//------------------------------// // Chapter 19: Revelations // Story: BlackWarGreymon: Warrior of Harmony // by I-C-U-P //------------------------------// Minutes ticked by as BlackWarGreymon flew above the Everfree Forest at a steady speed, mere inches above the tops of the tall trees. He was determined to find out what the power signature he felt was and more importantly, the voice that apparently only he could hear. It was as if the voice was calling out to him, and wanted him to come and find whoever it belonged to. The Mega level Digimon was intrigued. The power he was feeling was almost identical to the magical energy in Equestria’s atmosphere. But the fact that it was more concentrated and that it remained still on the same place he first felt it, made it all the more interesting. As the jet-black dragon warrior continued his approach, he started to descend into the dense forest. The reason behind it was if the power source belonged to a living being, he had to proceed with caution. “Guess I have to go on foot from here,” He said as he landed on the forest floor. As he turned to where the power source was coming from, he began to walk. After a few minutes of silence, BlackWarGreymon came across another fact about the strange power he was feeling. Its strength. He couldn’t tell if it was weaker or stronger than his own. It was as if it kept switching places. Like a flickering light flashing on and off. He knew that the only way to find out for sure, was to face it himself. ‘Strange. First the voice. Then its power. And now changing its strength. It’s almost if it wants me to find it.’ Further in the forest, there was a small skirmish. A fight between wildlife was going on. A Manticore was challenging a wild brown bear for dominance of territory. As the large lion with bat wings and a scorpion tail roared out, the equally big bear growled back. accepting the challenge. However, before the two fierce beasts could unleash their primal fury on one another, both of them quickly stared in one direction. The same went for all other wildlife in the area. They could sense something coming. Something extraordinarily powerful. Something that could easily triumph over the two beasts in a heartbeat. Before they got the chance to get a look of whoever or whatever it was, both the rival carnivores legged it. The Manticore flew up to the tall branches of a nearby tree and the bear simply ran for terror. The other animals either ran or flew away in fright. After a short dead silence, footsteps were heard. Then a tall being, who turned out to be BlackWarGreymon, appeared from the thick tree growth. The Digimon was silent as he walked by, the only sounds he was making were simply his footsteps. Then he heard what sounded like whimpering. He stopped for a moment and turned his head to look back at the canopy. He could just see the Manticore, trembling in fear and staring at him in fright. ‘Hmm… definatly seen something like that before,’ BlackWarGreymon thought to himself, while remembering a Champion level insect Digimon named Kuwagamon. After his flashback passed, he turned back to where he was going and continued on his way. Leaving the Manticore alone. Ten minutes later, BlackWarGreymon was starting to get bored out of his helmet. It seemed there was no end to the Everfree Forest at all. ‘No wonder hardly any ponies come through here. Everything looks the same.’ Then to his relief, the trees gave way to an opening. Once out in the open, he was surprised at what he saw. In front of him not too far away, there stood ancient ruins of an old castle. Abandoned long ago, the grey crumbling walls showed decay as plant life overgrew into some of its chambers. BlackWarGreymon remembered that Twilight Sparkle mentioned that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna once lived in a different castle that wasn’t in Canterlot. It was known as the castle of the two royal sisters. “Could this be… Celestia’s and Luna’s old castle?” Distracted from following the power source for a moment, BlackWarGreymon flew off the ground and headed towards the entrance of the once great castle. The moment he landed, the vibrations of the impact made a few loose walls wobble as bricks fell to the ground. ‘No wonder this place was abandoned. It looks like it was in a warzone.’ He then looked to a far wall and realised that his suspicions were true. On the wall was a blast mark. Stone scorched in black. Meaning that the wall was hit by a powerful attack spell. ‘This must be when Celestia fought Nightmare Moon,’ He thought to himself as he touched the mark with his claws. Even while wearing his gauntlets he could feel the indentations on the wall. He then noticed at the far end of the abandoned hallway, there was a podium of some sorts. Although it looked like a model of a solar system, he could tell that it served a different purpose. In the middle was a large sphere and below it were five arms, with platforms that looked as though it one held spheres of their own. As BlackWarGreymon got the idea of exploring more of the castle, he suddenly felt the strange power signature again. Unlike before, it felt very close to where he was. He then heard the voice once more. Sounding clearer than before, almost like a melody, the Digimon could definatly tell that it was a voice he had never heard in his life. “BlackWarGreymon.” “W-Who’s there? Who are you?” BlackWarGreymon called out as he looked around his surroundings. But he received no response. Determined to find out the truth, he walked back outside and tried again to feel out the power signature. As he pinpointed its whereabouts, BlackWarGreymon looked down at a small nearby canyon in front of the castle and spotted a cave. “The power source is coming from there.” He then jumped down the canyon wall and landed with a thud by the entrance of the cave. He took a moment to inspect the cave, before deciding to venture in. The moment the Artificial Digimon stepped inside, he suddenly felt a wave of invisible energy washing over him. At first BlackWarGreymon thought he was being pushed back, but then the energy acted as though it was cradling his very being. Embracing him inside and out. Then the energy vanished, leaving BlackWarGreymon confused. “Ok… that was weird.” Then his eye caught a glimpse of something deep in the cave. To his surprise, it turned out to be a bright blue glow. “What’s that?” He then started to walk towards the bright light, more curious then ever to find out what or who the glow belonged to. As he got closer, the dark cave around him became more illuminated by the light. And the energy he felt kept growing stronger after every step. Then as he turned around a bend in the cave… no words could describe what his mind went through. His yellow eyes widened in amazement as he gazed at the origins of the light and the power. In front of BlackWarGreymon, standing tall and bright, was a massive tree made entirely out of magical crystals. The crystals themselves looked as though they were alive like a real tree. Draped from its branches were beautiful crystal vines that gave off a rainbow light. On each of its five biggest branches were five different shaped and coloured gemstones. An orange apple, a red bolt, a purple diamond, a pink butterfly and a blue balloon. In the middle of the tree was a sixth gemstone that resembled a bright purple star, and below it were symbols of a sun and a crescent moon. BlackWarGreymon would’ve known that the symbols were identical to the cutiemarks of Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and the Mane Six. But he was too mesmerized by the light and the beauty of the tree to notice. As he walked closer, he couldn’t help but stare in awe at the great tree. The energy that it gave off felt warm and inviting, as if it would make anyone feel better just by being near it. He then stopped just a few meters away from the towering tree. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before. Its beauty dwarfed even that of the Destiny Stones. “What… is this?” He asked, not expecting an answer to follow. “It’s the Tree of Harmony.” BlackWarGreymon flinched at hearing another voice. Unlike the first voice, it was the one he definatly recognized. He then turned around to the source of the voice, and saw Princess Luna standing behind him. Although relieved to see the Alicorn back to full strength, he was curious as to why she was in the cave too. “You have a habit of following me around, don’t you?” He asked, half joking and half serious. “I saw you left Canterlot in a hurry, and I wanted to see what’s caught your attention,” Luna explained. Deep down, the princess never thought she would get to see the tree and BlackWarGreymon in the same place at the same time. To her it was kind of strange. BlackWarGreymon then turned his attention back to the great tree. Curious about its name. “The Tree of Harmony?” “Yes. This was the place where my sister and I first found the Elements of Harmony.” The Digimon’s eyes