//------------------------------// // The Rainbow Sleeps Tonight // Story: Digital Harmony // by Zennistrad //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash stared angrily at the large green caterpillar that was standing just in front of her. Her initial reaction to the bug was less cool than she’d like to admit, she was thankful her friends hadn’t seen her initial freakout. After a short time screaming and flailing, the bug had backed off slightly, and was now staring at her worriedly. Rainbow glared back intensely at the worm with wings flared, trying her best to look intimidating. “Y-you better not try anything!” she stammered, “I’m warning you!” “Please, don’t be scared,” replied the insect, “I was only trying to help...” “Like hay you were! You’re the third giant bug that’s tried to kill me since I got here!” “I wasn’t trying to kill you, I was trying to warn you. It’s much too dangerous out here for you to be sleeping like that!” Rainbow eyed the green caterpillar suspiciously. “I suppose you’re right about that. But how do I know I can trust you? How do I know you’re not going to try to kill me?” “Well, if I did want to kill you, wouldn’t I have done it when you were sleeping?” “Huh? Well, maybe you’re planning something else, like, um...” Rainbow paused, trying to come up with a possible explanation. “Well, whatever! I don’t trust you, and that’s that! So don’t move!” Rainbow’s ferocious gaze wavered slightly as she stared down the insect, fear plainly visible in her eyes. “I’m serious! D-don’t move a muscle or I’ll squish you!” The caterpillar shifted nervously under the weight of Rainbow Dash’s piercing glare. For several seconds the two simply stared at each other, unwilling to make a move. “Wormmon! There you are!” “Yipe!” Rainbow Dash jumped at the sound of the new voice, which had called out from the nearby foliage. Pushing itself out of the dense underbrush was a tall, bipedal creature. It was mostly hairless, save for a long black mane on its head, and on its body it wore grey outfit, with a strange rectangular bag hanging from a strap on its shoulder. Judging by the voice, he was most likely male. The bipedal creature quickly ran over to the caterpillar, apparently named Wormmon, and looked down at him, frowning in disapproval. “What were you thinking, Wormmon? You can’t just go running off by yourself like that! You know it’s dangerous out here!” “I sorry, Ken,” replied Wormmon, “but when I heard that digimon over there snoring I just had to make sure she was alright. It isn’t safe for anyone to sleeping when there are so many dark rings about!” “Hey!” Rainbow interjected, “What do you mean snoring?” “And what if they were already under the control of a dark ring?” Ken asked, “What would you have done then? What if someone tried to kill you and I wasn’t there to protect you?” “Oh,” Wormmon said dejectedly, “I didn’t think of that.” Ken immediately knelt down and wrapped his arms around Wormmon, pulling him into a tight hug, fresh tears appearing in the corners of his eyes. “I can’t lose you again, Wormmon! Not after everything that’s happened!” Wormmon’s antennae sagged as he returned Ken’s embrace. “I’m sorry, Ken, I didn’t mean to worry you. I promise I’ll be more careful.” “It’s alright. Just don’t scare me like that, okay?” “Agreed.” After a lengthy embrace, Ken released Wormmon from his arms and stood up, both of them turning to face Rainbow Dash. Rainbow stared at them nervously, unsure of what to think. “Uh... Sorry, you kinda lost me there,” said Rainbow. “Don’t worry about it,” replied Ken. “Weird, I don’t remember ever seeing anything like you. I’ll have to look your species up later.” “Huh?” “I suppose that’s not important right now, though. What’s important is if you’re alright or not. Are you okay?” “Yeah,” replied Rainbow, “I mean, I guess I’m alright now.” “See, Wormmon?” said Ken, “She’s fine. Now why don’t we go back and meet with Yolei and Hawkmon so we can get moving?” Without another word, Ken turned around and headed back in the direction with he came from. Wormmon paused for a moment, looking back at Rainbow worriedly briefly before turning back and calling into the forest. “Ken, what about her? She could still be in danger! Ken?” Wormmon’s protests fell on deaf ears, however, as Ken had already disappeared further into the jungle. “Um, I’m sorry, I really want to stay, but If I leave Ken he’ll be really worried about me. Are you sure you’re alright? Will you be able to make it out here on your own?” “Huh?” replied Rainbow, “Yeah, don’t worry. I’ll be fine.” “Are you sure?” “Yes, I’m sure!” Rainbow replied, exasperated, “now can you please just go?” “Well, all right,” Wormmon conceded. With that, he turned around and crawled into the distant forest, following after Ken. Well, that was weird, Rainbow