The Perilous Quest to Save Vinyl From Certain Demise

Dropping low to the ground, and sneaking your way across the room, you hide behind the many objects in the main hall, approaching your unsuspecting target. As you do so, you watch her go about her work, running the polishing cloth against the smooth surface of the statue, making sure it was in pristine condition.

As she used her magic to clean off the stone stallion's horn, she scowled, clearly frustrated by her work.You weren't sure if she disliked cleaning, this specific statue, or Blueblood himself, but the latter seemed most likely. Muttering to herself as she moved on to the muzzle, she remains unaware as you creep closer, hiding behind first a flowerbed, then a statue of the Prince, then a marble column... slowly moving closer...

Then, when you find yourself close enough, you cease your lurking, and leap from your hiding spot, running at the mare from behind. She barely hears the clip-clop of your hoofsteps behind her before you tackle her, knocking her small frame over with sheer force. While this mare might be dexterous with her magic, she clearly doesn't have much strength in her body to fight you, and she falls over effortlessly, a sudden cry of panic leaving her lips as you land on top of her, holding her face down with a hoof to prevent her from seeing you, and using her magic to throw you off.

As you stand over her, she struggles madly, stammering as she tries in vain to throw you away.

"N-no my prince! Not n-now! I c-can't..." she says, her face turning a deep red as she blushes behind her sky blue mane.

Confused, you remain there, holding her down until it dawns on you what she might mean. Soon enough, you find yourself blushing along with the young mare, embarrassed by what you've just discovered.

So that's why he's making her wear that embarrassing outfit...

Soon enough, however, the mare begins to realize that her assailant isn't taking advantage of her position, and thinks a bit more clearly.

"W-wait..." she says, "Y-you're not Blueblood... I-I don't know what you want, but please don't hurt me! I just w-work here!"

Of course... You "work" here...

"If you cooperate, I won't have to hurt you," you say, trying your best to sound intimidating. "I want you to tell me where I can find Blueblood. I have something I need to discuss with him."

"Third door on the left, take a left at the end of the hallway, door on the left, and then down the stairs..." she rattles off quickly.

That took less convincing than you thought. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, however, you're just happy to get a straight answer.

"Okay then. Last question," you mutter, still holding the mare down, though you notice she's stopped struggling so much. "Do you know anything about one 'Vinyl Scratch', or where she might be?"

The blue mare thinks for a moment, before answering.

"Most ponies around her know her as DJ Pon-3, her stage name. I hear she's performed at clubs in Canterlot, but I've never been able to make enough money to see her... last time she was at Club Canterlot was maybe... a week ago?"

So Vinyl had come to Canterlot! You don't know why Vinyl couldn't have told you she had come here, but now, at least, you knew that she has spent at least some time in the city.

And that just made you begin to suspect Prince Blueblood more. If he liked unicorn mares like this one, maybe he had gone to one of Vinyl's performances and... desired her company.

Just the thought of Blueblood laying a hoof on your marefriend was enough to drive you into a focused anger. If you found just one piece of incriminating evidence, Celestia herself won't be able to hold you back from making his life a living nightmare.

"Thank you," you say, stepping off the unicorn and letting her stand up. "Return to your work, and I'm going to speak with the good prince."

You walk towards the doorway, ready to leave the room and confront Blueblood, but you find yourself interrupted by a hoof on your shoulder.

"Wait..." you hear, and turn to see the mare facing you back again, blushing a hot red in her maid's outfit.

"I... don't know if I can trust you with this..." she says, looking at the floor in shame, "but... could you not tell anypony you saw me here, or what you... heard... when you jumped me... I don't know what I'll do if my friends find out..."

As she you look back at her, you ponder your options, and then smile in understanding.

"I won't say anything to anyone, as long as you do the same."

"Thanks..." she says with a small curtsey. "Make sure you give Blueblood an extra smack for me!"

You chuckle a bit as you proceed through the doorway, letting the blue mare get back to her cleaning, now with a slightly more cheerful expression. Whatever her motives, you feel lucky to have met this mare, for she's shown you both where you can find Blueblood, and given you a rough idea of why pedestrians might have heard "screams" from this mansion.

You just hope that Vinyl isn't one of the ones screaming.

You follow the directions that the maid gave you, finding your way down a hallway, turning a corner, entering a doorway, and then finding yourself descending a long, stone stairway to a basement level beneath the rest of the mansion. The lights dim as the sunlight no longer shines in through windows, and the passage becomes ever darker as you descend.

At the very bottom, you find another door. As a small bit of light flickers through the crack on the bottom of its frame, you hear some strange, muffled voices from the other side...

Strange... you can swear one of the voices sounds exactly like Vinyl's...

What should you do?

Put your ear up against the door, and see if you can hear the voices more clearly.

Open the door just a crack, and peek at the other side.

There's a cooling vent near the ceiling... maybe you can climb into it and sneak above whatever's happening in the next room.