Vergil has been living in the Demon world for some time now but all that is about to change
Vergil, the son of Sparda has been living in the Demon World for some time now, but all that is about to change as he encounters a strange portal to another world. Devil May Cry crossover, post DMC1.
A/N the time has come... My little pony Friendship is magic is property of hasbro, Devil may cry is property of Capcom, I own neither
Chapter 1 Vergil awoke at the sound of demons approaching. It had been this way for some time now, ever since he first returned to the Demon World. With a snap of his fingers, he summoned six blue ethereal swords to make quick work of the six lesser demons trying, and failing, to catch him off guard. Within a matter of seconds the summoned swords tore through the flesh of the creatures. "Fools."
It had been this way ever since he had been beaten by his twin brother Dante, and had been sent back to hell. "Mundus." Vergil muttered, thinking of the culprit of all that, the devil that had captured him.
The first time he ended up in the Underworld, he tried to gain the power of his father, Sparda, sealed in the dimension, only to be thwarted by his younger twin brother. After he was gone, Vergil had encountered Mundus, who had deftly defeated him and brought him under his control, altering his mind so he would serve him, thus changing the Dark Slayer into Nelo Angelo.
A few years later, Mundus attempted to return to the Human World by opening a portal on Mallet Island, using Nelo Angelo as a servant and guard. Mundus would later bait Dante to Mallet Island, but contrary to his plans, the half devil defeated him, his generals, and prevented them from returning to the Human World. Nelo Angelo was one of Mundus's servants, and, he too, fought Dante, unaware that the devil he fought was his brother, and was defeated by him.
After the final blow, Nelo Angelo's figure exploded in a violent blue flame. What looked like a death to Dante was actually the enslaving influence leaving Vergil's body, at the same time sending him back to the Demon World.
From the previous facts alone, one would assume Vergil to be happy with the predicament. It was not the case. The only thing he was glad for was that he was free again, and he definitely was not happy that his most treasured keepsake, a heirloom from his father, had dissappeared. While under the guise of Nelo Angelo, said keepsake, the o-katana Yamato, had transformed into a zweihänder, and after Nelo Angelos final battle, the blade shattered. The following energy flux sent the pieces somewhere in the Human World.
As a result, Vergil had been confined to using only his summoned swords, constructs of pure magic that took too much power to be used for longer than a dozen seconds – long enough to use them as projectiles, but almost unthinkable as actual swords. It doesn't really have to be said that it made him very bitter.
Finally deciding its time to leave the cave he had taken residence in, the estranged son of Sparda set off. To where, he did not know; he only knew it was time to go. Just as he was leaving the cave, Vegil heard a loud and inhumane screech, one belonging to a demon that was known throughout the Demon world, a demon that was known as a "god of death". He turned around, and there it stood: a Hell Vanguard. The demon screeched menacingly once more, pointing its scythe at Vergil as it teleported down to its presumed prey's level.
Vergil quircked an eybrow at the demon, as if to say 'you want to try your luck?', and the proud and sadistic demon accepted Vergil's challenge. Teleporting in front of him, the Hell Vanguard swung its scythe downwards, only to hit air as Vergil tricked out of the way. The Hell Vanguard was baffled. Where had its prey gone?
As the sound of Vergil's boots hitting the ground came from behind, the Hell Vanguard quickly turned around in full attack stance, only to see Vergil, along with a summoned sword flying at its face. Its scythe came up to block the attack, leaving the demon wide open for a second summoned sword, which stabbed the back of its left hand.
Screeching in pain, the Hell Vanguard dematerialized, reappearing a second later, swinging its scythe relentlessly in an attempt to hit Vergil. Dodging the scythe swings effortlessly, the smaller demon fired off three more. This time, the Hell Vanguard showed it had learned from its mistake and quickly vanished, avoiding the summoned swords altogether. Sensing the presence beneath him, Vergil jumped back, exactly at the same time as the demon burst from the ground, swinging far and wide. "This is the end," he calmly muttered, still in the air, as he flicked his wrist twice. A summoned sword through the elite demon's mouth. With one final cry, the Hell Vanguard slumped down on the ground, its body quickly turning to dust, disappearing in the breeze.
"All too easy," Vergil spoke sharply, setting off again, his back to the previous carnage. One thing went past the man in blue's attention: at the entrance to the cave, energy was fluctuating mildly, not enough to affect the physical world around it, but enough that, if left unchecked, could lead to more extreme, and frequent energy fluxes. It was a common event, usually leading to a mortal scared out of their wits right before the rift dissipated.
That wasn't the way fate read the dice Vergil had thrown, though. Suddenly and without warning, fed off of the energy remnants of the summoned swords, the flux grew exponentially fast, resulting in a giant pool of negative pressure that began sucking everything around it.
Which included Vergil.
Unable to react in time to the massive force pulling him from behind, Vergil could only look back in one fleeting glance. In his most recent battlefield stood the anomaly, now stabilized into a powerful wormhole. He couldn't feel anything after he passed the event horizon.
Meanwhile, elsewhere...
In the exact center of Ponyville, but a bit to the left, sat a throne. A draconequus sat on it, sipping the glass around the chocolate milk in it and whistling. "Chaos is a wonderful, wonderful thing!" shouted Discord with glee.
"Not as wonderful as friendship!" Twilght Sparkle shouted from below.
"Oh, this again," the spirit grunted, the boredom evident in his voice, as he sipped down the last of his glass, throwing the rest away to explode behind him.
"That's right! Ya couldn't break apart our friendship fer long!" Applejack yelled.
"Oh Applejack, don't lie to me, I'm the one who made you a liar," he rebutted with a smirk on his face as he grabbed her necklace with his magic, dragging her to his face, following soon after with Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy. Holding all of Twilight's friends in the air, Discord turned to the unicorn. "Do you never learn?" he asked, the arrogance in his tone clear.
Quickly casting a spell, Twilight teleported to her friends, quickly placing them all inside a bubble and bringing them back down to the ground. There were a few things that she had learned, alright. "I'll tell you what we've learned, Discord! We've learned that friendship isn't always easy, but there's no doubt it's worth fighting for!"
"Ugghh, gag! Fine, try and use your little elements, 'frenemy'. Just make it quick, I'm missing some excellent chaos here." Taking charge, Twilight shouted to her friends "Alright, ladies, let's show him what friendship can do!"
"WAIT WAIT WAIT!"
Pinkie Pie took one last drink of chocolate rain, overseen by many eyerolls. Finally, the mare joined her friends, and the magic of the Elements of Harmony started charging up. The glow was enough for Discord to finally take notice.
"What's this?" discord muttered as he saw the elements charge up. "Oh no..." Discord looked on in horror as a rainbow shot forth, engulfing him in light.
"NNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"
It was no use: the magic encased him in stone, then dispersed all of the chaos DIscord had released. All his work was undone in a split second.
After the lights had died out, Twilight looked around. Old library, old town hall, old Carousel Boutique, old Sweet Apple Acres and old post office. "We did it!"
Meanwhile, in the Everfree Forest...
All was calm in the Everfree Forest, until a blue coated, white haired figure was thrown out of a portal and onto the forest floor. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Welp, its in the open now, im tired of being a lurker on this site, with no story to write(c wut i did thar?) Id like to thank Dusk stalker, for giving me the inspiration to write this fic and seriously, if you haven't cheked out his story "A Devil hunter among ponies" go do so, right now Id also like to thank my friend Daedalus1776, who motivated me to finally put something up and if your a fan of skyrim, check out his story "On Ponies and Daedric Princes" anyway, thanks aside please leave your criticism/hate/love in the comments below ~Greet the new day
Discovery "Ugghh..." Vergil groaned as his consciousness slowly returned.
Looking around, he recognized he was in what appeared to be in a forest clearing, the full moon shining down upon him. "Where am I? I was nowhere near any forests before." Could he have been taken somewhere? No, if a demon really did try to sneak up on him in his sleep, he would have woken up.
The son of Sparda's thoughts ran wild as he tried to make sense of the situation, until all of a sudden, Vergil's memories came back to him in a rush. He remembered killing the lesser demons, musing on his situation in the Demon World, leaving his cave, fighting the Hell Vanguard, and finally and most importantly, being sucked through the portal.
Vergil knew he was no longer in the Demon World. Hell, he wasn't even in the Human World. In the Demon World, Vergil could literally feel the demonic energy around him; weak humans would suffocate from the diluted power. Even in the Human World, Vergil could still sense demonic energy waiting to be set free. He felt no demonic influence in this world at all other than his own.
Taking his search further, he decided to start looking in the actual forest, rather than just siting in the large meadow he was in. Just as the half devil got to the treeline edge, he heard a noise from behind. Quickly turning to face whatever the noise was, Vergil was surprised to see another portal, a much smaller one but a portal nonetheless.
What surprised the blue-coated swordsman the most, though, was what came out of it. As soon as Vergil locked his eyes on the vortex, it ejected something he hadn't expected to see in a long time, none other than a dark forged okatana. No fragments or pieces scattered about, the blade completely restored from its previous shattered state. There lay one of Sparda's treasured swords, Yamato.
He was bewildered. How in the name of God and Lucifer was his sword here? Shouldn't it be broken and scattered across the Human World? Vergil cautiously approached, wary of any tricks, and to his pleased surprise, none came. Carefully lifting his blade from off the ground, Vergil felt a sense of nostalgia. He hadn't used the blade in its original form in years. Hearing the snarls of what sounded like wolves, Vergil turned around to find a pack of the animals in question. As if to further bemuse Mundus' former slave, they were made up of what looked like branches and twigs. It wasn't enough to still his blade, though – he had seen, commanded and slain odder creatures.
