Castlevania: Portrait of Chaos

Chapter Twelve: Where It All Began

“How to explain this…“ Jonathan said, looking as if he’d been defeated in an argument. He shook his head sadly, his ears flat on his head and his wings drooping to the ground.

Charlotte whimpered, looking up at Luna like she were pleading for something.

“FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS HOLY, I CANNOT TAKE THIS ANYMOREEE!!” Stella suddenly hollered at the top of her lungs, causing all eyes to look at her within a second. Her wings were wide and her hooves were against her head.

“I hope it’s not what I think it is…” Loretta thought, staring at her sister in utter horror.

“Has she lost her mind or something?” Rainbow asked, raising an eyebrow in bewilderment.

Jonathan’s wings shot straight up as wide as they could go. His jaw opened and moved nervously, and yet he couldn’t form any words at all.

“Oh, how I dislike those outbursts…” Stella commented, taking a moment to breathe and settle her front hooves onto the ground. After calming herself, she looked at Jonathan...whilst smiling.

But this wasn’t any smile. It was a dark, sinister smile.

“Ummm, is this normal for her?”  Vincent mumbled, his eyes widening in shock.

“Oh no…I thought she stopped doing this...” Eric sighed, his lips trying to be kept sealed.

Rainbow Dash flew over to Eric and said, “What in Tartarus are you talking about?”

Eric took a deep breath and sighed again. Only when Stella took a single step forward did his lips part.

“JONATHAN, RUN LIKE THE WIND!”

By sheer instinct, the red pegasus did just as he was instructed to: he turned tail and made a break for an opening in the confused crowd. Stella was quick to take flight, whizzing over the crowd and barely keeping up with the pegasus who was trying to use the crowd as camouflage.

“Okay, wendigo, just tell me what the buck is going on?!” Rainbow demanded, glaring at Eric.

“We need to catch her first. Then I’ll talk. I can’t do it because I’m old.” Eric replied as Applejack grabbed the blue pegasus with a lasso and yanked her back.

“Whoa, nelly there, Rainbow!” Applejack stated, a scowl on her face. “We don’t need ta get all hostile now, besides we wouldn’t be alive if he didn’t help earlier.”

“She has a point.” Scootaloo remarked, watching the purple pegasus dart about here and there almost as if she were teleporting.

Celestia was still looking at the book intently, and so were Mi Amore Cadenza and Luna. Only when they heard the sound of a stallion shouting and throwing things did they look away. They turned to the crowd and saw Twilight tieing Stella up with so many ropes that she looked like a barrel with a head.

And Pinkie Pie suddenly appeared on Stella’s head saying, “Oatmeal, are you crazy?”

“This is getting out of hoof, regardless of whether or not she’s hogtied!” Jonathan called out, flying out of the crowd and in front of Luna with a few strands of hair out of place. As his wings flapped, some red feathers scattered about.

“Princess Celestia, may I explain everything in place of the other five?” Eric asked, walking up to the white alicorn as he spoke.

Celestia sighed, as if taking a moment to think about it. “Then we shall speak in private.” She said.

“The Boutique is open. Follow me.” Sweetie Belle chimed, ushering the wendigo and princess to an odd building that looked like it could house a carousel. She opened the door and in all three went, and they were followed by the foreign ponies, Twilight, and Trixie.

A yawn was heard as a white unicorn mare--the same one who put Vincent in a dress, to be more accurate-- descended the stairs at the exact same time Eric set foot into the building.

The lights turned on, and the mare and wendigo found themselves in a staring contest that lasted for five or so minutes.

“WENDIGO!” Cried the unicorn in fright before collapsing to the floor with a hoof on her forehead.

Eric began sweating a strange substance as he was not expecting that to happen at all.

“Sorry about that, my sister tends to overdramatize everything out of the ordinary...”Sweetie said, her head lowering in shame. “Even ripped clothes and dirt make her freak…”

“You’re kidding, right?” Jonathan asked as he entered, raising an eyebrow at the remark.

“No, I’m serious...you’re name’s Jonathan right?” Sweetie asked, looking up at the red pegasus.

“Yeah. That’s my name, I forget what yours is though is was, though. Sweemie Belle, right?.” Jonathan stated, sighing.

The filly nodded and then her eyes went wide in realization. “It’s Sweetie, not Sweemie!” She said, trying not to cry.

“Whoa...I’m sorry, it’s just that I wasn’t that good with names.” Jonathan said, his voice low. “Unless they really stand out.”

“Untie me, please.” Stella said, her body vibrating under the ropes holding her. She sounded very much like a nervous wreck now.

