//------------------------------// // Chapter 37: The Spark of Something New // Story: BlackWarGreymon: Warrior of Harmony // by I-C-U-P //------------------------------// Early morning had arrived at the Crystal Empire, and all the excitement from yesterdays events had died down. Despite the appearance of the Shadow Legion and the ferocity of King Sombra’s attacks, the empire received minimal damage. Aside from a few craters on the roads. But it was nothing compared to the damage that was done far outside the empire. Scorch marks and massive craters from BlackWarGreymon’s attacks had turned the once snowy field into a battlefield. Though he only did it to fight off the legion, just the thought of the being with the power of an army was very intimidating. At the castle, Princess Luna looked out of her window to see the scorched landscape. The only pony out of the visiting group who was awake. ‘Wow. If BlackWarGreymon did this against an army of shadow ponies, imagine the damage if he was against someone else like him.’ Luna then chuckled to herself. ‘Like that’s ever going to happen.’ The Alicorn then brought her attention back in mind. The only reason she was awake was because when she attempted to visit BlackWarGreymon’s dreams, the door to his mind was gone. Meaning that by the time she’d arrived, the Digimon was already awake. She was then awoken by sounds from downstairs. Knowing that it was BlackWarGreymon and the direction to where the noises were coming from meant only one thing. ‘He’s back in the gym training? Isn’t it a bit too early? And shouldn’t he be resting?’ She asked herself, remembering how exhausted he was from trying to reach his Ascended form. Luna knew how much BlackWarGreymon hated not reaching his goals. He seemed hurt from not reaching his heightened form where as before he’d done it so easily. Luna felt bad for him. She then thought that if the Digimon keeps pushing himself too far, he could end up hurting himself. “I’m going to go and check up on him.” After leaving her room, the blue princess proceeded in the direction of the gymnasium. As she walked, she realised a fact that just dawned upon her. By showing concern for BlackWarGreymon, even if it was nothing, it showed that she really cared for him. Thus, proving that Princess Cadence might be right all the long. As well as a small blush in her cheeks, Luna could feel her heart growing ever warmer from the possible fact that… she really did have feelings for him. Then she remembered what Cadence said. ‘The real question is Luna, does he feel the same way about you?’ The question kept echoing in her mind the moment she first heard it. Maybe, she could get her chance to find out. As she neared the entrance to the gym, Luna could hear BlackWarGreymon grunting every few seconds. Meaning that he was lifting something heavy. After peeking through the open door, she was stunned at what she saw. BlackWarGreymon was using a large barbell set that was specially built for any large visitors that the empire might had anticipated. Probably for any strong yacks from Yakyakistan. The Digimon was lying on the bench face up, and despite wearing his clawed gauntlets, he had a firm grip on the barbell. What was very impressive was the amount of weights BlackWarGreymon was lifting. Each end of the bar was filled to the tips with the largest weights the empire had. And yet, the black armoured warrior was having no problem lifting them up and down. The onlooking Luna was impressed and amazed. The very bar of the barbell itself looked as though it was bent from the excessive weight. But it was not the amount of weight that's got all of Luna’s attention, it was BlackWarGreymon’s arms. From lifting such a large amount of weight, the Digimon’s tensed biceps were fully shown at their max. Even though his body was made of data, his arms even showed that they had veins in them. Luna was speechless. She had no idea how muscular BlackWarGreymon’s arms could be. She then felt her face heating up from a deep blush as her heart raced. ‘Oh wow.’ While oblivious of her blush, she could hear her friend counting as he lifted the barbell. “Nine hundred and ninety-eight. Nine hundred and ninety-nine. One thousand!” After his thousandth bench press, BlackWarGreymon rested the barbell back on its stand and took a moment to lie down and relax his buffed-up arms. It would’ve been easier if he took off his Dramon Destroyers before he started to reduce the weight. But he felt like leaving them on would help him get stronger. Luna felt slightly awkward. She came by to check up on him and it turned out that he was coping fine. He must be exercising to take his mind off his failures at reaching his Ascended form. But from seeing his display of strength, she couldn’t take her eyes off him. She felt that she should leave him alone to continue, but one of the reasons she even wanted to go to the Crystal Empire was to spend more time with him. She