Name: Impmon
Level: Rookie
Attribute: Virus
Attacks:
- Bada Boom
- Infernal Funnel
- Night of Blizzards
Apple Bloom looked up from her Digivice inventory, biting her lip. “Yeah, this ain’t lookin’ good,” she said. “Sounds like we got enough food to last us ‘till tomorrow morning. After that…”
All around her, everypony was looking at their Digivice inventories with worried looks on their faces. “So, what are we going to do?” Sweetie Belle asked. “We’ve been walking around for two days and it feels like we’re not getting anywhere.”
“That’s probably because we’re not,” Diamond Tiara grumbled. She looked down at the empty Tag that hung around her neck. “We’re supposed to be looking for these...Crests and those Candlemon wouldn’t even give us a direction to go looking for them.”
“I still can’t get over how they couldn’t look past Guilmon and his mark,” Scootaloo sighed. “That’s so stupid!”
“You can’t fault a Digimon whose adhering to the laws of their culture and customs,” Hawkmon pointed out. “Oh, by the way, Diamond Tiara, you dropped this,” he held up a small jewel-encrusted tiara.
Diamond Tiara frantically felt around the top of her head, confirming that Hawkmon was indeed holding her signature accessory. “What, again?!” she took the tiara from Hawkmon, inspecting it for damage. “How long—”
“It fell off a while back there,” Hawkmon gestured to the trail behind them. “I’ve been holding it for maybe an hour.”
Diamond Tiara stared at her namesake. “I didn’t even notice…”
“Isn’t that the fourth time that’s happened today? Maybe you should keep it in your Digivice,” Babs Seed suggested as Diamond Tiara placed the jewelry back on her head. “That way you won’t lose it.”
Diamond Tiara blanched. “What?! No way!”
“Why not? I mean, why do you need to wear it out here all the time?” Apple Bloom asked.
“I don’t know, why do you have to wear that big red bow of yours out here?” Diamond Tiara retorted.
Apple Bloom reached the back of her head, feeling the red bow she wore every day, even to bed. “Well...I guess you got me there,” she chuckled. “But my bow’s tied to my hair. If your tiara is just gonna fall off your head, maybe it’d be better to just—”
“Look, I hate to butt in on this little fashion discussion,” Rumble interrupted. “But do you think we can get moving? It’s getting late.”
Apple Bloom glared at Rumble before glancing at her Digivice. The clock read 5:16, the sun would be going down in a couple of hours. If they didn’t set up camp soon, they’d be fumbling through the woods in the dark.
“Fine,” Apple Bloom groaned.
Pushing back the thoughts of their dwindling rations and their exhaustion, the team pressed onwards. As they walked, Diamond Tiara would constantly put a hoof to her mane, checking to see if her tiara was still there. As they rounded a corner, they spotted a small wooden building standing proud next to the trail.
“What is this, a rest stop?” Scootaloo asked.
“I hope so, my hooves are killing me!” Silver Spoon grumbled.
“I don’t know, you tell me,” Hawkmon gestured to the sign above the door.
Scootaloo squinted at the Digicode scrawled over the sign before shooting a glare over to Hawkmon. “What is this, a pop quiz?” she asked.
Hawkmon smiled. “Come on, I know you can do it.”
Scootaloo stared at the sign as she tried to decipher the various hieroglyphs. “Sle-Sleepy...uh...,” she trailed off.
“Sleepypine?” Sweetie Belle finished.
Hawkmon nodded.
Babs Seed looked at the rest. “Trading…” her eyes snapped wide open. “Oh! Sleepypine Trading Post!”
“Nice work!” Hawkmon applauded. Babs Seed blushed, hiding behind her bangs.
“Great! Maybe we can restock on food here,” Apple Bloom said. She opened the door, a small bell ringing to announce her entry.
“Be right there!” a voice called from somewhere in the back of the store. Everyone filled into the trading post, taking in the various items displayed on the shelves. A door opened towards the back, and a tall stack of boxes waddled into the store to be set down behind the front counter. “Welcome to Sleepypine Trading Post, your one-stop for traveling supplies, gear, and oddities.”
A stepping stool was moved behind the counter, and a small bipedal turtle Digimon climbed up to peek over the counter. He wore a metal helmet which was a little too big for him, covering his eyes. Adjusting it so he could finally see, he looked up to greet his customers. “How may I—” he stopped with a small gasp, looking over the collection of ponies and Digimon. Apple Bloom gave a friendly smile, and the small shopkeeper was once again at ease. “How may I help you?” he finished with a smile.
“Well we could use some supplies, mainly some food,” Apple Bloom said.
“Ah, need some rations for your journey eh?” the Digimon smiled, hopping over the counter and walking over to a series of shelves. “I have stuff for every palette, stuff to last too. May I ask where you’re going?”
Apple Bloom rubbed the back of her head. “Well uh...we don’t really know.”
The turtle Digimon stopped for a moment, raising his helmet to show his confused expression. “You don’t know? So...what exactly are you doing out here?”
“We’re on a quest!” Scootaloo puffed up her chest. “We’re looking for the Crests.”
“Ah...treasure hunters then?” the Digimon nodded. “Well, don’t worry. You’re not the first glory seekers to come to Kamemon’s little slice of civilization. I’m sure I’ll be able to help.”
“Who’s Kamemon?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Oh, my apologies. I’m Kamemon,” he extended a claw. “Pleased to meet you.”
“Thanks,” Apple Bloom shook his claw. “I’m Apple Bloom. And these are my friends…” She went throughout the room, introducing her friends, both pony and Digimon alike.
“Where are you from? You don’t look like Digimon who live here on the continent.”
“We sailed from File Island,” Palmon said.
“Wow, you all are certainly traveling a long way from home!” Kamemon smiled.
“You have no idea,” Silver Spoon muttered.
“Well, maybe I can help you out some more. You have a map?”
“Yep,” Apple Bloom pulled up the holo-map from her Digivice.
“Hmm,” Kamemon admired the map. “Yes, this is very nice. Good topographic map; looks like it covers the whole continent too. Where did you get—” Kamemon lifted his helmet up a bit, squinting at the map. “Hold on…”
“What?” Apple Bloom asked. “What’s wrong?”
Kamemon looked closely at the map, moving it around certain parts of the region. “Ah, that’s a bit of a problem. It’s a great topographic map, but it doesn’t seem to show any towns or cities.”
Rumble looked to his Digivice, booting up his map. He zoomed it in and out, moving it all across the land they had trekked in the past two days. He was right, there were no markers indicating points of civilization anywhere.
Kamemon marched to a small shelf, pulling a folded map off. “That won’t do at all. Anyone going traveling needs to know where to rest their heads and restock.” He unfolded the map. “Now this doesn’t cover the entire Server continent, only the eastern region and a bit of the south. But I still think it could come in handy.”
Apple Bloom looked at the map Kamemon held. She compared it to the one her Digivice projected, looking over the path they trotted on. She pointed to a blip on the paper map, a small Digicode name written under it. “Is that Candlelight Village?”
“Yes, it is,” Kamemon glanced at Apple Bloom. “Have you...been there recently?”
“Yeah, just two days ago,” she looked up to Kamemon, who was staring at her with a vacant look in his eyes. “Is something wrong?”
“Oh, no,” Kamemon shook his head. “Sorry, head in the clouds for a moment. So, would you be interested in this? It’s ten bytes.”
“Sure,” Diamond Tiara answered. Apple Bloom looked back at her. “Hey, we can only sleep in the dirt so many times. It’d be nice to stop at an inn every once in a while, sleep in a real bed.”
A chorus of agreements backed her up. Apple Bloom shook her head with a chuckle. “Yeah, can’t argue with that. Silver Spoon, you still got the money?”
Silver Spoon opened up her inventory, bringing out the coin purse Elecmon gave them. “Remember, we’ve only got three hundred bytes.” She fished out a silver megabyte and gave it to Kamemon.
“Oh, a bit of a budget eh?” Kamemon nodded. “Well, let’s see if we can save you some coin. I can maybe give you all enough food to last long enough to reach the next town if you ration it carefully. Also, please don’t take this the wrong way, but do you have soap?”
Sweetie Belle looked to everypony. “Uh...no, I don’t think so.”
