T H E L E G E N D of E C H O
T H E ~ D I A M O N D ~ D O G
An MLP:FIM fanfiction written by: R U S T
with editing and proofreading by: Nathan Traveler, RaiderRy4n and Flame Runner
cover art and illustrations by: stupidyou3
ACT THE SECOND, CHAPTER THE FIRST
In which a game begins, the world rides to a red dawn, and a Fellowship is forged to save it.
The Ambassador
Those eyes.
Like two chips of the sky had been sliced away and given the spark of life, they glittered harshly in the half-light of the prison, tinged with the sadness of age and the terrible experience it brings.
There were no words spoken, but Lyra felt as though an immeasurable conversation suddenly shunted her thoughts away, a steady stream of knowing and being, an unknown identity that roared forth from those eyes which all but overwhelmed her.
She could not look away.
...Did she even want to?
The tide abruptly shifted, seizing hold of her consciousness and wrenching it out and away. She felt herself clawing desperately, instinctively clutching for a hold within the tumultuous storm her mind had become, terrified of what would happen should the alien presence drag her with it.
Let go.
The suggestion came unbidden — was it even hers? — and gently swaddled her.
Face the unknown.
It pulled her, not with the harsh strength of the other being, but slightly, coaxing and cooing all the while. It felt... nice.
Know who I am.
Lyra let go, before she came to her senses. There was the sensation of falling, something wrapping itself around her on all sides, and then a mighty gnawing in her gut that took a moment to register as —
— Hunger.
Maddening, clawing at her blood. Some savage little creature was in her stomach, tearing her apart from the insides, slipping into her skin and forcing her bones to follow the lead.
She all but glided across the frozen land.
Her wide paws padded softly through the white blanket. The dense snow pack refused to cling, as if she were a fang slicing through the landscape. Scattered about the flat, white world, conical trees bowed their branches to the old gods of the North; ice, sleet, wind, and snow.
Sky-light had risen. The snow hurt to look at now. Pupils shrank until they were as thin as blades. Ears twitched in the wind, the cold air ruffling her fur. Six paws gripped and scraped at the hard pack ice.
Some snow had been disturbed at the base of a tree. She sniffed at this, growling softly as the tide of prey-scent flooded her. Something had hunkered down here for the night, in hopes of escaping the old gods’ wrath. She could almost taste the sudden fantasies of tearing flesh and sucking the marrow from bones.
Another scent pricked at the air. An ear flicked in distaste. There was another hunter, close by; a male. Not that he wouldn’t be any trouble. She lifted a leg and sprayed the tree, marking the prey-scent as her own. He would not dare tempt her, for good reason.
She preferred to live alone, something the others held her both in fear and awe for. To them she was legend, she was the White Whisper, and she was as eternal as the sky-lights that walked the place of stars from horizon to horizon.
So she was. If she could count, she had seen three-hundred and seventy-six clans come and go, burying their sires and being buried by their kits. There was no reason to question her longevity, for that was not the way of her kind. Long ago had she realized that time would fail to take her. She had adapted. Such was the way of the hunter.
Hunger, however...
Hunger was a different matter.
Hovering her slim snout over the snow, she inhaled again.
A sudden puff of snow, and she was off, her hunting yowl echoing across the tundra.
The scent was fresh, the prey was not far. From that small sampling, she knew it was a female, old and sick and likely far from others of its kind, a last measure of protection for its kin to spare them the attention of hunters — hunters like her.
She had never stopped admiring the selflessness of her prey, nor despairing the constant bickering of her fellow hunters.
So she hunted alone. That was fine.
Dashing headlong through the frozen world she went, leaping embankments, scrambling down icy gullies, or even simply charging straight through mounds of snow light enough to carry through.
Her keen eyes soon confirmed what her nose already knew.
Tracks appeared across her path, small and delicate. She rapidly changed course, not slowing for an instant. The pattern was off — her prey was limping, likely from age.
