//------------------------------// // The Hoof Of Faust // Story: Dancing In The Shadows // by Bluecatcinema //------------------------------// The squad of mercenaries, led by Frankensteed, Scalphunter, and Fury, advanced upon the Den's entrance. "You sure this is the place?" Scalphunter asked. "For all we know, that one guy might have been wrong." "No, I know they're in here." Frankensteed spat. "I can almost smell them." "Maybe you're smelling your own flank fumes." Scalphunter sneered. "That's enough out of you." Fury scowled. "Says who?" Scalphunter snorted. "You, feathers?" "Silence, both of you." Frankensteed growled. "This way." "So you were right." Scalphunter shrugged. "Big deal." "You should be glad." Fury said derisively. "You'll finally have a chance to exercise those sociopathic tendancies of yours." "About damn time, too." Scalphunter chuckled darkly. As they walked towards the entrance, one of the mercenaries who was scouting out the perimeter was pulled into the air by a snare trap. Another was knocked away by a swinging log. A third suddenly fell down a disguised pit. "Well, looks like we're expected." Scalphunter noted. "And they laid some traps. How quaint." "Watch your step, comrades." Frankensteed declared. "And keep your eyes peeled. It would not be good to lose you all before the attack even begins." "Yeah, we need the expendable bodies to throw at the Nightcrawlers." Scalphunter grinned. "Vile..." Fury muttered. "Like that's not the exact reason they're here." Scalphunter sneered. "Little help, please?" The mercenary in the pit called. "It rubs the lotion on the skin, or else it gets the hose again..." Scalphunter snickered. Inside the Den, the pack were bracing themselves for battle. "Do you think those traps can keep them at bay?" Echo asked. "Not a chance." Artorias shook his head. "They were meant to drive off random trespassers and nosey tree-huggers. If these guys are as tough as Willow made them out to be, our traps will only delay them." "Then it looks like a conflict is unavoidable." Echo frowned. "Well, they won't find us so easy to get past." "Hear, hear." Nano grinned. "Verily!" Willow nodded. "You know it." Wave chuckled. "I almost feel sorry for them..." Moana declared. "Don't." Artorias spat. "Those monsters want us all dead. They deserve whatever we bring upon them." Outside, Scalphunter, versed in such things, managed to locate and avoid every trap, the others following his lead. "Too easy." He smirked. "Whoever set this stuff up is a total amateur." "Finally, that lunatic proves useful." Fury snorted. Finally, they reached the tree. Frankenstead pulled open the seam, revealing the passageway. "So, this is their little hidey-hole." He sneered. "How fitting for such vermin to hide underground." "Time to flush them out of their hole." Scalphunter grinned. The villains marched down the steps, reaching the wooden door. "Fury, if you would?" Frankensteed offered. "With pleasure." Fury unleashed his spear. What followed was a series of lightning-fast swings directed at the door, ending with Fury holding his spear high, poised to strike. "That's it?" Scalphunter snorted. "Not quite." Fury thrust his spear forward, causing the door to shatter into splinters, "That is." "Okay, that was pretty good." Scalphunter admitted. "Maybe you're not all talk after all, feathers..." The Pack stood their ground as their aggressors entered the chamber. The mercenaries were ready for battle, wielding crossbows and spears. Some even had small, collapsible cannons. The mercenaries immediately took aiming position, as Frankensteed, Scalphunter, and Fury stood in front. "Well, look at that, Frankensteed." Scalphunter smirked, "They threw us a welcome party." "I have only two questions for you." Echo declared. "Who are you, and what do you want?" "Call us... specialists for hire." Frankensteed shrugged. "As for what we want... we've come to clear this forest of an infestation of Nightcrawlers. You vermin have long outlived your welcome here." "You wanna go, masky?" Wave sneered. "'Cuz we'll go! We'll show ya what's what!" "Easy, Wave." Nano declared. "Yes." Willow nodded. "Let's not be too rash about this." "We can't afford to just jump in without thinking." Moana added. "Or else this'll all end in tears..." "It's ponies like you who are the real vermin." Artorias spat at Frankensteed. "Hunting Nightcrawlers down, killing them, just because they're different. You are monsters." "We'll let