//------------------------------//
// Prologue 
// Story: Berry's Test 
// by Maple Sunrise 
//------------------------------//

 Her thoughts were foggy as she slowly gained consciousness. Berry tried to open her eyes, only to close them shut immediately afterward as her eyes were blasted with white light. The light so bright, it could beat the shine of Colgate’s teeth. Normally Pinkie wouldn’t serve alcohol during her parties, but last night was probably an exception. Berry’s head was pounding as she tried to clear her blurry mind. She felt pain at the back of her head and winced. She tried to raise a hoof to rub her eyes, but she couldn’t lift either of her hooves. Her eyelids flew open as she tried to make herself sit upright, as she had learned from Lyra, to look at her hooves, only to find that she was restrained. She could move her hind legs, yes, but it seemed that her hind legs weren’t touching the ground.

“Hello?” Berry called out, hoping in vain for a reply. She tried to wriggle her forehooves free, but to no prevail. She tried remembering how she could have gotten herself to wherever the hell she is now in the first place. This isn’t the first time she woke up somewhere she was not familiar with, but being restrained to something was a first. There was a clock hanging on a wall nearby. As she blinked a few times, she started recalling the events that took place during the party. According to the clock on the wall, it was 6.45 in the morning. Which would mean she was at the party roughly 8 hours ago. She winced as the pounding in her head increased in intensity. She had a flashback.


The music was thunderous as she stepped into Sugarcube Corner. Berry was, for the first time in days, sober when she came to the party. Almost everypony in Ponyville was there. The weird part was that the host, Pinkie Pie, was nowhere to be found. Berry sat in the corner watching couples dance in perfect rhythm to the music played. Rarity and Twilight were sitting in a corner, and judging by the smile on Twilight’s face, Rarity had gotten a juicy topic for them to discuss. Berry turned her head to the banquet table, where Applejack was snarfing down a couple of apple tatins, much to Fluttershy’s look of disgust. Applejack grinned at Fluttershy, then continued chomping down some more pastries. Berry let her mind wander as she slowly watched her friends enjoy themselves. Though she barely ever spoke to anyone, Berry has at least acquainted herself with everypony in Ponyville. They probably had known Berry for her thirst for alcohol. Her mind came back as she heard a sound come from behind her.

The back door creaked open, and Pinkie Pie came tiphoofing in to the kitchen, slowly carrying a crate on her back. Berry was confused. I wonder what she’s up to this time. Normally Pinkie Pie wasn’t this secretive. Maybe she’s planning a surprise or something. Berry got up, went to the beverage stand and, to her delight, found some apple cider. She poured herself a glass and quickly stole a glance at Pinkie. She was bringing in her second crate. Berry wondered why she’s acting so weirdly even when people could see through the kitchen door. Berry took a sip, and immediately her face flushed red. Apple cider normally wouldn’t have a high alcohol content, but this cider was different. Enjoying the light-headed feeling, she chugged it down. Belching as she finished, she stole another glance to the kitchen. Pinkie wasn’t there, though the crates she brought in were visible on the counter. Berry debated with herself whether or not she should check out the crates, or just mind her own business.

As Berry was taking her second cup of cider, she caught a glimpse at Rainbow Dash gliding around outside. That night was rather cloudy, and Berry expected rain soon. Apparently Rainbow Dash was with someone. Exactly who, Berry didn’t want to know, but she could probably guess who it was. Berry was about to take another sip when she was bumped from behind. The glass Berry was holding shattered on the wooden floor as she dropped it. She turned around.

A colt, who apparently drank more cider than he should have, was giving a stupid grin as a sign as an apology. Berry thought she had recognised him for a moment then, but then she shrugged it off, acting like nothing had happened. Apparently she wasn’t the only one enjoying the cider tonight. The music changed from Robbie Neighliam’s “Bodies” to The Hoof’s “Won’t be foaled again”. As the music filled the air, Berry went ahead to get a third glass of cider. Her face was really flushed and she could tell that this cider really was stronger than anything she’s had in a while. Taking a sip, she caught a glimpse at Pinkie in the kitchen. She was jumping around ecstatically around one of the crates. Apparently Pinkie had just received a package of some sort. No shit Berry.

