//------------------------------//
// Chapter 8: The Mansion of Madness 
// Story: The Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse: The Equestrian Adventure 
// by wingdingaling 
//------------------------------//







Chapter 8

The Mansion of Madness


Deep in the heart of the mansion, The Massster slithered into his personal chambers.
His room was large, dark, and ornately decorated with every treasure imaginable, from golden goblets inlaid with jewels to a bust made completely of amber, which was wearing a crystal tiara. The taxidermy-ed remains of a young dragon who had crossed him sat on a platform against a wall.
The snake dragged in his entire body, his excessive length undulating about the enormous room, sliding over chests loaded with fine linens, weaving through whatever statues were set about, climbing around portraits on the wall.
At the back of the room, set on a pedestal was a large diamond with a reflective surface. The Massster coiled up the front of his body before the jewel.
From the diamond, a shadow seeped out, which covered the entire room and swallowed everything that was to be found within. Then, there was a glimmer of starlight.
Slowly, the dots of twinkling magic filled the room and began swirling about, their light illuminating the sparkling treasures and the glinting eyes of the snake.
On the surface of the diamond, a shadowy form appeared. Nothing was to be seen of it at first, until its eyes opened with a stern glare. Though they were miles apart, The Massster felt as if he were being watched by the other as though they were in the very same room.
"I presume that you have news to tell me," said the image on the jewel.
"Indeed I do, good ssorcerer," The Massster answered. "It sseemss that only momentss ago did I receive a new guesst on my property. A young moussse. By the name of Minerva."
The shadow on the diamond said nothing. Not even his expression changed at the news.
"Are you ssurprissed? I don't undersstand how, ssince you ended up leaving her in the charge of that oafish cat to begin with. You're lucky that I wass able to find her sso quickly," the snake said.
"Hmmm...I'll have to have a talk with Pete later about keeping care of his charge," the shadow replied.
"And what shall I do with my guesst?"
"Simply keep her from any harm."
The Massster was surprised to hear this. How was someone such as he expected to be tasked with such a minuscule, insignificant objective?
"Iss that all? Admittedly, she iss a very graciouss guesst. But, what importance iss she that you would keep her here in my manor?" he asked.
"I don't intend to keep her in your manor."
Several of the dots of sparkling magic began to glow as they swirled about the room. One by one, the glowing magics started to compress and merge with one another, creating a larger mass of starlight.
"Use this to transport her to my castle. There is where she will be put to use as the key to Mickey's downfall."
The Massster didn't know what exactly the shadow was talking about. The name 'Mickey' was completely unknown to himself. But, he did have a shade of an idea of what role Minnie was to play, and a devious smile crawled onto his face.
"Dirty fool, good ssorcerer. Using one's love as a bargaining chip for your conquesst. Hahahahaaaa! I love it!" he deviously chuckled.
"Send her to me as soon as you can. And do not contact me again until you do. Afterward, simply continue keeping my treasure safe for me."
The image on the diamond faded, and the shadows in the room receded back into the massive jewel, along with the starlit magic. All but the cluster that was left in the snake's possession.
The Massster smirked after his master had left.
"Treasure? That'ss hardly the word for a grubby pair of bootss fit for naught but the refusse chute," he chuckled.
The snake looked at the magic before him, wishing that he didn't have to send Minnie away so soon. She was the first and only guest that he ever had at his mansion since he moved in, and was delighted by her company. Even though he regretted that she wouldn't be able to see the theater production that he and his staff had set up, he had no choice in the matter.
The door at the other end of the room cracked open with a quiet creak.
"Massster?" asked the voice of the maid.
Quick as lightning, The Massster's body uncoiled and undulated through the room so that he flung the door open to face his visitor.
The maid yelped and jumped backwards from the sudden movement, dropping the basket of laundry she had on her back.
"What reasson have you to dissturb me in my ssanctum ssanctorum?" the snake snapped.
