As the small band of ponies and the solar Princess continued their walk down the seemingly endless hallway to the next trial, Jet turned to Shade and couldn't help but wonder why he went so crazy back at the tile room.
*He was fine until he reached the dragon tile, I wonder why it spooked him so much.*
Shade for his part was trying to ignore the weird look Jet was giving him and decided to keep concentrating on his magic.
*Celestia said that any kind of magic is legit in the next trial. What was it again? An obstacle course? Yeah, that sounds about right.*
Shade turned to check out his competition. He couldn't help but crack a small smile.
*These ponies have no idea what their in for.*
Finally, the five pairs of ponies and the Princess finally made it to a tall black door. It itself seemed to be made out of obsidian or some other type of dark stone. It was also very big, almost reaching the 8 pony tall ceiling. Shade raised an eyebrow when Celestia pushed it open with her magic seemingly effortlessly.
*That door must weigh a ton. How did she open it with such ease? How much power is she hiding?*
Shade's thoughts stopped as he took in the marvel behind the door.
“Welcome, students, to the next test. The obstacle course."
All of them took in a collective gasp. Jet and Shade spoke in awe simultaneously.
"Dang..."
The room was massive, being at least 100 ponies long and wide, and at least 50 ponies high. It was mostly white, with a few black spots that looked oddly like burn marks. But strangely enough, there was no floor for the most part.
The entire middle up until a few hooves lengths, just enough for two rows of ponies to stand, was made up of water. The only way across seemed to be the small but plentiful bridges that ran just above the waters surface. But what adorned nearly every inch of the gigantic room was what really took everypony's breath away.
The obstacle course was huge, taking up almost the entire room. It was composed of all kinds of crazy things and obstacles. One area contained three giant axes swinging back and forth, just barely grazing the small bridge under it. Another area had no such things, but the pathway itself was moving randomly, in an almost erratic manner. A small bridge had two walls on each side, with small pistons the size of hooves pumping in and out of the walls. Not even the air was safe, because giant turning rings and squares were lined randomly near the ceiling. But what caught Jet's eyes were the five flamethrowers that adorned one wall.
*So THAT'S where those burn marks came from.*
Shade was more shocked than impressed.
“Why is there even a room like this? What purpose could this death trap possibly serve?" Shade whispered to Jet.
“No idea. What I do know is that we need to pass. If Celestia really built this just for this occasion, the pay off must be huge."
Jet never took his eyes off the course as he replied. Celestia finally spoke again to the group.
“This room was built for the royal guard to train and work out in."
Most of the ponies "ah'd" or said “that makes sense," but Shade and Jet merely looked at each other and shared a look that said the same thing: bull crap. Shade grumbled as he whispered to Jet.
“These ponies are fools if they believe that lie. This is at least a mile into the mountain and we have only seen one guard this entire time."
“Yea, and plus I've talked to multiple guards about their training, and none of them have ever mentioned having to jump away from giant bear traps."
Jet then pointed a hoof at a bridge lined with metal clamps lined with sharp teeth to emphasize his point. Celestia addressed the group again as she explained the rules.
“The rules are very simple: make it to the other side of the room without falling in or touching the water. You are allowed to use any kind of magic you wish to use. But do not try to aim at your fellow competitors or you will be automatically disqualified. Understand?"
They all nodded in agreement, except for Shade, who just kinda snorted.
“Good, now all of you take your place in front of one of the paths."
The Princess then pointed to the five paths that led to the other side. The five pairs of ponies did as they were told and took their places along the curved lines. Jet's mind switched into overdrive as he realized that the flying axes were his first obstacle.
*Ok, so each axe takes an entire three seconds to go down and up again. The axe in the middle is swinging in the opposite direction, also taking three seconds. That means there's a direct straight away at exactly three seconds. If I can move fast enough, I can make it through the straight away with 0.5 seconds to spare. LET'S DO THIS!*
Jet prepared his body and mind for the grueling test of his physical and mental strength that was almost upon him.
Jet looked to his right to see how Shade was doing, and he was quite shocked to him smirking. Shade seemed as calm as ever. Jet had seen that face before. He saw it every time they had a staring contest. It was his “I got this" face, as Jet liked to call it. Shade rarely ever used it, as he was skeptical and questioned everything, so Jet didn't really understand why Shade seemed so calm in the face of such an intense test. But Jet quickly got his focus back as he heard the Princess say:
“On your mark..."
At her words, the entire room got insanely tense as all the ponies knelt down and prepared to run. All except for Shade, who still stood high, looking as calm as ever.
“Get set..."
All the ponies got even lower to the ground, just waiting to hear those final words...
“GO!"
And they were off, each pony running in the direction of the first obstacle. But just before Jet could take off at the axes, having timed his aerial flight perfectly in sync with the axes, Shade suddenly yelled:
“Stop!"
Jet was taken off guard, but decided to concede anyway to confront his partner.
“DUDE! We gotta get going, or else we're gonna lose!"
Jet almost yelled at Shade in hopes of getting him to start running. But to no avail, because he simply kept his confident smirk.
“No. Let them get as far as they want, it doesn't matter."
Now Jet was curious.
“I-I don't understand. Why aren't we running and flying right now?"
“Give me a second and you'll see."
