Sometimes, we have to sacrifice our future so others can have theirs…

Broken Promise

( . none, Outskirts of Ponyville)

"Don't let up!" Soler shouted, stabbing another clone, "We have to protect Ponyville!" The storm raged on as the hedgehog and his friends fought valiantly against the onslaught of Neo clones, taking down as many as possible in an attempt to carve a path to Neo, who sat at the back and watched.

Soler, Shadow, Knuckles and Applejack were at the front lines trashing all clones that stood in their way. Twilight and Rarity provided cover fire, blasting stray clones, while Tails, Pinkie, and Fluttershy were the last line. Tails and Fluttershy took to the skies, pointing out clusters of clones and any strays as Pinkie did her best to back anyone becoming overwhelmed, and stopping any other stray clones. Sonic and Rainbow moved with speed, cutting through the horde and taking down anything that was in their way.

The battle was only at its beginning, so the group had plenty of energy to fight. However, the number of clones didn't seem to be decreasing, no matter how many they took down. Knuckles punched another one through the chest in a shower of sparks as he pulled his fist out. He grabbed the defeated bot and started to slam it into other bots, sending them flying until all that was left of the one in his gloves was an arm.

"Is it just me, or does it seem like we're not even making a dent in these things?" He asked, knocking another one away.

"I feel the same, partner." AJ started, before bucking one's head off, "It don't feel like we're doin' anything."

"Come on, guys. Don't start to talk like that, we can do this." Soler encouraged, throwing a charged Chaos Spear through a number of clones, killing at least six with that shot. Shadow was doing the same, throwing Spears into the army, making every Spear count.

"Soler, they're right. We've had to have taken down at least fifty bots by now and it doesn't look like we've even taken down ten." Shadow remarked as he kicked another one away. Instead of thinning, the clone army's numbers seemed to only grow.

Hate to admit it, but they're right. What is it that I'm forgetting? He thought, then a memory of when he first encountered the clones entered his head. He remembered taking down one with ease, but then the two halves became two more clones. Shit! I forgot.

"Guys, we have a problem. These clones all have Neo's regenerative nanites." He said.

"And that means?" Knuckles asked.

"It means we can fight these guys for hours, but they'll only keep coming." Shadow responded, a hint of anger in his voice.

"Exactly. The only way to stop them is to get to Neo and take him down. But we can't get close to him with all these clones in the way." Soler said before taking down another few clones. THen SHadow had a thought.

"We don't need to get to him. You do." He said. Soler glanced at him with questionably for a brief moment.

"What? I'm not going to leave you guys to fight these guys. You'll need my-"

"We'll be fine." Shadow interrupted, "Soler. Out of all of us here, Neo hates you the most. And you hate him. He's sitting back there, waiting for you to come finish what began those years ago, when he killed Luna to draw out your power. Out of all of us, you're the one who can stop him and end all of this. If you're worried about us not lasting for long, then that just means you need to take him out as fast as you can. Got it?" Soler took in his words, knowing that Shadow was right.

I'm the only one who can stop Neo now, but I don't wanna leave everyone, he thought. Soler glanced back and saw Twilight and the others fighting with everything they had, trying to protect their friends their home. He then turned to the battle, where Sonic boomed through clones, and Rainbow nose dived in and out of the army, causing as much havoc as possible. Then he looked out at Neo, who stared at him, indicating impatience.

Soler took a deep breath and released it.

"You're right. I'm the only one who can stop him, and he's waiting for me."

"Exactly. So get going, and you'll need this." Shadow then threw him his Chaos Emerald.

"Wait! You'll need this more then me." Soler pleaded. Shadow only shook his head.

"I'll be fine. I have enough energy to last until you finish him." He replied. Soler looked down at it and smirked.

"Nah. I think you'll need it more. But thanks." He said, tossing it back to Shadow, much to his surprise. "Now you guys just hold out until I finish him, okay?" He then proceeded to jump onto the head of the nearest clone and hopped from head to head, straight towards Neo. Shadow cursed under his breath.

"What's the problem of him not having one of those Emeralds?" AJ asked, bucking another clone in the chest.

"Neo has three Emeralds powering him. We have three Emeralds, but I have one, Sonic has one, and Soler has the other. If Soler's going to battle Neo, he's going to need as much firepower as possible. And with him having only one Emerald, he's going into that fight heavily handicapped." He explained as he blasted another clone away.

