At ten years old, Applejack had easily started to grow into herself, becoming much more physically fit than when she was younger. While she wasn't visibly muscled as one might expect, the demon blood that now ran in her veins made her a much stronger pony than she looked. What muscles were visible under her coat were well toned without being bulging. Her coat glowed with her health, and her mane and tail always flowed neatly, save when they were tied into her preferred ponytail style.
Unlike her father, she always went everywhere fully armed. While she could fight without her Devil Arms, she liked having them close, since it was far easier to wield them than to wield her Devil Trigger, should she be surprised by any demonic incursion. Beowulf garbed her four legs, and Nevan was strapped to her back just over the barrel holster where Artemis hung on her right side. Cerberus was woven into her tail, the ring in the hairband with the three heads braided up towards her rump, holding themselves there so that they could leap free easily should battle begin. Her father had joked that it was like Cerberus was constantly sniffing her rear. She had countered back that that's what puppies did.
Today, Applejack lounged on the desk in the main office. They closed up shop at 9, and Dante was out on a food run. Applejack intended to cook dinner tonight, but a lack of fresh ingredients - plus a rather late running minor demonic incursion - had necessitated Dante's grocery run at this hour. "Ya need to work on having yer nose working in weapon form, Cerberus," she complained dryly. "It should not have taken us six hours to track down a demon possessed rat that was spreadin' sickness to the city."
"Sorry," Cerberus apologized contritely.
Right at that moment, a blonde woman on a motorcycle burst through the door, taking the door clean off its hinges. She then stepped off the motorcycle and strutted forward.
Applejack gave the woman a disgruntled gaze. From her blonde hair, blue eyes behind dark sunglasses, fair skin, curves, and shapely and revealing outfit, she might as well have been designed to get Dante's attention. She even somewhat resembled the picture Dante kept in the office of his late mother. Applejack, however, wasn't impressed. "Whatever else ya came for, I'm addin' $1000 to yer bill ta fix the damn door."
The woman paused, apparently not having expected such an unwelcoming response...or, from the way she was staring at Applejack, a talking pony. "I'm...looking for the handyman?" she asked cautiously, as though trying to establish a script she was working from. "The one who'll take on...any dirty job?"
"That's us," AJ replied. "Devil May Cry. What can we do for ya?"
The woman paused again. "I'm...looking for Dante."
"He ain't in," Applejack countered gruffly. "If ya got a job, ya can tell me. We take jobs together."
The woman growled. "I'm here to talk to Dante."
"Tough horseapples," AJ replied snidely.
Angrily, the woman thrust forward with her hand, sending a stream of lightning at Applejack.
Without even blinking, Applejack whipped Nevan around and began strumming a power chord. As the guitar's magic gathered, the lightning was absorbed into it as a magical charge. "Now that tweren't very nice," Applejack scolded. Twirling her tail, she freed Cerberus, bringing the three heads up to curl over her head, spinning them in a tight circle as the magical charge in Nevan was converted into a large sphere of ice that took shape between the three heads of the demonic weapon.
The woman barely managed to dodge the massive blast of ice, which eradicated her motorcycle. "What the?" she demanded, shocked.
"You ain't gettin' no discount fer that," Applejack pointed out. "You attacked me, after all."
"I don't care what sort of power you have," she snarled in defiance. "I am here for the Son of Sparda."
"Then ya'd best be content with his granddaughter!" Applejack snarled back in defiance. "Ya ain't gettin' near my Pa if this is how yer gonna behave!"
The woman stared in shock. "You're...his daughter?" she asked in surprise.
"Yup!" Applejack replied. "And I ain't lettin' no one try and kill my Pa on my wat-"
"Then I am not your enemy!" the woman interrupted, standing with her hands spread. She removed her sunglasses.
Applejack snorted. "If'n ya came to hire us, ya went about it the wrong way. And if yer tryin' ta get in Pa's pants, yer trying too hard." Applejack looked her over disdainfully. "No need ta show that much skin. It gets him suspicious a lot faster than it gets him horny."
"Unless you count his Devil Trigger," Nevan pointed out. "He'd certainly pull that out for trying to hurt Applejack."
"If you want to share his bed, being nice to Applejack works better!" Agni spoke up from his place on the wall.
"Indeed!" Rudra agreed. "In the past ten years, no less than 30 young ladies have shared the Young Master's bed after squealing over Young Mistress' adorable countenance."
