//------------------------------// // Prelude to the Rise of Nightmare Moon // Story: Of Light and Darkness // by Dragonfire2lm //------------------------------// Five years before the rise of Nightmare Moon Night had fallen and while Gatomon was gripped in the throes of insomnia and Celestia slept like a foal, Princess Luna and her student were holed up in the Princess's office. "Thou hath made leaps and bounds in thine studies Wizardmon," Princess Luna stated. "Tis time thou learn about the bulk of our royal duties in The Dream Realm." "You're going to teach me dream walking? I'm honoured by your trust in me, Princess." Wizardmon replied and dipped his head respectfully. "It seems our lessons on proper etiquette have paid off," the Princess of the night mused. "Thou art worthier of our time than the mewling masses that our sister's partner entertains during Day Court." Luna's face had contorted into a look of disgust for a brief moment. "Is that why you cancelled Night Court? To have more time for my training?" Wizardmon asked curiously. "Aye, we did and from what we hath heard, Celestia has returned to her proper duties of attending court instead of allowing Gatomon to run amok." "To be fair Princess, Gatomon was only seeking to help." Wizardmon stated. "Hmm, thou hath a point, my sister's negligence is a matter for another time for tonight, we shalt instruct thee on the magic of dream walking." With her horn aglow, Princess Luna moved furniture to the edges of the room and took a seat on the soft rug in the centre of the cleared space. "Come, sit and we shall show thee the spell forms thou will be learning this night." Both apprehensive and curious, Wizardmon sat crossed legged on the floor across from his mentor and paid close attention to her instructions. As the hours passed his feeble attempts at the new spell improved as Luna repeatedly demonstrated how the spell was cast. "Good, tis nearly perfect but thou must pour more power into it to cast successfully." Luna instructed. "I-I'm trying..." Wizardmon grunted, his hands glowing with arcane energies as the unstable spell from sparked popped and just like all the other attempts, blew up. "You're still having trouble mastering spells?" Gatomon asked as she Wizardmon sat in their usual lounge as night approached. "Yes, and I think Princess Luna might be getting angry with me because of it," the wizard digimon sighed. "She's been so distant and curt as of late and I was wondering if you could help." He looked at her hopefully and Gatomon absentmindedly push her spectacles back up her muzzle as she thought about his predicament. "You lost your staff on the way to Equestria right?" the small feline asked. "I didn't see it with you back when I first found you." "No, I was caught in a sandstorm while opening the gateway to get to this world and I forced to leave it behind," Wizardmon replied and pulled out a deck of cards from the pocket dimension within his cape. "These were more important at the time." "You used those to travel from Witchelny to Equestria right." Wizardmon was surprised she knew about the cards. "You've heard of these?" "I've seen them before, it was a long time ago," she said and shrugged. "Why not make a new staff?" Wizardmon pondered the idea as he returned the cards to the inside of his cape. "I'd need the right kind of wood and a few tools but it shouldn't be too hard," he sighed in resignation. "As much as I want to be able to cast without a medium, I don't like seeing Princess Luna like this and if this will make her happy..." "I've been thinking, maybe Princess Luna is your partner, like how Celestia is with me?" Gatomon suggested. "...I don't know, I do have a Digivice that's like yours but she's my teacher and a Princess. I doubt she's destined to have a screw up like me for a partner." Wizardmon admitted. "You're not a screw up, you're my friend," Gatomon said softly. "And does it really matter if you two are partners or not? At the end of the day you're still friends, aren't you?" "I guess you're right, thank you Lily." Wizardmon replied and Gatomon rolled her eyes, a smile in her voice. "I told you to stop calling me that..." she grumbled half-heartedly. With a playful look in her eye, Gatomon hopped up off the cushion she sat on and smiled. "What kind of wood and tools do you need? I bet the local carpenter's or someone on the castle staff could help," the feline suggested. "We could make you a new staff now!" "Well.... Here's what we'll need." Wizardmon replied and the pair left the room as he began to list the items he needed. Hours later a large branch had been recovered alongside a several different types