Digimon: A New Legacy of DigiDestined

by ShadowBolt96

Chapter 16: A City of Scavengers, Scum, and Smiths

Sweetie Belle wiped the sweat off her brow, looking up at the desert sun as it continued to beat down on her and her friends. For the past few days, the group had been using Piximon’s map to get through the desert safely. They would venture to one of the marked areas during the early morning hours. Then they would stop and rest in the shade for the afternoon. As the sun began its descent, they would make their way to another marked area and set up camp for the night.

This extended the duration of their journey, but by using this method, they had been able to avoid the worst of the sun’s heat. Sweetie Belle guessed that they had Piximon’s rigorous training to thank for their endurance. As she reflected on the arduous journey, something caught her eye in the distance.

“Hey, anypony else see something over there?” Sweetie Belle pointed towards something in the distance. After seeing their fair share of mirages, everyone developed a habit of asking others to confirm certain sights, which sometimes turned into a strange version of I Spy. “Looks like a junkyard over there. A really big junkyard.”

Rumble trotted up beside Sweetie Belle and flipped down his monocular. “Hmm...yeah, that looks about right.” He flipped the scope back up to his camo headband. “You think that’s Scrap City?”

Sweetie Belle held Piximon’s map with her magic, comparing it to the one projected by her Digivice. “I think so. According to Piximon’s map, we should be there right about now.”

“You mean we’re finally getting out of this desert?” Diamond Tiara smiled. “Thank Celestia!”

With renewed vigor, everyone marched towards the distant junkyard. As they drew closer, the distant scrap field expanded. Stacks of metal formed hills and pillars as far as the eye could see. The wind whistled around the metallic mountains, wrapping through the corridors.

As the ponies walked through the scrap yard with their Digimon partners, they saw mountains of wrecked metal carriages stacked atop one another. Beyond these mountains sat rows and rows of strange vehicles, which the ponies could only describe as metal birds. These birds stood on three large wheels and ranged from smaller ones that had a few seats, to longer, more fancy looking versions. As they walked on, they came across a few massive birds, with two smaller cylinders hanging beneath their wings.

“What are these things? They’re huge!” Scootaloo said in awe as she climbed up a rickety stairway towards an opening in the side of the bird. Inside sat rows of once comfortable seats, now mostly faded away by the passage of time. The walls were lined with small windows, about the size of the ponies’ heads. In the front of the bird were two seats situated before a large console filled with screens and buttons, which had gone dark ages ago.

“What is this thing?” Babs Seed came up behind Scootaloo with a few of the others to look around. “It kinda looks like a train in here,” Babs Seed sunk a hoof into one of the seats.

“Was this thing supposed to fly?” Scootaloo asked. “How does something this big get off the ground?”

Everyone turned to Silver Spoon, who was emerging from the cabin in front of the bird. She stopped for a moment when she felt everyone’s eyes on her. “What?” she asked.

“How does something like this fly?” Scootaloo asked. “Can it even fly?”

“Why are you asking me?” Silver Spoon asked.

“Well, you’re our group’s resident nerd.”

“And what, that means I’m supposed to know everything?!” Silver Spoon asked angrily.

Scootaloo flinched. “Um...maybe?”

“Wow...how presumptuous of you,” Silver Spoon deadpanned.

“Um...thank you?” Scootaloo smiled.

Silver Spoon shook her head with a sigh and turned towards the door. Before leaving, she turned back to Scootaloo with a glare. “And another thing: don’t call me a nerd!” With a flip of her hair, she stormed out of the bird.

“Sheesh...touchy,” Sweetie Belle heard Palmon’s voice echo in her mind.

Sweetie Belle looked over to Palmon, who looked concerned. “Yeah...you can say that again.”

“Huh...presumptuous,” Scootaloo smiled. “I’ve never been called that before. That’s good, right?”

Sweetie Belle sighed and walked towards the door.

Scootaloo’s smile faded. “Wait, it’s not good? What does it mean? Hey! What does that mean?!”

As Sweetie Belle climbed down the stairs to rejoin the others, a loud clanging noise drew her attention.

“What does presumptuous mean?!” Scootaloo cried out behind her.

“Shh!” Sweetie Belle put her hoof up. “Listen!”

The sound of clanking metal came from one of the smaller birds. Sweetie Belle signaled for everyone else to follow her as she crept towards the metal bird. As she got closer, she caught glimpses of bits and pieces of scrap being tossed from the door onto a small wagon. A cute little dinosaur Digimon made of colorful building blocks emerged from the bird to inspect its loot.

As the Digimon waddled around its wagon, Sweetie Belle booted up her Digivice analyzer.

Name: ToyAgumon
Level: Rookie
Attribute: Vaccine
Attacks:

• Toy Flame
• Block Punch

“A Rookie level Digimon,” Sweetie Belle turned to Palmon while signaling the others to stop. “I’m going to talk to him, see if he can give us directions.”

“Okay, be careful,” Palmon quietly nodded.

Sweetie Belle trotted up to ToyAgumon, who was still inspecting his loot. “Um, excuse me?”

ToyAgumon whipped around. “GAAAAH!” he screamed, leaping into the air. As he hit the ground, his body shattered into a pile of toy blocks.

Sweetie Belle stared at the remains of ToyAgumon in horror.

“Holy smokes…” Apple Bloom muttered, bringing a hoof to her mouth.