Kamemon bit his lip. “You might want to consider purchasing some before you leave.”
“Why do you say that?” Rumble asked.
“Well…” Bearmon rubbed his arm. “We have been traveling for a while. A good bath every now and again might not be such a bad thing.”
“Yeah, I didn’t wanna say anything. But you all kinda stink,” Terriermon piped up.
Babs Seed hesitantly lowered her nose to her elbow, taking a quick sniff. She leaned back, wrinkling her nose. She looked to Apple Bloom, who was watching the whole fiasco and quickly nodded her head. “Yeah, some soap might not be a bad idea.”
As Kamemon looked through the supplies he had, everyone looked around the shop. Many shelves displayed a variety of general merchandise, but there were some more exotic looking items on some shelves and display cases. Some looked like old artifacts from archaeological dig sites, others looked like they were taken from some mystic’s hut from a distant land.
“Ya sure got some interestin’ knick-knacks around here,” Babs Seed said, looking at a smooth, rectangular black rock in a display case. One moment it stood tall in its little glass case. Then, to Babs’ amazement, it turned to liquid. The black liquid churned in the case as if it were seeking a way out. A few moments later, it congregated back into the center where the liquid jumped up and solidified back into a smooth, rectangular rock.
“Believe it or not, I used to be an adventurer like yourselves,” Kamemon reminisced. “I would travel to the forgotten places of the continent, and bring back treasures. When I decided to open the shop, I decided to put some of the more interesting items I’d collected out on display. I figured that it may attract customers, maybe sell some of it to a collector or museum agent.”
Diamond Tiara looked around taking in the packed shelves in the otherwise quiet shop. “Do you get a lot of business out here?”
“Well...no, not a whole lot,” Kamemon sighed. “You don’t see many trading posts out in the wilderness these days, that’s why I built this shop out here. I do get plenty of travelers coming up and down the trails here, but it’s still hard running a shop like this on my own. I’ve made a few bad deals here and there, and times get tough when the roads are quiet.”
Diamond Tiara nodded. “Keeping a remote store like this in business sounds tough. Sounds like catching lightning in a bottle.”
“It does feel like that sometimes,” Kamemon nodded, turning back to show Apple Bloom and Silver Spoon some packaged foods.
“He’s got that though,” said Guilmon.
“Got what?” Scootaloo asked.
“Lightning in a bottle.”
Armadillomon chuckled. “Guilmon, no. That’s just a saying for somethin’ that’s really difficult.”
“Okay, but he still has it. Look.” Guilmon reached up to one of the shelves and pulled down a large jar. Hovering inside was a small ball of lightning. “Lightning in a bottle.”
“Whoa…” Scootaloo breathed.
“Well, that’s the last thing I expected to see today...or ever,” Diamond Tiara said.
Scootaloo touched the jar, fascinated as the lightning arced toward her hoof. It reminded her of those plasma ball lamps she saw in a toy store back in Ponyville. As she kept her hoof on the glass, her hair and fur began to stand up wildly, much to the amusement of everyone around her.
“Lemme see, lemme see!” Veemon begged. Guilmon handed him the jar.
“Um, please be careful with that!” Kamemon said.
“Where’d you get this thing?” Veemon asked. He turned the jar over in his hand, watching as the lightning arced toward his palms. He was about to hand it off to someone else when a large bolt shocked him through the glass, causing him to drop it with a yelp.
“HIT THE DECK!” Kamemon dove behind the counter.
The jar hit the ground, causing the lid to pop off. The once quiet store erupted into chaos as the ball of lightning flew from the jar, ricocheting off of whatever surface it hit.
“Gah! Lightning in the room! Lightning in the room!” Babs Seed squealed as she dodged the lighting trying to hide behind the counter.
Rumble almost made it to the counter before getting hit by the lighting.
“Rumble!” Scootaloo watched as he collapsed on the floor just a few feet away.
Bearmon scurried out of cover to drag him behind the counter.
Apple Bloom watched as the lightning flew from surface to surface, sparks flying everywhere. “We gotta do somethin’!”
Most of her friends were balled up behind the counter or behind some shelves. And Kamemon was tucked in his shell. Scootaloo peered out from behind the counter to find the open jar lying on the floor.
“I can do this,” Scootaloo said to herself. “Finally, all that buckball practice will come in handy today!” She leaped out of cover, grabbing the jar. “Alright you little livewire, playtime’s over! So get back in your jar and— hurgrrkerkerk!”
Scootaloo crumbled to the ground, the jar rolling away to rest by Veemon’s feet. “Alright, guess I have to clean up my mess!” He dashed to the jar, holding it up and at the ready. He stood tense as the lightning bounced from place to place. When it finally came for Veemon, he let the lightning fly into the jar before slamming the lid on top and screwing it shut.
Veemon panted as he stared at the jar. “Got it!” he eventually muttered. “It's all good.”
“Scootaloo!” Apple Bloom galloped over to Scootaloo. “You alright? Come on, talk to me girl!”
Scootaloo stirred for a moment, propping herself up. “Wow...that was tingly,” she chuckled before falling back. “You gotta try that.”
“Yeah, that looked like fun,” Apple Bloom deadpanned.
“You okay Rumble?” Bearmon asked, helping Rumble stand up.
“Yeah, just give me a few minutes,” Rumble groaned.
Kamemon emerged from his shell. Veemon sheepishly handed Kamemon the bottled lightning.
“Sorry about that,” Veemon muttered.
Kamemon groaned. “I’ve been meaning to have this thing glued down. I guess this is what I get for putting things off. What about your friends, will they be alright?”
“Yeah, we’ll be fine,” Rumble stumbled to his hooves. “Pegasus ponies have a kind of magical insulation in our fur. It makes us resistant against lightning and cold weather.”
“Really?” Scootaloo lifted her head up before slumping against Guilmon. “Huh...that kinda makes sense actually.”
“What really surprises me is how that crazy thing didn’t break anything,” Palmon looked around. Aside from a few scorch marks, the shop was relatively intact.
As everyone recovered from the electrifying experience, Apple Bloom and Silver Spoon finished gathering and paying for the supplies. Aside from the map, they managed to get enough food to feed the party for about four days, and some soap. They also found a small book that listed which plants, mushrooms, and fruits were edible and how to tell which ones were not. The whole tab cost them almost half of their money.
“Well, thanks for your help Mr. Kamemon,” Apple Bloom smiled. “But we really should get going, it’s gettin’ late.” Looking back to the entrance, she saw that it was getting darker outside. They’d stayed longer than she would’ve liked, and now finding a campsite would be more difficult. “Thanks again,” she said as she led everyone to the door.
“W-wait a minute,” Kamemon said. “Would you...at least like to stay for dinner?”
“Huh?” Sweetie Belle raised an eyebrow.
“As I said, sometimes the roads are quiet, not a lot of customers coming in. Honestly...it gets a little lonely out here.”
“No, we couldn’t,” Apple Bloom shook her head. “We wouldn’t wanna impose…”
“Nonsense. Besides, it’s getting late, you said so yourself.”
“I dunno…”
“Come on, it’s been a while since I’ve had company,” Kamemon pleaded.
Apple Bloom looked to her friends. She could see they all looked a little unsure, but she could also hear a few growling stomachs, one of which was her own.
“I mean...if you’re sure that it’s no problem,” Sweetie Belle shrugged with a smile.
“I’m always up for some grub,” Armadillomon piped up. “Come on Apple Bloom, it’s just for dinner.”
“Well...alright Armadillomon,” Apple Bloom relented, rubbing Armadillomon’s shell. She turned to Kamemon. “I guess we can stay for a little bit.”
“So, ya live here at the shop?” Babs Seed asked as she picked up a bowl of steaming hot noodle soup.
“Yep,” Kamemon put a baking sheet into an oven, it’s contents hidden from everyone else. “It’s not much, but it’s home.”
Babs looked around. When Kamemon closed the shop, he led everyone to a basement apartment. Inside, there was a small kitchen, a living area with several comfortable chairs and a table, and further down, a door to a bedroom could be seen. It was small but homey. After showing them around, Kamemon got to work preparing dinner. Some of the fillies wanted to help, but Kamemon insisted on handling it himself.
