The Storm Of Tartarus

by AleneShazam

9: A Crescent Moon (Reuploaded)

“I am not… comfortable with this form.” I grumbled, as Seth led the way into the catacombs. I winced as my bare feet landed on a sharp bit of rock, and I hissed angrily and kicked the stone aside. “It is weak and fragile.”

“My lord, with all due respect, your complaints fall on deaf ears.” Seth mumbled under his breath, as though he hoped I wouldn’t catch. I furrowed my brow, but remained silent; he was a loyal servant, and I was not so petty that I couldn’t appreciate an independent streak.

“My powers are intact, but my form is entirely unfitting of a king such as I.” I continued my tirade, disregarding Seth’s statement. He had the right to be opinionated; I reserved the right to be dissatisfied with this… meat sack. The limbs were spindly, and the skin was soft. There were no claws, no teeth, not even spikes on my back or chest. Worst of all, there was only one pair of arms as opposed to my usual two. “It is ill prepared for combat. Trickster, could I not have reduced the stature of my usual form? One would think that you are sabotaging my plan.”

You are paranoid, Typhon. I assure you that this body is far superior given your surroundings.

“I am at the whim of every creature under the skies who can survive a wave of of magic. This body is not combat worthy.” I growled, running a hand through my hair.

Hair. Such a foreign, unfamiliar thing. Seth described my new body to be slightly less than his in height, with sandy blonde hair and dark eyes. My skin, too, was bleached almost white. “I presume there is some magical reason that I am adept in this body?” I asked.

Your body is better suited for this confined place, Typhon. Your old body is powerful, but bulky. You would have been stuck between the walls, unable to manoeuvre, wasting strength and time trying to move your bulk in battle. In such a place, all you need is your magic.

“That does not answer my question, Trickster.” I trudged on, lighting the path with a stray flicker of lightning.

The mind is malleable. The Trickster opted for a cryptic response. I curled my lips in disgust at his mysterious ways, but I knew I could not force more from his lips.

“Bah. So be it. Seth, I can sense her. Your task is done, now keep watch as I search for her. We must be on guard. The Huntress must be in here with us.” I took a deep breath, drinking in the faint scent of my fallen mate.

Beautiful, delicious power.

I quickened my pace, marching through the haphazardly paved tunnels, ignoring the earth that sometimes showered down from above when I walked under the earthen ceiling. “I remember your beauty still, Echidna. Your otherworldly lure, that stirred the heart of even the father of beasts.”

“Your power should not be sealed in this… pitiful place.” I grimaced when my feet met a patch of moist earth. It sank in, caking my foot in muck. Borrowing a phrase from a mortal language, I bared my teeth, “Yuck.”

It surprised me that the catacombs under Canterlot would be quite so expansive. The graves stopped after the first fifteen minutes, but the tunnels stretched on, silently waiting for tenants to occupy the empty pits. Strangely grim, for the perceived paradise of Equestrian life. But somewhere, deep within this labyrinth of death, was the Echidna’s essence. Perhaps, a fitting resting place in the Princess’ eyes.

“My lord… I can hear two beings the at the second intersection, about the round the corner.” Seth, his ears twitching, warned. “Hooves.”

“Well then.” I smiled grimly, allowing energy to silently fill my limbs. “A welcoming committee. A little late, though. Seth, defend me while I muster the strength to obliterate them.”

“Gladly, my lord.” I noticed the earth around me shift subtly as Seth asserted his control, just in time for an equine form to enter my line of sight. Gleaming silver and blue, her moonlit armor made it obvious just who I faced.

“Rise and shine, Artemis.” I thrust my hands forward, ozone thick in the air as a clap of thunder suddenly roared in my ears, reverberating in the tight corridor like an infinite chorus of war drums. A bolt of lightning crossed the distance between me and Luna within an instant, and the alicorn barely had time to blink before her world exploded into a hell of sparks and burns. The impact sent her flying back into the tunnel walls, crashing through the first layer of packed earth and cratering the soil, sending cracks all over the tunnel structure. Without missing a beat, lightning roared from my hand again, and I sent another streak of electrical energy arcing through the air into her, this time triggering less of an impact and more an agonizing seizure, her body spasming painfully as electricity coursed through her limbs.

See? All that energy focused into a smaller frame does your attacks a world of good. Trickster gloated. I grimaced. He would be even more unbearable after this, but first, I need to finish her off.

I clapped my hands together, and energy exploded within me, surging to where my hands met, forming visible rings of electricity that coalesced into a crackling orb between my palms. Within moments, I held a melon sized orb of pure energy between my hands, and I cocked my arm back, holding the orb in one hand. On a whim, I decided to shout, “Thunder Bomb!” before I let loose the attack, the orb streaking across the tunnel like a missile, leaving a trail of crackling sparks as it hurtled towards my target.

There was an earsplitting crack, the sound of air itself being burnt by intense energy, as the orb exploded on impact, sending bolts of lightning flying in every direction, scorching the entire passage where the pony lay. A cloud of dust billowed outwards, obscuring the tunnel.

“Nicely done, my lord.” Seth commented, peering into the dust. “But there is still one pony in there somewhere.”

“I am aware,” I said, my palm coming alight with hellfire this time, the blood red flames lighting up the dimly lit passageways brightly. “They will burn.”

