt. She was barely able to stop in time before she went right over a cliff into a raging river down below. A few pebbles feel from the cliff down to the river as she and Tokomon looked down at the raging water below. She quickly backed away from the end of the cliff. "That was close." Said Tokomon "I'll say." Said Crescent Crescent turned to see the Manticores still rushing towards her. They leaped out of the forest and began to push her towards the end of the cliff. She looked at the raging waters and began to think of her options. I clearly can't run around them, or else those Manticores will get me. And it looks like the Manticores corned me. The other option is to jump and see where the river takes me. She watched as the Manticores grow closer to her. I guess no other option. Crescent took a few steps back and held onto Tokomon tightly. "Get ready to take a swim, little buddy." Said Crescent The Manticores rushed her as she turned around, ran for the edge, and leaped off. One of the Manticores was able to reach her and get a swipe off on her back. Crescent hissed as she felt the Manticore's sharp claws breakthrough her shirt and claw into the flesh of her back. She ignored the pain as she concentrated on the task before her, surviving the rapids below. The Manticores watched Crescent plummetted towards the water below. Crescent braced herself for the strike against the water and splashed down into it. The rapids immediately pulled her away as she stayed underwater to keep out of sight of the Manticores. The Manticores looked around for her, but couldn't find her among the raging water. They growled but didn't dare to jump into the water themselves. The Manticores decided to find a way down to the river below and search for Crescent and Tokomon. They knew if they didn't find the bat pony that their master wasn't going to be pleased. *** Crescent pulled herself up onto the shore as she huffed and puffed from the exhaustion of fighting the current. After a few minutes of fighting the current, it settled down long enough for her to reach the shore. She laid there as she caught her breath and let her body relax for a few seconds. She looked to Tokomon, shacking himself off before turning to her. "You ok?" He asked "Yeah, I'll be fine. I only need to rest for a minute or two." Said Crescent Tokomon nodded his head and sat watching Crescent catching her breath. "Can I ask you something." Said Tokomon "Sure." Said Crescent "Where are we?" Asked Tokomon "We're right now in the Everfree Forest. A place that doesn't follow the laws of Equestria and a place that no pony should ever enter." Said Crescent "So, why are you here?" Asked Tokomon "One of those Manticores drug me in here." Said Crescent Crescent finally felt her body coming back to her and slowly got to her feet. She was still exhausted, but exhaustion never stopped her for long. She stripped her shirt, deciding to get the wet cloth off her body. Under her shirt was a light purple sport's bra. She reached back and found the scratch marks from the Manticore. She hissed as she found the wounds and pulled her hand back to see blood. She sighed as she tore her shirt, hearing Rarity screaming in her mind, and tied the strips around her injuries. "Tokomon, did I get all the wounds?" Asked Crescent She turned around to let Tokomon, "Yeah." She smiled as she picked up Tokomon, "Now, let's find a way out of here. I believe if we follow the river, we should find our way out of this forest." Said Crescent Crescent began to follow the river hoping it would lead her out of the Everfree Forest and back into the arms of her stallion. After a while, she felt tired of carrying Tokomon. "I'm sorry to say Tokomon, but you're a little heavy, and I'm still exhausted." Said Crescent "Oh, then let me do something." Said Tokomon Tokomon wiggled out of Crescent's grip and climbed up to the top of her head. "How's that?" Asked Tokomon Crescent smiled up at him, "Much better." Crescent continued her walk through the forest, following the river. She made sure to watch out for things that might hurt Tokomon. "So what type of Digimon are you, Crescent?" Asked Tokomon Crescent chuckled, "I'm not a Digimon. I'm what's called a Threstral or bat pony." "Bat pony, that's a strange name to call yourself." Said Tokomon "Well, maybe to you, Tokomon. But here in Equestria, you'll find that ponies are the common species." Said Crescent "Oh, but what about Digimon, are they common?" Asked Tokomon "Not so much, only recently have Digimon been appearing. But my friends have a few Digimon and are even tamers." Said Crescent "Tamers?" Asked Tokomon "It's the name for my friends who have partner Digimon and use them to protect Equestria." Said Crescent "Wow, are you a tamer?" Asked Tokomon "No, I don't have a partner Digimon. But I still fight next to my friends. I have to protect the ponies of Equestria as a royal guard; it is my duty." Said Crescent "Aren't you scared of getting hurt?" Asked Tokomon "Sure, who isn't scared, Tokomon. Going into battle is never easy, but somepony has to do it. Otherwise, we would live in a world where ponies are afraid to live or even go outside. We guards keep the gates of chaos closed to ensure peace is always present in Equestria." Said Crescent "Ok." Said Tokomon Crescent followed the river but stopped when her ears picked something up. Her ears twitched back and forth, trying to pinpoint the sound. She grabbed Tokomon and jumped behind a tree. She poked her head out to see two Manticores sniffing the area, trying to pick up her scent. Luckily, the water washed most of my scent away. The Manticores probably found my torn shirt. She stayed silent, keeping Tokomon from talking as the Manticores searched the area. Crescent knew she had no way to fight back and wasn't fully back to her usual self. If one of the Manticores found her, she would be dead in the water. She held her breath as one of the Manticores began to move closer to her. She began to shake in fear, and sweat began to form on her brow as the Manticore drew ever closer. Its nostrils were flaring, trying to find Crescent's scent. Please don't find me! Faust must have heard Crescent's plea, for an explosion pulled the attention of the Manticore away from her. It wasn't long before a howl filled the air pulling the Manticores off towards the explosion. Crescent poked her head from her hiding spot, making sure the area was clear. Once she made sure that the Manticores were no longer around, she left her spot. She let out a heavy sigh of relief, "Thank you, Faust." "Man, I thought that thing was going to find us." Said Tokomon "Yeah," but Crescent might have spoken too soon when she felt something breathing down her neck. Her fur stood on end as she turned her head to see a Manticore staring at her with rage-filled eyes. "Shit!" Crescent began to back up from it as the Manticore growled at her. She didn't know what to do, but Tokomon knew what he had to do. He wiggled out of Crescent's grasp and stood right in front of the Manticore. "Tokomon!" Screamed Crescent "Frothy Spit!" Tokomon spat up a bubbling spit that hit the Manticore right in the eyes. It howled in pain as Tokomon smiled. Crescent could see the Manticore was trying to get the spit out of its eyes. Time to make a break for it. Crescent picked up Tokomon and booked it away. She ran through the forest, thinking that the Manticore might think she followed the river. "What was that?" Asked Crescent "Frothy Spit, an acid spit." Said Tokomon "Wow, that's impressive, and thank you, Tokomon." Said Crescent "I couldn't let that beast harm you, Crescent." Said Tokomon Crescent smiled at Tokomon as she pushed her exhausted and wounded body to the limit it could reach. But she only lasted a few minutes before she had to stop and rest. She placed a hand against a tree trunk and started to huff and puff. Crescent looked around her but didn't see any Manticores, and her ears weren't picking up anything. She then heard another explosion, and it wasn't far from her. I wonder if that's Matt and the others. She walked towards the sound and came out to a small clearing and watched as a fireball blasted away a Manticore, turning it into digital code. That had to be Pyro Blaster, which means Matt's nearby. She stepped out and saw her herd stallion ordering Growlmon to fire on another two Manticores. Gomamon was resting on top of his head. Both Manticores didn't stand a chance against Growlmon. "Matt!" Matt turned, and his eyes widened when he saw Crescent running up to him. He smiled as Gomamon jumped off his head as he ran for his mate. Crescent could feel tears of joy running down her face as she was finally safe. But fate was not on the lover's side as the Manticore that Tokomon wounded, appeared with scars running over its face from the acid, and its right eye was milky. Everything went into slow motion as it rammed right into Crescent, sending her right into the tree across from the Manticore. Crescent slammed into the tree, and the force broke both of her wings. She heard and felt the sickening snap of her wings as she screamed out in pain. She fell to the ground as she laid there in agonizing pain as she coughed up blood. "Crescent!!!" Exclaimed Matt More Manticores came out of the forest and surrounded Matt and his Digimon as the wounded one walked towards Crescent and Tokomon. Matt cursed under his breath as the Manticores surrounded him and Gomamon. Growlmon tried to get to the two of them, but the Manticores around him kept him at bay. "Damn it!" Exclaimed Matt The Manticores now surrounded both Matt and Gomamon. Gomamon stood in front of the Manticores, ready to defend his tamer. "Gomamon, you can't handle them." Said Matt "Who cares, I can't let them hurt you. It's my job to protect you." Said Gomamon The Manticores leaped at Gomamon, who was ready for them, "Gomamon!" Suddenly Matt saw his Digivice glowing white and Gomamon following suit. Is Gomamon digivoling? "Gomamon digivolve to... Ikkakumon." The Manticores now looked at a large walrus and polar bear hybrid creature with a horn coming out of its head. Ikkakumon swatted away the Manticores with ease. Ikkakumon looked back at Matt, "Now I'm more than capable of handling these Manticores." "Looks like it, buddy." Said Matt Matt pulled his Digivice and looked to see Ikkakumon was Gomamon's champion form. "Now, let's do this, you oversized kitty cats." The Manticores growled and rushed toward Ikkakumon, "Harpoon Torpedo." Ikkakumon launched the horn on top of his head. It went a little way before opening to reveal a torpedo, which struck the black gear on the back of the Manticores destroying and turning the Manticore into digital code. Ikkakumon did the same for the other charging Manticores. Soon it was over, and there were no more Manticores. "Alright, Ikkakumon." Said Matt "Wow, that was amazing Ikkakumon," The two turned to see Growlmon walked over to them. "Thank you, Growlmon," but more growls pulled the group to see more Manticores approaching them. "Looks like we have more friends to deal with." "It would seem that way, Ikkakumon." Said Growlmon Matt gritted his teeth as he didn't have time to deal with all of these Manticores. He looked to see a small creature standing in front of Crescent as the Manticore that attacked her approached, but the arrival of a few Manticores blocked his site on his mate. Please strange creature, protect Crescent. Matt turned back to the Manticores facing him and his partner Digimon. "Let's show them what we got, boys." Said Matt "Harpoon Torpedo." "Pyro Blaster." Tokomon stood in front of Crescent as the Manticore approached them both. It growled as it looked at the creature that blinded one of its eyes. Crescent coughed as she struggled to get to her hooves, but the searing pain traveling through her body made it impossible. "You keep away from her." Said Tokomon "Tokomon." Said Crescent The Manticore growled at the in-training Digimon. Tokomon was scared out of his mind, but he stood his ground. I won't let that thing hurt you Crescent. Tokomon felt Crescent grab hold of his back. "Tokomon, run for it. You can't stop that thing." Said Crescent "No, I won't leave you." Said Tokomon Tokomon felt something wet drip onto his back. He looked up, and the Manticore was hovering over him right now. Tokomon swallowed the lump in his throat but stood his ground. The Manticore looked down at the small Digimon and smacked him away. He landed against the ground, not far from Crescent. Tokomon sat on the grass as his mind spun as he tried to get his body together. Crescent could feel the hot breath of the Manticore on her. She knew this was it. She spied Matt and his Digimon, fighting off a horde of Manticores. He would never make it to her in time. She accepted that this was the end of it all. She recognized that she had no luck to spare, and Crescent would find out if she were worthy to enter the Gold Pasters and meet Faust. She closed her eyes as a few tears leaked from them as she accepted death's grip. Tokomon shook off his daze and looked at the Manticore hovering over her. He ran right for Crescent. I have to protect her. Soon a light began to envelop Tokomon. "Crescent!" Exclaimed Tokomon The Manticore and Crescent looked at Tokomon as he leaped into the air as light entirely took him. "Tokomon digivolve into... Patamon." Crescent couldn't believe that Tokomon digivolved. But why did he digivolve into his next form. Was it because of me? The Manticore turned to Patamon, seeing it as a nuisance. It growled at Patamon, and he did the same. "Let's see if you can handle me now." Said Patamon The Manticore tried to strike Patamon with its tail, but Patamon dodged it. Patamon flew behind the Manticore and began to inflate his stomach. "Boom Bubble." Patamon released the built-up air into a solid mass of air that struck the Manticore's gear. It howled in pain before turning to look at Patamon. The Manticore used its wings on its back to take flight, even if it was a limited flight. "Wow, those wings do give you flight." Said Patamon The Manticore howled before flying towards Patamon. Patamon was able to dodge since the Manticore moved slower than Patamon. But it wasn't going to let the Digimon attack from its back once more. The tail went shooting at Patamon as he tried to get behind the Manticore. He quickly ducked under the attack and got far enough away from the tail. Shoot, how do I deal with this. "Harpoon Torpedo." Three torpedos smashed into the Manticore. "Pyro Blaster." Growlmon followed that up with a fireball to the Manticore. "Now, Patamon, finish it off." Patamon looked down at Matt and his two champion level Digimon. He nodded his head as he inflated his stomach once more. "Boom Bubble." Patamon spat out another ball of air that struck the gear, which exploded. The Manticore howled for a minute before it was over. The Manticore turned into digital data, and the battle was officially over. Not a single Manticore remained around the group. Matt sighed as he ran over to Crescent as Ikkakumon and Growlmon went back to Guilmon and Gomamon, who was exhausted from his first time digivolving into Ikkakumon. Patamon landed on the ground as he watched Matt gently pick up Crescent. Patamon watched the strange creature pick up her friend, but he didn't seem dangerous to her. She smiled up at him. He smiled back with a few tears running from his face as tears ran down hers. He held her tight as if he let go. She would disappear once again. Crescent lifted her hand and wiped away his tears before bringing him into a sweet little kiss, even if it strained her body. The two released the kiss, and she snuggled up into Matt's chest. Patamon smiled as he knew this stranger was not going to hurt Cresent but seemed to care deeply about her. He smiled that she was in his arms as he wiped away her tears. "Alright, let's head back." Said Matt His Digimon nodded, and off they went leaving Patamon standing there looking at the group. Crescent looked back at Patamon. "Come on, Patamon. Let's get out of here." Said Crescent Patamon nodded and took flight and flapped next to Matt. He looked up at the new Digimon. "Thank you, Patamon, for protecting Crescent." Said Matt "I couldn't let that thing hurt my friend." Said Patamon Matt nodded his head and walked out the way he came in. But the group didn't notice that in the darkness behind them, a figure watched. Guilmon turned his head but didn't see anything, but he thought he felt something watching them. He shrugged it off and ran to catch up with Matt. *** Crescent laid in her hospital bed, looking up at the ceiling. There was nothing much to look at in the white hospital room. The sound of her heart monitor beeping echoed around the room, keeping the silence at bay. Her mind flared with everything that happened to her yesterday. To think that I nearly lost my life yesterday. If Matt hadn't come when he did, and Tokomon hadn't digivolved when he did, who knows what would have happened. She sighed as she kept her eyes on the ceiling until she heard the door open. She looked up to see Matt, Twilight, and Patamon. She smiled as Patamon flew over to her and rubbed his head against her cheek. She noticed that Matt had a piece of cloth stuffed up his left nostril. She raised her eyebrow as to why he would have that stuffed up his nose. "What's with the cloth?" Asked Crescent "Renamon got her revenge when I gave her a bloody nose. She sure does have a strong right hook." Said Matt "You're lucky, that's all she did to you." Twilight sighed, "But he also received a good left hook to his face from Alice and a hard slap from me. Maybe that will teach you not to be stupid." Matt rubbed the back of his neck as he chuckled. Twilight rolled her eyes. Crescent giggled as she held Patamon. "I'm glad to see you're ok, Crescent." Said Patamon "Yeah, glad to see your feeling better." Said Twilight "Yeah, but doctors said I wouldn't be able to fly for at least three weeks. It looks like I'm stuck walking for a good while." Said Crescent "Ouch, but I'm glad to see you're fine." Said Twilight "Same here, when I saw you the strips of your shirt by the river, I thought the worst happened." Said Matt Crescent was silent for a minute as she thought what to say, "Matt, I want to apologize the way I acted yesterday. I knew you were only trying to look at for me." Matt walked up and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Crescent, I said those things back there because I care deeply for you. I already lost my parents, and I can't take losing someone I care about again. But I understand you have a job to do, and you are a defender of Equestria." He grabbed her hand with his right hand and cupped her chin with his left, "But promise me you'll be careful from now on and listen to me when I say to disengage." "I can agree to that after today." Said Crescent "And you sir have to promise not to go charging recklessly into situations ever again." Said Twilight Matt nervously chuckled as he rubbed his neck and adverted his gaze from the stern look Twilight was giving him. He sighed, knowing it was the right thing to do. I guess she is right, I did go in recklessly, even if I had Guilmon and Gomamon by my side. He looked back at Twilight, "I promise." She smiled as her stern deminer disappeared. Matt smiled at back at Twilight as he placed a kiss on Crescent's lips. Twilight smiled as Crescent and Matt shared a loving embrace. They didn't stay connected long as Matt pulled away from her. She smiled at him before looking back at Patamon. "And I have to thank you to Patamon. You saved me back there." Said Crescent "Don't mention it. I was only protecting a friend. I am your friend, right?" Asked Patamon Crescent rubbed the top of his head, "Of course we are. We're the best of friends." Patamon smiled and laughed, but stopped when a sphere of light appeared before him and Crescent. Everyone in the room knew what that sphere meant as the light exploded to reveal a black and silver digivice. Crescent reached out and grabbed it. The screen lit up and showed a picture of Patamon. "What's that?" Asked Patamon "A digivice, and it has a picture of you on it." Said Crescent "What does that mean?" Asked Patamon "It means you and I are partners, and I'm a tamer now!" Exclaimed Crescent "Really!" Exclaimed Patamon "Yes!" Exclaimed Crescent Crescent held Patamon's front paws as he jumped up and down with a smile on both of their faces. Matt walked over to stand next to the Twilight to watch at the cute display. She intertwined the fingers of her right hand with his left as she leaned her head on his shoulder. She looked up at him as he watched Crescent. "You think I'll get a Digimon to?" Asked Twilight He looked down at her and placed a kiss on her forehead, "Who knows, but anything is possible."
