Even the scum of the earth have one to lead them. Deep in the depths of Tartarus, a slumbering king awakens. In a world ill prepared to face it, will good prevail? Or is this new threat too much for the peaceful land?
I am the storm. I have sundered the skies, and torn the earth in half. I have broken Olympus, and spawned a brood so vile and toxic that the earth itself shudders when they walk. My steps are like earthquakes, and my breath is a hurricane. In ages past, I was struck down by a treacherous blow, and brought into imprisonment. Now, I am free. A Displaced Story.
The Warden of Tartarus made its rounds, as it had for eons past, and eons to come. Its was a terrible thing, a titanic suit of armor, forged from metal that fell from the stars, tempered in the flames of the mother of all dragons, and quenched in the soul stealing waters of the river Styx. Its gleaming black plates ground and rang hollow with each step, the suit powered not by mortal flesh, but by immortal magic. In its core blazed a blinding fire, spewing tongues of green through the cracks in the mighty armor, the eternal flame driving the cold steel forward. A single burning orb sat in its horned helmet, darting from cage to cage diligently, piercing the inky blackness that permeated Tartarus.
There was no other light in Tartarus. Light gave the inmates within hope, so the Warden snuffed out all the torches and blocked out the sun, so that the only light came from his terrible visage. The only light that did shine in the eternal prison came from its unwavering, merciless warden. It was a place without hope, without future. Only rows upon rows of unyielding bars and chains, imprisoning the scum of the earth under unbreakable layers of metal and stone.
There was a disturbance far, far behind the Warden, beyond the range of normal hearing. A rattling of metal against stone, most likely a prisoner’s futile attempt to shatter the manacles that chained them to the cell. The Warden swivelled about, and dozens of miles became none, as it turned to face the noise, and saw a disgusting creature, a mix between an ape and a bat, desperately grinding its bindings against the floor. Without a world, the Warden stepped forward and opened the doors to the cell.
“You…” The bat creature stared up at the Warden in wonder. “The door is open?”
The Warden said nothing, but stepped into the cell. Wonderment turned to cold dread as the bat creature looked up, and up, and up, until its beady black eyes met the unflinching orb set into the helmet of the Warden.
A single, spiked mail fist met the creature’s gut, and the blow sent the bat ape crashing into the back wall of the cell, pitting stone against bone. Stone won.
A series of sickening cracks sounded from the creature, as it fell listlessly to the ground, its limbs bent at unnatural angles, with jagged ends of broken bones jutting out of the creature’s flesh. Inky, viscous blood oozed out of the wounds, as the creature lay there unmoving. The Warden stepped back, sealing the cell shut once more. As its footsteps grew slowly distant from the cell, the creature’s body began mending itself, the blood flowing back into the body and the bone knitting itself together. Such was the punishment for violating the order of Tartarus.
The Warden’s path was long. Tartarus was expansive, reaching far under the earth, and the Warden could not be everywhere at once. Its path brought it through Tartarus, passing each cell once, ensuring the order is kept by all the inmates. There was no threat from within, the Warden ensured that, and few could ever breach the gates of Tartarus, the hound Cerberus made short work of any intruders.
Yet, the Warden felt uneasy. Or, as close to uneasy as a facsimile of intelligence could be. The Warden was a creature of law, and judgement. Drawing upon its millennia of experience, the Warden concluded that for once, it was too quiet in Tartarus. In spite of its disciplining, the prisoners here were scum even to the eyes of the worst mortal criminals. They would not lie easy, and would seize any scrap of freedom that came their way. Anything, any pain, was worth escaping an eternity in Tartarus.
“…You have come for me.” The Warden stopped in front of a set of gargantuan gates. The Warden could tower above the largest dragon, and scrape snow off of mountain peaks, but the gates stood higher still. The Warden could just barely touch the top of the gate, if it stood at its tallest. The Warden knew what dwelt beyond those gates. All of Tartarus knew. This was a creature that defied imprisonment, weakening, and control. When the legions of demon hunters descended upon it, a continent was sunken under the waves by storm and fire. When the princesses drained it of its magic, it swatted them out of the sky with its raw strength. When the elder dragons came together to wrestle it into a cell, the prisoner tore them apart limb by limb. In first years of its imprisonment, it beat the doors relentlessly, day after day, strike after strike. The door would buckle under the pressure, but when the creature tired, the metal would repair itself. After centuries of unending struggle, the creature ceased. No sounds came from the creature. No signs of life. It seemed as though the creature had succumbed to the oppressing darkness of Tartarus.
For the first time in millennia, the creature spoke.
“You can shift between the shadows, Warden. Why did you make me wait?” The Warden regarded the gates with utmost wariness. “And still you remain silent. I have parted my lips. Why stay yours? Am I truly so despicable that old friends cannot exchange words?”
“You are… no… friend.” A granite tone issued from within the armor. A grinding sound, like stone rubbing on stone.
“You foolish thing, Warden. Why must it be this way? You realize what must happen now. You realize what I must do.”
There was a shifting behind the gates. Rattling, clattering, chain against stone. Then,
CRASH.
A taloned fist smashed through the gates, between the cracks of the gates, and the two doors were forced apart by more claws, pushing the doorway open. Blind, sightless eyes peered out from the darkness, behind the four massive hands that were holding the gates open. A pair were level with the top of the Warden’s helm, and another pair sat atop those. “Leave now, Warden. I do not want to do this.”
The Warden said nothing, only reaching behind and drawing forth a massive great-sword, as long as it was tall.
“So be it.” A claw shot forward, grasping the metal of the blade. The claw balled up into a fist, and the sword crumpled, bent in half like it was flimsy wire. With a mighty tug, the great blade was wrenched out of the Warden’s grasp, disappearing into the darkness. The doors shuddered and threatened to slam shut, but still the prisoner held fast, holding the heavy metal gate open. Then there was a head, looming out of the shadows, all fangs and scales and eyes. Then a multitude more, like the first but smaller, emerging from the face of the first, out of eye sockets and nostrils and pores in the skin. More arms and heads broke through the gates, spilling out like a tide of flesh, obscuring the first head and rushing towards the Warden.
The Warden’s armor groaned in protest as the heads latched onto it, crushing down onto the metal with its uncountable fangs, the claws crumpling the steel, tendrils wrapping around and constricting the mighty guardian. Yet still the creature did not drag itself forth from the abyss, content with the Warden in its, squeezing the life out of the walking armor. Bit by bit, the metal buckled inwards, folding in on itself. With a loud groan, the left arm gave out, and the metal was crushed to little more than scrap. Limb by limb, the Warden was reduced to piles of twisted metal and a warped and broken torso.
“Do not… toy… with me… prisoner.” The Warden finally spoke, the voice rattling out from the battered armor. “You know not… what you have… done.”
“I know exactly what I have done, Warden.” The creature finally reached out with one of its primary claws, grabbing the Warden’s helmet in its grasp. “I have won my freedom.”
The claw slammed close, and the helmet crumpled in the vice like grip. The fire that burned for millennia was snuffed out.
“No…” A low, guttural voice sounded behind the withered wreck of the Warden. “You’ve won my freedom.”
The creature suddenly spasmed, its limbs writhing in pain, retreating back inside the gates. Its four limbs clung resolutely to the doors, but with a weakening grip, the gates ever so slowly started grinding shut again. “You vile centaur…”
“Ah ah ah, watch your tongue, lizard. You’re talking to the future ruler of the world, after all.” The armor was suddenly swept aside, and behind it stood a large, and still growing, centaur. It was nowhere as tall as the prisoner was before, or even the Warden, but it still struck an imposing figure to the rapidly shrinking prisoner. “Maybe, when I’ve drained all the magic in the world… I will come back and set you free.”
“Death to you, Tirek…” The prisoner growled as the centaur disappeared into the darkness, still laughing. Giving a primal roar, the creature’s first head burst open, sending flecks of bone, brain and flesh flying as a much smaller being ripped free of the massive head, clawing its way out of the shattered skull and leaping off just moments before the door ground shut for good. It landed with a crash, as though it was much smaller than before, the Warden’s husk now towering over it, the creature was still a behemoth of considerable size that as it strode after the centaur, its steps shook the earth and rattled the bars of cells he passed, rousing prisoners from their slumber. Its four muscled arms rippled with strength, and its apelike visage was twisted into a fanged snarl. Its arms were surrounded by chains, a reminder of its captivity, but they curled around it protectively as though they were alive and actively defending the creature. It still bore the metal harness and arm binders that had previously trapped it in place, but where it trapped before, it now served as armor for the titan. Spikes jutted out of the creature’s skin, row upon row of spines erupting from its chest and back.
Typhon. Typhon. Typhon. The name was repeated along the halls as the prisoner thundered past another set of prisoners, its mere presence warping the bars of the eternal prison and freeing demons and horrors of untold evil. Typhon. Typhon. Typhon. The cold mist that settled to the ground of Tartarus whipped up after eons of stagnancy, swirling around the prisoner as it tore through walls and trampled inmates in its rampage. Typhon. Typhon. Typhon. Its body was obscured now, surrounded by a whirling vortex of lightning and hail, the mist wrapping itself around the titanic thing like a personal squall.
The whispers grew to an insistent chanting, the prisoner’s warpath trailed by a following of escapees and prisoners, all chanting the name of the being that so easily beat down the Warden and broke out of its cage.
“Typhon! Typhon! Typhon!”
The chanting became a fervent roaring shout as the small army of the world’s most feared threats reached the gates of Tartarus itself. All became still as the titan at the forefront of the group raised a claw. They fell silent, suddenly attentive. They noticed sunlight, just barely leaking through the gaps in the mighty gates. They noticed a barely noticeable breeze, through those same gaps. They could smell freedom in the air.
Then they realized, Tirek was not there. He must have sealed the gates behind him in his escape. Hatred boiled, and the creatures of shadow attacked.
With a mighty roar, the doors buckled under the onslaught of flames and claws, the adamantine gates toppling outwards.
“TARTARUS FALLS!”
Celestia’s eyes snapped open when she heard someone scream. It took her a few moments to realize the pony screaming was her. She shut up, gulping down breaths of air to calm her nerves. Her bedsheets were a mess, and it seems that in her panic she had failed to maintain the ethereal mane that she always projected, resulting in her mane reverting to a messy tangle of pink.
Before Celestia could consider her dream further, her room door burst open and Luna rushed to her sister’s side, her eyes wide and her breathing laboured. “Sister, are you alright?” She asked, moving up to Celestia and allowing the larger alicorn to lean on her for support.
“I’ve just had the most terrible dream, Luna…” Celestia said, repeating the word dream in her mind. She gave a shuddering sigh and leaned into her sister, fighting to keep her emotions in check.
“Why do you think I’m here? You know as well as I that this was not a dream, but a vision.”
“No… it couldn’t have.” Celestia shook her head in a panic. “It can’t be.”
“What was your vision… I mean dream, about, sister? Perhaps we might be able to help…” Luna said, patting Celestia on the back consolingly.
“Tartarus was broken, sister. It wasn’t just one or two prisoners. It was ALL of them. Hundreds of creatures capable of world domination, released. The gates themselves were knocked down.” Celestia looked at Luna pleadingly. “That can’t be a vision. It just can’t happen. The Warden exists for that express purpose.”
Luna pursed her lips. “Sister…”
Celestia flinched, and took another deep breath. “I’m sorry… I’m sorry. It’s just… What can we do? We don’t have the elements anymore, and even with two more alicorns and Discord, you know that we’re painfully outmatched.”
“Still, sister, we need to gather Cadance, Shining Armor, and Twilight and her friends. They need to know about this, maybe they’ll be able to think of something.” Luna said, looking into Celestia’s eyes. “This is bad, I know, but we must stand firm, sister.”
“Oh, what am I doing?” Celestia coughed, shaking her head firmly. “I just can’t sit here and ignore the truth. You’re right, sister. We haven’t much time, and the danger grows with every passing second.”
“Have a meeting room prepared, Luna. I shall contact the others.”
Honest Growth sighed contently as he looked over the field he just tilled. Farm work was never easy, that much he knew since he was a little colt, but dang if it wasn’t satisfying to see the fruits of his labour at the end of the day. He stretched out his back and turned towards his little cottage, ready to just take a bath and maybe get some of that carrot soup his wife was cooking.
A shadow crossed the field, and Honest Growth had the unfortunate initiative to look up.
A gargantuan silver and black hoof, to the pony seeming like a walking mountain, came down and slammed into the ground, just barely missing Honest Growth and his home, though his fields were utterly pulverised. Although, he didn’t really care much about that, as he had to contend with the massive earthquake triggered by that one step, which tore the ground apart and shook the earth around it. The hoof was easily large enough to completely crush his house, and the body attached to it scraped the skies.
“Honey…? I don’t think we’ll be eating at home tonight.”
It’s been so long. So long since my feet shook the earth, since I could feel the wind between my fingers, since I was free to bend the realm to my whims. I know that the world has changed since I last walked upon it. It felt less disorderly, less chaotic. It was a peaceful, innocent time. There were no great wyrms to burn the skies, or leviathans to swallow oceans, or golems to crush cities. None of my foes in the past greeted me as my army marched on this changed world.
I roared as I approached the nearest populated area. I was nowhere near the size I was before my imprisonment; that bastard Tirek made sure of that, having stolen most of my magic away and reducing me to a petty beast, to rely on natural weapons instead of the cosmic powers that I once wielded. It appeared to be a dragon’s migration area, a bowl valley which would have been virtually impossible to access by anything save a dragon due to the intense heat and the treacherous landscape.
Which is why I laughed at their petty natural defences and strode straight into the magma. My powers surged, and instead of being burnt, my body drained the energy from the molten rock, causing my skin to start glowing bright red. The lava around me actually began to solidify after the heat was absorbed by me, but I ploughed through it regardless. I wanted to get a decent meal and I wasn’t going to let a measly bit of rock get in my way.
