Chapter 10
Old Friends and New Enemies
Echo and Twilight waited for their friends to arrive in the library. One by one they began to arrive, unsurprisingly Rarity took the longest, she handed out the cloaks she had made the day before as Echo requested they were all black.
“Alright every-pony ready?”
“Yes, we’d better get going or we’ll miss the train.” Rarity said.
“We’re not taking the train.”
“What?”the mares said in shock.
“The train’s too slow.”
“Then how in the hay are we getting there?” Applejack said as she raised an eyebrow.
“Simple, teleportation.” he withdrew a massive rolled piece of parchment, it was about as big as a table cloth. In the center was an odd symbol. “Every-pony step on the symbol and hang on.” As the mares stepped onto the symbol Echo started to funnel his magic through the item and the symbol began to glow and the ponies felt the air around them starting to tingle with magic. The group suddenly found themselves in a dark alley. The mares took a moment to collect themselves.
“Don’t do that AGAIN!” Twilight said catching her breath.
“Sorry, I forgot you guys aren’t used to that.” he said with a smile. He suddenly started to collapse until Rainbow Dash caught him.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, it’s just that transporting six ponies at once take a lot of power I can’t do that trick to often. But I’m fine.” he said with a weak smile. “Hows everyone else?”
“We’re good.” Twilight said as she looked at her friends. “But where are we?”
“My old clinic.” he said as he pointed to the dark building behind the mares. He looked at the old building. He trotted to the buildings door and touched it with his hoof. A tear rolled down his cheek.
“Well it doesn’t look so bad.” Pinkie said trying to lighten the mood.
“Not so bad? Look at it. It’s not even a shadow of it’s former self.” he yelled. “I’m sorry Pinkie it’s just being back here is bringing back some memories.”
“It’s okay.” she said with a smile.
“Alright then let me just get something from here and then we can go.”
“What do you need to get?” Twilight asked in suspicion.
“Just something I left here. That’s all. I’ll be right back, don’t move a muscle and holler if any-pony gives you any trouble.” he said as he trotted inside the abandoned building. The mares waited outside for ten minutes until Echo came back out. “Okay, let’s go, how about some food?”
“Yeah I’m starving.” Rainbow said as her stomach growled.
“Good I know a place just around the corner. Every-pony keep your hoods up and follow me.” Echo led them out of the alley and onto the busy street that was bustling with ponies. “Here we are.” he said as he stopped in front of a red bricked building.
“A pub?” Fluttershy said in her timid voice.
“Yes but not just any pub, this place sells things you can’t find anywhere else. Plus I know the owner.” he trotted inside with the six mares in pursuit. He trotted over to a booth along with the six mares sitting by his side, the light red bar-mare trotted over with pen and paper.
“So how can I help you today?”
“I’ll have a water.” Rarity said.
“Okay, same?” as she motioned to the other mares. They nodded in agreement.
“Okay so six waters and what do you want sir?”
“I’ll take a flaming cocktail, with ice.” he said as the waitress’s jaw hit the floor.
“What did you say?”
“It’s been to long Fire.” Echo said as he removed his hood and smiled at the mare.
“BY CELESTIA’S ROYAL FLANK! ECHO!” she then proceeded to hug the stallion with tears of joy running down her face. “What are you doing here?”
“Thought I’d check up on the old neighborhood and see how you guys were doing.”
“I’m great. I still can’t believe that you’re here.” she said as she broke the hug.
“Yeah, I know how is every-pony?”
“They’re great. In fact HEY SKY GET YOUR LAZY FLANK OUT HERE! NOW!!” she bellowed, soon an annoyed looking pegasus stallion came trotting out.
“Jeez, Fire what is it this time? It had better not be something st-” he was cut off by his eyes falling upon the dark stallion grinning at him. “No. Bucking. WAY!!!” he said as he rushed over to the stallion hugged him. “Dude I can’t believe your here!”
“I know it’s great to see you two again!”
*Ahem* Twilight coughed in annoyance.
“Oh right, Skyline, Fire Starter this is my mare friend Twilight and her friends.”
“Hello.” Twilight said to the two ponies. Echo then noticed Fire Starters enlarged belly.
“Fire are you?”
“Yes, going on nine months now, it’s a pegasus colt! We are so excited!”
