Musical Labyrinth

Her mind couldn’t bear it, after freeing herself from the trap, she still has that worried feeling. Although she didn’t express it, the thought wedged in her mind. Cadance was almost like Twilight, it must have been all the times they spent, when Twilight was a filly. They share a bond with Shining Armour, Twilight’s older brother and Cadance’s husband. She walked on continuously forward with the weight of the world on her shoulders. She also thought about the Crystal Empire. She thought to herself: do the crystal ponies know they're gone? Will there be a new invasion worse than King Sombra?

A stomp stopped her thoughts. She turned slowly, she wanted to see who or what it was. She took a slight right at the intersection. The torches on the walls illuminated the shadow of a pony. Cadance regained confidence and chased the shadow. She didn’t think on who it might be. She prayed to Celestia that this pony will help.

She finally caught up to it. It made a scream. Cadance couldn’t believe it, it was Fluttershy the entire time. The yellow Pegasus was frightened, her body shook vigorously. She was waiting for the inevitable. She peeked to see a familiar face smiling. She stopped shaking and gave a greeting.

“Princess Cadance!” Fluttershy gasped. “I’m sorry, I thought you we going to hurt me.”

Cadance forgave her. The dark, gloomy, bleak labyrinth can make any pony scared. “There’s no need to apologise. What matters is I’m here.”

Fluttershy can felt a warm embrace with Twilight’s fillysitter. Her fear slipped away. She explained what happened. “Cadance, I lost Twilight and the others. We were separated by this place. We took a turn, then I was cut off by a moving wall.”

“That’s awful. Have you seen Shining Armour?”

Fluttershy lowered her head, her eyes dropped. “No I’m afraid.”

Her sad expression on her face reminded Cadance back when she took care of Twilight. Whenever she was feeling upset, she would come to Cadance. She always listen to her and cheer her up.

“Where did you last see Twilight?” asked Cadance.

Fluttershy pointed to where they were separated. All they came across was a dead end. There weren’t any cracks, holes or loose bricks. The hidden camera spied on them. The mastermind watching them doesn’t even care about them one bit. Cadance and Fluttershy heard a cry. It sounded like a cry for help. They listened quietly, they have to determine where it’s coming from. Fluttershy’s ear twitched. She knew who it was. “It’s Rarity. Quick, this way.”

Cadance followed Fluttershy, she was glad that Twilight had great friends. She was thinking that she’ll become a friend of the Mane 6. Being in the Crystal Empire for so long, made her think about meeting other ponies. She’ll love to get to know more about Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Fluttershy. Maybe then she can make friends in Ponyville.

Fluttershy stopped just to see the most shocking scene in front of her. Rarity was caught in a trap. She’s hung dangerously upside down, her legs were stretched across by chains. Below her is a set of giant gears. The same gears that operate this maze. They continue rotating despite nothing happening.

Rarity gasped with surprise. “Princess Cadance! Thank Celestia you’ve arrived.”

“Been a long time,” said Cadence.

“I was so worried about you. I could bear the thought of the Crystal Empire with no ruler.”

While she continued rambling, Fluttershy tried to call to her. Her voice wasn’t loud enough. She raised her voice by just a slight decibel each time. Every single scream she emitted was barely heard. She inhaled so much air, her shout almost made the walls crumble. This immediately shut Rarity’s mouth. Cadance never knew Fluttershy could raise her voice.

“You’re hanging above in the air over a trap. This isn’t the time for a talk.” Fluttershy didn’t want to see her friend die a chatterbox.

“My deepest regards Fluttershy,” apologised Rarity.

Cadance used her eyes to find some way of helping Rarity. There wasn’t any device or contraption anywhere. It wasn’t part of any task, it seemed as if the creator knew there will be cheaters. It was a surprise to see Rarity in a situation which may imply she found a way around a task.

“How did you end up there?” Cadance asked.

Rarity had to as honest as possible. “There was a sparkling diamond, I just couldn’t resist. It was sitting over there.” She used her hoof to point to where it was. It’s concealed in a reinforced case. A blast mark surrounded it, indicating if failed to break it open by using magic. “I used magic to open, then I was grabbed by these chains, pulled up into the air and the floor opened.”

“How do we get you down?”

