Dustin hummed a little tune to himself as he walked through town. Rarity and him still had their rough patches, things that they clashed over, but things were going much better. As evidenced by his pair of nice, comfortable pants. Today was a school day, and the fashionista was working on an order when she asked him to go pick up Sweetie. The fox had closed his game and was off to pick up the little filly within minutes.
It had taken him asking for directions as to where the school was, but he was now standing outside the building, waiting for the bell to ring.
The bell’s ring was drowned out by the door bursting open and the happy shrieks of foals free from the shackles of the school day. Dustin noted three familiar fillies swiftly trotting towards him.
“Hi Dustin!” They cried upon reaching him.
“Hey squirt,” Dustin said, playing with Sweetie’s mane. “Your sister sent me to pick you up since she was busy with a dress or some such. I dunno, I don’t pay attention to fashion.”
“Of course you don’t.” Sweetie rolled her eyes. “You wouldn’t pick up on anything. Anyway, we were planning on heading to the clubhouse, wanna come with us?”
“Well, I was told to make sure you got home safe,” the fox mused, before shrugging. “Guess I can follow along. I’ve got my stuff with me, and they’re all charged. I can hang out.”
“Yay!” Came the chorusing cry. The fillies then trotted past Dustin and began trotting down the road. The fox turned to follow them, making sure not to take his eyes off of them for a second. He knew how devious young kids could be. He could only imagine how devious young ponies could be.
Astonishingly the fillies simply quietly chatted to themselves about ways the could get their Cutie Marks while they trotted down the road towards Sweet Apple Acres. Nothing sounded too concerning, as from what Dustin had heard most of their dangerous Cutie Mark attempts had happened before he’d gotten here.
“No, that’th a thtupid idea.” Scootaloo shot down yet another option.
“Wait a sec. Sweetie do you still have Dustin’s Digi-thingy?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Yeah. Why- Ooooohhhhh….” Sweetie’s eyes grew wide as a grin grew on her face.
Dustin hadn’t heard them, though. He’d turned on his iPod and was listening to some tunes with one ear. He was still getting used to fox hearing and didn’t want to destroy it.
“We’ve seen Pinkie make Guilmon Digivolve.” Sweetie grinned. “Think we can do it?”
“Well…. I know it’th not thomething thimple as making it happen.” Scootaloo mused.
“We can just try out different things until it happens.” Sweetie nodded happily.
“And if’n it doesn’t?” Apple Bloom asked with a raised brow.
“Then it doesn’t, but it’s worth a try.” Sweetie shrugged. “We’ll need to make a list of different ideas when we get to the clubhouse.”
“Tho, are we going to do our warcry now? Cauthe we may thpook the very one were trying to Digivolve.” Scootaloo glanced at Dustin.
“For once, we don’t have to.” Sweetie looked back at the distracted fox. “That’d be counter productive.”
Dustin was now actively humming along with the music, his head swaying to a beat the others couldn’t hear.
“Think he’s just off in his own little world?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Probably.” Scootaloo shrugged.
“At least Rarity caved and game him pants.” Sweetie shrugged.
The group hopped the fence into Sweet Apple Acres, after taking a few steps beyond Sweetie stopped and turned around. “Hold up I wanna see what happens.” She grinned as Dustin mindlessly walked down the path.
The fox had closed his eyes for a moment while following the filly...and walked right into the fence. He ended up falling over it with a shout of surprise, before he got his feet under him again and looked up. “Who put that fence there?” he asked as he checked to make sure nothing was damaged.
“Woot!” Sweetie cheered with her hooves in the air. “Ten points!” Apple Bloom and Scootaloo giggled.
“...Sorry, I tend to get distracted when I’m listening to music,” the fox admitted. “So...where are we?”
“Sweet Apple Acres!” Apple Bloom crowed, gesturing at all of the apple trees. “Want an apple?”
“Maybe later,” the fox replied. “I’m supposed to be watching you girls after all.” He picked up his iPod, turned it off, and stuck it back in his bag. “Probably would be easier if I was paying attention,” he admitted.
“Oh, no no. You’re fine.” Sweetie waved away his concerns. “Just follow us and you can hang out outside while we do our planning, it is a nice day after all.”
“Fair enough,” Dustin replied. “So, where are you all going?”
“Clubhouthe, come on.” Scootaloo said, waving him onward with a tendril that briefly popped out of her mouth. She turned and headed off into the trees, swiftly followed by Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. The fox shrugged before following the three fillies, wondering where their clubhouse was in all these trees. He followed them through the rows of trees until he saw a rather large treehouse built around a tree with a ramp leading up to it. A picnic table sat nearby under the shade of the large tree.
