Friendship cant save you

Chapters

FCSY - Chapter 1 - It begins
FCSY - Chapter 2 - Hot Potato
FCSY - Chapter 3 - Spin the Bottle
FCSY - Chapter 4 - Hangman
FCSY - Chapter 5 - what's going on?
FCSY - Chapter 6 - Pass The Parcel
FCSY - Chapter 7 - Snap
FCSY - Chapter 8 - we can explain...

FCSY - Chapter 1 - It begins

Twilight was overjoyed. She ran toward her friends, her blue coronation gown flowing behind her. The coronation, crowning her as ruler of Canterlot, was an utter disaster, but the friends all found a way to laugh about it, looking at Celestia and Luna, who were trying their best to also conceal their snickers.

As the party continued into the evening, all the guests moved into the gardens behind the castle, to use the castle as a shield from the sharp evening breeze. Laughter and jokes had simmered down to idle chatter, with the Elements of Harmony sat around a table together, enjoying drinks and snacks.
Soon, the soft chime of a spoon hitting a glass could be heard, and everyone turned their attention to Celestia and Luna.

“Every creature, I can't express how proud I am of my dear student, Twilight Sparkle, and her friends. All of them have gone to amazing lengths to keep Equestria safe from threat. From King Sombra in the Crystal Empire, to Tirek, Chrysalis and Cozy Glow, right here in Canterlot.”
Celestia began, glancing over at the Elements of Harmony,beaming with pride, before continuing her speech.

“Now I'm not only making this speech to brag about my student, but I have a smaller announcement to make. With Twilight Sparkle taking the throne, myself and Princess Luna, my dear sister, will be retiring. We have been ruling side by side for… who knows how long now. And we have full faith in Twilight to continue with our duties.”
Twilight nodded in agreement, holding up the dial that Celestia gave her, that granted her the power to raise the sun and moon.

Celestia ended her speech with one last thankyou, bowing her head to the crowd, before walking toward the Elements of Harmony, all of them gathering around Celestia, who embraced them with her front hooves and wings.

Once the embrace was released, Princess Luna spoke up.
“Now, I know you’re enjoying the evening, but there’s something we need of you, all of you, before we can officially retire. We need you to go and find Cadence in the throne room, she has some instructions for you. Think of it as a... Final test, so to speak”

The 6 ponies all looked at each other in confusion, before nodding and making their way to the throne room as instructed. As they walk in, they see that the throne room is already under heavy construction, renovating it ready for when Twilight takes over.
Twilight smiles wide with excitement as she walks over to Cadance, standing beside her. They greeted each other with a warm embrace and their signature ‘sunshine sunshine’ dance.
They ended the dance with a few heart-filled giggles, before looking at each other, and Twilight's tone got serious again.

“So… Princess Luna told us to come and find you here for… Some final test? Do you know anything about this”
Twilight asked, a hint of confusion in her tone.

"Pfft, c'mon Twilight! If Cadence didnt know, we wouldn't have been told to come to her"
Pinkie spoke out from behind the purple alicorn, causing everyone to erupt in laughter once more. Everyone was in such high spirits since the coronation. Everyone had such an amazing evening, and it was clear they were eager to see what came next.

Cadence’s smile quickly faded, and she nodded slowly as she led the main 6 out of the throne room, she spoke up, her tone was low and seemingly upset.
“Just… follow me. Ill explain everything soon.”

Soon enough, Twilight and the others were led into Celestia and Luna’s meeting room, the room was surrounded by bookshelves, with a large, round table in the middle, surrounded by chairs, with a small table covering in the middle, making the entire room look very professional and well put together.

Luna and Celestia were already standing there, and Cadence stood in the middle of them. The 6 ponies looked at the alicorns in confusion, before Cadence's expression grew more and more guilty.
Before they could react, Celestia, Luna, and Cadance's horns suddenly lit up, Soft beams of magic flowing out of all 3 of their horns, flying above the 6 ponies and making a strange dome around them. The dome then began casting a spell on the elements of Harmony, putting them to sleep.
Twilight looked around at her friends, seeing them fall limp in a forced slumber, and Twilight could feel her eyes growing heavy. She was growing nervous, why did she need to be put to sleep for this final test? Why did Cadence look so upset? What was going on?

She tried to resist the spell, looking up at Cadence, her ears folding back as she felt her legs grow heavy, her body beginning to sway.
“Wh… Why…?”
Twilight tried to ask, before she gave into the spell’s influence, falling to the ground, seeing Cadance looking deeply upset, before her eyes closed completely, and she fell into a slumber…

FCSY - Chapter 2 - Hot Potato

Twilight slowly woke up, holding her head and looking around. She saw her friends were all in this strange room with her. Rarity was looking around, Applejack was pacing, Fluttershy was cowering with Rainbow Dash holding her, and Pinkie Pie was standing beside Twilight.

“Hey, I’m glad you’re ok.”
Pinkie spoke up, helping Twilight to her hooves, which caught the attention of the others.

“Wh- Where are we?”
Twilight asked, holding her head and looking around the room.

The room was in the shape of a circle, with the floor being made out of some kind of polished stone panels. The walls were made of concrete that seem to have been chiselled out like a grid. Along the round wall, was a door, but when Twilight tried the door, it was locked tight.
She tried to use her magic, but her horn fizzled out weakly, sparking like a live wire.

“I already tried that I'm afraid…” Rarity spoke up, upon seeing Twilight try her magic, which only made Twilight more worried.

The wall also had a single window, exactly opposite the door, and within the room on the other side of the window, was Princess Cadence.
She looked very guilty, as she looked over what looked like a board with different coloured buttons on them.
As well as a simple seat to sit in. There was a shelf under the window, on Cadence's side that had a singular, button activated microphone.
“Cadence?! Where are we?! What is going on?! Why doesn't our magic work?!” Twilight asked, her ears folding back and her wings poofing up in fear.

Cadence pressed the button on the mic, and her voice echoed through the room on a set of speakers, secured to the upper side of the wall.
“This… This is your final test.”
Cadence began.
“Your final test, to prove if you are truly ready to rule over Canterlot. Every Alicorn goes through this test, and I unfortunately can't stop it.”

Final test? ‘Unfortunately’? What did she mean?!
Twilight looked at her friends, and they also looked nervous, with Applejack egging Twilight on to keep asking questions, get as much information as they can get.

“W-what test… What test involves my friends?” Twilight asks, looking concerned as to why the others were in the room with her, if this was HER test.

“Well, your final test consists of 5 games. And you need to have more than 1 pony to play each game. All the advice I can give is, that you shouldn't focus on your bond, and focus on winning. Don't worry about how close you are as friends, and focus on the end goal.”
Cadence explained, taking her hoof off of the mic’s button, letting the 6 ponies talk it over.

“Games?” Applejack asks after a few moments of silence. “What kinda games is she talkin’ about? How would this be ya final test to make you ready to be royalty?”
Applejack looked around at the others, before Rainbow spoke up

“You have a point, there has to be something more to this than just games. Otherwise we wouldn't be in this room.”
Rainbow theories, looking around the room once more from where she stood.
Fluttershy and Rarity nodded in agreement, looking at each other, looking rather worried.

“It could be so we don't get distracted!”
Pinkie explains, a wide smile on her face.

“Who knows! Maybe this is just for fun! One last chance to hang out as friends before we need to get on with our duties! Like Applejack’s farm! Or rarity’s business. Or our brand new, official princess taking the throooooone!”
Pinkie sung that last part of her sentence, smiling wide and wrapping her front hooves around Twilight tightly, causing the 6 friends to relax a bit, chuckling softly between themselves.

“You do have a point.”
Fluttershy finally spoke up.
“With all these big changes going on in our lives, like my sanctuary, or Rainbow Dash being part of the Wonderbolts, or Pinkie continuing her business as a party planner, we don't know when we’ll next, all have free time to see each other. Maybe Pinkie’s right, this could just be a way for us all to spend time together before we get too busy.”

