So... I decided to order a Xros Loader modled after Tobari Ren's from Xros Wars: the Young Hunters Who Leapt Through Time. And now I look like Ren. On the brightside my partner's Super Evolution is pretty cool...
A young man who bought a model Xros Loader off of eBay ends up in a real life Digimon Hunt, looking just like Tobari Ren from the anime, stupid hat included. On the bright side, at least his partner looks cool. And he ended up in the world of Equestria Girls right before the events of the fourth movie... Oh, this is going to be fun. PicoDevimon, Super Digivolve!
Sunset Shimmer had absolutely no idea what was going on, and she was not ok with that. She had heard a noise from a dark alleyway and decided to investigate, she made a note to never tell Rainbow about this if she survived, she'd never be able to live it down. She had walked into the alley, there was a flash of light and the next thing she knew she was running from a giant wolf, turtle and goat. And now she was here trapped in a corner by three bizarre looking oversized animals in a place full of glowing neon green moss. Definitely not the way she thought she'd go out.
"Well, it looks like she could use some help, and she even lured in one for each of us. What do you say girls?"
"She's the one who stopped Sparkle when she went all 'Fallen Angel'... But the armor that goat's wearing does look nice."
"I like turtles, can I have the turtle?"
"So, we're in agreement? Good, then let the hunt begin!"
Sunset began looking around for the source of the voices, two of which sounded familiar, eventually spotting the forms of three people on the roof of the building across from her. One boy and two girls, each holding some kind of phone and a strange creature next to them.
She recognized one as Indigo Zap, a member of the Shadowbolts, standing next to her was some kind of small bear.
The second was one of the Sirens, looking over her shoulder was some kind of tadpole.
The third was someone she had never seen before, though he seemed to be of eastern descent in the air next to him was some kind of mutant bat.
Each of them looked at their 'partner' and held their 'phone' in the air as they began to glow, each of the creatures glowing as well. "Bearmon/Otamamon/PicoDevimon, Super Digivolution!" There was a flash so bright that Sunset's eyes snapped shut in reflex, when she opened them once again, the three beasts that had cornered her had turned and were now facing her would be saviors. Where there had once been three small, somewhat cute creatures, threedifferentbeings.
The boy in the center of the group stepped forward and stopped next to the being that somewhat reminded Sunset of what she looked like during her episode and smirked. "It's prey time!" The taller being groaned and smaked him on the back of the head before spreading it's wings and speaking with a voice that sounded like that the stereotypical 'lady killer'.
"Leather Wing!" The demon like being brought his wings down with a force that should have been impossible, because the following gust of wind was strong enough to send the three beasts that had been chasing her through two brick walls and onto the street. And she could do nothing but stare as the three humans and their monstrous companions rushed past her and began to fight the three beasts that had been chasing her.
"Hey! Hey! Up here!" The sudden voice shook Sunset out of her stupor as she looked for the source of the voice, spotting the most adorable creature she had ever seen. "Come on!" As the creature pulled it's head back over the side of the building, Sunset spotted a ladder bolted into the wall and decided that high ground would be safer.
The second she had stepped onto the roof the building shook and she would have fallen off if not for the little fire lion thing gabbing her wrist and pulling her toward him. "Are you ok?"
Sunset, still not sure what was going on, or if it was even real, simply nodded. "Yeah... yeah, I'm fine..."
The little creature smiled and pulled her towards the other side of the roof. "I'm Coronamon! C'mon!" They arrived just in time to see the bear and goat monsters charge at each other. The second it was in range the bear shifted out of the way and grabbed the goat by the horns and jerked his head back, flipping the bovid onto it's back before slamming it's claws into the beast's throat. The goat... Glitched, was the only way Sunset could describe it. It went fuzzy before glowing purple ring appeared around it before disappearing, the goat going with it. "Woohoo!"
Sunset shook her head and looked at the small red furred being next to her. "What... What are those creatures... What are you? Where are we!? What's going on!?"
Coronamon simply tilted his head in response. "Well, we're Digimon, this is DigiQuartz and that..." He pointed toward the battle just as the sea serpent wrapped around the turtle and began to squeeze before the same thing that happened to the goat happened once again. "Is a Digimon Hunt."
That... Didn't explain nearly enough. "A... A Digimon Hunt?"
"Mhm. Basically the three Digimon that were chasing you have been causing problems in the real world and those people, the Hunters and their partners, are going to beat and capture them to stop them from causing anymore trouble." Sunset looked back and watched as the devil like creature retracted his claw from the wolf monster as it glitched and disappeared as the purple ring appeared. Then the three remaining creatures began to glow and returned to their original form before the three teams of two looked in her direction before entering a swirling green portal that appeared out of nowhere.
Sunset heard a sigh and glanced to the side. "I wish I was strong like that." Before she could say anything a buzzing noise started to approach from behind them and Sunset turned to see a giant bee monster hovering behind them.
The buzzing became louder and Sunset slammed her hands over her ears, she saw the thing's stinger begin to glow before Coronamon leapt in between them and let out a shout. "Corona Flame!" A fireball shot from Coronamon's forehead and collided with the bee, who promptly flew off. Coronamon turned around and gave Sunset a thumbs up before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed, Sunset joining him soon after.
Learning the Basics! Witness the Devil's Ascension!
The second Sonata and Indigo left I went to the building I saw Sunset on top of and opened a portal to DigiQuartz. Just in time to see Sunset and the Coronamon pass out. Sighing I held out my Xros Loader. "Reload, Golemon." The second the Rock type Digimon emerged I had him pick up the two and follow me to my home base, which also happened to be where I lived in the Real World. And then I played the waiting game, all the while considering if I should just dump Sunset back in the Real World and take Coronamon for my collection. I reloaded my partner, PicoDevimon, and told him to wake me when they woke up, I really should have expected to wake to the sound of screams.
The moment Sunset stopped freaking out, I let PicoDevimon land on my shoulder. "So... I'm Ren Tobari..." I gripped the front of my hat and slid it over so it covered one of my eyes. "I guess that I should explain."
Third Person P.o.V.
Sunset wasn't sure she completely understood what the boy who had called himself Ren explained. He had called the Hunt a game, which kind of disturbed her, the fact that he was hunting intelligent beings for fun. But then he had said that the Digimon Hunt was a way to help people in ways no one else could and that had gotten her attention. Then he showed her that device that he called a Xros Loader and explained how the Digimon Hunt worked.
It took place in an airspace he called DigiQuartz, a place between the Real World and the Digital World, the place where Digimon originated. He said that since she was able to enter DigiQuartz without a Xros Loader, she was qualified to join, and had asked her if she wanted to take part. Since he had said it was a way to help people, she had said yes and Ren had smirked before pulling out a small blue booklet and tossing it to her.
"The Hunter's Rulebook contains the rules of the hunt. It's one of the three things you need to take part, this is the second." He had then held up a plain white Xros Loader and handed it off to the bat on his shoulder, who he had identified as PicoDevimon. The little bat had flown over with an laugh and dropped it into her hand, where it glowed for a second before turning to a burnt orange color with deep red accents. "The Xros Loader is the main tool of a Hunter. It not only allows a Hunter to capture Digimon, but it also allows your Partner to Super Digivolve and DigiXros."
She assumed that Digivolving was what had cause PicoDevimon to change into that devil like being but... "DigiXros?"
"The process of temporarily fusing two Digimon into a singular entity. Observe." A ring of golden light appeared around both PicoDevimon and Ren's Xros Loader. "PicoDevimon! Super Digivolution!" Sunset watched at a green light surrounded PicoDevimon and it began to squirm as it's skin was torn from it's body leaving a digital frame. It's body elongated, changing it's shape into that of a man, horns growing on the head of this newly formed being, his legs elongated and his talons took the shape of human feet, his wings shifted onto his back and grew in size, becoming full of holes as they did so.
The light burst forth, becoming shadow as it revealed the devil like being she had seen earlier that morning. "Super Digivolution! Devimon!" The creature struck a pose, leaning forward with his legs bent, his arms to his sides but it front of him, one with the palm facing toward him.
Ren rolled his eyes. "Showoff... Now then, let's see who should I DigiXros with you..." He swung his Xros Loader and multiple glowing golden orbs shot out, each containing the image of what Sunset could only assume were Digimon, since she saw the wolf from earlier in one of them. One contained a golem like creature. Another had an armored bull. The final one looked like some kind of dragon dinosaur with swords sticking out of his back. "You'll do..."
Two blue circles with glowing gold rings around them appeared, one containing an image of Devimon, the other containing the bull. "DigiXros! Devimon!"
"Boss!" Devimon's voice called out from the circle containing his image.
"Bullmon!"
"Right!" A deep voice called out from the circle containing the bull as the two merged together and began to quake. Golden squares began to merge with Devimon, and as they continued he became clad in cobalt blue armor with golden accents. From his elbows emerged two golden spikes that curved into bull horns and extended to just past the tips of his claws. Finally his wings turned a blood red and leathery tassels emerged from the bottom and fused together forming a cape.
Devimon brought his left arm down in front of himself his elbow pointing to the ground and his hand clenched into a fist. "DigiXros! Xros Up! Devimon!"
Sunset simply stared at the being before her, only shaking herself out of it when Ren spoke up. "That's a DigiXros. As you can see, my partner has increased offensive capabilities, and looks damn cool too." Ren smirked and headed for the door, Devimon following behind him. "Now that you know the basics and have the necessary equipment, all you need is a partner... And I think you have one already." He stopped and held his Xros Loader out. "Time Shift!" A portal opened and Run turned around and smirked at Sunset before hopping back into it with Devimon. "Sayonara!"
Sunset looked at the Xros Loader in her hand and then turned her attention to Coronamon, who was just now waking up. "Hey Coronamon, you want to get stronger right?" Coronamon snapped out of his stupor and nodded his head vigorously. Sunset smiled and held up her Xros Loader. "Then how bout you I be partners!"
Coronamon leapt into the air one arm extended toward the sky. "Yeah, let's do it!" For a brief second Coronamon entered her Xros Loader before emerging once again.
Sunset smiled at her partner before looking around and scratching the back of her head. What did that Ren guy say to open that portal again?
The First Hunt! Beware the Forest of Petaldramon! Pt 1.
It had been weeks since Sunset had joined the Digimon Hunt and she had yet to capture a single Digimon, much to Coronamon's dismay. She had decided that instead of just fighting Digimon in order to get stronger, she should get to know her partner better, and that perhaps, she'd be able to help Coronamon achieve Super Digivolution. And she knew the perfect place to do it.
Camp Everfree.
The school had raised enough funds for a field trip to the camp and it would be the perfect place to get away from all the mayhem of Canterlot. Or at least it would have been if the camp director Gloriosa Daisy hadn't set off all of her warning bells. She was cheery, too, cheery. The kind of cheery you see in the best friend characters in horror movies before it's revealed that they're a serial killer in the end. Coronamon apparently thought the same thing because the moment that Sunset was alone Coronamon reloaded himself. "She's being possessed by a Digimon... But there's something else, and I can't tell what..."
"Sunset!" In a flash Coronamon vanished back into the Xros Loader, and a moment later her six friends were standing there, the Human World's Twilight looking like she had just run a marathon. Rainbow was looking around as if there was someone hiding in the shadows. "Sunset, we've got a problem! The girls and I just saw one of the Sirens skulking around."
"I saw Indigo Zap too... Ughhh how is anyone able to play sports! I feel like I'm dying!" Rarity handed Twilight a bottle of water which the purple girl greedily gulped down. Rarity patted her on her back to comfort her.
"Just breath darling..." Rarity turned her attention to Sunset. "Although, I must admit, the Siren's presence doesn't bode well for our getaway from magic and mayhem." She began to look around as if searching for something. "Who were you talking to? I could have sworn I heard someone else..."
"Oh, um, I was talking to myself!" Applejack's eyes narrowed, she was lying. "I think something might be wrong with Gloriosa, and I'm trying to figure out what..." Applejack opened her mouth to speak but was cut off before she could say anything when a granola bar hit her in the head.
