Hey guys! Glad you all are enjoying this story so far! I do try to make things as entertaining as I can for you guys. So if there’s anything you think I can do better please let me know in the comments below along with that you think of the story! Thanks! Also I know this one turned out to be a bit long. Sorry about that!
I only own the plot of this story. Digimon Tamers is owned by Bandai. MLP FiM is owned by Lauren Faust and Hasbro. Enjoy!
Taming Equestria
A Digimon Story
Chapter 5: Through the Woods
Equestria – Ponyville – Sugarcube Corner – 1:00 PM
It was a lengthy discussion, but Takato had managed to run through once again everything he had already told Twilight this morning. By the end of it, the reactions that the four of them had on their faces were pretty much what he had expected: disbelief and nothing more. Rainbow Dash was hooked like she was listening to a Daring Do story being told out loud. Pinkie Pie had a bowl of popcorn in her hooves and was munching on it the entire way through. Applejack was keeping a straight face, holding her final opinion to herself until he was finished. Rarity’s reaction was a bit different. She had a hanky in her magical grip and was using it to dab at her eyes. The final part of the story told was where the separation of their partners happened. She was moved by the story by their connection to each other. And for them to have to share a goodbye like that, it felt like she was reading the end of a tragic story.
“So….just to make sure Ah got this all right,” Applejack started. “These….Digimon as ya call em’, got sucked back through the portal to their world. And when ya went through that same portal that appeared, ya ended up here instead.”
“You are correct, ma’am.” Takato nodded.
“But that Digi-whatever of yours is telling you that Guilmon or whatever he’s called, is somehow here too?” Rainbow added on.
Pulling out his D-Ark once more, he looked down to the screen. The compass program was launched again and it was pointed in the same direction as it was a couple hours ago.
“Such an elegant looking device.” Rarity commented.
“Yeah it is.” He agreed. “It’s always accurate too. I don’t know it’s possible, but he’s here. And I’m gonna find him.”
That sense of determination was what convinced Applejack that he was telling the truth. She was still connected with the Element of Honesty and was still very good at being able to tell if somepony was lying or not. This human, he was one hundred percent honest. That was all she needed.
“Well then we’re gonna help ya, Takato.” She said with a smile on her face.
“Yeah!” Pinkie Pie agreed with her probably-cousin. “I can’t wait to meet your friend! And we can all become friends! And more friends are always good!”
“Count me in!” Rainbow Dash hovered above the table excited. “It’s been waaaay too long since anything even remotely exciting happened around here!”
“While I’m not as ready to partake in something “exciting” as Rainbow Dash put it, and I do have a few orders to fulfill before the Grand Galloping Gala next weekend, I too am willing to help Takato here reunite with his best friend.” Rarity said with a smile.
Hearing all four of these ponies voice their readiness to help him, even though they had just met, made Takato smile. He may not have ended up in the Digital World as he had originally intended. But he had to admit, when it came to helpfulness, these ponies were a lot better than most Digimon were.
“Thank you all so much.” He said to them warmly.
“Well let’s get started then. What way is your thing pointed?” Applejack asked.
Holding down his Digivice flat so they all could see, they all looked down and saw it was pointed south. A small sense of dread came to them as they all realized what part of town the thing was telling them to go. Their faces grew uneasy and Takato noticed.
“What? What’s wrong?” he asked them.
They were about to answer him. They were about to tell him that the compass was pointed towards the only place nearby that would be suitable for a creature that was not of this world to hide.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”
They were all stopped by the sound of a loud high pitched voice ringing into all of their ears. Everyone at the table save for Takato recognized that scream.
“It’s Fluttershy! Something must be wrong!” Starlight said alarmed.
“Sorry Takato! First things first!” Twilight readied her horn. “Everyone brace yourselves!”
All of them were enveloped in a magenta field of magic and the sensation of teleportation came to them all as they vanished from Sugarcube Corner and reappeared at Fluttershy’s front door.
“Uhhhhh…..” Takato moaned, feeling dizzy from the abrupt transportation.
“Sorry about that.” Twilight apologized again.
Spike went over to his side to help him stay balanced while Twilight knocked on the door to Fluttershy’s house.
“Fluttershy? Are you in there?” the alicorn called.
“We heard you screaming all the way across town. What’s up?” Rainbow asked through the door.