“You scared him to pieces…” Rumble breathed. “You ACTUALLY scared him to pieces!”

As Sweetie Belle struggled for words, the toy blocks that lay at her hooves began to shift in the dirt, tumbling towards a single point. Everyone watched in amazement as the bricks stacked themselves together to rebuild ToyAgumon.

“Don’t sneak up on someone like that!” the rebuilt ToyAgumon said with a shiver.

“Sorry,” Sweetie Belle blushed. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Eh, it’s okay. No harm done really,” ToyAgumon chuckled as he dusted himself off. “My name’s ToyAgumon. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too. I’m Sweetie Belle, and these are my friends.” Sweetie Belle went around and let the others introduce themselves. Afterward, Babs Seed raised her hoof.

“Um, ‘scuse me? Is this Scrap City?”

“Well, not quite. The city itself is further in that way,” ToyAgumon gestured deeper into the scrap yard. He grabbed the handle of his wagon with a sigh. “I was thinking of heading back if you want to tag along. I don’t think I’m going to get anything more from this heap,” he gestured towards the small metal bird.

“Do you need any help with that?” Apple Bloom offered as ToyAgumon covered his loot with a canvas blanket.

“No, I think I’ve got it,” ToyAgumon said as he tied down the blanket. “It’s not exactly a big haul, so I should be able to—”

ToyAgumon froze, his eyes darting between the scrap hills.

“Should be able to...what?” Scootaloo asked.

“Shh!” ToyAgumon put a claw up, not taking his eyes off the scrap piles. “Anyone else hear that?”

Everyone stood still, listening to the wind whistling around them.

“I don’t hear anything,” Terriermon shrugged.

“Must’ve been a loose piece of metal or something,” ToyAgumon picked up the wagon handle. “Okay, follow me. Stay close, keep your voices down, and if you see anyone else following us let me know.”

“Why would anyone be following us?” Diamond Tiara looked over her shoulder.

“And why are you out here collecting a bunch of junk?” Silver Spoon asked. “What’s so important about it?”

“Let’s get to the city first, we’ll be a lot safer there,” ToyAgumon nervously looked around.

“Okay, okay…” Sweetie Belle gestured for everyone to calm down. “We’ll keep quiet and follow you.”

“Okay, good,” ToyAgumon stopped shaking a little. “Once we get back, my friends and I will answer any questions you’ve got.” Without another word he ventured off into the scrap yards, pulling his wagon, with the DigiDestined behind him.

The entire trip was filled with an uneasy silence. Everyone was on high alert, but they weren’t quite sure what to look for. ToyAgumon wasn’t much help in identifying the unseen threat and wasn’t up for any conversation in general. Anything above a whisper was quickly shushed by him. And at several points, he had everyone stand still and not make a sound. They would hold this position until ToyAgumon was sure that no one was around the corner or behind them.

After what seemed like an eternity and a half, they arrived at a large wall stacked with sheets of welded metal. In the center of the wall sat an old portcullis, which rose with the sound of creaky gears and belts. The inside of the wall was filled with the sounds of the hustle and bustle that accompanied city streets. The sounds of clanging metal and the smell of burning fuel filled the air.

“Welcome to Scrap City!” ToyAgumon spread his claws out.

Everyone took in the sights and wrinkled their noses at some of the smells.

“It stinks here,” Guilmon covered his nose.

“And it’s loud too!” Terriermon grabbed his ears.

Babs Seed stood up on her hind legs and spun around with a smile on her face. “Oh, it’s just like home!”

A crash and a scream made everyone turn to see a Digimon come flying out of a building and land in the dirt several yards away. Another large, angry Digimon stomped out of the door. “You don’t come back until you can pay your tab. You hear me slime?!”

“‘Cept maybe not quite as rough,” Babs Seed said, planting all four hooves back on the ground.

“Yeah...that’s Scrap City in a nutshell,” ToyAgumon nodded. “Come on, follow me. We can get something to eat on the way to the Guild headquarters.”

“Guild headquarters?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Yep, the White Flame Guild,” ToyAgumon nodded. “We search the scrap fields in No ‘Mon’s Land to find remnants of old technology, then bring them back here to reassemble and sell. We also fulfill commissions on other odds and ends that Digimon need.”

As they walked through the crowded streets, they passed by several large statues made of scrap. All of them were armed with massive weapons ranging from battleaxes, swords, and advanced looking crossbows. Despite being made of scrap, they still held certain elegance. They looked like massive steampunk knights, ready to cut anyone down at a moment’s notice. They were impressive, no doubt. But something about them gave Sweetie Belle the creeps.

“Oh, here’s my favorite noodle stand,” ToyAgumon pointed to a vendor just ahead. “Who’s hungry?”

“Oh, me!” Armadillomon raised his paw.

“Yeah, I feel like I could eat a horse,” Terriermon said.

“Excuse me?” Silver Spoon shot him a glare.

“I said I feel like I could eat a full course,” Terriermon sweated.

“That’s what I thought you said,” Silver Spoon stared at him with narrowed eyes.

ToyAgumon led them to the stand, where everyone ordered their bowls of ramen noodles and sat down at an old picnic table. The ponies ordered vegetarian versions of the strange dish, and it was enjoyed better by some more than others.

“Wow, this sure has a bit of a bite to it, don’t it?” Apple Bloom said, quickly grabbing a cup of water.

