“How much longer till we get to the others?” Willy groaned, slumped over in his seat. “I’m starting to get antsy over here.”
“Suck it up Hellboy,” Isaac retorted, turning the page of his Daring Do book.
“Excuse me for being a little impatient,” Willy replied. “It’s literally been thousands of years since I’ve seen these guys.”
“You can wait a few more hours.”
“Hey, I don’t have a way to pass the time like you do. I’ve tried seeing shapes out of the clouds or something, but they’ve all started blending together.” Willy frowned.
“I just wish it wasn’t so cramped...” Daring muttered, giving Gagate a glare.
“I could take up less space if you like,” he commented, his body glowing as he changed into a grey copy of Spike. “Is this better?”
“You could do that the whole time?!”
“Yes,” Gagate replied with a simple nod. Dariing just sighed, muttering under her breath. Roger just smiled, popping a brownie in his mouth.
“I don’t know why Willy’s complaining, the trip is going pretty fast if you ask me,” Roger said, swallowing the brownie.
“That's because you’re high,” Rico countered.
“Oh yeah… guess I am,” Roger snickered. “Between all the swimming, climbing and carrying everyone on my back, I got hungry. And the only thing I have on me is my brownies.”
“Never change, Rog,” Rico chuckled, shaking his head.
“But… I’m a digimon, I change all the time,” Roger pointed out, tilting his head with a quizzical expression.
“That's... not what I meant at all.” Rico shook his head.
“Oh uh… sorry then,” Roger replied, chuckling as he rubbed the back of his head.
“Don’t worry about it.” Rico smiled, tossing him a piece of jerky. Roger caught it in his mouth, chewing on it happily.
“Mmm, that stuff’s really good,” Roger commented, licking his lips with a grin.
“Sadly, that was the last piece.”
“Aww,” Roger pouted, his ears drooping. “I’d offer you a brownie to pay you back, but that’d just make you hungrier.”
“Princess, we’ve arrived,” one of the guards announced as the carriage came in for a landing.
“Great!” Twilight cheered. “I can’t wait to tell the girls everything we learned about dragons. Thank you for all your hard work,” she told the guards as she stepped out.
“Ma’am.” they nodded, waiting for the others to disembark.
“So, where are we exactly?” Rico asked, getting out of the carriage and stretching.
“Welcome to Ponyville,” Spike said with a smile, hopping out of the carriage. He stretched out, letting out a sigh of content as his joints popped.
“Huh, this is a pretty nice place,” Willy commented as he looked around. “Quaint little town even with the giant crystal tree.”
“I know, it clashes real hard,” Issac agreed, carrying Jethro on his head.
“So… who got turned into Wormmon?” Rico asked, looking Jethro up and down.
“Jet did, he’s got no hands,” Isaac smirked, laughing a little.
“Keep that up and I’ll cocoon you,” Jethro warned, narrowing his eyes.
“Yeah right.” Isaac shrugged. Jethro opened his mouth, shooting out a silk thread that barely missed the Veemon’s foot.
“Try me, ya weeb.”
“I’ll squish you,” Isaac growled at him.
“Alright you two, simmer down now,” Starlight said, trotting out of the castle.
“Did anything happen while we were away?” Twilight asked, looking at her student.
“Nothing much,” Starlight shrugged. “I was just catching up on a book while waiting for you. So, what happened on your trip, Isaac?” she asked, turning to him with a smile.
“Spike was dragon lord for a bit and, we found two more of our friends!” Isaac grinned, gesturing to the new arrivals.
“That’s great!” Starlight enthused, trotting up to Rico and Willy. “Hi there, I’m Starlight Glimmer, it's nice to meet you.”
“Sup? I’m Willy, nice to meet ya!” Willy smiled, holding his hand out. Starlight returned his smile, letting him shake her hoof.
“So, what kind of digimon are you?” Starlight asked, looking him over.
“I’m a Flamemon, Rico over there is a Strabimon.”
“Flamemon huh, guess that means you use a lot of water attacks?” she asked with a giggle.
“What do I look like Ranamon?” he asked, crossing his arms.
“I don’t know, do you?” she asked with an arched brow. “I’ve never seen Ranamon.”
“He’s just being grumpy,” Spike chuckled, walking by.
“Hey, I think you could pull off Ranamon’s look,” Rico offered with a smirk.
“Except I’m not a chick,” Willy shot back.
“You’re not a dude right now either,” Jethro pointed out.
“Whatever,” Willy grumbled, snorting a puff of smoke.
“Relax, Willy,” Daring offered, Cinnabar having pulled away from her. “You’re taking this way too personally,” she said, putting a hoof on his side.