The 6 ponies all nodded in agreement, their smiles returning to their faces once more.
They all began conversing between themselves about what they were planning to do once this was over. Looking pretty hopeful that this was just an odd situation that would allow them to potentially make one last memory together.

After about 10 minutes, Cadence spoke up again on the mic, grabbing their attention.

“It's time for your first game. It's called Hot Potato. I'm sure you all know how to play, but if you don't, let me explain. You will be given a ball, As the timer counts down, you will need to pass the ball to each other, making sure you’re not the one holding it when the timer reaches zero. When the timer reaches zero, the one holding the ball will be the loser, and you’ll be out of the games.”
Cadence explains, and the 6 ponies look at eachother, looking a bit excited to begin the first game.

After a moment, a panel in the ceiling opens up, dropping a light, metal ball, into Applejack’s front hooves, with a small timer on the ball, counting down from 2 minutes.
“Heheh, heads up Twilight!”
Applejack called out, before gently throwing the ball to the purple alicorn.
Twilight managed to catch it, before passing it to fluttershy, who passed it to Pinkie, Then Rainbow, then Rarity, and back to Applejack.

As the game went on, the ponies managed to find more interesting ways to pass the ball to each other.
With Applejack doing a volleyball-style pass to Twilight.
Twilight throws it at different strengths.
Fluttershy would fly up at different heights and drop it to Rainbow Dash, who would catch it on her nose and balance it for a moment, before headbutting it to Rarity, who would bounce it off of her rump to Applejack.

As the game went on, the room began to fill with laughter, as they all were enjoying themselves, finding more unique ways to send the ball into flight.
Soon, the ball let out a loud ding, signalling the end of the clock, and when the ball chimed time’s up, the ball had ended up in Rarity’s hooves.

The 6 ponies all laughed to themselves, clapping loudly at how fun the game was.
“See! I told you it’d be f–!”

Pinkie Pie’s speech was cut off by a loud bang, that made all the ponies flinch in shock and stop in their tracks.
They heard a soft whimper, coming from their left, and Twilight slowly looked over, Seeing Rarity looking down at herself in shock.

The ball was a small bomb, and it had just exploded, sending Rarity’s front legs flying in different directions in many pieces.
Geysers of blood spurted from Rarity’s shoulders, running down her sides and pooling rapidly on the ground.
All colour faded from Rarity’s eyes as she fell limp in the puddle of her own blood.
The silence was almost immediately cut by Fluttershy’s screams, as she was in the crossfire of the explosion, and was now covered in Rarity’s blood, small pieces of flesh clinging to her face and legs.

The other ponies slowly followed suit with screaming and being sent into a wild panic. Pinkie’s mane deflated and hung flat against her head as she stared at Rarity’s corpse in shock. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were hitting their hooves against the grid wall, trying to break out.
Fluttershy was frantically trying to wipe the mess off of her face, and Twilight just stared… But not at Rarity… She stared at Cadence, her eyes were as wide as dinner plates, her pupils were small pinpricks. Tears flowed like rapid rivers down her face, but the look of shock overpowered the sadness fighting through to make itself known.

Cadence simply stood there, looking back at Twilight through the window, her ears were folded back, her eyes were glossy, she clearly didn't want the games to continue, but twilight knew, Cadence couldnt stop it, even if she wanted to...

Cadence couldn't stop the games, she could only oversee them and guide the remaining ponies on what to do.
Everyone’s shrieks were cut off as they heard a loud wiring noise. Looking toward Rarity’s body.
The panel underneath her body opened up like a trapdoor, causing the corpse to ragdoll-fall into the hole below. The panels that had blood on them, turned over, revealing the same panel on the other side, making the floor clean again. Fluttershy frantically jumped out of the way so she did not trip over the turning panels.
It was almost like Rarity was never there.

“Twilight… I don't think this is going to be as fun as we think…”
Pinkie says, walking up to the purple alicorn, holding back her own tears, but Twilight hugged her tightly, letting the pink pony sob into her shoulder.

Soon enough… It was time for the next game…

FCSY - Chapter 3 - Spin the Bottle

About 5 hours passed since Rarity was killed. All of the remaining ponies were comforting each other in some way. Fluttershy sat, staring at her front hooves, now covered in the dried, crusting blood of Rarity’s death.
Her screaming had stopped, but her sobs cut through the silence like a hot knife through butter.

Rainbow Dash sat beside Fluttershy, holding her gently and resting her chin on top of Flutershy’s head, letting the yellow pegasus cower in Rainbow’s body. Rainbow too was still in shock at what was going on, but she was trying her best to hold her resolve and remain strong for her friends.

Applejack was pacing around the edge of the room, her eyes fixated on the ground. She looked angry, one of her friends was gone in an instant. They couldn't even TRY to save her, the farmpony continued to pace, giving the occasional glare through the window whenever she reached it.

Pinkie Pie was sitting with her back against one of the walls, causing Applejack to swerve slightly in her path whenever she got to the pink pony. Pinkie’s mane hung flat against her face, she hugged her tail tightly against her chest, and she too was sobbing, her ears folded flat against her head as she hid her face in her tail.

And Twilight was still stood in the middle of the room, staring at the window that Cadance was still in. She hasn't moved since Rarity was killed, Her watering eyes locked on the pink princess hiding behind the thick pane of glass… That coward… How can she just stand by and let this happen?
SURELY there was a way to stop this.

Twilight was snapped out of her thoughts, as Cadence came onto the loudspeaker.
“Girls… I know what happened was… awful… But we need to continue on to the next game... Are you ready to go on?”
Cadence asked softly.

Twilight gave a snort, charging at the window, aiming her horn at the window, attempting to break it. But the glass was too thick and strong to penetrate with her horn, and it caused Twilight’s horn to bounce off of the window. Inadvertently slamming her muzzle into the glass and causing her nose to bleed.

The remaining friends winced as they witnessed Twilight run face-first into the window, and Twilight stumbled back, her nose heavily bleeding, potentially broken.
“I WANT ANSWERS CADENCE! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO US?! WHAT DID WE DO TO DESERVE THIS?!”
Twilight yelled, slamming her front hooves into the window, hitting it over and over and over.
She continued to scream and yell at the pony she once saw as her best friend, long before she came to Ponyville.

Cadence could only watch through watery eyes, as Rainbow Dash stepped forward, gently pulling Twilight away from the window, before she hurt herself further.

Cadence slowly raised her hoof to the mic’s button, but instead of answering the question, she went on to explain the 2nd game.

“The next game is… Spin the bottle... Now this game is typically used for sleepovers and friends looking for a good time with one another. You will all sit in a circle and a bottle will rise out of the ground and spin on its own accord. When 2 ponies are selected, you are considered safe, and you may leave the circle. The last pony in the circle is out of the game.”

Cadence finished her explanation and pressed a button with a large number 2 painted on it. A loud whirring could be heard, and 5 pillows rose out of the ground for the ponies to sit on, with a singular, glass bottle in the middle.

“LAND SAKES!” Applejack shouted. Looking at Cadence with a snarl.
“Ah ain’t playin’ ya games! Ah’m focusin’ on gettin’ us out of here! At least then we can tell rarity’s folks of what’s happened!”

Applejack stormed toward the door, turning to attempt to buck it open since it was locked shut. She orientated herself, so her back hooves were aimed at the door’s hinges, and rose her back hooves, preparing to break them.

But before Applejack could make a move, twilight yelled out. “STOP!”
Causing Applejack to become off balance and fall onto her chest.

“What the hay Twilight?! Why would ya yell at me like that?”
Applejack asked in annoyance, raising to her hooves and looking back at the door, preparing to take aim with her back legs once more before she paused. She noticed 2 small holes had opened up on either side of the door and a red light was aimed at her head.

