Digital Harmony

by Zennistrad


Hottokenai

Rainbow Dash stared down lazily at the jungle as the trees passed her at a moderate pace. Due to her inexplicably reduced flight speed and agility, she’d found herself mostly gliding through the air as she followed Halsemon towards their ultimate destination. She didn’t have the energy or the ability to perform any of her usual feats of aerial prowess, and it infuriated her to no end.

She looked over towards Halsemon, who was leading her towards what appeared to be a black tower in the distance, presumably one of the control spires Ken had mentioned. Rainbow felt a shiver fall down her spine as she looked at the spire, its evil presence felt despite being so far away.

“So, what are we going to do when we get to this control spire thing?” asked Rainbow.

“We’re going to destroy it,” replied Ken. “When we do, it’ll free all the digimon in the area that are controlled by dark rings.”

“And what about Fluttershy?” Rainbow demanded “What about my other friends? We still have no idea where they are or what happened to them!”

“We’ll figure that out when we get there”, said Ken, “we need to destroy the control spire first.”

“But my friends are in danger! You’re not seriously going to abandon them, are you?”

“You don’t think I know that?” Ken angrily replied, “Right now the entire Digital World is in danger! If we want to figure out what’s going on and what happened to your friends, we have no choice but to go after the control spire first. Once we free the digimon, they’ll be able to tell us what happened.”

“And what if they don’t know what happened to my friends?” Rainbow asked, “what are you gonna do then, huh?”

“Calm down, Rainbow!” said Yolei, “I promise we’ll find your friends, okay? Ken knows what he’s doing, you need to trust him.”

“He’d better know what he’s doing.” Rainbow muttered.

The group continued in silence for some time, the control spire gradually growing larger in size from their perspective as they approached. Rainbow felt her body growing more and more tired as they continued, but she tried her best to avoid showing any sign of fatigue to her new acquaintances.

Ugh, I’ll never find my friends at this rate, she silently protested. There’s no way I’ll be able to rescue my friends with these guys slowing me down. I have to find a way to ditch them somehow.

“Hey, Ken?” Rainbow spoke up

Ken was suddenly pulled out of his silent brooding. “Hm?”

“Um... Can I stop so I can use the bathroom?”

Now?

“Please?” Rainbow pleaded, “I really have to go!”

Ken let out an exasperated sigh. “Ugh, fine. But make it quick, okay?”

“Alright, thanks! Just, uh, don’t wait up for me, okay? I’ll catch up to you eventually.”

“Wait!” Yolei cried, “You’re not seriously going to go down there by yourself, are you? Don’t you know it’s dangerous?”

“What? Can’t I get a little privacy?” Rainbow responded with indignation, “I can take care of myself! I survived in that jungle for all by myself before you found me!”

Ken raised an eyebrow skeptically.

“Don’t worry,” said Rainbow, “I’ll be totally fine. Just keep going and I’ll meet with you at the control spire.”

“What about all the mind controlled digimon?” Wormmon asked in a concerned tone. “There are so many nasty things down there who would kill you as soon as they saw the opportunity.”

“I’d like to see them try!” Rainbow boasted, “Look, if I can keep up with you guys in the air for this long, then sure as hay can outrun any monster that comes after me. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go!”

“Rainbow, wait!”

Rainbow Dash ignored Yolei’s shout as she swiftly flew downwards, causing Halsemon to swerve in midair to face her. Before they could go after her, Rainbow maneuvered through a gap in the forest canopy that was too small for Halsemon to fit through, leaving the group hovering above the forest canopy. Yolei desperately reached out a hand towards the fleeing pegasus, only to be interrupted when Ken placed a hand on her shoulder.

“It’s alright, Yolei. Rainbow Dash was right, If we wait for her, it’ll only slow us down while more innocent digimon suffer. I think we should trust her on this.”

“Are you sure she’ll make it back alright?” Yolei pleaded.

“Rainbow Dash isn’t as helpless as you might think,” replied Ken. “If we’re to believe her story, that device on her wrist is one of the most powerful weapons of her world. If worse comes to worse, she’ll be able to defend herself with it.”

“I just can’t help but worry, though...”

