Second of Five Colors, and a Golden Wind
(Typhon POV, Outskirts of Cloudsdale)
You’ve been invaded by Bliu, the Blue King of Cinquleur
Seriously, world? Seriously? I haven’t reached home base yet!
Lady Fortune, sometimes I want to kiss you, but right now I just want to punch you in the face (though not to establish superiority).
Well, Bliu was a hume, or human, so no magic-fueled frenzy. He wore a blue hat similar to a bicorne with a large white feather, a blue coat with enormous white cuffs, fingerless leather gloves, a light blue tunic, and brown leather shoes. And a scarf-like thing holding his coat… I don’t know what’s it called, but it’s pretty nice.
A freaking Blue Mage, the one job that grows more powerful the more he’s knocked around.
And he had two sabres, wide and curved and very likely to do some serious damage.
I was too close to Cloudsdale, so no fancy weather tricks, and the air - although still responding as normal - was not yet accustomed to me, so I had very little magic to work with. I could use Lightning Brush, but a missed stroke would… yeah, I was not going to throw my ink around like that, it was too dangerous.
I was going to have to use… let’s go with shields. His magic could cover a wider area, and I wasn’t about to try the same tactics I used on Ruuj. Clover would have my head.
Tear Stone was an unassuming shield. A black, stone-like circle divided in fourths, surrounded by two blue half-circles almost touching each other, but it increased my sensitivity and muted sounds I made without me having to tell the Air to do so.
And Orchestra Plus, because I was feeling adventurous. A white, circular shield with two white, feather-like extensions at two-o'clock and ten-o’clock each, and two gray ones at five and seven o’clock. It used soundwaves to deflect hits, and it helped with my more exotic tricks. I just hoped that I wouldn’t need its extra features.
Yes, they were bulky, even the reduced ones I was carrying, but I had a lot of strength to get around that.
There was no audience, although a curious pegasus or two might stumble across our little battle.
Bliu didn’t seem to want to risk it, and tossed a Law Card into the air. I wasn’t sure I could handle this one as well as I did the last one; Bliu had strong abilities, even if I only knew of a few - any new spells? Yeah, that would be trouble.
“I am the Blue King Bliu of Cinquleur.” He waved his sabers in a flourish. “We seek battle with the strongest of warriors! I commend your victory over Ruuj, but I shall not fall so easily!”
Ohh boy. If he was boasting this much, it did not bode well. I would have to come up with-
What’s that whistling noise? Something seemed to be disturbing the air. Something small. And fast. And…
Was that a bit piece? Who would drop a bit piece from that high up? Reflexively, I reached out and grabbed a hold of it with the wind, and noticed the differences almost instantly. Instead of the traditional images on it, there was a see-saw with the letters Au above it on one side, and an image of an eclipse on the other. And that was when I heard the voice.
Auric Fulcrum...light...candle...those that seek balance...call on me...
Yeah, I wasn’t going to do very well going solo. I just had the magic of a sphere a meter or two across, although the air of Cloudsdale was richer than a simple plain…
I was going to have to risk it.
Send Party Invite? Y/N
Hell yes; send. I squeezed the magic, and sent it into the coin.
-----
(3rd POV - Auric)
Darkness greeted the boy as he flitted through dimensions as naught more than a stream of golden fire.
Suddenly, he felt a tug. A greater tug on his being. It would appear that whoever this Typhon was, he had stabilized the connection with the coin. Probably by injecting some of his power into it. He rushed towards the tugging sensation, and felt himself enter another reality.
Next to the blue-clad Heir, a pillar of golden flame erupted, shrouding a bipedal form within. As it dissipated, a few things could be made out about it. For one, it was approximately six feet tall. It was also clad in what looked like very crude camouflage. The hair atop the head was primarily black, streaked with gold. And then the boy opened his eyes and revealed they were golden as well.
The boy looked between the slightly transparent mage and the one next to it before spotting the coin in the Heir’s hand. He inclined his head slightly. “I assume you are Typhon?”
“Yes, and you would be Auric?”
The boy nodded again and returned his attention to the phantom. “And would he be the reason you called for me?”
“One enemy or six, it makes no difference.” Bliu shifted his feet, calmly evaluating both possible opponents.
“That means ‘yes’.” Typhon deadpanned.
“Two questions. Who or what is he, and does he have a weakness I can hit?”
“He’d be one of the freaking kings of Cinquleur, and other than being unable to use a ribbon, I don’t know.”
Auric’s eyes widened as he heard the name Cinquleur and he looked over the magus with slight trepidation. “Which...one is he? It’s been fifteen hundred years since I touched any games, after all.”
