“How’s that?” Lee held up some garland, looking down at Twilight.
“It’s perfect, Lee,” Twilight told him with a smile. “Good job with the decorations so far.”
“Thanks.” Lee smiled back, moving to get some more garland. At least a month had passed since they reclaimed the wood spirits, and they hadn’t been able to locate Kurata, Piedmon, or any of the other spirits. Today, they were celebrating the Equestrian holiday of Hearth’s Warming, their version of Christmas.
“This is going to be the best Hearth’s Warming ever!” Twilight cheered, a giddy look on her face. “I’ve got everything planned out to make your first Hearth’s Warming a truly memorable one. Pinkie’s making plans for a large party for all of us and I picked out gifts that I think you’ll all like.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” Lee protested, “You already feed and house us.”
“I did it because that’s what friends do at this time of year,” Twilight insisted. “And I can do what I want with my money,” she concluded, a warm smile on her face.
“Yes, your highness,” he chuckled, shaking his head.
“Lee, how many times have I told you not to call me that?” she asked with a frown. “I don’t like being referred to by my title.”
“I’m just teasing you Twilight, relax,” he assured her. “There, the garland’s finished.”
“That’s great,” she said with a smile. “Now we just need to do a few more things and the castle will be perfect. Let’s go check on Isaac and Jethro to see how the tree is coming along,” she said, turning to leave the room.
“You got it.” Lee leapt over the railing, landing on the floor below. It didn’t take him long to catch up to her. The two continued on to see Jethro and Isaac setting up a large tree, wrapping a long string of red fabric along it.
“The tree looks great, you two,” Twilight complimented, looking it over.
“Thanks.” the Veemon grinned, peering at them. “Jet’s got the decorations.”
“Are you two excited for your first Hearth’s Warming?” Twilight asked, looking between the two with a bright smile.
“Feels a lot like Christmas,” Isaac admitted, “Though, I get the feeling that this is a genuine holiday, and not a repackaged Christian thing.”
“Gotta agree with you there,” Lee said with a chuckle. “Oh, and I already checked with Twilight, mistletoe is a thing here too. You and a certain unicorn can make yourselves comfy underneath it,” he teased with a cheeky grin.
“Lee, I will hit you so hard, you’ll be digging up gems with the diamond dogs,” Isaac threatened, narrowing his eyes.
“Relax man, he’s just ribbing you,” Jethro told him, hanging up an ornament. “And seriously, you’ve obviously got a thing for her, why not make a move? The worst she can do is say no.”
“Why do I hang out with you guys?” Isaac asked with a groan, hanging his head.
“Because we make good points,” Jethro told him with a smile. “And because you like the abuse,” he added, chuckling.
“You're worried about your nature as a digimon, aren’t you?” Twilight asked, putting her hoof on Isaac’s back.
“Kinda hard not to be,” he admitted with a long sigh, slumping over. “It’s not like I can have a normal relationship, all things considered.”
“Well, I think you should talk it out with Starlight,” Twilight spoke, “I’m not the best to ask for this sort of thing, but, I know someone who could help.”
“Who’s that?” Isaac asked, looking up at her with a tilt of his head.
“My sister-in-law, Princess Cadance.” Twilight beamed. “She’s the princess of love.”
“...There’s a pony version of Cupid in this world?” Isaac asked, scratching his head. “And she’s your sister-in-law?”
“I’ll send her a letter for you,” Twilight replied, conjuring up a scroll and quill.
“Alright, I guess advice from Cupid pony might not be a bad thing,” Isaac relented, a nervous chuckle escaping his throat. “I mean, it’s not like I have anything to lose.”
“Spike! Can you come here please?” Twilight called out, scribbling away on the scroll.
“What do ya want, Twi?!” Spike called out, munching away on a gingerbread cookie.
“I need you to send a letter!”
“Alright!” he chirped, waddling over to her with a cookie in his claw. “Who do you need me to send it to?”
“Cadance, please.” She smiled, passing the letter to him. He nodded, taking in a deep breath before letting out a puff of flame onto the scroll. It was engulfed, swirling up into the air and disappearing.
“So… how long until Cadance responds?” Isaac asked, watching the letter the entire time.
“Honestly? I have no idea,” Twilight admitted with a sheepish grin.
“Yeah, guess I can’t get antsy,” Isaac replied with a chuckle. “I’ll just focus on enjoying the holiday. Spike, toss me one of those cookies.” He smiled, throwing him one. “Thanks li’l buddy,” he said, munching on the treat. “Now, what’s a good Hearth’s Warming activity we can do?”