They didn’t receive a vocal answer. Instead, they heard the sound of multiple locks being undone. Seconds later, the door creaked open and standing there on the other side was the light yellow pegasus pony. She was trembling in fright and had a cooking pot on her head. In her hooves was a broomstick ready to be used as a weapon.
“What the hay happened, Fluttershy?” Applejack asked as she walked in.
“D-d….d-d-dragon…..in the forest….” The timid pony muttered.
Forgetting all about his dizziness, Takato’s head perked up.
“What? A dragon in the Everfree Forest? When has that ever happened?” Starlight wondered. The thought alone was silly.
“Once before.” Twilight answered, remembering the time Spike ran away because of Owlowiscious.
“I know it sounds crazy. But I swear that’s what I saw.” Fluttershy told her friends, gaining a bit more control over herself. “Barry Bear had just come running out of the forest so I went in to see what it was. I didn’t get very far into the forest when I heard a voice saying it was hungry. When it revealed itself it was a dragon. It wasn’t very big but it was scary.”
“Perhaps a younger dragon wandered here by mistake?” Rarity suggested.
“If it wasn’t very big then maybe that is what happened, Rarity.” Twilight started to surmise she may be right.
“So a young dragon is lost? That’s so sad.” Pinkie brightened up with an idea. “Oooooooooo! Let’s ask Spike if we can borrow some of his gemstones. Maybe if we bring him some food he won’t be so scary!”
They all thought that may be a good idea, save for Spike who heard from outside. That was until Fluttershy spoke.
“You know, it’s actually kind of weird. Before it showed itself, I asked it to tell me what it wanted. It asked me back if I had any bread.”
With that simple revelation, every other pony there joined Fluttershy when it came to the level of confusion. They couldn’t have heard her right. First she says she meets a dragon in the Everfree Forest. Then of all the things it could have asked for in terms of food, it asks for bread? Bread?!
“Fluttershy, are you sure you weren’t just mishearing it out of fear?” Rarity inquired, a bit concerned for her friends well being.
“I know what I heard.” Fluttershy replied back, firm on her stance. “It looked me right in the eye and asked me for bread.”
“What kind of dragon asks for bread when it comes to food?” Rainbow Dash wondered.
“TAKATO, WAIT! COME BACK!”
Spike’s yelling caused them all to drop their conversation and rush outside. Spike and Takato weren’t in front of the house anymore. But the former was spotted sprinting towards the entrance to the Everfree Forest. Scared for his safety, Twilight teleported right in front of dragon causing him to skid to a halt.
“Spike! What do you think you’re doing?!” she shouted.
“Takato ran off, Twilight!” He pointed down the path that led right into the forest. “I don’t know why, but he ran right into the forest on his own!”
“He did what?!” She turned around, now scared for Takato’s safety.
The two of them kept staring down the path as the others caught up with them.
“What in tarnation would make him do something as loco as that?” Applejack asked, hearing the whole thing.
“Takato? You mean that biped you introduced earlier?” Fluttershy wanted to make sure she had it right.
After nodding to Fluttershy, Twilight looked back into the forest. She had the same sentiments as Applejack. What would have possessed Takato to run right into the Everfree Forest on his own?
“Doesn’t he know how dangerous it is in there?!” Rarity cried.
That’s when Twilight got the answer to her question. No. He didn’t know. This morning when they traded stories, she only told Takato about her friends, their triumphs, and their adventures together. She never went over the Everfree Forest and how different it was compared to Equestria, let alone the dangers of it. She cursed herself for not bringing up that little fact and feared greatly for his safety.
“No he doesn’t.” She answered Rarity back without looking at her. “But I think I know why he went in. And we gotta go in there after him.”
Whether or not his friend was in there or not, Twilight was certain Takato wouldn’t be able to face the creatures of the forest on his own. He was going to need some magical backup.
Meanwhile inside the darkening depths of the Everfree Forest, the tamer was tearing like a madman. He dodged every bush, ducked every low branch, and hopped over every big rock all the while following the arrow on his Digivice. There was no doubt in his mind now. He was here. He didn’t have a clue as to how it was possible yet but Guilmon was here. He overheard what Fluttershy had said right before he tore off. There was no other creature in existence that would look like a dragon and ask for bread other than his partner. He heard Spike calling his name and begging him to come back, but he didn’t care. He was so close. Too close to care about anything else, including his safety.