“If you try to break the door… I don't think it’ll end well for you..”
Twilight theorized as she followed the laser pointer, pointing at her friend's forehead.
Applejack gave a sigh and walked away from the door, causing the small holes to close up again, and all the ponies reluctantly sat around the bottle.

“Let's just… focus on getting through this together, maybe we can find a way to avoid the traps” Twilight suggested, and the girls all seemed to agree, but they didn't look too confident, with all of them nervously looking at the bottle.

Soon enough the bottle began to spin on its own, just like Cadance said it would.
The bottle picked up a bit of speed before slowly coming to a stop, pointing at Applejack.
The panel under Applejack’s pillow lit up green, and the farm pony rose to her hooves, moving away from the seat.

The bottle began spinning again, and it soon slowed down, landing on Rainbow Dash.
The blue pegasus slowly got up when her panel also lit up bright green, and she stood beside Applejack.

Twilight, Pinkie and Fluttershy remained, and Twilight looked up at them both. Pinkie Pie had her eyes fixed on the bottle. She looked nervous, her body was shaking and her eyes were filled with tears.

Fluttershy… was terrified. She was curled up in a ball on her seat, her hooves hugging the top of her head as she continued to sob. Her wings were clasped tightly to her sides and her entire body was shaking.
Twilight gave a soft sigh, her ears folding back as she reached a comforting hoof out to Flutershy’s shoulder, wrapping her hoof around it.

“It's ok Fluttershy, you’ll be ok…”
Twilight spoke surely.
Truth is… She had no idea how this game would turn out, either one of them is at risk of meeting a grizzly end, but it pained her to see Fluttershy as terrified as she is.

The yellow Pegasus looks over at Cadence for a moment, before throwing her front hooves around Twilight, embracing her tightly, her shaking form cowering into Twilight’s body.

“I'm scared..”
Fluttershy finally whimpered.
“I don't want to lose… But I don't want you or Pinkie to lose either…”

Twilight took a moment of thought, before looking over at Rainbow and Applejack, beconing them to come closer.
“Applejack. Stand behind Fluttershy, Rainbow behind Pinkie. If one of them ends up being the last one in the circle, pull them out of their seats. Maybe we can prevent anything from happening.”
Twilight explained, and the 2 mares nodded in agreement, taking their positions.

The bottle began spinning again, picking up speed and whirring slightly as the little rod that spun the bottle continued to move. Soon, the whirring noise began to fade and the bottle began to slow down, and the bottle quickly landed on Pinkie Pie.

Rainbow Dash moved out of the way and let Pinkie stand up.
Flutershy looked at Twilight with a nervous look, and Twilight held her hoof, giving her a reassuring nod.
The bottle sprang to life once more, spinning at a rapid pace, and slowly landing on Twilight.

Applejack and Twilight immediately moved, yanking Fluttershy out of her seat and practically throwing her across the room, Rainbow Dash quickly flew after Fluttershy and caught her before she hit the wall or ground, slowly beginning the frightened, yellow Pegasus down to the ground.

The 5 mares stood there in silence, preparing for something to happen in the game. All the panels under their seats were lit green, except for Fluttershy’s seat, which was red.
But nothing happened, instead, the panels flipped over to remove the seats, and the bottle retracted into the ground.

“It worked…!”
Flutershy said slowly, her bloodshot, watery eyes slowly widening, and a smile finally beginning to grow on her face.
“I think it worked!”

The 5 mares all began to smile at each other, thankful for being able to save her friend.
Their moment of relief was quickly cut off by Fluttershy suddenly screaming in agony.

Their attention snapped to their friend, who now had a metal, barbed hook shoved through one of her back hooves, which was attached to some kind of metal wire that retracted into the ceiling.
Blood began to spurt from her leg, out of the gash the hook made.
A loud, mechanical noise could be heard, looking up, a giant hole opened up in the ceiling revealing a large crushing machine.
Many cogs spun slowly, their teeth perfectly interlocking with each other, not even letting a single inch of air escape.

All 4 of the mares looked at the cogs in shock, only to be brought back to reality as they saw Fluttershy screaming again, flapping her wings frantically. As the hook was being pulled upward, drawing Fluttershy toward the cogs like a fish on a hook.

Rainbow Dash immediately lept into action, spreading her wings, grabbing Fluttershy’s front hooves, and attempting to pull her away from the cogs. Applejack grabbed Rainbow’s tail, followed by Pinkie pulling Applejack. The hook restrained against flesh, muscle and bone, causing the yellow pegasus to scream out in white hot pain once more.
But her screams immediately followed up with a deep breath, followed by a desperate plea.

“PLEASE DON'T LET ME DIE!”
Fluttershy cried out, her voice echoing over everyone’s efforts.

Rainbow Dash locked eyes with Fluttershy.
“I'm not letting you go! But this will hurt.. Stay strong, fluttershy!”
Rainbow then spread her wings once more, flapping backward to pull a bit harder against the hook.

Twilight flew up toward the cogs, attempting to break the wire with her teeth, yanking at it and trying to break her friend free.
Suddenly, she felt a rush of air from behind her head, and she turned to see a 2nd wire, followed by another scream, a 2nd hook had embedded itself into Fluttershy’s other leg.

“No- nonoNONONO!”
Flutershy shouted in a panic and the 3 remaining mares continued to pull.
Twilight flew down to join them, grabbing one of Fluttershy’s front hooves and pulling alongside Rainbow.

The hooks were too strong, they continued to pull, forcing Applejack to let go of Rainbow’s tail before they were pulled too high. As she and Twilight kept trying to pull, Flutershy drew closer to the cogs.

Suddenly, the sound of crunching could be heard, as Fluttershy’s legs were dragged into the cogs, the Yellow Pegasus’s screams filled the room as bones were crushed, muscle was tenderised, and skin split under the pressure of the heavy machinery.

“NO!”
Twilight cried out, gripping Fluttershy’s hoof tightly as the machine grabbed ahold of her.

“CADENCE TURN THE FUCKING MACHINE OFF!”
Rainbow Dash shouted at the window, where Cadance was watching everything go down. Looking upset that she couldnt stop it.
She simply shook her head, doubling down on the fact that she couldn't do anything on her end.

Rainbow and Twilight looked at the machine in horror and hopelessness as Flutershy’s body was being drawn in slowly.
The cog’s teeth reached her torso, and she began to spit up blood. Spraying it over Rainbow and Twilight’s faces and front hooves.

More blood flowed out from between the cogs and rained down onto the ground below. Applejack and Pinkie stared in horror, crying openly as they watched their friend die a slow and painful death, hopeless to save her.
Soon enough, Flutershy’s body fell limp. And the cogs devoured her body, leaving nothing but a rainshower of blood in its wake. Her front hooves vanished between the cog’s teeth, and she was gone.

The doors on the ceiling closed up, and the blood-covered panels on the ground turned over, removing almost all evidence that she was ever in the room with them, all except for a feather that sat, in perfect condition on the ground.

Rainbow let out an agonized cry, tears flowing down her face as she flew toward the window Cadence was shielded by. Slamming her front hooves into the glass, causing the wall surrounding it to shake slightly, and a few cracks to appear.

“WHAT KIND OF SICK TEST IS THIS?!”
Rainbow yelled at Cadence, who did not respond. Rainbow began hitting the window with her back hooves, trying to get to the pink princess.
“DO YOU WANT US TO HAVE OUR FINAL MOMENTS STUCK IN A DEATH TRAP!? WHAT’S YOUR PLAN?! HUH?!”

“Rainbow-!”
Pinkie tried to speak up, but she was cut off by Rainbow shouting at her in anger.