of knives, all of which were laid out on a table in front of the two digimon. "So, are you gonna make it look like you're old one?" Gatomon asked as Wizardmon finalized a quick sketch of what his old staff, one common for all digimon of his kind looked like. She frowned at the drawing. "It looks like a sun." "It's supposed to represent a Digitamamon as it digivolves into its final stage, a symbol of how a Wizardmon can harness his power for good or ill, just like the result of a digivolution..." Wizardmon explained. "It looks like Celestia's cutie mark." Gatomon stated flatly. "And what would you suggest?" "A moon or a star motif, duh," was the feline's reply. "Light and darkness, good and evil and all that." "Huh, that sounds like a good idea..." Wizardmon mused and began a new sketch. "Your welcome!" Gatomon chirped. It took the rest of the night even with Gatomon helping but by dawn they were done. A simple wooden staff adorned with a crescent moon and a few stars rested on the table. "Welp, I'm going to make the world's sweetest cup of tea... I can't wait for ponies to invent hot chocolate..." Gatomon grumbled and shuffled out of the room. Wizardmon picked up his new staff, invigorated by the accomplishment he had achieved. With newfound energy he headed towards Luna's study, he had a spell to practice. "Now then Wizardmon, here the dream realm thine power is only limited by thine imagination but should we come cross a nightmare, let us do the fighting, thou art too inexperienced with dream walking to truly fight in this realm." Princess Luna instructed as the dream realm phased into view around the student and teacher. "Of course, your highness, I won't let you down." He replied and gripped his new staff even tighter. Wizardmon was determined, even if he could only assist in some small capacity, the wizard digimon would do whatever he could to help Princes Luna. The dream realm was a vast expanse of stardust and empty space and Wizardmon was left in awe by its beauty even as whispers of darker, sinister things faded in and out of the edge of his hearing alongside cheerful laughs and cries of delight that sounded oh so very far away. He followed the princes further in as they passed a myriad of doors, no two looked the same and Princess Luna took a cursory glance at each before she moved on to the next. "Each of these doors leads to a dream somepony is having somewhere in Equestria," She explained. "Tis our duty, and now yours, to distinguish a dream from a nightmare and bring a night of peaceful slumber to the land." "And you can tell from just a glance?" Wizardmon asked. "Aye, should a door appear damaged or worn, tis the result of a nightmare plaguing a pony and feeding off their fear and pain til it has the strength to escape the dream to find a new host." Luna replied. "Magic exists in all things Wizardmon and manifests itself in strange ways, the nightmares are but one example and we have no doubt that thou will find others in thine pursuit of arcane knowledge." A battered, light pink door with an eight-pointed star surrounded by four short lines that symbolized beams of light carved into the wood caught their attention. it was scratched in several places and had chunks missing from near the edges. The aura of love, despair and grief that rolled out from behind the door made Wizardmon flinch as Princess Luna carefully approached. "This is a strong one, a reoccurring nightmare that has attached itself to its host, most likely for several years," Luna observed. "How has it gone unnoticed till now?" Before they could react, the door shattered into bits of wood and splinters as a figure stepped out. Wizardmon's instinctively knew what it was. "A Myotismon here? But then- Gatomon!" He cried out and made to dash for the room shrouded in darkness beyond the broken door. Only someone who knows about digimon other than myself or Gatomon could create one in their dreams and there's been no other sightings of digimon in this world aside from the two of us. Gatomon has never spoken about it but I know she knows more about digimon than she's letting on! Why didn't she tell me she was having nightmares? He realized. He rolled to the side to avoid a lashing from Myotismon's crimson lightning, the vampire digimon smirking as he took the full power of a spell from Princess Luna without a scratch and with a flick of his cape a swarm of bats engulfed the princess. Wizardmon immediately rushed to Luna's side, using his staff to knock the bats aside and kept a close eye on other digimon as Myotismon slowly advanced towards them. The princess tried to get to her hooves but it was clear she had no fight