Castlevania: Portrait of Chaos

Chapter Seventeen, Part Two: Eenie, Meenie...

“EVERYONE! WOULD YOU PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS HOLY TAKE A DAMN CHILL PILL?!” Stella yelled, catching everyone’s attention in doing so. She looked rather ticked off, much more than she usually was.

“Everyone? I think you mean everypony?” The young crystallized dragon said.

“YOU TOO!” Stella snapped, her face turning red in blooming fury.

“Let’s just do what she says before we become sushi.” Jonathan sighed, his eyes wide.

“Sushi?.... as I recall, isn’t that…. rice rolled in raw veggies?” Cadance stated, raising a brow.

“Where we’re from, there’s also raw fish involved.” Charlotte answered, blinking a few times.

“Holy guacamole! You’re kidding right? EWWW, raw fish?!” Spike cried.

“We’re gonna have to explain a few things to him once he’s back in Ponyville.” Loretta sighed despondently, her horn glowing with an air of ice. The same aura was encasing the statue of Starswirl as it lifted the crystal structure onto its proper place.

The baby Gaibon was putting his little claws on the statue of the pegasus mare. “This one, this one!” He cried excitedly.

“Hmm?” Loretta asked before noticing the little wyvern pawing at the statue. Something seemed to have clicked in her head as she moved that statue onto the blue glowing spot, albeit with a little more trouble than with the yellow one.

The little critter ran to the green one.

“Oh, of course now...I see a pattern; it wasn’t obvious before, but I see it now!” Loretta exclaimed, moving the statue of the fillies onto its space.

“Well, tell us! I’m kinda lost here!” Jonathan wailed, somehow unable to notice the fact that the statues were being moved around like boxes in a house.

“Ugh, Jonathan, if your head wasn’t attached to your body you would be dumber than ever! The statues are in an hourglass shape….almost. Apparently, the current pattern on statues are diagonally across from the one before.” Charlotte answered, her hoof poised to slap him again.

“More like a set of squares.” Loretta commented, moving the last statue into its proper place. Then, an aura bathed all four and their frames turned towards the broken rock in the center of the room with no time for anyone present to react.

As if another magical entity had invaded the room, a sphere of light hovered above the horn of the immortalized Starswirl. It then moved to the head of the pegasus, leaving behind a faint trail of energy in its wake. It then swerved towards the statue of the fillies before meeting with the horn of the fearsome unicorn menace.

“I take it back then. Charlotte, you were right… it was an hourglass and not a square.” Loretta admitted, a little flustered at the sight.

A shape of an hourglass had formed in the energy’s mysterious light, and then the light rushed towards the only bland rock present which released a wave of pure energy that bathed the room and vanished as if it had never even happened to begin with.

“Ugh, that was too damn bright.” The red pegasus commented before pausing, seeing that Charlotte had a bad case of glitter adorning her frame now. “ Is it my twisted imagination or are you sorta sparkling, Charlotte?” Jonathan asked, also noticing the mare was translucent.

“Same can be said about you.” Charlotte answered, looking at her hoof in wonder. Her mane was tied back into a simple, high-rooted ponytail bearing curls in its mass. Her tail had more of these curls woven together with a red ribbon.

“This is a first.” Stella commented, looking at her sister who was also glittering in some nonexistent light. Loretta’s mane was unaffected for the most part, save for a green bow perched on the back of her bonnet and another at the very base of her tail.

“Indeed.” Loretta agreed, trotting over to the bland rock and poking it with her hoof. The baby Gaibon, also glittering and translucent, was chewing on his own claws.

“Hey, last time I was here I wasn’t affected, how come HE IS?” Spike asked as if filled with envy.

“Interesting. Somehow that…. puzzle was preventing the Crystal Heart from protecting the empire.” Cadence commented, her mane styled differently and a crown on her head.

“Don’t look at me, little lizard. I ain’t got the answers to the universe!” Jonathan answered, his eyes wide again. Aside from the glitter permeating his body and the fact that he was somewhat see-through, he didn’t change at all.

“You don’t have much of a brain, and besides, I’M NOT A LIZARD, YOU FEATHERHEAD!!!” Spike angrily yelled.

