Digimon Equestrian Frontier

It's been a week since Twilight and I...umm…”got together”, and things between us have definitely changed. For starters, when we are alone, she tends to be more affectionate, giving me nuzzles to the cheek combined with some snuggling, and, of course, kisses. And the teasing against one another has definitely gone up; sometimes we would see who could make the other blush harder than the other. But of course, that was all behind closed doors since she is a princess and we weren’t too sure how the public would respond. She told me to keep this a secret from her friends as well, but just until she was ready to reveal the truth about us. Although there was one thing that kept plaguing my mind from that night. Twilight mentioned that I had caught the attention of other mares who had the same feelings for me that she does. The only question now is who?

But that was then, and right now, I am nearly done filling out a mountain of paperwork. Due to an upcoming holiday known as Nightmare Night, a holiday similar to Halloween, I've been tasked by Princess Celestia to make a list of any Digimon that will be attending the festivities that will take place in Ponyville. So far, nearly half of the Digimon from the village will be attending, hoping to try and mingle with the ponies to help our campaign to prove ponies and Digimon can co-exist.

With one last signature, I had finally finished the paperwork needed for the Digimon, or at least until some more of them wish to attend. With Nightmare Night only a month away, the chances are up there. I dropped my quill, trying to flex my right hand, which got sore from all that writing and holding onto a quill for so long. It was like being back in high school.

I eased back into my chair, sighing in relief as I finally took a breather. Thankfully, I had no other appointments today, so I was free as a bird for the day, but that was a double-edged sword in its own way. Because this world lacks television or video games, I had nothing to do. Ponyville is a nice town and all, but it’s completely boring when there's no parties to attend to. 'I could always visit Dinohyumon and train for a while.' I brushed the idea aside. While I will admit I still have plenty of room to improve on my fighting skills, I wasn't feeling up to do anything too strenuous today.

I drummed my fingers against my desk, trying to think of something, anything to do. As I tried to think of something, a thought came to mind. I leaned to the side to open one of the bottom drawers of my desk, and inside was the metal tin that I had won from the festival that I went to with Twilight. I had forgotten to look through it that night since...well, we had other plans that night.

Popping the metal lid off, I dug my hand through the vast cards that were inside the tin. These cards were my favorite from the Digimon series. While there was an American version of this game, these cards held a much higher fondness in my heart since they looked more like the ones from Digimon Tamers, my second favorite season of the series. I sorted through the cards, seeing ones that were used in the anime, like the Wargreymon shield, and the hyper wings, one of my favorite cards that the main character used in the show. Funnily enough, the cards were in Japanese, not English, but that wasn't much of a problem for me. During my junior and senior years of high school, students were required to take up a second language class. And where most students went with the easier classes like French and Spanish, I decided to take Japanese. It was hard at first, but after a while and a lot of hard work, the results were well worth the effort. I had taken up that language mainly so that I could watch anime in Japanese and not have to rely on the subtitles. And, some day, I would be able to head over to Japan and visit Akihabara, the anime capital of the world. Well, that was before I got sent to another world where I'm living my own Digimom adventure, so this is awesome, too.

As I was sorting through the cards, three individual ones had caught my attention. Those three were the main characters’ Digimon from the Tamer's series, and those Digimon are Guilmon, Renamon, and Terriermon. It wasn't just because they were the main characters’ Digimon partners; it was what was written on their cards.

Guilmon

Special attacks: Pyro Sphere.

Renamon

Special attacks: Diamond Storm

Terriermon

Special attacks: Terrier Tornado

It was the name of their attacks that puzzled me the most. I know I’ve heard those attacks recently, the only questions now are from when and where? I tried to search through my memories, trying to remember when I heard those attacks from. The longer I thought about it, the closer I was to getting my answer. And then it hits me. Those attack names were the same ones I heard the night I was fighting Okuwamon! It was when he had me pinned down at Sweet Apple Acres. Just when it looked like I was going to bite the dust, three attacks came from out of nowhere and slammed into Okuwamon, knocking him off and letting me get away. At the time, I hadn't given it much thought, but now I feel stupid that it took me this long to realize who it was that saved me.