“King of Blue magic, and user of High Magic. He uses the power of monsters-”
“Against his foes. Let’s hope he doesn’t know White Wind.”
Bliu simply smirked conspirationaly, and Auric groaned.
“Well, damn.” They both said.
“Do we wait for him, or do we rush him?”
“Don’t let him charge up for White- is he drinking an ether?”
The sound of the bottle being open and drunk by the phantom was similar to the sound of an executioner's axe for all the effect it had on the mood of the boys. But their prediction would prove to be inaccurate for all of a minute as the shade did not burst out an attack spell. Technically, anyways.
He instead focused on the Heir and said two words. “Matra Magic.”
The phantom was surrounded with a pyramid of light, and he took a knee for a moment as his physical strength was funneled into his magic. There was a bright flash as the spell completed, blinding the boys for a second as they hadn’t expected him to target himself with such a flashy spell.
Which made his next move all the more devastating, because they didn’t see it coming. They heard it, though. “Magic frenzy, Quake!”
Auric felt the rocks collide into him from all sides, and he raised his arms in an attempt to defend himself while his eyesight recovered. Meanwhile, his brain was working, trying to remember the moves from a game played lifetimes ago. Magic frenzy? Doesn’t that work by casting a spell, followed by-
His thoughts were cut off as two unwanted bits of metal introduced themselves into his lungs.
-Yeah...that.
As Blui withdrew his sabres from Auric’s body, he grinned with satisfaction as it hit the ground, barely breathing. “One down. One to go.”
Typhon could feel it; Auric was breathing, and his heartbeat didn’t seem to be slowing down. He’d need time, and he was going to have to provide it.
He swung Orchestra, keeping the shield in front at all times. The clash of metal produced a higher-pitched noise than Bliu expected, and his arm was vibrating.
Typhon didn’t relent, waving the shield as to keep Bliu from recovering his stance. Another would have been forced to look over their defense, but he could feel the air all around, including the space Bliu occupied and his breath. The blue mage tried using his other hand to slash at Typhon’s legs, but he spun in place to send him wide and kick him in the small of his back.
If simple physical prowess wasn’t enough, then he’d just have to try magic.
He put his hands together, inhaling deeply and letting loose an ear-splitting Screech. The magic-infused soundwaves neared the gray shield and split sideways with a metallic ringing.
Bliu then tried to conjure a Sandstorm, but the winds and sands just danced around a blue sphere. Fed up that none of his attacks seemed to be connecting, either by dint of the blue one’s equipment or the abilities he seemed to possess, he fell back to the technique he’d opened with.
“Matra Magic.”
Typhon tried, he really did, but his leg got caught by the pyramid of light, and he felt as if something had been ripped from him. He felt as if the air had left his lungs, and the Four yelled in protest. Just as he took a knee and Bliu walked closer, sabres raised, that’s when heard Auric speak up.
“Hey jerk.”
Bliu whipped around to see Auric standing up again, his outfit bloodied and dirty, but his body whole. One hand was raised and golden flames danced on it.
“Thanks for helping me test out the functional immortality I have. Let’s see if you have the same gifts.”
A jet of red fire erupted from his hand, crossing the distance between them rapidly.
Bliu brought his hands together, inhaling to let loose another Screech; the wall of air met the fireball and diffused it, sending small streams of fire dancing in all directions before they could reach him.
“Well well. So you have an Angel Ring, boy? That only works once, you know.”
“Don’t forget me. Heads up.” Typhon coughed out, striking his grey shield on the ground. A quick and dirty means of spreading his influence, but soon he could at least feel how the mage had shifted his footing to dodge the latest assault.
A wide, curved sword not unlike his own sabres was flying towards him. The blade was a rich crimson with a thick purple backing, and had a hilt whose guard looked like a bird’s wings. He simply stepped out of the way, but saw Typhon smiling at him.
The sword stabbed the ground close to Auric, making a sizzling sound as it slowly cooked the grass around it. Auric pulled it out and grinned. “Oooh, an enhancer for my fire. I could get used to you, Typhon.”
The boy pointed the blade at the blue mage, who merely chuckled. “You’d better have other tricks than that. I’ve already shown how I can best them.”
Auric, strangely, did not stop grinning. “Let’s me think. Fire is strong, so that means water’d be weak. But fire and earth share a relationship. Let’s see about that.”
The ground under Bliu started to quake and shift, making him feel as though he’d been caught in an Illusionist’s Earthquake. He jumped backwards just in time as a rift in the very earth opened up where he’d been standing. Bliu scowled, the one in front of him was more dangerous than he’d thought. He’d have to end this quickly, otherwise the Heir might recover.
