The Final Test

Starlight had grown used to the electric jolt that came every time she was revived. It didn’t hurt anymore, not as much as it used to. She just had to make sure nopony found out.

When Starlight opened her eyes, she found herself trapped in the same circle of magic that she’d been trapped in before. She was in an entirely new room, someplace she hadn’t even seen when she used this place for her own tests. It was decorated with stone slabs all along the wall, all distorted and mismatching shapes. There was a balcony several hoof-lengths above her. The room was a long corridor, ending in what looked like a flight of stairs. When she looked closely, Starlight could see a glass window shaped like a small box on the right wall. It was hard to see through the darkness, but Starlight swore she saw some kind of movement in there.

Starlight shook herself out, wincing from the pain that exploded through her body. Her head still ached from her missing horn, and there were so many wounds all over her body.

There was the sound of several hoofsteps from above. Once they stopped, torches roared to life with flames. Everypony except Shining Armor stood above her, all gazes fixed on her and hostile.

Starlight looked away and to the window, which was now lit up. It showed a small room behind it with several buttons and controls. Shining Armor was inside, working with some of the buttons. After a few moments, he reached up and pulled down a microphone. There was a loud high-pitched sound that echoed around the sound and he turned it on. Starlight winced and pressed her ears against her head as tightly as she could.

“Welcome, everypony, to the next part in the Test of Resistance.” Shining Armor’s voice echoed around the room from a speaker in the ceiling. “I hope you’re all as excited as I am for this test.”

There were thundering sounds above Starlight as the ponies above her stomped their hooves and cheered excitedly. Once the noises ceased, Shining Armor nodded approvingly and then continued.

“As a solider of the Crystal Empire, I’ve been through hours and hours of training. I’ve got the scars to prove it.”

Lanterns above Starlight flickered in as the flames sparked. A match surrounded by a blue aura of magic moved quickly down the corridor, turning on the lanterns and providing some light in the dim area. Once they were all on, Shining Armor continued.

“I decided to put you through an enhanced replica of the training I went through,” the stallion announced. “This test is quite simple, on your part. All you have to do is walk down the corridor to the stairs at the end.”

“What’s the catch?” Starlight demanded.

Shining Armor looked down at the buttons. “All you have to do is avoid a couple of things.”

Starlight tensed. There was some kind of twisted secret behind this, she knew it.

But she had no choice except to play along for now. The hornless unicorn just nodded. Shining Armor looked up at the balcony and grinned.

“Whenever you give the word, Rarity.”

Starlight looked up to see Rarity smile in a chilling way. Then there was the familiar sound.

One tick.

Two ticks.

Three ticks.

“Begin.”

When the word left Rarity’s mouth, the magical circle around Starlight disappeared. She hesitated for a moment, then slowly put a hoof out. When it safely touched the ground, Starlight began to walk at a slow pace. She scanned the walls, waiting to see what would lunge out at her first. Where would they even come from? Some secret traps doors? What would it even be?

Maybe this would be some Derring Do type shit. That wouldn’t surprise her.

She swore she could hear a shift somewhere. Starlight perked her ears, swiveling them around to hear where it came from. Her eyes darted back and forth, trying to find out what was going on.

The shift happened again. Starlight’s head shot up. The ceiling above her split slightly, just enough to allow arrows to come pouring down like rain. Starlight yelped and bolted into a run. The ceiling was beginning to open more, she could hear it. Arrows were falling in a downpour. Starlight caught glimpses of their tips as she ran, swerving out of the way of most arrows as they fell. They were wicked sharp, she was sure they were sharp enough to pierce through a dragon’s scales with no issues. Maybe even bone.

She couldn’t avoid some arrows as she ran in wild, curved zigzags. They caught the sides of her belly and her flank as she ran, catching in tiny patches of skin and cutting through her fur. It stung, but it wasn’t enough to slow her down. Starlight continued her run. If she kept going like this, she’d surely be able to make it to the end.

Alive.

Starlight picked up her pace, racing down the corridor. The ceiling opened more, allowing more arrows to pour down. Starlight’s breath hitched in fear. Her steps were becoming clumsy and frantic. She wasn’t sure how long it would be before she fumbled and lost her footing.