"What in tarnation?" As Applejack picked up the granola bar the others looked up at where it had fallen from, only to see a boy about their age sitting on a branch near the top of the tree, a mutant bat hanging upside down beside him.
Ren simply stared down at the girls... "Uhhh… Hi? Don't mind me, I just watching this soap opera as it unfolds." The eight of them blinked. Once. Twice. Three times.
A sigh from some bushes nearby drew their attention, all of them watching as Indigo Zap emerged from within, somehow without getting any leaves of twigs stuck in her hair. "Out of the three of us, you were the one I least expected to be caught Ren." She brushed off her shoulders and walked up to the group, Sonata Dusk following close behind. "I'll be taking that." Without another word she snatched the granola bar from Applejack's hand, opened it and took a bite.
Ren scowled as he dropped to the ground, PicoDevimon perching on his shoulder. "Hey! That was mine!"
Indigo just gave him a look that said 'too bad'. "Well now it's mine."
Sunset just watched as the two started to bicker. Sonata groaned and looked at the students of CHS, Sunset in particular, before walking over and speaking up. "Soo... Have you told them yet?"
Sunset slowly shook her head. "No."
Fluttershy peaked out from behind Rainbow Dash, who she had positioned in front of her as a shield the moment she saw the Siren and CPA student. "T-told us what?"
Sunset's eyes widened as she looked back at her friends. "Nothing!"
Pinkie's eyes widened comically before she gasped, drawing in the biggest breath she could. "A villain asking her enemy if she had told her allies something and then the hero denying it... I know what's happening here!" Pinkie raised a single finger toward the sky before bringing her arm down and pointing at the two faux-humans. "You two are dating! Aren't you!"
The two girl's eyes widened. "NO/NUH-UH!"
Pinkie blinked in response. "Oh... Then what isn't she telling us?"
Sonata opened her mouth to respond only to have Ren's hand cover it. "That is for the three of us to know and you to find out."
"And who in tarnation are you?"
Ren smirked and slid his hat down over one of his eyes. "Ren Tobari, the pleasure is all yours, I'm sure." Indigo groaned in exasperation while Sonata just giggled. "Anyway, we have something to discuss with your friend here. So if the six of you don't mind..."
The girls all looked at each other, narrowed their eyes and looked back at the three Hunters that weren't part of their group. "Whatever you have to say to Sunset, you can say to us."
Ren raised an eyebrow and looked at them. "Do the terms DigiQuartz or Digimon mean anything to you?" At their looks of confusion he sighed. "That's what I thought. Sonata, if you would be so kind?"
Sonata looked up from where she was drawing a picture in the dirt with a stick. Smiling she reached behind her back and pulled out her Xros Loader, Persian blue with pink accents. "Reload! Otamamon!" A stream of data emerged from the Xros Loader and landed in between Sunset and her friends.
The sudden appearance of the strange tadpole like creature shocked them, but Fluttershy and Twilight recovered quickly, one gawking at the adorable creature in front of her.
"What is this thing, some kind of undiscovered creature? How did you store it in that device? Where did you find it? Where did you get that device? What-"
"Lullaby Bubble!" The moment the words left the Otamamon's mouth a stream of bubbles emerged and popped in front of each of there faces. Their eyelids suddenly became heavy and their knees weak. Before they knew it, they knew no more and fell to the ground.
Before Sunset could move to check on them Ren spoke up. "Don't worry, they're just asleep, they'll wake up when we go. Now, you've likely noticed that the camp director is being influenced by a Digimon, as well as some... Other things." The team of Hunters shared a look. "Anyway, we'll let you have this one because magic isn't our area of expertise... Good luck rookie!" With that the three of them turned around and entered DigiQuartz through a Time Shift, the portal closing behind them...
The First Hunt! Beware the Forest of Petaldramon! Pt 2.
Sunset sighed as her friends stared at her like she had grown a second head. The moment they had woken up she had promised to explain things that night, and so here they were, she had told them about how she had been dragged into the Digimon Hunt. "So let me get this straight, for the past three weeks you've been going into another dimension you call 'DigiQuartz' and hunting monsters called Digimon. You do this with the help of your Digimon 'partner', who is a little bipedal lion with red fur, that has a tail that's constantly on fire. You hunt them by engaging them in battle, whereupon defeating them you capture and add them to your 'collection', and to access this alternate dimension, you hold out this device, which you called a 'Xros Loader' and say 'time shift'." They all looked at the Xros Loader in Twilight's hand expectantly, only for nothing to happen, which Sunset was thankful for. "Do I have that right?"
Sunset looked at them and nodded. "I didn't want to get you girls involved because Coronamon and I haven't managed to capture a single Digimon yet and I don't know how Equestrian magic will effect Digimon, for all we know, it could turn them into unstoppable juggernauts or tear the universe apart."
Things were silent for a moment before Rainbow smirked and crossed her arms over her chest. "Alright, let's see it then."
Sunset blinked. "Huh?"
"This DigiQuartz place, even if it's dangerous, we'll only be there for a second, so what's the worst that could happen?"
"As rare as it is for me to say this, I agree with Rainbow darling. You're our friend and we trust you but..." Rarity tapped her chin, looking for a way to tell Sunset she sounded like she was insane in a ladylike way.
"You sound like you're drunker than' Cooter Brown on the Fourth of July." Applejack's bluntness was enough to get the point across, they wouldn't believe her without proof, even though they had seen Sonata's Digimon partner.
Sighing, Sunset stood up. "Fine, but not here, too many witnesses." The group managed to sneak out of camp, nearly getting spotted by Vice Principal Luna in the process when Fluttershy was spooked by a squirrel. Once they were in the woods Sunset held out her Xros Loader. "Time Shift." As soon as the portal opened Sunset ran through and quickly looked to see if there were any Digimon nearby, but there were none in the area.
"Woah..."
Sunset turned around and smirked. "Now do you believe me?" The girls all nodded, still looking around. "Good, now we're leaving!"
Rainbow's head snapped towards Sunset. "No way! Not until I see one of these Digimon things!"
Sunset grunted but held out her Xros Loader. "Reload, Coronamon!" A stream of data emerged and took shape before solidifying into her partner. "Girls, Coronamon, Coronamon, Girls."
Coronamon smirked and waved a paw. "It's nice to meet you."
The girls all had different reactions to it, but Rainbow's seemed to leave the most impact on the tiny lion.
"Uh... Are they all this... Small? It doesn't look all that tough..." Sunset got the idea that she wasn't trying to be offensive, but Coronamon took offense anyway.
"Just because I'm small doesn't mean I can't fight!" Rainbow raised an eyebrow, which made the tiny Digimon cross his arms and sit on the ground, a pout on his face. "You'll see, when I Digivolve I'll be able to take on anything!" The Digimon suddenly perked up and jumped over to Sunset, pulling on her arm. "Come on! Lets go hunt down the Digimon possessing the Camp Director!"
Sunset was going to respond that they'd do it when the girls were safely outside of DigiQuartz, but she was interrupted when Twilight asked Coronamon to repeat himself. That lead to Sunset having to explain how Digimon were attracted to the power of the human heart, and that at times they would act like their name suggested and attack people without a second thought to get that power.
Things remained quiet for a while after that, the girls processing what they had just heard, occasionally shooting glances at Coronamon, who, in an effort to become stronger, had started doing sit ups.
Sunset knew what they were thinking, and she didn't like it. The Digimon Hunt was dangerous, she had nearly been maimed several times. "Girls, I know what you're thinking, but..."
"How do we join?" Everyone's eyes shot toward the source of the voice and while Fluttershy would normally draw back with a shy squeak, she stood firm this time. "I know that you said it was dangerous Sunset, but if there are some of these Digimon out there hurting people, I can't just ignore it." The others shared their thoughts, which were all along same lines as Fluttershy's.
"Girls, I..." Sunset wanted to tell them no, she really wanted too, but she couldn't. She hung her head with a sigh. "I... I'll ask Ren the next time I see him, but until then..."
Pinkie became serious when she heard the boy's name. "Who is he anyway? He seemed like kind of a meanie."
Sunset shrugged. "I don't really know, he, Sonata and Indigo saved me from a trio of Digimon when I stumbled into DigiQuartz for the first time, and then he asked me to join the Hunt. When I said yes, he gave me a rulebook and my Xros Loader... I guess he might be some kind of recruiter of overseer for the Hunt, considering he was able to let me join." She made note to ask him about himself the next time she saw him during a hunt. "Come on, lets head back, until you girls get a Xros Loader and partner, it isn't safe for you here."
The girls, especially Rainbow, reluctantly agreed, following Sunset back through the Time Shift, Coronamon going along with them, none of them noticing the large glowing yellow eyes watching them from deep inside the forest.
Roots began to emerge from the ground and head towards the camp inside of DigiQuartz, making their way to the Councilor's Cabin and wrapping around and burrowing into the leg of Gloriosa Daisy when she, for a mere moment of desperation, begged for help to keep the camp open from whatever beings would bother to listen. Her eyes glazed over and her head turned toward the forest, seeing a faint pair of yellow lights, not even acknowledging the glowing green moss on the cabin walls that appeared out of nowhere. She stood and walked toward the source of the lights, eventually reaching the edge of the forest. "Protect?"
The voice was loud and gruff, but at the same time, it was comforting to the distraught woman, who understood what it meant. "Yes! Whatever you want, I'll give it to you, just help me! Please!"
The being responsible for the roots remained quiet for a moment before a root emerged from the ground once more and wrapped around Gloriosa's wrist, before starting to pull her into the forest in the direction of the old abandoned rock quarry. "Power. More. Find."
Gloriosa nodded and allowed herself to be lead into the forest. She would do anything to keep the camp open. Anything.
The First Hunt! Beware the Forest of Petaldramon! Pt 3.
It was finally happening, the Main 7 were starting to develop their powers. That had me excited until I realized something, I could never let Sunset come into physical contact with me.
Flashback.
Standing in the middle of what could only be described as a void, I had just finished cursing myself after having realized I had turned into Ren Tobari from Xros Wars Young Hunters. Sure, I had heard the stories about the guy that looked like the Resident Evil 4 Merchant showing up at conventions, but I hadn't expected him to get me through the internet!
"Please, do not compare me to that immature piece of trash."
My head snapped up from where I had been covering my face with my hands and I continued to look up and up some more as I saw a being that definitely wasn't there before. "Quartzmon..." I did not let out a fearful squeak at the sight of the Digimon strong enough to absorb the earth and create an entire dimension in between the Real World and Digital World. And I will deny it if you say that I did.
"Ah, of course. My size, I tend to forget that mortals often fear things much bigger than themselves." And before my eyes I watched as the giant Digimon began to shrink until he was only twice my size. "I assume that this is more reassuring for you?" I meekly nodded, just hoping that I wouldn't offend the being that could step on me. "Excellent! Now as you mortals are often quick to realize, being a god-like being with more power than you know what to do with tends to get extremely boring after a while. I seem to have been sentenced to suffer this horrid fate recently, at least I was, until I discovered this series you mortals call Digimon..." I saw the six red eyes on it's Terminal Form glow. "Tell me, how would you like to take place in a real Digimon Hunt?"
Despite the situation, a smile formed on my face. "Go on..."
Flashback End.
I gave a happy scoff as I looked at the Xros Loader in my hand. "Best, choice I ever made."
"Boss, you're talking to yourself again."
I ignored my partner's statement and entered DigiQuartz after making sure there were no witnesses. As soon as I exited the portal I looked out over the camp and smirked as I saw all the roots that had shot up out of the ground, even in the middle of the lake. While everyone not in the know probably thought the incidents were caused by Gaea Everfree from the story Timber Spruce would have told them last night, I knew that it was because of a Digimon, well, at least partly.
