//------------------------------// // Fur-midable Things // Story: Beyond My Grave: Nightlight // by AnnEldest //------------------------------// The sun did not shine on that day, instead, the rain poured violently as the clouds rolled overhead The wind rushed across the land as it took the sand with it. A thick cloak of brittle needles swept across the sky like waves in the ocean. The water built up and flew in the systems along the ground. The wheels of the cart splashed violently against the puddles of rain. Luna wiped the window as the water built a blanket over it. Spike held on with his life as he tossed about. The guardians sat as Shira held up a picture of a door. It wasn't like any other door they had seen before. It was a black crack in space with an eye in the middle of it. "It's a womb in the sky made by the bringer of darkness." Shira held the picture up for everyone to see. “It bridges the living realm with that of the Fallen’s.”    Spike stood up and leaned in to get a better look. “Where is the fallen’s realm exactly?” “It’s a special prison,” Arch replied. “Our ancestors made it specifically for the Fallen many years ago.”  “I don’t get it,” Luna blurted. “If the guardians defeated the Fallen and locked them away, then how are they free now?” Arch took a breath and attempted to reply before Stellar cut him off. “That is precisely the question we’re in search for.” Arch looked up at stellar before The grey cat shot his gaze down. “Perhaps after we’ve fixed this mess we’ll go out and find that answer.” “Ah yes, of course,” Arch chuckled as he smirked. “Ok fine whatever,” Luna groaned. “Then what is it that we have to do?” Capper drew his sword and held it out in front of his face. “We have to close the womb.” “How?” Luna asked. Shira brought out the golden scroll and unraveled it. “Usually we would have to do a whole ritual that would seal it, but since we have this, we just need to get this to the gate and we can close it.” “Great!” Luna shouted. “So it’ll just take a few minutes and we can be back in Equestria before you know it.” Luna’s big smile lit up the cart. “You mean before Celestia knows it,” Spike grumbled to himself. “With all due respect princess, you can’t be that naive.” Shira laughed. “Actually she can be,” Spike chuckled. Luna pushed the little dragon off of his seat and growled. “What, what else do you have to do?” “It’s not the amount we have to do, it’s the fact that the one thing we have to do is going to be a pain in the ass.” Shira brought up the picture of the gate. She then pushed a button on her arm that made the picture zoom out. Luna could then see that the gate was surrounded by dozens of black creatures. “The gate will be heavily protected. We’re going to have to fight our way through them.” “Sounds like it will be super easy, barely an inconvenience.” Luna chuckled as she lightly hit Shira’s shoulder. “Wow,” Stellar sighed. “You haven’t listened to a single word of what I said about these things.” “What do you mean,” Luna scoffed. “You kill these things don’t you?” “Yes, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t kill us.” Stellar looked over at Capper. “He fought a really week right?” “Yes,” Luna said as she rolled her eyes. “Two weak ones actually,” Capper added. “Ya cool, but don’t you think that where there are fragile ones there would be powerful ones?”  “Sure,” Luna droned one. “But like, you’re really strong too aren’t you?” Stellar shook his head. “Forget it.”  The group continued on their journey through the treacherous desert storm. The ride was mostly silent as everyone inside only mentally preparing themselves for the monsters that awaited them. Their journey brought them to a small stream that steadily flowed agonist the harsh elements. Spike leaned out of the side window as he admired the blue clear crystal water. “How is there a clear flowing steam here!?” Spike called out. “It’s the Stream of Starlights,” Shira replied. “It hones the light of the stary night and carries it off.” “Where does it go?”Luna asked as she looked out the window. “To our home,” Stellar replied. The grey cat stood up and walked to the front of the car. “It’s quite a sight is it not?” Luna turned to see what the cat was referencing. Her eyes went wide open as a rush of golden light flushed through the car. The group all jumped up as the blinding light enveloped them. Spike nearly lost his grip and fell out the window.  “What is that!?” Capper gasped. “That is our home,” Shira chuckled. The blinding light revealed a land of luxury. It came in the form of bright green grass with bright blue streams flowing through it. One lonely mountain stood over watching a large city of waterfalls and bright gold structures. Large golden fountains lined the side of the mountain as the beautiful water flowed through and over them. “This is your home?!” Luna chocked.  “Well you didn’t think we lived in the cold harsh dessert did you?” Stellar laughed as he jumped out the car window and onto the soft grass.  “What’s the matter princess, do you not live in a gorgeous place?” Shira asked. “Well…” Luna’s eyes trailed off as she stood in awe at the palace before her. “Not like this, no.” “well, that’s ashamed,” Shira chuckled.  Spike laughed as ran across the blue stream that shimmered in the sunlight. Big Mac and Capper admired the scenery silently as they followed the guardians. Luna slowly stepped out of the car and walked up to Discord who stood frozen in place. “What’s up?” Luna asked as she nudged the draconequus. “Do you feel that power?” Discord whispered. Luna looked around and noticed the glow of the grass. “I certainly see it, ya, but I don’t feel anything.” She watched as a bird rushed past her face and flew into a tall tree. “What do you feel?” Discord lifted his hand and put his fingers together. He slowly snapped as a bright white flash exploded from his hand. “I feel powerful.” Stellar didn’t lead them to the city. Instead, he led them to a small house that was built into a tree that grew from the side of the mountain. The door was but a thin curtain of leaves that led into a cozy room with a nice fireplace in it. The shelves were lined with various books with carved statues that were pleasing to the eye.  “Is this your house?” Capper asked as he walked up to the nice hand-carved fireplace. “Sort of,” Stellar chuckled. “We use it as….storage.” “For what?” Luna asked. Stellar looked over at Arch and gave him a little smirk. Arch returned the smirk as a cue and walked over to the wall. He turned to the group before pulling a small lever. The fireplace began to shake as it started to slide to the side. Behind the gorgeous fireplace laid a glamorous display of weaponry. The golden arsenal of weapons sent an ocean of light through the room.  “That’s awesome!” Capper gasped in awe at the sight. “You were right about one thing princess,” Stellar said as he pulled one of the guns out. “We are really strong as well.” Night fell over the land as the golden shimmer turned into a bright blue glow. The group huddled up inside the small house. Stellar laid out a map of the large network of caves that led to the gate. “The gate is at the end of the caves deep within the mountain.” Sellar started to cross certain paths and entrances on the map. Most of these paths have either collapsed or were no longer there.” He circled a couple of the middle paths that led straight to the gate. “These are the few that are still intact and usable.” “So it’s just a straight shot there?” Capper asked. “Well, the Fallen will definitely be there.” “But you can fight them off right?” Luna interjected. “We have a decent chance,” Arch replied. There are a few however that will give us some serious trouble.” “So what’s the plan then?” the little dragon asked. “It’s quite simple actually,” Arch chuckled. “We will draw the Fallen out while Capper takes an alternative route to the gate and shuts it using the scroll.” “Wait what, that’s it?” Capper stuttered. “What if I run into one of those things.” “Then you either kill it or die.” Capper froze for a moment as he stared down at the map. “Makes sense.” Stellar geared up with every weapon he could carry. Capper was excited to see the rest of the guardian squad when they showed up. Their armor was all golden but a few of them had different colors to them. Shira attempted to take a weapon but was stopped by Stellar who refused to let her have one. “Hey,” Capper whispered to Shira from the corner. “Come over here.” “What?” She asked as she leaned against the wall next to him.    “It just dawned on me but back at the casino Arch was really pissed at you.” Capper stared at Shira expecting a response that didn’t come. She stood and stared back at him with a blank face. “What about it?” “Well it’s just, he said you had caused problems and stuff.” Capper looked over to see if anyone was listening to their conversation. “What happened, and why did you have my father’s sword and not them?” Shira turned and mimicked Capper’s intent. “Let’s not talk about that right now.” The cat quickly turned and walked back to the group leaving one confused and concerned orange cat. “What is it?” Spike asked as he crept around the corner. “I don’t know yet,” Capper whispered back. “I’ll let you know when I find out.” Later that night Luna starred out the window and into the starry night; her breath was steady as she stared at the moon. All she could think about was how angry her sister must have been. Luna had disappeared out of nowhere, abandoned her duties, and worst of all she did during a time when multiple attacks had happened in Equestria. Celestia must have been furious with the lunar princess. Luna took a deep breath as her head hung low.  “What’s on your mind?” The soft gentle voice filled the room. Capper’s inviting eyes showed compassion and understanding. He walked up next to Luna and shared her gaze on the night sky. Luna’s silence didn’t seem to disturb the cat. Instead, he just stared up at the moon as the wind rushed past his face and through his fur. He took a deep breath of the cool crisp air and closed his eyes as he let the breath go. “Still worried about your sister?” He didn’t open his eyes, he just kept his head toward the sky. “How’d you just come up with that?” Luna’s voice spoke defeat as if she was breaking from something. Capper chuckled in response as he slowly opened his eyes. He found it interesting as she didn’t try to deny it. “Well, it’s not super obvious or anything but I can read others pretty good to a point,” “Did Spike vent to you about it?” Luna scoffed as she looked back up at the moon. “No,” Capper said as he smiled. “I just looked up.” “Up?” Luna turned her gaze to the cat who wasn’t breaking his attention to the sky. “Ya, look up.” Luna turned and looked up; the night sky was bright with the stars and the moon that lead in their beauty. “What am I supposed to look at, the moon?” “That’s a fair question,” Capper whispered. “A lot is going on isn’t there?” Luna just stared at the moon in silence. “What does the moon remind you of?” Luna opened her mouth to give an answer but only silence came out. Instead, she just stayed locked onto the large bright rock in the sky. She wasn’t quite sure what it reminded her of. Perhaps she was thinking about its beauty, or she was jealous of its strong composure in contrast to hers. Celestia was another name that came to her mind when she stared at it. Her body tensed up whenever she said the name in her head. She could feel her heart stagger for a moment as her blood rushed just a little bit fast inside her. Her breath quickened and fell out of rhythm as she tried desperately to sway away from the thoughts. So many thoughts and feels that came from one rock, but what was she supposed to remember whenever she looked at it. “Luna?” Capper looked over at the princess who seemed startled by the break-in silence. “I don’t know,” Luna sighed. “Is it supposed to remind me of something?” “No, well maybe, I don’t know. That’s for you to decide.” Capper brought out his sword and set it down in front of the window sill. “You move it don’t you, every night?” “I’m supposed to,” Luna sighed. “Right, you haven’t done it for a few days now have you?”  Luna nodded as she slowly dropped her gaze to meet the cat’s bright green eyes. “My sister must be so angry with me right now.” “That’s it,” Capper laughed. “What?” Luna leaned back as the cat continued to lightly laugh. “Is that really funny to you?” Luna scoffed. “Y-yes it is,” Capper said as his laughter turned to a strong grin. “The moon is your identity, your pride, and joy, yet you’re here thinking about your sister when you look at it.” Angry flushed over the princess's face as she stood up. Capper turned to meet her rage but only grinned and looked back up at the moon. Luna turned and started to walk towards the door. “I wasn’t being mean.” “Really, cause that was pretty rude,” Luna growled as she continued to walk. “Ya, perhaps it was, but it wasn’t mean.” “Whatever,” Luna scoffed. “I’m sorry I just don’t get it,” Capper proclaimed. “I want to, but you’re not giving me a lot to work with.” Luna stopped in the doorway and looked back to Capper as he continued to stare up. “Well you said you could read me, so I’m sure you could figure it out.” “Luna,” Capper called out. “I can sit here and stare at the moon all night long. I would learn a lot about it including