“Is that... Daring Do...?” Starlight blinked, looking at her.
“Uhh… I’m just a fan of the series?” Daring offered with a weak grin.
“You can trust her Daring, she’s my student,” Twilight assured with a smile.
“Alright,” Daring sighed, adjusting her hat. “Yeah, I’m the real Daring Do, but don’t tell anypony. My adventures have to be seen as fiction for... various reasons.”
“Let’s get you inside before anyone else sees you,” Twilight commented, ushering them all inside. They all walked into the castle, following her to a large room where they could all sit down comfortably.
“Huh, this place is pretty nice,” Willy complimented, taking a seat on a couch. “A little too crystally for my taste though.”
“Everypony keeps saying that,” Twilight pouted.
“I like it,” Rico told her, taking a seat as well. “I happen to like crystals, so this place is really cool.”
“Thank you, Rico,” Twilight said with a smile.
“So Twilight, did you learn anything interesting about dragons during your trip?” Starlight asked taking a seat of her own.
“A lot actually,” Twilight replied, smiling, “It was a fun experience.”
“Kinda wish I had tagged along then,” Starlight said.
“I wish you could have as well,” Twilight agreed, “Oh! We forgot to introduce the gems!”
“The gems?” Starlight repeated, tilting her head. “Why would you introduce me to gemstones?”
“No, the gems,” Twilight shook her head, gesturing to Cinnabar and Gatgate.
“Oh!” Starlight said, looking over at the two. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you two were called gems. It’s nice to meet you.”
“It’s alright,” Cinnabar assured, “I’m Cinnabar.”
“And I’m Gagate,” Gagate nodded. “And I share Cinnabar’s sentiments.”
“They don’t exactly get the world yet,” Willy explained, “They were under dark mind control up until a few days ago.”
“Where are the plates?” Gagate asked. “I think I could go for a snack after our long trip.” Twilight raised her eyebrow, looking at Rico and Willy.
“Like we said, he doesn’t quite get the world yet,” Rico said. “He uh... kinda developed a taste for plates when we were in the other world’s Crystal Empire.”
“Well, I’m sorry to tell you Gagate, we don’t eat plates, we eat off them,” Twilight informed him. Gagate deflated slightly, getting quite in his own seat.
“Is there any chocolate here?” Cinnabar asked, a hopeful expression on her face.
“Yes Cinnabar, we do have chocolate here.” Twilight nodded.
“Excellent,” Cinnabar replied. “I would like some… if that’s no trouble.”
“Of course not, Spike would you mind?”
“Sure thing,” Spike nodded, walking to the door. “Does anyone else want anything while I’m getting stuff?”
“Thanks,” Twilight replied, giving him a smile.
“Oh, where are the Earth Spirits?” Rico asked. “We need to put them in our D-tector before anything can happen to them.”
“I almost forgot,” Twilight let out a sheepish laugh, “I have them in the vault.”
“Well lead the way!” Willy beamed, getting out of his seat. She got up, gesturing for them to follow. They all did so, Willy barely able to contain his excitement. Eventually, Twilight led them to a large, purple door with a circular slot in it. She stuck her horn in the slot and put magic through it.
“That's some vault,” Willy whistled, watching as it opened.
“Thanks, it's designed to only react to my magical signature,” Twilight explained as the door fully opened, revealing the floating spirits inside.
Willy took a deep breath, holding his hands out. “Earth into Flame.” The spirits responded to his command, floating into his hands, assimilating into him. “Whoa,” he said, shuddering slightly. “That felt really weird. But, at least we don't have to worry about losing them now.” He tapped his chin, holding his hand out. It took a moment, but soon, Grumblemon’s hammer appeared in his hand.
“That's awesome!” Rico cheered. “How’d you bring out the hammer without turning into Grumblemon?”
“I dunno it just... felt natural.” Willy shrugged.
“I’ll have to try something like that with the next spirit we get then,” Rico said with a nod. “Imagine me using Kumamon’s snow blaster or something.”
“I’m pretty sure I get the ice spirits,” Willy argued, swinging the hammer around.
“Alright, then I’ll get the darkness spirits,” Rico shrugged. “We can figure out the specifics of how we’ll divide them up later.”
“Willy gets Wood, Ice, Wind and Earth,” Isaac listed off, “Rico gets,Thunder, Darkness, Steel and Water.”
“I can live with that,” Rico replied, nodding. “What about you, Willy?”
“Sounds about right,” Willy agreed, “But we have to find them first.”
“True,” Rico nodded, “that’s something we should start up on since we're done dealing with all the crazy dragon stuff.”
