Blue Eyes, Silver Body: Wrath of Necronak

Chapters

Chapter: 1
Chapter: 2
Chapter: 3
Chapter: 4

Chapter: 1

Chapter: 1 - Prince Blueblood gives Harmony the Cold Shoulder.

The door to the prince's chambers slams shut, the sound echoing around the room like the roar of a chained beast. The room's lone occupant storms towards his bed and brings his once pristine white hooves into the mattress over and over until he grows too tired to continue. Exhausted, he slides slowly to the marble floor and lays down in silence as his anger pours through his veins like molten blood. Hot breath exhales through his nostrils as he snorts in outrage as he clenches his teeth so tight that it causes him pain. Pain which he ignores as the wave of anger suffocates it, his rage clouding his mind as he rises from the ground to crush and smash any unlucky items within his room. Glass shatters under the brute force of his hooves, paintings fly through the air as he tears them from the walls just to fling them roughly into the opposite wall which causes them to tear and shred.

Once his fury disperses, he is left seated on the marble floor with the carnage scattered around him. Wood is splintered and shattered around the room, some of the defiant splinters of wood lay impaled in his now bloody hooves. Shards of glass, shattered by his doing, lay across the floor with droplets of blood on some. His forelegs are cut lightly, some blood dripping from his non-fatal wounds. Looking down, he snorts at his wounds with disdain and loathing. He adopts a distant look in his eye, as he withdraws into his thoughts. His mouth seems to waver slightly as he goes on, until he has a couple small drop of frustration-induced tears leak from his blue orbs. They slowly trickle down, matting his fur as they move, until they fall from his coat and land on the cold marble floor.

Frantically wiping his eyes, drying the tears, the stallion begins to chuckle softly. Staring at his wounded limbs, blood and grime caking the white fur, his chuckles grow in volume. His night had been ruined, the same night he had been planning for the whole year. He had spent even longer still building up his public image so that the mare he had his eyes on would notice him. His face slips into a smile of content as he thinks of her, the mare named Octavia. He had his eyes set on her ever since he watched her perform at one of Canterlot's theatres, where she played music with the Canterlot Orchestra. Soon, his thoughts twist his face into a deep scowl. But then SHE ruined everything! That snobbish whorse! He had developed a way of driving any mare who got too close away, so that he could grow a relationship with the only mare he would ever love. This entailed him being obnoxiously selfish, arrogant and unlikeable. But it was just an act, and he would always try to improve his public image as soon as he finished acting like that. He promised that, once he was with the mare of his dreams, that the act would be completely thrown away.

But that mare had completely ruined everything he planned, and ruined his image! He spent hours making sure he looked his best to attract her attention, and did so personally without any aid of magic or servants. And she ruined it by flinging cake all over him! He admits that it was a tad too harsh for him to push her in the path of the cake, but he wouldn't have done it had other options been available! She just wouldn't leave him alone for the entire night, and didn't notice his hints for her to leave him be. She had started idly following him when he was alone in the Royal Gardens, trying to calm himself before he met Octavia. Once he reached the door to the Gala's main room (with her still following) he had hinted towards the door with his eyes and nodded his head to it. She had just looked blankly at him, so he continued to repeat the same actions with frustration growing within him. Then, she started doing the same angry motions at him! Was she thinking he wanted her to open the door for him? How foolish! He wanted her to head through the door, hence the nodding and eye movement, so he could slip away and find a different route inside without her following him. He eventually realized that she was not going to enter, so he opened the door himself and trotted through, her in tow. Inside, he was shocked as a cake was sent shooting towards him, where he promptly grabbed the mare and pushed her in front of him. That was when she shook the cake of her like a dog, coating him with the mess. He then ran to his room in embarrassment and anger, his task to woo the mare completely destroyed.

Lifting his head, he turns to his personal bathroom to quickly scrub the mess off. Pouring some water into a hoof, he begins to wash the blood from his forelegs as the wounds had now clotted. Running some more water, he dips a towel into the washbasin before dabbing it across his snout to wash away the grime matting his white coat. Draining the washbasin, and refilling it, he dips his golden mane into the cleansing liquid to remove the mess clinging to the silky hairs. Staring into the remnants of the mirror, he can see that he is at least presentable, but far from perfect enough to speak to Octavia. Suddenly, a quick rumbling sound vibrates the room before lots of hoof steps are heard below, in the Gala's main room. Spinning around, the stallion rushes out of his chambers and gallops down the hallways towards the Gala's main room downstairs. Concentrating his magic through his horn, the royal stallion teleports mid-gallop into the area below. What he sees splatters a look of shock and silent dread at the carnage around him, a look shared by the rest of the nobility in the room. He can see some pillars had been turned to dust, with a statue in half. One half was to the left of a light blue pegasus mare, the other half on her right. One butter-yellow pegasus was shooting around the room, screaming like a banshee as she attempted to capture the animals which were now causing chaos around the room. Scanning his eyes over to where the Orchestra were supposed to be playing, he just sees a stallion noble yelling at the four orchestra members to leave. The four looked completely downtrodden, with a light grey Earth Pony with a black mane looking even more mortified as she left. It only took a split-second for the stallion to recognise her as Octavia, causing him to rush over to the stallion noble for answers.