Now, everyone around her was enjoying bowls of noodle soup. Many of the Digimon were picking up the noodles using a pair of sticks that Kamemon called chopsticks. An odd utensil, in her opinion. But the Digimon seemed to handle them with ease, with the exceptions being Guilmon and Armadillomon, whose claws lacked the dexterity to handle them. And then, of course, there was Babs Seed herself and the rest of the ponies.
Glaring at the pair of beautifully crafted sticks, she picked them up and brought them over the bowl. The concoction of noodles, vegetables, and yellow broth emitted steam that cleared her sinuses, bringing with it so many tantalizing smells. This time, she’d be able to taste them!
Slowly she brought the chopsticks down, dipping them in the broth. Steady...steady, she squinted in concentration. Lifting up the sticks, she found a few noodles wrapped around the bottom stick. But when she tried to close the sticks together, she lost her grip on the top stick, which tumbled outside of the bowl. Determined to press on, she brought the remaining chopstick up to her mouth.
The noodles were a few inches away from her lips. Almost there! Babs thought triumphantly. Just as she was about to get her first taste of the soup, the chopstick felt lighter. Instead of tasting noodles, she could only taste the wood of the chopstick. Looking down, she watched helplessly as the noodles she had on the chopstick fell back into the bowl, causing some of the hot broth to splash and hit her freckled cheek.
A chuckle made her look across from her to see Veemon clicking his chopsticks together. “Aw, so close!” he taunted.
Babs glared at the chopstick in her hoof before looking back to Veemon with a smirk. She gently placed the chopstick next to its twin, picked up the bowl and drank straight from it. The warm, salty broth passed through her lips and onto her tongue. The other contents of the bowl, however, did not follow suit, instead falling onto her muzzle.
“Yow!” Babs yelped, quickly setting the bowl down. “Okay, that wasn’t very smart.”
Barely suppressed chuckles began spreading around the table. “Hey, Babs,” Apple Bloom chuckled.
“Hmm,” Babs turned to Apple Bloom.
“Ya got a little somthin’ here,” Apple Bloom gestured to the bridge of her nose.
Babs looked to her nose, going cross-eyed in the process. Sure enough, there was a small noodle hanging off her muzzle like a thin mustache. She moved her mouth around, wiggled her nose, anything to get the noodle into her mouth, making a show out of it in the process. Finally, she managed to catch the rogue piece of pasta, slurping it into her mouth before joining the rest of her friends in the roaring laughter.
As the last bits of laughter expired, Kamemon gave Babs Seed a fork. “Here, maybe this’ll help.”
“Thanks,” Babs took the fork as Kamemon passed around more to anyone else who needed them. She dipped it in the soup, twirling it to get a nice helping of noodles before bringing it to her mouth. The flavors of the pasta, broth, and chunks of vegetables created an explosion in her mouth. “Wowza!” she said, going for another bite. “This soup is delicious!”
“Mmmhmm,” Sweetie Belle nodded.
As everyone enjoyed the dinner, Kamemon watched quietly, eating his soup slowly. “So, you said you were looking for the Crests,” he spoke up. “You don’t mean the same ones used by the DigiDestined, do you? Why would you want to find those?”
“Yep, those are the ones,” Scootaloo finished drinking the remaining broth from her bowl. “And we’re looking for them because we’re DigiDestined!” she declared, puffing out her chest.
“Hehe...is that so?” Kamemon looked down at his bowl, gently stirring his soup.
“You wouldn’t happen to know anything about them, would you? Because honestly, we’re kind of in the dark here,” Diamond Tiara chuckled. Kamemon continued to stir his soup lost in thought. “Um, Kamemon?”
“Huh?” Kamemon looked up. “Sorry, mind was elsewhere. Um...no, I don’t know much about the Crests. I just know they were used to save the Digital World long ago, and haven’t been seen since.”
Apple Bloom put aside her empty bowl. “Are you okay Mr. Kamemon? You seem kinda nervous.”
Kamemon chuckled. “Well, I guess it’s been a while since I’ve had company. And suddenly having this many guests over...it’s a little nerve-wracking.”
Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow. “Really, is that all?”
Kamemon sighed. “Well...I guess I’m just a little worried about my shop. Truth is, this place has been going through a bit of a slump. Not a lot of Digimon traveling this way lately. It’s been hard to keep this place afloat. I spent a long time getting this place started, and now I’m worried that I might have to close it.”
“Oh…” Apple Bloom looked down, ears slumped. “I’m sorry.”
“Hey, you’re not done yet,” Sweetie Belle said. “Sure, it may be tough now. But things could get better later on.”
“I don’t know,” Diamond Tiara said. “If the store isn’t making a profit then it might be best to sell the place and move on.”
“Wow, really?” Scootaloo scowled. “Way to be a pessimist Diamond Tiara.”
“I’m not being a pessimist, I’m being realistic. My daddy said that a smart business pony knows when it’s time to pull the plug before a business goes belly up. I understand that Kamemon worked hard for this place. But if you can’t make enough money to keep the place running, then sooner or later you’ll be borrowing money to try to save it. And that’ll just lead to a bigger mess down the road if you can’t pay it back.”
Everypony mulled over Diamond Tiara’s words. Babs Seed stared into her empty bowl. Her words hurt a little, but they also made sense.
“But...he could catch a break, right?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Well, maybe,” Diamond Tiara shrugged. “I’m just saying that it’s good to look at all your options.”
Kamemon nodded. “That’s true, but still...it’s hard to let something go. Especially if you built it with your own claws.”
A bell sounded from somewhere in the kitchen, breaking the sullen mood for a moment.
“Ah, wonderful,” Kamemon got up. “Why don’t you all take a seat in the living room, I’ll bring dessert there.”
“Oh, okay,” Sweetie Belle reached for her bowl. “You want us to put these somewhere, or—”
“No no no, it’s alright. I’ll take care of that in a bit, just make yourselves comfortable.”
Babs trotted over to the living room with everyone else and sat down. Checking the clock on her Digivice, she noticed that it was getting pretty late, 7:20 PM. “Hey guys, it’s probably dark out there,” she said. “Where we gonna set up camp?”
“Hmm…” Apple Bloom bit her lip.
“I wouldn’t worry too much,” Kamemon called out. “I think there’s a few clearings where you can settle down for the night, I wouldn’t risk hiking all the way to the next town at this point. And the weather seems pretty nice, so I don’t think you need to worry about a campfire tonight.”
Apple Bloom looked like she was about to comment. But when she looked up, her mouth just hung open, and her eyes began to grow wider.
Babs couldn’t see what was distracting her, but she could definitely smell it. That smell; that sweet, heavenly aroma made her drool. There was no mistaking it, it could only belong to one thing!
In her peripheral vision, she saw Kamemon walk in and set a plate down on the table, piled with the small treats. Those golden-brown disks of dough, loaded with small brown bits of chocolate. Babs reached forward, grabbing one of them as everyone scrambled towards the plate. The moment she bit into it, feeling the chocolate melting in her mouth and sending her taste buds into a frenzy, she almost cried. Truly, nothing was better than chocolate chip cookies fresh from the oven!
“Oh my gosh, these are amazing!” Sweetie Belle smiled, quickly reaching for another one.
“Kamemon, thank you so much,” Apple Bloom said before swallowing her cookie. “Ya didn’t have to do all this.”
Kamemon let his helmet fall over his eyes as he looked away. “It’s nothing…”
Babs reached for one of the last few cookies that remained, offering it to Kamemon. “Here, have some too.”
Kamemon glanced back for a moment. “I’m fine,” he mumbled with a shake of his head.
Babs Seed shrugged before taking a big bite out of the soft cookie.
“Hey, you think that we can get some of these to go?” Veemon asked.
“Come on Veemon, that’s kinda rude,” Babs said.
“What, you were thinking it too!” Veemon took another bite, smiling. “Seriously though, these cookies are so good they make my tongue numb!”
Babs giggled. “What? That’s an...interestin’ way to put it.”
“No, I’m not just sayin’ they’re good. I’m shayin’ that they’re actshually makin’ my tongue numb,” Veemon said, his words starting to slur. He looked down at his left arm, shaking it weakly. “Huh...my arm too. Thatsh weird…”
Babs Seed stared at her partner. She had gotten used to the small lisp in Veemon’s voice during their brief time together. But now, it was as if it was taking over his voice completely, almost making him sound like her older sister after she stumbled home from her high school prom last year.