“I understand if you’re worried Yolei, but we do need to keep moving. I have a suspicion that the evil force that abducted her friend Fluttershy is also the one creating the control spires, and is currently holding her hostage. We need to confirm if that’s true by freeing the digimon and gathering more information on who enslaved them.”

Yolei hesitated briefly before responding. “Alright Ken, I trust your judgment. I just hope you’re right about all of this.”

Yolei gave Halsemon a slight nod, and Halsemon turned around and started flying towards the control spire. As they approached, Ken couldn’t help but stare at the black monument he had worked so hard to eradicate from the Digital World in the past.

Either the one who kidnapped Fluttershy is using her Element to build the control spires, or... No, I don’t even want to consider that possibility. Nobody would ever repeat my mistake.

————————

Rainbow Dash let out a tired sigh as she landed on the forest floor.

Thank Celestia, I finally managed to ditch them. Now I just need to figure out where the hay my friends went.

Taking a look around, Rainbow scanned the forest for any sign of any of the other ponies that had accompanied her on their mission to rescue Fluttershy. Everywhere she looked, however, there was nothing but vegetation, no sign of anything other than the colorful foliage. As she looked the landscape seemed to blend together into a solid mass of greens and browns. It even seemed to be getting blurrier, in fact.

Rainbow suddenly let out a loud yawn. Her eyelids sagged shut and her body began to feel heavier. The fatigue of traveling so far with her reduced flight ability. had finally caught up to her.

“No...” Rainbow moaned, “I can’t fall asleep... My friends... Can't turn my back...

Her protests went unheard by anyone as she swiftly fell into unconsciousness.

————————

Far above the soil of Equestria, a group of young pegasi stood on the surface of a cloud, molded into the shape of a runway. Various weather vanes and instruments dotted the cloudscape as it stretched into the distance. This was recognized by ponies in the area as the field used for flight instruction in Cloudsdale Academy, the school with the most esteemed flight curriculum in Equestria.

Among the fillies and colts present was a young filly by the name of Rainbow Dash, unmistakably identified by her bright blue coat and multicolored mane. She was also the youngest in the class by at least two years, having been placed in a higher class due to her exceptional athletic skill.

The instructor, a brown stallion wearing a red sports jacket and a whistle, soon flew in and landed in front of the class. His normally stern expression was replaced by a look of deep melancholy. There was no discipline in his features, no aura of authority, only sadness.

“Kids, I’m afraid I have some bad news.”

Oh no, Rainbow thought.

“As you might have heard, your classmate Spiral Twister was taken to the hospital yesterday. It is with deepest regret that I must say that she won’t be coming back.”

A chorus of gasps sounded out from the class, and the fillies and colts began whispering among themselves about what had happened. Some say she’d flown too recklessly  and gotten her wing broken off by a crash, others say she caught a deadly disease, and that it was contagious. Rainbow simply fell onto her haunches, unable to say a word. What could she have said? She was there when it happened.

“Settle down, everypony!” the instructor demanded, “I can assure you that she hasn’t died from anything, and that nopony else is in any danger of catching it. What your classmate had was feather rot, a rare genetic disease that manifests around puberty. It gradually cuts circulation off from the wings, causing death of wing tissue. If treated in time, the symptoms can be completely cured and prevented. Unfortunately, by the time your classmate was in the hospital, her wings had been damaged beyond repair, and the doctors were forced to amputate.”

“Excuse me? What’s amputate mean?” asked the voice of a young colt. Rainbow didn’t even bother to see who it was.

“It means the doctors had to cut off her wings,” replied the instructor, “as long as she lives she may never fly again.” The pegasi children all gasped in unison.

Oh no. No no no no no no. Please, no, it can’t be true!

“I know you all are upset by this, and that’s why it’s important to remember that we’re all here to support each other. If someone had been around to ensure that Spiral Twister had gotten to the hospital sooner, the doctors might have been able to save her wings. One of the first things you learned in flight school that it’s our responsibility to ensure that we’re here to catch each other if we fall. But what most of you might not realize is that it isn’t just about flying. It’s about doing what it takes to help others who need it most. Pegasus society was built on the ideal of a strong community, one where we always look out for each other in the worst of times. If there’s one thing that I want you to remember from this class, it’s that you should always be there for a pony in need.

“Now, since we’re all so deeply affected by the loss of our friend, we won’t be having class today. Since this is your last class, you may go home, but always remember: you can’t just turn your back on anypony. Dismissed!”

