Stellar went over the plan with the rest of the guardians in which a few objected to the idea.
“Ya, why would you want to send me to do it?” Capper asked.
“It’s because they wouldn’t be able to sense your weakened power. You’ll be able to slip by unnoticed.”
“Ok ya, but like what do I do when I get to the gate?”
“You just have to open this and read it out loud,” Shira said as she handed him the scroll.
“I don’t even know how to read this,” Capper scoffed.
“Don’t worry,” Arch said as he patted the orange cat on the back. “I’ll teach you.”
“Hey!” The group all turned to see Spike marveling at the front window. “I think we’re here.”
The cart halted to a stop in front of a large mountain. Various carvings and large golden statues. It was actually quite a beautiful sight to behold under normal circumstances. However, the atmosphere was stained with the looming send of fear and dismay. A foul stench of rotting flesh and angered spirits laid waste to the lovely mountain.
“This is it,” Shira whispered. “The gate is straight down that path.”
Capper looked out the window and down the cave. He could only see bright lights and more beautiful décor. “It’s nicer than I thought.”
“It was built by guardians,” Arch boasted. “Of course, it’s nice.”
Arch walked over to Capper and put his paws on his shoulders. “Are you ready for this?”
“No,” Capper gulped. “But there’s no going back now."
"Go now," Arch ordered before looking at Spike. "You dragon, go with him."
They both nodded and ran off.
"Good luck," Luna called to them.
Arch stepped carefully down the bright path. His breath was steady, and his feet were light. He glanced behind him to see the other slowly following behind. He looked above him where he knew Capper and Spike were. It was decided that the two were the best for flanking the enemy. Capper was weak and Spike was small, they were a great team.
Arch waved his hand as the sound of a rock hitting the ground could be heard in the distance. The rest of the guardians froze and raised their weapons. They were shocked when a slow clap slowly approached them. Suddenly a large four-legged black creature walked around a hidden corner in front of the group. Arch gasped as he remembered the creature from when he had first started his journey.
“Arch,” The creature called out. “Surprise to see you here. Could I help you with anything?”
“Yeah,” Arch called back. “We’re looking for a special gate. If you could point us in the right direction, we’ll be on our way.”
The creature chuckled at the remark and lowered huge claws that hid between his fingers. “The only gate you need to worry about is the one that leads you to Hell!” The creature shot out a wave of black shards that tore through the walls.
Arch jumped over the wall and Stellar mirrored his actions.
“We’ve prepared a part for you, Arch. You should be grateful.”
"I'll be grateful when you're dead," Arch shouted as he aimed and shot at the creature.
Shira and Stellar joined in as the three of them continued to shoot. The creature laughed as the bullets simply bounced off his skins, taking no damage at all.
"You are going to need to do better than that. I was hoping for a challenge," It mocked them.
Luna teleported from behind and shot a blast at it. The creature cried out as it hit him causing him to fall to the ground. Luna flew up in the air and charged at it at full speed, ready to give it a stab with the sword. However, just as she swung the sword, something launched and impacted her side, crashing both of them on the ground.
Luna stood and saw what struck her. It was the same entity that she first encounter back at Barry Blast's house.
"You got to be kidding!" She cried as it roared at her. It took a moment to shake its head and regain its senses. It then looked out in the distance and ran off.
"It's going after Capper and Spike!" Shira cried.
"Not if I have anything to say about it," Luna said as she flew off after it.
The black creature shot a smoky black orb at Luna but Arch was able to jump up and block it with his shield. The smoke orb slowly harden and turned into a crystal as it hit the shield. "Not so fast. You get to deal with us."
The creature smirked. "So be it." The creature shouted in a foreign language. The words it spoke drew out other Fallen that crashed through the floor.
Shira looked over at Discord. "Go with Luna. She'll need backup."
"Got it!" Discord said and he ran where Luna flew off to.
Big Mac, Shira, Stellar and Arch formed a circle, standing back to back with each other.
"Stay close!" Stellar ordered. "You two get the smaller ones. Arch and I will deal with the big one."
One of the Fallen launched at Big Mac, claws sticking out. Big Mac lifted his ax up and swung it upright, hitting it on the bottom jaw and face. The force caused the creature to be flung several feet back. Before it could stand back up though, Big Mac threw the ax at it. The ax then spun right into its head. It fell limp to the ground, dead with a pool of black blood surrounding its head.