He didn’t want to stop. He was determined to keep moving until he saw the familiar form of Guilmon. Unfortunately however, Takato had to skid to a halt. He had come to a fork in the road. He reached for his Digivice again and pulled up the compass. The arrow was pointing to the left.
“Alright. Left it is.”
His panting started up again as he continued to run down the path his Digivice was leading him. This was it. It had to be. After all this time missing him, he was about to be reunited with his best friend in any world. Those three months without him might as well have been an eternity. Just a few more paces in this forest and he was sure to see him again.
“He can’t be too far away.” He assured himself. “How deep is this forest anyway? Maybe I should’ve asked for a map.”
“HEY!”
As a raspy voice came, Takato looked back and saw a familiar cyan pegasus flying towards him at high speed. He ducked down afraid she was gonna hit him. Instead she flew over his body and hovered right in front of him to block his path.
“Are you out of your mind?! You can’t just run in here all on your own!” Rainbow yelled as if she were a mother scolding a child.
“What? Why not?” Takato was confused as he stood back up. “It’s just a forest. I’ve dealt with a lot worse.”
Rainbow groaned. She really didn’t want to have to explain the weird rules of this place but this kid was making her.
“That isn’t the point. Look dude, I get you want to find your friend. But this place is dangerous. Put aside the freaky rules of the plants growing on their own and the weather not being controlled, the animals in here are out to get anypony they see as an intruder! Manticores, timber wolves, cockatrices, cragadiles, I could go on! The point is you could have gotten yourself killed!”
Surely that had to hammer in the point to this kid. Instead what he got was a confused expression across the human’s face.
“Okay I got everything else but what freaks you out about plants growing and the weather?”
Was he really asking about THAT of all things? She just told him this forest was infested with ferocious animals that could tear him apart, and the thing he asks about is her concern about the plants and clouds? What was with this kid?
As she began to speak to him, the others, even Fluttershy, had all caught up with him and were listening to them talk.
“Kid, have you ever seen a manticore before?! I don’t know if they have them in your world but they are scary! Part lion with bat wings on their backs and a scorpion stinger! And if you ran into one, you’d be nothing but a snack to it! How are you not afraid?!”
She was expecting him to be afraid of her description of the fearsome creatures. But he didn’t really seem to budge.
“No. Have you ever seen a giant red bird, almost the size of Twilight’s castle, look down on you thinking your entire race is the enemy and tries to kill you different kinds of fire attacks?”
Rainbow opened her mouth to retort but nothing came out of it. A giant red bird tried to kill him with fire? That was oddly specific. Especially the way he described it. He gave them all a brief rundown, minus the butterscotch pegasus, of all the things he had done with his Digimon up until now. But he never really dived into any details.
The others too had similar reactions. Takato must have glossed over a few things when he told them his story. But they were now certain to know everything about him as soon as this jaunt in the forest came to an end.
“Well….no I haven’t.” Rainbow Dash replied.
“None of us have.” Starlight agreed. “But nevertheless, Dash is right, Takato. Even if Guilmon is here in this forest, you haven’t found him yet. If you had run into one of those creatures Rainbow brought up on your own, then what would you have done.”
At that moment, Takato felt like an idiot. This was true. He was certain Guilmon was here but he wasn’t by his side. He would have been toast had he run into a manticore or something else Rainbow Dash listed.
“I’m sorry if I scared you guys.” He apologized to all of them.
Then he noticed that there was another one with them that he hadn’t had a chance to talk to directly yet. Looking right at her, he waved his hand.
“Hi there.” He muttered out. “I’m Takato.”
“Umm….hello there, Takato. I’m Fluttershy.” She waved back before looking around. “You did kind of frighten us when you ran off.”
“Sorry again. It’s just when I heard you say the dragon you ran into asked for bread, I knew that was my friend that I came here to find.”
“What?” Applejack stepped forward. “That made ya so sure? Why?”
“My parents own a bakery.” Takato explained. “The bread they make there is Guilmon’s favorite thing in existence. You wouldn’t believe how many loaves he could scarf down in one day.”
With that bit of information revealed, another thing became so much clearer now to Twilight.
“So THAT’S why your backpack was filled with bread.” She declared with a smile. “You didn’t bring it for you. You brought it for him.”
