The Final Test

Starlight Glimmer gasped for air as another electric jolt shot through her body. She cried out in agony, her face contorting in pain.

"Oh, would ya quit your whinin'?" Apple Bloom snapped, jabbing Starlight in the chest with her hoof. "You might wanna toughen up, buttercup, 'cause my test is next."

Starlight drew in a deep breath. She looked down at her belly. She was shocked to see the wound was still there, just as messy and bloody as it was before.

"You-" Starlight began.

"Didn't show you any mercy?" Apple Bloom interrupted. " 'Course not. I didn't need to for this test. The only thing that got healed was your insides. After all, how're you gonna go through the rest of these tests without them?"

"Just let me die," Starlight pleaded. "Please."

The young mare smiled evilly. "You've already been told, sugarcube. That's too merciful. Lucky for you, though, you get to get unclipped."

Starlight didn't realize how stiff her legs were feeling until all four straps came undone at once and she dropped to the ground with a heavy thud. She sucked in heavily, and she shakily got to her hooves. So many angry eyes were fixed on her. Even Celestia's eyes burned with an uncharacteristic fire.

"I killed your friends and family," Starlight blurted. "So kill me."

No answer came.

"Kill me!" she roared. Still no answer. She was trapped in the ring again as Zephyr and Big Mac worked together to flip around the table and push it back into place. Anger and desperation fogged Starlight's mind. She couldn't think about anything except getting out of here, alive or dead. Most probably dead. She looked down at the ring. She remembered how ruined it had left Applejack's body when it'd killed her. Maybe if she made it kill her, it'd leave her more messed up. Maybe so messed up that Discord wouldn't be able to fix her.

She had to try. It was worth the risk.

"Fine," she snarled, fixing her gaze on the ring of magic. "If you won't kill me, then I'll do it myself."

Starlight leaped out of the ring. The moment her front hooves went over, a blinding light filled the room. A horrible jolt of electricity burned through Starlight's body. A burning sensation followed, making her feel as though she were on fire. She could momentarily smell her fur sizzling. She recognized the feeling that was coming toward her, and she welcomed death warmly.

Starlight was in so much pain. The same electric jolt ran through her body, but it was worse than before. She shrieked. It took a little longer than usual to disappear, and she was beyond relieved when it did. Her underbelly burned. She was back in the very ring that had killed her. Nearly everypony was laughing, except for Sunburst, who simply smiled, and the two princess sisters. Starlight met Rarity's eyes.

"This is so inhumane," she choked out hoarsely. "How could you let any living pony know the feeling of death? Does anypony deserve that?"

Rarity's amusement vanished, replaced with anger.

"Did my friends deserve to know the feeling of death?" she hissed before screaming, "No! None of us deserved what you did to us! You think we're sick? Well guess what, Starlight? You started this. You have only yourself to blame!"

Starlight met Rarity's anger with her own. "At least I didn't make them feel it again and again!" she shot back. "I let them die and left it at that."

"But did you consider how many other ponies you would hurt?" Rarity snarled dangerously. "You caused so much pain, Starlight. So now you will hurt the same way we have, the same way we have for months."

"We must always think before we act," Apple Bloom said in a know-it-all voice. "Especially before committing murder. After all, we never know who will come back to get revenge."

Starlight opened her mouth to speak, but she was cut off by Apple Bloom as she continued. "And now, it's my turn to get revenge!" She happily skipped over to her brother and leaned her front leg against his shoulder. "I wasn't sure what to do, so Big Mac and I worked together."

Starlight had a moment of short-lived relief as the mare went on. "Oh, we're still performing separate tests, Starlight. We just merely gave each other ideas. I even got Princess Celestia to help me with this one."

She smiled at the princess, who just nodded. "This test you'll survive for sure. It ain't deadly, at least not too deadly. I'm simply gonna see how long it takes for you to go blind while looking at something nearly as bright as the sun. Instinctively, when you see the light, you're gonna close your eyes. I had to find a solution to that problem, and I got the perfect one."

"What's that?" Starlight asked fearfully as Apple Bloom picked up the still bloody scalpel that Zephyr had used. She smiled at Starlight, though not warmly like the way the others had smiled at her. It was a little less disturbing, Starlight had to admit.

"I'm gonna get rid of your eyelids," Apple Bloom replied.

Starlight froze in horror. She fought back the vomit threatening to come out of her throat. The thought of somepony messing with her eyes like that; it made her sick. It was odd, she knew it. Nothing else had made her this uneasy, and surely all of it was way worse than this. She wasn't sure why it made her so much more uneasy.

