Bridle Gossip
Nero had just stepped out of the Devil May Cry shop to go grab some brunch. It was a gorgeous, sunny day, and a perfect day for a stroll through town. The nice weather was a little surprising, considering there had been a huge thunderstorm the day before yesterday. It had been so rough that a tree had been knocked over and crashed right on top of Devil May Cry, creating a large hole in the roof.
Thankfully, Celestia had provided him with insurance, so his wallet was spared.
Twilight had informed him that Applejack and Rarity had stayed with her in Golden Oaks Library that night to take shelter from the storm. Apparently, it had been Twilight's first slumber party, and according to her, it was a success. She did mention that a tree had crashed through her window, but no actual damage was done to the library itself. Lucky.
The sunny weather was certainly a welcome change of pace, especially after the storm. The devil hunter wouldn't have been surprised if he had seen the many residents of Ponyville outside enjoying the sunshine.
That was why he was very perplexed when he saw the streets were completely barren.
What, did a pack of demons charge through town while I was asleep and gobble everyone up? Where the heck is everyone?
Nero wandered the streets for a few minutes, searching for any signs of life, only to turn up nothing. He eventually found himself outside of Sugarcube Corner, and there still wasn't a single pony in sight. At least there hadn't been, until he spotted a familiar purple unicorn with a baby dragon on her back. Judging by the looks on their faces, they were also wondering why the town was so empty.
"Yo, Twilight! Over here!" Nero waved to them to get their attention. As soon as Twilight saw him, she trotted over, looking quite relieved to have finally found someone.
"Nero, Am I glad to see you! Where is everypony? Do you know what happened?" She asked him.
"Afraid not. I know about as much as you do. Is there some sort of event going on that I didn't hear about?"
"Not that I'm aware of. How strange, Ponyville may not be a bustling city, but it's usually a lot more lively than this..." Twilight put a hoof on her chin in thought. It was then that a faint noise coming from Sugarcube Corner drew their attention. They turned to see a familiar pink pony peeking her head out of the door.
"Psst! Twilight! Nero! Spike! Come here!" Pinkie Pie whispered as she waved her hoof, gesturing for them to come to her. Nero, Twilight, and Spike did not move, staring at the party pony in bewilderment. "Come! Here! Hurry! Before she gets you!"
"Before who-?"
"Shhh! She'll hear you!" Pinkie shushed Nero before he could finish his question and continued to beckon them into the building. The devil hunter shared a glance with Twilight before they followed Pinkie into the store. The inside of the store was pitch dark until Pinkie turned on a flashlight, blinding Twilight and Spike while leaving Nero unaffected.
Nero's demonic vision allowed him to see that Pinkie wasn't the only one in the pastry shop. Around them, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash were also in the store. There was one more pony, a child, standing next to Applejack. Nero remembered her from when AJ introduced them to the Apple family on his first day here. Her name was Apple Bloom, if he remembered correctly.
"Who'll get us!? The zombie pony!?" Spike asked fearfully as he clutched onto Twilight for dear life.
"Z-Z-Z-Zombie pony!?" Pinkie shivered nervously at the mention of a zombie pony.
"Spike, there are no zombie ponies! Pinkie, what are you doing here alone in the dark?" Twilight asked, unable to see the group of ponies surrounding them.
"I'm not alone in the dark." Pinkie corrected before pulling the window curtains open a crack, letting some sunlight in to reveal the other ponies in the room. Twilight let out a gasp once she saw them, shocked by their sudden presence.
"Okay, then, what are you all doing here in the dark?"
"I've been wondering that myself. Care to fill us in on why Ponyville is suddenly a ghost town?" Nero seconded.
"We're hidin' from her!" Applejack pointed to the window before drawing the curtains further, allowing everyone to peek through. Nero saw a cloaked figure in the middle of the road digging at the dirt. Though the cloak hid most of it, the stranger's shape was similar to a pony's, and they clearly had hooves, so it most likely wasn't a demon. The stranger seemed to realize they were being watched and looked directly at the window the group was peeking through. Everyone, save for Nero and Twilight, backed away to hide from the stranger's gaze.
That's what everyone is so afraid of? It's just some random pony, what's the problem?
Apple Bloom used Spike as a stepping stool to be at eye level with Twilight before whispering, "Did ya see her, Twilight? Did ya see... Zecora?"
"Apple Bloom! I told you never to say that name!" AJ chastised her little sister.
"Well, I saw her glance this way-"
"Glance eeevily this way!" Pinkie interrupted Twilight, getting up in her face. Twilight promptly pushed the pink pony aside.
"...And then a bunch of you flipped out for no good reason."
"No good reason!? Ya call protectin' yer kin no good reason!?" Applejack hugged Apple Bloom tighter as she spoke, much to the filly's annoyance. "Why, as soon as my sister saw Zecora ridin' into town, she started shakin' in her little horseshoes." She then began shaking Apple Bloom back and forth to emphasize her point.
"D-d-i-i-d-d n-n-o-o-t-t!" Apple Bloom's did her best to speak through her sister's constant shaking.