I felt a look of curiosity worm it's way onto my face. "Hmmm... I wonder..." I reloaded Spinomon and had him use Blue Prominence. As the blue flames swept over the thorns, I heard a roar of pain from the direction of the forest and scowled. Just like the Blossomon from Young Hunters, these roots were a part of the Digimon. That meant Sunset couldn't destroy them without hurting Gloriosa in the process. She needed to be warned about that... But as I was about to go find Sunset and drag her into DigiQuartz to give her some friendly advice, a sinister thought crept into my mind. As I stood there, I realized that my Patron would probably find that pain Gloriosa would suffer to be even more entertaining. I barely even acknowledged the dark violet flame like aura that surrounded my Xros Loader.
The Next Morning. Third Person P.o.V
Timber Spruce knew something about what was happening to his sister, Sunset was sure of it. That was why she had followed him into the woods, to see if he knew about either the Digimon or the magic that Ren had hinted at effecting the Digimon. The reason she thought that was because right after she had helped her friends embrace the magical abilities that they had begun to display, she went to try to help Twilight do the same, she had noticed how things had started to float around the lavender girl. When she was looking for her by the boathouse, she had overheard Timber telling his sister to 'let it go', she wasn't sure if he was referring to the magic or the attachment to the Digimon influencing her, bet either way, it wasn't good.
She had gotten distracted and lost him at some point, but then she had seen someone going into an off limits rock quarry. She didn't even have to get close to tell that the magic Ren had hinted at was originating form there. She had decided to kill two birds with one stone, she would be able to help Twilight embrace her magical abilities and stop the magic originating from within the cave. Once Twilight had arrived they had entered the cave and found a massive crystal spire that was clearly the source of the magic. That was when things had gone wrong.
She hadn't been expecting Gloriosa to confront them, and she definitely hadn't expected the fact that Gloriosa had gained the power of botanokinesis through a combination of both the magic and Digimon's influence.
When she had grabbed Gloriosa in an attempt to stop her from passing her and reach the pillar, Sunset had seen everything, everything from how Gloriosa had fallen behind on her payments to Filthy Rich, which meant Filthy would own the land that Camp Everfree is built upon, and he how intended to tear the camp down to build a spa resort. She saw how in her desperation to keep the camp that her great-grandparents founded, Gloriosa begged Filthy for more time to pay, and Filthy gave her until the end of the month. She saw how as Gloriosa had tearfully wondered what to do, she had noticed a trail of gem dust leading to the cave, where she discovered seven colored geodes embedded in the crystal spire.
She had seen how Gloriosa had slipped into DigiQuartz and encountered the Digimon that was helping her. She had made a deal with the Digimon that now understood was working with her. In exchange for the energy in the geodes, the Digimon would help her protect the camp by giving her some of it's own power.
When the visions ended Sunset decided that she needed to stop both Gloriosa and the Digimon now because if she didn't people would get hurt. "Gloriosa, you need to listen to me, you need to stop using the abilities that the Digimon has given you with the magic's help."
Gloriosa reared back, her eyes narrowing, energy starting to surge from her body. "How do you know what I was doing with the geodes? How do you know about the magic?"
Sunset noticed the world glitch and slowly began to reach for her Xros Loader. "I can see things. Feel things. Because I have magic, too. And so does she. And so do our friends."
Twilight winced when Sunset revealed that she knew about her abilities, but that might help in this situation. "Gloriosa, Timber wasn't wrong. Maybe you should stop using magic. Too much of it can be dangerous if you can't control it."
Gloriosa scowled, a pair of giant glowing yellow orbs appearing behind her as they fully entered DigiQuartz. "Oh, I got this. And I'm going to use it to save my camp, just like Petaldramon promised I would be able to. I just need more power!" Roots emerged from the ground and pushed them out of the way, allowing Gloriosa to pass and retrieve the final geode from the pillar. The geode glowed and merged with the ones Gloriosa already had, and then she began to transform in a way that gave both Sunset and Twilight flashbacks to their own episodes.
Once the transformation had finished roots began to curl around her legs, digging into her flesh as she started to laugh in a hysterical manner. "Sorry, girls. I know what I need to do. But I feel like we're not on the same page. So, I think I'll let Petaldramon try to help you understand."
"Gloriosa, please! Don't give in!" Sunset's words fell on deaf ears as Gloriosa walked back to the entrance of the cave, exiting and sealing it behind her after the Digimon that had been assisting her finally showed itself. It looked like a giant lizard with plant life having exploded all over it's body, it was so large that it barely fit inside of the cave they were now trapped in. "Reload! Coronamon!"
"Corona Knuckle!" Coronamon took a solid form just in time to counter the hundred of roots that burst from the ground with a flurry of flaming punches.
"Ahhhhh!"
The scream of pain that came from behind them drew their attention, Sunset's eyes widened when she saw Twilight pinned to the wall by roots, some of which had pierced her skin. "Twilight!" Sunset felt something within her change as she saw her friend, squirming in pain. She rounded and screamed in rage at the Digimon that had harmed her friend, charging at it, even as more roots shot from the ground and charged toward her. Just as they were about to collide, she felt something crash into her side, knocking her out of the way as a grunt of pain emerged from her partner. Realizing what had happened, she looked up in worry. "Coronamon!"
The tiny lion leapt up from where he had landed after the roots had struck him. "Don't worry, I'm fine! All that matters right now is beating this guy and helping your friend!"
How the tiny lion was able to remain calm, Sunset didn't know, but she did know that he was right. "Yeah, you're right." She stood up, ready to help save Twilight in any way she could when she felt her hand grow warm and saw a golden ring appear around it out of the corner of her eye. "Is that...?"
The same thing had happened to Coronamon, who nodded as he leapt out of the way of more roots as they tried to impale him. "Yeah, it is!" The two of them shared a glance before a smirk found it's way onto each of their faces. "Lets do this!"
With her eyes closed, Sunset brought her Xros Loader over her heart and felt a warmth as her eyes snapped open. "Coronamon! Super Digivolution!" She reared her arm back and then brought her Xros Loader down in an overhead swing, almost as if she were holding a sword, a blue line of data covered with golden rings emerging from the screen.
Coronamon fell to all fours and let out a roar as his skin was torn away leaving a digital frame, the frame grew in size and changed shape to that of a fully grown lion. From around his neck locks of golden hair began to emerge, creating a mane, his tail elongated before a roaring fire blazed to life at the base and traveled along the length of it before finally reaching the end, a ring of soot forming at the tip before hardening into a black metal.
On his hips a red and white device with an empty center formed on each side, connected to each other by a band of black metal, rings of black metal formed around his ankles and similar devices appeared on the outside of each of them. The same metal formed on his forehead, with a small gem in the center, before spreading back toward his temples and down over his cheeks, the same devices on his hips and legs appeared over his cheeks.
As he opened the eyes of his new form, gained by helping Sunset strengthen her resolve, Coronamon let out a roar, the gem on his forehead bursting into flames and the center of the devices all over his body following suit. The flames leaping from the devices and landing on his back, growing in size until an ethereal wind blew them away, revealing that a pair of wings had formed underneath them.
Roaring once more, he readied himself to pounce. "Super Digivolution! Firamon!" He took the air and his body became wreathed in flames before he dove like a hawk seeking a rat. "Flame Dive!" He collided with Petaldramon, sliding across the top of the Digimon, he landed behind the larger Digimon before turning around and dragging his claws, now also wreathed in flames, along the side of the plant type Digimon. "Fira Claw!"
He landed once more and turned to face Petaldramon as it roared in rage and a mixture of roots and razor sharp leaves shot forth from the Digimon's nostrils and tail. "Fira Bomb!"
The fire on his forehead grew in size before rocketing toward the incoming onslaught, incinerating it and continuing before colliding with Petaldramon and sending it flying into the wall of the cave. Petaldramon glitched for a second before a purple ring surrounded it and it burst into particles of red light before reforming as a miniature version inside a purple cube that was floating over Sunset's cross loader. Sunset smiled and swiped the Xros Loader into the cube, a feeling of accomplishment settling in her as it disappeared. "Digimon capture complete." She watched as DigiQuartz disappeared, along with the roots pinning the unconscious Twilight to the wall causing he girl to fall to the ground as the cave began to quake.
"Sunset! We need to get out of here!" Sunset nodded at her partner's words and grabbed Twilight, carrying her over her shoulder before hopping onto Firamon's back, who promptly charged forward, the cave collapsing behind them as they exited.
Sunset turned her gaze toward the direction of Camp Everfree as Twilight began to stir. "W-what happened?"
"No time to explain! We need to stop Gloriosa, c'mon!" Firamon disappeared into Sunset's Xros Loader as the two girls began to sprint toward the camp, never noticing the other three teens and their Digimon partners watching them from a distance.
Ren glanced at his team and turned around. "We're done here, let's go." He used Time Shift to open a portal to DigiQuartz and walked in, the others following behind him before it closed.
Terror in the Tunnels! Ferocious Roars from Below the Earth!
Sunset had been following Applejack for about an hour, although it felt more like an eternity. "Applejack, would you please just tell me what happened?"
Applejack sighed and straightened her stetson. "Ok, so the other day Winona went missing and Apple Bloom was worried sick, so I went out to find her. I checked all over the orchard, and when I was just about to give up, I heard her barking. So I followed the sounds until I found this!" Having finally reached their destination, the farmer pushed some low hanging branches out of the way to reveal the entrance to a cave, similar in appearance to a bear den.
Sunset just stared at the cave in confusion. "I... I don't see what the problem is... You just found a cave on the outskirts of Sweet Apple Acres..."
"That's what I thought, until I went in. When I did, I slipped into that DigiQuartz place and found Winona barking at this really long tunnel, and then I saw something moving in there, something big. So, I grabbed Winona and ran, then, after I woke up the next morning, tremors started to happen. They were so bad some of the trees got uprooted!"
Sunset nodded and began to reach for her Xros Loader. "And since earthquakes aren't local to the Canterlot area, you figure that the figure you saw in the cave, most likely a Digimon, is responsible for them."
Applejack nodded. "Exactly. Those trees are our livelihood, I wouldn't care too much about the Digimon living in the cave, since that DigiQuartz place is technically another world or whatever, but if it's gonna wreck the orchard, it's got to go."
Sunset held out her Xros Loader and prepared to preform a Time Shift. "Hold it!" Sunset nearly dropped her Xros Loader in surprise when Indigo Zap and Ren Tobari walked out of the cave.
Applejack narrowed her eyes. "What in tarnation are you doin' here Shadowbolt?"
Indigo shrugged with her arms up and hands out, one of them holding her ash colored Xros Loader. "I'm here 'cause a Digimon told us that there was 'a real bad' Digimon making tunnels around here and causing trouble. I'm a Hunter, so I'm going to hunt it. Ain't that right partner?" A flash of light emerged from her Xros Loader and solidified into the bipedal bear cub that Sunset had seen with the girl the first time she had entered DigiQuartz.
"Right!" Bearmon thrust his fist into the air before realizing that two people he had never met before were looking at him. "Uhhhh..." He quickly ran behind his partner and poked his head out from around her legs before timidly waving. "Hi?"
Indigo sighed at her partner's antics, he was almost as timid around new people as that one girl with all the animals. What was her name again? Flutterby? Shaking her head, Indigo smirked and crossed her arms over her chest. "Anyway, you should just let the veteran handle it this time, rookie."
Sunset rolled her eyes, even though she had barely interacted with Indigo, she knew that the girl was cocky and competitive, just like a certain guitarist she knew. "And why's Ren here?"
"Why, I'm here to talk to Miss Applejack of course." The boy sent a wink at Indigo, who scowled and glared at AJ the second Ren said her name.
"Don't get any ideas, he's mine." With that, the girl held out her Xros Loader and preformed a Time Shift, Bearmon following after her.
Applejack just stared at the spot where Indigo had been. "Uhh…? What?"
Ren smirked and pulled something out of his pocket. "Think fast!" The speed, while nowhere near Rainbow's newfound abilities, with which he threw the object at her seemed almost inhuman.