The maid shivered for a moment, before she managed a shaky smile.
"The grounds crew! They think they've found the animal that's been living on the property!"
"Have they?" The Massster asked, suddenly intrigued. He began to pick up the fallen laundry with his teeth and put it all in the basket. "Thiss iss good newss. Pleasse, forgive my outbursst. Where precisssely hass it been sseen?"
"By the hedges. On the east side of the mansion."
"Very good. Very, very good. I shall ssee to the matter thussly. In the meantime, continue your job. After all, if you don't do the laundry, nobody will. Not ssince the other maids have been let go," The Massster responded, flickering his tongue and slightly baring his fangs.
"Of course, Massster," the maid answered, readily taking the hint to get back to work.
"Very good," The Massster repeated, after placing the basket on the mare's back.
The snake slithered away down the hall to his destination. Yen Sid would have to wait for his delivery, since he now had a chance to make his new home, his domain, nay, his kingdom, perfect in every way possible.





In the guest room at the other end of the mansion, Minnie was busily changing her clothes behind a privacy screen.
"Now tell me: what in the world is going on in this place?" Minnie asked, as she accepted the dress that Loving Care had draped over the screen, and observed the fine, red material that shimmered even in the low light. However, she noticed it was designed for a four-legged wearer. But, nothing a few modifications couldn't fix.
The mouse busily went about folding the dress as though it were a piece of origami. And using the supplies from a nearby sewing basket, Minnie was able to create something completely new, fit for a two-legged wearer.
Were her view not blocked, Minnie would have seen Loving Care look carefully around the room and press her ears against the walls, listening intently for any sounds beyond. When it seemed all was clear, she began to explain the situation.
"Alright. Minnie, please don't be too alarmed: but, The Massster doesn't intend on letting you leave," she said.
"What!?" Minnie nearly stepped out to confront Loving Care, only to remember she was undressed. "Why in the world is he trying to keep me here!?"
"Because that's what he does with everypony here. Anypony who he fancies gets taken in and kept here. I was only here to apply for a job, and suddenly I'm a prisoner of my employer."
"Why, that rotten snake in the grass! How come you haven't just left? That's exactly what I plan to do," Minnie said, observing herself in the mirror. There needed to be some accessories to go with it. Using what was lying around, she further improved her look.
"It's because The Massster doesn't let us leave! He's everywhere at once!" Loving Care answered.
Minnie listened intently as she took a gold ring off a curtain rod, using it now as a bracelet.
"No matter where you go in this house, some part of him is slithering by! And I could swear that he has eyes and ears on his entire length! Everything that you say and do: he knows it! And..."
Minnie had taken the bow off of her head and fastened it around her neck, then took a decorative stone from the sewing box to pin on the center, creating a makeshift choker and broach.
"Is something wrong?" Minnie wondered, noticing that Loving Care hadn't spoken for several seconds.
Loving Care still did not answer right away. She reflected in her mind the reasons that she could not leave, and it broke her heart to think about it.
One last touch, and Minnie grabbed the edge of her white gloves and pulled them up past her elbows. Her ensemble complete, Minnie stepped out from behind the screen to see Loving Care with her head hung in despair.
"Loving Care? Are you feeling alright?"
Loving Care nodded.
"I'm fine. But I...I can't leave. Not until I find my dog. He's my oldest friend. I've had him since I was a foal, and...I don't think he has much time left."
Minnie gasped at the news, gently placing her hand on Loving Care's hoof.
"I wanted him to live here with me, but The Massster hates animals, and he chased him away into the forest. What kind of monster would pick on an elderly animal, only because he wanted somepony for their skills as a hoofmaid..."
Before she could start crying, Loving Care felt Minnie's hands on her shoulders.
"I know how you feel. Right now, two of my friends are out there in the forest. One of them is too young to be on his own, and the other one is my boyfriend's dog."
"Oh, the poor things!" Loving Care said.
