//------------------------------//
// The Sacrifice 
// Story: The Stone Chisel Way 
// by King Genesis 
//------------------------------//


Arc II - Chapter IV - The Sacrifice


The ram smiles at Flash Sentry, as if the guard was a baby filly. "How cute... what's your name?"

The leader of the Royal Guards, alone, with no one on his side and with his broken horn, only throws his helmet away, smiling. "My name is Flash Sentry, you son of a bitch."

Stone Chisel gets surprised at that. It's the first time Flash Sentry swears on his life, maybe. "Since when a Royal Guard curses somebody?"

"Since the time I looked at you murdering my partners," he says, and then he stretches one of his hooves, touching his forehead. "I'm waiting for you to shut up and do what you have to do since I arrived here, with no ear and horn... would you kill me or not?" The ram looks at his allies now, even Stone Chisel and Discord. Flash Sentry is still there, not doing anything, shouting: "DO IT!" meanwhile Tenebris prepares his show.

"No," says some pony, interrupting the fun and the tension of everyone. "You don't have to kill him, Tenebris," says the robber. "He doesn't deserve to die... kidnap him, do what you want but... don't kill him."

All of the creatures stay in silence and Stone Chisel expects something good from Flash Sentry, maybe he will give in and don't die, but the Royal Guard says something different that surprises him: "Fuck you, Stone Chisel."

The robber now is shocked, looking at the stallion he hated hours ago. "W-what? I'm literally saving your ass, you dumb."

"I don't want to get my ass saved by a piece of shit like you..." he says, now putting his stretched hoof on the ground. "You dare to call a genocidal ram who murdered creatures with the same flesh and bones as you... by his name?"

"I... I only wanted to be formal."

"Formal?" says Flash, this time furious. "You dare to disobey the princesses that gave you land... but you offer your kindness to an animal that only expresses death?"

Now the robber realizes he may have screwed it up. "No," now replies, getting nearer the guard. "He doesn't even consider me an ally, Flash. I'm just here carrying Discord because he told me to do that."

"And why are you following his orders?"

Now he gets nearer the guard, he whispers. "Because if I don't, I'll be his fucking food, Flash."

Flash stays in silence for a moment, looking at the ram who is also not saying anything. "How ironic," says Flash, not even looking at the robber. "The most infamous robber of recent times, the criminal who didn't even care about those who were at the Crystal Faire... he's just a frightened little pussy on the inside." That only breaks something on the robber's inside. He feels decayed, depressed, weak when he says that, and even makes Tenebris laugh while the other villains try to be serious, but can't hide their surprise. Discord is the only one that doesn't say anything. "I'll teach you how to handle those who deserve to die."

Now the ram smiles, now that his attention has been attracted by the guard. "Go ahead. Teach me, you loyalaholic."

Flash Sentry passes by the robber, pushing him away and facing the ram. "What are you waiting for? I'm getting tired of being alive, looking at your serial killer face. Send me to the other world so I can accomplish my sacrifice for the princesses' honour."

Tenebris intimidates the guard, showing him his newly green eyes he can control thanks to Sombra's dark magic, but from one second to another... he changes his mind. His eyes go back to normal. "No."

And at that moment, Flash Sentry felt insulted. "What did you say?"

The ram shakes his head. "I would kill you, but... that only will make me grant what you want, and I don't want you to die happily... I won't."

"But..." he says, gasping and even showing his anger through his bloodshot eyes. "I, then... I'll make you kill me."

"Not so fast, cretin," he whispers to the guard. "I already have an idea."

Sentry, with his bloodshot eyes, touches his nose with Tenebris' jaw. "...Go ahead. Do it."

Tenebris decides not to say anything, but to do. He gets the stone wire which connects Stone Chisel's loin with Discord's feet out of the robber's body and decides to chain it on one of his own hooves. Stone Chisel is free, but instead of running away, he just stays there, frozen and scared of everything around him... even himself. He doesn't know what is going to happen. "You hate him, isn't it?"

The robber knows is his time to answer. "Look, uh..."

"I'm not talking to you," he says, and then he proceeds to look at Flash. "I'm talking to him."

"I won't follow any one of your orders. Just kill me."

"If you don't follow them, you won't die."

"I only listen to the orders of Princesses Celestia and Luna, and no creature else."