The dragons began to take notice of this newcomer wading through their lava moat. I roared again, beating my chest aggressively and even letting loose a plume of flame that shot through the air like a flare, attracting the attention of a particularly large wyrm. The black reptile rose out of the magma a good distance away, and I could already tell that it was a fair bit larger than I was.
Good. I like a challenge. With two horns that curved down like ram’s horns, pitch black scales, and a pair of wings that could blot out the sun, it would be a worthy opponent for me. It burst out of the molten rock, its wings flapping and producing winds so strong that a veritable tsunami of magma was sent my way, though I broke through that as easily as a rock could weather a wave. Rising higher and higher, the creature revealed its true size, which by sheer length was probably twice as long as I was tall.
“Come then, wyrm! Lets see how well you fare when your head is detached from your body!” I roared, and raised my two larger palms at the dragon. Twin blasts of lightning exploded out of each palm, screeching through the air and slamming into the dragon with two earsplitting claps of thunder. The impact, which generated a visible shockwave, knocked the dragon clean out of the sky, sending it hurtling backwards out of control until it crashed into the cliff face at the edge of the lava moat.
To its credit, it seemed more annoyed than anything after the assault. Shaking itself off, it rose unsteadily back to its feet before glaring balefully in my direction, a look that I gladly returned. Before I was ensnared by those treacherous ponies, I ate dragons like these for breakfast.
It opened its maw, and a blast of fire erupted from within, streaking towards me and exploding against my skin. It was almost humorous how the dragon thought its fire could harm me, when I already waded through a sea of magma to get to it. I forgot how idiotic these animals were.
The fire seemed to seep into the pores of my skin, filling me with a sense of incredible heat and power. I grinned crookedly, with came out more as a toothy grimace, as I raised my primary hands to the skies. As soon as I did, an orb of lava and brimstone formed in each of my hands, swirling slightly and hissing from the intense compacted energy. I roared, and hurled both orbs at the dragon. They exploded against its scales, and the effects were immediate, the dragon writhing in agony as the superheated stone burned into its flesh. My meteorites were many times the strength of the dragon’s moat, and it easily pierced even the thickest dragon’s hide.
I continued to wade through the lava, absorbing energy, and rediscovering lost powers. I raised my arms, calling upon my lineage as a titan, and commanded the elements. The winds answered to my call, as did the cold, and the spirits of lightning. The sky darkened, and with a terrible boom of thunder a bolt of lightning came crashing down and struck the dragon directly, causing it to spasm in agony, completely at my mercy as I reached the opposite side of the moat.
My hands gripped the creature’s head, its body still twitching uncontrollably, and I crushed.
The dragon fell to the ground, lifeless and headless. I chuckled, a deep and grating sound, as I clawed off chunks of meat from the lizard, until I revealed the heart of the creature and brought it to my maw. I didn’t actually eat, of course. Immortals did not need to eat. What I did was a more symbolic gesture, as I devoured its essence. However little such a puny mortal creature contributed to my strength, it was still power that I needed if I was to regain my previous glory.
The cliffs surrounding the dragon’s nesting area was barely a challenge. I simply breathed in, and exhaled a torrent of flame that melted through the rock, burning a path through the cliffs.I brought the decapitated body of the dragon along too, for extra effect.
As soon as I burst through the stone into the dragon’s nesting area, I was confronted by the angry bellows of a whole nest of dragons.
I cracked all four of my knuckles, which began crackling with lightning as the first dragon leapt for my neck.
I swung both of my right arms, and the fists connected with the side of the dragon with a thunderous crack, the primary arm even punching through the lizard’s ribcage so that I could make a direct grab for the heart. I snorted at how pathetic the mighty dragons have become; in my day, dragons were the terror of the land, scorching entire continents with burning flames that hurt even my skin.
Ripping the heart out and incinerating the corpse with hellfire, I raised my left arms just in time to blast an attacking drake with twin bolts of lightning directed straight at its face, which sent the younger dragon careening back, clutching at its pockmarked head. Another blast of lightning took the drake’s head clean off, causing blood and fire built up in its flame bladder to spurt out uncontrollably.
I roared victoriously, but had no time to celebrate as yet another dragon threw itself at me. I snarled, and I held up my palm at the creature, holding it in place with my divine power. Bringing the creature closer, I opened my mouth and began to inhale, causing a trail of crimson vital energy to leak out of the dragon into myself. In only moments, the dragon became but a withered corpse, and soon not even that, just dust on the wind.
I smiled grimly at the dragons as more of my powers returned; poison, magic draining, storm calls, paralysis.
I am the father of monsters.
I am not to be trifled with.
Man, you’re no fun.
I stopped suddenly, my muscles locking up. Instantly, a drake tackled me, using its superior mass to knock me back straight into a cliff face, a large crag breaking off and shattering upon my skull. My vision blurred for a fraction of a second, as I felt an unfamiliar presence press against my mind…
You can pretend you’re in control for as long as you want, buddy.
“Who… dares… invade the mind… of TYPHON?!” I roared, lifting an arm covered in crackling lightning and smashing it into the drake who dared to attack me. The creature fell back clutching its snapped snout, the wound bleeding profusely.
“I have desecrated the halls of the gods!” A dragon leapt at me, and I grabbed it by the throat, swinging it around and smashing the creature headlong into the cliff. The rock crumbled easily, burying the wyrm under a prison of stone.
“I have weathered the most powerful weapon known to the divines!” I reached out with a crackling hand and pressed it into the face of an incoming drake, watching the lightning course through its system and cook it from the inside out. I smirked, remembering when I wrestled the control over lightning itself out of the hands of the gods.
“I have escaped from the pit of Tartarus!” I bashed two fists together, generating a thunderclap so loud and powerful that it actually blew back the dragons surrounding me, sending the smaller outs flying and staggering even the largest ones.
And you’re my bitch. Big deal.
I roared in agony as I felt the alien intrusion grow stronger. My strength faltered, and my arms felt unusually heavy, as though they were injected with lead. My advance halted as I lost control of my movement, and I fell to my knees, a splitting pain piercing my head. “WHO ARE YOU?!”
Let me help you with that…
Then I was back, the pain gone, with this… knowledge in my mind. How to better use my powers, ancient techniques that the millennium of confinement has blurred. I leered at the lizards, and with a single wave of a hand, created a wall of hellfire and brimstone that crashed into the dragons around me, scouring the flesh from their bones. My mouth opened, and I inhaled, drawing in their life force before they could pass on into wherever souls went.
“What just happened…?” With all my might as a titan, I could not imagine what could be powerful enough to influence a mind such as my own, let alone teach me anything about my immense powers.
Look, I can get being in character and all, but your high and mighty attitude bugs me.
“What is the meaning of this?” I growled, still keeping an eye on the remaining dragons. Like the cowards that they were, they grovelled just out of range of my more powerful abilities, avoiding my gaze and keeping absolutely silent. Good, they’re learning.
You’re lucky I’m not strong enough to take control yet. But give it time…
“Who are you? Who dares attack the mighty Typhon?!”
I’m not your enemy. Let’s just say that. I gave you that walkthrough of your powers, didn’t you?
“You granted me the knowledge? Then for that I thank you… though the transgression of invading my mind will not go unpunished.”
Please. You’d sooner beat your head open before you could get to me with your mental acuity. Just know that it’s in my best interests that you survive your little spat with Tirek.
I scowled. Tirek was still at large, with his stolen power. I would hunt him down and rip the power right out of his beating heart if that’s what it took to reclaim my past glory. “I don’t know who you are, but know that if you cross me, I WILL hunt you down like the dog that you are. But I concur, Tirek is the more pressing threat currently.”
Now, you have an army to command. The hunt is over, Typhon. Time to wage war.
“Yes… as I did a thousand years ago, I shall do so again. Tirek will regret crossing me.”
Us. He backstabbed me badly as well.
“Then we have more common ground than I realized. If you continue with your assistance, perhaps I will tolerate your presence in my mind. If not…”
Stop it with your empty threats already. You can’t do jack against me.
“Continue with that attitude and perhaps you’ll realize that I am much more capable than you ever imagined.”
Psh.
I turned to face the cowering lizards. “And these? I suppose you will tell me to spare these innocent beings?” I said the last words with as much venom as I could muster, actually spitting a cloud of deadly poison out of my maw as I did so.
Nah. Eat ‘em if you want, see if I care. I just want to see this world burn.
I smiled, knowing that whoever my mysterious benefactor was, he would not stop me from doing what I should have done long ago. “Your wretched race will reign no longer, dragons. You defile my original creations, pervert their forms, and now retribution will find you.”
I raised a claw, and after a moment’s hesitation, plunged it into my chest. Pulling it out a second later, I held in it a single pitch black scale. “You.” I pointed at the largest remaining wyrm. “Come here.”
The dragon’s eyes widened, and it looked to the remainder of its brood as though it was expecting aid before looking back to me. “Come here, or I will incinerate you where you stand, you worthless lizard.” I growled, igniting a meteorite in an empty claw. The dragon hastily made its way to me after that remark.
As soon as it was close enough, I seized it by the throat and buried the scale deep within its forehead. Hot blood spurted out, and the dragon bellowed in pain, its claws swinging wildly, scrabbling uselessly against my skin in its throes of pain. I ignored its struggling, instead focusing on the task at hand. “Ladon, my son, heed my call. I am the father of all monstrosities, the titan of disaster. I give you a new body, and a new task: by force or by coercion, make these weak excuses of dragons into more of your calibur. Awaken, child, and obey your creator!”
The dragon writhed in my grip, its body suddenly swelling and distending disgustingly, its blood red skin blackening like ink was running across its surface. As the blackness spread, its body began warping and twisting, lumps of scaly flesh springing up and lengthening into distinct shapes like viciously clawed limbs, and snarling heads. Its wings grew larger, and wider, more terrible than ever, to match the hundred heads that had sprung up at the creature’s shoulders. Where it was once close to my size, it now swelled to almost thrice as long as I was tall, and I could barely touch its snout with my arms. It was like a hundred writhing pythons twisted into one, a tortured creature that rippled with power and a terrible majesty. Its eyes flashed open, and inside burned molten gold pupils that matched my own.
“Father…” It’s- His voice was deep and rasping, accompanied by a hellish stench and a cloud of vile poison inherited from myself. All one hundred of his heads spoke in tandem, and their voices shook the earth when they spoke. “I see the ravages of time have not been kind to you.”
“Silence, serpent.” I growled, in no mood for Ladon’s sardonic jest. “You understand what must be done?”
“I do, father. It shall be done.” Ladon said, its countless eyes darting towards where the remaining worms hid. “Are these what passes for dragons in this age? What a disgrace.”
“You will make them strong again, of course?”
“Of course… the Drakon line will return, and these… worms, will be purged from the land.”
Or he might rise up against you with his brood and destroy you. In your state, it would be possible.
“Begone, trickster. I’ll hear no more of your lies.” I muttered, before looking back to Ladon. “When you’re done with these creatures, follow my trail to my army. I have assembled the demons to Tartarus to march on our hated foe, Tirek.”
Even Ladon, who feared none save myself, recoiled at the sound of his name. “The thief still lives? I will tear him apart limb by limb, I swear it…”
“While you work I shall attempt to resurrect the brood mother. Be diligent, Ladon. The world is a changed place, and I wish not lose another of my brood.”
“Praise your name, father.”
I grunted and strode off, using my newly gained strength to simply push through the cliffs and wade back into the lava, in the direction of where my army was stayed.
I love family reunions.
“I will destroy you, after Tirek falls.”
Love you too, sunshine.
I looked over the masses of horrors gathered under my banners.
If they had escaped by themselves, though that would have been impossible, they would be cowering under the first rock they found, never to rear their ugly heads. What a shame that would be. Each one of these creatures were mighty warriors in their own right, by strength, or speed, or magic. Each one of them were a match for the princesses armies, and required the wretches themselves to seal them away. So, when under the command of a being who rivalled gods such as myself, they could be shaped into a deadly army indeed.
An army enough to raze the pony cities to the ground, perhaps. If I could defeat the princesses as soon as possible, and absorb their life forces, I would have more than enough power to regain my old form, and challenge Tirek with all my glory.
“Trickster. I know you are listening.”
Hmm, Trickster. You know, I actually like that name. But yes, I’m listening.
“You boast to have great intellect, no?”
I like to think that I do.
“Then you will be my tactician. As Athena served Zeus, you will serve me.”
Meh. Not got much else to do anyway. I’m in. So, almighty Typhon, what do you want accomplished?
“Subjugation of this puny land.” I said, snorting.
Of course. Now, I want you to call upon your greatest warriors. Just three will do fine, you’ve only got about three hundred of them anyway.
“Tiamat! Behemoth! Seth! Come forth!” I roared, my voice echoing across the plains on which the army was camped. Out of the throngs of demons and monstrosities, three creatures emerged.
The first, a massive she-serpent, eclipsing even the size of Ladon with her massive barrel and immense length, slithered forth, her motions fluid and devilishly beautiful to those of beast blood, myself included. Her scales shimmered with a rainbow light, and the air around her was damp and heavy: for Tiamat was the mother of all sea serpents, and where she went water followed.
The second was a gargantuan beast, a mixture between elephant, hippopotamus and rhino, with a set of tusks jutting out of a massive maw, with another horn perched between its nostrils. His legs were thick and treelike, resembling a elephant’s legs, and his tail whipped about with enough power to fell even the tallest trees with a single swing. The Behemoth, the father of all earthly beasts that shook the earth.
The last, in stark contrast to the first two, was tiny, taller than a pony but barely reaching even my knees. Perhaps ten feet tall, his face was like that of a jackal’s, but with an elongated and curved snout and rectangular ears. He wore garbing that protected vital areas of his body, his chest and guts, the armor seemingly woven from gleaming gold. His skin was a dark crimson, like spilled blood, and he walked with grace and poise but also a ferocity and power, like a desert storm. Seth relied not on strength, but trickery and magic.
Announce them the lords over your armies, Typhon. Have Seth be the one to commands, Tiamat the one who leads, and Behemoth the one who fights. That way they will manage your armies, and you can focus on your own tasks.
