The sun was shining in the mid-morning sky, bathing the town of Ponyville in warm sunlight. Yet another long, sleepless night of demon hunting had finally come to an end for Nero. He dragged his hooves through Ponyville before reaching the Devil May Cry shop, feeling nothing but immense exhaustion. For the other residents of Ponyville, it was time for everypony to already be up and ready for the day, but not for Nero. For him, it was finally time to turn in.
Man, why couldn't I have been born with Dante and Vergil's stamina? They wouldn't be having this problem...
While Nero always referred to himself as half-demon, this wasn't technically the case. Dante and Vergil had a demon father and a human mother, making them both 50% demon and 50% human. Nero, on the other hand, was a different story. His father, Vergil, was a half-demon while his mother was human. This meant Nero was technically 75% human and only 25% demon. While being a descendant of the Legendary Dark Knight Sparda made him extremely powerful, especially compared to most demons, he didn't have all the same capabilities as Dante and Vergil. One of those capabilities included being able to stay awake for days without growing exhausted. It was most likely how Dante was able to run his demon hunting business 24/7 without getting tired.
Opening the doors to the shop, he tossed Red Queen and Blue Rose to the side, made his way upstairs and to his bedroom, then plopped down in his bed. He felt a wave of relief wash over him as soon as he felt the comfort of his pillow. Slowly, he closed his eyes and let the sweet embrace of sleep overtake him...
...
...
"NEEEEEERROOOOOOOOO!!!!! WAAAAAAAKE UUUUUUUPP!!!!!"
He didn't jolt awake. He wasn't even surprised. Nero slowly opened his eyes, a frown present on his face, and casually got out of bed. He ignored the incredibly pink pony that had climbed onto his bed and yelled in his ears, instead heading back downstairs and making his way towards the front entrance. He figured since he wasn't going to be getting any sleep, he might as well head out and grab some coffee to wake himself up.
"NERO! You need to be careful! I was walking by your shop when my tail started a-twitch-a-twitchin'! I came in here to warn you before it was too late!" Pinkie exclaimed, sounding more frantic and worried than usual.
"Uh huh. Sure thing, Pinkie." Nero didn't even glance in her direction. He liked Pinkie Pie, he really did, but dealing with her antics after a long, sleepless night was just too much for him.
"I'm serious! You know what a twitchy tail means, right!?" She ran in front of him, blocking him off from the exit.
"Can't say I do, Pinkie." Nero gave her a tired look, not really in the mood for this. He did, however, finally notice that Pinkie was wearing some sort of rainbow-colored umbrella hat. The odd fashion choice made him raise an eyebrow.
"A twitchy tail means my Pinkie Sense is telling me something is about to fall! You need to take cover!" Pinkie got up close and personal, invading his personal space.
"What, is today the day cows start falling from the sky? I'll take my chances, thanks." He chuckled as he weaved around Pinkie and continued towards the exit, pushing the double doors open.
'Pinkie Sense'? That's a new one. I'll admit that Pinkie's a strange pony of many talents, but having a sixth sense that can predict the future seems a little-
Nero's thought was cut off as something smashed over the top of his head the second he exited the shop. By the feel of it, he could tell that whatever had hit him would cause serious injury to any average human or pony, like a concussion or maybe worse. Due to being part-demon, the worst he would get was a sore spot on his head for about five seconds, so he didn't have to worry too much. Still hurt like a bitch, though.
"OW!!! Son of a-!" He turned to see the source of his pain and saw a familiar neon sign on the ground. The blue 'Devil May Cry' neon sign that normally hung above the door to his shop had fallen and crashed onto the devil hunter's head. The impact had caused the sign to snap in half, and the fluorescent light was completely dead.
What the hell...?
"Nero! Are you okay!?" Pinkie came running out of the shop, having seen what happened.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Nothing serious." He reassured her, and she let out a breath of relief.
"Oh, thank goodness! See? I told you, twitchy tail means something is gonna fall!"
"...So you did." The devil hunter stared at the broken sign in bewilderment. Pinkie had predicted something would fall, and her prediction came true seconds later. Was her 'Pinkie Sense' actually real, or was it just a coincidence? It wasn't too hard to believe it was real, he'd seen weirder things in his life. Plus, Pinkie was already strange enough as it was. A weird sixth sense ability in the form of a twitchy tail didn't seem too out of place for her.
"Welp, my tail stopped twitching, so it should be alright now. See ya later, Nero!" Pinkie waved goodbye as she hopped away.