how it interacts with others around it, and how it makes people feel, but I won’t figure out what it wants or why it feels the way it does. It’s a rock in the sky, and like all rocks, it won’t tell me how it feels and why.” “Really,” Luna groaned. “You’re going to use that as an analogy?” “Well it’s a perfect one, is it not?” “Why? Cause I’m hard headed and all that?” Luna said as she rolled her eyes. “I mean yes, but more than that.” Capper looked back at the princess. “Why your sister?” “Why do you care?” Luna shot back. “Because there are things here that also remind me of bad things.” Capper turned and grabbed his sword. He slowly drew it from the scabbard and laid it before him. “I just didn’t think there would be someone else here who could understand that.”  Luna’s stance dropped as she remembered that the sword was Capper’s father’s. He didn’t know what happened to him or his mother, but he did know that they were dead. It was something she could relate to as she too had deceased parents.  However, she knew that he wasn’t trying to relate to that, but rather he was talking about how the sword was his moon.  “My sister…” Luna looked down at the ground as she sighed. “Is a different story, a complicated one.” Luna looked up at Capper. “I don’t think anyone understands that. I mean Spike is obviously angry with me, but he doesn’t understand anything.” “Ok, but why is that all you’re focused on?” Capper stood up and took a step towards her. “It’s not, it’s just…” “Luna,” Capper cut her off. “I think we can all see that you’re not really here to stop the Fallen; you’re here to prevent your sister from finding out about any of this. That’s why Spike is so mad at you. Not because he doesn’t understand.” Luna froze for a second as she stared at Capper. Her face revealed discussion and confusion in an aggressive combination. “How dare you,” Luna whispered. “You’re saying I don’t care about my people or the one’s the Fallen kill?” “What?” Capper said as he leaned back in confusion. “That’s not at all…” “No, stop,” Luna spat. “Screw you, Capper, you clearly don’t understand at all. Thinking I don’t give a damn about anything that’s going on.” “I’m not saying that.” Capper’s voice turned to confusion and annoyance making his voice stronger and darker. “You’re taking this all wrong.” “No, what’s wrong is you trying to pry into my business.” Luna turned and started to walk towards the door. “I can’t believe that's the one thing you’re taking from all of this.” “I was just trying to understand,” Capper said as he raised his voice. Luna jumped a little as Capper caught up with her. “I’m sorry I wasn’t trying to suggest anything about your character or anything like that.” “Then what were you trying to do?” “I don’t know, I guess I was trying to help.” Luna stopped as she turned to face the cat. “Well just me, I’m fine and there is nothing left to be said.” Luna turned and continued to walk. “Fine!” Capper called out. “Then we won’t talk.” Luna turned around and met his gaze again. “Actions speak louder than words.” Luna stood underneath a large stone archway. She touched the crumbling stone with her hoof and admired the old carvings on it. “What is this place?”  Capper walked past the archway and into the broken structure. The moonlight shined through the roofless top and the breath effortlessly flew through the building. “Arch showed me this place earlier. He said it once was were younger guardians came to train, but now it’s just another relic.” “Well it’s beautiful I’ll give you that,” Luna said as she followed the cat. “But why are we here?” “Because,” Capper chuckled. “We gotta train.” “For what?” Luna chuckled. “Oh I don’t know, maybe for all of the Fallen we’re going to have to fight tomorrow.” “Aren’t the guardians going to fight them?” Capper walked to the middle of the open room and ran his paw against the smooth cracked floor. “Ya well, we’re going to have to be prepared to fight just in case things go south.” “Really?” Luna groaned. “Come on,” Capper sighed. “You said you didn’t want to talk, so this is the alternative?” Luna rolled her eyes as she shook her head. “Why do you care so much Capper, honestly?” “To be honest princess,” Capper said as he started to walk back towards the back wall. “You have no reason to be here, and I don’t understand any of it. Why the Fallen have come, why I have my father’s sword, why I’m a guardian, why any of this is happening, or anything. I’m really just as lost and out of place as you are, and I just want to understand something. I know you, and I do care.” Capper drew his sword and held it up to his face. “I’ve had friends help me before, and I wanna help you. If I can’t understand through your words, then maybe I can through your actions.” “Spike,” Luna called out.  