“There’s not much we can do until the party tonight, besides finish the decorating,” Twilight said, gesturing to the rest of the room.
“Okay, anything to take my mind off things,” Isaac said with a nod. “Tell me what to do, Purple Smart!” he beamed, snapping off a salute. Twilight opened her mouth to respond, when a loud crack filled the air.
“What was that?” Lee asked, looking around and snapping to attention.
“That's the eggs!” Twilight jumped, starting to do her ritual panic dance.
“Twilight, calm down,” Jethro told her. “Just go and take a look at them.” Without another word, she lit her horn up, teleporting them to the nursery. Once there, they saw that the eggs were shaking, each of them with a large crack running along their center. “See, they’re just hatching,” Jethro told her with a grin, “they’re not in any danger.”
“Sweet!” Spike smiled, sitting down next to his.
“I need to go get the girls!” Twilight said with a giant smile. “They’ll want to see this!” With that, she teleported out of the room, leaving them to watch the eggs.
“Is she going to be back before they finish hatching?” Isaac asked, raising his eyebrow.
“Well, Twilight can move pretty quickly when she wants to,” Jethro pointed out. “I’m sure she’ll be back before we know it.”
“So, do Digimon imprint like baby birds?” Spike asked, looking at them.
“Digimon just kinda form bonds with people,” Lee explained. “I don’t think they really imprint in the traditional sense.”
“Ah, okay.” Spike nodded, turning his attention back to his egg.
“You excited, big guy?” Isaac asked, taking a seat next to Spike. “Hoping to get a really cool digimon to be your partner?”
“Maybe.” Spike frowned. “I don’t want to be selfish though.”
“There’s nothing selfish about wanting a cool digimon for a friend,” Isaac assured him, patting his back. “Any ideas of the kind of digimon you’d like?”
“I’d like a dragon,” Spike replied, gazing at the egg again.
“You’re in luck,” Isaac told him. “There’s a ton of cool dragon digimon that could be your partner. The coolest and biggest of them being the royal knight, Examon.”
“Royal Knight?” Spike asked curiously.
“The royal knights are thirteen of the strongest digimon in the digital world,” Jethro explained. “In fact, Roger’s evolutionary line will lead to him becoming Gallantmon, one of the knights. And Isaac could become one too, UlforceVeedramon. They all serve the king of the digital world and protect it.”
“I could also become Magnamon, another of the Royal Knights.” Isaac smirked. “Just gotta find the Digiegg of Miracles.”
“UlforceVeedramon is cooler,” Lee commented.
“No way,” Isaac scoffed, “The golden armor is awesome.”
“Yeah, but UlforceVeedramon has had a partner that Rider kicked a demon lord in the face,” Jethro offered. “Plus, the gold armor’s too flashy.”
“Bah!” Isaac rolled his eyes.
“Uh guys?” Spike spoke up, looking between the three of them. “Can you tell me more about these royal knights?”
“Yeah, sure.” Isaac nodded. “Whaddaya you want to know?”
“Stuff like who they all are,” Spike replied. “And their cool abilities.”
“Better get comfy then, there's a lot to talk about.” Isaac nodded, starting his long winded explanation. Twilight teleported back into the room just as he finished and the eggs were nearly done hatching.
“Sorry I’m late everyone, Fluttershy had to finish checking up on hibernating animals,” the princess offered, looking over at the eggs. “Thank goodness, we still have time to watch them finish hatching.”
Daring raised her eyebrow, looking at the eggs. “So, what does a baby digimon look like?”
“They’re all really tiny and squishy,” Isaac explained. “And most of them blow bubbles as an attack.”
“Jealous you didn’t get one?” Willy grinned, looking down at Daring.
“I’ll stick with raising the four giant babies I’ve already got,” Daring shot back with a smirk, slugging him in the arm.
“Whatever you say, just remember, the digital clock is ticking~” he singsonged, a dumb grin on his face.
“Keep it up Willy, and I’ll shove your digital face up your digital ass, capiche?” Daring replied with a deep frown.
“Didn’t your mother ever tell you to respect your elders?” he shot back.
“Nah, she was a little busy teaching me to read ancient hieroglyphs and dad was teaching me how to throw a punch,” she replied, a proud grin on her face.
“You two done with your squabble?” Rico asked, looking at them.
“I dunno, I think I’ve got a few more barbs and arrows to sling,” Daring offered with a grin, looking up at Willy. “What about you?”
