//------------------------------//
// 8- Training for Dummies 
// Story: The Fox and the Filly 
// by FrostTheWolf 
//------------------------------//


The Fox and the Filly- Training for Dummies




Mountain Cabin (In Snowy Peaks)

        It was only a few minutes after Leona had to run out of the kitchen after waking up in a bed of a hot fudge sundae and things for her… didn’t quite exactly get any better. For one thing, in order to clean herself up, it meant that she had to take a bath. And the whole concept of a bath along with water was seen in her eyes as ‘her mortal enemy’. She would rather hug Lyall, someone that she personally despised since the moment she met him and hated with a passion, than take a bath.

        Still, aside from all of this though… she was not going to try and give into it just yet. If anything, she thought that Rena would be willing to clean her up. After all, this whole charade started with a prank that her and Sweetie Belle played on her. Of course, the whole thing with making the kitchen look like the epicenter of a cake warzone was her doing, but in her eyes, they started it.

        Of course… when she found Rena, she was… a little puzzled by the sight of Rena holding what looked like a fake Dokugumon on the end of a string… and Sweetie Belle looking like she was trying to keep herself composed, even though the fur she had was standing up on the end. Something… that made Leona confused while also creeped out.

        “Rena, what are you doing with that fake Dokugamon?” Leona asked, her curiosity getting the better of her while being fully prepared to flee if it was a trap.

        That was when the Renamon looked back at her for a minute before setting it aside. “Oh hello, Leona… I was talking with Sweetie Belle earlier and she asked about me teaching her to be brave. Not to mention, having more courage…” Of course, she didn’t have the chance to answer the second half of Leona’s question until the Coronamon interrupted her.

        “... um, no offence or anything, but… that method is just wrong, and morally questionable in SO many ways. Not to mention the fact that a in-training digimon is hardly scary or training worthy material.” Leona said with a slight twitch, feeling only a inkling of sympathy for the pony.

        “Do you even know the reason why? It’s a bit more… specific,” Rena deadpanned. “To be brave, you need to overcome fear… and Sweetie Belle told me she has a fear of spiders.”

        “Then why not just get a unconscious Kugamon? Wouldn't that be better? Or even one of those silly looking arachnemon?” Leona offered, almost sounding as if this was a reasonable let alone normal suggestion.

        “It was the only thing I can come up at the time. Plus, with a lot of things, you’re supposed to start small and work your way up,” The renamon told her. “Plus, if we’re to be able to fight any future digimon, both tamer and digimon need to be ready for whatever is thrown at us.”

        “Rena, when has starting small ever helped when digimon are involved? And second, if you want to be prepared the best option is to spar against a real digimon that could be a threat to the two of you. Remember, almost all digimon that are a danger to you will be larger than sweetie belle here, unless it's one of those tiny nightmares…” Leona deadpanned before explaining and ending with a shudder at the memory of her least favorite mega digimon.

        “Digivolution?” Sweetie Belle asked her before adding something else in addition to that. “Plus, I was trying to learn more about how to use digi-modify cards earlier with Rena. Besides, her bodies still recovering… right?”

        “Mostly… though, I think with one of those Digi-modify cards we used earlier, I’m feeling my body being restored much quicker now,” The Renamon replied back… before thinking of something. “Say… Leona, you said that you think the best way to prepare for fighting against another digimon is to spar right?”

        “Yes.” Leona said with a sagely nod, her arms crossed proudly across her non existent chest. Even though she wasn’t quite sure what she meant by that.

        “Well… It would help to make sure I can still react properly and make sure my muscles aren’t messed up…” Rena replied, before turning towards her, with a nod resembling Leona’s along with a smile. “And since the others aren’t here… Would you be up for a round?”

        “I…” Leona starts to say before catching herself and giving it some thought… before a dangerous smile starts to spread across her face. “I don't mind giving you two some Hands on experience~” She said as a strange giggle came from her.

        “Let’s lay down some ground rules before we begin…” Rena replied, while holding up one of her paws and counting off from it. “First and foremost, no digivolution. We do this in our rookie forms… Secondly, we keep this battle inside of the training room here. Third, we only do this until one of us yields… Finally, I won’t be using any digi-modify cards because doing so would be on the grounds of cheating. Do these terms suit well with you?”