“V, you alright?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Jusht...a little…” Veemon droned before falling flat on his face, snoring like a chainsaw.
“Wow, guess he’s really tuckered out from all that hiking,” Armadillomon laughed.
“Come on Veemon, get up! If you think I’m going to carry you again, you’ve got—” Bearmon yawned. “-another thing coming.”
“Aw, don’t be so hard on him Bearmon,” Armadillomon yawned. “I’m actually kinda...really tired too. Anyone else?” Armadillomon rested his head on the cushion he was sitting on and was out like a light. All around the room, the Digimon were lulled to sleep, like some kind of spell had fallen over the room.
“Hey, what gives?” Scootaloo’s eyes darted left to right.
“I think it’s nappy time Scootaloo,” Guilmon said sleepily. Scootaloo looked up as Guilmon began to topple forward.
“No no no no!” Scootaloo quickly got up to avoid the sleepy dinosaur. But alas, she barely made it a foot before a large weight fell onto her back, pressing her into the couch they sat on. She groaned as she felt his warm breath blow across her neck, and into her mane. She looked behind her, trying to lift Guilmon’s head up. “Guilmon, get off me you big...goof…” she trailed off into a large yawn. “Actually...a nap does sound...kinda nice.” Scootaloo laid a hoof across Guilmon’s muzzle, cuddling him as she drifted off to sleep.
One by one, everypony began to fall asleep next to their partners. Some leaned on them as they fell asleep, snuggling into them like pillows. Soon, the living room displayed an adorable scene just waiting for a camera.
Babs Seed could feel her heart beating in her ribcage and the fur along her back as it stood on end. This was wrong. She couldn’t put her hoof on why, but something about this was scaring her. What’s goin’ on? she thought. It’s not THAT late, why is everyone just droppin’ like potata sacks?! I mean, ya’d think that after eatin’ that many chocolate chip cookies, they’d be bouncin’ off the—
Babs Seed slowly looked down to her shaky hoof. She stared at the half-eaten cookie, which was starting to get blurry, and the pieces began to fall into place. She looked up to Kamemon, who glanced at her from under his helmet. “You…” she growled, stumbling towards him. “Come on girl, stay awake...stay awake!” she told herself. But every step felt like somepony was filling her limbs with lead. Through sheer force of will, she managed to get within a few feet from Kamemon before tripping on a crease in the rug.
Babs glared at Kamemon through her bangs, which had fallen over her eye. He stared down at her, a sad look in his eyes. “I’m sorry,” he whispered before quickly walking away. Babs watched him walk past the kitchen and fiddle with a locked door. Her eyes stuttered shut as he vanished through the door. Though she did everything in her power to fight it, Babs Seed was quietly dragged into a dreamless sleep.
Sweetie Belle groaned as she felt something kick her leg, jarring her from her sleep.
“Psst, Sweetie Belle! Can you get up?” she heard Apple Bloom whisper.
“Not now Apple Bloom, five more minutes,” Sweetie Belle groaned.
“No seriously, CAN you get up?”
Sweetie Belle groggily opened her eyes. She looked around to see that she was still in the basement apartment along with her friends. She was comfortably tucked beneath a blanket, sleeping on a nice, comfortable chair. Next to her, Palmon was tied up. Apple Bloom was tied up next to Scootaloo, and she could smell something nice being cooked on a stove. She smiled at the possibility of a sunny-side-up for breakfast as her eyes began to drift shut again.
Sweetie Belle’s eyes shot open, her mind processing what she just saw. She looked up again to confirm that her friends were tied up. Looking around, she saw everyone tied to the places they sat in last night. Sweetie Belle tried to move, but she was met with restraint. Looking down, she wiggled the blanket off her body, revealing the ropes that bound her to the chair.
“Wha-what happened?” Sweetie Belle asked. “One minute we were all having cookies, having a good time. The next, I felt so tired all of a sudden.”
“We was drugged,” Babs Seed growled. “That sleazy turtle slipped us a mickey!”
“Powdered sleep clover extract,” Kamemon said from the kitchen. He emerged from around the corner, holding a small jar in his paws. “A very potent ingredient in sleep aids.”
“What the hay, Kamemon?!” Apple Bloom shouted. “What’s the big idea here?
Kamemon placed the jar on the countertop, picking up a folded newspaper before walking to them. “Justice,” he answered plainly. Before anyone could ask questions, Kamemon dropped the newspaper on the table.
Palmon leaned forward, skimming the article. As she read, her eyes began to grow bigger. “No…” she whispered, shaking her head. “It says that Candlelight Village was destroyed a couple of nights ago!”
“What?!” Sweetie Belle glanced down at the page. On the cover was a picture of the crumbling remains of the elder Candlemon’s house. “Who would do something like that?”
“You did,” Kamemon said, arms folded.
Everyone looked at Kamemon, shock filling their eyes. “W-what?” Apple Bloom whimpered.
Palmon began to read a portion of the article out loud. “A survivor from the horrible attack describes the culprits as small, colorful equine creatures, claiming to be DigiDestined. In the dead of night, they attacked the village with the aid of several powerful Digimon, destroying buildings and taking several sacred artifacts. Many Candlemon valiantly tried to fight the assailants but were ultimately wiped out. Today, the entire continent cries out for justice…”
Palmon shook her head. “I can’t read any more of this!”
“But it’s not true!” Scootaloo struggled against her bindings. “We didn’t destroy that village!”
“You said it yourself,” Kamemon pointed to Apple Bloom. “You were there two days ago. I had heard rumors that they held numerous ancient artifacts, including the necklaces you’re wearing. Do you mean to tell me that you knew nothing about this attack while walking into my store wearing those?”
“They gave these to us!” Apple Bloom said.
“Please, the Candlemon hardly trust anyone outside their village. You mean to tell me that you just walked into the village, and they gave you some of the most precious artifacts they had? And all of this on the same day the village just happens to be destroyed?”
“But...we didn’t—” Apple Bloom struggled to say something, but only managed to imitate a fish gasping for air on land.
“So, why go through all this trouble to capture us?” Babs Seed demanded. “If you thought we were criminals, then why let us in in the first place?”
Kamemon reached under the table and laid a series of large posters out on top. “This is why.”
Sweetie Belle looked at the table, unable to believe her eyes. Each one of the posters had a crudely drawn image of her and her friends. While she couldn’t decipher much of the Digicode, she could make a guess based on the design and the large sum of money printed on the posters. They were wanted posters. They all had a bounty on their heads!
This is insane! Sweetie Belle thought. Who would destroy Candlelight Village? Who would go through all this trouble to frame us? Who—
“Who drew these stupid things?” Diamond Tiara asked, sounding insulted. “This looks nothing like me!”
Sweetie Belle looked back at the posters. Some of them did look a little ridiculous. Diamond Tiara’s tiara looked much more menacing than it actually was, and the crazed grin drawn on her face didn’t help matters. Silver Spoon’s glasses and Apple Bloom’s bow were drawn twice their size. And Babs Seed stared at the chubby sketch on her wanted poster, her eye twitching. Under different circumstances, the drawings might have been considered funny.
“It’s like Sweetie Belle over here said last night,” Kamemon continued. “Even though my shop isn’t making the money it needs now, I could catch a break. Well, this is my break. I’m sorry, but when an opportunity presents itself, you grab it by the horns. And with this, I’ll be able to keep this shop, my life’s work, alive.” He then turned to Guilmon, who had a muzzle on top of his other bindings, with a glare. “And while I’m at it, maybe get a new armoire!” He growled, gesturing to the smoldering remains of a wooden armoire.
With that, Kamemon got up and returned to the kitchen.
“I swear when I get my hooves on him…” Babs Seed growled to herself.
“Ugh, this sucks!” Scootaloo wiggled against her ropes. “We gotta get out of here.”
“And how do you suggest we do that?” Silver Spoon asked. “These ropes are too tight, and none of our Digimon can attack. This guy thought of everything.”