I lobbed one ball of fire into the dust, just to test the waters. Immediately I sensed that something was wrong. “Seth, raise a shield!” I roared, even as the orb of hellfire rebounded off a wall of lavender and screamed back at me at breakneck speeds, slamming into Seth’s hardened earth shield and exploding with enough force to shatter the shell entirely. I growled, a quick burst of hurricane winds clearing my field of view.

There, standing opposite to us, a good twenty paces away, were two alicorns. The first, I recognised. Artemis the Huntress, of course, with her silver armor reformed and a swarm of daggers formed from pure moonlight hovering around her. The second… was lavender, and her eyes screamed bloody murder, shining with purple light that flooded the entire passage.

Twilight Sparkle. Spirit of Magic.

“Magic. Hecate, then?” I smiled. “She fell quickly. Her tricks are of no consequence to me.”

Reality spun. One second I was standing, and the next, I was half buried into a wall, every inch of my being screaming in abject agony as my chest smoked gently from a scorch wound that showed bone. A second passed, and the pain multiplied tenfold as a hail of silver darts struck me in a dozen places, piercing my form and nailing my body to the earth I lay upon. Luna’s moonlight burned my flesh, and I resisted the urge to scream out in pain.

“You will NOT hurt my FRIENDS!” Sparkle stepped forward, her horn blazing with magic.

“…Hmm. Not Hecate.” I grunted, narrowing my eyes. The world slowed to a standstill as I became lightning, a technique that would have driven lesser beings mad, and scattered even the essence of gods. But I am more than a god. I am Typhon, killer of gods.

Blink. I was at Sparkle’s side. Blink. I slammed a lightning charged fist into the alicorn’s back, smiling grimly as I heard cracking. Before she even had time to begin to fall, I lashed out with a crackling foot, causing a clap of thunder to echo through the tunnels as I kicked her in her ribs. Blink. I felt my very core fraying at the edges, but I did not care. I spun, and swung at Luna, who although was still standing, looked just about weak enough to be sent flying by a stiff breeze. The fist connected squarely with her jaw, eliciting another crack of thunder. Agony erupted in my soul.

Blink. I was back where I was before, falling to my knees, with Seth lying motionless an arm’s length away. Time sped up again, and as though struck by an invisible assailant, Luna’s head snapped to one side suddenly, sending her crashing into the tunnel wall. Sparkle, meanwhile, was sent sideways and up, slamming into the passage ceiling with a sickening crunch. She fell back down, completely still, like a rag doll.

…Holy shit. I forgot that could be done.

I groaned, and a veritable torrent of vile ichor poured from the gaping wound in my chest, though my magic worked furiously to bind the terrible wound together.

“Damnation.” I choked, blood flooding my throat. I did not need air, but the sensation still caused burning pain, and I doubled over in agony. “AGH!”

I saw Seth stagger back to his feet at the edge of my vision, but it barely registered as my mind was overwhelmed by searing pain that I had not felt in millennia. Eventually, after an eternity of horrible pain, the bleeding stopped. Surrounded by green, toxic blood, my body a battered wreck, I pushed myself back up, leaning heavily against the wall. Across us, the two alicorns remained, though Luna seemed the more durable as she was already up, her horn glowing threateningly. Seth, likewise, had his staff out, prepared to do battle.

“Apollo put up a good fight, but it would seem that it is you, the Huntress, more warlike of the celestial siblings, who may survive a battle with me.” I smirked, hiding the pain that still flared in my chest. “Although, Sparkle there is infinitely more effective than that silly little breeder you call Cadance.”

“What did you do, Typhon?” Luna glared at me sharply. “If you hurt them, so help me I will…”

“What? Fall over and die? It is two immortals against one, Artemis.” I said. “Plus, I don’t think I managed to kill the breeder, and you know as well as I that your sister’s spirit is resilient. She will recover.”

Luna narrowed her eyes. “What do you want, Typhon?”

“You know what I want, Luna. Echidna’s essence, the path to which you are blocking.” I growled.

“I mean your end goals, titan.” Luna said, her eyes piercing. “We both know that behind that brutish strength of yours is a devil’s mind.”

I snorted. “The ruin of your kingdom.”

“Try harder.”

“The slaughter of your people.”

“Is that all?”

“I tire of this conversation.” I grunted, stepping forward. Already my strength was returning, though my entire body still ached. Luna, meanwhile, boasted no such healing speed, and was still very much battered and bruised. “I will advance, now. Leave. Take your pet with you. Or I will destroy you both.”

Nice. I smiled internally. There are times when Trickster could be a pleasure to be with.

I ignored the hate filled glare that Luna shot me as she teleported away, taking the fallen alicorn with her. “Seth, lend me your staff. I will lean on it until my legs heal completely.”

Once more, I set off into the depths of the earth, drawn ever closer to the heart of darkness.

Comments

[SilentMech]

Congratulations on making Typhon a merely impossible challenge rather than a suicide attempt. The Father of monsters and Titan of Storms is the only one the gods of Olympus dared not challenge for his command and instead simply trapped his immense power within a certain box with one small light. And then separated his body into parts that continued to live. You are writing a story without Pandora's Box and Typhon is struggling. His whispers are thunder and his body is lightning and cloud yet he is struggling with mortal opponents. Congratulations on failing proper lore for your character and giving him a body that can be touched.

[Dinokid11]

Can you do more please