//------------------------------// // Lucky Number // Story: Chrysbloom // by SwiperTheFox //------------------------------// Applebloom looked over at Sweetie, the waters still slowly rising. "I can't talk like that. I won't. No way, no how." She stood up tall grabbing the four clue cards and holding them between her legs. "Cutie Mark Crusaders never give up!" *Cheep!* "Shut up, Gilda," she muttered, glancing upwards at the bird hopping from wooden pole to wooden pole. Well, now what do I do? I need to think about this very, very carefully. She walked over to the wall besides a mass of doors, counting numbers 12 through 32 around her. That last card seemed to say that I didn't have to get things correct on my first try. It also seemed to say that I didn't 'have to get the right one'. "But that doesn't make sense," she said as she leaned her head to the side, sitting down, "I'm supposed to guess the correct door? Right? That's the point of the whole puzzle." She tapped her cheeks. She peeked over at the blocked door to Sweetie, seeing the filly sitting there in the middle of the huge metal grating as Sweetie cried waterfall tears. "I don't have much time. I have to think." Applebloom stepped over to Door #12, hearing Gilda fluffing her feathers high above her. She laid out the four cards on the ground in front of her. She took a deep breath. "There are no tricks. It's nothing but simple logic at work. This isn't a test of your luck. It's a test of your intelligence," she read aloud from the cards, "You have to do nothing more or less to do than to call out the correct number." She stood back up. "Wait a moment." She felt gears clicking into place inside her mind. "I think... I got it." Her face lit up. "Oh, praise Celestia, it's so simple. The central test of 'Sweetie's Puzzle' is in the process of guessing the right result. It's not what number door I end up picking, it's in the process of how I decide which doors to pick. It's in what I do. That's what our captor meant. They're not testing my luck, remember." She clapped her hooves, feeling a huge wave of relief. I really have to hurry, for Sweetie Belle. But I can pick a door, and I'll get a chance to pick another. That's what the cards seemed to imply. She stared ahead, eyes running up and down the blank surface and the little #12 label besides the door handle. It's carved by something dark and green, just like the rest of the doors. But it's almost glowing, wow, now that I'm looking right at it. What pony has green magic-- and strong enough magic to set up all this? "Enough of that, don't get distracted," she told herself. "Now, then, one of the cards said that I wouldn't have to 'physically hop over' Door P to grab it off of the wall." She glanced around at the massive sets of doors above her. "There's no chance I could 'hop' way up there." She couldn't see anything-- from a ladder to a set of windows to anything else-- that she could grip onto. "The most I could manage would be to hop to, maybe, one of those doors on the second floor." She stretched herself taller. Simple, then. The cards implied that Door P isn't one of the hundreds of doors way up there. It's one that I could reach. That narrows things down a lot-- just floors one and two. Still, though, Applebloom had dozens upon dozens of doors left. I guess all I can do now is... guess? I make my first guess? She reached out with her hoof over at Door #12. My lucky number, or so that restaurant's charm treat told me. "I pick Door #12," Applebloom yelled out, shivering in place. She braced herself, ready to jump over to the side if anything happened. *Creak!* The door slowly and un-dramatically shifted open, keeping the filly holding her breath for moment after moment. Each second felt like a hundred years. She saw a bright white light coming out from inside. *Pop!* "What the hay is--" *Pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop!* Applebloom cried out as she stagged in place, thousands of small, bouncy, white things flowing all over her. She tossed herself to the side, landing right atop the cards. She glanced over and shook her head, hooves wiping her mane out of her eyes. "Are those bucking ping-pong balls?" She stood herself back up, and she glared at the mountain of tiny balls leading into the door, which seemed to have a never ending supply behind it. Finally, the balls wedged against each other and stopped the torrent. Everything grew silent. "Okay, I know that on is a 'bogey' door," Applebloom said. She held the cards up closer, and she frowned. Is something like this going to happen with every single door? Will I have to just keep guessing-- calling out 'Door #13', 'Door #14', 'Door #15', and so on-- until I find the right one by mere chance? That'll take too long! She brushed herself off, walking over to the doors around the opposite side of the cage. She eyed Door #42. She opened her mouth to say something, but she immediately stopped. That's not right. It's a test of intelligence just like the cards said. It has something to do with logic, not mere chance. I'm missing something. She looked all around herself. What am I missing? *Squeak!