"So I swept her up and brought her here." To emphasize once again, Applejack lifted her sister up onto her back.
"I walked here myself!"
"For safekeeping!"
"Applejack, I'm not a baby! I can take care of myself!" Apple Bloom climbed back off her sister's back as they argued.
"Not from that creepy Zecora." The farm pony argued back.
"Ok, hold on a sec. Can someone please explain to me what's so creepy about this 'Zecora'?" Nero broke up the bout between siblings with a question.
"She's mysterious..." Fluttershy answered first.
"Sinister..." Rainbow added.
"And Spooooky~!" Pinkie dramatically ended their list of adjectives.
"That still doesn't really answer my question..." Nero rolled his eyes as he turned back to the window with Twilight. The rest of the group peeked out from behind them, forcing the two of them to hunch over uncomfortably. They watched as 'Zecora' continued to dig at the ground for a bit before she took off the hood of her cloak. Nero was surprised to see the black and white stripes that covered the mysterious pony. It turned out she wasn't a pony at all, but was actually a zebra.
Of course, everyone but Twilight and Nero gasped in horror in response to Zecora removing her hood.
"Will you cut that out?" Twilight's voice gave away her irritation.
"Just look at those stripes. So garish!" Rarity pointed out.
"She's a zebra." Both Twilight and and Nero responded in sync.
"A WHAT!?" Everyone shared the same level of surprise, apparently never having heard of zebras before.
"A zebra, and her stripes aren't a fashion choice, Rarity. They're what she was born with." Twilight explained. Shocked by this revelation, Rarity brought a hoof up to her head as she fainted on the spot.
What's with that reaction?...Hold on, is Rarity racist?
"You have zebras in your world, Nero?" Twilight asked the devil hunter.
"Yeah, they aren't native to my country, but their existence is still pretty common knowledge. I'm surprised the rest of you haven't heard of them." He replied.
"Ya said she was born with those stripes, but born where? I never seen a pony like that in these parts, except...her!" Applejack shivered at the mere thought of Zecora.
"Well, she's probably not from here, and she's not a pony. My books say that zebras come from a faraway land, but I've never seen her in Ponyville. Where does she live?" During Twilight's explanation, Nero caught Spike in the corner of his eye sneaking into the kitchen, most likely getting something to eat.
"That's just it. She lives in... the Everfree Forest!" The second after Applejack answered, a loud crash echoed throughout Sugarcube Corner, startling the girls.
"SPIKE!" Twilight scolded the baby dragon from outside the kitchen. Apparently, the source of the noise came from a few pots and pans that he had knocked over.
"Uh, sorry." Spike winced as he apologized, a cupcake and a candy cane held in his claws.
Applejack continued despite Spike's interruption. "The Everfree Forest just ain't natural! The plants grow..."
"Animals care for themselves..." Fluttershy added.
"And the clouds move..." Rainbow contributed.
"All on their own!!!" The three of them cried out in unison. In the background, Rarity fainted once again.
"Wait, what? What are you three talking about? Everything you just described is completely normal." Nero scratched his head, trying to wrap his head around the situation.
"Normal!? How can any of that seem normal to you!?" Rainbow Dash flew right up to Nero, inches from his face. "You've seen it for yourself! Applejack and the rest of the Apple family plant crops, Fluttershy takes care of the animals, and I keep the clouds in check around Ponyville. Heck, just the other day you saw everypony prepping for the storm that the pegasi had scheduled. You even helped out a bit! Ponies have been in charge of this stuff for generations! Don't you take care of this stuff back in your world?"
"Nope, all that stuff happens naturally where I'm from, no assistance from humans required." Nero stated as he took a few steps back from the rainbow speedster, giving himself some space.
"WHAT!?!" All the girls, even Twilight this time, shouted.
"I mean, why would it be called nature if it wasn't natural? From my perspective, Equestria is the one that's unnatural, not the Everfree Forest." He continued.
"Wha-!? But...how!? That doesn't make any sense!" Rainbow struggled to comprehend an entire world where clouds moved on their own.
"It just kinda... happens. Look, I'm not an expert on it, so I can't really explain it. That's just how my world works."
"W-Well, bottom line is that by Equestria's standards, the Everfree Forest is just... weird!" Rainbow concluded.
"And that wicked enchantress Zecora lives there doing her evil...uh... stuff! Why, she's so evil, I even wrote a song about her!" Pinkie chimed in.
Oh please no, in the name of Sparda, not another song...
"Here we go..." Rainbow groaned.
"SHE'S AN EVIL ENCHANTRESS~! SHE DOES EVIL DANCES~! AND IF YOU LOOK DEEP IN HER EYES, SHE'LL PUT YOU IN TRANCES~!"
At this point, a trembling Applejack had latched onto Apple Bloom for dear life. Apple Bloom pushed herself out of her sister's grasp, and the apple farmer continued to shake in fear.
"THEN WHAT WILL SHE DO~? SHE'LL MIX UP AN EVIL BREW, THEN SHE'LL GOBBLE YOU UP IN A BIG TASTY STEW SOOOO WATCH OUT!!!" Pinkie finished the song by posing on top of a table, panting heavily. Everyone stared at her in stunned silence.