Chapter 14 - SleepoverSleepover Rain poured down from the sky. It soaked the ground, causing puddles to form across the land. Lightning flashed across the sky as the wind wiped around the town Ponyville. Everypony was snuggled safely in their homes as the storm poured down much-needed rain after the pegasi forgot a sprinkle the week prior. No pony would be caught dead outside in the rain, but two such ponies were. Rarity and Applejack ran through the rain after hearing Twilight calling out to them. They had no other option but to take shelter in her house as it was the closet place for them. "Come inside, girls." Said Twilight Rarity quickly went outside as not to let the rain further soak her clothing, which was an aquamarine shirt and a black skirt. She used her magic to dry off her clothes and mane so she could get it right back the way it should be. Applejack, on the other hand, still stood outside, looking at Twilight's home and the lightning that was flying across the sky. "Is the inside a tree the best place to be in a lightning storm." Said Applejack "It isn't unless you have a magical lightning rod protecting it. Now come inside before you catch a cold." Said Twilight "Thank you for the invitation, Twilight." Said Rarity "Yeah, thanks for the hospitality." Said Applejack Rarity looked down to see mud-covered Applejack's hooves. She stopped Applejack from passing the doormat and pointed down to her hooves. "Do be a polite guest and clean yourself up." Applejack growled and muttered under her voice as she went back outside to clean off her hooves. Rarity smiled as she closed the door. "Some storm, huh. The pegasi sure outdid themselves this time. I hope you and Applejack will be able to make it home." Said Twilight Rarity looked outside at the raging storm, "Yes, that might be a problem." "Well, you are more than welcome to stay here. Spike's off in Canterlot on royal business. It's only Matt and his Digimon here." Rarity looked around and raised her eyebrow, "Oh, he's upstairs sleeping in my bed. He came back today after a three-day business trip with Mayor Mare. He came to see me and well conked out on my couch only after a minute or two of sitting on it. Guilmon and Gomamon are in the kitchen." As if on command, the two Digimon came out of the kitchen with Guilmon stuffing his face full of bread, "So I'm quite lonely tonight since I don't want to wake up, Matt." Twilight suddenly seemed to have an idea pop into her head, "You and Applejack should have a sleepover. We'll have a slumber party! I've always wanted to have one!" Rarity chuckled as Twilight ran over to the many shelves of the library, seemingly looking for a book, "Oh, well, that's nice darling, but I remembered have something important I have to do. How could I forget that?" She looked back at Applejack, working on cleaning her hooves, "I possibly can't stay here all night with Applejack." When she turned back, Twilight had a book right in her face, "Slumber 101: All You've Ever Wanted to Know About Slumber Parties But Were Afraid to Ask." "I always wanted to use it, but never got a chance. Now I can, oh this is going to be great." Said Twilight "Oh, can we join too?" Asked Guilmon with Gomamon nodding his head. "Why not, the more we have, the more fun we can have." Said Twilight "Slumber party!" Shouted Guilmon "Great," said Rarity with a nervous chuckle. Twilight placed the book on a pedestal and flipped to the first chapter. "What's first?" Asked Guilmon "Well, it says the first thing we do is makeovers." Said Twilight "What's that?" Asked Guilmon "Better to show than explain." Said Rarity "Well, you have fun. I am not putting makeup on or anything else you girls do for makeovers." Said Gomamon Rarity ignited her horn and grabbed Gomamon and pulled him into the air, "Not so fast, Gomamon. You wanted to be part of this sleepover, which means you have to do what the book says. I would hate for you to hurt Twilight's feelings about not wanting to enjoy the fun of her first slumber party." Gomamon looked over to Twilight, and she had a puppy dog look on her face. Guilmon was also trying to pull it off, but it wasn't working. Gomamon grumbled, "Fine." "Great, now let's get to work." Said Rarity *** Applejack closed the door as she looked at her cleaned hooves. I hope that satisfies little miss fussy. She then looked up and raised her eyebrows as Rarity began to place a green liquid that looked like mud on Twilight's face and move it around. Rarity also had it on her face along with Guilmon and Gomamon. Gomamon also had cucumbers around his eyes. "What in tarnation is going on here?" Everyone turned to look at Applejack, "You call me out for mud of my hooves and make me clean it off, but it's ok to put mud on your faces." "Silly, it's called a mud mask. It's to refresh and rejuvenate your complexion." Said Rarity "I do feel my face getting refreshed and rejuvenated," said Gomamon, with Guilmon nodding his head to agree with Gomamon. "We're giving each other makeovers! We have to do it since it is right here in the book." Said Twilight She used her magic to float the slumber party book over to Applejack's face, "Slumber 101: Everything You." Applejack instantly stopped reading, "Oh, look at the time! I gotta skidaddle on home, quick! I'm late for, um something." Applejack began to make her way towards the door, but a flash of lightning followed by a tremendous clap of thunder stopped her in her tracks, "Or maybe I'll stay here for a spell." "Hurray slumber party!" Exclaimed Twilight Applejack nervously chuckled but stopped when Rarity smiled at her as she began to put the mud mask across her face. She then placed two cucumbers over her eyes. "What's up with the cucumbers?" Asked Applejack Rarity sighed, "They are to reduce the puffiness around one's eyes." "I would agree with that." Said Gomamon "Whatever, but these are good eatin'." She threw both cucumber slices into her mouth and chewed them. "Oh, this is so exciting! We'll do everything by the book, and that will make my slumber party officially fun." Said Twilight Gomamon looked behind him as he heard Applejack and Rarity going at it. Guilmon stood next to him as the two Digimon watching the ponies go at it. "You wouldn't know that those two are friends from looking at it." Said Gomamon "Yeah." Said Guilmon Twilight appeared and hugged her friends before using her magic to bring in Gomamon and Guilmon into the hug, "This is going to be the best slumber party ever." Everybody nodded as Twilight brought the book over to them, "Let's see here to finish makeovers, we have to braid our mane and tails." Twilight let go over everybody and ran up the stairs to her room. "I've been meaning to ask what you and Guilmon are doing here, Gomamon?" Asked Applejack "Matt is out cold upstairs in Twilight's bed. He collapsed only after two minutes after coming here from his trip with Mayor Mare." Said Gomamon "How was that?" Asked Applejack "Boring." Said Gomamon "I have to agree, everypony there was so boring and dull. I had to fight every chance not to fall asleep." Said Guilmon "Oh, I let it put me to sleep." Said Gomamon Twilight came down with hair curlers. She set it down and smiled, "Now, let's get to work." After fifteen minutes of working on the braids, each of the mares had their manes and tails curling. Applejack didn't want the curlers in her mane, but she didn't want to upset Twilight as it was her first sleepover. Gomamon and Guilmon helped curl the girl's manes and tails since they couldn't participate. It wasn't long before the mares removed the curlers to reveal their manes were all the same. Gomamon and Guilmon cocked there heads to the side as Twilight went to work on her book. The two Digimon looked at each other before shrugging it away. "Makeovers check, now its time for us to tell ghost stories. Who wants to go first?" Said Twilight "I think I'll go first. Let me tell ya the story of the prissy ghost who drove all mad with her unnecessary neatness." Applejack looked over to Rarity, "I'm sure y'all familiar with that one." Rarity rolled her eyes, "No, I don't think I heard that one. But let me tell you one. I'm sure you well aware of Applejack. It's the horrifying story of the messy, inconsiderate ghost who irritated everypony within a hundred miles." "Oh, please, you made that up." Said Applejack "There ghost stories, they're all made up." Said Rarity "Not all ghosts are," both mares looked at Gomamon. "Let me tell you the story of the Bakemon. Ghost Digimon that every year gathers in mass." Gomamon began to stalk slowly towards both girls, "Then they head out to hunt helpless Digimon to feast upon them. If you ever hear the sound of cloth waving across the night sky, then know that you will never return." Both mares raised their eyebrows at Gomamon as he stood on his back legs with his claws in the air. He cocked his head to the side, "What?" "Darling, no offense, but that was a horrible story." Said Rarity "I have to agree. A ghost Digimon that eats other Digimon." Said Applejack "Oh, they're real, alright." Said Gomamon "Sure, darling." Said Rarity "Well, I have one. It's the story about the Legend of the Headless Horse." Twilight dimmed the lights and pulled out a lantern. She sat on the floor and patted the area around her. The group sat down around her as she placed the lantern in the middle of the group. "It was a dark and stormy night, just like tonight. And three ponies were having a slumber party just like this one." Twilight spent a good while recounting the story of the Headless Horse. The group was starting to get creeped out as Twilight continued her tale. "And just when the last pony thought she was safe, there, standing right behind her, just inches away was..." Twilight paused to raise the tension in the room and the perfect opportunity, "The Headless Horse!" A bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, and Twilight took the opportunity as she quickly threw a blanket over her head and acted like the Headless Horse, causing Rarity, Applejack, Gomamon, and Guilmon to scream in horror. The group held each other in a large ball of fear. Twilight laughed as she threw the sheet off her head and went over to her book. She also brought the lights back on. "Ghost stories check." Everybody let each other go and tried to calm down their nerves. "Now it says here that it's time to make s'mores." Said Twilight "What's a s'more?" Asked Guilmon "It's a roosted Marshmellow between two pieces of chocolate and graham cracker." Said Applejack "Oh, that sounds tasty." Said Guilmon "It sure is." Said Applejack "Do we even have the necessary materials to make s'mores?" Asked Rarity Twilight zipped off into her kitchen and brought everything out they would need. "Well, I guess let's get started. First, we're going to need a fire to roast the Marshmallows and then a table to work on assembling the s'mores." Said Rarity "I think I have a spare table in the basement and wood in the basement." Said Twilight "I'll give you a hand, Twilight." Said Applejack Applejack followed Twilight down to the basement. After a while, the two came up with a table and wood. Applejack tossed a few logs into the chimney and asked Guilmon to light the fire. Guilmon fired off a Pyro Sphere to ignite the fire after which, Applejack gave him a thumbs up and began to work on the Marshmallows. Guilmon decided to help out, with direction from Applejack. Rarity worked at the table, sorting everything out with Twilight and Gomamon. "Now you place a Marshmellow on top of the chocolate and be sure it's centered - that's critical - and then carefully put another perfectly square graham cracker on top." She showed off the perfectly made s'more to Twilight Gomamon. "And that's how you do it." "Wow." Said Twilight "That all seemed way too complicated for a snack." Said Gomamon "That's because it is, Gomamon." Applejack picked up Rarity's perfectly made S'more, "Nah, ya just eat 'em." Applejack tossed the treat into her mouth and chewed. The Digimon followed Applejack's example, as did Twilight. Twilight ate her treat as she went over to her book. "S'mores check, now it seems we play a game called truth or dare." Said Twilight "Well, I dare Applejack to do something carefully and neatly for a change." Said Rarity "Oh yeah? Well, I dare Rarity ta lighten up and stop obsessin' over every last little detail, for a change." Said Applejack "I don't think this game is going to well." Said Gomamon Twilight scratched her head as her friends continued to argue. I don't think that's how we play the game. Let's see if they have a guide here. Twilight flipped through a few pages before she found what she needed. "It says here you have to give an honest answer to any question or do whatever anypony dares you to do." Said Twilight Applejack looked at Rarity with a devilish grin, "Then, I dare Rarity to step outside and ruin her precious mane." Rarity gasped at what Applejack dared her to do. "You have to. It's the rules." Said Twilight Rarity growled before marching over to Twilight's front and stepping outside. She did pause once she had the door open, but accepted her fate and went out into the rain. She only stayed outside for a few seconds before returning to the inside of the library. She stood at the front door, shivering and dripping water as the rain had soaked her from head to toe. Her clothes hung tight to her body, and her mane was now straight as it dripped water. Applejack placed her hand over her mouth as she snickered at Rarity, making the fashion mare growl before making her way towards Applejack, leaving a trail of water. She got right in front of Applejack's face. "Now, I dare to wear a frou-frou, glittery, lacy dress." Said Rarity Applejack huffed as she stomped off to Twilight's basement. She was down there for an entire three minutes before coming back up wearing a frou-frou princess dress. Rarity snicked a little as Applejack made her ways back to stare daggers at Rarity. The two began to give each other dares. Gomamon turned to look at Twilight. "Is that yours?" He asked Twilight blushed and turned away from Gomamon, "I think that's enough of that. Let's see our next fun thing to do is...pillow fight." Rarity huffed as she finally got herself dry, "Oh, please. I will not participate in something so crude." Once she finished her sentence as a pillow hit her in the head. She looked at Applejack, who was holding another pillow. Applejack also was out of the dress that Rarity made her wear. "Oh! It! Is! On!" Guilmon and Gomamon looked at each other before booking it as pillows began to go flying across the library. Both Digimon took cover behind the couch as they watched Rarity and Applejack go at it. Twilight didn't seem to pay much attention as she was trying to figure out what the new game was. Finally, she figured it out after turned around. "Oh, I get it. A fight with pillows." She watched as Rarity and Applejack were picking up the fight, "Don't you girls think you should take it down a notch." "I will if Applejack does." Said Rarity "She started it." Said Applejack Both mares dodged pillows they launched at each other. Twilight was going to try to stop them when pillows began to slam into her. Rarity and Applejack stopped when they completely covered Twilight. Twilight poked her head out from the pile of pillows. "Maybe it's time to get some sleep." Said Twilight Everyone else seemed to agree as Twilight got to her hooves and pulled a few feathers from her mane and out of her mouth. She took a few pillows upstairs with her. She opened her bedroom door to see Matt was still sleeping in his bed, but quite sprawled out. Twilight offered Rarity and Applejack some of her PJs for them to wear to bed as she prepared the extra bed in the room. Applejack and Rarity took turns getting changed as the Digimon made themselves some makeshift beds on the floor. Twilight moved Matt around, without waking him, and curled up next to him. She laid her head on his chest and listened to his gentle breathing as she fell asleep. But Twilight wouldn't stay asleep for long as she could hear Applejack and Rarity arguing once more. She had tolerated it for most of the sleepover, but she finally had enough of her friends bickering at each other. She tried to ignore them and concentrate on her lover's breathing or the rhythm of his heartbeat. But neither of those was working. She growled as she got up and glared at her friends, who looked at her. "I hope you're happy, both of you. You've ruined my first slumber party." Gomamon and Guilmon were both waking up right at the moment, "The makeover, the s'mores, Truth or Dare, the pillow fight... I mean, is there anything else that could go wrong?" Soon everyone turned to watch as a bolt of lightning struck a tree next to Twilight's house. "Sorry, I asked." Everyone ran to the window and looked at the tree as it swayed in the rain and wind. It looked close to falling onto the house next door to them. "Ya, see? That's why we needed to take down all those