"Let's see if I can wield this as I once could," he remarked with a smirk right as the first wolf lunged at him. Quickly unsheathing his sword, Vergil slashed at the timber wolf. It landed behind him, staying on all fours before collapsing in two, sliced perfectly down the middle. Three more approached and quickly lunged at him from three different angles, only to bump into each other as their presumed victim tricked away.
Taking the opportunity, Vergil charged his energy into his weapon, and quickly unsheathing Yamato, he released it. The space around the timber wolves twisted within a perfect sphere, cutting all three down into piles of wood. Two of the wolves remained, snarling and barring their wooden teeth, running for the half-devil while his back was turned. He turned around to face the remaining timber wolves, grabbed the hilt of his sword and dashed head on into the charge. Behind him, much like his first victim, the duo collapsed into twigs and branches, all sliced cleanly but haphazardly.
"I've still got it, apparently," Vergil remarked, unable to rub off the smirk still present on his face. 'Dante must have rubbed off on me,' he thought with a small chuckle.
Finally tanking note of how tired he felt, Vergil climbed up to a fairly thick set of tree branches, setting his beloved blade down next to him, and began to think. How had Yamato come to be here with him? Where was here exactly? What were those strange wolves that he fought? Were there any more creatures like that in this forest? Questions, questions and more questions circled his head, pushed away in favor of sleep after a few long minutes. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Waking up to the sunlight shining in his face, Vergil turned his head to find Yamato still siting on top of the branches beside him. A smile worked its way onto his face as he lifted the blade. He didn't know how it had happened, but somehow Yamato followed him to this world, and he was content that it wasn't an illusion made up by wishful thinking. He was still curious as to how, but that was a question whose answer could come later.
Hearing some sort of creature approaching the clearing and remembering how he had been first received in this world, he grabbed his daito, ready to fight at a moment's notice. Peeking out through the leaves that concealed him, Vergil saw a cloaked, four legged figure. He scoffed under his breath. The idea of someone making clothes for a pet had always been absurd in his mind.
The creature casually lifted what looked like a hoof to lower its hood, revealing itself to be a four-foot-tall zebra with a Mohawk for a mane. Vergil watched as it walked over to a patch of yellow flowers, and began to speak in what sounded like an African accent. "A patch of sun daises, how lovely, in the darkness this will surely help me see."
Vergil looked on in slight bewilderment as the – apparently female – zebra continued to do things that no ordinary zebra should ever do in his opinion, picking up the now dubbed sun daises with a hoof that seemed to defy gravity, and undoing the latch on the saddle bag on her back with the other, despite having no visible digits. The half-human heard the zebra mutter, "Those noises last night gave me quite the fright, though now everything seems to be alright," while taking one last look around the clearing, and with a shrug, begin to walk off.
Deeming this zebra to be too strange an opportunity to pass up, Vergil decided to follow her. Sticking to the shadows, he stealthily followed, and after about ten minutes, they arrived at a small shack, which he guessed to be her home. 'Well, now I have a decision to make. I can remain hidden, explore the rest of this place and return later, or I could reveal myself and gather some information.'
Deciding to try his luck with the zebra, Vergil rapped his knuckles on the shack door, his face remaining steeled as the door slowly opened.
The knock on her door led Zecora to find one of the strangest guests she had ever met. The figure was tall, taller than Princess Celestia even, clad in a regal blue coat, with hair as white as snow. A sword hung in his left foreleg, apparently a stubby claw of sorts.
Zecora was taken aback somewhat by the creature's appearance, but even so, she assumed that the entity at her door was civilized; after all, what wild beast would wear expensive clothing and knock so gently before entering? "Greetings, my friend in blue, how can I help you?"
"I have a couple questions,” the being – a male, she presumed, if his voice was any indication of gender – replied, swinging his arm in a wide arc, as if showcasing the outside of her hut. “As you could probably figure out, I am a little lost.” "Of course, come in and sit with me,” she replied with a smile. “Would you care for a cup of tea?" "Please, and thank you."
Lowering his head to fit through the doorway, Vergil walked into the shack and looked around. The masks on the wall seemed to stare at him as his eyes swept the surroundings, taking note of a cauldron that sat in the middle of the shack, an unknown liquid bubbling inside of it.
Casually taking a seat, he waited as the zebra returned with two hot cups of tea. "Zecora is my name, I'm a zebra through and through. Now I must ask, who and what are you?” the newly dubbed Zecora asked, a politely curious look in her face. "My name is Vergil, and as for what I am, I'm what is known as a human." Although Vergil almost itched to answer 'half-human half-demon', the general outlook on demons in his natural world was fairly negative, and he didn't want to risk getting persecuted in an unknown realm, especially when he was not sure whether or not it might harbor an actual threat to him. Underestimating unknown settings was Dante's bread and butter, not his.
"I see, and I don't mean to offend, but where did you come from, my human friend?" she continued mildly, taking a sip of her beverage. "I was taken through a portal in my world to this one," he replied. Zecora accepted the explanation without further questioning, something that didn't escape Vergil's mind. "Well my dear Vergil, ask the questions that you need, and my answers you shall heed." "Where am I?" "You are in the land of Equestria, the Everfree Forest, to be precise. If you're looking for towns, go to Ponyville, the populace is fairly nice." His eye twitched a little at the name before he forced the responsible muscles to stop. 'Ridiculous.' "Are zebras not the citizens of Equestria?"
"No, I am a stranger in these lands, I come from a chain of far off islands." A world that held sentient ponies. Again, Vergil found his eye twitching slightly. Oh, if Dante could see him now. He would probably say something along the lines of, 'So, dude, how is it living in an eight year old's fantasy land?' At least they weren't intolerable children, spouting off such nonsense as the 'magic of friendship' if Zecora was any indication.
"If you want information about the magic that brought you here, head down the path, as Ponyville is quite near. Look for the pony named Twilight Sparkle in the library, you can't miss the great tree. She can help you more than I, she's a magical prodigy."
Vergil nodded, sipping down the rest of his own tea. "Thank you, Zecora." "It was no trouble at all, my tall friend. Watch your step when you leave the forest, the tree roots tend to bend." With a nod, the son of Sparda left Zecora's shack and started walking down the path he had been directed to. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Whew, thanks to all the positive feedback I got with the first chapter, it inspired me to write this one right away. Zecora was pretty difficult to write actually. (on a side note, i just got a huge tub of ice cream and cookies, ME GUSTA.) Give a round of applause for Jack Kellar, my new beta reader. *Claps in a socially awkward manner* Leave your thoughts in the comments below, as always ~Greet the new day
The day after Discord's downfall, the Elements of Harmony stood at an award ceremony. "We are gathered here today to, once again, honor the heroism of these six friends, who stood up to face great perils, and once again saved Equestria, this time from eternal chaos!" Princess Celestia announced in a soft but strong voice.
As the crowd started cheering, the Princess pulled back the curtains, revealing a stained-glass window that depicted the Elements of Harmony defeating the draconequus. After plenty of cheering and praising, the guests finally began to leave, leaving only the elements and the Princess.
Princess Celestia was in a fairly good mood. After all, one of the greatest enemies of Equestria had been defeated with little collateral damage, and it was all thanks once again to her faithful student and her friends. There was only one thing that slightly confused her, and stopped her from feeling great.
Almost immediately after Discord had been defeated by the massive ray of rainbow colored light, Princess Celestia had felt an oddity of sorts, a strange magical fissure that left thoughts spinning through her head. More frustratingly, as quickly as the rift had appeared, it dissapeared without a trace. 'Perhaps it was just my imagination,' She thought to herself. 'Yes, that was probably it.' Celestia, being deep in thought, didn't notice Twilight speaking to her. "...with us?"
The Princess shook her head slightly. "I'm sorry, what was that, Twilght?"
"I said we are going to Sugar Cube Corner. Would you like to come with us?" Twilight repeated.
"I would love to," she replied with a gentle smile, "but unfortunately I'm going to be very busy today. Discord scrambled all of the files in the document room, and I have to rearrange them again.”
"Well, we would be glad to help you, wouldn't we girls?" Twilight asked, recieving a series of nods from her friends, and to her surprise, a head shake from her mentor.
"No, thank you, I can handle it myself. You six go back to Ponyville and have fun, everyone knows you've earned it."
After a few more minutes of fruitless insisting, the six friends finally left, leaving Princess Celestia to her own devices. With a sigh, she trotted off to her personal document room to face the complete dissaray. With another, heavier, final sigh, she began working to rearrange everything. This was going to take quite a while...
Hours later...
"Luna has raised the moon already? That took longer than I expected." With a yawn, the white princess trotted off to her room. Ash she wandered the mostly empty corridors, she felt it once again. 'No, there's no mistaking it. Some sort of magical rupture...' Princess Celestia thought to herself.
Being deep in thought for the second time today, she failed to notice her sister approaching. "Tia, what are thou still doing awake? Thou must get to sleep so that the sun can be raised."
"I know that Luna, but something has caught my attention."
"Art thou talking of the magical rupture?"
"So you felt it too?"
Luna nodded. "Indeed."
"What do you think we should do? There's no way to tell where this actually happened, and the Elements of Harmony are too drained to fight another great foe."