left in her, her ever flowing mane and tail had ceased their movements and her body was covered in tiny scratches and bite marks. I need to do something! For Luna, for Gatomon! Wizardmon stood his ground as the silent yet terrifying Myotismon stopped to stand before him, lazily preparing himself for another attack. In a flash Wizardmon darted towards his enemy, his feet leaving the ground as he reached eye level with the ultimate level digimon and stared coldly into his eyes. "Vision of Terror!" Myotismon screamed and stumbled back in shock, his attacks unfocused as the vampire tried to strike an imaginary foe. Wizardmon pointed his staff at Myotismon, lighting sparking off the tip as an orb of energy formed. "Thunder Ball!" Wizardmon cried out and fired the magical projectile. It hit its target and exploded, catapulting Myotismon back through the doorway and Wizardmon flew after him. On the other side of the door was the castle, blanketed in the darkness of night and surrounded on all sides by an overgrown, dense forest. Wizardmon looked up to see a shadow on the moon that looked a mare's face while the heavenly orb gave off a strange rainbow coloured aura. He frowned from behind his cape collar and looked back at Myotismon. The other digimon had shaken off the effects of Wizardmon's attacks, his face twisted in to a snarl but Wizardmon was prepared. "Magical Game!" the champion level digimon declared and planted his staff on the ground as a beam of light erupted from it and shot into the heavens. Seconds later a spiralling tongue of flame descended down from on high to strike Myotismon, an explosion followed suit and when the smoke cleared, the digimon born from a nightmare was nothing but a pile of ash. "Now to dispel this nightmare once and for all, I have to find Gatomon." Wizardmon decided and went in search of his feline friend. He found her locked up in the castle dungeons, her white fur covered in dust and grime and her blue eyes void of the joy and life he was used to seeing in them. "Gatomon?" He asked softly and when she looked up, she seemed to be looking through him rather than at him. "Whaddya want?" she mumbled. "You won now go away..." "I won? Gatomon get a hold of yourself, please! This is all just a bad dream!" He pleaded but Gatomon turned away from him and curled up into a ball. "I wish it was, I lost, I failed everyone. Luna slid into Nightmare Moon, imprisoned Celestia and k-killed you, turned into that monster Myotismon and you're just a hallucination..." she sniffled. "Go away..." Wizardmon stepped away from the bars as Gatomon broke down crying muttering "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." between sobs. His heart broke at the sight of her like this and that only gave him ore drive to bring an end to her suffering. "I'm only limited by my imagination..." he mused as Princess Luna's words echoed in his mind. He steeled his resolve and, in a blink, was inside Gatomon's cell. With a thought the world warped into the lounge they had spent their evenings whiling away the hours with conversations, discussions and quiet, lazy days spent pouring over books and scrolls. He picked up Gatomon and walked over to his usual seat, sat down and let his feline friend sob into his chest until finally, she regained her composure and regular demeanour. "What-what just happened?" she asked weakly and froze in place staring up him. "Uh.... This is new?" "There's nothing to worry about, it's just a dream." Wizardmon replied calmly and ran a gloved hand down her back. She relaxed under his touch and moved around to curl up in his lap. "If you say so..." Gatomon murmured. Eventually Gatomon sat up and looked at him. She looked weary and for once Wizardmon could see just how long she'd been dealing with the nightmares by herself. Unbidden she began to speak. "A year before you showed up we got word that one of our oldest allies, The Crystal Empire had been taken over by a tyrant king. Celestia and Luna wanted to go and defeat him as soon as they could but I convinced them to let me go scout for information first," she explained. "I-I wish I'd let them confront him, he had everyone, mare, stallion and foal working in the mines until they just couldn't move anymore and then he- he used them as ingredients for some sort of crystal or gem he was trying to make..." "He wanted nothing more than power. When I saw that I went looking for an artefact I knew could defeat him... only to fall for one of his traps," she continued. "I was forced to live through my worst fears and well, you know what I saw..." "Your nightmare." Wizardmon concluded. "You don't see stuff like everyone you