history be the judge of that." Frankensteed retorted. "I'll say this only once." Echo growled. "Leave now, and you won't get hurt." "My, my." Frankensteed declared. "Not exactly a warm welcome, is it?" "Forgive the cold reception." Echo declared. "We don't like unannounced guests." "Aw, now you're hurting our widdle feewings." Scalphunter smirked. "Funny, from what Sterling told me, I expected you to be a little more agreeable." "What?" Echo gasped. "You know Sterling?" "Know him? We were partners once..." Scalphunter revealed. "Unforunately, we had a disagreement on methods, and Sterling left me hangin'... You know how that feels, right?" "When was this?" Echo asked. "Well, it actually happened a little over-" Scalphunter started. "Enough games." Frankensteed spat. "It's time we get down to business... namely, the extermination of these mongrels." "We'll see who gets exterminated, hate-monger." Artorias growled. "Easy there." Echo told him. "Try to throttle back the rage." "What's this?" Frankensteed chuckled. "Has the Great Gray Wolf become a lapdog? I thought you were the one running this sad little sideshow." "Not that it's any of your business, but things have changed around here." Artorias declared. "Echo is the leader now." "You don't say?" Scalphunter mused. "That makes things... interesting." "Indeed it does." Frankensteed nodded, "We had it on authority that Echo had come here to tell you the wrongs of your ways and become 'normal citizens'. Look likes you gave him quite a counterargument." "He might have, but it doesn't change a thing." Echo pledged. "I am here to complete my mission, and I will not allow any harm to come to these ponies, not as long as they are under my protection." "We beg to differ." Frankensteed snorted. "We were sent here to eradicate the Shadow Stalkers and those who seek to aid them, and that is what we seek to do." "Sent here?" Echo frowned, "By who?" "Wouldn't you like to know?" Scalphunter chuckled, "All I know is that we are going to be rich." "Rich?" Artorias snarled. "Somepony with a lot of Bits must have hired you. Was it Malus?" "We don't know who it was." Scalphunter shrugged. "They prefer to remain anonymous." Fury nodded. "Of course." Nano growled. "No doubt they're well-known ponies who don'[t want others to know they endorse genocide." "Don'tcha just hate that?" Wave sneered. "I mean, hatin' us is one thing. But they oughta be honest about it. Y'know, come right out and admit it, let the world know what kinda scum they are." "On the contrary." Frankensteed declared. "They are great benefactors. They and others like them have ensured our hunt for your kind continues apace." "But not for much longer, methinks." Willow declared. "Wanna bet, fancy words?" Scalphunter growled. "I am going to give you all a choice. If you all surrender now, I promise that your deaths will be swift and painless." Frankensteed declared, "If not... well, then all bets are off." "I don't think so." Echo snarled. "My thoughts exactly." Artorias declared. "We don't surrender." "We stand our ground, no matter what." Nano added. "Even if the odds are against us." Wave agreed. "We shall never capitulate." "In other words... stuff your choice." Moana snarled. "Works for me." Scalphunter shrugged. "I don't believe in mercy kills anyways." "Agreed." Frankensteed nodded, as he gestured to his cannon-wielding comrades. "Open fire on my count...1..." "Give it everything you've got!" Echo instructed. "Oh, we will!" Nano declared, armoring up. "...2..." Frankensteed counted. "Ready, my dear?" Willow asked. "Ready." Moana nodded. "Let's get this party started!" Wave yelled. "3!" Frankensteed threw his hoof forward. "Attack!" The mercenaries rushed forward first. Though physically, they were outmatched, they held the advantage in numbers. "COME ON!" Wave let out a sonic screech, sending several flying. A trio of mercenaries fired their crossbows at Willow, who became tangible, the arrows passing through him and embedding themselves in the wall. "Excellent aim, lads." Willow smirked. "Almost as good as hers." Moana fired a stream of water at the mercenaries, blasting them away. Artorias and Nano, favoring close quarter fight, charged at the mercenaries. "Just like old times, eh?" Artorias smiled. "Glad to still have you with us." Nano nodded. Wave, Nano, Willow, and Moana attempted to bring down Fury, but he proved to be good with a spear...or three. Fury kept all four of them at boy, using his spear