“It is pretty spicy,” Armadillomon nodded.

“I feel like they could’ve eased up on the salt,” Diamond Tiara stirred her noodles.

Sweetie Belle glanced at another steel statue a few yards away. “So, what’s with the statues?”

“Oh, those are the Sentinels,” ToyAgumon said before eating more noodles. “They watch over the city.”

“What do you mean? Like, symbolically?” Silver Spoon eyed the statue and its massive broadsword.

“Well—”

“Hey short stuff!” a voice shouted behind him.

“AAAAAHHH!” ToyAgumon leaped into the air with a scream, coming back down in several pieces.

Everyone turned to find a small gang of Goblimon laughing behind them. Every one of them wore dark orange armbands emblazoned with a black swirl pattern.“Gets him every time!” one of them laughed, wiping a tear from his eye.

“What’s your problem?” Scootaloo stood up.

“What? We’re just messing around,” the lead Goblimon shrugged.

“And this is your idea of a good time?” Babs Seed gestured to the pile of toy bricks where ToyAgumon was.

“Hey, all the more reason to do it. The hatchling needs to develop a proper wireframe. Maybe then he wouldn’t have such massive breakdowns.” The Goblimon guffawed. “And you know, it’s only fair that we get some kind of...compensation for our help, right?” he asked as he sauntered over to ToyAgumon’s wagon. “So, why don’t we see what you found out there?”

“Hey! Get away from there!” Scootaloo shouted. “That’s ToyAgumon’s stuff, you can’t just steal it!”

“I’m not ‘stealing’ anything,” Goblimon said. “This is compensation for services.”

Veemon looked to Babs Seed, who gave a curt nod. He pushed his ramen bowl to the side and walked over to the Goblimon. “I got some compensation for you right here,” Veemon said before punching the lead Goblimon in the gut.

“Oh ho!” Goblimon chuckled as he picked himself up. “Looks like we’ve got ourselves a tough guy here.”

“Oh, I just thought I’d be doing you a favor,” Veemon cracked his knuckles. “Since you can’t pick on Digimon your own size, I figured I’d help you develop more of a spine!”

Babs Seed turned to the ramen vendor. “Hey chief, ya got any ice back there?”

“HA! That’s hilarious!” Goblimon chuckled before slugging Veemon in the face.

As the two continued trading blows, other passing Digimon moved quickly down the streets or watched the fight from a long distance. Even the vendor hid behind his cart.

“What’s everyone hiding from?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“I...have a few guesses,” Palmon shakenly pointed to the Sentinel across the street, whose eyes were glowing blue.

With a hiss of steam and grinding of gears, the statue began to move. The two Digimon were too busy fighting to notice it marching towards them. Veemon had pinned Goblimon to the ground when the Sentinel slammed its sword into the earth, shaking their surroundings.

“YOU ARE IN VIOLATION OF ARTICLE THREE OF THE ARMISTICE!” the Sentinel boomed in a robotic tone. “CEASE HOSTILITIES OR BE DELETED!”

Veemon stared at the statue, his fist raised to pummel Goblimon.

“V-Veemon?” Babs Seed stuttered. “Just...get off the jerk and come here.”

Veemon looked from Babs Seed to Goblimon, to the massive Sentinel ready to crush him at a moment’s notice. Reluctantly, he released Goblimon and walked towards his partner, keeping his hands up and eyes on the Sentinel.

After a few tense moments, the Sentinel sheathed its weapon and marched back to its pedestal.

“Hey boss?” one of the Goblimon said to their leader. “We should get going.”

“Yeah...right,” the lead Goblimon picked himself up. He turned to Veemon with a glare. “You best pray I don’t catch you wanderin’ No ‘Mon’s Land. ‘Cause I guarantee the last thing you’ll see is my club meeting your face!” he growled, spitting at Veemon’s feet.

As Veemon returned to the table, activity in the city streets went on like nothing had happened.

“So...that happened,” Scootaloo shivered. “Those statues, is that what you meant when you said they watch over the city?”

A series of clicks announced ToyAgumon’s reconstruction. “Y-yes,” he said as he snapped his head back into place. “The Sentinels keep the peace in Scrap City, by any means necessary.”

“Did that statue say something about an armi-something?” Diamond Tiara asked.

“Yes, the Armistice. It’s a city-wide agreement that prevents Digimon from fighting,” ToyAgumon stared into his noodle bowl. “You see, Scrap City was originally founded by a small group of wandering blacksmiths and traders. They saw the surrounding scrap metal and believed they could salvage some of the more complex technology. The scrap also provided a lot of raw material for them to practice their craft. They would build complex machinery and other such goods, then sell them to passing traders or send them to other neighboring towns.

“As the city grew and Digimon began forming guilds, the businesses here grew more and more aggressive. Guilds began to fight over parts of the scrap fields. Rival workshops would get robbed; fights would break out into the streets. From what I hear, if less than three fights happened, it was considered a quiet day.

“The founders of the city realized that if things didn’t change, the city would tear itself apart. They needed rules to keep the peace, and enforcers to uphold those rules. So they introduced a city-wide pact, known as The Armistice. Without going into the fancy wording, it essentially states that Digimon in Scrap City can’t fight each other without a good reason.”

“And what qualifies as a good reason around here?” Hawkmon asked.