"...Wow. Catchy." Twilight was the first to break the silence.
"It's a work in progress." Pinkie smiled confidently, having regained her breath.
"This is all just a lot of gossip and rumors. Now tell me, what exactly have you actually seen Zecora do?" Twilight questioned, still skeptical about their claims.
"Well... once a month, she comes into Ponyville." Rainbow pointed out.
"Then... she lurks by the stores." Rarity added.
"And then... she digs at the ground." Fluttershy finished.
Nero and Twilight looked at all of them like they were idiots.
"...Y-...You girls aren't serious, right? That's why you think she's creepy? She just visits Ponyville and stops by the stores and suddenly she's considered 'evil'?" Nero uttered in disbelief. They couldn't possibly be this paranoid.
"I'm with Nero, how is any of this bad? How do you know she's not just coming to town to visit?" Twilight supported.
"Yeah! Maybe she's just tryin' to be neighborly!" Even Apple Bloom sided with them.
"And maybe she's not lurking by the stores, maybe she's going to them. Lurk-free. To do some shopping."
"Yeah, everypony likes to shop! Ya know what I think-?"
"Apple Bloom! Hush and let the big ponies talk!" Applejack cut her sister off before she could finish, brushing her aside.
"I am a big pony." Apple Bloom grumbled to herself as she sulked over to the corner of the room.
"What about digging at the ground? You've gotta admit that's weird." Rainbow argued.
"What if she's digging for innocent creatures?" Fluttershy assumed. Meanwhile, in the background, Pinkie continued to sing that song about Zecora she came up with.
"I am sure there's an explanation for everything Zecora does, and if anypony here were actually brave enough to approach her, they would find out the truth!" Twilight insisted.
The girls continued arguing about it as Nero tuned them out. He went back over to the window to peek at Zecora, who was still digging at the ground. He couldn't help but find this whole thing ridiculous. Not one pony in all of Ponyville bothered to ask, 'Hey, maybe we should grow a pair and just ask her what she's doing?' It was even more laughable that Apple Bloom, a child, had more sense than the adults. Honestly, Nero was tempted to just walk out there and confront Zecora himself. He was about to do so, only to see that Zecora had finished up and was leaving.
Next time she shows up in town, I'm definitely getting to the bottom of this.
Just as he was about to look away from the window, Nero caught something in the corner of his vision. He spotted a familiar little filly with a large bow on her head tailing Zecora out of town. He did a quick scan of the room and confirmed that Apple Bloom was nowhere to be found.
Uh Oh.
"Uh, girls? I think we have a problem. Apple Bloom's missing." The devil hunter cut off their argument. Once he had their attention, he gestured to the open door.
"She went outside!?" Rarity cried out.
"That silly little filly! I told her to stay put!" Applejack was the first out the door, followed by the rest of the girls. Twilight told Spike to stay in case Apple Bloom came back, and the baby dragon gave a salute. With that, they followed the rest of the group out of the bakery, chasing after Apple Bloom.
The group followed Apple Bloom's trail into the Everfree Forest. They soon found the small filly, as well as the mysterious Zecora not much further ahead.
"Apple Bloom!?" AJ quickly called out to her sister. While it did get Apple Bloom's attention, it also grabbed the attention of Zecora. "You get back here right now!"
"Beware! Beware, you pony folk! Those leaves of blue are not a joke!" Zecora called out to them in return as she backed away, deeper into the forest and out of sight.
Huh? Leaves of blue?
Nero looked down and finally noticed that they were all standing in a patch of vibrant blue flowers. The only one that wasn't standing in them was Apple Bloom.
Did she mean these flowers? They don't seem dangerous, at least at first glance. What the heck was she talking about?
Applejack, on the other hand, didn't seem to take her words as a warning, and instead, a threat. "Y-You keep yer creepy mumbo jumbo to yerself, ya hear!?" She yelled back at the zebra as she scooped up Apple Bloom. The other girls, sans Twilight, all shouted similar threats. Well, except Pinkie, who was singing that song she wrote once again.
"Oh brother..." Twilight muttered.
"Beware! Beware!" Zecora's exotic voice echoed through the forest, chanting the same warning.
"Yeah! Back at you, Zecora! You and your lame curse are the ones who'd better beware!" Rainbow yelled back.
"And you!" Applejack turned her head to face her little sister, who was still sitting on top of the farm pony's back. "Why couldn't you just listen to your big sister? Who knows what kinda nasty curse Zecora coulda just put on you!?"
"Just like in my song! EVIL ENCHANTRESS~! WITH THE DANCES~! AND THE TRANCES~!" Pinkie hopped around in the flowers, singing her song again.
"You guys, there's no such thing as curses!" Twilight argued, shaking her head.
"Says the magical talking unicorn. Listen Twilight, I agree with you that they're overreacting about Zecora, but you can't say curses don't exist when you literally have a talent for magic." Nero butted in.
