Berry's Test

by Maple Sunrise

Berry's Test

Groaning at the pain at the back of her head, Berry came to her senses in the middle of a dark room. The first thing that went through her mind was what she did wrong earlier in the office hallway.

Hiding in the doorway of the adjacent office had sounded like a good idea at the time given that the hoofsteps were already so close. Berry had stayed in place until the sound of hoofsteps got really, really close. Curiosity took over her as she peered into the hallway. Her muzzle and the ballistic knife in her mouth stuck out.

Approaching the office the mane three were in, was a mare about Berry’s size. The mare was a unicorn with a lilac mane and a light green coat. She stared ahead with her tired, magenta-coloured eyes. She didn’t seem to be focusing on anything while she was walking. As far as Berry was concerned, the unicorn could have trotted on a bed of needles and continue trotting without noticing. Behind the unicorn, a metal pole floated and followed her as she moved through the hallway. Berry stopped peeping as the unicorn’s hoofsteps got louder with each passing moment.

Berry knew she had to act before the unicorn became aware of Berry’s presence. She once more poked her head out of the doorway to look at the fast approaching unicorn. Berry carefully rolled her tongue to the trigger of the ballistic knife in her mouth. Though the knife was aimed sideways, Berry was sure that she would hit her target. Berry was breathing hard. Probably harder than the time she had entered the Sisterhooves Special. Damn it girl, cool down. Berry tried a couple of times to slow her breaths, only to breathe even harder after hearing the hoofsteps coming closer. Berry had not probably noticed but by the time she got her breathing stable, the unicorn was roughly five feet away.

Even five feet away, the unicorn must have sensed something going on, because even before reaching the office, the unicorn stopped in her tracks. As if anticipating an attack, the unicorn inched forward and casted a spell. Her horn glowed a stunning bright red and shot out a wave of energy that swept the hallway. Berry felt it tickle her as it went through the hallway. It didn’t feel like anything more than just that. A slight tickle. But the purpose of the tickle was clear. It had been sometime since Berry had last been tickled, and the last time she was, she’d been rolling on the ground drunk with her equally drunk friends. Berry let out a tiny giggle that alerted the unicorn of Berry’s presence.

The unicorn stopped her spell and immediately used her magic to grip the metal pole like a giant baseball bat. Berry knew that her giggle must have set off the unicorn and decided that now would probably be the best time to execute her first move. Berry rolled onto the carpet just as the unicorn had smashed the metal pole into the doorway Berry was in mere moments ago. The wooden frame splintered on impact, but didn’t quite shatter. But it took the unicorn some effort to pull it back out. By the time the metal pole was successfully pulled out, Berry had already set her sights on the unicorn and had fired the blade in the unicorn’s direction. The unicorn ducked as the blade sailed right above her head. Before Berry could do anything else, the metal pole had swung into the back of her head.

Right where she had been hit during last night’s party.

The second thing that went through her mind was the fact that she couldn’t move either of her hooves. Oh Celestia please don’t give me this shit again! This time struggling against whatever was keeping her hooves in place didn’t let go. However, this time she couldn’t get out of whatever restraining her, unlike when she first woke up.

An oil lantern hanging in the middle of the room started burning. Dimly at first, but slowly the flame grew bigger until it almost lighted up the whole room. What Berry saw made her brain go blank almost immediately.

The floor was six feet below her hooves and it seemed at first that Berry was just levitating above the floor. But as Berry’s blank mind started processing her situation, Berry noticed four metal cuffs attached to all four of her hooves. Each cuff was welded to a metal beams which seemed to extend out into all the four directions that Berry’s hooves were spread out towards. The beams had forced Berry to spread out all four of her hooves, as if she were lying on her belly. Nothing else was holding Berry up. Just the metal cuffs and the beams keeping her from falling down below.

The room was rather spacious compared to the hallway she was in previously. Which would explain why the floor was six feet below. However, as Berry looked up in front of her, there was a glass wall separating the room she was in front the vast darkness beyond. The darkness outside the room Berry was in seemed to be endless. Berry’s alcoholic vision didn’t help either. Even if she tried staring through the glass into the darkness, chances are she’d see nothing thanks to the light above her impairing her vision. The glare from the oil lantern above Berry made it further impossible to see anything.

Right on the glass wall, was two notes. Berry read the one on the right first, believing that doing things starting from the right brings good luck. This time she was wrong. The note on the right was meant for her.