“NO, PINKIE! I'M NOT ABOUT TO STAND HERE WHILE CADENCE STANDS THERE, WATCHING US ALL DIE! SHE’S GOT A BUNCH OF BUTTONS IN THERE THAT CONTROL ALL THIS! SO LET US OUT OF HERE!!”
Rainbow yelled, slamming her front hooves on the window again, her face soaked in blood, her tears mixing with it and running down her neck, her hooves small specks of blood on the glass.

Applejack stood beside Rainbow, scowling at Cadence through the window before looking at the control panel Cadence was standing beside.
The control panel had a set of 5 buttons, all labelled 1 through 5.
The buttons were all glowing red, but buttons 1 and 2 had stopped glowing because those games were over.

Applejack then looked around the room through the glass, seeing a door behind Cadence, and leaned to the side to look around the pink alicorn and to the door.
The door had no handle, but from the fact that Cadence had made little to no effort to leave, chances are the door was locked from the outside.

The rest of the room was plain, except for a single printed photo above the button panel, of Shining Armor and Flurry Heart.

“Twilight, look..”
Applejack said, and the purple princess slowly made her way over, looking at the buttons, the door, and the photo. Cadence didn't look anyone in the eye as they observed the room.
Was she being forced by someone? Was she doing this to save her family?

What was going on…?

FCSY - Chapter 4 - Hangman

By the time the mares had all had the chance to process what had happened, Cadence had already begun the next game.
Twilight and the others jolted in surprise as they heard a loud whirring noise, that echoed and bounced off of the walls.
The mares all looked around until they spotted 4 large cubicles rising out of the ground. There were 4 of them.
Pinkie Pie walked closer to one of them, patting her hoof on the side and walking to the front of it, opening the door.

The inside of the cubicle was plain, except for some kind of screen on the wall opposing the door.
Closing the door, the mares all looked at each other in confusion, unsure of what harm could come from these.

Cadence then came over the loudspeaker once more.
“There is a cubicle for each of you, if you could please go inside, I will explain the game from there.”

The girls all looked at each other, looking worried.
Before twilight walked over to Applejack, Pinkie, and Rainbow Dash and hugged them all tightly.
“Whatever happens in there, we’ll make it through. I believe, in all of you.”
Twilight reassured them before they all went inside their cubicles.

Once Twilight was inside, the door slammed shut behind her and locked tightly.
A small speaker, that was secured on the ceiling above Twilight, began playing Cadence’s voice, explaining the terms of the game.

“This game is called Hangman. A fairly simple game young ponies play at sleepovers or even at school. For this game, a set of lines will appear on your screens, it's your job to guess the words before everyone else. If you succeed, you will be let out of the cubical, if you fail, you will lose the game.”
The moment the instructions finished, Twilight’s screen lit up, with a set of 9 lines.
But before Twilight could begin guessing, a thick, tight noose suddenly wrapped around Twilight’s grip. It was made with a thick and scratchy rope.

The purple alicorn began to panic, trying to spread her wings and barge out of the box’s door, but because of how claustrophobic the box was, she couldnt open her wings fully or begin to get out.

“You may begin”
The speaker says once more, and Twilight looks at the screen. There was no timer on the screen, but as she inspected the screen for anything, she felt the noose begin to tighten slightly. Looking up at the noose’s rope, the hole it came out of was pulling the noose upward slowly.

Twilight’s eyes widened in panic as she began to frantically guess letters, beginning with the vowels, as any player of this game would, even without their lives being at risk.

Twilight called out each vowel, and a couple of the lines began to fill in.
_ a _ _ i _ i _ e

For the last two vowels, the noose was suddenly yanked up by 2 inches.
Causing the alicorn to flinch and her breathing to quicken in panic.

A couple of minutes passed and Twilight had guessed 3 more letters.
Those being H, P, and S.

The screen lit up, only the S was correct…
The noose raised another 2 inches, Twilight’s front hooves were now dangling off of the ground and she was getting short of breath.

S a _ _ i _ i _ e

“H-how am I supposed to get this?!”
Twilight shouted hoarsely into the box, the screen lit up and showed a box on the top of the screen saying ‘Give up?’
Underneath in brackets, it read ‘Giving up means you will automatically be eliminated from the game’

Twilight’s eyes widened and she shouted no again while trying to use her front hooves to get the rope off of her neck. But it was too thick to break, and it was too tight around her neck to make a gap.

She knew that this next guess would be her last, and she looked at the screen, staring at it.
Her eyes slowly got watery, she could feel her windpipe getting thinner, and her body was involuntarily moving in an attempt to get air into her lungs.
She felt pressure build up in her head, she had to guess! But what was it?!

Twilight finally managed to realize what the word was and called it out.
“S-sacrifice! The w-word is sacrifice!”

The moment the word was guessed, the rest of the empty lines filled in to spell the word ‘sacrifice’
The screen then lit up green with a large checkmark and the rope around the noose was cut by something, letting the alicorn down. She let out a gasp as he pulled the noose off of her neck, a red line all around her neck like a collar, as she stumbled out of the box, coughing wildly.

Twilight slowly wiped her eyes as she took in greedy lungfuls of air, before looking at the other boxes. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were standing there, their eyes filled with tears as they stared at the 4th box, the box containing Applejack. The door was glowing red. She didnt make it.

“APPLEJACK!”
Twilight shouted, banging on the door of the box, but Rainbow stopped her, shaking her head.

Before they could respond, the boxes all lowered into the ground, including Applejack’s, and Cadence spoke up again.
“We’re going to be taking a break for now… You girls can relax for a moment and talk. If you want to… I will be joining you soon.”

Cadence then pressed a button on the side of the window, causing a curtain to lower over the window.

The 3 remaining mares looked at each other and decided to wait for cadence to come into the room with them. It could be their way out…

FCSY - Chapter 5 - what's going on?

Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie were sat together in the middle of the lab room. Twilight was crying silently to herself while holding her friends tightly. Hugging Rainbow and Pinkie tightly with her front hooves and wings, looking determined to keep her friends safe.

She didnt want to leave her remaining friends to such fates, and she thought she could live up to her title of ‘Princess of Friendship’ by keeping her remaining friends close.
As Twilight embraced her friends, refusing to let go. Rainbow Dash was holding Pinkie Pie tightly, embracing her and rubbing her back.
Pinkie’s eyes were sore, and tears streaked down her face, seemingly unending. Rainbow Dash was still doing her best to keep herself together, and Twilight was determined to keep her friends safe.

Their grief was cut short by a sudden loud click that clanged through the room, causing the remaining mares to break from the embrace and stand back to back, facing all directions. Ready to take on the next challenge face on.
As they looked around themselves, Twilight saw Cadence enter the room through the door that had been locked this whole time. Much like Twilight and the late Rarity, her magic also didnt seem to be working here, as she was having to use her hooves to open the door.

The moment Cadence was inside, Twilight charged at the princess of Love, growling loudly as she lept forward, front hooves ahead of her, as she slammed into Cadence’s body, causing the 2 of them to fall to the ground, with Twilight on top. Cadence was lying on her back under Twilight, her wings spread and her eyes wide.

“T-Twilight i-!”
Cadence’s sentence was cut short by a sudden wave of pain that rocketed across her face. Twilight had punched Cadence across the face, causing a large bruise to immediately begin to form on her cheek.

“WHAT’S GOING ON?!”
Twilight demanded, her tears coming forth once again as he screamed at her former friend,
Her questions continued to spill from her maw, demanding answers as to why her friends were being killed.
“Why couldnt this ‘final test’ of yours have been a dangerous solo mission or something?! Why did this test have to involve my friends and why are they having to die to prove my title?!”

Cadence looked scared at the amount of rage and hatred that was across Twilight’s face. The pink alicorn’s eyes began to fill with tears as well, as she looked up at Twilight.

“I c-can explain…”
Cadence finally said after a moment of silence, only to be shouted at by Pinkie Pie.