“Here it is, inherited it from Applejack.” Apple Bloom grinned.
“Pretty nice,” Dustin admitted. “I’ll just be here at the table until you need me.”
“Sounds good!” Sweetie grinned as the other two raced up the ramp and into the clubhouse. With a wave she quickly trotted up and shut the door behind her. “Okay,” She said as she undid her saddle bags and let them drop to the floor. “Scootaloo, what can you tell us about Digivolution?”
“Honethtly, not much.” Scootaloo winced as she sat down by the small table they used for planning devious Cutie Mark achieving plans that were always doomed to failure. “Here’th what I know. There hath to be a bond with thomepony.”
“Ya’ve got that.” Apple Bloom nodded as she pulled a piece of paper and a pencil out of her saddlebags and started jotting down notes.
“True.” Sweetie nodded. “What else?”
“Well, I know that he hath to be well fed firtht.” Scootaloo furrowed her brow in thought.
“Well. Fed. Got it.” Apple Bloom nodded.
“There altho hath to be sthome kind of combat thituation.” Scootaloo tapped a hoof on the table as she thought.
“Well that’s not something we can force. Unless Deus Ex Timberwolves.” Sweetie shrugged.
“On a friday?” Scootaloo asked with a raised brow.
“Sweet Apple Acres though.” Apple Bloom pointed a hoof at her.
“Anything else?” Sweetie asked.
“Well, I think there wath thomething about training making it eathier.” Scootaloo mused.
“So. Plan.” Sweetie placed her forehooves together and rested her chin on her hooves. “We trick Dustin into carrying us to Sugarcube Corner, wouldn’t hurt to have him strength train a little bit. Once there we have him buy us, and himself, something for a snack. We try to make him eat all of them, whether we act like we can’t finish it or what is up to either of you. I know I’m eating half of whatever it is. Next, we have him carry us back here. After that…. No idea. I find the idea of pointing the Digivice at him and yelling ‘Digivolve!’ to be incredibly stupid.” She hummed in thought and shook her head. “We’ll figure something out from there. If anything it’ll be a fun hour-ish.”
“Sounds good ta me.” Apple Bloom shrugged as she slipped the paper into her saddle bags.
“I’m eathy.” Scootaloo nodded.
“Good.” Sweetie nodded at her friends. “Let’s go pester a fox.”
Dustin was just sitting at the table, looking out at the farm and humming to himself as he waited. Upon hearing their hooves on the wood approaching, he turned to look at them. “Done already?” he asked.
“Yep!” Sweetie Belle chirped. “Hey Dustin? Question. How strong are you?”
“Haven’t tested it thoroughly yet,” the fox replied. “Geralt is still getting stuff for the dojo. He’s looking into dumbells and training weights, which’ll help with my usual exercise routine. But I don’t know how strong I am now.”
“Do you think you could say…. Lift one of us?” Sweetie asked. “I know that’s rather obvious, but it wouldn’t hurt to test right?”
“I can carry a filly easily,” Dustin said, smirking at her.
“Well,” Sweetie reared up on her haunches and outstretched her forelegs. “Get to it.”
Dustin chuckled and picked Sweetie Belle up, cradling her close to his chest with one arm. “See?” he said. “Easy.”
“Ahem.” A voice cleared her throat. Dustin looked down to see Apple Bloom doing the same thing. “Care ta try for two?”
Dustin quirked a brow, but used his other hand to pick Apple Bloom up and carry her with his other arm, cradling her close as well. “Two isn’t bad either,” he replied. “I used to carry more than this during my weekly grocery trip.”
“Oi.” Scootaloo said, trotting up. “One more?”
“Kinda outta hands here,” the fox pointed out.
“On your kneeth, fox.” Scootaloo pointed at the grass. Confused, Dustin knelt down, wondering what she was up to. Scootaloo trotted around him and climbed up onto his back holding onto his shoulders with her forehooves. “Up you go.”
Dustin carefully stood up, holding onto two fillies and feeling the third on his back. “Okay, was there some point to this?” he asked the fillies. “Because all we’ve proven is it’ll take more than fillies to get over my weight limit.”
“How about a little endurance training?” Apple Bloom asked with a raised brow.
“Oh?” Dustin asked, looking at the fillies in his arms. “What did you have in mind?”
“How about a jog to Sugarcube Corner? If you make it there with us in tow then you’ll get to buy yourself a snack.” Sweetie said, looking thoughtful.