Hello Berry, I want to play a game. I am very, very disappointed with you Berry. Hadn’t been listening haven’t you? Because rules are to be broken within times of emergency? Oh no. It may save lives, but it costs more. Wouldn’t want me to remind you of your sister wouldn’t you? You yourself remember your dark past. Jobs may be easy to find here in Ponyville, but the ponies from Canterlot need to go through a lot of tests to prove themselves worthy of their jobs. I’m sure you felt the same for Applejack when you were told not to interrupt her test, when you told the rescuers two months ago that you had to save your sister. Though with each heroic act, there will always be something at risk.

You no doubt notice the metal cuffs securing each of your hooves. This is to keep you from falling down below. You see, six feet below you, is a spiky flooring, much like those used as traps during medieval times. When crusaders stormed a castle, there would always be trapdoors that would leave them tumbling towards a short but painful death. The cuffs your hooves are attached to are welded to metal beams protruding from the sides of the room. However, the metal beams will collapse and the metal cuffs around your hooves will open one by one for every wrong step taken outside this room. Outside the room you are in now, is another unicorn that you are no doubt familiar with. She’s right on the other side of the glass wall, right in the darkness.

After Berry read the last word in that sentence, several oil lanterns hanging on the other side of the glass wall started glowing. Berry watched as the lights gradually grew brighter, revealing a familiar unicorn in the middle of the room with similar cuffs around her hooves and a blindfold over her eyes. Instead of metal beams, the unicorn’s cuffs were attached to chains. She had a leather cone over her horn to prevent her from using magic. As the lights finally lit the other side of the glass wall completely, Berry’s eyes went wide and her mouth hung open as she stared at the familiar figure who had made her Harvest Moon celebration dress.

Rarity...

Even with the blindfold on, Rarity must have noticed the lights on, because as soon as the lights had lit the room, she started shouting and struggling against her restraints. At least she could move her hooves around, unlike Berry, who was spread wide. Berry called out to Rarity, who, surprisingly, heard Berry’s calls over her own whining.

“WHO’S THERE!” Rarity’s panic-stricken voice could be heard clearly on the other side of the glass.

“Rarity! Calm down! Stop your yelling and listen!”

“ARE YOU DAFT?! I CAN’T SEE! I CAN’T EVEN TRY MAGIC! I CAN’T EVEN MO-”

“SHUT UP AND LISTEN FOR CELESTIA’S SAKE!”

Rarity shut up immediately. “Now I want you to cool your guts, shut up, and hang on for a moment. I’m not done reading the note yet.”

“A note? By who! You must tell me which pony could possibly do this to us!”

Had Rarity not been blindfolded, she would have seen the sternest glares ever given by Berry. But since it was still on, Berry could only shout in response. “I said SHUT UP!”

Rarity stopped and Berry continued scanning the note. She start from the top again just to be clear.

Hello Berry, I want to play a game. I am very, very disappointed with you Berry. Hadn’t been listening haven’t you? Because rules are to be broken within times of emergency? Oh no. It may save lives, but it costs more. Wouldn’t want me to remind you of your sister wouldn’t you? You yourself remember your dark past. Jobs may be easy to find here in Ponyville, but the ponies from Canterlot need to go through a lot of tests to prove themselves worthy of their jobs. I’m sure you felt the same for Applejack when you were told not to interrupt her test, when you told the rescuers two months ago that you had to save your sister. Though with each heroic act, there will always be something at risk.

You no doubt notice the metal cuffs securing each of your hooves. This is to keep you from falling down below. You see, six feet below you, is a spiked floor, much like those used as traps during medieval times. When crusaders stormed a castle, there would always be trapdoors that would leave them tumbling towards a short but painful death. The cuffs your hooves are attached to are welded to metal beams protruding from the sides of the room. However, the metal beams will collapse and the metal cuffs around your hooves will open one by one for every wrong step taken outside this room. Outside the room you are in now, is another unicorn that you are no doubt familiar with. She’s right on the other side of the glass wall, right in the darkness.

I hope you know how to calm her down during times of great stress. You know how ponies like her react when they are in an unknown situation. They hope for others to lend a hand. That is what you will do in order to save yourself. To save yourself, you’ll need to save her first. On the other side of this wall, she waits in a room with 25 tiles. She is roughly 1 tile away from you at the moment. However, I must warn you that some of the tiles are pressure sensitive. By stepping on these tiles, the cuffs around your hoofs will open and the beam will collapse leaving only three. Stepping on the next will result in another beam collapsing and so on until you fall to your death.