Sweetie Belle looked at their partners. All of them were tied up in a way that prevented them from using their Special Attacks. Armadillomon was unable to curl up into a ball, Guilmon and Terriermon had muzzles that prevented them from firing a Pyro Sphere or Bunny Blast, Terriermon also had his ears tied up so he couldn’t use his Terrior Tornado, and everyone else had their arms and legs tied to keep them from fighting.
“Wait a minute…” Apple Bloom looked up. “I can think of one thing he didn’t account for.”
“Oh yeah, what’s that?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“You,” Apple Bloom turned to Sweetie Belle. “Ya think you can your magic to untie yourself?”
Sweetie Belle furrowed her brow. “Maybe…”
“Come on Sweetie Belle, you can do it!” Scootaloo whispered. “Just think of it like another knot tying lesson at Filly Guides.”
Sweetie Belle blushed. When they first started learning to tie more complex knots in Filly Guides, she would somehow manage to tie herself up with her own rope. Instead of improving in knot tying, she would get better at escaping her own malicious rope. Some of the other fillies in the troop had playfully given her the title of “Escape Clutz” as a result.
“Alright, I’ll try,” Sweetie Belle nodded. “Keep a lookout and let me know if Kamemon comes back.”
Apple Bloom nodded. “Will do!”
Sweetie Belle closed her eyes and focussed her magic on the ropes that held her. It was difficult to describe to her friends what it felt like to hold something with magic. When she did, she couldn’t “feel” the object in the traditional sense. She couldn’t feel the texture or temperature of it. Whenever she cast her magic on a solid object, she could feel its entire shape. When she practiced with toy blocks or cups, she could feel every edge, surface, and contour.
With her magic focussed on her ropes, she felt every curve as it wrapped around her. She focussed on how even it felt until she found one part that stood out.
There! she thought as she found a bulge in the rope. That must be the knot.
Sweetie Belle refocused her magic on the knot towards the back of her chair. She winced as her magic swirled across the surface; it felt like a tough one. Taking a moment to collect her thoughts, she focused on pulling different parts of the knot to see if it would loosen.
“Incoming!” Apple Bloom whispered.
Sweetie Belle extinguished her horn, looking up to see Kamemon carrying a small bowl of oatmeal and a pad of paper. He quietly sat at the table, eating his breakfast while writing something down, occasionally glancing at them.
A few minutes later, he had finished eating. Putting his bowl to the side, Kamemon began walking towards the stairs. He paused, looking back to the tied up ponies with a conflicted look in his eyes. Eventually, he sighed and walked back to the kitchen.
Sweetie Belle once again focussed on the knot at her back. She tugged at a part of the knot that seemed to have a bit more slack than the rest of it. Yeah, that’s it! Sweetie Belle cheered to herself. The knot had loosened, and she could feel the end of the rope hanging out of it. Her brow furrowed in concentration as she twisted the end of the rope as tight as she could, pushing it through the rest of the knot.
“He’s coming!” Palmon whispered.
Sweetie Belle looked up to see Kamemon walking in with a plate of sliced fruit.
“Here,” Kamemon placed the plate on the coffee table in front of them. “Go on, eat.”
“Uh-huh…” Veemon nodded. “And how are we gonna do that?” He wiggled in his bindings for emphasis.
Kamemon gave an exasperated sigh. Picking up the plate, he walked over to Veemon and held out a piece of fruit. “Alright fine, open your mouth.”
Veemon stared at Kamemon for a few moments before reluctantly opening his mouth. After feeding him a couple pieces of fruit, he moved on to Babs who only glared at him.
“No thanks, I’m still feeling a little nauseous from those cookies last night!” Babs Seed turned her face away with a snort.
“Yeah, what were even in those cookies?” Diamond said with a snobby tone
“They were sweet for sure but that aftertaste was just awful, I can still feel it in my mouth.” Silver Spoon remarked with a gag
“How dare you! Digimon passing through always loved my cooking, especially the deserts.” Kamemon was clearly getting agitated.
“Well either those Digimon were just humoring you or you have no taste.” That comment from Diamond seemed to impress her friends and stun Kamemon. After a moment, they launched into an utter tirade of insults and yelling.
Sweetie Belle smirked; she could see what her friends were doing. She reignited her horn once more, determined to break free this time. She wiggled a bit; it was getting easier to move. Almost there… she thought to herself. A few more tugs on the knot, and the rope fell around her.
Sweetie Belle quietly squeed to herself before gently slipping the rope off of her. As she sneaked out of her chair, she realized that her victory probably wasn’t as big she thought it was. Her original plan was to untie herself, and then her friends. But with Kamemon here, that made that impossible. She snuck over to Palmon, realizing that she had to free her before Kamemon turned around.
She grimaced as she focused her magic on Palmon’s bindings, her horn starting to ache. She wasn’t used to using her magic so frequently, and in such long bursts!
Being able to see the knot as she was working on it made things easier, but the fact that their captor was standing a few feet away certainly did not. Adrenaline coursed through Sweetie Belle, making her heart beat rapidly in her chest, and causing her to fumble with her magic.
Come on Sweetie Belle, focus! she chided herself. You’re almost out Palmon, just give me a few more—
“Hey!”
Sweetie Belle looked up to see a shocked Kamemon glancing from her to the chair she was tied to. All Sweetie Belle could do was stand there looking like she got caught with her hoof in the cookie jar.
Sweetie Belle ran to the kitchen, hearing Kamemon stumble after her. “You’re not supposed to be out, get back here!”
Kamemon chased her around the kitchen, dodging any stray foods and cooking utensils that Sweetie Belle threw at him.
“Come on Sweetie, think. There’s gotta be something you can do.” She then noticed a jar on the shelf with a clover symbol on it, smirking as she formulated a plan.
“There’s no point in hiding. I know this place like the back of my claw!” Kamemon was closing in on Sweetie’s position when she jumped out from behind the counter.
“Surprise!” She blew a dash of green powder right into Kamemon’s face.
“Why you…” He started to voice before his vision started to blur. He stumbled against the counter when he saw the open jar of sleep clover extract next to Sweetie Belle. He brought a shaky claw up to his face, staring at the powder that he brushed off. The same powder he spiked the cookies with. “Clever girl…” Kamemon muttered as collapsed on the floor.
“Nighty night,” Sweetie Belle said with a relieved smile.
“Way to go Sweetie Belle!” Scootaloo cheered.
“Give the bad guy a taste of his own medicine. Nice!” Babs Seed smirked. “Now uh...how’s about gettin’ us outta here?” Babs wriggled in her ropes.
Palmon and Sweetie Belle worked quickly to free everyone from their bindings. “So, what are we going to do about him?” Palmon gestured to the now snoring Kamemon as she untied Apple Bloom.
“We could just tie him up down here and get outta dodge,” Babs Seed suggested as she worked with Scootaloo to untie Guilmon. Or at least, that’s what they were trying to do. But Guilmon’s bindings seemed to be a lot stronger than the rope that was used to tie everyone else up.
THUD THUD THUD THUD!
A loud knocking made everyone pause and look to the staircase. Rumble looked to his Digivice. “Does Kamemon open the shop this early?” he wondered aloud.
“Who cares?” Veemon shrugged. “Just ignore him, he’ll go away.”
THUD THUD THUD THUD!
“Hey, Kamemon!” a muffled, but obnoxious voice emanated from upstairs. “Open up, rent’s due!”
“Or...maybe not.”
THUD THUD THUD THUD!
“Come on, we don’t got all day!”
“Okay Diamond, Silver and I will go upstairs to see who’s at the door. You girls stay down here and make sure Kamemon doesn’t go anywhere.” Rumble advised and everypony went to do their task.
“You sure about this?” Silver Spoon asked.
“Ah, moumantai Silver Spoon,” Terriermon commented. “We’ll just go upstairs, say Kamemon’s feeling a little ill and that the store is closed for the moment.”
Sweetie Belle watched the three ponies vanish up the steps, their Digimon partners in tow. “Hey, Palmon, Apple Bloom, think you two could help me tie up the turtle over here,” she gestured to Kamemon.
Apple Bloom approached with a rope in her mouth. “Ya came to the right filly.”
“Bring him here,” Palmon pulled up a rather uncomfortable looking chair from the back of the room.