widened at hearing the origins of the famous magical gemstones. “The elements came from here?” “Yes. Can’t you see them?” Hearing Luna’s question sparked BlackWarGreymon’s curiosity even more. The elements were back on the tree. The Mega took a moment to see them for himself and noticed where on the tree they were. “I can also sense them. Six separate power signatures. Five on the branches and one on the trunk.” “That’s right. What’s interesting is that Twilight’s element, the Element of Magic, is considered the most elusive element. It took her to understand friendship to discover it,” Luna said as BlackWarGreymon listened. Then the Digimon asked the Alicorn a tricky question as he turned to face her. “So, the Elements of Harmony were created from this tree. But where did the tree itself came from?” Unfortunately for BlackWarGreymon, the answer he received wasn’t the one he expected. “I’m afraid I don’t know. Nopony knows, even my sister. All we know is that the tree possessed powerful magic and it may have existed before Equestria’s founding,” Luna answered as she walked to BlackWarGreymon’s side, curious to know the truth as well. The Digimon’s mind began to wonder as he felt the tree’s power. “Strange. This is my first time seeing the Tree of Harmony. But there’s something really familiar about its energy.” “You mean… you felt it before?” Luna asked, curious about what was on the Digimon’s mind. “Yes. But when?” He said before trying to think back through his life. The type of power he had felt before, but he couldn’t quite figure out when he felt it. Then the hidden truth struck him in his mind. “…wait.” “What is it?” The blue Alicorn asked, seeing that the Digimon may had found his answer. “Before I came to this world, after I died in my own, I found myself in a realm that looked like space. During my brief moment there, I’ve felt the energy surrounding me. Call me crazy, but that energy felt very similar to the Tree of Harmony. If not, identical.” Luna couldn’t believe what she just heard. At first, she was at loss for words. “BlackWarGreymon… are you saying that… the energy came from the tree? And if so, does that mean that the tree…” Luna was interrupted by BlackWarGreymon, who finished her sentence. “Saved my life and somehow brought me to this world. I’m certain, but it’s not possible.” “Maybe it is. Since the tree does possess powerful magic that we yet still don’t understand,” Luna said. But BlackWarGreymon was unsure. “Powerful enough to summon beings from a different world? I’m not sure. But maybe it wasn’t the tree itself that did the impossible,” The Digimon said as he flew halfway up the tree and moved slowly closer to its shining trunk. He then raised his right arm to his side and reached out. As if he was going to touch the Tree of Harmony. “Maybe… just maybe.” He then done it. He touched the Tree of Harmony. The moment his Chrome Digizoid claws made contact with the ancient crystal trunk, the entire tree started to flash and glow even brighter than before. Taken by surprise, BlackWarGreymon flew a few meters back. Luna too was startled by the development. To her, only Alicorns, bearers of the elements or beings with powerful magic could make the tree glow bright. But BlackWarGreymon didn’t possess magic, and yet the tree was glowing brighter than it ever had been. ‘I don’t believe it! The tree… it’s reacting to his very being!’ As Luna and BlackWarGreymon marvelled at the amazing light, the Control Spire Digimon heard the voice once more. “You found me.” BlackWarGreymon’s eyes couldn’t be anymore wider. ‘That voice… came from the tree?’ Then the shinning glow from the great Tree of Harmony slowly faded back to normal. Leaving the two spectators stuck in a state of awe. “Well… that was new,” Luna said, breaking the silence. “Luna, surely you heard that voice too, did you?” BlackWarGreymon asked the princess as he landed beside her. “A…A voice?” She asked in confusion. “Yes. It was that same voice that lead me here. I think it came from the Tree of Harmony.” The moment she heard his words, Luna froze in place. Completely in shock. Never before she heard anything about a voice from the tree. She and Celestia were the ones who first found it, and Twilight was the one who returned the Elements of Harmony back in their rightful place. And yet never once they heard a voice. “I’m…I’m afraid I didn’t hear a voice. But do tell. What did it sound like?” She asked, eager to at least know one thing about the voice. “Well