Castlevania: Portrait of Chaos

Chapter Twenty-One: “What Are You?!”

The centaur smiled as he eyed the ponies in front of him. Then, he opened his mouth as wide as it could go, a fiery orange orb settled between his horns as he did. It enveloped Rarity and the sisters, hoisting them into the air almost as if he were using his arms. Rarity shrieked as her magic was drained clean out of her horn, her cutie mark disappeared and her eyes became a monochrome grey. Then she was dropped onto the wrecked walkway, landing awkwardly on her hooves.

Tirek noticed that the same thing hadn’t been happening to Stella and Loretta, and his eyes narrowed low as he glared at them. “Why can’t I drain your magic?!” He shrieked, his mouth curled into a frown.

“To be blunt, I’ve no idea myself. But at least my sister and I have a fighting chance against you!” Loretta answered, flailing her forelegs about madly.

Stella drew forth her sword in one hoof. Then her other hoof moved to its handle before she held it above her head. “Hurricane!” She cried as she brought her sword down in front of her, releasing a green shockwave of energy that rushed headlong at the centaur. It hit him right in the chest, but because of his armor, he remained relatively unharmed. It was then Loretta noticed his horns shrinking just a tiny bit.

Babs noticed that Sunset’s eyecolor, a vivid sea-green, had returned. A small green aura encompassed the very tip of her horn.

“What the? My magic…?” Sunset asked, eyes wide.

Babs rose onto her hind hooves, taking out her slingshot and loading a rock into it. She let go of the rubber band, sending the rock careening off into the air and hitting the centaur right in the nose. Tirek glared at Babs, then scoffed when he remembered he had absorbed her magic and couldn’t do much to him.

Little did the centaur know that a dark purple void was above him, and icicles were already forming in it. Only when did he look up was when the first icicle met with his face, causing him to recoil in pain.

Some of Rarity’s magic came back to her horn at that instant, as did her eye color.

Tirek glared at the unicorn and pegasus, another scarlet orb present between his crackling horns. Then, a great red laser was let loose from the glow, and the sisters immediately got out of the way by flying in opposite directions. The centaur turned to the pegasus, that beam still radiating in concentrated form as he did. The mare flapped her wings rapidly, hoping to get away from the laser…

...and ended up falling to the ground screaming as it barely touched the tips of her wings, causing them to petrify on the spot.

“Damn it! He must have…?!” Stella pouted before noticing the laser on the ground heading right towards her. She got up onto her hooves, loaded her sword into her mouth, and began galloping away as fast as she could manage. Her wings were still open and stiff with stone feathers, which made it more cumbersome to get away since they weighed down on her frame.

Loretta took notice of this and fired some more icicles the centaur’s way, hitting him in the back and catching him entirely off-guard. His aim was thrown off, the beam shooting in the sky before being stopped as he turned to the unicorn.

“The two of you are the biggest annoyances I’ve ever met!” Tirek hissed, firing another beam Loretta’s way and scowling as she teleported out of sight. He turned around and fired another beam as an icicle came into contact with the base of his tail, and hit Loretta’s horntip, turning the entire horn to stone and causing her to land onto the street screaming.

Loretta tried getting onto her hooves, only to yelp in pain upon finding out that her left hind leg had been broken upon putting the corresponding hoof onto the cracked concrete. Tirek had turned to her right as Stella galloped to her with a worried look on her face.

“Now, your powers are useless. Bow down to me, weak ponies!” Tirek bellowed, horns charging and another orb between them as if readying another attack.

It was then that a skeleton pony with a purple robe appeared between the sisters and Tirek, an old musket levitating in its magical grip. “Oh dear God! That’s a face not even a mother could love!” It hissed, pointing the barrel of the gun at the centaur and catching his attention.

Tirek was getting angrier by the minute, and quickly redirected his magic attack towards the

skeletal pony and obliterating it with a laser. All that was left now was a scorch mark. However, Tirek put too much magic into the attack, such that it still continued after vaporizing the target.

