"C'mon... almost got it..." Nero grunted as he tried to reach for his toolbox.
He was currently in his garage, lying on a mechanic's creeper underneath the Devil May Cry van. Kyrie was out shopping for groceries and Nico said she was going to buy some tools to work on his devil breakers, leaving Nero all by his lonesome. The van had been due for a tune up, so Nero decided to spend the afternoon working on it. He was almost finished, and just needed to make some final adjustments. Unfortunately, the spanner wrench he needed was just out of his reach.
He could've just used his devil bringer, but then he would risk flipping the van over.
For a second, Nero stopped reaching and stared at his right arm. A whole month had passed since the Qliphoth incident, yet Nero still wasn't entirely used to having a normal arm again. He first got his demon arm after protecting Kyrie from a demon years ago. His arm had been injured, and it transformed soon after. For a while, he believed he was cursed, until Dante came along and showed him otherwise.
After that, his arm had been ripped off by his father so he could take Yamato back. That's when it was replaced with Nico's many Devil Breakers. He still uses them from time to time for taking care of demons. However, never in a million years would Nero have expected to grow his human arm back.
At the time it happened, he hadn't cared much. He had been too focused on keeping Dante and his father from killing each other. Once he had time to actually process it though, he had to pinch himself just to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. He had just gotten so used to his arm being different that seeing it look normal was actually weird to him.
He shook the thoughts out of his head and went back to reaching for the wrench. The van wasn't gonna fix itself.
"Just a bit further..."
He stopped reaching when he felt the wrench being placed in his hand. Guess Nico must be back with her tools.
"Ah, thanks Nico."
"My pleasure, but I would prefer you get my name right." Nero froze when an unfamiliar voice responded. He swiftly slid out from under the van and was greeted with... he wasn't even sure what he was looking at, to be honest.
The creature was long and thin, and its body was a mismatched jumble of different animal parts. He had a lion's paw for his right arm, an eagle's claw for his left arm, a lizard's foot for his right leg, and a goat hoof for his left leg. On his head was a deer antler and a goat horn, and he had a reptilian looking tail. On top of that, he had a pair of wings. One was a that of a bat's while the other looked like an eagle's, only it was blue. A single fang hung from its mouth.
Nero had a feeling symmetry wasn't in this guy's vocabulary.
The devil hunter was quick to get to his feet. He stared down the strange creature, eyeing him with suspicion.
"So, just what the hell are you? You a demon?" He asked. The creature scoffed in disbelief.
"A demon!? You would compare me to those beasts!? I must say, I am feeling very insulted right now." The creature crossed his arms.
"Ok then, if you're not a demon, care to tell me what you are and why you're here?" Nero didn't lower his guard for a second.
"Ah, of course. Where are my manners? I am Discord, the master of chaos! As for what I am, I am a draconequus, though I doubt you would know what that is. As for why I'm here, I just so happen to require the services of a devil hunter such as yourself, Nero." He gestured to him. The young devil hunter raised an eyebrow.
So, he knows my name...
"Master of chaos, huh? And just what do you need my help with?" Nero's eyes flicked to his sword, Red Queen, which was propped up against the wall. He still couldn't make heads or tails of this thing, so it was best to be prepared in case it tried anything.
"Well, I would think that was obvious. You do hunt demons for a living, am I wrong?" Discord replied sarcastically and Nero chuckled.
"I'm gonna need more info than just 'Go kill some demons'. Where is this job? How big is it?"
"Hmm, yes, I suppose that's fair." The chaotic being said before beginning his explanation. "I'm sure you've guessed by now, but I come from another world beyond Earth. Things had been normal up until a little while ago. I had been lounging in my humble abode enjoying some tea when I noticed something was amiss with the space-time continuum."
"Wait... what?" Nero's brain halted.
The space-time continuum? When the hell did time travel get involved?
"I'm sure it sounds confusing, so I'll give you the basic gist of it. Not only have demons started appearing in a world they shouldn't exist in, but they've appeared during a time period they should never have been around for. What I'm getting at is that if these demons aren't dealt with, it could cause a serious time paradox." Discord finished.
Nero took a few seconds to process what he'd just heard. Other worlds? Time paradoxes? Was this guy serious?
"Now, normally, I could have just snapped my fingers and put everything back to the way it was, but something is preventing me from doing so." He explained. "That is why I decided to call upon one of the most legendary devil hunters in the multiverse!"
Nero couldn't help but smirk at that. It felt good to know he was considered such a legendary devil hunter, even across the multiver-
"Unfortunately, it turns out Dante is trapped in Hell, so I suppose you'll have to do for now."
The smirk quickly faded from Nero's face and was replaced with a deadpan glare.
Does this thing want my help or not?