"It's why I have to leave. Those two need me to look after them, and I can't stay here and allow them to get into trouble. Especially with that snake slithering around."
A thought occurred to Loving Care. With it came a feeling that she had almost forgotten since she moved into the mansion.
"Maybe, we could find them together."
"You bet we can," Minnie readily agreed. "You and I can leave this place and find our friends!"
"And then keep walking and never look back!"
Loving Care almost stopped herself from speaking too loudly, but she didn't care. This was what she had been waiting for: a way out of her situation to fulfill her friend's needs.
A sudden determination filled her in that moment, all from nothing more than meeting a new friend in that horrible place. As such, she decided to offer her talents to her new friend before they left.
"A hat," was all Loving Care said.
"Excuse me?" Minnie asked.
"You'll need a hat if you're going to pull off that outfit properly."
Minnie smiled at the sentiment, as Loving Care went to a wardrobe that was filled to the brim with hats. One look, and the hoofmaid threw one of them to Minnie: a red cloche cap that matched perfectly with the rest of the dress.
"Well, look at me," Minnie said, after taking a brief look in a mirror. "You really are the best at helping others."
Loving Care giggled quietly, and offered Minnie a folding fan to further complete the look.
Now, they were ready to leave this place, and if The Massster didn't like it, he could sit on a tack. At least, that's what they would have liked to tell him.
Once they opened the door, Minnie and Loving Care both gasped at the sight of the snake's scaly, blue body slithering past their doorway.
"H-How long do you think he was listening?" Minnie whispered.
"I don't know! For at least fifty feet," Loving Care answered.
"What does that mean?"
"It means that we'd better leave this place quickly, before we find out if he heard us!"
Slowly, they both tried to make their way past the slithering torso, only to press themselves against the wall when it suddenly undulated towards them.





The outside of the Manor Serpente was still and quiet. No noise was to be heard from anywhere on the property. No wind even rustled the leaves of the dead, barren trees that surrounded the property.
It made skulking about the property all the more unnerving for Pluto and Spike. Every step they took was amplified a hundredfold by the crunch of the dead grass and the shifting of the dry, coarse soil.
Spike crept low, imitating the low-slung crawl of Pluto. Thus far, it kept him from being seen by anypony else who may have been patrolling about the mansion grounds. Then again, they hadn't seen anypony else since the two groundskeepers that passed by about a minute ago. It almost made the dragon feel as if he could walk upright the rest of the way without worry. Maybe that's exactly what he would do?
Cautiously, Spike started to rise to his feet.
There was a loud crunching noise behind him, making him drop flat onto his face.
Looking behind, he saw that Pluto had stepped on a dead leaf that had fallen from one of the trees.
"Sh! Quiet! We don't want that snake to find us!" Spike admonished.
Pluto shook the dead leaf from his paw and continued to crawl after Spike.
The dragon jumped when another crunch sounded behind him.
"Knock it off, Pluto!"
But that was the thing: Pluto hadn't stepped on any leaves at that moment. A brief examination of his paws and the ground beneath them proved that.
Suspicious, the hound dog started sniffing the air. Nothing but the smell of dead plants reached him. It was so overpowering that he had to close his eyes to better examine the world around him through his nose.
Nothing new was smelled. Only the expected dry leaves, wilted flowers, dead trees, grimy stones, unwashed animal fur, dusty thorns--
Animal fur?
It was faint, but Pluto thought he could smell another animal somewhere nearby. Somewhere away from where Spike was going to find Minnie.
True to his nature as a scent hound, Pluto began sniffing out the curious scent to discover its source.
Following his keen nose, the hound dog veered away from the dragon toward the direction the scent was the strongest. It was a peculiar thing, Pluto thought, for there to be the scent of any animal other than himself on the property, given the presence of The Massster patrolling the area. But, there must have been some reason for it to risk such danger.
He followed his nose through the patches of dead flowers, which dropped to the ground as he touched them; through the tall, untrimmed, dead grass, which turned to dust; over the grubby cobblestone patio, which left pawprints and a trail from his snout.