However, to “save” her, you’ll have to reassure her that you, “the town drunk”, can save her. The only way you can save her is by surviving your test. Which means you’ll have to use her to save her. On the other side of the room, there’s an instrument panel in the wall to the left of the other pony’s position. You will need to guide her through the room, avoiding the pressure sensitive tiles in the room, and command her to use the instrument panel to protract a platform for you to get out of this room to help her on the other side. Tied to your back, is the key to her chains. So if you were to fail this test, she would automatically fail hers. I may warn you though the number of tiles is the same number of ponies who died in the train derailment your daughter was in, and you and I know that that number is high. The pressure sensitive tiles are marked with red paint. Tell her to pull the lever or the instrument panel and you would be done with your test.

However, there is a catch. You have four minutes to guide her through the room and to pull the lever. In two minutes, your cuffs will automatically open and you’ll fall to your death, and in another two minutes, she’ll have her hooves crushed by the cuffs that shrink onto her hooves rendering her immobile and helpless where she’ll bleed to death.

Let the game begin.

Oil lanterns beneath her started lighting up. But Berry couldn’t wait for them to finish lighting up. Berry called out to Rarity.

“Rarity! Listen to me! You gotta move where I tell you to move or else I can’t help you!”

Rarity said nothing, only nodding her head vigorously. Rarity was standing on two tiles now, and the room was set in a five by five tile layout. She was one tile away from hitting the glass wall in front of her, and the red tiles around the room totaled eight. The closest one to Rarity at the moment was the row to her left, but she needs to step on it to reach the instrument panel on the left. The second row of red tiles on Rarity’s right was completely red. Which meant for Rarity to activate the lever on the instrument panel, whether Berry wanted or not, Rarity would have to set off two of Berry’s cuffs. However, the first row of tiles to Rarity’s left also had a red tile, in the middle of the five tiles. The chances of Rarity stepping on it may be small, but Berry wanted to make sure that she wasn’t dangling by one hoof while the floor was protracting.

“Rarity! Move two steps to your left! Feel the tiles you’re on now! I want you to be able to tell the difference between the tiles you are on now and the ones you are about to step on! Take small, graceful steps!”

Trembling like Fluttershy, Rarity turned to her left. She gently laid one of her forehooves on the tiles. Immediately, the tile sank a bit and Berry cringed. The cuff around Berry’s right rearhoof opened and the metal beam supporting it collapsed, leaving Berry’s right rearhoof hanging in the air.

Rarity, noticing the tile that just sank, pulled back. “Did I do something wrong?!” Rarity shouted.

“For Celestia’s Sake you don’t have to shout! I can hear you very well! Now watch your step, that’s just one of the tiles that’s gonna kill me if you step on anymore of them!” Berry barked. Rarity whimpered, but continued moving on. She laid her right forehoof near the wall, completely missing the red tiles in the second row, and laid her right rearhoof on the red tile that had already been set off.

“Perfect! Just one more step!” Rarity felt a bit cheered up by the comment and continued. However, her next step was wrong. She laid her left forehoof directly on the only red tile in the first row, and her left rearhoof on a red tile in the second row. Immediately, the cuffs around Berry’s left rearhoof and left forehoof opened and the metal beams collapsed, leaving her hanging by her right forehoof. Feeling nothing beneath her hooves, she started tcrying out.

Rarity heard Berry’s cries and called out. “Are you okay Berry?!”

Berry, not wanting Rarity to back up onto a wrong tile, clammed up and continued instructing Rarity. However, when it came to having a reassuring voice, Berry was terrible at doing it.

“Uh, yes I’m okay! Now in front of you is an instrument panel! I want you to feel around for a lever and pull down on it quick!” In Berry’s mind, she can already feel her two minutes coming to an end.

Rarity raised her hoof to the instrument panel, vaguely feeling around for a lever. The instrument panel had a few broken buttons, with only one working and a lever. Rarity was still fumbling around for the lever when she accidentally clicked the only working button on the instrument panel.

Berry heard a sound below and looked down. Either Berry’s eyes were playing tricks on her, or something had gone wrong. Below her, the oil lanterns had started moving upwards, along with the now clearly lit, spiked floor. Slowly, the floor began to rise, coming up in Berry’s direction. At this rate, Berry wouldn’t have to worry about the two minute timer before she would die. She started panicking.