"Why are they leaving?" Asked the stallion, trying to restrain his panic.

"Oh, hello Prince Blueblood. What did you ask?" The noble replies.

"Why is the orchestra leaving the Gala?" Prince Blueblood asks more urgently, pointing out the orchestra's exit with a shaking hoof.

"Well, my Prince, they started to play childish songs instead of the ones they were instructed to play! They have been dismissed." He replies snobbishly, showing disdain towards them.

Shocked, Prince Blueblood rushes towards the door and out into the night outside. Frantically scanning the streets below, he spots the orchestra entering a large carriage which starts to quickly pick up speed as it rides away. Galloping down, Prince Blueblood can only whimper softly as he sits on his haunches in the middle of the cobble stone road, the moon lighting the wet cobbles with silver light, as he watches his love disappear into the night with him left behind, his feelings never addressed to her. He grows enraged as he thinks of how if it wasn't for that purple-maned mare who kept following him, he would have been able to speak to the mare he loved. Rising to his hooves, the stallion trots slowly with his head bowed in distress as he makes his way back to the castle. The sound of his hooves clacking against the cobble floor is his only company, the echoes bouncing off the walls through the winding streets. Orange flames within metal lanterns light the way dimly, the small bugs orbiting the light casting shadows across the ground he walked upon.

His form grows cold, his fur stiff and body shivering from the freezing night air. Pulling his small tuxedo piece closer to his fur, Blueblood watches passing stallion and mare couples passing now and again, most turning to his distraught form with confusion. His eyes remain fixed to the cobblestone floor, his white ears splayed backwards in distress as he wanders down the streets, alone. Hearing the sound of wings flapping above, Blueblood gazes upwards into the night sky before spotting Princess Celestia gliding through the sky towards the local Donut Shop. Blueblood halts his walking, raising a hoof to his chin as he ponders the solar ruler's choice of going there. Quickly Blueblood, gallops towards the Donut Shop to gain answers, mentally hoping Celestia was searching for that idiotic mare to punish her somehow. Slowing his pace once the local shop comes into view, he gently sneaks up towards one of the large rectangular windows and peeks inside the lit restaurant-esque establishment. The sight causes Blueblood's blood to immediately freeze.

Within, Princess Celestia was seated with the six mares who had disturbed the Gala and caused plenty of property damage. And SHE was there with them! The mare who ruined his chance with the mare of his dreams! And Celestia was there with them, laughing about the whole thing! The prince's blood begins to boil with his veins. Spinning around, he begins to charge his teleportation spell with as much energy as he can. Engaging the spell, a blue flash emits from where he once was.

Appearing in his room, he slams his door closed and begins to buck the walls and anything he could find. In a matter of minutes, the prince's lavish room is completely demolished under his fury. Eventually, his breathes grow slower until he collapses in exhaustion.

A deep, guttural rumbling shakes the caverns beneath Canterlot. The earth disturbed and fearful. Within the bowels of the golden city above, within the extensive vault of magical artifacts sealed away, one object seems to come alive. The light around it grows dim, the steel colder. The sapphire perched on the jagged spikes glows brightly with blue light. The being's time had come. The wrath of Necronak was coming.

Chapter: 2

Chapter: 2 - Embers

Celestia, despite having the Gala yesterday, was not having a good morning. Though she relished in the fact that her arrogant nephew hadn't disrupted the court with his attitude, she was beginning to grow worried as she hadn't heard of him at all. Meanwhile, the Prince in question was still sleeping in his now demolished room. His darkening eyelids slowly begin to peel open, the orbs within lazily scanning the room from left to right. Lifting himself into a sitting position, he groans as his aching bones shift around beneath his fur coat. Standing up onto all four of his legs, he begins to step gradually out of his room with his head bowed low and his blonde mane hanging limply across his eyes. Passing servants are both relieved but concerned with his change in attitude, the sound of his hoofsteps being the only thing echoing down the hallways. Blueblood's gait eventually brings him to the dining hall doors, a sigh of uncertainty whispered through his muzzle. With uncertainty, he cautiously opens the great wooden doors and walks over to his usual seat at the table.

Sat on his usual deep blue cushion with gold detailing, he slumps forwards and crosses his forelegs on the wooden table before him and rests his white chin on the fur of his front limbs. He idly taps his hooves against the table, waiting for a servant to eventually approach. Once does.

"What can I get you, sir?" Asks a tuxedo-wearing servant, scanning the dishevelled Prince with uncertainty.

"I want an ink and quill, a piece of paper, and what I usually have to eat." The prince croaks out in a raspy voice.