"My magic, real magic, comes from within. It's a skill you're born with. Curses are artificial, fake magic. It's conjured with potions and incantations, all smoke and mirrors meant to scare. But curses have no real power. They're just an old pony tale." The purple unicorn explained.
"Just you wait, Twilight. Yer gonna learn that some pony tales really are true." With that last statement, Applejack and the others turned back around and left, making their way back out of the forest. Twilight and Nero shared skeptical glances before following them.
Curses, huh? Like that'll actually happen.
The rest of the day had been uneventful, and soon the sun had set, being replaced by the moon. Nero turned in for the night, and awoke the next day.
The second he woke up, he could tell something was wrong.
He had no idea what it was, but something felt... off. He had no idea what it was, all he knew was that his body felt different. It wasn't a completely foreign feeling, though. It felt kind of like when he was in his Devil Trigger form, yet slightly different somehow. Obviously, it couldn't possibly have been his Devil Trigger, since he never activated it last night. At least, he didn't remember activating it.
He shrugged it off, thinking maybe he just didn't get a great night's sleep or something. He made his way to his bathroom, intent on starting his usual morning routine. Just as he was about to grab his toothbrush, he saw his reflection in the mirror.
The familiar sight of his Devil Trigger form stared back at him, its eyes wide.
"What the hell!?" The devil hunter looked down at his hooves, and sure enough, they were covered in greenish blue scales. "Wha-!? When did-!? How!?"
Shaking his head, Nero focused as he deactivated his Devil Trigger so he could get on with his day. When he looked back in the mirror, however, he saw that he was still in his Devil Trigger form. He tried again, only to get the same result. For some reason, his body would not return to normal.
Oh, you've gotta be kidding me! How the heck did this-!?
Before he could finish his thought, his Devil Trigger deactivated without his input, and his body returned to normal.
Oh... well, that was weird. That's never happened before. What was that all about?
With his body back to normal, Nero grabbed his toothbrush and started brushing his teeth. Things seemed to be back to normal until partway through his brushing, his Devil Trigger form returned. Since his Devil Trigger turned his teeth into fangs, the brush ended up breaking on his teeth, snapping in half. The half-demon had to cough up the half that was in his mouth in order to keep himself from choking.
Oh, come on! Again!? What the hell's going on!?
Paying another glance to the mirror, Nero realized something rather odd. His hair hadn't grown out like it usually did when using his Devil Trigger. His faux hawk was still the same as it was in his normal form. His eyes weren't demonic either, instead looking completely normal.
Without warning, his form changed again. This time, his hair had grown out despite being in his normal form. His eyes were still normal, but the spectral wings were now resting on his shoulders, and his hind legs still had scales on them.
My Devil Trigger's never acted up like this. Seriously, what in the actual hell is happeni-WOAH!!!
All of a sudden, Nero's spectral wings started flapping on their own, sending him flying out of the bathroom and crashing through a wall, back into his room. After standing back up with a groan, Nero's form changed again. This time, all four hooves were normal, but the rest of his body was covered in scales. The spectral wings had disappeared, and his hair was short again, but now his eyes were demonic.
Before he could take another step, a blue glyph appeared beneath Nero's feet, which he recognized as the platform he would summon to perform an air hike. The glyph glowed before launching Nero headfirst into the ceiling. He fell back to the ground, just barely managing to land on his hooves. The devil hunter growled angrily, already sick of whatever was going on. His voice carried a demonic echo as he spoke, "I swear to God, Discord, if this is your doing..."
"I feel insulted that you automatically assume everything is my fault."
Nero spun around to find a familiar draconequus floating behind him. How he managed to keep sneaking up on Nero was a mystery. "Well, if this isn't your fault, care to explain what's happening?"
"Well, your demonic powers appear to be going haywire." Discord simply responded.
"Oh really!? Gee, I hadn't noticed! Think you could tell me why!?" Nero angrily yelled just as his body transformed again. This time, all four of his hooves became scaly while the rest of his body returned to normal, save for the demon horns on his head. His voice still had a demonic echo as well.
"Well, not when you have that attitude. Besides, I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise! I can at least tell you that it has something to do with your little encounter yesterday." Discord replied. It took Nero a second to realize the draconequus was referring to when they followed Apple Bloom and Zecora into the Everfree Forest. "Either way, I can assure you that I'm not the one you should be asking about this. I'll leave you alone to handle things. Ta ta, and good luck!"
Discord snapped his fingers and teleported away, leaving Nero alone to think. Had Zecora actually done something to them? ...No, that couldn't be it, the girls were just jumping to conclusions about her. There must've been something else that caused this. They did say the Everfree Forest was a weird place, there's probably a number of things that could've caused this. Either way, one thing was certain.
He needed to talk to Twilight.
Getting to the Golden Oak Library was easier said than done, thanks to Nero's powers going nuts. His air hikes would send him flying into the air, his spectral wings sent him crashing into buildings, his strength made his steps powerful enough to crack the ground beneath him, even his speed was out of control, making him move at mach 3 out of nowhere and causing him to crash into even more buildings. To make things even more annoying, his body kept getting jumbled up between his normal and Devil Trigger forms. Still, the devil hunter persevered, and eventually reached the library.
