Boast Busters
Never a dull day in Ponyville, is it?
Nero was currently standing outside the town hall, where a crowd had gathered around some sort of large wagon that had been parked in front of it. He had been lounging in the Devil May Cry shop, waiting for some new jobs, when he heard a commotion outside. With nothing better to do, he had decided to check it out for himself. He saw that ponies from all over town were heading to the town hall and overheard them say something about a powerful unicorn that had just shown up in town. his curiosity piqued, he set out for town hall himself, which led to where he was now.
"NERO! OVER HERE!" A familiar, energetic voice called out to the devil hunter, and he spotted Pinkie Pie waving him over. Standing next to her were the other girls, minus Twilight. Spike wasn't with them either, most likely in the same place as Twilight. He squeezed his way through the crowd and joined them.
"Any of you know who this 'powerful unicorn' is supposed to be?" He asked them, but unfortunately, they all knew just as much as he did. It seemed he was going to have to wait to find out.
He didn't have to wait long.
"Ladies and gentlecolts! Come one! Come all!" A voice echoed from the wagon. It was around then that Twilight and Spike had shown up, worming their way through the crowd to join the rest of them. The voice from the wagon continued, "Come and witness the amazing magic of the great and powerful... TRIXIE!!!"
The wagon unfolded itself, transforming into an entire stage with a curtain backdrop and everything. Though it may have been difficult for normal eyes to see, Nero's demonic senses allowed him to spot a tiny smoke bomb get thrown onto the stage from behind the curtain. As expected, the bomb erupted into a cloud of smoke. The smoke cleared to reveal a brand-new pony now standing on stage.
The pony herself was a light blue unicorn with a white mane and a magic wand for a cutie mark. What stuck out the most was the outfit she wore; a purple cape and wizard hat, both speckled with stars. The crowd ooh-ed and aah-ed at her 'magical' appearance.
Come on, she didn't even teleport! She just used a smoke bomb! Besides, I've seen Twilight actually teleport several times like it was nothing, so would doing it once really be all that special?
Speaking of teleporting, he remembered that he had seen Dante teleport plenty of times during combat as well. Heck, he'd even seen his own father do it in the short time that they fought. Recalling how disorienting it had been when Twilight teleported him, he couldn't help but wonder how on earth they were able to get used to that.
"Watch in awe as the great and powerful Trixie performs the most spectacular feats of magic ever witnessed by pony eyes!" The magician, Trixie, stood on her hind legs and posed for the audience as fireworks burst from the sides of the stage and into the sky. The stage was illuminated by the many colorful explosions.
"My, my, my. What boasting." Rarity eyed the magician with skepticism.
"Come on! No pony's as magical as Twi-... Twi-... Twi-..." Spike had begun to call the magician on the stage out, only to notice Rarity was standing next to him. "Oh! *Ahem!* H-Hey, Rarity, I, uh-... MUSTACHE!" With that... odd choice of words, Spike took off, leaving Twilight to take his place next to Rarity.
"There's nothing wrong with being talented, is there?" She asked.
"Nothin' at all, 'cept when someone goes around showin' it off like a school filly with fancy new ribbons." Applejack responded, glaring in Trixie's direction.
Does being stylish count as showing off? If so, I might be a little guilty here.
"Just because one has the ability to perform lots of magic does not make one better than the rest of us." Rarity added, which seemed to make Twilight slump a bit more.
"Especially when you got me around being better than the rest of us!" Rainbow chimed in, only for Applejack to shift her glare in the pegasus' direction. "Uh- I mean, yeah! Magic schmagic! Boo!"
The commotion seemed to have gotten the attention of Trixie, who was quick to address them. "Well, well, well. It seems we have some neighysayers in the audience! Who is so ignorant as to challenge the magical ability of the great and powerful Trixie? Do they not know that they're in the presence of the most magical unicorn in all of Equestria!?"
Rarity simply scoffed. "Just who does she think she is?"
"Yeah! Since we all know that Twilight here is-!" Spike had returned from wherever he had run off to and was about to put Twilight in the spotlight, only to be shushed by the purple unicorn in question. She dragged Spike away from the crowd and began whispering to him. While it was clear Twilight wanted it to be private, Nero was still able to hear her with his enhanced hearing.
"You see the way they reacted to Trixie? I don't want anypony thinking I'm a show-off!" She explained to the baby dragon.
Twilight a show-off? Yeah, no. She definitely isn't the type, and I doubt anyone would think she is.
Nero watched as more fireworks came sprouting out of the stage as Trixie posed once again. She was interrupted, however, when Rainbow zoomed up to the stage and got in the performer's face. "So, 'great and powerful' Trixie, what makes you think you're so awesome, anyway?"