"We will simply have to keep our guard up," the smaller princess said with a shrug.
Celestia sighed. "Yes, I suppose you're right."
After a few minutes, finally on her bed, Princess Celestia fell asleep without a wasted second.
The next day...
Waking up and raising the sun was always part of Celestia's morning schedule, and today was no exception. Even though she didn't get much sleep, she still had to do it. Besides, she could always put the sun on its course and go back to sleep, because she currently wasn't holding court today. 'What did I even stay up for again anyway?' she wondered as she brushed her teeth.
The brush clattered to the floor. "The magical rupture!" In her morning daze, she had completely forgotten about the cause of her fatigue!
Aware that Twilight and her friends would be awake, she quickly teleported to the library to warn her student.
As soon as she had arrived at her destination, she realized. The magical rupture had happened near Ponyville.
"Twilight, are you in there?"
In less than half a minute, Twilight was in front of the balcony window. "Princess Celestia! What are you doing here?"
"Did you feel it, Twilight?"
"What are you talking about, Princess?" Twilight asked with a questioning look.
"There were a series of magical ruptures yesterday, and I think they may be linked to Discord." Twilight's irises shrunk. "Oh no! Did he escape?”
"No, Discord is thankfully still in stone. The ruptures are just remnants of his magic, but they are still dangerous, which is why I was coming to warn you: normally one cannot find these magical ruptures unless they are close by, which is how I found them.
"Where are they?"
"They are resonating from the Everfree Forest. I need you to prepare your friends. I will bring the Elements of Harmony."
"Okay, you can count on us, Princess."
Wearing a gentle smile, the princess replied "I know I can" and teleported back to the castle.
15 minutes later...
Primed and ready to go, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Twilight were all at the forest entrance, wearing their respective elements. "So why are we going into the Everfree again, Twi?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"I told you, the Princess thinks that remnants of Discords magic caused something to happen in the forest, and we need to investigate it." Rainbow Dash, ever the brash one, shouted "Well if there's only pieces of his magic left, this is gonna be easy!" "Let's just get this over with,” Rarity pouted. “I want to be in and out of that dreadful forest as quickly as possible, I just got a hooficure and I don't want to spoil it!"
Fluttershy was near the back, literally flinching at the sight of the dark forest. "Do we...really have to go in there?" "Ah come on sugarcube, we visit Zecora all the time! T'aint that scary anymore..." "I... I still find it scary," the pegasus squeaked out in her usual quiet voice. "Speaking of Zecora..." Twilight chimed in. "Since she lives in the forest, she might have seen something. We should head to her hut first." It went unnoticed by her friends how Pinkie Pie remained unnaturaly quiet. After a few more minutes of reassuring Fluttershy,they entered the forest.
Trotting along the path and taking in the scenery, they quickly lost track of time. Twilight began feeling the magical residue from Discord's magic, just as the Princess had said, approaching fast. A blue figure emerged from a thicket of vines hanging down over the path. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vergil had been walking down the path for a couple of minutes, and had only found trees. Hungry and beginning to get impatient , he quickened his pace. The sooner he got to this... Ponyville, the sooner he would get some food. A tree branch hung over the path. A thicket of vines hung down from the branch and covered the other side, and the swordsman was certain he heard the sound of hooves beyond it. He perked his ears up.
"The residue is getting close. What ever came from Discords magical rupture is a living creature." A female voice announced. "What kind a' critter?" he heard a voice with an accent he couldn't exactly identify speak up.
"I can't tell for sure without at least seeing it..."
"Well, whatever it is I can take it," a very arrogant sounding voice piped up. Vergil reflexively thought of Dante.
A high pitched voice was next. "I wonder if he likes parties?"
"Pinkie, we don't even know if it's a he, let alone intelligent enough to enjoy parties!"
"I think he's a he," the now dubbed Pinkie replied.
"Darling, what makes you think that? A refined female voice questioned.
" I don't know!" the happy Pinkie chimed up. Vergil could almost see the shrug behind those words.
"I just hope it's not... scary," an incredibly quiet and soft voice, so soft the half-devil had to focus even through his boosted hearing to hear it, squeaked out. "Don't worry Fluttershy, with all six of us here we should be able to defeat whatever it is if it's hostile." Judging from what he heard, Vergil guessed that the magical residue from this 'rupture' was resonating within him, and whoever this Discord character was, it was an enemy to these six females. Deciding to play the friendly card, Vergil emerged from the underbrush, deliberately leaving himself apparently defenseless with Yamato strapped to his midsection. Tension brewed quickly as the six ponies locked their eyes on him. Two of the six had a pair of wings, two had spiraled, blunt horns, and the final two had neither, reminding him of Zecora. He took careful note of the anatomical differences; they could have some meaning. "I believe you were speaking of me?" Vergil offered.
Reacting without thinking, Rainbow Dash charged at the new figure. Out of instinct, Vergil rolled to the side, leaving the blue pony to soar right past him and collide headfirst with a tree trunk behind him. "Well, that's one way to be greeted, I suppose," Vergil remarked neutrally as he turned to keep his eyes on his aggressor, not showing a drop of the irritation he felt.
Shaking her head and flaring her nostrils, Rainbow Dash replied, "Oh yeah? Try that again!" She got to her hooves and charged one more time.
Vergil was losing patience fast. This pony was obviously itching for a brawl, and he wouldn't frustrate her request for long if she kept this up. His fingers slowly covered Yamato's hilt menacingly.
"STOP!"
Quickly slowing to a screeching halt, the cyan pegasus stopped right in front of the yellow one.
"Rainbow Dash, he didn't do anything! We can't just attack him like that!"
"But Fluttershy-"
"No buts!"
"Fluttershy's right, this has gotten way out of hoof," the purple unicorn spoke up. More carefully, she began walking towards Vergil, who released the katana's hilt and relaxed his stance fully. "I'm sorry about Rainbow Dash's actions, she sometimes acts without thinking..." the unicorn said with an embarrassed smile. "I'm Twilight Sparkle," she continued, raising her hoof in greeting.
The spiky-haired human answered the gesture by kneeling to her level and lightly taking her hoof in his fingers. “Vergil."
The show of civilization prompted the others to approach, each in their own way. The excitable Pinkie Pie went first. "Hi my name's Pinkie Pie and it's super nice to meet you!"
Vergil quirked an eyebrow at the pink party pony. 'I think I found out how Dante would be after too man sundaes...' "Yes, it's nice to meet you too."
"Sorry about our Pinkie Pie here, she's just excited to meet new ponies," the orange one said, drawing his attention. She grabbed his hand and tried to shake it, with notable force, as Vergil noticed. Holding back a chuckle, he steeled his muscles, resulting in the hat-wearing equine dropping it with a blend of confusion and frustration after her forelegs wobbled vainly. "Nice to meet you, pardner, name's Applejack."
Vergil remained stoic. "Likewise."
The white unicorn approached. "Well, it's nice to meet somepony who has such a refined taste in clothing, darling! You may call me Rarity." She gingerly took his hand with both hooves and lightly shook it.
"... likewise, miss Rarity," Vergil replied, even more neutrally. He did not like the way she was eyeing his coat.
Suddenly getting a friendly demeanor, the rainbow maned pegasus introduced herself. "Name's Rainbow Dash, fastest flier in Equestria!" she announced, no small amount of pride leaking from her voice. "And uh... sorry about attacking you, I do kinda think with my hooves sometimes." She rubbed the back of her head with a sheepish smile.
At this, Vergil couldn't suppress a demeaning snort, which he quickly covered up with a nostalgic sigh. "I'm used to it. No hard feelings."
The yellow pegasus now cowered in the back. Vergil thought it strange how she could suddenly change from the determined being he saw before into the trembling wreck before him. "I'm fluttershy..."
"A pleasure."
Rainbow Dash cleared her ear with a hoof. “... did he really hear her without her having to repeat herself?”
Vergil shrugged. “In any case, I imagine we both have questions. I just ask for a meal before answering yours; it's been some time since I last ate."
"Lead the way." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A wild update appears! Once again, big thanks to Jack Kellar, whom without, this fanfic would be a craptastic adventure of spelling errors and bad punctuation galore.
but seriously, I had a lot of schoolwork to do, finals and everything coming up. anyway, here's your chapter, leave your thoughts in the comments below ~Greet the new day
Questions The walk back to Ponyville was rather uneventful, save for a small little encounter that slowed the group down.
“So Vergil, if y’all are hungry then some apples probably sound mighty fine to ya, huh? Matter a‘ fact, mah Granny Smith probably just baked some apple pie. "
Vergil nodded. “After wasting so much time, I am quite content with anything. Especially apples."
With his mind set on the food that was waiting for him in Ponyville, Vergil quickened his pace, determined reach it as soon as possible. The half-devil observed his surroundings, the lifeless trees to the side of the path, the thick bushes that covered the deeper entrances to the forest, the chicken that was poking its head out of a bush a few steps ahead...
Though he thought it odd that a farm animal would be in a forest, Vergil resigned to simply keep moving forward... Until he saw the presumed chicken emerge from the bush. The head of the bird in question was attached to the body of a serpent, looking down the path in the same exact direction that the ponies were travelling. The startled gasp of the ponies in his company made it turn around in alarm.
"Cockatrice!” Twilight shouted. “Don’t look it in the eye or you will be turned to stone! Fluttershy, we need you to do the stare!"
Whimpering in the far back, Fluttershy muttered, "But I can't..."
"Yes you can! You’ve done it before."