As Sweetie Belle dragged Kamemon to the chair, she glanced over to Scootaloo, Babs Seed, and Veemon. They managed to get the muzzle off of Guilmon, but seemed to be struggling to untie him from the chair.
Scootaloo growled through the chord in her teeth. “What the hay is this, industrial cable?!”
“Can’t...breath!” Guilmon gasped.
When Rumble, Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon got back upstairs they looked out the window and spotted a group of small purple imp-like Digimon. They had horns on their heads, clawed feet, wore red gloves and red bandanas, and had what appeared to be a mischievous looking face on their bellies. Rumble took out his Digivice to ID the unfamiliar Digimon.
Name: Impmon
Level: Rookie
Attribute: Virus
Attacks:
- Bada Boom
- Infernal Funnel
- Night of Blizzards
Rumble took a good look at the data. “Looks like they aren’t too much of a threat. Alright Diamond, go tell them the situation.”
“What? Why do I have to?” Diamond Tiara asked, clearly appalled.
“Well your dad is a business tycoon and this is a business negotiation.”
“Yeah, well isn’t it the stallion’s duty to protect the mare?”
“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m still a colt!”
“Enough!” Silver Spoon yelled. “If it'll make you all shut up, I'll go out there.” Diamond Tiara and Rumble starred at Silver Spoon as she marched up to the door, opening it a crack. “Hello there, what brings you here?”
“What brings us here?” One Impmon said with a scowl. “We’re here to collect the rent of a freeloading turtle. Where is he?”
“If you’re referring to Kamemon, he said he wasn’t feeling that well and he went to lie down for a while. Why don’t you come back later.”
“There is no later, either we get our money now or this place goes down with him!”
“Oh...okay. Um…” she glanced behind her. “W-would you please excuse me for a minute?” Silver Spoon closed the door with a nervous smile. “They’re pretty insistent on seeing Kamemon, anypony have any ideas?”
“Yeah, I got one,” Rumble smacked his front hooves together. “We fight them off like we do with any troublemakers!”
“Well, I guess that’s our only choice. You ready Diamond?”
“After that treatment, I am so ready to vent,” Diamond Tiara said with a smug grin.
“Alright then,” Bearmon tightened the belts on his paws. “If that’s the plan, then I guess I’ll roll out the welcome wagon!”
The DigiDestined burst through the door leaving the Impmon slightly surprised and confused.
“BEAR ROLL!” Bearmon rolled up into a ball and made bowling pins out of the group of Impmon.
They all got up and were pretty miffed “So that’s how you want to play huh? Bada Boom!” One Impmon summoned a group of small flames on his fingers and flung them at Bearmon.
“TERRIER TORNADO!” Terriermon intercepted the flames, easily extinguishing them like they were birthday candles.
“BEAK PECKER!”
“KARATE FIST!” Hawkmon and Bearmon were able to easily knock down the group of Impmon.
“Heh, guess they were all talk and no action,” Rumble smirked.
“Alright, you twerps asked for it!” One of the Impmon signaled to the other two. “NIGHT OF BLIZZARDS!” The Impmon threw their hands forward, summoning a darkness that swirled around them like a snowstorm. When the snowstorm finally cleared, the Impmon had retreated back to the treeline.
One of the Impmon pulled out a walkie-talkie. “This is Footpad One to Mother Goose, we need backup. Send in the Squawkers!” he said. Within minutes something shining appeared in the sky, and a group of four flying Digimon swooped overhead. They resembled Pterodactyls in shape and they were covered in silver armor. Their wings and tails resembled that of a jet plane and they each had a salvo of missiles tucked under their wings
“What are those things?” Silver Spoon shouted. Rumble already had his Digivice out to ID them.
Name: Pteramon
Level: Armor
Attribute: Free/Data
Attacks:
- Missile Storm
- Sharp Wing
“They look like tough customers,” Rumble said with a bit of worry.
“Then I guess we better step up our game. Let’s go Terriermon!” Silver Spoon held up her Digivice as it let loose its light.
“You got it!” Terriermon nodded.
Terriermon Digivolve to…
Gargomon!
“GARGO LASER!” Gargomon launched his attack, fully intent on shooting the armored fliers out of the sky. But the Pteramon simply broke their formation, splitting into two groups as they dodged his laser fire.
“MISSILE STORM!” Two of the Pteramon launched a volley of missiles from the sky. Gargomon looked surprised, quickly turning his aim to the missiles and blasting them out of the sky. Every time he tried to shoot them, they would launch more missiles, forcing him to stay on the defensive. Soon, they began attacking from multiple directions at once. He couldn’t keep this up forever.
“Diamond Tiara, we have to get in there!” Hawkmon shouted.
“Are you out of your mind? I still haven’t gotten you to digivolve, you’ll get blown to pieces!” Diamond Tiara said, concern flashing in her eyes.
“If we do nothing then that fate will befall Gargomon, and then we’ll be next. I can’t just stand here and do nothing!” Hawkmon took to the skies to try and fight the Pteramon
Diamond Tiara stood there in awe for a moment. “Even in a hopeless situation he isn’t backing down. All I’m doing is cowering here because I was always too afraid to fight.” After a moment of pondering, Diamond Tiara's expression went from concerned to determined “Well no more! If Hawkmon insists on fighting to the end then I’m with him one hundred percent!” Diamond Tiara then noticed a light to her side. It was coming from her Digivice!
Hawkmon Digivolve to…
Aquilamon!
“No way, he finally digivolved!” Diamond Tiara said in awe as her Digivice ID’d her partner’s new form.
Name: Aquilamon
Level: Champion
Attribute: Free, Data
Attacks:
- Blast Rings
- Grand Horn
- Invisible Shot
“Go get them Aquilamon!”
“BLAST RINGS!” Aquilamon shot a stream of ring-shaped projectiles at the missiles heading straight for Gargomon. With them gone, Gargomon was able to easily land the hits he needed on the Pteramon.
“Thanks for the assist buddy, now go in for the finish!” Gargomon said with confidence
“With pleasure!” Aquilamon ascended to an even higher altitude. “GRAND HORN!” With that, he charged down on the Pteramon, igniting as he did so, and slammed into the disoriented group; defeating them all in one fell swoop. Aquilamon swept through the data emanating from their DigiCores, absorbing it as he glided down to land.
“Aquilamon!” Diamond Tiara ran up to and embraced her partner. “That was incredible. You did it!”
“No Diamond Tiara, WE did it.” Aquilamon leaned down to nuzzle Diamond Tiara. “If you hadn’t found the courage buried deep inside you I never would have been able to digivolve in the first place.”
The Impmon were shocked at what they saw. “Aw forget this, we’re out of here!” One of them shouted as they ran back into the forest.
“Hey cuz, level with me will ya?” Babs Seed stared at the crude, chubby sketch on her wanted poster. “Do...do you think I look fat?”
“What? No, of course not!” Apple Bloom said. “I mean, maybe you’re a bit...bigger than some fillies. But I wouldn’t call ya fat. Why?”
“No reason,” Babs looked away for a moment. But Apple Bloom continued to stare at her with a raised eyebrow. “There were just some jerks from school I had to put up with. Ever since I got my Cutie Mark, the whole ‘blank flank’ schtick doesn’t really work anymore. So, they had to find somethin’ else to pester me about, and well—”
“Eh, they don’t know what they’re talkin’ about,” Apple Bloom shrugged. “Just ignore them.”
“Okay, I think that’ll keep him,” Scootaloo came over to them. “What do you girls think?”
Apple Bloom and Babs Seed looked over to where Scootaloo gestured. Babs could barely contain the chuckle that left her lips. Kamemon looked like a mummy with the way he was tied up, save for his head.
“Did you have to use every piece of rope in the room?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Yes,” Scootaloo deadpanned.
“We’re back guys!” Everyone looked up in time to see Rumble, Silver Spoon, and Diamond Tiara coming down the steps to join them. Diamond Tiara looked especially cheerful as she helped Hawkmon into a seat.
The three ponies filled everyone else in on the events that transpired upstairs.
“Honestly, what was their plan?” Diamond Tiara laughed. “What kind of thief just goes up to the house and asks for their money?”