Shira stepped back in shock. "Not bad."
"Thanks."
Another one of the Fallen shot a beam at Shira and Big Mac but Shira was able to block it will her shield, knocking her back a few steps. It jumped on top of Shira as she used the shield to prevent it from biting her. She struggled as it clawed at her roughly. Big Mac lifted his ax from where it had landed and brought it to him. He then struck the Fallen at its side and knocked it off of Shira. Shira quickly stood up and hit its head with the shield before pulling out the pistol and shooting it in the head.
Stellar and Arch then braced themselves and started shooting the main black creature again. It shot out more of the smoky black orb at them. Stellar moved to the side to avoid it while Arch used his shield again.
Stellar dropped his gun and pulled out his sword. The sword then lit up as Stellar got ready to fire. The Black creature smirked and fired as well. The blast met midair and exploded violently close to the creature, causing it to cover its face. Arched then jumped up and land down to punched it, throwing it at the ground.
Arch went to punch it again when the creature grabbed his wrist. He lifted Arch up and then slammed him hard on the ground. Arch's helmet fell off on impact. He groaned but was able to quickly use his shield to block the oncoming punch.
Stellar jumped above them both and shot a beam at the creature's head forcing it to stop its attack on Arch and shield itself. Arch took this opportunity to grabbed his gun and shoot at its face. There was a loud roar as it stepped back away from them.
Arch and Stellar charged towards the Black creature together with Stellar's sword and Arch's Shield's glowing but the creature blew both of them away with a big blast before they could react. Arch, no longer wearing his helmet, fell to the ground and cried out in pain as the crystal pierced at his face. Stellar got up and threw his sword at it. The creature easily dodged it by back away. Stellar got his gun and started shooting at it.
The creature kept walking up to Stellar as he fired away. As it drew closer to him, Stellar started backing up. He tried reloading his gun, however, wasn't able to do fast enough and the creature swung at his side, slaming him to the wall of the cavern. Stellar fell limp. It grabbed him by his neck and slammed Stellar to the ground over and over again until Stellar made no movement. It then threw Stellar right next to the daze Arch.
It looked over and watched as Big Mac and Shira killed off the last of the smaller Fallen. They both gasped in horror at the sight of the guardians.
"Arch!" Shira cried out.
The Black Creature laughed. "You all have potential. I'll give you that. But sadly, it isn't enough to stop me."
Shira breathed heavily as anger build up in her. "Won't stop us from trying."
"Eyup!" Big Mac agreed.
They got their weapons ready and charged. The creature laughed again and charged back at them.
Luna shot a blast of her magic at the Entity which back away from it then shooting a blast of its own at her. Luna made a shield to block it. They were in a small cave within the mountain.
"I will make you pay for every nightmare you put Barry Blast through!" she shouted. The Entity only roared in response.
Discord aimed and shot an arrow at the Entity's side. It growled and saw Discord standing in the distance. It started making its way to him when Luna stabbed it on its back. It cried out loudly in pain.
Luna kept the sword in and held a tight grip. It shook itself around, trying to get Luna off of its backs. Luna screamed as she tried everything she could to not let go and pushed the sword even deeper into the Entity. Discord got another arrow and shot it at its belly. It roared and desperately tried to get Luna away. It put its claws behind its head and tried grabbing Luna. Luna moved around to make sure it couldn't grab her.
Unfortunately, the Entity got ahold of Luna's mane and threw her off of it and right into the ground. Luna screamed as she put a hoof on her head. It lifted Luna up and lit up its claw. Discord shot the arrow at its claws causing the creature to let Luna go and backed away from her. Luna landed on the ground and groaned.
She put a hoof on her bad wing. She knew she was pushing it more than she should. The doctor told her to be careful when she started flying again. She thought she would be able to fight with it but it appeared that it was now catching up to her. She didn't know if she could even get up without it hurting.
Discord ran in front of Luna and shot at the creature back.
"You okay?" Discord asked.
"I'll live. I hope."
"How can we stop this thing?! It just won't die!" Discord freaked out.
Luna slowly stood herself up and watched Discord shoot another arrow at it. "I'm thinking."
"I'm running low on arrows!" Discord panicked.
"I'm thinking!" Luna shouted.
