Back in the prison, Echo was laying on his cell bed, still lamenting, completely unaware of Synchro's attack going on above ground...
"What a mess I've made..." He groaned. "All the innocent lives ruined, because of me..." He glanced at his hooves. "I only wanted to find a use for dark magic, a use that wasn't to inflict harm upon others, or for one's selfish gains... I just wanted to make a difference... but all I had done had done nothing but helped the wicked and hurt the innocent..." He sighed deeply. "Why did I have to be so interested in dark magic? So good at researching it? So blasted smart?! I'm a fool, is what I am. My so-called talents turned me into a monster. And now they've helped doom everypony in Equestria. Well done, Alchemy. You've outdone yourself this time..."
Echo violently pummelled his pillow, imagining it to have his face.
"Maybe Shining was right... maybe they were all right... I should have never gotten involved in dark magic... maybe I should spend the rest of my days, locked up like the monster I am..." He felt a tear drop from his eyes. "Oh Faust, I am so messed up..."
"So, is that it?" A voice called out, "You're going to just going to sit there, crying like a foal, and give up?"
"Wha..." Echo immediately shot up, as he stood up and looked out of his cell. To his shock, somepony was occupying a cell across from him... a Thestral... a Thestral with round sunglasses...
"It's you." Echo gasped, recognizing him. "The Thestral... the one who used the 'smoke' spell to save that mare all those years ago…"
"You remember me." The Thestral smiled. "I'm touched."
"Of course I remember you." Echo nodded. "How could I forget somepony who had inspired me to continue my research into dark magic in face of opposition? I had longed for the day that I would finally meet you again..."
"Really?" The Thestral mused. "Never realized that I had a fan. I'm flattered."
"However..." Echo frowned, as he clutched the bars of his cell. "I had hoped that we would meet under much different circumstances... it seems like you and I both had trouble with the law..."
"'Trouble' would be putting it mildly." The spectacled Thestral shrugged. "Couldn't help but overhear your woes."
"Oh, you heard that." Echo sighed, as he sat back down on his bed. "Then surely you understand that it would be better for me to remain here for the rest of my life."
"You shouldn't give up so easily." The Thestral told him with a sympathetic frown. "Not on yourself. Not on life. And certainly not on dark magic."
"Why not?" Echo sighed. "I and my work have brought nothing but trouble to everypony around me. Not only had I had assisted an evil cult in almost taking over Equestria, twice even, but I hurt ponies... lots of ponies... This curse of mine has ruined everything..."
The spectacled Thestral sat there in silence for a moment…
"You know, I once thought the very same thing." The Thestral chuckled. "I was like you... young, spry, and ready to give to the world... then…an incident happened and I found myself being able to fire smoke from my hooves..." He emphasized his point by unleashing bits of smoke around his hooves. "Thanks to these and my heritage, I became the 'monster' that they claim me to be, and at the time, I was willing to believe them. I had tried to find a way to rid myself of dark magic, thinking that I would only bring misery upon the ones I cared about... but in the end, the three most important things in my life suffered tremendously... I would have given everything to take those years back..."
"I know the feeling." Echo sighed. "But... what changed? How did you come to be the Samaritan I saw all those years ago?"
"I came to realize that I was wrong." The Thestral declared. For so long, I let my fears control me, make me afraid of what I was capable of... but then I thought of what I was capable of... my dark magic, vested in these hooves... could help ponies. In fact, I could change the world for the better with them. Dark magic, which I saw as a curse, ended up becoming the best thing that ever happened to me... And so can yours. You just have to figure out how to use them."
"Use them?" Echo frowned. "Sir, I don't know if you are aware, but there's a beast inside me! A beast that slaughtered other ponies, and kidnapped others, all for crud and giggles. You don't... you can't use something like that!"
"That is what you think." The Thestral declared. "This spell, 'Berserker', I take it?" Echo nodded. "You fail to see the true potential of this spell, because you have either fought it, or been overwhelmed by it."
"What are you getting at?" Echo squinted.
"Seek the middle ground, my friend." The Thestral smiled. "Do not fight the beast, but do not give yourself to it, either. Balance yourself. Only when both sides of your nature are in harmony can you truly be at peace."