“We can worry about that later,” Twilight dismissed.
“I guess we can wait until we’ve relaxed a bit with everybody,” Willy agreed, shrugging.
“If you don’t mind, I should be getting back to my boutique,” Rarity spoke, trotting to the door.
“Okay, if that’s what you want,” Twilight told her, waving goodbye. “Be sure to tell me how your camouflage line of clothes comes along.”
“Of course! Ciao, everypony!” Rarity called as she left the room.
“So... now what?” Isaac asked, looking up at Twilight.
“We should get the others and show them Rico and Willy are back,” she told him with a smile.
“They went with Trixie to enroll Flint in the local school,” Jethro explained, leaping onto Twilight’s head.
“Then let's go to this school,” Willy said. “...Aw man I just had an idea for a prank.”
“What’s a prank?” Cinnabar asked, tilting her head.
“It’s when you do something to another person in an attempt to catch them off guard for the purpose of a joke,” Twilight explained.
“Okay.” Cinnabar nodded. “What's a joke?”
“It’s something done that is meant to be humorous or funny,” Twilight elaborated. Cinnabar nodded, but didn’t really seem to be getting it.
“Alright, so I was thinking that maybe I could see if I can turn into Grumblemon and pretend to be attacking you guys,” Willy said.
“I doubt you can turn into Grumblemon,” Rico disagreed, shaking his head.
“Eh, it was just a thought,” Willy shrugged. “Probably not a very good one either since they’d all charge at me and try to kick my ass.”
“You’d also wreck the town,” Twilight said, an unamused look on her face, “You digimon tend to be highly destructive.”
“Yeah… good point,” Willy admitted, rubbing the side of his head. “I’ll just stick with bringing out the hammer every once in awhile.”
“As long as you're far away from town,” Twilight insisted.
“Don’t worry, I will be,” Willy replied. “Now, lead the way to the school!” he beamed, pointing out the door.
“Come on, follow me and please stay close,” Twilight instructed, leading them out of the vault. They followed, heading out of the castle and into the town. Willy, Rico, and the gems were all looking around the small town with curious expressions. Daring, on the other hand, was adjusting the disguise she had pulled from her saddlebags, praying no one recognized her.
“This is a nice little town,” Rico commented, waving to some ponies.
“I think so too,” Twilight said with a smile. “Well, at least when it's not under attack by some crazy monster.”
“That happen a lot?” Willy asked, frowning.
Twilight sighed. “More than I’d like. But it has been a while since we’ve had one so there's that,” she offered.
“Good to know...” Willy muttered, sticking close to Daring.
“Other than that, this is a great town,” Twilight said. “The ponies here are very welcoming. It's a good place to call home.”
“And the kids love us!” Isaac smirked, giving a thumbs up.
“Huh, that's pretty cool,” Rico commented, looking over at Isaac.
“Hell yeah it is!” Isaac grinned, “Friends to all the boys and girls!”
“And now I’ve got that song stuck in my head,” Willy groaned, facepalming.
“Can you two please behave?” Twilight sighed, glancing back at them.
“What did I do?” Willy asked, arching his brow.
“Just behave, please?”
“Yeah, whatever you say, Princess,” Willy replied with a roll of his eyes. “I’ll just keep looking at the pretty scenery.”
“If I may ask, what’s a school?” Cinnabar piped up.
“It’s a place where people go to learn about various subjects,” Twilight explained. “Common subjects are, Mathematics, Language Arts, History, Science, etc.”
“Could I go there?” Cinnabar asked, her face lighting up.
“I don’t see why not,” Twilight told her with a smile. “Though I’d recommend using your shapeshifting to look like a foal. You wouldn’t quite fit at the desk as you are right now.” Cinnabar nodded, smiling brightly.
“Wow, that’s the happiest I’ve seen you since you first tasted chocolate,” Willy chimed in, his smile matching Cinnabar’s.
“I love to learn!” Cinnabar commented.
“I think you and I are going to get along very well!” Twilight beamed, her face lighting up.
“Oh boy, this will be fun...” Isaac groaned, face palming.
“Let them have this,” Rico said, smiling as he looked at Cinnabar. “She needs to learn anyway, she might as well enjoy herself while doing it.”
“Shall I join her?” Gagate asked, looking down at him.
“You could,” Rico said. “It might also teach you about social interactions and other things you can't really learn from a book.”
“Then I shall.” The gem nodded.
“Then it looks like we’re gonna be registering you two into class while we're at the school,” Willy said, looking between the two gems.