Just as the mystery of who saved me that night was solved, something else came to mind. Opening the top drawer, I reached inside to pull out a booklet. The booklet was a manifest that helped me keep track of all the Digimon that currently live in the village. After checking the list twice, I saw that neither of those three Digimon were listed. Much like in the video games, Digimon have multiple choices when it comes to digivolving, known as digivolution routes. But none of the Digimon on this manifest could turn into one of those three. This meant these three were hiding somewhere in Ponyville, or someone has been hiding them. The only question was who?

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After making a quick stop at Sugarcube Corner for something that might help with my search, I made my way over to Sweet Apple Acres. More specifically, where I had fought Okuwamon. Lucky for me, the ground where we fought on was still damaged, meaning that AJ hasn't gotten around to cleaning up this area just yet. I looked to my right, spotting the castle off in the distance, the top of its tallest spire poking over the tree line. “Okay, if the castle’s that way, that means the attack came from my left.” I turned to my left and slowly started walking in that direction where the attacks came from, trying to find anything that could tell me if those three Digimon were here. I stopped dead in my tracks when something caught my eye. Over to my right was a thick apple tree, with claw marks on the side. I walked over to the tree to better inspect it. I carefully ran my hand along the trunk of the tree close to where the claw marks were. Whatever made these marks had three claws. The marks weren't deep into the wood, meaning that these were not made intentionally. I lined my finger along the claw marks, making sure that the tips of my finger were where the claw marks started.

After moving my body around a bit so that my fingers were perfectly aligned with the marks, I was able to deduce that the Digimon who made these was peeking out from the tree. And if I look past the tree, it would give me a clear view of where Okuwamon and I were fighting. That meant that someone was watching me fight and decided to help, and that someone could be one of the Digimon that I'm looking for. “Now the only question now is: Where did they run off to hide?”

While looking around, I spotted something I hadn't seen before. It was a clubhouse. If I remember correctly, the CMC has a clubhouse, which means that must be theirs. Figuring that the girls might have seen something and could help with my investigation, I decided to walk over to the little red clubhouse to see if they were around. As I got closer, I heard a crashing noise. I quickly sprinted the rest of the way, worried something was wrong. Once I was at the door, I gave it three quick knocks to see if anyone would answer. "Who is it?" Sweetie Belle asked in a sing-song voice, which eased some of my fears.

"It's me, Jack. Are you girls okay?"

While waiting for an answer, I could hear someone scrambling around and making shushing noises. Before I could ask if there was something going on, all three girls quickly ran out of the clubhouse slamming the door behind them. "Er, uh, hiya there, Jack! What brings ya to these here parts of Sweet Apple Acres?!" Apple Bloom asked nervously while her eyes looked from side to side, never making eye contact with me. But it wasn't just her; both Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were doing the exact same thing and fidgeting in place.

'Why are they acting so nervous all of a sudden?' I didn't bother overthinking it as I kneeled down so I was at eye level with them. "Well, I'm here because I believe there are some Digimon roaming around here. Have you girls seen any-?"

"What Digimon hiding in the clubhouse?!" Sweetie Belle blurted out, getting an elbow from Scootaloo shortly after. "Er, I mean, nope! No Digimons here, eheh." Scootaloo just face palmed afterwards.

'Yeah, should have known.' I pretend like I didn't catch what Sweetie Belle said and proceed with my investigation. "Well, I still need to do a thorough search around this area. I can’t leave any nooks and crannies unchecked, meaning I’ll need a quick look inside your club-“

"NO!" All three yelled in unison while blocking the door to the clubhouse, which only proved my suspicions to be true.

"Um, er, well, you see, Jack." Sweetie Belle mumbled, trying her best not to make eye contact with me. "We…uhh."

"Just painted the inside!!" Scootaloo jumped in, getting the others to look at her before they gave a quick nod.

"That's right!" Apple Bloom quickly agreed. "We just painted the inside of the clubhouse, and it needs to dry! Wouldn't want to get your shoes covered in paint, right?" The others nodded their heads.

'So that's how they want to play it, huh? Well, it's a good thing I came prepared.' I decided to bring out the bag that I had brought for this possibility. If there is one thing I've noticed about certain Digimon that I've seen so far, it’s that they have personalities similar to their TV show counterparts. "Oh, that's a darn shame! And here I brought some freshly baked bread rolls from Sugarcube Corner!”