“Good thing the mine’s started to get some work done, I might be able to afford it,” the fox joked as he started carrying the fillies. “Oi, captain Scootaloo! Mind leading me to the corner when we get back in town? I don’t quite have the layout memorized yet.”
“About face!” Scootaloo snapped. Dustin turned around. “March!” With a chuckle, Dustin walked forward through the trees until he saw the fence and the path beyond.
“Pick up the pace, jump that fence!” Apple Bloom cheered.
Dustin in turn, made a short dash and kicked of the ground, clearing the fence. He felt Scootaloo bounce against his back. “You good?”
“I’ve been hit by Timberwolves, this is nothing.” Scootaloo snorted. “Take a left.”
He turned and started down the road.
“You call that jogging?” Sweetie narrowed her eyes at him.
“No ma’am!” Dustin stated. “This is jogging.”
He dashed forward, causing the fillies to yelp. It wasn’t as fast as he could go, thanks to the training he’d been getting from Geralt, but as fast as he felt he could go without having Scoots fall off his back.
Hmm. This was actually pretty enjoyable. Maybe he’d see about getting training weights and doing a morning run around the town.
As they left the orchards and the path opened up into the blue sky, barely hinting at evening, Ponyville came in to view. The Town Hall could be clearly seen, and beyond that, hidden behind the massive building, his destination.
“Pick up the pace a little.” Scootaloo called from his back.
“Maybe we should time you on the way back.” Sweetie giggled.
Rolling his eyes, a smile crossed his face as he leaning in a little and lengthened his strides. As they entered Ponyville, the odd sight drew the attention of most of the town. Smiles and waves followed the four as Dustin now had to actively avoid the ponies that were in the streets. A feat that was almost fun in a way.
The road then widened as they reached the wide open space next to the Town Hall. Sugarcube Corner was in sight.
“There’s our destination!” Sweetie pointed. “One final push!”
The wind rumbled in his ears as he picked up his pace, almost to a sprint. In what felt like moments, he was in front of the bakery.
“Aaaaand made it,” Dustin crowed as he knelt down to let Scootaloo down, while also turning the fillies loose from his grasp. “That was actually fun,” he complimented the girls. “We should do that more often.”
All the fillies shook themselves and Sweetie turned towards the fox. “We are most definitely doing that again. Now, to snacks!”
Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle all raced into the bakery. As Dustin entered, he laid eyes on someone that he didn’t expect to see. A blue and white dog with a pair of boxing gloves for hands stood behind the counter.
“Hi girls!” The dog said happily.
“Hi Alex!” The girls cried in unison.
“Filling in for Pinkie and Guilmon?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Yep, I’m on loan again. They’re out on a date.... somewhere.” Alex shrugged. "Cakes are taking care of the kids, thought they could use the relief. And Saffron and Coriander seemed to be doing fine without me. Thus, I'm here. What are you four doing here?"
“Well these girls,” Dustin bent down to ruffle their manes, “Got me to carry them here for some exercise on my part, and said I could have a snack if I managed it.”
“Oh, hey Dustin.” Alex waved. “They did, did they? Well what can I get you? Also, are you going to feed the girls too?”
“Eh, I’ve got some bits,” the fox shrugged. “Let’s see if I can do that without ruining their appetites for dinner.”
“Cherry cream filled donut!” Scootaloo called out.
“Apple Fritter.” Apple Bloom was not far behind.
“Blueberry muffin.” Sweetie said after a moment of thinking.
“Okay…” Alex wrote down the order, then looked up at Dustin. “And for the fine furred gentleman?”
“Hmmm….got any chocolate doughnuts lying around?” he asked. “I’ll take one of those.”
“Ohhhhh…..” Alex looked over at the rack of chocolate donuts. “I’m not sure….”
“Y’know, I think the sarcasm is infectious,” the fox deadpanned.
“Maybe a bit.” Alex smiled as she bagged up their orders. “Okay that’ll be…. Six bits. You get a discount for bringing in cute fillies.”
“I should do that more often,” the fox teased the fillies as he rummaged in his bag for the bits. Finding enough coins, he passed them to Alex, with a few extra. “A tip for the prompt service,” he told her. “And for having to put up with the shop on your lonesome.”
Alex shrugged. “Thanks, it’s not too bad.” She handed the bags to the fillies and they rushed off to find a table. “And thanks for the tip.”
“Anytime,” Dustin said, following the fillies. Well, a doughnut wouldn’t ruin his dinner appetite, right? And it had been a while since he’d been able to indulge. Suri was all for letting him eat...just, not a lot, to ‘preserve his figure’. So with ravenous abandon, the fox chowed down on his doughnut.