"Easier said than done." Echo snorted. "You probably haven't had the same year I had been having…"
"Look, like it or not, the beast is a part of you. Dark magic is a part of you." The Thestral declared. "Instead of resisting it, try accepting it. Surely a pony as smart as yourself can tame mindless instincts?"
"I don't know..." Echo sighed.
Suddenly, the cell was rocked by an explosion.
"What's going on out there?" He frowned. "Wait, is it... oh no."
Up above, Sunset was doing battle with Synchro. She put up a good fight, but Synchro's new powers were pushing her back against the wall. It was taking much of her strength to avoid getting hit by the spells from Sombra's book, and Synchro's enhanced crystals were proving even more of a challenge.
"And here I thought you were smart." Synchro taunted her, as she barely dodged a crystal whip. "You couldn't beat me before, even with the help of my brother and that armored oaf. Yet you thought you could beat me now, with the power I've acquired? Fool!"
"This time, the stakes are way higher!" Sunset retaliated with a magic blast.
"Which will make your impending failure all the more spectacular." Synchro sneered, creating a crystal shield to block the blast.
"I don't think so..." Sunset growled, charging forward.
"Give it time." Synchro smirked. "I think you'll come around
As the clash continued, Synchro started to gain ground. He unleashed the darkness spell, blinding Sunset. Then, just as he did with Shining, he leapt into the cloud and pummeled Sunset. As the cloud dissipated, he covered his hoof with crystals, and punched her in the face, knocking her down.
"Ugh..." Sunset growled, wiping the blood from her snout, as she struggled to get up.
"Pathetic." Synchro spat. "You're just like all the rest: a weak, meaningless pawn, manipulated by the higher intellect. You have no idea how long you've been playing into their hooves..." He formed a crystal spike, and pointed it at Sunset's stomach. "It's time I relieve you of that burden and take you off the board."
"No... please..." Sunset gasped, her body held in place by Synchro's crystals. She did the only thing she could. "HELP! ECHO!"
In his cell, Echo froze, recognizing the scream.
"Sunset..." He gasped.
"She needs you." The smoke powered Thestral declared. "The only pony who can stop your brother is you. The power you hold within may prove the key to turning the tide."
"You're right..." Echo admitted, before realizing something. "Wait... how did you know it was my..."
He turned to the Thestral's cell, only to see him gone, nothing but a bit of purplish smoke remaining.
"Where did he..." Echo gasped. "...Was he really there, or am I just losing it?"
He shook his head.
"No matter. Sunset needs me. I have to get out of here, and there's only one way..."
Echo took a deep breath. He had never conceived of willingly transforming before, but he was aware that stress and anger had provoked him to change in the past. All he had to do was recreate those requirements. And he knew just how to do it.
'Think, Echo.' He told himself. 'Think of what will happen if Synchro wins today. Dark magic will become the blight everypony thinks it is. Thousands will suffer...' His eyes grew wispy. 'Sunset will die...'
His body began shifting within, as his breathing grew erratic.
'I can't let those all ponies turn out like those pagekeepers did... angry like Rancour, greedy like Zhadnost, gluttonous like Uroho, lustful like Eros, prideful like Hubris, slothful like Lethargy, and envious like Brody... and what of those we saved? They will all burn... I can't let dark magic harm any of them again... I won't let dark magic harm any of them again...'
Soon, he felt his body grow in size and muscles, his wings beating the walls of his cell, his hooves expanding, cracking the stone floor below, his eyes becoming more and more wispy...
"Don't give in..." He told himself. "But don't fight it, you'll need the anger. Find the balance. Focus on the mission..."
Echo struggled with himself for a moment. He almost lost it again, but thinking of the consequences of Synchro's victory kept it in check.
"Easy there, Echo... you are in control... you need to stay in control... not just for everypony's sake... but for Sunset... especially Sunset...'
Soon, his transformation was complete, and with a loud roar, Echo blasted the cell's door off it's hinge. The now feral Thestral stepped out of his cell, glancing at the exit.
"Alright then..." He sighed, cricking his neck. "Time to go to work."