“Maybe there’s some significance with the diamond.” Fluttershy didn’t think it was placed there for decoration.

She found a sign which read: Push Button. Below it is a blue button. Fluttershy pressed it with force, a condenser studio microphone emerged from the floor. It’s attached to a stand with a pop filter in front. A TV screen popped up from behind. Instructions appeared onscreen. It tells them to identify the correct musical note from its sound. It also states that the diamond is part of the challenge. It instantly switches to a display of a sound wave.

The sound clip played a medium-pitched note. Fluttershy couldn’t think what musical it note was. Cadance was just as confused as her. They just came up with a response, they made it a gamble. They spoke into the microphone, the spoke at the same time.

“Medium?” They were sure it was a good answer.

Rarity felt a drop in height. Although she’s still hung in the air, she dropped about an inch. Her shriek alerted Cadance and Fluttershy. This shows they got it wrong.

“Oh dear, oh dear!” panicked Fluttershy. “Sorry Rarity.”

The sound clip played again. Cadance figured out the correct note. “G Natural.”

A brick in the wall opened showing a cannon. It fired a laser at the diamond. It bounced off the rock, hitting a hole near the ceiling. The floor covered the gears: it was only a section, not the entire thing. This was vital for rescuing Rarity. They don’t know how long it will take.

The next note is lower, Fluttershy was able to answer. “A Flat.”

The cannon changed its angle, fired a laser at the diamond, bounced off and entered a hole near the floor. It’s near the other side, another section of the floor appeared. It covered a section below Rarity. She drew a sigh of relief, if the chains let her go, she’ll manage to land safely.

Both Fluttershy and Cadance worked together as a team. They grew a bond with each other. They felt a sense of accomplishment, after correctly identifying the right musical note. Soon five sections of the floor, covered nearly half of the gears. So far they made two errors, Rarity shrieked louder and louder as she descends. It was hurting their ears.

“Does she always scream this loud?” Cadance asked.

“Only in this situation,” Fluttershy said embarrassingly.

“Only I can pull off ta cry for help.” Rarity was just for of herself, she saw a unicorn wondering around. She alerted Cadence and Fluttershy. “There he is! I found Shining Armour!”

Cadance smiled, she knew her husband is alive. Fluttershy felt the same way. Rarity tried calling to him, sadly he’s too far to hear her. He disappeared after taking a turn. Rarity groaned in frustration.

“How can no pony hear my voice?” she questioned herself.

“Maybe you’re a bit far away?” Fluttershy answered.

Just as Rarity continued complaining about no pony hearing her voice, the display screen showed the sound wave of the next musical note, followed by a sound. Cadance and Fluttershy continued speaking into the mic. The next clips were F Minor, E Major and B Sharp. They got them right, more sections of the floor, each bigger than the last, covered nearly all the gears.

They were almost done with completing the task. They weren’t certain if they should answer wrong a few more times, just so Rarity can land safely over the floor, or try to answer correctly to have the entire floor back together. They didn’t want to risk it, it could cost Rarity her life.

Only three more to go. They managed to identify D Sharp and C Flat. There was a bump in the road, the final note displayed on the screen. The display of a sound note put them off. They were so used figuring out the notes by sound, that seeing one made it difficult. Words appeared on screen: Explain what this note represents.

Cadance doesn’t know anything about what each musical note is used for. Fluttershy took a random guess. “Um... it doesn’t represent a sound?”

The final section of the floor appeared. Fluttershy and Cadance cheered, giving each other a high hoof. It’s like a high-five only with hooves.

Rarity cheered in delight. “Fabulous! Now I can safely land.”

The chains holding her suddenly unshackled, causing her to fall. Cadance and Fluttershy rushed over for her aid. Rarity managed to stand on her hooves. Her experience of being suspended in the air was very uncomfortable.

“Are you hurt?” Cadance asked.

“I’ll manage. You won’t believe how awful it was up there. The fact that my legs were spread apart, it’s like some demented joke,” Rarity complained.

“If we hurry, we’ll catch up with Shining.”

It’s rare for Shining Armour to think about Twilight. At the same time, he was focusing on finding Cadance than figuring out more about this place. He wasn’t thinking about the pitfalls or traps he may encounter. He was also thinking about his younger sister. He wasn’t sure how can he forgive her after she attempted to prove that the mare he was going to marry was an imposter. Even after he’s brainwashed, he couldn’t find the words.

