The Digimon V-mon headbutted's mouth flew open as the air was driven from its lungs. The momentum carried both of them out of the open entrance of Sugarcube Corner. The two became a rolling ball of violence as they left the building. Ponies walking down the streets of Ponyville stopped to stare at the blue and gray ball as the Digimon came to a halt a few feet from the stairs. V-mon ended up on top of the other Digimon and immediately moved to take advantage. He straddled his foe and lifted a fist up, "Gotcha! Get ready for a beating ya overgrown mutt!"

He launched his fist toward the other Digimon's head, but it managed to lift both of its arms up and block the strike. Then it used the brief moment of respite to lift its legs and kick out at V-mon's stomach. V-mon went tumbling off but quickly rolled back to his feet. The Digimon pushed itself up and glared at V-mon, "Urk, what's another Digimon doing here?! This place was supposed to be completely undefended!"

"Looks like you thought wrong. And you're gonna pay the price for it," V-mon slammed his fists together to intimidate his foe. In truth, he had no clue what the Digimon was talking about. But he wasn't going to let the chance to freak him out pass him by.

The Digimon growled and struck its claws together. The sound made the ponies still outside scream in panic. They ran into their homes and closed their doors, leaving the town deserted in a matter of seconds. The Digimon chuckled, "Don't be so cocky, fool! You may have caught me off guard, but now you have isolated yourself from your allies! My fellow Gazimon will soon be here, and then you'll see that quantity-"

The Gazimon was cut short as multiple pained yells rang out from inside Sugarcube Corner. Soon, the four other Gazimon came flying out the door. They all landed on either side of the lead Gazimon, groaning in pain as they got to their feet. Loogamon stepped outside behind V-mon. He looked over his shoulder and shouted, "Please forgive me for what happened to the door, Mr. and Mrs. Cake! I promise to help repair it once this is over!"

He then bounded toward V-mon, stopping at the blue Digimon's right side with his fangs bared at the Gazimon. Lopmon X followed him, using his ears to hover out the door. He was Dracomon X soon followed, carrying Ampurley on his back. Dracomon X landed on the left side of V-mon, Ampurley jumping off his back and onto the ground. Both glared at the Gazimon, Ampurley pawing at the ground while threatening sparks emerged from Bab's mouth. Lopmon X landed on the other side of Loogamon, crossing his arms while curling his ears into makeshift fists.

"You were saying?" V-mon's lips curled into a smug smile.

"They were stronger than we thought, leader. The Lopmon grabbed two of us with its ears and threw us out. Then that damn Loogamon and Dracomon rammed the last of us," one of the Gazimon said while getting to his feet.

The leader scowled but held its claws at the ready, "It doesn't matter! We're still more than a match for all of you. Prepare to fall to the might of the Dark Area!"

The five Gazimon lined up across from the five of them. Tensions rose as glares and intimidating gestures were exchanged among them, all preparing for battle. They all took runner stances and prepared to kick off to begin the fight. V-mon, Lopmon X, Dracomon X, Loogamon, and Ampurley all charged at the Gazimon-

"HOLD IT!"

- And then stumbled as Twilight's scream cut through the tension in the air. Cornelius nearly tripped over his own feet but managed to stay upright by using his ears to stabilize himself. Loogamon skidded to a halt, while Dracomon X fell on his face as he tried to stop. Ampurley stopped on a dime, while V-mon to windmilled his arms to prevent himself from falling over. They all turned around to see what had happened. Twilight, Spike, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie all came rushing out the door. Twilight was at the back of the pack and stopped just outside the destroyed door. Her horn glowed a bright purple as the pieces of the door floated back into place, held in a similarly colored field of magic. They were rejoined into their original form and, a second later, they were returned to normal. As if it hadn't been knocked off its hinges in the first place.

"Twilight! Everypony!" Cornelius shouted as the mares all stopped by their respective Digimon. He glanced at Twilight for a moment before turning back to the Gazimon. His frown deepened as he unconsciously moved to stand a bit in front of Twilight, "You all need to stand back. This is going to get dangerous."

However, Twilight gently pushed the Digimon to the side while looking at him disapprovingly, "Oh no, not without all of you telling us what is going on here? Why did V-mon suddenly attack that Digimon? Do you all know them?"

"We know what they are," Loogamon said, not lowering his guard in the slightest, "Gazimon, who have come here on behalf of the Dark Area to invade Ponyville."