Shade's horn immediately glowed with a blue hue and his eyes locked onto the other side of the room. Then, *flash!* In an instant both Jet and Shade were on the other side of the room. Jet was at a loss for words. Shade on the other hoof calmly trotted to a corner and layed down. Back to his senses, Jet shot a look behind his shoulder, then back at his friend, then back to the other ponies still trying to pass the second obstacle, then back to his friend.
“Did you-"
“Yep."
“Aww ponyfeathers, I was all pumped and stuff, then you just teleported us over here."
Jet's tone hinted a saddened, disappointed feeling. Shade chuckled as he replied.
“Hey, you're more than welcome to fly back over there."
“Nah, I'll spare myself the trouble. But isn't teleporting kinda cheating?"
“Nope. The Princess specifically said that any kind of magic was allowed. I simply used the magic I felt would get us here faster."
“Hmmm, I guess your right. And hey, I didn't get nauseated this time. Looks like you've been practicing."
“I have. Thank you for noticing."
Far back on the beginning side of the room, Celestia stood with a small smile and a shake of her head.
“I should have known that would happen. I did say that any magic was allowed. Guess I'd better go greet the winners."
And with a thought, a flap, and a *flash!* She was standing right next to Jet Fly.
“WHOA! Didn't see that coming!"
Jet hovered back a few feet, having been taken off guard. Celestia immediately turned to look at Shade.
“That was an unorthodox way to win," she said with a grin.
“I'm an unorthodox pony. Besides, I followed the rules."
“I suppose you did. Let us wait for the rest of the competitors to make it to the end before we move on."
Celestia still retained her smile as she turned to look back on the rest of the competitors. Jet flinched as a large earth pony got punched in the gut by a piston and fell into the water.
“Umm, Princess? Are those axes and flamethrowers real? Because if one of them were to be hit by one..."
Jet trailed off as the rest of his sentence was obvious. Shade's ears perked up at the question and looked at Celestia, clearly hoping for an answer himself. Celestia only smiled.
“Most of it is an illusion really. I have ten highly-skilled unicorns watching from a small room near this one, constantly keeping up the illusion. I wanted to see how you all would fare under such pressure. After the rest of them make it over here, I'll show you what truly lies underneath the illusions. But know that they are in no real danger."
Satisfied with his answer for the moment, Jet returned his attention back to the ponies still running on the track. One pair was dodging and ducking underneath giant rotating beams. Another pair were timing the flamethrowers. Another was running full speed as the bridge behind them was sinking underneath the water. And two pegasi were flying high, trying to dodge the rings, beams, and... arrows, that littered the sky. Seeing these ponies struggle actually made Jet happy that Shade had teleported them directly over to the end.
After about five more minutes of running, grunting, and splashing, all the pairs had finally made it to the end. Every last one of them looked extremely exhausted, and they were panting hard. Most threw them dirty looks after seeing that they had teleported to the end. All Jet could do was give them a sympathetic shrug. After counting all the pairs that hadn't fallen into the water, only two pairs were left: Shade Vortex and Jet Fly, and a pegasus mare called Sky High and a rather large earth pony stallion called Tumbler.
“I thank you all for participating once again, and once again I'm extremely proud of you all for making it through such a grueling course. But alas, only these four ponies will be moving onto the next trial. But for those who didn't make it completely dry, I assure you you will be given a week of vacation and you will still earn some extra credit for your troubles," Celestia said, trying to cheer up the downtrodden pairs who couldn't make it without hitting the water.
It had the desired effect as each of them grew a smile at hearing their rewards. Satisfied with now easing the tension in the room, she ushered everyone to look at the now empty obstacle course.
“As some of you may have noticed, you were never in any real danger. Most of it was an illusion, see?"
Celestia motioned to the various obstacles. At that moment, all the axes became wood beams with slight curves. The flamethrowers were mere metal tubes. And the bear traps became patches of soapy water. Understandably, all the ponies in attendance, save for Celestia herself, were in an udder state of confusion. She took it upon herself to explain.
“You see, everything was simply trying to get you to fall into the water. The swinging beams and pistons would knock you over. The slippery, soapy spots were meant to throw you off balance. And of course, the arrows and other sharp objects were made from rubber. The main purpose for disguising them as real weapons was to see how you all would do under pressure, and you all exceeded my expectations. Come, let us leave this place."
She then began to walk out the other set of large obsidian doors and make her way out into the hall way. Already in the hallway to greet them was a set of guards, who escorted the unsuccessful ponies back to the castle. After they were long gone, Celestia turned to the remaining four ponies.
“I am extremely proud of you all for making it this far. But don't rest just yet, for there is one more remaining trial for you to face. Follow me to final challenge."
The four ponies did so as Celestia began her slow ascent up a flight of stairs near the obsidian doors. Jet let out a sigh as they made their way up the stairs after their Princess.
“Almost Finished."
Shade nodded, but started thinking to himself.
*What other tricks does Celestia have up her sleeve?*
Jet seemed to read his friend's thoughts as he spoke with a smile.
“We got this. We just have to continue to work together. Together, we can accomplish anything."
And off they went, back into the unknown, and deeper into the mountain. But with newfound conviction and with teamwork on their side, the dynamic duo strode with confidence as they bravely awaited their next task.