The prints soon led her to the foot of the Rise, the place her fellow hunters scorned, for atop the plateau the winds blew strong and cruelly. She knew no such fear, tempered by an unnatural number of seasons in her still-youthful bones.
She found it halfway up the slope, still struggling gamely on, despite wasting away its energy by floundering so far. She slowed, padding forward at a crouch. Her paws clenched the snow, claws extended.
Her prey sensed the coming, and redoubled its efforts, floundering mightily through the thick powder in a last, frantic burst of energy.
It was not enough.
A single strike to the head stunned it. It fell, twitching. She bent low over it, staring intently into its gaze, thanking it for the nourishment it would provide and the challenge of the hunt.
It stared back, fearful at first, before peace came.
It relaxed, fate accepted. Predator and prey.
She made it quick and painless, her teeth meeting in its neck and crunching through bone and tendon alike. The salty taste of fresh-kill seeped into her jaws.
Winter roared judgement in her ears.
"MIZZ HEARTSTRINGS —”
“ — is there somethin’ on yer mind? Been a mite distracted since we came back from the Vault.”
Lyra blinked. “Hmm? Oh, no, I’m fine, Knight-Commander. Thank you for asking. I’ve just had the strangest feeling like I was... somewhere else not a moment ago.”
The eyes opened... then... we were... wait, how did I get here?
Lyra looked around.
Tiny motes of dust floated in the evening breeze, caught in the fading sunset that shone through the window of Luna’s chambers. The Princess herself was out on the balcony, while her sister assisted her from the perch of her own tower. While one lowered the sun to end the day, the other raised the moon and ushered in the night.
Curled into a tight ball on a nearby cushion was the Elder Sage, called Ragdoll. Only the stillest of movements revealed that she breathed.
Lyra eyed the new arrival somewhat uneasily. “Is she...?” she trailed off, unable to finds the proper words to the proper question.
Starbuck tried anyway. “Luna say’s the little lady will be right as rain. Managed the walk up here just fine, fer somepony ‘been still as a statue since before I was sired.”
“Oh.”
The Sage had not yet uttered a single word, and had instead collapsed onto the rug by the fire in the hearth, staring intently into the flames with blank eyes.
“What happened in...” Lyra began quietly, then thought better of it.
Starbuck simply shrugged, his armored bulk rasping faintly as his barding flexed with his body.
The other two Outlanders had been placed gently onto the Princess’ bed, still frozen in time. The spell had preserved them in the instant of the casting, and so they had no pulse or breath, still as statutes unless disturbed. For now, they would stay there.
But in the meantime...
A change of the ambient light through the windows told them that Luna had accomplished her nightly ritual. The alicorn glided back inside from the balcony. Lyra caught her eyes and gestured toward the motionless pony by the hearth, an unspoken question on her face.
Luna merely frowned and sat next to the mare. There was silence for a few moments, everything absolutely still save for the crackling of the fire.
Then:
“A POX UPON THIS BROODING!”
Luna suddenly flipped Ragdoll end over end with an abrupt extension of the wing, the mare tumbling onto a table face-up, where she lay dazedly, before giving a low groan.
“Ach…”
Lyra exchanged a glance with Starbuck. The knight seemed perfectly at ease. Lyra resigned to letting the Princess continue.
Luna stomped over and shoved her face into Ragdoll’s upside-down visage. “Forsooth, we hath freed thee after millenia of wrongful imprisonment!” She snorted imperiously. “The least thine might begrudge is a word of thanks!”
There was a pause, and then she blinked. Intelligence seemed to flood back into her eyes. Ragdoll rolled off the table and landed neatly onto her hooves, barely making a single noise.
“Nightma-... Luna... Printessa?” she rasped.
Luna’s stern gaze broke into a warm smile. “Aye, my friend. I have returned. The nightmare is long passed.” She draped her neck across Ragdoll’s shoulders. “It has been a long, long time.”
