• Published 30th Oct 2011
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Total Magic Pony Island - Tailslover13

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Episode 4: Apple Bloom Season

Discord: Last time, on Total Magic Pony Island: the show was properly kicked off with a bang when yours truly forced the campers to jump off a 1,000-foot cliff into shark infested waters below. Silver Spoon nearly became a snack herself, if not for the courage efforts of one handsome draconequus. Twilight and Trixie both embarrassed one another and paid the price with a sore belly and a sore back. Rainbow Dash and Applejack took over the leadership roles on their team when the so-called almighty Princess Celestia was too scared to do a thing. In the end, it was thanks to Gilda’s mocking that gave Fluttershy the courage she needed to be the final one to jump and win the challenge for her team. At the elimination ceremony, it was revealed that all four unicorns had been targeted, due to them being basically useless on an island where unicorns couldn’t use magic. Trixie was nearly voted off for her own attitude problems, but Vinyl Scratch ultimately took the first walk of shame towards the Boat of Losers when her team deemed her completely useless. Twilight and the disc jockey had an emotional goodbye which prompted Twilight to wonder the kinds of feelings were resonating within her heart. With such a great opening, how can we possibly improve? Well, find out right now, on Total…Magic…Pony…Island!

*the opening theme song showing all 20 contestants plays a moment later before the episode*

“This will surely help melt the pain away from that emotional elimination ceremony!” Twilight smiled weakly, having led her team back to their cabin after Vinyl Scratch had left on the Boat of Losers and was happy to see that Discord had kept his promise and a large hot tub had been installed right outside the doors to their new residence.

“Indeed, and it’s perfect for a lady,” Rarity smiled, removing her chicken hat once and for all and tossing it over her shoulder, “I must ask that the rest of you give me a good few feet of space, since my body needs room to soak in the wonderful warm moisture without others blocking the steam.”

“For one, that makes no sense,” Trixie frowned, “And two, Trixie will go wherever Trixie wants whether you like it or not!”

“I agree with the stupid blue unicorn,” Gilda said, “Besides, there’s nine of us and only one hot tub; figure it out, Scaredy-Cat Pony.”

“Silence, Gilda!” Rarity snapped, “You will eat those words once I prove just how useful I can be in the next challenge. Poor Vinyl had to take the fall for our combined uselessness, but I guarantee that it will not happen again. I can prove that we unicorns are useful even without the use of our horns.”

“That’s the spirit, Rarity!” Twilight cheered, walking up to the hot tub and jumping up onto the side as she leaned in hoof in to get a feel for the hot water, “As long as you keep that confidence up, there’s nothing we cannot do.”

“Suck-up,” Trixie sniffed, casting Twilight a look of distain as the rest of the team trotted over to get into the hot tub.

Cheerilee: Our first elimination ceremony tonight wasn’t one for the weak of heart. I do feel very bad for Vinyl, but there was nothing that could be done. I only hope we win our next challenge to prevent something like this happening again; if one of my students were to leave, I’d feel just awful.

“Ahhhhhh…this feels SO good,” Apple Bloom moaned, sinking down into the bubbling water of the hot tub and closing her eyes, “Ah bet mah big sister would even love this, and she doesn’t like baths!”

“Filthy hayseed ponies,” Trixie muttered, relaxing on the opposite side of the hot tub next to Cheerilee and Derpy Hooves. The unicorn was still not really happy about nearly being the first one voted off, and she intended to make those who voted for her suffer. She was sure that Twilight had voted for her, so her revenge on the purple unicorn would just be doubled from what she was already planning. However, Trixie wasn’t stupid; she knew that she and Gilda were still probably the two campers on the outs with the team, thanks to their attitudes, and that was gonna be a problem.

Trixie: Trixie knows that, despite how amazingly great and powerful she is, that the others are so jealous of her that she’s easily a target. For her to survive in this game, she’s gonna have to…make some compromises. *she taps her chin and smirks to herself* Hmm…maybe an alliance would help Trixie…

“Think fast!” Scootaloo laughed, splashing water at Pinkie Pie and Apple Bloom and nailing both of them in the face, “Gotcha! Two points for Scootaloo!”

“Ooh, you’re gonna get it now!” Pinkie giggled, playfully dunking Scootaloo under the water a moment later, just before the pink pony found herself dunked as well by Apple Bloom. Thanks to the threesome’s playfulness, the rest of the hot tub started to join in and try to get out of the funk they were feeling and instead work their way back to joy and getting high spirits. Even Gilda was having a bit of fun in her own way, which was basically using her powerful hands to smash several ponies’ faces far underwater. Only Trixie refused to join in on the fun.

“Barbarians!” the blue unicorn growled, crossing her arms and putting her nose in the air while trying to stay out of the crossfire. When Cheerilee, who was having a good time interacting with the others, noticed that Trixie was by herself, the teacher decided to try some of her social skills and attempt to get the unicorn to stop being so distant.

“What’s wrong, Trixie?” Cheerilee asked, floating over to the unicorn while Twilight and Rarity tried to get Gilda to stop dunking Pinkie upside down so roughly, “Why aren’t you having fun with the rest of us? Is something on your mind?”

“That is none of your…” Trixie began, turning her head back around to look at the teacher, then pausing for a moment to reconsider her thoughts. At first, she wanted to simply tell the teacher to get lost and leave her alone. However, Trixie then thought some more and realized that, as a teacher, Cheerilee had morals that she stood by and she might be more gullible than others. With a wicked little grin, Trixie quickly changed her tune and started to become an actress.

“What Trixie meant to say was…she is just very sad right now,” Trixie stated, putting on a fake sad face as she looked at Cheerilee, “Everypony here sees Trixie as an outcast and they hate her just because she’s different from them. She’s not stupid; Trixie saw those votes for her tonight. If we lose again, it’s obvious that Trixie will be next to go, and that hurts her, since she has so much to contribute to this team! If only she had a friend who would stick by her and help her…she’d feel much better.”

Cheerilee was taken aback by Trixie’s words, and a very small part of her seemed suspicious. She herself had voted for Trixie at the ceremony, simply because she preferred teammates who had better attitudes compared to those who were more useless than others. She had considered Vinyl to be nicer and a much more social pony than Trixie, which is why Cheerilee had voted for Trixie. However, the teacher couldn’t help but feel slightly guilty when seeing Trixie’s sad face and hearing her painful words. There was doubt in her mind about Trixie’s sincerity, but it soon vanished when her teacher instincts took over.

“Trixie, my dear, I’m very sorry that you feel that way,” she explained, smiling and gently placing a hoof on the unicorn’s shoulder, “If you really want, I could be that friend that’ll help you out. I can tell that you really don’t want to leave this game, so I’ll help you in whatever way you want, just like my help my students every day. How would you like that?”

“You really, really would?” Trixie gasped, her plan working to perfection so far, “Oh, thank you so very much! Trixie could not be happier to hear this! But…um, if it’s alright with you…would you please keep this secret between the rest of the team? Trixie does not wish to seem sneaky or anything, but…she doesn’t want to make the team about her.”

Cheerilee hesitated slightly at hearing Trixie’s final words. It almost sounded like Trixie was trying to get her on her side and thus betray the rest of the team. Cheerilee observed Trixie’s face and tried to read it for truthfulness, since she didn’t really want to do what Trixie said. However, once again, her teacher side took over and she found herself unable to resist Trixie in her hour of need.

“Very well, Trixie, as you wish,” the teacher nodded, “What goes on between us will be kept secret from the rest of the team; I give you my word on this.” As soon as she heard these words, Trixie grinned and forced herself to give Cheerilee a hug.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” she squealed, “Trixie is most grateful! She won’t forget your kindness, Cheerilee!” The teacher smiled and gently hugged the unicorn back, not noticing the wicked smirk plastered on the latter’s face.

Trixie: Hook, line, and sinker; isn’t Trixie SUCH a great actress? She did feel like throwing up when she was forced to squeal and sound like a little school pony, and that hug made her shiver, but things went perfectly anyway. *she cackles and clops her front hooves together* Trixie is back in the game!

“Gilda, let Pinkie go!” Twilight cried, trying to pull her friend’s head away as Gilda was about to use the pink pony as a sledgehammer for the water, “Playing is one thing, but bullying is another!”