"Pa says it's like I'm his pimp," Applejack joked. "Course, Ma's been a frequent visitor."
"Ma?" the woman asked, confused.
"That's what Applejack calls Lady, a frequent friend and companion of Dante," Nevan explained.
The lightning wielding stranger sighed. "Well...I'm Trish. And I'm here to ask for Dante's - and your - help...to put an end to the Underworld."
Nevan, Agni, and Rudra were silent. Applejack frowned. "Bull."
"What?" Trish demanded.
"An end to the Underworld? What next, a pleasant journey to Rainbow Land?" Applejack spat her scorn into a nearby bucket. "The Underworld is an entire dimension of its own, and Earth's balance relies on its existence. Now what are you really askin' for?"
Trish sighed. "Emperor Mundus of the Underworld seeks to open the gate between this world and the Underworld on Mallet Island."
"Oh," Applejack replied, nodding understanding. "It's the Temen-ni-gru scenario again. This is some demon Sparda beat a long while ago, and now he's trying to break through again, so ya want Dante and I ta go kick his ass back ta hell?"
Surprised at how easily Applejack accepted this, Trish nodded.
Applejack turned to Nevan. "This Mundus fella...would his attempt at manifesting be enough for you ta resume your demonic form?"
"Not for combat unless he fully manifests," Nevan replied. "But for short periods of time outside of combat, yes."
"Good," Applejack replied, grinning. "If we get the chance on the island, I'll ask Pa ta gimme a bath."
Nevan squealed happily.
Trish merely stared. "You...are very strange."
"Said the woman with demon powers to the talking pony with demon powers," Applejack pointed out. "I'd say strange is a relative term here."
"What the fuck happened to our door?!" Dante demanded as he stepped inside, his arms full of groceries.
"We got a new client!" AJ said. "Her name's Trish, she looks like yer Ma, she's got demon power, I don't completely trust her, and she wants us ta kill Mundus, an old enemy of yer Pa!" Applejack grabbed the bags of groceries. "Make sure she stays fer dinner! I'm making Jambalaya!" With that, she pranced off into the kitchen.
"Jambalaya!" all the demonic weapons yelled out happily, Cerberus visibly licking his three sets of lips in eagerness.
Trish looked at Dante in confusion. "She...did hear the part about the portal to the underworld opening, right? The forces of hell swarming out to consume the Earth and all that?"
"It's not her first one," Dante replied. "She was still in diapers - metaphorically speaking - when she dealt with her first hellmouth over Temen-ni-gru. Besides, her Jambalaya's to die for!" Grabbing Trish by the arm, he dragged her to the dining room. "We'll leave in the morning."
Helplessly, Trish let herself be dragged along.
"Yer still paying fer the door!" Applejack yelled at her from the kitchen.
XD MY SIDES! OH GOD MY SIDES! TOO MUCH PAIN!
Describing my elation over every new chapter is starting to go beyond my rather meagre vocabulary.
Careful Applejack, that's what Pyro used to think...
This was great, and that's a very nice picture of Trish, by the way. Certainly better than the actual model, even on the HD Collection.
I really like the way that being raised by Dante has changed Applejack's personality. You can still definitely see the old Applejack in there, but Dante's influence is also readily apparent. I love it.
Mhy chest and ribs....
I am laughing too hard here, this was, just priceless.
Fuck the hell-mouth we're having Jambalaya!
Jambalaya's definitely to die for. Heck, this reminds me of the Princess and the Frog movie.
This was a pretty hilarious intro to DMC 1
The way the sudden conflict gave way to friendly gathering
It would be hilarious if Trish turned on Mundus purely because of the Jambalaya.
On a more serious note, the encounters with Nelo Angelo are gonna be difficult for AJ...
She even somewhat resembled the picture Dante kept in the office of his late mother Applejack, however, wasn't impressed.
And if yer tryin' ta get in Pa's pants, yer trying to hard
1. Forgogt your full stop before Applejack.
2. Too.
Is it alright that I have zero idea what Jambalaya is?
5837065
Sure. You can look it up and find out what you're missing.
Applejack is best pony!
And what's Jambalaya?
5837112
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jambalaya
5837134 Thanks!
5837084 Right, just saw and I haven't really tried any sort of paella before. Well, technically I had a seafood one but didn't like it after having a real bad case of stomach cramps after and I stayed away from paella since.