The Entity shot a blast of crystal at them. Discord grabbed Luna from behind and dragged them both to the ground to dodge it. The blast hit the side of the cave. The ground shook a little and Vvbrated from underneath them. Pebbles and huge chucks of rocks fell from the ceiling. Luna formed a bubble shield around them. The Entity growl and tried not to hit by the rocks. Discord and Luna saw this and stared at each other.
"You thinking what I'm thing?" Discord smirked.
"Cover me." The bubble disappeared and Luna started running towards it. Her side hurt a lot at this point but she pushed herself and lit up her horn.
The Entity got ready to shoot at Luna when an arrow struck its claw again. Luna fired another blast at it and send it flying further into the cave. It quickly got up, its eyes glowing bright red now. Luna stood in front of it with a smirk. It swung its claw at her. Luna's horn lit up and she teleported away. It frantically looked around the cave for her. It felt another sharp pain on its arm. It looked down and saw another arrow.
It stared up and saw Discord already aiming at it. It roared and ran really fast at Discord. He made no attempt to run away or shoot any more arrows at it. He just stood still. It ran up to him and swung at him. However, when its claw made contact with Discord, its claw went right through him. It kept clawing at him but Discord stood unharmed.
"What's wrong? You seem to be confused about something," Discord teased. "Fun fact about us Soul Dreamers: with enough power, we can choose who can see us."
Its ear perked up to the sound of a whistle. It turned around and saw a smiling Luna standing in the distance with a sleeping Discord behind her.
"Talk about being double-crossed." Discord made a blue orb and pointed it up in the air. "Now Luna!"
Luna shot one big final blast up at the ceiling and Discord shot his orb. It only could widen its eyes as the entire cave started to rumble and shake. Big chunks of rock sorry falling down from the ceiling, hitting the creature and knocking it to the ground as a slowly got buried in the rubble. Luna formed another bubble around them until the dust cleared off.
Discord's eyes opened and he stood up. They stayed quiet and stared at the piled of rocks that now buried the Entity. They both took a breath of relief when there were no signs of it getting up. It was out cold.
"At least that can buy us some time," Luna panted.
"Hopefully, enough." Discord got his bow and the remaining arrows. Luna dropped the shield down. "Okay, let's join Capper and Spike."
"Shouldn't we go help the others?" Luna suggested.
"They'll be fine. They got all the backup they need."
"Okay then. Let's go," Luna agreed.
The two then ran off to help Capper and Spike. They could only pray that Capper had already sealed the gate.
Capper crawled through a tight space with Spike behind them. The two jumped at the sound of shooting and loud explosions. Capper looked back at Spike and gave him a small nod. Spike nodded back and the two continued on their path. Eventually, they made it to an opening with many bright lanterns flying through the air.
“Is this it?” Spike asked.
“No,” Capper whispered back. “That’s it.” Capper pointed ahead towards a weird distortion in space. The crack in space glowed and shot sparks out in all directions. “Do you have the scroll?”
“Yup,” Spike said as he pulled it out. The two ran towards the gate only to be stopped by a familiar sight.
“Hello there.” The creature stepped from around the corner and greeted to two with a smile. Luna and Discord ran in and gasped at the sight.
Arch was flung to the ground as two Fallen jumped on him. Stellar grabbed one of the Fallen and pulled it off one of his soldiers. Arch pulled out his sword and began to slash at the Fallen’s face. The creature roared as it jumped back. Arch stood up and threw the sword straight into its head.
The squad stood with their weapons shined bright. The Fallen staggered and were pushed back by the sheer wave of projectiles. Alas, the Fallen shot back with black shards and large pillars. The squad separated as they avoided certain death.
“We can’t give up!” Stellar shouted. “Not until the kid can make it.”
Big Mac ran up to Arch and kicked the Fallen that was dragging him across the floor. Two of the Fallen jumped on Big Mac from behind and they pinned him and Arch to the ground. Shira tried shooting them but got shot by the crystal orb and fell to the ground. Another one of the Fallen put a claw to her neck letting her know not to move.
Luna tried to help Shira by blasting the thing in the face with powerful beams of hatred. The Black Creature noticed this and shot a blast at her. Luna cried as she flew and slammed against a pillar.
“I expected more from a guardian,” The creature said as it picked Capper off of the ground. “You really are the newbie, aren’t you?” Capper began to chock as the Fallen tightened its grip.
