Mayhem On The Mountain

by Bluecatcinema

Monastery Mystery

It was early in the morning on the mountain, Celestia having yet to raise the sun, as emerging from one of the many holes within the mountain was the cloaked figure, making his way to a ledge. Perched on his shoulder was a pigeon, the very same that had delivered letters to both the monastery and the RDL Headquarters.

“Well, pal.” The figure said quietly, “Got one more cross-country delivery in ya?”

The pigeon cooed.

“Figured you would.” The figure snorted, as he had the pigeon move to his hoof, and tied the letter his captive had finished earlier to it’s leg, “You’ll be taking this to that Forefathers’ outpost I found a while ago. After that, you’ll be free to do as you please, going wherever pigeons go when they retire. Maybe solving mysteries with Mike Typhon and the Marquess of Queensbury’s ghost. As for me… once all of this is said and done, everything will be as it should be…”

The pigeon stared at him blankly.

“...And why am I even talking to you? Faust, I need to get out more.” The figure grumbled, “Well, get going, ya flying rat.”

The figure flung the pigeon upwards, and the bird took off, heading for the Forefather's outpost.

"And now, we wait..." The figure mused.

Later that same morning, Fletcher's team woke up and went to get breakfast, having been directed by the monks to the same dining room as the previous night.

“So, how was everycreature’s night?” Fletcher asked.

“Cold and drafty.” Fury said flatly, “Pretty much froze my ass off all night.”

“Didn’t really sleep much to be honest.” Survival admitted, “I was too busy examining the letters to the monastery.”

“Well, I’ve worse accommodations.” Fletcher shrugged, “...Though it didn’t help that somepony was snoring up a storm.”

“Really? Couldn’t have been you. I slept like a log.” Caboose frowned in confusion.

“Of course you did, Caboose.” Fletcher rolled his eyes.

Suddenly, they heard a tapping on a nearby window. They turned to see the Red Rio drone perched outside it, it’s metal body slightly frosted over. Being certain not to draw attention to themselves, they gathered around the window and opened it

“Hey, guys.” Armory’s voice emitted, “How fares it?”

“Armory?” Survival frowned, “Have you been flying around the monastery all night?”

“Well, not all night. We all had to get our beauty sleep.” Ballista’s voice emerged.

“Oh, Ballista. You’re there?” Fletcher asked.

Back at the headquarters, Ballista, Black and Sterling (still unable to move without help), and Armory were sitting in the room, watching the feed.

"That's right." Ballista nodded.

"So am I." Black added.

"And me." Sterling smiled.

"And don't forget this magnificent device's creator." Armory grinned. "We've been keeping an eye on things all night."

“But how? The battery must be bone-dry by now.” Survival pondered.

“Two words: solar power.” Armory boasted, “Keeps this bad boy running forever.”

"Clever." Fury admitted.

"I know." Armory smirked.

“So, what do you know?” Black asked, “Any ideas what we’re dealing with?”

“Well, one thing for sure, the monks are being harassed by somepony.” Fletcher declared, “According to the master of the place and one of his associates, they’ve received no less than a hundred correspondences containing death threats.”

“A hundred? Sheesh.” Sterling whistled, “The stationery industry must be booming.”

“I know, right?” Caboose agreed.

“Any leads as to who might be sending them?” Ballista asked.

“Not necessarily. Survival here went and looked through the letters through the night.” Fletcher gestured to Survival, as he turned to him, “Have you gleaned anything from them?”

“Well, sort of.” Survival shrugged, “To start off, none of them had any signatures or names of whoever sent the letter.”

“Well, no flap.” Fury scoffed, “Only a moron would write a death threat and sign his own name on it.”

“No argument there… but while there’s no clue as to the identity of the sender, I can confirm that the letters have all been written out by the same pony.” Survival declared, pulling out some of the letters he had on him, “The writing style is consistent throughout all the letters… but there is something odd I found.”

"Odd?" Black asked.

“Yeah. All these letters read pretty much the same. Dear so-and-so. I’m going to kill you. While some were formal and to the point, others came off as pretty arrogant and aggressive. Indicative of someone harboring some deep resentment… however…” Survival trailed off.

“However?” Sterling frowned.

“I noticed that in some of the more… well, let’s say, colorfully, written letters, that the penwork showed signs of hesitation.” Survival explained, “There were spots where the quill had stopped, as if the writer was struggling to write these words. Especially regarding the letter involving the ‘fear turkey’.”

“...Fear turkey?” Black turned to Sterling in confusion. Sterling gave a confused shrug.

“That’s weird. Having second thoughts, perhaps?” Armory suggested.

“And why the hell would this guy have second thoughts? It’s not like he was signing his name.” Fury snorted.

“Indeed. And as I said earlier, these letters indicate somepony with a grudge against the monastery.” Survival pointed out, “The ferocity of the threats simply do not coincide with somepony who would hesitate, especially under the guise of anonymity. Which leads me to have a theory.”

“A game theory?” Caboose asked.

“...No.” Survival deadpanned, “Considering the jittery writing and the hesitation, I’ve reasons to believe that maybe whoever wrote these letters might have been forced to do so.”

"So what? You're saying we might have TWO scumbags to find?" Fury scowled. "Flap me..."

“Not necessarily two scumbags. Just one who coerced another pony to do their disturbing threats for them.” Survival corrected.

“But I don’t get it. Why would somepony with a beef have another pony write their threats for them? Let alone force them?” Sterling grimaced.

“Maybe to cover his tracks in case somepony recognized the writing?” Black suggested.

“I don’t know, not a lot of ponies out there who can analyze writings as well as Survival here.” Ballista shook his head, “Seems a bit convoluted if you asked me.”

“Well, it’s just a working theory at the moment.” Survival admitted, “Until we can find out more, we won’t know for sure what’s going on. I could be wrong for all I know.”

“Doesn’t matter either way.” Caboose smirked, “We've still got 'em outnumbered!"

"There's something else I noticed." Survival declared. "Here's the parchment the threats were written on..." he held up the document."...And here's the letter that got us to come here..." He held up another piece of paper. "Notice anything?"

"They appear to be written on the same kind of parchment." Fletcher noted.

"Exactly." Survival nodded. "And I can think of only one reason that could be..."

"So you're saying the letters could be coming from within the monastery?" Armory asked.

"I'm not buying it." Fury shook his head. "These guys don't seem the type."

"There's also the fact that somecreature has been using a carrier pigeon to deliver these letters." Fletcher added. "Why would they bother with that if they could just send it anonymously by hoof?"

"That is what we need to find out." Survival said cryptically.

"How about you guys?" Fury inquired. "Anything new?"

“Well, we surveyed the whole place, and from what we saw, this monastery is looking pretty impenetrable. Unless you’re going in through the front door or flying in, there’s no way anypony could get in, let alone get in undetected.” Black explained.

"Which raises the questions of how they would get their hooves on the papers." Sterling noted, “This being an inside job is looking more likely.”

