//------------------------------// // (1): The punishment and the weird mare. // Story: My Little Digi-Cat // by Lucky Star Kona-chan //------------------------------// While Rinna and her new friends in Equestria exchanged hugs, tears, and farewells, Konata stepped away and called Tailmon over for a private talk. “What do you need, Konata-sama?” Tailmon asked. “Tailmon,” Konata took a deep breath before continuing, “as you know, we have forgiven you for trying to kill us and the mess that followed.” Konata said to the feline, earning a nod from her. “Well...last night, I was called to a small gathering with everyone involved in said mess.” “Okay…” Tailmon was unsure of where this was going. “After a long, long discussion, we decided that you will stay here and help both the ponies of Ponyville and the Element Bearers with whatever it is they might need help with until we come back in two months time,” Konata explained, biting her lip as she waited for the response. Tailmon just blinked a few times, staring at nothing, before a flick of her ears signaled the return of her voice. “Did you just said I have to stay here? Like, right here, in this town full of dumb multicolored horses – which I hate a lot by the way – for two months” she stared at Konata long and hard before letting out a laugh, “Good joke.” But Konata wasn’t laughing with her. “It’s not a joke, Tailmon,” she told the white feline, who immediately fell silent again at Konata's tone, “everyone agreed to this, even Rinna. You hurt a lot of ponies, even if we all forgave you, that doesn’t mean you can just leave it in the past with no repercussions.” “So you're leaving me? And here of all places? Can’t I receive a punishment in Álfheimr?” Tailmon argued. “Sorry, Tailmon, but this was a unanimous decision,” Konata shook her head with a sigh, “we came to the conclusion that this was the only way for you to pay for your actions. I’m sorry, but that’s how it is.” “...You know I can’t stand these horses, right? If I stay here, I’ll probably beat them up again,” Tailmon said, almost threateningly in an attempt to convince Konata of letting her go back home with them. Konata let out another sigh, which gave Tailmon a little hope... “You can't threaten your way out of this, Tailmon.” ….well, shit. “Why!?” Tailmon didn't sound or act desperate often, almost never, but she was verging on it right this moment, “at least tell me why! There is something else, isn’t there? If that’s the case, then I at least deserve to know why I’m not allowed to go back.” “Because, the moment you cross that portal, you’ll be locked down and probably never let out,” Konata's words shut Tailmon up fast, “it took hours, but we finally reached an agreement with Mom and she said that, as she put it, 'if you can stay here and help those you hurt for two months time, you’ll be forgiven for helping someone who almost murdered her daughter and be free to continue your previous life.'” Silence. “She’s going to hold a grudge, isn’t she?” “Yep.” A loud, kitty sigh. “I guessed as much.” A softer, pony sigh. “Not surprised, huh?” “That woman and I never had the best relationship.” “Well, it surely didn’t help that you stole from her secret stash of candy from time to time. Then again, it’s not much of a secret when everyone knows about it.” Both of them shared a laugh at that, being a little more relaxed now than when the conversation first started. Not that she relished the thought, but after that explanation, Tailmon fell into some kind of loose acceptance of what was just imposed upon her. Not like arguing the case further would get her anywhere... “So, I have to stay here and help around a little, right? There’s no catch to it, like making.... F-friends…with ponies, right?” she shivered a little at the thought. “Nope, she just wants you to help around and not cause trouble.” “I’ll offer help, but I can’t promise that there’ll be no problems between me and the ponies.” Relieved that her face wasn't clawed bloody, Konata just shrugged, “Good enough, I guess.” Then Tailmon realized something, “How are they going to know if I’m doing what they think I’m doing instead of fooling around?” “Oh, Mom will have someone watching you.” “Joy,” Tailmon groaned. “Yes, I know, it's annoying, but don’t let it get to you,” Konata offered the digital cat a soft pat on the shoulder, “just relax here for a time and you’ll be good to go. It’s not that hard.” “Speak for yourself,” Tailmon grumped, “I hate this place, remember?” Konata sighed, tiredly, “You can come and say good bye to Rinna, if you want. Speak to Twilight for more details on your duties.” Tailmon stared at her, “Who?” “Twi-” Realizing that they'd get nowhere doing it her way, Konata facehoofed, “...Purple.” “Then say Purple.” “They have names, Tailmon.” “Yeah, well, I don’t care.” Konata groaned and went with the rest to go back home, Tailmon following close behind with an amused grin on her face. Tailmon waved goodbye to the