“You should probably shapeshift now,” Daring advised. They nodded, their bodies glowing and contorting. Cinnabar changed into a little pegasus, her mane a few shades darker than her bright red fur. Gagate became a grey earth pony with a stocky body and black eyes and mane.
“Aw! Look how cute you are!” Willy grinned, picking Cinnabar up.
“What does cute mean?” she asked, tilting her head and her muzzle scrunching up as she tried to wrap her head around the foreign word.
“It means your appearance is pleasing to the eyes,” Rico explained, “It’s a nice thing to say to someone.”
“Then you two are also cute!” She said looking between Willy and Rico with a bright smile. “As are the rest of you!”
“Aw! Thanks!” Roger smiled, his tail wagging.
“You certainly can't fault her for her enthusiasm,” Twilight commented, giggling “If she keeps acting like that, she’ll be at the top of her class in no time.”
“And to think, she was trying to kill us not even a week ago.” Willy smirked, scratching the filly’s ears.
“Oh… that is quite pleasant,” Cinnabar mused, her tail swishing as she relaxed in Willy’s hold.
“I think I’m gonna adopt her,” Willy said, a serene smile on his face.
“Didn’t we kinda do that already when we brought them over here from the other universe?” Rico asked, letting Gagate ride on his head.
“I meant like officially,” Willy chuckled, cuddling little Cinnabar.
“You should do it!” Roger beamed, his tail wagging even faster. “Then you’d be like Trixie, Alex and me with Flint!”
“I’ll have to have a talk with Cheerilee,” Twilight whispered to Starlight, “I don’t want to see the effect any sort of bullying would do to those two.”
“Well, they are sorta like children right now,” Starlight offered in her own whisper. “Maybe learning to deal with it like normal foals could be good for them?”
“From what I got from them, they didn’t have free will until Willy freed them. They’re only now forming actual personalities.”
“I guess you could give Cheerilee a heads up,” Starlight whispered. “Hopefully we won't have to worry about anything.” Twilight nodded, casting a glance at the gems.
“I hope you're right, Starlight,” Twilight told her. “Though, the fact that the biggest bullies at the school are slowly reforming is a good sign.”
“Be on your best behavior alright?” Willy asked, petting Cinnabar’s head.
“Okay,” Cinnabar nodded, a determined look on her face. “How do I do that exactly?” she asked, tilting her head up to look at Willy.
“Just follow the golden rule treat others the way you want to be treated. And follow the teacher’s instructions.”
“That shall not be a problem for us,” Gagate chirped from his perch. “We are good at following instructions.”
“Good.” Rico smiled, reaching up and scratching his ear.
“...I see what you mean, Cinnabar,” Gagate said, his tail swishing. “These scratches are... pleasant.”
“Here’s the school now,” Twilight spoke, getting their attention.
“Does that mean I can start learning now?!” Cinnabar asked, perking up and squirming slightly in Willy’s hold.
“You might have to wait until tomorrow,” Twilight giggled, “But I love your enthusiasm.”
“Aww,” Cinnabar pouted, deflating slightly. “Fine, I'll wait.”
“I can teach you some basic stuff back at the castle, okay?” Twilight offered.
“I’d like that,” Cinnabar nodded, her smile returning.
“Good! Now, let's get you two enrolled!” Twilight beamed, trotting into the school house. The others followed after her, taking in the sight of the fairly small building. Then, their eyes locked onto the group of digimon and the blue mare with a foal on her back talking to a fuschia mare behind a desk. Willy grinned, sneaking up on the distracted Impmon.
“Here’s Willy,” he whispered in the other digimon’s ear.
“Gah!” Alex jumped up, spinning around, “What the hell!?”
“Hey, no swearing in front of the kids,” Willy scolded, pointing between the three foals.
“Will!?” Alex asked, realization dawning on him.
“What tipped you off?” Willy retorted with a smirk. “The fact that I said my name to you?”
“Dude!” The little digimon leapt at him, nearly glomping him. Cinnabar flapped her wings, getting out of the way as Alex crashed into Willy.
“Good to see you too, buddy,” Willy said, chuckling.
“Sup Will?” Lee asked, waving over at him.
“Nothing much,” Willy shrugged. “Defeated Lucemon and sent him to the void with the battle leaving me pretty banged up, got revived not too long ago, had adventures in ancient ruins and another universe, and then I met up with Roger and Isaac during that dragon summoning thing. What about you?”
“Got brainwashed by an evil unicorn.”
“Bummer,” Willy replied, giving him a sympathetic look.
“It’s all really fuzzy,” Lee responded, shaking his head.
“Hey, at least it's over now,” Rico offered. “Now we can focus on what we’ve got today.”