The servant bows courteously, and then leaves the prince at the table. Celestia watches on nervously. She attempts to speak with the prince across the table, forcing a false smile to mask her curious state, only to receive no response as her words are ignored by the prince. She slumps into her seat slightly, the prince not even noticing with his deep blue irises pointing down at the wooden table. His thoughts wander as he formulates his coming letter within his mind, hoping what he is about to join will allow him to move past the events of last night.

Oblivious to the Prince's thoughts, something was stirring far from the city of Canterlot in the northern fields of Equestria. Something even colder than the ice imprisoning the twisted being. It began to awaken after it's age-long slumber, the last memory it had before falling into slumber was the inferno of rage and a plan completely focused on one being who had dared to cross the twisted spectre. Necronak. The very name sent burning stakes through the wraith, filling the smoky haze with the fire of a thousand suns. Unfortunately for the being, but lucky for everything else, the boiling heat of anger within the haze wasn't physical. So all Sombra could do was cackle madly as he began to use his leftover dark magic to slowly weaken the millennia old bindings whilst his broken mind was consumed with his plan to take his revenge against Necronak.

It had been a couple years since Blueblood had written that fateful letter. And every day since, he hasn't regretted a single moment since he wrote it. Of course the entire royal court and the princesses themselves were incredibly shocked to hear his declaration, Celestia pleading with the Prince to change his decision. But Blueblood was stern and replied coldly each time he heard a plea to change his mind. But with his stone will, Blueblood joined the ranks of the Equestrian Military. Something snapped something within the royal's mind that Gala so many years ago, something which caused the prince to simply drop his façade and show his true colours. Those being cold, calculating and lethal on the field of battle. He had started as a lowly guard, the royal sisters not wanting to have him as a high-rank unit since they thought he would drop out after a week of physical exhaustion caused by the training. He didn't drop out. Instead, he proved just how strong of will had been masked by a false exterior. This allowed him to pass through the training with nothing but physical exhaustion, not mental. His body collapsed before his determination did.

Blueblood became one of the finest sword-wielders in the military, able to bring down even a pony general in a friendly duel after the higher-ranking pony heard of his exploits. Though, he was pretty weak at most other methods of combat. Normal offensive spells were just about unusable, telekinesis being the only true spell Blueblood could even master. Defensive spells also shared the same availability, the only way the royal could ever protect himself in battle being his telekinesis which enable him to levitate debris and even actual shields to deflect blows of magic and physical strikes. This ability allowed him to shield a general during a battle against an invading dozen dragons. He had used his strong telekinesis to slay a drake with his personal great axe, and then lift the large corpse to shield a wounded general from the flames of another draconic warrior.

Once Blueblood returned from the battlefield, he was heralded a hero and, even to this day, has a statue of himself standing in the royal garden. He was stoic, almost cold during these events. Even during his knighting ceremony he reluctantly attended, still enraged by his own (distant) relatives. Ever since, he has been honing his axe's swing and his telekinesis as a whole. Which brings us to this day, a day which will echo for many years with the sounds of coming conflict.

"Excuse me, sir, but what did you just say?" Asked a confused, yet slightly outraged, Prince Blueblood.

"You heard me. You're going to escort my student and her friends through the Crystal Empire. That is an order." Princess Celestia whispered with an authoritarian tone, yet still trying to stay quiet since her protégé was still barely out of the door.

Blueblood said nothing except bow his head slightly whilst silently glaring at the Princess for giving him such a task, ordering him to protect the band of fools who had cost him his chance long ago. Regardless, Blueblood turned around and started walking to the door. Passing by Luna, she greets him happily only to receive a sideways look of disdain by the Prince. Exiting the hallway, the Prince begins to wander through the corridors of the Palace. But suddenly, a strange apparition appears in a doorway to the side of the Prince. A small pale blue orb, the size of an apple, gently floats around in the doorway to attract Blueblood's attention, which it does. Floating away, the blue orb leaves a faint cyan smoke trail which the Prince follows curiously.

Following the orb, the Prince gradually descend down deeper into the mountain through winding narrow hallways dimly lit by torches lining the walls. The journey lasts for almost an hour until it ends inside a large cavern cut into the very stone of the mountain. The only noticeable feature of the cavern being large stone and metal doors reaching all the way up into the ceiling. The orb gently floats towards the pony-sized locks and opens them by entering the key-holes only to reappear inside the cavern with the locks open. The gigantic doors slowly draw open on chains to reveal a pitch black room within, a room of unknown capacity. The only visible occupant of the room is a strange pedestal, made of metal and ice cast in the gloomy lighting entering the room from the now open doorway. A strange steel helmet is encased in ice at the peak of the pedestal, the glowing orb floating towards it only to seep into the sapphire positioned above the helmet's visor. The ice encasing the armour piece is slowly melting, eerie whispers emitting from the cracks in the ice heard by the slowly approaching Prince.