“Look! We don't have all day! Or… However much time has passed... I don't actually know. BUT we don't want to die as much as our other friends didnt! We’ve lost so many already!”
Pinkie shouted, her tears still flowing across her face, her voice quivering and her breathing shaky.

“Yeah! So get talking lady!”
Rainbow Dash chimed in, looking rather angry at everything going on.

Cadence slowly tried to sit up, and Twilight got off of Cadence as she lifted herself up. But she stood there with her wings spread, making it difficult for Cadence to get around Twilight and to Pinkie and Rainbow Dash potentially.

The pink Alicorn slowly began to explain why this was going on, and why Twilight and her friends were involved in this test.
“You aren't the only Alicorn to go through this test… I had to go through this exact same test but with different games… it was to show that any alicorn won't crack under pressure, and stay true to their goals, no matter the sacrifice.”

Twilight’s eyes widened slightly, her ears folding back as she listened to Cadence’s explanation.
Cadence continued to explain, seeing Twilight’s reaction as a gauge to keep talking.
“It wasn't just me that had to take this test. It's any alicorn once they reach a certain age. Celestia and Luna had to go through the same tests. Different games each, no way to prepare for what’s to come. They just had to get through their tests. Showing that they’d never be afraid to lose what’s close to them, to deter them from their goals… The only one who hasn't lost her friends during a test was Princess Celestia. Only one of her friends was killed in the first round, and the rest of them managed to survive.”

Twilight’s eyes widened even more. Celestia? She didnt lose anyone in the test?
That means there’s a chance! She can still save her remaining friends! She looked at Rainbow and Pinkie, her eyes locking with theirs.

They too had shocked expressions. How did Celestia manage to keep all of her friends after the test?!

“What did she do?!”
Pinkie desperately asked, looking at Cadence with a small fragment of hope that they’d have a chance to escape together.

Cadence simply shook her head, her eyes going glossy.
“I can't tell you… Because if I did, then that would count as cheating on your test..”
She simply responded, hanging her head in shame as she gave them the answer they clearly didnt want to hear.
The 3 mares looked at each other in shock, twilight’s eyes filling with tears again.

“So you’re saying there's a way I can save Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie… But you can't tell us, meaning that we have no way of knowing how to keep each other safe?!”
Twilight shouted, her wings spreading again.

Tears continued to run down Twilight's face as she looked at Cadence, and then her friends. She didnt want them to come to harm, all 3 of them have been through enough.
“There must be something i can do…” Twilight said, her voice shaky, her lip quivering.

Cadence looked down at the floor, as she spoke up one last time.
“You will have the chance… to make plenty more friends once this is over…”

She then left the room, slamming the door behind her, leaving the remaining 3 mares in shock once more.
There was no way she could help them… that had already been established… why did Twilight try to beg for a solution, for a hint?

“We’re still gonna die… aren't we…? There’s no escaping it…”
Pinkie said, her front hooves shaking as Rainbow looked at Twilight, she had finally broken, tears flowing down her face as she openly sobbed alongside Pinkie.
Twilight ran over, spreading her wings and wrapping them around her friends.

FCSY - Chapter 6 - Pass The Parcel

Twilight was on high alert, her eyes scanning the room for the next game, getting ready to figure out the solution to prevent her friend's death.
As she looked around, she heard that all-too-familiar feedback tone as Cadence came back onto the loudspeaker.

Looking back at the window, she saw that Cadence was back in there, black streaks down her face, as if she had been crying. She spoke up softly, her voice quivering and her hooves shaking.
“We need to proceed to the next game… You never know, maybe you’ll find something exciting during this one.”

A loud whirring noise could be heard, as 3 pillow seats rose out of the ground, with a colorfully wrapped box in the middle. It was a very pretty box, with baby blue wrapping paper with dark blue spots randomly dotted around. It was also topped with loose pieces of confetti and wrapped neatly with a royal blue bow.

Was Cadence really going to continue with these games? Not even trying to stop them?
After the explanation she gave, they still had to keep going?!

Pinkie slowly rose to her hooves, seeing the box. She recognized the wrapping. She walked over to it with wide eyes, raising a shaky hoof to it and touching the bow.
“I… I made this.”
Pinkie said in shock, causing Twilight and Rainbow Dash to look at her in confusion.

“What do you mean you MADE this?”
Rainbow asked, walking over to Pinkie to look at the wrapped box. Pinkie then looked at Rainbow Dash, her sore, bloodshot eyes locked with Rainbow’s magenta irises.

“Someone came up to me, asking for me to wrap a box in many layers for a party… for a game of…”
Before she could finish, Cadence spoke up over the speakers.

“Pass the parcel... A simple party game played and loved by many, with the anticipation of being the one to receive the prize in the middle. But this time, if you’re the one to receive the prize, you’ll be the one who is out of the game.”
Cadence explains, and the 3 mares at down on their respective pillows.

Soon enough some loud party music began blaring over the speakers, and the mares were all hesitant to begin passing the box around. Twilight looked at Pinkie and Rainbow, giving them a determined nod, confirming that she believed they were going to be ok.

Twilight picked up the box, and the moment her front hooves touched the box, the music stopped, indicating that Twilight had to take off the first layer.
Twilight tried to make light of the situation, by taking the bow off and putting it on her head, but it didnt receive much of a reaction from the 2 mares, who were currently terrified that they’d be next on the chopping block.

Twilight took off the first layer of wrapping paper, revealing a bright red wrapping underneath. The music started back up again, and Twilight passed the box to Pinkie, who passed it to Rainbow. Who then almost immediately shoved it back into Twilight’s front hooves.

The mares were tense as the music continued. But Twilight once again, tried to make light of the situation, wanting the mares to raise their spirits at least a little bit, if it meant they weren't constantly crying and frightened.
She couldnt bear to see her remaining friends so frightened and hopeless, and this gave Twilight an idea.

Twilight took the gift box and stood up, smiling at Pinkie and throwing it to the pink party pony. Pinkie gave a sharp gasp before catching the box almost perfectly.

“What was that for?” Pinkie asked, tilting her head, but Twilight ignored the question, instead clapping her front hooves together and smiling at the fact that Pinkie caught the gift box.

Pinkie looked at the box in her hands, as the music continued to blast throughout the room, a small smile played on her face as she acknowledged that she caught the box almost flawlessly.

She then looked over at Rainbow Dash and awkwardly handed the box over, and the moment the Pegasus’s hooves touched the box, the music cut off, and the mare’s smiles vanished again.
Rainbow Dash placed the box in front of her, slowly ripping the layer of wrapping off and revealing a bright orange layer with red stripes.

The music blared once more, and the 3 mares looked at each other. Rainbow and Pinkie soon began to smile, as they caught on to what Twilight was doing. Rainbow decided to humour her, given how she was simply trying to raise their spirits. Rainbow Gently threw the box to Twilight, who caught it with her hooves and passed it to Pinkie, who caught it with one hoof.

Soon enough, the girls were laughing between themselves, passing the box in many different ways, much like they did in the first game. It was the first time she had seen her friends smile since this all began, and Twilight felt determined that this game would have a good outcome.

Twilight caught the box, and the music stopped. She slowly took off the wrapping and revealed a bright yellow layer underneath. It felt like this layer was the final one. The corners of the box were more prominent now, and the paper didn't feel like there were any other layers of paper under it.
“I think this is the last one girl, lets make it count.”
Twilight said, looking at Pinkie and Rainbow, who now had determined looks on their faces.

The music blared once more, this one being a song that is played VERY often at parties. It was happy, it was bouncy, it was energetic. Cadence watched this game unfold, and she couldnt help but smile, at the fact that Twilight managed to find some fun, in such a dark time.
Cadence knew Twilight would find a way to bring her friends together in the face of danger, no matter what was going on, and this was exactly that situation. Cadence felt a small pang of pride at seeing her sister-in-law bringing such confidence and determination to herself and her friends so easily.
‘This is why you were titled the princess of friendship…’ Cadence thought to herself, as she watched the 3 mares.

