>“Echo, where are we going?”

“I already told you, to a friend’s house. It’s not far from here.”

>Echo and Spark had been walking all night since they left the Order’s hideaway.

>Spark could barely even leave Hollow Shades, she insisted to Echo that they could find a place safe in the town to hide from the Order.

>“Look, I know of a little shack just behind marketplace that would be perfect for us to live in. Spark wouldn’t be able to find us if she tried!”

>“Please Echo! I-I don’t know if I can leave this town, I’ve hardly ever been outside the forest before!”

>Echo had to practically drag Spark away from Hollow Shades.

>It actually made for quite a spectacle.

>Echo wasn’t particularly fond of leaving Hollow Shades either; it is a bat p0ny’s only home after all.

>But she needed answers, and she knew that Mouse could give them to her.

>How did Stone know her mother?

>More importantly, how was her mother affiliated with Stone?

>None of it made any sense, Echo thought of her mother as the type of p0ny who was completely against all things Order related.

>The two bat p0nies were now very close to the edge of the forest and to Mouse’s home.

>Spark started to get worried.

>“We’re not going to Fillydelphia are we? Oh we are, we are definitely going there, why else would we be going in this direction? You know I don’t like the big city Echo. The big city can do scary things to nice p0ny’s like us.”

>Echo laughed.

“It’s ok Spark we aren’t going to any city; quite the opposite actually. We are almost there though, don’t worry.”

>“You’ve been saying that ever since we left Hollow Shades.”

“I mean it this time.”



>And she did mean it.

>After crossing a small clearing the forest, the two friends found themselves at the home of Mouse.

>Echo knocked on the wooden door three times and Mouse immediately opened up.

>“Ah, Echo. I’ve been waiting for you. Come in and tell me all about it!”

>Echo always wondered why Mouse seemed so surprised when she visited.

>It’s not like Mouse ever got too many visitors.

>Echo walked into the building and Mouse noticed the blonde headed p0ny coming in as well.

“This is my friend Spark. She uh, actually came across the same…misfortunes as me.”

>Echo couldn’t really find the words to say.

>“Well that’s not good at all. Oh my, your wing is hurt too? I’ll have to bring out my remedies again!”



>Within a matter of minutes, Mouse had Spark’s wing in the same pot and mixture that Echo’s had been in and Echo was sitting beside her.

>“So, what happened dear? I see you’re both mostly in one piece, that’s good.”

>Echo told Mouse everything that happened, being sure to include the part about her mother.

>Mouse leaned back in her chair.

>She seemed shocked.

>“Hm, I never thought Stone would actually tell you that.”
“What? So you knew what happened to my mother all along? Why have you never told me?”

>Echo was more surprised than angry.

>Mouse sighed,

>“I would have loved to dear, I really would have, it’s just that your mother was so ashamed of her life in the Order, she promised me never to tell you. She didn’t want you to think of her as that type of person.”
“So she WAS in the Order”, Echo murmured to herself.

>“What’s that? Oh yes of course, your great-great grandfather was the one who founded the Order, and every generation up to your mother held a role in it. Your mother? She was one of the best thieves the Order had ever seen. She was extremely reluctant to join though, she wanted to break your family’s long history with the Order and settle down. But after your father had passed away, her job as a gardener just couldn’t pay enough for her to support you, so she was left with little choice but to join.”

>Echo closed her eyes.

>She had never known anything about her family history.

>She thought that no one had.

>Spark stopped chewing on her apple and spoke up.

>“Wow Echo did you hear that? Your great-great grandfather was the one who STARTED the Order! How much cooler can it get than that?”

>Echo ignored Spark.
“Stone also said that my mission, the one that I had told you about before, was meant to be a suicide mission, and she threatened to ‘dispose’ of me as she had done to my mother. What do you know about that?”

>Mouse’s face seemed to twist in anger.

>“Of all the rotten things! I guess having your mother killed wasn’t enough for her!”
“Having my mother killed? Mouse what are you talking about?” Echo demanded.
>Mouse sighed as she sat back down in her chair.



>“You know how I said that your great-great grandfather started the Order? Well there was somewhat of a co-founder as well. That co-founder was none other than Stone’s great grandfather. The purpose of the Order was quite different than that of today. You see, back then Hollow Shade’s government was really the opposite of what a government should be and the two decided to… Never mind, that’s a story for another time.”

>“The Order came along quite swimmingly and, with the help of the Order, Hollow Shade’s government turned right around. The Order did so well that the government decided to fund the Order and your family and Stone’s family ended up becoming rich. Soon after this however, the two leaders got into a quarrel. This quarrel became a feud, and the feud a fight. Long story short, Stone’s great grandfather was left penniless and on 
the streets. He died shortly after that and your great-great grandfather shortly after him.”

>“Now your great grandfather was very young at this time so the leadership position naturally went to Stone’s grandfather. With him as the leader, the entire purpose of the Order shifted. They broke off from the government and all that they had once stood for and became this anarchist cult of thieves, similar to as it is today. From then on out, despite their superb skill and talent, your family was treated very poorly within the Order, on the account that it was, and still is, headed by Stone’s family.”

>“However, none of your family was downright killed until Stone came along. She seemed to take the family rivalry to heart more than any of the leaders before her. Once your mother joined the Order, Stone seemed to see it as an opportunity to get revenge. Your mother was extremely desperate, as your family had no money and she could not find a job anywhere, this desperation led her to join the Order and take on the suicide mission that would ultimately lead to her demise.

“You mean one that was similar to mine?”

>“Extremely similar actually, I was a fool to not have realized it when you told me.”

>“Like I said before, your mother was very desperate for money and, bless her; she took Stone’s suicide mission. Of course she did not know that it would be suicide, Stone had softened up the details of it greatly as I’m sure she did for yours. This mission, where she to succeeded, would allow her enough money to live comfortably for the rest of her life. Her plan was to then come back home and use that wealth to move somewhere in Canterlot and raise you.”



>A knot welled up in Echo’s throat and her eyes became teary.

“So, she did all of that… risked her life and then got herself killed… for me?”

>“Yes dear, she did.”

>Echo found it hard to speak.

“Oh my, you don’t look so good,” she added, “Spark, go fetch her a drink.”

>This was all too much for her.

>She was mixed with a feeling of rage, sadness, and confusion, the likes of which she had never felt before.

>Echo turned her ears and could hear Mouse talking to herself from what sounded like a mile away.

>“Poor thing, I shouldn’t have dropped all of this on her so suddenly.”

>“Spark, hurry up with that drink!”

>“I’m trying! I just need to get the– whoops!”

>Echo closed her eyes and felt the room begin to spin.

>Her mind became fuzzy and she thought she could hear far off voices calling to her, but her mouth felt too far away for her to answer.

>All she wanted was to go to sleep and forget about this day.

>She just wanted to forget about this life. 

>She wanted to start over.

>But most of all, she wanted to be by her mother’s side one more time.