branches around town, not spiffy 'em up." Said Applejack Rarity wanted to say something, but Applejack pushed her out of the way and went to her clothes, where she got a rope. She tied a knot and made a lasso out of it. She walked over to the window and pushed Rarity out of the way as she opened it. "Are you sure that's such a great idea." Said Gomamon "Applejack, wait!" Exclaimed Rarity "No time for waitin'!" Applejack tossed her rope out and caught the broken tree and smiled over at Rarity, "That's how we get it done." Applejack pulled on the rope, and in came the tree. Everyone screamed as the top of the broke tree came right into Twilight's room. The screaming, of course, woke up Matt, who wasn't able to get a word out before the tree began to fill Twilight's room. Everyone poked there heads out from the foliage of the tree. Rarity saw the mess that the tree caused and gasped as she went right to work on trying to clean it as the rain started to come into the room. "I tried to tell you it would come crashing into here." Said Rarity Applejack growled, "Well, ya should have tried harder." Applejack turned back to look at Twilight, "I'm mighty sorry, Twilight." "Its..." Twilight paused as she thought about it, "Well, it's not okay. There's a giant tree branch in the middle of my room, and the book doesn't say anything about having a giant tree branch at your slumber party. Or least I haven't found that entry yet." Twilight flipped through the book but struggled against the storm. Matt poked his head up from the tree and looked around as Gomamon and Guilmon were next to him. He looked at both of them and then the tree that was inside Twilight's room. "What's going on here?" Asked Matt "We're having a slumber party." Said Guilmon "A slumber party." Said Matt "Yeah." Said Gomamon Matt kept trying to understand what was happening as Applejack argued with Rarity, and Twilight attempted to figure things out. Soon Rarity's horn came to life, and the tree became covered in the light from her horn. Then in a flash of white light, the tree was now potted topiaries. Applejack was going to kick out the rest of the tree out of the window, but Rarity glared at her. Applejack stopped and pick up the trunk of the tree and drop it outside. Rarity smiled at her until she looked at herself. "Oh, I look awful." Said Rarity Applejack also saw she didn't look too good either. She rubbed her chin, and a light bulb went off in her head, and she ran off and got to pieces of cucumber and put them over Rarity's eyes. "Better." Said Applejack "Yes, thanks." Said Rarity Rarity tried to find Applejack to hug her as she waved her hands around to find Applejack. Applejack smiled as she moved forward and returned Rarity's action. Matt stood with his Digimon partners and scratched his head. "I'm still completely lost." Said Matt Applejack released Rarity and walked over to Matt, "No worries, partner, I'll fill you in." "While you do that, I'm jumping into the shower. I need to get cleaned up." Said Rarity She removed the cucumbers to make her way to Twilight's bathroom as Applejack filled Matt in on everything much better than Guilmon and Gomamon could do while Twilight tried to figure out what part of the slumber party consisted of topiaries. *** "Dear Princess Celestia, It's hard to believe that two ponies who seem to have so little in common could ever get along. But I found out that if you embrace each other's differences, you just might be surprised to discover a way to be friends after all." Twilight rolled up the scroll as Rarity, Applejack, Gomamon, and Guilmon played a little game in the background. Twilight would make sure that when Spike got home, she would have him send that off. Matt came up and hugged her from behind as she placed a kiss on her cheek. "So, how was your first slumber party?" He asked Twilight looked back at him as he rested his head on her shoulder, "Sure, it was rough at first, but I think it ended up being perfect. So as for my first slumber party, it's a complete success." She then turned to the ponies and Digimon, "Now shall we have another tomorrow." The ponies and Digimon looked at her and began to laugh, "How about a week from Thursday? Oh, how about two weeks from Saturday? A month from now?" The laughter continued as the clouds disappeared, and the sun came out once more.
Chapter 16 - A King's ReturnSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
IntroductionIntroduction The sun was shining on another beautiful day in the state of Indiana, as summer had arrived. With summer comes the freedom of all students from the terror and torture that was school. For many, this was the end of a few months of school, but also the beginning of an adventure for five individuals, an adventure that would change everything. For in the depths of space, a lone beam of light traveled at incredible speeds towards the planet Earth. In no time at all, it quickly cut through the vacuum of space and into Earth's atmosphere, which did not falter the speed it was going at. As the beam of light enters the stratosphere and above the state of Indiana, it splits into five individuals beams. Three from the group move in one direction, while the remaining two went in different directions. These lights were on a collision course with five destined humans. Three human youths walked alongside each other after finishing their last day of the school semester. "Summer, the time for no school, no homework, no bossy teachers, and no worries. Nothing but sun and fun." Alice Johnson, Eighteen-years-old with dirty blond hair, kept in a ponytail and sapphire blue eyes. She stood at 5'11'' Wearing a white and blue tank-top with a pair of jean shorts and white sneakers. Her chest size BB-cup, but she had a perfect hourglass figure and a small bubble butt. She had finished and graduated high school and ready to rest before college. "You've got that right. Time for some downtime." Next, Matthew Summers or Matt for short. He was also eighteen and graduated high school with Alice. Matt stood at 6' with raven black hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a plain blue t-shirt, a pair of cargo shorts, and red and black sneakers. Matt has an average body with muscle definition. He also had a pair of pilot's goggles resting on his head, which had a large crack running across the entire right lens. The crack came from a childhood accident. Matt was also smart with an IQ of 150; he was only ten points off of being a genius. Last was Abby Summer, Matt's younger sister by eight years. She was currently ten. She had brown hair, which she kept in twin pigtails and emerald green eyes. She was wearing a plain white t-shirt, a black skirt, and white sneakers. She stood at 5'4''. She had an average body build for a child with a little pudge around her stomach. But overall, she was cute, which meant her brother was overprotective when it came to boys. She was right now getting ready to enter middle school. "So what should we do for summer vacation?" Asked Alice waking ahead of the sibling before turning around, walking backward with her hands behind her back. "Anything sounds good to me," Abby added while she walked alongside her brother while holding his hand. With his free hand, Matt cupped his chin as he thought about his answer. "Well, I was thinking about visiting a few theme parks." This caused his little sister to squeal with joy, bouncing up and down. "I'll see if my parents will let us rent a week out in their condo in Hilton Head Island." Said Alice while pulling out her phone to message her parents "You sure we can afford a week at Hilton Head Island," Matt asked, sounding concerned. "I know my parents could lend me some money to cover some of the cost. Plus, I know you have the money your parents left you." Alice said after sending her text message Matt lowered his at the mention of his parent. "That's true." Two years ago, a terrible car accident took Abby's and Matt's parents' lives. Their parents had the foresight to create a savings account for their children with plenty of money for them, along with making sure both children were in their will. After losing her friend's parents, Alice, a friend of the family, offered to help Matt raise his sister and manage their finances. She was one of Matt's closest friends. He cherished their friendship and knew that he could never repay her for all she had done for him and his sister, those two years without his parents were made slightly bearable thanks to her. Abby also looked up to Alice like a big sister and talk to her about girl things that her brother would never understand no matter how hard he tried. "It would be fun to go to the beach, and I know Matt would love to play golf down there," Abby added, knowing her brother's hobbies. "Plus, I bought a new bikini," Alice said in a teasing tone as she sways her hips while glancing at Matthew. Matt turned his gaze elsewhere as a noticeable blush appeared on his cheeks. "Well, it would be fun." He spoke in a flustered tone earning a giggle from the two girls. The trio continued to talk about their summer plans, unaware that three beams of light were heading straight for them high above them. Elsewhere, an eighteen-year-old African American was waving goodbye to his friends. "Same time next week, James." A teenager called out as he and a group of his friends were leaving. "You know it." James Smith. He stood at 6'2'' with short black hair and emerald green eyes. He was wearing a white shirt, sport's shorts, and a pair of red Jordans. He had finished playing a fun round of basketball with his closest friends but enjoyed football more since he was the wide receiver for his high school. He graduated this year and wanted to start his summer fun early before heading off to training camp to prepare for when he joins the football team at the college he'll be attending. James also had a large scar running down the side of his right cheek. It came from a fight he had with his father when he was thirteen. James sighed as he took a long sip from his water bottle as he walked out to his car. He was happy he could spend time with his football buddies before they all went their separate ways. He stopped at his car and fished around in his pocket for his keys to unlock it. 'Well time to get home and shower.' He thought, unaware of the beam of light heading straight for him Elsewhere a teenage girl exits her school stretching her arms above her head. "At last. I'm finally free." April North, an eighteen-year-old female. She stood at 5'8'' with short chocolate brown hair and seafoam green eyes. She had DD-cup breasts. She liked to wear dresses. Right now, she was wearing a strapless aquamarine dress and light blue sneakers. She also graduated from high school and was enjoying her summer before college. April is a shy girl and kept to herself but loved to express her feelings through art. She especially liked painting. She wanted to one day have her paintings spotlighted at a large art gallery. "Time to go home and start on that new painting I had been planning." The fifth and last beam of light was making its way toward her. Soon the lights began to make their way to their distended host. Abby, Matt, and Alice walked back to Matt's car when the lights made their descent to their targets. James, who was about to enter his car, stopped when he saw a light that suddenly hovered right in front of him. The light meant for April, who had already sat down in the car, zoomed through the open window of the car before stopping in front of her. A light hovered in front of Abby, Alice, and Matt. Each of the lights stopped short of their destined recipient before flashing and dropping a device in front of them. Out of curiosity, the children moved to pick up the small device before and examining them closely. The device looked similar to a plus sign with a screen in the middle and a light ring that lit up when each of the humans took hold of the device. Matt's was red, Alice had blue, Abby had pink. At the same time, James and April had also received the same items. James's was gold, while April's came in green. Each of five humans scrutinized the device, wondering what it could be and where it came from. Before they knew it, the screens of each of them began to glow. A white aura envelopes each of the human's bodies. "What's happening?" Matt asked, feeling restricted in his movement. Soon he felt as though a sensation was pulling his body up. Looking down, he could see that he was indeed being pulled up towards the sky. "Matt!" Alice screamed as she tried to break free from the white aura. "Big brother!" Abby cried out, sounded scared and worried as she looked to her brother for support. Simultaneously, both James and April experienced the same phenomenon as they too started to float upward into the sky. Once the five humans had reached a certain altitude, they were immediately and without warning shot straight up at incredible speeds. The highest of the five was Matt, with Alice and Abby not too far behind. James, who looked terrified, looked all around him as the ground beneath him started to move further away from how high he went. April hid her face in her hands as she had wished that this was nothing more but a bad dream. Five beams of light began to speed through the atmosphere of planet Earth heading towards space. Each occupant was screaming as the light pulled them further away from their plant and their homes and families. Once they had reached a high enough altitude, the beams of light shot across the inky darkness of space as they made their way to their intended destination. Each occupant was screaming as the light pulled them further away from the ground and their homes. Soon each beam shot like a bullet into space towards its final destination.
Chapter 1 - Warm Welcome...NotWarm Welcome...Not The five lights soared through the night sky over the Everfree Forest. The lights started to make their descents down towards different parts of the forest, where odd creatures awaited the lights' occupants to arrive. Once the light reached its destination, it stopped above the forest floor and descended downward. As it rested upon the forest floor, the light vanished without a trace leaving the humans lying on the ground, unconscious from the momentum as it traveled across the stars. The odd creatures each made their way towards their respective unconscious humans as they knew that this was who they were waiting to appear to them. *** "Hey, you! Are you ok?" Matt’s body began to stir as he heard a high pitched voice speaking out to him. "You think he's alive?" His brain began to send signals across his body as he heard yet another voice, even though the statement happened to be directed towards the first voice. "I'm not sure, but I hope so." Matt groaned as he felt his body coming back to him. Matt slowly opened his eyes to see nothing more than blobs, and mutated colors fill his vision. He groaned as he closed his eyes and opened them again. His vision was coming slowly, coming back to him. "Oh, he's awake." Matt rubbed his head as he sat up. He looked around to see he was sitting in the middle of a forest. Matt looked up to see a dark sky full of stars, which meant night had fallen. He looked around, and soon his eyes came down to two strange creatures. One looked like a grey seal with no back flippers and orange hair. The other looked like a red blob with legs, a tail, and batwings. He blinked his eyes, but the two strange creatures were still there. He rubbed his eyes, but there they still stood. "Ok, this has to be a dream." He reached over to his right arm and pinched himself. He flinched out from the pain, "Ok, I felt that, which means this isn't a dream, and I'm looking at two strange creatures out of a children's coloring book." "Creatures, no, we are Digimon," said the red blob in a high pitched voice. "Digimon?" Asked Matt "Yeah, Digimon, Digital Monsters." Said the grey seal "Digital Monsters?" Asked Matt "Man, you sure love repeating things. But anyway, I'm Gigimon." "And I'm Bukamon." "Um, well, I'm Matthew Summers, but you can call me Matt." "Nice to meet you." Said Bukamon Matt looked around at the towering trees around him, "So you two have any idea where we are?" "Nope, we arrived only a few minutes before you appeared here from a strange light." Said Gigimon Matt scratched his head and closed his eyes. A light, could he be talking about the light that enveloped me when I touched that strange object. But why did it take me to a forest? And where does this forest happen to be? Matt rubbed his head as he had way too many questions and barely any answers. Matt looked back at Gigimon and Bukamon. "So, I'm guessing you haven't seen any other humans around?" Asked Matt "If you're referring to what you are, nope." Said Bukamon Matt sighed as he got up and that when he felt something in his right hand. He looked to see the strange device from earlier. He spun it around in his hand as he looked at it. I wonder what's up with this thing. Matt decided that worrying about the object in his hand wasn’t necessary at this moment. He attached it to his pants before looking around him. He was happy that the bright moon gave him some form of light to see in the dense forest surrounding him. At least I can see. I guess that’s one good thing. Now I need to find Alice and Abby. Matt wasn’t even sure if Alice and Abby were also in the forest. He sighed but looked down at Gigimon and Bukamon. Maybe they saw another light coming into the forest. Matt looked at both of the Digimon, “Did either of you see any other lights come down to this forest?” “Yeah, we saw four other lights along with yours. I think the nearest one is that way.” Matt turned to see Bukamon was pointing to the way in front of him. “Thanks, Bukamon.” Said Matt Hold on, Abby and Alice, I’m coming to find you guys. But now I’m wondering who the other two lights belong to if Abby, Alice, and I were three of them. I guess I’ll find out sooner or later. Matt began to make his way towards the way Bukamon pointed out to him. "Where are you going, Matt?" Asked Gigimon "I'm going to look for my sister and my best friend. I have to make sure they're both ok." Said Matt "Then, wait for us." Said Bukamon "You want to follow me?" Asked Matt "That's right." Said Bukamon "Ok, I guess I could use the company. Let's get moving." Said Matt Bukamon and Gigimon smiled at each other before Bukamon flew over to Matt, and Gigimon hopped over to him. Matt picked up Gigimon and looked at him. "Thanks." Said Gigimon "No problem." Said Matt Bukamon followed close behind Matt as he carried Gigimon. Abby and Alice stay safe. I'm going to find both of you. *** Matt, Gigimon - now riding his shoulder - and Bukamon - floating close behind - continued to walk in the forest. Matt yelled out to his sister and Alice, but he wasn't sure if they would even hear him. Matt sighed as he tucked