“Still, it sounds like we’ve barely moved past square one." Ballista said grumpily.

"But we'll keep observing matters." Armory declared. "If we see anything new, we'll let you know."

"And we'll do the same." Fletcher nodded.

After the drone flew away, the group moved from the window.

"So, what now?" Fury asked.

"Brunch, maybe?" Caboose suggested.

"We should split up and look for clues." Fletcher declared. "I'll go and check the storage area where they keep the parchments. Fury and Caboose, you ask the monks if they know anything, and Survival will check the aviary where they keep their pigeons, see if any are missing, or have been busy lately."

"Will do." Survival nodded.

"On it." Fury declared.

"Guess that's a 'no' on brunch..." Caboose pouted.

"We meet up at lunch." Fletcher announced. "Good luck, everycreature."

On that, the team split up. Fletcher made a beeline for the storage area, located on the north side of the monastery. It was a large room, with shelves packed to the brim with various items, and trunks set on one side. A single monk was looking things over, carrying a checklist.

"Sorry to intrude, good sir." Fletcher announced. "But I have a question to ask."

To Fletcher's surprise, the monk seemed somewhat unnerved by his simple request.

“Q-question? Question about what? We’re a normal monastery, full of normal monks who do normal monastery things! Absolutely nothing punishable by 10 years of prison if not more!” The monk stammered.

“Um, that is good to hear, I suppose.” Fletcher frowned, “But I only wish to inquire about the items you have here in this storage area. It’d only be a moment.”

“Oh. Well, why didn’t you say so?” The monk calmed down, “How can I help you?”

"Well, we were looking into the death threats you ponies have been receiving, and were wondering, has anything been going missing from your inventory lately?”’ Fletcher inquired.

“To be honest, there have been a few things unaccounted for in our stock.” The inventory monk admitted, “Cloaks, quills, ink, parchment…”

“Really now?” Fletcher mused, “Odd considering how three of those things are commonly used together to write letters. Much like the death threats.”

“I don’t know…” The monk shook his head, oblivious to the veiled suspicion, “We’ve just chalked it up to monks just neglecting to write down what they took out. We’re not exactly a tight ship up here. Doesn’t help that half of our staff are a bunch of juuuu...”

Fletcher gave a raised brow.

“Ju-jokers!” The monk corrected himself swiftly, “Oh, you wouldn’t believe some of the hijinks we monks get up to up here. Like this one time, we accidentally put in a purple scarf with the white robes... ho-ho, did we look silly!”

“I see…” Fletcher frowned, not convinced. "Thank you for your time."

"You're welcome." The monk poorly hid a sigh of relief. "Now I really should get back to work, so if you'd...?" He gave a little shoo-ing gesture.

"Okay then..." Fletcher said awkwardly, backing out of the room. "That was odd..."

At the same time, Fury approached some of the meditating monks within one of the buildings.

“Sorry to interrupt your naps or whatever ya call them.” He said bluntly, “But I got questions I need answering, so spill it!”

"The answer is right here, brother." An Earth Pony stallion said in a dreamy voice. "Just open your mind, and all will be revealed."

“Yeah, real helpful.” Fury sneered, “But I’m looking for, you know, ‘actual’ answers. Have any of you baldies noticed anything weird happening lately?”

“I have!” A Unicorn mare spoke up.

“Now that’s more like it.” Fury smirked, turning to her, “So what’s the sitch?”

“My horn.” The unicorn pointed to her horn.

“Your… horn?” Fury’s smirk faded.

“Yeah. It’s so big!” The unicorn mare rubbed her horn, eyes alight in amazement, “Have you ever seen a horn so big in your life?”

The other monks shuffled over, also admiring the mare's horn.

"It's incredible..." A Pegasus mare gasped.

"So majestic..." Another Unicorn mare gazed.

"It’s bigger than my horn..." An Earth Pony stallion sighed.

"You don't have a horn!" The Pegasus mare scoffed.

"Sez you!" The Earth Pony scowled.

“Ugh, no!” Fury snapped, “I mean, have any of you guys seen anything unusual? You know, like some asshole sneaking around, maybe with some paper and ink? Like the guy sending you all death threats?”

“What is ‘unusual’?” A fit-looking Earth Pony asked, “When you think about it, nothing is usual.”

“...Right.” Fury deadpanned, “Look, if you guys know nothing, fine. But I got crap to do-”

“I mean, look at my name!” The Earth Pony continued, “My name is Walking Phoenix! Walking. Phoenix. That’s the name you give a bird or a Pegasus! Does that sound usual to you?”

“Well, let me check…” Fury checked his person, before turning back to him with a glare, “Oh wait, I just remembered, I am flat out of flaps to give!”

"Come on, man, you need to chill out." A Pegasus mare told him airily. "As a fellow wielder of the wings, surely you know that it's better to just fly through that big, open sky, without a care in the world?”

As she spoke, a fly landed on her face. Fury noticed it, and was astonished as the mare did not react to its presence.

“That is why I have come here.” The mare explained, as the fly crawled along her face, “The modern world was just too stressful. Grocery shopping. bills to pay, salesponies on practically every corner... I just couldn't take it any more. So I came here to live a life of quiet contemplation with my fellow ponies…” The fly soon came to her mouth and went in. The mare did not blink, “Wouldn't you like that, angry griffon bird?"

“Did… did you just swallow that fly?” Fury gaped.

“What is a ‘fly’.” Walking inquired, “A raisin that sprouted wings, perhaps?"

“Dude, this broad just swallowed a fly!” Fury snarled, “What the flap is the matter with you all?!”

“What is ‘matter’?” Walking Phoenix continued on. "A term that all substance can be placed under, or something more?”

“Stop it!” Fury roared, annoyed beyond belief, “Are any of you gonna tell me what’s going on around here or keep spoutin’ garbage?!”

"What is 'garbage', anyway?" Walking inquired. "So many things are recycled these days. Maybe nothing's garbage any more..."

The rest of the group 'ooh'ed and 'aah'ed in wonder.

“And none of you are even listening to me anymore.” Fury growled, as he left the meditation room, “Screw this, I’m outta here!”

"Go in peace, brother." A Unicorn stallion declared.

"I know where you can all go..." Fury grumbled, “You can all go f-”

“Excuse me, what are you doing?”

Fury turned to see another Earth Pony monk, glaring at him. This monk had a pallid complexion, and a tired, irritable disposition.

“I was just asking some questions. Nothing to worry your bald head about.” Fury said tersely.

“Well, it s-sounds like you were bugging our new round of recruits.” The monk sniffled a bit. “They were just initiated a few weeks ago!”

“New recruits?” Fury snorted as he made to walk way, “Well, I wish you luck with them, because they’re a bunch of air-headed morons. Spouting nothing but bullcrap...”

“W-where do you think you’re going?” The sickly monk got in front of him.

“Not that it’s any of your business, but I got other ponies to talk to.” Fury snorted as he brushed him aside.