Soler hopped from bot to bot until he landed in front of Neo. Neo just looked at him with enjoyment.

"Glad to see you've finally arrived." He commented.

"Yeah. Sorry I kept ya waiting, but I think we have a dance to finish." Soler retorted, entering a battle stance.

"Agreed." Neo said, and the two distanced themselves from the battle. To fight alone.

(P.O.V. Soler & Neo)

The two stopped some space away from the battle, still able to see it from their position. The rain continued falling as the two glared at each other, sizing each other up. Their last fight was to begin shortly.

"I never would have thought that we would finally get to this point, this battle, our final battle. It seems like only yesterday I came and slaughtered your little home in front of your eyes." Neo commented. Soler clenched his fists, but calmed himself with the knowledge of the mind game being played.

"Yeah. It does seem like yesterday, huh? Back when I was too weak to do anything to stop you. But look at us now, some new tricks, new powers, and ready to finish what was started so long ago." Soler replied. Neo laughed.

"Yes. There's that wit I've come to hate to love. I can't wait till it turns into screams of agony." Soler merely snickered.

"Yeah. And I can't wait until I shut that mouth of yours up for good." He retorted. Done with words, they sized each other up one last time, then charged, forming Chaos Spears in their hands. Just as they were to clash, Soler jumped up and dived at him with the Spear. Ready for it, Neo leaned to the side, causing Soler to just clash with Neo's Spear and land to his side.

The two quickly back-slashed their Spears striking up sparks of energy. The two jumped away from each other, then collided again with their Spears. This time, Soler tried to sweep kick Neo, who read ahead and jumped over it. He retaliated by kneeing Soler in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. He then kicked him in the chest, forcing Soler back a few feet. Soler strained for breath, but as he flew back, he threw his Spear at Neo, nicking his face. Neo dropped his spear. Soler recovered to some extent and landed on his feet.

After quickly steadying his breathing, he charged at Neo again, Spear in hand. Neo recovered from the attack with self-repairing injuries. Seeing Soler coming, he wasn't fast enough to block his attack, so he barely dodged it. Soler took this advantage and continued slashing at Neo, who dodged them. Once Neo saw a chance, he formed a Spear and clashed with Soler. The two entered a duel of swinging at each other, their attacks dodged and blocked.

Soler leapt away from Neo and decided to try using his speed. He dashed at Neo and slashed, but Neo kept blocking them. Soler picked up speed with each failed attempt, gaining ground on him as he saw his attacks become too fast to be blocked. When Soler had caught Neo off guard, he kicked him away, entering a spinball with Spear in hand. He homed right in for Neo, who swiftly brought up his Spear in defense. Soler's attack collided with his Spear as Neo struggled to maintain his guard, the velocity of Soler's spinning was causing him to lose his footing. Then, much to Soler's pleasure, Neo's Spear broke.

Soler immediately left his spinball mid-spin and slashed down over Neo's eye, causing him to wail a bit. After landing, Soler bucked Neo in the chest, sending him flying. Still not done, he stood and attacked Neo with a barrage of slashes and hits as he flew. Soler finished off his attack by drop kicking Neo to the ground, producing a mini crater where Neo landed. Soler quickly backed off, catching his breath, content with his work. His smirk disappeared as Neo got back up, covered in deep slashes spat sparks. In a matter of seconds, Neo's wounds were gone, leaving him looking as good as new. Soler gritted his teeth.

Dammit! I keep forgetting about his nanites. Soler agonized as the two glared at each other, only for Neo to blink away. A surprised Soler looked around for him, desperately trying to find him. Out of nowhere, Soler took a heel to the side of his face as Neo punted him, hard. Soler was knocked a few feet to the side, and Neo had already disappeared, leaving his vision was slightly blurry, and his ear ringing. But Soler couldn't relax, since Neo appeared once more and jabbed him in the gut, then teleported away again. Neo teleported around Soler, barraging the defenseless hedgehog with countless blows. Neo's attack ended when he slammed Soler face-first into the ground.

Before Soler could stand, Neo put his foot on his back and grabbed both of his wrists. He then proceeded to violently pull them, causing Soler to cry out in pain. Neo pulled hard, trying to rip his arms off. In a last ditched effort, before his arms popped, Soler quickly charged Chaos Energy and unleashed an attack, to end the excruciating pain.

