//------------------------------// // Home Invasion // Story: Mayhem On The Mountain // by Bluecatcinema //------------------------------// It was only a matter till all the agents aboard the airship Silas so disembarked from the airship (in less visually spectacular ways, of course) and flanked Silas in the courtyard, the nearby monks murmuring in fear at the new arrivals. “Okay, troops.” Silas smiled viciously, “Here’s my order for you all: let’s raid this dump. Round up all these new-age bath towel wearers, and if any try to resist, give ‘em a taste of the real world. And while you’re at it, take everything of value that’s not nailed down, and if it is nailed down, fix that. Is that understood. The troops looked hesitant, still intimidated by Silas' new power. “I can’t hear you!” Silas roared. “YES, SIR!” The troops repeated in a panic. “Good, now go get ‘em!” Silas ordered. Immediately, the agents dispersed and scattered, carrying out their orders with gusto. They began barging into every area of the monastery (literally, in some cases; shattering windows, breaking down doors, and destroying walls) and capturing the monks. Since most of the monastery's inhabitants had come to the mountain seeking peace and tranquility, and others still preferred the ways of non-violence, they weren't able to put up much resistance. "What's going on?" A middle-aged Pegasus stallion yelped, as he was dragged outside. "This was not in the brochure!" "Don't hurt me!" One younger Unicorn stallion pleaded. Some of the monks put up no resistance at all; namely, the odd-mannered group the squad had encountered before. "Hey, thanks for the fun ride!" Walking Phoenix told a trooper as he was carried outside. At the same time, Fresh Starter was trying fruitlessly trying to stop them from destroying things. "No, stop!" He called, as one trooper dismissively smashed a glass model of a dove. "There's no need for this!" "Zip it, ya new age bumpkin!" Another trooper shoved him to one side. "And get out there with the rest!" "Sometimes, being a pacifist can be a real problem..." Fresh Starter sighed as he reluctantly complied. However, not all the monks were willing to let themselves be accosted. "You have no idea what you're doing here." One scowled as he was led out by crossbowpoint. "Or who you're messing with." "Oh, I think I do." The agent leading him outside sneered. "You'll live to regret this!" Another monk snarled. "I kid you not!" "What are ya gonna do, meditate me to death?" Another agent mocked him. "You think we're defenseless?" A Pegasus mare snarled. "Put down those toys, and we'll show you who's defenseless..." "Yeah, no." The first agent mocked. "Now keep moving, or we'll let our boss use his freaky shadowy powers to... turn you inside out, or something!" "Ooh, I'm so scared!" The irate tweeky monk from earlier scoffed. "You'd better be." The second agent told him. "You're the one who should be scared, punk." The monk sneered. "I'm gonna put your face through that wall!" "Wanna bet?" The second agent drew his crossbow, about to shoot him in retaliation. "Go ahead and try, punk." "Oh, don't think I won't!" The combative monk snarled. "I'm gonna-" “Stop! We’ll do what you want!” Relic suddenly stepped between them, holding up his hooves, “Just don’t hurt anyone!” "Say what?" The irate monk protested. "C'mon, I can take these clowns-" "Silence." Relic cut him off with a look. "Fighting will not help us now." "What's the matter, pal?" The first agent chuckled. "Too chicken to try your luck?" “Don’t mistake my actions for cowardice.” Relic glared, “You might have the upper hoof now, but ponies like you never win in the end.” "I'm fine with winning right now, pally." A third agent retorted, “Now get moving!” ’Dammit, this is bad.’ Relic grimaced, as he and the others were led away, ’Guys… Aural… where are you?’ Meanwhile, Silas was going off on his own, trying to find either the fountain or Mantra. "Okay then..." He muttered, glancing around. "If I were the boss of this place, where would I keep the keys to my fountain of knowledge? Mmm..." He stopped at a closed door, examined it for a moment, then blasted it to splinters with a surge of shadow power. He then took a moment to peek inside, finding knowing but cleaning utensils. "Not there..." He mused. "But wherever he's hiding, I'll find him. It's just a matter of time." Meanwhile, Ube rushed into Mantra's office, having started running the second he saw Silas leap from the Forefathers' airship and land completely unharmed. "Ube?" Mantra frowned, surprised at the sudden intrusion. "What are you-?" "No time!" Ube upturned Mantra's closet and used it to barricade the doors, panic all over his face. "Hey!" Mantra yelped. "That closet has sentimental value! My gran-gran made it!" "Then she'd be glad to know it's being put to good use!" Ube said dismissively, grabbing a chair and placing it against the upturned closet to secure up the barricade. "What is going on here, Ube?" Mantra demanded to know. "We're being attacked, that's what's going on!" Ube replied. "Attacked?" Mantra gaped. "By who?" "It's the Forefathers." Ube replied. "They're raiding the place. Busting down doors, stealing our ancient treasures, rounding everypony up!” “What?!” Mantra gasped, “But why-” “I don’t know! One of my guys or a client must have blabbed or-” A thought occurred to Ube in his panic, “Oh, hell, you don’t think they were the ones threatening us all this time with those letters, do you?!” “I do not know, but it seems fortuitous that we summoned those RDL agents here after all!” Mantra declared. At his word, Ube grew pale. "...But speaking of which, where are they?! I hadn't seen or heard from them all morning! Surely they should be engaging them right now!" “Yeah… about that…” Ube began awkwardly. “What? Ube, what are you…” Mantra frowned in confusion, but as he saw the guilty look on his face, his confusion turned to anger, “No… what did you do?! Where are the RDL agents?!” "You left me no choice!" Ube said defiantly. "They were snooping around the fountain last night! I had to see to it that they stay silent about what they found!" “So you killed them?!” Mantra snarled. “Hell no. There was no way we could have taken them!” Ube grunted, “Those fools somehow found one of the caves leading into the mountains, right under where you-know-who bit it. So me and the guys took that big boulder from the gallery and trapped them! As we speak, they are probably lost in those caves, never to be seen again!” “Let me get this straight.” Mantra seethed, eye twitching, “Not only did you trap the ones who were supposed to protect us, RDL agents mind you, but you took the temple’s sacred boulder that has been a part of the Wise Lotus family for ten generations and dropped it on them?!” “Hey, don’t turn this one on me!” Ube snarled, “You’re the one who was insistent on those death threats being a prank or some empty words! You even said to them that they were wasting their time!” “Clearly, that isn't the case anymore!" Mantra pointed out. "I can't believe you went behind my back! I told you to-" “Buck you!” Ube cut him off, “I have far more to lose right now than you! My associates and my products, worth MILLIONS of bits far exceeds your stupid monks and your stupid precious aura!” “Well, thanks to you, we both stand to lose all of them!” Mantra scowled, as he got up and moved around the desk, “We must take to arms, now!" "Oh, hell no!" Ube stepped in front of him. "You didn't see what this one guy looks like! He was made out of some black smoke and scary as all hell!" "Faust, I knew you were phobic, Ube, but don't you think you're overreact-" Mantra's rebuke was cut off as the doors (along with the surprisingly ineffective barricade) were blasted open. All eyes fell on the entrance as Silas walked in with a evil grin. "Hope I'm not interrupting anything..." He chuckled. At the same time, the Forefather agents continued to raid the monastery, some taking more pleasure in their work than others. "Ooops!" One particularly thuggish Pegasus agent purposefully knocked over a small statue, causing it to shatter to pieces. "Hope ya got insurance!" Another, a lanky Earth Pony, grabbed a rock as he approached the greenhouse. "How's that old saying go?" He asked. "Something about ponies with glass houses, and throwing stones?" The agent flung the stone at one of the house's panes, shattering