The Legend of Echo the Diamond Dog

by Rust

[I - Second] It Takes Two to Tango

Echo was steadily approaching his first birthday.

The diamond dog had been journeying for many months now, long having left behind the place of his origin, the vast rainforest in the southeastern pocket of Equestria.  

His birth had been rather unconventional.  Being punted across the dimensional plane by a particular Lord of Chaos and waking up inside of a coffin, not to mention a new body, tended to allow for such a description.  

Echo was by no means a pup.  He’d well over two decades of experience to draw upon, although such knowledge rarely applied to Equestria.  New world, new body, new rules.  The body he was in at the moment was almost a year old, despite being fully grown for the entirety of its existence.  

Once, he’d counted himself as a member among the human race.  He’d traveled and fought and worked and learned like so many others of his former species.  At least until a disguised Discord had offered him the chance to see a new world - Equestria, the place he’d seen only on tv or read about on paper.  Like any rational human, he’d jokingly accepted Discord’s offer, quite sure that the folks from the nearest mental hospital would be arriving on the scene shortly to apprehend their escaped patient.

The rest, as they say, was history.  

He’d never revealed his origins to anyone, not Coconut, not Ginger, not even Daring Do. In his opinion, it was better to be perceived as an oddity among an existing species, rather than a true alien.

Only Discord, and his son Disarray knew. Discord was in no fit state to tell anyone at the moment, locked away in his prison, and Disarray simply wanted to watch it all explode in his face by his own fault.

Echo flexed his hind paws as he stood by the riverbank, his strong stubby toes easily sinking into the needle-covered loam. He stood tall and silent, laying his staff across his shoulders as he watched the forest across the river burn.

Ironwood pines were notoriously hard to ignite. Their thick trunks were known to be able to withstand terrible punishment. Oftentimes, airships were constructed out of it. The blaze must be intense if the trees were catching so easily. He furrowed his brow. Fire was not something he was fond of, a fact he found humorous, given his ancient ancestors and their reliance on the stuff. Especially after the Battle of Wethoof, one of the first of a slowly accumulating list of his misadventures. He glanced down at his arms, covered in cloth wrapping from the elbows down, thick metal vambraces strapped on over that. Beneath lay the results of battle.

Echo watched as an enormous flaming ironwood slowly toppled, falling straight across the river and sending up a cloud of sparks and flaming twigs. He dived to the side, the tree slamming into the ground where he had been standing half a heartbeat earlier. The diamond dog stood back up, trembling slightly as he frantically brushed away the embers that had landed on him. Too close, he thought. I hope they’re alright over there...

The diamond dog sat down, hard. It was almost useless to worry about mares like Daring Do and Ginger Snap. Once they got an idea into their heads, it was more or less impossible to dissuade them. Still, he couldn’t help but get a sinking feeling in his gut whenever Daring went out alone like this. Ginger, he knew, was more or less invulnerable to the flames thanks to her talent of elemental magic, specializing in fire in particular. Daring, though, was at risk. Granted, the pegasus was in the air, riding on the uplifting thermals created by the blaze...but one wrong move, and the treacherous winds would dump her into the inferno.

He would have gone with them, but someone had to guide the pack.

That, and the fire...

Fire was the reason why he wore wrappings over his paws now. Underneath was pale, scarred skin, hairless and ugly. It had burned him so bad that his claws had to be surgically removed. He kept one as a memento, even now, tucked into the sash across his waist. The material, once strong enough to cut and crush solid rock, had been baked brittle and flaking.

The conjurer of said flames was currently across the river, trotting through the destruction. His Alpha, and leader of the Cinderwings, Ginger Snap was a mare to be reckoned with. At Wethoof, they’d worked together to bring down Ahuitzotl, although it had only been accomplished by Echo holding their enemy still while Ginger unleashed her balefire. He respected her deeply, but feared her a little as well. Perhaps that was why he had challenged her only once for leadership, and even then simply because the pack would not respect her authority unless she could prove herself in combat. Needless to say, she’d wiped the floor with him.

Echo softly growled to himself, a deep rumbling that rose out of the center of his chest. One of the few noises he could still make. Worrying wouldn’t help them. He needed to relax, to maintain the sanguine facade he was known for.

