//------------------------------//
// Chapter 4: Powerless Witness 
// Story: Equestrylvania Chronicles - Demon Child 
// by Reizthefakebrony 
//------------------------------//

In these following two months, Mathiel was getting more accustomed to his new life. The inhabitants of Ponyville always saw him playing his violin alongside with Octavia during her concerts. He was also working in a musical instrument shop as renting part of his permanence in Octavia's house. It was in simple moments of tranquility that he was able to forget his past and moving on a different direction.

However, Mathiel was fully aware that his dark powers wouldn't let him go this easily, remaining a reminder of his now cursed soul.

Mathiel was pondering about that as he was returning back home, accompanied by Octavia and Scratch Vinyl after a mixed concert in a dance balling room. He wasn't too used to Scratch's mixer style but at least he doesn't retain it to be a nuisance or a bad thing due to him coming from the 1700 era of the earth. Octavia, however, was just enthusiast.

"That was really fantastic! We should repeat the next time!" Octavia said cheerfully, interrupting his pondering.

"I'm sorry to tell you, but I had a hard time to follow your partner's musical scheme." Mathiel said, refering to Scratch.

"Really? Because your way to play wasn't so unsychronized." Octavia said. "I guess not everypony was used to this kind of music."

Scratch Vinyl raised her shoulders like to say 'patience'.

"Alright, Octavia. I am going to have a stroll of my own," Mathiel said. "I will return to your house later. Have fun."

"If you insist." Octavia said as she leaved with Scratch. "Bye, then."

Walking alone in the town under the night, Mathiel looked around as the lights of the houses steadily turning off, one after another. He headed outside Ponyville, directed toward the woods. And he goes far enough from there until he was totally surrounded by the vegetation. He aimlessly wandered for the woods during the hours of the night until

Mathiel raised his hoof in front of his face and materialized a spectral hand coming out of it. He observed every details. Details that reminded him his former form. He gritted his teeth and dismaterialized the hand, one second before stomping his hoof in frustration. As much as he hated it, his powers were now part of his now fused soul. And he know it. But that wasn't the only reason of his frustration.

"This spectral hand comes from the fragment of the soul of my mother," Mathiel murmured. "How did Lucifer managed to corrupt her soul after she died... I will never know..." He looked at the sky, noticing the moon being totally absent. "Strange, was the moon supposed to be there?"

Suddenly, a sharp pain struck his head and his vision blurred, and shifted in a very inconsistent way. A vision entered inside his thoughts, like he was witnessing something. Something from his world and his era.

An young warrior in green robe and a vampiric sword deal his coup de grace to a creature that Mathiel recognized being the fallen angel name Lucifer, who roared in pain for the blow. Mathiel was so confused and couldn't even believe at what he was seeing.

"How weak..." Lucifer said. "This body is incomplete... Resurrected without sacrifice... I am fading....""

Lucifer screamed as his body irradiated a very blinding light that expanded before disappearing into the blackness. The devil was no more. Only the warrior was standing victorious.

Before he could ask any question, his vision blurred and shifted again. He found himself in the woods again and the pain that was flailing his head stopped. What he just saw leaved him a very disturbing feeling that momentarily shook his sense of reality.

"What in the bowel of hell I just saw," Mathiel said confused.

"You better believe it." Another voice said, getting his attention.

Somepony came out of the bushes. Mathiel will define him a very unexpected element. A red maned white stallion that seemed to have followed him for this whole time.

"Believe at what?" Mathiel asked nervously. "What was that vision and who are you!?"t

"I am Brime Stone, if you want to know," He said. "Mathiel Von Viltheim."

"..... You know me?"

"Allow me to explain what you saw," Brime said. "The warrior of your vision was Efrain Lecarde, a soldier of the church who had been tasked to investigate the spread of evil in France until he stumbled into the Castle of the Eternal Night, a castle being build in Lucifer's honor by the man you hate most... Henry De Guillcorte."

".... That bastard. I fully remember how he treated my mother and used me."

"Henry and his follower were taken down, and, as you had saw, Lucifer, who was resurrected without a sacrifice, was literally destroyed. And with his death, his castle crumbled. That happened while you were dead... Oh, I correct that. That happened in your former world while you were living your new life in this one."

"So I and my mother were avenged at least."

"Unfortunately is not over yet."

Mathiel flinched. "What do you mean?"

"Did you see the moon or the sun being in the sky?" Brime asked.

Mathiel looked around. "Now that I am thinking about, the dawn hasn't come out yet."

Without any warning, agonizing screams echoed through the night, breaking the silence in the most brutal way possible.

Princesses scream.

"What was that!?" Mathiel asked.

"Watch out!" Brime exclaimed as a warped figure attacked Mathiel.

Mathiel dodged it by rolling away and stood up two legged. His gaze directed toward his aggressor. It has the form of a pony, but wasn't a pony at all. His body looked like decayed, his muscles being exposed and his eyes being completely white, looking ferally at him.

"W-what? A ghoul? In Equestria!?" Mathiel said shocked.

"And it's not the only monster." Brime said, indicating four red eyes coming from behind them.

From the dark of the bushes, two infernal canine creatures slowly came out and approached them with a ferocious look, growling menacingly.

"Hellhounds?" Mathiel exclaimed.

"Mathiel, you know what to do." Brime said with a grave tone.