know love being taken away and expect it to not leave scars. It only got worse after I met you... I have to be strong for you, Tia, Luna and everyone else, as long as I'm okay, you're all okay...." She trailed off and Wizardmon wrapped her in a hug. "You don't have to do this all by yourself, you have the Princesses to support you, I'll support you," Wizardmon stated. "You're not alone." As the sun rose, Wizardmon awoke from his jaunt into the dream realm and frantically rushed over to Princess Luna as she showed the first signs of stirring. "Princess! Are you alright?" he asked worriedly and Luna blinked at him, taken off guard by his concern. "W-we art fine Wizardmon, we take it thou dealt with the nightmare?" Luna asked. "Yes, your highness. It will trouble Gatomon no further." "Thou were reckless!" Luna snapped and got to her hooves. "If the nightmare had escaped it would have endangered all of Equestria!" "You were in danger! I felt- no needed to protect you!" Wizardmon replied and the thought struck him as odd. "We are a princess of Equestria, we can take care of ourselves!" Luna argued. Wizardmon looked at the princess of the night, his expression calm as he remembered one of the first times Gatomon had ever spoken about herself. She had recounted the events that led to her meeting Princess Celestia, of finding the alicorn in danger and an instinctual need to protect her from harm. Looking back on his fight with Myotismon It was a simple matter for Wizardmon to connect the dots. "Princess Luna, I fought the nightmare not because I believed you were weak, I just simply felt I needed to help you," he explained and pulled out a Digivice from the folds of his cape. "Perhaps if you look at this you might understand?" He held it out to her and she wordlessly grabbed it in her magic. s he suspected the Digivice's screen began to glow brightly and a sense of bewilderment and joy filled him. he swept his hat off his head as he bowed, his head low and voice humble as he spoke. "I am your partner, Princess. Through dark and light, war and peace and beyond! I will stand by your side to protect you, to support you for you are my friend." He was met with silence and after a while, he risked a glance up to find Princess Luna utterly speechless. "U-um too much?" he asked sheepishly and was bowled backwards by the force of the Royal Canterlot Laugh. From behind his collar, Wizardmon smiled, he had never seen Luna this happy and he was glad to witness it. Three Years before the rise of Nightmare Moon "You want us to handle The Grand Galloping Gala?" Gatomon asked Princess Celestia as she, Wizardmon and Luna sat at the breakfast (Or dinner in Luna's case) table. One of the feline's ears twitched in irritation. "Do you have any idea how much work that is?" "Thou can be surprisingly clever and well organized when thine mind is put to the task at hand," Celestia replied as a cup of tea hovered in her magic. She smiled knowingly as she continued. "There will be representatives from Griffinstone and The Dragon Lands this year and We have made sure to provide catering suitable to predators such as them." "We have organized several meat dishes to present at the buffet this year." Celestia added as her partner's face went from excitement to annoyance at the prospect of meat in her future. Gatomon sighed in resignation. "Well it is free food, what do I have to do?" "You mean what do we have to do," Wizardmon interjected. "I'm helping you, whether you want me to or not." "And get more time to spend with you?" Gatomon replied. "No way am I missing out on that!" "Here's what thine tasks are for the preparations," Celestia stated and floated a scroll over to Gatomon. "This is just the things we are unable to oversee due to our duties, we trust thou will take care of them?" "We'll be fine Tia." Gatomon replied. "Alright just one more thing and we're done!" Gatomon exclaimed and moved down the list to the last time. Go find a date. "What, the fuck?" Gatomon said flatly. "Go find a date? Is she serious?" The feline sighed and rubbed her eyes, clearly fed up with her partner's antics. "Wizardmon, do you wanna go to Gala with me?" she deadpanned but was quickly stunned by his answer. "S-sure, I'd be honoured to go with you." She blinked once, twice and finally his words registered. "Okay, I'm done, see you tonight." "Yes, of course." Wizardmon replied and the two digimon went their separate ways. "What was I thinking?! This could ruin everything, what if I'm a bad date or something happens? What if we stop being friends? I don't know what to do!" Out of the corner pf her eye, a blurry yet recognizable Princes Celestia was