Babs looked behind her, only to see Rarity smiling. “Darling, your eye color has returned!” The unicorn chimed.

The centaur slowly moved the beam of death to the sisters, only for it to meet with a third pony who suddenly jumped in and cast a barrier to completely stop the attack.

“Now that is a high level barrier…. I’ve read not even Starswirl could get one like that.“ Sunset murmured, eyes wide.

“What is the meaning of this?!” Tirek bellowed, stopping his attack altogether. There, behind the barrier was a blue-coated pony with a disheveled brown mane breathing as if she ran three miles to cast the barrier.

“Charlotte, why are you here?!” Rarity shrieked in surprise with wide eyes, noticing the mare looked a bit roughed up still.

Sunset was confused a little and thought to herself, “Why? How?”

“Charlotte, you just had a foal not even seven hours ago!!” Rarity cried as if in protest, stomping a hoof in the process.

“Doesn’t mean I can’t fight!” The blue unicorn cut back stubbornly, horn still glowing as she looked up to gaze in the centaur’s eyes.

“Wait! She just gave birth today?!  A pony’s magic is weaker when they give birth for at least a day and a half! If her magic is still this strong, THEN WHAT IS SHE?!” Sunset protested, looking at Rarity with wide eyes and ears flat on her head.

“In that case, I’ll crush this mare first. I can sense she possesses magic like the alicorns; I find it strange that she isn’t one herself….she looks like a child.” Tirek said, grinning horribly as he charged another dose of potent magic between his horns.

“I AM NOT A CHILD! DOES A CHILD BEGET MORE CHILDREN?!” Charlotte shrieked angrily as a halo of fire circled her horn. Her eyes narrowed low, and they seemed to glow with her own magic.

“What kind of spell is that!?” Babs wailed, awe-stricken by the sight of a stream of fire rising up into the sky like a rocket before turning into an elongated lizard and hitting the centaur in the palm of his hand (which he had used to cover his face with.)

“Babs… its an archsage-level fire spell. But, according to myth, only Celestia’s father could cast it. What makes it more amazing is Charlotte still has magic, even in her current state.” Rarity answered, lowering her head to sigh. “If I have to, I’m dragging her back to the hospital back in Ponyville after this.”

Tirek fired another beam of destruction, only for Charlotte to retaliate by firing a beam of concentrated light. Both forces collided, yet neither seemed to overpower the other.

“What condition?! What do you mean, Rarity?” Babs asked worriedly, looking at the fashionista.

“Well, Charlotte gave birth to an alicorn foal earlier today…?” Rarity squeaked, ears flat on her head and her lips curling into a shocked frown.

The centaur stopped his attack and used his magic to hoist the blue unicorn into the air at his eye level. He fired the petrifying beam, only to have a Medusa Head appear before the mare and fire one of its own, thus causing the forces to collide and his attack to completely cancel out.

“JUST WHAT IN TARTARUS ARE YOU?!” Tirek bellowed, raising both hands in the air on either side of the unicorn. He looked about ready to crush her. Then, the palms of his hands collided with one another and, rather than blood, shards of blue crystal flew about as the impact occurred.

“Over here, you horny bastard!” Charlotte called out, causing the centaur to turn around and find her on top of a building two roofs away. Her horn was still glowing with some kind of spell, and the centaur growled.

“Stand still!” He cried, firing another laser at the blue-coated annoyance. Instead of her, he hit a crystal look-alike thereof.

“Close, but not quite!” Charlotte taunted, this time entirely unseen by all present. Tirek darted his head around frantically, looking in the buildings with his magic before finding his target…

...and finding himself enveloped in an aurora-like circle that bathed him in light. He screamed and started to shrink in size, and with each shrink he looked weaker and weaker until he was hornless, bone-thin, and unable to stand. Soon, a painting grabbed him and yanked him into its flat surface as though a sentient being in its own right. Then, it disappeared before any could get a good look at what it depicted.

“Ugh! I would have never suspected she could use a purification spell only somepony like Celestia could learn!” Sunset cried as her magic returned to her full-force, and her cutie mark reappeared on her flank: a yellow and red yin-yang orb with red solar rays radiating from it.