"Okay," Applejack placed a hoof on Loogamon's head to try to calm him down, "but I don't think attackin' somepony out of the blue like that should be ya'll's go to just cause of that."

"I don't know, AJ. When a couple of ponies introduce themselves by kicking somepony's door in, say they're here to rule over us, and that Ponyville is now under their control," Rainbow Dash shrugged while landing next to V-mon, "I don't blame Squirt and them for deciding to punch first and ask questions later."

"B-B-But, um, you shouldn't just, um, hurt others like that," Fluttershy said, trying to make herself as small as possible, "It's not, um, nice."

"Fluttershy! Do you not feel that?" Cupimon said from atop her back. He was glaring at the Gazimon who had remained in place and were whispering to each other about something. Cupimon's tone made it clear that he did not care for the Gazimon standing across from them, "That...That malice that they're radiating? The hate that they carry with them?"

"They certainly don't look very nice," Rarity admitted from her place next to Ampurley. She sniffed the air and then covered her nose with a hoof, "Ugh! And smell even worse! A bath or two would do them wonders."

Ampurley nodded her head in agreement with Rarity. Spike was busy helping Babs remove the dirt from his face after he fell to the ground. The Dracomon X licked Spike's face in gratitude, and Spike simply chuckled at the display of affection. Pinkie Pie was bouncing around the ground with Cutemon on her back. After a second, she dashed over to the Gazimon in the blink of an eye. All the Gazimon jumped back in surprise at the pink pony's sudden appearance. She started to hop around while speaking in an excited tone, "Oh! Oh! Maybe they came to say hi to our Digimon! In which case..."

Pinkie took a deep breath, preparing to sing her "Welcome to Ponyville" song. But before she could start, one of the Gazimon raised its claws and rushed at her. Cutemon gasped, grabbed Pinkie's mane, and pulled as hard as she could. With surprising strength, she pulled the party pony away from the attack before it could hit her. Pinkie leaned back, letting out the breath she had taken in as a puff of air before landing on her backside. Cutemon breathed a sigh of relief as she said, "I-I don't think they want to be our friends, Pinkie."

"Foolish creatures!" the Gazimon that had attacked Pinkie shouted. Sparks fell off his claws as he clashed them together, "Count yourselves lucky that those other Digimon are here to help you. Otherwise, you and all your kind would already be under the rule of the Dark Area Invasion Army!"

"But don't think that will stop us. Before the day is over, we will own this wretched place. And it will serve as a stepping stone for our conquest of this whole land!" the Gazimon who had knocked down the door shouted, holding his claws toward the sky. The rest of the Gazimon all raised their arms and cried out in agreement.

The ponies all blinked in surprise at the blatant declaration of aggression. Cornelius looked up at Twilight and raised an eyebrow, "Does that answer your question?"

"Yes, yes it does. But it still doesn't mean we need to get violent," Twilight said as her horn glowed again. The same field that had surrounded the door flashed into existence around the five Gazimon. The Digimon all cried out in panic as they were lifted off the ground. Once they were high enough to not hurt anypony, she started walking forward, "Let's just take them out of Ponyville so they can't hurt anypony. I'll be sure to send a letter to Princess Celestia about this. She'll come by and take care of the rest. Come on, everypony."

Cornelius quickly followed Twilight as she walked, with the rest of the ponies and Digimon following suit. Rainbow Dash flew up next to the floating Gazimon and started taunting them as they floated by. Babs stared in awe at the floating Digimon and said, "Twilight. Strong."

"Of course she is," Spike said from Babs' right side, "You won't find a single unicorn in the world better at magic than Twi. She's not Celestia's personal student for nothing."

"Still, to be able to levitate five Rookie Digimon at once and not lose concentration. That is very impressive," Loo tilted his head to look at Twilight, "Is she what one would call a 'prodigy'?"

"From what I've seen, I'd say so. Ya don't get to be the Element Of Magic without being darn good at magic," Applejack affirmed while tilting her hat with a hoof.

Twilight blushed and refused to look too long at any of her friends, "C-Come now, girls. I'm not-not that great."

"Element of Magic?" V-mon asked, doing his best to stay under Rainbow Dash, "Is that something important?"

"Well, duh!" Rainbow Dash moved closer to V-mon, explaining, "It's one of the Elements Of Harmony! Didn't Twilight tell you guys about that?"

