Musical Labyrinth

Almost there, now a sudden stop. Seeing darkness everywhere created fear for them. With their eyes opened, all they can see is black. They couldn’t remember how long they were unconscious. They tapped the ground, spun around, and collided with each other.

They emitted a glow on their horns. Luna and Celestia can see each other. Shaken by the fall, they were hesitant to embrace each other. Wherever they were, they couldn’t see any way out. For the first time, they felt helpless.

“Could Wes be right?” asked Celestia.

Luna didn’t have a proper answer. “About what he said? It’s uncertain, we just don’t what might happen.”

Celestia was more desperate than Luna. She didn’t take Wes’ words at first, after taking about it, the thought clouded her mind. She can hear the voices crying in despair. All the ponies panicking and consumed with evil. Some resisted and wondered where they were, some begged for them to return, others shun them for abandoning them.

Luna cared for her, she was willing to do the way Celestia did, when they became rulers. She stood next to her, Celestia’s eyes slowly filled up with tears. Luna can remember how she felt the same way when she banished Luna to the moon, after turning into Nightmare Moon.

“Celestia,” Luna said in a soft voice.

Celestia looked at Luna. She didn’t wipe her eyes, pretending that something’s in them. Tears trickled slowly down, she didn’t know what to think. She hesitated to breathe, followed by a gulp down her throat. She broke down, hugging her sister. Luna felt the rush. It felt like a gust of wind blasting on to her body.

“It’s happening so fast, I can’t stop thinking about it. It just feels real.” Celestia couldn’t hold it in longer. Confessing was the first thing to react.

Luna comforted her. “Wes didn’t mean to say those things. He doesn’t know anything about Equestria. He’s just imagining what “might” happen, rather than “could” happen.”

“He said he knows who’s responsible.”

“We don’t know anything about him.”

“Think about it, if we didn’t bring Vinyl Scratch and Octavia, then there’s no chance that we’ll return to Equestria. With all the decisions we made in the past, there’s a good outlook. Even if we make it back and Equestria is in ruins, we can show that we still got it.”

Celestia’s amazed with Luna’s optimism. One thing bothered her mind. “Where do you get this statement?”

“I just make it up as I go along, like you used to do when you were a filly.” Luna raised her eyebrow and smiled.

Celestia knew what she meant, she smiled back and her eyes stopped producing tears. She felt better, even though the image of Equestria’s possible future floated in her head. She placed her head next to Luna’s. She’s happy to have a sister who cares. Luna felt Celestia’s hooves around her head. I happened very quickly. She wrapped her hooves around Celestia’s. The lights on their horns brightened up the area. Everything’s made of metal.

The lights turned on, coming from the ceiling. There were two TV screens on the walls. One directly across from the other. Each side had two foot plates, they each sink into the ground once stepped on. There were no instructions, not even a scroll or plaque. Names flashed on the screen, each only appeared for a few seconds.

Celestia and Luna had no clue on what they’re supposed to do. One side of the room grow bright, the other side goes darker. Thinking on where they might go, Celestia went over to the area with light, and Luna went to the area with darkness. They each pressed the footplates, once a name appeared on each of the screens.

From where Luna’s standing, the lights continued to dimmer. From where Celestia’s standing, the lights continued to brighten. They didn’t know whether they got the hang of it. They continued stomping the footplates when half of the room brightens, and the other half dimmers. They felt something injuring their bodies. The screens had the words Ashford and Simpson displayed.

They as they continued, they suffered more. What was causing their injuries wasn’t from above. They felt it coming from the ground. Instead of giving the participant(s) feel pain for getting a wrong answer, they suffer from getting it right. Instead of using electricity, a mechanism underneath accesses the pain receptors in the body.

Luna and Celestia stopped after only five correct matching pairs. It felt like being injected with syringes and bludgeoned with rocks. They immediately caught on that if they receive injury, they answered correctly. Yet they don’t know what they’re supposed to do. They never heard of any of the names the TV screen had shown.

“We’ve lost. Everything we worked for… ruined.” Celestia cried both in pain and emotion. She bent down in defeat.

Luna didn’t want to give up. She limped over to Celestia. Her wings were in pain, trying to fly over will cause pain. “You know better than that.”

Celestia didn’t turn her head, she continued to sob. She lied on the ground. Her head rested on the pavement. Luna came closer, trying to make eye contact. “We can’t quit now. We were doing alright.”

Luna thought for a minute. She thinks what Wes said earlier clouded Celestia’s mind. She knew Wes would never be mean to anybody. “We’ve been through some difficult times. We’re used to this. It doesn’t matter if we’re in Equestria or not, we can pull through any situation.”

Luna raised her eyebrow, she noticed something’s off. “You not that upset.”

Celestia looked up, Luna was right. She didn’t breakdown from Wes’ words. “You managed to see through me.”

She wiped her eyes, slowly standing up. She smiled at Luna. “I was just regaining my strength.”

Celestia’s surprised that Luna wasn’t gullible. She used to play tricks on her before Luna became Nightmare Moon.

“You never stop,” smiled Luna. “Playtime is now over. We must finish this to find the others.”

They went back to the foot plates. Despite not knowing what to do, they decided to give it all. Whenever they got it right, the lights near Celestia dimmed and lights near Luna brightened. They felt the pain on their bodies. They didn’t stop, no matter how long it took. They switched and used their hind hooves, whenever their front hooves hurt from the stomping. They felt tears coming down from their eyes. They smiled back at each other, they didn’t either of them to stop.

After pairing twenty-three names which appeared onscreen, one of the walls opened. It didn’t have any light, only the sound of echoes. They entered passage unwillingly wondering where it will take them.

The wall behind them closed. They used their horns to light the passage. They searched the walls and ceiling, nothing unusual happened or appeared. They can hear each other breathing near their ears. They suddenly slipped and both came tumbling down.
Once they got to their hooves, they turned around and found a flight of stairs.

“Who put that there?” asked Celestia.

“Whoever kidnapped us and wanted to use us as pawns,” Luna answered in an angry voice.

Luna slowly built up rage. Her eyes turned white and she levitated off the ground. She shouted in the royal Canterlot voice. “Whoever I catch is responsible will bow down before the princess of the night!”

She returned to normal shortly afterwards. Celestia’s mane and tail blew back by the force of voice. They were like straight lines. Luna laughed at Celestia’s new style. “I like this look better.”

Celestia touched her tail and mane. She couldn’t remember the last time she changed her mane and tail style. She thought of shaking it off and returning them back to their original state, but then decides to leave them where they were.

They continued pressing forward.