Final Destination
The battle against Arius was suitably intense for Dante and Applejack. Not only did he conjure large numbers of some of the more difficult to fight monsters - the smaller, faster ones, not the bigger, stronger ones - he also utilized fast cast spells with large radius of effect and fast damaging effects. The conjured demonic spikes were especially difficult to avoid for Dante...and fun for Applejack to dance between.
"Yee-haw!" she shouted out happily as, not for the first time, she leapt off the spike nearest Arius to kick the wanna-be immortal in the face.
Of course, that was one of the few times either of them was able to land a blow on Arius, since he seemed to have learned from his minions' mistakes and kept his distance. He also used several spells that homed in on the target, as well as a fast teleport spell if either of them got two close to him.
"Face it!" Arius proclaimed. "I have watched your progress, studied your combat methods, and prepared! I know all your tricks! You cannot defeat me! Against you, I am invincible!"
Dante and Applejack both froze...then grinned widely. Dante hauled out Pandora, while Applejack hauled out Sparda.
"...what are those?" Arius asked, confused.
As last words went, they weren't much. At least they were better than the string of curse words most foes who'd encountered this strategy threw out.
Returning outside to where Arius' body fell, Dante and Applejack found Lucia waiting for them. "You defeated...Arius..."
"No big," Applejack replied. "He claimed invincibility, after all."
"There's just one thing left..." Lucia continued.
"If this is the part where you ask us to kill you, skip it," Dante growled. "You did hear what we said about you not being the first human-shaped demon we've encountered who was created to be a weapon but rebelled against their maker, right?"
"But...I thought-"
"You were a full blood member of Matier's clan?" Applejack interrupted. "Does it look like Pa sired me?"
Lucia glanced back and forth between Applejack and Dante. "But...I could become a monster at any time...and attack the humans..."
"So could any of us," Dante countered. "Demons, by nature, are living weapons. Same with their descendants who aren't full demon. Same with those created with demon magic."
"But they all got a choice ta make," Applejack added. "Who they fight. Matier made you a member of her clan. Will you shame her with this foolishness?"
At that moment, the door to the demon world opened within the tower.
Applejack sighed. "Figured that would happen," she grunted. "Three Arcana might not have been enough to let Arius absorb Argosax, but it sure was enough energy to draw Argosax to the boundary. With the barriers down, it would be child's play to open a portal."
"Wait...the barriers are down?" Lucia asked. "But what about the ancient boundary spells to keep the most powerful demons from invading the Earth?"
"The modern most powerful demons police their own for civilized behavior these days," Dante pointed out. "You can thank Applejack for that development. A treaty was made between demons and demon hunters at the Third Spardan Tournament. The barriers went down, and the strongest beings of each mythology police their own troublemakers."
"Then...then why has no one stopped Argosax?" Lucia demanded.
Sighing, Applejack braced Sparda in her teeth. "Cause he's from our mythology."
Lucia blinked. "Oh...I see."
"So trust the experts," Dante said as he revved the motorcycle up.
"While we're gone, keep an eye on Arius' body," Applejack requested as she hopped into the sidecar. "He absorbed enough of Argosax' energy, he might just get back up again as some sort monstrosity."
"But...but how will you both get back out of hell?" Lucia asked.
"The hell gate by Applejack's restaurant," Dante replied easily.
"Then why can't I go?" Lucia demanded.
"No passport!" Applejack called back as Dante sent the motorcycle into a leap through the portal.
Argosax himself was a chaos demon, and it showed. He was an amalgamation of various other demon shapes, and had a huge amount of demon magic to battle with. Deciding that this wasn't the time to hold anything back, Dante and Applejack both went into battle in Devil Trigger.
Despite Argosax' chaotic appearance and seeming to have several heads, however, he seemed just as helpless as any other demon at dealing with a multi-pronged attack. With the outside destroyed, the core freed itself, revealing the form of a satanic flame beast...which, despite teleportation abilities, also couldn't handle a multi-pronged attack.