"Chaos Blast!" He shouted, blasting Neo away. Soler hastily tried to regain himself as he healed himself a bit with the Emerald, numbing the pain and clearing his vision. He stood and moved his arms around, making sure they were still in place. Neo landed a few yards away and calmly regained himself, rising again. The two stared at each other for a moment, preparing their next attacks. Soler put his hands together and began to charge his attack, as did Neo. The two placed a lot of energy into their attack, their hands sparking violently with energy.

"Chaos Cannon!" They shouted simultaneously, releasing their massive blasts of Chaos Energy, an explosion joined by blinding light as the two attacks met.

(P.O.V. none, Ponyville Battle)

Twilight blasted another bot that got past the front line just before it could reach them. In all her life, from facing Nightmare Moon, to Discord, Chrysalis, and even Terik, she wouldn't have thought she'd be fighting an army with her friends. They've all been through so much since she came to Ponyville, but this fight, this battle, was far beyond the baddies they usually fought.

Can we really handle all of this? She wondered as she looked over to Rarity, who pushed back a group of bots with a shield spell. She could see the constant use of magic draining her friend to exhaustion. It didn't help that they knew little battle magic.

"Rarity! If you need a breather, just fall back, I can handle things here." Twi said as she got rid of another bot.

"Oh, don't worry, darling. I'm fine. I could do this all day." She boasted in spite of her apparent fatigue. The resolve in Rarity's eyes stopped Twilight from pressing the issue.

She's prepared to give it her all. Twilight realized, But am I? She turned towards Shadow and saw how fierce he fought, certain of victory. She shook her head and pushed back some bots.

My friends are here with me, and Ponyville is my home. I won't let any bot get close to harming my friends or my home! She thought as a new fire ignited in her soul. She flew up into the air and charged a spell.

"Everyone fall back!" She shouted. Shadow, Knuckle, and AJ all looked up at her then fell back by Rarity. Once they were out the way, she unleashed a powerful beam of magic upon all nearby bots, leaving any bot within fifty feet of the group destroyed. This gave the group a breather. Shadow went to help Twilight stay standing as she landed with heavy breathing.

"Nice blast, sugarcube!" AJ cheered.

"Yeah. Nice job, Twi." Knuckles added. Twilight smiled from their praise. Then, she blushed when she found Shadow looking directly at her.

"It was a good attack, but don't strain yourself too much, Twilight." He said with concern in his voice. She was taken by surprise, but they heard a massive explosion before she could respond. All looked out over the battlefield, taking note of a huge cloud of dust behind the army.

"What was that?" She asked.

"Soler and Neo. Looks like things are getting serious." Shadow remarked. The injured and undeterred Sonic and Rainbow both stopped in front of the group.

"Okay. One, Twilight, that was an awesome attack you did on those robots. And two, what caused that explosion?" RD asked. Pinkie and the others had joined the rest of the group, also taking a breather.

"Well, that explosion was Soler fighting Neo right now." Shadow explained.

"Wait, Soler's fighting Neo? Did you at least give him your Emerald?" Sonic asked. Shadow shook his head.

"You know how he is. I gave him my Emerald, but he just threw it back to me and ran off before I could protest." Sonic cursed under his breath. He sighed and let it go.

"Okay, fine. So from Twilight's attack wiping out the closest ones to us, and at the rate that these things put themselves back together, I'm going to guess we have maybe a minute before the next line gets to us, and the ones from before rebuild themselves." Sonic added. The girls didn't think they could rebuild that fast, but when they looked over, they could already see pieces of bots morphing together and reforming limbs. Seeing that, Twilight started to feel her attack did nothing, which Shadow instantly picked up on.

"Don't feel like you're efforts were in vain, Twilight. You were able to give us this moment to catch a breather and regroup." He told her, returning her some of her confidence to her. Shadow let go of her once she got her strength back. "Listen, these clones aren't going to stop coming. And we aren't going to be able to defeat them, since they can keep rebuilding themselves-"

"Wow. What a motivational speech, Shads." Sonic stated sarcastically, prompting a look from Shadow.

"Regardless, what I'm getting at is that we just need to hold off these bots for as long as possible, until Soler can beat Neo. He's already in the process of doing so as we speak, so we're going to hold this line together and put our faith in Soler. So take this break and recharge while you can, since those bots will be back soon." Shadow finished. All nodded.

"Wow Shadow, I see you're getting better at the whole motivational speech thing. Impressive." Sonic commented.

"And you can still joke in a dire time, faker." Shadow retorted. Sonic simply smirked.