“Seth, you are wicked and cunning, like the jackal that you embody. By my primal might, I declare you commander of my horde.” I proclaimed, my voice carrying for miles. Seth bowed, and turned to face my army.
“Tiamat, your beauty is unmatched and your leadership unchallenged. You will carry out the orders of Seth, and lead my people to victory.” Tiamat hissed, and turned to face my army as Seth did.
“Behemoth. Your valour and strength is second only to my own. You will be at the front of my army, decimating my enemies and aiding my forces.” Behemoth gave an earth shattering roar and swung about, looking over his comrades with his beady black eyes.
“Seth, my only command is as such: conquer!” I held up a balled fist, and gave a roar that prompted the army to roar as well, the ear splitting noise heard for miles and miles around. “Spread the glory of my name, and spread the glory of our kind! Let Tirek know the pain of his betrayal!”
“TIREK WILL FALL!” The horde screamed.
I locked eyes with Seth, and Seth bowed respectfully. “My lord Typhon, your wish is my command.”
Celestia sighed as she sagged into her seat. Typhon was free, marauding the countryside, and all she could do was watch and hope they could come up with a plan to be rid of him. She continued peering into the scrying pool, searching for signs of trouble.
“Sister.” Celestia jumped, her frazzled nerves overreacting at the slight touch of her back. She turned around in a hurry, her eyes wide, and her horn flared to life before dying down when she realized who she faced. “Oh, Luna. I’m sorry, it’s been a very stressful night.”
“It’s alright, Celestia. Why don’t you go get some tea? Twilight and her friends as well as Cadence and Shining Armor have arrived, and are ready to begin. Go get something to soothe those nerves, I’ll fill in our guests until you get there.”
“Thank you, Luna.” Celestia smiled, heading towards the kitchens. “You take care as well, sister.”
Luna nodded, and they parted ways, one heading off to acquire tea, and another to meet the guests in the meeting hall.
As soon as the double doors to the hall opened, Luna was greeted with the sight of six ponies and two alicorns. Twilight was there, of course, as were the other ponies she requested. “Friends, I thank you for coming here with such haste.”
“Luna, what’s the matter? What’s going on?” Twilight, ever the eager student, was quick to begin asking questions. “Is there some threat to Equestria that we have to defeat again?” The same questions were echoed by her friends, and even Shining Armor and Cadance.
“Please, Twilight Sparkle, a moment. This will take a while to explain, and I cannot do so if I am caught answering your questions.” Luna laughed in spite of the situation.
Twilight’s face flushed, and she nodded and settled back into her seat, falling silent.
“Now, please make yourselves comfortable. This will be a rather lengthy tale to tell.”
Long ago, before Equestria was formed, before the lands settled and cities were raised, and the people were divided, there was only chaos. Above all this was the draconequus, Discord. Though he called himself a spirit, the natural spirits of the world spurned him, and called him a demon. He fanned the flames of disharmony, and plunged the world into a state of deep unrest.
Then, ponykind was little more than scattered tribes, attempting to fend off the much more powerful griffons, and dragons, and diamond dogs. Not to mention the chaos beasts created by Discord for his amusement. These were creatures of destruction and death, with teeth and claws and burning with hellfire, that preyed on all the mortal races and was enemy to all.
The immortal gods, taking pity on the mortals, pooled their powers and blessed two beings with divine power: Celestia and Luna. Celestia was blessed by the oracle of the sun, Apollo, and had control over the sun’s light and could peer into the future. Luna was blessed not only by the huntress, Artemis, but also the dream spirit, Morpheus, and was granted power over both the night and the dreams of mortals.
With this power, Celestia and Luna banished the chaos demons, unified the lands, and discovered ancient artifacts, the elements of harmony, which were powerful enough to petrify even the mighty Discord.
Peace reigned, but only for a short while. Monsters still roamed the land, and from the far south, rumblings were heard for thousands of miles. Olympus, eternal seat of the gods, home of all the spirits of the land, was sundered. The gods scattered, and many sought refuge in the lands under the protection of Celestia and Luna, offering to aid the mortal kingdom in standing up against the bane of Olympus: Typhon, the Storm Titan, father of monsters.
He, and his consort Echidna, spawned many horrific monsters, many even greater than Discord’s chaos beasts in size, or strength, or cunning. The titan himself was terrible to behold, with a maddening visage that would drive lesser minds insane with but a look and strike fear into even immortal gods. He had a hundred heads, a serpentine body, and he was so tall that he could reach the palace of the gods without having to climb the mountain that it was perched upon. Flames and poisons spewed from his mouths, turning the lands barren, and around him raged an eternal storm that destroyed all who dared fly close.
He rampaged across the land, destroying and devouring all that stood between him and his hated enemy the gods. But then the mortal world united, for the first, and last, time in history, to bring down this terrible beast. The elder dragons, their wings mighty and strong, could break through the storm. The forest spirits repaired the damage the monster wreaked, and sent forth the denizens of the woods against the terrible monsters Typhon sired. Celestia and Luna attacked with the fury of the sun and the moon, and the gods attacked with their own powers.
At last, in an epic conflict of titanic proportions, Zeus the Skyfather hurled his last lightning bolt down Typhon’s gullet and obliterated him from the inside out, slaying his mate and devastating his brood. They dragged his still living body to Tartarus, the deepest place in the world, and imprisoned him behind adamantine gates. He did not rest easy, beating on the doors, screaming vengeance, but he could not escape that place, not while his wounds festered and his body weakened.
Harmony returned to the land, and in time the power of the gods ebbed away. After the war, the gods too damaged to recover, leaving Celestia and Luna to guard the mortal realm. Many threats rose and fell after that, but none quite as deadly as Typhon was. The sisters kept the elements of harmony, using them time and again to strike down foes that would cause harm to the world, as was their divine duty.
But all the while, they hoped that Tartarus would keep the titan in check, for little else could stand up to his full might.
Evidently, it didn’t.
“That is what we are up against.” Luna said, grimly. “A creature with the power to sunder the skies, and split the earth. Although Celestia’s scrying tells us that Typhon is vastly weakened, we have neither the gods nor the elements of harmony to assist in our victory. Plus, a magic stealing demon named Tirek has also escaped, and he has stolen a vast majority of Typhon’s magic. With the titan’s magic, Tirek has become a high priority target as well.”
Celestia, at that moment, entered the hall. “Luna, have you told them about Typhon and Tirek?”
“Yes, sister.” Luna nodded.
“In that case, I must ask you for advice, ponies. Cadance, Shining Armor, do you think anything in the crystal empire will help us defeat the creature? And Twilight, do you and your friends have any idea about the crystal box that came out of the tree of harmony?” Celestia turned first to the crystal rulers, then to the elements of harmony.
Cadance glanced worriedly at Shining Armor, and the stallion spoke up. “The crystal heart is used mostly in a defensive capacity, Princess. If Typhon or Tirek attacked the empire, we could probably use the heart to fuel a shield matrix that can hold them off indefinitely, but not much in actually defeating them.”
“That’s good.” Luna comments. “At least that gives us an opportunity to have a secure command center.”
Celestia nods. “And you, Twilight?”
Twilight shakes her head. “Nothing in the old Everfree library says anything about the box, and no lock opening magic that I know could open the box. Discord did give me some cryptic advice, but nothing more than his usual annoying rambling.”
Fluttershy raised her hoof timidly. “Um, Twilight? If Discord suggested something, maybe you should try and listen to him?”
“Ha! Discord? Are you kidding? He’d sooner lead us in the wrong direction than give us actual advice.” Rainbow snorted, leaning back in her seat. Twilight, Applejack and Rarity nodded in agreement.
Celestia looked sternly at Rainbow Dash and those who agreed with her. “Discord is our ally now. Even if he’s up for the occasional prank and trick, I’m sure he wouldn’t deceive us in this time of crisis. Tell me, Twilight, what did he suggest?”
Twilight shrugged. “I don’t know what it means, Princess- um, Celestia, he just put some bookmarks in our friendship journal and told us that those were important. But I don’t know what exactly is so special about those entries, they’re just your usual friendship report.”
Luna cocked her head. “Pray tell, did you perhaps bring this friendship journal? If Celestia and I looked over the marked sections, perhaps we might figure out some clues that you were not able to pick up.”
Twilight nodded. “Feel free, Luna. It’s just in my bags.” She levitates the book out and passes it over to Luna, who immediately begins scanning through it.
Fluttershy raised her hoof again. “Um, Princess?”
Twilight, Cadance, Luna and Celestia looked at her. “Yes?” Then all blushed and looked down uncomfortably.
“Um, Princess Celestia, where’s Discord?” Fluttershy asked again, a small smile on her face in spite of herself.
“Well, Discord is just about the only being on Equestria on remotely the same level as Tirek is right now.” Celestia said. “So we sent him to do some reconnaissance. He was under explicit orders not to engage, and to come back if he thought that he was at risk.”
Twilight blanched. “You’d trust Discord with a task like that?”
“If we never give the draconequus a chance to shine, we’ll never know if we can trust him.” Luna said, nodding sagely.
Twilight pursed her lips. “I suppose…”
“Discord…” Tirek rumbled, staring at the draconequus in front of him, trapped within the confines of his fist. The spirit could easily fit in his grip, which further reminded him of his brilliant triumph. “The master of chaos himself, paying little old me a visit. Why, I’m honoured.”
“Ah yes, Tirek. How’s life serving you? I see you’ve grown since we’ve last met.” Discord chuckled. “So I’m supposed to capture you and take you back to Tartarus. How’s that sound?”
“I doubt you’d be able to, Discord. I’ve devoured all of Typhon’s magic. I’m more powerful than ever, even before my imprisonment. I don’t even need to absorb the magic of the Princesses anymore. I’m already the strongest there is.” Tirek said. “I could just crush you, and you could do nothing to stop me.”
“Except you won’t.”
“I won’t?” Tirek asked, raising an eyebrow.
“You won’t because I’m already on your side.” Discord said, smugly.
“I thought you were working with the ponies? How did they convince you to join their cause, anyway?” Tirek’s grip tightened on Discord, causing the spirit to wince.
“Easy, there, Rekky my boy. This body doesn’t die, but I can still be hurt you know.” Discord groused, his tongue sticking out dramatically. “But well, I’m in no position to lie now, am I? I, ah, made friends with a pony, just the sweetest little pegasus. She’d be sad if I let you wreck her home. Which is why I’m here, trapped in your sweaty hand.”
“Friendship?!” Tirek sneered, leaning forward until all Discord could see was Tirek’s black and yellow eyes. “You abandoned your power, your freedom, for FRIENDSHIP?”
“Nope!” Discord laughed. “I’m not throwing my life away for ponykind. I’m joining your side!”
Tirek pauses. “That easy? Not that I’m complaining, but… well then, good to know that you’re not a fool. So, what can you do for me that would stop me from draining you dry and leaving you to die? Your power would be quite the addition to my power levels.”
Discord smirked, and snapped his fingers.
A winged, fanged creature, looking like a giant reptilian bat with a spiked tail, appeared near where Discord was. It was larger than a griffon, with snapping jaws and razor sharp talons, flapping its large leathery wings and screeching loudly. “I think I’ll call this one… a wyvern. ‘Cuz the ponies getting attacked will go ‘Whyyyyy?!’ and the thing will go ‘VEERRRN’ and then ‘om nom nom’. Wyvern.”
“Oh yes… Chaos beasts.” Tirek’s smile widened into a predatory grin. “I’ve almost forgotten about those.”
“Fancy making yourself an army?” Discord snapped his fingers again, and a dozen wyverns appeared around them.
Baltimare was on fire, as the two armies clashed. The guard was warned, the ponies evacuated for the most part, but Discord knew for a fact that the place was never recovering from a conflict as titanic as this. He winced as a four armed stone golem, the size of a house, crashed through the bell tower, the structure collapsing under the weight and sending the clockwork clattering across the ground. The bell itself toppled over and slammed into the golem’s head, along side a few tonnes of bricks and mortar. A small tremor went through the earth as the golem fell, and was immediately set upon by countless monstrosities, serpentine people and car sized hounds all chipping away at its arms and legs, hoping to make a dent in this giant. A single sweep of the arms, and the tiny creatures were swept away, crushed by the weight of the creature’s limbs.
As the golem was standing up, a two headed dog the size of a truck, one of Typhon’s original hellhounds, barrelled into the golem again, its claws scrabbling ineffectually against the rocky skin of the golem. Its mouth opened, and a burst of fire ripped out, searing the golem and slowly softening the creature’s body. The golem groaned as its arm, taking too much to a beating, broke off and came crashing down, crushing what remained of the bell tower and squashing many of the hound’s allies under the stone.
The golem swung a massive granite club, and the dog was sent flying, breaking through the walls of the city hall with a sickening crash. Burning blood leaked from its body, but before the golem could finish it, a great goat like creature with claws instead of hooves, with three heads and a pitch black pelt, double the size of the hound, stepped protectively over the first and opened all three of its maws, unleashing a torrent of hellfire on the golem. The golem could barely make three steps before it was melted to slag. The goat thundered towards the remains of the golem, and the liquified giant was torn apart as the creature ran it through with its curved horns.
Only a few paces away, in the ruins of the old museum, sat a horrifying creature. Its barrel like body sat motionless in the ruins, covered in scales too thick for any mortal weapon to pierce. Twelve necks protruded out of its neck, and at the end of each neck was an ugly fanged head, that spewed toxic gas like the stench of a thousand rotting corpses. The hydra roared, the guttural sound shaking the air around it and forcing enemies to stop and stare as its twelve heads each stretched out from the museum to pick off attackers. Each head was as tall as a man, and the necks widened at the bases, the barrel of the creature filled up the entire museum.
Discord grimaced as he looked over the battlefield. Things weren’t going his way at all. Whoever his enemy was, they were well prepared, countering all of his chaos beasts with strategically selected troops.