his right hand into his pocket. He pulled his phone out again to see if he had acquired a signal, but still nothing. Damn! He put it away and continued to walk. Then he heard the sound of something coming towards him and his Digimon. He turned to his right and prepared to meet whatever animal he awoke from its slumber. I knew I would attract an animal sooner or later with my screaming. Matt steadied himself for the creature to appear. His mind ran rampant with what could be coming towards him, but he never expected another human to come barreling out of the forest. Matt didn’t even have time to react as James struck him. James and Matt hit the dirt hard. Gigimon luckily jumped away before Matt hit the dirt. The two Digimon looked at the two eighteen-year-old males tangled together. Both groaned as they got themselves untangled and sat on the forest floor. “Man has anyone ever told you that you hit like a freight train.” Said Matt "Yeah, my friends have plenty of times pointed that out to me.” Said James “Yeah, no kidding.” Said Matt Matt was the first to get up and stretch out a hand towards the boy, "So, what's your name?" "James Smith and you?" James took Matt’s hand as Matt helped him back to his feet. "Matthew Summers, but Matt for short." "And I'm Bukamon." "And I'm Gigimon." James turned to look at the two Digimon before feeling his eyes twitch. "I finally found you!" The small group moved their heads towards the sound. They were now looking at a blue fuzzy ball that looked like a cat. "I thought I would never catch up to you." Said the cat creature "You see those strange creatures as well?" Asked James as he leaned in close to Matt, pointing to the Digimon. "Yes, I see them as well." Said Matt "What are they?" Asked James "Well, you let never let me introduce myself. I'm Wanyamon, and I am a Digimon, Digital Monster." "This can't be happening," said James as he rubbed his eyes. "Trust me. It's happening." Said Matt "And who are all of you?" Asked Wanyamon "I'm Matthew Summers, Matt, for short." "I'm Bukamon." "I'm Gigimon." "Well, you going to introduce yourself. I think it’s rude not to introduce yourself and to run off as you did.” Said Wanyamon James sighed as he looked at Wanyamon, “James Smith.” "So, I'm guessing your first encounter didn't go over so well." Said Matt "Yeah, when James woke up, he took one look at me, and once I said the word, 'hello.' He was off screaming like a little girl, calling me a freak of nature." Said Wanyamon "Well, he is." Said James “That’s hurtful, James. You can’t say that to a friend.” Said Wanyamon James had a look of shock on his face, “Friends, when did we become friends? I’ve only just met you.” “I know, but I have this feeling in my gut that tells me otherwise.” Said Wanyamon James wasn’t even sure how to comprehend any of this. He rubbed his head as he sighed as he looked at the blue puffball, smiling at him. He then turned to see Matt picking up Gigimon and walking off with Bukamon floating right behind him. “Hey, where are you going?” Asked James “My sister and friend are somewhere in this forest, and I plan on finding them.” Said Matt James watched as Matt continued to walk away from him. He looked at Matt and then around him. James then looked down at Wanyamon, who had a smile on his face. He sighed as he picked up Wanyamon and ran to catch up with Matt. Better to be with someone else than alone in this creepy forest. "Matt, wait up." Matt stopped and looked back at James, running towards him. “You can't leave a brother all alone in a strange forest. Don’t you know that's how the black guy always dies in the horror movies?" Said James "But you’re not alone. You got me." Said Wanyamon "I'm sure all the creatures in this forest would be afraid of a blue puffball." Said James "Besides the point of you thinking that the tropes in horror movies are real. But seeing how we are both in the same boat, it wouldn't hurt to stay together. Now let's get going." Said Matt James nodded his head as the two went off to find Abby and Alice. *** Abby shook as she continued to walk through the dark forest. She looked around her as she tried to figure a way out. Every movement in the forest made her jump and shack. Luckily, she wasn’t alone as she held two Digimon in her hands, Gummymon and Kokomon. Both looked like store-bought Halloween ghosts. Gummymon was a greenish color, while Kokomon was a brown color. Gummymon had a single horn on his head, and Kokomon had three horns on her head. Upon waking up on the forest floor, she found both Gummymon and Kokomon looking at smiling at her. She felt afraid at first, but she felt comfortable around the two Digimon after a minute of talking with them. Abby could not see her brother or Alice around her. She began to get scared. But Gummymon and Kokomon quickly calmed her down. She decided to wait where she was in hopes of either of them finding her. But after a while, she decided she couldn't sit around. She had to find her brother and Alice even though she knew that she had a better chance of being found if she stayed put. But she was stubborn, so off she went with Gummymon and Kokomon in her hands to find her brother and Alice. "Now, I'm not so sure my idea of wandering around this forest was a good idea after all." Said Abby "No worries, Abby, Kokomon, and I will protect you." Said Gummymon "Yeah, we won't let anything happen to you." Said Kokomon "Thanks, you two." Said Abby Abby hugged both Digimon close to her as she continued to walk. But the sound of a twig snapping not far from her made her stop dead in her tracks. She looked around but couldn’t see much in the dense darkness that surrounded her. She swallowed the lump in her throat as she held Gummymon and Kokomon tighter. Please, don’t be a wild animal! She looked around and finally turned to see April walking out of the darkness carrying a Digimon that resembled a plant. The two girls looked at each other. Abby backed away, hugging both Gummymon and Kokomon. She wasn't sure if this new girl, April, was a good person. April could see Abby was scared and decided to play it easily with her. She bent down so that she was on Abby's level. "Who are you?" Asked Abby "I'm April North, and this is Yokomon." "Please to meet you." Said Yokomon "So, what's your name?" Asked April "I'm Abby Summers, and in my right hand is Gummymon, and in my left is Kokomon." Said Abby "It's a pleasure." Said Gummymon "What my brother said." Said Kokomon "I'm guessing you're trying to find your way out of this forest too." Said April "No, I'm trying to find my friend, Alice, and my brother, Matt. Have you seen them?" Said Abby "Well, I know I haven't passed any other people since I woke up and started exploring. I swore I was the only one in this forest until I ran into you." Said April Abby gave a heavy sigh with tears forming in the corners of her eyes. That made April feel bad for her. She walked up to her and placed her right hand on her shoulder. "Hey, don't cry, I'm sure you'll find them. How about I help you search for them?" Said April Abby smiled at April, "Yeah, that would be nice." "Great, plus staying together in this creepy place is much better than continuing alone." Said April April showed her right hand for Abby to take. She moved Gummymon to her right side with Kokomon and took April's hand. The two girls went off trying to find Matt, Alice, and a way out. *** "So, I have to ask?" Matt looked at James, "You remember anything before waking up in this forest?" Matt tapped his chin as the two continued to walk the forest, trying to find his sister and Alice. "Well, I remember going towards my car with Alice and Abby when a bright light appeared." Matt pulled his Digivice from his pants and looked at it, "Then this thing appeared from it. I took ahold of it, and the next thing I know, I'm rocketing into space surrounded by a bright light. Then I woke up here with Gigimon and Bukamon." "Same here." James removed his Digivice, "I still wonder what's up with these things. I mean, why we of all people got this thing." "I'm not sure; I'm not even sure where in the hell we are." Said Matt "Yeah, something about this place doesn't seem right." Said James “Yeah, like it’s out of place or something.” Commented Matt "Hey, I think I see an opening." Said Bukamon Bukamon pointed in front of them, which looked like the way to a large opening of space based on the amount of light coming from it. "Finally, an exit!" Exclaimed James The two boys ran until they came out to a vast chasm with a rope bridge hovering over it. In the distance was an old stone castle that had seen better days. The two could see that the forest still surrounded them. “Looks like we only found an opening in the forest and not an exit to it.” Stated Matt James walked forward and kicked a small stone and watched as it fell into the gorge. After a minute, he heard it hit the ground. By the way, it took the rock to hit the ground and echo back a sound. It seemed that the gorge was quite deep. "Well, that sure is a long way down." Said James "Matt!" Matt and James turned to see Alice running up to them. "Alice!" Alice stopped and hugged Matt being careful of Gigimon. "Am I glad to see you?" Said Alice "Same here." Soon Matt spotted a yellow fox creature in Alice's hands, "I'm guessing you got a Digimon as well." Alice looked down at her, Digimon, "That's right, Viximon is her name." "Nice to meet you." Said Viximon "I'm guessing she's your friend." Said James Matt turned to see James coming up to him, "Right, this is Alice. Alice, I want you to meet James." "Nice to meet you." Said James "Same for me. I'm Wanyamon, by the way." "I see you have a Digimon as well, James." Said Alice "Don’t remind me." Stated James "Hey, you didn't introduce us, Matt." Said Bukamon "Right, Alice, meet Bukamon and Gigimon." Said Matt "Nice to meet you both." Both Digimon smiled and nodded their heads, "So have you seen Abby?" "Nope, I was hoping she was with you." Said Matt "Sorry, I didn't see her when I was trying to find my way out." Said Alice "I hope she's safe." Said Matt "Big brother!" Matt turned to see his little sister and another girl coming out of the forest. His eyes went to the size of dinner plates as he dropped Gigimon and ran over to his sister. She put down Gummymon and Kokomon and ran to her brother. The siblings joined in a hug as they were once again united. Matt held his sister tight. He felt a wave of relief pass over him as he held her in his arms. After breaking the embrace, Abby introduced April and Yokomon and her Digimon, Gummymon, and Kokomon. Matt introduced April and Abby to everyone else. "So, now what?" Asked James "I would say finding out where we are, and that means finding a way out of this forest." Said Matt “Well, clearly, we have to be in England.” Said James “Where did you get that idea from?” Asked Alice “Old run-down castle in the middle of a forest seems like something you would see in England.” Said James Alice sighed, "Besides James thinking we somehow are in England, any ideas on figuring out how to get out of this forest.” Everyone scratched their heads, trying to think of something to do. They weren't sure what the next step was or where to even go. The Digimon were also silent, trying to think about what to do next. Bukamon happened to catch a small flash of multicolored light from the corner of his eye and turned to the dilapidated castle. "Hey, look," everyone turned to see the bright multicolored light in one of the castle's towers. "Do you think that means there are other humans around?" "Could be, Bukamon." Said Matt “Yeah, maybe it’s a night tour.” Said James “Still on the England thing.” Stated Alice “I don’t hear anyone else giving ideas on how to explain any of this.” Said James “I think it’s our best bet to head towards the castle. Maybe we will find someone who can help us.” Said Matt The group looked at each other and nodded. They all knew that if somebody was in the castle, they could help them get out of the forest and figure out where they were. The group proceeded over the rope bridge cautiously. It creaked and squealed with every step someone took. Abby held tight to her brother’s hand as he led her across. Once across, the group went towards the castle. They reached the entrance and ran inside to find a way to the tower where the light came from and hopefully find somebody to help them. Soon they found the entrance to the tower and knew this was it. Matt took the lead with the others behind him. He sighed as he got his nerves together. He poked his head through the doorway and gasped. Everyone else piled around him to look inside. None of them could believe their eyes. They were expecting to see a group of humans, but instead, they were looking at eight anthropomorphic neon-colored ponies. Two had horns on their heads, another two had wings on their backs, another two had neither, and the final two had both wings and a horn. They had a wide variety of fur colors and mane colors. They could also tell by their body type that they were all female. "What the?!" Exclaimed James “Watch your voice!” Exclaimed Alice in a whisper. James pushed in a little further to get a better view of the strange creatures. “Will you please stop pushing your weight onto me?” Said April “Tell that to Alice.” Said James “I am doing nothing to you.” Said Alice Matt turned back to everyone, “Will you all be quiet. We need to leave this place before those horse creatures see us. I don’t want to think about what they’ll do to us if they do see us.” Everyone nodded, but as they began to get off each other, James lost his footing on a loose flooring piece and went down on top of April. James instinctually took hold of Alice and pulled her down as well. April felt atop Matt, who fell onto his sister. There was a tremendous crash and screams as the group of humans and Digimon fell into the entrance. The sound pulled the attention of all the ponies in the room to the pile of humans and Digimon. The humans groaned as they saw that they had caught the attention of the horse creatures. There was silence between all of them. They all exchanged looks before the white pony's horn began to glow a gold color. The glow surrounded the group, and before they could say anything or retreat, they felt something come over them. They each began to get sleepy as their bodies started to feel heavy. They all felt a sense of calm take over and their bodies starting to shut down. They all struggled to stay awake, but the efforts were fruitless. They each fell into an unconscious state, but Matt was the last one to fall unconscious. He struggled to stay awake, and it took his entire willpower to resist falling asleep. Matt could hear the sounds of hooves coming near him and saw a pair of white hooves stop in front of him. He didn’t have the strength to look up at the face of the horse now looming over him. He finally felt his body give in as he looked at his sleeping sister. He tried to reach out to her to grasp her one last time since he wasn’t sure what would happen to any of them. Abby! But his body wouldn’t listen to him as he laid his head down and his eyes closed to the world around him. He heard the sounds of more hooves and saw more hooves surround him and the others. That was the last thing he saw before darkness took over. Author's Note So here we are, the first two chapters of my newest story, Digital Equestria. It seemed plenty of people were interested in seeing me do a Digimon story, so I decided to please all of you. So I do hope you enjoyed the introduction and this chapter. Feel free to give all the feedback you wish. I will try to keep this story updated as much as I can, but it'll have to take a backseat because my college courses do come first. So as always: like, comment, follow, share and tell. See you all around.
Chapter 15-A Zebra Far From HomeA Zebra Far From Home Matt lay with his back on the couch as Crescent lay on top of him. Their mouths connected in a passionate kiss. Their tongues were wrestling against each other. They broke from the kiss, but their tongues tangled around each other like a couple of snakes. Matt was quite enjoying his day off from work. Once they caught their breath, they returned to their mouths locked up again. Crescent pushed her body into Matt as the hot make-out session continued. Crescent ground her hips against Matt's hardening member. Matt moaned into the kiss as he felt Crescent push her butt into his stiff crotch. He didn't know if Crescent was doing it subconsciously with estrus around the corner or if she was doing it on purpose. Either way, he had to stop her as he wasn't ready to commit to that part of the relationship. He broke from the kiss and grabbed her ass, making her moan in pleasure. She looked down at him with a smirk and lust, "Grabby, aren't we." "Crescent, I know what you're doing." Said Matt "Oh, what's that?" Asked Crescent with lust dripping from her words. "You want to make love, but I'm not quite ready for that step of our relationship. So, please stop trying to get me to have sex with you." Said Matt Matt watched as the lust in Crescent's eyes became a look of pain, "Sorry, Matt, our make-out session caused my estrus to spark up." Matt smiled as he ran a hand across her cheek, brought his face up, and planted a kiss on her lips. "I know, Crescent, but I promise that we'll make love when I'm fully ready to take the next step in our relationship." Crescent smiled and kissed him before pushing Matt back on the couch and laying on his chest. Matt ran his fingers through her mane and down her back. She purred in happiness to his touch. Crescent looked at him as she moved her head towards him to continue making out when the front door opened. "I can't even fathom why you thought going into the Everfree Forest was safe! And don't say that because you have Terriermon and Lopmon!" Crescent growled as she and Matt looked to see Alice scolding Abby. Crescent and Matt sat up, and Matt decided to figure out what was happening. "Ok, what's going on?" Asked Matt Alice turned towards Matt, "Your sister decided to go into the Everfree Forest with Apple Bloom, Applejack's little sister, in pursuit of a zebra named Zecora. Luckily, we found them before they went too deep into the Everfree Forest." "Please, she had us." Said Terriermon Alice and Renamon glared down at the Terriermon, causing him to swallow a lump in his throat. He turned his gaze so as not to look at the two any longer as Lopmon shook her head. Abby looked up at her brother, who had an angry look on his face. "Abby, head up to your room. We will talk later." Abby nodded her head and walked up the stairs. Terreirmon and Lopmon followed behind her. Matt watched her until she disappeared and sighed. "So mind explaining what happened." Said Matt "Well, we were out finishing school shopping when we ran into Twilight and Spike. We then noticed the town was quiet, and