//------------------------------//
// The trials 
// Story: Beyond Betrayal 
// by Rarostar95 
//------------------------------//

After Razor was all patched up by Dr. Ringer’s ponies, everypony began to pack up their things and set of for the last leg of their journey. Not one of them said a word as they set off into the woods. As they were walking, Razor pulled out the map from is bag carefully so nopony else could see it. 
“I’ll take that thanks,” Dr. Ringer said as he snatched the map from Razor’s hooves. Dr. Ringer then started to examine the map, including the secret piece of parchment that contained the secrets to the three trials that lay ahead for them. The journey to the cave was by far the longest they had travelled yet. Awkward tension was lingering in the air as nopony said hardly anything for the rest of the journey. Razor was next to Rainbow Dash who would frequently ask him “are you feeling ok now?” Raro was next to Twilight as was Fluttershy. Bamboo sat at the front of the line while a gun was constantly being pointed into his side to lead the way for them. After countless hours of walking they finally made it to the cave, the place that all of them had been picturing in their heads for days now. Although, like most things that ponies imagine to look like, it was not what the expected at all. It was a large doorway blocked by a boulder and with a gap in the side of the door that would barley be big enough for woodpecker. Canopy grew on top of the cave which slowly grew down a slope on each side of the entrance. The thing that ran through everyone of their mind was what the hell could be in there? Dr. Ringer then took control of the whole scenario. 
“Right… this is where it gets tricky Mare’s and Gentlecolts,” Dr. Ringer said with a small smirk on his face. He then nodded his head at two of his ponies that then took a small round object out of their supply case. 
“What’s that then?” Raro asked him. The two ponies then slowly and carefully picked up the object between them and carried it over to the huge stone door. They cautiously placed it on the ground in front of them. Something then clicked in Razor’s head as he realised what it was. 
“This is the latest piece of weaponry I’ve devised. It’s a small pulse grenade that will send a localised blast within its radius, crumbling anything and everything in its path,” Dr. Ringer said. 
“Charge is set, get clear!” Phrase shouted out to all of them. Dr. Ringer scurried off to go hide behind a small rock, as did his henchponies. Everypony else just stood there looking at the bomb until realisation finally swept over them all of what was going to happen. Razor was the first to scurry off, then everypony else followed. A timer then started on the bomb. “3, 2, 1…” A giant wave of energy then poured out from it and everypony, including the canopy, was thrown back by the force of the explosion. No fire or heat was given off from it, only an invisible shockwave that almost shattered the giant boulder blocking the doorway in front of them all. The boulder had not been completely destroyed but was now as weak as a kitten, with cracks and small holes running all the way down it. Dr. Ringer then got up from the rock that he was cowering behind. 
“One last blow aught to do it,” He said to himself. And with that, a grey bolt of lightning surged through his horn and shot out at the boulder. The giant rock then smashed into a thousand pieces, and the entrance was now visible to them all… but the inside was pitch black. Everypony else, including Dr. Ringer’s henchponies, then got up from behind cover all slowly and at the same time. Dr. Ringer’s ponies then all leaped into action again with their guns in case anypony decided to do a runner. 
“Well, Mares first,” Dr. Ringer said as he pointed to Fluttershy, Twilight and Rainbow Dash. The three of them said nothing back to him and slowly started to make their way into the cave. Rainbow dash had a malevolent frown on her face and her eyes looked like she could kill somepony with them. As she entered the darkness, she gave this look as gift for Dr. Ringer who just gave her an evil smile back. Everypony else then began to follow their trail into the cave. Mission then threw a green flare into the cave to light the way for all of them. Everypony was now in the cave, and as the flare lit up the darkness with a flamboyant green light that filled the room, they all began to make out what was in front of them all. It was another large stone door similar to the one Dr. Ringer destroyed. Except this was a door, not a boulder. It had a complicated looking password system on it, with symbols that none of them had ever seen before in their lives. 