Tenebris, surprised, looks around him. "Oh... I'm afraid I don't see them right here, right now. Do they even know what's going on here?"

"Yes," he answers. "And I'll protect them until my last breath, even here, sacrificing my life and not running away like a coward, spilling my honour with selfishness."

Everyone now gets shocked at how loyal is Flash Sentry to the princesses, while Stone Chisel gets more and more depressed. Even the ram is surprised. "Woah... That's what I call a warrior who gives his own life for the leader... sadly, the wrong leader."

"Flash..." whispers Stone Chisel, interrupting the conversation. "Don't."

The Royal Guard shakes his head again. "What do you want to do..." he says, looking at Tenebris. "To make me die?"

Now Tenebris has arrived at the moment he has been waiting for. "I freed him because I know you hate him more than me, and I would say I am 100% sure he hates you too... I've been waiting for a stallion fight for a long time..."

Stone Chisel shakes his head. "I deny the offer. I won't fight against him. Let him go."

However, Flash Sentry says something different: "I accept... only if you promise me, you'll kill me and I won't follow any order of you."

The ram smiles. "Sure... if you win, your sacrifice will be granted. If you lose, however... I'm afraid I'll let you go."

"But..." now says Stone Chisel, shocked. He wants Flash to live, not die under the hands of this maniac, despite he never liked him. He's sure he wants to... but now he has to beat him up to make him live... can he?

"Flash... please," he says. "I never liked you but... you don't deserve to die like this, dude. You've got to live, my colt. You've got a future awaiting you... just let you go... get kidnapped... I can carry you..."

However, Flash does the same as Tenebris. He doesn't say anything, but do: he jumps onto the robber and kicks him in his face, making him fall to the ground. "You coward..." he whispers. "You say you know about friendship and you don't know anything..."

"Argh..." he whispers. That hit in his face really hurt. "You're wrong, Flash, you're wrong!" he says, getting up. "I know about friendship."

"You don't," replies the guard. "If you knew about it, then we wouldn't be fighting right here, right now... as my deathwish, I'm going to teach you the magic of friendship."

"Uh," he replies. "I don't think the magic of friendship can be taught through a fight until death, Flash, so..." and then, the robber decides to execute his improvised plan. "I give up! There's no fight!"

"You can't give up."

"WHAT?" he shouts. "You motherfu---" CRASH! That's how Stone Chisel hears the punch Flash Sentry gives to him and trips him over again. Now, that was way worse than the previous one, especially when he touches his mouth with one of his hooves and discovers one of his lips is bleeding. "Oh... you son of a..."

"Get up," he says. "Or I'll do it for you... and you won't like it."

Now the thief gets up, furious. "I tried to do this the good way, Flash... but I'm afraid I'll have to beat you up to make you live."

"And what are you waiting for... COWARD?"

And now the robber has a cause to fight. He felt depressed when he told him that a minute ago, and now that he is taunting him... he wants to beat him up for real. "You son of a..." he says aloud, right before jumping onto Flash Sentry and punching his body. Flash Sentry does the same, trying to punch him in the face one more time. He has to let his hate go before going away. The fight calls everyone's attention around and clears their minds for a second. It even makes Cozy Glow smile a bit, after getting completely wet with pegasus blood. Discord is the only one that is not enjoying it.

However, inside the fight, Stone Chisel and Flash Sentry are fighting with no sense at all. Stone wants to save Flash's life, but Flash doesn't even care about the decision the robber took. He's just there to beat Chisel up because he hates him. A mutual resentment, like he said a time ago. A mutual resentment he wants to break in pieces, with this fight. In a critical moment, Stone Chisel punches Flash Sentry's face two times and pushes him away. He has a couple of bruises on his loin, and even a bite mark on his right ear. "Don't you understand, asshole?" shouts Chisel. "Or am I proving the point I knew all this time... that you are an idiotic virgin? You say I don't know what friendship means while I'm literally trying to save your life! Do you know why?... Because, despite you being an asshole, you don't deserve to die under the hands of him! I'm saving your ass because that's what a friend of yours would do! And I'm not even your Celestia-damn friend!"

Now Flash looks at the robber with his signature, bloodshot eyes. "Don't you dare... to say the name of Celestia in vain, you fool."