“Oh, shut up, you can tell she enjoys it!” Gilda spat back, motioning her head towards Pinkie’s. The pink pony’s eyes were twirling around and around, much like Derpy’s always did, and she looked very dizzy. Still, she did have a cracked smile on her face after all the abuse she was getting.

“I don’t care if she enjoys it, you’re not doing that anymore,” Twilight argued, grasping Pinkie’s head and trying to pull her friend out of Gilda’s powerful grasp.

The two ended up playing tug-of-war with Pinkie’s head for a good few minutes while the rest of the hot tub watched in amusement. However, due to Gilda’s strength and Twilight’s stubbornness, their actions were causing the hot tub to violently start rocking back and forth. Then, after a mighty tug by Twilight and a slip of the hands by Gilda, Twilight managed to yank Pinkie away from the griffon, crashing into the side of the hot tub and causing not only Pinkie to fly out of her hooves and go sailing away from the group, but also causing the hot tub to capsize and send the eight campers in it flying out of it.

“YAY! THAT WAS FUN!” Pinkie giggled, now sitting on top of the mess hall as she clopped her hooves together, “DO IT AGAIN, DO IT AGAIN!” The rest of the Magical Misfits groaned as they were all now dirty and muddy due to the entire contents of the hot tub spilling out in front of their cabin. Gilda was swearing under her breath as she picked herself up, most of the rest of the team doing the same. Twilight and Trixie, however, had landed in quite a humorous way.

“Ugh…now look at what you’ve done, Gilda!” Twilight snapped, opening her eyes and frowning, “Now we have to refill the entire hot tub and…huh?” The unicorn widened her eyes and a light blush was momentarily visible on her face when she realized what she had landed on and thus was now laying on top of. Trixie was underneath her.

“What in the world is on top of Trixie?” Trixie growled, opening her own eyes and blinking to get the water out of them. As soon as she saw Twilight staring down at her, she widened her eyes in complete shock. For a second, both unicorns locked eyes as they stared at one another. Then, just as the moment had been acknowledged, a painful kick was delivered to Twilight’s lower stomach and the purple unicorn yelped as she rolled off the top of the azure unicorn.

“OW! Trixie, that was rude!” Twilight gasped, wincing and glaring over at the show-mare, “You KNOW my stomach is still hurting after that painful belly flop I did today in the challenge!”

“Then perhaps next time you’ll move quicker, you pompous oaf!” Trixie snapped, getting to her own hooves and growling at Twilight, “Land on Trixie again and she will make sure it’s more than just your stomach that gets punished!”

“You are such an arrogant, bossy, rude, evil little unicorn!” Twilight yelled, getting right into Trixie’s face and not noticing that the rest of the team had now stopped what they had been doing to watch.

“YOU are a jealous, pathetic, untalented, inferior pony not deemed to BE a unicorn!” Trixie spat back, pushing her face right back into Twilight’s.

“I’m surprised that Discord hasn’t charged us money for such a show,” Gilda snickered. When Twilight and Trixie realized that their entire team was watching them, they each let out a little “humph” before sticking their noses in the air and marching away to get dry after the accident. The rest of the team watched the two unicorns leave and couldn’t help giggling a bit.

Apple Bloom: Those two fight like an old married couple, don’t ya’ll think? *she giggled a bit*

Derpy: Was that a cat fight? *her eyes spun around crazily* Those two are crazier than cats!

Pinkie: *smiling* They say that two ponies who fight a lot really care for each other!

“This bunk bed belongs to Trixie, and that’s final,” Trixie loudly proclaimed, pointing with her hoof to a bottom bunk bed that was closest to the door and closest to a window, “Not only will it allow Trixie to leave the room first at all times, but she will be able to get sun from the window, too.”

“And why should YOU get that bed?” Twilight demanded, “Maybe somepony else wanted it.”

“Trixie called it first, so deal with it,” Trixie smirked, sticking her tongue out at Twilight.

“Better watch that tongue or else you might just lose it,” Twilight growled, stomping away from Trixie and heading to the complete opposite side of the room to get as far away from the unicorn as possible.

The cabin itself was beyond weird. The windows were upside down, the floor and ceiling were in the opposite places, each bed had strange colors that only Discord could like, and the entire place smelled like chocolate milk and cotton candy. Pinkie, naturally, found everything to be perfect. There were five pairs of bunk beds, equally a total of 10, which meant everyone would have to pair up with someone else. Since Vinyl had been voted off already, that left someone the privilege of having two beds.

“I call top bunk!” Scootaloo laughed, racing over towards a pair of beds with Apple Bloom.

“I call bottom bunk!” Apple Bloom giggled, beating Scootaloo to the beds and playfully tackling her.

“Hey, Derpy, want to pair up?” Pinkie asked.

“Sure, Pinkie!” Derpy smiled, “I call the top bed!” Pinkie agreed to this arrangement and yet another group had already been picked.

“Twilight, may I pair up with you?” Rarity asked politely, “And, if so, may I have the bottom bed? Being up high would get my beautiful mane dusty from being too close to the ceiling.”

“Uh…sure thing, Rarity,” Twilight chuckled, giving her friend a pat on the back, “Anything for a friend.” This left Cheerilee and Gilda to decide if one of them wanted to be with Trixie or if they would pair up themselves. The teacher and griffon looked at one another, then looked over at Trixie. Gilda smirked and poked the teacher on the nose.

“I snore pretty loud,” she stated.

“In that case, I think Trixie could use a sleeping partner,” Cheerilee laughed weakly, quickly moving away from Gilda and trotting over to Trixie, “Trixie, would it be alright if I got the top bed?” Even though the unicorn had honestly wanted to be alone, she realized that she had to make it look like she liked Cheerilee, so she forced a smile and gave a quick nod.

“Sure thing, Trixie does not mind,” Trixie stated, immediately turning away and snuggling up on her pillow, “Have a good sleep, Cheerilee.”

“You too, Trixie,” Cheerilee said, climbing up onto the top bunk and cuddling up under the covers. The teacher hoped that Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, and Sweetie Belle were all doing alright; opposite team or not, she would always care about her students. Gilda, meanwhile, was stoked that she had two beds all to herself; she decided to sleep on the bottom one for now, though.

“Good night, everyone!” Twilight called out through the entire cabin, “All of you get a good rest; we’ve got a big day ahead of us tomorrow to prove that we’re not a bunch of losers! We’re gonna bounce back and show the Royal Ruffians just who’s REALLY in charge! We’re gonna prove that we’re a great team! We’re gonna…”

“Trixie is gonna strangle a purple unicorn if she does not shut up and go to sleep!” Trixie snapped, not even lifting up her head from the pillow as she yelled at her counterpart.

Twilight: *frowning* If we lose, they’d better not blame ME for not forming good camaraderie with the teammates. Ooh, that Trixie…I just want to spank her! *blinks* Wait, what? Why did I say THAT?

Over in the opposite cabin, the Royal Ruffians had already gone to sleep a lot earlier, since they didn’t have a hot tub to relax in like the Misfits did and thus had no reason to stay up. Spike had finished burying the box of Discord’s toenail clippings, despite his new black eye from hitting himself in the head with the shovel, and had come back to quite an interesting predicament. The girls had already decided who would get what bunk beds while Spike had been gone; Celestia would sleep with her sister Luna, Applejack would be with Rainbow Dash, Diamond Tiara would be with Silver Spoon, and Fluttershy would be with Zecora. This left Spike to partner up with Sweetie Belle, something which had made him quite nervous; Sweetie Belle WAS the younger sister of Rarity, after all.

“Something wrong, Spike?” Sweetie Belle had asked, taking the top bunk and letting Spike have the bottom one, “You seem nervous; did you not want me as your bunkmate?”

“Um, no, that’s not it…I just…uh…couldn’t have thought of a better sleeping mate in place of Rarity,” Spike said honestly, smiling up at Sweetie Belle as he got into his own bed underneath hers.

“Aww, Spike, thank you!” Sweetie Belle giggled, “You’re so sweet, just like a big brother! Well, see you in the morning; have a good rest!” As she closed her eyes and snuggled up in her blankets, she didn’t see Spike slap his forehead at the “big brother” part from down on his bed.

