Testing

All at once, the doors opened, save one. The occupants looked out suspiciously...well...except Twilight, she was still paralyzed. When they saw it was safe, they all stepped out. The four Elements of Harmony, upon seeing each other, rushed out and entered a group hug. After several minutes of tight hugs and a lot of crying, even from RD even though she would never admit it,  the group finally split up.

"Hold on, where is Twilight? Her and I were....taken together." Rarity looked around for their fearless leader, but saw no sign of her.

"Yeah, and I was with Pinkie..." Rainbow Dash added, sure she didn't say what they were doing when they were captured...but her friends didn't need to know that.

"Maybe she didn't come out...? You know Twilight." Good ol' Honest Applejack. She had a valid point, and they all knew it. So they went from room to room searching, then they came across the room with their friend inside. There she stood, stiff as a board, a shocked expression on her face.

"What's wrong with her..." The speedster of the group trotted over to their stiff friend and took a long look at her.

"Well, if I remember correctly, if you make a unicorn say their true name backwards, they seize up like this." Rarity circled her friend, when she spotted something on the floor and her friend's flank. "I say...what is this....?" The unicorn leaned down and sniffed the thick substance. "O-oh......oh my Celestia..." Rarity backed away, covering her mouth and threatening to throw up. The others, one by one, all looked to see what their friend was so grossed out by. When they saw it, they all joined their friend.

"Wh-who was sharing a cell with her...?" The mares looked out into the main room, there were only four males out there, so it had to be one of them. "It wasn't Thunderlane...I was with him." Rarity vouched for the pegasus who made her blood boil.

"I-it wasn't Butch, he's the big guy with the flower cutie mark..." The butter yellow pegasus spoke in favor of the shy stallion who shared the room with her.

"Ah was with Jazz, he's the smooth talker with the shades." Applejack pointed to the musician who was flirting with Spitfire in the center of the room. Their eyes all turned to Soarin, who was nowhere near anypony else, his eyes were cast downwards.

"No...he wouldn't.." Dash looked at her friends. "He wouldn't do that! H-He's Soarin! He would....never...do.....that." Dash knew her argument was futile. Her friends had the evidence and now they wanted blood. They stalked to their target, well Rarity and Applejack stalked, Fluttershy followed quietly. Right as they were a few feet away from the Wonderbolt second-in-commend, an orange orb formed in the middle of the room.

"Contestants! Gather 'round!" Rarity knew that voice, but the others didn't recognize it. It was the madpony's voice. All of the ponies did as they were told and gathered around the talking ball of magic. "Hello, Hello, Hello you lucky ponies....and Griffon." Gilda grunted. "I am Game Master, Master of Games. You all are contestants in my popular gameshow...." A drum roll came out of nowhere. "THE TESTING GROUNDS!" Nopony said anything, nopony even moved. Well, except for Gilda, who had her front claw balled up in a fist.

"What?!" Gilda half-roared, half-shrieked. "You aren't supposed to have Griffons on here! We're your customers!" The Testing Grounds was magically broadcast in Zebra territory, The Griffon Kingdoms, and in some parts of The Badlands. "This is unacceptable!" The orange orb in the middle zapped Gilda with a ball of lightning, the Griffon shrieked and fell to the ground, her body smoking. The other contestants just stared silently.

"Any other objections? No? Good." The voice was haughty and talked as though it was superior to them. "This is how this works, the games start in two days. Until then you will stay in this area, and each night you'll go to your little rooms with your little roommates." The four Elements looked at each other, already forming plans in their heads about protecting Twilight. "But of course, you have to stay in the room we placed you in. Sorry, it's a cautionary thing, wouldn't want you fraternizing with others where we can't hear you." Everypony in the room already hated this orb. He was mean, crazy, and self-centered. "So....any questions?" The voice just chirped happily.

"Yeah, where's Pinkie Pie?" Rainbow Dash spoke up.

"Who? Oh, the pink one. Yeeaah...sorry, can't let you see her. She's very special in these little games!"

"Can't one of us visit her? Just one..?" Rainbow Dash was truly worried about her friend and lover. Pinkie Pie didn't do well alone.

"Hmmm....very well. Just one, and since you said something, you volunteered!" A door opened on the far side of the room. "Go on now, get!" Rainbow Dash nodded to her friends then trotted to the door. She stepped in. She was in a hallway, a bright light above her. The door behind her closed and sounded like it pressurized. The room was silent, too silent. She could hear her own breath, her own heart thumping loudly in her ears. Finally, the door opened in front of her.

In the middle of the bright green room was Pinkie Pie. She was facing away from the door, but she turned when it opened. Her mane was half-curly, Half-straight. One side of her face was smiling, the other crying.

"Sh-She's so loud...." Dash quickly made her way over to her friend. "W-Why won't she be quiet? W-why...?"

See, Pinkie was one of the original candidates for this episode of the show due to her extreme psychosis. Split personality disorder. Isolation with such a thing would cause one to go mad, maybe even murderously psychotic.

"Pinkie....Pinkie..it's me, Rainbow Dash..." The blue mare wrapped her hooves around her lover. "I-I'm here, it's okay...It's okay." A hoof stroked the pink one's mane lovingly.

--

"GM, are you sure this is a good idea?" Harlequin opposed of this to the utmost degree, but Game Master just wouldn't listen. "What if they refuse to fight?"

"They won't. You see, this love story is so marvelously sappy!" The insane unicorn hoisted his cane high. "When they're the last two, which they will be, we'll lock them in a room, and either they kill each other...or..." His microphone cane tapped his chin.

"Or what? They'll refuse to fight." Harlequin saw no point in this.

"Or we'll simply kill their child...."

"They don't have a child-"

"-yet! They don't have a child yet. Get me R&D up here, PRONTO!" Game Master cackled gleefully as he watched a magical projection of the two lovers in the sound-proof cell.