His diversion finally took him to the brown hedges on the border of the property, which were in the shadows of the branches of the old trees.
Pluto sniffed his snout into the roots of the hedges. Here was where the scents were the strongest. The scents of the dead plants mingling with the earth were overpowering, perfect for hiding from an inferior nose.
The scents of the other animal were strongest in here as well, but the stale air and dust were getting to Pluto's sensitive nose. He snorted, and shook his head to clear his snout, taking down many of the leaves from the plants. When he was done, he was greeted by a welcome sight.
There, only inches from his nose was another dog like him. A different breed (a corgi mixed with some kind of terrier, if he had to guess), but a dog nonetheless. One that was quite old and extremely filthy.
Pluto tilted his head to the side as he observed the other dog.
The other dog didn't do much, other than stare.
This seemed to be the source of the curious scent, but Pluto had to be sure. He hovered his snout all around the other dog, taking in all the smells that had been collected in its fur. With a snort, he realized that this was on the money.
"Pluto!" Spike called from behind, before running up beside the hound dog. "What are you doing over here? We need to get inside the mansion."
The older dog let out a low groan, getting Spike's attention.
"Oh. Hey there, old guy. What're you doing here?" Spike asked, patting the dog's head.
Being a dog, he couldn't answer properly, so instead of trying to convey his intent, the old dog began to hobble toward the manor.
"Wait! Stop!" Spike said, he and Pluto both holding him back. "You can't go in there. It's dangerous."
The dog knew full well the danger he was approaching. He had been living on the property for weeks and had seen the way the snake had been viciously pursuing any animals off his property. Too many times, in fact, he had witnessed The Massster's cruelty. And his oldest friend was a prisoner of the tyrant. He was going to get inside, whatever it took. But, he balked when he heard a familiar hiss.
"Where is he?" Spike whispered, for fear of alerting The Massster.
Pluto perked up his ears and lifted his nose. The snake was close. Very close. There came a sound of something large and heavy being dragged over carpet. His ears led his gaze to the upper level of the house, where he saw a gigantic body undulating past an open window.
The hound dog pointed his snout upward, to indicate to the others where the snake was. Spike looked up, and saw The Massster's nose start edging out an open window.
Though determined to find his friend, the older dog was not about to face a younger, larger, stronger, fiercer predator. With a groan, he turned back into the hedges, leaving the others behind. Taking the cue to leave, Pluto picked up Spike by the scales on the back of his neck and carried him into the safety of the leaves.
"Hey!" Spike said, before being pulled into the foliage.
Just as they retreated into safety, The Massster had started slithering out of the window. The rustling noise had grabbed the snake's attention, guiding his gaze to the hedges that were still vibrating from the sudden movement.
"SSo, that'ss where you've been hiding, have you? SSo close to the lair of your enemy," The Massster said, before slithering out his window. "I'm jusst going to have to teach you what happenss to thossse who tempt fate."
Within the hedges, Spike and Pluto were following the older dog through the labyrinth of roots. Beyond their screen of leaves, they heard a noise like something large and heavy touching down to the ground, followed by the noise of slithering over dead grass.
"Come out, come out, little friendss. I've ssomething for you," The Massster called.
Everyone's pace quickened from the serpent's taunting.
Outside the hedges, the upsurge of rustling alerted The Massster to their position.
"Found you."
Among the roots, the quarry was crawling as fast as they could. At the front, the old dog suddenly disappeared somewhere downward.
Spike stopped short of the anomaly, finding that the dog had crawled into a burrow large enough for itself to hide inside. Not seeing any other option to escape, Spike dove into the hole headfirst. Only for his head to get stuck.
The dragon released a string of muffled protests, as the sound of slithering grew closer. Worried by the noise, Pluto started pushing Spike further into the hole.
