The Black Mask Brothers

by Alex Rite

The First Battle

The next day was relatively peaceful, having taken care of the damages with the help of my sister and may-or-may-not-be marefriend the previous night. However, something in my dragon bones was telling me this peace would soon be over.

Sometimes I hate it when I'm right.

Mid afternoon, as Baws, Pastel, Shift, Amethyst, and I were enjoying lunch in the newly repaired kitchen, Spark Plug came in with his hooves full of papers. He set them down on the table and gave us all a hard look. It didn't take a genius to tell it was time to go to work.

"Yo, Sparks, what's the sitch?" asked Baws.

"My friends," Spark replied, "it is time to initiate our attack against Scarlet Rose. Not only is she a threat to us, but with the Alicorn Amulet in her possession, she stands a threat to all of equestria. Her home is a fortress in it's own right, and it will take all of us working at our best to pull this off. I have full faith that we can do this, and I've planned everything down to the last detail. So... are you guys ready for the first battle in the war against the Vendettes?"

"Give us info first. We can talk how deal with the plan later." I said. Alex may be leader, but I make sure the plan goes well. Ups and downs at times, but I make sure its a clean getaway.

Spark nodded, and looked at one piece of paper. "They live in the south side of Canterlot; behind the castle. However, since the Gala, reinforcements has been upgraded by five percent." He said.

"More guards, great..." I stretch the last word out hatred. Alex sighs, but Spark keeps going.

"They have our book, and the Amulet, so theirs no telling what they might do." He said.

"Not only that, the the Princesses are there, no telling what they might do." I added.

Pastel groaned like a filly not wanting to go to school. "This is hard! Their's gotta be an easier way to do this in the dark!" She said.

That struck me hard. "At night?" I asked. I scratched under my chin. "We are scheduled for a stormy weather tonight." I said.

"That could work. Only something louder than the storm tonight can wake up somebody." Alex said.

"I don't like storms, they hurt my ears." Amythest point out. I sighed.

"Welp, smelling suspects around the corner is out, and everyone should be asleep." I said.

"Do I need my shape shifting skills?" Shift asked. I nodded.

"Yeah. In case someone comes, you're gonna pretend you caught us, and let us off somewhere so we can start again." I said.

"So, let's get ready boys!" Spark said.

Hours later, I found myself waiting at my position outside of the mansion with Shift. The first phase of the plan was simple: we were to wait out here for our target, who we would then incapacitate. Then, Shift would disguise himself as the pony, and I would follow closely behind in my shadow form. Meanwhile, Baws, Paz, and Amethyst would be tunneling underneath the mansion to a specific spot and wait there until Shift and I made it to the security room and had disabled all the alarms, magical or otherwise, then we would all meet up at the same spot. While we would be doing that, Rainbow Dash would be keeping an eye on everything from above, and Spark Plug would relay information to us all via our com links.

"You ready for this, Shift?" I asked the young changeling.

"As ready as I'll ever be." he replied.

Soon, our target, an old earthpony in a janitor's outfit, came outside to wash the Windows. Before he even knew what hit him, I came out of the shadows and knocked him out cold. Quickly, I tied him up and hid him in the bushes. Then Shift took his the form, and I couldn't even tell the difference.

"This is Shadow to Home Base. The Broom has been replaced," I said into my com, signaling Spark that everything was going according to plan so far. "The Staff and I are now entering The Mansion."

"Understood, Shadow." Spark replied. "Proceed with caution. Home Base, out."

With that, I morphed into shadow form and hid myself within Shift's shadow. We both then entered the mansion and began heading toward the security room. Thus begins phase one.

"Smells like wet dirt in here." Pastel said, crawling in front of me, yet behind Amythest. I groaned.

"Yeah, I know this." My sarcastic voice comes out.

A sudden pause from Amythest, which cause a massive bump blockage. "Oi! What gives?" I asked. Amythest looked worried, as if she knew we were in trouble.

"I don't know, but I swear I smell something." She said.