“Matra Magic.”
The boy didn’t so much as bat an eyelash. The pyramid flashed around him, but the boy flashed as well, a bright purple. Bliu was, to say the least, perturbed.
“That took out the Heir, but not you? What are you?”
Auric lost all semblance of joviality. “Ward. Jupiter-aligned. Single cast, protection from spells. At least, how it seems to translate here. Pull that again, I dare you.”
“Golden Sun-powered? Nice.”
Auric rolled his eyes. “Wasn’t easy getting it. Dullahan’s fine and all, but I didn’t want to be him for fifteen hundred years. Still relearning my strength.”
“Tell me about it. I god-tiered today, like, six hours ago.”
Auric smiled. “Four days, here. I’ve got a few tricks, but not many. For example.”
He vanished in a swirl of golden flames, reappearing behind Bliu and prepped another fireball. The magus turned around rapidly in search of his vanishing prey before catching sight of him, and when he did, he let out another Screech to block the incoming attack. Auric let out a tsk at the successful deflection.
“Oh come on. Alex’s warping trick isn’t enough to get past you?”
“You’re not the first jumped-up windbag I’ve faced. Many bring Fairy Shoes and seem to think I can’t guard my rear. I’ve swiftly disabused them of that notion.”
“Hey!” Typhon yelled. “Come say that to my face!”
Bliu turned, a malicious grin on his face. “Oh but of course. How silly of me. Why don’t I introduce you to the Reaper as well, he’s a friend of mine.”
As Bliu began to charge up his Doom spell, ready to send them both to the afterlife by any means necessary, Typhon pulled. He took the magic of the air, and gave it to Genbu, the Black Tortoise, keeper of the mansion of the constellation of the girl.
Bliu found that there was something quite different, something pushing away his arms - something soft, and that quite should not be there. His stance was different, and his arms seemed shorted… and his hands looked wrong.
Bliu could hear the laughing of the boys before a pain blossomed in his head, staggering him. “Y’know, my parents raised me not to hit girls, but methinks you’re an exception to the rule!”
As the mage’s vision swam, a gray object entered it shortly before colliding with her forehead, making her skull reverberate like she had gotten hit with a gong. She fell back onto the earth and felt the edge of a sword on her neck. Blinking, she saw that boy, Auric, standing over her. “So, what do you do with ‘em when they’re knocked out like this?”
“The hell are you doing, finish her off! She’s a phantom!”
“Just checking.” And then fire erupted around the sword, searing through her neck in an instant.
“Agh!” Bliu began to fade into the air. “I have fallen, but others will repay you for this insult, boys!”
“It wears off, you whiner!” Typhon yelled, still not feeling up to scratch.
Then the place was filled with blue grists.
Typhon leaned back, letting his shields get back to his inventory as he laid onto the grass.
“Matra Magic hurts like hell, and basically ripped apart a couple of my senses.”
Auric shook his head. “Wouldn’t know, but I’ll keep it in mind if I run into any more blue magi.”
The sword suddenly appeared next to Typhon again, Auric had thrown it to land next to him. “Pretty sure it’s not mine to keep.”
“Fire is not really my style; I cause enough damage as it is.” He tried to sit up, but ultimately his head thumped back on the suddenly comfortable grass. “Ruuj gave me enough rubies and garnets to get three-quarters of the way again, and I have better things - for my style, at least.”
He drew the Cooperation, which, for lack of an arm to hold it, fell onto the grass.
Auric sighed and shook his head. “The only blade I’d feel comfortable wielding is my own, but Dully has it now. Ah well, live and learn.” Then Auric seemed to take notice of Typhon’s condition. “Are...that’s not a physical ailment, is it? I don’t think I can do anything for you, but I will guard you if you need to rest.”
“It’s more like being blind all of a sudden. I’m just dizzy after Ruuj and Bliu.” He took the Cooperation and used it as a cane to stand again.
Auric nodded a bit. “I get the idea, vaguely. You shoulda seen me when I arrived, screaming about not having a proper body anymore. Or a head. Still, that isn’t something you just walk off, and I’ve not a lot of practice in healing anything that isn’t a physical affliction. Seriously, take a load off.”
“Have you heard of the Will of Objects?”
Auric carefully shook his head. “Can’t say I have. Why do you ask?”
“It’s not just ‘me’; it’s the air. When I call a breeze, or make a sound, I… direct the energy, not quite command, not quite wait. Banging the shields and asking Seiryu made a ‘room’ for my influence, but after that, the air spoke to me again.”