“I’ve heard of this before,” Dr. Ringer said to himself. He then pulled out the map that he’d snatched from Razor and examined it closely. There was a code on the parchment with symbols identical to those on the door in front of them all. 
“It’s a password” Dr. Ringer said to himself. He then walked up to the giant stone door and looked at the stone control panel on the wall in front of him. He then referred back to the code on the map. He slowly started to punch in the correct symbols on the door. He kept looking back at the parchment in case he had typed in a wrong symbol. Just then, as he typed in the last symbol on the wall the giant stone door in front of him began to churn. Thousand year old dust began coming out of cracks in the door as it slowly started to open by itself. As it finally opened all the way by itself, Dr. Ringer wasted no time and walked straight through onto the next trial. Again, everypony said nothing but followed him in, with his henchponies right behind them all pointing their guns at their backs. 
“Razor,” Rainbow Dash asked him. “What would have happened if he got the code wrong?” 
“We would have been killed,” Razor replied. “See those holes in the walls either side of us? If he got the code wrong, then poison arrows would have shot out at us.” Rainbow Dash gave him a look of worry then carried on walking through unto the next room where yet again another giant stone door sat, blocking their way. Dr. Ringer examined the room. 
“Now according to this, this is how this room works. There are two buttons; the first one activates a stone that will go rolling down a tube behind this wall. And the second stone button activates a panel that will lift up on the tube, blocking the stone on its path. If the button is pressed to late then the stone will carry on down the tube and activate a pressure panel that will trigger those arrows there,” He said as he pointed to some large arrows sticking out of the sides of the walls. “If the button is pressed to early, then the stone will gain too much momentum and break the panel therefore it will carry on rolling and activate the arrows. According to this, it must be pressed exactly eight seconds after the first button is pressed,” Dr. Ringer said to all of them. Nopony was even listening to him as they were all too angry now to say a word at all. Dr. Ringer then leaned over and pressed the first button on the door. They all began to here the stone behind the wall rolling down the tube. Dr. Ringer began counting to himself. “3, 4, 5, 6, 7… 8” As quick as a flash he slammed his hoof onto the second button. Just then there was a loud thud that echoed around the room, coming from behind the wall. Everypony then stood there silent, scared and anxious to see what would happen next. The door then began to shake and eventually opened. A giant wave of relief came over everypony. Raro gave off a loud and happy sigh, as did Twilight and Rainbow Dash seconds after his. 
“Well then, let’s not delay,” Dr. Ringer said to them all just as the door finished opening and slammed against the wall. Everypony again slowly and cautiously entered the final room. 
“I can barley see. Mission, throw another flare,” Dr. Ringer ordered his pony. Mission then threw a bright red flare into the darkness. The entire room then lit up. Everypony stood there with their jaws wide open, just looking into the slightly lit up titanic cave. The cave was a huge dome with just a small ledge which led to back to the entrance from which they came. Small beams of sunlight leaked through just a few holes in the ceiling where years of canopy had started to push its way through. And in the very centre of the cave stood a tall narrow stone which was connected from the floor to the ceiling, and at the very middle of that stone was a ledge that went all the way around it. And there, on that very ledge, was a small hole in the wall of the stone where the potion sat, just waiting to be taken after all those years. “Well, Raro, Rainbow dash, Fluttershy, since you’re the only Pegasi here that can fly, you go over there and get the potion,” Dr Ringer said as he pointed a gun into Raro’s side. “And don’t try any funny business because I’ll be watching you very closely”. So the three Pegasi flew across the giant cave from the one ledge to the other. Twilight, Bamboo and Razor watched them closely as they landed on the precarious ledge. 
“Careful, this ledge is just thin rock and is probably hundreds of years old,” Raro said. 
“Raro, we can fly, it doesn’t matter if it breaks,” Rainbow dash pointed out making Raro look like an idiot. 
“Well… yeah I know… I was just saying,” Raro said as lowered his head. 