"Capper no!" Luna yelled. She got ready to fired but got clawed in the side by one of the Fallen. She could only cry as she too got pinned down.
Spike jumped on top of the Fallen and drenched its neck in the fire. The Fallen let go of Capper and stumbled back. The creature grabbed Spike and threw him across the room. Spike hit the wall hard and caused it to crack.
Capper pulled out his sword. He knew he was going to have to fight.
"Let me finish this one," The Black creature told the other Fallen with a smirk. "I will enjoy watching the light fade from his eyes."
Capper fired a big blast from his sword, blasting it several meters away. It got up effortlessly and returned a blast at Capper. Capper barely jumped out of the way. It grabbed Capper's arm and threw up in the air. Capper only screamed. It then jumped higher just above him and punched Capper into the ground, it creaking underneath him.
It then shot its crystal blast at him causing Capper to scream louder.
Luna cried as she couldn't do anything to help him. The others shared similar looks as they knew Capper was no match for the Fallen. He wasn't strong nor experience enough to fight him.
Shira glanced over to Arch. She could only imagine what was going through his mind. He already lost so much family and it was possible to lose the last one he had.
"Arch, I'm sorry. If we-"
"It's okay," he cut her off. "You were only trying to help."
The creature backed away, allowing Capper to weakly stand up. His legs trembled as he fought to keep standing. He threw his sword at the Fallen who casually dodged it. The Fallen then went up to the cat and grabbed him by the neck.
“You are weak and pathetic." It punched Capper in the stomach. "No family, friends...all alone with no one." It punched him in the face. "Ironic how you will die the same way as your parents. Except knowing the things you have done, could they ever be proud of their little baby boy? You're not a guardian. You're barely a person. Just disgrace of everything that your father fought for."
Capper only screamed and grunted with each impact as his armor broke off. But he couldn't tell what was hurting him more. The punches or the words.
"You're the type who wants to be special or who thinks they are. Hoping that something will come out of the misery of your upbringing but that's not how it works, boy. That's not how your story will end. Sometimes a creature simply just dies as nothing. And you will die alone and as nothing. You will fade into a long-forgotten memory."
Capper coughed out blood. "Maybe." It hurt to speak. "But I-I take...pride going down f-fighting."
It smirked at him. "Typical." It brought its claws out.
"No!" Luna cried out as she tried to break from the grip holding her down.
"Before you die, I must know. What made you think that you can get past me?”
“Because,” Capper said as he gasped for air. “I never show all of my cards.”
The Fallen froze with a puzzled expression before it was doused in fire and light. It dropped Capper and cried out in pain. Discord emerged and brought more fire with him and shot it all at the creature.
"I think you need this." Discord threw Capper his sword.
"Thanks, Dizzy."
Capper stared down at the creature. "It's strange. There are so many emotions going on in my head. I'm overwhelmed, scared but angry. I am pretty good at keeping my emotions under control. I wonder if that's the guardian part of me. But I wonder what happens when you take every little thing, every thought, and every person that has hurt you and betrayed you and let it all out.” Capper's sword starting glowing brighter and brighter as he spoke.
The creature tried shooting a blast at Capper who easily dodged it by blocking it with his sword.
"What would happen if you allowed yourself to no longer care and let out everything the world made you hold in? I lost my parents, I was homeless for most of my life and I was betrayed by those who swore they cared about me. I have been beaten and tortured by this cruel world when all I asked for was just normal life and be loved. I have 20 years of pain and misery that I've just bottled up my entire life. I wonder what that looks like.” His expression darkened as his voice sounded dark and cruel. The sword was doing more than just glowing. It started burning and catching fire. His whole body along with the sword and everything around them started to turn white.
Every creature was forced to cover their eyes. Then Capper screamed as the big wave of energy released from the sword and spread everywhere around them. A lot of the Fallen shouted as the light burn away their skins until they were nothing but ashes. Some let go of their captive and tried running away.
After a few seconds, the light began to dim and slowly faded away. When sight returned, Luna saw that many of the Fallens were no longer there. Either ashes or maybe had gotten away. The one who still stood was the main Black Creature who now laid on the ground.
No one dared to say anything to what they had just witnessed. It was not just unexpected but unbelievable that someone like Capper could do this. Luna only knew him for a short time but even she knew he wasn't one to get angry or to yell easily. There seem to be more going on with the cat's mind.
