Perception

Twilight collapsed, motionless.

Starlight sealed the extracted cutie mark of Twilight Sparkle into her vault with icy calm and replaced her cutie mark to be a dark equal sign. She knew that the remaining five would not be capable to put up a fight. Without their guardian, their Princess Twilight Sparkle, how are these five able to fend off against her years of magic study?

She took her time now, relishing this moment. There was no requirement for her to hurry in executing her bidding on these helpless ponies.

The surrounded ponies were stuck and trapped in a tight circle.

Without any warning whatsoever, Starlight pointed the Staff of Sameness at the five and casted the same spell on the five ponies collectively. With them being so conveniently near to each other, a greater outburst of magical aura should be able to clear off all their cutie marks simultaneously and lock them into Starlight's shimmering vault.

"Ahh!" Starlight screamed in agony. The kinetic energy of a rock betrayed accurate aiming of her spell.

The five stared at each other, and back at Twilight, wondering who was responsible for saving their cutie marks at the last possible second, except for Rarity.

"I won't let you get away with this!" Starlight bitterly vowed, underestimating the resilience of these five.

The town's residents tried to intervene by rushing forward, but Starlight stopped them in their hoofsteps.

"This is under control! They can't escape under my charge!" Starlight exclaimed angrily. "Step aside!"

Her horn glowed, significantly brighter than prior, indeed, due to her intense emotions being funneled in. She knew who to strike at first.

A whoosh of wind glided into Starlight's face, distracting her at the last possible instance. Her eyes turned red as she tried to rub her eyes, diverting her attention from the scene.

Despite Rainbow Dash's effort to foil Starlight's plans yet again, Rarity was struck well and true. Fluttershy tried to cover her companion, but the sheer strength of the spell caused her own cutie mark to be extracted too. However, due to Rainbow's distraction, the cutie marks were still levitating in the cold, damp air of the cavern, away from their reach and in the grasp of Starlight's magic.

Shaking her head, Starlight saw Fluttershy and Rarity heel over. She finalised the sealing of their cutie marks and imprinted their cutie mark with a black, ominous equal sign. Now, she focused her attention on the remaining three ponies, notably that multicoloured Rainbow Dash.

"ENOUGH!" Starlight screamed, not only surprised, but frustrated by the persistence of the group. Beads of perspiration dripped down the brow of Starlight Glimmer.

Her outburst shocked the remaining three ponies into fear. Their adrenaline rush kicking in, they attempted to force their way out of the cavern through the solid line blocking their way, except for Rainbow Dash, who darted out from the predicament aerially.

"Argh!" Rainbow Dash cried out, the taste of freedom and the cold mountain breeze in her mouth was betrayed by the sudden appearance of a cyan force field. The rebound off the surface of the force field was more than sufficient to knock her out in the cold, especially since she was speeding out of the cave as fast as she could.

Applejack and Pinkie Pie looked at each other, then at Starlight Glimmer.

Their physical exit out of the cave, and their fate, was sealed despite their best efforts.

"Free yourself from your cutie mark," a voice declared.

Twilight got up first.

Fortunately, the rest were regaining their composure from their failed escape attempt.

Twilight looked around.

First to grab her attention was that annoying loudspeaker hung at the top of the room, broadcasting ceaselessly on the so-called benefits of getting rid of their cutie marks.

She then looked through the slightly translucent window out to the surrounding region. They were being housed in the last stretch of town, at the end of the road with poor lighting and drab living conditions. Obviously, the window panes were bolted down rigidly to prevent their escape. In any case, the windows were way too small for any of them to get out.

Applejack, with every ounce of energy she had, dragged herself up. In a daze, she kicked at the door locking them in. As expected, the door was firmly secured. Although she tried to knock down the wooden construct, there were no signs of splintering or creaking.

It was Rarity's turn to try something. She tried to burrow under the wooden floor to escape this quandary. Alas, to her horror, the foundation under the wooden floor is solid, dense sandstone.

Pinkie Pie stayed where she was, devoid of any hope or energy, so incredibly different from her usual self.

Fluttershy, after watching her friends try to attempt a breakout, decided to make the best of the situation. She picked up poorly hinged books with yellow moldy pages and began reading page after page of black equal signs.

Unknown to all six, however, Starlight was watching their every move, conveniently from her room.

"Ah Starlight, you have done it again," Starlight said to herself, ceasing the spell.

Other than the angle in which the sun's rays hit the damp wooden floor, there was no way for the six to tell the time. The clock that hung above failed to tick.

Suddenly, a click sound was heard.

The six, unable to rest well the previous night, watched the door swing open by none other than Starlight Glimmer.

"I trust that you had a pleasant night?" Starlight asked casually, though with a hint of malice.

Starlight did not wait for a response from the six. They seemed exhausted and fatigued.

"Come this way!" Starlight continued with glee. "There are friends who want to see you all."

"Gather around, friends!" Starlight exclaimed loudly to all. The town's residents stepped forth to observe the proceedings.

"There are so many friends to make when you reason that you no longer need your cutie mark!" Starlight said, facing the crowd rather than the six despondent ponies. "Or the talents that come with them!"

That was Starlight's cue to turn uncomfortably close to Twilight Sparkle. Twilight frowned at her, staring. The remaining five joined her in doing so.

"We have a welcome ceremony for all new friends!" Double Diamond described, trying to sway the six sad ponies. "The whole village will b-"

"NOT INTERESTED!" Rainbow Dash firmly rejected the proposal. "You may have them now, but we will get our cutie marks back!"

With that snarky comment, the six turned their backs and independently stepped back into their cell.

Starlight was not exactly pleased with this; she thought at least one of them would be convinced. At least until one of the six turned around.

"I'd like to...join," Fluttershy said softly.

"Fluttershy? How...how could you?" Twilight reacted instinctively, pupils widening.

Starlight tried to cover the grin on her face with limited success.