//------------------------------// // (Intermission) A Familiar Sight // Story: Devil May Cry: Demons in Equestria // by GeekMaster101 //------------------------------// "Alright, I'll be right over." Nero hung up the phone and sat back in his chair. He'd just gotten a call about a really large demon over by Galloping Gorge, setting fire to some of the forests. From the sound of it, this job was gonna be a bit tougher than the others, but still nothing he couldn't handle. Unfortunately, Galloping Gorge was pretty far from Ponyville, so this meant he would be gone for a couple days. If anymore calls came in about demon sightings, he wouldn't be around to answer the phone. He was gonna need someone to keep an eye on things while he was gone. Maybe I can ask Twilight if she can take care of it. Even if she can't, she'll probably know if there's anyone else who can. With a plan in mind, Nero grabbed Red Queen and made his way out the front door. As soon as he pushed the door open, he immediately felt the chill of the cold winter air. Thankfully, his demon blood made him partially immune to the elements, so it wasn't too big of a deal to him. He stepped out into the snowy ground and made tracks towards the Golden Oak Library. Winter had started about a week ago, and that was when Nero learned that ponies didn't just control the weather in Equestria. They also controlled the changing of the seasons. According to Rainbow Dash, they even had an entire factory dedicated to it up in Cloudsdale, a pegasus city above the clouds. If the demon over by Galloping Gorge is able to start forest fires in this weather, they clearly aren't just your average rank and file demon. Looks like I'll be in for a bit of a fight. Once Nero reached the library, he gave the door a knock. After a few seconds, the door opened, and Spike poked his head out and greeted the devil hunter. "Oh, hi Nero!" "Hey there, Spike. Is Twilight in? I need to talk to her about something." "Yup! We we're just finishing up cleaning the library." The baby dragon opened the door further to let Nero in. As soon as he stepped inside, he spotted Twilight on a step ladder, cleaning the upper bookshelves with a feather duster. Once she finished, she climbed down the ladder and turned to face Nero. "Hello, Nero! How can I help you?" She said as she teleported the feather duster away with her magic. "I just got a call about a demon over by Galloping Gorge. It sounds pretty nasty, so I'll be heading over there now. I'll be gone for a couple days, and I was wondering if you could keep an eye on the phone back at Devil May Cry, just in case any more calls come in." "Oh, I'm sorry, but I won't be able to. I promised Applejack I'd help her and Big Macintosh with stuff around the farm this week. From what she told me, chores can get pretty rough when winter starts, and they've been falling behind as it is." "Ah, gotcha. I understand." Nero shrugged. "Do you know if anyone else is free to handle it?" "I could do it!" Spike got the attention of both Nero and Twilight. "I don't have any plans this week, unless you need me to help out on the farm too?" He turned to Twilight. The purple unicorn brought a hoof to her chin in thought before coming to a decision. "I think we should be able to handle it. It's only for a couple days, so if we need your help later this week, you should be available then." She nodded in agreement. "Alright, sounds like a plan. I'll be sure to pay you back for this with something special, Spike." Nero promised. "Really!? What's it gonna be!? Will it be a gem?! Please tell me it's a gem!!!" Spike's eyes sparkled as he licked his lips. Nero raised an eyebrow in surprise. "A gem? You never struck me as the type to enjoy expensive stuff like that." "Oh, that's right! I never told you about how dragons like gems, did I?" Twilight remembered before beginning to explain. "While ponies use gems for decoration or currency, dragons use them for sustenance. In fact, it's one of their favorite things to eat." Hearing this, Nero recalled how the dragon he had fought hoarded a bunch of treasure in its cave. It hadn't just been collecting a bunch of shiny things, it had been saving food. "Huh, interesting. Well, if that's the case..." The half-demon turned back to Spike. "I'll be sure to bring you an extra shiny one." Spike giddily hopped around in place, barely able to contain his excitement. "YES!!! I can't wait!" The Next Day... Nero stepped off the train once it had reached his stop. Apparently, he was the only one getting off near Galloping Gorge, as the train stop was completely barren. This wasn't too surprising though, considering a demon had been spotted going on a rampage around here. The devil hunter watched as the train started up again and sped off down the tracks, moving on to its next destination. Once it was over the horizon, he pulled out a map he had brought with him. Okay, the forest near Galloping Gorge should be a short walk East from here... Nero turned his gaze to the East and immediately spotted a large column of smoke rising from the forest itself, clear signs of a wildfire. Not exactly hard to miss. He stuffed the map back into his pocket and