Up above, Synchro was savoring his upcoming kill, Sunset's scream only whetting his appetite.
"Ah, I only wish my brother were here to see this." Synchro sighed, hovering his crystal spike over her, pressing it gently along her stomach. "Ah, well. I'll tell him later when I bust him out, after I've made every other pony like us."
"You won't win..." Sunset groaned. "Not as long as ponies like myself and Echo are out there..."
"Well, if I do or not, you won't be around to find out" Synchro grinned.
He raised his crystal spike, ready to finish her off... when suddenly...
"Rarrrrghhhh!" Echo roared, as he burst through the castle wall and onto the scene.
"What the-" Synchro gasped.
He hadn't the chance to finish, as the beast rammed him head on. Synchro was barely able to regain balance, as he quickly stumbled to his hooves. He glared up at who had struck him, as Echo stood over Sunset, his big bulky body overshadowing hers.
"Leave her alone." He said firmly, letting out a feral growl.
"E-Echo?" Sunset murmured. "Is that..."
Echo glanced down at her, his eyes, for the first time in his state, not being of a killer, but of the same Thestral she came to know and love.
"It's me..." Echo whispered, his voice losing its beast-like tone. "It's me, and I am in control this time... I won't let anypony hurt you..."
"I knew you'd come..." Sunset smiled, nuzzling his chin. "I can always count on you..."
Suddenly, clapping ensued, as Echo glared up at Synchro, who was doing said clapping.
"Bravo, brother dear..." Synchro clapped mockingly. "Looks like somepony has perfected anger management... I'd be more impressed if I weren't so annoyed by your untimely intrustion."
"I came to end this, brother!" Echo declared. "I will not allow you to use dark magic to wrought evil upon this land again."
"Who said you've been allowing me?" Synchro snarled. "And why do you even care? You should be standing by my side, as we bring upon a new era!"
"A new era?!" Echo roared. "An era where ponies are turned into monsters of their own designs and turning on one another like dogs?! Is that truly your vision of a new era?!"
"Hey, I didn't say it was ideal." Synchro seethed. "But it will teach them of the pain and suffering that ponies like us had to endure under their prejudice!"
"Again with us! You talk as if there are more of us!" Echo glared.
"There is more of us!" Synchro declared, "What, you think that it was by some unholy miracle that I survived that explosion at the mansion, or that explosion you endured in the film? We are special, Echo! We have something in us that gave us these powers! And we aren't the only ones! All over the world, there are ponies who can use dark magic at will! Dante, the Dark Mage of Eurodeo! Fetlocke the Feral, warlock of Shetland! And so many more! Once the dust had settled and my message had been received, I will gather these ponies up, and we will control the masses as they had controlled us! And together, we can rule over what remains of this forsaken land! Think about it, Echo, we can have better lives!"
"I'm sorry, Synchro... but that is something I cannot allow to happen." Echo shook his head. "I can't let you harm these ponies... hurting them won't make those horrifying memories go away, Synchro..."
"You are seriously defending them?!" Synchro snarled, outraged. "These ponies, as you call them, hate you! They want you ra#un out of town, flogged, and hung! Yet, you are rushing to their defense?! Especially him?!" He gestured to Shining, who was struggling to get up, but his abdominal wound made it nearly impossible. "The very stallion who imprisoned you because of his sheer disdain for you and all that you stand for! Why should these ponies deserve our forgiveness for their prejudice and ridicule?!"
"...Because..." Echo began, his voice turning to normal for a moment. "...Because, if I did just as you ask... I would be proving them right. That we are indeed monsters..."
"Hence why they need to suffer!" Synchro snarled."They make us out to be monsters, when ponies like Nero... like Shining are out here making our lives a living Tartarus! How could you not want that?"
"You don't think I do?" Echo growled. "Back before this whole mess started, I had something of a life, graduating from Hayvard, hoping for a career suited to my intelligence…but ever since I became…this, I lost all that, and I had to deal with ponies like Shining hating me day in and day out. I would have wanted nothing more than to give them a taste of what I feel... but..." He glanced down at Sunset, "But then... I remember, that in spite of everything, that they are ponies, just like me. Dark magic or not, if I began seeking revenge against all those who had wronged me, I would never stop.... and I would lose the bit of equinity I had left."