His wyverns screeched across the air, trailing a particularly nasty blend of venom that his ‘master’ had devised, a horrible substance that drained magic from the envenomed and released it in an arcane explosion: a bomb powered by the victim’s own magic. The myriad of magical beasts that Typhon’s army was composed of were easy pickings, large explosions rocking the battlefield as his wyverns passed them over.
In the air, across the battlefield, massive birds and other fliers filled the air, in densities much higher than his chaos hordes. This was a battle he would not win. What were they? Discord frowned, calling upon his vast repositories of knowledge. The ponies took him for a fool, a mere prankster, immature and illogical.
They were right, to an extent. He was a prankster. He was immature and illogical. But anyone who has ever crossed swords with him would know that Discord was no fool. He has lived for years numbering the stars, and for every day of them he has been learning, and adapting. Chaos, after all, never stagnated. After the first millennium of his existence, he tired of sanity and logic. He experimented. He adapted. He broke the boundaries of magic, the illusion of possibility, and ascended to a higher level.
He should not be tied down, fighting a mortal’s battle, creating mortal minions for a mind numbingly idiotic cause.
“Ah. Stymphalian birds. Excellent biological weaponry, outstanding mobility and durability. Far outclassing my creations.” Discord muttered, his usual bluster and snark gone. “And those are the legendary rocs, I presume. I never thought I would see one alive again.”
The two flocks clashed in mid air, the screeching of birds and roars of wyverns filling the air. Their wings beat with hurricane winds, their claws slashing at one other with bloody abandon. Massive winged… things, took to the skies on Typhon’s side, a thousand tentacles whipping in tandem, bringing down wyverns left and right. Blood dripped from the skies as the two armies tore at each other, then suddenly, Typhon’s forces drew back, the different creatures swerving back as one to reveal the Stymphalian bird.
It was gargantuan, easily the size of an airship, with metallic feathers lined with a razor sharp edge. It gave a single piercing screech, and it flapped its wings, the motion shooting hundreds, if not thousands of projectile quills towards the enemy lines. Discord snapped his fingers, disintegrating as many quills as he could, but the bulk of the volley still broke through, shearing through the ranks of his wyverns and sending hundreds plummeting to the ground.
Discord sighed as he watched his creations be skewered alive in mid air, and looked away as the the rocs swooped in and gouged out chunks of wyvern flesh with their jagged beaks, tearing through the reptiles with gusto. Though the wyverns managed to snag a roc now and then with their scorpion like tails, the rocs would recover with outstanding speed, correcting their trajectory to bring their downward spiral into a safe retreat. Finally seeing enough, Discord snapped his fingers, and a new batch of wyverns took to the skies, ready to engage their foes. The draconequus’ shoulders slumped, his powers drained by maintaining so many detailed creations at once. It was an exercise in futility anyway. The Stymphalian bird could bring down the reinforcements in one wingbeat.
On the ground, Discord’s forces were not faring much better.
For ground assaults, Discord had designed a delightfully chaotic creature that abused the properties of the poison joke to disable his opponents. It was basically a massive clump of walking poison joke, a perversion of the ancient ent that had dwelled the forests long ago. They were powerful, had remarkable durability, and could hex enemies from a distance then engage in melee with the vastly weakened enemies. Of course, there were other creatures as well, beasts the size of carriages with five legs and no face, using its size to crush its foes, massive worms that burrowed through the ground, and enlarged insects of various degrees.
Somehow, they were getting overrun. Discord’s mysterious adversary had deployed a range of enemies that could either nullify the poison joke advantage or simply resist its effects. Chimeras, somehow bloated to the size of houses, goat men who simply barrelled through the plants unharmed, these bizarre three horned creatures with a massive crest which shrugged off even the worst of the ent’s bludgeoning.
Discord’s eye twitched as he watched his ents be mowed down by the masses of chimeras and fire imps and other creatures that were sent out against him. “Right, that’s it. It’s golem time.”
He snapped his fingers, and the ground in front of him exploded as an absolutely gargantuan beast of stone burst out of the ground. It had three heads and four arms, each arm equipped with a different tool: club, sword, axe, and shield. The golem was easily the size of a dragon, even taller, coming close to Tirek’s shoulder height.
“AT LAST, A WORTHY FOE!” Discord was nearly blasted back by the cacophony from the enemy lines that erupted when the golem appeared, as a horrific, powerful looking beast leapt over the chimeras and demons to engage the golem.
Discord’s jaw dropped. “…Behemoth? Seriously? How the hell am I supposed to win this war with buggers like Behemoth on their side?”
The monstrosity crashed into Discord’s golem, and the two giants grappled, the golem lashing out at the creature with its stone implements and Behemoth likewise retaliating with gouging horns and tusks. The stone giant slammed its club into the side of the Behemoth, and even through the monster’s thick hide the strike was immensely powerful as the massive beast was sent staggering, its steps thundering through the ground and cracking the earth.
The giant wasted no time, taking the opportunity to swing the axe at Behemoth’s neck. The blade bit flesh, but the slice was not deep, and Behemoth shrugged the attack off easily, the axe still lodged in the monster’s hide. The massive beast wound up and slammed into the golem with its tusks, the golem barely fending off the assault with its shield, which shattered on impact and forced the golem back a few steps.
Behemoth followed through with the slam with a head butt, slamming his horn into the golem’s chest which fractured the stone easily, burying the horn into the golem’s body. Behemoth gave a thunderous roar, and actually lifted the golem over his head with his horn and tusks, before giving a mighty swing of his head and throwing the golem off, where it slammed into the earth and exploded into a million pieces, the impact shaking the ground and causing earth and dust to be lifted up from the impact.
Discord winced, but did not miss a beat, summoning another golem to occupy Behemoth while he thought of a counter plan.
“This is going all wrong…” Discord muttered, his finger snapping like mad, summoning minions left and right to engage the swelling enemy lines. “Just how many inmates escaped from Tartarus? And where did they find that many chimeras? Heck, I didn’t think there were that many alive!”
“That’s a trade secret, my friend.” A voice behind him made him jump, somersaulting in the air before landing a good ten feet away from the voice. Discord turned, and glared at the intruder.
“Seth. I should have known you were in charge of this farce.”
“Working for Tirek, I see.” Seth smirked, whirling his was sceptre around in an elaborate display of skill before slamming the pronged tip into the ground and causing a ring of fire to spring up around him. “Discord, it’s been too long.”
“Speaking as one chaos immortal to another, I recommend you back off, right now.” Discord warned, his eyes narrowing. His claws flared brightly with balls of fire, though it was coloured a dark purple with multicoloured sparks around it. Chaos magic. “Or else I might accidentally hurt you, and no one wants that now do they?”
“Discord, Discord, Discord.” Seth chuckled, bringing his was sceptre to a combat position. “You know, with all this summoning draining your powers, I dare say that I might be a match for you. After all, I’m also a war god.”
Discord eyed his opponent carefully. Despite the staff being mostly ceremonial, its two prongs were sharpened to a needlepoint, and the curved blade at the other end made of gleaming obsidian: one of the few materials that could in any capacity wound an immortal spirit. Not kill, spirits never die, but dispel enough of a spirit’s essence and one could send them packing for at least a few millennia of regeneration.
“En garde!” Seth suddenly shouted, thrusting the pronged end of the staff at Discord. The spirit of chaos growled and ducked out of the way, his head splitting in half to avoid the attack. His claws balled up to fists and he hurled a flaming glob of chaos magic at Seth, which the god smacked away expertly with a swing of his staff, the magic detonating violently into fire, ice, lightning, and confetti all at once.
Discord wound up for another throw, but Seth was faster, moving close and slicing down with his sceptre, the razor blade just barely missing Discord’s form as Discord bisected his body to dodge the strike. His body came back together once the blade was out of his body’s range, and he threw a desperate punch at Seth, his lion claw, coming within inches of Seth’s snout before the god parried the strike with the prong end of his sceptre, taking a step back and holding up his staff cautiously.
“Two can play that game, Discord.” Seth said, his staff coming alight with chaos magic. Discord growled, feeling his magic drain away steadily as more of his power was committed to resisting Seth’s army’s dogged offence. “Have at thee!”
Seth thrusted forward, shooting a bolt of lightning from his staff at Discord, which the draconequus blocked with a hastily summoned pie. “No, have at thee!” Discord shouted, telekinetically hurling the pie at Seth, which the god blew up with a quick blast of fire.
Seth twirled his staff again, this time sending out blasts of random elements at Discord with every arc, shards of ice, balls of fire, and bolts of lightning surging towards the spirit with every motion. Discord growled and answered in kind, bursting into a heated dance routine that sent equal amounts of charged pastries at Seth, the foodstuffs exploding into destructive elements whenever the spells collide.
Seth growled as he felt his magical reserves decreasing rapidly in the crossfire. Discord definitely held the upper hand in sheer magical capacity, but Seth wasn’t just a caster. He was a tactician, and he must be intelligent with his resources.
Seth leapt aside, ceasing his firing and rolling back to his feet, his staff up and deflecting Discord’s pies with minimal motions. Quick snaps to the left and right, sent pastries flying to the side, or above him, none of the deadly food ever touching him.
Raising his staff, Seth prepared to deal the decisive blow when the battlefield was interrupted by an ungodly, unholy roar. The two chaos gods froze, staring up at the sky as a massive, horrifically gigantic serpent crossed the skies on black wings that blocked out the sun. Seth recovered first, his lips curling up into a savage grin. “Excellent, it’s the cavalry.”
Tapping his throat, Seth shouted up to the drakon with a magnified voice. “MIGHTY LADON! THANK YOU FOR GRACING THIS BATTLEFIELD! NOW, CRUSH THE ENEMIES OF OUR MASTER!”
Discord’s jaw dropped. “L-Ladon? As in, THE Ladon? Guardian of immortality?”
“One and the same.” Seth smirked, and quick as a flash brought his sceptre up and stabbed Discord straight in the chest, causing the spirit to scream out in agony. Twisting the sceptre and pulling it back out, Seth nodded at Discord before teleporting back behind friendly forces. “Have fun, old friend.”
Discord roared in anger, his eyes flashing red for a moment before he waved his injury away, snapping his fingers and disappearing from view.
“This isn’t over, Seth.” Discord growled. “I’ll be back, and next time, I’ll get the big guy to stomp you.”
With another snap, Discord was gone.
“Princess!” A guard burst into Celestia’s throne room, where the alicorn was sitting on her seat of power, staring intently into a scrying pool. “Urgent news from Baltimare!”
Celestia looked up from the scrying pool, staring blankly at the guard for a moment before shaking her head and focusing on the stallion. “News? What news?”
“It’s terrible, Princess! Two massive armies of horrific monstrosities has assaulted Baltimare! They’re battling each other right now, tearing each other apart! Reports indicate larger than normal dragons, chimeras, birds of prey and wolves among the ranks of one of the armies, and walking trees and giant bat creatures as the primary forces of the other!” The guard said.
“Thank you, guard.” Celestia said, nodding her head. “You are dismissed.”
The guard bowed, and backed out of the throne room. Once the guard was out of sight, Celestia slumped tiredly, her will strained to the limit. “Baltimare, now? Last I tracked Typhon’s army, they were only up to the badlands… As I thought, they are tracking Tirek’s movements. But where did the new army come from? And why did they attack Typhon’s army? Are they on our side?”
Celestia growled and slammed a hoof down onto the armrest of the throne, denting the material. “It makes no sense! If only Discord… was…”
Her eyes widened.
Leaning over the scrying pool, her horn lit up and she spoke clearly to the water. “Show me Discord, Spirit of Chaos.”
The pool shimmered and rippled, its surface warping and distorting from magical influences, before finally settling on an image of the draconequus that Celestia was familiar with.
“Damn those creatures…” Discord was lying on top of a purple, velvety bed, in an immaculately decorated room. He snapped his fingers, and suddenly everything in the room was blue. Then red. Then pink and green polkadots. Celestia ignored the shifting colors, focusing on the spirit himself, and her mouth parted slightly when she noticed the gaping wound in the center of Discord’s just. “That Seth… how dare he injure me like this? A wound of this size will take… ugh… hours to heal at best!”
Celestia’s ears splayed back. If Seth the Usurper was free, then without a doubt he would have pledged his services to either Tirek or Typhon. “Seth… that snake almost took over Saddle Arabia singlehandedly before we intervened…”
“And Behemoth? What the hell? Who thought it would be a good idea for him to lead the armies?”
Celestia’s breathing quickened. Behemoth was so powerful that it took three days for the elder dragons and her telekinesis to subdue him. If he was free again, there was no way he could be contained.
“Tirek better give me a way to fight them on more even footing, or else he’s gonna end up pulverised before we know it… My chaos beasts aren’t nearly a match for Typhon’s brood. Where the hell did he get those things anyway? So many in so little time? It’s been barely a week since his escape!”
Celestia’s jaw dropped. Discord was helping Tirek?
Impossible. Celestia wanted to believe that it was impossible, but she knew was she heard. Discord had turned against them. He had betrayed their trust, all in the name of cowardly survival.
Celestia’s expression was frozen in a state of shock, but her mane slowly turned to a fiery orange as her emotions bubbled up inside her. “I should have expected this.” Celestia gritted her teeth, turning away from the scrying pool and banishing the image.
“Luna!” Her magic flared, and she sent a magical message to her sister. It was a taxing spell, and the message could be garbled- but this time, it would be clear. Celestia willed it, and so it was. The rage and hurt gave her clarity of mind. “Discord has betrayed us. He aids Tirek now.”
It took all of three seconds for Celestia to feel the wave of pure rage cascade through the palace as Luna processed the message.
“DISCORD!”
My army was arrayed before me. Now no longer composed of only three hundred hardened criminals, it boasted tens of thousands of monstrosities of my creation, returning after a thousand year’s absence. There was hidden power even in the pathetic excuses of dragons, chimeras, hydras and other beasts that were considered predators of this age. My blood still ran in their veins, however diluted, and all it took was a reminder of their true identities to coax out the true strength of these creatures.