giggling at Gatomon as she panicked. The holy digimon whirled around and pushed her glasses back up her muzzle as she glared hotly at the solar princess. "You're not helping!" Celestia stiffed her giggles and walked over to place a comforting hoof on Gatomon's shoulder. "Thou hath known each other for many years now. Surely the bond thy two share is strong enough to handle such a difficult time." "Please don't pull that motherly stuff with me, I'm older than you," Gatomon replied and sighed. "I guess you do have a point, even if I'm still bat shit terrified." "Tis normal to be afraid about a date, it shows thou truly does care for Wizardmon." Celestia replied and smiled impishly. "And we may have heard a few rumours that he wishes to court thee." "Can you confirm them as fact?" Gatomon replied flatly. "Why not ask him thyself?" "And just how am I going to do that? Oh, hey Wizardmon there's a rumour going around that you want to court me, care to tell me if it's true or not?" Gatomon snarked just as a knock sounded at her door. "I swear to god if that's him and he heard me..." "Gatomon? we need to be downstairs to greet the guests." As if on cue Wizardmon called out and Gatomon's paw quickly met her face. "Fuck my life..." she muttered under her breath and quickly smoothed down her fur and cleaned her glasses with a stray piece of cloth before she made to leave. "Alright, show time." "This is so boring..." Gatomon muttered as she stood by the castle entrance with Celestia, Luna and Wizardmon as the four of them greeted a seemingly endless stream of guests. "This is why I just park myself at the buffet table every year..." "Wizardmon, go an attend to thine date, we have things sorted here." Luna commanded. "Gatomon, thou can leave, we will be alright." Celestia said with a sly smile. The two digimon shared a look, bowed in respect to their partners and made a beeline for the buffet table. Or rather, Gatomon made a beeline for the buffet table. "Food!" "Gatomon! Wait for me!" By the time Wizardmon had arrived, Gatomon was holding a pie in both paws and scarfing it down without a care in the world. "... Is it good?" Wizardmon asked and the feline grabbed a second pie, balanced it on her tail and while she carried both, motioned for him to follow her. They both soon sat under the night sky, sitting back to back as they ate. After a while both had finished their food and simply looked up at the stars. "I feel like we should be doing something special... or something, what do you think?" Gatomon asked. "I suppose but we don't have to do anything special, we could just... talk, like always." he replied. Ï do have to thank you though, I was nervous about eating in public like this..." "Come on, I know you don't like to show most of your face and it would be rude to force you out of your comfort zone like that." she replied. "I haven't told you why I keep my mouth covered, have I?" "I just figured it was a Wizardmon thing, you can be pretty shy at times." she said. "It's... more than that, perhaps it would be better if I just show you..." Wizardmon stated and held down his collar. "Perhaps you can figure it out?" he stated without moving his mouth. Gatomon blinked at the oddity, Wizardmon's mouth was stitched up, as was normal for his kind but he just smiled, he had spoken and she had definitely heard him. "You're either telepathic or projecting your voice because you won't- no you can't speak right?" she realized. He nodded as his smile shifted to show a hint of sadness and Gatomon once more heard his voice. "I was born with a glitch that rendered me mute, as a rookie Impmon, I learned how to project what I wanted to say into the minds of others, to them it would sound like I was speaking when in reality it's nothing more than a magic trick." Wizardmon readjusted his collar to hide the lower half of his face once more and continued his explanation. "The village I grew up in didn't take kindly to glitched digimon and once word got out, my father gave me instructions on how to travel to other worlds and the next thing I knew, I was trying to get a portal to work in the middle of a sandstorm." "You were exiled for being a mute? I swear if we ever go to Witchelny, you’re taking me to your home village so I can knock some sense into everyone..." Gatomon grumbled and Wizardmon laughed. "I won't be going back," he stated. "Luna needs me and... I'd miss you." ".... I don't know what to do anymore..." Gatomon sighed. "What even are we Wizardmon?" Wizardmon just looked confused. "I don't follow." "We've spent years together, shared stuff about each other that not even our partners know and I just, I dunno, maybe