The mares continued to throw the box, Rainbow’s want to show off making itself known once more, as she caught the box with the top of her head before passing it to Twilight.

Pinkie’s hair poofed back up to its usual curly self as they continued to play, and Twilight couldn't help but smile upon seeing her friends happy again.

The music stopped, drowning the room in silence once more, as Pinkie was the last one with the gift box. She sat down on her pillow, beginning to unwrap it slowly. Twilight was right, it was the final layer of wrapping, revealing a simple cardboard box, with a removable top lid, secured with tape.

Pinkie looked between Twilight and Rainbow, who inched closer to look at the box.
“What do you think’s inside?”
Twilight asked, looking at Pinkie.

“I don't know…”
Pinkie responded simply. “When I was asked to wrap this, I was told to not look inside of the box and ‘spoil the surprise’ I never looked inside as per the instructions and just wrapped it.”

As she explained all this, she slowly took the tape off the box’s lid, but grew hesitant to open it. It could be another trap, or what if something jumps out and attacks them?

Pinkie slowly lowered the box and backed away from it slightly, before using the tip of her muzzle to slowly lift the lid off of the box. Once the lid hit the ground, Pinkie, Twilight, and Rainbow immediately jumped back, with Twilight standing in front of Pinkie, acting as a shield in case something did jump out… But nothing happened…

The 3 mares looked at each other in confusion, before looking around the room, looking for any traps that could spring out at them, like it did for Fluttershy. But when nothing opened, nothing beeped, nothing cranked or made any banging machinery noises, they began to approach the box.

Rainbow took flight above the box, checking the inside from above, only to get more confused.
“Its.. a key.”
Rainbow said, reaching inside the box and pulling out a simple, silver key.
It didnt have any special markings or shape to it, it was just a normal-looking key.

“A key?”
Pinkie repeated, taking it from Rainbow and looking at it.

“Maybe it can lead to a way out of here?”
Twilight theorized, and the 3 of them began looking for any kind of keyhole.
Pinkie walked over to the main door to the room, but there was no keyhole, at least on this side.

“Hey! Over here!” Twilight quickly called out, finding a small keyhole in one of the panels in the wall, pointing out to Pinkie, who still had the key. The 3 mares looked at each other, looking nervous as Pinkie slowly inserted the key, it was a perfect fit, and twisted with a loud click.

With a soft gasp, Pinkie slowly opened the door, and just outside of the door... Was Ponyville. The view looked like they werent too far from the edge of town, with Twilight’s castle being slightly visible, standing proud over the humble town.

Pinkie’s smile spread across her face and she looked back at Twilight and Rainbow Dash, who also looked very excited. They did it! They were free!
They could finally go home!

Pinkie was the first to make a move, running toward the doorway, quickie followed by Twilight and Rainbow.
Only for them to stop in their tracks, as Pinkie suddenly plummeted downward.
Her screams echoed upward as she began falling down a deep pit that had been camouflaged with projectors creating an image of the ground. As Pinkie fell, the projectors turned off, as the disguise had been broken.

“PINKIE!!”
Rainbow shouted, spreading her wings and attempting to fly after the pink party pony. Only to be stopped at the last moment by Twilight grabbing her tail in her teeth.

“LET GO TWILIGHT WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”
The blue pegasus shouted, looking at Twilight in annoyance. But Twilight had her eyes locked on something above the door.

Rainbow followed her gaze and saw a mechanism similar to the one around the main door that Applejack tried to break open before. There was a laser pointed at Rainbow Dash’s forehead, with a 2nd one pointed at her chest. Twilight slowly pulled Rainbow Dash away from the laser’s view and they soon turned off.

The moment they were safe, a loud, wet sound could be heard, as Pinkie Pie finally hit the bottom of the pit. The sound echoed up from the bottom of the pit, filling the room with nothing but stunned silence and hopelessness…

Twilight and Rainbow Dash looked at each other in shock, tears welling up in their eyes once more. Twilight slowly approached the door, standing just out of view of the lasers, in an attempt to get a better look at the view of Ponyville.
Squinting her eyes, she saw a slight crease in the sky, that warped the image of the town. The view was an illusion, with the walls on the outside of the door being painted really well, to look like the outside, with a light hidden just above the doorway to recreate natural sunlight.

Twilight slowly looked over at Cadence through the window, the false hope slammed into their spirits did nothing but crush the remaining friends, and the feeling of hopelessness weighed heavy on Twilight and Rainbow.

Cadence wasn't looking at the pair. Her ears were folded back and she was also crying.
The pink alicorn turned away from the window completely, wiping her eyes and silently mourning the loss.

The weight of what was going on was taking its toll on Cadence, as she could only sit and watch…

“We need to get out of here…”
Rainbow finally spoke up, causing Twilight to look over at the blue Pegasus.
“I'm not dying in this place for the sake of some test. This place has done enough damage, we need to find a way to get out of here…”

FCSY - Chapter 7 - Snap

Rainbow Dash didnt say a word, as she looks around the room. She had been shouting at Cadence through the window for 10 minutes, and now her voice has gone hoarse. Twilight watched as Rainbow looked around, which she didnt appreciate.

“Are you going to try and escape or not.?” Rainbow croaked out, slowly walking toward her. Rainbow looked angry, hurt, and betrayed. Her eyes were bloodshot from crying so much, and her hooves were bleeding from hitting the window so many times, with no results. Her right shoulder, also had a large bruise forming on it, where Rainbow had been ramming against the door, though she had been fast enough for the lasers on the door to not detect her.

Twilight looked defeated and hopeless. Her bloodshot eyes looked over at Rainbow, her ears folded flat against her head, and her wings clasped tightly to her body. She didnt know how to respond…
She had lost all of her friends to situations that could have easily been avoided. She didnt know at the beginning, that this test was a set of games leading to death. But as each game went on, she tried her best to keep her friend's spirits up, in hopes of getting them through each game…
She was determined her friends would survive, she believed they’d find a way out, and she had hope that she would be able to get through this test with everyone still alive. But now it was just her and Rainbow left…

Twilight didnt speak, instead just breaking down into tears, openly sobbing as she looked at her one remaining friend. Rainbow’s gaze softened as she saw Twilight’s final resolve finally break, and her tears flowed like waterfalls.
Rainbow Dash didn't say anything further, just walked over to Twilight and wrapped her hooves around her. Twilight returned the embrace, hugging Rainbow Dash tightly and burying her face into her shoulder.

“I thought…” Twilight finally choked out, hyperventilating slightly.
“I thought we could get through it together… I thought we’d all survive… I failed them… I failed everyone… And I failed Equestria…”

Rainbow Dash looked down at Twilight as she sobbed.
“How did you fail Equestria?”
Rainbow Dash asked, talking in a soft voice, doing her best to comfort her friend.
As Twilight sobbed, Rainbow kept her eye on Cadence through the newly blood-stained window, shaking her head to not start the next game, and Cadence obliged.

“I failed Equestria… By letting my friends die… We no longer have control of the Elements of Harmony... How can we keep Equestria safe without the Elements…?”
Twilight asked, still sobbing, her embrace tightening around Rainbow. She knew the elements were the last priority right now, but it was a thought that burned at the back of her mind.

“Well…” Rainbow Dash started, and Twilight looked up at her.
Rainbow didnt have much hope left... She believed that she wasn't making it out of this game alive… But Twilight had done everything she could, to make sure everyone was in high spirits and did everything she could to try and save everyone.