“Well, say one Digimon posed a threat to the entire city,” ToyAgumon said. “Other Digimon would be allowed to fight the threatening Digimon because it would be seen as protecting the city.”

“And these Sentinels are the enforcers of the Armistice?” Hawkmon looked at the imposing statue.

ToyAgumon nodded. “The founders needed enforcers that could respond at a moment’s notice, that couldn’t be overpowered or corrupted by other Digimon. Believe it or not, I’ve seen one of those things go toe to toe with an Ultimate level Digimon. The whole battle was over in a minute.”

Veemon gulped.

“Here’s the thing,” ToyAgumon finished his bowl of ramen with a sigh. “The Armistice only applies to Digimon inside the city walls. Out there in the scrap fields, anything goes. That’s why everyone here tends to call it No ‘Mon’s Land.”

“So that’s why you were jumpin’ at shadows back here,” Apple Bloom said.

“Yeah…I’m not exactly the strongest member of my guild. Or the city…” ToyAgumon stared at his empty bowl for a moment before hopping off his seat. “Everyone done? Let’s head to the guildhall.”

---

ToyAgumon led everyone through the winding streets of Scrap City until they arrived at a massive building with a large chimney. On the front was a white metal insignia in the shape of a flame. Two Sentinels flanked the front entryway.

ToyAgumon slowly opened the front door and peeked inside. Sounds of hammers and machinery leaked from the building. “Okay, come on in,” ToyAgumon grabbed his wagon and quickly pulled it inside.

“What’s the problem now?” Diamond Tiara asked. “You’re not going to get attacked inside the city, right?”

“Well, the thing is...I wasn’t exactly supposed to be out in No ‘Mon’s Land,” ToyAgumon whispered.

“Darn right you weren’t!” a rough voice rang out. A Gazimon came from around the corner, bearing down on ToyAgumon with fire in his eyes. “What were you thinking? You think you can just wander off into No ‘Mon’s Land like you’re going for a stroll down the street?!”

“Is ToyAgumon back?” another Gazimon called from a catwalk above them. “What’s in the wagon?” he asked, lowering his retro-style sunglasses. “Please tell me he wasn’t digging in the scrap fields on his own.”

“I-I wasn’t far!” ToyAgumon protested. “I was in the airplane graveyard. We needed the circuits for that—”

“Stop! Just stop!” the Gazimon put his paw up. He adjusted the sling bag across his back, showing a skull emblazoned on the strap. “Did you just forget the rules we have here?”

“What’s going on here?” a much larger machine Digimon emerged from an office.

“Guild master Guardromon!” the sling bag wearing Gazimon, who Sweetie Belle nicknamed Skull, stood up straight. “ToyAgumon came back from his little ‘shopping trip.’ Turns out he was digging in No ‘Mon’s Land.”

Sweetie Belle switched on her Digivice’s analyzer while they talked.

Name: Guardromon
Level: Champion
Attribute: Data
Attacks:

• Grenade Destroyer
• Warning Laser

“Is this true ToyAgumon?” Guardromon asked.

“Yes sir,” ToyAgumon nodded bashfully. “I was in the airplane graveyard. It was pretty close and we needed the parts.”

Guardromon lifted away the tarp on ToyAgumon’s wagon. “Not a bad haul,” he nodded. “But going out there on your own is still risky. There’s a reason why we send out groups of Digimon on scavenging runs.”

“I just...wanted to help,” ToyAgumon slouched.

“And you do help,” Guardromon nodded. “But acting recklessly like that isn’t going to prove anything.” He glanced up towards the entrance, where the ponies watched silently. “And who are these strangers you’ve brought with you?”

“Oh, we met out in No ‘Mon’s Land. They were heading towards the city and wanted to know what I was doing. I was wondering if I could show them around a bit.”

“Show them around?” the Gazimon wearing sunglasses, who Sweetie Belle nicknamed Shades, leaped down from the catwalk to land in front of the DigiDestined. “And how do you know they’re not spies from one of our rivals? They could be working with the Black Ashes Cartel for all you know!”

“That gang of Goblimon? Employing spies?” Skull asked. “I think you’re giving them a little too much credit.”

“Enough!” Guardromon shouted. “ToyAgumon, if you trust them enough you can give them a quick tour of your station. Then I expect you to get back to work.”

“Yes, sir!” ToyAgumon saluted.

Guardromon turned to the Gazimon. “You two sort through this payload and deliver it to the appropriate stations. I’ll be in my office if anyone needs me.”

“Yes sir,” the Gazimon grumbled.

“Come on,” ToyAgumon led the group to a bin full of hard hats and earmuffs and passed them around. “Safety first.”

“Great, now I’m going to get helmet hair,” Diamond Tiara grumbled as she slipped the yellow hard hat on.

Once everyone was wearing their protective gear, ToyAgumon led them deeper into the guildhall. They passed by rows of conveyor belts feeding bits and pieces of scrap metal into large machines, where they were crushed, flattened, or melted down. ToyAgumon walked up to one of these machines, manned by a Digimon that looked like a large gear with a face on it, and had two silver gears for arms.

“Well, this forge is my station,” ToyAgumon said. His voice rang clearly through the earmuffs, while the noise from the surrounding machinery was muffled. “Over there is my partner, Hagurumon.”

Hagurumon smiled. “How do you do?” he said in a creepy, monotone voice.