Trixie merely chuckled at the rainbow pegasus flying before her. "Why, only the great and powerful Trixie has magic strong enough to vanquish... the dreaded Ursa Major!" As if on cue, More fireworks erupted, this time creating an outline of a bear with an eight-sided star on its forehead. The crowd of ponies gasped at the image, staring at it in awe.
"The Ursa what-now?" Nero whispered to Twilight, who gave him a description of the beast.
"It's a creature that lives in the Everfree Forest. It has the anatomy of a bear, but there are many things that differentiate them. It has oversized teeth and claws, it's made entirely out of the night sky, and in terms of size, it's absolutely massive! Other than the princesses, I can't imagine anypony actually defeating one!"
"Huh, sounds fun. Hope I run into one someday." Nero pictured the creature in his head, fantasizing a battle between himself and the beast. It might not be a demon, but maybe it could put up a fight against him. Meanwhile, Trixie continued to boast about her supposed 'vanquishing'.
"When all hope was lost, the ponies of Puffington had no one to turn to! But the great and powerful Trixie stepped in and, with her awesome magic, vanquished the Ursa Major, and sent it back to its cave, deep within the Everfree Forest!" The image of the Ursa Major turned into one of Trixie battling the beast by waving a wand at it. The crowd watched in amazement, completely captivated by the magician's tale.
"That settles it!" Nero looked to see two boys, or 'colts' as they're referred to in Equestria, had spoken up. One was short and rather plump with a pair of scissors for a cutie mark, while the other was a bit lankier and had a snail for his cutie mark.
"Trixie truly is the most talented, most magical, most awesome pony in Ponyville!" The lanky one declared.
"No! In all of Equestria!" The plump one added.
And who exactly are these two?
"How do you know!? You didn't see it!" Spike began to argue. "And besides, Twil-!" The dragon was cut off by Twilight, who magically zipped his mouth shut with her horn. Trixie didn't seem to notice as she addressed the two colts that praised her.
"It's true, my enthusiastic little admirers! Trixie is most certainly the best in Ponyville!" The show pony was met with naught but silence. Nero could have sworn he heard a cricket chirping in the distance. "Don't believe the great and powerful Trixie? Hmph! Well then, I hereby challenge you, Ponyvillians. Anything you can do, I can do better! Any takers? Anypony? Hmm? Or is Trixie destined to be the greatest equine who has ever lived!?" Once again, more fireworks blasted into the sky.
Jeez, does she ever run out of those?
Spike finally managed to unzip his mouth and started begging Twilight to stand up to the narcissistic showboat. PLE-HE-HEASE! She's unbearable! You gotta show her, you just gotta!"
"I'm with Spike on this one. I've seen you do some crazy stuff before; you could totally put her in her place." The devil Hunter agreed.
"There's no way I'm gonna use my magic now! Especially since-"
"How about...you!" Trixie pointed directly at Twilight. "Well how about it, hmm? Is there anything you can do that the great and powerful Trixie can't?"
"I...I..." Twilight struggled with how to respond, unable to find the words. Fortunately, she didn't have to.
"That's it! I can't stand fer no more of this!" Applejack was the first to accept her challenge, and made her way up onto the stage. As she approached Trixie, the farm pony pulled out a lasso. As for where she had been keeping it, Nero could only guess.
"You show her, AJ!" Spike cheered her on from the sidelines. While Twilight was relieved that she didn't have to go up, she still looked dejected.
"Can your magical powers do this?" Applejack proceeded to do several flashy tricks with the lasso using only her tail. She twirled the lasso in both in the air and around herself, even hopping through it a couple times. She finished by lassoing an apple from a nearby tree and catching it in her mouth, eating it whole. The crowd cheered as AJ crossed her left hoof over her right in a pose. "Top that, missy!"
"Oh ye of little talent, watch and be amazed at the magic of Trixie." The magician's horn began to glow as she levitated the lasso in front of Applejack, making it move like a cobra. Somehow, this actually managed to mesmerize Applejack, and she became hypnotized by the rope's movements. Using the other end of the lasso, Trixie grabbed another apple from the same tree and levitated it over. In one quick motion, Trixie used her magic to tie AJ's hooves together with the rope and shove the apple into her mouth, only this time to keep her quiet rather than to eat it. For some reason, the crowd actually cheered at this despite most of the ponies being acquainted with Applejack.
"Once again, the great and powerful Trixie prevails."
God, she is annoying. Does she ever stop talking in the third person?
Applejack hopped her way off the stage and back to the group. With a swipe of Red Queen, Nero cut through the ropes, freeing the farm pony. With her hooves now free, she pulled the apple out of her mouth. "Thank ya kindly, Nero."