I love it when lines like this get thrown around!
5837324
"So... you are part demon too?" Aj asked Batmare
Batmare smiled "Yes somewhat, but is more like a split personality thing for me. I can use my demonic powers longer that you do, at the cost of having Nightmare being the one in control."
"Tough luck, so, are you staying for dinner? I am making Chicken brazilian style. That basically means roasted chicken with banana sauce, but I also add a bit of apple sauce to it."
"Meat? You eat meat?" Rarity said with a bit of disgust
"We can eat meat too princess, we are not exactly a standard unicorn, if anything, we are close to an alicorn in both body and power level. And that means we don’t actually digest food, we dissolve it into energy, so we can basically eat most things. But of course, you are too pampered and refined to even take my suggestions seriously."
"Does Nightmare do that talking using yer mouth thing a lot?"
"Only with those in the know. And since it seems Nightmare had been actually been serious all this years about us being able to eat meat, I guess I could stay."
"Good, I been wanting to eat a decent meal with meat for ages."
5837456 We all know something like this is gonna happen when all these misplaced ponies inevitably reunite...
5837511 we know already that fortresshy can eat fish and has no issues with meat flavored foods
5837456
"I've eaten meat, before," Rainbow mused, polishing part of her armor. "It's not something I eat regularly, but Dad told me about how, when I first showed up, he brought up some samples of food, and I tried everything, including the meat."
"Ah guarantee, y'all will love my Brazilian Chicken," Applejack said with a smirk, as Cerberus's prongs licked their lips in anticipation.
"Ooh! Ooh! Can I help with making dinner? No dinner's complete without cupcakes!" Pinkie piped up, hopping in place.
No one noticed Rainbow's eye twitch slightly at the mention of cupcakes.
5837166
That be due to the who made it adding too much spices and spicy stuff and your stomach wasn't use to the spices and spiciness. Most places make Jambalaya that seems really spicy to those not use to it. Next time order a mild Jambalaya, it might help.
5838118 Actually, this paella wasn't spicy as it was part of a tour meal in China and it really just had egg and seafood in it. I think it was the seafood but I could be wrong.
Hilarious chapter, well done. I especially like how AJ is going to charge Trish for the door, no matter what. Plus, she handled herself well. I can't help but imagine all of the Devil Arms except Beowulf (Since he's a jerk and meanie pants) in their true forms just to taste this Jambalaya! Granted, Cerberus might have to manifest at the size of a mortal dog, but if he's getting a bowl for each head I doubt he'd mind.
5840347
They can't manifest physically unless within a field of massive demonic magic.
But they can taste what the demon warrior they're bound to is tasting. So even Beowulf gets to taste the jambalaya.
5840364 To bad Dante can't make a super mini hell portal in his office just for them to manifest. Just imagine the reactions to Nevan as his secretary, Cerberus as the office pet, and Agni and Rudra looming behind him ready to leap to his defense if a customer turns roudy.
5840435
...
...
...
You know, if enough demonic power is focused there, that actually would be possible...
Beowulf still wouldn't be allowed to manifest, though.
5840458 Obvioiusly. He doesn't play well with others. On another note: has AJ gone to school??? Because I can just see her winning a ton of athletic awards as well as playing Nevan for a talent show. And then there's the parent teacher conferences where Dante or Lady shows up.....
5841153
...
While that would be wonderfully fun to write...
I somehow can't imagine Dante enrolling Applejack in school.
5841175
5841299
Well, can you think of any reason why Dante would think he should enroll a pony from another dimension into human school when she's going to grow up to be a demon hunter like him?
...if you can, please tell me. It'll give me an excuse to at least throw in a flashback chapter to her days at school.
5841310
1) Lady wants AJ to try it at least once so she isn't 'a silly pony'
2) AJ wants to try it after someone calls her a dumb animal
3) AJ makes a friend in the neighborhood in a kid her age so she wants to go to school with them.
5841329
First one. That way I can make the musical joke.
5841310
Learning to read and write, plus an opportunity for Applejack to try to make friends with other children her age, it could be Dante's attempt at being a so called normal dad and give Applejack a so called attempt at be normal so to speak.
5841339
If I could genuinely believe "normal" was anywhere in Dante's ambitions, I could use that.
5841344
Lady could make a comment to Dante needs to try and give Applejack a semi-normal childhood.