He crossed his legs and closed his eyes tight, tucking his tail around his waist so that it rested on his thigh. He took a deep breath and slumped his shoulders as he felt his body grow still. Another deep breath. His heart slowed as he found his inner focus.

The sounds of the fire faded away into the background, a hissing and crackling that dissolved into white noise. He felt the peculiar sensation of falling, although he could still feel the sensation of the ironwood needles on his rump.

He abruptly slammed an open palm into the ground.

Time seemed to pause. Through his closed eyelids, he sensed the tiny ripple of magic radiate out around him. The world lit up in his mind’s eye, the outlines of trees and plants and pine needles all shown in the faintest silvery contrast to the black. He even watched as a gust of wind came up behind him and ruffled the hood he wore. When the breeze moved, it glittered and sparkled like stardust. He sensed the world in all directions.

“Starsight,” it was called. A technique of expanding one’s consciousness on a burst of raw undirected magic, developed by none other than Starswirl the Bearded himself. Echo had stumbled across this ability after the the telepathy spell had gone so wrong.

Or had it gone right? He and Daring were still living with the repercussions...

Ginger scowled as she read the inscription on the open page of the tome. “And you say this is supposed to...what, enchant him or something?”

Daring shook her head from her usual perch on his back. “Starswirl invented the spell to allow limited telepathy for natural-born mutes. It taps into the intrinsic magic that all living things have. Echo has just as much magic in him as any pony, but unlike unicorns or pegasi, he can’t actively use it. The spell is actually modeled after the pegasus’ use of magic. Touch-based, actually, like how we work with clouds. He can’t speak to you unless he’s in contact, or so the book says.”

They were outside, the massive caravan they’d dubbed the Shagwagon parked under the shade of a nearby field. Echo was standing on all fours in the center of a runic circle carved into the dirt by Ginger, the mystic symbols designed to funnel the spell and focus the magics properly.

Ginger took another glance at the detailed spell-tome. She frowned. “You know I’m not good with this kind of magic, right? Elemental is my turf. This arcane mumbo-jumbo...I don’t think this is a good idea. What if something goes wrong?”

Echo shook his head slowly, while Daring gave her a reassuring look. “Don’t worry. He’s been debating this for weeks now. We might as well try it than never have given it a shot. Besides, I’m tired of having him scratch things out on paper when he has something to say. We both want this. And both of us trust you, Ginger.” She nuzzled the side of his neck, soothing his apprehensive nerves. Daring could read him like a book, and had only grown more adept at interpreting his vague gestures as they’d grown closer since Wethoof. Despite being mates for only a few weeks, sometimes it felt like they’d known each other for much longer.

“...Okay. Leave him in the circle and I’ll take a crack at it.”

From a hammock of cotton-candy clouds suspended beneath the tree, Disarray spoke up, “When he dies, can I have his room? It’s not like he uses it for sleeping much these days...if you know what I mean,” he called. Disarray had not yet reached his metamorphosis yet, and so lacked several of his adult characteristics, notably a lack of wings, and sported four different arms instead of two.

“Doesn’t get much sleep in my room, either!” Daring saucily shot back, throwing her mate a cheeky wink.

Coconut roared with laughter from his perch on top of the Shagwagon, where he’d been sunning himself.

Echo was immensely glad he was wearing a hood. The rush of heat he felt to his face was almost unbearable.

Ginger snorted to herself before joining the pegasus outside the circle, leaving Echo alone inside. She gave the book one last glance, muttering the instructions to herself, before gently pushing Daring away. “Stay back, I’m going to need a lot of power for this.”

With that, Ginger slid her trademark black welding goggle over her eyes. It was cloudy out, though Ginger needed them to avoid blinding herself when using her magic. She tensed and released her magic, surrounding herself in a pale green aura, wisps of flames caressing her cinnamon coat. Her fiery mane and tail swayed and flickered violently, seemingly alive. A dull thrum of magic filled the air.

“Ready?” she called.

Echo hesitated for a split second, then nodded, pushing himself upright and placing his palms together, as though in meditation. He was as ready as he’d ever be. He’d been silent for too long. After he’d lost his enchanted claws, writing had been the only replacement, though it was cumbersome and slow.