“Well I guess this means I won’t have to share my gems.” Spike remarked with a joking smirk.
Takato seemed to ignore what Spike said as he kept his attention on Twilight.
“Of course I did. How could I set out to get him without bringing what he thinks is the best thing ever?” The gogglehead said with a laugh before the smile fell. “Wait a minute. You went through my backpack?”
Realizing what she just admitted to, a blush formed across Twilight’s face as she sheepishly laughed.
“Sorry.” She murmured. “But I had to make sure you weren’t packing weapons or anything.”
He shook his head, honestly denying the idea.
“Nope. No weapons.” Takato responded back. “I have some experience with a lance and shield but that’s an even longer story.”
“Not that I don’t like to get to know other people Twilight, but can we please hold this chat for later and focus on helping Takato find his Guilmon?”
They all then realized that they had been standing in one place for quite some time going back and forth with each other. That was something that one should never do in the Everfree Forest. Unless you were Zecora and you lived there. The alicorn nodded to her fashion loving friend and then turned her gaze back to the solitary human.
“Right. Since we’re already this deep in, let’s keep going. Takato, what way is your Digivice pointing?”
His hand clasped around his D-Ark again and he looked to the screen.
“It stills says to go…..huh?”
He stopped himself from giving the direction because according to the Digivice, there was no set direction. The arrow was moving slowly but steadily to the left.
“The arrow is moving. And if it’s moving, he must be moving too!”
“Which way is he going?” Rainbow Dash hovered next to him to look.
“Lemme see!” Applejack came in on his right to see the screen.
“I wanna look!” Pinkie Pie hopped up on his back to look over his shoulder.
Before he knew it, Takato was on the ground, dog piled by three pastel colored ponies. The arm that was holding onto his Digivice was outstretched as Pinkie Pie crushed his back.
“Can’t…feel…..legs…” the human groaned out.
“Whoopsies!” Pinkie hopped off of him and helped him up. “Sorry about that Takkie!”
Just as he was about to question the odd nickname she came up with, the sound of a deep yet loud snarling sound. All nine of them looked around trying to find out which direction the sound was coming from. When it came again, it was clear. It was coming from the left. Even though Takato just said not too long ago that he had dealt with much worse than what this forest could throw. So he didn’t want to seem like he was scared mere seconds after making that declaration. That growling was getting louder and closer. And it sounded mean.
As all of them stood tall, Twilight and Starlight began to charge up their horns in case they needed to make a quick getaway via teleport. Rainbow and Applejack were hunched over like cats ready to pounce. Pinkie was turning her head side to side wondering and guessing to herself which animal it could be. Rarity and Fluttershy both were frightened, though the latter was more on the hopeful side that the creature was one she could deal with.
She did not get her wish.
A pair of sickly green glowing eyes made themselves visible from down the path and seemed to grow closer with every thundering step. When it got close enough, a shape could be seen that looked like a canine. Then when Takato saw what it was made of, his eyes finally opened to their maximum width. This thing was a walking pile of wood. That’s the best and most simple way the tamer could think of putting it. This dog shaped thing was literally made out of wood. How it was walking was absolutely beyond him.
“Okay I guess this world can dish out SOME surprises.”
“TAKATO! GET OVER HERE!!!!” Twilight yelled.
Not needing to be told twice, Takato turned and booked it to Twilight’s side. Both she and Starlight unleashed a few magical blasts from their horns to make the creature literally break apart into splinters. Takato smiled thinking it was over, but it turned back into a scared frown when he saw the logs and planks magically put themselves back together again.
“Ah never did like these darn things.” Applejack growled. “Only thing they’re good fer is zap apple season.”
“What do we do now?!” Spike cried begging for anyone to answer.
“BADA BOOM!”
Takato’s eyes widened once again at the familiar voice and attack called out. From the trees to the right of the reformed timber wolf, a small fireball flew out at high speed and exploded right in the wolf’s face. It wasn’t enough to make the thing break apart again, but it was enough to spark a small fire to erupt on its cheek. Frantically, the timber wolf tried to scratch it out with its wooden paw for a few seconds before it dove its own head into the ground.
“What? Where the hay did that come from?!” Rainbow Dash looked to where the shot came from hoping to see.
“It came from that way.” Starlight pointed, remembering from which trees the small fire ball came out of.