"I was planning to, but then these Gazimon broke down the door," Twilight explained while pointing a hoof at the floating Digimon. She looked at V-mon and said, "They're artifacts with great magical power that represent the six key elements of Equestria. Mine is Magic. Rainbow Dash's is Loyalty."

Rainbow Dash beamed and crossed her hooves with pride.

"Applejack is Honesty."

Applejack winked at the Digimon that were looking at her.

"Pinkie is Laughter."

Pinkie giggled while pulling another balloon out of her mane and handing it to Cutemon.

"Rarity is Generosity."

Rarity flipped her mane, causing Spike to swoon. Babs grabbed the baby dragon with his wing before he hit the ground. Then he placed the smaller dragon on his back to carry him.

"And Fluttershy is Kindness."

Fluttershy nearly jumped when all the Digimon suddenly turned their eyes on her. She tried to ignore their gazes while keeping her eyes on the ground below. V-mon's eyes were sparkling, and he started hopping in place, "That's. So. Cool! If you're that important, then you all must be super tough. I bet that's why we were all able to evolve to Rookie so quickly. Cause you girls are all so cool!"

"But. Me. Evolved. Too," Babs pointed at himself and then at Spike, "Spike. Not. Element."

"And I didn't evolve," Cupimon looked at his hands and frowned, "I'm still a Baby. But I ate a lot at the party, and I still haven't changed. Maybe something's wrong."

Cupimon let out a sad sigh. However, his sadness only lasted until Cutemon gave him a balloon that looked like him. He gently took the balloon while Cutemon patted him on the head, "Don't worry, Cupimon. I'm sure you'll evolve soon enough."

"T-Thank you, Cutemon," he hugged the balloon to his chest, being careful not to pop it with his claws.

Fluttershy and Pinkie both exclaimed "aww" at the interaction between the Digimon. While everyone else had been talking, Lopmon X had kept his eyes on the Gazimon. As they walked, four of the Gazimon kept resisting Twilight's magic. They kicked, punched, and yelled in vain attempts to escape their predicament. However, the fifth Gazimon didn't seem as panicked. He wasn't fighting against his bonds at all. Instead, he had his back turned to Twilight and seemed to be watching where they were going. The group was halfway to the edge of Ponyville, with the Everfree Forest coming into view in the distance. Twilight noticed Cornelius' worried frown and asked, "Is something wrong, Cornelius?"

"Hmm, perhaps. It's just that...I've been thinking about how the Gazimon were extremely aggressive when they arrived. That's how they usually act," Lopmon X shook his head as he spoke.

"How so?" Twilight asked as they arrived at the edge of Ponyville.

"They're not the type to attack an enemy head-on. They will typically try to weaken their opponent beforehand or set up traps to take advantage of during the battle. Which usually involves lots of trap...holes..."

Cornelius' eyes widened as he looked at the vast expanse of open ground between Ponyville and the Everfree Forest. He shouted at Twilight as she steps outside the town's limits, "Twilight! Don't!"

Before Twilight could react, the ground beneath her fell away. Her forward momentum carries her into a hole large enough to accommodate two ponies. She cried out in shock and surprise, her magic disappearing and causing the five Gazimon to drop three steps away from the hole. As she starts falling, the other ponies, Digimon, and Spike all call her name. Rainbow prepares to dive for her, but thankfully Cornelius is just a bit faster. His ears shot out and grabbed Twilight around her torso before she fell. He planted his feet and pulled back with a loud grunt, pulling Twilight out of the hole and back to their group. The purple unicorn landed on her left side, while Cornelius fell onto his back.

Fluttershy and Spike ran over to Twilight and helped her to her hooves. Spike asked her, "Are you alright, Twilight?"

"Y-Yeah, I-I'm alright. Thank you, Cornelius," Twilight said as she shook her head to clear it.

"Don't mention it," Cornelius said as he got to his feet. The sound of cruel laughter caught everypony's attention. Across from the hole in the ground stood four of the Gazimon. They were all laughing while their leader stood with his arms crossed, a smug smile on his face.

"Hey, ya dirty varmints!" Applejack yelled while shaking a hoof at the Digimon, "What's the big idea doin' that to Twilight?!"