"It's my specialty." He responded. The two looked over the battlefield, and grew silent upon seeing the incoming bots. The only sounds came from the moving bots and the rain.

"Do you think we'll all make it?" Sonic asked, a sudden solemness in his tone.

"I don't know yet. I know we have a better chance of getting out of this alive, but I don't know about the girls. They've never been through a battle like this. It's likely that someone won't make." He said bluntly. The two never looked each other in the eyes, already knowing what the other thought and felt.

"Well. It seems we're just going to have to be quicker on our feet this time to back up the ladies whenever they need our help. Because I don't know about you, but I couldn't live with myself if any of these girls died on my watch. Especially Rainbow, and I know you feel the same way I do. Especially towards Twilight." He teased. Shadow's expression never changed.

"You're right. I won't let any harm to come towards those girls, especially Twilight." He said with certainty. That took Sonic by surprise.

"Woah. Never thought I'd see the day. Actually caring for someone other than yourself? What happened to the faker I know and hate?" Sonic joked. Shadow cracked a smile for once.

"Time can change a hedgehog. I should say the same to you, since when could you be serious?" Sonic actually laughed at that one.

"Who knows? But right now, all I know is that Soler needs to hurry up with Neo." He said. Shadow nodded in accord as they stared at the oncoming battle, the silence returning.

(P.O.V. Soler & Neo)

The dust settled around the new crater formed by the blast that dented the ground around them. Soler unshielded his face to try and spot Neo. It was obvious Soler had taken a lot of damage since his body was covered in scrapes and bruises, his breathing heavy with fatigue.

Where is he? He wondered. Once all of the dust had settled, he could see Neo standing in the same spot, undamaged. Dammit! This fight is going to go on forever if I don't find some way to shut off those nanites. I'll never win.

"So, are you ready to continue?" Neo asked. Soler grinned and straighten himself.

"Ready as I'll ever be!" He shouted, entering a spin ball charging right at him. Neo was ready for it, but right before Soler was upon him, he vanished. Taken by surprise, Neo started searching for him. Soler charged him from behind, then disappeared again. He appeared, struck him from the side before disappearing once more. Soler started to appear and disappear around Neo, hitting him with a barrage of attacks from all over. His series of attacks overwhelmed Neo, as he seemed unable to counter him.

Soler went in for one last attack, headed for Neo's face, but Neo recovered and grabbed him in his spinball. He then slammed Soler into the ground where, in his spinball, he dug into the ground until he was lying face-first in the dirt. Neo gripped his head and then started bashing his face into the ground. Before Soler might pass out from the head trauma, he teleported out of his grasp. He appeared behind him, but Neo grabbed his leg and threw him away. Soler landed on the ground with a thud. It took him a bit to get back up, shakily. Neo stood in the same place, his wounds being instantly repaired again.

Those nanites! Soler sulked before realization struck, Wait! Nanites aren't individually controlled, they're too small for that. They have something that gives them instructions, like a hive-mind mentality. And if that's right, then that means I have to shut off the central controlling nanite Neo has within him. Easier said than done. Neo stared at him, somewhat unimpressed.

"This fight is getting boring, hedgehog. I expected more." He said. Soler chuckled.

"Yeah? Well I'm not finished yet!" He declared, creating a Chaos Spear. The droplets hitting the energy of the Spear produced a crackling hiss. Looking down the Spear, Soler's eyes widened with an idea. He dissipated the Spear, much to Neo's surprise. Soler then charged at him, entering close combat with Neo. He tried to strike him, but Neo kept dodging with ease. Soler tried to land a flip kick, but Neo jumped into the air to dodge, exactly what Soler wanted. Faster than Neo could react, Soler hopped right up to Neo and placed his hand on his head. Soler briefly focused some Energy, as if forming a Spear, and pulsed the Energy through Neo. The pulsed caused Neo to glitch briefly, but he recovered and grabbed Soler by his throat and slammed him to the ground.

"What did you do?" He roared at the white hedgehog, whose bore a smug countenance.

"Now we're even." Soler said. Neo's eyes widened.

"Computer, what's the status on the central nanite?" Neo called.

Processing… Central nanite 20% functional. Control over other clones active, nanite replication process inactive… It finished. Neo looked at Soler with rage in his eyes. Soler's smugness further enraged him.