"But that was only when the girls were in trouble... Can’t we just wait with our eyes closed until he gets bored?"
Were he in a world he knew, Vergil wouldn’t wait for an answer. As it was, he was slightly tempted to go with Fluttershy’s plan... until an idea crossed his mind.
A strangled, surprised cluck made the ponies open their eyes. "What the..." Rainbow Dash muttered.
They were greeted with the sight of the cockatrice locked in stone, its face looking towards Vergil, who held Yamato in front of his eyes as a shield.
“But….But how?” Twilight stuttered with an incredulous look on her face, her friends all wondering the same thing. How did the cockatrice turn into stone? Vergil’s sword reflected her face when she looked at it, and everything clicked.
“It stared at itself,” the swordsman explained simply.
She shivered slightly. Swords were a common tool used by the royal guard, and even though she was used to seeing them, the blades always looked intimidating. However, the curved blade Vergil had was even more so; it wasn’t very large or wide – it wasn’t meant for show, but for use.
“Wait, so the dumb thing literally stoned itself?” Dash started snickering. “Pffffft, talk about a bad reflection!”
Fluttershy, who was inspecting the now petrified cockatrice, returned, satisfied. “It’ll be okay, it’s temporary. He’ll be back in a day or two.”
Applejack facehoofed. “Sugarcube, that thing just tried to freeze us.”
“Oh, but it can’t help it! It was scared, and defending itself!”
Rarity cut the blonde mare’s answer before she started talking. “Darling, you do know how Fluttershy is regarding any sort of animal, right? It would be better if you just dropped the issue.”
Clearing his throat, Vergil caught the general attention. “Well, now that the nuisance has been taken care of, perhaps we can continue?”
“Yeah, let’s get a move on, Vergil here is probably hungrier than a green snake in a sugarcane field.”
Traveling further and further ahead, the group finally reached the forest edge, fairly close to Applejack’s farm. Approaching the trees on the side of the orchard, the farmer gave one a good kick with her back legs. Not wasting any time, Vergil quickly grabbed one of the falling apples straight from the air. Savoring the sweet taste of the fruit, Vergil finished his apple and moved onto another, and another and another, until he had eaten nearly all the apples the plant had yielded.
Looking on in shock, the ponies wondered just how hungry their new acquaintance was.
“Well, I’m satisfied. Now, I believe you had some questions for me?
“Well, yes,” Twilight said, “but Princess Celestia would like to ask you some questions herself.”
Vergil’s eyebrow quirked. “And who is this Celestia?”
The darker unicorn had an incredulous look on her face. “Wait, you’ve never heard of Princess Celestia? You know, the ruler of ALL of Equestria?”
He matched her gaze with his own. “I’m not exactly from here, if you couldn’t remember.”
“Well, I know that, but… Never mind. All you need to know is that Princess Celestia rules Equestria along with her younger sister, Princess Luna. Princess Celestia raises the sun, while Princess Luna raises the moon.”
Thoughts began to enter Vergil’s mind. Did these two princesses really have the power to raise the sun and the moon? Doing so would require immense power, akin to that of a deity or powerful Demon. It might be best to play along for now.
“Well, it's never a good idea to keep royalty waiting. Where is she?”
“She’s waiting at the library near the center of Ponyville. Follow me.”
Doing as he was told, Vergil followed Twilight through the Town, receiving odd looks from the townsfolk. Some were whispering to each other, and he could hear 'What is that, mommy?', 'Is that a monster?' and 'I wonder if it has any muffins?', among others.
He continued on – thinking how odd it was that the gray pegasus would be concerned about him having muffins in his possession above everything else – following Twilight back to the library. Just as Zecora had said, it was inside of a giant, hollowed out tree.
“Twilight, you’ve returned,” Princess Celestia greeted with a kind smile. “Did you investigate the rift?”
“Yes, the thing that came from it was a living creature. He’s waiting outside right now. You had questions for him, no?”
“Yes, please bring him in.”
Turning around, Twilight stepped out of the library and spoke, “You can come in now, Vergil.”
Upon walking inside, Vergil noticed two new occupants, a small lizard like being, and a large regal pony, that had both wings and a horn.
Celestia found herself staring at the strange creature before her. He was slightly taller than herself, bipedal, and clad in a royal blue coat that that draped over his figure, with hair as white as her coat. Despite this stranger’s appearance, Celestia put on a kind smile. “Greetings mister… Vergil, was it?”
“Just Vergil will do. You had questions for me.”
Celestia paused a moment. 'Polite, but not friendly. Interesting.' “What are you, if you don't mind me asking, Vergil?”
“I am what’s known as a human.”
“And where did you come from?”
“From what I’ve heard, from your conversation with miss Sparkle, I was brought here from my world by the power of a creature named Discord.”
“I see. Well, I’d like to welcome you to Equestria, If only the circumstances were a bit better.” A sad smile that Vergil didn't miss adorned on her face.
“If I may ask, who is this Discord character?”
“Discord is the spirit of chaos and disharmony. He recently broke out of his prison and began causing chaos throughout Equestria. He’s been defeated again, thanks to my faithful student, her five friends, and the elements of harmony.”
Her face steeled when she looked at Vergil's hand with more attention, noticing Yamato for the first time. “I apologize for the break in decorum, Vergil, but I must ask why you are carrying a blade around. Surely you don’t wish to harm anypony? Please be honest.”
The son of Sparda didn't waver. “I carry around my blade because I come from a world where might controls everything. One has to protect themself one way or another.
“As for the safety of your subjects, I have no quarrel with them. If I am attacked, I will defend myself, but that is the full extent of it.”
Releasing a breath she didn’t know she was holding, Celestia’s face softened. “I’m glad to hear that, and I trust my subjects will not cause trouble for you.
“Now, I will begin research on a way to send you back to your world. In the meantime, you can stay here in Ponyville. Twilight, I trust that you and your friends will enlighten Vergil of Equestrian affairs?”
“Yes, princess, you can count on us,” Twilight replied proudly with a nod.
“Then farewell to all of you, and welcome to Equestria, Vergil.” With that, Celestia teleported away.
“So you’re like… an alien? That’s awesome!” the small lizard spoke up.
“Oh that’s right, you two need to be introduced!”
“Hiya, I’m Spike, Twilight's number one dragon assistant. Nice to meet you.”
Taking Spike's much smaller claw in his own hand, Vergil shook it. “Likewise.”
After that conversation ended, Twilight was eager to begin a new one.
“So that was the reason that you didn’t know who Princess Celestia is, you’re from an entirely different world!”
“Yes, I originally appeared in the forest. I met a zebra by the name of Zecora, who directed me to you for assistance, and you directed me to Celestia.”
“Princess Celestia” Twilight corrected, ”and that’s fine and all, but now we need to figure out where you’re going to sleep. Which of us have room to spare, Spike?”
“I can sleep outside. I don’t mind.”
“Oh pish posh, darling” Rarity piped up. “You’re our guest, and a proper lady would never leave her guest out in the cold. You can stay with me.”
Vergil bowed slightly. “Thank you, miss Rarity.”
“Oh, think nothing of it darling,” she responded, a smile adorned on her face. “Now then, ladies, if you will excuse us, I must get Vergil settled in.”
The two left the library, chatting amiably along the way. Vergil wasn't one for mincing words, only speaking what was needed when needed, but he found the change of pace surprisingly pleasant. “Now then, darling, are you allergic to cats?”
“No, but animals and I have never exactly gotten along.”
“Well, Opalesence has never gotten along with anypony anyway,” the unicorn scoffed with a small laugh. “Oh, and I do have a younger sister that lives with me. I expect you’ll meet her later today; she should be at school at this time.”
Ignoring the stares from the townsfolk, the duo arrived at a carousel-like edifice. “This is the Carousel Boutique, my home and workplace. Your room is upstairs, it’s the second door on the left.”
Thanking her again, Vergil marched upstairs to enter his new room.
_____________________________________________________________ Sup, sorry i took so long with this chapter. I took forever writing this chapter because I'm a closet brony, and my brother recently got a bunch of days off, and guess where he likes to set his mac up? right. next. to. me.
The room was fairly extravagant, although that was to be expected when Rarity’s personality was considered. It consisted of a bed – that barely fit his frame –, a window covered in what appeared to be expensive golden silk lined curtains overlooking the street below, a connecting bathroom full of expensive shampoos, soaps, and conditioners, and loads upon loads of decorations. All in all, it was quite a step up from sleeping in a forest clearing, no matter how much pink was in the room.
Setting his beloved blade on the bed and removing his other belongings, Vergil decided for a bath. After all, even the demon world had water to bathe in – granted, it wasn’t very clean water, but it was better than not bathing at all. When you are walking around a place rife with demons, it’s best if you don’t stink to high heaven: demons have a nose for such things.
The sound of running water was heard throughout the boutique.
Meanwhile…
Back at the library, the rest of the girls talked amongst themselves, until the major question finally presented itself out of Twilight's mouth. “So…what do you girls think of him?”
“I think he’s…scary” Fluttershy meekly announced.
Rainbow Dash scoffed. “Oh come on Fluttershy, you think everything is scary.”
“I don’t know Rainbow Dash, I’m kinda with Fluttershy on this one,” Twilight shrugged. “Vergil just seems kind of creepy to me.”
“Oh come on Twilight, not you too!” Dash sighed. “I think he’s cool. Well… not as cool as me, but still cool.”