It started with Ladon and the drakons, but soon after the Chimera and his brood of amalgamations, Rukh and her flock, the Lernaean Hydra and the rest of the multi-headed serpents, all creatures that were once my flesh and blood, returned to to the fold with the promise of untold power.
My own strength has swelled, too. By simply drawing forth the life force of the earth itself, I devoured the life of the world and grew strong from it. The land died around me, but it served its purpose as fodder for its eventual ruler. “Seth. I have heard the rumblings of battle as I feasted.”
“Your ears do not deceive, my lord. Tirek and his lackey, the insufferable draconequus Discord, have created a host of chaos driven beasts to challenge your army.” Seth bowed, smartly avoiding my gaze. Even a creature of considerable intellect such as Seth can be disabled with a mere glance at my visage.
“Was Tirek there?”
“Unfortunately not, my lord, but you should be pleased to hear that our army annihilated theirs. Rukh’s rocs and stymphalian birds ensured aerial superiority, and we devastated the flying chaos beasts that Discord created. I believe he called them Wyverns?”
Classy. I’d wager the old dog made them with stinger tails, too.
“And on land?” I asked, impatient. I cared little about the enemy’s brilliance, only their weaknesses and news of their defeat. “How did our hordes fare?”
“Just as well, my lord. Chimera’s and Orthrus’ brood were more than a match for Discord’s walking trees, and though Discord summoned a few stone golems, Behemoth was quick to topple them. When Ladon and his brood arrived, our victory was set in stone. Truly, a landslide victory for us.” Seth said, tapping his staff against the ground and creating an image in a ball of fire, depicting the events of the battle.
“And losses?” I asked, leaning forward.
“I’m sorry?”
“Losses, Seth. Do not insult both of our minds by acting like a fool. You are not a clown like Discord.” I growled, a claw erupting into sparks.
“Ah… We lost a quarter of our roc troops, and perhaps half of the shock triips suffered debilitating wounds.” Seth said, bowing deeply. “The fault is mine, lord. My command was not enough to mitigate damages.”
“Weak.” I snorted. It seems that even though I tapped their ancient potential, their blood was simply too diluted to have full effect. “Do not blame yourself, Seth. I have seen your wit. The fault is in these… modern pittances.”
Don’t be too harsh on your troops, man. They tried.
“Weaklings, still. My old servants could destroy Tirek alone, without need for support.” I growled, recalling old memories of past times. “Do not tell me how to raise my troops, Trickster. You exist to give guidance when I ask for it, and I asked for nothing now. Seth!”
“Yes, lord?”
“I want you to occupy Tirek while I seek out my oldest allies. If my senses are correct, they were too powerful to be slain like the rest of my brood, and to this day they remain sealed in stone.”
“Who should I be expecting, lord?”
“My mate, Echidna, and Kampe. Both are capable of producing soldiers for the legion, so be sure to account for that.” I said, as the Trickster fed me instructions on the command of an army.
Where exactly will you be looking for these allies? I don’t have the same senses that you do.
“My magic tells me that their petrified forms can be found at the heart of Equestrian land.”
Wait. Canterlot?!
Seth’s eyes widened. “My lord, please, you must consider this course of action carefully. Canterlot is without a doubt heavily fortified and defended by the Princesses. Although you were more than a match for them in the past, your form is weakened due to Tirek’s treachery, and perhaps you might be more vulnerable to their tricks. I advise you to gather your strength before striking, lord.”
“No, Seth. Echidna and Kampe are…” strategic assets. “Strategic assets, and will definitely alter the course of this pitiful excuse of a war. With my mate and the rogue jailer of Tartarus at our side, the world will fall before us, and Tirek will not stop me.”
Look, I know that they’re hugely beneficial to our cause, but Typhon, you could get killed. This isn’t a risk that you have to take.
“Hah! The princesses couldn’t lay a finger on me, much less slay me. I am the eternal Typhon, Trickster, do not forget that.” I growled, feeling the frustration boiling in my being. Could these fleshlings not see that my power was without limit, even in this weakened form?
I’m sorry that I have to do this, Typhon, but I need to do something real quick.
I suddenly grunted as the pressure at the back of my head increased, and I reached up with a claw and grabbed my forehead, the pressure spiking into pain.
“My lord?”
I gave another grunt, and my claws slipped, sinking deep enough into my own flesh for the noxious ichor that flowed in my veins to dribble out, the pain in the head compounding to an almost unbearable roar in my ears.
A powerful bolt of lightning jolted me back to consciousness. I groaned, the deep rumbling noise in my chest reminding me that I was not sent to the oblivion of the afterlife. My eyes cracked open, and another groan escaped my lips as the damnable sunlight burned my eyes.
“Seth…” I grunted, hoisting myself up to a sitting position. “Remind me to smite the sun out of the sky when I devour Celestia and her ilk.”
“Of course, my lord.” Seth, standing on a slab of rock floating an arm’s length away from my face, bowed.
“You revived me?” I said, a hint of annoyance flickering in my mind. “What creature has the audacity to… Trickster.” The sentence ended in a growl, my eyes narrowed dangerously.
“Trickster, sir?” Seth’s long ears twitched.
“A wretched, silver tongued creature, speaks to me in my mind.” I muttered, loosening my stiff neck and cracking my knuckles. “He has… aided our cause, for the most part. A nuisance, but a valuable one.”
“Now, are the preparations for my assault complete?” I asked, clambering to my feet.
“The army has been ordered, my lord.” Seth remained bowed, though his ears twitched periodically. “Behemoth and Tiamat has been informed of the hierarchy, and we have new titles and ranks to differentiate between foot soldiers and officers. Would you like a demonstration, lord Typhon?”
“The troops are trained? How long was I unconscious for?” I asked, for once at a loss for words. If Trickster was that powerful, that he could overwhelm the mind of a Tartarean, then perhaps it would be wise for me to address him with greater caution.
“You mind is complex, my lord, and without risking permanent damage, it required little over a full day to revive you. I took the liberties to train the troops while you were indisposed.”
I grunted. At least the jackal had initiative. The only thing worse than an incompetent commander was a idle commander. “Very well. Show me.”
I rose to my full height, and saw that I was still on the raised hill where I stood before Trickster struck me down. Seth nodded, and finally straightened up. “Tiamat, if you would.” He spoke softly, but by some sorcery the great mother serpent heard Seth’s words and rose up, over looking the masses of demons and monsters milling about in the impromptu campsite on the plains.
“Phalanx Typhoeus! FORMATION!” Tiamat’s voice rang loud across the army, and immediately the army sprung into action, the seemingly chaotic and unruly creatures organising with surprising speed. Even in my day, when I had a blood connection with my brood, they did not array themselves with such efficiency. I reminded myself to have Seth explain this to me at a later date.
Within minutes, the army was arrayed before me, their hackles raised, sorted into neat sections.
Seth hovered to where I could see. “After our rather shameful display in our first conflict, I have deemed having a strict hierarchy to be more optimal for myself as a strategist and lady Tiamat as commander. Each brood is organised by battlefield purpose: Orthrus’ hounds as for direct confrontation, Fenrir and the reborn timberwolves for hit and run tactics, the Stymphalian bird and Rukh’s flock for aerial support, Chimera’s abominations for holding prolonged formations, Ladon’s brood as artillery, Leviathan and his beasts as sieging vehicles, so on so forth..”
As Seth mentioned the broods, he pointed out the position in the army: indeed, each type of monster was grouped together. “Within the broods themselves I have arranged members of the original prisoners to act as field commanders, coordinating the battle and ensuring the formation is held throughout engagements. This should make issuing commands a matter of telepathically communing with the battlefield commanders during battle.”
“Impressive.” I rumbled, nodding approvingly. “An army worthy of my name, Seth. You have done well.”
“Now that the army is arrayed, my lord, we can march on command.” Seth said, bowing his head.
“Then make it so.” I said, striding forward, following the incessant pull of my mate’s essence. “Warriors! Today we take vengeance on the ones who have banished us away long ago! This day, WE MARCH ON CANTERLOT!”
The roar that issued from the army was almost deafening, the stomping of hooves and feet, clattering of metal, and clapping of hands shaking the very earth with its vehemence. I smiled grimly, knowing that with my horde behind me, the pony lands would be completely razed within a fortnight.
The atmosphere in the meeting hall was, to say the least, tense. Celestia looked like she had barely slept in the week, Luna has run herself ragged by monitoring the subconscious world for the duration of the threat, and Twilight Sparkle was exhausted after trawling through any and all records in the libraries for any countermeasures that might apply with Typhon.
Assembled were also Shining Armor and Cadence, with a crystal pony attendant in tow, Nightshade of the night guard, and the remainder of the elements of harmony. All of them looked bedraggled and tired as well.
“The worst case scenario has come true.” Celestia said, very clearly swaying on her hooves from sleep deprivation, her calm tone masking the turmoil of emotions inside her. “Typhon is on the move, and Tirek is in hot pursuit. Their destination appears to be Canterlot.”
There was a moment of silence as the battered brains of the assembled ponies processes this.
“Is this it, then?” Twilight asked, quietly.
Luna sighed. “The elements are gone. Tartarus is broken. The Warden is destroyed, and Discord turned against us. These are dark days indeed, Twilight Sparkle.”
“But it’s not over yet, right?” Pinkie said, hopefully. “What about the journal? Did the journal say anything?”
“It’s a lead from Discord.” Rainbow Dash said, with no small measure of disgust in her voice. “Who knows if it’s even going to work?”
“Discord’s betrayal has indeed cast doubts on the legitimacy of this lead.” Luna said, placing the journal onto the table with her magic. “And even if it were true, I was unable to find anything worthwhile in the bookmarked sections, aside from the fact that the lessons learnt are related to your elements, though I’m sure you are already aware of that.”
Twilight slumped. “Then what can we do?”
To everyone’s surprise, it was Fluttershy who answered. “Um… can I make a suggestion?”
“Anything would be appreciated right now.” Celestia said. “Please, continue.”
“Let them fight.”
“Say what now?” Applejack said, raising an eyebrow.
“I have to agree with Applejack, darling.” Rarity said. “What on Equestria are you talking about, Fluttershy?”
“Um…” Fluttershy shrunk back. “Sorry… I guess that was a bad idea…”
“No, Fluttershy. Do not apologise. I think there is merit in your idea.” Luna said, her dull eyes suddenly gaining a gleam that betrayed her suddenly active mind.
“Luna!” Celestia said, taken aback by Luna’s claim. “Do you even realize what you are suggesting? A single skirmish between their armies, excluding Typhon and Tirek themselves, destroyed a city as large as Baltimare. Equestria would be in ruins by the end of the battle!”
“Land can be reclaimed and rebuilt, sister. If we evacuated battlefields beforehoof, perhaps transferring the refugees to the Crystal Empire, it is precious time that we could use to pursue a concrete way to assuage the situation.” Luna said, placing her hoof her sister’s shoulder. “In the absence of a true solution, a delaying tactic is the best we can hope for.”
“Um, Princess Luna, that’s not really what I meant…” Fluttershy mumbled. “I mean, your idea makes sense too, but…” her voice petered out into silence when she realized that all eyes were on her.
“Go on, Fluttershy.” Twilight urged.
“It’s just a saying that I heard from Zecora, ‘A single mountain cannot hold two tigers’. Both Typhon and Tirek are, in a way, apex predators in the Equestrian ecosystem…”
“You think they’ll rip themselves apart trying to beat each other?” Rainbow Dash grinned. “Like that one time in Daring Do when Ahuizotl and Tauren gave Daring the slip because they were fighting each other for the loot?”
“Um… I guess?” Fluttershy said.
Luna nodded slowly. “And even if they do not manage to kill each other… They’ll be vastly weakened. Perhaps enough for us to overpower them! Fluttershy, you might be a master tactician yet!”
Celestia, too, began to consider this plan of action. “The collateral damage could be contained to a minimum if we make sure to protect the population. Shining, Cadance, and you’re certain you’ll be able to create a shield powerful enough to resist Typhon and Tirek, if push comes to shove?”
“The crystal heart is an infinite magical well, as long as the empire is filled with good cheer and love. I’m certain our empire will be safe.” Cadance assured her.
“If we teleport the citizens to the empire, before Typhon or Tirek could cause too much harm…” Celestia sighed. “I suppose cities can be rebuilt. It is by no means a perfect solution, but…”
“We don’t have much of a choice, do we?” Twilight finished quietly.
“No, we don’t.” Celestia closed her eyes. After a few moments of silence, she opened them again, her expression grim but firm. “Begin the evacuation. Everypony between Baltimare and Rambling Rock Ridge is to be collected and brought to Canterlot. Shining Armor, oversee the collection process. Twilight, Luna, help me weave the teleportation spell in the palace grounds. The rest of the elements and Cadance, make sure the evacuation is as swift and efficient as possible. Everypony, the fate of Equestria rests in our hooves.”
As the ponies sprung into action, Celestia muttered to herself, “Faust have mercy on us all…”
Discord roared in pain as he was blasted through a cluster of boulders, his body trailing smoke as he exploded through the stone and crashing into the ground, where he bounced and rolled to a stop in a charred and blackened heap. His world darkened for a moment, slipping away into nothingness, before his immortal spirit drew him back from death’s door and healed his body.
Tirek simply walked through the rocks, his gargantuan form exuding so much magical energy that the earth itself crumbled before him. “You lost.” His eyes were bloodshot, and his lips were turned up in a fierce snarl, fiery red magic pouring out of his maw uncontrollably. Though it was a waste of magic, Tirek did not care.
“You promised me an army. You promised me victory.” Tirek strode over to Discord, his massive form blocking out the sun and casting a long shadow on the limp draconequus. Raising an armored hoof, the centaur slammed the hoof down onto Discord. There was a sickening crunch, accompanied by a thunderous crack, as the hoof first crushed Discord’s body, then shattered the ground under him, the hard packed earth cratering underhoof and creating fractures stretching outwards for at least a hundred feet.
“A bit…” A lion’s paw clawed its way out of the earth. “Feisty there, Tirek?”