The fillies blinked in surprise at the fox as they took bites of their own snacks.
“You look a little hungry there.” Apple Bloom stated.
Dustin put what was left of the doughnut down, swallowed, and then answered. “Well, I wasn’t really allowed to have ‘fattening’ food in Manehatten,” he pointed out, not giving Suri the benefit of using her name. “And it’s been a while since I’ve been able to visit my favorite doughnut shop. So I’ll take anything that reminds me of it.” He sighed. “Oh, you shoulda seen it. Doughnuts as big as a plate. Fritters that could feed a family of four. A Death by Chocolate doughnut that you actually felt afraid of eating.”
The fillies chewed slowly. “Ya know if you’re thtill hungry,” Scootaloo spoke up, her face smattered with red filling. “You can have some of mine.”
“Oh, I couldn’t do that to you,” Dustin replied, even as he tossed what was left of his doughnut in his mouth and finished it off quickly. Once his mouth was clear he continued, “I’m pretty sure I bought that for you.”
“You sure? If you not eating enough because if some Suri enforced thing….” Sweetie let thought hand in the air.
“It’s not that, goodness no,” Dustin replied, waving his paw. “I’ve always had an appetite for sweet things. And I was getting overweight before this whole...thing happened. So I cut back and exercised. It’s just...these days I seem to be able to eat a lot more. I’m just a little concerned I might fall back into bad habits if I just cut loose and spent all the money I’m getting from the mine on food.”
“Well, you can splurge every so often. So long as you don’t go overboard.” Sweetie nodded, taking a bite out of her muffin. “Balance is key. Also, you can easily work it off. You are training and you’re going to start jogging. Hint, you’re going to start jogging.” The filly glared at him.
“Someone seems to think highly of my physical prowess,” the fox joked. “Fine, fine. I’ll get some more.” He looked over to Alex. “Yo Alex, what do you got a lot of that’s good for a Digimon about to go into a workout?”
“You’re in a shop full of carbs and your asking about what's good for a workout?” Alex called from the counter.
“Well I don’t have all that many bits to spend, so whatever you’ve got a lot of, I’ll take,” Dustin said, getting up and walking over to the counter.
“Okay… let’s see what’ll be fun to work off…..” Alex hummed as she looked over the display cases contents while chewing in her lower lip. “Fuck it, name something, I’m pretty sure we have it.”
“Well bread on it’s own isn’t very exciting,” Dustin mused. “Got any flavored or spiced bread? I personally love cheese bread, my mom had a recipe for it that just made you want to eat all of it.”
“Well let’s see.” Alex furrowed her brow at the display case. “Were out of Spice Bread and Peanut Butter Bread Buns here…” She glanced up at Dustin. “Want me to check in the back, we probably have more.”
“As long as you’re sure Guilmon didn’t eat them all before he left,” Dustin countered. “Plus, remind me to share the recipe for my mom’s bread with you.”
“I’ll get it from you later.” Alex smiled as she stood up, She turned to head into the kitchen. “I’ll be right back.”
“Kay,” Dustin replied, leaning against the counter and watching the fillies.
“Ship Dustin with all the females!” Sweetie cried with a laugh.
“Ya know that’s takin’ it a bit too far.” Apple Bloom commented. “That was just polite conversation. Yer actin’ like Lyra, or Floor Bored.”
...Suddenly, Dustin did not want to know. And yet, he couldn’t turn away. It was like watching a train derailment. There was something so beautifully awful about it.
“Dustin! I found something!” Alex’s cry from the back grabbed the fox’s attention. The Akita came back to the front carrying a box. She was grinning. “I found a box full of Spice bread. By the note, it was made this morning just in case the display ran out. How much do you want?”
“Sooooooonnnn….” Sweetie cooed.
There was the sound of something hitting flesh and Sweetie yelped.
“Scoots, what was that for?!” Sweetie whined.
“Thomebody’th gotta defend the poor guy from thith madneth.” Scootaloo said, her speech slurred a tiny bit.
“Well, how much can I get for…” Dustin did some mental math. “Twenty-five bits?”
Alex blinked, her jaw hanging open a bit. She shook her head briefly as if to clear it. “Goddamn!” She said. “Don’t let Pinkie hear or see you eat any of this, she may try and pull you into her relationship….” Her brow furrowed in thought. “And I have no idea how Guilmon would react to that....” She shrugged and walked over to the counter. She set the box on the counter then narrowed her eyes at the display case. “Okaaaay….. That’d be twenty-four bits…. Yeah.” She turned to look back at Dustin. “Okay, you can get twelve for twenty-four bits.”