        “I don't mind at all~” Leona said with her creepy smile. “I'll meet you two down there then~” She then added before vanishing... somehow.

        “You’re standing in the room…” Sweetie pointed out, before realizing she was gone. “How long is it going to take for her to notice?”

        It was then that a metal elevator raised out of the middle of the room they were in that they might be in over their heads. Because the appearance itself made Rena think of that moment in the Shining where blood would rush out of the doors upon them opening. That and the fact that they were in a snowy cabin made her think that Leona was trying to be unintentionally creepy.

        “Should we go up?” Sweetie Belle asked, which… only lead to the Digimon nodding her head before looking back at her partner.

        “Well… let’s go see what’s in store for us then.” She replied, pressing the button on the elevator that opened the doors and waiting for what will happen next. “Don’t forget your digivice though…”

        “Why? You said no evolution and no digi-modify cards…” The filly asked.

        “Yes, but that digivice can also be used for communications… so just keep it on hand in case Spike and the others want to contact us.” Rena advised her as the doors opened and both of them stepped inside. The interior of the elevator looked like that of your standard elevator and there didn’t seem to be anything weird about it. Though… there wasn’t a panel where there would be one to show how many floors the building was.

        Or for that matter… a button to close the doors. “Sweetie… I think you should hold onto something.” Of course… Sweetie’s first action in terms of holding onto something… was holding onto her. Which, of course, looked cute… but the way she was holding onto her made Rena think that she had a long way to go when it comes to overcoming fear.

        Moments later, the doors seemed to slam shut as the elevator descended at a disturbingly comfortable pace, elevator music playing as it descended for what they could only guess to be half an hour before the elevator stopped with a thud, the doors then reopening before they were blinded by painfully bright light from the other side.

        “What took you two so long~?” Leona teased once they got used to the light level, only to see a vast underground bunker like space before them in the shape of a colosseum. Something that… blew Rena away. Especially with the amount of work that it took into making something like this. Everything looked to be made out of digi-alloys. Metals that could only be found in the digital world and were said to be stronger than that of titanium. Of course, the most common one is known as Chrome digizoid. But there were others besides that.

        “Wow… this is amazing!” Rena told Leona. “How long did it take for you to make this?”

        “Secret~ but nowhere near as long as I have been in this world of yours i'll tell you that~” Leona said teasingly as she led the stunned pony and renamon into the colosseum, giving them a quick tour. “First let’s start with where we are, this is a arena strong enough… and far enough underground… for two mega level digimon at max to spar with each other without damaging this place or restructuring the face of the continent above us. Then to the left wing over there we have where I keep my garden which is where all the cabin’s food comes from, and opposite it in the right wing is the sleeping quarters for emergencies like the demon lords showing up.” She explained while pointing due to how large the space is and thus not wanting to walk several minutes just to show off each area.

        But it also left Rena wondering when she was going to stop touring them around… and when they were going to start fighting. But it was at one particular point, when Sweetie Belle decided to sit down on a nearby bench in the arena… that the renamon got some kind of clue as to when that would be.

        “So~ just say the word and the training session for beginners will start~<3” Leona said giving Rena a wink… that disturbing smile from earlier one again on her face.

        Which, left Rena smirking as well as she took up a stance and looked back at her opponent. “Alright… let’s go!”

        “Hey Rena~ what does a fox say when she is caught off guard?” Leona then said randomly before seeming to vanish again in a reddish-orange blur. Of course, Rena herself tried to remain calm as she focused on trying to figure out where Leona was at that moment. Of course, when the Coronamon attempted to try and attack her from behind, she only had mere seconds to dodge before grabbing the rookie digimon by the tail.

        “I don’t know… What do they say?” She smirked before tossing her and letting Leona land on her feet before swinging one of her paws towards her. Trying to hit her, but all that did was cause Leona to vanish again.

        “I wouldnt know~ after all, your the only foxy woman in the room rena.” Leona teased as Rena felt something land on her back softly before it proceeded to force her into the ground hard enough to kick up a dust cloud.