"............. Tsk, if I must." Mathiel said angrily as the two spectral hands appeared on his hooves and his long sword materialized itself. "Whilelm's Strength!!"

A dark aura imbued Mathiel's body as the two hellhounds and the ghoul charged toward the two ponies with a very feral frenzy. Brime Stone rolled away from their trajectory while Mathiel made a high jump and landed on one of the hellhounds while brutally splitting his body in half. As the blood erupted from it, he turned his attention to both the second one and the ghoul, and beheaded them in one swing. Their heads flew away from their now falling bodies.

Mathiel dismaterialized his sword and admired in disgust the result of his deed. Having previously sworn to never use that power, he could feel the frustration becoming more accentuated for having shattered his own promise. Mathiel gave a look to his cutey mark, being none other than the emblem of the Von Viltheim family. That reminded him for who he really is.

Brime stone noticed that and approached him calmly. "You are angered for being forced to use your powers, right?"

"Need I say more?" Matthiel replied harshly. "By the way, where did those monsters came from? And what was that scream?"

"The prologue to a vast cruel tribute," Brime said, indicating Canterlot, standing on the mountain far away from them. "Look!"

They could see the city and it's majestic castle trembling very frenetically. It's towers and spires were falling down like avalanches. The entire city crumbled down from the mountain in front of their own eyes. 

"The entire city is crumbling." Mathiel said with a shocked expression. "And his falling down to the forest!"

"That's not all." Brime said calmly.

"What?"

"The sacrifice is not over yet."

As the city's debrises fell from the mountains, dark flames appeared from nowhere, engulfing the whole area. Something emerged from the blaze, adorned with a sinister intent. From these flames, a huge marble castle appeared. The castle was emanating a very ominous aura. It's dimensions swallowed what remains of the majestic city.

That was the first time that Mathiel saw something like that, but deep inside, he could feel a very sick and twisted aura being familiar to him. To his powers. And to his soul.

"No... That cannot be," Mathiel fell on his knees. "That's not possible!"

"You already know the answer." Brime said. "That is indeed the Castle of the Eternal Night, which has nothing to do with the Nightmare Moon legend."

"I know exactly what it is," Mathiel said. "Lucifer's castle. You said that yourself."

"I know how much is hard for you, but you have to put hesitation aside," Brime stated. "After all, monsters will began to attack soon or later, being invoked by the same aura of madness and perversion that the castle was emitting."

Mathiel widened his eyes and looked behind. "Ponyville!"

"And I also know that you didn't had revealed your identity yet," Brime declared.

Mathiel looked at him astonished. "Should I reveal who I really am to every pony that I had met before."

"Trust me. This happy land wouldn't last much longer if this madness continues. in fact, somepony is planning to resurrect Lucifer in this very world. As hard must be for you to even live with your own curse... In a world where Efrain Lecarde isn't here to stop that... The whole Equestria needs you."

That being said, Brime Stone turned away and took his leave. Mathiel tried to stop him when his figure had suddenly disappeared in the darkness.





Present Day, Celestia's tent.

"You know the rest." Mathiel concluded.

Celestia could hardly retaining her calm. She was particularly astonished by what she heard. She remained speechless and slowly put her hoof on her head in sign of mute incredulity. What Celestia heard from Mathiel was indeed a very dark and brutal background, especially the lore regarding Lucifer and his castle.

As for Mathiel, he was calm and composed, and yet he wasn't so happy about the reveal that he had to make. However, that didn't mattered too much for him. His tranquility was already screwed by what had transpired and one certainty. The influence that Lucifer had on the Von Viltheim family members and her mother's soul won't stop hunting his own soul.

Mathiel lifted his gaze toward the critically wounded alicorn and then closed his eyes. "I apologize for what you had to hear from me. But that was the pure truth. Including Brime's truth."

"I don't know what to say," Celestia said in consternation. "My city was destroyed by that monument, monsters had appeared along with this castle responsible of this ruin, the moon and the sun had disappeared, and somepony threatens to summon a very powerful demon in Equestria."

"What you saw it's only the taste of the horror that the culprit was about to unleash," Mathiel said. "It's seems like he's going to found a group of cultist that would help him in the resurrection of the devil, the entity that I hate most. After all, the castle was built in his honor."

Celestia put her hoof down and glared at Mathiel. "And what about Brime Stone?"

"I never heard of him ever again since our first encounter." Mathiel replied.

Celestia returned calm. "I see."

"..."

"That is the first time I became incapacitated like that. Before Canterlot crumbled, an halo of pure darkness assault both me and Luna, and tried to burn both our wings and horns. Hopefully we managed to escape, but... I had abandoned my subjects when they needed most."

"It's not your fault," Mathiel said. "However it's my fault either. I never wanted my power or even this kind of crap."

"As much I detest your dark magic, I have no choice," Celestia said. "Since I won't risk to lose Twilight and the other Elements, it's like Brime Stone said."

"You mean...!" Mathiel realized what Celestia meant.

"We need your powers in order to set things right." Celestia admitted.

Mathiel pondered about what was presented in front of him. He never wanted to use his powers since they came from the same source that corrupted the Von Viltheim family. However, he took in consideration the fact that his own actions talked for him, not his own powers. In other words, he will use his own cursed power differently.

"Trust me, you won't regret this," Mathiel assured.