I'm overthinking things." she admitted. "Again." he teased. "Shut up..." "Still you do have a point," he mused. "What do you think we are?" "I dunno more than friends at least." Gatomon said with a shrug. "Gatomon I know you're smarter than that..." "I'm scared alright!" she snapped back and winced. "Sorry... I just- how the hell are you so calm?" "Well, I suppose it's because I've known for a while so I've had time to uh, deal with my nerves..." he replied. "So, with that said..." He stood up and held out his hand. "Would you care to join me for a dance?" he asked. "Uh ok?" she replied and grasped his gloved hand with a paw. Wizardmon floated up into the air, he quickly steadied his grip on her with both hands to hold her up at his eye level as they hovered above the ground. "I thought this would make it less embarrassing." he admitted. "Y-yeah, sure. whatever works." Gatomon mumbled and the pair began to dance. it was almost beautiful, graceful even as they moved in the air in sync with the music. "So, you're serious about this whole courting thing?" Gatomon asked. "Only if you're comfortable with it, I have no desire to pressure you." Wizardmon replied. "Well this is sudden but... it's you, ya know? I'm okay with this," She replied. "It took me a while to realize it but, I really do care about you and I just hope I don't mess this up..." "Funny, you took the words right out of my mouth." he said. From within the ballroom Celestia smiled as she caught sight of the two digimon before she was pulled back to her present conversation with a group of nobles. Luna stood in a shadowy corner of room and looked on at the two digimon bitterly before her gaze swept over the crowd. "Even on a night such as this our subjects, our sister and our own student are too wrapped up in themselves to appreciate our hard work," she snarled quietly. "Our work in the dream realm, forgotten upon waking, our duties in Night Court ignored in favour of our sister's pet deciding the Day Court's rulings... An insult to everything we hath worked for!" "We will wait, perhaps Wizardmon is right and we need to be more patient but even our patience can only hold for so long." Six months before the rise of Nightmare Moon. The Night Before Hearth's Warming. Snow blanketed the castle town as the giant stone doors that led into the castle proper closed shut behind two familiar figures. “I can’t believe Tia kicked us out of the castle!” Gatomon exclaimed. “We were so close to a breakthrough on those digivices!” She fumed by the main gate until a gust of wind blew through the town and caused the feline’s mood to shift from annoyed to miserable as she shivered in the cold. “My fur will keep me warm, my arse,” She muttered and sighed, her front paws glowing with holy light as she warmed herself up. Beside her Wizardmon watched on in fascination. “I didn’t know you could do magic.” He said. “I run on sugar, food, friendship and hugs. Since I don’t sleep much I have a lot of time on my hands, or uh, paws. Even with you patrolling my dreams every night, old habits are hard to break.” She replied. “That explains why the library is always organized,” Wizardmon said. “So, what do we do now?” “I dunno, what do you wanna do?” She replied with a shrug. They walked aimlessly through town, admiring the festive atmosphere and the various stalls selling a variety of goods for the holidays. Eventually the two of them wound up in a quiet, secluded park with trees decorated with mage lights that lit the area with a warm, inviting light. “This is the gala all over again, I feel like we should be doing something special.” Gatomon admitted as they sat on a park bench. Wizardmon pulled her to his side, lightly petting her back as she snuggled into his embrace. “Isn’t this enough?” He asked her. “I guess, not much has changed has it?” she stated. “We still do our usual things, just with more hugs and “cute stuff”, as Tia calls it.” “Do we really need to do anything else? I-I like this.” Wizardmon admitted shyly. “I know, I do too. Everyone keeps judging us though and with Tia so busy and Luna so distant nowadays I just can’t help and overthink this stuff.” she replied and sighed, her face betraying her apprehension. “Lily?” Wizardmon asked. “What if I told you something bad is going to happen soon, would you believe me?” Gatomon asked weakly. He didn’t to reply with words, instead he pulled Gatomon into his lap and nuzzled her, a gesture she returned as her spirits were somewhat lifted. “Something is going to happen and I thought our presence was enough to stop it but with how Luna’s been acting, I’m worried. I’ve noticed alicorn magic has similarities