thought, What exactly was that hairless monkey thing supposed to be? What was his name, Ken? What was with him and that bug thing named Wormmon? Rainbow sat on her haunches and contemplated what had just happened. The more she thought about the hairless ape named Ken, the more she was bothered by him. She couldn’t quite describe it, but something about Ken bothered her. There was a certain subtle wrongness about him that made Rainbow Dash feel on edge when thinking about him. Ugh, just what is going on here? A jungle, giant bug monsters, and now that thing named Ken? A frustrated frown appeared on Rainbow’s face as she considered everything that had happened since Twilight had cast her teleport spell. The whole experience had left her confused and desperate for answers. That’s it! I’m tired of being left out of the loop! I’m going to get some answers out of that big bald ape! A newfound sense of determination welled up within Rainbow Dash as she lifted herself into the air and sped off to find Ken. ———————— Ken soon arrived back at the makeshift camp to find Yolei and Hawkmon waiting for him. Yolei stood up and rushed over to meet him. “Is everything alright, Ken?” asked Yolei, “Where’s Wormmon?” “Huh?” Panic crept its way into Ken’s face as he looked behind him to see Wormmon wasn’t there. “Wormmon? Wormmon, where are you!?” “Ken, wait up!” “Wormmon, what were you doing back there?” demanded Ken, “You were supposed to be following after me!” Wormmon looked up at Ken, still breathing heavily. “I’m sorry, Ken. I had to stay behind to make sure that digimon was alright.” “We don’t have time for that!” Ken snapped, “If we stop to help every single digimon we find we’ll never make it to the control spire! The only way to save these digimon is to destroy the spire and find out who’s building them!” Wormmon flinched at the sudden outburst as though he were struck. “Ken, calm down!” Yolei cried out, “I understand you’re upset about what’s happening, but that’s no reason to yell at Wormmon like that!” Ken sighed. “Look, I’m just saying we shouldn’t distract ourselves from our mission. I’m sorry if acted unreasonably.” “Yolei’s not the one you should be saying sorry to,” Hawkmon chimed, “Wormmon’s the one you yelled at, and I believe you owe him an apology.” Ken frowned, shifting uncomfortably. “You’re right,” he admitted, “I’m sorry, Wormmon.” “That’s okay, Ken,” said Wormmon, “I forgive you.” Ken knelt down and allowed Wormmon to approach him, scratching him gently behind the antennae. “Hey, you!” Ken and the others nearly jumped into the air at the sound of the voice that had called out. A multicolored blur suddenly shot out from the forest, kicking up large amounts of dust as it landed nearby. The two humans and digimon erupted into coughing fits as the dust settled from the sudden disturbance. Yolei took off her glasses and wiped the dust off, while the others rubbed the dust from their eyes, allowing them to get a good look at the sudden arrival. The first thing Yolei noticed was that it resembled a small winged pony, with a bright multicolored mane that complimented her light-blue coat. The second thing she noticed was that was it angry. “You there!” said the pony, pointing an accusing hoof at Ken, “you’d better tell me what’s going on here! Who are you? Where are my friends?” “Hey, calm down,” said Ken. “No! I’m not going to calm down! I’m completely lost in the middle of nowhere, my friends are nowhere to be found, and I was nearly killed by a giant wasp! You better tell me what’s going here, or else!” “Hey, leave Ken alone!” Yolei interjected, “he hasn’t done anything to you!” The pony turned her head to face Yolei. “Oh? And who are you supposed to be? His girlfriend?” A pink flush appeared on Yolei’s face. “H-hey! Shut up! Just because I think he’s cute doesn’t mean he’s my boyfriend!” Ken suddenly shrank back, his face turning bright red. The pony’s angry glare disappeared as she suddenly burst into uproarious laughter, rolling on the forest floor. “Shut up!” Yolei shouted, “That’s not funny!” “Yeah, sure...” The pony replied sarcastically, still gasping for breath as she stood up. “Why don’t you tell me again about how cute your not-boyfriend is?” “Why, you little—!” “That’s quite enough, both of you!” Hawkmon interrupted, putting himself between the pony and Yolei. “Now, then,” Hawkmon addressed the pony, “would you please be so kind as to tell us your name? I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a digimon like you before.” “Digimon? What are you talking about?” The pony flew up off the ground, doing a backwards flip in the air. “You’re looking at Rainbow Dash, the awesomest pegasus in all of Equestria!” the pony proclaimed triumphantly. Breathing heavily, she slowly lowered herself to ground, trying to hide her own exhaustion. “You’re