it. "Seriously?" A more pragmatic Pegasus stallion scowled. "Stop playing around. We have work to do!" "Just havin' a little fun, Mr. killjoy." The Pegasus scowled. "Yeah, back off!" The Earth Pony added petulantly. "Suit yourselves." The other Pegasus shrugged. "Just don't come crying to me when Silas finds out you've been messing around, not doing your jobs. I'm sure he'll be real forgiving." The two others glanced at each other fearfully. "...I think that's enough fun for one day." The Earth Pony cringed. "Yeah, me too." The Pegasus agreed. "Good thinking." The pragmatic Pegasus smirked. "Now, get back to taking everything of value." "Yeah, yeah..." The lanky Earth Pony shook his head. "Maybe they got some rare plants in the treehouse..." As the agent turned around, he saw a hoof fill his range of vision. "Ugh!" He grunted, knocked down by the appendage. "What the-?" The pragmatic Pegasus gaped. Caboose and Fury stood before them. “Ow!” Caboose shook his sore hoof, “Your friend here has a very thick skull!” "Takes one to know one." Fury smirked. "Huh? I don't know anypony named 'Juan'." Caboose frowned. “Wait, aren’t those…” The thuggish Pegasus gasped. “What the hell are you doing here?!” The pragmatic Pegasus gaped. "What's it look like?" Fury grinned. "Kicking your sorry flanks." "We have hostiles!" The Pegasus called out, drawing in some other agents. "Kill them!" "Music to my ears." Fury chuckled, as half a dozen more agents charged over. "Shall we dance?" Caboose smiled. The two charged at their attackers, Fury headbutting one and Caboose flipping another. As they proceeded to pummel the others, the Pegasus tried to sneak away. "You wanna leave?" Fury spotted him. "Then let me help you!" Fury swung his spear in the pragmatic Pegasus' direction, creating a burst of wind that sent the Pegasus flying into a nearby wall. "That'll be five Bits." Fury joked. "Now you're gonna get it!" The thuggish Pegasus lunged forward. "Get what?" Caboose leapt on the thug's back. "A free ride? I already got one, thanks!" Caboose slammed both of his front hooves down on the back of the thug's head, knocking him out. "You just take a nice long rest." Caboose smiled, leaping off the thug's back. At the same time, Fury knocked out the last agent in the area. "Not bad, Napoleon." He admitted grudgingly. "But these are just the small fish. We gotta find us the big shark. We take care of that, and it’ll send the rest running." "So where do we look?" Caboose asked. The muffled sound of an explosion was heard in the distance. "I say we follow the trail of destruction." Fury suggested. "Just like following after my bros on a Saturday night." Caboose chuckled. "Boy, those were fun, crazy times..." "Remind me never to ask you about your family life, pal." Fury shook his head disparagingly. "Ever." Meanwhile, back at RDL headquarters, Elite entered the monitor room, where the others were sitting around the screen, which was projecting the mayhem on the mountain. "What's going on?" He asked the gathered group. "The comms room said something about an emergency." "That's putting it mildly." Black answered. "And what exactly does 'not mildly' entail?" Elite asked. "Silas is at the mountain." Armory answered. "Him and a whole troop of Forefather flunkies. They're raiding the place. Rounding everypony up, too." "I see." Elite tried to keep his face passive, but his eyebrows betrayed him, raising in horror. "And to make matters worse, we haven't been able to get eyes on the team for hours." Sterling added. "We're starting to get worried." Ballista added. "The situation does sound quite dire." Elite acknowledged. "If the Forefathers are at the monastery, then they very well may know about the fountain, and will attempt to claim it as their own." "And that would be a real disaster." Sterling stated the obvious. "The Forefathers with ultimate knowledge? That would be game over, my friends." "Not just yet." Ballista retorted boldly. "Not while we're still standing." "Maybe we could send in backup?" Armory suggested. "Alas, I fear they would not arrive in time." Elite shook his head. "I feel our best bet now is to hope our team is still there, somewhere, and that they can put a