then formed an idea, to both spend time with him and gain more training. Taking in a deep breath, she walked in and greeted BlackWarGreymon. “Mm… good morning.” Hearing Luna’s sudden voice made the Digimon jolt in surprise. He then turned his head and saw the face of the blue Alicorn. “Oh…hello Luna.” Though hesitant at first, Luna slowly spoke up. “Um…BlackWarGreymon…can…can I ask you for a favour?” Unsure of what the princess had in mind, the Digimon allowed her to answer. “Sure. What is it?” “Well… it’s something I had on my mind. Ever since you said that we need more training and all.” “Well?” Luna felt nervous, unsure if the warrior was too busy with his own training to go through with what she wanted to ask. But she asked anyway. “Well…I… I would like you to train me. Please?” BlackWarGreymon was confused by Luna’s request. Upon seeing her in action against the Changelings, he thought that she was more than prepared to fight. After rising up from his bench, the dragon warrior became intrigued. “You…want me to train you?” Luna tried to explain herself. “I know it’s a rather unusual request. Especially since I had my own share of battles. But…I like to be prepared for when the real fight comes. Or to face against a foe much bigger and stronger then myself. Also, I would like to know how you use your signature ability. Because to me, a concentrated ball of energy seems more powerful than a continues beam.” BlackWarGreymon perfectly understood what Luna meant by. True, what she said was correct on the last part, but it only depended on the amount of power within an energy ball. Then the Digimon gave his opinion. “It’s not really that hard. All you have to do is instead of releasing your energy in a continues flow, just focus it all on one spot and build it up. I’ve seen Twilight done it. Maybe she could help yo…” Knowing exactly what BlackWarGreymon was about to say, Luna objected before he could finish. “No! I…I just want you to train me. I want you to see how much stronger I’ve become.” The Mega was surprised that Luna only wanted him to help her. But at the same time, he felt glad that she chose him. Because he would get to spend more time with the blue Alicorn. After standing up from his bench, he gave his honest answer. “Ok Luna. I’ll train you.” Luna smiled with glee, finally getting the chance she had been waiting for. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………... After a short time later, Luna felt that she and BlackWarGreymon shouldn’t be disturbed by prying eyes. Using her magic to create a sign, she then placed it on the outside of the gym entrance. If she used a barrier of a seal on the door, others might find it suspicious. Sometimes the simplest way was the best way. The sign read ‘Private lessons in session. Do not enter.’ BlackWarGreymon was unsure why Luna went through the trouble with the sign, but he didn’t question her. Maybe she was more comfortable of learning without being watched. The Digimon stood next to the Alicorn. Both facing a target fifty foot away from them. “Now remember Luna, concentrate your magic on the tip of your horn. Once you could feel the energy gathering, keep building up that energy and form it into a sphere. Then once you’re ready, fire it at the target,” BlackWarGreymon explained, admittingly surprised that despite Luna’s long life, she had never done an energy ball attack before. Luna herself was a little ashamed of herself for not learning the attack long before. “Ok,” The princess said, understanding BlackWarGreymon’s teachings. Luna closed her eyes and began to focus. Feeling the magical lunar energy flowing through her body. She concentrated a portion of it towards her horn. As her horn glowed white, a ball of magic formed at its tip. It was then Luna tried something different. Instead of releasing the energy, she contained it as more magic poured in. The energy orb slowly grew, revealing a navy blue colour with a white core. “That’s it, Luna. You got it,” BlackWarGreymon said, encouraging her to continue. Luna started to feel the strain. Truth be told she had never powered up her own attack so much before. As the orb grew to the same size as herself, the Alicorn felt ready. After rearing her head back, she threw her head down and fired the magical orb. Luna looked on in glee as she and BlackWarGreymon watched the blue orb speeding across the room. “I…I did it!” However, Luna’s celebration was premature. As the attack only reached half way towards its target, the sphere collapsed and fell apart mid-air. All the magical energy depleting into nothing. While BlackWarGreymon was mildly surprised, Luna was in shock of her failed attack. As well as a little frustrated. “Wha…What happened!? What went wrong!?” BlackWarGreymon then explained to the shocked Alicorn of what happened. “Your execution was perfect. But you didn’t focus on containing the energy within the ball.” “Ok, I’ll try again,” Luna said, understanding