//------------------------------// // Friends To All The Little Ponies // Story: The Joke's on Equestria // by Grey Ghost //------------------------------// “Come on already! I’m starving!” Isaac called impatiently from the makeshift high chair Twilight had conjured up. He had protested, albeit weakly due to hunger, but Twilight argued that since he was a hatchling it was necessary. “Alright, alright, just calm down!” The alicorn frowned, giving her guest an annoyed look. “You sound like Spike whenever we wait for brunch.” “What? A growing dragon needs his food.” Spike looked up from his bowl of gems, popping a ruby into his mouth. “Yeah well, that makes two of us,” Isaac mumbled, raising his eyebrow as Twilight came over with what looked like hay and some type of nut. “The heck is that?” “Foal food,” Twilight said simply, placing the bowl on the table, levitating a spoon in her magic. She scooped some up, moving it over to his mouth. “Open up, here comes the pegasus.” Isaac just glared at her, narrowing his eyes. “I am not eating that.” “You have to, it's nutritious!” Twilight hovered the spoon closer, deepening Isaac’s frown. “Twilight, I will melt that spoon if you don’t get it away from me.” “Come on just open-” She let out a yelp as Isaac spat out a bubble, dropping the spoon reflexively as it melted. “Hey!” “I warned you!” Isaac snorted. “Oh come on! I’m gonna have to clean that up!” Spike glared indignantly. “Not to mention I bought those!” “Alright, fine.” Twilight levitated the bowl over to the table, replacing it with her own bowl of oatmeal. “But, I’ll leave you to figure out how to eat without any help.” She moved away, taking her seat at the table. “Isn’t that... a little harsh?” Starlight asked, glancing between the two with an uncertain look. “You heard him, he wants to eat by himself.” Twilight leaned back, smirking as she watched Isaac try, and utterly fail, to feed himself. “Need any help?” she asked smugly. “No! I don’t need your help! What I need are hands!” Isaac glared at the bowl, just out of his reach, cursing his lack of limbs. “Well, you best work on sprouting... some...” she blinked as Isaac started to glow. His blobby body took on a more defined shape, becoming bipedal with a tail, hands, feet and a body, and the tendril on his head split into two horn-like projections. He kept his blue color, though now his belly and face were white. “Ha!” he cheered with a triumphant grin, grabbing the bowl and diving in, not caring if he got messy. “W-what just happened?!” Twilight jumped out of her seat, moving over to examine him, not caring at this point if he splattered her with oatmeal. “How did you change!?” “I digivolved!” Isaac explained, sitting back and licking his lips. “Digivolved?” Twilight repeated, mulling the unfamiliar word around in her mouth. “Yup! See, digimon can change into bigger and badder forms as they go! I was a Chibomon but now I’m a DemiVeemon!” He leaned in close, gesturing for her to lean in. “But you wanna know what the best part is?” “What?” she asked, raising her eyebrow. “I have hands!” he cheered, waving the appendages in question around. “Never have I been so grateful to have hands!” She couldn’t help but smile, his simple glee being rather infectious. “Starlight.” She turned to her student, who was finishing up her meal. “Can you clean Isaac up? I’m going to get some materials for his exam.” “Of course, Twilight.” The unicorn nodded, levitating the little digimon over despite his protests. “Thank you.” Twilight walked out of the dining hall, using a towel to clean herself up. She was about to move into her study when there was a knock at the door. “Just a minute!” she called, placing the towel around her neck. She trotted over to the door, pulling it open to reveal Zecora. “Oh, hello Zecora! What brings you here today?” “I am here to tend to the needs of a friend,” the zebra replied, smiling a little. “Who?” she asked, peering past the zebra. “I don’t see anyone...” “Right here!” a soft voice spoke up. She blinked, looking to Zecora’s saddlebags, seeing a small green creature hanging out of it, waving at her. “You found one too!?” Twilight exclaimed, starting to perform her ritual dance of excitement. Zecora just tilted her head. A high pitched giggling filled the air, and the trio turned to see Isaac run past, a soaking wet Starlight chasing after him. “It was hard to believe that one was true, but now I see that there’s actually two.” “Why don’t you come in? I’ll