to deflect Moana's water streams, ducking Wave's scream, flipping Nano, and using Willows gusts to evade them. Wave unleashed another scream, knocking the spear out of Fury's talons and into the wall behind him. "Not so tough now, are ya?" He smirked. "Eat hoof, evildoer!" Fury smirked back. Immediately, he pulled another spear from his armor, one with a curved tip that split into two points, and intercepted the attack. "What the-?" Wave gaped. Fury struck wave with the flat end of his spear, flinging him back with his spear. "I always carry a spare..." Fury declared, pulling out another spear, a thin, long one. "Or two..." "Just had to say it, didn't you?" Nano sighed. Fury charged at Nano, who barely managed to avoid the attack, the tip of the spear scraping against his armor. The others rushed in to help. Fury crossed his spears, withstanding another of Moana's stream. He swung them at both Nano and Moana, who dodged frantically. Seeing an opening, they swung his spears at their heads, knocking the two together. "Agh!" Mona yelled, taking the hit worse than the thick-skinned Nano. "Okay, now you're gonna get it!" Nano snarled. He charged Fury, swinging his hooves at him. Fury suddenly caught Nano's hoof between his spears, then twisted them sharply, "Gah!" Nano yelled, his hoof almost broken. Taking advantage of Nano's pain, Fury flipped him onto his back. "Enough, knave!" Willow yelled, releasing another wind blast. "But I've barely just begun." Fury used the spears to vault over the gust. "My word..." Willow gaped, stunned by the show of agility. Fury spun around, kicking Willow in the face, bringing him down. "You disappoint me." Fury declared. "I thought the mighty Shadow Stalkers would give me a better fight than this." At the same time, Wave made to jump him from behind. "Yippee-kai-yay, motherbuck-" Immediately, Fury pulled out yet another spear, one with a short, wide tip. He swung it at Wave, catching him in the side and flinging him to the ground. "Where the buck is he keeping those spears?!" Wave groaned, rubbing his head. Fury expertly wielded the three spears in his talons, two in one, and one in another. He twirled them for dramatic effect. "You should be worrying more about what I'm about to do with them." He said smugly. Back in the tunnels, Sunset, Elatha and their children were trying to get as far from the action as possible, when they bumped into Aether, who had just returned, having been moping in the forest over Artorias' departure. "What's going on?" He asked, hearing the sound of cannons go off in the distance. "What is that noise?" "We're under attack." Elatha declared. "Echo, Artorias and the others are trying to fight them off." Sunset added. "Artorias is back?!" Aether gasped. "Yep." Snow nodded. "Echo told us to stay back and hide." Elatha declared. "A sound strategy, I must admit." Aether nodded. "But I must get out there and help them. My powers could-" "I doubt they'd do much good against an entire army," Elatha declared. "Can you even connect with so many minds at once?" "That... is a good question." Aether frowned. "You should stick with us." Sunset told him. "If any of those monsters manage to slip past the pack, you'll be our only real defence." "Unlikely..." Aether frowned. "All the same, I'd prefer to have some protection." Elatha declared. "We do have two foals to watch out for, remember?" "Yeah, like me!" Snow declared. "And Arcane." Sunset held up her foal. "Oh, you... gave birth, did you?" Aether realised. "Yes." Sunset nodded. "And I'd prefer my little colt gets to see another day." Aether peered at Arcane, looking upon the colt's worried face. "...Very well." He sighed. "I shall protect you." "Thanks, Aether." Sunset smiled. "You're the best." Elatha grinned. "Yes, yes, I'm a saint." Aether rolled his eyes. "Let's just hope our brothers and sister can repel those fiends." "'Course they will." Snow nodded. Sunset wasn't nearly so confident. She couldn't help but worry over what viscious battle Echo was embroiled with at that very moment... Meanwhile, the battle continued. The agressors were pushing the pack back into the tunnels. Though the pack were making a decent dent in them, it wasn't big enough. Willow and Moana had broken off from the fight with Fury to take out more mercenaries, but were having difficulties. The cannoneer ponies threatened to take out the ceiling with their wild blasts, forcing Willow to stay on the ground, and not go intangible. Some