The glow of magic surrounding Ginger’s horn suddenly brightened, quickly becoming enveloped by a second layer as she built up her power for the spell. The overglow intensified again, shaping itself into a third layer. Ginger winced and groaned audibly. The clouds over head began to darken and swirl above her ominously. A warm wind began to rip through the meadow. The hum of magic was becoming almost deafening. He felt it in his bones.

When she hit four layers of overglow, the runes surrounding Echo lit up the same brilliant color as her magic. He watched in astonishment as the unicorn kept piling on the power. A stab of doubt in his mind grew with the rising tides of magic.

Daring yelled over the noise of wind. “Is this supposed to be happening? Ginger? Ginger!”

The unicorn couldn’t respond properly. From behind her goggles, her eyes were burning intensely. A faint twist of magical steam leaked out from behind them. “I...don’t know! Never...charged...this much...before!” A fifth layer of overglow wrapped about her horn. The tip began to violently spark. The grasses around her hooves had turned black from the heat, and an ominous rumble of thunder could be heard from the clouds above.

“I think you should stop it before you lose control!”

There was a pause. Echo felt his heart surge to his throat.

“Too late!”

As the sixth layer of overglow formed, a fork of lightning roared down from the clouds and struck Ginger right on the tip of her horn. There was a blinding flash of light as her energies overloaded. She screeched in pain and the spell was released.

An enormous bolt of magic ripped out of her horn and struck Echo right between the eyes, snapping his head back so fast that his neck cracked. In that instant, his body was utterly saturated with magic, filling him with the horrendous sensation of his blood lighting on fire. If he had a voice, he would have been screaming. Somehow, his vision was shifting - one moment he was watching Ginger slowly crumple to the ground, the next, he was watching himself jerk around like a puppet, rooted in place by his rear claws, which had locked themselves into the ground from the shock. Somehow, he kept seeing...more and more and more, in all directions...alien sensations shrieked through his nervous system.

Daring was there, yelling something incoherent. She reached out with a hoof. An inch before it made contact, the excess magic in his body leapt the gap in the form of another bolt of lightning, striking her and making her seize up, wings stiff as boards, mane standing on end. Her magenta eyes flashed brilliantly.

And just like that, it was over. They collapsed together in twitching heap, arcs of magical discharge occasionally licking their bodies.

The last thing Echo felt before he slipped into unconsciousness was something spearing the inside of his mind, flooding his brain with foreign thoughts and images he had never experienced. Somewhere, deep in his mind, something had taken root, a foreign presence that seemed frighteningly alien and yet all too familiar...

He’d gained telepathy, to be sure. But the supercharged spell had sensitized him to the natural flow of ambient magic. He was chock full of power, although he could no more cast a spell than Coconut could. His power, diamond dog magic, was intrinsic, internal. It let them burrow through solid rock like it was made of wet paper, absorb nutrients from the arcane gems that Equestria was littered with, and fight like demons when their blood was up.

Daring’s intervention, though, had come with an added bonus.

Echo searched further, pouring his strength into the pulse of energy he’d sent rippling through the leylines.

There. A mote amongst the rippling vibrations shining like a star high above the world, riding the rivers of twinkling wind. He focused on it, drawing the ripple back and forming it into a mental tether, linking him to the mote.

Any progress? he asked her.

The response was slow and patchy, as it tended to get at large distances. Daring’s thoughts sounded in his head, and he could almost feel them in his bones.

Still looking...Ginger’s pissed about...something. As...usual. Loving this fire, though...want a taste?

When Echo had taken in all that magic, his body simply couldn't absorb it all. Such a large amount of power could not stay in one place. When Daring Do had intervened, all the excess energy coursing through his veins was discharged...into her.

The result had bound them together at the proverbial hip, so to speak. Echo’s telepathy was vastly stronger with her, not needing physical touch to communicate. Over time, though, they’d learned that they’d become closer in soul as well as mind. Sharing thoughts and emotions was not uncommon, the pair drawing off of eachother in a delicate balance that benefitted them both.

...And, when one lowered their mental barriers enough, their counterpart could, with some assistance, “hitch a ride.”

Echo gladly accepted, pouring himself outwards, briefly hanging in the void before the tether linking the two began to tighten. He felt her drawing him in, and then he was surrounded by her familiar warmth, a sort of mental spiciness that made him tingle all over. They meshed together, smoothly exchanging a sense of mutual affection and wonder.