It felt right for Rainbow to return the favor in, what she believed, were her final moments, at least to the best of her ability.
“Even though all of us have passed away… You could still control the Elements... Princess Celestia did it... Many moons ago... You can still keep Equestria safe... Even if we aren't there to see you do it. Maybe Celestia will teach you how… Once you get out of here…”
Rainbow tried her best to reassure her friend that not all was lost. Twilight looked up at Rainbow, her tears still flowing, but her sobbing had settled slightly, and then one final question came to mind.

“What if… I don't get out of here…?”
Twilight softly asked, slowly letting go of Rainbow Dash and drying her face with her hooves.

Rainbow simply put her front hoof on Twilight’s shoulder.
“You will.”
She responded, with a look of determination in her eyes.

Twilight didnt respond right away, taking a moment to calm down, wiping her face, before nodding.

Almost immediately after Twilight responded, a table appeared just inches in front of the 2 mares, with a single set of playing cards in the middle.
Twilight picked up 2 cards in her hooves, looking at the fronts of them. They were simple cards, with pictures of random objects on the fronts of them.

Cadence then came onto the loudspeaker.
“This game… this final game… is Snap… Its very self explanatory, you know how to play…”
Cadence simply said. Almost as if she didnt want to follow whatever script she was supposed to follow to introduce each game.

The 2 mares looked at each other, before Rainbow Dash approached her seat, seemingly accepting what was to come.
Twilight slowly walked over to the table, before sitting down opposite Rainbow Dash. Once both mares were seated, the cards somehow began to deal themselves out. With one card going to Twilight, then one to Rainbow Dash, and so on until the entire deck was handed out.

The 2 mares picked up their set of cards, having them sit comfortably in their hooves before Rainbow Dash put down the first one, which was a set of yellow and blue balloons.
Twilight then dealt the next card, which was a picture of the sun.

The game continued like this until 2 cards matched, it was a picture of a set of 3 blue gemstones. Rainbow Dash didnt slam her hoof down to claim the pair, instead, she pushed the cards toward twilight, forcing them into her stack.
Twilight looked at Rainbow Dash as she did this, her eyes widening.
“What are you doing?” Twilight asked.

Rainbow Dash had a look of acceptance on her face, but there was an underlining look of nervousness.
“Cadence said it was the final game… We both know how this is going to go….” Rainbow simply explained as she picked up her stack of cards, shuffling them idly.

“That doesn't mean you can just give up!” Twilight responded, seemingly pleading with Rainbow to keep going.
“We can get out of this to–!” Twilight tried to continue, but she was cut off by Rainbow Dash slamming her hooves on the table.

“OPEN YOUR EYES TWILIGHT!” Rainbow Dash shouted. Twilight leaned back in her seat, away from Rainbow, her eyes wide.
“All the games are RIGGED for you to win! They wouldn't stand idly by and allow the next in line to rule Canterlot, die to a random party game!”

“We don't know that!” Twilight tried to argue.
“What about Rarity or Fluttershy?! Those were games of chance! Or Pinkie?! ALL of the games are set on the CHANCES of us winning! There isn't a way to rig them so only I win all of them! It could have been anyone on the receiving end of those previous games! Myself included!”

Rainbow Dash gave a small groan, rubbing the bridge of her nose with her hoof.
“Then how come you’ve come out of all of these games, unscathed or unharmed? You don't even have a mark around your neck from the Hangman game!”

She pointed toward Twilight's neck, showing that there was a lack of injury from the noose, while Rainbow Dash had one around her own neck, and she got out of the game long before Twilight did.

Twilight’s eyes widened again as she realized that Rainbow was right, she raised her hoof to her own neck, feeling nothing but her own fur.

“So let's just get on with it.”
Rainbow almost demanded, sitting back in her chair and slamming her card down.
Twilight reluctantly followed along with the game, continuing until the next matching cards were found. They were pictures of Princess Luna’s cutie mark.

Rainbow shoved the cards into Twilight's pair pile before she could react, then Twilight put her full deck of cards down, not including the pairs, as Rainbow’s pile had run out, and the cards had to be redealt.

The game continued like this, with Rainbow Dash forcing Twilight to accept pair, after pair.
By the time the game was over, Twilight had 20 pairs, and Rainbow Dash had none.

Twilight was now openly sobbing once more, as she looked at Rainbow Dash, who was also crying.
A loud click could be heard, and before anything happened, Twilight leaped out of her chair, tackling Rainbow Dash out of her seat. She landed on top of Rainbow Dash and the 2 of them rolled together a few feet away from the table.

Rainbow Dash looked up at Twilight in shock, and Twilight looked at Rainbow, praying that she would be ok.
Twilight went to speak but was only greeted with something splashing all over her face, catching her off guard.

Twilight let out a blood-curdling scream, as Rainbow Dash’s head was pierced through with a thick spike, the tip of the spike coming out of the blue pegasus’s eye socket, and the skull around the socket cracking from the sheer force of the spike coming out of the ground.
A pool of blood began to rapidly grow under the pair, spreading across the floor.

Twilight continued to scream and cry, begging that this wasn't real. Her final surviving friend was killed in an instant.
While Twilight was screaming, crying, begging. Cadence walked into the room. With the door open, it had weakened the magic-canceling forcefield the room provided, Twilight saw Cadence’s horn light up, and Twilight’s anger only grew.

“HOW… DARE YOU!” Twilight yelled, as she stood up, covered in old and fresh blood of all of her friends, she spread her wings as mourning turned into anger. Her horn lit up, her magic finally sparking to life, as she charged at cadence.

“YOU DID NOTHING TO STOP THIS! YOU JUST STOOD BY WATCHING THROUGH YOUR SPECIAL FUCKING WINDOW!” Twilight yelled, charging at Cadence, horn first, her magic sparking as she prepared an explosive spell.

Twilight got within close range of cadence, the spell went off. A large, magenta-coloured explosion rang out throughout the room. Creating giant cracks in the walls, the room shook, and the window finally broke.

Cadence did her best to block most of the spell with a forcefield, but all that did was send Cadence flying against one of the walls, as the smoke cleared, Cadence was revealed to be lying on the ground, her front right leg very clearly broken from the impact on the wall, her leg bleeding from the break.

Twilight wasn't completely unharmed either, as the force also blew her back, causing her to hit her head on the wall, causing the alicorn to stumble dizzily on the far side of the room.

But what the smoke also revealed, was Celestia and Luna, who stormed into the room upon hearing the explosion.
Twilight stood there, panting, angry, and crying, as she stared at Celestia and Luna with a crazed look in her eye, still trying to stay upright.

Celestia and Luna suddenly ignited their horns, casting a strong sleeping spell on Twilight, who succumbed to the spell almost immediately. Falling into a deep sleep where she stood...

FCSY - Chapter 8 - we can explain...

Twilight slowly stirred from her forced slumber. Her eyelids weighed heavy as she tried to wake up, and her eyes adjusted to the bright lights of the room.
As her eyes adjusted, she saw she was back in Canterlot, in the fully refurnished throne room.

The small stage that once housed Celestia and Luna’s thrones, now sat a single cushioned throne, with many stars engraved into the frame.
The long carpet leading up to the throne stand had been replaced with a purplish red colour, with a golden rope edge on each side. The banners that previously represented Celestia and Luna’s duties of raising the Sun and moon, were now replaced with bright purple stars and long banners that showed the moon cycle.

The entire throne room had been redecorated to give a very galaxy, space-like feel. As Twilight was known for her strong magic, and the ability to house the magic of 4, full-grown Alicorns, it felt… right… It was almost perfect for her. Twilight couldn't help but feel slightly in awe at the changes of the throne room. It was official, this throne room was now hers, and the decorations allowed her personality and being to shine.

Twilight then looked toward the door, to see Cadence approaching her.
“Well…” Cadence began, her face dawning a bright, cheerful smile, as she helped Twilight to her hooves.
“You passed! With flying colours, you succeeded in your test!”