Chapter: 3

Chapter: 3 - The Wretched Coronation

A strange feeling of dread seemed to radiate from deep within Blueblood, an unearthly reaction deep within him seemingly coming from a magical source. Regardless, the brazen prince advanced, though hesitantly, towards the small pedestal. His hooves felt as if lead had consumed them as he gradually stepped forwards, his body weakly resisting his attempts to advance. His deep blue eyes never left the slight glow of the helmet, almost totally enthralled by the dark majesty of such a thing. The sheer power radiating from the metallic plates was overwhelming to the prince, like his magic was but a droplet to the everlasting ocean before him. Blueblood's eyes remain fixed on the metal before him, his hooves bringing him within touching distance from the crown.

Reaching out with an armoured pristine hoof, the Prince's eyes flashed with a flame-like blue as the tip of his hoof brushes against it. His mouth slightly agape in mesmerisation, the prince instead shuffles slightly forwards before reaching out with both forelegs. Clutching the crown like an infant, the prince raises the magical apparel from its icy perch and positions it above his own head. Drawing the crown slowly down onto him, the dark coronation ends with the prince's eyes slamming shut immediately. Convulsing, the skin of the prince's eyelids slowly peels back to reveal the transformation of his eyes. Rapidly, the whites and irises consume the whole of Blueblood's eyes until only a blinding blue and black pinprick is visible. In a split-second, the pupil shifts into a glaring white. The magic slowly coiling around the soul of Blueblood begins to roil and slosh within him, excess energy pouring through his eyes via a dim glow of cyan, small tendrils of smoke sharing the glow's colour begin to drain out the sides of his eyes akin to that of a dark magic's user.

Looking down at his forelegs, Prince Blueblood watches on stoically as his fur changes into a silver-tinted white, almost like his body had aged significantly but without losing its inner youth. His mane also shared his coat's fate, the colour fading into a more pale blonde than the healthier colour from mere minutes ago. Unfazed by the change, the unicorn prince turns around and trots towards the exit, looking back at the pedestal and raising his hoof towards it. Without a sound leaving the Prince's now more purple lips, he glares at the pedestal of metal and ice as his hoof is encompassed by the same ethereal smoke leaving the corners of his eyes. Suddenly, the pedestal detonates in a haze of icy shards and a cloud of metallic dust which is left hanging in the air thickly. Grinning at the destruction, the prince faces the exit once more and storms towards it with his head hung low, the crown donned on his furred head casting a shadow across his facial features with only his silvery white muzzle peaking through the helmet with an icy grin contorting his features. His eyes cast in a cunning glare, the glow produced by them pierces the darkness etched across Blueblood's face.

"You have done well..." Speaks an otherworldly voice, the source seemingly being the entire chamber around the prince. Blueblood freezes before hastily swinging his war hammer from its brown leather sheath. Brandishing his weapon in his telepathic grip, he snaps his head from side to side, scanning the chamber around him.

"Show yourself!" Roars Blueblood boldly, blue flame-like tendrils spitting from his snarling mouth.

"How can I, when I have no physical organic body? Well, not yet it seems..." Speaks the voice in a distorted, cold sneer.

"What are you talking about, demon?" Asks a still angered, ever questioning Blueblood.

"The helmet you wear, was once my crown. It was worn for a time by your ancestor, and has remained sealed away from the world within this chamber. For too long have I been trapped within that INFERNAL BOX!" Roars the voice from within Blueblood's very skull, causing the prince to yelp in pain and crumble to the floor. After a few moments of heavy breathing, Blueblood speaks again with a silvery hoof rubbing his temple.

"What the hay was that about?" Asks the prince with an obviously concerned tone. A sigh reverberates through the prince's skull.

"I apologise, Blueblood. You won't believe what being trapped in a crown does to your patience. Of course my consciousness can view the outside world with ease, but it doesn't give the same satisfaction of being able to move. A millennia of it is infuriating, I assure you." The voice explains.

"How do you know my name?!" Snaps Blueblood quickly.

"Remember when I said your ancestor was the last one to wield this crown? Yeah, I knew his last name well. He was a noble, and they will go through hell to preserve their last name." Explains the cold voice.

"Fair enough, who was this 'ancestor' of mine?" Inquires the perplexed prince. The voice goes silent for a moment before returning with another sigh, one strangely similar to grief.

"He was the first of pony-blood to wear this very crown I'm trapped within. The first wielder being myself. He journeyed through Equestria itself with me perched atop his scalp, transporting me to the chamber we just left." Explains the ghostly speaker. Puzzled, Blueblood scans the area to find that they had indeed left the chamber far behind and he himself was now wandering the hallways of the Canterlot Palace.

"Why did you persuade me to wear this thing anyway?" Asks Blueblood questioningly.

"Because, oh young one, I need you to aid my endeavour. I require your aid, since I cannot traverse the landscape within a crown. I shall grant you the finer details later. For now, you must escape Canterlot immediately! You were born for this task, set by your ancestor himself!" Speaks the voice.