With Argosax' final destruction, a sphere of power flowed up from his remains, shooting off into hell. "After it!" Applejack called out as she hopped back into the motorcycle side car.
Dante nodded as he gunned the engine.
As the pair raced after the glowing sphere, the world around them changed. Hell became less grim and stark and more...pastel. As they traveled, Applejack found herself clutching her head. "...hurts..." she moaned.
"Hurts?" Dante asked in concern. "What hurts?"
"Thoughts...memories...filling my brain..." She groaned, pulling her hat down over her head. "'Memberin' things...that I didn't live through...least, not as me..."
"You mean like how bits and pieces of that 'other destiny' Matier mentioned were coming back?" Dante suggested.
"But a lot faster...hurts..."
Dante thought for a bit. "Stop fighting it," he instructed. "Matier said the other destiny was calling you back. I think that's part of what this is. You're remembering the other life you lived."
"But...but ah don' wanna stop bein' me..." Applejack looked up at him with pained, tear filled eyes.
"You won't," Dante assured. "And that's a Father's promise." Geryon's magic pulsed within him in agreement.
Applejack managed a smile...then slumped forward in slumber.
The quiet, happy, pastoral energies of Ponyville were torn asunder as a glowing gold sphere of light burst out of the sky, closely followed by the roar of some unknown beast.
Dante landed the motorcycle on the dirt road, driving along steadily as he took in the surroundings. He'd lost sight of the golden sphere, but he was sure he'd find it again eventually. For now, he was trying to figure out where he was...and why it felt strangely familiar.
Pulling up to a stop before a farm, realization washed over him. Geryon remembered this place, and Geryon's memories were his now, too. "Wake up, AJ," Dante said softly. "We're home."
Groaning, Applejack hopped out of the side care, shaking her head as she awoke. "It's Sweet Apple Acres," she said with a smile. "I...I didn't even remember, but I still missed this place."
"Applejack!"
Turning, both devil hunters were caught off guard as a small yellow filly wearing a red ribbon cannoned into Applejack's side. "H-hey Apple Bloom!" Applejack gasped out, holding her close.
"Where ya been the past three days?" Apple Bloom demanded. "We were worried about ya, sis!"
Chuckling, Applejack ruffled the filly's mane with one hoof. "Had to go on a bit of an adventure, lil' sis. I'll tell ya about it later."
"Ya could have told us before!"
"Well it weren't exactly planned!"
Dante's chuckle drew Apple Bloom's attention. "...sis?" she asked. "Why is Pa a human?"
"Because magic makes things crazy," Applejack responded firmly.
"Fair enough!" Apple Bloom promptly leapt up and hugged Dante. "Welcome home, Pa! Where ya been all these years?"
Dante awkwardly hugged the little filly. "...fighting demons," he answered honestly, unable to think of anything else to say.
Apple Bloom gasped. "Pa's a demon hunter? Ah gotta tell the Crusaders! We got a whole new kinda Cutie Mark to crusade for!"
"Now wait-" Before Applejack could get another word out, Apple Bloom had raced off. Applejack could only groan in frustration. "...don't let her play with yer guns, Pa."
"Not a chance," Dante agreed.
"You head on into the house," Applejack said, taking hold of the motorcycle. "I'll put this in the barn and get started on my chores."
Nodding, Dante went into the house, ducking a bit to get under low doorframes.
"It's about time ya came home, Gala!" an elderly green mare called out. "Sparda said ya'd be gone awhile, but not this long!" The mare turned to face him. "...huh. New body? New person in it? Any chance a new gal ta gimme new grandkids to go along with it?"
Dante blinked several times. "Umm...yes?"
"Good!" Granny Smith - Dante wasn't sure how he knew the name so suddenly - stated firmly. "Then sit ye down and get some good Apple cooking in ya!"
Unsure what else to do, Dante sat down, ready to eat. This was going to take some getting used to.
"And when yer done eatin', you can catch up on yer chores!"
...definitely take some getting used to.