"See ya." Nero replied as he stared at his broken sign, realizing he would have to pay for a new one that he couldn't afford. As if his morning wasn't off to a bad enough start as it was. His horn lit up as he levitated the broken sign and carried it to the trash can sitting outside the shop. A trash pony could come collect it later.
"Yeesh, that doesn't look good." Nero looked up when he heard a familiar tomboyish voice from overhead. Rainbow Dash flapped her wings not too far above him, hovering in place. It seemed she'd been flying by when she noticed him throwing out the sign. "How'd that happen?"
"Wish I could tell you. I walked out of my shop, and it just fell and hit me on the head." He answered, and Rainbow's eyes widened.
"Whoa, what!? Are you hurt?!" She landed on the ground, concern spread across her face.
"Nah, I'm all good. It'll take a lot more than that to hurt me seriously." He boasted as he wrestled with the sign, attempting to get it to fit inside the trash can. This was difficult due to the sign being bigger than the trash can itself. "You wanna know the weird part? A few seconds before it fell on me, Pinkie predicted something would fall. Said her 'Pinkie Sense' warned her about it."
"I'm guessing it was a twitchy tail, right?" Rainbow asked. It seemed she was familiar with the Pinkie Sense. A couple seconds later, something seemed to click in Rainbow's brain as her eyes widened in horror. "W-Wait, her tail wasn't still twitching, was it!? Is something else gonna fall!?!" Rainbow immediately grabbed the lid from his trash can and held it over her head, hoping to shield herself from any potential falling things.
Nero blinked, bewildered by her reaction. "Uh, no, she said her tail stopped twitching. It should be safe now."
"O-Oh..." Once she realized there was no danger of falling objects, she realized how she'd reacted and chuckled nervously out of embarrassment, passing the trash can lid back to the devil hunter.
"So, is this 'Pinkie Sense' thing real then? You clearly seem to believe it." Nero finally managed to squeeze the sign into the can, which looked like it could barely contain it, before placing the lid on top.
"As far as I can tell, yeah, it's real. Pretty much anypony that's lived in Ponyville long enough believes it. It doesn't really make much sense, but whenever her Pinkie Sense acts up, her predictions always come true. As Applejack would say..." Rainbow cleared her throat before doing her best Applejack impression. "If Pinkie's a twitchin', ya better listen."
"...That was actually a really good impression of Applejack." Nero complimented.
"I know, right? What's even funnier, AJ can do a spot-on impression of me, too!" Rainbow chuckled.
Huh, neat.
"So, can her Pinkie Sense predict things other than when something falls?" Nero's curiosity had officially been piqued.
"Oh yeah, there's tons of different feelings that she gets, I can't even remember them all. I think when her knee gets pinchy, it means something scary is about to happen, or when her nose is itching, it means a swarm of bees is nearby. There's also ones she calls 'combos', where she gets a few feelings in a certain order." Rainbow explained.
"Huh... Alright then, I'll be sure to keep an eye out the next time I see Pinkie acting up."
"Sounds good. Anyway, I came up with a new move I've been meaning to practice, so I'll catch you later." After giving their farewells, Rainbow took to the sky and flew away.
Keep an eye out for Pinkie's Pinkie Sense, noted. Now, where was I?
As if on cue, Nero let out a yawn.
Ah, that's right. Coffee, the cure for tiredness.
Later that day, after acquiring some caffeine and rejuvenating himself, Nero went around town looking for work. He did a couple of small odd jobs here and there, but not much. Eventually, instead of finding more work, he found Twilight and Spike hiding in a bush, spying on Pinkie Pie. While Spike looked normal, Twilight was wearing a pith helmet as she stared at Pinkie through a pair of binoculars, watching the pink pony as if she were some sort of strange creature. The pink mare in question was prancing around, enjoying the scenery, smelling the flowers, being mesmerized by passing butterflies, and basically just being happy in general.
This oughta be good...
He silently crept up next to them, just barely staying out of view, before speaking up. "...Whatcha looking at?"
"GAH!!!" Both Twilight and Spike practically jumped out of their skin before turning to see the devil hunter standing next to them. "Nero!? Ugh, first Spike and now you?! Doesn't anypony know not to sneak up on other ponies!?!" Twilight groaned.
"Says the mare currently stalking another pony." Nero replied sarcastically.
"I'm not stalking her!" Twilight pushed some of the branches in the bush aside and stuck her binoculars through so she could get a good view of Pinkie. "Like I just told Spike, I'm observing Pinkie Pie in her natural habitat for scientific research. Her scientific name: Pinkius Pieacus."