As the timber wolf continued to thrash about, dirt and rocks were thrown everywhere and all around. Twilight surrounded them inside a force field rather than teleport away. She was too intrigued to leave now. She wanted to know who or what shot out the flame. Apparently it had a voice, she knew that much. Takato remained frozen. He was certain Guilmon was here but he didn’t even think about whom else possibly could be too. They did all go through the portal at once.
Seconds later, the wolf finally stopped thrashing into the ground and lifted its head up. The fire on its cheek was out and it seemed even angrier than it originally was to begin with. The incredibly loud snarling was enough to convey that clue.
“Hey! Can’t ya take a hint, ya overgrown toothpick?! BADA BOOM!”
Another shot of fire flew out of the trees and this time landed in the dirt. Upon impact, it exploded into a small shower of sparks right in front of the timber wolf’s paw. It froze immediately fearing the fire, something all seven ponies, the baby dragon, and the human boy all seemed to notice.
Before the wolf could take another step, more balls of fire hovered out of the trees. They didn’t move nearly as fast as those last couple of shots did. Three small balls of fire were now seemingly performing an odd dancing patterned as they floated in circles in front of the creature’s snout and inching closer with every twirl. While the others thought about what kind of magic it was causing the fire to do this, Takato already knew. That attack name, that accent, no one else but a certain former troublemaker had those lines in their descriptions.
After being teased and threatened with the idea of burning again, the timber wolf relented and turned the other way. After it disappeared into the depths of the pack, the group of nine began to relax as a feeling of safety returned to them.
“That was scary.” Fluttershy whispered out.
“Sure was. But it’s over now.” Twilight stated.
“You ponies or whatever sure were lucky!” That voice rang out from the trees again. “I’m not used to saving people but I don’t you to come in here thinkin’ I’m always gonna-“
“IMPMON!”
The Equestrians gave their own chorus of “Huh?” as Takato shot up and ran out a few steps in front of them looking in every direction.
“Impmon! Come out! Please I beg of you!”
“Impmon?” Pinkie Pie tilted her head curious. “Is he feeling okay? I thought he said he was looking for Guilmon.”
“That’s what he said.” Spike confirmed.
The eight of them just kept watching the human as he held his hands up to his mouth, his yelling never ending.
“Impmon, please! It’s me! Takato!”
Finally something seemed to happen. The bushes to Takato’s left began to rustle. Something was coming.
“Be careful. It could be more trouble.” Applejack warned the tamer.
As right as she could be, Takato was certain. This wasn’t trouble. He may have been before but not anymore. His breath was caught in his throat when through the pushes, he saw two small three fingered hands covered in red gloves poke out and move the shrubs out of the way.
Then the creature attached to those hands walked entirely out of the bush and into the view of everyone there. Standing at only two feet all, he was just a bit shorter than Spike was. And also in relation to the dragon, the little guy was covered in a purple colored skin save for his pale white face. Two long ears extended out of the sides of his head. A short barb ended tail protruded out of his backside. And the red bandanna around his neck only slightly covered the pointy teeth smiley face on his chest.
The creature’s face mirrored Takato’s almost too a tee. A mixture of shock, relief, and happiness all came down on the two of them.
“Takato I can’t believe it. It really is you.” He said with that accented voice, barely above a whisper.
The others were satisfied at least knowing this was the thing that saved them. Takato just extended his hand out to him as his mouth curled into a smile.
“It’s so good to see you, Impmon.”
The small virus type’s dropped jaw picked it back up and turned into a wide, chuckling smile of his own as he reached out and grabbed Takato’s hand with his own.
“It’s good to see you too, gogglebrain!” He shouted enthusiastically.
Seeing the human made Impmon realize something. Excitement welling inside, he asked Takato a question.
“Ai and Mako. Are they here too? Where are they?”
The nervous look and rubbing the back of his head Takato did made Impmon feel a bit nervous about the impending answer.
“I uh….hehe….kinda came here alone.” He answered. “But don’t worry. I’m gonna make sure you get back home to them. They both miss you like crazy.”
And he missed them. He missed his partners beyond anything he ever knew. The thought of seeing them again made his smile return in earnest.
“Hahaha! You’re darn right I’m getting back home!”
Joining him in his happy laughter, Takato turned to the ponies and Spike.