"Don't mention it." He gave her a nod as Rainbow flew up onto the stage, being the next to challenge the great and insufferable Trixie.
"There's no need to go strutting around and showing off like that! That's my job!" With that, Rainbow took off into the sky. She flew through town at tremendous speed before looping on the windmill to not only give herself more momentum, but launch herself into the sky. She burst through several clouds before stopping in front of the sun to pose.
She zoomed back down at the speed of sound, bursting through several more clouds as she did. She did another loop around the windmill before speeding back to the stage, coming to a stop in front of Trixie. Several rain drops from the clouds Rainbow broke through splashed her from behind and created an actual rainbow above her head. "They don't call me 'Rainbow' and 'Dash' for nothing!"
The crowd gave a roar of applause and cheered for the rainbow speedster. This, however, did not cause Trixie to waver. "When Trixie is through, the only thing they'll call you is 'loser'." Trixie aimed her horn and fired a blast of magic at the rainbow above RD's head. The rainbow warped around the pegasus into a tornado, spinning her around and around as it carried her off the stage. When it finished, Rainbow lay on the ground, to dizzy to even stand.
"I think I'm... gonna be sick." She managed to say.
"Seems like anypony with a 'dash' of good sense would think twice before tussling with the great Trixie." Trixie used her magic to summon a storm cloud above Rainbow. A lightning bolt shocked her just as Applejack had been helping her back to her feet. Once again, the crowd of ponies laughed at their friend being tormented.
Why is everyone cheering anyway? Dash challenged her to prove she was faster, but Trixie just bullied her. How is this proving she's better?
"What we need is another unicorn to challenge her. Somepony with some magic of her own?" Spike nudged Twilight with his elbow.
"Yeah! A unicorn to show this unicorn who's boss!" Rainbow agreed.
"A real unicorn-to-unicorn tussle!" Applejack also agreed.
It took Nero a second to realize they were looking at him. "Sorry girls, but this ain't a job for me. I don't know any spells, and if I challenged her to a sword duel, I can guarantee I'd end up killing her, even if I tried to avoid it."
"What about that spell you used when we were searching for the Elements of Harmony? Didn't you summon a hologram while you were fighting those demons?" Twilight asked, and it gave the devil hunter pause. He remembered what Twilight was talking about, when he summoned that holographic camera to taunt the demons.
When he was still human, he would sometimes taunt demons by pretending to record them with an imaginary camera. He didn't have hands anymore, though, so he just pictured a movie camera in his head, and it appeared. He hadn't really questioned it at the time, but now that he thought about it, it was rather odd. Definitely something to ask Discord about the next time he saw the draconequus.
"I... honestly have no idea how I did that. It was kinda just a spur of the moment thing. I don't think I could recreate it if I wanted to. Anyway, it doesn't matter. Remember, I'm not the only unicorn in our group." Nero made a subtle nod towards Twilight, who tried to make herself smaller to avoid being the next challenger.
"Enough! Enough, all of you. I take your hint, but Rarity is above such nonsense." Rarity stepped in between them.
No, Rarity. Clearly, you did not get the hint.
"Rainbow Dash and Applejack may behave like ruffians, but Rarity conducts herself with beauty and grace." Rarity finished with a swish of her mane.
"Ohh! What's the matter? Afraid you'll get a hair out of place in that rat's nest you call a mane?" Trixie taunted from the stage.
"...Oh, it. Is. On!" Rarity marched herself up onto the stage, prepared to make Trixie eat her words. "You may think you're tough with all of your so-called powers, but there is more to magic than your brutish ways. A unicorn needs to be more than just muscle. A unicorn needs to have style."
Rarity's horn glowed, and she levitated one of the stage's curtains and draped them over herself, hiding her from view. When she removed them, she was adorned in a fancy dress and had her mane in an updo. "A unicorn's not a unicorn without grace and beauty."
...I'm not even gonna bother asking where she got that dress from or how she did her mane up like that so quickly.
"Rarity won't let Trixie get the best of her! She's strong, she's beautiful, she's-" Before Spike could finish, Trixie's horn glowed, and with a flash, Rarity's mane was transformed into...well...
"QUICK! I NEED A MIRROR! GET ME A MIRROR! WHAT DID SHE DO TO MY HAIR!? I KNOW SHE DID SOMETHING TERRIBLE TO MY HAIR!" Rarity cried out, having noticed the obvious gasps of horror coming from the audience.
"N-Nothing!" Twilight stuttered.
"I-It's fine!" Rainbow said quickly.
"It's gorgeous!" Applejack betrayed her element of honesty.
"It's green." Spike answered, staring at the hair in shock.