“Save ’em for later,” Lee cut in, “Digimon getting reborn over here.”
“Alright, show me what ya got little buddy!” Rainbow encouraged, hovering inches away from her egg. The egg gave one last crack before shattering. Peering up at Dash was a little black, seed like digimon, with a pair of leaves on its head. “Hey little guy,” Rainbow told the newborn digimon with a warm smile. “You and I are buds now. You ready to learn how to be as awesome as me?” The digimon blinked, before returning her smile.
“That's Nyokimon,” Isaac informed, “It can digivolve into Birdramon.”
“Birdramon huh?” Rainbow Dash commented with a grin as she picked the Nyokimon up. “Sounds like you and I are gonna go flying together some time little guy,” she told it, petting the leaves atop its head. Nyokimon cooed, blowing a few bubbles.
“Looks like those two are bonding already,” Starlight observed with a smile. “I hope we can all be that lucky,” she said, watching her own egg closely. It shattered, revealing an oblong little white reptile with red eyes and long ears. “Aww, you are just the cutest little thing,” she cooed, picking the baby digimon up and hugging it to her chest. “I think you and I are going to get along great.” It giggled, nuzzling her chest.
“That's a uh...” Isaac snapped his fingers. “Picnimon. I have no idea what it digivolves into.”
“I’m almost tempted to just let him stay like this,” Starlight commented with a giggle, scratching behind the Picnimon’s ear. Picnimon purred, nuzzling her hoof.
“Oh, those two are so adorable,” Fluttershy commented, a look of absolute delight on her face as she looked between Nyokimon and Picnimon. “I hope all of the little ones are so cute and cuddly.” Fluttershy’s egg shattered, revealing a squishy red blob, with three horns on its head. “You are just too precious!” Fluttershy cheered, picking up her digimon and spinning in midair.
“That's a Punimon, it can digivolve into a lot of things.”
The rest of the eggs hatched not long after, with Twilight getting a Mokumon, Spike getting a Dodomon, Rarity got a Popomon, Pinkie got a Botamon, Flint got a Ketomon, Trixie got a Pafumon, and Applejack got a Zerimon.
“What a strange collection of creatures,” Gagate commented, leaning in to examine Mokumon. The Mokumon tilted its head, seeming to be examining Gagate in return. The Mokumon floated over to Gagate, poking at his face. “Hello young one,” Gagate greeted, cupping the newborn in his hands.
“Just make sure you're careful,” Rico warned, looking up at him.
“I understand that infants can be fragile,” Gagate assured. “I am exuding next to no force upon the little one.” Rico nodded, smiling at them.
“Hmm, this little guy might be cuter than you two were as babies,” Trixie commented, turning to Alex and Roger, her Pafumon taking up residence where her hat normally was.
“We were kinda just blobs,” Roger admitted, smiling up at the baby digimon.
“And you bounced around my carriage and nearly broke a ton of things,” Trixie reminded him, giggling. “You two only calmed down when I fed you.”
“Baby digimon seem to have a lot of energy,” Twilight spoke up, smiling at Isaac and Jethro.
“Sure, they’re newly emerged data,” Jethro explained, watching the ponies and dragon bond with their digimon. “They’ve got plenty to burn off and room to grow. They wanna take in everything they can to grow.”
“I’m just curious why they aren’t talking,” Starlight said, looking at her digimon.
“Of course they can’t talk,” Isaac replied with a chuckle. “They’re babies. Who ever heard of a baby that could talk?”
“You were a talking baby,” Spike pointed out.
“The difference being that we were freshly transferred from our bodies,” Jethro commented.
“It could be that they don’t remember their original lives,” Lee suggested.
“That’s probably for the best,” Isaac commented. “Celestia said they were put in the vault because they were menacing Equestria. Now they can just start over.”
“Let’s just hope that those Gizumon don’t get out,” Marty shuddered, shaking his head.
“Well, these guys didn’t and they were in there for thousands of years,” Jethro offered. “Chances are that they won’t either.”
“This is the bestest Hearth’s Warming ever!” Pinkie cheered, blowing a streamer. Her Botamon seemed to be happy too, blowing bubbles up in time with her streamer.
“I gotta agree with you there,” Isaac said with a laugh. “Though, this is my first one so it’d automatically be my best one.”
“We still have to finish decorating,” Jethro reminded.
“And I have to set up for the party!” Pinkie nodded, putting Botamon in her mane.