        The Renamon though, now knew where Leona was, flipping herself around to where her back was to the ground as she locked both of her legs around Leona’s head in a choke hold, before flipping her backwards to the ground now. “Are you trying to be serious or just be a tease. Because you’re saying it like you aren’t taking this seriously?”

        Leona was left unable to respond due to the position she was in, her face slowly turning bright pink as she flailed.

        “Well, that was short lived…” Rena sighed, before letting Leona go.

        “First…” Leona said as she jumped back, her face still bright pink as she tried to get herself back under control. “I'm not going all out as you surmised, but that's because I don't know if you can handle it yet since we haven't sparred before…” She then took a breath before yelling “And second! That was unfair! You exploited my weakness!”

        “Um… what weakness? And why is your face pink?” Sweetie Belle then asked.

        “... You’re still a child, you wouldnt understand.” Leona said unable to look towards Sweetie Belle as she quickly tried to hide her face, even more embarrassed.

        “As for me, I was just trying to do a submissive hold,” Rena replied back to her. “Before being displaced, I learned a series of martial arts that focused on grabbing your opponent and holding them down until they yield. Given that I wasn’t thinking that you were going to use abilities right away, I thought this was more of a combat exercise.”

        “... Please at least wear pants next time you do that, or else I might have a nosebleed…” Leona muttered, before managing to get herself back under control as her blush vanished. “Ahem, and no that wasn't an ability I was using, Coronamons do not have any speed based techniques or powers. that was just pure natural speed I had gained from all my experience of running from the water demons, your brother, and your partner Rena.” Leona then explained as to what she had been doing.

        “So you run so fast that you disappear into smoke?” Sweetie Belle asked.

        “Pinkie does it, so why not me?” Leona asked.

        “… That’s a valid point.” Sweetie Belle replied back. “So if you fight with pure speed… then how does Rena fight?”

        “That’s a good question to ask, Sweetie Belle,” Rena replied back. “For me, I try to be more of a balanced fighter. Sure, I rely a lot on offense and speed, but it does not mean that I ignore defense all together because it can be able to help you depending on the situation. Leona though, seems to be more of the Offensive powerhouse. Relying on speed and strength and ignoring the fact that she needs to protect herself.”

        “Not necessarily true, after all us old folks have to have SOME tricks up our sleeves~” Leona chuckled. “And as for how you counter it, thats what this sparring session is to help you figure out on your own. Experience is the best of teachers after all.”

        “I wasn’t saying that you didn’t…” The Renamon insisted. “I was saying that based off what I have seen so far. But yes, I agree that experience is a good teacher.”

        “What you have seen is what I have chosen to show you, along with the limitations of being stuck in this rookie body.” Leona admitted with a bit of a nervous chuckle at the end. “Words of advice, if you can avoid it don't let yourself get egged… it sucks. Now shall we continue?”

        “Sure… but may I ask you something first?” Rena spoke up as she began to brush some of the dirt off of her paws. “With the fact that Spike is your tamer, do you think the parameters of your rookie form could be modified with digi-modify cards?”

        “... I don't want to think about it, I'm still not used to someone else being my tamer and I am certainly not happy about being stuck with a tamer either.” Leona grumbled. “I'm too used to going solo.”

        “You sound just as stubborn as Lyall before we got displaced,” Rena chuckled for a moment, before explaining why. “Lyall hated having to work with others, before I told him that he had to just grin and bear it sometimes.”

        “… It's not that I hate working with others, it's just that I spent over one hundred years defending my Equestria on my own before it fell to ZeedMillenniummon.” Leona explained while scratching the back of her head.

        “Um… would it be best to say… New Equestria, New rules?” Sweetie Belle then spoke up, waiting for a pause in the current conversation before asking them.

        “Old habits die hard, Sweetie Belle.” Leona chuckled, amused by the filly’s suggestion. “Now, let the training resume!” She then shouted before vanishing again. “One way to fight a fast opponent by the way, is as you said, teamwork. Why limit yourself to one set of eyes and ears if there is a second head?”

        “You make that sound like a Hydra…” Rena grumbled as she maintained her position and tried to maintain her calm. “Pearl and I found that out personally… When one head is cut off, two more grow back.”