“Here we use the raw material we’ve gathered to manufacture parts for machines or fulfill certain metalworking commissions. Metal signs, ceremonial weapons, insignias, that sort of thing,” ToyAgumon explained.

“Speaking of which, is the mold for The Royal Garden ready?” Hagurumon asked.

“I put the finishing touches on it last night,” ToyAgumon nodded.

“Excellent. Why don’t you go get it while I fire up the crucible?” Hagurumon hovered over to the machine and began turning valves. Steam hissed through pipes, and a motor hummed to life as an orange glow began to emanate from beneath a massive metal bucket.

ToyAgumon led the ponies to a large worktable littered with tools and scrap metal. In the center was a large mold in the shape of an elegant rose. Below it, “The Royal Garden” was emblazoned in Digicode.

“This was a commission from some up and coming inn in Rosetown,” ToyAgumon explained.

“We stayed there a few weeks ago,” Apple Bloom smiled. “It’s a nice place.”

“What’s all this stuff here?” Silver Spoon pointed to a nearby table piled with bits and pieces of junk.

“Oh, that?” ToyAgumon rubbed the back of his head. “That’s a little hobby of mine. The guild master lets me collect some of the more interesting pieces that no one will buy. He lets me restore them, figure out their purpose.”

Silver Spoon’s eyes were drawn to one particular item on the table. It looked like an ornate safe with several symmetrical indents and copper plates lining the edges. But there was no combination dial or visible keyhole. The only thing she could spot was a closed metal iris on the front.

“What’s this?” Silver Spoon asked.

“I’m not sure,” ToyAgumon shrugged while he put on a tool belt. “I found that buried in an old bunker. Can’t seem to figure out how to open it and the metal’s too strong to cut with a blow torch. The only thing I could find relating to it is that slip of paper in the envelope on top.”

Silver Spoon stood on the tips of her hind legs and felt around the top of the strange lockbox until she felt an envelope. She pulled out a slip of paper from it and read the contents aloud. “Feed me and I will grow. But give me water, and I will die.”

“Huh?” Terriermon tilted his head. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Silver Spoon looked at the lockbox, scanning each detail with a meticulous eye. Along the bottom of the strongbox, she could see a symbol engraved on a bronze plate on each leg. There was an image of a mountain, a raindrop, a gust of wind, and a flame.

With a smirk on her face, Silver Spoon pressed the bronze plate with the picture of a flame. The box produced a series of clicks, and a small compartment opened to reveal a key.

“How’d you do that?” ToyAgumon asked.

“You feed a fire, it’ll grow. But if you give it water…” Silver Spoon made a hissing noise while slowly lowering her hoof.

“Huh, just like Piximon’s place, right?” Terriermon smiled.

“Please, this box has nothing on the stuff he threw at us,” Silver Spoon grabbed the key. “Now...where does this go?”

Terriermon hopped onto the table and walked around the box.

“Hey, be careful!” ToyAgumon protested. “There are a lot of delicate pieces on there.”

Terriermon felt along the surface of the box until he felt a tiny panel slide open beneath his paw to reveal a keyhole. “Hey, I think I found something here.”

Silver Spoon inserted the key and turned it. As she turned it, the metal iris opened with a screech, revealing a small disk puzzle. While she toyed with that, another piece drew Apple Bloom’s attention. A few pieces of an incomplete mold sat nearby.

“What’s this here?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Not quite sure,” ToyAgumon said. “I found bits and pieces of it scattered throughout the scrap fields. I think it might be some ancient guild insignia, maybe even belonging to one of the founders of Scrap City!”

“NEEEEEEERD!” Skull called from the catwalk above them.

Silver Spoon’s ear twitched, snapping her away from the strongbox for a moment.

“Anyway…” ToyAgumon growled. “I’ve been trying to find the last piece for a while now.”

Apple Bloom looked over the old mold. From the parts that were there, it looked vaguely like a cross with large indents equally spaced in the corners between the lines. The only thing missing was the bottom of the cross.

“Whatcha thinkin’ about Apple Bloom?” Armadillomon asked.

Apple Bloom put a hoof to her chin. “Somethin’ about this seems kinda familiar. Doesn’t it kinda remind you of—”

“It’s ready!” Hagurumon sang.

“Be right there!” ToyAgumon placed the Royal Garden sign mold on a cart. “This is his favorite part of the job,” he chuckled. ToyAgumon pushed the cart to a conveyer belt and loaded it onto a tray near the forge. “Everyone, stand back!”

Hagurumon stared at a control panel near the forge, his grin growing every second. A red and black aura enveloped one of the levers, an invisible force pulling it down a second later. A hatch on the side of the forge opened, and the molten metal within began to ooze down a metal chute.

“Ohohoho,” Hagurumon chuckled. “It’s always satisfying to see the metal flow like that.”

Everyone watched in awe as the glowing orange sludge oozed into the mold, twisting around the divots and lines. Once it was filled, ToyAgumon pulled a lever on his side of the belt. The molten metal filled mold traveled down the conveyor belt to enter a chamber, where it was blasted with cold air. After a couple of minutes, ToyAgumon opened the chamber, and the mold was gently brought out, the metal inside still red hot.