to holy and demon digimon powers and, well holy digimon can slide and turn into a demon digimon and vice versa so… something like that could happen to Luna or Tia,” Gatomon continued. “I was hoping there was a clue to help them with our digivices….” “But the question is what we do with the information if we find it?” she asked. “You can’t bring this to the princesses in case the knowledge of what they could become triggers a slide correct?” Wizardmon clarified and Gatomon nodded. “Not to mention there are larger forces at work, If Luna slides into… something else then I’ll have to tell Tia exactly what to do to preserve the future of Equestria even if we have the means to save Luna… It’s complicated,” Gatomon stated. “Do I risk changing the future for the sake my friend? Or sacrifice my friend’s well being and happiness for the sake of a brighter and safer future?” “Then don’t worry about it, if it is meant to happen and you know things will turn out for the best for everyone, then let it happen,” Wizardmon said warmly. “You don’t want to cause a self-fulfilling prophecy, do you?” “I know, I know. I’m just worried, it’s another story when I risk losing my friend and then there’s you. I-,” Gatomon struggled for the right words, her vulnerability in full display as opposed to her usual, relaxed self. “I love you and knowing we could be forced to fight or end up apart for years… it terrifies me…” They fell into silence, Gatomon shaking from terror, Wizardmon remaining still and unmoving as they both held onto the one another. They sought only one another’s embrace, the simple feeling of security they found in each other’s company and the unwavering trust and support both freely offered to the other. The silence went from oppressive to peaceful the large bell tower in town announced the coming of midnight. “It’s Christmas Day…” Gatomon said quietly. “I’ve never noticed before but you’ve never really called Equestria’s holidays by their proper names.” Wizardmon said. “Where I’m from Christmas is the proper name, I got used to doing my own thing every year with these anyway.” she replied with a shrug. “We should head back, perhaps Princess Celestia will let back in now?” he suggested hopefully. “Before we do go back, hang on a sec,” Gatomon said and pulled out a small box from behind her back. “I’m glad you showed me how that pocket dimension spell of yours works, it wasn’t easy hiding this before.” She held out the box to him and cheerfully said “Merry Christmas!” He chuckled, took the box and pulled out a small wrapped package from the folds of his cape and handed it to her. “Happy Hearth’s Warming.” he replied and the two digimon opened their gift. They both looked down at the contents of their presents, then back at each other, bewildered by what they saw. Both of them held a computer chip around the size of a floppy disk. The chip Gatomon had given Wizardmon a light pink colour decorated with the crest of light, likewise the chip he gave her was light blue and bore the symbol of a crescent moon. Gatomon made several high-pitched whines as she attempted to speak, only to look back down at the chip, blush and fail to get any words out. Wizardmon was silent, a thoughtful expression on his face as he pulled out a small scrap of paper. He cleared his throat, which got a giggle out of Gatomon due to the fact both of them knew he couldn’t speak. “Lily, will you- “ “Given that we both just each other a copy of our own code, and know full well that doing so is the Witchelny equivalent of a marriage proposal, do you really need to ask?” Gatomon cut in. “I mean with these we can…. Oh my god we’re going to make a Digi-Egg!” With that exclamation, both digimon burst into a fit of joyous laughter, a tangle of limbs as they hugged one another in the quiet of the night. Eventually, they wandered on back to the castle, chatting away about all manner of things and spent the rest of the night sitting in their usual seats in their usual lounge, drafting up their plans for the future. For them it was nothing concrete, just whims and half-baked ideas to pass the time until one or both of them grew tired enough to drag themselves to bed and when they finally did decide to retire for the night, they both found their respective rooms sealed off due to “an unfortunate accident” with the cleaning staff, or so the guards told them. So, the two digimon trudged back to the lounge, Wizardmon rested on one of the longer couches while Gatomon curled up on her usual cushion after she’d moved it to be closer to her beloved. “Night Wizardmon,” Gatomon muttered sleepily. “Love you.” “Goodnight Gatomon, love you too.” he replied.