With a blow of his whistle, the instructor turned and flew away, and the crowd of pegasi children slowly dispersed, with none of the enthusiasm of schoolchildren let out of class early. Rainbow simply sat on her haunches, tears already forming in her eyes.

“This is all my fault!” she sobbed “I was there! I could have saved her! Why didn’t she tell me she was that sick? I could have saved her! It’s my fault... My fault...”

Rainbow’s words were ultimately unheard, as by then all of the others had already left.

————————

Gyah!” Rainbow screamed out as her head jolted upwards, catapulting herself awake. She breathed deep, labored breaths as she recovered from the shock of reliving her worst memories.

“Heh... Just a dream. No big deal. Just walk it off.” She slowly rose to her hooves, stretching her legs and wings in turn.

“I hope I wasn’t asleep for too long,” she said to nobody in particular. “I’ll bet Ken and Yolei are already at the control spire by now.”

Rainbow suddenly froze. Her stomach sank as she was suddenly reminded of the humans whom she’d recently befriended.

“Dear Celestia, what am I doing?! They went out of their way to help me when I needed them, and this is the thanks I give them? I’m such an idiot! I can’t just turn my back on them like this!”

In a sudden burst of speed, Rainbow flew straight into the air, smashing through the canopy as though it were nothing. Ignoring the sudden bruises and cuts, she headed straight for the control spire, flying faster than she’d ever flown since her arrival in the Digital World.

————————

“There it is! Let’s take it out!”

Yolei pointed towards the control spire as it neared the range of Halsemon’s attacks. The spire sat in the middle of a large clearing, a meadow of wild grass that was surrounded on all sides by the thick trees and ferns of the jungle. Strangely, there were no other digimon to be seen in the clearing.

Mach Impulse!

Blades of pressurized wind shot forth from the blades on Halsemon’s helmet, slicing straight through the control spire’s architecture. The massive tower began to topple over in the other direction, only to disintegrate into pieces of data as it collapsed to the ground, kicking up a massive cloud of dust.

“Perfecto!” said Yolei, “come on, Halsemon, let’s wait here for Rainbow. She couldn’t possibly have missed that enormous implosion of dust.”

Halsemon then flew towards the ground and landed, allowing for Ken, Yolei, and Wormmon to climb off. Yolei held out her D-3, collecting the Digi-Egg of Love as Halsemon reverted to Hawkmon.

“Yolei, I hate to be a spoilsport,” said Hawkmon, “but don’t you think that was a little bit too easy?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“He’s right,” said Ken, “we shouldn’t let our guard down. If there’s anything I knew from being the Digimon Emperor, it’s that control spires are never unguarded.”

“Oh, don’t be so pessimistic, Ken,” said Yolei, “we’ve already destroyed the spire, so the dark rings won’t work anymore. What could possibly go wrong for us now?”

The others all glared at Yolei in exasperation.

“What?” said Yolei, “Come on, you don’t really believe in that dumb old cliché, do you? Just because I ask what could possibly go wrong doesn’t mean something will!”

Hawkmon pinched his brow between his feathers, nursing a sudden headache. “Yolei, for the sake of all of us, please do not tempt fate like that ever again.”

“Alright, fine,” Yolei sighed, “but if something bad happens, it’s not like we won’t be able to handle it. We’re Digi-Destined, after all.”

Suddenly, as though on cue, the sky began to darken. The light of the Digital World’s sun seemingly grew dimmer, as the area darkened despite the clear skies overhead.

Hawkmon shot Yolei an exasperated look. “You just had to say it, didn’t you?”

“I didn’t do anything, I swear!”

“I know this darkness!” exclaimed Ken. “Be prepared for anything, there’s no telling what it’s really capable of!”

Multiple pools of shadow suddenly began to form on the ground nearby, causing the grass to shrivel and die as they slithered across the ground of their own volition towards a single point. The shadows merged with each other as they collected into a single shadow, which rose out of the ground, coalescing into a solid shape, devoid of light or color.

Ken stared at the shadow in disbelief. “Stingmon!?”

“I’ve been expecting you, Ken,” the living silhouette spoke, with a voice like a thousand wasps. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Vespimon, Queen of the Digital World!”