There was another shift. Starlight’s ears were all that could search for the source, her eyes were focused on the arrows. As she was making a sharp right curve, her hoof fell into something. She was going too fast to properly stop herself and pull it out. Instead, her face crashed into the ground. She heard a snap in her caught hoof, and pain jolted up her leg. That combined with the pain of the arrows piercing into her skin were enough to make her cry out in agony. Starlight’s hind hooves swung down to the ground beside her as she rolled to free her hoof. There was another shift as she was moving, and then her right hindleg hit something sharp. Starlight screeched in pain.

When she looked, Starlight saw a spike in the ground that had slid cleanly through her leg. It was lodged into her thigh, leaving her stuck to the ground. Her left leg had barely missed it, sitting right beside the cold metal.

The sharp arrows were falling more frequently now, digging into Starlight’s skin. The sound was almost more sickening than the pain. Flesh met with metal, making an awful sound. Desperate to get away from the arrows, Starlight used her good hoof to try and get back to her hooves. It was hopeless, though. All she did was flail around like a fish.

Another arrow dug into her skin, falling into her back. She felt it go deep enough to hit the bone. Starlight wailed.

It was enough to push her to do everything to get free.

Starlight slammed both of her front hooves to the ground, ignoring the pain from her broken hoof. She used her left hindleg to help her. There was only one way she could quickly get away. She had to pull her leg away from the spike.

Fully aware of the price it would cost and the damage it would do to her leg, Starlight pulled. She pushed herself forward and gave her leg a hard jerk. The spike tore through her leg down to the end of her thigh. It cut through her muscles and tissue, and now all of it was exposed to the air and the arrows. Starlight screamed as loud as her voice allowed.

But she couldn’t stop.

Not now.

Not until she reached the end of the corridor.

Starlight yanked on her leg again, harder this time. This time, it cut down to the halfway point of her leg. Starlight drew in a breath. Tears streamed down her face, mixing with blood as arrows continued to strike her. She was almost there. If she gave one or two more hard tugs, she’d be free and could make a break for it.

Starlight drew in a large breath, preparing herself for the next bursts of pain. Then she held her breath. She played the sound of the ticks in her head as a countdown.

One tick.

Two ticks.

Three ticks.

With that, she pulled again. As the spike cut down through her leg again, Starlight wailed in pain. She looked back to see how far she’d gotten. The spike was almost to the end of her hoof. She was almost free.

Starlight looked up to the balcony. Everypony was watching with satisfaction, especially Rarity. Starlight met the unicorn’s gaze of pure hate, seeing her feelings reflected in Rarity’s eyes.

“Enjoy the fucking show!” Starlight suddenly spat before giving a final tug. The spike finally cut cleanly through her leg. Blood rained from her split leg as it flew through the air while she shoved herself up.

Using three hooves, including her broken one, Starlight darted down the corridor. She ran faster than she had in a long time. Her ears were ringing and her vision was blurring, but she had to ignore it.

Blood fell into Starlight’s right eye, temporarily blinding her. She shut her eye as she ran, relying solely on her left eye.

Relief overwhelmed her when she realized how close she was to the end. She picked up her pace, then practically flung herself at the staircase. She hit the ground painfully, and the impact caused one of the arrows to dig further into her skin.

Starlight snapped her head around and clamped her teeth around the end of the arrows that were buried into her skin. She ripped them out and spat them onto the stone floor. She yanked the ones off of her head with her good hoof, throwing it down with the others.

Starlight looked at her right leg. It was cut down the middle from the center of her thigh, and it burned like hell. She’d never experienced this level of pain before. It was the most gorey sight she had ever seen.

She let out a breath. She rested her head on the floor, breathing heavily.

“I did it,” she breathed. “I did it.”

And then there was another shift. Starlight felt her heart drop. She looked up just in time to see part of the ceiling hurtling toward her. In a matter of seconds, it crushed her and the world turned black.

Shining Armor let out a cackle. “She was never going to survive that one.”

Rarity chuckled as Sweetie Belle took notes. The white mare looked back at the others curiously. “Who’s next?”

“Me,” Spike announced. “I want to go next.”

Rarity nodded. “Alright, then let’s go get ready.”

“What do I mark this test as?” Sweetie Belle cried down to Shining Armor. “What’s the result?”

Shining Armor smiled wickedly, pulling the microphone close to his mouth. His voice rang out clearly around the room.

“Fail.”