“We?” his gaze then fell upon the pegasus who was blushing. “OH NO WAY!! You two a couple?”
“Yep.” he said as he put his wing around the mare. “The wedding’s set for just after the little guy is born.
“That’s great! Congratulations!” Echo said with a laugh. He then offered them a seat. “So hows Turner and Ace doing?” the two ponies expressions then turned cross at the statement.
“Don’t mention that traitors name!” Fire said with spite in her voice.
“What happened?” Echo said as he cocked an eyebrow.
“Seven months after you left, Ace turned his back on us and started moving into our territory.”
“We were no match for his gang, even with our combined numbers he slaughtered our members. Ace is worse than is brother.” Sky said with a cross look on his face.
“What about Turner?”
“Turner skipped town as soon as things got bad, haven’t heard from him since.” Fire said with a sad look. “Echo, Ace has taken everything from the people their, food, their future and their hope. He rules the under ground with an iron claw.”
“We’ve done our best to try and take back the streets but his gang is just too big plus with Fire and the baby I-” Sky was cut off by a black hoof.
“I understand.” He said as he got to his hooves.
“Where are you going?” Twilight asked as she looked up at him.
“To go have a chat with Ace.”
“What! Are you insane?” Twilight said
“Listen to your mare friend Echo. That’s a really bad idea.”
“I don’t care he needs to answer for his crimes.” as he made his way out a certain griffin made his way into the pub.
“Hello Fire I’ve just come around to collect your-” he was cut off by the sight of the black stallion glaring at him. “E-echo I had no idea you came back, how are things?” he outstretched a claw Echo slapped it away and pushed him up against the wall.
“You think I don’t know what you’ve done?”
“So I helped myself to some power. What of it?”
“You said you were different from your bother!”
“I am. I’m better than he ever was, I’ve taken the Red Talon’s to hight’s they’ve never even imagined.”
“At what Cost?!”
“Who cares about the cost?” Echo then slammed the griffin down on a table.
“I do! I should have listened to my gut and killed you on the spot!”
“You forget your place!” he said as he pushed the stallion of him and slammed him into the bar. “You’re nothing but a coward.” the griffin was suddenly lifted off the stallion by a purple aura and thrown out the door. Echo trotted out into the snow. “You, mother bucker! You’ll pay for that!” a crowd started to gather around the two.
“You want him you have to go through me!” Twilight said as she teleported in front of Echo.
“Same for me!” Rainbow said as she trotted next to her friend.
“Us too.” Sky and Fire joined the group.
“Same here.” the rest of Twilight’s friends joined the group.
“Well, looks like you’ve gone from a doctor to a pimp.” he said with a smirk.
“Shut up!” a homeless pony shouted. “You’re not going to lay a single feather on the doctor!” The crowd soon began to form behind Echo.
“What? Do you ponies know who I am?” Echo then moved forward.
“Face it Ace, without your gang you’re nothing!”
“Oh is that what you think? Then I here by challenge you, Echo Specter to a duel tomorrow at noon.”
“I accept your challenge. What’s the location?”
“The old factory, you know the one.”
“Agreed.” he then trotted forward and shook the griffins claw sealing the agreement as they gave each other a death stare. The griffon took off in a rage towards the inner city. Echo stood there motionless, Twilight trotted up next to him and put a hoof oh his shoulder.
“Echo are you okay?”
“No, I just signed my own death warrant. I need to lie down for a bit.” he said as he started to stagger, Sky came up next to him and helped him inside. As they made their way inside the crowd dispersed. “Fire can I have drink?”
“Sure, how about a shot of Applejack?” she asked.
“That sound good.”
“What?” Pinkie said in confusion.
“Applejack Daniels.” Sky clarified.
“Wait, AJ is that...” Dash started to say.
“Don’t even say it.” she said in a flat tone.
“I though I recognized your name.” Echo said with a grin.
“Shut up!” Applejack said as her cheeks turned red.
“Wow, I always wondered why you were always able to drink me under the table.” Rainbow said with a chuckle.
“Can we please get back on topic?” Twilight interjected. “My coltfriend just agreed to fight a griffin gang lord!” she said with a concerned look on her face.
“Good point.” Sky said.
“So how do these fight’s work?” Rainbow asked.
“Simple, two gangs enter one leaves. It’s a no holds bard fight.” Fire said.