“Okay, let’s get it out of that mold!” ToyAgumon grabbed a crowbar and began prying the sign out of the mold. Hagurumon telekinetically lifted the sign onto a tray, clamped it down, and placed it under a mechanical hammer and anvil, manned by ToyAgumon. The two Digimon worked together to hammer out the uneven parts of the metal. A few minutes afterward, ToyAgumon brought it out to inspect it.

“Wow, that is so cool!” Babs Seed said.

“It’s a good start,” ToyAgumon nodded. “But I’m going to have to use a file to smooth out those hard to reach spots; the grindstone will only be good for the exterior. That’s going to take a while. But after that, we’ll give it a coat or two of polish, and send it to the inn.”

“Well, I’m sure they’re going to love it!” Sweetie Belle snapped a picture of ToyAgumon holding the sign.

“Haha, I got it!” Silver Spoon shouted. Everyone turned to see that she solved the ring puzzle and that the strongbox door was open a crack. When she opened the door though, her smile almost instantly vanished from her face. “Seriously?”

Everyone peeked inside the strongbox to find...another box. This one was covered with a series of dials and a circular maze encased in glass on top.

“I don’t get it…” Terriermon starred at their newfound “prize”.

“Whatever’s in there must be pretty valuable to have TWO strongboxes protecting it,” ToyAgumon said.

“It kind of reminds me of those wooden dolls from Stalliongrad,” Diamond Tiara chuckled. “You know, where there’s a doll in a doll in a doll…”

A loud series of screeches made everyone turn to the forge. “Oh, that doesn’t sound good…” ToyAgumon ran to the forge and started turning various valves. Steam began to burst from the pipes as a hissing noise grew louder; as if the machine had turned into a giant tea kettle. There was a loud bang, and smoke began to billow from a panel beneath the floor.

“It’s overheating! Something’s wrong with the heat regulation!” Hagurumon shouted as he pulled levers on his side of the station. “Shut it down!”

ToyAgumon dashed to a stripped panel to his right, slamming a big red button. An alarm blared to life as the forge’s red glow began to dissipate. Steam and smoke was leaking from several pipes and panels.

“What in the blazes happened?!” Skull coughed.

“Sounds like the heat dispersion system finally bit the dust,” Hagurumon said. “And from the sound of it, the billows suffered some damage.”

“I’ll go take a closer look after it’s cooled down,” ToyAgumon sighed. “But I think it’s safe to say that this machine is out of commission for the day.”

“Is there anythin’ we can do to help?” Apple Bloom asked.

Skull turned to the DigiDestined with a raised eyebrow. “Do you know anything about fixing complex machinery?”

“Uh...I fixed a broken axle on my scooter once,” Scootaloo raised her hoof.

“Oh, can your scooter reach temperatures of over three thousand degrees in less than three minutes?”

Scootaloo slowly lowered her hoof. “...No.”

Skull glanced over to ToyAgumon’s work table. “Looks like you managed to get the sign made at least. Good work, that commission’s due soon.”

Skull then turned back to the DigiDestined. “As for you, it might be best if you leave. This place isn’t safe for folks like you.”

“Okay, but...do you know where we can stay the night?” Diamond Tiara asked. “It’s getting late, and I don't want to sleep out in the sand again. Or worse...the streets.”

Skull sighed. “Well, there’s a motel a couple blocks down the street. It’s not pretty, but it’s cheap.”

“Okay, thanks,” Diamond Tiara said. “I guess we’ll spend the night here and stock up on supplies tomorrow.”

Silver Spoon eyed the puzzle box on ToyAgumon’s table.

“If you’d like, you can come by tomorrow and take another crack at it,” ToyAgumon smiled.

“Really?” Silver Spoon’s eyes lit up. “That sounds great!”

“Hey Silver Spoon, come on!” Terriermon waved his hands. “Everyone’s leaving!”

“Coming!” Silver Spoon galloped towards the workshop entrance, dropping off her hard hat and earmuffs before catching up with the others.

---

Scootaloo lifted her hoof to her mouth in a vain attempt to stifle a yawn.

“Knock it off Scootaloo,” Apple Bloom yawned. “Don’t ya know how contagious those are?”

“Sorry,” Scootaloo wiped her eyes. “I had a tough time sleeping last night.”

“Tell me about it,” Rumble stumbled forward. “That mattress felt so rough and lumpy...and did anypony else smell something funky in their room?”

“Honestly, the thing that got under my skin was the noise,” Apple Bloom grumbled. “Seriously, all that shoutin’ and hammerin’ goin’ on. It felt like it went on all night!”

“Speak for yourself,” Babs Seed smiled. “That was probably one of the better nights of sleep I’ve had since we first got to this world.”

“You seriously slept through all that noise?” Apple Bloom deadpanned.

Babs Seed shrugged. “Been sleepin’ through that kind of noise since I was a foal. Honestly, the city noise is a lot more calmin’ to me than the quiet when we’re campin’.”

“Humph,” Rumble grumbled. “So, where are the others?”

“Sweetie Belle, Silver Spoon, and Diamond Tiara went to the market to get supplies,” Apple Bloom said. “They should be somewhere ahead.”

After weaving through the city streets, they found their remaining friends arguing with a vendor.

“A hundred bytes for some preserved food? That’s outright theft!” Sweetie Belle shouted.

“Are you telling me how to run my business?” the vendor growled.

“What’s goin’ on over here?” Apple Bloom lumbered her way to the others.