Pinkie went out of the kitchen, and headed towards the banquet table. Applejack had fallen asleep at the table and Fluttershy was nowhere in sight. She probably went home already. The clock on the wall showed 11:15 pm. Rarity was sitting in the same corner she and Twilight were, only now Twilight went to get some cupcakes for them to indulge in. Rarity had one of those silly smiles she made every time she was going to do something, knowing that she’d regret it later. Berry finished her fourth cup. She really couldn’t think straight. Her eyes were giving her double vision again, no thanks to the alcohol. Despite being on all fours, she couldn’t stand up or sit up right. She looked around. Pinkie was busy greeting guests, and everyone else was still enjoying themselves. Berry let curiosity take her away as she stumbled to the kitchen to see what Pinkie was so excited about.

Carefully pushing open the kitchen door, Berry turned around. Pinkie was still busy greeting a few more guests. Looking around to make sure no one else was watching her, she stepped in. The music had gotten somewhat louder, and Berry was glad to be away from that for a while. There was a crate on the counter, and another one was on the floor. Stabilizing herself by placing a hoof on the counter, she knelt down to read the label on the crate. She tried to read out the label. The kitchen was rather dark so it took a short while for her eyes to adjust to the darkness.

M..Met....Meta... Curse this darkness. She slammed a hoof onto the crate, and immediately drew back. She forgot that she didn’t want Pinkie to know that she was in the kitchen. Or anybody else for that matter. The last thing Berry wanted was to be kicked out for trespassing, which would make no sense at all.

She shook her head and rubbed her eyes with her forehoof. She tried to read the label on the crate one more time. As her eyes fixated onto the label, she could make out a few gears on the label. Metal...Metallic... Metallic Ge...Berry rubbed her eyes and tried reading the words again, this time, she could read the words clearly, as if someone had just turned on the lights in the kitchen. Metallic Gears. She blinked twice. What does Pinkie have to get all excited about this kind of trash? Why does she even have to get these for her parties?

Before Berry could ask herself anymore questions, she felt a sharp pain at the back of her head, and blacked out. Next thing she knew she woke up restrained to a table somewhere.


Flashback’s over. Where the hell am I? She craned her neck to see if there’s anything in her surroundings that could possibly give her a hint to where she might be now. The table was propped up against a wall, enabling Berry to have a complete view of the room she was in. Even so, she couldn’t really tell where she was. The light bulb that hung in the middle of the room was dimly lit, but it was sufficient enough for her to be able to look around. Opposite of her position was a door, flanked by 2 windows, both covered with curtains that blocked out the outside world.

“Hello?” Berry called out again. No reaction whatsoever from her surroundings. Even as it were almost 7 in the morning, she doubted if anyone would be awake this early on a weekend. She knew Applejack would be awake around this time to prepare for another day of apple-bucking, but Berry wasn’t quite sure if she was anywhere near Sweet Apple Acres. She couldn’t pick up the scent of apples anywhere. She tried to wriggle her forehooves again, only managing to make each forehoof slip through slowly out of her restraints. Realising this is gonna take a very long time, she stopped trying and continued to scan her surroundings.

Berry couldn’t see anything else. She wondered if- wait. Her gaze fell upon the floor, where a note had been placed. The note was roughly 3 feet (or hooves) away from her. She focused her eyes on the first word of the note. Hello. After that she couldn’t read anymore of the note. She tried to wriggle her forehooves one more time, this time managing to bring both hooves a further inch free. She repeated the process until eventually her hooves were out of the restraints.

She fell to the floor, face first. The table stayed in place as Berry slowly recovered from her fall. As the stars circling her head dissipated, she rubbed her hooves. She was free, but still in an unknown location. Stepping aforward to pick up the note, she could see traces of sunlight filtering through the curtains. She read the note. With each passing word, her heartbeat grew faster.

Hello Berry. You may not know me, but believe me, we shall be acquainted very soon. Do not think that is not possible. Look around you. You were drunk last night, and you woke up somewhere of which I know of. Were you surprised to wake up in restraints, Berry? Anyway, I write this note while you were still unconscious. Forgive me for the pain at the back of your head. I couldn’t risk sedating you. Right now, you are being tested. If you fail this test, the ones closest to you will suffer the consequences. A few others were taken from the party last night as well, so your help is needed to get them back. They too, are being tested. There is a key taped to the door in front of you. Take it, and proceed through the front door. Follow the signs and save the others. You will have until midnight. Along the way you’ll be required to pick up more notes, should you want to find out why you and the others are being tested.  