“Anyway, Rico, Willy, this is Cheerilee,” Twilight started, “Cheerilee, this is Rico and Willy, we’re here to enroll two more foals into your class.”
“That’s wonderful news,” Cheerilee enthused with a smile as she pulled out more forms. “Can I get the names of the foals?”
“I’m Cinnabar!” The little pegasus smiled, hovering over to her.
“That's a very nice name,” Cheerilee told her, jotting the name down on one of the forms.
“I’m Gagate,” the stoic gem added, peering over Rico’s head.
“And your name is very nice too,” Cheerilee complimented, writing his name down as well.
“I uh, don’t know how much you’ll be able to fill out on those forms though,” Twilight admitted with a sheepish chuckle.
“Just tell me what you can and I’ll see what I can do about any blank spaces.”
“See, the thing is...” Twilight bit her lip, “They’re not really ponies.”
“...Princess Twilight, what are you trying to say?” Cheerilee asked with a neutral tone as she looked at the ‘foals’.
“Cinnabar, is it alright if I touch your gem?” Twilight asked, looking at the filly.
“Umm… okay,” Cinnabar nodded, looking unsure as she hovered over to Twilight.
“The two of them are actually a species called gems.” Twilight touched Cinnabar’s gem, located on her arm. “This is their true form. Their pony bodies are projections.”
“Oh… that’s very interesting,” Cheerilee replied, blinking. “I wasn't quite expecting that when you said they weren't ponies.” Twilight gently pulled Cheerilee aside, just out of earshot.
“The thing is, they were created as slaves, and until a few days ago, they didn’t have free will. I’m not asking for you to give them any special treatment, just a watchful eye,” Twilight explained quietly.
“I’ll keep that in mind, Princess Twilight,” Cheerilee whispered back. “I always keep a watchful eye on my students anyway.”
“Thank you.” Twilight smiled before walking back over. “Now, what do you need for the forms?”
“I’ll need a name of their parents or guardians and their current address mostly. I also have a spot for age.”
“That's easy,” Willy chuckled, scooping Cinnabar into his arms, “She’s my daughter!” he proclaimed with a toothy grin.
“Alright, and your name is Willy, correct? Is there more to your name, or is that it?” Cheerilee asked, filling in the blank.
“Officially, I’m Wilhelm O’Reilly, but I prefer Willy.”
“I’ll put down your official name and make a note of your nickname,” Cheerilee answered, nodding.
“I’m Rico Vasquez,” Rico spoke next, “I’m Gagate’s guardian.”
“Perfect,” Cheerilee smiled. “Now for their ages and your current address.”
“Gagate, do you know how old you are?” Rico asked, looking up at his charge.
“No,” he answered simply. “Our former master didn’t keep track of such information.”
“What's the average age for students?” Willy asked sheepishly.
“Around 9 or 10 years old,” Cheerilee replied. “Want me to just put one of those down?”
“Please.” Twilight nodded.
“Alright and last but certainly not least, the current address,” Cheerilee said, writing down their ages.
“They’ll be staying with me,” Twilight informed, smiling as Cinnabar buzzed around the room.
“Then we’re good to go,” Cheerilee informed them. “Cinnabar, Gagate and Flint can start class tomorrow.”
“I’m so excited!” Cinnabar squeed, buzzing her wings.
“That's a great attitude to have,” Cheerilee beamed, watching the gem with a smile. “And what about you two?” she asked, looking between Gagate and Flint.
“I share Cinnabar’s enthusiasm.” Gagate nodded.
“Do I get to make friends?” Flint asked, looking up at Cheerilee.
“I’m sure you’ll make a lot of friends,” Cheerilee assured him with a smile.
“Yay!” Flint cheered, clapping his hooves.
“Just remember to be confident and that you might have to talk to ponies rather than wait for them to come to you,” Trixie offered, patting his head.
“Okay mom!” he beamed, hugging her leg.
“I feel like I’m gonna get diabeetus watching you two,” Alex commented, chuckling.
“If that's everything Cheerilee, I think we’re going to take our leave,” Twilight commented, trotting over to the door.
“Okay, have a great rest of your day, everypony,” Cheerilee called out, waving them goodbye.
“You too!” Cinnabar smiled, waving back.
“That was pretty easy,” Willy commented, still smiling. “So, are we heading back to the Fortress of Princessitude?”
“I was thinking that we would head to Sugarcube Corner for some snacks!” Twilight beamed.
“Does that mean chocolate!?” Cinnabar squeed, doing a loop in the air.
“Yes it does, Cinnabar,” Twilight giggled, leading them through town. Cinnabar buzzed around the group happily, licking her lips as she did. Eventually, they made it to Sugarcube Corner, the newcomers of the group marvelling at the strange building.