“And Ah’ve got some of mah famous Apple Family spiced cider to brew up fer the occasion,” Applejack chimed in, putting her Zerimon on her back.
“Then we should get on it!” Twilight smiled, getting to her hooves. Everyone nodded and rushed off to complete their tasks with Isaac and the gang following Twilight to continue decorating the castle.
Twilight and the others had just finished setting up the decorations and decided to relax with mugs of hot cocoa while they waited for the party to start. Even Mokumon was greedily chugging down a cup, clearly enjoying the hot beverage. They continued to sit and enjoy themselves until they heard a loud knock at the castle door.
“I’ll get it!” Isaac called, hopping to his feet. He rushed over to the door, pulling it open.
“Hi there,” Princess Cadance greeted, Flurry Heart sitting on her back. “Is my favorite sister-in-law home?” she asked, raising her voice in hopes of Twilight hearing her.
“Cadance? Is that you?” Twilight called out, excitement in her voice.
“Well, I’m certainly not Auntie Celestia,” she said, giggling at Twilight’s reaction.
“Hey Twily!” Shining Armor called.
“BBBFF!” Twilight cheered, rushing over to the doorway to wrap her hooves around the two. “What are you all doing here? Shouldn’t you be up in the Crystal Empire?”
“What? Can’t we visit for Hearth’s Warming?” Cadance smiled, hugging her back.
“No, I’m so glad you decided to visit!” Twilight assured. “I just wasn’t expecting you, that’s all. I figured you’d want to avoid travel for little Flurry’s first Hearth’s Warming.”
“After your letter, I couldn’t not come!” Cadance beamed, glancing at Isaac. Isaac gulped, becoming nervous under her stare.
“Oh yeah, the letter,” Isaac said, rubbing the back of his head. “I nearly forgot about that thing between the digimon hatching and all the decorating we were doing.”
“Hatching?” Cadance asked, raising her eyebrow.
“Didn’t Celestia or Luna tell you about the eggs we were all given?” Twilight asked, tilting her head. “Come in, I’ll show you the Mokumon, Dodomon and Picnimon that just hatched.”
“I bet they’re adorable,” Cadance replied, stepping into the castle. Twilight led them to place where the others were relaxing, Mokumon drinking another mug of cocoa while Spike let Dodomon chase him around the room. Mokumon seemed to hear them come in, pulling himself away from his drink to float over and nuzzle Twilight.
“Just be careful, he burps fire,” Isaac warned, a light smile on his face.
“Considering the experience I have with Spike, I think I’ll be fine,” Twilight replied, petting the affectionate digimon with a hoof.
“You cast a flameproof spell didn’t you?” Shining asked with a knowing grin.
“You know me too well, Shiny,” Twilight said with a giggle, still petting Mokumon. Mokumon cooed, a smile on his face.
“Aww, you’re so cute with your little digimon,” Cadance squeed, watching Twilight and Spike.
“They are adorable aren’t they?” Twilight beamed, pulling her little charge into a hug.
“I gotta say, the little guys seem to have taken to you pretty quick since they just hatched today,” Shining commented, watching Twilight and Mokumon nuzzle each other.
“I bet Flurry would love to play with them.” Cadance smiled, peering at her own foal. Flurry babbled happily, enjoying the attention she was receiving.
“I bet Dodomon would be happy to play with her,” Spike chimed in, letting the little purple ball of fur tackle him.
“Hello again Cadance,” Jethro called, waving at them.
“Hello, Jethro right?” Cadance asked, smiling at the Wormmon. He nodded, crawling over to her. “How have you been since you helped our Empire?” she asked, picking Jethro up with her magic and putting him next to Flurry.
“Pretty good, besides almost getting deleted that one time,” Jethro replied, shuddering at the thought.
“Well, at least you’re safe,” Cadance offered as Flurry started playing with Jethro’s ear antennae with her hooves.
“Having fun?” jethro asked, looking at Flurry. The foal responded by blowing a raspberry at him and giggling as she continued to toy with his ears. He just smiled, letting her play.
“Can you watch Flurry for a bit?” Cadance asked, setting her and Jethro on the floor.
“Sure thing,” Jethro replied. “She seems to be pretty preoccupied right now. I think I can handle watching her.”
“Thanks.” she smiled, before grabbing up Isaac in her magic.
“Hey, what are you doing?” Isaac asked, struggling against the magical hold on him. “I’m not a fan of the magical manhandling.”
“Shush,” Cadance scolded, placing him on her back, “We’ll be back in a bit, alright?” she asked, starting to make her way out of the room.