Oh boy, today's gonna be an interesting one, isn't it?
Welp, Nero was already involved now, so he might as well find out what sort of shenanigans he was in for. "And why exactly are you doing this 'research'?"
"Are you familiar with Pinkie's so called 'Pinkie Sense'?" Twilight asked, not even taking her eyes off the binoculars.
Nero nodded, "Yeah, I saw it in action just this morning."
"It's really cool, right? I can't believe Pinkie can predict the future!" Spike added.
"No, she can't! There isn't any rhyme or reason as to how her 'Pinkie Sense' works, it just doesn't make any logical sense! I think there's something fishy about it, and I'm going to get to the bottom of it." Twilight declared just as Pinkie started to hop away. "Quick, c'mon. Pinkius Pieacus is on the move!" Twilight was so dedicated to staying hidden that she lifted up the bush and carried it with her as she followed Pinkie, staying a good enough distance not to get spotted. Spike tried to assist, but his shorter height meant he couldn't reach the ground, and his legs dangled underneath the bush as a result. Nero casually followed behind, not even bothering to try and keep out of sight.
So this is about her Pinkie Sense, huh? Well, I guess I'm a little curious about it myself. Might as well tag along for now.
The trio had followed Pinkie to the schoolhouse, where she rolled around in the playground's dirt and hummed a tune to herself, smiling all the while. Twilight continued to watch Pinkie through her binoculars while Spike sat next to her with a notepad, ready to take any notes they might need. Eventually, the smile on Pinkie's face disappeared when the pink pony stood up and started scratching her nose.
If I remember correctly, Rainbow Dash said an itchy nose means a swarm of bees is nearby, better keep an eye out. Also, is this what Pinkie normally does all day? She just wanders around and does whatever? Must be nice to live in bliss and not have to pay any bills...
"Hmm, itchy nose..." Twilight said, and Spike jotted it down on the notepad. Most likely spooked by the potential nearby swarm of bees, Pinkie scanned the sky fearfully before running for cover.
"Aha! That makes no sense! See? She's hiding like something's about to fall from the sky, but a twitchy tail means something's gonna fall from the sky, not an itchy nose." While Twilight was busy bragging about 'being right', both Nero and Spike noticed the predicted swarm of bees flying overhead. Unfortunately for Twilight, her back was turned to them, so she hadn't noticed. "This proves, perhaps conclusively, that-"
"Yeah that's great and all, Twilight, but you might wanna move." Nero cut her off as he grabbed her by the hoof and pulled her behind him. Just as the bees started to close in, Nero summoned his spectral devil bringer arm, as well as the two spectral wings that sprouted from his back, to make himself look intimidating. The swarm of bees quickly flew in the opposite direction out of fear.
"Buzz off, will ya?" The spectral arm and wings faded away as Nero turned to face Twilight. "Something tells me 'itchy nose' means 'look out for incoming swarm of bees'. Still think her Pinkie Sense isn't real?"
"...That was just a coincidence. There's still no scientific proof or explanation as to how her Pinkie Sense works, so there's no way it could be real." Twilight argued.
"Yeah, because nothing says 'scientific' like casting magic spells." Nero chuckled, gesturing to Twilight's horn. He kinda regretted it a second later when he saw Twilight's reaction. She almost looked offended by his words.
"Magic is not just some unexplainable phenomenon. Magic is something you study, learn, and practice. It only happens when you choose for it to happen, it doesn't have a mind of its own. And when you do use magic, you aren't getting a random, unexpected result. You cast a specific spell with an intended result. Pinkie's 'Pinkie Sense' doesn't follow any sort of logic like that, it just happens randomly. It doesn't make any sense!"
"Then... maybe that's all there is to it?" Nero suggested.
"What?" Twilight threw up an eyebrow, not following what he meant.
"Maybe there isn't an explanation to how Pinkie's Pinkie Sense works. Maybe it just... happens. There are some things that just can't be explained, and this might be one of them."
Twilight blinked, staring at the devil hunter in disbelief. "Wha-!? But-! NO! That can't be the case! Everything has an explanation for how and why it happens! If they didn't, then nothing would make sense!"
"If you insist, then I won't push it. Just don't be disappointed if you can't find any explanation for how her Pinkie Sense works." With that, Nero turned and started to leave. "Anyway, as interesting as this is, I've gotta go look for more work. Apparently, I need to start saving up cash for a new neon sign. Good luck with your research, I guess." He then paid a glance to where Pinkie Pie was, only to see her hopping away already. "By the way, you might wanna hurry if you wanna catch up with her."