There was a sudden crash, and Pluto compressed his entire body like an accordion, as The Massster's open jaws crashed past him through the bushes and took an entire plant with them. Pushing his body forward allowed the hound dog to squeeze Spike into the hole. Sucking in his gut, Pluto was able to shimmy in next.
The Massster spat out the dead plant and looked down at where he had attempted to attack his prey.
"What have we here?" he wondered, observing the hole he had uncovered.
The hole was much too small for him to crawl through, but that wouldn't stop him from chasing after the intruders. The snake stuck his nose into the opening of the burrow, then curled up his body like a corkscrew. Once he was finished, he began turning his entire body, burrowing into the hole like he was opening a bottle of fine wine. Those animals would not escape him. He was going to see to that.
Further into the tunnel, Pluto was sliding through like water, pushing Spike along with his snout. Spike had rolled up like a ball to allow for better mobility in the tunnels below, until they all ended up in a larger room.
"Thanks, Pluto," Spike said. He and Pluto then looked about themselves. "Wow. This is a nice place you have down here."
For a place that was dug out from underground, the interior walls were etched smooth and lit with a small lantern, which illuminated a small bed of leaves and twigs, a small store area was dug into one wall, which was loaded with food collected from the forest; and even a shelf that was dug out next to the bed, where a picture was set. The picture showed a pony with a pink coat and dark blue mane with her hoof around the dog.
The room began to rumble, and a hiss was heard from the tunnel behind them.
At the moment, the older dog grabbed the picture and slipped it into its collar, and grabbed the lantern in his mouth, before escaping through one of the several tunnels that were on the back wall. Spike and Pluto followed after, returning to the previous tactic that worked so well before. Spike immediately curled into a ball, while Pluto sucked in and pushed him forward.
Only seconds after they left did The Massster tunnel his way in. The sudden extra space left room for him to hit his head on a wall, making him pause briefly to shake the pain from his head. Once he was done, he rolled up his body once more and formulated a plan to intercept the others. That in mind, he burrowed through the tunnel next to the one his quarry had escaped through.
Pluto pushed Spike with all his might, sending the dragon rolling ahead, sometimes bumping into the older dog at the front and pushing him along.
The tunnels up ahead forked two ways. The one on the left started to rumble, alerting Spike and the others to The Massster's presence.
Everyone quickened their pace as the snake started coming into view up ahead.
The window of escape was shrinking by the second as they approached the safety of the right tunnel, while The Massster quickly corkscrewed in from the left.
The old dog sped ahead, closing the distance to safety.
Pluto spurred himself faster forward, pushing Spike into the other dog's haunches. The other dog's back half ended up riding on the front of the rolling dragon, as his front half busily trotted along the ground.
The snake's jaws opened again, revealing the dark pit past his pink maw.
With one last burst of speed, all three of them passed the snapping jaws into the safety of the other tunnel.
Having missed his prey, The Massster reversed by spinning his body in the counter direction and shifted his head into the other tunnel to continue the chase.
The tunnel seemed to go on forever to Spike and Pluto, when all of a sudden Spike felt himself launched upward into the air, and landed on dead grass.
He looked behind himself to see Pluto's upper body pop up from the ground like a mole, only for him to get stuck the same way he had done himself. Returning the favor the hound dog did for him, Spike welled up a mouthful of green flames to fire at the ground near Pluto's back.
"BOOOOOOWWW!!!!!!"
With a mighty yelp, Pluto leapt out of the hole, his legs flailing as if he were running for his life. Once he was on the ground, he rolled about to ease his singed fur, before growling at Spike.
"It worked, didn't it?" Spike reasoned.
Pluto was none too happy about being torched the way he was, but he was at least grateful to be back on solid ground. Even more so when he felt the soil beneath them rumbling.
Spike and Pluto wasted no time getting away from where they were, just before The Massster burst from the ground, a vast part of his length cropping up with himself.
"Run all you want, my little tresspassserss! You'll only die out of breath!" the snake taunted his prey. "That iss, unlesss I ssqueeze the remainder out of you mysself!"