have Spike put some tea on.” Twilight gestured Zecora in, closing the door behind her. “I would love some if you please, jasmine tea would be ideal for me.” Zecora’s companion commented as the zebra made her way into the den. “I’ll uh... see if we have any...” Twilight muttered, moving to get her supplies. “I can’t have even a week of peace can I...?” She sighed, listening to Starlight chase after Isaac, who was just giggling his head off. “Did she forget she has magic?” “So, you just found the egg in the forest?” Twilight asked, sipping at her tea. The group, minus Spike, who was mopping the floors following Isaac’s rampage, was gathered in the den, with Starlight trying to style her mane again. Zecora nodded. A certain volume was needed to continue the conversation, as Isaac wrestled around with the other digimon, who had turned out to be his friend Jethro, who was a ‘minomon’. “They act like foals but claim to be adults.” Starlight flinched, dragging a comb through her mane. “Darn knots...” “I have a theory on that.” Twilight placed her tea down, clearing her throat. “Isaac said that digimon can change their form. I imagine they follow the same general lifespan as most creatures and their behavior is dependant on what form they’re in.” “Ah, so this would be... toddlerhood for them?” Starlight nodded, casting a small evaporation spell on herself, drying the rest of her mane. “What sortof creatures our new friends are, I am not certain, but they are quite bizarre.” Zecora couldn’t help but smile at the digimon, moving her cup out of their path. “Judging by appearance alone, Jethro is a bagworm of some sort. I’m not exactly sure what Isaac is... Some sort of dragon, perhaps?” “Yup!” Isaac agreed, pinning Jethro down. “I’m a dragon! I mean, I don’t really look at it but that's because I haven’t gotten to Champion yet!” Twilight blinked at the term before regaining her focus. “Alright so... you two seem to have a better understanding of what you are, why don’t you just explain it?” the alicorn asked, levitating her scroll and quill. “Okay, okay.” Isaac nodded, pulling himself off of Jethro, the two settling down. “So, first off, digimon are made up of data.” “Data?” Twilight raised her eyebrow, sharing a look with Starlight. “You’re made up of... knowledge?” “No, no, more like uh...” He tapped his chin. “Help me out here, Jet.” “Think of us more as a manifestation of ideas and concepts,” the worm responded. “That... makes... enough sense, I suppose...” Twilight scribbled on her scroll. “Now, what about your life cycle? You’re both only a day old and you’re already comparable to toddlers.” “All digimon start out as digieggs,” Isaac started, his voice full of authority. “When they hatch, they’re in their ‘Fresh’ form. Then comes In-Training, followed by Rookie, Champion, Ultimate and Mega. There is technically a higher form called Ultra but... so few digimon can reach it, it might as well be its own thing.” “You don’t age like other creatures?” “Nah, digimon are funky like that. There isn’t a need to reproduce so, we can kinda just keep truckin’ on.” “Depending on the universe, at least,” Jethro added. Twilight raised her eyebrow, gesturing for him to go on. “Well, in some universes, when a digimon is killed, they revert to a digiegg and reappear in Primary village while in some... their data either scatters or gets absorbed by other digimon.” “That's... horrible!” Twilight nearly dropped her quill. “Like we said, depends on the universe. Besides, it’s no different than an organic predator eating prey.” Isaac shrugged. “Jethro,” Zecora spoke up, getting his attention, “You should speak up and say why we came to Twilight’s today.” “Oh!” Jethro nearly jumped, looking up at the alicorn. “I was hoping you could get me and Isaac home. See, we may be digimon now but we’re supposed to be human and-” “What!?” Twilight jumped out of her seat, her eyes wide. “You’re human!? How did you get through the mirror!?” “What mirror?” Isaac asked, seemingly undisturbed by her sudden outburst while Jethro ducked into his bag a little. “We didn’t go through any mirror.” “Than how did you get here?” Twilight asked, getting a bit pointed. “The only way to the human world is through the mirror and nopony has used it in months!” “Well...” Isaac paused, collecting his thoughts. “See, we we went to a con-” “Isaac dragged us, wouldn’t take no for an answer,” Jethro cut in, “He’s such a weeaboo.” “I am not a weeaboo!” Isaac snorted, glaring