Ragdoll trembled for a moment, then returned the gesture, almost frantically burying her face into Luna’s ethereal mane as she wept openly.
Luna murmured softly as she stroked the crying mare. “Oh, my friend, my dearest friend, what a wrong hast been done to you...”
“We were following orders!” came a muffled wail. “Your orders! And...they... no exceptions. Celestia threw everything at us... They bring down whole castle.”
Luna was silent for a moment. “A whole castle? What couldst thou have been doing to earn such wrath from my sister?”
Ragdoll pulled her head out of Luna’s starry locks. “You... don’t know?”
“We remember little from then, descended into depravity as we were.” Luna sighed. “We were monstrous and unthinking. We were Nightmare Moon. All thoughts of the time are red and steeped in rage. But fear not, for we have gained ourselves and become all the stronger for it.”
The mare swallowed thickly, choking back her sobs. “We were... after it. The Fount.”
Luna sucked in a breath at that, and her mane fell utterly still, like a wild animal caught in the headlights. “Why,” she spoke softly, yet colder than dry ice, “wouldst thou ever presume to desecrate the most holy of places.”
Lyra stepped forward. “Your Highness, maybe this isn’t the best way to-”
“DO NOT DARE TO SPEAK OUT OF TURN, AMBASSADOR!” Luna roared. Her eyes were shining white-hot, to the point of it being painful just to look at. Lyra cringed backwards, immediately regretting her actions. The Princess was furious. She rounded on the still-sobbing mare. “Why?” she hissed.
“Because you told them to, Luna,” a voice softly announced.
Everypony whirled about to find Princess Celestia standing half-in, half-out of the doorway. Beside her stood the lanky figure of Disarray, who looked awkward and uncomfortable.
“In your madness, Luna, you sought the one thing that you knew would guarantee the rise of Nightmare Moon. You sent them, your dearest friends, to deliver it to you, while you thought to dispose of me in the the ruins of the Evermore Castle. But I stopped you, with the very Elements we once wielded together... and I had to stop them, as well. Because they loved you, Luna, and they would follow your orders even if it meant taking the waters of the Fount for themselves.”
Luna staggered if visibly struck, sinking onto the floor beside Ragdoll. “...Such madness,” she whispered. “Was I truly that desperate, sister?”
Celestia hesitated, then nodded. “We both were. Had I not the power of Harmony on my side, I may have attempted the very same. The fate of the world was in the balance.”
Luna sighed. “...Then a terrible, terrible mistake was made, and I am even more justified in trying to right it. I did an unforgivable thing to my friends, and abandoned them to their fate.” Luna shook her head. “I apologize for my tone, Ambassador.” Celestia crossed over to her and comfortingly laid her head across her sister’s neck. Ragdoll scooted away, almost fearful of the other Princess.
“Beggin’ yer pardon,” the deep voice of Knight-Commander Starbuck broke in, “but what’s the Fount?”
“It’s the Source,” stated Disarray, clasping his mismatched limbs behind his back.
“The source?” echoed Lyra.
“No, the Source. You’re not doing it right, use a capital letter,” he grumbled. “It’s the reason Mom and Auntie are what they are today.” Lyra and the Knight-Commander took another look at the two Princesses.
“Royalty?” Lyra guessed.
“Alicorns?” put in Starbuck.
Disarray closed his eyes, in seeming contemplation. “No. Those are commonplace, nowadays.... It made them Goddesses.”
Lyra’s eyes widened. There had always been much speculation as to the origins of the sisters. Everypony knew that they were powerful, evidenced by their control of the sun and the moon. But before they appeared in the world, that duty was performed by the old Platinum dynasty of unicorns from the far north, an offshoot from the long-since vanished Crystal Empire.