Auric tilted his head to the side in thought. “So you’ve an allegiance to the air, or as I might call it, you’re a Jupiter Adept. Would trying to create a breeze on my end help you? My powers are different, after all.”
“If we move it in the same direction.” He cracked his neck. “Yours will carry mine further away.”
Auric nodded and began to call up what he remembered of Whirlwind, altering it slightly. “Towards you, then,” he said as the wind began to rise from behind him.
Typhon waved his hand, feeling The Breeze, the will infused into the gust. Shaping it, adding a voice to it. Indeed; he could feel Auric’s will on it, and thus allowed it to carry his own.
“I’ve explained this thing like a thousand times.” He chuckled. “Like filling a balloon, only without the rubber pushing against you.”
Auric smiled a bit. “Well I’m glad it worked. To be honest, I didn’t know what would and wouldn’t when I got here. I haven’t had a chance to experiment with all the Psynergy I once commanded. Still getting used to the strength the Sun gave me.”
“Don’t get me started on that; took me quite a while to figure out just how screwed up my powers were.” Typhon grumbled. “At least they were more flexible.”
“Yeah, but let’s look at it this way: You got to keep your body. Me, I was stuck as a spirit in a suit of armor for fifteen hundred years. Doesn’t happen every day, nor would I wish it on my worst foes.”
“True enough. It was already bad to lose the Air like that, now the sense of touch, smell and taste on top of that? It’s worse than being stone. At least I had a portion of ‘myself’ outside ‘Tia’s little ‘memorial.’” A small tremor coursed through his body. “The only thing worse than that, that I can think of, would be the Void.”
Auric’s face blanked at that, staring into nothing, but his jaw worked nonetheless. “The Void Eternal, and That Which Fills It. I asked the Question when I was alive, and saw the Answer. From the tiniest subatomic particles to the structure of the Multiverse, I saw it all, Understood it, and my Understanding broke me…”
He shook his head a few times as if to clear it and looked at Typhon with a bit more scrutiny. “You’ve seen it? How?”
“When I came here, it was… it gave me the feeling of it being slow, like a leaf being carried by a lazy Autumn breeze. I thought something akin to ‘huh, there is something else… guess that that guy that said that we’re alone was wrong. What else have we gotten wrong?’.”
He waved his hand.
“The answer is: One heck of a lot.”
Auric chuckled. “Yeah, no kidding. But at least Understanding makes Alchemy a bit easier to act out. Now all I have to do is practice more.”
“Truth is nice, too; I get to try all these magic tricks because I’m not blind to them. Like asking the air for stuff; no-one thinks to ask first.”
Auric slowly nodded. “Fair enough. I might have to practice that. After all, what use is it to have powers to alter portions of the world, if the world resents you for doing it? I think that’s how so many begin to lose their way.”
Auric turned to look at the sky. “This will probably sound cheesy, but I don’t think I should stay here too long. My dimension might need me. Still, I’d like to come by again, it was nice talking to you. And if you’ve half the powers of any Sburb player, I might have a few things to ask.”
“Yeah, I called because I wasn’t in any shape to fight. At least, not without rekindling Luna’s anger.” Typhon tugged at his collar. “Tiamat might’ve put her in traction, but she definitely went down fighting.”
Auric looked down at his clothes as though noticing their slightly dirty and bloodied condition for the first time and moaned. “Aw, and this was my favorite set of camo! I made it myself! Granted, it’s my only set, but the principle stands!” He sighed and slumped his shoulders slightly. “No helping it, gonna have to make another.”
“I have an Alchemiter, maybe we can cook up a Light suit?”
Auric turned to Typhon and tugged at his shirt. “It’d be appreciated. Might even wear it in my...well, not home, but dimension I’ve certainly spent the most time in. Where is it?”
Typhon took out his wallet.
A moment passed.
“You’re kidding. You have access to the most useful kind of inventory?”
“Nope. After getting it upgraded, I stored the whole thing here; I kept having to move. A copy was left in Starswirl’s lab, but I don’t want to expose the things there to Nightmare Moon’s corruption.”
“...You...do realize you just told me it’s in or around the Everfree Forest slash Castle, right?”
“You are free to try something, granted, the Time Essence distiller might not do anything horrible to your time.”
Typhon shrugged, and Auric shook his head. “And now that you’re talking about its defences, I’d say one of my guesses was right. Dude, I duelled verbally with my Discord before he became loco, which was kinda my fault as well. I can unravel things you don’t say, and you’re not saying that you think I intend something for that lab. Rest easy, I don’t. I’m just saying, take care with what you say to others, they might be as sharp as me.”