stop to this madness." "No offense, boss stallion, but there are some pretty long odds." Black noted. "I know." Elite nodded. "But they're the best odds we have right now." "They say long odds pay big." Sterling tried to join Elite in staying positive. "We won't know for sure until the wheel stops spinning." Armory remarked. "All we can do is watch, and hope..." The group stared grimly at the events unfolding on the screen, hoping against all odds that a miracle would soon happen. At the same time, Fletcher, Survival, and Aural finally arrived at the opened gates to the monastery. Fletcher and Survival were a bit winded by the act of running up what was most likely dozens of a stone steps. "If I never see another step again..." Fletcher panted. "It'll be too soon..." "I think I just earned the right to skip every leg day for the rest of my life..." Survival wheezed. As they walked into the main area, they looked with horror upon the destruction caused by Silas and his minions. "By Faust..." Fletcher gasped. "Look what they've done to the place..." "It's terrible." Survival whispered. "What a disaster..." “What?” Aural frowned, as he raised his ears and began using his aural sense, “Surely it can’t be that-” Aural’s expression grew pale, as his aura revealed the state of the monastery: a dessicated husk of its former self, formerly pristine structures broken apart, innocent ponies being held captive. “No… no…” Aural whispered, walking forth. “Aural?” Survival frowned. Aural’s ears continued twitching, as Aural took in the sight of his damaged home through his senses. Even though he had not seen (figuratively speaking) the top of the mountain for quite some time, the memories remain fresh and fond inside his head. Many times within the caves, he had envisioned the day he would return, having finished what he'd set out to do with those letters and taking care of that pesky drug den, picturing it being the same as it had been since he was forced to leave it behind. However, as he took in the damages, and all the intruders that he personally invited running amok, that vision was tarnished. That feeling of self-satisfaction after sending those letters and getting the RDL finally involved was gone, replaced by an overwhelming sense of guilt. “This wasn’t supposed to happen…” Aural murmured, “I thought they were just a bunch of rabble-rousers and anarchists… oh, buck, I did this…” “What in Equestria are you talking about?” Fletcher asked. As Aural stood there, taking in the aura-imaged visage of the destruction, the feeling of guilt within him soon gave way to fury. “Those monsters…” Aural grit his teeth, his ears twitching more, the undersides of his hooves glowing, as he then roared, "They're gonna pay for this if it's the last thing I do!" “Whoa, I understand that you're upset, Aural." Fletcher got in front of him, trying to calm him. "This is your home, after all. But we're heavily outnumbered here! We need to calmly and carefully map out a plan of attack-" “You do whatever the buck you want!” Aural snarled, shoving Fletcher aside, “I’m gonna unleash hell on all those motherbuckers!” Aural raced off into the center of the monastery, intent on finding some Forefather agents to inflict his rage upon. “Oh no…” Survival grimaced, as he returned to Fletcher, “What do we do now?” "We don't have much of a choice now." Fletcher shook his head. "We have to follow him, and make sure he doesn't get in over his head." “To be honest, I’m more concerned for them.” Survival admitted, “Aural’s gonna slaughter them.” “Okay, correction: we have to follow him so that he doesn’t go overboard.” Fletcher sighed, “Besides, he might be the only creature on this damned rock that knows what’s going on here.” “Right.” Survival cringed, “I just hope Fury and Caboose are alright.” “They can handle themselves.” Fletcher assured him, “Fury is practically unstoppable once he really gets going, and Caboose somehow manages to make it out of most clashes unharmed.” Fletcher then frowned, “...But if Silas really is here, then they’re going to need all the help they can get.” He nudged his head forward, “Come on.” "Right behind you, boss." Survival nodded. The two charged off toward