Episode 1: Disharmony Is Magic (Part 1)

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Discord snoozed on top of a swaying palm tree on the beach of the island. The spirit of disharmony had a big day ahead of him, and he needed his rest to make sure he was ready. Then again, he didn’t really require sleep at all, but he thought sleeping on top of a tree made himself look cool, so he went ahead with his plan. Regardless of how much sleep he required, he was prepared for a lot of wicked fun once the day would begin. Soon, Celestia’s sun appeared over the mountains, and Discord opened his eyes.

“Must Celestia always ruin my beauty sleep?” Discord grumbled, stretching and throwing a glance of irritation towards the golden sun in the far distance, “You do this on purpose to Equestria, Celestia! Don’t try to hide that fact!” A moment later, after randomly proclaiming how he’d do a much better job at controlling Equestria than the two princesses, Discord flew down from his tree and floated over towards a nearby dock.

“Well, enough about me and my constant needs; the show must go on!” he smirked, checking an imaginary watch on his right wrist and pretending to look bored, “And the show should be starting at any minute, too.”

The island that Discord currently inhabited was an interesting one indeed. There were gaudy mountains in the far north, overlooked by a vast forest compiled of a bunch of random trees that probably shouldn’t have been there. The foreground was compiled of several ugly-looking cabins, each one looking like they had been built upside down. The entire island itself was surrounded by calm waters that seemed to stretch off into the vast beyond. A small, littered beach stretched around the front of the island, while the rickety dock Discord was floating over seemed to be built for a small boat.

Scattered around the island were trembling camera-ponies, each one having a camera attached to their heads by way of special hats that Discord fashioned up. All the ponies looked very scared, but they quickly put on fake grins of delight whenever Discord glanced at them. They had all been forced to come to the island against their will to record every single thing that went on from now until Discord’s game ended. The first part of Discord’s plan was about to come to fruition, too, as the draconequus spied a small steamboat chugging towards the dock.

“Ah, and it begins,” Discord smirked, turning to the nearest camera and striking a cool pose, “For all of you Equestrians out there who are wondering in the world is going on, it shall all be explained in due time. For now, just sit back and enjoy; I know I’m going to.”

“Let’s see…the first one to come is…wow, shocker,” Discord continued, rolling his eyes as the first boat pulled up next to the dock and the passenger trotted into view, “I suppose she just couldn’t be late. Being the neat freak she is, she just had to be first and on time. Hello, Twilight Sparkle.”

“DISCORD?!?!” Twilight gasped, the purple unicorn freezing up in shock as she stepped off her boat and set all four hooves down on the dock, “W-w-what’s going on here?!?! What’s the meaning of this?!?!”

“For such a smarty-pants, you sure can be clueless and naïve sometimes,” Discord mocked, wrapping an arm around the horrified unicorn and forcefully pulling her over towards the other side of the dock, “All shall be explained after the others arrive. In the meantime, you wait over here like a good little girl, okay?”

“Unhand me, you creep!” Twilight snapped, shaking off Discord and narrowing her eyes as she pointed her horn up at him, “I don’t know what in Equestria you think you’re doing, and I don’t know how you escaped your prison a second time, but you’re going right back in!”

“Oh my goodness…I’m SO scared!” Discord cried, putting his clawed hands over his eyes and feigning horror, “Twilight, PLEASE have mercy! Poor old Discord just can’t stand up to your BRILLIANT powers!”

“You mock that which already defeated you once,” Twilight frowned, “I may not have all the elements of harmony with me right now, but until then…until then…what’s going on? W-why can’t I use my magic?” Twilight grunted and clenched her teeth, trying her hardest to use a spell, but her horn wouldn’t cooperate. She bucked her head forwards and backwards, as though thrusting her horn in and out of something; this seemed to highly amuse Discord as he watched her struggle, a big grin on his face.

“Oh dear…poor, poor Twilight Sparkle,” Discord mockingly whimpered, reappearing behind Twilight and giving the exhausted pony a pat on the head, “It seems that your magic has gone kaput…such a pity when that happens, no?”

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?!?!” Twilight screamed, her eyes ablaze as she glowered at Discord. She had already had her horn removed by him once, not to mention nearly having lost her friends, too. Not being able to use her magic was not sitting well with the unicorn.

“I do so hate repeating myself, despite how suave my voice is, but I shall reiterate what I already told you,” Discord smirked, hovering upside down in front of the angry Twilight and poking her nose with one of his claws, “Everything will be explained after the others get here. Until then, you sit there and look pretty. Oh, and do try to keep it down; your voice is liable to give someone a migraine.”

“A migraine will be the LEAST of your worries once I get through with you,” Twilight growled, but since her boat had already left and she was helpless without her friends and without her magic, she sat down on the dock and kept her eyes focused on Discord at all times. Satisfied that he had finally tamed Twilight, at least for the moment, Discord turned back around and faced the next boat that came chugging up a few minutes later.

“Now remember, class, the oddly-colored postcard said that we are here as guests of honor, so I want you all to be on your best behavior,” Cheerilee stated, looking over her five students who were sitting in front of her on the boat. Those students were Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon.

“Of course, Miss Cheerilee,” Sweetie Belle said politely, “But…um…why didn’t Twist, Snips and Snails get invited? Why was it just us?”

“That would be because those three little foals wouldn’t be good for ratings,” Discord said, smirking and hovering over the five classmates and teacher, “You six, however, are perfect torture candidates…um, I mean…you six are perfect torture candidates, yeah, I’ll just keep it like that. I can always edit that out later, should I need to.”

“EEEK! IT’S DISCORD!” Silver Spoon screamed, hiding behind Diamond Tiara and cowering there, “Miss Cheerilee, please don’t let him rain chocolate milk on us! It’ll ruin our manes!”

“Like, yeah, totally!” Diamond Tiara gasped, “I JUST got this new dye done, too! I totally cannot have my mane messed up!”

“Discord, out with it! What is the meaning of this?” Cheerilee demanded, quickly putting herself between her five terrified students and the draconequus, “I thought Twilight and her friends stopped you! How did you get out? Why did you make us come here?”

“All shall be explained soon, now go over there and wait next to Twilight,” Discord said, pointing towards the shocked unicorn. Twilight was curious as to who else Discord had invited, and upon seeing Cheerilee and five of her students, she was very confused and a bit scared. If Discord wanted to hurt some innocent fillies, he was eviler than she had expected.

“Listen, bub, once Rainbow Dash gets here, you’re gonna wish you had never been born!” Scootaloo snapped, standing on her back legs and shaking her clenched front hooves up at Discord, “She’ll kick your butt so hard that you won’t know what hit you!”

“Scootaloo, shush!” Apple Bloom whispered, quickly wrapping her tail around her friend’s big mouth and tugging her along after her teacher as they all huddled close to Twilight, “Twilight, what’s goin’ on here? Why is Discord doin’ this?”

“I wish I knew, Apple Bloom, I wish I knew,” Twilight muttered, stepping next to Cheerilee as both older ponies tried blocking the five fillies from Discord. The spirit of disharmony snickered as he watched their foolish attempts to stand up to him, even though he wasn’t doing anything wrong at the moment, but he didn’t bother torturing them anymore for the time being.

“Paranoid ponies, say hello to your old friend, Gilda!” Discord announced, pointing to the next boat as it came up to the dock a moment later. Stepping off was a griffon with a bored look on her face, but a deadly expression in her eyes. She took one look at the surroundings and tried to turn right back around and get back on her boat, but it had once more vanished as quickly as it had arrived.

“Yo, weird floating dude, what the heck is this nonsense?” Gilda snapped, using her wings and flying up to get into Discord’s face, “I got a postcard saying that I got invited to a cool place where all the cool people go. This is completely the opposite of what the postcard said, and I ain’t putting up with it.”

“Tough luck, girly,” Discord mused, grabbing Gilda idly by her neck and throwing her over his shoulder, “Now get over there and behave yourself.” A loud squawk later and Gilda landed flat on her beak in front of Twilight and the classroom ponies, all of whom didn’t seem too thrilled with seeing the griffon. Twilight already knew of Gilda’s attitude problems, and the classroom ponies just seemed rather put-off by Gilda’s appearance alone.

“I’m gonna crack that idiot’s skull!” Gilda screeched, getting back onto her feet a moment later and angrily whipping her head around to look at Discord, “Yo, jerk, you’d better start shaking, ‘cause I’m about to put my fist straight through you face!”

“Moving right along, everypony give a nice warm ovation to our resident shaman, Zecora!” Discord went on, completely ignoring Gilda’s angry threats and turning to the next boat. The mysterious zebra named Zecora cautiously stepped off her boat and gave Discord an emotionless expression.

“What is this place that feels full of dread?” Zecora asked, turning to look at the weird surroundings, “This is not at all what my postcard said!”

“No, indeed it did not, but that’s just a crying shame now, isn’t it?” Discord mocked, nudging the annoyed Zecora towards the others. Zecora gave Discord a dirty look, then trotted over to Twilight and the small group and bowed her head to them.

“Twilight Sparkle, a pleasure to see you,” the zebra said politely, “Do not tell me that you were tricked, too?”

“I’m afraid it looks that way, Zecora,” Twilight grumbled. Zecora already knew Apple Bloom and her Crusader friends, so she gave them a little nod of welcome, before exchanging words with Cheerilee as well. When she looked at Gilda, she looked mildly intrigued.

“You are a griffon, isn’t that right?” Zecora murmured, “It looks like you have been in many a fight.”

“More than you could count, zebra,” Gilda growled, making a fist and slowly flexing it in front of her face, “And if you know what’s good for you, you’ll keep your distance, or else another fight will be happening, too, and I never lose.” Zecora slowly took a step back, feeling more comfortable at Twilight’s side than near Gilda, as did most ponies or non-ponies, for that matter. Discord was grinning at Gilda’s attitude issues, obviously enjoying the waves she was making.

“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!” Scootaloo suddenly squealed, pointing a hoof towards the water, “Look who’s coming! It’s Rainbow Dash!”

“Hey, kid, don’t steal my thunder,” Discord frowned, glaring over at Scootaloo before turning to see that she was indeed right, “But…yes, it indeed is everyone’s favorite lazy flier, Rainbow Dash.”

Twilight smiled when she saw her friend’s boat approaching, feeling a lot better now that one of her five other closest friends had arrived. Rainbow Dash herself could’ve easily flown to shore, but instead was showing off by leaning over the front of the boat and posing as they approached the dock. However, upon opening her eyes and the first thing she saw being Discord, she immediately flew off her boat and got straight into Discord’s face.

“Discord! I should’ve known it was you!” the Pegasus growled, clenching her front hooves into fists and boxing at Discord’s face, “C’mon, put ‘em up, you coward! You broke free just to try and capture us again, didn’t you? Well, it won’t work this time! I’m gonna show you what happens when you mess with the greatest flier in all of Equestria!”

“Rainbow Dash…you’re so cool...” Scootaloo sighed, watching her idol threaten Discord. However, when she got a few strange looks from Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, she gulped and quickly changed her expression from dreamy to excited. “I mean…yeah, you tell him, Rainbow! Kick his butt! You’re the best!”

“Huh? Scootaloo? Is that you over there?” Rainbow Dash blinked, flying away from Discord to get a better look at who had been gathered so far, “Wow, it IS you! Hey there, Scoots! How ya doing? Wait a minute, how did you get…GILDA?!?! And Twilight, Zecora, and Cheerilee? ALL of you are here? What the hay?”

“Like, WE’RE here too, you know!” Diamond Tiara frowned, waving her hoof in Rainbow’s direction, “You can’t just, like, ignore us! We’re very important, you know. Isn’t that right, Silver Spoon?”

“Uh…if you say so, Diamond,” Silver Spoon muttered, clearly not thrilled with being a showoff.

“Oh, right…hi, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and…you two,” Rainbow Dash muttered, clearly not that interested as she was in Scootaloo, Twilight and Gilda, “Seriously, what ARE you doing here?”

“Get in line, Dash, and maybe we’ll find out,” Gilda muttered, flicking Dash on the nose and pushing her over Twilight. The griffon snickered as she watched the Pegasus yelp and toppled over the unicorn, who frowned and gave Gilda an angry look.

“I see you haven’t changed since we last parted ways,” Rainbow Dash growled, getting back up onto her hooves and glaring at her former best friend, “I was honestly really hoping that you had come to see the error of your ways…so much for that.”

“I was kinda hoping that you would’ve done the same, but yet it still seems you like these lame-o pony losers,” Gilda responded.

“THEY ARE NOT LAME LOSERS! THEY’RE MY FRIENDS AND I LOVE THEM!” Rainbow Dash roared, sticking her face into Gilda’s. Twilight gulped and quickly scooted back, Cheerilee and Zecora making sure to keep the fillies out of the crossfire as well.

“Kick her feathery butt, Rainbow!” Scootaloo cheered, who seemed to enjoy rooting for Rainbow Dash to kick anyone’s butt who happened to be annoying the Pegasus. As Gilda and Rainbow Dash stared each other down and got ready for a fight, Discord pouted when the next boat arrived.

“Darn, and here I wanted to see a good fight,” he whined, turning to look at the boat. Upon seeing who was on it, his expression immediately changed from annoyed to thrilled. “Ooh, on second thought, this might just be my lucky day after all! Everyone, you all remember Trixie, right?”

“That’s ‘the Great and Powerful’ Trixie, fool!” Trixie frowned, stepping off her boat and glaring up at Discord, “Get it right next time and Trixie won’t have to make you see the error of your foolish ways!”

“Yes, of course…o Great and Powerful Trixie!” Discord mocked, winking down at her and chuckling as he saw that she had decided to wear her hat and cape, “I see you’re dressed for success, no?”

“Trixie is ALWAYS dressed for success, and don’t you forget it,” Trixie sniffed, slowly turning her glance over to who was on the other side of the dock, “…what is this? Why are these OTHERS here? Trixie’s postcard specifically read that she was invited to perform on a resort island for a bunch of wealthy landowners. Are these simpletons perhaps going to be in the audience, too?”

“Nice to see you again too, Trixie,” Twilight sighed, rolling her eyes as she heard Rainbow Dash and everyone else groaning as well, “How have you been since our last…meeting?”

“How has Trixie been? How has Trixie been? Is THAT what you dared ask?” Trixie snarled, stomping over and shoving her face into Twilight’s, “For YOUR information, Twilight Sparkle, Trixie has been horrible since her humiliation in that wretched town of Ponyville! You ruined Trixie’s reputation and made her the laughingstock of all of Equestria! Did you not think Trixie would not be out for revenge?”

“Er…Trixie, I didn’t TRY to humiliate you, really!” Twilight gulped, always feeling a bit nervous when dealing with Trixie, for whatever reason, “It was an accident. If I hadn’t saved the town, what would’ve happened? You had your chance, but you couldn’t do it…what was I supposed to do?”

“Fool! Do not try to talk your way out of this! Trixie knows how little you think of her and how great you think you are!” Trixie snapped, “And since we are now together, Trixie can finally get her revenge!”

“Over my dead body!” Rainbow Dash growled, stepping in front of Twilight and nudging Trixie away, “You lay a single hoof on her and you’re dealing with ME, Trixie.”

“Ooh, the little Pegasus who got her flank handed to her by Trixie during her show,” Trixie smirked, “Back for round two? Trixie does enjoy teaching a lesson more than once, if need be.” She then tried to use her horn and humiliate Rainbow Dash like she did last time, but nothing happened. Rainbow Dash sat down on her rear and crossed her front forelegs, giving Trixie a smug look that clearly read “I’m waiting”. Trixie growled and tried again and again to cast a spell, but her horn wasn’t working.

“Trixie…my horn isn’t working, either,” Twilight sighed, “Somehow, I think our magic can’t work on this island. So, save your energy; you might need it if Discord tries anything.”

“WHAT?!?! RIDICULOUS! NOPONY CAN TAKE AWAY TRIXIE’S MAGIC!” Trixie screamed, reaching up and slapping her horn, “Work, darn you! Work! WORK, TRIXIE SAYS! TRIXIE ORDERS YOU TO WORK!” She screamed in frustration and started stroking her horn in such a way that once more got a perverted smirk out of Discord and a few blushes out of the females surrounding Trixie.

“Hmm…what’s that sound?” Discord pondered, putting a hand to his ear and tilting his head. Trixie stopped her sensual horn-rubbing and turned around, the rest of the ponies and non-ponies doing the same. A funky beat was filling the air, sounding like a mix of electro-pop and rap, and it was getting closer by the minute. A second later, the music exploded as the next boat pulled up on the dock.

“Hey, dudes, what’s up?” a unicorn laughed as she leaped off her boat, the music stopping a moment later as she did so, “Your resident DJ is in the house, ya dig? So, when’s the show starting? I’m anxious to lay down some groovy beats!”

“Ah, DJ PON-3, so nice to see you!” Discord grinned, hovering down and welcoming the glasses-wearing white unicorn.

“Um, dude, DJ PON-3 is my stage name,” the unicorn said, flashing her trademark grin, “If ya wouldn’t mind, could ya please call me Vinyl Scratch? That’s my real name, ya feel me?”

“Okay…Vinyl…uh, please just go stand over there with the others,” Discord stated, clearly not used to the weird way that the unicorn was talking, “The ‘show’ will start very soon, but until then, please just go over there and…yeah, just go now.”

“Groovy, weird flying dude,” Vinyl laughed, trotting over to join the confused others. She gave each of them a big grin that showed her teeth, tipping her head and making her crazy mane shake with each welcome. However, upon laying eyes on Twilight, she gasped and looked taken aback. “Whoa, dude! It’s you, Twilight Sparkle! Oh my Celestia, this is so freaking sweet! I’ve always wanted to meet ya!”

“Er…uh…I don’t think I even KNOW you, Vinyl,” Twilight said, clearly spooked and trying to push Trixie in front of her, “You, um, probably are referring to Trixie…she’s much more famous than me after all, heh.”

“Trixie thinks that she has enough popularity without…this one…thank you,” Trixie muttered, quickly re-trading spots with Twilight. The two unicorns kept trying to push the other one in front to face the grinning Vinyl Scratch, with Trixie finally winning out.

“Twilight, dude, ya know me!” Vinyl smiled, lowering her glasses slightly to reveal beautiful ruby eyes on the other side, “Remember when Rarity did her fashion gig? Well, I was the DJ for that! Don’t ya remember the killer beats I laid out for it?”

“Uh…oh! Wait, I think I DO remember that!” Twilight said, finally returning Vinyl’s smile, although not in the same creepy way, “Well, it’s nice to formally meet you, Vinyl Scratch. I’m, uh, Twilight Sparkle.”

“Believe me, I KNOW who you here!” Vinyl whispered, slowly moving a bit closer to Twilight, “I’ve been waiting for so long to finally get the chance to talk to you. Twilight Sparkle…I need you!”

“W-w-w-what?!?! Excuse me?!?!” Twilight gulped, her face turning pink as she once more tried to trade places with Trixie, but her hooves were too sweaty to grab the irritated azure unicorn.

“Yeah, totally! I need your voice, Twilight!” Vinyl went on, “You have the most BEAUTIFUL voice in all of Equestria, and I want ya to sing for me on my newest album, ya dig? I would be eternally grateful if ya decided to do it, after we’re off this island, of course.”

“Oh…that’s what you meant…heh, right, I totally knew that that’s what you meant!” Twilight laughed, receiving several sets of looks from those surrounding her that made her embarrassed. Still, her face was still flushed from the way that Vinyl had just spoken.

“While this is SO interesting, I’m afraid we must move on,” Discord interrupted, having watched everything while eating some popcorn, “The next boat is about to arrive, and I think we all might need to help this one.”

“Help? I don’t help any stupid ponies,” Gilda sniffed, crossing her arms and putting her beak in the air.

“You are a very rude young lady,” Cheerilee frowned, looking at Gilda with distain, “What did we ever do to you? You have no right to treat ponies so rudely just because you had a fight with Rainbow Dash.”

“Sorry, I don’t talk to lame-o ponies like you,” Gilda responded. This caused Cheerilee to look shocked, then hurt. When her students saw that their teacher had been hurt by Gilda’s comments, they were about to scream at her, but Rainbow Dash quickly gave them an expression that warned them not to.

“Everyone, say hello to your good friend…Fluttershy!” Discord yelled out, probably on purpose, as the next boat pulled up. Fluttershy was already timidly curled up in a corner in the middle of the boat, but as she nimbly walked towards the dock, Discord’s booming voice scared her to death. She tried to fly away, but Discord immediately caught her and carried her back to the island.

“Get your grubby paws off her, right now!” Rainbow Dash yelled, about to fly up and attack Discord. However, Discord didn’t do anything to harm Fluttershy, instead carrying the frightened Pegasus over to the group and setting her down in front of her fellow rainbow friend.

“R-R-R-Rainbow Dash! T-T-T-Twilight! W-w-w-w-what’s g-g-g-going on?” Fluttershy cried, quickly running between both of her friends and cowering there as she stared out at Discord with terrified eyes, “W-w-w-why is D-D-Discord out of his p-p-prison? A-a-a-are we g-g-g-gonna get hurt?”

“Not if we can help it, Fluttershy,” Twilight said softly, gently stroking her friend’s back with a hoof and trying to calm her, while Rainbow Dash did the same thing.

“You’re just as lame as the last time I saw you!” Gilda groaned, looking down at Fluttershy with a frown, “Seriously, Dash, you picked HER over ME?”

“And I’d do it a million times over, Gilda!” Rainbow Dash snapped, “And if you keep insulting my friends, you’re gonna wish you had NEVER met me! Apologize to Fluttershy, Gilda, and I mean right now; you just made her shake even worse!” Indeed, Fluttershy was now even more terrified, since Gilda hadn’t been too kind to her during the one and only time they met.

“Fine…I’m sorry you’re so pathetic, Lame-O-Shy!” Gilda mocked, cackling in amusement a moment later.

“THAT’S IT!” Rainbow Dash screamed, stretching her wings and violently tackling Gilda, “YOU’RE IN FOR IT NOW, GILDA! I’VE HAD IT WITH YOU!”

“Girls, wait, please don’t fight!” Cheerilee cried out, wincing as she watched the Pegasus and griffon brutally go at each other, “You could hurt somepony besides yourselves, and you’re scaring my students! Please, stop it! Twilight, can’t you do something?”

“I…I can’t,” Twilight sighed, “Without my magic, I’m pretty much…useless.”

“Indeed you are,” Trixie agreed.

“Your horn cannot use its magic, too,” Zecora said, glaring at Trixie, “Do not call out others for something that you also cannot do.” Trixie muttered to herself, but didn’t say another word.

Since magic couldn’t be used and no one was really brave enough to try and stop the fight, everyone watched in dismay as Rainbow Dash and Gilda violently fought each other, using kicks, punches, bites, pecks (in Gilda’s case), and every other trick in the book. It didn’t seem that either one had a real edge. Scootaloo really wanted to help Rainbow Dash, but Cheerilee wouldn’t let her. Discord had gone back to relaxing in his invisible hammock in the sky and eating popcorn in amusement while watching the action. Thankfully, the next boat was soon pulling up, and it was carrying the perfect person to perhaps break up the fight.

“Ah, perfect timing!” Discord laughed, floating down as he randomly tossed his bag of popcorn and had it land on Trixie’s hat, “Applejack, a pleasure to see you again.”

“Discord?!?! What in tarnation are YOU doin’ here?” Applejack snapped, narrowing her eyes and instantly leaping off her boat and onto the dock, “Ah should’a known that ah would never have been lucky enough to win a free trip to an apple festival on a tropical island. Ya slimy varmint, this was all yer doin’, wasn’t it?”

“Save your insults for later; I think you might want to help out with THAT,” Discord said, yawning in a bored way and pointing towards the fight that was still going on.

“Whoa, what the dilly? That’s Rainbow Dash! Dang it, and that’s that ruffian of a griffon!” Applejack gasped, lowering her hat and pawing at the dock as she glared at the fight, “Well, that just tears it! That griffon is gettin’ a poundin’, courtesy of Applejack! No one hurts Rainbow Dash!” With that, Applejack charged straight towards the two girls fighting without a care in the world other than rescuing her best friend from the rotten griffon.

“GO, BIG SIS, GO!” Apple Bloom cheered, clopping her hooves together as she watched her sister dive courageously straight into the fight. Applejack quickly separated Rainbow Dash from Gilda’s talons, then got the griffon in a tight headlock, using her back legs to pin the griffon’s wings to her sides so she couldn’t use them to fly or buck her off.

“Ah got ya now, you ornery fiend!” Applejack growled, nearly choking Gilda by how badly she was holding her neck, “How dare ya try and harm Rainbow Dash! Don’t ya ever learn? If ya lay one more talon on any of mah friends, ah won’t be responsible for whatever may happen to ya.”

“Get…off…me…you…stupid…pony!” Gilda gasped, thrashing and trying to get the powerful cowgirl pony off her, “I’m…gonna…kill you!”

“Applejack…let her go,” Rainbow Dash said, coughing a bit and expelling one of Gilda’s feathers from her throat, “She’s not worth it…I kinda picked the fight with her in the first place. She was being rude to everyone here, including Fluttershy, so I guess I finally snapped. Please don’t get yourself in trouble just for me, alright?”

“That right? Well…regardless, no one messes with mah friends and gets away unscathed,” Applejack frowned, releasing Gilda’s neck and leaping off her backside to join the rest of her friends, “Ya better watch yerself, griffon; anymore rudeness outta ya and you’ll be pushing up daises!”

“We’ll see about that, psycho pony,” Gilda snarled, rubbing her neck and giving Applejack a death glare, “And don’t think this is over, Dash; I’ll have it out with you yet, once we’re alone and without annoying distractions to hold us back!” Thankfully, before Rainbow Dash or Applejack could yell at Gilda for her insulting remarks again, Discord announced the arrival of the next boat.

“Ah, Rarity, how nice to see you…” Discord began, but couldn’t complete his sentence as the white unicorn on the next boat immediately screamed, but not because of seeing her former nemesis.

“First I’m forced to ride on a dingy piece of garbage that is called a boat, and now I have to walk onto a filthy dock?” Rarity cried, clearly distressed by this, “This is NOT what my postcard said AT ALL! What is the meaning of this? This is not a resort for fashion models in the slightest!”

“Thanks for pointing that out, Miss Obvious,” Discord said sarcastically, poking Rarity on the top of her head to finally get her attention, “But, if you don’t mind, you’re kinda holding up the boat. Please get off right now and…”

“DISCORD! YOU FIEND!” Rarity interrupted again, glaring up at the draconequus but still refusing to get onto the dock, “I should’ve KNOWN that this was your doing! Only someone as evil and twisted as you would torture a poor lady by giving her a dirty boat to ride on!”

“Oh, believe me, Rarity, I haven’t even gotten started,” Discord smirked, “Now, please get off the boat and stop being a drama queen; you’re wasting time.”

“Rarity, don’t bother wasting your breath,” Twilight called out from the group over on the opposite side of the dock, “The boat isn’t taking you back, and you can’t use magic on this island, for some reason. Just come over here before Discord tries anything with you.”

“T-Twilight?!?! W-w-what are you talking about?!?!” Rarity gasped, still not coming off the boat, “You cannot expect me to walk on this disgusting dock; it’s dirtier than Applejack after a day of her work!”

“Wow, thanks for that, Rarity,” Applejack frowned, obviously not amused. Finally losing his patience, Discord forcefully picked Rarity up and carried the screaming and pouting unicorn over to the group of ponies and two non-ponies. Even though Discord set Rarity down gently, the unicorn continued shrieking as though she was in deep pain.

“EW, EW, EW, EW, EW! I CANNOT STAY ON SUCH A PLACE!” Rarity pouted, “TAKE ME HOME AT ONCE!”

“How about you shut up or I’m letting Gilda use you as a punching bag?” Discord snapped, showing his angry side for once as he glared down at the pouty Rarity. The unicorn looked over at Gilda, who was grinning and cracking her knuckles in anticipation if Rarity should continue her nonsense.

“Um…now that I’ve been given a choice…I think I’d rather suffer on this filthy island and dock instead of having my body mutilated, thank you,” Rarity sniffed, timidly sitting her tush down on the dock and behaving herself, although visibly wincing as she apparently felt her butt getting dirty from simply sitting.

“That’s my sister alright,” Sweetie Belle chuckled, walking over and giving her pained sister a little hug. As Rarity tried calming down and thus realizing just who was surrounding her, the next boat pulled up almost just as quickly as the last one had left. The reason for this was most likely due to the person riding the second boat.

“Where you find Rarity, Spike is not far behind,” Discord announced, pointing to the little dragon who quickly leaped off the next boat, “Welcome to the island, little dragon.”

“Shut it, Discord!” Spike snapped, standing on his tiptoes and trying to get as tall as he could as he shook his tiny fist up at the spirit of disharmony, “I can hear Rarity’s cries from miles away! You’re gonna pay dearly if you did ANYTHING to her!”

“Oh, how lovely, Rarity’s knight in shining armor has arrived,” Discord yawned, paying Spike’s threats no mind at all as he slapped the dragon with his tail and sent him flying over to the group of onlookers, “As amused as I am, Rarity’s shrieking has given me a headache, so I don’t feel like dealing with you now.”

“HEY!” Spike screamed, smashing down hard on his face in front of Rarity a moment later, groaning in pain and weakly sitting up, “You’ll pay for that, Discord! You can’t just pick on…huh?” He had begun rubbing his nose and dusting himself off, but upon seeing Rarity sitting in front of him, he immediately bowed to her and started throwing out random and silly compliments to the pony.

“Is this dude for real?” Gilda asked, looking at Spike as though she was staring at the most pathetic thing in the entire universe.

“Indeed he is, Gilda, and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t insult him,” Twilight growled, “Spike is my own personal assistant, and he’s a darn good one. Not to mention he’s a lot nicer and courteous than YOU ever could be!”

“Twilight is correct,” Rarity sniffed, lifting up her butt and smiling sweetly at Spike, “Spike, sweetie, would you mind if I used you as my seat? This dock is awfully filthy and I really don’t like…”

“With pleasure, my dear!” Spike interrupted, instantly running behind Rarity and laying down on his stomach under her rump. With a little giggle, Rarity gently sat down on his back, making sure to avoid any spikes or rough parts on the dragon’s backside.

“Ah, MUCH better!” Rarity purred, wiggling her tush on Spike’s backside to get comfy, “Alright, I feel a lot better now.”

“There is so much wrong with what I’m seeing that I’m not even going to go into,” Discord chuckled, turning away from the weirdness and turning back to the dock, “Only four more ponies to go, and here comes the next one…uh-oh, heads up!”

“What’s wrong?” Twilight spoke up, before seeing for herself that the next boat was racing straight towards the dock with an intense amount of speed, “Whoa, what the heck? Take cover!”

“Take cover WHERE?” Vinyl asked, glancing at Twilight and then looking around the dock, “There’s nowhere to really run…besides, it’s heading towards Discord, not us.”

Indeed, the boat was zooming straight at Discord, but the rotten draconequus quickly snapped his fingers and vanished just before it made contact with the dock. Smashing straight into the wooden planks, the boat sent its lone passenger flying off the bow and far into the island itself. Twilight and the rest of the group watched, and then winced, as the Pegasus pony failed to open her wings in time and ended up smashing face-first into a tree.

“Ooh…THAT had to hurt,” Rainbow Dash laughed, but after getting glared at by Applejack, she gulped and quickly changed her tone, “Yes…looks very painful…I hope she’s alright.”

“Believe me, she’s just fine,” Discord said, reappearing right under Fluttershy a moment later, causing the Pegasus to scream and instantly leap on top of Twilight’s back, as though she was a lass jumping on top of a table away from a mouse.

“STOP scaring Fluttershy!” Twilight ordered, glaring at Discord and trying to calm down the shaking Pegasus on her back. Meanwhile, the bluish-grey Pegasus that had been violently expelled from the crashed boat and smashed into the tree had dislodged herself and was flapping over to the group as though nothing was wrong with her.

“Hi!” she cried happily, waving both of her front hooves down at the group of 16. The group, including Discord, stared back up at the grinning Pegasus. No one seemed to really know who she was, despite all of them thinking they had seen her somewhere before. The cute little Pegasus had yellow eyes that fused into orange, but what was creepiest about her eyes was that they were unaligned. She wasn’t cross-eyed; it was more like she was derp-eyed.

“Uh…oh my Celestia…are you alright?” Twilight gasped, horrified as she looked at the Pegasus.

“Yep, I’m just fine, thanks!” the Pegasus smiled, floating down to the ground and standing in front of the unnerved group, “Why do you ask?”

“Well…um, your eyes are…um…are you sure you’re alright?” Fluttershy asked meekly, always showing concern for others who might be hurt, not just wild animals.

“Oh, my eyes? Don’t worry, that’s just my condition,” the Pegasus laughed, “I’m Derpy Hooves! I’ve seen all of you before, too! I’m a mail-mare, you see.”

“Uh…okay then…um, pleasure to meet you…Derpy,” Cheerilee said, smiling and breaking the ice, being used to strange situations from all her years of teaching, “It’s a pleasure that you could come here…but I’m guessing you got a postcard that tricked you to come, right?”

“Actually, I HAVE a postcard to deliver to this very island!” Derpy explained, reaching into her mane and pulling out a small postcard with the island’s location on it, “It’s for you, Mr. Discord!” She handed it over to the spirit of chaos, who took it and eyed it with amusement.

“Uh-huh…ooh, goody, I get five bits off one of Applejack’s apple fritters,” Discord mused, glancing towards the cowgirl pony with a raised eyebrow, “This must be my lucky day, no?”

“How ya got one of mah postcards, ah’ll never know,” Applejack frowned, “But ah ain’t sellin’ ya anythin’, even if mah life depended on it!”

“Shame, and here I was just craving one of your apple fritters,” Discord whined, pulling a handkerchief out of thin air and mockingly wiping his dry eyes. Applejack grit her teeth and pawed at the dock, as though getting ready to charge, but she thankfully composed herself before trying to pick a fight.

“Not amused? Well, here’s something that’s sure to cheer you all up!” Discord went on, putting a hand over his eyes and peering at the next boat arriving, “All of you take a look at the two second-to-last ponies that are GRACING us with their presence.”

“No…he wouldn’t…” Twilight gasped, widening her eyes in horror as she looked at the oncoming boat.

“Yes…he would…and did!” Rarity cried out, “It’s…it’s THEM!” As the second-to-last boat pulled up at the dock, nearly all of the current island inhabitants were stunned at seeing who had just showed up.

“Sister…it was just as you suspected!” Luna cried, pointing up at Discord in horror, “Discord is back!”

“I knew it was you, Discord!” Celestia snapped, narrowing her eyes and standing rigid and ready to fight, “I could see right through your tricks! Unhand my subjects and prepare to be sent right back to your prison, and this time, you won’t be coming out!”

“Oh, Celestia, must you always be such a nuisance?” Discord sighed, “I thought that maybe you had softened up over the years, but apparently I was wrong; one of the few times I’ve been wrong.”

“Discord, you’ve gone too far!” Twilight yelled out, rushing over and quickly leaping to Celestia and Luna’s sides, “Tricking all of us to come here is one thing, but how DARE you trick Princess Celestia and Princess Luna? You’ve got a lot of nerve making them come all the way out here, and in such a horrible vessel, too! Have you no shame?”

“I thought they’d be honored,” Discord responded, not looking at all scared or sorry, “They were two of the 20 contestants I wanted to participate in my game, after all. I was hoping for a bit more glee than anger, but I suppose this IS Celestia I’m dealing with here.”

“Watch your tone when you speak about the princess!” Twilight snarled.

“Twilight, my faithful student, it’s alright,” Celestia said calmly, patting her student on the back, “I can handle this. It’s too late to get the elements now, but I can still show him a thing or two with my magic. Ready, Luna?”

“Ready, sister!” Luna nodded, pointing her horn up at Discord, “Prepare to be punished, Discord!”

“Oh boy, THIS is gonna be fun,” Discord cackled, putting on his favorite black sunglasses and posing for both princesses, “Take your best shot, ladies!” Almost before Discord was done talking, both Celestia and Luna concentrated hard and prepared a very powerful spell to cast at Discord. Twilight was confident that Discord’s tricks would no longer work, since there was no way he could prevent the rulers of Equestria from using magic, too. However, when a whole minute passed and nothing happened, Twilight realized that she was wrong.

“W-w-what is this?!?!” Celestia cried, completely stunned as her magic failed, “T-t-this is an outrage! Why are my powers not working? Discord, you villain, what have you done to me?!?!”

“Make that ‘what have you done to US’, since my powers are also not working!” Luna added.

“Twilight, care to tell your idols what the situation is?” Discord smirked, looking down at the scared purple unicorn. Twilight gulped at hearing this, since it was very unusual for her to be explaining something to Celestia that she already did not know, and not in reverse.

“Um…Princess Celestia? Princess Luna?” Twilight said meekly, looking up at both of them, “I can’t really say for sure, but…I think being on this island makes it so we can’t use our magic. Believe me, I’ve tried, as has Trixie, Rarity, and the rest of us with horns. I’m sorry to say, but I fear that, despite being the rulers of Equestria, this island won’t let you use your powers, either.”

“What? Ridiculous!” Celestia cried, being way out of her element due to her feeling of helplessness, “My dear student, I fear that you must be mistaken; there is no way an island could make that happen.”

“Indeed, Twilight Sparkle, it must be one of Discord’s tricks!” Luna agreed, “If we can just defeat him without our powers, I’m sure everything will be alright.”

“And just how do you plan on doing that without your almighty magic, hmm?” Discord mocked, floating before both angry princesses and looking very happy, “What are you gonna do? Poke me with your horns? Bat at me with your hooves? Slap me with your wings? Yell at me? Troll me? Nice try, ladies, but I’m afraid I’m in control here and there’s nothing that you can do about it.”

“Discord, you have messed with the royal family for far too long!” Celestia bellowed, stretching her majestic wings and ascending to glare straight into Discord’s eyes, “Not only that, but you have also caused pain and suffering to my loyal subjects!”

“…how am I a loyal subject when I’m not even a pony?” Gilda muttered to herself.

“…Discord hasn’t really HURT us…just annoyed and scared us,” Rainbow Dash whispered as well.

“Your crimes against Equestria have gone too far, and your bill must be paid!” Celestia continued, pointing her horn straight at Discord’s face, “Prepare for your inevitable defeat! Luna, join my side!”

“At once, sister!” Luna cried, stretching her own wings and flying up to join her older sister, “Any last words, Discord?”

“Yes…I was just thinking that your sister might hold too much of an advantage in her current state,” Discord said, tapping his chin and not showing any worry about both princesses basically issuing him his death sentence, “To even the odds with your fellow competitors, I think I’m gonna have to adjust Celestia’s body. Please hold still while I do.”

“Uh…what did he just say?” Apple Bloom said, turning and looking at her fellow Crusaders.

“I think he said something sexual and thus we should do what Miss Cheerilee told us one time and just pretend we didn’t hear it,” Sweetie Belle explained.

“Romance is gross!” Scootaloo added, before turning to look at Rainbow Dash and blushing, “For the most part, anyway.”

“Enough is enough!” Celestia roared, reading her horn like a sword, “Say goodbye to…HEY!” Not allowing Celestia any time to do whatever she had been planning, Discord had lunged forward and quickly grabbed the princess by that same horn. He began casting some of his own magic, which apparently was allowed, and Celestia screamed as her body began shining. She tried wrenching her horn out of Discord’s grasp, but the draconequus held on tightly and didn’t let go. Luna was too stunned to really do anything, and Twilight was basically locked in a frozen, horrified stance as she watched her princess be dominated.

Princess Celestia’s entire body was soon enveloped in a blinding white light, forcing everyone except Discord to shield their eyes. Celestia’s screaming continued, but her voice seemed to get a bit squeakier and lighter as it did. Discord had an evil grin on his face as he continued to hold onto Celestia’s horn and cast his unknown magic on her. Minutes passed by and Celestia kept screaming and her voice kept getting lighter, not to mention the light surrounding her body was getting smaller, too. Eventually, the light began diminishing, and Discord let go of Celestia’s horn. The ball of light that was Celestia slowly floated down to the dock, where it went limp and Twilight instantly ran over to it.

“PRINCESS!” Twilight screamed as the light finally went away, “WHAT DID HE DO TO…you?” When Princess Celestia was finally revealed, Twilight’s eyes rose as wide as dinner plates and her mouth dropped all the way down to the dock. The rest of the ponies, including Gilda, Zecora and Spike, all had basically the same reaction as Twilight as they stared at Celestia. Luna glanced down at her from where she was currently flying, and couldn’t help but laugh.

“Oh…my…goodness!” Luna laughed, descending and joining her sister’s side, “This…this is…hilarious! Sister, open your eyes…you HAVE to see this!”

“Yes…I must see…I must see what he did to me!” Celestia squeaked, opening her eyes a moment later. The first thing she noticed was that she was now looking UP at Twilight instead of down at her. However, that was just because she was laying on her back. As she weakly got to her hooves, she then gasped when she found herself staring eye-to-eye with her prized student. Twilight Sparkle and Princess Celestia were both the same size…and age.

“Sister…Discord turned you back into a little mare, like Twilight Sparkle and her friends!” Luna laughed, falling onto her backside and laughing her head off, “Oh my…this is…this is…how you say…rich! I was scared and worried for you at first, but…this is so funny!”

“Luna…THIS IS BEYOND FUNNY!” Celestia screamed, now finding herself basically looking up at Luna slightly, since Luna was slightly taller than Twilight and her friends and thus she was now taller than Celestia, “Ugh…just listen to my VOICE…this is humiliating! Discord, you despicable…you evil…you horrible…you MONSTER!”

“Oh, Celestia, how I LOVE your rants,” Discord laughed, floating down and mockingly patting the mare on the head, “You’re now the LITTLE sister between you and Luna, not to mention you are now the same age and height as your student, Twilight. That evens out the odds, wouldn’t you say? I kept Luna the way she is, since she tends to act like one of the crowd anyway.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Luna mused.

“Now, please go and join the others, mini-Celestia,” Discord went on, smirking at the angry tiny princess, “Twilight, won’t you show your princess to the other side of the dock?”

“Discord…out of all the things you’ve done…this is by far the worst…possible…thing!” Twilight said slowly, still in complete shock at the current circumstances.

“Hey, that’s MY line!” Rarity complained, “But…yes, I have to agree with you there, darling.”

“Fine…Luna, would YOU please show your LITTLE sister AND Twilight the way to the other side of the dock?” Discord sighed, “I still have one more boat to welcome, and I can’t waste my time babysitting two dumbstruck mares.”

“…I don’t know what this is all about, but I suppose I don’t have much of a choice,” Luna grumbled, trotting between Twilight and Celestia and gently forcing them to move towards the others, “C’mon, you two, this way.”

Celestia moved slowly and angrily, looking beyond humiliated and enraged at what had just befallen her. Never in all her years of ruling Equestria had she suffered such a horrible drawback. Her mighty horn was now roughly the same size as Twilight’s, possibly a centimeter or two longer. Her big, flowing mane and tail were still flowing, but were now as short as Twilight’s. The large sun cutie mark she had on both of her flanks was now more like a small sun tattoo. If Celestia and Luna were to ask anypony who was who, the pony they asked would most easily guess that Luna was the older sister.

“Hello…my subjects,” Celestia said calmly, trying to keep herself composed as she faced the other 16 who had watched the whole thing, “It is…nice…to see all of you. I wish that I had gotten to spend time with you under less stressful and angering circumstances…but, alas, these things cannot be helped.”

“Um…hello to you as well, Princess,” Fluttershy gulped, quickly bowing her head, and everyone else quickly doing the same, save for Gilda, who either didn’t care or didn’t want to bow to a pony.

“Er…how are you…feeling?” Rainbow Dash asked politely, honestly struggling to not laugh at how she and Celestia were now basically the same size.

“Rainbow Dash, out of fear of venting on you, I would rather not let my emotions be known at this point,” Celestia said, giving Rainbow Dash a look that instantly got the Pegasus cowering.

“All of you please make sure to help my sister with her current…condition,” Luna said, still wearing the same amused grin that she had upon seeing her sister’s predicament, “I’m sure if you all can be understanding, it’ll make her life a lot easier.”

“P-P-Princess…I-I-I’m so sorry…I-I-I should’ve done something to stop him!” Twilight cried, bowing at Celestia’s hooves and sobbing, “Please…please find it in your heart to forgive me for my idiocy!”

“Twilight, my dear student, please don’t blame yourself,” Celestia sighed, “This was no one’s fault but my own for not coming better prepared…I promise you that Discord will not get away with this. Whatever this twisted game of his may be, I promise that he will pay and you all will be unharmed by any of his evil antics.”

“She’s just like Twilight!” Apple Bloom whispered to Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, “It’s actually rather cute, don’t ya think?”

“Yeah, totally!” Scootaloo giggled, whispering back, “They’re almost like twins when the princess is in this new form, except for their different colors.”

“It almost looks like Luna is the big sister to BOTH Twilight and Princess Celestia!” Sweetie Belle grinned, accidentally forgetting to whisper. Almost instantly, everyone else slowly turned to look at Sweetie Belle, who quickly hid her face and tried to look small. This caused Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon to both snicker in amusement.

“Like, those blank flanks can be SO stupid,” Diamond Tiara scoffed.

“Yeah, really!” Silver Spoon added, probably just for the sake of trying to keep up with her best friend.

“Ponies that aren’t Gilda, Spike or Zecora, please welcome the final player in my little game!” Discord announced, pointing to the final boat as it pulled up next to the dock, “I think you all know this little hyper pink ball of fuzz, right?” Out of the boat bounced a very familiar pony, wearing a huge grin on her face and looking very excited.

“Hi, everypony!” Pinkie cried out, bouncing up and down happily as she saw all her friends, “Oh, oh, this is so awesome! You all got invited to the annual cupcake festival, too? Yay!”

“Um, sugar cube, take a good look around, ‘cause this ain’t no cupcake festival or anythin’ like that,” Applejack said, “And…Discord is here, in case ya haven’t noticed.”

“Oh, silly filly, I knew that Discord was here since last night!” Pinkie giggled, waving a hoof up at the smirking draconequus, “I thought I was just dreaming, because he was plotting dastardly deeds near Twilight’s house, so I was all like ‘wow, I’m dreaming, because Discord is frozen in stone’, but then I went out to see if he was really there, and he started talking about cotton candy and chocolate rain, and I was all like ‘oh, yay, chocolate rain, I love chocolate rain’, and I asked him about it, but he said that he wasn’t doing anything with that, so he sent me back to bed and I got myself a warm cup of milk and told Gummy a bedtime story when I got back home, since he woke up and couldn’t get back to sleep, the poor little guy.”

“…so, basically, you KNEW that Discord was here but you told nopony about it?” Rarity frowned, raising an eyebrow at Pinkie.

“Well, I wanted to tell somepony, but when I woke up the next morning, I totally forgot!” Pinkie smiled, “Warm milk usually makes me have weird dreams, so I had a weird dream about flying with Dashy over a mountain, and then when I woke up, I was very sad, and I had forgotten all about Discord!”

“…can I PLEASE hurt her without being attacked, Dash?” Gilda asked, looking at Rainbow Dash, “You KNOW she deserves it, that annoying pink rat!”

“No, Gilda, I already told you what’ll happen if you touch ANY of my friends!” Rainbow Dash frowned, “That’s just Pinkie being Pinkie; if you can’t learn to accept others for who they are, then you’re no better than Discord.”

“I resent that remark,” Discord frowned, floating over and snapping his fingers, causing a bucket of water to magically appear over Rainbow’s head, “Just for that, I think I need to punish you!” However, just for fun, he moved the bucket a few inches and ended up dumping the icy water on Celestia’s head instead, absolutely drenching the horrified tiny princess.

“DISCORD, YOU JUST SOAKED PRINCESS CELESTIA!” Twilight screamed, nearly pulling out her hair as she was once more losing her mind, “YOU MONSTER! LOOK WHAT YOU’VE DONE!”

“Twilight…getting mad won’t help matters…remember, this is Discord we’re dealing with…” Celestia said coolly, shivering slightly as her entire small body felt the cold wetness spreading down her, “But, rest assured, my wrath won’t be pretty once this is all over…I guarantee you that.”

“Ooh, big words coming from such a puny princess,” Discord cackled, picking up the empty bucket and slamming it down over the top of Celestia’s head, “Maybe we should call you Princess Bucket-Head instead, hmm? What do you all think?”

“MONSTER!” Applejack screamed.

“FIEND!” Rarity bellowed.

“JERK!” Rainbow Dash roared.

“YOU ATTACKED THE PRINCESS AGAIN!” Twilight shrieked.

“That was very mean,” Fluttershy squeaked.

“CUPCAKES!” Pinkie cried.

“Alright, I’ll put the Princess Bucket-Head nickname aside for now and save it for later,” Discord chuckled, watching Celestia’s body start to tremble with silent rage while she didn’t even bother removing the bucket from her head, “But, now that all 20 of you are here, the game can finally begin.”

“Better hope it’s a good one, Discord, because it’ll be your last,” Spike growled up at Discord, still being used as Rarity’s seat after all this time.

“Indeed, Trixie is not amused, and Trixie plans on extracting vengeance for this nonsense once this game is over and she wins it,” Trixie snapped.

“I believe that this will be a lot more than just a game,” Zecora whispered, closing her eyes and shaking her head, “We all are in a lot of trouble, ponies and non-ponies the same.”

Discord smirked and rubbed his hands together as the first part of his plan was coming together. Now, it was time to put the plan into full motion and start the fun.

Episode 2: Disharmony Is Magic (Part 2)

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“Follow me, ponies and non-ponies alike!” Discord called out, idly floating away from the group and completing ignoring the bucket on Celestia’s head, “Your handsome and powerful host, Discord, will tell you about this island and explain the little game you’re all gonna be playing, whether you like it or not.”

“Ah reckon a certain host is gonna be gettin’ a beatin’ in a few moments,” Applejack grumbled, trotting along with her 19 other annoyed or confused participants.

Discord led the group towards the strange upside-down cabins, humming a happy little tune to himself while doing so. Celestia had finally gotten the bucket off her head thanks to Twilight, and was glaring at Discord with each passing moment. Luna was still secretly amused at her sister getting humiliated. Besides the moon princess, the only other participants who seemed to be alright with the current situation were Derpy, Vinyl, and Pinkie. Everyone else looked ready to hurt someone or something, or in the very least try to think of a way to escape as soon as possible.

“I probably could easily just fly out of here, but I can’t leave my friends behind,” Rainbow Dash muttered to herself, “Besides, if it’s a game Discord wants to play, it’s a game he’ll get out of me; there ain’t no way that I’ll lose this time, either!”

“First off, allow me to tell you a little about this island,” Discord explained, laying on top of one of the cabins and putting on his black sunglasses, “This island has been forbidden for many centuries, as I’m sure our lovely little princesses would tell you. A long time ago, an evil unicorn took refuge on this island after being hunted down by those who wished to destroy her, since her powers could easily destroy Equestria. Celestia, you remember this story, right?”

“Oh no…this is THAT island?” Celestia gasped, widening her eyes in shock, “Discord, you fool! This place is forbidden for a REASON, you know! Do you even realize what you’ve done?”

“Ah, so you DO remember…goody, that makes my job so much easier!” Discord gushed, “So, to make a long story short, that evil unicorn was trapped on this island for all eternity, thanks to the powers of our two princesses. To make sure she never used her evil magic to destroy Equestria, Celestia and Luna used their own powers so that any pony who stepped hoof on this island could not use magic, no matter how strong or how weak. It was said that the evil unicorn still haunts this place to this very day, wanting to extract revenge on the very same princesses who imprisoned her here so very long ago.”

“I heard rumors and read that story…but, I didn’t think it was actually true,” Twilight whispered, looking at Luna and Celestia in awe, “Princesses…that really did happen? And that is why we cannot use magic?”

“I’m afraid it is, my dear student,” Celestia muttered, “This place is known as Calamity Island, and it was indeed the place where my sister and I imprisoned that evil unicorn so very long ago. I had totally forgotten about this place…since this is NOT how it’s supposed to look.” She gave a look of obvious distain at the camp-like atmosphere that had been rebuilt over the landscape.

“Well, DUH, Celestia,” Discord scolded, teleporting down and flicking the princess on the nose, “As much as I do so love a creepy atmosphere, it just wouldn’t do. So, I remade this place to my own personal liking, since it works for my game. Plus, I gave it a new name, too. Calamity Island is now called Camp Paradox, and as of this moment, you are all campers! All of you, welcome to Total…Magic…Pony…Island!” In perhaps a way of mocking Trixie, Discord stretched his arms out as fireworks somehow went off behind his back to intensify the importance of what he just said.

“…you CANNOT be serious,” Trixie blinked, staring at Discord in complete shock and slight irritation as she saw her own firework display be used.

“Discord, you scoundrel!” Celestia snapped, “Have you no dignity? You would turn a place like this into a…a…summer camp? This is beyond an outrage!”

“I do NOT do summer camps, especially with dweebs like these!” Gilda yelled, “Take me home, right now, or else I’m flying away! Actually, you know what, I think that’s what I’ll do; later, losers!” Gilda was just about ready to stretch her mighty griffon wings and fly off, since she could care less about anyone there, but Discord knew how to stop her.

“Very well, leave, but you’ll be missing out on your chance at fame and fortune,” the draconequus said cheerfully. As soon as these words were spoken, Gilda froze up and looked back at him. Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, Trixie, Spike, and Vinyl all also looked very interested at that moment.

“Wait…did you say…fame and fortune?” Trixie asked, raising an eyebrow, “Explain to Trixie what you mean by that.”

“Well, you notice all the cameras that my fellow slave ponies are carrying?” Discord explained, pointing to the camera-ponies that were taping everything that was going on, “As of this moment, all 20 of you are being broadcasted all around Equestria! I have installed handy little devices known as televisions throughout the world so that all ponies and non-ponies may watch you 20 compete on my game show.”

“WHAT?!?!” the entire cast screamed out, naturally being incredibly stunned by this news. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo eagerly started to wave to the cameras, while more humble and shy contestants like Fluttershy and Cheerilee were trying to hide their faces. As always, Celestia and Twilight were beyond outraged at this information.

“Discord, you are publically humiliating us in front of the entire world?” Celestia cried, “This is by far your worst and LAST mistake that you will ever make! Mark my words, this will not go unpunished.”

“You cannot exploit us for your own personal entertainment!” Twilight added.

“Oh, but I’m afraid I can,” Discord smirked evilly, “You see, Twilight and Celestia, your magic is completely useless while you’re here, so there’s no way for you to get home. Of course, those of you with wings COULD fly away, if you wanted…but, you’d not only be leaving your friends behind, but you would also be missing out on your chance to win…one million bits!”

“ONE MILLION BITS?!?!” the entire cast screamed yet again. Even Celestia was stunned and a bit intrigued by this news. With a loud snicker, Discord snapped his fingers and a large pirate-like treasure chest suddenly appeared before the contestants. It was nearly as large as Celestia herself was, back when she was in her large form and not her new tiny body. The top of the chest opened up and instantly the cast was introduced to the fortune that rested inside. It was indeed one million bits (the equivalent of one million dollars).

“I won’t mince anymore words, so let me just explain what’s going to happen for the next 10 weeks,” Discord explained, “The 20 of you will be split into two teams very shorty. Then, from here on out, both teams will be competing in challenges that I have thought up to test your strength, intelligence, stamina, willpower, speed, and most importantly…your humility. One team will win each challenge and one team will lose, unless otherwise specified. The losing team will then have to vote someone off the island from their own team. That person will be out of the game and be sent off the island. Eventually, we will be down to just one contestant. That contestant will not only win the one million bits, but will be given the title of ‘Ultimate Equestrian Survivor’ and will have the pleasure of being the one and only one to make it through my entire show and outlasting all 19 of the other worthy competitors that I’ve brought here. So, what do you think? Pretty good prizes, eh?”

“I…I can be famous throughout Equestria by defeating everyone here and beating Discord’s game?” Rainbow Dash grinned, trembling with excitement.

“Trixie…Trixie can win one million bits and become a rich snob who everypony will finally look up to and recognize?” Trixie squeaked, already looking on the verge of an excited breakdown.

“This…this is…AWESOME!” Scootaloo cheered, bouncing up and down with her eyes lighting up, “If I can win, I’ll become rich AND famous and everypony will remember me for all eternity! My name will go down as the very first winner of this…this…whatever this show is called! I’ll be a legend!”

“Get in line, shrimp, since the only one who’ll be come a legend here is ME,” Gilda smirked.

“Just think about what we could use that million bits for…” Vinyl sighed dreamily, “I could open up a new snazzy music studio, complete with all the new equipment that’s all the rage these days!”

“I could buy all the diamonds that I could ever want!” Rarity gushed.

“I could buy all the diamonds that Rarity would ever want…and then give them to her!” Spike cheered.

“Ah could finally fix up mah farm and help Granny Smith replace that hip of hers!” Applejack smiled.

“Um…I could…do something to…help all the animals?” Fluttershy squeaked.

“Like, we could become even wealthier and cooler than ever before!” Diamond Tiara smirked.

“I could buy all the different kinds of cupcakes in the world!” Pinkie giggled, “Ooh, or maybe all the different kinds of muffins!”

“You’d save some for me, right?” Derpy demanded, giving Pinkie a toothy grin.

“With all that money…I could really make a big difference in Ponyville and maybe even the world!” Twilight mused, a smile slowly starting to reappear on her face as she thought about all the good she could do if she could win this game.

“Trixie would buy whatever Trixie wanted to get her career back on track after Twilight ruined it!” Trixie laughed, which instantly caused Twilight’s smile to vanish as fast as it had appeared.

“DISCORD!” Celestia screamed.

“SOMEPONY certainly loves using my name,” Discord snickered, winking down in a mock flirty way at the tiny princess, “What is it THIS time, Celestia?”

“Discord…you seriously want us to compete in one of your sick, twisted games just for the sake of amusement?” Celestia demanded, “And you bribe us with promises of grandeur and fame? You could be lying about all this for all we know! I refuse to participate in this mockery of what you call a game!”

“Aw, sis, stop being such a…what was it called…oh, right, a stick-in-the-mud,” Luna sighed, “Discord wouldn’t REALLY try to hurt us; he knows better than to seriously do something to harm the rulers of Equestria. Plus, you know how he is. Why not just have a little fun for once in your life?”

“FUN? Sister, you think this is going to be FUN?” Celestia gasped, completely stunned at what her sister just said.

“Twilight Sparkle taught me about fun,” Luna explained, “Even something that looks bleak and miserable can be turned into fun, if you just try. Even if neither of us win, at least this gives us a chance to experience something new, right?”

“Besides, with the two of you princesses here, the fun is sure to be doubled!” Pinkie giggled, instantly causing Luna to glare at her, for some reason.

“But…but…sister, we have our royal duties!” Celestia protested, “We have very important matters that must be attended to every single day, not to mention we raise the moon and sun every night and morning! We cannot just leave Equestria alone for 10 weeks to play one of Discord’s games!”

“Now, Celestia, don’t you worry your pretty little head about that,” Discord smirked, “Don’t you think I would’ve already taken care of that? I attached some of my special Discord rockets to the moon and sun. They’re set to move the sun and moon up and down at their proper times, so you have no reason to worry about that.”

“How…is that even possible?” Twilight asked.

“I’m the spirit of disharmony, Twilight,” Discord said simply, “I’m pretty sure that should explain things enough. Anyway, Celestia, do you REALLY want to leave? If you do, you’ll be letting down your subjects, not to mention one team will only have nine players and already be at a disadvantage. Would you really be so cruel as to do such a thing?”

Princess Celestia hesitated as Discord put her on the spot. She could tell that everyone was looking at her, wanting to know her answer. On one hoof, she was beyond angry that they would even CONSIDER playing in such a game, knowing who and what Discord was and what he was capable of. On the other hoof, Luna did have a point. Running away from something was cowardly, and leaving Twilight and her friends in Discord’s hands when they couldn’t fly or use magic (save for Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy) would be unfair. She knew that she had no choice.

“But…um…I’m not really…all that experienced when it comes to camps,” Celestia muttered, now just trying to complain about any little thing she could think of to prolong the inevitable, “Plus…I, um, am not much of the sporty type…I don’t get out much, you see.”

“I think you could learn a thing or two from Twilight Sparkle then,” Discord laughed, which resulted in both Twilight and Celestia blushing in embarrassment and the rest of the campers to laugh at the irony of the situation.

“For once, Discord, you’re right,” Celestia sighed, “If my dear student was willing to overcome everything she has thus far just to become a better friend and student, then I’m more than willing to try my hoof at trying to overcome my own ignorance in this…camping thing. So…alright, fine; I’ll stay here.”

“Yes! Thank you, Princess!” Twilight cheered, giving her same-size mentor a big hug, as half of the other contestants did the same thing. Celestia blushed a little upon being embraced so lovingly and openly, since she wasn’t used to such actions, especially at being so small. She weakly tried to hug them all back.

“Gag me,” Gilda muttered, naturally refusing to do anything in the way of affection, “Can we just get started already? The sooner I win this thing the better.”

“Fool! If you think you’re going to beat Trixie, then you’ve got another thing coming!” Trixie said, grinning and narrowing her eyes at the griffon.

“Both of you are just fighting for the silver, since I’M taking home the prize,” Rainbow Dash said, crossing her front forelegs smugly and sticking her tongue out at Gilda and Trixie. Applejack, however, quickly slapped Rainbow Dash on the back of the head.

“Don’t stoop to their level, Dash!” she hissed in her ear, “Remember, we’re friends first and competitors second, got it? Ah know how ya are when it comes to games, so ah don’t want ya gettin’ in over yer head! Don’t ferget what’s REALLY important, ahright?”

“Relax, AJ, I know what I’m doing,” Rainbow Dash muttered, “I’m just getting in the spirit, you know?”

“Now, if there’s no more annoying questions, please follow me as I show you a few important areas of Camp Paradox,” Discord announced, pointing to the cabins behind the campers, “As you can see, there are two different cabins. When you all are broken up into two teams, each team will get a different cabin to live in for the rest of the show, or until they’re voted off.”

“Um…can I have different living arrangements?” Rarity asked, wincing at the sight of the cabins, “I don’t mean to complain, but…these are clearly NOT the living conditions that a lady such as myself deserves. Plus, they are filthy and horribly unfashionable! You can’t expect us to really live in these things!”

“If you don’t like it, you can always sleep outside instead,” Discord smirked, pointing to the nearby forest. Rarity gulped at the thought, and quickly shook her head. “Good, that’s what I thought. Now, if you’ll follow me this way, I’ll show you the confessional.”

Discord floated over towards another part of the campgrounds, the mostly-excited contestants following after him. Rarity was sniffing and whining as she was forced to trot along the dirty ground, so much that it was easily irritating those around her. Spike asked if Rarity would like him to carry her, but Rarity stated that she couldn’t ask something like that of him; no one noticed Spike look very disappointed upon hearing this.

“This, everyone, is the confessional!” Discord announced, floating on top of what seemed to be an ordinary wooden outhouse, no bigger than a regular bathroom stall.

“Uh…no…that’s an outhouse,” Applejack frowned.

“No, Applejack, it’s a CONFESSIONAL BOOTH,” Discord snapped, “Inside is a camera, and…”

“Pervert! You’re filming us while we…UGH!” Rarity cried, putting her nose in the air in disgust, “You have got a lot of nerve!”

“The regular bathrooms are OVER THERE!” Discord snapped, once more getting irritated with the lack of common sense. The spirit of disharmony pointed to a small building nearby that had a picture of a toilet on the top. “Right here is the CONFESSIONAL BOOTH. The reason there’s a camera inside is that this is just a place where you come to talk about anything you want, in private. If you want to vent, if you want to talk strategy, if you want to talk about ANYTHING…you come here to do it. It’s also where you will be doing your voting each time.”

“I am NOT going in THERE to do my venting,” Rarity sniffed, reaching up and patting her mane, “It’s incredibly filthy and degrading. You couldn’t make me go in there for all the diamonds in the world.”

“Perhaps if I went in with you?” Spike ventured. Thankfully, no one heard this comment, since Rarity was hogging the spotlight, as always.

“The viewers will love hearing what you all have to say,” Discord growled through clenched teeth.

“I do not care what the viewers want,” Rarity said coldly, “I’m not using this and that’s final.” Finally at the end of his rope with the prissy unicorn, Discord reached down and snatched Rarity right off the ground. Then, he angrily wrenched open the confessional door and hurled the unicorn right inside.

Rarity: *she lets out a dramatic yelp as she slams into the side of the inside of the confessional, but she instantly picks herself up a moment later and yells at the door* DISCORD! YOU VILLAIN! LAYING YOUR HANDS ON A LADY…YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED! *she takes a look around the confessional, horrified at what she saw; it was indeed an outhouse, with a single toilet and a roll of toilet paper to go with an otherwise dirty little booth* This…this is…DISGUSTING! LET ME OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW! I WILL NOT STAY ANOTHER MINUTE IN THIS…oh, hello! *she finally sees the camera and instantly smiles* So THAT is where the camera is! Well, hello Equestria; this is Rarity speaking. I am going to win this show and become so famous that you all will be wearing my outfits within a half a year.

“Well…that wasn’t so bad,” Rarity smiled, trotting out of the confessional a moment later and looking at the exasperated campers and the annoyed Discord, “What? Can’t a lady change her mind? I really hope that the camera doesn’t add 10 pounds; it would so ruin my image.”

Sweetie Belle: *smiling and rolling her eyes* That was my sister alright…Equestria, I hope you were ready for her as she apparently is ready for you. Oh, and I’m Sweetie Belle! Nice to meet you all!

“So, as Rarity and Sweetie Belle have demonstrated, the confessional is a nice place to go and have a little private chat,” Discord concluded, “Come here whenever you want; the viewers and myself love hearing what you all have to say.”

“YOU’RE listening to what we have to say?” Silver Spoon gasped, but Discord ignored her and floated onwards towards the next destination. After passing by the latrines and hearing some more loud and annoying complaints from Rarity, they came upon the mess hall.

“This is where you will get you daily meals,” Discord smirked.

“…and YOU’LL be making them for us?” Twilight asked, not liking this idea at all.

“Oh, please, like I cook,” Discord frowned, “That’s a girl’s job.”

“Hey, we all take offense to that!” Rainbow Dash snapped, which was true, since every single female looked angered at Discord’s rude assumption.

“Would you rather I try my hand at making something, when the last time I tried I ended up nearly melting the tongue out of someone’s mouth?” Discord explained.

“Er…um…well, who’s our chef then if it ain’t you?” Applejack asked.

“Someone who you all should remember quite well,” Discord smiled, pushing open the mess hall doors, “Go in and say hello to her. Oh, and don’t ask how it’s possible for her to be here…as I said before, I have my ways of doing things that would make your puny brains itch in confusion.”

“This should be good,” Scootaloo whispered to her fellow crusaders. The group of 20 cautiously walked into the mess hall to see who the chef was. At first, the entire room was pitch black and nothing could be seen; Twilight’s voice could be heard moaning when she tried lighting up her horn and failing. Before any of the ponies or non-ponies could question on where the chef was, the lights burst on and flooded the room with light.

There were two long tables aligned vertically down each side of the mess hall, each one having seats for 10 campers. There was a garbage can in each corner of the room that was about as tall as Gilda. In the center of the mess hall, farthest north, was the food counter where a line of camp trays were stacked in a neat pile. Behind the counter, the kitchen could just be seen. The entire place seemed deserted.

“Um…is somepony here?” Sweetie Belle asked to no one in particular.

“Easy, child, for we are not alone,” Zecora whispered, “Another is also here, despite not being shown.”

“HA, VERY GOOD, MY FOOLISH LITTLE SUBJECTS!” a cynical, booming voice yelled out. Almost at once, Celestia and Luna both froze up in terror while the rest of the campers all tried to place the voice. A second later, a large cloud of black energy exploded right in the middle of the mess hall, in front of the 20 campers. The large body that appeared looked similar to Celestia’s normal body, but clearly this was not even close to being Celestia. As the dust cleared and the campers finally laid eyes on who was standing before them, almost all of them gasped in horror.

“Wow, talk about déjà vu!” Derpy giggled, having remembered almost this same thing happening before.

“I-I-It’s…it’s…it’s…” Fluttershy stammered, covering up her eyes and curling up into a tiny ball.

“NIGHTMARE MOON!” Pinkie screamed, “EVERYPONY RUN!” However, just as she tried to run away, the door to the mess hall was slammed shut and Pinkie ended up smashing into it and flattening herself from the painful impact.

“Now, is that any way to welcome back your TRUE princess?” Nightmare Moon smirked, slowly stepping towards the group, “Surely you haven’t gotten used to what you all see as Luna, have you?”

“How…how are you…how is this…but, you’re…ME!” Luna cried, completely confused and very creeped out from basically looking at her evil self.

“If you must know, Discord sneaked into Luna’s room a night ago and sucked my DNA out of her body,” Nightmare Moon grinned down at Luna, “He was then able to give me my own body, which is much better than being forced to be dormant inside this little runt who I was forced to use as my vessel.”

“He…snuck…into…my sister’s room?” Celestia said slowly. Clearly, nearly all the campers looked a bit unnerved by this information.

Gilda: *crossing her arms* Remind me to get a restraining order against that freak.

Trixie: I fear that Trixie is gonna have to make sure her cabin door is locked tightly at night.

Luna: *her left eye twitching abnormally* He…came into my room…and sucked out DNA from my body…

“Um…Nightmare Moon…am I to assume that…you’re our chef?” Twilight gulped, now wishing more than ever that she had, in the very least, the elements of harmony with her.

“Very good, Twilight Sparkle,” Nightmare Moon snickered, staring down at the trembling unicorn, “Indeed, Discord asked me to be the chef for all of you, not to mention his assistant on this little show of his. Naturally, I refused at first, but after he pointed out that he freed me from Luna’s body…AND offered me a cut of the revenue we make from the ratings…I decided to agree. Plus, scaring all of you every day will be so much fun.”

“You’re…not gonna make the world suffer everlasting night, are you?” Cheerilee asked, once more standing in front of her five students in a protective stance. With a leering grin, Nightmare Moon slowly trotted right up to the ground and leaned her head down close to them.

“That’s for me to know and you all to find out,” she whispered.

Derpy: Don’t you just hate it when the evil person does that? It’s SO annoying! *her eyes spin a bit*

“Now I’m not so sure who to fear more…Discord or Nightmare Moon,” Rarity whimpered, “Spike, please come here and lay down so that I may sit.”

“At once, milady,” Spike said, rushing around and once more laying on the floor. Rarity quickly sat down on top of him and continued to shake, while Gilda once more muttered about how lame Spike was.

“Well, this has been great fun, but I think I graced your presence long enough,” Nightmare Moon said, stepping back from the group, “I’ll be looking forward to serving you fools for dinner…oh, I mean, serving you fools SOME dinner. Yes, that’s what I meant.”

“Ah have a stomachache,” Apple Bloom whimpered, shaking behind Applejack and not at all enjoying what Nightmare Moon said.

“Oh, and Celestia? You never looked better,” Nightmare Moon cackled, pointing a hoof down at the tiny princess. As Celestia frowned and was about to yell a counter-insult, Nightmare Moon let out a loud, booming laugh as she once again vanished into a black fog.

“That…seriously happened, right?” Luna gulped, now with both eyes twitching and her body trembling, “Yes…it did…Nightmare Moon is no longer a part of me…that’s a good thing, right?”

“The mess hall door is pretty hard,” Pinkie moaned, having reformed a moment ago from flattening herself and was shaking her head to clear the dizzy feeling, “What just happened? I was too busy being flat and looking up at the ceiling as I laid there all squished like a pancake.”

Twilight: *sighing deeply and shaking her head* It’s times like this that make a girl wonder what she really did to deserve this. Discord, Nightmare Moon, the princess, Trixie…ugh, what a mess.

“So, now that you all got to meet my right-hand assistant and chef, it’s time to split you all into two teams of 10!” Discord smirked, having been outside the entire time and was relaxing in his usual invisible hammock while licking an ice cream cone.

“You purposely closed the door so that Pinkie Pie got squashed, didn’t you?” Twilight accused.

“And…we have to be split into two teams now?” Spike cried, “Um…can I please be with Rarity? Oh, and if there’s room, Twilight as well, I guess.” This comment was met with a warm smile from Rarity, but a deep frown from Twilight.

“Sorry, dragon boy, but the teams have already been chosen, and you’ll just have to wait and see who you’re with,” Discord laughed, snapping his fingers and magically creating two platforms on the ground. One of them was orange and one was purple.

“Uh…if we can’t use magic…how come you still can?” Rarity asked.

“Because the island only bars PONIES from using magic, as I said before,” Discord groaned, “I’m not a pony, so my chaotic magic is allowed. Now, are you ready to hear you teams?”

Spike: *crossing his fingers* Please, please, please, please, PLEASE let me be with my Rarity!

Silver Spoon: *nervously adjusting her glasses* I sure hope I’m with Diamond; she and I are very close.

Celestia: This place is FILTHY…oh, right, this is a confessional…um, I hope I’m with my sister and Twilight?

Scootaloo: I want to be with Rainbow Dash so bad! That would be so cool. *she sighs dreamily*

“When I call your name, go and stand on the purple platform,” Discord said, snapping his fingers and having a scroll appear in his hand, “The 10 campers I call will be on the same team, while the 10 left over with be the other team. And if I hear just ONE of you whine, I’m making it rain maple syrup on you; the stickiness will take forever to wash out!”

“You wouldn’t DARE!” Rarity squealed.

“Oh, but I would; just try me, Rarity,” Discord snickered, “Now then…on the first team…Apple Bloom, Cheerilee, Derpy Hooves, Gilda and Pinkie Pie.” The first five campers all walked up onto the purple platform, looking a bit unnerved that they were stuck with Gilda. Apple Bloom huddled close to her teacher, while Derpy and Pinkie stayed close to one another as well, leaving Gilda alienated.

“Then…Rarity, Scootaloo, Trixie, Twilight Sparkle, and…Vinyl Scratch!” Discord grinned, finishing up the names for the first team. Almost immediately after the names were finished, nearly all the campers started to whine, complain, or look very sad. Apple Bloom was separated from her big sister, Cheerilee only had two of her five students, Rarity was without her little sister and Spike, Scootaloo didn’t have Rainbow Dash, and Trixie was with Twilight.

Apple Bloom: *sighing and hanging her head* Ah’m without mah big sis…well, it’s alright, ah can do this.

Gilda: *slapping her forehead* I’m on a team filled with losers…this is beyond pathetic…I’m angry.

Rarity: *angrily* No Spike? No Sweetie Belle? He cannot do this to me! I will not be left alone like this!

Trixie: *glaring at the camera* Trixie is left with Gilda and…Twilight Sparkle…this couldn’t get any worse.

“As for Applejack, Celestia, Diamond Tiara, Fluttershy, Luna, Rainbow Dash, Silver Spoon, Spike, Sweetie Belle, and Zecora…you all will make up the second team!” Discord continued, pointing to the orange platform, “All of you go stand over there.”

Applejack: Hmm…ah’m separated from mah little sister, but…she’s with Twilight, so she’ll be fine.

Celestia: Great, I have to compete against my own dear student…but, I’m with my sister...not that bad.

Rainbow: *posing cool for the camera* I have a wicked team! I can’t wait to kick Gilda’s butt!

Spike: *bawling his eyes out* NOOOOOOO! RARITY, MY LOVE! I CANNOT COMPETE AGAINST YOU!

“Twilight, I hereby call your team…the Magical Misfits!” Discord smirked.

“…couldn’t come up with a better name, could you?” Gilda growled.

“Yes, I easily could’ve, but the point is that I didn’t want to,” Discord snickered, turning to the other team, “As for Celestia’s team…I hereby name YOUR team…the Royal Ruffians!”

“Heck yeah, baby, that’s what I’m talking about!” Rainbow Dash laughed, slapping Applejack on the back, “This is awesome! We got the princesses and Applejack on our team…Twilight, nothing personal, but you and your team will be eating our dust to the finish line.”

“We’ll see about THAT, Rainbow,” Twilight frowned, “Just you wait and see what my team can do; we’re gonna teach you a thing or two about how teamwork’s really done! Um, no offense, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna…I hope you don’t hold this against me.”

“Not at all, Twilight,” Luna smiled, “My sister and I know that this is just a game. Win or lose, we’ll always care for each other and nothing will change.”

“Gag me with a silver spoon,” Discord hacked, pretending to put a finger down his throat.

“Excuse me?” Silver Spoon asked, blinking and frowning over at Discord.

“It’s an expression,” Discord sighed, rubbing his temples and snapping his fingers, “I swear, you ponies and non-ponies are giving me wrinkles! Just look at my beautiful face!” A mirror appeared in his hand and he looked at himself. He looked no different than he always did, but he still started to bemoan the invisible stress marks on his face.

Rarity: *irritated* Can you BELIEVE Discord, acting like a big fool over his face when there was clearly nothing there? I swear, such arrogant and egoistical fools are nothing but eyesores for the rest of us.

“So, Magical Misfits and Royal Ruffians, are you all ready to get to your first challenge?” Discord asked, tossing his mirror away and letting it crash through a window of the mess hall.

“I’M NOT CLEANING THAT UP, DISCORD!” Nightmare Moon’s angry voice rang out through the eatery.

“Don’t worry, she’ll clean it up; she loves me,” Discord whispered to the two teams, all of whom rolled their eyes. A few of them whispered words such as “delusional” as well.

“Um…do we have to…do a challenge so quickly?” Fluttershy squeaked, shyly twirling a hoof along her platform, “Shouldn’t we, um, maybe get to know our team better before we do something together?”

“A wonderful idea, Fluttershy,” Discord agreed, vanishing and reappearing behind the meek Pegasus, “Let’s have a little bonding exercise before we do the first challenge!” He playfully wrapped his arms around the Pegasus and gave her a big hug, which instantly caused her to scream and faint.

“DISCORD!” Celestia yelled.

“Hmm…seems she’s out like a light again…poor thing must not be eating enough food,” Discord mused, gently shaking the limp Fluttershy back and forth in his hands before randomly tossing her towards Applejack. The cowgirl quickly caught the poor Pegasus before laying her down on the platform. She proceeded to stroke the twitching Pegasus’ head and keep her calm, while also trying to softly wake her up. Zecora glared at Discord while the rest of her team tended to Fluttershy.

Zecora: Discord does not know about personal space; it is clear by the smug look smeared upon his face. *she sighs* I hope I am of some use to my team; I kinda wish this was all just a dream.

“So, if it’s a little bonding exercise you all want before I make you do the first challenge, then that’s what we’ll do!” Discord continued, snapping his fingers and having a stopwatch appear in his hand, “Okay, so all of you take off running into the forest until you find a turnabout, and then you come back here. How’s that for a bonding activity?”

“Uh…what’s the catch?” Spike asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh, right, the catch, of course!” Discord chuckled, slapping his forehead as though he had completely forgotten it, “The catch is, you only have five minutes to run there and back. Your ENTIRE team must be back on time. If even ONE pony or non-pony isn’t back by the time my watch stops, then the ENTIRE team must run again as punishment! When all the teammates finally make it back on time, then they’re allowed to stop. How’s that for a catch?”

“That is cruel and unusual punishment!” Trixie protested, “That is no bonding exercise!”

“Sorry, were you saying something?” Discord asked, having teleported some headphones in and was already listening to some head-banging music, “I’m currently listening to a song called ‘I Don’t Care’ by the That’s Too Bad Boys!”

Gilda: *grinning* Sounds like a good band and a good song; think Discord would let me listen to it?

Cheerilee: I wonder if Discord ever went to school…if he did, he certainly didn’t learn any manners!

“Well, if that’s all, then get ready to run!” Discord shouted over his music, holding up the stopwatch, “Oh, and NO flying, for those of you who have wings; you may only use your legs.”

“Fine with me; I can win with or without my wings,” Rainbow Dash smirked, turning around and getting into position as she faced the forest.

“This will be fun,” Gilda added, also getting into position and facing the forest. The two former friends glanced at one another, glared, and then grit their teeth as they prepared for the race.

“Oh, and to add some incentive to the race, I’ll make you an offer you can’t refuse,” Discord yelled out, now randomly flipping through some songs on his little radio that his headphones were plugged into, “The team that makes it back first with all their teammates will win a free hot tub for their cabin! The losing team will win a box of my toenail clippings. How does that sound?”

“Both revolting and exciting at the same time,” Rarity sniffed, “I will make sure that our team comes in first place then; a hot tub will be perfect to make sure I get clean after each and every challenge that I’m force to get my beautiful body dirty in.”

“Could I join you, Rarity?” Spike called out, which instantly got him slapped in the back of the head by Applejack and laughed at by the rest of his teammates, save for Celestia.

Spike: *rubbing his head* What? It’s a well-known fact that hot tubs are even hotter when a handsome guy is there to spend time with the girl! It’s true, I swear!

“Okay…on your marks…get set…five minutes set…go!” Discord called out, rather lazily, as he laid back in his invisible hammock and closed his eyes. The 20 campers all took off into the forest almost at once, while Discord seemingly didn’t even notice. He kept his hand on his stopwatch, however, as it started to tick down from five minutes. He smirked to himself, since he knew that this wouldn’t be much of a bonding exercise as it would be more of a fighting one.

Celestia: I suppose this is a bad time to mention this, but…I’m not exactly much of a runner…or really much of the sporty type. I don’t really get out much…and when I do, I usually have my chariot take me.

Diamond Tiara: Like, running is SUCH a chore; it’s so totally stupid! What’s the point of getting all sweaty and dirty when it does nothing for your body except, like, get you all tired and stuff? Seriously!

The race started off as a mixed bag of results. Rainbow Dash and Gilda, even without their wings, easily charged ahead of the packs and were gone before either of their teams knew what happened. Applejack, of course, was also pouring her heart into the race and was trying to catch up with Rainbow Dash. Her little sister, Apple Bloom, had the family’s hard-working blood in her and was also running quite well; Scootaloo was used to using her scooter, but she proved that she was also a tough little filly as she kept pace with her fellow crusader.

Pinkie Pie was bouncing along merrily, not going really fast, but not going really slow, either. Spike was moderately fast while running on two legs, although he secretly wanted Rarity’s team to win, since he felt she deserved the hot tub more than he did. Cheerilee was running quite well for a school teacher, and had soon caught up to Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. Derpy accidentally tripped over a rock and ran into a tree, but otherwise she was doing very well, too. Zecora wasn’t much for exercise, but the zebra was shocking most others by running just as fast as Applejack.

“How…in the world…are ya managin’ to keep up with me?” Applejack gasped, racing along the forest path while glancing at Zecora next to her.

“You earth ponies are not the only ones with strong bodies,” Zecora smiled over at Applejack, “Back in my home lands, running around was one of my hobbies.”

“Well, ah’ll be danged…impressive, Zecora,” Applejack smiled, giving her zebra teammate a nod before continuing to charge forward.

Applejack: Ah never would’ve imagined Zecora as the athlete type; ah thought she was just a scary shaman gal from the Everfree Forest who concocted weird potions and stuff like that all day long.

However, while half of the campers were comfortably cruising with their running, the other half was struggling to keep up. Rarity was proving that she wasn’t used to running at all, and she kept stopping to avoid mud puddles on the ground. Twilight was trotting at a normal pace, as she had done during the running of the leaves, and she had calculated that she would make it on time if she kept this up. Vinyl was purposely not going that fast so that she could chat with Twilight along the path, much to the purple unicorn’s embarrassment. Neither of them knew that Trixie was secretly running along behind them to see if she could dig up any dirt on either of the unicorns.

“So, Twilight, when we get back home, there’s this new song I wrote that I really want you to try!” Vinyl was saying, grinning over at the lavender pony, “It’s kinda dark, but I know that your pretty voice will be perfect for it, ya feel me? I really love your voice and I really want to showcase your talents as much as I can; you’re so amazing, Twi.”

“Vinyl, please, we have a race going on here,” Twilight protested, clearly blushing from getting so much attention, especially since it involved her voice, “I’m honored, really, but…”

“I can see it all now,” Vinyl sighed dreamily, “You and I all alone in my studio…the lights dimmed…the music gently blaring out over the speakers…me on the recording table…and you singing with your beautiful voice to the lyrics of my song…man, wouldn’t that just be…groovy?”

“That…would be…something…” Twilight squeaked, an even deeper blush bursting out over her face. While Vinyl continued to make Twilight uncomfortable with her visions, Trixie couldn’t help but snicker in amusement from behind.

Trixie: Oh, perfect, Trixie has gotten a good clue on how to take down that insidious Twilight! She is very proud of her talents and loves it when others brag her up…so, all Trixie has to do is use that against her!

On the Royal Ruffians’ side, the stragglers consisted of Celestia, Diamond Tiara, Fluttershy, Luna, Silver Spoon, and Sweetie Belle. Sweetie Belle had gotten a bit better at exercise since becoming the Cutie Mark Crusaders, but she was still slightly chubby and not at all an athlete. Diamond Tiara was constantly complaining about everything, mostly to Silver Spoon, and was dreadful at running; Silver Spoon herself nearly kept knocking her glasses off while she ran. Fluttershy was almost like Twilight, trotting along at her own pace, and stopping now and then to look at the wildlife. Luna was new at doing such a weird jogging exercise, but she was nothing compared to her sister.

“Sister…Luna…please…slow…down!” Celestia was gasping, already sweating profusely and struggling to pull herself along.

“Celestia, sister, you already asked me to slow down four times already!” Luna sighed. The moon princess hadn’t broken a single sweat yet.

“This…is…torture!” Celestia moaned, now basically just dragging herself along, “My…legs…are…killing me! How…does…Twilight…and her friends…do this every day?”

“Maybe if you didn’t fly and ride your chariot everywhere, you’d be in better shape,” Luna teased.

“Keep…it up…and I’ll send you…on a one-way trip…right back to the moon!” Celestia grumbled, clearly humiliated at being so out of shape. Luna just giggled, knowing (or rather hoping) that her sister wouldn’t really punish her like that again. Together, the moon princess and the wheezing sun princess kept moving as best as they could.

Luna: Seeing my sister eat some…what was the term…oh, right, some ‘humble pie’ is actually very fitting. I know that there’s a lot of folks out there who consider her…what was it…a troll? *she giggles at that*

At the turnabout, Rainbow Dash and Gilda both easily cleared it and began the track back to camp. Both girls were neck-and-neck with each other, and couldn’t help but glare at one another with each passing moment. Both of them wanted to beat the other so bad, even though them winning the race wouldn’t really matter. Applejack and Zecora both turned the turnabout a moment later, keeping pace with their leader Rainbow Dash, and making up for the terrible running of Diamond Tiara and Celestia. However, as a group, it seemed that the Magical Misfits might be performing better.

“You ain’t beating me, Dash!” Gilda snapped, throwing out a punch at Rainbow Dash as she tried to knock the Pegasus off-course.

“Stop cheating, Gilda, and play fair!” Rainbow Dash growled, dodging Gilda’s attack and forcing herself to not use the same dirty tactics. Ignoring Rainbow Dash, Gilda continued to try and kick, trip, or even use her wing to hit her former friend and give herself an edge (Discord never said she couldn’t use her wings as weapons). But, Rainbow Dash kept dodging everything Gilda threw at her, and it only fueled her anger and made her push on harder.

Rainbow: Darn that Gilda! What is her DEAL? Me and her used to be so tight…and now, all she cares about is humiliating me…it’s kinda sad, you know? But, regardless, she’s going down.

Discord was waiting back at camp, still with his eyes closed and seemingly asleep after listening to more horrible music. However, as Rainbow Dash and Gilda both made it back at the same time, the spirit of disharmony immediately sat up and opened his eyes. With a grin, he snapped his fingers and his headphones and radio both vanished. He looked down at his stopwatch and gave a nod to the two rivals.

“Three minutes and twenty-two seconds for both of you!” he said, “Well done, but can both of your teams deliver as well?” Rainbow Dash and Gilda gasped softly, catching their breath, and then went back to glaring at each other while also watching the forest closely to see who would be coming out next. Only ten seconds later, Applejack and Zecora both emerged for the Royal Ruffians, giving them three out of ten teammates back in time.

“C’mon, you losers, c’mon!” Gilda growled, clenching her fists as she glared at the forest entrance, “Get your stupid flanks back here…I’m not losing a race to Dash because you losers can’t run!”

“Nice team spirit, Gilda,” Rainbow Dash muttered, shaking her head in disgust. Another ten seconds passed, and Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Cheerilee all stumbled out of the forest, gasping for breath. This put the Magical Misfits back into the lead with four teammates.

“Did…we…make it?” Scootaloo moaned, wiping some sweat off her forehead, “Oh…Rainbow Dash!” She quickly forgot about her tiredness and instantly raced over to the colorful Pegasus.

“No fraternizing with the enemy, squirt!” Gilda snapped, pointing at Scootaloo.

“But…it’s Rainbow Dash…she’s my idol and I always love seeing her,” Scootaloo protested, “It’s just a game, after all…I’ll always love her…er, I mean…she’ll always be my idol, even if I’m competing against her. What’s wrong with that?”

“Because in this game, it’s not all about friends and hugs and all that nonsense!” Gilda growled, “In this game, it’s about winning and proving who the better team is! If you go around being nicey-nice to the other team, you’re proving how weak you are!”

“Gilda, that is not true,” Cheerilee said, coming to Scootaloo’s defense, “She is just being a little sweetheart, and there is nothing wrong with that. Even rival teams can still be nice to each other.”

“Whatever, weakling,” Gilda mumbled, turning away from Cheerilee and watching the forest again.

Cheerilee: *sighing and shaking her head* That Gilda…she’s so misguided…and fueled from what happened with Rainbow Dash. I wonder if Twilight might be able to help her see the light?

“Nice race, little sis!” Applejack called over to Apple Bloom, since she knew no one on HER team would get after her for being nice to her opponents, “Ah’m mighty proud of ya for comin’ in right behind me.”

“Thanks, AJ! I love you, sister!” Apple Bloom called back. Gilda was just about ready to yell at the little filly for that, but thankfully she didn’t get the chance. Pinkie Pie somehow bounced out a moment later, followed by Derpy Hooves, although not in the prettiest of ways. Derpy ended up running straight into Pinkie’s butt, resulting in Pinkie face-planting into the ground and Derpy’s face getting smushed into Pinkie’s squishy rump.

“Four minutes, five seconds, so you both made it!” Discord yelled out, laughing at the sight, “Nice finish, by the way.”

“What hit me?” Pinkie asked, lifting her head up and turning around, “Oh, Derpy! Why are you using my tushy as your pillow?”

“I think the ground tripped me and your tushy caught my face before it could get hurt!” Derpy cried, lifting her face up a moment later and smiling, “Thanks, Pinkie! And thank you to your tush, too!”

“You’re very welcome! Oh, and my tushy says ‘you’re welcome’, too!” Pinkie giggled, wiggling her rump back at the derp-eyed Pegasus.

“I think I’m gonna hurl,” Gilda sighed, “But, at least that’s two more for us; just four more and we win this race, baby! C’mon, you losers…c’mon!”

A few more seconds passed and nothing happened, which worried some of the campers who were already back, since they didn’t really want to run again. However, after about 30 seconds, a mad rush of ponies was seen stampeding towards the finish line as fast as they could. The campers that were already back quickly scrambled aside just before the large collision took place, resulting in a pileup of six ponies and a dragon.

“Four minutes, thirty-five seconds, so you all make it back in time, too!” Discord called out, once more laughing his head off as he watched the twitching pile of ponies and Spike try to untangle themselves, “Let’s see…I see Rarity, Twilight, and Vinyl…Fluttershy, Sweetie Belle, Luna and Spike. That gives nine campers back for the Misfits and seven for the Ruffians. But, there’s only 25 seconds left…will some team win? Or will they ALL have to race again?”

“DAMMIT, WHERE IS THAT STUPID BLUE UNICORN?” Gilda roared, “I AM NOT LOSING THANKS TO HER!”

“Ugh…Trixie? She’s not here?” Twilight blinked, pulling herself out of the pile and noticing that Trixie indeed was the only one not yet back, “Uh-oh…Trixie, come ON…seriously?”

“That ignorant little unicorn hasn’t shown her flank yet?” Rarity gasped, angrily starting to dust herself off as she removed herself from the pile, “And here I tried my hardest to get here to avoid making you all race again…ooh, that little unicorn is DEAD!”

“Um…Twilight, dude?” Vinyl grinned, “You’re…kinda sitting on me.” Indeed, after Twilight pulled herself out of the pile, she had sat upon Vinyl without even realizing. With a squeak and another blush of embarrassment, Twilight quickly leaped off the unicorn and muttered an instant apology. Vinyl, however, simply continued to grin as she got up, clearly not minding what happened at all.

“Sweetie Belle, good job on making it back!” Rarity called over to her sister, “Now your team cannot possibly blame you after they lose this race!”

“Getting’ a little mouthy, aren’t ya, Rarity?” Applejack grinned, playfully winking over at the unicorn, “This race ain’t over yet…just wait and see; Princess Celestia isn’t even here yet, ya know.”

“Um…about my sister…I fear that we might have to race again,” Luna said meekly. Almost at once, the rest of the team looked at her in shock.

“W-w-what do you mean by that?” Rainbow Dash gulped, “I-I-Isn’t she gonna be here? She’s the princess, right? She can’t possibly lose this for us!”

“Well…” Luna began, but didn’t get another word out as one more person was seen trotting out of the forest. She was blue and she was wearing a magician’s hat and a cape.

“And Trixie makes it back with twelve seconds to spare!” Discord yelled out, “The Magical Misfits win the race AND a nice hot tub that they may use from now until the end of the show!”

“YES! NOW THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT!” Gilda laughed, instantly flashing Rainbow Dash a leering smile while the rest of the team celebrated their first victory. Rainbow Dash scowled and crossed her front forelegs across her chest, clearly not happy about losing to Gilda on the very first challenge, or rather mini-challenge, of the show.

“Trixie…what kept you?” Twilight asked, looking suspicious as she observed the smirking mare, “I know that you’re a good runner…we all saw you running away from Ponyville a while back.”

“Oh…Trixie was just…deciding to be fashionably late,” Trixie said calmly, continuing to smirk at Twilight, “You didn’t REALLY think that Trixie would lose this for us, did you?”

“For a second there, I did,” Gilda frowned, “And the second that you would’ve, your face would’ve been my new punching bag.”

Trixie: *rolling her eyes* Trixie was not lying when she said she was being fashionably late, because she was! But…she was also plotting things against Twilight Sparkle at the same time, too. *she smirks*

“Five…four…three…two…one…time’s up!” Discord smirked, “Ooh, too bad, it looks like the Royal Ruffians are missing three of their players!”

“I hope Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon are alright,” Cheerilee said, worried upon not seeing two of her students back. She knew that they weren’t the most athletic types, and that made her worry even more.

“Your box of Discord’s amazing toenail clippings will be waiting in your cabin when you all get back from your SECOND run, Royal Ruffians,” Discord cackled, “But, until then, get going! Oh, and if you see Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, and Princess Celestia, tell them that they still have to complete BOTH laps before they’re allowed to quit.”

“Discord…you evil, good-for-nothing, horrible…OOH I CAN’T STAND YOU!” Rainbow Dash growled, but just grit her teeth and took off her second run. Applejack gave Discord a dirty look, then followed right after Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy was currently sniffing at some butterflies nearby, but after hearing what Discord said, she sighed softly and started to trot again. Luna grumbled and muttered something about punishing her sister for this as she took off for her second run, too. Spike blew Rarity a kiss (which she failed to notice) and took off running as well. Sweetie Belle whimpered and started to weakly trot after the others, while Zecora took off again without a single word to anyone.

Zecora: That which does not kill you can only make you stronger, but continuing to run won’t make my teammates last that much longer. *she shakes her head, then puts her hooves together and meditates*

“Magical Misfits, your hot tub will be ready for you after the challenge this evening,” Discord explained, “Win or lose, it’ll still be there when you get back. For now, you all can rest while the Royal Ruffians complete their second lap. But, be warned, the challenge will happen as soon as they all get back. This was just a warm-up; don’t think you’re out of the woods just yet!”

“But…we ARE out of the woods!” Pinkie protested, “See? The woods are over there, and we’re over here! So, we’re out of the woods and on the campgrounds!” Discord stared at Pinkie for a long time, then snapped his fingers and pulled out a hammer, which he used to start hitting himself over the head with.

Pinkie: *tilting her head cutely* Why was Discord hitting himself with a hammer? I did that once because my brain was itchy, but I wouldn’t recommend it. I’m kinda hungry; do we get cupcakes?

During the Royal Ruffians’ second lap (which Discord decided to not time), they found Celestia, Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon. All three girls were gasping and lying stretched out on the ground, barely even halfway done with the first lap. Thankfully, since Trixie and Gilda were on the opposite team, there wasn’t really anyone on the Ruffians who was gonna be mean about it. However, some of them couldn’t help giggling at how pathetic Celestia looked; their princess wasn’t all she was cracked up to be.

“Hey, sis, need a hoof?” Luna asked, trotting over to her sister and smiling innocently down at her. Slowly, Princess Celestia got to her hooves, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon twitching on her back, and she looked at Luna with pleading eyes.

“It…cannot…get…any…worse…than…this!” she moaned.

“Well…you kinda have to do TWO laps now…so…there’s that,” Luna explained.

“Well…then it CANNOT get any worse than THAT!” Celestia cried, now at wit’s end.

An hour later, the Magical Misfits and the Royal Ruffians were both standing on top of a thousand-foot cliff. Below the cliff was a large, deep lake, which was filled with hungry, pony-eating sharks.

“Me and my big mouth,” Celestia whimpered, slowly hanging her head.

Episode 3: The Ticked-Off Master

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Discord: Last time, on Total Magic Pony Island: your handsome host managed to trick 20 totally foolish and perfect victims…oh, I mean…nah, victims work just fine…into coming to Camp Paradox, their new home for the next 10 weeks! After some emotional breakdowns and shrinking Princess Celestia down to a more manageable size, the campers were split into two teams, which I masterfully dubbed the Magical Misfits and the Royal Ruffians. After a brilliant idea from Fluttershy, I made the two teams run around like fools in preparation for the first real challenge. Poor Celestia proved that she was not up to snuff, as she caused her team to lose…well, part of the blame goes to those two little bully fillies as well, but I so enjoy torturing Celestia more, so let’s just say it was mostly her fault. As a reward, the Misfits will be given a hot tub, and the Ruffians get some of my wonderful toenail clippings! Now, it’s time for the two teams to face their first real challenge! Who will rise to the top? Who will wind up the first loser going home? Find out next, right here, on Total…Magic…Pony…Island!

*a catchy opening theme song plays after Discord’s analysis of the previous episode, showing all 20 campers in different embarrassing or funny situations*

The 20 campers, some still exhausted after their racing marathon, were now all standing over a large cliff, overlooking a massive lake with pony-eating sharks swimming around within it. The cliff stretched an estimated 1,000 feet from the top to the bottom, leading to a 30-foot-deep lake where almost a dozen shark fins could be seen ambling here and there in the cold waters. As soon as all the campers saw this, they looked sick to their stomachs.

“So, campers, I really hope you all got warmed up during your little run,” Discord smirked, mockingly floating right over the top of the cliff without a care in the world, “Because, can any of you guess just what your first challenge is going to be?”

“Ooh, ooh, do we get to see who can throw the best party?” Pinkie blurted out, instantly flashing a happy smile, “Because that would be a totally awesome idea!”

“No, Pinkie…MAYBE it has something to do with…oh, I don’t know…the location where I brought you?” Discord frowned, pointing to the cliff and then down at the shark-infested waters.

“Ohhhhhh…we’re gonna go bungee jumping?” Pinkie guessed again, still keeping her happy grin plastered onto her face.

“Take off the ‘bungee’ part and you’ve got it, Pinkie,” Discord explained. Pinkie paused for a moment as she considered this, then her smile slightly drooped.

“Um…we have to…jump off the cliff…without a bungee cord?” Pinkie finally guessed.

“CORRECT!” Discord gasped, looking incredibly stunned, “Folks, this is incredible! Pinkie Pie actually got the RIGHT answer! Can you all believe it? I think we just witnessed a little miracle here on Camp Paradox! We do have that on camera, right?” He looked towards the nearest camera-pony, who slowly nodded. Meanwhile, Gilda and Trixie were the only two who got a good laugh out of Discord’s obvious insult; everyone else looked annoyed and even angry at the draconequus mocking the pink pony.

Applejack: Can ya’ll BELIEVE that guy? The nerve of him, insultin’ poor Pinkie Pie when she was just bein’ herself. Ah have a good mind to deliver a kick straight to Discord’s overinflated head.

Gilda: *laughing her head off* FINALLY that stupid pink rat gets humiliated; it feels so good to see her openly mocked for her stupidity. I know who I’m voting for first if we lose. *she smirks deviously*

Pinkie: *tilting her head slightly* We just witnessed a little miracle? Did I happen to miss it? *she gasps* Oh no…I missed the miracle! My Pinkie Sense didn’t even work! That is so not fair!

“Discord…you CAN’T be serious,” Rarity whined, “Jumping off this cliff will surely mess up my beautiful mane! Can you imagine the wind blowing through it as I fall? And I refuse to jump into a lake just to mess up my mane and tail, too!”

“Not to mention there’s SHARKS down there,” Twilight pointed out, frowning at Rarity’s ignorance.

“Yes, there’s that too,” Rarity chuckled.

“Well, allow me to explain how this is going to work then,” Discord said, slowly floating between all the contestants, “All of you must jump off this cliff and land in the water below. There’s a small safe zone marked down there with buoys, which SHOULD be free of pony-eating sharks…I think. For those of you that refuse to jump, you must wear a chicken hat for the rest of the day without taking it off!” He snapped his fingers and in his hand appeared a small hat that was shaped like a chicken.

Scootaloo: I don’t know why, but for some reason, I find that really insulting.

Rarity: Jump off a cliff into shark-infested waters and get my mane and tail all wet…or wear a horribly unfashionable chicken hat for an entire day? It’s such a hard choice! *she shivers badly*

“What if all 20 of us jump, or an equal number from both teams jump?” Twilight asked, trying to prolong actually having to do the challenge, since she was not thrilled about this.

“Oh, don’t worry, Twilight…I’ll make sure there’s a winner at the end…in whatever way possible,” Discord smirked evilly. Half of the campers shivered and looked very scared at Discord’s expression alone, even more than jumping off the cliff.

“Discord, this is so juvenile!” Celestia yelled, “You couldn’t have thought up something more…mature? This is beyond ridiculous!” Apparently, the princess didn’t realize that her back legs were shaking and knocking together. Discord noticed, however, and instantly held up a chicken hat.

“Shall you wear one and let your team down?” he asked, watching as Celestia muttered something and didn’t say another word, “Very well, it looks like the princess has finally learned how to hold her tongue.”

Celestia: So help me, once we get home, I promise that Discord WILL be back to being imprisoned inside of his stone statue, and then he’ll be locked up in the dungeon where NOPONY will find him!

“So, who’s gonna be first to take the dive?” Discord asked, crossing his arms and idly floating nearby as he watched the 20 contestants. It wasn’t long before the first brave soul stepped forward.

“This is nothing!” Gilda smirked, using her powerful strength to easily shove her entire team aside as she stepped towards the cliff, “Stand back and watch me work, losers.”

“That’s nice, Gilda…way to attack your own teammates,” Twilight muttered, lying in a heap as the entire team had crashed on top of her from Gilda’s shove. Just before the griffon took a flying leap off the cliff (which Rainbow Dash a few others felt like telling her to do since they got to the island), Discord teleported in front of her.

“Oh, and I forgot to mention…those of you with wings CANNOT use them on your way down,” he explained, winking at Gilda and then over at Rainbow Dash, “If I catch you using your wings in any way whatsoever, you are disqualified from the challenge and will dock your team a point.”

“Fine, whatever!” Gilda snapped, clearly not really caring one way or another, “Just stand back and watch me work!” Discord respected Gilda’s decision and floated back to watch along with the rest of the campers. Gilda walked over to the side of the cliff and peered down at the small safe zone marked off by 20 buoys. With a little nod, she walked backwards a few paces, let out a loud screech into the air, then charged forward and leaped straight off the cliff.

Gilda stretched her arms out as she nosedived straight down towards the massive lake, her eyes narrowing as the wind rushed through her feathers and the buoys got bigger and bigger the quicker she dropped. A single shark leaped out of the water and snapped its jaws up at Gilda as it sensed fresh blood, but Discord had told the truth and there were no sharks in the marked-off area. A second later, Gilda plunged straight down into the middle of the safe zone, creating a large splash that easily reached around ten or so feet.

“Gilda scores the first point for the Magical Misfits!” Discord announced, snapping his fingers as an electronic scoreboard appeared next to both teams on top of the cliff. The Misfits and the Ruffians both had their names written on the far left, and after Discord snapped his fingers again and received an electronic pencil, he put an electronic checkmark next to the Misfits.

“YOU DWEEBS HAD BETTER FOLLOW MY LEAD, OR ELSE!” Gilda called up to her team after she resurfaced a moment later, blinking water out of her eyes as she flew towards the beach to wait for the rest of the jumpers.

Rainbow Dash: *frowning* Okay, there was no way I was letting Gilda steal my thunder and humiliate me again. I don’t care who’s on her team; I just refuse to let her win with her rude attitude.

“Ah’ll show that birdie what we’re made of!” Applejack stated, gently pushing Rainbow Dash aside as the Pegasus had just begun trotting forward, “Rainbow Dash, ya’ll stay here and make sure the rest of our teammates jump, ahright?”

“But I wanted to jump next,” Rainbow Dash whined, huffing in annoyance as she looked at Applejack.

“Look, Princess Celestia is scared, ya’ll can tell,” Applejack whispered, “Plus, Fluttershy isn’t lookin’ that much better. Ya need to stay here and give them some courage, ahright? It’s what a leader does.”

“Leader? M-me?” Rainbow Dash blinked, completely stunned to hear Applejack call her that, “But…I’m not Twilight…I’m not a leader.”

“Ya are to me, Dash,” Applejack smiled, nodding to the Pegasus and giving her a little pat on the head, “Now, make me proud and lead us to victory; ah’m goin’ next and that’s final. Work yer magic, Dash!”

“I…I won’t let you down, AJ!” Rainbow Dash squeaked, blushing slightly as she gave the earth pony a weak salute. Nodding, Applejack turned to Discord and removed her hat.

“Here, hold this for me, will ya?” she said, “And don’t even THINK about doin’ anything with it, ya hear me? Ah just don’t want to ruin it on mah way down.”

“Very stylish,” Discord commented, putting the cowboy hat on his head and grinning. Applejack rolled her eyes, then let out a festive “yee-haw” before charging straight towards the edge of the cliff. The cowgirl took a flying leap much like Gilda did, then playfully rolled herself up into a ball as she spun through the air. She successfully performed a great cannonball right into the safe zone and scored the first point for the Royal Ruffians.

Applejack: *chuckling and dripping wet* That was REALLY fun! Ah wouldn’t mind goin’ again!

“So, the score’s tied at one apiece; who’s going next?” Discord asked, mockingly tipping Applejack’s cowboy hat as he faced the remaining 18 campers.

“This is my chance to show Rainbow Dash what I’ve got!” Scootaloo whispered to Apple Bloom, “Would you like to go with me?”

“Um…sure, Scootaloo…it might make it less scary with somepony going with you,” Apple Bloom said meekly, nodding to one of her two fellow crusaders. As the two fillies bravely started marching towards the cliff’s edge, their teacher quickly joined them.

“Girls, you don’t really think I’d let you both do this alone, did you?” Cheerilee smiled, “As long as I remain in his game, you don’t ever have to do anything alone; I will always stick by your side.”

“Aww, Miss Cheerilee, thank you!” Apple Bloom squealed, instantly hugging the teacher, who honestly didn’t seem that scared. Scootaloo just chuckled and gave her teacher a pat on the back as a sign of thanks without showing much lovey-dovey affection.

“Okay, let’s rock it!” Scootaloo grinned, “Miss Cheerilee, Apple Bloom, LET’S GO!” She happily charged straight towards the edge of the cliff, with Cheerilee trotting along her left and Apple Bloom on her right. The three all jumped off at exactly the same time with brimming confidence, but their reactions on the way down were far from joyous.

“SISTER, HELP ME!” Apple Bloom screamed, thrashing all four legs through the air as she plummeted towards the safe zone. She looked ready to cry.

“D-d-d-don’t g-g-g-get scared…R-R-R-Rainbow’s w-w-w-watching y-y-you…” Scootaloo stammered, but as she continued to plummet, she curled up into a fetal little ball and twitched in a terrified way.

Cheerilee wasn’t saying anything at all as she was driven down through the air. She had her eyes closed tightly with a contented looked on her face and her front hooves placed together, almost as if she was silently praying. All three landed in the safe zone a moment later.

“Heh…that wasn’t…so bad,” Apple Bloom laughed weakly, resurfacing and smiling at Scootaloo.

“Yeah…I totally nailed it,” Scootaloo chuckled, flexing her little muscles as she turned to look at her teacher, “What about you, Miss…Cheerilee?” The little Pegasus looked over at her teacher as she resurfaced and widened her eyes in shock.

“Quite enjoyable, my dear students!” Cheerilee smiled at Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. What the teacher didn’t realize was that she looked paler than a ghost and her right eye was twitching abnormally, “I am so proud of you both for being so brave!”

“Miss Cheerilee…were you…really, really scared?” Apple Bloom asked softly, bobbing in the water as she swam to her teacher’s side.

“My dear Apple Bloom, I’m your teacher! There’s nothing that can scare me!” Cheerilee giggled, “Now, how about we all get out of this water, okay? Like…maybe, right now?” With that, she quickly started to swim to shore without looking back at her two students.

Cheerilee: *slowly rocking back and forth with a terrified look on her face; she doesn’t say a word, and her body loses a bit more color as she also starts to twitch abnormally*

“Three more points for the Misfits!” Discord announced, drawing three more electronic checkmarks to go with the one they already had, “The score is now 4-1! Who’s going to go next?”

“Like, there is NO way I’m doing this,” Diamond Tiara sniffed, putting her nose in the air and sitting down on her rump, “There is NO way I’m messing up my beautiful mane and getting all wet.”

“Yeah, if Diamond Tiara doesn’t want to do it, then neither do I!” Silver Spoon added, adjusting her glasses as she sits down next to her best friend.

“C’mon, you two, don’t be like that!” Rainbow Dash said, walking up to the two bullies and trying to give them some encouragement, “It’ll be okay, really! Just aim your bodies for the safe zone and you’ll be fine. And don’t be scared about getting wet; you’ll dry off before long. You don’t want to possibly be the reasons why we lose, do you?”

“We, like, totally don’t care,” Diamond Tiara said coldly, turning her face away from Rainbow Dash and closing her eyes in a snooty way, “We are not, like, humiliating ourselves for the sake of a silly game. The princess knows what we mean; we already made complete foals of ourselves during that race!”

“So…you won’t jump then?” Rainbow Dash asked, staring at the two fillies in a creepy-calm way.

“If Diamond Tiara won’t, then I’m not going to, either,” Silver Spoon said, crossing her arms and giving a curt nod.

“Okay then,” Rainbow Dash shrugged. A split second later, both Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were hurled off the cliff and their screams could be heard all the way down to the lake below. Two little splashes indicated that they had made their mark a moment later.

Rainbow Dash: *shrugging and smirking* Twilight once told Fluttershy that you have to be firm and tough in some situations…looks like she was right. *she laughed a bit* Somehow, that felt good!

“YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT!” Diamond Tiara screamed up at Rainbow Dash, bobbing up and down in the safe zone, “HOW DARE YOU THROW ME OFF THAT CLIFF? SILVER SPOON AND I WILL…Silver Spoon?” She just noticed that her cohort was not in the safe zone.

“Diamond Tiara, where are you?” Silver Spoon called out from somewhere on the right, “I can’t see anything! Where are we?” Diamond Tiara looked to the right and saw her best friend floating far away from the safe zone, but her glasses had gotten knocked off and she couldn’t see anything, which included the pony-eating shark closing in on her from behind.

“SILVER SPOON, SWIM AWAY, HURRY!” Diamond Tiara screamed out, her heart leaping into her throat as she watched her friend about to get eaten.

“Trixie thinks that your aim was a little off, Pegasus,” Trixie said from on top of the cliff, watching the scene unfolding with horrified eyes as she reprimanded Rainbow Dash. All the campers, both on the cliff and on the beach, were beyond terrified as the shark closed in on the unsuspecting Silver Spoon.

“DISCORD, DO SOMETHING!” Celestia cried, “HURRY UP!” Discord sighed, then snapped his fingers and vanished. Down on the lake, just as the shark stretched its jaws open and was about to devour Silver Spoon, Discord appeared and quickly snatched the little filly out of the water. The angry shark ended up snapping its jaws down on nothing but air.

“Huh? Who has me? What’s going on?” Silver Spoon asked, blinking and glancing back as she looked at Discord’s blurry figure, “Discord, is that you?”

“Sorry, my dear shark, but you devouring one of my campers, a little filly no less, would not only ruin my image, but it would be very bad for ratings,” Discord explained, smirking down at the pissed shark, “Better luck next time; if you’re lucky, Celestia will miss the safe zone and you can enjoy her instead.”

“I HEARD THAT, DISCORD!” Celestia screamed, “THAT’S NOT FUNNY, EITHER!”

“Can somepony please tell me what’s going on?” Silver Spoon asked. In reply, Discord snapped his fingers and teleported Silver Spoon’s glasses back onto her face. Then, he idly tossed her over onto the beach to join Gilda, Cheerilee, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Applejack, all of whom looked stunned at what happened.

“Kid…I’ve gotta say…you’ve got guts,” Gilda chuckled, giving a nod to Silver Spoon as the little filly readjusted her glasses and Cheerilee and even Apple Bloom and Scootaloo gave her some quick hugs.

Silver Spoon: *blinking* Why do I never know what’s going on?

“Two more points forcibly obtained for the Ruffians,” Discord snickered, putting two more checkmarks on the electronic scoreboard, “But the score is still 4-3 in favor of the Misfits. Who’s next?”

“After what I just witnessed, I have made up my mind,” Rarity sniffed, sitting down and crossing her arms, “I am not jumping, and anypony who tries to force her otherwise will be met with my fury.” She stuck her nose in the air and refused to budge.

“Gilda’s gonna be very mad…she’s scary when she’s mad,” Derpy gasped, her two eyes separating as she observed Rarity, “Are you really sure that’s what you want?”

“You all heard me,” Rarity reiterated, “I’m not jumping, and that’s that. Go ahead and give me that ugly little hat, Discord, because I’m not jumping!”

“As you wish, chicken pony!” Discord snickered, snapping his fingers as a chicken hat appeared. He instantly floated over and forced it down on top of Rarity’s coiffed head. Rarity winced as she was forced to wear such a thing, but she knew she had made the right choice, despite the glares she was getting from Trixie.

Trixie: How DARE she not jump! Well, fine, if that’s the way it’s gonna be, then Trixie will do the same thing and make herself useless. *she takes out some sunglasses and puts them over her eyes*

“Um…if Rarity isn’t going to jump, then I don’t think I will, either,” Spike said, looking over at his favorite pony and sighing dreamily as he observed her with her chicken hat, “She does look cute in that hat, if you want my opinion.”

“Aww, c’mon, Spike!” Sweetie Belle whined, trotting up to the dragon and frowning, “Don’t stoop to my sister’s level. We can’t lose this for our team just because she doesn’t want to jump for her own team!”

“The filly is absolutely right,” Zecora stated, walking over and smiling at Spike, “You cannot quit during a fight. Let us jump off the cliff as one; you will see that it can be quite fun.”

“Where does all YOUR confidence come from, Zecora?” Spike asked, raising an eyebrow as he nervously started walking towards the cliff’s edge.

“That which does not kill you can only make you stronger,” Zecora said, walking alongside Sweetie Belle to join Spike’s side, “If you do not live in fear, your life will be much longer. I do not fear death or anything else; I live without worry and stay true to myself.”

Sweetie Belle: Zecora speaks such wisdom; I’m really glad to have her on my side. *whispering* Just between the two of us, she’s kinda more useful than my big sis in a lot of situations.

Spike: *scratching his head* Uh…so, I should live my life without fear of death because, if I don’t die, I’ll be stronger? But, what if I DO die? That made no sense whatsoever! *grumbles* Annoying zebra.

“Okay…here…we…GO!” Sweetie Belle cried, taking the leap off the cliff.

“GERONIMO!” Spike screamed, throwing caution to the wind and leaping off a second later.

“For our team!” Zecora called out enthusiastically, also leaping off almost right after Spike.

Discord and the remaining campers all watched as the threesome descended towards the water. Sweetie Belle cheerfully trilled as she plunged downwards, Zecora calmly curled up her legs close to her body to avoid any type of injury, but Spike ended up painfully bashing into a rock jutting out the side of the cliff as he made his way down. Everyone winced as the dragon yelped in agony and ended up splashing down in the safe zone a second later with Sweetie Belle and Zecora.

“Ooh, THAT had to hurt…but, no pain, no gain!” Discord laughed, tallying three more checkmarks for the Ruffians, “That means that the Ruffians take the lead by the score of 6-4. This is getting good!”

Spike: *now nursing a black eye and a sprained right arm in a sling* I HATE this game already!

“Oh dear, Spike!” Rarity gasped, trotting over towards the side of the cliff and looking down at the beach, which was where Spike had been carried over to by Zecora, “SPIKE, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?”

“DON’T WORRY…MY DEAR RARITY…AS LONG AS I CAN STILL SEE…YOUR BEAUTIFUL FACE…THE PAIN WILL NEVER BOTHER ME!” Spike yelled back, sighing dreamily as he could just make out Rarity’s figure.

“GOOD TO HEAR!” Rarity yelled again, smiling and trotting back to her spot, “Spike is just fine; my face made his pain go away.”

“Too bad Trixie cannot make that work in reverse,” Trixie muttered, frowning over at Rarity.

“Next up?” Discord asked, now resting on top of his electronic scoreboard with a bored look on his face.

“Ooh, ooh, I wanna go, I wanna go!” Pinkie giggled, bouncing up and down and heading towards the cliff, “Hey, Derpy, you wanna come with me? We could totally hold hooves together as we fall! Wouldn’t that be fun?”

“Would it!” Derpy grinned, before tilting her head and scrunching up her nose as her eyes twirled around crazily inside their sockets, “Um…I honestly don’t know…WOULD that be fun?” She curiously trotted along after the bouncing Pinkie Pie.

“Hey, Vinyl?” Twilight asked, turning to the disc jockey and smiling, “Could you go with them, too? I have somepony else to take care of…” Her eyes darted over to Trixie, who was now lounging on a beach chair with black sunglasses over her eyes and holding some mirror reflectors with her hooves to give herself a tan. Naturally, Twilight wasn’t very amused by this.

“Sure thing, Twi,” Vinyl grinned, trotting over to Pinkie and Derpy and slapping them on their rumps, “Okay, you dudes ready for this? Let’s get it on! LIVE ON THE EDGE, PONIES!” She laughed and leaped off the cliff, while Pinkie squealed happily and jumped off a second later. Derpy still looked a bit confused, but as she leaned over and peered down at the waters below, she squeaked and ended up slipping and taking the plunge by pure accident.

Derpy: Cliffs are so tricky, you know? You just can’t trust them! One moment, they’re just sitting there doing nothing, and the next thing a pony knows the cliff pushes her right over the edge!

“WHOO! JOIN HOOVES, SISTERS, AND LET US RIDE THE WIND TOWARDS THE BOTTOM!” Vinyl laughed, quickly using her right hoof to grab Pinkie’s left. Then, as the somersaulting Derpy soon joined them, Vinyl and Pinkie locked hooves with her, too.

“FOR VICTORY AND CUPCAKES!” Pinkie cheered, “OOH, OOH, I HAVE A SONG THAT’S PERFECT FOR THIS VERY SITUATION! ANYPONY WANT TO HEAR…?” Sadly, at that moment, all three ponies splashed down into the safe zone and Pinkie couldn’t get another word out.

“And that gives the Magical Misfits a 7-6 edge!” Discord announced lazily, randomly making three more checkmarks upside down on his scoreboard as he laid atop it, “Let me know when you’re all done.”

“Trixie…what are you doing?” Twilight asked, tapping her front left hoof in irritation as she had trotted up to the fellow unicorn and was now glaring at her.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie is clearly sunbathing and making herself look even prettier than before, Twilight Sparkle,” Trixie sniffed, not paying Twilight any mind, “Shoo, you lowly unicorn; you are blocking Trixie’s sun.”

“I’m standing over here and the sun is above your head, Trixie,” Twilight snapped, “You can get back to this afterwards; would you please go and jump off the cliff now?”

“Hmm…let Trixie think about that…no!” Trixie growled, wearily lifting her sunglasses and giving Twilight a dirty look in exchange for her glares, “Trixie is not about to leap off a cliff and get her hat and cape all wet. Besides that, if that prissy white unicorn over there isn’t jumping, then neither is Trixie.”

Twilight: *grinding her teeth with her right eye twitching* It’s times like these where I wish I had Gilda’s brute strength and Rainbow Dash’s outgoingness…but, I guess pure rage will have to do instead.

“WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!?!” Trixie screamed, trying to pull away as she felt Twilight shoving her towards the cliff, shoving her head into Trixie’s rump and forcing her along, “GET AWAY FROM TRIXIE THIS INSTANT, TWILIGHT SPARKLE!”

“You’re jumping, Trixie, even if I have to THROW you off!” Twilight growled, “I’m tired of your arrogant attitude around here. Rarity I can excuse, but you need to seriously learn to shape up, and you jumping off this cliff to help your team is a good start.”

“GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF TRIXIE’S REAR THIS INSTANT AND STOP THIS!” Trixie snarled, digging her hooves into the ground to try and prevent Twilight from pushing her any further. Twilight grunted and had a bit of trouble pushing the stubborn unicorn along, since she didn’t have Applejack’s strength, but she had an idea. She quickly reached up and snatched Trixie’s hat off of her head with her teeth, then hurried and snatched away her cape as well.

“Ready to go for a dip, Trix?” Twilight smirked, tossing Trixie’s clothes aside and getting ready for a mighty shove once Trixie realized her clothes had been ripped off.

“Trixie’s hat! Trixie’s cape! How DARE you remove them!” Trixie gasped, turning around and glaring at Twilight, “Trixie will make you pay!” At that moment, Trixie tried tackling Twilight, while Twilight simultaneously attempted to shove Trixie off the cliff. The two unicorns ended up slamming into each other, and after staggering around clumsily while trying to throw the other off her body, both of them ended up tripping over the edge of the cliff and plummeting down towards the water.

“Okay, NOW you got my attention again!” Discord laughed, rolling around on the ground and kicking his legs crazily and childishly as he listened to both unicorns scream their heads off as they both took the plunge on complete accident.

“I fail to see the humor in getting my prized student and her rude little partner shoved off the cliff, Discord,” Celestia frowned, glaring over at the draconequus, “Don’t you have a heart at ALL in there?”

“No, I’m afraid not; it was my brain that told me to rescue Silver Spoon from that shark,” Discord said coldly. When Celestia immediately looked ashamed and turned to look away from Discord, the spirit of disharmony snickered and couldn’t help but blow a raspberry in the princess’ direction. Two loud and very painful splashes later and the entire Magical Misfits team had completed their run, with Rarity being the only one not jumping.

Twilight: *having landed on her stomach for a painful belly flop, she was now sporting a very red belly and looked none too thrilled* That…Trixie…is beyond a doubt…a ROTTEN little unicorn!

Trixie: *having landed on her backside, she was now sporting a very red back, forcing her to lean forwards when speaking to the camera* Twilight…Sparkle…is...going to pay…DEARLY!

“Only four of you left!” Discord whistled, nodding to Celestia, Luna, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, “To win, all four of you need to jump! Who’s gonna be the fourth-to-last one to jump?”

“Sister, let’s go!” Luna said cheerfully, nudging her sister and smiling at her, “Let’s go together, alright? That way it won’t be so scary for you.”

“Luna, I appreciate your concern, but I am not afraid,” Celestia said calmly, despite the fact that her knees were still shaking. Slowly and elegantly, the tiny princess trotted towards the edge of the cliff with her sister Luna at her side, all while Discord finished up the Magical Misfits’ side of the scoreboard by adding two more checkmarks for a grand total of nine out of ten.

“Okay, sister, you ready?” Luna asked, glancing down towards the waters and smiling at Celestia.

“Yes…I’m ready…” Celestia muttered, seemingly breathing harder than ever before, “Oh…and Luna? If, for any moment, you let go of my hoof, being sent back to the moon will be only half of your worries. Is that perfectly clear?”

“What’s the saying? Oh, yes…crystal clear, sister,” Luna chuckled. She clutched her sister’s right hoof, then leaped off the side of the cliff with her…or rather she ended up yanking Celestia off herself when the white princess had remained frozen in place. During the entire trip to the water, Celestia couldn’t stop screaming right in Luna’s ear, and once both sisters hit the water, Celestia ended up clutching her sister for dear life and refusing to let go. Either her younger side was kicking in, she really loved her sister, or she just didn’t find this very fun.

“Two more for the Ruffians!” Discord snickered, putting more two more checkmarks on the scoreboard, “And…two more minutes of humiliation for our dear Princess Celestia.” He grinned and peeked over the side of the cliff, watching as Luna flew out of the water with her wings, carrying her shuddering sister in her arms like a little filly.

“There there, sister, it’s okay,” Luna purred, gently setting Celestia down in the sand and patting her back with her hoof, “It’s all over now; it wasn’t so bad, was it?”

Celestia: *with a towel wrapped around her* For all my loyal Equestria subjects watching this, please realize that I am in my younger body, so what you saw was not the REAL me…understand?

Luna: *giggling to herself* I think I really like my big sister being turned into a little mare; she’s so much funnier and cuter this way, don’t you all think? Please don’t tell her I said that, okay?

“This leaves just Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy,” Discord said, floating over to the two Pegasus ponies and smirking down at them, “For your team to win, you BOTH must jump.”

“Um…what if…only one of us jumps?” Rainbow Dash asked, glancing sideways at Fluttershy. The little yellow Pegasus hadn’t stopped shaking from the moment they had arrived on the cliff, and she had remained rooted in the same spot the entire time. Getting her to move would take a miracle.

“Since it’s MY game, it’s also MY rules…so, let me make this interesting,” Discord grinned, “Rarity already refused to jump for her team. If one of you refuse to jump, that would mean there’s a tie, right? Well…I really don’t feel like doing any tiebreakers, so…since you were the last ones to go, if one of you remains, then that means that your team loses.”

“WHAT?!?! THAT’S NOT FAIR!” Rainbow Dash angrily protested, “YOU CAN’T DO THAT!”

“Oh, but I’m afraid I can…you see, it’s…kinda my game,” Discord smiled, wrapping an arm around Rainbow Dash and giving her a playful nuzzle, “So…yes, I actually CAN do that…do you understand?”

“Touch me again with that hand and I’ll remove it,” Rainbow Dash growled, resulting in Discord snickering and mockingly sliding his hand off the pony’s back as slowly as he could, just to vex her.

Gilda: *laughing her head off* This is rich…Dash and that lame-o Fluttershy are the only two left! Fluttershy clearly isn’t going to jump, so that means I’m gonna win AGAIN! Eat it, Dash, you loser!

Rainbow Dash: *sighing and tapping her noggin as she contemplates the situation* Applejack said she believed in me…I can’t fail her. I know Fluttershy can do this…she just needs to hear the right words.

“Fluttershy, listen to me,” Rainbow Dash said, turning to her Pegasus friend and staring her right in the eyes, “You can do this, okay? Just pretend that it’s NOT a 1,000-foot drop into some cold waters with a bunch of hungry pony-eating sharks!” Fluttershy seemed to turn even paler as Dash said these words.

Rainbow Dash: *laughing in a squeaky, meek voice* Clearly…those weren’t the right words.

“Um…what I mean is…just believe in yourself, okay?” Rainbow Dash continued, “You are the pony who will either win this for us or lose it for us, but either way, we’ll all still love you. Whatever choice you make is up to you. Do whatever your heart tells you to do. But, just remember, you always have courage inside of you, even if it’s hidden and locked away. Now, I’m gonna go first, to show you how easy it is, and then you can hopefully follow me, alright?”

“O-O-O-Okay…” Fluttershy squeaked, still shaking like a leaf. Rainbow Dash gave the Pegasus a gentle hug and a pat on the head, then glared at the cliff as she pawed at the ground.

“Alright…here…I…GOOOOOOOOOO!” Rainbow Dash cried, racing forwards and diving majestically over the edge of the cliff, “FOLLOW ME, FLUTTERSHY!” All the campers on the beach (including Rarity) watched as Rainbow Dash plunged down towards the water. The Pegasus was struggling to not open her wings and use them, since she loved the wind and being in the sky. It was probably due to this that she wasn’t watching where she was about to land. A second later, Rainbow Dash accidentally smashed down right on top of a buoy.

“NICE ONE, DASH!” Gilda laughed, holding a hand over her face as she cackled gleefully, “YOU’RE STILL AS CLUMSY AS ALWAYS!” Aside from Trixie, all the other campers winced in horror as Rainbow Dash twitched in pain on top of the buoy, having landed on it with her legs spread. Slowly, she eased off the buoy and ended up sinking into the water.

Rainbow Dash: *now with an ice pack between her legs; she speaks in a very squeaky and pained voice* I suppose…I should be lucky…I’m not a colt…but that doesn’t make it…any less painful!

“Great…now that Fluttershy saw Rainbow Dash do THAT…there’s no way she’s gonna jump,” Applejack sighed, shaking her head and frowning as Rainbow Dash dragged herself out of the water, “Nice landin’, Dash…hope ya’ll are ahright.”

“My pride…is…what hurts…the most…” Rainbow Dash moaned, falling face-first into the sand and continuing to groan, all while Gilda kept laughing and mocking her. On top of the cliff, Fluttershy had witnessed what happened to Rainbow Dash, and indeed was even less confident than before. She knew that she couldn’t do this; she just couldn’t bring herself to do it.

“Fluttershy, my dear, you’re the only one left,” Discord smirked, appearing behind the Pegasus and once more freaking her out, “Will you jump? Or will you not? The choice is yours. Win or lose, the challenge rests in your hooves, my dear. Take your time.”

“HEY, LOSER, BETTER GET A CHICKEN HAT WHILE THEY’RE STILL HOT!” Gilda called up to Fluttershy, “YOU’RE SO LAME AND PATHETIC; WHY DID DISCORD EVEN BOTHER BRINGING YOU TO THE SHOW?”

“Gilda, stop that!” Twilight snapped, “Opposite team or not, Fluttershy is my friend! I will not tolerate you insulting her like that!” However, Twilight’s pleas went unheard, and Gilda just kept her insults going to make Fluttershy lose whatever confidence she had left.

“FLUTTERSHY? YOUR NAME SHOULD BE SCAREDY-SHY!” Gilda mocked, “YOU’RE STUPID AND A TOTAL WASTE OF SPACE! QUIT NOW BEFORE YOU HUMILIATE YOURSELF!”

“Why that foul-mouthed, no-good little…” Applejack growled, glaring over at Gilda, but then getting a crazy idea. As Rainbow Dash leaned up to badmouth Gilda back, Applejack quickly shushed her. The cowgirl then quickly told the rest of her team to not say a word, either, and to let Gilda continue to insult Fluttershy. If this failed, Applejack would vote herself out for being an idiot, but she had to take a chance and Fluttershy had to find the strength to do this on her own.

Up on top of the cliff, Fluttershy was listening to every word that Gilda was blasting her with. Deep down, the Pegasus knew that Gilda was absolutely right. She WAS lame and pathetic and a waste of space, or at least that’s how she viewed herself. She was so meek and shy, but she did wish that she had more confidence inside of her. However, the more Gilda continued to verbally lambast the poor little Pegasus, the more Fluttershy started to look annoyed.

“LOSER, LOSER, LOSER! SCAREDY-SHY, YOU’RE A TOTAL LOSER!” Gilda screeched, “YOU’RE GONNA LOSE IT FOR YOUR TEAM, AS YOU SHOULD, BECAUSE YOU’RE PATHETIC! YOU’RE GONNA GO HOME FIRST! SAY BYE-BYE, LOSER! LOSER, LOSER, LOSER!”