“And why is that?!” The sickly monk got in his face again, much to Fury’s annoyance, “Did the recruits say anything to you?”

“No, I just told you, they were spouting nonsense.” Fury glared, “Bigger question is why are you getting my beak?!”

“Don’t get snippy with me, pal!” The monk jabbed his hoof into his chest, growing agitated, “You’re the one snooping around!”

“Touch me again and you’ll be picking up teeth with your broken hoof!” Fury hissed.

“Oh, you wanna go, filthy bird-cat?!” The monk challenged. His eye was now twitchy, “Because I’m ready to throw down!”

“Lauren Faust, what’s your problem?!” Fury demanded.

“My problem? My p-problem?!” The sickly monk repeated, as he began scratching his right front hoof, “We have a bunch of outsiders intruding on our life here! Disrupting our daily routine, our wonderful... everything!" His eyes darted from left to right madly. "And now, you’re trying to snoop! I-I won’t have it!” He reached into his robe, clutching onto something. Fury’s eyes narrowed. “I’ll won’t let-”

“Whoa-whoa, easy, pal!” Another monk suddenly came in, yet another Earth Pony, coming between the agitated monk and griffon, placing his hooves on the monk’s shoulder, “What’s going on here?”

“This bird-cat is snooping around!” The sickly monk accused.

“I was not! I was asking the baldies in there some questions, and this prick was getting in my face!” Fury snarled.

“You are a buckin’ liar!” The sickly monk roared, his eye twitching even more, as he was scratching his right hoof more vigorously, “I won’t let you ruin things!”

“What are you even talking about?!” Fury asked.

“Oh, jeez.” The interfering monk cringed, as he turned to Fury, “I’m so terribly sorry. My friend here is usually very grumpy in the morning. He usually mellows out after he has some nice ‘tea’.”

“Tea?!” The sickly monk spat, glaring at the monk, “I don’t need stupid tea! I need bucking-”

“Tea. Like I just said.” The monk repeated, much more harshly, gripping the sickly monk’s shoulder tightly, “How about we leave the poor griffon alone and I’ll brew you some ‘tea’ and maybe Ube won’t hear of this little outburst, okay?”

Before the sickly monk could rebut, the other monk dragged him away, the sickly monk grunting in protest, casting stink eyes at the irate griffon, who was perplexed by the whole situation.

“...What in the hell was that all about?” Fury muttered to himself.

Meanwhile, Caboose was visiting one of the greenhouses, hoping to find more info… as well as do one other thing…

He plucked a rose from among a row of them, and began to chew on it… only to grimace, and spit it onto his hoof.

“Ugh, tastes… manure-y.” Caboose grimaced, letting his tongue out. Making sure no one was watching, he stuck the mushed up rose back onto a stem.

“Well, now that was a bust, might as well focus on asking about suspicious things.” Caboose frowned, as the mushed rose fell off the stem. He noticed some ponies in the greenhouse, “Maybe they can help!”

Caboose approached a nearby monk, a Pegasus stallion.

“Hey, pal, mind if I ask you something?” Caboose asked.

“Ask away, brudda.” The Pegasus stallion asked airily, absentmindedly picking thorns off of a rose, “Questions are free after all.”

“Oh, neat.” Caboose smiled, “So, me and my friends were wondering, have anything suspicious been going on lately? Possibly relevant to the plot?”

The Pegasus monk looked at him, a dazed smile on his face.

“...Um, hello?” Caboose waved a hoof in front of his face, “Equestria to… random non-descript pony guy?”

“...Hey.” The monk suddenly spoke up, “Did you know there are over a hundred and fifty different breeds of roses?”

“Hmm, that’s a fun fact.” Caboose mused, before shaking his head, “But that’s not important right now. Now, about the plot-”

“Oh, that’s not all!” A Unicorn mare chimed in, a dazed smile on her face, “There’s also over a thousand rose crossbreeds!”

“Whoa, really?” Caboose gasped, completely losing his train of thought. "Tell me more!"

"They're among the oldest species of flowers in existence." An Earth Pony stallion declared.

"And they can live for a very long time." A Pegasus mare added. "Up to thirteen years, in fact."

"And they're not just red." Another Unicorn smiled. "They can be blue, and white, and yellow, and pink-"

“Hey, now, what’s going on here?” A blue light-gray maned Unicorn stallion monk came in, his expression vividly lucid in comparison to the others, “What’s all the commotion?”

“Oh, your buddies teaching me about the flowers!” Caboose smiled.

“Hold on, you’re one of the RDL members, right?” The blue Unicorn asked, “Looking into those death threats?”

“I am?” Caboose frowned, before lighting up, “Oh, I guess I am.”

“Figured as much.” The blue Unicorn shrugged, as he turned to the other monks, “How about you guys return to tending the flowers? I’ll talk with our friend here.”

"Okay..." The Pegasus mare said dreamily...

"See ya later..."

"Byeee...."

“Sorry about that. Hope they weren’t bothering you too much, sir.” The Unicorn apologized.

“Oh, no. Not at all. I was really getting into all the flower fun facts.” Caboose mused.

“I see…” The blue Unicorn grimaced, “But honestly, what were you trying to do here?”

“Well, me and my pals are trying to get to the bottom of these letters, so I was asking around.” Caboose explained, rubbing his head. “Got a little sidetracked, though.”

“Well, I hate to break it to you, but you probably won’t be getting much help from my brethren here.” The blue Unicorn sighed, “As you can tell, they’re not all… there.”

“Oh, I didn’t want to say anything.” Caboose cringed, “I just assumed they were slow. You don’t seem to be like them, though.”

“Oh, heavens no. These ponies are from when Mantra first became master.” The Unicorn explained, “I’m actually was a part of Master Chakra’s tutelage not long before he passed. The name is Fresh Starter.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Mr. Starter.” Caboose smiled, “Maybe you could help me out then. You see, we are trying to ask around, seeing if anypony notices anything weird going on around here. What with those letters and all.”

“I’m afraid I’m not much help either.” Fresh sighed, “Those letters have been coming and going for a while now. I’m honestly surprised that Mantra actually caved and called you guys.”

“Why? Because he’s a anti-government hippie or something?” Caboose asked.

“No… rather, he’s, shall I say, prideful.” Fresh grimaced, “Master Mantra, even before becoming master, always took pride in being a member of the Wise Lotus, ever dedicated to training, to his duty,” Caboose suppressed a snicker, “And to the order itself. I guess in his mind, reaching out for help, is a sign of weakness, or that it reflects poorly on him as a master.”

“Well, we all need help every now and then.” Caboose shrugged, “Not sure what a sign or a mirror fits into it, but we are here to help.”

“Hehe, you are a strange pony.” Fresh smiled, “But I am grateful for your help. I have been here a long time. Suffered job loss. Messy divorce. Homelessness. The last thing I want is for something bad to happen to this place.”