only person she actually cared about one last time, a legitimate smile on her face. She was tempted to cross the portal, to hell with any punishment that may be waiting for her, but ultimately decided against it. If she was going to go back to protect Rinna, she had to follow the rules, at least this time. Soon, the glow of the portal faded away into nothing and only an empty platform stood in its place. For a moment, no one spoke or moved. The Bearers didn’t know how to tackle the situation now presenting itself before them: for the first time they were alone in the same place with Tailmon, the one being that single-handedly beat all of them. Sure, her punishment had been decided, but that didn't erase the memories of the brutality the white cat had unleashed upon them. Finally, Twilight opened her mouth to break the silence- “Stop beating the bush and tell me what I have to do already,” Tailmon beat her to it, voice dry, scaring Fluttershy. Both Rainbow and Applejack frowned at the cat: they weren’t convinced that Tailmon would behave herself and had both agreed to watch her like a hawk for her entire stay. Rarity had simply left the moment Rinna and the others went home; she didn’t want to have anything to do with something related to Tailmon. Pinkie had remained, but was dead silent, not looking at anypony as she fidgeted behind Princesses Celestia and Luna, both of whom were standing straight and stern. “Please, Tailmon, be reasonable,” Twilight spoke in a tone that bordered on begging, “we're all as uncomfortable as you are right now.” “Sure, you are,” the white cat drawled, eyes narrowed, “but I don’t care. Just tell me the details and stop wasting my time.” “Hey, what’s your deal?” Rainbow snapped, eyes narrowing right back, “we helped you, so you owe us!” “Rainbow’s right,” shaking her head, Applejack glared at Tailmon, “ya’ seem ta not have learned yer’ lesson yet.” “I may be remembering wrong, but you actually didn’t do anything for me,” Tailmon growled out, “all of you clearly refused to help me, and it was Konata-sama who convinced me to even accept the aid of those two.” Tailmon pointed at Celestia and Luna, both staring back at her with neutral expressions. If Tailmon was supposed to be intimidated, she wasn't, and so continued uninterrupted. “And what lesson, Orange? Did you think that after I got defeated, I had some kind of epiphany and now we could all be besties?” Tailmon's ears canted back as her tail lashed in irritation, “Let me make something perfectly clear: I hate all of you and I only accepted this because is my only option to go back to an almost normal life. I will not eat your face when you sleep or whatever, but I’ll beat you up if you annoy me.” Rainbow had a challenging look, “Oh yeah? I’d like to see you try.” A menacing grin spread across Tailmon's face, a sight that made Rainbow lose some of her bravado. “Do you want me to break your other wing, Blue? ” she asked, slowly advancing towards Rainbow. Rainbow tried to hold it together, but the memories were still fresh and, as angry as she was, she really didn't want to feel that sort of pain again anytime soon. Fluttershy cowered further behind Applejack as even Twilight started to fidget with every step the cat took. “What’s wrong? Are you scared?” Tailmon's grin melted into a soft expression, “Oh, you poor little things, let your friendly neighbor Tailmon, make you feel… better.” She said the last word with a dark voice and a wild expression. Just before Tailmon closed in on the Bearers, Celestia extended a wing to block her path, “I think that is enough, Tailmon.” Tailmon clicked her tongue before returning to a bored expression, “Killjoy.” “That was a joke?!” Rainbow's anger flared back to full-strength when she caught on to what happened, “are you crazy?!” “ENOUGH!” Luna shouted in the Royal Canterlot Voice, leaving the five Bearers and one digital cat with ringing ears. “Thank you, Luna,” Celestia told to her sister getting a nod from her, “My Little Ponies, I know it’s an awkward situation to be in, but please stop antagonizing Tailmon.” Tailmon rolled her eyes as Celestia turned to her. “As for your task, Tailmon, you’ll be checking the bulletin board at Town Hall and take any request that you choose.” Tailmon was distrustful as always, “Is that all?” Celestia’s poker face held strong, “For the moment, that will suffice. Asking you for anything more right now would prove counterproductive.” “At least you have the common sense to notice it, Alabaster,” Tailmon quipped, sarcastically, before walking off in the direction of the town. When she was out of sight, Celestia turned to Twilight, “Are you alright, Twilight?” With the digi-cat gone, Twilight recomposed herself. “Yes, thank you Princess,” Twilight tried to smile, but all she could muster was a shudder, “but I’m still worried about Tailmon; I don’t think she wants to change for the better.” “Just give her time, Twilight,” Celestia reassured her