Tirek growled, and reached down, clawing up a handful of dirt, along side the quickly regenerating body of Discord. “What do you have to say for yourself?”
“You know, if you weren’t so trigger happy and didn’t force me to waste my magic healing, I might have enough power to win your fights.” Discord said, glaring at the giant centaur.
“So the mighty chaos spirit has limits after all.” Tirek growls, letting of Discord. “Perhaps you overstated your worth?”
“Look, buddy, you want me to make you an army, maybe you give me some of your ‘mighty magic’ and I’ll actually do something productive with it instead of using it to abuse my underlings.” Discord said, huffing. “Typhon’s a cheater who can pull monsters out of his behind, I’m just an all powerful chaos spirit. I need some more juice, okay?”
“Forget it, Discord. You’re either going to make me an army, or you’re getting drained of your magic.” Tirek said, turning away from the spirit. “I’m not giving you my magic just for you to squander it on worthless tricks.”
Discord scowled. “Well then, don’t blame me if your army turns out completely worthless in combat.”
“For you own sake,” Tirek held up a hand, and created a scarlet ball of magical flame in his palm. Even hovering a safe distance away, Discord felt the waves of heat coming off of the orb. “I hope not.”
Discord grimaced as Tirek strode off. He stared down at his lion paw, and his eyebrows furrowed when he noticed a few speckles of grey among the yellow fur. “That’s one thing I’ll agree with…”
He slowly descended, landing softly in the ruined earth, his dragon foot digging into the dirt as his toes flexed unconsciously. He held up a claw, and snapped.
“Having trouble, Discord?” Discord whipped around, his claws outstretched and his magic primed, and found himself face to face with a pale, vaguely translucent image of Seth. The jackal headed god chuckled, unfazed by Discord’s display. “I see that your master does not treat you with kindness.”
“How long have you been watching?” Discord scowled, eyeing the projection warily.
“Long enough.” Seth said, smirking.
“Stop that.” Discord snarled.
“What, this?” Seth’s smirk grew into a taunting grin. “You know, I don’t think you’re in the position to be making demands. I, however, am in the perfect position to be making demands. Now, you’re going to listen to me, or I’m going to crush your army, and Typhon will eviscerate you and devour your essence.”
Discord narrowed his eyes. “…Let’s talk business.”
Twilight, Luna, Celestia and Cadance stood atop the tallest tower of Canterlot. The city was evacuated, every pony sent to the safety of the Crystal Empire, from the civilians to the royal guards. It was now a ghost city, the towers still gleaming under the starlight, the streets still spotless, but terrifyingly silent.
“Tis strange, sister.” Luna commented. “Only hours ago this was the most populated city in Equestria. To see Canterlot in such a state…”
“It’s unnerving, to be sure.” Cadance said, quietly fluffing out her wings. “Aunty, how far along is Typhon?”
Celestia sighed, and her horn glowed. For a brief moment, the sun’s light filled her eyes, and the remainder of the alicorns shielded their eyes. “He comes. On the southern horizon, the storm titan goes to war. Before the rise of the sun, Canterlot will stand… or fall.”
“Another prophecy.” Luna said. “It’s been a while.”
“Canterlot will stand or fall?” Twilight shivered. “War? Princess… Uh, Celestia, are you sure we’re ready for this?”
A cold breeze swept past the four princesses. Celestia looked on, staring into the dark night.
“No.”
“Oh thank…” Twilight paused mid-sentence, looking up at the solar princess in alarm. “Wait, what?”
“Twilight, this is Typhon.” Celestia said, her expression unreadable. “We’re never ready. The gods themselves, the immortal spirits, they weren’t ready. Their seat of power was struck off the map, Twilight. Mount Olympus, tallest mountain in the world, was reduced to rubble in the blink of an eye. I predict much the same fate for Canterlot.”
“Sister…” Luna muttered. “You imply we will lose?”
“Perhaps.” Celestia said, simply. “Canterlot will be a casualty for sure.”
A loud crack of thunder sounded beyond the horizon. The flash of lighting was just barely visible, but the swirling cloud bank was definitely approaching the city. It was still far, but the rumbling thunder rolled closer by the second, and though it was many miles away, the stillness in the air was unmistakeable.
A storm was coming. Four brave little ponies stood against the tide of nature.
I snorted as I watched Pan and his troupe of satyrs canter across the rocky terrain, comfortable in the mountain range. The goatmen had decided to join in with the winning side when I encroached on their territory, not even offering a fight and laying down their arms to pledge their allegiance.
To think the mighty wild god Pan was reduced to such a pittance. Celestia’s reign was like poison to the wild things in the world. “Seth.” I said, turning to face the diminutive man hovering some distance away from my head. “Have you sent scouts ahead?”
“Wraiths, yes. The Liche stayed behind to coordinate efforts, but we are being fed constant information as the wraiths clear the path ahead.” Seth said. “Canterlot has been abandoned, my lord. No ponies remain, and the mighty city is open for our taking.”
It’s too easy.
“Ah, Trickster. I wondered when you would return.” I growled. My claws twitched, and I resisted the urge to crush something underfoot.
Missed you too, sunshine. Anyway, looks like I just made it to the party.
“You were saying?” I grunted, my patience for his furtive ways long burned out.
Oh right. This is obviously a trap.
“Perhaps the pony princesses fled before the might of my legion. It will not be the first time.” I said, sighing. Trickster still underestimated my powers. He does not understand that tricks and underhanded tactics would not work on my mighty power. He does not realize that I could sweep away whatever trap the ponies laid in my path.
It’s a trap!
“I fear no pony trap, Trickster.”
Aw shiet! You just triggered their trap card!
Without warning, I felt a sharp pain at the back of my head, and I whipped around to find a solitary draconic creature fleeing from my flocks of roc and the Stymphalian bird. I felt behind my head, and with a small hiss, pulled out a tiny barb perhaps the size of a regular javelin stuck in my flesh. A small rivulet of inky black blood leaked out of the puncture, but I simply growled and hurled a bolt of lightning at the rapidly distancing figure, striking the beast midair and instantly incinerating its body, leaving nothing but a puff of ash in its wake.
“It seems Tirek has begun his attack. Seth, where are the enemies?” I roared, as ancient magic rushed through my body at my command, bolstering the ever present storm in my vicinity to the strength of a small hurricane. “I will bring death to them myself.”
Blah blah death and destruction blah blah START SHOOTING ALREADY!
Trickster’s nasally voice was particularly piercing in my mind, and I couldn’t help but wince, ducking instinctively and avoiding a volley of barbed javelins. They would have been caught up in my storm nonetheless, but any magic conserved is more power I could use to decimate Tirek and his forces.
“Artillery!” Seth’s voice was much, much louder than usual, audible throughout the mass of the thousands of monsters that made up my army. “Fire at will!”
With a deafening roar, the drakons launched elemental death at the reptilian creatures Tirek sent against us, some spitting thunder and lightning, others gouts of brimstone and fire, others still hurling spikes of frozen ice against the wyverns. Ladon’s hundred heads opened, and from within each a burst of raw magic came forth, taking shape as a torrent of unstoppable destruction that could easily engulf me within its girth, totally disintegrating what remained of the enemies after his brood had their fun.
But still wyverns returned, some as large as the mighty star bears, their wings flapping mightily, and drakes took to the skies also, smaller but faster than their wyvern allies, their claws flashing and clashing against the drakons’ mighty scales. Ladon roared, and poison filled the air, its hundred heads each spewing a different noxious fume that sent foes careening to the ground without a fight.
“Stymphalian bird! Fire!” Seth called again, and this time it was the massive metallic bird that answered the call, a single flap of its gargantuan sun blocking wings sending thousands of razor like quills arcing towards Tirek’s forces. Even as uncountable numbers of wyverns, drakes, misshapen dragons and other airborne monstrosities surged forward, their ranks were totally devastated, broken and scattered like waves against the shore. The gleaming projectiles sheared through the creatures easily, digging deep into tissue, lodging into bone, rending organs open and punching clean through bodies.
But more came coming. The sea of bodies pressed forward, the dead disappearing in cascades of sparks as Discord’s magic failed to sustain the creatures, only to be replaced by two more. “You told me we outnumbered them.”
Seth looked at me with a look of slight panic. “We did. We did! But somehow, with less magic, Discord managed to create more of the creatures… Drakons, Rocs, C-Q-C formations! We’ll slaughter them!”
As one, Rukh’s more numerous flock and Ladon’s larger offspring dove at the enemies, a hellish whirlwind of claw, teeth, beak, talon and death, elemental energy blasting through dozens of enemies at a time, the rocs flitting between the warring behemoths and slashing through flesh and wings. Ladon bellowed, and the air itself shook, as the massive drakon waded into the fray, his hundred heads a frenzy of motion as he devoured his enemies, causing magic to spark everywhere.
Magic which, reacting with the gasses deployed by the wyverns, was very explosive. “Rukh, pull back!” Seth shouted, and the more manoeuvrable roc eagles swerved out of the way as a single spark of loose magic triggered a runaway reaction, setting off the deadly gas and creating a blast of unprecedented proportions.
A plume of brilliant gold rushed outwards in a devastating wave of magical fire, the incredible heat scorching the flesh off countless wyverns and eagles before incinerating the bones, leaving no trace of the creatures. Even the mighty drakons, nigh indestructible, were knocked out of the sky, the earsplitting boom shaking the battlefield and scattering even the ground troops below.
Even the eagles that had the chance to adjust their position were sent careening out of the skies by the shockwave, a few pulling out of their suicide dive at the last moment. Many more did not have such fortune, slamming into the earth at breakneck speeds and flattening themselves into a bloody crater.
Son of a bitch.
“Raiders on the west flank!” Someone shouted. It sounded like Pan, but I spared no time to consider the speaker. Cresting over the hill to the west are a truly horrific host of beasts, creatures of all shapes and sizes from multi-headed rats the size of dragons to fire-breathing butterflies, a horde of ungodly creatures rammed into my army’s flank, forcing us into the defensive.
“STAND FIRM!” I roared, my arm raised and sparking with thunderous power. “BEHEMOTH, REPEL THEM!”
The gargantuan charger needed no more prompting, his head bowed and tusks pointed forward, like an oversized battering ram. He met the largest of the chaos beasts head on, a monstrous ursine beast with limbs comprised of entwined tentacles, standing even taller than Behemoth but roughly equal in mass. With a muted thud, the two giants collided, and with a sickening rip Behemoth jerked his head up and tore a gaping wound in the bear’s torso, causing a flood of bloody ooze to spurt out in a great steaming jet.
A two headed dog the size of a house leapt forward in Behemoth’s wake, Orthrus and his pack ripping through what foes remained after the mighty creature’s charge. There was a great rumbling, and a veritable army of satyrs and centaurs stampeded onto the scene, wielding heavy wood clubs and compound bows and woodland magics. The infantry of the army, the beast-men surged against the horde, fighting and falling against the unstoppable swell of monsters in Tirek’s army. The anguished cries of the dying soldiers filled the air, but I had no time to account for the fallen, as another winged monstrosity hurled itself at me, fangs bared and talons flashing.
In a practiced motion, I thrust my arm out and grabbed the creature, draining away its life with a single touch and throwing it aside when it was lifeless. The empty husk crumbled into nothing as the magic powering its existence became my own. “Hold them! Drive Tirek out of his cowardly hiding!” I bellowed, lightning crackling from my palms as the storm around me raged. Bolts of lightning flew from my being, scorching the earth as I tore my way through their ranks. All my powers were at play, hellfire dancing from my maw, noxious fumes billowing from my nostrils, meteorites raining from the sky, draining at their very life, cutting a path of utter obliteration through Tirek’s army.
You need to end this.
“I am aware, Trickster!” I backhanded a giant dragon like creature out of the skies, snapping its neck and slamming its body into the ground in one fell swoop.
No, like, you need to end this NOW, before your army is depleted any more!
I paused. Seth was barking out instructions high above the battlefield, blasting anything that got too close. Most of my original broods such like the chimeras, drakon and hellhounds were mostly holding their own, but the ones who we accepted into the fold, such as Nessus and Pan’s people, were taking heavy casualties.
“FACE ME, TIREK!” Like a burst of thunder, my voice blasted across the landscape, physically dislodging stones and throwing back lighter combatants. “OR ARE YOU TOO MUCH OF A COWARD TO TRY?!”
Over the mountains, a figure emerged. It was immense, easily my size, perhaps even larger, sporting wicked curved horns, rippling muscles, and burning with crimson magic. Its demonic black and yellow eyes narrowed, and it took a step forward.
The ground shook.
Oh… shit.
“Time to finished what was started, Typhon.” Tirek grinned savagely, cracking his neck.
The ponies watched in awe as brilliant bursts of energy erupted from the mountain ranges to the south, scaled monstrosities ramming into one other in the air, the hosts of their enemies writhing and struggling on the ground. Even Celestia took a subconscious step back at the sight of the two massive armies pushing against one other, the screams and bellows audible even from the castle.
“What’s going on, Celestia?” Twilight asked, her ears flattened to her head. “What’s happening in the fight?”
“Twilight, look away.”
“What?” Twilight looked up at her mentor.
“Look away, now!” Celestia said, her eyes widening. Her wings flew open, shielding Twilight, and a dark blue bubble sprung up around them as Luna’s horn flashed. Barely a moment passed before an unbridled wave of destructive magic washed over them, obliterating the battlements around them and for a moment all Twilight could see through the shield spell was a volatile mix of red and blue light, annihilating one another and devastating the area around them. Her very bones shook, and some primal instinct deep inside her screamed at her to run and hide as the crackling of electricity filled her ears.
Luna gasped and fell to her knees, trembling, sweat forming on her forehead and back as her horn’s glow quavered precariously. “Sister, I can’t hold it for much longer…!” Another wave of energy crashed into the shield and she gave a cry of anguish as her horn threatened to flicker out.
Celestia’s horn, too glowed, and the shield was suddenly strong again, though her legs shook and the pressure of the spell drove her back a few paces. “We have to hold it! Not much longer now!”