Spike and Pluto rounded a corner, catching sight of the older dog digging away at the overgrowth of ivy and thorns, revealing a hidden pathway: a window to the lower areas of the house.
The old dog tried to pry open the window, but it was no good with his old, brittle paws.
The sound of slithering came closer.
Spike got an idea and wedged the tip of his tail between the window and the sill. He held out his claw to Pluto.
"Crank!" he said.
Pluto did as ordered, and took Spike's claw in his teeth, cranking his arm up and down. With every pump, Spike's tail lifted slightly, which soon popped the unused window open with a sudden burst of dirt and leaves.
The Massster appeared around the corner, setting his sights on the three intruders. He slithered toward them, opening his mouth wider than he had before, intending to swallow them all in one gulp.
His jaws struck forward and snapped shut.
What happened? He hadn't swallowed them, and they weren't anywhere else near him. There was only one place they could have gone.
The snake lowered his head so that he could peer into the room beyond the window. It was too dark for him to see inside, but he knew they were there. They had only to be sought out.
"Don't think you've esscaped me. I know exactly where you are. I will find you. And I will devour you. And you, little dragon: I've a sspecial place for you in my treasure room. Along with all the other taxidermiesss!"
The Massster slithered backwards to leave for his front door and capture them inside his house, but he stopped when he saw something on the ground. Upon inspection, it was a picture in a wooden frame, showing the dog he had been pursuing for weeks, held in the hooves of Loving Care.
A devious thought occurred to The Massster. Now, luring the dog out was going to be easier than he thought. Taking the picture on his nose, he slithered back toward the front of his mansion.





Back in the halls of the manor, Minnie and Loving Care crept carefully along. The Massster's tail had slithered out a window a long time before, but they were still wary of his presence.
"How much further to the front door?" Minnie whispered.
"Not much further. It's just down those stairs, and then it's a straight shot," Loving Care answered.
At the end of the wall they were creeping along, Minnie could see the banister of the balcony that led to the stairs. A few more steps, and she was able to peer around the corner of the wall into the mansion foyer. There was no sign of The Massster's endlessly long body, a great relief, and a boon for their escape effort.
"It's alright. He's not in the house...I don't think," Minnie said.
Had Minnie's answer sounded more affirmative, it still wouldn't have settled Loving Care's fears. The snake had a way of being in every room at once, catching every misdoing and indiscretion that happened in his home. Worst of all, he had a way of appearing exactly when it was most inopportune.
The front door of the mansion burst open with a loud bang.
"Loving Care? Oh, Loving Care? Wherever are you, my ssweet?" The Massster called from the mansion's foyer.
Minnie and Loving Care both hid back behind the corner, ducking under a table, rattling the silver dishes and vases on top of it.
"Loving Care, come out. And bring Lady Minnie with you. I've a friend who'ss dying to meet her," the snake called.
There came a noise of him slithering toward the stairs.
"He'll find us here!" Loving Care shuddered.
"No, he won't!" Minnie assured her.
"He'll find us! We're practically in the open, and there's nowhere to run to!"
"Where are thosse melodiouss whissperss coming from?" The Massster's voice called out.
The snake began shifting his gaze through the room.
"SSomewhere--HERE!!"
The Massster struck his head into the alcove on the side of the staircase.
"No? Perhapss--HERE!!"
He struck his head up the stairs, so that Minnie and Loving Care could see him.
"I know. Over here..."
They had hardly begun, and now they were going to be caught. Minnie would not have it. She was going to get them past the snake, whatever it took.
Thinking quickly, she grabbed the fan in her hand and opened it. It was too small for what she had planned. She closed the fan, wrenched it in her grip, and to Loving Care's surprise, it had grown some six inches in length. Minnie opened the fan again, now a size that she could work with.
With a flick of her wrist, Minnie sent a burst of air down to the other end of the hallway, which hit a marble bust on a pedestal, creating a loud wobbling noise.