"Build a hole so I can pass through." I ordered. She did what she was told, both Pastel and Amythest now behind me. I dug from under and hit wooden floor. "...Fuck." I swore under my breath.

I had a twenty percent chance that nobody would be in this room. Which room you ask? Supposedly, a guest room, but seeing as how Amythest wasn't sure who's up there, I highly doubted myself. "Okay," I began, the feeling of nervousness crawling on my back. "one...two...THREE!" I immediately punched through the floor, and it didn't go as far as I wanted it to. It made a immediate CLANK sound, and I swore underneath my breath.

"What was that?" A mare's voice rang out. A few seconds of silence before a stallion's was heard.

"Not sure...must've been the floor. It's pretty old, y'know." He said.

"Oh...alright." She said.

"Holy mother of Celestia, that legitimately worked!" I whispered with a smile. They continued trough their conversation as I climbed from the hole. Apparently, I was under a bed. Sweet, least it'll take them a while to find out.

"So, um...I was wondering if...um..." He continued.

I slowly climbed out, my body worming its way out. "No, forget it. I'm sorry I brought you here." He said.

"And I'm sorry that so have to kick your ass in front of a lady." I whispered bluntly. The mare clicked her tongue.

"No! It's alright. Just tell me what it is." She said. At this point, I crawled from underneath the bed. Since they were sitting on one side of the bed wth their backs turned from me, they have no idea I'm here.

"Will you..." Something hit me on the hoof. I looked down to see my shovel. I glanced under the bed to see the approval of both Pastel and Amy. I pick up the shovel, feeling more like an asshole. I should probably wait until I get the answer. "...go out with me?" He finished.

"Oh, Berry, I...I...yes! I've been waiting for you to say that for so long!" She screamed with delightment. "Damnit, now I have to endure this for the rest of the night." I said out loud.

They turned to me quicker than I can process the action. "What?! Who are you?! How did you get in here?!" the stallion asked.

"It's past your bed time anyway. You naughty children should be asleep." I said, my wing having a firm grip on the handle. I swung on the stallion, knocking him unconcious and straight towards the mare. Before she can scream for help, I swung the second time, knocking her out too. They both fell to the floor, and the two children popping from under the bed.

"Now, we wait." Pastel said with a smirk.

Soon, Shift and I arrived at the security room. Inside, we found a plethora of mechanical and magical doodads.

"Shadow tho home base," I said to Spark, "we have arrived at our destination. What do we do now?"

"Okay, in order to shut off both the magical and technological security systems, you will need to cut the red wire that connects them. However, doing so would trigger an alarm unless it is done while the system reboots, which only takes a second. There should be a switch on the other side of the room. You have to have The Staff push it, then cut the wire at the exact time, otherwise-"

"Otherwise we're screwed. Thanks. Shodow out."

Soon, Shift was standing by the switch, and I had my claw on the wire, both of us ready to pull down at a moment's notice.

"On three." I said, to which Shift nodded. "One... Two... THREE!"

And just like that, Shift pulled the lever and I cut the wire. I waited for an alarm to start blaring, but to my relief, the sound never came.

Shift, out of his disguised form, ran up and gave me a hug. "We did it, dad!"

Dad? I looked down at the little colt at my side, and felt a warm feeling in the center of my gut. Yeah. I could work with that.

"You bet, Shifty. Now come on, let's go meet up with your sister and the others.

"One, two, three!" I grunted as me, Pastel, and Amythest shoved the two unconcious love birds into the closet, finally locking them in. "Jeez...c'mon, search the room you two." I said.

The two nodded, and checked what was available to them. Their was a treasure box (a large one, that is), a large king's bed, another closet, a bathroom, and a dresser. I checked the treasure box first, only to find tons of clothes shoved into them. I took out every piece old clothing, only to find nothing at the bottom. "Freaking figures." I said bluntly.

Returning the clothes back and locking it back up, I look over to see Pastel scavenging the dresser. At first, she looked uninterested, but then her eyes grew in shock. "Hey! Winter, look!" She called.

