Light's Darkest Form

by Fateful Pony


Two Brothers

“I can’t beat him!” Derpibra cried. “Why can’t I beat him!?”

“It takes a god to beat a god Derpibra.” Daischtert said. “I will face him myself. It seems only I am the one capable of ending this war. So much death and destruction… no matter. Go and secure the beachfront with the others. I will finish this.”

“O-okay.”

The black dragon dashed off in the distance, leaving his gray friend to find his way toward the beach.

-->><<--

The beach was littered with arrows, bullet casings, bodies, anything that could serve as a tell-tale sign of conflict. It seems that his friends have put up a flag with Daischtert’s emblem in the soft sand below.

Derpibra landed and folded his wings. He observed his surroundings and judged that whatever happened here was not pretty- at least for the enemy.

Twilight approached him with Optix using her as a crutch.

“Hey bonehead!” Optix greeted. “You’re still alive. You look like you’re in bad shape.”

“My armor is just shattered to bits. I’m starting to wonder why every time I get new armor it breaks in the first fight I get into. Guess it’s just bad luck. What about you?”

“Got a arrow to the knee. Hey, why do you look so down chum?”

“I couldn’t beat Magnus… Daischtert is going to fight him now. He told me to hold the beach with you guys.”

“Good. We can use the extra muscle. And, cheer up. Even the best can’t win ‘em all.”

“Twilight? Did the fight end well? I’m hoping there was only one injury here.”

“Yes.” Twilight replied. “The fight was… bloody, to say the least. But at least we aren’t the ones that got killed. Still, it’s rather unsettling seeing this many bodies here at once.”

“I’d say. Hey, where’s Fluttershy? I see everyone here but her.”

“She prolly ran off somewhere.” Optix scoffed. “But with all the warfare, we couldn’t go lookin’ for her. The fight literally just ended.”

“Hey, um, everypony?” A familiar, light voice called. “I found a pigeon. It looks hurt.” Fluttershy emerged from the dense forests behind the castle. “Look at her. She must’ve gotten hit by the aftershock of all of the explosions.”

“Fluttershy! Where were you?” Optix growled. “We needed your help back here!”

Fluttershy squeaked.

“Optix, remember…” Twilight said. “Go easy on her. I don’t think she would have expected to find herself in a warzone you know.”

“Okay Twinkle.” Optix remarked.

“Wait, Twinkle?”

“That’s gonna be your new name.” Her horn began to glow a bright blonde, levitating a small tin container from her belt pouch. She took the lid off and scooped up some sand in it then replaced the lid. She took out a purple marker and wrote ‘Dragon Isle’ on it’s face.

“What’s that for?”

“I like to keep the sand and dirt from different places I fought in. It helps me remember the places we- I, conquered. Ah~ good times. Maybe we can visit those places together some day?”

“Sounds intriguing.”

At least everypony is okay. Derpibra thought. Hopefully Daischtert will be having an easier time.

-->><<--

“So, Daischtert… It’s been some time since we properly spoke without trying to kill each other.” Magnus said in such a posh fashion.

“Cut the act Magnus.”

“My, so sharp with your responses.”

“I have to be. Especially when speaking with you, unfortunately.”

Magnus sighed. “I am a silver-tongued devil afterall.”

“Yes, seeing as you lied about your light to all of your followers. You have ponies worshipping you, praising you for your supposed radiance. How foolish, they were, to trust you.”

“‘Tis their very nature, no? They deserve to be taken advantage of! They have no respect for dragon kind! They think us all to be treacherous beasts, always with an ulterior motive in our dealings. We, always the perpetrators of destruction and mass hysteria.”

“Aren’t you proving their point?”

“Yes, but that, is the point Daischtert. Have you not seen it yet? Even after all of these years?”

“Seen what?”

“I wanted to prove them right. They were always paranoid… never trusting, even if we meant well at one point. So, I made their paranoia truth. Their conspiracies finally breath truth, Daischtert. I want them to understand, now, that they thought right. You see, there is a plenty more history to our past interactions with ponies than what can be found on the walls of tombs and literature inscribed within artifacts. They will come to know it, now.”

“You’re… insane!”

“Is it considered insanity to expect respect from others?”

“It is earned, not taken!”

“Not true. As you can see, I took it, in such a way they wouldn’t notice. There are things that I know that not even you do. How I became a king, how I earned everyone’s respect so tactfully? You couldn’t even guess.”

Daischtert remained silent.