started making his way over to the forest, unsure of what kind of demon awaited him. As he walked, he made sure to double check his gear. Red Queen rested on his back, Blue Rose was sitting comfortably in its holster, and his saddlebags were filled with Devil Breakers. Just as he reached the edge of the forest, several woodland creatures came running out from behind the trees, fearing for their lives. Nero watched as several deer, squirrels, bunnies, skunks, birds, porcupines, and other animals all hurried past him. A lot of these creatures should've been in hibernation by now, but it seemed that the demon bringing havoc to the forest had put a damper on those plans. They didn't seem to pay him any mind, more concerned with whatever they were busy running from. One of the bunnies bumped into Nero's hoof before looking up at him. "Hey there, little guy. I'm guessing the giant, scary, fire-making demon is back that way, right?" Nero pointed towards the way the bunny had come from. The bunny looked back at the forest before hopping around the devil hunter, continuing to run for its life. "I'll take that as a yes." Without any hesitation, Nero sauntered into the forest, a smirk on his face. Hope this demon will put up enough of a fight to be entertaining. Speaking of demons, Nero couldn't help but wonder how many jobs he would need to take care of when he got back to Ponyville. The amount of demon activity seemed to constantly fluctuate. Sometimes he would be swarmed with work, while other times there would be almost no reports of demons whatsoever. They never seemed to terrorize Equestria at a steady pace, and it really bugged him with how much it had been affecting his bank account and sleep schedule. I hope Spike'll be able to keep up with it all. Wonder how he's doing right now... "Don't worry, I'll be sure to let him know once he gets back." Spike hung up the phone once the call ended. He was currently sitting at Nero's desk in the Devil May Cry shop, jotting down any and all demon sightings that have been reported. He finished writing down the address for the most recent report, then stood up on the chair to do some stretches. The task that Nero had left for him wasn't very strenuous; it was actually pretty easy. All he had to do was answer the phone, ask where they saw the demon, then write it down. While he waited for calls to come in, he used the time to catch up on some of his comics. Still, idly sitting in a chair for hours on end can cause your joints to become pretty stiff. Despite that, he knew it would be more than worth it for a sweet, juicy, delectable gem. The baby dragon took a glance at the list of addresses he made. All the reports weren't anything too serious, just small batches of weaker demons. There were quite a few of them though, and it was obvious that Nero would be busy when he got back. The sound of the phone ringing once more drew his attention. He picked up the receiver and put it to his ear. Before Spike could say anything, however, the person on the other end spoke first. "Hello, Nero! It's your old pal, Discord here! Just wanted to check in to see how things are going. I'm not sure if you heard, but there's a rather powerful demon lurking around Galloping Gorge right about now, along with another special surprise that I think you'll recognize. I'm sure once you see what the surprise is, I won't need to tell you just how important it is that you destroy it. Think you can take care of that for me ol' buddy, ol' pal?" Spike blinked, unsure of how to respond to any part of what the mystery caller had just said. After a few seconds, he eventually came up with, "Uh... I'm sorry, but Nero already left for Galloping Gorge. If you'd like, I can pass your message along to him once he gets back." The person on the other end was silent for a bit before speaking again. "For the record... who am I currently speaking to?" "Oh, my name's Spike! Spike the dragon!" Once more, the mystery caller didn't respond for a few seconds. Spike started to wonder if something had happened on the other end, only for the caller to finally speak again. "...Wrong number." Before anything else could be said, the mystery caller hung up, and Spike was left listening to a dial tone. ...Ok, that was weird. Spike hung up the phone. The call had left him with a few questions, but only one really stuck out in his mind. Who the heck is Discord? Nero left hoofprints in the slushy, melting snow, dodging and weaving around the burning trees of the forest. The devil hunter had to perform several acrobatics in order to navigate through the raging fires. There were even a few spots he couldn't get through without using Punch Line to surf over them. If he had to guess, he was somewhere near the center of the forest. He pushed a couple branches aside to reveal a large clearing in the forest. As soon as he saw it, he felt his breath hitch in his throat. The clearing itself was incredibly open and spacious, with only one obstruction in the center of it. The snow had completely melted in this part of the forest, but the grass wasn't wet or muddy at all. In fact, a lot of it had been burnt and charred. Despite that, the fire wasn't as