To Echo A Mimic

by Flutters Is Shy

3- Alls Well That Ends Wel-Wait, This Is Only The Third Chapter

"Silly foals, the lot of them. If they'd just let me take control of the project we'd be making a profit by the end of the-"

"Oh Celestia, I'm never going to fit into my dress by the end of the week! Just had to go get a Hayburger, couldn't very well just abide by my diet, oh gosh Try Pod is gonna think I'm a slob! I'll just have each night from here on to the end of the week be diet AND work-"

"Them gosh darned nutters are protesting again? About what? The guard already chased out them shifty eyes zebras, what more could a pony want? Why, back in my day-"

"And then mommy yelled at me! It's not fair! I put it in Wrestles toybox, he should have gotten in trouble for it! How did mommy even know? Could she... wait, mommy said all mommys have eyes in the back of their heads... what if-"

"Shoo-bee-doo, shoop soop bee doo~ Wait... dagnabbit, crabapples, how did the rest of the song go?"

After Echo had woken up in the nurses office, he had once more been privy to the no longer private thoughts of the elderly mare. Deciding that this would be a rather annoying way to waste his time, he instead left school early. Would probably get into trouble with his mom for that, but at the moment anything was preferable to listening to the nurses meandering thoughts regarding how much baking soda should be added to whatever dish it had been that she was thinking about.

You'd think that a lady who basically hung out around a schoolful of rambunctious kids would have more exciting thoughts than baking.

Echo didn't want to worry his friends, but he wanted even less to have to sit there as he listened to every errant thought that passed through their heads. It wasn't that he feared it, just that he wanted to either figure out what the hay was going on before he presented his problem to his friends. First find some basic information, then his friends could help him extrapolate on that, then maybe his mom wouldn't ground him.

Who was he kidding? He couldn't get the stupid horseshoes off, his mom would know immediately that he had been up in the attic, right after she had told him not to go up there. He'd be lucky to leave his room by the time he hit forty. If even then. He'd probably be cleaning the floors for the next twenty years alone if she found out, if only he could get these stupid horseshoes off...

"Paper... paper stock? What the heck does a coated stock have to do with anything? Cream, white, ivory? They all look the blasted same! Vellum bristol? What the hays a bristol? Agh, why was 'I' saddled with run, it's Reg-"

Wait, the horseshoes. First they wouldn't come off, then this stupid mind reading power is left on him like a pegasus dumping packages from on high? Well, at least it wasn't anything as weighty as a piano. Physically, at least. Echo definitely felt as if a burden heavier than a piano was currently resting on his brow. Who would actually want to hear the thoughts of everypony else? They'd probably just keep thinking about boring stuff, or the weird stuff-

"And then once he gets home, then he'll... heeeee~ with the hoofcuffs, and the extra slick... oooh, mamas been needing a personal night. One year of barely any sleep, then four more right after that with barely a single moment of privacy... oooh, overnight sleepovers with new friends are Celestias gift to poor overworked mares like myself. Hope Air Brau can still find an old girl like me attractive... Oh well, I have just the outfit that'll get his goat-"

UGH! NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO.

THAT was one of the worst things about being able to read other ponies minds. It wasn't like Echo had a choice of WHO his power chose to funnel directly into his head, besides the fact that it seemed SLIGHTLY based off of who was nearest to him at any point. If the mare who looked about as old as his mom giggling away like a filly was any indication. Once she noticed Echos questioning gaze, she quickly turned a bright shade of crimson and crossed the street.

So... was there anyway to at the very least CHOOSE who he listened in on? At the very least the ability to change the proverbial radio channel would be very useful at this point in time. Listening in to the newest intruder of his mental space, Echo was relieved to find the stallion -who, if he was correct, was the rather tired looking guy walking on about twenty hoof spans in front of him- was only interested in reminiscing over the weekends hoofball game between the East Pens and the West School Crunchers. Close game, the Crunchers had of course been cheating up a storm but the referee had either taken a bribe or a whole bottle of stupid pills.

Echo mused on that. Was there an actual thing as stupid pills? If there was,how did they work, and where did somepony go to get them? It wasn't like he himself would use them, but if somepony like Ali found a couple in his lunch... Wait, no, that wouldn't work. He was already as dumb as a brick, the only pill that could possibly make him even stupider would have to be one of those 'suppositrys' he heard dad talking about one time. Too big to swallow he said, so they had to be REALLY big. Wait, if they were too big to swallow, then how DID you get it in?

"This stupid thing has to be broken. Stupid R&D dumbasses. You'd think a gaggle of mules that work on nothing else BESIDES tech would be able to make something that wouldn't fritz out the second I step a single hoof outta the building. The hay am I looking for anyway? If there really was an alicorn level artifact spraying magic like a firehose out in the city, somepony would have seen it or something. It's not like it could be outputting this much juice and not be noticeable by ANYPONY, right? What the... now it's going the other way? Dang, I feel like such a creep, wandering around with this stupidly oversized can opener. Now it's going left... Oh son of a... It's making me follow a colt in goofy rainboots! It's not even cold out, stupid little bugger... Welp, congratulations Derby, your gadget is worth only as much as the tin you used for the casing-"

Echo turned back, looking at the stallion that had passed him a while back. He had since decided to retrace his steps, following behind Echo at about ten to twenty hoof paces. At being noticed, the stallion gave him a weak grin, followed by giving the device in his hoof -a blocky case of metal that connected to a backpack he wore via a tangled cable- a couple smacks as he continued to grumble under his breath.