the next thing we knew, Pinkie called us into Sugar Cube Corner. We found the rest of our friends and Apple Bloom hiding inside. They told us they were hiding from a zebra named Zecora. She happens to live in the Everfree Forest. Next thing we know, your sister and Apple Bloom were off to find Zecora." Said Alice "Interesting to hear a zebra living here in Equestria. They usually live in Zebrica, a desert nation far from here." Said Crescent "Are they dangerous?" Asked Alice "Not sure. I have never met one in my life. I've heard that they live in tribes across the sands of their nations. I can't say if Zercora is dangerous since zebra and pony meetings are rare." Said Crescent "Strange she desires to live in the Everfree Forest. It hardly seems like a hospitable place to live." Said Renamon "Well, Zebrica isn't a hospitable place to live either. The heat the desert sun, pop-up desert storms, and worms that can swallow a pony whole." Said Crescent Everyone looked at Crescent and shivered, thinking about a worm big enough to get a zebra or a pony. "Well, if you excuse me, I have a sister to talk to." Said Matt He walked up the stairs and looked at his sister's door. He knocked and heard her voice, allowing him inside. He opened the door and looked at his sister sitting on her bed with her head hung low. Matt sighed as he motioned for Terriermon and Lopmon to leave. They left the room, and Matt closed the door, walked over, and sat next to his sister. I hate when I have to do this. "I'm sorry, I went into the Everfree Forest." Said Abby Matt sighed, "Mind telling me why you decided to go into the Everfree Forest?" "I went in with Apple Bloom after everypony pushed us away from being in the conversation. So, Apple Bloom and I got to talking. We decided to show them we could be brave, and off we went. I know it was wrong, but I didn't like being looked down on." Said Abby Matt sighed as he put his hand on his sister's head, "Abby, even if everypony else was looking down at you, it doesn't give you the right to go heading into the Everfree Forest. What would have happened if a Manticore attacked you or something worse? You have Terriermon and Lopmon, but they might not always be by your side. You must remember that just because we have Digimon doesn't mean they will always be by our side. Do you know how Alice or I would react if something happened to you?" Abby began to sniffle and cry as she grabbed Matt's chest and cried into his shirt. Matt rubbed his hand through his sister's hair to calm her down. He pulled her tight into his chest as he let her continue to cry. He cooed at her to help her stop crying as he held her. "I'm sorry, big brother. I never wanted to make you or Alice worry." Said Abby "I know, little sister, I know." He said Abby continued to cry for another minute as Matt held her tight. Once she was done crying, she pulled away from her brother's chest and wiped the last tears from her eyes. Matt smiled as he placed a kiss on her forehead. "Now, don't think you are getting off scot-free, sister. I am grounding you for an entire week. Do you understand me?" Abby nodded at her brother. He smiled as he brought her into a loving hug. "And know that I'm never going to stop loving you." "I know, big brother." Said Abby Matt smiled as he held his little sister. He ruffled the hair on the top of her head, causing her to laugh. "Now, you need to apologize to Alice for scaring her." Abby nodded and left the room to apologize to Alice and Renamon. Matt realized that since they all had arrived in Ponyville, they had not seen another creature of Eques besides ponies. I wonder who Zecora is? Is she a good zebra or an evil zebra? And why does it sound like everyone fears her? And why does she live in the Everfree Forest? Maybe I should go and visit this Zecora? Matt got off his bed and went downstairs to get Cresent and see about finding this Zecora. He wanted to meet this zebra mare in person and see who she was exactly. *** Cresent, Matt, and Guilmon marched through the Everfree Forest, looking for the elusive Zecora, the zebra. "Why exactly are we looking for Zecora?" Asked Cresent "The way Alice put it, everypony we know fears Zecora for being a witch. It's hard for me to believe she's all that dangerous. Alice made it sound like nopony had ever spent any time getting to know Zecora. It doesn't seem nice to me not to say hello to a neighbor even if they live in the Everfree Forest. Plus, if she lives here, maybe she has some clues on who is behind those black gears. Maybe we can use her insight to end their deeds finally." Said Matt "I see the logic, but what if this Zecora is dangerous? I am not entirely battle-ready as I still have two weeks before I can even take flight, and the only Digimon we brought was Guilmon. Pony society has ever little when it comes to knowledge on the zebra." Said Cresent "And why is that?" Asked Matt Cresent shrugged, "Not too many ponies want to travel three months to walk around an unknown desert. Sure, I know of some ponies out there traveling with zebra herds, as most zebras are nomadic and travel the sands, never staying in one place. Plus, the rumors of large worms and dangerous dust storms don't make one want to visit the country of Zebrica." "Is the entire society nomadic?" Asked Matt "Most zebras are nomadic, but those that are not nomadic, follow a democratically elected president in the few civilized areas of the country." Said Cresent "For somepony who has never visited Zebrica, you sure know a lot." Said Matt "Princess Celestia requires all guards to understand, with whatever knowledge we have on our allies or those we trade with. As Celestia said, when we officially met, Eques comprises a wide variety of nations and creatures. Most other countries in Eques are either allies or trade with Equestria. But there are a few that Equestria does not trade with and/or see as a threat, such as dragons. Equestria has had very little to no good favor with dragons. Then there are the foxes of Judo. Equestria and the Judo foxes have had plenty of blood conflicts over issues." Said Cresent "Hard for me to believe the friendship-loving ponies would not attempt to be friends with everyone. But I guess not everyone can be your friend." Said Matt Guilmon stopped when he smelled something delicious in the air. He sniffed repeatedly, trying to pinpoint the smell's location. "What you got, Guilmon?" Asked Matt "I think I smell food." He said Cresent and Matt sniffed the air. Matt could barely smell any form of cooking wafting across the air, but Cresent could smell what Guilmon had mentioned. "He's not wrong, I do smell somepony cooking something." Matt ushered Cresent and Guilmon to lead the way since his sense of smell wasn't as strong as theirs. The three of them eventually found a home made out of a hollowed-out tree. Tribal masks sat outside the tree. Matt placed his finger to his mouth as they sneaked up to an opening in the tree. The three quietly walked up to the tree and peered inside and found what looked to be a large black cauldron over a fire cooking a soup. Guilmon's nose flared as he picked up the smell of the food. He had to fight his urge not to simply bust down the door and gorge himself on the soup. Matt eyed up the entire room. In the middle was the cauldron cooking up the soup. On the walls were shelves lined with bottles, flowers, tools, and plenty of tribal items. A few more tribal masks sat on the ground. The tribal items reminded him of African culture back on Earth. "I wonder if this is her house." Whispered Cresent Before Matt could respond he heard somepony knocking and turned to see Guilmon knocking on the door of the home. "Guilmon, what are you doing?!" Exclaimed Matt in a whisper "I'm hungry." Before Matt could respond to Guilmon, Cresent tugged his shirt and pointed back to the window. He turned his eyes back to see an anthro zebra come walking into the room. She had the standard zebra black and white stripes. She stood at 5'9" with Cyan eyes. She had a mohawk mane with the same zebra stripe pattern of her fur. Her tail even had the stripping as well. She had a set of gold rings around her neck and right hoof and a large gold ring hanging from her left ear. She was wearing a brown loincloth and a stripe of brown leather attempting to hold back her EE-cup breasts. Both items of clothing barely left anything to the imagination. Cresent and Matt ducked down and turned to Guilmon as the door opened. She turned down to Guilmon and smiled as he looked up at her and tilted his head. "Hello, little dino, what brings you here? Are you lost, my friend, or just want to play? I didn't expect a dino today!" "Food." Matt rolled his eyes at Guilmon's comment. "I see, have you come alone this way, or did some company choose to stay?" Guilmon turned his head to see Matt and Cresent. Zecora followed Guilmon's eyes and found Cresent and Matt. They both got up trying to act normal. "Can I have some of your food?" Asked Guilmon Zecora smiled, "I see I've drawn a merry throng, Come in, dear guests, where you belong! The food's close now, no need to roam, So make yourselves at home!" Guilmon didn't hesitate to go right inside after Zecora moved out of the way. As Matt and Cresent proceeded inside, Matt was surprised that Zecora seemed to speak in rhymes. Sure is a strange way to speak? Matt and Cresent walked inside and down the step that led to the main room. Matt felt quite at home in the cozy hollowed-out tree. Reminded him of Twilight's home, but with way fewer books. Zecora had stepped away as Guilmon stared into the pot looking at the green liquid that gently bubbled inside. He licked his lips as Zecora turned with a few bowls. Her ears flicked as Guilmon's stomach let out a low growl. "Rumble, rumble, what's that sound? Your tummy's craving, all around! For cooking, it pleads, 'Let's start the fun!' A yummy meal is about to be won!" Guilmon tilted his head as if his brain was having a hard time processing what she said. But he watched as she gave him a bowl filled with soup. He looked at the bowl and then at the cauldron. "That's not food?" Asked Guilmon Zecora handed Cresent and Matt their bowls before turning to Guilmon, "This ain't no broth, no veggie stew, no bowl of comfort, clear and true. That's not soup, my friend, I say, but a potion for a brighter day!" Guilmon shrugged before bringing the bowl to his mouth and began to slurp without any manners. Matt again rolled his eyes. "Thank you Zecora for the meal." "No issue, my friend," Zecora declared with a smile, "I'm glad to share, it's worth your while. But tell me, just out of curiosity's hold, what brings you this way, to my humble abode?" "I wanted to say hello to the zebra of the Everfree that everypony fears." "Well, here I am, a sight to see, do you fear me? Maybe a little, agree? I might be mischief, I might be fun, But watch me close, 'til the day is done!" Zecora said with a smile before giggling. "I see nothing scary about you at all. Your home is cozy and nice, and you have freely given us a meal. So, what brings you into Ponyville that causes everypony pony to run and hide?" Said Matt Zecora motioned for them to sit, which everyone did, "I trot to town, with basket light, for herbs of green, to make things right. I search the stalls, with happy stride, but everypony seems to quickly hide." "So you come to Ponyville to buy herbs to make your potions." Zecora nodded as she took a sip of the soup in the bowl. "Do you know why everypony runs and hides when you come into town?" "I do not know why everypony flees, like leaves scattered by autumn breeze. My heart feels a little bit low, where did they all go, I don't know!" Zecora's ear laid down slightly showing her sadness. "Do not take this the wrong way, Zecora. But I think the fear comes from them not knowing who you are. I mean, you come from the Everfree, a place ponies of Ponyville are told to fear. So, I bet everypony fears you because of our natural fear of the Everfree." Said Cressent "Seems wrong to me." Said Matt "Was Princess Celestia or the ponies of Ponyville any different when you and your friends arrived? Princess Celestia locked you into the dungeon and ponies kept their distance from you for the first week or so after you arrived. Everypony fears the unknown until it is known." Said Cresent "I guess that's true." Matt turned back to Zecora, "You mentioned potions. Do you like to brew potions then?" "In cauldrons deep, my world resides, where bubbling brews, my heart confides. With herbs and roots, and mystic might, brewing potions is my life's pure light. From dawn's first blush till evening's call, I mix and stir, embracing all. A splash of this, a pinch of that, my bubbling craft, where I am at! So let the fumes and vapors swirl, potion brewing is my world!" "So, that's what your cutie mark means?" Asked pointing to the spiral that sat on her rump with triangles sitting on the largest part of the spiral. Zecora nodded her head, "So what brought you to Ponyville?" She turned to Cresent, "I sought a life outside my desert home. Where sand stretched wide and I was left to roam. The sun beat down, a constant, fiery guest, and yearned for green, a vibrant, leafy crest." "Interesting, I would have never thought that a zebra would want to leave their home or their tribe." Cresent looked around her home, "But I see you brought your home with you." "It echoes in my heart, a solemn plea, this was my fate, it was meant to be." "Fascinating." Said Cresent "How long have you been living here, Zecora?" Asked Matt "Two years and counting, that's my time here, filled with adventures, banishing all fear! I've explored the corners, learned the lay of the land, this place feels like home, it's just so grand!" "I find it strange to live in the Everfree Forest, but each his own." Said Cresent "It seems sad that you have been here for two years and ponies still fear you." Matt chewed the inside of his cheek before an idea came to his mind. "How about I introduce you to our friends? If they get to know you, we can then introduce you to the rest of Ponyville. So that way, ponies will understand who you are and you can shop for your herbs in Ponyville without everypony running to hide." "Great idea, Matt. If everypony sees us with you, Zecora. We can help them understand that there is nothing to fear with you." Zecora smiled, "Thank you, my friends." "But before then," Guilmon showed his empty bowl. "Can I have more please?" Zecora smiled and took Guilmon's bowl and got some more soup for him. The four of them continued to talk as Matt and Cresent got to know Zecora the zebra and how they would introduce her to their friends and eventually all of Ponyville. Eventually, the night was beginning to fall, so Matt, Cresent, and Guilmon decided to get back to town. Matt had asked Zecora about the black gears, but she had no information for him about them. But she said she would keep an eye out if she saw anything. The trio said goodbye to Zecora and made their way home. After making it home, the trio went up to Matt's room. He opened the door to see Gomamon out cold sleeping on his bed alongside Patamon. The two woke up to acknowledge their tamers before going back to sleep. Guilmon found his bed and fell right to sleep. Matt and Crescent pulled the covers across the bed before getting inside and covering themselves up. Matt spooned Cresent and it wasn't long before both of them were fast asleep. *** The DigiDestined, their Digimon, and Cresent were making their way to talk with Twilight about Zecora the zebra. Matt explained to the others about Zecora and who she was. He planned to take them and the others to see Zecora personally and finally help Zecora fit into Ponyville. "Man the way Pinkie spoke about her, you think she was an evil witch looking to rule over Ponyville." Said Alice "Interesting to see a zebra living in the Everfree Forest seeing how ponies fear it." Said James They all soon reached the library for Twilight. Matt had decided to recruit Twilight first and use her to recruit the others since Twilight was still new to Ponyville. Matt opened the door to the library only to get nailed in the head with a book before he could even say a thing. Alice caught him before he hit the dirt. Matt held his nose as he felt a nosebleed beginning. Spike came running to the door to pick up the book and looked at the group as Matt held his head back trying to stop the flow of blood. "Mind explaining why I got hit with a book, Spike." Said Matt "I think it would be better if you saw." Said Spike The group came into the library to see books all over the floor. The shelves look disheveled as Twilight ran from section to section scanning the spins of the books before taking one out, skimming it, and then tossing it to the ground muttering something under her breath. "Is it reorganizing the library today?" Said James "she's been like that since she woke up this morning. She trying to figure out what's wrong with her horn." Said Spike "What's wrong with her horn?" Asked Matt Twilight turned and saw everyone in the library as she held another useless book. "When did you all get here and what happened to you, Matt?" "Only a few minutes ago and you hit your boyfriend with one of your books." Said James Twilight panicked and ran over to him and began to check his nose, "I didn't break did I." Twilight looked to be on the verge of tears, but nobody noticed that instead keeping their eyes on Twilight's floppy horn. James snickered under his breath, making Twilight turn her attention to him. "What's so funny?" Asked Twilight "Oh you know, that nowadays we have pills for that." James snickered again as well as Spike in the background Alice walked up and hit James in the arm and glared at him. He began rubbing the spot that Alice hit keeping his gaze away from Alice's. "What's up with your horn Twilight?" Asked Alice "I don't know. I was working on my mane this morning after having an odd dream about Zecora cursing me. When I noticed my horn was all floppy, which isn't natural. And I swear if anyone else makes a pill joke again, I will zap them once I can use magic again." Everyone knew that was a threat, "now if you all can help me find a way to cure myself that would be great." Everyone began to dig through the books and look through the shelves. Twilight ran off to the bathroom and came back with some tissue paper, which she shoved up Matt's nose. She kissed him on the cheek and went back to being frantic. After Matt got the bleeding under control, he decided to help out as well. He scanned the spins of the books that Twilight hadn't thrown to the floor yet and a book with a green spine. He pulled it from the shelf and held it in his hands. He felt like he had seen this book before, but could not remember where. "How about this one Twilight?" Asked Matt Twilight turned and looked at the title of the book, "Supernaturals, Matt