        “Indeed, but unlike a hydra, you and your second head don't share a body Rena~” Leona laughed as she tried to make herself sound like a certain short, green and cryptic movie character before appearing in Rena’s blindspot.

        Of course, Rena realized that a few seconds too late and was struck from behind before trying to hit Leona with a sweeping kick. Only for the Coronamon to jump over her leg and hit her again.

        “Do you two seriously not get hints? Or am I so old that I'm too cryptic?” Leona deadpanned with a paw on her hip. She then vanished again, appearing in a different blind spot this time.

        However, unlike the last attempt, this one was one that Rena was familiar with. And when Leona thought she had her, all the Coronamon got instead was a kick to the chest and a few diamond shards thrown directly towards her, “I get hints… I’m just a little bit more focused on what we’re doing. After all, in terms of who would win this fight… There can only be one.”

        “True, but you still haven't gotten the hint. I would have congratulated you if you did.” Leona chuckled, getting up and dusting herself off. “Also, I thought those diamonds would be sharper?”

        “They are, ‘Master Yoda’,” Rena smirked, before moving one of her paws to where two of her outstretched fingers were now coming towards her. “But let me show you some of the tricks I know.”

        Before Leona could properly react, she felt the diamonds that originally went behind her move past her head and also past her fur. It took her a few moments to realize that Rena herself was controlling the direction of the diamonds that she originally threw at her. Cutting off a couple pieces of fur on her arms as Rena had the diamonds return to her. “I came up with this after watching Pearl and Rarity use their magic revolving around gems and how they were able to levitate them with ease. I call this move ‘Diamond Chaser’.”

        “Interesting, very interesting~” Leona said with a smirk and a sagely nod. “Now the real challenge will begin it shall.” Suddenly she was then standing in front of Rena. In the next moment Leona created a small ball of fire on the ground that exploded with enough force to launch the two of them into the air, the coronamon using her wings to stabilize herself.

        Of course, Rena was one to quickly try to turn this into a surprise attack. Flipping herself forward and attacking Leona with a somersault kick. Only for Leona to block it with one of her wings and use the other to put the Coronamon on the counterattack. Causing the Renamon to move up her arms in a defensive posture as her fellow digimon’s attack connected and sent her into the stands of the arena.

        Of course, the Renamon wasn’t going down without a fight and seconds after getting knocked down, Leona saw her immediately dash towards her with a bit of purple energy around her paws and feet. She placed her wings up in defense, but Rena proceeded to attack with a roundhouse kick… and say the name of her ability once it connected. “Power paw!”

        Of course… it didn’t have the same dramatic feel to it… when they all heard what sounded like a ringing noise go off. That noise belonging to Sweetie’s digivice.

        “Oh come on! Right when it was getting fun!” Leona complained as she walked out of the tiny crater created when she impacted with the ground after being hit by Rena’s Power paw attack.

        “Um… Rena,” The filly replied, a little unsure about what to do. “It says that Spike’s calling… What do I do?”

        Rena, now coming down to the ground and brushing herself off. “Hold onto it with one hoof and have your other hoof swipe the interface on there to the left.” Sweetie herself nodded, following the instructions that Rena gave her shortly before she heard a voice on the other end of the digivice speak up.

        “Hey, Sweetie Belle? Can you hear me? This is… kind of the first time I’m doing this and-”

        “Spike? What’s going on?” Sweetie Belle asked, the filly seeming a little nervous at first before looking back at Rena and Leona. “I thought you two were getting groceries…”

        “We were… but when we went to go by Sweet Apple Acres, we came across something big…” The dragon told them. “Applebloom’s got a digivice like yours, mine and Buttons… but the digimon she has… well…”

        “Applebloom-mon, who is Spike-mon talking too?” They all heard a new and mostly unfamiliar voice. But the sounds of it alone seemed a little too familiar to that of Rena and Leona.

        “Oh for pete’s sake… I’m going to ignore how defiled I feel right now and just say this. Spike, keep it entertained with food were on our way.” Leona facepalmed while groaning. “I didn't want to deal with dragons today but I guess the universe has other plans…”

        “Okay… can you let us in?” Came Spike’s response to Leona, which surprised all three of them. “We’re outside, but for some reason the door is locked.”