"Ha! Idiots!" the leading Gazimon yelled while sweeping his arm out, "This is what you get for standing against the Dark Area! We have dug holes all around your little village! If any one of you tries to leave or enter, they'll fall into the pit and be at our mercy! I suggest you prepare to surrender now, before all you weaklings get caught!"

The Gazimon continued to laugh, eliciting glares from the ponies and their allies. However, Rainbow Dash flew into the sky and shouted, "Ha! If there are any idiots here, it's you guys! Cause you all seemed to forget some of us have wings!"

"Rainbow Dash, wait!" Cornelius called, holding one of his ears toward the blue mare, "It's a trap! One of them is missing!"

But RD was already speeding off toward the Gazimon. Her eyes were firmly locked on the leader, planning to ram into him and then drag him away from the rest of his party. As she flew, V-mon ran after her, jumping over the first pit to keep up. Just as she was about to dive, the ground in front and below her suddenly erupted into a cloud of dust. She cried out in shock and stopped before getting hit by dirt and dust. She covered her eyes with her front hooves, which prevented her from seeing the Gazimon's body through the dust. Its cheeks were puffed up as it prepared to attack.

"Paralyze Breath!"

"Rainbow!" V-mon put as much power as he could into his legs and leaped straight up. He left a small crater in the earth as he launched himself up to and in front of Rainbow Dash. He crossed his arms in front of him as the Gazimon expelled a cloud of yellow mist that hit him head-on. Yellow electricity flowed through his body, causing his muscles to freeze up. The Gazimon smiled wickedly before raising its right claw. The claws glowed a clear white color for a moment before it announced the name of its next attack.

"Gazimon Claw!"

V-mon cried out in pain as the attack hit him head-on. Three gashes were left on his arms as the force of the attack sent him flying back. He hit Rainbow Dash, and the two of them flew away from the Gazimon. Thinking quickly, Rarity and Twilight grabbed both of them with their magic. A purple field caught Rainbow mid-air, while a light blue one did the same to V-mon. The mares settled the pony and Digimon down in front of them before crowding around.

"Are you alright, RD?!" AJ asked the rainbow-haired mare.

Rainbow Dash sat up and shook her head to clear it. Then she nodded, "Y-Yeah. I'm fine. Wait, V-mon!"

She scrambled to her hooves and went to check on the blue Digimon. V-mon was lying on the ground, his arms still raised as his body remained in an uncomfortable pose. Small yellow tendrils of electricity kept appearing and disappearing along his body. His eyes darted from left to right, indicating that he was still conscious. The worst part were the three gashes on his arms, which left small blue cubes flying off his body where they made contact. Rainbow placed her hooves on V-mon's arms before turning to the only one in their group with experience in healing animals, "Fluttershy! What should we do?!"

"I-I-I don't know," Fluttershy admitted, her voice quaking with fear and anxiety, "I-I-I'd need to get to my house, but-but-but those Gazimon would..."

Fluttershy looked over at the Digimon in question. Said Digimon were giving each other high-fives and sticking their tongues out at the ponies. Rainbow Dash scowled at them and shook her hoof, "You jerks! Just wait till I get my hooves on you! You'll be sorry!"

Despite her threats, the Gazimon just kept laughing. While everypony was checking on V-mon, Cutemon tapped the side of Pinkie's head to get her attention. When the pink pony finally looked at her, Cutemon leaned in and whispered something to her. Afterwards, Pinkie gasped as her lips curled into a smile, "You can do that?! Go for it, Cutie!"

"Cutie?" Rarity asked as Cutemon hopped off Pinkie's back and ran toward the downed V-mon.

Pinkie shrugged, "You girls are giving your Digimon cute nicknames. I figured I should, too. And I don't have to worry about a letterbox limit!"

While Rarity tried to process what Pinkie had just said, Cutemon knelt down next to V-mon. She placed both of her arms on V-mon's stomach and then closed her eyes. Her voice became sonorous, carrying the sound of wind chimes, while her hands glowed a bright green.

"Healing Glow."

A bright green light covered V-mon's body, and the wounds on his arms healed in an instant. The electricity disappeared, and his body relaxed within seconds. By the time Cutemon had removed her arms from him, V-mon was completely healed. Not a single hint of his injury remained. V-mon quickly sat up and looked at his arms with wide eyes. Rainbow Dash quickly hugged V-mon and shouted, "V-mon! You're okay!"