Rarity’s magic also returned to her, and her cutie mark returned as well. In addition, Stella’s wings loosened and the petrified feathers fell off of them, and Loretta’s horn returned to normal as well. Her broken hind leg was bathed in a soft white, and it healed entirely before the white glow faded away.

Sunset turned to Rarity and grabbed her shoulders with her hooves. “Did you say she gave birth to an alicorn foal earlier!?”

“Yes...I wish I were making this up.” Rarity answered, ears perked and eyes wide.

“So, I’m gonna guess on this one: is the father a male alicorn?!” Sunset cried, eyes narrowing as if envious.

“Nope. He’s a pegasus.” Rarity answered again before both mares found a blue hoof pushing each other away.

“Break it up, you two. I am NOT putting up with this type of argument!” Charlotte hissed, looking angrier than ever. Eyes narrowed dangerously low, and seemed to glow stark white.

A painting leading back to Ponyville appeared behind the sisters, and only Babs took notice of it.

“What’s that?” Asked the filly, pointing a hoof at the anomaly. She arched a brow at the sight.

Charlotte turned around to look at it. “That’s basically our get-out-of-hell ticket.” She answered.

A painting began glowing in the a pristine hallway, causing all ponies--mares with nurse hats--to stop in their tracks as four unicorns, a pegasus, and earth filly appeared as the light from the painting faded.

One nurse pony trotted over to Charlotte, a worried look on her face. “Where were you?! You were supposed to be in the bed!” She cried as if protesting.

“Nevermind that. Where is Jonathan?” Charlotte asked, morphing into her lycanthropic form.

“He’s...uh, in the waiting room..?” The nurse muttered as if afraid.

Charlotte quickly bolted past the nurse, running down the hall with a furious look on her face.

The twins exchanged glances and nodded before they took off in the other direction. They then took a sharp left and ran down that hallway before butting into Vincent, who had the foal sleeping in a saddlebag.

“He’s hiding. He knows he’s going to die. I’m just getting the foal out of the crossfire.” Vincent said, a nervous smile on his face. He was sweating slightly.

“Where is Jonathan?” Loretta asked worriedly, ears flat on her head.

Vincent sighed and said, “He’s with the Princesses on the 2nd floor after he went into shock and  hasn’t responded for two hours...I think something’s wrong. He was muttering about Little Miss I-Will-Tear-Your-Face-Off before he went into shock.”

The sisters nodded and darted past him, taking a sharp right shortly afterwards and found a flight of stairs. Another hallway lined with doors greeted them, but outside one stood two pegasus stallions clad in gold armor and holding spears in their forelegs. They had stoic looks on their faces, and they hadn’t even moved once as the sisters made their ascent. It was as if they hadn’t been there.

“S-sister, they are just like the sentries in England?” Loretta asked, noticing the armored ponies stand next to that one door.

“I....I think so. Albeit more...yes, I’ll save the remarks for some other time.” Stella replied, trotting up to the ponies with her sibling in sync. The ponies, only then, took notice of the duo, and stepped in front of the door to block it off.

“Celestia had given us orders to not let anypony enter.” The guards said in unison, faces stone-cold as ever.

Out of the corner of the hallway, a loud and almost-hysterical scream was heard, causing all to glance down the rest of the impromptu corridor. A patient scrambled out of her room, clumsy hooves propelling her forward, and then out of the hallway.

Dragging its hooves lazily after her was a pony, a stallion easily as tall as Celestia herself, with a sickly green pelt with purple splotches and short, oil-black mane. Two large, rounded metallic pieces stuck out of its neck at either side, and attached to its midsection were two machine guns and a rocket launcher. On its head was a horn crackling with blue sparks.

“S-sister, I hope that’s not what I think it is…” Loretta murmured, watching as the pony snapped its head in her direction. Its body seemed to move towards her, rockets being loaded into launchers.

The guards quickly flew to the monster, spears at the ready. Sunset Shimmer had just trotted up the stairs in time to witness the explosive mess that quickly unfolded afterwards.