had shield spells, preventing Moana's water strikes from hitting them. And Fury was still as formidable. With one swing of one of his spears, Fury sent Nano and Wave flying. "Uhh..." Nano groaned. "What is this guy, part dragon?" "That'd explain the breath..." Wave snorted, "Maybe Artorias has a cousin?" "Not likely." Nano frowned. Echo grabbed two soldiers with his crystals, and slammed them against some others. "Neat trick." Scalphunter sneered. "I'm starting to see why Sterling was so interested in you." "You will meet the same fate he did: Rotting in a cell!" Echo yelled, firing more crystals. Scalphunter, putting his skinny frame to good use, dodged the streams. "Ooh, quite harsh talking about the guy who begged me not to kill you." Scalphunter chuckled. "...Wait, what?" Echo raised a brow, "Sterling... did that?" "Yeah. Either he is going gay for you, or there's something goin' on with him." Scalphunter shrugged. "Either way, the big guys don't like it, so I'm goin' to kill you and be done with it." "Why would Sterling even do such a thing?" Echo said skeptically. "Though he did seem to regret having to kill me before..." Scalphunter took advantage of Echo's musings to try and tackle him. Echo released another stream, but Scalphunter managed to vault over it, landing opposite him. "What's the matter?" He pulled out his knife. "Afraid to get up close and personal?" "Just try it." Echo goaded him, coating his hooves with crystals. "If you insist... yahhhh!" Scalphunter charged at Echo like a lunatic, swinging his knife at him. As it was with Artorias, Echo wasn't prepared for such an illogical attack pattern. As he tried to evade, Scalphunter managed to scratch his side. "Ahhh!" Echo cringed. "First blood to me." Scalphunter cackled. "I was told to bring you back in one piece, but they didn't say what condition you had to be in!" Echo lashed out with a crystal punch, catching Scalphunter. "Anypony ever tell you you talk too much?" Echo taunted, him. "Why you..." Scalphunter snarled. He swung his knife, but Echo caught it in his crystal covered hoof. With one push, he knocked it out of the bounty hunter's hoof. "Up close and personal." Echo repeated, raising his other hoof. "Yuh-oh." Scalphunter gulped. Echo punched Scalphunter in the face, causing him to fall back, clutching his snout. "So that's how it's gonna be, huh?" Scalphunter spat out a tooth and straightening his glasses. "Right back at ya!" Scalphunter punched Echo, who retaliated with a right cross. They exchanged blow after blow, but Echo's crystals gave him the edge against the mad bounty hunter. With a powerful haymaker, Echo sent Scalphunter flying across the tunnel. "Ouch..." Scalphunter cringed, sliding down the wall. Meanwhile, Artorias was facing Frankensteed, who was putting up too much of a good fight. Every time Artorias swung his claws, his masked foe evaded him. He had hardly had time to recover from his fight with Echo, which left him at a distinct disadvantage. But he wasn't about to let his opponent know that. Artorias rammed into him, but Frankensteed pushed back. They fell to grappling. Even with his wings giving him extra force, Artorias found himself being pushed back "Impressive strength." Artorias noted. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were one of us." "How dare you compare me to your fetid kind!" Frankensteed roared, headbutting Artorias. As the Dracony stumbled back, he pulled out a hunting knife and charged Artorias, stabbing him in the side. "Ragggh!" Artorias roared. "Allow me to punctuate the point!" Frankensteed stabbed him again. "Grrr..." Artorias fell to his knees. "Don't worry, beast." Frankensteed jeered, raising the knife. "I'll put you out of your misery..." Echo suddenly tackled Frankensteed, sending the knife flying. Frankensteed was quick to throw him off as the two circled each other. "Not today." Echo snarled. "Not ever again!" "You." Frankensteed smirked. "I've been looking forward to dealing with you..." "How awful for you." Echo declared. "This pack is my responsibility now. Harming any of them means you suffer my wrath!" Echo lashed out with hooves, crystal whips, and crystal hammers, beating Frankensteed hard... or so he thought, as Frankensteed tended to shrug off each blow he took. "Not bad." Echo declared, throwing out more crystals. "You certainly have a knack for combat." "Of course." Frankensteed boasted, dodging the stream. "I've killed many a Nightcrawler with my bare