“Lizards and dragons share a common ancestor. Spike, your argument is where I have to call three degrees of bull.” Charlotte retorted, noticing a black ribbon wrapped around her hoof.

“Actually, Charlotte and Jonathan…. for a dragon to be called a lizard….. be lucky he isn’t fully grown.” Cadence sighed, her hoof connecting with her face.

“Ugh. What do you mean, exactly?” Jonathan asked, his good wing unfurling.

“Jonathan…. what she means is…..it’s the equivalent of calling you a dunderhead and your dad plant chow.” Charlotte answered, crossing her forelegs.

“Oh, I wasn’t aware of that…” Jonathan sighed, a frown on his face. He looked at his side and found a most peculiar anomaly: the bandages on his midsection were gone, and his bad wing looked as if it had never been damaged.

“How the…?” He asked, spreading that wing to make sure he wasn’t drunk or something of the sort. Indeed, the scars beneath were gone.

The black ribbon flew by itself to the horn of Cadence, oddly enough. It made a pretty bow around the pink frame before tightening a bit.

“Strange.” Loretta sighed, picking up the rock and placing it in her saddlebag with a careful hoof.

“It’s enhancing my magic, but…. it’s causing the magic to drain faster…” Cadence commented, looking up at her horn cross-eyed.

“Everything has its ups and downs. It’s just life.” Charlotte stated, a look of worry on her face. “But sometimes, things like this happen and you just don’t know what went wrong. You know, things that don’t seem possible in the slightest.” She added, scratching the back of her head with a hoof.

“And this is coming from vampire hunters.” Jonathan sighed, his wings folding shut.

Stella rolled her eyes and scoffed. Like Jonathan, she wasn’t affected much by the change that suddenly occurred moments ago.

“Why are you still over there? Please come over here!” Loretta commented, standing in front of the doorway that was blocked (she trotted over there when nopony was looking.)

The ponies still in the room with the statues caught on, and they ran over there quickly. The baby Gaibon was chewing on Cadence’s tail during the short trip.

“Aww, it reminds me of when I babysat Twilight…. Spike liked to chew my tail as well.” Cadence cooed, playfully poking the baby wyvern with her hoof.

“I’m starting to think he’s hungry…” Charlotte sighed, her eyes white with fear.

“Umm, actually, he’s teething since dragons eat well gem rocks like diamonds and emeralds.” Cadence sighed, smiling.

“His kind eats meat. He isn’t from around here.” Stella protested, her hooves prying the rascal off of the locks of purple, pink, and yellow.

“Yes, that is true for dragons in this world as well…. but…. most enjoy gems more; its the equivalent to I believe sugar candy. But, it’s healthy for dragons” Cadence sighed, a look of worry on her face.

“Me no like gems, they hurt teeth…. me want MILK!!!!” The baby Gaibon cried, making a face.

“Heh heh, I was like that too when I was his age.” Spike commented.

“I don’t have any….” Charlotte meekly said, ears flat on her head.

“Actually, Charlotte, I have some that I keep on hoof in case of emergency…” Cadence said, holding a bottle for the wyvern.

“YAY! MILKY!!!” The baby Gaibon yelled before taking the bottle and cramming it into his mouth.

“As for the gems, young dragons can’t eat them until they are about three years old or so…. as their teeth aren’t developed yet.” Cadence sighed, smiling again.

“Wait a minute, so you’re saying… a dragon’s jewel horde is really their...food??” Charlotte asked, crossing her forelegs together.

“Yes…. its the dragon’s personal non-perishable food supply…” Cadence answered, rubbing her hoof on the back of her head.

“Well, that does explain why dragons get pissed when someone takes some of the horde…. basically, it’s the equivalent if somepony stole food from your home. I know for a fact that I wouldn't like it if I woke up and the food at home was stolen.” Loretta said, blinking a bit.

“But that would mean… all the books in our world that say that dragons have a horde because they are greedy are all incorrect; this is amazing!” Charlotte exclaimed, a bright twinkle in her eyes.

“Either that or they pissed the dragon off too quickly.” Stella added, smiling.

“A lot of dragons back home had a horde and people would try to steal from them… which would explain it.” Loretta sighed, turning to the still-open door. “I mean, did the people even think to ask what the purpose of the horde ever was?…. And what if that is the reason dragons in our world were forced to kill and eat meat?”

