"Make sure to get all of them!" the undead mage bellowed, overseeing the frozen dig site. Upwards of several dozen constructs, some humanoid, some equine, were tirelessly picking away at the permafrost, attempting to find the one key ingredient for any Scourge military force...
Bodies.
Here and there, the frozen carcasses of ancient unicorns peeked through the rock and ice, the main objective of their little venture into this gods-forsaken valley. According to his king, there were burial mounds all over the mountain, remnants of the ancient tribes in the far north that refused to assimilate into Equestria after Celestia and Luna defeated Discord.
"AND DO NOT DAMAGE ANOTHER ONE!" Kel'Thuzad roared, watching an overzealous high elf skeleton take a large chunk out of an ornate stone sarcophagus.
.........
Part of the archlich wanted to stop this madness.
To implore that his king see reason.
.........
Or to at least know why he was creating an undead army once more...
’We do this for the good of Equus, Kel'Thuzad...’
Kel'Thuzad jerked to attention from his rather lazy stance, shuddering as his king reminded him that he was always listening, cold affecting his unfeeling bones for a split second as he shivered.
’I... I'm sorry master. I just wish that I...’
’That you what?’
’That I knew why we're doing this. Titus and Anub'arak won't step up and ask, and I would appreciate knowing how serious the circumstances are...’
’An unimaginable evil threatens us, Kel’thuzad.’
.........
’An evil that has revealed itself to be the architect of my suffering...’
‘I... see...’
‘So this... evil, is what brought the Helm to Equus?’
‘Brought me?’
.........
.........
.........
‘My king?’
.........
Kel’Thuzad grumbled to himself, his king falling silent for the moment.
With a deafening ‘CLANG’ of metal on hollow stone, and a ‘CRASH’ of said stone to ice, the archlich turned once more to the high elf, his pickaxe having smashed through yet another sarcophagus, plunging the pick into the skull of an unfortunate unicorn skeleton.
“STUPID FOOL!” Kel’thuzad roared, floating over to assess the damage done. The construct, while incapable of fear, was most definitely aware of it’s master’s displeasure with it’s actions, it’s head hung in shame.
Peering into the unearthed container, the lich was displeased to find that the skeleton’s skull was all but shattered, well beyond simple repair.
He would need to fashion a new one, or find a replacement.
And that would require time.
Time that was valuable at the moment. He had seven more digs to oversee over the next few days, not helped by the fact that he was one of two actively searching for corpses.
With an aggravated growl, and a rare show of physical force, the archlich launched the construct into the rocks on the opposite side of the dig site with a single swipe of his claw, shattering the primitive skeleton into several dozen pieces.
With a snarl of pent-up frustration, Kel’Thuzad tore the broken skeleton to pieces with his magic, it’s shattered body condensed into a pile of bonemeal, which was then collected into a jar at his hip.
“Well... at least he provided the means to create a new skull...” Kel’Thuzad grinned, turning to view the dig once more.
.........
Titus grunted in exertion, swinging the titanium hammer at a bar of simmering saronite. All around him, newly awakened Scourge smiths worked with what metal they had, making new weapons for his master’s army.
Little had been left on Naxrammas after the Argent Crusade was done with it. Anything of use had been salvaged during their push to Icecrown, everything else left to rot or rust inside the necropolis.
Seven meat wagons, all in ‘pristine’ condition.
Several chunks of raw saronite, hidden in a compartment in the Military Quarter.
Three petrified Gargoyles, currently being used to ferry corpses from Kel’Thuzad’s digs.
Twenty seven unclaimed runeblades, one of which Stern Staff’s brother, Silver Bolt, took as his own.
Hoarfrost, he called it.
Fitting, seeing as he and his brother were gifted with the power of frost by his king.
At the mere thought of another runeblade, Rotfang barked at him from his flank, the sword attempting to gain his attention. Shushing the blade with his mind, the death knight turned to the sounds of hooves on cobblestone floors. His eyes were met with an approaching skeleton, the earth pony bowing in subservience.
”The wagons are ready, Lord Rivendare...” the construct droned, his head rising to look the baron in the eyes. Titus grinned, nodding once as he gestured to a nearby smith to take over his project.
“Excellent.” Titus spoke, walking towards the entrance to the Military Quarter, where the arcane teleporter onboard Naxrammas was located. “Tell knights Silver Bolt and Stern Staff to meet me at the encampment.”
”As you command, Lord Rivendare...”
Titus checked his ammo bag at his flank as he approached the spire at the center of the necropolis, making sure he had shot to spare for his mission. Nodding once to himself at the significant weight of the saronite balls in the frostweave pouch, he then checked his powder horn, which he found to be more than adequately filled.
