//------------------------------// // Sword’s Wrath // Story: Today We Summon Unity! // by Chemtest //------------------------------// The eight of them move through the chamber, and find themselves in a wide, open space. At the end of the new room is an alter, with a message etched into it. However, what draws their attention isn’t the alter, but the portal in the middle of the room. The portal glows bright blue, until it is suddenly closed. Standing in it’s place is a changeling. She looks at the group, metal wings and horn reflecting the red glow from her eye. One of her legs seems to have been cut off, and has been replaced, similarly, by metal. The changeling glares at them, “You have taken your last steps here, Inamortans and ponies. I am Friten, the Crossbreed, and my Queen calls for your blood. I shall take care of you in the most painless way possible if you surrender, this is nothing personal, and my Queen would rather I not die.” Joseph looks at her, “You wouldn’t be able to kill any of us in the state you are in, if we are together. No, this isn’t it.” He ours a hand up to his head, and winces, “You carry the same darkness... but not what I was feeling. No, the main darkness is away from here.” He draws his sword, “You are a distraction. They’re attacking Ponyville, aren’t they?” Friten looks over at him, “Lay down your sword and surrender.” Joseph looks over to the others, “Everyone, you need to get back to Ponyville. Something dark is headed that way.” Robin draws his bow, “Not without you, Joseph! Come on, let’s kill this thing!” Jospeh shakes his head, “Go, Robin, now. Before it’s too late. I’ll take her on myself.” Robin shakes his head, “Stop messing around, Joseph!” Joseph shoves his sword into Robin’s hands, “Go, now.” Atreyos puts a hand on Robin’s shoulder, “We need to go now if we want to save ponies. Come on, Joseph can take her!” Joseph draws another sword, and smiles, “Don’t worry, Robin, I’ll live on.” Applejack looks at Joseph as he says this, her eyes wide. Joseph looks at her, and simply nods. Robin slams his foot down, “The rest of you can go, I’m staying with you, Joseph!” The rest of them filter out of the room, rushing back through the hallways. Joseph grabs Robin forcibly, and throws him back into the chamber they came from. A beam of magic strikes the roof, separating Robin from Joseph. Robin cries out, “Joseph! What are you doing?!” Joseph places his hand on the rocks, and smiles, “Saving Inamorta.” Joseph then looks up, “Leave, Robin, save the ponies.” A few of the rocks shift, and Jospeh can hear Robin’s grunts of effort from the other side. Joseph pushes back, and yells, “Save them, Robin!” Robin stops, and pauses. Joseph never raises his voice unless if in battle, and he never has done so to Robin before. Robin places his head on the rocks, and sighs, “I will, Joseph. I need you to survive this.” Joseph nods, “Don’t worry, Robin. I will live on.” Robin turns around, looking at the pile of rocks again. He shakes his head, and runs back into the corridor. Friten nods, “Are we ready now?” Joseph turns to her, “Thank you for allowing me to speak to him. I already know this is what I’m supposed to do.” Friten smiles slightly, showing her fangs have been replaced by metal, “Is it, your destiny?” Jospeh shakes his head, “There is no such thing as destiny. I could very well have ran off with them to Ponyville and we would’ve continued a wild goose chase. But I choose to stay here, knowing that the chase will be ended because of me. Besides, you have that same darkness.” Jospeh raises his sword, “When Jack died, I saw this in my mind. Standing here against you, the best Swordwrath against the greatest Changeling. But I’m not going to do this because of some vision. Your damned darkness killed my father, and I shall not allow it to spread!” Friten takes a step back as Joseph begins to charge forward. She throws a dagger at him, only to have him cut right through it. Joseph gets closer, and thrusts forward with all his might. Friten doesn’t move, allowing the sword to pierce through her all the way to it’s hilt. Joseph looks at her, “This isn’t right.” Friten reaches up, and takes her metal horn off her head. She turns it around, allowing Joseph to see a button on it. She looks right at him, her eyes turning more and more blue, “For the Queen.” She presses it down, and the bombs in place of her organs go off. Joseph is sent flying away, being filled with shrapnel of metal and bone. He is coated with Friten’s blood, and slams against a wall. What was once Friten is now gone, blasted away by explosive ordnance. Jospeh coughs, spraying red blood all along the ground. He is bleeding from all over his body, holes and cuts made from shrapnel. He places his hands on the ground, wincing as the rocky floor digs into their wounds. He pushes on, and stumbles to his feet. He stumbles forward, grabbing onto the wall for support. He blinks rapidly, his vision filling with blood. He stumbles onto the alter, and collapses upon it. He pulls himself back up, seeing the inscription in it. He coughs more blood up, but reads anyway, “Eight become seven... to save Equestria. Seven become six... to save Inamorta. The honest... and wise fall... for Harmony.” Jospeh collapses back, blood loss finally taking over. He looks up at the ceiling, “But I... won’t fall... I will... live on... Robin... I’m... still... with... you.” He coughs up blood one last time, and his body stops taking breaths at all. Jospeh’s heart, lungs, and brain all stop. At last, his body burns away in a orange fire. ——— The Swordwrath all stop their marching at once, a look of despair crossing over them all. Robin stops as well. He leans against a tree, and tears begin to build in his eye. He breathes hard, “This is all their fault. Order, Chaos... we shouldn’t even be here.” He looks up, the tears rushing away from his eyes, “The one who caused this will pay!” His anger is so great that he doesn’t even realize the sword at his hip is glowing orange.