"Did he say bread?" A raspy voice asked from inside the clubhouse. I could see Apple Bloom's eyes had shrunken down to pinpricks. "He said bread rolls!"

"Shhh! He'll hear you!!" A second voice hissed, which sounded a bit young spoke out next, making Sweetie Belle facepalm.

"Aww, but I'm hungry." The raspy voice whined.

"You're always hungry." The second voice shot back.

"...so what's your point?"

I could see the girls sweating bullets. They obviously knew they were busted. "So, mind telling me who else is inside the clubhouse, girls?" I asked with a smug smile and leaning down to look at them at eye level.

Apple Bloom's eyes darted from left to right as she tried to answer me. "Uhhh…that wasn't, ummm…that was Scootaloo!" Both Scootaloo and I looked at her rather confused. "S-She’s been practicing ventriloquism for a while now! For a new stunt. Right, Scoots?"

I turned to look at the orange filly to see she was looking at me, then back to Apple Bloom, then back to me with a nervous smile. "Uh, yeah! It's a really complicated stunt, and I don't want to bore you with the details."

'Well, I gave them a chance, but now it's time to play the ace in the hole.' I pulled out one of the bread rolls, waving it in the air. "Did I mention they’re filled with peanut butter, too?!"

Before I knew it, the door to the clubhouse slammed open, and I was tackled to the ground by something big and red. "Hi, my name is Guilmon. Can I have some of those bread rolls, pleaaaasee?" Sure enough, sitting on top of me was a red and black dinosaur-looking Digimon with amber colored eyes and a tail that was wagging back and forth like a dog. "I'll be your best friend." I raised the bag of bread rolls up to him and watched as his eyes sparkled. "Yippee!!" He quickly pushed his muzzle into the bag and started chowing down.

Tilting my head to the side to look back at the clubhouse, I saw the other two Digimon standing in the doorway.

The first was a rabbit-looking Digimon with large floppy ears and a horn on its head. He had bits of green on certain parts of his body, mostly at the tip of his ears and paws. "Oh man, looks like the Gatomon is out of the bag." He chuckled while moving his hands behind his head.

The last one was a tall, slim, anthropomorphic fox with bright yellow and white fur. She wore some purple gloves that extend from her paw up to her elbows, both of which had a yin and yang symbol on them. "It's rather embarrassing how quickly his head can give in to his stomach."

Looking back at the Crusaders, I could see they had these sad looks to their faces as they were caught red handed. "Are you girls ready to talk?" I asked, trying to sound serious…well, as serious as a guy can while on his back with a red dinosaur sitting on him while it munched away on bread rolls.

I was now inside the clubhouse with both the Crusaders and the Digimon, who were all sitting on the opposite side of the room. I needed to find out how we got to this point and started to ask my questions. "Okay girls, let's start from the beginning, shall we? How did you girls meet these three?" I gesture over to the three Digimon. Renamon was leaning up against a wall with Scootaloo standing next to her. Terrirermon was sitting in Sweetie Belle’s lap while she had her arms gently around him, much like she would with a teddy bear. And then there was Guilmon, who was still eating the baked goods I bought, sitting with Apple Bloom while she gently stroked his back. 'Guess I know who's been partnered up with whom.'

Apple Bloom stepped forward, causing her partner to raise his head up when he noticed she stopped petting him. "Well, ya remember when we first met Jack?" How could I forget? It was not only the day that I came to this world and met these three for the first time, but it was also when I became a Digidestined, turned into a Digimon for the very first time, and got bucked in the head by Applejack. I nodded for her to continue. "Well, ya see, the reason me and the others were out in the woods was because we were taking a shortcut to Zecora's."

"Zecora? She's the zebra who lives in the Everfree Forest who knows how to make potions, right?"

"Yeah, that's her. Before you showed up, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and I found these weird eggs inside the barn one day. We took them over to Zecora's to see if she could watch over them for a bit. Then the next day, we started heading over to her hut, wonderin’ how they were doin’, and maybe to see if she found out what kind of eggs they were. That’s when we ran into that one Digimon who chased us up into a tree, and, well, ya know the rest.”

