//------------------------------// // A Claw-ful Turn Of Events // Story: Beyond My Grave: Nightlight // by AnnEldest //------------------------------// The cat shielded his eyes from the bright lights. He walked casually through the large tightly packed crowds. He made his way to a large very luminescent building with a large blue diamond at the top. He took no attention to any of the decor, nor did the loud thunder of shouts from the people seemed to even bother him. He drew no attention as he silently slipped passed pony after pony.  He stopped as he looked down at the panel on his wrist. A large warning sign appeared on his panel. He immediately started to look around; he kept serious spatial awareness. He took a quick glance at every living thing in his vicinity. One of them was in the casino, and things would get pretty ugly very quickly if he didn't find it. He ran out of the casino and around the block. The enemy could look like anything, so he couldn't trust anyone of the creatures in the building. He jumped up to a roof of a neighboring building, and then up on the side of the casino. He made his way up to the top and onto the roof.  He held his paw out and extended his claws. With one quick swipe, he made a small circle in the roof and swiftly slipped into it.  The ceiling perhaps held up to its legacy. He sat calmly high above the world. Even if some creature was to look up, the ceiling was blurry to the naked eye that was sitting on the ground.  He scanned through the crowds of ponies and other creatures in search of his enemy. He kept his eye out for anything that looked off. He was running out of time. If his enemy was there then it meant that his target was too. The cat he had followed for hundreds of miles was finally within his grasp.  He continued to survey the crowds until he came across an intriguing sight. He saw two cats have an interesting confrontation with a black pony. The pony seemed to antagonize the two cats and caused them to walk away. The interesting part was the knife that the pony was poorly hiding, and the cloak item that one of the cats carried. The conflict continued as the two cats tried to get away from the pony. The pony approached the two cats until a group of dragons interfered and helped them out. The cat was particularly interested in the black pony over the two cats; something about it wasn't right. He continued to watch the pony as it walked to the entrance of the casino the cat crawled back outside and to the entrance to find the pony. He watched as the pony went around to a dark alley next to the casino. The pony froze for a moment before it began to change. Its skin began to peel away as the black liquid began to pour out of it. "Alright miss, let's get out of here. Sorry, your time here was ruined." Capper put down his empty glass and stood up. Shira stood up and quickly looked around. She knew that the creature that threatened her was definitely no pony. She had traveled a long distance in an unbelievably short amount of time. She knew that they had to get out of the casino before it came back. She swiftly took the item and slid it under the table. She needed to take precautions. "Where are we heading Mr. Dapperpaws?" "Eh, let's just see where the night takes us." Capper left a tip and they began to walk towards the entrance. "I feel like we should go somewhere where I can properly treat you." Shira smiled as Capper leaned over and held his hand out. "Alright Capper, lead the way." She took his hand and they were about to head out.  All of a sudden the alarm in the casino went off. Red flashing lights flooded the building and the wave of panic was next. Creatures started screaming and running towards the entrance. Capper immediately grabbed Shira's hand and pulled her towards the door. He pushed through the river of people rushing against him.  Capper approached the door just as he felt Shira's hand get ripped away from him. He tried to push back to reach her, but the panicking river was relentless. He forced his way through the opposing crowd.  "Shira!" He called out. "Shira!" He could smell the terrible stench of smoke. "Shira! Where are you?" He fought his way till he was clear of the nightmare. He was in the gambling area of the casino, only it was hard to tell with all the smoke. He used his jacket to cover his face.  "Let go of me!" Capper looked up at the familiar voice. In the distance, he could see a blurry image of Shira being dragged away by someone. He took a glass off of a nearby table and ran after her.  He took no time to think of any plan. He rushed up to Shira's attacker and swiftly through the glass at the back of their head. The creature stopped and touched the back of its head. It turned around and growled.  Capper was starstruck at the creature before him. He had never seen anything more terrifying. Black liquid oozed from its skin that looked like it was rotting off its bones. The creature had pure black eyes and long wet black hair. It stood on two legs with huge claws and matching arms.  Capper started to back up as he realized that he was way out of his league. The creature turned around and picked up a table. It launched it at Capper as if it had no weight. Capper slid to the ground and avoided the table as it crashed through a wall. He stared at the smashed wall as he grasped the severity of the situation.  He stood up and started to cough violently as the smoke started to build up. He saw the creature as it lifted Shira in the air and pinned her against the wall by her neck.  "Alright you bitch," the creature growled. "Where the hell is it?" Shira gasped for air in vain as the creature choked the life out of her. Capper ran up to it with a chair and broke it on its back. The creature growled as it slowly turned around. It quickly grabbed Capper by the neck and held him up to its face. The creature roared in his face as it squeezed him with all its strength. Capper gasped for air as the life was being choked out of him, literally. Capper held onto the creature's arm as he unintentionally clawed the creature. Its arm began to sizzle as its flesh deteriorated. The creature screeched as it threw Capper across the room.  The creature turned back to Shira as she clung for life. Before the creature could act anymore, its arm was swiftly cut off. The creature walked back slowly as it tried to grasp what had happened.  "Hello darkness my old friend, I've come to talk with you again." Everyone turned to see who had spoken. The creature growled as it came face to face with a tall standing blue and gray cat. The cat wore a large cloak that covered much of its body. The cat raised its paw and clawed the creature, sending it through a wall. The cloaked cat walked up to Shira. She was coughing and gasping for air on the ground. Her eyes were bloodshot and a lot of her fur was missing around her neck. She looked up at the cloaked cat as he looked down at her. "Well missy, you are one hell of a runner." The clocked cat bent down and helped Shira up. He tilted her head over and checked her neck. He pressed on it slightly to see her pain reaction. "You'll live if you get out of here before the smoke kills you that is." Shira struggled to stay on her feet; she leaned over a table. "Who the hell are you?" Shira gasped. "I'm the cat that traveled a long way to save your ass. "The cloaked cat looked to see that Shira didn't have the item. "Where is it?" Shira looked over at the spot under the counter. She saw that Capper was laying on the ground next to the spot. She looked back up at the cat. "You can't take it; it doesn't belong to you." "Listen you bitch," the cat hissed. "We don't have the time for this, and you've already caused enough trouble as it is." The cat was blasted back several feet. Shira screamed as she ducked under the table. Capper jumped up as he saw the creature charge through the wall. Its face was burning and its skin was peeling off. The creature roared as its body lit up; black flames encircled its body.  The creature ran forward, turning everything in its path into ash.  The cloaked cat stood up and removed its cloak to reveal golden armor. The armor sent out a blinding glare. The cat put his hand out as a bright light began to gather. The ground began to shake as the cat charged up a large amount of blinding light.  As the creature approached, the cat unleashed the massive light. The creature was sent flying and smashed through the floor. Black liquid covered the floor and began to burn through everything it touched. Shira ran over to Capper. She looked at his head to see that he was bleeding. She ran over to the bar counter and took out the item from underneath it. She slid it to Capper and started to unwrap it. "You have to take this, now!" Shira yelled as she looked over at the golden armored cat. "Wait, what!? Why? What is that?” He pointed at the item. “And what the hell is that?!" Capper pointed at the black creature as it crawled through the floor. "Who are you really Shira, and what the hell is going on here?" Shira sighed as she realized that nothing had worked out as she wanted it to. "I'm sorry, I really didn't want to lay all of this on you like this. I was hoping I could tell you the truth without putting so much on you."  The wrapped item was revealed to be a stone cracked sword. It looked incredibly old and worn. It began to glow as Shira moved it closer to Capper.  "It belongs to you, and only you should wield it." Shira stood up and backed away from it. Capper sat starstruck at the whole situation. His mind was racing to find an answer to all of his questions. He still couldn't grasp what was unfolding before him. His thoughts were interrupted as the creature crashed through the floor. Most of its skin was gone and it seemed that the creature was all but spend. Still, it pursued to kill its opponent. It once again changed at the cat and lunged with its 6-inch claws out. The cat reached for something that was resting on its back. As the creature was inches from the cat, the cat swung in one clean motion.  Shira and Capper stood in utter shock as they saw the creature incinerate before their eyes. The cat stood with a large golden sword in his paw. The black blood on the blade sizzled away, leaving only a blinding glare.  The cat turned to Shira and Capper and smiled. "Alright you two, no more games. Either you hand over the sword or you're next. Capper backed up to the counter and looked at Shira. Shira kicked the sword over to Capper and stepped back. She looked at Capper and then down at the stone sword. "Don't look at me. Only you have the power to stand up to him." Capper tried to speak but only could mouth out "What?!" in a whisper.  He stared at the stone sword as it glowed. The golden cat proceeded to walk towards him. Capper swallowed hard as he realized he was going to have to fight a very strong, much more handsome and obviously rich cat with a pathetic stone sword. He was going to die. “Oh Capper boy. What did you get yourself into?”