"It looks like it's made of grass." Nero also looked at the hair with bewilderment.
Twilight, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash all glared at Spike and Nero.
Rarity looked up at her mane, tears beginning to fill her eyes. "No... GREEN HAIR!? NOT GREEN HAIR!!! SUCH AN AWFUL, AWFUL COLOR!!!" Rarity took off, bawling her eyes out. Coincidentally, she passed a pony with green hair who seemed rather offended by her opinions on green hair.
"Well, Twilight, guess it's up to you. Come on, show her what you're made of!" Spike pointed to the mare on stage.
"What do you mean? I-I'm nothing special." Twilight shook her head nervously.
"Yes, you are! You're better than her!" The baby dragon insisted.
"I'm not better than anyone!" Her gaze shifted around as she noticed that all eyes were on her. Unfortunately, this included Trixie.
"Ha! You think you're better than the great and powerful Trixie? You think you have more magical talent?" Trixie sauntered to the edge of the stage as she spoke. "Well, come on! Show Trixie what you've got! Show us all!"
Twilight was practically sweating bullets at this point. "Who, me? I'm just your run-of-the-mill citizen of Ponyville! No powerful magic here. I, uh, I think I hear my laundry calling. Sorry, gotta go!" The unicorn sprinted in the opposite direction, desperate to get out of the situation. Spike watched her run off, looking both shocked and downcast.
"Once again, the great and powerful Trixie has proven herself to be the most amazing unicorn in all of Equestria! Was there ever any doubt?" With that, Trixie strode back behind the curtains, the show having finished. Everyone else took that as their cue to leave, and the crowd had dispersed, save for Nero and the gang.
"That Trixie is super-duper mean! She's so mean, she's just one big meanie-mean pants!" Pinkie stomped a hoof on the ground.
"Yeah, who does she think she is?" Rainbow agreed, hovering nearby.
"Every town or city has at least one douchebag, I guess." Nero added.
"Is there anything we can do to stand up to her?" Fluttershy spoke up for the first time since Trixie's appearance. Nero just shook his head.
"We saw how it turned out with AJ, Rainbow, and Rarity. Anything I can do would be overboard. Unless Twilight changes her mind, we're just gonna have to put up with her." The devil hunter shrugged. The others sighed in defeat at his words before they all exchanged their goodbyes. The group parted ways, though Nero noticed Spike still staring at the stage, a scowl present on his face.
"Hey, Spike." Nero called out to the baby dragon. "Maybe you can talk some sense into Twilight. You two are pretty close, after all."
"Trust me, I was already planning to. Twilight's way better than Trixie will ever be! She just has to prove it!" Spike proclaimed, much to the devil hunter's satisfaction. They parted ways once more, and Nero returned to Devil May Cry, a new objective in his mind.
Time to ask Discord a few questions.
When Nero arrived at Devil May Cry, he expected to have to call out to Discord for him to appear. Instead, he found Discord sitting behind the desk wearing 3-D glasses and holding a box of popcorn. "My, what a show that was! How did you enjoy meeting Trixie for the first time? Quite the showboat, wouldn't you say? Certainly, something you can relate to."
"Hey, I'll admit I like to show off, but even I'm not that bad. Hell, I don't think even Dante is as bad as her. We don't show off for attention, we just do it to have fun." The devil hunter argued. "Anyway, I have a question for you. Think you can answer it?"
"Well, I had another reason for coming here, but I suppose I can answer your question first." The master of chaos leaned back in the chair, kicking his legs up onto the desk. "This is about that little spell you used in the Everfree Forest, correct?"
"Got it in one. What exactly was that? Do you think I can do something like that again?" Nero asked as he approached the desk.
"I'd say it's possible. If I had to guess, I'd say it has something to do with your cutie mark." Discord pointed to Nero's flank, and the devil hunter lifted his coat in response. The image of a spectral arm was still present on his rump. "The devil bringer allows you to summon spectral arms, so perhaps now that you have a horn, you can summon spectral... other things."
"So basically, you think I can summon a spectral version of any object that comes to mind?"
"That's my theory, anyway. Now, as for why I'm actually here, I've decided upon a new rule that you must follow during your time here in Equestria." The draconequus removed his glasses as he took on a more serious tone. "No. Killing."
"No killing? And just how do you expect me to do my job if I can't kill any demons?" The half-demon replied sarcastically.
"Well, no killing anything other than demons, to be specific. As for anything that may have harnessed or been possessed by demonic power, you may fight them to banish the demonic energy, but nothing beyond that. There will be a few exceptions here and there, but for the most part, that rule will apply. Understood?"