"What's wrong? No more nanite control? Hehe, well welcome to the mortal life." He joked. An infuriated Neo slammed him into the ground twice before throwing him. Soler was able to recover and landed on his feet, but Neo was right back on him. Soler was faced with powerful punches and kicks that lacked technique. Soler tried to counter them, but he was too injured, and was forced to block, which didn't last long to Neo's barrage.

"You irritating, annoying, waste of flesh! You've been a pain ever since that day on that island where I should've killed you!" Neo vented as he continued to hit Soler, "Shadow should've killed you, but I miscalculated. For him to have a change of heart, and for that blue rat to interfere with your battle! You've only kept coming back to get revenge for that girl, and I still wanted your power, so I used your anger, your hatred of me, to draw out your dark side! But now, you've even found a way to quell the temper of that too! Now you and your friends fight back, and are pushing me back! Why won't you just give up and die?" Soler caught his swing and glared at him.

"Why… Why won't I give up? You! You're the reason I won't give up." Soler screamed, landing a solid punch in the start of his own offensive of strong punches, "My life was perfect before you showed up that day and took the love of my life from me! Then, you forced me to leave to find Shadow, who I wanted dead! But thanks to Sonic, who stopped him from killing me, and turned our attentions towards you… The real enemy! And from our first fight, I realized just how superior you were to me, so I had to get stronger… I had to get stronger because of you! Shadow, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and the other Freedom Fighters helped me get stronger, which also shaped me into who I am today. Just so that when I had to face you, I'd be ready. When we met again, I thought I was ready, but you used my anger against me to turn me dark, which then became my next task to deal with. I had to control my emotions around you, or else I'd risk hurting those around me! All because of you, Neo! I come here and you still try to torture me by going and hurting Luna, who I've come to love. So this fight… This thrashing… Is all because of you!" Soler slugged Neo hard, knocking him to the ground. Soler stood over him, all the words and feeling that had been pent up inside of him all coming to the surface.

"But you know even though I hate you with everything I have, part of me didn't want to fully destroy you. I thought that if I shut off your nanites, you'd want to retreat for another day. But from this, I know that this really will be both our final fights." A tear rolled down the side of his face, "Which sucks because I hate breaking my promises. But I know you won't stop until I'm dead, and I won't stop until you're dead. And we both hate losing, so no matter what, we'll both keep standing back up, so we'll both die here today, Neo!" He proclaimed. Neo grimaced, then kicked him away and stood back up.

"There goes that annoying sense of justice you have! I won't be dying here today. Only you will… Soler!" He shouted and rushing at him.

"Neo!" Soler yelled, launching himself at the robot. The two clashed and wailed on each other. Soler punched Neo in the face, and Neo retaliated by kneeing him in the stomach, causing him to spit up blood. Soler headbutted him, causing sparks to fly. The two fought with just the goal of ending the other for a while, while blood and sparks flew every so often. The two broke off and jumped away from each other, now shakily standing. Soler breathed heavily, and Neo didn't look much better than he did, unable to heal himself.

I need to end this. Soler thought, looking down his hands with a crazy idea in mind. He closed his fists and started pour his last bit of Energy into both of them. Not enough, he had to use the Emerald's Energy as well. Neo saw that Soler's hands were starting to glow.

"Computer, analyze Soler."

Analyzing… Subject is pouring Chaos Energy into his fists, gaining more energy at a constant rate. The amount of power is currently equal to that of a fully charged Chaos Blast, as it is steadily rising. The computer said.

"Hmm. Seems like he's ready to end things, but with energy like that rising, if he doesn't make contact with anything then the energy will backfire on him." Neo said to himself. Soler charged at Neo, who readily dodged his attacks, knowing that Soler desperately needed to get a hit on him. Energy was continuously being poured into his hands, and he knew he couldn't unfist his hands, else he'd be done for. Neo was on point until he tripped on a rock and Soler was able to punch his side. When his fist made contact, a huge explosion of Energy pushed the two far from each other. Soler struggled to a standing position, his other fist still tight. He looked down his left arm, which dangled almost lifelessly. He tried to move it, but only his fingers twitched.

"Damn, my nerves are shot." He noted, looking in Neo's direction. He saw Neo standing back up slowly, a huge chunk of his left side missing, as well part of his arm. Sparks were everywhere, but he was mostly in one piece. Soler didn't wait and charged right back in to deal the finishing blow, his fist steadily growing brighter with rising Chaos Energy. Neo was ready to try and dodge it, but realized that he wouldn't be able to fully dodge him. When Soler was upon him, Neo swung his good arm and the fists collided. When the two fists clashed, a bright light shined brightly from the contact point, quickly engulfing both of them.