Twilight's eyes widened when she realized the rare and mysterious 'Pinkius Pieacus' was getting away. She swiftly levitated both Spike and the bush up before carrying them with her, galloping after Pinkie. "Quick! Before we lose her!"
Nero simply rolled his eyes and chuckled as he watched her go. He turned on his hoof and left in the opposite direction.
Welp, now that that's done, where can I find some work? Maybe AJ's got something I can help with...
It turned out that Applejack did, in fact, have something for Nero to do. She had just gotten a new apple cellar just outside the barn at Sweet Apple Acres. At the moment, she was moving baskets of apples from the orchard all the way to the cellar. When Nero offered a helping hand (or in this case, a hoof) she happily accepted.
They'd been working for a while now and were currently dropping some more baskets off in the cellar. As they placed the most recent batch of baskets down, Applejack wiped the sweat from her brow. "Phew! Thank ya kindly for helpin' out again, Nero."
"Don't mention it. I'm happy to help." Nero took another look at the cellar itself. The walls were made of stone bricks, held in place by wooden supports. Overall, the cellar was rather spacious. Other than the several baskets of apples, it didn't have much else inside.
"How 'bout we take a quick break? We've been at it for a while now, and Granny Smith said she's makin' some apple fritters for us." Applejack suggested, the two of them making their way towards the stairs that led out of the cellar.
"Sounds good, can't wait to try-" Nero opened the cellar door, and before he could finish his sentence, a familiar purple unicorn fell through the entrance with a yelp. Twilight smashed into the devil hunter, sending them both tumbling down the steps and back down into the cellar. Nero's durability kept him from being hurt, so all he did was let out an annoyed sigh. Twilight, on the other hand, hadn't fared as well as him, now having many new bumps and bruises.
"Twilight! Ya came to visit my new apple cellar, how nice!" Applejack was rather enthusiastic about Twilight's surprise visit. Her enthusiasm slowly faded away, however, when she noticed her friend wasn't moving. "Twi? You okay? Uh, Twi?"
The only response Twilight gave was a groan that was a mixture of annoyance and pain. Nero stood up and dusted himself off before helping Twilight get back to her own hooves, though she had a noticeable limp now. She was probably gonna need to go see a doctor and get patched up.
"Twilight!? Are you okay!?" Spike's voice could be heard from outside the cellar, clear concern in it.
"She's pretty banged up, but as far as I can tell, nothing too serious. She might need to see a doctor, though." Nero called back to the baby dragon.
"I'm fine." Twilight grumbled before limping back up the steps. Nero and Applejack followed her, greeted with sunlight that hadn't been present in the cellar. Before Nero could even ask what Twilight was doing at Sweet Apple Acres, he spotted a familiar pink pony nearby, currently hopping away with a smile on her face. It didn't take him long to put two and two together. "C-Come on, Spike. We need to c-catch up with her." Twilight winced.
"I think we should get you to a doctor first." Spike suggested, helping Twilight walk. He waved goodbye to Nero and Applejack as he and Twilight left the farm for the nearest hospital.
"What the hay was that about?" Applejack turned to Nero, an eyebrow raised.
"She's been studying Pinkie to try and learn more about her Pinkie Sense and how it works. Apparently, 'it just happens' isn't a good enough explanation for her." He explained.
"She's still on about that? I tried explainin' it to her this mornin', but she wasn't havin' any of it then, either. Give her time, I'm sure she'll come around."
Nero looked back in the direction Twilight and Spike had left in. "I hope so. If she keeps this up, her visits to the hospital might start getting more frequent."
After enjoying Granny Smith's delicious apple fritters, Nero and Applejack got back to work, returning to the orchard and filling more baskets with apples. As they followed the path back to the farm, they ran into Pinkie Pie on the way. She was sitting in the middle of a crossroads on the dirt path, humming a tune and twiddling her tongue for... some reason. Nero suspected that Twilight was nearby, probably watching them through a pair of binoculars.
"Hey Applejack! Hey Nero! Watcha doin'?" The party pony greeted the pair as soon as they got close.
"We're takin' more apples to my new apple cellar. How 'bout you, Pinkie? Whatchoo doin'?"
"Oh, letting Twilight secretly follow me all day without me knowing." She said with a smile.
Of course she knew the whole time...
"You mean you knew all along!?" Twilight emerged from a nearby bush, covered in even more injuries since the last time they saw her. "Why didn't you tell me?!"
"Hehe! Silly, that would've spoiled the secret!" Pinkie giggled. While Pinkie looked rather pleased, Twilight looked like she was about to blow a gasket.