that's about ghosts and spirits. That's not going to help me with my horn." Matt raised his eyebrow and was about to tell Twilight to look at the book again, when a voice broke out, "ah pfurse" "Purse, why do we need a purse?" Asked James "Pinkie!" Everyone turned to see Pinkie standing in the door with a swollen tongue which made her unable to say the correct word. Everyone in the room let a little snicker at Pinkie's situation. "What happened, Pinkie?" "Pee pah Zthecora! Sthe put a cursthe on me!" Said Pinkie Spit and slobber went everywhere as Pinkie spoke. "Hey watch where you're talking, Pinkie. I do not want to be covered in a shower of spit." Said James "And can you repeat what you just said?" Asked April Before Pinkie could repeat herself, the sound of something hitting the tree echoed in the room. Everyone turned to see Rainbow hitting the side of the tree. She kept trying to talk with them and get inside at the same time. But she missed and hit the tree every time she went for the door. Eventually, she was able to hit the door and flew inside. Everyone watched as she crashed into a pile of books and got her head stuck between the rungs of Twilight's ladder. "Pinkie is saying that Zecora slapped us all with a curse." Said Rainbow getting to her feet and beginning to get the ladder off her as Pinkie nodded her head in agreement. "I am afraid so, darlings." Everyone turned to see Rarity covered from head to hoof in dreadlocks walk through the door. She huffed to push them out of her face so she could see. "Damn Rarity, didn't think we were into dreadlocks." Said James "Trust me, darling, this is not my style. I woke up this morning with my fur and mane looking like this. And not to mention, it's hard to see anything with the way my mane is." Said Rarity "I hate to tell ya Twilight," everyone turned to see Apple Bloom walk in but, she motioned for everyone else to look at her head where a tiny Applejack sat. "But I told ya so, Twilight. It's a curse, Zecora cursed us all." Before anyone could say anything, the last of the mane six, Fluttershy entered the room. "Let's all calm down here. Something is wrong with everypony, but clearly, Fluttershy doesn't seem to have been affected and she was with you when you encountered Zecora." Said Matt "Yes, Fluttershy and Alice seem to be both fine after encountering Zecora yesterday." Said Rarity Everypony turned to Alice, "Yeah don't look at me, I feel completely fine." Then everypony turned back to Fluttershy who was holding Gatomon and hiding behind her mane. "Well, Fluttershy, are you ok." Fluttershy adverted her gaze from Twilight and said nothing. "Is there something wrong with you?" Fluttershy nodded her head up and down. "Would you care to tell us?" Fluttershy once more hid her face behind her mane." So, you're not going to tell us what's wrong." Fluttershy nodded her head up and down. Applejack sighed bounced off her sister's head and ran over to Fluttershy. "Yes you're not, or yes you will?" "Good gravy, girl! What's wrong with you?!" Said Applejack in her high-pitched voice Fluttershy sighed, "I don't want to talk about it." Everypony was stunned when Fluttershy spoke in a deep masculine voice. But the silence was soon broken by laughing from the humans, Cresent, Spike, and the Digimon. Fluttershy immediately regretted speaking and hid behind her mane with Gatomon giving James a death glare as he continued to laugh. "This is hilarious!" Spike laughed a little before continuing, "Harity," pointing to Rarity. "Rainbow Crash," pointing to Rainbow. "Spitty Pie," pointing to Pinkie "Apple Teeny," pointing to Applejack. "Flutterguy," pointing to Fluttershy. "And...and...I got nothing for Twilight. I mean I have nothing for Twilight's floppy horn. But still, this is great." Twilight growled under her breath at Spike's comment before glaring at her herd mates who were both recovering. "Enough!" Everypony turned to Twilight, "This is not a laughing matter. Something is seriously wrong with us and we need to find a cure for it." Rainbow finally broke herself from the ladder she had been stuck in and lifted herself into the sky trying to get herself to hover, but it was hard for her to do so, "We need to find Zecora and have her lift this curse." Rainbow then began to fly back and forth in the library making everypony dodge her she bounced around the library, attempting to get her flying under control. Twilight felt her eye begin to twitch, "This is not a curse!" "I agree with Rainbow, we find Zecora and have her remove this hex." Said Applejack "This is not a hex either!" Exclaimed Twilight Soon everypony was beginning to argue about whether this was a hex or a curse and that they needed to find Zecora to remove it. In the chaos of the yelling and arguing, Abby made her way over to Apple Bloom. "This all our fault, we hadn't run after Zecora they wouldn't look like they do." Said Apple Bloom "I am not sure, it was Zecora. My brother said he and Cresent spent time with her and discovered she's a good zebra and not how Pinkie described her." Said Abby "But everypony is blaming her for what's happened to them." Apple Bloom paused before thinking of a solution, "I know our siblin's won't let be happy with us. But we need to find Zecora before they do and have her help us solve their issue." Abby paused thinking about the talk she had with Matt when she first went after Zecora with Apple Bloom. Sure, she was already grounded, but she knew she needed to get Zecora's help before everyone went after Zecora believing she did everything to them. It would certainly mess up her brother's plan to help introduce Zecora to Ponyville, so ponies would no longer run and hide when she came into town. Abby looked over at her brother trying to calm the situation. I am sorry, Matt, but I have to do this. She looked down at Terriermon and Lopmon knowing they had her back. "Well, ya in?" Asked Apple Bloom Abby nodded her head and the two young girls began to slip out of the library while everypony was busy arguing with each other. Expect their escape was noticed by two ponies. First was Applejack who muttered under breath about where those four were going. Thanks to her smaller size, nopony noticed her as she jumped from where she was onto Apple Bloom's mane. Cresent was the second one noticing them leaving the library. She decided to follow them as well, to ensure they were safe, even if she was still healing from her wounds. She motioned for Patamon, atop her head, to stay quiet as she slipped out of the library and ran after the two young girls, knowing they were going to look for Zecora. "Enough!" Everypony turned to Rainbow who was trying her best to hover and not crash into the walls of the library "I say we go to Zecora and force her to make us better. Whether this is a curse or a hex. She's the one that turned us into what we are currently. So, she can currently revert us to normal. So who's with me!" "Ah am-pft!" Said Pinkie with spit going everywhere "I am in darling, I do not want to be Harity any longer than I have to." Said Rarity "I don't know, it seems dangerous." Said Fluttershy James and Spike snickered a little, causing Gatomon to give them both a death glare. "Who cares if it's dangerous, we need Zecora to cure us. What about you, Applejack." The library was quiet as everypony waited for Applejack to respond. Rainbow spoke back up, "Applejack did you hear me?" Again the library was quiet as everypony looked for her. "Where's Applejack?" Asked James After a quick search nopony could find her. "Pf-she's gone-pft!" Said Pinkie "At her size, what if somepony stepped on her!" Exclaimed Rarity Everyone checked their feet and saw no squished Applejack. "What about Rarity's hair, she is practically a walking mop." Said James "Mop, did you call me a walking mop!" Rarity exclaimed before feeling Pinkie invading her privacy and searching her. She pushed Pinkie away from her feeling her face going red with embarrassment. "That's enough Pinkie, please give me my personal space." "What if Guilmon ate her?!" Exclaimed Rainbow Everypony turned to Guilmon who looked at them all and titled his head, "Guilmon did not eat Applejack. Guilmon knows the difference between food and friend." That's when Twilight realized that Apple Bloom, Abby, Terriermon, Lopmon, Cresent, and Patamon were all missing from the library. "Not to mention that Apple Bloom, Abby, Terriermon, Lopmon, Cresent, and Patamon are missing as well." Said Twilight That was when Matt realized his sister and her Digimon were no longer in the library. He could feel a migraine coming on but relaxed a little knowing that Cresent went after them. But it didn't ease him completely since she was still recovering. She's going to get an earful from me when this is all over with. "I bet they all went after Zecora without us." Said Rainbow "I only think that applies to Apple Bloom, Abby, Terriermon, and Lopmon. Cresent disappeared to go after them with Patamon." Said Matt "You see calm for a guy whose sister just ran back into Everfree Forest." Said Alice "Oh, I'm pissed, but I know she's safe with Cresent following them alongside their partner Digimon." Before Matt could speak with Twilight again, he saw them all running out of the library. After Twilight and her friends were gone, all that was left was a mess-filled library, the humans, their Digimon, and Spike. "Well, there they go. Should we catch up to them?" Said James "No point, by the time we catch up, they will have found Zecora and probably gotten the entire issue solved." Said Matt "You think." Said April "Yeah," Matt then looked down at the book he held that he attempted to get Twilight to read. Supernaturals: Natural Remedies and Cure-alls That Are Simply Super. He recalled that Rarity mentioned that Alice was with them when Zecora cursed them. He turned to his friend, "Do you recall where everypony was standing when Zecora 'cursed' our friends?" Alice closed her eyes and pondered the thought, "When we caught up to Apple Bloom and Abby, Applejack picked up her sister and Twilight used her magic to give me Abby. I remember the girls were standing in a field of blue flowers and Zecora saying, 'Beware, beware you pony folk. Those leaves of blue are not a joke.'" "That's a strange thing to say to curse someone." Said James Matt looked back down at the book before flipping it open. Something about Zecora's words seemed to point to the answer. He flicked the book until he found an entry talking about a blue flower in the Everfree. "I think I found something." Everyone pilled around Matt to look at the book, "It says here that the flower is called Poison Joke. A flower that resides in the Everfree Forest that when somepony inhales the spores of the flower, will be transformed into a practical joke. The flower is meant to give all of those around the pony a good chuckle. To remove the effect of the flower is to bathe in the below herbal compound to reverse the effects of the flower." "So what they all think is a curse is a joke caused by a flower." Said James "I guess that's why I wasn't affected, because I never got close to the flowers. Something felt off about them when I first saw them." Said Alice "So, if Twilight hadn't pushed away this book then they wouldn't have run off to go after Zecora thinking that she cursed them." Said Spike "I guess it is true what they say, 'Never judge a book by its cover.'" Said Matt Matt closed the book and looked at the cover again and it clicked that he saw it in Zecora's house as well. She mentioned that she was working on a potion for someponies in need. I bet she was making it for Twilight and her friends. But she said she needed a few more herbs to complete it and would look to get them in the morning. So, Twilight and the others should be cured by the time they reach Zecora's if they don't mess anything up when they get there. "Well, now what?" Asked James "Well, I need to get the library back together before Twilight Flopple comes back." Said Spike "Who?" Asked James "It was the only name I could think of for Twilight. Not my best for sure." Said Spike "No reason for you to do this all alone Spike, let us help out." Said April Spike smiled as the humans and Digimon helped Spike get the library back together. Alice turned to see Matt had walked outside. She followed behind him to see him staring down at this Digivice. She stood next to him before speaking, "I was surprised by your comment about not going after your sister." Matt sighed, "Oh, I want to go after her, but I trust Cresent to get to them first. Even though Cresent is still wounded, I know she can put up a fight." Matt reached back pulled his Digivice off his pants and stared at it, "But I also know that my sister is meant to for bigger things since the day we woke up here with our Digimon and these Digivices. I have this feeling that if I continue to baby her and attempt to defend her, she will never grow. And if she doesn't grow she will never be able to Digivolve Terriermon and Lopmon to their champion forms." He passed again to look at the device in his hand before turning to look at his Digimon. Alice peaked back at hers as well. "The Digimon seem to Digivolve when we are in danger to protect us. So if Abby is never in danger, then I feel that Terriermon and Lopmon will never learn to Digivolve and if that happens they will be unable to help when we encounter more and more powerful enemies." Matt attached his Digivice back to his pants before peering off to where the Everfree was, "I hate to say it, but I cannot shelter my sister from all danger. She will have to learn to defend herself, so that she can use that strength to help Terriermon and Lopmon become stronger much like we will have to do to Digivolve our partners as well. Because I have this feeling that we have only just begun down this path before us. Alice smiled at Matt's comment before leaning in and giving a kiss on the cheek. He blinked with surprise as he looked at a smiling Alice, "That's the speech of a leader. And I have the same feeling that I cannot baby her as her sister figure. We both need to be more of a teacher than sheltering protectors. I know that it will be hard for us both, but I have the same feeling that if we shelter her, then she will never grow as a DigiDestined and that puts her in greater danger." Matt smiled and hugged his friend before James called out for them to come in and help them get the library back in order. The two smiled before entering the library, but before Matt went inside, he turned his head to where the Everfree was. Stay safe sis. He turned back and walked inside to help clean up the library and to think of a punishment worthy of his sister for running off again. *** Apple Bloom, Abby, Terriermon, and Lopmon walked through the forest looking for the home of Zecora. After entering the forest, they both heard Applejack's high-pitched voice telling the four of them to stop. Apple Bloom didn't listen to her sister and instead put her on a branch and left with Abby and her Digimon. Abby turned back to where they left Applejack, "Was it a good idea to leave her there?" "She'll be fine. My sister is stronger than she looks, even if she's small. Anyways, she would only get in the way of us finding Zecora." Said Apple Bloom "Do you think Zecora can help us?" Asked Abby "I'm not sure, but she's the only one who can help us." Said Apple Bloom The four of them continued to walk through the forest unaware of Cresent and Patamon who were following them from the shadows. As a lunar guard, she was taught to use the shadows to stalk her enemies and spy on them. She had been taught how to move without making a sound whether it was via her wings or her hooves. She watched as Terriermon stopped and turned to where she was. He tilted his head as he had felt they were being watched, but said nothing. He then turned and ran to catch up to the group. Crescent continued to keep the shadows as she tracked them. "Do you think everypony noticed we left the library?" Asked Abby "I would assume so since Applejack was hitching a ride with me." Said Apple Bloom "Then we should hurry to find Zecora." Said Abby Before all four of them could pick up the pace. Cresent appeared before them. The group stopped and looked up at the bat pony. "Where do you four think you're going?" Said Cresent "Cresent, what are you doing here?" Asked Abby "I saw you and Apple Bloom sneak out of the library. So I decided to follow you to make sure you four didn't get into any issues." She turned her gaze to Abby, "I thought you had a conversation with your brother about going into the Everfree. Did you simply decide to ignore your brother's words?" "I know, but I am willing to take my brother's anger and disapproval of me to help our friends get better since it was me and Apple Bloom that caused the issue our friends are having, even if it is funny." Cresent sighed as she chewed the inside of her cheek. She knew she should return the two fillies home, but she also knew that Zecora might have a remedy to cure Twilight and her friends. Matt forgive me. "I'll take you two to see Zecora and see what we can do to help her get a cure for the others. Then after we get the cure, cure Twilight and the others, you are both going to face your siblings and take whatever punishment they give you for running into the Everfree Forest." Abby and Apple Bloom nodded their heads and agreed to her terms. She turned around and motioned for them to follow her as she led to them Zecora's house. After arriving the group told Zecora about Twilight and the others and Zecora told them that she had been working on a brew to cure them, but was missing some much-needed herbs for the potion. But they were only sold in Ponyville, and she was unable to buy them due to everypony running off when she arrived in town. The group agreed to get the herbs for Zecora and ran back into town. While they were in town, to buy the herbs, Twilight and her friends were stalking through the Everfree Forest to find where Zecora lived. Gatomon used the trees to spy ahead and finally said she spotted what looked to be a hollowed-out tree ahead that had lights coming out of it. The group soon found Zecora working over a cauldron that they thought was a soup made to cook Apple Bloom and Abby. Led by Applejack riding Rainbow Dash, they bashed into Zecora's home and wrecked it. As they began to confront Zecora about Apple Bloom, Abby, Terriermon, Lopmon, Cresent, and Patamon came back with the ingredients needed to complete the brew only to find the room trashed and the cure all over the floor. Apple Bloom and Abby helped calm down Twilight and her friends letting them know that they were infected by Poison Joke, a plant that turned them into a walking joke. The cauldron, they had tipped over, was the cure that would return them to normal. After apologizing for their actions, Zecora showed them the book that held the