“I don’t know…” Babs Seed had a hoof to her chin. “From the way you described ‘em, they sound more like loan sharks.”
“Loan sharks? What’re those?” Scootaloo cocked her head to the side.
“It’s a kind of crook who lends money to ponies, or Digimon in this case, at really high interest rates. And if the loaner doesn’t cough up the money when it’s due, the sharks usually come down and rough ‘em up. I sometimes hear stories about that sort of thing happening in the seedier sides of Manehattan.”
Diamond Tiara looked to the trussed-up Kamemon. “Now that you mention it, they did threaten to destroy this place if he didn’t pay. You think he borrowed money from those creeps?”
“I reckon it’s high time we got some answers here,” Apple Bloom trotted over to Kamemon. “Hey, wake up!” she shook him, but only got a snore in response. She tried again, this time shaking harder.
“Come on, rise and shine sleepy jerk!” Babs Seed yelled. She got up on her hind legs and slapped him hard in the face a few times. Nothing. “Wow...that sleep clover stuff is potent.”
A shuffling from the kitchen made Babs turn around. Sweetie Belle was looking through what looked like a spice cabinet. “Aha! Here we go,” Sweetie Belle pulled a pepper shaker out.
“What do you plan on doing with that?” asked Palmon.
Sweetie Belle gave an evil chuckle as she trotted up to Kamemon. She gently shook a nice dash of pepper into her hoof, then lifted it up to Kamemon’s nose. As he snored, Kamemon inhaled the pepper.
“AHCHOO!” Kamemon sneezed. “AHCHOO...ah...ah...AHHH...CHOOO!”
Sweetie Belle was on the floor, laughing her sides off while the force of Kamemon’s sneezes sent him flying onto his back.
“Oh my gosh! Sweetie Belle, that’s...that’s just evil!” Apple Bloom laughed.
Once Kamemon finally stopped sneezing, Bearmon pulled his chair upright. “What the heck was that!? And why does my face hurt?”
“Alright, listen up!” Sweetie Belle got right up into his face. “We want answers and you’re going to give them to us. If you don’t we’ll start going through the spice cabinet and see what else we can shove up your nose!”
Babs could only gape as Sweetie Belle kept up the Bad Cop act. This couldn’t be the same gentle unicorn that she knew from Ponyville!
“Now, tell us what we want to know...please!”
Nevermind.
“Alright, fine!” Kamemon relented, snorting a few times to get any excess pepper out.
“Why did you drug us last night?” Sweetie Belle started.
“I told you, the money from the bounties would’ve kept my shop afloat for a long time. Maybe I could even expand my business in time!”
“Is that it?” Babs Seed butted in. “‘Cause some of my friends here had to chase off some Digimon upstairs who were lookin’ ta shake ya down!”
Kamemon blanched. “Impmon?”
“Aha, so you do know them!” Sweetie Belle pointed at Kamemon in a dramatic fashion.
Kamemon looked down to the floor. “You remember last night when I said I made a few bad deals? Well, those Impmon were the worst one I made.
“A few months back, my shop was a few days away from going under. I thought I could make a better profit if I could just hold out a little longer. So, I borrowed some money from some...unsavory Digimon. I’ve been on their leash ever since.
“I thought that turning you in would clear my debt, and they’d finally leave me in peace.”
“Did you really wanna capture us the way you did?” Apple Bloom asked, her tone carrying a hint of sympathy. “Ya seemed really fidgety last night. Like you were trying to decide the better of two bad choices.”
“Honestly, I was planning on how to capture you the moment I saw your faces. But...then you started shopping, looking around. You didn’t act like you were fugitives on the run, just...everyday customers. I wanted to be sure, so I invited you over for dinner. But the more you talked, the more I thought, ‘How could something so sweet possibly destroy a village?’
“But...then I would think of the money, the chance to keep my shop alive and I just—” Kamemon growled, slamming his helmet covered head into the back of the chair. “I’m sorry! I let my desperation get the best of me...again!”
Babs Seed stared at Kamemon, who looked like he was on the verge of crying. In a way, she could almost understand what was going through his head at the time.
Babs Seed watched the pumpkin float roll out of the barn, bouncing down the hill to meet its untimely demise as a pile of rubble. She only wanted to knock the front wheel out, she didn’t know it was going to make the whole float unstable! Luckily, she was able to slip back into the act while everypony was focused on that.
Her cousin and her friend turned around, pure shock etched across their faces.
“Looks like somepony’s pumpkin just got squashed!” she said with mock sympathy, earning barely stifled giggles from Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.
Apple Bloom’s face contorted in anger. “When I tell Applejack—”
“You gonna tell Applejack what?” Babs Seed got right up in her face, putting on the most threatening look she could, just like the bullies back home.
“W-well, y’know, uh…” Apple Bloom stuttered.
“What're you, a snitch?” Babs spat, putting emphasis on the word ‘snitch’. And like that, she was shut down.
“Come on, Babs, you should hang with us! Y'know, the cool ponies, not these babies!” Diamond Tiara invited.
Babs tagged along behind the two rich fillies, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle moving out of the way. ‘So, this is what it feels like to be the one callin’ the shots?’ Babs thought. She had to admit, it did feel pretty good being at a higher notch on the totem pole. The old saying held true: if you can’t beat them, join them.
Wanting to make her dominance clear, she shot one last glare towards Apple Bloom, who wilted under her gaze. She recognized that face. Babs would see that same defeated look in the mirror when she ran to the bathroom in tears after receiving a similar treatment. Seeing that face on her cousin let her know she was doing it right.
That’s when it hit her. She had bullied her own cousin! A filly who she only met less than an hour ago!
A small ball began to form in the pit of her stomach. Apple Bloom and her friends had shown her nothing but kindness the moment she stepped off the train, literally! Maybe they were a bit too enthusiastic in their welcome, and clearly unfamiliar with the words “personal space”. But they seemed like a fun bunch of fillies. And a club dedicated to helping blank flanks like her? The pitch Apple Bloom gave her needed work, but the idea sounded kind of fun.
Did being the top filly on the food chain usually feel this sour?
“Helloooo….Equestria to Babs!” Diamond Tiara said.
“Babs!” Apple Bloom shouted.
“Wuh?” Babs was shaken out of her trip down the shadier sides of memory lane.
“What’re you doin?!” Apple Bloom asked.
Babs looked in front of her, her hooves frozen on one of the knots that held Kamemon to the chair. She didn’t even remember getting up, lost in her memories. “Apple Bloom…” she sighed. “Remember the week we first met? The week of the Summer Harvest Parade?”
Apple Bloom thought about that for a few moments before her ears drooped. “Oh Babs…”
“Believe me, I know what it’s like to be so desperate to avoid somethin’ that you do something incredibly stupid.” Babs went back to tugging at the numerous knots. Soon a pair of yellow hooves joined hers. Babs’ green eyes met Apple Bloom’s orange irises.
“Ya know that we forgave you for that whole fiasco ages ago, right?” Apple Bloom smiled.
“I know. It still kinda hurts though.”
Apple Bloom ruffled Babs’ mane. “Silly filly,” she chuckled.
The remaining Crusaders soon joined them, despite grumbling from Scootaloo about how much time it took for her to get him tied up in the first place.
“I...I don’t know what to say,” Kamemon said as the last of the ropes fell off of him. “After everything, you’re not even angry?”
“Oh don’t get the wrong idea, I’m still pretty ticked,” Babs said, a chorus of agreements and grunts backed her up. “But ya didn’t really want to do it, and you clearly regretted it so there’s no point in holdin’ a grudge.”
Kamemon stood in disbelief for a long time before finally working up the nerve to say something. “Here, let me pay you back.”
“Hey now, no more cookies!” Rumble protested.
“No no, nothing like that,” Kamemon walked over to the door Babs saw him enter last night. Kamemon flipped a switch, and several old lights flickered to life to reveal a large storeroom. Several dusty shelves and boxes lined the room, overflowing with all sorts of things.
Kamemon wandered over to a safe tucked away in the corner of the room. Opening it up, he began pulling out several papers, a large duffel bag, and a jar of bytes. “You said that you chased off the Impmon, right?”
“Yeah, we sent them packing!” Rumble answered.