With each “loser” that Gilda spouted, Fluttershy’s eyes narrowed more and more, until they were little slits on her face. She started to clench her teeth, and she slowly started to pick herself up off the ground. With the last few “losers” that Gilda blasted out, Fluttershy could almost see red just before she screamed loudly up into the sky. Her mane puffed up as her left eye twitched and she started to paw the ground much like Applejack did.

“I…am…not…a…LOSER!” Fluttershy screamed, pushing Discord out of the way and charging straight towards the cliff’s edge. The Pegasus let out another manic roar as she flew right over the edge, tucking her wings into her sides as Discord had ordered and she instantly started plummeting down towards the water. She kept her teeth clenched the entire way down, and was plunging in a perfect nosedive that anypony would be jealous of. The 19 campers on the beach could only watch in stunned fashion as Fluttershy majestically sailed straight down the side of the cliff and was soon swallowed up by the lake of sharks as she plunged down within it.

A stunned silence hung around Camp Paradox for what seemed like hours as Fluttershy slowly rose back to the surface, almost as graceful as a mermaid, but as scary as a shark. Fluttershy’s face was frozen in rage, her eyes narrowed and flashing, her teeth still bared, her mane a mess, and her face contorted in a freakish frown. Slowly, she stretched her wings and calmly flittered back to the beach, her flapping wings making the only noise that could be heard throughout the entire camp. The Pegasus slowly flew right up to Gilda and moved her face to within an inch of the griffon’s. Then, just like that, Fluttershy’s eyes, mane, mouth, and her entire body went back to normal and she was left smiling at Gilda.

“Um…I’m sorry…but, who’s the loser now?” she asked, giggling and continuing to smile down at Gilda just before she flapped over and joined her flabbergasted Royal Ruffian teammates. It took another full minute or so before Discord finally reappeared on the beach and snapped everyone back to reality.

“FLUTTERSHY WINS IT FOR THE ROYAL RUFFIANS!” he called out, “AS SHOCKING AND UNEXPECTED AS IT WAS, SHE WINS IT! THE RUFFIANS DO NOT HAVE TO VOTE ANYONE OUT TONIGHT!”

Applejack: *chuckling* Ah knew she had it in her; ah saw it before at the Grand Galloping Gala.

Fluttershy: *blushing shyly and looking down at the floor* Um…I won for us…yay?

Gilda: *dumbstruck* This can’t be… *Discord tries to interrupt, but she punches him in the face*

After the Royal Ruffians finally broke out of their shock, they all cheered for Fluttershy and ended up hefting the little Pegasus up over their heads and parading her back to camp; naturally, Fluttershy got scared at this and fainted before long. Applejack also caught Discord and forced him to give her hat back. Meanwhile, the Magical Misfits were left dejected and angry as they all trudged back to the mess hall for dinner. They knew they had to vote someone out tonight, and at the moment, it seemed obvious who should go.

“Well, well, well…back for dinner?” Nightmare Moon smirked, watching both teams walk into the mess hall, “It looks like you all had quite a lovely time. Don’t worry; I promise the dinner won’t kill you.” The dark princess laughed evilly and levitated trays of food over to each of the 20 seats scattered around the room (how she could use magic, nopony knew). The Magical Misfits all sat down at one table, while the Royal Ruffians all sat down at the other. The food they were served look like a black salad, with all the vegetables as black as the night sky, and most of the campers were scared to even touch it.

“So…we have to vote someone off tonight, huh?” Twilight sighed, shaking her head as she poked at her salad, “I wasn’t expecting us to lose so early; I don’t even think our new hot tub can cheer us up at the moment.”

“Well, it’s obvious who should go,” Scootaloo spoke up, glaring over at Gilda, “You are the rudest pony or non-pony that I know. You were mean to Rainbow Dash, you were mean to Fluttershy, you were mean to ALL of us! You definitely deserve to go!”

“Nice try, small fry, but you’d be stupid if you dared vote ME off,” Gilda snapped.

“Oh, and why would that be?” Cheerilee asked calmly, weakly nibbling on a black carrot, “I don’t wish to start anything, but you were clearly the reason for us losing, not to mention you were treated everypony like dirt. I’m sorry, but someone with your attitude doesn’t deserve to be here.”

“And yet I’m not the one wearing the chicken hat,” Gilda pointed out, looking at Rarity. Instantly, all eyes shifted to the white unicorn, who had been trying to not say a word to draw attention to herself.

“Now, darlings, let’s not be hasty here,” Rarity smiled, nervously poking at her salad before making a face and pushing the bowl towards Pinkie Pie, “Even if I HAD jumped, you heard Discord; he could’ve done ANYTHING to change up the rules. Just because I didn’t jump doesn’t mean that I caused us to lose. I can make myself useful in much more ways than such a stupid challenge like that.”

“What about those two little fillies over there?” Gilda argued, pointing to Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, “The longer they stay, the weaker our team will get. They’re small and not very useful; what if we get to a challenge where we need some heavy-lifters? I’m the only one on this team with actual muscles; the rest of you couldn’t lift an eyebrow.”

“H-h-hey, ah’m…useful…and mah size doesn’t make me weak!” Apple Bloom protested, “Ah have mah family’s blood in me; ah’ll prove that ah’m strong when the time comes!”

“Look, dweebs, let me spell something out for you,” Gilda frowned, “If you vote me off, you’ll regret it, since you’re gonna lose every challenge from here on out without my help. I may have an attitude, which I’m proud of, but that doesn’t mean I should go first. There’s four completely useless members on this team right now, so if nothing else, it should be one of them.”

“Four useless members on this team? Trixie thinks she knows one, but who might the other three be?” Trixie asked, smirking and glancing sideways at Twilight, who happened to be sitting next to her.

“I’m talking about you unicorns,” Gilda said, “Think about it…this island doesn’t let you use magic. Why possible thing can you unicorns do? That stupid little Pegasus with the weird eyes is our only flyer, besides myself and our little filly with the tiny wings, so we need her. That stupid pink rat is annoying, but she’s an earth pony and may come in handy, too. What can you unicorns possibly do if you can’t use your magic?”

There was silence all around the table as Gilda said these words. Deep down, they knew it was true. Getting rid of Gilda was their first choice, since she was just a complete jerk, but Gilda made a good point that, without her, they would have no muscle power left. Derpy Hooves could indeed fly, Apple Bloom knew some tricks like her big sister, Cheerilee was a very intelligent earth pony teacher, Pinkie Pie was a bag of randomness that was sure to come in handy, and Scootaloo was very athletic. The four unicorns, without their magic, were basically useless.

“But…but…no, that’s wrong!” Rarity cried, putting her nose in the air, “I do NOT deserve to go just because I cannot use my magic. I am plenty good at other things…like, fashion designs…and modeling…and stuff like that.”

“And the Great and Powerful Trixie is very important and talented,” Trixie argued.

“Am I…really that useless?” Twilight sighed, hanging her head and looking down on herself. Without her magic, and getting told from Gilda that she was useless…and it was the truth…really hurt.

“I understand what Gilda’s saying,” Vinyl spook up, taking a sip of water that had been delivered to them by Nightmare Moon, “If…if I’m really somepony that’s not of aid to this team…then vote me off. I don’t want to be a liability or anything like that, ya dig?”

“Vinyl…Trixie…Rarity…” Twilight muttered, looking from unicorn to unicorn, “None of us are useless; this is just another challenge from Discord to prove what we have in us! Just because we can’t use magic doesn’t mean that we aren’t better than others!”

“Can you back that up?” Gilda questioned. There was another pause, and Twilight went silent. She knew that she couldn’t really do anything at the moment to prove herself useful. Even Trixie was silent and starting to worry about her place in the show. Vinyl continued to sadly shake her head and drink some water, while Rarity had her face down on the table in dismay. Pinkie, who was gulping down both her and Rarity’s salads without a care in the world, reached over and poked the chicken hat.

“Hey…it clucks just like a chicken!” Pinkie squealed, listening as Rarity’s chicken hat indeed clucked a few times when the pink pony squeezed its beak, “Isn’t that just adorable?”

Rarity: I cannot be the first one going home…can you imagine how bad that would hurt my reputation? I would never be able to sell a dress in Ponyville again…or even show my FACE there again!

Vinyl: Dang, man, this sucks…I wish there was another way I could prove how useful I am…but, if some unicorn has to go, I hope it’s me over Twilight…she deserves to stay…she’s better than me.

Trixie: This is an outrage! To think they might try voting off the Great and Powerful Trixie, when clearly Twilight Sparkle is MUCH weaker than her! This will not go unpunished!

Twilight: Could I…really be heading home first? Me? I…I really thought that I could’ve done more…I don’t WANT to go home yet! I don’t like it here, but…I have so much more to prove!

After the dinner, the Royal Ruffians headed to their cabin for the first time, and found a box of Discord’s toenail clippings waiting for them. Since no one wanted to touch the box, they drew lots and Spike was the unlucky one who was forced to carry it outside and bury it somewhere far, far away from the cabin. When the dragon protested about this, Celestia gave him a lecture on how he would be doing a very important task for the team…and how she didn’t want to have to punish him for disobedience…so Spike hurried up and went to find a shovel.

Spike: *grumbling and holding a shovel in his hand* Why do I always get stuck doing the dirty work? I have so much more potential! *he angrily tries to throw the hammer, but he forgot that he was inside a small confessional, so the shovel bounced right off the door and smacked the dragon square in the face* …I can be so…stupid…ugh… *he collapsed a moment later*

While the Ruffians celebrated their first win and were happy that no one would be going home, the Misfits all dragged themselves towards another area of the camp that Discord had ordered them to appear. There was a huge bonfire waiting for them, along with a bunch of wooden bleachers. Discord himself was happily roasting a marshmallow over the fire when he noticed the dejected 10 campers show up. Almost as soon as he did, he showed them the marshmallow.

“Do you all think that it’s a bit too black?” he asked, “I never know just how long to roast them until they taste absolutely perfect. Do any of you have some suggestions?”

“Kiss my butt,” Gilda snapped.

“I’m in no mood,” Rarity frowned.

“It looks good to me, Discord!” Pinkie smiled, observing the marshmallow, “It’s golden on all the sides, including the top and bottom, and there are small hints of blackness eating at the edges! It should taste nice and scrumptious!”

“Thank you, Pinkie; at least SOMEONE around here has some manners,” Discord frowned, snapping his fingers and making the marshmallow vanish, “That’s for me…for later. Right now, you all have someone to vote off. Allow me to explain how this works. Right now, there is a box with ballots in the confessional. There is also a quill for you to write with. One at a time, each of you will go into the confessional and write down the name of the person you want to vote out. I will then read the results, simply because it’s really fun to show you how many votes you each got!”

“That seems rather sadistic…can’t you just give those who are safe a marshmallow or something?” Derpy asked, tilting her head and having one of her eyes madly twirling around in its socket while the other one stayed perfectly still.

“No, I think another show already does that, and if you ask me, it’s lame,” Discord said, “So, this way is so much more fun! Now, after a majority is reached, the eliminated camper will have to walk down the Dock of Shame, and then board the Boat of Losers, which will take that camper away from this island! And once gone, they can never, never, never, ever, ever, EVER come back…EVER!”

“That…seems even MORE sadistic,” Derpy whined, now having her other eye spin around crazily.

“Yes, I know, but sadism is also pleasure to those who know how to enjoy it,” Discord snickered, “However, just to show I’m a good sport, I’ll let the safe campers at the end of the vote come and get a candied apple that I stole…oh, I mean…that I BORROWED from Applejack’s farm.” He snapped his fingers and a tray of nine candied apples appeared in his hand.

“YUM!” Pinkie cheered, “Can I pretty please with sugar on top have one now?”

“No, Pinkie, you can’t, and if you’re not voted off, you will be LAST to get one for that little outburst,” Discord smirked.

“Unfair,” Pinkie grumbled, crossing her arms and huffing in aggravation.

“Well…if that’s all there is to say…let’s get to it!” Discord cheered, “Someone is going home right now and going to face certain humiliation because of it! Who will it be? Ooh, I’m so excited to find out! Let’s go in alphabetical order, shall we? Apple Bloom, you can go first.”

One by one, each pony, and Gilda, was called out by Discord to go and vote in the confessional. The camera inside the confessional recorded each and every moment of the voting process, including everything that the campers had to say and what kinds of actions they performed while in the little confessional booth.

Rarity: *shows the camera that she voted for Trixie* You are not needed here, and you are beyond worthless. A unicorn such as yourself is a disgrace to the rest of us. *she puts it in the box*

Scootaloo: *shows the camera that she voted for Twilight* Nothing against you, Twilight, but if you’re gone, I can prove to Rainbow Dash that I’m a good leader! *she puts the ballot in the box*

Trixie: *shows the camera that she voted for Rarity* You lost us the challenge, therefore you deserve to go…and Trixie isn’t done with Twilight Sparkle just yet. *she puts the ballot in the box*

Twilight: *shows the camera that she voted for Vinyl* I’m sorry, Vinyl…but, Rarity is my friend, and…I still have a few things to teach Trixie…I’ll make this up to you, I promise. *she puts it in the box*

“You all have made your decisions,” Discord said, pretending to be serious, “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 some pretend reading glasses, putting them on as he then snapped his fingers once more and the ballot box appeared in front of him. All the Magical Misfit campers were now on pins and needles as they first elimination was about to take place. Slowly, Discord opened up the box and pulled out the first ballot.

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

“Second vote…Twilight. That’s one vote Trixie and one vote Twilight.”

“Third vote…Rarity. That’s one vote Trixie, one vote Twilight, and one vote Rarity.”

“Fourth vote…Vinyl. That’s one vote Trixie, one vote Twilight, one vote Rarity, and one vote Vinyl.”

“Fifth vote…Rarity. That’s one vote Trixie, one vote Twilight, two votes Rarity, and one vote Vinyl.”

“Sixth vote…Trixie. That’s two votes Trixie, one vote Twilight, two votes Rarity, and one vote Vinyl.”

“Seventh vote…Vinyl. That’s two votes Trixie, one vote Twilight, two votes Rarity, and two votes Vinyl.”

“Eighth vote…Trixie. That’s three votes Trixie, two votes Rarity, and two votes Vinyl.”

“Ninth vote…Vinyl. That’s three votes Trixie and three votes Vinyl…with just one vote left.”

“First loser of Total Magic Pony Island…” Discord announced, slowly flipping over the final ballot, “…Vinyl. My little unicorn, I’m sorry, but that’s four votes and you are eliminated. Time to get going.”

“Oh…I see…well, I suppose that…was the right decision,” Vinyl Scratch sighed, hanging her head and not looking at her former teammates, “I’m sorry, dudes…if I had the use of my magic, I could’ve…well, let’s face it, I couldn’t have done anything. The only thing I’m good at is making music. You were right to get rid of me first. Good luck…I’ll be pulling for ya…I guess this is goodbye.” With a deep sigh, the disc jockey slowly started to trot towards the Dock of Shame, where the Boat of Losers was already waiting.

Trixie: *horrified* Trixie was THAT close to being voted off?!?! Inconceivable! This will not stand!

Scootaloo: *sheepishly* Er…so, I was the only one who voted for Twilight? Heh…um…whoops?

“You all made the right decision,” Gilda said, nodding to the sullen group, and actually speaking halfway decent for once, “She said herself that she was useless, so it was the right call. Why are you looking so sad? You knew this was coming, right?”

“It doesn’t make it hurt any less to vote off someone who really liked you,” Twilight whispered, a tear in her eye. This had been one of the hardest things she had ever had to do, and it was only day one…and it had involved a pony she had JUST learned about upon coming to the island. If it was this hard already, then she was in for a long and painful ride.

“Twilight…why don’t you go say goodbye to her?” Cheerilee said, smiling over at Twilight, “I think she’d like that, don’t you agree?” The lavender unicorn looked up at the teacher and instantly smiled. With a quick nod, Twilight took off trotting after Vinyl Scratch.

“Okay, I’m safe, now where’s my candied apple?” Pinkie growled, pointing a hoof at Discord, “You’d better pay up, mister!” The pink pony gasped as Discord was seen with bits of cinnamon around his mouth as he was chewing something up inside. He slowly grinned, globs of apples stuck in his teeth.

“What was that, Pinkie?” he smirked, “Oh, right…your candied apples…sadly, I seem to have misplaced them. Silly me, but these things happen.”

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” Pinkie screamed, leaning her head back and wailing.

Gilda: *slapping her forehead* Remind me again why I decided to spare that pink rat?

“Vinyl…wait!” Twilight called out, trotting hard down the Dock of Shame towards her fellow unicorn. Vinyl Scratch was just about ready to get on the Boat of Losers, but upon hearing Twilight’s beautiful voice call out to her, she gasped and instantly blushed, then meekly turned around.

“Y-yes…Twilight Sparkle?” she squeaked, her heart having jumped into her throat upon hearing the unicorn call her name.

“I…just wanted to say…I’ll make this up to you back home,” Twilight said, walking up to Vinyl and gently nuzzling her, “The moment we’re back together, please look me up; I’d love to record some music for you. If my voice is really…that…er, beautiful…then it would be a crime to not let you use it. Also, I’m very sorry you got voted out first…can we still be friends?”

“T-T-Twilight…” Vinyl gasped, taking a step back in shock. She hadn’t expected such kind and amazing words, and it was almost more than she could take. Very slowly, she reached up and pushed her goggled glasses up, finally revealing her beautiful ruby-red eyes. The two unicorns stared into one another’s eyes for what seemed like forever, the full moon already lighting up the sky behind them (Discord’s rockets being seen very, very slightly). Very slowly, Vinyl leaned in and whispered to Twilight. “I would want nothing more.”

“Wonderful…um…I’m glad,” Twilight said, blushing as she felt Vinyl hug her. She felt her face lighting up even more as the unicorn held her close. She didn’t really understand what kind of feelings she was experiencing, since they were new to her, but they felt…good. Somehow, Twilight felt that, while continuing to play Discord’s twisted game, that she would be seeing more and more of these odd new emotions and feelings continue to swell within her heart, and she would have to study them closely. For now, however, Twilight weakly held Vinyl Scratch back and the two unicorns continued to embrace each other on the Dock of Shame.

“And so, that caps off a fascinating episode, wouldn’t you all say?” Discord snickered, floating over the top of the two hugging unicorns as the cameras focused on him, “Vinyl Scratch was the first voted out, but not without getting a very lovely message from Twilight Sparkle. Will the Magical Misfits manage to bounce back, despite still having three unicorns on their team? Will the Royal Ruffians’ team unity pull through once again? Will I ever get these bits of stupid candied apples out of my gums? Find out these answers right here on the next thrilling episode of Total…Magic…Pony…Island! Good night, Equestria!”

Episode 4: Apple Bloom Season

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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!”

Episode 5: Griffon A Brawl-Off

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Discord: Last time, on Total Magic Pony Island: I snuck out in the middle of the night and changed the weather from “cloudy” to “chocolate rain” in Ponyville! Oh, and the campers that are taking part in my totally evil show played a little game, too. The dysfunctional team that is the Magical Misfits fell into an early hole due to their constant fighting and disagreements on…well, let’s face it, disagreements on everything under the sun. The Royal Ruffians seemed to be able to do no wrong, even after getting blown up by some of my food bombs! Taking after her big sister, Apple Bloom pulled her team together and brought them back from the bowels of defeat. However, in the end, the Ruffians STILL finished before them. Sadly, Sweetie Belle ended up breaking a chicken egg and missing out on the quota, leading to the shocked Misfits getting their first win. At the elimination ceremony, Diamond Tiara was seen as the meanest teammate, but Sweetie Belle was still kicked out due to ultimately being the one who cost them the win. This begs to question a very interesting notion: do you eliminate those who cost you wins, or do you get rid of those who have attitude problems? So far, it seems the teams are intent on keeping their stronger players, but how long will this last? With each team now with nine campers, who will take the advantage next? Find out right now, on Total…Magic…Pony…Island!

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

“What’s this piece that looks like a pony called again?” Luna asked, nudging a chess piece with her nose as she glanced over at the other side of the table at her patient sister.

“It’s a knight, dear sister,” Celestia said for the sixth time, “Take your time; this is a complex game and it takes a while to get used to. But, it really does help take your mind off other certain things. It helps calm your mind and it lets you take your emotions out in a game and not on anypony else.”

“Yes, big sister, I heard you the first time,” Luna muttered, rubbing her lower lip with her left hoof as she looked down at the makeshift chessboard, “Hmm…let me think about this…”

A day had passed since the last challenge and the Royal Ruffians’ first elimination ceremony. Discord was mostly causing mischief around camp, such as emptying buckets of water on random campers’ heads, using lightning bolts to scare campers to death, use illusion tricks on the campers to make them think that he had done something to their hair, and put rubber snakes in all of their beds. Easy to say, the annoyed campers were always on their toes or hooves and looking out for the rotten draconequus. Nightmare Moon mostly kept to herself, but her cooking was below par and always caused a lot of campers to go hungry whenever they were served her food, mostly due to them choosing to fast over actually eating what was on their plates, save for Pinkie Pie.

At the moment, all 18 remaining Equestrians were walking around the camp and doing their own things. Celestia was teaching her sister Luna how to play chess, since the moon princess had been gone for so very long that she wasn’t accustomed to everyday games. The two princesses were sitting across from each other in the mess hall, with Luna naturally playing with the black pieces and Celestia playing with the white. They had only taken two moves apiece so far, but somehow Celestia was keeping her patience in check while her sister got used to the game.

“Can I move here?” Luna asked, moving one of her two knights forward five spaces and knocking one of her sister’s pawns off the board and onto the floor.

“No, Luna, you can’t,” Celestia sighed, reaching down to retrieve her pawn, grumbling to herself at how horrible it felt to not use magic.

“I declare that I be kinged!” Luna exclaimed, proudly moving one of her bishops a moment later and taking out Celestia’s king.

“What?!?! Sister, first off, there is no ‘being kinged’ in chess!” Celestia growled, slowly losing her patience, “Second, that move isn’t allowed. Third, you cannot move two pieces on one turn.”

“You know, dear sister?” Luna smiled, picking up one of her knights again, “This little piece holds a striking resemblance to me. Are you sure that this game wasn’t created with me in mind?”

“Yes, I’m SURE, Luna,” Celestia said through gritted teeth, “Now, please put the knight down so we can try to continue on before somepony does something they might…”

“Observe!” Luna cried, carefully setting her two knights on top of her horn, “There are now three Luna ponies! You are outmatched, dear sister!” She smiled innocently over at Celestia, who finally snapped at her sister’s foolishness.

“ENOUGH! I CANNOT PLAY WITH YOU ANY LONGER!” Celestia snapped, flipping over the board with her horn and angrily stomping out of the mess hall, “TWILIGHT SPARKLE, MY DEAR STUDENT, I REQUIRE YOUR ATTENTION IMMEDIATELY!” She didn’t notice Luna grinning from behind her.

Luna: *giggling playfully* I recall somepony telling me that if you or your opponent flips over the board, they forfeit. So, I just defeated my sister at chess. *she snuggles the two knights that she had taken from the chess set* I still think you two look like my clones, though.

“Now, girls, I have come up with a foolproof plan on how to bring out the best of all of us,” Twilight smiled, proudly holding her head high as she displayed a chart to her team, “After studying all of our strengths and weaknesses, I compiled my findings into a lot of important data that I think you’ll find…”

“Excuse me, but the Great and Powerful Trixie does not HAVE any weaknesses,” Trixie sniffed, putting her nose in the air and turning away, “You obviously are talking about yourself, Twilight Sparkle, since your flaws have been quite apparent in our first two challenges.”

“…you’ll find that we can learn from each other and become a great team,” Twilight finished, although not as happy and excited as she had started off, “So, if you all would please direct your attention to my graph, I’ll take any questions that you might have. Yes, Gilda?”

“Yeah, I got a question alright,” Gilda smirked, putting her arm down, “Why are you such a dweeb?”

“…are there any SERIOUS questions?” Twilight sighed, running a hoof through her mane to try and keep herself calm, “Yes, Cheerilee?”

“Personally, Twilight, I love your graph and it makes perfect sense,” the teacher smiled, “I fully agree that each of us has certain unique strengths that, when used properly, will assure us of always being in every challenge. I really love how you divided us up into groups as well and were honest with your opinions. After all, you cannot learn anything without criticism.”

“Wait a minute…I’m too hyper?” Scootaloo gasped, looking at Twilight’s graph and frowning, “Hey, I resent that! Gilda is the hyper one, not me!”

“I’m a ditzy pony and should be used carefully?” Derpy asked, tilting her head and rolling her eyes around crazily, “So…how carefully? Does that mean I could break into pieces if I crash into a tree?”

“Twilight, I must protest against what you say about me as well,” Rarity sniffed, “I am not picky about what I do; I am only worried about what might befall my beautiful mane and fur if we should get into something dirty and disgusting.”

“Trixie’s ego does NOT get in the way of her true potential!” Trixie said angrily after finally taking a gander at Twilight’s graph, “How DARE you even suggest such a horrid thing!”

“This is boring; I’m outta here,” Gilda grunted, getting up and stretching her wings and not even bothering to look at what Twilight said about her.

“Twilight, Twilight, you forgot to mention that I can sing!” Pinkie said, “Ooh, and you forgot that I can bake really well…and you forgot many things…in fact, you listed only my faults…why did you do that?”

“Twilight, can I please go use the outhouse?” Apple Bloom asked, raising her hoof while whimpering with her hind legs crossed.

Twilight: *hitting her head against the confessional wall over and over again, until her horn gets stuck in the wood* Why do I even bother? It’s like talking to a wall…no, a bunch of walls! *she sighs and tries to pull her horn loose, but it’s stuck* Why…why…WHY ME? *she feels like screaming*

Cheerilee: Poor Twilight. The dear is really trying, but…even I must admit that this team is…far from extraordinary. But, like I tell my students, you must take a negative and turn it into a positive! Trixie has already asked me to help her out, so I’ll be helping Twilight with this team, too!

“Rainbow Dash, where are ya?” Applejack called out, trotting through the forest and trying to locate her friend, “We really should be workin’ on tryin’ to better ourselves as a team instead of goofin’ off! Rainbow Dash, answer me!”

“Yo, AJ, keep it down, will ya?” Rainbow’s voice rang out from somewhere above the cowgirl’s head, “I’m trying to get some sleep.” Applejack peered up into the sky, shielding her eyes from the sun and frowning as she managed to spot Rainbow’s tail poking lazily over the side of a low cloud that was nearly touching the treetops.

“Sleepin’ on the job? Ah should’a known,” Applejack frowned, sitting down on her tush and crossing her front legs as she glared up at the cloud, “Rainbow Dash, ah’m givin’ ya’ll to the count of five to get your rear down here before ah come up there and drag ya down mahself!”

“Yeah, I’d like to see that!” Rainbow Dash grinned, idly glancing over the side of her cloud and giving the cowpony a wink, “Cut me some slack, would ya? Spike snored all night, not to mention he drove me crazy by sleep-talking about Rarity the entire time when he WASN’T snoring. I’m totally bushed! A hard-working Pegasus like myself needs her rest.”

“Hard-workin’ mah bum!” Applejack snapped, lowering her hat slightly as she continued to glare up at the Pegasus, “None of us got that much sleep thanks to Spike, but ya’ll don’t see US whinin’ about it! Now, get down here this instant so we can train for our next challenge…whatever it may be.”

“No!” Rainbow Dash huffed, stubbornly crossing her arms and turning away from Applejack.

“Rainbow Dash, ah’m not playin’ around here…” Applejack warned, “Ah’m now countin’ to five, and once ah get to five, ya’ll best be down here! One…two…three…four…FIVE!” Up on the cloud, Rainbow Dash had pretended to be sleeping, loudly snoring just to mock and tease Applejack as she continued to ignore her. With a slight smirk, Applejack shook her head and got out a lasso.

Applejack: Hey, ya’ll heard me; ah DID warn her. It’s not mah fault that that little Pegasus can’t get her booty movin’ unless it’s roughed up a bit. *she grins a bit* Besides, ah do love some fun now and then with Dash; she’s not a bad pony or anythin’ like that. She’s just lazier than a turtle, that’s all.

“Okay, ya varmint, if ya’ll want to do this the hard way, ah’m happy to oblige!” Applejack grinned, attaching her lasso to her tail and already swishing it around in circles over her head as she targeted Rainbow Dash’s cloud, “YER MINE, DASH!” With an excited yell, Applejack hurled the lasso straight up towards the cloud with the blue Pegasus resting atop it.

“Huh? She’s not gone yet?” Rainbow snickered, keeping her eyes closed, “Not that it matters; she can’t do anything to ME!” She gasped loudly as she suddenly felt a rope roughly snag her around the middle and soon roughly pulling her straight down through the puffy cloud and towards the ground. “HEY, LET ME GO! AJ, COME ON!”

“Yee-haw, that’s what ah’m talkin’ about!” Applejack laughed, pulling the struggling Pegasus down to the ground before quickly tackling her. The yelping Pegasus put up a fight, but Applejack had quickly tied her wings down so that she couldn’t use them. From there, Rainbow Dash didn’t stand a chance against Applejack’s strength, and soon she was completely hogtied with the cowpony grinning and proudly sitting on top of her.

“Curse you, Applejack,” Rainbow Dash growled, squirming and trying to break free, but once Applejack hogtied it, nothing was breaking it.

“Hey, ah gave you five seconds,” Applejack teased, playfully reaching down and ruffing Dash’s mane as she sat on her, “It’s not mah fault that ya’ll can’t count. Now, once ya’ll agree to come back peacefully so we can get on with our trainin’, ah’ll let ya go.”

Rainbow Dash: *highly irritated, crossing her arms in a huff as she glared at the camera* That is SO not cool! Who does Applejack think she is? Ooh, she is SO gonna get it! *a very slight blush can momentarily be seen on her muzzle as she mutters to herself* I’m not her chair, either.

“Um…what are you doing?” Silver Spoon asked, having caught Spike using some binoculars while hiding behind the outhouse. Diamond Tiara was right behind her, as both fillies had been going for a walk around camp to make sure they got some exercise.

“Like, you’re totally spying on somepony!” Diamond Tiara accused, “That is SO wrong! You could totally get banished for that! Where’s Princess Celestia when you need her?”

“Go away, you nosy fillies,” Spike growled, shooing the two girls away with his free hand as he used the other to hold onto his binoculars, “It’s none of your business what I’m spying…um, looking at! Besides, I don’t talk to bullies like you two.”

“Bullies? We are SO not bullies!” Diamond Tiara snapped, putting her nose in the air, “It’s not OUR fault that all the other ponies we know are so totally jealous of how amazingly beautiful we are and how gorgeous our cutie marks show off our lovely flanks. Informing others of how pathetic they are compared to us is not being bullies; it’s being truthful.”

“Do you even LISTEN to yourself?” Spike sighed, shaking his head and turning to Silver Spoon, “Are you just as bad as your cohort is?” Silver Spoon opened her mouth to speak, but she paused and thought about what to say to the dragon’s question. Deep down, hearing the way Diamond Tiara spoke DID sound like something a bully would say. But, on the other hoof, Diamond Tiara WAS her best friend and they did indeed have very amazing cutie marks. Who was in the right?

Silver Spoon: It feels so totally weird, you know? I usually just agree to whatever Diamond Tiara is saying, since she’s my best friend, but…listening to how she talked and how that dragon called us out, it really does make a girl think. *she glances back at her cutie mark* I AM better than the others…right?

“Come on, Silver Spoon, tell this fool how wrong he is!” Diamond Tiara said, turning to Silver Spoon, “Tell him how foolish he is and just how jealous he is because he’s not a pony.”

“Um…well, that is…I…” Silver Spoon stuttered, still not knowing what to say. Spike and Diamond Tiara both looked at her and waited for an answer, but when the little filly refused to either confirm or deny what her best friend said, the green and purple dragon shrugged and started to walk off.

“Whatever, girls,” he muttered, “Now, if you don’t mind, my Rare…um, my rare bird…that I was watching…just flew away! So, um, I have to go and find it again…Fluttershy! I need your help!” The dragon hurried away, leaving two confused and bemused fillies in his wake.

“Males are, like, so totally weird,” Diamond Tiara muttered, rolling her eyes and shaking her head, “It’s a good thing Snips and Snails aren’t here to make this place any dumber than it already is.”

“Your words you choose to say are quite rude,” a voice said from behind the two fillies, “You should put yourselves into your victim’s hooves.” Both Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon squeaked and leaped forward, whipping their heads back as they saw Zecora eying the two like they were poison joke.

“Creepy zebra!” Diamond Tiara snapped, “It’s SO rude of you to sneak up on us like that! Didn’t your mother teach you any manners?”

“If that is not the pot calling the kettle black,” Zecora sighed, shaking her head, “Your social skills are one thing you both lack. You may be here now, but be warned; everypony else looks upon you with scorn. Change your ways now, and for this game, you might survive. Off this island, however, this is not how you two should live your lives.”

“Like, whatever!” Diamond Tiara scoffed, turning and trotting away, “Come, Silver Spoon; we don’t need to listen to the ramblings of a creepy zebra like her!”

“Um…coming, Diamond Tiara…” Silver Spoon muttered, giving Zecora a somewhat apologetic look before hurrying after her partner-in-crime. Zecora sat on her haunches and watched the two fillies trot away, keeping her eyes focused on the two as many thoughts raced through her mind.

Zecora: It is so sad to see the young ones act as such; young Diamond Tiara is way too much. The look in Silver Spoon’s eyes gives me hope; this is not a time for me to mope. But, until the two can see through another’s eyes, the Boat of Losers will be their only prize. *she closes her eyes and meditates*

“Oh yeah…you apply that sunscreen…wow, just look at you stretching out on that beach towel,” Spike sighed dreamily, now sitting on a high tree branch while peering through his binoculars at something down on the beach, “Such a beautiful body…so incredible and amazing…I think the whole world clapped the day that you were born, my beautiful Rare…”

“Hello, Spike,” a voice purred from just beside the dragon, “I heard that you were looking for me?” Spike screamed and very nearly dropped his binoculars, not to mention very nearly dropped out of the tree. He quickly moved his binoculars down and looked to the side to see Fluttershy flapping her wings and smiling shyly at him.

Spike: Can’t a dragon get one moment of peace to observe the beauty of nature? *he growls in anger and crosses his arms* Nosy girls…they’re going to drive this dragon insane!

“Ugh…hi there, Fluttershy,” Spike grumbled, scooting over to give the Pegasus pony room to sit on his branch, “Yeah, I was just observing Rare…a very rare bird…I think it’s only native to this island.”

“Oh my, is that right?” Fluttershy gasped, taking a seat beside the dragon, “That’s amazing, Spike! What a discovery! May I please observe with you? I would so love to get to know this very rare bird, too.”

“Er…well, you see, Fluttershy…the thing is…” Spike gulped, “The rare bird is…very shy…and beautiful! It’s so beautiful that just looking at it will make your heart melt…but it’s also very shy that if it catches you looking at it, it’ll probably run away…and not wish to ever be seen by you again.”

“Oh dear, you don’t say…” Fluttershy whimpered, hanging her head, “That sounds so very disappointing; the poor little thing. I guess I’d better keep my distance then…even though it hurts that I can’t make friends with the lovely little creature.”

“Yeah…sorry, Fluttershy,” Spike laughed, patting the Pegasus on the back and quickly looking back through his binoculars, “Ugh…and, it seems that my rare bird has left for the dressing room…um, I mean…for its nest, which is obviously very hidden.”

“I hope that it has a very nice day,” Fluttershy smiled. However, a moment later, she blinked and held a hoof to her mouth in thought. “Um…Spike? If it’s so beautiful that it makes your heart melt and if it’s so shy that if it catches you looking at it it’ll run away…why are YOU looking at it? Spike?” The Pegasus looked around in confusion, as she was now alone, as Spike had climbed down and run away seconds before Fluttershy had begun speaking for the second time.

Fluttershy: Um…I feel like I’m messing something here…poor Spike; he probably cares so much about the bird that he doesn’t want to talk about his skills in watching the creature. How sweet!

“BRING IT IN, LADIES!” Discord yelled out with his megaphone, relaxing on his usual hammock cloud, “IT’S TIME FOR YOUR NEXT CHALLENGE!”

“I’m NOT a lady!” Spike angrily yelled up at the spirit of disharmony, “Just because I’m the only male camper doesn’t mean you should count me in with the girls!”

“WHAT’S THAT?” Discord yelled down at Spike, mockingly using his megaphone for no reason, “I DIDN’T HEAR WHAT YOU SAID, SPIKEY.”

“And my name is SPIKE!” the dragon snarled, shaking his fist up at Discord, “I get no respect around here and I’m so tired of it! Just you wait; this next challenge will be me playing the hero!”

“Or more like the zero,” Gilda sneered, kicking Spike aside as she flew into camp, “You and your loser teammates are no way going to beat us. We’ve got the mojo on our side and we ain’t about to give it up to you fools. Man, I can’t WAIT to beat Dash again; she hates losing almost as much as I do!”

“Ooh, ooh, what’s the challenge today, Discord?” Pinkie asked, bouncing in a moment later with the rest of the Magical Misfits following close behind, “Are we gonna have a dance competition? Or maybe we’re gonna see who can bounce the longest? Oh, wait, I know! We’re gonna go skydiving!”

“ALL GOOD IDEAS, BUT ALL INCORRECT,” Discord’s voice blasted down through his megaphone, “ONCE ALL THE CAMPERS GET HERE, I’LL TELL YOU WHAT THE CHALLENGE IS.”

“Discord, MUST you use that thing?” Twilight complained, rubbing her left ear in irritation, “We can hear your voice just fine the way it is.”

“SORRY, TWILIGHT, BUT THE LOUDER MY VOICE, THE MORE HANDSOME AND POWERFUL IT IS!” Discord roared, flashing a smirk down at the unicorn and her team, all of whom were now holding their ears.

Twilight: I could’ve easily gone into explaining how speaking through a megaphone doesn’t actually make your voice any different other than amplifying it a few volumes louder than normal, but I fear that it would’ve fallen on deaf ears…no pun intended.

“GOOD, SO IS EVERYBODY HERE?” Discord’s voice blared as all the campers had seemingly showed up.

“Uh…actually, we’re missing Applejack and Rainbow Dash,” Luna pointed out, looking around with worry, “Is it like them to be late for things?”

“Believe me, Princess, when you’re dealing with those two, you never know WHAT to expect,” Twilight said sarcastically from her own team.

Celestia: It’s so hard being on the opposite team of my faithful, wonderful student; this game is really testing my boundaries in ways that I would’ve never fathomed. *her eyes narrow* And some which I never WANTED to EVER think about…you hear me, Discord? *she points her horn at the camera*

“Sorry, everypony, but we’re here!” Applejack called out, trotting onto the scene a moment later with a staggering Rainbow Dash behind her, “Ah had to rough up Rainbow Dash a bit, but she took longer to convince than ah expected…a LOT longer than ah expected.” She glared back at the Pegasus pony, who now had black rings under her eyes, slight rope marks around her body from how long Applejack’s bindings had held her down, and her mane and tail were ruffled from wrestling with the cowpony.

“Ugh…man, I just want to go back to bed,” Rainbow moaned, rubbing her eyes with a hoof as she glanced at her team, “What are we doing? Not another challenge…darn it! I’m in no shape for this!” She failed to notice the evil grin plastered on Gilda’s face over on the other team.

Gilda: *rubbing her large hands together and smirking* Excellent…Dash is gonna SO get pounded, and once she loses the challenge for her team, her butt is so outta here and I’ll finally prove who the REAL winner is between the two of us! *she laughs loudly* Bye-bye, Dash…too bad you’re so lame now.

“GOOD, YOU’RE FINALLY ALL HERE!” Discord roared, purposely teleporting down and holding his megaphone right in the faces of the Royal Ruffians, particularly the tired Rainbow Dash, “NOW, WE CAN GET TO THE CHALLENGE!”

“OW! DISCORD, THAT HURTS!” Applejack yelped, angrily turning around and rearing up. A moment later, she slammed her back legs into Discord’s megaphone and sent it flying into the distance. All the campers paused and took a moment to watch it fly before cheering for the cowpony, thanking her for ridding them of such an evil nuisance. Applejack was left smirking and sitting on her tush, crossing her front legs as she smugly looked at the annoyed Discord.

“Ooh, naughty, naughty, naughty,” the draconequus scolded, wagging his finger in Applejack’s face, “That megaphone was quite expensive, you know, and furthermore…”

“Keep waggin’ that finger in mah face and yer gonna lose it,” Applejack warned, narrowing her eyes. Discord cocked an eyebrow at the snippy remark, but the cowpony never took her eyes off him. With a wide grin, he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close.

“So saucy…I LIKE that,” he whispered, tickling Applejack under the chin, “In our next challenge, you’re gonna need to bring that firepower and everything else you’ve got inside of you.”

“And…why…is that?” Applejack asked, feeling very unnerved as she tried to pull away from Discord’s creepy embrace. In response, Discord teleported over to the Magical Misfits and with a snap of his fingers, he was now holding a rubber ball about half the size of Spike in his hand. Before any camper could react, Discord then hurled the ball straight at Applejack’s face with such blinding speed that the hayseed girl didn’t even have time to dodge.

Applejack was struck dead in the face by the rubber ball, being sent flying backwards into the mess hall as she smashed into the wooden building and was flattened from the vicious impact. Her face was scrunched up into a look of sheer pain and agony, her hat fluttering off her head and landing on the ground in front of her tattooed body. The ball itself ended up bouncing back and rolling all the way to Gilda’s feet. The griffon then picked it up, observed it for a moment, and her evil grin got even wider.

“Aww yeah…this day just got 20% more awesome!” she smirked.

“Hey…that’s…part of my saying…” Rainbow Dash grumbled, yawning widely as she glanced back at Applejack plastered to the mess hall, “Hey, AJ…ya gonna be alright?”

“Here’s a spatula; clean your stupid teammate off my mess hall at once!” Nightmare Moon said, poking her head out one of the mess hall’s windows as she tossed them a spatula. Since Rainbow Dash was too groggy to really do anything worthwhile, Fluttershy quickly hurried over and gently started scraping Applejack’s body off the wall with the spatula.

Luna: How barbaric! Our challenge has to involve throwing balls at each other? This is an outrage! I demand to know who invented such a horrible game! *she looks at the camera very, very closely*

“That’s right, folks!” Discord laughed, now sitting comfortably in a white plastic chair after making the two teams walk into a small gymnasium, “Today’s challenge is none other than the famous game of…”

“Um…how do we inflate Applejack?” Fluttershy interrupted, looking down at the flat and twitching Applejack that they had carried with them to the gym, “Does anypony have an air pump handy?”

“Just inflate her the old-fashioned way,” Pinkie called out, grinning from ear-to-ear, “Just blow into her mouth until she pops back to normal! One time, Gummy ended up running out of my window, and I was all like ‘oh no, he’s gonna be squashed like a pancake’, and he totally was, but then I had a great idea of how to inflate him, so I pressed my lips to his and blew him up just like a balloon, and he tried to bite me for that but he totally couldn’t because he had no teeth, and I was all like ‘aw, Gummy, you’re so cute’, and I had a party to celebrate inflating Gummy mouth-to-mouth for the very first time! I totally think that they have a course on mouth-to-mouth in school…isn’t that right, Cheerilee?”

“Um…that’s…a bit different from the mouth-to-mouth YOU’RE talking about, Pinkie, dear,” Cheerilee said weakly, slightly unnerved by the pink pony’s little story and confession.

Pinkie: Aww, they totally don’t get me at all! I KNOW they do mouth-to-mouth in school! It’s totally where you put your mouth on another pony and blow into them, right? Why else would they do something like that? Ponies can be SO confusing, don’t you agree? *she giggles*

“…I’m not touching her lips,” Spike frowned, looking down at Applejack and crossing his arms.

“This is not for me,” Zecora laughed, “Someone else please do the deed.”

“Like, gross!” Diamond Tiara hacked, “I would totally rather kiss Snails then do THAT!”

“I’d rather not,” Silver Spoon stated.

“I…do not know why…but the thought makes me feel weird,” Luna blinked, “Sister, what about you?”

“…Fluttershy, you care for all your friends, you do it please,” Celestia said kindly, smiling at the Pegasus.

“Um…well…that is…I don’t really…that’s just…I…I…I…” Fluttershy squeaked, before moaning and fainting. The rest of the team looked down at the twitching Fluttershy, then looked at one another and gave a quick nod to the obvious answer.

“RAINBOW DASH!” they called out, “WE NEED YOUR HELP!” They looked over at the Pegasus, but found her zonked out and sleeping on the bleachers that were inside the gym.

“Will someone PLEASE inflate her so we can get stated?” Discord snapped, “I’m losing patience here!”

“Spike…you’re a male…this is your DUTY!” Celestia smiled, quickly placing a hoof on the dragon’s back and inching him towards Applejack.

“Yes, Spike, that’s a fact!” Zecora grinned, “Only you can inflate our friend Applejack.”

“HEY, COME ON!” Spike whined, but seeing that his entire team was grinning at him and basically forcing him towards Applejack, he realized he had no choice.

Spike: *moaning and looking up at the ceiling* Rarity, my love, please forgive me for this…

“Alright, alright, I’ll do it!” Spike grumbled, slowly leaning down towards the stunned and flat AJ, “Just please give me some space to work with here.” The rest of his team, excluding Rainbow Dash, granted Spike’s wish and gave him some space. Slowly, the dragon eased a hand behind Applejack’s flat head and gingerly lifted it up. Applejack’s eyes were wide and stunned at what was about to happen, but she couldn’t do a thing in her flat form. Spike was dreading doing this, even if it was just “inflating” her.

He brought Applejack’s face closer to his, and then closer, and even closer. However, try as he might, he just couldn’t place his lips on the pony’s. Then, he realized that his team was counting on him, so he couldn’t let them down. So, as he stared at Applejack’s face, he slowly began imagining her as Rarity instead. When Applejack’s face eventually “morphed” into Rarity’s, Spike’s eyes lit up and he slowly licked his lips. Since he was now seeing “Rarity”, he failed to see just how horrified Applejack now looked as the hungry-looking dragon brought her mouth even closer to his…until there was finally no more space between the sets of lips.

“Yay, Spike, you’re doing it!” Pinkie cheered, despite being on the opposite team, “Woo! Isn’t it fun inflating them like a balloon? Seeing their bellies slowly rise up and seeing their limbs slowly morph back into shape and…uh…Spike? Um…that doesn’t look like…inflating.”

“No…indeed it does not…” Rarity sniffed, looking both disgusted and jealous at the same time, “That looks like…much more than just…inflating.”

“Why is Spike stroking Applejack’s head like that?” Derpy asked, observing closely with both of her twirling eyes, “Why does it look like something is moving inside of Applejack’s mouth? Why does Applejack look to be in pain? Why is Applejack’s face turning green?”

“Trixie finds this quite nauseating and does not wish to watch anymore,” Trixie winced, forcing Twilight to stand in front of her, “You, Twilight Sparkle, you shield Trixie from this gross display of…inflation, if that’s even what this is anymore.”

Twilight: *holding up a book about dragons in front of her face and reading it aloud* Dragons are known to be very vicious and deadly creatures, but at a young age, they can be very…oh boy. *she closes the book and gives herself a face-hoof* This is SO embarrassing…my #1 assistant is...is…UGH!

Thankfully, the horrifying display of “inflation” didn’t last too much longer. Thanks to Spike’s heavy breathing, due to never doing something like this before and thus being very nervous, Applejack eventually DID get inflated back to her normal self. As soon as she did, she very calmly pushed Spike off her body, stood up from the floor, turned around, and sent Spike flying after a horrific bucking. The Magical Misfits had to all dodge aside as Spike was sent blasting past them and smashing into the wall, face-first. Once again, the Royal Ruffians had a flattened teammate on their hooves, not to mention a very annoyed-looking Applejack.

Applejack: *hacking and wiping her mouth with one of her front legs* GROSS! That dragon put his tongue in there and everythin’! And the way he was feelin’ me…UGH! He was totally gettin’ fresh with me! *she hacks a few more times, then chuckles a bit* …ah have to admit, though…he wasn’t bad.

“Now that that’s over with…mostly…we can get to the game at hand!” Discord announced, watching as the lovesick Spike was peeled off the wall and brought back to his team, “If you couldn’t tell from my wonderful intro, the game today is dodgeball!”

“What in the world is dodgeball?” Luna asked, “This game doesn’t sound familiar to me at all, just like chess was completely new to me as well.”

“Dodgeball is a very simple game,” Discord explained, twirling a rubber ball on one finger, “Does anyone know the first rule of dodgeball?”

“Yeah, the first rule is not to talk about dodgeball,” Scootaloo giggled.

“No…the first rule is that if you get hit with a ball, you are out,” Discord frowned, glaring over at the smart aleck little Pegasus, “To avoid going out, you try to DODGE!” He then hurled the ball straight towards Scootaloo. Thankfully, the Pegasus dodged, but another Pegasus ended up getting in the way when she tried to get a better look at the oncoming ball. It smashed her right in the face and sent her for a loop.

“Derpy, you were supposed to dodge, not get in the way” Pinkie giggled, looking down at the poor Pegasus as her eyes were now twirling even faster than before, “Are you okay?”

Derpy: For some odd reason, when the ball hit my face, it felt like little pebbles were bouncing around inside of my head and eyes! *she pokes herself in the eye* Huh…I don’t feel any pebbles, though.

“If you are holding a ball, you can use it to deflect oncoming attacks,” Discord continued, “But if the ball gets knocked out of your hand, you’re out. You may also get someone out by simply catching a ball that is thrown at you. We’ll play five rounds, and the first one to three wins will get immunity and be safe from the vote tonight. When someone from your team goes out, pick someone on your bench to bring in to replace them. After all nine players on your team are out, the round is over and you lose. If a camper refuses to participate in a round, that counts as one of the nine outs.”

“Finally, a game that I can really bash some skulls!” Gilda smirked, cracking her knuckles so loudly that it scared Rarity and made her faint.

“Gilda, please remember that this is just a game and we’re only trying to win, not kill each other,” Twilight said, glaring up at the griffon. However, her words seemed to once again fall on deaf ears, since Gilda paid no attention the unicorn. Sighing, Twilight just rolled her eyes and gathered her group together to discuss who would be on the court first.

Twilight: This is REALLY not my strong suit…at all. But, I’m still gonna try my best; nothing ventured, nothing gained. I just hope I don’t get killed…Applejack is pretty powerful over there.

Celestia: I…have only read about this game…I have never actually played it, of course. This game sounds…horrific. Why Discord would ask us ladies to play such a game…he has a seriously foul mind.

“Scootaloo, you want in?” Twilight asked, looking down at the little Pegasus. At first, Scootaloo naturally wanted to go in, but upon seeing that Rainbow Dash was sleeping on the other side, she changed her mind and shook her head.

“Nah, I think I’ll sit this out,” Scootaloo grinned, “It’s no fun if Rainbow Dash isn’t playing. Besides, with Gilda, I’m sure you guys can handle them.” Before Twilight could protest against this, the Pegasus hopped back over to the bleachers and laid down, staring over at Rainbow Dash and sighing dreamily.

“Um…okay then…I guess I’ll go with Gilda, Apple Bloom, Pinkie, myself, and…” Twilight said, looking at her remaining choices. Rarity looked horrified, Trixie looked angry, Cheerilee looked nervous, and Derpy looked…derpy. She really didn’t know who to go with here. “…Trixie?”

“Humph…Trixie feels like she should sit out…but, to show you all what a GREAT competitor she is, Trixie will humor you and play,” the azure sniffed, trotting onto the mat with the other four as Rarity, Cheerilee and Derpy joined Scootaloo on the bench.

“Just stay back and leave things to me, squirts,” Gilda said, glaring down at the group, “Don’t get in my way or you’ll get hurt…dodgeball is MY game. It’s a shame Dash won’t be joining us; I wanted to kill her so bad…in the game, I mean.”

Apple Bloom: Ah wonder if mah big sister would scold me if ah wanted to sit out because mah own teammate scared me… *she gulped and curled up into a little ball* …like, really, really bad.

“So…while Spike inflates HIMSELF…who else do we got?” Applejack muttered, looking at her team, “Great…Dash is sleepin’…AGAIN! Gah…fine, we can do this without her! Ah’ll put mahself out there, along with…uh…” Applejack then realized she had a very huge problem; her team, without Rainbow Dash, looked incredibly weak. “…Zecora, Princess Luna, Princess Celestia, and…Silver Spoon?”

“Do not worry, dear Applejack,” Luna smiled, proudly stepping onto the floor, “As barbaric as this game sounds, I am going to try my best to double the fun and make sure we win! You can count on me to do my very best!” Unfortunately, her sister didn’t share her enthusiasm, nor did Silver Spoon or Zecora. Applejack sighed and looked like she wanted to strangle Rainbow Dash.

“Okay, now, for our referee to make her grand entrance!” Discord gushed, snapping his fingers as the side doors opened, “Please welcome your referee, Nightmare Moon!” Both teams groaned as the ebony princess grinned fiercely and strutted into the gym, making sure to give each and every camper a good, menacingly look before taking her seat at the ref’s chair.

Applejack: *she spits on her hooves and rubs them together* Heck, even if we ARE facin’ Gilda and we don’t have Rainbow Dash, we’re STILL gonna win this! Just watch us!

“Okay…round one…BEGIN!” Discord yelled, snapping his fingers as 10 rubber balls were teleported into the gym, five for each side. Even before any of the Royal Ruffians could attempt to pick up a ball or move it to where they could kick it (since none of the campers, aside from Gilda and Spike, actually had hands), they were in for a very rude awakening. Almost instantly, Silver Spoon shrieked as she was pelted with a ball from the opposite side, making Nightmare Moon blow her referee whistle and call her out. Then, as quick as lightning, the four other balls came flying over as well, bashing Applejack, Celestia, Luna, and Zecora all in their faces and making them all shriek in pain as they all crashed in a heap.

“HAD ENOUGH, LOSERS?” Gilda laughed, having thrown all five balls with a very scary look in her eyes, “FEEL FREE TO GIVE UP NOW!” Since Spike was still out of commission and Rainbow Dash was sleeping, the Royal Ruffians only two substitutes were Fluttershy and Diamond Tiara. However, after seeing the look in Gilda’s eyes, both girls huddled together and instantly refused to move, giving the first point to the Magical Misfits.

Applejack: *now sporting a black eye* …what the hay just happened?!?!

“Um…nice work…Gilda,” Twilight gulped, standing far away from the griffon and slightly huddling with Trixie, out of complete fear, “Way to…show them…who’s boss…and stuff like that.”

“YOU BET, DWEEB!” Gilda grinned, getting right into Twilight’s face with bulging eyes, “I LIVE FOR THIS! WE’RE GONNA WIN AND THAT’S ALL THERE IS TO IT!”

“Good to know…now, if you could just back up a good 10 feet or so, I’d really appreciate it,” Twilight said meekly, trying to pull Trixie in front of her.

“Okay…start round two!” Nightmare Moon had called out, Discord now relaxing with his sunglasses on and not paying much attention, “Who’s on the court this time?”

“Um…Scootaloo…you want in?” Twilight asked, nervously making her way over to the bench and looking at the Pegasus.

“Heh…you guys did SUCH a great job that I don’t want to mess anything up,” Scootaloo responded, still focusing on Rainbow Dash and trying to mimic her sleeping style, “So, I’ll sit this one out, too.”

“Well, if you’re sure,” Twilight gulped, looking back at the enraged Gilda with terrified eyes, “I just would…kinda like you out there…but, it’s fine, don’t worry.”

“Princess Celestia…Princess Luna…Zecora…Silver Spoon…are you all ahright?” Applejack moaned, patting her black eye as she faced her four injured teammates.

“No, Applejack, I am not…but, there is no way I’m letting that griffon do that to me and get away with it!” Celestia growled, pushing Applejack aside and stepping back onto the court, “You, griffon! If you think you can just act like a jerk, you’ve got another thing coming! Luna, join my side!”

“Why are you getting ME involved with this?” Luna gulped, “Once was enough for me, thank you!” However, since Fluttershy and Diamond Tiara both still refused to budge, and since Spike STILL wasn’t inflated and no one wanted to touch the perverted dragon, they were still on their own. Applejack was much too stubborn to wake up Rainbow Dash, too; she wanted to win this on her own.

“The pain…it flows…through my body,” Zecora moaned, “This dodgeball…does not make a good hobby.”

“I can’t move my nose…I can’t even SMELL with my nose!” Silver Spoon cried. But, the foursome joined Applejack on the court anyway, determined to not let the psycho Gilda beat them.

Gilda: *insanely* Yes…the bird of prey weakens her victims by attacking them…scaring them…making them weak and tired and helpless…before she swoops in…for the kill. *her eyes flash*

“Round two…begin!” Nightmare Moon called out, blowing her whistle. This time, the five brave Royal Ruffian teammates kept their eyes locked on Gilda before they bothered to get a ball. Gilda, however, just stayed in one place, grinning over at the five and daring them to make a move. There were no balls near Gilda; they were all near the half court line. All of the Royal Ruffians’ balls were only a few inches in front of their hooves.

“Ahright…if ya’ll ain’t gonna do anythin’…then ah will!” Applejack snarled, quickly turning around and bucking at the ball that was closest to her, “TAKE THIS!” The cowpony sent her bucked ball blasting over towards Gilda, who still didn’t have a ball in her hand. However, with a loud laugh, Gilda just reached over and grabbed Trixie and held her in front of her as a shield. All the campers that weren’t knocked out or sleeping gasped in shock as Applejack’s ball smacked Trixie right in the face, saving Gilda.

“GAH!” Trixie cried, instantly falling to the ground in deep pain, “YOU…EVIL…IT HURTS…”

“Gilda, are you MAD?!?!” Twilight screamed, racing over to Trixie’s side and kneeling down to check on her, “What in all of Equestria was THAT about? You just used your own teammate as a shield! How low can you go?”

“Quite low,” Gilda smirked, instantly grabbing Twilight around the neck, “In fact, allow me to show you another tactic that I so love to use!” As Twilight’s eyes bulged out of her head and she weakly beat at Gilda’s hands with her hooves, the entire gym watched in horror as Gilda began brutally crushing the unicorn in her fists. Forcing Twilight to duck her head between her back legs and then crunching her body into a horrifically painful mashed form, Gilda formed her own unicorn dodgeball a second later.

“GILDA, THAT’S GOING TOO FAR!” Celestia yelled, “DISCORD, NIGHTMARE MOON, STOP THE GAME! GILDA IS OUT OF…” However, her sentence was cut off as Gilda hurled her Twilight dodgeball straight into the princess’ face, causing both student and mentor to cry in pain as they were both blasted back into the wall. Twilight ended up uncurling from her pained ball form a moment later, resting on top of Celestia’s mare body. The two girls weakly looked at one another, then both collapsed.

“This…is different…but, there’s nothing in the rulebook that says you can’t use teammates as shields or as balls,” Nightmare Moon stated, “That did look painful, but…eh, it’s not me!” She blew her whistle a few times, indicating that Trixie, Twilight, and Celestia were all out. However, a second later, all Gilda had to do was hurl four more rubber balls at the stunned remaining Royal Ruffians and they once again were all eliminated.

Silver Spoon: *twitching, now with two black eyes and a busted nose* It…it hurts…it hurts bad.

“JUST ONE MORE, SHRIMPS!” Gilda screeched, pumping her fists in the air, “JUST ONE MORE ROUND BEFORE YOU’RE ALL TOAST! I’M GONNA KEEP SMASHING YOUR FACES UNTIL YOU BEG FOR MERCY!”

“Gilda, this has gone too far!” Cheerilee frowned, stepping off the bench to replace the injured Twilight, “I must protest your horrible tactics for this crude game! You seriously hurt Twilight, you used Trixie for your shield, you could’ve very nearly injured our own Princess Celestia, and you’re acting like a jerk!”

“Want to make something of it, teacher girl?” Gilda asked coldly, turning her beady eyes to Cheerilee and sizing her up. At first, Cheerilee refused to be bullied like this. However, she also didn’t want to set a bad example for her students by starting a fight, so she sucked up her pride and forced herself to just ease away from Gilda and take a random place on the mat.

Cheerilee: This is unacceptable…I don’t care HOW strong she is. This is just a game and nothing more; is money and revenge really worth getting hurt over? Gilda has so much to learn…so very much.

“Please…Miss Applejack…PLEASE don’t make me go back out there,” Silver Spoon cried, tears streaming down her face as she looked up at the hayseed, “I’m begging you…this hurts too bad…vote me out if we lose, I don’t care! I don’t want to go back out there!” Her glasses had thankfully been made unbreakable at the start of the game from Discord’s magic, but even they looked close to breaking; Gilda’s power was that incredible.

“Sugarcube…ahright, ah understand,” Applejack said softly, gently stroking the hurt filly, “Ah know how ya’ll feel…but, at the same time, we can’t just lie down like dogs and let Gilda do this to us. This isn’t just about us now…it’s about everyone in this gym! That griffon has a lot to learn, but she doesn’t belong HERE to do it. We need someone who knows her…who can get into her head…who can BEAT her…” Slowly, Applejack looked down at the sleeping Rainbow Dash.

Applejack: Ah didn’t want it to have to come to this…resortin’ to Rainbow Dash…but, desperate times call for desperate measures…besides, she IS our teammate…she needs to be helpin’ us!

“Best friends they once were, this is true,” Zecora muttered, looking down at the azure Pegasus, “Surely she can help us now, our friend of blue.”

“Y-y-y-yes…p-p-p-please w-w-w-wake R-R-R-Rainbow D-D-D-Dash…” Fluttershy whimpered, holding Diamond Tiara like a teddy bear by this point, even though the stuck-up filly didn’t seem to mind.

“Ahright then…Discord, yer megaphone, please,” Applejack muttered, trotting over to the snoozing draconequus. Discord looked annoyed, but he did lift his sunglasses and give the pony his attention.

“Fine, but if you break this one, I’m sending you into exile!” Discord frowned, snapping his fingers and once more teleporting in a megaphone.

“Thank ya kindly,” Applejack smiled, taking it and limping back over to Rainbow Dash. Slowly, the cowgirl held the megaphone right into Rainbow Dash’s left ear. “GILDA WON!”

“WHAT?!?!” Rainbow Dash shrieked, falling off her bleacher as her eyes instantly shot up, “No, Gilda can NOT win! I won’t let her! She cheats and she’s dirty! She…she…huh?” The Pegasus slapped her head a few times to get the ringing in her ears to go away, then she looked at her wounded team in confusion. Applejack just sat there and let Rainbow Dash take it all in.

First, Rainbow Dash observed where she was. Second, she looked at her hurt teammates and those who were too scared to move or say anything, not to mention the still-flat Spike. Third, she saw the familiar rubber balls on the ground. Finally, she looked over and saw Twilight and Trixie both laying in pain on the opposite team’s bench, Scootaloo waving happily to her, and Gilda grinning evilly in her direction. No words needed to be spoken for Rainbow Dash to understand the situation.

“…wish you would’ve woken me up sooner, AJ,” Rainbow Dash frowned, cracking her hooves like Gilda would her knuckles as she glared over at the griffon, “This is now personal. Royal Ruffians, you will all do what I say and when I say it, do you understand? Put your faith in me. If we lose this, please vote me out, since allowing Gilda to win is the ultimate humiliation I could have happen to you guys, and I would not deserve to be here.”

“That’s the Rainbow Dash ah know!” Applejack grinned, noticing that Dash’s speech seemed to have sparked something within her team, “What would ya like us all to do?”

“Fight fire with fire,” Rainbow Dash frowned, pulling her team in for a huddle, “I think we all want the same thing here…even the other team. Just do what I say and it’ll be alright. Applejack, you’re the only one I want on the floor with me; the rest of you are safe to stay on the bench.”

“But…Gilda only has to get both of you out and we lose!” Diamond Tiara spoke up from Fluttershy’s arms, “Not that I want to go out there or anything, but…”

“Please, just trust me,” Rainbow said softly, “My element isn’t loyalty for nothing; you have nothing to fear. I won’t fail you, I promise.” Even though the team still looked worried, they knew Rainbow Dash and that she was true to her word. Lazy she might be, but she was so much more than that.

Rainbow Dash: *slowly spreading black war paint on her face* Okay, Gilda…you want to play dirty, we can play dirty…it’s time to kick your butt back where it came from! No one hurts my friends…no one.

“Oh, THIS is perfect!” Gilda grinned, watching as only Rainbow Dash and Applejack came onto the court, “I’ll knock you both out at once for the perfect victory. My prey is right where I want them.”

“Thank you for being here, AJ,” Rainbow Dash whispered, gently nuzzling the cowgirl and wincing as she took a closer look at her injuries, “You…really took a lot…I’m really sorry I’ve been so selfish.”

“Hey, hey, none of that…what’s done is done,” Applejack chuckled, nuzzling the Pegasus back, “Besides, this is here and now, so let’s make the most of it…ya’ll can make it up to me later.” She grinned and winked at Dash, who playfully winked back. Then, the two faced down Gilda. Ironically, Gilda’s entire team had realized what was gonna happen, so they ALL had taken a seat on the bench, leaving the griffon alone on the court to face her old friend and Applejack.

“Oh, this is getting GOOD!” Nightmare Moon grinned, levitating her whistle up to her mouth, “Okay…round three…let’s go!” She blew the whistle.

Almost immediately, Rainbow Dash whispered a plan to Applejack while Gilda gathered up her first ball; she wanted to make her hits really count this time. Upon hearing Rainbow’s plan, Applejack grinned and gave her a little nod. Rainbow Dash then raced forward and gathered two balls into her arms before flapping her wings and flying up towards the ceiling, leaving Applejack alone on the bottom. Gilda didn’t really get what Dash was trying to do, since an airstrike would never take her by surprise. Smirking, the griffon took aim at the flying Pegasus while also keeping an eye on the hayseed below.

“Hey, Gilda, check it out!” Applejack grinned, suddenly turning around and lifting back her tail, “Ah got a perfect target for ya’ll…it’s what YOU are!” She used her tail to slap her own rump as she mooned the griffon, giving it a shake now and then as Gilda instantly looked angry at being mocked.

“Oh, you’re calling me an ass?” Gilda snarled, “Well, at least I’m a WINNING ass!” Taking her eyes momentarily off Rainbow Dash, Gilda hurled a ball straight at Applejack’s butt…and soon was bashed in the head with a ball from Rainbow Dash up above.

“YOU’RE OUT!” Nightmare Moon called out, blowing her whistle, “ROUND THREE GOES TO THE ROYAL RUFFIANS! NEXT UP IS ROUND FOUR!”

“WHAT?!?!” Gilda shrieked, the ball not really having done any damage to her, aside from angering her, “DASH, YOU CHEATING LITTLE WORM!”

“Takes one to know one, Gilda,” Rainbow Dash grinned, flying down and giving Applejack a high-hoof. The Royal Ruffians bench all cheered happily, still somewhat in pain, but now very rejuvenated after what they just saw. Even though they lost the round, it seemed that the Magical Misfits were happy, too. It was during this time that no one noticed another certain camper had finally gotten back up.

“Okay, same format as before?” Nightmare Moon asked, seeing Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Gilda remain the only ones on the court, “Very well…round four, begin!” She blew her whistle one more time.

“I’LL GET YOU LITTLE WEASELS GOOD THIS TIME!” Gilda snarled, hurling every ball she could get her hands on straight at Rainbow Dash and Applejack. Having whispered another plan to AJ, Dash had quickly lifted the girl onto her back and had taken to the air, where she was much more comfortable dodging balls. Despite Gilda’s powerful throws, each of her tosses missed and she was left screeching in anger and rage.

“Now…part two!” Rainbow Dash laughed, floating back down to the ground as all the balls were now on her team’s side, “Ready, AJ?”

“Ready, RD!” Applejack smirked, “Let’s get her!” Putting the second part of their second plan into action, Rainbow Dash and Applejack started kicking and throwing balls at Gilda’s legs, trying to keep them away from her hands. Catching onto this quickly, Gilda began flying and jumping around to avoid the low throws. However, this was just what Rainbow Dash had anticipated. During one of her throws, she pretended to throw the ball at Gilda’s legs, but ended up slightly moving her wrist so that the ball went just a bit higher than it should have. Gilda never saw it coming.

“Gilda is struck in the stomach and the Royal Ruffians win round four!” Nightmare Moon called out, blowing her whistle and ignoring the enraged screams from the griffon, “We will now have a fifth and deciding match. The winner of this match will win it all! Discord, you’re missing quite a show here.” However, Discord was now snoring loudly on his chair with a book over his face.

Nightmare Moon: WHY did I let this idiot sucker me into doing this mundane job again?

“This is it, Applejack,” Rainbow said, patting her friend on the back, “All or nothing…right here, right now! One of us wins, one of us loses…who will it be?”

“Ah don’t know…no, wait, ah DO know!” Applejack grinned, “It’s gonna be US!” The air was heavy with anticipation at the final match, both teams so nervous and wondering what was gonna happen. They were both so preoccupied with watching the threesome that they failed to notice somebody sneak onto the court and head towards the back.

“Okay…final round…begin!” Nightmare Moon yelled, blowing on her whistle.

“No more Miss Nice Griffon!” Gilda snarled, holding two balls in her hands as she glared at Rainbow and Applejack, “You both are dead meat, and I’m the vulture!”

“Wow, nice insult…did you come up with that one all by yourself?” Rainbow Dash teased, just before she shrieked and got pummeled right in the face by an onslaught of balls, all fired in rapid succession.

“RAINBOW DASH!” Applejack screamed, but was soon nailed by the same barrage of balls, too. The two girls had gotten so cocky that they had forgotten that Gilda had all the balls during this round, not to mention they hadn’t anticipated Gilda attacking so quickly instead of coming up with a strategy.

“Applejack…team…I’m sorry,” Rainbow Dash whimpered, twitching on the floor in pain as she began crawling back towards her bench, “I tried…I got cocky…I let Gilda win…”

“Sugarcube…it’s ahright…ya’ll have nothin’ to apologize for,” Applejack smiled, dragging herself back along with Rainbow Dash, “There’ll always be next time, so…”

“THIS AIN’T OVER YET!” a voice yelled out from the Royal Ruffians’ court. Gilda, who had just begun celebrating finally defeating Dash, turned back around to see who dared still opposed her. The entire gym gasped upon seeing just who was standing on the court opposite Gilda. After being flattened during the very start of the challenge, he had slowly inflated himself naturally and had snuck back onto the court without anyone having seen him. It was Spike.

“Oh, THIS is rich,” Gilda snickered, ignoring the stunned expressions on all the other campers’ faces, “The baby dragon is trying to save his team, even though it’s about to cost him his pride and his health. Hey, unicorn, why don’t you make THAT one of your stupid lessons on friendship? At the cost of pride and your health, trying to save your miserable team from losing will not work, but the thought is so funny that it’s good for a laugh! Isn’t that a perfect lesson?”

Spike: There’s no way I’m letting Gilda win this! This is my chance to earn that respect! All of you ladies out there…mainly Rarity…watch me work my own brand of magic. *he flexes his muscles*

“Spike…w-w-what’re you doing!?!?” Celestia called from the sidelines, “You don’t have to do this!”

“Yeah, seriously!” Rainbow Dash added, “Don’t do this just for the team! There’s always next time!”

“Are you kidding? This IS the next time!” Spike frowned, glaring over at his team, “What happened to your fighting spirit, huh? It’s never over until it’s over and the fat pony sings! Well, I’m still standing, and until I get knocked out, this team still lives.”

“But…Spike…do ya’ll seriously think you can beat Gilda?” Applejack asked, “To beat her, ya’ll either need to throw her out…which ah don’t think ya can do…or catch her next throw. Do ya really think ya’ll can do that?” Spike looked down at his small body and his small muscles, then looked over at the griffon. Compared to him, she seemed like a giant, ready to eat him up for dinner. The dragon, however, after seeing the look on his team’s faces, not to mention the look on Rarity’s on the opposite sideline, refused to show any fear.

“I got this,” was all that he said, turning away from his team and glaring down Gilda. The entire gym was thrown into silence. No one seemed to breathe or make any sudden movement. The benches both stayed perfectly still as every set of eyes was on the two campers on the court. This was the classic battle of good versus evil, David versus Goliath, bully versus victim…who would win?

Slowly, Gilda reached for the final ball on her side of the court that she had not yet thrown. Her eyes were locked with Spike’s as the dragon and griffon glared each other down. An inner rivalry seemed to be brewing, since both dragons and griffons were naturally powerful and mythical creatures. No matter what the size, age or gender, it was personal between the two species. Spike’s tail slowly wagged back and forth behind him as he clenched his fists, while Gilda licked her beak and clenched her rubber ball tightly in her talon. Time seemed to freeze for a moment, then Gilda reared up for her throw.

“Prepare…to…DIE!” she roared, using all her might and all her power to hurl her ball straight towards the baby dragon on the opposite court. No one had a chance to catch their breath or gasp, as the ball made contact with Spike a second later and send him once again smashing into the back of the court and into the wall. The entire gym was once again thrown into silence, everyone either horrified or curious as to if this meant Spike had lost or not.

Slowly, Spike crumbled onto the floor, his back pointing into the air as he twitched in pain. Gilda was left grinning and soon crossed her arms in victory. The entire Royal Ruffians team looked disappointed, while the entire Magical Misfits team looked scared at the thought of keeping Gilda for another day or two. However, Spike then ended up rolling over onto his back. There, clutched on top of his stomach with both arms and both legs…was the rubber ball. It was firmly held and obviously a catch.

“SPIKE CATCHES THE BALL FOR THE ROYAL RUFFIANS!” Nightmare Moon announces, blowing her whistle and looking thrilled for some reason, “THE RUFFIANS WIN THE MATCH, 3-2!”

“WHAT?!?!?!?!” the entire gym seemed to scream at the same time, everyone completely stunned and confused by what they were experiencing. Did Spike, the smallest competitor there, actually catch a bullet pass from the fiercest competitor there to eliminate her and thus win the match for his team?

“SPIKE, YOU DID IT!” Rainbow Dash cheered, racing over to the dragon and playfully bucking him up onto her back.

“I…think…all…my…ribs…are…broken,” Spike managed to gasp, obviously in deep, deep pain. However, his team was much too happy with his heroics to really care about his pain, and soon they were all laughing and cheerfully heading for the exits while serenading the little dragon. Gilda was left looking dumbstruck and speechless on the opposite end of the court.

“Ugh…that was a great nap…what’d I miss?” Discord asked, lifting his head up and yawning a moment later, “Oh, is the game already over? Who won, Nightmare Moon?”

“You…are hopeless,” Nightmare Moon frowned, teleporting away in a huff and leaving Discord to clean up what was left.

Discord: What’s HER problem? Females, I swear; you can’t live with ‘em…yeah, that’s all.

“So…it looks like the Magical Misfits lost,” Discord snickered, floating over to the team and noticing that they looked kinda happy about the loss, “Why do you all look…happy? You just lost.”

“You’ll see later, Discord,” Rarity smiled, leaping off the bleachers and heading for the door, “Right now, I have a little dragon to congratulate and give a little kiss to...after I sanitize his mouth, of course.”

“And Twilight and Trixie could both use a trip to the infirmary,” Cheerilee said, pointing to the two hurt unicorns, one sporting two black eyes and a bloody nose while the other one’s entire body seemed disfigured and still in pain.

“Uh-oh…my Pinkie Sense is acting up!” Pinkie cried, feeling her ears flap back and forth, “My right ear flapped eight times, and my left one flapped six! That means that someone is gonna blow up and go crazy! So, we’d best hurry away right now!”

“Good idea, Pinkie,” Apple Bloom chuckled, “Derpy, Miss Cheerilee, let’s take Trixie and Twilight and get outta here, quick!” With a nod, Cheerilee and Derpy both set the two hurt unicorns on their backs and quickly headed for the exit. Scootaloo cast a look over at the twitching Gilda before shaking her little head and hurrying after them.

Scootaloo: I’d hate to be anywhere near that gym at a moment like this… *she shivers a bit*

Hours later, after Discord’s gym was entirely destroyed by an enraged Gilda and all the hurt ponies and non-ponies had been taken to the infirmary, Discord went and started the elimination ceremony. Apple Bloom, Cheerilee, Derpy Hooves, Gilda, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Scootaloo all came in without any noticeable injuries, while Trixie had her nose taped and bandaged up and was holding an icepack over her eyes. Twilight had to wheel herself in on a wheelchair, since Nightmare Moon had to realign her body structure and it would take 24 hours for it to properly fix itself.

“Ah, girls, welcome to your next elimination ceremony!” Discord smiled, “Oh, and Twilight, nice wheels! How much did they cost you?”

“Just…most of the bones…in my body,” Twilight moaned, still being sarcastic even at a time like this.

“Yes, well, it’s now time to get to your next vote,” Discord went on, “You know the drill by now, since this is your second time here. Simply vote for the camper that you want to be kicked off; it’s that simple. And that camper can never, ever, EVER come back…EVER!”

“For…EVER!” Pinkie cried.

“Don’t do that again,” Discord frowned, “Now, let’s hurry up and get to the vote; I can tell you all need your rest, and tired campers equal bad ratings, so I can’t have that. Apple Bloom, you’re up first.”

Rarity: *shows the camera that she voted for Gilda* Why we didn’t do this first, I’ll never know. Poor Vinyl took the fall instead. Well, now’s the time to correct our mistake. *she puts it in the box*

Scootaloo: *shows the camera that she voted for Gilda* You are seriously creepy and insane! Strong or not, we don’t need that on our team! *She puts the ballot in the box*

Trixie: *shows the camera that she voted for Gilda* No one damages the Great and Powerful Trixie’s beautiful face and gets away with it, half-breed! *she puts the ballot in the box*

Twilight: *weakly holds the ballot up to the camera with her mouth, showing that it said Gilda* Mmm…mmmm….mmmmm… *she slips the ballot into the box, then groans* Ow…this hurts…

“You all have made your decisions,” Discord said, teleporting the box in front of him, “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 fake reading glasses, putting them on as the Magical Misfits all looked at one another and gave little knowing nods. The draconequus removed the top of the ballot box and reached for the first ballot.

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

“Second vote…Gilda. That’s one vote Scootaloo, one vote Gilda.”

“Third vote…Gilda. That’s two votes Gilda, one vote Scootaloo.”

“Fourth vote…Gilda. That’s three votes Gilda, one vote Scootaloo.”

“Fifth vote…Gilda. That’s four votes Gilda, one vote Scootaloo.”

“Third loser of Total Magic Pony Island…” Discord announced, slowly flipping over the sixth and deciding ballot, “…Gilda. Um, sorry, Gilda, but it’s time for…”

“WHAT?!?! ME?!?! YOU ALL HAVE GOT A LOT OF NERVE!” Gilda roared, getting up and instantly cracking her knuckles, “I’M GONNA BASH ALL YOU FACES IN! HOPE YOU LIKE THAT WHEELCHAIR, UNICORN, BECAUSE I’M SHOVING IT RIGHT UP YOUR…MMMMPH!” At that moment, Discord had teleported over and quickly attached a straightjacket on the angry griffon, making sure to also cover up her beak. The scared Misfits teammates then watched as Gilda was dragged down the Dock of Shame in that same condition, thrashing as hard as she could and glaring back at the group with eyes of hatred.

Cheerilee: *shivering and shaking her head* One day, I hope that Gilda can find it in her heart to open up to love and friendship…I won’t give up hope for her; no one is pure evil, I know that.

Derpy: Wow…did you all see Glenda? Um…I mean…yeah, I think her name was Glenda. Anyway, she’s SO crazy! *her eyes spin around wildly as she giggles a bit* Thankfully she’s gone now!

Rarity: *sniffing* That intolerable creature seriously needs to take some anger management classes…along with a hundred other classes that I simply cannot waste my time saying in this bathroom.

“Such a shame…you brought such great ratings to our show,” Discord sighed, tossing Gilda onto the Boat of Losers and watching as it started to chug away, carrying the silently screaming griffon, “But, alas, that’s what happens when you’re an evil jerk. I’m really glad that I’M not like that.”

“No, but you’re pretty darn close, if you ask me,” Celestia stated, standing on the Dock of Shame and glaring up at the draconequus. In response to this, Discord snapped his fingers and a bucket of water dropped down on the princess’ head a second later. “…I hate you so much, Discord.”

“You know you love me,” Discord smirked, before turning to face the cameras, “Anyway, with our dear little princess cooled off, let’s only hope that the same happens to everyone’s favorite griffon, Gilda! The huge attitude problem for the Misfits is gone, but without muscle, can they still compete? As for the Ruffians, how will Spike be treated now that he’s a hero? Will Rainbow Dash stop being so lazy and continue to step up when her team needs her? Will Applejack keep her place as fan favorite?”

“Wait, ah’m a fan favorite?” Applejack gasped, trotting onto the scene and happily twirling her hat in the air, “Yee-haw! That’s what ah’m talkin’ ‘bout! Oh…let me help ya with that, Princess.” She began trying to pull the bucket off Celestia’s head.

“…all of that and more, right here, on Total…Magic…Pony…Island!” Discord concluded, “Goodnight, Equestria!”

"GAH! Got it!" Applejack laughed, holding the bucket in her hooves as the grateful princess grumbled and glared up at Discord, as the cameras all faded.

Episode 6: Ego Busters

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Discord: Last time, on Total Magic Pony Island: a lot of stuff happened and several ponies, and a dragon and a zebra, were hurt bad. Why were they hurt bad? Probably due to the game of dodgeball that I asked Nightmare Moon to monitor while I looked macho and snoozed nearby. Gilda was locked into a zone and unleashed her rage, on BOTH teams. After watching the highlights on instant replay, I got a good laugh when Twilight was turned into a pony-ball herself and launched right into her mentor’s arrogant face. The Great and Powerful Trixie was also used as a shield. Applejack and Rainbow Dash did their best for their team, but when it came right down to it, Spike saved the day and won the game for his stunned campmates, despite getting most of his ribs cracked in the process. At the elimination ceremony, excluding Gilda’s vote for the lazy Scootaloo, it was a unanimous decision and the enraged griffon was removed from the game via a straightjacket before being loaded onto the Boat of Losers. The Royal Ruffians have a numbers advantage, but with their biggest head sore gone, can the Magical Misfits get back into this game? Find out next, on Total…Magic…Pony…Island!

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

“Who fixed you up, Spike?” Rainbow Dash asked, holding an icepack over her black eye as her Royal Ruffians sat at their mess hall table for their dinner, “I didn’t think this place had a doctor.”

“Nightmare Moon did it,” Spike moaned, relaxing at the top of the table as he idly patted his chest cast, “It was really scary, and she used some kind of strange magic…but, at least it doesn’t hurt as much.”

Before the elimination ceremony of the dodgeball challenge, Twilight, Trixie and Spike had all been taken to the infirmary by Discord. Since Spike was the only one on the Royal Ruffians in need of immediate doctoring, none of his teammates knew where Discord had taken him. As it turned out, Nightmare Moon had been put in charge of EVERYTHING around Camp Paradox, save for host, since Discord found THAT to be the most important job of all and only HE could do it. Nightmare Moon had been the one to patch up Twilight, Trixie and Spike’s injuries.

“Really? So, she fixed all three of you?” Celestia asked, a bit skeptical, “Are you sure that you’re alright? I don’t trust anything that she does around here. In fact, I can’t help but think this is all part of some big plan by both her and Discord. Don’t you all see? With the elements of harmony unable to perform their powers, and all those who might be able to stop the two of them imprisoned on a non-magical island, they could be doing diabolical plots during the night or when we’re not watching! Playing this game could very well be putting all of Equestria in jeopardy!”

The Royal Ruffians all stared at the ruler of Equestria, their expressions showing mostly concern. The princess did have a good point. Nightmare Moon’s prognosis for reappearing on Equestria was to make the world have eternal night; Discord’s was to thrust the world into total chaos, using Ponyville as the epicenter for such chaos. It didn’t take a genius to theorize that the two troublemakers could potentially be working together to conspire something absolutely terrifying the likes of Equestria had ever seen. Then again, it could just be Celestia being paranoid, too.

“If you’re so worried, Princess, you’re always free to fly away,” Rainbow Dash stated, “No one here will think any less of you for leaving this game to put Equestria first. It’s your duty, after all. If you’re really so concerned, you can leave; I don’t mind what you choose to do. I’ll support you either way, as I’m sure Twilight and everyone else would.”

“No…I will not leave you all,” Celestia sighed, “Equestria is important, but…putting it before all of you, my subjects and…friends…wouldn’t be right. I was just expressing my worries; do not pay heed to them. Let’s just focus on doing our best as a team and continue to win.”

“That’s my sister!” Luna smiled, wrapping a foreleg around Celestia, “Always the worrywart, but loyal to a fault and will not desert those who mean a lot to her.”

Celestia: Contrary to what Discord and Nightmare Moon might believe, I put others before the world. That might come back to haunt me, but I’m not a tyrant ruler like SOME ponies might think. I will always put my subjects and friends before everything else…especially my sister. *she smiles a bit*

“Don’t you worry, Spike,” Fluttershy purred, sitting next to the little dragon and gently stroking his head, “I will take care of you until all your broken ribs heal, and even afterwards…um, if you’d like.”

“Thanks, Fluttershy, but I don’t really think that’ll be necessary,” Spike blushed, “Nightmare Moon said that me staying in this body cast will be a hindrance to my team, which then would hurt the ratings for this show, so she used a very powerful healing magic that’ll heal my ribs overnight!”

“Oh…is that right?” Fluttershy blinked, looking slightly disappointed at the thought of not getting the chance to take care of the cute little dragon, “Well, um, that’s really amazing. I’m very happy to hear that. Nightmare Moon has very strong magic…I’m happy to hear that you’ll be back to normal in the morning, Spike.”

Fluttershy: *crossing her front forelegs and pouting* That’s so not fair. How can I care for Spike when his serious injury turns out to not be so serious at all thanks to Nightmare Moon’s magic? That pony is such a big meanie. *she sighs and looks sad* I would’ve looked so cute in a nurse’s outfit, too.

About five minutes later, the Magical Misfits trudged into the mess hall to join their opponents for a quick dinner, if they even chose to eat what Nightmare Moon was serving. Cheerilee was pushing along Twilight’s wheelchair, while Trixie constantly kept poking at the small cast plastered over her broken nose. Applejack glanced over and felt slightly guilty, since it had been a dodgeball kicked by her that had ultimately broken Trixie’s nose, even if Gilda had used the unicorn as a shield. The entire Royal Ruffians team couldn’t help but smile when they saw that Gilda had indeed been voted out.

Rainbow Dash: Ha, serves her right! *she pushes her face right up close to the camera* If you’re listening to this, Gilda, you seriously need to take some anger management classes. *she then goes silent and glances down at the floor of the confessional* I…I really do miss my old friend, though…

“How ya holdin’ up, Twilight?” Applejack asked, calling over to one of her best friends as they sat down at their own table, “Spike informed us that Nightmare Moon fixed ya’ll up and that ya should be better when mornin’ comes. Is that right?”

“Yeah…pretty much…Applejack,” Twilight moaned, barely even able to move any part of her body, save for her head, “Nightmare Moon said…repairing and structuring an entire pony skeletal system…isn’t an easy task…but, I should be better…in the morning...even though, in theory, mending bones…should take a good couple of months…”

“That’s our egghead,” Rainbow Dash snickered, “I think she’ll be just fine. She may be a small pony, and Gilda may have broken her body, but she couldn’t break her spirit.”

“Thanks…Rainbow…that makes me feel…SO much better,” Twilight moaned sarcastically, casting an amused glance over in the Pegasus’ general direction.

“Does nopony care about TRIXIE’S injury?” Trixie growled, sniffing and continuing to poke at her nose, “Her beautiful nose is broken and all she hears is compassion for that overrated violet unicorn!”

“Vanity only works for those who know how to use it, darling,” Rarity teased, patting Trixie mockingly on the back and getting a glare in return from the azure unicorn.

Trixie: *never stopping poking at her busted nose* Intolerable foals! Mocking Trixie when she clearly deserves more attention than that Twilight Sparkle! Good riddance to that obnoxious half-breed, Gilda, so hopefully this team will start listening to what Trixie has to say! It’s for their own good!

As dinner got over, which resulted in more ponies feeling hungry than nourished, the two teams left the mess hall and headed for their cabins. Cheerilee kept pushing Twilight along in her wheelchair, while Fluttershy was going out of her way to help Spike with his broken ribs. Celestia and Luna both went to give Twilight their well wishes, while Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon both had to listen to Zecora talk about team unity.

“Young Spike showed the true heart of a winner,” Zecora was stating, opening up her team’s cabin door and letting the two little fillies enter, “You could read his resolve during our time at dinner. Your spirit alone can carry you quite a long way, but make sure you always listen to what your heart has to say. Your head and your eyes will fool and deceive you, but your heart will always be the one to stay true.”

“Like, why are you telling us all this?” Diamond Tiara frowned, giving Zecora a disgusted look, “You seriously do not make any sense, weird zebra lady. Come, Silver Spoon, just ignore what that weirdo has to say; it’s nothing but the ramblings of a strange loon.” The filly stuck her nose in the air and headed into the cabin, ignoring Zecora.

“Um…coming, Diamond,” Silver Spoon muttered, giving Zecora a long look before following after her friend. The zebra shook her head as she watched the two fillies make their way towards their beds.

Zecora: If one cannot learn from their own faults, they will only get hurt from the following results. Diamond Tiara refuses to see the light, but Silver Spoon seems to be willing to fight. *she closes her eyes and meditates, as she usually does when she does a confessional* Willing to fight…for what is right.

Silver Spoon: The more Zecora talks to me, the more her words seem to stick in my mind. I really don’t understand what it is she’s saying or why she’s singling out Diamond and myself, but… *she removes her glasses, deep in thought* …what was my life like before I got my cutie mark?

“Twilight, would you rather sleep in your wheelchair or in your bed?” Cheerilee asked, looking at Twilight in concern after wheeling her into the team’s cabin and up to her bed.

“It’s best that…my body isn’t move from this wheelchair…until my bones knit…and I can move without worry of reinjuring myself,” Twilight whispered, “Therefore…it’s best if I sleep in this chair.”

“Fair enough, darling,” Rarity smiled, pulling Twilight’s blanket off her bed while Cheerilee got her pillow, “We’ll make sure you’re good and comfortable while you’re confined in SUCH a horrible position.” Cheerilee very gently eased Twilight’s head forward as she put the pillow behind it, and Rarity draped the blanket over the grateful purple unicorn. Trixie was watching all this with a strange look on her face.

Trixie: Trixie does not understand why that arrogant white unicorn and that gullible school teacher worry so much for the likes of Twilight Sparkle. Why do others go out of their way to make somepony else happy? The only one that you should worry about is yourself; others come after.

“Would you like me to sing you a lullaby, Twilight?” Pinkie asked, bouncing up and softly nuzzling her best friend’s leg, “I promise it’ll be one that doesn’t hurt your head, like you said the last one did.”

“That’s alright, Pinkie…you need your rest,” Twilight said, forcing a weak smile, “The team comes before me, you know. Tomorrow is another day…and possibly another challenge. I want you all to be strong and rested…please don’t worry about me.” These words made Pinkie gently snuggle the weak unicorn, and made Trixie look even more confused.

Trixie: Why does Twilight Sparkle say such stupid things? If Trixie was in her hooves, she would take all the attention she could get. She would seriously put a TEAM before her own health? What a silly little foal she is. *she laughs* Sometimes…or rather ALL the time…Twilight Sparkle can be so stupid.

“Goodnight, everypony!” Pinkie cheerfully called out, leaping into bed a moment later, “Sleep tight and don’t let the bedbugs bite!” Then, she was out like a light and snoring loudly only seconds after she had made her proclamation.

“With no more annoying Gilda, we’re gonna rock!” Scootaloo laughed, leaping into her bed and snuggling up under the covers.

“Ah hear that!” Apple Bloom agreed, “We’re only goin’ up from here, Magical Misfits!”

“How can you go up when there’s a ceiling?” Derpy inquired, pointing up at the roof of the cabin with a hoof, “If we go up, we’ll hit our heads. I hit my head all the time; it feels kinda funny and it makes my eyes go around and around in circles.”

“Derpy, sweetie, I think you should just go to bed, okay?” Cheerilee smiled, gently and somewhat forcibly guiding the confused blonde Pegasus to her bed.

Derpy: *tilting her head while her eyes spiral a bit inside their sockets* How come when I say something the ponies usually smile at me and try to make me feel good by giving me pats on the head or backside? I don’t really get it. Do I say funny things? *she sticks out her tongue and pokes at it*

“Okay, Spike, are you sure that you’re comfortable?” Fluttershy asked, moving very quickly as she tucked Spike into bed, “Are you sure you’re sleeping on your back and not your tummy? Are your pillows fluffed enough? Is your blanket tucked in alright? Is your cast nice and snug around your broken ribs? Do you want me to sing you a lullaby? Would you like a goodnight kiss?”

“Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, no thanks, and gladly, Fluttershy,” Spike muttered, answering all of Fluttershy’s questions before puckering up and closing his eyes. Unfortunately, Fluttershy just gave Spike a kiss on his cheek and not his lips.

Spike: *grinning stupidly at the camera* Not the kiss I was hoping for, but…hey, I’ll take it! *he weakly touches his left cheek and sighs dreamily* If Fluttershy’s kiss is THAT soft and magical…I can only imagine what Rarity’s is like! Maybe I should break my body parts more often…chicks seem to dig that.

“Goodnight, sister,” Luna said, walking up to Celestia as the sun princess was once again looking out the cabin window into the distance, “Please don’t stay up too long, alright? You need your rest just like everypony else.” She hugged her sister from behind, while Celestia just nodded to her and never taking her eyes away from the moon.

“Does it not bother you, Luna?” Celestia whispered, “Your moon is out there, but you don’t have any say over it while you are here. Does it not worry you, or anger you, or make you feel strange on the inside?”

“I can’t say that I don’t think about my duties, but it shouldn’t be my prime concern,” Luna said, “Like you said, dear sister, there are more important things than just royal duties. There’s more to life than that. Being imprisoned for 1,000 years on that very moon made me lose my mind because everything in life that I held dear wasn’t there for me, and Nightmare Moon made me her vessel as she convinced herself I wanted revenge against you and Equestria. I was hurt and depressed, but what my time away taught me was that life is precious and there are more important things than just who you are.”

“Sister…” Celestia whispered, slowly looking to the side and staring into Luna’s eyes. The two princess sisters stared at one another for a long time before the dark pony gave the white one a little nuzzle and turned around to head for bed. Celestia watched her sister enter a world of dreams in silence, before turning back around and staring out at the moon again.

Celestia: *whispering* Life is precious and there are more important things than just who you are? But, I am the ruler of Equestria…the one who raises the sun each and every day…without me, this world would be nothing…right? How could anything be more important than my title? *she closes her eyes*

The night passed mostly uneventfully, both teams sleeping soundly in their beds (and wheelchair) and dreaming random things. Celestia eventually went to bed, her head filled with many thoughts, and was soon lost in the dream world, too. Twilight Sparkle was as comfortable as one could be sleeping in a wheelchair, while Trixie tossed and turned now and then for some reason. Scootaloo was hugging her pillow, thinking it was Rainbow Dash, since the little Pegasus was naturally dreaming about her. Silver Spoon, sleeping without her glasses, had gone to sleep with many uneasy thoughts invading her mind; Diamond Tiara had no such qualms and was sleeping like a baby.

The Magical Misfits’ cabin door ended up opening during the middle of the night with Pinkie Pie slowly sleepwalking out. She had a happy smile plastered on her face, dreaming something very content as she trotted along the quiet campgrounds with her eyes closed. The pink pony ended up taking a very interesting little walk around the camp, which included her walking up several trees, over the roofs of several of the camp buildings, and even upside down across the ceiling of her team’s cabin. Trixie ended up waking up during Pinkie’s latest sleepwalking stunt and immediately spotted the pony trotting nonchalantly across the ceiling of the team’s cabin.

“…Trixie plans to have a long talk with Nightmare Moon about what she puts in our food,” Trixie muttered, quickly turning the other way and burying her face back into her pillow as Pinkie continued her sleepwalking camp tour.

Pinkie: *still asleep, she smiles blindly at the camera and whispers something that was not audible enough to understand, just before curling up on top of the toilet and finally ending her sleepwalking*

When morning eventually came, Twilight was the first camper up. The first thing she noticed was that she felt no pain whatsoever. In complete awe, she cautiously eased herself out of her wheelchair and examined her body. Somehow, Nightmare Moon’s powerful magic had done the trick; her entire body was mended and completely back to normal. Despite finding this technologically impossible, Twilight was thrilled and ended up doing a joyful little dance around her cabin, waking Trixie in the process.

“Ugh, do you HAVE consideration for allowing an actual TALENTED unicorn to retain her beauty sleep?” Trixie grumbled, glaring over at Twilight and grudgingly reaching for her hairbrush.

“Sorry, Trixie, it just feels so good to have my body back!” Twilight gushed, bouncing up to her rival’s bed and smiling at her, “It might’ve just been one night, but you have no idea how horrible it feels to be in a wheelchair. Check your nose; I bet it’s back to normal as well.”

“Trixie does not take orders!” Trixie snapped, but ended up reaching up and removing her nose cast anyway. With a rare smile, Trixie found that Twilight was correct; the blue unicorn’s nose was indeed mended and back to normal.

“I’ll say this much for Nightmare Moon…her magic is incredible,” Twilight said, trotting back to her own bedside and starting to comb her own bedhead. Trixie eyed the perky unicorn, but just shook her head and ignored her for the rest of the morning.

Diamond Tiara: *was just about ready to share her feelings on how annoying it was to wake up so early, but upon seeing Pinkie sleeping on the toilet, now upside down and with her tongue sticking out, Diamond Tiara screamed her head off and ended up racing away as fast as she could*

Pinkie: *her eyes flutter open a moment later and she peeks up and looks backwards up at the camera from her awkward position* …how did I get HERE? Aww, Dashie must’ve put me here as a prank! Isn’t she just the cutest filly you’ve ever seen? *she giggles, her tail wagging with her rump up in the air*

“THAT PINK PONY IS TOTALLY DEAD!” Diamond Tiara shrieked, racing back into the Royal Ruffians’ cabin and instantly irritating all of her teammates with her voice, “SHE WAS TOTALLY DEAD! I SAW HER IN THE CONFESSIONAL! IT WAS SO FREAKY!”

“Uh…wait, did you just say Pinkie Pie is dead?!?!” Rainbow Dash gasped, instantly looking horrified. In fact, the entire cabin started to look terrified at the thought of the pony being dead. However, a second later, Pinkie peeked her head into the cabin and gave the campers a happy smile.

“Ooh, you’re all awake! Goody, goody!” Pinkie gushed, “Now I can wish you all a good morning before anypony else from my team can! Oh, and Dashie, that was a nice prank you did. You silly filly, laying me upside down in the confessional like that; really gave me quite a start!”

“Wait…Pinkie Pie?” Applejack blinked, slowly trotting over and nervously poking a hoof on Pinkie’s forehead, as though thinking she wasn’t really there, “Uh…ya’ll don’t look dead…wait, what’d ya’ll just say? Dash pulled a prank?” All the campers then looked over at Rainbow Dash, who quickly held up her hooves in protest.

“Hey, I love a prank now and then, but I’m totally innocent!” she cried, “Pinkie, you just must’ve been sleepwalking again.”

“Yes! My ribs are all healed!” Spike interrupted, bouncing up and down and finally realizing that his chest no longer hurt, “Everyone, check it out!” He pulled off his cast and did some poses that flexed his chest muscles. At first, the Royal Ruffians were thrilled to find that Spike was better. However, about five seconds after Spike’s displays, they grew bored and began ignoring him again.

Spike: *complaining* How is it that the only time I get a girl to fawn over me is when I’m hurt? Don’t they see just how macho and fit I am? I thought girls loved that! *crosses his arms and pouts* Maybe I’ll go jump off a cliff or two; try to break one of my arms. That’ll get me a lot more attention!

“Hello, my little campers!” Discord announced, already eating some breakfast in the mess hall when both teams eventually walked inside, “Did you all sleep well? Ah, and it seems that Twilight, Trixie and Spike are all healed up, too.”

“Yup! I’m totally fit and back to my old self!” Spike smiled, proudly primping again and immediately getting many snickers and jeers from the surrounding females.

“Trixie’s nose is back to its beautiful and normal self as well,” Trixie stated, patting her nose with a hoof and sighing in almost an egotistic way.

“And as you can tell, my bones have all mended and my body is back to normal, too,” Twilight smiled.

“Yes, yes, I didn’t ask for your life stories,” Discord smirked, waving a hand in a dismissive way, “I’m just glad that Nightmare Moon did her job; losing you three would drastically drop ratings, since you three are very important to this game.”

Spike: *proudly crossing his arms and closing his eyes* Aw yeah, I’m important! You heard him!

Trixie: *putting her nose in the air with an arrogant smirk* It’s good to hear justified appreciation.

Twilight: *sarcastically* Nice, Discord, make Trixie and Spike’s heads even bigger than they are!

“Now, you all will want a good, hearty breakfast,” Discord continued, now playing with a paddleball as he idly watched the campers get into line for their food, “Today’s challenge will be an interesting one. What is it, you ask? It’s a talent show, that’s what!”

“Sweet!” Rainbow Dash grinned, “Now you’re speaking my language!”

“Each team will have until five o’clock this evening to pick their THREE top performers,” Discord explained, “Until then, I suggest you all do your best to find out which three on your team can do the best tricks or stunts, since each of your performers will be given a score from one to ten on how well they do. The three campers with the highest combined total will win the talent show for their team and be safe from elimination tonight.”

“Is there anything we can and cannot do?” Scootaloo asked, curious as to what would be allowed.

“Since the viewers who are watching this show range from little fillies to old mares, I’m forced to say that what you do must be legal and not very gruesome,” Discord yawned, “As for what specifically you can do, that’s up to your team. Without magic, I’m very interested in seeing what you all can come up with. Any special talent at all that you want to use will be fine, just so long as it’s not overly dangerous or questionable against the law.”

Apple Bloom: This’ll be easy. Mah big sister has taught me everythin’ she knows. Ah know that ah have a lot of special talents that are sure to come in handy fer this team! *she smiles excitedly*

Celestia: A talent show? Uh…I’m not so sure about this… *shockingly, she looks a bit shy* Blame this younger body of mine, but…I don’t really like the idea of showing off in front of my subjects.

“Okay, ladies, we have a good eight hours or so to get ready,” Twilight said, taking charge of her team and holding a clipboard in her hoof, “I want each of you to try out and show me what you can do. Then, we’ll have a vote on which three should represent us.”

“Why are YOU leading us?” Trixie complained, “Trixie thinks that she would make a much better…”

“All in favor of me leading?” Twilight asked, lifting her hoof with her clipboard into the air. Trixie’s eyes narrowed as she saw every member of the team raise their hooves, including Cheerilee. “All in favor of Trixie leading?” Trixie’s eyes narrowed even more when she was the only one with her hoof in the air. “There you have it, Trixie; majority rules.”

Cheerilee: It’s not that I didn’t want Trixie to lead, but…I know Twilight is a natural-born leader. From what I’ve seen of Trixie, I think she needs to learn a bit more about leadership.

“Okay, who would like to go first?” Twilight asked, looking seriously at her team while holding out her clipboard. Almost immediately, Derpy Hooves gasped and bounced forward.

“I can sing!” she blurted out, “Want to hear it?”

“Ooh, cool, you can sing, too?” Pinkie squealed, eagerly wiggling her tush in the air again, “Twilight, you totally have to let her sing! Singing is always awesome and it’s always a winner!”

“That’s debatable, Pinkie…but, okay,” Twilight chuckled, “Go ahead, Derpy; you have the floor.”

“I do? But, I don’t remember buying the floor,” Derpy blinked, glancing down at the ground, “And, aren’t we outside? Isn’t this the ground, not the floor?”

Twilight: *hitting herself in the forehead with her clipboard a few dozen times, her left eye twitching the entire time. Then, she smiles weakly and giggles* Isn’t Derpy cute?

“Okay, pony folk!” Derpy giggled, pulling a microphone out of nowhere and facing her team, “Here we go! Pinkie, start the music!” Somehow, Pinkie Pie pulled out a boombox and clicked one of the buttons down on it. Music began to play and Derpy began singing.

La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la…whoa!

Hey! I'm derptastic! Should be made in plastic!
Every ep, every day, always you'll be lookin’ at the screen derp-watchin’! Uh-huh!

Grown men fork over dollars; I make em go "Daaaaw..."!
Blonde-haired horse, bubbles, yay! Cross-eyed, thinkin’…I-I forgot what to say.

Derp eyes, better watch it! Muffins in my pocket!
Like don't hate on my medical condition; it’s possible that I’m just kiddin’. For real.

I spazz out and then drop it like it’s hot again!
Mail bag packed! Letters are my life. On the mail route, I'm off, my friend!

Love my mail car! Cruisin' down the highway on the left side! Hey, they're goin’ the wrong way!
I'm the most dingy horse in town. You know I'm gonna…derp it up, derp it up, da-da-da derp it!

Feelin’ walleyed, like a zombie. Only thinkin' muffin, instead of raw meat!
Would you still ride this horse around? You know I'm gonna…derp it up, derp it up, da-da-da derp it!

Hey! Let's all derp and go insane! I got butter hooves; do you wanna play a little game?
Bubbles are fun! And I like to blow! Watch it! Swat it! Stop it! Pop it!

Doesn't take much to distract; airhead wants her muffin back!
I done ate it up and it's gone! How whack! Guess next time I'll get a thousand pack! Grrrrr.

No Ma’am! English muffins are way bland! Need something' warm and fluffy!
And tell me do you know the muffin man? Gone walleyed in dream land! Hey, Mr. Muffin!

I ain't no scientist; say that I'm a super ditz.
Hey now be my witness; blurred vision, just go with it!

I'm like a rock star with lots of honeys, only I choose muffins, now bake some for me!
I'm the most dingy horse in town. You know I'm gonna…derp it up, derp it up, da-da-da derp it!

I'm causin’ panic when I wreak havoc. Didn't mean to drop that; I'm just so clumsy!
Would you still ride this horse around? You know I'm gonna…derp it up, derp it up, da-da-da derp it!

Oh-no-whoa! No-no-no-whoa-whoa!
It’s gonna blow-oh-oh! I think I…derped it up, derped it up, da-da-da derped it!

Oh-uh-ah-ah-oh! You know for sure-whoa-whoa!
I'm gonna go-oh-oh…derp it up, derp it up, da-da-da derp it. Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Aww!

As it turned out, both teams, including Discord and Nightmare Moon, had come over to watch Derpy’s “performance”. As soon as the ditzy pony was done and she was sitting down, giggling on the ground, all the other campers, including the host and his assistant, were staring at Derpy as though she was an alien. The only camper who didn’t look nauseated or disgusted was Pinkie, who was happily clopping her hooves and giving Derpy a standing ovation.

“Bravo, Derpy!” Pinkie gushed, “That was so impressionable and different! Way to go!”

Trixie: Trixie now wants to go and bury her head in the sand…as far as she can in the sand.

Rarity: I fear that I may not ever listen to music the same way again…SUCH a tragedy.

Celestia: It pains me to see one of my subjects perform as such…did I REALLY create her?

“Um…thanks for that, Derpy…but, I’m afraid that we won’t have you representing us in the talent show,” Twilight said, making some notes on her clipboard as Discord, Nightmare Moon and the Royal Ruffians all slowly moved away so that they could clear their heads.

“What?!?! That’s so not fair!” Derpy cried, fluttering over to Twilight and glaring at her, “That song totally would’ve won it for us! You big meanie!” She put her nose in the air and turned around, walking blindly away. She ended up crashing head-first into the side of her team’s cabin, instantly causing her team to wince. Derpy staggered backwards and shook her head, her eyeballs spinning, before she turned back to look at Twilight and yelled out, “Big meanie!” Then, she turned right back around and ended up walking straight into the cabin wall yet again. Once more, she staggered backward with her eyeballs spinning, before turning around and yelling, “Big meanie” at Twilight. This pattern then kept going on and on, since the cabin was quite long and Derpy never seemed to learn her lesson.

Cheerilee: *sighing* Oh dear…poor Derpy; the poor thing is probably gonna be in need of a good physical checkup after this…possibly a mental checkup, too.

“It’s a shame Vinyl isn’t here…she could’ve really helped us make some REAL music,” Twilight muttered, turning back to her remaining teammates, “Okay, who’s next?”

“Ooh, ooh, I can drink an entire gallon of soda and burp the alphabet!” Pinkie squeaked, “Would you like to see me do that?”

“You do and you’ll be losing some teeth,” Trixie snapped, glaring at Pinkie. Scootaloo, however, looked very intrigued by what Pinkie said, and eagerly ended up running off to find a gallon of soda.

“Apple Bloom…what about you?” Twilight asked, looking over at the small filly, “Surely you’ve got some clever moves that you could do.”

“Sure do, Twilight!” Apple Bloom grinned, pulling out a lasso and attaching it to her tail, “Check it out; ah can do exactly what mah big sister does!” She then began doing several tricks with her lasso, including playing jump rope with herself, snagging an apple out of one of Discord’s apple trees and catching it in her mouth, lassoing a tree branch and using the rope as leverage to help her climb up the tree, and hogtying Trixie in less than three seconds.

“RELEASE TRIXIE AT ONCE!” Trixie screamed, squirming and thrashing as she attempted to get out of Apple Bloom’s hogtie. Sadly, the cowpony was just as talented as her sister, so there was no escape for the angry unicorn.

“Very nice, Apple Bloom!” Twilight gushed, making some more notes on her clipboard, “Very nice tricks indeed! I’d say you’re a strong candidate to be one of our three! Cheerilee, what about you?”

“Me? Um…well, you see, Twilight…I’m not really all that talented,” Cheerilee admitted, looking a bit nervous in front of Apple Bloom, since Scootaloo was still out of the picture, “All I am is a teacher; a cheerful school pony who wants to see the smiling faces of little fillies and colts as they learn from each other and make something out of themselves in Equestria. I don’t have many talents other than teaching, which I don’t think is gonna cut it here.”

“Fair enough,” Twilight smiled, turning instead to Rarity, “Rarity, I know you don’t have your magic, but can YOU do anything creative?”

Rarity: I bet you darlings were all worried about little old Rarity, hmm? Well, don’t be; this girl has more tricks up her sleeve than just her magic. It takes more than magic to be a fashion designer, you see.

“Of course I can do something creative, Twilight,” Rarity said, trotting over to a tree and using her horn to scrap off a good chunk of tree bark, “There’s more to fashion than just using magic to put things together. Now, observe what ELSE my horn can do.” Flipping the piece of tree bark over onto its smooth, inner side, Rarity dipped her head down and began quickly carving something out with her horn. The rest of the Magical Misfits all watched curiously as Rarity worked, and in no time at all, the white unicorn proudly held up her finished project.

“Oh my…Rarity, that’s beautiful!” Cheerilee gasped, looking at the beautiful design that Rarity had somehow carved into the tree bark, “It’s so flawless…so talented…so amazing! However did you DO that in such short time?”

“Like I said, darling, it all comes with the package,” Rarity giggled, proudly fluffing her mane as she let Twilight take her project and observe it more closely.

“Truly this is a work of art…it looks sanded and everything!” Twilight exclaimed, running her hooves over the design of what seemed to be some style of outfit, “Rarity, if you can do that with just a little piece of tree bark, imagine what you could do with something BIGGER. Very well done!”

Trixie: *frowning, a hint of jealousy expressed in her eyes* Humph…those little talented unicorns think they’re SO smart…well, Trixie can easily beat them! She doesn’t need HER magic, either!

“Say, Twilight, what about YOU?” Pinkie asked, tilting her head and curiously pointing to the pony with a hoof, “Can you do something without your magic, too?”

“But of course, Pinkie,” Twilight said confidently, setting her clipboard down and trotting off into her team’s cabin. After a moment, she returned, carrying a variety of weird objects on her backside, including four potatoes and some different kinds of wires.

“Ooh, are you gonna make potato chips?” Pinkie gasped, bouncing up and down excitedly, “That sounds delicious, Twilight! Can I please be your taste-tester?”

“Pinkie, I’m NOT making potato chips,” Twilight sighed, setting down her load and smiling at the team, “I’m gonna show you how to create light using potatoes as your energy source! Now, watch closely to what I do. Observe how I hook up these beakers and strips and attach a light-emitting diode, or LED for short. Now, I’ll fill half of the beakers with water; see how the LED is dimly lit? Well, now I add vinegar, which represents free protons, to the beakers and show that the LED is now brightly lit. Now, I’ll attach some strips to each potato…and voilà! Potato-powered energy!” Twilight proudly closed her eyes and patted her chest as the rest of the team stared down at the strange contraption that was just created.

Pinkie: *staring at the camera, completely lost* So…no potato chips for Pinkie then?

Cheerilee: Um…well, Princess Celestia should be very proud just how smart her prized student is.

Trixie: *seemingly even more jealous* Impudent foal! Her nonsense about potatoes is pathetic!

“Okay, Trixie, your turn now,” Twilight smirked, pushing her little invention off to the side and eying the azure unicorn, “Let’s see some of your great and powerful skills…that DON’T involve magic tricks.” The purple unicorn couldn’t help but giggle slightly at Trixie’s expense; the blue unicorn had always been doing it to HER, after all. Now that the spotlight was on her, Trixie actually looked slightly nervous. However, when she found all sets of eyes (excluding the eyes of the absent Derpy and Scootaloo) upon her, her ego came back to her and she forced her nervousness away.

“Very well,” Trixie sniffed, “If that is what you wish. Trixie will prove just why she has the title of ‘Great and Powerful’ and why you all do not. Her magic is…her prime attraction…but it is NOT all she can do. What she can do is so incredible, so astounding, so mystifying, so mesmerizing, so majestic, so amazingly stunning that you all will be bowing to her and kissing her hooves before she’s even done!”

“Great…let’s see it,” Rarity smirked, joining Twilight’s side as she sat on her rear and crossed her front forelegs. Clearly, from the looks on Twilight and Rarity’s faces, they had called Trixie’s bluff. Now, it was time to Trixie to put up or shut up. The blue unicorn gulped slightly, now feeling slightly intimidated as both other unicorns on the team were still leering at her. Both of them had showed their talents without the use of magic, so Trixie had no choice but to do the same or to once more be completely humiliated and made to be a fraud. She had to keep the act going.

“Foolish amateurs; you do not know just how great and powerful Trixie really is!” Trixie continued, her eyes darting around as she wildly made up a story, “You see, when Trixie was born, she discovered that her parents were actually spiritual unicorn users of Equestria. Their magic was limited, but what they lacked in powers they made up for with chakra, or for those of you without brains, inner strength! When Trixie focuses on her chakra, she can draw out magic that doesn’t require her horn to use; no island can block such magic.”

“Intriguing…now, if you can just PROVE it…” Twilight began, her grin getting wider as her eyes narrowed.

“With pleasure, foolish unicorn of little faith,” Trixie said, seeing a strange-looking stick nearby and instantly scooping it up into her hooves, “Now, stand back and give Trixie space. Using just her inner chakra, Trixie will make this simple stick explode in the air with a shower of her special fireworks!”

Twilight: Just how far is Trixie willing to take this nonsense? Obviously she was just making it all up, just as she did with her Ursa Major story, but…eh, this’ll be a good lesson for her. *she chuckles*

Obliging to her request, the five remaining Magical Misfits all scooted back and kept their eyes on Trixie. Twilight and Rarity whispered a bet to each other that Trixie would be exposed in only one minute. Cheerilee, Apple Bloom and Pinkie Pie were all very interested to see if there was any truth to Trixie’s story this time. Scootaloo and Derpy Hooves still weren’t anywhere around. Upon seeing that her small audience was ready, Trixie narrowed her eyes and sat down. She closed her eyes and pressed her hooves together, clutching the stick between them and…trying to think up a plan to get out of this.

Trixie herself knew that she was a complete liar. The only way she even came up with such a story was because she had read many fantasy books as a little filly, which had led her to become a traveling magician. However, thanks to her reading, it made her constantly lie to make herself look better than she actually was, and now she was once again gonna be revealed to be a fraud. This time, it would hurt even more than in Ponyville, since her actions were being seen around the world with the cameras, not to mention that Twilight and Rarity were both watching her every move, anxious to see her fail.

Gritting her teeth, Trixie scrunched up her eyes and began grinding her hooves back and forth against the stick. She was grinding and pressing so hard that her hooves began to get hot, thus also warming up the stick. A minute passed and nothing happened, except for Trixie grunting softly and trying her hardest to make SOMETHING happen. She desperately was trying to use her horn, but Discord didn’t lie; the island would not allow her to do anything. She rubbed her hooves faster and faster out of pure terror at being laughed at and mocked again. She feared failure more than anything else, which is why she always ran away after being found out.

Suddenly, after more constant rubbing, Trixie squealed as the stick suddenly flew out of her hooves and shot up straight into the air, a small trail of sparks sizzling from its bottom. Instantly, the entire Magical Misfits team looked up into the sky. The stick went about 20 feet before exploding into a brilliant display of fireworks, which instantly began shimmering down right on top of Trixie. Twilight and Rarity both had their jaws nearly touching the ground, easily stunned at what they just saw. Apple Bloom, Cheerilee and Pinkie were all cheering and clopping for Trixie. Trixie herself looked to be shocked of all.

Trixie: *looking down at her hooves, which were both slightly red from having rubbed them together so hard* Did…did Trixie...really just do that? Ha…haha…she DID do that…of COURSE she did! *she grins and instantly puffs out her chest* She IS the Great and Powerful Trixie, after all!

“Trixie! Trixie! Trixie!” Apple Bloom and Pinkie both cheered, bowing to the egotistic unicorn as Cheerilee proudly patted her on the back.

“Yes, yes, that’s right, bow and worship the Great and Powerful Trixie!” Trixie gloated, patting both Pinkie and Apple Bloom’s heads and giving a nod to Cheerilee, “Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, surely you both would like to pay your respects, too? Even though CLEARLY you didn’t DOUBT Trixie’s powers, right?” It was Trixie’s turn to grin at the two stunned unicorns. She had no idea how she did it, but somehow she had did what she said she was gonna do and had put Twilight and Rarity in their places.

Twilight: *shaking her head like crazy* That…that COULDN’T have happened! There is no way Trixie is who she said she was! There HAD to be something amiss…something I didn’t see… *now it was her turn to look a little jealous, since obviously she didn’t have “chakra powers” like Trixie*

While Twilight and Rarity both grit their teeth and swallowed their pride and attempted to give Trixie some soft compliments, Scootaloo finally reappeared behind the cheering ponies. She was carrying a big jug of soda pop on her back and had an excited look on her face. She instantly bucked the soda off, popped the lid, and began chugging it down as fast as she could. Naturally, Rainbow Dash would commend her for attempting such a hard task, and Pinkie would be very proud, too. It wasn’t until Trixie finally began calming down from her gloating that the team realized that Scootaloo was back. By that time, the little Pegasus was just finishing up her gallon of soda pop.

“Scootaloo!” Cheerilee gasped, “That CANNOT be good for you! Drinking that much soda has a ton of sugar! Think about your health! Think about your diet! Think about your teeth!” In response, Scootaloo moaned slightly and her cheeks bulged out. Slowly, the Magical Misfits scooted away just in time before the small Pegasus opened her mouth and began belching loudly.

“A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-J-K-L-M-N-O-P-Q-R-S-T-U-V-W-X-Y-Z!” Scootaloo managed to burp out, all in one big belch that lasted nearly 10 seconds. After her disgusting performance was done, she grinned sheepishly at her team. Apple Bloom didn’t know WHAT to think, Cheerilee was TRYING to look proud, Pinkie looked absolutely thrilled, but the three unicorns, Twilight, Rarity and Trixie, all looked beyond repulsed and sick to their stomachs.

“Did I just hear what I THINK I heard?” Rainbow Dash called out, instantly flying over and grinning proudly down at Scootaloo, “Scoots, don’t tell me you just…” However, when she saw the empty jug of soda pop and the slightly bulging belly of Scootaloo, she knew that it had to be true. “Aww yeah…you totally DID! Scoots, that’s AWESOME! You rule!”

“I…I do?” Scootaloo squeaked, suddenly being hugged by her idol and playfully given a noogie as well. Soon, Apple Bloom, Cheerilee and Pinkie all trotted over and began complimenting Scootaloo, too. The little filly was left giggling and happily taking in all the attention, but mostly snuggling into Rainbow’s chest and trying to hide her blush. Twilight, Trixie and Rarity all hung back, still looking nauseated. Rarity had a hoof over her mouth, Trixie had her tongue sticking out, and Twilight was making one of her famous “I’m gonna be sick” faces.

“Girls…it’s times like this that make me proud to be a unicorn,” Twilight sniffed, nodding to Trixie and Rarity and holding her stomach as she said so.

“No…a CIVILIZED unicorn, darling,” Rarity moaned, her cheeks slightly green as she shivered a bit, “I fear that I’m gonna be scarred for life after what I just saw.”

“For once, Trixie agrees with both of you,” Trixie groaned, putting a hoof to her forehead, “Trixie thinks she needs some fresh air…away from here.” Slowly, the three unicorns began edging away from Scootaloo and her cheering fans.

Scootaloo: *laughing* Did ya all hear me? I totally burped the entire alphabet! And…and then… *a massive blush appeared on her face, followed by a stupid grin* …Rainbow Dash hugged me…tight.

“So…what was that all about, Dash?” Applejack asked, raising an eyebrow as Rainbow Dash flew back over to her team.

“Oh, just Scootaloo drinking a gallon of soda pop and belching the alphabet,” Rainbow said with a grin, “I couldn’t be prouder of her; they grow up so fast, you know?”

“I could totally do it faster than she did,” Spike bragged.

“How…is that…something to be PROUD of?” Celestia asked, looking just as disgusted as her student.

“Like, it ISN’T,” Diamond Tiara frowned, “What do you expect from a blank flank, though? Everything they do is totally lame. Don’t you agree, Silver Spoon?”

“Um…uh…well, that is…I totally can see…uh…hey, Zecora, wasn’t it your turn to try out?” Silver Spoon squeaked, quickly turning away from Diamond Tiara and looking at Zecora. The very hint of a smile crossed Zecora’s lips when she saw Silver Spoon refuse to answer Diamond’s rude question.

“Indeed, it was my turn to display a special skill,” Zecora responded, “Something very interesting I can do; shock you, it will! Please wait while I get what I need; your anticipation is what I shall feed.” The zebra walked off into her team’s cabin, and much like Twilight, she returned a moment later with a strange assortment of vials and potions that she had brought from home, along with a tiny cauldron.

“Um…Zecora…are you sure that this is…safe?” Fluttershy asked meekly, slowly backing away as Zecora set down the small cauldron, “Not to doubt you or anything, but…well, I’m just saying…”

“Do not worry, my dear Fluttershy,” Zecora reassured her, “There is no chance for anyone to die. This is just gonna be a miracle brew; mixed together to form a delicious stew. These ingredients that I have are not at all scary; combining them to make a potion should not make you weary.”

“So…it’s basically creating a brew that is actually a delicious potion?” Luna asked, watching as Zecora started a mini fire underneath her cauldron and began mixing strange, bubbly ingredients together within it. The entire team curiously gathered around, always having been interested in watching how Zecora worked her own special brand of magic.

Applejack: Ah have to admit that, at first, ah was skeptical of Zecora and was convinced that she was…an evil enchantress, as Pinkie Pie pointed out. But, gettin’ to know her, she’s really a great gal.

“Now, I shall add the fur of a rabbit’s coat…the thorn of a jellyfish’s sting…the petals of some poison joke…and the molting of a Pegasus’ wing,” Zecora whispered, slowly mixing the ingredients together into a gooey blue paste, “Now, watch as the brew boils as one to create a healing broth stronger than the sun!”

“A healing broth stronger than the sun? Like, no way!” Diamond Tiara gasped, peering into the cauldron. As the azure mixture bubbled even more from the soft flames lapping underneath its prison, the cauldron suddenly began to rock violently back and forth. The mixture began to turn from blue to red, and cracks began appearing in the sides of the cauldron with steam rising out of them.

“Uh, Zecora, is it SUPPOSED to do that?” Silver Spoon asked, slowly backing up along with the rest of her team. Zecora herself seemed to be lost in thought for a moment, then she gasped and looked a bit sheepish. With a grin, she turned back to her team.

“I fear that I got my recipe a bit wrong,” she confessed, a large cloud of black smoke now starting to explode out of the thrashing cauldron, “The petals of poison joke were a bit too long. It would be wise to now step away from the brew, since what’s gonna happen next will…” However, at that moment, Zecora was interrupted as the cauldron suddenly exploded into a million tiny black bits. Out from the depths of the destroyed cauldron flew the strange liquid, which had now once more turned back from red to blue. Celestia and Luna both managed to dodge all the debris and brew residue by anticipating the disaster and quickly flying up into the sky, but the rest of the team wasn’t so lucky.

“Zecora! Ya’ll did it to us AGAIN!” Applejack squeaked, brushing some blue goop out of her eyes as she glared UP at Zecora, “And this time, it WAS yer fault!” Applejack was now as tiny as an...well, an apple.

“Aw man, not AGAIN!” Rainbow Dash moaned, trying to flap her wings and finding that they were on backwards, “I hated this enough the FIRST time!”

“Silver Spoon, your cutie mark!” Diamond Tiara shrieked, pointing to her friend’s flank. Silver Spoon glanced back and discovered that her special cutie mark had been replaced with one of clown shoes.

“Diamond Tiara, look at YOUR cutie mark!” Silver Spoon gulped, returning the pointing. Diamond Tiara was horrified to discover that she now had a cutie mark of a whoopee cushion.

“Fluttershy…could you please fill me in here?” Celestia asked, quickly landing and looking at the yellow Pegasus, “What happened? Why is everypony…well, different?”

“…I don’t wanna talk about it,” Fluttershy muttered, only speaking in a very deep, manly voice. Celestia was instantly taken aback by this, while Luna was left laughing her head off when the moon goddess landed next to her sister a moment later.

“Ugh…what…hit…me?” Spike whimpered, now having a large lump on his head, since one of the flying pieces of cauldron had struck him hard. Thankfully, none of the blue potion got on him, so he was safe from any humorous side effects of the poison joke.

“Dear sister, doesn’t this look like the effects of that type of plant found in the Everfree Forest?” Luna chuckled, “My guess is that Zecora used an accidental overdose and now our team is suffering from it.”

“Oh, yes…I seem to recall something like this happening to my dear student, Twilight, and her friends,” Celestia muttered, “Funny thing is…I don’t really remember caring that much or bothering to help…”

Diamond Tiara: *crying her head off* This is TOTALLY the worst thing that could ever happen! My beautiful cutie mark has been replaced by…by…THIS monstrosity! *she looks back in horror at her new cutie mark of a whoopee cushion* I’m scarred for life! That zebra will pay for this!

“HEY!” Nightmare Moon screamed, poking her head out of the mess hall and glaring at the Ruffians, “Which one of you foals just blasted a hole in my kitchen?” She motioned towards a small, sizzling hole that had been torn open when a piece of cauldron went blasting through only moments before.

“That was an unfortunate side effect from my brew,” Zecora confessed, also free of any poison joke affects, “I’m sure that you can fix that up with your camera crew.”

“Oh no, little zebra, YOU’RE gonna be fixing it!” Nightmare Moon growled, teleporting a hammer, some nails, and some pieces of wood over to Zecora, “Now, get to work, or I’m using you as a taste-tester for my new food!” Looking nervous at this, Zecora looked back at her team for help, but none of them were paying her any mind. They were too busy either complaining about their new plights or about what they were gonna do now for the talent show. With a small sigh, Zecora slowly moved her tools along towards the large hole in the mess hall, knowing she had no choice.

Zecora: *annoyed* Back in my homelands, forcing a zebra to work is considered rude. Repairing the mess hall with such faulty tools is quite crude. *she looks at her hammer and sighs again*

“Great…NOW what are we gonna do?” Rainbow Dash grumbled, “I can’t perform any of my tricks with my wings like THIS; I’ll probably kill myself!”

“Or somepony else,” Applejack squeaked, now sitting on Rainbow Dash’s head so that her team could hopefully hear her better, “But we can’t just give up. We can still come up with somethin’, ah’m sure of it! We just have to put our heads together and come up with somethin’ really amazin’ and such.”

“And exactly what did you have in mind, little Applejack?” Luna asked, “My sister and I cannot use our magic, you are tiny, Rainbow Dash’s wings are useless, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon have funny cutie marks, Spike has a headache, Fluttershy now sounds like a colt, and I’m pretty sure we’re not going to be using Zecora.”

“Well…let’s see…” Applejack muttered, tapping her chin with one of her tiny hooves as she observed her distorted team. It really did look bad at the moment; how would it even be possible for their team to put together something talented with each camper either under the effects of the poison joke or just void of special talents? Applejack knew that she could probably perform with her skills, but now that she was tiny and there was no way for a special curing bath to be drawn on the island, they were in trouble.

Applejack: *forced to lift the toilet seat up and sit on the very top, so she could be seen* This is so embarrassin’, believe me…this already happened to me once before! Now we got ourselves quite a predicament, ah reckon. The only ones not affected are the princesses and Spike…but what can they do?

“Princess Celestia? Princess Luna? Spike? You three are our only hope,” Applejack said, hopping over and tapping the three on their legs or hooves, “The rest of us can’t possibly perform brilliantly without fallin’ flat on our faces. You three have to perform for us.”

“But…Applejack…I told you that I really don’t have any talents!” Celestia complained, looking nervous again, “At least none that I can do without the use of my magic…I just do not wish to disappoint you.”

“You sound just like our resident egghead, Princess,” Rainbow Dash teased, of course meaning Twilight. However, when Applejack shot her a glare, Dash gulped and went silent; even at a small size, Applejack was not one you wanted to tick off.

“Ugh…what were you saying?” Spike asked, now sporting an icepack over the bump on his head, “I wasn’t really listening, since this ringing in my ears still hasn’t gone away…where’s my darling Rarity when I really need her?”

“Little Applejack, I appreciate you wanting us to perform, but…I must agree with my sister,” Luna sighed, “There’s no way we can do something like this…I have never even performed for ANYPONY before, unless you count that one time when my big sister decided to try mind control on me and…”

“SISTER, SHUSH!” Celestia snapped, quickly slapping a hoof over Luna’s mouth as she had begun to blush at what Luna was about to reveal.

“Hey, I got it!” Rainbow Dash called out, “Princesses, why don’t you both get into a ‘yo momma’ insult competition? That would be hilarious, and you’re bound to get us some points, since it’ll be so weird and unexpected!” She grinned at the two princess ponies, but her grin faded when she saw her entire team giving her strange looks.

“What is this…yo momma…stuff?” Luna asked, completely confused, “And…what did I just say?”

“Rainbow Dash, are you crazy?!?!” Applejack squeaked, running up to the Pegasus and slapping her on the hoof, “What in tarnation are ya’ll thinkin’?!?!”

“Quiet, AJ, you had your chance,” Dash smirked, kicking Applejack and sending her flying off into the distance, “As for your question, Luna, I’ll explain it all to you and Princess Celestia. Take a walk with me, alright? I can’t really use my wings right now without flying into something.”

“What about me?” Spike asked, “I was asked to perform as well!”

“…I’ll teach you how to do some beatboxing,” Dash chuckled, turning and trotting off, “Come on, you three; I’ll teach you all there is to know!” Glancing at each other nervously, Celestia, Luna and Spike all casually followed after the blue Pegasus, unsure of what she had in store for them.

Spike: What does beatboxing mean? Does it mean I have to beat up some boxes? If so, what kind of talent is that? I’m better off showing how talented I am eating gems! *he grinned a little bit*

Celestia: I have no reason to doubt what Twilight’s dear friend says, but…um, just saying the words “yo momma” already makes me shiver…what IS she up to? *she rubs her horn thoughtfully*

Hours later, the talent show was just getting under way. Discord and Nightmare Moon were the two judges, who could confer with one another before giving each contestant a score from 1-10 for how they performed. The team with the greatest total out of 30 points would be declared the winner. Twilight had chosen Rarity and Trixie to join her in performing for her team, since she thought they would get more points since they were unicorns and thus were seem as useless without their magic. Therefore, seeing them use other talents would hopefully garner them extra points. Rarity had instantly accepted the challenge, while Trixie was a bit more nervous about it.

