Berry's Test

by Maple Sunrise

Distrust against Berry and a mare's rescue

“We should really get going.” Twilight suggested after mourning Spitfire’s death alongside Rainbow Dash and Applejack. Spitfire wasn’t that bad of a pony. The mane six had known Spitfire for quite some time, especially Rainbow Dash. They were practically sisters. But yet Dash knew she couldn’t pity Spitfire. Anything could happen to ponies who did bad things. It was just by Dash’s luck that she was alive, and why Spitfire is not. Dash gave a shrug to Twilight, signalling that anything goes, although in her heart, she felt like staying and mourning Spitfire’s death.

Applejack sure as hell didn’t want to stay, but somehow she felt that without Berry’s guidance, they will probably end up lost quick. “But where do we go next? Ah’ mean, Berry’s been guidin’ ya’ two around right?”

Twilight wasn’t that sure of where to go now, except for the fact that Lyra had no time. She had wanted to rescue Lyra the moment she got out of the office, but now she was as lost as Applejack was. All she knew was that she had to get to the lake as soon as she could. But without Berry, they probably won’t make it that far. Twilight could only shrug. “I wasn’t around when Berry was rescuing the other ponies.”

“Well, after Berry got to me, the cottage I was in was burnt down. But after that we went to the two bedrooms. One had a weapon while the other had a list and a series of photographs.” Rainbow Dash spoke up.

“A list of what?” Twilight hadn’t known about this. Applejack was as clueless as Twilight was.

Rainbow Dash bit her lip. Letting the two ponies in front of her know of a list and a series of photographs related to what happened to all of them and a few others might just plant suspicion on Berry. Unless the two had found similar things. She doubted Applejack would have found anything, seeing as to how the three had been together through Applejack’s trap and the rest of the top floor office. They still had to check for anything useful on the floor below them. Rainbow Dash went silent for a short moment, looking for the right words to explain how Berry could have gotten hold of the photographs and the list. She had told them that both Berry and Rainbow Dash had found it in the cottage, so Dash assumed it was safe to tell them.

“Well....” At fight Dash hesitated, but then the words came out in a stream. “After she got to me, the place was burnt down. But somehow, under the rubble, we found a box with the list and the photographs. The weird thing was that the list was a list of all six of our names along with a few others. And guess what? The photographs were photographs of all of us. That’s how we knew where you guys were.”

Twilight then remembered about the photograph she had found and the note she had. “Wait, I found a photograph as well when I was in the office. You think that all of us could get photographs as well? Might help us save a few others, you know?”

The two looked at Applejack. She had a face full of questions, but had the look that said she didn’t know where to start. She raised a hoof to her mouth, trying to think of what to start off with. The two ponies stayed quiet as not to interrupt Applejack’s train of thought. But Twilight’s time was running short as well. She had another hour and a half before her trap would go off. The beeping certainly wasn’t helping.

“Well...I gotta’ lot of questions if ya’ girls don’t mind.” The two ponies nodded. They had to clear Applejack of anything that could distract her on their journey. “First thing, ah’ want to know if Rainbow trusts Berry.”

The question came as a surprise to Rainbow Dash. She had expected Applejack to ask Dash to hand over the list and photographs for inspection. The question she had just asked was rather ridiculous in Dash’s opinion. That wasn’t even a question.

“Of course I trust Berry! She’s the one that got me out of the trap in the first place!” Dash’s voice was laced with uncertainty. I have a bad feeling about this...

Applejack looked over at Dash skeptically while Twilight just looked on. Twilight too had a bad feeling about this. She herself often gave the look Applejack gave Dash now when she herself were skeptical about a certain thing. But how Applejack was looking at Dash was implying that she didn’t trust Berry that much. But Applejack had just gotten into the situation. She was probably still disorientated from being revived just now. But Applejack’s next question challenged both Twilight and Rainbow Dash’s trust in Berry.

“Rainbow, ya’ said that Berry saved ya’ from yer’ trap right? Are ya’ absolutely sure about that? Because I think it might have been Berry herself who put ya’ in yer’ trap.” Applejack had used the tone she always used when she was being dead serious. The two ponies looked at Applejack as if she were crazy, but Twilight, upon hearing Applejack’s question, started to think over her question. How sure is Dash that Berry herself didn’t put her in her trap? Berry might be the perpetrator in this situation.

“Can you clear that question up? I don’t get it.” Dash wasn’t that sure of what Applejack said anyway.

“What ah’m saying is, how sure are Berry was the one that saved ya’ and not the one who put ya’ in yer’ trap? Ah’ mean, you were knocked out when she came right?”