“Is it really this bad with her?” Twilight asked, poking Eric to get his attention.

“Yes. This is why I went and bought a shotgun when I was still living.” Eric answered, taking his place on the couch that was in the room.

Rainbow, demanding and persistent as ever, waltzed into the room uninvited.

At that moment a voice said, “Darling, I had the strangest dream….okay, maybe I’m still having it.”

“Hi, sis, I see you finally recovered!” Sweetie chimed, rushing up and greeting the white unicorn mare.

The unicorn hugged the filly, though her eyes were still on the wendigo who’d decided it was a fine idea to grow hind legs and claim her couch.

“I’m not the guest of honor.” Said the wendigo, pointing a hoof at a tall white figure. The unicorn looked and saw Princess Celestia looking right back at her with an expression of worry

“Well, since Rarity woke up, can we get on with the tale, if that is okay with you?” Fluttershy spoke, also entering the room. She was looking at the wendigo who looked out of place.

“What is happening now?” Rarity asked, eyes widening in confusion.

Rainbow Dash whispered to Applejack, pointing a hoof at the yellow pegasus, “I don’t think she should know….”

“And neither should you.” Jonathan hissed, his tone of voice darkening.

Pinkie Pie bounced into the room with a large plate of cookies, cupcakes, and other sweets in two. The platter somehow didn’t fall down from her head.

“This is getting awkward.” Charlotte said before raising a rear paw and scratching an ear with it.

“I take it she needs a bath?” Loretta commented, looking at the werepony.

“I didn’t feel anything bite; it’s just a sudden itch.” Charlotte retorted, scratching her ear more vigorously now.

Applejack quickly realized it was fleas alright, since her own dog had them about a month ago. Speaking of her dog, it barked at the werepony nonstop, stopping to growl on occasion. It was a border collie.

“You sure about that, sugarcube?” The orange mare asked, trotting over to the furry unicorn who was still scratching her ear to the point the skin was red and raw. Her hoof grabbed the paw and forced it down to the floor. Applejack saw a couple of bugs jumping around in her fur, and it didn’t look too good.

“Ah hate ta be da bearer of bad news, but ya have fleas. Heck, everypony needs a bath on the double!” Applejack commented, causing all to look at her.

The five foreign ponies sighed. “Where’s the shower?” Vincent asked, crossing his forelegs.

Twilight suddenly remembered she still had to cast a spell. Her horn flared up and its aura soon bathed Charlotte.

A blinding aura soon envelopoed the room. When it faded--and much to the shock of all present, except for the other four foreign ponies--Charlotte didn’t change at all.

“Did I do the spell wrong?” Twilight asked, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

“......you only cast an eighth of it. Read the entire ten pages in one seating next time.” Charlotte answered, sighing as her paw connected with her face.

“Whoops…” Twilight murmured. She untied Stella and kept the ropes in her saddlebag.

“The shower is this way. You all have to share. Don’t worry; there’s enough room for you to have your own separate space.” Rarity commented, turning around and going upstairs.

The four normal ponies and the fifth lycanthropic mare followed with haste.

Celestia looked at Eric. “While they’re busy, please do tell us what you know.” She said, softly.

Eric raised a hoof to his mouth and covered a cough that indicated he was clearing his throat.

“Yeah, we want to know BUB!” Rainbow snapped, flying to the wendigo in two seconds.

“...” Eric was silent for a moment, blinking his ghostly eyes a few times. “...I refuse to respond when you are in my personal space and demanding me to respond like a child who wants candy.” He said as if the mare were his daughter.

A lasso went around Rainbow and she was yanked back quite a ways. “Sugarcube, we all want ta know just as bad as ya do, but he does raise a valid point.” Applejack scorned as she tied the pegasus’s wings shut

“Sorry about that, she tends to get like that. Uuuum its not a problem right?” Fluttershy asked, sounding very worried.

“She’ll have to learn her manners sooner or later. Then again, I don’t know her like you do, so I’ll take it for granted.” Eric answered, a faint smile on his face. “Anyway, it all started like this…”

The horned wendigo spent an hour and fifteen minutes detailing all of what he knew to everypony in that room. How Dracula came to be the vampire he was; how the vampire hunters temporarily stopped him; how he was revived and defeated over and over again. He also made sure to answer any questions asked to the best of his abilities.

Given that the rulers of Equestria were interrogating him, he had to answer truthfully. When they were clouded with doubt, he either rephrased an answer so they could understand or simply lit his horn up and conjured an illusion that spoke louder than he could with events that said illusion depicted.