But after the great migration of ponykind to escape from the windigoes, they had encountered the sisters here, in Equestria, struggling to preserve the natural order of things against the actions of Discord, a chaos entity wreaking havoc across the countryside. The ponies knew that they couldn’t settle here with Discord running loose, so for the first time in history, the three tribes; pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies, were united together under one banner -- that of Celestia and Luna.
Nopony had wondered where they had come from, they hadn’t cared at the time. All they’d known is that if they wanted any chance of a new home, then they had to ally with the beings capable of carving one out of the earth itself.
An alliance of convenience, forged in desperation and tempered with skepticism. Under different circumstances, such a gathering would collapse under the conflicting idealisms. But when your rulers can behead a mountain, drain oceans dry, and cast light and darkness throughout the world, many a petty squabble is forgotten.
“Castle Everfree — known to the world as the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters — was the last holding to fall still loyal to Nightmare Moon,” explained Celestia. “The battle was terrible, even though she had fallen weeks prior. Her three lieutenants, one of which stands before us, upheld their oath until they were the only ones left, barricaded within the tallest tower, even as it crumbled away beneath their hooves. What was once our home was reduced to rubble, and the Fount beneath it now lays buried in debris and time.”
Ragdoll seemed to shrink within herself, incapable of looking at anything else but the floor.
Lyra really felt for the poor mare.
Celestia merely blinked, and said, “Fear not, Sage. The profane magics binding yourself to Nightmare Moon have long since evaporated. The actions you and your siblings undertook while enslaved to her will, while horrible, are long past.”
Her expression suddenly darkened. Lyra could have sworn she felt the temperature drop just a bit. “However. The damage was done, nevertheless. You and your kin submitted to such slavery of your own accord. I can never forgive you for this. If I have but the slightest of reasons you will pursue this path again, none of you will have the chance to regret your choice. Am I understood?”
“Y-yes, Printessa,” said the strange mare. It was all but a whisper.
“Good.” Princess Celestia retreated several steps, to sit delicately down upon a cushion. “Then we arrive to the true purpose of your resurrection.”
“Sister...” Luna warned.
“No, Luna. They deserve the knowledge. Let it not be said that we enjoyed our secrets too much.”
The two engaged in a sort of silent staring contest, both alicorns egging the other to back down. The air in the room seemed to thicken and hum with a hidden energy. There must have been some sharp steel to Celestia’s gaze, because she cut her sister down after only a minute, the smaller sibling huffing and glancing away.
The ivory alicorn merely summoned a cup of tea with a thought, and began to sip.
“You must understand, Ambassador, that the Fount is the emergence point for all magic within the world,” she eventually stated. “Chaos. Harmony. Light. Darkness. Hate. Love. All are potent forces that physically manifest themselves within the bones of the earth and the life of the creatures that walk it. There are very, very few who can even fathom the power it contains. Fewer still who could utilize it. It is, as my son said, the birthplace of gods and goddesses."
She took another sip of tea, before calming stating:
“And in three month’s time, it will implode upon itself and destroy us all.”
There was a stunned silence.
“Wow, and I thought Aunt Luna was the blunt one,” quipped Disarray.
“But... what!? That’s... that’s just...” Lyra struggled with the words. “I don’t even — no, how is that even possible, first of all.”
“‘Tis a matter of balance,” Luna chimed in. “All the magics must be equal in standing. And they were... until recently. The re-emergence of the Elements of Harmony. Our niece, Cadance, harnessing the love within the Crystal Heart. The ascension of our friend Twilight Sparkle. The have all become conduits of peace and righteousness in the world.”
“Isn’t... that a good thing?” asked Lyra.
“Yes. But the natural order of things has been disrupted.” Celestia took another sip of her tea. “As much as it pains me to admit, there must always be some level of evil in the world. The gains of harmony, love, and light must be tempered by chaos, hate, and darkness. Our intent is to regain this critical balance by attuning new sources of such magics to the Fount, preventing a magical cataclysm. Then, they will be sealed away, thus stabilizing the Fount, but keeping their powers from leaving it.