“It’s alright, you guys. He’s one of my friends. He’s a Digimon.” He said as beckoned them over with his arm.
“Really?” Twilight’s horn snapped off like a light switch as she and the others began to approach.
“What’s a Digimon?” Fluttershy asked, marveling at the sight of this new creature.
Takato mentally groaned as he realized he was going to have to tell the story a third time in order to get Fluttershy up to speed on the whole thing. Only a moment passed before all of them were now up close and their eyes all locked on Impmon.
“Already gettin’ friendly with the locals, huh?” He asked while starting to slowly take a step back.
“Whoa there, partner. We ain’t gonna hurt ya or nothin’.” Applejack assured. “We’re sorry ‘bout the starin’. But we ain’t never seen anything like you before.”
“The feeling’s mutual. I promise.” Impmon said back.
Though still a bit nervous of these ponies, he put his legs back together.
“So is Impmon your name? Takato kept screaming it. I didn’t know humans could scream that loud.” Pinkie smiled at learning a new fact.
“Yeah that’s me.” He confirmed while also off put with how okay she seemed to be about him.
“So you’re a Digimon.” Starlight said as she inspected Impmon from head to toe. “So that was you who threw those fire balls right? How did you do that? Was it some sort of pyrokinesis?”
“Pyroki-what now?” Impmon couldn’t repeat the word. “But yeah that was me.”
To demonstrate, he held up his right hand and extended his middle/index finger. Instantly, a small ball of dark red flame ignited right above the tip of his finger. It seemed to dance in the soft breeze that passed by while the ponies and baby dragon looked on at his ability in amazement.
“Fascinating.” Twilight whispered, wishing she had her notepad so she could add onto what Takato already told her.
“Umm….not that this isn’t interesting, but can we maybe move in case that timber wolf comes back?” Fluttershy asked anypony.
Impmon retracted his finger making the flame go out. He then looked to Takato and beckoned him to come closer. Kneeling down, he leaned his head in even more when he saw Impmon approach and put a hand, covering his speech as he whispered into Takato’s ear.
“Can we trust these horses?” he asked for various reasons.
The tamer then took his turn to whisper as the two turned their heads to switch positions.
“I trust them. Apparently these ones are heroes or something to this world. And one of them is a princess.”
Looking back, Impmon observed that the lavender horse was sporting both wings and a horn. He hadn’t seen a lot of Equestria. But the ponies he did see either had one or none of those things. Not both. Pulling away from Takato so he could look into his eyes, Impmon made his decision.
“You’re out here lookin’ for pineapple head, aren’t ya?”
He didn’t need him to answer, but the look in the human’s eyes said it all. He nodded once to his small friend and with a nod back, Impmon turned to the rest of the ponies.
“Come on then. Hope you aren’t scared of the dark.”
“Ha! As if, small fry.” Rainbow Dash waved off the notion.
Pushing through the bushes, Impmon took head as he began to lead the group deeper into the thicker part of the Everfree Forest. The sun was completely blocked out in these parts, making it very hard to see. Luckily with three unicorns, and a Digimon that could produce fireballs, light wasn’t a problem. But they all agreed it would be a lot safer for Impmon to not use his trick for light and risk the forest catching fire. Agreeing, Twilight took point with the Digimon while Spike walked on his other side.
“Where exactly are you taking us?” The drake asked him.
“Our hideout.” Impmon replied. “It’s not too far from here. And any of the creatures that come around here we can handle.”
“Seeing as how you managed to chase off a timber wolf, I believe you.” Rarity stated. “But what drove you to choose here of all places to hide?”
“It’s where we ended up when we first got here.” The Digimon answered again. “When we came outta the portal it dropped us right in the middle of the forest. When we saw that town nearby we realized that this wasn’t the Digital World. So we stayed out of sight.”
“I still don’t know what any of you are talking about.” Fluttershy stated.
“Don’t worry, Flutters! We’ll get ya up to speed in no time!” Pinkie enthusiastically said.
“Just be sure to prepare some tissues.” Rarity muttered, remembering how the story ended.
They kept walking, dodging the trees and shrubbery. They all treaded through the forest with Impmon leading until finally, they came to what looked like the entrance to a cave. Only it was blocked almost entirely by a huge boulder. There was just a sliver over the cave opening left uncovered on the right side.