The little dragon looked up from his book as the Lunar princess sat down next to him. “What?” Spike said as he looked back down at his book. Luna took a deep breath before she put her hoof on his shoulder. “I’m sorry.” Spike looked up at Luna with wide eyes. Perhaps it was the fact that the two words together never really came from Luna’s mouth. She was a stubborn pony that refused to admit defeat, so to hear the words flow from her mouth was about as unlikely as Discord giving up his chaos. “For what?” Spike asked as he put his book down. Luna took another deep breath before she continued. “I know you’ve been mad at me ever since we left Equestria.” “What divine entity finally told you that?” Spike scoffed as he rolled his eyes. “No, I’ve seen it. I just was too focused on other things.” “Let me guess, you’re going to say it’s the Fallen.” Spike opened his book and continued to read. “Actually, no,” Luna sighed. “It’s been, Celestia.” Spike’s head popped up in utter shock at the truth. He knew the truth but he never expected Luna of all creatures to admit it. “we...I k... that’s  rig..” His words staggered and fell apart as he tried to muster up one sentence. “But you already knew that didn’t you?” Luna smiled as she chuckled at his reaction. “Ya, I did know that, but like, why are you telling me sorry?”  Luna sighed as she looked up at the night sky. “Because I am.” “Ok,” Spike said slowly. “But like why, why now?” Luna looked down at the ground as she started to laugh. “Let’s just say reality came up and slapped me in the face.” “What do you mean, did something happen?” Luna continued to stare at the ground as she continued to laugh. It was a bit of a story to tell the little dragon, but it was one that she kind of wanted to keep to herself. It was certainly an adventure to behold and she didn’t even know how to start to comprehend what had conspired. Instead, she tried to recap on everything that had happened that night; it all happened because Capper wanted her to show since she couldn’t tell. “Capper!” The princess called out. She was alone in the room where the cat had been in only moments before. She walked over to the spot at the wall where he was before he disappeared. She looked for any signs of where he could have gone, but the only thing she found was something that horrified her.  In the rubble laid a picture of a familiar pony, Barry Tarts. Luna used her magic to pick the picture up and head it closer to her face. She flipped it around to see that the back was covered in blood. Luna gasped as she quickly let the picture drop to the floor. She backed up from the photo as blood began to ooze across the floor. “Luna.” Luna gasped as a voice called out to her. “Luna,” the voice called out again. The voice wasn’t particularly unsettling as it sounded normal and calm. It was the fact that it came from the horrifying photo. The photo flipped over and revealed Barry Tarts staring right at her.  “It’s rude to ignore someone.” The picture came to life as blood oozed from Barry’s eyes and mouth. Luna stepped back as her gaze stayed locked on the picture. “Did you think you got rid of me?” Barry taunted as he laughed. “I’m just getting started!” His voice turned to a low deep growl. Luna turned and sprinted towards the entrance. She looked back to see that the blood continued to spread across the floor. She didn’t stop at the entrance; she ran till she was fully clear of the building. However, her actions were useless as she came to discover. When she reached where the outside world has been she was met only with a bright light. Luna shielded her eyes from its intensity but continued forward. She passed past a doorway and into a familiar room. The walls were made of beautiful crystal and glimmered in the morning sunlight. Luna froze as she realized it was Flurry Hearts room. The princess turned to quickly leave the room only to realize that the doorway was gone. Luna put her hooves against the wall and began to pound on it. She was shaking when a laugh came from inside the room. Its devious tone sent a shiver up her spine and caused her body to lock up. She turned around to see Barry Tarts sitting in a chair holding Flurry Heart. He rocked back and forwards with her as she giggled and smiled at him. “Isn’t she beautiful?” Barry whispered.  