present here as it was amongst the trees. If he found the demon, this would be a good place to fight it. This wasn't what shocked him though. What shocked him was the large object sitting in the middle of the clearing. The object was a giant, monolithic stone with intricate markings covering the face of it. He recognized the object, and he could scarcely believe he was seeing it. It shouldn't have been there, it didn't belong in Equestria, yet here it was. There, in the middle of the clearing, was a Hell Gate. How the hell is there a Hell Gate here!? Is this how the demons have been getting into Equestria? A tidal wave of questions coursed through Nero's brain, but he eventually shook the thoughts out of his head. I'll worry about it later when I get back to the shop. Right now, I need to focus on destroying this thing and killing the demon. Nero started to approach the stone, but stopped when he sensed a powerful demon approaching, and fast. He leapt out of the way just in time to avoid the demon as it came charging into the clearing from the trees. Once Nero landed back on his hooves, he was able to get a good look at the demon. The demon itself shared a striking resemblance to a snake, though there were plenty of noticeable differences. It was the size of a house, had two curved horns protruding from the sides of its head, and was completely engulfed in flames. The demon stared down the descendant of Sparda with all six of its eyes. "Hmph. I'd know that scent anywhere..." The snake hissed. "You're one of Sparda's kin, aren't you?" "Guilty as charged." Nero shrugged. "Every demon I meet seems to pick up on that smell. You think I should start wearing cologne? Not sure if it'll hide it, but it's worth a shot, right?" "You jest even in the face of death? I'll admit, you are braver than most. Still, that will not be enough to save you from its grasp!" The demon spat out a ball of fire from its mouth in Nero's direction, and the devil hunter rolled out of the way. "Hey, neat trick! Speaking of tricks, I heard snakes can eat an entire egg whole. Is that true?" He asked. "You dare to compare me to such an insignificant creature!? I am Gorgon, servant of the Fire Hell, and I will not be looked down upon by a mere mortal!" The demon hissed once more. "Alright, jeez, no need to be rude about it. It was just a simple yes or no question." Nero raised a hoof in mock surrender. Gorgon spat another fireball at him, and he launched himself into the air with an Air Hike. The devil hunter landed on top of the Hell Gate and sat down. "If you can't tell me about the egg thing, can you at least tell me what this thing is doing here? Can't say I'm an expert, but I'm pretty sure Hell Gates don't belong in this world." "That is none of your concern, mortal. Now sit still... and DIE!!!" Gorgon lunged at Nero, who backflipped off of the Hell Gate and landed on the ground. He levitated Red Queen off of his back and took a fighting stance. "Alright then, looks like I'm gonna have to beat the answer out of you. Hope there's no hard feelings." Gorgon shot towards Nero like a rocket, and the devil hunter flipped out of the way with a Table Hopper, then returned fire with Blue Rose. Gorgon did a 180 and opened his maw, attempting to swallow Nero whole. Nero refused to stay still, avoiding each chomp while occasionally striking the demon with his sword whenever he saw an opening. He's pretty fast, even for a demon. This might be tougher than usual... During one of Gorgon's attempts to bite Nero, the devil hunter leapt onto the demon's back, stabbing Red Queen into it and giving it a few revs. While the blade seemed to hurt the snake demon, the flames from his sword didn't seem to have as much of an effect as they would on other demons. It still seemed to hurt the snake a little bit at least. Before Nero could pull his sword out, Gorgon slithered out of the clearing and weaved through the burning trees in an attempt to knock Nero off of his back. The half-demon clung to Red Queen and ducked under several branches to keep from getting knocked off. "Get off you pest!" Gorgon hissed as he wormed his way through the forest. "Nah, I don't really feel like it!" Nero called out from his place on Gorgon's back. With the hoof holding onto Red Queen, he continued to rev the sword repeatedly. With his free hoof, Nero summoned a spectral arm and started punching the snake as hard as he could. Finding no success in knocking the descendant of Sparda off, Gorgon circled back to the clearing. No longer constricted by trees, Gorgon whipped his body around and finally managed to throw Nero off. Nero landed on all fours and looked back at the demon; his sword still impaled in its back. Well, that's a problem. Nero avoided a few more chomps, swinging a few jabs at the snake with his spectral arms every time he saw an opening. During one of Gorgon's lunges, Nero hopped upwards and pushed off the demon's head with a hoof, flipping himself onto Gorgon's back once more. Gorgon rotated its head 180 degrees just in time to see the devil hunter rip the sword out of its body. Gorgon roared in pain before lunging at Nero again, and Nero flipped backwards to avoid