hooves." "I must confess, I'm curious as to the reason you wear a mask." Echo admitted. "Something to hide, I presume? Mind if I take a peek?" "By all means." Frankensteed declared. "If you can touch me, that is..." "Oh, I think I can." Echo created a crystal hammer. Echo swung the hammer, but Frankensteed, showing impressive agility for a pony his size, dodged it. Frankensteed, swung his hoof at Echo. Echo threw up a shield, but the sheer force of the blow pushed him back a little. "Really?" Frankensteed sneered. "I don't see it." "See this!" Echo swung a crystal whip at Frankensteed's leg. Frankensteed dodged the whip, but was left unbalanced. Taking advantage of his enemy's lapse, Echo moved in. A precise hammer strike shattered the fiend's metal mask... revealing a very familiar face. A face Echo had seen in his nightmares. "No..." Echo gasped. "It can't be..." Underneath the mask was the face of Nero, Echo's step-father. The stallion who had torn off Synchro's wings, and driven Synchro to delve into dark magic that ultimately led Echo to that orphanage. He had a pale white coat, his face scarred, and a graying blond mane. "Gah..." Nero growled, "So the whimpering little bat foal had become a stallion at last. Nothing like the little crap your brother was." "Nero.." Echo gaped, "How... you are supposed to be dead... Synchro... Synchro killed you." "So that's what he told you?" Nero asked, "That I supposedly die in that explosion he caused?" "How else could this be?" Echo frowned, feeling a pang of uneasiness, "Synchro told me he skewered you repeatedly with crystal spires, to a point you died... and the explosion would have..." "Well, that's where you and that little demon were wrong." Nero chuckled darkly. "...For the most part. It is true, I did die... but when I came to after that little incident, I was lying in a hospital bed, my abdomen and chest all bandaged up, where they told me that I had somehow survived having both of them torn to shreds after the explosion. But it ticked me off that my home was destroyed and my doting wife was dead... and to my knowledge, so were you two..." "So... you have no idea as to how you survive such injuries?" Echo challenged. "None at all, but I didn't care." Nero declared, "Because what came after was nothing sort of amazing... I found that I could smell the sense of dark magic, and that my body had become stronger. And when my employers found me... I realized that your brother trying to kill me was actually a blessing in disguise... a sign that lead me to my true purpose in life..." "Like what?" Echo asked. "Leading these hatemongerers? You had a second chance of life, and you dedicated it to making more lives miserable?" "You're damn right. Because I have a mission." Nero declared. "And that mission is to wipe out all the Nightcrawlers in this world. You genetic aberrations must be destroyed. and I am the agent of your destruction." "You're what?" Echo frowned. "That's right." Nero nodded. "That's probably why I survived. So I can carry out my true mission in life... I am the hoof of Faust, chosen to wipe out all your demon kind. By any means necessary..." "You are insane..." Echo scowled. "Am I?" Nero asked. "Deep down, you know the truth. Your kind is a mistake, a curse upon all equinity. You were never meant to exist. For the good of the world, of normal ponies everywhere, you must be expunged. And all sympathisers must be similarly disposed of. Perhaps I'll start with your little family. That foal of yours should be out any day now..." "No..." Echo growled. "You won't touch them!" Overcome by rage, Echo created a wave of crystals that slammed Nero through the wall, the chamber behind it, and into another tunnel. "I'll make sure of it!" Echo raced after him. Meanwhile, the others heard the rumbling noise caused by Echo's outburst. "...I can't take this anymore." Sunset declared. "I have to know what's going on." "Don't be foolish." Aether declared. "From the sound of things, the whole whole den may collapse on us. We must evacuate." "But this is our home!" Snow yelled. "We don't have a choice, sweetie." Elatha told her. "We have to go." "But Echo-!" Sunset started. "Doesn't need to be worrying about you in the middle of a fight." Aether declared. "He's right." Elatha agreed. "Echo would want you safe. And Arcane too." Sunset looked down at Arcane, who gave her a timid look. "...Okay." She sighed. "Let's go." "That's the spirit." Aether nodded. "This