Blueblood instantly recognised the authority which ancestors hold over even the modern unicorns. This is because, as the splinter group of ponies evolved into unicorns, they became more spiritually entwined due to their magical spell casting. As their ability to manipulate the physical world with magic entwined with their species, so did their spell casting entwine with their culture. Though a more out-dated thought, ancestor was still very important to most unicorns. Especially those born of noble-birth, which Blueblood was. And evidence of the voice's claim was the ethereal feeling, which only unicorns could feel when in contact with the spirits of their own, touching him. This was due to a magical mutation within the horns of all unicorns. Obeying, Blueblood sprints towards the nearest exit from the palace.

"And why are we leaving?" Asks Blueblood as he continues to run feverishly down hallways leading to the palace throne room.

"Because, if Celestia or Luna see you wearing this crown, they'll recognise it from a thousand years ago. It's quite a unique item. And, if Celestia can remember locking her sister away a millennia ago, she's very likely to remember this. I don't like to take chances on serious things like this, so let's get moving!"

Without another word, Blueblood continues to push through the distance until he barrels through the throne room's great arch doors. With a violent slam, the doors collide against the walls to their sides, Blueblood skidding through on his hooves as friction slowly brings him to a heavily breathing stop. Blueblood's blood freezes in his veins as he sees the sight of the six ponies who ruined his Gala slowly turn around, both of the princesses turning slowly round to identify the source of the sound. Before all the eyes can turn to him however, a great flash of cyan explodes all around the prince and causes him to lose consciousness.

Coming to, Blueblood sluggishly lifts himself from the grass and rubs his head once again, the helmet's cool metal coming in contact with his more silvery hoof. Blueblood groans before lifting himself up onto his hooves to stand, limping forwards from his skull-splitting headache. Slumping against wall after wall, he comes to the great marble gates of Canterlot, the gold decorations detailing the gate seeming less inviting. Walking towards the gate, a guard advances towards the prince, curiosity and concern evident behind the stallion's golden roman-esque helmet.

"Are you okay, sire?" Asks the pony in a thick Canterlot accent, hinting at his birthplace.

"Yes." Replies the prince in an aggravated voice, the mysterious spirit within the prince's newly claimed crown swirls before whispering to him.

"Get to the train which is headed for the Frozen North. You must make haste!" Screams the voice, causing the edges of Blueblood's vision to grow an ethereal cyan glow.

"When is the next train for the Frozen North?" Asks the prince commandingly.

"Whenever you wish, sire. But, pardon me for asking, what is that on your head?" Asks the pony guard. Blueblood advances towards the guard menacingly, the pony lowering his head fearfully from the prince to escape the intense blue glow his eyes produced.

"Do not speak of it to anypony... And, if somepony does ask about it, the crown was crafted by ME to give my telepathy and edge in combat. Now, move along!" Growls out the prince into the shivering pony's earlobe, the prince shoving him out of the way after finishing his speech.

Stomping his hooves to advance forwards, the pony guards watch him anxiously as they bring up shaking hooves in salutes at his passing. One pony does not salute the prince, the commanding officer in charge of the great gates separating the city from any outside threats. Instead, the commander looks on scornfully at the wretched prince. Giving a sideways glare at the commander, the prince outstretches a hoof to open the gates only for the commander to swiftly side step into his path and blow hot air from his nostrils. Enraged at this, Blueblood growls in primal anger before latching his telepathic grip around the commander's throat, lifting the choking pony off the ground. Strangely, the prince's magical aura had shifted from its original colours to a smoke akin to that pouring from his eyes, the same smoke locked tightly around the commander like a vice.

Growling, Blueblood watches as the armour shielding the pony's neck begins to crack under the force, falling from the commander in splinters. Roaring out, Blueblood launches the commander to the side into a group of guards under his control, the guards crumbling in a heap beneath their heavily breathing, and unconscious, leader. With a snort, Blueblood turns to face the gates once more and launches a bolt of smoky kinetic magic towards the centre. On impact, the gates spring to life and slam open with a great sound heard throughout all of Canterlot due to the immense force. Storming onwards, the prince traverses the curved road down the mountain range and reaches the colourfully painted wood of the train station, a many-carriage train already in place. Walking forwards, the prince passes by the train conductor and boards one of the carriages, a blue one.

Leaning back against his cushioned seat, the prince sighs in relaxation as he waits for the train to depart. Falling asleep, he doesn't realise that the train is set to depart to the Frozen North in the morning, when the rest of its VIPs board it.

Chapter: 4

Chapter: 4 - The First Confrontation.

Softly roused from his sleep, Blueblood feels the shaking of the train coming from all around him, though it was a more comfortable feeling than a rough one. Shifting slightly to adjust his position in his seat, Blueblood watches as the Equestrian countryside rolls by through the window. The mountains in the distance peaking into the warm summer sky, the grass waving in the window, and the small white clouds moving across the pale blue above gave the Prince a feeling of joy at the sight. His thoughts are filled with images of the outside, longing to be amidst the landscape beyond the window.

"Beautiful, is it not?" Asks the prince to his mind's newest companion.