Ok, now to just carefully make my way through the front door-OH CRAP!!!
Another air hike glyph launched the half-demon into the air. While midair, his spectral wings appeared and started flapping, sending him through the library's second story window. He crashed into the stairs, tumbling down them until he reached the bottom floor. After coming to his senses, he looked around to see that Twilight wasn't the only one here. Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Spike, and Apple Bloom were all present. Seeing them all made one thing clear.
"Looks like I'm not the only one effected by whatever's going on." Nero said aloud.
Twilight's horn flopped around like it was made of rubber and was covered in blue spots. Pinkie's tongue was inflated, preventing her from speaking coherently and making her spit everywhere. Like Twilight's horn, it was covered in blue spots. Rarity's mane was long and messy, covering her whole body like a wet mop. Rainbow Dash had crashed into a bookshelf and gotten herself tangled in a ladder, and that her wings were angled weirdly. As for Fluttershy and Apple Bloom, nothing seemed to be wrong with them, at least at first glance. Same goes for Spike, but he hadn't been in the forest with them, so that was to be expected.
Wait a sec, where is-?
"I hate to say I told ya so, Twilight, but I told ya so!" Everyone turned in the direction of Apple Bloom, where the voice had come from. The voice hadn't come from Apple Bloom herself, but the pony riding on her back. The pony in question was Applejack, only the farm pony was the size of a pea. "It's a curse, I tells ya!"
Ah, so that's what happened to AJ. Guess she isn't the big sister anymore.
"But Fluttershy seems just fine!" Twilight said, looking over at the shy pegasus.
"Same goes for Apple Bloom. Either of you notice anything weird about yourselves?" Nero asked the two of them as his body transformed once more.
"I've been the same since yesterday, as far as I can tell." Apple Bloom responded. Fluttershy, on the other hand, remained silent.
"Fluttershy? Are you okay?" Twilight asked her, and Fluttershy turned away, not wanting to look her in the eye.
"Is there something wrong with you?" Twilight asked again, and Fluttershy nodded nervously.
"...Would you care to tell us?" Fluttershy, once again, kept her mouth shut.
"So... you're not gonna tell us?" Fluttershy gave a curt nod in response.
"Yes you're not, or yes you will-?"
"Good gravy, girl! What's wrong with you!?" Applejack butted in, hopping on top of a stack of books to reach eye level with Fluttershy.
"Yeah, c'mon, Fluttershy. Whatever it is, it can't be worse than the rest of us." Nero added, his body changing again mid-sentence. The shy pegasus remained silent for a bit longer before finally giving a vocal response.
"...I don't wanna talk about it." Fluttershy said, her voice deep and masculine.
...Oh.
"Snrk... BWAHAHAHA!!!" Spike burst out laughing. "This is hilarious! Heh, look at all of you! We got Hairity, Rainbow Crash, Spitty Pie, Apple-tini, Flutterguy, Nero to Zero, and...uh..." Spike paused when he reached Twilight, unable to come up with a nickname for her. "...I got nothing. 'Twilight Sparkle', I mean seriously, I can't even work with that."
"Hmm..." Nero looked at Twilight's horn for a second, watching it flop around. It didn't take long before an idea sprang into his head. "...How 'bout Twilight Flopple?"
"Oh yeah! That's perfect!" The baby dragon cheered.
"Don't encourage him!" Twilight snapped. "This is no joke, you two! Now Spike, start looking for more books so I can find a cure!" Spike groaned at having his fun be shut down, but he did giggle a bit when Twilight's horn flopped around a bit more.
Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash had managed to get untangled from the ladder and flapped her wings, hovering in the air. At least, she tried to, but was having much difficulty trying to control what direction she flew in. "I think we'll find a cure to this curse at Zecora's place!"
"It's not a curse!" Twilight scowled as Rainbow crashed into another bookshelf.
"I agree with Dash. We'll go to Zecora's and force her to remove this hex!" AJ proclaimed from atop her stack of books.
"It's not a hex either!" Twilight insisted. As the girls continued to bicker amongst each other, Nero noticed Apple Bloom tiptoeing out of the library. Nero stepped away from the others and followed her, wincing as a couple of his hoofsteps left holes in the library's floor.
"Hey, kid!" Nero got Apple Bloom's attention once he was outside, making the filly jump. She turned to face him, eyes darting around in a desperate attempt to find an excuse.
"O-Oh! Nero! I-I was, uh..."
"Relax, squirt. I'm not gonna go all 'Mr. Authority' on you. Let me guess, you're gonna go find Zecora and ask her to fix this?" A couple seconds passed before Apple Bloom hesitantly nodded.
"This is all my fault! If I hadn't followed Zecora in the first place, none of this woulda happened. I've just gotta try and fix it!" Nero put a scaly hoof to his chin, thinking about what he should do. After a few seconds, he came to a decision.
"Alright then, I'll go with you. We'll go find her together."