“RARITY HURRY UP AND PULL THE LEVER FOR CELESTIA’S SAKE DO IT NOW BEFORE THE FRIGGIN’ FLOOR CRUSHES MY BRAINS OUT!” Berry had shouted at the top of her lungs. She swore that the decibels of her shot would have shattered the glass wall, but it didn’t.

Rarity had heard Berry loud and clear, and the remark about the floor crushing Berry’s brains out made Rarity chuckle. As if floors could do that. Rarity found the lever and pulled down on it hard.

Beneath Berry, the spiked floor now four feet away, a floor had protracted. The metal beam attached to the wall dislodged and Berry’s cuff opened. As her belly touched the floor, Berry felt a momentary relief before noticing that she still needed to escape the moving spiked floor. Looking around the room, Berry couldn’t see a possible exit out. She tried banging hard on the glass. While she was doing so, a confused Rarity was wandering around the room she was in. The glass wall wouldn’t break and Berry thought she would just break down and give up. Just like the accident two months ago with my sister. Her mind went back to the incident two months ago.

“So I heard you got promoted to principal. I assumed that you would have gotten the promotion much later, so I’m quite surprised that you got it now.” Berry mused. She had been staring out the carriage windows into the snowy sky. Cheerilee could only laugh in response as the train they were on bounded on the tracks as it made it’s way to Canterlot.

“Well, the children have been rather nice this winter. This is probably a gift from Princess Celestia herself!” Cherilee gave a warm grin. “You know how the children normally are... It was a miracle that they weren’t very talkative and playful like they usually are.”

Berry looked over at Cheerilee. “Oh Cherry, you really are a lucky one!” Berry returned the warm smile. During cold winters like this, such warm smiles were really heartwarming. “Now with you being principal, wouldn’t that mean that some other pony would have to take over your old job as teacher?”

“Well of course! The school may be small, but certainly I can’t teach everypony! Being a principal would mean a lot of time being taken up for the sake of the school. Which means longer hours, though I’m not complaining. And the pay’s good as well. Not that I mind the long hours though. Being at work all day with the children is what truly warms my heart!”

Berry envied her sister’s cheerful outlook on life. For that reason, along with several others, is why she will never, ever, forget her sister. The main reason being that family stayed together, no matter what happens. If anything were to go wrong, they’d go all out to help each other out. Or so Berry thought.

The train ride went from smooth to bumpy within a few moments and the two ponies could tell that something was wrong. Berry opened the window and peeked out into the open. The train was wobbling dangerously as it continued its journey to Canterlot, the city already looming in the distance. However, the train didn’t make it. Berry left the window open to reduce the chance of glass breaking upon impact and dove down to the floor, asking Cheerilee to do the same, and they both braced for impact.

It was only then that the conductor of the train tried to apply the emergency breaks on the train, but it was already too late. Coming up on a sharp bend, the best the conductor could do was tell passengers to brace for the impending impact, had they not done so yet.

What happened next was fuzzy and all Berry could remember was waking up to ringing ears, blurred out vision and blood running down the side of her face. She had been thrown out of her carriage the moment it had derailed and detached from the caboose of the train. Her sister, however, had not been so fortunate. Berry looked around the burning wreckage with her blurred vision. All she could see were injured ponies lying in the snow, and all she could hear were cries of many kinds. Cries of agony, cries of sorrow, cries of confusion, and cries for help were all that could be heard. Out of those many cries, she had heard one that struck home.

“Berry..!!”

Berry’s vision immediately cleared and her hearing recovered. She knew what she had to do next. All around unicorns were helping put out fires by redirecting snow before melting it, pegasi airlifted injured ponies to the nearest general hospital in Canterlot, while rescue ponies just tried to keep ponies from re-entering the train. Among the ponies that were not let on, was Berry.

“Let me GO! My sister’s inside!” Berry said as she tried frantically to resist the rescue ponies holding her back.

“No. We are not going to let any other passenger become a victim when they are safe where they are now.” That line had slipped off one of the rescue pony’s tongue rather smoothly. It was as if he were trained to say it in such situations.

Berry knew that she had to listen, for her own safety. But my sister’s in there Celestia damned it! She wasn’t the only one with loved ones in left in the train. Around her, ponies tried to resist being contained, for fear of losing their loved ones. Berry felt like she could just break down and give up right there.

But she didn’t. A flame inside her heart burnt bright at that moment, giving her strength she never she had had. Pushing back against the rescue ponies, along with a few others as well, Berry had managed to get back to her train carriage. The carriage lay on its side in the snow with the window part facing the sky, and the door facing the ground, making it impossible to get out through the door. Berry was glad she made the decision to leave the window open. At least she didn’t have to break it and risk hurting herself further. Inside, Cheerilee was unconscious from loss of blood. Berry cried happy tears as she signalled for a couple of pegasi to help airlift Cheerilee to Canterlot. The tears she cried were a mixture of both happiness and gratefulness.