“You go ahead and do your thing,” Shining told her with a warm smile. “I’ll be here, catching up with the my LSBFF and Spike. And making sure Flurry stays out of trouble.”
“I’m starting to have second thoughts about sending that letter,” Isaac muttered, shifting uncomfortably on top of Cadance.
“I’m here to help, Isaac,” Cadance assured him, deciding to stop at a den. She sat down on a couch, setting him beside her.
“Yeah… I guess I could use some advice,” Isaac admitted, a blush on his cheeks. “I wasn’t great with girls even when I was human. I mean, I barfed and passed out the first time I ever asked someone out, and just passed out the second time. And now that I’m this,” he said, waving a hand over his body. “Things are a lot more complicated.”
“Why don’t you explain it to me?” Cadance asked, getting comfy.
“Ugh, this is really embarrassing,” Isaac groaned, steeling himself to explain his situation. “I’m a digimon, I don’t have a physical gender. I can’t exactly take any relationship I have to a really intimate place,” he told the princess, his entire face beet red.
“It doesn’t have to be intimate,” Cadance reminded him.
“I get that but, biology is a thing,” Isaac replied. “The urge to do… those things is gonna come up. And with the way I am, there’s not much I can really do. I just feel like I’d be denying anyone I was with a part of a healthy relationship with the way I am.”
“It is a puzzle alright,” Cadance agreed, “But then I have to ask, where do new digimon come from?”
“From computer programs,” Isaac explained with a sigh. “If you look into things that’s the explanation. One of the big villains of the series, Myotismon was essentially a computer virus that went out of control. Well… unless you include the canon of… that season. The one that none of us shall mention ever.”
“I take it a program is like a...” Cadance gestured a little. “Book?”
“More like a tool,” Isaac offered. “It does certain actions within digital space to avoid manual entry of codes like in the early days of computers. But yeah, the digital world and the human world are closely tied together in Digimon.”
“Are there any human-digimon hybrids?” Cadance asked, raising her eyebrow.
“No,” Isaac huffed. “Even digimon that are humanoid in appearance don’t have reproductive organs. No matter how much the rule 34 stuff of Angewomon will claim otherwise.” He paused, looking down in thought. “Well... there were those guys in Data Squad.”
“Oh?” Cadance asked, seeming to be interested. “Why don’t you tell me more about that,” she insisted, a grin worming its way onto her face.
“Well, a genocidal scientist spliced a few people with digimon DNA, allowing them to digivolve,” Isaac explained.
“Well, if that’s the case then maybe the reverse could be true?” she offered. “Maybe you could be spliced with a creature’s DNA that would help with your… intimacy problems,” she said tactfully.
“I...dunno about that...” he admitted. “The only thing I can think of is biomerging.”
“I take it that’s like your digivolving?” she inquired, raising an eyebrow. “Only, done with an organic partner?”
“Yeah. The two become one digimon.” Isaac nodded.
“Well Isaac, the only thing I can really tell you after hearing all this is that you should talk with whoever you’re interested and see what they think. I’ll be sure to look into things on my end with Twilight’s help. We might be able to come up with something that’ll help you deal with your problems.”
“You think so?” he asked, looking up at her hopefully.
“Of course,” Cadance assured him, wrapping a wing around him. “I’m more than just a pretty face. Who do you think taught Twilight what she knows about science?” she asked with a large grin.
“Herself?” he asked with a smirk.
“Keep it up and you’ll find out that love hurts,” she threatened with a smirk.
“Oh yeah?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
“I already told you I’m more than a pretty face,” she reminded him. “I’ve got a pretty decent variety of skills at my disposal.”
“Yeah, but you can’t turn into big dragons,” he pointed out, poking her chest.
“True, but I have cast out an entire hive of changelings from a city using the power of the love my husband and I share,” she retorted
“Oh yeah, well...” Isaac frowned, trying to come up with a retort..
“First protip on any future endeavors in relationships,” Cadance started, giggling. “Never start an argument with a mare, you’ll never win.”
“I’m genderless, you can’t beat me,” he huffed.
“If my research goes well with Twilight, you won’t be genderless for long,” she told him, patting his head.
“You know... for some reason... that kind of scares me...”
“I don’t know why it would,” she said. “Unless you’re picturing us strapping you down to an operating table or something.”
“No it’s... I know what I am now, what if something goes wrong? What if I can’t digivolve again?”
