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 TENTH

In which the Patchwork Prince enters the game, and old friend returns, and everything goes to shit...

The Ambassador

Fresh, black paint covered her scarred and pitted hull, some places still dripping from a hasty stay in the yard. Elegant, swooping runes of silver swept around her from stem to stern, pulsing with new magic. The bowsprit, an imposing bust of Nightmare Moon, the carving’s wings spread as though in streaking flight as its horn cut towards the rising sun. Deep blue sails danced and fluttered in the trade winds, and a fresh coat of varnish covered the woodworkings.

At the helm, Captain Tythus manned the various levers that controlled the ship, stoically adjusting the wheel by fractions of an inch as his craft sailed on.

Lyra Heartstrings lay prone upon the captain’s bed, twitching slightly as her eyes roved beneath her lids. She was clearly dreaming, something her present company found of interest.

She was sitting on a terrace. A comfortable cushion supported her haunches as she took in the view. A great sunlit valley spread out before her, filled with fields and trees and flowers. In the distance, a great white city speared through the clouds, all ivory towers and soaring viaducts. Strange creatures with four wings soared idly on a warm breeze, small dots up in the sky.

"Never gets old, you know." Something moved to her side, settling down on another cushion that wasn't there before. She whirled, startled, and beheld a chocolate brown pegasus. His front left hoof was missing, replaced with a clunky-looking prostethic. He seemed quite young, but as he shifted around, he moved with the jerky stiffness of an elder. "Hello, Ambassador."

"Something to drink?" A metal cup floated into view, from where she had no idea. She took it out of reflex, glancing at the deep purple liquid within. "That's a good vintage. Picked it up out in Cassini. Traded it for a crate of food and fresh water with a castaway adrift. He was merchant for a vineyard from the nearby settlement and had suffered a drive failure. Didn't want our help -- stubborn Cassies take it as a slight, you see -- but he was allergic to his own brew! Not much of a choice, really, but it took almost a day of talk to get him to even consider a trade of supplies."

The pegasus shrugged his shoulders, prosthetic issuing a soft hiss of steam. "Anyway, I'm Omnius." He smiled at her. "This is the first time I've had a female Ambassador before. You're very pretty."

Lyra glanced at the drink, then him, then back to the drink, fighting down a blush. She started. When did the cup become empty? "Er, yes, I'm Heartstrings. Lyra. Lyra Heartstrings," she mumbled. She shook herself. "Sorry, I'm still really new at this. The last two dreams I had were different. I wasn't expecting, well," she waved a hoof at the stunning view. "All this. And... aren't you supposed to be... I don't know... not a pony?"

Omnius chuckled. "I can be anything I want. My race are travelers, and we adapt to whatever land we travel. The vista is just an old memory of mine. More?" He gestured at her cup with a wing, and she nodded. Before her very eyes, it filled again. She sipped, this time savoring the strange, citrus flavor instead of gulping it down.

"I've been asleep for a very long time," said Omnius. "You tell me. As the Ambassador, it's your job."

"Well, we're currently on a ship that's sailing for the Fount. Your, uhm, brother and sister are here, already awoken. It's been a thousand or so years since you were put into stasis. Princess Luna is no longer Nightmare Moon... she's actually releasing you from her service. She feels pretty bad about that, by the way."

Omnius slumped a bit. "I can imagine. We did some terrible things back then, during the war. At least she's herself again."

"May I spend a while with her? And the others?" Omnius started suddenly. "It's been so long, and from what you've told me there's not much time left." The expression on his face was one that shifted between sadness and hope, the strangest of combinations.

Lyra mentally sighed in relief. "Of course." Then she paused. "I don't know how to get her in here."

Laughter. He laughed with his gut, loud and booming but warm. "Don't worry, leave that to me. Just tell her to join in when you wake up. We'll have one last adventure. It'll be the grandest thing..."

"Gah!" Ferrous Oxhide flew back, from where he been staring intently at her face. "Woo! And she's up!"

"Ugh..." Lyra shook the sleep from her mind, tossing her bangs back from over her eyes. She glanced around. She was still in the cabin, resting on the single solitary cot. One the other side of the room, behind a desk, a still-unconscious Omnius was snoring in a thick leather chair. Knight Commander Starbuck and Princess Luna looked up from where they were going over a map at a small table in the corner of the room. The Elder Sage, Ragdoll, was busy helping a giggling orange unicorn off the floor.