Kamemon shook his head. “If they run back to their bosses and tell them that I didn’t pay up, they’re going to come down here en masse. If I’m still here when they do, they won’t hesitate to delete me, steal whatever they want, and burn this place down to prove a point. But with this, hopefully I can start again someplace else.”
Kamemon gestured to the storeroom. “I have to get some things together. In the meantime, take whatever you need from my surplus.”
Everyone began to pick through the messy room, stirring up dust and Celestia knows what else.
While scanning through one of the shelves, Rumble found a large shield leaning against the corner.
“Where’d you find this?” Rumble asked.
“Oh, the shield?” Kamemon called out. “Found it in some temple ruins a few weeks back. I’ve been meaning to get it appraised, but with everything that’s happened lately...”
Rumble looked closely at the shield, admiring the elegant patterns painted on it. In the center stood a stylized sun pattern, emblazoned in orange. His eyes lingered on the sun.
“I didn’t know you were into that kind of stuff Rumble,” Bearmon came up behind him.
“Doesn’t that sun look kind of familiar?” Rumble leaned closer to the shield. “It almost looks like—”
Suddenly, the shield began to glow a brilliant orange. Rumble leaped back, shielding his eyes. “What the hay!”
“Rumble, your Tag!”
Rumble glanced down at the Tag around his neck, the patterns on it beginning to glow. Looking up, everyone watched as the shield shrunk down into a small tile. The glowing tile floated towards Rumble, sliding into his Tag with a small click.
Everyone gathered around as Rumble held the Tag in his hoof. “No way…” he breathed.
“That’s...the Crest of Courage!” Bearmon smiled, patting Rumble on the back. “You found one of the Crests!”
Rumble and Kamemon were both speechless while everyone congratulated him. “Cool!” Rumble smiled, having finally found his voice again.
Apple Bloom turned back to the mess of crates, pulling out an aluminum tin with a large clasp over the top. “Wait...I think these are mess kits!”
Scootaloo turned around. “You mean like the ones you and your sister would bring on camping trips?”
“Yeah!” Apple Bloom turned to Diamond Tiara, who was looking at her quizzingly. “Check this out.”
Apple Bloom unbuckled the metal clasp, lifting the lid off the top. The lid was shaped like a small bowl. Inside the kit was a spork and a small kettle, and inside of that was a small cup. Apple Bloom lifted the bottom part of the kit by the metal clasp, holding it like a pot handle to reveal the bottom part was also a skillet. Apple Bloom then nested all of these utensils back into the kit, closing it back up.
Babs Seed whistled. “That’s pretty cool!”
“There’s enough here for everyone.” Apple Bloom started pulling out mess kits left and right.
“I found some hammocks!” Sweetie Belle declared. Everyone turned to her with a raised eyebrow. “What? These might come in handy.”
Apple Bloom trotted over to her. Looking at the package, this clearly wasn’t the type of hammock that one would hang in their yard. The material looked similar to that used in tents. These were clearly meant for camping trips, to be set up and taken down with ease.
“You know what? I think these would be good to have on nights where it ain’t rainin’,” Apple Bloom smiled. “Good catch Sweetie Belle!”
“Scootaloo, what the hay is that?” Diamond Tiara giggled.
Apple Bloom turned to see Scootaloo adjusting a pair of aviator goggles on her head. “Goggles, seriously?”
“Yeah, why not? I found them lying around and they just kind of...called out to me.” Scootaloo finished adjusting the headgear, admiring herself in a nearby mirror.
“Really, what did they say?” Guilmon came up behind her, putting an ear to the goggles.
“You know…” Diamond Tiara came up to Scootaloo with a hoof on her chin. “It’s weird, but they actually kind of look good on you.”
Scootaloo starred at Diamond Tiara, her mouth agape. She had never heard Diamond Tiara compliment her like that before! “Wow...thank you. Here, I found them back here.”
Scootaloo led them around the corner, where several other random accessories sat on crates and on hung off whatever surface could be found.
“Wow...what a mess!” Silver Spoon said. “Ugh, you all can dig through this junk all you like. I’m going upstairs before I suffocate in all this—” She stopped, her eyes and smile growing wider. “Oh my gosh, that hat is gorgeous!” she squealed, racing past everyone to claim a cream-colored sun hat sitting on top of a coat rack.
“Hey Diamond Tiara, check out what I found,” Babs said as she held up a silver hairpin with an ornate pattern on it.
“Wow, that’s really pretty,” Diamond Tiara said. Babs hoofed over the hairpin and Diamond looked at it for a moment as if inspecting it.
“Well, what are ya waitin’ for? A formal invitation?” Babs joked.
“Y’know guys,” Diamond Tiara said garnering everypony’s attention. “These recent events made me realize that I need to grow up from the...difficult pony I’ve been. Hawkmon was only able to digivolve when I realized I needed to fight. And I want to keep being a partner worthy of him.” Then, much to everypony’s amazement, Diamond Tiara took the tiara off her head and put it in her Digivice’s inventory. Silver Spoon was especially shocked.
“Di, why are you putting away your tiara? You’ve worn that thing every day since I’ve met you!”
“I said I wanted to change didn’t I? Well, I think this is a decent start. Plus a hair clip will be way easier to keep in place,” Diamond Tiara said with a chuckle. She then moved her mane to the side somewhat and affixed the hair clip.
Rumble watched everypony pick through the bits and baubles littered throughout the corner, trying them on and striking the occasional pose. “Girls…” he rolled his eyes with a scoff.
“What’s the matter Rumble?” Bearmon asked. “Don’t you want something too?”
Rumble chuckled. “Um, no thanks. I’m a guy, I don’t play dress up.” He flew over everyone else, wanting to see if there was anything noteworthy on the adjacent shelves. As he was looking through a collection of old tools and antique lamps, he saw something just out of the corner of his eye.
“What is this thing?” he picked up the odd piece of headgear, a smile beginning to grow as he inspected it. “On second thought Bearmon, maybe I will get a little something.”
After some time, the DigiDestined stepped out of the shop wearing their new gear. Apple Bloom was wearing a green bandana around her neck, Scootaloo had a pair of blue aviator goggles on her head, and Sweetie Belle had a camera around her neck. Diamond Tiara was wearing the hairpin she found in place of her tiara, while Silver Spoon had a nice cream-colored sun hat on her head, and Babs had a bandolier wrapped around her torso. Rumble was adjusting a monocular held atop his head by a camouflage headband. Altogether, they certainly looked far more prepared for the long adventure ahead.
“I gotta say, I’m liking these new accessories,” Scootaloo smiled.
“It’s like my sister always said: ‘It’s the clothes that make the mare’,” Sweetie Belle said in an imitation of Rarity’s voice that elicited a laugh out of everypony.
“I still can’t believe that Rumble found that thing,” Babs Seed grumbled, glaring at Rumble.
Smirking, Rumble lowered the monocularto his right eye, giving him an extreme close up of Babs Seed’s face. “Oh, I think I’ve spotted a jealous little pony—” his expression wrinkled. “-who has some serious boogers up her nose!”
“Too much information dude!” Scootaloo shuddered. “And quit complaining Babs, that bandolier looks awesome on you.”
Kamemon emerged from his shop, locking the front door and hanging up a large sign that read “OUT OF BUSINESS” in Digicode. He stepped back with a sigh, taking in the sight of the Sleepypine Trading Post one last time. He hoisted a large backpack over his shoulders and turned to the DigiDestined.
“Well then, take care. Maybe I’ll see you again someday,” Kamemon said with a wave.
“You too Kamemon, stay out of trouble now,” Babs said as she waved back.
“Hey, guys!” Sweetie Belle turned around “Why don’t we take a quick picture in front of the store?”
“Yeah, let’s do it.” Silver replied, getting nods from everypony.
“And don’t worry Scoots, you’ll definitely be smiling in this one,” Apple Bloom joked.
“Oh hardy har har,” Scootaloo said with far less enthusiasm. The DigiDestined grouped together and posed for the picture. Some struck an adventurous pose, others simply smiled as Sweetie Belle levitated the camera in front of them.
“Can I get a ‘Hooah’?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“HOOAH!” everyone cheered as Sweetie Belle snapped the picture. When they were finished, they set out down the road, ready to continue their quest to save the Digital World.