The Royal Ruffians, since they had more players, were given the honor of choosing which team would perform first; Discord didn’t seem to really care that more than half of the team were under the effects of poison joke. Rainbow Dash had stated that they wanted to go first, and that all three of their performers would be going at the same time. Discord and Nightmare Moon looked intrigued by this, and were already curious to see what they were going to do.

Rainbow Dash: Well, I did all that I could for them; it’s up to them to go out there and perform. *she grumbles and slaps her wings* Stupid wings…why did you have to go all backwards on me? I should be out there instead! I hope Scootaloo won’t feel disappointed that I’m not performing… *she sighs*

A large stage had been set up by Nightmare Moon for the six campers to perform upon. Backstage, Celestia and Luna were looking very nervous and uncomfortable with what they had been taught, while Spike seemed to be doing exercises with his mouth. The Magical Misfits and Royal Ruffians that were currently on stage were sitting in bleachers that Discord had brought out to make the outdoor scenery seem even more like a theater. When the Misfits saw the Ruffians, they were instantly interested in what had happened to them.

“Big sis…uh, little sis…get into another fight with poison joke?” Apple Bloom teased, giggling as she looked down at her angry sister.

“Oh dear…Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, your cutie marks!” Cheerilee pointed out, but when both girls began to cry, the teacher quickly turned a negative into a positive, “Don’t cry, my little ponies. It was never your cutie marks that made you both beautiful and special; it was what was on the INSIDE. Besides, it’s not like it’s permanent, right?”

“I DON’T CARE! I’M HIDEOUS!” Diamond Tiara shrieked, “MY LIFE IS SO RUINED!”

“What’s wrong with YOU?” Trixie asked, poking at Fluttershy, “Cat got your tongue?” Fluttershy just shook her head and refused to talk. Trixie continued to pester the Pegasus, but Fluttershy continued to reject her. Eventually, Twilight forced Trixie to leave Fluttershy alone, since the purple unicorn had a good idea what Fluttershy’s ailment was.

Twilight: Believe me, I know just how…eh-hem…painful poison joke can be. *she glanced up at her horn and gave it a gentle pat* It made me even more thankful for what I have, believe you me.

“Where’s Zecora at?” Pinkie asked, looking around and not seeing her anywhere.

Zecora: *completely exhausted from fixing the hole in the mess hall, since it was way out of her element, and she was now sleeping on the very same toilet that Pinkie had slept on before*

“The last time I saw her…I believe she was complaining about how she hurt her hoof with a hammer,” Rarity stated, “I do believe she was near the mess hall…what was all that about, I wonder?”

“Rainbow Dash looks kinda cute with her wings on backwards,” Scootaloo sighed, watching her idol head backstage to check on the two princesses and dragon, “She looks perfect no matter what, if you ask me…what?” She noticed that her entire team was staring at her, so she quickly leaned back and closed her eyes, trying to act cool like Rainbow Dash and just ignore the looks.

Scootaloo: They’re all just jealous that Rainbow Dash likes ME best and that she’s MY idol! *she sticks out her tongue* She’s so amazing; I would do ANYTHING for her…and I mean ANYTHING.

“How are you feeling, princesses?” Rainbow Dash asked after coming backstage to check on her team’s stars, “Oh, and what about you, Spike?” Spike, however, was ignoring Rainbow Dash and not seemed to be clicking his tongue in a somewhat rhythmic way.

“I…I don’t know if I can do this, Rainbow Dash,” Celestia stammered, “This…this just seems…really, really mean…this is way out of my element.”

“You said it, sis,” Luna sighed, “Rainbow Dash, I do not think I can do this, either. Even if we’re just playing around, it seems…cruel and unusual.”

“Don’t think of it that way, ladies,” Dash said, “Just out there and have fun, okay? Even if we lose…we can always vote off Zecora. In fact, if you want, you don’t have to perform at all. That way, we’ll lose and then we can just vote off Zecora for screwing up her potion and making this happen to us.”

“That doesn’t make us feel any better,” Celestia frowned, “And I refuse to let us lose so that we could get rid of Zecora that easily. If it’s a show you want, then it’s a show you will get! Ready, sister?”

“Indeed, sister,” Luna nodded, narrowing her eyes at Rainbow Dash, “Stand back and watch us work.”

Rainbow Dash: *she grins and winks at the camera* Some reverse…uh…psychology? Yeah, that’s what Twilight called it. Some reverse psychology worked perfectly in this situation. Sometimes, the two princesses can be SO easy to manipulate. *she giggled and put on her black glasses* It’s show time!

“OKAY, LET’S GET THE FIRST ANNUAL TALENT SHOW OF TOTAL MAGIC PONY ISLAND UNDER WAY!” Discord announced, sitting at a judges’ table with Nightmare Moon right in front of the stage and using his megaphone, for really no reason other than hearing his voice booming out more than it should, “WE’VE BEEN TOLD THAT THE THREE PERFORMERS FOR THE RUFFIANS WILL ALL PERFORM AT THE SAME TIME. WILL THEY NOW PLEASE TAKE THE STAGE?”

“All three at once? This should be interesting,” Twilight mused from the stands, “And…judging from which of their teammates is sitting here with us, that means that both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna must be performing…with Spike? Wow, this should be REALLY interesting.”

A moment later, both princesses stepped out onto the stage; they were followed closely by Spike, who was holding a microphone in his right hand. When they bowed politely to their audience (not necessarily to Discord or Nightmare Moon), the two judges informed them that they could start whenever they wanted. With a quick nod, both princesses slowly stepped away from each other as Spike backed away from both of them. From there, the threesome began to act.

“What do you think YOU’RE looking at, little pony?” Celestia hissed, glaring at Luna and putting her nose in the air, “You should know your place, little one. Despite my size, I am much more powerful than you and I could send you to the moon if I wanted. Show your respect and kiss my hooves at once, peasant.”

“What is this that I’m hearing? How DARE you speak to me in such a tone!” Luna growled, stepping forward and getting into Celestia’s face, “I would never show respect to one as rude and stuck up like you! You’re so stupid, you went to school and you flunked recess!” Luna’s last comment incited a few snickers from the audience.

“Oh, is that right, little foal?” Celestia smirked, pushing her face right back into Luna’s and putting on a very interesting troll-like grin, “Aww, but I’m afraid that you do not know what ‘stupid’ IS; allow me to educate you! You see, YOU’RE so stupid that you went to participate in an idiot contest, and they said ‘I’m sorry, but no professionals’!” Even though Twilight was horrified by this display, once more the rest of the audience was snickering.

“What is this that I’m hearing?” Spike asked, suddenly racing into the picture and grinning while wearing his icepack like a hat, “I know JUST how to settle this argument! It’s time for a ‘yo momma’ competition! The one to spit the best insults about the other’s mother will be declared the obvious winner! Are you girls ready to throw down?”

“Uh…yes, I am ready to…throw it down,” Luna said, somewhat awkwardly.

“Prepare to taste defeat, you silly little filly,” Celestia said, still wearing her creepy grin, “Little dragon, if you could…give us a little more appropriate ambiance, would you please?” With a nod, Spike stepped back and held the microphone up to his mouth. Then, the little dragon began to beatbox, which instantly got a ton of shocked and amused faces from the audience.

Rarity: WHAT in all of Equestria was Spike doing, making all those DREADFULLY awful sounds? Was that supposed to be a TALENT? *she sighs and shakes her head* Boys.

“Yo momma so dumb that she tried to put M&M's in alphabetical order!” Celestia started.

“Yo momma so dumb she took a ruler to bed to see how long she slept!” Luna countered.

“Yo momma so ugly that just after she was born, her mother said, ‘What a treasure!’ and her father said, ‘Yeah, let's go bury it!’!” Celestia continued.

“Yo momma so ugly she made an onion cry!” Luna shouted.

“Yo momma so fat she jumped up in the air and got stuck!” Celestia smirked.

“Yo momma so fat, when she turns around, ponies give her a welcome back party!” Luna snickered.

“Yo momma so dumb she got locked in Sugarcube Corner and starved!” Celestia laughed.

“Yo momma so smart she liked me better than you when I was born!” Luna grinned.

“Yo…wait, what?!?!” Celestia gasped, before angrily wrapping a hoof around Luna’s left ear and yanking her offstage, “You and I are gonna have a little talk, and I mean RIGHT NOW!” Thankfully, as the yelping Luna was tugged offstage, the entire audience was too busy laughing their heads off to notice. Spike continued his beatboxing for a few more seconds, before quickly improvising with the situation.

“Oh no, it seems that Celestia got into a huff and attacked Luna!” he gasped, pointing offstage to what couldn’t be seen, “That’s an automatic disqualification! That means that Luna is our winner! But, you know what? If you ask me, those two ladies are so dumb that they put lipstick on their heads just to make-up their minds!” Naturally, Spike didn’t literally mean that, but it was his way of ending the show, and it got a standing ovation from the laughing audience.

“Oh, bravo, bravo!” Discord laughed, wiping away some tears as he clapped hard and Spike bowed, “You three are a riot! Nightmare Moon, what do you think we should give them?”

“Well, it was highly entertaining to see those clever insults being fired back and forth,” Nightmare Moon chuckled, “But, it’s not like any of that was really THAT hard. Sure, it was funny, but was it a talent? I’d say to give them each seven points, to be fair.”

“Seven points each for a total of 21 points out of a possible 30? Sounds good to me!” Discord smirked, “The Royal Ruffians’ score to beat is 21, putting the pressure on the Misfits. Can they counter that?”

Celestia: *moodily* Do not worry; my temper is back under control. Luna just needed a little reminder on not crossing the line in the sand, that’s all.

Luna: *moaning and rubbing her rump with a hoof, which had red markings all over it, as though she had been spanked* Ouch…the truth hurts…but, I’m still the one laughing in the end!

“WILL TWILIGHT, RARITY AND TRIXIE PLEASE PREPARE THEMSELVES?” Discord blared out through his megaphone, “YOU THREE ARE NEXT! LET’S MAKE IT GOOD!”

“It’s show time, ladies,” Rarity smiled, sitting up and nodding to Twilight and Trixie, “Shall we head backstage and get ready?”

“Yes, let’s,” Twilight said, getting up and following after Rarity, “Trixie, would you like to go first? Starting our show with a bang might be a good way to…”

“NO!” Trixie yelled, “Um…what Trixie meant was…she much prefers to go last. You know…best for last and everything, right?” She forced one of her proud smiles, to which Twilight and Rarity both rolled their eyes at. There was obviously going to be no arguing with Trixie.

“Very well, Trixie, have it your way,” Twilight sighed, “I’ll go first, then Rarity, and you can go last. Now, let’s show them how talented we unicorns are and how we don’t need our horns to succeed!”

“You said it, darling!” Rarity shouted, “I have my carving target all set up and it’s gonna be divine once I get through with it.”

“And…Trixie is gonna blow them all away,” Trixie muttered, following the girls backstage.

Trixie: *she looks down at her hooves and takes a deep breath* Okay…so, Trixie obviously has powers that…even SHE was unaware of. So…she can easily tap into them again…no worries.

“FIRST, WE HAVE TWILIGHT AND HER…potato energy machine?” Discord blinked, looking at his clipboard, “Did I read that correctly?”

“I’m shocked you can read at all,” Nightmare Moon smirked. While Discord glared at his cohort, the stage curtain was pulled open and Twilight was standing proudly on a pile of potatoes, wires, and many more of the items that she had from earlier.

“My friends, please allow me to introduce you to a new type of energy!” Twilight announced, leaping off her pile of goodies and grinning with excitement, “Watch as I create a potato energy machine that will be strong enough to light all of Ponyville!”

“Oh, goody, our resident egghead is going at it,” Rainbow Dash moaned, leaning back in her seat and closing her eyes, “Wake me when she’s done…which I’ll guessing will be sometime tomorrow.”

“Hey, Dash, have you seen Applejack?” Spike asked, looking around nervously, “She’s not here…and since she’s so small, we really have to be careful what we do.”

“Aw, stop worrying, you still dragon,” Dash yawned, wiggling her butt as she settled into her seat, “She knows how to take care of herself; I’m sure she just went to the confessional or something.” The naughty blue Pegasus had failed to hear the soft squishing sound a while ago when she had returned to the bleachers after giving Celestia and Luna some encouragement. She also failed to feel a certain tiny pony being squashed into a tattoo under her booty.

Spike: *creeping around the confessional* Applejack? Are you in here? *he notices Zecora sleeping on the floor, since she had rolled off a long time ago* Applejack? *looks under Zecora* Nope.

“…and voilà! Enough energy to power Ponyville!” Twilight smiled, standing in front of a large machine that was filled with potatoes and wires and was shining very brightly, “Isn’t this amazing?” When she noticed that the entire audience was asleep, including Celestia, the unicorn frowned and stomped her hoof in irritation. “HEY! Did any of you even hear what I said or watched what I did?”

“Ugh…huh?” Discord asked, yawning and lifting his eyelids, “What happened? Did I take over Equestria yet? Where’s my Celestia servant?”

“We’re on Camp Paradox, bonehead,” Nightmare Moon frowned, rubbing her eyes with her hooves.

“Now see here, this is rude!” Twilight barked, “I’m trying to give you all a very important lesson on conserving energy! Do you even realize how much energy is lost per year due to negligence? If we all just push a little harder to do the right thing, we very easily could…”

“Just give her a 10 so she shuts up and gets off the stage,” Nightmare Moon whispered to Discord.

“Agreed,” Discord grumbled, pulling up his megaphone, “TWILIGHT SPARKLE EARNS 10 POINTS FOR HER TEAM AFTER HER…BRILLIANT DISPLAY OF…SOMETHING. NOW, IT’S RARITY’S TURN!”

“I wasn’t done yet!” Twilight snapped, but after getting a warning glare from Nightmare Moon, she grumbled and pushed her potato energy machine off the stage.

Twilight: Does nopony around here appreciate ways to make Equestria a better place? And why is Zecora sleeping in the corner over there? *she looks down at the zebra, who was off-camera*

“Now, as you can see, this is nothing more than a simple bush that I had Pinkie dig up for me in the forest,” Rarity explained, standing next to a big shrub, “However, observe how I, Rarity, turn it into a work of art, using nothing more than my horn…without magic!”

“Thrill us,” Nightmare Moon said sarcastically. In response, Rarity dipped her head and flew right into the bush. Using a bizarre display of slashes, cuts, swipes, and other weird motions, Rarity began using her sharp horn to cut the shrub into some kind of shape. It only took two minutes for her masterpiece to be done. Discord and Nightmare Moon both gasped as they saw what Rarity had made.

“Oh, the beauty…the expression…the detail…so perfect!” Discord gushed, floating up and twirling around the piece of shrubbery that now was a perfect replica of both himself and Nightmare Moon.

“It really captures my beautiful body and shows how I’m the best princess!” Nightmare Moon grinned, “That’s an easy 10 points, right, Discord?”

“Without a doubt!” Discord smiled, quickly picking up the shrub and carrying it off, “This is going right in front of our trailer. Please excuse us for a moment.” While Rarity smiled proudly and patted her own chest, Discord and Nightmare Moon hurried off to replant their new prize.

Rarity: While creating beautiful things is half of it, the other half is knowing how to…please your customers. *she winks at the camera* Oh, Rarity, you are SO shrewd…and you know you love it!

“This is so easy; the challenge is in the bag,” Twilight smiled, sitting with Rarity and the rest of her team in the bleachers, “All Trixie needs is one point to tie, and two points to win! Anypony could get THAT. This challenge is ours!”

Meanwhile, backstage, Trixie was nervously pacing back and forth. She kept looking down at her hooves, then looking up at the sky, then back at her hooves again. She was sure that she could channel her chakra that she never knew she had and perform her magic once more and send the audience into awe. She was sure to get the attention and praise that she so rightfully deserved. That was, until, she heard Discord and Nightmare Moon talking on their way back from the planting of their prize.

“Hey, Discord, you need to watch what you leave lying around,” Nightmare Moon scolded, “I found another one of your bottle rockets near the edge of the forest earlier. As funny as it would be to see one of the campers try something with it, you know we can’t seriously hurt them without having our ratings drop due to violence.”

“Oh, so THAT’S where I dropped those fireworks,” Discord laughed, “I made a trip to Ponyville during the night and accidentally dropped some bottle rockets on my way back; didn’t think anything of it. But, don’t worry; it’s not like any of the campers can use them. They can’t use magic, and I doubt they could use fire without it.”

“Bottle…rocket?” Trixie said slowly, before slowly widening her eyes in horror, “Oh…oh no…”

“OKAY, WE’RE BACK!” Discord announced, “TRIXIE, YOU MAY PERFORM YOUR MAGIC FOR US NOW. AMAZE US WITH HOW YOU CAN MAKE MAGIC WITHOUT YOUR HORN!” Trixie was now left horrified, shaking like a leaf behind the curtain. The stick she had randomly grabbed was just a random stick, and there was no time to quickly go and try to find another one. Even if she tried, Nightmare Moon had most likely already picked them all up.

“No…this can’t be happening…not again!” Trixie cried, holding her head in her hooves, “Trixie was already humiliated once in Ponyville…not here, too…NO!”

“NOW, TRIXIE!” Discord yelled, “EITHER GET OUT HERE NOW OR YOU GET A ZERO FOR YOUR TEAM!”

“How much do you wanna bet she’s making us wait on purpose?” Twilight grumbled, “Always wanting a flashy entrance…she never learns.”

“Okay…it’s okay…you can do this, Trixie,” Trixie gulped, very slowly walking towards the curtain as she carried the stick on top of her head, “You are…the Great and Powerful Trixie…you are better than them…now go out there and PROVE it!” With that, she took a deep breath, and pushed her way past the curtain and stepped onto the stage.

“AH, AND HER MAJESTY HAS ARRIVIED,” Discord said sarcastically, always using his megaphone, “THANKS FOR GRACING US WITH YOUR PRESENCE, TRIXIE. ARE YOU READY FOR YOUR TALENT?”

“But of course,” Trixie said, sitting down in the middle of the stage and closing her eyes, “Allow Trixie to explain what she will be performing for you all.” She then went on to repeat what she had already said to her team. Discord was immediately interested, since if what Trixie was saying was true, she could become a huge player in the game. Nightmare Moon was also very curious how a little unicorn like her could hold such amazing inner power. All eyes in the audience were soon upon her, and Trixie found that it was time to put up or shut up.

Very slowly, Trixie cupped her front hooves together around her stick and closed her eyes. Once again, she started to rub her hooves together as hard as she could while clenching her teeth and trying to use her “inner power” to make the stick burst up into the sky and turn into fireworks. However, there was no drama to be had this time. Trixie had barely begun squeezing her stick when it snapped into two and fell onto the stage in front of her. Immediately, the audience looked at the piece of broken stick, then very slowly raised their eyes back up to meet Trixie.

“Uh…hehe…this stick was just not the right one, that’s all,” Trixie laughed weakly, tossing the remaining tiny piece in her hooves aside, “Trixie demands another stick!”

“Very well,” Discord said, simply reaching down on the ground and picking up another random stick and tossing it up to the unicorn, “Now, if you could get on with it, please, I’d be ever so thankful.”

“You cannot rush brilliance,” Trixie sniffed, clutching the new stick in her hooves, “Now, shut up and watch as the Great and Powerful Trixie…” However, no sooner had she began closing her eyes, when the same thing happened. The stick snapped in her hooves and fell onto the stage.

“…let me guess, that one was not a good stick, either?” Nightmare Moon frowned. The entire audience was starting to get annoyed, and Discord was looking very bored.

“Y-yes…t-that’s correct…another b-bad stick!” Trixie gulped, throwing away the broken piece again, “She requires one more…the third time is the charm with Trixie, you see.”

“Fine…one more time…now, hurry up!” Discord snapped, throwing her yet another stick that he found underneath the stage. Trixie quickly grabbed the third stick, but her hooves were now sweaty and she found herself barely able to grip it.

“Okay…please be silent…this time, you will be graced with fireworks that are so amazing that you will not believe your…” Trixie squeaked, but yet again, the stick snapped in her hooves and fell onto the stage. This time, Trixie’s failure was followed by a very uncomfortable silence. Each and every eye in the audience was on the unicorn, but this was not the kind of attention that Trixie had wanted. These were not eyes of admiration and praise. They were eyes of anger and mockery.

“…you’re a fraud,” Discord’s voice cut through the silence, taking some notes on his clipboard, “And, while I’m all for playing tricks, this is not funny. Congratulations, Trixie; you just earned your team zero points. So, that leaves the score at 20 points for the Misfits and 21 points for the Ruffians.”

“Trixie…let’s see if you can do math,” Nightmare Moon mocked, “Which number is greater: 20 or 21?”

“…21?” Trixie whimpered, trying to make herself look as small as possible.

“Correct! Wow, amazing, she actually DOES know something!” Discord gasped, “What a miracle! But, yes, the Royal Ruffians win the challenge thanks to their hilarious ‘yo momma’ show and beatboxing. Misfits, I’m sorry, but you lose…and by one point no less. Painful, but that’s life. I’ll be seeing you all at the elimination ceremony in two hours. Have fun until then!”

“Oh, and Ruffians?” Nightmare Moon said, “I’ll have a cure for your poison joke waiting for you in the infirmary. As much as I enjoy seeing you like this, it wouldn’t do for the show, so stop by in a while.” Together, the draconequus and dark mare both headed off, while the Ruffians celebrated their win. Trixie’s only reward was the heavy glares and looks of disappointment from her team.

Trixie: *wrapping her hind legs around her body as she clenched her eyes shut and rocked back and forth on the toilet. Discord’s words “you’re a fraud” lingered in her mind, and was killing her more and more with each passing moment. A tear was almost visible on one of her eyes for a moment*

“Trixie…you didn’t have to lie,” Cheerilee sighed, being the first to talk to Trixie when the blue unicorn finally forced herself off the stage, “If you couldn’t do anything without your magic, you could’ve said so. We wouldn’t have thought any less of you.”

“Cheerilee, don’t bother,” Twilight snapped, her glare possibly being the most painful and angry of all, “You can’t teach an old mare new tricks. She’s a liar and that’s all she ever will be. She knew from the start that she couldn’t channel hidden magic from inside of her. That ‘stick’ that she shot off was nothing more than a firework, which was lit when her hooves rubbed together and created friction to ignite the fuse. I should’ve realized it from the start.”

“And yet she STILL went through with all this,” Rarity frowned, “If you ask me, she WANTED us to lose. It wasn’t enough for her to be humiliated, but she wanted to drag all of us down with her. This unicorn isn’t even FIT to be called a unicorn…she is a disgrace.”

“Girls, that’s a bit harsh,” Cheerilee said, even though she herself wasn’t happy with Trixie’s deceit, “Can’t you tell that she feel bad for her actions?”

“Sorry, Cheerilee, but she’s a show-mare,” Twilight growled, “Therefore, she’s an actress; I don’t buy anything she says or does. I wanted to give her a chance, but this was the last straw. I did my part for my team, but a ‘team’ is only a ‘team’ if all the members do what they’re supposed to.”

“Yer a bad pony,” Apple Bloom frowned at Trixie, turning and trotting off, “C’mon, Scootaloo, let’s get outta here before we have to listen to her talk in the third person again.”

“Coming, Apple Bloom,” Scootaloo said, following after her, “Think they’ll let me take a bath with Dash? That would be so cool…”

“I’m hungry; let’s get some food!” Pinkie smiled, “Food always makes everypony feel better.”

“I should’ve sung my song…at least I would’ve gotten a few points!” Derpy pouted, “At least I TRIED!” The sad Pegasus and the cheerful pink pony both headed off towards the mess hall. Cheerilee sighed, gave Trixie a sad look, then shook her head and headed off without a word. This left the three unicorns all together, two of them still looking beyond angry and one looking in pain.

“Trixie…I’m sorry, but…you don’t belong here,” Rarity said coolly, “Obviously, you do not know what it means to be a team. There is no ‘I’ in team, so until you learn that, I’m afraid you do not belong here. I did believe Twilight when she said that you would one day learn from your arrogance, but…it seems that that day has not yet come.” With those words, Rarity put her nose in the air and trotted off as well. This left Twilight and Trixie alone.

“Just…just tell me that you didn’t do this solely so that we would lose,” Twilight said slowly, “Please, Trixie, just say that you were honestly just trying to perform so that we could be proud of you and you could be the hero.”

“I…I…I didn’t do this on purpose,” Trixie blubbered, looking down at the ground, “I…I’m sorry…I’m very sorry…Trixie didn’t mean to do this…”

“You can’t even go two sentences without speaking in the third person!” Twilight spat, shaking her head, “Sorry, Trixie, but I don’t believe you. I really, really wanted to believe that you could change…but, like with Gilda, I guess some creatures…just cannot change. You are who you are…I see that now.” Slowly, Twilight turned away and sighed. She didn’t know why, but it hurt saying these things to Trixie. Trixie herself also felt the most pain from what Twilight was saying to her. The final two words that she spoke cut Trixie right to the heart. “Goodbye, Trixie.”

Tears began to form in Trixie’s eyes as she watched the form of Twilight Sparkle trot off and soon vanish into the mess hall. She was left all alone, as she had been her entire life. She was a rejected, mocked, lying unicorn. She was a fraud and she had no friends. Feeling her throat tightening and her heart pounding inside of her chest, Trixie fell to the ground and began crying her eyes out. Tears poured out of her eyes and began forming a small mud puddle around the unicorn’s head, but she didn’t care. She was in so much pain that she didn’t really care what befell her anytime soon.

Nearly an entire hour passed, and no one had bothered to go and check on Trixie. The unicorn had continued to cry and cry, pounding her hooves into the ground and silently screaming. She just wanted to die. Was all she did for nothing? Was her life all for nothing? She didn’t want to live this way. But, what did she REALLY want? Did she want attention? Did she want friends? Did she want money? Did she want fame? Did she want…love? She didn’t know, but all she did know was that she was hurt…and it wasn’t about to end there.

“Fine…if that’s how they’re going to treat Trixie…fine,” Trixie sniffed, slowly lifting her head as she seemed eerily calm, “Two can play at that game. They want Trixie to be evil? Very well, Trixie will be evil. Beware, ponies, because the storm is coming…and there is no escape.” Her swollen eyes narrowing, Trixie slowly skulked towards the camp from the stage.

Trixie: *now looking very serious as she looked at the camera* They want to feel pain? Trixie is gonna make them feel pain. It starts tonight. Twilight Sparkle will be forced to watch and be helpless, as she made me. Yes…yes, it’ll be starting…tonight. The first step: secure Cheerilee’s vote.

“C-Cheerilee?” Trixie sobbed, peeking around the corner of her team’s cabin and finding Cheerilee sitting and looking up at the sky, “Can…can Trixie please t-talk to you?”

“Oh…Trixie…do come over,” Cheerilee said softly, patting the ground next to her with a hoof, “I can tell that you’ve been crying…come here and sit awhile, my dear.” With a nod, the sobbing Trixie ambled over and sat down next to the kindhearted school teacher.

“Cheerilee…Trixie knows that…that she’s going home tonight,” Trixie whimpered, hanging her head, “And please do not try to say anything to make her think otherwise…Trixie knows it’s the truth, and so do you. But…all I wanted was…could you please…not vote for me? I never meant to hurt you…you’ve been so kind to me…and I don’t want my last memory of this place to see that you voted for me.”

Cheerilee looked a bit uncomfortable with this, and for a moment, she tried to read Trixie and see if she was being truthful. When Trixie continued to sob and even nuzzled up against Cheerilee, the teacher blinked and very softly placed a hoof around the unicorn. She realized that one vote wouldn’t make a difference; she DID know that Trixie would be going home, and there was nothing that could be done about it. So, the teacher decided to adhere to Trixie’s wish.

“Very well, Trixie,” Cheerilee smiled, “I do not wish to vote for somepony who does not deserve it, but…I suppose just wasting a vote on…Derpy…wouldn’t hurt. Please, don’t be sad. There is something to be learned from every painful experience, including this one. Take this negative and turn it into a positive, alright? Don’t worry…after I come home as well, I promise that I’ll still be your friend.”

“Y-you really mean all t-that?” Trixie gasped before giving Cheerilee a big hug, “Oh, thank you, thank you…this means the world to Trixie. To know that you will at least make her last night here a happy one is wonderful news…and that you will be her friend. Thank you…Trixie should go now, though; she wanted to keep walking around to clear her mind.”

“That’s a good idea, dear,” Cheerilee smiled, letting Trixie go as she gave the unicorn a gentle pat on the head, “You go ahead. If you need ANYTHING, please come talk to me, alright?”

“Yes, Trixie shall,” the unicorn smiled, turning and starting to trot off, “Thank you, Cheerilee!” The school teacher never saw the evil grin break out across Trixie’s face as the unicorn vanished around the side of the cabin again.

Trixie: *once more, looking very serious and angry* Step one is complete. Step two is not gonna be so easy, but it’s the most important one that Trixie must make sure she is successful at. If this part fails, she will fail…and Trixie will never…fail…again. Step two: manipulate Apple Bloom and Scootaloo.

“Girls? May Trixie please speak with you?” Trixie asked, peeking her head into the forest clearing and finding Apple Bloom and Scootaloo chatting with each other.

“What do YOU want?” Apple Bloom snapped, crossing her forelegs, “We don’t want to see you!”

“Yeah, and don’t think we’re gonna listen to what you have to say, either!” Scootaloo added.

“Yes, yes, you are right to hate Trixie…she would hate her too after what she did,” Trixie said calmly, “She knows that you are both going to vote for her no matter what. However, Trixie just thought that she would warn you two in private, since she won’t get a chance once she’s gone.”

“Warn us? About what?” Apple Bloom asked, raising an eyebrow.

“About how you both will be going next after I’m gone,” Trixie said solemnly.

“WHAT?!?! WHO SAID THAT?!?!” Scootaloo screamed, “I don’t want to go this soon! I haven’t gotten that close to Rainbow Dash yet!”

“Twilight Sparkle said it,” Trixie said, “Trixie overheard her talking to Rarity about how she hates me, but that you two will be next to go, since you both are useless and not worth keeping around.”

“That’s a lie! Ah don’t believe that!” Apple Bloom growled, “Yer makin’ that up just to mess with us!”

“Am I?” Trixie asked, shaking her head, “Well, Trixie is just repeating to you what she heard. You did see that they voted off Sweetie Belle, did you not? All she did was make a little mistake like dropping a chicken egg. Instead, they have a zebra who nearly killed them today, not to mention a meek Pegasus who doesn’t do anything, two little fillies who are beyond arrogant, and a perverted dragon. Yet, they chose to get rid of Sweetie Belle…why is that?”

“Um…well…she…that is…” Scootaloo stammered, but realized that she couldn’t come up with a good answer. She looked at Apple Bloom, who looked back at her with the same worried expression. Slowly, both fillies looked back up at Trixie, trying to read her face. The unicorn looked totally serious.

“Trixie is voting for Twilight Sparkle tonight,” Trixie said plainly, “Whether or not you two decide to do the same is up to you. But, Trixie does not like how she operates, so she’s voting for who she thinks is the one who most deserves to go. Trixie would NEVER get rid of those who are smaller than her, since we ALL have powers to share.”

“But…but…Twilight…she’s our friend…” Apple Bloom whimpered, “She…she wouldn’t…”

“Is she? Do not forget that this is a game for a million bits,” Trixie pointed out, “Here, we are ALL enemies. There are no ‘friends’ here. In the end, only one will win, while all the rest crumble. It’s your choice, little fillies. Vote Trixie out tonight out of pure spite and what do you get? Nothing. Get rid of Twilight Sparkle and what do you get? Appreciation that you made a big move to get rid of a rotten little unicorn like her this early in the game. Trixie will let you two think about it. Farewell for now.” She gave the two fillies a nod, then turned and started trotting off, leaving a dead silence behind her. Once more, both fillies failed to see the evil smirk appearing on Trixie’s face.

Trixie: *with her forelegs crossed and the same serious look on her face* Step two is complete, and is sure to be a success. Step three shouldn’t be too difficult, since Trixie will be dealing with the two stupidest ponies in the camp, both who are on her team. Step three: bribe Pinkie Pie and Derpy Hooves.

“How are you girls doing?” Trixie asked cheerfully, trotting up to Pinkie and Derpy, “Did you both get the food you wanted?” Both girls were chatting outside of the mess hall, but upon seeing the seemingly happy Trixie trot up to them, they immediately looked confused.

“Well, Nightmare Moon didn’t give us any cupcakes or muffins, but the food WAS tasty,” Pinkie admitted, “How are you doing, Trixie? You seem to be in a better mood now. My Pinkie Sense was going off earlier, but it must’ve been wrong, since it was telling me that you were very mad and you were plotting something. But, you clearly aren’t, so yay!”

“Heh…yes, well…what reason do I have to not be happy?” Trixie smiled, her right eye very slightly twitching for a moment after what Pinkie said, “After all, she has you two to be her friends!”

“Um…you do?” Derpy asked, blinking and twirling her pupils around, “Since when did you want the two of us for friends? I thought you said that we were stupid.”

“No, no, Trixie never said that,” Trixie shook her head, “Trixie really likes both of you a lot. You are both so underappreciated and amazing. In fact, Trixie wanted to ask you both something.”

“Oh? And what might that be?” Pinkie asked.

“If you both vote with me tonight, I’ll get you both all the muffins and cupcakes that you could eat!” Trixie grinned, trying her best to look just as excited as ever. Pinkie and Derpy gasped as they heard this, and both immediately looked at each other. Both girls were very suspicious of Trixie acting this way, but upon looking into her eyes, the unicorn seemed to be truthful. However, they had to make sure.

“…cupcakes with extra-tasty frosting that melt in your mouth and are heaped with sugar?” Pinkie asked, slowly raising an eyebrow.

“…muffins with warm pats of butter on the tops and cooked with the finest break in Equestria?” Derpy asked, raising an eyebrow that was opposite Pinkie’s.

“Yes to both,” Trixie smirked.

“YAY!” Pinkie and Derpy cheered, hugging each other and instantly giving Trixie their word that they would vote with her tonight. With a chuckle, Trixie gave each excited girl a big hug before promising them that they would get their treats only after the elimination ceremony tonight. After that, Trixie once again put on an evil grin as she trotted away from the two giggling ponies.

Trixie: The pieces have been laid into place. You all still think Trixie is nothing? You all still think that Trixie a fraud? Well, this fraud is about to show you all exactly why it’s wrong to make her mad. Prepare for the first wave of pain, losers…Trixie style. *she closes her eyes and growls softly*

Later, at the elimination ceremony, the eight remaining Magical Misfits all sat on the bleachers in front of the bonfire. Discord was roasting some hotdogs, but upon seeing the campers show up, he quickly tossed all the dogs into his mouth and gulped them down, even though several were on fire. As Discord spouted fire out of his ears, he observed the campers. Twilight and Rarity were nodding to one another while casting Trixie annoyed glares. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo looked very nervous for some reason, but seemed to be casting Twilight angry expressions. Cheerilee looked very depressed about the whole situation. Pinkie and Derpy both looked very excited. Trixie looked calm and composed. This was surely gonna be a more interesting vote than first imagined.

“Welcome, ladies, to ANOTHER elimination ceremony,” Discord snickered, “This is your third one out of four so far! What’s wrong? Didn’t anyone teach you all what a TEAM is?”

“Trust me, Discord, MOST of us know what a team is,” Twilight stated, casting a frown in Trixie’s direction, “However, there are…others…who do not realize just what the word means yet.”

“I see…well, this is sure to be a very big vote,” Discord went on, “You all know the rules by this point. All of you go and write down the name of the pony that you want to leave Total Magic Pony Island. The one who gets the most votes will be sent down the Dock of Shame and be forced to board the Boat of Losers. And they cannot EVER come back…EVER!”

“For…EVER!” Pinkie shouted.

“I thought I told you to STOP doing that!” Discord grumbled, slapping his forehead and frowning, “Okay, enough of this. Let’s just get to the vote. Apple Bloom, you’re first.”

Apple Bloom: *showing the camera that she voted for Twilight* Twilight, ah don’t know how ya’ll can say such things…well, ya know what? Who needs ya and yer big brain? *she puts it in the box*

Cheerilee: *showing the camera that she voted for Derpy* This is nothing against you at all, Derpy…I just think that you wouldn’t mind as much as the others. *she puts the ballot in the box*

Twilight: *showing the camera that she voted for Trixie* I didn’t want to have to do this so early in the game, but…well, I should’ve seen this end result coming for you. *she puts the ballot in the box*

Trixie: *her pick is hidden, due to her holding the name towards her and not towards the camera* Sorry about this…actually, no I’m not…Trixie’s not sorry…nor will she ever be. *she puts it in the box*

“You all have made your decisions,” Discord said, teleporting the ballot box in front of him, “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 fake reading glasses, putting them on as the Magical Misfits all seemed to have different expressions, ranging from nervous, to joyous, to sadness, to calmness, to amusement. The draconequus removed the top of the ballot box and reached for the first ballot.

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

“Second vote…Twilight. That’s one vote Trixie, one vote Twilight.” Twilight couldn’t help but smirk at this and give Trixie a glance; she thought it was cute that she voting for her out of everypony else on the team. Naturally, that would be the only non-Trixie vote.

“Third vote…Trixie. That’s two votes Trixie, one vote Twilight.”

“Fourth vote…Twilight. That’s two votes Trixie, two votes Twilight.” This immediately got both Twilight and Rarity confused. They looked at each other, then glanced around at the team, wondering who else voted for the purple unicorn other than Trixie.

“Fifth vote…Derpy. That’s two votes Trixie, two votes Twilight, one vote Derpy.” This result got even more perplexed looks from the entire team. Twilight and Rarity looked very confused, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo looked horrified, Derpy looked happy her name was called, and Trixie was now smirking.

“Sixth vote…hmm…interesting…Apple Bloom. That’s two votes Trixie, two votes Twilight, one vote Derpy, and one vote Apple Bloom…and just two votes remaining.” The horror and confusion that was now spreading around the Magical Misfits could be felt by each and every member, except maybe Pinkie and Derpy. Twilight, Rarity, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Cheerilee all looked stunned, and they immediately looked at Trixie. The blue unicorn’s evil grin was growing even wider.

“Seventh vote…Apple Bloom. That’s two votes Trixie, two votes Twilight, two votes Apple Bloom, one vote Derpy, and just one vote to go.” Apple Bloom was shaking like a leaf and was looking at Twilight and Rarity in terror. The two unicorns were looking back in absolute shock, but the evil grin on Trixie’s face was what told it all.

“Fourth loser of Total Magic Pony Island…” Discord announced, raising an eyebrow in amusement as he stared at the final ballot. He seemed to be confused, and for a moment, he didn’t turn it around. Then, the ballot was very slowly flipped over. “…Apple Bloom. Little filly…personally, I don’t know how this happened, and I find this wrong, but…with three votes, you are eliminated. It’s time to go.”

“WHAT?!?! THERE HAS TO BE SOME MISTAKE!” Twilight screamed, jumping up and looking beyond enraged, “WHO HERE VOTED FOR POOR APPLE BLOOM?”

“W-w-wasn’t it obvious?” Apple Bloom sobbed, getting up and glaring at Twilight with tears in her eyes, “YOU voted f-fer me…c-c-couldn’t wait to get rid of me, could you?”

“What are you talking about?” Twilight blinked, “I never voted for you! Neither did Rarity! What in the world is going on here?”

“Trixie…did you…” Cheerilee began, before watching the blue unicorn smirk and rise to her hooves.

“It hurts, don’t it?” she whispered, turning and glaring at her team, “But that’s just the first wound. There are many more to come. Trixie will get her vengeance…and one by one, you will all pay.” She slowly trotted away, leaving a horrified and stunned silence at the bonfire.

“Um…so…I guess we don’t get our cupcakes and muffins now?” Pinkie asked, looking a bit disappointed, “But…we did what Trixie told us to…she said we’d get cupcakes and muffins…”

“…now I understand,” Twilight sighed, “Trixie bribed Pinkie and Derpy to vote with her…and she must’ve said something to Scootaloo and Apple Bloom to make them vote for me…while Cheerilee felt sorry for her and voted for Derpy to spoil her vote.”

“No! That’s not fair!” Scootaloo cried, wrapping her forelegs around Apple Bloom and holding her close, “Apple Bloom…I’m so sorry…this isn’t right…”

“Why wasn’t it me?” Twilight whispered, hanging her head, “Why did Trixie take it out on an innocent filly like Apple Bloom? Why didn’t she vote me off?”

“Probably because she knew that Pinkie wouldn’t vote for her best friend, no matter WHAT the bribe,” Rarity sniffed, walking over and giving Apple Bloom a hug, “I don’t think there’s anything we can do. Apple Bloom, I’m sorry about this…I’ll let your sister know, since I fear she might be…stuck to something right about now.”

Together, the entire team hugged the sobbing Apple Bloom and held her close, letting them all know that they loved her and they were sorry, even though it wasn’t really any of their faults. Pinkie and Derpy looked very guilty at what they sold out for, and the glare that Twilight was giving them made it clear that they were gonna get a talking to a while later for this. Eventually, though, Discord teleported over and plucked Apple Bloom from the pile.

“The waterworks are nice for a moment, but that’s enough,” he said, floating along and dropping Apple Bloom on the Dock of Shame, “Your boat is waiting, my dear…get along now.”

“Yea…fine…” Apple Bloom whimpered, hanging her head as she dejectedly trotted down the lonely Dock of Shame towards the Boat of Losers. The six other Misfits watched her go, waving to her and shouting out loving remarks to her. As Apple Bloom boarded the boat, she took one look back at her former team, gave a weak smile, then turned away and watched as the boat carried her off into the night.

“Trixie is NOT getting away with this,” Twilight growled, “What is her PROBLEM? Hey, Rarity? Are you up for a little…scavenger hunt?” She smirked and whispered her plan to her fellow unicorn, who instantly looked thrilled at the idea.

“Oh, darling, you are EVIL…but in a good way,” Rarity giggled. While the rest of the team disbanded towards their cabin, Twilight and Rarity trotted off into the forest together.

Cheerilee: Trixie…I should’ve seen it…I should’ve seen it in your eyes…I’m sorry for failing to see your true pain that you were hiding. BUT…you took it out on my student? You took it out on Apple Bloom? How…how could you? *for one of the few times, she looks angry* …you WILL answer to this.

An hour later, Trixie ran screaming out of her cabin, covered from head to hoof in red fire ants. She had been resting in her bed, getting ready to go to sleep, when the ants suddenly began crawling out from under the mattress. They naturally began eating up the unicorn, and were very powerful and were not that easy to shake off. As Trixie shrieked and began racing around the camp in a frenzy, Twilight and Rarity watched with satisfaction from the beach.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Twilight smiled, patting Rarity on the back.

“Revenge usually is,” Rarity smiled back, returning Twilight’s patting, “You have very good eyes, spotting that anthill in the middle of the dark forest.”

“Well, I’ve studied many animals…just so happens one was red fire ants,” Twilight smirked, “Thanks for helping me out, Rarity.”

“It was my pleasure and I’d do it a thousand times over,” Rarity chuckled. Together, both unicorns sat next to each other on the beach, watching and listening to Trixie’s shrieks of pain as they raced around the camp.

“And what a way to end another episode, eh?” Discord chuckled, floating above Twilight and Rarity as he faced the cameras, “This one was beyond shocking, don’t you all agree? Now, the Misfits only have seven players left! Will Trixie continue to survive? At the rate she’s going, she probably won’t survive another five minutes. Will the Royal Ruffians be cured of their ailments? Find out next time, right here, on Total…Magic…Pony…Island! Stay classy, Equestria!”

“SOMEPONY GET TRIXIE SOME WATER!” Trixie shrieked at the top of her lungs, just as the cameras faded out and ended the episode.

Episode 7: Diamondshy

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Discord: Last time, on Total Magic Pony Island: it was time for a talent show! Sadly, I wasn’t allowed to compete, since I’m not a camper…why did I MAKE that stupid rule anyway? Well, regardless, each team picked three of their teammates to perform something on stage and try to merit top marks. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna both told ‘yo momma’ jokes while Spike did some beatboxing in the background. Twilight bored everyone to death, Rarity performed beautifully, and Trixie failed miserably. For the third time in four episodes, the Magical Misfits had to vote somepony off. After getting rightfully, if not somewhat brutally scorned by her team, Trixie went into full evil mode and manipulated all her teammates, except for Twilight and Rarity, to do what she wanted. This led to Apple Bloom being blindsided and kicked off the team, shocking everyone. Now, with the Misfits being split apart by Trixie, can the Royal Ruffians continue on their roll? Find out next, right here, on Total…Magic…Pony…Island!

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

“Now, you’ve all been through this before, so just relax until the effects wear off,” Nightmare Moon ordered, completing the therapeutic poison joke bath inside of the infirmary, “I still don’t see why this couldn’t have waited until the morning…you stupid campers are ruining my plotting.”

“Plotting for WHAT, Nightmare Moon?” Celestia asked, raising an eyebrow as she eyed the alicorn. Nightmare Moon paused for a second before dismissing Celestia’s question by simply teleporting away, leaving the Royal Ruffians to fend for themselves. Irritably, Celestia glanced down at the large tub of bubbling water and tested it with her hoof.

“How does it feel, sis?” Luna asked, trotting up a moment later as well and glancing into the water, “Looks like a nice bubble bath, if you ask me. I almost wish that I got poison joked so that I could go in there as well.”

“Beware! Beware, you princess folk!” Rainbow Dash mocked, sneaking up behind the two princesses and startling them, “That blue flower is not a joke!” The rest of the Ruffians snickered at Dash’s obvious shot at Zecora, who just glared and didn’t give Dash the satisfaction of seeing her get annoyed.

Rainbow Dash: I gotta say, with Applejack nowhere in sight, it feels good being able to act however I want without worrying that she’s gonna scold me. *she idly scratches at her flanks and frowns slightly* Why does my butt keep itching? It feels like I have ants in my pants…and I don’t wear pants!

“Alright, team, let’s get in there and enjoy a well-deserved bath,” Rainbow Dash shouted, proudly patting her chest, “Even though, since it was MY idea for the princesses and Spike to do their little show, I think I deserve to go first.” Before the rest of her team protested or got a chance to roll their eyes, Dash turned around and wiggled her rump in the air before taking a rather over-the-top leap and swan dive into the deep tub.

“Uh…did you all just notice what was on Rainbow’s butt?” Spike asked, blinking and rubbing his eyes as though he couldn’t quite believe it. In response, Diamond Tiara slapped him over the head and glared at him with aggravated eyes.

“Like, that is SO typical of a boy,” she sniffed, “You’re always, like, SO perverted and SO nasty. Couldn’t help staring at Dash’s rear, could you?”

“W-w-what?!?! It’s not like that!” Spike protested, rubbing his head where he felt Diamond Tiara’s sharp slap, “She was wiggling it at us, so I couldn’t help but notice that she had…” However, before he could finish, Fluttershy trotted up and gave him a little scolding of her own.

“Now, Spike, you should know better than that,” she said sternly, “You should treat a girl like you would your rare bird that you always peep at. Remember, kindness and resistance are the makings towards a loving friendship.”

“…THAT MADE NO SENSE!” Spike screamed, “AND FOR THE LAST TIME, I WASN’T LOOKING AT HER BUTT! I WAS JUST POINTING OUT THAT…”

“Hey, gang, quit the chit-chat and get your flanks in here!” Dash called out, having resurfaced a moment later and laughing as she already felt the magic bath taking effect, “It’s working! I can already feel my wings reverting back to their normal SELVES!” At that moment, Rainbow Dash fell forward in the bath as she felt something jab her from underneath the water. A second later, Applejack gasped and resurfaced as well, instantly taking deep breaths of air and looking quite angry.

“APPLEJACK?!?!” the entire Royal Ruffians team yelled out, completely shocked to see her.

“What the hay? Where have you been?” Dash asked, blinking in confusion as she looked down at the bubbling bath and then back up at the glaring cowpony.

“…oh, ya know, ah’ve just been sleepin’ in this tub all day long and…AH WAS STUCK TO YER BUTT LIKE AN OLD GUM WRAPPER, DASH!” Applejack snarled, swimming right up into Dash’s face and gritting her teeth, “DID YA’LL EVEN LOOK BEFORE YA SAT DOWN? YA SQUASHED ME RIGHT TO YER RUMP, YA DANG VARMINT! WHAT THE HECK’S THE MATTER WITH YA?”

“I TOLD you I saw her on Rainbow’s butt…” Spike grumbled, crossing his arms and once more looking very underappreciated.

“Did somepony mention Dash’s butt?!?!” Scootaloo shouted, poking her head out from behind the Royal Ruffians a moment later, “We were just heading back to get some sleep after Apple Bloom got blindsided and I couldn’t help but hear…”

“Whoa whoa whoa…what did ya’ll just say?” Applejack blinked, turning away from Dash as she stared out of the bath at the little filly, “Mah little sis got voted off tonight?!?! How did THAT happen?”

“Um…well…it was kinda all of Trixie’s fault,” Scootaloo muttered, “She…kinda messed with all of our heads and…well, she made me vote for Twilight with her lies, and she got Apple Bloom voted out by bribing Pinkie and Derpy. It was a really sad sight…now, what were you all saying about Dash’s butt?”

Applejack: Unbelievable! Ah get taken out by Dash and her clumsiness, and ah finally come back to realize that mah little sis got unfairly taken out of the game? Dang it, that tears it! That little blue unicorn is gettin’ a heavy dose of pain once ah get a hold of her! *she growls ferociously*

Eventually, the Royal Ruffians decided that it would be best for them all to enjoy the bath, not just those that got affected by Zecora’s poison joke disaster. Scootaloo was soon shooed away by the team due to them finding the little filly’s actions creepy and unsettling. Applejack was left stewing for a long time in the bath, before she decided to get back to taking her anger out on Rainbow Dash instead. All Dash succeeded in doing was making it worse on herself.

“You should be honored, AJ,” Dash said with a weak grin, “While you were tiny and all, you got to be flattened to MY amazing butt! Obviously it’s the best in all of Equestria, and you were squashed onto it for a very long time! Surely you must be honored, right?”

Sadly, Dash’s choice of words and horrible timing resulted in the Pegasus screaming as she was kicked right in the face and sent flying out of the infirmary only seconds later by an enraged Applejack, despite the fact that she seemed to be blushing at what Dash had just said. Spike was the only one snickering at the display of fireworks between the two best friends, while the rest of the Ruffians could only groan and shake their heads in dismay.

Silver Spoon: It’s so totally wrong that Apple Bloom had to be blindsided like that. Like, she’s totally uncool and a blank flank, but… *she hangs her head* …she didn’t deserve to go. This really worries me, you know? There are only three fillies left in the game…including Diamond and myself!

Fluttershy: *sighing softly* Poor Rainbow Dash…I fear she might’ve suffered a broken jaw from Applejack’s kick…it certainly looked very powerful. *she then giggles and puts on a nurse’s hat that she just happened to have* But, do not worry; nurse Fluttershy is on the case!

Zecora: *once more meditating with her hooves together and her eyes closed; when she speaks, she stays in this position* Another one falls and leaves the island, this time being poor Apple Bloom. I fear that at the way this game plays, my time might also be coming soon.

“Why did you do it, Trixie?” Cheerilee demanded, being kind enough to administer calamine lotion to Trixie’s red ant bites when the entire team had gotten back to the cabin, “What did Apple Bloom do to deserve you blindsiding her like that?”

“The same thing that Trixie did to deserve being mocked and yelled at by this team: nothing!” Trixie snapped, returning all the glares she was getting from the rest of her team, “When you mess with Trixie, you get paid back, even if it’s not fair. Get used to it.”

“Trixie, first off, you deserved to be scolded after you lied to us about your skills,” Twilight spat, “Second, you do realize that no one here trusts you at all now and, if we should lose again, it’s gonna be you for sure who will be riding that boat out of here, right?”

“Humph…do not think you have won just yet, Twilight Sparkle,” Trixie growled, crossing her forelegs and glaring daggers at the purple unicorn, “Trixie will not lose to you so easily.”

“I’m not TRYING to beat you, Trixie!” Twilight explained, “We’re on the same team! Why would I try to sabotage my own teammate? You know perfectly well that you deserved to be kicked off over Apple Bloom, since she did nothing wrong! You deceived your team, you caused us to lose, and you didn’t show any remorse for your actions. Think using your heart and not your head…do you REALLY think Apple Bloom deserved that?”

“Trixie does not have to listen to the likes of you,” Trixie sniffed, putting her nose in the air and wincing as Cheerilee pressed down a bit harder as she rubbed lotion onto her body, “Ouch…watch it, Cheerilee.”

“I’m not happy with you right now, Trixie,” Cheerilee said coldly, “You are my teammate, so I’m trying to remain nice to you. However, after the acting you did and the way you got rid of one of my innocent students, you’re gonna have to work to regain my trust.”

Trixie glared at Cheerilee, who glared right back. The azure unicorn slowly glanced at each of her other teammates as well. Derpy was glaring cross-eyed at Trixie, which was both humorous and creepy at the same time. Pinkie was looking more disappointed than angry, since she rarely got mad, and she kept shaking her head in a sad way. Rarity looked ready to attack Trixie at a moment’s notice. Scootaloo was sitting on her rump with her forelegs crossed as she gave Trixie a stare down. Twilight’s expression almost seemed like a mixture of the entire team’s, and Trixie couldn’t help but feel slightly nervous about it more than the others combined.

Trixie: It looks like the Magical Misfits are more like Trixie vs. Twilight, with Trixie being on her own. Deceiving Cheerilee was a mistake, Trixie will admit…but, she will be tarred and feathered before she allows herself to be the next to go; this team has another thing coming if they think as much!

After she finished applying the calamine lotion to all of Trixie’s red ant bites, Cheerilee calmly bid the unicorn goodnight before heading to bed without another word. Derpy and Pinkie both shook their heads and left Trixie alone, while Scootaloo muttered something about “revenge” under her breath as she took to bed, too. Twilight and Rarity, the only two regular unicorns left in the game besides Trixie, continued to glare at their counterpart for a few minutes longer.

“You make me sick, Trixie,” Rarity hissed, “I’m lucky my little sister wasn’t on our team, because I would’ve REALLY come unglued if you had done the same to her! Rest assured that you will be getting what’s coming to you from Applejack in due time, and when she goes to town on you, I will be sitting back and laughing! Goodnight, Twilight, Trixie.” With that, Rarity calmly turned and stuck her nose in the air as she trotted over to her bed.

“Night, Rarity,” Twilight muttered, keeping her eyes locked on Trixie’s. The two unicorn rivals continued to glare each other down, way past their designated bedtimes. The rest of their team had soon fallen asleep, but the two unicorns kept glaring at each other without speaking a single word. Their eyes seemed to be locked in a mental battle, as though each one was testing the other’s will. Twilight’s tail slowly swished back and forth behind her, while Trixie’s twitched defensively in retaliation.

Both Twilight and Trixie just glared at each other for what seemed like hours. Was Twilight trying to read Trixie’s inner feelings? Was Trixie trying to not back down from Twilight’s bluff? Were both unicorns simply too stubborn to go to bed as the “loser” of a conversation? Whatever the case, the tension in the quiet cabin could be cut with a knife as the two girls just continued to watch one another way into the night, allowing the insides of the cabin to slowly darken as the moon was hidden behind a group of clouds in the sky.

Then, just like that, both Twilight and Trixie turned away from each other at the same time. Without saying a single word, each unicorn got into their bed and soon drifted off to sleep, but not before shaking their heads in disgust at the other. As the night drifted on, all was quiet around the camp, despite the fact that both teams had gone to bed in not-so-high spirits. Discord, while drifting around in the night sky and idly plotting random things, could feel the animosity and anguish already building up between the campers, and couldn’t help but smirk to himself as he thought up a great challenge.

“Yes…yes…what better way to help build team unity than…yes, of course…ooh, this WILL be fun,” Discord smirked, hanging upside down from his favorite tree as he observed the lifeless camp, “Sleep well, my little puppets; in the morning, you set out on what should be a team-building challenge. That or it’ll just make things worse. Either way…lots more chaos for me!” The draconequus leaned his head back and laughed loudly up into the sky, clenching his fists and feeling excited at the surefire chaotic challenge that he was gonna issue the next day.

“DISCORD!” Rarity screamed, poking her head out of her team’s cabin while wearing her usual nighttime mud mask, “STOP THAT EXCESSIVE LAUGHING! SOME OF US ARE TRYING TO GET OUR BEAUTY SLEEP! LAUGH YOUR EVIL HEAD OFF SOME OTHER TIME!” She growled angrily and slammed her cabin door, leaving Discord feeling dejected as he hung his head in shame.

“Ha…ha…ha?” he squeaked out, and when Rarity didn’t poke her head back out, he grumbled and crossed his arms in aggravation, “Ponies are SO annoying.”

When morning came, the Magical Misfits and Royal Ruffians all awoke feeling refreshed. Rainbow Dash still felt a little pain from Applejack kicking her last night after her naughty comments, but other than that, the entire Ruffians team was back to normal. Diamond Tiara made it loudly known how pleased she was that her normal cutie mark was back on her flank, and when pressured by the filly, Silver Spoon weakly began joining in.

“Do you all see just how amazing we are with our cutie marks?” Diamond Tiara was bragging as the Ruffians made it into the mess hall first, “We, like, totally look so much better than everypony else when we look our best. Silver Spoon, back me up here, please.”

“Uh…yeah, totally!” Silver Spoon squeaked, weakly shaking her booty to show off her cutie mark, “Thanks to that bath thing from last night, we look as good as new…it feels so amazing, too.”

“Give it a break already!” Spike snapped, rubbing his forehead, “You both give me a headache when you blabber on about cutie marks and your manes and your tails and all that stuff. Don’t you get tired of saying the same things over and over again?”

“Like, no way!” Diamond Tiara smirked, “When you’re as awesome as we are, you must make it known whenever you can, so that others can try to become just as amazing as us. Naturally, they never will, but it’s the thought that counts. Right, Silver Spoon?”

“…right, Diamond Tiara,” Silver Spoon sighed, trying to ignore the glares that the two fillies were getting from the rest of their aggravated team. It was no shock that the two were once again alienated at their team’s table once they sat down for breakfast.

Diamond Tiara: *sighing dramatically as she fluffs her mane* Sometimes, being so totally popular can be SO hard. With just one blank flank left in camp, it just goes to show who the BEST fillies are.

Silver Spoon: *rubbing the back of her neck* This whole experience has been so new to me, and the more and more I listen to Diamond Tiara, the more I start to feel…well…bad. Why is that?

“I had an AMAZING dream last night,” Scootaloo sighed, woozily leading her own Magical Misfits into the mess hall a few minutes later.

“Was it the one with the flying guinea pig and the coconuts?” Pinkie asked, grinning eagerly, “Ooh, or maybe the one with the elephant and mouse? Or the one where I sing a song to the world and all the ponies start to sing along until the cupcakes begin to pop up from the ground?”

“Uh, no, not even close,” Scootaloo smirked, “It was a dream that I have often. It was where Rainbow Dash and I were flying side-by-side through a cloudless sky right at the edge of nighttime. The only sound that could be heard was the soft flaps of Rainbow’s graceful wings and the chirping twitter of my own tinier ones as I try to keep up…”

“I thought you couldn’t fly, being so young and all,” Derpy questioned, rolling one of her eyes as she looked at the little Pegasus.

“I can’t…but, it’s a dream, so shush and let me continue!” Scootaloo sniffed, “Now, where was I? Oh, right, Rainbow Dash! Well, you see, as we continue to fly at each other’s side, the fading sun starts to grow larger and larger in front of our eyes as we continue flying towards it…”

“Wouldn’t that be kinda stupid to fly directly at the sun?” Trixie frowned, “If that is where you are going with this, Trixie finds it rather pointless and even foolish.”

“Would you please shut up and let me finish?” Scootaloo growled, growing irritated, “So, as both of us fly with each other towards the sun, Rainbow Dash looks over at me and winks, and I feel my heart start to pound. I almost feel the will to keep flying seep out of my body. Something about the way Rainbow was looking at me made me want to melt…”

“That’s a bit more information that we really need, thank you,” Rarity interrupted.

“OH, FORGET IT!” Scootaloo snapped, stomping past her teammates and going over to her team’s table, “What’s the point of telling you guys anything? Man…I wish Apple Bloom was still here.” She sighed glumly and slumped her shoulders, Cheerilee trotting up and gently rubbing her back a moment later while the rest of the team took their seats at the table.

Scootaloo: I feel so alone in this camp. Apple Bloom is gone, Sweetie Belle was on the other team and SHE’S already gone, Rainbow Dash is on the other team, and Cheerilee hasn’t been paying that much attention to me, either. *she sighs and hangs her head* My dreams…are all that I have.

“Hey! Trixie sees that you all are back to normal?” Trixie mocked, turning around and looking at the other team, “With ‘normal’ being the operative word?”

“Trixie, is that REALLY necessary?” Twilight snapped, “Don’t just go insulting the other team like that for no reason; they didn’t do anything to us! It’s our own…or I should say YOUR fault that we’ve lost three of four challenges thus far.”

“You tell her, Twilight!” Applejack called out, who hadn’t been amused by Trixie’s mockery a second ago.

“Yeah, you tell her!” Rainbow Dash chimed in, “But…still, by all means keep losing; it feels good to win.”

“Rainbow Dash!” Applejack scolded, slapping the mare upside the head, “How many times have ah told ya’ll not to get a big head?”

“I may have a big head, but you’re the one with a big backside, AJ,” Dash teased.

“WHAT?!?! RAINBOW DASH!” Applejack gasped, a deep blush breaking out across her face, “For yer information, mah posterior is NOT big! Besides, YER the one with the huge butt that GOT ME SQUASHED YESTERDAY!”

“Well, maybe if YOU actually noticed that I was gonna sit down, you would’ve moved quicker,” Dash protested, getting into Applejack’s face. The two girls looked prime for a fight, while the rest of the Royal Ruffians looked on in concern. Unlike on the Magical Misfits, there wasn’t a camper on the Ruffians who seemed brave enough to break up a fight.

Celestia: *sighing* Back in my NORMAL body, I would’ve easily stopped that fight. But, now that I’m a little mare like all the rest, a lot of my confidence doesn’t seem to be present…it’s so frustrating.

“You two fight like two long-time lovers,” Zecora smiled, nodding to Applejack and Rainbow Dash, “They say that those that fight a lot care much about each other.”

“SHUT UP, ZECORA!” Applejack and Rainbow Dash both yelled in unison, just before they went at each other. Rainbow Dash, naturally, was the instigator and was first to tackle down Applejack. The cowpony instantly retook control of the battle and got on top of Dash, trying to pin her wings like she had done to Gilda to constrict her movement. Rainbow Dash was left to buck and try to throw the powerful Applejack off her back, mostly to no avail.

“I’m taking all bets!” Spike called out, now wearing a stupid little red hat as he sat behind a large plate of food, “I’ve got three disgusting black pancakes on Rainbow Dash, and six on Applejack! Ah, Luna, another pancake for Applejack? Good choice! Anyone else care to wager a bet?”

“And I thought WE had issues,” Twilight mumbled, shaking her head and sighing as she watched two of her best friends go at it. Well, mostly it was Applejack riding Rainbow Dash while the Pegasus yelped and bucked and remained held down on the floor. There was simply no getting around AJ’s strength.

Applejack: *smugly sitting with her forelegs crossed and a smirk plastered on her face* Yep, Dash just doesn’t know when to not get into things she can’t handle. Isn’t that right, Dash? *she grins and lifts up a bound and gagged Rainbow Dash from the confessional floor, who was looking beyond angry*

“Hello, campers!” Discord shouted, teleporting into the mess hall a second later while sipping a cup of coffee and reading the daily Equestrian paper, “The Fillydelphia Fillies won again last night, it seems…oh my, what happened in HERE?” The draconequus played the role of the fool as he looked down to see Spike with a huge plate of food, Applejack sitting on the bound Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy cowering in the corner, Trixie laughing her head off, and Scootaloo looking glum.

“And it’s a payday for all those that picked AJ!” Spike cheered, doling out the black pancakes to those who picked Applejack, “Dig in, girls; there’s plenty to go around.”

“…I think I’m gonna pass,” Luna said politely, pushing her pancakes to her sister, “Here you go, Tia; go ahead and eat up. After all, you ARE a growing pony.” Luna giggled at the little shot directed at her sister, who only glared back at the moon princess while pushing the plate away from her body.

“I’d sooner starve to death,” she responded.

“It seems that a lot of tension is filling your tiny heads and hearts,” Discord mused, tossing his coffee mug behind his back and having it narrowly miss hitting the scared Fluttershy, “That’s why, for today’s challenge, I’ve got something in store that is bound to help you become closer as a team!”

“Trixie votes against this,” Trixie said, lifting a hoof up into the air, “Trixie does not wish to get any closer to a ‘team’ that she doesn’t have any desires to GET closer to.”

“That’s a dirt-poor attitude to have, Trixie,” Rarity frowned, “You’re never gonna learn anything that way, darling. Even after all we just went through you’re STILL not gonna give an effort to make amends or apologies?”

“Trixie make amends? Trixie make apologies? For WHAT?” Trixie demanded, “Trixie did nothing wrong! Trixie just saved herself from elimination because she knew that she was gonna get unfairly voted out. It’s called ‘playing the game’, you simpletons.”

Twilight: Trixie is the type of girl who can drive a pony crazy without even trying. I’m pretty sure Princess Celestia would tell me to try and make friends with Trixie, but…believe me, making friends is not as easy as you all may think…especially when it involves somepony like TRIXIE.

“Oh, yea, that reminds me…ah still have some revenge to dish out,” Applejack mused, setting her captured Rainbow Dash on her seat and slowly stalking towards Trixie, “Stay right there, Trixie; mah little sis WILL get her vengeance.”

“W-w-w-what?!?!” Trixie shrieked, quickly leaping off the table and stumbling backwards towards the door, “T-t-teammates, h-help Trixie out here! T-T-Trixie does not have good f-f-fighting skills!”

“What’s that, Trixie?” Rarity smirked, putting her nose in the air and turning the other way, “I’m afraid that I did not hear you, since you never once considered us a team. Have fun with AJ now; from dealing with her first-hoof, I can tell you that she’s one tough customer.”

“TRIXIE KNOWS AND TRIXIE DOES NOT WISH TO EXPERIENCE IT HERSELF!” Trixie screamed, opening the mess hall door and racing out, with Applejack charging after her. Both teams and Discord watched and listened with interest as Trixie’s screaming went on for only about seven seconds or so before they were abruptly silenced. Then, loud smacking and crunching sounds could be heard in the air, complete with what seemed to be laughs from Applejack.

“Hmm…seven seconds…I’m not even sure if I could’ve stayed away from Applejack for THAT long,” Twilight giggled, “Maybe Trixie is in a bit better shape than me…I’ll give her props for THAT.” The rest of the mess hall began laughing in response to Twilight’s statement, since all of them were quite happy to see Trixie get her just desserts, even though Twilight and Rarity DID put red ants in her bed last night. Discord was naturally getting a great chuckle out of the chaos, too.

Trixie: *crossing her forelegs as her body looked beyond ragged, beaten, and rundown* How DARE they mock Trixie…and how DARE that hayseed mare lay her dirty hooves on me? We’ll see just who’s the one laughing last once the smoke clears! Trixie will show them all…OW! *she winces a bit*

“So, now that AJ has gotten her daily exercise out of the way, it’s time to explain to you all what today’s challenge is gonna be,” Discord grinned, putting his hands on his hips as Applejack and Trixie both returned to the mess hall a moment later, “Using nothing but the open wilderness, both teams are hereby ordered to go into the forest on a camping trip!”

“A camping trip?” Luna asked, tilting her head, “But…aren’t we already on a camping trip?”

“Technically speaking, yes,” Discord admitted, “However, for this challenge, it’s gonna be a REAL campout. Each team must spend an entire night in the woods without coming back to camp for ANYTHING. The only things that you may use are the wilderness. This challenge will test you all to see just how cut out you are for the outdoors.”

“So…who wins then?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“After waking up tomorrow morning, the first team to make it back to camp with all of their teammates will win the challenge,” Discord grinned, “If someone happens to get eaten by a bear, then they are hereby eliminated and the loss won’t affect their team.”

“Um, bears usually don’t attack others unless they have food or they’re near their young,” Fluttershy said meekly, “So, um, I really don’t think that would be likely…just saying.”

“Don’t be too sure, Fluttershy,” Discord warned, reappearing behind the meek Pegasus and playfully giving her a noogie, “Here on Total Magic Pony Island, you don’t know WHAT could happen.”

“Ooh, does that mean that there’s a chance to see some cupcake plants in the forest?” Pinkie squealed, bouncing up and down excitedly.

“Or maybe some muffin plants?” Derpy questioned, looking hopeful.

“…you all have until five o’clock this evening to prepare for your little camping experience,” Discord smirked, ignoring Pinkie and Derpy, “But, remember, you cannot take anything with you, so…yeah, good luck preparing, my little ponies!”

“And zebras and dragons!” Spike called out, annoyed that he and Zecora were always forgotten. Once again choosing to ignore that which he didn’t care to listen to, Discord snapped his fingers and he vanished without another word.

Cheerilee: Ah, how fun! A camping trip is just what this team needs to get over the past…eh-hem, events. I remember going on campouts when I was a little filly; it was so fun and they were very rewarding experiences. Hoofing it, though, will make things very interesting. I can’t wait, to be honest!

Spike: Twilight never takes me camping, but now I get my chance! It sucks that Rarity isn’t on my team, since girls just LOVE snuggling up with boys during those cold nights in the forest…trust me on that. However, since I’m the only male on my team, I just KNOW they’re gonna be relying on me a lot.

“Okay, ladies, this is gonna be a huge challenge for us!” Twilight stated, pacing back and forth in front of her team an hour later after breakfast, “We’ve lost two in a row and three of four overall. This cannot keep happening! We have to make it known that we are not just sitting ducks to be beaten over and over again. If we stick together and follow a strict lesson plan on how to survive in the wilderness, I know that we can emerge victorious tomorrow morning. Are you all onboard?”

“Without a doubt, darling,” Rarity smiled, “The wilderness is not really my thing, though…”

“You can count on me to help and support this team through thick and thin, Twilight,” Cheerilee added.

“I went out into the Everfree Forest to deliver Zecora’s mail once!” Derpy blurted out.

“We’re gonna have SOOOOOOOOOO much fun!” Pinkie cheered, bouncing up and down excitedly.

“If Rainbow Dash can do it, so can I!” Scootaloo grinned, “This’ll be a piece of cake for me!”

“Humph…you don’t know the first thing about surviving in the wilderness,” Trixie muttered.

Twilight: *casually putting down some strands of her mane that were sticking up* Well, it seems that everypony is onboard with this. If I can keep them motivated, I’m sure we can come out on top. Motivation is the driving force behind a winning team; losing sinks both your morale AND your team.

“Okay, soldiers, it’s time to get your game on!” Rainbow Dash growled, having outfitted herself with face paint and over-the-top camouflage gear, “We’re heading out into the unknown, babies, and there ain’t no coming back without a victory. Not in my book, dudes! Once we go in, we’re not coming out without another win!”

“Applejack, your friend is scaring me,” Luna whispered, leaning over to the hayseed mare, “Even more than the time I returned to Ponyville.”

“Don’t worry, Princess,” Applejack muttered back, “Just put up with it for now; ah’ll give her a good reality check a bit later. Just let her have her fun for now.”

“Some of you may not come back alive…but that is a sacrifice that I am willing to make,” Rainbow Dash sniffed, slowly pacing back and forth like a drill sergeant, “Private Spike! You will cover the rear and alert us of any unforeseen dangers!”

“You got it, Captain Dash!” Spike smiled, making a mock salute to the Pegasus.

“AJ, you and I will lead the pack, since we are obviously the most well-suited to the outdoors,” Dash went on, smiling at Applejack, “Princess Celestia and Princess Luna? Both of you stay in the middle of the pack. I know you two aren’t used to this, but don’t worry; we’ll make sure to protect you both.”

“Thank you very much, Rainbow Dash,” Celestia said politely, “I know I can count on you.”

“Like, what about us?” Diamond Tiara whined, “This is SO not okay! I totally do not want to do this. The outdoors are so filthy and disgusting and totally stupid. Can’t Silver Spoon and I just stay here at camp?”

“And just what kinda attitude is THAT, cadet?” Dash snapped, getting right into Diamond Tiara’s face, “This ain’t no tea party, you little filly! This is combat! That forest could very well be just as evil as the Everfree Forest! When we go in without anything on our backs to protest ourselves, it’s a team game. We stick together as a team and we’ll be fine; if we separate at all, then we’re in trouble. Do I make myself perfectly clear?”

“Like…you need a breath mint,” Diamond Tiara sniffed, turning her face away from Dash’s.

“I will have you know that my home is not at all evil,” Zecora frowned, “The way you speak of Everfree, you make it sound like a place of upheaval. The world itself is not a scary place in the least; fear only encamps the mind when your imagination comes to feast.”

“Yeah…whatever, Zecora,” Rainbow Dash muttered, “Now, as I was saying, do I make myself perfectly clear? Once we go in there, we’re coming out as a team! No ifs, ands, or buts about it!”

Zecora: *meditating, and despite looking quite pleasant, it was clear to see that she was angry* Please, allow my team to stay healthy, strong and well-fed…and please try to restrain me from bashing Rainbow Dash upside the head. *she opens her eyes and glares at the camera for a moment*

When five o’clock eventually rolled around, Discord showed up at the island’s forest and made sure that both teams didn’t have anything that they were trying to sneak with them on their camping trip. Once he was sure that they were both clean, he explained that each team would eventually reach a fork in the path that would take each of them deeper into the forest and way from the other team. They had to spend the night at LEAST a half mile away from camp, since sleeping too close wouldn’t be quite so far or challenging. Then, without further ado, Discord forced both teams to get moving.

“Ah, there they go…all my loyal and obedient campers heading off into the world to make a name for themselves,” Discord sobbed, crying fake tears as he mockingly blew his nose with a tissue, “It really does feel a spirit of disharmony with such joy to know that he did a good job raising them to live off the fat of the land and do their level best.”

“You…are…pathetic,” Nightmare Moon frowned, randomly trotting across the campgrounds from behind the mocking draconequus.

“And YOU’RE attractive, but you don’t see me getting all excited, do you?” Discord smirked, tossing his used tissue away as he floated after Nightmare Moon.

Scootaloo: Okay, surviving out in the wilderness. I totally got this. I’m young, I’m adventurous, and my fellow crusaders and myself usually always do stuff in the wild. This should be a piece of cake!

Rainbow Dash: Yup, this’ll be a cinch. Surviving out here is like laying on a cloud; you do it calmly and with elegance and it’ll treat you well. *she grins a bit* Notch up another win for the Royal Ruffians!

“This is SO totally boring,” Diamond Tiara was complaining, idly walking along with Silver Spoon at her side, “I totally do not see the point of this. Silver Spoon, make sure to make me a very comfy bed when we get there; I am NOT sleeping on this hard ground.”

“You might not have a choice, ladies,” Spike growled from behind the two fillies. Both Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were at the back of the line, with Spike naturally being in the rear as Dash had asked. However, the little dragon was not enjoying the presence of Diamond Tiara at all.

“I wasn’t asking for YOUR opinion,” Diamond Tiara frowned, giving Spike a good view of her rear-end as she put both it and her nose up in the air, “Just ignore him, Silver Spoon; the little dragon is nothing more than the slave of the team.”

“I resent that remark!” Spike snapped, pushing Silver Spoon aside as he got into Diamond Tiara’s face, “I am NOT the slave of this team! Where did that perception even COME from? I’m Twilight’s #1 assistant; not some slave!”

“Like, is that so?” Diamond Tiara smirked, not backing down from Spike’s retort, “Then why is it that you’re always the one who gets hurt, and gets mocked, and gets attacked, and gets ignored, and gets pushed around? See, that’s exactly why you’re totally lame. I would NEVER let that happen to myself; I’m proud of who I am.”

“Yeah…I could think of a few words to describe you…but, my guess is they wouldn’t be suited for the little fillies and colts who watch this show,” Spike muttered, before looking at Silver Spoon, “Why are YOU so quiet? Don’t you have anything to add to this?”

“Yes, Silver Spoon, speak up!” Diamond Tiara exclaimed, “Put this fool of a dragon in his place once and for all and let him know just how pathetic he is.”

“Um…” Silver Spoon gulped, looking back and forth between both her best friend and Spike. Both of them were looking at the gray pony expectantly, as though thinking she would clearly side with them. The little glasses-wearing filly was at a loss. For the first time in her life, she wasn’t in 100% agreement with her best friend.

Silver Spoon: Like, it’s so totally weird. Diamond Tiara and I have been together for nearly our whole lives…and I’ve always been by her side through everything. But…well…from what Zecora has said to me…and from listening to Diamond Tiara talk on her own…I don’t really know…what’s right anymore.

“Um…you see…that is…I really don’t think…um…oh no, the team!” Silver Spoon gasped, pointing behind Spike and Diamond Tiara’s backs. Both of the young teammates whipped their heads around to see that their team had left them behind, either due to not caring about them or simply because they didn’t realize it. With a yelp, Spike quickly took off down the path to try and catch up. Diamond Tiara, however, remained stationary as she glared at Silver Spoon.

“Silver Spoon! What is your deal?” she demanded, “Why did you not stand up for me just then?”

“Diamond Tiara…you were…well…you were being mean!” Silver Spoon finally blurted out. Upon hearing these words directed at her from her own best friend, Diamond Tiara was taken aback as she had to shake her head a few times to fully comprehend what had just been shouted at her.

“EXCUSE me?” Diamond Tiara scoffed, now getting into Silver Spoon’s face, “You dare call ME mean? Aren’t you supposed to be my best friend who sticks by me no matter what? What kind of friend totally deserts her partner-in-crime, huh?”

“I’m sorry, Diamond Tiara…I didn’t mean it like that…” Silver Spoon whimpered, looking at the ground, “But…well…the things you say and the things you do…I’m finally starting to realize just how…”

“SHUT UP!” Diamond Tiara snapped, angrily turning away from the little filly, “I totally do not need to listen to YOU tell ME how to act, when you’ve been just fine with it up until this show. You cannot just change your attitude because we’re on television and being watched by the whole world, Silver Spoon. You are totally being a hypocrite.”

“W-w-what?!?! Diamond Tiara…how DARE you call me that!” Silver Spoon growled, finally standing up for herself, “I still love you as a friend, but I finally realize just what a…what a…what a JERK you are! You’re nothing more than a bully who cares only for herself! Just look at how you treated Spike just now! And just think about how you treated those blank...no, those classmates of ours! You’re…you’re horrible! And I don’t want to be friends with a bully any longer!”

“Oh, is that right?” Diamond Tiara laughed, turning back around and looking at Silver Spoon like she was crazy, “Maybe it’s just me, but I totally remember YOU calling them ‘blank flanks’ as well, and you always stood by my side until we got to this show…and then you started to change. Admit it, Silver Spoon; you’re just playing up for the cameras and trying to make yourself look better to Equestria. You’re just a phony.”

“P-p-phony? But…but…I’m not a phony…I really mean it!” Silver Spoon stammered, once again losing her confidence as Diamond Tiara began to back her into a corner.

“You totally are a phony! A big fat phony!” Diamond Tiara mocked, her face looming right in front of Silver Spoon’s and forcing the scared filly back into a tree, “You’re just the same as me and you know it. No amount of crying or yelling is gonna change who you are. You are just Silver Spoon, my little cohort who will do whatever I say whether she wants to or not.”

“Diamond Tiara…just listen to yourself…this isn’t you,” Silver Spoon gulped, once again trying to push back against the filly, but finding that speaking out against your best friend was one of the hardest things a pony could do, “And…I’m sorry, but…we’re done! I refuse to be your best friend any longer!” After finally finding her voice again, Silver Spoon huffed and shoved Diamond Tiara away from her.

“Fine! Like, see if I care!” Diamond Tiara frowned, idly dusting imaginary dirt off her chest as she stuck her nose in the air and trotted off in a random direction, “Who needs YOU? I can get along just fine by myself. I’ll see you riding away on the Boat of Losers later tonight, ex-best friend. Good luck, because you’re totally gonna need it!” The rotten little filly cackled as she vanished into the forest, leaving a hurt and stunned Silver Spoon in her wake.

Silver Spoon: *trembling as she sat on the toilet seat* F-fine…w-who needs her? SHE was the phony friend…n-not me…I don’t NEED a so-called friend like her…I-I’ll be just fine on my own… *a tear slowly began trickling down her cheek as she began trembling even worse in front of the camera*

“Here we are, just a-hiking down this path, singing I’m so ditzy, and my name’s Derpy Hooves!” Derpy sang out, highly aggravating her team, “Clopping our hooves, and ruffling our wings, singing I’m so ditzy, and my name’s Derpy Hooves! We look good! Yeah, good! We look fine! Yeah, fine! We look good, we look fine, and I think I’ve lost my mind!”

“Ain’t THAT the truth,” Trixie snapped silently, trying to plug her ears with some fungus she found along the trail, since she obviously couldn’t hold her hooves over her ears while walking at the same time.

“Before I knew it, I was as derpy as could be, singing I’m so ditzy, and my name’s Derpy Hooves!” Derpy sang on, singing as loudly as she could and closing her eyes as she belted out her lyrics, “I love muffins; they’re so magical to me! Singing I’m so ditzy, and my name’s Derpy Hooves! We trot on! Yeah, on! To camp! Yeah, camp! We trot on to camp and I really like lava lamps!”

“Do not worry, team!” Twilight said weakly, looking like she could strangle Derpy within the next second, “The sun is going down, and I can guesstimate that we’ve already traversed about ¼ of a mile, so we should almost be to our predetermined location. I’d say we’ll get there within another 10 minutes or so, and then we can make camp.”

“Ooh, it’s totally muffins I love! The ones with raisins are the ones that I’m thinking of!” Derpy continued to sing, “I deliver mail almost every single day, singing I’m so ditzy, and my name’s Derpy Hooves! I’m so happy and it’s getting kinda freaky, singing I’m so ditzy, and my name’s Derpy Hooves! I say derp! Say derp! I’m a ditz! A ditz! I’m a derp and a ditz and Twilight’s totally a witch!”

“…let us all take this moment of opportunity to observe the forest and take in whatever beauty this wretched island may have, shall we?” Rarity smiled weakly, despite her right eye twitching as she was casting a few choice glances back at Derpy Hooves.

“Ooh, it’s magic that Trixie loves! And Fluttershy likes to take care of doves!” Derpy sang on, “I run into trees almost every single day, singing I’m so ditzy, and my name’s Derpy Hooves! We’re all so happy and there’s nothing wrong with that, singing I’m so ditzy, and my name’s Derpy Hooves! Well, say derp! Say derp! Say ditz! Say ditz! Go derp and go ditz before my brain goes on the fritz!”

“…sometimes, listening to the beautiful sounds of nature can help the soul,” Cheerilee said with a smile, her own eye twitching as she grabbed onto Scootaloo and pulled her into a tight hug, “Perhaps we should all just close our eyes as we walk along and try to listen to the wild animals around here…”

“Ooh, oh yeah! I’m so ditzy, and my name’s Derpy Hooves!” Derpy sang as loud as she could, “I’m singing I’m so ditzy, and my name’s Derpy Hooves! Oh yeah! I’m so ditzy, and my name’s Derpy Hooves!” She finally ended the song by flapping her wings joyfully and taking an exaggerated leap up into the air and trying to stick a perfect landing, but ended up falling flat on her face.

“YAY, DERPY!” Pinkie cheered, sitting down on her tush and clopping her hooves together, “That was SOOOOOO cool! What a GREAT hiking song! Ooh, ooh, is it my turn now? I’ve got the perfect song that will sure to…”

“NOOOOOOOOOO!” the rest of the Magical Misfits, excluding Derpy, all screamed into the sky.

Scootaloo: *crying and looking mentally distressed* Please…no more…NO MORE, I BEG YOU!

Rarity: Oh, the horror…the damage that my poor eardrums were sustaining…the horror, darlings!

Trixie: Trixie would almost rather give Twilight Sparkle a hug than listen to another song…ALMOST.

“Alright, crew, we have arrived!” Rainbow Dash announced, standing in a suspicious clearing that looked perfect for a campout, “Let’s start making camp right away…for those of you without wings. I can go and sleep in the clouds just fine, but the rest of you will need a good place to sleep.”

“Wow…how considerate of ya, Rainbow Dash,” Applejack muttered, rolling her eyes and taking over as leader, “Ahright, here’s how this is gonna go. Princess Celestia, do ya’ll think yer sister and yerself can find some firewood so we can build ourselves a fire?”

“Leave it to us, Applejack,” Celestia smiled, turning to her sister and nodding, “Come, Luna, let’s go and find some deadwood for our team.”

“Right behind ya, Tia,” Luna smiled, stretching her wings as both she and her sister took off into the stretch of trees to find some wood.

“Ahright, Zecora, ya’ll are good with findin’ food in the wild, right?” Applejack continued, “How ‘bout ya’ll go and find us some grub?”

“A problem that will not be,” Zecora nodded, turning and heading off into the woods herself, “I will come back with lots of food, you shall see.”

“Fluttershy, ya’ll are great with animals and tendin’ to their homes and whatnot, so ya think ya’ll can make us a good shelter for the night?” Applejack continued.

“Oh, yes, I’m sure that I can do that,” Fluttershy smiled, giving a polite nod as she stretched her wings and went to go find some large leaves and some big sticks.

“Huh…ain’t we missin’ someone?” Applejack pondered, noticing that the group seemed shorter than usual. A second later, Spike ran up to the cowpony, clutching his sides and gasping loudly at how fast he had to run to catch up.

“Don’t…worry…I’m…here!” the little dragon squeaked, giving Applejack a weak salute.

“Ah, right, Spike! Ah was wonderin’ where ya were,” Applejack chuckled, “Well, no matter; think ya can help Fluttershy set up our shelter?”

“You…can…count…on…me!” Spike gasped, still out of breath as he ambled over to help out the yellow Pegasus. It never occurred to Applejack that they were still missing two little fillies from their team. Instead, the cowgirl pony was now focused on frowning up at Rainbow Dash, who had found a comfy cloud and was already relaxing on it.

“Too good to be down here with the rest of the team?” Applejack demanded, calling up to the Pegasus, “Or maybe ya’ll just don’t know the meanin’ of the word ‘work’, huh?”

“Nah, I totally do!” Rainbow Dash yawned, idly flicking her hoof down at Applejack in a dismissive way, “But, I really don’t associate myself with such words, since it’s just not me. You seem to have things under control, though, Sergeant Applejack. Keep it up and make your captain proud.” Soon, the Pegasus was snoring loudly, either from mockery or from actually sleeping.

Applejack: Ugh, that Rainbow Dash! Ah have a good mind to whip her upside the head, and then a few more times across her bottom! She just don’t get the meanin’ of the word “team”. Well, maybe she does…but not in the way we NEED her to understand it! *she sighs and tips her hat* Silly little Pegasus.

Silver Spoon was shivering in fright as she slinked through the dark forest, glancing up at the sky and looking scared when she saw the moon beginning to kiss the appearing stars. The little filly adjusted her glasses as she turned another corner, which looked suspiciously like one she had already turned 10 minutes ago. She knew that she was lost, since she was clearly going around in circles, but the outdoors was not her thing. She had lived a very sheltered life, and usually was always in the presence of Diamond Tiara. This was a huge culture shock for her.

“It’s…so cold…the night sky and the trees…it’s all so dark…and gloomy,” Silver Spoon whimpered, turning in a new direction and once more coming back to a familiar tree, “No…I can’t find my way out of here…I’m no good at this stuff! Why…WHY did Diamond Tiara have to be a big…big…jerk? I don’t like this at all…where’s my team? Why aren’t they looking for me? Do…do they just don’t care? Am I really such a bully myself that…I can’t change…and therefore everypony hates me?”

The filly sat down on her haunches and clenched her eyes tightly shut, tears starting to reappear. Her eyes were already swollen from her precious crying sessions during and after the fight with Diamond Tiara. Silver Spoon had never felt so worthless and so scared and in such pain. Right now, she didn’t care, but she just wanted SOMEPONY to hold her tight. Heck, she’d even take Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, or Scootaloo. When she stopped to think about it, those “blank flanks” weren’t so bad. In fact, they were much nicer than Diamond Tiara. Why…why had Silver Spoon bullied them so much before?

Silver Spoon: *staring into the camera, her glasses askew and her eyes watery* Apple Bloom? Sweetie Belle? Other school ponies that I bullied? If I come out of this alive…I want you all to know…I’m sorry for all the mean things I’ve said! It was all Diamond’s…no, it was all my fault…and I’m so sorry.

“Humph…stupid forest…it’s so totally bogus how everything looks the same!” Diamond Tiara sniffed, gazing around in annoyance as she sat inside the cave she had found, “It’s totally unfair that I have to sleep in such a filthy and degrading place as this, but with my pathetic teammates leaving me behind and she-who-will-not-be-named being a traitor, I’m on my own now. I totally prefer it this way.”

Staring out at the dark forest, Diamond Tiara casually fluffed her mane and tail and muttered random things to herself, trying to entertain herself before she would eventually sleep. Deep in her heart, she felt pain for what she had done. But, sadly, her head was much stronger than her heart, and her head wouldn’t have any negative feelings lingering about. Diamond Tiara had always been right and Diamond Tiara would always BE right. Everypony else was just losers who wasted her time.

“They’re all losers…I hate them all…I’m the best…I’ll always be the best…” Diamond Tiara whispered, laying down onto her belly, shaking violently as the cold cave floor met her warm and delicate belly, “I don’t need them…I don’t need any of them…I never did…I’m better than all of them…” The little filly continued to mutter compliments to herself the entire time before she ended up falling into a very unsettling sleep.

Pinkie: That was so totally weird! My Pinkie Sense just told me that two little fillies were in a lot of pain right now…but, Scootaloo is with us! What other fillies are there in this game? *she tilts her head*

“Um…okay…this would be a LOT easier if I could use my magic…” Twilight muttered, scratching her head as she looked around the team’s designated camping area, “Um…okay, we need a shelter…and some food…and we probably need a fire to keep warm…”

“Do not forget a bed, and some blankets, and some pillows, and some makeup kits!” Rarity exclaimed. When she got several looks of exasperation, Rarity just stared back in confusion. “What? You do not expect me to get my beauty sleep otherwise, do you?”

Twilight: Okay, I’ll admit that I was…somewhat clueless with what to do in that situation. Being outdoors is obviously not my forte, but I had to do the best I could. My team was counting on me to lead them to victory…we couldn’t lose our third in a row and our fourth overall! That would be demoralizing!

“Okay…so, we build a little pit for the fire…and then we strike some rocks together…” Twilight muttered, watching as Cheerilee, Derpy, Pinkie, Rarity and Scootaloo all looked on in confusion, “No, wait, we need something for the flames to burn to…Scootaloo, can you get me some dry twigs or something?”

“Uh-oh…I think you’re too late, Twilight!” Pinkie gasped, her body twitching abnormally, “My Pinkie Sense is acting up again…I think we’re in for a…” But, at that moment, a loud crack of lightning boomed overhead and soon the entire island was being drenched in a torrential downpour.

The rain was coming down fast and it was coming down hard. The Magical Misfits all whined and tried covering up their heads, or grabbing random little leaves to try and do ANYTHING to shelter themselves from getting drenched, but for all the good it did they may as well have been using rocks to cover their heads. There was no hope to build a fire now, and without proper knowledge of how to set up a shelter or even how to look for food in the rain while in a cold and dark forest, the team looked as good as dead. That is until they saw a warm glow emanating from just a little ways away.

Twilight, Cheerilee, Derpy, Pinkie, Rarity and Scootaloo all looked to see what the orange glow was and gasped as they saw Trixie sitting in front of a blazing fire. While Twilight had been trying to organize her team and make proper commands, Trixie had immediately gone to work on her own. She had built herself a big shelter in next to no time, which was created with large branches strummed together and covered with mounds of fallen clumps of large leaves. Trixie’s fireplace was crafted with large rocks arched into a circle with dead twigs and leaves and other types of fungus being the fuel. The blue unicorn was currently lying back on a soft bed of leaves she had made for herself, snacking on some edible blueberries that she had found as well. The rest of the Magical Misfits were beyond stunned.

“T-Trixie? H-how did you d-do all that?” Cheerilee stammered, taking a small step towards the blue unicorn and her wonderful little shelter as she continued to shiver from the rain pounding down on her.

“Trixie is a traveling magician,” Trixie said calmly, “She is used to living off the land and fending for herself. Do you take Trixie for a fool? She has done this many, many times before; it was easy for her to do all this in no less than five minutes.”

“I…I see…” Twilight whimpered, also taking a weak step towards the unicorn and her shelter, “Um…you do look very…comfortable in there…do you think there’s room for…six more?”

“Y-yes, darling…please, you MUST make room for me!” Rarity whined, “L-look at my beautiful mane! Y-you cannot allow such a travesty to go on b-before your very eyes, c-could you?”

“Trixie could not care in the least,” Trixie snapped, crossing her forelegs and glaring at her six teammates, “Why should Trixie allow you all to come over here? You will just use her for her food and shelter and be done with her! If we lose, she’ll be voted right out of the game and this will all be for naught. Trixie refuses to let the likes of you rude and insensitive foals take advantage of her again.”

Naturally, Trixie was expecting some harsh replies and most likely some insults, threats, and warnings as well before the six teammates all turned their backs on Trixie and left the unicorn alone. However, Trixie was shocked to see that all six of her shivering teammates continued to tremble in front of her in the rain without saying a single bad thing, or even glaring at her. Instead, they all looked…sad, hungry, hurt, and distressed. Cheerilee was weakly trying to hold Scootaloo close to her heart to keep the little filly warm, Pinkie and Derpy were huddling close, and Twilight was desperately trying to be a friend and cover up Rarity’s soaked mane. All of this was happening while all 12 pairs of eyes stared at Trixie.

“We…we understand, Trixie…you did indeed build that yourself…and we DID treat you slightly unfairly, so…we’ll leave you alone,” Twilight sniffed, sneezing and wiping her nose with the back of her foreleg, “We’ll build our own shelter…and just eat what we can find…enjoy your night, Trixie…”

Trixie watched as all six of her freezing teammates began to turn away and try to move, but the numbing rain that was pelting their bodies were almost paralyzing them and restricting their every movement. Scootaloo had reverted back to her age and was crying and making usual statements about how she wanted to go home and how she was hungry, all while Cheerilee silently nuzzled her and continued to hold her close, like her mother would do. Rarity was sobbing and, even though it was for a slightly stupid reason, Twilight tried to keep her chin up as well. Pinkie and Derpy were both trying to sing a song to perk the team up, but their voices were cold and shaky and wouldn’t work properly. Trixie tried to force herself to look away, remembering how THEY had left HER all alone when she had failed at the talent show, but she couldn’t rip her eyes away.

Trixie: This doesn’t make any sense…why would Trixie feel sorry for them after how they treated her? Trixie only did what she needed to do to save herself…they PUSHED her to be this way! Why…why do they deserve Trixie’s affection? *she placed a hoof on her heart, then closed her eyes* …I know why.

“…okay, fine,” Trixie called out, instantly grabbing the attention of her six pained teammates, “Get over here before you all freeze to death, catch colds, starve, or all of the above! Trixie will NOT be held responsible for dragging your corpses back to camp and having to explain to Discord why Trixie is the only Magical Misfit left.” Despite the fact that Trixie was trying to hide her thoughtfulness, the rest of the team saw right through it. They immediately forced their trembling bodies over to the unicorn’s beautifully-crafted shelter.

“Thank you, Trixie…we really appreciate this,” Cheerilee said honestly, stroking Scootaloo’s mane and continuing to warm up the little filly, “You didn’t have to do this for us, but you did…”

“Maybe…you’re not so evil after all,” Derpy giggled, never really caring about what she said out loud.

“Humph…shut up,” Trixie growled, blushing and turning away, “Trixie…just knows how it feels to be out in the cold…hungry and freezing…with no one there to help you. While she is still angry with all of you, as she is sure you all are with her, she couldn’t rightly stand by and watch you all suffer when she had gone through it enough times in the past. Trixie doesn’t think this will save her from your vote when and if we lose, but…” However, at that moment, Twilight gently placed her wet hoof on the unicorn’s mouth to silence her.

“That’s enough, Trixie,” she said, staring into the unicorn’s eyes, “Let’s not get into that, okay? You did something out of the kindness of your heart and that’s all that matters. The game is not important right now. What IS important is that you showed a wonderful level of kindness to open up your shelter to us. Thank you so much.” The purple unicorn removed her hoof, and Trixie was left staring at her.

“…Trixie will make some beds for you,” Trixie said, speaking in such a calm and collective voice that it was hard to believe it came from her, “Help yourselves to the blueberries and warm up near the fire all you wish, but do not get too close; it’s not good for the body to get cold and then warm so quickly.”

“We will…thanks, darling,” Rarity sniffed, trying to wring out her mane as she leaned her head down towards the fire to dry her coat even more. While the six wet Magical Misfits all dried off, Trixie went to work making six more beds next to hers. It would be cramped, but each pony on her team deserved their own bed. Nearly the entire pile of blueberries had been eaten and nearly all the water on the Magical Misfits had been dried by the time Trixie finished the last bed.

“There…all done!” Trixie wheezed, wiping a little sweat off her forehead as she turned to look at her team, “Everypony pick a bed and go to sleep. We need to get all the rest we can get so we can try and get back first in the morning. Winning still isn’t out of the question. So, now that you’re all full and nice and warm, get a good rest, you understand?”

“Yes, Trixie!” the rest of the Magical Misfits all shouted, giving the show-mare thankful smiles as they each picked out one of Trixie’s makeshift beds. Trixie felt strange on the inside as she saw the smiles. She was used to smiles, but not these kinds. Most of the smiles she got were of admiration and respect, due to her magic tricks. These smiles were…genuine. Plus, hearing the team actually respond positively to something she ordered was new, and it made Trixie feel even better on the inside.

Cheerilee honestly liked the sound of rain, as long as she wasn’t out in it, so she picked the bed closest to the edge; she also didn’t want any other pony to get cold during the night, so she would brave the elements and let her team stay even cozier. Scootaloo picked the bed next to her teacher; Pinkie was next to her, Derpy next to her, and Rarity next to her. This left Twilight to sleep between Rarity and Trixie, once more putting all three unicorns together.

As the seven Magical Misfits all snuggled down onto their little beds, almost all of them soon zonked out without much time passing. Before long, the only two ponies awake were Twilight and Trixie, both of whom were sleeping on their backs and staring up at the canopy that was the ceiling of Trixie’s shelter. Listening to the rain angrily rushing down was rather soothing, since it couldn’t be felt. When Twilight and Trixie noticed that they were the only two awake, the two unicorns turned onto their sides and faced each other.

“Listen, Twilight Sparkle…do not think Trixie has gone soft!” Trixie whispered, not wanting to wake her team, “After this challenge, if both of us are still here, Trixie is still gonna be Trixie. Don’t think that this little campout is gonna change things…”

“Change WHAT, Trixie?” Twilight asked, “Are you saying you LIKE being mean?”

“Humph…Trixie is not mean…Trixie is just proud of who she is,” Trixie sniffed, “And this was the only time that Trixie was gonna allow you fools to share something with her. It won’t happen again, so do not think that you got on Trixie’s good side.” Twilight narrowed her eyes slightly as she looked at Trixie, who narrowed her own eyes as well. Both unicorns stared at one another, barely a foot apart. Then, with a little smile, Twilight just turned back around and closed her eyes.

“Whatever you say, Trixie…whatever you say,” she whispered, “Goodnight…and thanks again.”

“Don’t mention it…ever,” Trixie responded, turning around as well and closing her own eyes. Both unicorns were soon asleep, so they failed to realize that they tails had curled around one another.

The rain continued to come down all night long. The Magical Misfits were warm and content inside of Trixie’s shelter, not to mention that their fire stayed alive for a few more hours after falling asleep to keep them heated. The Royal Ruffians had eventually constructed a fairly decent shelter of their own, not to mention having gathered a good amount of food thanks to Zecora. Rainbow Dash, not really enjoying sleeping on raining clouds, had grudgingly joined her team in their shelter after about two minutes or so of the downpour. Diamond Tiara was tossing and turning in the cave she found, while Silver Spoon was miserable and curled up under a small shrub she had decided to sleep under.

When morning eventually started to creep around the mountains, the rain dispersed and the clouds opened up to reveal the sunshine. During the night, two members on each team had gotten a little too close for comfort…so to speak. With the Royal Ruffians, Applejack was smiling to herself as she snuggled up to what she thought was the bed Fluttershy made for her. However, when she opened her eyes a second later, she saw herself clutching a blue body. She slowly lifted her eyes up to see the grinning face of Rainbow Dash a moment later.

“Good morning, AJ,” Dash teased, giving the hayseed a wink, “Never expected you to be a cuddler…Twi was right in saying that you learn something new every day! Was I warm enough for you?” In response, Applejack immediately shoved the Pegasus away and was left to angrily rant.

“Rainbow Dash! What the hay did ya’ll think you were doin’?” she snapped, “Ya can’t just go ‘round snuggling up to ponies like that! Spike’s here, ya know; what would HE think?”

“I was just relaxing and catching some z’s, AJ,” Dash smirked, “YOU were the one snuggling up to ME. Admit it…ya just can’t leave me alone. Whether I’m off snoozing on a cloud, or pulling a prank, or doing whatever, you just can’t leave me alone!” Unfortunately, Dash’s early morning brashness wasn’t sitting with Applejack, and this was realized a moment later when Applejack turned around and gave Rainbow Dash a painful bash right in the face with her hind legs, sending the Pegasus hurtling into the forest.

Rainbow Dash: *grumbling a little bit and rubbing her jaw* Dang it, that hurts! *however, despite the pain, she still puts on a little grin* Heh, AJ is just really cranky in the mornings…it’s kinda cute.

Applejack: *with her messy mane to boot, the angry cowpony rants on the camera* That Rainbow Dash has a lotta nerve! Ah totally was NOT snugglin’ up to her! Ya hear me, Equestria? That was all her!

“Ugh…what’s all the commotion?” Spike moaned, opening his eyes and finding Applejack ranting and raving while Rainbow Dash moaned nearby and rubbed her jaw, “Um…are you two alright?”

“Just wake up the rest of the team so we can hurry back to camp before ah get even angrier,” Applejack grumbled, the faint hint of a blush on her face as she cast another glare over at Rainbow Dash. Spike blinked a few times, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, before slowly starting to shake the rest of his teammates awake.

Spike: Why am I always left in the dark? It’s so not fair! *he pouts and crosses his arms* Girls are SO weird…and I mean VERY weird! They do so many things that make no sense at all…so weird.

“Mmm…you’re so soft…such a nice, silky body…such a beautiful mare…” Twilight whispered, holding Trixie close to her as their faces were barely an inch apart.

“Ooh yes…hold Trixie close…my warm, delicate pony…Trixie is all yours…” Trixie purred, snuggling even tighter to Twilight as their faces grew closer and closer. Slowly, the two mares with their hooves wrapped around each other’s waists, puckered up and began leaning in towards one another. They got closer and closer, their lips barely a centimeter apart. Then, Twilight casually opened her left eye while Trixie casually opened her right.

A series of events took place next. First, Twilight and Trixie groggily just stared at one another for a moment, locked in the same position for a good few minutes. Then, all four eyes slowly widened as both ponies were now wide awake. Next, without so much as moving a single part of their bodies, their pupils glanced up and down and observed where their hooves were placed and how close their bodies really were to each other, not to mention how close their lips were. Finally, the screams that both girls let out were loud enough to wake the living dead.

“YOU SICK, TWISTED, DIRTY, DISGUSTING MARE!” Trixie shrieked, having leapt out of her shelter and was glaring daggers at Twilight, “TRIXIE COULD DESTROY YOU FOR THIS!”

“YOU MANIPULATIVE, CRUEL, EVIL, VILE MARE!” Twilight screamed back, gritting her teeth and looking ready to destroy Trixie herself, “FILLIES AND COLTS WATCH THIS SHOW, YOU KNOW!”

“YOU WERE THE ONE HOLDING TRIXIE!” Trixie roared.

“YOU WERE THE ONE HOLDING ME, ADMIT IT!” Twilight bellowed back.

“Um…girls?” Cheerilee yawned, opening her eyes and glancing out at the two unicorns, “Is there something the matter?” What Cheerilee saw was two unicorns with crazy, messy manes and deep blushes plastered on their faces. Their expressions were beyond angry, but the blushes would not go away. Slowly, the rest of the Magical Misfits began to awaken, too, and soon the two unicorns were a sideshow attraction before long.

“What happened?” Scootaloo asked, before gasping and instantly putting on a naughty grin, “Ooh, I know! They totally made out with each other, didn’t they? I can tell! Man, when I tell Rainbow Dash about this, she’s SURE to want to grab me and…” Sadly, her daydream was interrupted by the angry looks she was soon receiving from Twilight and Trixie.

“If you even DARE say a PEEP of this to ANYPONY…you’re in for a WORLD of pain, Scootaloo!” Twilight snarled, completely enraged at the moment, “And that goes for the rest of you, too!”

“Yes…what the disgusting little mare said!” Trixie snapped, angrily turning around and stomping down the path, “Let’s go…the sooner we get back to camp the better!” Nervously, the six other Magical Misfits looked at one another, then looked at the two disappearing unicorns, before pulling themselves out of their beds and starting to trot after them.

Twilight: You’re all my witnesses! You all saw what Trixie did! She was…um, how do you say it? I’m no expert on…love…oh, right! She was totally feeling me up! That sick little…ooh she’s gonna get it!

Trixie: *looking at her body as though she was diseased, and sniffing her breath feverishly* This cannot be happening…this CANNOT be happening…WHAT DID WE DO DURING THE NIGHT?!?!

Both teams raced back to camp as fast as they could, but due to the Magical Misfits being a bit more comfortable in Trixie’s shelter, they were a bit slower to get moving. As such, when Trixie and Twilight finally led their team out of the forest, they were horrified to find that the Royal Ruffians had already made it back before them. When the Magical Misfits finally trudged out of the forest, Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but start teasing them a little.

“Kinda slow, aren’t ya?” she grinned, turning around and playfully mooning the other team, “BUT, it looks like we win yet again! Sorry, Twilight and Rarity…oh, and Scootaloo.”

“Don’t worry, Dash…just because we lost doesn’t mean I’m not getting a nice reward right now…” Scootaloo sighed, dreamily staring at Rainbow’s wiggling tush before Cheerilee frowned and covered up her eyes with her hooves.

Cheerilee: I really do worry about Scootaloo sometimes…especially when Rainbow Dash is around.

“This CAN’T be happening!” Trixie cried, angrily turning to face her team, “This is all YOUR faults, you losers! That stupid blonde Pegasus with her annoying singing, that whiny prissy unicorn, and let’s not forget YOU!” Trixie snarled and pointed a hoof at Twilight. “You are SO getting voted out for what you tried to do to Trixie!”

“Hold on, hold on, don’t get your horn in a knot, Trix,” Discord announced, floating over to the two teams and tapping his chin, “First off, good morning to you all; it’s nice to see you survived your night alone in the woods. Second…I’m afraid the Royal Ruffians are missing two of their teammates, and as I recall, I said you had to make it back first AS A TEAM to win the challenge.”

“Wait…who are we missin’?” Applejack gasped, turning around and looking over her team, “We have everybody here!”

“Uh…Applejack…we’re missing Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon,” Spike pointed out, “They got into a big fight last night and failed to follow us to our campsite.”

“Oh dear…those little fillies all alone out there?” Zecora whispered, turning and looking at the forest, “For ones such as them, it must’ve been quite a scare!”

“Eh, I’m sure they got eaten by a bear or something,” Rainbow Dash shrugged, “So, that means we still win, right? It’s not our fault two of our teammates were unfortunately devoured and were unable to make it back with us.”

“Wait…please…don’t leave me…alone…” a voice squeaked out from the forest. Discord and the campers all looked to see Silver Spoon limping out from the darkness of the trees, looking sick, hungry, tired, and completely miserable. Her glasses were stained and warped, her mane and tail were a mess, her coat was filthy, and she looked like she hadn’t stopped crying since last night.

“Oh, look who actually survived!” a second voice called out, in a more conniving way than Silver Spoon’s. A second later, Diamond Tiara emerged from the forest as well, looking overall alright, but her own eyes seemed a bit puffy, too. “Like, amazing…I totally didn’t expect YOU to survive without ME there right by your side, holding your hoof.”

“Diamond…Tiara…please…why are you like this?” Silver Spoon choked out, glancing at her former best friend and looking ready to drop at any second, “Despite the things you said…I couldn’t stop thinking about you…all through that horrible night…does being a bully…really mean more to you…than your own best friend?”

“STOP calling me a bully!” Diamond Tiara snapped, shoving Silver Spoon away from her, “For the last time, I am NOT a bully! If others take offense to what I say, they are just jealous…I’m the best, and my cutie mark proves it. If you’re so lame that you actually take THEIR side over mine, I don’t NEED you as a friend. You’re dead to me, Silver Spoon.”

“No…please, Diamond Tiara…you can’t mean that!” Silver Spoon cried, getting ready to cry again, her knees shaking as she began to wobble, “Please…I’m sorry for whatever I said…you’re all I have, Diamond Tiara…I’ll do whatever it takes to be your best friend again…forgive me…” Then, Silver Spoon fainted on the grass in front of both teams, Discord, and Diamond Tiara.

“Humph…like, how pathetic,” Diamond Tiara sneered, putting her nose in the air and looking away from the fainted Silver Spoon, “It’s so totally lame how she tried so hard to make up to me…what are you all looking at?” She just noticed that the entire rest of the cast was glaring angrily at Diamond Tiara, the biggest glares coming from her own team and Cheerilee. Even Discord didn’t look really thrilled.

“Diamond Tiara…first off, you lost us the challenge!” Celestia said coldly, “Second, what I just witnessed you do was…” However, at that moment, Cheerilee slowly trotted over and gently placed a hoof on the small princess.

“Princess Celestia, with all due respect, I’d like to handle this,” the teacher said. When Celestia gave her a nod, Cheerilee glared down at Diamond Tiara like a mother would her daughter. “Diamond Tiara, I am beyond disappointed and ashamed of you. Not only did you let your team down, but what you did to Silver Spoon was so much worse. This game means nothing if it makes you change into something that you’re not. This isn’t you, Diamond Tiara…what you just did…was horrible.”

“But…but…Miss Cheerilee…she totally deserved it!” Diamond Tiara gulped, slowly taking a step or two back, “You said that our cutie marks were what made us who we are…and mine makes me the best there is! My cutie mark is the best, and if others are so lame that they can’t accept me for who I am, then why do I need them?”

“Diamond, that is NOT what I taught you!” Cheerilee yelled, stepping closer to the filly and never taking her eyes off her, “Yes, I indeed taught you that your cutie mark is something you should be proud of and it represents who you are…but you’re abusing that to a whole new level that is…frankly, bullying!”

“W-w-what?!?! N-n-no…I-I-I’m not a bully!” Diamond Tiara cried, shaking her head as she was backed against a tree and was now forced to face down her teacher, “I-I’m better than all the others…y-you know I am!”

“Diamond…I love all my students equally, and they’re all CREATED equal!” Cheerilee said seriously, stopping a few inches short of her terrified student, “No matter what your cutie mark is, let it be a flower or a bumble bee or a royal crown or a pile of mud, it makes no difference. A cutie mark does indeed signify what a pony’s special talent is, but it doesn’t represent something a lot bigger than that. It doesn’t represent something so much more precious than just a talent or skill.”

“W-w-what’s that?” Diamond Tiara asked. In response, Cheerilee reached down and moved her hoof under the little filly. She gently touched Diamond Tiara’s upper chest.

“Your heart, Diamond Tiara,” Cheerilee whispered, “Your cutie mark might make you pretty and amazing on the outside, but your heart is what’s important on the inside. It doesn’t matter if you have the greatest cutie mark in the world. If your heart is cold and bitter, then you are no better than a…blank flank, as you call them.” As soon as these words were spoken, Diamond Tiara let out a silent shriek of horror. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“N-n-no…t-t-that can’t…that can’t be…I-I’m the best…I am!” Diamond Tiara screamed, burying her face into her hooves and falling to the ground, “I’M THE BEST…I’M THE BEST…I’M THE BEST!”

“You had something special with Silver Spoon…a tight friendship…and you let your own ego get in the way of it,” Cheerilee went on, “Maybe one day she’ll forgive you…but, until then…I feel sorry for you, Diamond Tiara. Maybe, just maybe, one day you’ll learn for yourself what I mean. Until then…good luck. I am just a teacher; all I can do is give you advice. It’s up to YOU to better yourself. Always remember that, Diamond Tiara.” She leaned down and give the filly a gentle kiss on the top of the head, then slowly turned back around and trotted back over to her silent team, leaving Diamond Tiara to continue trembling and crying in the grass, only a few feet away from the fainted Silver Spoon.

“Yes, well…thank you for that, Cheerilee,” Discord mused, clapping his hands for a moment before turning to the Misfits, “As uncomfortable as this situation is, I still have to say that you team wins due to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon not arriving at the same time as their team. You are all safe from immunity tonight, while Royal Ruffians…it’s time for you to vote someone out. You have all day to make your choice…see you at the campfire tonight!” With a snap of his fingers, Discord vanished, leaving only silence behind in his wake, save for the crying Diamond Tiara.

Trixie: *shaking her head* …even Trixie would not do that to her best friend…how horrible.

Scootaloo: It serves Diamond Tiara right…I’m glad Miss Cheerilee told her a thing or two!

Cheerilee: *looking as though she had been crying herself* …I love my students…so much…

The rest of the day soon passed and it was time for the Royal Ruffians’ second elimination ceremony. The team was pretty steamed at having lost a challenge they thought they had clearly won, and they weren’t looking forward to making too many trips to the bonfire. Discord was seen nearby, growing some popcorn plants near the raging bonfire and grinning as kernels were popping all over the place. When the Royal Ruffians arrived, he gathered himself up a bowl of the fresh popcorn and began to feast on it while addressing the team.

“Ah…your second time, am I right?” he stated, licking his fingers and frowning a bit, “Bah…needs more salt…and butter…and cotton candy.” He tossed the bowl of popcorn behind his back out of irritation. “Well, it’s been a while, so let me refill you in on how this works. All of you write down the name of one of your teammates that you want to walk the plank…the one you want to see sailing away…the one you want to see going bye-bye and never coming back…EVER! That’s all there is to it. Applejack, darling, start us off!”

“Call me ‘darling’ again and ah’ll show ya’ll just how darlin’ ah can be…with mah hind legs!” Applejack grumbled, getting up and heading for the confessional booth.

Celestia: *showing the camera that she voted for Diamond Tiara* It’s never easy to do this, even though I only did it once…but, I’m sorry, it’s your time, my dear. *she puts the ballot in the box*

Fluttershy: *showing the camera that she voted for Diamond Tiara* Um…I’m sorry, but…you could learn a thing or two about friendship…in a big way. *she puts the ballot in the box*

Rainbow Dash: *showing the camera that she voted for Diamond Tiara* Kid, Scootaloo has spunk. What you’ve got…is a heck of a lot worse…and we don’t need that! *she puts the ballot in the box*

Zecora: *showing the camera that she voted for Diamond Tiara* I foresaw this day coming a mile away. Diamond Tiara, on this island, this is your last day. *she puts the ballot in the box*

“You all have made your decisions,” Discord said, teleporting the ballot box in front of him, “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 fake reading glasses, putting them on as the Royal Ruffians all looked slightly saddened by what was about to happen, but knowing it had to be done; they seemed to all be looking at Silver Spoon, for some reason. Discord removed the top of the ballot box and reached for the first ballot.

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

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

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

“Fourth vote…Rainbow Dash. That’s two votes Diamond Tiara, one vote Spike, and one vote Rainbow Dash.”

“Fifth vote…Diamond Tiara. That’s three votes Diamond Tiara, one vote Spike, and one vote Rainbow Dash.”

“Sixth vote…Diamond Tiara. That’s four votes Diamond Tiara, one vote Spike, and one vote Rainbow Dash.”

“Fifth loser of Total Magic Pony Island…” Discord announced, flipping over the seventh and majority ballot, “…Diamond Tiara. Well, queenie, that’s all she wrote. It’s time for you to head down the Dock of Shame and board the Boat of Losers…yes, that makes you a loser…deal with it!”

“…fine…I don’t even care anymore,” Diamond Tiara sniffed, slowly rising from her seat as she began trotting towards the boat, “This place was a dump anyway…I don’t NEED that money…I have enough of it at home…”

“Diamond Tiara…wait!” Silver Spoon called out, hurrying after her. For a moment, Diamond Tiara was considering running to the boat so she didn’t have to face Silver Spoon, but something forced her to stop. When her former best friend stood before her, Diamond Tiara looked like she was suppressing her own waterfall of tears.

“What do YOU want?” she growled, “Come to rub it in my face how better you are than me, just because you’re gonna make it farther than I did? Like, totally sad…you stoop so low.”

“Diamond…even after what you said and did to me…I still didn’t vote for you,” Silver Spoon said softly, slowly giving the other filly a hug, “And...it seems like...you didn't vote for me, either. I hope…when we see each other again…you’ll see the error of your ways…as I have.” Diamond Tiara was shocked by this, the last thing she had been expecting a hug. She felt like pushing Silver Spoon away, but once again, something was stopping her. Was it possibly her heart?

“…Silver Spoon…good luck,” Diamond Tiara whispered, and that was all that she could say. She gave the glasses-wearing filly a weak hug back, then quickly and softly pushed her away before she began trotting towards the Boat of Losers again. Silver Spoon sat down on her rump and never took her eyes off her former best friend. Again, it felt like tears would begin to fall at any second, but for once, Silver Spoon was holding them in. When Diamond Tiara finally jumped onto the boat, she took one last look back at the camp, her former team, and at Silver Spoon, then just shook her head and vanished into the boat’s depths.

“Hey, Silver Spoon?” a voice called out softly. Silver Spoon slowly looked behind her back and saw Cheerilee standing there, along with Scootaloo. The Cutie Mark Crusader and the teacher both walked up to the hurt filly and gave her a hug, shocking her and forcing her eyes to crack open and start pouring despite all she had done to hold it in this time.

“Opposite teams or not…friends?” Scootaloo asked, gently breaking the hug and holding out a hoof. Silver Spoon’s glasses were getting fogged up, so she was barely able to see the kind smile plastered on the crazy little Pegasus’ face. However, with a little nod from Cheerilee, Silver Spoon gave a weak smile of her own before reaching out and connecting her hoof with Scootaloo’s. One had a cutie mark of a silver spoon, the other had a blank flank. But, it didn’t matter, and it never should’ve to begin with.

“And thus ends a shockingly-sad and very emotional episode,” Discord announced, floating above the threesome as he always did, “How will Silver Spoon survive without her former best friend? Will her team pick her up? What will come from Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Trixie and Twilight’s intimate moments together? Will Spike ever get a bigger role? Find out all these questions…maybe…on the next fun-filled episode of Total…Magic…Pony…Island! Discord…out!” With a snap of his fingers, he vanished.

Episode 8: Think Before You Derp

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Discord: Last time, on Total Magic Pony Island: it was time for a good old fashioned campout…in a deep, dark forest during a freezing rainstorm and without any supplies. Piece of cake, right?

Pinkie: *bouncing in out of nowhere* Ooh, how about a piece of cupcake instead?

Discord: Pinkie, if you interrupt me during my previous episode analysis again, I’m gonna feed you to one of those pony-eating sharks. Do you understand?

Pinkie: Aww, Discord, always the kidder! *she gives the annoyed draconequus a hug, then faces the camera herself* Ooh, let me help, let me help! See, we went into the woods, but it was totally cold and spooky, so that’s why I was singing one of my favorite songs in my head the entire time, but then it started to rain and I was cold and very sad, so I was all like “Oh no, this is horrible, we’re gonna freeze, just like ice candy!” and it was a really sad feeling! But then, Trixie let us share her shelter with her and I was all like “Ah, it’s so toasty in here!” and Pinkie was no longer cold! Oh, oh, and Diamond Tiara was totally being a big meanie to Silver Spoon, so Cheerilee totally told her off, and that’s what led to the little filly being voted off. It’s so sad to see others go, but you know we’ll see them again, so it’s all good! Now, we’re down to 15 campers, including your favorite little silly filly, Pinkie Pie! Are you all as excited as me to get to the next episode? Well, what are we waiting for? Here’s more Total…Magic…Pony Island! Hurray for dramatics! *she bounces up and down happily*

Discord: *looking like he wanted to strangle the little pink pony, but was resisting the urge to do so* …get me my Celestia voodoo doll! I need to vent! *he grumbles and floats off-screen, while Pinkie keeps giggling and bouncing in front of the fading cameras*

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

“OW! OW! OW!” Celestia yelped, leaping around and constantly looking at her rear-end as though something was poking it, “What in the WORLD is going ON with this? OW!”

“Sister, what’s wrong?” Luna inquired, trotting into her team’s cabin to find her sister bouncing around like Pinkie Pie after eating 100 cupcakes with twice the sugar, “I could hear you all the way from the mess hall. Were you too busy watching the sunrise again to care for breakfast?”

“Ugh…sister, something is SERIOUSLY wrong!” Celestia winced, slamming her butt down onto the floor and dragging it along like a dog would do, “It feels like SOMETHING keeps jabbing me in the RUMP and it seriously is BUGGING me!”

“Are you sure you’re not just experiencing growing pains?” Luna teased, watching her sister in amusement, “After all, you ARE a little mare right now; the same age as Twilight Sparkle, too. Maybe your big butt is just starting to undergo puberty.”

“Oh, ha-ha-ha, VERY funny, sister!” Celestia snapped, glaring at the ebony alicorn, “This is no joke! It feels like something poking my rump with a tiny needle or something…it’s so weird! Huh…but…I think it finally stopped.” She glanced back and patted her booty, sighing with relief when she didn’t feel anymore tiny prickets of pain. Luna just kept grinning the entire time.

Luna: My big sister is such an attention hog, don’t you think? Seriously…imaginary needles poking her in the butt? What WILL she think of next? *she giggles playfully* Sometimes, she can be a real hoot.

“Ugh…anyway, now that that’s over with…how’s the team?” Celestia asked, trotting out of her team’s cabin at her sister’s side, “I was indeed watching the sunrise again…don’t question me, please. Plus, I wasn’t exactly hungry and in the mood for some of Nightmare Moon’s cooking.”

“They’re mostly trying to make Silver Spoon feel better about her position on the team,” Luna explained, “After the emotional ceremony last night, the little filly was having a very bad night. I heard Zecora was taking care of her the most; that zebra seems to have a good handle on things.”

“Good, I’m pleased to hear it,” Celestia admitted, “Everypony deserves a second chance, and if there’s anypony more deserving of that chance, it’s young Silver Spoon. Plus, since Zecora is so wise, we should let her handle the filly. We need to focus on keeping the team morale high and making sure we ALL stay happy, do you not agree?” With a little nod, Luna gave her sister a little nuzzle as the two proceeded to head towards the mess hall together.

It was the next morning after Diamond Tiara was voted out due to losing the challenge for her team and for her constant bullying of Silver Spoon and the belittling of the rest of the camp. Silver Spoon herself, despite being consoled by Cheerilee and Scootaloo after her former best friend’s elimination, was still a nervous wreck and couldn’t sleep that night. Zecora had been the first one on her team to talk to her and try to lift her spirits with her words of wisdom, which seemed to work. It worked so well that, the next morning, Silver Spoon woke up with a smile on her face.

As Luna led her sister into the mess hall, Celestia thought she saw Discord playing with what seemed to be a small white doll of some kind. However, when the host draconequus saw that he had been spotted, he quickly snapped his fingers and the doll vanished. Shaking her head in annoyance, Celestia ignored the strange spirit of disharmony and simply went to join her team at their breakfast table. Nightmare Moon had decided to serve scrambled eggs and toast with grape jelly…all colored black. Naturally, there was plenty left over for Celestia to partake in once she arrived.

“Ah, princess, great to see ya!” Rainbow Dash grinned, giving Princess Celestia a pat on the back, “We saved you PLENTY of food. By all means, eat up!” With a somewhat evil smile, Rainbow Dash piled a load of black eggs and toast on the nauseated Celestia’s plate, most of which was previous untouched on Dash’s plate.

Rainbow Dash: Sure, I might be a growing mare, but the princess totally needs to keep her energy up. This game is way out of her element, so I’m just being a caring teammate and seeing to her needs. *she smirks and crosses her forelegs* Plus, I’m sure Nightmare Moon’s food won’t bother her as much.

“Er…thanks, Rainbow Dash…you really shouldn’t have…” Celestia gulped, timidly picking up a piece of the disgusting black toast and starting to nibble on it in a way that made it look like she thought it something that was poisoned.

“You know me; always putting others first!” Rainbow Dash snickered, turning away from the princess and looking over at the rest of her team, “Hey, Silver Spoon, how’re you holding up?”

“I’m actually doing very fine,” Silver Spoon said, sitting next to Zecora, “I’m still kinda sad about how things went down last night, but…as Zecora told me, what’s done is done and I need to push forward and be strong. Isn’t that right, Zecora?”

“That is correct, my dear filly,” Zecora smiled, “To keep your heart in pain is just plain silly. A test of fortitude and strength is what you have endured, but you passed with flying colors, so your heart will be better for it, that much is ensured. From this moment on, always keep a smile on your face, for even if you do not last much longer in this game, you will not have finished in last place. This game is not about money, nor is it about fame; it is about what you learn and how you live up to your name.”

“Thank you, Zecora,” Silver Spoon blushed, adjusting her glasses as she shyly looked away, “I’ll always remember what you say to me…you and Miss Cheerilee are very influential to me…” A snoring noise made the rest of the team glance over to see that Rainbow Dash was sleeping in her seat. When she was nudged by Applejack, the rainbow Pegasus instantly fluttered her eyes opened and grinned.

“Sorry, I’m allergic to egghead talk; it puts me to sleep, you see,” she giggled, which instantly garnered her an angry glare from Zecora.

Zecora: *pressing her hooves together and forcing herself to meditate* In any situation that leaves your mind feeling enraged, you must grab the book of life and be the first to turn the page. *her eyes narrow as she looks at the camera* But, all the same, that is not always the case; if Rainbow Dash continues to vex me, that mocking grin will soon be wiped clean off her azure face.

“This breakfast can hardly be seen as edible, and it’s obviously not very nutritious,” Twilight frowned, moving her plate of black food over to Pinkie, “I don’t know how, but since you seem to be able to down this food without any negative side effects, but all means take my breakfast, Pinkie.”

“Aww, Twilight, that’s SOOOO nice of you!” Pinkie giggled, giving her best friend a big hug before she gorged herself on the black eggs and toast without a care in the world. Her table manners were less than elegant, so much that it slightly unnerved the other Magical Misfits, but no one bothered to say anything; they WERE dealing with Pinkie Pie, of course.

“Ugh…so, putting the discourteous display of table manners aside, Trixie assumes that the rest of you are prepared for whatever challenge is thrown at us today?” Trixie sniffed.

“I was born ready!” Scootaloo grinned, pumping her tiny hooves, “I live for the moment, baby! You can count on me to be ready for whatever we do today!”

Scootaloo: *grinning excitedly* Not to mention be ready for showing off for Rainbow Dash. Now that my team has the momentum, I’m gonna make Rainbow see just how awesome I am. In no time at all, she’s easily gonna fall for me. *she blinks, then quickly slaps a hoof over her mouth, embarrassed*

“Winning does leave a good taste in my mouth,” Rarity admitted, smiling and idly puffing her mane, “You can count on me to do my level best for today’s challenge, darlings.”

“Same goes with me,” Cheerilee smiled, “If we keep ourselves in high spirits and try our best, there’s no doubt we can go on a winning streak and take over this game…not that that’s what’s important here. What’s important is winning as a team and bonding together as friends.”

“I had a dream about muffins last night,” Derpy commented, “See, I was sleeping on a hill, and when the princess lifted the sun into the air, she lifted up a giant muffin instead! It had an oozing slab of butter dribbling down its edges and its heavenly smelled wafted through my nostrils and made my eyes start to roll out of my head! And then it began raining muffins…and soon I was buried in muffins…and then I woke up and found out that I had eaten my pillow.”

“Don’t you just HATE IT when that happens?” Pinkie asked, finishing off her large plate of black food and licking some crumbs off her chin, “I go through so many pillows that way; Gummy is always scolding me to not have those kinds of dreams, but it’s SOOOOO hard! My head just won’t listen to what I tell it to do! Isn’t that just frustrating?” She then twitched for a moment before opening her mouth and belching so loud that it sounded like Discord blaring on a trumpet. The loud burp sounded out through the mess hall and instantly caught the attention of each and every camper. When it was done six seconds later, Pinkie blushed and held a hoof to her mouth. “Tee-hee…excuse me.”

Trixie: Such vileness! Such scandalous behavior! How DISGUSTING can one get? Trixie is pulling at her beautiful mane each and every moment of every day that she spends on this wretched island; she has never had to deal with such incompetent and outrageous ponies in her entire LIFE. *she growls*

“Pardon me, but did an earthquake just pass by here?” Discord asked, teleporting into the mess hall and glancing at the two teams, “If so, the contract that I wrote all by myself requires me to see if all of you are alright and then possibly evacuate the area should the need arise.”

“Don’t worry…it was just Pinkie burping,” Twilight muttered, trying to hide her face from the giggling and bouncing pink pony sitting next to her, “No need to evacuate anypony…at least not right now.”

“Ah…well, good to know, since that would seriously hurt the ratings for the show,” Discord sighed in relief, “Losing even half of one episode is enough to turn viewers away, and we simply cannot have that! Sure, the show would probably survive just fine with just me and my handsome face taking up all the time, but…”

“Discord…shouldn’t ya’ll be tellin’ us about today’s challenge or somethin’ like that?” Applejack asked, having the mind to interrupt the egotistic draconequus before he got too far in to his speech to look back. Despite the fact that Discord looked disappointed that he didn’t get to finish his speech about how important he was, he took the hint and went into talking about how the day would unfold.

“Since our resident cowpony is impatient, I’ll explain what’s gonna happen today,” Discord said, “After you all finish up breakfast, meet down at the beach for me in two hours to fully explain what the challenge will be. I’m not gonna explain anything until then! How’s that for an explanation?” Snapping his fingers, he makes a bucket of water appear above Applejack’s head, but when he vanishes, the bucket of water instead floats over and drenches Celestia instead.

“I AM GETTING TIRED OF THIS!” Celestia screamed, spluttering indignantly as she wiped the water from her soaked eyes, “I AM PRINCESS CELESTIA; RULER OF EQUESTRIA! I DON’T CARE WHAT MY SIZE OR AGE IS, THE FACT REMAINS THAT…” However, at that moment, the bucket that had still been levitating in the air dropped down onto the enraged princess’ head, silencing her and once again prompting Luna to laugh her head off.

Luna: It looks like Princess Bucket-Head just got “Discorded” again! *she giggles insanely, then nervously glances around* I really hope she forgives my actions…but how could you NOT laugh at that?

“I dunno what our challenge is today, but it’ll be a cinch,” Rainbow Dash yawned, getting up from her team’s table and idly scratching her flanks with her hooves, “I think I’m gonna take a fly around the island; stretch out my wings, ya know? AJ, take care of my team in my absence, ‘kay?”

“Who died and made YOU leader?” Applejack frowned, but didn’t get a response as Rainbow Dash proudly held her head high as she marched towards the mess hall door.

“MMMMPH!” Celestia was yelping, thrashing around and trying to yank the bucket off her head, but her hooves weren’t cooperating.

“Oh…er, sorry ‘bout that, Princess,” Applejack gulped, quickly going over and assisting the mare in removing the bucket from her noggin. Meanwhile, as Rainbow Dash headed outside, Scootaloo grinned excitedly from the Magical Misfits’ table.