“Precisely. If I am to die this day, then those secrets will die with me. I hold the breath required. Without me around, there are some things you will just never know…”

“Impossible! You’re just bluffing! What you know can’t be that seriously important. What is important now is your judgement.”

“I concur, Your Honor.”

Daischtert formed a ring in his claws, arcing with black lightning. “Let us begin our fight. This idle chatter is obnoxious now.”

“You think killing me will end the true darkness?” Magnus’ bright gold scales turned to black, and his eyes were a brilliant blue. “I am not the only patron to the darkness. You too are one with me and the rest!”

“Magnus, you…! What are you!?”

“I am you, Daischtert.”

“I only assumed this blighted power because I thought it would break your light, but it seems this is your true self.”

“Yes. Now you understand. This, this is Light’s darkest form.”

This is insane! He’s lived a lie… well, now is time for me to end it. “Dark Impulse!” Daishctert launched the ring, but Magnus dodged it.

Magnus retaliated by launching a beam from his snout. “Shadow Beam!”

He deflected the attack then jumped backwards, launching a volley of blasts in Magnus’ direction.

With these blasts heading his way, he projected a magic shield and blocked all of his attacks.

The two dragons began flying through the dense forests and magma filled lands all across the island, shooting magic and occasionally clashing together until they reached the smaller mountain ranges.

“Is this all you have for me Daischtert?”

“I killed you once, and I can do it again!”

“Hmph, that old body was useless anyhow. This is me at my purest.”

Daishctert’s snout began to glow a dim purple. “Shadow Snap!” He chomped at his opponent, doing a considerable amount of damage.

Magnus had three red bite marks on his chest. “Playing dirty now? Shadow Splice!”

The area around the mountains became pitch black, almost as if the Earth had a hole in the atmosphere leading into space. Then, suddenly, three neon blue scratch marks appeared within the bubble of dark, one by one, before they disappeared, sending Daishctert flying into a mountain.

“I never had the chance to test that one out.”

“Not bad Magnus.”

“What!? No one’s ever survived that attack!”

“But me. And I know why.”

“Tell me. Tell me this instant! It had to be a shield or something similar!”

“No. All those years you spent, pretending to be calm and unwilling to fight if not provoked first. It has had its effects on you Magnus. You aren’t nearly as strong as you were before. I dare say you even misused your technique.”

“Misused!? How idiotic of you to think such a thing. I am still in the best shape as can be.”

“Then let us test it. Shadow Punch!”

Daischtert landed a impactful blow to his chest with a claw, sending Magnus spiraling into another nearby mountain. Grabbing him by the foot, he spun around many times before throwing him into the base of yet another mountain, bringing down the mighty stone upon his opponent.

The mountain crumbled under the force of the pitch, being reduced to nothing but comically large rubble. Magnus managed to pull himself out of his bed of stones, but it seems he was crippled from the attack. “D-damn you... “

“I’m sorry it had to come to this, but this is the only way this war can end. We took so many ponies with us. But only one of us had a noble reason for it, and only one must pay.” He prepared a black beam in his claw. “Magnus, you are a brother who’s gone mad. I still think of you as family, even in our current circumstances.”

“Fool! You talk as if you would kill me!”

“I did it once.”

“But what about the second time? Could you stomach wiping me from existence? Your decision may be final…”

Daischtert was quite hesitant. His beam grew in intensity, and his thoughts raced.

“Wot? Finish me! You have the chance. Or will you let me slip away again?”

“...My sincerest apologies.”

*KA-BOOM*

The beam left behind a mushroom cloud, and once it vanished, it only left behind ashes.

Daischtert began to sniffle, then eventually started to cry. “You were the only family I had since I’ve lost track of my parents, so long ago because of our bout. I know what you did was wrong, but I can’t help but feel I’m missing something now…” He felt a soft object placed on his shoulder.

It was Derpibra’s hoof. “You did the right thing. No doubt he would’a came back and destroyed us all later if you didn’t put him down.”

“Honestly, I don’t know what I did was even right. Sure, the fight is over, but at what cost? The cost of thousands- millions of lives. Families devastated from members going to war, and all for what? A simple disagreement.”

Derpibra couldn’t forge a response.

“I need time to… to think about this. I will take you all back to Equestria, but then I will have to come back here, to repair what’s been damaged. I have to right my wrongs now, in anyway that I can.”

“I understand. Will you come to visit us again?”

“Someday.”