"And would that be such a bad thing?" Synchro sneered. "Look where your so-called 'equinity' has gotten you. Nothing but pain and misery."
"Of that, I will not argue." Echo admitted. "But all the pain and misery is better than simple feeling anger, and hatred."
"That's a matter of opinion." Synchro countered. "Anger and hatred have been the only that kept me going during the hard times."
"If that's then I pity you." Echo shook his head.
"Keep your pity." Synchro spat.
"It's not too late to stop this, brother." Echo declared.
"And why would I stop? Tell me that!" Synchro asked.
"Because reducing everypony to our level won't make the pain go away." Echo declared. "You'll still be you, with all the pain and misery…what Nero did to us... to you... it was in-equine. No child should had lived through that..."
"Yet we did!" Synchro snorted. "You had gone far too soft on me, brother, not to mention naïve! This world is a cold and ugly place, and there will never be a place for ponies like us, not as long as ponies like Shining continue to live!"
"Brother, please…don't surrender yourself to hate." Echo urged, as he glanced back at Shining. "I will not lie, it is true that ponies like Shining may never understand us... and they probably never will. But it's their loss, and their choice to live in ignorance. If they want to be intolerant, small-minded fools, that's their business."
"Small-minded?" Shining groaned.
"However, that doesn't mean all hope is lost for them." Echo continued. We can make them see that dark magic is not evil, we can make them see that it can coexist with normal magic, that we can coexist with them. We can make them see that we are ponies just like them, that bleed and cry just like them. Not through force and intimidation, but through reason and understanding. We could do it together, you and me. Please, brother, how many ponies must we make suffer like we had all those years ago?"
Synchro remained silent, lowering his head in contemplation. Echo was not sure if what he said had gotten through to him...
Then, Synchro glanced back at him, his eyes showing no signs of understanding or compassion, but of fury and anguish... "I am sorry, brother." He declared. "But I haven't come this far just to turn back. They need to burn for this. All of them. They need to feel the pain I've felt, when that monster ripped my wings off, when those ponies called me the freak. I am going all the way, with or without you, and I'll slaughter all who stands in my way. Even you..."
Echo's heart sank, as he let out a heavy sigh.
"Then it seems I have no choice." Echo murmured, "Brother or not, I can't let you do this."
"Well then, let's end this, right here, right now." Synchro clutched his horn tightly, as he adopted a battle stance.
Echo pulled himself from over Sunset, as he then glanced down at her.
"Sunset, I need you to help Shining and get to safety." Echo ordered.
"But Echo..." Sunset murmured.
"Please." Echo urged, his eyes saying all that Sunset needed to hear. "Go."
Sunset nodded silently, then ran to Shining's prone form, helping him up with her magic.
"Your majesty, we have to leave.." Sunset told him.
"But the Heart..." Shining winced, "You can't expect me to trust-"
"He's not expecting you." Sunset glared, "He's ordering you."
"A Prince doesn't take orders." Shining insisted. "Especially from-"
"JUST GO!" Echo roared in his beast voice.
"...Okay." Shining murmured. "No need to yell..."
Sunset and Shining quickly left the area, with Sunset acting as Shining's crutch. Then Echo turned to him.
"Now, it's just you and me." Echo glared.
"Fair enough, but to make sure..." Synchro smirked, as his eyes grew more wispy and his body glowed. With a roar, Synchro stood on his hind hooves and spread his front hooves as dark micro-crystals came out of his coat like torrents, and began surrounding the area around the Crystal Heart. Soon, a big dome had formed, locking in both Synchro and Echo, "No more running…let's see how our powers match up, shall we?"
Very well." Echo let out a growl.
They stood there for only a moment, before in an instant, Echo and Synchro charged toward each other.
"On to victory"/"On to death!" Echo and Synchro roared at once, as Echo's hooves collided with Synchro's crystal, creating a small explosion...
Meanwhile, outside the dome, Cadance and Sterling met up with Shining and Sunset.