"Landsakes!" Applejack barely managed to grab hold of the object before it collided with her chest. She glared at the boy for a split second, only receiving a smirk in response, before looking down at the bone white device she just caught. "Ain't this one of those Xros doohickeys?"
"Indeed it is. You see, the Digimon who told us about the troublemaker on your farm, also told us about how 'a girl with a hat like a Revolmon's' had slipped into DigiQuartz and asked if we could help him meet her, because he felt a connection. So, you in?"
Applejack just looked at Sunset. "Wha'd he just say?"
Sunset giggled. "He asked if you want to join the Hunt."
Applejack turned back and nodded her head firmly. "You better believe I'm in! So, uhhh…" Applejack looked around. "Sunset mentioned that I need a Digimon partner to join the Hunt when she explained things..."
"That's right." Ren smirked and held out his own Xros Loader. "Time Shift!" With that he disappeared into DigiQuartz. The two girls following behind. Ren looked over his shoulder and motioned for Applejack to come closer.
As Applejack approached the cave she began to look around. "So... Where's the Digimon who wanted to meet me?"
"I'm right here partner!" Applejack leapt back as the ground beneath her shook before two legs with three claws on each foot popped out followed by the rest of the being who had spoken. "I'm Armadimon, nice to meet ya partner!"
Applejack raised an eyebrow at the small yellow Digimon looking up at her, having fully removed himself from the ground. "Uh... Don't I get a say in who my partner is?"
Armadimon tilted his head to the side. "Uhhh… Maybe? All I know is that I felt a connection or something in my Digicore when I saw you, so, I figured you were gonna be my partner."
Applejack looked back at Sunset, who shrugged, before looking at Ren, who just smirked at her, as if to say 'I know something you don't know'.
The farmer looked back at Armadimon's and he smiled back at her. A small smile formed on her face as a connection of some kind formed between them. Applejack knelt down and put a hand on Armadimon's head. "How do I- What in tarnation!?" As she began to ask Ren how to make Armadimon her partner, the Xros Loader in her hand was covered by a rainbow of colored light before it solidified into a mocha brown color with canary yellow accents.
"Well, welcome to the Hunt I guess." Applejack looked up as Indigo emerged from the cave riding on Gryzmon's back, a frown on her face. "Ren, we've got a problem."
The happy smirk on Ren's face was replaced by a look of curiosity. "What kind of problem?"
Indigo hopped off of Gryzmon and gave him a pat on the head. "Sorry Gryz, but..."
"No problem Indigo." Gryzmon began to glow before disappearing into Indigo's Xros Loader.
Indigo held up her Xros Loader and called out the newest Digimon in her Collection. "Reload, Drimogemon!" The moment that the large purple and white mole Digimon with a giant drill on his face solidified, Indigo began to explain. "So, this guy said that he was the one who started to make tunnels around here."
Applejack looked at the Digimon and frowned. "Uh... Sugarcube? He's nowhere near big enough to be the Digimon I saw a few days ago."
The Shadowbolt was going to respond when the Drimogemon threw it's head down and nearly impaled Armadimon, who curled into a ball and was only knocked back some. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to cause trouble! I made sure to keep away from the trees, I knew it was a human orchard and I didn't want to make anyone angry!" To Applejack's surprise tears began to fall from the Digimon's eyes. "I didn't know he was there! I didn't mean to wake him up!"
Ren walked up and placed a hand on the Drimogemon's head. "Exactly who did you wake up?" The ground began to shake and several trees fell over, completely torn out of the ground by the shaking. Then there was a roar, one so loud that it shook Sunset and Applejack to the bone, though Ren and Indigo seemed unaffected.
Drimogemon gulped. "Groundramon..."
Ren's eyes widened slightly and stood up, quickly reloading PicoDevimon, who was sleeping apparently. Ren scowled and picked him up before tossing him as hard as he could. "Wake up!"
The Child Digimon's eyes snapped opened and he began to flap his arms as hard as he could in order to avoid colliding with the back of the cave. "Ahh! I'm up, I'm up!" Ren wasted no time in Digivolving his partner.
"Indigo, Digivolve Bearmon and get ready." Indigo nodded and held up her Xros Loader.
"Reload! Bearmon!" Drimogemon glowed for a brief second before disappearing into Indigo's Xros Loader and being replaced with Bearmon. As soon as he had solidified he turned and looked at Indigo, the two of them nodding their heads in unison. Indigo brought her goggles down over her eyes and lightly tossed her Xros Loader into the air a few times before tossing it with actual effort and holding out her other hand, catching it in her waiting palm, a beam of blue surrounded by golden rings emerging from the screen as it came down. "Bearmon! Super Digivolution!"
Bearmon did a backflip as she began to glow, landing on all four paws his hat was blown away by an ethereal wind as his fur and skin were torn away leaving his digital frame, which expanded until it was the size of a fully grown bear. The paws on it's forelegs began to glow before exploding revealing red gloves with three metal spikes and claws on each, at the base of each glove a ring of golden metal formed. On his shoulders formed red shoulder pads, with three metal studs on each.
His brown fur had turned blue and a crescent moon with the points facing skyward had appeared on his forehead. He reared back onto his hind legs before slamming his paws into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. "Super Digivolution! Gryzmon!"
The second that Bearmon finished Digivolving, Ren looked back at Sunset and Coronamon, who had reloaded himself sometime during Bearmon's Digivolution. "If you two have managed to Digivolve, follow us, otherwise, get those two out of here."
Applejack frowned and narrowed her eyes. "Now hold on a apple pickin' minute! I'm not about to just let-"
Ren and Indigo didn't bother to let her finish, taking of into the cave as soon as Ren had finished speaking.
Sunset walked over and placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Applejack, I think we should do as they say, I don't think I've even seen Ren that serious. It's pretty clear to me that he's their team leader, and they've all been Hunters longer than I have so, I think they know what they're doing."
"But..." Seeing the look in Sunset's eyes, Applejack sighed in defeat. "Fine." Applejack dropped to a sitting position and turned toward her new partner. "So... I'm really strong... What can you do?"
Armadimon smiled back and laid down on the ground. "Well, I can dig, and curl into a ball, and..." Sunset smiled at the small yellow Digimon's enthusiasm before turning toward the cave.
'I wonder why Ren was so worried all of a sudden.'
"Demon's Ray." Dark energy began to radiate from Devimon's hand, brightening the cavern as Gryzmon led the way, using his superior sense of smell, at least compared to Devimon, to track down the apparent Groundramon who had been causing the tremors.
"Alright Ren, what's wrong?"
Ren didn't look back towards Indigo as he answered. "What's in the direction we're heading Indigo?" These tunnels were larger than the ones they had started in, a tell tale sign that Groundramon had made them.
"Uh... Canterlot?"
"How do people without cars get around big cities like Manehattan and Canterlot Indigo?"
Indigo raised an eyebrow. "The subway?" That's how she got around at least... Well, outside of riding on Gryzmon's back when in DigiQuartz.
"And exactly where are the subways located?"
"Underground?" Indigo's eyes widened after a moment. "Ohhhhh… Oh no. This is really bad, isn't it?"
Ren nodded as they came to a split in the tunnel, Gryzmon telling them to take the path to the right. "Exactly. If Groundramon makes it to the subway system, we could be looking at not only tens of millions in property damage, but also the deaths of hundreds, if not thousands, of people."
A roar, louder than ever before, signaled that they had almost found the Digimon who posed a threat. Just then, Indigo thought she heard voices, male voices. "Uh, Ren?"
"Yeah?"
Indigo gulped. "How likely is it that a Groundramon would work with another Digimon?"
Ren blinked and thought for a moment. "Not very likely, they're more beastlike than other Dragon Digimon... Although I suppose it's possible."
"Earthquake!" The sudden shaking of the ground nearly knocked the humans off their feet, the fact that they were near the walls of the tunnel were the only thing that kept them from falling.
Ren looked back at Indigo. "That... That wasn't a technique that Groundramon use." Without another word, the two took off toward the source of the sound, arriving in a large cavern filled with quartz crystals and then they spotted on the far side of the cavern, in the beginnings of a new tunnel, three distinct figures. "Oh... Oh that's really not good."
"What? What's not good?" Although she had spoken in a normal tone, the shape of the chamber amplified it and the sounds of digging stopped as the three figures turned around and locked eyes with them. "Uh oh..."
"Hunters!" The first one to acknowledge them was a gigantic being that resembled a cross between a hairless gorilla and a rhino.
"Get them!" The second resembled a mythological gnome with a large bulbus nose.
A roar followed both exclamations as the giant green dragon, with two hands on it's back instead of wings, charged at them from the other side of the chamber, the other two following behind it, one with an oversized hammer raised above his head.
Two blue circles with glowing gold rings around them appeared, one containing an image of Devimon, the other Golemon. "DigiXros! Devimon!"
"Boss!" Devimon's voice came from the circle containing his image.
"Golemon!"
"YEAH!!!" A shout came from the circle containing Golemon's image as the circles fused with one another. Devimon's horns began to glow before becoming like liquid and flowing down his cheeks and face before solidifying into a metal helmet similar to the one Golemon wore, explosions of light came from his arms and legs, with leggings and armguards similar in make to the helmet being left behind. On his back, between his wings, two spikes of molten earth emerged and curled up over his shoulders curving upward and out before cooling and turning into obsidian.
"DigiXros! Xros Up! Devimon!"
Indigo held out her Xros Loader, circles appearing just like from Ren's Xros Loader. One containing an image of Gryzmon, the other Drimogemon. "DigiXros Gryzmon!"
"Right!" Gryzmon's voice boomed from the circle with his image.
"Drimogemon!"
"Ok!" Both circles collided and began to shake as a pillar of light burst from Gryzmon's back, exploding to reveal two mechanical arms with drill like appendages that resembled Drimogemon's head on the end. Similar lights appeared on his gloves and shoulder pads before fading to reveal that the studs and claws had been replaced with small drills.
"DigiXros! Xros Up! Gryzmon!"
Indigo and Ren looked at each other. "I'll have Devimon confuse Groundramon with Hell Contract." The moment he said that Devimon called out the same thing and a cloud of dark mist filled with strange symbols exploded from his fingertips, engulfing Groundramon, causing the dragon Digimon to become confused and run off in another direction. Ren smirked and looked back toward the approaching Digimon. "Now then, I take the imp, you get the gorhino?"
The Grottemon, who had reared back and was just about to strike Devimon with his Grotte Hammer's Snake Eye Break technique was momentarily distracted in order to give a shout of indignation. "Hey! I'm not an imp!" Ren smirked and Grottemon's eyes widened as he looked back toward Devimon, just in time to see the blast of dark energy leap toward him from Devimon's hands.
"Demon's Ray!"
The energy collided with Grottemon, who jumped backward to put distance between them a moment later as Ren walked up next to Devimon. "That's not fair, you distracted me!"
Ren and Devimon smirked and spoke at the same time. "Fair play is for those who don't care about winning." For a brief moment a dark violet flame like aura surrounded Ren's Xros Loader before vanishing.
"Let us see who is better at the art of battle, wielder of the Human Spirit of Earth. That is, of course, if you think you can defeat me." Grottemon sneered and brought his hammer over his head before swinging it with all his might, the hammer colliding with the ground.
"Sculptor's Infantry!" Ren blinked, a frown working it's way onto his features. He... He didn't know that technique, at least it hadn't been in the anime or games. Suddenly the ground beneath them began to quake and rocks began to rise into the air, metal ores from the cavern walls melting before flying toward the rocks and binding them together as eyes formed on the large sculpture that Ren now realized was a Golemon.
Ren's only response? 'Well, that's different from the show.' "Devimon!" Ren raised his arm before bringing it down, his index finger pointing at the Golemon. "You know what to do."