Luna only stayed stuck to the wall as her mind failed to react in any way.  “I’ve killed dozens of beautiful babies just like her in my time.” Barry looked up at the horrified princess. He smiled as he held Flurry Heart up in the air. “You know the funny part?”  Luna gave no response as he continued to play with the young alicorn. “The guards that found the first few children could have stopped me, but they chose not to say a word of what they saw. They saw things that others wouldn’t have believed, and so they kept what they saw a secret, and I was free to continue my work.” Barry hugged the little alicorn and held her forward towards Luna. “What did you see Luna, and what didn’t you tell?”  Flurry Heart began to gag and choke for air. Barry wrapped his hooves around the young pony’s neck and squeezed as hard as he could. Luna gasped as she could hear Flurry Heart’s bones crack and snap. Her face turned dark purple as her eyes turned blood red. She flailed her hooves as she tried to get away, but to no avail. “So precious are they not?” Barry threw the pony aside and stood up. His bones cracked as his eyes turned black. Luna backed up and realized that there was all of a sudden a door behind her. Without questioning where it led, she ran through it.  She ran through a long dark hallway towards another bright light. Once she reached the light she saw Celestia sitting on a chair in front of a stone fireplace. “Celestia!?” Luna cried out. “Luna?” Celestia gasped as she turned around to meet Luna’s frightened eyes. “What’s wrong?” Luna ran up to her sister and turned around to the dark hallway. “It’s Flurry, she… she…” Luna’s words staggered and fell before they could form anything. “What? What’s wrong with Flurry Heart?” Celestia sat up and put her hooves on Luna’s shoulders. “She…” Luna spoke the words, but nothing could be heard. Luna froze as Celestia gave no response. She spoke the words again, but once again no sound came from her mouth. “Sister,” Celestia pleaded. “I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s wrong.” Luna tried and tried again to scream a single word, but nothing came out. “Luna!” Celestia begged. “Please I’m just trying to help.” Luna’s silence only continued as she started to cry and scream. “Sister please don’t do this to me again,” Celestia said as she stepped back from Luna. Luna froze as she saw that Barry started to walk from the other room and down the dark hallway. Luna screamed as she tried to warn her sister; her silence was all that emerged. She tried pointing with her hoof, but she wasn’t able to lift it. In fact, none of her hooves would move no matter how much she tried. “Forget it, Luna,” Celestia sighed. “You don’t have to tell me, you can just go.” Celestia sat back down in her chair as she stared at the ground. Luna continued to try and warn her sister, but nothing but silence got through.  Barry slowly walked into the room and up to Celestia who remained unaware of his presents. Luna screamed on and on as tears fell to the floor. Barry smiled at Luna before he raised his black hoof over Celestia. “What’s that?” Barry taunted. “I can’t hear you.” He watched as the princess collapsed to the floor. “I’m trying to understand Luna, but I can’t if you won’t tell me.” Luna looked up at the pony just as spike emerged from the end of his black hooves. “Oh well, I won’t force you to tell me.”  Celestia screamed as he drove the black spike into the back of her neck. Luna screamed as loud as she could, and that time the sound came out. The full force of the room shook the room as Celestia fell to the floor. Luna got up and walked forward. She screamed as she shot a beam of magic at Barry. He was sent across the room and slammed hard against the wall. Luna ran up the Celestia and picked her up.  “Celly!” Luna cried as she held her sister’s limp body in her hooves. “Really?” Barry laughed as he rolled over on his back. “Now you’re going to cry to her?” “Shut up!” Luna screamed as her voice broke. “I’ll kill you, you piece of shit!” Luna jumped up and ran over to Barry. “Oh baby,” He laughed. “I am never more alive, than when I’m dead.” “Go to hell!”  