"Yeah, yeah, loud and clear. Why are you telling me this now?" Nero pressed.
"It occurred to me that, had the girls not intervened during the Nightmare Moon incident, you may have ended up killing her in a fight, which would have also meant killing Princess Luna. I simply wanted to ensure something like that doesn't happen again." Discord explained, and Nero knew he was right. The devil hunter had come to the same conclusion himself and was glad things hadn't gone differently.
"As for why I'm informing you now of all times...well, I don't want to spoil anything, but I will say you will need to remember that rule very soon." Before Nero could ask Discord to elaborate further, he snapped his fingers and disappeared, leaving the devil hunter to his thoughts.
No killing, huh? Alright, if it means avoiding another close call like with Princess Luna, then I'm all for it.
Thinking back to what Discord said about his cutie mark, an idea popped in his head.
I wonder if I can summon a spectral motorcycle...
Night had begun to consume the sky as the green empusa floated through the Everfree Forest, except it wasn't carrying the normal green liquid it usually held in its sac. Instead, a bright red liquid glowed from within.
Demon blood.
The demon's master was not happy to find out a pony carrying the blood of Sparda was here in this new world, so he gave the little green empusa a task to carry out. Find a suitable candidate to inject the demon blood into, then let it go on a rampage. It would only be a matter of time before it and Sparda's kin cross paths. The green empusa's master did not believe this would be enough to stop the descendant of Sparda, but it would certainly send a message.
The green empusa wandered into a cave, drawn by the low grumble of snoring coming from within. When the demon laid eyes on the large, slumbering beast, it knew this would be the perfect candidate. The empusa flapped its wings and got close to the beast before plunging its stinger into the creature's hide. The beast let out a roar of pain as the empusa drained the demon blood into it.
The beast swat its paws at the air until it hit the empusa, sending it careening into the cave's wall. The demon could tell that the strike had been strong enough to kill it, and that it was slowly dying.
It didn't care.
It had carried out its master's wishes.
Nero had spent the next few hours trying to get his spell to work. He was able to create spectral versions of some smaller objects like a baseball, a clock, and the same camera he had summoned before. Sadly, he found himself unable to summon a spectral motorcycle.
Damn, and I had a good feeling about it, too.
Nero was stirred from his thoughts when he felt the ground shake. As soon as he heard ponies screaming, he dashed outside, grabbing Red Queen on his way out. He saw a crowd of ponies running away from something, panic and fear spread across all of their faces. He ran past them, deducing that the source of their panic must have been that way. It didn't take him long to find the trouble.
After turning left onto another street, he saw it. A giant, bear-like creature was rampaging through town. Its body was blue and transparent, speckled with stars and constellations. Every step it took cracked the earth beneath it. It let out a monstrous roar as it began chewing on the roof of one of the houses.
That must be an Ursa Major.
What Nero found odd, however, was that the stars and constellations on its body were all glowing red. When Twilight described the beast, she said that it was made entirely out of the night sky. If that was the case, wouldn't the stars be white? What could have caused them to be red?
Nero got his answer as he got closer to the Ursa. He could feel its familiar presence.
Demonic power.
"I don't want to spoil anything, but I will say you will need to remember that rule very soon."
Nero rolled his eyes as Discord's words replayed in his head. Couldn't the draconequus just give him a normal heads up instead of being vague about it?
Nero turned his attention away from the Ursa when he spotted movement in the corner of his eye. He saw Twilight carrying Spike on her back, running in the direction of the commotion. He caught up with her as she approached two colts, who he recognized from Trixie's performance earlier that day. "What's going on!?" She asked them.
"We brought an Ursa to town!" The chubby one replied.
"You WHAT!?!" Twilight reacted appropriately.
"Don't worry, the great and powerful Trixie will vanquish it!" The lanky one reassured her, gesturing to the magician who Nero now noticed was standing a few feet away from them.
"...I can't." Trixie reluctantly admitted.
"WHAT!?" The colts were taken aback.
"I can't! I never have! No pony can vanquish an Ursa Major! I just made the whole story up to make me look better!"
"MADE IT UP!?!"
Gee, what a shocker.
Trixie's confession was interrupted when the ground shook again. Everyone turned to see the Ursa was getting closer.
"Wait... there's something wrong with it. Why are the stars on it red? That's not normal!" Twilight's observation confirmed Nero's theory. Now he was certain he was the only one who could handle this.
"Stand back. I'm sensing a lot of demonic energy coming from it. This could get hairy." Twilight looked at Nero with concern, but gave him a nod before leading everyone away. The devil hunter looked back at the Ursa.
Gotta remember, no killing. Just deal enough damage to get rid of whatever demonic energy is controlling it. Even so, I can tell this'll be fun.