Disarray was picking his lobster claw against the far wall. He grinned lopsidedly at her as she struggled to her senses. "Ain't no rest for the wicked, huh?"

Lyra struggled off the cot. "He wants you to join him." She pointed to the two other Outlanders with a wobbly hoof. "And you guys, too."

"I know what he's up to," said Oxhide, grinning broadly. "This is gonna be insane."

Princess Luna crossed the room in a single bound, sweeping them up into a bone-crushing hug. "Of course! The Dreaming moves at a snails pace. We shall have plenty of time for the catching up and saying what needst be said!"

"Can't breathe," wheezed the stallion in her grasp, "don't stop, this is hot." He yelped as Ragdoll bopped him in the snout with a hoof.

If Luna heard that, she gave no mention. Instead, she reared up tall, still clutching the squirming Outlanders to her breast. Her horn pulsed bright, once, twice, three times... and then the lot of them fell over sound asleep.

Knight-Commander Starbuck poked the unconscious alicorn's flank. Luna twitched. "She'll be fine in a few hours," he eventually rumbled, before turning for the door and leaving.

"Few hours, huh? That could work." Disarray followed after him, pausing at the doorway. He held it open for the only other conscious pony in the room.

Lyra accepted the silent invitation. Going up to the deck would do her some good. She was still exhausted from the previous day's events, and the reawakening of the last Elder hadn't really done her any favors.

They had boarded the nameless ship early in the morning, while she was still being overhauled by Celestia’s ponies in the shipyard. Her captain hadn’t minded the refurbishing, badly needed as it was, and a large amount of supplies had followed her guests aboard. Princess Luna had freed the last member of her old vanguard; Omnius, called the Guardian. The Ambassador had collapsed promptly thereafter.

Once the ship had been seen to, Luna had charted a course for the heart of the Everfree. There, the Fount emerged from the roots of the earth in the form of a great crystal tree, thrumming with power and bearing strange fruit.

This tree would allow the Elders --- Ragdoll, Ferrous, and Omnius --- to finally leave Equestria, removing their bonds of servitude to her, a relic of her days as Nightmare Moon. She couldn't blame them. They'd had their fair share.

After that, Lyra Heartstrings needed to truly take up the mantle of Outland Ambassador. But Luna would be there to show her the way. There was much work to be done; seven centuries worth of Outlanders to account for. They could be any shape or size, living peacefully within Equestrian cities or towns... or harming innocents unmolested. Outlanders were immigrants to Equestria, intentionally or not, and the Outland Embassasy was accountable for them.

Lyra chewed on the inside of her lip, thoughtfully watching the giant Nocturni squeeze through the tight confines of the ship as they clambered towards the deck. Lyra had her work cut out for her, it seemed.

The Princess already had pinpointed the first of hopefully many Outlanders. The Dreamtime had been all but shaken to pieces last night with the strangest of visions from this particular entity. She'd spied flashes of green cloth and rusty brown fur, glowing pink eyes and bandaged limbs. Luna knew not what it was, only that it bore them no ill will and harbored a startlingly large amount of magic. Near the township of Aappleoosa, this one had been pinpointed. His name was Echo, and if the earlier conversation with Discord held any truth, bringing him into the fold could be troublesome...

She suddenly slammed into an immovable brick wall of finely sculpted stallion flank. Thank Celestia that Bon Bon wasn't here to see the flush to her face. Starbuck had stopped abruptly. Lyra peered around his armored bulk to see Captain Tythus breathing hard in the hallway.

BOSS INCOMING...

Tythus had his forehooves resting atop the railing that separated the deck from open sky. Behind him stood the brother and sister alicorns, Borealis and Australis, and Knight-Commander Starbuck. But it was Lyra who asked the question, and it was to her he responded.

"Not anymore. I'd recognize that vessel anywhere. It's the sister ship of the one we're flying right now. I sold it to a mercenary captain in return for his assistance in the Battle of Wethoof. See that flag flying off the mainmast? Black sword with wings? That's the Possibility all right, and she's coming for us with her fangs out. They've probably gone full blown pirate."