“Twilight!” Pinkie shouted, popping up behind the alicorn. “I thought I had a Doozy, but it turned out to be just a whole bunch of different Pinkie Senses going off!”
“Did you get the one for new ponies in town?” Twilight asked, barely reacting to Pinkie’s antics.
“Yupperooni!” Pinkie nodded spastically.
“You’d better find these new ponies then,” Twilight said with a smile. “Because if they're new that means they don't know anypony, and if they don't know anypony then they must be lonely. And if they're lonely they must be sad.”
“You know where they are don’t you?” Pinkie narrowed her eyes, poking at Twilight’s chest.
“Hi there!” Cinnabar cheered, flying up into Pinkie’s face. “My name’s Cinnabar!”
Pinkie Pie blinked, staring for a few moments before pulling Cinnabar into a hug. “You’re so cute!”
“Thank you, you’re cute too!” Cinnabar beamed, returning the hug.
“Aw! I’m Pinkie Pie, it’s nice to meet you!”
“Nice to meet you too,” Cinnabar nodded. “We were about to get snacks, wanna join us?”
“Sure! I’ll even bake you some fresh ones!” Pinkie smiled, placing the filly on her back.
“As long as there's plenty of chocolate in it!” Cinnabar enthused, settling onto Pinkie’s back.
“Of course!” Pinkie agreed, trotting back into the kitchen.
“Well, that happened,” Willy muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Things like this tend to happen when Pinkie’s around,” Isaac explained. “Concepts like logic, physics or any other limitation to normal reality don’t seem to apply to her.”
“You get used to it.” Jethro nodded.
“Okay, if you say so,” Rico shrugged. “Let’s follow them in there,” he said, walking into the kitchen.
“It’s best to just let Pinkie work,” Twilight countered, nudging him toward a booth.
“Alright, guess we can wait out here,” Willy shrugged taking a seat in the booth. “Just hope Pinkie doesn’t give Cinnabar a stomachache or something.”
“Can gems get stomachaches?” Daring asked, looking at Gagate.
“I would not know,” Gagate said, shaking his head. “I have never had one before. We didn’t do much eating back when we were enslaved.”
“Well, we’ll make sure you’re well fed here.” Starlight smiled, patting his head.
“That sounds good,” he said with a nod. “Even if I can no longer have plates.”
“The castle’s going to get crowded,” Marty pointed out, looking up at Twilight.
“Crowded is better than empty like it was before you all got here,” she replied, a bright smile on her face. “It makes me feel like all the extra space is justified now.”
"Twilight’s totally going to interrogate you guys,” Jethro chuckled, leaping onto the table.
“Why would she want to interrogate us?” Rico asked, raising his eyebrow. “Neither of us are criminals. Not even Hellboy over there when he went full douchebag in beast mode.”
“She does it to everyone,” Isaac answered, “She’ll grill you for any info ya got, with an endless supply of questions to break your will.”
“I suppose we could tell her nothing but embarrassing stories of you,” Willy said with a smirk. “You do have a healthy supply of them. Like the bouncy house incident.”
“That wasn’t my fault!” Isaac growled. “Jethro was the one who dropped the nail gun!”
“And who’s idea was it to bring the nail gun onto the thing in the first place?” Jethro shot back.
“It wasn’t me!”
“Oh right, it was the guy with the really weird fake eye,” Alex said sarcastically. “He’s the one who put the idea in your head.”
“What, are you two arguing about?” Starlight asked, raising her eyebrow.
“N-nothing… just something stupid,” Isaac blurted out, glaring at the group. “And we’re going to drop it, aren’t we?”
“Keep that up Isaac and you’ll be the first RedVeemon,” Willy teased, grinning at him.
“Okay, if you want to bring up embarrassing stories, then how about what happened in the chem lab?” Isaac shot at him, narrowing his eyes.
“Okay, okay, let’s not get too nasty here,” Willy chuckled weakly, putting his hands up in surrender.
“Good, glad we could come to an understanding,” Isaac replied, smiling and leaning back in his seat.
“I feel as though, if you put us on TV, we’d make a pretty good show,” Jethro commented, looking between everyone.
“You might have a point there,” Rico agreed. “But considering we have Digimon and Steven Universe colliding, licensing fees would be huge.”
“And My Little Pony.” Jethro nodded.
“Oh yeah, forgot you were into that,” Willy said with a chuckle. “Can’t believe it never hit me we were in that world. Guess all the cool monsters, rampaging digimon and things like that threw me off.”