cure and Twilight realized it was the book that Matt attempted to show her. After clearing up the air, Zecora stated that she would need more ingredients from Ponyville to finish her brew and cure the group. Twilight led the charge back to Ponyville where she was able to acquire the ingredients for the cure and then Rarity took them to the Ponyville Spa where they used Aloe and Lotus's tubs to bath in the cure and be free of the Poison Joke. Once free from the joke, everypony went their separate ways. Abby swallowed the lump in her throat as she headed home to face her brother. *** Matt sat on the living room couch flicking through the Supernaturals: Natural Remedies and Cure-alls That Are Simply Super book. He found it interesting how many different plants existed in Equestria, what they did to the body, and how to cure them. He flicked another page as the door opened. He turned his gaze to see Cresent, Patamon, Abby, Terriermon, and Lopmon enter the room. Cresent gestured for Abby to speak with her brother. She nodded and went over to him as the rest went upstairs. She sat next to her brother. She stayed quiet as her brother flicked another page of the book. Abby looked up to see it was the same book that Zecora used to cure Twilight and her friends. She then watched as her brother closed up the book and gave it to her. She stared at the cover, confused as to why he had given her the book. I would have thought he would have exploded on me by now. "Let me guess, Twilight and the others went to Zecora and probably did something dumb and she then showed them that book and told them they had been infected by Poison Joke. And if Twilight had stopped to look through it, she would had a cure to her and her friend's problem and not assumed that Zecora 'cursed' them." Said Matt "Yeah, that's pretty much how it was." Said Abby "I am never going to let Twilight live this down. I guess everypony got cured?" Said Matt "Yeah." She paused as she put the book on the table in front of her before turning to look at her brother. "Are you mad at me for going into the Everfree again with Apple Bloom?" Matt didn't answer her, "I know you're mad, but I did it because everypony thought that that Zecora had cursed or hexed them instead of being level-headed. Apple Bloom and I knew we were the cause of all of this, so we decided we had to fix it." She paused again as she looked at her brother, who eyed her, "I am sorry, brother for worrying you. I accept any punishment you give me for breaking your trust in me not to go back to the Everfree without you or somepony else." The two siblings sat in silence before Matt smiled picked her up and placed her on his lap. He ruffled her hair as he smiled down at her. She smiled and giggled as she lay against his chest. "I am mad, sis. But I am also proud to see you do what is right while everypony else wanted to believe in something wrong. I know I baby you a lot, but that's because I care deeply about you and I don't want to lose you. But I also know I cannot stop you from growing up and becoming your own woman." He smiled as he looked down at his sister and kissed her on the head, "You're growing up in front of my own eyes and it's hard for me to accept that. It's hard for me to accept that I cannot protect and shelter you forever. I cannot protect you from being a DegiDestined and helping protect those around us with our Digimon. I have this feeling that you will have to grow strong outside of my protection if you are to go down the path fate has put before us. But that doesn't mean you can throw yourself into every dangerous situation without thinking first and without help. I am not sure what the future holds for us, but I know you will have to fight your own battle without me." Abby smiled at her brother. He smiled back and ruffled her hair again, "As for your punishment, we will handle that tomorrow. For now, head upstairs and jump into a shower. I also want you to say sorry to Alice and thank Cresent for watching over you." Abby nodded her head upstairs as Matt watched. He leaned back against the couch and stared at the ceiling. I hope I am making you proud Mom and Dad. I know you want me to protect her, but I know she'll have to fight her own battles without me. I can only hope that you keep an eye on us both. Matt closed his eyes and sighed before heading upstairs to get ready for bed.
Chapter 17 - 13th Royal Knight13th Royal Knight It was a quiet night in Canterlot. Only a few bars and nightclubs were still open serving those who lived or were visiting the capital of Equestria. Princess Luna held her night court to hear the issues of her citizens, mainly bat ponies, who came to speak with her. She recorded anything of note for her sister to investigate in the morning. While she listened, she also monitored the realm of dreams to ensure everyone who slumbered in Equestria slept peacefully. Rarely did she need to enter the realm and dispel a nightmare, but she was ready when she needed to do so. Bat ponies patrolled the castle ensuring it was safe for the slumbering Princess Celestia and their princess of the night. A few flew through the skies over Canterlot, monitoring the streets for any disturbances or anything unusual. The patrols had to be increased since several break-ins occurred at night for the past few days. The target of the break-ins were grocery and convenience stores. The culprit only seemed interested in stealing the food. Princess Luna had requested far more patrols to be sent around Canterlot to watch the streets around the grocery and convenience stores to catch the criminal in the act. A figure watched as a patrol of two bat ponies flew overhead. The figure was a quadruped dragon-like creature with white metallic armored skin. A red cloak and hood with goggles sowed into the hood covered his body. Three sharp dark blue claws were on the end of each of its legs. A single black horn vetted out from the front of his face. The figure went by Hackmon, the 13th and finalRoyal Knight of the Digital World. He watched as the patrol left the area before making his move. Hackmon stayed in the areas with the heaviest cover to hide from the patrolling bat ponies. He only moved when he was sure the area had no patrols. Damn, it looks like they have increased their patrols since I first started stealing. I know Master would be very displeased with me if he learned of what I was doing. But I need to get food for young the Digimon in the village. Hackmon continued until he arrived at his target, a grocery store. He looked to the sky seeing if another patrol was overhead. I need to move quickly before the next patrol comes. He reached the back of the store and spotted the rear door lock. He once more turned his attention to the sky. It seemed to be clear for the time being. Hackmon used one of his claws from his right leg to break the lock. He continued to work, but something was up, he couldn't break it. Then he felt a sharp sensation shoot up his claw. He pulled it back and waved his leg back and forth attempting to relieve the pain. Damn, what was that? Was the lock booby-trapped? I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Hackmon looked to the sky to see no patrol. I should check the front. Hackmon knew that could be dangerous and expose him, but he knew the village needed the food. He took another glance at the sky and saw nothing. I would estimate I have only a few minutes before the next patrol comes over. Hackmon ran to the front of the store and looked for the lock, eventually finding it. He once more stuck a claw from his right leg into the lock. But unknown to Hackmon two bat ponies were watching the store. Private Night Caller was a male thretral that stood at 5'8'' with a midnight blue mane and tail. His fur color was a dark navy blue. A single light blue stripe ran down his mane. His cutie mark was of a mace sitting over a crescent moon. A mace sat attached to his hip as his weapon of choice. Next to him was a greenhorn thretral named, Crimson Star. He was fresh from the academy and today was his first big night out. He stood at 5'7" with a crimson red mane and tail. His fur was a pastel blue. His cutie mark was of three red stars. His weapon of choice was a long sword with magic runes that allowed him to ignite the sword in a blaze of fire. Both wore black armor with the crescent moon in the center of it. The standard armor of all guards who served the night. "I still do not understand why we are watching a grocery store?" Asked Crimson "If you read the report that the general gave, our culprit only hits stores that sell food. As per our orders from Princess Luna, we are to watch all grocery and convenience stores for the culprit." Said Night "But how do we know they will hit this store?" Asked Crimson "We don't, but that does not mean they will target this business next. Whether they do or not, it is our job to bring in this culprit." Said Night Crimson sighed, "Not what I was expecting when I enrolled in the academy." Night chuckled a little, "what were you expecting when you enrolled for the academy? You live in Equestria, a nation that hasn't seen a conflict that requires us guards for more than a century." "Well, I thought I would be patrolling Equestria. Seeing the country and being praised by locals. Who knows maybe getting a little lucky with the local mares. I didn't think I would be bored senseless watching a building." Said Crimson Night laughed, "Yeah, this career can get quite dull from time to time. But no worries, rookie, you'll get your wish soon enough. But for now, our orders are clear. We are to monitor the store, catch the culprit in the act, and bring him in for questioning." Crimson sighed as he sat bored staring at the business. Neither was sure how much time had passed, but soon enough they both watched as Hackmon appeared at the front of the store Night smiled, "Looks like princess's plan was a success." Luna had ordered her guards watching over the stores to curse the rear door lock, the door the culprit used, forcing the culprit out into the open. But, she also requested that the front door lock be cursed as well. This was accomplished by runes on the opposite side of the lock. Only the business owner's key or the princess's magic could disable the rune. This completely ensured that if the culprit did escape, they would not be able to rob any grocery or convenience store. "Now what?" Asked Crimson Night didn't say a word but gestured for Crimson to follow and stay quiet. The two moved quietly across the rooftops keeping their eyes on the culprit, who was struggling to break the lock. Night smiled as he and Crimson approached. They stopped one building away from the culprit. "What is it?" Whispered Crimson "I am not sure, but that doesn't matter. What matters is that we bring it in. You will confront the culprit and I will sneak behind it and knock it out." Said Night Crimson nodded his head as he watched the private fly off to get behind the creature. Crimson stared down at the creature who was waving his leg back and forth. Before jumping he took note of the culprit. His eyes looked at the three sharp claws that sat at the end of each leg and the horn at the front of its head. Need to be careful of those. Look like they could tear through my armor easily. Noting that looked to be the only weapons on the culprit, he jumped into action. Hackmon shook off the feeling in his leg as he had encountered the same pain as with the rear lock. Damn, another booby-trapped lock. What else could go wrong tonight? "Halt criminal scum!" Hackmon turned his head to see Crimson landing before him. I had to speak into existence. "By the order of Princess Luna, di-monarchy of Equestria, you are under arrest." Said Crimson Hackmon growled as he began to back up. Crimson, readied himself for the creature to either run or attack. He flexed his right hand, ready to pull his sword to defend himself, if need be. His eyes quickly darted up to the building behind the creature. He spotted Night readying his mace. He then turned his sight down to the creature to ensure it wouldn't catch on to the plan. "I would come quietly if you know what's good for you." Said Crimson I need to get out of here. But I need to make sure I don't lead him back to the village. Hackmon was about to run when he saw the bat pony smile at him, causing him to raise his eyebrow. Before Hackmon knew it, something hit him hard in the back of the head. He suddenly felt woozy and his vision was beginning to go blurry. Fuck! He fell face first into the ground as he closed his eyes and fell into a state of unconsciousness. Night placed his mace back on his hip as he looked at the creature. He gave Crimson a thumbs-up before picking up the creature. He then stretched out his wings and began to take flight. Crimson followed suit as the both of them flew back to the castle. Once inside, they reported to Princess Luna, who ordered the creature to be restrained in the dungeon. She would have her sister deal with it in the morning. The two of them acknowledged the order from the princess and took the creature to the dungeon where it would wait to meet with Princess Celestia for questioning. *** Hackmon groaned as his body began to awaken. He growled as he felt a throbbing pain running through his head. What happened? He tried to move his right leg to rub his head in an attempt to soothe the pain but felt it was impossible to move it past a certain point. He moved his head to see what was holding him back. His vision was still hazy, but he could make out the shapes of chains straining his leg. He blinked and shook his head to clear the clouds in his vision. When his vision was back to normal, he saw that both of his front legs were chained up. The length of the chain was short, which limited his mobility. It also meant he couldn't use his claws to pick the locks of the chains. Not that he thought he could, because he believed they were also booby-trapped. He then looked around to see he was in a cave with iron bars before him. Damn it! I need to get out of here! Hackmon attempted to pull the chains to break them, but he wasn't strong enough to do it. He huffed as he felt his stomach growl with hunger. He ignored his stomach and continued to try to break the chains. But he didn't have the strength to do it as his stomach let out another growl. He also felt that even at full strength, he wouldn't be able to break the chains. He bashed his front legs into the ground in frustration. That's when he heard a door opening and closing. He stayed quiet as he heard the sounds of hoof steps on the concert floor coming near his cell. He waited until Princess Celestia appeared before him. In one hand was a metal bowl with what looked to be two loaves of bread and an apple. In the other was a cup. Hackmon raised his eyebrow at who this stranger was and why she was bringing him food and drink. He watched as her horn ignited with a warm yellow glow. He was expecting her to shout out her attack and blast him as he was completely defenseless. But instead, he saw the same glow appear on the chains straining his front legs. He watched as each chain unlocked itself and fell with a loud clatter as each hit the stone floor. He rubbed the area where the chains were attached to his legs before rubbing his head. He then watched as the glow enveloped the bowl and cup. Instantly they disappeared in a flash of white light before appearing before him. It started with Hackmon, who looked at where it once was to now where it is. He continued this attempting to understand what had just happened. The princess giggled a little at Hackmon's antics. He shook his head as he stared at the food. He approached it with caution as he still was unaware of the stranger's intent. He sniffed the food seeing if he could pick anything up from the smell. I wonder if she poisoned it? I doubt they would have a poison that would hurt me. But still, I shouldn't eat it. Hackmon stared at the food and drink. But when's the last time I ate? Most of the food Hackmon stole, he gave to the Digimon of the village. He preferred their stomachs to be full than his. His stomach answered his mental question as it echoed loudly around the room. He cursed at himself, but he was starving. He grabbed one of the loaves with the claws of his right leg. He was still hesitant, but the growl from his stomach, made him disregard it. He took a gingerly bite from the loaf of bread. As he chewed, he realized it was sweet bread, a very delicious sweet bread. The taste was wonderful on his tongue, he began to scarf down the loaf of sweet bread. While consuming the loaf, he used the claws on his left leg to pick up the apple and bite down into it. Again a pleasant sweetness hit his tongue from the juice of the apple. He consumed both happily. Princess Celestia smiled as she used her magic to pull a stool over so she could sit. After sitting, she straightened up her dress and waited for the Hackmon to finish eating. Soon enough, Hackmon placed the cup, filled with orange juice, down. He gave a content huff, but he still felt hungry. He looked up at the princess, unsure if she would grant him another meal. He was also hesitant to speak to her, but his stomach decided to speak for him as it growled. Celestia giggled a little, "Would you like some more food and drink?" Hackmon nodded his head in agreement. Celestia's horn came to life and in a flash of white light, the bowl and cup were filled once more. Hackmon grabbed the newly appeared food and began to gorge himself on it until he had consumed it all. Hackmon let out a content huff as he patted his full stomach. He could hardly remember the last time he felt his full. Certainly not since awakening to this new world. "I see you were quite hungry. Odd considering the amount of food you have been stealing from the local grocery and convenience stores. That tells me, you are stealing food for somepony else. So, tell me who you are and why you've been stealing from my ponies?" Hackmon only stared at the princess before adverting his gaze. He had no desire to speak to her, even after she fed him. He still wasn't sure of her intent. "So, giving me the silent treatment after I fed you." Hackmon did not knowledge her. "And I know you can understand me since you nodded when I asked if you wanted more food." Hackmon continued to stay quiet. Celestia sighed as she got up from the stool knowing it was pointless. "Whether you want to answer me or not, you still stole from my ponies. I will determine your sentence with the courts, until then you will be staying here. I will return once I am free, to see if you are willing to speak then." Celestia's horn came to life, attached the chains to Hackmon's front legs, and returned the stool to its rightful place. She then teleported the bowl and cup out of the cell before turning and making her way out of the dungeon. Hackmon growled, Damn