Apple Bloom's jaw dropped as she stared at the devil hunter. "Y-...You'll come with me? You ain't gonna tell on me?"
"Yeah, you seem pretty dead set on trying to fix this, so who am I to stop you? The Everfree Forest can be dangerous, so it'd be better if you didn't go alone. If I let the others know, they definitely won't let you go, with or without someone else. Plus, after seeing how overprotective Applejack was yesterday, I think it's time for a little teenage rebellion."
Apple Bloom looked at him with confusion. "I'm... not a teenager."
"Eh, you get my point." Nero shrugged as his body transformed again. "Anyway, we should get going before they realize we're gone." A smile spread across Apple Bloom's face as she nodded enthusiastically. The two of them began trotting away from the library as they began their journey to find Zecora.
Unbeknownst to them, Nero hadn't been the only one to notice Apple Bloom sneaking out of the library. Applejack had spotted her sister leaving and, not being big enough to follow on her own, hid inside Apple Bloom's mane. She also overheard what Nero had said, and was absolutely furious about it. Not only had he not stopped Apple Bloom from running off after Zecora, but he encouraged her to do so. Teenage rebellion!? Why, she had half a mind to give the devil hunter an earful.
In fact, she fully planned on doing so.
Nero and Apple Bloom reached the entrance to the Everfree Forest, though they had been delayed a few times thanks to Nero's powers sending him off course. They were about to charge into the forest but were stopped when they heard a voice call out to them.
"STOP RIGHT THERE!" The voice called out. It took Nero and Apple Bloom a second to realize the voice had come from the latter's mane. A tiny pony popped out from underneath the head of hair, a seething glare on her face.
"Applejack?" Nero stared at the farm pony, a little surprised. Then again, she had already shown how protective she was of her sister, so he probably shouldn't be.
"I can't believe you, Nero! You were gonna let my sister go into the Everfree Forest!? And without any protection!?!" Applejack yelled.
"What, I'm not good enough for protection? I hunt demons for a living, remember?"
"You barely have any control over yer powers right now!!"
"Oh please, it's not as bad as when I woke up this morning. I've gotten it under contro- OH SHIT!" Nero was cut off as an air hike glyph catapulted him upwards, headfirst into a tree branch. He fell back down into the dirt before getting back up, brushing some of the dirt off. "...for the most part."
"And you!" Applejack turned her attention to her sister. "This is the second time you've run off after Zecora! You turn around right now, missy!"
Apple Bloom looked up at her sister before a cocky smirk took form on her face. "No."
"NO?! You can't ignore a direct order from yer big sister!" Ignoring Applejack's protests, Apple Bloom took her sister off her head and placed her on the branch of a nearby tree. While it was a low hanging branch for Nero and Apple Bloom, AJ's size made it so that leaping off that branch would lead to injury.
"Sorry, Applejack, but I'm the big sister now." Apple Bloom giggled as she turned to leave. Nero followed her, a little surprised but still satisfied she had taken charge like that.
"We'll come get you on our way back. Just sit tight, and don't go anywhere." The devil hunter called back to the farm pony. As expected, Applejack demanded they come back, to which she was ignored.
Looks like I was right. Applejack really isn't the big sister anymore.
Shockingly, it didn't take them very long to find where Zecora lived. After a few more incidents involving Nero's powers, the duo found themselves standing outside of a hut adorned with odd looking masks and decorations. If Apple Bloom had been trying to hide her nervousness, she wasn't doing a very good job.
"This place does look a little creepy..." The filly admitted.
"Don't worry. On the off chance that she does turn out to be evil, I'll be here to protect you." Nero gave Apple Bloom a pat on the shoulder, which seemed to reassure her. They walked up to the front door and Nero gave it a knock...
...Only for Nero's power to turn that knock into a kick, knocking the door off its hinges.
"Uh... whoops." The half-demon winced. After he started examining the damage, a familiar zebra came running in from the other room. A look of shock understandably found itself on her face.
"Who was so immature, that they felt the need to break down my door!?" Zecora shouted.
"S-Sorry, that was an accident! My power has kinda had a mind of its own lately." Nero tried to apologize.
Apple Bloom stepped into the hut after Nero, and Zecora recognized her as soon as she laid eyes on her. "W-We're sorry for bargin' in like this, Ms. Zecora, but we need yer help!"
Zecora looked between the two of them before she relaxed, realizing they meant no harm. "There is no need to fear, for the situation has become quite clear. I assume the damage to my door was simply an accident, and that you came seeking aid for your current predicament."
"Uh... yeah, pretty much hit the nail on the head." Nero said as he and Apple Bloom shared a look. Was she speaking in rhymes? "So, do you know what's causing this?"
It turned out Zecora did indeed know what caused Nero's affliction. She went on to explain that Nero, as well as the other girls, had most likely been affected by a blue plant known as 'Poison Joke'. The devil hunter recalled the patch of blue flowers they had run into yesterday, and what Zecora said about the 'leaves of blue'. Zecora also explained that she could make the cure, but she was missing some ingredients. Most of them could be found in the Everfree Forest, save for one herb. The herb in question could be found at the flower shop in Ponyville, but whenever Zecora went to buy it, all the shops were 'mysteriously' closed.