"Are you okay?" Cadance asked Shining, as she tended to his wound.
"I'm fine." Shining groaned, "Synchro really got me good though..."
"What's going on?" Sterling asked. "What of Synchro?"
"He and Echo are in there." Sunset pointed to the dome.
"Echo?! But how, he's in prison!" Sterling gaped.
"Not anymore." Shining shook his head. "It seems Echo has somehow got the hang of his beast form. I don't know how, but he did."
"And now he's going to fight Synchro." Sunset declared. "But I don't know how he can beat him. Synchro is supercharged with dark magic. With that horn in his possession, Echo can't possibly defeat him."
"Oh, geez..." Sterling frowned. "Is there anything we could do to help?"
"I think I might know a way." Cadance smiled. "Hey Shining, remember how we dealt with Sombra?"
"Of course." Shining grinned. "Cadance, you're a genius!"
"Care to fill the rest of us in?" Sterling asked.
"We can use the Crystal heart's light to combat Synchro's darkness." Cadance declared. "As the Crystal Princess, I know how to invoke the power. To my understanding, Synchro has a tremendous amount of dark magic within him. The light from the Heart should be able to weaken him enough for Echo to defeat him."
"Better yet, if we're lucky, Synchro will start to crack under the light." Shining explained further. "Too much of that light and he's history!"
"But won't that light hurt Echo too?" Sunset pointed out, "He has dark magic in him, just like Synchro."
"Not as much." Cadance assured her. "Miracle cleansed him of most of his dark magic when she struck him with her light magic. At most, it could strip Echo of his beast ability. He will barely feel a thing."
"Besides, this could be our only chance to save Equestria." Shining declared. "Do it, Cadance."
"Here goes..." Cadance screwed up her eyes in concentration. Slowly, her horn starting sparking.
Inside the dome, Echo, despite his efforts, was getting throttled, as Synchro had the horn and his crystals.
"Not so tough now, are you?" Synchro spat, using the Wrath spell to increase his strength. He kicked Echo hard, breaking his shoulder.
"Gah!" Echo roared, clutching his shoulder.
"As for me, I feel just golden!" Synchro laughed insanely, as his horn glowed again, and his hoof developed a golden touch, and he darted forward.
Echo recovered, and, just before Synchro could tag him with the golden touch of the Greed spell, took to the air, dodging Synchro's lunge.
"You think that'll give you the advantage?" Synchro growled. He rose up on a platform of dark crystals, as he continued firing an array of the book's spells from his free hoof
Actually, yes." Echo taunted, dodging the spells with ease (despite his size). "Those long-lost wings of yours would certainly come in handy now."
That struck one of Synchro's nerves. "You stupid..."
Suddenly, the dark crystals rose up, catching Echo in mid-flight.
"Graaagh!" Let me go!" He roared.
"You dare mock my pain, Echo?!" Synchro screamed, "Had I not killed Nero, you would had ended up just like me!"
"If you hadn't killed him, then we would have never lost our mother... or each other!" Echo pointed out.
"I can live with that!" Synchro snarled, clutching his hooves, as the crystals began coiling around Echo, "Just as I can live with killing you!"
"Uggghhh....." Echo groaned.
"This ends now!" Synchro roared, as he was about to send crystal spikes at him.
However, just before the deed was, the Crystal Heart began to glow viciously. The light was blinding, and it began to have an adverse effect on Synchro.
"Ahhh!" Synchro covered his face, as burns began appearing on him, the light burning holes in his trenchcoat. "It... burns! What is this?! AUGH!"
The pain was beginning to disrupt Synchro's focus, as the crystals holding both him and Echo up fell apart.
"Ahhh!" Echo yelped, as he dropped to the ground. The light was hurting him too, but not to the same extent as Synchro. It was still enough to ensure a rough landing.
"Yarrh!" Synchro screamed. "Make it stop! Make it stop!"
The two landed on the ground with a big thud. Echo struggled to his hooves, his body beginning to sizzle, but not as much as Synchro, as he glanced at the light.
"Is this... is this the power of the Heart?" Echo murmured.