“C’mon we have to get this thing back to Dr Ringer,” Fluttershy said. 
“No,” Rainbow dash said calmly. 
“Rainbow they have guns, let’s just do what he says ok,” Fluttershy said anxiously. 
“NO, ok,” Rainbow screamed. “I have come too far and be through too much just to let that bastard gain infinite power all for himself.” Rainbow Dash then snatched the potion from the hole in the wall and drank every last drop. 
“STOP HER,” Dr Ringer screamed. His henchponies then all opened fire onto the three Pegasi. 
“NO!” Razor shouted from across the room. Rainbow Dash then stopped all the bullets dead in their tracks. They remained there for a few seconds until they dropped by themselves onto the hard rock all the way down, lit up by the flare that Mission threw. 
“No,” Dr. Ringer said as he suddenly realised what had happened to Rainbow Dash. Just then she began to grow a horn on her head. She whinnied out in pain. The horn had now completely formed on her head as she slowly lifted her head up. 
“She’s-she’s an alicorn,” Bamboo said. Just then Rainbow Dash turned her head and looked straight at Dr. Ringer on the other side of the room. Dr. Ringer then grabbed Bamboo in a headlock and held a gun directly at his head. “Don’t try anything or I swear I’ll shoot him,” Dr. Ringer shouted across the room to her. Rainbow Dash’s fuming face had no intention on saving Bamboo at all. Just then, a multicoloured, large lightning bolt shot out from her horn and was heading straight for Dr. Ringer and Bamboo. Dr. Ringer then bailed, and by pushing Bamboo, pushed himself out the way of the colourful bolt of energy that then smashed into the ground creating a colossal explosion that’s sound echoed across the cave. The ledge that Dr. Ringer and his ponies stood on then started to crumble away. 
“We’ve got to get off this thing,” Phrase said to them all. Just then, before any of them had a chance to make for the exit at all, the ledge gave way and collapsed all together, leaving Twilight who was luckily standing in the doorway just inches away from the collapsing ledge. Dr. Ringer managed to jump off just in time with Mission by his side. He looked back at the doorway which was barley visible now due to all the dust and debris given off as the ledge hit the bottom of the cave. 
“RAZOR, BAMBOO,” Raro shouted across the cave. Dr. Ringer said nothing as he and Mission pushed past Twilight, scurried off back through the doorways and ran away out of sight and back outside. Rainbow Dash then came out with a loud evil laugh. It was almost like she didn’t even realise what she had just done, as she was so blinded by rage and hate for Dr. Ringer. The potion slowly started to take control of her. Just then, out of the dust and smoke came Razor. 
“Razor,” Raro shouted to him. He had lost his bandage on his broken wing now but could barley fly. His flying was eschew and just as he though he was going to fall, he crash landed next to Twilight in the door way on what was left of the ledge. Razor then looked over at Rainbow Dash who was hovering in the air. 
“Get out of my way everypony; from now on all of you take orders from me, GOT IT?” Rainbow Dash screamed as she addressed everypony left in the room. “I am your true princess and master now”. “Rainbow, what are you talking about?” Twilight shouted across to her. Rainbow then looked down at her with an evil face and shot a weak rainbow bolt at her. Twilight screamed out and then hit the floor of the ledge just inches away from falling off the crumbling edge. Twilight was left unconscious. Rainbow then laughed again, and with that she shot a powerful spell at the roof of the cave creating a giant hole in the ceiling. She then quickly flew upwards toward the hole, out of the cave and out of sight from everypony. They were all left by themselves now, with only their thoughts talking to them. 
“Wait, where’s Bamboo?” Fluttershy asked. 
“Where do you think she’s gone?” Raro asked Fluttershy ignoring her question. 
“I think Twilight’s unconscious, she needs help,” Razor screamed out to them. 
“Hold on then, we’ll come to you”. And as Raro said that, they both took off and headed for the ledge where Razor stood and Twilight lay unconscious on the cold, hard rock.