what went wrong. After charging up for a second attempt, her magical sphere grew to the same size as the one before. But instead of firing it straight away, she focused on manipulating the flow of magic more within the blue sphere. Once she was ready, the princess fired it towards her target. As the two watched the energy ball hurtling across the room, they noticed that portions of energy were escaping the sphere. It looked like electricity, crackling around and from the blue orb. They also noticed that it lasted much longer than the first orb. It flew all the way towards the target. Unfortunately, the orb flew past the target. Completely missing it before exploding against the far wall. Luna then looked over to BlackWarGreymon for his opinion. “Much better. But you may need to work on your aim.” After blushing from embarrassment, Luna asked him something regarding her second attempt. “BlackWarGreymon, why was that orb… releasing energy like that?” Knowing what the problem was, the tall Digimon answered. “That is what is known as an ‘imperfect sphere’. When an energy orb isn’t fully concentrated, energy does happen to leak out of it. The problem with that is that the overall attack would become weaker. It takes time to master. And once you’re able to create a ‘perfect sphere’, the attack would be far more powerful.” Luna then smirked at the Mega as she looked at him. “That wasn’t a problem for you, you already mastered it on your first go.” After the two shared a chuckle, Luna went back to training. “Ok, I must keep practicing.” ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. As time went on, Princess Luna kept on testing out her energy ball attack. Like BlackWarGreymon said before, her execution of the attack was spot on. She was having no problem of launching her attacks. As a plus, each time she summoned up an orb, the more perfect it became. Each new one becoming more powerful then the last. The only problem she was facing was her aim. She previously figured that since the attack itself was fairly large, the attack would hit her target regardless if it was aimed properly or not. However, she was wrong. All her orbs had missed their mark, all landing on either side of the target. By the end of her twelfth shot, Luna huffed in exhaustion. She was not used to releasing so much magic. She looked on in annoyance at the target. The only damage she had done was several smoking craters around the target, which itself took no damage at all. “Why? Why can’t I hit it?” The Alicorn asked while taking in deep breaths. After a moment of thought, BlackWarGreymon thought of an idea. “Maybe it’s because you’re facing the wrong type of target.” “What do you mea…?” Luna stopped mid-sentence when BlackWarGreymon walked past her. Wondering what he had in mind. After distancing himself by twenty-five feet, the Digimon turned to face her…with an unusual request. “I’ll be your target.” Luna was shocked at what the Digimon said. Does he really want to be on the receiving end of her attacks? “What!? Are…are you sure about that?” She asked, unsure if it was the best idea. BlackWarGreymon spoke back in reassurance. “Don’t worry, Luna. Remember, I took a full blast from Celestia. So I’m sure I can handle your attacks. So I want you to hit me as hard as you can.” He then raised his arms slightly to his sides, showing that he was prepared to take the hit. “Besides, this way, I’ll get to feel how strong your attacks really are.” Luna was amazed at what he said. His voice showed that he had complete trust in her. And was perfectly willing to be attacked by her just to test her strength. Though hesitant at first, Luna remembered how tough BlackWarGreymon’s body was. If he was willing to take a blow full force from her, then he knew that it wouldn’t do any great harm to him. With her trust in him reassured, Luna again formed a blue energy ball on her horn. Wanting to see how big of an impact it would do to BlackWarGreymon, Luna charged up her horn with magic even more. Causing the sphere to double in size. Though not a ‘perfect’ sphere, it was somewhat ‘semi-perfect’. Not much energy was escaping as was before. Feeling confident, Luna then fired the energy ball twice her size at BlackWarGreymon. Then to her amazement and her shock, it scored a direct hit! The blue sphere slammed against BlackWarGreymon’s Chrome Digizoid chest, causing it to explode on impact. Luna stared on in disbelief at the newly formed cloud of magical smoke, worried if she actually managed to hurt her friend. Soon the Alicorn didn’t even know why she was so surprised. Because as the cloud faded, predictably, BlackWarGreymon remained standing. Unharmed with a patch of smoke seeping from his chest. “Same as before, it didn’t had effect on you,” Luna said, it should’ve been obvious to her that her attacks couldn’t hurt BlackWarGreymon. But what the digital warrior said was opposite of what Luna had thought. In fact, it shocked her to the core. “Actually Luna, that attack did had an effect on me.” He continued as he looked down by his feet. “It may be too small to see, but you actually forced me back a couple of inches.” Luna’s eyes widened in astonishment. To her, what the Digimon said was so unbelievable, she couldn’t think of any words to say. Then BlackWarGreymon spoke again. “You may not look it, but you are incredibly powerful, Luna. In fact, more so then you realise. So don’t underestimate yourself.” Luna smiled warmly at how supportive BlackWarGreymon was. It warmed her heart to see how caring he was. “Don’t worry. I won’t.” ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. As Luna and BlackWarGreymon continued to train, elsewhere in the castle the remaining group woke up from their slumber. Because of where they were sleeping, they couldn’t feel the vibrations from the gymnasium. Princess Twilight felt groggy, as if she had woken up too early. Strange due to the fact that the sun was in the sky and it was mid-morning. The Princess of Friendship entered the dinning hall with breakfast by her side. Sitting at the crystal table, she took a bite out of her fried egg sandwich before sighing in tiredness. “Urrh… what a day yesterday.” She then felt a twinge in her left wing, due to the strain she’d felt from the previous events. “Oww. All that training really did a number on me. Maybe I should try out the crystal spa later.” “Morning Twilight.” Twilight flinched in surprise at the sudden voice. Turning around, the startled Alicorn smiled when it turned out to be Princess Cadence. “Oh. Hi Cadence.” Twilight said before being greeted by a loving hug as Cadence wrapped her wing around her. “So how’s my sister-in-law doing?” The pink Alicorn asked as she released her hug. “Well I’m still a bit tired, but I’m doing fine,” Twilight answered. “Probably from everything that happened yesterday,” Cadence said. Although knowing that it was true, she felt like making conversation. “Yeah. And when King Sombra took over BlackWarGreymon’s mind, that was actually scary.” Cadence then smiled at Twilight. Bringing up a subject she had in mind since she found out the truth. “You were afraid that he would turn back evil. Weren’t you?” Twilight flinched in response. True, what Cadence said was a fact, but the purple Alicorn was surprised at how calmly her sister-in-law was. Despite the truth about BlackWarGreymon being open. “Well…yeah. But why are you…?” Cadence chuckled in amusement, knowing what Twilight was trying to say. “Calm about it? While we were training yesterday, Luna told me all about it.” “Did she?” Twilight asked. “Yes. She had even shown me his past. The time before he came to Equestria.” Twilight suddenly felt uneasy when she heard her. “Oh…so…you’re ok with him? Even after knowing the truth?” She asked. “Of course I am. He’s our friend.” The older Alicorn said with a smile. As Twilight sighed in relief, Cadence asked her something that she had on her mind all morning. “Twilight, how did you first meet BlackWarGreymon to begin with?” Twilight happily answered the question. “Well it was on the day me and my friends were at the Everfree Clearing. The same time when Tirek came and attacked us.” Cadence felt a little shaken from the mention of the evil centaur. “Oh yes. I’ve heard about that. And…did the two actually fight?” To her surprise, Twilight’s horn glowed with magic. “How about I show you,” She suggested. Finding it easier then to explain every detail of the clash. Cadence nodded in acceptance and, like she did with Luna on the day before, pressed the tip of her horn onto Twilights. Sharing the memory in Twilight’s point of view, Cadence saw everything that happened on the day of BlackWarGreymon’s arrival. The Digimon appearing through the white portal in the sky, and Tirek attacking Twilight and her friends. Before the evil lord had his revenge, the black armoured warrior stood in his way. Followed by an epic fight that ended with BlackWarGreymon being victorious. Finally, the memory of when Twilight first spoke to the Digimon. Extending the magic of friendship onto him. And him accepting it. Cadence was truly amazed. It was the time when BlackWarGreymon was new to their world. He knew nothing about Equestria at all. And yet, he knew that Tirek was evil, and protected those that he deemed were innocent. She was left speechless when the flow of memories ended. Then Twilight spoke up. “Yeah. If I wasn’t there, I wouldn’t had believed that there was someone with power that could defeat Tirek without magic. And thanks to the magic of our world, BlackWarGreymon became even stronger since then.” “Wow.” It was all Cadence said. After hearing the rumours, she always wanted to see the moment of Tirek’s defeat by BlackWarGreymon’s claws. And finally, she got her wish. She then moved onto the next question she had. “Hay Twilight, I’m curious. How did he first meet Luna?” After taking another bite of her