Suddenly the light intensified even more. Echo winced, letting out a roar of pain, before, like mist, his beast form faded away, leaving a normal Echo in its wake.
"Ugh..." Echo groaned, glancing away immediately. As soon as he did, he realized that he was normal again. "The beast... it's gone... I can feel it... I'm..." Echo felt tears of relief striking his eyes. "I'm cured…"
However, his joy was short-lived, as Synchro struggled to his hooves, his body still burning from the light. The dome around the heart began falling apart due to it's master's agony, but held firm, as Synchro turned to face Echo.
"Augh... I don't know what you did, Echo... but I am going to end this right now!" Synchro snarled, as he then thrust his firing hoof forward... however, no spell came out. "What?" He tried thrusting it again. "What... no..."
He glanced at the horn in his hoof. All the dark magic that had been funneled into it from the book had all but dissipated when it was exposed to the Heart's light, rendering it completely useless.
"No....." Synchro seethed, shaking the horn impotently. "Noooo!"
"It's over, brother." Echo declared. "Give up now, before it's too late. I can see that the light is hurting you."
"I won't quit." Synchro snarled, ignoring the burns on his face. "No matter what. As long as there is dark magic in my body, I will not yield!"
"Don't be a fool, Synchro!" Echo demanded, "If you don't leave now, the light will destroy you, as it has destroyed Sombra!"
"I don't care!" Synchro screamed. He grabbed his tattered trenchcoat and ripped it clean off him, the coat turning to nothing in seconds. His body was a scarred, ragged mess, with his mangled, uneven wing stubs twitching disturbingly from the pain. His mane and tail were mangy and unkempt, and his Cutie Mark was that of a black king chess piece. "I could have given you everything, Echo! But your insistence to protect those who loathe you had ruined everything! But I will not let this stand! To my last breath, I will kill you!"
"You would kill your own brother?" Echo asked.
"Yes, I would." Synchro snarled. "And for seconds, I'd put that marefriend of yours out of her misery."
"I won't let that happen." Echo said firmly. "No matter what."
"Surely you realise that when two objects collide, there is always damage of a collateral nature?" Synchro asked.
"If you attempt to bring destruction down on me, I will not hesitate to do the same." Echo countered.
"Then prepare yourself, brother." Synchro declared. "Only one of us will walk away from this."
The two stood fast, observing each other.
'His advantage: my injuries.' Echo thought. 'My advantage: his rage.'
As before, Echo predicted Synchro's attacks before they happened.
He blocked Synchro's first one-two punch with his hoof, and then shoving his right shoulder away, and then punching him in the face with the same hoof.
'Incoming assault.' He thought. 'Feral, but experienced.' Synchro then punched him left and right in the face. 'Use his momentum to counter.' He then parry his next two swings. He then punched him in the chest and then in the face.
"Come now." Synchro interrupted his musing with his own, giving a sinister smirk. "You really think you're the only one who knows how to play this game?"
Synchro went through his own mental plotting.
'Trap leg, exploit weakness.' He thought, as his mental self caught his bad leg and swung him around against a nearby pillar. 'Follow with haymaker.' He swung at Echo.
'Somepony's been practicing boxing.' Echo thought, as their mental battle continued, as he blocked the haymaker and the punch afterwards, getting another hit in the chest...
'Confident, but predictable.' Synchro mused, as Echo caught his right hoof on it's swing down, then slugged him in the face, spinning him around. But he caught Echo's follow up punch and brought it down 'Now, allow me to reply.'
Echo attempts to strike, only to be blocked by Synchro's hoof, as he then pounded him in the chest and threw him against the same pillar, clutching him by the neck.
'Arsenal running dry.' Echo thought, as he mentally struggled. 'Just strategy.'
Echo kicked Synchro's hoof, unbalancing him, as Synchro kicked back. But Echo managed to push him back as he tried to punch him in the face with his bad leg, but Synchro dodged it and then caught it, punching it, prompting a cry of pain from Echo.
'Wound taking its toll.' Synchro thought, as he parried Echo's attack, twisting his broken shoulder.
'As I feared, injury makes defence untenable.' Echo reflected, as Synchro struck him hard in the back, and then followed up with a kick in the side. 'Prognosis: increasingly negative.' Synchro threw him onto his back, as Echo manages to nick him in the face, before he retaliated with a harder blow to the chest. Echo attempted to block his second punch, but Echo managed to elbow him harder, catching his bad leg.
'Let's not waste any more of one another's time.' Synchro thought, as Echo glanced up at him with fear. 'We both know how this ends.'
Flipping his horn with the sharp point pointing downwards, Synchro stabbed him in the heart. Echo let out one last groan before he fell limp, as Synchro gave a huff of victory. At that point, things snapped back to the present.
'Preclusion, inevitable.' Echo thought. 'Unless...'
Echo kicked some crystal dust into Synchro's eyes, blinding him, and causing him to drop the useless horn. He then started pummelling his brother with right crosses, left hooks, and haymakers. Regaining his sight, Synchro retaliated.
His powers had been severely weakened by the light. He couldn't form any real constructs with his crystals, only able to use them to wrap around his hooves and strengthen each blow he made. Echo, trying to hone in on his advantage, took to the air as he struck with several aerial kicks and punches. Seeking to level the playing field, Synchro launched himself upwards with his crystals to block and parry each blow.
Their fight raged on, as the light continue to burn Synchro's body, but neither he or Echo would quit. Soon, the battle came to a standstill, as the two, wearing down a little, tried bashing their heads together, creating a resonating thud. The two stepped back, both woozy and suffering from their injuries.
"Give it up, brother..." Synchro panted angrily. "Without your dark magic, I hold the advantage here. You can't hope to win..."
"Can't I?" Echo smirked.
Outside the dome, a guard rushed over to the others, Sombra's spellbook in hoof.
"Your highness, a page of Sombra's spell book is missing!" he declared, showing the torn part of the book.
"What?" Shining gaped. "Who could've..."
"Echo." Sunset glanced at the dome. "What are you thinking?"
Back in the dome, Echo stood firm.
"I only need one thing to beat you..." He pulled out the missing page, having made a quick pit stop before leaving the castle. "The Gluttony spell."
"What? Of all the spells you could had taken out, you took that one?" Synchro sneered. "Are you going to make me go on a feeding frenzy? In case you haven't noticed, there isn't a crumb of food in sight.
"Oh, you misunderstand me and this spell, Synchro." Echo smiled. "This spell does not make one ravenous, but rather literally make their body a void in which all things disappear... and I don't intend to use it on you."
With a thought, Echo activated the spell, his eyes going wispy for a second, as a wave of dark magic headed toward to the Crystal Heart.
"That's it?" Synchro sniggered. "Your ace in the hole? You're just doing my work for me!"
"Guess again." Echo smiled.
Suddenly, a hole formed in the Crystal Heart, and started sucking everything in. The micro crystals went first, as all the pieces on the floor as well as from the broken dome around them began traveling into the hole. Soon, Synchro began to feel the pull too.
"What?!" He struggled to resist the pull. "No! You won't win this easily!"
"We'll see." Echo charged him.
The two brothers locked in battle again. Echo struck Synchro in the face, and Synchro kicked him in the stomach. Synchro pushed Echo to the ground, trying to choke him. But Echo took advantage of their position to kick him into the air. He then took flight, catching Synchro. Synchro brought his hooves down on Echo's back, trying to get him to let go. Echo almost dropped, but kept going, and retaliated with a headbutt. Echo then, no longer fighting the pull, threw him and Synchro forward against the Crystal Heart, Synchro's body landing right on top of the hole.
"GAH! RAUGH! AHH!" Synchro screamed in pain. With his dark-magic filled body pressing hard against the light-filled Heart, his body began to show blue cracks. "It hurts, it hurts so much!"
"...I'm sorry, brother." Echo frowned deeply, struggling to hold his anguish. "I didn't want it to come to this..."
"...Why did you try to stop me?!" Synchro glared at Echo, his eyes starting to tear up (whether it was from the pain or his emotions, Echo could not tell). "I only wanted a better life for us! Like we should have had all those years ago!"
"But at what cost?" Echo demanded, "Synchro, you could hurt as many ponies as your heart desired, but it would never make your own pain go away. What Nero did to you was unforgivable. What all those ponies did was nothing short of cruel... but no amount of bloodshed would ever justify your vengeance."
"How can you be sure?!" Synchro spat. "You were too weak to try. All you did was try to prove them wrong, thinking all you had to do to gain acceptance was show that dark magic could be used for some mundane, pointless activities... You should have risen up against your oppressors, like me! Shown them that you would not take their prejudice any longer! You should've... should've..." The pain became too great for Synchro to speak.
"Synchro... I'm sorry you had to endure so much pain all those years." Echo whispered, as his tears soon started coming. "If only I had remembered you... I would have looked for you... you wouldn't have had to be alone..." He then thought of something. "Why hadn't you looked for me, when you learned I was still alive?"
Synchro did not respond at first, as he couldn't bring himself to look at Echo in the face. Then, at the corner of his eyes, he saw the artificial horn, which was now clinging onto the Heart due to the gravitational pull.
"...Because... I was ashamed..." Synchro began, as he reached for the horn, grabbing it. "I... I had this spell inside of me for a long time... and with everypony shunning me left and right, I couldn't put that burden on you... as a matter of fact, I was afraid... if I had managed to kill our mother and that monster... I could have killed you as well... I almost did kill you."
"That was an accident, brother." Echo whispered. "I know that now. You were only trying to protect me and mother... no pony could had predicted this happening. But you still could had let me know that you were still alive..."
"I could have..." Synchro muttered, as with the last of his mental strength, the horn in his hoof began to glow. "But there was one thing I was truly afraid of..." He faced Echo, his face reading of true anguish. "I was afraid that if you saw me for who I was... you would hate me for what I have become... this... this monster..."
"Brother..." Echo murmured, "I would never had hated you... for Faust's sake, you are my brother..." He then gave a small sob. "I didn't want to do this to you... I'm so... so... sorry."
"...I am too..." Synchro nodded. "I know... there is nothing I can say..." He winced in pain, as the cracks worsened. "That can make anything right... but... I only ever did all of this... for you and me..."
"I know, Synchro..." Echo frowned, as he brought him in for a hug, much to his shock. "I love you, brother..."
"...I love you too." Synchro sighed, as he then clutched the horn tightly. "I guess... there is no room in the world for two freaks..."
Before Echo could ask what he meant, his voice got caught in his throat. He glanced down at his abdomen, where the artificial horn was plunged into him. Dark magic surged through him, causing tremendous pain...
"...W-why..." Echo whispered.
"Goodbye, brother... see you on the other side..." Synchro muttered.
Synchro pushed Echo away, sending him to the ground. Soon, Synchro's entire body was covered in blue cracks, as his eyes went white.
"AAAARRRRGGGH!" Synchro screamed.
Synchro's body exploded, and everything went white.
Outside, the others watched as the dome was suddenly blown apart by a white light. Ponies covered their eyes so to not be blinded. But as soon as it appeared, the light vanished, leaving nothing but dust in the air...
"Is... is it over?" Sterling asked.
"I think so." Shining observed.
"Thank goodness." Cadance finally powered down, exhausted.
"You were great, Cadance." Shining smiled.
Sunset scanned through the dusty battlefield, looking desperately for Echo. When she finally saw him, a chill ran down her spine. He was sprawled on the ground, unconscious, and bleeding.
"Echo, no!" Sunset rushed over to him. "Echo, please wake up!"
"Is he..." Sterling gasped.
"I'm afraid it doesn't look good." Shining declared.
"Sunset, I'm so sorry..." Cadance bowed her head.
"No..." Sterling muttered. "It can't end like this..."
"He saved us all." Shining admitted. "After everything he'd been through, he gave his all to save the Crystal Empire, and Equestria..."
"Don't say that!" Sunset yelled. "He's not gone! He can't be!"
Sunset started crying into Echo's body.
"Echo, don't leave me again!" She wailed. "Please..."
Echo had saved the Crystal Empire, and all of Equestria, from Synchro's dark design. But it seemed as if the unlikely hero had paid for this act with his life...