“If everything goes right, your ability to digivolve shouldn’t be affected,” she offered. “But, we’ll be sure to run plenty of tests to see if that will be the outcome.”
“Thanks.” He nodded, looking at her. “Let’s get back before they think we’re having an affair or something.”
“Oh, please,” Cadance dismissed with a giggle as she stood up. “My Shiny is way too adorkable to cheat on. And he knows it.”
“Uh huh.” Isaac chuckled, walking toward the door. The two started walking back to the group, Cadance giving him another reassuring pat.
“I’m sure you’ll have good luck with a certain purple unicorn you’ve got your eye on.”
“Let’s hope...” he muttered, moving to join the others.
“Alright,” Twilight announced, looking around, “The foyer isn’t exactly an ideal place for us to cozy up, Pinkie should have the party set up anyway.”
“Then let’s get going,” Willy chimed in. “After the welcoming party Pinkie gave us, I can't wait to see what she has planned for today.”
“Follow me, everypony!” Twilight called, getting to her hooves, making sure Mokumon was close. Spike picked up his own digimon, sticking close to Twilight’s side. Cadance smiled, picking up Flurry Heart and returning the foal to her back. She bundled the filly up, preparing her for the weather outside. “Cadance, we’re staying in the castle,” Twilight giggled, looking back at her.
“Oh, that's much better,” Cadance replied, unwrapping Flurry again. “I just assumed Pinkie was throwing the party at her place.”
“Nah, we got all the decorations done, and Pinkie got the party ready,” Jethro informed, hitching a ride on Isaac's head.
“Should be a good time then,” Shining said, walking alongside his wife.
“I hope so, Pinkie pulled out all the stops for our first Hearth’s Warming.”
“With all of the friends and family gathered for the occasion, it can't not be a good time,” Cadance commented, a warm smile on her face. Twilight led them down a few hallways before opening up to a dining room, containing a festive version of Pinkie’s normal style.
“Hi everypony!” Pinkie smiled, waving at them.
“Things are looking good, Pinkie,” Isaac complimented, giving her a thumbs up.
“Thanks! I did my super-duper best!”
“Then I know that this is going to be the best Hearth’s Warming ever,” Twilight said, a bright smile on her face as she took in the room.
“Yeah, this place looks great,” Willy agreed. “Now, I heard tell that there was going to be spiced cider here,” he concluded, licking his lips.
“Eeyup!” Applejack grinned, looking over at them. She was by the table, setting the last plate.
“Nice, I can’t wait to try it,” Willy said, giving Applejack a thumbs up.
“Get in line,” Dash protested. She was at the table, feeding Nyokimon some cake.
“Age before beauty little girl,” Willy shot back with a grin. “Didn’t anyone ever teach you to respect your elders?”
“I already called dibs,” Dash smirked, sticking her tongue out.
“Fine, I can wait to have mine after you get yours,” Willy shrugged, “just don’t drink it all before the rest of us can have some.”
“Ah’ll make sure of that,” Applejack assured, “We don’t need a repeat of last Hearth’s Warming.”
“You weren’t even here!” Dash snapped, pouting.
“No, but all of us had to deal with your crankiness the next day,” Applejack shot back. “Ya nearly bit mah head off.” Dash pouted, crossing her arms. Nyokimon just regarded her with an odd expression, blowing bubbles at the prismatic mare to get her attention.
“Whatcha need little guy?” Dash asked, turning her gaze back to her charge. The Nyokimon just bounced over to her, nuzzling her in an attempt to make her feel better. “Aw, thanks.” Dash smiled, nuzzling the little digimon back.
“Man, hard to believe these little guys used to be out of control,” Marty commented, looking between all the fresh digimon.
“Says the guy who was brainwashed,” Isaac teased.
“Oh yeah, bring that up again,” Marty grumbled. “I love being reminded of that.”
“I’m just glad I don’t remember any of it,” Lee added, tossing a cupcake in his mouth.
“Yeah, I’d hate to think about all the awful stuff Sombra made us do,” Marty agreed, shuddering slightly.
“Come on guys, we’re supposed to be having a good time,” Rico pointed out, taking a seat.
“Yeah, we’re all surrounded by the ones we care about,” Cadance added, taking her own seat. “Let’s try not to think about our worries for today.”
“Yeah!” Flint agreed, snuggling up in Trixie’s lap.
“Can I get my little apprentice anything?” Trixie asked, putting Flint’s hat on the table so she could stroke his mane.
“I’m okay, mom.” he beamed at her, nuzzling her chest.