        “...” Leona’s eye twitched and she signed before vanishing, a sound resembling running reverberating out of the elevator shaft moments later.

        “Um… maybe we should follow her back upstairs…” Sweetie Belle stated as she put her digivice away.

        “I was thinking the same thing.” Rena replied back as both of them went towards the elevator now as it began to come back upstairs. “So, what did you think of the training that we were doing.”

        “W-well… if I were to be honest…” The filly stated, looking a little bit anxious now while Rena pressed the ‘newly revealed’ buttons for the ground floor. “I was a little scared at first of how you would do… but after seeing you fight Leona, i-it doesn’t seem to be that scary anymore.”

        “See? I knew you would think that-” The Renamon told her, just as they reached the top floor… only to find that not only have Lyall and the others returned, but they had two new friends with them.

        And one of them was beginning to lick Leona like she was a puppy. “She taste spicy, Applebloom-mon!”

        “Guilmon, don’t lick others like that! It’s not nice!!” The Earth Pony tried to tell him and hold him back to no avail.

        “Get your overgrown lizard off me, or im kicking you all out of my cottage.” Leona said in warning, visibly twitching as the flames on her forehead and tail became like pillars of doom. All while Lyall was facepalming himself and looking back at the two.

        “Guilmon, if you are really hungry, there’s a lemon meringue pie in the fridge alongside some other snacks if you would like that.” He said, trying to come up with an alternative solution to free Leona in her current situation.

        Guilmon himself just tilted his head for a moment in confusion and dropped Leona on the floor. “I like apple pie. Lemon sounds sour… like pears…”

        “Guilmon, ah brought a few apple turnovers,” Applebloom told the digimon before handing them to him. “How about you have these and leave them be?” All Guilmon could do was snatch them up and take them into the living room. Leaving Sweetie Belle, Button Mash, Applebloom and Spike with Lyall, Rena… and a pretty angry Coronamon.

        “... Oh Lyall~” Leona said, her flames now pitch black as she smiled sweetly at Rena’s brother, having gotten back on her feet and wiped Guilmon’s drool off her..

        “Um… Was there some sort of hidden rule I did not know about?” Lyall asked, sounding concerned for a moment before his sister facepawed herself

        “No one touches my pie.” Was all Lyall heard before he felt himself being kicked through the walls out of the cottage, Leona now where his face was moment’s before before she vanished again.

        “Was that really necessary?” Rena asked, looking back at the Coronamon. “We got a new member of the group and we don’t want to try to intimidate her right now, Leona.” Of course… Leona wasn’t quite exactly listening to her and instead beating up Lyall like an oversized punching bag.

        Yet, the snow outside was one thing that Leona did not take into account, so her onslaught of attacks did not quite last as long as she intended.

        “So… What do we have here? A new displaced?” Rena asked, looking back at Guilmon for a moment and watching as he ate. Only to hear the Digimon say one… odd question.

        “What’s that? Some kind of food?”

        Of course… that registered in Rena’s brain rather differently. To her, it meant that this Guilmon was not from where she was before being here… nor was it familiar with the concept of it. So it was an actual digimon from this universes’ digital world and not someone who was originally human and ended up as a digimon. And from the sounds of it, this digimon… was rather young. Almost childlike.

        Now, she turned towards where Sweetie Belle and Applebloom were, before asking the earth pony a question. “How… did you meet Guilmon?”

        “Well, ah was going through some of my mom’s old belongings out in the shed on our farm and found this,” The Earth Pony replied, getting what appeared to be her digivice out and showing it to them. “After fiddling with it, that was when Guilmon arrived in my shed and when he mistook me for my momma, Buttercup. So… ah have been taking care of him for the last few days at mah farm.”

        “How long?”

        “Um… five days?” Applebloom replied back. “Why? Is something… wrong?”

        “No… I was just wanting to make sure,” She replied back before taking a seat. “I think we need to be able to bring you up to speed on some things.”

        “I can start making dinner!” Spike declared, making his way to the kitchen before Leona could realize where he was. “It would not be good to listen in on an empty stomach.” Rena agreed on that, especially with the fact that the workout that she just had with Leona made her kind of hungry. And according to Sweetie Belle, Spike was a rather good cook.