Using her magic, she pulled a box and a note attached to it. "What's it say?" Amythest asked. Pastel squinted, before reading. "Uh...'Hey, Cherry. I left this for you. I know this is sudden, but I got you this necklace for you. Hope we can still go out.' Love, Berry." She read.

"Ooooohhh...." I trailed off. I feel like shit now. "...Put that back and wait. Just...crap."

I feel like pure crap. It was silent for a while, before Amythest spoke. "...I don't like this anymore." She said.

"Just...ignore it." I said. Jeez...how the fuck am I suppose to explain this awkward silence to Alex?

I walk in to meet Baws, only to find an awkward silence.

I scowled. "What did you do?"

"...Ruined a stallions chance of getting a marefriend?" I said with a nervous smile. He face hoofed.

"Really?" He said with a sigh.

"I swear it was a large coincidence." I said. He shook his head, me feeling like an ass.

"Okay, screw that, let's just move on to phase two." I said.

"Right- we find Scarlet Rose, catch her by surprise, grab the Alicorn Amulet, maybe beat her up-"

"No." I interupted Baws, seeing him get that crazy look in his eye.

"Oh c'mon... Just a little?" he begged.

"...fine." I said. "But only because she pisses me off."

"Righteous." said Baws.

Fuck yeah! Ass kicking time!

We ran out all together, and headed to the front part of the mansion. "Okay, so where is she? We find her room, we find all of it." I said.

Alex pondered about this, before pointin up the staircase. "Upstairs! C'mon!" He said. We ran up to find the hallway with six doors.

...Fuck

"Okay, nobody panic." I said. "We'll just ask Sparks what door it is. Spark?"

"It's the third door on the right." said Spark Plug, and I noticed a bit of a tremble in his voice. "But, uh, we've got another problem..."

"What is it, Sparky?"

"It's, uh... It's a code GOLD. And she's headed your way..."

Ah shit.

"Out-ee!!" I shouted before I took the first door next to me. It...wasn't a smart plan. The pony was asleep, but woke up agitated.

"W-what?" He asked, one eye lid lower than the other. I swiftly kicked the fucker, and hid under the bed. It wasn't long before Pastel and Amythest joined.

"What now?" Amy asked.

I shrugged, waiting for Alex to get in the room. "Kick her flank or nah; depends on Alex." I said.

"Okay, we are definitely not hurting my may-or-may-not-be marefriend." I said. "We'll just... go through with the plan, only now, we'll escape through the bedroom window."

With that all agreed, I quickly dragged Baws out from under the bed. We quickly ran into the master bedroom... Only to find a very peculiar sight. Inside the very large room, lit by the light of the full moon, was a box-like cage made of magic, and inside that cage was... well, it was Scarlet Rose, and yet, at the same time, it was not. Her hair was a mess, and the blood-red nightdress she was wearing was torn to shreds, revealing a pink potion as her cutie mark. Her face was distorted with an almost unnatural grin, and her eyes darted everywhere with a look of pure insanity. She ran around, clawing at her prison with a very primal manner, as though all those manners and sophistication she was so proud of had been stolen from her. But most importantly, I noticed...

"She's not wearing the Alicorn Amulet!!"

"What the Tartarus is going on?!" shouted Baws.

"The poor dear went mad from the power, I'm afraid," said a distinctly familiar feminine voice as it's owner shut the door behind us. "Not that I had not predicted this to be so."

We turned to see an earth pony mare standing in the shadows, her eyes glowing red, as she was the one in possesion of the Alicorn Amulet. Before we knew what was happening, we were all frozen in a magical red aura.

"Did you know that the Alicorn Amulet could also give those not of the unicorn race a limited amount of magical power?" questioned the mare.

"What the-? Who the heck are you?!" Baws asked.

"Oh, I believe your leader already knows exactly who I am, don't you, Rite?" the mare gloated. "After all... my daughter quite often speaks very highly of me."

I glared at the mare with every ounce of hatred in my body. "Gold Armor." I replied venomously.

"Heh heh heh... quite right, Rite. Quite right." she said as the white mare in question strode out of the shadows to reveal herself.