5841337
5841339
5836833 She'll probably figure out a way to smack him up a bit and get him out and healed, how? Magic, and demon powers too probably.
Very entertaining, if completely predictable.
I don't remember if Trish's original motive for her overzealous arrival was to guage Dante's strength or gauge how well her appearance would affect him.
Although this was a decent chapter the best catfight still goes to Lady vs Trish from the anime.
5837456
5837645
"Can't be any weirder than some of the things I've drunk." A light orange pegasus commented as she sauntered into the room, leather barding covering her back while a lupine head hung from a hook on one side of her belt, a pair of swords across her back and a large insect head on the other. "Frightener eye being one of the things that I've had over the years," she shrugged her wings before indicating the bug head on her belt. "Actually, that's what this thing was, twelve foot tall praying mantis, practically invulnerable to everything unless you start hitting it with high pitched or loud sound." Spitfire smirked as she took a seat. "Gives a whole new meaning to 'living battering ram', but it's worse'n Quasimodo about bells."
“Says the pony that turned its master into a crispy critter,” Another pegasus, this one grey-blue with a dark blue mane commented. Like her friend, she was wearing leather and a pair of swords, though hers were larger than her partner’s. “I’m pretty sure his screaming had something to do with how easy the thing was to kill, ‘course, that’s not taking the rest of the things we’ve faced into account. Monsters, demons, gods, spirits…” She shrugged her wings, “Got a lot of things, most of them ended up potion ingredients. I’ll say one thing though, if you’re not too bad at dodging, see if you can kill some tinirri, their meat is really sweet, but they’re pretty poisonous. If they manage to gore you, it’s even chance as to whether it’ll be poison, blood loss or physical damage that kills you, at least for ‘normal’ beings, unless you’re part hreathryn, most of us have pretty high poison resistance.”
Spitfire smirked, flicking her tail. “We get back to our own version of Equestria, I’m going to see about getting into that restaurant in Ponyville, Rose and Lily said they do tinirri.” She licked her teeth, revealing two pairs of curved fangs in place of some of the normal flat teeth ponies had.
----------
Was going to post that the other day. Short version, that's Spitfire and Nightshade, the ex-captains of the Wonderbolts and Shadowbolts respectively, though for their universe, Equestria got hit by magical storms and they got transported to the Witcher universe for a while before finding a portal to another universe and eventually getting home from there, so this is not going to be remotely canon to this set of stories.
Sorry, you had a badass introduction?
INTERRUPTED!
Now the 'looks like your mother' part.
You know what sucks?
Liking a story enough to favorite it, pausing in reading for one reason or another, and letting the story sit until you come back and realize that you've got to slog through the 20+ chapters that have been added to it in the time you've been away.
Wanna know what sucks more?
Getting through those new chapters and realizing you're coming up on the most recent chapter available if you haven't hit that chapter already, and being stuck without more chapters to read.
5894622
Very much ditto, but I Sqee when I find a lot of chapters, on a good story!
5894622 yup!
5894622 good thing I have a lot to read then
5894622 That's why you grab another Tatsurou story. I'm currently reading this in the place of "Melody of the Future".
7361329 EXACTLY!!!!!
5836833
Rereading my own story...
This comment now makes me laugh.
5894622 How I felt at Chapter 103ish of Another Hatchling
Was thinking a bit... about the eventual meeting between PWNY Applejack, Applebloom, and Big Mac after all the side-lives are explained and the group breaks up to digest everything...
AB: So... Pa's really...
AJ: Eeyup...
AB: And you're now some sorta Half Demon Lord Pony Hybrid-thing... but you and yer' adopted Pa hunt other demons with livin' weapons created from the souls an' bodies of other demons you've killed...?
AJ: EeyuP... And you finally got yer Cutie Mark fer' Alchemy an' demon slayin', an because yer magic was crazy as a Betsy Bug while ya' were growin' up again yah can make plants grow on command and have a Dryadic Familiar that looks like somethin' outa' a B-horror movie...?
AB: Eeyup~...
AJ: An' Big Mac? You're some sorta Super Martial Artist who's alien/human adopted family fight other aliens to keep em' from blowin' up the world with pure willpower and muffin-brains...?
BM: ... Eeyup!
AJ: (Facehooves)
AB: What is is sis?
AJ: That moment when ya' realize yer Brother can actually use the technique from the Anime you watched as a filly, and later re-named one of yer own attacks after...
BM: EEYUP!