Spike: Is that seriously how these girls view me? Just as a big or little brother? That is so cruel; I’m totally romantic and suave! What girl wouldn’t want me? Is it my muscles? *he flexes his arm and peers at his biceps* Hmm…maybe I should work out a bit more… *he grumbles a bit* Big brother…really?

When morning eventually came, Celestia became very uneasy and unnerved as she watched Discord’s little rockets raise the sun for her. Luna didn’t seem to mind last night when his own rockets lifted up the moon, but something about the situation just made Celestia very agitated. She was still caught looking out the window and staring out at the sun in the distance by the time the rest of her team got up a good two hours later.

“Sister, relax,” Luna yawned, trotting over to her now-little sister and resting a hoof on her back, “The sun isn’t going to blow up or turn into a chocolate rain cloud. After this silly show, we’ll be back to doing what we were born to do. Until then, stop worrying, alright? It’s giving you wrinkles.”

“WHAT?!?! SISTER, WATCH YOUR TONGUE!” Celestia screamed, her face turning deep red as she brought a hoof up to hide her face. Luna couldn’t help but giggle at this; she really did enjoy teasing her big sister, especially now that she was the smaller and younger sister between the two.

“Morning, AJ!” Rainbow Dash said cheerfully, flying down from her upper bunk and landing in front of the yawning cowgirl, “Did ya have a nice sleep?”

“This was the first time ah’ve slept in a cabin and a bunk before,” Applejack admitted, doing some stretches and reaching for her hat, which she had left on the nearby dresser, “Ah have to admit, it was a nice experience, especially when ah got ya’ll sleepin’ above me.”

“Aww, thanks, Applejack,” Rainbow Dash smiled, giving her friend a big hug and turning to look at the rest of her team, “How did the rest of you all sleep?”

“Um…it was nice…” Fluttershy squeaked, gently brushing her mane with a comb.

“I dreamt about Rarity,” Spike sighed dreamily, idly folding his bed sheets into an ugly pattern.

“Like, these old rags were barely enough to keep me warm,” Diamond Tiara sniffed, turning her nose up.

“I think a bug crawled into my bed and bit me,” Silver Spoon whined, seeing a red mark on her back leg.

“I slept well, this is true,” Zecora stated, “Our Princess Celestia, however, looks quite blue.”

“Ya ahright, Princess?” Applejack asked, trotting over to the distraught Celestia and giving her a gentle pat on the flank, “Did ya not have a good rest?”

“Dear Applejack, I slept just fine, but seeing my duty performed by…Discord…does not sit well with me,” Celestia sighed, not having moved an inch from the window, “Allowing Equestria to be run by Discord’s foolishness while I’m stuck here playing a game continues to gnaw at my brain.”

“You’re not thinking about quitting again, are you?” Sweetie Belle asked, looking a little sad, “Please don’t leave, Princess; we want you here with us!”

“I’m sticking to what I said before, dear Sweetie Belle,” Celestia muttered, “While I do not like this at all, I will not abandon or leave you. You are all my subjects and I would hate myself if I left you in the presence of that psycho. Without her magic, Twilight cannot help you all, and neither can I, but I am sticking here until the end.”

“Did a certain troll just call me a psycho?” Discord asked, appearing right underneath Celestia while eating a croissant, “It’s not even nine o’clock and you’re already making insults, Celestia? For shame!” Easy to say, a second later the entire Royal Ruffians’ cabin was filled with screams of fright.

Celestia: *angrily* Does that draconequus know NO boundaries? He can’t just come barging into our sleeping quarters whenever he feels like it! There are FEMALES here, you know! What if we all had been naked? Well, I suppose we don’t naturally wear clothes…but still! Thoughtless fool.

Rainbow Dash: Did any of you notice how Applejack nearly leaped on top of me when Discord appeared? She looks so cute when she’s scared! *she chuckles a bit, then idly puts her hooves behind her head* Yeah, I totally have to look out of her…she relies on me, you know?

Spike: I don’t see what all the girls were screaming about; it’s not like they wear clothes. *he suddenly realizes something* Uh…wait…besides Discord…am I the ONLY male on this island? *his eye suddenly twitches and a huge, perverted grin breaks out across his face* Awe…some.

“I hope you’re all ready for a rousing breakfast,” Nightmare Moon grinned from behind the counter, using her horn to flip some black pancakes, “It’s the most important meal of the day, you know.”

“Um…how exactly can you be using magic?” Twilight asked, leading both teams into the mess hall for their breakfast, “You are technically a pony, aren’t you?”

“Discord explained to me that because I was extracted from Luna’s DNA, I am theoretically not a pony,” Nightmare Moon laughed, “I’m more like a parasprite; I am something so deadly and unknown that it cannot be fully known what I truly am.” She cackled loudly, instantly forcing all the contestants to cower in fear and remain in an entire clumped group at the doorway; even Gilda didn’t seem too brave at doing anything to anger the great Nightmare Moon.

“Darling, you KNOW that’s not true,” Discord said, teleporting in a second later and sitting on top of Nightmare Moon’s head, using her horn as support, “I simply lent you some of my powers so that you could go about your daily business without the same troubles as our little campers, that’s all. You made up that silly little story all on your own.”

“You just can’t let me have some fun with these fools, can you?” Nightmare Moon frowned, glaring up at Discord as she started to stack her black pancakes on the counter.

“No, you can have your fun…but not when it steals my thunder,” Discord smirked, once more teleporting off and leaving the mess hall silent in his wake.

Rarity: Being subjected to Discord AND Nightmare Moon on a daily basis will truly test us in ways I could’ve only imagined. *she sighs and shivers at the thought of Nightmare Moon’s food*

Fluttershy: *she can’t be seen on the camera, but her whimpers can be heard from somewhere underneath it* Maybe…if I hide in here…Discord and Nightmare Moon won’t find me…right?

“These do NOT look healthy…or edible,” Rarity complained when she was given a tray with two black pancakes on it.

“Oh, I’m sorry, would you like me to make you something that IS edible?” Nightmare Moon growled, shoving her face straight down into Rarity’s. Almost at once, the white pony cowered and gulped, then hurried and carried her tray back to her table with her mouth without another word. The rest of the 18 campers all followed in line with getting trays with black pancakes. Once again, Pinkie started to gulp hers down without any worry.

“How do they taste, Pinkie?” Scootaloo asked, poking at hers with a fork, as though expecting them to come alive at the slightest touch.

“Um…I don’t know…they kinda taste like the night!” Pinkie explained, licking some black crumbs off her face and giving her team a warm smile.

“Since when does the night have a taste?” Gilda asked, breaking her pancakes and peering inside of them, dismayed to see that it was even blacker on the inside than the outside.

“Well, one night, I had a dream that I was sleepwalking on the moon!” Pinkie explained, going into one of her stories, “So, I was all like ‘wow, this totally must be a dream’, but then Luna appeared and wanted to do a disco dance, so the moon turned into a disco ball and Luna and I did the moonwalk together and it was really, really cool! Then, a meteor came by and hit the moon and caused me to go drifting off into space, but as I did, my tongue licked a star, and it tasted just like these pancakes! So, since the stars are in the sky and they’re visible at night, doesn’t that mean that stars taste like the night?”

The entire mess hall was silent for a long, long time. Pinkie’s loud voice had alerted the Royal Ruffians and Nightmare Moon along with her own Magical Misfits team. Every single Equestrian in the mess hall was now staring at Pinkie with expressions of exasperation, annoyance, confusion, irritation, anger, amusement and, in a few situations, indigestion. Luna looked beyond humiliated, Gilda seemed like she wanted to strangle Pinkie, Trixie looked angry that no one was paying attention to her, Derpy’s eyes were looking at separate areas of the room for no reason, and Rainbow Dash had fallen asleep.

Pinkie: *crossing her arms and putting her nose in the air* How was it MY fault that no one else wanted to finish their breakfast? And why was Luna apologizing to everypony?

“Nightmare Moon, this is beyond disrespectful!” Celestia complained, “These pancakes are shoddy, disgusting, revolting, and not at all pleasurable to the eye. I demand that you learn how to cook properly; you could very well cause one of my subjects to fall terminally ill.”

“You want to try saying that to my FACE, Trollestia?” Nightmare Moon snapped, glaring over at the little princess with flashing eyes.

“…what did you just call me?” Celestia blinked, “Did you just call me…Trollestia? What in Equestria’s name is THAT supposed to mean?”