"Great, now I KNOW I look like a creeper. When I get my hooves on you Derby, Imma wring yer scrawny neck.

"What're you lookin' at, huh?" the stallion ground out, fixing Echo with a stink eye as he tucked the device in his hoof under his belt.

"Nothing," Echo hurriedly belted out, hightailing his way down a side alley. He heard the stallion call out a cut off expletive, thankfully not following as Echo made his escape. He kept to the backroads, occasionally hearing the passing thoughts of an overhead pegasi. Darned bird ponies, couldn't keep their hooves on the ground and their thoughts out of his head. And pretty much each and every single one of them was thinking about flying, which was -if even possible- more annoying than just the random street chatter. Mind chatter. Matter? No. Mindatter? Good golly no. Uhhh... whatever. He'd come up with an appropriate term later.

But seriously, how much fun can flying actually be? It was basically just walking, but in the air. Or, running. Sorta. Without your legs. Much less safe than actually walking around on the ground. Not that any pegasi would ever admit that. They just such a silly fascination with being off the ground.

'I mean really,' Echo thought to himself, 'whats the appeal? You float around off the ground and then your legs get all flabby. If I ever wanted to get the same feeling I'd just get a running start and take a running jump.'

Echo stomped a hoof on the ground in satisfaction, his mental point making sense to him at the moment. Well, that is to say he tried to stomp a hoof on the ground.

"Woah, almost stepped in a hole," Echo mumbled looking down at the ground beneath him. "That would've been ba...aaaaaaaaaa-" And then continued to look down. And further still.

The ground stretched out beneath his hooves, several hoof spans from actually touching.

"AGH!" he yelped, flinching upwards and unconsciously tucking his legs up under his barrel. "What the- WAIT. NO. All you did was mind reading!" Echo protested, holding up a bootie covered hoof to complain directly at one of the horseshoes. "Put me down put me down put me down put me down!"

With a thump, Echo landed square on his rump, a pained groan escaping him before he quickly whipped his head around to see if anypony had seen him screeching like a kicked pig.

"This is just getting dumb," Echo grumbled, holding out a hoof to inspect it before he noticed something important. Important to him, anyway. "I... I'm not hearing thoughts anymore?" he mused, a moment of panic interspersed as he started floating a hoof above the ground, falling back with a softer thump than before. "Stop doing that!"

This wasn't good. If he couldn't control the mind reading, then how in Tartarus would he be able to control a floating power? He didn't know the first thing about flying! And what if he didn't come back down? Like, he just kept going and going, would he ever come back down? Maybe against all else he could grab onto a star and jump back down. And then crash into the ground and go to the hospital. He'd heard the stories about foolish pegasi that didn't brake in time, managed to break bones and worse. And Echo didn't even have wings with which to brake! At least he didn't have wings to break...

A harrowing half hour later found himself home, a broken bundle of frayed nerves and close calls. If that haystack hadn't been there... well he'd never question the validity of surviving a four story drop into a bale of hay again, that was for sure. A quick tug, and the door was closed. A ceiling above him, a floor less than fatal falling distance below him. He'd probably have to tie himself into bed until this stupid power decided to turn itself off like the other one had, but all things considered, it was good to be home.

"ECHO DA CAPO, WHAT DID YOU DO???"

Echo cringed into fetal position, slowly bobbing at about head height. At his mothers head height, which was reeeeaaally bad seeing as she had apparently gotten home before he had... She didn't even look surprised that her ground bound son was disobeying the law which all earth ponies held to a religious degree, that of gravity. She just was looking straight at him, eyes unblinking as she held a disapproving glare.

"Uh... I can explain everything?"

Author's Note:

Happy Birthday to me, here's a present for all of you!
Hope you all enjoy the short chapter, I'd like to take the time to shamelessly plug my other stories, which also have a new chapter today!~

These are URL links
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V
The Mechromancer; To Build The Best
Sword In The Stone: Courage To Be King
Cout De Jumanji
Applegate
Ready Player One
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Those were URL links

Veneficus asks;Update 'Please? pretty please? with cherry on top?'
I know that saying from 'somewhere', but it fits here perfectly.
But really, please finish this story.

Sorry for the wait buddy, here's something to tide you over...

And as always, please leave a comment or question for a character of your choice! I'll be sure to make 'em respond, so long as you post it.

Comments

[Secret Septus]

Thanks you very much for update (I even manage to forget this story exist...)
As for question I actually have one: Why Those ponies have such exotic names? I mean "---Da Capo", is it from Italian or something?

[Flutters Is Shy]

8205724
Da Capo is a musical term, usually meaning 'start back from the start of the score' or something similar. I thought it would be cute, essentially calling my main character 'Repeating Echo'. Or, if you want to be pedantic, 'Echo Echo'.

[Secret Septus]

8207172 "the more you know..."
Cool concept for the name.