Rainbow Dash glared at Applejack, who was returning an equally disturbing glare. “Why would she go through all the trouble to put me in the trap, only to take me out of it?! It doesn’t even make sense! And, my dear Applejack, Berry herself woke up trapped!”

Applejack’s voice was cool, as if she emerged a victor in the argument. “Did she say that? Or did’ja see it yer’self?”

Rainbow Dash didn’t know what to say. She had trusted Berry so much at the start, but she herself had never wondered if Berry was a liar or not. She thought over it for a moment. Just what benefit would Berry gain from trapping a bunch of ponies? And from the death of others, would she really find benefit at all? If Berry wanted to trap everypony, she wouldn’t have the heart to go back and save everypony. It already took so much energy and resources to ponynap somepony, so why bother turning back? Besides, if Berry wanted me to die, she would have just left me there.

Rainbow Dash replied to her question with a question of her own. “I did not see it myself. But I know that she is not lying, seeing as to how she’s been given the task to save everypony here! She was the one that knew where you were, so if it weren’t for Berry, you yourself wouldn’t be here! Twilight wouldn’t have known where you were without Berry as well!”

At that, as if on cue, Applejack’s face fell. She had nothing to say against that. She still wasn’t sure what happened to her just now. All she remembered was getting out of her garotte and falling unconscious on the floor. After that she felt very cold. The cold had lasted some time. She felt nothing. As if time were slowing down, with every passing second, her heart slowed as well. Applejack didn’t think anything happened. A pony’s heart rate always dropped when they go to sleep. And she had been very tired at the time, not the mention her broken hoof. She herself didn’t think that attacking the stallion the way she did just now was possible with a broken hoof like that. Her thoughts were interrupted by Rainbow Dash while she was still thinking.

“And just to let you know, you DIED just now. Without Berry, Twilight wouldn’t have found you so quickly and revived you. It would probably take her HOURS just to even get to you. Even if she got to you, there was no way she would get through the door, I mean look at her!” Twilight felt pain in that insult, but she herself knew that she wasn’t a strong pony. Indeed she would need some time to actually get past the door. If it weren’t for Berry, she would have went straight to save Lyra, probably abandoning the dead Applejack if she had done so. “And Berry herself had the guts to leave the room to make sure that ALL THREE of US were safe from harm! And look at what situation she is in now! She’s gone missing, probably taken away by that mare or whoever was around at the time! We may have got one kill, Applejack, but that was just a useless pony we had. Berry, was an important pony to ALL of US!”

Tears were flowing, much to the two ponies' surprise. Rainbow Dash herself was surprised at her sudden release of tears. But she knew that for once, Applejack had to let her suspicions go. Applejack needed to know that, even if she was the Element of Honesty, she just couldn’t put any distrust in others who made an enormous effort to make a huge difference.

“Picture our situation without Berry now, I want you to do that. Without Berry, I might not have gotten out of my trap, and would be hanging before being reduced to ash. Berry had started the fire by accident, but even without her and the fire, I’d still be dead, hanging a round in that cottage without anypony knowing!” Rainbow Dash was shouting at the now trembling Applejack. Twilight too, was shaking at the logic shooting out at the two faster than Pinkie’s Party Cannon. “With me hanging around, and Twilight wandering around here like a filly who lost her mother, you would be lying on the floor, dead! Even with Twilight’s freedom of movement now, she could die out there, unsure of where to look for the key to her traps thanks to the absence of Berry!”

Rainbow Dash stopped, and glared through her tearful eyes at Applejack, who, with Twilight were trembling. They had taken a few steps back. Had they taken more, they would have stepped on Twilight’s vomit, or much worse, step on the corpse in the hallway.

“And one thing. BECAUSE Berry was missing, NEITHER of us knew about Spitfire being in her trap. IF she were still around, we would one extra ally helping us out in this situation! If I were by some chance, killed or missing in action, there would AT LEAST be another pegasus with you guys to scout ahead to make sure that nothing would occur along the way!” Rainbow Dash coughed before continuing. “We lost a great friend here, and seeing as to how little time Twilight has, we might lose another! AND HERE YOU ARE WORRYING ABOUT BERRY’S ACTIONS! YOU ARE THE ELEMENT OF HONESTY FOR CELESTIA’S SAKE! YOU SHOULD KNOW IF SHE WERE TRUSTWORTHY OR NOT!” Rainbow Dash continued to cough, almost uncontrollably, trying to not choke on the tears that flowed like a river from each of her eyes.