"So, what do you say? Will you accept the job?" The draconequus asked. Nero thought about his answer. He didn't want to abandon this other world to its fate, but he couldn't leave Earth unattended, either. Dante and Vergil had entrusted him with keeping things safe here while they were in Hell.
As if reading Nero's thoughts, Discord provided a solution. "Oh, and no need to worry about missing anything that happens here on Earth. Once the job is done, I'll take you right back to this point in time. It'll seem as though you've only been gone a few seconds!"
"... If you're telling the truth... then alright. I'll take the job." Nero finally gave in.
"Oh, splendid! This will only take a moment!" Discord cheered. Nero went over to the wall and placed Red Queen on his back. He made sure his revolver, Blue Rose, was fastened in its holster, then prepared for whatever Discord was about to do. The draconequus snapped his fingers, and a bright light encompassed the descendant of Sparda.
Before he knew it, a huge surge of pain ran through his body, and he let out a scream. It felt like his body was being turned inside out and all his organs were being jumbled around.
What the hell did that thing just do to me!?
Before he could demand answers from the master of chaos, Nero's vision went white, and he felt like he was floating in the air. Then, he lost consciousness.
Nero woke with a gasp. He looked around frantically, trying to find out where he was. He was lying in a field of grass right next to a dirt road. There were a few trees nearby, as well as a pond, but other than that, he couldn't see any landmarks. He tried to sit up but struggled to do so. His body felt... wrong.
Where the heck am I? Why do I feel so-
Nero tensed up the second he looked down at his hands.
Or rather, his hooves.
"W-What the hell!?" He recoiled. He moved the hooves about and confirmed his fears that they did, in fact, belong to him. He looked down at the rest of his body to see that everything about him had changed. Four hooves had replaced his arms and legs, and his whole body was covered in navy blue fur. He still wore his tattered shirt, blue jacket, and silver necklace, but they had been altered to fit his new body.
Why the fuck do I look like a horse!?
"I would get used to that new body, if I were you." Nero turned his head in the direction of Discord's voice. The draconequus was floating in the air, looking on in amusement.
"What did you do to me!?" Nero attempted to stand only to stumble and fall, no longer being bipedal.
"I'm afraid humans don't exist in Equestria, so having a strange new creature appear out of nowhere on top of the demons might cause a panic." Discord explained.
"Ok, but why turn me into a horse of all things!?"
"Pony, not a horse," He corrected, "And you'll see why soon enough."
"Pony, horse, same difference!" The devil hunter grunted. He tried to stand up again and make his way over to the pond. Unfortunately, he fell again, so he just resorted to crawling. Once he made it, he gazed into the water, looking at his reflection. He still had blue eyes and white hair, which was still styled in a faux hawk. Those were the only resemblances to his human self, however. The rest of his face looked like that of a hors- er, pony. He even had longer ears.
He lifted up the back of his coat to reveal a short tail that was the same color as his hair. That was when he noticed something else on his rump that he hadn't expected to find.
"...Is that a tattoo on my ass?"
Discord got a closer look. "Ah, I see you've found your cutie mark!"
"My what?" Did Nero hear that right?
"Your cutie mark. It represents whatever your talent may be. You should have another one on the other side." Discord explained, and Nero checked the opposite side. Sure enough, there was a matching tattoo. The tattoo itself looked like the spectral arm that appears when he uses his Devil Bringer.
"A cutie mark... that's gotta be one of the most cutesy, flowery names for something I've ever heard." He sighed.
"Oh, trust me, it only gets worse from here." The draconequus informed him, "Now, the town you need to go to first is just a short walk from here." He pointed to the dirt road.
"I suggest you get started. You'll need the practice if you want to blend in. As for me..." The master of chaos snapped his fingers and a box of popcorn appeared in his hand. "I'll be enjoying the show from elsewhere. I can't wait to see how things play out! Good luck, and ta ta for now!" With that, Discord snapped his fingers again and teleported away, leaving Nero alone once again.
With a sigh, Nero made his third attempt to stand up. While it did take some effort, he managed to stand up straight on all four hooves this time. He looked down the path to see if he could tell how far he would have to walk, to no avail.
Nero decided to quickly double check his gear before starting. He still had Red Queen on his back, and he could feel Blue Rose in his holster. Unfortunately, he didn't have any Devil Breakers with him. That did give him an idea, though.
Nero stuck his right forehoof out and focused.
Please work, please work, please work!
FWOOM!
A spectral arm shot out from his hoof before retracting right back into it. "Hell yeah! Still got it!" Nero exclaimed as he admired his right hoof. He then returned his focus to the dirt road.
Well, no sense in standing around. Better get started.
Slowly and carefully, Nero began taking his first steps down the path.
A new world, huh? Maybe this'll be interesting...