"T-Tail... still twitching?" Spike peeked out from behind Twilight, worried that something else might fall from the sky today.
"All done. Clear skies from here on in, as far as I can tell-W-W-W-H-O-O-O-A-A!!!" The exact second Pinkie finished her sentence, her entire body began shuddering uncontrollably on the spot. After she finally finished shaking, everyone present stared at Pinkie with wide eyes, including Pinkie herself.
"Oh no! What does that one mean!?" Spike hid behind Twilight again out of fear.
"I-... I don't know! I've never gotten any like it before... but whatever that shudder's about, it's a doozy! Something you never expect to happen is gonna happen!" Pinkie explained the feeling she was getting, and everyone's reactions were mixed. Applejack and Spike both looked nervous about what this could mean, the latter even more so to the point his teeth were chattering. Twilight gave a deadpan look, merely raising a disbelieving eyebrow. Nero's expression hardened, preparing himself for the worst-case scenario. Could it be a demon attack?
"Whatever's gonna happen, is it happening right here?" Nero asked as his horn glowed, ready to levitate Red Queen off of his back at a moment's notice.
"No, I think it's gonna happen somewhere else. Whatever's gonna happen, it's gonna happen at..." Pinkie started to focus before her whole body started shuddering again. When the shuddering stopped, her eyes widened. "...at Froggy Bottom Bog!"
Applejack let out a gasp. "That's where Fluttershy's headed!"
"Huh? Why's she headed there?" Nero turned to AJ.
"She said the pond was gettin' overpopulated, so she's flyin' a bunch of 'em over to Froggy Bottom Bog, where they'd all have more space." The farm pony explained as she turned towards the path leading to the bog. "Come on, y'all! We'd better go and make sure she's okay!"
"Oh calm down, everypony. All we know right now is that Pinkie Pie just got a case of the shivers. That's all." Twilight gave a more logical explanation for Pinkie's shuddering... only to realize everyone else had already run off, heading for Boggy Bottom Bog. She sighed before galloping after them. When she finally caught up with them, she noticed Spike was starting to lag behind, having fewer, stubbier legs than the rest of them. She grabbed him as she ran by and placed him onto her back, letting him ride on top of her.
"Hey, I thought you didn't believe in this stuff?" Spike questioned her tagging along.
"I don't. I just wanna be there to see the look on Pinkie's face when we find out nothing's wrong." Twilight said with a smug grin.
"Okey-dokey!" Pinkie smiled innocently. Nero looked back at the exchange as he ran in front, rolling his eyes.
"Don't bother waitin' for us, Nero! If ya can get to Fluttershy faster, then do it!" Applejack pulled his attention away from Twilight and Pinkie. He gave the farm pony a nod and started running at his full demonic speed, passing the tree line and entering the swamp that contained Froggy Bottom Bog.
I just hope Fluttershy's safe, and that whatever's gonna happen doesn't happen until I get there...
The ambient noises of birds chirping, owls hooting, frogs croaking, and flies buzzing filled Nero's ears as he raced through the swamp. Nero had to slow his pace somewhat as he galloped through the swamp, so as not to pass by Fluttershy without noticing her. Even then, he was moving faster than the average pony could. He could feel mud and grime sticking to his hooves as he ran, but that wasn't his biggest concern right now.
"FLUTTERSHY!? IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, SAY SOMETHING!" The devil hunter called out for her. He couldn't feel the presence of any demons nearby, not yet anyway, but he was still on edge. There was no telling what might happen if even Pinkie's Pinkie Sense couldn't predict exactly what it would be. For all he knew, it might not even be a demon. Equestria had its own fair share of hostile creatures. Any one of them could be a potential threat to Fluttershy's safety.
Then again... maybe there was no threat? Pinkie only said that something unexpected would happen at Froggy Bottom Bog, and unexpected doesn't necessarily mean bad. Maybe whatever's gonna happen will actually be a good thing?
...Psh. Yeah, and maybe Santa Claus is real. Knowing my luck, it's definitely something bad.
"FLUTTERSHY!? FLUTTERSHY!?! FLUTTER-" Nero skidded to a halt when he spotted a pair of frogs, just barely having avoided stepping on them by accident. At first, he didn't pay them much mind, but after a second, an idea popped into his head. Applejack had mentioned Fluttershy came her to drop off some frogs... maybe these two were with those same frogs? He leaned down to get at a closer level with the frogs. "Uh, hey fellas. You wouldn't happen to know where Fluttershy is, would you? Pegasus, pale yellow fur, long pink mane, about yay high?"