“Who wants cupcakes~!” Pinkie asked, suddenly popping up in the middle of the group, presenting a fresh batch of cupcakes.
“Don’t mind if I do!” Willy beamed, grabbing a cupcake and taking a bite. “Mmm! This might be the best cupcake I’ve ever had!” he praised, taking another bite.
“Thanks!” Pinkie smiled, placing the tray on the table.
“So Twilight,” Rico started, taking a cupcake of his own. “What kinda questions do you have for us?”
“Yep... you’re doomed.” Lee shook his head.
“Judging by the look on her face, it seems she has many questions,” Gagate commented, taking his own cupcake.
“Have fun with that,” Marty sniggered, shoving a few cupcake in his mouth.
“I was just curious about the old stories of the ten elemental warriors,” Twilight said, causing a scroll and quill to appear in front of her.
“Like what?” Willy asked, leaning back in his seat.
“Well, what were the other warriors like?” Twilight asked. “The stories never really go into that.”
“That's a lot to cover,” Rico explained, “Who do you want to know about specifically?”
“Let’s start with Grumblemon seeing as we just found his spirits,” Twilight said, looking over at Willy.
“He wasn’t originally Grumblemon.” Willy shook his head. “He was AncientVolcamon.”
“AncientVolcamon,” Twilight repeated, jotting it down. “That’s interesting. What was he like?”
“He was a dick,” Rico chuckled, a ghost of a smile gracing his face, “The most stubborn, abrasive person you’d ever meet.”
“Huh, not exactly what you’d expect from one of the greatest heroes in history,” Twilight commented, her face scrunching up in thought.
“We were, are, the living embodiment of the elements,” Rico reminded her, “Is the earth not stubborn?”
“I think I get it,” Twilight nodded. “And it explains why Willy went crazy with anger during the race for the scepter. He basically got ‘fired up’.”
“Exactly.” Rico smirked. “You're smarter than you look.”
“And what’s that supposed to mean?” Twilight asked with a frown.
“Relax, I’m just teasing you.”
“Good because I was about to consider making you sleep outside rather than give you a room,” she told him with her own smirk.
“You gonna ask your next question?” Willy asked.
“Of course,” Twilight nodded. “Hmm, if the personalities of the warriors were linked to the element they represented then that just shows how connected they are to their element,” she commented, jotting down more notes. “So, what were the other warriors like?”
“AncientMermaidmon was like the ocean,” Willy recounted, closing his eyes, “She could be calm and gentle one moment and a raging force the next.”
“That does make sense,” Twilight nodded. “And let me guess, the warrior of Darkness was dark and brooding?” she asked with a giggle.
“Actually no,” Rico spoke, his voice soft, “AncientSphinxmon was quiet, sure, but also calm, very tranquil.”
“Hmm, that’s intriguing,” the purple alicorn said with a nod. “I wasn’t exactly expecting that.”
“It’s said that light and darkness are brothers, so close that they can’t stand to be apart,” Rico continued, looking down into his lap, “Light is frantic, bright and brings life. Darkness is quiet, still and brings death.”
“I suppose that does make sense,” Twilight admitted. “It sounds a lot like an eastern philosophy I’ve studied a bit. Yin and Yang, two opposing yet balancing energies.”
“That's right,” Rico agreed, “That's why Light and Dark together can bring about our strongest form.”
“This is so exciting,” Twilight mused, a grin on her face. “Keep going please, I want to hear more about all of the warriors.”
“Anyone got any requests?”
“What about AncientKazemon?” Isaac asked. “What was she like?”
“She was a total free spirit, really chill,” Willy replied, “Until you pissed her off and she started throwing hurricanes.”
“Sounds about right,” Alex commented with a laugh. “I wouldn’t want to get on her or AncientMermaidmon’s bad side.”
“She was cute though...” Willy muttered, a far off look in his eyes.
“Huh, what was that, Willy?” Daring asked, tossing a cupcake into her mouth.
“I... miss her a lot...” he admitted, leaning his head back so he could look at the ceiling.
“Well, you revived from your spirits,” Daring offered. “Maybe after we get the rest of them we can find a way to do that with the other warriors?”
“Won’t work, they don’t have rookie forms.” Rico shook his head.
“Oh… sorry to hear that,” Daring said, adjusting her disguise slightly.
“It’s fine...” Willy assured her. “Who do you want to know about next?”
“Why don’t you tell us about the warrior of ice?” Twilight asked.
“What do you think he was like?” Willy asked, leaning forward, leaning on his elbow.
“Hmm, possibly stoic? Cold would be an obvious thing to think,” Twilight considered.