Through her coughs and chokes, Rainbow Dash managed to get a few sentences through before none of the ponies understood what she said. “And now, without her, we now run the risk of losing the others.” Her voice was grim. “The list and photographs are inside her saddlebags if you want to check them out. She understood what to do next. It was against the rules for Berry to interfere with your test in the first place. So think of it like this, Berry sacrificed her life to save yours. She may be dead now, trying to save all of us. She got to three of us, but the other lives are now in our hooves.”

The mare, on her rearhooves, was shrieking now, somehow being able to get the gag out of her mouth. The shrieks of terror resonated around the the cavernous assembly hall. Anypony in the hall could have heard her. Rarity and Berry knew they could help her out, but were afraid that anything might happen on their way there. Rarity had decided to stop shining her horn, in fear that other ponies might be able to locate both she and Berry. The digital timer on the wall ticked down, oblivious to the life it was counting down for.

The two were roughly a hundred feet away from the mare, and knew that nothing was blocking their route to the mare, but Rarity hadn’t shone her horn bright enough. All around, there were sounds, some in the distance, but some very near. Berry knew that she was unarmed, and Rarity would probably have to useful spells at hand. However, if Berry could get a hold of one of the harpoon guns pointed at the mare’s back, they could have some leverage.

“Rarity, I want you to be very quiet in your next few hoofsteps. I need to get a hold of one of the harpoon guns aimed at the mare. We’re unarmed now, so this could be a bad thing for both of us. But if we manage to save the mare, we could have an extra friend to help us out, provided she stops shrieking.” Berry whispered, to which Rarity giggled.

The two slowly made their way towards the mare. Though being cautious, all around, the sounds of other ponies seemed to be getting closer. Rarity thought of an idea that Twilight had taught her a while back, and whispered over to Berry. “Close your eyes, don’t ask why, just do it.” Berry did as she was told and closed her eyes.

Rarity started the spell by glowing her horn. It was enough to light the room, to which she could see another two or three ponies in the room, then Rarity closed her eyes. The next few seconds were critical. Her horn started to glow bright white. Berry was starting to wonder what was happening, when the sound of a bang rang through the hall. She was lucky her eyes were shut, or else she would have been blinded.

Rarity whispered, “Open your eyes.” and Berry did. The room had been flashed white, as if someone had taken a photograph with a flash, but the flash had stayed forever. “The spell only lasts ten seconds. I just blinded everypony in this room aside from us and the mare there with a flashbang spell. But the ponies will remain blinded for the next three minutes. So let’s move quick!”

The digital timer showed 00.43 seconds, and the two galloped over to the mare. The room was still bright, though starting to dim with every passing second. The two had reached the mare closing 100 feet in 6 seconds.The room was beginning to dim to the darkness it was before so the two made haste and tried to disarm the traps. The mare, by some chance knew they were behind her, however told them to stop.

“But we’re here to help you!” Rarity called out.

The mare however, insisted. “Hair trigger! Any wrong moves can set off the harpoons!” Rarity had seen the strings attached to the triggers but didn’t think much of it until just now. Berry whispered over to Rarity. “Use your magic to cut the strings quick. Before the spell wears off again and we’ll be sitting ducks with a dead pony.”

The room dimmed again to the same darkness and Rarity lit her horn, knowing the other ponies in the room couldn’t see the light. Slowly, Rarity brought her horn over to one of the harpoon guns. She aimed carefully at the string, and then fired an orange beam. The string snapped in two, and went loose around the trigger of the harpoon gun. There were another sevem to undo before the mare was safe. Berry looked up at the timer on the wall. 00.26 seconds. “We don’t have much time, make haste! Cut all of them at once!” The mare was shaking in fear as the Rarity took her time cutting the string.

Berry, on the other hoof, had taken the time to study the mare’s trap, taking all of it in five seconds. The mare had no choice but to stand still if she did not want to set off the harpoon guns. 8 strings were attached to several parts of the mare. Two on both her forehooves, two on her rearhooves, two around her waist, and another two tied to her mane. Berry had seen the light blue mare several times in the bars she favoured, but had never really talked to her. Not that she talked to any of the ponies in the bars aside from the bartenders. The mare’s mane was a mix of two colours, dark blue, and white, like one of the toothpastes Berry had seen in stores around town. The chains holding her hooves down looked like they were timed to open, which would set off the triggers if she were to fall forward. Falling forward, some of the harpoons might miss, but a good few will be able to pierce the mare, that’s for sure. In front of the mare, was a note, and no doubt from that note the mare knew what would happen if anyone disturbed the harpoon guns.