“I could use a spell to show you in your minds what happened to me when I died.” Eric said at last, taking in a moment or two to breathe.

“Don’t show Fluttershy or Rainbow Dash. It’s all I ask.” Twilight commented, a frown on her face.

“That I’ll keep in mind.” The wendigo agreed, his horn flaring up once more.

As if they were there themselves, they saw a tall, pale being bite the necks of two young women. Both women fell unconscious, but not before one of them--who was strangely clad in green--fell onto her knees.

The pale being then turned to face the ponies who were seeing all of this. It lurched forward with a bloodstained smile tainted with evil plastered onto its face.

And then, before everything went black, some kind of spell had been cast from a dying hand as a voice that sounded like the weindgo’s said, “I’m, not going to rest until you are vanquished...your crimes against humanity are unforgivable…You will fall, Brauner!!! ”

Twilight found herself back in Rarity’s house, and so did the other ponies who had seen that god-forsaken vision.

Princess Cadanza shook violently.  Her eyes were widening and she was sweating. “Did that really happen to you? What was that spell you cast as you were dying?” She asked, her voice cracking.

“Yes, that did indeed happen to me. I was trapped in that castle, but I couldn’t be tainted by it’s magic. In other words, I was both free and trapped simultaneously, as for the spell I cast as I died I bound my soul to just one room.” Eric answered, his voice grim, sad, and seething with some kind of anger all at once.

“Art thou serious, you bound your soul to one room as you lay dying?” Luna asked, raising an eyebrow.

Eric nodded but once. “And it was roughly two long, painful, lonesome years later that I met Charlotte and Jonathan as a ghost. I asked for them to help me by having them perform certain tasks. In turn, I gave them things I had when I was still living--mainly weapons and spells. I later revealed that I was Jonathan’s father’s best friend.” He said, his inflection almost hushed in a whisper.

“Did he die as well?” Applejack asked, rubbing the back of her head with a shaky hoof.

“He died well before I did. The Vampire Killer carries a curse: if someone who is not of the Belmont clan abuses its power, when that someone dies, their soul is absorbed by the whip itself. This is why my family exists; to unlock it only when truly necessary. John, however, used the whip too often and it eventually took his life.” Eric answered, appearing to shed a tear.

“Just what is this whip?” Princess Celestia, who raised a brow. She was starting to wonder if it was cursed.

As if on cue, Twilight pulled the whip out of her saddlebag. She showed it to the others present.

Luna looked at it, sensing a strange power coming from it. And the power was quite strong. “I saw that same whip earlier today, when I brought the ponies to the castle using the chariot.” She commented, blinking a bit.

“Auntie, I do sense power from it, but it doesn’t really feel evil.” Cadenza added, her wings shifting nervously.

“It isn’t supposed to be evil. It’s supposed to vanquish it.” Eric stated, his voice grim once more. “You see, its a holy whip that is used to annihilate creatures of the night, and do pardon my choice of words, Luna. It’s especially powerful against vampires, zombies and demons. If I remember correctly its roughly about a thousand or so years old.” He added with a small nod.

“W-wait,” Asked Rainbow, “You mean to tell us that whip is one thousand years old?!”

“It’s been passed on, used, and cared by the Belmont clan for generations on end. who are immune to the effects a non-Belmont would otherwise receive, my friend. However, the Morris clan is distantly related to the Belmonts, but not enough to be immune from its price.” Eric answered, sighing. He took another moment to breathe.

Twilight then asked Eric, “Why aren’t the Belmonts using it?”

“It’s hard to explain, but this is what I have heard. Due to an ancient prophecy, the Belmonts are not allowed to use the whip until the year 1999. It’s because Dracula is predicted to revive then, but this time its said he will be dead for good....”

Eric paused for a bit before continuing. “How they’re going to pull it off--that is, destroying the Dark Lord for good--is beyond me. The closest anyone has gotten to my knowledge is when Trevor Belmont killed him and he had help. Even Dracula’s own son helped him.” He said, crossing his forelegs.

“W-w-wait! His own son? Dracula is a vampire; wouldn’t his son be one as well?” Fluttershy asked, shaking quite a bit.

“I’m curious about this as well.” Luna remarked, her ears perked attentively.

Thumping noises were heard coming from upstairs. Very loud thumping noises at that. Five flea-sized ponies, one of whom was limping, climbed out of Twilight’s saddlebag and they all looked at the wendigo intently.

“I think something’s going on up there. I don’t like it.” Rainbow remarked, taking the lasso off of her body as she began trotting upstairs.