breakfast, Twilight answered the question carefree. “Oh…well you see at the time, Luna was taken by a giant dragon. And when we heard about it, BlackWarGreymon immediately acted and flew after her. I don’t know what happened but, in the end, he defeated the dragon and brought Luna back safely. I guess at that moment, they must’ve met at some point.” Cadence smiled after hearing Twilight out. Thinking that saving her life might had been how the Control Spire Digimon had won Luna’s affection. “Why the sudden interest?” The pink pony was snapped out of her trance when she heard Twilight’s voice. “Oh, it’s nothing. I was just curious.” Then she realised something. “Speaking of which, where is Luna anyway?” Twilight paused for a brief thought before answering. “Well…I did hear that she went to the gymnasium. But that was a little while ago.” Cadence then grew suspicious. It was not like Luna to go down to the gym so early in the morning. Unless…there was a reason why. “Thank you, Twilight. I’ll see if she’s there,” Cadence said before leaving Twilight to finish off her breakfast. As she walked, the pink Alicorn revealed a cheeky smile. ‘Luna. She sure knows how to make it obvious.’ …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Back in the gymnasium, BlackWarGreymon and Luna were about to do something different. Feeling that the princess was ready, the Digimon decided that another best way to see her true strength, was to see how she fairs against him. Luna was unsure of the idea at first. But sparring with BlackWarGreymon would improve her fighting skills if she would encounter a huge enemy. Knowing how powerful he was compared to the princess, the Artificial Digimon decided to mainly go on the defensive while she goes on the offensive. ‘Background music’ ‘Salvation by Skillet’ Standing on opposite ends of the large room, BlackWarGreymon and Luna stared at each other with amused glares. With the Digimon knowing that she would do her best and the Alicorn trusting on his own capabilities, the two were going to enjoy the match. “You’re ready for this?” Luna asked with a smile, showing complete faith in her friend. “Ladies first,” BlackWarGreymon responded while raising his claws up, ready to fight. Given the green light to go, Luna’s horn glowed. At her sides were four blue spears, formed of pure magic. Throwing her head down, she fired the levitating spears at the Digimon. As the pointed ends bared upon him, BlackWarGreymon ducked beneath the first spear. He then jumped to the side to avoid the second and third spears, narrowly hitting him. as his right arm was above the third spear, the Digimon slammed his gauntlet into it. Snapping the magical spear in half. As the forth spear neared his head, the warrior quickly reached around and grabbed the spear with his left hand. The tip of the spear just inches from his face. Within seconds, the blue spear faded away. Its magic expiring. Seeing how easily BlackWarGreymon handled her spears, Luna then formed several swords of the same magical energy. She then sent the flying swords towards the Digimon in a spiral pattern. After crossing his arms in front of him, the Mega swung his arms out and smacked the swords away. Shattering them with ease. Luna looked on as shards of blue magic fell beside her hooves. All the while smiling. She then glared at BlackWarGreymon as a large blue blade extended from her horn, reaching to a length almost as long as she was. “Close combat. This should be interesting,” BlackWarGreymon said as he raised his Dramon Destroyers. Then without warning, the two charged at each other. Blades at the ready. As she got closer and closer, Luna swung her head back and then back down. Attacking from her right. BlackWarGreymon immediately reacted by raising his left arm, blocking the attack. Within close quarters, the Alicorn lashed out with her magical blade. Attacking from all angles. The black Digimon reacted by dodging, ducking and blocking with his armoured arms. The blue blade flashed every time it made contact with Chrome Digizoid. After her attack was deflected by BlackWarGreymon’s right shin guard, Luna swung her blade straight up and then bared it down upon him. The Digimon raised his right arm above his head to counter the attack. As the saviour held in place, the princess pressed her blade down. Struggling with her strength to hold in place. Looking to her right, Luna noticed that BlackWarGreymon’s left arm was about to strike. He purposely delayed his move for Luna to spot it. Just as he was making his move, Luna quickly backed away with a flap of her wings. Gaining some distance from BlackWarGreymon. With her blade at the ready, the blue Alicorn leapt towards the Digimon’s face. But just as she got in close, she surprised him by teleporting away. He flinched in response, not expecting such a move. He then looked all around his surroundings to find Luna. Then without warning, a blue magical blade bashed on