“BREAK IT UP!”
Twilight froze as the angry voice of Sonata, emanating from somewhere deeper in the manor, reverberated throughout the parlor. The furious tone from the normally-easygoing mare, combined with the sheer volume at which she’d needed to have screamed in order to make herself heard through so many walls, was enough to send shivers down Twilight’s spine. Nor was she alone in that, as everyone else went quiet at the angry shout, exchanging a round of wide-eyed looks.
Rainbow Dash was the first to recover, wings flapping as she leaped into the air. “Okay, that does it! Something’s happening and we need to find out what! C’mon!”
“No!” Teleporting in front of the room’s only exit a half-second before Rainbow reached it, Twilight stood upright and spread her forelegs out, blocking the way. “You can’t rush in blindly again! None of us can! That’s how we got in this mess in the first place!”
The rebuke made Rainbow gape. “Are you serious?! Twilight, Fluttershy and Soft Mane have been gone for almost half an hour now! I don’t care how big this place is, it doesn’t take that long to find a bathroom! And now we just heard Sonata yell ‘break it up,’ like a fight was going on, and you’re still saying-”
“Rainbow,” cut in Applejack.
But she didn’t have a chance to finish as the irate pegasus mare rounded on her. “Are you kidding me?! Look, I know I flew off the handle before, but this is different! Our friends might be in trouble! We can’t just sit here and do nothing while-”
“RAINBOW!” thundered Applejack. “Dagnabbit, I’m tryin’ to say that I agree with you!”
Rainbow Dash blinked at that, surprised to the point that she actually closed her wings and landed. “You are?”
“You are?” echoed Twilight, stunned. Applejack had been more upset than any of them at Rainbow’s behavior before. For her to condone it now was completely unexpected.
“Yes,” snapped Applejack peevishly, giving her girlfriend an irritated look, “I am! So how about you let me do the talkin’ for a change?”
“Right,” muttered Rainbow, fighting down an embarrassed blush. “Go ahead.”
Huffing, Applejack paused just long enough to give Rainbow Dash a quick nuzzle, letting her know there were no hard feelings, before she turned to Twilight. “Listen, sugarcube, I get where you’re comin’ from, but the mistake Rainbow made before wasn’t that she rushed in without thinkin’. It was that she went ahead all on her own, without the rest of us. That ain’t gonna be the case this time.”
“Applejack is right, darling.” Standing up, Rarity strode over to Twilight – causing Sandbar to pout as he lost the beautiful mare’s attention – and gave her a reassuring smile. “It’s clear that something unusual is going on, and if there’s even a chance that Fluttershy and Soft Mane are caught up in it, then we need to investigate.”
“I think we should, too!” cheered Pinkie. “I’ll bet everyone here’s throwing Lex a get-well party and Fluttershy and Soft Mane stumbled onto it and now they’re whacking a piñata and Sonata’s cheering for them to ‘break it up’ and get to the delicious candy inside!” She licked her lips, drooling at the prospect. “We need to hurry and get there before it’s all gone!”
Twilight managed a wan smile at that, but her good humor faded away as Spike hurried over to her. “Do you think something happened to Soft Mane?” he blurted, visibly distressed at the thought. “I know she and Lex don’t get along. What if…what if he did something to her, like he did to that poor dragon back in Tall Tale?” His eyes filled with tears at the thought. “What if I never get to tell her I’m sorry about that fight we had?”
“Oh, Spikey-wikey!” cooed Rarity, scooping up the little dragon in a sympathetic hug. “You and Soft Mane had a fight? When? What about?”
“Er, well…” Desperately, Spike’s gaze slid back over to Twilight, silently begging to be saved.
“Don’t worry.” Using her telekinesis to gently pull Spike out of Rarity’s grasp, Twilight gave him a quick hug of her own before putting him down. “If Soft Mane’s in trouble, then we’ll do everything we can to rescue her and Fluttershy.”
“Aw yeah!” whooped Rainbow Dash, unfurling her wings as she punched the air in excitement. “We’re getting our friends back, even if we have to turn this place upside down to find them!”
Pinkie’s eyes lit up. “Ooh, that sounds fun! I call dibs on this room!” she yelled, before immediately flipping the chair she’d been sitting on over, turning it literally upside down before giving a toothy grin as she rushed to the large couch in the center of the parlor.
Fortunately, she was prevented from inverting it as a raspberry-colored aura lifted the sofa before she reached it, sending Pinkie stumbling forward. “Actually, I’d like to say something before we get started,” announced Twilight, putting the couch down once Pinkie had moved away it. “I agree that we should go looking for Fluttershy and Soft Mane, but we still need to be careful. The map sent us here for a reason, and I still think that reason has something to do with showing Lex the magic of friendship. I don’t know what’ll happen if we fail, but I’m sure it won’t be good.”
She looked at each of her friends in turn before she continued. “I know we’re not all in agreement on this, but based on everything we heard at Princess Celestia’s summit, I think that there’s a good chance that what happened between Lex and the princesses was a misunderstanding, at least in part. What happened with Rainbow Dash earlier today definitely was. And while Lex certainly isn’t blameless for how things have turned out, I want to avoid creating another problem if we can help it. So while we’re looking for Fluttershy and Soft Mane, let’s make sure to stay calm and think things through so we don’t accidentally make the situation worse, okay?”