“Trust me, you’ll figure it out the more you play this game,” Nightmare Moon grumbled, her horn glowing a moment later, “Now, I’d shut your royal little mouth, or I’ll shut it FOR you.” Just when Celestia was about to angrily retort once again, a huge knife appeared above Nightmare Moon’s head thanks to her magic. It was actually less of a knife and more of a machete. Even though Nightmare Moon turned and started to use it to apparently cut up some tomatoes, it instantly silenced Celestia and got her to cower behind Luna.

Luna: *sighs* Sometimes, it’s hard being the new big sister, you know? But, at the same time, it’s still so funny seeing my sister act like a spoiled brat; Discord really knows a thing or two about spells.

“Hello, campers! Did you all have a good breakfast?” Discord asked, reading a graphic novel with his fake reading glasses while hanging upside down from the mess hall, “Nightmare Moon worked very hard to make it for you all, so I hope you were all thankful.”

“I’ll be even more thankful if she stays far, far away from me,” Rainbow Dash muttered.

“So, I bet you’re all DYING to know what today’s challenge is gonna be like, correct?” Discord guessed, the graphic novel and reading glasses both vanishing as he peered down at the two teams.

“Trixie is actually more interested in knowing if you plan on having a challenge where everypony gets eliminated but one, since that would be ideal for her,” Trixie said smugly, which instantly got glares from her entire team, save for Cheerilee, since the teacher was trying to put up with her.

“Tempting…but, I’m afraid that eliminating everyone after just one day would be very bad for ratings, so I can’t do that, Trixie,” Discord admitted, “Now, if you all follow me this way, I’ll tell you about today’s challenge.” The spirit of disharmony and chaos floated off towards the east part of the island, the two teams of nine and ten following right after him.

“I hope it’s a fashion challenge,” Rarity said out loud to her team.

“I hope it’s a weight-lifting or pony-bashing challenge,” Gilda retorted.

“Trixie hopes it’s a show challenge where you must display your amazing talents,” Trixie smirked.

“I hope it’s a challenge where a unicorn can learn some new manners,” Twilight whispered.

“Now, at camp, there are many different activities that you can take up,” Discord explained as he flew alongside the two teams, “Many of them will have to do with challenges throughout the season. You can play sports, or race bikes, or tell ghost stories, or go on scavenger hunts, and much more! Since I can tell that you girls…and Spike…weren’t too pleased with Nightmare Moon’s hard work, I think it’s only fair that you all try and get your OWN food!”

“I totally do not like the sound of this,” Diamond Tiara complained, “It sounds, like, totally scary!”

“Aww, grow up, Diamond Tiara!” Sweetie Belle growled, “You don’t even know what it is yet. For all we know, it could be a gardening challenge.”

“Precisely, Sweetie Belle!” Discord announced, stopping the team in front of a random acre with what seemed to be different stations, “Here’s how this is gonna work. Each team will send two campers to perform at each station in his wide range acre of food. As you can see, there are apple trees with ripe fruit on the branches, there’s a garden with carrots, cabbages, potatoes, beets, and corn, there’s a pumpkin patch with some of the biggest pumpkins ever known to pony-kind, there’s a herd of cows and chickens in a pen, and finally there’s a mini-kitchen filled with sugar, spice, and everything nice! The object of this challenge is to build team unity and see which team makes the smartest choices. Plus, since it’s now obvious that unicorns hold no power in this game, it’ll give them a chance to be helpful.”

“Watch it, Discord,” Rarity glared, receiving backup when Twilight and Trixie both shot Discord angry expressions as well.

“There will be two campers knocking down the apples from the trees and then harvesting them all into a large barrel,” Discord went on, ignoring Rarity’s warning, “Two more harvesting all the vegetables from the garden, two more trying to locate the biggest pumpkin and roll it back to home base, two more collecting eggs from the chickens and milking the cows, and finally two more working in the mini-kitchen to make some cupcakes. The winning team will be whichever one manages to get their entire crop of assorted food back to home base before the other team. Remember, to win, you need the ENTIRE assortment; you cannot miss a single apple, vegetable, and so on and so forth. Any questions?”

“Yes, we have one less camper than the other team, so what do we do?” Cheerilee asked.

“That’s where it gets interesting,” Discord smirked, “You have to pick someone on your team that is REALLY reliable to do an entire station all by themselves. That camper’s job is very, very important, since with just one of them, it makes it twice as hard. Choose your players carefully; you all have two minutes to do so before we get started.”

Applejack: *she grins excitedly* We got this challenge in the bag; there’s no way we can lose!

Twilight: *groaning* Great…teamwork involving Gilda and Trixie? There’s no way we can win!

“This is simple, everypony,” Applejack whispered, huddled up with her team as they made their picks, “Ah’m great with apples, so I’ll be applebucking; Rainbow Dash, why don’t ya’ll help me?”

“Got it, AJ!” Rainbow Dash smiled, giving her a salute.

“Great! Princess, why don’t you and yer sister do the gardenin’?” Applejack asked, turning to Celestia and Luna.

“Seems simple enough; I’m all for it,” Celestia nodded, giving Luna a pat on the back.

“Fluttershy, yer great with animals, so you milk the cows, and Sweetie Belle, why don’t ya’ll gather the chicken eggs?” Applejack went on.

“Roger!” Sweetie Belle smiled, giving Fluttershy a hug and making the Pegasus give a little nod.

“Zecora…ah’m guessin’ ya’ll might be good with sizes and stuff, so why don’t ya take Spike and get us a good pumpkin?” Applejack continued.

“I will do my very best,” Zecora nodded, “We will be much greater than the rest.”

“Finally, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon?” Applejack concluded, “Do ya’ll know how to make sweets?”

“We sure do!” Silver Spoon smiled, adjusting her glasses, “We’ll be great on that station; count on us!”

“Great, then it’s decided!” Applejack grinned, putting her hoof in the middle of the circle, “Ahright, Royal Ruffians on three! One…two…ROYAL RUFFIANS!” The entire group put their hooves or hands in the middle and yelled out in unison, confident they were gonna win this challenge.

Sweetie Belle: This is gonna be so easy! With our great teamwork, there’s no way we’re losing! Looking over at my big sister’s team…I think they’re in for a very long ride. *she sighs dramatically*

“No, no, no, no, a thousand times NO!” Trixie yelled, crossing her arms and turning away, “The Great and Powerful Trixie refuses to partner up with that half-breed, Gilda! And especially at such a mundane job like gathering a big pumpkin!”

“What did you just call me, pony?” Gilda snarled, cracking her knuckles and slowly easing towards the azure pony. Quickly, Cheerilee defended Trixie and meekly explained that Trixie didn’t mean to insult Gilda and she was just using an expression.

“Ugh…this is a mess…” Twilight moaned, shaking her head, “Please, if we’re gonna get anywhere, we have to work together! Um…Pinkie? Can you handle the sweets station by yourself?”

“You betcha!” Pinkie grinned, bouncing up and down, “No one makes cupcakes faster than Pinkie Pie!”

“Okay, so that’s outta the way,” Twilight muttered, “Um…Gilda? Could you PLEASE do the pumpkin part? You’re strong; we’ll need you to carry it back to home base the quickest.”

“Tch…alright, fine, whatever,” Gilda grumbled, “But the only one I’ll work with is that little Pegasus, since she has spunk.” She looked down at Scootaloo, who honestly didn’t seem really thrilled about working with Gilda.

“Okay, so Scootaloo will work with Gilda on the pumpkin patch,” Twilight said, “Um…Rarity…you hate getting dirty, so I guess you won’t be gardening…um, can you gather chicken eggs or milk a cow?”

“Do I look like I was raised on a farm?” Rarity frowned, but upon seeing Twilight’s pleading look, the unicorn sighed and gave in to her friend, “Oh, very well, I’ll do my best. Cheerilee, would you be my helper with that? I could use a level-headed pony like yourself as a partner.”

“Uh…okay, sure thing, Rarity,” Cheerilee agreed, after getting a hesitant nod of approval from Trixie.

“Apple Bloom? Maybe you and Derpy could do the apples?” Twilight asked nicely, “She could fly and help gather them while you use your strength and your knowledge to knock them down?”

“Sure thing, Twilight!” Apple Bloom smiled, “Ya’ll can count on me!”

