"Ugh... finally." Kel'Thuzad spoke, his echoing voice reverberating off of the bookshelves of the Crystal Palace's Royal Library. He looked down into his arms, surveying the several tomes and books that he had taken from the shelves...
Basic Pony Anatomy and Nervous Systems
The Betrayal
The Elements of Harmony: A Magical Study
"Hopefully these will be sufficient for tonight... I don't want to keep Miss Sapphire up too late..." he spoke, turning the corner to the receptionist's desk, only to be greeted with a rather amusing sight.
Sapphire Scribble was out cold, the crystal pony's head propped up on a stack of books that she had arranged as a makeshift pillow. Chuckling, Kel'Thuzad snapped his fingers, teleporting the books to his chambers with a burst of arcane energy. He slowly floated up to the desk, and stood up straight. The archlich coughed once to clear his nonexistent throat, waking the snoozing librarian.
"Miss Sapphire?" Kel'Thuzad beckoned, his claws clasped behind his back in respect. Sapphire's head darted around, looking desperately for the source of her disturbance. Her eyes eventually settled on the massive form of the lich floating in front of her desk.
"Yes, Lord Kel'Thuzad?" the mare yawned, rubbing her eyes before attempting to stand a bit taller. The lich chuckled, and waved his claw in respect.
"I've found what I was looking for, madam. You are relieved." he smiled. The mare sighed, a hoof already pushing the small swinging door outwards, exiting her small booth. Sapphire nodded to him, and bowed, the lich mimicking her.
"Very well. Goodnight, Lord Kel'Thuzad."
"The same to you, Miss Sapphire..." he spoke, already pushing the tall door to the library open. The librarian yawned, and turned to begin the long process of putting out the many lanterns around the library, her form clumsily staggering around, quite obviously tired out of her mind. With a frown of empathy, the archlich waved his hand, the lanterns all snuffed out by a cold wind. The mare gasped in surprise at the sudden darkness, and looked to the door, only to see the last of the mage's robes flow through them.
The mare shook her head, and headed off to her bedroom off of the library.
.........
"Lord Kel'Thuzad!"
"Ugh... THIS fool..."
Kel'Thuzad slowly turned his form around, looking down to witness 'Lord' Fire Fight, accompanied by two unicorn stallions. The stallion wore a snarl on his face, obviously upset about something. With a stomp, he stopped before the almost comically larger lich.
I must admit, advising Lady Cadence to give him the honorary title of lord to placate his... 'ambitions', may not have been the wisest of decisions. The fool acts like a king now...
"Yes, Lord Fire Fight?" the lich spat, choking back an insult.
Several.
"While I don't normally associate or deal with... monsters, my prince has seen it fit to betray his own kind by letting one take MY rightful position in his court." he sneered, the chains swirling around Kel'Thuzad once again making his agitation known with their dramatically increased speed and violence. The stallion cleared his throat, and stood up more proudly, his excessive robes billowing ridiculously around his form. "I, Lord Fire Fight of the Crystal and Canterlot Courts, challenge you to a duel for the position of Archmage of the Crystal Court."
.........
"Really?!" the lich gasped, almost childishly excited. Finally, he would be able to teach this runt his place! The unicorn smirked, foolishly mistaking the lich's giddiness for fear.
"Yes, I do." he sneered, chuckling a bit.
"Right now?" Kel'Thuzad asked, slightly cautious. The fool had never been this... confident. Something was up.
"Indeed, Lord Kel'Thuzad. Outside, in the courtyard. NOW..." Kel'Thuzad looked at the stallion incredulously, thinking and mulling of his options.
Option A: Refuse, and give him a reason to mock me further...
Option B: Accept, rip him limb from limb. Blame it on instinct or fabricate a story...
Option C: Accept, and if the duel is open enough in it's regulations, incapacitate and humiliate with a mixture of pain and frost magic...
"I accept." Kel'Thuzad answered grimly, nodding to the 'lord'.
The stallion nodded to his affiliates, the two armored unicorns turning to lead them to the courtyard. The lich chuckled, choosing instead to draw Bloodsurge, cutting an ethereal hole to the courtyard, before beckoning his opponent.
"Certainly you would rather take a portal there, would you not, Lord Fire Fight?" he grinned smugly, bowing to the stallion as he turned to walk through the portal. Fire Fight walked past the lich, flicking him once in the face with his tail.
Deliberately.
The lich's jagged, sharpened teeth clacked together several times in fury, scaring the two stallions that accompanied his opponent into a light trot, the duo disappearing through the portal.
This... child, obviously does not know who or 'what' I am. Perhaps I should have a little fun with him...
.........
"Before we begin, what are the conditions, Fire Fight?" the lich asked, taking his position on the opposite side of the small, snow covered courtyard. Fire Fight turned to the lich, and responded.