As they walked closer, all of them began hearing a rapid succession of high pitched beeping. It was coming from Takato’s hip. Taking hold of his golden D-Ark, he held it up to look. The compass was flashing with a lock on screen. His breath caught in his lungs as he remembered what that meant.
“He’s here. He’s just inside there.”
The wait was killing him. He wanted to throw open the makeshift door to the cave right now and just charge in. Unfortunately for him, he had little to no upper body strength. Impmon then walked over to the open slit in the hole and slapped against the rock.
“Hey! Hey guys! I’m back! Let me in!” He called.
His voice could be heard echoing from inside the cave as he called to whoever it was in there. A few seconds later, the soft sound of steps could be heard and then a black animal-like eye was seen in the light shining in.
“What’s the password?” the eye’s owner asked in a childlike sounding voice.
Takato just smiled even more, recognizing the voice of his friend’s partner. Impmon just grumbled as he turned away as if in denial.
“Just let me in already! You know it’s me!” He shouted.
“Ya gotta say the passwoooooooord.” The voice on the other side teased.
Impmon grumbled again. He looked between the ponies behind him who were confused as to why he was refusing, and then Takato who just urged him to say the word by gesturing to the rock impatiently. Another growl came, and then he relented.
“Momentai.”
“There. Was that so hard?” The voice teasingly remarked before his eye vanished from the crack.
The boulder began to rumble. Then it began to roll to the side as whoever was on the other side pushed it out of the way, allowing them all entry. Impmon went in first.
“Leave it open. We got visitors this time.” He said to the two monsters there.
A small green and white monster the same size as Impmon stood there confused. One of his incredibly long rabbit/dog ears curled up and rubbed the top of his head confused, much like a normal hand would. A small tubby horn rested atop his forehead.
The second one with his claws on the boulder shared a similar expression. A small purple dragon like creature with golden patches on his shoulders and a diamond shape of the same color emblazoned on his forehead. On his forearms were wings that resembled a bat’s.
“Visitors?” The dragon one asked. “Who would visit us?”
“Impmon, who followed you back here?” The rabbit-like one got a bit nervous.
Looking back outside, Impmon waved his hand forward, telling the ponies to come in. Twilight went in first followed by her friends. Once all eight of them were in, there was just one more left to go.
“Who the heck are all of you? And what do you want with us?” The rabbit demanded to know.
While the eight of them looked back and forth between the two new Digimon, marveling at the mere sight of them, (Save for Fluttershy who was starting to tremble upon seeing yet another dragon twice the size of Spike), the last person walked in. When Takato went in, he saw the two, knowing them right off the bat and lightly gasping. The two Digimon both gasped as well as they recognized the figure. Especially those goggles he was wearing.
“Terriermon. Monodramon.” He muttered both of their names.
“Takato?” Terriermon said back.
The two Digimon looked at the boy in shock, wondering how the heck he was here. They had so many questions. But after what felt like minutes of just staring at each other, the two of them could only ask the same thing.
“Is Henry here too?”
“And Ryo?”
Both Digimon begged to know if their respective partners made whatever trip it was Takato made. First he had to tell Impmon, now he has to tell these two what he did.
“Guys….they aren’t here. It’s just me. I uh….kinda went through the portal by myself and didn’t tell them.”
Both Terriermon and Monodramon were disappointed. But above that, they were surprised. Surprised that Takato would be so stupid to do something like that.
“Look you two, I wanna tear into him too but first, I bet you know why he’s here.” Impmon said.
Calming down only a tiny bit, Terriermon and Monodramon looked at each other as if trying to communicate via telepathy. They couldn’t but the two came to the same conclusion. First let Takato do his thing, THEN ask for an explanation.
“Give me a moment.” Monodramon said as he began to grunt.
The boulder began to roll back over the entrance to the cave, concealing them from view. When it was back in the position prior to Impmon’s arrival, Terriermon began to lead them down the cave, the light from the three horned ponies still lighting their way. Fluttershy stayed as far away as she could from Monodramon as she could. His voice and demeanor looked and sounded harmless, but it didn’t do much to quell her fear.
“So uh, who are all of you?” Terriermon asked the ponies.
They could talk with more of them now. None of them had any idea where to start, but names sounded as good a place as any. One by one, as they trekked down the cave, they all sounded off their names and professions. Fluttershy stuttered the entire way through her name and job.