the monastery, determined to turn the tide against the Forefathers. Meanwhile, back with Mantra and Ube, Mantra stood firm against Silas' quite frankly, terrifying contenance. "Do forgive me for barging in like this." Silas said affably. "But I have urgent business with the master of this temple. I assume that's you, correct?" He glanced at Mantra. "You are correct, sir." Mantra nodded, stepping forward, "And as this temple's master, I must respectfully demand that you and your compatriots vacate this mountain, immediately." "Yeah, I don't think so." Silas refused blithely. "I didn't come all this way for nothing, pal. Fact is, I've heard all about this place and its... 'valuables'. And I'm here to claim them and this entire mountain for the Forefathers. And I am not going to take 'no' for an answer..." "I see." Mantra tried to remain calm, aware from the deranged look in Silas' eyes that he was not kidding. "Perhaps we can come to some kind of mutual arrangement. A bargain of some kind." "Bargain?" Silas scoffed. “Yes.” Mantra nodded, “I do not know how you come to learn about the going-ons here, but surely, we could come to an understanding.” He gestured to Ube, who looked at him in confusion, “Now, usually, my second-in-command here, Ube, is the one that handles the business side of things. But, perhaps, if you call off your men and leave us in peace, maybe he can cut you and your organization in." “Whoa now!” Ube snarled, “I’m not about to share with this frea-!" Ube started. "Shush!" Mantra cut him off. "Are you seriously trying to bribe me with your temple's treasures right now?!" Silas scoffed mockingly, “Didn’t you just hear me say we’re here to take them?!” "Treasures?" Mantra frowned. "That's not what I-" He froze. "Hold on… aren’t you here because of a particular product coming from this mountain?" “I don’t know, or care for that matter, what’s coming from this stupid rock!” Silas snarled, his patience thinning. "I'm here for two things. The first being the Fountain of Eternal Wisdom!" Mantra and Ube blinked in confusion. “Is it just me?” Ube whispered, leaning towards Mantra. “Or does this freakshow not know about the Jade-” "...What's the other thing?!" Mantra asked Silas, hesitant in his asking. “Well, let’s just say that I did not appreciate the things you had to say about the Forefathers… and about me as a result... Master Mantra." Silas replied. Mantra's breath hitched. Ube looked at him with concern. "How do you know my name?" He asked. “How do you think?” Silas sneered, “We received your letter earlier this morning. And I must say, I’m absolutely appalled by all the awful things you said about us. I wouldn't expect some guy all big into 'inner peace' to be into such vile words." "I, er..." Mantra spluttered, unable to answer. "Which made the fact that you actually invited us over here so very gratifying." Silas smirked. "Now I get to put you and your robe-pals into those body bags you were talking about. One by one." "B-but… body bags?!" Mantra cringed, both agitated and confused. "You are making no sense! I wrote and sent no such thing!" "Oh, yeah?" Silas tossed Mantra the scroll. "That's your name written there, is it not?" Mantra unfurled it and studied the paper, Ube leaning over to read it with him. They were both taken aback by the graphic nature of the writing. The similarities to the previous death threats they received were not lost on them. Soon, they reached the bottom, and sure enough, Mantra’s name was inscribed at the end. “Mantra…” Ube glanced at him, whispering in a terrified tone, “You didn’t write this, did you?” “No, I didn’t!” Mantra denied, “This isn’t my writing! None of it is! Something’s not right here-” “Well?!” Silas demanded, “What do you have to say for yourself?!” “That… that is my name.” Mantra admitted, his voice quivering a bit, “But I swear to you, I did not send this letter!” “Really?” Silas scoffed disbelievingly, “Then why’s your name on it?!” “I don’t know!” Mantra panicked, “This isn’t even my writing! Someone else must have written it and signed my name on it!” “Oh, come on, you expect me to believe that?!” Silas growled, “Do you think me stupid?!” “I’m telling you the truth!” Mantra