"There we are," The Massster said, now alerted and slithering to where he heard what he thought was a hiding pony.
The snake had been taken care of for the moment. Minnie took Loving Care by the hoof and led her to the banister at the balcony.
She tried to lead her new friend to the stairs, but Loving Care remained on her spot. Looking at the snake's body on the stairs, the lady in waiting shook her head, silently conveying to Minnie that she did not want to risk bumping into The Massster's body.
Minnie understood her fears, and came up with a new plan. Still holding her friend's hoof, she led her to the banister and motioned to jump.
Loving Care shook her head again. She knew the resounding thump of their landing would definitely alert The Massster to where they were.
Taking the matter into her hands, Minnie forced them both to hop over the banister.
Loving Care didn't even gasp, mortified as to what would happen next. However, her fears were unfounded.
Minnie took her fan again, fluttering it gently as they fell, almost like one would see a butterfly doing with its wings. Somehow, someway, the gentle fluttering slowed their fall enough that they both landed silently on the polished floor, without even that sound of a footfall.
Loving Care stared at Minnie, mouth and eyes popped open. There was no way anypony without wings could have managed such a thing.
Minnie only answered by smiling, putting one hand on her hip and fanning herself.
Nothing had to be said. The front door was right there, open and waiting, so anything Loving Care had to ask could wait until they were outside.
"You go first. I'll make sure he stays busy," Minnie whispered, barely audibly.
Loving Care nodded and slowly crept across the foyer. Somehow to her, the foyer seemed to grow incredibly long. Longer than The Massster's body, which was still sticking out the front door with length to spare.
The snake's body undulated toward her, making the lady in waiting jolt to the side to avoid being touched. She froze, hoping The Massster hadn't heard her, and not even sighing when she found he didn't.
Loving Care continued toward the door, looking back to see Minnie dutifully watching if the snake may notice them. She was getting closer. Freedom was within her reach as she stepped one hoof past the front door.
"Perhapss you need ssome perssuasion to reveal yoursself?" The Massster's voice called. "Do you know that beasst that hass been gallivanting about the manor? Well, it sso happenss that I have perssonally taken care of the matter. And it tassted terrible."
"Rusty!" Loving Care gasped.
From where she hid, Minnie covered her own mouth to keep from shouting out. There was nothing else she could do as Loving Care was suddenly wrapped up in The Massster's coils.
Quick as lightning, Loving Care was carried up to the middle of the stairs as though she were caught in a slipknot. There, The Massster stuck his head from the hallway to only inches from her face.
"SStepping out for a bit of fresh air, were we? But, I haven't given you leave yet," The Massster said.
"You monster! You evil beast!" Loving Care shouted as she struggled against the snake's coils. Tears began pouring out of her eyes. "Why couldn't you have just chased him away?! He was just an old dog!!"
"Quite the contrary, dear lady. I haven't done anything to your dog...yet." He squeezed Loving Care just hard enough to stop her hooves from moving. "But you: you are going to help me to flush him out! You will bring perfection to my kingdom! And when that'ss all done, I'm going to deal with the moussse in the houssse."
Minnie remained silent in her hiding spot, wishing she could go out there and have at the snake, only to remember just how much larger and fiercer he was than herself.
The Massster slithered away with Loving Care in tow.
"I ssupposse after thiss, I'll be in the market for a new lady in waiting," Minnie heard The Massster mutter.
Minnie was stunned. The whole plan had gone awry. Her friends were missing, and now Loving Care was in danger. What could she do to help?
She saw a familiar light in her peripheral vision, and saw the cluster of starlit magic Spike had with him.
"Oh. It's you," Minnie said.
The light didn't respond, but drifted ahead of Minnie.
"Do you know how to help?"
The light nodded up and down.
Minnie didn't know what the light had planned, but she had no reason to distrust it so far. Keeping an eye to The Massster's still-slithering body, she slowly followed after the light.