“So…that just leaves the gardening…” Twilight mused, “And the only two who do it are…” She paused, realizing the grievous error she had just made. Trixie was the only pony left, and since Twilight was much too kind to force Pinkie to work with Trixie, she realized that she was up a creek.

“…Trixie is NOT working with the likes of YOU!” Trixie snarled, realizing that she and Twilight were the only two left, “Trixie would sooner jump off a cliff than work with you!”

“CAMPERS, TAKE YOUR POSITIONS!” Discord called out, using a megaphone as he sat on top of a makeshift control tower that was made out of trees, “HOME BASE IS YOUR TEAM’S COLORED PLATFORM LOCATED BEHIND THE FINISH LINE. YOU MUST BRING BACK ALL YOUR FOOD TO THAT PLACE, AND THEN I’LL JUDGE TO MAKE SURE YOU GOT IT ALL.”

“W-w-w-what?!?! B-b-but we need more time to plan!” Twilight gasped, “I-I-I made a mistake and…”

“SORRY, TWILIGHT, NO MORE TIME!” Discord smirked, “GET TO YOUR POSITIONS, RIGHT NOW!”

With a dejected, angry, and terrified expression, Twilight hung her head and slowly headed towards the garden, the emotional and screaming Trixie right behind her. She knew that she was heading for a second straight loss, and the thought really hurt her. She was supposed to be a good leader, magic or not, and this was not what she had been expecting. Working with Trixie was gonna be a nightmare.

Twilight: *sighing and holding her head in her hooves* Maybe they’ll go easy on me tonight once we lose…maybe I’ll only get seven votes instead of eight and someone will vote for Trixie instead…

“Okay, so you’re all in position…let’s get this show on the road!” Discord grinned, rubbing his hands together, “On your marks…get set…GO!” Instantly, the 19 campers went straight to work doing their jobs, none of them wanting to lose.

The Royal Ruffians started working beautifully right off the bat. Applejack was working on the 20 apple trees, applebucking them with fervor and making the entire bushel of apples fall down at the same time, to which Rainbow Dash would then use her quickness to zoom around, pick up each and every apple, and deposit them in the barrel. Luna and Celestia were digging in the garden and pulling up all the vegetables they got their hooves on; neither one seemed to mind getting dirty. Zecora was being creepy and “examining” each and every pumpkin, spooking Spike, before she managed to find the biggest one. Fluttershy had sweet-talked the cow and was gently milking the creature, filling up the first of three bottles that were required to win the challenge; Sweetie Belle was in the chicken coop, shooing the chickens away and gathering the eggs in a basket. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were both following a recipe that Pinkie had taught them at their party last year, and were starting to make great cupcakes.

“And the Ruffians are off to a blazing fast start!” Discord announced, “What teamwork! What passion! What skill! This team is working like a well-oiled machine! Now, let’s focus in on the Magical…”

“GILDA, NO, STOP IT!” Scootaloo screamed, just before Gilda smashed a second pumpkin down over the little Pegasus’ head, which made the pumpkin explode into a blast of pulpy and seedy bits.

“THEN GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER AND PICK THE BIGGEST ONE AND NOT THE UGLIEST ONE!” Gilda roared, picking up a random pumpkin and hurling it at Scootaloo, who managed to quickly dodge it, despite the fact that her head was hurting.

“Ugh, you vile things! Stop that at once!” Rarity cried, bouncing away as some chickens inside of her coop were clucking and chasing her around, “Somepony, help me! These things are disgusting!”

Scootaloo: Somehow, I take pleasure in seeing someone unable to handle chickens. *she grins*

“Trixie, you’re destroying the vegetables!” Twilight yelled, “You’re ripping them out of the ground too hard and making them look torn! Be careful with that you’re doing!”

“Silence, Twilight Sparkle! Trixie does not take orders from YOU!” Trixie spat, kicking some dirt on the other unicorn before hurling a carrot into her face.

“All you have to do is take a cup of flour; add it to the mix!” Pinkie sang, dancing around her kitchen joyfully, “Now we take a little something sweet, not sour; a bit of salt, just a pinch!”

“GILDA, YOU’RE RUINING THE PUMPKINS!” Scootaloo screamed.

“YOU’RE A COMPLETE LOSER!” Gilda roared.

“YOU FILTHY, FEATHERY CREATURES!” Rarity cried.

“YOU WOULDN’T KNOW TALENT IF IT CAME UP AND BIT YOU ON THE NOSE!” Twilight screeched.

“TRIXIE IS BETTER THAN YOU IN EVERY WAY POSSIBLE AND YOU KNOW IT!” Trixie bellowed.

“CUPCAKES, CUPCAKES, CUPCAKES!” Pinkie sang loudly.

The Royal Ruffians all paused and slowly turned to watch the chaos ensuing on the Magical Misfits side. They were all dumbstruck by what they were seeing. It was the complete opposite of what was going on with their side. There was no harmony, no unity, no teamwork, no nothing. Deep down, nearly every member on the Royal Ruffians started to feel bad for Twilight, since she was technically the leader, but they knew they couldn’t do anything to help her. Even Discord looked a bit shocked, if not a little happy, at the chaos that was going on.

Rarity: *covered with feathers and shaking like a leaf* So…feathery…so…nasty…make it stop…

Gilda: *holding up her fists, which had a pumpkin smashed in each one* POUNDING TIME!

Trixie: *already covered in dirt and sweat and looking incredibly angry* Twilight…must…die!

“Shoot, this ain’t good, Derpy,” Apple Bloom muttered, watching what was happening to her team and shaking her head in dismay, “We may lose again if we don’t do somethin’!” She was doing quite well with her applebucking, even though she was nowhere as fast and powerful enough to do as well as her big sister. Derpy was also accidentally flying into the trees a few times and missing picking up some apples. Things were seriously a mess.

“What can we do, Apple Bloom?” Derpy cried, shooting an apple like a basketball towards the barrel and missing it by a good three feet, “Aw, nuts! Was that an air-apple?”

“Ah ain’t lookin’ like a fool in front of mah big sister!” Apple Bloom growled, her eyes lightning up as she leaped up onto her hind legs and did a karate move, “It’s time to put it into overdrive, Derpy! Ah refuse to lose this!” Then, something took over Apple Bloom as she started slamming her back legs into the rest of the apple trees with incredible force, easily knocking down the rest of the apples without much hindrance. Derpy, motivated by Apple Bloom’s passion, tried to focus her eyes on the task at hand (despite this making her look cross-eyed) with picking up the remaining apples.

Over with the Royal Ruffians, Applejack and Rainbow Dash had just finished collecting all the apples, but as they were wheeling the barrel back to home base, one of the apples flew out of the top and seemed to be ticking. Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked at it curiously, then screamed as it suddenly exploded, causing both the cowgirl and the Pegasus to go flying. When they crashed into one of the now-bare apple trees, both were covered with soot and both looked to be in some pain.

“Ooh, sorry, did I forget to mention that I booby-trapped some of the food?” Discord smirked, “I honestly can’t remember which ones I did, though; guess you’ll have to wing it!”

Applejack: *growling with a black face and a charred hat* Ah…hate…Discord.

“Ahright, all done!” Apple Bloom said, wheeling up her barrel of apples to the finish line with Derpy and glancing back at the rest of her team, “Hey, Discord, can ah go help them? Ah finished mah own task, and they really need help!”

“Hmm…well, there’s no rules that say you can’t…so, why not?” Discord grinned, “Have at it, Apple Bloom! I think they need all the help they can get.”

“Sweet!” Apple Bloom grinned, taking off towards Twilight and Trixie first.

The two unicorns were still fighting with each other and making more of a mess than bothering to harvest the vegetables. However, when Trixie pulled out a potato and was about to shove it onto Twilight’s horn, the spud ended up exploding. Twilight managed to shield her face and duck down to avoid most of the damage, but Trixie went flying.

“Trixie!” Twilight gasped, quickly taking off and racing after the blue unicorn as Apple Bloom charged in from behind and started to properly harvest the veggies. Trixie’s face, much like Applejack’s, had gotten the full force of the blast, but since she was nowhere as strong or tough as the cowgirl, she felt it a lot worse. Just as the pained unicorn was about to land on a pile on a pile of jagged boulders that were near the beach, Twilight leaped up and caught Trixie on her back.