way." They rushed down the tunnels, headed for the nearest escape hatch. As Artorias tended to his wounds, tying them with bandages, he was tackled by Scalphunter. "What's the matter, big fella?" Scalphunter smirked. "Need time to lick your wounds? Too bad time is one thing you don't have!" As Scalphunter swung another knife, Artorias caught it. "Not even on your best day, slime." He spat, tossing Scalphunter down the tunnels. "And I'll personally make sure you never have a good day again!" "Bring it, scale-face." Scalphunter got back up. As Artorias charged after Scalphunter, Echo continued his clash with Nero. While Echo lashed out with his crystals, Nero used his bare hooves, dodging Echo's attacks and striking him hard. "Why are you doing this?" Echo asked. "Why are you so intent on exterminating us?" "You ask me why?" Nero spat. "Because you're all monsters! Your brother nearly killed me!" "Well, you tore off his wings!" Echo roared. "You should have seen him when I found him years later! All he could think about was hurting others the way you hurt him... I had to kill him because you pushed him too far!" "Oh, spare me your sob stories." Nero snarled. "If anypony's to blame, it is your father! The one they call 'Deathgaze'... oh, how I will forever curse that name... he came and bucked my wife, corrupted her with his damn seed, and left me with you and your brother as a remidner of her disgusting infidelity." "But no matter our origins, we were innocent!" Echo scowled. "And at that point, neither one of us had the 'curse' you despise so much. We were only foals! Why did you treat us the way you did?" "I could say that I did it because you two were a living symbol of my wife's moment of weakness." Nero declared. "I could say I used you as an outlet for my own frustrations. And I could also say that I just hate Thestrals. But the truth is, as your stepfather... I had power over your lives... control... ponies had often told me that I had this obsession of maintaining control... even your mother thought the same way... but that little harlot couldn't do a thing to me... and neither could you or your brother." "You... what?" Echo seethed. "What are you saying?" "You heard me." Nero smirked. "I beat you, starved you, tortured you, all because it was too much fun not to. It was like playing God over your insignificant lives. And tearing off Synchro's wings was easily the most fun I had in my entire life..." "You monster..." Echo snarled. "You're a certifiable lunatic. An antisocial, abusive bully. A twisted, sociopathic, racist control freak!" "I can care less what you think of me. My one regret is that I didn't have the chance to terrorize your or your brother more." Nero sneered. "If I'd known you were still alive, I would have gotten you back, and worked you over double-time. And you hadn't killed your brother... well, I would had enjoyed ripping off his head." "ENOUGH!" Echo roared. He blasted Nero through another wall, then lashed out at him mindlessly. "That's it." Nero dodged his frenzied attacks. "Let that monstrous true self of yours emerge. Show us all why your kind must be exterminated..." "Not! A! Monster!" Echo screeched. "No." Nero nodded, closing in. "A monster is something I would be concerned about. You're just a rabid, diseased animal that must be put down. "Shut up!" Echo lashed out with his bare hooves, striking Nero in the chin. "Ah, going for the natural approach, I see." Nero noted. "I'd hate for you to feel sullied by my demon gifts." Echo said sarcastically. "I'll see to it you die pure!" "Finally showing your true colors, eh?" Nero smirked. "I prefer to think of it as correcting one of nature's mistakes." Echo retorted. "You were meant to die all those years ago. I'm going to fix that." "You can try." Nero sneered. "And succeed!" Echo swung his hoof. Nero dodged the blow, then let loose with one of his own. The blow caught the side of Echo's head, rattling his skull. "What's the matter, Echo?" Nero spat. "Don't know how to fight like a pure pony?" "Wrong!" Echo punched him hard, drawing blood. "Alright then." Nero wiped off the blood. "Let's do this." The two engaged in a ferocious fistfight. Blows rained in thick and fast from both sides. But Nero's strength was greater than Echo, and the brave Thestral began to falter, allowing Nero to land more and more blows. 'Have to keep going...' Echo thought. 