“Then I better get a move on, then.” Caboose declared, “Perhaps I should check out the kitchen. I've been meaning to check and see what the situation is on the soybean option!”

“Good luck, brother.” Fresh bowed, “I will pray for your success.”

Around the same time, Survival arrived at the aerie, which was filled with carrier pigeons, all being tended to by a few monks.

"Excuse me?" He spoke up.

"Oh, hello." A female Unicorn looked at him. "Do you need a letter sent?"

"Not just now, thanks." Survival declined. "But I am curious about this delightful little operation of yours. Are all these pigeons really used to send letters?"

"That's right." The Unicorn nodded, “Due to the rules and regulations, dragon’s fire is strictly prohibited, and mailponies are a major security risk. While archaic, pigeons have served us well all this time.”

“I see… and these pigeons can take a letter anywhere in Equestria?” Survival asked.

“If needed.” The mare acknowledged.

"Interesting… it must have taken a lot of work to train them." Survival noted.

"That it did." The mare agreed.

“Out of curiosity… have you guys ever had problems with pigeons going missing?" Survival asked suddenly.

“Missing?” The mare frowned.

“Yes. Like, did a pigeon fail to make it back from a round-trip? Or just disappear from the aerie altogether?” Survival supposed, “Maybe recently?”

“Hmm, can’t say if they had.” The mare mused, “Our feathered friends are always coming and going and we have raised and trained a lot of birds over the years. If we did lose a pigeon, it couldn’t had been during the years I’ve been on the job.”

"Oh, that's... Very impressive." Survival managed to hide his disappointment. "Thank you for your time."

"You're welcome." The mare declared. "If you'll excuse me, I have some roosts to clean out..."

As Survival made his way into the corridor, he couldn't help but feel dejected by his inability to gain any useful information. As he tried to gather his thoughts, he found his mind drifting back to his previous doubts.

'Why would Mantra agree so easily to letting us drink from the fountain?' He wondered, ‘I understand it could be desperation, but it all seemed too easy… and what of Relic? He didn’t seem to agree with Mantra’s decision… but why? None of this is making any…’

As he continued walking, Survival was interrupted mid-thought, hearing a strange ‘humming’ sound.

“Wha… what was that?” Survival looked around.

The sound stopped.

“Dammit. Come on, Relic, you almost had it yesterday.”

“Relic?” Survival frowned, as the strange humming sound returned. Deciding to investigate, he took a moment to pinpoint its origin, then ventured through the corridors to find it.

The source of the sound was in an empty storage closet. As Survival peeked inside, he found Relic inside. His face was screwed up in concentration, hooves held together. To Survival's surprise, a small orb of aura flickered into existence.

"I don't believe it." Survival gaped, “Is that aura?!”

"Ahhh!" Realizing he was being watched, Relic yelped in surprise, the ball of aura dissipating again. Relic turned around in horror, “Mr. Horror. What are you doing here?!”

“Never mind that. Was that aura just now?” Survival asked astounded, “You never mentioned practicing-”

Before Survival could finish, Relic pulled Survival inside the closet, covering his mouth.

“Hmm-hey!” Survival protested, throwing Relic’s hoof off, “What’s the big idea?”

“Listen here, Mr. Horror.” Relic demanded, “You cannot tell a soul what you just saw just now.”

“I don’t even know what I just saw.” Survival frowned, “Mantra told us that the training of aura was retired.”

"It was." Relic declared.

“Then what are you doing then?” Survival asked, confused.

“...Practicing aura.” Relic admitted.

“...Okay, I’m at a loss here.” Survival frowned.

“Look, I should explain.” Relic declared, “You see, I was among the last groups of monks to train in the use of the aura under Master Chakra. However, we were barely starting when he passed away. When Mantra assumed the role of master, rather than finish what he started, he forbade further training.”

"Forbade?" Survival frowned. "I thought Mantra just retired the training?"

“Hmph, I wish.” Relic scowled, “It was one of Mantra’s first decrees as master: no pony or creature, regardless of who they are, are allowed to practice aura ever. We are not to utter even a single word of it.”

“What? I don’t understand. Why would he create such a decree?” Survival inquired.

"Oh, it's very complicated." Relic said awkwardly. "Too complicated to explain on the fly..."

"Please, Relic." Survival pressed. "I need to know. You can trust me."

Relic glanced at Survival. The look in the former doctor’s eyes seems to ease his anxiety.

“Very well.” Relic nodded, “You see, Mr. Horror, there is far more going on around here than meets the eye… and I’m not just talking about those letters. Mantra… he claims he retired the use of aura because he wanted to prevent violence… but the truth of the matter is, Mantra has this belief that the power of aura should be in the hoof of the one pony who deserves it...”

“One pony?” Survival frowned, “...Am I right in assuming that this one pony is…”

"Mantra himself, yes." Relic nodded. "You see, Mantra had been a part of this monastery his whole life. Learned everything he could about aura. Did so without a single complaint. However… once he had mastered aura, he felt that no pony else should be allowed to. He believed that the others were unworthy of its power and that for them to learn aura was to sully the magic itself.”

“Really? Mantra is like that?” Survival grimaced, “Didn’t think he was the type…”

“Trust me, I have trained with the stallion.” Relic gave a deep frown, “I do not mean to speak ill of him, but he always had this sense of superiority about him. He hides it well sometimes, but when it comes out… boy, does it come out.”

“Hmm… might need to read him next time.” Survival frowned to himself, “...How did Chakra feel about Mantra’s rhetoric?”

“Oh, Chakra and Mantra butted heads on that matter numerous times. Honestly, Chakra was the only reason aura hadn’t been banned sooner. Chakra always believed that everyone deserves a chance to learn about how to use aura. Didn’t matter if you failed, all that mattered was that you tried.”

“An admiral thought.” Survival smirked.

“Yeah… but when Mantra became master, that all changed.” Relic sighed, “We all protested Mantra’s ban. After all, some of us had been here all our lives as well, and Chakra was our master too… but Mantra wouldn’t hear of it. Even threatened expulsion if we pushed the matter. Almost everypony gave up after that… but I didn’t. I took it upon myself to learn how to use aura. Been practicing in secret for months.”

“Really now?” Survival lit up, “...In that case, I don’t suppose you’d be willing to join us then? A part of the reason we came here was to find a pony who could use aura. Maybe you could-”

“I’m sorry.” Relic stopped him, “As much as I would want to help you, despite all my best efforts, my grasp of aura is still severely lacking. I fear I would be more of a hindrance than a boon.”

"...I see." Survival sighed, downtrodden.

"I really wish I could help you and your friends." Relic said wholeheartedly. "But as it stands, there are only two ponies alive who possess mastery over aura."

"...Hold on, two?" Survival asked, surprised, “There’s another?”

"Well..." Relic hesitated once more, then took a deep breath. "You see, Chakra actually had two star pupils, one being Mantra and the other being a fellow by the name of Aural Sight."