* Applebloom glanced up at Gilda, who sounded more like a cornered mouse than a bird. She saw GIlda shimmy backwards on her pole, rubbing up against something like a gigantic fluffy fish toy. She suddenly noticed something else about the top of the cage. "The doors way above? They're all open? And they're empty?" She blinked as her eyes flew from side to side. Around a third of the doors had flopped open without a sound, revealing nothing but blank white wallpaper behind them. "That's interesting. So, I just need to guess and the process gets easier? That's not what I thought at all." Holy cutie marks, that's actually super easy! She faced over toward door Door #42, smiling. Hardly a test at all, then... and I think I've heard about this next number being some kind of answer to the meaning of life or something. I dunno, probably heard read it in a comic book. She stepped closer. "I'll pick you, then, Door #42!" Applebloom yelled. She watched as the door opened slowly. Her smile immediately melted into a huge frown. Nothing but eerie blackness appeared inside. "I should peek inside. Shouldn't I?" She felt something inside of her, some kind of instinct, telling her to look closer. "No jump scares. Whoever's got me promised no jump scares." She shivered as she took step upon step over, her breaths growing quiet. The darkness seemed to leak out like smoke from a fire, although it made no sense. Parts of the walls around the door grew stained moment by moment. She found herself just two yards away. "N-n-n-n-n-no j-jump s-scares," she muttered. She made her way right besides the open door, and she took a deep breath. This is crazy. It's not the right door. It's not Door P. I'm wasting time. Or I'm... Yet some steely feeling coming up her back screamed at her to look. She almost bit her lip, and she finally stuck her head inside. She saw nothing. She turned her head side and side as well as up and down. Nothing? At all? It all seemed like endless darkness. *Thwack!* Applebloom jumped backwards, tumbling over to her side. "What is it? No! Wait! Give me--" *Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!* She scurried away from the door, wiggling on her back. She looked up, and her mouth grew wide. Door after door around the cage flew themsleves open, a torrent of loud swinging sounds going off over her head like fireworks. Various things from screamers to balloons to random pieces of furniture to fluffy stuffed animals dripped out of them. Her ears flickered upwards as she jumped straight up. "Oh, no, I have to get out of the way!" She lept to the side, dodging a pony-sized suffed poodle. She hurled herself backwards. A large green end-table with ugly black stripes smashed in the ground in front of her. "No, that's-- that's enough!" Up above, Gilda fluttered from side to side, losing it from all of the action. The bird smacked herself against the wall. The whole cage shook, and Applebloom frantically grabbed the end-table. Somehow, the whole world seemed to slant to the side. Applebloom waved her back hooves around, trying to balance. She closed her eyes, and tears seeped out. Her body shook. "Please, please! Celestia, Luna, somepony, stop this!" The cage teetered over at a forty-five degree angle. No! I've had enough! Sweetie! Scootaloo! I have to help them! She slid across the floor, waving her hooves helplessly. Her body bounced over a small black couch with numerous green spots and ambled into a pile of basketballs. She saw herself about to smack upon Door #5, and she kicked against the ground. *Squeak!* Somewhere up above Gilda had suddenly moved over to the opposite side, pushing against the wall. The whole cage started to right itself. The bird stopped and flew down clutching against it's reflection in a mirror toy. Applebloom blinked, rubbing her hooves against her head. "Nothing broken?" She glanced around and found herself with her rear pressed up against Door #11 and her back upon the floor. I'm okay. I have to be strong. I think this test has to be over, or at least almost over. She stood back up straight. As she moved, Door #11 opened by itself. She peeked to the side, and she saw nothing but a solid stack of bricks in front of the cage's wall. Glad that that didn't fall on me. Her eyes wandered around the various piles of random items haphazardly scattered about. Somewhere up above, Gilda had started to lick and slurp her face's reflection in her mirror toy. "I have to hurry," Applebloom said. Sweetie had just a few floors to go until the water reached her. Meanwhile, Ponyville behind Door #2 seemed as idyllic as ever. "So, I suppose here's bad consequences to making wrong guesses. That's what the whole 'bogey' thing meant. Where does that term come from, anyways?" She rubbed her hoof against her chin, straining to remember. She pictured Sweetie Belle standing above her head while she stood on top of Scootaloo's shoulders. Sweetie had clutched a pole between her hooves with a stubby piece on the end. Scootaloo had mumbled that this wasn't "going to work very well". They had stood in a huge patch of green grass with a little ball covered in holes, like Swiss cheese, right in front of them. "Golf, that's it!" Applebloom said, smiling. "So, you get three 'bogeys'. Only three, and then way of counting changes. They say like 'plus four' or something like that, then." She took a deep breath. "Since I'm on my third guess right now, my next 'bogey' will be my final bogey." I suppose that means I'm over and done with? She stepped over to Door #3. On the way, she glanced at Door #7, which she had somehow fallen onto from such a great height and then emerged unhurt from, and she halted. What! The backside of the open door had big, bright writing on it. And now, my seductive and sensual little filly, we're finally at the climax of Sweetie's Puzzle. I'm glad that you made it so far. I had really expected that you would. But you've been going at a lazy pace, to be honest. You're so cute, but you try my patience sometimes. ^frowns^ Your far less attractive friend with the annoying voice, chunky thighs, and frumpy hair has only minutes left. Thus, I'll have to be a bit more direct with you. Keep in mind what the cards said. Read this as well, and read this carefully: 1] You're going to call out your next guess. 