most faithful student and, by extension, the other Bearers, “many foes of the past have proven to be redeemable. Tailmon just needs to find the right pony willing to reach out to her.” You are now Tailmon, a Champion Level cat Digimon, and you are grumpy. You went to Town Hall to check the supposed jobs that you could be doing to start this… redemption...thing... That you need to finish in order to go back home with the people you actually care about. But, unfortunately, there were none. When you were closing the distance between yourself and the bulletin board, anything stuck to it was taken down by what you suppose was some sort of political head honcho. You could have gone inside, beat her up, and taken the stuff you needed, but honestly? You weren’t in the mood, and you probably would get in trouble for doing that the first day. Maybe you could wait a couple of days and then beat up the first annoying horse you find. Yes, that sounds like a plan. You look at the sky and let out a sigh, already bored out of your mind with the prospect of a wasted day, ready to march towards the Everfree and just wait for tomorrow. But destiny had other plans for you.... … in the form of the gray Pegasus that decided to crash into you while you weren't looking. “Ow, that hurt sooooo much,” You say with such sarcasm, Geoffrey Butler would be put to shame. The mare on top of you didn’t move though, sprawled out like a ragdoll in such a way that you wondered if she was dead- (Hi guys Tailmon here, you’re probably wondering how did I know it was a mare? Well, let just say that I saw things that I can't unsee. Stupid horses...) -maybe you could eat this one for dinner if that was the case? Surely no one would complain. The food chain, right? “Hey,” You poke at the winged horse's head with a claw, “are you dead?” “Ouchie, that was a bad one,” the gray mare spoke, sounding very woozy and very alive. So much for dinner. “Damn it.” With that, you push her off you, which got an audible ‘oof’ out of her as she landed on her back. You dust yourself, and saw the mare still on her back, but this time she was....sniffling? She wasn't crying, was she? You don't have the time for this now and start to walk in the direction of the forest, where there was lots of meat to hunt. “I’m sorry.” Your ear flicked at that almost inaudible sound. Facing the mare again, you see her now right-side up and staring at you with tears gathering in her golden eyes, “What?” “I’m sorry for crashing into you.” “I don’t care,” You shrug, trying not to focus on the fact that the mare's eyes were...strange. Horse eyes weren't supposed to look that way, right? “I've had enough of you horses today. Punishment or no punishment, I am done!” The mare lowered her head to the ground again and covered her head with her hooves, letting out a high-pitched mantra of, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” You roll your eyes: these horses are so emotional, it’s disgusting. “Hey.” “I’m sorry!” “Hey!” “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” A vein pops up on your forehead: you really don’t have the time for this right now. You walked up to the mare and un-dug her head from her hooves and forced yourself to stare her dead in the mismatched eye. “Shut. Up,” You hiss, “you’re annoying me. Why are you even crying, anyway?” One horse blink. Two horse blink.“I flew into you.” “Yeah, about that, what the hell?” “It was an accident,” the weird-eyed mare hastily explained, “I was trying to get to town hall and then I did a bad turn and the sun hit me in the eyes and I couldn’t see and then I lost control and then I crashed on you!” By the time she finished her ramble, the weird mare lost the tears and instead gained a victorious smile. “Yay, I got it right!” “Huh?” “What happened. I remembered it all correctly!” the weird mare threw a hoof to the air victoriously, pulling herself out of your paws in the process. You facepaw. “Goddess, please give me the strength to tolerate these idiots...” You mumbled under your breath. “Oh, I've never seen your before, so you must be new,” the weird mare's smile got bigger, “I’m Derpy Hooves! Who are you?” Your eye twitches some: did this horse have short term memory or something? Now that you think about it, maybe she has some kind of situation going on, what with her weird eyes. You take a deep breath to cool down before lifting up two claws. “Two things. One: I don’t care and Two: my name should be public knowledge by now, just ask one of these losers watching us.” You extended your arms to the sides while looking around, showing her a large group of ponies tentatively listening in on their conversation. “Surely one of them can tell you the whole story.” “That’s not nice, and why would your name be public knowledge? Did you do something?” 