"'Aural Sight'..." Survival mused. "Was he any good?"

"Good? He was amazing!" Relic grinned. "Aural was truly a master of the craft, in spite of his weakness. In fact, he was in line to become Chakra's successor.”

"Was?" Survival asked.

"I'm afraid so." Relic sadly nodded. "Not long after Chakra died, Aural just... disappeared.”

"Disappeared?" Survival frowned.

"That's right." Relic sighed. "Nopony knows what happened to him... or even if he's still alive."

“But didn’t you just say he was alive though?” Survival questioned.

“Oh.” Relic paused, “...I guess I did. I’m sorry, I guess a part of me likes to think that he's still alive out there somewhere. But considering that nopony has seen him for so long…”

"I see..." Survival nodded.

"Well, if that's all, then I really should be going..." Relic started.

"I'm afraid that's not all." Survival declared, holding out his hoof, "You see, I get the feeling you know more than you're letting on."

"What?! I-I've told you everything I know." Relic spluttered. "Why would you think I'm concealing information?"

"Because I've been studying your facial expressions." Survival answered. "And it's pretty clear from those that you're hiding something. What it is, I don’t know, but I feel like it has something to do with Mantra, the monastery, and that fountain."

"I... I wouldn't say 'hiding'..." Relix said nervously.

"Look, I'm on your side here." Survival tried to calm him. "We all are. If you can just tell us the whole truth, then we'll be able to help you and everypony here. What do you say?"

Relic considered Survival's offer. But before he could answer, Ube entered.

"What's goin' on in here?" The burly stallion demanded to know.

"Oh, nothing!" Relic said quickly. "Just a friendly conversation. Right, Survival?"

"Right." Survival nodded.

"In a supply closet?" Ube raised an eyebrow. "Pretty odd place to hold a conversation. Unless it's a conversation you don't want anypony overhearing..."

"Actually, I suggested the location." Survival lied. "I'm not quite used to those drafty corridors. Is that a crime?"

"I suppose not." Ube acknowledged. "But if you're done talking, I'd like to have my own one-on-one chat with Relic here."

"Very well." Survival nodded, keen not to press the issue.

Survival departed, leaving Ube and Relic alone.

"If I were you, I wouldn't get so friendly with our guests." Ube glared.

"Why not?" Relic asked.

"You know how it is." Ube sneered. "Too much interference from the outside world can cause a lot of trouble around here. For you... and for everypony else."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Relic glowered.

"Just that if it seems like you or any others seem like you might be threatening the stability of this place.” Ube smirked, before scowling, “And I don’t like that kind of thing. Neither does Mantra.”

“I don’t know what you’re implying.” Relic growled, “But I’ve done nothing of the sorts.”

“Saids you.” Ube grunted, “You know, Relic, the only reason you’re still around here is because Mantra believes you to be the glue that keeps this monastery together. I mean, the other monks are always inviting you to join in their games, confide in you their problems... they'd all be pretty upset if you were to disappear from those walls.”

“Well, I can’t help it if I’m that kind of pony.” Relic humbly shrugged, “I’m merely doing as Chakra and the others taught me.”

“Right… but I wonder…” Ube mused. “How would Mantra feel if he was to find out that somepony, say, a skinny little twerp, was practicing his precious ‘aura’? I mean, you know how frothy at the mouth he gets…”

"I... don't know what you're talking about." Relic denied his words.

"Sure you don't." Ube smirked.

"I mean it." Relic snarled. "I haven't been practicing aura at all. Not since Chakra perished."

"Okay then." Ube's voice dripped with condescension. "Just make sure you keep it that way… and do keep your distance from these outsiders. I can care less about this ‘aura’ crap, but if these buckers try to ruin things… you know I will be coming for you..."

He mockingly patted Relic on the head. Relic cringed in disgust.

“Keep that in mind, Relic.” Ube sneered.

With that, Ube departed, leaving Relic alone in the closet.

"Oh, I'll keep it in mind, alright... You overbearing musclehead." Relic scowled… before looking down, dejected, “...If only you were here, Aural…”

Meanwhile, Survival reunited with the others, so they could compare notes. The Red Rio was let in through a window so HQ could hear.

"So how did your search go?" Ballista asked.

"Very oddly." Fletcher declared. "The ponies I asked were strangely apprehensive about my questioning the way things work here."

"The ones I asked were more interested in flowers than answering my questions." Caboose added. "Not that I blame them. Flowers are amazing things. Did you know there are over one hundred and fifty different breeds of rose?"

"I got stuck questioning a bunch of space cases." Fury scowled. "Talking about 'quiet contemplation' and garbage like that. And this one clown called 'Walking Phoenix' really took the case."

"Wait, did you say 'Walking Phoenix'?" Ballista asked.

"Yep." Fury nodded. "Blissed out whackjob..."

“Do you know the guy, Ballista?” Survival frowned.

“Oh, do I ever.” Ballista declared, “His name was all over the news a few months back. He was an A-list Applewood actor. A pretty good one too… that is, until his lousy temper got him blackballed from the industry.”

"Temper? That guy?" Fury scoffed. "You gotta be pullin' my wing!"

“Yeah, I think I read that same article.” Black chimed in, “It was a huge scandal. Apparently he beat the crap out of this late night show host. Almost killed him. The guy got ran out of Applewood and hadn’t been seen since… until now, it looks like.”

“Are you sure the guy’s name was Walking Phoenix, Fury?” Sterling asked.

“Oh, yeah. But there’s no way they can be the same guy. The guy was as mellow as a cucumber.” Fury grimaced… before scowling, “I can’t say the same about this other guy.”

“Other guy?” Fletcher frowned.

“Yeah. When I left those yahoos, I was confronted by this punk.” Fury hissed, “He was getting up in my beak, not liking that I was talking to his pals. If it wasn’t for this other monk, he was seriously gonna try and fight me.”

“Wow, looks like someone could use more of that meditation.” Caboose tutted.

“I don’t know. He was acting all sorts of freaky.” Fury grumbled, “Scratching his hoof, eyes twitching. The other monk said he needed tea, but honestly, it’s like I was talking to one of those hobo junkies.”

“Hmm, the way you described it, those do sound like signs of a pony suffering drug withdrawal.” Survival frowned.

“Now that’s just silly.” Caboose scoffed, “Where the heck would you find drugs on top of a mountain?”

“I don’t know… but there is something weird going on around here.” Fletcher said firmly, “However, it does not change the fact that we are still no closer to finding out who has been sending those letters…” He turned to Survival, “How about you, Survival? Did you find anything?”

Survival opened his mouth, only for the sound of somepony knocking on the door.

“Oh, flap!” Fury cursed, turning to the Red Rio, “You need to get out now!”

"Oh, horseapples!" Sterling cringed.

"Get going!" Black urged.

"Now!" Ballista added.

"I'm trying!" Armory panicked, fumbling the controls.

“Let me help!” Caboose grabbed the Red Rio.