"Indeed. Quite the setting." Replies the strangely warmer, calculating voice hidden within the crown now worn atop Blueblood's head.

"Why the sudden change in tone?" Asks the young prince curiously.

"I looked upon this world in the same way you just did, long ago. It feels like a lifetime has passed since then, which it has been for many." The voice replies, the blue mist within the helmet's sapphire roiling and swirling.

Blueblood returns to watching the outside as it passes by, the mountains seeming ever distant as if they would always be on the horizon, watching silently like looming sentinels. As Blueblood squints his slightly glowing eyes, he can spot the city of Canterlot hanging off the mountain range like a hawk, ever still and watching across the land like a marble and gold guardian. His mind concentrates on the population of such a city, the snobbish ponies who he had to join to fit in and remain out of sight. Then, he thought of those he has grown to despise, his very family. The betrayers. Somehow, this new entity he has met has been more trustworthy than both of them. Yes, the only reason Blueblood even considered his proposal is because of how unicorns are expected to respect their ancestry, but what else had the voice done? Well, he had given him the push to leave his untrustworthy family behind, and perhaps that motivation to complete the task he had longed to do for months is what gave the voice such an alluring presence.

Thinking of the voice, Blueblood racks his brain on the ever growing conversations he has had with him. Can he be trusted, and what are his motives and objectives? Was he some pony warlord from Equestria's past, or something else entirely? Blueblood continues to question this very close entity, his list of questions lacking any answers becoming even longer. One question being very strange to Blueblood, making even more questions without answers. Like how the metal of the regular weapons he has used in the past feel so inferior to the strength he feels now when wearing the crown. How can a war hammer he wields on his back feel weaker than a piece of armour, which can't even be used as a weapon? Seeing no alternative, Blueblood turns to the only being who can even humour and understand his questions. The crown's voice itself.

"Say, you never explained why you were locked within that chamber." Points out a questioning Blueblood as he continues to gaze out the window at the passing countryside. The voice sighs softly.

"I was sealed within at my own request. I knew for a fact that a descendant of my old friend, your ancestor, would release me." Answers the voice cryptically, unknowingly creating even more questions for the prince.

"Wait, you knew I would release you? How?" Presses the still content prince.

"Because I, now here me out, set events purposefully in motion to lead to this very point. I wasn't always some trinket to be worn, you know." The voice speaks. Blueblood just groans to himself as even more questions begin to build-up.

"By the sun, just give me straight answers!" He nearly shouts out, the blue within the sapphire glows even brighter. Seeping through the pristine crystalline structure, the mist floats besides Blueblood and grows in size before shaping into a figure. Sitting down, the figure rests its hands on its knees and looks the prince in the eye, its face unlike anything the prince had ever seen.

"You want straight answers?" The figure asks in a tone with no definite emotion, which unnerved the prince. After a moment to collect himself, Blueblood answers.

"Yes." Answers Blueblood stoically.

"Fine. My name is Necronak!" The spectre roars out with his fist clenched in the air in a pose. Blueblood merely tilts his head whilst rubbing the helmet atop it.

"Necronak?" He asks in reply.

"Yes. Necronak." Speaks the spectre. Suddenly, the ethereal being looks slightly downtrodden before turning around to face the seated prince more, his hands outstretched to his sides. "You know, Necronak? Wielder of Ice-Render?" Asks Necronak once more.

"Can't say I've heard your name before." Replies the prince. The form used by Necronak has its cyan eyes contort into more of a glare than before.

"Seriously?!" The spirit roars out.

"Seriously." Answers the prince slightly unnerved.

"By Aetherius, Discord is placed in the Royal Gardens as a statue and I'm not even remembered?!" The spirit yells out in outrage. The misty, blue form leans back into his seat and places a ghostly hand to its forehead.

Blueblood sits uncomfortably for a minute, shuffling around in his seat as he tries to concentrate on the calming sight through the window than the spectral being beside him. Thinking on the spectre's words, the Prince turns to face the misty being with more questions unanswered. Blueblood opens his mouth slightly, but is cut off as the mist seems to dissipate into a thin plume before returning to the sapphire embedded in the crown's forehead. Startled, Blueblood sits up and rubs the sapphire as the cool crystalline piece glows with a familiar blue. The tune played by the train signals that the ride had come to a stop, and that they had reached their desired location. Sighing, the prince stands onto all four of his hooves before leaving his carriage and landing onto the softly packed snow the ground had become.

Trotting along, the cold seemed to not even sap the warmth from Blueblood, much to his confusion. It seemed like, despite the raging blizzard bellowing around him, he was in a heated room rather than the heat-sapping environment he was truly in. Moving forwards, a sudden gasp behind him diverts his attention, causing him to slowly turn around to face the source. Running up to him, the culprit looks up at him with a stern glare, reading the face behind the crown. Twilight Sparkle, and her entourage of friends, confront the silent prince with varying looks of negative feelings. Despite the glares of differing intensity being shot towards him, Prince Blueblood remains stoic and emotionless, watching the mares whilst I watch through his eyes whilst laughing to myself at the absurdity of the situation.