He opened his eyes, and he was flying.

Wow, the heat feels good on the wings, he commented, savoring the sensation of the thermals caressing her flight feathers. Daring’s grayscale mane errantly flipped across his vision. Her dusky tan hoof rose up to brush it away.

Like taking a bubble bath. Daring made a sharp bank, scanning the ground below. There, amidst the burning forest, the glowing figure of Ginger Snap, as she made her way towards the last known location of the zebra filly’s parents.

Flying the flames was a tricky business. The chaotic ebbs and flows of the heat caused the skies above to become a roiling storm of rouge winds. Twice, Daring was dumped into a spot of cold air, plummeting rapidly before she could power-stroke into another rising thermal. She could feel Echo’s concern for her, but gave him a mental squeeze of reassurance. She’d been in worse situations.

The intrepid mare soared high on particularly energetic column of hot air, grinning wildly to herself at the feeling of wind under her wings. She peered down, keen eyes immediately sighting her Alpha below. She was approaching the ridge of a small valley, where the filly’s parents were supposedly camped. The depression had not yet alit, but the lower ground was acting like a magnet for all of the smoke, pooling in it like water.

Daring tucked her wings to her body and dove. The air tore at her face, and the the transparent second eyelids all pegasi were born with instinctively flicked down to shield her sensitive vision. After several hundred feet of free-fall, she snapped out her wings with a whoop of exhilaration, passing into a canyon of cool air between two lines of fire. She skimmed the treetops, now, searching the pall below for any sign of life.

You’re utterly insane, you know that, right? She could feel his heart racing all the way from the other side of the river.

Daring merely smiled all the wider. You’re enjoying it too, hon. Besides, would you have me any other way?

He gave a mental sigh of feigned exasperation. You're lucky I like crazy. Odin forbid you ended up with someone who couldn’t keep up with you.

On an adventure and in the sack. Daring laughed to herself at how quickly he became embarrassed when she teased him like that. There was truth to it, though. Daring Do had had her share of stallions, (and mares, when the mood suited) but none could boast that they shared her burning passion for discovery and exploration, for delving the unknown depths of forgotten cities, chasing mysteries thousands of years old. Or lovemaking, for that matter. She cracked a satisfied smirk as she brought up memories where his legendary stamina had come into good use.

Daring! Really? Did not need to see that!

Oh, don’t be such a prune, she shot back. I don’t recall you complaining much at the time.

Right, and when you finish fantasizing and end up with a wingboner while flying, don’t come crying to me. I know how much that hurts, you know, I was linked when it happened.

She harrumphed. That was one time! ONE TIME! His laughter echoed warmly around the inside of his head, and she vowed to get him back for that. She’d pounce on him later tonight. It was either that or go to bed with the stiffies.

The two were by no means an ordinary pair. Interspecies couples were rare as it was, and even then, diamond dogs and ponies together was almost unheard of. The dogs simply had no desire to bed with the equine race. Cases of gryphons, donkeys, and zebras taking a pony for a mate have been seen before, such creatures like hippogriffs, mules, and the curious half-zebra, half-pony hybrid known as a zony being the resulting offspring. Such couplings were generally tolerated, but that was only because Equestria had always been a more progressive nation than others. Most of the time, at least.

But it was common knowledge among Equestrians that all ponies are entitled to the right to love. Celestia and Luna themselves had brought that into law eons ago.

Daring Do, ever the adventurous mare, had fallen for Echo, and he for her.

The diamond dog had come out of nowhere one day, while she was being pursued by her nemesis, the catlord Ahuitzotl, and his minions. Daring had been trapped at the edge of a river, her wing injured from her most recent exploration.

Echo, always the gentleman, had appeared from the shadows and offered his assistance. Daring, experienced with diamond dogs and their slippery ways, had tentatively accepted his help. It was either that or face Ahuitzotl’s goons alone and wounded.

The resulting tussle had ended in victory for the intrepid mare and her mysterious ally, at least until Ahuitzotl himself had shown up. In a split second, he had torn out Echo’s throat and hurled both him and Daring into the crocodile infested river.