Gee, what a surprise. Zecora really was just going to the stores to shop. Who could've possibly guessed?
"So, what exactly is this remedy, anyway?" Nero couldn't help but ask.
"The process is quite simple to cure Poison Joke's wrath. All you need to do, is take a bubble bath." She rhymed.
Nero blinked a couple times. "...That's it?"
While Zecora started brewing the remedy, she asked Nero and Apple Bloom to gather the ingredients she was still lacking, using a pair of saddlebags to carry them. They had to trek a bit further into the forest to get them, but they managed to make the journey without any incident. Well, no "getting attacked by demons and/or wild animals" kind of incidents. Nero's powers continued to be unpredictable, though. His spectral wings even sent him flying into a nearby lake, which was why he was currently dripping wet as they walked back to Zecora's hut. Apple Bloom tried and failed not to laugh at the look on his face.
"This is definitely in my top ten worst days of all time, that's for sure." Nero groaned.
"Really? If this is only in the top ten, then what's your worst day?" Apple Bloom asked curiously.
A memory flashed through Nero's mind. He remembered seeing Credo get stabbed through the heart, and that there was nothing he could do about it. He had been too weak to protect him.
"...Not a story for little kids, I'm afraid." He shrugged it off.
"Hey, I'm not a little kid!" Apple Bloom argued, scrunching up her face to glare at the devil hunter. She just ended up looking adorable, which made Nero laugh.
"Right, right, sorry, I forgot. You're the big sister now." He joked as they finally reached Zecora's hut. Nero felt a huge wave of relief knowing his powers wouldn't be going haywire for much longer.
"Zecora, I think we found all the things ya asked for-" Just as the pair had entered Zecora's hut, they were met with quite the sight. The inside of the hut had been trashed, and Zecora stood in the middle of it. In front of her was Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy. Applejack, still tiny, stood on top of Zecora's head and wrestled with her ear. "...What in Ponyville is goin' on here?"
"Apple Bloom! You're okay!" Applejack gasped in relief at the sight of her sister.
Apple Bloom shared a confused look with Nero. "Uh, why wouldn't I be?"
"Because Zecora is an evil enchantress who cursed us and was gonna cook you and Nero up into soup!" Twilight explained as she jumped in front of Apple Bloom, taking a defensive stance. Nero, Apple Bloom, and Zecora all shared a look before bursting out into laughter.
"Wow, Twilight. Even you started to believe those rumors?" The half-demon chuckled.
"Yeah, you know there's no such thing as a curse!" Apple Bloom added on.
"Oh, come on, you two can't just stand there and tell me this isn't a curse." Twilight gestured to the whole group, as well as her own horn.
"This isn't a curse." Apple Bloom proceeded to stand there and tell her exactly that. She then brought the ingredient-filled saddlebags over to Zecora, who began explaining the situation to the girls.
"If you will remember back, the words I spoke were quite exact. 'Beware! Beware, you pony folk! Those leaves of blue are not a joke.'" The zebra recited what she had said the day prior.
"She'd been trying to warn us about those blue flowers we ran into when we chased after Apple Bloom. They're called Poison Joke." As Nero clarified, his voice took on a demonic echo part way through as his body changed for the umpteenth time.
"That plant is much like poison oak, but its results are like a joke."
"What in the hay does that mean?" Applejack asked, confused by Zecora's rhyming.
"She's basically saying that because we ran into the poison joke, it caused all these problems with our bodies as some sort of joke." Nero, once again, clarified. The girls all seemed to accept the answer about the Poison Joke, but didn't seem to be convinced about Zecora not being evil.
"...Okay, fine. But what about the cauldron?" Rainbow asked.
"And the chanting?" Fluttershy also asked.
"And the creepy decor?" Rarity also also asked.
"Treasures of the native land where I am from." Zecora gestured to a pair of masks in the corner. "This one speaks 'Hello', and this, 'Welcome'."
"Not welcome at all, if you ask me." Rarity grimaced as she eyed the masks. Well, Nero assumed she was grimacing, but it was hard to tell when he couldn't see her face through her shaggy mane.
"The words I chanted were from olden times, something you call a nursery rhyme."
"But, the cauldron... the Apple Bloom and Nero soup?"
"Looky here, Twilight. That pot of water wasn't for us, it was for all these herbal ingredients." Apple Bloom pointed to a nearby book with the recipe for the Poison Joke remedy. "The cure for Poison Joke is a simple ol' natural remedy. Ya just gotta take a bubble bath!"
"Besides, if Zecora were somehow evil and wanted to cook us into soup, do you honestly think she could overpower me of all people?" Nero tacked on as Twilight looked over the recipe for the cure.
"...But I tried to find a cure in all my books and couldn't find anything! What book has this natural remedy?" Twilight turned to Zecora with her question.