top of his three-horned head. Surprising him and stunning him in a flash of light. After landing a hit on BlackWarGreymon, the amused Luna flew backwards away from him. As she landed, the magical blade on her horn faded away. “Using a teleportation spell in a fight. Very clever.” The Digimon said to complement the princess. “Thanks. But I’m still not holding back,” Luna said as her horn glowed. As did her hooves. By channelling her magic into her hooves, the spell gave her ten times the amount of strength she had. Then as she charged, her energized hooves were causing loud thunderous steps. BlackWarGreymon could even feel the vibrations as she ran towards him. Knowing that it’s going to be another close quarter fight, the black Digimon braced himself as he let Luna launch the first blow. As she leapt up, the Alicorn threw her first punch. As BlackWarGreymon blocked with the back of his left gauntlet, he literally felt the force of the energized punch through his arm. Using her wings to stay airborne, Luna kept on throwing punch after punch. All the while BlackWarGreymon blocked them all with his metal gauntlets. As Luna pressed on, the Digimon had to take a few steps back. Then in a bizarre twist, Luna flew back down on the ground, twisted around and slammed her energized rear hooves into BlackWarGreymon’s armoured gut. The surprised Mega hunched over as a small portion of air left him from the blow. Despite it, he was proud of Luna. Amazed at how much of a fighter she was when she cuts loose. After her kick, Luna again gained some distance away from BlackWarGreymon. As she faced him, she released three blasts of magic from her horn. The Digimon then crossed his arms in defence. His armour deflecting the beams towards the ground. After clouds of dust from the three impacts formed around him, BlackWarGreymon charged through them and towards Luna. With Luna doing the same. As the Mega launched his left arm forward, Luna leapt towards him before teleporting out of harms way. Again, the Digimon was surprised. When it came to magic spells, the blue Alicorn knew what she was doing. As he looked around to find her the second time, Luna suddenly greeted him by reappearing in front of his face, forcefully landing on his head and then leapt off. In effect, she pushed him back slightly. Despite the complicated manoeuvre, the princess was enjoying herself. After landing away from him, Luna prepared her newly learned magical orb. Like before it was ‘imperfect’, but unlike before it grew three times her size. BlackWarGreymon turned around just in time to face the Alicorn. Ready to react when she attacks. It didn’t took long. Without hesitation, Luna fired her blue sphere attack at the Digimon. Hoping to land a hit or him letting the attack hit. But to her surprise, BlackWarGreymon backhanded the sphere away. Sending it crashing into the wall behind him. Luna was a little shocked. It was her biggest energy sphere yet, and BlackWarGreymon swatted it away like a beachball. Then the Digimon formed a Terra Destroyer sphere the size of Luna herself, and then threw it at the Alicorn. Luna leapt to the side to avoid the negative red sphere. After dodging it, Luna again launched another blue orb. Smaller then the first. By tilting his head left, BlackWarGreymon allowed Luna’s attack to fly past his face. Raising his left arm to the side, he then threw another small red orb at Luna. To which the Alicorn ducked to get out of its way. The two spent several more seconds throwing energy spheres at each other. Not one landing a solid hit since they were either dodging or blocking. Through it didn’t look like it at first, but both the Alicorn and the Digimon were enjoying themselves. After BlackWarGreymon deflected a small blue orb away, he decided to try something different. By bringing his claws close together in front of his chest, he formed a green energy ball. His War Blaster attack. Seeing her friends’ change of tactics, Luna thought of doing something different as well. Her horn glowing bright as she charged up her magic. Then as the Digimon fired one blast of green energy, Luna fired a large thunderbolt shaped beam of magic. The two attacks met at the centre. Luna could feel the strain from holding the attack back. after a few seconds of struggling, the War Blaster exploded. Causing Luna to stop her own attack. As the energy-filled cloud faded, BlackWarGreymon started to run. With Luna in hot pursuit. As the Alicorn flew above, she fired beams of magic at the sprinting Mega below. But as he ran, he dodged every shot Luna made. Even as he leapt on a wall, the princess kept on firing. But BlackWarGreymon jumped away to avoid the beams. Flying away and gaining altitude, the black armoured being turned around and faced the oncoming Luna. He noticed that she had a large blue sphere formed at the tip of her horn. Wanting to test its strength, he formed a small Terra Destroyer within his hands. Then at the