I hadn’t really given it much thought back then as to why the girls were out there. And only later that same day did I find out from Twilight that they were near one of the most dangerous forests in Equestria. But there was one last question I still needed to ask to confirm my suspicions . "So, if what I understand is correct, you bonded with the Digimon after they hatched, right?" They smiled and nodded. Now for my next question to see if these girls are official. "So girls, do you have one of these then?" I pulled out my digivice. Sure enough, the girls reached into their pockets and pulled out their own digivices. But unlike me or the other Digidestined I've met, their digivices weren't the same. They had the D-ark versions. Apple Bloom had red, Sweetie Belle had green, and Scootaloo had blue. And with that, another theory I had was confirmed. It seems that some of the main characters’ Digimon not only share their personalities, but also everything else in general. The girls' digivices are proof. But now that I know this to be a fact, I have some rising concerns. I glanced over at Guilmon, who had just finished eating his fill and was laying on his back while rubbing his belly. I fear that if these Digimon are supposed to be like the ones from the anime, their histories could very well be the same.

"Jackmon?" I was quickly snapped out of my thoughts by Guilmon, who had moved in closer without me even noticing. "Thank you for the bread. It was yummy." He gave me the most pure and honest smile I've ever seen.

I couldn’t help but feel a bit more at ease. While there was still the fear of what could be lingering in the back of my mind, I realized that if I do my part, those possible events can be avoided. "I'm glad you liked them, Guilmon." I moved my hand up to pet his head, causing him to chuckle a bit. Then I just remembered something. "Wait, did you call me ‘Jackmon’?"

"Ugh. Sorry, Jack. He does that fer some reason." Apple Bloom walked up to her partner, using her hands to scratch under his chin and the top of his head. "Guilmon always adds the word ‘mon’ to everyone's name for some reason." I couldn't help but laugh. For me, it was like meeting the same Guilmon for the anime, which I've always wanted to do, so this was a dream come true for me.

Once we had gotten past the introductions, I had asked the girls if their family members knew about their Digimon partners. I wasn't surprised when they said no. Apple Bloom and the others were afraid that after the incident with Monochromon, their sisters would be against the idea of them having Digimon partners. I could understand their worries. Not everyone in Ponyville has fully accepted the Digimon just yet. But I told the girls how it was unfair to their partners to be cooped up in the small clubhouse, which barely held all three of them with any room to move around. The girls, while resistant to the idea, agreed that I made a fair point, and they would tell their families on the condition that I would go with them to help smooth things over in hopes to get them to say yes, which I agreed to.

===================================

Since Applejack is out for the evening delivering some apple products out of town, and Rainbow Dash is in Cloudsdale working at the weather factory, our first visit would be the Carousel Boutique. Sweetie Belle and I made our way to the boutique, Terriermon hiding behind our backs until it was time for me to introduce him. While we made our way to her house, Sweetie Belle told me that her sister would be a bit stressed out, since this time of the year, she gets massive amounts of costume requests for Nightmare Night. Meaning that poor Rarity was up to her horn in requests and work, but fortunately today, she's managed to finish up the requests she's received, and until she gets more, she's free for the moment.

As we walked into the boutique, the bell above the door rang. "OH, FOR CELESTIA’S SAKE!!!" Rarity shouted from the back. "Be out in a second!" She said in a sing-song voice that sounded more irritated than welcoming. Not shortly after, Rarity came out from the back wearing what looked like a forced smile, but the moment she saw who it was at the door, her face softened and she let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, it's just you, Jack. For a moment, I thought I had another customer…Wait, are you here for a costume request?"

I shook my head. "Nah, don't worry, Rarity. I’m most likely gonna be busy patrolling the town, making sure that the Digimon are on their best behavior.” Plus, I didn’t need the temptation of sugary sweets. I needed to be in tip top shape for my line of work.

Rarity let out another sigh of relief. “Thank goodness. I’ve been working my poor little fingers to the bone and I just made an appointment at the spa. Oh, would you care to join me? I’m sure Aloe and Lotus wouldn’t mind squeezing you in.“

“Uh, while that offer is very tempting, I’m afraid that I still have some work to do myself. Which brings me to the reason for my visit. Do you think you can take a seat?”

Rarity nodded and led us to her living room where she took a seat on her coach, Sweetie and I still standing while trying to keep Terriermon hidden. “Darling, is something the matter? Why did you need me to sit down?”