“Well, growing up in Canterlot I was always intimidated by the royal guards because of the swords they carry. They are designed for that purpose, broad and heavy and generally looking intimidating. Vergil’s sword is the exact opposite. It’s meant for use, not intimidation.” Twilight shivered. “Do you really think someone that carries a blade like that isn't at least a little scary?”
“You heard him Twilight.” Pinkie chimed in. “He has to be scary like that because everyone is a mean meany-pants where he comes from, which makes him a grumpy-pants, and I don’t want one of my new friends to be a grumpy pants, so we’ve got too throw him a super duper special surprise, party and make him smile!”
“Ah agree with Pinkie. Jus' coz' the feller grew up around some bad ponies... er, humans, it don’t make him one, and Ah’d hate to have a good fella like that have a bad time here in Ponyville, no matter how many of mah apples he got for free.”
“Yes, I know he’s not actually evil, but I still just find him a bit creepy is all,” Twilight shook her head, ”but I’m getting ahead of myself. We should welcome him like any other pony and we will make more observations at Pinkie’s party tonight, agreed?”
The response was unanimous. “Agreed.”
“Alright, it’s my job to plan a super duper special surprise party for Vergil! I need you girls to be at Sugarcube Corner at seven o’clock , okay?” Pinkie asked her friends.
Rainbow Dash waved her off. “Yeah, yeah, we got it, Pinkie. You make a party for every new pony in Ponyville and you’ve always had us come at seven.”
“Oki doki loki, just making sure coz we have to make this my best surprise party yet! I’m off to plan the party!” With that, Pinkie bounced her way out of the tree-library.
“I’ve got to go too Twi, there’s some important napping for me to catch up on.” And Rainbow Dash flew out.
“Oh, I have to go too, my animal friends got no breakfast this morning, the poor dears!”
“Ah got to go too, sugarcube. Big Mac’s been doin' all the work today, an' ah have to go help him now.”
As the last of her friends left the library, Twilight was left by herself. “Spiiiiiiike, did you reorganize the books yet?” she called to the other room, hearing an exasperated sigh come from it. She giggled. “Come on, Spike, you know they need to be reorganized today.”
“Fiiiiiine” Spike grumbled a bit as he got up and began reorganizing.
Meanwhile…
Having just finished his shower, Vergil emerged from the bathroom wiping his hair. Someone knocked on his door, and he replied with a quick, “Come in.”
Entering the room, Rarity saw Vergil with his back turned to her as he put on his coat, his hair was still moist and draped down over his eyes. “Is there anything I can help you with, miss Rarity?” he asked, sweeping the bangs back up to their usual spiky style.
“Oh yes, darling. You see, I’m off to pick up my younger sister from school and I just wanted to let you know that her friends are coming over with her.” “How many?” Vergil asked.
“There are three all together, my sister included.” “Well than could you please tell them that my room is off limits? I know how children can be.”
“Oh of course, darling! Celestia knows I wouldn’t want those three snooping around in my room, either, they tend to cause trouble wherever they go.”
“My thanks, miss Rarity.” “Think nothing of it, darling. Oh, and I also wanted to ask you if you would like to come along.”
After pondering the situation, Vergil decided to decline. “The townspeople seem to be frightened by me. I’d rather wait for a while before I go out – it’s still the afternoon, so there will be plenty of ponies to gawk at me, and I'd rather not deal with prying eyes.”
“I understand.”
With a promise of a quick return, Rarity left, leaving Vergil to wait.
Despite saying she would be back shortly, Rarity was gone for hours, and with the mare away there was nothing for the half-devil to do. Finally, after what seemed like eternity, Rarity returned with three small fillies in tow. Their voices made it hard not to eavesdrop, which was exactly what the son of Sparda did.
“Now, I don’t want you bothering Vergil or going into his room. He is our guest and we should respect his privacy, is that clear?”
On cue, three voices replied at the same time, “Yes Rarity.”
“Excellent! Now then, I’ll go see if he’s willing to introduce himself.”
Seconds later, the white mare was back with the half devil in tow. Vergil casually observed the fillies before him: there was a yellow earth pony with a red mane and a bright red bow, a white unicorn with a curly, pink-and-purple mane, and an orange pegasus with a purple mane, all staring up at him.
“Girls, this is Vergil. Vergil, this is my younger sister Sweetie Belle,” Rarity said, pointing a hoof at the filly in question, “Applejack’s younger sister Applebloom, and their friend Scootaloo.”
“Hiya, mister Vergil, we are the CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!” they all shouted at the top of their lungs.
Vergil responded with a quirked eyebrow. ”A pleasure, I suppose.” One thing struck him as odd about these three, more specifically the lack of a flank mark. “What exactly is a… cutie mark?” The words left an unpleasant taste in his mouth.
Scootaloo approached with an incredulous look on her face. “Wait, you don’t know what a cutie mark is? It’s only one of the most important part of pony life! How do you not know this?”
“Uhhh…Scoots, he’s an alien, remember?” Sweetie Belle deadpanned.
“Well yeah, but if he doesn’t get a cutie mark, how will he know what his special talent is?”
“How should I know?”
“Well you’re the dictionary!”
“A dictionary states the meaning of a word, you dodo!”
“See?! Just like that!”
Interrupted by the sound of Rarity clearing her throat, the girls abruptly stopped arguing and turned to face her. “Girls, Vergil had a question for you and it’s impolite to keep a guest waiting.”
“Sorry Rarity, sorry mister Vergil…” Sweetie Belle spoke for the two.
“A cutie mark is a special symbol that appears on a pony’s flank when they discover their special talent,” Scootaloo explained, “and me, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle are on a crusade to find our own.”
Rarity rolled her eyes. “Yes, these girls are on their everlasting ‘crusade’ to find their cutie marks, despite that we’ve always told them to just let it come naturally.”
“Well, that’s… answered some of the questions on my mind,” Vergil thought aloud. After the introductions were finished, he turned to Rarity with a slight smirk. “Might I ask what happened to ‘I will be back shortly?'” he half joked, half asked.
“I’m dreadfully sorry, but on my way back I ran into Pinkie Pie who required my utmost help in what she was doing.”
“And pray tell, what was she doing?”
“Oh nothing, just something personal for her.”
Vergil accepted the answer, and Rarity took the chance to change the subject. “Well now that it’s getting late, I doubt that anypony will be out right now. Would you like to come on a walk with me and the girls?”
There was only one answer to be given by the half-human hybrid, who was starting to feel claustrophobic in the boutique's enclosed space. “Why not?”
Rarity’s assumption was correct, Vergil noted there was not a single pony walking around. He filed it as knowing the right time to go for a walk.
Not two minutes had passed before Rarity gasped. “Oh, let's visit Pinkie Pie! I forgot to grab something when I left!” She received a shrug from Vergil and eager nods from the fillies, and with no complaints, the group headed to the bakery.
The entire building was dark. “Are you sure we are allowed here like this, miss Rarity?”
“Oh it's fine, I assure you. Now come on in.”
Shrugging, Vergil entered. The presence of many ponies, lurking in the dark, made themselves felt. The blue-clad demon was instantly on alert.
“SURPRISE!” The shout came without warning, and it was only the cheer it carried that only barely kept Vergil from circling himself with summoned swords. As it was, it didn't stop him from somersaulting backwards, his coat flapping with the sudden motion. He fell in a terse combat stance, his right hand ready to pull out Yamato.
It was more than many ponies: it looked like the entire town had been stuffed in the establishment, now decorated with streamers and balloons of all vibrant colors he could imagine. The room had gone quiet at the impromptu acrobatics show; somewhere, a cricket was chirping, even as Vergil fought the urge his blood had to climb up to his cheeks and announce his embarrassment over his own overreaction. He looked over the crowd, which was still as a set of statues, most also slack-jawed as they still processed the display of agility, and relaxed his stance. “Well,” he coughed on his hand, “that surely was a surprise.”
At that, everypony relaxed, and the collective murmur filled the room. “Well, the secret's out now, I suppose,” Rarity smiled. “I took so long getting back because Pinkie wanted my help in setting up your surprise party.”
A calculated smirk crossed Vergil's features, until a certain pink pony appeared right in front of his face. “So Vergil, did you like it? Did you? Huh huh? I sure hope you liked it because it took us HOURS to set everything up just right because we didn't know if you would like it, I mean a pony sure would but you're not a pony and-”
The pink mare's rant was cut off by an orange hoof on her mouth, which didn't stop her from trying to talk, although only muffled, unintelligible sounds came out. “Pardon her, sugarcube. Its just that once this one gets all winded up, she ain't stoppin' by 'erself.”
Now that his ears weren't being assaulted by a downpour of words, Vergil could think and analyze. Before, Pinkie reminded him a little too much of Arkham for him to relax. But now, he could see the glee and playfulness was genuine in the bright smile on her muzzle, from which she had pushed Applejack's hoof away. He allowed himself a tiny, but true, smile. “Yes, I liked it. Thank you.”
The bubblegum mare froze, the gleam of her teeth growing to twice its intensity. “YAY! He likes it! Alright everypony, LEEEEET'S PAAAAAAAARTYYY!” With that, she was off in a cloud of smoke and streamers.
3 hours later…
Through gritted teeth, Vergil suffered through the party games. He knew the party had been thrown in good heart, but its childish mood became grating after a while. Despite how much he protested, the girls insisted he be part of it. It was his party after all, they all said.
“Come on Vergil, why don’t you wanna play pin the tail on the pony?” Pinkie asked.