a Pegasusmon?” said Wormmon, “That’s strange, I’ve never seen one like you before. Then again, I’ve only ever known one.” “No, Wormmon,” said Ken, “I think what she’s trying to say is that she’s not a Digimon at all. Is that right... Rainbow Dash?” Ken hesitated in saying the name, sounding completely ridiculous to his ears. “No way! I don’t even know what a digimon is! Why do you keep calling me that?” “But... I don’t understand.” said Ken, “How is that possible?” “Hey, wait a second,” said Yolei. “I don’t know! That’s just the way I am!” said Rainbow, angrily. “Hey!” said Yolei. “That doesn’t explain anything!” said Ken “Everything in the Digital World is either a human or digimon, and you’re neither of those things! So tell me, what exactly are you supposed to be?” “I already told you! I’m a pegasus!” “Will you two shut up and listen!?” “What!?” Ken and Rainbow Dash both turned and yelled at Yolei. “Oh, don’t look at me like that, Ken! I was going to tell you something important before you two started bickering with each other!” Ken sighed. “Yeah, what is it?” “Well,” said Yolei, “remember that email Davis sent to me a while ago that I thought was a prank? He said something about finding some alien pony named Twilight—” “What!?” Rainbow Dash left the ground in an instant, flying up so that her face was mere inches away from Yolei’s. “Where is she!? What have you done with her!?” “H-hey! Calm down! I haven’t done anything!” “Like hay you haven’t, you liar!” Rainbow pressed herself closer to Yolei, causing her to tumble backwards and fall onto her backside. Rainbow Dash landed violently on top of her, pinning her to the ground. “You’re in a world of hurt for threatening my friends!” “Sticky Net!” Wormmon ejected a glob of silk from his mouth, striking Rainbow Dash at high velocity. The silk expanded into a net, carrying Rainbow as it traveled, before wrapping itself around a tree, pinning Rainbow Dash to the trunk. “H-hey! Lemme go!” Rainbow struggled futilely against the silk, trying desperately to escape her bonds. Hawkmon approached Yolei and reached out with an arm, helping her to her feet. “Are you okay?” “Yeah, I’m fine,” said Yolei, “but what about Rainbow Dash?” Yolei looked over towards the aforementioned pegasus, who struggled weakly against the sticky web holding her to the trunk. After a brief fit of struggling, she finally gave up, hanging limp against her restraints. “I... I give up.” She sighed. “Do whatever you want with me, but please, don’t hurt my friends!” “Now wait a second,” said Yolei. “Please!” Rainbow begged, “My friends don’t deserve this! I’ll do anything, just leave them alone!” “Calm down! We’re not going to hurt anyone!” “Yolei, perhaps it would be best if I handled this,” Hawkmon chimed in as he approached Rainbow Dash. “Feather Strike!” Rainbow Dash flinched as Hawkmon grabbed the feather on his headband and tossed it like a boomerang at her. Instead of striking her, however, the feather cleanly cut through the silk on either side of her body, causing her to fall to the ground. Hawkmon caught the feather as it came back to him, placing it back on his headband. Rainbow hesitantly opened her eyes, and looked around in confusion. She stood up, and with a gentle shake of her legs, she forced the silk net off. “You freed me?” she asked, turning to face the others, “Why?” “A simple act of good will, my friend,” said Hawkmon, “I only wished to prove to you that we meant no harm.” “No harm!?” Rainbow shouted, “You said you had your friends kidnap Twilight!” “Nobody said anything about a kidnapping!” cried Yolei. “All I said was that Davis found your friend!” Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. “So you really haven’t done anything to hurt her?” “Of course not. Davis may be a little obnoxious sometimes, but he’d never hurt someone for no reason.” “And what about my other friends?” asked Rainbow, “What happened to them?” “Huh?” “My other friends! We were all together when we left! What happened? Are... Are they gonna be okay?” Rainbow croaked out the words as she stared at Yolei with pleading eyes. Yolei shook her head. “I haven’t heard anything about other ponies, I’m afraid.” “Oh...” Rainbow Dash’s ears flattened against her head, looking as though she’d been crushed. Yolei knelt down and looked Rainbow straight in the eyes. “Hey, listen. Why don’t you tell us some more about your friends and where you came from? Maybe we figured out what’s going on we could help you out.” “I’d like to know what’s going on, too.” said Ken. “You said she was an alien, didn’t you?” “Well, that’s what Davis said,” replied Yolei. “Are you an alien, Rainbow Dash?” “What?” exclaimed Rainbow, “Of course not! Why would I be an alien? I told you, I’m a pegasus!” “I think a better question would be if you came from another world.” said