Well, now would be as good as time as any to tell her. “Rarity, you are aware that I’m no longer the only Digidestined, right?” She nodded, given that she knows that Fluttershy, one of closest friends, is one as well. “Well, it seems there are three new Digidestined here in Ponyville.”

It didn’t take Rarity much time to connect the dots as she looked to her sister, then back to me. “You don’t mean...?” She pointed to her sister, looking a bit surprised. I looked to Sweetie Belle and nodded my head, letting her know it was now or never. She slowly reached behind her back and pulled out Terriermon for her sister to see. Rarity let out a surprised gasp and moved her hands to cover her mouth. I was about to try and calm her down before she could have a little panic attack, but before I could say anything, she ran past me, took hold of Terriermon, and brought him in for a hug. “Oh, my sweet Celestia, he's adorable!!”

She nuzzled her face into the poor little guy, making him squirm in her grasp as his face began turning blue. “Can’t…breath…help!!” He called out while waving his hands out for help. Sweetie quickly pulled her partner Digimon from her sister’s grasp just in time before the poor little guy passed.

I was kinda surprised by that reaction. I was not expecting that at all. “Uh, so I take it you’re not freaked out by him then?”

She gasped as she took him into her arms once more, only this time, she wasn’t giving him a death hug. “How could anypony be freaked out by such an adorable creature like him?!” She gently stroked the top of his head, making sure to be careful of his horn. “I never knew that a Digimon could look so adorable, and I must say that his floppy ears do give an idea for some headwear.”

Once Rarity had gotten over how cute Terriermon was, I gave her the full details on how Sweetie Belle met him and how she is now a Digidestined just like me. For a while, she didn’t say anything as she continued to pet the rabbit Digimon. I was rather concerned by the prolonged silence until she looked up at me. “Jack, you know that I have the utmost faith in your abilities, and that you would do anything to protect us.” I silently nodded as she continued. “But I am not sure how I feel about my little Sweetie Belle doing the same. Fluttershy is a grown mare and I know she can handle herself if she needs to. But Sweetie Belle is just a filly. She can’t be expected to do the same things as you.” I could see her starting to tear up a bit.

I quickly held up my hands defensively to stop her from getting the wrong idea. “Whoa, hold on there, Rares, that’s not what I’m trying to tell you at all. All I came here to do was to convince you to let Sweetie Belle keep Terriermon, not ride off into battle with me.”

She used her magic to pull a nearby tissue box to her as she took one and wiped her eyes with it. “You’re not?” I shook my head, getting a relieved sigh from her. “Thank Celestia. I was worried for a moment there. So, all you want is for me to allow this cute little thing to stay with us?” She asked while giving the little Digimon another cuddle session, to which he groaned dramatically and got a laugh out of the rest of us. “I don’t see a problem with that, so long as Sweetie Belle makes sure to take care of him.” Sweetie Belle let out a happy squeal as she hopped onto the couch with her sister and hugged her, happy that she could keep her Digimon partner.

‘One down, only two more to go.’

After I left the boutique, Scootaloo came to find me, informing me that Dash had just gotten home from work. Not wanting to waste any time, we quickly made our way to their house to hopefully convince Dash like we did with Rarity.

As we approached the door, I looked around for Renamon to see if she was ready. I spotted her waiting in a nearby tree. I gave her a nod, to which she returned right back. Scootaloo led the way as she opened the door to let us in. “Hey, Dash, I’m home!”

“Hey, squirt! I’m in the kitchen!” Dash called out.

“And I brought your coltfriend with me too.” Scootaloo quickly replied, making my cheeks burn a bit by her implication.

“Ha ha, Scoots. Very funny.” Dash called out in an unimpressed tone as she came out of the kitchen, wearing nothing but a black bra and panties while a towel was draped over her hair, blocking her vision. “You’ll have to try something a bit trickier than that to…” When she pulled the towel off her head and saw me standing next to Scootaloo, who had a smug grin on her face, her cheeks flushed a deep crimson as she looked down, realizing her current attire. “J-Jack!” She shrieked, trying to use the towel to cover herself up before quickly vanishing into the kitchen, leaving me completely in shock and Scootaloo rolling on the ground laughing her tail off.