Twilight wasn't as happy to pass the test.
As she stood up, she looked around the throne room again and saw a giant, stained-glass window behind her throne.
It was an image of Twilight, flying high into the air, with her friends all lined up at the bottom of the window, reaching up to her. Her friends also had small halos over their heads in the window, to signify that her friends passed during the test.

“Why did I need to pass some test to gain your trust in my duties…?” Twilight asked, her tired and bloodshot eyes locking onto Cadence.

The pink alicorn sighed softly, looking guilty as she began to explain.
“The test was never about trust, It was to make sure that you would be able to hold yourself together during times of crisis or hardships… This is why we had to do this test, as much as we didn't want to… ”

Cadence explained this with a weighty tone of guilt in her voice. Twilight’s eyes widened and began to go glossy.
“So you let my friends die, to test how well I would hold up against an ongoing series of deadly games, not giving me a chance to grieve the loss I just had?!”

Cadence spoke up, looking agitated.
“When it comes to battles and hardships, you don't have time to grieve until the fight is over! Consider yourself lucky I gave you time between each round before moving on! I was told to give them back to back without stopping!”

Twilight couldn't help but snap back at her, her heavy Canterlot-like sarcasm coming to the surface. Emotions taking over for a moment.
“Oh I feel sooo grateful to have a bit more time between my friend's deaths. It doesn't matter if I had time or not! The outcome was still the same! My friends are DEAD!”

Cadence immediately shouted back, her wings spreading wide above her slim body.
“You could have avoided that during the entire test!”

This made Twilight pause, her eyes softening for a second as what Cadence said registered in her mind.
“W-.... what?”

Cadence didn't back down, keeping her stance, though her tone softened slightly.
“The games were rigged from the start! They were ALL rigged, so if you were deemed the loser in any of the games, I had a shut-off button to stop the game from killing you, allowing you to pass, letting your friends live, and stopping the games completely!”

Twilight went to speak, but Cadence cut her off.
“Selflessness is one of the many aspects of being a ruler and a leader. Putting yourself in danger to keep everyone else safe. You didn't do that, you instead tried to keep your friends in a state of false hope and kept the games going. Keeping yourself alive.”

Twilight’s shock was clear as day on her face, tears now running like waterfalls down her face, her breath was shaky and her legs began to shake as the weight of what Cadence said, bared heavy on Twilight's mind.
All she had to do, was make herself lose, and the test would have been done and over with, right from the beginning!

Twilight then looked back at Cadence.
“W-what about my friend's families... And Discord?! What will they think?!”

Cadence relaxed, her wings closing and she gave a small sigh once more. Looking over her shoulder at the entrance to the throne room, as if not wanting to look her sister-in-law in the eye.
“Everyone's families were informed and made aware of the potential outcome of these games, long before the tests had been made. Celestia and Luna have now informed everyone’s parents, siblings, and relatives, that they didn't make it through the test, and that a funeral will be held in their honour.”

Before she could continue, the door to the throne room opened, and Celestia and Luna hobbled in. They were covered in bandages and looked to be heavily beaten.

Celestia had some bandages around her front legs and a thick bandage around her neck. She also had a cast on her wing, showing it had been broken. Her mane was missing chunks and her tail didn't look much better. Her body was also covered in bruises, with a black eye forming on her left eye. She hung her head low, avoiding eye contact with Twilight as she walked in.

Luna didn't look to be in any better shape. She had a set of bandages around her back legs, with a cast on the front left one, showing breakage. Her mane and tail were also dishevelled, and her right eye had an eyepatch covering it, but a large cut could be seen poking out of the top, showing that her eye had been injured.

A pair of unicorn guards were accompanying them, carrying their princess Armor and Crowns with their magic. They bowed to Cadence and Twilight in greeting, as they held the doors open for Celestia and Luna.

Cadence’s eyes widened, as did Twilight’s, they quickly made their way over to the Alicorn sisters.
“I'm assuming Discord didn't take the news well…?” Cadence asked, her ears folding back as she guided Celestia into the room, Twilight doing the same for Luna.

“Unfortunately not…” Luna responded, sounding defeated. “But who can blame him… Fluttershy was his closest and possibly only friend. He made us swear that she would be safe during the test. So when he was informed that she met her demise... He wasn't exactly calm about the situation.”

“Where is he now?!” Twilight asked, looking concerned about Discord's whereabouts given the situation, it could mean he’s causing chaos out of rage somewhere in Equestria.

“I can assure you he’s been handled, we and our accompanying guards were able to overpower him after a while. Sealing him in a magical forcefield similar to the one you were in for your test Twilight.” Celestia explained.

Luna then cast a window-like spell, showing that Discord was currently being held in a cave, deep within the Everfree Forest, His arms and legs were shackled with steel cuffs, with a few feet of metal chains on each cuff, which were embedded in the rock. His wings were clamped shut with an additional cuff around his torso, and he was surrounded by a forcefield that would cut off his magic, similar to Chrysalis’s castle.

“And all of this… was because of a test I had to take… And I failed my friends because i didn't allow myself to be put into the line of danger…”
Twilight said softly to herself, as she stared at the situation Discord was in, the state of the princesses, the new throne room, and finally, the stained glass window, the final memory she had of her friends, sealed in glass… showing how she allowed her friends to get killed for her survival.

Twilight sat down, her wings laying limp at her sides, and she burst into tears, her whole world came crashing down. Everything she had learned, everything she had done, it didn't matter. She accomplished everything with her friends… and she repaid them by allowing them to die.

Her sobs were loud and uncontrollable, she lay her head down on the ground in front of her, pressing her forehead into the carpet leading to her new throne.
Her sobs soon turned to wails, as she screamed into the carpet, unable to control the despair that flooded her body.

Spike came running into the throne room upon hearing Twilight’s screams, but Cadence stopped him gently with her hoof, shaking her head. He had been tending to Canterlot Castle while Twilight took her test, and assisted in decorating the throne room. He looked up at Cadence when he was stopped, looking worried.

“Leave her be for a moment.” She says softly, before looking back at Twilight, her crumpled form curling in on itself, as Twilight tried to make herself as small as possible, feeling crushed under the weight of what happened, and how easily it could have been prevented.

It took a good 10 minutes before Twilight finally began to slow down, her breathing shaky and her fur and mane a mess, the occasional hiccup as she tried to dry her face.
She sat up, using her front hooves to try and clean her face, and Luna slowly approached her, putting a soft hoof on her back, causing the purple Alicorn’s head to snap toward Luna.

Her eyes were almost completely bloodshot, the fur on her face was clumped together from all the tears, and her mane was a mess. Luna couldn't help but feel guilty for Twilight.

“I understand how hard it is… When I had my test… Long before I became Nightmare Moon, I had lost all my friends in the test as well. Much like you, we had no idea this was an option until we were told afterward… We were always told, that selflessness, and making sacrifices made a great leader. At that time, I believed they meant sacrificing my time and safety to keep my friends safe… But then I learned exactly what you did… It will never be easy to recover… but we’re here if you want us to be…” Luna spoke softly, sitting beside Twilight as she spoke. She looked upset as she recollected her own test, before looking down at the broken Princess of Friendship.

“I'm sorry Twilight…” Cadence spoke up, catching the attention of Luna and Twilight “I didn't want to put you through this test… I tried to fight for you, to let you skip the test given everything you did to keep Equestria safe… But then they brought your brother and Flurry Heart into the picture, saying if I didn't go through with it, they would be hurt, or worse… I had no choice...”

Cadence explained all of this while walking over, she attempted to put a comforting hoof on Twilight’s shoulder, but she shrugged it off, still sniffling and hiccupping.
Twilight quickly got up without saying a word, her eyes locked to the floor as she stormed out of the throne room, as she walked out of the door, her horn sparked to life, and slammed the door behind her, almost slamming it off of its hinges.

The Alicorns all look at each other in shock at seeing Twilight’s sudden reaction, but all decide against going after her.