Hawkmon, “Nobody would consider himself an alien from his own perspective, after all.” “What are you talking about?” said Rainbow, “I’m not from another world, I’m from Equestria!” The others traded a series of blank looks with each other. “Uh... You know, Equestria? It’s only the single largest kingdom on planet Ungula! How can you not have heard of it?” “Uh, I hate to break it to you, Rainbow,” said Yolei, “but I’ve never heard of a planet called Ungula before.” Rainbow Dash’s jaw dropped. “What?! Does this mean I’m on another planet now?” “My sincerest apologies, Rainbow Dash,” said Hawkmon, “but I’m afraid it’s the truth.” “Apologies? Are you kidding me!?” Rainbow exclaimed, as she flew into the air excitedly, “I’m one of the first ponies to ever explore another planet! That is so awesome!” Rainbow leaned up and pressed her front hooves against her face, squishing her cheeks together. “That’s the spirit!” said Hawkmon, “Always look on the bright side of things, I always say!” “You said it!” exclaimed Rainbow “So what exactly is this planet called anyway? Are you guys, like, the native aliens or something? What sort of freaky alien names have you got?” “Hey!” cried Yolei, “My name’s not freaky, it’s Yolei!” “I dunno, sounds pretty freaky to me,” Rainbow teased. “No it isn’t! It’s a perfectly normal name!” “Alright, that’s enough”, interrupted Ken, “Rainbow Dash is right, though, we should probably introduce ourselves since we’ve already learned her name. I’m Ken, and this is my partner Wormmon.” “Oh yeah,” said Rainbow Dash, “I remember that now. I heard you guys call each other that before. What about the bird thing, though? What’s his name?” “I beg your pardon?” Hawkmon huffed, “My name is Hawkmon, and I am most certainly not a bird thing.” “So... You’re a hawk, and your name is Hawkmon? And the worm guy’s name is Wormmon? Not very creative. Why can’t you have those weird alien names like Ken or Yolei?” “For the last time, there’s nothing wrong with my name!” exclaimed Yolei. “Let’s not start this again,” interrupted Ken. “If we want to get anywhere we need to explain to each other what’s going on. “I should start by saying that Yolei and I are humans. We come from a planet called Earth, which is a different from the Digital World, which is where we are right now. The Digital World is connected to the planet Earth through Earth’s computer networks. Wormmon and Hawkmon are digimon, or digital monsters, which are native to the Digital World.” “Whoa... So you guys are like, double aliens, then,” said Rainbow. Yolei and Hawkmon both rolled their eyes. “Well, I suppose that’s one way of seeing it,” said Ken, “Yolei and I are part of a special group of humans called the Digi-Destined. We’ve both been chosen to serve as a link between the Earth and the Digital World, and with the help of our partners we protect both worlds from evil.” Ken pulled out a small electronic device from his pocket and showed it to Rainbow Dash. “This object is called a digivice. It lets us open portals from Earth to the Digital World. It also allows us to channel our emotions to allow our partners to digivolve into stronger forms. But right now our partners can’t digivolve normally because of the control spires...” Ken trailed off, leaving his sentence unfinished. “Uh, are you okay?” asked Rainbow. “It’s nothing,” said Ken, “as I was saying, the control spires are black towers that emit a signal that prevents our digimon from digivolving normally. Instead, we use artifacts called armor digi-eggs, which allow our partners to armor digivolve.” “Uh-huh.” Rainbow nodded along half-heartedly, looking like she didn’t fully understand. “The control spires also control evil artifacts called dark rings, which brainwash and enslave digimon. We’re trying to find out who’s building the control spires and put a stop to them before any more innocent digimon are harmed.” “Wait, are you saying those bugs that tried to kill me were under mind control?” Rainbow cried,  “I don’t believe it! That’s messed up! Who would do that?” “As I said, that’s what we’re trying to find out. But what I’m wondering now is how you got here, and if it’s somehow related to the control spires.” “Huh? What!?” Rainbow sputtered. “What are you saying? I’d never do anything like that!” “Calm down, Rainbow, nobody’s accusing you of anything!” said Yolei. “We just need to know how you got here so we can figure out what’s going on.” “Alright, alright, sorry,” Rainbow sighed, “sheesh.” “It’s okay,” said Ken, “we’re not mad at you, we just need to know everything before we go on. Can you tell us what happened before you got here?” “Well,” said Rainbow Dash, “I was having a picnic outside near Twilight’s house, along with my friends, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Applejack. We were waiting for