Luna screamed as she shot another beam at him. His body disappeared into black smoke that vanished. Luna breathed heavily as she stood over the shadow of the killer. She turned around with her head down only to be met with the sight of her sister standing. “Celly?” Luna gasped. Celestia stood as her body twitched. The black hole in her neck slowly disappeared as Celestia twitched more violently. “Celly?” Luna cried.  Celestia turned around and smiled at the lunar princess. Luna backed up as she saw the red glistering eyes stare back at her. Celestia tilted her head as she started to laugh. “Oh, Luna,” She taunted. Celestia’s hair caught in a great blaze of flames. Her pupils became thin and snake-like as her teeth became fangs. “What was it that you were trying to tell me?” Celestia gave a devious grin as her fangs penetrated through her mouth.  “Come on, let’s talk now.” Capper ran for his life as he held his bleeding side. He turned to see a large skinless black cat chasing him. It was several feet taller than him and had much larger fangs and claws. Capper looked down at his sword that laid at rest in its scabbard. He put his paw on the handle and pulled out just enough for him to see a bit of the blade. He stared into its reflective surface. It was when he got a glance at the cat in the reflection that he quickly shut the blade back into the scabbard and put it back on his back.  He eventually made it to a dark stone cave that seemed to have no end. He looked back to see that he had outrun the beast; he could only hear its roars. He ran down the hallway without looking back. He looked down to see that there were mysterious holes in the floor with beams of light coming from them. He stopped and looked through one of them. He gasped at the sight that he saw. “Luna.” Luna ran through the halls of the palace that she called her home, but now they were ignited as flames ate at all of their memories.  Luna screamed as a stream of flames flew past her face. She looked up to see her sister flying over her head. Like the great serpents of the north, she breathed fire from her mouth and at the Lunar princess. Luna continued to run until she made it to another door. Without hesitation, she ran through it and landed hard against the ground.  “Luna!” Cried a familiar voice. Luna looked up to see a stallion standing over her. It was a unicorn with a golden mane, and white coat, and a flaming crescent moon cutie mark.  “Dad?” Luna whispered. The stallion smiled at her and picked her off of the ground. Luna stared at him as she breathed heavily. She jumped as the sound of fire approached the door. Luna screamed as she turned and shut the door just in time as a few flames went past the door and burnt her arm. “What are you doing here?” Luna cried as she struggled to hold the heating door. “I came to see you,” the stallion sighed.  “You’re going to die if you stay here,” Luna grunted as she pushed hard against the door. “Lulu, you know I died a long time ago.” The stallion smiled as he saw the shock in Luna’s eyes.” “No!” Luna shouted. “You’re here,” She cried. “Lulu, this isn’t real, or at least it’s something weird.” “What?” Luna said with her breaking voice. “You were with the cat in the training room or whatever, remember?”  The stallion smiled as he walked up to the door and put his hoof on it. Suddenly the door became cold and stopped shaking. He looked down at the confused princess who slid to the ground. Luna shook as her mind raced to remember what had happened. Capper and she had a fight and then he led her to the room he said was for training guardians. She looked up as she remembered that Capper went to the wall and then somehow vanished, and that’s when everything else happened.  “What did he do to me?” Luna whispered. “I don’t know,” the stallion sighed. He looked down as Luna screamed at her burning arm. He sat down next to her and put his hoof on her head.  Luna started to cry as the images of Flurry and her sister raced through her head. “Why would he do this to me?” Luna cried. “I don’t know Lulu,” the stallion sighed. “I think he thought it would help.” “Help!” Luna cried out as she held her singed arm. “He’s trying to kill me.” Luna cried as she leaned and fell over into the stallion’s lap.  