insisted, “Why would I intentionally seek to antagonize you? I’ve never even met you before!” “Hell if I know.” Silas rolled his eyes, “Maybe you heard of the Forefathers and their greatest weapon, yours truly, and thought, ‘what the hell, I’d talk crap about them and the many ways I’m gonna kick their asses.’” He sneered at the two, “Well, was I close?” “No!” Mantra gasped, “With all due respect, that doesn’t make any sense! Even if it did, I did not send this letter!” “Well, that’s your opinion.” Silas said menacingly. “But it’s the truth!” Mantra pleaded. “Too bad!” Silas smirked. “You see, the only pony whose opinions matter to me is… well, me. And it’s my opinion that you are a lying buck-face who can’t back up what he said when called out on his bullcrap. And let me tell you…” Silas’s smirk turned to a dark scowl, as he began walking towards the two menacingly, “I don’t much care for having my opinions challenged. Not. One. Bit.” “I’m warning you, freak!” Ube stepped forth, attempting to put up an intimidating stature, “If you and your friends don’t buckin’ beat it, me and my guys are gonna put y’all in a world of hurt!” “Oh-ho-ho-ho! Really?!” Silas laughed maniacally, “And by all means…” He raised and spread his front hooves, “Come at me!” “I’ll show you!” Ube roared, as he lunged right at him with a raised hoof, “Eat this, bitc-” Without even blinking, Silas produced some shadowy tendrils that caught Ube by his limbs, constricting them painfully. “GAH!” Ube gasped, struggling not to scream in pain as he felt his hooves in a vice. “Wow. Just, wow.” Silas deadpanned, not amused in the slightest, “My expectations were low, but holy buck!” With a simple nudge of his head, the tendrils chucked Ube right at the wall with tremendous strength, the impact making a big indent, and shaking the entire room. “Ooh…” Ube moaned. “Ube!” Mantra gaped, “Ube, are you alright?!” “Yeah… just… peachy.” The bigger stallion hissed sarcastically. “Now then… where were we?” Silas asked flippantly, Mantra turning to him in a panic, “Oh, right. I was about to beat you to within an inch of your pathetic life for daring to disagree with me!” He recommenced his approach on Mantra, shadowy energy flowing around him. “S-stay back! I’m warning you!” Mantra grimaced, backing away, “You do not want to do this!” “On the contrary, Mantra. I really really want to do this. Once I’m through with you, I’m taking that fountain and Father and everyone in the Forefathers will revere me as the true force of nature that I am!” Silas roared. Mantra stifled a curse as he continued backing away… only to have his flank bumped into the wall. Mantra’s blood ran cold as he found himself trapped in one of the corners of his office. There was no way out, no way to escape… Except for one. ’Dammit, I guess it can’t be helped.’ He thought grimly, as unbeknownst to the shadowy stallion, Mantra’s palms of his front hooves began to glow a dim red. ’Faust, I just hope I can beat him…’ As Silas advanced upon his intended quarry, their showdown was interrupted by a crashing sound in the hallway. As they turned in the direction of the noise, several others followed, mostly thuds and grunts of pain. "Now what?" Silas growled. "Seriously, how can a bunch of robe-wearing wimps be causing them so much trouble?" Almost as in answer to Silas's question, Caboose and Fury walked into the room. Silas was surprised to see them, but quickly shifted his expression to one of disdain. "Oh, look." He sneered. "It's the dumb guard and the goose." "Hey, don't talk about Fury like that!" Caboose yelled. "He's no goose! He’s clearly… clearly…" He frowned, and then glanced at Fury. “What exactly is your bird-half? I wanna say an albino hawk or something but-” “Silas Necross.” Fletcher glared, ignoring Caboose’s remark, “I figured you’d be here. I hope you had your fun, because it’s all over now! We’re gonna take you down once and for all!” “Oh, by all means, you're certainly welcome to try." Silas snickered. "But I wouldn't bet my last Bit on that outcome if I were you..." With that, Silas's shadowy tendrils rose out of his body, and he lunged at the two heroes, intent on taking them both out as painfully as possible.