it…” BlackWarGreymon stopped mid-sentence when he suddenly felt something else. Something not inside the cave. Something bad. He then sharply turned his head back to the cave entrance. Luna noticing the alarm in his eyes as he seemed to be on alert for something. “What is it? What’s wrong?” “I got a strange feeling about something. And it’s not good!” BlackWarGreymon answered as he rushed out of the cave, with Luna following him out. If the two inspected the Tree of Harmony even closer, they would’ve noticed that on the back of the tree, on its trunk, was some writing. Writing that hadn’t been seen for millennia. Outside the cave, Luna caught up with BlackWarGreymon. He was looking around in haste. “Something’s wrong! I can sense it.” He then heard Luna’s voice. “Look. Up there.” BlackWarGreymon followed Luna’s line of sight and spotted, high above the forest, a group of creatures flying in the sky in one direction. “What are they?” The Digimon asked. After Luna used a magic spell to magnify her sight, she saw clearly what they were. “They’re dragons. About four of them. They’re small so they must be in their teens.” As he watched the airborne dragons, BlackWarGreymon realised something. ‘Wait… they’re flying in the direction I came from.’ He then quickly turned to the Alicorn. “Luna, do dragons normally fly around here?” “Not really, no. If they do, then they’re either trying to find caves to sleep in or they’re out hunting. Why?” BlackWarGreymon’s eyes widened in alarm. “Then it’ just as I feared. They’re heading to Ponyville!” Luna’s eyes too widened in shock. “R-Really? How can you be sure?” She asked. “Only one way to find out.” He answered before leaping into the air and took flight towards the airborne dragons. Leaving Luna back at the cave. “If it’s as you fear, I’ll let my sister know at once. Go get them BlackWarGreymon.” Meanwhile up in the air, three muscular dragons and one skinny dragon were on their way to their destination. The smaller teen leading the way. “Ok guys, Garble said that the pony settlement should be further along. We’ll get there soon,” He said to his friends, all unaware that they were being followed. As BlackWarGreymon flew in close, he came to an immediate stop right behind the four. The resulting gust of wind brought the attention of one of the buff dragons that took up the rear of the group. He turned around fast, and couldn’t believe what his reptilian eyes were seeing. “Woah… hey guys, check this bad boy out!” He called out to his dragon buddies. Soon the rest were gathering around their friend and too couldn’t believe what was looking at them. However to them, they thought he was another dragon. Though two times bigger than they were, his size was like a teenage dragon. But it was his armour that got their full attention. “Wow, your armour looks beyond awesome!” “Yeah, where did you get it?” “Can I get one?” Then the smaller dragon silenced his excited friends. “That’s enough you lot!” After the three dragons calmed down, the forth one took a good look at their guest. “Never seen you before. You’re new here?” He asked. “You could say that, yes,” BlackWarGreymon answered, being cleaver by the fact that he was new to Equestria altogether. Because he was unsure of the dragons’ intentions, the Digimon had to play along as a dragon. The smaller dragon, being more cleaver then the other three, was surprised by the voice their visitor had. His size was that of a dragon in its teens, but his voice sounded much older. Almost like an adult. “Ok then, would you like to join me and my friends for dinner?” The dragon asked. “Dinner?” “You know what I mean. Ponies of course.” BlackWarGreymon’s fears and suspicions had been confirmed. The group of dragons were heading to Ponyville to eat the inhabitants! Despite urgency and rage building up inside him, the Digimon mustn’t lose control. But what the other dragons said next really tipped the balance. “Yeah, we’re on our way to meet up with all the other dragons.” “Even as we speak, they’re probably having fun without us.” “But hopefully by the time we get there, we would find leftovers.” The dragons were so overtaken by their lust for food, they failed to notice BlackWarGreymon. His muscles had tensed up and his eyes were full of hatred. Hatred for anything that could cause harm to his new friends. He hated the thought of losing them after so much had happened. He would fight for their lives, even if it meant the cost of his own. But the first thing he had to do, was to take