Nero's question was left unanswered as the frogs did a 180 and started hopping away from the half-demon out of fear. It seems his charm with animals was still non-existent. Just as Nero was about to try calling out for Fluttershy again, another thought occured to him.
Wait... animals see Fluttershy as a source of comfort, right? If they're scared of me... then they'd probably seek her out for protection! I just gotta follow them, and they'll lead me straight to her!
With a plan in mind, Nero gave chase after the frogs... which quickly turned out to be much easier done than said. The frogs weren't able to hop very fast, not by Nero's standards at least, which meant he was forced to follow them at a slow trot. While this made following them extremely easy, it did nothing to help his anxiousness. Every second wasted looking for Fluttershy was a second she could be in danger.
After some time, Nero followed the frogs to a large murky lake. He scanned the entire lake before spotting Fluttershy off to one side, releasing more frogs into the wild. He sprinted over to her in a heartbeat and called out to her to get her attention. "FLUTTERSHY!"
The shy pegasus turned her head in the direction of Nero's voice, surprised to see the devil hunter here. "Nero?"
"Are you okay? You're not hurt or anything, are you?"
"Uh... no, why would I be?" She asked, understandably confused.
"Hopefully it isn't anything to worry about, but Pinkie's Pinkie Sense was going nuts earlier. She said something unexpected would happen at Froggy Bottom Bog." He quickly explained.
"P-Pinkie Sense!? Is something bad going to happen!?!" She recoiled in fear, a look of panic spreading across her face.
"Hopefully not, but I think we should leave before anything does." As soon as he turned around to lead her out of the forest, he saw a few familiar faces approaching. It seemed that Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Twilight, and Spike had all managed to catch up.
"Fluttershy! You're okay!" Spike leapt over and wrapped his arms around the shy pegasus, embracing her in a hug.
"Whew! What a relief..." Applejack let out a relieved sigh.
"I'm so glad everything's alright!" Pinkie smiled.
Unfortunately, the relief ended there as Twilight began to brag. "I'm sorry, I know it's not nice to gloat but... AH HA!"
Oh boy, here we go.
"I told you there was nothing to worry about, and I was right!" Twilight wore a smug smile on her face as she continued. Meanwhile, just barely in his peripheral, Nero noticed some movement in the water. At the same time, a foggy mist slowly began to surround the group. The devil hunter started to get a familiar feeling, and not a good one. "Pinkie Pie said whatever she was shuddering about was a- *cough! cough!* doozy, and the only- *cough! cough!* doozy here is how right I am!" Twilight, along with everyone else, started coughing as the mist grew thicker. It was then that Nero saw the movement again, only this time it was behind Twilight.
A large, scaley creature with a snake-like neck began to emerge from beneath the water behind Twilight, who was completely oblivious to it. After it, three more slowly sprouted out next to it, all four of them towering over the group. Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Spike all looked up at the creature in horror, and Nero levitated Red Queen off his back. Twilight, somehow, was still oblivious, and kept going with her rant.
"Uh, Twilight?" Nero tried to get her attention, but she wasn't listening.
"Pinkie's made a lot of predictions today, but- *cough! cough!* ugh, what is that smell?!" Twilight wafted some of the mist out of her face, not that it did much. Meanwhile, the necks had emerged out of the water enough for Nero to see that they were all connected to a single body. "But what we've shown here is that there is no point in believing *cough!* in anything you can't see for yourself!"
"Oh yeah? Then how about you see what's behind you?" Nero pointed a hoof over Twilight's shoulder. He watched her turn around, then look upwards at the top of the long, scaly necks to see the serpent-like heads that sat on top, each one sporting very sharp fangs. The glowing red eyes on each head confirmed Nero was right about the feeling he was getting.
It was another creature possessed by demon blood.
He could see Twilight's ears flop down as she took in the horrifying sight. She stepped back from the beast, joining the rest of the group behind Nero.
"IS THAT A HYDRA!?!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"Everyone start running, I'll take care of it!" Nero ordered, and the group all listened as they turned around and started sprinting in the opposite direction. Nero then turned his attention back to the hydra, which had started to fully climb out of the murky water, revealing a large, scaly body with four legs and a spiked tail on the end. "Y'know, I've heard that two heads are better than one, but four seems like overkill, don't you think?"
One of the hydra's heads shot towards Nero in an attempt to eat him, and he simply flipped out of the way. "Whoa, hey, I'm not judging or anything. Just giving my two cents, that's all." Two more heads tried to snack on him, and he swiftly dodged both. "Alright, now you're just being rude."