But Chisel is still lost in his thoughts. "Why... why do you want to die... you don't deserve this fate..."

"That's what I promised to the Princess..." answers Flash Sentry. "Loyalty, love and honour... even in death."

"You're literally putting in your life in the game..."

"Yes," says Flash Sentry, cleaning his face with blood. "But you know what, you are wrong..."

Stone Chisel now gets angrier. "And why do you say that?"

Flash Sentry prepares to jump, but before he says: "I'm sure I had my first time with a mare even before you left Daddy's home."

"Oh, you son of a gun..." and boom, both stallions start fighting again and this time is a bit more personal. 

Cozy Glow turns around and looks at Tenebris, meanwhile. "Golly, I would really like to record this and share it in the gazettes... that would be the best thing I ever did..." and then she frowns and gives everybody an evil smile. "But thinking we still have a Kingdom to take and a quest for power to solve, I know that will be better than anything else..."

"Of course," says Tenebris, with a certain tone that shows he is hiding something else behind. A tone that calls Chrysalis' attention, which now looks at Discord. The God of Chaos looks at her back and nods his head.

"I told you, Chrysalis. Put her far from Tenebris."

"Well... stop, please, stop," says the ram, and Stone Chisel instantly stops going after Flash. The guard, however, disobeys that order and punches Chisel in his face. "I told you to stop!... Although it was funny."

"FLASH!" shouts the robber on the floor. "STOP!"

"I told Tenebris I wouldn't follow anyone of his orders after this one."

"Well, follow mine, then! Stop it! Do it for Celestia! For Twilight!"

At the same time Chisel says Twilight, Flash stops, but because of something specific. "Where is... where is..."

"Who?" asks Tirek. "Every pony around you is dead."

"Starlight Glimmer," he answers, looking at the four villains standing, except for Cozy Glow who is flying behind Tirek. "You... you killed her... you..."

"I did it... I think I did it. I don't know who she is."

"He impaled her with a tree branch and snapped her neck," says Stone Chisel, with a bruise on his face. "He did it."

Flash doesn't say anything for a moment, and only sighs. "You killer... you night ram, genocidal beast, monster..." he whispers. "Tenebris the Night Ram, I know you and I hate you. The Princesses still consider you a menace after all these years... that's what you want to hear?"

The ram smiles. "No... I want to hear them begging for their lives while looking at me, but I appreciate your effort by telling me that."

"You won't get the chance," he says. "Never... and whoever freed you, shall suffer with you."

"He did it," says Cozy Glow, pointing at the robber. Stone Chisel, now exposed. Flash knew that was something expectable but... how did he do it? Wait... he knows something.

"Chaos magic... isn't it?" says Flash. "And you escaped from Tartarus with that? That means..." Flash Sentry comes up to something that makes him even angrier. "Damnit... why... why."

The robber doesn't even know what to say. He has to defend himself. "It was a mistake... I didn't do it intentionally..."

"BUT YOU DID IT!" shouts, gasping. "You asshole... this is my fault... my stupid fault... if only we knew how to get rid of the chaos magic you handled... if only we tried to... you have an amulet which helps you to perform chaos magic, don't you? And you freed him unintentionally while using it, right? That means... you had another magic trick along with the magical mist."

Stone Chisel only nods his head. "I could turn myself into a shadow with a spell."

And now the guard turns around, with his bloodshot eyes, to observe the robber one last time. "Everypony ignored that... but I knew that gibberish you said on the Everfree Forest was a spell and with that... you may have freed him... intentionally."

"WHAT?" says Stone Chisel. "I told you I didn't do it intentionally!"

"Maybe you didn't, maybe yes..." says Flash Sentry. "But you freed him... you made a mistake. The worst."

"And I'm trying to solve this."

"How?" he says, approaching the thief.

"... Um, I said trying, Flash, not doing."

And sadly, Flash can't handle this. "You think this is a joke, you dumbass! I'll sacrifice my love for the Princesses... for you to tell me that?" Then, he turns around and looks at the ram. "You will be condemned, Stone Chisel. If you don't find the solution, you will be the first one who will die... and the only one who will get bit by both rams and ponies. Grow up."

"G-grow up?" he shouts. "You are the one who is willing to die just because of honour!"