(P.O.V. Celestia, Canterlot)

Celestia quickly ran behind the nurse through the hospital hallways. The two entered the room where other doctors looked over Luna, who was moving around while she slept, a pained expression on her face.

"How long has this been happening?" Celestia asked as she got beside her sister.

"It started happening but a little while ago, Princess. Everything was fine. She was sleeping soundly, vitals normal, but then they started to spike wildly out of nowhere, and she began to move around, which is when we decided we needed to call you." One of the doctors explained. Celestia worriedly gazed at her sister.

"Was anyone with her before this started?"

"Yes. Soler the Hedgehog was, ma'am." A guard said, standing outside the door.

Soler was here with her and everything was fine, but he left and now she's acting like this. I wonder if… She thought, stopping when everything seemed too quiet, even Luna stopped moving. She discerned everyone looking out the window and when she did, Celestia saw that there was a bright light coming from the direction of Ponyville. The light dwindled, and then there was a brief rumbling as the entire building shook, snapping everyone out of their gazes. Luna's heart monitor started beeping wildly as the doctors examined her.

"Her heart beat has sped up rapidly!" One said to the others as Luna moved wildly, now her face sweating and full of pain. Celestia didn't know what to do, so all she could do was watch in tears. When it seemed like she was going to start thrashing, she stilled and her eyes shot open as she screamed.

"SOLER!"

(P.O.V. none, Ponyville Battle)

"Come on, guys! We gotta hold out!" Sonic shouted. The group had now been pushed back quite a bit since the battle had started again, and they were all growing exhausted. Now Sonic, Shadow, and Knuckles stood at the front line, the bots overwhelming them despite their efforts. Twilight and Rarity provided cover fire with stung horns from the overuse of magic, which slowed down their attacks. AJ and Rainbow had fallen back with Pinkie, unable to keep up with the pace of the bots, now taking down the increasingly growing number of bots that came near them. The grounded Tails and Fluttershy did the best they could to support the others.

The hopelessness in their fight began setting in. Sonic looked back at his friends and could see their exhaustion, and how badly this could end if something didn't happen… And soon. Caught off beat, a bot punched Sonic in the face, knocking him to the ground. Just when it looked like the group was done for, silence took over, pausing time itself. The group looked over to a massive bright light that appeared to come from where Soler and Neo fought. Then, just as fast as the light came, it died away, and it started raining. A sudden explosion, sounding like a massive cannon, filled the air. The team jumped in surprise. Shadow knew what was to come.

"Everyone! Get around Twilight and Rarity. Girls, put up the strongest bubble shield you can, and hold on tight." He ordered. Everyone quickly did as he said, and a massive shockwave cracked the bubble shield as soon as it touched the ground. The shockwave was strong enough to send a few bots flying, even ripping up some trees. Thinking that it had ended, Twilight was going to release the bubble, but Shadow stopped her.

"It's not over yet." Another shockwave came as he spoke, going towards where the first shockwave originated, sending more bots flying. Once this one was over, Twilight released the bubble, and the group looked over the battlefield. Bots were scattered everywhere, the once flowery field now almost completely lifeless, only the occasional patches of grass showing life in the dirt field. The strange thing was that the bots weren't getting back up, and the rain had stopped pouring, now a light drizzle. Upon realizing that the bots weren't getting back up, they all collapsed, panting heavily, glad the fighting was over.

"Is everyone alive?" Sonic asked through his gasps. He smirked at the collection of groans and garbled responses he heard. "Good to hear." He looked over at Shadow, who was on a knee, looking no better than he was.

"So Shadow, what do you think happened?" Sonic asked.

"I don't know, but I do know it was because of Soler and Neo's fight. Which means we need to get over there." He replied as he struggled back up. Sonic knew he was right, and slowly stood back up too. Everyone else saw them stand and followed their example. With whatever strength they had left, all ran over to Soler's battle.

(P.O.V. none, Soler & Neo's battle)

The group arrived to the scene, and were shocked to see the size of the crater that the two had created, the size of a small lake. Soler and Neo lied on their backs in the center of it, appearing to have been through hell and back.

Soler slowly opened his eyes, bringing him more pain than he thought it would.

I… Can… Barely feel… My body… He thought. His vision wasn't completely blurry, so he was able to see some figures standing on a ridge of the crater his attack formed.