A shame that the crusaders saw it fit to raid my quarters when they stormed Naxrammas...
As he shuddered at the familiar feeling of teleportation, he chuckled to himself.
I wonder if Equestrians have discovered black powder...
.........
Anub'arak growled in frustration, a worker drone informing him of yet ANOTHER cave in. No one was trapped in this one, thankfully.
Or killed...
Drones could be replaced, of course, but it was one more body to recover, and...
And one more death to report to his queen...
All around the monarch, his workers toiled away at the hard rock far below the Crystal Empire. Chunks of rock were moved from the digging sights by drones like ants, lines of changelings pouring through the relatively small cavern like clockwork.
"My king?" the drone inquired, the massive changeling having not responded to the news, besides a low growl. Anub'arak snapped his gaze to the worker before nodding once, his anger dissipating admirably quickly.
"Very well. Reinforce the area as best you can, and continue with caution." Anub'arak spoke, looking down at the map before him, the aged parchment taken directly from the Crystal Keep's library.
We are close...
While Kel'Thuzad had told him of the burial crypts, he failed to mention that they were several stories below the surface, encased in hardened crystal formations. His drones had found the first crypt, but the ancient subterranean structure was... empty.
Picked clean of any bodies or valuables.
His workers reported hoofprints in the dust layering the ancient ground within the burial chambers, so crypt robbers were most likely to blame...
But...
These crypts weren't designed to be opened.
EVER.
No entrances, no exits, sealed upon completion.
So who...
A violent quake shook the cavern, rocks falling from the ceiling above the changelings, and shaking the king from his thoughts with a growl.
"TELL THOSE IDIOTS TO BE CAREFUL!" Anub'arak roared, his citizens visibly flinching at the chitinous voice that echoed through the cavern.
"I'd rather NOT have to explain to my king why half the damned empire fell into the earth..."
.........
Cadence was cold.
Despite the roaring flame that currently occupied the hearth before her, her form still shivered from the feeling.
She missed Shining...
'I haven't left yet, you know...'
Cadence chuckled at her husband's playful quip, her body already warming at the demonic voice that wailed through her ears.
"I know. Doesn't make me miss you any less, though." She pouted, the alicorn's form slumping further into his embrace. The male alicorn chuckled, wrapping a hoof around his mare before resting his head atop hers.
He knew that this brief moment of simplistic bliss would not last, and the Lich King knew that he would need to return to the Frozen Throne before long.
As it was, Kel'Thuzad was probably already wondering why his monarch had stopped speaking to him.
But for know, 'he' would spend what little time he had with his mare, the alicorn snuggling the skeletal construct he controlled closer to her before the fire.
All the while, however, the darkness beneath Equus grew... darker.
.........
Nightmare scoffed at the idle prattling of the Canterlot Night Court.
She sometimes wondered how Luna did it.
The peasant currently speaking was sternly proclaiming that vandals had destroyed his produce cart earlier that day, ruining an entire harvest of cabbages in the process. What the crazed stallion wanted the crown to do about it was beyond her, but the alicorn in the throne just... listened.
While this animated earth pony weaved his tale of sorrow, the Princess of the Night sat atop her throne at the end of the throne room, a serene smile adorning her muzzle.
.........
She still didn't know why she had possessed the lunar goddess.
Come to think of it, she didn't even remember what she had done before the initial possession.
All she knew was... rage. Anger.
She knew nothing except the name she had given herself, and the seething hatred she had for her 'sister'.
She saw the happiness her sis... Celestia brought with her sunlight...
.........
And it made her SICK.
After her 'death' at the hands of Kel'Thuzad, however, she felt a lot of that hate... vanish.
The old wizard... understood her. Or at least respected her.
.........
With a barely audible growl, the alicorn of darkness faded back into the surrounding shadows as the changing of the guard brought a unicorn soldier close to her position.
All the while, as she sat in her dark corner, she watched Luna's court.
Nightmare was skeptical of her importance in this whole ordeal.
She was instructed to observe the Royal Sisters and their inner circles, and inform Kel'Thuzad if anypony of importance left Canterlot.
While she doubted much would come of her work, she welcomed the chance for more freedom, granted specifically at her master's request to her king.
Also, she knew that any disobedience would result in her losing what little trust her and the archlich had built between them.
She...
It pained her to admit it, but she didn't want to lose the lich's friendship.
.........
I'd better check on Celestia...
Luna's going to be busy with this idiot for a while...
With a light chuckle, Nightmare dissipated from her hiding spot, melting away into the darkness within the walls of Canterlot castle.