"The winner acquires the position of archmage."
Figured...
"And the loser?" Kel'Thuzad inquired, lightly stroking an isolated soul chain like a cat. The stallion laughed, and spoke.
"The loser... the loser must leave the Crystal Empire. Forever." Fire Fight nodded, his stance hardening as he took his position, the armored stallions... taking up position next to him.
Figured...
"Really, LORD Fire Fight? Three on one? Where is the fairness in that?" Kel'Thuzad sneered. He was more than capable, seeing as he had, in his prime, taken down innumerable amounts of would-be lich slayers in Naxxramas. Three woefully unprepared equines was child's play.
"What happened to the 'mighty' Kel'Thuzad, huh?" Fire Fight laughed, beginning to channel a spell through his horn. "I thought you were a master! OR were you just posing to get MY job!?" Fire Fight barked in anger, launching a fireball directly at the lich's head, the necromage floating to the side with seconds to spare. The fireball impacted the palace exterior wall, exploding with an inferno as it did.
"You really need to work on your spell velocity, Fire Fight. I've taught farmhands that did better..." Kel'Thuzad chuckled darkly, his chains whirling around him, swatting two more hastily launched firebolts out of the air, the molten projectiles sizzling loudly before going out. The two other stallions had joined into the fight by now, one of them hastily firing arrows with a crossbow, the lich not even bothering to block them, seeing as he had no flesh to pierce, and felt no pain. The other was rapidly galloping towards Kel'Thuzad, a crystal halberd leveled at the lich's torso.
"I must admit, you handle yourself well for a monster, Kel'Thuzad..." Fire Fight snarled, another trio of fireballs launching themselves at the lich's head, arms, and torso. With a careful sidestep, Kel'Thuzad dodged two of them, the third frozen before him by a glacial wind, conjured by his left hand. With the finesse and grace of a ballet dancer, the lich whirled around, the frozen projectile that was inches from the ground plucked from the air by a single soul chain. Kel'Thuzad snarled, the reformed fireball hurling from his chain at the archer, who's distant form was seen leaping away from the projectile, the frostbolt exploding against the side of the palace, cracking the crystal.
With a roar, the archlich became acutely aware of the stallion that had charged him, temporarily ignoring the pyromage's insults and firebolts. Said assailant was midway to his torso, in midair, the gleaming crystal halberd singing it's destructive song, waiting to cut through the fragile bones of the lich. With a snarl, another of the lich's chains swung forward, impaling itself into the back of the stallion's head with a sickening 'squelch'. The stallion was stopped dead, the seemingly lifeless body falling to the snowy courtyard below.
"Y-You killed HIM!" Fire Fight screamed in rage, a massive fireball, nearly white with heat exploding from his horn's tip. With a sickening chuckle, the archlich teleported some distance away form the smoldering projectile, the fireball harmlessly exploding against the side of the crystal walls once again.
"They always assume... Hehehehe... HAHAHAHAHA!" Kel'Thuzad cackled madly, the impaled stallion's form rising rapidly. The stallion growled rabidly, before drawing his halberd once more, and charging the archer in the distance, who had at some point retrieved his courage, and had opened fire once more. With a yelp of disbelief, the stunned archer was forced to retreat, his former ally turned into nothing but a mindless, bloodthirsty beast. With a roar of anger, Fire Fight finally hit Kel'Thuzad, a particularly fast firebolt singing a sizable hole in the lich's new robes.
.........
"Heh. Nice aim. If I was alive, that MIGHT have killed me..." Kel'Thuzad spoke, slowly floating towards the stallion, who's desperate firebolts were getting weaker and slower, his magical reserves obviously nearing depletion. Kel'Thuzad grinned malevolently, the archlich swatting the pitiful magics away from him with his HANDS, the scalding firebolts sizzling away almost instantly from the cold touch of the lich's bone.
"I fired not a single spell, and I beat you." Kel'Thuzad sneered, yet another of his soul chains recoiling around, and scooping the now terrified stallion up. Kel'Thuzad dropped 'Lord' Fire Fight at the seven foot level, the stallion yelping before being caught by the frigid claw of the archlich.
"Now... about your banishment..." the lich pondered mockingly, stroking his chin ornament in mock thought. "Ah... yes. I've decided to let you stay..."
The stallion looked at the lich with disbelief, squirming even harder as the he tightened his grip, the icy bone encircling him form all directions.
"I have plans for you, Fire Fight..." Kel'Thuzad chuckled, retracting the chain from his mind-slave's head, the magical bond severing, leaving the stallion collapsed atop his friend, who struggled to get the larger pony off of him.
"W-What do you mean?!!?" Fire Fight whimpered. Kel'Thuzad dropped the stallion, and turned to leave.
"You'll see, Fire Fight, you'll see..."
This should be fun...