'Can't let him win...' Echo struck Nero across the nose. In return, Nero planted a solid slug on Echo's face, knocking him to the ground. "Come on!" Nero snarled. "I demand a better show!" As Echo struggled to stand, he heard a familar voice. "Echo?!" Echo gazes up, and saw Sunset darting out of one of the tunnels with Arcane, followed by Elatha, Snow and Aether. "No..." Echo gasped, horrified. Nero quickly saw her. "Well, now." He said with a evil grin. "What a perfect opportunity..." Nero shoved a cannoneer mercenary away and aimed his cannon at her. Sunset stopped in her tracks, horrified. As Artorias blasted Scalphunter back, he realised what was happening, and was just as horrified. "Say cheese." Nero smirked, triggering the cannon. The world seemed to go into slow-motion, as the cannon fired. "NO!" Echo yelled. "ELATHA!" Artorias roared. Echo darted towards his wife and child, with Artorias right behind him, throwing his tendrils of crystals forward to try and protect them, but they weren't fast enough. The cannonball hit the ceiling and exploded, collapsing the tunnel, and blowing Echo and his crystals back. Everything went silent for Echo (mostly because of his ears ringing), as he looked on in horror and anguish. Artorias paused in shock, as did the mercenaries, and other pack members. "No... No..." Echo shook his head, unable to believe what he had just seen. "Well, that's five out for the count." Nero said nonchalantly. "NO!" Artorias charged towards the rubble. "ELATHA! SNOW!" He began clawing and digging through the rubble. "SPEAK TO ME!" "It's no use." Nero sneered. "They're probably good and dead..." "Oh no..." Moana started weeping. "It can't be..." Nano whispered. "NO!" Wave tried to charge at Nero, but was stopped by Fury. "YOU MOTHERBUCKER, I KILL YOU!" Echo was beside himself with grief, as tears began dropping from his eyes at the rubble. "Sunset... Arcane... no... no..." He began sobbing horribly. "No..." "Now look at what you've done, Echo... see what happens when you grow attached to somepony?" Nero tutted. "They die. Your harlot of a mother died, your freak of a brother died, and now your foolish wife and the worthless spawn is dead." "...Why?" Echo asked. "Huh?" Nero frowned. Echo didn't bother looking up as Nero approached him. "...Why would you do this to me?" He asked. "I have done nothing to you... yet you would take away the only things I have left to love in this world... why do you hate me so much? Why?" "Because you are an aberration." Nero said coldly. "A genetic abomination. ...but don't you worry, Echo..." He pulled out a knife. Though the rest of the pack was locked in battle (Fury keeping both Nano and Wave at bay), they couldn't fail to notice what was about to happen. "No!" Nano yelled, pinned under Fury's spear, his metal form keeping him from being skewered. "Let... me... go!" Wave gagged, Fury's talon wrapped around his neck. "Echo!" "Echo, look out!" Moana called, pushing away a mercenary with her streams. "Gird thyself!" Willow urged, pinning another. "Echo!" Artorias roared. He rushed over to try and help, but was pounced up by half a dozen mercenaries. They pulled him down to the ground. Artorias struggled to push them aside, but they kept him pinned. "Echo, snap out of it!" "...I will end your suffering." Nero sneered. "ECHO!" Artorias yelled. Nero brought his knife down to end Echo, only for a blur to kick the knife from his hoof. "What?!" Nero roared. A plume of smoke suddenly blasted Nero across the tunnel. The monstrous bigot slammed into a wall, crumbling to the floor. Echo found a wing being draped over him... He looked up to see the same sunglasses-wearing Thestral he had seen saving an innocent mare's life all those years ago. "You." He gasped with awe. "Me." The sunglasses-wearing Thestral nodded. "It's good to see you again, Echo." "I... wait... how do you know my name?" Echo frowned. "I never told you it back at the Empire..." The Thestral ignored Echo, turning to Nero. "Nero." He declared. "Still the same psychotic bully you always were, I see? Some things never change... unfortunately." "Wait a second." Nero scowled, as he stood back up. He glanced at the thestral and realization came over him. "That voice... those wings... those glasses... I'd recognize them anywhere..." He snarled. "It's you... Deathgaze." "What?!" Echo gasped, glancing up at the thestral who he idolized all those years ago. "You... you're my father?!" "That I am..." Deathgaze smiled, glancing back. "Sorry I haven't been around. Work. You know how it is..."