“Because I don’t enjoy games like this.” Vergil responded simply.
Pinkie asked again, “Pleeeeaaaaasee?”, this time making her trademark puppy dog eyes. “I bet if you played some games it would turn that frowny upside downy!”
Sparda's heir didn't seem moved, so Rainbow Dash decided to speak up. “Hey, I had to stop napping because Pinkie wanted my help to set it up, you better play at least one game!”
Vergil sighed, not eager to deal with an annoyed tomboy pegasus nagging his ear off on top of the pleading pink pony by his legs. “ I suppose I can play one, if it will get you to leave me alone about this.”
Five minutes later, it was Vergil’s turn. He was blindfolded and spun around, and everypony was waiting for him to stumble along, which would be extra funny.
They were rather surprised when he calmly walked forward and pinned the tail directly in the mark. A second of relative silence, and Vergil lifted the cloth off one eye. He admired his work, then turned to face the first six ponies he met. “Satisfied?” he deadpanned.
Pinkie's grin faltered a little at his obvious exasperation. “Didn't you have fun?” she asked.
Vergil sat down on a nearby stool. “As I told you, this is not my kind of fun. I thank you for trying, but I'll pass from now on.”
The dark slayer contented himself with watching, being left alone by the now slightly reluctant ponies. It wasn't long before the guests started saying their goodbyes and the party wound down. Pinkie Pie was still energetic, but the same couldn't be said of her friends. A slightly ragged-looking Rarity approached him. “Vergil, darling, I've had my share of this celebration. Would you accompany me home?”
“Of course.”
After saying their goodbyes, the duo left to Carousel Boutique, determined on getting some rest and starting yet another new day in Ponyville.
A/N Holy crap its been a while, unfortunately it was my own laziness that made this chapter take so long i can haz forgivness? And before someone asks, no Vergil will not be paired with anyone in this story, if you want that go read Dusk Stalkers story. I mean Vergil? In love? IMPOSSIBRU!!!
And you know what else? DMC crossovers are starting to broaden, but you don't see very many Metal Gear crossover's, someone needs to get on that. stat.
Show and Tell Vergil was awoken by the smell of cooking coming from inside the boutique, reminding him of the previous yearning for food. Even though he had eaten a tree's worth of apples, he quickly regained his hunger, understandable as far as demon and half-demon physiology goes.
After making sure he was properly groomed, Vergil headed downstairs, to the smell of toast and… fried eggs? He definitely wasn’t expecting eggs to be on a pony’s menu.
Then again new world, new rules.
“Good morning, miss Rarity,” Vergil greeted the unicorn as he entered the kitchen.
“And a fantastic morning to you, darling,” Rarity greeted in return with a kind smile. “Breakfast will be ready shortly. Are eggs fine for you to eat?”
Vergil nodded in response. “Humans are omnivores. Eggs are just fine.”
Rarity was a bit frightened at that statement. “Ponies are definitely not something I would eat,” Vergil was quick to reassure. Rainbow Dash had mentioned last night that she had a friend who was a griffin, and knowing this, Vergil assumed eating fish was not frowned upon as long as it was a necessity. “I tend to eat fish, mostly.”
His suspicions turned out to be correct when Rarity relaxed. “Well, that’s a relief. I don’t think anypony would enjoy it if Princess Celestia had to come down and stop you from eating ponies,” she joked.
Rarity and Vergil’s conversation was interrupted by three sets of hooves coming down the stairs. As all Cutie Mark Crusaders came downstairs with growling stomachs, they greeted the other occupants of the room. “Morning Rarity, morning mister Vergil.”
“Good morning, girls! Are you all ready to go to school?”
“Uh-huh,” they replied simultaneously. ”But is breakfast ready?”
“I just finished the eggs, and the first two pieces of toast are finished.”
“Gimme the first plate,” Scootaloo said, already reaching for it with a smile that dropped when the plate was levitated away. “Hey!”
“It’s hardly good table manners to just take a plate of food, Scootaloo,” Rarity chided, “especially when you have a new guest.”
The plate slowly made its way down in front of Vergil, who was sitting back with an amused look on his face.
“Fiiiiine,” Scootaloo grumbled in annoyance as she took her seat, her friends only giggling at her plight.
After everyone had their fill, the girls and Rarity were about to leave, when the older mare turned to Vergil. “Would you like to come with us, darling? The fresh air could do you some good, and I doubt the townsponies will be rude after they warmed up to you at Pinkie Pie’s party.” She left out the fact that she felt bad for the long wait she put him through.
Quick to respond, Vergil replied immediately, “Why not? Besides, it wouldn’t do to have you go off decorating parties while I wait here.”
Rarity giggled. “No, I suppose it wouldn’t.”
All said and done, the quintet left to the Crusaders' school. As they traveled, Vergil noted that Rarity was correct in that most of the ponies no longer stared at him. There were curious glances by some, of course, but most acted normal, some even politely waving at his group.
Fifteen minutes of walking later, the group finally arrived. Rarity turned to Vergil. “I’ve got to go visit Fluttershy. You can head back to the boutique, if you prefer.”
“I’m actually inclined to have a look around this town now that I’m no longer an enigma. Don’t worry, I know the way back.”
Rarity nodded and turned to the three fillies. “Goodbye, girls,” she waved towards them.
“Bye, Rarity!”
As soon as she left, the group was greeted by a purple earth pony, one whom he recalled was at the party last night, a teacher if he remembered correctly. “Good morning, girls,” she cheerfully waved them close.
“Good morning, miss Cheerilee!” They cheerfully replied.
Upon noticing the fourth member of the group, Cheerilee greeted him as well, “Good morning, mister Vergil.”
“Just Vergil will do.”
With a polite nod, Cheerilee turned back to the three fillies. “Did you finish the team project I wanted you to work on?”
At that, the three got nervous, until Applebloom piped up. ”Well uh, ya see, Pinkie Pie had us workin' on his party,” she pointed a hoof in Vergil’s direction, “and you know how Pinkie Pie gets when it comes to parties.”
Cheerilee giggled slightly at this, knowing full well what Applebloom was talking about. “Yes, I suppose that’s a good enough excuse, but I still want it on my desk first thing tomorrow morning, alright girls?”
The Cutie Mark Crusaders breathed a sigh of relief and did a strange swear that involved flapping their hooves and poking their eyes. Cheerilee seemed to enjoy it, while Vergil pased it off as a child's tic.
“Alright, girls, you run along inside and take your seats, I’ll be in shortly.” As the girls left, Cheerilee turned to Vergil, eager to start a conversation with the half devil. “So, how are you enjoying your first true day in Ponyville, Vergil?”
“Truth be told I haven’t done much so far, only traveled with miss Rarity to this school.”
“Do you have any idea where you want to go first?”
“No, I’ve got no idea of layout of this town,” Vergil smirked, “but that only makes it more interesting.”
She giggled. “Well don’t get lost, you don’t want to keep Rarity waiting for you this time.”
Their conversation was cut short by the school bell ringing. “I have to go, but it was nice talking with you, Vergil,” she said with a warm smile.
“Likewise, miss Cheerilee.”
Taking his leave, Vergil marched onward into the town. With Rarity gone, he drew a bit more attention to himself; ponies of all kind stared curiously at Ponyville’s newest resident. He resigned himself to ignoring them, until he arrived in the market square and heard one calling out his name. “Hey Vergil!”
Hearing his name being called out with a southern accent, Vergil turned around to face Applejack and a red earth pony stallion wearing a lazy smile and a harness, sitting behind their cart. “Good morning, miss Applejack.”
“Well good mornin' ta you too, partner,” she replied. "I didn't get to introduce y'all at the party last night 'cus he couldnt come, but this here's my brother Big Macintosh. Big Mac, this is that Vergil feller I was tellin' you about."
Glancing over at the red earth pony, the son of Sparda gave a nod a muttered a quick 'nice to meet you'. In return, the pony nodded as well and replied with a very simple and straightforward 'eeyup'. Applejack laughed at this. "Big Mac here ain't much of a talker."
To strengthen her claims, Big Mac shook his head and said, "Nnope."
As if on the flick of a switch, he turned a stern glare at Applejack, who withered visibly under his gaze for a moment. "Oh come on, Big Mac, please?”
Simply closing his eyes and shaking his head, he replied with a quick 'nope'.
Applejack sighed, a bit angry "Fine, you can do the work today."
The two ponies were interrupted by Vergil clearing his throat. "What exactly is the problem?"
"Big Mac here thinks ah should take a day off 'cus I've been workin' all of last week, but ah'm fine." Applejack sighed again. "What about you? What are you doin' here?"
"Well, I was hoping to get a good look around."
Applejack perked up a bit at this. "Well, in that case, ah'd be happy to show you around Sweet Apple Acres. Granny Smith's been wantin' ta meet you."
"We shouldn't keep her waiting, then. Lead on."
Motioning for him to follow, Applejack led Vergil through the town's streets. Soon, the two were at the entrance to the farm. "This here's been mah family's home for four generations," Applejack announced with no small amount of pride as she walked through the apple orchards. "Mah great grandaddy settled here back when Granny Smith was still a filly."
After listening to Applejack talk about her lineage for a few more minutes, Vergil observed the farmhouse they had reached. Stepping inside, he was greeted by the sight of a rather old looking, green, earth pony, whom he assumed was Granny Smith, sleeping in a rocking chair. "Up and at'em, Granny!” his companion called. “The feller you wanted to meet is here."