"Pirates!?" Lyra gasped. In the far distance to the aft, a sinister skyship cut through the glimmer of the setting sun. Even from here, Tythus could see it bristling with cannons and blades.

"Mere minutes. They were flying above cloud cover and dropped down for an ambush, but didn't account for our greater speed."

Tythus scowled. "I wish I knew. But their leader is unpredictable and violent. If they're chasing us down, it can't be good. And there's certainly something else going on here."

Starbuck surprised them all by coming to the conclusion first. "Been sold out," he growled.

"My thoughts exactly." Tythus' face was grim. "Nopony knew of this trip save those aboard and Princess Celestia herself. And yet, they knew when and where to find us. We've been compromised, but the question remains; why? Surely they knew who would be traveling. Why try and take on three fully-fledged alicorns, three dangerous Outlanders, the leader of the Moonguard, the Patchwork Prince, and myself? We've got enough firepower to match the Elements!"

"Luna and her friends are currently dreaming together," Lyra said. "I don't think they're going to be waking up anytime soon."

Tythus rubbed his forhead with a hoof. "That leaves us with six out of ten, and I've heard the stories; we're down the heavy hitters. Wait." He looked around. "Where's Disarray?"

He was right; the draconnequus was nowhere to be seen. Lyra could have sworn he was in the hallways with her and Starbuck not a moment before...

"He's..." Tythus frowned. Then it deepened into a full scowl. "We're suddenly down to half our fighting strength, and pirates get the jump on us. We're harboring four unconscious, vulnerable beings containing immense magical power down below at the very same instant. We're also on the way to the Fount, the only place that could strip them of that power... This is too convenient to be coincidence."

"I'm not jumping to conclusions!" Tythus interrupted her brother's inevitable chiming. "But admit this is fishy. I met the Prince at Wethoof, fought beside him. He's unpredictable. And powerful. Him and the Outlander he consorts with. I've never felt so much chaos magic in one place, and I was there when Discord busted free."

Lyra's eyes widened. "Outlander!? Is it the same one we were going after once we finish with the Elders?"

"Echo?" Tythus nodded. "Yes. The Prince never stays away from him for very long. After Disarray gave him some of his magic, it's almost like they're the same entity."

Tythus caught the exchange. "Is there something you aren't telling me, you two?"

"We did not know this Outlander contained the magic of two chaotic entities. If both Discord and Disarray donated a substantial portion of their essence to him..."

"... then he now possesses the largest pool of chaotic power in the Equestria. Enough to cast down Discord at his height. Or any of the the Royalty."

Starbuck whistled. Lyra sat down in disbelief. Tythus gritted his teeth and sighed. "I thought my retirement was going to be quiet. Captain a shyship, they said. Volunteer for small time government work, they said. Why do I listen to idiots?"

"Look, there's too many pieces in play here. We need to deal with things one at a time. Starting with them!" He pointed at the horizon, where the pirate skyship had drawn much closer. "As captain of this vessel, I'm taking charge of her defense. Any objections?"

"Then it is an even fight," Tythus growled. He glared at the assembled ponies.

"Right then. Ambassador, I need you at the helm. Commander, you're on boarding party detail. Australis and Borealis, you two are going to fire up those auroras of yours and make them as strong as you can. This is going to get dirty.

You Know Damn Well Who

The Possibility once looked exactly like the dark sister she chased across the sky. Now, she was covered in thick slabs of metal welded to the hull, giving her a stocky, brutal appearance. One of the crew had recognized her for what she was, and painted several bright red slashes up and down her hull, like wet streaks of blood. Her envelope was also reinforced with metal, partly for protection, but mostly to contain the violent thunderhead within. Nopony in their right mind used thunderheads for floatation; while extremely buoyant and maneuverable, if they were also dangerous and unpredictable.

At the bow of the pirate ship, a tall, cloaked gryphon casually leaned against a black sword that was almost as big as he was. Everything about him conveyed the sense of an impending natural disaster, from feathered crest to twitching lion's tail. Red tribal markings crossed his chest, and icy blue eyes narrowed dangerously at the sight of his quarry stalling in the sky, presenting her side to him.