"That's because you have no idea about what respect and loyalty mean." Now, Flash, turning around and although he is not even trying to, surrenders to the genocidal creature. "I've accomplished your deal. Now, do it."

But Stone Chisel keeps with his position. "No, Tenebris! Let him go!"

"Do it."

"Let him go!"

"DO IT!"

"LET. HIM. GO, TENEBRIS!"

"DO IT!"

And then a spear comes out of nowhere and gets stabbed right in Flash Sentry's heart. The guard trembles for a second before falling to the ground with the spear still in his heart. "NO!" shouts Chisel, getting near Flash's agonizing presence. "You asshole! Why? WHY?"

"You..." says Flash, bleeding through his mouth. 

"You stupid cutie mark crusader!" shouts the robber. "Why did you have to do this?!"

Flash takes his last breath, accomplishing his last desire. "You burglar... traitor... The... the... the pillars will make you... pay..."

And then... head slowly tilted to the right, closing, soul-less eyes, a blue mane dyed to red. Flash Sentry was pronounced dead. "Flash... you stupid bitch," he whispers, shaking his head with bruises, and then he looks to Tenebris. "You killed him."

"No, I gave him food, you imbecile... Of course I killed him."

"You motherfucker..." he says. "He didn't, Rainbow Dash didn't, Starlight didn't have to..."

"Die? None of your business, filth, or do you want to be the fourth?"

Now somepony else has the bloodshot eyes. Flash Sentry gave his anger to somebody else before dying. "You are going to die..."

"Me? Not under your hands, I suppose."

And at that time, everything stops when the robber dares to jump onto the ram. He isn't even thinking about the consequences that can bring, but he doesn't even care about that now. He jumps with anger and energy, and he feels for a short period of time the dark blue fur touching his hooves, but everything changes drastically and fastly.

Suddenly, Stone Chisel feels something invisible is stretching him so much from both behind and in front of him that he can't even feel for a second the indescribable pain it makes. Then, he starts feeling so much pain he gets dizzy looking around at his hooves, which are turning red, with a certain blur on his eyes. He's about to pass out.



"WAIT!"



That's the last thing the robber hears before gaining conscience again. He starts looking around, trying to find out why he felt so much pain he couldn't even shout, and why at the moment he's not feeling everything. Once he opens his eyes, he finds out he doesn't feel anyone of his legs, and when he turns his head back, he looks like he doesn't have anyone of the four. He can't move. He can't turn around. He has just turned into a stump and doesn't even know how to react to that...

...suddenly he is nothing. And he can't die. All of his wounds have been already cured and closed. What is he going to do? Live all of his life... with no legs?

"Holy... mother of..." 

"I thought about leaving you here, to die... but come on... I can't abandon a pony stump here... it's a good source for jokes."

Well, that hit him ironically. Tenebris literally told him he liked his jokes and now... he will become literally a dead weight? A deadweight playing as a clown? WHAT DID HE JUST TURN INTO? "Give me..." he whispers, gasping and sweating because of the shock. "Give me back my hooves."

And then the ram stomps his now stump chest and looks at him, smiling and with no frowning at all. "Why would I?"

He has something to prevail himself. "I... I have to carry Discord."

"You've already done that task, and I'm afraid someone else has to turn into your mule..." Now the stump and the ram look at each other until the crazy genocidal creature grabs a couple of bones, spears and rock to tie Stone Chisel to one of his hooves. He is now crawling in the dirt... actually almost, because he has no hooves, hehe. "Now thank me for being your carriage. It's time to go."

"Are you sure you don't want to wait for the princesses to come here?" asks Tirek, something that Chrysalis and Cozy Glow agree with.

"I mean..." says Chrysalis. "It's a good idea. We got rid of everyone, you can take your lands again and I can take over Equestria."

"And me too," says Tirek.

"And me too, golly!" shouts Cozy. "Although I would be pleased if I have to share lands with my Tartarus BFF... isn't it, Tirek?"

The centaur, looking now at the smiling, blushing filly, snorts. "First of all, I don't want to share lands with you... and secondly, I have no idea about what BFF means and I'm not that... if you ask."

"Clearly you haven't understood it yet. You have to work together to make your project live for real. I'll let you remember that you told me all of the times you failed... you worked alone."

"Yes," says Tirek. "But that doesn't mean..."

