Friendship cant save you

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…?