at his friend. “You take that back!” “Ahem,” Twilight coughed, getting their attention. “Try to focus please, this is important.” “Heh... sorry...” Isaac cleared his throat. “Anyway, I’m president of our college’s anime club! So, when a con came to town, I just had to go. Of course, going to a con alone isn’t all that fun, so, I got the rest of the club to go with me.” “It helped that he promised to pay for the rooms.” “We kinda went our separate ways for the first day, Alex wanted to hock some old collectibles he had and the others wanted to browse.” Isaac smiled. “I managed to score me a signed copy of the Cyber Sleuth soundtrack!” “I went to the Persona 5 panel. That game is going to be so amazing.” Jethro smiled, which was an amazing feat given his jaws. “That's all well and good, but it doesn’t explain why you're here,” Twilight pressed. “Please, this is important. I need to know everything if I’m going to have any hope of sending you back.” “Geez... when you put it like that...” Isaac nodded, getting as serious as he could. “The second day, we all went as a group and... that's it!” “What’s it?” Jethro asked curiously. “That guy! The one selling all those digimon medals!” “The one one dressed up like Genii?” “Yeah that guy!” Isaac nodded eagerly. “I remember when we walked away, those medals we picked up started to glow...” He paused before smirking. “I got it!” “Got what?” Starlight asked, feeling a little lost, though she had finally managed to tame her mane. “What happened to us!” Isaac smirked, striking a little a pose. “What?” Twilight asked as she and the others waited with baited breath. “We got sucked into an anime!!” “Uh... what?” Jethro blinked. “What sense does that make?” “Think about it!” Isaac hopped up and down, visibly excited. “Any good digimon season starts with the main characters getting sucked into the digital world!” “Tamers and Data Squad didn’t,” Jethro rebutted. “Besides, we’re definitely not in an anime, or the digital world, we're clearly in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.” “Wait... isn’t that that show about talking horses...?” Isaac asked, blinking a few times. “See? Total weeaboo. Doesn’t even know about ponies,” Jethro teased before being tackled by Isaac, the two rolling around the table. Twilight sighed, rubbing her head. “What am I gonna do with you two...?” “If everything is right as rain, I should head home before the end of the day.” Zecora stood up, placing her empty cup on the table. “Thank you for the tea, now I must go, pardon me.” “No problem, Zecora!” Twilight smiled. “Goodbye Zecora, thank you for everything.” Jethro paused in his wrestling, looking up at his striped friend. “You are welcome my friend, a hoof I was glad to lend.” she smiled down at him, “I shall make sure we stay in touch, as I enjoyed your company very much.” She turned, trotting out of the room, closing the door behind her. “So... now what?” Isaac asked, sitting on Jethro’s back, not seeming the least bit worn out. “Why don’t we show them around town?” Starlight suggested. “Introduce them to your friends.” “Our friends, Starlight. But yes, that is a wonderful idea.” Twilight got to her hooves, pulling on a pair of saddlebags. “H-hey! What’s the big idea!?” Isaac squirmed as Twilight levitated Jethro and himself into one saddlebag and her supplies into another. “You two are tiny. We can go a lot faster like this.” Twilight gestured for Starlight to follow her and proceeded to walk out of the den. “Just relax and enjoy the ride.” She smiled. “My friends are just going to love you!” “Hello Twilight! Starlight!” Pinkie smiled, looking up from behind the counter as the two walked into the confectionary. “Have either of you seen anypony new in town? My Pinkie Sense has been tingling.” “Hey Pinkie.” Twilight smiled. “We have indeed! In fact, we were just bringing them to meet you.” “Ooh! Where are they!?” Pinkie leaned over the counter, looking around frantically. She turned back to Twilight with a pout, said alicorn in question giggling behind her hoof. “Hey! Are you trying to prank me?” “No Pinkie, they're right here.” She levitated Jethro and Isaac out of her saddlebags, placing them on the counter. Pinkie blinked, looking down at the two digimon on the counter. “Sup?” Isaac asked, waving up at her. “I’m Isaac and that’s Jethro.” “Hi.” Jethro waved. “So... sup?” he asked again, pouting a bit as Pinkie just stared at them. “Uh... she broken or somethin’?” “You have digimon!?” Pinkie