All four heads on the Hydra let out a collective monstrous roar, glaring down at the devil hunter. Nero simply smirked, "Okay then, if that's how you wanna settle this, then be my guest." Nero twirled Red Queen before stabbing it into the ground and revving the handle. "I'll try to go easy on you, but no promises."
Pulling Red Queen out of the ground, Nero backflipped away as the hydra tried to chomp him again, this time swiping his sword at the creature's face mid-flip. The hydra let out a roar of pain as it recoiled from the strike, and Nero took the opportunity to put some distance between them. Standing in the middle of the bog didn't give him much space to work with since most of it was water, so he needed to take the fight somewhere else. Dodging another chomp from the Hydra, Nero started running back into the forest, leading the Hydra away from the bog. He fired several rounds from Blue Rose as he ran, angering the giant beast as it gave chase. Eventually, he reached a mostly clear area with only a few trees surrounding them.
Alright, this looks like a good spot. Let's do this!
Turning back around to face the Hydra, Nero took a fighting stance as he waited for it to attack again. All four heads shot at him like rockets, their maws opened wide and ready to chomp. He ducked, flipped, and evaded every bite with ease, taking every opportunity he could to counterattack with his sword while occasionally attacking with his devil breakers to spice things up. For extra damage, he would rev his sword mid-swing to perform an EX-Act, adding flames to each attack.
"C'mon, is this the best you got? Can't say I'm impressed..."
With each strike that landed, the Hydra would let out a small roar of pain as it continued its onslaught of attacks, simultaneously swiping its tail at the demon hunter while also trying to swallow him whole. As the Hydra's attacks started to become faster and more vicious, Nero started using his Gerbera devil breaker to help him evade. As two of the heads speared towards him from opposite directions, he used the devil breaker to blast himself backwards at the last second, letting both heads smash face first into each other.
While the Hydra was stunned, Nero activated his Devil Bringer, summoning a spectral arm from his right hoof, and grabbed a nearby tree. With his immense strength, he ripped the tree out from the ground before smashing it across one of the Hydra's heads like a baseball bat, causing the tree to break. A second spectral arm sprouted out from his left hoof, then two more came from his horn, and he used all of them to grab the Hydra by its four necks. First, he smashed all four heads together three times in a row, making the creature dizzy beyond belief. Next, straining with some effort, Nero lifted the beast up before throwing it over his shoulder, slamming it into the ground hard enough to leave a small crater. Then, he clamped all four spectral arms into fists before smashing them down onto the Hydra's heads like a hammer. Finally, he grabbed the Hydra yet again, spun around a few times, and threw it into the air, sending it flying over the trees before it crashed into the ground.
No doubt that did a lot of damage.
A second later, the Hydra bellowed in anger as it charged through the trees, heading straight for Nero.
But apparently not enough.
"BRING IT ON!!!" Nero yelled as he activated his Devil Trigger, his body transforming. He began shooting at the Hydra as it approached, summoned spectral swords flying at the beast in sync with the shots from Blue Rose. When the Hydra finally reached the devil hunter, it tried attacking again, only for Nero to avoid each one. He sliced at the Hydra with his sword, the claws on his spectral wings adding to the damage done. It eventually became too much for the Hydra to handle as it stumbled back, dazed and barely able to stand. "I think it's just about time for the finale!"
A spectral Yamato appeared at Nero's side as he took a stance, readying himself. "Tide's turning..." He unsheathed the spectral Yamato, wielding it at the same time as Red Queen, and delivered several slashes and strikes onto the beast. "SHOWDOWN!" The force of the attack knocked the Hydra backwards, causing it to fall on its back. Nero felt the presence of demonic energy leaving as the fight came to an end, signifying the Hydra was no longer possessed by demon blood. By the look of it, the Hydra appeared to be unconscious, but still alive.
Good. Now to catch back up with the others.
With that, Nero turned around and headed back towards Froggy Bottom Bog to find out where the rest of the group ran off to.
Eventually, Nero managed to catch up with Twilight, Spike, Applejack, and Fluttershy, finding them on the other side of a large gap. A few natural stone columns stood in the middle of the gap, allowing Nero to hop across to them. "Glad to see you're all safe. The Hydra's been taken care of."
"Phew! What a relief..." AJ sighed.
"I don't know how it happened; coincidence, dumb luck, or what, but you said there'd be a doozy at Froggy Bottom Bog, Pinkie Pie, and I'd say we just had ourselves one heck of a doozy!" Twilight admitted.