After getting up on all four shaky hooves, the old pony moved rather sluggishly, as one of the elderly should, until with a shake of her head, she suddenly jumped up with more vigor than was necessary to surprise the half-breed. "Now yer that young'un that ate a whole tree of them apples!" The old pony seemed to be sizing Vergil up, ending it with a grin. "Ain't no fancy-shmancy city slicker got an appetite like that. That's the appetite of a hard worker, and we here on Sweet Apple Acres treat hard workers like one a' our own.
“Now, with you livin with lil' miss fancy, she probably didn't give you a REAL breakfast." Granny Smith put up a hoof in thought. "Let's see... we got some apple pie, apple fritter, apple danish, apple-"
"It's alright, miss," Vergil interrupted. "I assure you, miss Rarity is keeping me well fed.” Not only that, the sheer amount of dishes involving apples the elder mare had started making him feel sick.
Granny Smith was skeptical. "You sure 'bout that?"
Applejack chuckled a bit and shook her head. "Ya can't exactly force him ta sit down an' eat like you can with us, Granny. Besides that, ah promised to show him around town."
"Oh, alrighty then," Granny Smith waved them off in defeat. As she slowly walked back to her rocking chair, Vergil heard her mumble 'young'uns these days...'
Right outside the farmhouse, one of his hands flew to Yamato as he cursed his previous overly relaxed state. The causer of his surprise was nothing more than the bark of a playful collie, wagging its tail as it came to sniff at his leg. Applejack looked up and rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, even a small critter like Winona makes ya all jumpy? There ain't nothin' here lookin' to cause trouble for ya, sugarcube, just relax."
Vergil eased his hand off of his handle."My apologies. It's been a natural reaction for most of my life."
She shook her head. "Ah know that where you came from ain't the nicest of places, but if you start goin' all soldier mode everytime somepony makes a loud noise, then yer gonna get a few looks. Now, if ah were Rarity I would tell you to go relax at the spa."
Vergill's eye twitched at that. There was no way in the seven layers of hell was he going to a spa.
"Lucky fer you, ah ain't Rarity. You can relax yerself helpin' me harvest the apples."
Vergil looked at the numerous apple trees before him, and then answered "I'll take it. I haven't gotten much physical exercise recently anyway." Keeping watch and fighting constantly in the underworld did take a physical toll, but with next to no opportunities to sleep properly, it was impossible at best to call it proper exercise.
Applejack beamed up at him. "That's the spirit!"
Hanging his coat on the outer fence, Vergil observed how Applejack would buck a tree and get the apples to fall out. It looked simple, so after watching her a couple times, he stepped up and slammed his knee at about the same spot, with about the same strength Applejack seemed to be using. He was rewarded with a shower of fruit and a congratulatory grin from the mare.
After about an hour, Applejack spoke up, "See? There ain't nothin ta worry about around these parts."
Fate decided to correct her with the screams coming from Ponyville.
A/N I know you guys are probably like, "OMGWTF HE ACTUALLY UPDATED! WHERE DAFUQ HAVE YOU BEEN? I unfortunately couldnt find the motivation to sit down and write, but come sleet or hail or snow, I will always at least update every month, I know it sucks, but then again so do I.
on a separate note, remember how i said i wouldn't pair Vergil with anypony? well yeah that doesn't mean I wont have anypony have a crush or the like on Vergil, I'm thinking about doing a heat chapter for teh lulz.
The unmistakable sounds of screams coming from Ponyville set off the alarms in both Applejack's and Vergil's heads. With one glance at each other, they nodded and set forth down the path to Ponyville.
As they ran, the sound of screams only grew louder and more frequent until finally they reached Ponyville and saw the source of everypony’s fear: the town was overrun with timberwolves. Everywhere they turned their eyes to, the wooden creatures ran amok, prowling or dashing after anything resembling prey.
Applejack drew a sharp intake of breathe as she saw Big Macintosh trying in vain to shoo away three of them. She prepared to step in and help her brother, but Vergil was quicker to react: Tricking instantly in front of the red stallion, the half demon drew Yamato and slashed in a wide horizontal arc that left an afterimage much longer than the blade itself. The attacking beasts balked and collapsed simultaneously, a thick sap-like fluid running from the deep gash each had just below their chins.
Quickly bringing the blade down to its scabbard, Vergil wiped the muck off before sliding Yamato back in its rightful place. Applejack didn’t have time to marvel at Vergil’s sword skills, too concerned with running over to her brother’s side. “Big Mac! What’s goin on? Are ya hurt?” she voiced her concerns, already checking him for any sort of injury.
The stallion, in one of his few moments of levity, decided to answer with more than a simple yes or no. ”Ah’m fine, AJ, just a little shook up. Mah leg stings a little, but that was just 'coz ah tripped earlier. Nothin' serious.”
Applejack looked at him with scrutinizing eyes, but accepted the justification when he smiled reassuringly. Instead of dwelling on the issue of her brother, she began thinking about their situation.
The question had been on both Apple family members' minds, but Big Mac was the one to voice it. "What in the hay is goin on around here? Ah ain't never seen timberwolves come into town before!”
Neither Vergil nor Applejack had any idea, the half-devil because the one fight he'd had with the creatures was not enough to go on, and Applejack for the same reason Big Mac had just voiced. The fearful wolf-like plants had never set paws in the middle of the pony settlement, having stayed at the borders of the Everfree at the very most.
“Ah don’t know, Big Mac, but we gotta make sure everypony else is safe first!” the mare urged. With a reassuring nod from both of her companions, she ran off, with Big Mac and Vergil right behind her.
“Where are we going first?” Vergil asked, displaying no emotion whatsoever.
“Twilight’s place is closest, we should check on her first!” Quick to answer his question, Applejack kept running forward without turning to look at him. “Besides, if anypony’ll know what to do in a disaster like this, it’ll sure as sugar be her.”
“Alright, I assumed as much,” he replied.
As the trio advanced through the streets, which were surprisingly devoid of ponies, the few packs of timberwolves that tried to corner them were swiftly and easily dispatched by the biped of the trio while the others galloped ahead with barely a glance back after the first confrontation, in which Vergil ushered them on with the promise of catching up, which he did with no effort. In the end, they reached the library without breaking the overall high-speed stride.
The two ponies and one half devil saw the townsponies being ushered by Twilight and Rarity into the tree-building, which had been covered by a magenta bubble that they had no trouble phasing through. Upon seeing the three, Twilight quickly rushed over while the other unicorn entered with the final batch of rescuees. “Applejack! Big Mac! Vergil! Are you three injured at all?” she asked quickly.
“We're fine,” Applejack blurted out through somewhat labored breathing. “Big Mac twisted his leg, but it's mild. We jus' came here ta make sure everypony else is safe, since Ah reckoned you’d be the one helpin' with the evacuation.”
A sigh of relief came from Twilight as she beckoned the three inside. “It's not so bad: we have almost everypony in here, and everypony's lightly injured at most.”
Glancing around, Vergil attested to the truthfulness of the statement: saying the library was crowded was putting it very mildly, but all the ponies inside seemed fine, if scared out of their wits.
Applejack, in the meantime, caught on to an entirely different part of her friend's line. “Almost everypony?! Who's missin' and where are they?”
“Calm down, Applejack!” Twilight shushed her farmer friend. “I sent Rainbow Dash and a few other pegasi out to have a look already. I've already received reports, and the stranded ponies are okay.”
The earth pony of the duo took the hint to speak more softly, but her worry didn't diminish. “What about mah sis? And the girls?”
“Cheerilee is with them at the schoolhouse,” the unicorn was quick to respond "All the foals she teaches are in there with her.”
“Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy?”
“Pinkie and Rainbow are here with us, and Fluttershy is in her cottage. She's safe.”
A second sigh of relief came, this time from Applejack. “Ah'm mighty sorry, Twi. I didn’t mean to interrogate ya or make it sound like Ah don’t trust you, but… Ah'm worried about everypony.” Even after speaking her mind, Applejack couldn't wipe the expression of worry on her face until a purple hoof landed on her shoulder.
“Well, don’t worry, everypony is accounted for and a team of soldiers from Canterlot are on their way here now,” Twilight said with a kind smile. “This whole nightmare will be over in a couple of hours, before we even know it.”
Throughout this heartwarming scene, Vergil had been eyeing Big Macintosh with scrutinizing eyes, noticing that his back right leg was trembling a bit. As the conversation between the two Element bearers came to a closel, he voiced his observation. “Miss Applejack, take another look at your brother's leg.”
The son of Sparda had seen it. He could tell that there was blood lacing Big Mac’s dirtied red coat, but felt it best to divulge that information once they had a competent doctor or nurse available, given that the injury didn't hinder the pony's running speed enough for it to be a concern.
Big Mac was trying his best to hide it. He just wanted to get to the nurse treating injured ponies in the back of the library without making a fuss. “Big Mac! That ain't no sprained ankle!” Applejack shouted, turning all heads in the library towards them.
He huffed, turning to face his sister. “It aint nothin serious, one a them wolves jus' nipped at mah hoof.”
The farm mare wasn't convinced, craning her neck to look behind him. “Well it's somethin' if yer leg's tremblin' like that! You get your flank over to that nurse and get yerself the proper treatment!”
“That was the original idea,” the red pony deadpanned.
Through all the commotion and talking, Rainbow Dash went downstairs to help Spike clear up the basement. After some more minor bickering, Applejack followed her.
