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

PART THE THIRD, PROLOGUE

The end was right there. Five more steps. His mind willed it, but his broken limbs refused.

Five more steps, and freedom. Sweet blessed freedom. From the life of squalor. From the dragon.

There'd been the plan. The glorious moment of realization. Why bow down to another? There'd been so many in his life. He was tired of it. They should bow to him. It'd been easy once he found the dragon. Steal the dumb cart and the dumb ponies. Get free ride to Roam. Trick dragon. Sell off the slaves. Win Arena.

Running. Ever upward. Boxer had been there. She'd been the first to go, tumbling from a burning bridge to the darkness. Luther next, gored by the vile wenchdog who refused to join. He'd left one of the prisoners out as a message. Don't chase me. It hadn't worked.

And now; torn, crippled, and bleeding, Balto could only gaze at the end of the path -- a mere five steps away from where his battered carcass was skewered into the ice.

A wild green glow flickered at the edge of his fading vision, wrenching his body up by the neck. Twin pools of emerald fury burned his soul. He never hated the color more than at that very instant.

His enemy's raging snarl faded into a twisted sneer. "Heh... heheee... y'know, despite everything, I'm actually kind of happy this happened. Wanna know why?"

Of course he didn't. But he couldn't even find the strength to bare his teeth, what little remained of them.

"'Cuz today, I've reached my limit. I could not possibly get any more TICKED THE BUCK OFF than I am at this instant. There's literally nothing more in the world that could infuriate me more than you, and, and... you're no longer a problem any more! This is like therapy! Ya get it!?" Snickering. "This is what happens when you push me to the edge! Ha! Heheheheeee!"

"What do you mean we aren't in Equestria anymore!? Echo, you don't just drop something like that and then let it hang."

The sparse apartment was lit only by the slashes of light from beyond the blinds, through which a tall earth pony peered. He flicked an ear in the direction of the olive-skinned woman currently sitting up in bed. "I mean exactly what I said. We've been transported from one place to another." He paused, lips pursed in thought. "Though I'm not entirely sure why you came along for the ride; I was the only one with Disarray when he did it."

"Disarray did this?" the woman muttered, holding a slender hand up to see. "I'm... like you used to be." She lifted the blankets. "What are these things on my chest?"

"By my guess, a light C-cup." Echo turned from the window. "Welcome to humanhood, Daring."

"Human," Daring murmured, giving herself a full inspection. She appeared for all intents and purposes a lithe woman of average height, somewhere in her mid-thirties. Her hair was black, with tints of silver that would have seemed dyed and gauche with anyone else. Her eyes remained a bright and piercing magenta, though, something Echo found somewhat unnerving.

Daring raised an eyebrow. He appreciated how quick her motor control was coming along.

"After looking out the window, I can determine that we are not back in my human world. There are... notable differences. I just saw a man outside with blue skin. Blue! Instead of going back to where I came from, which I assume was Disarray's intent, I hypothesize we ended up at a halfway point due to... unforeseen baggage."

"I do." Echo nodded. "We're bound by something deeper, and I think that caused you to come along for the ride, and ultimately skew the final destination."

Daring tossed the covers aside, revealing herself in entirety. She wore no clothing. Echo's gaze unfocused for a moment as he watched her swing her long, bronzed legs over the side of the bed. The woman attempted to push herself up, wobbling on two unsteady legs, before sitting back down on the mattress. She huffed in frustration.

"I know exactly where we are. And I know of someone here who knows how to return..." He began trotting around the apartment, disappearing through the bedroom doorway and into the spaces behind. Daring could hear the noise of clanking and rustling. She tried to rise again, but ultimately stumbled to her hands and knees. Grumbling, she crawled as best she could into a sparsely furnished living room.

Echo was busy rooting around in a closet. He mouthed out a simple green zip-up hoodie, tossing it about his shoulders and stepping through the sleeves. "There, that feels better," he remarked, then paused, before digging a hoof through a pocket. He pulled out a strange looking set of keys, grinning.

He only grinned wider. "Babe, we're going for a drive. I'll help you get dressed."

"Just a friend." He paused. "We're probably going to need to teach you how to walk first."

Lady Pyrite observed the large congregation of diamond dogs seated before her. They numbered nearly a hundred strong. An unruly lot, but apparently obedient when it mattered. Though, Divines preserve her, they stank like they'd never even heard of a bath.

Lady Pyrite sat and watched, one eye twitching dangerously. She abruptly sat up. "Nope!" Inhaling deeply, she let out a mighty torrent of dragonflame that arced over the entire crowd. There were screams of shock and surprise, and when the flames cleared, not a trace of them remained, not even a scorch in the desert sands.

The traitorous diamond dog, Balto, lay sprawled before her on the ice. The Shagwagon sat farther behind her, reclaimed in her name. Coconut, Chance, Spot, and Shadow had been freed from their iron prison, and were busy rubbing their formerly manacled wrists with the help of Zanza and Vixen. Farther behind them, the last bridge before the exit to the Arena of Roam draped in two halves, bisected cleanly down the middle by an incineration spell.

"I'll ask you one last time, and if you don't answer me, they'll hear your screams all the way down to the bottom of the pit." Ginger thrust her face into his, her swordpoint nicking at his throat. "Where. Are. Her. Parents."

Balto peered up at her through half-shut eyes from the center of a bloodied face.

Ginger flinched, wiping off the gooey string of saliva. She frowned, before reaching up with a hoof and lowering a set of welding goggles into place.

As she clung limply to the strong neck of the Knight-Commander, she could only wonder how things had gone so wrong.

...Oh, right. Mercenaries wrecked our ship, kidnapped three alicorns and a former Captain of the Guard, and almost exploded me.

The Legend of Echo the Diamond Dog

by Rust

[III - Prologue] "On Cinder Wings, We Rise."