“Hey, no better way to know a guy than to fight side by side, back to back, and not getting stabbed.”
Auric shook his head again. “I’m pretty sure we don’t count for that rule. You’re God-Tiered, and I’ve been hit with the Golden Sun. We’re both functionally immortal unless certain conditions come to pass. It’d be more of an exercise in annoyance than anything else.”
Typhon laughed. “Immortal life makes someone’s true character come forth. Evil people get more evil, weak people go insane, and noble people become legends. Heck, even mortal life is too long to hold grudges!”
Auric nodded and looked back at the wallet. “Indeed, but we have strayed far afield from our topic of origin.”
“Clothes.” Typhon fished around for the card. “I have… a crown of Celestia, and a ghost image of my clothes, think that’ll work?”
Auric hummed to himself. “What about that golden bit I tossed through? I’d rather not it ALL be designed after Princess Sunbutt. We kinda had a...tiff for a few...okay, almost all my millennia of existing.”
Typhon raised an eyebrow. “Her things give objects the Light attribute, making my Breath clothes Light ones, though I have a picture of a guard to make Heir into Knight.”
Auric sighed. “No no, by all means, infuse it with Light. Just...no sun imagery. Add in other stuff after to change it, please. I don’t want my Cel to get the wrong ideas.” He turned away and muttered, “Especially after that bedroom incident” to himself, supposedly.
“The WHAT?!”
Auric cringed and suddenly recalled Typhon’s attunement to Air. “Eh, well, I may have been fleeing from the lifeform Twilightous Sparkleous Researchus… and I may have used my warping trick to appear in Cel’s bedchambers. . .and I may have turned into a unicorn stallion and pretended to be her lover to get the guard to leave without asking questions.”
Typhon stared at Auric for a good while.
“Wow, I don’t know whether or not that is scary or hilarious.” Typhon shook his head.
“Try scary, Cel turned it back on me in ten seconds when she realized it was me.”
Typhon began to chuckle. “Oh my God.”
He drew the card, and a large contraption full of keyboards, lenses, and what looked like a laser mounted on an arm appeared on the hill.
“Let’s see, Heir of Breath god-hoodie.” Insert blank card, type the code, receive punched card. “Coin… heads or tails?”
“The image of the eclipse, if you’d be so kind.”
“Coin, eclipse-up. OK, let’s try an OR operation.” Typhon placed the two cards into a slot in the device. A hologram of a strange, curved totem appeared on a small platform, as the central area was filled by a large holographic coin.
“Cripes, that’s expensive.” Typhon commented.
“And also not what we want, and ungainly large. Maybe if it were the size of a coin, I’d consider it.”
“Let me adj-wait a second.” Typhon inspected the coin more closely.
The coin, instead of an eclipse, displayed a cloud. Descending from the cloud, an enormous snake was winding its way to the ground. Looking more closely, after the snake’s head, its body was instead a thick tornado.
“That’s the symbol of the Pillars of Typhon, my old band.” He chuckled, turning a dial on the console that made the various lenses refocus, shrinking the hologram to a more agreeable size. Typhon punched a button on the machine, and the coin solidified.
With a flick of his hand, Typhon called the coin to him, inspecting the other side. A less-stylized tornado, circled by a band of some kind with small dots on it.
“And the symbol of the Wind Family, neat. See? These are supposed to be pegasi.” Typhon pointed at the dots.
Auric carefully took the coin and inspected it. “Huh. Though, why would that be on your token? Ah, nevermind. It’s a good memento anyways.”
“I have an idea; if you don’t mind?” Typhon extended his hand, and Auric placed the token back into it.
Typhon took the coin he had used to summon Auric out of his inventory.
“I have a favor to ask.” He said, looking at the coins. He took both in one hand, while the other took a small brush out of a green card that popped into being in front of him.
“I have no magic.” Typhon said, while he drew on the platform with the brush that never seemed to dry. “I can’t cast spells, certainly not for a good long while, and I have no idea of the kind of spell you have. I need help to copy it, but altered for me; that is the easy part, since the Principle of Association links me to my symbol.”
A small circle with spirals ‘growing’ out of it connected to four spirals that crossed into a larger one.
“Auric helped me out greatly.” Typhon’s hands began to glow a soft blue, and he placed the original coin on the circle. “It’s just good manners that I return the favor some time, should he need it. We are friends, and communication is important… what I want to ask is for you to go with him and help him contact me. It’s the right thing to do, don’t you agree?”
Typhon placed his coin on the center of the main spiral, on its side, and gave it a gentle flick to spin it.