2] You're going to make your third and final pick to see which door is Door P. So stop reading this message and get to it. ^snuggles^ A torrent of tickles went along Appleblom's neck with some kind of goo dripping onto her shoulders. "No!" She winced, putting her hooves over her head. She saw a quick flash of something black rubbing into her mane, jostling her bow. She bucked up on her hind hooves, gasping. She sat back down. Oh, praise Celestia, I can't bear it anymore! She glanced back at the long message. Sweetie has only minutes left! I have to think, and I have to think now! She surveyed the whole cage for a moment. Gilda had frozen, looking nearly dead except for her breathing. All of the doors seemed to be open. All open? Already? But what-- what do I choose? She hopped around, eyeing door after door. She focused on Doors 3 through 7. "Those one's are still closed, alright." She hopped over, facing all of them about from three yards away. Alright, it's time. I need to show that monster what I'm made of. I'm smart. I know math. "It's pretty simple. There's five doors left. One of them is Door P. My odds are one in five in a random guess." But it's not about random guessing. She glanced over at Sweetie through Door #1. The water had reached the floor below the one where the filly wandered around, looking to be in total despair with her hooves tearing through her mane and her legs buckling. Don't get distracted! Be focused! If you want to save her, then just be cool. Be smart. "Now, the message was carefully worded. It said that first I'm going to make a guess. It said 'guess'. That means that it doesn't necessarily have to be the correct door." She took a big gulp, crossing her hooves below her. I suppose it would be so fitting if the correct door ends up being the one right next to Ponyville's door all along. "I guess-- Door #3!" The door lit up light a Christmas tree. Applebloom's heart raced. She thrust straight up into the air, making the biggest smile that she could ever remember making. Yes! Is it the right one after all? *Creak!* Her heart seemed to stop as her head turned. She watched Doors #4, #5, and #6 all swing open. She leaned backward, afraid to even walk too far. Nothing? She saw blank walls behind them. What the hay is going on? I made my guess, and I thought that this silly thing with more doors opening that I haven't guessed was done. Door #3 still had a bright while light fluttering around on top of it, even though it remained shut tight. "Wait... wait..." She buried her face in her hooves, remembering something that Appleback had told her. She couldn't think of the words, but she had a sense of deja vu overwhelming her senses. Why did they say 'your next guess' and 'third and final pick' separately? It doesn't matter that much, does it? I guessed before. Now that more doors were revealed as not the right one, does that change anything? Should my guess for Door #3 change? She flashed over to Sweetie. The filly hopped over to the end of her metal grating, water already pooling around her hooves. Think, Applebloom, think. She smacked her hooves against the ground. It's a logic test. Not a test of luck. It's a logic test. Not a test of luck. She felt a lightbulb going off somewhere. "Oh, my goodness, of course!" She stood up on her hind legs, eyes flashing with pure determination. She pointed a hoof out at Door #3. "I choose that last door back when I had a one in five chance of it being the right one. Now, with Door #4, #5, and #6 gone, I just have Door #3 and Door #7 left." She panted as she went on, feeling on top of the world. "That means that, now, I have a one in two chance of a new guess being the right one. Before, my odds were worse. Now, my odds are better. That means that the correct thing to do would be to switch." *Cheep cheep!* Gilda started to sail downwards, fluttering her wings up wide. Feathers sailed down over behind Applebloom. She barely noticed, let alone cared. "It's simple logic!" Tears of joy went Applebloom's face, and she pointed both hooves over to the side. "I-- choose--" Gilda let out a loud whine, beak pointed right at Applebloom's back. The bird hurled through the air with speed building. "LUCKY NUMBER SEVEN!" A flash of pure green light exploded into view. Applebloom found herself tossed into the air like a rag doll. As she tumbled with hooves flailing, she saw blackish-grey waves of electricity bursting around beams of green light. Gilda thrust herself right past Applebloom, missing her completely. Gilda's beak rammed right into Door #1. Glass shattered as water rushed. Applebloom could barely see or hear as pulses of green magic flew through everything, eyes going down below her as she somehow fell into the empty blackness of Door #42. She looked straight upwards, letting out a gasp. Door #2 swelled in size, shoving other doors and piles of everything else over to the sides. As darkness crept up around Applebloom's legs, she peered right through the door to see Sweetie Belle-- very alive and very safe, her soaking-wet body sitting atop a gigantic pile of ping-pong balls blocking Sugarcube Corner. Applebloom smiled. She watched Sweetie wiggle her way down the pile as Colgate and Lyra trotted over from across the street to help. Darkness swirled over Applebloom's face, and she took a deep breath. Everything went black. To Be Continued...