it. Mid-flip, Nero shot forward towards the demon with an Ex Calibur, then sliced into the demon's head with several midair swings. Gorgon shook off the strikes and swung its head at Nero like a club, knocking the devil hunter aside. Nero rolled with the landing, quickly getting back to his hooves. "FUCK YOU!" Nero yelled before activating his Devil Trigger. Gorgon spat out a barrage of fireballs, which Nero dodged with several consecutive Table Hoppers, then closed the distance between himself and the demon by hitting it with a Streak. He swung upwards with a High Roller to gain some height, hit the demon a few more times with Red Queen, then shocked the snake with a blast of electricity from Overture. Furious, Gorgon lunged at Nero once more, hoping to swallow him whole. Just as the demon was about to close its maw around the devil hunter, two spectral arms shot out from Nero's hooves, grabbing the snake by its mouth and stopping it in its tracks. Nero used one of the spectral arms to grasp one of Gorgon's fangs before ripping it out, much to the demon's agony. Nero twirled the fang around before impaling it directly into one of Gorgon's eyes, making the creature howl in pain. This seemed to do enough damage to finally stun Gorgon, so Nero took the opportunity and grabbed the snake's tail with a pair of spectral arms. He spun around and around, gaining more and more momentum before finally releasing his grip on the snake, sending it flying straight into the Hell Gate. The Hell Gate itself cracked a bit from the impact, but still remained standing. With Gorgon dazed, Nero got into position and prepared himself for a Showdown, a spectral version of the Yamato appearing at his side. "Tide's turning..." He said before unsheathing the sword. "SHOWDOWN!!!" Nero unleashed countless rapid slashes, not only cutting through Gorgon, but slicing up the Hell Gate as well. For the final cut, Nero brought out Red Queen and swung both swords in an X formation. The Hell Gate crumbled to the ground as Nero's Devil Trigger wore off. Seeing that his job was done, he strode over to Gorgon, who was now too weak to move. "So, are you feeling a bit more talkative now?" Gorgon chuckled, though there was some obvious strain in its voice. "Heh... foolish pony. You think this will be enough to stop our master? This is a mere minor setback at most. There are plenty more Hell Gates being built across Equestria as we speak. Once they are finished, there will be no stopping the resurrection of our master." "Care to tell me who this master is, and why he needs Hell Gates in Equestria of all places?" Nero attempted to push for more information. "You are quite gullible to think I would tell you that, pony. Our master was once defeated by a carrier of Sparda's blood, but he will rise again, and he will have his revenge. That much I can promise you." Gorgon coughed a few more times before its life slowly faded away. Gorgon's corpse broke down into ashes that were blown away by the wind. As he watched the ashes fly away, Nero noticed something on the ground where Gorgon had been. Upon closer inspection, it looked like a rock covered in scales. Through the cracks in between the scales, there appeared to be glowing embers. If Nero had to guess, this was most likely a piece of Gorgon. During the Qliphoth incident, Nico had used the parts of bigger demons that Nero killed to make new Devil Breakers. He took the piece of Gorgon and stuffed it under his coat. Since Discord had been able to replicate the Devil Breakers, maybe he could do something with it. Nero digested what little info he had gotten from the demon. It seemed this wouldn't be the only Hell Gate that needed destroying. The devil hunter made a mental note to have Twilight send a letter to Celestia about this. That way, the princess could inform the citizens of Equestria to keep an eye out for the Hell Gates, alongside any demons they see. As for what Gorgon said about a 'carrier of Sparda's blood', he assumed the demon meant someone related to Sparda. He was aware that Dante had taken down quite a few big bad demons before, maybe it was one of them? If so, which one? Either way, standing around in the middle of a burning forest wasn't going to help him find the answer. It was about time he headed back, no need to keep Spike waiting any longer. He still needed to go pick up a gem for the baby dragon, anyway. I hope Spike doesn't care what kind I get. I wonder, do different kinds of gems taste differently, or do they all taste the same? The Next Day... As Nero made his way from the train station and back to Devil May Cry, he examined the gem he had gotten for Spike. It was a purple amethyst gem, the cheapest kind of gem available. It might sound like Nero was trying to skimp on Spike's reward by getting a cheaper gem like this, but that wasn't the case at all. In actuality, an amethyst was the only gem Nero could afford without going completely bankrupt. Unsurprisingly, gems were pretty expensive. Hope this is good enough for Spike. Eventually, Nero reached the doors of Devil May Cry and pushed them open. The first thing he saw was Spike sleeping in the chair behind the desk, a comic book