“Take the lot,” Dustin said, pulling out his bit-bag and giving her the twenty-five. “Something tells me I’ll need the energy.”
Alex binked then took the bag of bits, hitting a few buttons on the register, the bit container popped open and Alex dropped the bit into it. “Lemme just get a thing here.” She bent over and pulled out a box normally reserved for donuts. She stood back up and began folding up the box. Once completed she began, shifting the spice bread into the donut box. Once completed she closed the lid and held it out to Dustin. “Here you are, your carbs sir.”
“Thank you,” Dustin replied, taking the box and bowing a little at the waist. “I will endeavor to savor these as they are devoured.”
“Please do.” Alex nodded with a smile as she took her box and moved behind the display case. She kneeled and began refilling the case with more bread. Dustin nodded and went back over to the fillies, sitting down and opening the box.
Goodness, the bread smelled...heavenly. He couldn’t resist. He had to have one. Just one.
The problem with that idea was, in his past life, he was a starchaholic.
“Uhhhhh Dustin? Do we need to give you two space? Wanna find a room somewhere?” Sweetie asked glancing between him and the box.
“It’s...fine,” the Renamon said, taking a breath. “I can do this. I won’t give in to temptation. I’m strong...I’m stronger than my cravings…”
That mantra didn’t last long either. He picked the first loaf out of the box, smelled it, and began eating it slowly.
“Okay… This isn’t as bad as I was expecting.” Apple Bloom mused. “This is going well actually.”
“I wath expecting thomething like me when I eat a cockatrice.” Scootaloo commented.
The first loaf lasted a few minutes.
Then Dustin found himself reaching back in for another one...and devouring it in seconds.
“Okay, that’th clother to what I wath ecthpecting.” Scootaloo nodded.
“Is anybody timing him? I wanna see how fast he’s going to go through that box.” Apple Bloom asked looking around.
“I got you bro.” Alex called, holding up a stopwatch in a glove. “I like to time Pinkie and Guilmon on how fast they get through their food. Sometimes I’m not sure if they actually taste anything. More, inhale the food.”
That seemed to be Dustin’s mode of the hour, as loaf after loaf of bread disappeared from the box into his mouth, never to be seen again. He just couldn’t help himself, it tasted so good!
“Girls… what happens when he reaches the end of the box?” Sweetie asked with a little concern in her voice.
Alex glanced between the display case and Dustin, her brow furrowing as a frown creased her lips.
That moment was fast approaching, and once the last loaf vanished beyond his lips…
The Renamon sighed and sat back, blinking a few times. “Um...what just happened?” he asked. “I remember tasting the bread and now it’s all gone…”
Alex let out a sigh of relief.
“Well, in short, you ate them all.” Apple Bloom commented. “Alex what was the time?”
Alex looked at the stop watch. “Forty-five seconds. Slow compared to Pinkie and Guilmon, but still up there in regards to everyone else.”
“Oh great,” Dustin moaned, his head in his paws. “Now I’m going to get fat again…”
“Not if we have anything to say about it!” Sweetie announced as she stood on her chair. “You, Dustin are going to jog us back to the clubhouse!”
“I just ate a dozen loaves of bread,” Dustin pointed out, lifting his head up a bit. “I think I’ll need to do more than a jog to work them off.”
“Wait…… Wait a thec…” Scootaloo held up a hoof. “Don’t Digimon digest food a little differently?” She mused aloud. “I thought I heard something like that from Pinkie. Also, I think feeding may have something to do with Digivolution too.”
“...You expect me to know this stuff?” the Renamon asked. “I barely know what I can do, much less how my body works.”
“I don’t ethpect you to.” Scootaloo furrowed her brow. “Though you could talk to Guilmon if you want to know anything, barring him Thalamon in Canterlot could tell you more if you’re curiouth.”
“However.” Sweetie spoke up. “You’re taking away from our point. You have another jog to run.” She pointed a hoof at Dustn. “Strength and Endurance training is good for you.”
“You’re a regular taskmistress, aren’t you?” Dustin chuckled. “Well, whenever you feel like going back.”
“I’m good.” Apple Bloom nodded, gathering the trash and placing it all in the empty box, before trotting over the the trash with the box and stuffing it in.
“Thankth A.B.” Scootaloo nodded at her. “I’m thet.”
“We good?” Sweetie asked to a set of nods. “Good.”
“Whelp, Filly Express,” Dustin said, getting up from the booth and crouching down so Scoots could climb on. “All aboard.”
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle piled into his arms as Scootaloo climbed onto his back.
“D’aaawww…” Alex cooed from the counter.