"Finally starting to believe in the Pinkie Sense, huh?" Nero chuckled. Just as Twilight opened her mouth to respond, Pinkie Pie's whole body started shuttering again, grabbing everyone's attention.
"...That wasn't it." Pinkie simply said.
"What wasn't what?" Spike asked.
"What are ya talkin' about, Pink?" AJ also asked.
"The Hydra wasn't the doozy. I'm still getting the shudders!" Pinkie answered as her body continued to shiver and shake. "Y'see? There it is again! Whatever the doozy was at Froggy Bottom Bog, my Pinkie Sense says it still hasn't happened."
Nero paid a glance over to Twilight, watching her face go through several different emotions as she processed the new information. "H-Huh? But I-... WHAT!?!"
Uh oh...
"The Hydra... wasn't... the doozy? How... could it not be... the doozy?! What could be doozier than that!?!" Twilight's eye started to twitch as she was quickly reaching her breaking point.
"Dunno, but it just wasn't it." Pinkie shrugged.
Twilight began fuming through grit teeth. Her anger and frustration boiled to the point that flames sprouted from her mane and tail, her eyes turning red. After a few seconds, she let out all of her rage with a sigh, causing her mane, tail, and eyes to revert back to normal. "I give up..." she relented as she collapsed to the ground.
The hell was that just now? Could she always do that?
"Give what up, Twi?" Spike asked as he walked up to her.
"The fight. I can't fight it anymore." She sighed before continuing. "I don't understand how, why, or what, but Pinkie Sense somehow... makes sense. I don't see how it does, but it just does. Just because I don't understand doesn't mean it's not true."
"Y-Y-You mean you B-B-B-Believe?" Pinkie asked as her body continued to shudder.
"...Yup. I guess I do." Twilight answered tiredly.
As a reaction to her answer, Pinkie's body started shaking even more violently before it started moving about chaotically. Her body contracted, expanded, shrunk, inflated, and bounced up and down before suddenly, all motion in Pinkie's body ceased. Pinkie blinked, giving herself a once over as she noticed the shudders were gone, before letting out a gasp. "That was it! That's the doozy!"
Everyone stared at Pinkie as if she'd just grown a second head, glancing between each other to see if someone else had understood what she meant. Eventually, Twilight asked the question on everybody's mind. "What? What's the doozy?"
"You believing! I never expected that to happen!" Pinkie pointed at Twilight. "That was the doozy! Oh, and what a doozy of a doozy it was! La-La-La-La-La~!" Pinkie started prancing away in the direction back to Ponyville, humming a tune to herself the entire time. Meanwhile, Twilight was left standing as she stared blankly ahead, digesting what just happened.
"...Huh." Was the only response she could come up with.
"...Well, I guess that means everything's settled now. What's say we head back, huh?" Applejack suggested.
"Sounds like a great idea. There's a comfy bed calling my name..." Nero yawned, the effects of his coffee starting to wear off. Together, the group followed Pinkie as they made their way back to Ponyville.
The next day, after Nero had finally gotten some much needed sleep, he went out to buy a brand-new neon sign to replace the old one. The new sign looked identical to the previous one, so much so that you wouldn't even know it had been replaced unless someone told you. After finally having gotten it into place above Devil May Cry's entrance, he took a step back to admire it. "Back in business." Nero said to himself.
"Wow! It looks good as new!" Nero looked over his shoulder at the sound of Pinkie's voice. She was wearing that rainbow-colored umbrella hat he'd seen her wearing yesterday morning. What really surprised him was that Twilight was standing next to her, wearing an identical umbrella hat.
"Thanks, but... what's with the weird fashion choice?" The half-demon pointed to their hats.
"Pinkie's tail is twitching. Better to be prepared, right?" Twilight pointed to Pinkie's tail, which was indeed twitching.
"Heh, yeah, I guess so. Glad to see you finally understand some things can't be explained." Nero chuckled.
"You're right. I understand now that there are some things in this world that you can't explain, but that doesn't necessarily make them any less true. You just have to choose to believe in them, and sometimes..." Twilight shifted her gaze to Pinkie, "...It takes a friend to show you the way."
Nero smiled. "That's good to hear. Welp, I'll keep my eyes upwards just in case something does fall."
"Sounds good! See ya later, Nero!" Pinkie waved goodbye as she and Twilight continued on their way. Once they left, Nero turned his attention back to the new neon sign. Remembering that Pinkie's tail was twitching, a thought occurred to him...
"...Don't you dare." Nero glared at the sign with suspicion.