The harpoon guns were arranged in a semicircular form, starting from one part of the wall, to the other end of the wall. The semicircle had a 15 meter radius, with all 8 aimed at her. Falling forward would mean death. The only way to avoid the harpoons piercing the mare, she would have to fall backward. If she fell forward she would fall headfirst into the wall. If that didn’t stun her, then she would be able to duck in time to avoid a few of the harpoons. But this wasn’t the case. The mare looked weak, like she was about to pass out. If she fell forward, it would mean the end. A weak mare like her would most likely fall unconscious from such a light impact. Well that would save her all the pain from the harpoon guns. Which was a good thing. The pain of being pierced, to a weak mare like her, would be very unbearable.

Rarity had gotten through the fifth string when Berry picked up one of the harpoon guns. She could shoot any of the ponies approaching them with ease. The trigger had been modified to fit a pony’s use. Instead of a handle attached to the main part of the harpoon gun, the trigger had been installed at the side, so all the pony had to do was hoist the harpoon gun onto the shoulder and pull her hoof back onto the trigger, firing the harpoon. This harpoon gun was made this way on purpose. Berry turned to look at the timer, and a look of horror came to her face. 00.04 seconds left. Rarity was just about to start on the last harpoon gun. There’s not enough time.

Berry shouted at Rarity to stay back to which she did. 00.02 seconds left. Berry aimed at the last harpoon gun to the mare’s right, and like a professional, pulled her hoof back on the trigger. The harpoon fired out of the harpoon gun, sailing through the air, narrowly missing the mare’s back. Rarity dove away from the last harpoon gun as the timer entered it’s final second. And at that point, time seemed to slow down, as at the harpoon that Berry fired went through the last harpoon gun, not only knocking it’s aim off course, but destroying the harpoon gun as well. The timer reached zero, and the chains securing the mare fell opened, and the mare fell forward. Neither of the idle harpoon guns fired as both Berry and Rarity let out a sigh of relief. The mare didn’t fall unconscious upon hitting her head on the wall, only letting out a yelp in pain, to which Berry giggled to.

The unicorn glared at Berry. “Thanks for saving me back there, nice last second move though. It’s good to see you around here though, Berry.”

Berry was surprised the mare knew her name, but was still known as the town drunk, so she shouldn’t have been so surprised. “Do I know you?”

The mare gave a smile of gratefulness. “Of course not, how silly of me! I’ve been in some of the bars you’ve been to I’m sure you’ve seen me. My name, is Colgate.”

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Author's note : I'm not going to leave any spoilers as to how many other ponies have been inserted into the story. It wasn't even Octavia's turn or Lyra's turn yet and people already knew they were involved before any of the chapters mentioned them. So right after a new pony is saved and or killed will I tag them.

Anyway, I just want to wish everypony here a Happy New Year. May the new year bring the best results for all of us !

Comments

[Purple the Times]

Mistake!

It's "Open your eyes." not, "Open you eyes." get it fixed quick thanks

[Chill Mists(Chilly)]

Things are really interesting, I eagerly await the next chapter!

[Maple Sunrise]

100800
sharp eyes there
but my little brother was making so much noise with his games i couldn't concentrate very well
thanks for telling me
100818
:soon: :stare:
But seriously I might post one tomorrow lol

[Dark Lightning]

Chapters are AMAZING!!!

Keep the good work coming.

[Festus]

You added Colgate? I love Colgate! Actually, I like to call her Romana, her other fan name, but I don't care! You've got Colgate! Looks like it's not just ten main important ponies anymore... Just hoping Ditzy Doo/Derpy Hooves and The Doctor aren't here. Especially Doctor Whooves, what could he do?

[Maple Sunrise]

101716
:idunnolol: The only mistake i keep doing is re-repeating details that have already been written
I'll try to change that though. Thanks for the feedback xD.
101784
The blind bag Colgate's name is Minuette, which really doesn't sound very good. Colgate sounds nicer, same goes with the name Romana And The Doctor is already in someone else's fic. If you're familiar with the fic called Hacksaw then you'll already know he's there Anyway I'm trying not to include as many ponies as possible into my stories as I am planning a sequel

[Festus]

102593

A... sequel? You DO know how sequels ruin endings, right? Well, if played properly then it would work perfectly. Sadly, you're already treading on thin ice here, so make sure you plan that sequel good, okay? Because I'm gonna read it and trust me, I'm easily amused so don't be the one that unamuses me.

[Maple Sunrise]

103064
:ppidunnolol: There might not be a sequel if things actually go out wrong. But who knows?
Might try a ponified version of Vantage Point if the first chapter gets good reviews xD