After waiting a good ten minutes, Dash came back, this time fully dressed, but with a heavy blush still present on her cheeks. She would barely look at me and would glare at Scootaloo as she continued to snicker about earlier. We sat down on the couch, looking at each other with a blush on each of our cheeks, and seeing as we weren’t going to get anywhere just sitting here, I decided to try and break the ice by saying whatever popped into my head. “Sooo…black is a good color on you.” I immediately facepalmed, regretting what I just said while Dash grabbed one of the pillows next to her, brought it to her face, and screamed into it, making Scootaloo laugh even harder. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say that.”

“Ughh! Just tell me why you’re here before you do anything else to embarrass me anymore then you already have today!” She whined as she tossed one of the other pillows at me.

“Okay, to make a long story short, Scootaloo is a Digidestined like me and she has a Digimon partner that would like to be able to stay here with you guys.”

Rainbow Dash gave a rather surprised look. “Wait, what?” I rolled my eyes and nodded to Scootaloo, who took that as her cue to open the window. No sooner than she did so, Renamon suddenly leapt inside. Dash was completely taken by surprise by the sudden appearance of the tall fox creature, but I was quick to explain to her what I had told Rarity not to long ago. And much like with Rarity, there was a long pause that made me feel worried. “That’s…SO COOL!!”

“Wait, what?” Both Scootaloo and I asked simultaneously as we were both shocked by her response. Even Renamon looked somewhat surprised as well. “You mean you don’t mind that she is a Digidestined, or that she has a Digimon partner?”

“Are you kidding me?! Of course I don’t mind! If anything, I’m kinda jealous of her.” That honestly took me by surprise even more. “I mean, ever since I saw Fluttershy help you in that one fight against that oversized bug, I wished I had my own Digimon partner, too. And now my little sis and her friends have their own now. Man, they are so lucky!” She walked over to Renamon, who was leaning against the wall as per usual. “And she has her for a partner, too. She’s almost as cool as me, so yeah, she can totally stay here with us.”

Renamon chuckled a bit and moved down onto one knee to bow. “You honor me with your praise. I promise that I will protect Scootaloo with my very life, and I’ll do my best to not take up much space while living here.”

Dash let out a chuckle as she helped Renamon up to her feet. “Hey, no need to get all weird on me and bow. Any friend of Scoots’ is a friend of mine.”

I was incredibly relieved we had managed to convince one more sibling to accept the Digimon. Now all that was left was to convince Applejack and it would be a done deal. And given how easy it was to convince Rarity and Dash, I’m sure she’ll say yes!

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“ABSOLUTELY NOT!!” The farm pony screamed at the top of her lungs.

Oh, how the universe loves to prove me wrong and laugh in my face about it. This could have turned out so much better if not for what happened earlier. After we had gotten everything settled with Scootaloo and Dash, I had decided to make my way back to the farm to await Applejack so that I could convince her why Apple Bloom should be allowed to keep Guilmon. But just as I was getting close, I heard a scream that sounded a lot like Granny Smith and quickly rushed the rest of the way over. When I was only a few yards from the house, I saw Guilmon being chased around by Applejack, who was swinging a cast iron pan at the poor red dino. I managed to stop AJ from clobbering Guilmon into a pancake. Apple Bloom quickly stood in front of her partner Digimon to defend him from her sister’s wrath. Once we had managed to calm her down a bit, Applejack went on about how she heard Granny Smith screaming, and when she got into the kitchen, she saw Guilmon poking his head through the kitchen window, mouth drooling. She had assumed that Guilmon was planning on eating Granny Smith, so she tried to fend him off. Of course, I already had an idea of what really happened. I went over to Granny Smith and asked her if she had been baking anything before Guilmon had shown up. Sure enough, she was baking a batch of apple fritters that she was planning to set on the windowsill to let them cool off, that is until a Guilmon had poked his head in, scaring her enough to scream. Apple Bloom told me that she had gone to Sugarcube Corner to buy him some treats and told him to wait in the clubhouse till she got back, but just as she had gotten back, she heard Granny screaming.