A second later, however, Rainbow realized where she was and quickly let him go. She coughed into her hoof and looked away from V-mon, "I-I mean, it's good to see you back to normal, Squirt. And, uh, thanks for the save back there."

Pinkie, Applejack, and Spike all giggled at RD's reaction, while Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief. V-mon hopped to his feet and looked over to thank Cutemon, only to see the Digimon hiding behind Pinkie's left leg. But he did spot the happy smile on her face from where he was standing. As he gave her a grateful thumbs up, Twilight stared at the situation with her mouth wide open. She looked over at Cornelius and pointed towards Cutemon, "W-W-Was that magic?! You didn't tell me Digimon could use magic?!"

Lopmon X shrugged, "That's because it isn't magic. Or, at least, not the kind of magic you ponies use. Our powers are more akin to intrinsic abilities. Like a dragon's fire breath. Or an earth pony's affinity with nature."

Twilight looked around with a distressed expression on her face. Then she shouted, "Spike!"

Quickly, the little dragon ran over with a scroll and quill he had produced from...somewhere, before handing it to Twilight. The purple mare quickly picked them up with her magic and started writing down what Lopmon X had said. After that, she handed the scroll back to Spike and glared at the Gazimon across from them, "Regardless, we need to do something about those Gazimon. Otherwise, ponies will be stuck in Ponyville or worse."

"Good luck, pony! You will soon learn that none can stand before us. Go! Show them true despair!" the lead Gazimon waved his arm as he declared his order. The other Gazimon let out battle cries before slamming their claws into the ground. They all disappeared into the earth in clouds of dust, leaving only one Gazimon standing. The hole V-mon's attacker came from was swiftly filled with dirt and rocks.

Knowing what they would do next, Lopmon X ran over to the hole he had saved Twilight from and looked over the edge. He only got to see inside for a second before another Gazimon appeared and filled in the hole. Dust rose into the air, with some of it nearly landing on Rarity. However, Ampurley moved in and knocked the speck of dust away with her paw. While she thanked her Digimon, Lopmon X backed up and placed a hand on his chin. He looked over the plains of grass and dirt before them, then turned to his friends behind him and said, "I think I might have a plan. But I'm going to need everypony's help to pull it off. Would you all be willing to listen?"

"Darn right! I've gotta get those guys back for what they did to me, and almost did to Rainbow!" V-mon shadowboxed as he declared his agreement.

"I'm with Squirt! I'm gonna give those jerks a piece of my mind!" Rainbow Dash imitated V-mon while flying in the air.

"I can't rightly let those varmints get away with this. I couldn't bear it if Applebloom fell into one of those holes. Ya with me, Loo?"

"You don't even have to ask, Applejack," Loogamon said as he lowered himself to the floor.

"Count me in! Though, I'm not really sure what I can do. But I bet Babs could handle those Digimon. Can't you, Babs?" Spike asked the other dragon. Dracomon X nodded while flapping his wings in anticipation.

Rarity flipped her mane and said, "Those ruffians do need some discipline. And they need to pay for nearly dirtying my pristine coat. Isn't that right, Ampurely?" The Digimon nodded in agreement, its paws already raised and poised for battle.

"And if any of you get any ouchies, just leave it to Doctor Pinkie Pie and Nurse Cutie! We'll fix you right up!" Pinkie said, holding Cutemon up in one of her hooves. The pink Digimon saluted in agreement.

Fluttershy, though, was slowly backing away from the group, "W-W-Well, you all seem to be, um, ready to h-handle this. So-So-So, I'll just go back to my, um, cottage and-eep!"

She was interrupted when she felt something pushing her from behind. Looking back, she saw Cupimon pressing his hands into her flanks while pushing her forward. His wings fluttered rapidly as he shouted, "No, Fluttershy! We can't just leave our friends behind! We need to fight with them!"

"Oh, but-but-but I can't fight! I-I-I don't like hurting other p-p-ponies. And th-th-those Gazimon are s-scary," she stammered, sticking her hooves into the dirt to try to stop herself. But the little Digimon possessed a surprising amount of strength. He managed to push her back into the half-circle of ponies and Digimon.

Then he flew in front of her and said, "Then you don't have to! I'll do it! You just stay behind me, okay?"

"But-" she was interrupted as Cornelius stepped up to explain his plan.

On the other side of the field, the leader Gazimon watched their group as they huddled together. He scowled and called, "Whatever plans you're coming up with won't work! Just surrender before we have to destroy your pitiful little home!"