'Derpy' asked, innocently. You might as well tell her. Maybe she'll stop pestering you. “I beat up your Princesses and a bunch of guards over a week ago.” You get an incredulous look in response.... Well, you think it's an incredulous look, anyway. “No way,” Derpy objected, “you’re too fluffy and cute to do something like that!” Well, you didn’t expect that answer at all. Before you realize it, you start laughing. “What’s so funny?” Derpy tilted her head to the side with a small smile. “You’re quite ignorant, but I appreciate the compliment nonetheless,” That’s when the wind blows a piece of paper into your face and, in light of the unexpected good spirits, you peel it off to look it over, “Hey, you said you were on your way to put up a request, right?” “Yep!” “Is this it?” Tailmon turned over the paper so that the Pegasus could read it. All it took was a quick glance and another “Yep!” to confirm it. “Why do you need help in your house?” You ask. “Because I have some... problems,” Derpy's uneven eyes darted in different directions, “I’m very clumsy because I can't see very well, so I need somepony to help me get around and not break everything. A couple ponies accepted before and they were both nice at first....” Derpy eyes stopped darting about, a frown replacing her smile, “But the more I messed up, the angrier they got and one of them started being mean to me, called me 'stupid'. They both went away and didn’t come back.” Okay… this was going in a direction you didn’t like, “Did you talk with the horses in Town Hall about it? ” “I did,” Derpy nodded, but she didn't look any happier, “that's how I met the two ponies who helped me at first, but they didn’t do it anymore after, so I had the idea of sticking a request on the bulletin board.” Her eyes lit up again, hopeful. “I thought that, maybe, somepony would be interested, you know? It’s a good idea right?” She looked at you like she was expecting an answer. “I suppose it is,” You said, not really believing it, “look, I have to go now, so…” “Oh… that’s okay, I don’t want to ruin somepony’s day again,” Derpy nodded and took her request in her mouth, “thank you for listening, kitty.” You stand there, watching the gray mare turn to go to Town Hall, blinking a few times. That was interesting. Annoying yes, but interesting. Heh, you even laughed. How long had it been since you did that? Shaking your head, you turn to go- “Wait!” Derpy’s voice called out, followed by the sound of galloping hooves. You stop, but didn’t turn around, “Do you need something?” “Um… Can you…” Derpy said with a hesitant, downright shaky voice, “can you help me?” You say nothing for a few seconds before heaving a sigh. “I thought I made clear that I was bad, but you probably don’t believe me,” Turning around, you look Derpy in the eye again, “look, I’m really not the kind of person who can help you. I have no patience and hate being annoyed.” “That’s not true!” Derpy shook her head, a smile reappearing on her face, “You’re nice! You were grumpy before, but that was because I crashed on you! I would be grumpy too if somepony crashed onto me, but then you tried to cheer me up. Somepony rude wouldn’t do that. They would just walk away, but you stayed and actually listened to me, talked to me.” Wow, she really believes you’re not someone who could easily kill her with one swipe. Hmm, maybe you could give this a try. After all, you're supposed to do odd jobs around town and the idiots at Town Hall don’t want you even looking at said jobs, so you may as well take this one and see how it goes. If it goes wrong, you could just leave without a word. “Are you sure you want me to help you?” A spark of hope appeared on her misaligned eyes, “Yes. Will you?” “No,” You couldn’t help yourself. As on cue you saw Derpy’s mood souring, “Oh…” “Just joking, just joking,” You wave a paw at her dismissively, smirking, “I accept your request, Gray.” Hope appeared again, but there was a glint of suspicion, “Really?” You nodded and she smiled, brightly. “My name is Derpy though,” she pointed out. “Does it annoy you if I call you Gray?” She nodded. “Gray it is then,” You said with another smirk. She glared at you with poofed cheeks, which looks so funny on a horse, you can't help but laugh again. Wow, two good laughs in one day... “I told you I was a mean spirited creature, now you have to deal with it,” You tease, flicking your tail from side to side, “lead the way Gray.” “Okay, Kitty,” Derpy said in a way that was likely supposed to be teasing. Cute. “Oh~ you flatter me, Gray, but I’m used to it. Nice try though.” She poofed her cheeks at you again and, with a ‘hmph’, she turned and lead you to her house. “Tailmon has made contact with one of the locals and it appeared to be a pleasant interaction at the end.” Hidden in the shadows of an alleyway, a shady figure wrote her spoken thoughts down in a notebook, the only thing visible under her cloak being the three-fingered paw holding the quill. A paw covered by a dark purple sleeve with a yin-yang drawn on the back. Finishing her entry, she then closed the notebook and disappeared without leaving a trace.