He smiled as he rubbed her head. “No Lulu, he cares about you.” “He doesn’t care about me,” Luna cried. “No one cares about me.” Luna started to sob as the stallion hugged her. “You don’t believe that,” the stallion whispered. “You have a lot of friends and family that care about you, you just have to stop pushing them away.” “I h-have -t-t-to,” Luna sobbed. “They’ll think I’m crazy.” “Maybe, but you can’t keep all of this locked up forever.” The stallion chuckled and looked up at the ceiling. “Trust me when I say there are always consequences to keeping these kinds of things quiet.” “What happened last time.” Luna scoffed as she looked up at him. “Doesn’t matter,” He smiled. “It’s all about what happens this time.” The stallion set Luna aside and stood up. “What are you doing?” Luna said as she sat up and whipped her face. “I have to go,” he sighed. “But you’ll be fine, you’re strong.” “Please don’t go,” She cried. “I don’t want to die.” “Then move.” “What?” “You need to move,” The stallion said as he looked up at the door. Luna looked up at the door as it started to turn red hot and melt. She jumped out of the way just before the door burst into flames and flew across the room. Luna caught as ash and rubble covered her. She looked up to see the bright flame of Celestia. “There you are,” Celestia smiled.  “Celly please,” Luna pleaded. “Celly is gone,” Celestia laughed. “I broke the day, and now I’ll break the night.” Luna just laid on the floor as an ocean of flames built up around Celestia. “If only you had told me the truth. If only you didn’t push me away and didn’t think about yourself.” Luna watched in defeat as a stream of flames hurled towards her. “Luna!” Capper landed in front of her and drew his sword. The flames were stopped by his light and bounced away from the blade. “Luna get up!” the cat shouted. Luna just sat up and looked up at the cat with rage burning in her eyes. “Capper sighed as he looked at her and then back at the fire horse. “I didn’t mean for this to happen. I honestly don’t know what the hell happened to be honest.” “Just go,” Luna whispered as her head dropped. “This is what you wanted, so just let it happen.” “Luna…” Capper was cut off as he got blasted back by the fire. “You heard the pony,” The fire horse laughed. “She’s sad, and the fire will take away her pain.” The pony laughed as she shot a beam of fire at the defeated Lunar princess. “No!” Capper jumped in the way and with one arm he held back the fire with his blade. His other arm hung by his side with burnt flesh. “This isn’t what I wanted Luna, I just wanted to help.” Capper pushed against the fire but was slowly failing. “And this is what you wanted,” Luna sighed as she sat up. “Just let her do it, it’s my fault she’s like that to me.” “I won’t Luna,” Capper grunted. “Help me,” he growled. “Help you?” Luna chuckled. “You did this,” She growled. “This is what you wanted!” Her voice went above even the flames. “No, it’s not!” Capper shouted. “Then what did you want!” Luna stood up. “I...I look at this blade and what I see in it horrifies me.” Capper stared into the blade as it clashed with the fire. “It brings up everything I’ve tried to run away from. So now it’s hard to draw without knowing about him….” Capper froze and got pushed back by the fire. “I just didn’t want the moon or yourself for that matter to become that reminder of whatever it is you’re trying to run from.” Luna stood as she watched the cat continue to struggle with the fire. She heard his screaming as his other arm started to fry. His fur was blown off of his arm and his skin started to rot away, but he still didn’t stop fighting.  “Do you actually care?” Luna whispered. Capper shouted as he pushed back against the fire. He growled as he started to push the flames back. With every step forward more of him got burnt, but his path forward was inevitable. His steps led him closer to the fire pony until they were face to face.  “Yes, I do!” With one shout he swung the blade and a bright golden light filled the room and collapsed the roof. “Luna!” Capper jumped up.  He looked around to see that he was laying on the cool floor of the roofless building. He looked up to see the familiar night sky and the moon that had put the events into motion. He sighed in relief as he let his body drop. He looked at his arms to see that there were no signs of the fire he had fought. He took a deep breath before he jumped to his feet.  “Luna,” he called out. He heard her groans as she stood up and staggered around. He sighed again as he laughed. He walked up to the princess and sat down next to where she had fallen. He looked at Luna as she rubbed her head. She made eye contact with him and an angry flush over her face. “I just want to say…” Capper gulped and took another deep breath. “If you hate me I don’t blame you because I hate me too.”