        “Stupid wolf… If only I wasn't weakened, I would do worse to him than leave him with a couple bruises and a hangover.” Leona muttered as she came in, the walls of the cottage repairing themselves behind her somehow as she walked, though as it happened the flames on her forehead and tail became visibly dimmer. 

        “Tired out now, Leona?” Rena asked her. “We were going to catch Applebloom up to speed on what has been going on while Spike is making dinner.”

        Leona made an unintelligible grunt in reply before flopping over into Rena’s lap, seeming to pass out on the spot after re entering the room. “Alright… so where do we begin?”

        Applebloom had only one… particular answer for that one. “From the start.”



        Throughout the rest of the night, Rena took the time to explain to Applebloom everything that had transpired so far. From Leona arriving in their world, Lyall being her brother and also the Sangloupmon attack that happened most recently. The renamon did not want to miss anything and wanted to give the filly the full story, while also explaining it in a way that she would understand. Of course, Sweetie Belle and Spike also helped make sure to fill in some of the missing gaps too so that way she would be able to understand it as much as possible.

        Now though, it was morning. And everyone was beginning to wake up and wrap their heads around everything that transpired the day before. Not to mention the fact that when they woke up, they saw Rena holding a towel and wait outside a door.

        “Um… Rena, what are you waiting on?” Lyall asked, before his sister turned to her.

        “Leona… turns out there’s only one shower in the cabin, so I’m waiting til she’s done so I can get myself cleaned up.” She told her.

        “Wait, there’s only one shower…… Yet, there’s multiple rooms and even multiple floors throughout this whole cabin…” Lyall said, trying to wrap his head around that. “I would ask who was the architect that made the design flaw… but I have a feeling that she would flush the toilet when I’m in the shower and make it hot to where it burns my fur so I’ll just go get some breakfast.”

        With that, the Strabimon began to walk into the kitchen while everyone was getting themselves situated. But around the point that Leona and Rena were both done with their own showers respectively… there was one thing they did not anticipate.

        A knock at the door. “What the hell?” Lyall asked, looking at everyone for a moment before looking to Leona and Rena. “Did someone knock at the door? I thought we were the only ones that knew about this place.”

        “We should be, unless someone left a trail of crumbs through the barrier.” Leona commented, sounding just as confused as she wore the towel she was using like a cloak.

        “Let me get the door, Leona.” Rena insisted, walking on over to where the entrance to the cabin was… before opening it up. However, who she found at the door was something that was not normal. 

        It was Princess Twilight… and with her, one other alicorn with a flowing teal mane and white fur. “Hello Rena…”

        “T-twilight?” Rena said, slightly caught off guard for a moment. “What are you doing here? And who’s…… Oh…”

        “So you are the one that Twilight knows as Rena,” The alicorn spoke, before introducing herself. “My name is Princess Celestia… I just happen to overhear some strange things going on when I went to visit Twilight’s castle…”

        “Um… what things?”

        “I told her about you, Leona, digimon… everything up until recently… the only way we know about this was that I placed a tracking spell on Spike.” The fur on Rena’s neck began to stand up for a bit before she looked back at her. “May we come in. I was wanting to show her Spike’s partner.”

        “Oh Leona…” Rena mumbled… shortly before saying something back. “Yeah, you know what…”

        That was followed by the sound of what sounded like Leona jumping through a window to escape in order to avoid Twilight and Celestia at all costs. “She just left…”

        That… caused Twilight to raise an eyebrow on her face. “Really?”

        “Yeah…” The Renamon said, even though both of them could see Leona reaching for the cloak she dropped on the floor before racing into the back of the cabin again. “Sorry.”

        “Well, perhaps we can talk to the rest of you instead… if you are okay with it, of course.” Celestia then spoke up. Leaving Rena in a rather… tricky situation. She couldn’t just turn them away… and Leona would really get mad at them if she happened to have her take them down where the colosseum was. So there was only one thing to do.

        Let them come in the cabin… and the cabin level only. “Why sure, come on in. We were just beginning to have breakfast.”




End Chapter 8