I have no clue who this bat-shit lady is, but Alex does, so I'll ask him another time. "Okay, but why though?" I asked.

She just gave a shrug at me. "I'll tell you soon enough. For now, you should be more focus on the cage." She said, her smile growing.

"The cage's fi--" My voice was lost at sea when I saw the cage door wide open. "...Well shit."

With that, we were freed, Gold Armor disappeared, and we know had Psycho Rose barelling at us, magical guns blazing. We immediately went into our defense manuvers.

"UNDER THE BED!!!" shouted Baws as he did just that, and we all followed suit.

I called up Spark on my com. "Please tell me you heard all that!"

"I did! Can't believe Gold Heart's own mother is a Vendette!"

"WAIT, WHAT NOW?!!" shouted Baws.

"Later!" I said. "Right now, you and I need to take Psycho Rose out before she hurts anypony!"

"And just how the hell are we supposed to do that?!"

I grinned as a plan came to mind, and lifted up my wings as much as I could under the bed. "We wing it."

"Seriously?! Puns?!" I yelled as the maniacal laughter was heard from somewhere. "Fucking hell!" I yelled. I pulled my shovel of my wing, a large CLANG booming throughout the room. I step from under the bed, looking for the crazy bitch.

"Where is that bastard?" I mumbled. Just where the fuck is she?

I looked out from under the bed where that "clang" sound came from, and was filled with dread. Gold Heart was laying there on the ground, not moving.

"Goldie!" I yelled, rushing to her side and bringing her to our hiding place. I looked her over. She was unconcious, but very much alive, to my instant relief. It was fair to say I was now unhappy.

Looking around, the room was filled with dim candles, also I couldn't find the fucker. "That...bitch...will pay!" was all I heard before my eyes widen.

Someone fucked up, and it ain't me.

As of now, the only things things that I'm worried about is Alex's wrath, and the psycho bitch. Though, I take the wrath than the bitch any day. Then, something moved at the corner of my eye, laughter echoing from that area. I threw my shovel at the source.

"HAHAHAHA-AGH!" The laughter died.

I laughed. "Gotcha!" I said.

I charged out from under the bed in my shadow form, gliding like lightning to the side of Psycho Rose before returning to normal and slammed her in the side with the hook staff. As she slammed into the wall, she tried to zap me with a magic spell, which I barely avoided by getting into the air.

"Baws! A little assistance would be apreciated right about now!"

"I don't know...two angry people is in that feud right now. That psycho is like an angry minotaur, but you is like a bull with the body of a griffon; it ain't smart to get in." I said.

"Dude!"

"Alright alright! Jeez." I sigh, before grabbing the shovel with my wing. "Let's dance, fucker."

With the swing of a thousand horses, I swung the shovel into the psycho, a clang was heard. She stumbled backwards, the look of insanity replaced with anger. "Hiiiii....HIIIIIII..." She said.

Was that butt hurt or the sound of a zombie? She widely swung at me, and the hoof smacked me into the wall. I didn't hit with full force, but my back still made popping sounds. "AGH!" I shout.

I don't care if the others wake up at this point, we need to get the absolute fuck out of here!

"Hey bitch!" I yelled, getting her attention. "Nobody does that to my bro but ME!!"

I run at her, swinging my weapon with full force... Only to hit empty air. Psycho Rose, who had teleported behind me, shot me with a beam that caused me to drop the hook staff and sent me into the wall next to Baws. We both looked forward at the face of the crazy mare who was about to kill us.

"Never thought it would end this way." said Baws.

"Ditto." I replied.

"Just then, with the sound of a metalic clang, Psycho Rose fell to the floor, and there, standing behind her with hook staff in paw, was Amethyst.

"Nobody zaps my dad." she said, looking down at our fallen enemy.

"That's my girl!" I shouted proudly.

Just then, my dragon hearing picked up on the sound of Gold Heart coming to.

"We need to scram!" I said, but not before leaving a BMB calling card by Psycho Rose's unconscious body.

What can I say- I'm a creature of habit.