“Yeah, they’re cute,” Dustin agreed as he began to walk to the door.
“To the clubhouse!” Sweetie cried, pointing a hoof as they came out into the evening light.
More ponies were out and about, most quickly noticed the fox and his companions. Dustin began at something closer to a power walk. He couldn’t go too fast, due to the milling groups of ponies heading to wherever they were heading. Still, once he reached the outskirts of town, he should be able to go a little faster.
On reaching the bridge out of town, he broke into a jog, much to the cheers of the fillies.
“There you go!” Scootaloo cried.
“Work off that bread!” Sweetie yelled.
The fox smiled as he kept up his fast pace, making sure to not ease up at all. It helped that he felt like he needed this. Their surroundings practically blurred by as he ran. Minutes passed, and he didn’t even feel close to worn out. As he passed the schoolhouse, a thought came to mind. “Girls, where am I turning off for the clubhouse?”
“Ah’ll let ya know.” Apple Bloom announced from the comfort of his furry arm.
“Alright…” He said, as the trees of the Apple’s apple orchard came into view. “This is actually really pretty.”
“See what you miss with when your face is buried in Pokemon?” Sweetie snarked.
“...I’ll explain it later,” Dustin promised. “Okay, so we have to be coming up on the clubhouse soon, right?”
“Yep…. Riiiight. Here.” Apple Bloom announced. “Take a right.”
Dustin nodded and briefly skidded to a halt, turned, and darted forward, over the fence, and into the trees. As if the trees were enemies themselves, he dodged each tree with short leaps from foot to foot. The clubhouse came into view, and with one final burst Dustin took a leap and landed right at the base of the ramp.
“And made it,” he said, crouching down to let the fillies free. “Not a bad way to run,” the fox admitted. “Certainly gets me more exercise.”
“Thanks Dustin.” Apple Bloom grinned as she trotted up the ramp and into the clubhouse.
“Should we make a schedule of having you jog every morning?” Sweetie asked as she shook herself, making her coat all fluffy.
“I wouldn’t say no to having more exercise like that,” Dustin replied, standing back up and stretching. “It’s certainly more entertaining than my idea of just strapping on training weights. The weights wouldn’t be able to give directions.”
“Maybe training weights plus fillies?” Sweetie asked with a smug grin as Apple Bloom came back out carrying the three filly’s saddle bags.
“Thanks.” Scootaloo nodded, using her tendrils to strap her bags onto her sides behind her wings.
“Ah think the family’s expecting me.” Apple Bloom spoke up. “Ah’ll see ya girls tomorrow.” She began to trot away towards the farm proper. “See ya Dustin.”
“Later A.B.” Scootaloo waved.
“See ya.” Sweetie nodded at her as she started putting on her own bags. As she did however a small device fell out of the bag. “Shoot, get back in there.”
Thankfully, Dustin hadn’t noticed, still watching the filly walk off. A good thing, too, he’d said he never wanted to see it again.
“Tho I should probably be heading home mythelf.” Scootaloo spoke up. Turning to head back towards the trees. “I can go into the woodth, thkirt the Everfree, and be home before dark.”
“If you think that’s safe,” Dustin replied as he turned to look at the filly.
“I’ll be fine. Predator Thpecieth.” Scootaloo replied then split her mandible and flailed her tendrils at Dustin, then retracted her tendrils and reset her mandible with a pop. “Thee? I’ll be fine.”
“Sorry, I see something cute like you and want to protect it,” Dustin chuckled. “I also don’t want Guilmon to be on my ass if something happened to you.”
Scootaloo leaned back with a blush. “I’m not cute!”
“Ponies as a whole are cute,” Dustin replied. “Fillies moreso. Just give in.”
Scootaloo sighed. “I can’t fault you there.” She shrugged. “Meh, I’ll thee ya tomorrow Thweetie.” With that the filly turned and trotted off back the way Dustin had just came.
“Whelp, time to get you back to your sister,” Dustin said, ruffling Sweetie’s mane.
“Planning on carrying me again?” Sweetie asked.
“Only if you plan on making me,” the fox teased.
She reared up and held out her forelegs. “Challenge Accepted.”
“You’re lucky the cute works on me so well,” Dustin replied, picking the filly up and cradling her to his chest.
“Someday I want to get chest floof.” Sweetie mentioned as she buried her face into Dustin’s large tuft of chest floof. “Go on then, off you go.”
The fox smiled down at her as he began a nice, leisurely walk back to the boutique. The evening was turning dark. The sky was a uniform orange color, with a deeper red on the horizon. A light breeze blew in from the Everfree bringing with it a faint scent that made Dustin’s nose crinkle. It was an earthy smell, like dead leaves, yet there was a hint of rot mixed in. Suddenly, from nearby, came a howl. This was echoed by a second howl, then a third.