“Then does Ketomon want something?” she asked, smiling down at her adopted son.
“Um... I dunno.” he blinked, looking down at his digimon. Ketomon looked up at him in return, letting out a chirp-like sound. “Do you need anything?” The Ketomon’s face scrunched up, seeming to be thinking for a moment before letting out another chirp and nodding. “What?” Ketomon looked over at the table, eyeing all the sweets and drooling slightly. After a moment or so, he locked onto the cookies. “Cookies it is!” Flint smiled, grabbing a cookie and offering it to Ketomon. Ketomon munched on it happily, not even letting a crumb escape its reach. When it was done eating, it let out a satisfied burp, smiling at Flint. Flint smiled back, hugging the little digimon.
“Seems you like your digimon so far,” Trixie commented, watching the two with a warm smile, her own Pafumon peeking out from under her hat.
“So do you,” Flint pointed out with a smile.
“True, the little guy just seems to like sitting on my head for some reason,” Trixie said, giggling and gently petting her digimon. Pafumon cooed, nuzzling her hoof. “I really hope he doesn’t want to keep this habit when he gets bigger,” Trixie added. “I don’t think my neck could handle the strain.” Pafumon smiled, nomming on her ear. “Hey!” Trixie protested. “My ear is not for eating.” Her ear tried to flick its way out of the digimon’s mouth. “If you want food then just ask.” She levitated a cupcake up to the Pafumon. Pafumon cooed, taking a bite out of it. “There we go, little guy. Next time, try not to take a chunk out of my ear.”
“They’re all so well behaved,” Fluttershy smiled, petting Punimon’s head.
“True, it might have something to do with the bond they’ve formed with us,” Twilight offered as she gave Mokumon another cup of hot cocoa. Mokumon smiled, cozying up against her while sipping at its cocoa.
“All I know is that my little guy is awesome,” Dash said, petting Nyokimon’s leaves. “And he’ll be even more awesome once he digivolves.” Nyokimon smiled up at her, blowing a few bubbles. “Yeah, I bet you’re excited to digivolve too,” she said continuing to pet his leaves. “Starting tomorrow we should start training you so you can digivolve quickly.”
“Protip Dash, don’t do that,” Isaac informed, a frown on his face.
“Huh, why shouldn’t I help Nyokimon get stronger?” Dash asked, looking confused.
“The thing is.” Isaac sat up, looking at her. “Digimon can actively train to get stronger but, you have to be careful, otherwise you get something like SkullGreymon.”
“Yeah, I don’t think I’d like for Nyokimon to become something nasty sounding like that,” Dash admitted, looking down at her digimon.
“As long as you don’t go overboard, it’ll be fine.” Isaac nodded. “Just don’t try to train a baby.”
“Alright, I guess I’ll have to stick with playing with Nyokimon and giving him a good diet. By the way… what exactly should I give the little guy? I feel weird giving him certain things since he looks like a plant.”
“Meat works.” Isaac shrugged.
“Looks like I’m gonna have to make a trip to Canterlot then,” Dash said. “Ponyville doesn’t have anypony that deals with meat. “But I could make you an omelette for breakfast tomorrow,” she continued, looking down at Nyokimon. “Does that sound good?” Nyokimon cooed, bouncing up and down excitedly. “Ugh, stop being so cute!” she whined. “You’re about to make me act all mushy and totally not cool.”
“I’m glad you’re all getting along,” Jethro smiled, letting Flurry play with his antennae.
“It’s hard not to, considering the way they’re acting,” Spike chimed in, he and his Dodomon munching on gingerbread cookies. “It’s like we’ve been friends for years with how attached they seem.”
“You don’t think...?” Alex asked, looking at Isaac.
“I’m starting to think it…” Isaac nodded, rubbing his chin and looking around the group.
“What?” Starlight asked, raising her eyebrow.
“We were just considering the idea that you all might be… digidestined,” Isaac admitted.
“Isn’t that what you are?” Rarity inquired.
“Yeah, but there can be more than one group of digidestined,” Jethro said. “In season 2, kids all over the world became digidestined.”
“Don’t they need digivices?” Roger asked, tilting his head.
“That’s the thing that was bothering me,” Alex admitted. “They’ve got the strong connection to digimon, but no digivices. Maybe we’re just looking into things too much.” He shrugged, grabbing a cookie and tossing it in his mouth.
“I dunno...” Isaac muttered, tapping his chin.