"Captain Griffin!" the lookout cried again, some worry in their voice. "I see lights appearing on the deck! Powerful magic at work, sir!"

Beings of all shapes and size jumped into action. Ponies, gryphons, diamond dogs, zebras, minotaurs, all of them just as ragged and roguish as the ship they sailed. The decks rumbled as several huge iron cannons were wheeled into place. Below, small gunports in the ship's hull opened as even more artillery was presented to open sky. The looming black ship in the distance suddenly looked very easy to swat out of the sky.

"Ready to fire, sir!" announced a nearby ship's mate. "We've got them in range!"

BOSS BATTLE: DREAD PIRATE GRIFFIN

The Ambassador

Lyra Heartstrings was many things. A musician. Slightly unhinged. A philosopher. Part-time street performer, full time astronomer. Lover of a certain set of candied flanks. Occasionally prone to fits of paranoia. Also an ambassador to aliens from outer space.

Lyra clung to the helm. Even through closed eyes and gritted teeth, she could still see lights on the underside of her lids. The hum of deep magic rattled the very air. She moaned, shivering. Thunderous cracks of noise sounded across the deck. Heat and light, wooden planks shuddering.

Right. That was her. She could do this. Probably. Wincing, she dared open her eyes. Tythus was standing off to the side, his horn coated in a thick, bright layer of overglow. She gasped at what his efforts produced; a solid wall of magic completely screening the ship from the port side. Several smoking balls of metal hung in the field. Lyra couldn't help but notice the aura had cracked in several places.

"Eep!" Lyra grabbed the wheel and yanked it to the left with as much strength as she could. The ship jumped about, and suddenly the bow was pointed straight at the oncoming foe. The golden shield shifted with them, changing shape into a mighty, flared spire that projected forward from the bow.

At the stern, both Australis and Borealis pointed their horns out into open sky, away from the bow. Their flowing manes suddenly sparkled with energy, and their wings opened in tandem, black feathers bristling. They braced themselves in a wide stance upon the deck. A colossal fountain of energy and light erupted in front of them, spewing far and wide into the air.

The unmanned ship bucked and lurched and surged forward at an unbelievable rate from the force of the aurora jet. The sheer acceleration threw Lyra's mane back and had her blinking back tears.

Lyra could barely even strain her magic to grasp the bone handle, the first in the row on the right side. Pull the thing, that's all she had to do, just like he showed her. It was hard to think over the sound of wind.

A third broadside from the pirates, but it bounced wildly off the angled magical cone in every direction.

Their ship was suddenly very, very close. Dozens of pirates were bailing out over the sides, carrying the ones who couldn't fly. Lyra could make out a tall figure at the bow, a gryphon. He had his middle talon raised at them with both claws.

Tythus' horn pulsed, and the aura snapped into the shape of a jagged battering ram.

The decking rose up to meet her as the ship careened upwards at the very last second, bow now pointed squarely at their envelope.

She had a split second to register flying towards the wheel before the lights went out.

Lyra's eyes fluttered open for the second time that day. The sky was mercifully still. The decking felt like an old friend to her tired, battered body. Her hearing felt muffled, and her muscles had a delightfully fuzzy feeling, almost like they were numb. She had to remark, it was such a nice day out, if it weren't for the fact that everything sucked right about now.

Their ship hung at a crazy angle in the sky. The bow was pointed up high, but they listed hard to starboard. The deck rattle and rumbled with strain, and Lyra could see that a large chunk of the bow's hull had been ripped away, reduced to nothing but smoking splinters. In fact, the entire front end of the ship seemed decidedly scorched.

Something seized her about the withers and pulled. Lyra found herself lurching upright, and blinking into the smoky grey face of Starbuck. His armor was singed and dented, and countless small nicks and scrapes covered any exposed coat. "Wha...?"

"Thunderhead," Starbuck rasped, as if that explained everything. He pulled at her again, and she fell bonelessly into his grasp. She found herself thrown atop his back like a sack of potatoes.

From this angle, she could see everything. The deck was swarming with filthy creatures, fighting hard against a storm of gold and blue and green at the center, where a battered Tythus stood tall with the alicorns at his back. All of them were fighting with wing and hoof and horn, but it was a losing battle against the swarm of angry pirates. They had thick metal rings latched onto their horns, and Lyra numbly jerked as she recognized null bands.