Capper ran past Discord, who looked at Capper speechlessly, and the Fallen. He grabbed the scrolled and limped up to the gate. Before he reached it he saw one Fallen sitting next to the portal. It looked calm and almost at peace. Capper slowly walked up to it only to realize that it wasn’t attacking him
“Go ahead,” The creature next to the gate whispered. Capper didn’t respond but he did stop in his tracks. “If you’re going to close the gate then you better hurry.” Capper watched as the creature stared off in the distance with no care of the fight taking place. “It won’t matter, you won’t stop us no matter what you do."
"Only one way to find out."
The sword and the scroll both lit up and there was a bright light as Capper sealed up the gate for good.
“You have our gratitude,” Stellar announced. Spike, Luna, Capper, Big Mac, and Discord all stood in front of the squad of guardians. “You fought bravely."
"Awww it was nothing," Spike boosted. "It's just what we do."
"Eyup...but hopefully not any time soon," Big Mac chuckled guiltily.
"Yeah, agree," Spike nodded.
"We are glad we could help," Luna said with pride.
"And not die in the process of it," Discord added.
"What now?" Spike asked.
"We will clean up the mess and make sure all of The Fallen have been killed," Shira answered. "I think it's time that you all go and take a well-deserved break."
"No kidding," Discord laughed.
Capper looked confused at them all. "I still don't know what I did in there."
Stellar put an arm around him. "In the heat of the moment, We do things that we aren't sure we should be proud of. We don't know if it's good or bad. Whatever it was, and gave us victory today but I advise you to not overthink it."
Capper kicked a piece of rock on the ground and nodded.
Shira went next to Big Mac and gave him a light pat on the shoulder. "Not bad fighting there."
"Same for you." He began to take off the bracelet. Shira put her paw on his hoof which stopped him.
"No, keep it. I have a feeling you will need it," she smiled at him.
"Wait does the mean I can keep the armor?" Spike jumped in hopefully.
Stellar rolled his eyes. "Sure why not? I guess call a thank you gift for all your help."
"I'm just glad I will be able to inform Barry's parents that everything will be fine for them now," Luna said brightly.
They all then started to pack up and get ready to leave.
"Hey, kid!” Arch called out.
“What is it?”
“I just wanted to say that you did good back there.” Arch smiled as he saw the sword on Capper’s back. “The sword suits you; your father would have loved to see it on you.”
Capper gave a weak grin as he imagined the dream outcome. “What actually happened to him?”
“I already told you,” Arch sighed.
“You said they were murdered but you never told me everything, like who did it.”
Arch stared for a few moments before he turned around. “This really isn’t the time for that or the place.” Arch glanced back to meet the cat’s eyes one last time. “And trust me when I say this isn’t the place.” Arch walked off and disappeared around the corner.
Capper stood quietly and took a deep breath.
Luna trotted up to him. "You okay?"
"For now at least." Capper stared at his sword.
"So you preferred Eris?" Luna joked.
Capper shrugged. "Maybe..."
"You know when I first saw you at the Friendship Festival, you were the last person I ever thought I would actually meet," Luna admitted.
"Me and you both," Capper agreed.
"I wish we could have met on better circumstances, though," Luna said.
Capper shook his head a little. "I have a feeling we'll be seeing each other more often."
"I'm hoping it's not just when the world needs saving," Luna groaned.
Capper looked at where Arch left before looking back at Luna. There were so many things he wanted, no, he needed to know. "I'll be around so don't worry."
"Well, you know where to find me if you ever need anything." she started heading back to the group.
"Luna," Capper called out from behind. "Don't be ashamed of what you are. What you are doesn't make who you are."
Luna froze for a moment. She looked back at him and simply nodded her head before continuing. She trotted up to the group and Discord smiled at her as he put an arm around her.
"So what's next, Lulu?"
"Now it's time for me to face my sister?" Luna groaned causing Spike and Big Mac to laugh.
"So glad I'm not you," Spike said.
"But don't you have to explain this to Twilight? She most likely noticed you being gone by now," Discord pointed out to Spike. Spike stayed quiet as he realized his mistake. His eyes then widened and he put both claws to his face.
"Oh No! I'm so dead!"
"Eyup!"