A chorus of agreements came, and this time Twilight’s smile was more genuine. “Okay. In that case, Sandbar, I’d like to ask for your help.”
Sitting up from where he’d glumly watching as everypony forgot about him, Sandbar’s eyebrows went up. “My help?” he echoed, before recovering his poise, climbing to his hooves as he cracked what he was sure was a winning smile. “I mean, of course! I’m always happy to help a mare in need!” That last comment came with a wink thrown Rarity’s way, causing the mare to titter coquettishly.
Fighting the urge to roll her eyes, Twilight nodded. “I’m sure you know this manor better than any of us. Do you think you could guide us to where Sonata is? Even if Fluttershy and Soft Mane aren’t there, we can at least check and see if your friends have changed her mind about letting us help.”
“It’ll also give Dash here a chance to apologize in person,” added Applejack with a smirk.
“Apologize?!” sputtered Rainbow Dash indignantly. But when a quick look at everyone’s faces made it clear that she wouldn’t find any allies in this particular fight, she heaved a sigh. “Okay! Fine! Whatever! I’ll say I’m sorry!” she huffed, crossing her forelegs and muttering something that sounded suspiciously like “Daring Do never had to apologize” under her breath.
Rarity, however, had other concerns. “Twilight, darling, we can’t ask Sandbar to be our guide,” she insisted, trotting over to the stallion and brushing her side against his. “He was just telling me how the first time he’d ever been in here was when he was brought back to life this morning. I doubt he knows the layout of this place any better than we do.”
Twilight’s ears folded back at that, unable to hide her disappointment. “I understand. In that case-”
“Wait, hang on a second!” interrupted Sandbar. Making sure his grin was still in place, he gave a shrug that looked just a little too nonchalant. “I mean, yeah, I’ve only been here once before, but I had a pretty good look around at the time. I can take you all where you need to go no problem!”
“Great!” smiled Twilight, standing aside and gesturing at the door. “In that case, lead the way!”
“R-right!” Nodding, Sandbar swallowed as he walked up to the door and stopped, looking back at the others. “So, um, a word of warning: this place is really big,” he cautioned. “Like, huge. So, don’t be surprised if it takes us a few minutes to get there.”
“Understood,” nodded Spike, clearly eager to get going.
“Also, don’t be surprised if it seems like we’re taking the long way,” continued Sandbar. “The, um, interior layout of this place means that the, er, the shortest distance between where we are and where we’re going isn’t exactly a, um, whatchamacallit. A straight line.”
“We’re taking the scenic route!” sang Pinkie, bouncing excitedly in place.
“Exactly!” Grabbing his bandana, Sandbar mopped the back of his neck with it for a moment before replacing it on his head. “In fact, we may need to double back a few times, because the hallways have, um…angles.”
“Angles?” repeated Twilight, tilting her head with a curious frown. “What kind of angles?”
Sandbar bit his lip, but was saved from having to answer a second later. “Can we skip the egghead stuff and just get going already?” moaned Rainbow Dash.
“Tut tut, Rainbow,” admonished Rarity gently. “I’m sure Sandbar is giving us these warnings for a good reason.”
“It’s like Twilight said,” added Appejack. “We can’t afford to make any more mistakes. We need to take things nice and easy, so that we don’t give Lex or those ponies followin’ him any more reason not to trust us.”
“No mistakes, I get it,” huffed Rainbow. “But if we wait here any longer, we’ll need to-”
But exactly what they’d need to do was left unsaid as the door suddenly opened, causing Sandbar to yelp as it nearly struck him in the face. “Okay, this should be the parlor,” came a familiar voice. “Let’s hurry and get inside before we’re-”
“Soft Mane!”
Yelling his girlfriend’s name upon seeing her in the open doorway, Spike rushed forward, throwing his arms around her. “Are you okay?! Where were you?! You were gone for such a long time! Is Fluttershy with you?! We were really worried! I’m so sorry about before!”
Looking like she was wavering between holding a grudge over their earlier fight and being touched by the outpouring of concern now, Soft Mane eventually chose the latter, bending over to embrace Spike in return. “I’m sorry too,” she murmured, before speaking up as she glanced at everyone else. “And I’m sorry we were gone so long. We got a little sidetracked, but we’re alright. See?”
Stepping aside, she indicated Fluttershy – the pegasus mare having been behind her – who cringed as she became the center of attention. “I’m really sorry,” she whimpered. “I feel terrible for making you all worry about us.”
“You guys probably got lost, right?” Sandbar gave a knowing nod, as though there could be no other explanation. “That’s what happens when you try to navigate this place without a reliable guide.”
“We did at first,” admitted Soft Mane.
“But then we ran into someone else, and we knew we couldn’t leave her behind,” smiled Fluttershy, gesturing toward someone next to the doorframe to come forward as she stepped out of the way. “Everypony, meet Starlight Glimmer.”
A pin could have been heard dropping as a purple unicorn mare with a mane and tail of darker purple moved into view. “It’s so nice to meet you all,” she grinned, looking them over. “Any enemies of Lex Legis are friends of mine.”
For several long moments no one said anything. Then, finally, Rainbow Dash broke the silence, a strained chuckle escaping her lips.
“Okay, well…at least now everypony will stop saying that this is all my fault.”