Devimon smirked. "A very good Idea Ren." Devimon's right hand began to glow, the shadowy light around his middle finger being especially potent. With a burst of speed Grottemon had not expected, Devimon shot to the Golemon's head and reared his right arm back. "Death Claw." With the help of the gauntlet formed from his DigiXros with Ren's own Golemon, he was able to pierce the enemy Golemon's helmet and head. He retracted his hand, the glow having now vanished, and returned to Ren's side.
Grottemon was confused, was his enemy really that weak? If so, then he wouldn't even bother to fight them himself. "Golemon, attack!" When his newly created servant didn't move to crush his enemies in response, Grottemon scowled. "I said attack you useless pile of rubble! Crush them!"
This time, the Golemon did move. Only, he turned around and looked at Grottemon, who now noticed his glowing pure red eyes as the larger Digimon raised his arms over his head. "Crush!"
Grottemon's eyes widened as he realized what had happened. "Uh oh." The he saw darkness as the fists impacted with the top of his head, burying him in the ground in a manner similar to a cartoon, however he quickly made use of his Jack in the Box technique, burying itself into the ground before popping up in a different location and striking his brainwashed Golemon minion with his hammer. He popped up to attack again, only to find Devimon looking down on him with a cruel grin.
"Why hello there... Deadly Nail!" Grottemon didn't have time to react before Devimon's reinforced claws tore through his armor and connected with his Digicore.
He felt his body glitch as a purple ring appeared around him. "Not possible!!!" He disappeared, his body turning into motes of red light before reforming in the lavender cube now floating above Ren's Xros Loader.
"Digimon capture complete." Ren turned to look at his girlfriend's progress, the Golemon that Grottemon had created falling apart behind him.
Indigo smirked as Gigasmon charged at her partner, only for Gryzmon to enter the ground at unnatural speed, thanks to the drills created by his DigiXros with Drimogemon. It was obvious to her that Gigasmon wasn't very intelligent, because their whole fight had just been the same thing over and over again, Gigasmon would charge, Gryzmon would go underground then emerge beneath the gorhino and strike him with his drills. "Gryz, finish him!"
Gigasmon raised his arms over his head and brought them down to strike the earth. "Earth-" He wasn't even halfway down when Gryzmon emerged from the ground right in front of him and knocked him onto his back.
Gryzmon angled himself as he began to fall, shooting towards the downed enemy. "Crescent Dawn Drills!" As he collided with Gigasmon, the drills on his paws activated, spinning at high speeds and digging into Gigasmon's Digicore. Gigasmon's body glitched before turning into specks of red light that then collected in the lavender cube above Indigo's Xros Loader.
"Digimon capture complete!" She swiped her Xros Loader into the cube, which vanished, signifying that her hunt was successful, then she looked at Ren and nodded before turning to find their original target, which... Wasn't there... "Ren? Where's the Groundramon?"
Ren looked around the cavern and spotted a tunnel that wasn't their before, one heading toward the surface. "Come on, let's go!" The others didn't need to be told twice, heading after him at breakneck speeds. The group of four eventually reached the surface just in time to see the Groundramon they were looking for catch Coronamon's Digivolved form, Firamon, with the two massive hands on it's back with the Scrapless Claw technique.
Seeing her friend's partner in danger in the hands of the Digimon that could cause unimaginable damage to her family's farm, Applejack pulled her hat down tighter and narrowed her eyes. "I ain't about to let you hurt my friends or my farm, you lowdown lily-livered snake!" She was surprised to see a yellow ball leap into the air and collide with the side of the Groundramon's head, bouncing back and uncurling to reveal Armadimon.
"I'm right there with you partner!" Groundramon threw Firamon to the side, the winged lion colliding with an apple tree, getting knocked out and returning to Sunset's Xros Loader as the dragon turned to face the smallest Digimon present. "Uh oh." As one of the hands came down toward him a rock collided with Groundramon's head, the throw having been
"Hang on partner, we got this!" A golden ring appeared around Applejack's hand, a similar one appearing around Armadimon's torso. Applejack smirked and straightened her hat before twirling her Xros Loader in the air as if it was a lasso, a beam of blue light surrounded by golden rings appearing as she did so. "Armadimon! Super Digivolution!"
Armadimon began to grow in size, spike appearing all along his shell as it darkened in color, the three tufts of hair on the side of his head merging before hardening and becoming horns. His claws became larger, but blunted and bands of metal appeared around his ankles in a flash of light as dark grey spikes emerged from the underside of his body in between his front and hind legs, similar spikes emerging from the middle of his back all along his shell, his tail elongating and the head of a morning star appearing on the tip in a flash of light.
The new form of Armadimon's eyes snapped open as he slammed his tail into the ground. "Super Digivolution! Ankylomon!" The Groundramon, who had not been expecting the sudden Digivolution, was unprepared for the sudden charging headbutt that he received courtesy of Ankylomon's Armor Stampede technique. He also wasn't prepared for Ankylomon to leap surprisingly high into the air and return to the earth on top of him with a Megaton Press. Ankylomon began to spin in circles, gaining speed each time, his tail in the air. "Tail Hammer!" With a final spin he dropped his tail and smacked the Groundramon's head with it, passing through the head a second later as the Groundramon's body glitched and disappeared into particles of red light that collected in the lavender cube now hovering over Applejack's Xros Loader.
Applejack, who had no idea how she had even managed to use the thing in the first place, looked over at Ren, Indigo and Sunset as they came closer. "Uh... What do I do now?"
"You say 'Digimon capture complete' and swipe the Xros Loader into the cube." Ren's nonchalant attitude had returned the moment he say Armadimon Digivolve.
Applejack blinked and looked at Sunset who nodded. "Uh... Digimon capture complete?" She swiped her Xros Loader into the cube, which disappeared as it passed through and sighed. "So, uh..."
"Congratulations on your first hunt." Ren passed by them, along with PicoDevimon who had Dedigivolved, exiting DigiQuartz after he was a fair distance away, Indigo and Bearmon, who had also returned to his original form, following close behind.
"So... Are you going to give their entire group Xros Loaders?"
Ren nodded. "If anything I've heard about their multiple... Incidents is accurate, then most, if not all of them, qualify as hunters."
A sinister grin work it's way onto Indigo's face. "I'm so going to crush that Rainbow Dash chick when she gets her Xros Loader." Her grin was replaced by a frown as a thought occurred to her. "Where do you get all those things anyway?"
Ren smirked at his girlfriend. "Wouldn't you like to know."
Indigo opened her mouth to respond, only to let loose a squeak as she felt Ren pinch her right buttock. "Pervert!"
"You know you love it."
While accurate, Indigo did not deem the comment worthy of a response as her cheeks began to redden, Ren laughing at the flustered look on her face.
Hunting in a Winter Wonderland! Chilly Encounters on Mount Canter! Pt. 1
Sunset and her friends, along with the CMC, who had been crammed inside Pinkie's van for the past five hours, almost leapt out the doors the moment they arrived at Snow Shoe's Ski Lodge and Resort, located at the base of Mount Canter, as the sun was starting to set. Only two of them seemed to restrain themselves. "It was nice of your parents to pay so much to let us go on this weekend ski trip."
The girl who prided herself on being ladylike just smiled. "Well, they decided that Sweetie and I deserved a reward for getting straight A's on our report cards, and they just couldn't say no when we asked if our friends could come with us." The pride in her voice was unmistakable, as was the pain when she accidentally got smacked in the head with a snowboard, courtesy of Rainbow Dash. "Rainbow!"
"Sorry! I wasn't paying attention!" After Rarity forgave the prismatic girl the group began to unload their gear, sans Sunset, Applejack, Apple Bloom, Fluttershy and Twilight, who would be renting their equipment, when a voice called out to them.
"Would you girls like some help?" When they responded in the positive, the teenage who had spoken, maybe a year older than them, walked over and began to help them load their bags and equipment. Her skin was a pale blue, almost white, with hair a few shades darker and green eyes. "Name's Diamond Dust by the way, welcome to my family's resort."
Rainbow almost dropped her equipment. "Wait, your family resort...? You wouldn't happen to be the Diamond Dust who managed to take home the Canterlot Winter Sports snowboarding event first place ribbon three years running?" The girl smiled and nodded. "You're like, the best snowboarder in the state!"
The girl's cheeks flushed as she rubbed the back of her head. "Well, I've kind of had my whole life to practice, so it isn't really that fair..."
Rainbow's smile widened. "Oh, I can't wait to finally go down Jagged Antler Run! Is it true that you managed to do it when you were six, with a broken board?"
"Oh, uh, well, I..."
At the mention of the Lodge's notoriously dangerous double black diamond run, referred to as Cocytus' Embrace by the locals, Scootaloo, who looked up to Rainbow as a big sister, looked a little nervous. "Uh, Dash, are you sure that's a good idea?"
Sunset, who had long forgiven the junior and friends for the Anon-A-Miss incident, was genuinely curious as to the tiny daredevil's sudden worry. "Why wouldn't it be Scootaloo?"
"Well, it's just that people had died on that slope. They make you sign a waiver and everything! Not to mention the rumors about-"
Diamond Dust sighed. "Kid, that story about the guy dying is exaggerated, he was fine... After a few months in a full body cast. And the rumors? That's just what they are, rumors. "
"But what about the people who went missing? And the pictures!"
As they began to head toward the lodge, the girl rolled her eyes. "Those people who went 'missing' went off the path and got lost, we found them a few hours later. As for the pictures, that was Snowball, my little sister, trying to drum up some more clients in the form of monster hunters."
"No it wasn't!" The girls turned to watch as someone who looked like a younger version of Diamond Dust, about the Crusader's age, rounded a corner with a sign on it that said 'rentals'. "I've been telling you for weeks, I really saw a Yeti!"
Diamond Dust smirked and pet the girl on the head. "Sure you did, and 'Guardian Deity of the Mountain' is a white moose with blue antlers and markings all over it's body."
"He is!"
"And there's a living mammoth running around further up the mountain, and there's a ice demon running around on the slopes at night, and there's a living snowman shaped like a teddy bear that protects you while you sleep." Diamond pat the girl on the head again. "If only I still had an imagination like yours." The little girl growled as Diamond began to lead the group away.
"I'm not making those up!" The girl's words faded as they got farther and farther away. Sunset couldn't help but feel like there was more to Snowball's claims of strange creatures than just her imagination.
One Hour Later
The second the girls had put their luggage away in the rooms Rarity's parents had rented for them for the four day long weekend that started tomorrow, they met up in the room Sunset and Twilight were sharing to discuss their plans. "First thing in the morning I'm headed up to the Jagged Antler, you wanna come 'Shy?"
The girl in question jumped a bit. "Oh, um... I, I think I'll just spend the day at the lodge, I heard that there are some adorable bunnies that have a burrow in a patch of trees just next to the main building, and I was hoping to talk to them."
Rainbow groaned. "'Shy... The point of going to a ski resort is to, ya know, ski! You can talk to rabbits all you want when you're helping at the animal shelter!"
"Oh, but Rainbow, these are Snowshoe Hares! They're so different! You see, they've evolved to have larger hind feet so that they cover a larger surface area and don't sink into the snow because of their weight and-" Three ear piercing screams interrupted the girl with the power of zoolingualism. The girls all looked at each other and leapt to their feet, recognizing the voices of the Crusaders.
The moment they burst into the Crusader's room, courtesy of Applejack's super strength, they saw the girls huddled in the corner, eyes locked on the broken window on the other side of the room. "Girls, what's wrong!?"
"Monster!"
Sunset ran over to the window and hopped through, luckily not cutting herself on the broken glass, and preforming a Time Shift with her Xros Loader. "Reload, Coronamon!"
Coronamon reloaded and began to look around, catching sight of a hulking figure heading for the slopes. "Over there!" They took off after the figure, following it up the slopes that had been closed for the night, even as it ran into the forest that was at the edge of the property. "Where'd it go!?"