“The fight ends, when either one of them gives up or dies.” Echo said in a flat voice.
“So just give up!”
“I can’t do that Twi.”
“Why? I thought you wanted to get away from all of this. To start a new life, to be happy.” Twilight was in tears.
“It’s not about my happiness anymore Twi. These ponies need me.”
“Why? Why do you have to help them.” Rainbow said.
“BECAUSE NO ONE ELSE WILL!” he bellowed. “Coming back here made me realize that I have responsibility to these ponies. I have to help them, I’m the only one who can.”
“Well we can help them too.” Pinkie said.
“Yeah, that’s a laugh.” Sky said.
“Why? Were willing to help!” Rarity said.
“You guys don’t know anything about us. We don’t trust outsiders, the only way you could know what we’ve been through is if you’ve been through it yourself.” Fire said with an annoyed tone.
“But Echo showed-”
“You only saw the tip of the ice berg of what I’ve done and seen. I’m sorry but it’s a fact.”
“So after all we’ve been through your just going to throw it all away?” Twilight said while fighting through the tears. Echo tried to protest but he couldn’t find the words. “Well fine if you want to go kill yourself than go ahead see what I care!”
“Twilight wait!” his cry fell on deaf ears as the lavender mare ran out of the pub with tears running down her face. “AJ, Rainbow with me! We have to find her before something else does.” he said as the three ran out the door and into the cold streets of Detrot.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Twilight din’t care where she was going just as long as it was away from Echo, she ran into a dark alley. She stopped to catch her breath, she wasn’t used to this much running, the mare sat down to rest, only then did she notice the homeless ponies glaring at her. Twilight looked away until an elderly mare came up to her. She looked unhealthy. Noticing the tears in the young mare’s eyes the elder pony intervened.
“Child why are you crying?” she asked in a sympathetic voice.
“It’s nothing, just my colt-friend he’s so stubborn.”
“Come, let’s get you somewhere safe, then you can tell me all about it.” she said with a smile Twilight was hesitant at first but then agreed to follow the old mare. They went deeper into the alley until it became a labyrinth of shops and tunnels, it was a city inside a city.
“So tell me child what brings a unicorn like you to our city?”
“Well we were visiting some old friends when we were attacked by a griffin named Ace he-”
“Wait a minute dear. What’s your colt-friends name?”
“Echo Specter.” the old mare’s eyes grew wide at the statement.
“You’re the Devil Doctors mare friend!”
“Why does every-pony keep calling him that. I can understand the doctor part but what about this devil bit?”
“I think you should see something my dear.” the two mares came to an abandoned court yard, in the center stood a makeshift statue of the black stallion. “That stallion has helped this city more than he realizes. He was more than just a doctor to us he was an icon, a hero some would even say a beacon of hope in this city. It was a sad day when he left us years ago.”
“I had no idea that he had such influence.”
“Oh yes, almost every-pony or griffin in this city owes that stallion a debt, including me. He never took our money for the procedures he did. He only asked us one thing: to never give up hope.”
“What about the nick name?”
“Well at first he was just called ‘the doctor’ but then another lad in a weird blue box came around and said that it was his name. The devil bit came from his youth, he was still is very powerful especially for a unicorn his age. When he was eight he could already take on three unicorn stallions. He was always so angry and full of hate, until he met Star Chaser.”
“He told me about her.” Twilight said with a sad look on her face.
“They were the perfect pair, thick as thieves they were,well them and the other three.”
“What other three?”
“There were five ponies in Echo’s gang. Echo, Star, Skyline, Fire Starter and Time Turner. Those ponies were a force to be reckoned with. Together they defended this city from the ruthlessness of the gang world. During the great war, Echo held this spot all on his own.”
“Great war?”
“You really are an outsider. Ten years ago the gangs of Detrot went into an all out war with one another. Since Echo’s gang was still small they didn’t participate. On that night the gang split Fire and Skyline would defend the southern district, Turner and Star would defend the east and Echo held his own for five hours until the others fell back to his position. When they did they saw easily fifteen maybe twenty stallions laying at his hooves. I was there I saw that young colt take them down one by one. By the end Echo was so covered in blood that no-pony recognized him. In the fires of that night I could have sworn that he looked like the devil himself.”
“Was he called anything besides that?”
“Well there were a few others like, The Black Death, The Green Flame of Hope, The Hero of Detrot and a few others that escape my memory.”