Nero smirked as he casually strolled over to the Ursa, which towered over him. Despite that, he wasn't worried in the slightest. "Hey there, big fella! What brings you around here? Lookin' for some picnic baskets to steal?"
The Ursa looked down at the devil hunter, growling. It roared before slamming its paw down on top of him. When the Ursa lifted its paw, however, there was no sign of the half-demon. "So, you wanna explain why I'm picking up a ton of demon energy coming from you?" The Ursa turned to find its target a few feet away from where he previously stood, leaning against one of the houses and seeming quite relaxed despite the situation. "I'm guessing you either snacked on one too many demons, or there's something else I'm missing here."
The Ursa took a swing at him, and Nero leapt out of the way, levitating Red Queen as he did. He landed on the Ursa's paw, stabbing his sword deep into it and giving it a few revs. The Ursa howled in pain as the flames burned its transparent flesh. Nero did a backflip off the Ursa's paw and landed on the ground. The Ursa glared at the pony, its eyes filled with pure rage.
"Oh? What's that? 'My sword is a serious fire hazard' you say? Listen, I know how you feel about forest fires, but you can relax! I'll be careful with it, I promise." He slipped Red Queen onto his back again as he took out Blue Rose, along with a few Color Up bullets.
"Y'know, I was already looking forward to duking it out with one of you guys. The fact that you're amped up on demon blood makes it even better. I'm expecting you to put up a good fight..." Nero chucked the Color Up bullets into the air. As they started falling back down, Nero flicked open Blue Rose's chamber then spun around. In one smooth motion, the bullets slid into the chamber and Nero aimed his gun at the Ursa, the chamber clicking shut once more. "So try not to disappoint me!"
The Ursa let out a mighty roar as it charged Nero, and the devil hunter air hiked out of the way, two spectral wings appearing on his back to give him an extra boost. The wings dissipated and Nero's hoof began to glow as he prepared a charge shot. He landed and began his assault with a Streak, closing the distance between himself and the Ursa. He swung his sword three times before avoiding a swing from the beast with another air hike. While in the air, he sliced into the Ursa with three more swings, then speared downward into it, performing a Payline.
The monster roared as it swung at the half-demon two more times, both attacks easily avoided with a couple Table Hoppers. With the charge shot ready, Nero unloaded into the Ursa, firing all three charged Color Up shots into the Ursa's face. The bullets drilled into the Ursa before one final explosion blew up in its face.
Nero swung both his sword and himself upwards with a High Roller, then swung his sword two more times. He waited a second before the third strike to execute a Roulette Spin, shredding into the Ursa. He shot himself forward with a Calibur, then slammed his sword back down to the ground with a Split.
As Nero rolled to avoid another swipe from the Ursa's paw, he noticed that it was bleeding from his previous attacks. As the blood oozed from the Ursa's wounds, the red glow from the stars on its body seemed to flicker.
Good. The demon blood's starting to drain from him. Just need to keep this up.
Nero shot forward with a Streak once more. He swung his sword twice, waited a second, then delivered several more swings with Red Queen's Combo C. He leapt out of the way of another attack, then performed another High Roller, this time revving Red Queen at the right time to activate Max Act. With Exceed now fully charged, Nero stabbed his sword directly into the ground with Double Down, creating a fiery explosion around him.
After dodging another swing with a Table Hopper, Nero loaded more Color Up shots into Blue Rose and began to charge it up. "Ugh, come on. Is that really the best you've got?" Nero groaned as he pulled his hood over his head. The Ursa let out another roar, furious at not being able to land a single hit. It reared back on its hind legs then slammed both paws down into the ground. The Ursa had been sure that had done the trick, only to see Nero had avoided harm once again, refusing to stay still.
Nero performed Red Queen's Combo D by swinging his sword three times before bringing it down with extra force, Max-Acting on the final hit. With Blue Rose charged up once again, Nero jumped over another strike, leapt off the Ursa's back with an Enemy Step, then fired the charged Color Up rounds while in mid-air. Just as before, the bullets drilled into the beast before one final explosion went off. With Exceed fully charged, Nero shot forward with an Ex Streak, his flaming sword cutting deep into the Ursa.
The Ursa howled in pain as it stumbled and fell to the ground. It wasn't done just yet, but it was stunned, and Nero saw an opportunity.
Alright, time to hit it with full force!
"WATCH THIS!" Nero's voice echoed. His horn glowed as he summoned a hologram of a middle finger before his body began to change. His skin turned to greenish blue and his eyes glowed red, the pupils becoming slits. His white hair grew much longer than it had previously been, and curved devil horns jutted out of his head. The spectral wings returned, spreading out to reveal claws on the ends.