He stopped in front of a window. He just became confused. Then he had an idea: he could break through it, creating a shortcut. He fired a beam of magic, shattering the glass. He checked to see if he can avoid getting cut in the frame. He slowly placed his hooves on the other side. He was finding spots were there’s no glass. His legs were shaking. He took a stab at leaping forward. He hit the wall and landed on his stomach.

He stood up straight and before another thought entered his head, Pinkie Pie made him jump after seeing her. It was a surprise to see her. In reality, Pinkie Pie was more surprised than Shining.

“Are you one of Twilight’s friends?” he asked.

“Your Twilight’s older brother!” Pinkie said in a quick pace. “You won’t believe what this place is doing to us. We were arguing which direction should we be going, then we were all separated.”

“Twilight’s here?”

“Yeah, we’re here to rescue you. Except I’m on my own. No time to waste, we must find the rulers of Equestria.”

“And Cadance,” Shining reminded to Pinkie.

They raced around different directions, they were unsure where they might end up. This wasn’t the brightest idea they thought. It didn’t take long for them to fall into a trap. They fell down a hole, landing in piles of hay. Pinkie found it a ridiculous place. “A pitfall with hay? Is this evil genius a fan of Daring Do?”

Shining Armour never heard of the Daring Do series. He isn’t exactly a bookworm like Twilight. “We better find a way out of this place.”

A loud turn of gears echoed, followed by movement of stone. The walls were slowly closing in. Then images of various musical instruments on one wall; the other wall had the names of the instruments. They’re imprinted on the bricks. They act like buttons when pressed. There were 16 in total, with eight on each side.

Shining pushed against the wall. His strength couldn’t make it stop. Pinkie looked at the images and words. She knew how to solve it. “Hey, we’re supposed to match those pictures with those words.”

Shining stopped, he knew there was another way of avoiding being crushed. “You take the side with the images; I’ll take this one.”

They each stood near their assigned walls. Pinkie eyed on a picture of a stringed instrument. “It’s a violin.”

Shining searched, he found the word “viola” instead of “violin”. He pressed against it, Pinkie pressed the image, and they both sank into the walls.

“It’s actually a viola, not a violin,” said Shining.

“What’s the difference?” asked Pinkie.

“A viola is bigger and has a deeper sound; a violin is smaller with a high-pitched sound.”

They continued matching words with the pictures. Pinkie pressed against another stringed instrument. Shining pressed against the one with “zither” written on it.

Then she placed each of her hooves on the pictures of congas and bongos. Shining was puzzled. “Why are you placing your hooves on two pictures?”

He noticed that the walls are closing in faster. He didn’t wait for an answer. He placed his hooves on the words, which match the images. The walls continue to close in; there wasn’t much room left. They have to make quick decisions, if they want to escape.

The other instruments they matched were the tin whistle and the harmonica. Just as they were about to match the last two, when Shining felt pain in one of his hooves. It was from all the pressing against the bricks. Pinkie started to feel pain as well; only this time, it’s her back. It was from all the pressure in finishing the task on time. They struggled to stand without further injuring themselves.

“Do you think maybe, we should switch places?” suggested Pinkie.

“There’s only two left; I don’t see why not,” answered Shining.

After switching places, they eyed on the last two bricks. They were xylophone and harp. Pinkie and Shining each pressed a brick. Once they were pushed in, Pinkie and Shining pressed the other ones.

The walls stopped just as they touched their tails. They collapsed in exhaust.

"Any ideas on how do we get out of this trap?" asked Shining Armour.

Pinkie Pie and Shining Armour were shot in the air. They fell on top of a pegasus, who was flying in the air. They were in more pain due to the landing.

"Ow, that hurt!" said Rainbow Dash.

"Tell that to the mastermind who had us trapped in a pit; where we have to solve a puzzle before being turned into jello," said Pinkie Pie.

Shining limped as he got up. Pinkie was too tired to hug Rainbow Dash. All three were in great pain: Pinkie Pie couldn't jump around, Shining Armour couldn't use his horn, and Rainbow Dash can't use her wings. All they can do is walk.