Managing to escape yet again, Daring had dragged Echo up to her treehouse reclusion, and patched him up as best as he could. She was no surgeon, though, and since that day Echo had been mute.

Yet the two had bonded, odd as it was, Echo showing a surprising interest in lore and history, and Daring teaching him how to read and write, something most diamond dogs considered a useless skill. Eventually, they had gone on a couple adventures together, and finally fallen into romance after the Battle of Wethoof, one of the high points of Daring’s career; where Ahuitzotl, the crazed mayor of Wethoof, a changeling swarm, and a nest of feral hydras had all been defeated by luck, wit, and skill.

Couldn’t have done it without you, Echo said gently, interrupting her brief reminisce.

Daring smiled despite herself, sending a brush of affection his way. Heh-heh. Yeah, I know.

Modest, aren’t we? I’ll leave you to your flight, for now. Send word if you find something of interest. I must tend to the pack. Daring nodded to herself in agreement, releasing her hold on him, and let his essence fade out her being.

Echo’s awareness rushed back to him like a taut rubber band. He resisted the urge to flinch as sensations returned to his limbs. He was on the riverbank again. He sighed to himself. Every time he did that with Daring, he couldn't help but feel a surge of guilt. Hiding his true origins felt dirty. He knew that she would find out eventually - one day he's slip focus and she'd end up on the receiving end of an Earth memory. He had vowed to reveal himself to her eventually...but how did one go about doing something like that? "Hey, I'm kind of an alien from another planet, so don't freak out or anything." Yes, that seemed like the perfect way to break it to her. He dropped his head into his paws.

Sometimes, he wished he wasn't so different. It would be so much better for her if he had been born a pony. A native pony. The looks they got sometimes when they went into towns and cities - Daring could take it. She didn't give a damn what anypony thought of her life choices. Him, though? It got to him, much as he would deny it. Echo just wished he didn't feel so guilty about bringing this down upon her. If word of his identity as a otherworldly visitor became known...that would just make everything worse.

He pushed these thoughts into the back of his mind, making sure his mental barrier keeping Daring out of his private thoughts was still up. It was.

He grimaced and leaned backwards, sitting cross-legged with his staff across his lap. Echo traced the mystic runes on it for a moment. Sometimes, the wood felt warm. Alive, even. It was Zecora’s old staff, a gift she’d given to an old friend many years ago, who had in turn given it to him at Wethoof.

Holding a piece of Ponyville in his paw was an odd feeling. It reassured him, though. Ponyville was the last stop of his journey, an endeavour that would likely span decades. Once, he’d seen it on TV. There’d been a series about it - My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. While the show was shockingly off about what Equestria was really like, it had been entertaining to watch. Originally, he’d wanted to go straight there, upon his arrival, to meet the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony face to face, and thank them for the lessons they'd taught him.

But he’d realized Equestria was bigger than anyone back home could have imagined.

And it was very, very different. Equestria was still a young and wild land. Magic, something Echo had once thought to be mere whimsy, was everywhere, and everything. He owed his method of communication to it, too.

Human nature had beckoned, calling out for him to explore this strange world. And so, he had begun his travels. It was a huge place and few had thought about what took up the gaps between the places seen on the show. He, however, was determined to fill the blanks on the map. Nopony before had traveled the entirety of Equestria, even the Princesses and Discord had not covered every corner. The endeavor would take years...but he had all the time in the world.

He remembered what had happened after Wethoof, the place he considered the start of his journey.

The group of travelers; Ginger Snap, Echo, Daring Do, Coconut Frond, and Disarray. A fledgling Alpha and her Beta, his mate and legendary explorer, a talented cook and pacifist, and a self-exiled Prince. Five strong, they had traveled through the jungle to the city of Rio de Maneiro, where they’d found a small group of diamond dogs living in the back alleys and gutters. They had been nothing. They hadn’t even had names! Ginger, eager to begin growing her own pack, had taken them under her metaphorical wing. She had a society to change, after all.

The Alpha of the Cinderwings only wanted one thing in life: peace. Her mother once a victim of the slaving practices of the packs, she had vowed to bring an end to the tradition by any means. Finding herself at the head of a pack of her own after the events of the Battle of Wethoof provided her with just the tools to do so. Forging a peace between a united diamond dog species (with Ginger at the head, if that’s what it took) and Equestria was the ultimate goal. She was, quite literally, building a nation from the group up, slowly building her power by defeating any other Alphas she came across, adding their pack to her authority. For now, though, her nation consisted of ten former strays, and the team of adventurers who had originally set out from Wethoof.