But the group ignored his calls, only turning back to him once they were done setting up their plan. Cornelius, Loo, and Babs all stepped up to the edge of Ponyville while Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy took to the sky. They both disappeared into the clouds before coming back down with two large, fluffy clouds in their hooves. They pushed them over the space between their group and the leading Gazimon. The Gazimon stared up in confusion, wondering what they were planning. At Twilight's signal, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy bucked their respective clouds. With a flash of lightning, the two clouds started to rain all along the ground. The rain saturated the earth, quickly turning the dirt into mud. Once the water started to drown the grass and create muddy puddles, Lopmon X took a deep breath. His cheeks puffed up comically as frost fell from his lips.

"Blazing Ice!"

A stream of supercooled air blasted out of his mouth. It swiftly covered the earth in front of him, freezing the water and the dirt beneath. The lead Gazimon's eyes widened when he realized what was happening, but it was too late. He tried to yell a warning, but the freezing air kicked up by Cornelius forced him to cover his face. A thin mist covered the area, blinding him, so he couldn't see what was happening for a while. When it finally cleared, he gasped at the sight of the entire ground between him and Ponyville.

It had been turned into a flat plane of ice!

As Rainbow Dash pushed the two clouds out of the way, the lead Gazimon wiped the mist out of his eyes. He glared across the way at the four ponies, one dragon, and five Digimon standing on the other end of the ice. He angrily waved his hand and said, "Do not think this changes anything! My Gazimon can easily break out of the ice whenever they want!"

However, Cornelius could only smile while ignoring the Gazimon's words. He looked to his sides and nodded to both Babs and Loo. The Dracomon X and Loogamon stepped forward until they reached the edge of the ice. Flames gathered within Loogamon's mouth as he dug his claws into the earth. Dracomon X mimicked the wolf, planting his claws into the ground as his wings flared out. Their mouths glowed a bright orange-red as they raised their heads up. They then shouted in unison before throwing their heads forward.

"Baby Blaze!/Howling Fire!"

Twin streaks of red-hot flames flowed from their open jaws. The heat was so intense that many of the ponies had to cover their faces with their hooves to resist it. The wave of fire covered the frozen earth, quickly melting all the ice that had been left above the ground. The two fire-breathing Digimon continued for five seconds before Cornelius raised his right ear to signal them to stop. Their flames died the moment they closed their mouths, allowing all of them to see the ground between them and the lead Gazimon...and how it was completely covered in steaming pools of water.

"Perfect. V-mon, Ampurley, Babs, Twilight, Rarity? All of you, be ready for what comes next," Cornelius looked over at Applejack and nodded, "Do it, Applejack."

Applejack nodded, then galloped to the edge of the flooded ground. Once there, she tensed the muscles throughout her body. Her hind legs flexed as she reared up and readied her forelegs. It was only now that the Gazimon realized what was happening. He cried out, "NO!" but it was already too late. Applejack's hooves crashed down onto the earth in front of her. The combined force of an earth pony's natural might and the strength born from years of working on her farm shook the ground before her. The ground rumbled, causing the puddles to ripple and shake from the force. After a few seconds of shaking, there was the sound of something in the ground giving way. The next second...

CRASH!

Several pits suddenly collapsed, their surfaces caving in and exposing a total of at least ten pits. All of them were soon filled with mud, grass, and steaming hot water. Applejack whistled, "Hooo wee!~Would ya look at that? That little bunny of yours was right, Twilight!"

Twilight smiled and nodded, "Yep! How'd you know that would work, Cornelius?"

Cornelius held up his hand, "I suspected as much when that Gazimon attacked Rainbow Dash. While it was possible that each Gazimon had a separate pit to hide in, they would lose their value after one use. Even if they filled them in, we could simply memorize their locations. Thus, in order to make such a strategy work..."

"...they would need to create a tunnel system. That way, they could move between each pit whenever they want. Allowing them to confuse their targets and avoid fully revealing themselves. And you confirmed this when you looked into the pit before it was filled in," Twilight's smile grew as the realization sank in.

"Exactly. Now we just have to wait and, eventually-"

"YEEEOOOWWW!"