They fought magnificently, even without the aid of arcane power. Tythus danced about upon his hind legs, head down and shoulders hunched as his forelimbs flashed out in front of him. Lyra had seen this before, a rare form of martial art practiced by zebra shamans. He was a force of nature, bobbing and weaving as blades and magic spells flashed around him, punching out and breaking bones with savage punches, headbutts, and strange leaping kicks. Meanwhile, the Twins worked as a seamless storm of hoof and feather, almost dancing together as they kicked and pummeled with huge, lanky limbs. Where one darted forwards, the other followed to cover, and then they switched like flowing water, impossibly contorting around each other to fight multiple pirates at once.

For a moment, it seemed like they beat the tide back, if only for a moment. At some unseen signal, the pirates formed a wide ring around them, howling taunts and beating the deck with their weapons, but drawing no closer.

Starbuck stiffened beneath her. His fluffy ears twitched. Could he hear something she didn't?

Tythus drew into a defensive stance. At his side, Australis and Borealis readied themselves.

The sound of bones breaking. Australis was wrenched off her hooves and sent skipping across the deck like a sack of potatoes, bonelessly slamming into the mast, which shattered upon impact, before slumping down with a groan as trickles of blood ran from her muzzle.

"Headshot, bitch!" The huge gryphon from before skidded to a halt, talons grinding into the deck. His right claw uncurled from the fist it had made.

"So, the prodigal asshole returns," Tythus sneered at the avian. "I'd say it's nice to see you again, Griffin. But you know I'm allergic to scumbag."

"Yeah, and you just blew mine the fuck up! Who's really in the wrong here, huh?"

The unicorn facing him snorted, scraping at the ground. He closed his eyes. "I retired... after thirty five years of service... for this shit." A vein on his forehead pulsed. "You know what? Borealis? I am so done right now. Could you?"

Borealis glanced across the deck at the fallen form of his sister, then narrowed his gaze at the gryphon. He snarled as his eyes flashed pure white.

"Hrrrahhh!" In the space of an eyeblink, Borealis crossed the distance between them with a bound and hopped off his forelimbs, backflipping into a massive bicycle kick. Pow! One huge black hoof caught Griffin under the beak and launched him skyward.

Fwssshhh! Borealis' gigantic wingspan sent dust and splinters flying, before he sent himself rocketing after the limp avian.

Griffin saw him coming though, and halted himself with a flare of his own wings. The huge black sword blurred into motion, a sweeping horizontal slice. It was fast.

Not fast enough. He missed, slicing off a single hair from the long, dark blue mane. And then Borealis was in close, and it turned into a brawl. They danced together in a pirouette of death, raining down blows in and endless stream of punches, kicks and swipes. Niether combatant gave quarter, neither one backed down an inch, if anything, increasing the speed and ferocity of their onslaught. For a split second, though, Griffin extended his reach on a thrust, and Borealis rushed in for the kill.

Despite the alicorn's bulk, he moved with a disturbing grace and speed, dancing around the singing blade with a savage headbutt to the stomach, before spinning midair and swatting Griffin out of the sky with the back of his wing.

"Woooooooo-oomph-!" Griffin impacted the deck hard enough to send splinters out in every direction. The gryphon vanished into the belly of the ship with a cry and a snapping of wood.

Borealis merely alit upon the deck next to the hole, peering down into the darkness of the ship. He couldn't see anything, even when he squinted his eyes.

Suddenly, a shot of debris ripped out of the hole. Reflexively, a black wing was raised to intercept it. In that instant, Griffin tore through the hole at full speed, dropping a shoulder straight into the surprised alicorn. "Hiiii-yah!"

Borealis gasped, skidding backwards from the impact. Griffin didn't let up the advantage, swinging the sword in from on high. This time, a bundle of black feathers drifted into the wind. The next slash cut a strip of fur off. Borealis backpedaled furiously, crossing the deck as the pirate hounded him, not giving him an inch to recover.

Something clattered to the deck. Something long and spiraled, glinting darkly even as it leaked sparks of magic.

Borealis' eyes crossed as he gazed at the stump jutting from his forehead. He had a moment to register the shock, to scream, before Griffin brutally grabbed him around the barrel with both talons and bent backwards, letting fly with a suplex that shattered the teeth in his skull. The alicorn gargled in pain once, then went still.