covering his face as he snored. It wasn't too surprising to see the baby dragon asleep, considering it was early in the morning. A little after seven o' clock to be specific. With a chuckle, Nero walked behind the desk and gave the baby dragon a little shake. "C'mon, Spike, up and at 'em. I got your reward right here, if you want it." Spike began to stir, slowly starting to wake before shooting straight up in the seat. "H-Huh!? Why's it dark!?" Spike panicked. Nero levitated the comic book off of Spike's face, and the baby dragon blinked to let his eyes adjust to the light. He looked around to get his bearings before his gaze fell on Nero. "Oh, Nero, You're back." "Morning, squirt. I take it things went well?" Nero levitated the comic back to Spike. "Yup! No problems at all! I wrote down the addresses for all of the calls you got while you were away. Here!" Spike reached onto the desk and grabbed a scroll off of it. The baby dragon unfurled the scroll, and Nero's eyes went wide as he watched the parchment extend long enough to roll onto the floor and out the door. ...Just how many calls did I get? "Uh, you okay Nero?" Spike snapped his claws in front of Nero's face, bringing the devil hunter back to reality. "Huh? O-Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Just didn't think there would be... this much work." He gestured to the long scroll. "Anyway, I've got something for you." Spike's eyes sparkled and his mouth started dripping saliva as soon as Nero fished out the amethyst. It seemed the gem was still to the baby dragon's liking despite being cheaper. "Oh sweet!!! Thanks Nero!" Spike hopped out of the chair and eagerly made his way to the exit, intent on enjoying his reward. What Nero hadn't expected was for Spike to stop at the doorway and turn around, seemingly remembering something. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot! There's something I wanted to ask you." Nero raised an eyebrow, unsure of what Spike could possibly want to ask him of all people. He plopped himself down in his chair, leaned back, and put his hind legs up on the desk. "Alright then, shoot." He responded casually. Whatever Spike wanted to ask probably wasn't anything extreme. "Who's Discord?" Nero nearly fell out of his chair, completely caught off guard. What!? How did he know that name?! Where could he have heard it!? Nero managed to regain his balance before clearing his throat. "Where, uh... where exactly did you hear that name from?" He managed to ask. "Someone calling themself Discord called while you were gone to tell you about the demon at Galloping Gorge. He also said there was some 'special surprise' there that you would recognize. Do you know what he was talking about? He said he was a friend of yours, so I figured you would know." Spike clarified. Goddamnit, Discord. Could you have possibly picked a worse time to call me? "Uh, yeah, it's nothing you need to worry about. Just forget you heard about it, okay? Don't worry, it's nothing important." Nero did his best to give a reassuring smile. Spike looked skeptical, but eventually shrugged. The baby dragon left, closing the door behind him. Nero waited a few seconds before letting out a sigh of relief. Great. Even if Spike doesn't know about Discord, he's definitely suspicious now. Hope this doesn't come back to bite me in the ass. Anyway, speaking of Discord... "Hey Discord, you there? Got a couple things we need to talk about." Nero called out. It only took a couple seconds before the draconequus appeared before him. Nero didn't even bother saying anything to Discord, simply raising an eyebrow as he waited for an explanation. "Oh, come on, it was an accident! How was I supposed to know you had already left for Galloping Gorge!?" Discord defended himself. "Didn't you say you would be keeping an eye on things? How could you not know!?" "I was busy with personal things, for your information! I do have a life outside of you, I'll have you know!" Discord pointed a finger at Nero. The devil hunter simply groaned and slumped back in his chair. "...Fine, whatever. There's still something else I wanted to ask you about." Nero reached into his coat and pulled out the piece of Gorgon. "I was wondering if you could make a new Devil Breaker out of this." "Oh, I'm afraid that's out of my skillset. While I was able to replicate Ms. Goldstein's design with your current Devil Breakers, creating entirely new ones is not something I'm capable of. I'm afraid my hands are tied on this matter." He explained, his hands literally twisting around and tying themselves into a knot. "Seriously? There's nothing you can do?" Nero sighed. "And here I was thinking I could get a new toy to work with." "...Tell you what, I'll look into it and try to come up with something, perhaps an alternative solution." "You've got an idea?" Nero perked up again, a little hopeful. "Not yet, but I'll get brainstorming. Until then, I bid you good luck on your future endeavors." Discord snapped his fingers and disappeared again. Now alone, Nero put the Gorgon piece into one of his desk drawers before taking a look over the comically long list Spike had made. At least I'll be keeping busy while I wait.