Right on cue, four shadows shot into the air. The four Gazimon all had their hands in the air, trying to shake the hot water off their fur. As they reached the apexes of their jumps, their bodies were swiftly covered by purple and light blue magical auras. Twilight and Rarity grunted as they pulled the Gazimon in with their magic. Their targets were swiftly pulled in toward their party, as V-mon, Ampurley, Babs, and Cornelius all tensed up. Cornelius curled his ears into fists and began spinning them in a circle. His ears span and span until they became a blurry, brown and pink tornado above his head. Ampurley's front paws glowed bright white as she prepared to launch her own attack. V-mon started spinning his right arm faster and faster while keeping his eyes on the incoming Gazimon. Babs held her head down as her horns glowed an even brighter red.

When the Gazimon came into range, all four Digimon struck different targets simultaneously.

"Petit Twister!/Vee Uppercut!/Smash Horn!/Puppy Paw!"

The sound of bodies being hit and pummeled echoed through the air. It was soon followed by the pained yells of Gazimon as the blows connected. Rarity and Twilight released them as their Digimon struck their respective foes. Cornelius' ears smacked his target in the stomach simultaneously, causing the Gaizmon to crumple around his limbs. V-mon's fist connected with his target's chin, causing the Gazimon's eyes to close in pain as the force surged through its body. Ampurley launched a flurry of blows on her target's body, keeping the Gazimon in the air by alternating between her left and right paws. And Babs' horns had crashed into his target's body, igniting some of the Gazimon's fur with the superheated scales on his horns. With a final grunt of effort, all four Digimon launched the Gazimon back into the air.

"Alright!" Spike cheered as the Gazimon were sent flying, "Nice hit, Babs!"

"Be sure to wash your paws after this, Ampurely," Rarity said while watching the Gazimon reach the apex of their flights, "They were all dirty and covered in water when you hit them."

While the ponies and Digimon celebrated, the lead Gazimon was grinding his teeth in anger. He yelled that he would make the ponies pay for what they did, lifting his claws up to strike at the ground. But he was interrupted by something poking him in the back. Stumbling in shock, he turned around to see Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie behind him. The pink pony was smiling at him with one hoof behind her back, while her friend was hiding behind her, her body shaking in fear.

"Hiyah!" Pinkie waved a hoof through the air in greeting, "I'm Pinkie Pie! This is my friend, Fluttershy! We ran over here while you were distracted by the ice and fire to ambush you!"

The Gazimon laughed and raised his claws, "Is that so? And how do you plan to accomplish that, you weak little ponies?"

"Oh, we're not gonna do anything. These two are," Pinkie pushed out the hoof she was hiding, revealing Cutemon and Cupimon hanging off her hoof. The Gazimon started to laugh but froze when he saw the golden ring around the Cupimon's head. Before he could react, the Baby Digimon dropped from Pinkie's hoof and swung his head forward.

"Angel Ring!"

The golden ring hit the Gazimon in the face, sending him stumbling back. It didn't do much damage, but it did leave him wide open for an attack. And Cutey didn't let the opportunity slip away. She leapt from Pinkie's hoof and flipped through the air until she was right above the Gazimon. Her cheeks puffed up before she let out a loud screech aimed directly at the Gazimon.

"Supersonic Wave!"

A wave of sound smashed into the Gazimon, sending him crashing into the ground. He cried out in pain as he was unable to move from the sudden attack. He tried to stay awake, but the combined assault knocked him out. Cutey landed on the ground and quickly ran back to Pinkie's side. She looked up at Pinkie and gave her a thumbs up, "Did it. Did I do good?"

"You did great! Exactly like Corny said!" Pinkie patted Cutey on the head, the Digimon blushing from the praise.

Fluttershy stepped out from behind her friend and approached the fallen Gazimon. She stared worriedly at the passed out Digimon, "I hope he's okay. He's not hurt too bad, is he?"

"I'm not sure it matters," Cupimon said while climbing onto Fluttershy's back, "Besides, we're going to hold him until Celestia shows up, right? So, knocking him out is a good thing."

"I...I suppose," Fluttershy didn't sound convinced. But she still reached down and grabbed the Gazimon under its arms. She flapped her wings and carried the unconscious Digimon over to the rest of her friends. Cutemon hopped onto Pinkie's back, and the party pony swiftly bounced her way back to the group. Despite the wet, hole-covered ground between her and Ponyville, she expertly managed to avoid all the pits and deep puddles. She reached her friends completely unscathed, except for a bit of mud on her hooves.