With Nero's Devil Trigger now active, he held nothing back. Swing after swing, blow after blow, Nero relentlessly attacked the downed Ursa, his spectral wings clawing at it to deal extra damage. After the barrage of attacks, a spectral version of the Yamato appeared at Nero's side. He got into a stance as he prepared himself. "Tide's turning..." He said before unsheathing the sword. "SHOWDOWN!!!" Nero unleashed countless slashes upon the Ursa in rapid motion, blood gushing from each slice. For the final cut, Nero brought out Red Queen and swung both swords in an X formation.
Nero's Devil Trigger was about to wear off, and the Ursa looked like it was getting back up. Before either could happen, though, Nero grabbed the Ursa with his Devil Bringer. The half-demon delivered a flurry of punches with his spectral arms and wings, pummeling the Ursa's face. "I may not have any picnic baskets to give you..." Nero reared back, summoning a spectral arm much larger than the previous ones. "But how about a knuckle sandwich instead!?"
With the large spectral arm, Nero threw an uppercut straight into the Ursa's jaw and sent it flying. The Ursa crashed into the ground; the impact large enough to cause a small earthquake. Nero's Devil Trigger wore off and his body returned to normal. At the same time, Nero saw the red from the Ursa's stars fading out and returning to a normal white. As for the Ursa itself, it thankfully appeared to still be breathing.
Guess that's that, then.
Nero slipped Red Queen on his back as he spotted Twilight and Spike approaching. Several other townsponies had come out of hiding after the dust had settled.
"That was amazing, Nero!" Spike praised the devil hunter.
"Eh, it wasn't anything special. It was actually easier than I thought it would've been. Besides, it's not over just yet." He said as he turned back to the Ursa. While it was no longer possessed by demon blood, it was still dangerous. The Ursa started to get back up, growling as it did. The fear returned to all the ponies (except Nero) watching. "Alright, Twilight. You're up."
"Me!?" She blanched.
"I know it's dangerous, but it's just an animal, so I don't wanna kill it. You, on the other hand, can handle it without violence. I'm sure you've got some spells for this, right?"
"Come on, Twilight! You can do it! I know you can!" Spike added, supporting Nero. Twilight looked nervously at the Ursa, who was starting to slowly stomp towards them. She gulped before a look of resolve settled on her face. She marched forward until she was right in front of the giant.
The purple unicorn put all of her focus into her horn as it began to glow. Nero felt a breeze begin to pick up around them. From the breeze, soft music began to play. The devil hunter watched as the wind carried some purple musical notes, most likely from Twilight's magic, towards the Ursa. It seemed to enjoy the sound of the music as it started to calm down. In fact, it looked like it was getting sleepy.
"Nice use of number 16!" Spike whispered from beside him.
Twilight's horn flared up marginally as she put every inch of her focus into her magic. Off in the distance, a water tower became surrounded in a magenta hue. The water tank was levitated from the tower, tipped over to drain the water out, then carried over to a nearby barn. From within the barn, several "moos" could be heard from cows that were most likely inside, followed by a "Golly, don't ya know?" before the water tank came out the other end.
That had to be the fastest milking of cows I've ever seen, or heard in this case.
"That's new." Spike commented from the side.
Twilight dug her hooves into the ground, the glow from her horn becoming as big as Twilight herself. She managed to levitate the Ursa itself just as it passed out. She brought the water tank filled with milk over to the beast and placed it in its paws. The Ursa began sucking on it like it was a baby's bottle.
Not the method I expected, but effective all the same.
The townsponies all watched in awe at Twilight's magical abilities. It was incredibly rare to see a unicorn pull off feats as great as this. Finally, Twilight lifted the Ursa all the way back towards the Everfree Forest until it was out of sight. She released her magic, sweating and panting from the strain. The crowd of ponies that had been watching all cheered, singing the purple unicorn's praises.
"Heavens to Betsy! We knew ya had ability, but not that much!" Applejack commended her.
"I'm sorry. Please, please don't hate me!" Twilight begged, much to everyone's shock.
"Hate you!?" The girls all vocalized Nero's thoughts. Why the heck would she think that? "Why, whatever do you mean, darling?" Rarity was the first to ask for clarification.
"Well, I know how much you all hated Trixie's showing off with her magic tricks, and I just thought-"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Magic's got nothing to do with it!" Rainbow Dash interrupted Twilight before she could finish. "Trixie's just a loudmouth."
"Most unpleasant." Rarity agreed.
"All hat an' no cattle." AJ added.
"So... you don't mind my magic tricks?"
"Your magic is a part o' who you are, sugar cube. And we like who you are. We're proud to have such a powerful, talented unicorn as our friend." The farm pony said.