"Sunburst, the spell please," Apple Bloom said in a sing-song voice. Sunburst smiled again, a smile that Starlight had once welcomed and enjoyed seeing. The smile she'd once considered the one of a friend. "With pleasure."

The ring disappeared, and Starlight was paralyzed again. The only thing she could control were her eyes; she assumed it was so Apple Bloom could have easier access to her eyelids. As the earth pony came closer, all Starlight could think to do was squeeze her eyes shut. Apple Bloom laughed cheerfully. "Thanks!"

Fuck you.

"This'll only take a moment," Apple Bloom said.

The scalpel pierced skin, and Apple Bloom slowly cut off Starlight's top eyelid on her left eye. Starlight vomited in her mouth, which made her feel sicker. She had no choice but to swallow it back down, seeing as it couldn't exit her mouth. It made this all the more sickening. Her throat burned, and the feeling of her own vomit returning to her stomach made it threaten to come back up.

Apple Bloom repeated the process three more times for both her bottom eyelids and her remaining top one on her right eye. The area around her forcefully came back into view which each slow slash. Once Apple Bloom was finished, a blast of magic shot Starlight and she was able to move again. She instantly turned away and puked, this time having it be able to fully leave her body. It hurt, but it was a relief.

"Gross," Sweetie Belle whined as she continued to scribble down notes. "Discord, can you get that?"

Discord rolled his eyes, then snapped his fingers. The puddle of vomit disappeared, and directly after Starlight was back in the ring. She felt her eyes becoming dry. She had to blink, but she couldn't.

"My eyes," she murmured.

"Quite a gruesome upgrade," Apple Bloom chimed. "Trust me, it looks horrendous. But thanks to Discord, the blood isn't getting in your eyes. Makes them all the more vulnerable for the test."

As she spoke, Princess Celestia came forward. Shining Armor pulled a small cardboard box from the shadows. Inside were some kind of glasses. He passed them around to everypony. Celestia was the only pony who refused.

"I can handle the light of my own creation," she told him. "Do you really think the princess of the sun can't handle its light?"

"Apologies, Your Majesty," Shining Armor said with a bow. He took the glasses for himself and slipped them over his eyes. Apple Bloom stood close to Starlight and the princess as she put her own glasses on, bouncing eagerly. Rarity watched everypony put their glasses on, then slipped hers on last. The timer clicked.

One tick.

Two ticks.

Three ticks.

"Begin."

Celestia's horn began to glow. It was very faint at first, and then there was a bright burst. A shining bright light filled the room. Starlight had no choice but to look at it. Everywhere she looked, it followed. Her eyes burned. She could feel the effects of it burning into her eyes.

"Stop!" she cried. "Please! It hurts! Somepony, help! It hurts!"

It was only a few moments, but it felt like an eternity. Her vision began to go dark, and it wasn't like it had before. No, she was fully conscious for this, and she knew she'd feel it still afterwards. She looked around desperately as her vision began to fade.

"My vision!" she wailed helplessly. "I can't see, I can't see! I can't- How will I know where the ring is? Help me!"

There was the sound of magic fading, then shuffling around. Apple Bloom let out a "hmm". "Only a few seconds. Disappointing, but it has a long-term effect, so I'm satisfied."

Rarity chuckled. "Well, Starlight, I'm sure you'll be relieved to hear that the light is gone. This test has been concluded."

"Uh, would this be a pass or a fail?" Sweetie Belle asked quietly.

"It ain't either," Apple Bloom replied. "Give it a... 60%. Not nearly as pleasing as I wanted it to be, but it did the job."

Starlight heard the sound of writing. She remained still, afraid of stepping out of the ring and killing herself again. She felt tears pouring down her face, she knew it exactly what it was because she stuck out her tongue to figure out if it was blood or tears. It was salty, not metalic. She choked on her own sobs as she tried to speak.

"Can- Can I at least have my eyelids back?" she stammered weakly.

She heard Apple Bloom sigh. "I suppose. You can do that, can't you, Discord?"

"I can," Discord replied begrudgingly. There was snap. The stinging pain around her eyes vanished, making the burning a little more bearable. She blinked and let out a breath of relief.

"Oh, thank you," she said before thinking. The gratitude was too much, and when the words left her mouth, she didn't even regret them.

She heard Apple Bloom laugh.

"Oh, don't be thanking us," she snickered. "I'm pretty sure Big Mac is going next."

The words were met with a "Eeyup."