Hey, those look like my friends… He picked his body up slowly, pain shooting all through him. He looked over to Neo, his arm missing, chunks of his body missing, totally trashed. Wait, so I lived? Looks like I didn't break my promise after all… He noticed the Emerald he held.

Wow. Looks like he beat the Emerald right out of me… He attempted to laugh at his lame joke, but it hurt to breathe, laughing was out the question. He slowly turned on his stomach and tried to get up.

Nanite recall activated… The downed clones that laid scattered across the field all started breaking down into small nanites, and flew back to Neo. As Soler tried to get up, he didn't notice the nanites all rejoining Neo, or hear his friends cries for him to move. Then he felt something go through his torso. He looked down at a Chaos Spear poking out of his chest, his blood dripping from the tip. It disappeared, and he fell onto his stomach, blood slowly pooling beneath him. His friends watched in disbelief, some of the girls crying, others looking away from the sight. Sonic was stunned to speechlessness, watching as Neo stood again. This time, recovering with the returning nanites. Neo laughed at Soler as he extended his reformed arm to pick up his Emerald.

"I told you hedgehog. Only you were dying today." He stated, proceeding to laugh viciously. He stopped when he felt something strange happen.

I'm taking in more nanites than when this battle first started, he noticed, his shape and form changing. He started growing claws, wings, and a tail as he grew from the excess of nanites. Sonic looked at him in shock.

"I never thought I'd ever see that thing again." Tails said.

"Yeah. It took everything we had to beat it the last time we saw it." Knuckles added.

"Damn, he's turned into-"

"Metal Overlord." Sonic said, almost in a whisper. Neo had become a huge mechanical dragon, and heavily spiked. The blue, purple, and silver monster's two arms had a flamethrower in the right, and claws on the left. The sharp-winged lower body bore a great many black cables. His great tail, appeared to be particularly deadly, added to the menacing appearance, as did the vertically-aligned line-like eyes. This monster clearly did not need legs to kill.

Metal Overlord screeched as it flew over everyone, powered by four Emeralds.

"Yes! Now with this body, and these Emeralds, I will destroy everything!" He roared. The group watched hopelessly as the feeling of the end crept into their hearts and souls.

Man. So this is what dying feels like. It doesn't hurt as much as I thought it would. Soler contemplated, before hearing Neo's screech. He could barely see the dread his friends held.

I gotta stop Neo… But I'm going to die… Wait, I still have that skill… But if I use that too long, I'll… Oh. Whelp, I'm dead either way… Might as well take him with me… Soler's heartbeat slowed, and his breathing grew harsh. With the last of his strength, he shouted.

"Chaos… Synergy!" As soon as the words left his mouth, his eyes shot open as he gasped for air. Then, his body unleashed a mass pulse of Chaos Energy, turning into a bright fusion of white and cyan-colored Energy. Even his pupils vanished as his eyes blazed with Energy and his wounds rapidly healed. Everyone turned their attention to him, gazing at him in awe.

"What the hay is that?" Rainbow asked.

"I think it's Soler, but he's giving off a lot of Energy." Twilight said in shock.

I've only felt this much power when the Princesses gave me their magic! She thought.

"Soler, no! You know what will happen if you stay in that form for too long!" Sonic shouted at him. Soler just looked at him and his friends.

"Hey guys, look! I'm not dead yet! Hehe, but Sonic, I know what will happen, but there's no other option left to stop him." He replied in a voice that seemed to come from everywhere.

"What is he talking about? What will happen to him?" Rarity asked.

"He'll… He'll-"

"I'll die, Rarity. So the way I see it is that if I'm already going to die, I want to die protecting my friends, and taking Neo with me." Soler said, floating up to eye level with Metal Overlord.

"Soler! You should be dead!" It screeched at him.

"Sorry to disappoint, but like I said earlier, we're both dying here today." He pledged, pointing at him. Neo only roared at him, and flew up above the clouds. Soler looked up to him, then back to his friends,

"Hey, do you think you guys can tell Luna I'm sorry that I couldn't keep our promise?" He requested, flying up to Neo before they could answer. The group watched the skies as flashes of explosions made shadows in the cloud, detailing a fierce battle. Every once in a flash, they would hear Neo screech in pain, or in rage. The battle went on for minutes, neither one quite able to take advantage of the other. After one big flash, everything went still, even the rain had stopped completely. They watched in suspense, waiting to see who the victor was. Almost on cue, something fell down. It was Neo, in his normal form, glowing green. Then Soler followed right after him, still cloaked in white, though it didn't shine as brightly as it did at first. There was only an aura around him, his eyes and quill now visible in detail once again. The two combatants stopped in the middle of the sky, both facing each other.