“NICE CATCH!” Discord commented, “I ALMOST WANT TO SAY THAT THAT WAS A TOUCHDOWN, EVEN THOUGH I HAVE NO IDEA WHY…MIGHT BE FROM SOMETHING I SAW ON MY MINI-TV.”

“Don’t worry, Trixie, I got you,” Twilight whispered, gently easing the unicorn off her back and starting to clean her face and her body, “Are you alright? Can you move or talk?” At first, Trixie just moaned and didn’t make any movements. Then, just as Apple Bloom finished harvesting the vegetables from the garden, Trixie opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was the same purple eyes of Twilight Sparkle.

“Twilight…Sparkle?” Trixie groaned, blinking and gently using her hooves to wipe her eyes, “What just happened? Why are we…what did you…HOW DARE YOU!” At that moment, the unicorn angrily got up and pushed Twilight away from her.

“I just saved you, Trixie!” Twilight snapped, “You were about to land on those rocks over there, and it would not have been pretty. Can’t you at least thank someone who helped you?”

“YOU MADE TRIXIE HARVEST THAT POTATO ON PURPOSE BECAUSE YOU KNEW IT WOULD EXPLODE IN HER FACE!” Trixie accused, putting her nose in the air and stomping off.

“Why you selfish, ungrateful, obnoxious…UGH!” Twilight growled, getting back up from Trixie’s shove and stomping after the unicorn. Even though they were both shocked and very surprised to find their task already completed by Apple Bloom, who had already delivered them back to home base and had headed towards Gilda and Scootaloo, they still weren’t happy with each other.

Twilight: Can you BELIEVE her? No gratitude whatsoever, and then she up and accuses me of somehow sabotaging her? Seriously? *she crosses her arms and frowns* Trixie is a piece of work!

Trixie: Can you BELIEVE her? That inferior little unicorn dared to hurt Trixie just because she knew that Trixie was right and she was wrong! *she crosses her arms and scowls* Twilight Sparkle is pathetic!

“Okay, sister, I think we got them…all?” Luna said, widening her eyes as she looked at the carrot that Celestia was just putting away, “SISTER, WATCH OUT!”

“What is it?!?!” Celestia cried, but it was too late. The carrot exploded, and a rush of liquid cotton candy was blasted right into Celestia’s face. In no time, the alicorn princess was twitching and shaking in horror as she was covered in the sticky substance. Luna trotted over and gave her a little lick, and couldn’t help but smile.

“You taste pretty good, sis,” she giggled.

Celestia: *still completely pink from the explosion* Discord…TO THE MOON WITH YOU!

“Ah, yes, this is the biggest pumpkin in the patch!” Zecora finally said, smiling and patting a very big pumpkin, “The sizes of all the others simply do not match. Spike, let just make haste! We haven’t a moment to waste!”

“Uh…right, Zecora, whatever you say…” Spike muttered, walking over and starting to roll the pumpkin along back to home base. However, as he did, his tail accidentally hit a stem on another pumpkin, which caused it to start beeping. Slowly, Zecora and Spike looked at the pumpkin, then both of them screamed as the pumpkin exploded and sent the zebra, the dragon, and their huge pumpkin all flying towards home base.

“MOVE NOW AND RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!” Zecora screamed, “GET IN THE WAY OF A BIG PUMPKIN AND YOU WILL SURELY DIE!”

Spike: *covered in pumpkin juice and not looking very happy* What’s with evil dudes and explosions? Seriously! Can’t Discord just give us a break? I swear, if those cupcakes explode…

“Gilda, Scootaloo, break it up!” Apple Bloom snapped, stepping between the two and glaring at them, “We’re not outta this, but we need to work together! Gilda, start liftin’ up each pumpkin and seein’ which one seems heaviest. Scootaloo, while Gilda does that, you circle the other pumpkins and try to find the one with the biggest width. We’ll put two and two together and find the biggest in no time!”

“Humph…fine, whatever,” Gilda said again, starting to weightlift every pumpkin that she could, tossing the light ones aside and putting the heavier ones to the side. Scootaloo gave Apple Bloom a grateful hug, then started to circle and eyeball the pumpkins that Gilda set down, sizing them up and making educated guesses on which ones seemed biggest.

“IT’S THIS ONE!” Gilda and Scootaloo yelled at the same time, pointing to a very big pumpkin.

“Great! Gilda, please carry it back to home base,” Apple Bloom asked politely, “Scootaloo, please try and go calm down Twilight and Trixie.”

“You got it, Apple Bloom!” Scootaloo smiled, trotting back to where Twilight and Trixie were while Gilda idly carried the large pumpkin back to their platform.

Scootaloo: Apple Bloom is amazing! It’s no wonder that she’s the leader of us Cutie Mark Crusaders. She might be a cowgirl, but she’s pretty smart. *she grins* Not smarter than Rainbow Dash, of course, but very smart nonetheless! I’m really glad that she’s on my team.

“Um, Sweetie Belle, do you have all the eggs?” Fluttershy asked, smiling and already toting three full jars of milk on her back.

“Yep, sure do!” Sweetie Belle smiled, carrying a basket of eggs on her back, “One of the chickens in there gave me a bit of trouble, but I got a full basket of eggs! Let’s hurry back!” The two girls nodded and started carefully carrying their loads back. No one noticed that Sweetie Belle’s basket seemed to not be as full as it should be.

Sweetie Belle: This win is in the bag! Did you all see the chaos on the other team? We’re gonna get two in a row! I hope my sister doesn’t get voted off for being…a chicken! *she laughs at her pun*

“Rarity, calm down, it’s ahright!” Apple Bloom called out, leaping into the chicken coop and finding Rarity shuddering in the corner, “They’re just little chickens; they can’t hurt you. They squawk and flap their little wings a lot, but they’re harmless. Here, ah’ll soothe the chickens, and you gather the eggs and put them in the basket, okay?”

“Okay…just keep those feathery brutes away from me!” Rarity whimpered, timidly standing behind Apple Bloom as the little filly used her knowledge of chickens to start calming the clucking hens. One by one, each chicken was soon calmed and Apple Bloom managed to get them off their eggs, to which Rarity then got a basket and gingerly inserted the eggs into it. It took a minute, but not a single egg got broken and Rarity no longer got attacked by an annoyed hen.

“Okay, looks like ya’ll got the entire coop cleaned up with eggs!” Apple Bloom smiled, nodding to Rarity, “Ya’ll go and check on Cheerilee with her milk and then head back to home base as carefully as ya’ll can, ahright?”

“Yes, of course,” Rarity nodded, “Thank you, Apple Bloom…you’re just like your big sister.” Since Rarity meant that as a compliment, Apple Bloom blushed as she exited the coop with Rarity right behind. Cheerilee, being the gentle and caring pony she was, had managed to milk her cow without any problems and had been worried about Rarity. When she saw that the white pony had all her eggs, she smiled and started escorting her back to the starting line.

Cheerilee: I couldn’t be prouder of Apple Bloom. She really does have the leadership skills that her big sister has. It makes a teacher proud to see her student excelling…but I fear it might be too late.

“Diamond Tiara, the cupcakes are all done!” Silver Spoon grinned, putting an oven mitt in her mouth as she pulled a cupcake tray out of the oven and set them on the table.

“Like, great work, Silver Spoon,” Diamond Tiara smiled, “We, like, totally have this in control; the win is all ours and we’re, like, so totally awesome.”

“Yeah, and we really make a great team,” Silver Spoon giggled, giving Diamond Tiara a little hug as she waited for the cupcakes to cool so she could carry them back, “Uh…Diamond Tiara? Do you hear some kind of tickling sound?”

“Ticking sound? Like, what do you mean, Silver Spoon?” Diamond Tiara asked, raising an eyebrow. However, upon listening closer, the little filly indeed heard some soft tickling sounds, and they were coming from the fresh pan of cupcakes.

“Uh-oh…” Silver Spoon whimpered, quickly closing her eyes. A moment later, the tray of cupcakes exploded into a cloud of sprinkles, blasting both Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon back and nearly causing them to be hurled into the oven. Both girls screamed in fright as Discord laughed his head off and Spike marked down that he had been right with his prediction.