Smiling, Discord caught the golden sphere and reabsorbed the fragment of himself he'd split off so long ago. Turning, he crossed his mismatched arms. "There," he said firmly. "Now we're even for way back then."
Nodding with a smile, the spirit of Sparda faded back into the ether.
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ah well, you just keep up the good work Tatsurou!
Is Tirek going to be curb-stomped again??
Meh, Discord's being his usual self.
Argosax was part of discord? Makes sense. Does that mean all of equestria is the Sparda mythology?
now dante meeting the others
I still want a mane six meet up, or would they be tripping all over each others hooves in a combat situation?
... Is it weird that I worry for what the CMC are going to get up to even without Ebony, Ivory, Artemis, and Pandora? I mean, they are already approaching bane of Ponyville without the help of swords and the like. Oh dear. I just imagined how complicated it's going to be for them to do a family reunion now. Please tell me they are just going to drive through without reducing the demon worlds population by half on the way there...
6275359 It's going to happen. Tasurou has said that he is going to do a massive crossover with all the displaced six when their stories have all been completed.
This has been a great story looking forward to the epilogue for this story! I also cannot wait till the crossover story where all the powered mane 6 all meet up and how they all will react to each other! So who will be in the next story?
It certainly has.
6275298 tirek is going to be MAULED
What a swift, quick and abrupt end... yet it was beautiful and unexpected. Loved it.
I don't know how to explain the fact that I was longing for this moment, the moment they would learn of Applejack's origin, but it hurts to see it end so suddenly. Yet I'm so glad it happened... As I said, I'm confused but happy and sad.
Is there a Prologue that tells what happened to separate the six in the first place and cast them to different worlds?
... Yeah so, casually acknowledges a human as her father... that's weird.
And this is certainly another surprise, Dante was AJ's ACTUAL father... in an alternate world... or something? And Granny Smith is the mother... and... and...
Brain malfunction, dis shit make NO SENSE!
... And we're approaching the end... I look forward to it, it's been a wild ride indeed.
It's almost sad to see it end but this chapter is excellent as usual
6275690 well if you want a possible answer then say that Dante was the DMC version of her father. When sparda summoned/called gala as Greyson there were two versions of the same soul in the world. Dante taking in Greyson just sorta smushed them together at the edges. Most of the basics of the soul were already the same (morals and the like) so all the fusion did was tweak outer edges of the soul (smaller personality traits like food likes or musical taste)
6275690
6275786
Geryon - the time manipulating horse spirit back in Temen-ni-gru (the first story arc) - was a reincarnation of Gala, Applejack's biological father. Dante absorbed Geryon's spirit and power. To the ponies magical senses, that makes him read as Gala. It's not like a pony reappearing out of nowhere after a long time as a human is that much of a stretch for ponies in Ponyville.
Another enjoyable chapter. Great job.
Yet another good fiction. I tip my hat to you.
[youtube=www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wq7ReYOLrP0]
Thanks for the adventure, Tatsurou. It's always a pleasure.
And now every evil thing in Equestria, that doesn't behave themselves, are
'd
I love how Dante's instantly considered family when he reaches Ponyville
6276373
Why wouldn't he be?
In magical and spiritual terms, he smells like Gala, so he smells like an Apple.
6276378 Yeah, I forgot that he has Gala inside of him
Appropriate music for the occasion as they do a road trip through Hell:
I wonder how long it will take AJ to get bored of dealing with Tirek??? I mean, she could keep switching Devil Arms to see what works best against him, but he's in the "big and strong" category so she can probably keep ahead of him and attack with hit and run tactics.
Hmm... so now we only have displaced Twilight who actually has to find her way back to Equestria... how many more games does she have to go through???
6277186
Six and a half.
6276378 but, how would Applebloom recognize him?
I know this is headcannon land, but I figure it is very possible that Gala left before her birth.
And how dose Granny know about Sparda?
there are so many questions
sigh I'll just wait until the epilogue.