"Why won't you die!" Neo shouted. Soler didn't say anything back, only looking at him. This enraged Neo as they charged each other. The two flew all over the place, clashing in randomly, fast enough that the group couldn't see them at times. They separated, and Neo unleashed a massive barrage of Chaos Spears towards Soler. Soler created two Spheres in his hands, then let them go as they floated around him. He made a motion with his hands at the Spears, and both Spheres burst into a massive Chaos Swarm, double the size of his first one, at the Spears. The two attacks collided, equal in power and strength. Soler remembered his battle with Shadow, and made a splitting motion with his hands as the swarm split apart and headed for a ready Neo. Once the Swarm got close to him, he unleashed a Chaos Blast that pushed them all away. Soler stopped Neo's attack with the last of his Swarm. Soler looked down at his hands, and realized that he could distinguish his gloves again.

Damn. I'm running out of time. I need to finish this now. He thought.

"Neo! It's time to finish this fight! One last shot, all or nothing!" He shouted.

"I couldn't agree more!" Neo responded, without showing how he was running low on power. At 10% power, he had tapped almost all of the Emeralds' power. Neo put his hands together and started charging his last attack. Without much time, released a massive Chaos Spear straight for Soler. Soler closed his eyes and put his hand up. Then, he focused his Energy to release a white beam of energy. The two attacks collided in a standstill, both Soler and Neo tried to overpower the other… But soon, Soler's attack started to lose ground. He gritted his teeth as Neo pushed him back. Neo saw victory, and pushed his attack further.

Dammit, he's pushing me back! Gotta use everything I have left! Soler thought, before he raised his other hand and focused his attack even more, pouring more energy into the blast. This bigger, stronger, new power overwhelmed Neo, his attack being consumed by Soler's attack. He desperately tried to draw more power, but it was already drained, leaving him nothing for him to do as the attack reached him. Blinded, he put his hands up to block it, but he saw his hands disintegrated right before him, coming apart right down to the last nanite.

"No… No, no, no, nooo!" He screamed as he fell apart. To nothingness.

"Goodbye Neo." Soler said as his attack wiped away the last traces of Neo. The group watching the fight had to close their eyes from the attack's brightness. Once the attack has dissipated, they opened their eyes to a gone Neo, and Soler floating in the air, his white aura slowly fading. The four Emeralds Neo had in his possession all fell into the crater, dead and lifeless. Soler floated down and picked them all up. He then flew over to his friends and placed them in front of them. They were all speechless, his power was palpable when he stood so close to them. He didn't say anything, he simply smiled. Then he glanced around at the damage he and Neo did to the area, lifeless. He looked down at his hands, and saw that there was still some time left on his Chaos Synergy.

"Ya know, Chaos Energy can bring life and death." He started, looking back at his friends, "Let's bring some life back into this place." He placed his hand at the edge of the crater. He pulsed the last of his white aura into the ground. The ground began to rumble, and then water spouted out from the middle of the crater. It gushed out so fast that it soon filled the crater and turned it into a lake. Next, grass started to grow around the entire area, all the way to the outside of Ponyville, covering the scars of the battle. Flowers poked up from the grass, dotting the area again. Trees that had almost perished soon regained their colors. The entire field was restored to life, the miracle amazing everyone as they gaped at what was taking place.

So this is the power of Chaos Energy? Twilight pondered. Everything stilled, showing it had ended, and everyone looked back to Soler, who had completely lost his white aura. He stood and smiled at them, weakly.

"Now, you guys got a lake…" He collapsed before finishing his sentence. Everyone rushed to his aid as soon as he hit the ground. They turned him on his back and Shadow placed an ear to his chest.

"His heartbeat is declining." He said, sending chills of panic into their hearts. Shadow started to perform CPR on him to keep him breathing.

Soler's vision blurred, the pained faces his friends all had was his last sight.

Sorry, Luna. He thought as his vision went black. He could smell the flowers, could feel the grass under him. I really wish I had something good to eat.

"He's not breathing!" He didn't know who had said the last thing he heard.

Chapter 29 is a wrap. One more to go. This is Solerwolf… Out.