same time, both Luna and BlackWarGreymon launched their attacks. The large magical blue orb closed the distance with the small negative red orb. Then the two spheres collided, releasing a purple clouded explosion that echoed throughout the room. As the cloud filled the air, only BlackWarGreymon emerged through it. Looking around to see where Luna flew off to. “Again cleaver. Using the cloud to hide your presence,” He said as he held still. After closing his eyes to clear his thoughts, he opened them again. But with an amused look. “Too bad that I can still sense your energy.” Soon after his speech, the Digimon immediately flew upwards. Narrowly dodging Luna as she came from behind with a kick. After her failed surprise attack, the Alicorn spun around in a form of a kick. But the Mega turned and countered it by raising his shin guard. With her hooves reenergized with magic, Luna again pressed on with her attacks. But BlackWarGreymon seemed to have anticipated her every move. Then as she threw both her front hooves out, he moved his left arm in front of his chest. Blocking the attacks. Then for a brief moment, Luna looked at BlackWarGreymon and smiled. The Digimon did the same, he too was amused. As the two broke contact, Luna flew higher to gain some distance. But BlackWarGreymon was giving chase, following her every move. In times when he gained on her, the Alicorn would quickly change direction to shake him off. But as she flew, he wasn’t far behind. They kept at it for several more seconds. If one could guess, the chase almost seemed like an aerial dance. Then as she turned around, Luna threw her last magically charged punch. But again, BlackWarGreymon blocked it. After their engagement, the two backed off and slowly descended back towards the ground. Keeping an eye on each other all the while. ‘Song end’ As the two landed, they took a moment to rest. “I’m impressed, Luna. You can really handle yourself in a fight. Plus, your attacks are improving,” BlackWarGreymon said. Luna had definitely lasted longer than the royal guards. “Thank you, BlackWarGreymon. And… I would like to try something else,” Luna said, forming an idea in her head. “What’s that?” The Mega asked. Wondering what the princess had in mind. Eager to test out her idea, Luna teleported to the far end of the gym and started to fly high off the ground. Almost reaching the ceiling. Then as she began to fly forward, BlackWarGreymon noticed that not only her horn was glowing, it was also leaving behind a trail of blue energy. Feeling confident that she could pull it off, the Alicorn started to spin in a spiral. The blue energy from her horn formed a spiral-like cocoon around her body as she flew. BlackWarGreymon recognized what Luna was doing. And it amazed him. “Trying to imitate my Black Tornado attack. Impressive.” Things were going well at first, but signs showed that the princess wasn’t used to spinning for a long period. “Wha…WHa…WHHAAAA!!!” She exclaimed as she started to lose control of her momentum. Rapidly changing directions from trying to regain control. “Don’t worry I got you!!” The concerned Digimon said as he rushed out to Luna. Intending to catch her. However, as the out-of-control Luna kept shifting directions, she ended up colliding into BlackWarGreymon’s chest. The surprised actions caused the Mega to lose his footing. Causing him to fall backwards with Luna. The two landed with a thud, then silent groaning followed. After rubbing her head from the bump she received, Luna slowly woke up. Only to stare back down with a developing blush on her face. She was at a loss for words, for she was lying down on top of BlackWarGreymon’s armoured chest. Then the Digimon himself woke back up and saw Luna. Unsure why she was staring at his chest like that. “Luna?” Hearing his voice snapped Luna back to attention. Looking at BlackWarGreymon in alarm. “O-Oh!! I’m so sorry, BlackWarGreymon!” Luna apologized as she started to squirm. “No, it’s ok. You couldn’t control it yet,” The Mega said as he lay still. Watching the Alicorn all the while. She could’ve just flew off his chest or teleport away. But the blue princess was so flustered she couldn’t think straight. She tried to climb off BlackWarGreymon, but her royal horseshoes couldn’t gain any grip on the Chrome Digizoid armour. But just as she finally stood up, her front hooves slipped. Causing her to slide forward slightly. Then Luna completely froze. By sliding forwards, she found herself staring right into BlackWarGreymon’s eyes. In shock at how close her face was to his. Literally by inches. BlackWarGreymon too was frozen as she stared up into Luna’s eyes. He had never seen her face so up close before. To him, her facial features were too fascinating to ignore. Then the two felt something. Something that they felt before every time they met. But unlike before, the feeling felt so much stronger. Through he couldn’t blush, BlackWarGreymon could feel his face heating up. Luna’s was the same, shown by how brightly red her cheeks were. As time paused around them, they couldn’t breathe normally as it felt like their hearts had just skipped a beat. The rush of emotions was all new to the quiet two. The emotions were so bright and loving, and warm and inviting. Luna had never felt anything like it with anyone, even with her own sister. And because BlackWarGreymon had rarely experienced positive emotions before, it left him stunned right down to his Digicore. As blue and yellow eyes continued to stare, only one thing was on their minds. ‘Her eyes. They burn with beauty.’ ‘His eyes. I could just stare forever.’ As their thoughts crossed their minds, they felt something else. A tiny faint glimmer in their eyes. A spark? A zing? Whatever it was, they felt it. Almost in sync with one another. Then they felt the urge. The same that they felt back at the Grand Galloping Gala. Luna’s eyes slowly closed until they were narrow, but still wide enough to see. She then slowly moved closer to BlackWarGreymon’s face. Her mouth slightly agape. The Digimon didn’t know what the urge was, but he felt like he should go with it. Feeling embraced by his new feelings, his eyes too slowly narrowed as he moved his head closer to Luna’s. The gap between the two grew shorter. By inches. By centimeters. Until… “Luna! BlackWarGreymon! Are you in here!?” The sudden voice that called out their names had snapped the two out of their moment. Looking towards the door, the Digimon and the Alicorn knew who the voice belonged to. “Cadence!” Realising their current situation, Luna instantly teleported off BlackWarGreymon’s chest and reappeared next to him. Trying to recompose himself, the Mega quickly got to his feet, moments before Cadence entered the gym. “Oh, there you are. Am I… interrupting something?” She asked with a raised eyebrow. Silently noticing the blush on Luna’s face. “N-No, you haven’t,” Luna said, her voice slightly shaky form the nerves. “In fact, we’re just finished,” BlackWarGreymon added. He didn’t know why, but he felt awkward of the situation since Cadence arrived. “I’ll just… leave you two alone,” He added as he walked past Cadence and out of the gym. First the pink Alicorn followed her gaze on the Digimon, noticing that he was acting rather strange. She then looked back at Luna with a growing smirk on her face. Just seeing that smile got the blue Alicorn nervous. Knowing that Cadence was going to bring back the subject. She rubbed her hooves together in uncertainty. As Cadence approached Luna, she spoke up. “You just couldn’t keep yourself away from him, couldn’t you?” “Cadence. I…It’s not what you think,” Luna objected. But the pink pony had proof of her theory. “Isn’t it? Then what’s the deal with that sign on the door. You clearly wanted to be alone with him. Weren’t you?” Luna blushed from realisation. How could she not realise that the sign was an obvious hint. “Oh…uhh… I just wanted to learn a new technique. And he was the one to help me master it.” “Why does that sound like an excuse?” Luna realised that Cadence was right. Though she did want to learn from BlackWarGreymon, it was mostly because of her desire to spend more time with him. Before they could continue, BlackWarGreymon came back to them. With the Mane Six and Spike joining him. Rainbow Dash was currently complaining to the Digimon. “Aww. Why are you giving private lessons and not invite me?” She moaned. Acting defiant ever since she saw the sign on the door. “Because Luna asked first, and she didn’t want to be disturbed,” BlackWarGreymon answered. With Pinkie Pie joining in. “Yeah Dashie. I mean if he invited us to a private lesson, it wouldn’t be private. Am I right?” Then Shinning Armor and Flash Sentry entered the gym. But weren’t prepared for what they saw. “What the…! What happened to the gym?” The prince asked, noticing the damage to the large room. Most of the damage was caused by the misfired energy spheres that Luna and BlackWarGreymon exchanged during their training. “Oh…about that,” Luna said with a cheeky smile. Spike and the other mares couldn’t believe that they hadn’t realised the small destruction to the room. Before more could be said in the group, a crystal guard pony rushed in the gym with panic on his face. “Your highnesses! There’s been an emergency!” Everyone looked at the guard in shock. Wondering if King Sombra had returned. “What’s happened!?” Cadence asked, then the guard explained himself. “Princess! The Crystal Empire was just attacked!” A collection of frightful gasps came from the mares. Then Shinning Armor spoke up. “Attacked!? By who!?” “We don’t know, the attacker left just as quickly as he came. But eye witnesses described him as…” The guard then saw the elephant in the room. In shock and disbelief, he pointed his hoof out. “…HIM!!” All eyes turned in the direction where the guard was pointing… all looking directly at BlackWarGreymon! “What!? Me!?”