“Think of the Source as a tree, Ambassador, greater than all others, it’s leaves touching the stars and its roots wedded to the bones of the earth. The core pillars of magic make up these roots. Let them erode, and the tree will fall.”
Knight Commander Starbuck removed the stetson from his head, scratching at one of his tufted ears. “So what does Mizz Ragdoll here and th' others on th' bed have to do with this?”
Luna awkwardly coughed. “They hold the Nightmare’s Blessing. An infusion of ourselves... as Nightmare Moon... lives on within them. When we were defeated, and the fel magic expelled... it had to go somewhere. Together, they represent the sole remaining source of true darkness in Equestria. We shall take them to the Fount... synchronize the magic... and then... we will part ways for a final time.”
At Lyra’s shocked expression, a voice broke in. “Equestria has been good to us, Lyra Heartstrings,” Ragdoll said quietly. “We redeem ourselves with this last act. We are travelers of cosmos. When we are attuned, we will leave through ways known only to those like us who travel the stars. We know to stay here cannot be permanent.”
Luna wrapped the mare in a wing, drawing her close. “Aye, my old friend. To say goodbye, again, after all these years...”
Celestia continued explaining for her. “When something is attuned to the Fount, it will never lose that connection, no matter where it may be. They can go back to the stars from whence they came, effectively cementing the gains of dark magic without exposing Equestria itself to the repercussions.”
“It is for the best,” Ragdoll whispered.
“Alright... alright.” Lyra breathed deeply, trying to wrap her mind around all of this. “What of the others? You said hate and chaos magic were part of this as well.”
“As of this moment, we are still searching for a source of hatred powerful enough to serve as a proper conduit.” Celestia’s gaze traveled out the window. “While King Sombra was a terrible threat to the world and the ponies of the Crystal Empire, he held a far more important role than he would ever know. As for the power of chaos...”
There came a knocking at the door.
Tap tap tap-tap tap.
Disarray suddenly went stiff as a board, eyes widening. He turned to Celestia. “I don’t believe it. You said he was nowhere near here! You told me.”
“Did I?” she said, suddenly looking mischievous. “I seem to recall saying a lot of things about what he does, though he seems to have a knack for doing exactly the opposite of them, just to laugh about it.”
Knight-Commander Starbuck cautiously approached the door. “Yes? Who is it?” he asked sternly.
“That’s not right. You have to answer it right,” came a muffled voice from behind the door.
Celestia rose and smoothly joined the bat pony. “Allow me,” she said.
“Surprise character reveal, take two!” came the voice.
Tap tap tap-tap tap.
The Princess calmly raised a hoof to the door.
Tap tap.
It was abruptly blown off its hinges... backwards, landing in the now-exposed hallway with a crash.
Lyra peered through the gap, trying to see who had been standing there. “Who was that?” she asked aloud.
“Beats me,” said Discord. “He wasn’t offering any free candy or van rides, though. Shame. I would have answered that door in a heartbeat.”
“AAAAAUUUUGGGHHHH!” screamed Lyra.
“Pops,” growled Disarray. “Enjoy your time in prison?”
“Immensely. Its a lot more forgiving to drop the soap when you’re the only inmate,” said Discord, casually polishing a claw on his feathered breast.
Lyra stumbled away, her wide eyes taking it all in. The Lord of Chaos himself. She’d heard rumors, to be sure. Bon-Bon had said that she’d seen it happen herself, several weeks ago in Ponyville. The Element of Kindness, Fluttershy, had befriended the draconequus and managed to convince him to pursue a more noble path. It had been quite the spectacle, apparently, almost impossible to believe.
But then, Lyra had always been something of a believer.
Now, though, with the beast himself standing eight feet tall in front of her, nonchalantly snapping his fingers as Celestia’s tea turned into hot sauce, she had to admit it was... not what she expected.