“What happened after the war?” Twilight said.
“The major gangs were decimated and started to form smaller gangs. After that night Echo put all of his time into learning medicine. He din’t want to hurt any-pony else, even though he was considered the strongest unicorn in the city and every-pony knew it. Even the police didn’t pick a fight with him.”
“What made him give it up?”
“Well, he wanted for the violence to stop. He disbanded his gang, only Star stayed by his side, the others left and started their own gangs. That was the reformation of the gangs, Echo was present during this reformation he and his former comrades made the new rules that every gang leader must follow and they were! Until Star was killed. I assume you know the rest.”
“Yes he told me what happened.”
‘So now do you see dear, why he has to fight. This place is all he has left of Star and the others. With Fire and Sky starting a family soon I fear for their foal and now that Turner has disappeared Echo is the only thing standing between the Red Talons and the city.”
“But he’s doing it for revenge.” Twilight said with anger in her voice.
“NO! Celestia no! He’s not doing it for revenge, he’s not doing it for himself!”
“Then who’s he doing it for?”
“Open your eyes! He’s doing it for Star, for me for every one and anyone that has suffered at the Talon’s cruelty. He’s fighting for our future, he’s the only one who can.” the old mare then began to cough.
“I’m so sorry I didn’t realize that he meant so much to the city.” Twilight said to the old mare.
‘Of corse he does, there’s not a pony here that doesn’t know his name. I’ve heard foals idolize him as some sort of super hero. Some even say that he could rival Princess Luna in magic.”
“Well I know that’s an exaggeration.”
“That’s not the point! The point is he gives ponies hope. Hope for a better future, hope for a better tomorrow and hope for the future generations.” as the mare finished her story a familiar black stallion trotted up to them.
“Twilight oh thank Celestia I found you I was worried sick!” he said as he trotted up next to his mare friend.
“Do my eyes deceive me? Has the Hero of Detrot returned?” the old mare said as her eyes widened at the dark stallion.
“Do I know you?” he said in confusion.
“You fixed my hip years ago.” she said with a smile.
“Ah Ys now I remember Granny Bucket right?”
“Yes, dear. I’m flattered you remember me. I was just telling your mare friend about you, I hope that’s alright.” Echo’s gaze then fell upon Twilight who adverted her gaze and began to cry.
“Twilight, I’m sorry. You’re right I can’t keep doing this to you, tomorrow I’ll get the tickets back to-” he was cut off by a lavender hoof striking his face.
“No you were right. You have to help these ponies. I was just being selfish, I was just so scared that I might loose you.” Twilight said with tears in her eyes, Echo put his hoof to her chin and and lifted her head up so their eyes met.
“Twilight. I’m not going anywhere. I promise.” he said as he kissed her.
“Okay, and I’m willing to help you.”
“Twilight I don’t think that’s-”
“I’m helping you! End of discussion!” Twilight said as she put a hoof to his chest. Echo let out a small laugh.
“Twi. Sometimes you are so stubborn and that’s why you’re with me.” he said with a grin. “We need to prepare. I know Ace is bound to pull some dirty moves.”
“How can I help?” the elderly mare asked.
“Get the word out. I want every-pony to know that The Hero of Detrot is back!”
“Of corse. Where can they find you?”
“At Fire Starters pub. You know the place?”
“Yes, and I’ll get the word out as soon as possible.” the mare said as she trotted off into a dark alley way.
“C’mon Twi we better let the others know that we’re okay.” he said as he and Twilight trotted back down the alley way.
“So, you’re a celebrity here.”
“I guess so.”
“From what that mare told me, you’re like a hero to them. Why didn’t you tell me about the war?”
“That was avery dark time in my life and to be fully honest I blocked that memory out.” he said as he hung his head in shame. “I was...different back then.”
“So I heard. I just-” she was cut off by an orange and cyan mare running towards them.
“There you two are!” Rainbow bellowed.
“What’s the matter?”
“There’s some colt causing trouble back at the pub he claims to know you.” Applejack said with a cold stare.
“What’s his name?"
“It was weird, Time Turner ah think it was.” AJ said as she scratched her mane. Echo’s eyes lit up like a burning fire.
“Perfect! Time for some answers.” Echo said as he galloped off towards the pub with the mares in hot pursuit.