The Friendship Test (A Creepypasta) by Magpiepony

Intro - So It Begins...

Dead weight. That was what Twilight's limbs felt like as her mind finally stirred to conscious. Her eyes fluttered as she tried to focus on her surroundings, allowing them to adjust to the faint light. In the cold confines of this unfamiliar place, five bodies stood motionless. Twilight's heart began to race. Her first instinct was to lighten the room with her magic, but her horn refused to respond. Her breath began to quicken as she looked for windows, doors, anything that could identify her location. Instead, all she could see were stone bare walls. It was at that same moment that she spotted each of her friends. They stood frozen, in a circle around the room, their eyes shut as if in peaceful sleep. With no obvious light source, Twilight strained to make out what illuminated their bodies. When she focused hard enough, she could make out a single translucent sliver of magic that surrounded them like a ring. Her eyes darted to her own body and she realized that she was surrounded by what seemed to be a spell. Though it was rare, this spell was unmistakable.
Across the room, Fluttershy began whimpering softly  as she too came to consciousness.
"Fluttershy?" Twilight asked, trying to maintain her composure.
"Twilight... where are we?" Fluttershy whispered.
"Don't move, Fluttershy. " Twilight cautioned. "The spell holding us in place is dangerous. Whatever you do, don't leave the circle. Do you understand?"
Fluttershy merely nodded in response.
"Why? What is it?" Applejack asked. Twilight and Fluttershy turned to see their friend with her hoof raised. She hesitated to take a step after she heard Twilight's warning.
"It's old magic, something that was once used to contain dangerous things... or dangerous ponies. Anything that leaves the rim of the circle will be met with a shock. A tip of the hoof can send a wave of electrical current through the body, but anything more than that can be deadly." Twilight explained, her expression grave.
"That doesn't make a lick of sense. Who in Equestria would do such a thing?!" Applejack asked angrily.
"Ugh... what... what's going on? Applejack... is that you?" Rarity called out groggily.
"Hey... What's going on...?" Rainbow Dash interjected.
"My head feels swimmy whimmy no good yucky." Pinkie Pie added.
"DON'T MOVE! Keep your hooves inside the ring until I can figure out how to get us out of here." Twilight warned.
"Very good Twilight. I knew I could count on you, keeping every pony safe before our little test."
Twilight's ears perked up at the seventh voice in the room. Her head snapped to the source of the sound. She tried to focus her eyes on it. Twilight knew that voice.
"Starlight, what's going on, and... how did we get here?" Twilight asked cautiously.
Starlight Glimmer slowly stepped out of a dark corner and used her magic to ignite torches resting on each wall. Her face was blank of any emotion. "A short time ago, I had a thought. You see, my magic seems to be just as powerful as yours, which is quite impressive given the fact that I am still a unicorn. And that got me thinking... is the so-called 'magic of friendship' really all it's cracked up to be?" She asked, positioning herself in the middle of the circle of friends.
"What are you talking about? Let us out of here!" Rainbow Dash insisted, ruffling her wings and suppressing the urge to take off in flight.
"All in good time, Rainbow. All in good time. Now, where was I? Ah yes. Twilight, I am a grown mare with enough magic to con an entire village out of their cutie marks, alter a time-travel spell, and assist in the reconstruction of the crystal heart. Does that sound like somepony who still needs lessons in the 'magic of friendship'?"
"What are you saying?" Rarity asked, confused.
"I'm saying that I realized that I don't need your friendship, and I certainly don't need the second-rate magic it gave to all of you. Still, you six are impressive. You've saved Equestria enough times to warrant some attention. I merely want to test your magic against my own. I want to see what happens when the six spirits of harmony are forced to face the traits they embody. Maybe then we will know what true power friendship has in Equestria."
"You don't know what you're saying, Starlight! You've seen first hoof how powerful friendship can be. I thought you embraced it and understood where you went wrong." Twilight insisted.
"I DID try! I did EVERYTHING you stupid little ponies said would bring my life fulfillment. But you can't erase a lifetime of emptiness and disappointment. You can't mend a friendship that was so easily destroyed just because you assign it to me like it's another part of a school-filly's homework! He didn't want to be my friend... no pony WANTS to be my friend! You ponies would have sent me to tartarus had Twilight not stopped you. Friendship is a LIE!" Starlight screamed, the vengeance seeping from the last word. She cleared her throat and replaced her tears with the mask of unfeeling, pretending the lapse of emotion hadn't happened.
"That's not true! I have LOTS of friends and I never leave them feeling icky lonely feelings." Pinkie interjected.
"There's really no point in reasoning with me, the test has already begun. You see, your heroism has always been based on your ability to embrace generosity, kindness, laughter, loyalty, honesty, and magic. But what if you were given a situation where those exact traits could harm rather than help you?" Starlight proposed.
"You've gone mad!" Rarity exclaimed.
"As Twilight kindly explained, the rings around each of you are quite deadly. This spell certainly was a difficult one to dig up but the Princess of Friendship wouldn't dream of having an incomplete library at her disposal. So, it was only a matter of time 'til I found what I needed. There's really no use in trying to use your own magic Twilight and Rarity, I've already disabled them before you were brought here, you won't be able to use it unless I remove your magic containment fields. The spell they used at the Equestria games was very helpful with that. Now, there will be six tests conducted, each based on those six harmony traits. When the tests are over, you can go free and punish me how you see fit, proving once and for all that your magic does surpass my own. If, however, you can't or won't perform; I doubt you will be leaving this room. Alive." Starlight held her chin high, her eyes gazing down upon Twilight.
"Alive? What do you mean alive?" Fluttershy quivered.
"Well it's not a very good test of extreme situations if the stakes are not high enough. But let's not waste any more time with questions. I'm sure you're all just as eager as I am to begin."