“That doesn’t sound good,” the fox observed.
“Maybe we should pick up the-” Sweetie’s response was cut off as a high-pitched noise, somewhere between a hiss and a shriek, split the air.
“Scootaloo!” Sweetie snapped, her head whipping towards the noise. Unsurprisingly it came from the same direction as the howls.
“Time to put my speed training to the test,” Dustin muttered, turning and heading towards where the noises had come from. He crouched low, before he began putting on as much speed as he could in running towards the howling and screaming. Guilmon would kill him if something had happened to Scoots.
He swiftly came to a break in the trees, little more than a small clearing. Within was a Timberwolf roughly double the height of a pony. It bore the usual sickly green light within its eyes and chest, yet it was small compared to most Timberwolves Dustin had seen. Not a few feet from it was Scootaloo. Dustin expected the filly to be terrified. Yet the tatzlsus was growling and hissing angrily. She crouched low to the ground, with her hind end in the air. Her small wings were stuck straight out. Her mandible was split open and her tendrils were flailing wildly. She pawed at the ground with a hoove, digging furrows into the grass and dirt.
The Timberwolf howled once again, and as it did Scootaloo appeared to pounce. She leapt forward, yet not far enough to reach the wooden wolf. Instead she hit the ground between them and seemed to disappear. Dustin could see clods of dirt briefly burst from the hole she’d made. A tiny ridge of displaced dirt and grass sped towards the wolf. When the wolf looked back down from its howl, the tatzlsus was nowhere to be found. The look on its face was almost comical. With a shrieking hiss, Scootaloo erupted from the ground beneath the wolf and slammed into its chest. The wooden beast yelped in surprise. The yelp morphed into a pained cry as Scootaloo dug her hooves into its sides so she could cling the to wolf’s undercarriage. Scootaloo’s mandible unhinged and her tendrils shot out, They whipped around and twisted into one thick tendril and shot forward, slamming into the wolf’s chest. The wolf froze as the light in its chest flicked. There was a noise, a crunching of dried wood followed by a sound similar to the popping of a water balloon.
The light in the Timberwolf’s chest winked out, as did the light in its eyes. The Timberwolf shuddered then crumbled into wooden detritus. The pile of rotten timbers and fungi shifted and Scootaloo popped out, now entirely covered in sap. “Mother fucker!” She cried to the sky. “Tree sap?! Again?!”
“...Maybe we didn’t need to worry,” the Renamon noted aloud. “She seems to have this well handled.”
A howl echoed through the air. After no response, it came again, closer this time and followed by a second howl. Scootaloo seemed to smell the air and whipped her head towards the Everfree. A pair of Timberwolves burst into the clearing. Scootaloo crouched low to the ground, backing away as she growled deep in her throat. Suddenly a brownish blur streaked out of the trees to her right, a third, much smaller Timberwolf shoulder-checked her and sent her hurtling into a tree. There was a loud thud as the filly slammed into the tree hard enough to crack the wood behind her. Scootaloo’s face twisted into a silent scream as she hit. Her body locked up as she fell to the ground at the base of the tree. Her wings and hooves twitched spastically as she lay there.
Dustin let out a growl as he felt his temper get the better of him. “So, you think you can hurt fillies on my watch?” he snarled. “I’m not going to let you do this. No more. You’re not hurting any of these fillies anymore! I’ll give you a reason to fear us!”
“Go get ‘em Dustin!” Sweetie cried as she pushed herself out of his grip and leapt to the ground.
Dustin leapt forward, crossing the distance faster than he thought possible. One moment he was holding Sweetie, the next he was lashing a kicking into the small Timberwolf’s head. It shattered in a spray of woodin chips, causing the entire thing to crumble.
Before the others could react, he moved again. He felt the wind of his movement after he skidded to a halt in front of the wolf of the left. A fist lashed out at the wolf, uppercutting its jaw and sending its head snapping back. Mid-reel the wolf broke apart in a spray of wood and fungi bits. He whipped his head towards the last wolf and simply pointed. Blue-white energy wreathed the still falling pieces of the timberwolf, which proceeded to freeze mid-air. Like some unholy spectral shotgun, the energy wrapped shards shot around Dustin and quite literally tore the remaining Timberwolf in half. The Timberwolf disintegrated into little more than splinters as the energy around his weaponised shards faded away.