Diamond Tiara: *shrieking and thrashing around* THERE’S, LIKE, TOO MANY SPRINKLES LODGED INTO MY MANE! GET THEM OUT, GET THEM OUT!

“Pinkie Pie! How’re yer cupcakes goin’?” Apple Bloom asked, trotting up to Pinkie’s kitchen to see how the pink pony was doing. To her surprise, four trays of beautiful cupcakes were sitting on the countertop, perfectly cooled. Pinkie Pie herself was busy humming and wiggling her tush excitedly as she stared into the oven, apparently making something else.

“Hmm? Oh, hi there, Apple Bloom!” Pinkie giggled, “I finished the cupcakes a long time ago, but then I decided to make some muffins, since Derpy really likes them for some reason.”

“Pinkie! We need ya’ll to deliver those cupcakes back to home base!” Apple Bloom demanded, “We’re still doin’ a challenge here, and we ain’t out of it! Do the muffins later!”

“Oh, right…tee-hee, I forgot about that,” Pinkie laughed, bouncing over and tossing all four trays of cupcakes up into the air and letting them all land perfectly on top of each other on top of her head. Then, the carefree pony happily began bouncing back towards home base, the tower of cupcakes on her head never moving an inch, as though they were somehow locked in place. Apple Bloom just slapped her forehead with a hoof and rolled her eyes as she followed right behind her.

Apple Bloom: *wiping sweat off her forehead and sighing* Ah did all ah could to try and pull this team back from certain defeat…ah fear that it was all for naught, though…ah doubt we pulled this off.

“And it seems like…the Royal Ruffians have gotten their entire harvest back first!” Discord announced, teleporting in front of both teams and putting his hands on his hips, “So close, Magical Misfits, but so very far away.”

“They STILL beat us, despite all that exploding food?” Trixie snapped, angrily looking over at Twilight, “We would’ve won…if not for SOME pony sabotaging her teammate! You are SO out of here!”

“Hang on, hang on, this isn’t over,” Discord went on, quickly interjecting before Twilight could retort to Trixie’s accusations, “I still have to make sure that the required number of food is here, since there’s specifics that I asked for. Let’s see if everything matches; I’ll start with the Magical Misfits.”

Discord slowly floated between the five different sections of food that the Magical Misfits, snapping his fingers as a clipboard appeared along with a quill. He started to mark things off as he observed the quantities of the food. He muttered to himself as he looked through the barrel of apples, the pile of vegetables, the large pumpkin, the basket of eggs and the three quarts of milk, and the trays of cupcakes. After about three minutes of observing and making notes, Discord smiled and looked over at the Magical Misfits.

“Congratulations on getting everything that you needed to,” he said, “I required a minimum of 50 apples, and you got every single one; great apple-collecting on Apple Bloom and Derpy Hooves’ part. I required a minimum of 50 non-destroyed vegetables; shockingly, despite our two favorite unicorns’ catfight, you managed to get 55 non-destroyed vegetables. Once more, we should praise Apple Bloom for that. I required the largest pumpkin in the patch, and you managed to find it, so great work by Gilda, Scootaloo, and most of all Apple Bloom. I required three full quarts of milk and a basket with 30 chicken eggs in perfect condition; you got all of it done perfectly, which thanks goes to Cheerilee and Apple Bloom. And, I only required two traps of cupcakes, but you gave me four, which is quite a treat, so Pinkie came through in the clutch.”

“Oh no, my muffins!” Pinkie cried, quickly trotting away and heading back towards the small kitchen.

“Okay…as I was saying…the Magical Misfits got everything that they needed, but they finished behind the Royal Ruffians,” Discord went on, “So, that means that, if the Ruffians don’t have everything that I asked for, they’ll get the win! Let’s just see, shall we?”

Discord floated back over and started going through the Royal Ruffians’ group of food and making notes on his clipboard once more. All 19 players (excluding Pinkie) held their breath and waited to see what the results would be. The Ruffians were sure that they had won, since, aside from an exploding fruit or vegetable here or there, they had obviously gotten everything they needed. There wasn’t really a doubt in their minds that this was their second straight win. A moment later, Discord smirked and finished up his analysis before floating up and facing down both teams.

“Well, we have ourselves a winning team!” he announced, “After going through the assortment of foods, I’m pleased to announce that…the Magical Misfits win!”

“WHAT?!?!” the entire Royal Ruffians team cried out, “THAT’S IMPOSSIBLE!” The Magical Misfits were simply left stunned and shocked and in disbelief.

“You got more than enough apples, vegetables, and cupcakes,” Discord explained, “You got the right size pumpkin, and you got three quarts of milk, too. However…you only have 29 chicken eggs in your basket, which is one less than I wanted. So, by default, the Magical Misfits win, since THEY got a perfect quantity of each item.”

“But…but…but…WHAT?!?!” Rainbow Dash cried, completely dumbfounded, “Okay, WHO was in charge of the chicken eggs?” Slowly, the entire team looked down at Sweetie Belle, who looked beyond terrified and scared at what she had done.

“Sweetie Belle…didn’t ya’ll get 30 eggs?” Applejack asked slowly, trying to hold her temper in check.

“Um…yes, I was sure I did!” Sweetie Belle whimpered, “But…uh…well, now that you mention it…one of the chickens DID jump at me and make me leap away…and, um, I thought I heard the sound of something cracking, but…I thought it was just me stepping on the straw inside the chicken coop.”

“When, in reality, you broke one of the eggs you were carrying in the basket by having it fly out and smash onto the chicken coop floor,” Spike finished for her.

“Er…yeah…I’m really sorry,” Sweetie Belle gulped, trying to make herself look as small as possible.

“The irony here is that Rarity was beyond scared of those chickens, and yet SHE managed to get all the eggs,” Discord mocked, adding insult to injury, “Looks like the big sister trumped the little sister.”

“Actually, Discord, that’s not true,” Twilight called out, “It’s more like the little sister beat the big sister at her own game. You see, if it wasn’t for Apple Bloom giving us hope and helping us all out, we would’ve been dead in the water. She really has her big sister’s helpfulness, stubbornness, and dedication in her heart, and it really showed today. We couldn’t have won without her.”

“I have to admit…she’s a tiny little squirt, but she really pulled through for us,” Gilda smirked, lifting up Apple Bloom and hefting her high over her head, “So, just for today, let’s celebrate our first victory, shall we? Three cheers for this squirt!”

“HURRAY FOR APPLE BLOOM!” the Magical Misfits cheered, all joining Gilda in playfully throwing their filly teammate up and down in their hoofs or hands, while Apple Bloom was left blushing and giggling. Over on the other side, the Ruffians were left dejected and humiliated at being beat by a filly.

Apple Bloom: *giggling* Ah totally beat mah big sister! Ah hope she’s not too angry; she doesn’t really like to lose, much like Rainbow Dash. But, it still feels good to be a hero for mah team right now.

Applejack: *slowly removing her hat and sighing* Ah lost to mah little sis…ah never thought ah’d see the day… *she smiles at the camera* …ah’m highly annoyed, but ah’m also very proud of her.

“As your reward for winning, Magical Misfits, you not only are safe from the ceremony tonight, but you get to keep all the food you harvested!” Discord announced.

“Sweet! Now that’s what I’m talking about!” Scootaloo grinned, “This will help us survive Nightmare Moon’s food at least for a week, I’d say.”

“WHO WANTS MUFFINS?” Pinkie suddenly called out, carrying a tray of fresh muffins on her head as she suddenly reappeared in the group without anyone having noticed. The eight other campers looked at one another, then laughed and helped themselves to a muffin. Derpy looked like she was in a trance as she took hers.

“Muffins…hehe…muffins…” she whispered, holding her muffin like it was some kind of idol.

Derpy: *now wearing her muffin as a hat* All of you worship the muffins! You cannot resist the muffins! The muffins will lead us on the path of righteous! All hail the muffins! I’m the muffin queen!

“Royal Ruffians, I’m sorry, but your food is all going bye-bye!” Discord snickered, snapping his fingers and making all the food that the Ruffians had worked hard to get vanish, “Oh yeah, and one of you has to be voted out tonight as well. See you there!”

The draconequus laughed and vanished while the Magical Misfits cheerfully began taking their hard-earned food back to their cabin. The Royal Ruffians were beyond annoyed at letting a win slip away, but were now charged with facing their first elimination ceremony. They slowly began trudging back towards camp; they knew they had a long night ahead of them.