“Caboose, what are you-” Armory gasped.

“YEET!” Caboose screeched, as he chucked the drone out the window.

Outside, the drone struck one of the dazed monks on the head, knocking him out.

"Ow..." The monk groaned halfheartedly, as the drone landed in the bushes.

Fletcher opened the door, finding an Earth Pony stallion standing before him.

"Mantra requests that the four of you speak with him in the study immediately." The stallion announced.

"I see." Fletcher nodded. "Come on, guys. Time for a chat with the boss."

The group made their way to the study, which was deserted but for Mantra, who was reading. He looked up from his book as they entered.

"Ah, there you are." Mantra smiled humorlessly. "Very prompt. I like that."

“Well, we were told that you wanted to speak to us.” Fletcher declared.

“Is something the matter?” Survival asked.

“You could say that.” Mantra mused, “It was brought to my attention that you four have been going around, asking a lot of very… ‘specific’ questions. Questions about how things work around here. As master of this monastery, I must ask… why?”

“We did not mean to pry. We are simply trying to find leads on who’s been sending those letters.” Fletcher explained.

“But why ask the monks?” Mantra frowned in disapproval, “Is it that you believe that whoever is sending those letters is among our numbers?”

"We have reasons to believe that might be the case." Fletcher confirmed.

"What? Did 'Doctor' Horror here have another one of his 'guesses'?" Mantra scoffed.

"Hey!" Fury glared.

"Fury, it's fine." Survival held up a pacifying hoof. He then shot Mantra a dirty look. "I've studied the letters. The parchments they're written on matches the ones you keep in storage. And there were discrepancies in your inventory of paper, quill, and ink. At first, it would seem like somepony had been stealing them to make these letters, but we also ascertained that there's no way to sneak into this monastery undetected."

"And how do you know that?" Mantra asked, eying him suspiciously.

"Let's just say a little birdy told us." Caboose smirked. "And by 'little', I mean two foot tall. And by 'birdy', I mean-"

Fury slapped the back of Caboose's head.

"Ow!" Caboose helped. "What did I do?"

"The point is, Mantra, is that there's a high chance that whoever is sending these letters has been doing so from this very mountain." Survival continued. "Disparage my methods if you must, but unless there's a secret passage in this place that we don't know about, the only way someone could be writing letters on your 'parchments' is if it's a pony in this monastery."

"That may be... but you overlooked one thing." Mantra countered. "We have creatures coming up to this monastery all the time to deliver us all the necessities we would need, including paper and ink. Couldn't it be possible that this perpetrator stole from the shipment itself en route to the monastery?"

The group was about to rebut… but they couldn’t. Mantra made a very good point.

"He has a point there." Fletcher admitted.

"It's possible." Fury shrugged.

"And convenient." Caboose added.

"I suppose..." Survival mused, not fully convinced.

"I understand you're all trying to help, but honestly, you're wasting your time asking around here." Mantra said dismissively. "Our monks shouldn't be bothered with your pointless questions."

"Well, with all due respect, sir, we are just trying to find the pony responsible for these threats." Fletcher said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, not like we had much to go on." Fury added.

"That's right." Survival smiled at his teammates' support. "Honestly, I'm surprised you're not more concerned, considering how it is your monastery and your ponies being threatened. Aren't you the least bit worried for everypony here?"

"Worried about what? One hundred threats is a lot, but considering no pony has yet shown their face, I still stand by my theory that this is nothing but a prank." Mantra scoffed once more. "Even if it wasn't, I doubt it's something the Wise Lotus cannot handle on their own."

"Really? Even though you banned the practice of aura?" Survival retorted.

Fletcher and the others glanced at him in confusion. Mantra said nothing, but his face hardened.

"That's right." Survival nodded. "I heard from a very reliable source that you banned the practice of aura entirely after Chakra's disappearance. Not just ‘retiring’ it as you told us yesterday. Is this true?"

"Yes, I did." Mantra admitted. "Like I told you the day before, I didn't want to contribute to the cycle of violence."

“I understand that.” Survival declared, “But to outright ban something, especially something that has been part of your culture and was used to protect yourselves? Forgive me, but I am having trouble following your logic."

“What logic is there to follow?” Mantra said harshly, “You may not be aware, ‘Doctor’, but the power of aura is unlike any other. With it and enough practice, your power could rival that of an Alicorn. A power such as that should not be wielded by just anypony. Day in, day out, I have seen so many…” Mantra’s face twisted in disgust, “‘Unworthy’ ponies come and try and wield the power of aura.”

“Unworthy?” Fury frowned.

“I think he means bad ponies.” Caboose interjected, “Right, Master Manny?”

“It’s Mantra.” Mantra glared, “And if you want to use such a small-minded term, yes. Chakra, Faust rests his soul, taught about anypony who came here how to use aura. To see so many ponies falter and outright fail in even the basics… it was a spit in the face! An insult to the might of aura itself!”

“Eesh, don’t you think you’re getting a little emotional over some old magic?” Fury grimaced.

“My bloodline began in the Wise Lotus, Fury.” Mantra shot back coldly, “My father, and his father, and his father were born and raised in this monastery. Aura is literally in my blood. It is as sacred to me as the fountain. Perhaps even more.”

“But what about the other monks?” Survival asked, “They’re Wise Lotus too, aren’t they? Do you think them unworthy of aura?”

"Not exactly." Mantra declared.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Survival frowned.

"There are many traits necessary to properly use Aura." Mantra said bluntly. "Not all possess those traits."

"And what are these traits?" Survival pushed onwards.

"Far too many to name right now." Mantra insisted.

"We have nothing but time." Survival smirked.

“Look, the bottom line is, the power of aura must not be misused." Mantra said firmly. "That is the last I have to say on the subject. In fact, I believe we got a little off track-”

“How did Aural feel about Chakra teaching aura to others?”

The room went silent. Mantra froze, as Fletcher, Caboose, and Fury frowned in confusion.

“...Who’s Aural?” Caboose asked Fury in a side-whisper.

“I have no idea.” Fury whispered.

“Survival?” Fletcher frowned.

"...Who told you that name?" Mantra asked quietly.

“That’s not important right now.” Survival brushed off the question, “But what is important is yesterday, you told us two lies. The first one being that you banned aura, not just retire it. The other lie is that you said you were Chakra’s only star pupil, when there was another: Aural Sight.”

“I did not lie.” Mantra rebutted, “It must have slipped my mind…”

“Really? You just forgot to mention a fellow star pupil?” Survival pressed on, “Somepony who has trained under the same master as you?”

"I have many responsibilities here." Mantra scowled, trying to regain control of the conversation. "Much to consider. If I forget one small detail, am I to be condemned for it?"

“What’s the matter, am I making you uncomfortable?” Survival frowned suspiciously, “Did something happen with Aural? Did it have something to do with aura? Or perhaps, the fact that he was in line to be Chakra’s successor?”