out the four in front of him. “So, what do you plan to do after that?” He asked, trying to hide the anger in his voice. The dragons didn’t expect the kind of question which was spoken. “Oh… I don’t know… probably go places,” The buffed dragon nearest to BlackWarGreymon answered. “Places hmm? Like that lake over there?” The Digimon asked while pointing his arm towards the distance. Obviously, the dragon followed its direction. Completely oblivious that he’s fallen into a trap. “Actually, that looks more like a riv…” The dragon was suddenly interrupted as he received a solid punch to the face. The force from the blow sent him shooting straight to the river, screaming all the way until he hit the water and creating an enormous splash in the process. It happened so fast that the remaining three dragons couldn’t comprehend what just transpired. That was until they looked at BlackWarGreymon. The Digimon had a glare of hatred and his right arm stretched forward. It meant only one thing. “You…you punched him!! Why!?” The skinny dragon asked as BlackWarGreymon recomposed himself. Glancing over to them with a gleam in his eyes. “Wait…? Are you…? You’re a prissy pony lover, aren’t you!?” He asked again. “You could say that. If you want to get to my friends, you have to go through me first,” BlackWarGreymon boldly said. The dragons infuriated by the second. “Oh really? You may be bigger than us. But there’s three of us, and only one of you. You’re outmatched!” The smaller dragon said as the larger two got ready to fight. BlackWarGreymon let out an amused chuckle that made the flying reptiles uneasy. “Outmatched you say?” He then looked down at the river below. “Well from the looks of your friend, I think otherwise.” The remaining three followed BlackWarGreymon’s gaze and had their sights fall upon their friend. Who was washed up on the bank of the river. They couldn’t believe it. The dragon was the strongest out of the four, and he was knocked out by a single punch. While the smaller dragon stared back at BlackWarGreymon in fear, knowing that he was more than a dragon, the two bigger dragons glared at the Digimon in anger. “Let’s rush him!!” Then with a mighty flap of their wings, the two stronger dragons flew towards BlackWarGreymon, wanting to rip him open. But in a blink of an eye, the Mega level Digimon flew right up to them with superior speed, punched one dragon out of his way with his left gauntlet, twisted his body around and then slammed his right foot into the second dragon’s face. Before the remaining dragon could understand what happened within the second that ticked by, he saw his once strong allies falling towards the forest below. “No way! He knocked them out so easily!” He then looked at BlackWarGreymon in terror. Frozen from the Digimon’s fierce gaze. “How about you?” The frightened dragon then resorted to his secret weapon. After a huge inhale, he released a sea of fire upon the black dragon warrior. After five seconds of engulfing his enemy in flames, the lizard smiled in satisfaction. Only then to gawk at the sight of his attack disappearing and BlackWarGreymon unharmed and unmoved. Even his yellow hair wasn’t singed by the slightest. “Big mistake,” BlackWarGreymon said coldly. After a moment of continues gawking, trying to say a word but unable to do so, the forth dragon flew away as fast as he could while shouting a name. “GARBLE!!!” After giving the fleeing dragon a five second head start, BlackWarGreymon flew after him. Making use of his far superior speed, the Digimon closed in on the dragon and flew downwards. Underneath the unsuspecting drake, BlackWarGreymon threw his body around and slammed his right foot full force into the dragon’s underbelly. Time seemed to slow down for the dragon as he felt air escaping his lungs. And probably a few broken ribs. Then BlackWarGreymon flew in front of him and swung his left leg into the dragon’s side. Sending him straight into the forest floor alongside his unconscious buddies. Three lessons were learnt on that day. Lesson one: Don’t mess with a Mega level Digimon. Lesson two: Don’t mess with an anti-hero. And lesson three: Never mess with BlackWarGreymon. With the four dragons easily dealt with, the victorious BlackWarGreymon turned his sights to the direction of Ponyville and flew towards another battle. As long as he took every breath, as long as his heart kept beating, the good hearted Mega level Digimon won’t let anything bad happen to his new friends. He would make sure of that.