Then, as soon as it started, it was over. The wave rushed past them, and the shield crumbled not a second later, leaving still a gush of dry, blistering air that blew back Twilight’s mane. Celestia swayed for a few moments before falling to her knees as well, gasping for air. “Celestia! Are you alright?”
“Just… a bit… winded.” Celestia wheezed, her whole body shaking.
Twilight turned towards the mountain range, immediately having to shield her eyes as a CRACK and a brilliant flash of light happened over the hills. There, clear as day, were two massive monsters engaged in a duel of titanic proportions. One was surrounded by a flashing storm, bolts of lightning escaping the whirlwind and striking at the titan’s opponent. Typhon. Chains hung loosely off his body, his wrists bound by manacles, his claws streaking with fire and lightning, Twilight could barely suppress a shiver as the monster gave an earsplitting roar and charged forward.
His opponent, a giant black and red centaur, surging with fiery red magic and sporting two curved horns glowing with stored energy, retaliated in kind, frenzied cackling erupting from his chest as he met Typhon mid charge, unyielding in the face of a dozen bolts of lightning connecting with his body and sending millions of volts of energy through him.
Switching his method of attack, Typhon bellowed as he swung his lightning charged fists, thunder erupting with every strike. Even the colossal Tirek was cowed by the ferocious assault, slowly forced back as Typhon’s four arms overpowered his defences and eventually landed blow after blow, Tirek’s body shaking with every strike. Even from afar, the tremors caused by the punches could be felt through the ground, causing Twilight’s teeth to chatter together.
One after the other, Typhon’s fists rained onto Tirek’s face and torso, the static charge sinking into the centaur’s body with each strike and causing him to jerk back painfully, his muscles spasming, causing his movements to become slow and jerky.
Seizing the chance, Typhon slammed all four fists together, with Tirek’s head sandwiched between the bone crushing blow. There was a dull thud as all four fists connected, and Tirek’s eyes widened and his jaw snapped open as electricity coursed through his head. Without missing a beat, a torrent of hellfire roared out of Typhon’s maw, and Tirek’s face was engulfed by the scorching fire.
Then a beam of crimson energy shot from between Tirek’s horns, blasting Typhon back with a beam of pure kinetic force, powerful enough to cause Typhon’s flesh to ripple outwards from the point of contact, as the titan staggered back from the assault. It took only a few steps back for Typhon to recover, and when he did, the storm around him intensified into a maelstrom of pure energy, a whirlwind of lightning and crackling energy. A foolhardy wyvern from Tirek’s army, peeling away from Typhon’s forces, charged Typhon. Before it could even come close, a bolt of electricity shot out of the storm and struck the wyvern head on, scorching it to the bone.
“I…” Typhon’s voice was unbelievably loud, like the sky itself roaring in fury. “…WILL KILL YOU!”
Seth gaped at the spectacle before him. It was not a battle between mortal creatures or even immortal spirits, it was a collision of worlds, an earth shattering impact between forces of nature. Typhon and Tirek were no more, turned to pillars of storm and flame, crackling electricity and roaring fire clashing and intwining and splitting apart, each step a crash of thunder, each blow a volcanic eruption.
Around the two clashing titans, the forces of chaos and destruction raged, the monstrous beasts of Discord’s making fighting and dying en masse against the elite Tartarean escapees under Typhon’s banner. Swarms of bestial flocks of scaled birds and feathered serpents filled the skies, a cacophonous mass of beak and claw and talon flying and falling out of the sky, struck by lightning and fire and hellish venom spewed forth by the snarling drakon flights who stood like unyielding metal against the chaos. The Stymphalian bird rivalled the hundred headed Ladon in size and ferocity, and with a single flap loosing a hail of piercing javelin plumage, sent uncountable horrors spiralling to their death.
Tiamat and Behemoth, titans by their own right though still dwarfed by, as Seth noticed, the gradually growing Typhon and Tirek, were the vanguard against the unending flood of chaotic beasts. Like a wickedly beautiful rainbow, Tiamat flaunted her iridescent scales in a great dance of mass destruction, her serpentine form crushing and constricting with giant strength, her unending length coiling and coiling around entire legions of foes till hundreds perished by her crushing trap. Behemoth, paragon of strength and tenacity, with legs like ancient redwood and strong as coiled steel, needed no strategy and gave no thought for tactical superiority. He was the moving mountain, a constant pulverising presence that trampled all underfoot, cleaving a path through the chaotic horde with ease.
Behind them, Typhon’s elite danced and swerved between the roiling masses, creatures with claws and tentacles and blades and spines working in tandem, united by a common hatred for those to sought to have them in chains once more. Chimeric beasts, led by their namesake, the fire-breathing Chimera, scorched the earth with searing flame, burning the flesh from the bones of their foes. Elemental creatures of fire, lightning, water, earth, crushed enemies with the wrath of nature itself.
Another deafening explosion rocked the battlefield as storm crashed into fire. Lightning flashed and fiery orbs dropped from the sky, awesome power erupted from the titanic blows exchanged far above by soaring giants, Typhon and Tirek as avatars of natural fury landing thunderous hits on each other, creating booms of sound and blinding light like a hurricane blown out of proportions. Crackling lightning surged from Typhon’s palms, lancing forth and piercing through Tirek’s being, the arcs of searing blue plasma burning through skin and scorching flesh. There was no hellfire, nor poison. Only Typhon, and the storm which was he. Against the storm, equal in stature and might, was the pillar of fury that was Tirek. For every thunderous blow taken, Tirek gave back in kind, a blast of parched air and boiling heat radiating from his hammer fists. Each strike was like the fury of the earth given form, a blinding red flame that outshone even the sun itself, coupled with earth shattering force.
A ringing blow woke Seth from his torpor, and he shook his head, focusing back on the situation at hand. Trusting in his monstrous allies, Seth turned his attention towards the gleaming city in the distance. Even after the centuries of his imprisonment, the city of the sun was resplendent as ever, virtually untouched by the conflict beyond its walls.
“Time to change that.” He murmured, tapped the tip of his staff against the slab of stone he stood on, and braced himself as the slab shot skyward, breaking through the clouds, away from the clash between titans. Once beyond the reach of Discord’s wretched deformed pittances, Seth allowed himself a moment to recollect himself.
A bone rattling roar of defiance and murderous rage, from Typhon or Tirek Seth could not ascertain, reminded him again that time was against him. The slab rocketed away, towards Canterlot.
Seth could barely suppress a giddy grin as he made his way to the vault.
Seth could not believe that the ponies were idiotic enough to evacuate the entire city, even the guards.
It felt almost too easy. The empty corridors of Canterlot castle were tall, and wide, so that even a being far taller than an average pony like Seth could comfortably walk with plenty of headroom to spare. His armored shoes clinked against the marble floor with each step, echoing through the empty halls.
If the pony princesses didn’t value their people so much, Seth would probably be trapped in a statue somewhere, after a long tussle with the guards and eventually one of the alicorns. Instead, he was walking entirely unopposed. For the heck of it, Seth lashed out with his staff and impaled an empty suit of armor with the sharpened tip, sighing in disappointment when the metal gave almost no resistance.
Did the ponies even care anymore?
He shook his head. It wasn’t important: he needed to reach the vault as soon as possible. Which, to be honest, wasn’t difficult to find for a deity such as himself. It practically oozed with power from the millennia of artifacts that Celestia withheld from the world. Like a moth to a fire, Seth was drawn to the promise of wealth and unlimited power that seemed more tangible with every step he took towards the vault.
A crack of thunder sounded outside, and Seth cringed, as a primal howl swiftly followed. In his bones, Seth felt the reverberation of magic that rippled out from the strike, and he knew that if Typhon and Tirek continued their battle, the only result would be absolute annihilation of all things. The natural leylines, the magic which sustained the world themselves, warped in the presence of the Storm King.
His breath quickened as he felt the incessant pull of the treasures strengthen. He was close. Coming to a stop at a dead end corridor, he took a single step forward, and swung the bladed end of his was scepter at the wall with all his might. There was a blast of dry, harsh wind as Seth called on the power of the desert wasteland which he claimed dominion over, and with the force of a sandstorm, the wall was blasted into rubble and then eroded to dust, revealing the stairwell hidden away behind it.
“This is too easy.” Seth said, peering into the darkness. If the lure of power was tangible, Seth would be wading through the dense, viscous syrup of sweet, sweet victory. But it wasn’t, so he simply strode down the steps, his jackal eyes easily adjusting to the darkened stairway.
The air was bitter, and stale, untouched for centuries, but Seth, who did not breathe and was the embodiment of the desert wastes, it was more of the standard fare. “Not even a curse in store.” Seth sighed. “I’ve seen mortal tombs better defended than this.”
The stairs reminded Seth strongly of his desert homeland. The resemblance between the stairwell and the decorated tombs of his once subjects was superficial, but something about entering a place untouched by the passage of time, descending into the depths, as the light of the sun faded into pitch blackness…
The entire castle shuddered, and in the shroud of darkness it was all the more obvious as dust and bits of plaster and stone rained down from the ceiling, clattering off the stairs and Seth’s shoulders. He scowled; the battle drew closer to the castle. No matter what black magic the alicorns used to make a castle hanging off of the side of a sheer mountain structurally stable, it wouldn’t last a minute in a fight when trapped between Typhon and Tirek.
There was a sudden shift in the atmosphere, and Seth almost choked as an overwhelming, inconceivably powerful surge of hatred coursed through him. Millennia of imprisonment, cut off, with nothing but boiling rage and toxic spite to sustain coherency…
“Found you.” Seth breathed. His mission complete, the only thing that remained was to return to Typhon and have him reawaken Echidna and Kampe--
“Don’t move a muscle.” Seth froze, perhaps literally, as a sudden chill swept down the stairway. The voice was feminine but firm, with an undercurrent of steel and a hint of coldness.
“…You are not Celestia.” Seth said, still holding in place.
“No, I am not.” A soft scraping, followed by the clink of crystal against stone.
“…Huntress.” Seth muttered. “I should have known.”
“The hunt was never concluded, Jackal.” Seth, purely on instinct, dropped to his knees, a fraction of a second before a beam of brilliant silver pierced the darkness. He jumped to his feet, whirling around with his stave raised defensively, just barely deflecting another beam that ricochetted off the staff, searing a hole several inches deep into the carved stone wall.
A surge of hot wind with scouring sand burst from Seth’s open palm, wide enough to encompass the entire stairwell. A silver lance cut through the wall. She was there, glowing silver and blue, the colors of the night sky. There was a storm of sandy thorns, and a ripple of moonlight that seemed to dissolve the hail of spikes. Seth swung his edged sceptre, and a moonlit blade met the staff mid swing, creating a piercing clang and a shower of magical sparks. Seth was knocked back, but the blade carried on with its arc, barely missing Seth’s chest by a hair’s breadth.
The Huntress lunged, but the Jackal was faster, and though she was strong, Seth was cunning and skilled. He lashed forth with his sceptre, and the Huntress parried, creating another shower of sparks. Seth grimaced as pain spiked in his arm, the force of the swing bearing down on him, but he pushed on, sliding the edge of the sceptre along the Huntress’ blade, sending sparks flying as he ducked under the Huntress’ swing, his own weapon past the alicorn’s guard. There was a faint thud as the blade connected, and the next moment Seth was flung backwards, the huntress howling in agony. His sceptre was wrestled from his grip and he was sent tumbling down the stairs, though he managed to halt himself before the fall became damaging.
Seth looked up at his adversary, and his grimace slowly twisted into a grim smile as he saw the blade embedded in the huntress’ neck, the wound bleeding profusely. The alicorn staggered, and with a sickening pop, yanked the blade out of her body, holding the sceptre in her magical grip. She hissed in agony as the spirit rending blade tore away at her being, but she still cast the sceptre to one side, her eyes blazing with rage.
“You cannot fight with wounds like that.” Seth said, daring to conjure a whirl of abrasive sand. “We were evenly matched, and now I will cut you down where you stand.”
The Huntress scowled. “I will take you with me, if that is what is required to protect my people.”
“Your people.” Seth chuckled. “Your people? Your people are dead, broken and devoured by my master. These are pitiful imitations of your current form, Huntress.”
“My people are whoever I chose to adopt, Jackal. A homeless wretch like you would never know.”
Seth’s smile faltered, but he still maintained his facade of fearlessness. “I have a home.”
“Oh? Where, pray tell, is that?” The Huntress raised an eyebrow, the first true display of emotion beyond anger and cold indifference that Seth had seen from her.
“This city.” Seth said, snapping his finger. “When my lord has LEVELLED IT TO THE GROUND!”
There was an explosion of thunder and lightning and energy, enough to blast the alicorn back, easily clearing the entry of the hallway and sending her crashing into the marble floor. The stone cratered, and the smoke dispersed, revealing the Huntress with her glowing armor dispelled and her body blackened and bruised, a bleeding gash on her neck, and her wings ruffled and burnt in places.
By the time she managed to scramble back to her hooves, the Jackal had disappeared, leaving only a thin layer of sand on the ground.
Tirek was beginning to tire. He felt the strain in his limbs, the magical energy that sustained him weakening as he poured more and more magic into fighting the four limbed monstrosity before him. Still, he felt that he had the upper hand. As long as he and Typhon fought, he could drain the immense power leaking off of the titan, propelling himself to taller and greater heights.
Typhon swung at him, and a boom of thunder sounded right by his ears as a fist connected with the side of his face, his vision swimming with spots for a fraction for a second before he tightened his jaw, bearing down on the slightly shorter titan and slamming his hardened forehead into Typhon’s skull. Fire erupted from the impact, and Typhon roared, one hand uppercutting Tirek and another cradling his head protectively.
“Give up, Typhon.” Tirek leered, swinging at Typhon with his giant, battering ram like fists. “You’re old news now. It’s a new world, and there are new powers at work.”