Once I had gotten the whole story down, I tried to calm Applejack down enough to explain to her that Guilmon wasn’t trying to eat Granny Smith and was attracted by the smell of the apple fritters. That’s when Applejack had asked me why he was on their farm in the first place. For the third time today, I went over how the Crusaders became Digidestined like me. I also made sure to express that I had no intention of them participating in any of the battles, and that all we wanted was for Apple Bloom to be able to keep Guilmon. To which she responded with, “ABSOLUTELY NOT!!” at the top of her lungs.

Which now brings us to the present with me dealing with a peeved Applejack. She made sure that she stood in front of Apple Bloom to keep her away from Guilmon, who was currently hiding behind me rather scared. The poor guy didn’t know what he did wrong, and I knew he didn’t mean to scare Granny. “Come on, Applejack, please understand that Guilmon isn’t a threat to nopony here. He’s a really good Digimon that you can trust.”

She just shook her head and held her ground. “Ah don’t care. Ah don’t want that thing anywhere near ma sister. I mean no offense, but anywhere those critters are, danger ain’t too far behind.”

I was rather surprised by this; of all the ponies I knew in town, she was the last one that I expected to feel this way toward the Digimon. “Applejack, you can’t seriously mean that. What about Fluttershy? She has her own Digimon, and you don’t see her in danger all the time, do you?”

“Fluttershy is a grown mare and knows how to take care of herself. Apple Bloom is just a filly.” She stated, and I could tell she isn’t too keen on the subject. “Look, I have no issues with the Digimon themselves. I’ve seen Fluttershy with hers and know that they aren’t a bad lot, but I don’t want ma sister having one that could get her involved in yer battles.”

So it wasn’t that she hated the Digimon; it was more like she was afraid that being around them would bring her family harm. I know that family means the world to her and that she will do anything to protect them. I had one last card to play, and I hope that it will be the one to win this argument. “Ok. I understand where you are coming from, Applejack, but you should know that Digimon aren’t disaster magnets. Take Vinyl Scratch for example. She has a Digimon partner of her own, but not once has any of the rogue Digimon came after her, nor was she required to take part in any fights.” I could see it on her face that she just realized what I said was true, and this was the perfect opportunity to play my ace. “And there is a big advantage to Apple Bloom having her own Digimon. If she keeps Guilmon with her, she will have someone who can protect her from other Digimon should I not be around to protect her myself. I’m not saying she will definitely be attacked, but would it be better for her to have a Digimon around to keep her safe until I can take care of the problem?” Applejack stayed quiet for a while as she let my argument sink in. It wasn’t like I was telling her a lie. There will be times where I might not be around to protect everyone here, and having more Digidestined means that I’ll have little to worry about in the heat of battle.

After a good while, Applejack sighed in defeat. “Alright, Ah get what you’re getting at. But Ah have some conditions.” Apple Bloom and I looked to one another before looking back to AJ. “If that…critter is gonna be staying here on the farm, I don’t want to see it going around eatin’ all our produce. And second, he must stay in the barn during the night and isn’t allowed in the house.” While her demand seemed a bit harsh, they were perfectly reasonable since the barn is an upgrade from the little clubhouse. My only concern is whether or not Guilmon can control himself enough not to eat any of the apples if...when he gets hungry. “Those are mah conditions.” She held her hand out to Apple Bloom, looking at her sternly. “Is it a deal?”

I could tell that Apple Bloom was worried about whether she could keep her end of the bargain and if the deal was fair for Guilmon. She looked over to me for any second opinions, and I gave her a thumbs up since this was as good a start as any to get her sister to warm up to the idea of her keeping Guilmon. Taking her sister’s hand, Apple Bloom gave a firm shake. “Deal.”

I was relieved that I had managed to take care of the CMC’s problem, and now we have three new Digidestined to add to the list…Wait a minute. “OH NO!!” I screamed as the horrifying realization had just hit me, causing me to fall to my knees.

“Jack, what’s the matter?!” Applejack asked as she kneeled to check on me.

“It’s…It’s the paperwork!!” I screamed, which caused everyone to tilt their heads in confusion.

“Beggin’ yer pardon?”

“Now that there are three new Digidestined and three new Digimon to account for, that’s six stacks of paperwork that I have to fill out!” I collapsed to the ground as I could already feel the pain in my wrist from the work I have ahead of me when I get home.