Griffin straightened, dusting himself off. He grinned, picking up the fallen horn, throwing it like a dagger into the deck at Tythus' hooves, where it sank in, quivering. He leveled his great blade at the unicorn. "Never bet on the dark horse! Come and get it yourself, you old fuck!"

But Tythus had already moved. If Borealis had been fast, then the unicorn was greased lightning, landing three stunning blows to the chest in rapid-fire succession, before spinning and sweeping Griffin's legs out from under him.

Griffin had an instant to cartwheel through the air before two rear hooves planted themselves firmly in his crotch with all the grace and finesse of a thunderclap.

Echo jerked awake, breathing hard. His eyes darted from side to side. He crossed his legs, whimpering.

Shining Armor was busy filling out a sheaf of paperwork at his desk when suddenly he doubled over, gasping. At the doors to his office, the the two stallion guards hunched over. After a moment, it passed.

Shining Armor gritted his teeth as he resisted the urge to vomit. "I don't know," he gasped. "But it must have hurt."

In Ponyville, Big Macintosh paused in his duties at the family stand. He turned to his side, gently removing Applejack's hat from between her fuzzy ears.

He did not respond, instead placing the hat across his chest and bowing his head.

The assembled pirates' jaws collectively dropped as their captain collapsed to the ground with a sound not unlike a balloon deflating.

Then, Tythus smirked, posed, mane blowing in the wind. "Right in the chicken nuggets," he stated.

"Don't just s-stand there, you id-diots!" He squeaked. "F-fuck him the fuck up!"

The pirates suddenly remembered that they outnumbered the solitary unicorn, and he no longer had any alicorns to back him up. Still, Tythus dropped into a fighting crouch. His eyes roved over the crowd as they surged in, finally settling on Starbuck and herself. He cried, "Go! Get out of here!"

Starbuck wheeled about, and the scene was lost to her. There was a lurching, a strain of leather and bone, and they were airborne. The Nocturni's broad wings clutched at the air, finding purchase and sending them sailing downwards.

"They teleported," he said over his shoulder. "Dunno where. Dunno how. Captain told me t' take ya and run."

"Answers." His speech was short and clipped, even more than usual. Lyra could see a thick splinter of wood sticking out from his side, quite close to her face. It was stained a deep red. "Go somewhere safe."

Something had gone very wrong today. Lyra wasn't a fool, but she knew she was in way over her head. She needed to figure out what was going on here, who was involved, and why.

She needed to find Disarray. He'd know what happened. But how to find the Prince?

"...Echo?" Tythus nodded. "Yes. The Prince never stays away from him for very long..."

That was it. Find this Echo, find Disarray, find Luna and the Elders... somehow save the day and crawl back into bed with Bon Bon and never leave home again.

"Aappleoosa," she breathed. She could feel her eyes closing. "We n-need to go there."

Level up! - Lyra Heartstrings, Outland Ambassador
-Perk Unlocked: Takes a Certain Kind of Crazy: (+10% chance to critical on any action or interaction) Every once and a while, you take things a little too far. This can either be really awesome, or really awesome. There can be no downside to this.
-Ally Perk Unlocked: Far From the Tree: (+5 damage resistance, +5 strength, +5 stamina, +5 charisma, +5 throwback) Something about Starbuck says he's been in a situation like this before. Just being around him is a boost, though. Probably because he's a batpony. And a boss.

Allies Lost!
-Captain Tythus of House Aegis, the Iron Shield of Canterlot
-Duke Aurora Borealis, Bearer of the Northern Lights
-Duchess Aurora Australis, Bearer of the Southern Lights
-Princess Luna, Lady of the Night
-The Elders; Omnius, Ferrous, and Ragdoll

Disarray idily munched upon a bowl of popcorn as he lounged against the cloud. In the distance, the shattered, smoking wreck of a ship drifted lazily towards the ground, while another one hung still in the sky, covered in a tide of vandals and thieves. On the other horizon, a speck of motion, a pony in flight and another one. He shivered to himself.

The Legend of Echo the Diamond Dog

by Rust

[II - Ten] Chicken Nuggets