“This guy’s trying to take us for a ride here! He’s charging one hundred bytes for one of these!” Sweetie Belle pointed to a pack of freeze-dried vegetables.

“Sir, we need the food,” Palmon said. “We’ve got a long way to go and we need to restock our supplies.”

“Do we even know where we’re going?” Rumble whispered to Scootaloo.

“And I told you, that this stuff isn’t easy to come by here,” the vendor sighed. “Now, you can either cough up the three hundred bytes and get it, or move aside for another customer.”

“Wait...three hundred!” Diamond Tiara shouted. “You just said they cost one hundred bytes!”

“Are you hard at hearing!? Either pony up with three hundred bytes or get the heck out of here!”

“Arrrrgh…” Sweetie Belle growled before storming away.

“Seems like everyone around here either sells machine parts or scrap. Anyone who sells anything remotely different charges for them out the wazoo!” Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes.

“Might be because of where this place is located,” Silver Spoon said. “Hey Sweetie Belle, can I borrow Piximon’s map?”

Sweetie Belle never stopped grumbling as she opened her Digivice inventory and passed Silver Spoon the map.

Mmhmm…” Silver Spoon nodded. “The city is miles away from most towns, and then there’s the desert. I’d imagine the only type of visitors this town gets are clients for any of the guilds here. It’d be hard for these people to get any other goods that aren’t made of metal. Might explain why they charge so much for that stuff.”

“Classic supply and demand,” Diamond Tiara nodded.

“Hey, you there!”

Everyone turned to see one of the Gazimon from yesterday approach them, the one Sweetie Belle called Shades.

“You offered to help us yesterday...is that offer still on the table?” Shades asked.

“Um...we’re kinda busy right now,” Babs Seed said. “We need to stock up for our journey—”

“And how’s that going for you?” Shades lowered his sunglasses.

Everyone looked at each other, kicking loose bits of concrete around.

“Look, our guild master is willing to pay for your assistance,” Shades sighed. “And...I can recommend some vendors that will sell you goods at a decent price.”

“Hmm…” Diamond Tiara put a hoof to her chin. “Sounds like a good deal to me. What do you guys think?”

“Sounds good to me too,” Apple Bloom nodded. “What exactly do you need us to do?”

“The guild master will fill us in on the details, follow me,” Shades nodded.

---

The DigiDestined followed Shades back to the White Flame guildhall and were led to a large break room, where they were joined by Skull and ToyAgumon.

“Oh hey guys, how are you all this morning?” ToyAgumon smiled.

“Tired...so tired,” Sweetie Belle yawned.

ToyAgumon took in the sight of the tired and cranky group of ponies, some of which were already falling asleep on the tables. He waddled over to a coffee machine off to the side of the room and brewed everyone a cup. “Here, this should perk you up a bit.”

Sweetie Belle stared at the cup of black, steaming hot liquid in front of her with some apprehension before taking a small sip. Not a second later, she spit it out with a sour look on her face. “Ugh, it’s so bitter!”

“How do grownups drink this stuff?” Rumble scowled at his cup.

Despite her grimace, Silver Spoon took another sip. “Hmm...do you have anything to sweeten this?”

“There’s some cream and sugar at the station there,” ToyAgumon pointed to the table with the coffee machine.

Silver Spoon trotted over to the coffee station and added some cream. She gave it a taste and it seemed to be a bit better so she opted to add some sugar. “That’s actually alright. Sweetie Belle, try adding some of this.”

Everypony else followed Silver Spoon’s example and they all seemed to be at least content with the coffee. While it was working its magic, Silver Spoon was working on the puzzle box with ToyAgumon, and after finishing a marble maze on the top of the box, it clicked open. However, that joy was short-lived when Terriermon pulled out a third puzzle box from inside. This one was a cylinder with rotatable parts and a sheet of paper. Silver took a look at the paper and it showed four sets of lines. The cylinder had several solid and dotted lines on it, similar to the lines on the slip of paper.

Before she could take a crack at it though, Guardromon stepped into the room. “Glad you could all make it.”

“So, you maybe wanna explain why you wanted me to bring these outsiders here?” Shades asked.

“I was getting to that,” Guardromon nodded. “The incident yesterday left Station Four in a state of disrepair. The forge’s heat regulators malfunctioned, and some of the components got melted. The bellows are destroyed too.”

“And I take it that we won’t be able to buy the parts we need?” Skull asked.

Guardromon shook his head. “It would take too long to source the custom parts. We need that forge back up and running as soon as possible. We need to send a team into No ‘Mon’s Land and try to get the replacement parts.”

“Okay, following you so far…” Skull said. “But why do we need so much help? A bigger scavenging team carries risks, you know that. Why not just send the two of us?” Skull gestured to Shades.

Guardromon brought out an old map of Scrap City and the surrounding scrap fields. The map was divided into several zones. Some portions had various notes jotted in them, a couple had large insignias in the center of them, and one was shaded in grey with a warning symbol in the center. “Your best bet is the old foundry here, just at the edge of Sector Six.” Guardromon pointed to the edge of a section neighboring the greyed out area.

Shades slowly took off his sunglasses, concern flashing across his expression. “THAT old foundry?” Shades shuddered. “That’s practically kissing the Exclusion Zone! With all due respect sir, have you lost your marbles?”