“It’s exactly what you think it is.” Stella hissed, eyes narrowing as she spread her own wings for takeoff. Before anyone could react, though, the door burst open, and out strolled Celestia. The eyes of the princess were narrowed low, and she craned her head to the monster who made quick work of her guards, her own horn aglow in soft gold.

The monster groaned like a zombie, proceeding to load more rockets into its launchers. It fired them at Celestia, but she cast a barrier over herself to deflect the explosive blow. To make matters worse another of the same monster crashed through the ceiling, ready to discharge bright and sparking lightning from its horn.

The princess scoffed, eyeing the identical fiends, as her horn still glowed. The monsters were enveloped in gold, and before any could react, they burnt to naught but a cinder, and some nuts and bolts as well.

Sunset Shimmer yelled out loud, “What the buck were those things?!!”

Celestia turned toward the voice, eyes widening as she was very much surprised to see her former student here in these halls. She quickly put on a calm face before answering, “Monsters not from this world.”

“So, you mean like those snake head things in Manehatten?” Sunset asked. Celestia merely nodded in response.

“We’d...erm, like to see Jonathan.” Stella stated, causing the princess to look at her.

“Charlotte’s a little angry--” Loretta started, only for her eyes to go wide as she heard the blue-coated unicorn shout something along the lines of this:

“I WILL STRANGLE HIM WITH HIS OWN GONADS FOR KNOCKING ME UP!”

“Scratch that, she’s really angry.” Loretta sighed, ears falling flat on her head as the shout faded into an echo.

“Just tell me what exactly was that particular monster duo?” Sunset asked, eyes still wide.

“Well, they are simply called ‘The Creature.’” Stella replied, cringing a little bit. ”They have some unusual abilities indeed.” She added.

“Please, can you elaborate on these abilities?” Sunset asked.

“No time for that, considering we have an angry werewolf who wants to kill a stallion very close by.” Loretta cut back, looking at Celestia as she said this.

“He’s awake, but his mind simply hasn’t registered that fact yet. That, and Cadence is...taunting him.” Celestia said with a nod. The sisters went into the room, and witnessed Cadance poking the red stallion with a hoof. Sunset also trotted in to see the spectacle.

“What did you do with her?” Cadence cooed as she continued to poke him.

Jonathan simply groaned, face stuffed into pillow, and said, “God sath me, I can senth it now.”

“So that’s him… I can sense some sort of energy in him, it feels kinda like a church…” Sunset remarked before she actually noticed the pink alicorn smiling deviously, poking at him with her hoof like it was a twig of some kind.

“WHERE IS HE?!” Yelled Charlotte from somewhere.

“I’m not sure how to address this…” Loretta whispered, leaning in close to her sister so she could hear her remark.

“Neither am I.” Stella admitted. Then, without warning, Charlotte burst into the room, pelt turning from blue to crimson in unchanneled fury.

Rainbow Dash burst in as well, and she put her forelegs around the werepony’s neck in an attempt to halt her soon-to-be rampage. The attempt was cut short and made futile by those accursed white ribbons of light wrapping around the rainbow-maned mare, tugging her loose and then casting her aside like a stick.

Things quickly escalated when Fluttershy saw what Charlotte had done, and she stormed right up to her faster than any could blink. The butter-yellow pegasus was staring down the werepony with a stare that could at the very least make Dracula himself break a sweat.

Surprisingly, this had an interesting effect in its own: some of Charlotte’s rage left her body, her pelt returning blue as it did, and manifested itself next to her, ready to attack everypony in the room. An apparition of fury, as it were.

“Oh great, now there is a shade we have to deal with as well. The day just got better.” Stella said sarcastically as she eyed the anomaly. Fluttershy stared the shade down, and it started trembling and then whimpering. It fled from the room in a puff of smoke.

“Well, we all know what made her cranky now.” Loretta added, a simple sigh escaping her lips as she watched the pegasus turn to the werepony and stare her down.