shouted, her sudden outburst sending the digimon tumbling off the counter. Starlight reacted quickly, gently placing them on the ground. “Y-you know what they are?” Twilight asked, giving the party mare a bewildered look. “I gotta go let my family know!” Pinkie zipped off in a flash, leaving only a dust cloud. “That was strange... even for Pinkie Pie.” Twilight blinked, staring at the spot she had been before turning away. “Anyway, let’s head to Rar... Starlight, where are the digimon?” “They were right here,” Starlight said, looking around, “How far could they have gotten in five seconds?” “Lemme outta this sack!” Isaac demanded, kicking around, nearly catching Jethro in the face. “Hey! Watch where you swing your feet!” the bagworm complained, glaring at his bagmate. “Shuddup, will ya!?” Isaac growled, kicking as hard as he could. After another kick, they heard a yelp and they were unceremoniously dropped on the ground. “Ha! Freedom!” Isaac shouted, rushing out of the bag, followed by Jethro. “That hurt you know!” a little girl's voice exclaimed, getting their attention. They looked up to see an orange pegasus filly, rubbing her wings. Next to it were a white unicorn and yellow earth pony. “Oh yeah, well you kidnapped us!” Isaac countered, pointing his stumpy little arm at her. “We were not!” the earth pony protested. “We were just takin’ ya to the clubhouse!” “Yeah! We wanted to be monster catchers!” the pegasus added, buzzing her, judging by the voice, wings, only to wince. “Ya know...” the unicorn started, tapping her chin, “Do we really need to keep doing these sorta things...? We do have our cutie marks now...” “Oh come on, just because we got em’ doesn’t mean we can’t still be monster hunters!” The pegasus grinned. “And we already caught two of them!” “We got names, ya know!” Isaac pouted, crossing his arms. “I bet they’re something cool, like Grognak! Or Aku! Oooh! Or Kaiju!” The pegasus rambled on, until Isaac jumped up and put a hand on her mouth. “No, I’m Isaac and that’s Jethro.” “Hello.” Jethro waved at them, hovering a few inches above the ground. “Those names are kinda lame...” The earth pony pouted, her friends agreeing. “Oh yeah? Tell me oh wise one, what are your names?” “Oh that's easy! Ah’m Apple Bloom, that's Sweetie Belle and that's Scootaloo.” She pointed to her cohorts. “And together we’re...” “The CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!” they shouted in unison, sending the two little digimon tumbling backwards. “Ow... my ears...” Isaac lamented, doing his best to get the ringing out of his ears. “Can you get off, please?” Jethro asked quietly. Isaac blinked, looking down to see he was sitting on Jethro’s back. “Oh yeah... sorry...” He got up, helping his friend up to his... hover... “But seriously, can you just take us...” He blinked, noticing the three were staring past them, looking terrified. “What?” “T-timberwolves!!” Apple Bloom shouted, the three backing up into a tree, their eyes wide in fear. The digimon turned around, only to be greeted by a trio of wolves, all made out of jumbles of wood, with glowing green eyes. “Are those wolves... made out of wood?” Isaac asked, tilting his head. “Yeah, held together by magic.” Jethro nodded his head before suddenly realizing they were in danger. “I-Isaac... we should get out of here...” “Oh come on, they're just wood, we can take em!” Isaac insisted, glaring at the closest wolf. “Pop Attack!” He leaped forward, ramming into it. The wolf looked down, watching as a single twig fell from its chest. It returned its gaze to Isaac, bearing its fangs in a snarl. “Okay uh... run!” The two dashed away as the wolves advanced, hot on their heels. They made it to the girls, one of the wolves leaping at them. “Worm Barrier!” Jethro squeezed his eyes shut, summoning a barrier around the five of them. “W-what are we gonna do?!” Sweetie Belle whimpered, watching as the wolves attacked the barrier, causing Jethro to flinch. “I don’t think he can keep this thing up.” Isaac frowned, looking between the barrier and his fellow digimon. “When it drops I need you girls to run, okay?” “W-what about you?” Scootaloo asked, looking unsure. “Don’t worry about us, we’re digimon.” He managed to grin. “Friends to all the boys and girls!” “You are such an idiot...” Jethro mumbled before his barrier gave out. The timberwolves, looking pleased with themselves, all pounced, their maws open wide. Isaac growled, leaping forward, not even realizing he was