“Now’s my chance!” she whispered, “She’s all by herself, so nopony will get in my way! Okay, let’s do this!” She excused herself politely from her team’s table, then hurried out of the mess hall door after Rainbow Dash. Cheerilee, being the intelligent teacher she was, immediately realized what the little filly was trying to do and all she could do was sigh and shake her head.

Cheerilee: Poor Scootaloo…I guess she has to learn at a young age. Rainbow Dash is too old for her…I just know this is gonna end badly for her. Poor thing…you have to admire her dedication, though.

Just outside the mess hall’s doors, Rainbow Dash was flexing her wings, cracking her neck, stretching her front and back legs, and preparing for a nice flight around the skies of Camp Paradox. She failed to hear the door reopen and reclose behind her, not noticing the little filly admiring her from behind. Scootaloo’s tongue hung out her mouth as she observed Dash’s techniques to prepare for a flight. Rainbow Dash was so beautiful, so majestic, so amazing, and so very cool. Scootaloo loved her so very much; for her, Dash was the perfect mare, and she would do anything for the Pegasus.

“Um…Rainbow Dash?” Scootaloo squeaked out, weakly easing herself towards the blue Pegasus.

“Eh? Who’s that?” Rainbow Dash blinked, craning her neck around and spying the Cutie Mark Crusader moving towards her, “Ah, it’s you. Hey, squirt, what’s up? Come to give me a sendoff? Thanks, but I won’t be gone for more than ten minutes; I don’t plan on leaving this island until I win the gold, so you don’t need to worry ‘bout that.”

“Heh…that’s cool…but, um, that’s not why I’m here,” Scootaloo said, nervously looking down at the ground as her muzzle began to get a red tint to it, “I, um, was just wondering if…well, I was thinking that perhaps we could…um, you see…”

“Well, what is it? Out with it, Scoots!” Rainbow Dash sighed, tapping her front hoof impatiently, “I don’t have all day…well, I kinda do, but I don’t really want to waste it just standing here and not letting my wings do their business. What do you want?”

“R-r-right, s-s-sorry!” Scootaloo stammered, gulping and pawing a little hole in the ground out of her high level of nervousness, “I…just wanted to ask you…if maybe you would…um…go for a fly with me?”

“Uh…what?” Rainbow Dash blinked, raising an eyebrow as she observed the nervous filly, “Scoots…you can’t fly, did you forget that? Your wings are still too underdeveloped to taste the open skies like yours truly. As much as I’d like that…it’s kinda impossible.”

Scootaloo: *slapping herself in the face so hard that red hoof marks were appearing* Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid! Man, Scootaloo, you’re so STUPID! Do you even THINK before you talk?

“Oh…heh…right, I…kinda forgot about that…little detail,” Scootaloo laughed meekly, now digging a second hole with her other front hoof after the first one got too deep to continue, “But…um…how about…oh, I know! Rainbow Dash, would you…um…maybe want to go for a nice walk along the beach later tonight? We could…build a sandcastle together…and listen to the ocean’s waves gently crashing against our hooves…and maybe I could pack us a little late-night snack with the food my team won in that food-gathering challenge…which we could enjoy…together?”

“Uh…I repeat…what?” Rainbow Dash reiterated, still staring down at the little filly as though she had lost her mind, “Heh…Scoots…you’re acting kinda weird, you know? We’re on opposite teams, kiddo; if I’m seen with you, Applejack will really let me have it! Besides, a Pegasus of my caliber needs her beauty sleep to ensure maximum effort the next morning and day; I don’t have time to waste at nighttime down at the beach making sandcastles and listening to the water.”

“Oh…right…of course, how stupid of me to think such a thing…” Scootaloo smiled, somewhat sadly, “I’m sorry, Rainbow Dash…forget I said anything. You can go ahead with your flight now…sorry for keeping you.” The filly looked up at her idol and crush, who chuckled and turned away.

“It’s fine, squirt, no harm done,” Rainbow Dash said, once more flexing her wings as she glanced up into the sky, “Anyway, see ya later! I’m looking forward to kicking your team’s flank during today’s challenge!” With a laugh, the blue Pegasus began flapping her wings and soon took to the skies. Scootaloo sat on her haunches and watched her leave, her eyes never faltering from Rainbow’s body, and she continued to watch even after the Pegasus vanished onto the other side of the island.

Scootaloo: *taking a few deep breaths, trying to calm her aching and sputtering heart* Heh…yeah, what WAS I thinking? Asking Rainbow Dash to do something like that …was simply stupid. I’m such a foal; seriously, what was I thinking? *she hangs her head* But…I’m not gonna give up…not by a long shot!

“Where did YOU go?” Trixie questioned, narrowing her eyes as Scootaloo eventually forced herself to trudge back inside the mess hall to her team’s table, “We were discussing team-related stuff and we need the ENTIRE team here to do that!”

“Sorry…” Scootaloo muttered, and that was all that she would say. By the look on her face, Cheerilee just sighed and gently stroked the filly’s back; she knew right away what that expression meant. She had seen it many, many times in her lifetime. She even wore that same expression a few times during her own years as a filly.

“Trixie, we weren’t discussing ‘team-related stuff’ at all,” Twilight frowned, “We were talking about why YOU constantly keep annoying everypony and what we should do about it.”

“In that case, Trixie votes to have Twilight Sparkle traded to the other team,” Trixie smirked, “Trixie thinks that having that yellow Pegasus over here would do nicely instead. All in favor of this?” She put her hoof in the air, but no one else on her team joined her.

“First off, her name is Fluttershy,” Rarity said coolly, “Second, do not think we’re stupid. It’s obvious that you want to trade Twilight because you always butt heads with her and you believe that bringing over Fluttershy will stop some of the drama, since Fluttershy is…rather a quiet dear. I’m right, aren’t I?”

“No…Trixie is just tired of hearing Twilight Sparkle snore at night,” Trixie smirked.

Twilight: *groaning theatrically and looking up at the ceiling* Ugh...that Trixie…WHAT am I gonna do with her? Two nights ago in the woods, she seemed to show her good side, but… *her face turns a slight shade of pink at the memory of when she woke up* …why did my mind go straight to THAT?

Trixie: It is SO obvious that Twilight Sparkle is jealous of Trixie and considers her a HUGE threat; why else would she always be trying to get on Trixie’s last nerves? *she taps her chin and thinks about to the camping challenge two nights ago, and her face turns dark red* …she WILL pay for doing that!

“Ahright, team, listen up please,” Applejack said, addressing her team as they exited the mess hall a few minutes later, “We have two hours to relax and get ready before we meet Discord down at the beach. Ah want all of ya’ll to take it easy and make sure yer prepared for the worst, got it? We have no idea what Discord might throw at us, but gettin’ worked up into a tizzy over it won’t help none. If ya need anythin’, don’t be scared to come and ask yer good friend Applejack, ‘kay?” She tipped her hat and gave a polite grin to her team, all of whom returned the grin.

“We get it already, bossy girl,” Spike complained, “Can we go now? I have to go and check on rare…um, my rare bird…it’s usually out at this time of the morning, and it really requires my utmost and undivided attention as soon as possible.”

“Um…dear Spike, what is this ‘rare bird’ that you speak of?” Luna asked, looking at Spike curiously.

“Oh, it’s a rare species of bird that only Spike is allowed to view!” Fluttershy spoke up, not noticing the flustered look on Spike’s face, “I tried to see it the other day, but he warned me that it would only let HIM view it. The poor thing must be very, very shy and must only like baby dragons…I’ve never heard of such a bird! Doesn’t it just sound intriguing?”

“Yes…it most certainly does…” Applejack smirked, narrowing her eyes down at Spike. The baby dragon and the cowpony exchanged knowing looks, and Spike could tell that Applejack was no dummy. At the moment, he was wishing he had kept his big mouth shut.

Spike: *biting his claws and looking around in a panic* This is bad…if Applejack sees me spying on Rarity, she’ll kill me! That or she’ll tell Rarity, and SHE’LL kill me. That or she’ll tell my team, who will laugh at me, and then FLUTTERSHY will kill me for lying to her about a new breed of rare bird. Aw, man, WHY does this always happen to me? It’s not fair! *he whines* Rarity needs my undivided attention!

“Silver Spoon, would you do me the honors of joining me in a walk?” Zecora asked, smiling down at the filly when the Royal Ruffians eventually disbanded for the morning, “I would be very interested in having you at my side for a one-on-one talk.”

“Oh! Well, sure, I’m fine with that,” Silver Spoon squeaked, still new at others being so nice to her. With a little nod, Zecora turned around and started to nonchalantly trot along the campgrounds, heading towards the forest, Silver Spoon right at her side.

“Tell me, young Silver Spoon, what is it you seek from this game?” Zecora asked, “Despite the anointed prize at the end, no two campers’ desires are surely the same. We all are here for one reason or another, this much is true; I am here to gain experience in something that is new. Discord has said that we can quit at any time, should we choose, but I’m learning more and more as I stay on this island, even when fate gives challenges that our team will lose.”

“What do I seek?” Silver Spoon repeated, glancing down at the ground in thought as she idly walked alongside the zebra, “Hmm…well, I suppose that I seek…um…well, I suppose that I want…uh…” She went silent, and for a long time, the two Royal Ruffians walked through the forest in silence. Zecora glanced down at the thoughtful Silver Spoon now and then, smiling and just keeping silent, while Silver Spoon herself pondered just what it was she wanted to get out of this game.

Silver Spoon: I didn’t really know how to answer Zecora’s question. Now that I stop to think about it…I really don’t know. What IS my purpose in this game? I don’t really need that money…money won’t make me any happier than I am during my daily life. Um…maybe…to make friends? Could that be it?

“Zecora, I…I know that I’m probably not gonna win this,” Silver Spoon concluded, coming to a stop in the middle of the forest path as she glanced up at the zebra, “I mean, I’m dealing with the six elements of harmony, the two princesses of our world, and a lot of other great ponies…and you and Spike! So, the changes of a city girl like me possibly winning…like, it’s seriously not gonna happen.”

“You should not count yourself out before your cards are played,” Zecora advised, “Sometimes, one’s fate in the game of life can quite possibly be delayed.”

“Um…if that’s your way of saying that I shouldn’t quit…don’t worry, I’m not gonna do that,” Silver Spoon reassured Zecora, “I’m gonna go as far as I can and compete as hard as I can, don’t worry about that. I’m just saying that…well…I know I probably won’t win.”

“If that is indeed the case, then I wish the best for you, my dear Silver Spoon,” Zecora said, “Although I do wish that the day you leave this island does not come soon. There are…others…on our team, whose names I will keep hidden…that I would much prefer to leave over you; to them, I would say good riddance.” In her mind, she pictured the smug Rainbow Dash, who really riled her up.

“It’s just nice to know that you’ll be my…my friend…Zecora,” Silver Spoon sighed, shyly adjusting her glasses as she hugged the zebra. Due to the hug, Zecora’s angry image of Rainbow Dash was burned from her mind, and she smiled while returning the hug to the filly. The two girls hugged each other for a long time in the forest, so long that they began to lose track of the time. However, at that moment, all the two cared about was being in the other’s company.

Zecora: It is rather nice to be around that little Silver Spoon; she is honestly not much different than my friend Apple Bloom. *the hint of a blush plays at her muzzle as she thinks about the two fillies* Hmm…the future of Equestria…as it is…is quite bright. With these young ones…I know we will be alright.

Two hours later, the Magical Misfits and the Royal Ruffians met down at the beach. However, Zecora and Silver Spoon were both still missing; they had continued their walk in the forest, chatting about random things and learning more about one another, and thus had completely lost track of time. However, Discord didn’t really care, so he went on with his explanation without them, much to the chagrin of the rest of the Royal Ruffians.

“So, here’s today’s challenge,” the draconequus explained, pointing to eight nearby canoes, “Each team will partner up with one of their teammates and row a canoe over to Dusk Island, which is half a mile due north of his beach. Once there, both teams must tote their canoes and oars and carry them around Dusk Island for a full lap without leaving any pieces behind. After that, both teams will play the role of castaways and must build a rescue fire using whatever means they can find. Once your rescue fire reaches a height of 10 feet, you can proceed to the final part of the challenge. The final part is where you must get all four of your team’s canoes back to Camp Paradox before the other team does. During this return trip, at least ONE teammate must be riding in each canoe or you’ll have to go back and do it again. The first team back to Camp Paradox after doing all that will win immunity and be safe from the vote tonight. Are there any questions?”

“Yeah…what in the world does this challenge have to do with anything camp-related?” Spike asked.

“It doesn’t…I just like seeing you all go crazy for no reason,” Discord smirked, putting his hands on his hips and winking down at the annoyed campers, “Oh, and I forgot to mention one thing. Whatever you do, do NOT take anything you find off Dusk Island. The island is known to be cursed…or something. So, if you take something off the island, you’ll be cursed forever!”

“FOR…EVER!” Pinkie snarled, standing on her hind legs and gritting her teeth like a monster.

“…would you PLEASE stop doing that?” Discord grumbled, “You’re scaring my viewers!”

Pinkie: *pushing her face right into the camera so none of the confessional could be seen, save for Pinkie’s eyeballs and her nose* Am I scaring all of you? Aww, why so serious? Pinkie is not trying to scare you! Ooh, I know, how about I sing you all a song? *thankfully, the camera goes off a second later*

“Discord…we have one player less than the Ruffians…what do we do about the canoes?” Twilight asked, making it known that they had an uneven number of players.

“Hmm…oh, I don’t know, Twilight…what do YOU think?” Discord mocked, appearing behind the unicorn and giving her a creepy hug, “Maybe…one of your teammates will just have to ride alone? Yeah…that seems quite logical…don’t you agree?”

“…I fear that you don’t know the meaning of ‘personal space’, Discord,” Twilight gulped, squirming and trying to pull out of Discord’s chilling grasp.

Discord: *wearing his fake reading glasses while reading a dictionary* Personal space is the region surrounding a person which they regard as psychologically theirs. Most people value their personal space and feel discomfort, anger, or anxiety when their personal space is encroached. *he closes the book* See, Twilight? I totally know the meaning of “personal space”…I just don’t care for it. *he smirks*

“Okay…I’ll pair up with Scootaloo,” Cheerilee said, smiling down at the little filly, “Derpy, why don’t you and Pinkie team up? Twilight…maybe you should pair up with Rarity; that will give Trixie the solitude that I think she wishes to have.”

“Sounds good to me…you alright with that, Trixie?” Twilight asked, glancing over at the blue unicorn.

“Humph…Trixie agrees with what Cheerilee said,” Trixie sniffed, turning and trotting towards a canoe, “Try to keep up with Trixie; she knows how to row a canoe.” The rest of the team rolled their eyes at the unicorn’s usual display of arrogance and egotism, but didn’t bother to scold her for it; there simply was no point in doing so, since it made no difference.

“I’ll pair up with AJ, okay?” Rainbow Dash smiled, patting the cowpony on the back, “Princess Celestia and Princess Luna should obviously pair up, and so should Spike and Fluttershy…and that’ll leave Zecora and Silver Spoon to be a team as well, whenever they get back. You all cool with that?”

“Sure, just do as ah say and don’t try to do too much, Dash,” Applejack warned.

“This’ll be quite fun,” Luna smiled, “I’ve never had to row a canoe before…this should be rewarding!”

“Oh, yes, I’m fine with Spike…he’s a nice boy,” Fluttershy said, giving Spike a caring pat on the head.

“Sweet! Okay, Royal Ruffians, let’s kick some flank!” Rainbow Dash grinned, pumping her hoof in the air, “LET’S DO THIS!” The brash Pegasus eagerly flew towards her canoe as fast as she could, while the rest of her team followed in step, although not exactly with the same amount of enthusiasm. Thankfully, Zecora and Silver Spoon both made it back just as both teams just began entering the water with their small boats.

“Discord! What did we miss?” Silver Spoon gasped, completely out of breath from having to run all the way back to camp. The draconequus glanced down at the twosome, then shrugged and just pointed towards the only remaining canoe. Figuring that they should just team up and row along with their team and the rest would probably be explained, Zecora and Silver Spoon raced over to the only canoe remaining and got in.

“And the race is on!” Discord laughed, clapping his paws with glee as he watched all eight canoes head out across the ocean towards Dusk Island, “Have fun, campers! I’ll see you on the other side!”

“HEY, DISCORD!” Nightmare Moon screamed, stomping up behind the host, “Why the heck do I get stuck cleaning out the latrines and the mess hall all the time? This is capital punishment and I’m not standing for this! We have campers for this stuff!” Discord turned to look at the ebony alicorn, seeing that she was wearing a cute maid’s outfit and carrying a basket of cleaning supplies on her back.

“Yes…but none of them would look as attractive as you do in that outfit,” Discord smirked, playfully tickling the alicorn under the chin with one of his clawed fingers.

“…you’d best sleep with one eye open…since the other one might just be gouged out,” Nightmare Moon snarled, swirling her horn dangerously in front of the draconequus as she teleported away. Discord just snickered and shook his head before teleporting away himself to Dusk Island to await the campers.

Twilight: Now, rowing a canoe is like…writing a letter to Princess Celestia! You have to move your arms very carefully and with the flow so that the canoe moves elegantly, yet forcefully enough to continue moving towards its destination. When I write a letter, I have to write each and every letter perfectly so that my message comes across as brilliantly as possible to Princess Celestia! *she squeals*

Rainbow Dash: Eh, rowing a canoe is boring and is too much work. I’m just gonna let Applejack do most of it; she doesn’t seem to mind anyway. I mean…aside from the constant dirty looks, the angry berating, the threats, and this lump on my head that she gave me after slamming her oar on it…she’s more than willing to do all the work for me. Boats are meant to be slept in. *she grins weakly*

“Ah, I must say, darling, this is beyond fabulous!” Rarity purred, laying back in her canoe as she closed her eyes, “We simply MUST do this again…it’s so very relaxing; listening to the rippling water gently striking the sides of this vessel, letting the sunrays wash over my DAZZLING body…”

“While I do all the work and you do absolutely nothing,” Twilight grumbled, working both sets of oars as she was already working up a huge sweat. As always, Rarity didn’t seem to hear Twilight; she was much too busy fantasizing about how beautiful she was and how relaxing it was in the canoe.

“Um…Miss Cheerilee?” Scootaloo said, her voice meek and slightly nervous, “Can I…ask you something? Feel free to say no, but…”

“You may ask me whatever you desire, Scootaloo,” Cheerilee smiled, glancing down at her student as the two rowed their canoe in perfect harmony, “What is it that you want to say?”

“Er…well, say that there’s this…pony…who likes this other pony…but she’s kinda older…and WAY out of the second pony’s league,” Scootaloo gulped, “But, the first pony REALLY likes her…so, um, what could she do to try and make it known…um, you know, without making a complete foal of herself?”

Cheerilee: *shaking her head a bit, despite wearing a sad smile* Oh dear…I figured it would be this…poor little Scootaloo…but, I am her friend first and her teacher second, so…I had a duty to perform.

“Well…you see, Scootaloo...love is a very mysterious and unusual thing,” Cheerilee said, resting a hoof on the filly’s head as she spoke, staring right into her eyes so that each word would go right to the little filly’s heart, “It doesn’t matter who or what you are, or what age or gender you are. When your heart yearns for something…or somepony…it begins to burn and burn until it becomes an inferno of passion that just needs to be released. Hiding such feelings…will never work. Yes, it’s possible to be hurt in love, and more often than not you will be…but, that is the mystery of life itself. Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose, but the thing is to never stop trying.”

“Miss Cheerilee…” Scootaloo whispered, smiling weakly up at her teacher as her little wings fluttered slightly in excitement.

“I cannot tell you…what to tell this other pony…since love is something that cannot be explained,” Cheerilee continued, “You cannot be told how to work it…you cannot read how to do it…and you cannot ask how it’s done. It’s something that you need to figure out for yourself, no matter what. The heart is the strongest part of a pony’s body, and it will lead its owner on the right path when the time is right. As long as you always listen to your heart, then love will always find its way in.”

“M-M-Miss Cheerilee…” Scootaloo sobbed, her wings fluttering even faster after her teacher finished her speech, “…thank you…um, that was very…insightful. Not that I wanted to know about love myself or anything…I mean, sheez, love is GROSS!” The filly made a hacking sound and quickly turned away to go back to her rowing, trying to hide her blush and trying hard to not look in Rainbow Dash’s direction. All the while, Cheerilee just gave a warm smile and didn’t say another word while she continued to row, too.

“So, Derpy…why do you like muffins so much?” Pinkie asked, her usual hyper personality easily being enough to row the boat with maximum fervor.

“I dunno…why do YOU like cupcakes so much?” Derpy asked back, using her oar upside down as she was hardly rowing her boat at all.

“I dunno…because they’re so super-duper good?” Pinkie guessed.

“Sounds good to me!” Derpy giggled, “Hurray for muffins and cupcakes!”

Pinkie: Derpy totally gets me; she’s such a wonderful friend! I don’t know why all the other ponies seem to look at her like she’s a vamp-pony or something…maybe it’s her mane? *she tilts her head*

Over in her own canoe, Trixie was using both of her oars to perfection, rowing beautifully in sync and shockingly leading all the other canoes on the trip to Dusk Island. She never seemed to tire and she never seemed to get distracted, despite the fact her eyes darted towards Twilight and Rarity now and then. The show-mare was determined to prove her worth and show her team just how valuable she was, whereas certain others were not.

Trixie: During a few of Trixie’s shows, she had to barrow a boat and row across a few lakes and rivers to get to the town on the other side. She didn’t appreciate doing all the work herself, but since she didn’t have the bits to hire a rower, she was forced to always do it herself. Eventually, she got used to doing things herself, and now the fruits of her labor are finally paying off. *she smirks in delight*

“I can’t help but think that I’m doing this all wrong…” Celestia muttered, rowing her canoe with a very awkward motion, “This…doesn’t even FEEL right…ugh, sister, please remind me to study more about the outdoors when we return home.”

“Of course, sister, as you wish,” Luna responded, who was doing no better at her own rowing duties, “I feel like I’m missing something here…but I cannot ponder what it could possibly be.” The two sisters shrugged and kept rowing, not knowing that they were technically both rowing in opposite directions and were hardly getting anywhere at all.

“Now, Spike, remember that using an oar is like stroking a bunny,” Fluttershy smiled, using a fluid motion with her oar as she dragged it along in the water, “You don’t need lots of powerful moves as long as you use soft and meaningful ones…um, are you listening to me?” She noticed that Spike wasn’t rowing at all; he was too busy staring at something through his binoculars again. When Fluttershy went to go look at what Spike was gawking at, the dragon quickly looked up and shook his head.

“I saw my rare bird again, Fluttershy…it’s vitally, crucially important that I observe it,” he said simply, “So, if you could, please continue the rowing duties while I observe this miracle of nature.”

“Oh, um, of course…please go right ahead then…I won’t look at all,” Fluttershy squeaked, keeping up her rowing and not looking in the direction that Spike was gazing.

“Ooh yeah…that’s a good bird…” Spike whispered, his tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth as he zoomed in with his binoculars, “Yeah…you dangle that beautiful hoof in the water like you just don’t care…yeah, you bat that pretty mane in the air as the passing breeze blows it into a beautiful pattern…”

Fluttershy: I can’t put on my hoof on it, but…something about Spike’s rare bird watching strikes me as…um…suspicious? Oh, no, please don’t think that I’m a bad pony…I’m not, really! I trust Spike fully! But…um…it’s just…the way he always seems to be looking at this…bird…makes me kinda…um…uneasy?

“Using an oar is as simple as can be,” Zecora smiled, having kindly volunteered to be both rowers on hers and Silver Spoon’s canoe, “You become one with the boat, and one with the water, you see?”

“Um…yeah…if you say so, Zecora,” Silver Spoon, just sitting back and watching the zebra work.

Silver Spoon: One with the water? One with the boat? I don’t mean to question Zecora, but…what in all of Equestria is that girl talking about? *she removes her glasses and sighs, seemingly exasperated*

“Are we there yet?” Rainbow Dash asked, not looking up from her lazy position on her canoe, her forelegs behind her head and her hind legs propped up on one another as she kept her eyes closed, “You’ll let me know when we get there, right, AJ?”

“Oh, ah’ll let ya know when we’re there ahright, Rainbow Dash,” Applejack growled, her anger fueling her rowing power, “So, are ya’ll ready for another bashin’ over the head?”

“No…I still have the bump from the last time you hit me…I think I’ll pass,” Dash muttered, turning around and idly waving her hoof in Applejack’s direction, “Just keep it up; you’re doing perfect. Don’t think about hurting me, since that’ll deduct from you rowing us to shore.”

“Ya know, Dash…sometimes, yer just plain unbearable and ya make a pony want to do things she really shouldn’t even think about doin’…” Applejack warned, her voice dripping with venom. In response, Rainbow Dash let out a loud, fake snore and flicked her tail in the cowpony’s direction.

Applejack: *angrily throwing down her hat* That tears it! Rainbow Dash’s laziness has got to stop! Ah tried and tried to reason with her, but it just ain’t doin’ no good! *she grins evilly and cracks her hooves together* Some tough lovin’ is sure to do the trick…ah hate to do it, but she’s asked fer it.

Trixie ended up reaching Dusk Island first, even though she immediately wished she hadn’t. The island was shaped in the form of a pony’s skull, complete with a large, jagged mountain right in the middle of the island that seemed to stretch into the darkened clouds above and go off into outer space. The beach was dirty and littered with rotted pieces of driftwood and dead fish, the forest was dark and foreboding, and the entire place smelled of rotting pony flesh. Clearly, it was not a place for the weak of heart.

“This place…is not for Trixie…Trixie thinks she’ll be going now,” Trixie gulped, quickly turning around to get back into her canoe, but yelped as she immediately smacked her head right into Twilight’s. The purple unicorn had just rowed ashore a moment ago with Rarity and hadn’t bothered to call out to Trixie. Naturally, both mares ended up collapsing a moment later, much to Rarity’s chagrin.

“You both are more hard-headed than a brick wall,” the fashion pony sniffed, glancing down at the filthy beach and shuttering, “And…this…this island…this is NOT meant for ponies such as myself! I cannot go on like this! Somepony, please do something!”

When Pinkie, Derpy, Cheerilee and Scootaloo eventually arrived, Rarity begged the foursome to please carry her so that she wouldn’t get any of the island’s foulness on her. The four ponies looked at one another, then looked at their four canoes. Discord had said that they had to carry them around the entire island for one lap anyway, so they put a plan together on how to do just that while at the same time accommodating Rarity and her “needs”.

After waking up Twilight and Trixie (both mares screamed at one another for a moment before turning back to the task at hand), Cheerilee explained their plan to them, and both unicorns agreed that it was a good idea. Without the use of magic, Derpy used her wings to pick each canoe up and set them on the backs of her teammates, who had all stood in a horizontal line to make their plan work. Derpy then stacked the other three canoes on top of the one that was now on their backs, making the total weight very heavy, but still manageable. When all four canoes were stacked, Rarity leaped up onto the top one and sat down, leaving Cheerilee, Pinkie, Trixie and Twilight to tote all the canoes plus the white unicorn. Scootaloo was too small to really help, while Derpy managed to squeeze herself in a moment later.

“This is MUCH better!” Rarity purred, relaxing on the top canoe, “You all are free to go on the lap now.”

“Gee, THANKS Rarity; so glad we got your approval,” Twilight muttered, before nodding to her teammates and slowly beginning to march in a slow fashion to make sure that the canoes didn’t tip over. It forced the ponies to trot in step with each other, and it was no easy task with the ditzy Derpy and the bouncy Pinkie, but they seemed to be managing.

Rarity: What? You COULDN’T have expected me to walk through that WRETCHED island with my perfect hooves and chance them getting nicked or dirty, did you? Don’t be absurd!

“WE’RE HERE!” Applejack yelled out, purposely running her canoe ashore with a lot of force. She smirked as Rainbow Dash was sent flying out of the boat and crashed headfirst into the sand. The force of the throw was so powerful that Rainbow Dash sank down a good foot or two, leaving her butt sticking up in the air and her hind legs kicking like crazy as she tried to pull herself out. Applejack just snickered as she ignored the Pegasus and waited for the rest of her team to arrive.

Spike and Fluttershy showed up next, followed by Zecora and Silver Spoon. Celestia and Luna were the last ones to arrive, due to them still not realizing that they had been rowing in completely the wrong way. Rainbow Dash had eventually realized that she still had her wings, so she used them to fly backwards out of her hole and land softly on the grimy beach a moment later. She had a dead fish lodged into her mouth, which she quickly spat out upon realizing just what it was.

“UGH! AJ, what gives?” Rainbow Dash complained, “Why didn’t you help me out?”

“Hey, ya’ll have wings…besides, yer so awesome and all, you can do whatever ya want without mah help,” Applejack sniffed, turning away from the Pegasus as she addressed her team, “Ahright, as fer the rest of ya’ll, we need to get movin’ before the other team gets too far ahead. Princesses, do ya’ll think ya each can carry one of the canoes while usin’ yer wings to fly?”

“I fear that…in this body…my strength is limited,” Celestia sighed, “Perhaps Fluttershy and I can carry one together, while my sister carries the second and Rainbow Dash carries the third?”

“Why do I have to carry one of them?” Rainbow Dash whined.

“Sounds good to me!” Applejack grinned, ignoring Dash, “And ah’ll carry the last one all by mahself, since laziness gets ya’ll NOWHERE in this game. Fluttershy, Luna, can ah count on ya both to help Princess Celestia with those canoes?”

“Leave it to us, fair Applejack,” Luna smiled, stretching her wings and grunting as she managed to heft one of the canoes into her hooves, “Ugh…this is heavier than it looks…but, I can think I can carry it.” Then, with the combined effort of Fluttershy and Celestia, the two girls managed to lift one of the other three canoes, too. This left just two more, one of which Applejack immediately bucked onto her back and easily lifted it up. Everyone then stared at Rainbow Dash and waited for her to get the last one.

“Ugh…oh, fine, whatever,” Rainbow Dash grumbled, flapping down from the air and managing to scope up the last canoe with relative ease. With a satisfied grin, Applejack gave a little nod and turned back to the rest of the team.

“Silver Spoon, Spike and Zecora? Ya’ll just follow us along and help out when needed, okay?” she said. The filly, dragon and zebra all nodded, rather relieved that they didn’t have to carry the heavy canoes. Finally, the Royal Ruffians began following after the Magical Misfits on the lap around the island.

Celestia: Manual labor doesn’t really work with my hooves; I usually have my servants do things like this for me. I’m surprised they haven’t complained earlier; this stuff is hard! *she taps her chin* Oh, wait a second…I do seem to recall somepony complaining at one point…what did I do to him again?

The journey around the island was mostly perfect for the Magical Misfits. Despite Trixie’s constant complaining about how her back was killing her from carrying the four canoes and Rarity, Cheerilee and Pinkie’s earth pony strength were enough to keep the group going just fine; deep down, the small Twilight was also hurting, but unlike Trixie, she didn’t complain. Derpy didn’t seem to mind one way or the other; she was too busy watching BOTH sides of the path with her walleyed expression. Scootaloo was deep in thought and kept looking down at the ground as she walked.

With the Royal Ruffians, things weren’t going as smoothly. Not only were they playing from behind, due to Zecora and Silver Spoon’s early-game absence, Celestia and Luna’s poor rowing skills, and Rainbow Dash’s laziness, but they also were running into some problems along the messy island trail. Twice, Fluttershy got tangled up in some low-hanging vines, causing her to freak out and very nearly drop her portion of the canoe that she was sharing carrying duties with Celestia. Then, Rainbow Dash began to get bored and nearly fell asleep in the air, which made her droop her canoe and had it almost take Applejack’s head off. Finally, the group was forced to stop after hearing Silver Spoon’s loud shriek.

“Whoa! What is it?” Applejack yelped, stopping in her tracks and whipping her head around. At first, she groaned when she saw that Silver Spoon was seemingly just stuck in some mud. However, before the cowpony could scold the filly for being too prissy to worry about a little mud, she noticed the small girl beginning to be pulled down inside of the giant puddle of mud. She realized that it was quicksand.

“Dash! Quick, help her!” Luna gasped, “Our hooves are kinda full and we can’t drop our canoes; we’re already too far behind!”

“Hey, MY hooves are full, too!” Dash gulped, “Spike, YOU rescue her!”

“On it!” Spike declared, racing to the edge of the quicksand and trying to stretch out his arm towards Silver Spoon, but upon discovering that Silver Spoon had been sucked a bit further in than his tiny arms would reach, he knew he had to do something else. Thinking quickly, Spike ran over to the nearest tree and used his claws to slice off one of the lengthy vines that had been growing on the trunk. The little dragon then used it as a lasso and swung it out towards Silver Spoon. The frantic filly managed to perfectly catch it in her mouth.

“Nice throw, Spike!” Applejack commented, grinning in delight. The entire relieved team watched as Spike tugged Silver Spoon to the edge of the quicksand with the vine before reaching in and pulling her out just before her head could start to sink down under the powerful muddy sand. As soon as she was out, she jumped into Spike’s arms and shuddered.

“T-t-thank you…t-t-that was so scary…” she whimpered, “The feeling of it p-p-pulling me under…and the thought of n-n-never getting back out…it was horrifying.”

“Heh…well, no worries; as long as I’m here, no lady will ever be put in danger,” Spike smiled, cradling the shaking filly in his arms as he brushed some of the wet sand off her body. Zecora was silent as she watched nearby, but she couldn’t have looked happier, for some reason.

Zecora: And the fates make another move in this game of life. A test of friendship and love always comes when one’s heart is full of strife. As she feels the caring actions of those around her, young Silver Spoon’s troubled past soon will become but a painful blur. *she closes her eyes and meditates*

Thanks to yet another detour by the Royal Ruffians, they lost even more time on their lap around the island. By the time they completed their cycle, they groaned when they saw the Magical Misfits already having gathered a large pile of dry driftwood and were trying to start a rescue fire. Knowing they had to work fast, the Ruffians dropped their canoes in the sand and began to gather wood to build their own fire. They all searched around the same beach as before, trying to use whatever they could find to build a sturdy fireplace that would accumulate into a large bonfire. It was at this time that Zecora found something that immediately interested her.

“Hello, what is this I spy?” Zecora whispered, having glanced behind a beached boulder and seeing a tiny wooden doll lying on the ground halfway underneath it, “A little doll that refused to die? Ah, how very nice, an artifact I have found! I will take this home where it will be safe and sound!” No one else noticed the zebra remove the little doll from under the boulder and insert it into her canoe for safekeeping.

“Okay, good, I think we have enough wood,” Twilight commented, “Now, to start a fire. If I could use my magic, this would be easy, but…” She was cut off when a small stream of black smoke invaded the Misfits’ space. The team looked and was shocked to find that the Ruffians had somehow taken the lead, as they already started a fire and were now desperately trying to add more wood to it so that it would grow only larger.

“How on Equestria did they do that?” Trixie demanded, “We were so far ahead of them!” In response, Spike grinned and waved over to the team.

“Hey, Twi, did you forget that I’m a fire-breathing dragon?” the little dragon smirked, winking over at the Misfits, “I’m sure you get what I’m trying to say.”

“Yes, Spike, we do…” Twilight grumbled, now feeling kinda stupid, “Great, girls, now we’re behind…what are we gonna do?”

“We are gonna not give up, of course!” Trixie scoffed, holding up two black rocks and striking them together with her hooves, “Trixie just found some flint, so you just have to strike them together a few times, and soon enough you’ll…” She squeaked as a spark was eventually ignited and the Misfits’ fire blazed into action a moment later. Since Trixie had been sitting so close to the pile of wood, she very nearly caught on fire herself. The unicorn ended up leaping backwards in shock, which resulted in her crashing into Twilight. The two mares collapsed on top of each other a moment later.

“…we seriously MUST stop meeting each other this way, Twilight Sparkle,” Trixie growled, lying pressed down on the ground with Twilight on top of her, their faces all but pressed together, “No, really, we really need to stop this…Trixie is eventually gonna snap and do something you might regret.”

“We’ll see who does something regretful…” Twilight growled back. The purple unicorn stayed atop the blue unicorn for a few moments longer, just glaring down into her angry face while the azure pony returned the favor. Their faces remained only a few inches apart while their bodies were pressed against one another. Twilight’s hooves were on the side of Trixie’s face while Trixie’s were down at her sides, putting her into the typical trapped position. The longer the two mares stayed in that position, the faster their faces began to turn red.

Twilight: *her arms crossed as she sits there, her muzzle continuing to grow redder by the second* Why couldn’t I move off Trixie? It was like my legs turned into mush and my hooves were frozen in ice. The more I glared down into Trixie’s violet eyes…ugh, that mare…she drives me crazy!

Trixie: *growling and pacing back and forth in front of the camera, her muzzle a dark red* Why didn’t Twilight Sparkle get off Trixie sooner? Didn’t she know that Trixie would destroy her otherwise? The longer that…she pinned Trixie down…and pressed her body to hers…ugh, that mare! She WILL pay!

“…you can get off Trixie now,” Trixie eventually spoke, barely speaking above a whisper.

“Oh…right, of course,” Twilight mumbled, moving away just as quickly as she had fallen on top of the show-mare. Once the two unicorns were firmly off one another, they glared at one another for a second before quickly turning back to their team. Thankfully, none of them had seen the close encounter; they were all busy focusing on what Derpy had made.

“Look at this, look at this!” Derpy giggled, holding up what looked like a ball of tree sap, “While you all were busy putting all that wood in a big pile and then making big flames appear, I was making this!”

“Yes, we noticed that you weren’t helping us…what IS that?” Trixie asked, looking at the strange ball in Derpy’s hooves curiously. It was about as big as Derpy’s head, and looked to have twigs and rocks and other things sticking out of it. It was colored a dark yellow and looked very sticky.

“It’s my derp ball!” Derpy squealed, bouncing it up and down with her head, “I just made it for no logical reason using a lot of tree sap I managed to get out of that dead tree over there, and combined it with a lot of dead twigs, some strange-looking yellow moss, some sand, and some tall grass growing alongside that quicksand we passed a little while back. Isn’t it totally awesome?”

“…I think I can see why it’s called…a ‘derp’ ball,” Rarity sniffed, still resting in the canoes this entire time and not having helped at all with the fire process. Derpy continued to laugh and bounce the strange ball up and down on her head, as though it was a volleyball, while Twilight grumbled and continued to work on building up her team’s fire. Unfortunately for Twilight, Derpy wasn’t very good at coordination, so when she lost control of her derp ball, it was probably quite stupid on the Magical Misfits’ part that they didn’t see it coming.

Derpy’s ball ended up bouncing off her forehead and ricocheting backwards off her tail and sailing straight into her team’s makeshift fireplace. As soon as the derp ball touched the weak flames, the fire exploded into a mini fiery mushroom cloud. Since Twilight had been attempting to throw in some more driftwood at that very moment, she had been incredibly close to the giant bonfire. When Derpy’s derp ball ignited the fire into an explosion, Twilight was caught in the crossfire and was sent sailing through the air, the front of her body already charred and smoking.

“TWILIGHT SPARKLE!” Trixie gasped, noticing that Twilight was hurtling straight towards some jagged rocks near Dusk Island’s craggy shore. Immediately, Trixie took off running as hard as she could after the flying Twilight Sparkle, a look of fear in her eyes. Without magic, a unicorn was as good as a sitting duck if something dangerous should happen; Trixie could envision Twilight being impaled on one of those jagged rocks and the thought horrified her.

Putting her hooves into overdrive, Trixie continued to race after Twilight as she finally began descending straight towards her impending doom below. However, just before Twilight was impaled, Trixie leaped into the air and tackled the unicorn out of the way, both of them landing roughly in the grimy sand below. This time, Trixie was the one on top with the twitching Twilight underneath. Save for the entire front of her body charred black and half of her mane and tail being burned to a crisp, Twilight was alive and well. As she coughed out some smog, her eyes managed to weakly focus on the azure mare.

“T-Trixie?” she choked out, a weak smile breaking out across her blackened face, “You…you saved me.”

“Humph…Trixie was…just returning the favor,” Trixie said calmly, “Twilight Sparkle saved Trixie from some jagged rocks back at camp during the food-gathering challenge…Trixie saved Twilight from some jagged rocks here at Dusk Island during our fire exploding. Trixie is no longer indebted to Twilight Sparkle, which was the only reason why she saved her.”

“Heh…whatever you say…Trixie…” Twilight moaned, slowly leaning her head to the side as she closed her eyes, “…thank you…Trixie.” Those were her final words before the purple unicorn fainted from the exhaustion and pain that her body was feeling. Trixie continued to stare down at the unicorn for a few moments longer as the rest of the team hurried over to check on the two.

“Trixie! Is Twilight alright?” Cheerilee gasped, “Please tell me that she’s okay!”

“Oh, this is HORRIBLE!” Rarity cried, “Derpy, what in the WORLD were you thinking?”

“Um…I don’t think I was!” Derpy smiled, “I rarely think at all!”

“Say, Rarity…I thought you didn’t want to walk on the sand,” Scootaloo pointed out.

“Um…well, desperate times call for desperate measures…and Twilight is more important than my beauty, so…let’s not mention that, shall we?” Rarity smiled, trying to hide her embarrassment. At that moment, however, Discord appeared above the heads of both teams on the beach as he admired the raging bonfire that Derpy had just created.

“That’s easily 10 feet!” he laughed, “Well done, Derpy! Now that you completed that task, your team is free to hurry back to camp before the others. Royal Ruffians, you must keep going until your fire reaches 10 feet, got it?”

“Discord, Twilight requires medical attention at once!” Rarity snapped, glaring up at the draconequus, “Just look at her mane and her tail! Oh, and her coat is in shambles! Plus, I think her burn marks might be quite severe, too.”

“Ugh…you ponies are a pain, you know that?” Discord grumbled, reaching down and scooping Twilight out from underneath Trixie, “Sorry, Trix, but I need you snuggle-toy. As bothersome as this is, I must concur that dear Twilight needs some medical attention…anything happening to her would result in a very deep drop in the ratings, since she’s a fan favorite.”

“W-W-W-WHAT?!?!” Trixie shrieked, her face turning crimson as she snarled up at Discord, “THAT UNTALENTED LITTLE UNICORN IS NOT TRIXIE’S SNUGGLE-TOY OR ANYTHING OF THE SORT! IF ANYTHING, SHE IS MORE OF TRIXIE’S PUNCHING BAG!”

“Uh-huh…and Pinkie doesn’t love breaking the fourth wall,” Discord countered.

“What’s the fourth wall?” Pinkie asked, looking right into the nearest camera and tilting her head. With a snicker, Discord just rolled his eyes before propping the limp body of Twilight over his shoulder and teleporting back to Camp Paradox. Trixie remained hot under the collar while the rest of the team quickly began getting their canoes out into the water to make their return trip back to the other island.

Derpy: I think I derped it up again…I hope Twilight isn’t too mad. But, she totally looked like a baked muffin! Do you think she would’ve tasted good like that? *she licks her lips excitedly*

“Aw, man, they’re ahead of us!” Rainbow Dash groaned, “Quick, we need to get this fire raging just as big as theirs! Somepony do something!” Desperately trying to not fall out of the race, the rest of the Royal Ruffians quickly began grabbing whatever they could find to try and get their fire juiced up. Spike ended up grabbing an armload of what he thought were large branches, but as he threw the entire load into the fire, he instantly realized he had done the wrong thing.

“SPIKE, YOU DUMMY!” Applejack yelled, slapping the dragon across the head, “YA’LL JUST THREW ALL OUR OARS INTO THE FIRE! NOW WHAT’RE WE GONNA USE TO ROW BACK TO CAMP PARADOX?”

“Um…hey, it wasn’t my fault you girls were keeping them that close to the fire!” Spike gulped, but as he saw all the glares he was getting, he figured it would be best to just shut up and not make it worse. On the bright side of things, thanks to Spike’s stupid mistake, it DID cause their fire to just reach the peak minimum that Discord had been asking for of 10 feet, which meant they were free to head back to camp. But, they now had four canoes without any paddles.

“This is more unfortunate…what are we to do?” Luna sighed, “Use our hooves to row the canoes ourselves? I fear that I would get tired before long, not to mention it would take forever.” The Royal Ruffians watched in dismay as the Magical Misfits began rowing away from the island, leaving them all behind. However, seeing their dilemma, Derpy decided to help them out a bit.

“Hey, I know! Why doesn’t each of you with wings just float behind each of your canoes and use your wings to propel the boat forward?” Derpy suggested, tilting her head and grinning, “It would be like using a motorboat! Wouldn’t that be cool?” Almost at once after Derpy spoke these words, Trixie angrily reached over to her canoe and slapped the Pegasus in the face with her oar.

“You foal! Don’t give the other team ideas!” the unicorn snapped, “Are you sure your brain is broken? As Trixie recalls, one must first HAVE a brain before it can become broken.”

“…I see stars!” Derpy giggled, now lying on her back in her canoe after Trixie’s assault, staring up into the sky as her dizziness got to her.

“Huh…hey, that just might work!” Applejack gasped, quickly turning back to her team, “Okay, here’s what we need to do. Zecora, Spike, Silver Spoon and mahself will each get in one of the four boats. Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash will get behind each one and use their wings as a motor to propel us towards Camp Paradox. We’re not dead yet!”

Fluttershy: *whimpering and cowering a bit* Such a big task for such a frail little Pegasus like me…I was so scared of messing it up…I was scared that my wings would become frozen to my sides…ooh, I just wanted something to hold! I wish Angel was there to calm me down…he would know what to say.

Despite Fluttershy’s hesitance and Celestia’s uncertainty, the Royal Ruffians quickly got into position as they had been instructed. Rainbow Dash got behind Applejack’s canoe, Fluttershy got behind Spike’s, Celestia behind Silver Spoon’s and Luna behind Zecora’s. Each Pegasus and alicorn sank down into the murky water until they were up to their waists, just leaving the edges of their wings slightly under the water. They all could see that the Magical Misfits were now rowing furiously to get back to the other island and were almost there.

“This is it, gang!” Applejack barked out, pointing her hoof forward, “What’re ya’ll waitin’ fer? C’mon, get those wings movin’! LET’S GO!”

“Roger, AJ!” Rainbow nodded, instantly flapping her wings while shoving the canoe forward. The effect was instant. Combined with Rainbow’s strong wing power and her moderate strength, she soon took off with Applejack and her canoe.

“Um…okay…I’m going now…” Fluttershy gulped, nervously beginning to flap her own wings. When she found that it wasn’t that hard and that she was actually doing very well, the yellow Pegasus smiled softly and began to go faster and faster until she was nearing Rainbow Dash.

“Witness the power of my legendary wings!” Celestia laughed, possibly just for dramatic purposes as she followed suit with her other two teammates. She was so excited about getting to finally do something worthwhile that she started off a bit too heavy; Silver Spoon was nearly thrown from the canoe.

“Aww, Tia is so cute when she gets excited,” Luna teased, licking her lips as she began flapping her own wings, “But, I always DID have the better wings, younger sister or not!” Laughing, the ebony princess quickly matched the flying power of her three fellow flyers and soon they were all zooming straight back towards Camp Paradox.

Celestia: *grinning in a very familiar and creepy way* That was so exhilarating! Streaking through the waters as fast as a Wonderbolt, knowing that the game was on the line, using my own majestic wings to try and aid our cause…is this what Twilight and her friends do all the time? It’s…it’s really fun!

Luna: It was rather interesting to see my big sister finally start having fun like a little filly again. No matter how old you get, you should always remain a filly at heart. *she giggles a bit* I know that I take that lesson to heart…Twilight Sparkle taught me as much during my dramatic return to Ponyville.

“This challenge is in the bag…Twilight will be very proud,” Rarity smiled, rowing her own canoe for once, since she was forced to do so when Twilight was removed from the challenge after her injury.

“Yeah, we’re gonna win, we’re gonna win!” Pinkie cheered from Derpy’s boat, rowing as fast as her hyper little forelegs would allow. Derpy was still dizzily staggering around the pink pony’s canoe, since Trixie had struck her pretty good with her oar.

“Um…does anypony hear something?” Scootaloo asked, her ear twitching a bit as she heard a humming noise coming from behind. The six remaining Magical Misfits all curiously glanced back to see what was happening, and instantly were blasted aside as all four Royal Ruffian canoes soared past them under Pegasus and alicorn power.

“MY MANE!” Rarity shrieked as she was thrown out of her canoe from the sheer momentum of the passing canoes.

“TRIXIE’S ENTIRE BODY!” Trixie screamed as the same thing happened to her.

“Rainbow Dash is so cool…” Scootaloo sighed, not even seeming to mind that she had been thrown out along with Cheerilee, “Did you all see her? She really knows what she’s doing with those wings…”

Scootaloo’s touching comments aside, the Magical Misfits could only watch in stunned fashion as the Royal Ruffians raced straight towards the beach on Camp Paradox and never looked back. Unfortunately, Rainbow Dash, Celestia and Luna were having too much fun to really stop, and Fluttershy was just following what the others were doing. When they reached the shore, they ended up continuing straight over the sand and heading right for the Dock of Shame.

“WHOA, DASH, WHOA!” Applejack bellowed, “STOP, YA CRAZY PEGASUS! YER GONNA MAKE US…!” But, she was cut off as all four canoes soon met the Dock of Shame, making all eight Royal Ruffians scream as they were hurled out of their canoes and sent flying into the campgrounds, their canoes following suit.

The crashes sounded out through the island, alerting Discord who had just handed Twilight Sparkle over to Nightmare Moon for medical attention. The draconequus reappeared out of the infirmary a moment later only to watch as all eight Royal Ruffians and their four canoes crashed down in a painful heap right in front of him, Rainbow Dash and Applejack both being on the bottom of the pile. Of course, Discord didn’t miss a beat.

“BWAHAHAHAHAHA! BRILLIANT ENDING!” Discord bellowed, laughing his head off as he twirled around in the air and slapped his sides repeatedly, “OOH, THIS IS RICH! I LEAVE YOU FOR TWO MINUTES AND THIS IS WHAT YOU DO! YOU ALL MAKE ME SO PROUD!”

“Ugh…go kiss a diamond dog…you stupid spirit of disharmony…” Celestia moaned, no longer feeling as great as she had a few moments ago, “I think…one of my hind legs is broken…”

“But, with all pain comes victory!” Discord giggled, trying to control his fit of hysteria, “It seems that your team made it back first, so I hereby declare that the Royal Ruffians win the challenge!”

“Yay…” the Royal Ruffians all groaned, too much in pain to really move out of their squirming pile. Combined with four heavy canoes and having all landed rather roughly on the dirt ground that was Camp Paradox, not to mention having slammed into the Dock of Shame, it looked like Nightmare Moon was gonna get eight more patients in a little while.

Nightmare Moon: I do and do and do and what thanks do I get? A mare’s work is never appreciated around here! All Discord did was give me flowers…which exploded in my face and blinded me for a good two hours! *she growls in anger, her eyes flashing* I’m gonna strangle that jerk…

“Magical Misfits…how pitiful you all look…what happened?” Discord mocked, floating back over to the beach as the six remaining Misfits pulled their canoes and their soaked bodies to shore, “You had such a big lead...you had such high hopes…where did you all go wrong?”

“Shut it, Discord…I REALLY need to use the outhouse…excuse me!” Rarity whimpered, hurrying off to beautify herself back up, her dripping mane and coat making her shudder the more she felt it. As for the rest of the team, minus Twilight, Trixie was the first one to speak again.

“YOU!” she snapped, stomping right up to Derpy and snarling at her, “YOU lost us the challenge, thanks to your big mouth telling the other team what to do…AND for injuring Twilight Sparkle. Let it be known that Trixie could care less about Twilight Sparkle…BUT ALL THE SAME, YOU LOST US THE CHALLENGE!”

“Ooh, the unicorn wants to fight?” Derpy giggled, standing up on her hind legs and sticking out her tongue while her walleyed pupils became cross-eyed as she glared at the azure unicorn, “You do not want to mess with Derpy Hooves…because she knows derp-fu, and it is wicked deadly!” The unicorn stared at the Pegasus for a moment, then she simply went and grabbed her canoe’s oar in her mouth. That was all it took for Derpy to squeak in fear and quickly start flying away, Trixie in hot pursuit behind her as she desired nothing more than to crush the ditzy pony.

“Oh dear…do you think we should stop her?” Cheerilee asked, shaking out her wet mane and tail as she looked at Scootaloo and Pinkie Pie.

“...I hope Rainbow Dash is alright,” Scootaloo whimpered, ignoring Cheerilee and heading off to check on her idol and crush.

“My belly is rumbling…I’m hungry!” Pinkie smiled, humming joyfully as she bounced along, seemingly not minding that she was dripping wet at all. Cheerilee just sighed and hung her head before slowly following after her teammates, knowing that somepony was gonna be voted off tonight again.

Rarity: *muttering under her breath as she combed out her mane and tail* This is SO not fair…I don’t deserve this! My poor body having to suffer so…what did I do to deserve this treatment?

An hour or two before the Magical Misfits’ fourth bonfire ceremony, Twilight Sparkle was released from the infirmary while Nightmare Moon tended to the Royal Ruffians’ injuries instead. She had earlier learned that her team had lost the challenge, which disappointed her greatly. She had heard snippets of information about just whose fault it was and who deserved to be voted off next from Rarity, Pinkie, and Cheerilee, but Twilight was still in pain so she didn’t want to think about such things at the moment. Instead, she decided to go for a walk down at the beach. The coolness of the splashing waves at night would help her burns and would relax her.

When Twilight began trotting along the beach, wincing now and then due to her hooves having had slightly been burned as well, she thought she saw somepony else sitting on the sand and staring off into the ocean. Curious, the purple unicorn drew closer and was surprised to see that it was Trixie. Whether or not she had caught and punished Derpy was unknown. At the moment, the blue show-mare was sitting contently and calmly on the sand while staring blankly out over the calm waters surrounding Camp Paradox. Twilight ventured closer, hesitating only briefly in fear that she would be yelled at.

“Hello, Twilight Sparkle,” Trixie said, her voice coming out coolly, but not in a direct or scornful way, “Trixie sees that you’ve been let out of the infirmary. Are you gonna be alright?”

“Yeah…Nightmare Moon applied some powerful salve to my burns…and had me drink a special kind of potion to regrow my mane and tail…she said that I should be as good as new in the morning…as always,” Twilight replied, daringly trotting up to Trixie’s side.

“Humph…well, that’s good to hear,” Trixie muttered, not pulling her head away to look at the other unicorn. Guessing that she either didn’t care or wasn’t really paying attention, Twilight weakly sat down beside the show-mare and began staring out over the ocean with her.

The two unicorns sat in silence for a long time, watching small ripples appear now and then in the water, watching the remaining traces of the sun vanish over the horizon, watching a fish jump out of the water now and then, listening to the settling of Camp Paradox…just taking it all in. Twilight had to admit that Trixie had chosen a lovely spot to observe the scenery. Despite Camp Paradox being more like Discord’s playpen rather than a real camp, the beach was honestly well-kept and the surrounding waters were rather pleasant. The view from where the two unicorns sat was breathtaking alone.

“…you worried about the vote tonight?” Twilight asked, finally breaking the silence. She felt somewhat like a foal, bringing up such a touchy subject, but it would soon come to be that time and both unicorns knew that Trixie was still not well-liked.

“…Trixie isn’t even thinking about that right now,” Trixie responded, “Why? Does Trixie have a reason to be worried?”

“Well…I think Scootaloo still holds a grudge against you for what you did to Apple Bloom…” Twilight explained, “And I think Pinkie and Derpy are both kinda mad you didn’t give them the cupcakes and muffins you promised them…”

“Should Trixie try to do what she did last time then?” Trixie asked, glancing sideways at Twilight and raising an eyebrow, “Are you expecting another evil scheme hatched by this show-mare?”

“Er…no, that’s what not I was insinuating,” Twilight gulped, realizing she had put her hoof in her mouth, “I was just…well…okay, I’ll admit that I was kinda worried you would try something like that again…but, I really just wanted to thank you again.”

“Oh? Are you referring to what Trixie did back on Dusk Island?” Trixie said, “If so, do not mention it; Trixie said that she was just returning the favor, nothing more. As much as she REALLY hates to admit it, you DID save her during the food-gathering challenge, so she felt she owed you.”

“Well…either way…thank you,” Twilight smiled, glancing down at the sand in front of her hooves and trying to avoid Trixie’s stern looks. Trixie glanced at the unicorn next to her for a few more seconds before turning her gaze back to the ocean. The two once more sat in silence, side-by-side, not bothering to say another word, although both unicorns did glance at one another now and then.

Twilight: What was I doing, you ask? Well…yeah, I know Trixie has attitude issues, not to mention she unfairly got Apple Bloom kicked off…but, she DID save my life, and despite what she says, she didn’t HAVE to do that. I’m…I’m kinda curious…as to why she is the way she is. I want to know what’s in her heart… *her face flushes as she says that* Okay, I said that wrong! Um, you can erase that, right?

When it was time for the Magical Misfits’ fourth bonfire ceremony, both Twilight and Trixie showed up together. Rarity was back to looking as beautiful as ever, despite the fact she still seemed unsatisfied with something. Cheerilee and Scootaloo both showed up together, and Pinkie and Derpy both bounced and flew in as a couple, too. Judging from the bumps on Derpy’s head, it was clear that Trixie had indeed caught and punished her for what she had done earlier, although it didn’t seem that Derpy remembered such an incident, even though it happened only two hours ago.

“Ah, Magical Misfits, good evening to you all,” Discord smirked, idly roasting some marshmallows by the raging bonfire, “You really are making it a habit being here, you know that? I suppose you really like voting off your teammates, hmm?”

“Shut it, Discord,” Twilight growled, “I enjoy being here just as much as I enjoyed getting half of my body burned to a crisp!”

“Saucy as always, eh, Twilight?” Discord yawned, tossing his marshmallow behind his back when it didn’t meet his standards, “Next time, we should throw you into a tsunami instead; it really wasn’t a smart idea to ‘fire you up’ when you really needed to be ‘cooled down’ instead!”

“Can we PLEASE just get on with this?” Twilight moaned, “I’m tired and in pain and I want to go to bed.”

“Oh, very well, party pooper,” Discord pouted, floating up to his full length as he faced the team, “Well, welcome to another ceremony. You all know how this works by now. Each of you must vote for the pony you want voted out. The ballot box in the confessional, as always. Since Twilight is being crabby, we’ll just get right to it. Cheerilee, my dear, you’re up first.”

Pinkie: *holding up her ballot upside down to the camera, but it still said Trixie’s name* Trixie is a big meanie-head for not giving me cupcakes! She’s a liar-liar, pants on fire! *she puts it in the box*

Rarity: *showing the camera that she voted for Derpy* As much as I despise Trixie, YOU were the one that cost us the challenge, dear…next time, you should be more careful. *she puts it in the box*

Scootaloo: *showing the camera that she voted for Trixie* I haven’t forgotten what you did to my fellow crusader, Apple Bloom. She WILL have her vengeance, you mean mare! *she puts it in the box*

Trixie: *showing the camera that she voted for Derpy* You lose us the challenge? You go home! Say goodbye, Derpy Hooves! Ugh…where did you even GET that name? *she puts the ballot in the box*

“You have all made your votes,” Discord said, snapping his fingers as the ballot box appeared in front of him, “Once a majority is reached, the decision is final and the one with the most votes will be sent down the Dock of Shame and go on the Boat of Losers, where they will be taken far away and NEVER will be allowed to come back to camp…EVER!”

“FOR…EVER!” Pinkie snarled. Discord just looked at Pinkie for a long time before excusing himself and going to go bang his head on a nearby tree a good dozen times. When he came back, he snapped his fingers and put an icepack on his head while he flipped open the front of the ballot. He reached inside and pulled out the first ballot.

“First vote…Trixie,” Discord said, showing the first ballot to the Magical Misfits with Trixie’s name on it.

“Second vote…Derpy. That’s one vote Trixie and one vote Derpy.”

“Third vote…Trixie. That’s two votes Trixie and one vote Derpy.”

“Fourth vote…Derpy. That’s two votes Trixie and two votes Derpy.”

“Fifth vote…Trixie. That’s three votes Trixie and two votes Derpy.”

“Sixth vote…Derpy. That’s three votes Trixie and three votes Derpy…and one vote left.”

Trixie, for the first time, was nervously shaking in her seat as she awaited the final vote. Derpy seemed like she was just enjoying hearing her name be called over and over again. The entire team awaited the final result to know who would be voted off as Discord pulled out the deciding ballot which, like all the others, was folded in half so the name was not yet even known to the draconequus himself.

“And the sixth loser of Total Magic Pony Island is…” Discord began, just about ready to unfold the ballot and read the name that was on it. However, before he could do so, he glanced to the side and noticed that a small sphere of light had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It was levitating in the middle of the area and seemed to be growing bigger and bigger as the seconds ticked away. Discord and the Magical Misfits were all confused by what they were seeing, and had no idea what to make of it. The ball of light then began to morph into a large door-shaped portal, which then revealed a large blue box that was pushing its way through the dimensional doorway itself. The words “Police Stable” were printed on the sides, and just left the current onlookers more and more confused with what they were seeing.

When the entire blue box was revealed, being about as big as two or three of the confessional booths put together, the door opened up. Inside, a futuristic room made of metal arranged around a single control station in the center could be seen, but it was the ponies who quickly leaped out a second later that caught everyone’s attention.

One of the ponies was an earth pony stallion with an hourglass cutie mark on his flanks; he was also wearing a rather fashionable light brown overcoat. Joining him were three mares, all of whom were very familiar. The first mare was an earth pony with a pale cream coat, a navy-blue mane with a pink stripe running through it, and a cutie mark consisting of three wrapped candies. The second mare had a turquoise coat, a cyan mane, and a cutie mark of a gold lyre on her flanks. The third mare was amber-gray with a flowing dark gray mane and a cutie mark of a treble clef on her flanks. Almost immediately, the stallion stepped forward and pointed towards the Magical Misfits.

“Derpy! Thank heavens we found you in time!” the stallion declared, “There isn’t a moment to lose! You must come with us at once. The Author has returned, but this time he has gone too far! The fool has decided to write…a parody of Hearth’s Warming! Can you imagine anything more horrible than that?”

“Uh…excuse me, but…just who are you and WHY are you interrupting my show?” Discord asked, floating over to the four ponies and frowning.

“Silence, Discord!” the pony with the treble clef cutie mark growled, glaring up at the draconequus as she stood on her hind legs, “You are nothing more than part of another illogical, confusing, and downright disastrous story that makes no sense.”

“Indeed,” the stallion sniffed, stepping forward and keeping his eyes locked on Derpy, “Derpy, my dear, since you were forced into his alternate reality to be part of this asinine island story, you probably don’t remember who I am or what we do. Allow me to quickly jog your memory. I am the Doctor, and…”

“Uh…no…your name is Doctor Whooves, if I remember correctly,” Twilight spoke up, frowning a bit.

“…I prefer ‘the Doctor’, if you’d please, Twilight Sparkle,” the Doctor said.

“And…if I recall correctly…don’t we know the rest of you, too?” Twilight pondered, looking at the rest of the cast that had just shown up.

“Ooh, ooh, we sure do!” Pinkie giggled, “That’s Lyra Heartstrings, whose last name was just revealed not too long ago! That’s Bon-Bon, and that’s Octavia!”

“Since when has my last name been ‘Heartstrings’?” Lyra frowned.

“Don’t ask me,” Bon-Bon shrugged, “You’ll always be ‘Lyra’ to me, and that’s that.”

“Look…just tell me WHAT you want so I can get back to the elimination ceremony,” Discord complained.

“Very well, you rude spirit of disharmony, I was just getting to that before I was interrupted,” the Doctor frowned, “I’m here for Derpy Hooves, my partner-in-crime, so to speak. You see, we fanons…”

“What the heck are fanons?” Scootaloo asked.

“My dear filly, please do not interrupt me…I can never say anything that way!” the Doctor grumbled, “Fine, let me put this as simply as I can, since I’m wasting valuable time here. Derpy and myself, along with the cohorts at my sides, go around to different dimensions and stories and fix things that aren’t supposed to be trifled with. One of our greatest enemies, The Author, once wrote a complete bogus and horrendous story on how something known as the Legion of Gloom tried to take over Ponyville with their evil plans!”

“…that doesn’t sound like such a bad idea,” Trixie smirked. At the sound of her voice, Lyra, Bon-Bon and Octavia all gasped and immediately glared at the unicorn.

“Oh no, it’s the Great and Powerful Her Royal Highness Princess Mayor Supreme Ruler of the Moon Trixie!” Lyla squealed, “But, Doctor, how is this possible? Was she not turned to stone along with the rest of the Legion of Gloom?”

“…when did Trixie receive a title like THAT?” Trixie frowned, “That is…horrible! Trixie loves her title, but she would not humiliate herself by saying something like THAT! And what’s this about Trixie being turned to stone?”

“Lyra, Bon-Bon, Octavia, please refrain from doing or saying anything more,” the Doctor warned, “Remember, in this story, we are not supposed to be here…and everything that happened to Trixie and her gang never happened at all. Why do you think we don’t have DJ PON-3 with us?”

“Her NAME is Vinyl Scratch,” Twilight growled, now getting highly irritated with these uneducated ponies that just showed up out of nowhere, “She informed me that DJ PON-3 is just her STAGE NAME. Did you seriously call her that all the time?”

“…eh-hem…yes, well…anyway, moving on, we need you with us, Derpy,” the Doctor continued, pulling out a small metallic device from his overcoat and glancing down at it, “My sonic screwdriver is telling me that everyone on this island has their mind locked, so nothing we say will make any sense to them.”

“One, that’s just a stupid screwdriver,” Rarity sighed, “Two, my mind is NOT locked. Three, please leave because you are starting to make me very nervous.”

“…Derpy, my dear, please just come with us before I lose my patience,” the Doctor sighed, clearly not enjoying being in the presence of these other ponies, “Just get onboard the TARDIS with us and soon I will explain…”

“That stupid blue box is called the TARDIS?” Scootaloo grinned, slapping a hoof over her forehead as she doubled over with laughter, “Wow…where did you come up with THAT name?” The little filly continued to laugh her head off while Doctor Whooves, Lyra, Bon-Bon and Octavia all got more and more aggravated by the minute due to the lack of cooperation they were receiving.

“Enough is enough! Derpy, I’m sorry, but you’re coming with us and that’s final!” the Doctor snapped, finally losing his patience, “Lyra, Bon-Bon, please go and retrieve our Pegasus.”

“Roger, Doc!” the two mares smiled, quickly trotting forward to get the confused Derpy Hooves.

“…please don’t call me ‘Doc’…you KNOW I don’t like that,” the Doctor sighed.

“Hey, wait, you can’t just take…” Twilight began, making to stop Lyra and Bon-Bon from taking Derpy, but was met by a grinning Octavia, who loomed over the smaller unicorn like a giant would a midget, “Um…hehe…hi there, Octavia…long time no see?”

“Hello, Twilight Sparkle, a real pleasure to see you again,” Octavia smiled, pulling out her deadly cello bow and casually pointing it down at the unicorn’s face, “Now, here’s the deal. We’re taking Derpy Hooves with us because she is vital to our mission to stop The Author at his own sick games again. You be a good little filly and just stay where you are and you won’t have to feel some pain. Is that clear?”

“Um…well, er…” Twilight gulped, but as Octavia playfully dragged her sharp cello bow underneath her chin, the unicorn just gave a quick and nervous nod and didn’t move another inch or say another word. The rest of the team also backed away from Octavia, keeping their eyes fixated on her weapon of choice. Lyra and Bon-Bon both soon captured Derpy and began dragging her back towards the TARDIS, all while Discord watched with his mouth agape.

“Forgive me for having to do this to you, Derpy, but you’ll understand why I had to soon enough,” the Doctor said, giving the blonde Pegasus a little hug before turning back around, “We got who we came for, girls. Don’t worry about DJ…uh…Vinyl; we can make do without her.”

“Aww, but Octy SOOO totally misses her!” Bon-Bon teased, winking over at the cello mare.

“How many times do I have to tell you to STOP making those jokes?” Octavia growled, turning away from the cowering Magical Misfits and stomping back over to her team, “That does it, Bon-Bon; you asked for it!”

“Uh-oh, Octy’s mad!” Lyra giggled, quickly racing back into the blue box that was apparently known as the TARDIS, “Run, Bon-Bon, run!”

“Coming, Lyra!” Bon-Bon laughed, joining her favorite mare in the entire world as Octavia angrily chased them inside.

“Um…well, I guess I have to…go do something…or something,” Derpy said, tilting her head as she waved to her team, “Bye-bye for now!” She turned around and bonked her head on the TARDIS door, causing her eyes to spiral for a few minutes, before she ambled inside on her own free will.

“Yes…very good…now, things should be much easier,” the Doctor smiled, turning back and looking at Discord, “Please excuse me for interrupting your…eh-hem…show. As for the rest of you…all I can say is good luck…you’re gonna need it.” With that said, Doctor Whooves turned and headed back into the blue box. The sphere of light soon appeared again and turned into a vortex, and after a blinding flash of white, the TARDIS and its riders were gone.

Discord, Cheerilee, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Scootaloo, Trixie and Twilight Sparkle all just stared at the spot where the TARDIS had once stood, their mouths all wide open and their eyes as large as dinner plates. Each one had a slightly different expression, ranging from horror to confusion, but each face basically had the same open mouth and wide eyes. It took a good few minutes before Discord finally came to his senses and coughed loudly to break up the awkward moment.

“Well…that just about wraps up this elimination ceremony, doesn’t it?” he smiled, tossing the remaining ballot that he still had in his hand into the fire, “See you all later!” He gave a friendly wave to the Magical Misfits, then whistled nonchalantly and flew off towards the camp, leaving a stunned silence in his wake that wouldn’t go away for a long time, and neither would the Magical Misfits.

Lyra: *curiously poking at the camera, and then happily clopping her hooves together* You know what? This is actually kinda cool! I wouldn’t mind being part of this! EEK! *at that moment, the same portal opened up incredibly quickly and Bon-Bon reached out and grabbed Lyra’s hoof, forcibly yanking her back inside the TARDIS. The portal then closed and the confessional was once again empty*

With the Magical Misfits still sitting in the same place that Discord had left them ten minutes ago, the draconequus floated past the infirmary to the nearest camera so he could sign off on the episode properly. Inside, Zecora was seen napping on a bed, a few of her body parts wrapped in gauze. In her hooves, she had the same wooden doll snuggled close to her that she had found back on Dusk Island. No one had noticed that she still had it.

“Well, that wraps up another…interesting…episode,” Discord announced, pointing at the camera, “With the ditzy Derpy Hooves apparently gone, this leaves the Magical Misfits with only six teammates left. Will there be harmony? Will there be chaos? Will I ever figure out just what in the world happened at the elimination ceremony? Probably not, and since it hurts my head to think too much about things that don’t really affect me, I probably won’t even bother. So, Equestria, stay tuned for the next installment of the best show in the universe, Total…Magic…Pony…Island! Hasta la vista, ponies!” He cackled madly and snapped his fingers, vanishing in a puff of smoke as the cameras faded out.

Episode 9: Strudel Gossip

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Discord: Last time, on Total Magic Pony Island: love was in the air! Well, actually, derp was in the air…where did I come up with love? Oh, right, maybe it was from watching our resident little dragon always spying on his “rare bird”, or from watching Scootaloo constantly try to get Rainbow Dash’s attention. But, anyway, it was more like an episode of total derp-ness when all was said and done. There was an oar-burning ceremony, Zecora finding something on Dusk Island, Derpy being insane, and Trixie saving Twilight from certain doom. Isn’t it funny how Twilight always gets hurt? You think she might be a masochist? Well, either way, when it was time for the elimination that night, it was derped up when some random ponies came and crashed the party. They talked about things that made no sense and that I didn’t care to remember, but what DOES matter is that they took Derpy away. So, the Magical Misfits are now down to just six campers, while the Royal Ruffians still have eight strong. Can they be stopped? Can the cameras make me look any handsomer than I already am? Can Nightmare Moon ever forgive me for putting a stinkbug in her normal cup of coffee? Find out right now, on Total…Magic…Pony Island!

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

“Watching the sun rise AGAIN, sister?” Luna sighed, lifting her head from her pillow and immediately seeing her big sister by the window, “Has that now become a habit for you?”

“While you might cast aside your responsibilities for raising the moon without a worry, dear sister, I cannot do the same with the sun,” Celestia responded, her chest decompressing as she let out a large sigh that she had been holding in for a while, “Watching a duty that I’ve done my entire existence happening on its own every morning…you wouldn’t understand.”

Luna: This has become routine, it seems. I wake up and the first thing I see is my big sister…still in her tiny body, which is always good for a giggle…standing at the window and staring out at the sun. I am honestly surprised that she has not become blinded yet. *she giggles a bit* Poor Tia…always worrying.

“Sister, for the last time, please stop obsessing over something that requires no worry,” Luna scolded, idly using her hairbrush on her mane while sitting up in her bed, “In fact, if you do not stop staring out that window and scaring our team, you MIGHT just be voted out sooner rather than later.” She grinned and shot her sister a teasing wink, to which Celestia immediately returned.

“You dare try voting out your big sister and you’ll have a nice surprise waiting for you once we get back home…Lunacy,” the white alicorn whispered. As soon as the interesting nickname was uttered from her lips, Luna gasped and a massive blush broke out across her face.

“SISTER! YOU PROMISED THAT WE WOULD NOT SPEAK OF THAT EVER AGAIN!” the ebony princess shrieked, apparently unnerved by her sister using the nickname of “Lunacy” on her. Unfortunately, thanks to her sudden outburst, the rest of the Royal Ruffians began to stir from their slumber.

“Mm…yeah…bow down to Wonderbolt Rainbow Dash…you know you all love me…” Rainbow Dash muttered, rolling over onto her back and kicking her left hind leg in the air. Since she practiced sleeping so much, the Pegasus was rather an expert on the subject and was sometimes hard to wake up. This was no exception.

“Ah…what’s wrong, Princess?” Applejack yawned, rubbing a hoof into her right eye as she wearily glanced over towards Luna’s bed, “Ah heard ya screamin’ just a second ago…did ya have a bad dream or somethin’ like that?”

“No, Applejack, I did not…at least not one while sleeping,” Luna muttered, the hint of red still slightly visible on her muzzle as she glared at her smirking big sister by the window.

“Uh…okay then…whatever floats yer boat,” Applejack shrugged, getting out of bed and doing her stretches, “But, if ya need anythin’ at all, ya know who you can talk to.” She gave Luna a warm smile as the rest of the team, minus Rainbow Dash, began lifting their eyes to the new day.

Celestia: *giving one of her trademark troll grins as she winked at the camera* Ooh, I bet you’re all wondering just what “Lunacy” means, right? Well…that would be telling, wouldn’t it? *she laughs and holds a hoof over her mouth as she does so* Ah, but be assured…it’s a great tale! Shame I can’t share.

“What’s with all the racket?” Spike grumbled, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and frowning irritably, “I was having such a nice dream about rare…um, my rare bird…yeah, that’s it. I was having a wonderful dream that involved me and my rare bird flying through the heavens, locked in a warm embrace and with our mouths…”

“Um, Spike? Birds don’t have mouths,” Fluttershy pointed out, shaking her head to get some of her long mane out of her face, “You meant to say ‘beak’, right?”

“Er…uh…right, yeah, what Fluttershy said,” Spike nodded, ignoring the amused expression on Applejack’s face, “Anyway, I’m hungry! Let’s get some breakfast, okay?”

“It seems that we are all not awake just yet, so do not be so rash,” Zecora stated, “As usual, we are not all awake; the only one still in a slumber is the smart-mouth Rainbow Dash.” Never having had a high opinion of the Pegasus, Zecora frowned when she pointed to the snoozing Pegasus’ bedside. Despite all the commotion, Rainbow Dash was still fast asleep and still had one of her hind legs kicking in the air.

“Let’s tickle her to death!” Silver Spoon giggled, “I once did that to Diamond Tiara when she fell asleep from one of Snails’ class presentations on turtles. Boy oh boy, was she ever mad, but it was really fun!”

“Ah’m cool with that!” Applejack smirked, licking her lips excitedly as she trotted quietly up to Dash’s bed, “Are the rest of ya in or out?” In less than five seconds, the entire cabin had joined Applejack at Dash’s bedside, each camper wearing a wicked little grin on their face. Spike even had his fingers twitching with excitement and Fluttershy looked like a playful filly ready to prank her best friend.

“Okay, on the count of three,” Luna whispered, sitting on her haunches as she lifted both of her front hooves in the air, “One…”

“Two…” Spike joined in, his eyes as wide as dinner plates as he seemed to want to do this a bit TOO much, for whatever reason.

“THREE!” Applejack yelled, instantly rushing in at whatever part of Rainbow Dash’s body that she could reach. Rainbow Dash, despite her deep slumber, soon felt 14 pairs of hooves or hands on her body, and once her brain alerted her to quickly wake up, she shrieked when she realized what was happening.

Fluttershy: *giggling* Oh my…Rainbow Dash is so very cute when she gets scared, and even more so when she’s laughing…it’s really quite the combination, you see. *her ears droop slightly* Um, I do feel slightly bad about waking her up in such a way, though…am I a bad girl for doing that? I’m so sorry.

“Ugh…WHAT was that annoying clamor?” Trixie grumbled, angrily hurling her pillow off her head and sitting bolt upright, “First, a strange elimination ceremony that gave Trixie nightmares, and now she gets awakened by some loud and aggravating noise from outside the cabin? Unforgiveable!”

“Your temper tantrums really don’t help, Trixie,” Twilight moaned, groggily rubbing her eyes as she glanced at the angry show-mare, “But…I must admit that whatever made that noise was quite annoying and wasn’t a great wakeup call.”

“I think that whatever made that noise needs a good lesson in manners,” Rarity added, removing her cucumbers from her eyes as she pulled herself up from her bed, “Does nopony around here care about the beauty sleep that I require so that I might function properly?”

“It was Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo squeaked, instantly racing out of her bed and peeking out the window, “I know her scream anywhere! Did she get hurt? Is she in trouble? Does she need me by her side?”

“Scootaloo, everypony, please calm down!” Cheerilee called out, stepping out of her own bed and removing her nightcap, “We had to wake up eventually anyway, so let’s not get on each other’s nerves, okay? We’re down to just six teammates now, so getting angry with one another this early won’t help anypony except the ones on the other team.”

“Cheerilee’s right, gang,” Twilight admitted, beginning to comb her mane down with her own hairbrush, “Let’s just calmly let ourselves wake up and then get to the bottom of this…or in the very least let Scootaloo get to the bottom of this.” She chuckled when she saw the filly race out of the cabin a moment later, apparently having seen enough to get her worried.

“Ugh…rambunctious brat,” Trixie grumbled, shaking her head in disgust as Scootaloo ran out of the cabin, leaving the door wide open behind her, “Speaking of twits that don’t ever resist driving a metal stake through Trixie’s fragile brain with their idiocy…where’s Pinkie Pie?” In response, Twilight pointed a hoof over to the pony’s bed. Trixie looked for herself and saw that Pinkie was sleeping upside down on her bed, snoring loudly and in a huge puddle of drool. Apparently, she was also a heavy sleep, just like Rainbow Dash. Trixie, even more repulsed, was sorry that she had bothered asking where she was.

Trixie: *looking beyond angry* Trixie is TIRED of waking up to the same uncouth charlatans that she is forced to share a cabin with! That disgustingly-aggravating Pinkie Pie, that arrogant egotist Rarity, that unbearable brat Scootaloo, that obnoxiously politically correct Cheerilee, and…Twilight Sparkle. *her cheeks turn slightly red at the mention of the purple unicorn’s name* Humph…talentless foal.

Outside both team’s cabins, Rainbow Dash was lying in a heap in the middle of the campgrounds, gasping and twitching on the ground as Scootaloo circled her and constantly kept asking if she could do anything to help. Judging from the large, gaping hole that was now visible on the Royal Ruffians’ cabin roof, one could make the guess that Dash had caused such destruction. The fact that there were pieces of splintered wood stuck to Rainbow’s wings and mane probably didn’t help her cause.

“Dash? Dash! C’mon, Dash, speak to me!” Scootaloo whimpered, nudging her idol’s shoulder with her head, “What happened? Are you in pain? Are you having an asthma attack? Did you dream about me and finally realized that you just couldn’t live without me?” It wouldn’t be until much later that Scootaloo would realize just what exactly she had said during the moment of worry for the azure Pegasus. However, at the moment, all she cared about was seeing to it that Rainbow Dash was alright.

“Heh…those guys…are so…gonna pay!” Rainbow Dash gasped, not really even paying attention to what Scootaloo was saying, “They know…I’m most ticklish…right underneath my wings! How dare they…wake me up…in such a way! Dude…so not cool…ugh, just give me a moment…I’ll get them for this…”

“Huh? Wait…so your team tickle-tortured you to wake you up?” Scootaloo blinked, sitting down and scratching her head as she observed the rainbow Pegasus muttering to herself and scratching the folds underneath her wings, “Hmm…interesting…”

Scootaloo: *eagerly scribbling notes on a small piece of paper* Rainbow Dash is very ticklish right underneath her wings…ooh, that’s great knowledge! *she sighs dreamily and holds the piece of paper close to her heart* Just wait, Rainbow Dash…soon, we’ll be tickling each other every single night…

“It seems that Rainbow Dash is up and ready,” Zecora grinned, leading the Royal Ruffians out of their cabin, “But the question that must be asked is if she is steady. Judging by her ominous twitching on the ground, the tickling we issued onto her might not make her too sound.”

“Do you think we overdid it?” Silver Spoon questioned, trotting up and poking the blue Pegasus.

“Nah, we had to get her movin’ somehow,” Applejack chuckled, ignoring Rainbow Dash and heading to the mess hall, “C’mon, team, let’s get ourselves some grub; Dash will be just fine.” The cowpony led the rest of the Ruffians away from Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo, the older Pegasus finally acknowledging that she was being tended to by her biggest fan.

“Hey there, kiddo…when did you get here?” Dash chuckled, finally pulling herself up into a sitting position, looking slightly embarrassed that she had made herself look so vulnerable to Scootaloo.

“Oh, you know…when I heard you scream, I came running right away,” Scootaloo said, blushing and shyly pawing at the ground with her hooves, “You’re alright, aren’t ya, Dash?”

“Never better! I just…uh…I totally LET my team have their fun with me,” Rainbow scoffed, getting to her hooves and casually dusting herself off, “Yeah, that’s it. I totally knew that they were gonna tickle me to death; it’s not like AJ hasn’t done that to me before. They just cheated by tickling my weak spot under my wings…and I just love making a flashy entrance, you know?” She gave Scootaloo a wide grin as she brushed a few wood particles off her wings.

“I thought as much,” Scootaloo sighed, her eyes never leaving Dash’s, “Um, but Dash? Do you think that maybe…later today…we could possibly do something together or…?”

“Sorry, squirt, but I gotta go catch up with my team,” Dash interrupted, turning and strutting away from the filly, “Ya better not let your team catch you talking with me; I AM your enemy in this game, you know. Take care, okay? I’ll enjoy beating you guys again at today’s challenge!” The Pegasus laughed as she trotted away, leaving the lovesick and dazed Scootaloo in her wake.

Rainbow Dash: Yeah, it ain’t easy being so popular; even the opposite team can’t get enough of me! Scoots has been acting kinda weird lately, though…have you all noticed? *she looks right at the camera, then shrugs and leans back on the toilet seat* Eh, she’s just my number one fan. Sometimes, fans will get a bit weird when it comes to their idols…trust me, I know. *she gives a snarky grin*

Eventually, after the Misfits finally managed to wake up the slumbering Pinkie Pie, the team exited their cabin to find their filly teammate still sitting in the same place right in the middle of the campgrounds. Scootaloo had her frozen stare locked in the direction that Rainbow Dash had left, and it took a slap upside the head from Trixie to finally snap her out of her daze. When Scootaloo blinked and was left wondering what just happened, noticing Trixie’s angry look quickly reminded her just where she was.

“Equestria to Scootaloo...you are needed back on the Magical Misfits!” Trixie snapped, mockingly waving a hoof in front of the filly’s face, “Are you in there? Or do you need Trixie to get rough on you?”

“Trixie, I think you’ve done more than enough,” Twilight frowned, ushering the annoyed unicorn away from the filly, “Let’s just hurry to the mess hall before poor Scootaloo suffers brain damage. Cheerilee, take care of Scootaloo, please.”

“At once, Twilight,” Cheerilee nodded, watching as Pinkie and Rarity both trotted past to join the two annoyed unicorns. The teacher leaned down and gently ran a hoof through Scootaloo’s mane, making sure that she was alright after Trixie had slapped her. “Scootaloo, you okay? Is there anything that I can help you with?”

“No, Miss Cheerilee…I’m fine…I think my heart is the one that needs help, though,” Scootaloo whispered, butting her head into Cheerilee’s stroking hoof in an affectionate way before casually and slowly trotting off towards the mess hall. Cheerilee watched her student amble off on her own, her own mind deep in thought at what was troubling the filly.

Cheerilee: I feel so bad for Scootaloo. She’s still just a filly; her head is full of many dreams. She’s shared her thoughts with me many times…her future looks so bright. Having a crush on an older mare, at her young age…she’s just asking to be hurt. But, I cannot help her…this is something she must learn and experience on her own. When going through life, one must experience love…and pain. *she sighs*

Inside the mess hall, as both teams formed and sat at their respective tables, Nightmare Moon served them a breakfast of slices of assorted black fruits, black oatmeal, and black waffles. Naturally, Pinkie Pie was digging in and giving Nightmare Moon compliments on her “cooking”, while the rest of the mess hall was silent and struggling to just LOOK at what they had to eat. Between feasting on Nightmare Moon’s food and starving to death, a good number of campers were honestly giving it some thought.

“How do you think she makes them black?” Silver Spoon asked to her team, removing her glasses to see if her food looked any better with them off instead of on, “Maybe she summons them with her horn from another dimension?”

“If you ask me, she…” Spike began, before suddenly yelping and being thrown backwards out of his seat. A loud cracking sound echoed Spike’s fall, as his chair broke into pieces and joined the fallen dragon on the floor of the mess hall.

“Whoa nelly! You ahright, Spike?” Applejack gasped, quickly leaping out of her own seat and helping the little dragon up, “That was quite a nasty fall. What the hay happened?”

“It seems that this chair has crumbled and broken,” Zecora muttered, stepping over and examining the splintered chair surrounding Spike, “It snapped apart almost at once when Spike had spoken.”

“That’s odd…and very suspicious,” Celestia frowned, casting a glare over at Nightmare Moon behind the kitchen counter, “Nightmare Moon, did you tamper with Spike’s chair before we came in today?”

“Watch your tongue, Celestia,” Nightmare Moon snarled, her eyes flashing as she glared down the small white princess, “I might be evil, but don’t accuse me of such a petty act. If I were to do something to your team, I would do something much worse than just tweaking a chair.”

“Eh, it must’ve just been the wood getting old or something,” Rainbow Dash shrugged, leaning back in her own seat, almost in a mocking way, “Besides, Spikey is just fine, aren’t ya?” She cast a glance over at the dragon who, besides a sore tush and a deflated ego, was just fine.

Spike: *rubbing his rump and grumbling a bit* What kind of world is this when we can’t even trust the chairs we sit in anymore? Oh, right…Discord’s world, of course. *slaps his forehead*

“Now what am I gonna do for a chair?” Spike whined, since the number of seats at their table was equal to how many teammates they had.

“Um, if you want, you can have my seat, Spike,” Fluttershy smiled, “I wouldn’t want you to have to suffer and have to stand or sit on the floor. You deserve my seat much more than I do.” Before Spike could comment on Fluttershy’s kindness, his eyes happened to glance up at the ceiling of the mess hall. A loose piece of wood was hanging down from the ceiling, dangerously close to snapping altogether. It was hanging right over Fluttershy’s head.

“FLUTTERSHY, LOOK OUT!” Spike cried, quickly lunging over a confused Silver Spoon as the dragon tackled a squeaking Fluttershy to the floor. A second later, the large piece of wood snapped from its home and smashed down onto the chair that Fluttershy had been sitting upon a moment ago. The piece of wood was so heavy and the force so powerful that the chair instantly was cracked in two.

“Whoa nelly…again!” Applejack cried, widening her eyes in shock as she looked down at the second splintered chair their team had to deal with in only a matter of minutes, “That was dangerous! How the hay did such a heavy piece of the ceilin’ suddenly fall and nearly crush Fluttershy?”

“I have no idea, but that was WAY too close!” Spike sighed, not realizing that he was still laying on top of Fluttershy and had their bodies a bit too close for comfort, “Thankfully I saw it in time, or who knows what could’ve happened!”

“Um…Spike?” Fluttershy squeaked, a heavy blush pasted across her muzzle as she stared up at the dragon savior, “Thank you ever so much for saving me, but…um, maybe it’s best if you get off me now? I mean, if you want to…you can stay, if you wish…you’re kinda cuddly and warm.” Finally realizing the position he was in, Spike gasped and instantly leaped off the yellow Pegasus, his own blush soon breaking out when he heard the rest of the team snickering.

Spike: *panicking* Rarity didn’t see that, did she? She couldn’t have seen that! Ooh, if she saw that, she’s SO gonna get jealous! I totally didn’t mean to lay on Fluttershy like that! I was just watching out for her, really! I don’t think of her…like that…really I don’t! I mean, she’s really cute and stuff...and such a sweetheart…and she’s a very pretty nurse…NO, NO, NO! *he hits his head* STOP THAT, SPIKE!

“What rotten luck…but, hey, good news!” Rainbow Dash laughed, giving Fluttershy and Spike both pats on the back, “Now BOTH of you don’t have chairs, so whether or not Spike was gonna take Fluttershy’s seat doesn’t even matter now! Funny how that happens, huh?” Just as Applejack was about to give Dash a good bucking right in the butt for that, the blue Pegasus tried to use a nearby saltshaker to add just a little bit of salt to her black oatmeal, but she gasped when the top of the saltshaker suddenly spilled open and the entire contents poured into her bowl.

“Bad luck it is to spill salt,” Zecora pointed out, “Although it seems that this was not your fault. Over your left shoulder is where you should throw a pinch, and given how you like to throw things, that should be quite a cinch.”

“Bad luck? Bah, nice try, Zecora,” Rainbow Dash snickered, “I think we already learned a while back that there’s no such thing as bad luck or curses. It was you who taught us that, too.”

“Yes, I did indeed help you realize the error of your ways,” Zecora admitted, “However, while I myself am not evil, I still believe…” However, her thought was cut off when Rainbow Dash idly tossed a bit of salt over her left shoulder anyway, just because she felt like it, and it struck the zebra right in the face. Almost immediately afterwards, Zecora gasped and let out a sneeze, and then blindly ran out of the mess hall to try and wash out her eyes.

“Rainbow Dash, you jerk!” Silver Spoon growled, quickly racing after Zecora after giving the Pegasus a look of disgust, “Zecora, wait, let me help you!” When the filly and the zebra were both gone, the rest of the Royal Ruffians all glared at Rainbow Dash and either tapped their hooves or their feet in anger while crossing their arms. Rainbow Dash was left looking like she just wanted to crawl into a corner.

Rainbow Dash: *sheepishly* Um…hehe…oops?

After the rather unusual breakfast, both teams exited the mess hall and went off to enjoy the day on Camp Paradox, since Discord hadn’t made an appearance yet, which meant that the challenge would most likely be later that night. Twilight managed to convince her team (mostly Trixie; the rest of the team immediately agreed) to go for a nature walk near the mountains to help build team morale and make them bond even more.

“Doesn’t being out in the mountains just make you feel alive?” Rarity sighed, trotting alongside her team of six up the mountain path that Twilight had found, “The clean air, the beautiful scenery, the privacy, the silence, the fact that I’m here to make it that much better…it’s perfect!”

“Do you see that cliff over there, Rarity?” Trixie asked, pointing to a cliff overlooking a deep gorge on the opposite side of the camp, “How about going over there for a better look at the beautiful scenery? Trixie promises that she won’t sneak up behind you and push you over the edge.” That little comment was almost enough to get the two unicorns fighting, but Twilight was thankfully right there to break it up before it even began.

“Girls, please, not now!” the violet unicorn scolded, “We’re supposed to be enjoying ourselves, not picking reasons to fight with each other!”

“SHE started it, Twilight!” Rarity growled, trying to push Twilight away so that she could be at Trixie, “I was just commenting on our little hike and that rude mare dared to open her mouth!”

“Maybe if you were to deflate that ego of yours, Trixie wouldn’t have thoughts of wanting to destroy you in her mind!” Trixie snapped back, also trying to push Twilight aside to get at Rarity.

“EXCUSE me? You’re accusing ME of having an overinflated ego?” Rarity scoffed, giving Trixie a mocking grin, “Darling, perhaps you should look in the mirror…oh, wait, I do believe you already do enough; it would explain how YOUR ego is so massive that you are in complete denial of your true self.”

“THAT DOES IT! PREPARE TO GET DESTROYED BY THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE!” Trixie snarled, shoving Twilight hard and rushing straight at Rarity, “NOBODY INSULTS TRIXIE LIKE THAT AND GETS AWAY WITH IT!”

“Bring…it…ON!” Rarity grinned insanely, pawing at the ground and preparing to charge straight back at the oncoming Trixie. Twilight, however, refused to be pushed aside like some common ragdoll. When she saw Rarity, one of her best friends being charged at, she did the first thing that she thought of.

“Trixie, don’t!” she cried, quickly tackling the azure unicorn before she could hair a hair on Rarity’s pretty head. Unfortunately, Twilight had tackled Trixie a bit too hard. The momentum when Twilight crashed into Trixie ended up propelling both mares straight over the side of the steep mountain path and making them tumble straight down into the valley below.

“TWILIGHT! TRIXIE!” Cheerilee shrieked, instantly racing straight over to the side of the cliff and looking down in fear, “Oh no, oh no, oh no…this isn’t good…this is NOT good! They can’t use magic…they could die from a fall like that!”

“Nah, you don’t have to worry, Cheerilee,” Pinkie giggled, bouncing up to the scared teacher’s side and giving her a playful nuzzle, “I don’t think anything bad will happen to those two…haven’t you noticed how they always get beat up but they always pull through? It’s totally like a sign!”

“Pinkie…I hope you’re right…that’s all I can say,” Cheerilee sighed, watching both unicorns vanish into the tall trees in the valley below, “Twilight…Trixie…please be okay.”

“If Rainbow Dash was here, she’d totally have saved them in three seconds flat,” Scootaloo bragged.

Rarity: *giving a deep sigh as she puffed up her mane* I just feel TERRIBLE about what happened to Twilight! I can only hope that she is alright, the poor dear. I somewhat feel that it’s my fault, but…no, it was Trixie’s fault. That stuck-up little mare…ooh, she is SO outta here if she survived that fall!

At the bottom of the mountain, a good half-mile or so from camp, both Twilight Sparkle and Trixie lay motionless next to each other on the forest floor. As luck would have it, both mares had some thick foliage and trees with thick braches break their fall before they crashed onto the ground. Despite multiple cuts, scrapes, bruises and sore muscles, both unicorns were still alive. Trixie was the first one to awaken ten minutes later after being knocked out from the fall.

“Ouch…that…seriously hurt,” Trixie moaned, forcing herself to stand as she wobbled and nearly fell right back down, “Twilight Sparkle…you stupid, insane, idiotic mare…YOU NEARLY KILLED TRIXIE!” The mare angrily berated the other unicorn, who finally stirred as well thanks to her counterpart’s big mouth.

“Ugh…Trixie? Is that…you?” Twilight groaned, her eyes fluttering open as she glanced up at the enraged unicorn standing over her, “Heh…sorry about that…ouch, my left flank hurts…must’ve landed hard on it or something.”

“Oh, your flank is gonna be the LAST of your worries, Twilight Sparkle!” Trixie snarled, steam nearly being seen blasting out of her nostrils as she glared down at the bookworm, “What you SHOULD be worried about is your butt, since Trixie is about to kick it up and down that mountain!” Trixie tried taking a step towards Twilight, but she immediately winced and fell down onto her hind legs as soon as she did.

“You’re hurt, Trixie,” Twilight said softly, pulling herself up and easing herself over towards her fellow unicorn, “Here, let me help…”

“Trixie thinks that you’ve helped more than enough, Sparkle!” Trixie snapped, attempting to back away from the oncoming unicorn, but once more wincing and falling onto her rump when the pain in her hind legs were too much for her to move.

“Lean on me, Trixie…I didn’t seem to get that hurt during the fall,” Twilight said, gently rubbing against Trixie and allowing the mare to put most of her weight on her. Using Twilight as a crutch, Trixie managed to take a few unsteady steps forward while testing her hind legs.

“Humph…don’t think this makes up for the FOOLISH thing you just did, Twilight Sparkle,” Trixie growled, putting almost all of her weight on Twilight, “Trixie WILL make sure that you get paid back for nearly taking her precious life. Do you even realize what this world would be like without Trixie?”

“No…no I don’t…and all I can say is that I’m sorry, Trixie,” Twilight sighed, hanging her head and mostly ignoring her own aches and pains, “I just didn’t want you to fight with Rarity…she’s one of my best friends, you see. I’d do anything for her, like I would my other friends. It was stupid of me to jump at you while up on that mountain path, true…but, my heart forced me to.”

“Your heart forced you to do that? Ha, you are indeed quite the foal!” Trixie scoffed, “For one as brainy as you, Sparkle, you can be quite stupid. Everypony knows that you use your brain to do things, not your heart! Even Trixie knows that the heart is not part of the head; the brain is.”

“You don’t understand, Trixie…wouldn’t you try to stick up for your friend no matter what, too?” Twilight asked, turning and looking at the weakened mare beside her. Trixie was silent for a moment before answering.

“Trixie doesn’t have any friends,” the mare said simply, “Trixie is a traveling show-mare; friends would just get in the way of her dreams and desires. Friends are nothing more than fakers who just want a piece of the good life. Ever since Trixie was just a little filly, she has not had any need for friends…or family for that matter. They are all useless; the only pony that matters in Trixie’s life is Trixie herself.”

Twilight couldn’t believe what she was hearing. How could somepony feel such a way about friends and family? Sure, back in Canterlot, Twilight Sparkle herself wasn’t big on friends, but Princess Celestia was the one to turn her heart around on the subject. Twilight had been so enticed with books and studying that she simply didn’t make time for friends and she didn’t think they were necessary. But, the way Trixie was talking made Twilight’s former plight lackluster and even meaningless. What had happened in Trixie’s past that made her think the way she did?

“Trixie…” Twilight whispered, trying to read the azure mare’s eyes and attempt to find a message of understanding, but Trixie was avoiding looking at Twilight by whatever means necessary. Both Trixie’s eyes and her heart were locked, and if Twilight wanted to try and understand her, it would take a lot of work. For now, though, there was only one thing to do. Both mares had to get back to camp and have Nightmare Moon fix them up in time for the night’s challenge.

Giving a little sigh of sadness and defeat, Twilight began ambling along the forest in the direction that she believed Camp Paradox was located. Trixie allowed herself to fully rely on Twilight, her hind legs still searing with pain whenever she put too much pressure on them. Without saying another word, both mares began their long trek back to camp in silence.

Twilight: *sitting on the toilet with bandages taped to multiple places on her body* What do you say to a mare who doesn’t believe in friends or family? A mare who thinks you should think with your brain and not your heart? A mare who only cares about herself? *she closes her eyes, then goes silence*

Trixie: *sitting on the toilet with a cast on each of her hind legs and even more bandages than Twilight had on her body* Humph…stupid Twilight Sparkle…nearly killing Trixie and then annoying her with foolish talk about friends and love and all that junk. *she shakes her head* What utter nonsense.

Back at camp, the rest of the Royal Ruffians were busy giving Rainbow Dash the cold shoulder, due to her recent attitude issues and her arrogance. When the team had left the mess hall, they immediately separated and left the Pegasus alone, half of them going to go check on Zecora to make sure the zebra had gotten all the salt out of her eyes and face. When Dash tried to talk to Applejack about possibility hanging out together, the cowpony ignored her.

“What is this? Hey, don’t ignore me!” Rainbow Dash cried, flapping her wings irritably, “What did I do? It wasn’t my fault that Zecora happened to be in my way when I threw that salt over my shoulder. She’s the one that told me to do it! C’mon, guys…I hate being ignored!” The Pegasus continued to whine and beg for attention, but she soon found herself completely alone in the middle of the campgrounds. With the Misfits on a disastrous nature hike, the Ruffians all tending to Zecora and ignoring Rainbow Dash, and Discord nowhere to be seen, Camp Paradox almost seemed like a ghost camp.

Grumbling, Rainbow Dash decided that she may as well go for a little fly. Stretching out her wings, the Pegasus forced out a yawn and began hovering. However, just as she was about to take flight, she saw a flicker of movement out of the corner of her right eye, in the direction of the Magical Misfits’ cabin. At first, Dash figured that it was just a bird or a squirrel and didn’t pay it any mind. However, when she saw what seemed to be a black cape blowing in the wind, her body froze up almost instantly.

Slowly, the blue Pegasus cast her eyes over in the direction of her opponent’s team cabin, hoping that she had just been seeing things, but when her blood ran cold, she knew that her eyes weren’t lying. She recognized that cape, that mask, that hat, that dark and mysterious costume all too well. She still had nightmares involving that which she was staring at. As Rainbow Dash hovered in the air, her eyes narrowed and her front hooves clenched tightly. The Pegasus grit her teeth as she felt her cold blood now start to boil. She was looking at none other than Mare Do Well, the mysterious and stylish vigilante that had shown up Rainbow Dash back in Ponyville not too long ago.

“Okay, okay, VERY funny,” Rainbow Dash said, sarcasm just dripping off each of her words, “Nice one, Applejack; thank you SO much for once again deciding to teach me a lesson about not being so arrogant. Where did you get that costume, anyway? Ooh, let me guess…you brought it with you because you were EXPECTING me to act like a foal again, right? Wow, how NICE of you!” It was clear that Dash was visibly upset and angry about this.

Back in Ponyville, not too long ago, Rainbow Dash had decided to play the role of superhero and was apparently getting a bit too arrogant and egotistical about it. Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie had all decided to “teach Rainbow Dash a lesson” by stealing her thunder and dressing up as Mare Do Well, seemingly trying to get Rainbow Dash to be more humble and not such a braggart. Even though Dash had agreed to what her friends had asked, deep down she was still angry that they had deceived her just to prove a point. Now, seeing somepony dressed as Mare Do Well wasn’t helping matters; it was only worsening them.

“Yo, stop ignoring me!” Dash snarled, flying straight up into Mare Do Well’s expressionless masked face, “I KNOW it’s you, Applejack; you can’t fool me! I know how crafty you can be. Okay, I’m SORRY for being insensitive and mean and all that, now take that ridiculous costume off before I MAKE you take it off!”

Mare Do Well just stared back at Rainbow Dash, only her cape moving in the gentle zephyr passing through the camp. She said nothing and continued to keep staring right into Dash’s angry face, not at all fazed by her threats and rage. For a moment, both the Pegasus and the mysterious mare kept staring at one another, as though they were waiting for the other one to make a move. Then, almost just as suddenly as Mare Do Well had appeared, she quickly turned on her hooves and leaped off the cabin. She then hurried off towards the mountains.

“HEY! GET BACK HERE!” Rainbow Dash yelled, flexing her wings and instantly taking off after the fleeing masked mare, “AJ, THIS ISN’T COOL! GET BACK HERE AND FACE ME!” The Pegasus narrowed her eyes and gnashed her teeth together as she tried to follow the mare into the thick forest, not about to get humiliated twice.

Mare Do Well led Rainbow Dash around twists and turns, forcing the stubborn Pegasus deeper and deeper into the forest. The mountains that the Magical Misfits had recently ventured up was drawing closer, but Dash paid no attention to that; she was too busy trying to capture the masked mare. After turning another corner, Rainbow Dash reached out and tried to grab Mare Do Well’s cape, but was forced to dive aside when a tree branch suddenly got in her way. Mare Do Well then quickly raced around another corner and vanished on the opposite side.

“Dang it! Applejack, curse you and your speed!” Dash growled, angrily snapping the tree branch that had gotten in her way and continuing the chase, “I will not be made a foal of…again?” As Dash turned the new corner, she immediately stopped. Twilight and Trixie were both hobbling along, looking injured and very tired. Mare Do Well and the rest of the Magical Misfits were nowhere in sight.

“Rainbow Dash?” Twilight gasped, a weak smile instantly refreshing her face when she spotted her friend, “Thank goodness! I don’t mean to impose, and I know you’re on the opposite team, but…do you think you could help Trixie and myself out? We kinda need to get back to camp.”

“Twilight? Trixie? But…but…wait, where did…how did you…what?” Dash sighed, beyond confused, “Okay, okay, fine…you do look hurt.” Giving up on her chase, Rainbow Dash swooped down and gently eased Twilight and Trixie onto her back. Despite a minor whine, Trixie made no effort to protest. Twilight herself soon wrapped her forelegs around Dash’s neck to make sure she stayed on and the Pegasus was soon flying back to camp with the two injured unicorns. Deep down, however, she was still fuming at letting her mark get away.

Rainbow Dash: What rotten luck! I had that rotten Mare Do Well right in my clutches, and as always, she slipped right through my grasp. Could Twilight and Trixie…nah, couldn’t have been them. It was clearly Applejack. Ooh, once I get ahold of that mare…I’m gonna teach HER a thing or two!

After Rainbow Dash got back to camp, she instantly delivered Twilight and Trixie to the infirmary; both mares thanked the Pegasus, with Trixie’s thanks being slightly forced. After that, Dash tried to find Mare Do Well again, but she was nowhere in sight. She DID, however, find the rest of her team relaxing in their cabin with an annoyed Zecora. Deciding to keep her confrontation with Mare Do Well a secret for the time being, or at least until Applejack confessed, Rainbow Dash instead apologized to Zecora for her previous actions and asked the rest of her team for forgiveness, too.

“It is fine, Rainbow Dash, I am fine as you can see,” Zecora sniffed, still dabbing her eyes now and then with a damp washcloth, “You should try not to be so brush; kindness does not always come for free.”

“Yeah…right…” Rainbow muttered, casting glances at Applejack every now and then.

“There somethin’ on mah face, Dash?” Applejack asked, curiously glancing into Silver Spoon’s mirror to see if she if something was wrong with her, “Hmm…ah DO have a bit of dirt on mah nose…” She began to scrub it off, not noticing the glare that Rainbow Dash was giving her.

Rainbow Dash: Who does she think she’s fooling? I’m no dummy! She’s such a good actress. She is SO gonna pay for what she did. Opening up a wound and then rubbing salt on it, just to prove a point? *she slowly puts on her favorite sunglasses* Prepare yourself, AJ…your time’s a-coming! *she smirks*

“BRING IT IN, PEEPS!” Discord called out, once again using one of his favorite megaphones, “IT’S TIME TO GET TO TONIGHT’S CHALLENGE! AND THERE’S A REWARD INVOLVED, SO HURRY UP ALREADY!”

Six hours later after Twilight and Trixie’s accident and Mare Do Well upsetting Rainbow Dash, both teams were ready to get to whatever the challenge was for that evening. When all 14 remaining campers walked over to where Discord was waiting, they found a large grocery truck waiting for them. When Discord flipped open the back, mountains of different kinds of food could be seen occupying the inside of the vehicle. Seeing edible, non-black food was enough to get most of the campers drooling.

“Say, Discord, how exactly did you get this thing here?” Spike questioned, taking a closer look at the grocery truck, since he had never seen one before, “This thing has wheels, and this island is surrounded by water, right? How is that even possible?”

“It makes sense if you don’t think about it,” Discord pointed out, “Now then, for today’s challenge, each team is gonna get to try their hooves at cooking! After picking a head chef, each team must complete a three-course meal that will be presented to me for evaluation. Naturally, this means that you must make an appetizer, a main course, and a dessert. It would help if you actually had a theme to get you off to a good start. Each of your courses will be ranked on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the best score. The team that scores the highest marks will win not only immunity, but also a nice reward!”

“Is the reward a vacation away from YOU?” Celestia asked, looking hopeful. For her comment, the small princess soon received another bucket of water dumped right on top of her head.

Celestia: *having the bucket lodged onto the top of her head, making her expression unreadable* Please allow me to reiterate something that I’m sure I’ve said enough by this…I REALLY HATE DISCORD!

“The reward is a fancy dinner, made with actual GOOD food and not the black kind that Nightmare Moon has been serving you,” Discord smirked, “Worth playing for? If so, let’s get started! Each team is allowed to use whatever they want from the truck, no matter how much or how little. The mess hall’s kitchen has been modified into two kitchens for each team to work with, so you should have everything you need to create a good meal! You have two hours to cook everything, so get started!” The host snapped his fingers and vanished on the spot, leaving the two teams eagerly staring into the truck and looking at the mounds of delicious ingredients.

“Trixie is head chef!” Trixie called out, instantly smirking at her team, “Trixie called it, therefore Trixie is now the head chef. Besides, after Twilight Sparkle nearly killed her earlier today, Trixie thinks that she deserves this honor.”

“But, Trixie, Pinkie works at a bakery for a living!” Rarity protested, “What knowledge do YOU have at cooking? I fail to see any cooking genes in you.”

“Not to mention that last time we trusted you, you kinda lied and made us lose the challenge,” Scootaloo pointed out, crossing her arms and frowning, “How do we know we can trust you this time?” Seeing all the suspicious looks that she was getting, Trixie growled and realized that perhaps she shouldn’t take the leadership role just yet.

“…very well, Trixie will let Pinkie Pie be head chef then,” the unicorn grumbled, instantly regretting her decision when a thrilled Pinkie gave her a tight hug.

“Ooh, thank you, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU Trixie!” the pink earth pony gushed, spinning Trixie around and around until she got dizzy, “You won’t regret this, I swear! We’re gonna cook the best food EVER! This is gonna be SOOOOOOO much fun! Ooh, ooh, do I get to wear a chef’s hat and everything? Ooh, and an apron? Maybe one that’s painted pink? Oh, I know! We totally should rename our team for this, like the ‘Cooking Misfits’, or the ‘Spicy Misfits’, or…”

“Pinkie…maybe you should actually start by…oh, I don’t know…telling us what food to get and what theme we should focus on?” Twilight sighed, giving her friend a gentle shake to snap her out of her little happy trance. Pinkie blinked for a moment, and after tilting her head and tapping her chin, she gasped and gave herself a face-hoof.

“Ooh, right, of COURSE!” she laughed, instantly leaping right into the truck and reappearing almost a second later with a large crate of random food already placed on her back, “C’mon, let’s hurry back! I totally got everything we need right here! I’ll race you all!” She giggled and began trotting towards the mess hall, leaving her confused and stunned team in a daze right behind her.

Pinkie: *now decked out in a large chef’s hat and an apron while holding a spatula in one hoof and a large spoon in the other* Pinkie Pie is no longer Pinkie Pie…she is now Head Chef Pinkie! *she lets out a ninja shout and strikes a cool cooking pose with her two utensils* We’re gonna cook our tails off!

“Naturally, I’m head chef, so let’s get started and pick out some ingredients,” Rainbow Dash grinned, leaping up onto the truck and peering inside, “Hmm…let’s of good stuff in here…”

“Why the hay do YOU get to be head chef, Dash?” Applejack complained, “Ya’ll don’t know the first thing about cookin’ GOOD food. Ya watched Pinkie make cupcakes ONCE; Zecora here actually cooks for herself every single day, not to mention she knows a thing or two ‘bout creatin’ fancy stuff.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Rainbow Dash muttered, completely ignoring Applejack and getting focused in on the challenge, “Let’s see…hmm…oh, I got it! Yes, yes, this’ll work perfectly! Uh-huh…yes…and that’s all three courses! I’ve got the three meals all laid out inside my brain, team!” She peeked her head back outside the truck and gave the Royal Ruffians an excited grin, but only received scowls in return.

“The art of cooking speaks with actions, not from what one says,” Zecora warned, “The fact that you have ideas inside your brain is worrisome…there is not a lot of room inside your head.” She gave a gentle laugh, which the rest of the team joined in on. It was Rainbow’s turn to scowl as she turned and began to gather up supplies for her ideas.

Rainbow Dash: There’s not a lot of room inside my head? What is THAT supposed to mean? Who does Zecora think she is? It’s not like my head is full of dust bunnies or anything! *she blinks, then pokes at her ears and removes a bit of lint from one of them* Ah…that might explain what was tickling me…

“Okay, so this is what Head Chef Pinkie wants,” Pinkie stated, standing proudly in front of her five teammates when they all got to their team’s kitchen, “We are gonna make some southern food, because southern food tastes so sweet and delicious, and sweet is what gets ya! First, we’ll make some tamale for our appetizers; ooh, they’re so sweet and juicy and can be filled with almost anything! Second, we’ll make Canterlot vegetarian stew for our main course; ooh, I can just taste the spiciness of the thick broth already! Then, for dessert, we’ll make some churros; ooh, they’re so sweet and tangy that you just can’t get enough of them! Any questions?”

“Yes…why are you in that ridiculous getup?” Trixie asked, frowning at Pinkie’s large chef’s hat and her apron, which was more like a karate uniform thanks to the way it was tied around her.

“Because Head Chef Pinkie is locked in and focused!” Pinkie growled, getting into Trixie’s face and poking her in the nose with her large spoon, “Do you dare go against Head Chef Pinkie’s orders?”

“Er…for fear of going insane…Trixie will just keep quiet now,” Trixie muttered, quickly scooting behind Twilight and trying to stay away from Pinkie.

“Goodie! That’s just what I wanted to hear!” Pinkie gushed, happily hopping over to her team’s stove and their large crate of food, “Let’s get started, everypony! We’re gonna cook our way to the top!”

“That or lose our minds trying,” Trixie muttered, before hesitantly joining in with the rest of the team with washing her hooves before getting to the cooking itself.

Pinkie: *giggling cutely, still in her chef’s garb and holding her large spoon and spatula* Mr. and Mrs. Cake would be SO proud of Head Chef Pinkie! They taught her everything she knows! Except for the things that Gummy taught her; that gator sure knows good food when he eats them! *she pushes her face right into the camera* HI, GUMMY, I LOVE YOU! I HOPE YOU’RE BEING A GOOD BOY!

“Okay, I need the two princesses on the goulash!” Rainbow Dash barked, holding the door to her team’s kitchen open while the rest of her teammates trudged past with their backs loaded with food, “Silver Spoon, Fluttershy and Spike? I need you all on the vegetarian schnitzel, pronto! AJ and Zecora, both of you work on the apple strudel for dessert. C’mon, let’s move it! We’re gonna cook the other team for dinner and then serve them up to Discord!”

“…that made no sense, since we’re cooking our own western course, Dash,” Luna frowned, giving the Pegasus a strange look, “And, for the seventh time, I have no idea what ‘goulash’ even is!”

“If you can’t take the heat, get outta the kitchen, Princess,” Rainbow Dash stated, flapping her wings and glaring at the ebony alicorn, “C’mon, where’s that mental toughness that you had to endure through your 1,000 years on the moon? Where’s that fight to never give up? Where’s that evilness that was ultimately Nightmare Moon? Show it, Luna! We believe in you!”

Luna: Was that supposed to be…what you call…a pep talk? It certainly did not help. Not only do I still not know what goulash is, but now my feelings are hurt and I want to strangle Rainbow Dash. Is that natural? *she sighs and rubs her temples* The world was SO much simpler 1,000 years ago…ugh.

“Um…Spike? Silver Spoon?” Fluttershy said, preparing the breading for the schnitzel while whispering to her two partners, “I’m sorry, but…does Rainbow Dash seem…a bit different to you? I mean, ever since we arrived here at camp, she’s been…well…slightly different. Have you two noticed?”

“To be honest, Fluttershy, I don’t even know who she IS outside of this game,” Silver Spoon admitted, frowning as Fluttershy accidentally splashed bread crumbs into her glasses, “But, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say that Rainbow Dash is just a jerk…she reminds me a lot of Diamond Tiara.”

“I think maybe she’s still thinking about Gilda,” Spike guessed, preparing the soybeans and tofu, “The two were best friends, right? Maybe when Gilda came here and got Dash all riled up, it unleashed Dash’s inner competitor…or something…right?”

“Well…yes, I suppose, but…Dash always loves competing,” Fluttershy argued, casting a glance over at the Pegasus as she was barking orders at Applejack and Zecora, “But…this just doesn’t seem like her. The Dash I know…isn’t so…well…mean. I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to say that…”

“No, no, you have a point…maybe something about this game…is making her act this way?” Spike responded, tapping his chin and watching Dash’s actions, “She seems so tense…like something is really eating at her…too bad Twilight isn’t on our team; she’d know what to do.”

“Or Miss Cheerilee,” Silver Spoon interjected, “She knows a lot about reading ponies’ emotions. One time, I got a sliver in my hoof and I tried to hide it, but she read me like a book. It really hurt, but she managed to get the sliver out…Diamond Tiara kept snickering and calling me a foal the entire time.”

Fluttershy, Silver Spoon and Spike all glanced at one another, then continued to whisper amongst themselves while preparing their schnitzel. They sometimes cast glances in Rainbow Dash’s direction, but they never let the Pegasus know that they were watching. They also failed to notice that the frying pan they were trying to make their vegetarian schnitzel in had a small hole in the bottom.

Fluttershy: *nervously fiddling with her hooves and looking down at the floor; when she speaks, it’s barely above a whisper* I’m worried about Rainbow Dash…half of the time, she looks…um…well, she looks…like she’s possessed. *she squeaks and shivers in fear* No! I-I-I didn’t mean to say that!

“Sister…please tell me that you know what this…goulash is,” Luna sighed, staring down into her empty kettle without a clue.

“Of course, LITTLE sister,” Celestia smirked, carrying some ingredients on her back over to the stove where Luna was waiting, “Goulash is a stew made with noodles and vegetables and topped with spices. Now, we just need to boil the noodles for 10 minutes or so while we chop up these potatoes and other veggies and get the spices ready. Simple enough, right?”

“Humph…know-it-all,” Luna grumbled, moving the kettle over to the sink and starting to fill it with water, “Say, Tia, do you think Rainbow Dash has been acting a little…well, weird? This is not the mare that I met on Nightmare Night. Sure, she was a playful scamp, not to mention very annoying, but this mare seems so…so…distant and bossy.”

“I wouldn’t worry too much about it, Luna,” Celestia shrugged, not even giving Rainbow Dash a second glance, “She is the element of loyalty; she will always be by our side, since she’s part of our team. My guess is that she’s just very competitive and…changes…when the pressure is on. This IS a game for a million bits, or so Discord says, after all. Plus, she is young and ambitious; we were like that, too, when we were that age.”

“Equestria to Celestia, but…you ARE that age!” Luna teased, smirking down at her sister. Celestia narrowed her eyes at this realization, since she was always trying to forget what Discord did to her, but whenever it was brought up, the solar princess would always take offense to it.

“Thank you SO much for reminding me of that…Lunacy!” Celestia soon countered, grinning when she saw the horrified expression creep back into her sister’s face, “Aww, what’s wrong? You don’t like your sister calling you that?”

“If you’re gonna continue to spite me with that nickname…I’m just gonna have to do the same thing to YOU…Trollestia,” Luna smirked.

“SISTER! I WARNED YOU TO NEVER CALL ME THAT!” Celestia shrieked, not realizing that the entire kitchen was now staring at her. The white princess had her face beet red while it was the ebony princess’ turn to laugh. A moment later, however, Rainbow Dash floated over to the twosome.

“Hey! What is this?” she snapped, using a spoon to remove a noodle from the kettle and tasting it, “This is raw! What is wrong with you two? Oh, let me guess, you’re used to having your servants cook for you, so you’re not good at cooking!”

“I JUST put those noodles on the stove, Rainbow Dash,” Celestia frowned, “The water isn’t even boiling yet! Of COURSE they’re still raw!”

“Get it together, ladies,” Dash demanded, “This is no time for slouching. One mess-up and that’s all it takes to bring an entire kitchen down.” She fluttered away to go back to barking orders at Applejack and Zecora, while Celestia and Luna glanced at each other again.

“…I think Rainbow Ramsey needs an attitude adjustment,” Celestia muttered.

“That or this game is getting to her head,” Luna agreed.

Rainbow Dash: Hey, don’t judge me! For all I know, my entire team is conspiring against me! I bet they ALL were behind that Mare Do Well nonsense. If they’re gonna treat me like a foal, I’m gonna show them just how bad it feels to be hurt! *she twitches a bit* It’s not funny…it’s really not funny, you know?

“For the LAST time, Rainbow Dash, ah KNOW what ah’m doin’!” Applejack snapped, “Apple strudel is somethin’ that ah often make as a snack for mah little sis. Go and bug somepony else, would ya?”

“Zecora…could you give AJ and I a moment?” Dash said coolly, glancing at the zebra and shooing her away with a hoof. Even though Zecora looked ready to assault Dash once and for all, she once again kept her cool and granted the Pegasus her wish by stepping away from the two and going to check on the two princesses. When Rainbow Dash and Applejack were both alone, the Pegasus leaned down and hissed into her ear. “Why did you do it, AJ? Did you think it was funny or something?”

“Huh? Do what, Dash?” Applejack asked, sheer confusion plastered across her face.

“You know darn-well what!” Dash snapped, pushing her face closer to Applejack’s, “That little ‘scene’ that you pulled this morning after breakfast! Just to try and make me stop being so cocky, despite the fact that our team rocks and I SHOULD be feeling that way…you had to go and pull out that same stupid trick again. Didn’t you have enough fun humiliating me the LAST time?”

“Ah repeat…what ARE ya’ll talkin’ about, Dash?” Applejack asked again, frowning slightly and trying to push the Pegasus away, “Ah seriously have no idea what the hay is wrong with you. You know perfectly well where ah was this mornin’; I was helpin’ Zecora get that salt out of her eyes, and then consolin’ her when she was wantin’ to kick yer flank!”

“Humph…oh really?” Rainbow scoffed, but couldn’t follow it up with a deeper statement. Applejack was the element of honesty; would she really be lying about being Mare Do Well? Rainbow Dash KNEW that she saw her; she even chased her through the woods until she ran into Twilight and Trixie. Was it possible that it wasn’t Applejack at all? Was it possible that it was someone else on the team? Or maybe one of the Magical Misfits? Or just one of Discord’s tricks?

Shaking her head and sighing, Rainbow Dash gave Applejack a hard look before slowly flying off and leaving the cowpony alone. Applejack watched her best friend leave, one eyebrow lifted as she was curious as to what Dash meant and why she was grilling her. She really had no idea what was up with the Pegasus, but it was bothering her. Despite her attitude, Applejack genuinely cared for Rainbow Dash even more than most others. Something was definitely bothering Dash, and it was up to Applejack to try and solve it. As she began adding cream to her apple strudel, she formulated a plan on how to try and talk to Dash about her inner problems.

Applejack: That silly mare don’t like sharin’ her personal feelings and whatnot; she tends to keep them inside, ya know? But, ah’m her best friend; ah know ah can get her to open up to me. Maybe…ah HAVE been a bit rough on her…but she’s just such a dang braggart! *she sighs and shakes her head*

“How is everypony doing?” Pinkie asked, bouncing around between each station and observing the work that was going on, “Ooh, this is looking super-duper-spectacular! All of you are doing WONDERFUL! In fact…it almost makes me want to sing!” Since nopony was taking her seriously, Pinkie grinned and hopped away to the crate that she had brought in on her back; she had the perfect plan in mind.

“Ugh…this Canterlot vegetarian stew is a lot of work,” Rarity sighed, “And we’re still missing some prime ingredients…um, does anypony hear music? It sounds…like a violin.” Indeed, it seemed that soft music had suddenly began to play in the background, but none of the other Magical Misfits seemed to notice.

“Trixie knows that this is hard, and Trixie knows that this is ugly,” Trixie muttered, glancing sideways at Twilight standing right next to her, “But Trixie just cannot cook with you right there anymore…Twilight Sparkle.” Then, just as Trixie was done speaking to her cooking partner (who had been crowding her the whole time), the background music intensified and Pinkie soon bounced onto the counter and began to sing a song while continuing to aid her team’s cooking.

La la-la-la-la la-la, la-la-la, la-la! La la-la-la-la la-la, la-la-la!

We are cooking…and now singing! But we need cups of rice, more cups of rice!
Four tablespoons…of olive oil! And now we add a nice pile of chopped onions!

I am Head Chef Pinkie Pie! I’ll stick a cupcake in your eye!
We’re gonna win, that much is true, we just can’t lose!

We need to add, we need to add…a jalapeño! *at this point, she starts to dance with some jalapeños*
We must mix in, we must mix in…oregano!
Just add a pinch, no you cannot touch! Be careful or you’ll add too much!
And don’t forget, and don’t forget…red tomatoes!

Jalapeño, jalapeño! Jala-jalapeño, jala- jalapeño!
Jalapeño, jalapeño! Jala-jalapeño, jala- jalapeño!

“Stop…please…just make her stop!” Trixie cried, pulling at her mane as she gave Twilight a desperate look, “Twilight Sparkle…just make her stop!” But, Pinkie wouldn’t be stopped, and she continued singing a moment later, much to the chagrin of the rest of BOTH kitchens.

We’re the Misfits; that one is Trixie! She can sometimes get real mad, so very bad!
And there’s Rarity, and Cheerilee. And Scoots sometimes looks real sad, so very sad!

Then there is my best friend Twi! She likes to look at the sky!
But, oops we should be cooking food, ‘cause we can’t lose!

We need to add, we need to add…some jalapeños!
We must mix in, we must mix in…oregano!
Just add a pinch, no you shouldn’t touch! Be careful or you’ll add too much!
And don’t forget, and don’t forget…chopped tomatoes!

Jalapeño, jalapeño! Jala-jalapeño, jala- jalapeño!
Jalapeño, jalapeño! Jala-jalapeño, jala- jalapeño!

Everypony now! *she gives the team one of her puppy-dog looks that nopony could resist*

Yes Trixie hates, yes Trixie hates… jalapeños! *this was Trixie’s line before she swatted Pinkie away*
This makes me sneeze, this makes me sneeze…o-o-oregano! *this was Rarity’s line before she sneezed*
It’s time to add, it’s time to add…chopped tomatoes! *this was Cheerilee’s line; she was still cooking*
I wanna hold, I wanna touch…my Rainbow! *this was Scootaloo’s line; thankfully, no one paid attention*

Turn down the heat, turn down the heat…make it real low! *Pinkie had taken back control of the song*
Can’t let it burn, can’t let it burn…like DUH, you know!
Now add some salt, then sour cream! Ooh, if I had ice cream, I would scream!
But I really like, I really like…wait, what did Scootaloo say about Rainbow?

“Um…I said nothing about nopony!” Scootaloo squeaked as the song paused for a split-second and the entire team started at her. Then, just as quickly as Pinkie paused, she just as quickly picked the song right back up for its grand finale.

Jalapeño, jalapeño! Jala-jalapeño, jala- jalapeño!
Jalapeño, jalapeño! Jala-jalapeño, jala- jalapeño!

*at this point, Pinkie starts doing acrobatic flips all around the kitchen and singing “jalapeño” over and over again, allowing her team to finish the song themselves*

Just make her stop, just make her stop…Twilight Sparkle! *Trixie is now going stir-crazy at the song*
We’re almost done, we’re almost done…at least I think so! *Twilight was looking at her team’s stew*
I need a rest, I must sit down; oh my, just listen to how I sound! *Rarity sang this; she sounded frazzled*
We’re just so cool, we’re just so cool…just like Rainbow! *Scootaloo sang this line, puffing out her chest*

Jalapeños! *Pinkie ended the show by blasting out of her team’s food crate and firing jalapeños everywhere, including one stuck in her nose*

“HEY! What’s with all the singing in here?” Discord shouted, poking his head into the Magical Misfits’ kitchen door. As soon as he saw Pinkie with a jalapeño stuck in her nose and a dozen more spread around the room, he gave the pink pony a wide-rimmed grin. “Perfect! Pinkie Pie, your singing is sure to drive the ratings through the roof! Keep it up, my dear.” He chuckled and vanished a moment later.

“Okie-dokie-lokie!” Pinkie giggled, playfully fiddling with the jalapeño sticking out of her nose, “Hey, Twilight, look! I have a boogie hanging from my nose! See how big and green it is?”

“Pinkie Pie…in the words of Rainbow Dash…you are SO random,” Twilight sighed, slowly picking up a jalapeño off the floor and shaking her head at the pink pony.

“Ah-ah-ah, I’m not Pinkie Pie…I’m Head Chef Pinkie Pie!” Pinkie corrected Twilight, giving a huge inhale as she sucked the jalapeño stuck in her nostrils straight up her nose, soon devouring the spicy pepper and licking her lips, “Yummy! So nice and spicy! Head Chef Pinkie Pie likes it spicy!”

Trixie: *gagging and looking repulsed* Ugh! That disgusting pink mare! First making the Great and Powerful Trixie engage in ridiculous singing, and then… *she shivers* …what she did with that pepper should be outlawed! Does her tomfoolery know no bounds? Where DOES Twilight Sparkle find these ponies? Oh, right, she’s Twilight Sparkle…she’s not that bright. *she snickers to herself* So obvious.

“What in the world was going on over there?” Spike asked, glancing over towards the Magical Misfits’ kitchen, “It sounded like Pinkie Pie broke into one of her songs again…”

“That’s HEAD CHEF PINKIE PIE!” Pinkie snarled, poking her head out of the Royal Ruffians’ microwave and glaring down at them before vanishing just as quickly as she had appeared. The rest of them, despite being visibly spooked, decided to not question just how Pinkie managed to do these things.

“Ugh…whatever, let ‘em sing!” Rainbow Dash scoffed, “While they’re singing, we’re cooking to win! My team is 40% stronger, 30% smarter, and 20% cooler than Twilight’s team! We’re gonna fillet them with our flashy cooking skills! We’re gonna blend them up in a blender of total despair! We’re gonna chew them up and spit them out like spinach! We’re gonna…”

“Dash, ah think we get the picture,” Applejack frowned, swatting the Pegasus on the butt with a spatula, “Now, if ya’ll don’t mind, ah’m tryin’ to put the finishin’ touches on our apple strudel, and yer bellyachin’ is kinda distractin’ us from doin’ so.”

“Hey! Watch the hindquarters, AJ!” Rainbow Dash squeaked, rubbing her tush and glaring at the cowpony, “You better hope there’re no bruises on it now; I can’t be flying around with a red mark on my rump! I should make you kiss it better.”

“The only butt that’ll be gettin’ any kisses around here is mine, Dash…and from YOU!” Applejack whispered, smirking to herself as she lowered her hat and put the finishing touches on her apple strudel.

“Did you say something?” Dash questioned, raising an eyebrow as she watched Applejack and Zecora both put the apple strudel in the fridge.

“Nothin’ at all, Dash!” Applejack grinned, turning back around and nodding to the Pegasus, “Now, let’s clean this place up and get ready for the dinner service.” The entire time, Zecora had been watching Applejack and Rainbow Dash’s actions closely, and couldn’t help but grin to herself.

Zecora: Applejack and Rainbow Dash, the two are quite a pair…take away one, and thus will lead to a bout of despair. The forces of yin and yang are all around, like a heart of love that is surely abound. What this team learns from moving on, who’s to say? But, to put it simply, this has been a very odd day.

Eventually, all six dishes were complete and both kitchens were cleaned. With the Misfits, Pinkie gave a rousing speech on how she was proud of her team and how the food looked delicious, not to mention talking about a good dozen other random things that continued to give Trixie gray hairs. With the Ruffians, Rainbow Dash didn’t even bother looking at her team’s food; she was sure that they were perfect and that they would easily win this challenge. Despite her suspect attitude lately, the Ruffians had to admit that the boast of confidence from Dash wasn’t really a negative thing.

“Discord is waitin’ for his grub, gang!” Applejack smiled, glancing at Rainbow Dash, “Dash, you guard the food, okay? We’ll go out there and set things up and wait until it’s our turn.”

“Aww, but guarding the food is SO boring!” Dash whined, but she was soon left alone in the quiet kitchen with her team’s three course meal sitting on the table next to her. With a growl, Rainbow Dash pulled a chair over and sat down while eying the food. “Humph…well, at least this is relaxing.”