It wasn’t only that that had made Berry cry happy tears. Seeing other ponies be able to save their loved ones made her happy as well. Though not everyone got out in time.

Berry blinked back tears as she had vowed with herself, never to give up. The fire in her heart once more burnt brightly as she once more had to save someone who had helped her go through a hard time. Three feet below, the spiked platform inched slowly toward the protracted floor, threatening to impale Berry’s hooves.

Berry grabbed the dislodged metal beam in both her forehooves and started banging away on the glass wall. Immediately cracks started forming on the impact point and before Berry could warn Rarity to stay back, the wall broke and Berry tumbled through.

It was just then the protracted floor started cracking as the spiked floor below it started pushing. The floor broke away as the spikes went through it, slowly continuing its way to the ceiling. Berry galloped over to a confused Rarity, who was still wondering what was going on. Berry reached over to her back and took the key to unlock Rarity’s cuffs. Berry quickly unlocked Rarity’s cuffs, and, sliding them off, she took off the leather strap hindering Rarity’s magic. The moment Berry took off her blindfold however, Rarity cringed in pain as the lights burnt her contracted pupils.

Berry laughed heartily and she let tears stream down her face as she hugged Rarity. Still confused, but grateful to be through with her ordeal, Rarity cried and hugged Berry back in gratitude.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Author’s note : So yeah, this took a bit longer than usual. Was planning to post it on the 23rd, exactly one month after the first chapter. But I had to be busy today so I came back late to write. From now on flashbacks will be written in italic to avoid confusion like in the first chapter. A big warm thanks to my readers and supporters who helped me get by so far. Next chapter to be released very soon xD.

Comments

Whenever you publish the newest chapter, I'll be alerted 24 hours through my iPad. I think you need to describe the situation when Berry explains Rarity about the test and stuff.

Y does cherrilee have to die??

[Maple Sunrise]

83608
>Cheerilee was airlifted to Canterlot
I didn't want to fit everything into one chapter
It was already too long considering my standards >.>

[Maple Sunrise]

81399
knowing what happens to twilight when everything goes wrong, i'd say yes XD

Man this is awesome like crazyWhen is the next chapter coming out?

[Maple Sunrise]

84064
you have no idea how hard i laughed XD A paper cut would make her faint :P Though seeing her on the best night ever episode, i'm having second thoughts
84363
I'm pushing ideas around right now. The thing I hate is when I'm almost done and then a really bright idea comes by, forcing me to erase what I wrote >.>

[Festus]

Well, aren't things just peachy?

Let's see, we only need to know what Rarity did, and where Fluttershy, Pinkie, Octavia, Lyra and Spitfire are. Why do I get the feeling that not all of these are gonna survive? Just hoping I'm wrong here...

[Maple Sunrise]

85135
originally Rainbow Dash the first one to die, though in a different kind of trap.
And then Berry was supposed to die a martyr trying to save Rarity from her trap.
What Rarity did will be in chapter 12. I enjoyed writing another flashback scene, so why not do the same for Rarity xD

[Festus]

85168

So... are you still going with these plans? I'm guessing no, seeing as RD and Berry are still alive. Let's just see what goes on in this story.

[Maple Sunrise]

85295
I might actually post a chapter regarding what traps were originally supposed to be used

[unavailable]

Woah, there was another ponified Saw fic other than the one I wrote?
I just discovered it, and I think I'll take a look at it. I swear, I didn't read it before I wrote mine! Don't sue me!
Well, anyway, I'll read it right now. I purposely left mine open, so that I could write sequels to it. I wonder if that's the case for yours, though...

[Maple Sunrise]

85468
YOURS
IS
JUST
DELICIOUS
Though yours is much more descriptive compared to mine >.> I enjoy reading fics like the one you wrote as well xD Gave it five stars as well

[Pinkier_Pie]

This story is alright I guess. I mean, knowing that you are being timed and still reading the note twice. And actually writing it down a second time! How about just saying: Berry skimmed through the note to the point that she was interrupted from reading. Something like that. And silly little mistypes like: She start from the top again just to be clear. We all know that it is unavoidable, but you should use word just to ensure that you don't mess anything up. Silly little advice from a silly filly!