our other friend Fluttershy when we suddenly heard this huge explosion! We went inside to investigate, and apparently Fluttershy was being dragged through a portal by some kind of evil magic. Twilight cast a spell for us to follow her, and next thing I knew, I was here, and the rest my friends were nowhere to be seen.” “Evil magic?” said Yolei, “Ken, do you think that could be related to the new control spires?” “That does sound likely at this point,” said Ken, “Rainbow Dash, can you tell us any more information?” “Hey, no need to be all formal and stuff. Just call me Rainbow. Or Dash. Just as long as you know I’m awesome.” Rainbow Dash smirked triumphantly. “Great, just what we needed,” Yolei muttered, “another Davis.” “I can’t really think of anything else important to say. Oh, wait, my Element of Loyalty got transformed into this thing. It looks kind of like that Digivice you showed me.” Rainbow held out her forehoof as she hovered in front of Ken, allowing him to examine the red plastic device. Ken stared incredulously at the small device on Rainbow’s ankle. “I don’t believe it. Is this really a digivice? Does this mean you’re a Digi-Destined?” “Nah,” said Rainbow, “I don’t have a digimon partner like you. It just turned into this when I arrived here.” “I see. And what is the Element of Loyalty, exactly?” “It’s one of the Elements of Harmony,” said Rainbow. “They’re these six magical necklaces that represent the awesomest, most powerful force in Equestria! Well, Twilight’s is a crown, but whatever. Whenever bad guys attack, my friends and I are always ready to use the Elements to give them what for!” Rainbow cheered as she posed triumphantly in midair. “Can you tell us more about them?” asked Ken, “What else do you know about the Elements of Harmony?” “Well, as I said, My Element is the Element of Loyalty. Fluttershy’s is the Element of Kindness, Rarity is Generosity, Applejack is Honesty, Pinkie Pie's is Laughter, and Twilight’s is the Element of Magic. Whenever we use them, we go all floaty and glowy-eyed and shoot a giant rainbow that beats the bad guys in one shot. I gotta say, those Elements of Harmony have some pretty good taste.” Ken’s eyes suddenly went wide. “Wait, back up! You say the Element of Kindness belonged to Fluttershy? The one who was kidnapped by an evil force?” “Yeah,” said Rainbow, “why?” “Because if my suspicions are correct,” Ken replied flatly, “then the one who took Fluttershy is using her Element of Kindness to build these new control spires.” “What!” Rainbow exclaimed, “What do you mean? Why would they do that? How do you know?” “Just trust me on this!” Ken snapped angrily, causing the others to flinch. “Right now your friend is in grave danger, Rainbow, and if we don’t act fast something horrible could happen to her!” Rainbow simply stared, stunned into silence. Ken turned to Yolei and Hawkmon. “Get ready to armor digivolve. We need to head for the control spire right away.” “Ken, shouldn’t you—” Ken gave Yolei a piercing glare, silencing her instantly. Yolei could tell just from his expression what Ken was trying to say. We can’t tell her about me yet. We can’t risk losing her trust. Yolei nodded, reaching into her pocket and holding out her Digivice towards Hawkmon. “Alright, then. Get ready, Hawkmon! Digi-Armor Energize!” Yolei’s Digivice let out a shrill noise as it the screen glowed intensely. The Digi-Egg of Love emerged from the screen, growing in size until it resemble a winged helmet. Hawkmon’s body glowed as the digi-egg flew towards him, and merged with his body. “Hawkmon, Armor Digivolve To: Halsemon, the Wings of Love!” Rainbow stared in awe as Hawkmon’s body grew larger, transforming into a quadrupedal digimon not too dissimilar from a griffin, with a winged helmet covering the top of his head. Yolei climbed on, and Ken followed suit, lifting Wormmon up to carry him onto Halemon’s back. “Come on, Rainbow,” said Yolei, “Ken’s right, we should get going.” “Wait!” Rainbow cried out, “What about Fluttershy? What about the rest of my friends? Are they going to be okay?” “Don’t worry, we’ll find them,” said Ken, “come on, we can look for your friends on the way to the control spire.” “Alright,” said Rainbow, “I’ll come with you. We’ll kick those bad guys’ butts so had they won’t even know what hit them! That’ll teach them not to mess with my friends!” “We should get going then,” said Halsemon, “Do you want a ride, or will you fly with us on your own?” “You kidding? I don’t need any help, I was born to fly!” Rainbow exclaimed. “Uh, not that you’re a bad ride or anything,” she hastily added. “No offense taken,” said Halsemon. With that, Halsemon lifted off the ground, ascending through a large hole in the forest canopy, with Rainbow Dash following closely behind as they both set off in search of the control spire.