"And after whupping that Ursa's hindquarters, we're even prouder!" Rainbow declared.
Technically I whupped its hindquarters, but I guess we're just gonna gloss over that.
"You are?" A hopeful smile formed on Twilight's face, and the group all gave nods of confirmation. It seemed as though things were starting to wrap up nicely.
"Wow, Twilight! How'd you know what to do with that Ursa Major?" Spike asked, curious.
"That's what I was doing when you came looking for me. I was so intrigued by Trixie's bragging that I was compelled to do a little reading up on them."
"So it is possible to vanquish an Ursa Major all by yourself?" The dragon continued his question.
"That wasn't an Ursa Major. It was a baby, an Ursa Minor." She explained.
"That was just a baby!? Aw damnit! You're telling me I didn't even get to fight the real thing!?" Nero cursed, followed by someone from the crowd of ponies shouting "Language!" at him.
I'm getting real sick of people calling me out for swearing.
"I'm guessing it was only rampaging because, like Nero said, it was possessed with demonic energy. Though, I don't think it would have come to town if somepony hadn't woken it up." Twilight glared at the two colts that brought the Ursa to town, and soon so did everybody else.
"Well, if that was an Ursa Minor, then... what's an Ursa Major like!?" The fear in Spike's voice was evident. Twilight took a few seconds to think of her response.
"...You don't wanna know." She eventually settled with.
No, actually, I really wanna know now.
Nero's attention was drawn away from Twilight when he heard the sound of someone chuckling. It was then he saw Trixie emerging from the crowd. "Ha! You may have vanquished an Ursa Minor, but you will never have the amazing, showstopping ability of the great and powerful TRIXIE!" The showboat threw down a smoke bomb to make herself disappear... only to be seen running away in the distance, not having teleported at all.
"Why that little...!" Rainbow Dash was about to fly after Trixie, only to be stopped by Twilight.
"Just let her go. Maybe someday she'll learn her lesson." She sighed.
Yeah, I won't hold my breath.
"Now, about you two." Twilight addressed the two colts, who were in the process of trying to sneak away. They chuckled nervously when they saw that they had been caught.
"W-We're sorry that we woke up the Ursa Minor." the smaller apologized.
"We just wanted to see some awesome magic!" The skinny one added.
"Yeah! And the way you vanquished that Ursa Minor was awesome!"
These two seem a bit too happy about almost getting the entire town killed for some entertainment.
Twilight, feeling the same way as the devil hunter, did not let up with her glaring. Noticing this, the two kids lost their smiles. "We deserve whatever punishment you give us."
"For starters, you can clean up this mess." Twilight gestured to some of the wreckage caused by the Ursa Minor. "And... what do you think, Spike? Should I give them number 25?"
The two kids shared a look of horror as Spike grew a devilish smile. "Oh, 25? Yes! And I think I deserve it, too."
Huh?
"Huh?" The colts echoed Nero's thoughts.
"I think you're right." Twilight's horn glowed, and the two colts flinched in preparation for whatever the unicorn was about to do. Spike, who was about to receive the same treatment, actually looked excited. With a flash, Twilight cast the spell on Spike and the colts. As for what the spell did....
...It gave the three of them mustaches.
"Sweet~!" The three of them all said together. Seeing them all wearing the facial hair proudly, it gave the half-demon a thought.
...I wonder if I would look good with a mustache.
After the whole incident was resolved, the townsponies all returned to their homes, including Nero. It was now the next day, and the devil hunter sat at his desk. He couldn't help but ponder over the events of last night. Particularly how the Ursa had demon blood coursing through it. How did that happen, exactly? Did the Ursa really just eat some weaker demons and absorb their power? It may have been, but Nero couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to it.
He had tried asking Discord about it, though he wouldn't have been surprised if the draconequus told him that it would have been a 'spoiler'. This did not end up being the answer, though, and the descendant of Sparda was truly shocked when the lord of chaos said that he didn't know who was behind it. Just like how there was something preventing him from snapping the demons out of existence, there was something keeping him from learning who or what was behind all of this.
Nero took a bite out of the apple that served as his breakfast.
This job just keeps getting more and more complicated...
Whatever was going on, the devil hunter needed to find out soon. He had a feeling that if there was some sort of mastermind behind everything, they weren't just going to sit around and let him put a stop to it. The longer this went on, the more chance there was of things going from bad to worse.
You can throw whatever challenge you want at me, but I swear...
I will never surrender.
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nice job on all chapters out so far
is Nero going to inherit his father's spectral swords?
yeah, they're doing that a lot
Nice I especially love when you add devil may cry music in your chapters