He noticed Lyra staring at him. “What?” he asked. “Somthing in my teeth?” His lion’s paw felt around in his mouth, then somehow went even further, until he was elbow deep inside his throat. The chaos entity seemed to find something, and with a thoughtful hum, withdrew a rubber chicken. “Huh. I’d been wondering where that went.” He casually tossed it over a shoulder, where it wetly slapped to the floor by Disarray’s mismatched feet. The smaller draconequus eyed this, his lip curling up in mild distaste, before taking a large step backwards.
Discord bowed deeply, prostrating himself before Lyra. “Discord, Lord of Chaos, Emperor of Explosions, and the Titan of Terrible Titles, at your service. And you are, little pony?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “Wait. I think I know you from somewhere, you were probably skulking around in the background. Stringy? Harpo?”
“L-lyra,” she said, then again, with perhaps a bit more bite than she intended. “Lyra Heartstrings. Ambassador Lyra Heartstrings.”
“Ooooh-hohohoho!” Discord chuckled. “The Outland Ambassador? Well then, Miss Heartstrings, I humbly recognize your authority and pray you have the temperance to manage your new station.” His laughter turned somewhat mocking. “You’re going to need it, after all. I am an Outlander myself; that makes you my handler!”
“I-I... um...”
“Don’t play with your food, old man,” Disarray warned.
“Don’t bite off more than you can chew, little tyke,” he shot back.
The room suddenly seemed smaller to Lyra, and rather warm, at that. Mainly because Celestia’s attention had risen from her tea to give them both a simmering glare. “I thought we agreed to leave our differences at the door,” she said calmly, though the words carried all the force of a thunderbolt. “Equestria is in danger, and it will not be saved by holding grudges.”
“...He started it,” said Discord.
“...He started it,” said Disarray.
The two draconnequi glared at the other.
Celestia didn’t so much as bat an eye. “I believe you were about to enlighten us all with your solution to this predicament?” she asked of the taller of the pair.
Somewhat miffed, Discord nodded. “Ahem. Yes. Now... chaos,” he announced grandly. “The polar opposite of harmony, and thanks to the short leash I find myself on, in a dwindling supply.”
“Short leash?” queried Lyra. “Does that have anything to do with your release?”
Discord grimaced. “Yes. There are... certain conditions and limitations I am now subject to, in return for my freedom to come and go as I please.”
“Let us say that for all intents and purposes, Discord is no longer the avatar of chaos in Equestria,” Celestia said mildly. “Were he still petrified, we could simply use the statue.”
Lyra snorted. “Then why bring him back at all?”
“Because Ambassador, everypony deserves a second chance,” answered Luna. The alicorn’s eyes contained all the pain that only a thousand years of exile could bring. At her side, Ragdoll seemed to match the haunted stare. “Redemption is a powerful tool. Discord will do the world better by guiding it alongside ourselves. Not simply... twisting it as he sees fit.”
“But if he can’t be the conduit...” Lyra’s eyes trailed over to the smaller draconequus.
Disarray guessed what she had in mind. “I’m the ‘half-and-half’ version of chaos. Put that kind of weak sauce in the recipe, and it’d work... but not for long.”
“Aye, a more potent, lasting source of chaos is needed,” agreed Luna.
Discord clapped his hands together, the mismatched wings on his back fluttering in excitement. A look of mischievous delight crossed his face. “Not to worry, I have just the pawn for this little chess game of ours. Lucky for us he tends to end up the hero...”
“He?” Lyra, Celestia, Luna, and Starbuck simultaneously asked.
Discord nodded. “Oh, yes. Just because I was more stoned than Marley on the twentieth of April doesn’t mean I was out of the running. I had to let my chaos out somehow, so I created an outlet in the form of a living being. Another outlander, to be precise! Heh. An Avatar of the Avatar, if you will.”
There were mixed reactions all around. Celestia looked like she had just swallowed something bitter and slimy. Luna merely frowned, seeming uncharacteristically thoughtful. Knight-Commander Starbuck might as well have been etched in stone. Ragdoll appeared all the more melancholy. For better or worse, it seemed Discord had pulled the rug out from under them all.