“ENOUGH!”

Mantra slammed his hooves into the desk. Survival stepped back in shock.

“...You overstepped your boundaries. All of you.” Mantra declared, each word trembling with silent fury, “If I recall correctly, you were called here to find the one sending us death threats. And I expect you to do just that. I will not hear another word about aura or Aural, and you will not question my monks any further!”

“But sir, how are to we to help if-” Fletcher protested.

“That is your problem to figure out. If there’s even one figure out.” Mantra huffed, “And if you still wish to imbibe from the fountain, you will respect my wishes, or else be banished, with a strongly worded letter to your superiors.” He turned away, “Now all of you get out.”

“...Very well.” Fletcher said calmly, “Come on, guys. We’re done here.”

The group departed from the room, visibly perturbed and downcast. As soon as they were gone, Mantra sat back down in his chair, letting out a heavy sigh, casting a small glare at the doors.

As the four visitors walked back to the room in silence, Survival spoke up.

“I’m sorry, Fletcher.” Survival sighed.

“Sorry?” Fletcher turned to him, “Whatever for?”

“Do I even have to say it?” Survival grimaced, “I really messed up. I didn’t expect Mantra to react so intensely. I shouldn’t have goaded him like that.”

“Hey.” Fury gripped Survival’s shoulder firmly, “You did nothing wrong. You were simply asking questions. I mean, we’re busting our asses off trying to help him, yet he’s getting all butthurt over us asking his dumbass monks some questions?”

“Fury is correct.” Fletcher concurred, “It is becoming more clear to me that Mantra is less concerned about us finding the sender of the letters than he is about getting us off this mountain as quickly as possible.”

"Well, that's no way to get return guests." Caboose pouted.

“But first I must ask… who is this Aural you were talking about earlier?” Fletcher asked.

“Oh, you’re not going to believe this.” Survival began.

Survival wasted no time in explaining to the others what Relic had told him.

“So there is another monk who knows aura.” Fletcher declared.

“Yeah. Unfortunately, Ube interrupted us before I could learn more.” Survival finished the recap, “The big lug seems particularly wary of us.”

“I think I got that the moment we met him last night.” Fury scoffed.

“Hmm, just what is going on around here?” Fletcher mused, “For Mantra to react the way he did when you brought him up, there must be something amiss here.”

“Not just him. The monks around here have been acting weird too.” Fury grumbled, “Either zoned out of their flapping minds or acting all freaky.”

“Not all of them. I met this monk named Fresh Starter.” Caboose recalled, “He seemed real nice. So did that Relic guy...”

“Yeah…” Survival frowned, “I just wish I had a bit more time with him. He looked… troubled.”

“Well, I don’t think seeking him out will be a wise course of action.” Fletcher sighed, “As of now, we’re treading on thin ice. If we question any more monks, especially about aura, and Mantra hears about it, he’ll most likely make good on his threat…”

“And we kiss that magic fountain goodbye.” Fury growled.

“For now, all we can do is refocus our efforts on finding the sender of those letters.” Fletcher declared, “Only question is what to do now…”

“Hmm, maybe I should take a look at the letters again. Maybe I missed something.” Survival declared, as he pulled out a letter, namely the one with the ‘fear turkey’ threat. At first, it seemed like there was nothing left to see. But as he lowered it, he noticed a bit of dust on his hoof from the letter. "...What?"

"Found something?" Fletcher asked.

"...Maybe." Survival mused. He sniffed the letter tentatively, then took a small lick of the parchment.

"Well, that's not weird..." Fury frowned.

"So true." Caboose said obliviously.

"There seems to be some residue on the letter." Survival noted. "Some sort of dust..."

"Can I take a look?" Caboose asked.

"Of course." Survival handed over the letter.

"Hmm..." Caboose mused, as he looked closely at it... Then took a bite out of the paper.

"More weirdness." Fury groaned.

Caboose rolled the piece of paper around in his mouth, sampling it like a wine.

“Mmm…” Caboose clicked his tongue a few times, suddenly wearing a monocle, as he glanced at the letter, “Aromatic, vaguely smokey... If I were a connoisseur…” He then chucked the monocle away, “It kinda tastes like cave dust.”

"And you know what cave dust tastes like, why?" Fury asked.

“That’s a question for another time.” Survival brushed off, “This letter, the ‘fear turkey’ one, had a mildewy smell about it, and as Caboose just pointed out, there seems to be residual cave dust on the letter, with the dust sharing a similar coloration to the rocks of the mountain. With that in mind, it could very well be possible if the letters are not coming from the monastery…”

"Then the letters must be coming from the mountain within." Fletcher finished.

"I did see a few holes in the mountain on the way up." Survival admitted. "Perhaps whoever's been writing and sending the letters could be somewhere on the mountain itself."

"Which leads to another problem: how do we find the sender within this huge mountain?" Fletcher asked. "We can't just call for a search crew, not as long as we're bound by the monastery's rules."

"And going by the way Mantra and Ube are acting, I doubt they'll let us leave the place to go and explore." Fury frowned.

"And what about this aura business..." Caboose asked. "Boy, we sure have a lot of plot arcs to deal with this time around."

"Maybe we need to search the outside of the monastery, look around for any hidey-holes on the windy side, leading down to the fountain. Armory and the others hadn’t checked there yet with the Red Rio." Survival suggested.

"Oh, yeah, the Red Rio." Fury frowned. "Where is that thing, anyway?"

Elsewhere...

The Red Rio was perched haphazardly against a large root in the bush it had landed in. Armory was trying to get the bird up and running again.

"I can't believe he threw my brand new creation out the window like that!" He growled.

"I can." Ballista scoffed.

"Come on, get it flying again!" Sterling urged.

"I'm trying!" Armory answered. "All these branches aren't helping! It might be stuck there!"

"I know the feeling." Black sighed, as Armory continued his efforts.

"Caboose, you are gonna get it for this..." Armory snarled.

Back with the group

“...I’m sure they’re fine.” Caboose brushed the subject off.

"Then it's decided." Fletcher declared. "After lights out, we'll sneak away and search the mountainside."

"Sounds like a ton of fun..." Fury pouted.

The group waited until night, then began sneaking around, flashlights in hooves and claws. They were careful to sneak past some of the monks who were still awake.

"So far, so good..." Survival whispered.

"As they rounded a corner, they walked into Ube, who was looking the other way. They quickly hid. Ube glanced around, eyes narrowing.

"Uh-oh..." Fletcher hissed quietly.

Ube seemed to have figured something was wrong... then shrugged, and walked away.

"Phew!" Caboose smiled.

"Too close." Fury shook his head.

"Let's press on." Fletcher urged.

Soon the group had arrived back at the viewpoint outside the fountain. The biting chill of the powerful winds were felt by all.

"Okay, we're here." Fury shivered. "Now what?"