“It’s a risky location to loot, I know. But that also means that there’s a strong chance no one’s cleaned the place out yet,” Guardromon said.

“Well, that explains why you want us to bring the backup,” Skull nodded to the DigiDestined. “The additional muscle would certainly improve our odds.”

“ToyAgumon will also be going with you,” Guardromon said.

“And I spoke too soon…”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” ToyAgumon asked.

“Do I need to spell it out for you?” Skull deadpanned. “You’re a liability in the field. You get scared of almost everything, and you can barely put up a fight.”

“We can get the parts you need, no problem,” Shades said.

“Oh, you mean like last time, with the parts for the bellows?” ToyAgumon growled. “It looked like you just grabbed whatever looked like what I asked for and didn’t bother to check the quality of it. The best I could do was a patch job on the bellows, which busted a week later because of the shoddy materials YOU brought back!”

“Enough!” Guardromon yelled. “ToyAgumon is going with you. End of story. Make whatever preparations you need and get those supplies as soon as possible.”

“Yes, sir!” Shades saluted before turning to Skull. “Hey, could you get my kit ready? I’m gonna go scout out our exit from the city.”

“Yeah sure, go for it,” Skull nodded.

“All right, yeah! Let’s do this thing!” Scootaloo leaped off her seat with a flip.

“Yeah! I’m gassed up and ready to go!” Terriermon said before chugging the rest of his coffee. “Wahoo!”

Everyone watched as their two hyped up friends dashed out of the room.

“Um...Scootaloo? Where are you going?” Guilmon asked just before her tail vanished past the doorway.

“Okay...no more caffeine for those two,” Sweetie Belle sighed.

---

After reigning in their hyped-up friends, everyone gathered in a locker room, watching as the Digimon of the White Flame Guild prepared equipment for the upcoming expedition. ToyAgumon adjusted a tool belt and pack as he added a cutting torch and a small canister of fuel. Meanwhile, Silver Spoon was sitting on a bench, examining the puzzle cylinder in her hooves.

“Hey, why don’t you leave that here?” ToyAgumon asked. “We can work on it when we get back.”

“Nah, I can carry it with me,” Silver Spoon shook her head.

“I promise that it’ll be safe here.”

Silver Spoon looked back to ToyAgumon, an intense look in her eyes. “I’ll carry it with me. I’ll work on it whenever I get the chance.” The room was silent as the puzzle cylinder was dematerialized, and sucked into her Digivice.

“Sheesh, when she wants something, she pushes for it,” Apple Bloom shivered.

“You have no idea…” Diamond Tiara whispered.

“Anyway…let me fill you newbies in on how we do a scavenger run,” Skull zipped his sling bag shut. “We go out into the scrap fields and head towards our objective. We get what we need, and get back. And throughout the whole run, we do our best to avoid conflict whenever possible.

“What’s that saying you like to use?” ToyAgumon asked. “High speed, low drag?”

“Darn straight!” Skull smirked before continuing his explanation. “We may run into other guild members out there, and they won’t hesitate to fight for a valuable piece of scrap. But we also might run into feral Digimon out there.”

“Feral Digimon?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Digimon who roam the wilds, fighting to survive,” Palmon verified. “Like Airdramon in the desert.”

“Yeah,” Skull nodded. “The guild Digimon can be reasoned with...occasionally. But ferals just delete first, ask questions later. And the odds of us encountering ferals are going to increase the closer we get to the Exclusion Zone.”

“What’s this Exclusion Zone ya keep talkin’ about? What’s the big deal with it?” Babs Seed asked.

The door to the locker room burst open as Shades skidded into the room. “We may have a problem,” he said as he caught his breath.

“Is it orange with purple hair? Because if so, we already dealt with that,” Skull looked over to Scootaloo, who was still a little jittery despite being tied up.

“No, I mean that we can’t use the city gates to get out.” Shades brought out a map of Scrap City and laid it out on a table. “I saw members of the Black Ashes Cartel camping outside the North and East gates. I don’t know what you did to them yesterday, but they’re out for revenge.”

Veemon quietly scooted into a corner, whistling to himself.

“So, what’s the plan?” Skull asked. “Think there’s enough of them that we can just bull charge them?”

Shades shook his head. “They’d probably push us back into the city limits. And if that happens, the nearby Sentinels will think that we broke the Armistice. No, we’re going to have to use an alternate route to get out of the city.”

“What do you mean?” ToyAgumon asked.

Shades pointed to a spot on the map; an alleyway a couple of blocks away from the guildhall.

“Oh no...do we have to go THAT way?” ToyAgumon shivered.

Skull grimaced. “Do we have any respirators?”

“Nope…” ToyAgumon sighed.

“Wait, hold on,” Sweetie Belle put her hooves up. “What do you mean by ‘alternate route’? What is it, and exactly how bad is it?”

Author's Note:

Digimon not analyzed:
Hagurumon

Comments

[MLPMekarm]

nice to see the youngsters getting farther. I jest hope when they meet an etamon he won't be mean.

[zachary12]

nice work

[touileasaso]

Good to see this story again! This story might just be one of my favorites in this site; it's that good.

For once, something Silver Spoon doesn't know about, huh? XD

I also like seeing the guilds and everyone else interacting in them. Next chapter will be interesting for sure...

[Shadic the hedgehog]

Great chapter can’t wait for the next one

[Teraunce]

Well I can't wait to read more of this.