“Right on the money. Rico, give the nice lady her prize.”
“She’s won… a brand new car!” Rico called out like a tacky game show host, waving his arm to an empty part of the bakery.
“There's nothing there,” Gagate pointed out.
“It was a joke, little buddy,” Rico told him, chuckling and patting his head.
“Oh,” was his only reply.
“Jokes aside,” Twilight interrupted, clearing her throat. “We still have a few more warriors to cover. So, what about the warrior of thunder? Was he loud or something?”
“Oh yeah, AncientBeetlemon was loud as hell,” Willy chuckled, “That guy was a riot.”
“I think I’m getting the hang of guessing these personalities,” Twilight commented with a giggle. “What about the warrior of wood, what was he like?”
“He was boring as hell,” Willy snorted, “A real trooper but still man, he was so boring.”
“You’re just saying that because he always pointed out when your jokes fell flat,” Rico told him, a smirk on his face.
“Whatever.” Willy huffed, crossing his arms.
“I guess all that’s left is the warrior of metal,” Twilight commented, giggling at their exchange.
“AncientWisetmon was cool, calculating and had an iron will,” Rico recalled, “He was our tactician.”
“Thank you so much for all this,” Twilight told them, finishing up her notes. “I’ve always wanted to learn more about the ten warriors from all the old legends.”
“Nothing pleases me more than pleasing my new landlord.” Willy smirked at her.
“Very funny,” Twilight said with a roll of her eyes. “But seriously, thanks. Learning about something that was so important to Equestrian history is really amazing.”
“It’s no problem,” Rico assured her, stealing a cupcake.
“This is great,” Roger cut in, looking between the group. “Now the group’s almost complete!” he cheered, his tail wagging.
“Now we just have to hope Seth and Scott get back soon.” Lee snatched a cupcake up and began munching on it.
“I bet they’ll join up with us soon,” Roger said. “I mean, we’ve been lucky so far, haven’t we?”
“And Roger ruined it!” Isaac groaned, letting his head hit the table.
“You’re being overdramatic, Isaac,” Jethro assured, taking his own cupcake. “Of course, that’s pretty typical for you.”
“Every time one of us has said that, bad things happen.”
“Name one time,” Alex dismissed with a roll of his eyes.
“That time at the mall, when that taco stand exploded!”
“Oh come on, that stand was always super sketchy,” Willy argued. “Remember when I got food poisoning from them?”
“After Scott said it was fine.”
“Isaac, you’re being nuts right now,” Rico told him. “What about when we assured you everything was going to be fine during finals week? Everything worked out then.”
“Until we all got the stomach flu.”
“Okay dude, calm down,” Marty chimed in, swallowing his cupcakes. “You sound like you’re one step away from babbling about chemtrails and pointing out triangles online.”
“Do I look like Alex Jones to you?” Isaac asked, lifting his head up to glare at Marty.
“No, you’re not red enough, or screaming about frogs turning gay to be him.” Marty shook his head.
“I’ve lost the conversation...” Starlight frowned, looking between them all.
“Alex Jones is the name of a famous conspiracy theorist back home,” Rico explained. “I’m sure you’ve got ponies like that here. Ones that’ll shout at the top of their lungs that famous events never happened and things like that.”
“Oh, we have those alright.” Twilight nodded.
“Alright, now imagine that pony has an audience and is constantly shouting his insanity into a camera until he’s red in the face and you can imagine Alex Jones.”
“Sounds... pleasant...” Twilight frowned.
“If you’re in the right mood, it’s funny to rip on the guy,” Willy told her. “The stuff that comes out of his mouth is infinitely mockable. Though, the same could be said for most of the guys that make conspiracy theory videos,” he admitted, leaning back in his seat.
“Ahh!” someone outside screamed, interrupting their conversation.
“Ha!” Isaac grinned, jumping to his feet. “I told you! You invoked Murphy!”
“That doesn’t mean anything,” Willy dismissed, jumping up after him. “Twilight already told us this place has a track record with monster attacks.”
“Nope! It’s totally Murphy.”
“Yeah, and the Illuminati is using Family Guy to send out satanic messages,” Willy said with a roll of his eyes, heading for the exit.
“You yuck it up, let’s just see what happens.” Isaac huffed, jumping down and moving to the exit. The rest of the group followed after them, rushing out of the exit and towards the source of the disturbance. Once they arrived, they all stopped in their tracks, totally shocked by what they were seeing.
“O-oh my god,” Willy muttered, his eyes bugging out. “I-I can’t believe what I’m seeing here.”
“Never invoke Murphy, man.” Isaac shook his head, unable to look away.