As Fluttershy set the Gazimon down, Twilight spoke up, "And that's all five. Great job, everypony. Now, let's get going and...Cornelius?"

All the ponies stared at the four Digimon, who were gazing at the Gazimon still airborne. Which, now that the ponies thought about it, was strange. Why were the Gazimon floating in the air? And things only got stranger when rings of light blue light suddenly exploded out from the center of the floating Gazimon. Rainbow asked what that was, but none of the Digimon seemed to hear her. Instead, Cornelius, Babs, V-mon, and Ampurley all focused on the floating Digimon in silence. Then they all held their arms out, closed their eyes, and breathed in deep gulps of air. As they did, Cornelius shouted out to the open air, "Fractal Code; Digitize!"

As he said that, the strange lights flew from the Gazimon into the four Digimon that had defeated them. Long strands of blue fell from the sky and wrapped around their bodies before flowing into their noses and mouths. The Gazimon's bodies disappeared before their eyes as the lights left their bodies. Four featureless gray eggs replaced them. When the last of the lights disappeared, the eggs fell from the sky, but Twilight quickly caught them with her magic.

V-mon let out a happy sigh as he opened his eyes, "Oh, man! That felt great. Got a chance to get back at those guys, and got some data for myself. All in all, I'd say this was a good day."

Babs nodded his head in agreement while Ampurley started grooming herself. Cornelius stretched his arms out and turned to address Twilight. But he saw the worried expression on her face and tilted his head, "Is something wrong, Twilight?"

"Wh-What was that? What did you do to those four Gazimon?" Twilight asked, holding the eggs above her in her magic, "Why did they turn back to eggs? Didn't you just knock them out?"

"Oh. We did. But you see, we Digi-"

"GRRAAAHHH!"

"EEP!"

Before Cornelius could finish, the last Gazimon woke up and tried to swipe at Fluttershy. Fortunately, the yellow mare managed to jump out of the way of his claws. She backed away as Cupimon and the rest of the Digimon prepared for combat. The Gazimon got to his feet and glared at his foes. His eyes were filled with hate as he spoke, "You-You damn Digimon! You destroyed my comrades. I'll-I'll make you pay for that!"

"Destroyed?!" all the ponies and Spike shouted in unison. They looked at their Digimon with suspicion.

Cornelius quickly shook his head and said, "No!" That's not what happened! Well, not exactly. There's more to it than what he's...wait...something's wrong."

Cornelius was right. For some reason, the air around their group started to get tenser. There was a sense of electricity in the air. Pinkie's entire body began to shake, bounce, and rock back and forth. The ground began to shake, and a strange darkness fell over Ponyville.

No...not Ponyville.

The Gazimon.

"You-You will-You will all PAY!" he shouted to the heavens above as his body was suddenly engulfed in pitch-black smoke. His roar echoed through the air, growing deeper and louder as time passed. His body started to grow larger and larger until he was the size of a building. All the ponies and Digimon stepped back, sweat dripping down their heads in fear. Fluttershy covered her head with her hooves while the rest of her friends watched in shock as Gazimon transformed.

"Wh-What's happening?!" Applejack shouted.

"He-He's evolving. But...but this feels wrong. This isn't how it's supposed to go," Loogamon said, unconsciously moving to stand in front of Applejack.

Soon after the black smoke was scattered by a large purple hand...revealing the monster that the Gazimon had turned into.

Its fur had turned a sickly purple color and was covered in stitches from head to toe. Black bands wrapped tightly around his arms, while steel plates shone on his knuckles. His lower half was covered by torn black pants with stitches on the thighs. His head was covered by a shaggy black mane that extended all the way to his back. Bones jutted out of his shoulders and chest, while white smoke escaped his mouth. His maw was filled with dark purple teeth, which made his burning red eyes look even more menacing. His claws had transformed from black to purple, and each one was now the size of a regular pony.

"Wh-What is that?" Twilight asked, swallowing in fear.

Cornelius answered, his own fear evident in his tone, "A Ch-Champion. Mad...Leomon."

As if hearing its name called upon its wrath, Mad Leomon's eyes locked onto the Digimon and ponies before it. It sucked in a breath before letting out a roar that shook the earth. Then it raised its claw and prepared to bring it down on its targets.

Digimon appearing in this Chapter (Spoilers for the Ending):

MadLeomon