The coin started to pick up speed as the wind made it turn faster and faster. The other coin shook until it jumped onto its side, and the winds that spun Typhon’s coin began to dance in a figure eight to make both coins turn.
“Good.” Typhon smiled, standing up again as the coins gave off a gentle light. “You do agree.”
Auric merely smiled and watched the coins rotate. “Principle of association. Gonna have to remember that, it’d make my life a little easier than blunt force. What’s the fancy light show for?”
“Well, I’m limited to the magic of the air under my control, so long as I’ve given it time to get used to me. By definition, Objects have no Will save for those with really exotic properties; with a small infusion of mine, I asked the coins to ask the environment to lend them magic, and they all agreed - making the Principle of Consent come into play. Your coin is directing mine to make a copy of its enchantment. The more spherical an object’s shape, the easier it persuades other objects, hence the spinning - turning a circle into a sphere.”
Auric nodded as he committed the details to memory. “Alchemy is half forcing one’s will on the earth, half making machines to do the previously thought impossible, all fueled by knowledge of the world and its rules and laws. These principles you’re telling me about will help. They’ll really help.”
The light died off, and both coins slowed down until gravity enforced its pull and made them come to a stop.
“Clover said it was the most passive-aggressive use of magic ever.” Typhon laughed. “Of course, sometimes you have to be more forceful, but keeping the royal library ordered had never been easier.”
Auric carefully picked up the token Typhon had made and looked at it. “Hmm. Well, try one was a bust, but still produced something of value. Would you like to try again?”
“Attempt number two. AND operation.” The ink faded into smoke as Typhon worked the console again. “Hmm… let’s add something more exotic - Cooperation in NOT card in a NOR operation.”
As the machine whirred into life, so did Auric’s mind. “Um, that sounds needlessly comp-”
“It affects the cost, even if I could simply insert the thing straight.” Typhon shrugged.
The result was an orange and yellow outfit with black and white trim, a knight’s coif for a hood, and a long cape. The chest had the eclipse insignia of his token.
“Hmm… it’s a little expensive, with unusual materials, but I can tell it’s not simple cloth.” Typhon punched a button, making the outfit. He pulled it with his wind powers, and noticed something else. “Yup, it’s got metal weaved. It’s a little heavier than normal, but if you ask it, it might hold against cutting and tearing damage, not to mention what would happen if you enchant it or cast spells on it.”
Auric carefully touched the outfit, surprised at the feel of the new outfit. “Interesting. Should we meet again, I can tell you’d have a field day with my old sword. Or the djinn. Or Dully himself. Or, well, anything I’ve picked up over the years.” Inclining his head towards the pile, he asked without saying anything if he really could take something so valuable.
“I’ve been- alright, I was ‘indisposed’ for a long time, but I was mobile for years, fighting phantoms and monsters and… miscellaneous; I stockpiled enough materials to remake nearly everything, save for the top-of-the-line stuff like Cooperation or the more exotic lab equipment.” Typhon waved his hand. “This? I made things like this all the time, out of boredom. Granted, most wound up destroyed by means of testing of their properties, but Clover and Starswirl used the info to help me learn magic.”
Auric carefully picked up the clothes and tucked them under his left arm, nodding at the Heir in thanks. “I’ll attempt to get you some Psynergy Stones when I next come by, then. Goodness only knows what you’d manage then.” Clasping his right arm over his chest, he said a simple phrase. “May the Golden Sun illuminate your path, Typhon.”
“Oh, nothing as grand as what we would manage together, that’s for sure.” Typhon extended an arm as if physically aiding his words. “May the Winds of Fortune be at your back, Auric.”
With that, the golden-eyed boy smiled and vanished in a column of golden, heatless flame, which trailed into the sky and disappeared suddenly, taking the boy back to his dimension of origin.
“Bliu was harder than I thought.” Typhon rolled his shoulders. “Then again, the next one was always of greater level than the previous one.”
He scratched his head.
“A level. Neat. I don’t think I can keep going solo, though, unless I stay in the desert or the badlands to avoid collateral.” He tapped his foot, glancing back towards the alchemical device. “I’m definitely going to have to reform the Pillars again… I’ll have to ask around. I need agents; they’ll need equipment, training...”
He snapped his fingers, then inserted a blank card in the machine.
“I’ve got all of these resources; it’d be a shame not to use them.” He started chuckling darkly. “Heck, Clover would hit me. The Pillars are going to be a little less secretive this time around.”
*****
(Luna)
The princess of the night lowered her telescope.
She had felt another one of those cards, their power being simply too distinctive to mistake for anything else, and too great for a common unicorn to be the source.