“Fluttershy huh?” Terriermon could make it out. “If I didn’t know any better, I woulda gone with ‘Stuttershy.’ ” He laughed to himself.
That little remark earned him quite a few glares from the group of ponies. Takato just smacked his forehead. This was Terriermon alright. He never knew when to stop talking or when to just not talk at all.
“That wasn’t very nice.” Twilight commented to the large-eared Digimon.
“Aw come on. I was just joking. Fluttershy sounds like a nice name. Though all of your names kind of sound like dolls my partner’s sister has. No offense.”
“Terriermon, I beg of you. Just stop.” Takato desperately asked.
“It isn’t nice to make fun of people we just met.” Monodramon added.
“Just saying….” He muttered to himself.
“I’m sorry.” Takato apologized for him. “He’s like this with pretty much everyone.”
“Who’s there?”
Another voice rang out. It sounded feminine and very deep. And it was close. As the three horned ponies pointed their heads forward, they saw that they had reached the end of the cave where these Digimon have set up camp. Right in the center of the place, there was a small campfire. Near the wall was a stack of collected wood to throw into the fire to keep it going. Next to that was a pile of gathered food. Berries, herbs, and even some dead fish, the sight of which made quite a few of them gag.
“Takato?”
That voice rang again. From the left side, its owner came walking forward. When everyone saw the new Digimon, they had felt a wave of fierce elegance come to them. A tall bipedal fox sporting yellow fur and purple gloves on her arms going all the way up to her elbows. Rarity hadn’t been very much enthralled with the appearance of these monsters yet, but then she saw this fox and immediately a sense of beauty overcame her. Her fur coat was pristine. Her form and stance alone, graceful. Immediately the fashionista’s mind went into overdrive with inspiration for a new type of garment using her brilliant color scheme.
“Hi Renamon.” Takato happily greeted the Digimon, calling her by name.
“Even her name is divine.”
“I don’t understand.” She said to her partner’s friend. “How are you here?”
“Long story short, the portal opened up again back on Earth and I came through it alone.” Takato just jumped to the point knowing it was coming.
Renamon’s eyes widened upon hearing that. As soon as she had laid eyes on Takato she thought Rika wasn’t too far behind. Hearing he came here alone was almost like a knife to her heart.
“Takato….how could you do that to them?” She asked, surprised someone like Takato could even do this.
The Equestrians were starting to feel a bit uncomfortable as every Digimon there seemed to look at him for an answer.
“Takato?”
Then another voice rang one. One that only Takato and Fluttershy recognized. Sighing, Renamon relented temporarily. She could at least grant Takato this before they all dug into him for the story. She stepped aside allowing him to view the only other wake Digimon in the cave.
Takato couldn’t breathe. There he was. Red scales, that chubby gut, the claws, his face, it was all the same. He hadn’t changed a single bit. He took one step forward, wishing to every power out there that this wasn’t a dream.
“Guilmon.”
With the name spoke, the Equestrians then looked upon the scene unfolding with a bigger understanding. This was who Takato was here for. They never did get a description from him about what Guilmon looked like. Just that he was his partner.
Staying quiet, they watched as the two partners kept staring into each other’s eyes. It looked like they had both frozen solid. Then like a dam breaking, tears began to run down Takato’s eyes and Guilmon wasn’t quick to follow.
“TAKATO!”
“GUILMON!”
Both of them broke into a sprint and met each other halfway. The collision was in Guilmon’s favor as his greater weight made Takato go to his back. He didn’t care. The two of them embraced each other in the tightest hug they had ever shared with each other. Their cries echoed down the cave and back. They had known happiness before, but never like this. The feeling of being reunited when the possibility was never certain, it was a whole other level they had never thought could be reached.
Watching the scene, the princess of friendship and her friends couldn’t help but bust out the biggest smiles they had. The feeling of watching them come together and cry was almost infectious. Rarity was dabbing at her eyes already with a hanky again like she was before. And the other four Digimon watching the scene, even though they were a bit miffed at Takato for coming alone, they too were happy that he was here, and Guilmon was able to see him again. And if he had come, then the chance that the others weren’t far behind him was a possibility.
As they kept crying, Takato and Guilmon held each other tight. They had found each other. And they had no intention of letting go ever again.