After a hasty and profuse apology from Deputymon, Starmon led the group into a saloon built right in the center of the town. As they pushed through the wooden double-doors, they were greeted with a sparsely-populated interior. There was a single bartender, a Mushroomon, climbing up onto a stepladder and placing a single bottle on a shelf in the back. A group of Bakemon hovered just above the chairs around a wooden table, playing what appeared to be a game of go fish, and a Veggiemon played a jaunty tune on an upright piano stationed in the corner.
As the group approached the bar, the Mushroomon climbed down and turned to face them, beaming at the sight of new customers.
“Well, howdy there! It’s been a danged while since anyone showed up here that ain’t tried to attack us. Ah take it y’all are having the Sherrif show you around town?”
“Darn tootin’,” said Starmon. “Now how about we get these folks something to drink? A few mugs of sarsaparilla should do the trick.”
“Can do, mister sheriff sir,” replied the Mushroomon. “Ah’ll just go ahead and put it on your tab.”
“Whoa, hold on!” said Rainbow. “Forget the drinks! You were attacked?”
Ken scowled. “Of course. Vespimon’s forces must already be here. Did these attackers have any dark rings on them?”
“Dark rings?” said Starmon. “Ah’m afraid y'all have gotten yourselves confused. First off, that so-called Digimon Queen ain’t bothered conquering this far out West just yet.”
Ken’s eyes went wide. “Wait... she hasn’t? But that doesn’t make any sense! With the amount of time she’s had to prepare, she could have conquered half of the Digital World by now!”
Deputymon laughed. “Well, there ain’t no troublemaker that’ll show their face while we’re in charge, no sir!”
“Ah wouldn’t be too sure of that, pardner,” Starmon replied. “That ain’t stopped us from being attacked over the last several months, and it didn’t stop that Digimon Emperor fella from before.”
Deputymon scratched the back of his head. “Well golly, Ah didn’t think of that...” Suddenly, his eyes were drawn towards Ken. “Hey, wait a minute! Didn’t you used to be that there Digimon Emperor once?”
The music in the bar suddenly stopped. The few patrons remaining in the saloon turned to stare, leaving a heavy silence hanging in the air.
Deputymon turned to address the gathered onlookers. “Easy now, no need for alarm, folks. He’s on our side now, remember? Shoot, that Gennai fella said he helped save the whole dang world! So why don’t y’all go back to your business? It ain’t polite to stare.”
“Hold on, you know Gennai?” said Yolei.
“‘Course Ah do! He’s world famous! Ain’t seen too much of him lately, but that ain’t important right now. What’s important is y’all know what’s been going on ‘round here. Deputymon, why don’t you fill them in?”
Deputymon nodded. “Can do, sir. It all started a while ago, back when we found precious gems in the Themthar Hills.”
“Ah’m sorry,” said Applejack, “did you say the Themthar Hills?”
“Ayup,” said Deputymon. “Them thar hills out thar are the Themthar Hills, and them’s got gems over thar.”
The group exchanged a series of puzzled looks. “Do you think you could repeat that?” said Veemon.
“Makes perfect sense to me!” said Pinkie.
“Enough of that,” said Ken. “What’s this got to do with the attacks?”
“Simple,” Starmon replied. “When people heard there was gems to be found, they came a-running straight to this town in hopes of striking it rich for themselves. For a while, it worked out alright. Folks went into the Themthar Hills and found a whole bunch of precious jewels. But as we went further and further into the hills, we started attracting the attention of them natives.”
“Natives?” said Ken.
“That’s right,” said Starmon. “A whole tribe of them live beyond the Hills. They don’t take too kindly to our mining activities. Something about not wanting us taking their land. If y’all ask me, it’s a load a hooey. Them greedy idjits just want to keep all the riches for themselves.”
“Huh?” said Yolei. “N-now you wait just a minute! From the way you just described it, it sounds like you’re trying to barge into someone else’s home and take whatever you can find there! And somehow they’re the bad guys for not wanting that?”
Deputymon’s body suddenly tensed. “Oh, now you’ve gone and done it. Ah should have figured you’d be a dirty native sympathizer, especially since your pardner there’s one of them!”
Hawkmon let out a gasp. “I... I beg your pardon?”
“Whoa now,” said Starmon. “No need for that now! That Hawkmon probably ain’t even from ‘round here!”
“Excuse me!” said Hawkmon, louder than before. “What exactly do you mean one of them?”
“Well, ain’t it obvious?” said Deputymon. “Them natives-”
BOOOOM.
Before Deputymon could finish his sentence, an explosion echoed from outside, its force felt in the vibrations of the saloon floorboards.
“Well, speak of the Devimon,” said Starmon. “Looks like you’re about to find out! Deputymon, let’s go!”
“Right!”
Starmon and Deputymon dashed out of the building as quickly as they could. In the chaos that ensued from the suddenly-panicked digimon around them, the Digi-Destined and their companions made their way outside as well.
———————
Yolei had a hard time believing what she was seeing. She took her glass off and gave them a quick rubdown on her shirt just to make sure.
Circling around the town were more than a dozen Aquilamon, laying siege to the town’s buildings with their attacks.
“Oh... oh dear...” The voice came from the digimon partner to her side, his expression no less in shock. Looking back further at the gathered digimon, humans, and ponies revealed a similar range of reactions.
“Hawkmon! What is this!?” Yolei demanded.
“I-it looks like there are other Aquilamon...” he answered.
“I know that! But how is that even a thing!? Isn’t that cheating!?”
“Everyone! Look out!” Kari suddenly called out.
“Blast Rings!”
The attack call came seemingly out of nowhere, and with it, a blast of concentric circles came raining down, a mere several feet from where Yolei was standing. Yolei was thrown backwards by the force of the impact, her senses overwhelmed by an explosion of light and sound, choking her lungs with dust, and leaving her momentarily blinded and deafened. As she was thrown backwards, she felt a pair of hooves catch her just before she hit the ground.
She couldn’t tell how long it was before she came to her senses, but the first thing she saw was Rainbow Dash leaning over her as she lay prone on the ground. Her glasses were gone, leaving the sight blurry and unfocused, and she immediately knew that they had been destroyed in the confusion.
“Oh, thank Celestia you’re alright!” said Rainbow. “I was so worried!”
Yolei coughed, expelling the last of the dust from her lungs. “Don’t worry... I’m fine.”
She sat up slowly, her head still spinning, to see a circle of friends surrounding her from all sides. But right away she noticed one face that was missing.
“Wait... where’s Hawkmon?”
———————
It was no sooner than Hawkmon’s eyes finally pried themselves open that he had let out an embarrassingly impolite yelp. He found himself tied to a tree in the middle of the plains, a circle of Aquilamon surrounding him on all sides, glaring at him so intensely he felt like it would burn the feathers off of his skin.
Directly in front of him was a different Digimon, towering at over fifteen feet tall, and a distinctly different species. It was what could only be described as immense dinosaur with blue scales and red stripes, a carnivorous maw filled with vicious teeth, and a mane of red hair adorned with two eagle feathers. From the medals that were strung around his neck, it was immediately apparent that he was of a higher social rank.
The dinosaur digimon sneered, and spoke to Hawkmon in a low growl.
“What do you have to say for yourself, traitor?”
==========
Digimon Analyzer: Allomon
Type: Dinosaur
Attribute: Data
Level: Champion
Special Attacks: Dino Burst, Dynamite Head
==========