In the mess hall’s dining area, Discord had removed the tables and chairs so that he was sitting by himself at a long judge’s table. Deciding to elicit their own personal flare for what they were serving, Twilight and Zecora both set their team’s side of the table in a different fashion. Twilight set some candles out and lit each one, while Zecora pulled out the little wooden doll she had got from Dusk Island and set it in the middle of her team’s side.

“Your food will be ready in a moment, Discord,” Twilight said politely, bowing her head and trying her best to act like a waitress.

“Prepare for a meal that you will surely love,” Zecora smiled, “Our cooking skills are ranked high and above!”

“Ooh, how precious!” Discord grinned, having a good time watching Twilight and Zecora both try to act classy, “Each of you are trying to suck up to me so that I don’t tell you just how terrible your food is and then instantly force Nightmare Moon to eat it. Not a bad move, actually. Anyway, Magical Misfits, your team gets to go first, so better make sure it’s a good opening statement!”

“You can bet it is, Discord!” Twilight said, turning towards her kitchen and giving a shrill whistle, “Okay, Pinkie, bring ‘em on out here!” When the kitchen doors stayed close, Twilight groaned and gave herself a face-hoof. “Ugh…Head Chef Pinkie, would you PLEASE bring out the food?”

“With gusto, Twilight!” Pinkie giggled, bouncing out the doors a moment later, still in her chef’s outfit as Cheerilee, Scootaloo, Trixie and Rarity all wheeled a cart out just behind the thrilled earth pony. The cart had all their courses laid out perfectly on the top; Rarity had done the arranging, of course. “Discord, prepare yourself for yumminess that you have never experienced anywhere else in the whole entire world! I am so, so, so, SO proud of my team! You’re gonna love this!”

“For your sake, I’d better,” Discord chuckled, “So, what did you ladies decide to make?”

“We made some southern food,” Twilight spoke up, “For the appetizer, we have some tamale. For the main course, we put together a very festive Canterlot vegetarian stew. For dessert, we have some churros.”

“Ooh, sounds nifty! Lay them on me!” Discord smiled.

“Wouldn’t it be easier if we set them down in front of you so you could actually eat them?” Pinkie asked, tilting her head, “Why would you want us to lay the food on you? Plus, they’re still hot, so it could burn you, and that would be so horrible because burns can really sting. I know because I went out to the beach one time and I thought, ‘Hey, I know, I think I’ll get a suntan!’ But, then I fell asleep on my tummy, so my poor little tushy was sticking up in the air for a whole six hours and…”

“Eh-hem…Pinkie, darling, just serve the food, please,” Rarity said politely, her right eye slightly twitching. By this point, Trixie had lost all energy to make insults or threats at Pinkie; she was completely spent. Cheerilee and Scootaloo both simply grinned and said nothing.

“Hmm? Oh, right, okay!” Pinkie laughed, “Why didn’t you just say so in the first place? Are you ready, Discord? Here you go!” The pony butt-bumped the cart and sent the plate of tamale sailing through the air and somehow landing right in front of Discord without a single spill. Giving Pinkie an amused and satisfied look, Discord picked up his fork and sank it into the steaming plate of food.

First, Discord cut open one of the tamales on the plate and examined the insides. He then gave it a long sniff and even held his clawed hand over the top to make sure it was indeed radiating good heat. Finally, the final part was to actually taste it. Pulling off rather a large chunk with his fork, Discord raised it to his mouth and took a greedy bite. He chewed only two times before swallowing. Almost as soon as he did, he gave the Magical Misfits a small nod.

“The cheese is deliciously melted, the veggies are packed but not so dense that they take the taste away, and the flavor is to die for!” the draconequus complimented, “It’s still nice and hot, the waffling aroma is delicious, and this is an overall great appetizer. All 10 points, Misfits! Now, pass the Canterlot vegetarian stew, please.”

“How about a handoff instead of a pass?” Pinkie giggled, butt-bumping the cart again and having a large bowl of the stew land on her head. She trotted up to Discord and slid the bowl down in front of him, and once more the spirit of disharmony had to give Pinkie a grin at her methods of delivery. Again, he used the same tactics as he did with the tamale. He smelled, felt, observed and tasted the stew before giving his second review.

“This stew is…magnificent!” he gushed, “Ooh, the spiciness is so PERFECT! The jalapeños really give it that kick that it needs, but the crunchy tomatoes…the minced onions…it’s all blended beautifully. Ah, and I can really taste that oregano; nice job on not overusing it. Another 10 points, Misfits!”

“And now, for the dessert!” Pinkie smiled, butt-bumping her team’s cart for a third and final time and this time having the tray of churros land on her back. She then hopped over to Discord and tossed the plate up onto the table again, receiving the same amused expression as before. However, this time when he tried to eat one of the snacks, he looked repulsed.

“Ugh…these are as hard as rocks!” he complained, instantly spitting out the churro he had been trying to eat and frowning down at the plate, “You clearly overcooked them. I can’t even bite into them without chipping one of my fangs! Which one of you foals did this?” He glared over at the team that he had been so proud of just moments ago. Immediately, the team looked at Scootaloo, since the filly was the one in charge of the desserts.

“Um…I, uh…maybe I…well, you see, the thing is…” Scootaloo gulped, trying to make herself look small. The truth was that she had been distracted by Rainbow Dash, since the Pegasus’ loud ranting had gotten the filly curious and even a bit worried about her. As such, she had completely forgotten to take her churros out on time, which led to them being seriously overcooked and made as hard as rocks.

“It was MY fault,” Cheerilee interrupted, quickly stepping in for her student, “I told Scootaloo to let me handle it, since she seemed to be working herself too hard to try and prove herself to the team. I fear that I’m the one that let the churros overcook. Please, forgive me.” This statement instantly stunned Scootaloo. The earth pony had clearly just lied to protect the filly, but the rest of the team and even Discord seemed to buy it.

“Well, all the same, the only thing that THESE are good for now is hurling into the ocean,” Discord mused, randomly tossing one of the churros onto the floor and watching as it cracked one of the floorboards by how hard it was, “I’ll give you one point for effort, but that’s it. Your grand total is 21 points out of 30. Not bad, Misfits…but now it’s the Ruffians’ turn.”

Scootaloo: W-w-why did Miss Cheerilee lie just to save me from being humiliated? She…didn’t have to do that…now I feel bad. *she hangs her head* Ugh…I shouldn’t have been watching Dash…

Cheerilee: If we end up losing, I’d rather myself go home over Scootaloo. She…doesn’t deserve to go yet…and I’d rather not have to suffer more pain from seeing another one of my dear students leave…

“This challenge is in the bag…” Rainbow Dash snickered, leaning back in her chair and propping her arms behind her head, “Ah…this chair is kinda comfy…wait, what’s that sound?” A second later, Dash let out a squeak as her chair ended up cracking, causing her to go barreling into the nearby table. The same table that her team’s entire course was resting upon.

As soon as the Pegasus crashed into the table, the plates of food went flying into the air and the table itself was broken into pieces. With a horrified shriek, Rainbow Dash quickly stretched her wings and zoomed around the room at lightning-fast pace, trying to catch each plate of food before it crashed onto the ground. The plate of vegetarian schnitzel safely landed on her back, the apple strudel landed on one of her wings, but the hot bowl of goulash landed right on top of her head. Plus, not only was the bowl really hot, but Dash had no place to set the food down and if she moved, she would drop everything.

“Um…somepony…anypony…help?” the Pegasus gulped, frozen in a rather awkward stance and grunting a bit, since keeping her wings open just to hold up a plate was not an easy task. Unfortunately, the rest of the Ruffians were still sitting outside the kitchen door, waiting for their turn to deliver their food to Discord. At the moment, Discord was just finishing up giving marks to the Magical Misfits. It was also at that moment when a drop of tomato sauce ended up seeping over the side of the bowl of goulash and dripping right down onto Dash’s nose.

Rainbow Dash: Just so all you know, I regret nothing! *her ears drooped and she then wrapped her wings around herself* Okay…I kinda do regret what happens next…man, I’m disgraced.

“Uh…what was that sound?” Silver Spoon asked, tilting her head towards her team’s kitchen door.

“It kinda sounded like a crash,” Fluttershy said, “Do you think Rainbow Dash is alright?”

“Ah know what’d BETTER be ahright when ah go in there to get our food…” Applejack frowned, listening as Discord called out that it was her team’s turn to deliver their meal to him, “HEY, DASH, YA’LL CAN BRING OUT THE FOOD NOW!” When the kitchen doors remained closed and Dash didn’t come out, the Royal Ruffians waited a moment longer, but Dash still never came back out.

“Eh-hem…Ruffians, TODAY if you’d please?” Discord frowned, tapping at the invisible watch on his right arm and looking irritated.

“Dang it. Dash, what the hay are ya’ll doin’ in there?” Applejack sighed, pushing open the kitchen doors and taking a look inside. As soon as she did, her jaw dropped all the way to the ground and her hat very nearly flew right off her head.

Rainbow Dash was shivering in fear, showing the same expression as she had back during the Best Young Flyer competition. She was cowering in the middle of a circle of spilled and destroyed food…the same food that her team had just worked so hard to make. The goulash was spilled all over the floor, the schnitzel was in pieces, and the apple strudel looked more like someone had murdered a pile of strawberries. Ironically, Rainbow Dash didn’t have a drop of food on her body.

“Hehe…hehehehe…Discord, would ya’ll give me just one little bitty minute?” Applejack grinned, very slowly turning to look at the draconequus. The expression she was giving off was enough to send chills down Discord’s spine. The cowpony looked ready to explode, despite her creepy grin.

“Er…sure…just, um, make it quick…I don’t have all night,” Discord muttered.

“Hehe…oh, don’t ya’ll worry ‘bout that…this won’t take long at all,” Applejack giggled, her body rigid and the smile stretching out into an even creepier grin that eclipsed her usual docile expression. Slowly, she removed her hat and gave it to Fluttershy before she slowly stalked right into the kitchen, letting the doors slowly slide shut behind her.

Fluttershy: *timidly cowering while wearing Applejack’s hat* I’ve…I’ve seen…Applejack when she’s mad…it’s one of the most horrifying…one of the most terrifying…I-I-I just don’t want to think about it! *she squeaks and quickly dives down to hide from the camera a second later* Applejack is scary.

A few uneasy seconds passed in the mess hall dining area, the Royal Ruffians, the Magical Misfits and Discord all looking at one another in confusion and wondering what in the world was going on. Then, it was like a volcano erupted inside the Ruffians’ kitchen. A loud roar was heard, followed by what sounded like random items being hurled around the room, some of which seemed to be heavier than just a stove. Screaming could be heard, ranging from horrified shrieks and pleas for forgiveness to angry insults and threats and warnings. It got so bad that the walls of the mess hall began to shake.

Celestia and Luna quickly held onto one other, not exactly looking scared but still looking rather uneasy with the massacre that was apparently going on in the kitchen. Fluttershy was trembling and cowering in the corner, her little tush sticking up in the air as she tried to hide her face in said corner. Spike, Silver Spoon and Zecora were all huddled together and trying to think of happy thoughts. Discord himself seemed thrilled that chaos was going on, but even he winced when large dents began appearing in the wall that separated the Ruffians’ kitchen from the dining area. Some of the dents looked Pegasus-shaped, too. The Magical Misfits had all slowly backed away towards the nearest exit.

Eventually, the kitchen doors burst open again and Applejack poked her head back out. Her mane was ruffled and she was gasping profusely, as though she had just experienced a heavy workout. She had a deep snarl plastered across her that was showing off her teeth, and her front hooves were clenched and were barely able to keep her standing. When she noticed that everyone in the mess hall was now looking at her, the cowpony suddenly grinned and seemingly went right back to normal.

“Hehe…sorry ‘bout that, ya’ll,” she chuckled, quickly trying to pat down her mane as she glanced behind her back into the destroyed kitchen, “Ah just needed to…get Dash in line. C’mon now, Dash; we can’t keep Discord waitin’ any longer. Please deliver our food…right now.” She kept the same forced grin on her face as she held the door open. Almost an entire minute later, a limping Rainbow Dash trudged out of the kitchen, the food cart right behind her. It looked like it had been forcibly tied to her tail.

The Pegasus looked like she had been through a tornado, a volcano, an earthquake, and a tsunami all in one hour. Both her mane and her tail were sticking up in many different directions, not to mention looking ragged and ruined. She had two black eyes, a busted nose, a limp in one of her hind legs, rough scrapes against both of her flanks, red spank marks on her butt, and a few of her feathers from her wings having been stuffed into her ears. Somehow, she wasn’t missing any teeth.

“Discord…I present to you…the Royal Ruffians’…food,” Rainbow Dash wheezed, her voice coming out low and raspy as she limped up to the draconequus, “We made…some goulash…and some vegetarian schnitzel…and some apple strudel. We hope…that you…enjoy it.”

“Okay then…uh, goody,” Discord said, feigning enthusiasm as she looked at the cart tied around the Pegasus’ tail, “So, maybe you’d like to serve me now?” Instead of doing that, Rainbow Dash just let out a pathetic whimper and collapsed onto the ground. “Okay…I guess I’ll serve myself.” Already giving the Royal Ruffians a disapproving stare, he reached out and grabbed the goulash first.

“Um…our meals were…primary made while thinking of western places,” Luna spoke up, thinking it was important before Discord decided to eat. However, when Discord dug into the near-empty goulash bowl, he raised an eyebrow when he pulled out a spoon that was mainly full of blue Pegasus feathers and not much else.

“Uh…I do not recall goulash having Pegasi feathers as an ingredient,” Discord frowned, giving the spoonful of food a sniff and instantly turning away, “And it smells like it’s been all over the floor! This is downright insulting! What foals made this?”

“I’ll have you know that I am NOT a foal!” Celestia frowned, “And I did NOT add Pegasi feathers to it. I didn’t even know what in the world goulash WAS before my sister told me!”

“Well, be that as it may, this is pitiful and I wouldn’t feed this to a starving parasprite,” Discord snapped, throwing the disgusting goulash over his head and very nearly hitting Trixie’s, “One point for the effort, but that’s it! Now, you said that vegetarian schnitzel was next?” He reached over and picked up the plate that had the schnitzel on it and put it in front of him.

“Yes, and we worked very hard on it!” Spike said proudly, “Fluttershy, Silver Spoon and myself all pitched in together and we’re sure that you’ll…”

“…find it very unappealing and disgusting,” Discord finished, frowning when the schnitzel was reduced to nothing but bread crumbs when he tried to poke it with his fork, “This looks like it has been stepped on over and over again and then just thrown onto the plate for good measure! How DARE you feed me something like this! If you have a problem with Nightmare Moon’s food, you take it up with HER, not take it out on me! Another one point and good riddance!” The draconequus angrily tossed the plate of destroyed schnitzel over his head as well, once more nearly taking Trixie’s off. It was clear that he was not enjoying being served dog food.

“Um…but, the apple strudel, it will be sure to please,” Zecora gulped, “Making such a simple and tasty snack was as easy as a breeze.”

“Oh, really?” Discord sighed, holding up the apple strudel plate and showing the Ruffians that all that was on it was a bunch of bread crumbs and red smears, “Then where is it?”

“Hehe…hehehehehe…oh, Discord…come now, ya’ll know that it’s good…right?” Applejack smiled, her left eye slowly twitching as she looked on the verge of another breakdown.

“Yes, I do…it’s good…FOR NOTHING!” Discord growled, using the plate as a Frisbee and this time nearly taking AJ’s head off instead, “Ruffians, I am appalled, humiliated, disgraced, and downright nauseated by what you tried to serve me! Do I look like just any ordinary draconequus that would enjoy a bowl of dirty Pegasus feathers? Or a plate of trampled breadsticks? Or a plate that looks like a tomato just exploded from shame? Well, I do not; I have a much higher degree of pride for what I eat. By a score of 21 to 3, I hereby declare that the Magical Misfits EASILY win this challenge!”

“YES! WE WON!” Pinkie cheered, throwing her chef’s hat up into the air and happily squeezing her entire team into her arms, “I KNEW YOU ALL COULD DO IT! WHO WANTS TO HEAR A SONG?”

“NO MUSIC!” Trixie screamed, quickly slapping a hoof over the pony’s mouth. The entire team laughed and continued the group hug, despite the protests from Trixie, while the Royal Ruffians looked downright humiliated, embarrassed, and angry.

“This ain’t fair!” Applejack snarled, once again having her anger fire up as she stomped over to Discord and the fainted Dash, “Ever since this mornin’, ain’t nothin’ but bad luck been happenin’ to us! First our chairs get all busted, then Dash spills salt and throws some in Zecora’s face, and now THIS nightmare! What the hay is goin’ on here? We were a great team and we had all the momentum! Why in the world was Dash actin’ the way she was? Why did she ruin all our food? Why did our chairs break? WHY?!?!”

“Um…hold on…what’s THAT?” Spike asked, pointing to the tabletop after spying Zecora’s wooden doll, “Who put THAT ugly thing there?”

“That is no ugly thing, my curious little friend,” Zecora said, trotting up and pulling it off the table, “I found this on Dusk Island; for this challenge, I thought it should attend.” Almost immediately after Zecora was done talking, the entire mess hall gasped in horror, including Discord. Rainbow Dash weakly lifted her head and let out a tiny gasp as well. Every eye in the mess hall was now staring at Zecora in the same way most of them had when she first entered Ponyville.

“You took that from Dusk Island?” Discord groaned, “The same island that I distinctly told you NOT to bring anything back from or else you and your team would be cursed?”

“I…do not remember…you saying anything about that,” Zecora muttered, noticing all the looks and feeling rather uneasy about them.

“Of course you don’t, because you were too busy frolicking in the woods with Silver Spoon!” Spike snapped, crossing his arms and glaring at Zecora, “Way to go, Zecora…you cursed all of us…and this time, it’s not just rumors…you seriously did!” Combined with what Spike said and seeing that now most of the looks of horror she was getting were turning into glares of rage, Zecora realized that this was not the best place to be at the moment.

“Yes…well…I do believe that I should go put this back,” Zecora said meekly, quickly easing towards the nearest door with the small wooden doll, “Then…our team…should hopefully get back on track.” With that, the zebra quickly burst out of the mess hall and left a silence in her wake.

Rainbow Dash: *now sporting multiple casts and bandages on her body* So, Applejack kicked my butt for NOTHING? It was all Zecora’s fault? Man, that’s SO not fair! Applejack seriously owes me a big apology for this. *she grumbles and crosses her arms* Ow…man she’s strong…not to mention scary…

“Well…while the Royal Ruffians head off to their elimination ceremony,” Discord explained, turning to the Magical Misfits, “You all earned that reward that I was telling you about. Your surprise is that you get a lovely dinner in the middle of an outdoor makeshift restaurant…under the stars. Just the six of you with Nightmare Moon as your waitress. Please follow me.” He snapped his fingers and vanished.

“Now THAT’S a reward that I can really sink my teeth into!” Pinkie giggled, throwing away her chef’s hat and apron and bouncing up and down excitedly, “C’mon, Misfits! Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go! Hungry Pinkie Pie can’t wait for a good meal!”

“Great, so Head Chef Pinkie is now Hungry Pinkie…what’s next, Haunted Pinkie when Trixie invades your dreams and makes you wish you had never angered her?” Trixie asked, frowning at the earth pony. In response, Pinkie simply playfully bucked Trixie onto her back and took off out the door. Twilight, Cheerilee, Scootaloo and Rarity all watched and listened in amusement as Trixie’s shrieks and Pinkie’s giggles vanished into the evening.

Twilight: Well, a win is a win, even if it was…um, somewhat chaotic. I’m sure Discord just LOVED that. I feel bad for Applejack and her team, though…poor Princess Celestia has to deal with all that…

Rarity: Ah, what a lovely reward. I get some suitable fine dining under the GORGEOUS stars and finally Nightmare Moon is forced to wait on us and get us some GOOD food. How quaint, don’t you think?

“I think the choice is obvious on who should be voted out tonight, AJ,” Spike stated, standing with Applejack outside of the Ruffians’ cabin about ten minutes later, “Rainbow Dash might’ve destroyed everything and acted like a jerk, but it was Zecora’s fault because she cursed us!”

“Ah dunno, Spike…ah feel bad about that,” Applejack admitted, hanging her head, “We ahready made the mistake of misjudgin’ Zecora before and it really made us all feel like foals. She made one simple mistake…should that really garner her bein’ voted off?”

“Would you rather get rid of Rainbow Dash?” Spike questioned, “It has to be one of the two of them, right? I mean…Fluttershy is timid and stuff, but at least she doesn’t destroy stuff and give us attitude. Silver Spoon is…well, kinda worthless…but, she’s been trying hard to make a better impression on those around her. Heck, even the two princesses can’t really do much without their magic. Who do YOU want to see voted off?”

“Ah…ah don’t know,” Applejack sighed, “Ah’d rather not vote anypony off…it makes me feel bad inside. Sure, ah voted for Sweetie Belle and Diamond Tiara, but…it wasn’t easy. Ah really don’t want any bad feelings to go into this.”

“Well, do what you think is right,” Spike shrugged, turning and walking off, “I know who I’M voting for. Do what your heart tells you to do, Applejack.” The cowpony looked at the dragon as he walked off, then looked back at the ground. Her mind was lost in thought at what to do at the ceremony that night.

Did she vote for Rainbow Dash, her best friend who, despite her issues, was still a wonderful mare that AJ knew she could always count on? Did she vote for Zecora, simply because she apparently cursed the team with her wooden doll, even though she didn’t know that she had? Did she maybe vote for Silver Spoon, simply due to the fact that she was a little filly and wasn’t much good for anything? Did she possibly vote for one of the two princesses and possibly get punished for it later? Even though this was nothing more than a game, Applejack could feel the pressure swelling inside of her chest. This was not gonna be an easy decision.

Applejack: It feels so wrong votin’ for Zecora ‘cause it makes me think back to when we falsely judged her before. But, then again, ah don’t want to vote for Dash…despite the butt-kickin’ ah issued onto her in that kitchen…ah don’t want her to go. *a faint blush broke out onto her face* Horse-feathers.

“And, voilà!” Discord grinned, leading the Magical Misfits to an outdoor eatery that he had put together with his magic, “Each table is set for two, so you will each have to pair up. Nightmare Moon, I expect you to be nice to them.”

“I don’t get paid to be nice,” Nightmare Moon frowned, wearing a small waitress’ outfit and looking very pissed off about it.

“You don’t get paid at ALL, my dear,” Discord smirked, giving the alicorn a tickle under the chin, “Now, with that, I must leave you all and go attend the ceremony. Have fun, Misfits!” He laughed and vanished, leaving the six amused Magical Misfits behind him with the cranky Nightmare Moon.

“Wow…this is…lovely!” Rarity gushed, trotting forward and looking around the area. The top of the restaurant was fitted with a transparent silver veil that allowed those sitting right underneath to view the stars in the heavens above. There were three tables set up, each one made of the finest stone material that money could buy. The tablecloths, silverware, napkins and even the flooring were all made of either the finest linen or out of gold.

“Ooh, ooh, Rarity, let’s sit together!” Pinkie smiled, grabbing the fashion pony and dragging her towards one of the three tables.

“Miss Cheerilee, would you sit with me?” Scootaloo asked, giving a humble bow to her teacher, “I, um, wanted to talk to you about what you did earlier for me…”

“Of course, Scootaloo,” Cheerilee smiled, giving the filly a pat on the head and trotting with her over to the second empty table. This left just two Magical Misfits left and only one table to fill.

“You CANNOT be serious,” Trixie groaned, glancing at Twilight and slapping her forehead, “WHY does this keep happening to Trixie? Something tells her that the Ruffians were not the only team cursed.”

“Oh, Trixie, stop it,” Twilight scolded, playfully nudging the mare and trotting over to the final table, “I won’t bite. Now, c’mon, sit down and take a load off; we all earned it.”

“Humph…very well…but Trixie can tell that this is already gonna be a LONG night,” Trixie grumbled, taking her seat opposite Twilight as Nightmare Moon trotted forward to ask what they wanted to drink.

Rarity: *gasping and holding up one of the golden spoons she had at her table* Oh…oh my…these spoons are encrusted with emeralds and rubies! I…I must have them! Discord won’t miss them! *she tries to hide it on her body, but growls when she realizes she can’t* Oh, poo…this is NOT fair AT ALL.

Discord had already situated himself in front of the bonfire after saying goodbye to the Magical Misfits. The Royal Ruffians didn’t look happy about being there after they day they had, but they knew that there was no looking back now. Someone on their team was about to be voted off, and since Gilda and Diamond Tiara were no longer in the game, voting a camper out of the game was no easy task. Even to that very moment, none of the teammates really looked happy about what they were imagining.

“So, Ruffians, kinda a shock to see you all here…you all looked so powerful and dominant after axing two of your three filly campers,” Discord smirked, loving how he instantly drew uneasy looks from everyone on the Ruffians except Silver Spoon, “I’d be worried if I was Silver Spoon…the only two players voted off from her team were her two fellow fillies, Diamond Tiara and Sweetie Belle. Will they make it three for three? Or will they go elsewhere? Well, we’re about to find out. You all know how this works by now; it’s time to vote. Applejack, you’re up.”

Rainbow Dash: *showing the camera that she voted for Zecora* You may’ve not cursed us the first time, but you did this time, and you’re gonna pay for it! *she puts the ballot into the box*

Silver Spoon: *showing the camera that she voted for Rainbow Dash* Please, please, PLEASE don’t send Zecora home…she’s the only friend I have left… *she weakly puts the ballot into the box*

Spike: *showing the camera that he voted for Zecora* Sorry, Zecora, but I haven’t forgotten when your cauldron blasted me in the head the other day…plus, you cursed us. *he puts the ballot in the box*

Zecora: *showing the camera that she voted for Rainbow Dash* You, my friend, are nothing but trouble. If you were to stay, the chaos would surely be doubled. *she puts the ballot into the box*

“You have all made your decision,” Discord said, snapping his fingers as the ballot box appeared in front of him, “Once a decision is reached, the vote is FINAL, and that loser will be sent down the Dock of Shame and forced to board the Boat of Losers. And they CANNOT ever come back to the island…EVER! Are you ready? I’ll read the votes.” He put on his sunglasses instead of his fake reading glasses before he removed the top of the ballot box and reached for the first folded ballot.

“First vote…Zecora,” Discord said, showing the first ballot to the Royal Ruffians’ with Zecora’s name on it.

“Second vote…Rainbow Dash. That’s one vote Zecora and one vote Rainbow Dash.”

“Third vote…Zecora. That’s two votes Zecora and one vote Rainbow Dash.”

“Fourth vote…Rainbow Dash. That’s two votes Zecora, two votes Rainbow Dash.”

“Fifth vote…Zecora. That’s three votes Zecora, two votes Rainbow Dash.”

“Sixth vote…Zecora. That’s four votes Zecora, two votes Rainbow Dash.”

“Seventh loser of Total Magic Pony Island…” Discord announced, flipping over the seventh and deciding ballot, “…Zecora. My dear zebra, the tribe has spoken. It’s time for you to head home.”

“NO!” Silver Spoon cried, angrily facing the rest of her team, “How COULD you? She makes ONE little mistake that just so happens to curse the team and you punish her? That rotten Rainbow Dash has totally been a thorn in our sides since day one! First you get rid of Sweetie Belle for one little mistake, and now Zecora? You are all nothing but cruel, heartless…”

“Silver Spoon, that is enough, my child,” Zecora said, gently shushing the enraged filly, “Please try to keep your temper under mild. I saw this coming, and I am at peace; do not berate your team for doing what had to be done, please.”

“But…but…Zecora…” Silver Spoon whimpered, her eyes forming tears as she was trembling and nearly having her glasses fall off, “You…you were the only one who believed in me…the only one who made me see right from wrong…and I know that this is so wrong! You weren’t the one who wrecked that challenge! To heck with curses! There’s no such thing! Don’t you understand? You taught me that YOU are in charge of YOUR OWN destiny! You know that you did nothing wrong to warrant being voted off!”

Zecora said nothing to this, but for some reason, she just continued to smile all the brighter. Silver Spoon finally broke down and began sobbing, burying her face into Zecora’s chest and snuggling up to her one final time. While the rest of the team watched and felt slightly guilty about what they had decided to do, Zecora gently hugged the sobbing filly and stroked the back of her head while softly hushing her and trying to make her calm down.

“Silver Spoon, this game was not for me,” she whispered, “I have no need for something as troubling as money. I came out here for the thrill and excitement of trying something new; I knew from the start I would not win, but that is not true for you. You are still here, Silver Spoon, so you must go on. Do not think of my elimination as harsh, nor that it was wrong. The team will be better without me; I am not much for games. Rainbow Dash might be a gnat, but in physical strength, we are not the same.”

“But…b-b-but…I don’t want you to go…” Silver Spoon sobbed, “I have nopony left. Diamond Tiara is gone, Sweetie Belle is gone, Apple Bloom is gone…and Scootaloo and Miss Cheerilee are on the opposite team! I’m all alone…don’t leave me…please don’t leave me.” Clearly, the filly’s past was none too friendly to her, which might explain her dependency on Diamond Tiara and Zecora.

“Zecora, try to wrap this up, would ya?” Discord sighed, tapping his foot impatiently, “As I said before, I REALLY don’t have all night to be listening to the waterworks. Just give her a kiss and a pat on the back and get your tush down the Dock of Shame, would ya?”

“Humph…as rude as ever…what a shock,” Zecora said sarcastically, “It’s a shame that my heart is not akin to a rock. However, Silver Spoon, I must take my leave. From this point on, you must fight strength in your heart and believe. Win or lose, it should not matter; between money and integrity, you should pick the latter.” With that, Zecora smiled and gave Silver Spoon a little kiss on the top of her head, then gently eased her away and began to trot towards the Dock of Shame.

Silver Spoon blinked in complete shock, slowly reaching up to the top of her head and rubbing at the spot where Zecora kissed her. It wasn’t anything romantic; it was more of a friendship kiss, or a motherly one. A sign of Zecora telling her that it would be alright and that she would always be with her, no matter what. Sadly, this didn’t cause Silver Spoon’s tears to stop flowing anytime soon, and she once again tried to follow the zebra towards the Dock of Shame.

“Z-Z-Zecora?” Silver Spoon whimpered, her legs feeling like jelly as she tried to follow the zebra. It was almost as if something was pushing her back and preventing her from continuing. Zecora trotted farther and farther away until she finally stepped onto the Boat of Losers. Giving one last glance back at the camp, Zecora and Silver Spoon locked eyes and the zebra delivered one, final, faint message.

“Your brain will fool you…your eyes will deceive you…but your heart will lead you, Silver Spoon,” the zebra said, her words somehow reaching the little school filly despite their distance apart. Then, as though a large, invisible hand was stopping her, Silver Spoon froze in her tracks and could only watch as the Boat of Losers slowly began chugging away, taking its resident zebra with it.

Silver Spoon: My brain…will fool me? My eyes will deceive me? But…my heart…will lead me? *she removes her glasses and trembles a bit* Diamond Tiara…Zecora…I love you both. I won’t forget you two.

Applejack: Ah feel really bad and all, but…what was ah supposed to do? Votin’ for ANY of the campers on mah team would’ve resulted in hurt feelings. Zecora…was the logical choice…right?

“And thus ends another mesmerizing and stunning elimination ceremony,” Discord said dramatically, cracking his knuckles and smirking at the nearest cameras, “With Zecora gone, will the Royal Ruffians get over their curse? Maybe…and maybe not. That depends on if Zecora actually put back the doll or not.” He gives an evil grin and twirls a finger around his chin. “Ooh, I just love cliffhangers! For the rest of you, this has been your legendary god of chaos, Discord, signing off! See you peeps later on another episode of Total…Magic…Pony Island! Hang ten!” He snaps his fingers and vanishes.

Meanwhile, the Magical Misfits were just about done with their fancy dinner, not to mention their conversations with the one they had been partnered with at their table. Nightmare Moon had finally snapped and stomped off to do something more worthwhile with her time, but thankfully had already delivered all the drinks and food that the Misfits had wanted…all of which were of the finest quality and were beyond incredible.

“And then I was all like, ‘Raw oats? Are you crazy? You need to roast those oats!’” Pinkie laughed, telling her 134th story of the evening to her twitching partner, “And they were all so totally not gonna roast them, because they were SOOOO convinced that fire would somehow kill the flavor! But…um, Rarity, am I boring you?”

“No, my dear…I always enjoy lying in a comatose state with my face in my bowl of soup,” Rarity muttered, her voice just barely being heard as it was poking out of her soup bowl.

“Okie-dokie then!” Pinkie giggled, “Ooh, and then there this other time where I saw Lyra and Bon-Bon going off into the woods together, and I swore that I saw Lyra hiding a necklace or an anklet behind her back, so I totally had to follow and…” Pinkie talked on and on, and Rarity continued to try and drown herself in her soup. Over at the next table, Scootaloo had just fallen asleep after finishing her meal.

“Come on, Scootaloo…I think you should get to bed now,” Cheerilee smiled, gently cradling the sleeping Scootaloo in her arms, “It is well past you bedtime, game show or not. You ate like a little piggy tonight, too…guess you were hungry. Aw, you growing fillies…always so hungry.” The teacher chuckled and cleaned up her table as best as she could, then gently put Scootaloo on her back and began to gently trot home. She didn’t want to wake her sleeping passenger. Shockingly, it was the final table that actually had the best camaraderie.

“…and after that, it’s all history,” Trixie bragged, puffing out her chest and smirking across the table at Twilight, “You may bow and worship Trixie now, Twilight Sparkle. Clearly you are in awe of Trixie vanquishing a dozen Windigoes without even breaking a sweat, no?”

“Oh yes, Trixie, I am in GREAT awe,” Twilight smirked, playfully poking her straw around inside of her drink as she eyed the unicorn across from her, “Tell me…did you see your good friend, the Ursa Major, while you vanquished these Windigoes?” Upon hearing this, Trixie immediately flushed and very nearly bit her tongue when she snapped her teeth together out of rage.

“How DARE you!” she snapped, “Twilight Sparkle, you have the manners of a diamond dog and the integrity of a mountain mole! That Ursa Major was…slightly overblown…but Trixie DID vanquish a dozen Windigoes! It is the truth!”

“Uh-huh…whatever you say, Trix,” Twilight giggled, taking a sip of her drink with her straw and having a ball playing with Trixie. She didn’t know why, but she really enjoyed riling Trixie up…when it wasn’t in danger of something involving the game or their lives. Trixie almost looked…cute…when she was angry.

“D-d-did you just call the Great and Powerful Trixie…Trix?” Trixie gasped, horrified, “That is a sheer lack of respect, Twilight Sparkle! Trixie demands better!” The two ponies continued to bicker back and forth way into the night, one doing so playfully while the other continued to “insult” and “verbally abuse” the other one. It seemed that neither one really wanted to stop. Eventually, the cameras began to fade, since the night was lingering way too long.

Trixie: Do NOT end this episode yet! Trixie is not done talking! Do you all BELIEVE Twilight Sparkle? This so-called pupil of Princess Celestia is nothing more than a rude, uncivilized miscreant! Doubting Trixie’s story of vanquishing a dozen Windigoes…how could she? *she goes silent for a moment, then grumbles and flushes* …so maybe Trixie added one too many Windigoes. *the cameras finally fade out*

Episode 10: Fail Of The Century

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Discord: Last time, on Total Magic Pony Island: chaos reigned supreme, which boosted the ratings big-time! Ah, what joy! First, Twilight attempted to enter the afterlife when she pushed herself and Trixie off a cliff. Thankfully, both girls survived; do you KNOW what would happen if we lost those two unicorns this early in the season? It would spell doom for my show! Anyway, later on, the arrogant Rainbow Dash got an unexpected wakeup call when Mare Do Well appeared. Ooh, how perfect; now we’ve got a mystery on our hands! Mysteries are highly enjoyable, you see. Later on, Head Chef Pinkie Pie sang a pop song while leading her team to victory during the cooking challenge. Is it just me, or does the Magical Misfits really excel at food challenges? Well, whatever. Everything that COULD go wrong did for the Ruffians, and after Applejack delivered a beating to Dash for ruining everything, it was revealed that Zecora cursed the team by bringing back a wooden doll from Dusk Island. Despite heavy protest from Silver Spoon and an uneasy heart from Applejack, the Ruffians promptly voted Zecora out at the ceremony. Oh, and did I mention that the Magical Misfits got to enjoy a dinner under the stars? Now, the once-powerful Ruffians are looking shell-shocked while the Misfits look like a well-oiled machine. Has the balance of power shifted? Find out next, right here, on Total…Magic…Pony Island!
*the opening theme song showing all 20 contestants plays a moment later before the episode*

“Why? Why did it have to be her? It’s not fair,” Silver Spoon sniffled, staring out over the calm waters of the ocean surrounding Camp Paradox as she sat alone on the beach, “First my fellow schoolmate Sweetie Belle is voted out…and then my best friend Diamond Tiara…and now the only one who believed in me, Zecora, is gone. I’m…I’m all alone…and it hurts.”

After the painful elimination of Zecora, despite the zebra’s kind words to the little filly, Silver Spoon still broke down after the Boat of Losers chugged away from the island. She had immediately run away from her team and had gone down to the beach to gather her thoughts. It was nearly midnight, with a full moon lingering overhead in a starless sky, but Silver Spoon didn’t care. She felt like she was all by herself on a deserted island in the middle of nowhere. She couldn’t go see Cheerilee and Scootaloo; it would just give her team another reason to want to vote her off next. She didn’t really want to talk to her team after what they did. This left the filly herself as the only one she could speak to.

“What do I do now?” she whispered, staring down into her reflection in the water as she pawed at it with her hooves, “Zecora told me to follow my heart and try to follow the right path. But…what IS the right path? How do I know what’s right and what’s wrong? Does it really make a difference? Who’s gonna care after this game? When we get back home…I’ll just go back to following Diamond Tiara around and…and…” She couldn’t complete her sentence; her reflection in the waves was making her too depressed to do so.

“Hey…you’re gonna freeze if you sit back by the ocean for too long at night,” a voice spoke softly from behind Silver Spoon’s back, “It’s past midnight, Silver Spoon; come back to the cabin with the team.” The little filly perked up a little at hearing someone actually care for her, and when she turned around, she discovered Spike standing there with his hands on his hips. He was looking at Silver Spoon in a way that a father would look at his hurt daughter.

“Since when do YOU care about me?” Silver Spoon frowned, turning around to face down the little dragon, “You certainly weren’t thinking about me when you voted out Zecora!”

“Silver Spoon, we HAD to do that,” Spike sighed, rubbing the back of his head uneasily, “She cursed us, so it was basically her fault that we lost!”

“No, it was Rainbow Dash’s fault that we lost,” Silver Spoon argued, “Zecora wasn’t the one who went into the kitchen and destroyed all the food. Zecora wasn’t the one talking down to everypony and making us all upset. Zecora wasn’t the one standing around watching while everypony else was cooking. Shall I continue, Spike?”

“Ugh…okay, okay, Silver Spoon, you made your point,” Spike groaned, succumbing to the filly’s anger, “You’re worse than Twilight, I swear. But, look, Zecora is gone…what’s done is done. What do you want us to do about it?”

Silver Spoon looked at Spike for a long time, staring into his eyes and letting him take her feelings into consideration, before she turned back around and stared out over the ocean again. Minutes passed and the only audible noise was the soft crashing of the blackened waves surrounding the island. The Royal Ruffians’ only filly member left pawed at the ground with a hoof, digging a little hole and watching as the tide rolled in and filled the sandy hole all the way to the top with the chilly water.

“I don’t want you to do anything,” Silver Spoon whispered, staring down at the watery hole and watching as the sand slowly began absorbing the liquid, “All I want is for you and the rest of my team to know my feelings, that’s all.” With that said, Silver Spoon slowly got up off her haunches, turned back towards Spike, and began trotting back towards the camp. She walked right past the silent dragon without saying another word.

Spike: *shivering a little bit* There’s nothing scarier than an angry female…no matter what the age. Silver Spoon is hurt, I can tell…she lost her best friend, a fellow classmate, and now the only one who tried caring for her. *he sighs a little bit* Poor filly…this feels so wrong, but…it’s just a game, right?

Spike eventually followed Silver Spoon back to the Royal Ruffians’ cabin, making sure to tiptoe along so he didn’t wake up any of the campers. The Magical Misfits had finished their dinner reward a few hours before and had gone to bed themselves, leaving Spike and Silver Spoon as the only campers that were awake, or so it seemed. Neither Royal Ruffian realized that Discord was watching them closely from his cloud hammock in the sky that was overhanging the camp.

“Hmm…dissension among the Royal Ruffians?” the draconequus mused, twiddling his claws and stroking his beard with a wicked grin, “Ooh, dissension is my middle name! What better way to promote ratings than to exploit team disunity for laughs? Ha, this is gonna be good!” Cackling madly into the night, Discord vanished in a puff of smoke as he prepared the next day’s challenge.

Pinkie: *having sleepwalked to the confessional, she faces the camera while still asleep, looking very relaxed and adorable* Ooh…smile at the ghostly…giggle at the cupcakes…is that a muffin? What’s the fourth wall? Professional wrestling is fake and Twilight is cute when she’s mad. Yay for Fluttershy.

The night passed with Luna’s moon lingering in the sky with Discord’s rockets and Princess Celestia having another uneasy rest. Not being able to perform her sun-raising duties every morning was slowly driving her crazy. Something she had been doing her entire life, for many centuries, and having it swiped from her hooves just so she could participate in a game really hurt her. While she kept her own feelings hidden from her team, it was clear that every day that she continued to remain in the game, the worse she got. Luna, of course, loved to tease her sister about this whenever she had the chance, since the lunar princess honestly did not miss her duties. After missing 1,000 years of doing them, she had gotten used to relaxing during the evenings.

After Spike and Silver Spoon got back to the Royal Ruffians’ cabin, Camp Paradox was given its usual rest during the evenings. Discord and Nightmare Moon were off gallivanting and doing random things around camp to make sure each day was prepared accordingly for their campers. Rarity had zonked out almost instantly after being bored to death by Pinkie’s random stories. Cheerilee had put Scootaloo to bed and then went to sleep herself moments later. Pinkie, always having too much sugar in her body, had continued her unusual sleepwalking night patrol. Twilight and Trixie had talked each other’s ears off with their own stories of adventure and magic, and both mares had eventually gone to sleep feeling rather content, despite Trixie being annoyed with Twilight teasing her about her fabricated tall tales.

In the Royal Ruffians’ cabin, things weren’t so peaceful. Naturally, Silver Spoon was still hurt after the past elimination ceremony, and ended up tossing and turning the whole night. Spike was feeling guilty about the entire situation, and he was plagued by nightmares whenever he ended up zoning out. Celestia was whimpering in her sleep, and would wake up now and then and take a glance out the window with a forlorn expression on her saddened face. Luna was possibly the only Ruffian actually having a good rest. Rainbow Dash barely got any rest, since her mind was constantly wondering who was playing Mare Do Well this time around, and how she wouldn’t rest until she found out. Fluttershy kept squeaking and twitching in her sleep for unknown reasons. Applejack stayed awake most of the night, laying on her backside and staring up at the ceiling with anxious eyes and a flustered heart.

Applejack: Ah just don’t know anymore. We had it all goin’ for us; we could do no wrong. We had team unity, passion, fightin’ spirit, and the momentum to carry us all far into this game. But, now…ah don’t know…after that elimination ceremony last night…ah reckon this team’s in trouble. Call it a hunch.

Morning came with Princess Celestia moaning and pacing back and forth in front of her cabin window. As always, the miniature princess was the first pony up, since she was used to being up early to perform her royal duty. Watching the sun rise into the sky using Discord’s rockets caused her heart to churn in pain inside of her chest; she really desired nothing more than to return to her castle and continue doing what she knew best. However, her subjects always came first, and she would not abandon them. Until she was voted out, she knew she had no choice but to remain in the game.

“We have GOT to stop meeting like this, sis,” Luna yawned, opening her eyes and giving a weak grin as she looked over at her restless big sister, “You know, if you wish to go home so badly, you could just ask this team to vote you out next time we lose.”

“No…no, that would be a cowardly move,” Celestia sighed, gently sitting down and hanging her head, forcing herself to look away from the shimmering sun, “Asking to be voted out is the same as quitting. No matter how much it hurts to see my royal duty performed for me, I will continue to suck it up and play this out for as long as fate wishes it. When it’s my time, it’s my time. Until then, I will remain.”

“You’re such a drama queen,” Luna teased, doing her morning stretches and fluttering her wings in joy, “You should be happy that you get a vacation, Tia. You are way too serious.”

“Shush, Lunacy,” Celestia grumbled, turning and stomping past her embarrassed sister.

“Very well, Trollestia,” Luna countered, casting a glare after her sister as the white princess stormed out of the cabin.

“Yo…what’s with all the racket?” Rainbow Dash asked, opening her eyes and instantly sitting bolt upright in bed, “Wait, was SHE seen again?!?!”

“Was WHO seen again?” Applejack questioned, sitting up in bed and raising an eyebrow as she glanced over at Dash, “Just what are ya’ll hidin’, Dash?”

“I’m not hiding anything! I…just had a bad dream…yeah, I’m gonna go get some breakfast,” Dash said quickly, hurrying out of the cabin after Celestia and Luna.

“Um…is it just me, or…does there seem to be a lot of tension on this team?” Fluttershy gulped, nervously brushing her mane after waking up a moment after Dash, “Applejack…are we gonna be okay?”

“We’ll be fine, Fluttershy,” Applejack reassured her yellow Pegasus friend, giving her a warm smile, “Ya’ll don’t worry ‘bout nothin’. Everythin’ will be just fine, trust me.”

“Oh…okay, Applejack…I trust you,” Fluttershy squeaked, returning the farmer pony’s smile with a weak one of her own as she headed out the cabin door as well. Spike and Silver Spoon were the last ones to wake up, leaving them alone in the cabin with Applejack.

“Hey, you two, we got a big day ahead of us,” Applejack said, trotting over and smiling at Spike and the school filly, “Did ya both have a good rest?”

“No…and why do YOU care?” Silver Spoon growled, casting an angry glare at the hayseed pony as she jumped off her bed, “Obviously, if we lose today, I’m the next one to go. Don’t bother being nice to me; there’s no point.” The filly adjusted her glasses, and with an exaggerated flip of her gray mane, she exited the cabin in a huff.

“Please don’t be mad at her, AJ,” Spike sighed, groggily rubbing his eyes, “She’s just hurting, that’s all. She IS still young, after all…well, so am I, but…something tells me that she’s had a rough life filled with high expectations. Friends and family probably weren’t a part of that.”

“Yeah…ah hear ya…” Applejack nodded, “We got rid of her classmate, her rude best friend, and the only one on our team who helped her push forward…dang it, this is really making us look like villains.”

“If we lose…do you think we could possibly save her?” Spike asked, scratching his head, “I mean…I want to win, of course…but, IF we lose…can we let her stay for at least one more day?”

Applejack dipped her head in thought at this, very hesitant to answer Spike’s question. She didn’t know what to say. In her heart, she knew that, if they did indeed lose again, Silver Spoon was clearly the next on the chopping block. If it wasn’t her, Applejack had two of her best friends in Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, she had Twilight’s #1 assistant in Spike, and she had the two princesses of Equestria. Applejack would REALLY have to be crazy to dare vote off anyone who WASN’T Silver Spoon. She couldn’t betray her best friends or the princesses of the world just to save a hurting filly that she barely knew, could she? This was just a game, and surely Silver Spoon wouldn’t take it personally.

“…we’ll see, Spike…we’ll see,” Applejack said, trotting over and opening the cabin door. She gave the dragon a little nod, and even though he looked nervous at Applejack’s cryptic words, he walked past her and out into the campgrounds.

Applejack: Who can tell ya what’s right and wrong? Shoot, ah know that ah can’t; ah’m just a little mare who works on an apple farm. What the hay do ah know about what’s really right and what’s really wrong? All we can do is follow what our hearts say…votin’ out Silver Spoon is the right choice…right?

“EEK! SOMEPONY, WAKE UP!” Rarity shrieked, cowering in the corner of her bed, “HURRY, GET UP! THIS IS HORRIBLE!”

“Ugh, Rarity!” Twilight moaned, sitting up and rubbing her forehead, “What could possibly be so important that you had to wake us up with your excessive screaming? Did you have the nightmare about losing all your hair again?”

“No, even worse!” Rarity cried, pointing a shaky hoof at the floor of the cabin, “LOOK! Just LOOK at this atrocity! Can you believe this? What FIEND would do such a thing?”

“Either shut up right now, or you shall face Trixie’s rage!” Trixie snapped, burying her face into her pillow and refusing to even lift her head.

Taking a look over the side of her bed, Twilight cast her eyes over to Rarity’s bed and eyed the wooden floor of the cabin. The sides of Rarity’s bedspread and blanket were caked with dry mud, and there were muddy hoof-prints leading from the cabin door to the white unicorn’s bed. The hoof-prints ended there, but clearly they didn’t come from Rarity. Curious as to how this could’ve happened, Twilight leaped out of her bed to examine the mud more closely.

“Interesting…very interesting,” the purple unicorn mused, “Who did this? These weren’t here last night. So, that means that somepony entered our cabin during our sleep and…vanished? The hoof-prints just seem to vanish at Rarity’s bed. Rarity, are you sure that you…”

“Twilight, do NOT even go there,” Rarity snapped, “For one, I do NOT sleepwalk. For two, even if I DID sleepwalk, I would STILL have the dignity to not trounce around willy-nilly in piles of mud. For three, those hoof-prints clearly do not belong to me.”

“Alright, alright, I get the picture!” Twilight sighed, reaching up and gently patting her unicorn friend on her left hind leg to calm her down, “Just take it easy, Rarity. Now, come down from there and…”

“NO! I cannot risk stepping in that dry mud!” Rarity interrupted, turning her nose up and crossing her forelegs stubbornly, “I demand that you clean it up and remove these bed sheets and blankets before I get down on the floor.”

“Rarity, you’re being unreasonable,” Twilight grumbled, “Besides, we’ve been through quite a few challenges already that involved getting somewhat dirty, you know…can’t you just go and take a shower in the latrines?”

“Clean…it…UP!” Rarity snarled, giving Twilight a dark expression that made the purple unicorn know that she wasn’t joking around. Almost immediately after that, Twilight gulped and gave her friend a quick nod. She quickly removed Rarity’s bed sheet and blanket, forcing the unicorn to sit on the mattress. Twilight then exited the cabin to get some rags to clean up the mess and toss the bedding items into the camp washing machine.

Twilight: Ugh, Rarity can be a real nag sometimes, I’m telling you. *speaking in a squeaky, mock voice, pretending to be Rarity* Ooh, Twilight, clean this! Eek, oh no, mud! I will NOT walk in that! Ugh, how HORRIBLE! I will not sully my beautiful body in such an undignified manner! *she hacks loudly*

“Ah, what a nice sleep!” Pinkie exclaimed, leaping out of bed and stretching her forelegs into the air, “Hey, Rarity, I totally had a dream that you were screaming and bossing Twilight around! It was so weird because it felt SO real, and I could’ve sworn that it was what woke me up just now, but that totally cannot be true, because I don’t see Twilight anywhere in here and…”

“Pinkie, please,” Rarity interrupted her, “I am dealing with a dirty catastrophe at the moment and your nonsensical playfulness isn’t helping. As you can see, some hooligan had the gull to sneak into our cabin in the middle of the night, track mud all over the floor, AND get streaks of dirt all over my bed sheets and blanket! Do you even know how traumatizing it is to wake up in such filth?”

“Now you know how Trixie feels when she wakes up and sees all of YOU each morning,” Trixie smirked, poking her head up from her bed at long last.

“Oh dear, what’s all the commotion about?” Cheerilee asked, stepping out of her own bed a moment later and immediately seeing Rarity giving Trixie a look of death, “Um…could you please fill me in?”

“Yeah, and while you’re at it, fill me in, too!” Scootaloo piped up, leaping out of her bed with her usual morning energy, “What’s all the hubbub about? Are we getting robbed? Did Discord pull something on us? Did Rainbow Dash finally come to confess her love to…a certain somepony?” She blushed at the last part, but by this point, most of the cabin had learned to not take her too seriously when she spoke about the cyan Pegasus named Rainbow Dash.

“Rarity had a very dirty nightmare that involved hooligans sneaking around and putting mud on her!” Pinkie explained, giving a big smile. Almost immediately following Pinkie’s inaccurate assessment of Rarity’s issues, Trixie began laughing her head off, Rarity’s face turned dark red, Cheerilee widened her eyes in complete shock, and Scootaloo immediately thought of Dash and had her tongue hanging out.

Rarity: Note to self: do not tell Pinkie Pie your problems so early in the morning, since you risk giving yourself a severe migraine. Not only that, but you also risk destroying your reputation. *she sighed and shook her head* I am going to have a serious talk with that pony once this is all done.

Scootaloo: *dreamily* Dash could sneak around and cover me in dirt all she wanted…yeah, we’d totally get dirty and muddy together…and then we’d have to take a bath together…which I would hate, since I don’t like baths…but, I would also love it, since Dash would be there… *she sighs in pure bliss*

“Pinkie, dear, that is NOT what my issue is,” Rarity said calmly, pointing a hoof onto the floor, “THAT is my problem. Somepony snuck into our cabin in the middle of the night and tracked mud on the floor. Twilight is being helpful and going to clean it up for me.”

“How lovely; it seems you know how slavery works,” Trixie complimented, “If Trixie recalls, that little dragon has a thing for you as well. Tell Trixie, dear Rarity…do you enjoy making slaves out of Twilight and her pet dragon?”

“Silence, Trixie, or you’ll find out what I DO enjoy,” Rarity said coldly, casting her fellow unicorn a glare.

“Ooh, a mystery!” Pinkie gasped, bouncing around the dry hoof-prints and examining them closely, “This is a job for Detective Pinkie Pie! With my knowledge of mystery books and catching Gummy stealing my cupcakes over a billion times, I promise to solve the mystery of the muddy-hoofed pony before the end of camp! Yes sir, Detective Pinkie is on the case!” She pulled a curious checkered hat out of nowhere and placed it on her head, then put on some dorky transparent glasses, and finally put a chocolate pipe in her mouth that began to blow out cotton candy bubbles. The pink pony then pulled out a magnifying glass and began to further examine the muddy hoof-prints.

“Er…Pinkie…this isn’t really necessary,” Rarity said, giving a groan of annoyance, “As uncivil and rude as it is, there’s no reason to go to such lengths just to…”

“Shh! Detective Pinkie is sleuthing!” Pinkie whispered, shushing Rarity and giving her a stern look through her magnifying glass, “In fact, at this moment, EVERYPONY is a suspect! YOU, TRIXIE, WHERE WERE YOU LAST NIGHT?”

“Trixie was at the reward dinner that her team earned from winning the challenge…the same one that YOU were at, you intolerable foal!” Trixie snapped, shoving Pinkie aside and angrily stomping towards the door, “Trixie doesn’t have to put up with such nonsense. She is going to get some dinner, and then she’s going to…” At that moment, the door to the cabin slammed open and squashed Trixie to the cabin wall behind it. Twilight stepped through a moment later, carrying a bucket of water and some rags on her back.

“I’m back! Don’t worry, Rarity, I’ll have that mess cleaned up in a…what’s going on here?” Twilight asked, seeing Pinkie’s outfit and giving a little sigh, “Oh, don’t tell me…”

“Ah-ha, returning to the scene of the crime!” Pinkie laughed, shoving her magnifying glass into Twilight’s face, “You’re walking on thin ice, Twilight! Where were YOU last night?”

“…Pinkie, I went out of the cabin to get some cleaning supplies, like Rarity asked me to!” Twilight snapped, shoving the magnifying glass away, “And I was at the reward dinner last night…the same one that YOU were at.”

“Hmm…Trixie said the same thing…suspicious!” Pinkie whispered, very slowly circling her purple friend and giving her looks of mistrust, “You’d best watch your back, Twilight…Detective Pinkie believes that your alibi checks out for now, but do not get cocky! This mystery is far from over!” She gave an insane little laugh, then bounced out of the cabin to gather more clues and harass other campers.

“Um…what…was that all about?” Twilight asked, blinking in confusion as she glanced down at the dirty hoof-prints and then back at the open door.

“Oh, just Pinkie being Pinkie, my dear,” Rarity sniffed, “Now, if you don’t mind, please start cleaning so that I might get down off this mattress. I am quite famished and I do wish to get some breakfast soon.”

“And Trixie plans on strangling a certain purple unicorn,” Trixie snarled, twitching in pain as she unpeeled herself from the cabin wall from behind the front door. While Cheerilee and Scootaloo went to assist the flat and angry Trixie, Twilight began scrubbing away the muddy hoof-prints with her bucket of warm and soapy water while Rarity watched idly from her bed.

Cheerilee: This experience has been rather…unique for me. I have taught some lovely students at the schoolhouse, but nothing compared to what I’ve dealt with on the Magical Misfits. To be perfectly honest, I kinda like it. It’s chaotic, but…it’s nice to get to know these other ponies! *she gives a smile*

Pinkie: *she yanks the toilet seat off the toilet and glares at it with her glasses* Ah-ha! The pony with the muddy hooves sat on this seat! I can smell it! This is evidence! *she puts the toilet seat in a large plastic bag, then glares at the camera* More evidence! *she steals the camera a second later*

All the remaining campers eventually wound up in the mess hall for their usual black-colored breakfast provided by Nightmare Moon. Rainbow Dash kept looking around furtively for any signs of Mare Do Well, Applejack and Spike kept glancing at Silver Spoon with worried expressions, the aforementioned filly looked glum and ready to go back to bed, and Celestia’s mane looked a mess from all her stress. Luna was giving her sister strokes on the back to try and calm her down, and Fluttershy looked very scared at the sight of her team. The Royal Ruffians looked nothing like the powerful and confident team that started off the season so strong.

“Is it just me, or does Dash’s team look a bit…different?” Twilight asked, sitting with her team and eying her opposing campers curiously, “Don’t you think they seem tired and stressed?”

“Humph, at this dump, Trixie is surprised that you ALL haven’t gone crazy,” Trixie responded, adding some salt to her scrambled black eggs, “Ugh…no amount of condiments can make THIS slop taste good. Trixie is sure that she is gonna lose 20 pounds before this game is over.”

“Poor Rainbow Dash…she looks on-edge for some reason…think she could use a backrub?” Scootaloo asked, eagerly rubbing her hooves together, “Apple Bloom said that I have magical hooves that are perfect for working out those kinks that you just cannot reach yourself, not to mention having a nice touch that is sure to soothe away your stress.”

“Are you sure that Apple Bloom said that and not Aloe and Lotus?” Rarity questioned, raising an eyebrow suspiciously at the little filly, “As I recall, you lost a bet with Apple Bloom and had to spend a week at the spa to learn how to be more elegant and creative with your hooves.”

“Hey! I totally remember Apple Bloom telling me that!” Scootaloo squeaked, her face heating up as she looked for a way out of her embarrassing predicament, “She’s the one who complimented my hooves, I swear! It totally was not Aloe and Lotus…and if they say otherwise, they are lying.”

“Lying? Who’s a liar? Somepony is lying? Suspicious!” Pinkie growled, poking her head up from under the table and glaring right at Scootaloo, “Let me see your hooves! Detective Pinkie has you in her sight!” Scootaloo gasped and quickly leaped off her seat and began racing away from the insane Pinkie, who eagerly chased after her for no reason other than to continue her game of detective.

Twilight: *sighing and rubbing the temples on her head* That may be Pinkie being Pinkie, but does she HAVE to do this NOW? On this island? With Discord and Nightmare Moon present? During a game for a million bits? Ugh…well, as long as it doesn’t make us lose another challenge.

“Hello, my eager little campers!” Discord announced, popping up in the mess hall while snacking on a jelly donut, “Mmm…grape jelly is the best, don’t you think?”

“Ooh, ooh, I LOVE grape!” Pinkie gushed, letting Scootaloo go after capturing the scared filly and bouncing up to bribe the draconequus, “Can I pretty please with sugar on top have a bite? Just a little bitty one?”

“Hmm…nope!” Discord grinned, snapping his fingers and making another donut appear in his other hand, “But, you can have this wax glazed donut instead, okay?” He dropped the fake food item into Pinkie’s outstretched hoof and began laughing his head off when Pinkie began to devour it, freaking out the rest of the mess hall and wondering where the pink pony got her pit of a stomach.

“Pinkie, dear…that’s WAX,” Rarity pointed out, looking sick, “You seriously cannot find that tasty.” Her point was made mute when Pinkie swallowed the entire fake donut a moment later and let out a loud belch of delight. She licked her lips, then smiled and gave Rarity a big hug.

“Are you kidding? Detective Pinkie just LOVES donuts, no matter what they’re made of!” the pony exclaimed, “And, that was incredibly delicious! It was juicy and thick and went down so nice. Ooh, Discord, can I please have another?”

“Sorry, my little glutton, but we have to get going with today’s challenge,” Discord said, giving Pinkie a pat on the head and gently pushing the pony towards her team, “Now, please get your squishy booty over to the Misfits so that I can explain what the lowdown is for the day, alright?”

“Okie-dokie-lokie, artichokey!” Pinkie giggled, bouncing back over to her team’s table and retaking her seat, “Detective Pinkie is ready to get it on!”

“We must all feel so lucky,” Discord mused, sarcastically shaking his head as he crossed his arms, “Okay, so here’s how the challenge for today is gonna work. To exploit…um, I mean…to BUILD your team unity and friendship, we’re gonna run a series of blind trust challenges. Every camper on each team will be used at LEAST once, and the team to win the most out of five blind trust challenges will win immunity and be safe from the vote tonight. The first trust challenge will begin right after you finish breakfast, so hurry up!”

Trixie: This is unacceptable. Forcing Trixie to rely on her teammates to help build friendship? What nonsense! Say goodbye to a win for the Magical Misfits today; there is no shot for victory with this pathetic excuse for a team. Especially not with that prissy white unicorn, that perverted filly, and…Pinkie.

Silver Spoon: *sarcastically* Oh, totally fun…we get to do friendship challenges today. This so cannot be happening to me…Discord is doing this on purpose! *she glances down, remains silence for a moment, then sniffs and shakes her head* Diamond Tiara…despite everything you did…I really miss you.

“Okay, the first blind trust challenge will be preparing a potentially deadly meal using poisonous mushrooms as the base of the entrée,” Discord explained, randomly floating around the mess hall as Nightmare Moon pulled out a table with an assortment of food laid out upon it, “One teammate will have to carefully prepare the dish using only their intelligence to try and remove the poison from the mushrooms, since it IS possible. The mushrooms are actually rather scrumptious when the poison is taken away from it. The other teammate will be the one to actually taste the food. If both teams have their eaters turn out fine, it’ll be a tie. If one gets sick or goes into a coma, the other team wins.”

“Discord…that sounds horrifying!” Twilight gasped, “How could you even THINK of doing such a thing? Not everypony here can cook, you know! And I highly doubt that any of us know about removing poisons from a mushroom…well, besides me of course.”

“Which is precisely why YOU’RE not going up for your team in this one,” Discord smirked, wagging his finger at Twilight, “That would WAY too easy. Let’s see…from the Magical Misfits, we’ll have Scootaloo and Rarity. From the Royal Ruffians, we’ll have Spike and Silver Spoon. Pick your cookers and your eaters very carefully; it could be a life or death outcome!”

“DISCORD!” Celestia snarled, trotting over and slapping the host on his thigh, since it was as high as she could reach. In response, the tiny princess promptly got another bucket of water dumped onto her head and was quickly sent packing back to her scared team.

“Um…Scootaloo…I don’t really…have experience in this,” Rarity gulped, looking down at the deadly mushrooms on the table and trembling in fear, “PLEASE tell me that Cheerilee has taught you fillies culinary arts.”

“Er…sure?” Scootaloo grinned, giving Rarity a fake reassuring smile. Rarity, in turn, put her hoof to her forehead and collapsed onto the floor.

“Great…Spike, which one do you want to be?” Silver Spoon grumbled, clearly not thrilled about being paired with the dragon, “It doesn’t matter either way.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? Of course it matters!” Spike snapped, giving the filly a gentle pat on the back, “Look…I trust you, alright? You go ahead and prepare the food. I know you can do it.”

Silver Spoon gave Spike a shocked look at this, and peered at him closely, as though expecting him to laugh and admit he was lying a moment later. Spike never did; he just continued to smile as he sat down at the table and prepared for Silver Spoon’s dish. Scootaloo tried to poke Rarity’s limp body, but the fashion body was old cold. When Discord ordered both fillies to get to work, they knew that they had no choice. They just hoped that their dish wouldn’t kill their teammate.

Scootaloo: Okay…maybe Miss Cheerilee HASN’T given us a culinary arts class yet…BUT, I know that I can do this! Yeah, I messed up with the dessert in our last challenge, but I totally had this. I just had to remain cool and remind myself how awesome I am; be as confident as Rainbow Dash!

Silver Spoon: Diamond and I sometimes baked sweets together…when we were alone and having slumber parties…so, I suppose I have a bit of knowledge when it comes to cooking. I just hope that my dish doesn’t kill Spike…that would surely get me voted off, and would disappoint Zecora for sure.

Each filly got 30 minutes to prepare their dish in the kitchen of their previous challenge the night before. Scootaloo was making a mushroom salad while Silver Spoon was creating mushroom soup. Scootaloo was very nervous and really had no idea how to remove the poison properly from the mushrooms, so she took a wild guess and just chopped them up into itty bitty pieces and separated each pile. Hopefully, her illogical solutions were the correct way to go about this. Silver Spoon found a separation machine in her team’s side of the kitchen, used to separate the juices from foods. When she stuck the mushrooms into it, she watched as one side of the funnel at the bottom was filled with a murky green liquid and the other side got chopped mushrooms. She hoped that all the poison was drained.

“Alright, my little fillies, please present your dish to your teammate and we’ll commence the tasting!” Discord announced after the half-hour was up and Scootaloo and Silver Spoon trotted out of their respective kitchens with their dish balanced perfectly on their backs. Scootaloo set her mushroom salad in front of a scared Rarity, and Silver Spoon set her mushroom soup in front of Spike.

“Scootaloo…PLEASE tell me…that all the poison is drained,” Rarity shivered, poking at her plate of salad with the same horrified eyes, “I CANNOT be poisoned; do you know what it would do to my physique?”

“Uh…the poison is all drained?” Scootaloo said meekly, which didn’t seem to help Rarity’s fear at all.

“This looks great, Silver Spoon!” Spike smiled, hovering his nose over the steaming bowl of soup and taking a deep inhale, “Mmm…it smells heavenly! Sure, there’s probably no gems in there, but this still looks great! I just know you did a good job.”

“Why are you being so nice to me?” Silver Spoon asked, extremely curious, “I could’ve easily failed and you could be in for a lot of pain in a second. Besides, I thought you hated me and Diamond Tiara.”

“Enough chatter! Begin the tasting!” Discord said, poking the back of Spike and Rarity’s heads.

“Okay, okay,” Spike grumbled, slapping Discord’s hand away and slowly gripping the spoon hanging out the side of the soup bowl, “Here goes nothing.” Swishing the spoon around inside the bowl, Spike watched the reddish soup rotate in a circular motion. Bits of mushrooms, herbs, and other veggies compiled the rest of the dish. When Spike slowly lifted a spoonful of the stew out of the broth, he could almost taste the added spices as the heat raised the aroma to his nose. His mouth began to water as he quickly shoved the spoon right into his mouth and swallowed almost everything on it immediately.

The mess hall stayed silent as everyone waited to see if Spike would be alright, or if he would be pushing up daises anytime soon. The dragon clenched his eyes shut and braced himself, but the moment he swallowed down the warm and tasty soup, he knew that there was no way that it was poisoned. Silver Spoon was nervously watching nearby, and when Spike opened his eyes and gave the filly a thumbs-up for approval, she smiled and adjusted her glasses in the way she usually did when relieved.

“I told ya that you could do it,” Spike said, giving Silver Spoon a big hug, “I never doubted you for a minute, Silver Spoon.” Silver Spoon could only blink in shock at this, not knowing what to do. She wanted to hug Spike back and tell him thank you, but she felt so awkward doing so. This was so new for her, since only Zecora had shown any interest in her up to this point.

Spike: Twilight taught me that when you show a little love and compassion, your confidence will soar and you’ll feel like you can do anything. *he smiles sheepishly* I’ll admit I was SLIGHTLY nervous about possibly being poisoned, but…as you can tell, Silver Spoon isn’t as useless as this team thinks.

“Save the mushy, gushy stuff for later, please,” Discord pleaded, “Now, it’s Rarity’s turn.”

“Well, if that little drama queen can whip something up just fine, then there’s no doubt in my mind that Scootaloo can do the same!” Rarity smiled, all of her fear suddenly vanished as she dug her fork into her salad and got a big forkful of lettuce and diced mushrooms, “Bottoms up, everypony!” The pretty white unicorn stuffed the morsel of salad into her mouth, chewed twice, and swallowed.

The affect was immediate. Almost instantly upon having the food vanish down her gullet, Rarity’s eyes shot open and she dropped the fork. Her chest began to heave in and out. Her face began changing from red, to orange, to yellow, to green, to blue, and then to purple. She opened her mouth and shrieked as she clutched her throat. The rest of the mess hall watched in horror as the fashion pony soon turned into a zombie pony when her entire body changed to an ugly bluish green tint and her face stayed purple. She collapsed a moment later and twitched on the floor.

“Ooh…looks like Scootaloo failed to come through in the clutch…well, that’s the way the cookie crumbles!” Discord snickered, “Looks like the first blind trust challenge goes to Spike and Silver Spoon and the Royal Ruffians!”

“DISCORD, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!” Twilight screamed, rushing up and looking at one of her best friends apparently dead and zombified, “IS SHE SERIOUSLY…SERIOUSLY…NO, THIS CAN’T BE!”

“Do not worry! Spike is here!” Spike called out, quickly rushing over to his downed princess and instantly beginning to give her CPR. The dragon didn’t care at all what color Rarity was or how terrible she looked; there was nothing that he wouldn’t do for her. He was even resisting actually giving her some full-out kisses while he pressed on her chest and tried to bring her back to life. Oddly enough, Rarity had stayed breathing the entire time she had collapsed.

“Oh, stop your whining,” Discord sighed, rolling his eyes, “Those mushrooms weren’t REALLY made of poison; do you really think I would do something like that? They were simply filled with a special type of non-poisonous toxin that will turn you into a zombie for an hour. Pretty cool, don’t you think?”

“W-w-w-wait, what?!?!” Spike shrieked, looking down at his beloved Rarity and turning pale, “M-m-my precious Rarity is now a z-z-z-zombie?!?!” Almost as if on cue, Rarity slowly opened her eyes and stared up at Spike with a dead expression. Her once beautiful blue eyes were now a dull gray, and she was giving Spike a rather hungry look.

“Brains…Rarity craves…brains…” Rarity moaned, speaking in a listless and spooky voice, “Rarity…must have brains…to decorate…and make fashionable.”

“RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!” Pinkie screamed, pulling out her detective’s hat and putting it on her head, “ZOMBIE RARITY IS GONNA MAKE OUR BRAINS ALL PRETTY-LIKE! THE HORROR OF IT ALL!”

Along with Discord, the entire mess hall quickly emptied out, with Pinkie hurryingly pulling out some planks of wood and some hammer and nails to seal zombie Rarity inside of the building until she turned back to normal. Spike was clearly traumatized and had to be consoled by Fluttershy, while Rainbow Dash and Trixie were both nearly having heart attacks from laughing so hard. Scootaloo looked very guilty, Cheerilee looked very nervous, and Twilight looked absolutely dumbfounded on the sudden turn of events. Not only were they now down a teammate, but they were also behind in the challenge.

Rainbow Dash: BWAHAHAHAHAHA! RARITY IS A ZOMBIE! SCOOTS ACTUALLY TURNED HER OWN TEAMMATE, PRIMA DONNA RARITY NO LESS, INTO A ZOMBIE! BWAHAHAHAHAHA! WOW, WHAT AN EPIC FAIL! *she grins and wipes a tear from her eye* But…mad props to the squirt; that was AWESOME!

Rarity: *drooling as her zombified form stared blankly into the camera* Urg…must have…brains! Rarity…demands brains…right now! So many brains…so little time…they must be…beautified!

“Okay, with the Misfits down a member and down a challenge, let’s see if they can step it up!” Discord said, leading the two teams into the forest, “Now, I’m sure you’ve heard of the famous stallion that could use a bow and arrow to nail an apple on any head in the universe, and from any distance?”

“But of course,” Twilight spoke up immediately, “That would be Stallion Tell, a truly amazing archer with a love for apples and archery. One of myth, I believe.”

“Apples, eh? Sounds like mah type of guy,” Applejack chuckled, not noticing the slight glare she received from Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash: Oh, come on! What does AJ see in a guy who can shoot arrows at apples that sit atop ponies’ heads? LAME! If AJ should like anypony, it should clearly be a Pegasus who can fly as fast as a billion arrows whooshing through the sky! Kinda like me! *she blinks a bit* Wait…why did I say that?

“Very good, my cute little egghead,” Discord smirked, speaking in a mock babyish tone as he pet an annoyed Twilight on the head, “Indeed, Stallion Tell was an archer who shot arrows at ponies’ head. Kinda a weird hobby, but what can ya do? Anyway, we’re gonna relate that tale into our second blind trust challenge.” He walked over to Spike for a demonstration, setting an arrow on his head, pointed forward, before floating backwards and holding up a slingshot. He then put on a blindfold and pulled out a juicy red apple.

“Uh…Discord…I don’t think this is how it was done,” Twilight said, but was ignored as Discord blindly fired his apple with his slingshot. Unfortunately, his aim was well off, and he ended up nailing Spike in the crotch instead of the head with the apple.

“GAH! NOT…THERE!” Spike squeaked, collapsing in pain as he clutched his groin, “THAT…HURTS!”

“Aww, nuts!” Discord whined, lifting his blindfold to see that he missed his intended target, “Stupid blindfold…stupid apple…bah, stupid everything! Oh well. For this, we’ll have Scootaloo try to redeem herself with Cheerilee, while both princesses try their hooves at this for the Ruffians.”

Cheerilee: Of course, I wouldn’t think of trying to hurt Scootaloo…so, I bravely chose to be the target. Besides, the younger you are, the more adept you are at playing games…right? I’m sure that’s right. *she taps her chin and puts on a frown as she thinks about it* Um…or was it the other way around?

Luna: Oh, fun! Of course, I immediately volunteered to be the archer…or, apple-launcher. *she puts on an evil, mischievous little smirk* When am I gonna get the chance to hurl apples at my sister ever again? Do not think I’m not gonna TRY and win, but… *she giggles* …ooh, this is gonna be fun!

“Okay, we’ve got a blindfolded Scootaloo aiming for the arrow on Cheerilee’s head, while a blind Luna aims for her sister Celestia’s arrow,” Discord explained, snapping his fingers and having his cloud hammock appear, “So, let’s get this blind Stallion Tell shoot-off going. Begin!” The spirit of disharmony relaxed back in his hammock as both blind ponies tried their best at the strange challenge.

Cheerilee and Celestia both stood a few feet apart with arrows on their heads, while a blindfolded Scootaloo and Luna faced them with 20 feet away. Both ponies were sitting on their haunches while awkwardly holding wooden slingshots in their front hooves. Beside them sat a barrel of fresh apples, so fresh that they were still as hard as rocks. When Discord told them to start, Luna immediately found her barrel and loaded an apple into her slingshot. It took Scootaloo a moment to blindly grope around for her barrel, and by the time she managed to get her first apple, Luna had already fired off two of the red fruits. Unfortunately, both of them struck Celestia right in the face and missed the arrow.

“OW! OUCH! A bit higher, sister!” Celestia called out, twitching in pain as she wiped a few pieces of apple off her face. Scootaloo’s first apple completely missed hitting Cheerilee at all.

“Aim a bit more left, Scootaloo!” Cheerilee called out, “And slightly higher! Just stay calm and focus; we believe in you!”

“Everypony except Rarity, that is,” Trixie snickered from the sidelines. Luna grabbed three more apples in her hoofs and fired them all off at once, but once more all three missed the arrow on her sister’s head and smacked her in the face yet again.

“OW! OW! OW! SISTER, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!” Celestia screeched, rubbing her sore eye and glaring angrily over at her blind sister, “You’re blind, not stupid! Did you even hear what I told you?”

“Do not worry, dear sister, I got this!” Luna called back, loading apple after apple and continuing to miss badly each and every time. Since Celestia kept yelping in pain and soon ended up clenching her eyes shut to try and levy the pain, she failed to notice the big grin on Luna’s face.

“Ouch…a bit higher, dear!” Cheerilee cried out, wincing a bit as Scootaloo hit her in the forehead, “You’re almost there! Just raise your left foreleg up an inch…yes, that’s it!” Scootaloo stuck out her tongue and fired one more apple and successfully ended up striking the arrow off her teacher’s head thanks to a perfect shot.

“It looks like we have a winner!” Discord laughed, floating over and patting Scootaloo on the back, “Nice bounce-back, kid. Now, it seems that the Misfits and Ruffians are all tied…huh?” The draconequus noticed that Luna hadn’t stopped firing apples at her sister, despite what Discord just said.

“OW! OUCH! OW! SISTER, STOP! IT’S OVER! OUCH!” Celestia shrieked, having already knocked the arrow off her head as she attempted to defend herself against the barrage of fruit, “SISTER, YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS! OUCH!” Two apples had already gotten stuck to her horn, but Luna didn’t stop until her entire barrel was empty.

“Hmm? Oh, sorry, sis!” Luna smirked, pulling off her blindfold and giggling a bit, “I was…how do you say…locked into the moment. I couldn’t hear your cries of pain. Did we lose? Oh…well, better luck next time, right?”

“This…will not go…unpunished…” Celestia moaned, wobbling back and forth in severe pain as Discords were dancing in front of her eyes, “Ugh…even when woozy…I get tortured…I deserve better.” She collapsed a moment later, and Nightmare Moon had to trot over to retrieve the downed princess and take her to the infirmary.

Scootaloo: I had that in the bag the whole time. Oh, and Rainbow Dash was watching too, right? So, she saw me do that, right? Sweet! *she flexes her invisible muscles and tries to puff out her chest*

Applejack: What a waste of good apples…what a tragedy. Ah reckon ah’ll never see another horrifyin’ day for apples in mah entire life. *she takes off her hat and holds it to her heart* How sad.

“Okay, so now the score is tied with one win for each team,” Discord announced at the location of the next challenge, “Who’s gonna take the edge into the fourth challenge? Well, we’re gonna find out right now! In this challenge, your blindfolded teammate will be on a small platform 30 feet off the ground, overhanging a pool of jellyfish. The non-blindfolded teammate will swing back and forth from a trapeze, and will have to tell their blindfolded teammate when to jump. If the timing is good and the trust is there, the blindfolded teammate will be safely caught. If not…well, let me just say that jellyfish stings REALLY hurt.”

“Aww, but jellyfish are so squishy and cute,” Fluttershy purred, “They’re not so bad…um, that is, if you’re very, very careful with them.”

“Well, my dear, since you like them so much, YOU can do the challenge with Spike!” Discord grinned, “And for the Misfits, let’s go with Trixie and Pinkie.”

“Yay! Trixie, can I PLEASE swing from the trap-thingy?” Pinkie begged, grabbing Trixie and giving her a crushing hug, “Please, please, please, please, please, please, please?”

“GAH! Let…Trixie…go…and you can do…whatever…you want!” Trixie gasped, trying to push the earth pony away from her.

Fluttershy: *trembling in fear* Um…I don’t…really want to do this. I don’t want to swing back and forth from a trapeze…or jump blindfolded off a platform…it’s too scary… *she cuddles up into a ball*

Trixie: Ugh, of all the lousy pairings, Trixie has to be paired with that dimwitted Pinkie Pie! Curse that Discord for ruining Trixie’s day even more than it already was! *she growls in irritation*

Fluttershy was eventually convinced to be the blindfolded camper on the platform when Spike gave her a hug and reassured her that he would catch her. Trixie was the blindfolded camper for the Misfits, mostly due to Pinkie’s begging and fear of getting another squishy hug by her. Since they lost the last challenge, the Royal Ruffians got to go first on the trapeze. Fluttershy nervously used her wings to fly up to the platform, where Discord scared her by popping up behind her and blindfolding her all in one motion. The draconequus then teleported Spike onto the overhanging trapeze that lay overhead the pool of swarming jellyfish.

“Okay, Spike, start swinging,” Discord commanded, “Call for Fluttershy to jump whenever you want. Oh, and Fluttershy? No using your wings to slow your descent, or you’re disqualified. And remember, if Spike misses you, you get to go for a dip with over two dozen jellyfish just ANXIOUS to give you some very, very, very painful and stingy hugs.”

“Um…the hugs part…d-d-doesn’t sound so bad,” Fluttershy whimpered from her platform. But, from her shaking, it was clear the little Pegasus was very scared. Spike was gonna have to work for this. Getting the rope in motion, Spike hung upside down from his feet and began to swing back and forth. Staring down into the pool of jellyfish, he gulped and shivered when he imagined how painful it would be to land in there. It would be like falling into a pool of electricity.

“Okay! Fluttershy, I’m gonna count to three!” Spike called out, hanging onto the trapeze with his feet tightly as he looked up at the trembling Pegasus, “As soon as I shout ‘three’, you jump, okay?” When he got a weak nod from Fluttershy, the little dragon began to time the swinging of the rope. “Okay…one, two…THREE!” He held out his arms and looked up, but Fluttershy remained frozen on the platform.

“No surprise there,” Rainbow Dash muttered from the ground, “That silly Fluttershy is scared of her own shadow…Spike is REALLY gonna need a miracle here.”

“Ugh, Fluttershy!” Spike groaned, his timing thrown off as he continued to swing back and forth, “You NEED to trust me! Look, Fluttershy, I’m your friend, okay? Remember when I trusted Silver Spoon and believed in her? Well, I believe in you, too! Just jump off and reach out with your forelegs; I promise that I will catch you. If not, then we’ll drop together into the pool to play with the jellyfish; you won’t have to be alone, alright?” This time, he received a somewhat more affirmative nod from Fluttershy, and the dragon tried again. “Okay...again…one, two…THREE! JUMP, FLUTTERSHY!”

With a very loud squeak of fear, Fluttershy leaped off the platform just as Spike reached out with his arms on the trapeze’s rotation towards the yellow Pegasus. The timing was perfect, as Spike managed to grasp Fluttershy’s hooves with his clawed hands and he didn’t let go. Fluttershy’s blindfold flew off as she stared up at Spike in shock and terror, but was greeted by the dragon’s happy grin of approval, not to mention the sound of her cheering teammates below. They had successfully completed their part of this trust challenge, not to mention the team’s second overall, both thanks to Spike.

“Told ya that you could trust me,” Spike smirked, winking down at the Pegasus he was holding. In response, Fluttershy blushed slightly and simply gave a little giggle.

“Nice work, Spike,” Discord commented, clapping nonchalantly from the sidelines, “Your second successful trust challenge. Now, can Trixie and Pinkie duplicate that? Let’s find out!”

Spike was brought down from his trapeze, now snuggling up with the affectionate Fluttershy, while Pinkie and Trixie took their places. Trixie demanded that she blindfold herself, going so far as to slap Discord when he attempted to sneak up on her like he had Fluttershy. Pinkie had somehow gotten up onto the trapeze all by herself and was already swinging back and forth wildly and having a ball. She was waving down to the jellyfish and squealing in joy as she swung even faster. This didn’t really sit well with the azure unicorn sitting up blindfolded on the platform.

“Well, girls, it’s your turn!” Discord yawned, “Whenever you’re ready, Pinkie.”

“Okie-dokie!” Pinkie smiled, glancing up at Trixie as she continued to wildly swing from her trapeze, “Hey, Trixie! Jump off! Let’s swing together!”

“WHEN does Trixie jump off?” Trixie called down, “You have to tell her WHEN!”

“Oh, right…tee-hee, of course!” Pinkie laughed, “Okay, when I shout ‘JUMP’, that’s when you jump!” She failed to notice the little nod that Trixie gave. “Now, let’s test it first, to make sure you hear me. JUMP!” Unfortunately, when Pinkie shouted out “JUMP”, her trapeze was far across the other side of the pool. Trixie was confused, but when Pinkie shouted out the go-ahead word, she took a flying leap off the platform. She kept falling when Pinkie was nowhere near her.

“YOU STUPID PONY!” Trixie shrieked as she plummeted blindly towards the pool of jellyfish, “TRIXIE WILL DESTROY YOU FOR THIS! YOU WILL SUFFER MOST…” The unicorn then splashed down into the pool and instantly began to shriek in pain as the jellyfish swarmed over her. The aquatic creatures instantly began to latch onto the pretty unicorn and started to zap her with their painful limbs, each one sending more and more shocks of pain jolting through Trixie’s body.

“Aww, you totally messed that up!” Pinkie scolded, crossing her forelegs and huffing as she glared down at the screaming unicorn in the pool, “I said that was a TEST! Now you’re being hugged by the jellies.”

“Ouch…THAT looks painful!” Discord laughed, “How deliciously delightful! Nice one, Pinkie. But, this round goes to the Ruffians. Nightmare Moon, I think you have another patient.” While the Ruffians cheered and the Magical Misfits winced as they watched their teammate struggle against the jellyfish, Nightmare Moon trotted out again. She used her magic to pull Trixie from the pool, then continued to use her magic while yanking all the jellyfish off her body.

“Trixie…is gonna…destroy that pony…” Trixie twitched, moaning and collapsing a moment later.

Spike: Yeah, it feels good being the reason your team is up 2-1. I mean, how can you not trust this face? *he makes a cute and over-exaggerated face at the camera* The ladies just can’t resist the Spike. This cutie of a dragon is loved by all, admired by females, and males wish to be him! Ah, it feels good.

Pinkie: I think Trixie is mad at me. Do you think she’s mad at me? I totally think she’s mad at me. I’ve kinda picked up on her mannerisms. When she wants to strangle you, her left eye twitches. When she wants to destroy you, her right eye twitches. When both eyes twitch…ooh, scary stuff there!

“Trust challenge #4 also has to do with rope, but it’s even harder than the last one,” Discord continued, leading the team over to another area of the camping grounds that he had set up with an insane trust challenge, “One teammate will be blindfolded and have to walk across a 20-yard tightrope, once again 30 feet in the air and over a large 20-yard pool of jellyfish. The tightrope isn’t a straight line, though. It goes left, right, backwards, and it even has obstacles in the way! The non-blindfolded teammate will be on the ground and have to call out orders on which way their blindfolded teammate has to go. In other words, they have to be good at giving directions. This is gonna be good, but to make it fair, I’ll pick the two most perfect teammates to do each job. For the Ruffians…Applejack and Rainbow Dash. For the Misfits…Twilight and Trixie.”

“Trixie THOUGHT you said the PERFECT teammate!” Trixie snarled, instantly casting a dirty look at Twilight, “This is the exact opposite!”

“It’ll be okay, Trixie,” Twilight smiled, “If you like, I’ll let YOU be the caller this time, since…being blindfolded didn’t exactly go so well for you with Pinkie.”

“Humph…very well, Sparkle,” Trixie grumbled, “Trixie shall call out directions for you, but if you fall, it will be your own fault!”

“Ugh…sure, Trixie, whatever you say,” Twilight sighed, not bothering to point out the fact that, since Trixie is the caller, it would technically be HER fault if she dropped.

“Um…Dash?” Applejack muttered, poking her distracted friend, “Ya’ll seem to really have somethin’ on yer mind. Would you like to be caller while ah walk the tightrope?”

“Hmm? Oh, right…sure, whatever,” Dash shrugged. She had been too busy looking around the area, since she had the strange feeling that Mare Do Well was watching her. But, if that was true, how could Applejack be there? Dash was pretty sure it was her, but seeing that the farmer pony was standing right beside her, she might be wrong.

Twilight: Don’t get me wrong; I WAS concerned about being blindfolded and having Trixie call out directions for me. Trust me, I know that she was just dying to make me fall into a pool of jellyfish. But, if we lose this challenge, we lose the whole thing, and Trixie loves winning more than hurting her team.

Applejack: Yeah, ah know that Dash is way more nimble than ah am and she’s not so hot with givin’ directions, but by lookin’ in her eyes recently, she looks so lost and dazed…somethin’ is really eatin’ at her mind, so havin’ her walkin’ blindfolded along a tightrope wasn’t a good idea.

“Okay, Twilight is now on the platform with her blindfold on and Trixie is ready to direct her!” Discord announced, “On your mark…get set…GO!”

“Sparkle, walk forward ten paces…be careful now!” Trixie called out, glaring up at the tightrope and quickly mapping out the best route, “Good…okay, now turn to your right and now go another five paces. Easy, easy…that’s it…good…okay, keep going…now, stop! Turn to your left…yes, that’s it…six paces forward…now, take another right. You are halfway there, Sparkle!”

Twilight nervously kept trotting along the tightrope, obeying Trixie’s directions as best as she could. Deep down, she had a slight fear of heights, and being blindfolded wasn’t helping matters. The fact that she was a pony and had to very awkwardly move her hooves along the rope was also a handicap. She was sweating so badly that she felt that she would slip off at any moment. But, Trixie’s harsh voice kept her locked in and kept her moving. Trixie didn’t want to lose; she wasn’t going to purposely foul Twilight up, when clearly it would make her be voted off next. Both unicorns knew what was at stake.

“Now, take two more small paces forward…now, step over the plank that is on top of the rope and you are home free!” Trixie continued to call out, “Easy, Sparkle, easy…yes! Now, go left and just keep going forward until you reach the platform! Yes…yes…YES!” The unicorn grinned when she saw her rival successfully reach the other side of the tightrope obstacle course.

“Twilight and Trixie successfully score for their team!” Discord called out, “Very impressive. Good balance on your part, Twilight, and great direction-giving, Trixie.”

“Did you expect anything less?” Trixie smirked, watching as a giddy Twilight was teleported down to the ground by Discord, “Well done, Twilight Sparkle. You followed Trixie’s directions perfectly. You would make a good student.”

“Why do you think I’m the student of Princess Celestia?” Twilight said proudly, giving Trixie a little hug, “Thanks for not purposely making me fall…deep down, I know you wanted to.” Trixie was shocked by the sudden display of affection, either from the joy of winning or perhaps something else, but she gently pushed the purple mare away and just gave her a little smirk.

“Indeed, Trixie considered it…but, she would much rather win than watch you get stung to death by those nasty little monsters,” Trixie explained, glaring at the pool of jellyfish, “Since Trixie herself went through it, she would not wish it on anypony else.”

“Well…still, thank you,” Twilight whispered, continuing to smile at the other unicorn. The two looked at each other for a long time, ignoring Applejack getting up onto the platform and being blindfolded.

Trixie: Sometimes, Twilight Sparkle will give Trixie these weird looks that really vex her. What do you suppose goes on inside of the empty head of hers? *she scratches her chin curiously* Do you suppose she’s trying to get Trixie to let her guard down? Humph, like that would work…stupid Sparkle.

“Okay, it’s our turn? Cool, time to rock this!” Rainbow Dash smirked, glancing up at her blindfolded teammate and instantly getting right into it, “Okay, AJ, go straight! Yeah, just keep moving forward. Okay, there’s some kinda box thing in front of you…just leap over it. Whoa! Hey, watch it, you almost fell off! Watch your balance, you silly mare! Now, go left…no, right! Geez, watch it!”

“Dash, if ya’ll can’t learn yer rights from yer lefts, yer hopeless!” Applejack snapped from up on her tightrope, nearly falling off for the third time, “Which way do ah go now?”

“Um…left! Yes, go left!” Dash squeaked, feeling somewhat flustered at Applejack getting mad at her, “Just go left and…wait, what?” The Pegasus stopped and gasped when she saw a flicker of movement far towards the forest of the camp. Poking her head out from behind one of the trees was a familiar mask and hat that instantly made Dash’s blood boil. Mare Do Well.

“Uh…Dash? Hello?” Applejack called out, now standing in the middle of the tightrope without hearing any directions, “Hey, Dash? Which way do ah go now?”

“Wait…if Applejack is up there…then, who is…?” Dash whispered, looking over towards the head poking out from behind the tree, then back up at the orange mare, “Whoa…it’s not…Applejack?”

“DASH, WHICH WAY DO AH GO?!?!” Applejack screamed, beginning to lose her balance.

“W-w-what?!?! Uh…right?” Dash said, whipping her head back and forth between Mare Do Well and Applejack, “W-w-wait, no, I meant left! LEFT!” But it was too late. Applejack had tried to take a step to the right, but there was nothing there but open air. The pony instantly yelped as she plummeted from the tightrope and splashed down into the large pool of jellyfish a moment later. Applejack then learned just what Trixie had gone through, only double. When the guilty Rainbow Dash looked back to where Mare Do Well had been, she discovered that she was gone.

Rainbow Dash: Darn it! Mare Do Well totally messed me up! She distracted me! That’s cheating! But…Applejack can’t be in two places at once…right? I was sure it was her! Discord said that he doesn’t purposely interfere with challenges, so it couldn’t be his trickery…who IS Mare Do Well this time?

“Dash…ouch! You rotten…ouch…little brat!” Applejack growled, kicking a jellyfish stuck to her tail back into the pool as she limped over to the Pegasus, “What the hay happened to you? What distracted ya? It had better be good, or else yer gonna get a heavy beatin’.”

“Um…well…you see, AJ…it’s just that…yesterday…and today…I saw Mare Do Well!” Dash blurted out, “And I REALLY thought that it was you, since it seemed like you were so mad at me recently, but I just saw her a moment ago, so…it couldn’t have been you…right?” Applejack looked at Dash for a long time, dripping wet and looking both annoyed and confused. Slowly, her confusion began turning into anger, and eventually rage.

“That tears it, Dash!” Applejack frowned, wrapping a foreleg around Dash’s neck and pulling her along, “Ah’m gonna give ya the beatin’ that ya needed a good few days ago!”

“W-W-W-WAIT! AJ, I’M T-T-TELLING THE TRUTH!” Dash squeaked, kicking and screaming as Applejack dragged her along, “YOU’VE GOTTA BELIEVE ME! I DON’T DESERVE THIS! NOOOOOOOOO!” Since both teams had been away from Rainbow Dash and Applejack, on the opposite side of the pool, they failed to hear what Rainbow Dash had revealed. They could only all stare in confusion as Applejack angrily dragged her teammate away for a beating.

“Hmm…well, while Applejack takes her anger out on Dash, we’re going into the last blind trust challenge all tied up,” Discord explained, “That means that whoever wins this final part of the challenge will win immunity for their team and be safe from elimination. Ooh, the pressure is on! Are you all excited?”

“Not really,” Spike grumbled, “My precious Rarity is a zombie, Dash and AJ are fighting again, and Princess Celestia is knocked out in the infirmary.”

“Let’s make this last run interesting then,” Discord smirked, “I’ll pick the most unlikely of combos to do the final challenge, and we’ll just see who comes out on top.”

Rainbow Dash: *twitching in pain after having been brutally beaten up by Applejack* Owwww, this seriously hurts…man, AJ is so rough with me…can’t she EVER cut me a break? I really did see Mare Do Well both times, really! Maybe she’s just mad that I blamed her for it…but, still…owwwww!

Applejack: *angrily* Shoot, if Dash had just spoken up earlier, this wouldn’t have happened. Plus, she blames ME for bein’ Mare Do Well? She should know better than that! Why can’t she learn to trust me? Ah would never do that to her! Ah do believe her…but, the question is…who’s behind the mask?

“Okay, this is the final blind trust challenge,” Discord said, leading both teams to a large hill, “Two members from each team will have to ride a sled all the way to the bottom of the hill to the finish line. The rider in front will be blindfolded, which means the rider behind will be responsible for once again giving directions on which way to turn the sled to avoid obstacles. And, as I said, I’ll pick the worse pairs possible, to make this as fun and chaotic as possible! So…hmm…let’s have Twilight be with Pinkie, and Luna go with Silver Spoon!”

“Oh no…” Silver Spoon whimpered, looking up at the lunar princess, “This isn’t fair at all…”

“Do not worry, my dear filly,” Luna smiled, giving the schoolgirl a pat on the head, “If you’d like, I will be the one blindfolded so that you may give directions.”

“Okay…I’m much better with that…less pressure…” Silver Spoon agreed, taking a deep breath and shaking her head. Deep down, she WASN’T a lot better with that idea. She knew that, if she and Luna lost this race, it was clear that she was going home. She and Spike may have won the first challenge, but this was for all the marbles. Lose this and you’re out seemed to be the way to think.

“Yay! I get to ride with Twilight!” Pinkie gushed, squeezing the nervous purple unicorn and nuzzling her, “Isn’t that so cool, Twilight? We get to ride down the hill together! It’ll be just like in winter, only without all the snow. Can I be the blindfolded one this time?”

“I was actually hoping you would be, Pinkie,” Twilight admitted, “I…think I’d be better at giving directions. No offense, of course.” But Pinkie wasn’t really listening to Twilight’s slight insult; she was too busy bouncing up and down and thinking about how fun it was gonna be rushing down the hill with one of her best friends snuggling up behind her back.

Silver Spoon: I was going to be riding behind our own Princess Luna…and giving her directions. And, if we lose, I’m going home. Yes…no pressure at all…absolutely no pressure. And this feeling inside of my tummy? It’s not happening…nope, so not happening… *she whimpers and rubs her stomach*

Pinkie: It’s so super-duper awesome that I get to ride with Twilight! She’s such a cool pony; I’m so glad that she’s my friend. *she shyly looks down at the floor* I really like her a lot, you know? She’s like the perfect mare that any mare would want! Ooh, but don’t tell her I said that, okay? Pinkie swear!

Discord teleported Twilight, Pinkie, Luna and Silver Spoon up to the top of the hill, where two toboggans were waiting for the four ponies. After blindfolding Pinkie and Luna, the two eager ponies sat down at the front of their toboggans. Twilight and Silver Spoon both glanced at each other, each pony clearly showing nerves that they didn’t wish to disclose to their partners. With a silent nod of good luck to each other, they took their respective seats behind their chosen blindfolded teammate.

“Tee-hee…aww, Twilight, you’re so cuddly,” Pinkie giggled, wiggling in her seat as Twilight put her hooves around the pink pony’s middle, “Don’t you worry; we’ll win this race! There’s nothing that Pinkie cannot do!”

“I love your confidence, Pinkie, and I…wait, what was that first part?” Twilight asked, giving a confused look at the blindfolded pony. Thankfully, the purple unicorn couldn’t see the faint blush on Pinkie’s face.

“Prepare yourself, young Silver Spoon!” Luna shouted, nearly going back into her loud Canterlot voice, “We are about to fly…down this hill! Try to hold on tightly and speak your directions loud and clearly!”

“Y-y-yes, P-P-Princess…” Silver Spoon whimpered, her hooves so sweaty that they were nearly slipping off the princess’ waist. Her glasses were nearly slipping down her face as well, due to her constant shaking and trembling.

“Well, good luck to you, ladies,” Discord chuckled, placing a finger from each of his clawed hands on the backs of Twilight and Silver Spoon’s heads, “Oh, and you MAY experience a bit of…turbulence…on your way down. Just a warning. Anyway, see you at the bottom!” He gave a gentle push with his two fingers and that was all it took to put the two toboggans into motion.

Luna: *speaking philosophically* Ah, being blindfolded yet again, being enveloped in the darkness that joins me every evening, having everything on the line for this game, feeling the rush of the wind as we fly down the hill on a…what was it called? Oh, right, a toboggan. Wait…now where was I?

Twilight: With Pinkie listening to my directions, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Sure, she can be a bit flighty, pun not intended, but she’s still a dear friend and I knew that I could trust her. *meekly* At least, that’s what I thought…this WAS still Pinkie Pie…owner of a pet alligator…and a party cannon.

“PINKIE, RIGHT!” Twilight screamed, her hooves tightening around Pinkie’s middle, “LEFT! RIGHT! LEFT! RIGHT! RIGHT AGAIN! TREE BRANCH, DUCK!”

The unicorn was peering over Pinkie’s left shoulder the entire time, giving her directions on which way to move the toboggan. Pinkie’s front hooves were on the front of the sled, and when Twilight gave her a direction, she yanked the front of the toboggan in that direction. When she was told to duck, she quickly ducked her head. Despite her usual display of silliness, Pinkie was actually taking the fast ride down the hill very seriously. Twilight’s hooves tightening around Pinkie’s middle was also spurring the earth pony on to do her best, too; the blush on her muzzle was proof of that.

“R-RIGHT! N-NO, LEFT! Y-YES, LEFT! PRINCESS, QUICK, RIGHT! THERE’S A ROCK, JUMP IT!” Silver Spoon shouted, close to falling off the sled yet again. She was hugging Luna so tightly that she was scared the night princess was gonna get annoyed, but Luna continued to drive along without a care in the world. She was having too much fun, her mane blowing in the wind behind her and nearly blinding Silver Spoon when it got in her face.

All of a sudden, a huge explosion shot out of the ground only inches away from where Silver Spoon and Luna’s toboggan had hit. The fiery blast took out a huge chunk of the hill and sent a shower of grass, dirt and tiny boulders into the air. Before the twosome could question what happened, the same thing nearly befell Twilight and Pinkie as well. Soon, explosions were happening all through the downward trip on the massive hill, forcing even extra directions from the horrified Twilight and Silver Spoon.

“THEY’RE LANDMINES!” Twilight shrieked, glancing over at Silver Spoon and Luna, “PRINCESS! SILVER SPOON! WATCH OUT! DISCORD MUST’VE BOOBY-TRAPPED THE HILL!”

“Hee-hee…Twilight said booby…” Pinkie giggled, giving a little sigh as she felt Twilight’s hold tightening even more on her.

“DO NOT WORRY, TWILIGHT SPARKLE! YOU HAD JUST BETTER BE PREPARED TO LOSE!” Luna called back, her carefree attitude not at all dampened by the landmines, “SILVER SPOON, ARE WE ALMOST THERE?”

“Y-Y-YES…THE FINISH LINE…WE’RE ALMOST THERE!” Silver Spoon gasped, “W-W-WE’RE GONNA WIN!”

Indeed, thanks to Pinkie being forced to veer her sled away from a tree and around a large boulder, Luna and Silver Spoon had taken the lead. As long as a landmine didn’t take them out, there was no way they could lose. There was a clear shot right to the finish line where both teams were waiting, along with Discord and Nightmare Moon. Silver Spoon smiled in joy, realizing that her days in the game weren’t about to end just yet. She and Luna were gonna win and she’d get another day to stay on the island and prove her worth. They were only 10 yards away…five yards away…one yard away…and then a final landmine went off.

“Whoa! Total wipeout!” Scootaloo gasped, watching as Luna and Silver Spoon’s sled was completely destroyed and both ponies were sent hurtling through the air.

“And more like a total fail, too!” Trixie laughed, “Only mere feet away from the finish line! Oh, what a cruel mistress fate is!” She watched in joy as Pinkie and Twilight both crossed the finish line a moment later, while Luna and Silver Spoon, along with their destroyed toboggan, crashed down nearby.

“PINKIE AND TWILIGHT WIN FOR THE MAGICAL MISFITS!” Discord cheered, removing the blindfold from Pinkie and smiling at the two ponies, “Wow, what a ride! It shames me that I had to waste my precious landmines to try and take you ponies out…but, it was totally worth it. At least I got two of you.”

“P-Princess! A-are you alright?!?!” Rainbow Dash gasped, instantly racing over to check on the flaming Luna, “That was a horrible crash! Kinda cool, actually…but still horrible!” Spike was the only one who ran to check on Silver Spoon instead; everyone else on the Ruffians was concerned with the princess.

“Wow…that was…how you modern-day ponies say…a blast!” Luna laughed weakly, sitting up with her ruffled mane and scarred body, “But…we lost? Dang…I guess that means…”

“That’s correct, my dear princess,” Discord interrupted, “One of you Ruffians is going home tonight. soon, both teams will have only six players left. I will see you all at the elimination ceremony. You have the rest of the day to heal up and get ready. Until then, ta-ta!” He gave a little wave and vanished a moment later, leaving Nightmare Moon behind.

“Rarity should be back to normal by now, as should Celestia,” Nightmare Moon sniffed, clearly uninterested in explaining such boring matters, “If you wish to see them, they’ll be waiting for you back in the infirmary…and I’m guessing the mess hall.” With that, she took to the air with her wings and flew back to camp.

“WE WON! WE WON! YAY!” Pinkie cheered, twirling Twilight around so quickly that the unicorn was lucky to not get sick. Soon, the entire Magical Misfits team joined in, even Trixie. This was their second win in a row, and third in their last four. They were playing great, and the six of them really felt like a team. Each pony on the Misfits had a smile on her face that was bright enough to light up a room.

Scootaloo: I totally knew that we were gonna win. The six of us are unstoppable! Just you wait and see; we won’t lose another challenge from here on out. I just hope they don’t vote out Dash…I’m gonna be so sad if they do! I would take her place if that happened…really, I would! *she blushes*

When the two teams got back to camp, they found an angry Celestia and a dizzy Rarity waiting for them. Celestia immediately began giving Luna a heavy scolding on not listening to her or obeying orders and what would become of such treason; Luna tuned most of it out. Rarity had no idea what had happened, and when she inquired about it with her team, they found it best to not get into it; all they said was that they won the challenge, which was more than enough to make Rarity happy. Everypony was not happy, however. The entire Royal Ruffians team was mostly unhappy, but none more than Silver Spoon.

“I’m…I’m going for a walk…” Silver Spoon muttered, turning away from her team before they could really ask anything. The little filly quickly moved in the direction of the beach, leaving her team behind and looking at one another with somewhat sad expressions.

“So…we’re all in agreement then?” Celestia said calmly, trying her best to maintain her composure, “As much as it feels wrong…Silver Spoon goes tonight?”

“Yup…most logical choice,” Rainbow Dash shrugged, “There’s really no other choice; I’d say that issue is a done deal. I’m going for a fly; I need to stretch out my wings…since Applejack beat them up pretty good a while back.” She cast the hayseed pony a glare, then took to the skies.

“I’m going to go watch my sun fade behind the mountains…” Celestia mumbled, trotting away towards the forest, “Come, Luna…I still have much to scold you on.”

“Yes, yes, dear sister…Trollestia,” Luna whispered, holding a hoof over her mouth as she stifled her giggle. She gave a little wink to a nearby confused Spike who happened to hear, then trotted after her sister.

“It always hurts to lose…ah know this ceremony is gonna be the worse yet,” Applejack said, giving Fluttershy a glum look, “Just doesn’t feel right, but…what can we do?”

“Well…um…I could always just vote for myself…you know, so I wouldn’t have to…vote for Silver Spoon,” Fluttershy said, but after getting a frown from Applejack, she squeaked and shook the thought from her head. Spike was left staring after Silver Spoon, his hands clenched into fists and a determined look on his face.

Spike: No way was I gonna let this happen! All the fillies in the game are gone, except for Scootaloo and Silver Spoon. We took away Silver Spoon’s best friend and then her NEW best friend. Yeah, I voted for Zecora, but…well, it’s time to make a stand. I won’t let Silver Spoon be voted out!

“Hey, Applejack? Fluttershy? Can I speak with you two?” Spike said firmly, looking at the earth pony and Pegasus and putting his hands on his hips.

“Sure, Spike…what about?” Applejack asked. The dragon walked over and pulled the two girls close to him, then began to whisper something to the two of them. The more he talked, the wider their eyes got, and the more stunned looks they began to give Spike. When the dragon was done talking, he just gave them a nod and then turned to go and see Silver Spoon.

Fluttershy: *trembling and whimpering* I…I couldn’t…I couldn’t do THAT…it wouldn’t be right…I would get in such big trouble…I could get my home taken away! Or…or I could lose all my animals. Or even worse…I could lose my friends! But…but…it’s just a game…right? That’s…all it is…correct?

Applejack: Shoot, that Spike is one shrewd little dragon! Ah never knew he had such devious thoughts inside of his head. He does bring up a good point…but, is it truly fer the best? Ah have a big decision to make tonight…one that will show what type of pony ah really am. *she dips her head low*

Spike found Silver Spoon sitting on the beach, almost in the same place that Twilight and Trixie had sat in a few nights before. The filly was tossing pebbles into the sea and idly digging another hole in the sand. This was gonna be her last time sitting on this beach. It was true that they had only been there a little over a week, and it was also true that she didn’t need the money, due to her rich inheritance. But, all the same, she still felt really sad. To Silver Spoon, it felt like she was just being singled out because of her age and size, and it hurt. All she wanted was one more day in the game; one act of generosity.

“Hey…how you doing?” Spike asked, casually sitting down beside Silver Spoon.

“You again? Let me guess…it’s me, right?” Silver Spoon asked, poking at her glasses and crossing her hind legs into a pretzel. When she saw Spike give a sad little nod, the filly just sighed and shook her head. “Yeah, I figured as much. I guess this is just my fate, being a filly and all. I guess that I just started too late, too…once a bully, always a bully. I was stupid for thinking I could change.”

“That’s not true, Silver Spoon,” Spike frowned, inching closer to the filly and gently placing a clawed hand on her back, “You HAVE changed, for the better! It’s beautiful, too. I really like how nice you’ve become. You’ve let me see a new you…a side I never knew. Well, I really didn’t know you BEFORE we came into this game anyway, but…as of this moment, I’m really glad that I DO know you, Silver Spoon.”

“Well…thanks, I suppose,” Silver Spoon muttered, glancing sideways at Spike and giving a frown, “But, why are you even bothering? You know it’s gonna be me tonight…you knew ever since Zecora’s name was read off and she left on the Boat of Losers. The entire team knew it. Why do you care about making friends with me now? Where does it get you?”

Spike stared into Silver Spoon’s eyes, looking past her glasses and locking onto her violet pupils. Silver Spoon was one of the few ponies he’s seen that wears glasses. Behind the specs, he finally saw just how beautiful her eyes were; she had the same color eyes as Twilight and Trixie. Being this close to her, Spike could really see how ALL of Silver Spoon was beautiful. She wasn’t a bully. She wasn’t just some random pony who no one cared about. HE cared about her, but what he couldn’t explain was WHY. It was something that he COULDN’T explain.

“It gets me nowhere, okay?” Spike stated matter-of-factly, moving so close that he finally draped his right arm around the filly, “I know that it doesn’t. Even if you DO go tonight, I wanted you to know that…I like you, and you’re not alone in this game.”

The words struck Silver Spoon right to the heart. Hearing those three simple words, “I like you”, made her catch her breath and feel her heart pound. Did he mean THAT kind of “like”? No, he couldn’t. She wasn’t stupid; she saw how Spike was always after Rarity and always willing to please her. Sure, maybe he WAS more her age than Rarity’s, but so what? But…hearing him say that she wasn’t alone in the game…it made her heart flutter even worse. Was he mocking her? And why was his arm draped around her back? What WAS this?

“…what…are you trying…to say?” Silver Spoon whispered, slowly looking straight forward at Spike and getting a good look at his own chartreuse green eyes. She suddenly felt very nervous, and she couldn’t understand why. She had never felt this way before, and she didn’t really like new feelings that she couldn’t understand.

“What I’m trying to say is…vote with me tonight…and I promise that you will not go home,” Spike said honestly, using his other arm to pull Silver Spoon into a full-body hug, “If my promise is broken…then I’ll do whatever I can to pay for it. But, Silver Spoon, I give you my word that you will NOT go home tonight. I won’t allow it.”

Silver Spoon couldn’t find her words; they were locked inside of her throat and refused to come out. Her heart was beating even faster as she was pulled into the reptile’s arms. Despite being covered with scales and a tough hide, Spike was…unusually very warm. Behind held by a boy was another unusual thing that had never happened to Silver Spoon before in her life. Her parents had raised her to be proper and regal, but never really gave her much love. Diamond Tiara never actually ever hugged her, either. Cheerilee gave her a hug now and then, though. But, this was the first time a boy had ever held her. It felt…good. It was a new feeling…but she liked it.

“…Spike…” she whispered, and she closed her eyes. She didn’t care about the promise. All she cared about was having somebody to hold her. Somebody to tell her she wasn’t alone. Somebody to tell her she wasn’t just a bully and that she was more. Somebody…to love her.

Spike: The cards are in place. I’ve done all I can. It’s up to Applejack and Fluttershy now. Please, girls, do the right thing…please, I’m begging you. *he fiddles with his tail in a shy way* I don’t want to be a liar…but, more than that…I want to show the love that Twilight has shown ME my entire life.

The bonfire’s flames lapped at the sky as the Royal Ruffians trudged into the ceremony area. Discord was waiting, reading a book involving something with the use of cupcakes, but when he saw the team make their way into the wooden bleachers, he tossed the book into the fire and gave a wide grin. He enjoyed seeing confusion and uneasy looks on the faces of the campers; it usually meant for a more interesting elimination ceremony. Plus, the viewers always did love the suspense.

“Welcome, Royal Ruffians, to your fourth elimination ceremony,” Discord announced, “After tonight, both you and your rival team will have even numbers again at six players each. We saw highs and we saw lows during the trust challenges today. We learned what trust IS…and what it is NOT. How will that affect the voting tonight? Ooh, I cannot wait to see! Shall we get right into it? Applejack, as always, you get to start first.”

Celestia: *showing the camera that she voted for Silver Spoon* It really does hurt to vote off my subjects and teammates each time, but…this IS just a game, after all. *she puts the ballot in the box*

Luna: *showing the camera that she voted for Silver Spoon* Please forgive me, my dear filly. You were a fun rider, but…it is for the best of the team. Nothing personal. *she puts the ballot in the box*

Rainbow Dash: *showing the camera that she voted for Silver Spoon* It was just a matter of time. Once a bully, always a bully. I never did trust you that much, little filly. *she puts the ballot in the box*

Spike: *he writes down the name of who he wants to get voted off, but folds it up too quickly for the camera to see who it is* Well, Twilight…are you watching me? Watch my big move tonight!

“And…with Spike’s vote tallied…we have them all!” Discord smiled, snapping his fingers and having the ballot box appear, “Once the votes are read and a majority is reached, the decision is FINAL. The eliminated camper will be sent down the Dock of Shame and be forced to board the Boat of Losers. They will be taken away and they CANNOT come back to the island…not ever, ever, EVER! If we’re all ready, I shall read the votes.” He popped the lid off the ballot box, reached inside, and pulled out the first slip.

“First vote…Silver Spoon,” Discord said, showing the first ballot to the Royal Ruffians’ with Silver Spoon’s name on it. Silver Spoon herself just sighed and hung her head.

“Second vote…Silver Spoon. That’s two votes Silver Spoon.”

“Third vote…Silver Spoon. That’s three votes Silver Spoon.”

“Fourth vote…” Discord paused, looking slightly amused at the night that was written down, “…Luna. That’s three votes Silver Spoon, one vote Luna.” The Royal Ruffians looked a bit shocked and gave Silver Spoon a few choice looks, since it seemed that the only non-vote for her was directed at the princess.

“Fifth vote…” Discord said, pulling open the fifth ballot. Here, the Ruffians fully expected Discord to say that Silver Spoon was voted out and that a majority was reached. The unthinkable happened. “…Luna. That’s three votes Silver Spoon, two votes Luna, and two votes left.” The Ruffians were even more in shock. Someone besides Silver Spoon had voted for Princess Luna?

“Sixth vote…Luna. That’s three votes Silver Spoon, three votes Luna, and just one vote left.” By now, the entire team of Ruffians was beyond stunned. THREE members of the team had dared vote for a princess? Luna herself looked shocked while Silver Spoon looked stunned.

“Eighth loser of Total Magic Pony Island…” Discord announced, pulling out the final ballot and slowly opening it. As he saw the name written upon it, his eyes shot wide open and his jaw dropped. He clearly was not expecting this, and the entire world of Equestria wouldn’t be either. He slowly flipped the ballot over to show the name to the team. “…Princess Luna. My dear princess…who is much better than your troll of a sister…with four votes, you are hereby eliminated…as shocking as that sounds. It is now time for you to go.”

The Royal Ruffians were in a state of horror at the moment. Applejack and Fluttershy both tried to avoid looking at Luna. Celestia looked like she had just been stabbed in the back with a machete. Rainbow Dash looked completely and utterly confused. Silver Spoon looked like she was about to cry in joy. Spike had his arms crossed with a proud smile on his face. Luna herself, while looking stunned at first, slowly began to get a grin of her own on her face.

“Oh…so, it is ME that is going home?” Luna spoke, standing up and still smiling, “Well…that is quite shocking…did you all change your minds? Hmm…well, you know that? That is just fine with me! In fact, I’m rather HAPPY that I got voted off!”

“Well, I’m not,” Discord growled, “Do you even realize how bad this will hurt my ratings now that you’re gonna be gone? All I have left is your sister to torture! And why in the world are you HAPPY, woman?”

“For three reasons, actually,” Luna chuckled, glancing at her team and still smiling, “First, I have no need for the million bits. I have all I could ever wish for being a princess of Equestria with my dear sister. Being here was just a fun little adventure and a learning experience, but I never expected to win. Second, I’m proud that my team changed their minds and decided to not vote for young Silver Spoon instead. The fact that I am a princess does not make me better than anypony else. Silver Spoon did not deserve to go, and while I did vote for her, I am glad that my royal lineage didn’t come before what was right. Third…I get to go home and reclaim my duties of raising the moon, whereas my dear sister STILL won’t be able to reclaim HERS of raising the sun! Ah, the…what’s it called? Oh, yes, the IRONY! She’s been wanting to go home SO bad to get back to her duties…alas, it is I who is going home and not her.”

“Ooh, what a speech before you go!” Discord grinned, “Not bad, not bad at all! Cameras, are you getting all this?”

“Fare thee well, Royal Ruffians and my sister!” Luna laughed, trotting past Discord and heading for the Boat of Losers, “This has been quite fun, but it’s time I get back to raising the moon…it’s REALLY an important job, you see…I just don’t know WHAT I’d do if I went another day without performing my duty. I daresay that spending 1,000 years on the moon drove me absolutely CRAZY when I didn’t get to perform my duty.”

“W-W-W-W-WAIT JUST A SECOND HERE!” Celestia screamed, finally finding her voice, “YOU CAN’T DO THIS! SISTER, I DEMAND YOU GET BACK HERE AT ONCE! HOW DARE YOU!”

“See you later…Trollestia!” Luna giggled, hopping onto the Boat of Losers and giving a mock wave to her enraged sister, “Have fun seeing your sun raised in the morning!” She raised her head into the sky and laughed hard as the boat began chugging away from the island.

“NOOOOOOO! THIS ISN’T FAIR! LUNA, YOU…YOU…YOU WILL PAY!” Celestia cried, dropping down onto the ground and throwing a fit, “LITTLE SISTER, YOU WILL SUFFER DEARLY!”

“Oh dear…seems somepony is having a temper tantrum,” Discord mocked, “Must be your young age. Don’t worry; I hear that you grow out of that when you get older.”

“Uh…can somepony PLEASE fill me in on what the hay just happened?” Rainbow asked, still in the dark. She watched as Applejack and Fluttershy both giggled, then simply turned and trotted away back to their cabin for a well-earned sleep. “Hey! AJ, Fluttershy, get back here! Let me in on it! What happened? C’mon, girls, be real with me!” The blue Pegasus quickly followed after them, leaving only Spike and Silver Spoon behind.

“Heh…what did I tell ya?” Spike grinned, giving Silver Spoon a thumbs-up, “I told you that I would…” However, his little speech he had planned was never spoken. During the next moment, Silver Spoon had given the dragon a warm smile before quickly moving her face towards his and planting her lips right on his, silencing him. Spike’s face lit up instantly, turning crimson as he was kissed on the lips for the very first time. This wasn’t who he had been expecting to be the first to kiss him, but it made it no less enjoyable. As he felt the filly’s soft lips press into his own rougher ones, all he could think about was how happy he was and how happy he had made Silver Spoon.

“Ooh, would you look at THAT!” Discord gushed, pointing to the two kissing Royal Ruffians, “Cameras, get that! Hurry, get a close-up of that! Do you KNOW how big romance is? This is gonna make the ratings skyrocket! I changed my mind from what I said earlier. Luna might be gone, but things have never been better! In fact, things are only gonna get better from here on out; count on it!”

Silver Spoon had never kissed anyone before, and she wasn’t expecting HER first to be a baby dragon. But, she had no regrets, and it felt amazing. Feeling Spike’s hands hold her tightly as they kissed, stroking up and down his back with her hooves as she snuggled into him, feeling his tongue softly lick and wrap around hers as they pressed in a little harder with their locked lips. Silver Spoon’s glasses were beginning to steam up and slide down her face, but she didn’t care. The only thing she cared about at that moment was Spike. He was right. She WASN’T alone anymore. No matter what happened from here on out, she didn’t care. Zecora said that it would all be worth it, and she was right.

Finally breaking the kiss, Silver Spoon gave Spike a playful little grin. She gently pushed herself out of his arms, then gently bumped him with her rump as she trotted past him. When the dazed dragon glanced back at her, he saw her motion with her head back towards camp, indicating for him to follow her. Putting on a cliché stupid grin, the lovesick dragon slowly walked right after the filly, his tail sticking straight up in the air in a rather risqué way.

“Well, how was THAT for an ending?” Discord asked, facing the nearest camera and giving a wink, “Bet you all didn’t see THAT coming, did you? Princess Luna got voted off, Pinkie revealed a little something in the confessional about a certain mare, Applejack and Rainbow Dash went at it yet again, Mare Do Well showed up and angered our favorite Pegasus, and Spike saved Silver Spoon from elimination and won something valuable in return: her heart. Makes you wonder what Rarity will think about all of this…can you say ‘love triangle’? Ooh, this is gonna get GOOD! Make sure all of you stay tuned in for the next episode of Total…Magic…Pony Island! See you all later!” He snapped his fingers and was gone, but the episode wasn’t quite done just yet.

“YOU WILL SUFFER DEARLY FOR THIS, YOU EVIL BRAT!” Celestia continued to scream, standing on the edge of the Dock of Shame and shaking her hoofed fist into the night, “I WILL SEND YOU RIGHT BACK TO THE MOON FOR ANOTHER 1,000 YEARS! HOW DARE YOU MOCK ME! HOW DARE YOU TAKE BACK YOUR DUTIES BEFORE I CAN! WHEN I GET AHOLD OF YOU, I’M GONNA SPANK YOU SO HARD THAT YOU WON’T SIT DOWN FOR…” Thankfully, a summoned bucket of water soon drenched Celestia’s head, the bucket itself slamming down onto her head as well to silence her. The cameras faded as Celestia’s twitching body sat forebodingly on the dock.

Episode 11: Paintball Dust-Up

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Discord: Last time, on Total Magic Pony Island: emotions were flying faster than Rainbow Dash trying to pull off a Sonic Rainboom. Silver Spoon was playing with a heavy heart after feeling alone on the island. Spike tried to comfort her, but failed. After Pinkie played detective for a while and Rarity threw one of her usual fits, the two teams were put into a series of blind trust challenges. Scootaloo failed yet again at cooking and caused Rarity to become a zombie, while Spike and Silver Spoon grew closer when the latter fixed together a delicious bowl of non-poisonous mushroom soup. Princess Luna bombarded her sister with apples, Pinkie sent Trixie for a dip in a pool of jellyfish, and Applejack gave Rainbow Dash a beating when the Pegasus got distracted by Mare Do Well. In the final challenge, Luna and Silver Spoon’s sled blew up inches from the finish line, allowing Pinkie and Twilight to finish first for the win. Pinkie revealed in a confessional that she has feelings for the purple mare; who could’ve seen THAT one coming? Now confident that she was going home, Silver Spoon sat alone on the beach in sadness. Spike showed up and gave her a promise that he wouldn’t let her go home that night. At the elimination ceremony, the biggest shock of the season so far occurred when Luna was voted out instead of Silver Spoon, four votes to three. Luna was actually happy to go, going so far as to thank her team for making the right choice and then teasing her sister about taking over her moon-raising duties while SHE still couldn’t reclaim her sun-raising ones. Silver Spoon then kissed Spike; who could’ve seen THAT one coming, too? Will their young relationship last? Who’s next on the chopping block? Can the Ruffians ever reclaim their early dominance? Find out right here, on Total…Magic…Pony Island!

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

“Spike…what are your dreams?” Silver Spoon asked, staring up at the stars as she lounged on the baby dragon’s lap, “Have you thought about stuff you’d like to accomplish in the future?”

“Hmm…well, I’d LOVE to find a gem mine somewhere in the mountains,” Spike said bluntly, a wide grin on his face as he idly stroked Silver Spoon’s back, “Ah, just thinking about mining all those gems, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year…all those tasty, succulent, delicious, magnificent gemstones…all for me!”

“That sounds…nice,” Silver Spoon chuckled, poking at her glasses as she snuggled close to her dragon, “Anything else besides that?”

“Yeah, totally!” Spike bragged, now running a hand through Silver Spoon’s grey mane, “I want to win this game and get those million bits! With it, I would buy Twilight and Rarity everything they could ever want, not to mention buying YOU the world, Silver Spoon.”

“You wouldn’t buy anything for yourself?” Silver Spoon questioned.

“Nah…what could I possibly need?” Spike laughed, “I got everything I want back in Ponyville…and right here on my lap. I got a warm, loving home with Twilight…I get food, shelter, and everything I need to maintain a happy lifestyle…I got Rarity…and now I have you. If I could find a gem mine, then I’d be one happy dragon fully content with life. I kinda got too greedy on my recent birthday and I learned a lesson that it’s not good to want everything that you don’t need; it’ll only end up hurting you and those around you more than the possessions could ever make you happy.”

“Mm, I see…” Silver Spoon purred, rolling over onto her back and basically asking Spike to stroke her belly, “Spikey, use those claws gently, would you please? They feel so nice on my sensitive body.”

“Anything for you, Silver Spoon,” Spike responded, flexing one of his claws on his left hand as he softly placed the tip at the base of Silver Spoon’s neck. He then gently began easing the claw up and down Silver Spoon’s belly, pushing down very lightly to not hurt her, but pressing and adding just enough pressure to soothe and pleasure the little filly. Silver Spoon could only moan in delight as she arched her head back and clenched her eyes shut. Her glasses soon draped off her face and fell into the sand, but she didn’t even care.

After the night’s stunning elimination ceremony, Silver Spoon had led Spike to the beach, which seemed to be the favorite gathering place for many campers during the game. The two had sat down and just stared out over the ocean for a long time, before Silver Spoon crawled onto Spike’s lap and cuddled up to him as lovingly as she knew how. Spike had won her heart, and even if he DID still love Rarity, she didn’t care; she would share Spike, if that’s what it came down to. The kindness that Spike had showed her was true and genuine. He had faith in her that her “poisonous mushrooms” wouldn’t kill him, and they didn’t. He had promised her that she wouldn’t go home, and she didn’t. He had opened up his heart to her and told her just how meaningful her life was and how great she could be, and Silver Spoon could almost see Zecora giving her a warm smile. Everything had worked out beautifully.

Silver Spoon: Zecora once asked me to look at myself in a mirror and identify the filly staring back at me. At first, I had no idea what she meant. Whenever I looked into a mirror, I would see a snobby, rude, stuck-up filly who only cared about being popular and better than anypony else. But, now when I look into that same mirror…I see a happy filly who loves life and has a heart filled with joy. Win or lose the next challenge, it no longer matters to me. Spike…has opened up a new door for me…and I love it.

Spike: Oh yeah, baby! Did you all see me? I’m such a stud. *he grins and flexes his muscles, giving each of them a kiss* But…in all seriousness…it feels incredible to have done the right thing. Yeah, I kinda blindsided one of the princesses of Equestria…heck, BOTH princesses when you stop to think about it. But, as Luna said, it was the right move. You can’t expect someone to open up to you without showing them a little love first. Silver Spoon is awesome! But…um…oh boy…I forgot about Rarity…not good.

“Just look at them, girls,” Cheerilee gushed, watching the beautiful scene on the beach from the safety of the campgrounds, “Isn’t that lovely? Young love is always such a wonderful joy! I’m so happy for Silver Spoon; I was really happy to see that she didn’t go home this evening.”

“At least Princess Luna didn’t mind in the end,” Twilight sighed, still honestly feeling slightly angry that the princess had gone instead of a school filly, “I don’t really know what’s been going on with that team, but the feeling I get is that there’s a lot of tension there. I guess Silver Spoon deserved another day.”

“I knew she’d eventually come around,” Scootaloo grinned, “I knew she wasn’t as bad as Diamond Tiara. You’re only as good or as bad as your leader, you know.”

“Humph…may as well get it out of the way before he gets much older,” Trixie muttered, shaking her head as she watched Spike and Silver Spoon continue to cuddle on the beach, “They will both learn heartbreak soon enough, and once they do, it’ll be all downhill from there.”

“Aww, Trixie, don’t be such a grumpy pants!” Pinkie scolded, playfully giving Trixie a sneak-attack cuddle from behind, “Love is such a big joy, no matter what the age! You need to enjoy it while you can and live for the moment!”

“Release Trixie or she will show you just how NOT to live for the moment,” Trixie growled, glancing back at Pinkie and trying to nudge her off, but failing. During all this conversation, Rarity had remained silent. Watching Spike hold another female in his arms really hurt her, and she couldn’t bring herself to really say anything positive from the viewing.

Rarity: Do not think of me as a grouch, nor as a jealous mare. I am happy for Spike and wish him and young Silver Spoon the best. *she forces a very pained smile* They are…perfect for each other. I’m sure Silver Spoon will show Spike…the love the little sweetie deserves… *her eyes begin to water* …yes, such a cute couple…so cute… *she snaps and starts crying her eyes out* NOOOOOO! SPIKEY, NO! WHY?

“Are you two SERIOUS?!?!” Rainbow Dash gasped, frowning at Applejack and Fluttershy after hearing their admissions on what took place at the ceremony, “How could you listen to Spike? Don’t you two want to WIN? You voted out Princess Luna over that little filly? Unfair or not, we can’t just vote out our strong players over weak ones!”

“Dash, yer startin’ to sound just like Gilda,” Applejack spat back, glaring at the Pegasus, “Ah know that it technically would be foolish to keep Silver Spoon around over some of the rest of us, but she DID deserve another day here after what she’s been through. Besides, Princess Luna didn’t really mind goin’ home, so why do you care so much?”

“Because it makes us WEAKER!” Dash argued, “This isn’t just a game, I know it! Beat me up all you want, AJ, but I KNOW I saw somepony dressed as Mare Do Well. Plus, this is Discord and Nightmare Moon we’re talking about. This can’t just be about a million bits; don’t you think he something else up his sleeve? That’s why we need to keep our teams STRONG and put our personal feelings aside; it’s stupid to keep around weak players just because it’s the ‘right thing to do’ and whatnot.”

“Um…I’m sorry to interrupt, but…what did you say, Dash?” Fluttershy asked, “Did you say…Mare Do Well? What do you mean by that?”

“Dash claims that she’s seen somepony dressed up as Mare Do Well,” Applejack explained, rolling her eyes up at the night sky, “Ah don’t really see how it’s possible, though. Nopony besides the six of us know what transpired in Ponyville, and nopony has access to those costumes. Unless Twilight, Pinkie, or Rarity is doin’ this to scare Dash, ah don’t see how Mare Do Well can be here.”

“I know what I saw!” Dash snapped, slamming her front hooves on the ground in frustration, “I was THAT close to catching her, too! What, are you saying I’m imagining it?”

“Rainbow, look at the facts,” Applejack interjected, “Yer constantly tryin’ to make a conspiracy theory out of what we’re here, ya continue to act like a mule on our team, and now ya keep sayin’ that you saw Mare Do Well when it’s impossible. Ah ain’t sayin’ that it’s not possible Discord and Nightmare Moon ARE up to somethin’, but until that time comes, it’s pointless to worry about it. All six of the elements of harmony are on this island, not to mention the princess of Equestria, so no matter what happens, we’ll be ready when push comes to shove.”

“Ugh! You’re impossible, AJ,” Rainbow Dash groaned, turning away and flapping towards her team’s cabin, “I’m going to bed. Goodnight, Fluttershy and Applejack…I hope this decision doesn’t come back to bite us.”

“Um…goodnight, Dash…sleep well, okay?” Fluttershy said, waving to her Pegasus friend as she flew away, turning to Applejack when the azure pony was out of sight, “Applejack? Do you think…um, well, that is…do you suppose Dash has a point? Should we…take this game…more seriously?”