Sunset looked to the ground and began to follow the tracks that had been left in the Digimon's wake, only to see them stop once they reached a clearing. "What the...?" She began to look around for any sign of the Digimon they had been chasing, when she heard the faintest sound of crunching snow behind them, giving Coronamon a tap on the back of his shoulder to signify there was something behind them.
"Snow Punch!"
"Petit Prominence!" With his body wreathed in flames, Coronamon leapt toward the source of the voice, warming the air around him as he crashed into the Hyougamon who had attacked them. "Corona Knuckle!" Landing on the chest of their attacker, Coronamon began to repeatedly strike the larger Digimon who grabbed the tiny lion on his chest and threw him into a tree.
Sunset, seeing that her partner's base form wouldn't be strong enough, held out her Xros Loader. "Coronamon! Super Digivolution!"
As Coronamon was Digivolving, the Hyougamon leapt to his feet and, in a unusually intelligent move for his species, turned toward Sunset, raising the giant icicle he was holding like a club. "Ice Konbou!" Sunset slammed her eyes shut, waiting for the impact.
"Horn Blade!" A cry of pain from right in front of her made Sunset peak, her eyes widening at the sight of her mysterious savior. There were two puncture marks in midair, two blue antlers emerging from them and impacting with the Hyougamon's chest and holding it in place.
Firamon, having finally evolved, charged at Hyougamon, flames bursting to life around his claws. "Fira Claw!" As Firamon's claws dug into Hyougamon's back, the bipedal Digimon's body glitched as a purple ring appeared and encircled him before he exploded into motes of red light, an image of him reforming in the cube over Sunset's Xros Loader.
Sunset smirked and, with a swipe of her Xros Loader, added Hyougamon to her collection. "Digimon capture complete." The sound of snow crunching behind Sunset lead her to spin around and come face to face with another Digimon, this one resembling a moose that resembled the 'Guardian Deity of the Mountain' Diamond Dust had described.
"A good show Hunter." The voice of the Digimon made Sunset realize that she was the one who had stopped Hyougamon from hitting her with that giant icicle. "I must commend you on your bravery and willingness to chase a Digimon into the depths of a forest you have never before entered."
Sunset scratched the back of her head as Firamon walked up next to her. "Oh um, thanks for the complement, but I couldn't just let him get away. He smashed a window and scared my friends' sisters. Who knows how far he would have gone next time."
"Indeed. And you young one." She nodded toward Firamon as he Dedigivolved, returning to the form of Coronamon. "You show a strength of heart I rarely see these days, in fact I believe that if you retain that strength, you will grow to be quite strong indeed."
Coronamon, who recognized the Digimon as Moosemon, nodded. "Thank you Ma'am."
Moosemon nodded once more. "Know that I, Moosemon, the Guardian of the Mountain, offer you my sincerest thanks for your assistance." Things remained silent for a second before Moosemon nodded her head. "In an attempt to thank you for your assistance, I shall guide you back to where you entered this forest."
Sunset opened her mouth to refuse before she realized that she had no other way to find a way out. "That would be great, thank you." Moosemon nodded and passed by Sunset and her partner.
When they arrived back at the lodge, Sunset and Coronamon bid Moosemon goodbye and entered back into the warm building. Once they had gone, Moosemon turned to leave before pausing as she heard the sound of crunching snow. She turned back and lowered her head to be on eyelevel with the one she greeted. "Greetings, Child of the Mountain."
"You're real..." Snowball stared at the strange, talking moose who she had seen once before, when she was being chased by the ice demon that lived on the mountain. "Did you um... Did you get the offerings I left for you?"
Moosemon released a small giggle. "Indeed I am child... And yes, I have. I thank you for the carrots." The two of them stood there and looked at each other. Then Snowball did something Moosemon hadn't been expecting. She ran up and wrapped her arms around Moosemon's neck. "Child?"
"Thank you." Moosemon was momentarily confused by "For keeping my family safe I mean. And the lodge, and our customers, and the mountain. Thank you for saving me from the demon, and for keeping the mammoth from coming down the mountain, and for everything else."
Moosemon stood there in Snowball's embrace and felt something warm within her, a smile working it's way onto her face. "You're very welcome child."
Meanwhile, in Canterlot.
Ren smiled as he watched Sonata add another Digimon to her collection, this one being a Rukamon who had slipped into DigiQuartz and appeared in a local swimming pool. It hadn't been violent in any way, but the shadows that it caused on the bottom of the pool were scaring the patrons, mostly six to twelve years old, into thinking that there was a monster living in the pool. Well, they were technically right, as she was a Digimon. The moment that the Rukamon found out she was scaring children, she apologized and asked Sonata if she could come with her.
Sonata smiled as Rukamon entered into her Xros Loader and turned to look at Ren. "Ok, I've got a new member for the team, and we've solved the issue the owners were having, let's go! Tacos are on me!"
Indigo, who had begrudgingly allowed Sonata to have the Rukamon for her collection, let a smile creep onto her face. "If, you're gonna pay, I'm in!" She hooked her arm around her boyfriend's and began to lead the way to an all night Mexican restaurant. "Let's go Ren!"
Ren opened his mouth to respond, only to feel something shoot down his spine, by now, it was a familiar feeling to him. He got it whenever a human found a Digimon partner. Sighing, he turned to face toward Mount Canter. "I'll have to catch up. Seems we've got a new player in the game." Indigo and Sonata looked at each other as Ren held out his Xros Loader, PicoDevimon vanishing into it as Ren called out his most recent hunt. "Reload Hippogriffomon!"
Indigo narrowed her eyes. "Yeah... No. Every time you go off and let someone join the Hunt and we don't go with you, you end up hunting some powerful Digimon. Not this time."
"Very well." Ren smirked as the two girls approached, hopping onto Hippogriffomon's back and holding his hand out to Indigo. "May I assist you Milady?" Indigo rolled her eyes before taking his hand and accepting the offered hand. Sonata giggled at the flirting and nearly burst out laughing when Indigo wrapped her arms around Ren for comfort, all the while denying that she was scared of falling.
At the Lodge, Three Hours Later.
As the clock struck twelve, all across the resort in DigiQuartz, portals made of glowing green and yellow pixels began to form. One in the lake where people were allowed to go ice fishing, several in the system of caves further up the mountain, one at the top of the Jagged Antler Run, one in a group of snowmen that local children made, and one in the air above the lodge. From them emerged Digimon of all shapes and sizes, and as the portals closed, Moosemon, who had been laying in her den, dreaming of the little girl she felt a connection with, woke from her slumber, she could tell that something had happened, and that she would not be able to protect her mountain on her own. "It seems I will require the aid of the Hunter and her partner once again."
"Are you sure about that?" Moosemon sprang to her hooves and turned toward the source of the voice, spotting a child level Digimon, with a human partner by their side.
Moosemon simply looked at the pair in response, she could sense a certain strength in them, as well as the aura of a predator. "Why have you come Hunter? Am I to be your prey?"
The human laughed. "Of course not, don't be silly. It's against the rules to hunt a Digimon in possession of another Hunter, and you've clearly already found yourself a partner."
The Guardian Deity of the Mountain knew who the human was speaking of. "She is a child."
"And yet she has a strength of heart, and a desire to protect uncommon of children her age, one to rival your own in fact." Moosemon shook her head.
"I will not allow such an innocent creature to be endangered by my duties." Ren smirked and walked past the Digimon, reaching the entrance of her den just as five more figures appeared. Two were Digimon, two were humans, females she did not know. Then there was another female she was acquainted with. "Child?"
Snowball gulped and held up the weird bone white thing that the girl who called herself Sonata had given her. "Um... Miss Moosemon? Will... Will you be my partner?"
Moosemon looked at the inactive Xros Loader. "Child, you know not the dangers what you ask for entail."
"I... I don't care. I want to help protect the mountain, this is my home, and it's a place where people come to have fun and forget about the things that worry them... I'm not going to let people get hurt or have their vacations ruined by others if I can help it." The device in her hand began to glow and Snowball yelped, dropping it and staring in shock as it changed color. Snow white with pine green accents. Snowball slowly inched toward it and picked it up.
Ren and the others smirked and glanced at Moosemon who just stared at the newly active Xros Loader in Snowball's hand. "Welcome to the Hunt girls." With that Ren walked off, the others following him. "So, let's take a vote. All for staying here for a while to Hunt?"
"Aye/Aye!"
Ren smirked and looked down the mountain at the lodge. "The Ayes have it. Let's go rent some rooms."
The Next Morning.
Sunset yawned as she and her friends exited the lodge, the Crusaders running off before the older girls could say anything. "I'll go watch them darlings, someone needs to make sure they don't cause trouble." Rarity took off at a brisk pace, calling out for the three Juniors.
"I'm heading up to Jagged Antler, let's go Pinks!" Rainbow grabbed Pinkie and took off at a speed that had the pink girl's feet lift off the ground.
"Wwwwweeeeeeee!!!!"
Twilight and Fluttershy looked at each other. "I'm going to go and see if I can talk to the Snowshoe Hares."
"And I want to observe them and take notes on how they interact with people when they don't run away." The two shyest girls walked off, leaving the two in their group who had attained Digimon partners.
Applejack cleared her throat. "So, skiing or ice fishing?"
Sunset placed a finger on her chin as she pondered her choices. Finally making a decision, Sunset nodded to herself. "Fishing."
Applejack nodded and turned around, only to collide with someone as they came out of the lodge. "Owie..."
"Sorry 'bout tha…" As she reached to help up the girl she had knocked down, only to narrow her eyes as she saw a familiar face. "Wait a minute... You're one of the Sirens!"
"You okay Sonata?" Sunset could feel a headache begin to form when she heard that voice, and it only got worse when Indigo Zap and Ren Tobari came out of the lodge and helped Sonata up. Indigo looked at the person who had knocked her friend over and her eyes widened. "Oh, hey there." Indigo pulled Sonata to her feet and dragged the Siren off, heading in the direction of Jagged Antler Run.
"Quite the coincidence running into the two of you here." Applejack narrowed her eyes at the boy who had given them their Xros Loaders.
"Are you followin' us?"
Ren chuckled at Applejack's accusation. "I can assure you we are not. I came to give a new Hunter their Xros Loader, Indigo and Sonata tagged along, and then we decided to stay here for a few days to relax and hunt."
Sunset nodded, but frowned shortly after, having an idea of who the 'new Hunter' was. "Tell me you didn't give Snowball a Xros Loader." Ren smirked and walked off, heading in the direction of a hiking path. "Hey, don't just walk away!" Ren just continued to walk, eventually disappearing around a snow drift.
As soon as Ren was out of sight, Applejack looked at her friend. "Sunset, do 'ya really think he'd give a kid that young a Xros Loader?" The farmer was terrified at the thought, because Snowball was about the Crusaders' age, and who knew what damage those three could cause if they got their hands on a Xros Loader.
Sunset looked at her friend, catching sight of the topic of their conversation sitting on a bench with a cup of hot chocolate. "There's only one way to find out."
Hunting in a Winter Wonderland! Chilly Encounters on Mount Canter! Pt. 2
As they sat on the ski lift heading to the top of the most dangerous slope at the resort, Indigo was clinging to Sonata for dear life. The moment that they reached the top Indigo got out of the seat and noticed two more of the Wondercolts who took part in the Friendship Games. "Race you to the bottom."
Rainbow turned to look at her challenger and scowled at the sight of Indigo. "You're on. I'm gonna crush you just like we did at the Friendship Games."
"You didn't 'crush' us. The judges declared a tie, aka both schools lost... So technically..." Indigo pulled her googles down over her eyes as she hooked herself into her board. "You talk an awful lot for a school that never wins~" Rainbow growled and pulled her own goggles down before both girls went forward and shot down the slope at dangerous speeds.
Sonata, who had walked up next to Pinkie Pie, turned to look at her fellow 'scatterbrain'. "Did I miss something or...?"
Pinkie, who had realized that Sonata wasn't a bad person shortly after the battle of the bands, nodded her head. "Our schools are kind of rivals and Rainbow's really competitive."