Hearing another set of hoofsteps, Blueblood turns his eyes slightly to the side and watches as Shining Armour, a blue scarf coiled around his neck and set of goggles on his face, and Spike, a young green spiked and purple scaled dragon, join the group before him. Pulling the goggles from his face, greeting Twilight with a hug, he turns to Blueblood and scowls at the prince.

"Let's get to the Crystal Empire, we don't want to get caught out here after dark." Speaks the newly wed stallion, giving somewhat nervous and angry sideways glances at the prince beside him.

Walking away, the group start trotting towards the direction of the Empire, leaving my hidden self and the prince behind. Shrugging his snowflake dusted shoulders, Blueblood joins the group by walking behind them slightly. Every so often, Shining Armour turns to look over his shoulder at the prince, adjusting the scarf around his neck nervously. Continuing on through the raging blizzard storming around them, only Blueblood unfazed by the ferocious weather, a sudden monstrous roar echoes from behind them. The group in front of Blueblood freeze before turning around to face the sound with terrified expressions. With a bored expression beneath the metallic cage of spikes around his muzzle, Blueblood slowly turns to face an ever-growing cloud of inky black as the face of a deranged unicorn forms on it to grin at the group. The wickedly curved red horn glows an unearthly red as purple smoke flows from the green and orange eyes of the unicorn's grey face.

"Run!" Yells Shining Armour as he turns back around and charges through the blizzard with the rest of the group. Laughing menacingly, the smoky apparition begins moving rapidly forwards after the fleeing group.

Realising that Blueblood wasn't with them, the group come to a sudden halt before turning around to face the smoky creature. Scanning the area behind them, Blueblood and the rest stare with gaping mouths as Blueblood's horn glows a smoky blue which fires into the snowy ground around him. The strange assailant stops dead in its tracks before staring intensely at the helmet atop the prince's head. Suddenly, the group watch in horror as the false head rears back in a roar of outrage before launching towards the prince.

With a roar of his own, Blueblood activates his spell which snaps several large chunks of compressed ice from the snow dusted ground around him. Glowing with the cyan glow of his horn, the small icebergs begin to pulse with intense brightness before compressing even further into shard-like pieces of more solid ice. With a deep grunt, Blueblood rears his head slowly backwards in strain before flinging his head forwards and firing the magically charged ice at the smoky being. Yelping in pain, the smoky apparition slinks hastily around the prince and slams its whole body into Shining Armour as he attempts to cast a spell at the fiend, the rest of the group running into the barrier separating the Crystal Empire from the blizzard-torn land around it.

Shining Armour, revealed once the smoky haze snakes from his form, is slumped on the ground painfully rubbing his now dark crystal-encrusted horn as he slinks away from the smoke. Holding his head with a white hoof, he watches with rapt attention and curiosity as the smoky haze and Prince Blueblood begin to circle each other. Listening intently over the bellowing winds blasting across the area, Shining listens to the unmistakeable voice of Blueblood with a deeper more malicious voice accompanying it, most likely emanating from the large smoky apparition of the ancient tyrant.

"So, you're the one who Necronak is using?" Asks the wretched smoke. Blueblood merely scowls at the spirit, whereas Shining Armour gasps as he recognises the name described by the royal Alicorns during their debriefing on Blueblood. Apparently, when the guards stationed at Canterlot's main gate described Blueblood's new crown, Celestia had became shocked and began to explain the crown's past wearer. Some magical knight Celestia and Luna had confronted after trying to save the Crystal Empire from Sombra in the distant past.

"No, I am not being used!" Yells out Blueblood, his voice mixed with that of the fallen god, Necronak. Shining Armour shivers from both the cold sapping his body's heat and the unearthly distortion of the prince's voice.

Smirking, the smoky spirit lunges forth but is deflected by a strike by Blueblood's magic shot from his horn. Enraged, the smoke's face grinds its fanged teeth in anger before twisting a plume of deep black smoke into a deadly claw, smirking as it rakes it across the floor before striking out towards the prince. Slipping his war hammer swiftly from its sheath, Blueblood snarls before lunging through the air towards the claw, and slams the hammer into the claw using his strong telekinetic grip. The strength of the blow completely decimates the claw, passing through the smoke before Blueblood does a full turn as he brings the hammer around for another hit. The face of the smoke widens its eyes in surprise before a hammer is flung through it in a swift attack by the enraged prince, the spirit controlling the magical smoke groaning in pain as icy cold spikes of pain pulsate through its skull.