“Don’t listen to Dash, Fluttershy,” Applejack assured the yellow Pegasus, draping a hoof over the mare’s back and giving her a soft nuzzle, “She’s just lettin’ the pressure get to her; you know how she is when it comes to competitions and stuff. C’mon, let’s go fer a little walk before we turn in fer the night, alright?”

“Okay,” Fluttershy whispered, giving Applejack a weak smile. The two mares nodded to one another, then began to softly trot along the campgrounds towards the forest.

Fluttershy: I’m…kinda worried for Rainbow…she hasn’t been acting like herself. Sometimes, she can act so aggressive…and so violent…it’s scary. *she shivers and wraps her wings around herself* You don’t think that…Discord is affecting her mind again…do you? *she squeaks and very weakly hits herself on the forehead with a hoof* No! No, Fluttershy, do not think that…she’s Rainbow Dash, your best friend and life-long companion from Flight Camp…believe in her, like she always believes in you…

Rainbow Dash: *growling, her mane looking ruffled and somewhat wild* I can’t BELIEVE Applejack and Fluttershy went against me like that! They listened to Spike over me? Just to keep that useless little filly in this game? They aren’t THINKING! I can’t believe I’m always accused of being the one left in the dark…ugh, how annoying! They aren’t seeing the big picture here! *she cracks her hooved knuckles and glares at the camera* I need to find out who Mare Do Well is, pronto. This game isn’t safe with her here.

“You WILL pay, dear sister…you will pay most dearly for this,” Celestia whispered, standing inside of the Royal Ruffians’ cabin as she stared out her usual window at the half-moon in the distance, “You get to go home before I do and reclaim your duties…this is unacceptable! Having Equestria ruled by my baby sister, even if it was for just one day, is so insulting! No, no…calm down, Celestia…it’ll be fine…your sister will do a fine job without you there. She will be great at ruling Equestria without me by her side…just have faith in your little sis…”

Princess Celestia now felt all alone on the island, much like Silver Spoon had been. Sure, she was the ruler of Equestria and she had the apparent respect of all her subjects, but there was something amiss. It wasn’t about not being able to raise the sun each morning. It wasn’t about having her sister taking over Equestria for the time that she remained on the island. It wasn’t about being treated with such disrespect and rudeness by a spirit who was supposed to be locked in stone. She couldn’t explain it, and perhaps it was just her new young body and mind causing her to act out, but Princess Celestia really felt alone for the first time in her life.

“Um…Princess?” a timid voice spoke from the cabin door, breaking Celestia’s train of thought. Perking up slightly at the familiar voice, Celestia turned around and saw Fluttershy standing and watching the small princess from a good distance away. “Are you…alright? Um, it’s none of my business, I know…but, you seem…really sad. Did you get all your frustration out earlier?”

“Oh, Fluttershy…weren’t you with Applejack?” Celestia asked, calmly trying to regain her composure as she sat as gracefully as she could while facing the yellow Pegasus. She was not at all accustomed to having others feel sorry for her, so the feeling of being consoled by one of her subjects who was now arguably the same age and size of her felt incredibly awkward.

“Well, we finished our little walk around camp and she decided to go and find Rainbow while I decided to turn in early,” Fluttershy explained, meekly stepping forward toward the white alicorn, as though scared to really get too close to her, “Um…am I bothering you? I really hope that I’m not…but, if I am, I can go to bed and leave you alone…if that’s what you want.”

“Fluttershy, I…” Celestia began, stepping a little closer to the element of kindness, but she suddenly dipped her head and her body began to twitch. She choked back whatever she was gonna say as she lifted up her left foreleg and covered her face with her hoof. She looked to be on the verge of crying, a completely new emotion for her. Recognizing the emotional signs of distress almost immediately, Fluttershy dropped her timidity and instantly rushed to her princess’ side.

The tears began falling almost as soon as Fluttershy wrapped a hoof around Celestia’s neck and brought her head close to her heart. Without saying a single word, Fluttershy closed her eyes and held the small princess to her body, hugging and cuddling her tightly. Celestia was out of her right state of mind. She didn’t understand why she was crying. She didn’t understand why she had gotten mad at her sister so badly when she was here and when she left. She didn’t understand anything.

Tears soaking Fluttershy’s chest, the Pegasus softly stroked Princess Celestia’s back as she let the ruler of Equestria bawl her eyes out. She kept trying to choke out random sentences, but nothing was audible enough to be understood, at least to anyone except Fluttershy. As though she understand everything perfectly, the yellow mare simply gave little nods of her head while keeping her right hoof softly pressed against the back of Celestia’s head and having her left hoof rub up and down her back. With Celestia’s sobbing face pressed right into Fluttershy’s heart, the princess felt safe and warm, and for the first time in possibly a very long time, it felt right for her to drop her morals.

Celestia: *with tearstained eyes* Being held to such high standards…being the one all the ponies look up to…being treated like a goddess…being marked as higher than everypony else…do you know how much of a weight that is? Do you know how much pressure that puts on my heart? *she sobs again* This is…a disgrace, I know…but, this game…it’s getting the better of me. I might be…a princess with stunning powers…but, underneath this crown…I’m still a pony, just like you and me…Equestria.

“We’re back, peeps!” Rainbow Dash called out, bursting into the Royal Ruffians’ cabin a moment later and exaggeratingly stretching her wings as she hovered towards her bed, “Oh, it’s just you, Fluttershy. Wait, is that the princess in her bed? She went to bed early, eh?”

“Shh…she needs her rest…um, if you could, please keep it down,” Fluttershy said softly, using her hoof to gently silence her flying friend, “Please don’t ask what happened, but…could you please leave her be for now? She’s been through more than any of us realize.”

“Perfectly understandable,” Applejack nodded, giving Dash a quick look that easily told her to not press the issue, “Ah think Spike and Silver Spoon will still be out fer a bit. Let’s just head to bed and leave them be; they know enough when to get back here.”

“Fine, fine,” Dash grumbled, plopping down on her bed and curling up her wings, “Just remember what I said, Applejack. If we don’t win next time…”

“Ah heard ya the first dozen times, Dash,” Applejack sighed, dismissing the Pegasus as she hopped up onto her own cot, “Just go to sleep and don’t think about that, okay? No more negative thoughts.”

“Whatever…goodnight, girls,” Rainbow Dash yawned, immediately zonking out after snuggling up under her covers.

“Night, Dash, Applejack…Princess,” Fluttershy whispered, turning off the light in the cabin and giving the trembling Princess Celestia a gentle pat on the back. The Pegasus tucked the princess in a bit more before she flew to bed herself.

Fluttershy: *softly* What you must realize is that every little creature, no matter what species, has a heart and feelings. Both can be damaged and hurt by the simplest of things. When that happens, the only thing that can cure that pain is having a loving touch nearby. What can cause a creature pain can be almost anything, but no matter what it is, showing kindness is always the right way to go.

“Okay, girls, we have a little winning streak going and naturally that feels good,” Twilight stated, pacing back and forth as she faced her team inside of the Magical Misfits’ cabin, “However, let’s not let this taste of success go to our heads. They say that arrogance is the ultimate downfall of everything great.”

“Speak for yourself, Sparkle,” Trixie sniffed, obviously taking offense to Twilight’s shot at arrogance, “What would YOU know about greatness? Student of Princess Celestia or not, you still have not accomplished anything worthwhile that even remotely intrigues the Great and Powerful Trixie.”

“But she totally led us to stop Nightmare Moon!” Pinkie argued, bouncing up and down impatiently as she scolded Trixie, “And then she was the shining light that led us through the darkness to stop Discord! Of course, it wasn’t really dark out at the time, since the night and day were going by so fast, but she totally helped us through it anyway!”

“Trixie is not impressed,” Trixie sniffed, crossing her forelegs and glaring at Pinkie.

“Ooh, ooh, and she got invited to the Grand Galloping Gala and she took all of her best friends with her!” Pinkie continued, “Then she saved Ponyville from that Ursa Minor that YOU couldn’t stop, Trixie! And after that, she helped save our Winter Wrap-Up with her totally awesome organizing skills! Later, she made some totally amazing wings for Rarity and then cast spells on the rest of us so we could go to Cloudsdale without falling down and going SPLAT!”

“Trixie is STILL not impressed…and she is now very angry at you for mentioning the Ursa Minor incident,” Trixie snarled, looking ready to slap Pinkie silly.

“And let’s not forget she held Rarity and Fluttershy’s secrets for a very long time before she burst,” Pinkie went on, “And then there’s the time she saved Spike from a big meanie dragon along with the help of her pet owl, Owlowiscious. Ooh, and then she totally survived not believing in my Pinkie Sense, despite being smashed flat by a few doors, being crushed by an anvil and random other stuff, and then surviving an encounter with a hydra!”

“Read…Trixie’s…lips,” Trixie said slowly, her voice icy, “She…does…not…CARE!”

“Speaking of that time with my Pinkie Sense, I still remember when she dragged me down into her basement,” Pinkie smiled, sitting down and staring up at the ceiling, lost in thought and forgetting where she was, “Twilight hooked me up to this weird machine thingy and put this totally cool hat on me with all these wires poking out the top. She was SO interested in studying me…looking back on that, it tickles me pink that she was so intrigued with me. Well, I can’t REALLY be tickled pink; I already AM pink, duh! But, still, it was a really cool feeling; it made my heart flutter!”

“Trixie…finds that disturbing…and will no longer participate in this conversation,” Trixie said, her eyes wide as she began backing away from the pink pony.

“Uh…Pinkie…thanks for vouching for me so much…but, er, how exactly do you remember all that?” Twilight asked, feeling slightly unnerved by her friend’s vast memory, “And…what exactly did you mean by that last part?” In response, Pinkie tilted her head and looked at Twilight, seemingly confused about something. Then, she gasped and put her hooves to her forehead, instantly leaping into her bed and diving under her covers.

“Well, time for bed!” she said quickly, hurryingly setting her head down on her pillow and turning away from the rest of her team, “Nighty-night! Don’t let the bedbugs bite!” Almost immediately, she began to snore, leaving the rest of her team looking at one another with strange expressions.

Twilight: *nervously running a hoof through her mane while she looked at the camera* Did anything that Pinkie said seem a bit strange to you? Or…was that just Pinkie being Pinkie? Somehow, I feel like I should be slightly creeped out that she remembered so much about MY exploits. But, she probably remembers ALL our adventures, not just mine…so, it’s probably nothing. *she gives a deep sigh and puts on a forced smile* We just need to go to sleep and make sure we remain strong and fit!

“Okay, team, let’s take Pinkie’s example and get some shuteye,” Twilight said, stifling a yawn with her hoof as she gave a weak smile to her four watchers, “Scootaloo, Cheerilee, Rarity, and Trixie…sleep tight, girls. If you ever need anything, feel free to wake me up. I’m always here for each and every one of you.”

“Trixie would sooner ask a bear,” Trixie scoffed, hopping into bed and putting her nose in the air, “But, it’s good to know that Trixie can wake you up whenever she desires. If Trixie feels like a glass of water and does not wish to move from the warm confines of her bed, she knows who to throw a book at.”

“Don’t abuse a pony’s kindness, Trixie,” Cheerilee warned, “Kindness goes back ways; if you want it delivered onto you, you need to show it in return.” Instead of answering, Trixie simply flicked her tail in Cheerilee’s direction and hunkered down under her sheets without another word. Cheerilee sighed in dismay and instead turned to Scootaloo. “Ready for bed, Scootaloo?”

“I could stay up longer…but, eh, I suppose I should get some rest,” Scootaloo shrugged, trying hard to not show her tiredness. It was evident that the little filly was pooped, though, when she practically had to drag herself over to her bed. Cheerilee gave a little giggle, gave her student a little wave, and then got into her own bed as well.

“Rarity…you alright?” Twilight asked, noticing that Rarity had remained silent the entire time without interrupting once, “You seem…kinda down.”

“Hmm? Oh no, darling, I’m just fine,” Rarity said, giving a weak laugh that sounded forced and reserved, “I was just…meditating…and thinking about…things.”

“Anything you want to talk about?” Twilight questioned, “As I said, if you need a pony to lean on and talk to, you know that I’m here for you, Rarity.”

“Thank you, Twilight, but…I’m fine,” Rarity responded, turning and seemingly hurrying into her bed, “No need to worry about me. Goodnight, darling.” Twilight got the feeling that Rarity was trying to make her stop talking to her; she may not have been so great at reading ponies and their body motions, but Twilight knew enough when she wasn’t wanted. With a sad little nod towards Rarity’s cot, Twilight turned off the light in the cabin and was the last to turn in for the evening without saying another word.

Rarity: *mellow and distraught, but obviously trying to hold in her rage this time* How could Spike choose Silver Spoon over me? She…she is CLEARLY not more beautiful than me…right? Was this because Spike caught on that I knew he was spying on me the entire time on this island and I was gonna slap him silly for it later? Was this because I was on the opposite team as him? *as usual, she can’t hold in her emotions and begins to bawl once more* SPIKEY…HOW COULD YOU?!?! NOOOOOOOOOOO!

Pinkie snored loudly through the night, for once not leaving her bed to go sleepwalk. Cheerilee was smart enough to put earplugs into her ears, as she was used to destructive sleepers after having dealt with Snips and Snails falling asleep in some of her classes. Scootaloo was a hard sleeper and could sleep through an earthquake, so she stayed zonked out through the entire evening. Twilight was forced to hide her head under her pillow and clutch the sides with her hooves to hold it down, and even then her ears couldn’t fully tone out Pinkie’s snores. Rarity couldn’t sleep at all, with or without Pinkie’s snoring.

“Ugh…Pinkie, dear, you really should start sleeping on your stomach!” Rarity complained, moaning and heading towards the cabin door, “Do you know what you do to my beauty sleep? Oh, this is terrible…I’m never gonna get a good night’s sleep now!” Her excessive whining could be heard by another Misfit who also couldn’t sleep from Pinkie’s snoring, and when Rarity trotted out of the cabin to go for a walk, the camper followed after her.

Rarity winced as she staggered along, her eyes saggy and her heart heavy with her hooves barely following her directions. Even though she didn’t like walking in sand, she headed for the beach. She didn’t wish to go where Spike had been with Silver Spoon, but she knew it was the most peaceful place on the camp and one of the best areas to go to try and escape your troubles for a while. Plus, Rarity always did enjoy the sound of the waves and the coolness that escalated from the ocean and calmed the beach during the nighttime air.

The white unicorn nimbly stepped through the cold sand as she headed for the ocean. When she got the shoreline, she forced herself to sit down. She winced at the grainy rock particles under her rump, but she knew this was no place to whine about how she didn’t like getting dirty or being uncomfortable. All she wanted to do was get a moment of peace. However, as Rarity stared out over the ocean and tried to lock onto some of the faraway stars in the distance, she heard hoof-prints trotting through the sand behind her back. She wasn’t alone.

“Good evening, Rarity,” a crisp voice stated, slicing through the silence like a bugle during role call at other summer camps, “You can’t sleep, either?”

“What do you want, Trixie?” Rarity grumbled, hanging her head and not even bothering to turn around, “I really wanted to be alone. I am in no mood to listen to your bragging and rudeness.” Despite giving a little grunt of annoyance, Trixie trotted up to Rarity’s side and sat down beside her anyway.

“Trixie does not fully enjoy your egotistic and haughty attitude, either,” the blue unicorn sniffed, “But, she is still here. Perhaps the two of us can tolerate the other for at least a little while?”

“Do whatever you want; it’s not like I can stop you,” Rarity sighed, “My horn won’t work, I don’t have the heart to start a fight, and I’m too tired to really start yelling at you. I’m a wreck.”

“Indeed you are,” Trixie agreed, glancing out over the sea and calmly pawing at the sand in front of her hooves, “The challenge was not a pretty sight, especially for you. Plus, that obnoxious Pinkie Pie and her snoring is enough to wake the dead.”

“Those are not the reasons why my heart is restless,” Rarity said, “I’m…heartbroken.”

“Heartbroken? Oh, of course…that little dragon, right?” Trixie snickered, turning around and giving Rarity a mocking grin, “Such a shame that he picked a younger girl over you, is it not? It seems that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, hmm?”

“Shut up, Trixie!” Rarity snarled, having to contain her rage so that she didn’t slap Trixie in the face, “You don’t understand love! You don’t even have any friends to care for, so love is OBVIOUSLY not within your heart to comprehend! Don’t you DARE mock me when you can’t understand what I’m going through, you rotten mare!”

Trixie seemed taken aback by Rarity’s justified defensiveness, taking a small step away from the angry unicorn as she saw the pain in her eyes. Indeed, Trixie didn’t have any friends and didn’t really understand love that much, but Rarity’s words still cut her close to her own heart. She was half expecting to be slapped, or in the very least left alone. Instead of stomping away and leaving in a huff, as she usually would, Rarity stayed put on the sand and only kept glaring at Trixie. Despite her anger and her past statement about being by herself, it seemed like she didn’t WANT to be alone.

“Yes…you would be correct in your assessment of Trixie’s lack of knowledge involving love,” Trixie said, her voice slightly frazzled from being verbally attacked, “But…that would be because…Trixie herself never really knew what love was. Her parents never showed her anything at all when she was a filly.”

“Hmm? Whatever do you mean, darling?” Rarity blinked, getting over her own sadness at the moment as she took her usual interest in finding out more about those around her, “Are you saying that, as a filly, you were…neglected?”

Trixie was silent for a long time, and it almost seemed like the two unicorns had switched places. Trixie was now the one staring down at the shoreline and the wet sand in front of her hooves, her eyes skewed and her mouth curled up in a pained frown. Her body was tense and she was seriously wondering if she should trust Rarity with her story. She didn’t like the white unicorn; she was stuck-up, annoying, haughty, and almost just as arrogant as her. But, nopony had ever bothered asking Trixie about her past before, and since she couldn’t have herself tell Twilight for some reason, Rarity seemed like the next best pony to share her heart with.

“Trixie was…just a foal at the time…barely old enough to crawl,” Trixie whispered, closing her eyes so she didn’t have to see Rarity’s curious looks, “Her mother and father were both star magicians, and carrying on that legacy was very important to them. When they had Trixie, they were convinced that she would be the next best thing that Equestria had ever seen. But, as the years passed, and Trixie began to mature into a playful little filly…her skills wouldn’t come to her. Trixie’s parents grew more and more frustrated, and pushed Trixie harder and harder to become what they had envisioned. But, no matter how hard Trixie tried…she could not use the kind of illusion magic that they could. They would put Trixie into hard magic classes…rigorous training courses…brutal psychic exams to examine Trixie’s inner magic strength…but nothing happened. Trixie was…just not as strong or as…great…as they hoped.”

“Due to the expectations placed on her, Trixie began calling herself the Great and Powerful Trixie wherever she went,” Trixie went on, “But, when she was asked to prove herself…she could not. She was a failure and a joke each and every time…and each and every time, it hurt worse and worse. They called Trixie names and…they would hurt her…for their own amusement. Did Trixie’s parents care? No, they did not. All they cared about was how their family name would be ruined by this ‘bad egg’ that couldn’t use powerful illusion magic at all. So, when Trixie was still a maturing little filly…they kicked her out of the house…and let her fend for herself. They said they were gonna…try again…”

“No…” Rarity whispered, looking ready to cry. She found herself wrapping a foreleg around Trixie and giving her a gentle hug, hoping that she wouldn’t mind. Trixie didn’t even seem to notice.

“With no home, no food, no water, no nothing…Trixie became a traveling magician…a show-mare,” Trixie continued, gritting her teeth and looking like her pain was driving her into a rage, “Trixie did what she could to get by…and she pushed herself hard to try and get stronger with her magic…to prove her horrible parents wrong. She worked tirelessly day after day to perfect her skills. She began to talk in the third-person, since she was all she had…no family, no friends, no nothing…Trixie had only herself. What ‘love’ was there? There was certainly none for the filly cast out by her family for being a ‘failure’.”

“This…is why…you brag so much and try to do things that you know you can’t?” Rarity asked, trying her best to not make her voice sound harsh, “You want to make yourself the mighty show-mare that your parents envisioned, despite knowing that you’re not?”

“Do you know Trixie’s hat and cape?” Trixie said, ignoring Rarity’s question and staring the white unicorn in the eyes, “The ones she wore during her show in Ponyville? Those…are special to her. They allow Trixie to create a…mask…to hide behind; a version of her true failure self that is accomplished and truly IS great and powerful. Trixie’s hat and cape…are her only ‘friends’, if you wish to call them that.”

“Darling…that’s…horrible,” Rarity whimpered, pulling Trixie into a hug and stroking her backside, “How any wretched parents could do that to their precious daughter, just because she didn’t turn out the way they expected…is horrendous! You are perfect the way you are; we ALL are. No matter what anypony says, you should be proud of what you can do and not hate yourself for what you can’t. Even I know that I’m not perfect; don’t you see that you don’t have to think that way?”

“What do YOU know?” Trixie snapped, pushing Rarity away and shaking her hooves off her back, “You’re out here moping and weeping like a foal about a stupid baby dragon who happened to fall for somepony else who wasn’t you! What do YOU have to be sad over? You HAVE a home; Trixie’s stage was HER home, but it got destroyed. You HAVE friends; everypony on this island likes you, but nopony likes Trixie. How DARE you cry about such a foolish thing when you don’t even know what true pain is?”

“But…but…I…” Rarity gulped, finding herself backing away from Trixie’s ranting, “You…don’t understand! Spike and I…well, mainly him…he loved me! And I…well, kinda felt the same way for him, but…well, it’s a different kind of love than between friends! Trixie, I understand your pain, really I do! But…do you know what it’s like to see someone that you’d love to hold, to kiss, to hug, to cuddle with, to tell ‘I love you’ be with somepony else instead of you? It…it hurts…it really does.”

Trixie was up on all four hooves, ready to continue ranting at Rarity, but both mares were hurt and they both knew it. Trixie and Rarity both felt like crying, but both were too proud to do it in front of the other. Inside of her heart, Trixie yearned for what Rarity had. The feeling of love, not just friendship. She would love to have somepony hold her and stare into her eyes while whispering those three beautiful words into her ear, just before they pressed their lips to hers and filled her with a joy she had never once experienced in her life. But, when she couldn’t even get a friend, there was simply no shot at love, right?

“Humph…utter nonsense…love is an illusion, one that Trixie can never master,” Trixie whispered, slowly turning her back to Rarity and shaking her head, “Trixie is…sorry…but she cannot help you. If you love this dragon so much, then you cannot give up on him…like Trixie’s parents did with her. What fate has in store for you…who knows? Trixie already knows HER fate…and it’s calling her.” With that, Trixie began trotting away from Rarity and the beach, leaving a cold silence behind her.

Rarity: *placing a hoof over her heart, she stares into the camera* My plight seems silly compared to the inner battle that Trixie has suffered her whole life. But, all the same…I cannot help her until she accepts help from those outside of her shell. I fully believe that Twilight can accomplish that…even without her horn, that unicorn can use powerful magic. *she gives a weak smile* Just watch her work.

Trixie: *angrily* WHY did the Great and Powerful Trixie share all that with that arrogant fashion unicorn? Ugh, how disgraceful…Trixie is now gonna be the laughingstock of her team…just brilliant. *she hits the side of the confessional with a hooved fist, then hangs her head and clutched it with both of her hooves* Get it together, Trixie…just focus on winning this stupid game and getting that million bits…

A restless night for half of the campers dragged by, continuing most of their misery for countless hours that didn’t even result in sleep. When the sun finally began peaking around the mountains, most of the campers were already up. Celestia was once more staring out her usual window to watch her sun rise, but this time wasn’t greeted by her sister’s usual teasing, since her sister was no longer there. Instead, Fluttershy was the one to “greet” her by trotting over and giving her a gentle nuzzle.

“Good morning, Princess,” Fluttershy said, trying to give the white alicorn a big smile, “Um…you look tired…did you not sleep well? I’m sorry if you don’t want to talk about it…”

“Thank you, Fluttershy…and, I’m fine, don’t worry,” Celestia said, patting the yellow mare on the head, “I’m really glad I have you on my team…Twilight is lucky that she found you as a friend. She couldn’t have asked for more in a friend.”

“Oh…oh my…um…I, um…t-t-thank you?” Fluttershy squeaked, nervously looking away as her face turned dark red, “I…um…I’m nothing special, though…nothing special at all…”

“Ah, what a good sleep!” Dash’s loud voice rang out, leaning up in her bed and stretching, “Yup, I had a good dream, too. I know we’re gonna rock today!”

“Well, let’s just hope so,” Applejack responded, jumping out of bed and already heading for the door, “C’mon, let’s not dilly-dally this time; we need to stay focused so we don’t lose again.”

“Morning, everyone!” Spike called out cheerfully, bouncing out of bed as he immediately ran over to Silver Spoon’s side and offered the filly a hand, “Did you have a good rest, Silver Spoon?”

“For one of the first times on this island, I sure did!” Silver Spoon giggled, taking Spike’s hand with her hoof as she was helped out of bed, “Hey, Spikey, could you hand me my…oh, thanks.” Spike was way ahead of her and had already handed the filly her glasses from the dresser. When she slipped them on, Spike soon handed over her hairbrush as well so she could comb her pretty grey mane.

“I feel so juiced up today! I just KNOW we’re gonna bounce back with a big win!” Spike said, bouncing up and down like Pinkie Pie, “Silver Spoon, let’s dominate today!”

“Humph…we’ll see about that,” Dash whispered, glaring over at Spike and Silver Spoon, “For your sake, you two, you’d better HOPE we dominate.”

“Did you say something, Dash?” Spike asked, glancing over at the Pegasus and raising an eyebrow.

“I said that I’m gonna go and get a milkshake and…uh…yeah, that’s what I said,” Rainbow smiled innocently, whistling and quickly flying out the door after Applejack. Spike and Silver Spoon glanced at one another, then gave a little nod; they knew what would happen if they lost again.

Spike: It’s a no-brainer if we lose again. Silver Spoon has the confidence she needs to succeed in this game, so she’s gonna be playing her heart out. If we do lose, it’ll be because of Rainbow Dash. Therefore, when that happens, she’ll be voted out next! It’s perfect! *he pumps his fist, then sighs and gets a dreamy look in his eyes* It feels so great to be in love…er, even though I still need to talk to Rarity.

Led by their fired-up teammates Rainbow Dash, Silver Spoon and Spike, the Royal Ruffians exited their cabin to face the next day’s challenge. Despite being slightly less cheery and motivated, the Magical Misfits soon filed out of their own cabin to begin the day. Trixie was still inwardly beating herself up for revealing more than she had intended last night to Rarity. The prissy white unicorn herself hadn’t told any of her teammates what Trixie had told her, and deep in her heart, she felt it wasn’t her place to do so; she did plan to tell Twilight, though, since she was the only one who could help her.

“Hello, my little campers!” Discord’s voice rang out, the draconequus popping up out of nowhere as per usual and scaring several of the contestants, “Ooh, what’s this? It’s almost hard to see exactly which team has won three out of the last four challenges. What’s with the enthusiasm, Ruffians? Have you forgotten how badly you’ve played the last two challenges?”

“WHAT last two challenges?” Rainbow Dash grinned, “We’re gonna cream those Misfits today and make sure we keep the numbers advantage.”

“Uh, Dash, both teams have the same number of players…” Applejack whispered, nudging the Pegasus and giving her a little frown.

“Oh…well…we’re gonna cream the Misfits and make them…vote somepony out…and THEN we’ll have the numbers advantage!” Dash replied lamely, saying the first thing that came to her head.

“You’re gonna cream us? Aww, Dashie, that’s SO sweet of you!” Pinkie squealed, bouncing up and down as she licked her lips, “What kinda cream are you gonna use? Whipped cream? Ice cream? Banana cream? Shaving cream? I don’t recommend that last one; I tried it once and it tasted pretty yucky.”

“She MEANS that her team is gonna beat us today,” Trixie sighed, correcting Pinkie’s thought process, “And Trixie must disagree with that notion. The only team around here that is gonna get creamed is the Ruffians. That foolish little Pegasus will suffer defeat once more before long.”

“Rainbow Dash doesn’t know the meaning of the word ‘defeat’,” Scootaloo piped up, forgetting exactly which team she was on, “She never loses; she just chooses not to win. Therefore, she has never tasted defeat because each time she’s lost, it was by her own choosing!”

“Thanks, squirt,” Rainbow Dash laughed, giving a little wink over to her little filly admirer, “You really DO know me pretty well.”

“Just whose side are you on, Scootaloo?” Twilight scolded, glaring down at the little filly. She gave a weak sigh of irritation when Scootaloo completely ignored her; she was too busy basking in the compliment that Rainbow Dash gave her to pay Twilight any mind.

Through the minor trash-talking and rises in motivation from both teams, two certain campers had remained silent throughout. Rarity and Spike were both attempting to catch the other’s attention while at the same time attempting to not stare at each other, too. Silver Spoon was right at Spike’s side, nuzzling up to him while even doing a little playful trash-talking herself about how her team was gonna win the day’s challenge. The more Rarity saw the filly nuzzling up to Spike, the angrier and more jealous she got. She wanted to talk to Spike about this, but she didn’t want to embarrass him in front of the entire camp. She would wait until later.

“Well, all this has been fine and dandy, but the day won’t stay young forever,” Discord yawned, pointing towards the mess hall, “All of you get a quick bite to eat, then meet me out near the forest. I have a fun and rowdy challenge in store for you little ponies.”

“I’m a dragon!” Spike called out, crossing his arms in a huff, “Geez, can’t I get a LITTLE recognition around here for all my hard work?”

“You’ve got MINE, Spikey,” Silver Spoon said softly, butting her head against Spike’s chest as she nuzzled up to him yet again. Hearing Silver Spoon call Spike by his cute nickname, Rarity was visibly shaken.

Rarity: *horrified* SPIKEY?!?! That little BRAT dares call Spike by the nickname I gave him? Ooh, the nerve of her! *completely forgetting that she was talking about a filly, the unicorn growls and puts on one of her rage faces* That does it! I’m gonna THRASH that little brat and PROVE to Spike I love him!

Throughout breakfast, Rarity kept casting dirty looks over to an oblivious Silver Spoon, who was too busy cuddling up to Spike and even feeding him some of Nightmare Moon’s black oatmeal to notice. When Cheerilee attempted to ask Rarity why she was so quiet, the unicorn growled at her with her eyes flashing; the school teacher didn’t say another word. Scootaloo kept her eyes on Rainbow Dash the entire time, wondering if she might go up against her today and how she would fare if she did. Celestia was continually getting pep talks from Fluttershy to keep the princess’ spirits up.

“Hey, Trix, are you feeling alright?” Twilight asked, noticing how her unicorn counterpart was being so quiet and sullen, “It’s not like you to be so silent during breakfast time. Usually, by this time, you’d be calling me names and warning me to not get in your way or lose us today’s challenge and blah blah blah. Is everything good with you?”

“Trixie is fine, Twilight Sparkle…just worry about yourself…you nosy foal,” Trixie muttered, taking a sip of her glass of orange juice while trying to avoid Twilight’s eyes. Twilight cocked an eyebrow and frowned slightly. Trixie’s little insult sounded forced. What was wrong with her?

Twilight: Did I do something wrong? Was Trixie purposely avoiding me? *looks slightly hurt* I thought I was doing my best to get through to her. Just last night, she seemed fine. *she shakes her head* Oh, I’m probably just overthinking this. That’s just Trixie being Trixie; I’m sure if she had an issue with me, she’d come right out and say it. We all know she’s not shy about expressing her opinions.

After breakfast, both teams exited the mess hall and headed towards the forest. With Trixie’s added sullenness, Twilight’s added concern, and Rarity’s enraged attitude, the Magical Misfits didn’t seem like a team on a winning streak. On the Royal Ruffians, with the exception of Princess Celestia, the team was pumped and excited. However, all the sad, angry or excited expressions were quickly wiped off each and every face when they came face-to-face with Discord at the edge of the forest. He was holding a colorful gun in his hands while wearing goggles over his eyes and a camouflage hat on his head.

“So GOOD of you all to join me,” the draconequus laughed, pointing the gun at Celestia, “Allow me to share with you what your challenge is today.”

“DISCORD, NO!” Twilight screamed, quickly moving to protect the princess, but accidentally stumbling over Scootaloo due to her moving so fast. Discord cackled insanely, narrowing his eyes as he focused on the horrified white princess, then pulled the trigger of his rifle.

From the barrel of the gun rocketed three tiny orbs of red fluid, zipping straight towards its target without any hope of dodging. Princess Celestia was struck right in the face by all three balls, one striking her forehead while the other two hit her two cheeks. The small princess was thrown off her hooves from the powerful blasts and crashed down a second later on her backside. She looked dazed and very angry, but otherwise perfectly alright. Her face was now dripping with fresh red paint.

“Aww, cool!” Dash cried, pumping her hooved fist in the air, “It’s a paintball gun! Now this is my kinda challenge! Oh, and…Princess, are you alright?” The sheepish Pegasus offered a hoof to the downed alicorn, who weakly accepted the gesture and returned to her hooves a second later.

“What is…a paintball?” Celestia murmured, poking at her forehead and scraping off some of the paint with her hoof, “I’m not as bad as my sister with the times, but…what IS this?”

“You got hit by three red paintballs, Princess,” Rainbow Dash explained, “They’re…uh…well, they’re tiny balls filled with a type of paint that usually isn’t damaging to your body…I think. Gilda and I used to steal some paintball guns all the time from the storage shed in Flight Camp and play with have paintball wars through the night. Man, we got in SUCH trouble, but it was so worth it. It’s AWESOME! To taste the thrill of blasting your rival with paint…to suffer the agony of defeat or to bask in the rays of victory…to feel your heart pumping with excitement as you hunt your prey…to shiver in delight from hiding and holding your breath while you yourself hide to prevent yourself from being picked off…it’s so INCREDIBLE!”

“Sounds barbaric to me,” Silver Spoon muttered.

“Ooh, it sounds PERFECT!” Rarity sneered, stepping forward and licking her lips in a slightly insane fashion, “Discord, explain the challenge! I think I love the sound of this already.”

“Uh, Rarity…if it’s about firing paintballs at each other…that would mean you not only getting dirty, but having your beautiful coat mixed with paint,” Twilight pointed out, “Why in all of Equestria would you LIKE the sound of that? Am I the ONLY unicorn around here that ISN’T acting crazy?”

Rarity: *grinning insanely* Ooh yes…to cover that little filly with paint…to completely and utterly humiliate her and RUIN her coat…ooh, it’s perfect! After I drench her and make her beg for mercy, I’ll show Spike the true essence of beauty and will win him over again. *she fluffs her mane, apparently calming herself down* I make evil look good, don’t you all agree, darlings? *she winks at the camera*

“Since our resident blue Pegasus has been kind enough to explain what paintball guns and paintballs are for, I won’t bother explaining what this is,” Discord mused, pointing to the green and orange gun he was holding limply in his right clawed hand, “But, allow me to explain just what the challenge is. Since each team now has an even six players, we’re gonna have ourselves a little paintball hunting game today. Each team will have three deer and three hunters and…”

“N-N-NO!” Fluttershy screamed, instantly flapping her wings and furiously flying up to glare right into Discord’s face, “YOU WILL NOT HUNT DEER! IF YOU DARE, I WILL HAVE TO DO THINGS TO YOU THAT I WOULD RATHER NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT IT! NO HARMING ANY ANIMALS!”

“Er…by deer, I meant it in a metaphorical kind of way,” Discord explained, meekly backing up to avoid the harshness of Fluttershy’s powerful glare, “Three of your teammates will dress up as deer, while three will be hunters with PAINTBALL GUNS. The challenge will be for the hunters on each team to hunt the deer on the OTHER team using the paintballs as bullets to ‘mark’ their prey.”

“Oh…well, that’s okay then,” Fluttershy said, her face once again returning to her happy and shy form as she fluttered back down and rejoined her stunned team.

“So…the three teammates with paintball guns try to douse the deer on the opposite team with paint?” Spike said, putting two and two together, “How is it decided who wins the challenge?”

“All 12 players will have two hours to run wild in the woods,” Discord went on, “After the two hours are up, I will call both teams back in. At that point, the team that has the most deer with paint on them will lose. So, basically, you want to remain as clean as you can, so hopefully you have some dodging skills.”

Scootaloo: *cheering and pumping her little hooved fist* YES! Totally awesome! I’m positive that I’m gonna be an expert sharpshooter for my team. I so hope that Rainbow Dash is a deer…I wanna nail her hard! *she giggles playfully, and gives a somewhat mischievous smirk* When I beat Dash, she’ll so totally realize my skills and will FINALLY recognize me! After all, you learn more when you lose, right?

“Oh, COME ON!” Scootaloo pouted, crossing her forelegs angrily as Discord put a small pair of antlers on her head, “This is SO not fair! I wanted to be one of the ones with a paintball gun.” What made the situation even better, however, was when she saw Rainbow Dash be given antlers instead of a paintball gun, too. Scootaloo couldn’t help but giggle at Rainbow’s angry expression; she looked SO cute and awesome when she was mad and throwing one of her usual fits. Plus, they were BOTH deer.

“Beautiful…don’t worry, my baby…Rarity is gonna take good care of you…” Rarity purred, holding and kissing her paintball gun that was given to her. The insane look had cropped back up into her eyes, leaving many campers feeling incredibly nervous around the unicorn. Spike and Silver Spoon exchanged slightly uneasy looks themselves.

Spike: Um, is it just me, or has Rarity been acting kinda…crazy…since this morning? You don’t suppose that she’s…um…nah, couldn’t be. She’s just getting into the challenge. She may not look it, but that pretty mare is one feisty competitor. I’d be scared if I was on…oh, wait…I AM on the opposite team. *he suddenly turns white and gulps* Uh-oh…I suddenly fear for Silver Spoon…this is NOT good.

“Ooh, cool! I get to shoot paint at Dashie and her team!” Pinkie giggled, twirling her gun around and accidentally firing a few stray paintballs into the sky, very narrowly missing hitting Discord.

“Be careful with that, you dingy pony!” Discord scolded, wagging his finger at the ditzy Pinkie Pie, “You only get 20 paintballs each, so don’t waste them! Well, you just did waste three of them, so now you only have 17.”

“Discord, could I possibly plead with you to let ME be the one with the paintball gun instead of Pinkie?” Twilight begged, looking very humiliated at wearing her antlers, “No offense to Pinkie, but I just feel that I would be better with that gun…not to mention make it safer for the rest of our team.”

“Aww, Twilight, that’s SO sweet!” Pinkie smiled, bouncing over and giving Twilight a big hug, “You’re worried that I’ll get hurt and you would rather have it happen to you instead of me? That’s SO sweet of you! But, don’t worry; Paintball Sharpshooter Pinkie Pie won’t get hurt. You have no reason to worry that pretty little head of yours.” To emphasize her point, Pinkie petted Twilight’s head with a hoof.

“Pinkie, that’s not what I…” Twilight began, flushing slightly as she tried to push the clingy pony off, but Discord interrupted her.

“Sorry, Twi, but I’m afraid the hunters and deer that are picked out are FINAL,” the draconequus said, “For the Magical Misfits, the deer are Scootaloo, Twilight and Cheerilee. Their hunters are Pinkie, Rarity and Trixie. For the Royal Ruffians, the deer are Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Silver Spoon. Their hunters are Celestia, Fluttershy and Spike. Now, let me make one thing perfectly clear. Do NOT take off your antlers at any time; if you dare, your team automatically loses the challenge. So, whenever you feel like being a quitter, just remember what it’ll cost you. Oh, and I suppose you should all wear these goggles, too, just as a precaution.” The naughty host tossed 12 pairs of goggles out to the campers, all of whom put them on without a fuss.

“This is so cheap…Fluttershy and the princess with guns?” Dash whined, “This is bogus! At least Spike has useable dragon hands, so he SHOULD be able to use his gun efficiently. But, still…NOT cool. I’m glad Gilda isn’t here to see this.”

“Ah think ya look pretty good in antlers, Dash,” Applejack teased, playfully jabbing her own pair of wooden antlers at the ones on Dash’s head, “Ya make just as good a deer as ya do a Pegasus.” Discord had taken Applejack’s hat off for the challenge, promising to give it back when it was all over.

“You take that back, AJ!” Dash snapped, aggressively shoving her antlers back towards Applejack’s, “I am nowhere as cool a deer as I am a Pegasus, and you know it! These antlers make me look lame…and I never thought it was POSSIBLE to make me look lame!”

“Um…I don’t…really want…to use this thing,” Fluttershy whimpered, awkwardly holding her gun with one hoof while trying to keep her balance with the other, “It…it looks too dangerous…and the paintballs look like they could REALLY hurt…I don’t want to use this on Scootaloo, Twilight or Cheerilee…um, but, I will…if I really have to…”

“So…which way do I point this thing?” Celestia pondered, looking through the barrel of her paintball gun and frowning, “It looks dark in there…are you SURE there’s paintballs inside of this?”

Rainbow Dash: *dejectedly* Oh yeah, this is REALLY fair. I am gonna knock Discord senseless for this injustice. *glances up and angrily slaps at her fake antlers* Is Discord TRYING to make us lose?

“Okay, both teams’ deer will get a five minute head-start to find a place to hide in the forest, and then the hunters will be sent in,” Discord said, clearly looking amused by Fluttershy and Celestia’s reluctance and confusion with their guns, “Oh, and my special paint only comes off using a special kind of water back in the infirmary cabin, so don’t even think of trying to remove any that you get on your body.”

“So much for finding a river to stick around,” Cheerilee joked, inciting a few chuckles from her team.

“Indeed,” Discord agreed, before snapping his fingers and making a whistle appear in his clawed hand, “Now, when I blow this whistle, all six deer hurry out into the woods and start running around…and do whatever it is deer do. When two hours pass, I’ll blow this again to signal that it’s time to come back. Hopefully, you all will hear it. So, without further ado…” He raised the silver whistle to his lips and gave a mighty blow, resulting in a piercing din that easily made all 12 contestants cringe and put their hooves over their ears. It wasn’t until nearly 30 seconds later when the deer got brave enough to remove their hooves from their ears and finally hurry out into the woods.

“Okay, Pinkie and Rarity, listen to Trixie,” Trixie whispered, pulling her team’s two sharpshooters into a huddle, “We’re gonna have to carry these guns with our mouths, since our magic doesn’t work here and these guns are a bit too bulky to carry on our backs. When you find you target, quickly hop onto your hind legs and aim carefully. Do NOT waste a single paintball. Do you both understand Trixie?”

“Crystal clear, Trixie!” Pinkie giggled, using her gun to give herself a salute, which resulted in her accidentally firing off ANOTHER paintball into the distance, “Um…oopsies…my bad!”

“Do not worry about me, Trixie, darling,” Rarity said calmly, still patting her gun and admiring it like it was a beautiful quartz diamond, “I know EXACTLY how to work this beauty. Oh, and if at all possible, could you and Pinkie try catching Rainbow Dash and Applejack? I have my eyes locked on Silver Spoon.”

Trixie: There is something about the way Rarity was talking that leaves Trixie feeling slightly unsafe being around her. Did the rest of you feel that way, too? *she looks right into the camera*

“Ladies, using a paintball gun is like writing a letter…or petting a bunny,” Spike said, giving a pep talk to Fluttershy and Celestia, “All you do is hold it firmly in your…hooves…and point it at your target as best as you can. Then, you pull back the trigger to expel the paintballs located inside. It’s as simple as that.”

“Um…I’m sorry, but…how does that have anything to do with petting a bunny?” Fluttershy asked.

“Because you have to be gentle petting such a delicate creature, right?” Spike explained, getting a bit dazed for a moment as he thought of how soft Rarity and Silver Spoon were, “Ooh, yeah…when you have your paws or hooves or whatever on such a delicate creature, you have to be careful to not harm the beautiful thing. A paintball gun works the same way. Mishandled, it can be deadly. You need to be very careful and just use delicate handling.”

“Okay…what about writing a letter?” Celestia pondered, taking her turn to ask Spike the same thing.

“When writing a letter, you want to make sure you don’t make any spelling mistakes and jot down all the important stuff, right?” Spike continued, wagging his finger expectantly at the two girls, “One wrong twitch of your finger or lapse of the brain and you misspell a word or forget to write a word and you mess up the whole thing! A paintball gun works the same way. If you don’t think, you’ll get burned. You need to use quick precision and thinking and keep your mind focused on the task at hand.”

“Wow, Spike…you really know a lot!” Fluttershy smiled, giving the dragon a gentle pat on the head, “I’m very impressed; where did you learn all that?”

“Er…well…Rainbow Dash kinda whispered most of it to me before she went off into the woods…” Spike muttered, looking incredibly embarrassed, “She…kinda said that I would need to take charge…since you two looked…um…clueless. Oh, and…living with Twilight my whole life…kinda helped, too.”

Celestia: That’s my student for you. Always having a long-lasting impression on those around her. *her eyes narrow a bit* But, as for Rainbow Dash…clueless, am I? As true as that may be, I’m gonna have a little talk with her once this is all over…and remind her just who I am. *she huffs slightly*

“Okay, five minutes gone, so…hunters, get moving!” Discord called out, “Good luck to all of you!”

“FOLLOW TRIXIE!” Trixie called out, stuffing her gun into her mouth and instantly charging into the woods, expecting Rarity and Pinkie to follow her. Instead, Rarity stuck her gun into her mouth and slithered off in the opposite direction, trying to remember the exact direction that Silver Spoon had run off. Pinkie stuffed her gun into her puffy mane instead of her mouth, then hummed a little while bouncing off in a random direction as well, leaving Trixie to fend for herself.

“Fluttershy, Princess, let’s get ‘em!” Spike cheered, pumping his gun into the air and racing into the forest as well, “Ah, it feels so good to have hands in a case like this.” He grinned a little at the annoyed expressions on Fluttershy and Celestia’s faces as the two mares charged alongside him into the dark forest. With all 12 campers now running around in the forest, Discord smirked and winked at the nearest camera. Without saying a word, he snapped his fingers and vanished. No one seemed to notice a 13th visitor stalking into the woods off to the side.

For a good 20 minutes, nothing happened within the confines of the forest. Trixie, having discovered that Pinkie and Rarity didn’t follow her, had thrown a fit and loudly proclaimed how she hated her team. Spike, Fluttershy and Celestia had all stuck together, as the Ruffians had wanted, and only spread out into selected areas to check for the three deer from the Magical Misfits. Silver Spoon had wandered off on her own, trying to hide under bushes while always making sure she was on the move. Rarity was stalking the little filly after picking up her trail almost immediately. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were traveling together, and were being stalked themselves by the unknown 13th forest visitor. Cheerilee had found Scootaloo actually attempting to FIND Rainbow Dash, and had gently talked the filly out of it. Twilight, who wasn’t used to such a weird game, was idly trotting along and seemingly treating this like a nature hike. Pinkie seemed to have vanished.

~~~

“Gotcha, you little boyfriend-stealing brat!” Rarity whispered, peeking out from behind a tree and spotting Silver Spoon nibbling on some blackberries she found, “Prepare to get your pretty little coat drenched! Once you’re called out for being a loser, Spike will come right back to me!” She stifled an evil little giggle as she got up onto her hind legs. Using the tree for balance, she put the paintball gun into her hooves and pointed it out at Silver Spoon. She locked on and narrowed her eyes through her goggles. She couldn’t miss such an easy shot; the filly was only 10 feet away.

“Hey, was that a squirrel?” Silver Spoon gasped, peeking off to the side after thinking she saw a flicker of movement, “Like, how neat! Hey, squirrel, come back here!” She quickly charged after the little animal, leaving Rarity without a shot.

“Darn it!” Rarity cursed, slamming her gun down in frustration, “Ooh, you think you can run from me? Well, think again, brat! Run, run, as fast as you can. You can’t steal Spike; he’s MY man!” Finally letting out one of her insane laughs, she quickly picked her gun back up with her mouth and galloping after the escaping Silver Spoon.

~~~

“Hey…Applejack…do you get the feeling that…we’re being watched?” Rainbow Dash muttered, looking around furtively with her eyes narrowed, “It’s creeping me out…somepony is watching us, I know it.”

“Aww, Dash, would ya’ll cut that out?” AJ groaned, “Of COURSE we’re bein’ watched; there’s cameras always on us, remember? Plus, we’re kinda in a forest bein’ chased by Pinkie, Trixie and Rarity? Discord couldn’t have picked three better hunters, if ya’ll ask me…that spirit of disharmony is an evil one.”

“No, AJ…something ELSE is watching us…I can feel it,” Dash whispered, scooting even closer to the farmer, so close that she was nearly knocking her over, “I know the feelings I get when my friends are watching me…trust me, it’s a great feeling. But…no, this look…it’s different. It’s cold, it’s creepy, and I don’t like it…”

“Dash, ah think yer just bein’ paranoid and…” Applejack began, but hushed when she heard a soft snap from somewhere to her left. Both Rainbow Dash and Applejack froze at once and quickly pressed against one another, glaring towards the bushes where they heard the loud noise. Nothing happened.

Slowly, Rainbow Dash took a brave step towards the dark bushes, keeping her head low and slightly pointing her wooden antlers towards the brush instead. Then, the same snapping noise came from behind Applejack, like something was purposely breaking twigs to get their attention. Letting out a soft gasp, Applejack whirled around and stared at the thick bushes that were once behind her. There wasn’t any movement whatsoever and the noise didn’t come again.

“Maybe…it’s just a squirrel?” Applejack mumbled, yelping softly and quickly slapping a hoof over her mouth when she accidentally backed her rump into Rainbow’s.

“GAH! AJ, don’t DO that!” Rainbow Dash growled, glaring back at her friend, “And, no, this is no squirrel. I don’t even think this is a camper. No, somepony is playing with us…stalking us…and I repeat, this isn’t Pinkie, Trixie or Rarity. This is…this is…”

There was a long pause, and all the wildlife of the forest suddenly shut off, as though an off switch had been thrown. It was almost like something had spooked all the animals…and the forest itself. Both Rainbow Dash and Applejack were now standing in the small clearing, surrounded by dark bushes, and in perpetual silence. The two ponies were slightly trembling, sitting back-to-back and staring in opposite directions, trying to find their stalker. A tiny piece of branch slowly fell in front of Rainbow Dash from somewhere above her head, and she slowly lifted her eyes. Her heart froze and her body paled. Indeed, they were not alone.

~~~

“Miss Cheerilee, why is Rainbow Dash so…well…awesome?” Scootaloo asked, sitting down in another clearing with her teacher. It seemed like she just couldn’t say a negative thing about her idol. “Why do I have to like her so much, huh? I should be focusing on getting my cutie mark, not on Dash. But…man, I just can’t help it! She’s…so amazing…so EVERYTHING!”

“Scootaloo, sweetie, you still have your whole life ahead of you,” Cheerilee said, her voice barely above a whisper, since she didn’t want to give away her location to the Ruffians’ hunters, “This isn’t really the time of your life to be worrying about your cutie mark or…other things. As I’ve told you before, your cutie mark will come in time and when it’s READY to appear. You should be having fun and just enjoying being a filly. It only happens once in your life, you know; you really shouldn’t be wasting it.”

“But…but…what makes me happiest is pleasing Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo argued, dipping her head down and shyly pressing her front hooves together, “Just seeing her smile at me…just hearing her call me some cute nickname…just having her ACKNOWLEDGE me…and having her compliment me and realize that I’d do anything for it…it fills my heart with butterflies! THAT’S what makes me happy.”

“What about the Cutie Mark Crusaders?” Cheerilee placed a hoof on Scootaloo’s back, her face not showing any other expression besides her usual caring and understanding nature. Scootaloo didn’t miss a beat.

“They’re not here…I’m the only one left,” she said calmly, “And we all promised each other that we’d do things as a team, or not at all. I…I have no place in this game…it’s obvious I don’t. So, all I want to do is make Rainbow Dash happy…and to see HER win that million bits. She deserves it and I don’t; I know that. I just haven’t been voted out yet because…you’ve been protecting me.”

Cheerilee’s face fell as she heard Scootaloo speaking seriously, and she was a loss for words. Her head was telling her that Scootaloo was correct in saying that she really had no business in the game. What story did the filly have? Why WAS she there? Without Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, she was just a piece of a team that nopony cared for…except for Cheerilee herself. But, the teacher’s heart told her that it wasn’t true. Cheerilee wanted to believe that Scootaloo was still there for a reason and that fate had to have SOMETHING in store for her. Discord had nothing to do with this; this was about Scootaloo.

“Scootaloo, I…” Cheerilee began, but gasped and quickly pulled the filly into a hug when she heard what sounded like branches breaking from somewhere nearby, “Oh no, what was that?”

~~~

“We’ve got ourselves a live one here, ladies!” Spike grinned, peeking out of the bushes with Celestia and Fluttershy as they spied on an oblivious Twilight Sparkle, “Um…man, this feels…kinda awkward. Princess Celestia…that’s your star pupil. Fluttershy…that’s one of your best friends. And…she’s like a mother to me, or at least a big sister. I…I don’t know if I can do this…” The paintball gun shook in his hand, the little dragon being incredibly nervous about performing the deed.

“Spike, I’m sure Twilight will understand,” Celestia said calmly, “It’s just a game, after all. She knows this as well as I do. Let me do this…you and Fluttershy shouldn’t have to. I know how much Twilight means to the both of you.”

“Thank you, Princess…make it quick, please…um, if that’s alright…” Fluttershy whimpered, turning away and holding Spike. The dragon and the Pegasus gently held each other as Celestia quietly pulled out her paintball gun and focused it on Twilight.

“Forgive me…my faithful student…” Celestia whispered, pointing the barrel right at Twilight and holding it in place. Twilight herself was studying the dark bark on a tree and was much too busy to look behind her back. Princess Celestia stuck out her tongue in concentration, using her left hoof to balance the gun while slowly pulling her right one over the trigger. With a deep sigh, she pulled down hard on the trigger.

“BANZAI!” a loud and familiar shriek roared out. Then, before Princess Celestia’s paintballs even shot out three feet, a rush of pink had zoomed down from somewhere up in the trees, scooped up the stunned Twilight, and had vanished straight back up into the trees just as quickly. Celestia’s paintballs splattered harmlessly onto the ground a good full second later, hitting nothing. Twilight was gone.

“Um…are the paintballs…SUPPOSED to make the targets vanish?” Fluttershy asked, blinking in shock after turning back around and finding Twilight gone.

“Uh…what just…was that…who did…where did…WHAT?!?!” Spike stammered, completely confused.

“Did Twilight…teleport?” Celestia muttered, “No…the island doesn’t allow magic. Oh, wait…hmm, actually, it DOES allow ‘magic’…except not the kind used from a unicorn’s horn.” She gave a weak smile, glancing up into the trees, then just shook her head and turned away. “Come, Spike and Fluttershy. Let’s get going.”

~~~

“P-P-Pinkie?!?!” Twilight gasped, looking up into the face of her rescuer and finding the goggles of Pinkie Pie looking down at her, “W-w-what’s going on?!?! Where did you come from? Why did you do that?”

“Like, DUH, Twilight!” Pinkie sighed, rolling her eyes and snuggling the unicorn tighter in her hooves, “You were about to get shot with icky paint, so that’s why I saved you, silly-head! Did you think I was just gonna let my favorite pony get eliminated so easily?”

“Um…oh…yeah, I thought I heard something like a gunshot…” Twilight muttered, finally realizing how stupid she was for not paying attention to the game, “Thanks, Pinkie…I’ll pay better attention from now on. I’m just…kinda out of my element here…say, wait a minute…how did you know where to find me anyway? Were you…following me?”

“Mayyyyyyyyyyyyyybe…” Pinkie giggled, still not releasing the unicorn from her hooves, “Is that wrong?”

Twilight paused for a moment, staring up at the shy and smiling face of Pinkie Pie. The unicorn thought about what Pinkie had said last night. She thought about what Pinkie said before the challenge started. She thought about how Pinkie just called her “my favorite pony”. She glanced back and realized she was still being held by the party pony. She thought she could see the face traces of crimson on the earth pony’s cheeks. She imagined Pinkie following her through the forest and waiting at just the last minute to rescue her with her randomness. Slowly, Twilight’s eyes began to widen and her own face proceeded to turn into a dark red.

“P-P-Pinkie…um…do you…?” Twilight squeaked, trying to formulate a sentence that she’d never thought she would ever say, especially to her most ditzy and crazy friend.

“Uh-oh!” Pinkie gasped, interrupting Twilight as she glanced behind her and saw her puffy tail twitching, “Twitchy-twitch, twitchy-twitch! My Pinkie Senses are going off! Twilight, we have to get moving! Come on; Paintball Sharpshooter Pinkie Pie will keep her little deer safe and sound.” She gently tossed Twilight up into the air and smiled as the purple pony landed with a soft thump on her backside. Then, when feeling Twilight weakly wrap her four legs around her friend, Pinkie gave another battle cry before lunging out of the tree, her gun still tucked inside of her puffy mane.

~~~

Silver Spoon happily trotted after the squirrel, which kept chattering and glancing back behind it, as though it wasn’t sure if the filly was still behind it. Soon, Silver Spoon chased the squirrel out of the forest. The little animal had led the filly to a cliff, which was overhanging a deadly drop into a deep, dark gorge. When Silver Spoon playfully cornered the squirrel and attempted to pounce on it, the little creature shocked the filly by leaping off the cliff and stretching out its arms. Flaps of skin seemed to expand from its sides, and the squirrel safely floated to the other side of the chasm, which is where another forest seemed to begin. Silver Spoon could only watch in shock.

“Wow…a flying squirrel…I’d never seen one before!” the filly said, adjusting her glasses and giving a smile, “How cool is that? So, that’s how they glide…pretty neat. I can’t wait to tell Diamond Tiara about this!” The filly took a little break, confident that nopony had followed her, so she began peering down the gorge and whistling a bit. She had no idea who was sneaking up behind her.

“It’s time to kick some flank and chew bubblegum…but, I don’t have any gum,” Rarity whispered, rolling her eyes and licking her lips, “Now, my vengeance will be swift!” The unicorn charged out the forest and galloped straight at Silver Spoon. When the filly heard the hooves stomping from behind her, she curiously looked behind her and widened her eyes when she found that she had been cornered.

“Aw man…” she whimpered, backing up as far as she could without slipping off the cliff. Rarity closed the distance to within 10 feet before she grinned evilly down at the little filly. “Er…well, you caught me…I should’ve paid better attention…make it quick, alright?”

“Oh, it’ll be quick alright, you little brat!” Rarity snarled, leaping up onto her hind legs and pointing her gun straight down into Silver Spoon’s face, “I’m gonna blast you hard for stealing my boyfriend! Who do you think you are, hmm? You think you can steal the heart of MY little dragon? Well, not in my books!” To add emphasis to her point, she stomped one of her hooves. A soft cracking sound followed.

“Wait…what?” Silver Spoon blinked, staring up at the angry unicorn in confusion, “Steal your boyfriend? Do you mean Spike?” Another soft cracking sound followed, which went ignored.

“YES, YOU LITTLE FOAL! Spike loves ME, not you! Do you KNOW what he’s done for me? That little sweetheart is the only one who’s ever loved me for who I am! He’s the only one who’s treated me right! He’s the only one who knows how to treat a girl. I won’t let you steal him from me!” Rarity stamped her hoof again, and this time, the cracks grew louder.

“But…but…I’m sorry! I…I can’t tell my heart to not think something when it does. I love him, too! I don’t want to start a fight, but…I refuse to let Spike go. If he wants me, I’m gonna keep him. If you don’t like that, then go get someone else!” Silver Spoon, using her renewed confidence given to her by Spike, glared back up at Rarity and tried to ignore the fact that a barrel of a paintball gun was pointed right into her face. Again, loud cracking sounds began to resonate within the area.

“Ooh, darling, you don’t know who you’re messing with. You are but a little filly. I’m the great Rarity; perhaps you’ve heard of me? Now, I’m gonna give you one chance to dump Spike and realize that he’s not your true love and that you’re just being a little foal. If you do, all will be forgiven. If not…let’s just say that the storm will keep coming until it washes you out to sea.” Rarity smirked, giving Silver Spoon the ultimatum as she continued to stand on her hind legs. All this time, she managed to keep her balance, but continued to fail to hear the cracking sounds. Silver Spoon began to notice them, though.

“You…you…YOU CAN’T BULLY ME!” Silver Spoon screamed, spitting at the ground near Rarity’s hooves, “I’m sick and tired of being treated like the bad girl! I’m not the bad girl anymore, and I refuse to EVER go back to that horrible past again! Spike loves me, and I love him, and if you don’t like it, I could care less. Eliminate me all you wish, but you won’t win Spike’s heart back that way. You’re the villainess here, not me. Let the storm come…I’ll get an umbrella and wait it out…and I will emerge after it’s done…and I’ll be that much stronger for it.” The filly sat down, crossed her forelegs, and glared up at Rarity. She didn’t budge an inch.

“Suit yourself, you little brat,” Rarity shrugged, lifting her gun back up and holding her hoof over the trigger, “Say goodbye to your beautiful coat and your dignity. I gave you the easy way out, but if you want this to be hard, so be it. I can fight for a LONG time, darling…remember that.”

“Oh, shut up, you stupid…uh…what IS that cracking sound?” Silver Spoon slowly glanced behind Rarity’s back, then widened her eyes in terror at what she saw, “Oh no…Rarity, hurry, get back! Get back to the forest, hurry!”

“Yeah, like THAT’S gonna happen. Sorry, darling, but I wasn’t born yesterday. So, any last words?” Her stubbornness caused her to not notice the large cracks that were appearing in the rock formation that the small cliff was created out of. The monstrous cracks had almost reached the other side of the cliff, and the noise of the cliff splitting could easily be heard. Rarity was much too focused on revenge to care.

“Rarity, please, go back! You’re gonna get hurt! Don’t worry about me, just go!”

“Oh, I’M gonna get hurt? Do you not see the one holding the paintball gun?”

“RARITY, GO! I DON’T LIKE YOU, BUT I DON’T WANT THIS TO HAPPEN TO YOU! MOVE!”

“SHUT UP, YOU IGNORANT LITTLE…foal?”

An earsplitting noise cracked through the area, finally forcing Rarity to freeze up and glance behind her back. Her eyes widened in terror when she saw that the cliff had split in two thanks to her stomping and her added weight, and it was now breaking apart and slowly dipping towards the gorge. Rarity quickly dropped her paintball gun and tried to get back over onto the other side of the falling part of the cliff, but since the cliff was now dropping, the smooth and slanted surface prevented Rarity from elevating herself at all. Plus, without her magic, she was a sitting duck. Silver Spoon had already fallen over the edge, her screams echoing and dying away as she plummeted into the gorge.

“Forgive…me…” Rarity sobbed, closing her eyes as she and her paintball gun both slipped off the cliff as well and followed Silver Spoon to what she presumed was her death. A second later, the falling piece of cliff, Rarity, Silver Spoon, and the paintball gun all vanished into the dark gorge.

~~~

Rainbow Dash and Applejack both screamed in fear as they raced away as fast as they could from their clearing, never looking back as they galloped along. Their antlers were still on their heads, but they could care less about the game at the moment. All they cared about was escaping the freakish situation they had just experienced. Sitting alone in a dark, silent forest and finding a dark, masked mare sitting up in the trees and leering down at you wasn’t a pleasant feeling. True, Dash could’ve easily flown up and decked her stalker, and Applejack probably could’ve used her lasso to great effect. But, Mare Do Well had chosen the perfect time to make her appearance, and it had left both Royal Ruffians terrified.

“Is…she…following us?” Rainbow Dash gasped, refusing to look back to see for herself.

“Ah…don’t…know!” Applejack responded, wheezing and shaking her head as she kept running, “Just keep movin’…we’ll lose her…OOMPH!” She gasped as she plowed into something, falling over onto her back and accidentally tripping Rainbow Dash up at the same time. Both mares slowly glanced up into the grinning face of the Great and Powerful Trixie.

“Oh, Trixie, thank goodness!” Dash sighed in relief, placing a hoof over her heart, “We thought you were Mare Do Well…thanks for finding us.”

“You are most welcome, little Pegasus,” Trixie said super-sweetly, obviously knowing something that the two mares didn’t, “So…you two were running from…something called Mare Do Well?”

“Yea…kinda complicated, but…it’s not an easy situation to explain,” Applejack said, rubbing her head and giving a weak chuckle as she and Dash sat up, “Um…what are ya’ll doin’ out here?”

“Oh, you know…Trixie just enjoys going for random hikes in the woods…while holding a paintball gun,” Trixie said, pulling her gun out from behind her back as her grin grew even wider, “So…why WOULD the Great and Powerful Trixie carry around a paintball gun? Ooh, right…maybe because…she wanted to win a challenge for her team?”

“Oh…”

“…crud.”

A couple of rapid-fire shots later and both Rainbow Dash and Applejack were drenched with blue paint. Both mares moaned as they were once again lying on their backs, both of their heads locked together from being blasted backwards by Trixie’s barrage of paintballs. Since the blue unicorn had wanted to get her point across, she had used up her entire paintball supply, but she didn’t care. With two of the three Royal Ruffian deer now eliminated, Trixie was sure that she had just won the challenge for her team. This left the unicorn feeling absolutely giddy with excitement.

“Trixie thanks you both for your business,” Trixie mocked, tossing her empty gun onto her back and sticking her tongue out at the two paint-covered mares, “If you ever wish to come back for another humiliation, you know who to call. As you can tell, Trixie does not care where she humiliates you, since she can do it ANYWHERE. First in Ponyville, and now on Calamity Island. Perhaps Trixie should make you both her favorite customers?”

“Shut…up…Trixie,” Applejack growled, spitting out some blue paint and crossing her forelegs.

“Yeah…or else…” Rainbow Dash added, slapping some paint off her eyelids and feeling beyond disgraced.

“Oh, you two are such a joy,” Trixie giggled, turning around and shaking her rump at the two angry Royal Ruffians, “Well, Trixie must be off now; she has winning to get to and stuff, you know. It’s actually rather important than dealing with an imaginary mare in the woods. Oh, and a word of advice: next time, you probably should not travel together, since it makes it easier to pick off two for the price of one. Ta-ta!” With that, the thrilled unicorn trotted off towards the direction of the camp, leaving Applejack and Rainbow Dash in a puddle of blue paint behind her.

“I REALLY hate that unicorn…” Rainbow Dash grumbled.

“Don’t we all, Dash…don’t we all,” Applejack sighed, attempting to get up, but finding her head stuck to something, “Ugh! What the hay? Dash, are you…uh-oh.” Using her strength, Applejack found herself yanking the somewhat lighter Rainbow Dash to her hooves.

After being bombarded by Trixie’s paintballs, Rainbow Dash and Applejack had fallen adjacent to each other, nearly landing on top of one another. Their antler hats had gotten tangled during their fall, and now both were struck in a position that was impossible to get out of without taking off the hats. Despite being covered with paint, both Dash and AJ knew enough that they would automatically give their team the loss if they were to remove their antlers. So, both teammates were left with staring right into each other’s faces with their heads adjoined by their antlers.

“Oh…

“…crud.”

~~~

“Run faster, Miss Cheerilee!” Scootaloo cried, ducking behind a tree and stealing a nervous glance behind her back to make sure her teacher was still with her.

“Scootaloo, if I get caught, I’ll try to block them so you can escape,” Cheerilee wheezed, silently cursing herself for not being more in shape, “As long as only I go down, it won’t be so bad. You can make it, Scootaloo. Keep running!”

“Miss Cheerilee…don’t sacrifice yourself just for me…again!” Scootaloo whimpered, “C’mon, we’re both gonna make it; just believe that we will! I know that we…oh man.” The filly screeched to a halt as she came to a dead-end. A large tree was blocking the path, and both sides of the tree were blocked by thick bushes that made it impossible to break through.

“Scootaloo, bend over!” Cheerilee called out, continuing her full-throttle gallop straight at Scootaloo’s backside. Confused but deciding to trust her teacher, Scootaloo gulped and bent over, lifting her small tush into the air. Cheerilee quickly ducked down and shoved her head and antlers between Scootaloo’s hind legs and, giving a massive heave, shot her head straight back up with Scootaloo on it. The momentum caused the little filly to squeak, but sent her flying up into the large tree blocking their path and safely protected her from what was about to come. Spike, Celestia and Fluttershy all charged into the area a second later, all of them gasping and out of breath from the long chase.

“We…got you…now!” Spike wheezed, weakly pointing his gun at Cheerilee, “You can run…but you can’t hide! Wait…what happened…to Scootaloo?”

“I propelled her to safety, Spike,” Cheerilee said calmly, sitting down and accepting her fate, “I wasn’t about to let you eliminate two of us for the price of one. If you’re gonna take me out, it looks like you caught me fair and square. Princess Celestia, Fluttershy, Spike…go right ahead.”

“Ugh…clever move, Cheerilee…no hard feelings, alright?” Celestia puffed, pointing up her gun as well to join Spike’s, “This time…we can’t miss! Fluttershy…you ready?”

“Yes…let’s go…” Fluttershy said simply, her own breaths coming out in short, cute little squeaks. She raised her own paintball gun and weakly pointed it at Cheerilee. Facing down three paintball guns, Cheerilee sighed and closed her eyes. Deep down, she had to smile, though. She had protected Scootaloo and made sure her team would only get one of their deer eliminated. She had done her job and she had no regrets.

“Okay…one…two…” Spike began counting down, but a loud battle cry halted his progress and made him look up into the large tree that Cheerilee was sat in front of, “What the heck?”

“BANZAI!” Pinkie laughed, pointing her gun down at the three Royal Ruffian shooters and unloading all its contents in one massive blaze of glory, “YOU CANNOT STOP PAINTBALL SHARPSHOOTER PINKIE PIE!”

Much to their horror and surprise, Spike, Celestia and Fluttershy all suddenly found themselves bombed by Pinkie’s remaining 16 pink paintballs, each one finding one of their three targets with shocking accuracy. When Cheerilee found herself clean and without paint products being slammed into her body, the school teacher opened her eyes curiously and found her three pursuers all moaning and lying in a heap of pink paint. When she glanced up into the large tree, she found a grinning Pinkie Pie waving cheerfully down at her. On her right sat a smiling Twilight Sparkle and to her left was a relieved Scootaloo. Cheerilee herself found herself smiling a moment later, too.

Five minutes later, a shrill whistle sounded throughout the entire island, and all 12 campers knew what it meant. The game was over and it was time to head back.

~~~

“Falling off a cliff into what should’ve been certain death…” Discord mused, floating back and forth in front of the decimated Royal Ruffians’ team…or at least four of them, “Destroying a perfectly good paintball gun thanks to falling off said cliff. Acting like a bunch of foals and running around like newborn chicks. Do you know what I see here? I see a total lack of respect for camp property! I see a total lack of maturity! I see a total waste of paint products! This is a downright disgrace! Do you know what I think about this?” A massive grin broke out on Discord’s face. “I think this is AWESOME! I couldn’t be prouder of you campers! It…it brings a tear to my eye…to see such BEAUTIFUL chaos…oh, how lovely!”

Ten of the 12 campers had made it back to camp, two with the help of Discord’s ability to sense two campers injured who were unable to get back on their own power. Celestia, Fluttershy, and Spike were all drenched with pink paint and looked downright humiliated. Silver Spoon had survived her fall, most likely due to Discord’s enchantments on the island that made it impossible for somepony to actually die from something usually fatal, but was now in a wheelchair with severe injuries to almost every body part. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were nowhere to be seen.

The entire Magical Misfits team was back and mostly unscathed. Pinkie had led Twilight, Scootaloo and Cheerilee all back to camp in very high spirits. Trixie came out a moment later, loudly bragging about her exploits in downing Applejack and Rainbow Dash to the point of aggravating Discord and almost making him shoot some paintballs at Trixie, but realizing it wouldn’t be fair at this point, he changed his mind. Rarity was much like Silver Spoon. The regretful pony was in a wheelchair and was strung up from head to hoof in casts and bandages, due to her own case of severe injuries she sustained from falling off the cliff after her moment of insanity.

“Silver Spoon! Rarity! What…what in the world happened?!?!” Spike shrieked, finally noticing just what had happened to his two main loves, “Discord, did you do this?!?!”

“No, he didn’t…I did, Spike,” Rarity confessed, unable to move her wheelchair due to all four of her legs being in casts, but still able to speak despite the neck brace, “I…I was jealous and…I did something really, really stupid…Spike, Silver Spoon…please forgive me.”

“Rarity…what are you talking about?” Spike didn’t leave Silver Spoon’s side. Instead, he wheeled the filly’s chair over so that the two injured ponies were looking at each other.

“Spike…when I saw you with Silver Spoon…it tore my heart out,” Rarity whispered, trying her best to avoid Spike’s gaze, but her neck brace made it impossible to look down, “I wanted you…I know that you loved me…I didn’t understand what you were doing. So, I…I tried to sabotage Silver Spoon and make her less appealing…or something…I don’t even know. I chased her to the edge of that cliff…and thanks to my own arrogance and selfishness…it almost cost us our lives. Spikey…I’m so sorry…please, forgive me.”

At first, Spike didn’t want to believe what he just heard spoken from Rarity’s beautiful lips. At first, Spike looked sympathetic and guilty, thinking he was to blame for Rarity losing control over her emotions. Then, after glancing at Silver Spoon next to him, the dragon’s eyes began to narrow. Silver Spoon’s glasses were broken; one of the lenses was gone and the other had a massive crack right down the middle. The more Spike looked at her horrible injuries and the pained expression on her face, the angrier he got. Finally, the dragon clenched his fists and glared at Rarity.

“Rarity…you’re horrible!” he snapped, pointing his paint-covered finger right into Rarity’s sorrowful face, “I can’t say you deserved what you got, since I wouldn’t wish a near-death situation on ANYPONY. But, you…you’re terrible. You let your jealousy get the best of you, AGAIN. First you got jealous when Fluttershy was with Photo Finish and becoming famous, then you got jealous and made me give up my precious fire ruby to you, and now you got jealous just because I was showing Silver Spoon love and affection for possibly the first time in her life! Instead of coming to talk to me about this, you had to go and nearly KILL HER?!?!”

“Spike…no…I-I wasn’t meaning for that to happen, I swear…”

“Quiet, Rarity! You talk enough, and I’m not through with you yet. You shouldn’t even be apologizing to me; you should be apologizing to Silver Spoon. SHE’S the one you hurt, not me. Actually, by hurting her, you DID hurt me. I never expected this from you, Rarity…I really didn’t. This is NOT the mare that I love and grew to respect and appreciate more than the entire world itself. I don’t know if it’s because this is Discord’s game or if it’s the island’s evilness getting to you, but whatever the case…you and several others here are NOT acting like yourselves. I…I’m disappointed in you, Rarity. I don’t hate you, but…I’m very, very disappointed. Now, apologize to Silver Spoon…like you mean it.”

With her eyes soaked with tears, Rarity gave Spike a look like her heart had just broken, but she knew that Spike’s angry and hurt expression was justified. All it took was looking at the hurt filly sitting across from her in a duplicate wheelchair and Rarity knew just how wrong she was and how everything WAS her fault. When she spoke, she spoke in barely above a whisper. “Silver Spoon…I’m very, very sorry. I understand if you want to hate me forever…and you don’t have to accept my apology…but, I am truly and utterly sorry for my callous actions.”

Silver Spoon glared weakly back at Rarity through her busted glasses, locking eyes with the unicorn and further punishing her with scornful looks. However, instead of letting her have it, like she deserved, Silver Spoon thought back to how Diamond Tiara treated her. She thought back to what Zecora had taught her. She thought back to the lesson Cheerilee scolded Diamond Tiara with. She glanced to the side and saw the little dragon who was sticking up for her over the mare that practically all of Ponyville knew he loved. She knew what the right thing to do was. “I forgive you, Rarity.”

“Bravo, bravo,” Discord yawned, idly clapping nearby and tossing away a cold bag of popcorn, “VERY touching, I must say. But, if you don’t mind, we kinda need to continue with the game. Now…oh, it seems that Applejack and Rainbow Dash are FINALLY gracing us with their presence.” The draconequus pointed towards the forest, leading the rest of the campers to do the same.

“Ugh…can somepony PLEASE get these off of us now?” Rainbow Dash moaned, being yanked along blindly by Applejack’s powerful head, since their antlers were still stuck together.

“Yeah, we had to drag ourselves all the way back just like this!” Applejack complained, “Discord, help us out here, would ya?”

“I didn’t hear a ‘please’ out of you…but, may as well,” Discord shrugged, floating over and unhooking the antler hats from Applejack and Rainbow Dash, finally setting them free.

“Ooh, Dashie…you naughty little filly!” Pinkie giggled, casting the Pegasus a wink, “Couldn’t resist hooking up with AJ, hmm?”

“What can I say? I’m just THAT awesome,” Dash chuckled, “Applejack just couldn’t stand to be away from me for too long. She must’ve figured that being locked in my presence would increase her coolness, don’t you all AGREE?” The Pegasus shrieked loudly as Applejack had reached under her stomach and punched her right in the groin with a hooved fist. Female or not, the powerful blow was no thrill ride.

“Watch it, Dash…yer skatin’ on thin ice with each word ya speak,” Applejack growled, glaring at the mare and trying to hide her embarrassed blush, “Discord, mah hat, please. And…did we lose?”

Discord floated over and returned Applejack’s hat to her, then glanced back and forth between both teams. “Well, let’s see…since the most paint I see is on the Ruffians…and some of the ones with paint AREN’T EVEN DEER…I think we have our winners. Yes, indeed you lose, Applejack. The Magical Misfits win their third in a row.”

“YES!” five of the six Misfits cheered, bouncing up and down and giving each other hugs. Only Rarity remained without enthusiasm. She didn’t even smile as she remained limp in her wheelchair. To her shock, it was Trixie who trotted up to her.

“Hey…don’t look so sad, you foolish unicorn,” Trixie scolded, “We won, so be happy! Sure, you made a very stupid and egregious mistake that is very unacceptable, even for Trixie’s standards. However, none of us are perfect…not even Trixie. So, do not wallow in such self-pity; Trixie learned to not do that YEARS ago. Just bounce back from this humiliation and pain and make yourself a better pony for it.”

“Y-yes…you’re right…t-thank you, Trixie…” Rarity sniffed, giving the unicorn a weak smile, “You…you really aren’t so…bad…are you?”

“Bad? Humph…watch your tongue, foal,” Trixie smirked, getting behind the wheelchair and starting to push Rarity along, “Trixie is still the baddest unicorn to ever walk Equestria, and don’t you forget it. Sparkle, coming? Trixie desires a bath in the hot tub, and she believes the rest of the team deserves a dip, too. Bring the ditz, the teacher, and the brat and let’s get going, hmm?”

“Huh? Oh, right, of course, Trix,” Twilight chuckled, turning to Pinkie, Cheerilee and Scootaloo, “Let’s go, girls; we could use a good soak.” With happy nods, the three ponies followed after Twilight and Trixie, leaving a sullen Royal Ruffians team in their wake.

“Ruffians…it really sucks to be you, but the elimination ceremony is your only reward tonight,” Discord said, shaking his head, “Sad…you looked so strong to start the season…but, that’s life! So, have fun voting off one of your own this evening. Ta-ta!” He laughed and vanished on the spot, as per usual, once more leaving a dead silence behind him.

Applejack: Well, shoot…nothin’ stings worse than this one. All of us are either hurt or covered in paint…and humiliation. Dang…so this is what it feels like…to be as low as you can go… *she sighs*

Rainbow Dash: *holding an icepack over her groin* Darn it anyway! Why do we keep LOSING? This isn’t fair! I’m not a loser! And why did Applejack punch me THERE? That’s a low blow…literally!

Spike: It’s obvious who should go tonight. I blame Rainbow Dash’s brashness and overzealousness in this loss. Silver Spoon should be safe, at least; she’s the only one WITHOUT any paint on her.

It was becoming custom for the Royal Ruffians to see the blazing flames of the bonfire, but it was never a welcome sight. With each and every ceremony, the mood around the Ruffians was going more and more south. Applejack looked nervous and uneasy, Celestia looked drained, Fluttershy looked weak and sorrowful, Rainbow Dash looked angry, and Silver Spoon was still in her wheelchair with her massive injuries. Only Spike seemed to be mostly unaffected; the only thing he cared about at the moment was Silver Spoon’s wellbeing. He never left her side.

“Hello again, Ruffians…I swear, you really must love coming here,” Discord pointed out, floating up a moment later and eying the six remaining Ruffians, “Tell me, I know the flames make me look even hotter than I already am, but do you really love seeing me THAT much? I’m flattered, really, but this is NOT the place you WANT to be. You see, right now, your six is about to become five and you’re gonna have to watch one of your own once more go off on the Boat of Losers.”

“Shut up, Discord,” Celestia said coldly, “Your voice has gotten past irritating and now is just unbearable. If you’re gonna do this, just get to it and shut up.”

“Touchy, touchy,” Discord frowned, pulling out his paintball gun and firing a red paintball right into Celestia’s face, “Really, Celestia, no reason to go all red in the face!”

“I hate you SO much,” Celestia snarled, trying to scrape off the paint, but once again finding it impossible. None of the Ruffians had had a bath yet, so save for Silver Spoon, they were all still very messy. The added blast from Discord didn’t help the princess’ complexion, either.

“Now that our resident princess got some added makeup, we can get on with it,” Discord coughed, clearing his throat, “As you all know, each of you must vote off one of your teammates right now. The one that gets voted off much walk down the Dock of Shame, board the Boat of Losers, and get the heck out of here! And they CAN’T come back to camp…like, not now, not two days from now, not a week from now, not EVER! Is that absolutely CLEAR? Good, then let’s vote! Applejack, you’re first.”

Celestia: *showing the camera that she voted for Silver Spoon* I’m sorry, my dear. But, you are just too fragile. This is nothing personal; you just are not cut out for this. *she puts the ballot in the box*

Rainbow Dash: *showing the camera that she voted for Silver Spoon* Finally. This has been a long time coming. Sorry, kid, but you and your wheelchair have to go. *she puts the ballot in the box*

Silver Spoon: *writing by the tips of her hooves, due to the casts, and barely able to hold up her vote for Rainbow Dash* Ugh…you deserve to go…you mess everything up… *she manages to slip the ballot into the box*

Spike: *showing the camera that he voted for Rainbow Dash* C’mon, Applejack and Fluttershy, do it one more time…you KNOW Dash deserves the boot now! *he puts the ballot in the box*

“You all have cast your votes,” Discord sighed, seemingly bored as he snapped his fingers and got the ballot box appearing again, “Once a majority is reached, the decision is FINAL, and the eliminated contestant will be sent down the Dock of Shame at once. I shall now read the votes.” He flipped the top of the ballot box off, reached for the first ballot, and unfolded it.

“First vote…Silver Spoon.” Discord showed the ballot to the campers, and Spike visibly winced at seeing the filly’s name written and shown first thing.

“Second vote…Rainbow Dash. That’s one vote Silver Spoon and one vote Rainbow Dash.”

“Third vote…Silver Spoon. That’s two votes Silver Spoon, one vote Rainbow Dash.”

“Fourth vote…Rainbow Dash. That’s two votes Silver Spoon and two votes Rainbow Dash.”

“Fifth vote…Silver Spoon. That’s three votes Silver Spoon, two votes Rainbow Dash, and one vote left.”

“No…please, no…” Spike sobbed, his lip trembling as he reached out and gently grabbed one of Silver Spoon’s hooves as Discord reached for the final ballot. Would it possibly be a tie?

“Ninth loser of Total Magic Pony Island…” Discord announced, looking slightly sad as he flipped over the last ballot, “…Silver Spoon. Wow, harsh…but, my dear filly, the team has spoken. By a vote of 4-2, I’m afraid that you…”

“NO! THIS CAN’T BE!” Spike screamed, getting up and instantly raging at his four teammates, not even caring that one was the princess, “HOW COULD YOU? THAT’S NOT FAIR! SHE’S THE ONLY ONE WITHOUT PAINT ON HER! SHE DIDN’T LOSE US THIS CHALLENGE! YOU…YOU…THIS ISN’T FAIR!”

“Spike, dear, please calm down,” Celestia said, taking a deep sigh and attempting to ease the dragon’s obvious pain, “This wasn’t because of her losing the challenge or anything like that. You can tell what happened to her. She is simply not cut out for this game, and keeping her around would only further the pain between you two and Rarity. It’s for the best if she goes.”

“No…no…NO!” Spike kept screaming, clenching his eyes shut and balling his clawed hands into fists, “You lie! You ALL lie! All you care about is the stupid game and keeping the stupid team strong! What about Rainbow Dash and her attitude problems?”

“Ugh, do I always have to be brought into these things?” Dash groaned.

“YES, because YOU deserve to go, not Silver Spoon!” Spike kept crying, falling to the ground in front of Silver Spoon’s wheelchair. All this time, the filly hadn’t uttered a single word. Spike was the only one raging, and he wasn’t about to stop. “She didn’t do anything to deserve warranting being voted off! She actually changed her attitude since day one. Sure, she started off as a bully who only cared about herself, but…but…she changed. Today…she was showing heart and spirit…and she was excited. Didn’t you even see the joy in her eyes…for the very first time in this game? Didn’t you see her passion?”

“Are you saying I don’t have passion, heart and spirit?” Dash snapped, glaring at Spike, “Do you even know who you’re talking to? I’m Rainbow Dash!”

“I don’t care WHO you are! You’ve been nothing but a jerk since you got here, and you’re nothing but a jerk NOW!” Spike was trembling, his claws digging into the ground as his eyes flashed. He bared his fangs and glared up at Rainbow Dash, ready to attack her. “If you only had TWICE the heart that Silver Spoon has, maybe you’d be the element of harmony that you’re SUPPOSED to be, Dash!”

“HOW DARE YOU!” Dash finally snapped herself, flying up and getting into Spike’s face, “You DARE bring my element into question? That does it! Put ‘em up, dragon boy!” She and Spike were about to throw down, but Discord finally broke them up.

“As interesting as this is, it isn’t gonna change anything,” the draconequus explained, “As I said, the decision is final. Spike, if you want, you can wheel your filly friend down the Dock of Shame, since I don’t think she’ll be getting there herself.”

“Fine…but I won’t forget this…” Spike said darkly, taking hold of Silver Spoon’s wheelchair and stomping away from her team towards the Dock of Shame.

Rainbow Dash: It looks like we all know who’s gonna be going next time. Thanks, Spike, for making yourself the villain! *she grins a bit and crosses her forelegs* The dragon boy goes home next.

Spike’s tears dribbled down his face as he blindly ushered Silver Spoon in her wheelchair down the Dock of Shame. The walk seemed to last for miles, and Spike’s legs felt like they were walking through jelly. No matter how close Spike got to the Boat of Losers, he never seemed to be within reach of it. That or he just didn’t want to say goodbye to Silver Spoon. He was still beyond angry for what he considered a total unjust elimination, but he had just made himself look bad in front of his team. He knew that he was now on the chopping block, thanks to his own temper.

“Spikey?” Silver Spoon whispered, finally finding her voice. Just as the baby dragon managed to wheel the hospital chair to the edge of the dock and near the awaiting Boat of Losers, the filly’s soft voice broke the sounds of Spike’s crying and instantly seemed to soothe him. “Please…please don’t cry for me. It…it indeed was my time. I had fun, and…I now have you…that’s all that matters to me.”

“But…but…I couldn’t save you this time, Silver Spoon,” Spike whimpered, slowly walking in front of her, barely falling over the dock and into the water as he did so, and kneeling down in front of the hurt filly, “I couldn’t save you from falling off that cliff…and I couldn’t save you from this elimination ceremony. I thought…Applejack and Fluttershy were on my side…but, I guess not…”

“You cannot fault them,” Silver Spoon said, wincing as she patted Spike’s head with one of her hooves, “All three are elements of harmony, are they not? They are best friends. No matter what Dash’s attitude is like, did you really think they would betray her? And…Princess Celestia…nopony would be stupid enough to vote for her. You should be happy that it was me instead of you…but, next time…”

“I don’t care about myself. I only care about you, Silver Spoon. I’m sorry…I’m so sorry.” Spike slowly got off his knees and took both of the filly’s hooves into his hands, very softly clenching them to not inflict any pain on her. Then, he stared into the filly’s broken glasses and into her beautiful violet eyes that the glasses always tried to cover up. Giving one last, loving smile, Spike leaned in and pressed his mouth to hers. The two shared a final kiss together.

Silver Spoon moaned softly as she remained stationary and useless in her wheelchair, but Spike was doing more than enough to compensate. He slowly reached up with his hands and gripped the sides of Silver Spoon’s face, caressing her as she continued his soft yet passionate kiss. Their tongues met, and a warm blush broke out on both faces, but neither one cared. The filly and the baby dragon just continued to kiss and show each other their love one final time before they would have to part ways.

When Spike finally forced himself to give Silver Spoon air, he weakly pulled himself away and gave the filly a reassuring smile and a gentle squeeze of her hoof to let her know that he would always be there for her. Knowing that prolonging this would only make it hurt worse, Spike took a glance back at the dreaded Boat of Losers, gave a sigh, then meekly gripped the sides of Silver Spoon’s wheelchair and began to push her onboard.

“…Spike?” Silver Spoon said, her voice coming out rather mysteriously serious.

Spike paused and halted the wheelchair, then cocked his head as he gazed back into Silver Spoon’s face. “Yeah, Silver Spoon?”

Slowly, a playful, evil smile broke out on Silver Spoon’s face. The filly slowly pulled her right eye shut in a wink as she whispered her final words to Spike. “Make…them…pay.”

The dragon blinked a bit in shock at seeing Silver Spoon’s sudden change in attitude, but with a slight glance back towards camp, Spike’s lips curled into an evil smirk himself. Looking back at Silver Spoon, he returned her wink and gave her a thumbs-up. “Oh, don’t you worry…I plan on it.”

“Uh-oh…it looks like Spike isn’t quite done yet in this game,” Discord smirked, appearing to the cameras as Spike finally delivered Silver Spoon onto the Boat of Losers, “It seems the Royal Ruffians, aided by Silver Spoon, have possibly awoken a sleeping beast within the belly of our young dragon contestant. Will anything actually happen from it? Will Spike and Silver Spoon’s relationship continue on past the game? Can Rarity ever make Spike forgive her? Will the Ruffians keep losing? Find out all these answers and more, next time, on Total…Magic…Pony Island! Bye-bye!” The host snapped his fingers and vanished, leaving Spike standing on the edge of the Dock of Shame and watching the Boat of Losers slowly drift off into the night.

Spike: *giving the camera a deadly-serious look, he cracks his knuckles* So, they wanna play dirty, do they? Well, two can play at that game. I hope you’re ready, Dash. You should know not to mess with a dragon, no matter the size. Because, you see, a dragon… *he bares his fangs* …has fangs. Oh, and they also… *he flashes his claws* …have claws. Mess with the dragon, and you get the flames. Game on, Dash. *he crosses his arms as the slits in his emerald dragon pupils seem to flash while the cameras fade out*

Episode 12: Fall Of The Mighty

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Discord: Last time, on Total Magic Pony Island: it was time to introduce the lovely little destructive sport of paintball to the campers. Before that, Fluttershy consoled our puny little princess. Pinkie was Pinkie, Spike and Silver Spoon grew closer, and Rarity was slowly driven insane with jealousy; stop me when you’ve heard THAT one before. To try and snap Rarity out of her funk, Trixie revealed her own troubles from her past to the white unicorn. Even though it gave Rarity a new image of the Great and Powerful Trixie, her jealousy for Spike being with Silver Spoon only grew. During the paintball hunt, Pinkie once again dominated for her team and could almost do no wrong, even saving her sitting duck of a teammate, Twilight Sparkle. Rainbow Dash ran into Mare Do Well again, this time with Applejack, which in turn caused both girls to lose their minds and be eliminated by Trixie. Rarity ended up sending both herself and Silver Spoon over a cliff due to her recklessness and her quest for vengeance. Despite being the only one without paint on her, the injured Silver Spoon was voted off that night, leading to Spike calling out his whole team, mainly Rainbow Dash. Just before bidding the filly farewell, Spike promised Silver Spoon that he would make his team pay for what they had done so far in the game. Now with the target on his back, can Spike find a way to pull off another shocking twist, especially on a team that doesn’t want him? Will the Magical Misfits ever lose again? Can Trixie keep staying in her team’s good graces? Find out right now, on an action-packed episode of Total…Magic…Pony…Island!

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

“Ohhhh, this is simply cruel and unnecessary, darlings!” Rarity whined, weakly struggling in her wheelchair as she watched her five teammates lounge in their hot tub, “How could you live with yourselves knowing that I cannot join you in that luxurious hot tub? You are all so evil!”

“Look who’s talking, Miss Jealousy,” Trixie sniffed, idly casting Rarity a blank stare, since her eyes couldn’t be read behind her hot tub goggles she had stolen from Discord, “Perhaps we should remind you about what you nearly did to that little filly, hmm? As humorous as it was and as entertaining as it is to see you in such a getup, Trixie cannot accept such violent behavior. You get to stew in your own muck and watch the rest of us who actually worked hard at the challenge get a relaxing dip.”

Rarity: *confined to her wheelchair, in her full body cast, and looking pouty* Ooh, how COULD they do this to me? I already said I was sorry! What more do they want? It’s bad enough I heard that Scootaloo did something to me a few days ago…why do I keep thinking about brains? This isn’t funny!

“Trixie, she already fell off a cliff and had Spike lash out at her,” Twilight sighed, “Don’t add salt to the wound. She knows what she did was wrong, so why keep making her feel bad about it?”

“Because if Trixie didn’t receive special care and attention after she was so hurt after that talent show, then she’s not about to show it to others, either!”

“Trixie…you messed with our entire team’s heads and unfairly eliminated Apple Bloom. Not only that, but you lied to us constantly about your so-called magic power that doesn’t even exist. If you had actually apologized, we’d be more sympathetic, but you didn’t even own up to it.”

“Hush, Sparkle! Trixie did what she had to; all’s fair in love and war.”

“That doesn’t give you the right to act like a jerk! Just because you feel miserable doesn’t mean you have to make others feel the same way!”

“If Trixie can’t be happy, nopony can be happy. Simple as that.”

As Twilight and Trixie got into each other’s faces and continued to argue with one another, Cheerilee and Scootaloo took the liberty of consoling the dejected Rarity. Swimming over to the side of the hot tub, Scootaloo reached out towards Rarity’s wheelchair and gave the unicorn a gentle pat on her shoulder. “Hey, cheer up, okay? Don’t be so gloomy. You did a bad thing, but you’ll bounce back. Besides, seeing Silver Spoon in that wheelchair was really cool!”

“Scootaloo!” Cheerilee scolded, giving her student a little glare, “I thought you and her put your differences aside! Why was it so ‘cool’ to see you fellow classmate in a wheelchair?”

“Um…all I meant was that she looked like she had just been through a war…all those injuries and stuff made her look…totally awesome! Rainbow Dash told me that when she was in Flight School, she broke one of her wings trying to fly off the top of the school. She said that it really hurt, but she was regarded as a hero and everypony really respected her for being so brave and strong. So, um, having a bunch of injuries isn’t always a bad thing; it means that you’re very tough and that you survived whatever it was that beat you down!” Scootaloo smiled weakly at her teacher, hoping that she got her point across.

Cheerilee: Um…I still don’t really think Rainbow Dash is a good influence on Scootaloo…for numerous reasons, actually…but, all the same, I’m glad that Scootaloo has such an…interesting thought process on…stuff. *she looks slightly unnerved* Is it natural that I kinda fear what she might do later on?

“Well…Rarity, knowing how odd this island is, I’m sure you’ll be out of that wheelchair by tomorrow morning, so don’t fret,” Cheerilee reassured her teammate, giving Rarity a warm smile, “Besides, this hot tub is nothing special. We have two arguing unicorns to deal with as it is and…um, has anypony seen our dear Pinkie Pie?”

Pinkie Pie, the Magical Misfits’ hero in the past three challenges, had mysteriously vanished almost the instant that the team had gotten back from the paintball challenge and decided to celebrate with their hot tub. None of the Misfits had seen where Pinkie ran off to, but none of them were too worried; this was Pinkie Pie they were talking about. What they didn’t know was that Pinkie had gone down to the most frequently-occupied spot on the island: the beach.

Staring out over the ocean, Pinkie smiled to herself. Her blue eyes seemed to shimmer in the moonlight, her mind ticking away at what had transpired over the past few hours and days. The image of the Boat of Losers just fading into the distance made the pony smile even more. She wasn’t thinking malicious thoughts about how Silver Spoon had just been voted off. She wasn’t even thinking about how the other team had lost for the third straight time. She was thinking about just how much she was making a difference and proving her worth.

Sitting down in the chilling sand of Camp Paradox, Pinkie continued to smile as she stared down into her reflection. She was sitting so close to the ocean that when the tide came in, it drenched her hooves and rump and completely overtook her entire body, but she never cared. The water didn’t seem to affect her at all; in fact, it almost seemed to soothe her and make even happier about her deep thoughts. Pinkie hummed a little to herself while continuing to stare down at her reflection in the ripping water. What the world would see is a reflection of the fun-loving mare with her puffy mane and happy smile. What Pinkie saw was Pinkamena Diane Pie, the past Pinkie Pie with a straight mane and sad smile.

“So, Pinkie, how are you holding up?” Pinkamena asked, the reflection speaking to Pinkie as she locked eyes with her present self, “Are you doing your best? Are you staying true to yourself?”

“Yup, sure am!” Pinkie giggled, giving a little bounce as another low tide came in and caused her to shift a bit from the force, “My team is really staying strong, and I think we’ve gotten through to Trixie, too! I really, REALLY love how happy everypony has been!”

Pinkamena continued to stare back up at Pinkie from the water, her sad smile never faltering as she observed her present self’s happiness. “You’ve come a long way, Pinkie. From being a sad little filly all alone on a rock farm, to having many friends to love and care for, you have really grown. But, be aware that what you are doing is just a game. What’s gonna happen when that game is over?”

Pinkie tilted her head curiously down at her reflection. “Huh? But, life itself is a game, silly! That’s why I make every day count and make it as super-duper awesome as can be! It doesn’t matter where I am or who I’m with, I’ll always still be Pinkie Pie, the party pony who wants to bring a smile to everypony around her. Even when this game is over, I’m still gonna be the same Pinkie as ever!”

“What’s you resolve, Pinkie Pie? You want to make everypony happy, that’s true, but what is it that you REALLY want? What’s inside your heart?”

The pony sitting on the sand paused for a moment, tilting her head back to the other side as she listened to her reflection’s question. The minutes passed by without an answer being given, and Pinkie began to look slightly embarrassed and even sad. She eventually sat back and pressed her front hooves together, shyly glancing down at Pinkamena and giving a little sigh. The pink pony closed her eyes and gathered her thoughts, expelling her held breath into another cute sigh before finally sharing her feelings.

“I want…to be accepted…and for other ponies to know that they can trust and rely on me. I may be silly, random little Pinkie Pie on the outside, but in the inside…I want to know that I make a difference. To leave a lasting impression on everypony’s heart. To know that I can always look ahead without looking back and knowing I had regrets. To hear those around me say that they’re proud of me. To…to make Twilight proud that fate drew me to be one of her five best friends. That’s all I want.”

Pinkamena’s sad smile grew a little as she listened to Pinkie’s words. “Twilight Sparkle really means a lot to you, doesn’t she?”

“Aww, all of my friends mean a lot to me! I couldn’t live without them in my life! All of them have a very special place in my heart, which is kinda weird since I don’t think my heart is really that big, and yet they all have a place in there! How does the heart even work?” However, when Pinkie noticed her reflection giving her a coy look, the pink pony sighed and a little blush broke out on her puffy cheeks. “Ooh, fine. Yeah, Twilight is…so super-duper amazing. Nothing she says makes a lot of sense to me, but…she’s just so awesome! She’s a natural-born leader, she’s talented, she’s caring, she’s intelligent, she makes this cute noise when she sleeps that only a pony who is really close to her can hear…”

“Do you love her?” Pinkamena’s face grew serious as she eyed Pinkie closely.

“Well, DUH, of course I love her, silly! I love all my friends. I love them so much that I’m afraid I don’t have enough love to REALLY show just how much I really DO love them!”

“No, Pinkie…do you love love her?”

Pinkie’s eyes grew wide for a moment, and her cheeks turned an even darker crimson. She weakly drew her hooves up to cover her embarrassed face, but her reflection didn’t go away, so she knew that she expected an answer. “Um…well, I…um…maybe? It doesn’t really matter if I do or don’t; Twilight would never look at me like that. All I want to do is make sure she stays happy, though; continue to prove that she should be happy I’m on her team! But…um, my feelings don’t matter; as long as everypony else is happy, then I’m happy! Besides, I think there’s another pony here that Twilight likes instead…my Pinkie Sense told me so.”

Pinkie and Pinkamena stared at each other for a long time, neither of them saying another word. The tide webbed and flowed, continuing to soak Pinkie’s hooves and her bottom, while the rippled face of her reflection kept staring up at her with the same sad expression. The crescent moon overhead almost seemed to envelop the pony and her reflection, overhanging the two with its soft rays. Was Princess Luna watching over the pink pony? It was hard to say, but Pinkie still felt another presence watching her as she continued to sit on the wet sand of the beach.

Eventually, Pinkamena gave Pinkie one last warm smile. “Stay true to yourself, Pinkie Pie. Stay true to yourself.” Then, after blinking her eyes, Pinkie was left staring down at herself, complete with her puffy pink mane and her usual curious expression. Pinkamena was gone, but Pinkie still felt somewhat secured anyway. Placing a hoof onto her heart, the pony gave a weak smile, then turned around and began to trot back into camp.

Pinkie: *softly* Sometimes, it’s best to sit down and have a talk with yourself; my granny always said that there was no better listener. *almost instantly afterwards, she puts on a wide grin and bounces excitedly* Now then, what am I waiting for? I’m missing out on a hot tub party with my team!

“Spike…are ya’ll feelin’ ahright?” Applejack asked, trotting up to the baby dragon as soon as she saw him heading for the Ruffians’ cabin following Silver Spoon’s castoff. The hayseed mare had a good judge of character, and she could sense that Spike wasn’t one to let something like this go; she knew that he was gonna have a lot of rage for the team voting out his filly love.

With the thoughts of Silver Spoon’s final words and his own returned promise still fresh in his mind, Spike’s fiery eyes slowly gazed over at Applejack’s worried pupils. Despite her strong physique and her naturally-tough visage, Applejack couldn’t help but feel nervous and uncomfortable with Spike’s indirect glare. Since Spike refused to take a bath, he also still had the pink paint splattered all over his body from Pinkie’s onslaught. “I’m feeling fine, Applejack. I just want to be alone right now, okay? Thank you.”

Spike’s words were quick and to the point, etched with an icy overtone, and Applejack knew better than to try and console the angry dragon. Spike kept walking past the orange pony until he pushed the cabin door open and stomped inside. The door slammed shut behind him, leaving a stunned silence behind him, complete with a farmer with a heavy heart.

Applejack: Believe me, ah know pain when ah hear it; mah little sister has hid her feelings before, and ah recognized the same coldness in Spike’s voice. Ah’m not worried much ‘bout mahself or even Rainbow Dash…ah’m worried ‘bout what Spike might do to avenge Silver Spoon. *she gives the camera a solemn glance* If push comes to shove, ah’ll have to do what must be done…and vote Spike out.

“Yo, AJ, you gonna take a shower?” Rainbow Dash asked, flying over after taking one of her usual night flights around the camp, “We probably should get this paint off our bodies, right? Say, what’s with that look? Something on your mind?” The Pegasus had just noticed the forlorn expression on the dejected earth pony’s face, and despite her usual brashness, Dash was concerned.

“Oh, Dash…yea, ah might go and freshen up after Fluttershy and the princess get done…” AJ muttered, giving her Pegasus friend a weak smile, “But…ah dunno…Spike just stomped into the cabin with a very nasty look on his face. Ah could hear the pain and coldness in his word and everythin’, and it just ‘bout brought me to tears. Ah think he’s gonna try to get revenge on us or somethin’ like that.”

Dash gave a snort, rolling her eyes and giving Applejack a big hug. “Nah, don’t worry about him; he’s just being crabby because we voted off his girlfriend. He’ll get over it with a good night’s rest. Besides, what were we supposed to do? It’s not like we could vote out the princess; do you know how much trouble we’d be in if we did that? If Twilight thinks Magic Kindergarten is bad, she has no idea what Flight Kindergarten was like!” The Pegasus visibly shivered at the unpleasant memories.

“Rainbow Dash, ah’m serious! Ah know that look in Spike’s eyes; ah’ve seen it before from mah little sister, Apple Bloom, durin’ one of our fights! Ah’m tellin’ ya, we have to watch out for Spike; we can’t underestimate the power of pain and what it can do to for a plan of revenge.”

“Applejack, are you even listening to yourself?” Dash giggled, playfully ruffing the farmer’s mane and giving her a little nuzzle of affection, “Seriously, what is Spike gonna do that is gonna be SO horrible and scary? If he intentionally tries to foul us up and make us lose the next challenge, then he knows he’ll be voted out for that. If he tries to backstab one of us and vote us out, it won’t work, since you, Fluttershy and myself are tight, and I’m pretty sure the princess would be with us, too. So…what’s the problem?”

Applejack considered Dash’s words. It was strange that Rainbow Dash would be the one talking strategy and pointing out logic to somepony like Applejack, but then again, Dash had been the most emotional contestant ever since day one; who knows what went on inside her mind? Applejack had to admit that Dash made some good points. Spike knew that he was on the outs with the rest of his team now, so there was no way he would intentionally throw a challenge. He also wouldn’t be able to get Fluttershy or Rainbow Dash on his side, and the princess probably wouldn’t betray one of the elements of harmony over Twilight’s assistant. Really, there was nothing that Spike logically could do.

“Well…maybe yer right, Dash…but, be that as it may, Spike still looked really mad…” AJ warned, returning Rainbow Dash’s affection with a little nuzzle of her own, “In the mornin’, we probably should try to cheer him up. Lettin’ him stay all mopey and sad won’t do anypony any good.”

“Whatever, you silly worrywart,” Dash snickered, leaning back against the Royal Ruffians’ cabin and propping her forelegs behind her head, “C’mon, let’s enjoy some of this night air before we head for the showers. Have a seat, AJ.” She patted the spot next to her with her tail without tearing her eyes away from the starry sky. Applejack cocked an eyebrow in amusement at Dash’s request, but since she wasn’t quite tired yet and she did want to wash the paint off her body, she decided to humor her friend. She trotted over and plopped her rump down right next to the cyan Pegasus, joining her stargazing.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack sat next to each other, leaning back against the wooden cabin and crossing their hind legs into pretzels as their eyes danced around the darkened heavens above. Applejack had her forelegs crossed over her chest, her Stetson hat hanging back slightly so she could see properly. Rainbow Dash had her usual mock grin with her forelegs resting behind her rainbow mane and her head, her eyes actually focused and calm for once as she gazed at the stars. Applejack glanced sideways at the Pegasus sitting next to her now and then, always wondering just who she really was. She knew her outside the game, but during their stay on the island, she was a completely different pony. What was going on inside of that mind? Applejack would give anything to know.

“Hey…Dash? What’s it like…to be able to fly?” the orange pony finally asked, speaking a hushed whisper so as to not disturb the calm atmosphere.

Rainbow Dash’s grin grew even wider as she gave Applejack a little wink. “It’s the most amazing feeling in the world, AJ. To be able to stretch your glorious wings and fly through the heavens, almost being able to touch those stars…it’s unbelievable! It’s a rush, I’ve gotta tell ya. It’s a feeling that you just can’t explain without living through it yourself.”

“Heh…ah wouldn’t mind gettin’ that chance someday…if ah had mahself some wings, that is.” Applejack chuckled, glancing sideways and eying the ground. She saw what she was looking for, a long blade of grass, and quickly picked it and slid it into her mouth. When she got the grass locked into her favorite position, she nibbled on it and went back to relaxing. “Do ya think…ya’ll could take me flyin’ sometime?”

“I dunno…I usually charge for flying rides, AJ,” Rainbow Dash teased, sticking her tongue out at the annoyed farmer, “But…I might give you a little discount…seeing as how you’re my best friend and all. But, don’t tell anypony, you got that?”

Applejack frowned a bit, then her frown eventually grew into a smirk as she lightly punched Dash on the shoulder. The Pegasus squeaked at the sudden blow, but couldn’t help but utter a little chuckle herself. The two friends laughed and started a little shoving match with each other, each one trying to knock the other over without actually trying to hurt them. Their giggles and playful roughhousing soon sparked the attention of a certain other camper, who began secretly watching their antics with extreme interest.

Eventually, when both mares calmed down, they returned to staring up at Luna’s night sky. Applejack kept chewing on her piece of grass and Rainbow Dash kept idly swishing her tail around while gazing at the stars with her contented smile. Since Applejack and Rainbow Dash were sitting so closely, Dash’s rainbow tail ended up brushing Applejack’s blonde tail almost every passing moment. When Applejack moved a bit closer, Dash’s tail began brushing up against her rump as well. The ticklish feelings caused AJ to lightly blush, and Dash to mutter to herself and try to pretend that it was just natural.

“How many constellations do ya know, Dash?” Applejack asked, breaking the awkward silence and casting the Pegasus a curious glance.

“How many WHAT do I know?” Dash blinked, scratching her head in confusion.

“Ya know…star formations? Like, the Big Dipper, Orion, Capricorn, and so on and so forth.”

“Ohhhhh, right…those things.” Dash flushed and grumbled, silently cursing herself for being so stupid. “Uh…well, you see…hey, I have better things to put inside my brain than stupid star clusters, AJ. I think you’ve been listening to our resident egghead a bit too much.”

“Hey, ah can’t ignore everythin’ Twi says,” Applejack giggled, playfully tilting her hat down so it covered up half of her eyes. However, as she did so, it was Rainbow Dash’s turn to punch AJ on the shoulder. As soon as her blue hoofed fist connected with Applejack’s orange shoulder, the hayseed smirked and spit out her grass stem. “Oh no ya didn’t, Dashie…ya’ll ain’t gettin’ the last laugh!”

“Bring it on, AJ!” Dash grinned excitedly, and a second later she had been tackled by Applejack and the two mares were playfully wrestling with each other once again. Applejack’s hat flew off her head and fluttered to the ground before long as she wrestled with her best friend, both mares attempting to pin the other down, while at the same time making sure not to hurt the other. For the first time in the game, the two girls actually felt at ease and happy, almost like they could enjoy themselves without having to worry about anything else. The result felt amazing, as their laughter indicated. However, from the window of the Royal Ruffians’ cabin, the glowing emerald eyes of a certain other camper could be seen glaring out at the two mares. This camper was not happy with what was happening.

Rainbow Dash: *giggling, her mane and tail sticking up all over the place and her wings slightly ruffled from her wrestling match with Applejack* Aw yeah, now that’s what I’m talking about! Man, it’s been so long since AJ and I actually played with each other without worrying about the game. We really should do it more often…it feels nice. *her cheeks turned slight crimson, but she tried to brush it off*

Applejack: *holding her hat in her hooves, her own mane and tail were even more ruffled than Rainbow’s, and she was chuckling in delight, too* Dash is always a good friend to have a good brawl with; nothin’ ever serious, of course. Ah do have to kick her flank sometimes to keep her in line, but she really is a great friend. Ah don’t know what ah’d do without her. *she blushes as she thinks about her*

“Um…Princess Celestia?” Fluttershy whimpered, her voice barely being heard over the running water of her shower stall, “Do you have any extra shampoo that you possibly wouldn’t mind sharing? I, um, kinda ran out…and I haven’t washed all the paint out of my mane just yet. If you don’t want to share, that’s okay…I understand. You need it more than I do, of course.”

“Oh, Fluttershy, you know if you ever need anything, I won’t refuse you,” Celestia laughed from the stall directly to the left of Fluttershy’s, “Here, let me get you my bottle and I’ll toss it over the top of my stall into yours, alright?”

“Okay…thank you, Princess!” Fluttershy squeaked, shyly squirming as she waited for the princess to deliver on her promise. She couldn’t help sighing softly at the warm water rushing down at her from the showerhead, soaking her paint-filled mane and tail and cleaning off the muck from her yellow coat.

Since the Royal Ruffians was the only team to get any paint on them, they were the only ones who had to use the showers that night. Spike was currently busy sulking in the cabin, and since Rainbow Dash had wanted to go for her usual evening flight, Applejack had informed Fluttershy and Celestia that they could go first. The showers only had two workable stalls, since the third one had been broken the very first day by Gilda and Discord hadn’t bothered to get it fixed. Ironically, the two showers that worked were side by side, with the wall separating the two made out of cheap wood and only stretching up to a height of seven feet.

“Hmm…what’s this?” Celestia mused, just finishing up washing her own beautiful, young body and having glanced at the shower separator. She was about to throw the shampoo over the top for Fluttershy, but a large chunk of wood had caught her attention. It was sticking out the bottom of the shower wall, wedged between Fluttershy’s shower and her own. Curious as to why there would be a slab of wood stuck in the wall, Celestia leaned down and began tapping at it.

“Princess…did you say something?” Fluttershy’s meek voice called out, but Celestia failed to hear her over the sound of both running faucets. The tiny princess kept poking at the piece of thick wood wedged between the showers, her young age making her more curious than she should be. When the wood refused to move, Celestia frowned and tried tugging on it with both of her hooves. The affect was almost immediate, as the wood expelled itself from its prison with a soft popping sound and made the shocked Celestia fall over backwards. Clutching the piece of wood in her hooves, she peered at it and realized that it was nothing more than just a discarded chipping that could easily be found in a wood shop or even in the woods.

“Weird…why was this in there? Ugh, Discord really needs to get better showers,” Celestia complained, tossing the wood behind her back and shaking her head, “Sorry about that, Fluttershy. Anyway, about that shampoo…” However, her speech was cut off when she noticed the wall separating her shower from Fluttershy’s was beginning to wobble. As Celestia got back up onto her hooves, the wall began to creak and very slowly start sagging in her direction. Uttering a soft gasp, Celestia quickly leaped back just as the flimsy wall collapsed onto the floor of her stall, barely missing her.

“Princess? What was…that?” Fluttershy asked, slowly lifting up her head after hearing the loud noise. The Pegasus immediately saw the missing wall, and after slowly moving her head a bit further along, she saw the soaked princess staring across the stalls at her. For a few minutes, the only sound came from the running water of the two faucets, with Fluttershy and Celestia both staring at each other without moving a single inch. Fluttershy’s body began to tremble as her eyes were as wide as saucers and her cheeks were turning dark red. Celestia looked completely dumbfounded and was possibly experiencing one of the most awkward moments of her entire life.

Celestia’s eyes examined the pretty Pegasus trembling only a few feet away from her. The wet mare, with her mane and tail hanging down, looked absolutely radiant. Fluttershy’s beet red face, complete with her scared and horrified eyes, only added to the cuteness that Celestia had never witnessed before. True, there had been a certain “incident” in her past where a certain other part of Celestia had accidentally taken control of her mind, but she had never stopped to realize just how adorable Fluttershy really was. Just staring at the soaked and scared mare brought a creepy grin to the small princess’ face, not to mention a very slight blush, too.

“So…Fluttershy…you still need that shampoo?” Celestia grinned, picking up the soapy bottle nearby and waving it at the embarrassed Pegasus, “I’m all done with it; shall I toss it over to you?” In response, Fluttershy’s eyes rolled back into her head and she finally collapsed onto the metal flooring of her shower stall. How she had stayed up on her hooves all that time was beyond a mystery. Celestia, however, looked somewhat disappointed. “Ugh…Fluttershy, come on! It’s not like we wear clothes or anything anyway!”

Celestia: A long time ago, there was this…incident…that made Luna give me a very rude nickname that I will not disclose. However, thoughts of that…incident…slowly crept back into my heart when I saw Fluttershy…all wet and adorable like that. *her eyes narrowed and a very creepy grin stretched out across her face* Mmm…it makes me so very proud to know just how lovely my subjects are…

“Was it just me…or did ah see the princess carryin’ a fainted Fluttershy into the cabin?” Applejack asked, watching as the cabin door closed one more time as she and Rainbow Dash sat next to each other near the mess hall, since they had been wanting to sneak inside for some desserts.

“Eh, Fluttershy probably just fell asleep from the hot water again; she does that.” Rainbow Dash shrugged, then whined a bit. “Aww, I was hoping they’d take a while longer…guess we can’t get any desserts tonight, since we really do need to get this paint off us. Guess there’s always tomorrow, right?”

“Sure thing, Dash. Now…race ya to the showers!” Applejack grinned, tipping her hat to the Pegasus as she turned and began galloping off.

“Oh no you don’t!” Dash laughed, stretching her wings and once again cheating as she flew after her teammate. The race was easily won by Rainbow Dash, thanks to her wings, but she got paid back for her cheating when Applejack arrived at the showers a few seconds later. The farmer gave Dash a scolding, followed by a slap to the butt with her tail, resulting in Dash issuing a quick apology and rubbing her rump with a hoof.

Chuckling and giving Dash a little noogie, Applejack pushed the doors to the showers open and led the blue Pegasus along to the two workable stalls. When she found that the wall separating the two had been broken down and not fixed, she slowly looked at Rainbow Dash with a worried expression. Dash rubbed her chin thoughtfully as she looked at the downed barrier, before giving Applejack a sly grin. “Well, AJ, guess we’re showering together tonight!”

“Yeah…ah don’t think so, Dash,” Applejack smirked, pulling out her lasso. Rainbow Dash gulped and took a small step back, but Applejack quickly set her hoof on the Pegasus’ shoulder to make sure she wasn’t going anywhere.

Ten minutes later, Rainbow Dash grumbled and squirmed, trying to break free of her bindings, but as always, Applejack’s ropes were too strong to bust out of. The Pegasus had been set outside the two stalls with the downed barrier, a good few feet away so she couldn’t see anything. Applejack was humming to herself as she used Celestia’s shower. Even though she didn’t really like taking baths or showers all that often, she knew enough to keep herself in as good a shape as possible while playing the game. It wasn’t long before Rainbow Dash began whining.

“AJ, c’mon, this rope huuuuuurts,” Dash whimpered, trying her best to sound convincing, “It wasn’t like I was gonna watch you like a pervert or anything, I swear! Just let me go, please?”

“SORRY, DASH! AH CAN’T HEAR YA OVER THE RUNNIN’ WATER!” Applejack laughed, purposely cranking the faucet so that even more water began barreling out of the showerhead.

Rainbow Dash slumped her shoulders and grumbled, still squirming as best as she could, but not getting anywhere. All she could do was listen to Applejack’s laughs as she took her time with her shower, most likely purposely to further tease Rainbow Dash. Despite the Pegasus being annoyed and tightly bound, she eventually began to smile a little. Plus, when she began to use her imagination to think about what it would’ve been like if she HAD gotten to shower with AJ, her face once again turned a dark crimson. From the window of the shower cabin, once again, two emerald eyes were glaring at the scene with visible hatred. Before they could be seen, though, they vanished as quickly as they had appeared.

Rainbow Dash: AJ is such a brat! I totally let her tie me up, you know. I mean, it makes her happy to THINK she has power over me. If I wanted to, I could easily overpower her at just about everything. *she crosses her forelegs and puffs out her chest, but eventually she gives a confession* Not that I…really mind…having her tie me up. She ties me good and tight…to make sure I can’t escape.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack returned to their cabin half an hour later, finding Fluttershy and Celestia already fast asleep. Spike was nowhere to be seen, which worried Applejack, but once again Rainbow Dash brushed it off and told her that he would be fine. Despite her worries, seeing Dash’s playful grin and having her nuzzle her calmed Applejack down, and both mares soon fell asleep without worrying about Spike.

Over with the Magical Misfits, after basically ruining the “hot tub party” with her excessive use of a rubber ducky and her fake shark fin, Pinkie Pie was berated by Trixie and dragged to bed. By that point, Twilight realized that it was getting late anyway, so she dried herself off and joined Trixie and the squealing Pinkie in the cabin, wheeling the handicapped Rarity along with her. As always, Scootaloo had fallen asleep in Cheerilee’s forelegs, and the teacher had to lay the filly on her back and carry her to bed like she normally did. Nopony knew what Cheerilee was hiding from the little filly.

Cheerilee: Watching over Scootaloo…it’s more meaningful to me than most of you out there might realize. *she gives a weak, yet heartfelt smile* I’m actually more than just Scootaloo’s teacher, and I look out for her…for other reasons than me worrying for her safety, although that’s a big part of it, too. She’s quite the reckless one. *she giggles softly* But…um…well, never mind; it’s not important.

“Shh! Girls, please!” Cheerilee whispered harshly, putting a hoof to her mouth as she entered the cabin with Scootaloo on her back. Pinkie and Trixie had been in the middle of a pillow fight, with Pinkie mostly just playing around while Trixie was literally trying to knock Pinkie out. Rarity was whining loudly to Twilight about how she didn’t want to spend the night in a full body cast and a wheelchair, which was making Twilight groan and mutter about how she didn’t enjoy playing the babysitter for the team. When the four mares all heard Cheerilee scold them, they froze and glanced over at her. Upon seeing the sleeping Scootaloo, they all calmed down.

“Humph…be thankful Trixie is tired and doesn’t wish to destroy her pillow with your thick skull,” Trixie muttered, glaring at Pinkie and shoving her off her bed, “Out of Trixie’s bed, foal!” She slammed her pillow down back onto its original resting place and soon tucked herself in.

“Trixie is such a silly filly,” Pinkie giggled to herself, picking up her own pillow with her teeth and trotting back to her own bed with it. Giving Twilight a little wave, the pink earth pony leaped under her covers and was out in less than five seconds.

“Twilight…this isn’t faaaaaaaaaair!” Rarity whined softly, watching as Twilight wheeled her over to her bed and covered her up with her blanket, “This wheelchair is VERY uncomfortable! I fear my posterior is getting a rash, my neck is all stiff, my poor hooves won’t get their nightly manicure, my mane and tail are in shambles, and my coat is all icky and truly wretched! Twilight, can’t you do something?”

“Ugh…Rarity, please!” Twilight growled, losing patience with her friend, “I’ve been there, alright? Remember when Gilda crushed me into a dodgeball and I had to spend the night in a wheelchair? Believe me, I wasn’t too thrilled, either. But, there’s nothing that can be done; be thankful you’re alive after what you did. Knowing how Discord’s magic works…on this island…you should be fine by morning.”

“But, darling…”

“No buts, Rarity.” Twilight gave the white unicorn a stern look, then gently tucked her pillow behind her head to finish up tending to the injured fashion pony. “There we go, all tucked in and no place to go. Have a good rest, Rarity. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Despite Rarity’s continued whimpers of protest, Twilight forced herself to ignore them as she soon entered her own bed. When seeing that her pleas were going unanswered, Rarity whined one last time before grudgingly closing her eyes and trying to fall asleep in her uncomfortable position. With the three stubborn unicorns and the crazy earth pony finally in bed, Cheerilee gave a little sign of relief as she put Scootaloo to bed. She tucked the filly in and gave her a warm hug, then stood back as she watched the unconscious filly gently cuddle up to her pillow and let out a squeaky yawn.

“Goodnight, Scootaloo,” Cheerilee whispered, gently stroking the filly’s forehead and mane with a hoof before giving the little pony one final smile and then proceeding to head to bed herself. As the Magical Misfits’ cabin began silent with the sands of slumber having overcome the six ponies at long last, the same emerald eyes peered in the window and gazed at the campers. The angry, vengeful slits grew heavy and pained as they observed the warmth that emanated from the cabin, especially from Cheerilee and Twilight. The eyes vanished a moment later as the camp’s clock struck midnight.

An overall peaceful evening passed through Camp Paradox, the hearts of most of the campers calmed and collective. Cheerilee’s heart was heavy, but warm with the thoughts of the secret she was hiding from Scootaloo. Pinkie was happy that she was near Twilight and that she was making her team mostly happy. Twilight, despite her constant arguments and her babysitting of Trixie and Rarity, was beginning to have fun, possibly thanks to all the victories that had come the Misfits’ way. Trixie still despised all ponies except for herself, but the longer she stayed in the game, the more she was getting used to the others on her team. Despite her recent setback and her bad lack of judgment, Rarity had to admit that this was rather an interesting experience thus far. Scootaloo was just thrilled to still be in the game with Rainbow Dash and Cheerilee.

Inside the Royal Ruffians’ cabin, feelings were almost equally shared among the five remaining campers. Rainbow Dash, after her war of words with Spike, was feeling a lot happier thanks to spending the evening with Applejack and finally having some alone time with the orange pony. Applejack herself, while still inwardly worried about Spike’s state of mind, was feeling very joyous having spent time with her favorite Pegasus. Fluttershy was still knocked out and with the last thing on her mind being her princess’ very creepy grin, she was beginning to question why everypony seemed to like her. Celestia herself, despite still longing to reclaim her duties as princess, was enjoying spending more and more time with Fluttershy, for some reason. Spike was still distant and sullen, his personal feelings unknown.

Spike: *speaking in a cold, heavy voice as he glared at the camera* Twilight once told me that if you want to learn more about the world, all you have to do is look around you and the answers will be revealed. That or just find yourself a library and read an informative book. *he growls, crossing his arms* When I look around this camp, all I see are posers. And posers must be exposed…and eradicated.

Morning seemed to come earlier than expected, probably due to the loud blaring of a bullhorn startling all the campers and instantly jarring them out of their deep slumbers. With the Misfits, Pinkie ended up shrieking and yelling something about the world coming to an end, accidentally leaping straight through the roof over her team’s cabin in her shock. Trixie, Twilight and Cheerilee all stumbled out of their beds and immediately tried blocking their ears from the sound of the bullhorn. Scootaloo moaned and hid her head under her pillow, trying to use it to protect her ears. Rarity’s shriek was almost as loud as Pinkie’s, and as Twilight had predicted, her body had completely healed overnight, as evidenced when she flew out of her wheelchair and instantly tried to cover her sensitive ears.

“WHAT…IS…THAT…AGGRAVATING NOISE?” Trixie screamed over the blaring, her hooves pressed tightly into her twitching ears, “SPARKLE…IS THIS…YOUR DOING?”

“I CAN’T HEAR YOU, TRIXIE!” Twilight screamed back, almost writhing in pain as the bullhorn continued to blare, “IT’S COMING FROM OUTSIDE!”

“MY EARS! MY PRECIOUS EARS!” Rarity was crying, rolling around on the floor with her hooves nearly pulling her ears off by how badly she was grabbing them, “MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP!”

Scootaloo: *sitting with her pillow on the top of her head, her eyes having bags under them as she looked very irritable* Aww, it’s the weekend…I usually always sleep in on the weekend…except when I go and watch Rainbow’s secret training. Now my ears are ringing and I fear I may have to get an unlisted number…ouch. *she whimpers and rubs her ears*

“GIRLS, WAKE UP!” Rainbow Dash yelled, having tied her blanket around her head to try and block out the sound of the bullhorn. The Pegasus had instantly shot up from the alerting noise and instantly began to try and protect her team. “SOMETHING’S HAPPENING AND WE HAVE TO GET MOVING, NOW!”

“I’m…scared…” Fluttershy whimpered, but her voice was basically muted out by the sound of the loud bullhorn combined with the yellow mare’s usual quiet tone.

“THIS IS PROBABLY DISCORD’S DOING!” Celestia instantly accused, racing towards the cabin door and looking enraged, “RUDELY AWAKENING ME LIKE THIS HAS GONE TOO FAR! WHERE IS THAT SPIRIT OF DISHARMONY? I’M GONNA SHOW HIM A THING OR TWO!”

“WAIT FOR US, PRINCESS!” Applejack called out, stumbling clumsily out of her tangled bed sheets as she, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy all quickly chased after their angry princess. Spike was left to fend for himself, the little dragon growling with irritation as he lay on his bed. Apparently, he wasn’t about to let Discord or whoever was blowing the bullhorn get to him.

Outside the two cabins, all the campers except for Spike soon joined together and tried to locate the source of the painstaking bullhorn. Pinkie was still bouncing around in circles and now screaming random things, not just the world ending. Rarity had momentarily forgotten about the noise and was instead happily posing and making many directed compliments to her own body, which she had just realized was fully healed. Twilight was the first one to get a sense of direction and pinpointed the apparent location of the ongoing clamor.

“EVERYONE…IT’S COMING FROM THE BEACH!” the purple unicorn screamed out, loud enough for all the campers to hear her, “QUICK…LET’S FIND THE SOURCE AND PUT AN END TO IT!”

“TRIXIE WILL DESTROY WHOEVER IS DOING THIS!” Trixie roared, her eyes blazing angrily as she gave Twilight a look of determination, “SPARKLE, LEAD THE WAY!”

With a weak nod, Twilight began leading the charge towards the beach, although she was soon passed by the speedy Rainbow Dash and Applejack, not to mention the infuriated Trixie and the giddy Rarity. Spike eventually staggered out of the Royal Ruffians’ cabin, grumbling to himself and rubbing his head. Despite not wanting to let anyone else push him around, he couldn’t shake off the migraine that had been injected into his head by the bullhorn. He saw the tails of all the ponies heading towards the beach, and realizing he’d best just go along with them for now, he sighed and staggered off after them. He was thankful he could walk on two legs, since it allowed him to push his two clawed hands into his ears while he ran along.

Upon reaching the beach first, Rainbow Dash froze in midflight as she spotted the culprit for her rude awakening. Discord was nowhere in sight. Instead, Nightmare Moon was sitting down on the sand, using her magic to levitate and blow a bullhorn, all while wearing a sadistic grin. When all 11 remaining campers eventually staggered or stumbled onto the beach, Nightmare Moon casually dropped the bullhorn and the dreadful noise stopped. Before any of the ponies or Spike could issue an angry statement on the alicorn’s rudeness, Nightmare Moon’s eyes flashed and she glared at the campers.

“It’s about time you ignorant little foals woke up! Do you know how long it’s been since dawn?” she snapped, pointing her long and pointy horn at the campers, “It was only ten minutes ago, and it’s still dark outside! You wasted precious time lounging around in your little beds, and you shall be punished dearly for that!”

“What in the world got up HER rear-end this morning?” Rainbow Dash muttered, glancing sideways at Applejack and giving a little frown, “And where’s Discord? I can’t stand the guy, but at least he doesn’t wake us up before it’s even sunny out!” She stared up at the sky with a grim expression. Since the campers had been so busy trying to locate the source of the irritating bullhorn, they had failed to notice precisely what time it was. Indeed, the sun was barely peeking over the sides of the mountains.

“You, Pegasus!” Nightmare Moon yelled out, instantly shoving her face into Dash’s, “You whispering something to your little mare-friend? You wanna share with the rest of us what you were saying?”

“W-W-W-WHAT?!?! M-M-M-MARE-FRIEND?!?!” Dash shrieked, instantly flushing as Applejack hid her own face behind her hat, “She is NOT my mare-friend, you got that? And get your face out of mine before I…”

“DROP DOWN AND GIVE ME TWENTY PUSHUPS, RIGHT NOW!”

“Excuse me? I’m not doing ANYTHING you say, you creep!”

Nightmare Moon’s face broke into an even eviler grin than she already bore. “Oh yeah? We’ll see about that.” Snickering in amusement at Dash’s defiant and angry expression, Nightmare Moon rose her head towards the sky and closed her eyes. Her majestic horn glowed a dark, black aura as she cast an unknown spell. A second later, a quick rumbling sound echoed through the camp, like a thunderstorm was about to be summoned. However, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Instead, Rainbow Dash let out a shriek of pain as she struck right in the butt by a lightning bolt, seemingly appearing out of nowhere in the sky. “So, care to run that by me again, little foal?”

“OW! OW! OW! OW! OWOWOWOWOWOWOW!” Dash screamed, slamming her butt down onto the sand and starting to drag it around in manic circles, attempting to soothe the pain, “THAT STINGS! THAT’S NOT COOL! MAN, THAT HURTS!”

“Now, drop down and give me twenty pushups, or we’ll have to do that again,” Nightmare Moon smirked, her eyes narrowing in delight at Rainbow’s pain. Giving a slight whimper of fear, Dash eventually laid down on the sand on her stomach and weakly began doing some pushups in front of all the other campers. Since she was doing the exercises in front of them, they all could see a big red mark now on the Pegasus’ blue posterior from the lightning bolt. Trixie loudly snickered as she saw it.

Trixie: Do not think that Trixie likes Nightmare Moon or anything; that pony has a lot of nerve treating us like foals…and calling us as such! But, all the same, seeing her so easily shut that annoying little Pegasus up and humiliate her all without breaking a sweat…Trixie is quite impressed. *she gives a wide grin* Ah, isn’t it nice when the arrogant, no-skilled hacks get what’s coming to them? Trixie loves it!

“Now then, if none of you other foals have anything to say, stand up straight and listen to every word I utter,” Nightmare Moon went on, slowly stalking back and forth in front of the other 10 scared campers, “Today’s challenge is not gonna be so easy, and I’m not even sure if some of you will survive.”

“NOOOOOO! BUT I HAVE SO MUCH TO LIVE FOR!” Rarity shrieked, putting a hoof over her forehead and very nearly fainting, just before remembering she didn’t have her sofa to faint upon.

Ignoring Rarity, Nightmare Moon kept pacing in front of the campers, jabbing her pointy horn at them now and then to get their attention, all while Dash struggled with her pushups behind her. “All eleven of you are gonna go through my special magic-infused boot camp, complete with terrifying, horrible, and potentially-deadly tests. At the end, the one camper left standing will win immunity for his or her team, while the rest will be total losers! Oh, and the losing team will go to the elimination ceremony, too.”

“Um…Nightmare Moon?” Twilight whimpered, weakly raising a hoof to attempt and show respect, “You won’t really try to…kill…anypony here, right? I mean…you’re not like that…right?”

“That’s for me to know and you to possibly find out…very, very soon, Twilight Sparkle,” Nightmare Moon responded, giving the purple unicorn a little smirk and a wink. Twilight audibly gulped and shrunk back behind her scared teammates, not liking this at all.

Giving a loud moan, Rainbow Dash finally picked herself up off the sand and stomped back into line with her own team, muttering under her breath and casting dirty looks in Nightmare Moon’s direction. Spike looked gleeful at Rainbow’s misery, while Applejack looked both embarrassed and worried from what Nightmare Moon had insinuated earlier and by Dash’s ego possibly leading to trouble later on.

Picking up her bullhorn with her magic again, Nightmare Moon blew out another loud blare. “LET’S GET MOVING, FOALS! ALL OF YOU GET TO THE MESS HALL FOR BREAKFAST, THEN GET YOUR REARS BACK OUT HERE FOR THE FIRST PART OF MY BOOT CAMP! MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!” The campers didn’t have to be told twice. Almost before Nightmare Moon was done talking, the 10 ponies and one dragon all hurried off to the mess hall. If they weren’t before, they were all now very wide awake.

Celestia: *angrily* How DARE Nightmare Moon treat my subjects like this! This is uncalled for! I will not stand by and allow her to hurt anypony while I am around! *she stands up and gives a proud stance, but then she once more realizes her size and her inability to use magic, and she slumps back down onto the toilet seat* Actually…perhaps I’ll punish Nightmare Moon’s actions…a bit later.

After another abysmal breakfast, where the black food was as hard as moon rocks and as dense as chunks of diamond, and annoyed yet scared campers eased their way back out onto the campgrounds with a new sense of fear. They whispered amongst themselves what they could be in for and who could possibly last the longest; Rainbow Dash, naturally, was complaining loudly about her sore rump. When Nightmare Moon abruptly crashed down from the lightening skies with her glorious wings a moment later, Dash and the rest of the campers instantly stood still and awaited orders, not wishing to invoke the alicorn’s wrath once again.

“Now then, my little pets, let’s get this show on the road, shall we?” Nightmare Moon grinned, casually striking a proud pose as she lifted her head up high in front of her viewers, “From this point onward, I demand that you each address me as ‘Mistress Nightmare Moon’ when I allow you to speak to me. Is that perfectly clear, foals?”

“You cannot be serious…” Celestia whispered, looking beyond mortified at having to do what she said.

Nightmare Moon’s eyes flashed as a large burst of dark energy exploded from her body. She let out a loud snarl that nearly made the entire island tremble as she glared at the campers. “IS…THAT…CLEAR?”

“Y-Y-YES, MISTRESS N-NIGHTMARE MOON!” the entire camp stuttered in a frightened unison.

“Good. Glad we have an understanding.” Nightmare Moon went back to normal and returned to giving the campers her evil smirk. “Now, even though I don’t much like playing fair, I fear that a little balance is in order. Since the Misfits have one extra player over the Ruffians, they’re gonna have to participate in a pre-test so that one of them gets eliminated immediately. Then, we’ll have five on each side and things will be fairer.”

“That is NOT fair!” Trixie snapped, completely irate as she pointed a hoof up at the alicorn, “It’s not OUR fault that we’re better than those pathetic Ruffians over there; you can’t just punish Trixie’s team for having another player!”

“I can, and I am, so deal with it,” Nightmare Moon said coolly, slowly bringing her face down to Trixie’s level and forcing her to stare into her dangerous pupils, “Perhaps a loudmouthed little foal needs a little taste of punishment, hmm?”

Uttering a gulp and taking a meek step back, Trixie shook her head. “N-no…Mistress Nightmare Moon. Trixie j-just spoke out of turn…it w-won’t happen again.”

“Good girl,” Nightmare Moon snickered, giving Trixie a mock pat on the head as she turned away from the trembling unicorn, “At least you seem to know your place; that’ll serve you well when it’s time to obey my every command. Now then, Misfits, follow me to your pre-test so that one of you might be eliminated and we can start the REAL tests.” The alicorn began trotting along towards the destroyed gymnasium that Gilda had demolished a while back.

The Misfits all followed after Nightmare Moon, giving the Ruffians a chance to catch their breaths and giving Dash a moment to complain about the sore on her rump. Trixie was mortified that she had been scared into submitting to Nightmare Moon, and was muttering under her breath with her head hung low. Cheerilee attempted to console her, but when the unicorn paid no mind to the earth pony, Twilight took her own chance to try and get Trixie to relax. Scootaloo was very nervous about being the one eliminated right away and making Rainbow Dash disappointed, not to mention letting her teacher down as well. Pinkie was just bouncing along and apparently not too frightened at all. Rarity, upon watching Twilight whispering inaudible and encouraging words to Trixie, made her think back to the other night.

Rarity: I haven’t told Twilight about Trixie’s backstory yet. If anypony can help out that unicorn, it’d be Twilight. But…I’m not quite sure how to tell her; it would be incredibly awkward and almost rude to just bring up what Trixie shared with me without good reason. It would also show a lack of class. *she ponders to herself* Hmm…I think I’ll share the news with Twilight…when the time is right. Yes, that’ll do.

“Okay, Misfits, welcome to what used to be our gymnasium before that wretched griffon destroyed it,” Nightmare Moon growled, coming upon the crumbling building, “Ugh, I am NOT wasting my magic repairing this thing. That stupid, lazy draconequus can’t even waste a few moments of his time to fix this place? Sure, he can wreak havoc on that backwater town of Ponyville and yet he can’t even fix a gym? So pathetic. But, alas, there is nothing I can do; I’m certainly not raising my horn to fix this mess myself. So, Misfits, are you ready for your one-member elimination contest?”

“Y-yes, Mistress Nightmare Moon,” the Misfits all droned in unison, Trixie’s voice being notably deeper and angrier than the rest.

“Excellent. Here is what you all have to do.” Nightmare Moon cast a spell and levitated six strange wooden devices onto the ruined gymnasium floor. Each one was about three feet tall, about the height of the average mare standing on her hind legs. The bottom of each device had a wooden platform, and connected to the tops of the devices were two small slabs of wood held up by sheets of metal connecting the entire unusual thing together. “All six of you must stand on your hind legs on each of these wooden contraptions and put your hooves on each of the wooden panels on the top to keep your balance. Then, you just try and hold that position for as long as you can. Naturally, the weakest of your team will be eliminated first when they simply can’t take anymore and drop out, and then we’ll have the five-on-five for the challenge.”

“Um…Mistress Nightmare Moon?” Scootaloo squeaked, weakly raising one of her forelegs into the air, “Even on my hind legs, I don’t think I’m tall enough to…” Before she got finished talking, Nightmare Moon rolled her eyes and cast a spell on the end contraption, lowering the wooden panels down two feet, making it look much more suited for the filly. “…oh, um, thank you very much.”

“If that’s all for your insignificant questions, I suggest you hurry over there and pick a device to get situated on before I lose my patience,” the dark alicorn warned, tapping her left front hoof in annoyance. The Misfits didn’t need to be told twice. Giving Scootaloo the end contraption, the rest of the campers all hurried over and picked out one for themselves. As soon as they did, all six females got into position and the pre-contest was on.

Pinkie Pie had leaped up almost immediately and pressed her hooves to the top panels, and seemed to be almost content at standing on her hind legs. Twilight and Trixie both struggled to get themselves up, but once they did, they found that their light bodies made it rather easily to stand still, and they were also getting calmed down. Rarity’s hind legs, despite having been healed overnight, were still slightly numb after an entire night of not being used, and was struggling to maintain her balance after standing up as easily as Pinkie did. Scootaloo, thanks to the height reduction, didn’t seem to mind the challenge at all, and was actually looking just like Pinkie with how content she was. Cheerilee clearly showed signs of not being used to such a challenge, and all four of her legs kept wobbling, making it look like she could drop almost immediately upon getting up in the first place.

“This isn’t so bad, right girls?” Pinkie cheered, going so far as to bounce up and down on her hind legs, as though she had been standing on them her entire life, “It gives you a good stretch, too! Wanna sing a song to pass the time?”

“No…Pinkie…I’d rather not…thank you,” Rarity wheezed, struggling to hold herself up as her hind legs were nearly giving out after only five minutes of standing on them, “Oh dear…curse Discord for confining me to that horrible wheelchair for an entire evening. Does he not know…just how important my legs are?”

“Humph…complain all you want, but Trixie is not bowing out, that’s for certain,” Trixie sniffed, standing up as tall as she could and soon looking like a statue, “Trixie does this all the time, you see. Not exactly in this manner, but she is often showing off her glamorous body onstage during her shows. Standing on her exquisite hind legs is no problem.”

Twilight snickered from next to the show-mare, inciting a glare from the latter. “Sorry, Trix…I couldn’t help myself. You’re pretty and everything, but…you should really listen to yourself sometimes. You really can give a pony a good laugh.”

“How DARE you, Sparkle! Do you mock Trixie’s speech? Besides, Trixie already listens to herself talk, and she is by far better at talking than YOU could ever hope to be, foal!” Trixie gave an enthusiastic growl towards Twilight, who once again giggled and just let Trixie have her way.

Next to the two mares, on the far right side of the gym, Cheerilee and Scootaloo had once again put themselves together. Or, rather, Cheerilee had quickly gotten next to Scootaloo, seeing as how the filly’s contraption was on the far right of the gym anyway. Ironically, Cheerilee had been planning on boosting the filly’s confidence during this hard test, since she didn’t want Scootaloo to get crushed at being the first one out, but the teacher was having a hard time staying upright than the filly did. When she noticed this, Twilight quickly called out to her to assist her.

“Cheerilee, plant all four of your hooves flat against the three wooden platforms,” the unicorn explained, having already figured out how to excel at this, “Then stand up straight and try to keep your entire body vertical while pressing your hooves firmly into the wood panels at the top. It might wear you down eventually, but for a short time, it’ll help you balance.”

“Okay, Twilight…I’ll try that.” Cheerilee nodded to Twilight as thanks, then took her advice and readjusted her position so that her hooves were all flat on the wooden surfaces. She then stood up as straight as she could, and after pressing firmly into the top panels, she was thrilled to find herself relaxed and finally balanced. “Ah, I did it! Thank you very much, Twilight!”

“Anything to help, Cheerilee.”

“Scootaloo! How are you doing?” Cheerilee glanced over to the side, and immediately smiled when she saw the filly standing up without a care in the world.

“Never better, Miss Cheerilee!” she grinned, “We Pegasi have good balance, thanks to our wings. Dash would be so proud of me, so I’m not about to go out first.”

Cheerilee: Nightmare Moon and Discord are very different, despite both being harbingers of chaos. Discord, despite being a bit unbalanced, enjoys creating playful chaos that isn’t potentially dangerous, but at the same time could make the world bend to his whims in an instant. Nightmare Moon uses the opposite tactic. She uses fear and pain as her chaos. This challenge is showing that.

Ten minutes passed, and none of the ponies had dropped out yet. Pinkie still hadn’t broken a sweat, and was even doing a funky little dance on her platform, which included shaking her booty and sliding her hooves up and down on the wooden panels. Rarity was sweaty profusely and looked ready to faint, but still she remained, despite her constant complaining about how she was being drenched. Trixie was pretending that she was giving a show, which allowed her to stand up tall and confident and keep her balance perfectly. Twilight had her eyes closed and was tuning everything out, pretending that she was reading a book back at her library to soothe the pain her four weak legs were beginning to feel. Cheerilee and Scootaloo were having a little chat with each other, to take their minds off the challenge at hand and instead focus on remaining calm and not losing focus.

“…so then Apple Bloom snuck into Zecora’s hut and came back with a love potion!” Scootaloo was explaining, giving a little snicker, “We told her that it smelled strange and it clearly was not the strawberry juice that we needed for our punch that we were making for Twist’s birthday party, but she refused to listen. Then, Apple Bloom gave it a little taste herself as soon as we got back to town, and let’s just say that Zecora really knows how to brew a good love potion.”

“Oh dear…um, what exactly happened to Apple Bloom?” Cheerilee asked, both amused a bit worried at the same time from hearing Scootaloo’s tale of her team’s usual misadventures.

Scootaloo whistled a bit, turning away from her teacher. “Sorry, Miss Cheerilee, but I can’t tell you that. Sweetie Belle and I were sworn to secrecy to not reveal the embarrassing situation Apple Bloom got herself in after she tasted that love potion. But, let’s just say that the first pony she saw wasn’t very thrilled about the effects of the love potion. Sweetie Belle and I had to rush to Zecora’s to get an antidote before things really got chaotic.”

Cheerilee: This is precisely why I worry about Scootaloo and her friends. If they aren’t careful, they’re really gonna do something that’s gonna hurt somepony. A love potion is dangerous business; there’s nothing Zecora can’t make, that’s for sure. *curiously* Huh…I wonder if this was during that time when I saw Diamond Tiara screaming and galloping down the street as fast as she could…

“No…hold it…gotta hold it…” Rarity gasped, her four legs trembling and now barely holding her upright, the sweat continuing to soak her glamorous body and mangle her mane, “I can’t…go out first…oh, but the pain…and this horrid sweat…I can’t take it!” Finally, after 15 minutes had passed, Rarity’s hooves finally slipped off the top two panels, partly due to the enormous amount of sweat she had secreted. Rarity whimpered in humiliation as she fell off the platform and crash-landed face-first onto the dirty gymnasium floor.

Nightmare Moon smirked from nearby and raised herself up off the cushion she had summoned as a seat. “Ah, and it seems we’ve got ourselves a loser! Rarity is eliminated from the challenge, meaning Cheerilee, Pinkie, Scootaloo, Trixie and Twilight all move on. You foals are free to stop now.”

Large gasps of air and exclamations of relief flooded the gym as the other five campers all finally dropped their forelegs and jumped off their platforms. Cheerilee and Twilight both looked exhausted, neither one being the fitness type of pony, but otherwise both mares seemed perfectly fine. Trixie immediately began to brag about how she dominated that challenge and how sad Rarity was for being the first one out. Pinkie began to comfort the downed Rarity, while Scootaloo seemed to be whispering something about how thankful she was to not be first.

Pushing Pinkie Pie aside, Nightmare Moon stepped up to the twitching Rarity and gently lifted up her chin so that the unicorn could stare up at her. “Rarity, you gave a fine effort, and you have nothing to be ashamed about.” Just as Rarity was about to give a weak smile, Nightmare Moon quickly slammed her hoof onto the back of her head and shoed her face back down onto the cracked gym floor. “EXCEPT FOR BEING A TOTAL LOSER AND BEING THE FIRST FOAL TO DROP OUT AND LET YOUR TEAM DOWN! HAHAHA, THIS IS RICH!”

“That is SO mean,” Pinkie muttered, but when Nightmare Moon shot her a look, the pink pony instantly smiled and tilted her head, “I said ‘hats are the color green’, Mistress Nightmare Moon! Ooh, but they’re also the color brown, like Applejack’s hat!”

“Yes…I will call in an appointment to have your head examined, but in the meantime, the rest of you get your flanks back out there,” Nightmare Moon barked, pointing her hoof towards the gym door, “It’s now five-on-five and the REAL challenges are about to begin. MOVE IT, FOALS!” Despite all the ponies, including Trixie, giving Rarity a look of pity, they all quickly stampeded out to avoid another bawling out by the black alicorn. Giving Rarity one last mocking sneer, Nightmare Moon vanished in a burst of black energy, leaving the white unicorn to wallow on the floor in misery.

Rarity: *overdramatically* NOOOOOOO! Oh, this is HORRIBLE! How could this happen to me? I was treated as the laughingstock of my entire team, AND Nightmare Moon! And my mane…oh, my beautiful mane! All this sweat…my sore muscles…my aching posterior…this is a true nightmare within a nightmare! This is the WORST…POSSIBLE…THING!” *she gave a dramatic sigh, then proceeded to faint*

“Worthless foals who will soon all be my unworthy subjects, we have returned!” Nightmare Moon’s voice blared out, appearing in her usual burst of black energy and startling the bored Royal Ruffians, “Did you all miss your mistress?”

“Nightmare Moon, I hope you remember just who it is you’re speaking to,” Celestia growled, her eyes locking onto the big alicorn, “I am STILL the ruler of Equestria, and I’d watch my tongue if I were you. You can abuse me all you wish while I’m here, but the moment I leave this island…you and Discord WILL pay for what you’ve done.”

“That sounds like a threat, puny princess,” Nightmare Moon smirked, showing that she was more amused than angry by Celestia’s boast, “Not a bad threat, I must admit, but not one that is worthy of my time or patience. But, since you failed to call me ‘mistress’, here is your reward.” Taking a page out of Discord’s book, Nightmare Moon’s horn glowed, and the usual bucket appeared above Celestia’s head. This time, however, the princess was drenched with apple juice instead of water.

“Aw, shoot…that ain’t good, Princess,” Applejack gulped, quickly removing the bucket from the irate princess’ head, “Apple juice can get mighty sticky if it’s not washed out right away.”

“Do not worry, Applejack…my coat being sticky is the least of my worries,” Celestia grumbled, wiping her eyes with a hoof to get some excess juice out of them. She gave the laughing Nightmare Moon a murderous look, but since she didn’t wish to think that way, she instead pretended that Nightmare Moon was still her sister, Luna.

Celestia: *with her mane soaked with apple juice, it’s sticking in all directions and makes the princess look slightly like Vinyl Scratch’s crazy mane* I try not to think malicious and horrible things upon ANYPONY, no matter who they might be. As much as I detest Nightmare Moon, I simply wish to punish her, not severely hurt her. *her rare creepy grin pokes at her lips* A trip to the sun, perhaps?

“Rarity was the first one out?” Spike asked, seeing the Misfits walk back onto the scene and not seeing the fashion pony with them, “Huh…well, can’t say that’s a shocker. Rarity’s pretty, but not so good at physical challenges. I was surprised at how well she did at that Sisterhooves Social thingy.”

“Unicorns in general aren’t made for physical challenges, you silly dragon,” Rainbow Dash explained, “They just don’t have the awesomeness that we Pegasi have in our incredible wings. Oh, and earth ponies are pretty strong too, I suppose.” She shot Applejack a weak grin to avoid a beating, which AJ was just about to inflict on Dash for her rude statement. Twilight, however, frowned over at Rainbow Dash and was determined to prove her wrong.

“Now, since it’s five-on-five, both teams are gonna compete in three more challenges,” Nightmare Moon explained, “During each challenge, both teams will have to keep going until one member from each team is eliminated. During the final challenge, the final three from each team will have to outlast the others until only one remains. Are you foals ready to begin?”

“Mistress Nightmare Moon, I’m a dragon,” Spike sighed, raising his hand into the air, “Why do you keep calling ME a foal? That doesn’t even make sense!”

“I’ll let you know when I start to care, little dragon, now SILENCE!” Nightmare Moon’s eyes flashed, forcing Spike to retreat and put his hand down. Dash snickered at the dragon getting yelled at, which Spike reciprocated by shaking his fist at the Pegasus.

Rainbow Dash: *mockingly* It’s so cute how tough Spike thinks he is. But, if we lose this challenge, he’ll be the one going home. I still don’t see why Applejack is so worried; Spike’s about as scary as a rock.

Spike: *cracking his knuckles* Okay, Dash, be prepared to have your mind blown by my skills! We’ll see who’s the last one laughing. *whispers darkly* For Silver Spoon, I will not fail.

“The first challenge will begin in thirty seconds,” Nightmare Moon announced, pacing idly in front of the campers, “I won’t ruin the surprise of what’s about to happen, but let’s just say that it’ll be very shocking and you might want to keep on the move.”

“Ooh, ooh, it sounds like we’re gonna have a dance competition!” Pinkie squealed excitedly, “I can totally bust a move, and dancing is so very shocking because if you dance enough on a certain flooring, you’ll get weird little zaps going through your hooves and they feel so very weird! Like, this one time I was dancing at a party with this fuzzy rug, and when I went to go hug somepony, we totally got zapped! It was like, ‘oh my! There’s electricity in the rug’, but it was a clear day out so I don’t really see how that was possible! Did Rainbow Dash hide some storm clouds in the house or something? I had no idea!”

“Pinkie, that’s called static electricity,” Twilight explained, “When you rub your hooves quickly on nylon or other types of material, they have a tendency to release electrons into the air, which usually stick to your body. The electricity builds up until you touch something, which is why you get a shock when you hugged your friend.”

Pinkie tilted her head as she listened to Twilight, the same little smile always stretched out across her mouth. When Twilight was done speaking, Pinkie simply giggled and gave the unicorn a hug. “Aww, Twilight, you’re so cute. I have no idea what you just said, but it sounded super important and very meaningful, so I’ll just pretend that I did and thank you for the information. Thanks, Twilight! Now I know about…whatever it was you were saying!”

Twilight groaned loudly and shook her head, then patted Pinkie on the back and returned her hug, albeit not as enthusiastically. “Glad I could be of service, Pinkie.”

Pinkie: *sitting and contemplating, pushing her hoof into her chin thoughtfully and rolling her eyes around* Hmm…built-up electricity…electrons…shock when you hug… *she gasps, then giggles and blushes slightly* Aww, I understand now! Static electricity is the love that I have in my heart for Twilight, and when I hug her, I get a warm shock that only I can feel! Yup, I totally understand it now!

“First off, this is not a dancing competition,” Nightmare Moon frowned, giving Pinkie an annoyed look, “Second, how can you always be so perky? Are you not scared of me and what is about to happen to you? Do you not fear the unknown, Pinkie Pie?”

“Nope, sure don’t!” Pinkie smiled, still snuggling Twilight, who was attempting to break free of the absentminded pony’s grasp, “Don’t you remember when we stopped you from being a big meanie and making the world have everlasting night? I sang a happy song to make the ghostly monsters all go away! I get scared, sure, but not knowing the unknown is what’s so totally awesome! Besides, with my friends at my side, I can do anything without worry.”

Nightmare Moon raised an eyebrow at this, staring into the blue eyes of the happy party pony and thinking about what she just said. “Hmm…you are… a complete idiot. However…your words intrigue me. They make no sense to me, but they still intrigue me.” She gave a little smirk, then glanced up at the cloudless sky. “But, be that as it may, it’s time to dish out some pain! Ponies, dragon boy, on your guard! LET’S GET IT ON!” Her horn ignited with black energy, and almost instantly dark storm clouds began appearing above the campers’ heads.

“Oh no…I-I don’t like this one b-bit,” Fluttershy whimpered, running over and cowering at Rainbow Dash’s side as the camp was soon overshadowed by the magical storm clouds, thrusting the island into a state of darkness. “W-w-what’s gonna h-h-happen, Dash?”

“I dunno, but it can’t be good,” Dash frowned, glaring up at the clouds, “Whatever it is, bring it on! The rest of you be ready for whatever might COME!” Just as Dash finished speaking, one of the lightning bolts that had struck her in the posterior from earlier came flashing down from the clouds directly above her head. Dash managed to dodge aside, accidentally talking and protecting Fluttershy in the process, as the bolt of lightning slammed into the ground and created a small, black crater where Dash had stood only seconds before.

“Holy mother of Celestia!” Trixie shrieked, “THIS IS A DANCE COMPETITION…A DANCE COMPETITION TO SEE WHO CAN DODGE THE MOST LIGHTNING BOLTS!” The unicorn shrieked as she heard a flash above her head, dodging just in time, her tail nearly getting fried by a second lightning bolt.

“Yep, I lied, that’s indeed what it is,” Nightmare Moon smirked, stepping away from the horrified campers and casting a spell over herself to make herself immune to the lightning, “The first two campers to get struck are out and we can move onto the next challenge. Until then…dance for me, you foals!” She sat down on her haunches to watch the show, and the campers instantly scattered and began running around frantically.

“GIRLS, STAY CALM!” Twilight called out over the thunderous booms from above, trying to lead her team, “DON’T FALL VICTIM TO RUNNING AROUND CRAZILY; YOU’RE MORE LIKELY TO GET STRUCK THAT WAY! STAND STILL AND DODGE WHEN YOU HEAR A BOOM OR SEE A FLASH OF LIGHT ABOVE YOUR HEAD!” Taking her own advice, despite being very scared, she forced herself to stop running and stay still. When a light flashed over her head, she quickly dodged to the side and evaded a lightning bolt.

“THAT’S EASY FOR YOU TO SAY, SPARKLE!” Trixie cried, but deciding to trust Twilight for once, she gulped and stayed still. When a flash appeared above her head, she very nearly froze up in terror, but she just managed to dodge again. It was one of the most horrifying feelings one could experience, and Trixie didn’t like it.

Pinkie immediately followed Twilight’s advice, but took it to another level; she began dancing from side to side, soon turning the deadly game of “dodge the lightning bolts” into a silly game of “dance with the lightning bolts”. Cheerilee was doing fine on her own as well, but Scootaloo was absolutely terrified out of her little mind. She was basically at odds with herself. One part of her wanted to obey Twilight. Another part of her wanted to seek shelter with her teacher. Still another part of her wanted to run to Rainbow Dash for protection, even though she was on the other team. This left the filly vulnerable to the lightning, due to not being able to make up her mind.

The Royal Ruffians had overheard Twilight’s advice, and despite Rainbow Dash hating to stand still and preferring to fly around to dodge the lightning instead, she took the higher route for once and actually tried to listen to reason. Spike could move very quickly, thanks to him standing on two legs, and his fierce determination to not lose this challenge aided his passion. Fluttershy was as terrified as Scootaloo, if not more so, and Applejack was eventually forced to put the scared Pegasus on her back and carry her around with her; AJ herself was confident enough that she could dodge lightning bolts all day long anyway. Celestia was struggling badly, and very nearly had her wings clipped by the lightning more than twice already.

“SCOOTALOO, MOVE!” Cheerilee screamed over the thunder, trying to be stern to get the filly to be braver, “THAT LAST ONE ALMOST GOT YOU! YOU CAN’T BE SCARED, SCOOTALOO! DON’T LET FEAR OVERTAKE YOU! MISTRESS NIGHTMARE MOON ONLY WISHES TO SCARE US, BUT IF WE STICK TOGETHER AND SHOW BRAVERY, WE’LL WIN!”

“I-I-I-I…I-I-I-I…I CAN’T!” Scootaloo sobbed, eventually just curling up into a ball and cowering, “I CAN’T DO THIS! JUST GET IT OVER WITH ALREADY!” Almost as soon as she submitted, a large burst of light flashed over Scootaloo’s head, and Cheerilee knew what was coming. She couldn’t let it happen to Scootaloo. This was too much for her. Scootaloo was right, though; this had to end quickly. The sooner the better. Gritting her teeth and whispering something to herself, Cheerilee burst forward at the last possible second and shoved Scootaloo aside just as the lightning bolt came down.

“CHEERILEE, NO!”

“YOU STUPID FOAL! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!”

“OH NO, OH NO, OH NO!”

“MISS CHEERILEE, NO!”

Pinkie, Twilight, Trixie and Scootaloo all watched in horror as the lightning bolt struck Cheerilee right in the back as she once again rescued Scootaloo from the painful elimination. True to her word, Nightmare Moon’s magic didn’t kill Cheerilee, but it got as close as possible. The lightning bolt surged through Cheerilee’s body and instantly lit her up like a weathervane. The mare’s mane and tail instantly ignited into balls of fluff and her body was seared as dark as a burnt apple. Cheerilee’s shrieks of pain echoed through the stunned campsite, her body feeling like ten billion tiny needles was stabbing her skin. Then, just as soon as it had begun, the lightning bolt vanished and Cheerilee collapsed onto the ground. She didn’t move.

“It seems we have the first elimination from the Misfits,” Nightmare Moon announced, “Thanks to her rather noble, yet incredibly stupid sacrifice, Cheerilee is out. Now, that just leaves the Ruffians. Which one of them will join the fallen foal?”

Having witnessed the horrifying sight of one of their own go down so easily and so terrible from a bolt of lightning, the Ruffians were stunned. As Twilight and her three remaining teammates rushed to help the burnt Cheerilee, Celestia finally snapped. With her eyes ablaze, she pointed a hoof over at Nightmare Moon. “YOU EVIL ALICORN! HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO ME AND MY SUBJECTS? I DON’T CARE IF MY POWER IS GONE! I’M GONNA SHOW YOU WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU MESS WITH…”

“PRINCESS, LOOK OUT!” But Applejack’s warning came too late, and thanks to the added weight of Fluttershy slowing her down, she couldn’t get there in time to save the princess from a second lightning bolt. A flash and large boom was all that Celestia remembered before she felt what Cheerilee had just gone through.

Celestia’s scream of pain was almost two times as powerful as Cheerilee’s, which might’ve been due to her being the ruler of Equestria. Her body, having been reduced to a little mare thanks to Discord, wasn’t as strong as Cheerilee’s. The lightning that surged through her body made it feel like the tiny princess was on fire. The electricity kept her eyes wedged open and her body was instantly thrown into paralysis. Like Cheerilee, her mane and tail burst into all directions and her beautiful white coat was soon reduced to the color of soot from a chimney. And then, just as quickly as the lightning bolt shot down, it vanished. The clouds parted a moment later.

“Well, that’s that,” Nightmare Moon smirked, having to suppress her giggles of delight at having seen her biggest nemesis get shocked by lightning, “Cheerilee and Celestia are both eliminated. Don’t worry about them; they’re not dead. They’re simply paralyzed and probably in a momentary coma. I’ll send them to the infirmary and they’ll be as good as new before the elimination ceremony tonight.” Her horn flashed with black energy, and both downed ponies were soon whisked away, leaving a stunned and horrified silence in their wake.

Scootaloo: *hugging her hind legs close to her chest and rocking back and forth on the toilet, looking like she had just seen a ghost* Miss Cheerilee…why? Why…why, why, why? It was meant for me…not for you…why? Why, why, why? *she clenched her eyes shut, and soon began to sob* Just you watch…that’s the LAST time you’re gonna have to defend me, Miss Cheerilee. This won’t happen again.

Rainbow Dash: Whoa…did you all see that? Man, the princess just got FRIED! She probably shouldn’t have been wasting her time yelling at Nightmare Moon; there’d be plenty of time for that later. *she shrugs and casually crosses her forelegs* Well…what can you do? What’s done is done. Hopefully she’ll make a full recovery. *shockingly, she gives a little grin* That…was actually kinda fun, you know?

“This next challenge, my shocked little foals, is an obstacle course to test your pathetic abilities,” Nightmare Moon cackled, leading the eight remaining angry campers to the next part of the boot camp, “Once again, you will have to keep doing it over and over again until one member from you team eventually falls out and is eliminated. Any worthwhile questions that you feel like asking and that I will probably just ignore anyway?”

The campers observed the obstacle course that had been set out in front of them. The entire course was laden with deep mud, complete with suspicious areas that looked like quicksand. Two huge climbing walls 10-feet-tall sat at the start and at the end. There was several black tires to trot and jump through. A swinging guillotine, which the campers were praying was made of rubber, was swinging back and forth in the middle of the course and had to be crawled under. Finally, there was a large pit near the middle of the course as well, which went 10-feet-deep and was 5-feet-wide. Slogging through mud and jumping over such a pit wouldn’t be an easy task.

“Man, this is too easy,” Rainbow Dash bragged, stretching her wings and looking excited, despite how the rest of the campers all looked the exact opposite, “Watch my own brand of magic that I use with my wings, ponies!”

“I’M…A…DRAGON!” Spike roared, “WHY DO YOU ALL KEEP FORGETTING ABOUT ME?!?!”

“Eh-hem, sorry to interrupt you, but I’m afraid that you won’t be allowed to use your wings on THIS obstacle course,” Nightmare Moon explained, grinning at Rainbow Dash, “That would make it way too easy, you see. So, try using your wings, and you’re eliminated.”

“WHAT?!?! OH, COME ON, THAT’S NOT FAIR!”

“Don’t you raise that tone with me.”

“I’LL RAISE WHATEVER TONE I WANT WITH YOU, NIGHTMARE MOON!”

“What did I say to address me as?”

“SHUT UP!”

Seeing that another lesson was in order, Nightmare Moon’s horn glowed and soon another lightning bolt flashed out of the sky and shot straight into the other side of Rainbow’s butt, giving her two red marks and making her scream in pain once again. Her rump began to have some billow from it a bit from the powerful blast of electricity, forcing the Pegasus to once again drag her backside along on the ground to quell the pain. The rest of the campers all sighed and shook their heads in dismay.

“Now, another twenty pushups, if you’d please,” Nightmare Moon grinned, “Oh, and I want you to use a sentence or two that says ‘Mistress Nightmare Moon’ twice. You got that?”

Glaring angry daggers up at the alicorn, but not wishing to invoke yet another blast of pain to her posterior, the blue Pegasus grumbled and once again got into position for some pushups. “Yes…Mistress Nightmare Moon. I’ll do the twenty pushups right now…Mistress Nightmare Moon.”

“What a good little mare you are for actually doing what you’re told,” Nightmare Moon sneered, watching the Pegasus start doing her forced pushups, “Let’s just wait and watch you before we start the obstacle course challenge, shall we? Don’t worry, I’m sure your teammates won’t mind just sitting back and watching you.”

“I hate you,” Rainbow Dash whispered.

Applejack: *groaning and looking up at the ceiling of the confessional, exasperated* When will that silly filly ever learn to keep her yap shut? Doesn’t she realize that it ain’t doin’ anypony any good with her actin’ like a foal? Plus, her rump keeps gettin’ punished fer it! *she blushes slightly at that, then coughs to end the awkward silence* Er…not that ah was payin’ attention to her rump at all, ya see.

After Dash’s humiliating twenty pushups, complete with her trying to cover up her sore tush with her tail, Nightmare Moon ordered the eight contestants to the starting line of the obstacle course, which was more like a training course. Twilight and Trixie were both visibly shaken by what they had facing them down, with Twilight trying to quickly make a plan of action in her head on how to handle this. Pinkie, once again, seemed excited. Scootaloo looked scared, but very determined.

“Ready to be cooked and served, Twilight?” Rainbow Dash grinned, waving over to the five Misfits and playfully sticking out her tongue at them, “Be prepared to eat my dust, because we Ruffians are gonna show you Misfits just how it’s done.”

“You realize, Dash, that someone from your team has to be eliminated before we move on, right?” Twilight pointed out, raising an eyebrow at Dash’s lack of acknowledgement by this point.

“Y-yeah, so…a member from your team is still gonna go down before a member of our team does!”

Spike slapped his forehead and gave Applejack and Fluttershy both an expression that seemed to say: “THIS is the pony you decided to keep all this time?” Applejack and Fluttershy both gave Rainbow Dash a disappointed and annoyed look, but couldn’t help but stifle a little giggle between them. Much to Spike’s annoyance, the two ponies still cared for their Pegasus friend and found her to simply be acting like herself. Spike wondered why he had been put on this team to begin with.

Spike: *confidently* A little training course with a dangerous blade…axe…thingy…and some quicksand and climbing walls and a giant pit? Yeah, I’m totally not scared! Bring it on! I’m gonna show that disloyal Rainbow Dash a thing or two about being a TRUE competitor and not letting your ego get in the way. *he grins a bit* Save that for the confessionals or your special lady friend instead.

“Okay, after you finish one lap, immediately run around and start another one,” Nightmare Moon barked, “Do not stop until I say you stop. When a camper gets incapacitated and can no longer continue, I will eliminate them on the spot. Keep going until one teammate on each side has been eliminated. Okay, on your marks…get set…GO!” The alicorn raised her horn into the air and let off a black spark, making a loud cracking sound to indicate the start of the race. The campers all took off through the mud at once.

The track was not easygoing. The mud was nearly three inches deep, making it nearly impossible for the somewhat small campers to slog through. Rainbow Dash was visibly miffed at not being able to use her wings, but didn’t seem to mind the mud that much. Applejack was charging straight through the course like she was back home in her apple orchard. Spike used his bipedal status to make quick work of the course, using his hands to easily climb up the climbing walls and for balance through the thick mud. Fluttershy took nearly 10 seconds to move two feet through the mud, and was whimpering like crazy before even coming to the first climbing wall.

“C’MON, FLUTTERSHY, PICK UP THE PACE!” Rainbow Dash called back, giving a perfect leap through one of the tire swings and heading towards the swinging guillotine, “JUST BE BRAVE!”

“I…I…um, that is…I don’t really…help!” Fluttershy cried, getting stuck in one of the quicksand pits and slowly beginning to sink, “Oh, please, help me! Um, if you want to, and if it isn’t a hassle, that is…”

“Oh for the love of…Spike, go back and help her!” Dash demanded, focusing on the race, “It’s important that I keep going. Besides, you have hands that you can use; make it quick, will ya?”

Spike was about to tell Rainbow Dash to go take a flying leap of a cliff, but knowing that she had wings, it probably wouldn’t have been that much of an insult. With a little growl, the dragon forced himself to turn around, going back to assist his scared and timid teammate.

“Bouncy, bouncy, bouncy!” Pinkie giggled, hopping through a few tires like she was playing hopscotch, “Ooh, Twilight, you need some help?” After glancing up ahead to see the next part of the muddy course, she spied Twilight struggling to get up one of the climbing walls, due to her weak leg muscles.

“That would be great, Pinkie, thank YOU!” Twilight screamed out as Pinkie appeared right behind her before she even finished talking and proceeded to throw her right over the top of the wall with ease. Pinkie then took a huge leap out of the mud, as though it were nothing, and landed hard on the other side all in one fluid motion.

“Yay! Hey, Twilight, did you…Twilight?” Pinkie blinked and looked around, noticing that Twilight had seemingly vanished, “Twilight? Where did you go? Did I throw you too high and you just didn’t come down yet? But I could’ve sworn that you came down!” She curiously peered up at the sky, not hearing the low groans from underneath her hooves and failing to see the twitching tail of a unicorn sticking out from the mud under the earth pony.

Twilight: *completely covered with mud* I swear, one of these days, Pinkie is gonna kill me with her kindness. *she tries wiping some mud off her face, but only manages to smear it around* Ugh! I’m starting to see just why Rarity hates being dirty…although I still question why she enjoys getting mudpacks on her face at the spa. This is horrible! I think I really need to take a shower.

“Ugh, this is truly dreadful!” Trixie complained, gulping and slowly crawling underneath the swinging guillotine, the deadly blade just skimming over the top of her mane, “Not only is Trixie getting mud all over her beautiful body, but she could seriously be sliced up into pieces with one wrong move! That is not acceptable and would be a big setback for Trixie’s illustrious career!”

“It’s best if you try not to think about it too much, Trixie,” Scootaloo pointed out, crawling past Trixie, since she was a lot faster and didn’t mind getting dirty, “I was scared in that lightning challenge, but we just have to keep pushing forward without fear or else we’ll be eliminated, right?”

“Trixie doesn’t need the likes of a little filly lecturing her!” Trixie scoffed, quickly catching up to the sad filly and pushing past her.

Scootaloo: *sighing* Sometimes, it’s so hard being a filly, you know? None of the older ponies ever take you seriously. It’s probably why Rainbow Dash never really pays me any mind, too. *even softer* And it’s why Miss Cheerilee keeps sacrificing herself for me…it’s because I don’t belong here and everypony knows it. If we lose…I know it’s gonna be me going home. Useless old Scootaloo is going next.

“PICK IT UP, SLACKERS!” Nightmare Moon yelled, watching from the sidelines and keeping her eyes on each and every camper, “FLUTTERSHY, GET MOVING BEFORE I MAKE YOU MOVE! PINKIE, STOP PLAYING WITH THE GUILLOTINE; IT’S NOT A TOY! RAINBOW DASH, STOP SHOWBOATING AND KEEP MOVING BEFORE I PUNISH YOU AGAIN!”

“Why can’t I showboat? I already completed this training course five times!” Dash complained, her whole body caked with mud, “Fluttershy hasn’t even completed it once yet!”

“Be that as it may, if you keep showing up your fellow campers, I’m gonna have to deflate your ego.”

Rainbow Dash grumbled under her breath and simply started on the course for her sixth time. “I’d like to deflate that alicorn’s MOUTH.” Thankfully, Nightmare Moon didn’t hear her, but she did hear what Dash said next. Since Spike was still on his own first lap, due to him constantly helping Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash ended up passing them a moment later and couldn’t help but give the dragon a little taunt. “You make me sad, Spike; can’t even help Fluttershy complete one lap, can you? You’re so useless!”

“At least I’m TRYING, Dash!” Spike spat back, baring his fangs and wanting nothing more than to wipe that smirk off Dash’s face, “That’s the least I can say for you! Why don’t you take over helping Fluttershy while you give me my chance to complete a lap?”

“Hmm…yeah, I suppose I could do that, but…that’s just not my style to let others get ahead of me.” Rainbow Dash laughed and stuck her tongue out at the dragon, accidentally making Fluttershy a bit humiliated herself at her own ineptitude. Then, just as Dash was about to climb over the second climbing wall again, she yelped as she was levitated off the course and over to Nightmare Moon.

“You just earned yourself another twenty pushups, you little brat!” the alicorn snapped, the aura around her horn vanishing as she dropped the annoyed Rainbow Dash in front of her.

“Why? I didn’t do anything wrong!”

“Perhaps, but you’re annoying, which is good enough for me. Now, get going with your pushups!”

“You know what? No! Why don’t you kiss my flank, you stupid alicorn? I utterly refuse to be humiliated by you in front of everypony else one more time!” Rainbow Dash angrily sat down on her sore rump and glared up at Nightmare Moon, this time intent on not moving no matter how many lightning bolts struck her.

Nightmare Moon’s eyes narrowed as the other seven campers all gasped and froze in their tracks, looking over at Dash to see what would happen to her thanks to her defiance. After a moment of silence, no lightning bolt came. However, the blue Pegasus did find herself picked up by Nightmare Moon’s magic and slowly levitated back towards camp, the alicorn following right behind. Dash attempted to struggle, but she was no match for the alicorn’s strength. When Dash saw the angry, dark look in Nightmare Moon’s eyes, she began to regret her decision of standing up for herself.

“You’re eliminated from the challenge due to your attitude,” Nightmare Moon whispered, her voice etched with darkness and spiked with rage, “But, that’s not good enough. I’m throwing you into the Camp Paradox dungeon for the rest of the day until the elimination ceremony tonight!”

“W-w-w-what? D-d-d-dungeon?” Dash squeaked, trembling and casting her gaze around the camp to see what the alicorn meant, “Um…hehe…w-w-w-what dungeon?”

In response, Nightmare Moon raised her head toward the sky and her horn glowed with a dark blue aura. The campgrounds began to rumble, as though a violent tremor was passing through the area, but in reality a large chunk of the terrain was eroding to reveal a secret dark dungeon located right below the camp. A wooden stairway led straight down into the darkness, and nothing more could be seen from the surface. When the rumbling stopped, the dungeon was fully opened, and Rainbow Dash looked pale.

“You think it’s funny to laugh at your fellow campers? Well, it is. However, now you’re about to see what I, personally, think is funny!” Nightmare Moon slowly hovered Rainbow Dash over the top of the giant pit of darkness, then uncast the Pegasus’ levitation spell. Since her wings were caked with mud, she couldn’t open them in time, which sent the blue mare screaming and falling down into the dungeon.

As soon as Dash’s screams echoed away, Nightmare Moon resealed the top of the dungeon and casually trotted back over to the other campers who had been watching. Due to watching her idol and secret crush get thrown into a dungeon, Scootaloo had gotten scared and had a panic attack, fainting in the process. Even though Nightmare Moon wasn’t too thrilled with this, she ended the second challenge and declared Scootaloo eliminated as well. She then told the campers that they had an hour to relax and get clean before the final challenge that would pit the final six against each other.

Twilight: Oh my gosh, did you see what Nightmare Moon did to Rainbow Dash? How horrible! I really, REALLY hope she’s alright. Her attitude has been suspect for a while, but she’s still one of my best friends and I don’t EVER wish for her to be hurt! *she begins to freak out a little bit* You don’t think there’s sharks down there, do you? Or ghosts? Or Rarity zombies? Or any other horrifying creatures?

Applejack: Dang it! Ah knew somethin’ like this was gonna happen eventually if Dash didn’t start behavin’ herself! *she frowns and gives a little sigh* Well, ah ain’t gonna help her; she got herself into this mess, so she can get herself out. *there’s a pause, where it seems like Applejack is looking deadly serious, but then she hangs her head and groans* …ah’m gonna go help her. Ah can’t let this happen.

Nightmare Moon teleported off to get herself some real food, leaving the campers to do whatever they wanted; she was convinced Rainbow Dash couldn’t escape her prison without a pony using magic. Pinkie took the fainted Scootaloo away to the infirmary to join her downed teacher, while Twilight and Trixie both headed to the showers. Fluttershy had gotten stuck in the quicksand yet again, and Spike was struggling to pull her out. This left Applejack the time she needed to help out her Pegasus friend.

“Ahright, let’s see here…” Applejack muttered, walking around in circles over where the hidden dungeon was located, “Nightmare Moon used some of her magic to open this place up…but how am ah gonna get it open when ah’m no unicorn…and this island doesn’t allow normal magic? Can ah possibly dig her out?” Applejack leaned down and began digging at the dirt, but it was almost like the island itself wouldn’t allow her to get away with such a simple method. “Aww, shoot! What am ah gonna do?”

A shadow suddenly overlapped Applejack’s, causing the pony to look up in fright, thinking Nightmare Moon had come back and caught her trying to free Dash. Instead, the shadow was being cast by a pony standing on the top of the Magical Misfits’ cabin. Applejack couldn’t help but gasp when she recognized immediately who it was. She knew that hat, she knew that cape, and she knew that dark costume. She had worn it once, not to mention she had seen it with her own eyes during the paintball challenge. Now, if she wasn’t convinced before, it was clear now. Mare Do Well was staring down at Applejack.

“Y-you! B-but…ah was thinkin’ that ya’ll were just an hallucination or somethin’ like that!” the orange pony gulped, taking a small step back, “W-what do ya want? Did Discord create you? Are ya an evil pony? Are ya somepony that ah know?”

Mare Do Well said nothing, only continued to keep her masked eyes fixed on the nervous farmer below her. Not saying a word or averting her gaze, the hidden mare reached behind her back and tossed something down to the earth pony. When Applejack dodged aside, a shovel landed right where she had just been standing. Applejack stared at the shovel curiously, then gasped and gave a little grin; this would help a lot more than just using her hooves, that’s for sure! When she looked back up to thank Mare Do Well, she discovered that she was already gone.

“Huh…ah reckon ah don’t much know what’s goin’ on here…but, whatever!” Applejack smiled, pulling the shovel over and adjusting herself to pick it up with her teeth, “Anythin’ to help out Dash!” Latching her mouth around the handle of the shovel, Applejack moved the tool upwards and immediately tried to slam the metal blade into the ground. The blade sank into the ground, showing that it wasn’t impossible to dig up the ground, but when Applejack tried to adjust the tool, it caught on something and refused to move forwards.

“What the hay?” Applejack frowned, grunting and shoving the handle of the shovel as hard as she could, “Bein’ stubborn, huh? Well, we’ll see about that!” Giving a little grunt of annoyance, Applejack shoved her powerful body against the tool, spurring it forward, and soon getting the shock of her life. Little by little, thanks to Applejack’s strength and the strong metal blade on the shovel, the opening to the dungeon began to be pushed open. Applejack had managed to snag the blade onto the top of the opening, which was allowing it to be opened the more that Applejack pushed the shovel forward.

“Well…how ‘bout that?” Applejack laughed, pushing just a little bit more before dropping the shovel and bouncing over to the small opening she had created, “Guess ah’m one lucky mare who knows how to pick her spots! Ah don’t want to open the whole thing; might take too long and draw attention. This should be enough to get Dash outta there.” The opening that Applejack had created was about two feet wide, just barely allowing her to slip down inside and start trotting down the dark, wooden stairwell.

The dungeon was decorated to the likings of Nightmare Moon rather than Discord, indicating that she might have put the dungeon in without his knowledge. While the lunar outline of the dungeon was a nice touch, most of the stars formed messages on the walls leading down the steps that read: “THE NIGHT SHALL RULE!” and “OBEY NIGHTMARE MOON” and “REBEL AND BE PUNISHED!” among others. A large, glowing, full moon hung in the middle of the large room that Applejack found at the bottom of the stairs, seemingly floating in midair while casting an eerie glow around the room. It was the only light available, Applejack realized.

The bottom room looked like a combination of outer space and a torture chamber. More stars, planets, and other astral devices littered the walls, floor and ceiling of the room. While there weren’t any real torture devices in the room, many of the objects in the room would be enough to scare a full-grown mare right out of her hooves. Large black stars with razor-sharp edges sat in each corner of the room, daring anypony to get near them. A few areas of the large flooring area were littered with spikes that looked like clones of Nightmare Moon’s horn. During one of the overhanging full moon’s revolutions, the light being cast allowed Applejack to see crescent moons jutting out of the walls like daggers. With no noise being able to be heard from the outside world, one could easily go mad in such a room.

“W-w-what…in tarnation…is this?” Applejack whispered, meekly taking a step into the room and feeling shivers creep down her spine, “This…this is just…creepy.”

“AJ? Is…is that you?” a raspy voice called out through the gloomy astral chamber, seeming to come from somewhere far away.

“Dash? Where are you, Dash? Ah came to rescue you!” Forgetting about the overall feel of the room, Applejack charged in and instantly began scouring around for her Pegasus. She very nearly stepped onto a few of the sharp horns sticking out of the floor, not to mention almost stumbling into one of the deadly black stars sitting silently in the corners, but Applejack didn’t stop searching. The room was much vaster than one would believe from just eying it from the entrance, and the more Applejack searched, the farther into the dungeon she seemed to go. When the farmer called out for the Pegasus, she realized that she was very close.

“Applejack…why did you come?” Rainbow’s voice rang out again, her magenta eyes slowly raising themselves up to get a better look at Applejack coming near. The Pegasus had been cowering in a far corner of the dungeon, after failing to fly her way out, even after removing the mud from her wings. Thankfully, she didn’t seem to be hurt.

“Ah would never leave ya by yerself, Sugarcube…you know that,” Applejack said softly, smiling and removing her hat as she leaned down to calm her scared friend. When being thrust into a situation that left her by herself and in a creepy environment, even Rainbow Dash wasn’t brave enough to get through it all alone. When the Pegasus felt the warm, strong forelegs of Applejack gently wrap around her neck and pull her close, Rainbow’s fright seem to fly right out the window.

“Yeah, well…I totally could’ve been fine by myself, you know,” Dash bragged, returning Applejack’s hug and giving a snicker, “I was just…relaxing. Yeah, that’s it, relaxing! Catching a few z’s for all my hard work that I’ve done for the team. Plus, I was waiting to see if you’d come for me, and you did!”

Applejack paused, her eyes blinking a few times as she registered what Dash said, before she angrily shoved the Pegasus away and gave her a heavy glare. “Dash, yer a dang fool! Ah was worried sick about ya’ll, and ah risked my backside comin’ down here to get ya…not to mention gettin’ scared outta mah wits by Mare Do Well…and this is how ya repay me? Dang, ya’ll deserve another rump-spankin’ for this, ya rotten little brat!”

Rainbow Dash stared at Applejack ranting in front of her, a stupid grin plastered on her face and a dreamy expression in her eyes. For as long as she could remember, Dash had always admired and appreciated Applejack for everything she did for her. The two were rivals, yes. But Dash always cared for Applejack even deeper than that. She was closer than a sister to her. Plus, even though the Pegasus would deny it up and down, she secretly enjoyed Applejack beating her up when she was being bad. The enraged, playful or irritated expression that the orange earth pony always showed during the beatings somehow always eased the pain that she inflicted on the naughty Pegasus.

“…and ya’ll don’t even realize just how irritatin’ ya can be with that braggin’ of yours!” Applejack continued to rant and scold the Pegasus, who wasn’t listening to a single word she was saying, “What, are ya tryin’ to be another Trixie or somethin’? That ain’t you, Dash! This ain’t the Pegasus that ah’ve known for all these years! Are ya even listenin’ to me?”

Applejack finally stopped her speech to pause and frown at the grinning Pegasus sitting in front of her. The pale gleam of the overhanging full moon cast just enough light for the two mares to notice sparkles appearing in each other’s eyes while they observed each other. Each and every star in the room also reflected some of the moon’s light onto the two mares, illuminating their coats and almost making them start to glow. The silence added to the pressure that Rainbow Dash felt in her heart. As she had her entire life, the Pegasus began to act on impulse.

“Hey, AJ?” Rainbow Dash slowly rose up onto her hooves.

“What, Dash?”

Rainbow Dash took a step forward, keeping her eyes locked onto the beautiful green pupils of her counterpart. “Shut up.” She wrapped her forelegs around Applejack’s neck, pulled her forward, and pressed her lips to hers.

Rainbow Dash: Don’t judge me. Applejack was totally into me. She was since the day I met her. Yeah, so maybe I was in for another harsh beating. Maybe I was being totally stupid. Maybe I should’ve thought things through like Twilight was always telling me to do. But, you know what? *she grins and puts on her black sunglasses* That’s just not my style.

At first, Applejack didn’t know what to think of what was happening to her. A moment ago, she had been chewing Dash out and trying to make her see reason. Then, the next thing she knew, she was now locking lips with the Pegasus and sharing a passionate, if not forced kiss. Her initial reaction was to strike Dash in the face and push her away, start spitting in disgust, and then deliver a well-deserved beating to the Pegasus. When Applejack gave a weak squirm to try and dislodge Rainbow Dash, the Pegasus just hung on tightly and pressed deeper into the kiss. A warm feeling emanating from her heart, Applejack found herself unable to resist the Pegasus, and soon began to return the romantic feelings.

When Rainbow Dash broke the kiss a moment later, she gently let Applejack go and took a meager step back, the stupid grin even wider on her face than it had been before. Applejack was left gasping weakly, having been caught by surprise, and she was soon licking her lips to see if she had really just kissed her best friend. Tasting Dash and realizing that it did indeed happen, the orange mare slowly looked at the cyan Pegasus sitting only a few inches away from her and gave a little glare.

“Rainbow Dash?”

“Yes, AJ?”

“Ya’ll call THAT a kiss?” Applejack smirked, then reared up and body-slammed Rainbow Dash into a tackle, narrowing missing one of the jagged horns sticking out of the floor as she did so. Perched atop the shocked Pegasus, Applejack pulled a page out of Rarity’s book and dramatically tossed her mane back as she lustfully eyed her trapped playmate. “THIS is how ya give a PROPER kiss!” A new fiery passion taking over her body, Applejack pressed down with her powerful body, pinning the smaller Pegasus underneath her as her lips hungrily dove for Dash’s and the two connected once again.

Applejack: Yeah, ah know what yer all thinkin’, and ah don’t blame ya. Ah think ah HAVE gone mentally insane. *she gives the camera a very confused and bewildered look, her hat sagging over her left eye* Ah just made out with mah best friend…and ah LIKED it! *her bewildered look goes away as a happy one takes it place* Hot dang, did ah ever enjoy it! Ah’m insane…but bein’ insane feels good!

Applejack held Rainbow Dash as their lips stayed attached and softly suctioned against each other. Applejack, ever the dominant one, slid her tongue out and let it trace the outline of Dash’s wet lips before it made a forceful entry into the Pegasus’ mouth. When the two tongues met, they danced and squirmed with each other for a little while, mixing saliva as the two ponies tasted each other for the first time, before wrapping around one another in a wet hug. AJ had her front hooves pinning Dash’s shoulders down onto the dark floor while the rest of her body laid atop the Pegasus’ and filled her with warmth, their hearts beating together as one. Below, Applejack’s tail wrapped around Dash’s.

Rainbow Dash was in a state of pure ecstasy and bliss. Feeling the rugged, powerful tongue of Applejack’s pressed into her mouth. Feeling the husky, tough body of Applejack’s holding her down and pressing softly into her stomach. Feeling the rough, warm lips of the orange pony’s pressed into hers. Shivers of delight etched down Dash’s spine and body as she wrapped her hooves around Applejack, holding her down with a loving hug as the two made out. The two ponies were so locked up into the kiss that they failed to notice the vacant green pupils glaring at them from a good distance away, near the entrance. However, as quickly as they had appeared, they vanished a second later, once again leaving the two ponies alone and on top of each other.

The two Royal Ruffians, deep down, were beyond stunned at this new revelation. Both ponies always seemed to be fighting with each other. One was the instigator while the other was the one to dish out deserved punishments and act as the more mature mare. Despite their competitive natures, both mares almost seemed to be complete opposites in personalities. Applejack herself wasn’t completely sure what had led her to suddenly be doing this with Rainbow Dash. It seemed so rushed, as though they were characters in a romance story and were suddenly thrust into a romantic moment without any real reason. However, Applejack then thought back to day one on the island and just how much she and Dash had grown closer during those times.

Applejack had helped Dash quell the angry Gilda. The orange earth pony and Dash had trusted each other to lead their team to victory in the cliff-diving challenge. The two ponies had teamed up to take out Gilda twice in the dodgeball challenge. Applejack had been flattened to Dash’s butt during the talent show, which despite being humiliating, wasn’t all that bad. Both mares accidentally fell asleep in each other’s forelegs during the camping challenge in the forest. Applejack had completely and utterly bashed Dash’s head in during the cooking challenge, despite both mares looking rather happy at the fight between them, as though they both had come to accept it in their lives. Both girls were deer together in the paintball challenge, both had seen Mare Do Well together, and both had once again gotten their rear-ends handed to them by Trixie. Then there was last night, with Dash and Applejack both sharing a nice little playful evening with each other under the stars and then in the showers.

Applejack: Ah…ah never realized it, but…Dash and ah just can’t be separated from each other. That little brat drives me up the wall and makes me want to rip mah hair out all the time, not to mention how rude, obnoxious, annoyin’, and lazy she is! But…huh…Dash and ah really complete each other. *a dark blush creeps into her cheeks as she fidgets a bit* Shoot…dang it, that filly has me blushin’ now!

Rainbow Dash: *braggingly* I knew the moment I laid eyes on Applejack that we were meant to be...rivals! Man, I desired nothing more than to kick her flank and make myself better than her at everything that we competed in together, which is why I often resorted to cheating. *her own cheeks begin to darken* I know she’s better than me…and I want her to see how awesome I can really be.

“Keep those hooves above mah waist, Dash,” Applejack whispered, breaking the passionate kiss and giving the Pegasus a little glare after feeling Dash’s hooves beginning to slip dangerously low down the orange pony’s body.

“Heh…sorry, AJ,” Dash squeaked, giving a sheepish grin as she retracted her hooves and turned away out of embarrassment, “My hooves sometimes have a mind of their own, you know? They can’t resist a pretty mare.” Rolling her eyes, but the hint of a grin returning to her own face, Applejack slowly got off the blue mare and proceeded to help her up.

“Nah, don’t worry ‘bout it…ah know ah’m kinda hard to resist,” Applejack said in a flirty voice, putting her hat back on and giving Dash a sly smirk, “Mah family has always had a lot of admirers through their years; it’s one reason why we’re such a large and happy family.” Getting serious, Applejack coughed and attempted to focus on what just happened. “Ahright, listen Dash…about what just took place…”

“Keep it between us? That’s cool. I don’t want the rest of the camp thinking I’ve gone soft anyway.” Dash cracked her neck a few times and did a few stretches, not noticing how annoyed Applejack had once again gotten at her admission. “What happened in this dungeon stays in this dungeon, right? I’m totally fine with that. It’s not like anyone would think that YOU could win my love anyway, but just to be on the safe side, we’ll pretend it never happened.”

“WHAT?!?! DASH, YOU LITTLE…YOU ROTTEN…UGH!” Applejack turned around and bent over, giving Rainbow Dash a bucking right in the face with her hind legs before angrily starting to stomp back to the entrance. “YER HOPELESS, DASH! AH CAN’T BELIEVE WHAT WE JUST DID TOGETHER! YA’LL AREN’T EVEN MAH TYPE! NEXT TIME, AH’LL LEAVE YA DOWN HERE TO ROT!”

Moaning and gently rubbing her sore face that she had gotten from Applejack’s harsh bucking, Dash idly watched as the angry hayseed kept ranting as she left the dungeon and soon vanished up the distant staircase. Despite the pain, Rainbow Dash gave a goofy smile as she dusted herself off and lifted her body up off the ground. Taking one last look at her starry prison, the Pegasus stretched her wings and began flying back to the entrance. The look on her face showed vast amusement, mixed with heavy delight and a slight hint of hidden passion.

Rainbow Dash: *sitting in a cool position with her hind legs and forelegs both crossed* Yeah, AJ totally digs me. She can pretend to hate me all she wants, but I know she’ll be back for more. Ha, I’m such a heartbreaker! Do you think Spitfire and Soarin are watching? *she waves idly to the camera*

“Applejack! Just where have you been?” Nightmare Moon asked, watching the mare trot over to the alicorn and the remaining five contestants a while later, “How dare you make your mistress wait for you! I should punish you for that.”

“Sorry…Mistress Nightmare Moon…ah was busy dealin’ with…a minor annoyance,” Applejack said calmly, casting a frown behind her back. It wasn’t a lie, of course; she had been dealing with a minor annoyance. Thankfully, Rainbow Dash had been smart enough to not follow the farmer to the challenge, since it would’ve gotten them both in trouble.

“Um…are you sure you’re okay, Applejack?” Fluttershy asked, stepping closer to get a better look at her friend, “Your mane seems more ruffled than when you left, and you look a bit sweaty. Were you just running somewhere?”

Thankfully, before Applejack was forced to reply to these allegations, Nightmare Moon shoved the squeaking yellow Pegasus aside. “Back in line, foal! It’s time to get to the final part of today’s challenge. The final six must hang upside down in a tree for as long as they can. The last camper standing…or rather hanging…will win their team immunity.”

“But…but…hanging upside down from a tree could be very dangerous!” Twilight protested, “Not only would that cause an unsafe balance of blood circulating to your head, which could easily cause dizziness and migraines, but we could fall and get concussions or even break our necks!”

“And…your point?” Nightmare Moon raised an eyebrow at the purple unicorn. Seeing that she wasn’t going to be able to talk her way out of this, Twilight hung her head and simply muttered that she was ready for the challenge.

Twilight: Oh gosh, oh gosh, oh gosh…this isn’t good. If too much blood flows into my brain, it could have a negative effect on my magic…for life! Um…at least I think it could. And it would also make me really… *she shivers in horror* …stupid! I just don’t want to imagine what it would be like to dumb myself down in front of everypony else. I would be shamed and humiliated for the rest of my life!

Nightmare Moon soon levitated Pinkie, Twilight and Trixie up onto one large branch, and Applejack, Fluttershy and Spike onto another one just opposite them, leaving both teams to stare at each other while they hung. For Spike, this was easy, as he always walked on two legs to begin with. He managed to hang upside down with relative ease, wrapping his legs around the branch tightly to secure himself. With four of the five ponies, it was a lot more difficult. Pinkie, as always, didn’t seem to have an issue with wrapping her hind legs around the branch and swinging upside down in the air. Trixie struggled at first, but eventually managed to find herself locked into a comfortable upside down position. Applejack soon adapted to the odd feeling as well, since it akin to what she and Dash usually enjoyed doing with their crazy competitions. Fluttershy used her wings to fly upside down and gently lock her legs around the branch. Twilight was the only one struggling to really get into proper position.

“Twilight Sparkle! Hang upside right now or you’re eliminated!” Nightmare Moon yelled up at the mare, “Do NOT make me come up there.”

“S-s-s-sorry!” Twilight gulped, fearfully looking down at the alicorn. The branch was only 20 feet off the ground, but it seemed like a mile to the scared unicorn. Noticing the unusually-frightened look in her rival’s eyes, Trixie glanced up at Twilight.

“Are you scared of heights, Sparkle?” the show-mare asked.

“W-w-w-what?!?! No, of c-c-c-course not! What makes you think that?”

“Does Trixie REALLY need to say why?”

“TWILIGHT SPARKLE, I’M COUNTING TO THREE, AND WHEN I GET TO THREE, YOU’D BETTER BE HANGING UPSIDE DOWN ON THAT BRANCH! ONE…TWO…”

Panicking and not wanting to let her team down due to her secret fear, Twilight frantically wrapped her hind legs around the branch and leaned over the side, screaming as she did. She clenched her eyes shut and expected a horrifying rush to meet her, followed by her neck snapping when she hit the ground, but no such things happened. Instead, when she opened her eyes, she was staring up at the sky and Trixie and Pinkie were smiling at her from her right. She had successfully locked her hind legs in place and was now hanging upside down.

Twilight: *pressing her front hooves together and looking ashamed* I’ll admit, I do have a slight case of acrophobia. Okay, perhaps more than a slight case. It’s just…before I went to Ponyville, I’ve never had the need to go into the air for anything; my books were my world. But, thanks to a lot of certain adventures my friends and I had, including one where Rarity was nearly killed falling through the sky, I’ve developed a fear of heights. It’s shameful, I know…do you think I can find a cure in a book?

“You see, Twilight Sparkle? There is nothing to fear,” Trixie reassured Twilight, crossing her forelegs across her chest in smug satisfaction, as though hanging upside down was something she did for fun every day of her life. “If your legs do grow tired, which Trixie hopes does not happen, just simply flip yourself over in the air as you fall and you’ll land on all fours. There’s no reason to fear heights.”

“Yeah, Twilight, that’s right! Besides, Protector Pinkie is here to make sure you stay safe and sound!” Pinkie added, giggling and gently stroking Twilight’s lower body with her tail, “Just swing with the breeze while holding onto the branch; it’s SOOOOO fun! Just look up at the sky and pretend you’re a birdie!”

“Pinkie…Trixie…thank you both,” Twilight smiled weakly, taking deep breaths to try and calm her panic attacks as she hung upside down, “I’ll…I’ll do what you two say…I’ll trust you both.”

Trixie: Twilight Sparkle is so very pathetic, is she not? If not for her magic, she wouldn’t even be worthy of being in the same category as the Great and Powerful Trixie. *she smirks a little bit* Afraid of heights…what a little foal. *she crosses her forelegs and goes into thought* Hmm…still, Trixie has to admit that she was glad Twilight Sparkle didn’t just quit. Facing one’s fear is no easy task.

“I…I don’t think…I can hold this much longer!” Fluttershy cried, her weak legs beginning to tremble as she hung upside down, “I’m gonna fall! Applejack, Spike, please remember me for who I was! Take care of Angel and all my other animals, okay? Pretty please take care of them? THANK YOU!” She let out a little cry, which sounded more like a high-pitched squeak from a mouse, as her hind legs soon ended up unhooking from the branch.

Applejack and Spike both watched as Fluttershy’s wings opened up on pure instinct and helped the Pegasus flutter harmlessly to the ground. Fluttershy herself had had her eyes clenched shut during the entire fall, continuing to let out her cute little screaming squeak the entire time, and she continued to do so even after landing harmlessly on the ground. It wasn’t until Nightmare Moon trotted over and poked the yellow mare on the head that she realized she was safe and she stopped her silent shrieking.

“Fluttershy…forgive me, but you are pathetic.”

“Yes, I know…I’m sorry.”

Spike: Oh for the love of… *slaps his forehead* Nothing against Fluttershy, but…really? Rainbow Dash has attitude problems, Fluttershy is too scared to do most things, and they’re both still here over Silver Spoon and Sweetie Belle, just because they’re older? Ugh…I don’t like the looks of this…at all.

“Ooh, look, a cute little squirrel!” Pinkie gasped, peering up the branch she was hanging from and finding a brown squirrel staring down at her, “Hi there, I’m Pinkie Pie, and this is Twilight and Trixie! Do you want to be friends?”

“You dimwitted foal! You are speaking to a stupid animal!” Trixie scoffed, frowning at Pinkie, “Keep your thick head in the game before Trixie has to slap you silly!”

“Aww, but he’s totally cute! Look, Trixie, he’s sniffing my hooves! He likes me! Hehe, that kinda tickles!”

“Stop that! You’re shaking the branch!”

“Haha…hahahaha…his bushy tail is tickling my hoofsies now…hahahaha…it tickles…”

“YOU STUPID FOAL, STOP SHAKING THE BRANCH! HOLD STILL, RIGHT NOW!”

“I…I can’t…I can’t hold on…too much…TICKLING!” Thanks to the curious little squirrel sniffing at Pinkie’s hooves, the pink pony accidentally let go of the branch. However, since Trixie was hanging right next to her, Pinkie’s puffy tail ended up snagging Trixie’s horn as she flew past, accidentally pulling the unicorn right off the branch as well. Twilight, Applejack and Spike all watched in shock as Pinkie laughed and Trixie shrieked and both mares soon crashed down onto the ground in what looked like a painful heap.

“Whee! That was FUN! Let’s do it again!” Pinkie cheered, having landed with her tush on Trixie’s face due to the unicorn’s horn still being stuck in her tail.

“MMMMPH!” Trixie shrieked in muffled horror and disgust, struggling to shove the bouncy earth pony off her face. She managed to yank her horn out of the tangles of Pinkie’s tail, then quickly used to jab the pony right in the rump. The sudden poke caused Pinkie to squeak and leap off Trixie’s face, making her glance back to see just what had exactly poked her. “YOU STUPID…YOU DISGUSTING…YOU IGNORANT…YOU…YOU…TRIXIE WILL MURDER YOU FOR THIS! HOW DARE YOU SIT ON HER FACE WITH YOUR SQUISHY PINK POSTERIOR? YOU WILL SUFFER!”

“Hey, Twilight, you got this, right?” Pinkie smiled, ignoring the enraged Trixie for the moment and looking up at the Misfits’ last hope, which was the intelligent purple mare, “I believe in you! I know you can do it! Trixie wants to play tag, so that’s gonna keep me busy, but we’ll be rooting for you, okay?”

“Uh…sure thing, Pinkie…er, try to have fun!” Twilight responded. She watched as Pinkie giggled and began galloping away, a screaming and angry Trixie following right after her, yelling out curses and threats while attempting to catch the pink pony. Nightmare Moon watched from nearby, both amused and looking like she was developing a migraine. Applejack and Spike chuckled a little bit from their own branch, enjoying the silly chase, before glancing over at their only remaining competition.

“Ah’m impressed ya made it this far, Twi, but ah think ya should submit now,” Applejack teased, winking over at her friend, “Do ya really think yer gonna outlast Spike and mahself?”

“I don’t know, Applejack, but I refuse to give up!” Twilight said, narrowing her eyes and tightening her grip on the branch, “My team is counting on me, and this is my chance to prove that unicorns don’t need their magic to be useful. You might be more powerful physically than me, and Spike might have two legs and a more sturdy body, but I’m not giving up!”

“Ha, that’s the spirit, Twi!” Applejack grinned, “Ah knew ya weren’t a quitter. Let’s see what ya got.”

“Don’t expect us to go easy on you, Twilight,” Spike added in, smirking over at the pony he had called his big sister and even his mother during his entire life, “We’re in this to win it, you know.”

“I’d expect nothing less. Um…what is it that Rainbow Dash always says? Oh, right…bring it!” The purple unicorn giggled at herself for using a phrase that she normally would never use, and Applejack and Spike couldn’t help but snicker as well. The challenge was far from over.

Pinkie: Who would’ve thought that Trixie enjoyed playing tag so much? Aww, she just wants to have fun, and she picked Pinkie to have fun with! Well, I’m more than happy to play with her! *she narrows her eyes and glances from side to side, then whispers to the camera* Right now, we switched to hide and seek! Let’s hope she doesn’t find me! *she giggles and hides behind the toilet*

The final challenge wore on for a while, elapsing nearly a half hour and entering close to a full hour. Twilight was sweating profusely and looking rigid; it was a miracle how she was still up in the tree. A massive amount of blood had flowed to her head, and she was beginning to see stars. Applejack and Spike were also suffering from too much blood entering their brains, leading to both Ruffians moaning and whispering things amongst each other that sounded like gibberish. Below, Pinkie and Trixie were still playing their game of tag; apparently, sitting on her face was a very serious crime and Trixie wasn’t gonna stop until Pinkie paid for it. Pinkie, naturally, had a massive amount of energy to spare, so she was always able to dodge and evade the angry blue unicorn, all while still giggling and having a ball. Nightmare Moon was looking bored, and Fluttershy had gone to the infirmary to help with Cheerilee and Celestia.

Suddenly, a light breeze blew through the area, slightly cooling off the three remaining contestants in the three, but accidentally blowing off Applejack’s hat; how it hadn’t blown off already was anyone’s guess. Regardless, when the Stetson hat fluttered off her head, it distracted the hayseed mare just enough to make her gasp and lose focus on the branch. Her hind legs buckled and slipped from the amount of sweat, and she soon plummeted from the tree to the ground below. She at least had a soft landing, thanks to a certain pony who had been running by at that moment.

“Aw, shoot…mah hat distracted me…ugh, whatever…mah head was startin’ to swell up anyway,” Applejack sighed, glancing down to see what she had landed on and chuckling, “Whoops…mah bad. Sorry about that, Trix.” AJ quickly got off the flattened Trixie, who was twitching and looking even more murderous than ever before.

“Trixie…hates…you…all,” Trixie snarled, pulling herself off the ground and shooting daggers with her eyes at Applejack, then continued to chase after Pinkie. Applejack went to retrieve her hat, leaving the final two as Twilight versus Spike.

“Interesting final matchup,” Nightmare Moon smirked, admiring who was left in the tree, “The assistant against his mistress, the student of Celestia. Which one is gonna come out on top?”

“Ugh…I’ve got you now, Twilight…all six of you…you’re mine…” Spike moaned, becoming dizzier and dizzier the more he hung upside down. The rush of blood to his head was starting to make him hallucinate, not to mention weaken his body.

“Don’t…count on it…Spike,” Twilight groaned back, her breathing becoming labored as her hind legs were now barely hanging from the branch, “I can’t lose…to my own assistant…just watch me…”

Twilight Sparkle and Spike hung on for another three minutes, fighting hard to ignore the pain in their legs while using their forelegs and arms to rub their aching heads. Eventually, though, it was clear who was better. Thanks to all the countless hours she had spent studying at night, Twilight had gained a bit more resistance and toughness than Spike, despite him being a male. The unicorn, just before she was about to go limp and faint, watched as Spike’s legs finally unhooked from the tree and the moaning dragon plummeted to the ground.

“Darn it…” Spike whispered, crashing down hard onto his back, his size thankfully saving him from getting any serious injuries, but he knew what this meant.

“TWILIGHT SPARKLE WINS!” Nightmare Moon shouted out, using her magic to levitate the tired purple unicorn down and finally allow her to touch ground again, “This means that the Magical Misfits win their fourth challenge in a row! Twilight Sparkle, how do you feel?”

“Like…I want to throw up…and lay down…for three days,” Twilight whispered, staggering back and forth on her hooves as she looked up at Nightmare Moon.

The alicorn peered down at Twilight, then gently placed a hoof onto her left shoulder. “Twilight Sparkle, I’m proud. Even though I despise you for ruining my plans about making the world have everlasting night, you showed tremendous courage and fortitude today. You are proving that, even without magic, unicorns aren’t so useless after all. I’m proud to give you immunity for your team. You earned it, star pupil of Celestia.”

Twilight, despite her pain and her dizziness, was stunned to hear such praise from one of her biggest enemies. She blushed a little, feeling slightly conceited for getting such attention, but couldn’t help but bask in the glory for a moment. “Thank you, Nightmare Moon…that means a lot coming from you.”

“Just don’t push your luck,” Nightmare Moon whispered, pushing her face into Twilight’s, “And that’s the only compliment you’ll be getting from me. Now, hit the showers; you stink.”

After giving a sigh of exasperation, Twilight found herself mobbed by her two remaining teammates that hadn’t bothered to go away. First, she was tackled by an ecstatic Pinkie Pie, who began cuddling her and gushing about how amazing she was. Then, the two mares were tackled together by Trixie, who immediately tried to strangle the two girls, but it felt more like a rough neck massage than an actual attack. Seeing how happy Twilight and Pinkie both were, Trixie grudgingly admitted that Twilight did a great job and allowed the two mares to hug her in the threesome.

Twilight: *swaying side to side, still very dizzy* Ha…I knew I could…could do it. Yeah, I had that one in the…in the…in the bag the whole time! *she looks around, then picks up a piece of pink fuzz off the ground* Ooh, Pinkie…Pinkie must’ve been here! I think…I think that’s awesome…but, right now…I just feel like…going to bed. Goodnight, Equestria…stay in school…and junk. *she moans and faints*

“Sadly, or rather humorously, the Ruffians must go to the elimination ceremony, AGAIN,” Nightmare Moon went on, ignoring the three cuddling ponies and instead looking over at the staggering Spike and the annoyed Applejack, “You all just seemed to be really cursed lately. It sucks to be you. But, my work here is done. I was put in charge of torturing you ponies all day, which I have. Discord will be back to handle you foals this evening. In case you were wondering, he was busy taking over one of the factories in Cloudsdale and making it snow on the Canterlot castle. In any case, have fun!” She let out her famous, evil laugh, then vanished in a puff of black smoke.

Almost as soon as Nightmare Moon left, Rainbow Dash came flying out and tackled Applejack. “AJ, I can’t believe that! We lost again! Well, it wasn’t YOUR fault…I don’t blame you.” She immediately glared over at Spike, who instantly glared back.

“Hey, I was the last one standing, and at least I wasn’t eliminated for being a poor sport!” Spike snapped, “It’s YOUR fault we lost, Rainbow Dash, not mine! I took us far as I could; if you had been here, maybe we would’ve lasted longer.”

“Sure, whatever you say…” Dash shrugged, getting off Applejack and helping her up, “See you at the ceremony tonight. AJ and I are gonna go take a shower.” Without so much as giving Spike any further attention, the Pegasus and earth pony began trotting away. Spike glared at the two mares as they trotted off together, his fists clenched tightly and his teeth grinding together in a rage. A fire was boiling inside of him, but it looked like it might not ever get to be let out.

Spike: How is THAT fair that I get blamed for our loss? I was the last one standing on our team! No disrespect, but at least I didn’t stand still and let lightning strike me, nor did I get taken out because of having a bad attitude. This isn’t fair at all! Rainbow Dash deserves to go instead of me! *he slowly stares right into the camera, his eyes turning into slits* Dash thinks she’s so smart…but I see everything.

“So, it’s a done deal, right?” Dash said, stifling a yawn as she and Applejack headed toward the showers, “We’re voting for Spike at the ceremony tonight.”

“Yup…ah hate to do it, but…well, ah can’t betray Fluttershy or the princess, and ah’m sure as heck not gonna be votin’ for mahself,” Applejack chuckled, then smiled and gave Dash a little hug, “And, even though ah’m still mad at ya’ll, ah wouldn’t vote ya out either, Dashie.”

Rainbow Dash smiled, wrapping a foreleg around Applejack’s neck and nuzzling her head against hers. “Thanks, AJ…and I would never vote for you, either. Best friends always stick together, right?”

“Got that right, Dash. Fluttershy and the princess will vote with us, too. So, the elimination ceremony will basically be a done deal, like ya said.” Applejack returned the nuzzle, then pushed the doors to the shower cabin open. “Oh, but ya know the drill. Where’s mah rope?”

“Aw, AJ, c’mon! Not again!”

Rainbow Dash: *cackling in delight* Yes! That poor little dragon is going home! I can’t say I wasn’t a little worried, since Spike does look kinda scary when he’s angry, but…yeah, he’s gone. We have four votes against him. Regardless of who he votes for, it won’t make a difference. *she calms down, then sighs a little bit* It’s gonna be a lot more fun with AJ with that silly male off our team.

Hours later, after the 11 remaining contestants all had showers and the Misfits had another celebration about their fourth win a row, the Royal Ruffians found themselves back at what was now a very familiar place to them: the bonfire ceremony. Discord had indeed come back, covered in snow, and looking very pleased with himself. Forgetting that he was at the elimination ceremony for a moment, he held up some very curious memorabilia to show off to the five remaining Ruffians.

“A priceless picture of Canterlot Castle! A beautiful vase sculpted by the finest crafts-pony in the land! A statue of our own fair Princess Celestia! Aren’t these artifacts just lovely?”

“DISCORD, DID YOU GET THOSE FROM MY CASTLE?” Celestia yelled out, instantly recognizing the items.

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t, but since it’s more fun that way, I’ll just say that I didn’t anyway,” Discord smirked, snapping his fingers as the items all vanished, leaving an enraged Celestia behind, “So, now then, I heard that Nightmare Moon did a good job today on you ponies…and dragon. But, alas, here you are yet again. You really love it here, don’t you?”

“Not really, but the bonfire always looks nice,” Rainbow Dash commented. The Pegasus was sitting next to Applejack, the two ponies smiling and nuzzling each other almost every other minute. Fluttershy was giggling softly from behind, recognizing what she was seeing almost immediately. Celestia, despite still enraged at Discord raiding her castle and Luna apparently having done nothing to stop him, had to admit that Applejack and Rainbow Dash did look cute when they were being close and calm. Spike was the only one who looked angry, his arms crossed as he sat in a pouty position away from the four ponies. It was almost like the team was divided.

“Well, five is about to become four,” Discord explained, “You all know the drill by this point. You must vote off the camper you want to see go bye-bye on the Boat of Losers. The camper that gets voted off can NEVER return to camp…never, ever, EVER! You hear me? You can’t come back, okay? I think that’s clear, but I was just making sure that you all heard me the first dozen or so times. Now, let’s get to the vote! Alphabetical order as always, Applejack goes first!”

Applejack: *showing the camera that she voted for Spike* Ah know it wasn’t really yer fault that we lost today, but…what else can ah do? Sorry, Spike…ah can’t go against mah friends or the princess. Ah know you’ll understand. *she puts the ballot into the box*

Rainbow Dash: *showing the camera that she voted for Spike* I’ve been waiting for this day for quite some time now. For a little while, I actually thought you could be a threat…but, not anymore. Bye-bye, Spikey. *she laughs, then puts the ballot in to the box*

After taking a bit longer than usual, Spike eventually stomped back to the bleachers and reclaimed his seat. With all five votes cast, Discord snapped his fingers and teleported the ballot box to him. Having it levitate in the air, as always, he popped off the top and stared in at the five folded ballots. “You have all made up your minds. When a majority is reached, the decision is FINAL and that camper will be sent away immediately. Let’s get to the votes!” He reached for the first ballot and pulled it out.

“First vote…Spike.” Discord showed the first ballot with Spike’s name on it, inciting a growl from the baby dragon and a smirk from Rainbow Dash.

“Second vote…Applejack. That’s one vote Spike, one vote Applejack.” Applejack glanced over at Spike with a raised eyebrow, wondering why he’d used his one vote on her, but thought nothing of it.

“Third vote…Spike. That’s two votes Spike, one vote Applejack, and two votes left.”

Applejack and Rainbow Dash both smiled at one another as Discord pulled out the fourth ballot, expecting to hear the usual “next loser of Total Magic Pony Island” speech before revealing Spike’s name. Instead, after a pause, Discord flipped the ballot around and kept going.

“Fourth vote…Applejack. That’s two votes Spike, two votes Applejack, and one vote left.”

This news threw the Ruffians into a state of stunned horror. Applejack and Rainbow Dash immediately looked back at Fluttershy and Celestia, wondering which of them had cast a vote for her. Fluttershy looked confused, and Celestia looked even more confused. The four ponies all looked at one another, then back to Discord as the final ballot was pulled out of the box. As Discord opened it and stared at the eliminated camper written on the paper, his eyes widened and he couldn’t hold in a loud guffaw.

“HA! OOH, THIS IS RICH!” he laughed, slapping a hand over his eyes and leaning back as he laughed harder and harder, “Tenth loser of Total Magic Pony Island…” He grinned, then flipped the ballot around to show the final name written upon it. “…the element of honesty herself, Applejack!”

“WHAT?!?!” Rainbow Dash screamed, her eyes bulging out of her head as she instantly began to freak out, “T-T-THAT CAN’T BE RIGHT! THAT’S NOT RIGHT! P-P-PRINCESS, F-F-FLUTTERSHY, WHY?!?!” She flipped around and demanded an explanation from the two mares, both of whom looked just as stunned as Rainbow Dash did.

“B-b-but…I didn’t, I swear!” Fluttershy whimpered, trying to make herself look small, “I…I didn’t vote for Applejack…I swear that I didn’t, Dash!”

“Nor did I! This has to be some kind of trick!” Celestia stated, glaring out over at Discord, “You! You vile miscreant! How dare you mess with us like this! You can’t just unfairly eliminated Applejack when we didn’t vote her off!”

“How dare YOU accuse ME of messing up my own game, Celestia!” Discord spat back, floating over and glaring at the tiny princess, “It’s always a shocker to see one of your loved ones voted off, but this was not me. Now, I’m afraid it’s time for your dear Applejack to…”

“NO! SHE’S NOT LEAVING!” Rainbow bellowed, floating in front of Applejack and holding her legs out to defend her, “I WON’T LET HER LEAVE, AND YOU’RE NOT TAKING HER AWAY!”

“Ugh…Nightmare Moon, a little help here, please?” Discord turned around, summoning the annoyed alicorn back onto the scene.

“Can’t do anything without my help, can you?” the alicorn snickered, “Very well, I’ll handle this.” Her horn turned dark blue, and she soon fired out a blue lightning bolt into Dash, Celestia, and Fluttershy, blasting all of them back into a tree while Spike quickly dodged aside. Then, Nightmare Moon quickly summoned up, ironically, one of Applejack’s own ropes and used it to hogtie her. Applejack was too stunned by everything that had happened to really protest.

“Aw, shoot…” Applejack muttered as she was dragged down the Dock of Shame by the rope that Nightmare Moon had tied her up with. Instead of being angry, she was more disappointed and even a little sad. She had no idea what happened, or if somepony had lied to her, but it didn’t matter. She was voted off and she was soon going to be heading home. Nothing could be done. She didn’t even bother to kick and scream as Nightmare Moon dragged her along towards the Boat of Losers.

“N-no…AJ…no…” Dash whimpered, picking her sore body up and quickly running after her, ignoring Fluttershy, Celestia and Spike and only caring about seeing Applejack one final time. Nightmare Moon soon hurled Applejack, rope and all, onto the Boat of Losers, then vanished once again as Discord looked on with amusement. As the boat began chugging away, Rainbow Dash quickly stretched her wings and took flight.

“Ugh…they don’t have any respect for other ponies, that’s fer sure,” Applejack sighed, struggling to get out of her bindings as she felt the boat taking her away from Camp Paradox.

“APPLEJACK!” The orange pony’s ears perked up as she heard the familiar voice, and she glanced up to see Rainbow Dash quickly flying down towards her. Before she could protest, Dash quickly untied her, then threw her forelegs around her neck. “Applejack…I’m so sorry…I don’t know what happened, but…I’m sorry anyway! I’m…I’m really, really gonna miss you.”

“Aww, Dash…don’t cry fer me…it’ll be ahright,” Applejack smiled, sadly hugging the Pegasus back, “Just keep playin’ the game the way you know how. Ah won’t be there anymore, so it seems, but…ah’ll always be with you. Ah’ll be waitin’ fer ya back home, too.”

“This isn’t fair…it’s not fair…Discord did something, I know it…” Dash whimpered, burying her face into Applejack’s right shoulder, “You don’t deserve this…what’s the point of playing a game when the one who’s most special to you isn’t there to watch and see just how awesome you are?”

“Dash…there’s still Fluttershy, the princess, Scootaloo…yer friends are still gonna be there! Um…you can still show ‘em just how…awesome you are…right?”

Feeling Applejack holding her and hearing her words, Dash soon forced a pained smile. She would continue to play the game, with new added anger thanks to the unfair elimination, and she was gonna win. She would win for Applejack. Easing her head away from Applejack, the Pegasus smiled and stared into her eyes. “AJ…I have something for you…before I go back to camp.”

“What is it, Dash?” Applejack’s eyes sparkled as her face drew closer to Rainbow’s, expecting something sweet and amazing to soon touch her lips.

Slowly, Rainbow reached her mane pulled out what seemed to be a picture. She handed it over to Applejack, who peered down at it and saw that it was a picture of Rainbow Dash making a pose. Her signature was scrawled across the bottom. “It’s an autographed picture of me! I know you’ve always wanted one, so after our intimate moment today, I was gonna surprise you with it later this evening. But, since you’re going home, I figured…um, why are you looking at me like that?”

Applejack had slowly pulled the picture down and was giving Dash a heavy glare complete with a large frown. “Dash…is this all ya wanted to give me?”

“Pretty much, yeah. Why do you ask?”

Applejack just stared at the grinning Pegasus for a long time as the boat kept chugging along. Then, very slowly, Applejack turned away from the blue mare. She bent down, reared back, and delivered one final bucking before her time on Total Magic Pony Island came to an end. This time, her buck was as powerful as ever before, fueled by the passion in her heart, and from the anger that she had just gotten from Dash’s cluelessness. Her back legs connected with Dash’s face, instantly causing her to squeak in pain and go flying out of the boat and back towards the Dock of Shame.

“JUST WAIT ‘TIL YA GET HOME, YA ROTTEN PEGASUS!” Applejack roared, shaking her hoofed fist in the direction of the island as Dash crash-landed onto the dock, “AH CAN’T WAIT TO SHOW YA JUST HOW ORNERY YA ARE AND HOW BADLY YA ANNOY A GIRL!”

“I love you too, AJ,” Rainbow Dash whispered to herself, a stupid grin on her face as she once again picked herself up off the dock and sat up. Each of her cheeks singed with redness, due to Applejack’s attack, the dazed Pegasus sadly waved goodbye to her screaming and angry crush. She had no idea how this had happened, but she wasn’t gonna let Discord or anyone else get away with this. She was going to miss Applejack with all her heart, especially her beatings. Dash had really grown to like them; after all, AJ beating her simply meant that she cared enough about the Pegasus to try and make her behave.

“What a shocker of an ending, eh?” Discord laughed, the cameras focusing on him as he floated a few feet above the dazed Pegasus’ head, “The first element of harmony bites the dust, leaving only five left. Oh, and we’re down to the final ten as well. With half of the campers gone and half still competing, who’s gonna take home that one million bit prize? The Ruffians have lost four straight. The Misfits have won four in a row. We still have Pinkie and Trixie to play with, not to mention the obsessive Scootaloo, the secretive Cheerilee, our little irate princess, and Spike and Rainbow Dash. Oh, and Twilight and Fluttershy are still here, too, not to mention Rarity. Who will win? Who will lose? Find out next time, on another breathtaking episode of Total…Magic…Pony Island! Ciao, Equestria!” He snapped his fingers and vanished.

Instead of ending the episode, the cameras instead chose to focus on one final camper. Fluttershy and Celestia had gotten up from being assaulted and had joined Rainbow Dash on the dock to watch the Boat of Losers carry Applejack away. At the bonfire, Spike was standing by himself, staring into the flames with a calm look on his face. He slowly picked a stick up off the ground, then walked over to a tray of marshmallows that Discord had been snacking on before the elimination ceremony began.

“Bring it on, AJ!” Dash grinned excitedly, and a second later she had been tackled by Applejack and the two mares were playfully wrestling with each other once again… from the window of the Royal Ruffians’ cabin, Spike’s glowing emerald eyes could be seen glaring out at the two mares.

Spike narrowed his eyes, then picked a marshmallow off the plate and eyed it with his dark pupils.

Despite the Pegasus being annoyed and tightly bound, she eventually began to smile a little. Plus, when she began to use her imagination to think about what it would’ve been like if she HAD gotten to shower with AJ, her face once again turned a dark crimson…from the window of the shower cabin, once again, Spike’s two emerald eyes were glaring at the scene with visible hatred.

Turning around, Spike slowly walked back to the fire, jabbing the marshmallow onto his stick as he did.

“Goodnight, Scootaloo,” Cheerilee whispered, gently stroking the filly’s forehead and mane with a hoof before giving the little pony one final smile and then proceeding to head to bed herself…Spike’s emerald eyes peered in the window and gazed at the campers. His angry, vengeful slits grew heavy and pained as he observed the warmth that emanated from the cabin.

When he came back to the raging bonfire, Spike stuck the stick with the marshmallow straight into it.

Rainbow Dash was in a state of pure ecstasy and bliss. Feeling the rugged, powerful tongue of Applejack’s pressed into her mouth…the two ponies were so locked up into the kiss that they failed to notice Spike’s vacant green pupils glaring at them from a good distance away, near the entrance.

Slowly, Spike pulled the stick out of the fire and watched the marshmallow burn with its flames.

Spike: *showing the camera that he voted for Rainbow Dash* You are the worst…no, wait a minute…I’m not letting this happen. I’m sick and tired of you. So, you know what? I’m not done with you yet! *he uses his fire breath to destroy the ballot, then glares at the ballot box in front of him* Okay, let’s get in here, shall we? *he turned around and used his powerful, pointy tail to jab at the edges of the box, causing the nails that kept the box together to fly out of the cheap wood. Spike reached inside and pulled out the four ballots already cast. His eyes narrowed when he saw that all four had his name written upon them* No…that’s not happening. *he uses his fire breath once again to destroy two of the ballots before folding up two with his name and putting them back* You know what, Rainbow Dash? I saw what you and AJ were doing. I saw it all. Yeah, that’s love…and it feels wonderful, doesn’t it? Well, guess what? You took my love from me… *he slowly pulled out three empty ballots and scribbled a name onto each of them* …so now I’m gonna take your love from you. *he shows the camera three votes for Applejack* Evil? Yes. Unfair? Yes. But I don’t care. That was for Silver Spoon, you rotten Pegasus…and Sweetie Belle, and now that I think about it, Zecora! How do you like me now, Dash?

Spike grinned, flashing his fangs as the flames of the bonfire danced within his vengeful eyes. Slowly, he opened his mouth and shoved the flaming marshmallow inside. He clamped down and chewed up the gooey treat, smoke billowing out his ears as the fire didn’t seem to hurt him at all. As the dragon devoured the marshmallow, he winked at the cameras and twirled the stick in his hand.

“Revenge is a dish best served hot…and it tastes delicious.”

Episode 13: Fair-Weather Enemies

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Discord: Last time, on Total Magic Pony Island: revenge was locked into the heart of our young dragon hero…or villain, depending on how you look at it. Spike was determined to pay Rainbow dash back for voting off Silver Spoon, not to mention being the main reason Zecora and Sweetie Belle both went home, too. After Pinkie chatted with herself and Fluttershy and Celestia had a rather risqué moment in the showers, Nightmare Moon gave the campers a rude awakening the next morning. The evil little alicorn generously took over for yours truly while I was off parading in Canterlot. Rarity got humiliated and eliminated first, leaving the teams even at five apiece. Cheerilee and Celestia were eliminated next by some wicked lightning bolts. Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash were both eliminated next, the latter thanks to her attitude and the former thanks to the latter’s elimination. After a little help from the mysterious Mare Do Well, Applejack rescued Rainbow Dash from Nightmare Moon’s dungeon, but not before a steamy make-out session between the two Ruffians. Finally, our dear Twilight Sparkle somehow outlasted Applejack and Spike while hanging upside-down in a tree to win her team immunity. It was the Misfits’ fourth straight win. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were both sure that Spike was the next to go, but the shocker of the season happened when the element of honesty was voted out instead. Checking the confessional, it was revealed that Spike rigged the votes to eliminate Applejack to pay Rainbow Dash back for the pain that she caused him by taking out Silver Spoon. Kinda evil, but you gotta hand it to the dragon. The kid’s got guts. Plus, there’s no rule against cheating in this game. Be that as it may, how will Spike fare now that the target is on his back even more than before? Will Rainbow Dash find out what the dragon did? Will the Magical Misfits ever lose again? Find out all these answers and more, right here, on Total…Magic…Pony…Island!

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

Rainbow Dash slumped her shoulders as she dragged herself towards her team’s cabin. She had no idea what had happened. The pain in her nose reminded her of Applejack’s brutal bucking she had given her after the Pegasus had relinquished her parting “gift”. Her mouth still tasted the orange earth pony’s rich taste delivered via her rough, yet warm lips. Her heart was hurting as she had watched the Boat of Losers vanish around the bend of the island, the ocean taking away her best friend and crush. But, her brain was enraged and just begging to let its voice be heard. A new fire had sparked inside of Rainbow Dash, and she wasn’t about to let this go.

“Um…Rainbow Dash…are you going to be okay?” Fluttershy asked, walking alongside her friend with Celestia on the cyan mare’s other side, “I’m here for you, if you need a friend to lean on…or a pony to vent upon. Um, if you must vent, please try to make it gentle…if that’s okay.”

“I’m not gonna yell at you, Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash grumbled, refusing to lift her head to even acknowledge her fellow Pegasus, “I’m fine, really! I just…man, it sucks that AJ is gone. She was…well, she was…one of the best ponies I’ve ever known.”

“You will see her again when this game is over, Rainbow Dash,” Celestia pointed out, “It’s not like this was goodbye forever. She is simply no longer with us on this horrible island.”

Rainbow Dash grit her teeth as she cast a glare over at the princess. “Princess…no offense, but…I don’t think you can understand how I feel right now. Tell me, how did YOU feel when Luna was voted out?”

A bit taken aback by the question, Celestia paused to gather her thoughts. “Well…at first, I’ll admit I was a bit…jealous…that my little sister got to go home before me to reclaim her royal duties. But, a while later, I began to feel an emptiness inside of my heart.” Celestia went silent again, pausing and making the four remaining Royal Ruffians halt in their tracks to listen to the princess. “I…I didn’t want to send my sister to the moon for 1,000 years…I really didn’t. I hated myself every day for that, but…I couldn’t just bring her back and admit I was wrong and that I overreacted…I just couldn’t. When the signs all pointed to my sister returning, I knew her pain and anger would be a problem. That was how you girls met Twilight and how you stopped my sister from herself. But, it was so nice…seeing my baby sister again. My heart was full once more.”

“But, Princess, couldn’t you have just stopped her yourself?” Spike asked, speaking up for the first time since the elimination ceremony a half hour ago, “I mean, I know you no longer could wield the elements of harmony, but you were nowhere to be seen during that entire fateful night! How come you didn’t even help your loyal student stop Nightmare Moon?”

Rainbow Dash glared at Spike for bringing up such a touchy question, Fluttershy looking a bit unnerved about the situation as well. Celestia, however, didn’t back down. “You are right, Spike…you are right in questioning my judgment. Sometimes, we do things out of fear…and out of love…that we don’t mean to do. I…I couldn’t face my sister…as Nightmare Moon. I was so ashamed and so…scared…of seeing my sister like that. Instead, I chose to come out and welcome her back with open arms only after the darkness had left her heart. I’m a coward, I’ll admit it.”

“Princess…you’re not a coward,” Fluttershy stammered, wrapping her forelegs around the dejected princess’ head and pulling her into a nuzzle, “I’m a coward, but you certainly aren’t. You rule over Equestria and do many, many amazing and wonderful things that I couldn’t even think of doing in my entire life!”

“Power and might does not equal bravery, dear Fluttershy,” Celestia said softly, burying her face into Fluttershy’s neck as she felt the Pegasus’ warmth spread through her body, “I’m not as young as I used to be, my new body aside. You, Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie Pie…and even Spike…you all are the courage of Equestria. You girls wield the elements of harmony and do things that I couldn’t even think of doing. Believe me, Fluttershy…you are braver than I.”

“So…you can understand the emptiness inside my heart then,” Rainbow Dash murmured, having listened to every word that had been spoken between the group, “I just lost a friend. Game or not, she’s no longer here. An empty void is all that remains. Each of my friends has a special place in my heart that nopony else could fill, like your sister with you, Princess. Whatever Discord did to affect those votes and get rid of Applejack, I’m not gonna rest until I make him pay. And…if it wasn’t him…I’m gonna make whoever DID do it pay instead. No one messes with me and my friends!”

The group of four sat in silence for a long time. Fluttershy and Celestia remained locked in a gentle hug, with Rainbow Dash sitting close by and Spike watching from a few feet away. Dash thought she saw the glimpse of Spike making a nervous gesture when she mentioned that she was gonna make whoever voted Applejack off pay, but she pushed it aside and instead went back to watching her two teammates hug each other. Spike eventually broke the awkward silence.

“You know…when it comes right down to it…don’t you think we’re all cowards?” the little dragon asked, “Think about it. No matter how brave or bold we might pretend we are, deep down, there’s fear in all our hearts that make us…uh…what was it that Twilight once said? Uh…oh, right…imperfect! Yeah, she once said that our fear is one of the many flaws that make each Equestrian imperfect. The fact that we are all by nature cowards is one of those flaws.”

“Speak for yourself!” Rainbow Dash suddenly flared up, whipping her head around and glaring at the baby dragon. “I’m not a coward! Do you know what kind of guts it takes to perform those tricks I do in the sky all the time? Do you know how just one wrong move could scar you for life when you’re flying at the speed of sound itself? Do you know what it feels like to have to face all my screaming fans who just want to have a piece of the Dash? That takes a LOT of courage! I’m no coward.”

Spike looked ready to throw up and punch Rainbow Dash at the same time, but being mostly respectful towards females after his life of living with Twilight, he knew better than to teach Dash a lesson with his fists. Instead, he stomped over and got right up into Dash’s face to retort what she had just spoken. “Rainbow Dash, do you even LISTEN to yourself? You are such a…”

Rainbow Dash silenced Spike as she shoved a hoof into his mouth and pushed him back. “Shut up! I don’t want to hear it from you. You should’ve gone home instead of Applejack; she didn’t deserve it! Just you wait, dragon boy. If we lose another challenge, you WILL be going home, even if I have to sit by that confessional and make sure that Discord or anypony else doesn’t mess with the ballots!”

“Um…Rainbow Dash…are you sure that was very bright to say?” Celestia asked, trotting over and glancing at the Pegasus, “You just told Spike right to his face that we want him gone next…”

“So? He knew that anyway!” Dash sneered, smirking down at the angry dragon as she stretched her wings, “Better hope we don’t lose again, buddy boy, or else you can kiss your dreams of the million bits goodbye!” She paused for a second, tapped her chin, then let out a snicker. “Actually, everypony here should’ve kissed their dreams of winning the game goodbye as soon as I arrived on the island. I’m obviously going to win, so there’s nothing you can do anyway.”

Cackling in delight, Rainbow Dash flapped her wings and took off into the night sky for her usual nightly flight around the island before heading to bed. Celestia and Fluttershy were left nervously looking at one another while Spike glared up at them with his arms crossed. “I think we need to have a little talk, ladies. Let’s head back to the cabin, shall we?”

Spike: Ah-ha, so Dash finally confessed that she was gunning for me the whole time! She’s so stupid; she never even thinks before she speaks! This is perfect, though. Fluttershy and the princess both heard her talk. Maybe, just maybe, they’ll start to see just how horrible she is and kick her off before me. *he shakes his head* It’s weird, though…Dash was never like this before…why now?

Fluttershy: Oh my…Rainbow Dash sounded so…um…mean. *she squeaked and hid half of her face with her mane as she said that* I’m sorry…I really shouldn’t speak of her like that…I care for her deeply, I really do! But…um, I’ve kinda noticed…a little bit…that she hasn’t been herself since this game started. Does she really care about winning…that much? I…I worry about her…she’s a close friend and I love her.

Celestia: What a mess this night was. First a painful and humiliating challenge, then I find out Discord raided my castle and Luna didn’t stop him, then Applejack somehow gets sent home, and finally Spike and Rainbow Dash get into another fight. This is very troubling, to say the least. *she narrows her eyes a little* I believe this is Discord’s doing…something isn’t right here, and I’m going to find out what!

Rainbow Dash: Well, seeing AJ go home was tough…and I’m still hurting over it…but, what can ya do? What’s done is done; I’m not much for crying and acting all weepy anyway. Applejack would’ve gone down to me eventually anyway, since only ONE can win this game. *she grins excitedly, her eyes narrowing into devious slits* Fluttershy won’t betray me, and the princess is loyal…Spike is a goner!

“Girls, girls, did you hear? Applejack got sent home!” Scootaloo shouted, racing back to her team’s hot tub and reciting the stunning news, “Spike got two votes, but Applejack got three!”

“Wait, what?!?!” Twilight gasped, shaking her head and blinking a few times, as though she didn’t believe she had heard the filly correctly, “Applejack is gone? But…but…HOW? No offense to Spike, but I was SURE that he’d be gone! I love him and all, but…Applejack, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash are all best friends, and I don’t think the princess would betray them, since that’s just not like her. Spike was clearly the one who was supposed to go. What in the world happened?”

“I don’t know,” Scootaloo shrugged, “I was spying, as I always do, to make sure that Rainbow didn’t go home. When the five votes were read, Applejack was sent packing. Rainbow tried to defend her, but she and Fluttershy and the princess were all shot away by some black lightning or something before Nightmare Moon dragged AJ to the Boat of Losers. Discord claimed that he had nothing to do with it.”

“Well, he’s CLEARLY lying,” Rarity frowned, up to her neck in the steaming water of the hot tub as she listened to the filly’s story, “There is absolutely no way that Applejack should’ve been sent home this evening. If not Spike, then surely Rainbow Dash would’ve been voted off next, since her attitude has been downright deplorable and disgusting. If not Discord messing with the votes, how else would Applejack have been sent away?”

“Maybe Fluttershy and Princess Celestia accidentally wrote Applejack’s name with a magical quill that writes down the name of the camper that you DON’T want to write?” Pinkie guessed.

“Perhaps somepony fixed the votes to go to Applejack?” Trixie wagered, “Not that Trixie cares, since she didn’t like that annoying farmer, but does it not seem that Applejack being eliminated is rather peculiar and suspicious?”

“Hmm…you don’t think that Spike would…” Cheerilee whispered to herself, narrowing her eyes as she gazed down at the bubbling waters of the hot tub. Thankfully, she didn’t speak loud enough to be heard over the hissing waters, so the teacher’s thoughts went ignored as the other Misfits focused on their own thoughts and theories.

“Wait a minute…I got it!” Twilight gasped, her eyes bulging. She leaned out of the hot tub and placed her hooves on the side as she rose up to make a proclamation. “Don’t you all see? It’s so obvious! This is all part of Discord’s master plan…whatever that may be. This was part of his plan from the start! First, he brought the only ponies…and their friends…who could stop him to this island so that they would be out of his way. Then, he decided to make us play one of his sick and twisted games for his own amusement. But, all along, he’s been working behind the scenes with Nightmare Moon on their revenge against Equestria…and us! He sent home the first element of harmony, Applejack. Now, there’s five left and one isn’t here. We’re playing right into his hands!”

“Um, Twilight, I don’t really think Discord would do something like that,” Cheerilee replied, “He’s not really much for plans…he just does what he wants and has fun with it. If you ask me, Applejack going home was simply due to Spike…”

“This is HORRIBLE!” Rarity cried, interrupting Cheerilee’s thoughts, “Oh, Twilight, why didn’t we see it before? Clearly you are correct. Discord and Nightmare Moon are toying with us until the right moment before they strike and take their vengeance! Oh, this is just terrible!” She bawled her eyes out, forcing Pinkie to give her a reassuring squishy hug.

“The longer we stay on this island, the more trouble we’re in!” Twilight went on, “We really should find a way to leave as quickly as possible. Like last time, the longer we play this meaningless game, the longer Discord’s TRUE plan will be left unblemished!”

“But do you propose we do, Twilight Sparkle?” Trixie asked, “As much as Trixie loathes admitting it, we cannot use our magic. There is also no chance that Trixie is swimming across an entire ocean that could stretch on for miles and miles! The Boat of Losers only comes when somepony is voted off, too, so we simply cannot wait for that, either.”

“Maybe we could ask Rainbow Dash to fly us out of here?” Scootaloo piped up hopefully, “She’s the best flier in all of Equestria, you know. It would probably take her no less than five minutes to fly each of us home, no matter how far it is!”

Twilight paused to consider what Trixie and Scootaloo said. Trixie was correct in stating that they really had no way off the island using conventional means. Scootaloo was also correct in stating that Dash could probably fly each of the campers off, one by one, but the danger in that was alerting Discord with what they were doing. There was something that didn’t make a lot of sense to Twilight, too. When all the campers got to the island, Discord had outwardly stated that they were free to quit whenever they wanted; the only thing keeping them going was the chance to win one million bits, not to mention gaining worldwide fame. If Discord WAS up to something, shouldn’t he have put up more boundaries?

“Girls…on second thought…I think we should stay where we are,” Twilight eventually said, sighing and feeling very nervous about making such a statement.

“WHAT?!?! But, darling, even YOU must admit that something very wrong is going on here!” Rarity argued, “Whatever made you change your mind?”

“I think the odds are still in our favor,” Twilight explained, “Think about it. If we were to try and get Dash to fly us out of here, we could easily alert Discord and Nightmare Moon; you know how showy Dash can be when she flies. Plus, what would that accomplish? We’d be leaving Discord and Nightmare Moon all by themselves on this island, which is NOT a good thing. I think we need to stay close to them and not let them out of our sights. As long as one or both are here, then I THINK we’re alright.”

“That doesn’t sound very reassuring, Sparkle,” Trixie growled, “Is that the best plan you’ve got?”

“Princess Celestia is still here, too,” Twilight continued, “Plus, Princess Luna got voted off, so that means she SHOULD have regained her magic, right? As long as Luna is still out there, and Princess Celestia is still here with us, I don’t think we should really be afraid. Panicking isn’t going to help matters; I’ve learned that the hard way, and I don’t want to make that mistake again.”

“Well, if Twilight says that we shouldn’t worry, then I’m not going to worry!” Pinkie giggled, wrapping her forelegs around Twilight’s neck and pulling her into a tight hug, “Twilight is the smartest and most adorable pony in all of Equestria; she’s never wrong! I’ll listen to her no matter what!”

“Yeah…Twilight has saved the world a couple times…with Dash’s help, of course…so, I think we should listen to her.” Scootaloo nodded her head and gave Twilight her support.

“You’re my best friend, darling. I’ll listen to you as well.” Rarity smiled weakly and gave Twilight a little nod of acknowledgement.

“Humph…just be aware, Sparkle,” Trixie warned, “If anything should happen to the likes of Trixie thanks to your decision, you WILL be voted off…or in the very least punished. But, until then, Trixie will have to let you have your way. It’s best if the pressure is all on you anyway.” She gave a devious little smirk, but also gave a nod to show that she was being mostly serious.

“Girls, please, listen to me!” Cheerilee sighed, “All this worry was never needed! I fully believe that Spike simply rigged the votes to get rid of Applejack. Why are you all making such a big deal out of…um, aren’t you listening to me?”

“What’d you say, Miss Cheerilee?” Scootaloo glanced over at her teacher, having been focused on listening to Twilight mutter her thanks to the team’s support of her decision. The rest of the team all finally glanced at Cheerilee as well, giving her the attention that she had wanted from the beginning.

Closing her eyes and expelling a deep, aggravated sigh, Cheerilee just shook her head. “Never mind, girls. It was nothing important. Twilight, you have my support, too; you can count on me for whatever you need, for as long as I remain in this game.” Despite her inner annoyance at never getting taken seriously, the earth pony lifted her head and gave the purple unicorn a warm smile to show that the Magical Misfits were all on the same page.

“Thanks, girls…trust me, when the time comes, I’ll always be by your sides,” Twilight said softly, slowly easing out her left hoof towards the center of the hot tub, “But, game or not, you are all like my family and you girls will always come first. If moving to Ponyville had taught me anything, it was to treasure those around you and be thankful for them every day of your life. Come on…let’s keep pushing forward as strongly as we can…as one!”

“As one!” the other five Magical Misfits cried, putting their own hooves in the middle of the hot tub to join Twilight’s. Cheerilee and Scootaloo nuzzled up against each other, Pinkie giggled and squeezed whatever hooves she was grabbing, and the three unicorns all smiled at one another. For the first time, Trixie looked touched to be included in Twilight’s “family”.

Scootaloo: Yeah! We’re a family and we’re gonna keep winning as a family! Nothing can break us apart! *she blushes slightly, then squirms and fidgets with her hooves* Well, if Rainbow Dash were to become part of this family, that would be even better. *she lets out a little sigh that sounds more like a Fluttershy squeak* Rainbow Dash is SO cool…and now with Applejack gone, I can finally make my move!

Cheerilee: Such camaraderie, after starting out so terrible…it’s a beautiful sight. After being ignored, I realized it was probably a sign that sharing my thoughts on Spike would’ve ruined the warm atmosphere. I’m proud of Trixie on how far she’s come, even though she still has a long way to go…but she’s on the right track! But, Scootaloo… *she sighs and shakes her head* …I fear she’s still backing Rainbow.

Rarity: Yes, we are a family…a rather uncouth and dysfunctional family, but a family nonetheless. I’m glad that my…recent transgressions…have been forgiven by the team. As for the Ruffians, I think Applejack received a favor in getting voted off. Rainbow Dash is simply no good for her at this time; that Pegasus is a completely different pony in this game! *she looks slightly nervous at that confession*

Pinkie: Yay! We are family! We are family! Hurray! *she bounces in place, her mane bouncing as much as the pony was* I had to pull them all in for a group hug afterwards, too. It feels so amazing seeing the team so happy, especially Twilight. *she shyly glances down at the confessional floor* When Twilight is happy, she makes the most adorable expression…it just makes me want to snuggle her!

Trixie: Humph…what a pathetic bunch of foals. Trixie is disgraced to be in their presence! A family? Oh, please…Trixie knows there is no such thing. *she wraps her left foreleg and hoof around her body, as though hugging herself, and her face goes soft* It…it really…made Trixie feel…so very happy…to hear that she was no longer an outcast…and that her team liked her. Are those…just lies…or is this real?

Twilight: Well, I’ve got all the problems covered, should the need arise. I’m keeping my eye on Discord and Nightmare Moon, but for now, I’m focusing on taking care of my team and my friends. Naturally, I’ll be checking on Princess Celestia whenever I can, too. *poking at her horn* To think I could really compete in such horribly tough and weird challenges without my magic…I’m surprised at myself!

“Okay, girls, dry yourselves off and get to bed!” Twilight ordered, entering the Misfits’ cabin and motioning towards the team’s pile of towels, “You all performed admirably today in that brutal challenge, and you all deserve a good night’s rest.”

“Darling, you know perfectly well that you were the one that won us that challenge,” Rarity chuckled, giving her fellow unicorn a nuzzle, “Do not sell yourself short. You deserve as much of a good night’s sleep as the rest of us.”

“Agreed, Sparkle,” Trixie sniffed, “If not for that obnoxious brat of a party pony that you all find hilarious and Trixie finds irritating, Trixie would’ve won. But, she must concede that you indeed outlasted all the others and performed brilliantly. For that, you have…some of Trixie’s respect.”

Rolling her eyes playfully at Trixie’s usual conceited attitude, Twilight Sparkle smiled at her two fellow unicorns and couldn’t help but feel thankful. Not counting Sweetie Belle or Luna, Vinyl Scratch was the only unicorn who had been voted out of the game. Twilight saw that the unicorns were defying the odds and were performing better than expected. Without the use of magic, Twilight had initially feared that she, Rarity and even Trixie would be in a world of trouble. But, here all three of them were, happy and still fighting hard. Their team was on a four-challenge winning streak, and while the Ruffians were in disarray, the Misfits were in perfect sync.

“Thank you, girls…you both should be proud of yourselves, too,” Twilight explained to Trixie and Rarity, “No one gave us unicorns a chance, and yet we’re still here and nothing is going to stop us! I really feel bad that we got rid of Vinyl so early…looking back, Gilda would’ve been a better choice.”

“Can’t argue with THAT logic,” Rarity muttered, “That griffon had about as much manners and kindness as a diamond dog. I do feel bad about sending Vinyl home so early, but…well, nothing that can be done now to change that.”

“Trixie knew that she would get here without the use of her powerful magic,” Trixie bragged, “You should not be so surprised that she is still standing. After all, she is going to win this game and get that million bits. Maybe, if you two beg enough, she will give you five bits each for your troubles.”

Twilight: *shaking her head and rolling her eyes up to the ceiling, but she was smiling* Oh, Trixie…what am I gonna do with you? Sometime, I need to have a one-on-one with you.

“Night-night, Twilight!” Pinkie called out, snuggling down into her bed after giving the purple mare a frantic wave with her foreleg, “See you in the morning! I love you.” She spoke the last words as silently as she could, so much that Twilight didn’t hear them.

“Night, Miss Cheerilee and everypony else,” Scootaloo yawned, crawling into her own bed and giving a lazy wave herself, “Sleep tight…have nice dreams and all that.” The tired little filly soon snuggled down into her pillow and was fast asleep.

“Have a good rest, everypony,” Cheerilee said, ducking under her covers and casting a forlorn glance over towards Scootaloo’s bed, “See you in the morning. May you all stay in good spirits.”

Muttering “goodnights” themselves, Rarity and Trixie both made their way into their cabin bunk beds as well, Rarity performing her usual onceover of the bed before making sure she got tucked in properly. Twilight trotted around the cabin, checking on each of her teammates one last time, as she always did, before heading to her own bed. She knew that she was the leader of her team, and they all looked up to her. Even Trixie, who continued to constantly show defiance and rudeness now and then, realized that it was thanks to a lot of Twilight’s leadership abilities that they had won so much. The purple unicorn also knew that this put a huge target on her back should her team lose again, but she didn’t care. This is what she was born to be.

Stifling a yawn, Twilight lifted back her covers and eased herself down onto her bed. She had gotten used to acting like an earth pony without the use of her magic, and she honestly didn’t mind that much. Sure, it was a lot harder to perform various tasks and she wished every day that she had her beloved magic back, but she was coping as best as she could. A while ago, Twilight made a mental note to make a lesson out of this experience. Discord had removed her horn once before, but it was only for an hour or so. Spending weeks on a camp while performing dangerous, disgusting, creepy and odd challenges without the use of magic was much different, and Twilight was seeing just what life was like while being normal, or simply without magic.

“Trixie…Pinkie…Rarity…” Twilight whispered, laying her head down on her fluffy pillow and glancing over at the silent bedsides of her fellow teammates, “Cheerilee…Scootaloo…I really meant what I said. Discord is putting through this stressful, dangerous, and completely illogical test, possibly to break us and have a good laugh at our expense, but…we are a family. I’ve gotten to know each of you a lot better than I had known before, and I’m very glad for that.” As the unicorn closed her eyes to let the sands of slumber take her, she gave a weak smile. “No matter what the challenge, love and friendship will always find a way through.”

Pinkie: *sleepwalking, as always, she hugs her body as she rocks back and forth on the toilet, apparently having a good dream as evident to the smile on her snoozing face* Family…friendship and love…cupcakes and sprinkles…oatmeal…kumquats and pickle barrels…Twilight and Pinkie, together forever…don’t you dare break a Pinkie Promise…or else Pinkie gets red in the head…hehe…hehehe…

“Ah, another night, another great flight!” Rainbow Dash crowed, patting her chest as she settled down towards the Ruffians’ cabin, “I’ve almost got the entire island memorized! Man I’m good!”

“Evening, Dash.”

Rainbow Dash froze as she heard the commanding voice speak to her from the darkness. She quickly snapped out of her trance and got into a defensive stance, her eyes bearing down into a glare as she tried to find the speaker. From the dark corner of the Royal Ruffians’ cabin, Spike stepped out of the shadows with his arms crossed, his eyes locked onto the Pegasus. When she saw that it was only Spike, Rainbow relaxed her body, but her glare stayed plastered on her face.

“Hey, Spike. To what do I owe this pleasure, hmm? You going to apologize for calling me a coward?”

“No. I was going to tell you that you’d better start shaping up, because even if you succeed in getting me out, you can’t win a game where you act like a jerk.” Spike stepped right up to the angry Pegasus, smirking a little as he kept staring at her magenta eyes. “Have you learned anything from Applejack being unfairly voted out?”

“What’s THAT supposed to mean?” Rainbow Dash snapped, stomping closer and shoving her face into Spike’s, attempting to intimidate him, “Are you threatening me?”

Not backing down, Spike stayed firm as he pushed his face right back into Dash’s. “Not in the least. I was just seeing if you learned anything, that’s all. Don’t you feel like you should maybe…oh, I don’t know…apologize for getting rid of Silver Spoon when she clearly didn’t deserve it?”

“Look, Spike, I’m sorry you picked the wrong girl to fall in love with, but this is a game for a bunch of money, not to mention becoming famous. A little filly like that would’ve hurt us more than help us during the long haul. The team did what had to be done.”

Spike seemed to emit a small hiss from deep in his throat, his reptilian tongue flickering out as his eyes flashed dangerously. When Dash didn’t back down, he clenched his fists and pushed his face to within an inch of Rainbow’s. “Well, I guess sending Applejack away was what ‘had to be done’ as well then. You reap what you sow, Rainbow Dash.”

“Get out of my face, dragon boy.”

“Why don’t you make me?”

The Pegasus and baby dragon both continued to glare into the other’s pupils, their teeth clenched and their bodies etched into positions that indicated they desired nothing more than to attack the one staring them down. The scales on Spike’s back and head curved into an arc with each passing second, his eyes flashing as he glared at Rainbow Dash, the same look a hungry lion would give a wounded deer. Rainbow Dash’s mane puffed out as sweat dribbled down her face and her wings became ruffled; the longer she and Spike glared each other down, the more frazzled the Pegasus’ body became.

Eventually, Dash was the one to break the glare-down as she stuck her muzzle into the air. “You’re not worth my time.”

“I was about to the same the same to you,” Spike said in disgust, watching as Rainbow Dash pushed open the Ruffians’ cabin door and casually stomped inside.

“Hey…a piece of advice…I’d stay out of my way if I were you,” Rainbow Dash said coldly, glancing over her right shoulder as she observed the dragon never taking his eyes off her, “I’m not one to be trifled with, little dragon. I may be the element of loyalty, but this is a whole different game than the one that we play in the outside world. What happens on this island STAYS on this island, but I’m not the same girl as I am in Ponyville. One last warning, Spike: stay out of my way. Don’t mess with me.” She slammed the door to the cabin shut with her hind leg, leaving a seething dragon in her wake.

“The same applies to you, Rainbow Dash…the same applies to you,” Spike growled, slowly stalking off to have some alone time.

Rainbow Dash: Okay, when we get home and the thoughts of fame and fortune are behind me, I’ll probably regret this. But, you know what? That dragon is cruising for a bruising! *she cracks her hooved knuckles, then cracks her neck, all while giving the camera an evil sneer* And, I’m just the Pegasus to give it to him! Once I’m through with him, he’s gonna wish he had never tangled with Rainbow Dash!

Spike: You know, I almost felt guilty going to war with one of Twilight’s best friends. Trust me, I’m a lover, not a fighter! But, all the same… *he cracks his own knuckles, then attempts to give an evil laugh, which only led to him coughing* Ugh…need to work on my evil laugh…but, as I was saying, Dash didn’t seem to get the hint with AJ going home. So, nothing personal, but this dragon is taking that mare down!

Rainbow Dash sniffed in displeasure as she thought about how to take Spike down and show him that you never mess with the element of loyalty, glancing over and seeing Fluttershy already softly squeaking in her deep slumber. The cyan mare grinned to herself as she contemplated a plan on how to get rid of Spike. She knew that Fluttershy would always stick by her, no matter what. For one, the yellow mare was too nervous to dare go against her. For two, the pair had known each other since Flight School, so they were closer than two peas in a pod. Dash giggled to herself; her friendship with most of the other players in the game was going to work wonders for her.

“Sleep well, my little Fluttershy…your good friend Rainbow Dash will keep you safe, don’t worry,” Dash cooed, her voice piercing the silence of the cabin as she admired her fellow Pegasus from afar, “And, in return, you’re gonna take me to the end. Don’t worry, though; I’ll give you a cut of my winnings once I get there. Not too much, but some.” She giggled to herself once more before hopping up onto her bed. The absence of Princess Celestia didn’t bother her; in fact, she was rather glad that the princess wasn’t there. Dash felt more comfortable without the presence of royalty.

Fluttershy shivered in her sleep, whispering something under her breath as her dreams invaded her fragile mind. As Rainbow Dash cuddled up under her covers, she took one last look over at her friend. For a split-second, Rainbow Dash almost saw a chest with a million bits lying in the bed instead of the yellow mare. Letting a sigh escape her lips, the cyan mare turned back the other way and slowly allowed her eyes to flutter shut. She didn’t care about Spike, or even Princess Celestia for that matter. She had a plan for winning this game and proving how amazing she was, and nothing was going to stop her.

Outside on the quiet campgrounds, Spike was the only living soul that the cameras could catch. The dragon was pacing back and forth on the shoreline of the beach, holding a clawed finger to his chin as he tried to think of a plan on how to finalize his revenge against Rainbow Dash. The dragon had no personal vendetta against the Pegasus, but at the moment, he desired nothing more than to see her lose and take the Boat of Losers away in a humiliating, shameful departure that would avenge Zecora, Silver Spoon, and even Sweetie Belle. He didn’t even care about winning the million bit prize as much as he wanted to see Dash lose and to make her learn a valuable lesson about humility and TRUE loyalty. Above all, Spike wanted to make sure no one else had to suffer the same fate that Silver Spoon had to endure.

As the dragon continued to pace deep into the night, Princess Celestia stalked around the shadows of the cabins as she tried to stay hidden. She had memorized the camp layout, so she knew where Discord and Nightmare Moon’s private cabin was located. The two hosts shared a cabin they called home during the game on Calamity Island, isolated on the north end of the campgrounds, away from all the campers but still in a prime spot to watch everything that unfolded. It was almost like a prison watchtower, able to see anything from its secluded area. The cabin was Celestia’s designated destination.

“I’m going to find out what you’re plotting, Discord,” the tiny princess hissed, leaping out of the moonlight as she made it to the back of the mess hall, “Ugh, Luna…your moonbeams can be SO frustrating sometimes.” Knowing that she could either use her wings to fly to the hosts’ cabin, or just rush straight through the open field between the mess hall and the building. Either way seemed dangerous, and Celestia knew that she could be caught rather easily if she wasn’t careful. Her sleek white body made her stand out like a lamb in a crowd of wolves.

Celestia: I knew I was playing with fire, but with or without magic and small or big, I’m STILL the princess of Equestria. It was high time I did some investigating to find out Discord’s true plans. I can’t just fly away from the island and desert Twilight and her friends; what kind of princess would I be if I did something so cowardly? But, all the same, Discord’s plans are going to be revealed soon, believe me!

Throwing caution to the wind, Celestia took a deep breath and carefully lowered herself down as far as she could to the ground. When she made herself as small as possible, she began streaking through the grassy field between the mess hall and Discord’s cabin as quickly as she could. It was very awkward moving in such a way, and Celestia couldn’t help but wince at having to maneuver so fleetingly. She still wasn’t used to her shrunken legs, and the strain of stalking in such a lowered manner put a strain on her lower back, but no one seemed to notice her. The campgrounds remained silent and no animated floodlights or other crazy contraptions via Discord ended up appearing above the host’s cabin.

“Yes…I made it!” Celestia wheezed, soon reaching Discord’s cabin and giving a weary grin, “Now, time to find out what you’ve got going on in here, Discord. Oh, and Nightmare Moon as well.” Very carefully, Celestia etched her way around the side of the cabin, heading towards the dark window on the western side of the small wooden building. When the small princess arrived at the window, she nimbly stood up on her hind legs and peered inside. Past the glass of the window, Celestia frowned when she realized that she couldn’t see anything. It was far too dark.

When she tried to move her face even closer to the glass, straining her neck to get a better angle, the window suddenly turned white and Celestia quickly moved her head away in alarm. What she now found on the outside of the window was a small, white poster with Discord’s grinning face plastered in the middle. The words: “Hello, Celestia!” were printed in big, black letters on the top. On the bottom of Discord’s picture was a small, black bomb. Even though the deadly object was seemingly nothing more than a part of the poster, the lit fuse that was slowly vanishing with each passing millisecond and the loud hissing sound that was now echoing right in front of Celestia’s face made it known that this was not just a painted piece of artwork. Celestia’s face slowly paled.

“Oh…um, what is it younger ponies say nowadays? Oh, right…oh, horsefeathers.”

A moment later, the painted picture of the bomb exploded right in Celestia’s face, blasting her and making her sail away from the cabin. She tried to scream, but the black dust from the explosion made her choke and she couldn’t get anything out of her throat besides coughs. As the princess sailed over the top of the mess hall and towards her team’s cabin, she could’ve sworn she heard Discord’s piercing laugh echoing in the night air. Or, it might’ve just been another effect from the bomb. Either way, when Celestia eventually splatted against the side of the Royal Ruffians’ cabin, she knew the pain she felt wasn’t make-believe and that her newly-charred body wasn’t a mirage. Interestingly enough, the loud explosion didn’t seem to be heard by the rest of the camp, as no one came out to investigate. So, when Celestia eventually let out a pathetic whimper of pain and ended up peeling off the side of her team’s cabin, she realized she’d be on the ground for a while.

Celestia: *her white body now completely black, similar to Luna’s, and a few makeshift bandages and casts appearing on a few of her body parts* Discord…will soon face…my anger and wrath…once I get ahold of him…and Nightmare Moon. *she coughed and spat out some soot, then a piece of wood from the top of the confessional broke off, struck her in the head, and knocked her unconscious*

After the eventful night, the well-rested Magical Misfits eventually flowed out of their cabin in high spirits. Rainbow Dash burst out of her team’s cabin almost right at the crack of dawn and went for her usual morning flight. Spike had slept on the beach, not wanting to be near the remains of his team, and was only awoken when a seagull landed on his head and tried to peck off one of his scales. Fluttershy was a little scared waking up in an empty cabin, and was even more scared when she trotted outside and found a blackened Celestia lying lifeless on the ground. It didn’t take long until Nurse Fluttershy was once again on the scene.

“Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no…this is bad, this is bad, this is bad, this is bad!” Fluttershy stammered, carrying the moaning Princess Celestia on her backside as she entered the showers in her nurse outfit, “Okay, calm down, Fluttershy…you can do this. She’s just a pony…like all your friends…who also happens to be the princess of Equestria, that’s all. No pressure…no pressure at all.” She gently laid the still princess inside the broken shower stall the two mares had used not so long ago, before turning on the showerhead and switching the water to warm.

Princess Celestia’s moans began to increase as she felt the warm water start to wash away the dry soot etched onto her body, the remnants of last night’s explosive punishment still haunting her dreams. Fluttershy very gently scrubbed and washed the princess as best as she could with the washrag she found, being careful to not harm the princess’ wings. The yellow mare was incredibly nervous treating the princess like this, but all she was concerned about was making sure she was better. She didn’t know what happened, but she didn’t care. She would always be there to help out a pony or animal in need.

Fluttershy: *her face slightly blackened from how hard she worked to clean and care for Celestia* Oh my…that was…kinda new for me. I’ve never really done…something like that…for another pony before. I don’t know how the poor princess got like that, but…I hope she’s okay now. I treated her wounds, which weren’t too severe, and cleaned her up really nice. I hope she’s not mad at me now.

“So…explain to me again exactly WHAT you’re talking about Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash frowned, pushing open the mess hall door and leading the campers inside, “What happened to the princess?”

“I have no idea, Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy sighed, getting slightly annoyed with having to constantly explain herself, “I found her in pain outside our cabin, covered in soot and bruises, so I had to go and treat her. I think my nursing skills are really paying off.”

“Right…” Dash raised an eyebrow at the Pegasus, but simply shrugged and decided to leave well enough alone. “Eh, at least the princess is better now, right? You doing alright, Princess?” She cast a glance behind her back, watching as Spike and Celestia soon filed inside, followed by the Magical Misfits, all of whom had taken a morning dip in their hot tub before deciding to head to breakfast.

“I am fine, Rainbow Dash, thank you,” Celestia said coolly, her body looking to be the same as always. Fluttershy’s hooves had worked wonders on her in such little time; the princess was eternally grateful to the Pegasus. She decided to keep her actions from last night a secret; there was no reason alerting the ponies and Spike to what she was doing. Plus, the less that they knew the better; Celestia didn’t want to worry her subjects. It was bad enough Discord apparently knew what she was doing and had set one of his annoying traps for her before she even got to his cabin. She would have to work harder to find out his motives, if there were any.

“So, what’s for eats?” Pinkie asked, bouncing inside a moment later with a slightly-damp mane, “Are we getting some black oatmeal again? It really does a number on the tummy, but it really tastes nice if you eat enough of it. I think six bowls usually makes the bitter flavor go away?”

Twilight: Pinkie Pie is such a medical mystery. She can get sick from eating a cupcake with earthworms inside of it, but yet she can down anything that Nightmare Moon makes without even cringing or getting a bellyache. *she scratches her head, looking slightly intrigued* She’s so interesting. Every time I think I know her, she continues to leave me baffled. What’s really inside that brain of hers?

“Funny you should ask that, Pinkie Pie,” Discord’s voice rang out through the empty mess hall. Almost the instant he was done talking, the mess hall door slammed shut and locked behind the campers’ backs, causing several of them to jump in fright. They still hadn’t gotten used to Discord’s annoying antics. The draconequus appeared a second later in front of the 10 campers, a wide-rimmed grin stretched out onto his face. “Today, I have a little treat in store for you girls…and Spike.”

“It’s SO nice to get noticed,” Spike grumbled, glaring at Rainbow Dash when he heard the Pegasus snicker in amusement.

“I am pleased to announce that you 10 have reached the halfway point of the game, so congratulations on making it this far!” Discord went on, floating over to the campers and giving a few of them unnerving pats on the head or tickles under the chin, “That is why, as your reward for today, no one is up for elimination! However, don’t let that get you complacent; the challenge for today has a wicked reward in store for the winner, so it’s worth fighting for!”

“What’s the reward, Discord?” Rainbow Dash demanded, “If I don’t like the sound of it, I’m not gonna play your game. If I’m not up for elimination, there’s no reason to waste my amazing skills on a pointless challenge for a stupid reward that doesn’t tickle my fancy.”

“Yeah, what Rainbow Dash said!” Scootaloo echoed, eagerly standing up tall and trying to make herself stand out for siding the blue Pegasus. All she got was a few glares from Trixie, Rarity and Spike, not to mention a sigh and a look of disappointment from Cheerilee.

“Oh, very well, since you’re being such a brat about it, I may as well inform you what you’ll be playing for today.” Discord rolled his eyes, then snapped his fingers as a movie projector appeared in front of the campers. Another snap of his fingers caused an overhead screen to appear. When the draconequus flicked on the projector, several pictures began to roll past on the white screen.

“For whoever wins today’s challenge, that lucky contestant or contestants will receive an all-expense paid trip on a luxurious airship, the newest and largest model just crafted in Canterlot. For one whole week, they will get to tour the skies of Equestria while being treated to lavish trips to an onboard spa, a buffet with food NOT made by Nightmare Moon, dancing and music and other forms of entertainment, beautiful and comfortable beds made from the finest carpenters in all the land, being able to get away from this island for an entire week, AND get free treatments for whatever possible symptoms they might contract during today’s challenge. So, what do you think? Is this a prize worth fighting for?”

Rarity: Oh my stars and garters! What a WONDERFUL prize! *her eyes began to sparkle as she placed her hooves together, looking up at the top of the confessional in a whimsical, dreamy sense* To be treated to daily trips to a spa, whenever I choose, not to mention the finest food, beds, AND varying forms of entertainment? While on the best model of airship from Canterlot? FOR FREE? I feel I may faint!

Rainbow Dash: Eh, it could’ve been better…but, still, a week away from this crummy place? Plus, I get all the free food and free entertainment that I could ask for? Yeah, I’m down with that. Once I win the challenge today, a luxurious airship ride is only fit for the greatest flier in all of Equestria. *she grins, then flexes her muscles a bit* Man, from a Canterlot airship…looking down on everypony else…priceless.

“Ooh, this does sound like a reward fit for a mare like Trixie!” Trixie sighed dreamily, rubbing her hooves together as she thought about riding on the airship, “Trixie cannot wait to get started!” The rest of the campers all shared Trixie’s excited and dreamy expression, to the point of a few of them even starting to drool. Discord had to snap his fingers to reclaim their attention.

“Exciting, yes? So, are you all ready to hear about what the challenge is about?” the host asked, crossing his arms and looking deviously excited about what was going to happen.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to Twilight. “Wait a second…you mentioned that, during the airship cruise, we’d get treatments for ‘whatever possible symptoms we may contract during today’s challenge’, right? So…er…just what did that entail?”

Discord’s grin stretched even wider as he watched the happy smiles slowly slip away from the campers’ faces after hearing Twilight’s concerns. His eyes sparkled with his usual playful, chaotic flair as he twiddled his clawed fingers together in his favorite devious manner. “I guess we’re going to find out in a few minutes, aren’t we, my dear Twilight?”

“I really don’t like the sound of this at all,” Celestia growled, locking eyes with Discord and shooting him a silent threat about what had happened last night.

“Come now, Celestia, you should know that nothing comes easy in life,” Discord scolded, “Big prizes and big rewards are only gained through hard work and tough challenges. You didn’t really think that you would get this luxurious reward just for doing something easy, did you?”

“Is that a trick question?” Pinkie asked, tilting her head.

Ignoring Pinkie, Discord licked his lips and stared down the 10 nervous campers. “Okay, first thing’s first. This challenge is going to be different than all the others. Spike, you go over there.” Discord pointed to the stunned baby dragon and then motioned for him to head to the right side of the mess hall to sit at what was formally known as the Magical Misfits’ table. “All you ladies please go and sit at the other table, alright?”

“Um…okay then…” Spike gulped, nervously walking away from the nine females and heading towards the table all by himself. The nine ponies eyed one another curiously, wondering just where this was going, but they all followed Discord’s instructions anyway. Deep down, Rainbow Dash was thrilled to be away from Spike, whereas Fluttershy was happy to be with her old friends again and Celestia was thrilled to see Twilight. None of the girls seemed upset at having Spike sit by himself.

“Wow, this is so cool! Hi Dashie! Hi Fluttershy! Hi Princess!” Pinkie cheered, giving each of the three former Royal Ruffian girls a big hug as they momentarily joined forces at what used to be the Royal Ruffians’ mess hall table. “It’s so nice to be sitting altogether as one team! No offense, Spike.”

“None taken, Pinkie,” Spike grumbled, sitting in the middle of his own large table with his arms crossed, looking very irritable as he stared at the nine girls all grinning at him from across the room.

“I suppose you’re all wondering why you’ve been split up,” Discord mused, now standing at the front of the mess hall, leaning against the wall as he idly watched the girls socialize and Spike sulk, “Well, we’re going to have a good old fashioned battle of the sexes today, and…since Spike is the only male…I’m afraid that means he has to play by himself.”

“WHAT?!?!” All 10 campers looked beyond stunned at this news. Even though it had been somewhat obvious that Spike would have to face all nine girls in whatever the day’s challenge was, they hadn’t exactly come to realization of that fact until Discord informed them of it. Immediately, numerous protests began to be shouted out across the room.

“That’s not fair! Depending on the challenge, there’s only one of him, but nine of us!”

“I can’t possibly beat all nine of those girls! There’s Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Princess Celestia…”

“You can’t do this, Discord! This is totally unfair!”

“Spike is clearly going to beat us when it’s just him over there!”

“Those girls are gonna cream me! I can’t win a whole challenge by myself!”

Discord pulled out Nightmare Moon’s bullhorn and pulled the trigger. As soon as the horrendous earsplitting sound shook the mess hall, all the complaints and protests were silenced, drowned out and replaced with shrieks of pain. A few moments later, Discord snickered and tossed the bullhorn behind his back. “Now that you all had your fun whining about my rules, I can actually explain what the challenge is. Don’t worry; I planned this out so that this should be a fair fight.”

“I doubt that,” Rainbow Dash snapped, exchanging dirty looks with Spike from across the room.

“Your challenge today is going to be a special cupcake-eating contest!” Discord finally announced, throwing his hands up into the air as though he had just revealed something exciting. When all he was greeted with was annoyed silence from the 10 campers, he coughed and weakly put his hands back down. “Eh-hem…yes, well…trust me, these are no ordinary cupcakes that you all are about to consume.”

“What do you mean? Cupcakes are cupcakes!” Pinkie smiled, “Unless they’re not cupcakes, which would mean they’re something else entirely, like pickles or cumquats or muffins or watermelons or apples or oranges or sandwiches or…”

Twilight quickly stuck a hoof over Pinkie’s mouth. “We get the point, Pinkie.” Despite her mouth being covered, Pinkie continued to talk into Twilight’s hoof, leading to the unicorn giving a quick sigh.

“As I was saying, these cupcakes are VERY unique,” Discord continued, “Here’s how this will work. Using the 10 special types of cupcakes Nightmare Moon created, each ‘team’ will have to eat the cupcake that they are given. However, you cannot just stuff the whole thing into your mouth and gulp it down. To add a little twist, you must take at LEAST two bites of your cupcake. Spike, since you’re by yourself and that gives you an advantage, you must eat TWO of each cupcake, which would technically mean four bites minimum for you.”

“Regardless, this still doesn’t seem that hard,” Spike grinned, feeling a lot better about his chances, “What’s so bad about eating cupcakes? And I’m totally fine with not eating them all in one bite.”

“Well, you say that now, but wait until I explain what type of cupcakes they are,” Discord smirked, “You see, we couldn’t just allow you campers to eat normal old cupcakes; that would be too easy. So, putting our heads together, Nightmare Moon and I came up with an amazing idea! Campers, all 10 types of cupcakes are specially made to resemble and describe…you campers!”

“Uh…come again?” Rarity blinked, “I don’t think I fully understand what you’re saying, Discord.”

“I think it’s best if I just start the challenge and we’ll go from there.” Discord walked over to the mess hall kitchen door and gave it a little knock. Almost immediately, Nightmare Moon pushed her way out, carrying a tray of weird-shaped cupcakes on her back. Each cupcake was nearly double the size of a normal cupcake, and each sweet seemed to have weird-shaped lumps protruding from all directions. Using her magical horn, Nightmare Moon levitated two of the cupcakes over to Spike, and one to each of the other nine girls. Upon further inspecting, the tops of each cupcake had a colorful, edible sticker of a book stuck to it.

“Good luck, campers,” Nightmare Moon snickered, her eyes lighting up in delight, “You’re going to need it, believe me.”

“So…what’s so bad about this?” Scootaloo asked, curiously sniffing at the cupcake placed in front of her, “It looks weird, but it seems to be like any other cupcake. What’s with the picture of the book on the top, though?”

“To score a point for your team, you must eat your required cupcake or cupcakes with the amount of bites I informed you about, while at the same time hoping the other team chickens out and doesn’t eat theirs,” Discord explained, “At the end of ten rounds, the winning team will be whichever side has eaten more cupcakes than the others.” He still didn’t answer Scootaloo’s question.

“Okay, sure, why not?” Spike shrugged, picking up one of the cupcakes in front of him. “Two bites minimum, right? I got this.” All the girls, including Discord and Nightmare Moon, watched as Spike was the first to demonstrate the true essence of the cupcakes. The dragon sank his fangs into his cupcake and ripped off a huge chunk, his tongue pulling the chunky bits of the treat into his mouth as he began to chew. Almost immediately, however, his eyes shot open and he dropped the cupcake, proceeding to make loud hacking sounds while clenching his throat.

“SPIKE! WHAT’S WRONG?!?!” Twilight screamed, sitting bolt upright in her seat as she stared across at her choking assistant, “DISCORD, WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?!?!” In response, Discord pointed to the half-eaten cupcake that Spike had dropped. A few bits of paper fluttered out of the crust and settled onto the table. Thanks to Spike’s hacking, a few bits also were launched out of his mouth as well.

“As I stated, each cupcake that you will have to eat is made in commemoration of each of you campers!” Discord gushed, trying to sound cute. “The first batch of cupcakes that you all have in front of yourselves? Twilight Sparkle’s ‘book cupcakes’!”

Rainbow Dash: Oh, you CANNOT be serious. *she gives herself a face-hoof*

Pinkie: I’m not so sure about these types of cupcakes…but, maybe they’ll be good?

Spike: *still hacking* I think my tongue has a paper cut on it!

Twilight: *staring at the camera, dumbfounded* Twilight…Sparkle’s…book…cupcakes?

“That’s right, campers!” Discord laughed, enjoying watching each of his campers’ faces turn to sheer horror and disgust, “Each cupcake has a special ‘ingredient’ or two that makes them unique to the camper that they were made to commemorate!”

“YOU RIPPED UP BOOKS TO MAKE CUPCAKES?!?!” Twilight screamed, nearly pulling her hair out as she stared down at the cupcake in front of her, “How…how…HOW COULD YOU?!?! YOU MONSTERS!”

“Thank you, my dear Twilight, we do so enjoy compliments.” Discord laughed again as he and Nightmare Moon winked at one another, fully enjoying seeing Twilight freaking out and knowing that this was only the beginning of their fun. Spike still had one and half of Twilight’s book cupcakes to eat, after having forcibly swallowed the first bite of the first cupcake after only hacking up a few pieces of paper. The team of girls, however, didn’t look like they wanted to touch their cupcakes at all.

Trixie: After seeing her team look hesitant, Trixie knew she had to give them a little… *she shivered a bit*…encouragement. There was no way she was missing out on that free airship cruise!

“Come on, you foals, stop this pouting at once!” Trixie barked, picking up her cupcake with her two hooves and glaring at her team, “We can do this! Just pretend you are eating a regular cupcake and think of the paper as sprinkles.”

“Sprinkles? Okie dokie lokie, Trixie!” Pinkie shrugged, picking up her own cupcake and taking a huge bite. She very nearly ate the entire treat in one gulp, but thankfully she remembered what Discord had said and left just a tiny piece still in her hooves. Even though she gave a few grimaces of disgust, she soon swallowed down her first bite of cupcake, and then quickly gulped down her remaining piece as well.

“Excellent! Now, the rest of you do the same,” Trixie ordered, taking a bite herself out of her cupcake.

“I can’t…I can’t eat pieces of a book!” Twilight moaned, holding her head in her hooves and looking miserable, “That’d be like Rarity eating one of her dresses! I just can’t do it.”

Cheerilee and Scootaloo both looked at one another, then nervously followed Trixie and Pinkie’s example. Rarity looked repulsed and ready to push her cupcake away, but after a glare from Rainbow Dash, she nimbly picked up the treat and gingerly took a bite. Rainbow Dash herself forced down her cupcake in two quick bites, burping and expelling a few bites of paper right after she did so. Fluttershy took a bit of coaxing from the cyan Pegasus, but the scared mare eventually ate her cupcake as well. Celestia didn’t seem to have a big problem with eating hers, but after seeing Twilight scared to each pieces of a book, she consoled her.

“Now, my faithful student, don’t be scared,” the small princess whispered, wrapping a foreleg around Twilight’s neck and gently pulling her into a hug, “It’ll be alright. The book is already ripped up and baked into these cupcakes; what good would wasting them be? Besides, do you want their, um, ‘sacrifice’ to go to waste?”

Twilight sniffed a bit, looking to the side and seeing her princess’ warm eyes staring back at her. “N-no, I guess not…” She looked down at her cupcake, and seeing that she was the only one left on her team to not eat it, she gulped and nervously picked it up. “Well…okay…I’ll give this cupcake and the poor pieces of book lodged inside the burial they deserve!” She opened her mouth, and after two quick bites, she devoured the cupcake and the pieces of paper.

Over on the opposite side of the room, Spike was whining and rubbing the paper cut he had sustained on his tongue. He also kept hacking and spitting up a tiny piece of paper almost every other minute. Even though he usually ate anything, he didn’t want to try eating paper again. He never even ate Twilight’s books, even though he seriously wanted to sometimes. Besides, after years of belching out Twilight and Celestia’s friendship reports, he was sick of paper being in his mouth. The dragon sighed, but pushed his book cupcakes away in defeat.

“First round goes to…the girls!” Discord announced, pointing to the team of nine ponies. The girls instantly cheered and formed a group hug, while Spike groused and glared at the team with anger. He hated watching Rainbow Dash celebrating. He couldn’t let her humiliated him like this.

“Thanks for the support, Trix,” Twilight smiled, giving Trixie a little nuzzle, “And thank YOU, Princess, for giving me the little push I needed.”

“All in a day’s work, Sparkle,” Trixie sniffed, a slight blush appearing on her cheeks at the surprising nuzzle, “Just make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

“You’re very welcome, Twilight,” Celestia added, grinning a bit, “Anything for you.”

Twilight: That wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be! *she licked her lips, then glanced down at her stomach and poked at it* Hmm…if I’m not mistaken…I ate pieces of a book on…wildflowers!

“Next on the menu…Spike’s ‘gemstone cupcakes’!” Nightmare Moon levitated the next batch of 11 cupcakes over to the 10 campers, which had a massive difference in reactions between both teams. All nine girls looked grim as they stared down at their cupcakes with bits of strong gems poking out the sides, while Spike looked like he was in heaven.

“Discord, this isn’t fair!” Rarity cried, “We cannot eat gemstones! We don’t have the fangs that Spike has. If we dare try to eat these, we’ll break our teeth or get our throats cut up!”

“Sorry, but that’s not my problem,” Discord shrugged, “What represents Spike? Gemstones. So, just because it happens to be something that’s virtually inedible isn’t my problem. Do your best, ladies.”

“Yup, do your best!” Spike called out, licking his lips after just finishing off both of his gemstone cupcakes, greedily eying the nine that were now sitting across the room from him. “Say, Discord, if they don’t eat theirs, could I possibly…?”

“Hmm…nope!”

“Jerk.”

All nine ponies looked very nervous as they looked down at their cupcakes. Even Pinkie and Trixie knew enough to not attempt to eat a gemstone. Swallowing something whole could result in a damaged throat, while attempting to chew them would only result in busted teeth. They all realized that they had absolutely no shot in this round of the cupcake-eating challenge. Rainbow Dash, however, decided to give it a go anyway. Like Spike with her, she couldn’t stand seeing him get a win over her.

“Aw, c’mon, if that dragon can eat these things, then they can’t be THAT bad,” Dash bragged, picking up her cupcake. She slowly raised it to her mouth.

“Wait, Dash, don’t!” Fluttershy cried, “Gemstones are made with a very high density that our pony teeth simply cannot…” However, her warning came too late. A second later, Rainbow Dash tried biting down into her cupcake, and instantly shrieked in pain and dropped the pastry onto the floor. She clutched her mouth in deep pain and looked ready to start thrashing around if Fluttershy hadn’t quickly wrapped her forelegs around her and held her friend to try and soothe the pain. Spike was barely containing his laughter from his own table.

“Second round goes to…the boys! Or…rather, Spike.” Discord pointed over to the happy dragon. “This leave us tied at one apiece, with eight rounds still to go!”

Spike: *holding back his head as he roared with laughter* BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh my gosh, that was AWESOME! Dash got what she deserved! *whimpers a bit* But...she wasted some perfectly good gemstones.

“Next up, we’ve got…Rarity’s ‘clothing cupcakes’!” Nightmare Moon levitated the third batch of cupcakes to the 10 contestants, all of which had bits of various clothing sticking out the sides this time.

“CLOTHING?!?!” Rarity gasped, looking down at the cupcake in front of her like it was a ticking time bomb, “No, no, no, no, no! Absolutely not! I will NOT eat clothing! Do you all not realize just what type of love and passion goes into making clothes? I refuse to eat this!” She stubbornly pushed her cupcake away and stuck her nose into the air.

“Rarity, the clothing is basically already destroyed,” Twilight pointed out, shocked to find herself on the side of aggressor instead of scared victim for once, “Please, try to eat it for the team?”

“Ah…how delectable!” The girls all glanced over to the other side of the room, and were shocked to find that Spike had once again already devoured his two cupcakes and was licking his lips in delight. “They taste just like the discarded pieces of fabric that Rarity tells me to throw out when I help her out with errands, but I secretly keep all to myself!” Spike rubbed at his stomach and hiccupped, licking off a piece of ripped fabric on his left fang. When he saw the girls all giving him creeped-out looks, he titled his head. “What?”

“Hmm…let’s see…” Pinkie tried her own clothing cupcake and giggled a moment later. “Ooh, it tasted like my bed sheet back home! I accidentally ate my sheet one night when I was dreaming I was eating a giant pancake. I woke up really cold and without my bed sheet, and my tummy was hurting, so I put one and two together and realized that I didn’t eat a giant pancake at all but I ate my bed sheet! Aww, it was so sad…I loved that sheet, too. But, sadly, my tummy and my mouth wanted it more, I suppose.”

“So THAT’S why you wanted me to make you a bed sheet,” Rarity muttered, giving Pinkie a strange look.

“Yuppers! So, you going to try your cupcake, Rarity?”

“Um…no, I’m afraid not, darling. I simply cannot allow myself to eat clothing.” Rarity shook her head and pushed her cupcake away from her.

“Rarity, I had to eat some pieces of a book!” Twilight protested.

“And I got myself a chipped tooth!” Rainbow Dash snapped, still clutching her mouth, since the pain just wouldn’t go away after her stupid decision to attempt to eat one of Spike’s gemstone cupcakes.

“NO!” Rarity snapped, her stubbornness pushing forward, “I simply cannot think about putting anything in my mouth that has to do with clothing.”

“In that case…third round goes to Spike!” Discord announced, motioning towards the dragon, “That makes the score 2-1 in favor of the little dragon!” Spike was left cheering and doing lame poses at hearing he had taken the lead, while Rarity was left the ire of the rest of her team.

Rarity: Do not judge me. Twilight might’ve been coerced into eating pieces of books, but clothing is my life, and to eat clothing would mean to disrespect my life’s passion. I simply cannot do that.

“Time for my personal favorite batch of tasty treats…the Celestia ‘troll cupcakes’!” Discord went on with round four, smirking as Nightmare Moon levitated the new cupcakes to the 10 campers. Celestia immediately frowned at hearing what Discord said.

“Excuse me, Discord?” she snapped, looking down at the rather ugly brown cupcake in front of her, “Just what is ‘troll cupcake’ supposed to indicate? How does that relate to me?”

Choosing to ignore Celestia, for the most part, Discord went on to explain precisely what was inside the cupcakes. “This batch was made with some of the grossest, most disgusting and annoying things that Nightmare Moon and myself could find!”

“You mean that I could find while you laid in your hammock and slumbered like a baby,” Nightmare Moon corrected the draconequus.

“Right, what did I say?”

“Well…I guess we won’t know what’s in this batch of cupcakes until we try, right?” Cheerilee said jokingly, trying to sound positive. The teacher picked up her cupcake first and took a bite. She chewed a few times before swallowing. The rest of the team, including Spike, waited to see what Celestia’s troll cupcakes had in store for the rest of them.

“So, Miss Cheerilee?” Scootaloo asked, “What’s in there?”

Cheerilee cringed a little bit, but gave a weak smile. “Um…I think I tasted dirt…and dust…and sand…and a little bit of grease and possibly sawdust?” She hacked a little bit, but continued to try and keep her very strained smile on her face, since she wanted to stay strong for Scootaloo.

“Come on, ladies, we simply cannot allow that little simpleton of a dragon beat us!” Trixie hissed, picking up her troll cupcake and taking a vicious bite, “Let’s show him our fortitude!”

“You said it, Trixie!” Rainbow Dash added, following suit and taking a big bite, and almost immediately regretting it. Inside of her cupcake was a tiny rock, which she ended up sinking her chipped tooth into, inflicting more pain than ever upon her sore mouth.

“My cupcake has gravel in it!”

“My cupcake has mold in it!”

“My cupcake has…a ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala in it? Oh, wait, make that TWO tickets.”

When Spike attempted to eat his own troll cupcakes, an earthworm suddenly crawled out of the top of the cupcake and instantly shot straight up the dragon’s nose. He immediately ran screaming and hacking from the mess hall, since the door had been unlocked. Loud snorts and other random noises could be heard from outside the eatery as all the girls, Discord and Nightmare Moon couldn’t help laughing at Spike’s hilarious plight. Even through her aching tooth, Rainbow Dash snickered as well.

“Fourth round goes to…the girls!” Discord soon announced as Nightmare Moon went to go assist Spike with his earthworm problem, “We’re all tied up at 2-2, folks! What’s going to happen next, I wonder?”

Celestia: I STILL want to know what Discord meant by that. What was the meaning of making troll cupcakes? I find that insulting. And what was with the Grand Galloping Gala tickets? Was that a shot?

“Ready for your next cupcakes? Here they are!” Discord and Nightmare Moon served the next batch to the 10 campers after Spike’s earthworm had been removed from his nose and he had grudgingly returned to the mess hall. The next batch of cupcakes looked normal enough, but all the campers knew that what was on the inside was what counted.

“And what, heaven forbid, are THESE ones made of?” Rarity asked, shivering as she continued to try and clean a few specs of dirt off her teeth from Celestia’s troll cupcakes.

“These are Cheerilee’s ‘chalk cupcakes’!” Discord explained. When all he got was blank stares of confusion from the campers, he rolled his eyes and slapped his forehead. “You know…chalk? As in what you use to write on a chalkboard? TEACHERS USE THEM?”

“Ooh, that’s right!” Pinkie smiled, eagerly biting into her chalk cupcake and watching as grainy pieces of white poured out after her bite. She shivered a little as she swallowed her mouthful, then eagerly snatched up the last half. “It almost tastes like sugar, girls! And at least the chalk isn’t in stick-form!”

“Pinkie has a point…let’s just eat it and pretend it’s filled with sugar and not…chalk,” Twilight gulped, following her friend’s example and going after her cupcake. Trixie and Rarity both followed close behind, soon followed by a reluctant Rainbow Dash, a meek Fluttershy, and a confused Celestia. Then, after a while, following a little hesitance from Scootaloo due to a past event, she and Cheerilee forced their chalky cupcakes down as well

“What’s wrong, Scoots?” Rainbow Dash asked, noticing the filly’s worried expression, “It wasn’t THAT bad. Kinda makes the throat dry, but otherwise alright.”

“Well…you see, Dash…Diamond Tiara kinda dared me to eat a stick of chalk one time…or else she’d reveal…um…an embarrassing secret of mine that she found out about,” Scootaloo muttered, hiding her face in shame, “And, um, I nearly choked to death after panicking while swallowing the chalk…not to mention it was the color green and tasted pretty bad.” She gave a weak smile, and was happy to see that she got a few chuckles out of her team.

“I’m going to have a few words with that filly once we get home,” Rarity frowned, “Her actions while she was on this island were totally inexcusable and horrid! If she doesn’t change her ways, so help me…”

“Just leave your hooves off Silver Spoon, Rarity,” Spike called out, giving his former crush a glare from across the room, “Touch her again and I’ll…um…be forced to…no longer wait on you hand and foot when we get back home!” He had already finished off his own two chalk cupcakes.

“Um…of course, Spikey…I wouldn’t plan on going near Silver Spoon again.” Rarity gulped, looking away in shame. Spike still hadn’t forgiven her for her actions against the filly. After all, she had almost killed her due to her jealousy issues.

“Since both teams managed to finish off their cupcakes, that means this round is a tie and neither side gets a point,” Discord explained, “Round five is over with the score still tied 2-2. Onto the next!”

Cheerilee: The girls are actually working rather well together. It kind of surprises me, since I’ve been watching how Rainbow Dash has been acting. I won’t let her hurt Scootaloo, though…I promise.

“Round six will feature Rainbow Dash ‘sky cupcakes’!” Discord boomed out as the next batch of cupcakes were delivered. This time, the pastries were colored a rather light blue, and had a rather soothing aroma to them. In fact, there didn’t seem to be anything dangerous about them at all.

“Uh…so, what exactly does ‘sky’ imply?” Rainbow Dash demanded.

“I added in some clouds, some raindrops and some snow, and then let a lightning bolt strike them while letting them cool in the sun,” Nightmare Moon explained.

“So…basically…all that’s in them is water and…nothing else?” Cheerilee asked, trying to make sense of what Nightmare Moon said. The alicorn blinked for a moment, then realized her goof and couldn’t help but give herself a face-hoof.

“Ugh…well, I…um…I used some blue food coloring, too…for added effect.”

“Lame, Nightmare Moon…seriously lame,” Dash sighed, taking two bites and eating down her brand of cupcakes at once, “I was expecting more…mmm, but I LOVE the charred taste of the lightning bolt on the inside. Ha, it figures MY cupcakes would taste the best, since I myself am the best.”

“You sure are, Dash…you sure are,” Scootaloo sighed, snuggling her own cupcake, “I almost don’t want to eat this, since it reminds me so much of you…” When she received several glares from Trixie and Rarity, she quickly changed her mind and took her two bites. Cheerilee, Celestia, Twilight, Trixie and Rarity all easily followed suit.

When Pinkie ate her Rainbow Dash cupcake, she squealed in delight. “Mmm, delicious! Dashie, you taste SO good! Do you think Nightmare Moon can give me the recipe so I can make more cupcakes out of you again?”

“Er…Pinkie…they’re not made out of me, they’re made to resemble and describe me.” Rainbow Dash gave Pinkie a rather scared look. “And…the way you said that…kinda makes me nervous. I don’t know why, but it does.”

“Once again, another tie!” Discord sighed, watching as Spike eagerly ate his own two cupcakes, perhaps a bit TOO eagerly. “So, round six is kaput, the score is still 2-2, and we’re getting towards the end! Don’t start feeling full just yet, campers; the worse is yet to come!”

Rainbow Dash: *a bit nervously* Heh…so, yeah…my cupcakes tasted the best…because I AM the best…no shocker there. Yep…no shocker…and Pinkie Pie’s words didn’t scare me in the LEAST. Heh…

“Round seven will feature Scootaloo’s ‘cutie mark cupcakes’, since she’s a Cutie Mark Crusader…and she’s rather boring otherwise,” Discord explained.

“HEY!” Scootaloo pouted, crossing her forelegs in a huff, “I resent that! I’m totally awesome and I’m not JUST a Cutie Mark Crusader! I can…do a lot of other things…too…” She trailed off as her cupcake was delivered to her and the rest of her team got theirs. Cheerilee gave her a little hug.

“Don’t be sad, Scootaloo; you’re correct in what you say.” The magenta mare smiled and patted the filly on the back as she admired the cupcake in front of her. “You can do a lot of other things…you just haven’t found them yet. You’re young, and when you’re young, you’re still finding out more about yourself. Don’t let it get to you. Besides, being a part of the Cutie Mark Crusaders is an amazing thing; I couldn’t be prouder of you. You’ve grown so much since joining Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle.”

“Ugh…is she her teacher, or her mother?” Trixie muttered, whispering to Twilight.

“Ha…Cheerilee is just a really caring individual,” Twilight whispered back, giggling at the cute bonding between Scootaloo and her teacher. “She can be a bit…flighty…but you know her enough by now to realize that she’s a sweetheart. Her students are like her life. I don’t know anything about her family, so I can only assume that she treasures her job and her students with her entire being. I really actually admire that mare and how happy she can stay, through all the rough times.”

“But…do you not think that…she and Scootaloo seem a bit too close, darling?” Rarity whispered into Twilight’s opposite ear, having eavesdropped on her and Trixie’s conversation. “I’m not saying that it is not natural, but…I don’t know. It just seems that…Cheerilee is more than just a teacher to Scootaloo. But, what can it be?”

“Hasn’t anypony ever told you that it is quite rude to poke your nose in another pony’s conversation?” Trixie snapped, shaking her hooved fist at Rarity, “The Great and Powerful Trixie does not approve of you butting in on this private conversation!”

“It ain’t private, Trix,” Rainbow Dash smirked, poking her head up from behind the three girls, “We all heard it. When Trixie whispers, it’s more like she’s talking normally; she DOES have a big mouth.”

“Yeah, yeah, so true! I once saw Trixie sucking on her entire pillow when she was sleeping!” Pinkie giggled, “She really does have quite a big mouth! Isn’t that just so cool?”

“Now, girls, eavesdropping is rather rude,” Celestia scolded, joining the no-longer-private conversation herself, unaware of the interesting grin she had on her face, “We should respect Trixie and Twilight’s conversation and mind our own business.”

“Yes, that’s right,” Fluttershy added, shaking her head, “Interrupting another pony when she’s trying to have a private conversation is…very mean indeed.”

“So true,” Discord sighed, giving Trixie a mock pat on the head as he floated above the group.

Trixie’s left eye twitched as her beady eyes zipped back and forth in their sockets, eying all those sitting around her. Ironically, only Cheerilee, Scootaloo, Spike and Nightmare Moon hadn’t heard. Regardless of that fact, Trixie wasn’t very happy. “Trixie hates you all.”

Scootaloo: Uh…so, yeah…my cupcake had stickers inside of it, which tasted like paper and glue. Did I miss something? Why was everypony else on my team all whispering to each other and stuff?

“Eh-hem…anyway, it seems that all the campers finished their Scootaloo cupcakes, so that once again leaves the score at 2-2,” Discord grumbled, “Oh, I do so hate ties…this is getting annoying! Round eight is here, and it’s time for Pinkie Pie’s ‘explosive-sugar cupcakes’!”

“I hate to ask…but exactly what’s inside of THESE cupcakes?” Celestia sighed, watching as some light pink cupcakes were levitated onto her team’s table.

“Well, I tried to calculate just how much sugar goes into Pinkie Pie’s body every day,” Nightmare Moon explained, “Then, I multiplied that by the average of sugar that Pinkie Pie’s body naturally produces every day to keep her in her usual hyper moods. After I got that number, I subtracted the amount of sugar that usually goes into a cupcake, since I wanted to use my own recipe and be creative. Then, just for an added boost…I went ahead and added in six more large cups of sugar. So, to go with the six large cups of sugar, I added the other…rather-high number…and created cupcakes with that amount of sugar. Hopefully, you’ll see the effects once you bite into them.”

The entire mess hall was dead silent. Very slowly, one by one, each of the campers began slowly pushing their light pink cupcake away from their body. They may not have been the brightest tools in the shed, but they all knew that eating too much sugar could easily kill you, or in the very least have some horrific side effects on your body. Spike was more than willing to give up his chance to take the lead in lieu of keeping himself safe from something tragic. Even Discord was giving Nightmare Moon a disappointed look as he shook his head.

“Nightmare Moon…while I appreciate your…creativity…you simply cannot bake THAT much sugar into each cupcake,” he explained, “For one, we would probably be getting a drop in ratings when the campers were put into comas or simply dropped dead. For two, you probably wasted a lot of our sugar on these cupcakes alone, which is blasphemy! You KNOW I love sugar in my morning coffee!”

“Mmm…I don’t know what you’re all so scared about,” Pinkie shrugged, licking some excess sugar off her lips after devouring her cupcake in a matter of seconds, “It tasted perfectly tasty and delicious to me!” She smiled at the rest of her horrified team, and slightly blushed when Twilight slowly pushed her face up into hers. “Um…yes, Twilight?”

“Pinkie…you are…a medical mystery.”

“Aww…and you’re a bookworm and a really wonderful pony.”

Pinkie: Isn’t is so wonderful how Twilight always focuses on me and cares for me and asks me weird things? *she giggles and shyly blushes a little bit* She was probably too shy to eat my cupcake.

“Okay, we are STILL tied at 2-2, and we’re all the way to round nine!” Discord said, delivering the next tray of cupcakes himself to the 10 campers, “These ones I’ve been DYING to deliver. Everyone, say hello to your next batch of cupcakes…the ‘Trixie cupcakes’!” The campers all looked down at their cupcakes and saw a very crude marking of Trixie’s cutie mark drawn on the tops with a cooking marker. None of them, besides Trixie herself, looked overly thrilled about this.

“Uh…yes, so they’re Trixie’s cupcakes…but, what’s the theme?” Rarity asked, sniffing in disgust.

“I just told you, Rarity…the theme of Trixie’s cupcakes is…well, they’re called ‘Trixie cupcakes’.”

“But that doesn’t make any sense. Trixie is sitting right here next to us. You didn’t bake her into these cupcakes. What kind of foals do you take us for?”

“Indeed, and if they HAD tried to bake Trixie into cupcakes, they would’ve gotten a rude awakening!” Trixie snapped, before going back to gushing over her own brand of cupcakes being brought out. “Now, let’s just focus on how WONDERFUL these cupcakes are! Just look at that! Trixie’s beautiful cutie mark is drawn on all the tops! Oh, Trixie MUST know what’s inside!” She eagerly picked up her cupcake and, after admiring it for a while longer, began to eat it.

“Well, Trixie, since we all know you love yourself more than anything else, we decided to…make cupcakes with your features,” Discord smirked, “We baked the cupcakes using locks of your mane and tail, some of your hoof clippings, some of your coat, and we even used your saliva as the milk!”

“Indeed. We milked your tongue while you were asleep,” Nightmare Moon added.

As soon as all this information was revealed, almost all the campers looked sick to their stomachs. Spike immediately pushed his cupcake away like it was diseased. Scootaloo cowered behind Cheerilee, who in turn was trying as politely as she could to push the plate with the cupcake on it away. Rarity looked ready to throw up, even though she hadn’t even tasted the Trixie cupcake. Rainbow Dash looked somewhat amused at first, then angrily threw the cupcake across the room at Discord and Nightmare Moon. Pinkie looked like she was willing to try the Trixie cupcake, but after a moment of hesitation, she very slowly set it back down and pushed it away, too. Celestia had her hoof over her mouth, and Fluttershy was gently rubbing her back to make the nauseating feeling go away. Only Twilight seemed somewhat intrigued.

“Using one’s saliva as milk…and using their own hair, coat and hoof clippings for the ingredients…how very weird…” she muttered, looking down at her Trixie cupcake with curious eyes.

“Remind Trixie to sue you both for doing illegal things to her while she was most likely asleep,” Trixie snapped, swallowing down the rest of her cupcake without a worry and glaring at Discord and Nightmare Moon, “And where is Trixie’s missing mane and fur? She doesn’t look bald at all!”

“I used my magic to grow your hair right back,” Nightmare Moon explained, “As humorous as it was to see you half-bald, you’re more useful to the show looking the way you are. Furthermore, you…oh my, is she really going to do it?” The alicorn widened her eyes as she watched Twilight slowly lift her Trixie cupcake towards her mouth.

“Aw, no way!” Discord squealed, his mouth dropping and his eyes lighting up, “This was mainly just a gag cupcake, since I didn’t expect ANY of them to eat it, but…ooh, this is juicy! Go, Twilight Sparkle, go!”

“Twilight…darling…what in all of Equestria are you doing?” Rarity asked, looking at her friend as though she were crazy.

“Maybe she hit her head really hard when we weren’t watching, even though we’ve been together this entire time and I don’t see how that’s really possible?” Pinkie guessed.

“Twilight…uh, we’re all not eating our…cupcakes…so, you really don’t need to…” Celestia began, but she could only cringe in horror as she watched Twilight bite into her Trixie cupcake and get a big mouthful of the pastry and its filling. The rest of the mess hall all watched in stunned fascination as the unicorn began to chew.

Twilight’s face seemed to scrunch up as she chewed with delicate ease, as though eating dynamite. Her cheeks puffed out to chipmunk-like levels, slightly turning a shade of green a few times, as loud crunching sounds echoed around the room from her chewing. A few tufts of Trixie’s hair dropped out of Twilight’s chewing maw and settled on the table in front of her as she worked at the Trixie cupcake. After a while of working her teeth, she tilted her head back and let her throat do its job. As the rest of the mess hall watched, half of the Trixie cupcake slowly eased down the purple unicorn’s throat, a small clump being the last to go down.

“Ugh…that last one…I think was…one of Trixie’s hoof clippings…” Twilight coughed, shivering a little as she rubbed her stomach, “But…ah, it went down alright…overall, not bad. I always do enjoy experiencing new things I’ve never tried before, and getting a chance to taste a Trixie cupcake was…interesting. It really wasn’t all that…bad?” She noticed that the rest of the mess hall was looking at her with sick expressions, save for Trixie, who looked completely dumbfounded. “Uh…why are you all looking at me like that? This was for science, I swear!”

The last part of Twilight’s protests may as well been muted, since no one really heard it. Thanks to the sickening display of “science”, Twilight had caused all the stomachs in the room, except for Trixie’s, to churn in displeasure and demand a release of what was currently held inside. The past hour of random cupcake ingredients currently nesting in each stomach probably didn’t help, either. Either way, as Twilight and Trixie watched, all eight of the other campers, including Discord and Nightmare Moon, rushed out of the mess hall and raced for the nearest garbage cans that they could find. Each of their faces looked ready to explode, their cheeks all bulging out dangerously as they ran.

“Did…I do something wrong?” Twilight asked, tilting her head as she glanced at Trixie, “I was just curious to how a cupcake made from another pony’s features tasted, that’s all. Does no one understand science around here?”

Trixie just stared back for a long, long time at her self-appointed rival. Very slowly, she gave a little grin. “Twilight Sparkle…you are…beyond a doubt…a freak. But, Trixie is okay with that.”

Trixie: *laughing her head off* Twilight Sparkle actually ate a cupcake that had Trixie’s saliva mixed in as the milk replacement, not to mention Trixie’s hoof clippings and hair! Oh, how hilarious!

After a ten-minute hiatus, Twilight and Trixie were eventually rejoined by the rest of their fellow campers and their two evil hosts, all of whom still looked slightly ill after puking their guts out. Discord weakly snapped his fingers and summoned everyone a napkin to wipe their mouths with, and after they did, he snapped his fingers again to make them vanish. They all soon took their seats again, and despite their odd glances over at Twilight, decided to try and forget what they had just witnessed.

“Ugh…well, thanks to Twilight making us all nauseous…we had to take a little break,” Discord muttered, “But, the fact still remains that we’re deadlocked at 2-2 and this is the last round. If neither team wins here, we’ll have to go to an eat-off to decide the winner. So, I’m sure you’ll smart enough to know which camper still hasn’t had their cupcake brought out yet.”

“Um…that’s okay…I’d rather not have mine brought out…if that’s alright,” Fluttershy muttered.

“Sadly, my dear, we’re going to bring it out anyway,” Discord smirked, snapping his fingers as the final batch of cupcakes appeared in front of all 10 campers, “Featuring, Fluttershy’s ‘animal cupcakes’!”

“A-A-A-ANIMALS?!?!” Fluttershy shrieked, looking down at her cupcake in horror, seeing that tufts of squirrel fur were sticking out the top, “N-N-N-NO! I-I-I-I CAN’T EAT A-A-A-ANIMALS!”

“Uh…we didn’t exactly bake any LIVE animals into the cupcakes,” Nightmare Moon protested, “We just shaved a squirrel bald and used its fur, plucked the feathers from some chickens, ground a moose’s discarded antler piece down into a fine dust, used the skin of a snake that it had shed…”

“I DON’T CARE! I’M NOT EATING ANYTHING WITH ANIMALS INVOLVED!” Fluttershy screamed, putting her nose in the air and crossing her forelegs.

“But, Fluttershy…” Rainbow Dash protested, but when Fluttershy shot her an angry glare that invoked her famous stare, Dash whimpered and slowly backed away. There was no chance dealing with Fluttershy when she was firmly set in a decision.

“I’m with you, Fluttershy!” Spike announced, crossing his arms and angrily pushing his cupcakes away, “I ain’t eating anything that has to do with animals, either. I STILL have earthworm slime up my nose, so I don’t need any MORE animal stuff in my body, thank you.”

Nightmare Moon: Can you believe this? I didn’t slave all day in that kitchen making disgusting and weird cupcakes just to have them go to waste! Does an alicorn’s work not get appreciated around here?

Fluttershy: Um…I feel really bad for letting my team down…and for making Nightmare Moon sad… *she glares at the camera, then speaks in a cold voice* But I will NOT eat anything involving animal parts.

Frowning in annoyance at Spike and Fluttershy’s refusal to participate, he growled and snapped his fingers to make the last batch of cupcakes vanish. “Okay, enough of this. We’re going to the eat-off to decide the winner. Spike, you will take on the female team’s best eater…Scootaloo!”

“W-w-what?!?! ME?!?!” Scootaloo blinked, “But…but…why me? Rainbow Dash would be a much better choice, or Pinkie Pie, or even Twilight after what we saw her do with those…certain cupcakes.”

“Because you’re the youngest and therefore you probably have the best palate,” Discord explained, “Plus, kids eat a lot, since they’re growing ponies.”

“Fair point, I guess…” Scootaloo sighed, hanging her head, “I hope I don’t make a foal of myself again.”

“Just do your best and that’s all that’ll matter,” Cheerilee said softly, giving the filly one last hug for good luck before gently easing her forward, “Win or lose, as long as you give it your best shot, that’s all that matters. Just keep your head up, Scootaloo. We’re all behind you.”

“Yeah…but do TRY and win, alright?” Rainbow Dash added. When she got a glare from Cheerilee, she grinned and gave a little shrug. “What? I was just encouraging her!”

Once Scootaloo and Spike stood next to each other in front of Discord, ready to face off to see who would win the challenge, the draconequus pulled out one final cart from behind Nightmare Moon. A large blue blanket was strewn over the top, two large bulges visible from underneath. Slowly, for added effect, Discord removed the blanket and revealed two massive cupcakes, if they could even be called that. They looked more like large lumps of dirt, given their disgusting color and shape and the amount of random items sticking out the sides. Spike and Scootaloo both gulped.

“For the eat-off, we combined all the other cupcakes to form these super-disgusting-highly-combusting death cupcakes!” Discord grinned, picking up each large cupcake with each hand and tossing them up and down, “Nice name, huh? Anyway, the first camper to fully devour their one-pound death cupcake will win the challenge for their team and get that week-long airship cruise!”

“But…but…the gemstones…and the sugar…and Trixie…” Scootaloo whimpered, taking a little step back as she looked at the large cupcake that was nearly as big as her.

“Yes, yes, we know.” Discord grumbled to himself. “Don’t worry; I anticipated this happening. The sugar has been cut in half for each death cupcake, so they should be fine…I think. Plus, the gemstones were boiled for five hours, which should’ve softened them up enough to have the hardness of a raisin. As for the Trixie parts…well, you’re gonna have to suffer with those.”

“You…are…evil,” Spike whispered.

“Yes, I know…and it feels good.” Discord reached down and handed each large cupcake to the dragon and filly, smirking as he watched their facial expressions. “Now then…on your marks…get set…GO!”

With Spike and Scootaloo sitting on the floor and having the other eight contestants watch them, they knew the pressure was on. As soon as Discord shouted “GO”, they tore into their cupcakes with everything they had. Spike began to eat like a wild animal, gnashing his fangs violently into the thick cupcake and devouring whatever unfortunate ingredients got in his way. He hadn’t gotten too far before he began to choke on pieces of paper and small bits of Trixie’s hoof clippings. Scootaloo seemed to be getting mostly chalk and stickers with her first go at the cupcake, which allowed her to take an early lead.

“GO, SCOOTALOO, GO!” Rainbow Dash cheered, “KICK THAT DRAGON’S BUTT! YOU CAN DO IT! EAT LIKE YOU’VE NEVER EATEN BEFORE!”

“BUT PLEASE DON’T CHOKE!” Cheerilee added, “REMEMBER, IT’S REAL LIFE FIRST, AND A GAME SECOND, OKAY?”

Giving a weak nod towards her teacher and Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo plunged her head deeper into the cupcake, crunching her teeth together as fast as she could and trying to swallow whatever went into her mouth just as quickly. Spike, finally through an unusual mess of book clippings, finally started on the next part of his own cupcake. Thanks to his vigorous appetite and more powerful jaws, he soon caught up to Scootaloo, and then pulled ahead of her after reaching a small area with softened gemstones and bits of clothing.

“PUSH, SCOOTALOO, PUSH!” Rainbow Dash yelled, her hooves in front of her mouth to maximize her volume.

“Push? But, she’s not in a hospital…and I didn’t even know she was expecting!” Pinkie gasped, “Isn’t she too young for that?”

“It means to go faster and harder, Pinkie,” Rarity said politely, trying to keep her annoyance in check.

“Ooh…right…so, why didn’t Dashie just say that instead?”

“Because this is Dash we’re dealing with.”

“Fair enough.”

Scootaloo’s small stomach began to fill up very quickly, mostly with the unusual cupcake ingredients rather than the cupcake pastry itself. She burped loudly, causing her to blush, and continued to try and devour her large cupcake, but she was slowing down. She indeed could eat a lot, but this was overdoing it. She wasn’t used to this, and eating all that paper, chalk, clothing, animal parts, and random other items was doing a number on her stomach, mouth and throat. She was halfway done, but her pace was beginning to slack more and more.

Spike was beginning to slow as well, but he was nearly done with his cupcake. He wanted this win so very bad. He wanted to go on that cruise and rub Dash’s face in it, further proving to her that she can’t just win with arrogance and having everyone else do the work for her. Spike’s passion to win pushed him even harder to eat his cupcake, his eyes narrowing in concentration as his fangs worked at its victim. He could see that airship. He could see the spa. He could see the delicious food. He could see Dash angrily cursing him as he rode off into the sunset. He could see Silver Spoon cheering him on from a distance. This game was his to lose, and he soon finished it off.

“SPIKE WINS!” Discord called out, soon grabbing Spike’s right arm and lifting it, and the entire baby dragon, high into the air. As soon as the last of the cupcake had been devoured, the entire mess hall gasped in shock and disappointment, while a groaning, potbellied Spike gave a weak grin of victory. Knowing what was coming next, Discord quickly turned his head. Sure enough, a second later, Spike’s cheeks bulged out and he unleashed a loud belch that ended up causing a light tremor inside the mess hall. Bits of paper and clothing burst out of his throat and out his mouth, not to mention his own unique green flames blasting out a little as well, scorching the side of Discord’s face.

When his loud burp was done, all the females looked disgusted and annoyed, Discord looked annoyed at getting burned, and Nightmare Moon just shook her head and muttered under her breath about how Equestria had gone down the drain since she had been imprisoned. Spike blushed and sheepishly grinned at the other nine campers and the two hosts surrounding him, unsure of what to do in a situation like this. “Um…hehe…excuse me?”

“Smooth. But…yes, as I said…you win,” Discord mused, grumbling and rubbing his cheek that had gotten scorched from Spike’s flames. “Congratulations, Spike. Do you have anything to say about your victory?”

“Yes…yes I do.” Spike smirked, and very slowly glanced over towards the girls’ team. The ponies all sighed and shook their heads, knowing that Spike was most likely about to taunt them. However, after a moment of hesitation, Spike decided to be the bigger dragon and not stoop to Dash’s level. Instead, he glanced down at the disappointed Scootaloo. “Hey…Scootaloo? Great job. You nearly got me, and Twi always says I’m a bottomless pit! You should be proud of how great ya did. You’re one cool filly.” He smiled and gave the filly a thumbs-up sign of approval.

Scootaloo blinked in shock, having been rubbing her bulging stomach and moping about her loss, but after hearing Spike’s praise, she gave a weak smile. “Gee…thanks, Spike…that means a lot to me. And, uh…nice job yourself…you’re one crazy little dude. Twilight’s right; you ARE a bottomless pit!”

“Well, Twilight is right on a lot of stuff!” Spike began to laugh, and soon enough, Scootaloo joined in. Discord and even Nightmare Moon soon joined in as well, and very soon the entire mess hall was having a good laugh at Spike’s little joke. The only one not laughing was Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash: Darn it, darn it, darn it, DARN IT! That annoying brat of a dragon won the airship cruise. This really grinds my gears! I can’t BELIEVE we lost to him! I should’ve forced our team to eat some more cupcakes or something…man, losing STINKS. I hope Gilda wasn’t watching this; she’s sure to be laughing at me, and I’m not gonna be happy about that.

Spike: Aw yeah, baby! The Spike man wins again and Rainbow Dash loses again! Ah, it’s a wonderful feeling, let me tell ya. *he flexes, the kisses his own muscles* Yeah, the taste of victory is sweet…REALLY sweet. I could’ve rubbed it in her face, but…nah, I’m not that classless. I had to give mad props to Scootaloo; she really did do a great job. But, the fact still remains that I won that cruise!

An hour later, Spike was standing on the catwalk leading up into a massive airship. It was painted gold and crafted from the best metal and wood that Equestria owned. Canterlot’s finest crafts-ponies had done a fantastic job, as the airship was nearly as large as both Twilight and Applejack’s homes combined, and was almost 20 stories high. As Spike was left dumbfounded, staring up at the majestic contraption that he would be riding on for the next week, Discord made a surprising announcement.

“Spike, what’s a cruise without friends, am I right?” he said, “So, I want you to pick four ponies to go with you. Any of them! Just pick four and they will get to join you on your week-long cruise.” As soon as he said this, the nine ponies all gasped in shock and instantly looked up at Spike with begging eyes. Spike himself looked rather amused and excited at this news.

“I was hoping you’d say that, Discord,” he chuckled, “I’ll admit I would’ve been a bit lonely all by myself. Okay, first pony’s first. How could I go anywhere without…Twilight!” He pointed to the purple unicorn.

“Aww, Spike, thank you so much!” Twilight eagerly raced up to the dragon, giving him a big hug and a gentle nuzzle on the head, “I’ve missed you, too…being on the opposite team has made me realize just how much you mean to me.”

Squirming out of Twilight’s grip, Spike playfully winked at the unicorn. “Twi, stop, you’re embarrassing me…although I really missed you, too.” When Twilight had regained her composure and went back to bouncing happily in place at her chance to ride the airship, Spike made his second choice. “What’s a cruise without a good party? Pinkie Pie, get up here!”

“WOW, REALLY?!?! YAY!” Pinkie squealed and happily bounced over to the dragon, giving him a thankful hug and starting to dance with Twilight. “Twilight, Twilight, we’re both going, we’re both going!”

“Hmm…let’s see…who should I pick next?” Spike mused, glancing at the remaining campers. Slowly, his eyes landed on Rarity. She was silently pleading with him to give her another chance, and the look she was giving the dragon almost made him melt inside. Perhaps this cruise would be the best way to try and mend things with his former crush. “Well…oh, why not? Rarity, come on.”

“Oh, yes, yes, yes! Spikey, thank you SO very much!” Rarity gushed, rushing up and throwing her forelegs around Spike’s neck, “You will NOT regret this, I swear! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!”

“Yeah, yeah…you’re welcome, I guess,” Spike muttered, very gently squirming away to avoid pushing Rarity. He was down to his last choice.

“So, only one pick left, Spike! Who will it be to complete your party of five?” Discord asked, floating nearby with his black sunglasses on. Spike narrowed his eyes as he contemplated his last pick.

Spike: This last pick was very hard. Naturally, I wasn’t taking Dash; there was no way I was rewarding her after all she did to me. Scootaloo…well, she deserved it…but, I had a feeling that she wanted to spend some time with that stupid Pegasus…so, I wanted her to be happy. Cheerilee…she’s happiest when she’s with Scootaloo, so she was out. That left Fluttershy, Princess Celestia, or Trixie. *he sighed a little bit* I think it’d be best if the princess stayed on the island to keep an eye on Discord and Nightmare Moon, you know? And…well…Fluttershy made me mad by voting with Dash and getting Silver Spoon out, and then trying to get ME out. So…that left just one choice…which I didn’t think I’d make.

“…Trixie, let’s go,” Spike sighed, not really thrilled with this pick, but knowing that it was the most logical choice, at least in his terms.

“W-w-what?!?! You…you picked…Trixie?” Trixie gasped, completely stunned at this news. She hadn’t been expecting to be picked, since she knew the dragon didn’t really like her. But, quickly picking herself up from her shock, she eagerly raced forward and joined her three Magical Misfits teammates and the little dragon. “Thank you…Spike. Trixie was not expecting this…but, she is very grateful.”

“Just don’t try hurting Twilight while I’m around and there’ll be no problems,” Spike said simply, holding out his hand towards the azure mare, “Do we have a deal?”

“Yes, deal.” Trixie inserted her hoof into Spike’s hand and shook it.

“Well, Spike’s decisions have been made,” Discord shrugged, turning back to the five remaining campers, “Cheerilee, Scootaloo, Celestia, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash? Sucks to be all of you, but you’ll be all by yourselves for the next week! No cruise for all of you!”

Rainbow Dash: *practically screaming* CURSE YOU, SPIKE! YOU’LL PAY FOR THIS!

Fluttershy: *whimpering a bit* Um…do you think…Spike’s mad at me…for trying to vote him off?

Celestia: Spike made a good choice. I don’t need that cruise. Keeping an eye on Discord is better.

Cheerilee: Well, I’m a bit disappointed, but…at least I can keep an eye on Scootaloo for the week.

Scootaloo: *not even caring about the cruise* A whole week with Rainbow Dash? YEEEEEEEEES!

“Ladies, after you,” Spike grinned, bowing his head and holding out his hand towards the top of the catwalk leading up into the airship itself.

“Ever the little gentleman,” Rarity complimented, giggling and leading the all three of her teammates up the ramp, “Come, girls, let’s not waste a single moment of this cruise that Spike so generously offered to spend with us.”

“Yeah! Let’s PARTY!” Pinkie giggled and followed after Rarity.

“Ever been on an airship, Trixie?” Twilight asked, smiling at her fellow unicorn as she trotted side-by-side with her up the ramp second to last.

“A few times, Twilight Sparkle, a few times,” Trixie admitted, “Trixie has been all over the world, you know. Travel is one of Trixie’s many middle names, you see.”

“See ya, Camp Paradox!” Spike laughed, giving one last wave to Discord, Nightmare Moon, and the five left-behind campers, “Have a fun week…I know WE will! Don’t wait up!” The little dragon raced up the catwalk a moment later to join the girls.

Rarity: This is the PERFECT chance to make up with my generous little Spikey. He won’t regret this.

Pinkie: *holding her party cannon in front of her* I never leave home without this baby, tee-hee!

Twilight: It’s so wonderful to know Spike will always have my back. I really do love him a lot.

Trixie: This is still quite a surprise…but, Trixie will take it. A free week-long airship cruise…perfect.

Spike: A whole week with four pretty ladies and nothing but partying. *he smirks* Ya gotta love it!

As the airship pulled up its ramp and slowly began hovering up into the sky, Discord faced the camera. “And that wraps up another dramatic episode! Spike and his girls are heading off on a week-long cruise, but will it just be all fun and games? What will transpire on that ship? What will happen with the five campers left behind? What will the second half of the season entail? What twists, turns, shocks, surprises, and romances await our campers? Believe me, you do NOT want to miss out on this! All of you stay tuned next time for another spicy episode of Total…Magic…Pony Island! So long, Equestria!” He snapped his fingers and vanished, the cameras fading away as Rainbow Dash’s angry face glaring up at the disappearing airship being the last image seen for the episode.

Episode 14: Suited For Duress

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Discord: Last time, on Total Magic Pony Island: the Royal Ruffians continued to fall apart at the seams while the Magical Misfits continued their strong bonding. Celestia got into deep trouble trying to be a nosy little pony, resulting in some brutal punishment. Rainbow Dash and Spike called each other out and were determined to oust the other as soon as possible. When it was time for the day’s challenge, the campers got a surprise when it was revealed none of them would be eliminated and that the challenge was for a reward only. The reward was a week-long cruise on an airship, touring the skies of Equestria away from Camp Paradox. The challenge became a good old fashioned battle of the sexes, which meant Spike versus all the females. The campers were forced to eat cupcakes, crafted to describe and showcase each camper in their own special way. Spike’s gemstone cupcakes gave Rainbow Dash a chipped tooth. Dash’s sky cupcakes made Pinkie Pie very happy. Trixie’s Trixie cupcakes grossed us all out, save for Twilight, who found the brand of cupcake delicious. Ultimately, the challenge ended in a tie, which led to an eat-off between Spike and Scootaloo. Aided by his bottomless stomach, Spike got the win. Instead of going on the airship cruise alone, he was told to pick four girls to go with him. He decided upon Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie, and most shocking of all, Trixie. Interestingly, all those girls were on the Misfits and not the Ruffians. Rainbow Dash, naturally, was none too pleased. With our favorite little dragon chilling with four pretty ponies on a fancy vessel somewhere in the skies and five ponies left behind on the island, things are about to get good! The game is about to change. In what ways? Stay tuned to find out, right here, on Total…Magic…Pony…Island!

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

The island was quiet. Discord and Nightmare Moon were nowhere to be seen, leaving the five remaining campers to fend for themselves. After a couple of days, the solitude was hard to fight. It wasn’t the same without the blabbering Twilight, the partying Pinkie, the bossy Rarity, the arrogant Trixie, and the rambunctious Spike. Nightmare Moon was only seen briefly at breakfast, lunch and dinner when she fixed up her usual horrible meals for the remaining campers. Discord was rarely seen at all, if ever. On a large island in the middle of nowhere, the silence was getting more and more difficult to withstand.

Celestia’s continued attempts to reveal what Discord might be plotting only resulted in more fails and random punishments. Fluttershy was usually left all alone, which made her spend most of her time in the forest and trying to socialize with the local wildlife. Scootaloo was kept busy trying to get Rainbow Dash’s attention, but was always ignored by the cyan Pegasus. Cheerilee was typically ignored, so she spent most of her time watching over Scootaloo and making sure she didn’t do anything stupid when it came to Rainbow Dash.

On the sixth day of Spike’s reward cruise, the five remaining campers began to go stir-crazy. Rainbow Dash was usually seen flying all around the island, performing random tricks in the sky and trying her hardest to keep herself entertained. Scootaloo still hadn’t given up hope on getting Dash’s attention, and began to keep a hidden diary on her feelings about the Pegasus. Cheerilee continued to keep a watchful eye over her student, along with Rainbow Dash herself, since the teacher didn’t trust her. Celestia was sulking irritably on the porch of the Royal Ruffians’ team cabin, her anger overtaking her from her numerous failed attempts at getting information about Discord and Nightmare Moon. Fluttershy was hardly seen at all, due to the fact that she was building a tree house in the forest.

“Man, this SUCKS!” Rainbow Dash grumbled, sitting atop the mess hall with her face resting on her hoof. Her face was locked into a heavy grown, her boredom sapping most of her energy. After two straight hours of nonstop flying and performing various tricks, she was exhausted and angry. “It’s so BORING around here! I hate to say it, but I’m really starting to miss Discord’s annoying little games.”

“You said it, Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo’s excited voice agreed from somewhere below the cyan mare. “It’s so very boring indeed. There’s just NOTHING fun to do! So, um, would YOU like to do something fun with ME? Together?”

Rainbow Dash cocked an eyebrow, then sighed and shook her head. Scootaloo never left her alone. Peeking over the side of the mess hall’s awning, she spotted the little filly sitting on her haunches and staring up at her with full attention. The filly’s eyes were wide and anxious, her tail twitching a little bit behind her. When she saw Dash’s face peek down at her, she almost squealed in joy. The fact that Dash was finally paying attention to her and not completely ignoring her filled her little heart with happiness.

“Scoots, don’t you have something better to do than to continue trying to get my attention?” Dash gave a fake yawn, hoping to make Scootaloo take a hint.

“Nope, nothing better at all, Rainbow Dash! Can I give you a back massage? Maybe a hoof massage? Would you maybe like to use me as your seat? Ooh, I know, do you think maybe you could give me my first flying lesson? You kinda promised…five months ago…and then two months before that…but, obviously you were busy, so that’s cool. Maybe, if you wanted, we could go down to the beach and just go for a nice little walk, just the two of us. Possibly, if you don’t want to do any of that…”

Rainbow Dash: *moaning and pulling on her ears, nearly ripping them right off her skull* That kid is driving me CRAZY! Man, I KNOW I’m cool; there ain’t a pony alive who doesn’t know that. But, still, why is Scoots always trying to get me to notice her? Seriously, she’s really driving me up the… *she blinks, then an evil smirk suddenly creeps across her face* …hmm, actually, maybe this could work.

Her eyes containing a wicked sparkle, Rainbow Dash smirked and rubbed her hooves together. If Scootaloo wanted to help her so badly, she would get the chance. Completely ignoring the rest of Scootaloo’s speech of what they could potentially do together, Dash cleared her throat and loudly interrupted the filly. “Yeah, yeah, that’s all very nice, squirt. But, I’m not really digging any of that right now. However, if you REALLY want to help me…I think I have something in mind.”

Scootaloo gasped and eagerly bounced up and down, her little wings fluttering in delight. “Really?!?! Okay, Rainbow Dash, anything! What is it?”

Glancing around to make sure nopony was watching, Rainbow Dash leaped off the mess hall roof and landed with a thud right beside Scootaloo. She quickly wrapped a foreleg around the filly’s waist and pulled her close to her face. Dash stared right into the filly’s big, eager violet eyes and put on her best smile. When she spoke, the words came out in almost a whisper. “Kid, how would you like it if I took you to the final two with me?”

“W-w-what?!?! Rainbow Dash, y-you really mean that?!?!” Scootaloo squeaked, trembling in delight and instantly wrapping her tiny forelegs around the bigger Pegasus, “Oh, Rainbow Dash, I KNEW you cared for me! Thank you SO much! I promise that…”

“Hang on, hang on, there’s a catch.” Rainbow Dash quickly slapped a hoof over Scootaloo’s mouth, silencing her. Her happy expression turned into a frown as she glared at the filly. “For one, when both of us get there, I’M winning. I’m sure you wouldn’t mind coming in second to me, right?” When Scootaloo quickly shook her head, Dash continued on. “Good. For two, you can’t speak a WORD of this plan to ANY of the other ponies, including that irritating Spike! Is that understood?” When Scootaloo gave a quick nod, Dash finished off her conditions. “Finally, you will listen to whatever I tell you and do it without me having to repeat myself, alright?” Scootaloo gave one final nod of understanding. “Good girl.” Rainbow Dash let the little filly go.

Scootaloo: *her hooves pressed together, she sighs dreamily and looks ready to faint* Rainbow Dash made a…a…what’s it called? Oh, right, an alliance! She made an alliance…with me. I’m going to the final two with her. She’s going to kick my flank when that happens. *she closes her eyes and presses her hooves to her heart* Oh, Rainbow Dash, you’ve made me the happiest filly in all of Equestria!

After she got done bouncing and giggling in delight, a small realization came over Scootaloo. “Um, Rainbow Dash? What exactly does…going to the final two with you…well, mean? This seems kinda sneaky. Are we gonna be backstabbing our friends and stuff?”

“Huh? Scoots, what are you saying? Of course not!” Rainbow Dash instantly dismissed the filly’s worries, sliding a hoof under the girl’s chin and gently lifting it up so the two would stare into each other’s eyes again. “This is just…the two of us making an agreement, that’s all. It’s perfectly legal to do, and I wouldn’t be shocked if a lot of the other contestants here were doing the same. We won’t be backstabbing any of our friends, I promise.”

Even though she still had her doubts, when she saw Dash’s powerful eyes staring right into her own weaker ones, Scootaloo’s heart melted and all her worries vanished right out the window. “Okay, Rainbow Dash, whatever you say. I’m all yours.”

“Excellent. That’s all I wanted to hear.” Rainbow Dash sat down on the ground and pulled the filly into a tight embrace, wrapping both forelegs around the tiny Pegasus’ back and snuggling her face into her chest. Scootaloo let out a muffled squeak as her face lit up from the closeness she was experiencing with her favorite pony ever, but she soon melted into the hug and never wanted to let go. Thanks to her face being buried into the blue coat of Rainbow’s chest, she failed to see the evil little smirk that the Pegasus was wearing.

Rainbow Dash: *snickering a little bit* Aww, isn’t Scoots just the cutest thing? She thinks she’s going to the final two with me! When I was holding her, it felt like I was holding a pile of bits, which I WILL be holding after I win this game. *she rubbed her hooves together, her grin widening* The first phase is complete. Spike is as good as gone. Once I oust him, there’s nothing that will stand in my way.

Unbeknownst to Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo, another pony had been spying on the two the entire time. From behind the mess hall, Cheerilee had observed everything that had went on between the two Pegasi. Due to their whispering, she couldn’t quite make out what they had shared between each other, but she knew it wasn’t anything good. When the teacher saw her student being held for the very first time by Rainbow Dash, she frowned in disapproval. The look on Dash’s face took the cake for her.

Cheerilee: I don’t know what Rainbow Dash told Scootaloo, but I KNOW it’s bad. That Pegasus cannot be trusted, at least not in this game. Being the element of loyalty is one thing, but if Discord has made us learn anything, it’s that this game makes us lose our minds when we least expect it. *she sighs* I fear for Scootaloo. She’s playing with fire, and what happens when you do that? You get burned.

“Yo, Fluttershy, are you here?” Rainbow Dash circled the tree house with mock admiration. “Come out here, would ya? I kinda want to talk to you about stuff.”

“Dash?” Fluttershy poked her head out from the one of the windows, wincing when the pane broke off and crashed to the ground. “Oh my…I guess I’m not so good at being a carpenter as I thought. Angel will be most displeased. It’s no wonder he didn’t like the way I built his little house.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Look, Fluttershy, we need to talk about the game. Mind if I come in?”

“Well, I…” Fluttershy squeaked as Rainbow Dash let herself in before she even got done talking. The yellow mare cringed as more splinters from the window tore off thanks to Rainbow’s wings brushing against them. “Um, okay…welcome to my tree house…Rainbow Dash.”

“Not a bad place. I could probably do better, but…not bad.” Dash shrugged and sat down on a makeshift chair made out of twigs and leaves, casually resting her fore-hooves behind her head as she observed her friend trying to clean up the mess she made. “Okay, so here’s the thing. I wanna know where we stand in this game. Fluttershy, how are you feeling about where you currently sit on this island?”

Fluttershy tilted her head at Dash, slightly confused as to what she meant. After finishing sweeping up the pile of splinters and other pieces of wood, she sat down and nervously fidgeted. “I…I don’t really know what you mean by that, Dash. Could you please explain it to me? Um, if that’s alright.”

“Ugh! Fluttershy, you…okay, fine.” Keeping her impatience in check, Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and tried to speak in terms that her friend would understand. “You see, we’ve both made it past the halfway point in this game for the million bits. Things are really heating up between all the remaining campers. So, what I want to know is…do you feel safe right now?”

“Why wouldn’t I feel safe? I’ve got you looking out for me, right? And I think the princess cares about me as well…as far as I know.” Fluttershy’s nervous face grew a little smile as she thought about it. “And, even though we’ve been on opposite teams, I think Twilight, Pinkie and Rarity all have my back. We ARE all friends, right?”

Rainbow’s eyes narrowed as she broke out another evil smirk. She heard exactly what she wanted to hear from Fluttershy, and that’s all that mattered. She quickly covered up her grin with her hooves when Fluttershy turned back to look at her, turning away and giving a fake yawn. “Okay, fair enough. You’re absolutely right, though; I’ll always have your back, just like I know you’ll always have MINE.”

“Um…okay, that’s great!” Giggling meekly, Fluttershy turned around and retrieved her dustpan, which she had gotten from her team’s cabin. “Dash, if it’s not asking too much trouble, could you possibly help me sweet up this pile of wood into this dustpan? I’m really trying to keep this place…clean?” After a whoosh of wings, the yellow mare whipped her head around. Her ears drooped when she saw that Rainbow Dash had already taken off. “Oh…never mind then.”

Rainbow Dash: Beautiful. Phase two of my plan is set in motion. Actually, it wasn’t really ever something that needed to be set in motion; I just needed to hear Fluttershy confirm what I was hoping. She, along with Twilight, Rarity and Pinkie Pie, are all my friends. They would NEVER vote for me. *she smirks and slowly runs her tongue over her moist lips* Heh…the pieces are falling into place nicely.

“Princess? Um…what happened to you THIS time?” Rainbow Dash blinked a little bit when she saw the small Equestrian ruler sitting on a large block of ice outside the mess hall a half hour later.

“…I simply sat down on a thumbtack, that’s all,” Princess Celestia said coolly, wincing as she wiggled her sore rump on the large, melting ice cube. She was still intent on not letting any of the campers know about her plans on trying to find out Discord’s intentions, no matter HOW painful her punishments were. Discord’s newest booby trap on his cabin resulted in Celestia getting the boot, literally, when a large cowboy boot rose out of the ground and delivered a painful blow right to her backside. Celestia was seriously wondering how a cowboy boot could be THAT pointed and sharp.

“Uh…okay, cool. Hope your butt heals quickly, Princess.” Dash gave a little grin, plopping her own rump down beside the annoyed princess and casually giving her a pat on the back. “How have you been holding up? I know it’s not much, but you DO look really cool being…well, one of us.”

Celestia sighed, her eyes closing as she hung her head. “Thank you, Rainbow Dash. That is…sweet of you. I’m pretty much over the fact of losing my powers and my size. It’s been rather…interesting…living like one of you again. In fact, I almost enjoy being young again. It makes me feel…rejuvenated.” The hint of a weak smile played at the corners of her lips, but she struggled to retain the instinctual display of emotion. “But…well, other things have just been on my mind instead. I won’t bore you with the details, since it’s none of your concern, but…I do thank you for your considerate words.”

“Hey, no problem, Princess! You know that I’m always here for ya, right?” Rainbow Dash giggled and gently gave the princess alicorn and gentle nuzzle with her cheek. When the princess didn’t push her away or tell her otherwise, Dash took her opportunity and pushed forward. “Say, Princess? Can I ask you something about the game?”

“Sure, Rainbow Dash. I’m always open to whatever my subjects wish to talk to me about.”

“Sweet. Well…I know that you really don’t care about winning, since…well, you’re the princess and all. You don’t really NEED the money or the fame, right?” Dash spoke in a calm, casual voice, trying to sound considerate while at the same time slightly forceful. “Not to sound pushy or anything, but I was just curious on how you’ve been playing the game.”

Princess Celestia stared at Rainbow Dash, cocking an eyebrow as she pondered what the Pegasus was doing. She may be young, but the princess was still smart enough to recognize fakery. There was something about the way Dash was speaking and acting that seemed so fake to her. The way she nuzzled her, the way she was hugging her, the way she was FINALLY showing concern over her even though she hadn’t done so during the entire game…Princess Celestia was highly suspicious of her little cyan subject. But, on the other hand, maybe that was just her stressed mind getting to her. Yes, it had to be Discord just stressing her out. There was no way she should never trust one of her subjects.

A tired smile forming on her lips, the princess squirmed a little and shifted her position on her block of ice as she tried to formulate an answer that she considered worthy enough for the element of loyalty. “My dear Rainbow Dash, you are correct. The only reason I am still here is because…I worry about my subjects and I will never abandon them. I have no interest in this ‘game’ of Discord’s, nor do I have any business or desire of winning. I do not care for money and, as you stated, I am already the princess of Equestria. I’m pretty sure that qualifies as being famous enough, hmm?”

“Darn straight, Princess!” Dash tried her best to stay modest and playful, not wanting to annoy the ruler of Equestria. Her façade seemed to work, at least, since Celestia took Dash’s abrasive attitude and took it in stride as she kept talking.

“So, in regards to this…game…I must admit that I am just going along for the ride. I play my hardest in each challenge, I try my best to be a fair and worthy teammate, and I vote for whom I feel most deserves to go home.” She gave Dash a little return pat on the back, staring into Dash’s determined eyes with her powerful magenta pupils. “Of course, I would never think of voting for one of your friends or yourself, Rainbow Dash. You girls are…well…like my family. Or at least my best friends, if I can call you all that without it sounding weird, being a princess. Either way, even though every camper on this island is my subject, sometimes a princess must be stern and make hard decisions with who she votes for. Be that as it may, I would never vote for one of the Elements of Harmony. You girls deserve to be here.”

Another confirmation and another evil grin of delight from Rainbow Dash, brilliantly covered up when she played it off as a sneeze. “AAAAAHHHH-CHOOOO!” The Pegasus shivered and rubbed her nose, chuckling a little as the princess leaped back out of instinct. “Heh, sorry about that, Princess. My nose just had a little tickle.”

“That’s quite alright, Rainbow Dash.” Princess Celestia let out a low moan as her tush sank down into the middle of her block of ice, the heat from her butt making the middle of the ice melt faster than the outer edges. “Ooh, that feels good…ah…curse that Dis…er, I mean, that thumbtack! Once I get my hooves on that…thumbtack…it won’t know what hit it!” When she heard no response from her right, she glanced to the spot where Rainbow Dash had been and realized it was now vacant. “Oh.”

Rainbow Dash: Yes, yes, yes, yes, YES! That’s what I’m talking about! *she almost does a happy little dance of joy inside the confessional* Now I’ve got Fluttershy, Scootaloo, AND the princess all on my side! Plus, I’ll go ahead and throw in my three other friends. That gives me seven votes, including my own, that are under MY power! Just one last pony to take care of, though, to make this a clean sweep.

Cheerilee sat on the Dock of Shame, watching Scootaloo play on the beach from afar. The teacher realized that most ponies might call her a stalker, but she was far from it. With her job being all she had, her students brought her so much joy and love. It was painful for her to see Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle all get picked off one by one. She knew that she couldn’t hold Scootaloo’s hoof forever, but this was HER life and she would play the game the way she saw fit. Even though she could use the money, she cared more about Scootaloo than she did herself. She still held a deep secret, too, that she had yet to share with the filly.

“Hey, Cheerilee! What’s up?” As soon as the magenta earth pony heard the voice, she felt chills run down her spine. She had nothing against Rainbow Dash outside of the game, but here on the island Cheerilee wanted nothing to do with her. Being a schoolteacher meant playing close attention to detail, which she was keen at doing. The pony had watched every move that Rainbow Dash had made thus far, and she didn’t like it. The fact that Scootaloo was so attracted and enamored with her didn’t help.

With her back to Rainbow Dash, the Pegasus didn’t see Cheerilee’s glare. Usually so happy-go-lucky and gleeful, Cheerilee did not enjoy Rainbow’s presence. However, not wanting to make waves, Cheerilee forced herself to give a fake smile as she craned her neck around to face her visitor. “Oh, Rainbow Dash, what a lovey surprise. How very nice to you.”

“Same here, Cheerilee.” Rainbow Dash whistled a little bit as she casually strolled up to the earth pony, her eyes randomly darting around the area, as though she was intentionally trying NOT to look at Cheerilee. The earth pony noticed Dash’s hesitant eyes, but said nothing. “So, what’s up? How have you been enjoying the game so far?”

“Oh, you know, it’s been…interesting,” Cheerilee said calmly, closing her eyes and giving a slight nod, “My team has been a real delight to be a part of, and this has been a wonderful learning experience for me. I really can’t wait to tell the rest of my class about such wild excursions when I get back to Ponyville. What say you, Rainbow Dash? How have you been enjoying the game thus far?”

Plopping her rump down onto the ground in front of Cheerilee, Dash idly nodded to the teacher’s assessment to the game without paying much heed to it. “Ha, your team really has been kicking my team’s behind! You guys are pretty good.”

“That usually happens when you have good camaraderie with your team and your teammates aren’t constantly bickering and fighting with one another.” Cheerilee found herself accidentally expressing her hidden displeasure with Rainbow Dash without even realizing it. “We also don’t have one teammate whose ego gets in the way of what we do. The game does not revolve around any one of us individually; it revolves around our united hearts.”

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow, a slight frown on her face upon taking in the latter part of what Cheerilee had to say. “What is that supposed to mean, Cheerilee? Was that a shot?”

“I don’t know, Rainbow Dash. Was it?” Cheerilee inwardly giggled to herself, enjoying the angry expression formulating on Dash’s face, no hint of kindness remaining. She didn’t mean to, but she was glad at her glance to indirectly tell Rainbow Dash just how wrong she was playing the game.

“What about Trixie, huh? You CAN’T be enjoying her company! That mare’s head is so big, you could fit all of Cloudsdale on it!”

Cheerilee spoke in a somewhat cold, but commanding and confident voice. “Trixie is our friend, Rainbow Dash. She has come a long way from the selfish, spoiled mare that arrived here on the island. True, she continues to relapse back into her arrogant and bragging ways, but she knows when to put it aside for the sake of the team. Trixie can act how she wishes so long as she knows the difference between hurting somepony and just being playful. So, I’m sorry, but Trixie’s ego is no longer a concern for us.”

Rainbow Dash was struggling to keep her temper in check. She wasn’t the smartest book on the shelf, but she wasn’t stupid. Even if Cheerilee wasn’t coming right out and saying it, she knew that the earth pony was taking shots at her. The fact that Trixie was being praised made her blood boil. The confident and collective voice that Cheerilee spoke in. The way she didn’t show any sign of allowing Dash to bully her or manipulate her. It was enough to drive her crazy.

“Humph…well, I wouldn’t trust her! You saw what Trixie nearly did to our town, right?” Rainbow Dash shoved her face into Cheerilee’s, trying to push her back and regain control of the conversation. “You just can’t trust mares like that! All they care about is themselves! When push comes to shove, who will they be looking out for? Nopony but themselves!”

Holding her ground and refusing to back away, Cheerilee pushed her nose to within an inch of Rainbow Dash’s. Her eyes challenged the ones she was met with in the Pegasus’ skull. Her fierce, inner determination refused to be dampened. She slowly pointed a hoof out to Scootaloo on the beach. “Rainbow Dash, I will say this as nicely as possible. Stay away from Scootaloo, if you know what’s good for you. Do what you like to me, but you had best not harm Scootaloo in any way shape or form…or any of my other friends for that matter.”

Rainbow scoffed lightly and sneered at Cheerilee. “You dare question my ethics? You really think I’d ever hurt my friends or Scootaloo? Ha! Who do you think YOU are? You’re not even one of our friends! You’re just a peppy and annoying little schoolteacher and nothing more. Who gives you the right to say things like that to me, huh? Have you forgotten just who it is you’re talking to? I’m the element of loyalty, sweetheart. Better get used to it.”

Cheerilee’s ears slightly drooped, Rainbow’s words cutting straight to her heart. She knew that the Pegasus had a point. She really was just an average schoolteacher. She had no special talents, she had no business questioning a pony who helped save the world twice, she was out of line in questioning how she felt for her own friends, and she was possibly going too far in thinking Dash would hurt her own biggest fan. Cheerilee realized that she had no change in reasoning with Rainbow Dash. The Pegasus had her beat in every category, it seemed.

Giving a sigh of defeat and not wishing to fight anymore, Cheerilee just shook her head and gently pushed past Rainbow Dash. The earth pony kept her head to the ground, feeling a little sad at hearing Rainbow Dash say that she was just another pony and not close enough to consider a friend. Dash watched Cheerilee walk away, smirking to herself, even though she hadn’t exactly accomplished what she had set out to do involving the magenta mare. However, halfway during her trot, Cheerilee turned back around and gave Rainbow Dash a sad look.

“The element of loyalty? I’d say you’re the element of disloyalty, Rainbow Dash.” With that, Cheerilee pushed open the door to the Royal Ruffians’ cabin and marched inside, leaving a stunned and enraged Pegasus in her wake on the Dock of Shame.

Rainbow Dash: *completely stunned, her mouth wide open* Did you all HEAR what Cheerilee said to me? She insulted my element! First Spike has the gull to do that, and now Cheerilee? Who the heck do they think they are? *not giving any thought to WHY they said it, she snarls and smacks her hoofed fists together* I may not have her under my wing, but now she’s my target. Bad news for you, Cheerilee.

Fluttershy happily flew into the Royal Ruffians’ cabin a little while later, singing a peculiar song to herself as she shut the door behind her. “I can’t believe I got to meet a cute little bunny that looked just like Angel! It was so cute and cuddly and such a little sweetheart! Ooh, I hope Angel doesn’t get jealous or anything, though…he gets jealous rather easily.” She then noticed that Cheerilee was sitting in her team’s cabin, and instantly flushed and squeaked in embarrassment. “Oh m-my…Cheerilee!”

“Hi there, Fluttershy,” Cheerilee smiled, lifting her head up and rising from the chair that she had seated herself upon, “It’s very nice to see you. I hope you don’t mind me using your team’s cabin. Scootaloo usually doesn’t come in until nightfall, and the rest of my team was chosen by Spike to go on the airship cruise. It’s kinda lonely.” She trotted up to the Pegasus and gave her a warm and friendly hug.

“Oh, no, that’s perfectly alright.” Fluttershy returned the hug and giggled lightly as some of Cheerilee’s mane draped down into her face. “I, um, just felt really nervous about sharing my little forest adventures with other ponies…it’s so embarrassing.”

“Don’t feel that way, dear.” Cheerilee wrapped a foreleg around Fluttershy’s back and nuzzled the side of her face, burying her nose into the shy mare’s pink mane. “There’s nothing embarrassing about sharing how happy you are. Even though we’re on different teams, you can always count on me to be there to talk to, alright?”

Fluttershy’s heart skipped a beat at Cheerilee’s kind words, this being one of the few times in the game where another camper had treated her so nicely. When she opened her mouth to say something, she thought about Rainbow Dash, and her heart skipped another beat. Her head suddenly had a sharp pain, as though something was bothering her. “Um…Cheerilee?”

“Yes, Fluttershy?”

“I…uh…do you think…um…” Fluttershy struggled to speak her mind, hesitantly pushing her fore-hooves together as she tightly clenched her eyes shut. “Do you…do you think that…Rainbow Dash…has been acting a little…different?”

Cheerilee’s smile dropped slightly when she heard the question. But, she knew from Fluttershy’s nervous reactions that she had spotted Dash’s changes as well. The magenta mare wasn’t really sure what to say in a situation like this. She had given advice to Apple Bloom on dealing with Diamond Tiara and her bullying, she had scolded Snips and Snails for talking in class, she had held a crying Silver Spoon in her hooves when she had been rejected by a colt for not being pretty enough, and she had calmly stood her ground when confronted by an angry mother who insisted her daughter was getting graded unfairly. But, dealing with a matter like this was new to the schoolteacher.

Giving a short, quick sigh, Cheerilee rested a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder and used her other one to gently lift her chin. She gently forced Fluttershy to look her in the face when she spoke to her. If one couldn’t stare another in the eyes when they spoke, you couldn’t trust them, after all. “Fluttershy, I cannot judge your friends and how they act. You know Rainbow Dash more than I do. It would be wrong of me to give my opinion on her when I really do not know her that well.”

“Oh…yes, I suppose…you’re right…” Fluttershy’s cheeks turned a shade of red at the serious little discussion, but she stared Cheerilee back in the eyes and didn’t miss a beat.

“However…I will say this.” Cheerilee closed her eyes and thought long and hard on how to say her next words properly. Fluttershy curiously tilted her head, anxious to know what she was going to be told. When Cheerilee next opened her eyes, Fluttershy saw compassion staring back at her. “Listen to your heart and the answers will always be provided for you. As I always tell my students, if you ever feel conflicted and pained over something, let your heart lead you to your answer. Your brain might be good for math, but your heart is good for life.”

Little wisps of air puffed out of Fluttershy’s lips, her chest heaving in and out as she contemplated Cheerilee’s words. They seemed so cryptic, yet so very wise. She wasn’t sure if she understand or not, but when Cheerilee refused to say anything more, the Pegasus knew that she had been told enough. As a thank you, Fluttershy gave Cheerilee one last hug before heading over to her bed for a little nap.

Fluttershy: My brain is good for math…but my heart is good for life? Um…I’m not sure I quite understand what Cheerilee meant…but, um, I think I just have to…decide for myself, right? Yes, I think that’s what she meant…I must decide for myself what’s the best thing to do…and not listen to anypony else. *she whimpers and shakes her head* Ooh, but how can I actually decide for myself? That’s hard!

“Princess…do you sometimes wonder about the meaning of life?” Cheerilee asked, sitting next to Princess Celestia and staring up into the vast, cloudless sky. After an hour of writing in her journal, Cheerilee gave the sleeping Fluttershy a gentle stroke on the back before heading outside. Princess Celestia was still sulking and was now soaking her rump in a bucket of cold water to dull the pain. She had taken up residence next to the Magical Misfits’ cabin, since it was practically deserted in that area. Cheerilee went and joined her.

“That is a question many a mare has spoken during my rule, my dear subject.” Celestia whispered, her eyes casting a vacant stare up at the sky as her waterlogged tush continued to soak in the cold water, a very visible red mark forming near her right flank. “Living your life is like writing a storybook. It has a beginning, a middle, and an end. But, like so many books, the middle is the most interesting part. There are so many words that can be weaved. The prose of daily life flows from our very beings and creates hidden verses between all the lines. Hidden meanings are everywhere. Chapters form when we least expect them. Characters come and characters go. Good things happen, bad things happen. A book can sometimes never end.”

Cheerilee gave a deep sigh, the force of her breath sounding like a cross between agitated and sad. “That is so true, Princess…that is so very true. So, our time on this island…and our moment sitting together like this…is simply another chapter and another paragraph for our book, right?”

“Seems logical, does it not?”

A gentle silence followed the two mares’ conversation. Both Cheerilee and Princess Celestia were so very similar, and each of them knew it. Each pony was an important figure in everyday life. Each one was highly respected and special to many ponies. Celestia was in charge of raising the sun, of looking over her subjects, of ruling the world with a benevolent hoof, and a million other matters that nopony could ever begin to fathom. Cheerilee was in charge of teaching many young colts and fillies about the world around them that they would grow up into. She was in charge of sharing the marvelous wonders of how to get your cutie marks. She was in charge of spreading joy and love and making a difference in so many young lives. Each mare made Equestria better in their own way.

“Princess Celestia?”

“Yes, Cheerilee?”

There was another pause, then Cheerilee spoke in a softer voice. “Why are…some characters…put into a story when they have no business being there?” Her eyes narrowed a little bit when she saw the hint of a rainbow lining vanishing into the distance around the south side of the island.

“That creates conflict. In our lives, we deal with hardships and problems every single day. Stories work the same way. Without conflict, you may have a happy little work of fiction, but you fail to teach your readers or your characters anything. You cannot go through life without conflict, and you cannot go through a story without it, either.” Princess Celestia moaned a little as she shifted in her bucket. “It’s a little sad, but it’s the truth. We all must learn lessons; it doesn’t matter if you’re a storybook character or you’re an Equestrian. Life is about lessons and learning to overcome them.”

Such wise words. Cheerilee smiled a little bit at Princess Celestia, and after watching Scootaloo skip off into the mess hall for a snack, she even gave a little chuckle. “Yes…truer words have never been spoken. Every day is a lesson.”