"Of course it does mean something. This is not taking over a toy... you want to take over a whole kingdom filled with lands and lands of creatures and communities. If you want to do what I called a coup in my young times... you can't do it alone."

"But..." says Cozy Glow, raising her hooves. "Groups can be risky too. Discord told us you tried to do it, not alone... and they left yo---" but Cozy couldn't finish what she was saying before something grabs her curly, twirly light blue hair and starts strangling her. That shocks everyone, especially because they already know who is doing this. Tenebris, on the other hand, only looks at the filly trying to breathe, with a certain satisfaction, something that scares the robber with no hooves and tied to the ram. He'll let no one talk about that battle, to laugh at him in that way... especially someone like her.

"OK! OK! WE WILL WORK TOGETHER!" shouts Tirek, messing between Tenebris and Cozy. "WE WILL WORK TOGETHER IF YOU LET THE FILLY GO!"

Suddenly, the ram just does what Tirek tells him to do, and calls his attention that Chrysalis actually goes to check on her once he leaves her on the ground and stops grabbing her hair. He approaches the centaur and whispers: "Why are you defending her?"

"I'm not defending her... I've seen enough tragic fates today, ram... and now that you don't have anybody to play with, you will end up killing us, you psychopathic animal?"

Tenebris laughs and smiles at this. "Look, I have some to play with... Discord, the pony which now has no hooves... but if you keep defending the filly... you'll be the next."

"And what is wrong with the filly? What is wrong with me, ram? Do I like you? Or you hate me because I'm half-horse?"

The tension between the two animals breaks in half when something light blue comes out of Tenebris' mouth and a feminine voice starts speaking. "Please... stop this non-sensical fight..."

"And who are you to tell me that?" shouts Tirek. "Huh?"

"Don't you dare to disrespect the soul of my wife."

And now Tirek's face changes. He's more serious and sarcastically says, chuckling: "Oh... I see."

"Please... we have to be united... as a whole... as a team... we have to be together to reach our personal dreams... we have to work together... don't make this end up in a stupid fight, Tenebris..."

And at that moment, the ram sighs. "Yes, Rushkwa. We have to be united to make this happen... but, but I've already told them..."

"They will have to learn on the way... they will learn what we were taught in the community... loyalty, respect, love, humbleness... friendship... the real friendship."

"WHAT?" shouts Chrysalis, aloud. "You are telling me we have to surrender under pony's friendship?"

And at that moment, Chrysalis starts levitating while the light blue orb of Rushkwa is flying above her. "Pony friendship and night ram friendship are two different things, my changeling bug... for them, friendship is magic... for us, friendship is real." And after that, Rushkwa's soul starts floating around the ram, leaving Chrysalis alone. "Now that the gem is getting off you... be patient, my kind... remember you may now turn invisible..."

And with that phrase, the ram's eyes start shining. "Can I?"

"Maybe, give it a try... the gem is loose... it's almost coming out... be patient." Then, the soul gets inside Tenebris again, which now gets prepared to do what he was waiting for all this time, and the first thing he does is laugh at Tirek, something that makes the centaur mad.

"Ok... you wanted me to stop with the tragic fates, centaur? Here I grant you... invisibility."

From one second to another, at the same time the gem trembles, while Tenebris gasps, trying to hold the pain, a light grey, magical aura surrounds all of the beings there, while their skins and bodies are literally becoming something transparent. "Wow!" shouts Cozy, almost whispering. "We are literally turning into..."

"Of course, sweet," he says, with such a depressing tone that enrages Discord and also confuses Tirek on the inside. Clearly, he doesn't know what is he going to say or do. That ram is so damn unpredictable... "Now that Rushkwa said what you had to hear... I'm afraid it's time to move, my allies, although there is someone between us who can't even trot or turn around." He finishes his sentence only to look at Stone Chisel, on the floor, with no hooves, tied to the ram. "Isn't it?" Stone Chisel doesn't even waste his time answering him, something that disappoints the creature. "How disappointing... I thought you were going to say something funny, now that you are my personal jester... and speaking of jesters... you clearly didn't say anything about the gem colour, Disky."

"I won't even make a comment related to you... anymore," he answers, something that makes the ram smile. 

"What a pity... because by the day of tomorrow all of the comments will be about me."