With all that had just happened, Twilight forgot about the half-devil standing behind her until he spoke again. “I’m impressed. Judging from the damage to the town, the wolves have only been here for fifteen minutes or less, and you already organized a safe house. Not only that, but you also manage to guide them all here without a single major injury,” Vergil stated, pacing around in honest admiration. Twilight Sparkle had just earned the Dark Slayer's respect: no matter your nature or powers, doing what she did was not an easy feat by any means.
The unicorn he was praising blushed pink in response. “Well… it pays to plan for these kinds of incidents.”
“Indeed…” the half demon muttered, tapping a hand on his chin theatrically. “The only unplanned factor here is me.”
“Well, I wouldn’t exactly say that you are unplanned for, but…” Twilight's musing was cut off as she saw Vergil approach the library door and hang his coat near it. “W-W-Wait, where are you going?” she stuttered, surprised.
“I’m going to deal with the situation,” he responded coolly.
“... You can’t be serious!” the unicorn shrieked. “There's a reason that an entire squad of the Royal Guard is coming from Canterlot! Besides, there are more than just timberwolves out there; word from the pegasi is that a manticore is roaming the town as well!” She threw herself at Vergil's leg, hugging it as if to prevent him from moving. “If you go out there, you’ll be massacred!”
After a second of giving the pony an incredulous look, the half-devil calmly bent down and unhooked the forelegs from around his leg. After that, he lifted the deeply concerned pony by her barrel and set her back down on all fours. “You think this will be a massacre?” Vergil asked as he contemplated not only her, but the other ponies in the room, all of which had turned at the ruckus and were now eyeing him, before he turned back around and opened the door. “No…this is simply pest control.”
The door closed behind him. Twilight could only stand where she was, numb with shock, even when Rainbow Dash came up to tell everypony that the basement was clear. “Uh… Twilight, you alright?” The pegasus waved a hoof in front of her face, finally bringing the purple pony back to her senses.
“Rainbow Dash, Vergil just left the library!” Twilight said, alarmed. “Fly out there and make sure he gets back here! Drag him back if you have to!”
With a surprised gasp, Rainbow Dash rocketed out the door and into the air. Soaring up in a spiral to gain altitude faster, the brash mare reached the top of the bubble around the library and began to look for any signs of the human, but no matter where she turned her eyes to, she couldn't see a shadow of his presence. She glided back into the library and landed before Twilight, only able to shake her head.
“Oh no no no no no no no!” The constant worry and anxiety made Twilight begin pacing back and forth aimlessly. During one of her laps, she glanced over at Vergil’s coat and got an idea. She turned to Rainbow Dash she asked her, “Get the girls and come to the attic, there shouldn’t be any other ponies up there.”
“Roger!” Rainbow Dash saluted and blazed past the other ponies down to the basement after Applejack. In the meantime, Twilight cantered upstairs, with Vergil’s coat following right behind her, wrapped in a blanket of purple energy. The idea was to use a location spell on Vergil using his coat as a baseline, but the spell had a trigonometric complication that limited its range from ground level. She had to be as high as possible for increased chance of success.
“Please Vergil… please be safe,” she silently pleaded to herself. She did not want to do the search and only find a corpse.
Meanwhile, the half-devil in question had been wandering around the farther reaches of thje town for almost five minutes, and so far he had only come across a single pack of three wolves. The town was oddly quiet, considering the fact that only moments ago he had seen the fracas of both the beasts and the ponies they were chasing.
Turning around the corner of a shop of some sorts, he turned to face the town square, and was not disappointed: numerous timberwolves were scattered about, rummaging through trash bins and scratching on doors. All heads turned to him when they heard the sharp sound of a blade being drawn, and the wolves began to growl and approach the intruder. Looking at the many creatures making their way towards him, Vergil smirked faintly. “This may be fun.”
Immediately, he dashed ahead without giving the first wave of timberwolves a second to attack. Yamato was a blur through the air as its wielder dashed in a straight line right into the center of the flock of Everfree monsters, cutting and slashing air and animated wood alike, too fast and resolute for any successful retaliation to take place. The floor became littered with what could pass easily as forest debris, but the forest creatures weren't intimidated.
Without even thinking, Vergil eased back slightly and grabbed the ever-sheathed daito, his hand charging energy into it. A cone of air in front of the Dark Slayer twisted on his whim into spherical distortions as he sliced through space itself with Judgement Cut, decimating the entire second wave with three back-to-back attacks.
With the decimation of yet another large fraction of the pack, some of the wolves began running back to the forest with their wooden tails between their legs. Not all left, however: three much bigger timberwolves stayed behind, ready to pounce as they snarled angrily at the half-breed. He knew what they were and what they were doing: they were the alphas, covering the retreat of their minor brethren. “Very noble of you, but the self-sacrifice of scum is worth nothing,” he scoffed, calmly walking towards the creatures. At the bark of one, they charged, and Vergil did the same, but instead of sprinting like they did, he grabbed Yamato's hilt and zipped on the ground, unleashing the blade as he did so. “Die,” he said in a venomous monotone during the Rapid Slash, even as the many dimensional cuts accompanying his movement tore his foes to chunks that flew through the air.
Believing the area to be secure, Vergil turned to leave the desolate town square, but stopped for a moment and looked behind himself. He couldn’t help but feel as if someone was watching him, even though there was no one nearby, what with the few life signatures he could sense being behind barred doors. Putting the sensation in the backburner, the son of Sparda left the town square. He had work to do still; Twilight had mentioned a manticore being among the invaders, and he doubted that, if the creature was correspondent to its myth on Earth, it would leave on its own without carnage.
Meanwhile, the five Elements taking refuge in the library were in the attic, starring slackjawed at the images of the white haired man easily cutting through the whole horde of the invading plant-animals. The original idea was to find the reckless human, teleport in and nab him back into the library as soon as he was found, though that plan was tossed out the window when the projection of the spell formed, already showing him doing battle to the timberwolves.
“He… he took out over thirty timberwolves in forty seconds!” Twilight said with a look of pure astonishment that reflected on her voice.
The long silence that ensued was broken by Applejack. “On our way here, he cut up at least ten of them woodchips.”
This statement surprised the librarian even more. “Rainbow Dash,” she said, turning to the pony in question, “how many timberwolves did you count when you guys were scouting out from the sky?”
Dash shook her head to animate herself from the stupor she'd fallen into. “Uh, I counted around fifty or so.”
Twilight nodded. “I saw at least fourteen wolves run away from Vergil, which means that was all of them... unless we miscounted.”
The room lit up in discussion, though the conversation stopped abruptly when Pinkie Pie pointed to the still-active location spell. “Hey girls, look, it's Fluttershy!”
Upon hearing this statement, all of the girls quickly spun to face the ethereal screen.
A roar set Vergil on the right track a few minutes after he began a sweep of the outskirts, soon after he determined the “urban” zone of Ponyville was clear of any threats. Following the sound brought Vergil to a small indentation on the edge of the Everfree Forest, a clear patch of ground that was home to a small cottage.
The home of the quiet animal lover he had been introduced to was being guarded by what appeared to be a small white rabbit, who stood steadfast in the way of a lion with bat wings and a scorpion tail. Vergil would eat one of Dante's bullets if that wasn't the manticore Twilight had mentioned.
Showing that it was ready to dine, the manticore licked its lips and readied itself to pounce on the morsel before it, but was taken off guard by a phrase Vergil had heard a decent amount in his life. “How dare you!” Fluttershy yelled as she closed in on the manticore, staring at it with a look of pure anger. “We all have an agreement that everyone will leave each other alone here! Do you think you can just come in and gobble up the poor defenseless animals who are just trying to live life safely here? You should be ashamed of yourself!”
Much to the halfling's surprise, the manticore reeled back in shock, a look of guilt plastered on its face, before it dissipated in a flash and the beast turned to look back at Flutershy, this time threateningly.
For Fluttershy this was truly a frightening moment, the first time in her life that ‘the stare’ had not worked. The brave face Fluttershy put on during her rare moments of anger quickly disappeared and, with her wings locked by the fear, she grabbed Angel and threw him on her back, breaking out on a frantic gallop as soon as he was settled. There was no way she could outrun a manticore, but whe wasn't going to make it easy. She had to protect her closest animal friend.
As soon as she began moving, Fluttershy heard a sound from afar, one she could only describe as 'crystalline magic'. She was far too preoccupied with running away from the predator right at her flank for curiosity to goad her into looking. The same sound rang out again, this time much closer, and the clatter of the manticore's paws ceased. She felt a tug on her mane, from Angel no doubt, and that was finally enough to make her stop and turn back.
As she had figured out, the manticore had stopped chasing her. To her surprise, it was staring confusedly at a spinning ring of... were those swords? A slightly squinted look confirmed it: they were swords, seemingly made of crystal, circling it. The manticore sniffed at the air and, growling, turned to one side. She turned to look as well, and her eyes were greeted with the image of a white-haired biped standing calmly, almost relaxed, staring stone-faced at the fearsome monster. “Your move,” Vergil said condescendingly, his voice devoid of emotion.
The provocation triggered the manticore's rage, and it broke out full speed towards the human. As it did, something happened, something that Fluttershy would never forget: the swords stopped circling for a fraction of a second and, simultaneously, thrust themselves into the manticore's body, shattering violently as they came to a stop embedded guard-deep into its flesh.
Now Fluttershy, being the pony whom she was, did the only thing she could in this situation:
