//------------------------------//
// Thirty Pieces Of Silver 
// Story: Our Darkest Days 
// by Bluecatcinema 
//------------------------------//

Echo didn't know where he was, or how he got there. Or even why he was there. There was nothing but darkness all around him. The Thestral glanced around, trying to make sense of this dreary atmosphere... however, his head was feeling all sorts of hazy, causing him to nearly lose his balance at points.

"...Hello?" He asked, rubbing his head. "Is anypony here? Where am I?"

"Echo..." A voice whispered. "Echo..."

"Huh..." Echo squinted, as something approach him from the darkness.

Before Echo's eyes, Sunset appeared.

"Sunset?" Echo gasped. "What's happening? Synchro... is he..."

"You did it, Echo." Sunset smiled. "You saved us all."

"I did?" Echo frowned.

"You sure did."

Approaching him from the side was none other than Sterling.

"Sterling?" Echo frowned. "You too?"

"Way to go, buddy." Sterling appeared also, "I always knew you had it in you."

"But... where am I?" Echo asked. "I was in the Crystal Empire. Synchro... exploded, and now I'm here. It doesn't make any sense."

"Who says it has to make any sense?"

Echo looked behind him, as a plume of purple smoke arose before him, revealing none other than the sunglasses-wearing Thestral.

"It's you again..." Echo murmured.

"I knew you could do it, Echo..." The Thestral smiled. "All you had to do was have faith in what you believe in. Because of that, you have defeated your own demons..."

"Okay, now this is getting strange." Echo shook his head. "Where are we? What is this place?"

"This? It's nowhere, but everywhere. Well, not really, but it seemed like the thing to say."

Echo perked up at the sound of the voice.

"That voice... I'd know that voice anywhere..." Echo muttered, turning towards the origin of which the voice came.

Emerging from the darkness came a dark purple Unicorn stallion with blue eyes, a gray mane, and matching mutton chops. He had an old, college-like professor appearance, complete with tweed jacket. He had glasses, and a Cutie Mark of a crescent moon. Echo's knees grew weak as the old stallion smiled at him.

"...Father." Echo whispered. "...Father, how are you... why are you..."

"Well done, my boy..." Nocturne smiled. "You have done what no other ponies had and used dark magic to protect all that was good. A hope that ponies like me hadn't the pleasure of doing in our lifetime..."

"But I don't understand..." Echo shook his head. "Any of this... I... I only did what I thought was right..."

"And in doing so, saved all of Equestria." Nocturne smiled. "You're a hero, my boy."

"No..." Echo shook his head. "Really, I'm not..."

"Yeesh, so humble." Sterling rolled his eyes.

"You are a hero, Echo." Sunset smiled. "You saved me, you saved Sterling. You saved everypony."

"She's right, Echo." Nocturne nodded. "After all your pain and misery. after being made an outcast, shunned by others, you still brought it upon yourself to the right thing. That makes  you a hero in my book."

"Ours, too." Sunset grinned.

"No doubt." Sterling added.

"Indeed." The mystery Thestral agreed.

"...I ...I guess I never thought of it that way..." Echo mused. "...But what do I do now?"

"Well there is one more thing you have to do." Sunset declared.

"What?" Echo asked.

"Wake up." Sunset declared. "You have to wake up."

"And how do I do that?" Echo raised a brow.

"...Synchro will help you." The smoke Thestral declared.

"Synchro?" Echo asked.

"Yes, Synchro." Synchro appeared. "Nap time's over, bro."

Synchro punched Echo in the face.

Echo suddenly woke up, his eyes feeling bleary and his body aching. As his sight began to clear, he found himself to be in a hospital bed, with one of his legs in a sling and bandages around his abdomen. The steady beep of his heart monitor was the only sound in the room, causing his ear to tick with each sound.

The Thestral felt a bit uneasy, confused by his new surroundings, glancing around... until he saw the smiling face of Sterling.

"...Sterling..." Echo murmured.

"Hey." Sterling smiled. "Welcome back to the land of the living, pal."

"Sterling, how... Ah!" Echo yelped, feeling a jolt of pain in his body. "Where am I? How did I get here? How long have I been out?" He winced from the pain. "Why am I hurting so much?"

"Take it easy, Echo." Sterling soothed. "You're in the Crystal Empire's hospital. We found you by the Crystal Heart after the dome blocking you and that psychopath in gave way with the artificial horn jabbed in your guts. You were stuck in a comatose state for a couple of days."

"Couple of days?" Echo groaned. "What about Sunset? And Shining Armor? Are they okay?"

"They're both fine." Sterling smirked. "Shining needed some stitches and Sunset needed patching up, but they'll make it."

"Oh, thank Faust." Echo sighed in relief, as he glanced at his body. "My, I did quite a number on myself."

"No kiddin'." Sterling chuckled. "The doc said you were lucky to have survived the ordeal. That horn that stabbed you just barely missed your vital organs. Just an inch off, and you would had been a goner."

"I see..." Echo rubbed his abdomen, letting out a sigh. "Synchro... why didn't you just stop when you had the chance?"

"Boy, Sunset is gonna be relieved." Sterling smiled. "She hasn't slept a wink since they brought you in here."

"Sunset..." Echo smiled. "I thought I'd never see her again."

"Well, think again." Sterling smiled. "She'll be here soon enough to congratulate on your epic victory."

Echo suddenly slumped back against his pillow, a grim look on his face.

"What's the matter, pal?" Sterling asked. "You should be happy. You saved the entire Crystal Empire! You're a bonafide hero!"

"Yes, but at what costs? I killed Synchro." Echo frowned, as he looked at his abdomen wound. "And he tried to return the favor..."

"Hey, you did what you had to do." Sterling declared sternly. "It was kill or be killed."

"Perhaps." Echo sighed. "...But I wish I could had done something to circumvent it. He was a poor misunderstood soul who was never treated with a bit of kindness, and he ended up becoming this messed-up individual. I thought when I talked to him... right before he died, that I might had saw good in him... but he..."

"Echo, you did what you could. But there was no saving your brother." Sterling shook his head, as he glanced out the window, admiring the panoramic view they had of the Empire. "For crying out loud, he murdered your mother and that monster of a stepfather Nero and not shown an ounce of remorse for all his other actions. Far as I am concerned, he had it coming..."

Echo nodded sombrely.

"I suppose you're right. It's just... it's just that he was my brot-"

The Thestral stopped, as a chilling realization had come over him. Slowly, he gazed at Sterling, who noticed Echo's sudden silence.

"I... I don't think I said anything about Synchro being my brother, Sterling..." Echo murmured.

Sterling remained silent, though he seem to had tensed up.

"...For a matter of fact, I don't recall saying anything about my mother or Nero... and you weren't there when... Synchro revealed everything..." Echo felt his mind racing, as a bad feeling began to rise up within. "...How could you have known... unless..."

Within seconds, Echo put all the pieces together, and he glanced warily at Sterling, who gave a small shrug, as he turned to face him... but gone was the happy go-lucky face of the royal guard he spent the last couple of months with... in it's place was something cold and sinister.

"So... you finally put all the pieces together, didn't you?" Sterling said with cold indifference, then adopting a snide smirk. His voice became more polished and refined. "Good show, Echo. I knew you would catch on eventually."

"I don't believe it..." Echo shook his head in disbelief, "You're... you're..."

"Indeed, I am, Echo Alchemy." Sterling smiled, as he then declared proudly. "It is I, the one and only Flatfoot."

"No... no, that can't be. It just can't be..." Echo gasped, unwilling to comprehend such a shocking revelation. "Silas... he-"

"Oh, yes, Silas Necross does seem perfect for the role." Sterling sneered. "A mastermind in his own right. Aside from him, who would suspect that the..." Sterling started flexing, mocking himself. "...'Great and mighty Sterling Cross' had the brain to put all this together...but alas, Silas was simply a red herring, a little disposable pawn."

"Pawn?" Echo gaped, as he recalled Synchro's allusion to chess, adding more and more to his horrid realization, "You... it was you from the beginning... you're the one who Synchro was working for, not Silas... you... you really are Flatfoot... but... but..."

"Bu-bu-bu-bu..." Sterling mocked him playfully. "Oh come on, Echo. Did you honestly think that what had transpired these past couple of months were by fate's design?" Suddenly, he slammed his hoof on the side of Echo's bed, adopting a fierce glare. "No! Everything that had happened to you over these past couple of months did because I made it so. Years and years of meticulous planning had went into this. Every piece had to be in the right place if the goal was going to be achieved in a timely manner. All those years I spent working up the ranks of the Crystal Royal Guard just so I could be trusted to look after you. All those months I spent, studying you and Sunset from afar... all of it leading up to the ultimate conclusion that I had sought for so long..."

"Sterling... I..." Echo had trouble putting together the words. "I... I don't understand..."

"Then allow me to elaborate." Sterling smirked. "For you see, you had been an extremely vital part of a plan that was years in the making…and it all began with that day at the Faire…"

Flashback...

Sterling, draped in a hood and cloak, watched as the Crystal Faire was being put together. He paid particular attention to the display for Sombra's spell book. From his cloak, he pulled out a magic mirror... which then lit up to reveal Synchro...

"What is it, Flatfoot?" Synchro asked.

"The time has come, old friend." Sterling announced. "Sombra's spell book is going on display this weekend at the Crystal Empire Faire. You'd best prepare yourself. You've got only one shot at this. Fail, and the book will be destroyed, and this entire plan will fall apart... no pressure or anything."

"Do not worry, sir." Synchro smirked. "I've been training for this day since we met. Is my dear brother all set?"

"Just finished telling Sunset about it. No doubt she will convince Echo to come out of his cave and enjoy the festivities." Sterling smiled... before getting serious once more. "But I must remind you how important it is that you don't let him know who you are…"

"Don't you worry, Flatfoot." Synchro scoffed, as he then placed his red and white kabucki mask upon his face. "He won't even recognize me."

"Excellent. Now, you best hurry over here." Sterling ordered. "Once we set this snowball rolling, there's no stopping it till it crashes."

"Consider it done, sir." Synchro nodded. "Soon, we can put our grand plan in motion..."

Sterling smirked as Synchro's image disappeared.

"My grand plan, maybe..." He chuckled.

The present...

"So, you're the one who had Synchro attack the Faire and steal the book." Echo pointed out. "And you knew that me and Sunset would be there, and that we would try to stop him. And with you as the Royal Guard who watched over me, you would be there too."

"Precisely." Sterling smirked. "I knew when you saw that book get stolen by Synchro, you would stop at nothing to make sure that the spell book was not used for malicious intent again, even if you didn't remember what had happened before. And Sunset, being the caring mare she was, would follow you endlessly."

"Her too?" Echo asked. "How could you bring her into that nightmare?"

"I'll get to that in a minute." Sterling shrugged.

"But... you tried to stop me from leaving the Crystal Empire." Echo pointed out, "You were ready to drag me back by my wings back then."

"Hmph, I only tried to stop you from leaving without me." Sterling smirked.

Flashback...

After spotting Echo flying outside the infirmary window, Sterling raced outside.

'I knew he'd go after the book, but not this fast!' He thought. 'Without my supervision, his little quest could be over before it begins. I'd better catch up, quick!'

The present...

"But those pictures of Cadance I blackmailed you with..." Echo muttered.

"Oh come now, Echo... I do appreciate the body of a gorgeous female every now and then, but I am not stupid." Sterling smirked. "I
planted those pictures you found under my bed so you would not appear suspicious of my motives when I decided to come along."

"What about the Archive?" Echo challenged, "Did you somehow had a part in what happened there?"

"Why, of course." Sterling smiled cockily. "You think any of your so-called 'colleagues' would have ever known about the place, had I not been the one to tip them off? It was only way for me to get you to the Archive without raising suspicions."

"How did you know about that place anyhow?" Echo asked. "It was supposed to be a secret, held by the historians who built the place."

"Exactly." Sterling pulled out a piece of paper. "That's why I knew about it..." He passed it over to Echo, the Thestral instantly inspecting it. To his shock, it was the photo that was missing from its frame back at the Archive. There were five stallions in it, all of different statures and sizes as well as breeds... but one of them stood out. The one on the left was the youngest of the five, and bore a striking resemblance to none other than Sterling, whose mane was groomed and who wore a scholar's coat.

"You were one of them?" Echo stared, shocked.

"Like I said back in Minostan, I studied archaeology..." Sterling boasted. "However, that was just an extra-curricular activity. My true passion?" He bopped Echo on the nose, much to his dismay. "Dark magic, just like you. I had been studying the dark arts for as long, if not longer, as you. Transformation, shadow-crawling, Occlumency... My works were without equal, and when the historians decided to build the Archive, I was one of their first choice. And you can probably guess by now who was the one  tasked with scattering the pages..."

"...You." Echo frowned. "But why? That would seem counter-productive to your plans."

"I had to keep up appearances, Echo." Sterling explained. "Besides, I had to if you and Sunset were going to go after them. And how else did you think those ten 'certain' ponies would had come to possess those pages? Hmm?"

Flashback...

Some time ago, Sterling, his face hidden under a metal mask, gave the page containing the Enslavement spell to the old (slightly younger at the moment) stallion in Manehattan, having explained the situation to him first.

"Guard this with your life." He declared. "There are ponies out there that will surely kill for this page."

"Oh, I shan't think anypony will think to check my little shop for such an important artefact." The old stallion grinned.

"Which is exactly why I chose you." Sterling declared. "Good luck."

In Zhire, he offered Wrath spell to Rancour, who was tending his zen garden.

"Can I trust you to protect this page?" He asked.

"You have my word of honor." Rancour bowed respectfully. "I will guard it with my life."

"Just what I was hoping you'd say." Sterling smiled, passing on the page, and then bowing. "May the fates watch over you."

Not long after, Sterling offered the Greed page to Zhadnos at his office in Moscolt.

"If it's for a good cause, I suppose I can handle it." Zhadnost smiled.

"That's the spirit, doctor." Sterling grinned.

"Too bad this gig doesn't pay anything." Zhadnost sighed. "I got a pretty nasty pay cut lately."

"Hang in there, my friend." Sterling assured. "I'm sure things will get better soon."

In the town of Marerakech, Sterling gave the Gluttony page to a (much thinner) Uroho, who was cleaning his diner.

"This is truly an honor." Uroho smiled.

"Well, you were the logical choice." Sterling smiled back. "A Zebra with your equinitarian background seemed like a fitting candidate for such an important role."

"Thanks." Uroho nodded, before his stomach started growling. "...Sorry. It's this blasted diet my doctor has put me on..."

"Well, I wasn't going to say anything, but you could stand to lose a few pounds..." Sterling admitted.

In Minostan, Sterling passed on the Lust page to Eros, who was taking a break from the dig while the others worked.

"Good luck, my dear." He declared.

"Heh, the only luck I need is for my love life." Eros snorted. "That dishy professor still hasn't noticed me!"

"I'm sure he will eventually." Sterling said supportively. "Just keep at it."

"Oh, I will..." Eros grinned.

In Bitaly, Sterling gave Top Bid the page containing the Darkness spell.

"I cannot stress enough that you treat this with the utmost respect and care." He told him. "Never be too far from it, okay?"

"Of course." Top Bid smiled dishonestly. "If you can't trust a stallion like me, who can you trust?"

In Aerovis, Sterling gave a very lanky Hubris the Pride spell.

"Boy, you must think I'm pretty special, to warrant guarding something like this." Hubris smirked.

"Well, as the son of the ambassador, you do have some sway in terms of politics..." Sterling admitted.

"And I'm pretty awesome, to boot..." Hubris chuckled, before getting a little insecure. "Right?"

"Anything you say, kid..." Sterling said under his breath.

In Fetland, Sterling had a hard time convincing Lethargy, who was lounging in his mansion, to accept the Sloth page.

"I dunno..." Lethargy yawned. "Seems like a lot of work."

"Not really." Sterling shrugged. "You just have to lock it up in a safe place nearby. Nothing to it, at all."

"Okay, fine." Lethargy sighed. "Whatever lets me get back to my game the fastest..."

"Oh, trust me." Sterling barely contained his annoyance. "I'd like this to be over just as fast as you do..."

In Haygypt, Sterling, posing as 'Flatfoot' had little trouble convincing Brody to accept the Envy page. In fact, Brody was a little too enthusiastic for his taste.

"Oh, boy!" Brody cheered, jumping up and down. "You really think I'm ready for this?"

"Sure, why not?" Sterling shrugged.

"I won't let you down!" Brody grinned. "I'll keep this page safe. If I do a good enough job, will you put in a good word for me?"

"We'll see..." Sterling said sarcastically.

Finally, in Hoofistan, there was Gasket, who was working in his workshop.

"Me?" Gasket frowned. "Look after a page from a spell book? I'm a scientist, not a sorcerer!"

"Exactly." Sterling nodded. "Nopony would think you had the page. You would be doing all of ponykind a great service."

"Oh, I suppose I should." Gasket sighed. "The only real danger here is losing it amongst this mess."

"Fabulous." Sterling smiled, passing on the page of Magic Draining.

The present...

"So, you were the reason that Brody and the other six went off the deep end..." Echo growled. "Have you any idea the suffering they had wrought upon the populace because of you?"

"Hey, I'd only given them those pages because I had thought that somepony like you could convince them to give you the page, especially if their safety was at risk. They were all push-overs as far as I knew." Sterling glared, before letting out a small groan. "But, as luck would have it, they somehow figured out how to work the pages and... well, you know the rest."

"Oh, I know, alright..." Echo glared.

"Fortunately, however, I had a contingency plan on the slim chance that something did happen with them." Sterling smirked.
"Synchro... you had him kill them and take the pages when they got too much for us." Echo surmised.

"Correct." Sterling nodded, "Though I couldn't have him do all the work, as I specifically told him to hold back on the first page. You remember those racist cops from Manehatten, right?"

"Don't tell me you actually arranged for our arrest?" Echo said, disgusted.

"Of course not." Sterling snorted. "That would have been counteractive to my plan. But I did anticipated their arrival, and had a plan for dealing with them from the start."

"But how did you getting affected by the Wrath spell figured into the plan?" Echo wondered.

"Never was." Sterling answered simply. "I brought a resistance tincture from a shaman that would counteract the effects of the pages. I had to act like I was getting angry, all for the sake of appearances."

"That explains why you weren't affected by the Pride spell..." Echo murmured.

"Exactly. And that incident on the train?" Sterling smirked, "Thanks to a little tip from yours truly, Gasket got a heads up that Synchro was coming, and thinking that his life was in danger, he hopped on that train... where we and Synchro were destined to meet..."

"But Synchro, we saw him get hit by the tunnel!" Echo stammered. "He should had died!"

"Actually... about that..." Sterling hinted.

Flashback...

In the night following the confrontation on the train, Sterling, having just finished his report to Shining, was waiting at the end of the train, or what was left of it after Synchro's attack. He messed with his crossbow, till he heard a thud, followed by a bunch of dripping noises.

"Ah, Synchro, glad you made it." Sterling smiled, as he turned to face a rather peeved Synchro, who was drenched, and had a big crack on his mask.

"Stow it, Flatfoot!" Synchro snarled. "Would you mind telling me what the point of all that was? I could had easily taken them and their pages right there and then. Yet you have me throw the fight?!"

"Hey, you should be proud. You played your part well." Sterling smirked. "Honestly, when I told you to 'take a dive' once we got to the tunnel, I didn't think you'd be so literal."

"You're lucky that this mask took the full brunt of that hit." Synchro seethed, water dripping out of the crack. "Or else I would be done with all these hoop jumping you've been having us do!"

"I'm sorry you're angry, Synchro, but it was a necessary tactic." Sterling said. "Now, Echo and Sunset think you're dead. We both have five pages, so spirit is high. And we will be in Carris, the city of love. The next time you meet Echo, everything will be in place, and you'll have the element of surprise."

"Well, there is that, I guess." Synchro admitted. "Though it doesn't make this migraine go away..."

The present...

"Of course, I had to take some precautionary measures during our trip." Sterling declared. "Like when we were in Aerovis..."

Flashback...

The day before the encounter with Hubris, Sterling approached the carriage puller.

"Here, pal." He tossed him a wad of bills. "Park outside the gym at around noon tomorrow. Be ready to pick up some fast departs."

"You got it, mac!" The puller eagerly grabbed the money.

The present...

"...But why?" Echo asked. "What was the point of all this orchestration? Just so you could deliver us to Silas?"

"Oh, hay no." Sterling shook his head. "That was all Silas's doing. I had instructed Synchro in working with him, giving him the spellbook and the pages, as well as you, and calling him Flatfoot just so it would take any suspicions off me. Silas was all for having a dark magic-powered attack dog under his belt. But as far as I was concerned, Silas' plan was simply focused on world domination. However, my plan was focused on something else."

"Like what?" Echo frowned.

"Why, you and Sunset, of course." Sterling smiled. "My true goal throughout the entirety of our journey was to get you and her to Carris, Prance, having developed a strong bond throughout your trip, to that very night, to get you to mate with Sunset. And you played that part gloriously."

"What?!" Echo gasped. "Hold on! That makes no sense! You mean to tell me, that all this time, and all the things you put us through, was just you trying to get me laid?!"

"Eeyup. But it wasn't easy, though." Sterling sighed. "As hard as I had tried to ensure that nothing would go wrong with this plan of mine, there were still plenty of complications. Like when Shining decided to step into the fray..."

Flashback...

After Shining's encounter with Sterling in Bitaly, Sterling contacted Synchro.

"What is it?" Synchro asked.

"Bad news." Sterling declared. "Shining Armor has insisted on being informed of our movements. It could pose a problem..."

"Not if I kill him." Synchro snarled.

"No." Sterling said firmly. "Killing Shining will cause an uproar. With the loss of their Prince, the Crystal Empire will be up in hooves. They'd go to war with us, and our plan would be ruined."

"Fine." Synchro huffed. "He lives. As long as you keep him out of my way."

"I'll be sure of that." Sterling nodded.

The Present...

"I knew that Shining wouldn't be that big of a problem." Sterling continued. "But we ran into a bigger complication, all because of that big oaf Hubris and that Pride spell..."

Flashback...

After their encounter with Hubris, Sterling was disheartened to see Echo and Sunset not speaking to each other.

'This is bad.' He thought. 'My whole plan could go up in smoke if those two don't kiss and make up. Oh, why did I give the page to that musclehead? Why didn't I give it to somepony in a wheelchair? That would've made it easy enough to recover... damn Echo and his stupid silver tongue. Well, I'm not about to let my hard work go down the drain because of this snafu. I'll get those two back together, even if it kills me...'

The present...

"And then..." Sterling put a hoof to his lip, taking a deep breath. "Things got more complicated when Sunset kissed me..."

"No... no... you're not telling me that your feelings for Sunset were nothing but lies, are you?" Echo murmured.

"Actually... no..." Sterling frowned.

Flashback...

Seconds after their tryst on the beach, Sterling was cursing himself, as Sunset cuddled against him. There was no doubt in his mind that Echo had seen him and her kissed. This was making the situation caused by Hubris even worse.

'Stupid, stupid, stupid.' He mused. 'This was not part of the plan! Your flirting and advances towards Sunset was supposed to repulse her, not attract her! Though she is quite a lovely mare... no, stop that! Don't let your emotions get in the way of your plans. Stupid hormones...'

However, Sterling took a deep breath, as he glanced at Echo, who was still continuing his studying of the pages, albeit with a really peeved expression, then glanced back at Sunset.

'Get it together, Cross.' He told himself. 'You might be able to salvage this and use this to your advantage. If I can get Echo jealous enough, I could easily drive him to fight for her and get them to make up... that will work...'

Sterling then gave a small sigh as he rubbed Sunset's mane, with a small smile.

"That will work..."

The present...

"Make no mistake, Echo, I still love and care for Sunset... but my plan had to come first, and with that plan, sacrifices had to be made…" Sterling said grimly.

"...Those guards in Hoofistan..." Echo came to another chilling realization, "You had Synchro kill them.." He then felt a pang of anger. "They were your comrades."

"Hey, if it was anypony's fault, it was Shining. He was unwilling to let us do our job, and he was going to ruin everything by having those soldiers take the page into custody." Sterling sighed. "And Synchro was more than willing to carry out the order to kill them."

"I really thought you were better than this." Echo gasped. "I thought we were friends..."

"We are, Echo." Sterling smiled. "That's part of the reason I did everything I could to help you."

Echo was unable to come up with a retort.

"Fortunately, by the time we got to Prance, you and Sunset were coming along nicely and were in love." Sterling smiled. "But you still needed a couple of nudges. So, when you went on that date with Sunset, I had to doubly assure that you didn't buck this up. You left much to be desired in the social department..."

Flashback...

After Echo and Sunset left the hotel, Sterling followed them in secret. As Echo and Sunset sat on the grass, Sterling could tell Echo was still a little hesitant. Seeing a flower sprouting by his hooves, he picked it, and threw it over to Echo. He watched with glee as Echo picked it up and gave it to Sunset.

"That's it..." Sterling grinned.

A little while later, while Sunset and Echo were dancing, Sterling sidled over to the painter.

"Hey pal, I'll give you twenty bits to paint the portrait of those two over there." He gave him a pouch of coins, "And be sure to compliment them."

"With pleasure." The painter smiled. "Though the compliment comes free."

Sterling nodded approvingly as Echo and Sunset posed for the painting.

Later, after realising that Echo and Sunset were doing the deed in Echo and Sterling's room, Sterling walked down the hallway, pulling out the mirror.

"It's go time." He told Synchro.

"Finally." Synchro declared. "Time to enact our end game. I should be there by morning."

"Good." Sterling smiled, as Synchro's masked face disappeared. "After all these months, it's finally time..."

The present...

"But none of this still makes any sense..." Echo frowned. "What could you possibly have to gain from me sleeping with Sunset? In fact, what did you have to gain from me to begin with?"

"You're not seeing the big picture here..." Sterling sighed.

"What picture?!" Echo demanded. "And what did this have to do with Silas and the Order of Darkness? And Synchro, for that matter?! How did your 'big plan' figure with any of them? Tell me that!"

"Calm yourself, Echo." Sterling soothed. "I admit, this is a lot to take in. But believe it or not, I needed Silas and his 'Order' to bring it all together. In return for their assistance, I had to see to it that they got the book and the pages so they could carry on with their plan for world domination."

"And you were willing to put all of Equestria in jeopardy just for your plan?" Echo glared in disbelief.

"Of course not." Sterling smirked. "Especially when your brother planned to turn the tables on them. Why you think I entrusted him to Silas to begin with?"

"Wait, so you knew that Synchro would betray the Order? And that he would try to infect everypony with dark magic?" Echo frowned.

"Sadly, yes." Sterling shrugged. "I could see it in his eyes when we first met... he had eyes of a pony who had punished endlessly and mercilessly by the world, and was going to make it burn for it. When I told him of Silas's plans, I knew that Synchro was planning something big. And lo and behold, I was right... but fortunately, you pulled through and stopped that crazy psychopath. You were the one thing I couldn't prepare for in my planning. My plan depended on you winning…and you exceeded all my expectations."

Echo remained silent, as he then glanced at Sterling warily, trying to make heads and tails out of things.

"But why all the interest in me?" Echo asked. "And Sunset? What were you hoping to happen with us that would make or break your plan?"

"It's simple..." Sterling declared. "I wanted... needed you and Sunset to mate... so that you both would conceive a foal together."

Echo's jaw dropped, and his heart skipped a beat.

"...W-What?!" Echo gaped. "Bu- You- I- She- What in buck's name does a foal have to do with anything?!"

"Let's start at the top." Sterling sighed. "Did Synchro mention anything to you about you two being... 'special'?"

"He did, yes." Echo nodded. "But I still don't understand."

"Well, I believe a history lesson in order..." Sterling cleared his throat. "You see, a long while back, when a group of scientists were studying the use of dark magic to control animals, there was an accident, and one of the scientists, a Thestral by the name of Tenebros Wheatley, was hit with tremendous amount of dark magic-laced lightning. Somehow, he had managed to survive 10,000 volts without barely a scratch... however, in the days following the accident, Tenebros began to experience some abnormalities: his colleagues kept getting words of random objects being struck by lightning whenever he was near... but things came to a head when somehow, he set off the sprinklers. In that moment, he began crackling with dark electricity... then it became clear to the others... Tenebros could now harness 'dark lightning'. Does any of this sound familiar to you?"

"...He was able to use dark magic at will... like me and Synchro." Echo murmured.

"Exactly. It was at that time that the 'Tenebros' gene. was discovered." Sterling declared. "Named after the first one discovered with it. They were uncertain as to what to make of it, or whether or not Tenebros was the only one... but as it turns out, many others shared this gene. The scientists did more tests and found that seventy percent of the Thestrals they tested had this gene. Then they found that the gene was not limited to Thestrals, as fifty percent of the ponies we had tested also had the gene. Could you imagine how many ponies are out there right now, going about their humdrum lives, not knowing that all they need is a full charge of dark magic energy to realize their full potential?"

"I'd prefer not to." Echo said warily.

"And that was just focusing on those whose gene hadn't be activated yet." Sterling smirked, "As it turns out, there are hundreds upon hundreds of ponies out there whose gene has been activated, and now, are out there, with dark magic powers of their own. Kallus, warlord of Maregolia... the mysterious Dark Thorn of Haygypt... Soon, they came up with a name for you ponies: 'Nightcrawlers'. Given how most of the ponies that had the gene were Thestrals, it seemed fitting."

"So... me and Synchro are a part of some sort of super-species that can control dark magic?" Echo glanced at him in disbelief.

"Exactly. But things got interesting when an influential group of ponies heard a rumor about a particularly powerful Nightcrawler. Apparently, he got into affair with the wife of a unruly Earth Pony noble, and it seems like the wife had gotten pregnant... with twin colts..."

"Twin colts... wait, you mean... you actually met my father?" Echo gaped.

"Unfortunately, no." Sterling shook his head. "By the time they got there, he was gone. Apparently, Nero had a conniption about the affair and actually held a manhunt to try and find him. All we knew for certain that ponies called him 'Deathgaze'. Oh, what a glorious day it would have been to meet him... however, it wasn't till years later that they discovered something shocking... the Tenebros gene could be passed down to their children... and with collaboration with the 'Order', they came to realize that Deathgaze's boys can use dark magic, just their father..."

"That's why..." Echo frowned. "It seems so implausible, yet..."

"Trust me, when it was first discovered that Tenebros could shoot lightning from his hooves, it was like something out of a video game." Sterling mused. "But nonetheless, when I learned the gene could be passed down through generations, and when I met you... I knew you were perfect for my plan."

"But that doesn't explain why it had to be me and Sunset..." Echo frowned. "You had Synchro with you, and probably an unlimited supply of mares you could get him with."

"Because, as I stated before, Synchro was a psycho." Sterling shrugged. "He had no interest in the opposite sex, or sex in general. You, however, I could work with. And while I could had easily try to get you with any mare... I had a theory."

"A theory?" Echo raised a brow.

"Yes... you see, reason you don't see many 'active' Nightcrawlers nowadays is because they need a huge dark magic intake to be able to get their powers." Sterling revealed. "It was my theory that if a foal was to be birthed to a pony with the Tenebros gene and a pony with powerful inner magic, like you and Sunset, not only would your foal be guaranteed to be a Nightcrawler, but there lies a chance that they could be born with their Tenebros gene activated. Furthermore, there has been talk that Nightcrawlers could actually develop dark magic powers that can't be found in any book. I had put a lot of work just so I could help breed a powerful Nightcrawler..."

"But why? What use could you have for a baby foal?" Echo asked.

"Why, for military purposes of course." Sterling smirked. "Just imagine: dark magic had proven to be a powerful weapon, but insanely difficult to wield. Then you have your Nightcrawler, a pony who can use dark magic at will, but are often too difficult to rein in, due to their naturally rebellious nature. And that isn't taking into account the difficulty of making one. But with your foal, we have a supersoldier that can be trained to follow orders of any pony. And if things goes according to plan, when he or she is of age, we could use the foal to create more supersoldiers. It will pave a new frontier in Equestrian warfare, where there's money to be earned, and wars to be won." Sterling stood up, psyched beyond all reasons, "Don't you see? As of now, we are on the verge of a new era, a renaissance! And it's all thanks to you!"

"What madness is this?" Echo grimaced, disturbed. "'Nightcrawlers'? 'Tenebros'? 'Supersoldiers? You had put me and Sunset through easily one of the most difficult ordeals ever known, just so you could use our child as a breeding cow for your asinine dreams?! And that's even if Sunset is pregnant! We only mated once!"

"Oh, Tenebros carriers are supremely fertile. You think yours and Synchro's conception was purely bad luck?" Sterling grinned. "Trust me, one night was all it would take."

"Madness..." Echo shook his head. "Sheer madness... how could you do this to us, Sterling? I mean, it's as if I don't even know you anymore... just who are you?"

"Just a stallion working for a higher cause." Sterling declared simply.

"What higher cause? You mean like the Order of Darkness? Are you some higher honcho than Silas?" Echo demanded.

"No. The Order in which I belong to is that of a much grander scale. But in a way, the Order of Darkness does work for me and our organization. But I already said too much as it is." Sterling explained.

"So…what now?" Echo frowned. "If I am to believe you, your plan has succeeded."

"That it did...." Sterling nodded solemnly. "...Which brings me great pain to say this..."

"Say what?" Echo perked up, not liking the grim expression on Sterling's face.

"You see, earlier today, I had reported the success of my operation to the organization." Sterling sighed. "While they are pleased, they were perturbed by how you had taken out Synchro. And according to them, if our Nightcrawler Supersoldier project is ever going to gain traction, I would have to dispose of any dangerous and unpredictable threats... and unfortunately, they consider you one. As one of their elite members, I have no choice but to carry out their order... to kill you."

"What?" Echo gasped, suddenly very aware of his frail condition. "No... no... Sterling, you wouldn't..."

"I'm sorry, old friend." Sterling sighed, as he approached Echo menacingly. "I really have grown quite fond of you. I had tried to reason with them, but your foal is the herald to a new age of soldiers, and father or not, they can't have you messing things for them... or me."

"Sterling, don't do this..." Echo pleaded, as Sterling pulled out a needle. "Please... I'm your friend. Did those past months we spend together mean nothing?"

"No, those months meant a lot to me. Which is why this will be quick and painless." Sterling said stoically. "It's the least I can do."

Echo grabbed Sterling's leg, struggling to keep the needle away.

"No, please... I beg of you!" Echo pleaded, trying his best to not cry in fear, "Sunset... what would Sunset say? What will she think when I'm gone?! And our foal?!"

"Don't worry about Sunset and the foal." Sterling said solemnly. "I'll take good care of them. I'll make sure that your foal know what a hero you were, and how you and Sunset had conceived him with hopes of him making a change in the world. Because y'know, he's going to have a lot of work ahead of him when he grows up..."

"No... he won't!" Echo growled, too angry to notice something crawling on his skin, "I won't let you use my child as a weapon of war, not like you used Synchro!"

"Don't fight it, Echo." Sterling urged, as the needle was about to enter Echo's neck. "Accept your fate with dignity! Your brother knew what he was getting into the moment he stepped in, and so will your foal! I will see to it that no harm comes to Sunset or the foal, I promise you that!"

"And your promise is supposed to have meaning?!" Echo snarled, gripping Sterling's needle-holding hoof tightly, "You lied to me! You used me! My brother is dead because of you! You buckin' traitor!"

Echo's heart monitor began beeping rapidly, as an odd rustling sound began echoing around the room, not that either of the stallions noticed it.

"I did what was necessary!" Sterling roared. "I'm going to bring change to the world, and your child will help me do it! You done your part already, so stop fighting me!"

In a flash, Echo's eyes went wispy, much to Sterling's shock.

"Never!" Echo screamed.

Suddenly, a stream of gray crystals emerged from under Echo's hospital gown and his bed, throwing and pinning Sterling against the wall.

"Gah! What the-?" Sterling groaned, as he felt his entire body enveloped in the micro-crystals, "How... what..."

Echo was just as surprised as Sterling as he climbed out of the bed. On a hunch, he opened his gown, seeing more crystals flowing over his skin, just like they had with his brother. With grim understanding, he waved a hoof in Sterling's direction, a crystal spike formed, pointing toward Sterling's throat.

"How... how is this possible?" Sterling murmured. "Never in my studies had I seen something like this..."

"I don't understand why you'd do this." Echo seethed. "Manipulate me, use me, send my own brother against me... But it doesn't matter anymore. Your little game is over, you understand. You will never meddle in my life again!"

"Well, if you want to kill me, then do it." Sterling muttered. "I won't blame you. It's what I deserve."

Echo stood there for a long moment.

"...No." He said firmly, retracting the spike. "...Killing you won't change a thing..."

At the same time, Sunset and Shining entered the room, having heard the alarm from Echo's heart monitor.

"Echo, you're awake?"! Sunset gasped, before glancing at the pinned Sterling. "What is going on here?!"

"Those crystals..." Shining gaped. "...And what are you doing to Cross?"

"Sterling... Sterling has been manipulating us all along." Echo revealed grimly. The crystals flowed away, and Sterling dropped to the ground. "He orchestrated this whole mess with Sombra's spell book. He used Synchro and all of us as a means to a selfish end. All of this happened because of him..."

"Sterling?" Sunset frowned. "You... caused all this?"

"What?!" Shining gaped. "Cross, tell me this is some kind of joke!"

Sterling was silence for a moment, before letting out a sigh.

"I'm afraid what Echo says is all true." Sterling nodded, "I did it all. I set everypony up, as part of my plan to use dark magic to usher in a new age for Equestria. I took no joy in hurting all those ponies, but I did what I thought was necessary."

"Sterling... how could you..." Sunset murmured.

"I... I trusted you." Shining whispered, just as bewildered as Sunset.

"Well, I'm afraid you placed your trust in the wrong pony." Sterling sighed, as he held up his hooves, "Do with me as you will..."
For a moment, Shining was crestfallen. Then his face hardened.

"It looks like I have no choice..." Shining signaled the Guards outside. "Guards... arrest Cross. He is to be tried for treason and attempted murder."

Sterling put up no fight as the Guards led him away. In fact, he didn't speak. He did briefly glance at Sunset, but she turned away, a look of betrayal on her face... Sterling only let out a sigh as he hung his head low, as he and the Guards left the trio alone in the room.

"What a mess..." Shining sighed. "My best guard..."

"Even I can't comprehend what could have driven him to this." Echo shook his head. "I only wish that it wasn't true..."

Suddenly, Sunset embraced him.

"Oh, Echo, I was so worried..." She sniffed, nuzzling Echo. "I thought I'd lost you for good this time..."

"Hey, you can't get rid of me that easily." Echo joked, pulling Sunset in for a kiss.

Meanwhile, Shining picked up a hoof-full of the micro-crystals that Echo had fired.

"Interesting." He mused. "How is it you were able to create these, when Synchro was the one with the magic?"

"I can't imagine how. The last thing I remember was Synchro stabbing me in the abdomen with the hor-" Echo stopped mid-sentence,
recalling how Synchro had stabbed him with the horn, and how he felt a surge before he fell. "The horn... holy Faust, Synchro wasn't trying to kill me..."

"Then what was he trying to do?" Sunset asked.

"I can't really explain it... but Synchro must had charged the horn with all of his remaining dark magic energy, and when he jabbed with the horn, he subjected me to all that dark magic... and since it was his magic, it must had passed his powers on to me."

"But why would he do that?" Shining asked.

"I don't know..." Echo admitted, as with a raise of one of his hoof, a small pillar of micro-crystals rose before him. "Maybe... maybe I might had actually gotten to Synchro after all, and he gave me his power so I could continue on with my life. I could be wrong, but..."

"Well, whatever the reason, I know that power will be in better hooves with you." Sunset smiled.

"It's better than the last power I had, I tell you that much." Echo shrugged.

"What do you mean, 'had'?" Shining asked.

"That monster form of mine, the 'Berserker' spell." Echo revealed. "The light of the Crystal Heart burned it out of me when me and Synchro were fighting. It's gone. That's probably one of the reasons I have this new power now."

"Well, how about that?" Shining nodded, with a small smile. "Look's like Cross's machinations had one good result after all..."

The mention of Sterling reminded Echo of what he had said.

"Oh, right..." Echo then turned to Sunset. "Sunset, I can assure you that you have nothing to worry about. I will help you get through this..."

"Get through what? Sterling's betrayal?" Sunset wondered, "It came as a shock, but I'm not that heartbroken over it."

"No, I meant our foal, Sunset. The one we made in Caris." Echo elaborated.

Silence ensued, as Sunset and Shining both went wide-eyed at Echo's comment.

"Foal? What are you talking about?!" Sunset stammered.

"It was all part of Sterling's big plan." Echo explained. "He wanted us to have a foal together because a gene that gave me and Synchro the ability to use dark magic would pass down to him, and he theorized if the mother was you, the foal would be more powerful... it's rather hard to explain-"

"Echo, I'm not pregnant." Sunset frowned, ever so confused. "I think I would know if I was with foal."

At that moment, the doctor entered.

"We've completed our analysis on your blood tests, Ms Shimmer." He announced. "And I have some wonderful news for you... you're pregnant."

Silence greeted the room again.

"What?!" Sunset gasped. "But... I... I... Ohhh..."

Sunset fainted.

"Oh, my." Echo cringed.

"...Um, congratulations?" Shining awkwardly replied.

A few days later, Echo, finally out of the hospital, was called to the throne room. He found Sunset standing with Shining and Cadance and Sunset.

"You wanted to see me, Prince Armor?" Echo asked, though with a bit of dread. He wasn't sure what to expect from the prince. Was he going to send him back to the dungeons? Because he doubted that saving the kingdom would give him a pardon for what he did in the past...

"Yes, Echo." Shining nodded. "I've summoned you here... so I can apologize."

"...Excuse me?" Echo asked, dumbfounded.

"I've never given you a chance." Shining sighed. "I let my own failures and grudges cloud my mind into thinking that you were as bad as all the dark magic users out there, but after seeing how you defended my and Cadance's kingdom in spite of what I said and did, I realized that it was wrong of me to do so, and you didn't deserve it. I know that now. Will you accept my apology?"

"I shall." Echo nodded. "Honestly, you had every right to feel that way. After all the mistakes I made in the past and all that had befallen you before, I don't blame you one bit. I fear that dark magic still has a long road ahead of it before ponies will ever fully accept it. And it would be wrong of me to assume that you would too."

"Either way, I still want to make things right." Shining said firmly. "As much as I hate dark magic, I know you can be trusted with it. Which is why, as a token of my trust and support, I am placing Sombra's spell book and all it's pages in your custody."

"You are?" Echo gasped.

"For research purposes only, of course." Shining added tersely. "Now, regarding his imprisonment, I believe my exact words were that you were to be caged for as long as you had that monstrous spell within you. But since the spell has left you, I will allow you to go free, with a full pardon granted to you for all past misdeeds."

"Really? But are you perturbed by my new dark magic?" Echo frowned.

"I'll admit, it is a little unnerving to know a power used for evil is now in your hooves." Shining admitted. "But I have faith that you will not abuse it.

"And besides, everypony knows that dark magic is only as bad as the user." Cadance added, nuzzling against Shining.

"So true." Shining nodded.

Sunset run over and hugged Echo.

"Well, thank you, your highness." Echo bowed. "It's more than I deserve."

"Not in my eyes." Shining smiled, as Cadance embraced him. "Now, go and enjoy your freedom."

"You heard the stallion." Sunset nuzzled him. "Let's go and enjoy the new day."

"Of course." Echo smiled.

As Echo and Sunset left the castle, Echo found the Crystal Ponies once again looking upon him. But there was something different about their looks; They were friendlier, less hateful.

"It's him!" One stallion pointed. "The one who saved us from that monster!"

"He's a hero!" A colt added.

"You hear that?" Sunset whispered. "A hero."

"Well, I wouldn't go that far..." Echo blushed.

"Why not?" Sunset asked. "You saved us all from an evil pony. Protected Equestria from a terrible fate. Isn't that what heroes do?"

"Well, technically..." Echo admitted.

"Ergo, you're a hero." Sunset smiled. "It's the logical conclusion. You don't want to argue with logic, do you?"

"It's never steered me wrong before." Echo shrugged.

"And neither have I." Sunset kissed him on the cheek.

Soon after, they returned to Echo's old study.

"Ah, it's good to be back." Echo smiled, walking around the room, glancing at all his notes and scribbles. "Still so much work to be done..."

"Is everything okay, Echo?" Sunset asked.

"Whatever do you mean, Sunset?" Echo smiled. "Everything's fine."

"You can't fool me, Echo." Sunset declared. "I know you well enough to know when something's bothering you. Now, out with it."

"Huh, can't get anything past you... it's just..." Echo sighed. "I'm not sure if I deserve all this. All my mistakes almost brought ruin upon Equestria, and those I care about. And everypony just seems to had forgiven me for it, and I don't understand why."

"I know what you mean." Sunset said compassionately. "I felt the same way after my lust for power was quenched. The guilt of what I had done... I felt like I didn't deserve my new-found friends. But eventually, I realized that my past did not define me. And your past doesn't define you, Echo. Do you know why?"

"Why?" Echo asked.

"Because your past is not today." Sunset smiled.

"...Pardon?" Echo frowned, lost.

"That's what really matters: Today." Sunset declared. "Instead of dwelling on what came before, you should focus on what you have now. You have acceptance, you have your freedom, you have me..." Then she grabbed Echo's hoof and guided it to her stomach. "And you have our foal... our beautiful foal..."

"Perhaps you're right." Echo admitted. "If I always focus on the past, I lose sight of the present."

"Now there's the genius Thestral I know and love." Sunset kissed him on the cheek. "And if you need help focusing on the present, I'd be happy to lend a hoof."

"Yes." Echo smiled. "Today is a brand new day. Today is the beginning of a new chapter in my story. One I'd be happy to share with you."

Echo kissed Sunset deeply.

"Sounds like a real page-turner." Sunset joked.