Phasing through the smoke, Blueblood lands on his four hooves behind the smoke and spins around with his own teeth clenched in violent rage. Raising his war hammer into the air, he wills the god-like energy supplied to him via his bond with Necronak to pour forth and to coil around his weapon, which it obeys. The echoing, ghostly laughing of Necronak reverberates within Blueblood's skull as the godly spirit supplies more and more energy to the commands of his new companion, the war hammer wielded by Blueblood glows brightly around the edges, vein-like glowing runes forming across the gold-detailing of the steel hammer. As more energy enters the weapon, the smoky spirit before Blueblood is pushed back as it turns to face the prince. As the power reaches its optimum, pony skulls constructed of the same blue smoke as that what now bellows in extreme amounts from the prince's eyes begin to coil around the weapon with gaping jaws.

A circle around Blueblood begins to glow a mesmerising blue as the power radiates within the area, the ring of energy burning into the snow around Blueblood begins to sift thick ashy blue smoke with small flakes of blue embers sifting from the smoke. Grunting from the effort, Blueblood bows his head as the energy boosts to unfathomable amounts so that the mortal pony prince could perform a god-level spell. Though a spell may be as simple as creating an apple out of thin air, it was still specifically a god-level spell. The only being able to use a watered down version of this spell type would be Discord, who uses chaos magic. But this does not create things out of thin air, it merely jolts through already existing planes of existence to teleport the desired item to the spell caster. The god-level spells literally allow the atoms and magic to form from nothing, which is why it take so much strength since the spell shouldn't even be possible. But, for the single gods of each realm, this is as simple as how Discord, or any other master of chaos magic, would bring things into existence.

With his head dripping with sweat from the effort, Blueblood's eyes literally begin to stream white light as the magical bond between him and Necronak turns from weak fibres to a metaphorical chain of diamond. Roaring, Blueblood rears back on his cloven hind legs before slamming his hammer down onto the snow, causing cracks in the snow-dusted ice to form before blue smoke begins to pour from the cracks. The cracks begin to spread across the ground, causing Shining to scurry back with his hoof against his horn and the smoky spirit to back away in shock. The ice a metre in front of the prince detonates in a flurry of ice shards and snow, a strange being constructed purely of Necronak's power launching from the wound in the ice.

Springing from the ice, a serpentine being of icy scales and blue smoke coils around in the air as it turns towards the now horrified smoky spirit. Turning to face the smoke's face, the ram-like skull ,constructed of blue smoke and ice, snarls before snapping its jaws into the intangible smoke. Laughing, the smoke launches lighting constructed of black magic at the serpent and causes a wound in the icy scales to form, blue smoke pouring from the hole in the ice. Growling, the serpent rebuilds its body by levitating the ice back towards the wound and re-compacting it down and sliding it into the wound to repair its form. Snapping its jaws open, the serpent unleashes a torrent of blue smoke onto the smoky form of Sombra and causes most of his smoke to vanish as his power is drained even further. Seeing no way to fight back against the construct, Sombra roars in frustration before swirling into a vortex of smoke before teleporting elsewhere, one final line reverberating off the ice around the conflict.

"Once I have the Crystal Heart, I will have enough power to steal away your blade, Necronak! i will strike you and your companion down with your own sword, I promise you that!" Roars the deep, menacing voice of Sombra as he uses some of his waning power to evade the battle.

Screeching in victory, the serpent's form crumbles away until only the plume of blue smoke at its core is left, its snowy body crumbling into a pile on the icy ground. Panting in exhaustion, Blueblood closes his eyes and sighs as the glowing core of the serpent flows into his body and reinvigorating him with its magical strength, a cyan sheen cast across his body as he grins wickedly. Opening his eyes, them glowing with a slightly increased intensity as the power within him boosts substantially, the glow increasing to reflect the magical growth. Turning to his fellow prince, Blueblood casually walks over to Shining who now cowers lightly as he shakes from Blueblood's cold, calculating visage. Seeing the crystals growing from Shining's horn, Blueblood grabs the downed prince by the back of his neck with a telepathic grip and drags him along. Flinching, Shining turns his wincing eyes to the prince carrying his body with a vice-like strength.

"What are you doing?!" Asks Shining worriedly as he watches the prince carrying him.

"What does it look like, you dim-whit? I'm taking you to your damn entourage who seemed in quite the hurry to leave us behind, it seems." Laughs Blueblood coldly.

Reaching the barrier separating them from the Empire beyond, Blueblood raises Shining before swinging him through the transparent wavy barrier carelessly. Stomping through the barrier, Blueblood watches curiously as Twilight launches herself into her brother's chest in a tight hug of affection as the rest of her friends begin asking Shining question after question.

"What happened?!" Asks Twilight urgently.

"Blueblood happened. Completely fended the thing off with some magic stronger than that I've seen an Alicorn use!" Replies Shining still in after-shock.

Slowly turning to the silvery prince, the group stares in disbelief at Blueblood. Staring back at them, he scratches his nose before turning towards the Empire. Gazing out at the surprisingly summer-like environment, he scans the crystal houses in the distance and the looming blue crystalline structure at its centre. Turning back to the group still staring at him, he gives a mock salute with a wicked grin as he advances casually towards the large centre tower of the Empire without a word.