6277327
For Apple Bloom, Gala's death was shortly after her birth, just long enough for her to know his smell, physical and otherwise.
As for Granny, Gala was her son. When Sparda made the deal with Gala, Granny saw it happen, and Sparda - having perceived the path of time through Gala's abilities - promised her that Gala would be back.
6277338 ok I just thought that the deal happened after Gala's death.
6277352
It did. But Sparda got to Gala's body and soul before the Reaper did. And Granny shortly after that.
6277360 ok. I think I miss that part in the story some where.
still good job, the ending was a bit rushed, but overall I think that this was a good story.
6277367
It wasn't explicitly spelled out.
6277380 I know, and honestly that is the problem.
these kind of details need attention in some way or another, how to do that now, I don't have a clue. however, I do know that people are going to get confused when these things happen.
Sorry if I insulted you, it wasn't my intention, Plz take it as constructive criticism, Pls don't hate me.
I will take the explanation of "Discord did it", since the whole last chapter was like "What in tarnation?"
So... much... gooooooooooooood. I NEED MOAR!!!
6277360 I almost feel sorry for the Reaper, having to face Sparda and an understandable upset Earth Pony Mother.
Speaking of Tirek, since AJ can turn into a human and pony can she do a half form as a centaur?
6277195 DAMM!!! IS RATCHET AND CLANK REALLY THAT LONG? TYPING IN CAPS IS FUN!!!
6287068
Yes. Yes it is.
6287071
Tats, old buddy! Don't lie to them!
You know as well as I do that it could be finished by now, and I have the comments right here!
34 weeks ago comment number 132
34 weeks ago comment number 133
Not that I'm complaining about your new found mastery over your mind, though. I'm just saying, don't try to lie to your fans. Or me. It's disrespectful to them, and it's disrespectful to my ninth incarnation. That just means that I have several regenerations worth of reading to catch up on! I trust that you're quality has remained the same throughout all of your stories? To be honest, I'm a little terrified of the whole, Nightmare Moon/Wreck it Ralph thing, and I feel that it would've been better with Darth Vader...but, I'm willing to give it a shot, considering that I praised you so much in the comment section in the story The Sparkle in his Eye....
6275617 Each story takes place in its own universe. For instance, the Applejack here isn't the same one that appears at the end of Fortressshy.
Usually the end of the story provides some explanation on why the mane character was cast away, along with how long they appeared to be gone in Equestrian days.
... So Granny smith really is hundreds of years old, or... damn you parallel but inconsistently moving timelines!
This was a great story. But, as all great things go, it has to end. So I just want to say just this one thing-last chapter, here I come!!!!!
6291530
With the notable exception of Melody of the Future and Wily's Widdle Wub; both of those are a matched pair.
I really don't need to say why, do I? I mean, Vinyl Scratch/Octavia Melody going together is about as ubiquitous as Sweetie Drops/Bon Bon and Lyra Heartstrings.
...this is a great ending. "We're riding into Hell!"
"But Pa; this is Sweet Apple Acres!"
"Well, looks like we have chores to do. Continuing our peaceful life!"
7263079
I should also point out that Three More Things and Another Hatchling differ from the 'wait until the end' formula that Tatsurou usually uses. The first one showed what happened in the first chapter, and the second is actually Samus telling everybody her story of how she raised Spike. Though in that one, it isn't until later that we learn how he got lost that way.
So, I actually finished this yesterday,but something has been gnawing on my mind...
Specifically the correlation between Dante and Geryon/Gala...
Did Geryon "pass on" at some point after his power completely intigrated into Dante, only to be reincarnated in the past As Dante...? And now instead of some sort of spirit-fusion thing Dante is actually remembering his past life as Gala, meaning that he was actually AJ's father all along...?
Or am I just reading way too much into this because of all the other Time Loop Shinanigans in the other PWNY stories?
8060949
Reading way too much into it due to time loop shenaninaninaninanigans.
Once you mentioned Chaos...
I see that the Big Bad didn't read the List: