Friendship cant save you

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…”