“People back then were ignorant and relied too heavily on religion.” Jonathan stated, also turning to the door.

“That’s true… and today, people think of dragons as demonic, greedy, and ignorant monsters…. but with this revelation, I can hopefully dispel all of that nonsense. If only back then they knew then, perhaps we’d have a different outlook on a lot of things, and humans and dragons might have lived in harmony. I mean, I’ve of heard of stories where a human got married to a dragon and had a kid.”  Charlotte chimed, also looking at the door.

“Does that mean I still have a chance with sweet Rarity!?” Spike asked, his body no longer contained in crystal. He was purple with green spikes, facial fins, and underbelly. His eyes matched the color of emeralds.

“Spike, you are free from that prison! This is wonderful!!!” Cadence cried, smiling again.

“Wait, I am? Sweet, I am free! Holy guacamole!” Spike shrieked in joy as he looked at his own claws.

Jonathan thought to himself, “His personality reminds me of myself at his age, sort of...but not quite.”

“Ah, shoot…. it seems there are two paths as the hallways split up down the middle.” Stella complained, pointing at said hallway.

“Wow, for a dragon, he’s quite cute.” Loretta said, smiling a bit before looking at the split hallway and groaning in annoyance.

“Eenie, meenie, miney, moe…” Charlotte sighed, glancing between the dual paths while pointing at them with a shaky hoof.

“Let’s go that way first.” Jonathan stated, pointing at the hallway to the left with his hoof.

“Wait a second! I can feel a dark magical energy from there! It’s almost suicidal! Besides… it’s blocked by a couple of barriers!” Cadence wailed, a look of terror on her face.

“Barriers huh…. I’m guessing it’s like how Brauner’s gallery painting was blocked by  that hunk of crystals from earlier…” Jonathan sighed, trotting up to the path he had chosen.

The mares groaned and followed him begrudgingly.

“Actually, featherbrain…. it’s more like the area where the dark magic is right now… its sealed…. by two--no, three--entities of some kind…” Cadence sighed, shaking her head as she tagged along.

“No problem, we had a similar situation  before with Brauner. He always pulled these kind of things.” Jonathan said rather reassuringly as he led the group deeper into the hallway, noticing torches made of crystal dotting the corridor.

“What do you mean similar?” Asked  Spike, who scratched his chin with a claw.

“We will explain once you are safe. Believe me, it’s a long story.” Loretta sighed, her left eye twitching a bit.

The group found a gargantuan, black wall blocking them. It was crackling with black magic, as Cadence had predicted. No sooner had they ran into that obstacle, a pony had tail turned to them.

“And who are you?” Charlotte asked, her legs shifting a bit in unease.

The pony turned around, revealing silver armor adorning dark brown-grey legs. A long, red cloth covered his flank and tail as he turned, its end marked by white cotton. Feathered wings spread wide, imbued with dark crystals. His irises were red and they sat upon canvases of green sclera, which radiated wisps of purple energy from the margins of the eyelids. A red, curved horn was on his forehead, the base marked by a black mane and a wicked helmet of war that covered his entire neck.

“I would comment on you not knowing of my name, little pony, had it not been for a recent friend I have made. He has told me all about you, your coltfriend, and your ruining of his plans.” Hissed the pony, a demonic undertone in his voice.

Cadence took a step or two back. “And who, may I ask, did you befriend, King Sombra?” She asked with a glare worthy of a tyrant on her face.

“Wait a second! You’re that Sombra prick...but, we were told you’re a unicorn, NOT an alicorn!” Jonathan yelled accusingly, his comment falling on irritated ears and echoing in the hall.

“It was a gift from Havocia, you pubescent whelp!” Sombra hissed, stomping a hoof in fury.

“Err, what does that word mean...?” Spike asked, unable to register the look of seething anger scrawled across the stallion’s face.

The red pegasus snarled, wings snapping open in a second. He looked more than ready to knock Sombra’s teeth out.

Sombra smiled wickedly. “Oh, how I’d love to stay and chat with your new friends, Cadenza, but I mustn't stay any longer here. I have things to attend to, my dear.” He chuckled as he turned around before walking into the dark crystal walls and vanishing without so much as a trace of him even being there.