it! The village needs me. I cannot stay here and certainly cannot serve time in a prison cell. I have no choice but to speak with her and resolve all of this. Celestia was about to exit when a voice called out to her, "Wait!" She turned and walked back to the cell and looked down at Hackmon. Celestia was silent as she waited for Hackmon to speak. Hackmon let out a sigh, "My name is Hackmon, I am a Digimon and more importantly a Royal Knight of King Drasil. Celestia pulled the stool back to her with her magic and sat down. She gestured for Hackmon to continue speaking. "As I said, I am a Digimon, Digital Monster, from the Digital World. I am the 13th and final member of the protectors of the Digital world and its king, the Royal Knights. We are an elite group of Digimon who were formed by Imperialdramon Paladin Mode to defend our home from threats that seek to plunge it into darkness. I am also the personal student of Gankoomon, a Royal Knight who saw my potential as the final member of the Royal Knights. He took me under his wing and began to train me. He also had me chaperoned by three Digimon named the Sistermon. They would also help me train when Gankoomon had to leave." Hackmon paused to collect his thoughts, "Everything in the Digital World was going smoothly until the darkness came. One day out of the blue, an unforeseen darkness began to cover the Digital World. Before we knights could respond, the darkness enveloped us. From the moment the darkness took me to the moment I awoke to this world, I have no memories. I am not even sure how much time passed while I was in the darkness. But the next thing I know after the darkness consumed me, I awoke to this unfamiliar world." "I see, but that does not explain the thievery you have been committing. Hard to believe a knight, protector of Digimon, would be so open to stealing. What would your master think of you if he knew his student was stealing?" Said Celestia Her stern words hit Hackmon's core. He knew what he was doing was wrong and that it was unbecoming of who he was and what his master taught him. But he was also doing it for young Digimon back in the village. "I wasn't doing it for myself," Celestia raised an eyebrow at Hackmon's comment. "When I awoke to this world, I stumbled onto a Digimon village full of baby and in-training Digimon. They were starving and needed food. Their only protection was an Elecmon, a rookie-level Digimon. He had been trying to find food for the young Digimon but had a hard time getting enough for them. He told me of this town. I came here a few nights back and found plenty of food. I know it's wrong of me, but the village needed food. So, I accepted what I had to do, and began to steal from the stores to feed the Digimon of the village. Elecmon had warned me that I would get caught sooner or later and that we needed to find a different way to feed the village. I ignored him and I guess that ignorance caught up to me." Celestia was quiet as she mulled over Hackmon's words, "So, you stole only to help feed the Digimon you swore you to protect." Hackmon nodded in agreement, "That does not excuse your actions, but I do understand them." Celestia stood up and ignited her horn. She freed Hackmon from his chains and then opened the prison door. "To ensure the truth of your story, I need you to take me to this village." Hackmon wasn't sure if he could trust her. He didn't want to put the young Digimon and Elecmon in harm's way for his actions. But he could also feel that she had no ill intentions to hurt the Digimon, she seemed more curious than anything. "Before I show you this village, how about you answer something for me?" Celestia nodded her head in agreement. "Who are you?" "I am Princess Celestia di-monarchy of Equestria." "Princess Celestia, I ask you to promise me that you will not hurt or harm the Digimon village. I was the one who stole the food for them and will accept the punishment for breaking your laws. They are innocent in all of this." Said Hackmon Princess Celestia smiled, "I promise you as the ruler of Equestria that I will not bring any harm to the Digimon of the village." Hackmon was still hesitant, but he could feel she was genuine with her answer that she would not harm the Digimon. He sighed, "Alright, I will lead you to them." Celestia smiled as the two left for the Digimon village. *** Hackmon had led Celestia to a path that led to the base of the mountain where Canterlot rested. The two stayed quiet throughout their entire trip. Hackmon had been thinking about leading the princess somewhere else and then ditching her to return to the village. He would then round up the young Digimon and leave the area to find somewhere else to live. But he felt that was a dumb idea. He felt that she could use the power of her horn to catch him and strain him. Plus, he felt that he had some good grace with the princess, so he didn't want to jeopardize that grace. Eventually, the two stopped before a set of head-high bushes. "Elecmon, are you there?" It was quiet for a moment before the bushes began to rustle and out came Elecmon, "Hackmon glad to hear your voice. Where have you been? What happened? Did you bring..." Elecmon stopped mid-sentence as he looked at Princess Celestia who smiled and waved. Elecmon turned to look at Hackmon with a deadpan face. He looked away from the rookie Digimon. "Let me guess, you got caught." "Yes." "Hello Elecmon, my name is Princess Celestia di-monarchy of Equestria. I am here because Hackmon said that he was bringing food here to feed some young Digimon." Elecmon turned his attention to the princess, "That is correct your Highness." "May I see these young Digimon?" Elecmon turned to look at Hackmon who nodded his head. Elecmon motioned for them to follow. The three of them pushed through the bushes to find a small village of Digimon. Little hunts had been set up as well as what seemed to be the start of a garden. Celestia saw a wide variety of different Digimon that had been playing before the three of them appeared. Some looked like black blobs with ears and yellow eyes. A few were green blobs with a pacifier in their mouth, black eyes, and a leaf for a tail, which shaded their body. Then there some that were looked like a metal cat toy mouse with red eyes. That was the majority of the village, but there were a few other Digimon in the village. First was a pink blob with pink ribbons coming out of its head with red eyeshttps://digimon.fandom.com/wiki/Koromon. Then there was a cat-like blob with white and blueish stripes. It wore a metal helmet with two horns coming out of it. Lastly was a larva-like creature with its head coming out of a pine cone. When all of them laid their eyes on the Princess, they ran and hid from her. They poked out from their hiding spots shaking with fear. They were not sure who she was or what she wanted to do. Princess Celestia, seeing their unease, decided to make herself smaller. Hackmon and Elecmon watched her every movement, ready to spring into action. Even if she gave off an aura of a loving and caring mother. Celestia got down on her knees, not caring if she got her dress dirty, and reached out a hand to one of the Botamon. It seemed scared to move towards Celestia, but a warm smile on her face seemed to change its mind. It slowly moved forward and sniffed Celestia's hand. The Botamon once more looked up to see the warm smile still present on her face. It seemed to ease the Botamon to allow Celestia to begin to pet the little black blob. It closed its eyes and seemed to be happy with the petting as it began to spit out a few bubbles. Celestia stared at them surprised. "You seemed to have made the Botamon happy." Said Elecmon "Botamon?" Asked Celestia "Yes ma'am, that Digimon is a baby Digimon named Botamon. All Digimon start our life as baby Digimon after we hatch from our digital egg." Elecmon pointed to the green blob Digimon and the larva Digimon. "The babies there are Leafmon and their in-training form, Minomon." Elecmon then pointed to the remaining Botamon and the pink blobs. "You already know about Botamon but the other one is one of their in-training forms, Koromon." Then he pointed to the mouse and the cat-like Digimon, "And finally the baby is Metalkoromon and one of their in-training forms, Kapurimon." The other Digimon began to walk out from hiding spots seeing that Princess Celestia was not a threat to them, but were still cautious about her. She smiled at them all, "Hello everyone, my name is Princess Celestia. I came here to say hello to you all." While they were still uneasy about her, they felt like she meant them no harm. Once they felt that way they began to go near the princess. She smiled and petted and stretched them making them all happy. "Glad to see the little ones are warming to her." Said Elecmon Hackmon walked over and sat next to Elecmon and watched as the young Digimon played with Princess Celestia, "Yeah." Hackmon turned his head to see a small cave where he stored stolen food. He could see that they were running dry and growled at his failure last night. Elecmon turned to see where Hackmon was looking, "Yeah, we're running dry again. We have enough for probably tonight and that's it." Elecmon then turned to the laughing princess as the Digimon played around her, "Do you think she could help get us some food?" Hackmon turned to Elecmon before turning to Celestia. 'I'm not sure. But a part of me believes that she would be more than willing to help us." After a while of playing with the Digimon and letting them warm up to her, they decided to leave her alone. She continued to watch them play among each other with smiles on their faces, well for those that had faces. She then saw Hackmon and Elecmon walk over to her after she was free from the young Digimon. "I am impressed how quickly they warmed up to you, your highness." Said Elecmon She smiled, "I have that effect on others." She turned her eyes to watch them play, "Elecmon you mentioned that Koromon and Kapurimon were only one form of Botamon and MetalKoromon, what does that mean?" "Many different Digimon have different digital lines they can digivolve to. For example, a Botamon can digivolve into Koromon, Wanyamon, or Budmon. But then there are some Digimon that have a singular line they follow. For example, Leafmon only has a single digivolution line they follow until they reach their rookie form, Wormon. The vast majority of all Digimon have different digital lines they can follow. It's rare for a Digimon to only have a singular digital line." "Not to mention that there are other evolution forms as well. Armour, DNA, DigiXros, and Slide Forms are other ways a Digimon can digivolve. But these evolutions are rare as they can only occur with certain Digimon." Hackmon turned to Celestia, "I find it interesting back in your castle, that when I said I was Digimon, you seemed to understand what that meant." "Yes, because before I saw you, I had already met some Digimon before you. They live in Ponyville with their Tamers." Said Celestia "Did you say, Tamers?" Celestia nodded her head, "They wouldn't happen to have devices that allow for a Digimon to digivolve." Celestia once more nodded her head. "They wouldn't happen to be human would they?" "Well of the seven of them, five are human and two are ponies." Responded Celestia "I see." Said Hackmon "Why is that important?" Asked Celestia "Throughout the history of the Digital World, when a great evil threatens the Digital World, an evil that no Digimon alone can face. A phenomenon calls out to humans and gifts them a powerful device known as a digivice. An object that allows a human to digivolve a Digimon through its line by the use of an unknown connection between Digimon and Tamer. This connection grows the strength of the Digimon and Tamer creating the bond necessary for a human to digivolve a Digimon at will. Typically, a Digimon must absorb enough digital data to perform the evolution themselves, this is bypassed by the digivice. These chosen humans become known as DigiDestined. These DigiDestined alongside their Digimon work together to stop the evil that threatens the Digital World." Hackmon paused as he thought about what he said before continuing, "But what I find odd is this is not the Digital World. The minute woke in this place, I felt like my connection to Digital World was served, but I swear that I can still feel digital data flowing around me. It's like this world and the Digital World are connected somehow. But now the question is asked, what brought the DigiDestined here? It is because of the darkness that consumed the Digital World. And this time around, not only were humans chosen and brought, but it would seem that the local populace of this world might be chosen as DigiDestined as well." Hackmon sighed, "It seems the mystery deepens before us. A mystery with no clues or leads to follow. I guess will have to be patient and wait to see how this all unfolds before us." "It would seem that way. Tell me Elecom," he turned his gaze to the princess. "How much food do you have left?" Elecmon sighed, "Probably enough to get through tonight and that's it." "I see, I will have to have food delivered at once to this village." Said Celestia Both rookie Digimon turned to look at Celestia. Elecmon was the first to speak, "You would give us food. Even after Hackmon stole from you." "While Hackmon broke the law, I understand why he did so. And as princess of Equestria, I cannot let these young Digimon or yourself go hungry." She then turned to the little garden of the village, "I will also have supplies dropped off to further help you grow your food." "Even though we are not your subjects." Said Hackmon Celestia smiled, "All those who live in Equestria are citizens of Equestria. No matter if they are a pony, human, griffin, zebra, or Digimon. All those who live in this nation are my sister and I's subjects." "Thank you, princess! We are more than grateful for your kindness." Said Elecmon Celestia smiled as she got up and dusted the dirt off of her dress, "Hackmon and I should be getting back to the castle. I will have a couple of my guards deliver the food and supplies before sundown. I will also have them drop something off so that you can get in contact with me or my sister if you need more, in case, you do not wish to leave the village to meet with us in person." Elecmon nodded happily as the two began to leave. Before the two left, a Kapurimon stopped them, "Where are you going, Hackmon? Aren't you staying?" Hackmon turned to look at the in-training Digimon before walking over to and placing his hand against the Digimon's head, "You see, I broke the laws of this nation young one, and when you break the law, you have to accept the punishment given to you. I plan on returning with the princess and facing judgment for my crimes. I am not sure how long I will be gone, but Elecmon will be taking care of you." Soon all of the other young surrounded Hackmon, "I promise that once I have completed my punishment, I will return." Hackmon wanted to say more but the Digimon ran past him and confronted Princess Celestia. "Please forgive Hackmon, he didn't do anything wrong. He was only trying to keep us fed and safe." Said the Kapurimon which was echoed by the other Digimon whether by their voice or body language. Celestia gave them all a warm mother smile as she bent and placed a hand gently on the Kapurimon's head, "I know, but in our nation we have rules. And when someone breaks the rules, they must face the consequences for their actions. But," she turned her gaze to Hackmon, "I promise you all that I will keep Hackmon safe until he can see you all. But if it's too long for you all, you all are more than welcome to come visit him." The Digimon seemed to cheer at this idea and Celestia giggled as she stood up and waved for Hackmon to follow. Hackmon turned and said goodbye to Elecmon and then each of the young Digimon, telling them once more to listen to Elecmon. Soon, he left with the princess and headed back to the castle. "Princess," Celestia turned her head to look at Hackmon. "Thank you." Celestia smiled at him, "You are welcome." *** The doors of the throne swung open as Hackmon entered the room. He turned to watch as the guards closed the doors behind him. He turned his gaze back to Princess Celestia who sat upon her and her sister's throne. Her horn was ignited in her yellow glow as papers and documents floated before her. A quill worked tirelessly scratching down notes, scratching out lines, and making signatures on all of the floating documents. "I see you have finally arrived, Hackmon." "I have your highness, but I am confused. I thought I was going to court today to face punishment for my crimes?" Asked Hackmon Celestia used her magic to roll up all of the documents placed them on a table next to her and put the quill back into the ink pot, "That would be true, but I struck a deal with the courts." She got up and walked over to Hackmon, "Since the day my sister and I rose to power following our parent's disappearance. I have learned to lead all manner of creatures that come to find a life in Equestria, but Digimon are something else. So, I need someone with knowledge of Digimon to help me lead this new age Equestria is entering. So, the bargain I broke the court is that you would serve your sentence working for me as an official advisor of Digimon. You will have to complete one year of service to fulfill your sentence. Once you have completed your year, you may go your way." "If I decline this?" Asked Hackmon "Then it will be up to the courts to decide your fate. Whether that's time behind bars or so many hours of community service. You chose to work for me, neither of those things will happen to you. You will live here in the castle, helping me and my sister and learn more about Digimon and how we should help them. And no matter which way you go, I will continue to protect and keep the Digimon village safe and send supplies to them when they need them." Said Celestia Hackmon was silent before closing his eyes to think, but he didn't have to think hard about it. He opened his eyes and reached out his right leg. It took Celestia a second for her mind to figure things out, but she understood. He took hold of Hackmon's leg and shook it. The two smile at each other. But as both shook on the offer, they both felt something inside of them, deep within them. Something that felt like a connection. Faint, but it was there for them both. A feeling that they were meant to be together. Author's Note A new Digimon has entered the fray. Are these two destined to become partners? Will Celestia become a DigiDestined? What is ahead for Equestria as more Digimon awaken in his new world? What is this darkness that consumed the Digital World? You will all have to find out as the story of Digital Equestria continues to unfold. P.S.: Make sure, to like, follow, and tell your friends.
