Light's Darkest Form

by Fateful Pony

Preperation

“Applejack, no!” A voice shot out from the bedroom.

Derpibra sprung from the pillow, tears in his eyes. He looked around frantically for his dear mare, but it took him some time to realize he was in reality.

He gasped rapidly as his cheeks became stained with his fear.

“Applejack…”

“You are safe now.” A sweet, low voice emanated from the opposite side of the sun stained room.

He wiped his tears away with a hoof, his lips tensing at his nightmare. “L-Luna?”

“I’ve only seen part of your nightmare. What was it as a whole?”

“Darkness… Applejack died. Flurry Heart, gone… everything. The dream… i-it was all black. I couldn’t see…”

Luna caressed him, and her left wing blanketed him around the back. “‘Tis okay. You are back now, to reality. Nothing happened here that would effectively resemble your dream.”

“But... “ His eyes full of glistening tears looked at her in disbelief. “It felt so real…”

“As many nightmares do. Do not worry, I will protect you in the darkest hours of the night.”

Derpibra squeezed her in a trusting hug while sniffling in her coat. “T-thanks.”

“Quickly now,” She cleaned the reappearing tears from his muzzle. “Twilight is expecting you. Today is Sunday, and she wants to head off to the ruins soon.”

“Y-yeah. Let’s go.” He got up from his bed, and retrieved his trench coat and hat from the wardrobe, and headed off to the Royal Study.

--->><---

“Twilight?” Derpibra called into the endless mass of books and shelves. “I’m here!”

“I’m over here.” To his left, he spotted a desk with various books and tools upon it. Trotting over, he greeted her with a hoof shake.

“So how’s the research going with the ruins?”

“Everything seems to be in a different language concerning whatever I could find relative to the location of the ruins.” She flipped through her notes. “Luxembourgish, a language not commonly spoken in Equestria since 963. Those ruins however could be much older, predating the language its many inscriptions were written in.”

“You know the name of these ruins?”

“The name in Luxembourgish is ‘Ruine vun der Donkel Draach’. I am still in the process of translating the name however. There is not much on how their language works here.”

“Will this stop us from going right now?”

“Not at all.” She summoned a bag from under the desk. “I’m ready to go, just like everyone else. But are you ready, is the question.”

“I still need to get some armor and a new sword, remember?”

“Right. Erm… talk to Cadence about that. I’m sure she knows about a royal smith around the castle somewhere. Once you do that, meet us outside on the courtyard so we can get going.”

“Cool. Hey Luna? Are you coming with us?”

She shook her head. “My apologies, but I’m certain that these ruins would be interesting to explore, but I must remain with my sister. We still have repairs to make around the castle.”

“Aw, okay. Stay safe.” Derpibra waved goodbye as she departed from the room. “Guess I should be heading out too. Alright, see you in a few.”

--->><<---

Cadence, seated upon the throne, waved towards Derpibra’s approach. “Good morning.”

“Mornin’.”

“Did you rest well?”

He acted out a stretch. “Eh… not really. Had a bad dream, but Luna came to my rescue, so I’m good.”

“What was it about?”

He was reluctant to share any details, especially about Flurry Heart in his nightmare. “I… heh, you know, the usual. Zombies, dinosaurs, that sorta thing.”
“I dislike those dreams. It usually involves me being helpless in one way or another.”

He nodded, glad he dodged the bullet. “Yeah, it sucks. Hey, do you have any weapons or armor that a stallion like me can use?”

“Sure. My personal armory is just down the hall to my bedroom. I’ll show you.” She lifted herself from her throne and motioned for him to follow closely behind.

Both trotting, he asked, “Personal armory? You would seriously let me get something from there?”

“You deserve it. You saved the Empire, everypony inside it, including my baby. I actually have something of amazing value for you.”

“You see,” He began with a smirk. “I would say you don’t need to reward me, but now you’ve gotten me interested.”

She chuckled, quite cutely so. “You should be. I think you’ll love it.”

She stopped at a seemingly random door amongst all others in the hall. “Right here.”

Derpibra cocked a brow. “Uh, this door looks exactly like all the other ones here.”

“It’s because you do not feel the magical seal on this door. Only the highest ranking guards are allowed access. Now quickly, before anypony sees.” Her horn flashed a brilliant blue, and the seal was lifted, but only for a moment.

They dashed into the room, shutting the door. When Derpibra turned about, his eyes feasted on irons and steels covering the walls in the form of armor and blades. “Woah… okay, this is pretty cool.”

“Look at what is in the case right here.”

To the center of the large room rested a large glass display case. Inside it held a bright pink and silver longsword. The cross guard and pommel of the hilt faintly resembled a sort of heart shape. The blade was split into two colors by a straight line. Upon closer inspection, the blade seemed to have had a strange multicolored glow. Its sheath shared the same characteristics.

“This is the Blade of Hearts- a longsword meant to be used with two hooves.”

Derpibra retrieved the weapon from its clear sanctuary, and observed its fantasy look. “This thing is beautiful.”

“Yes, even after all of these years. It’s been a family relic of ours for generations. And now it’s yours.”

“Wait, but is it still usable? It’s pretty old, eh?”

“That doesn’t mean it can’t be used. It is capable of much more than what meets the eye. But I’ll leave that for you to discover.”

After sheathing the blade and attaching it to his belt, he trotted over to an armor stand, putting on display a suit of Royal Heavy Plate armor. Colored with various pinks and blues, it stood high and mighty as the pinnacle of Crystal Empire craftsmanship. “This armor looks heavy.”

“It is. Only highly trained paladins are able to wield such armor without tipping over. Maybe you would like to try it on?”

“Yeah.” He removed his duster coat and hat in favor of the massive plated armor. Buckling it into place, he stood confidently in his suit. He dropped the visor of his helmet over his eyes. “How do I look?”

“Like a huge discolored mass of impenetrable steel.”

“That sounds accurate enough. And this sword matches the colors.”

“Glad to see you are able to wear such heavy armor without getting sore. Well, i hear you must go explore those ruins, so I’ll leave you to your devices. Shall we go?”

“Of course.”