“Well, we need to look for any possible ways that a creature could infiltrate this monastery without anypony the wiser.” Fletcher declared, as he gestured to the fountain. “Now, when we were in there earlier, I couldn’t see any openings, meaning no one could get in from there.”

“Yes, which means that it is very possible that our letter sender might have infiltrated the monastery through this viewpoint right here.” Survival pointed to the panorama of the Frozen North, “Do you think somecreature could have flown in and landed here undetected, Fury?”

“Not likely. With how bad these winds are, you’d have to be a very strong flier if you don’t want to crash into this rock.” Fury scoffed, “Besides, I wouldn’t be surprised if these baldies have some sort of system that alerts them to incoming fliers from miles away.”

“Which means the only way they could come in is from below.” Fletcher declared, as he glanced over the railing with his flashlight, seeing the mountain slope down into darkness, “Ugh, it’s pitch black down there. I can’t see anywhere a creature could have climbed up here from.”

“Well, there has to be a spot somewhere.” Survival squinted at the inky blackness, “Otherwise, we got nothing.”

“Hey, I just had a thought!" Caboose suddenly exclaimed.

"It's a miracle." Fury deadpanned.

"What if Chakra is still alive?" Caboose suggested.

"Beg your pardon?" Fletcher frowned.

“Hear me out. Ponies have survived falling long distances, right?” Caboose started, “I mean, I fell out of a clock tower, Black fell off a cliff, and Shade’s thief friends got shot off the same cliff, and we’re all still kicking! What if Chakra survived falling off this viewpoint? And he’s the one sending those letters?”

“...That is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.” Fury growled, “Even if there’s a chance some guy could survive such a fall, why would Chakra be threatening his own monastery?”

“I don’t know, maybe it’s a Mr. Miyoki kind of training?” Caboose suggested, “Instead of waxing things on and off, it’s him disturbing the monks by bucking a turkey.”

“I’m not too sure about that, Caboose.” Survival frowned, “But as it stands, we won’t know for sure unless we can find some way to see further below this viewpoint.”

"...I got an idea." Caboose grinned at Fury.

"What are you-?" Fury grimaced, not liking the look on Caboose's face.

“You and me, Fury.” Caboose smiled, “Just give me a lift, and we can glide down the side of the mountain together!”

"What are you, nuts?" Fury growled, “I just mentioned that this place is way too windy to be flying anywhere! Having dead weight on my back is not going to help things!”

“But you won’t have dead weight! You’ll have me, Caboose!” Caboose leapt on Fury’s back, much to his shock. “Come on, we are clear for flight!"

“Hey, get off me, you idiot!” Fury struggled in vain to dislodge Caboose.

“Caboose, Fury is right, flying might not be the best idea!” Fletcher tried to defuse the situation.

“Yeah, I’m sure we’ll find a better way.” Survival added.

"Better than this? No way!" Caboose insisted.

“I said, get off!” Fury spread his wings in an attempt to throw off Caboose's balance.

Instead, the strong winds caught them, dragging the irate griffon and his passenger.

“Whoa!” Caboose gasped.

“Oh, flap! Flap!” Fury cursed, trying to close his wings.

But it was too late. The winds pulled the two towards the railing of the viewpoint, sending the two tumbling over the edge.

"Ahhh!" The two yelped, as they vanished beneath the edge.

"Fury!" Survival gasped.

"Caboose!" Fletcher yelled.

The two rushed and looked down into the blackness once more.

“Oh Faust… I don’t see them!” Survival panicked.

“Caboose! Fury!” Fletcher called down, “Where are you?! Respond!”

For one terrible moment there was silence (save for the winds still blowing). Fletcher and Survival feared the worst… until…

“We’re okay!” Caboose’s voice suddenly called out.

“You idiot!” Fury roared.

A dull thud suddenly filled the air.

"Less okay!" Caboose groaned.

Survival and Fletcher leaned as low as they could, pointing flashlights in the direction they heard the voices of their comrades. Sure enough, they located the two on a ledge a ways below.

"Oh, thank Faust you're okay!" Fletcher sighed with relief.

"No thanks to this dumbass." Fury scowled.

"Dumbass?" Caboose pouted (a bruise on his cheek). "I was right, wasn't I?"

“Right about what?” Fury challenged.

“We just fell off a cliff and we’re okay. That means Chakra could survive just as easily.” Caboose smirked.

“Hey! You guys should hold tight! Me and Fletcher will get some rope!” Survival yelled down to them.

“No need! I got ya covered!” Fury responded, as his eyes wisped, “Blackjack Technique Go!”

Using his Nightcrawler ability, Fury lifted his talons as a salvo of spears fired forth, peppering the slope up to the viewpoint with spears, forming a staircase.

“Whoa.” Survival gasped, amazed.

"Good thinking, Fury." Fletcher smiled. "We'll be right there!"

The two quickly climbed down the makeshift staircase, and reached the ledge.

“Okay, so we found our ledge. Now what?” Fury asked.

"Now we see where this ledge goes." Fletcher declared.

They followed the ledge around a corner, to a part of the peak out in the open (yet free of wind), and found a cave.

"Look at that." Caboose smiled. "Maybe Chakra went in there."

“Are you still thinking Chakra might be alive?” Survival frowned, “I don’t mean to poke holes in your theory, but Chakra’s supposed death was years ago. If he had managed to survive, why hadn’t he returned to the monastery to tell everyone he’s okay?”

“That’s assuming he even survived the fall.” Fury growled, as he rubbed his sore back, “I was lucky not to break my neck back there…”

"Well, since we're here, we may as well investigate this cave." Fletcher directed. "Our letter sender may yet be within..."

"But aren't the monks going to miss us if we're down here too long?" Survival frowned, “Mantra is already looking for the door to kick us out.”

"We have no other leads." Fletcher reminded him. "Our best chance is to hope we come across something in this cave. Anything."

"Besides, I wanna rub it in that clown's face when we find this letter guy." Fury smirked.

"Yeah, let's go exploring!" Caboose smiled.

"...Okay, let's do it." Survival nodded.

"Then it's agreed." Fletcher smiled. "Into the unknown it is..."

The group walked into the cave, unknowingly passing a small patch of flowers near by the entrance.

"Nothing so far..." Survival noted, pointing his flashlight around.

"Patience." Fletcher smiled. "We've only just gotten in."

"I know, but this could be our first real lead." Survival pointed out. "The key to starting to unravel this mystery..."

"I didn't know you could use a key to unravel something." Caboose said obliviously.

"No, it's a figure of- never mind..." Survival sighed. "Let's just keep moving."

"Aye-aye, keymaster." Caboose grinned.

"Wait." Fury suddenly stopped.

"What is it?" Fletcher asked.

"I just got a bad feeling..." Fury frowned.

Suddenly, a boulder dropped down in front in the cave hole, trapping them inside.

“What the flap?!” Fury gasped.

"Oh, no!" Fletcher yelped.

"We're trapped!" Survival gasped.

"Ooh, cliffhanger!" Caboose smiled.