glowing. “DemiVeemon digivolve to! Veemon!” He stood now about as tall as the girls, with actual five-fingered hands, tipped with claws. A few spikes ran along his back, he gained two yellow marks on his cheeks and a yellow ‘v’ on his forehead, his feet each grew three claws, and a small horn appeared on the tip of his nose. “Vee Headbutt!” he shouted, slamming his head into the nearest wolf, a loud crack filling the air. The wolf yelped, staggering back, its head fractured and its jaw drooping off. “Ha! Bet that hurt jerk!” His joy was short lived as another wolf tackled him, nearly clamping its jaws around his neck. “Isaac!” Jethro shouted, starting to digivolve. “Minomon digivolve to! Wormmon!” He changed into a green caterpillar like creature, gaining only a few inches of height but at least a foot in length. He had five pairs of legs, each tipped with a purple claw. His antenna lengthened, with a black band around his tail, which was tipped with a set of purple pinchers. A strange purple triangle symbol was now prominently displayed on his forehead. “Silk Thread!” He opened his mouth, firing off a barrage of silk strands, all as hard and sharp as needles. The wolf howled in pain, leaping off Isaac, the silk needles buried deep in its body. “Nice save...” Isaac chuckled weakly, getting to his feet. He slapped his face a few times, getting his mind focused. “Alright you Lady In The Water rejects, let's do this! Wrap em up, Jet!” “Okay uh... here it goes... Sticky Net!” the little bug shouted, unleashing a spray of silk, all but cocooning the jawless wolf. It whimpered, squirming around, firmly stuck in position. The remaining two wolves, infuriated that their easy prey was putting up a fight, charged the digimon. “Vee Headbutt!” Isaac threw his head forward, only for the wolf to duck under him and grab his leg in its jaws. It yanked his feet out from under him, landing him on his back. It went for his neck, only to be stopped when a bright pink aura surrounded its head. “Ya darn varmints! Git back in that Celestia forsaken forest!” an older, female voice shouted out. An orange earth pony mare galloped into view, pivoted around on her front hooves, and bucked the offending wolf in the side, sending it tumbling away. “Go on, git!” She narrowed her eyes at the remaining wolf. The two stared at each other before it backed off, slinking off into the trees with its companion. “Woo....” Isaac got up rather shakily, taking in a breath. “Do I owe you one, farm lady...” “These those ‘digimonks’ ya’ll was talking about Twi?” The mare turned, looking between him and Jethro, adjusting her stetson. “Those would be them... though.. they were smaller...” Twilight trotted into view, inspecting them both. “Did you two digivolve again?” “Yeah... those uh... wood things were gonna eat Applesauce-” “Apple Bloom,” Jethro corrected. “-And we couldn’t exactly let that happen...” He grinned, striking a pose. “We are the heroes, after all!” Twilight just sighed, rubbing her temples. “Applejack, these are Isaac and Jethro, they’re digimon.” “Sup?” “Yo.” “Uh... nice ta meet y’all...” Applejack blinked, looking a little unsure of the two little creatures. “Ah’m sorry mah l’il sister an’ her friends foalnapped ya.” She gave the fillies a stern look and they at least had the decency to look ashamed. “Nah, don’t worry about it.” Isaac waved it off. “I’m just happy to have sweet beautiful hands again!” “Speak for yourself...” Jethro mumbled, glaring at his legs in disdain. “Hey man, look on the bright side.” Isaac nudged his friend with a grin. “Oh yeah? What’s that?” “We’re gonna make a bitchin’ Imperialdramon!” Isaac grinned goofily, fist pumping. “Positron Laser here we come!” “Ah have no idea what ya’ll are talkin’ bout but, considering all the effort ya put in keeping the youngins safe, how’s about ah treat the three of ya to a big ol’ Apple family lunch!” “Thanks AJ, but-” Twilight started before Isaac cut her off. “Heck yeah! I’m starving!” He grinned, glancing at Jethro, who was focused ahead. He frowned, elbowing Jethro in the side. “Huh?” The little bug blinked before catching on. “Oh, yeah! I am rather hungry, now that you mention it!” Applejack grinned, already ushering the fillies toward the farm house. “Well come on then! Y’all ain’t never had a meal this good before!” Twilight sighed, watching them for a moment. “I’ll go let Starlight know I found you two.” The cocooned timberwolf whined as the group left, forgotten by everyone.