"Here is the book, see? Sad that you lack it in your library." Zecora closed the book and showed the cover, revealing the title of the book as 'Supernaturals'. Twilight stared at the book in silent shock as her ears began to droop.
"Actually, I do have this book. But I didn't look inside because the title was so...weird." At Twilight's words, Zecora just smiled and opened the book to a different page, which Twilight read aloud. "Supernaturals; Natural remedies and cure-alls that are simply super."
Twilight hung her head low, looking ashamed. "I... I'm so sorry, Zecora. I had the answer the whole time, if only I'd bother to look inside."
"Maybe next time, you will take a second look and not judge the cover of a book." Zecora stated with a smile.
Oh, she was definitely waiting to use that metaphor.
Zecora was kind enough to fix up another batch of the herbal bath, though she needed help getting the final herb from the shop in Ponyville. The group agreed to explain to everypony that Zecora was, in fact, not an evil enchantress, and to help her find the herb she needed.
Unsurprisingly, the townsfolk scattered the second Zecora stepped into town.
Thankfully, Twilight managed to convince Daisy, the owner of the flower shop, that Zecora was friendly. After getting the herb and fixing up the new batch, they went to the Ponyville Day Spa and requested to use their bathtub, since it was big enough to hold all of them at once.
"Man, I could get used to this..." Nero let his body unwind, no longer a jumbled between his normal form and his Devil Trigger form. While this bath was just meant to cure the Poison Joke, it was surprisingly relaxing. It felt good to just lay back and enjoy the tranquility of the therapeutic water.
At least it was tranquil, until Pinkie Pie cannonballed into the tub, splashing everyone.
So much for resting my eyes.
"Miss Zecora, I would love to get the recipe for this bath. It's simply luxurious!" Nero overheard one of the spa owners, who had a thick Swedish accent, asking Zecora about the herbal bath.
What was her name again? I think it was Lotus something or other...
"Applejack! Hey, where's Applejack!?" Nero was stirred from his thoughts by Apple Bloom's voice. He shared a look of horror with the other girls in the bathtub as they frantically searched for the tiny farm pony.
OH CRAP! WE DIDN'T CRUSH HER BY ACCIDENT, DID WE!?
"I'm right here, little sis." Everyone looked outside of the tub when they heard AJ's familiar Southern drawl. She was sitting in a small cup just outside of the tub, only now she barely fit in it, having returned to her normal size. "I ain't tiny no more!"
Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief. Everyone seemed to be relaxed once more, until Pinkie burst out from underneath the water. "OH MY GOSH! I never realized how horrible it is not to be able to talk! I mean I love talking so much and when I couldn't talk anymore my tongue was all aaaaah~! It was the worst! Don't you agree, Fluttershy!?"
"...Yes." Fluttershy gave a smile, her voice having returned to normal.
Seeing that everything seemed to be back to the way it was, Nero let himself sink a bit deeper into the water. "Ah, this feels so good. I should do this more often."
"Yes, I couldn't agree more. a trip to the spa always does wonders for me." Rarity agreed.
"Hm? Oh, I was just talking about the bath. This is actually my first time going to a spa."
"WHAT!?!" Rarity had closed the distance between them in a second, placing her hooves on his shoulders. "You've never had the luxury of enjoying a fabulous trip to the spa before now!?"
"Uh, no, why?" The devil hunter was a little surprised by the sudden invasion of personal space.
"This simply cannot do! Lotus Blossom! Please prepare my usual! I must show Nero the wonders of the spa treatment!" Rarity called to the spa owner.
"Wait what!? Hold on, I didn't agree to-"
"Say no more, Nero! I promise you will love every second of this venture! Now let us be off!" Rarity dragged Nero out of the bathtub and further into the spa, forcing him to endure God knows what.
I've gotta learn to keep my mouth shut.
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Nice job on the chapter, and that's very funny too, especially since Rarity dragged Nero into the Spa.
And glad Nero didn't tell Apple Bloom about Credo, otherwise her poor little heart couldn't handle it.
nice work
Found this story by chance.
Hopefully I can read it soon when I get the chance
If I may ask, any plans for Spike?
11306170
I think it might depend on what you mean by plans. Do you mean is he going to be affected by demon blood? If so, I haven’t come up with any plans like that.
11306185
As in not yet or no on that?
11306197
During the episode “Secret of My Excess” in Season 2, Spike turns into a fully grown dragon and rampages through Ponyville, so that might be an opportunity for him to get affected by demon blood. Season 2 is still a ways off though, so I haven’t decided on whether or not I’m going to do that. I am considering it, though.
11306210
Is it good or bad to be affected by demon blood here?
I don't know the context on things since I haven't read the fic yet.
(Hopefully I will soon, I just got alot on my plate that is affecting my focus and such)
11306217
Oh, sorry. Didn’t realize you haven’t read it yet. I won’t give too much away so I don’t spoil anything, but I can say that being affected by demon blood is bad, but the effects can be undone.
11306224
So instead of getting powers, he is just turned into a MOTW that needed to be beaten up(and rescue) since he is not one of the "chosen ones"?
That sure bums me out a bunch..
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Well this way a cool story