Berry rubbed the back of her head. What have I gotten myself into? Could it be because... She shook her head. No one knew of that incident. She continued to look around the room. There was a saddlebag in the room. She walked over and inspected it. It was empty save for knife, a compass, and a watch. She hoisted the bag onto her back and fastened it. She put the note in her saddlebag, just in case. Looking up at the clock on the wall, she saw it was almost 7.15 in the morning. I have until midnight? That’s a lot of time. She assumed that whoever was doing this was probably as drunk as she was last night, and disregarded the note. But then again, the things that had happened since she arrived at the party last night urged her to reconsider. She took the key taped onto the door and pushed the door open.

Immediately, an arrow was fired into the room, barely missing Berry’s ear. She was taken aback. Shit, this guy really isn’t joking. Taking a peek through the window, she saw that there were no more arrows aimed to kill. She ran out the door, fearing another trap.

The sun was just appearing above the horizon. The skies were clear, though she can hear a storm cloud approaching quick. She was in a grassy meadow. The meadow was between the Everfree forest and Ponyville. She couldn’t believe she didn’t recognise the room she was in just now. Although, she’s never been in that room before. The 4 cottages in the grassy meadow were abandoned by their previous owners, after finding out that the cost of living in Canterlot was much more affordable. The cottages were still in a fairly good condition, considering that they had been abandoned for 3 months. She turned around.

The crossbow that fired at Berry was propped up on a stand, with a string around its trigger. Berry eyes followed the string as it went all the way to one of the windows. Apparently the string was tied on the doorknob on the inside of the house. Though the lighting was sufficient, Berry couldn’t believe how she hadn’t noticed the string tied. Once the door was pulled, the string would be yanked back, pulling back the trigger, thus firing the arrow. She shuddered. She wondered who could have thought up such a trap. She gazed upon the number above her cottage door. A rectangular sign, roughly half a foot high and 2 inches wide with the number 2 hung above the door.

The cottages in the meadow were in pairs. After entering through the entrance, one would see a pair of cottages on either side of the entrance. The area of the meadow was roughly 4 square kilometers, making the whole place look square from the view of a pegasus. Berry often wondered why such a large meadow like this would only have 4 cottages. Each cottage couldn’t have taken up more than 2 thousand square feet of land at most. In the middle of a meadow, was a small lake, that had housed more than 160 types of fish. Berry wasn’t sure if the lake was still there, but she felt that she should go check it out later. There was a big assembly hall in the middle of the meadow, completely equipped with a cafeteria and offices on the upper floor. There was a tool shed between each pair of cottage, providing convenience for the residents should they want to fix something.

Berry walked over to the tool shed nearest to her cottage. On normal days, the door would be locked to prevent loss of equipment, but today, she felt that she might need something extra, should she want to get through her tests quickly today. Much to her surprise, the door wasn’t locked, and the door was ajar. Expecting another trap,she bucked the door, and immediately spread herself on the grass. Nothing happened for the next 10 seconds, and Berry got up. The shed was pretty much empty, except for a few things. There were two shelves inside the shed. She picked up 2 screwdrivers and a hammer from a shelf. On the other she found something else. A key, and a note, written by the same person who left her the note in her cottage.

Here’s your first test Berry. To the west of this shed, is another cottage. Cottage number 1. A familiar friend of yours from last night is inside, though she was outside with someone else instead of enjoying herself at the party. She’s in the same condition as you were before you woke up, only she was sedated, and you were knocked unconscious. Maybe you should go in and check on her to see if she’s awake yet.

She felt as if she’d been kicked in the flank. Rainbow Dash is here too? Sweat was running down the side of her face as she wondered what Rainbow Dash could have done to get herself into this as well. She turned her head to the left and stared at cottage number 1. The windows had been tinted, so that only the occupants of the house could see outside. One flaw in tinted windows however, was that if there were light inside, and it were still dark outside, ponies trotting by can look into the house. The sun was facing the back of the house, so the shadow of the house was covering pretty much the whole front part of the house.

Berry looked into the house, and didn’t like what she saw. The pony that stood on a platform inside was no doubt Rainbow Dash, her mane covering her face. She didn’t seem to be awake. Berry tried getting her attention by knocking on the windows, but Dash didn’t reply. Berry tried lifting the window off the window sill to have a peek inside, but the window wouldn’t budge. She looked in again. The only source of light in the room was from multiple candles in the centre of the room, kept alight by unicorn magic. Berry couldn’t see much. She turned her gaze to the other side of the door. It didn’t seem to be rigged or anything, though she could see something wedged between the latch and the door frame.

She took in a deep breath, and release it with a sigh. She bucked the door as hard as she could, and prepared to face whatever the hell she had to face to save Rainbow Dash.