Typhon grunted as two of his four claws worked furiously to parry Tirek’s strikes, swatting them aside while his remaining arms pummelled Tirek’s torso furiously. Each strike was like a thunderclap; unsurprising, Typhon was after all a deity of storms among other things. Tirek choked as immense electrical energy coursed through his body, reminding him starkly of one of his few remaining weaknesses: his mortal body. Agony spread down his abdomen as his muscles spasmed, and he doubled over, though still barely fending Typhon off.
Opening his mouth, Tirek inhaled another mouthful magic, feeling the surge of magic invigorate him. Making use of his current position, he slammed his shoulder into Typhon’s gut, and in one motion, hoisted the mountain of a beast up, and suplexed the titan into the ground. The earth itself shook as both giants crashed into the ground, and the bedrock finally shattered under the strain of bearing the weight of this conflict, creating massive fissures that while impressive, were of no consequence to the two mortal gods.
The moment Tirek’s grip slackened, even for only a moment, Typhon seized his chance and broke free, swinging a leg and landing a solid kick into Tirek’s chest, jabbing all four claws into Tirek’s side and unloading raw energy into the centaur. Tirek roared in agony, the ground quaking from the volume, and though his body fought to absorb the energy, there was no way his body could contain the surge of power.
After what seemed like an eternity, Tirek finally mustered up enough strength to close his crimson hands around Typhon’s neck and began to squeeze.
Typhon’s mouth opened, and a peal of thunder rang out. There was no breath, and Typhon did not need to breathe to begin with, but the pain of what should be his throat being constricted made him lightheaded and his vision blurry.
“Give… up!” Tirek grunted, his tendons tightening and his arms bulging impressively as he attempted to squeeze the life out of Typhon.
Typhon’s voice came in a strangled gurgle. “…Never!”
Tirek scowled, and his arms flexed, repeatedly slamming Typhon into the cracked earth as he straddled the titan. “Then DIE!”
Mountains shifted with every slam, and eventually Typhon’s gurgling protests faded into a pained wheezing. Around the pair the war raged on, but even then it was obvious that Typhon’s forces, though skilled and elite, were tiring. On the other side of the war, Tirek’s chaos hordes were endless.
Typhon, with all his might, was beaten.
“BEHEMOTH! TO ME!”
Tirek, despite being several heads taller, was suddenly knocked aside as uncountable tonnes of sinew and bone slammed into his side, Behemoth roaring with renewed vigour as his tusks slashed into Tirek’s hide. It was only a moment’s break, and the massive charger was quickly pummelled into submission by flaming fists, Tirek roaring with anger as he struck the beast again and again. But it was enough, as the fallen storm titan staggered to his feet, pooling his energies into a single fist which began to glow with the light of a thousand suns. It was a blinding white glare that crackled and flickered soundlessly, the magical energy transcending physical limitation and physical effect.
With a hammer blow, Tirek was sent flying, the mountainous centaur actually gaining air as a deity’s worth of magic surged through him.
Within moments, Behemoth and Tiamat was on him, binding him. Seth was there, by Typhon’s ear, shouting urgent instructions.
Then, the titan and desert spirit broke into a mad dash towards Canterlot.
Above the towers, Twilight’s breath caught in her throat.
The ground shook, as the storm bore down on the defenceless city.
“Typhon is coming!” Twilight blinked away from the ledge she was perched on straight into the meeting room, where Celestia, Luna and Cadance stood, as the entire city shook. With every step Typhon took towards the city, his titanic steps reducing the long mountain hike to a few mere bounds, the quaking grew stronger. Plaster rained from the ceiling, and for a moment Twilight seemed unsure as to how to proceed: she took a step towards the group, and paused, sensing the tension thick in the air.
“We know, Twilight.” Celestia said, her muscles visibly tensed and her wings spread. Her voice wavered, for a moment, but it hardened as she continued, “Typhon is nearing the city, and I… we, think we know what Typhon is after.”
“What?” Twilight trotted up to the central table, where maps of the city and the surrounding area was lain out. “There’s something in the city that he wants?”
“Someone, Twilight. Specifically, his mate.” Celestia said, quietly. She placed a hoof on the table, near a red gridded area labeled Restricted.
“Echidna?” Twilight raised an eyebrow. “But you said she-”
“-was sundered by the might of the living lightning, and had her essence scattered to the winds, yes.” Luna, who was for some reason dressed in ancient, but intimidating silver and blue armor, cut in. Twilight raised an eyebrow at her attire, but when she noticed the numerous bleeding cuts on Luna body, her eyes widened in alarm. “Do not worry, Twilight. I had an unfortunate encounter with an… old friend, let us say.”
“Luna met Seth, the Jackal, in the catacombs under the city.” Celestia said, giving her sister a weary glance. “She… was not able to subdue him, but from the way he was searching Luna thinks that he was trying to find Echidna.”
“A being like him would have little use for the artifacts we keep in the catacombs. There is only one thing that could be of interest to him… and Typhon. The heart of Echidna, the only portion of Echidna that has survived her sundering. That, and perhaps another being we have imprisoned deep under the mountain… although surely not even Typhon would be insane enough to try and bring her under his command.”
The entire castle shook, more violently than ever before, and the glass windows shattered, sending shards of glass across the room. A gargantuan shadow, enough to block out the sun, filled the room, casting darkness on the ponies. “We’ve talked for too long,” Celestia muttered, her horn glowing. “Cadance, with me! We will delay Typhon while Luna and Twilight find and destroy Echidna’s heart in the catacombs! It’s the only way!”
“Understood, sister. Come, Twilight! We must make haste!” Luna said, charging a teleportation spell. “I will bring us as far into the catacombs as I can, and then we can continue on hoof.”
Twilight glanced at Luna, then back at Celestia. “But… Celestia, I want to stay and help! I know spells, I can… I know I can help!”
Celestia laid a hoof onto Twilight’s shoulder. “I know, Twilight, but this is not your fight. Luna needs your help more than I. Please, Twilight, do this for Equestria… for me.”
Twilight bit her lip, but bowed her head in defeat. “I… I guess you’re right. Just… please stay safe?”
“I will, Twilight. Now, go! Luna is waiting.” Celestia said gently, pushing Twilight towards Luna. Turning to her sister, Celestia whispered, “Keep her safe, sister.”
Luna nodded, and her horn flashed blue. With a shower of moonlight, she and Twilight disappeared. Celestia sighed, turning to the windows, where the shadow had since passed. Instead, the crash of falling debris and shattering glass could be heard throughout the city. “He’s in here, right now.”
Cadance narrowed her eyes. “Well then. Let’s not keep him waiting.”
A brilliant golden light flashed briefly from Celestia’s horn, and the room was empty.
I fought my way through the unending sea of tiles roofs and brick walls, tracing Seth’s footsteps. It was almost too easy, if it weren’t for the fact that I knew the ponies couldn’t put up a fight if they tried. “Seth. Are we close?” I growled, idly putting a fist through a tower that came up to only my chest. It would be tall for a pony, I suppose, but just the right height for me to demolish. It crumbled in a shower of brick, mortar, and glass.
“My lord, we are almost there. It will, however, require you to take a form smaller than your current one. Perhaps one closer to my size.” Seth suggested, surfing on a swarm of sand as he wound his way between the city’s buildings. “This way, towards the palace.”
“You want me to reduce my size, and my power?” I rumbled. “If I didn’t know better, I would suggest that you were planning a coup.”
Seth bowed. “I am ever your servant, lord. I merely state the best course of action.”
“May I suggest a course of action?” A voice, confident and powerful, sounded above. I looked to the source, and outlined against the sun was a being with both wings and a horn. “Flee.”
“Ah, Apollo!” I growled, filling myself with crackling power. I felt tired limbs surge with strength, and for a moment, I felt absolutely invincible. Though I has barely enough power to sustain even my most spartan functions, I could not resist forming a storm shell around me, the electrified winds ripping into buildings and the paved ground below, tearing up stone and adding them into the deadly whirlwind of magic and debris around me. “Or do you go by another name now? One fitting of your pittance of a form?”
“It’s Celestia, Typhon.” The alicorn approached, though well out of range for any sort of accurate strike. “And you aren’t very convincing when I can actually see your head and toes in one go. You’ve lost some weight, old friend.”
“Very funny, Apollo.” I said, smiling drily. “Now, alicorn. Stand aside, or you will be destroyed like the rest of them. I do not want the last of the great spirits to be slain like so. You deserve an epic battle, prefaced by clashing armies and the smell of death in the air.”
Don’t forget the dark and stormy skies.
I sighed internally. “And the dark and stormy skies.”
“As much as I would like to humour your sense of dramatics, Typhon, I must cut our conversation short. It seems we have a little… vermin issue in my city, and we can’t have that now, can we? Cadance, you can take Seth, right?”
A pink alicorn, presumably a manifestation of Eros, if not Aphrodite, joined her in the skies. “I can most certainly try. Gladly, in fact.”
“Seth…” I growled. An alicorn, even a lesser one, was no simple opponent. I raised a claw at the pink alicorn, lightning crackling at my finger tips, but Celestia was one faster, a beam of sunlight lancing through the air between us at the speed of light, scattering the gathering magic and scorching my palm. “Cursed… whelp! Seth, tear the Breeder apart! I will extinguish the sun’s flames!”
Celestia’s eye flashed with golden light, and I shivered instinctively; Apollo’s might was no match for mine, but the old gods were beings to be respected in terms of pure destructive force. Each could level a continent if they put their minds to it.
Then again, so could I. Lightning leapt between my fingers, and I hurled a bolt of lightning at the alicorn, the beam of purple and blue crashing into a hastily erected shield with enough force to shatter it and throw Celestia back into a tower, plowing through the brickwork, and toppling into the streets below. “Too easy.” I grinned savagely, turning my attention to Seth.
He seemed to be less successful, dodging bolts of clear blue and sending spears of sand at his foe. The Breeder, surprisingly, was holding her own, raising shields that gleamed like crystal and held like one too, the sand clattering off the alicorn’s defences ineffectually. “Come on, Seth! Be done with the wretch and continue with our mission- GAH!”
I roared in anger as a searing flair struck me straight in the back, sending me crashing to my knees in agony. Celestia rose up from where she was sent flying, her body physically glowing with rage. “Do not test me, storm giant. You are not a god, and you are not a threat to me.”
With an earsplitting howl, I charged, directing the storm around to into a constant stream of crackling energy and debris streaking towards the alicorn. Her horn flashed, even as tonnes of stone and rubble flew towards her, and a wave of intense heat erupted from her, liquifying rock and pushing back my lightning. The streets cracked from the blazing heat, the cobble turning orange and then into runny magma, streaks of orange tainting the white paving.
“Your tricks may work against the likes of Tirek, but- Oh!” She swerved, just in time to avoid another bolt of lightning. Instead the blast vaporised a house, turning the stone to ash. “A nice trick, Typhon, but it’ll take more than that to take down an alicorn.” A volley of fireballs detached from her fiery aura, streaking towards me at blinding speeds. I growled, swatting the first few aside with my claws, before one glanced off my bracers and exploded against my shoulder. Pain erupted from where the fireball hit, as tissue blackened and curled up in the heat.
“Grah! You… wretched…” I balled up my fists, and Celestia had but a moment’s notice before the air around her smashed together, crushing her with enough force to generate a deafening boom like a thunderclap. She gave a single cry before her lungs gave out, and she sagged, falling to the ground. For safe measure, I raised a palm, where a glob of hellfire formed, quivering with barely contained power.
“My lord!” I looked up sharply, where Seth had pinned the alicorn he was facing under a relentless barrage of sand. The alicorn’s crystal shield was too strong, however, and Seth’s brute force assault barely made a dent in her shield.
If violence isn’t working… Trickster mused in my head, and my grin probably matched the wicked one he had on his face… if he had one.
“Violence harder.” I finished, levelling the fireball at the pink alicorn. “Breeder! This is what you get for getting between a battle of gods!”
I hurled the orb, and the alicorn’s shield crumbled within a moment of contact, the magic simply failing under the strain of containing the essence of Tartarus itself. The alicorn gave a scream of agony and anguish as she disappeared in a ball of hellish flames, tumbling out of the skies.
Now, just make sure they’re out of commission for a while. Trickster suggested. Drop a building on them or something.
I would agree, but my shoulder was still burnt to the bone. Lifting a building was beyond my capabilities, without causing further harm. “Perhaps just drain her of her magic.”
Not efficient. Yours isn’t like Tirek, she’ll get it back soon enough. Maybe just stomp on her?
“I can agree with that.” I walked over to where Celestia lay, battered and bruised.
Lights out, Celestia.
“Indeed.” I put a palm against the ground, covering the alicorn, and fired. Pouring my power into a torrent of electricity that slammed into Celestia, frying her completely. A mere setback for a being of her level; but neither Celestia nor I possessed the power to fully destroy each other. Although, I was clearly still the superior fighter. When I lifted my palm, all that remained was a charred, alicorn shaped husk, proof of my dominance. “You will reform, in time. Your core has yet to deteriorate. Let this be a lesson to you, to not cross my path again.”
“Seth!” I roared, looking to the jackal who was burying the Breeder in hardened sandstone. “We move, now!”
“Yes, my lord. This way.” Seth straightened up. “The entrance is in the palace, and… it’s rather small.”
“No. If Celestia is here, then Luna must already be in the catacombs. We have no time to lose.” I growled, raising a fist.
“But… I defeated Luna, when I was scouting!”
“Did you tear her form apart? Scatter her essence across the planes? Cast her spirit into the heart of chaos eternal?” I shook my head. “No, if I know Artemis, she will be in the depths below.”
I slammed my fist into the ground, as hard as I could. The earth shook, and fractures appeared in the streets, until the pavement fell away revealing a gaping hole in the ground.
“It’s… it’s the catacombs.” Seth said, landing next to the hole and peering into it. “That’s incredibly precise, my lord!”
“Save your compliments. Time is the essence here.” I growled, contemplating my actions. How would I fit into this hole?
Heh.
“That was… not intended in that way.”
Spoilsport. If you need to get smaller, I can help with that.
“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.