“I think Roger raises a good point,” Rico said. “If they were digidestined, they’d have digivices by now.”
“Maybe they didn’t get them yet?” Marty asked.
“Maybe,” Willy admitted. “We’ll just have to wait and see what happens.”
“Do you think we will get digimon?” Cinnabar asked, looking at Willy.
“Do you want a digimon of your own?” Willy asked, smiling at her. “Isn’t our pet timberwolf enough?” he teased, pointing to Juniper. Juniper frowned, narrowing her eyes at him. “And Timberwolves still don’t like me,” he sighed. “Even when I’ve got the wood spirits inside me.”
“I don’t think she liked being called a pet,” Rico pointed out, tossing Juniper a cookie. Juniper caught the cookie out of the air, barking in agreement.
“Alright, how does our timberwolf friend sound?” Willy asked, turning to Juniper. She relaxed, wagging her tail. “Anyway, back on topic,”he said, turning back to Cinnabar. “Do you want a digimon too?”
“It looks fun,” Cinnabar spoke, looking at all the baby digimon.
“Then how about this,” Willy started. “If we find any digimon that aren’t those shadow ones running around we’ll see if we can get you and Gagate a digiegg. And maybe even Daring too, if she wants one.”
“Me?” Daring asked, peering over at him.
“Why not?” Willy shrugged. “If you don’t want one then just say so.”
“I suppose I could...” she smiled. “I think I’d like that.”
“Then we’ll be sure to keep an eye out for any real digimon we come across,” Rico told her.
“Hey, since our eggs hatched, do you think the princesses’ eggs did too?” Dash asked, looking up from Nyokimon.
“That's a good question, maybe they did.” Twilight looked over. “I could always ask.”
“Yeah, I’d like to know what they got,” Isaac said. “Heh, I just had a funny thought. Since they’re the princesses of the sun and moon, what if they got Sunmon and Moonmon?”
“Sounds about right.” Lee nodded. “The universe is weird like that.”
“Okay Spike, send this letter to Celestia,” Twilight chimed in, levitating a scroll over to the baby dragon. Spike nodded, blowing a puff of flame onto the scroll.
“What did you ask?” Fluttershy asked.
“I asked them if their eggs hatched and if so to describe what their digimon look like so Isaac and everyone can identify them for us,” Twilight explained.
“Right.” Isaac nodded, a grin on his face. A few moments later, Spike let out a burp of flames, a scroll landing on the table.
“The princesses’ reply is here,” the drake chimed, holding the scroll out to Isaac. Isaac took it, giving it a once over.
“Okay so, looks like Celestia has a Sunmon and Luna has a Moonmon.”
“So it looks like you were right, Isaac,” Marty commented. “Honestly, I think it’s a perfect fit. Did she say how they’re getting along with their new digimon?”
“Apparently they both love the little guys,” Isaac answered with a chuckle.
“Who couldn’t love a baby digimon?” Roger asked.
“People that have no souls,” Alex said with a sagely nod. “Only they could not be swayed by the adorableness of a baby digimon.”
“We already know one guy like that,” Lee added, shuddering.
“Yeah, we still have to find that guy,” Alex said, his expression hardening. “I’m not gonna let him get away again.”
“We’re getting dark again,” Cadance warned.
“Sorry,” Alex said, taking a deep breath. “Let’s not bring up that guy again. Now, where’s that spiced cider? I could use something to take the edge off.”
“Right here!” Applejack grinned, sliding over a mug. Alex grabbed it with a grin, taking a long sip of it.
“Ahh, now that is some delicious stuff,” Alex complimented, licking foam off his lips.
“Home brewed.” Applejack smiled, before chugging down her own mug.
“Yo, Applejack!” Willy called with a grin. “Slide me over a mug of that cider, please!”
“I think it’d be better if I just gave everyone their mug,” Twilight responded, lifting them off the tray with her magic and passing them out. Everyone readily took their mugs, the atmosphere instantly brightening.
“Should someone say a toast or something before we start drinking?” Isaac asked, looking down at his mug.
“I could,” Twilight offered, sipping at her drink.
“Yeah, a toast sounds awesome,” Rainbow agreed. “Take it away, Egghead.”
“Yeah come on Twi,” Lee added.
“Okay,” Twilight said, clearing her throat. “Here’s to old friends and new ones, to family and to everything that we’ve accomplished this year. And, of course, happy Hearth’s Warming!” she cheered, thrusting her mug out.
“Cheers!” the others chimed, clanking their mugs together before they all took a long sip.