Lyra simply stared.
“Well... where is he, then?” she asked.
Disarray stepped beside his father. “He had a name once, but, nowadays, he prefers to go by Echo. He knows all about you, but you don’t know anything about him — he likes it that way, I think. Said fellow is currently a walking, talking... okay, maybe not talking... living manifestation of Discord’s chaos energy, though he doesn’t know what that means quite yet.”
“Thou hast done an unspeakable thing, Discord,” said Luna.
“To-may-to, to-mah-to. You’re one to talk, Lu-lu. I’m not the only one who played Creator with their little toys.” Discord’s retort may have been aimed at the darker sister, but the lighter winced just the same. “Every one of us here today has bent nature itself to our own ends, and stands by their choices. And don’t you tell me it was different.”
“Harmony would have died out with me, had I not passed the torch to Twilight Sparkle and her friends,” Celestia said very quietly.
Luna’s ears lay flat to her skull. “Aye, we may have done wrong on these creatures by thrusting them into a role they did not fully comprehend, but at least now we might amend that mistake. We owe it to them, for toying with powers better left untouched.”
“We are in agreement, then?” asked Discord.
“Aye!” replied Luna.
“...Yes,” replied Celestia.
“Good. Then today, in this room, a Fellowship laid out. We will collect our past sins and bind them to the Fount itself, thus maintaining the sacred balance between all magics,” announced Discord. “Who will be so bold as to found it?”
Luna stepped forth. “You have my Reaper.” There was a soft flash of light, and the princess’ personal weapon of choice, a fearsome, elegant war-scythe affixed to a dark, rough hewn staff of wood. She presented the blade to the center of the circle.
Knight Commander Starbuck unsheathed his boomerang from its shoulder harness, laying this atop the scythe of his liege. In the dim light, Lyra noted it was pale white, shaped like a crescent moon. “Ayep,” was all he said.
“And my Banhammer!” proclaimed Disarray, not wanting to be left out, and he withdrew an gratuitously oversized intricate mace from behind his back, laying the head of this atop the growing pile.
With another soft flash of light, a beautiful slender greatsword, etched with golden runes, descended down. “Sunbeam stands with you,” murmured Celestia.
Discord removed his left arm with a pop! “What?” he said, at the mixed assortment of reactions, adding it with the other items. “I could have used another extremity, if you’d prefer.”
“That will do,” Luna said icily. “Ambassador? Will you join us?”
“Me?” said Lyra. “But I’m just... me.” Gazing around the group, at some of the most powerful entities Equestria had ever produced, she could not help but feel humbled. In the face of such an awesome assembly, what could she possibly offer?
“You are an important ally to have for our endeavour,” Celestia stated. “Half those assembled in this room owe your station some fealty. And even more will come under your responsibility soon enough.”
“We cannot complete the set without the bishop,” Disarray laughed. “We've everything else but that and most of the pawns!”
“I... all right.” From her saddlebags came a golden lyre, with strings of white spidersilk. She set this upon the summit of the pile. “I will do what I can.”
The assorted items shone with a magical brilliance, each a different hue that traced itself back to their owners. A hot wave of air pulsed outwards, accompanied by the sweet teal of a bell.
“It is done,” Celestia gravely said.
Lyra withdrew her instrument, noting that the strings were issuing forth an arcane steam. She plucked a string, wondering just what it was she’d gotten herself into.
Achievement Unlocked! - "Cat People Are Crazy"
Faction Discovered! - The Fellowship
Ally Unlocked! - Ragdoll, the Sage Elder
- Perk: Alien Instinct: (+3 perception, +5 attack) Although you have taken the body of an Equestrian, the blood of your true race sings loud within your veins. You have not forgotten the thrill of the hunt, nor the skills and patience it requires.