The wall he seemingly phased through soon shattered like a china doll, and the hallway was no longer blocked.

“Spike, Sombra basically called Jonathan a spoiled brat.” Cadence sighed, watching the red pegasus stomp on a piece of black crystal with his hoof.

“Wow, I know for a fact that if it was Rainbow that was called that… she’d buck the pony right to the morgue.” Spike commented, crossing his arms.

“Let’s not waste any more time. If Sombra’s an alicorn, chances are Brauner is too.” Charlotte said, all eyes looking at her as she shook her head and began running down the hallway.

Everyone else nodded and followed suit, running as fast as their legs could carry them. After a fleeting moment of running, the path suddenly ended and all hooves skid noisily to a halt, with Charlotte nearly falling off of it in the process.

The unicorn recollected herself and gazed around at the sudden change. The new room was so big it could hold about thirty crystal golems stacked on one another, but most of it was about fifteen meters below. A loud crack was heard as many mares below cheered on a single stallion who was busy trying to fondle a crystallized pony (and was, sadly, failing to take into account said pony’s immobility.)

“Well…. this is obviously a…gathering of some kind…?” Charlotte squeaked, trying to make sense of the new sight before her.

“Odd. I recognize some of these mares…… some of them are the royal servants in….Luna’s night guards.” Cadence stopped before noticing bat-like wings on the frames of all the ponies present below.

Jonathan had his wings open, and he was digging a hoof in one. He was very much busy trying to search for something.

“What’re you digging for now, blondie?” Spike asked rather mockingly, watching the stallion produce a green, ovular shape with some sort of metallic pin on what he assumed was the top.

“This thing.” Jonathan answered as he pulled the pin and stood on his hind legs, tilting his foreleg as far back as it could go. He threw the green thing as hard as he could muster, all the while yelling “Fire in the hole!”

A distant clanking sound emanated from the bottom of the room, loud enough to send the crowd in a brief fit of panic. They moved away from the green object with some kind of worried fascination lingering about.

Five seconds. Ten.

Nothing happened to the green thing at all, and the crowd resumed its previous cheering of the single stallion fondling the crystallized pony.

“OH COME ON! THAT GRENADE WAS A DUD?!” Jonathan cried fitfully, again shoving a hoof into his wings and digging once more.

“Umm, Jonathan, a bunch of these mares are natural-born Equestrians…?”  Cadence sighedm looking at the pegasus with worry.

“I know a Succubus when I see one!” He retorted, producing a rectangular frame of metal from his wing now. It had a long, slender cord, and two slots on the top of it with a push-down button at the side. A big dent was present on the frame, and four little legs were on its bottom.

“Jonathan… I was trying to tell you the bat-ponies wearing armor and helmets are actually members of the royal guard… who patrol Canterlot during nighttime. Princess Luna allowed some of them to help the Crystal Empire.” Cadence said before noticing the metallic thing.

“....so, THAT was where my toaster went?” Stella yelled, pointing a hoof accusingly at the object Jonathan was holding.

“Someone explain why my wings do this to me?” Jonathan asked, noticing the toaster growing teeth where the dent was.

“T-t-t-t-that’s a MIMIC! IT MUST HAVE EATEN YOUR TOASTER AND REPLACED IT, SISTER!!!” Loretta yelled at the top of her lungs, her horn glowing as the mimic froze on the spot and shattered like a rock after a fifty-foot fall. Strangely enough, another toaster--this one without a dent--appeared in its place.

“I’ll use a spell to detect if it’s a real toaster or another damn Mimic.” Charlotte sighed, shaking her head sadly as her own horn began glowing. The new toaster was bathed in a faint aura briefly before being released. “Yep, it’s a real toaster.”

“At least I now know what happened to it.” Stella commented before turning around and looking into the large room.

All the mares present in that room were airborne, and they were looking right at the group with hunger-filled eyes.

“Oh, crud…. we are so bucked!” Spike wailed, pointing a claw at the sight before him.

“Spike, language! Do you want me to tell Twilight what you just said when we get you home!?” Cadence hissed, her eyes narrowing low.