"Oh."
The two just stood there, staring at one another. "Soooo... What was with the whole causing everybody to fight thing? Princess Twilight said you did it to cause chaos and try to conquer the world but..." But something about that had never seemed right to her.
Sonata snorted. "Of course she did, she's a pony."
Pinkie raised an eyebrow. "So?"
Sonata stared at her in confusion. "Uh, you do know that ponies are like, insanely racist, right?"
Pinkie frowned. "Uh... No they aren't."
Sonata looked at her as if she was crazy. "They were the last time I was in Equestria. We got banished because they assumed we were causing trouble for the fun of it, because we were different."
"So you three weren't trying to take over the world?"
Sonata shook her head. "Well, I don't know about Adagio and Aria, but I was just trying to survive."
Pinkie felt bad all of a sudden. "Survive?"
Sonata's jaw clenched and she strapped on her skis. "I don't want to talk about it." With that the Siren shot down the slope, leaving bind a worried human with the power of explosion inducement.
Pinkie didn't need Sunset's empathy power to tell that Sonata had a mixture of anger and depression rooted deep in her heart. She had suffered with something similar during her childhood, eventually overcoming after years of therapy and medication. She knew how unhealthy it was to try and bury those emotions, that it could lead to something you would regret. She made up her mind, she had to help the blue skinned girl.
The bubbly girl who was lost in her own thoughts almost didn't notice when she slipped into DigiQuartz. The pink skinned girl blinked and looked around, seeing the glowing green moss like data on the ski lift near her and the trees farther up the mountain. Pinkie looked up at the dark pink sky and whistled. "Whoa... That's a lot creepier when you aren't expecting it."
"Expecting what, koe?" Pinkie turned around, only to see Rainbow and Indigo, the former who was reaching for her.
Rainbow flinched back at the sudden movement. "Whoa, you ok Pinkie?" Pinkie blinked and giggled a moment later.
"I'm superriffic! So... Who won?" Rainbow immediately scowled and began to mumble to herself. "So I'm guessing Indy won than?" Indigo smirked and made a smug sound.
Rainbow spun around and pointed at the Shadowbolt. "Two out of three!"
"You're on!" This time there was amusement in both girls' voices, which cold only mean one thing in Pinkie's mind.
"Yay! Friendship!" The girl leapt at the two, wrapping them both in a hug and knocking them over. None of the girls noticed the small shadowy figure that was watching them from a distance.
Back at the Lodge.
The moment Sunset and Applejack had finished talking with Snowball the sound of screams started coming from the direction of the lake where people could ice fish. The two teens took off, Snowball running after them, Sunset holding her arm out to stop a woman running away from the lake as they got closer. "What's going on!?"
"S-shadow! The ice just started exploding in random places, and then it all cracked and sank into the water and there was a giant shadow on the surface of the lake!" Sunset let the woman pass and looked at Applejack.
"Digimon." Applejack nodded and they both took out their Xros Loader, Snowball doing the same as she and the two teens raced up to the lake's edge, just in time to see Sonata Dusk hop into DigiQuartz.
Sunset preformed a time shift and the three hunters hopped through, their partners materializing just in time to see the Digimon in the lake surface. It was large, covered in thick white fur with a large horn in the middle of it's forehead and walrus like tusks. "Whoa."
If Sonata heard Snowball's exclamation of wonder she didn't acknowledge it, instead she looked down at her partner, Otamamon, who seemed to be fine despite their thin skin and the freezing temperatures. "So, do you recognize it?"
The tadpole Digimon nodded, at least as well as his body would allow him to. "That's an Ikkakumon. You should watch out while we fight, they can fire their horn like a missile. Although, I suppose you could blow it up if you used that."
Sonata nodded, watching as the Digimon swam around in circles. "Will you be able to beat it on your own or...?"
Otamamon nodded. "I should be, but if you think I'm in danger at any point, I wouldn't mind a DigiXros."
Sonata nodded and tightened her grip on her Xros Loader as a glowing gold ring appeared around both her hand and Otamamon. "Well then let's go! Otamamon! Super Digivolution!" She hopped from one foot to the other holding her Xros Loader to the sky as she did a pirouette leaping into the air when she did a kick and snapping her arm like she was using a whip, a blue beam of energy surrounded with golden rings emerging from her Xros Loader, before landing and doing a curtsy,
Otamamon's skin was torn away, leaving a digital frame that began to extend and grow wider, his legs and arms vanishing into the expanding mass that continued to grow before two appendages grew in the center of the frame, taking the shape of fins. His white tailfin turned a deep red as it began to extend at the end, losing it's rounded edge and becoming pointed as the front end of the digital frame narrowed, turning into a snout before splitting down the middle horizontally, forming a mouth. On the upper part of the snout, two eyes formed, with two more fin like appendages emerging slightly behind them before spreading out and showing that they were fins. At the end of the serpent like body, just in front of the tailfin, blue green scales began to appear and then more started to cover the rest of the frame, with an occasional ring of red scales forming around the body as well. His head began to glow and then exploded in a shower of light, revealing an almost helmet like growth over his head the color of gold. "Super Digivolution! Seadramon!"
The Ikkakumon, annoyed by the shouting, turned to face the shore, eyes widening slightly at the sight of a Seadramon in the cold waters, a human on the shore next to them. "Would you be quiet? I'm trying to relax!"
Sonata took a step toward the water. "Sorry, but you need to leave. There were people ice fishing on this lake in the real world, and they nearly got hurt." When the Digimon made no move to vacate the lake, Sonata nodded at Seadramon before looking back. "Last warning, leave, or we'll make."
The Ikkakumon scoffed and pointed his horn at the blue Siren. "Harpoon Vulcan!" There was a flash at the base of the Ikkakumon's horn as the appendage made of mithril shot toward Sonata, who simply stood there, Seadramon dodging out of the way and launching himself at their opponent.
Applejack covered Snowball's eyes as the attack got closer, preventing the girl from seeing a possible death. Sunset, however, charged forward, Coronamon Digivolving as he ran along side her. Even if the blue skinned girl was a Siren, she wasn't about to just let her die. "Sonata! Move! Get out of the way!"
Sonata just stood there as the missile approached and as she did so, her eyes began to glow and she opened her mouth. Then she did something Sunset knew shouldn't be possible. The former Siren released a shriek, one that made everyone throw their hands over their ears and collapse to the ground. Sunset could hardly believe her as she watched the Ikkakumon's horn stop in midair and start vibrating. Cracks began to form in the horn made of mithril before it just shattered and fell onto the snow at Sonata's feet.
The Siren's eyes stopped glowing as Seadramon breached the surface, his body wrapped around the Ikkakumon. As the serpent tightened his grip on the furred Digimon he lifted his head and looked directly into Ikkakumon's eyes. "Ice Arrow!" Seadramon opened his mouth to reveal a shining blue light that shot forward with a unbelievable speed and fully pierced his enemy. The Ikkakumon glitched before turning into motes of red light as a purple ring materialized around him.
Sonata smirked and looked at her Xros Loader as the miniature figure of Ikkakumon appeared in the transparent purple cube. "Digimon capture complete." Sonata began hopping up and down like she was on a trampoline and caught Otamamon in her arms as he finished Dedigivolving. "Good job!"
"Thanks Sonata, but..." The tadpole motioned for her to turn around as best her could, the Siren did as he suggested and spotting the other three Hunters and their partners.
"Oh..." If it wasn't for the cold temperatures, the Siren would have started sweating. "Ren's gonna yell at me..."
Sunset and Applejack approached after the country girl told Snowball that they had to have a 'grown up talk' with Sonata. In an effort to keep the Siren from freaking out and retreating, or refusing to answer their questions, Sunset decided to take the soft approach. "Sonata..."
"I hope that you won't mind me being the one to explain what you just witnessed." Sonata flinched as Sunset and Applejack glanced behind them, seeing both Ren and Indigo.
Sunset frowned and looked Ren in the eyes. "I thought you said that you three couldn't use magic back at Camp Everfree."
Ren shook his head. "Incorrect, I said that magic isn't our area of expertise, not that we couldn't use it. Each of us started showing signs of having abilities shortly after joining the Hunt. I theorized that Sonata's abilities took shape from her previous state of being, while the powers Indigo and I have were influenced by our partner's evolved forms."
Applejack frowned and pushed he hat up a bit. "Wait, so you knew about magic, and about her bein' a...?"
"A mutant form of the common Seapony, born from the influence of chaos magic in a pregnant mare, more commonly known as a Siren? Yes, yes we did." Ren nodded, and at the wide eyes Sunset was giving him, he explained further. "Yes, we know about Equestria, she explained about how she and the other two were banished." The two just kept staring at him.
Indigo walked up and waved her hand in front of their eyes. "I think you broke them."
Her theory was disproven when Sunset shook her head, and looked directly at Ren. "Wait, you said that you and Indigo have magic too?"
"We do. If you want me to be more accurate." He pointed at Sonata, who gave a weak smile. "She seems to have the power of sonokgenesis." He moved his finger in the direction of Indigo. "Indigo has the ability to redirect energy, though it seems she is able to do it more efficiently if it is kinetic force. I myself..."
Sunset raised her eyes when Ren seemed to hesitate to reveal his own abilities. "And you?"
"My power seems to be twofold. Firstly, I seem to be able to sense and steal the energy of others created by what they see as sins they've committed, and become more powerful as a result." He completely understood how his powers worked, but they didn't need to know that. He knew that he absorbed the guilt and regrets of the people he touched, as long as they weren't sins like murder or... Getting into someone's pants impolitely...
Applejack started scratching the back of her head in confusion. "Wait an applepickin' minute, you steal sins? Howzat even work?"
"Well, I suppose that it would be more accurate that to say that I take the sins of others onto myself." Ren pulled his hat down over one of his eyes and smirked. "Observe." Before the girls or their partners could react, he reached out and grabbed Applejack's arm. The country girl's eyes glazed over and Ren winced as he felt the energy created by every action Applejack had ever taken that she herself considered a sin flowed into his body. He released her arm and her eyes went back to normal. "So how do you feel?"
Applejack blinked and rubbed her forehead. "I... I feel great, actually I feel better than before you did... Whatever that was." She wasn't really paying attention, everything felt a bit fuzzy, as if she was in a haze.
Sunset put her finger to the tip of her chin and her eyes widened. "I think I understand... And if I'm right..." Sunset went quiet as she began to contemplate something.
Coronamon looked up at his partner worried at the sudden pause in her speech. "Sunset, you ok?"
"Try it on me."
Ren raised an eyebrow under his hat. "Excuse me?"
"Try to use your power on me, I think I might understand what it does." Ren shrugged and obliged, knowing that he would gain a massive power boost due to all the things Sunset had done when she first entered the human world. Reaching out and grabbing the girl's arm, seeing each and everything she regretted and felt guilty about, dragging the energy into his body. When he let go, Sunset stumbled forward, catching herself before she fell.
"Wow that's... Wow." She hadn't felt this good since she came to the human world, she felt as if the weight of an entire train had been lifted off her shoulders, but everything was fuzzy, as if she were in a haze.
Seeing that the two of them weren't paying attention, Ren turned toward his team. "Let's go!" With that the boy pulled out his Xros Loader, which had a glowing purple aura surrounding it, and opened a Time Shift portal before racing through, Indigo and Sonata following behind him.
Hunting in a Winter Wonderland! Chilly Encounters on Mount Canter! Pt. 3
Sitting on the bed in the room she was sharing with Applejack for the long weekend, Sunset stared down at the journal she used to communicate with Princess Twilight before sighing and closing it, setting it on the nightstand and flopping onto her back. It was too risky to get the Princess involved. Maybe, if she hadn't seen that show, Doctor Whom, she'd consider it, but she had, and now that she was friends with the human Twilight, she didn't want to risk causing a paradox by having the two of them meet. Maybe she was paranoid, but it was a possibility.