Dustin blinked. That’d barely took anything out of him. Apparently this body came with more instincts than he thought, awakened thanks to all that training. Maybe he should have read up on what a Renamon could do before he became one.
“Holy Shit!” Came Sweetie’s somewhat stunned blurt. Turning, Dustin saw the filly was helping a shaky Scootaloo to her hooves. Dustin wasn’t noticing the greenish haze wrapping around the wooden shards littering the area.
“No…” Scootaloo tried to wheeze out through half paralyzed lungs. “Not done…”
The fox blinked a few times, wondering what she could mean, before he saw a splinter of wood wrapped in green shoot past him. He turned to see… “Oh give me a fuckin’ break already!”
A Timberwolf easily double his size towered over him. The reeking scent of rot left its jaws. At his exclamation a paw only a little smaller than a pony smashed into the unfortunate fox, sending him sailing into a tree with a resounding thud and a shower of leaves.
Dustin got up, shaking his head to clear the ringing out of it. Okay, that had hurt. But he wasn’t going to be idle while this thing was here. If he could solo a warchief, he could take this giant Timberwolf down. Because if he didn’t, Rarity and Guilmon would kill him.
“I’m not...done yet,” the fox said, getting between the wolf and the fillies, striking a battle pose. “I’m not that easily beaten. And I’m not going to let you hurt them! I don’t care what it takes to beat you, I’m going to make sure you never hurt them again!”
A brief flash of light from within Sweetie Belle’s saddlebags caught his eye. Only for his whole vision to be consumed by the very same light.
Dustin blinked. Something was off here. Both the Timberwolf and the fillies looked stunned.
...Why was he on all fours? Had something happened?
“D-Dustin?!” Sweetie shrieked with an audible voice crack. “You- You Digivolved!”
The fox looked himself over. “When the fuck did I become a Ninetales?” he asked incredulously. “I mean seriously, that amount of tail is excessive.”
The Timberwolf appeared to shake away its shock. With a low growl the wolf looked ready to pounce. Taking the hint, Dustin yelped and leapt of of the way. Thanks to a new set of instincts (or the Magic of Digimon Bullshit) he managed to keep on all fours with little difficulty. His timing appeared to be perfect as the Timberwolf slammed into the tree he’d slammed into moments ago. Shaking itself the wolf turned back towards the fox and let loose another deep growl.
Something twinged in the back of Dustin’s mind. His eyes narrowed and he felt his tails fan out behind him. The sense grew stronger as he widened his stance. Lowering his front end closer to the ground, he tried to make himself a bigger target for the wolf, as well as a shield for the fillies. A phrase popped into his head as a warmth grew on the tip of each tail.
“I don’t want to set the world on fiiiire~” he sang in a melodic voice as the fires on his tails grew. “I just want to set a fire in your heart.” A wicked grin split his face. “Fox Tail Inferno!”
Dozens of bright blue baseball-sized fireballs bearing creepy grinning faces, shot across the clearing. As if the flames themselves had heard his song, every single one impacted the Timberwolf’s chest. The Timberwolf lit up like a kerosene drenched bonfire, and exploded with much the same effect. The shockwave alone made the nine-tailed fox skid back a foot or two.
Dustin blinked as bits of charred wood rained down into the smoky clearing.
“I…. Honestly didn’t expect that….” Sweetie spoke up sounding more than a little stunned.
“To be fair, neither did I,” Dustin replied, shaking his head a bit. “I’m just lucky each body comes with a new set of instructions, so I don’t have to think about it.”
“Lucky you.” Groaned Scootaloo. Dustin heard a few audible pops and a sigh of relief. “That’th better.” Scootaloo said after a slow breath out. “I don’t think I’m up for a cut through the woodth now, could I trouble you for a ride?”
“Sure thing,” Dustin said, crouching so they could get on board. “I’m eager to see what the new body can do anyways.”
“I don’t know how long it’s supposed to last.” Sweetie commented, trotting around the fox with a discerning eye. “I don’t think you used up all your Digivolution energy in the slightest, so you may stay quadrupedal for awhile.”
“As long as I don’t think about it, I should be fine,” Dustin commented as he felt Scootaloo climb on board. “Come on, let’s get the both of you home safely.”
“Hey, Thweetie,” he heard Scootaloo speak up as he made his way back towards the road, “I’d thay that wath mithon accomplithed, you got him to Digivolve.”
“Shhhhhhhttt!” Sweetie hissed.
Dustin’s brow furrowed. “What was that?” he asked. “I could have sworn you said something about a mission and me digivolving.”
“Nope!” Sweetie yelped defensively. “No, we’re fine! You didn’t hear anything!”