Typhon had not done anything to manipulate the weather, nor used his other tricks… he diverted his attention towards Cloudsdale more than once, with a look of worry.
“Perchance he would not risk harming the population?” She mused aloud, turning her attention to the ribbon held in her magic. “He made it a point of pride to see to it that the commonfolk escaped the troubles he found himself situated in. And that other human… what is their relationship? What connected them? What brought him, and why did he go?”
“He had friends; much greater in number than We could have suspected. There are simply too many questions.” She needed more information; Typhon had played with his cards close to his chest for so long, and she doubted he was about to change that mannerism even now. She needed to get close enough to see those cards for herself, she needed-
She needed cards of her own. She had to change her usual approach, become more involved, and find out just how he actually worked.
She still felt a bruise on her pride from the emotional wreckage he’d reduced her normally prim and composed sister to...or was that the effects of her realizing her mistakes after so long?
Mistakes pointed out ages ago by Typhon, if Tia was correct. No, there was no other choice. She needed to somehow get in his head, learn how he thought. For real this time, not the masks and fake trails they had followed before.
He was going in the direction of Ponyville… was there not a celebration soon? A… Nightmare Night? She could use the chance to reconnect with the population at large and the Bearers as well, perhaps discreetly tell them what she’d witnessed.
With any luck, maybe she could even find out how he obtained his supporters.
*****
(Canterlot, Captain’s office, a few hours later)
“Is that all?” Shining Armor asked the guard in front of him.
“Yes sir.” The stallion stood firm. “Apologies, I was unable to hear their conversation.”
“No, discretion was the right call… are you absolutely sure you were not discovered?”
“There was no indication of such. After the device was operated several times after the departure of the human with the golden magic, Typhon flew away in the direction of Ponyville.”
Shining Armor silently pondered the implications. The ‘Red King’ incident was still painfully fresh in his mind and, while he knew it would not be the last, now he was actually worried. He could have passed it off as a brawl that got out of hoof, but this ‘Blue King’ had apparently actually come close to defeating Typhon. And that’s not to mention this other human with the golden magic his soldier had seen. He wasn’t sure which of them was more dangerous.
And now Typhon was headed to Ponyville, where his L.S.B.F.F. now lived with her friends, also known as the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony. Trouble seemed to follow in his wake like chaos did Discord’s, and if another ‘King’ showed up while he was anywhere near there, he would never forgive him if anything happened. More importantly, he never would forgive himself for doing nothing. His talent was protecting those he cared about after all.
He took a deep breath, preparing himself to bend the standing orders Luna had issued after Typhon’s departure from Canterlot. Just slightly.
“Send a wing to Ponyville. Stress that they are there to protect the civilians, but if you get the chance, try to bring Typhon in quietly. He needs to be contained before these… ’incursions’ get too much more dangerous for those around him.”
The soldier paused for a moment, then saluted, not questioning his Captain’s orders. As he turned to leave, Shining began to think at a rapid pace. Typhon had earned his title of The Sly, and evaded his guards by making them chase an absurd amount of decoys. The reports made emphasis of the many impossible escapes he had enacted, even against common methods of containment of resistant entities.
He needed information. Typhon played with his cards close to his chest, never revealing anything until one had made a mistake. Shining needed cards of his own, and a way to see Typhon’s… hand.
Nightmare Night was fast approaching; perhaps a more direct, yet discreet approach was necessary. If he recalled correctly, the towns outside Canterlot typically held all-night festivals in ‘honor’ of this night. It wouldn’t be too difficult to obtain a significantly bulky costume, or perhaps an illusion, and attend one…
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Damn, long one this time. I'm not as familiar with the Tactics series as I am with the main FF line, not to mention I'm that familiar with Homestuck, so a lot of this was gibberish to me. Still kept me engrossed though. Thanks for giving Auric a proper outfit, though. I wonder what everyone back home will think.
Ooooh no. No no no no no.
Oh dear...
That sounds exactly like how most Tactics Ogre games I've played do it. Cool.
So, Typhon and Auric engaged in Jolly Cooperation? Woo!
I read that as L.S.D.F.F......
4179833
That'd make Shining Armor... what, worried about his secret drug stash instead of his sister?
Ah... I love little reading errors like that.
4179845 Lysergic Acid Diethylamide forever fuckers!
yes his drugs live with the elements of harmony
4179864
A sentient drug golem.
Now I've heard everything.
4179868 you gotta add it to the story
even if for a short time
4179872
I'll think about it.
4179877 we'll finally find out where pinkie gets her drugs from
4179614
What would have been awesome is Typhon, Auric and Dully all at once.