Still, the powers Ren had obtained could be extremely dangerous. The amount of ambient magical energy that Twilight had collected ended up corrupting her, but that energy wasn't negative by nature. The energy that Ren absorbed by taking the sins of others onto himself was. This was a fact, she knew so because she no longer held any shred of guilt or regret at what she had done when she first came to the human world, and she had regretted a lot of things.
'Seeing as his Digimon partner is a version of the devil, he may be immune to corruption, but that could also mean he's more susceptible to it.' She closed her eyes as she thought, only to be rudely torn from then by a series of events. The first event was the a sudden rumbling sound followed by the entire building shaking.
The second was Coronamon reloading himself and landing on Sunset's breasts as soon as he solidified. "Sunset! We've got trouble!" Upon seeing where he had landed the small bipedal lion hopped onto the floor with a blush. "Sorry!"
As Sunset released a groan at the sudden impact to her chest area, a knock, or rather a series of desperate bangs came on the door, Snowball's voice emanating from the other side. "Miss Sunset! Miss Sunset! We need your help!"
Finally Applejack stumbled out of the bathroom, her pants having obviously been pulled up in a hurry, if the fact that they weren't on straight was any indication. "What in tarnation is going on!?"
Armadimon, who had been sleeping in Applejack's Xros Loader, reloaded himself and let out a yawn. "What's with all the shouting?" A new round of shaking began making the small yellow Digimon loose his balance... "Whoa!" And fall off the bed. "I'm ok!"
Applejack rolled her eyes at her partner's shout and opened the door, allowing Snowball into the room. "Avalanche! We need everyone to go to the lobby so we can take roll and form search parties to find anyone who might have gotten caught."
"We have a bigger problem!" Eyes turned toward Coronamon who looked terrified. "There's a Mammon further up the mountain and it's charging toward the lodge!"
"The Coronamon is correct, a rampaging Mammon is much more pressing issue." The screen on Snowball's Xros Loader flashed as Moosemon spoke. "Worry not, time flows slower in DigiQuartz, three hours there is equal to one hour here. Meet with the ones organizing search parties, and once you are away from the group, enter DigiQuartz. In the meantime I shall enlist the local group of Icemon for aid in locating any humans buried in this avalanche. By the time you arrive, they will have already begun to rescue those who have been trapped." Although they were hesitant, they agreed to the oldest Digimon's plan.
Thirty Minutes Later.
The moment Sunset, Applejack and Snowball entered DigiQuartz, Moosemon had approached them, a smaller Digimon made of what appeared to be ice riding on her back. "Young ones, this Icemon has informed me that this situation is more dire than we thought."
Coronamon jumped forward and thrust his fist toward the sky. "Whatever it is, Sunset and I can handle it!"
Before anyone else could say anything, the Icemon let out a terrified squeak and dove at Snowball, landing at her feet. "Please, hunt me! I'm begging you! Just capture me, I won't put up a fight!"
Snowball let out a little squeak and looked at her partner, who nodded her head. "O-Ok?" The Icemon turned into a stream of data, which flowed into Snowball's Xros Loader. "U-Um, are... Are you ok in there?" The little girl was worried for the terrified Digimon.
Icemon's voice emerged from the Xros Loader, the screen flashing with each word. "I am now that I don't have to worry about being deleted and absorbed by the pack of Garurumon that sent Mammon on a rampage!"
"A pack of Garurumon?" Armadimon's confusion was clear in his voice. "But they're usually harmless unless threatened!"
"'Scuse me, but, the He..." Applejack went quiet when she remembered Snowball was with them. "The Heck's a Garurumon?" In the distance they heard what the humans assumed was a howling wind, but a gulp from their partners said otherwise.
"Those are Garurumon." The human's turned their eyes in the direction that Coronamon was pointing and spotted several wolf-like Digimon as they crested a hill on one of the slopes, led by a different one. "And their leader, that's a BlackGarurumon." The Digimon that Coronamon called Gururumon threw his head back and let out a howl before charging down the slope, the five Garurumon behind him doing the same.
Sunset and Applejack held out their Xros Loaders rings of light forming around their hands and their partners. "Coronamon/Armadimon! Super Digivolution!"
Snowball's eyes were wide in awe at the transformations the two Child Level Digimon had undergone and looked at her partner with stars in her eyes. "Can you do that?!" Before Moosemon could respond, the BlackGarurumon leapt over the older girls and their partners landing in front of the two of them and moving to strike.
"Garuru Thru-" Having believed that he had caught them off guard, the wolf-like Digimon didn't expect Moosemon to spin around at a lightning fast speed.
"Punisher!" Moosemon's powerful legs collided with the BlackGarurumon's face, sending their attacker flying back over the two older hunters and their partners, landing on yet another Garurumon that had not been with the original group. The sound of snow crunching behind them alerted Moosemon, who spun around and struck again. "Punisher!" The wolf-like yelp was confirmation that yet another Garurumon that had not been with the original group had joined in. The original group fell back and began to circle.
"There're too many of them!" Firamon struck one of the Garurumon when they leapt closer to snap at him, only for another to do the same and nip his paw. "Fira Bomb!" The blast of fire that emerged from the flame on his forehead sent the wolf on fire, which caused it to run off. Another Garurumon sped up and closed the gap in their circle so their prey couldn't escape.
Ankylomon managed to swing his tail and strike one of the Garurumon, sending it skidding through the snow on it's side, only for another to seemingly come out of nowhere to take it's place. "What do we do!?"
Sunset analyzed their situation and held out her Xros Loader, her eyes widening when she saw the face of Petaldramon appear on the screen. She stood there for a few moments and gave a nod as she remembered what she seen Ren do the day she joined the hunt. "Here goes nothing!" Two glowing gold circles appeared over her Xros Loader, one showing her partner, the other her first hunt. "DigiXros! Firamon!"
Firamon's voice emanated from his image in the holographic circle. "Justice!"
"Petaldramon!" A roar sounded from Petaldramon's image as the circles collided.
Firamon closed his eyes as flames began to wrap around his body, changing shape and taking the form of stylized leaves growing on vines of ivy before solidifying turning into a sort of armor made of solid flames. His mane began to whip in a non existent wind and started to weave and braid itself in a style similar to the fiery leaves that covered his body, until they surrounded his neck in a similar fashion to the leaves on Petaldramon's head. Then the tips of the 'leaves' ignited and the flame traveled down his face before spreading out and forming a helmet of solid flame that resembled Petaldramon's head. Firamon's eyes snapped open behind the helmet of flame and the loin let out a majestic roar as the fires flared before being blown away by an ethereal wind, revealing the metal armor they had created. ""DigiXros! Xros Up! Firamon!"
Applejack gapped at the scene before looking at Ankylomon, just in time to see her partner slam his tail into a Garurumon when it leapt toward them. "How 'bout we give that a try?" Two circles materialized over her Xros Loader, one containing the image of her partner, and the other, Groundramon. "DigiXros! Ankylomon!"
"Partner!" Ankylomon's voice called out from the circle containing his image.
"Groundramon!" A roar sounded from the circle containing the image of Groundramon.
One of the spikes on either side of Ankylomon became coated in an earthen crust as they elongated, growing in size splitting into five and curving inward before colliding with each other. The crust shattering and being blown away by an ethereal wind, revealing hands similar to those on Groundramon's back, only scaled down and golden in color with purple palms. An earthen spike, similar to the horn of a rhino grew from Ankylomon's forehead, when it fully emerged a golden sheen covered it and somehow sharpened it to a sharp tip. Finally Ankylomon's tail elongated, the spikes on the mace like appendage grew a bit and were stained red. Ankylomon slammed his tail into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust, which blew away shortly after. "DigiXros! Xros Up! Ankylomon!"
The group of wolf like Digimon looked toward their leader, who growled and turned toward the nearest Garurumon. Then it did something none of them were expecting. "Killer Bite!" It leapt at it's fellow Digimon and clamped it's jaws around it's neck, the Garurumon let out a howl of pain before exploding into glowing golden squares that the BlackGarurumon then absorbed.
The three Hunter's and their partners watched as most of the Garurumon fled in terror, while the rest were killed and absorbed by their so called 'leader'. Then it's form began to shift, the quadrupedal Digimon stood back on it's hind legs, it's paws turning to face outwards and curling into fingers. A leather strap formed on it's right hip and shot across it's chest to it's left shoulder and thickening, forming a pauldron, metal buckles forming all along the strap. On his right hand an armguard formed, covered in metal bumps, his right foot flashed and a bandage appeared wrapped around it.
From the fur on his lower body grew a pair of camo pants, a fanged skull and crossbones appearing over his left knee, which was now host to a leather guard, as was his other knee, though this one was covered in spikes. The Digimon let out a howl and with a flash, spiked brass knuckles appeared on his left hand. "BlackWereGarurumon!" The newly evolved BlackWereGarurumon wasted no time in returning to the fight, leaping into the air with a howl. "Engetsugeri!" The werewolf like Digimon thrust his leg down, a blade of energy shooting forward in the wake of it's movement. They were all able to dodge out of the way, the snowy ground where they had been standing now having a deep scar carved into it.
"Fira Leaf Cyclone!" Firamon let loose a roar as the fiery leaves that made up his mane shot forward toward the enemy, who was unable to dodge while in the sky. Most missed, but the ones that hit carved into the werewolf Digimon, leaving shallow cuts and singed fur win their wake. The moment BlackWereGarurumon landed, Firamon reared back before bringing his paws down on the snow with all his strength. "Thousand Fira Spike!" Tens of dozens smoldering roots that were as sharp as spears shot forth from the ground where BlackWereGarurumon stood, impaling the black werewolf, who let out a howl of pain as his body glitched and a purple ring appeared around it.
Sunset let out a sigh of relief as the BlackWereGarurumon turned into motes of red light and his image formed inside of the purple cube that hovered over her Xros Loader. "Digimon capture complete." She was about to let out another sigh when the ground began to shake and the trumpeting sound of an elephant reminded her that they weren't done. Looking up, Sunset's eyes widened at the sight of the largest Digimon she had seen so far. "Oh you've got to be kidding me."
Hearing her friend's words, Applejack turned her attention to where Sunset was looking and her jaw dropped. There was a literal mammoth charging down the slopes towards the ski lodge. And them. "How're we supposed to stop that!?"
"We can help with that." The three newest hunters gave a small jump at the sudden appearance of Ren and his team. "Sonata, if you and Seadramon would be so kind as be the base of this DigiXros?"
"You got it!" Otamamon leapt into the air and Digivolved into Seadramon, then Ren turned toward the three rookies.
"I forgot to mention this before, but it's possible for two hunters to DigiXros with each other's Digimon, observe." Ren and Sonata swung their Xros Loaders in front of them, a glowing gold circle emerging from each, one with the image of Seadramon and the other containing the image of a dinosaur-like Digimon that Sunset remembered briefly seeing when Ren was looking through his collection to pick who to DigiXros Devimon with as an example. "Double Xros!/Double Xros!"
"Seadramon!"
"Spinomon!" As the two circles merged thin beams of light emerged form Seadramon's back and with a flash were replaced with massive swords with frosted tips.
Seadramon, somehow swimming through the air like it was water, something that Sunset saw as a giant middle finger to physics, bowed it's head and let out a roar. "Ice Slash Rain!" The blades shot forward from Seadramon's back and a moment later they found their mark, colliding with the Mammon that was charging down the slope, doing serious damage and causing the Ancient Beast Digimon to collapse and tumble down the hill, skidding to a stop right in front of the group.
Applejack and her partner were the first rookies to recover and after taking a quick glance at each other and nodding, they moved to finish the downed Digimon. "Rhythmical Hammer Crush!" Ankylomon slammed his forefeet into the ground and a pillar of earth erupted from the ground, launching the Mammon into the air, only to be struck in the head with Ankylomon's tail when he returned to the earth.
The Mammon's body glitched, Applejack captured him, and the group turned to thank the veteran hunters, only to see that they had vanished.