“Umm, I’m confused of what that thing was…can somepony explain it to me?” Sunset murmured as everyone watched Fluttershy as she continued to have her stare-off with Charlotte.

It was then another side of the shy pegasus made itself known, and it manifested in her words. “You can’t hurt your friend, even if he did something outright foolish. What would your mother think of you right now if she heard of you doing this?”

Charlotte registered the words of the pegasus, and she reverted to her other form and broke a sweat. She gulped hard as she stared into those green voids that seemed to have a magical grip upon her body. She was very still; her muzzle felt like it was being clamped shut by hooves.

“I better not hear you say those mean things again, let alone catch you trying to actively kill something. You understand?” Fluttershy seemed to hiss out her words as she stared deep into Charlotte’s widening eyes. The unicorn quickly nodded, and once that stern gaze left her sight, she began to shake.

“Yikes. I never knew she had that side of her.” Stella murmured, eyes wide at the sight.

“Let’s avoid invoking that side in the future…” Loretta agreed, gulping hard afterwards.

“All I know of your story is you’re from the human world… buuut, monsters and stuff…” Sunset murmured, pausing briefly, “It’s a little hard to swallow…”

“Well, I guess since everything, we should tell her some of the major knowledge surrounding Dracula and whatnot.” Stella muttered, wings shifting in unease.

A dark laugh was heard as Death floated into the room saying, “I agree with you  on that point, Stella..”

“Is that who I-I-I think that is!?” Sunset asked, eyes wide and jaw agape as the skeletal alicorn made himself known in the room.

“I will take care of that.” Celestia said, briefly glancing at Death, “And, yes, it is who you think it is, Sunset… it is Death himself.” She added.

Death looked at one of his hooves, eyes dimming momentarily as if he were bored. “Celestia, if I may… I could show some of Dracula’s history, but not what killed him in the past before--a bit of his and my point of view, as it were.”

“Wait, Dracula… but wasn’t me made by that writer Stroker?” Sunset thought, sighing.

Celestia thought it over a bit. “On one condition.” She said.

“Yes?” Death inquired, putting a hoof on his chin.

“Let Sunset see more of the...minions for herself, with her own eyes. She will have to be accompanied by at least one of the four hunters present in this room, though.” Celestia replied at last.

“Interesting, Lord Dracula says its fine with him… I must obey his will.” Death said nonchalantly. “Very well, then. But, I still believe we have a formality with two ponies.” He added.

“That formality being?” Celestia inquired. Just then, Vincent trotted into the room, with the alicorn foal perched upon his backside and his eyes were wide as could be.

“I...I just remembered something!” The priest uttered, causing all to look at him. Even Jonathan removed his face from the pillow and directed his gaze at the middleaged stallion.

“That is what, exactly?” Rainbow inquired as she returned to the room. A brow was arched.

“Jonathan, Charlotte,” The priest started, “Remember New Years?” He asked.

“What of it?” Jonathan asked, a hoof connecting with his face.

“W-Well...I…” Vincent started.

“Spit it out.” Charlotte sighed, shaking her head. “No offense to you and your master, Death, but if Dracula doesn’t sound abstract enough, I don’t know what does.”

“None taken.” Death commented with a bit of a chuckle.

“There was...a ceremony.” Vincent stated, ears flattening on his skull. Now, he was breaking a sweat.

“Ceremony?” The sisters asked in unison in confusion, one with arched brow and the other with shifting wings.

“All the priests got drunk that night since everybody else did it, right?” Vincent stuttered, shaking a bit as he spoke. He gulped hard before continuing, “Long story short, I went and carried out the marriage of…” He paused again, raising the accusing hoof at Charlotte before slowly moving it towards Jonathan.

And then, at once, the pelts of both turned white. And never before had they screamed so loud in unison before both fainted.. At that moment, the baby alicorn filly woke up crying as if right on cue.

The baby Gaibon asked, “Why did mommy and daddy scream?”

Stella and Loretta were still processing what had just transpired, and Vincent’s remark. Both then spoke in unison, “YOU DID WHAT THAT NIGHT?!”