Or would that have blown a hole in reality?
4179907 there's already a hole in reality, it's in the Umbra Sanctum. Amiright?
4180210
Yeah, but that's not /this/ Equestria.
4179907
Well now, uh.
If I said AA and I weren't planning to have Auric and Typhon meet ever again.
...
That might be a small lie.
and once again Shiny is about to gungle just about everything and is liable to get a LOT hurt
not to familiar with the game rules and what not but enough to get an idea of what is happening
thanks for the update
4180241 True, but that also depends on how you define "reality"? Is each universe a reality, or does that apply to the whole multiverse?
4180416
Well, considering each universe has it's own functioning laws (excluding the universes cloned from the same basis, like the alternate Equestrias and Alternate Earths), I'd assume each universe counts as it's own 'reality'.
Giving whole new meaning to the phrase: "I reject your reality and substitute my own."
My OCD senses are tingling (Two o'clock and eleven o'clock are not symmetrical with each other, while five o'clock and seven o'clock are)
4181035
Right. Fixed.
"One moment - does Equestria have a Green Sun?"
4182598
Homestuck I Believe
Oh, I am loving this so far! Homestuck is awesome, although I started to get very confused after the point where they completely changed the entire cast of characters and haven't read much of it since then... and I'm entirely lost regarding these "phantoms" that are "invading" and the "kings" and all of that. But I really like how you're handling the story itself, telling past and present at the same time, interwoven. Hope it doesn't get too bogged down in the details of whatever other game / system / story these law cards and phantoms and all of that are from, at least not without some explanation for why they're attacking him and why the details of that matters to the story. Because so far it seems like the story is more about the other stuff - Wind Whistler, what happened, etc, and how those events are affecting the 'present'. At least, that's what's really caught my interest. The blue guy fight seemed like so much filler, other than the way it involved the character from the other story - unless that's simply me showing my ignorance of the importance / purpose / meaning of these phantoms.
(Loincloth-wearing "nudist" who just tries to run away? Seriously? Was that supposed to be some sort of threat if it escaped, in some fashion? Or... I don't get it.)
4186354
The phantom thing came from Darksouls, the PvP to be more specific. The nudist is just a troll, who was probably trying find a place with lots of people to annoy.
Since we are talking PvP, it only makes sense to put characters that want a fight.
Explanations - proper ones - would be really long, so I would recommend that you simply follow the wiki links and search there.
4181119 For the next king, can Alice come? :3
4186831
I dunno... they'll clash terribly - they'll spend more time arguing than... anything else.
4188919 The next king and Alice or Alice and Typhon?
4189013
The latter. He might have no issue beating those who actually manage to anger him but only to a degree. The way Alice... yeah...
He's going to disguise as a human, isn't he?
4197479
It's a surprise.
Not necessarily what I would consider a good one, but it's something.
I liked this story. The interactions between the characters and exploring their personalities and motives was interesting. I was happily engrossed in the story, and was getting really invested in the main character's situation.
Then this happens. The fight-scenes of the last couple chapters have no effect on the plot that I can see, were drawn-out far too long, and were incredibly difficult to read.
And it looks like this is what the rest of the story is going to be. Yep, I'm out.
i think this needs reworked. it is really hard to follow the story, it just jumps back and worth with no warning and it is hard to understand what is going on
I honestly like Monster Hunter better to me it's more difficult and strategic. Slower pace battles but definitely enemies you have to learn not just simply overpower. And according to my friend who actually has the game and has played further than I have it has much more variety in enemies. That is just my preference both are amazing games nonetheless.
4245463 I'm inclined to agree you can go to Fanfiction for Final Fantasy and Homestuck sort of crossover and though I like both series I am on this site for ponies. The other elements can be included but It should definitely majorly involve the ponies.
well.......... another one of these stories *sarcastic voice* yay.
4962814 but i do like it.
This is a good story - excellently written and I'm loving the character development thus far - but pretty much everything is foreign to me. I read Homestuck continuously bit I stopped roughly a year ago or so and my refusal to resume the mess has left me pretty much confused. I remember certain things, like the cards and God-tier, but the more obscure ones combinee with non-homestuck lingo has pretty much left me in the dust.
I'll try to read this later but for now its just too much. I have a feeling that many readers would agree that this is like stepping into the middle of a heavily-developed story with little-to-none awareness of what was going on.
4472562
It's based on Homestuck. You're lucky it's coherent as-is.
A Just death doesn't mean the character is evil, just infamous. Dirk's suicide in The Homestuck Epilogues is considered just because of his own self hatred.