Diamond Tiara: Like, this is SO not cool! We did NOT deserve to lose that challenge! Somepony has to pay for this, and I know perfectly well who it’s gonna be! *she crosses her arms and scowls*

Rainbow Dash: We lost by ONE chicken egg? Are you kidding me? I lost to Gilda AGAIN? *she growls* I REALLY hate losing; I’m gonna lose a lot of sleep over this, and I hate losing sleep, too!

Spike: You can’t really blame Sweetie Belle, since chickens are quite evil little creatures. Um, well, I don’t really think so…but, if my darling Rarity doesn’t like them, then neither do I!

After a dinner filled with black beans and black mashed potatoes, the Royal Ruffians headed for the bonfire ceremony while the Magical Misfits headed for their cabin. Discord was already waiting for the campers at the raging bonfire, snoozing over the top of the flames in his hammock. When Celestia yelled at him and woke him up, the draconequus proceeded to make a bucket of water appear over the princess’ head and once more drench her.

“That’s for waking me up from my beauty sleep, Celestia,” Discord sniffed, scratching his arms as he reappeared on the ground, “That bonfire is so very relaxing; it was my warming my backside!”

“I hate you, Discord,” Celestia snarled, having Luna remove the bucket from her head.

“Well, anyway, this is your first time here, so let me explain how this goes,” Discord went on, “One by one, each of you will go into the confessional and take one of the ballots that are there. You will use the quill to write down the name of the person you want to have voted off. Once I read the results and a majority is reached, the eliminated camper must walk down the Dock of Shame and board the Boat of Losers, where they will be taken away, and they cannot ever, ever, EVER come back to camp!”

“Do you REALLY need to read our votes out loud?” Spike asked, “That seems really mean.”

“I don’t get paid to be nice,” Discord smirked, “So, if there’s no more worthy questions that I should pay attention to, let’s get right to it! Going in alphabetical order, Applejack, you go ahead and go first.”

Rainbow Dash: *shows the camera that she voted for Sweetie Belle* You lost us the challenge, kid. I have nothing against you, but you have to pay the price. *she puts the ballot in the box*

Silver Spoon: *shows the camera that she voted for Sweetie Belle* Sorry, blank flank, but losing us the challenge wasn’t very nice! Diamond Tiara was very angry. *she puts the ballot in the box*

Spike: *shows the camera that he voted for Diamond Tiara* Personally, I like Sweetie Belle more than you, and you’re just a mean filly! You don’t deserve to be here! *he puts the ballot in the box*

Sweetie Belle: *shows the camera that she voted for Diamond Tiara* I hope they realize that Diamond Tiara is a lot more useless than I am. I don’t want to go home! *she puts the ballot in the box*

“You all have made your decisions,” Discord said, yawning, “Once the votes are read, the decision is FINAL, and that camper will be sent down the Dock of Shame at once. I will now read the votes.” He snapped his fingers and got out his pretend reading glasses, putting them on as he then snapped his fingers once more and the ballot box appeared in front of him. The Royal Ruffians all waited patiently, yet nervously, as the draconequus removed the top of the ballot box and reached for the first ballot.

“First vote…Sweetie Belle,” Discord said, showing the campers the first ballot with Sweetie’s name on it.

“Second vote…Diamond Tiara. That’s one vote Sweetie Belle, one vote Diamond Tiara.”

“Third vote…Sweetie Belle. That’s two votes Sweetie Belle, one vote Diamond Tiara.”

“Fourth vote…Diamond Tiara. That’s two votes Sweetie Belle, two votes Diamond Tiara.”

“Fifth vote…Sweetie Belle. That’s three votes Sweetie Belle, two votes Diamond Tiara.”

“Sixth vote…Sweetie Belle. That’s four votes Sweetie Belle, two votes Diamond Tiara.”

“Seventh vote…Sweetie Belle. That’s five votes Sweetie Belle, two votes Diamond Tiara.”

“Second loser of Total Magic Pony Island…” Discord announced, slowly flipping over the eighth and deciding ballot, “…Sweetie Belle. Sorry, little filly, but you’re eliminated. It’s time for you to go.”

“W-w-what? N-no…no…not me…” Sweetie Belle sniffed, slowly hanging her head as she got off her seat and glared back at her former team, “Fine…if that’s the way it is…fine! I don’t need a million bits! I…I don’t need ANY of you! I hope my big sister kicks all of your flanks!” With that, Sweetie Belle turned and ran off towards the Dock of Shame, crying her eyes out, leaving an uncomfortable silence in her wake.

“Like, who else DARED vote for me?” Diamond Tiara demanded, “It was obvious that blank flank voted for me, but who was the second person?”

“It was ME!” Spike declared, glaring at Diamond Tiara, “Sweetie Belle may have lost us the challenge, but you’re nothing but a bully; I’d rather have Sweetie Belle here over you.”

“Ooh, you will pay, dragon boy,” Diamond Tiara sniffed, putting her nose in the air and slowly trotting off towards the cabins, “Come, Silver Spoon; we’re going to bed.”

“Um, yes, Diamond Tiara…coming!” Silver Spoon gulped, racing after her and still leaving an awkward silence behind her.

Applejack: Ah feel really guilty and all, but…well, it was the right decision. She lost us the challenge, so…she deserved to go…right?

Zecora: *shaking her head* Sweetie Belle made a bad mistake; eliminating her was the choice we had to make. It was sad to see her go; hopefully this will not be such a bad blow.

Sweetie Belle whimpered as she sat on the edge of the Dock of Shame, her head hanging low as she stared at the dark, calm waters below her. She knew that she was gonna be eliminated, but it didn’t make it hurt any less. The little filly felt like she had let her team down, her Crusader friends down, and her big sister down. She deserved to go home on the Boat of Losers, since that’s what she was: a loser.

“Hey…no crying, you hear me?” a voice called out from somewhere in front of Sweetie Belle. The filly blinked, then rubbed her nose as she lifted her head to see who had called her. The Boat of Losers had pulled up without her even noticing, but on it was Rarity, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom. All three were smiling softly at the little white filly.

“Y-you guys…why are you…you shouldn’t be seeing me like this,” Sweetie Belle sighed, shaking her head and turning away, “I’m a loser…I would’ve rather have left without you three knowing…”

“And if you had, you would’ve been punished upon getting back home,” Rarity said, leaping off the boat and hugging her little sister, “Do you really think your big sister wanted to see you go without saying goodbye? You know she loves you.”

“And we love ya too, Sweetie!” Apple Bloom said, leaping off the boat as well and nuzzling Sweetie Belle’s left side, “We’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and we’ll always be friends, no matter what!”

“And even if we all get eliminated, we’ll always be winners in my book,” Scootaloo added, also leaping off the boat and nuzzling Sweetie Belle’s right side, “We’re best friends until the end, Sweetie Belle. Now, give us a smile.”

Sweetie Belle’s eyes continued to glisten as she looked up at her big sister, and then at her two best friends. She nearly broke down crying again, but she wanted to make the three most important ponies in her life happy, so she forced herself to smile. Then, she nuzzled her face into her sister’s side and wrapped her front hooves around Apple Bloom and Scootaloo.

“I love you all so much…good luck the rest of the way…go for it, big sister…Scootaloo…Apple Bloom,” Sweetie Belle sobbed, “I’ll be watching you back home…I promise! I’ll always be with you.”

“As we’ll always be with you, Sweetie,” Rarity said, kissing the top of Sweetie Belle’s head and closing her eyes as the foursome stayed huddled in a tight, loving embrace that lasted for a long, long time. Discord was once more floating silently overhead while watching the show, snacking on some popcorn and wincing as he ate an un-popped kernel.

“And that wraps up another episode of my wonderful little show,” Discord announced as the cameras zoomed in on him, “Another sappy little ending, all lovey-dovey and whatnot, but that’s probably very good for ratings, so I’ll let them do what they want. Now, the teams are down to just nine campers each. Who will take the edge in the next challenge? Will the other two Cutie Mark Crusaders continue to prove their worth? Can Gilda and Trixie stay in their team’s good graces? Will Diamond Tiara ever stop being a brat? Find out these answers next time, right here, on Total…Magic…Pony…Island! Good night, Equestria!”