Echo grimaced as he watched another line of trees catch fire in the distance, brushing off soot and needles thrown up by the nearby crash.

That had been a good day, gaining ten new members with a single stroke. The new packmates had been wary of a pony leading them a first, but Ginger had won them over with her fierce disposition and raw magical power. The ponies had also been a little wary of the dogs with their rough manners and barbaric habits. Echo had been fixing that, though, slowly teaching them how to read and write, and how to work as a team.

They had also taught Echo and Ginger more about what it meant to be a pack. Old Yeller, the winzied elder of the group, had been a former pack member in the wild, long ago. With his guidance, the pair had begun to forge their ragtag pack into a true clan: the Cinderwings. The nameless dogs had been given a home, a family, and collars, and had even been given names, something that Echo had found oddly hilarious to do.

Echo abruptly stood up, swaying a small bit as the blood rushed to his head. Across the river, the forest fire was still raging. He needed to post a watch if Ginger and Daring were to get back across with their cargo in one piece.

The diamond dog swung his staff over his back and slid it into the holster between his shoulders, before padding back towards the camp on all fours. While he could easily move about on two legs, something the other dogs (and ponies) had some difficulty with, he had lately begun to use all his paws to travel.

The camp itself was merely a rough circle of the wagons, with a small campfire in the middle. The Shagwagon, the enchanted six-wheeled monstrosity that served as sort of mobile base camp, was usually the center of the comings and goings. The other two wagons were small, rickety things that simply carried supplies and any who weren’t pulling the carts, foraging, or scouting ahead.

Echo emerged from the shadows of the forest and crept into the camp, waiting for one of the dogs to pick up his scent. It was a game he liked to play with them, to help them hone a sense that they hadn’t needed in the back alleys of Rio de Maneiro. Shadow, a diamond dog with a shaggy yellow coat that reminded him of a golden retriever, was the first one to scent him, as usual. Around his neck hung the dark green collar of the Cinderwings, with a small orange gem embedded into the front. All the dogs wore one, except Echo. The compass around his neck was the only collar he would ever wear.

Shadow quickly smacked the heads of the two others sitting next to him, a younger dog named Rin-Tin-Tin who resembled a german shepherd, and an older female with a very long, mottled coat, called Lassie, reminiscent of a border collie. “Beta wants something,” Shadow spoke in their usual broken language. It was understandable, though far from eloquent. As one, the other two dogs placed a paw on Shadow’s shoulder, who in turn extended a paw to Echo. Limited by touch, his conversationalists had to be linked together when he spoke to groups.

Echo met the paws with his own. “Is the camp completed?”

Shadow nodded. “Yes, Silent One. Boxer and Balto go out for fresh-kill. Others stay and gather tree limbs and make den.”

“And our guest? Is she being tended to?”

Lassie answered this one, in her usual thoughtful way. “Aye, nutpony seeing to her. Why is a stripepony so far from plains? Is plains not home for stripeponies?”

“I do not know, though I suspect we’ll find out in the morning, when she wakes up, or when Ginger and Daring return with her parents. Speaking of which, I need you three to watch the riverbank. Spread out, keep some distance between you so that if they get swept away by the river, some beast will catch them.”

The dogs snapped to, and loped off out of the campsite. Echo watched them go with a curious sort of pride. When Ginger and he had first encountered them, the dogs were loners, scavenging off trash thrown away by ponies in dumpsters and junkyards.

A true diamond dog might aspire to more that the role of Beta, the pack's deputy. Echo had never aspired to greatness, though, and rather detested the power he wielded over the others. If it were up to him, he would have left the pack long ago. It was only Ginger's goal of peace that stayed his paws.

Echo had read of the rise and fall of civilizations, even seen a few himself, on Earth. He was determined to make sure that the Cinderwings succeeded. An alliance between a unified diamond dog nation and Equestria would be good for all. And Ginger would be the one to do it, if anypony. A true diamond dog with that much power wouldn't dream of anything but conquest.

If it fell to him, though, he would refuse.

Not because he wasn't capable of leadership. No, he had proven himself once already, sweltering in a baking desert far from home, where the enemy was never clear never fought fairly. He had been good. One of the best, in truth. And he'd hated every moment of it.

It was because he was afraid. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. He knew that, if given the chance, he would become something truly unstoppable. The things he would be capable of (and undoubtedly end up doing) frightened him to the bones. He would simply crave more and more and more. He'd had a taste of that once, and it was enough for a lifetime.

He kicked at the needles, irritated.

Some logs had been drawn up towards the fire, and other members of the Cinderpaws were lying or sitting about, warming themselves after the swim. Spot, the dalmatian, waved him over after catching his eye. Echo padded across the camp and settled down on the log in his usual fashion, a position that the dogs and ponies both found uncomfortable. His tail settled on Spot’s shoulder. “What’s up?”

The skinny diamond dog glanced around nervously. “Vixen has been talking about you again. It is annoying. Why don’t you just breed and go on with it? She won’t shut up.”

Echo sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose with a thumb and finger. Diamond dogs had a much looser society, in terms of mates. The female was usually the one to do the choosing and advances, while the males squabbled amongst each other to try and impress them. A strong, intelligent male could end up with a small, but willing harem if he played his cards right. And Vixen, for one reason or another, had decided that he would make a wonderful bedmate.

Crazy bitch won’t take no for an answer, he grumbled to himself.

He could sense Daring’s amusement from miles away. She knew he’d never willingly betray her, and found the whole thing to be utterly hilarious, much his chagrin. Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, featherbrain, he said to her.

He glanced across the fire to spy the red female in question. Vixen watched him coyly from where she was laying on a log, tilted on her side and lifting her rump up just a bit. Her exotic eyes had their “come-hither” levels set to full blast, and her bushy, white-capped tail swaying enough to reveal the prize underneath. Echo took a shaky breath, inhaling her scent. The unique pheromones made his hackles rise in arousal despite himself.

He scowled, and looked away.

Meanwhile, the last three diamond dogs were sitting in a small circle, playing a game that was remarkably like poker, except instead of cards, it was played with bones, different designs carved into them by sharp claws and teeth.

Old Yeller, the eldest of the pack, was busy hooting with laughter as he raked in a hefty pile of bones. Next to him, Luther, who resembled a weimaraner, jealously clung to his own pile, small as it was, suspiciously glaring at the elder dog. Finally, Chance, the very youngest of the pack at a mere fifteen years, a gullible pitbull with a spot over his eye, was looking at the ground in resignation, having lost his entire pile in one go. No doubt Old Yeller had somehow bluffed him into giving it all up. The poor pup would believe he could fly if he was told his paws were wings.

“Don’t worry,” he told Spot. “I’m not interested. You should take a shot at her. Who knows? A bouquet of roses...er, bones, and she might be all over you. Get that bitch some bones. Bitches love bones.”

“Vixen say she want only you. Big, strong Echo, to warm her den at night.”

“Well, then. That’s nice for her, isn’t it? You can go tell her I’m taken. She seems to ignore me whenever I tell her that myself.”

Spot got up and began to make his way over to the female in question, before Echo grabbed his tail and yanked him back down.

“I was being sarcastic, for the love of Jim Carrey! Honestly, man.” Echo shook his head in despair. Diamond Dogs had a different sort of intelligence - one suited for running and hunting and fighting and mating and packs. Anything beyond that...was hard for them. Echo had been teaching them to read for months now, and Lassie, the one who showed the most interest in the subject, had barely learned how to write basic words. Boxer, the numbskull of the group, usually decided to try and eat the small blackboard Echo used to teach. Apparently it tasted quite good.

Every one of them had been aptly named, in Echo’s opinion. Mainly because he had done most of the naming. On the streets of Rio de Maneiro, the stray diamond dogs had no name or collar. They had simply grown up that way, with the exception of Old Yeller, who had once run with a pack in his younger days, and had preferred to be nameless after he’d left it. Ginger, capable and caring Alpha as she was, didn’t have much of an imagination. Have it her way, and they’d have numbers instead of names. “Easier to keep track of that way,” she’d said.

Spot eventually drifted off to join the game of bones, leaving Echo alone on his log. Vixen, sensing an opening, sauntered over and sat next to him, all-too-eagerly pressing herself against his shoulder. “Handsome Echo alone tonight,” she observed in a sultry voice. “Vixen will keep company, yes? It can get so cold when moon rises. One must stay close to be warm.”

“I’ve got enough warmth, thank you very much,” Echo replied evenly, smoothing down his robe. “Besides, my bed only has room for two, and I’m not in the business of sleeping on the floor.” Ironically, he had used to sleep on the ground, with little trouble. But once Daring had come into the picture, he vastly preferred a bed.

Vixen pouted cutely. “Oh, and why would you stay on cold, hard ground when you could share bedding with me?” she purred.

“I’m afraid you’d end up the third wheel. You know I’m spoken for.”

“Hmmph. Vixen does not see why you stay mates with that old featherpony. Echo can take as many as he wants, he has proven his worth. Vixen can do sooo much more for big, strong Beta.”

“I’ll have to pass. And I strongly doubt you could,” Echo said, allowing a wry grin to spread over his face. Somewhere over the inferno, Daring Do blushed. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have something to do...over there.”

He made to leave, but froze as the female brushed her tail across his nose. Echo inhaled a full blast of Vixen. His pupils shrunk to pinpricks and his tail suddenly sproing!-ed straight out, stiff as a board.

Echo bolted away from the camp like his tail had been lit on fire.

One cold dip in the river later, he once again found himself sitting on the riverbank. Lassie, who had seen his mad dash into the drink, approached him cautiously. “Everything is well, yes?” she asked, placing a tentative paw on his shoulder.

“I’m going to lose my mind with you idiots around.”

Lassie just smiled. “You always say this. And yet, here you are, with your mind.”

Aye, that, and a little more, he thought to himself. “...Barely. Any sign of them?”

The collie looked back across the river, where the inferno was still going strong. “Not yet. Do you think she will be fine?”

“Your Alpha is more or less made of fire,” Echo deadpanned.

“Not her. Featherpony. You worry, I can see this, yes?”

“Yes. I always worry.”

“There is small hollow, little way toward camp,” Lassie said. “Make that your den for now. I wake you the moment I see her. Sleep, Ghostclaws, it has been long day.”

With a grateful nod, Echo shook himself off and made his way back towards the camp, finding the hollow with little trouble. The needles here were slightly damp, softened up by the moisture. Echo found it surprisingly comfortable, and in no time at all began to slip off into a light doze.

Just as his mind began to drift, he felt Daring give him a mental squeeze.

I found something. We might have a problem.

He stirred himself from his rest. The bad kind of problem, or the good kind?

...Well, that depends.

On?

How fast you can run.

Echo felt a chill creep down his spine. Show me, he said.

And she did.

Achievement Earned- "One Head is Better Than Two."

Characters Unlocked!- Echo Ghostclaws, Beta of the Cinderwings + Dr. Daring Do, PhD.
-Perk: Honor Bound: (+5 gentleman, +5 stubborn) Your code of chivalry keeps you on the moral high ground. Whether it's murder or mayhem or falling debris, you're more than likely to make a totally gallant fool of yourself.
-Perk: Prototype Telepathy Spell: (+3 intellect, +10 magic) "What could possibly go wrong?" This could. You have the ability to use touch-based telepathy! In addition, you share a significantly more powerful connection with your better half. All perks and special abilities are shared between the two of you!
-Skill Unlocked: Starsight: Through sheer force of will and extensive study, you have reigned in control of your body's rampant magical energies and mastered the art of the magical sixth sense. Congratulations, want a cookie?
-Perk: Wings of Steel: (+5 speed [while flying], +3 strength) Years spent performing speedy getaways and hauling around priceless artifacts have left you with some seriously strong flight muscles and enough endurance to run an alicorn into the ground. YEEEEEAAAAAAH!
-Perk: Adrenaline Junkie: (+10 intellect, +3 hard-boiled) Your experience with tight situations has given you a cool head, even in the best of times. All the better to come up with witty one-liners, hmm?

Ally Gained!- The Cinderwings
-Perk: Packmates (+25 strength when in groups, -2 privacy): They've always got your back. ALWAYS. Except when they're trying to knock you off your perch. Watch out.