~~~

“I say, these hors d’oeuvres are simply too minuscule to properly whet my palate, darlings.”

“Oh, I must agree, Miss Rarity. The food they serve on this airship would starve a mouse, I swear!”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie must concur. Such little portions of food do not please her at all.”

“Now, my ladies, behave yourselves. It’s not about the quantity of food, it’s about the quality.”

The three unicorns and Spike all laughed amongst themselves, enjoying their acting while partaking in their daily dinner aboard their luxurious airship. Spike was having a ball being in the presence of three beautiful unicorns, all three of which he had different feelings for. Twilight, Rarity and Trixie, despite their differences, had enjoyed the weeklong airship cruise so much that they had momentarily forgotten they were part of a game. On that airship, the group forgot about anything stressful and only focused on that which made them happy.

“I gotta tell you, girls, it’s kinda fun acting like a rich and opinionated snob now and then,” Spike chuckled, exaggerating his point by sticking his snout in the air and casually poking at his bits of food with a fork without making any real effort to pick them up.

“Who says that we are acting, Spike?” Rarity scolded, giving Spike a little glare to make it look like she was being serious. However, after a momentary pause, she giggled and soon burst out laughing. “Oh, who am I kidding? This is not Canterlot. I am in the presence of my friends, and that is always the time when it’s most enjoyable to just be yourself and go with the flow, yes?”

“So true.” Twilight delicately levitated her fork with an aura of red magic, bringing a morsel of the hors d’oeuvres to her lips. “Besides, this is the only chance we get at using our magic again before we head back to the island, so we need to make the most of it.”

Trixie went noticeably silent whenever Twilight used her magic. About an hour into their airship cruise, Twilight had suggested that they attempted to use their magic, since they were no longer on the island. The three unicorns were stunned and thoroughly excited when their horns spurred into motion and showed that they were no longer handicapped. All throughout the cruise, the unicorns tried to use their magic for even the most pointless of things. Opening doors, levitating spoons, fluffing pillows, opening and closing bed sheets, pulling out and pushing in chairs, everything. No task was too easy or too simple for the unicorn trio to not over-exemplify.

For Trixie, however, her joy of reclaiming her magic for a week was mostly just an act. The azure mare watched Twilight’s magic every time she performed it, and her eyes would always narrow and her heart would always sink as soon as she saw that familiar red aura light up the room. Trixie scoffed at the thought that she was jealous of how much more talented Twilight was than herself, but she still couldn’t get that sinking feeling out of the pit of her stomach whenever she saw the talented unicorn’s magic. At one point, it almost thrust Trixie into a rage when she saw Twilight help out the airship’s kitchen staff by levitating a dozen tables into the dining room, each table already outfitted with all its trimmings.

Trixie: *the confessional located in one of the glamorous, clean, sparkling bathrooms built inside the airship* How can Twilight Sparkle live with herself? She is by far the most arrogant and egotistical showoff that Trixie has ever encountered! Does she enjoy strutting about with her…her…her… *tears form in her eyes* …perfect magic tricks that clearly outclasses that of the Great and Powerful Trixie?

“Say, has anypony seen our resident pink party pony?” Twilight asked, noticing that Pinkie Pie was nowhere in sight. Pinkie preferred to bounce around the large dining room and eat at random and different areas rather than sit down at a fancy table with her four fellow contestants.

“Take three guesses, Twilight, and the first two don’t count,” Spike mused, poking out his thumb and motioning behind his back. Rarity, Twilight and Trixie all followed Spike’s pointing, leading their eyes to the decorated stage in the back of the dining area, used for the ship’s entertainment.

Over the past week, the four ponies and one dragon had become accustomed to seeing spectacular forms of rowdy entertainment performed on the large wooden stage. Plays, concerts, puppet shows, dances, comedy routines, and many more interesting feats were performed during breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Tonight, a string quartet was performing a beautiful classical piece, led by a very familiar earth pony with a cello. Pinkie Pie, however, had reverted back to her old tricks again and was currently found bouncing around the stage with a pouty look on her face.

“Aww, c’mon, if you won’t play the Pony Pokey, can you at least play the Piggy Dance?” Pinkie whined and circled the two annoyed violin mares before moving onto the viola girl. “This is a party, you silly ponies! Shake your booties and play some dance music! This classy stuff is SO putting me to sleep, and my bedtime isn’t for another few hours! You have to keep me awake!” At that moment, Pinkie felt a gentle tapping on her shoulder, and when she eagerly whipped her head around, she found a set of angry purple eyes glaring back at her. On her left shoulder rested a rather sharp cello bow.

“Pinkie Pie, if you would be so kind as to get off the stage before I am forced to show you some other techniques I know with my cello bow, I would greatly appreciate it. You see, you already ruined my stint with the Grand Galloping Gala once, not to mention made a mockery of another Canterlot dress party. If you continue to incite interruptions on my performances, I will have to show you why violence is sometimes necessary in today’s society. Do you understand?”

“Aww, Octy, you’re so funny!” Pinkie Pie happily bounced up and spread all four legs as she delivered a playful tackle to the annoyed cello player, letting her smack down onto the stage as her cello and bow flew out of her hooves. “Say, aren’t you supposed to be with Derpy or something?” When all Octavia would do is give a deep growl and bare her teeth at the pink earth pony resting on top of her, Pinkie attempted to put on one of her best and cutest smiles. It didn’t work.

“Oh dear.” Rarity winced and covered her ears as a loud smack echoed through the dining area, causing Twilight and Spike to both turn their heads away to avoid watching the harsh blow to the face that Octavia delivered to Pinkie’s face. Trixie just rolled her eyes and gave a meager sigh of exasperation was Pinkie Pie went flying across the room. She ended up crash-landing on top of Twilight’s plate of food, shattering the glass plate underneath her backside and causing the purple unicorn’s remaining food to go flying. Twilight’s eyes widened in horror as she stared down at her friend, hoping she was alright.

Letting out a little groan of pain, Pinkie rubbed her head where Octavia’s cello bow had made contact a moment earlier. When her eyes finally focused on just where she had landed, she blinked a little bit and slowly glanced up at the wide-eyed Twilight Sparkle staring down at her with concern. A shy grin broke out on Pinkie’s face as she reached for a piece of Twilight’s lettuce that had ricocheted out from under her tushy following the hard fall. Pinkie playfully placed the mangled piece of lettuce on her forehead before pressing her hooves together and giving Twilight an adoring look, complete with shimmering eyes and a wagging tail.

“Hey, Twilight, looks like I’m for dessert,” Pinkie giggled, her right eye closing in a cute wink as she wiggled her tush and scooted a tad bit closer to the edge of the table towards Twilight, “You get a nice big helping of Pinkie pie, topped off with a hint of lettuce.”

“I’m glad I didn’t order that,” Spike commented, making a face.

“I fear I’ve gone and lost my appetite, darlings,” Rarity sighed, pressing her hoof to her face.

“Trixie will pass on such dessert,” Trixie sniffed, shaking her head and muttering to herself.

“Uh…” Twilight couldn’t utter another word as she stared down at the giggling pony on her shattered plate. The more the unicorn stared into Pinkie’s caring eyes and saw the way she was wagging her tail and smiling at her, the more her face changed to a new shade of red. Twilight realized that she would skip dessert as well.

Rarity: Well, aside from Pinkie Pie being herself, this has been a rather interesting airship cruise. I simply cannot thank my little Spikey enough for taking me along. Speaking of which, we haven’t really talked much since coming aboard. We go back to the island tomorrow, so I think I’ll make this evening the perfect time to make things up with him. *her eyes seem to sparkle* I know my charm will work.

Trixie: Why can’t Discord install these wonderful bathrooms on that atrocious island? He surely has the power to do so if he chooses! Ladies such as Trixie should be subjected to horrible bathrooms on a daily basis, teased with luxurious restrooms like these for a week, and be forced to go right back to the disgusting décor of island life! It is just not fair and Trixie does not approve. *she huffs loudly*

Pinkie: Aww, Twilight didn’t want to eat her Pinkie pie! Maybe it was the lettuce? Perhaps I should’ve used a sprig of parsley instead? Ooh, or maybe some whipped cream and chocolate sauce? *she gasps loudly, then gives herself a face-hoof* Oh, of course, how silly of me! How could I have forgotten… *she pulls out a fresh cherry and sticks it on the tip of her nose* …the cherry on top!

Spike: What more could a dragon want? *he leans back on the shiny toilet seat while wearing black sunglasses and casually sipping on a colorful glass of soda* He wins a free cruise on an airship, he gets free food and entertainment, he gets to sleep in beds that aren’t tiny little baskets or horrible hard camp bunks, AND he has four pretty ponies with him. Ah, sometimes, life just throws me a gem, I swear.

Twilight: This airship cruise has been most enlightening and a rewarding experience. I cannot thank Spike enough for bringing me along. This just goes to prove that we will always share a bond that not even one of Discord’s games can break. *her eyes dart up towards the top of her head, where her horn glows and levitates a towel over to her* Now, if you will all excuse me, I am going to take a shower.

The night sky illuminated the surroundings of the humming airship an hour later. Shimmering stars sparkled in Luna’s black backdrop as a crescent moon sat lazily in the distance. The airship’s crew all turned in for the night, allowing the airship to steer itself back to Total Magic Pony Island. The airship ran on Discord’s magic, giving it an automated navigational system that allowed the pilot to take a break whenever he so desired. The five honorary guests, however, decided to linger and stay awake for their final night away from the draconequus and his crazy game. All five occupied a different area on the deck of the powerful flying machine.

Spike forced a yawn, covering his gaping jaws with a clawed hand as he propped himself up against the side railing of the eastern side of the airship’s deck. Next to him, Rarity stood on her hind legs, her front hooves curled up into a gentle crossing pattern as she watched the floating stars ease past the drifting airship as they made their way back to the island. For a long time, neither the dragon nor the unicorn said anything. Both of them still sported heavy hearts after the previous episodes and what they had gone through.

Deciding to break the ice first, Rarity coughed lightly and gently closed her eyes. “The moonlight casts a beautiful glow on the stars, does it not, Spike? It is like each one has their own unique little shadow.”

“Uh-huh.” Spike’s voice came out gruff and to-the-point, not wishing to stay more than was needed.

“Being so close to the heavens can really be…romantic, don’t you think? It is like something out of a storybook. A beautiful princess and a charming prince share a wonderful evening under a starry sky, inhabited and watched over by the carefully-placed orb of night itself, the moon.”

“Uh-huh.”

“I still do believe in fairytales, you know.” Rarity eased closer to Spike, a few particles of her mane softly reaching down and brushing against Spike’s left side. Her voice grew a little softer as she continued to speak to her serious dragon companion. “I still do dream of being swept off my hooves by my prince charming and given the love that I so desperately crave.”

“Right.” Spike made no motion to move away from Rarity, but continued to not look at her. His eyes were fixated on the passing night scene floating past the airship. The glow that glazed over his pupils was not the sign of anger, but rather the sign of sadness. His clawed hands were clenching more and more into fists the longer Rarity spoke.

Realizing she was beating around the bush, Rarity sighed and hung her head over the side of the railing. “Spike, I…”

“Why did you do it? Why did you almost kill yourself and Silver Spoon?” Spike finally let himself speak his mind, his head whipping around as he glared at the fashion pony. “Why couldn’t you just be happy for me? You never took me seriously anyway! What in the world was the matter with you?”

“Spikey…you don’t…you don’t understand…” Rarity cringed as Spike’s scornful words cut straight to her heart. He didn’t speak with malice; he spoke with sorrow and a desire to understand her mindset. But, Rarity still felt her heart break at just how stupid she had acted and just how badly she had hurt the one who probably loved her more than anyone else in Equestria. She didn’t know how to handle such a new situation in her usually-perfect lifestyle.

“What don’t I understand? I may be a little young, but I’m not stupid!” His right hand’s claws digging into the wood of the railing, Spike reached out and gently grasped Rarity’s shoulder with his left. He gently pulled her to the side and forced her to look him in the eyes. “You were jealous, Rarity. But, what I don’t understand is why you would go so far as to hurt somepony else just to have me back. That’s not the pony that I love. The pony I love who would never harm anyone else out of jealousy!”

“Spike, I was hurt!” Rarity screamed, her eyes swelling up with tears as her sapphire pupils began to get clouded. She stared right back into Spike’s eyes, placing her front hooves on both his shoulders as she spoke her heart to him. “I didn’t know the good thing I had until I lost it. You…you filled my heart with joy, Spike. Maybe you weren’t my tall, muscular, charming, powerful stallion that I had always dreamed of and envisioned of being with…”

“Gee, thanks, Rarity.” Spike rolled his eyes and frowned, his sarcasm widely apparent.

“Spike, please, let me finish.” Despite Spike’s harsh interruption, Rarity was determined to speak everything that had been on her mind since the moment she was first confined to her wheelchair. “As I was saying, you may not be the stallion I always envisioned, BUT…” A sad smile crept across her face as she lifted a hoof off Spike’s shoulder and softly touched his cheek. “…you’re better than any stallion I could’ve ever asked for. You’re sweet, caring, talented…and perfect.”

In the past, Spike’s heart would’ve soared at having Rarity’s delicate hooves touch him in such a manner. Such words would’ve swayed his heart to listen to every word she said and gush over how amazing she was. However, if there anything Total Magic Pony Island had done for Spike, it was to show him another aspect of the harsh reality of life. Unfazed by Rarity’s kind gestures and sweet words, Spike narrowed his eyes and gently swatted Rarity’s hoof off his cheek.

“Your words are sweet, Rarity, but the fact still remains that you almost killed Silver Spoon just for me.” Spike shook his head, stepping away from the shocked unicorn and letting her drop onto the chilled deck of the airship. “As important as that makes me feel…it doesn’t make me any less angry with you for doing such a despicable act out of jealousy. It’ll take me some time to get over this…but, if you ask me, you should be making this up with Silver Spoon the next time you meet her.” Spike scratched a spot on his forehead that didn’t itch, then turned away and began walking back towards the lower portion of the flying contraption.

“Spikey…” Rarity’s voice, no longer full of hope and vigor, came out strained and almost begging. Watching Spike walk away from her, giving her the cold shoulder, made her heart break.

“Goodnight, Rarity,” was all that Spike said, before the dragon’s tail vanished down the steps leading down into the lower level of the airship. Rarity was left alone on the deck, and the tears soon began to fall from those hurting sapphire eyes.

Rarity: *a waterfall of tears gushing out of both shut eye sockets, the unicorn sobs and cries loudly, a box of tissues clutched in her hooves* W-w-w-why d-d-d-did t-t-t-this h-h-h-have to happen to m-m-me? I…I…I just w-w-wanted…I…I…SPIKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKEY! *she buries her face right into the middle of the box of tissues, making her shrieks and cries muffled, but not stopping the river of tears*

Spike: *his arms crossed and his head continuing to shake back and forth, he shows no remorse for what he just did* As I think I heard Twilight read from one of her books: I must be mean to be nice. Rarity needs to learn that you can’t just expect forgiveness that easily for your actions, no matter HOW sweet your words are…or how beautiful your body is… *he clears his throat, trying to ignore his blush*

“Princess Luna does an amazing job painting the night sky with her brilliant display of style and her wonderful sense of aesthetics and artistry, don’t you agree, Trixie?”

“Indeed, Twilight Sparkle. Every night when Trixie looks upon the enchanting wonder that is the night, she cannot help but feel uplifted and amazed by such beauty.”

Resting upon the western side of the airship deck, Twilight and Trixie both sat upon large blue cushions given to them by the ship’s crew. The two unicorns, ever curious about the mysterious wonders of the universe surrounding them, decided to spend their final evening of freedom away from the island witnessing the majestic starry skies blanketing the heavens. Each of the cushions rested upon by the two unicorns contained a magical heating pad, warm enough to satisfy and heat even the coldest of ponies. Flying at such lofty heights made for chilling evenings, so the airship crew thought ahead with their provisions and supplies needed for each trip.

“Tomorrow we head back to Camp Paradox…back to Discord…back to the princess and our other friends still waiting on the island.” Twilight closed her eyes and expelled a deep sigh, but a smile eventually crept up her mouth and stayed on her face. “This cruise has been nice, but…I really do miss them all. I’ve almost gotten used to Discord and Nightmare Moon, too…almost.”

“Yes. It’s quite startling how a pony can get used to such buffoonery and nonsensical absurdity being strewn about in one’s face on a daily basis.” Trixie shook her head and sighed as well, then something came to her. “Wait…Twilight Sparkle, did you just say our other friends?”

“Of course, Trixie. Rainbow Dash, Princess Celestia, Fluttershy, Scootaloo and Cheerilee!” Twilight reached around and gave Trixie a gentle pat on the back. “They’re all our friends! Well, the princess is our ruler and our princess whom we must always honor and obey, but…she’s still what I consider a very close friend. Almost a second mother, really. Actually, Princess Celestia is so very amazing that I really must stop and ponder sometimes just how she…”

“Eh-hem, Twilight Sparkle, do shut up before you go into a long-winded and unwanted speech, would you please? Trixie does not wish for it to ruin the moment.”

“Oh…right. My bad. Sorry, Trix.”

“Do not mention it. Now then, as Trixie was saying…those are not her friends that you listed. Those are YOUR friends, Twilight Sparkle. What led you to believe that they thought of Trixie the same way they think of you? Did you hit your head?”

Twilight sighed, her head sagging a bit at Trixie’s usual display of defiance and unwillingness to accept what she wanted her to so badly believe in. “Trixie…okay, maybe Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy haven’t gotten to know you as well just yet, since they’ve been on the opposite team the entire game. But, the princess loves ALL her subjects; she is an amazing pony and I know she cares for you like she does all the other ponies in Equestria. As for Cheerilee and Scootaloo, both of them have accepted you and can now call you their friend. Hasn’t spending so much time in the past weeks with them led you to see that it’s okay to make friends and accept love from others?”

“Oh really?” Trixie sniffed, whipping her head to meet Twilight’s soft gaze, her mane softly fluttering over her shoulders as she glared at the purple unicorn. “Trixie does not buy that. She has many ponies in her lifetime, all of whom grew to know Trixie…before leaving her and not wanting to have anything to do with her. A few of them even left her horrible notes about how they wish she’d just leave and never come back to darken their doorsteps! Do you really expect Trixie to believe such nonsense about how a little game can allow one’s heart to change towards a pony? Do you not think that Cheerilee and Scootaloo still hold grudges over what Trixie did to Apple Bloom earlier in the game?”

“Trixie, that’s not…”

“Silence! Trixie is not done yet!” Trixie flared up and stood over her heated cushion, shoving her angry face into Twilight’s and making the timid mare back away out of reflex. “You are far too trusting and far too passionate, Twilight Sparkle! That is NOT what life is about! Life is about learning to fend for oneself, making a living, and getting by using the tricks of the trade and whatever little talents you were gifted with when you were born.” Trixie stomped forward, backing up Twilight even more. “Life is not about making friends that will callously cast you to the side and leave you for the dead when the chips rise. Life is not about hugging and saying petty little phrases that you think are sweet. Life is not about trying to do the right thing, because ‘doing the right thing’ only leads to pain and misery!”

“Trixie, you’re wrong! You don’t get it! That isn’t…”

“DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT FEELS LIKE, TWILIGHT SPARKLE?” Trixie screamed, backing Twilight right into the railing of the west railing of the airship. Trixie’s eyes were filled with anger and pain, and as she placed her hooves on Twilight’s shoulders to pin her down, Twilight could swear she saw suppressed tears hiding behind those violet pupils boring into her own. “You do not know ANYTHING about the Great and Powerful Trixie! You like to pretend that you do, just like all the others, but the fact is that you are all LIARS! Trixie does not have ANY friends whatsoever! Once this game is over, win or lose, Trixie will go back to traveling the world and all of this will be forgotten. A game is just that, Twilight Sparkle. It is a game, meant to entertain and tickle one’s fancy. It is not life, nor should it be taken seriously.”

“Trixie…” Twilight’s ears drooped and flattened against the side of her head. She wasn’t angry with Trixie for her harsh words, nor was she scared of her rage. Twilight was sad. She wanted to cry for Trixie. The show-mare put on a great show, as was her mantra, but Twilight could feel the pain hiding behind the invisible mask she bore on her face. Twilight could see the tears swelling inside Trixie’s eyes, begging for release, but never getting the chance. Twilight could feel the timid shaking of Trixie’s hooves pressed against her forelegs as she was kept pinned down. Trixie’s life had all been a game, and she was nothing more than a marionette on flimsy strings being manipulated for entertainment. Twilight wanted to cry.

Twilight: For once in my life, I was actually…at a loss for words. Every time I feel like I’ve brought down Trixie’s walls, I find that they’ve been refortified and are stronger than ever! Trixie acts tough, but I can tell she’s a scared pony who needs that special pony to unlock her heart and show her just how much she’s missed, thanks to her past. I…I want to be that pony. I KNOW I can be that pony.

Trixie: Dealing with Twilight Sparkle for too long can really grate Trixie’s nerves and make her go crazy. Everything that obnoxiously-arrogant unicorn speaks does not make a lick of sense to the Great and Powerful Trixie. She actually continues to relegate the ridiculous notion that Trixie has somehow made friends in this absurd game. What type of foal does Sparkle take her for? Humph, pathetic.

“Listen well, Twilight Sparkle, for Trixie will only say this once,” Trixie whispered, pushing her face to within inches of Twilight’s as the blue unicorn continued to pin down her counterpart, “Trixie is only continuing to play this game to win that million bit prize. Not only would it pay for an actual home for Trixie, but it would allow her to pay off her debts, pay off the towns that Trixie’s magic tricks has caused damage to, and make her life one step closer to becoming enjoyable once more. She is not here to make friends, nor is she here to receive your intolerable lectures. Do you understand Trixie?”

Their eyes spaced apart by mere millimeters of space, Twilight continued to see the deeper feelings that Trixie hid from her. The show-mare spoke harshly, but Twilight didn’t want to give in so easily. She had traversed through a lot of difficult obstacles during her time in Ponyville and learning about the power of friendship, and she didn’t want to let Trixie bully her into understanding something that she didn’t want to understand. At the moment, however, Trixie’s frown and her cold hooves pressing down into her shoulders made the words difficult to formulate.

“Trixie, I…”

“Pony-pile on the unicorns!”

A second later, Trixie found her face pressed even closer to Twilight’s when she felt a heavy body slammed on top of her backside. The two unicorns widened their eyes to the size of saucers as their mouths were pressed dangerously close to one another’s following Trixie being crushed down on top of Twilight’s smaller, pinned body. Trixie found herself forcibly kissing Twilight’s chin, the two unicorns’ eyes locked on one another in shock. They could feel their hearts pounding in sync with one another due to their bodies pressed firmly into a forced embrace. Blood rushed to their cheeks in a quick rate, making their forming blushes deepen with every passing millisecond. On top of Trixie’s back, a familiar pink ball of fluff was giggling and happily bouncing up and down.

“Gotcha! Twilight and Trixie are both down for the count! You both didn’t even see me coming; that led for an easy sneak attack.” Pinkie cheered, playfully pulling out her four legs and performing a gentle body slam down onto Trixie’s backside, further crushing both unicorns. She then took a deep breath as she excitedly began sharing her story as to why she was there and just how she had come to arrive at that location in the first place.

“See, Octy got mad when I tried visiting her room to see if I could borrow her cello, so she said something about using me as a cello instead for her bow. Now, at first, I was totally gonna let her, since one of my three billion and four dreams has been to be a musical instrument! But, Octy then said that I was an idiot and slammed the door in my face, and it hurt my nose. I then decided to come and find Twilight, since she could use her magic to make my nose feel better. I checked her room, and I checked the confessional, and I checked the kitchen and got distracted by some brownies. But after I ate some brownies, I was kicked out of the kitchen and hurt my tushy. At that point, I thought that maybe Twilight wanted to see the stars, so I came out on the deck and I gasped because I was totally right, and it was only on my fourth try, too! But, since I was so excited about being right on my fourth guess, I decided to pony-pile on both of you girls, since you were too busy playing ‘pin the unicorn down on the floor and hold her there’ to notice me. So, I sneakily made my way behind Trixie’s back before taking a flying leap! It was a perfect landing, if I do say so myself. So, now, here we are! Hi girls!”

Hearing Pinkie Pie finally exhale after her long speech, Twilight gave a little sigh herself as she tried to maneuver her head so the enraged Trixie could get her lips off her chin. “Pinkie…it’s nice to see you, but if you don’t mind, could you please remove yourself from Trixie and myself before Trixie does something that you could possibly regret?”

“You didn’t say the magic words, Twilight.”

“Pretty please?”

“There we go!” Pinkie smiled and leaped off Trixie’s back, watching as the blue unicorn almost instantly yanked her body off Twilight’s as though she was contaminated. She then began to loudly curse and spit droplets of saliva down onto the deck of the airship, reaching up to wipe her tongue with one of her hooves to try and get the taste of Twilight’s chin out of her mouth. Twilight eased herself up off the cold deck a moment later to join her two fellow campers.

“Ugh. Pinkie, you really shouldn’t sneak up on ponies like that when they’re in the middle of a very important conversation,” Twilight scolded, trotting over to Pinkie and waving a hoof in her face. Her cheeks still had tints of redness lingering and her heart was still beating heavily inside of her chest as she gave her friend a soft lecture. Trixie had had her lips on her chin. If Pinkie had only tackled her in a slightly different way to make Trixie’s mouth move up and not down, their lips would’ve met. The thought nearly made Twilight gulp and thank Celestia that that hadn’t happened.

“Aww, but Twilight, unicorns are very squishy and fun to pony-pile on!” Pinkie pouted and tilted her head as she listened to Twilight’s soft scolding, her tail idly twitching behind her while Trixie continued to curse and spit nearby. “Maybe you want me to pony-pile you without Trixie? I can do that!”

“Er…uh…Pinkie, you said Octavia hurt your nose…and you hurt your posterior as well from being kicked out of the kitchen. Would you like me to fix those small injuries up for you?”

“Huh? Oh, right!” Pinkie bounded forward and eased her face towards Twilight, her eyelids fluttering in delight as she grew closer to the purple mare. “See? I looked in the mirror in the confessional and I saw a small red bruise. It totally hurt when I tried to scratch it!”

“And…why did you decide to scratch it? Did it itch?”

“Nope! My hoof just wouldn’t leave me alone until I scratched it! Isn’t that funny?”

“Hilarious. Now, hold still and I’ll use a spell to heal that up in a jiffy. I’m not all-powerful, but my moderate healing spells should be strong enough to take care of minor injuries such as this.”

“SHE IS GOING TO NEED A MUCH STRONGER SPELL TO DEAL WITH THE PAIN THAT THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE IS ABOUT TO INFLICT UPON HER!”

Deciding that she had eradicated all of the taste of Twilight’s chin from her mouth, Trixie had taken the liberty of plotting a quick vengeance on Pinkie Pie for the three crimes of touching her without permission, forcing her to actually taste one of her biggest rivals, and for giving her a migraine via the long story she told on how she arrived on the deck of the airship. When Pinkie glanced to the side to give Trixie her attention, she came face-to-face with the bared teeth and the glaring eyes of the azure unicorn. The two were only separated by two feet.

“Aww, Trixie wants to play again! Twilight, it’s okay; my tushy and nose can go without healing at the moment.” Pinkie giggled and reached out towards Trixie, gently poking the mare on the nose with her left hoof. “Tag, you’re it!” She then took off running across the deck of the airship, throwing a little bounce in her steps every other second. The faint red mark on her tush could be seen as she galloped away from the two unicorns.

“GET BACK HERE, YOU IRRITATING FOAL!” Trixie roared, igniting her horn with magic energy for dramatic effect as she took off after Pinkie. Twilight could’ve sworn she saw Trixie’s tail and mane glowing when she streaked past her after the element of laughter.

Twilight: *her chest heaves up and down as she gives a few aggravated sighs* I try to have a serious conversation with Trixie…and it leads to Pinkie Pie showing up and ruining everything with her randomness. Sometimes, it feels like I’m in the presence of two little fillies. *she pauses for a moment, and a soft smile forms on her face* And…you know what? I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Ten minutes, ten laps around the airship deck, one tired unicorn and one energized earth pony later and the two ponies, along with Twilight Sparkle, returned to their seats. Another heated cushion was teleported out by Twilight, and the three ponies managed to sit together to return to the stargazing. Despite the frequent glares Trixie cast over at Pinkie on the opposite side of Twilight, whom was sitting in the middle of the threesome, she was too tired to continue her attempts at vengeance. The blue show-mare was content at spending the rest of the night relaxing before they would return to the island in the morning.

“We shouldn’t stay awake too long, girls,” Twilight explained, her tail wagging slightly behind her as she continued to examine Luna’s nightly artwork, “Returning to the island tomorrow morning could very well lead us straight into a challenge. We have no idea what Discord is going to do to us once we return, so it’s best we stay prepared by staying well-rested, well-fed, and overall staying in great shape so we’ll be ready for the rotten spirit of chaos.”

“And Nightmare Moon,” Trixie pointed out.

“Yes, and Nightmare Moon.” Twilight’s mind served as a gateway to a lot of her feelings, and when Trixie reminded her of the dark lunar princess, Twilight immediately thought of Princess Celestia. What was she doing to keep herself occupied on the island? Was Discord and Nightmare Moon torturing her at all? Just how terrible was it to be stripped of all your powers and treated as a doormat to numerous horrible pranks and jokes? Nightmare Moon was so vastly different from Celestia, even though the former was born from the darkness in the latter’s younger sister’s heart.

Noticing the troubled look on Twilight’s face, Pinkie smiled and draped her left foreleg around her best friend’s shoulders. “Don’t look so worried, silly worrywart. We’re together, and when we’re together, that’s all that matters! A big meanie like Discord and a big scary-head like Nightmare Moon will never break us down or tear us apart. They already tried to do that once, remember? Let’s just play the game and have a lot of fun!”

“Pinkie…” Twilight stared at her friend, the sparkling of the starry night reflecting in the pink earth pony’s blue eyes. She looked so serene, so innocent, and so honest. Did Pinkie really didn’t see the severity of what the game entailed? Deep down, Twilight wished that she could be as carefree and as whimsical as Pinkie Pie.

“Together, we’re as hard as the strawberry taffy that’s been left inside the back of my cupboard back home for two years,” Pinkie continued, leaning her head down to peer over at Trixie on Twilight’s opposite side. “We’re as sturdy as a leaning tower of juicy cupcakes right after they came out of the oven, so soft and gooey. We’re as strong as the special coffee I enjoy making on Saturday afternoons when I go exploring in the Everfree Forest. We’re as…”

“We get the point, Pinkie Pie,” Trixie interrupted, gingerly running her right hoof over her throbbing forehead, attempting to soothe the pounding, Pinkie-inflicted migraine. The unicorn didn’t understand a word that Pinkie Pie ever said, but to save herself another hour of headaches and unwanted pain, she decided to humor the earth pony. “What is the point that you’re trying to make with this anyway?”

Performing a sudden backflip, Pinkie eagerly leaped over Twilight’s head and plopped down between both surprised unicorns. She squeezed both of them close to her with her forelegs and pressed their faces into her own squishy cheeks, showing off her surprising strength. “That’s easy, silly! The point I’m trying to make is that I want us to go to the final three together! Pinkie, Twilight and Trixie, the three best friends! One will win a million bits, but our hearts will always keep us united no matter what!”

“Pinkie, that’s kinda of…”

“Stupid! Completely and utterly stupid! Do you really think all three of us will make the final three?”

“Aww, c’mon, let’s make a pact!” Pinkie released both unicorns and held out her right hoof in front of the threesome. “Together, no matter what, the three of us WILL make the final three! BELIEVE IT!”

Twilight and Trixie stared at Pinkie’s outstretched hoof, then at the pony’s happy yet serious smile. Twilight, while wanting to prove that she was useful without her magic and that she could hold her own, didn’t really care about winning a million bits as much as others. Trixie desired nothing more than to win the game and get that prize money to steer her life back on track. Pinkie didn’t care about money, nor did she care about proving herself useful; all she wanted was to have fun and be with those closest to her. All three ponies were in the game for different reasons, and forming a pact among one another was not something they had anticipated when they first arrived on Calamity Island.

Slowly, Twilight extended her own right hoof and placed it atop Pinkie’s. The hoof of the earth pony was trembling slightly, probably with excitement, and Twilight could feel the warmth resonating all around it. Just touching Pinkie’s hoof made the unicorn happy and glad that she was close by. Even if she didn’t fully believe that she would reach the final three, given how strong several other players were over herself, she would do anything to make Pinkie Pie happy. When her friends were happy, she was happy.

“Final three.” Twilight nodded her head and returned Pinkie’s grin, then both ponies turned to look at Trixie to see if she would follow suit.

The expression Trixie was giving her two counterparts and their two hooves on top of one another easily screamed disbelief and annoyance. A part of her, or rather most of her, wanted nothing to do with the childish games that Twilight Sparkle and her friends continued to display on a constant basis. She was a sophisticated pony; a talented unicorn with a pedigree equal to no other, at least in her mind. She had no need to agree to a ridiculous consensus when she could make the final three, and win the game all by herself. But, as Trixie was about to point her muzzle into the sky and idly turn away, she found her hoof slowly moving on its own over the top of Twilight and Pinkie’s.

“Final three.” Trixie uttered the two words she couldn’t believe her mouth was unleashing. But, whether she wanted to or not, she found herself bonded to Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie. With all three hoofs stacked on top of each other, the pony trio stared at one another and smiled. Twilight’s smile gave an impression of worry, Trixie’s smile gave an impression of fakery and confusion, and Pinkie’s smile gave an impression of being genuine and happy.

“HEY! Get to bed, ponies! We can’t have you wandering the ship during the night. Get your flanks into your sleeping quarters right now!” Octavia stood glaring at the three ponies, standing on her hind legs and tapping her hoof impatiently. Her right fore-hoof clutched her cello bow, just in case she needed to lay down the law again.

“Um…Octavia? Weren’t you on a mission with Derpy…or something like that?” Twilight questioned, glancing at the beautiful earth pony and finally asking a question she had been meaning to ask during her entire weeklong airship cruise.

Octavia scoffed and casually ran her free fore-hoof through her long, majestic mane. “Been there, done that. The Author learned his lesson about writing a foolish story about Hearth’s Warming Eve, and the Doctor decided to give us all a little vacation until The Author plotted his next terrible idea that will surely continue to wreck and deteriorate the discombobulated world of prose as we know it.”

“So…where is Derpy Hooves then?” Trixie asked.

In response, Octavia just smirked and twirled her bow. “That’s for me to know and you all to find out. Now then, please get your flanks moving; I am losing my patience.” She pointed the cello bow towards the staircase, and after narrowing her eyes and taking a small step forward to emphasize her point, the three heated cushions were soon empty and vacant once again.

Octavia: *chuckling* It’s good to have authority. *she picks up a hairbrush and starts to comb her lengthy hair* Whatever. I’m just glad this stupid cruise will be over tomorrow. Did you know that the contracts Discord gave the crew were only for ten bits a day? To run this contraption? Such a rip-off artist. *she grumbles to herself, her eyes narrowing* I should introduce his head to my bow sometime.

“I guess Rarity and Spike already went to bed,” Twilight mused, leading her group of three into the corridor of rooms and finding two of them already shut, “I guess they were tired and wanted to get some rest for our grand return to the island. Ugh, I can’t believe how badly I mismanaged the time. I guess sitting on an airship deck in the chilling hours of the night can make a pony lose track of time.”

“Pathetic, Sparkle,” Trixie sniffed, gently nudging Twilight aside as she pushed her way past the unicorn, “You make Trixie want to cry, and if she wasn’t so intent at not showing such a foolish emotion, she would do so. Now, goodnight.” Without another word or so much as a look back, Trixie trotted into her room and slammed the door shut a second later.

“She can be such a grumpy pony, can’t she?” Pinkie shrugged, shaking her head and casually fluffing her mane a bit more as she wrapped her forelegs around Twilight’s neck, “Well, whatever, she can be grumpy all she wants; we know she doesn’t mean it. You have a good rest, okay, Twi?”

“Thank you, Pinkie. You have a good rest too, alright?” Twilight returned the hug, letting out a burst of air when Pinkie hugged her even tighter.

“Ooh, don’t worry, I always have a good sleep when you sleep close by,” Pinkie whispered, her lips close to Twilight’s ear as she kept holding the unicorn, “The gentle rocking of the airship relaxes my tummy, but you relax my heart just by being close, Twilight.”

“Uh…excuse me?”

“Night-night, Twilight!” Soft hums escaping her lips, Pinkie released Twilight and bounced away. The last thing Twilight Sparkle saw for the night was Pinkie’s puffy tail vanishing into her room, which was indeed right beside her own. When the door closed, Twilight was left sitting in confusion in the corridor. Her face was beginning to flush once more.

Twilight: I don’t GET that Pinkie Pie sometimes! Well, more like all the time, but still! She can act so random, so clueless, and so aggressive. But, then she’ll do and say things that are just…well…so not like her. What does she mean when she says weird things to me that she’s never said before? Ugh. I blame Discord for this. *her horn glows, and a nightcap appears on her head* I’m heading to bed.

Pinkie: *decked out mismatching striped and polka dot pajamas, complete with a pointy hat that was more like a party hat than a nightcap, she smiles sleepily at the camera* This was the cruise of a lifetime. I got to party, I got to eat, I got to play with Trixie, and I got to spend quality time with Twilight. She’s so awesome. Even without her magic, she’ll always be the most amazing pony I’ve ever known.

Standing at the bow of the airship, staring into the vast night sky with her mysterious purple eyes, Octavia sighed to herself. Next to her stood her pride and joy, her instrument of choice, the cello. The stringed instrument, always glistening and sleek with how much love and attention its owner gave it, stood at the ready for whenever it was needed to fill the air with its haunting, beautiful music. Carefully, Octavia adjusted two of the pegs on the top of her best friend, idly running a hoof over the strings as she plucked a few notes and let the chords resonate within the atmosphere.

“What purpose does life hold? Are we all but fabricated characters in an author’s storybook, being churned into a fictitious prose just for the sake of comedic purposes?” Octavia carefully pulled her cello over to the front of her long, slender body, letting out a soft sigh as the chilled wood pressed into her belly. “A game with promises of grandeur and fame. A parallel world thrust into chaos and tainted with darkness. How sad, and how pitiful.” The earth pony closed her eyes, laying the horsehair of her bow on the c string of her carved wooden gift, the enigma of a pony of lure crafted into the left side and almost glowing in the moonbeams of the orb being cradled within the stars above. “Where will this journey end? What will be found at the crossroads? Only time will tell, it seems.”

As the airship continued its course back to Total Magic Pony Island, Octavia began to play. The chilling notes were carried off into the night and through the corridors of the flying vessel itself. Each note was played with extreme delicate precision and care, and the music would carry over for the rest of the evening and into the waning hours of the early morning, it seemed. Octavia’s gift to the world could touch even the darkest and coldest of heartstrings.

~~~

Celestia’s sun peeked over the ridges surrounding Camp Paradox, signaling the start of the next day. The princess herself sighed again when she saw the tiny rockets floating in the air, somehow supporting the celestial orb of warmth and life in her place. As always, it took Fluttershy to gently nudge her away to get the princess moving out of the cabin. Rainbow Dash yawned and followed her two teammates out a second later. Cheerilee and Scootaloo exited the Magical Misfits’ cabin together.

“Today’s the day that Spike and the other girls get back, right?” Scootaloo asked, tilting her head and glancing up at the sky as she tried to sum up the total number of days the five campers had been gone.

“Yes, that’s right, Scootaloo,” Cheerilee smiled and headed towards the dock with the filly at her side. She didn’t care about eating breakfast; she was too excited to see Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie, and even Trixie again. A small part of her didn’t even mind seeing Spike, too. “Discord made an announcement last night over the loudspeakers that the airship would be back first thing in the morning. Let’s go greet them, alright?”

“You got it, Cheerilee!” Scootaloo giggled and bounced alongside her teacher, not minding skipping breakfast as the twosome made their way to the Dock of Shame.

Cheerilee: So, Twilight and the gang will be returning to the island. I admit that I have missed them profusely. Pinkie’s randomness, Rarity’s amusing issues with every little thing, Trixie and her arrogance, and Twilight… *she pauses for a moment, tapping her chin in thought* Huh…you know, there’s not one trait that I can point out to differentiate Twilight from everypony else. Kinda weird.

“Won’t it be nice to see Twilight, Rarity and Pinkie back after being separated for a week?” Fluttershy asked, nimbly trotting alongside Rainbow Dash and Celestia, “Oh, um, and Trixie and Spike as well.”

“Don’t kid yourself, Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash snickered, an amused grin on her face as she turned to look at her friend, “No one here will be overjoyed to see Miss Ego herself back on the island, nor will we be happy with seeing that annoying dragon.”

“Rainbow Dash, mind your manners,” Celestia scolded, “There’s no reason to insult Trixie or Spike. We’re all friends here, remember? Don’t let Discord lead you astray from the important things.”

“Right, right, the important things.” The thoughts of swimming in the million bits flashed before Dash’s eyes, followed by lounging in the Wonderbolts’ private mansion, and then ending with all of Equestria bowing to her and chanting her name. Her smirk widened and stretched further and further across her cheeks all the while during her imagery. Celestia was right; Discord wasn’t going to drive her apart from the important things.

Rainbow Dash: Don’t insult Trixie and Spike? No disrespect, but the princess didn’t see what Trixie did to our town. Furthermore, Spike is poison. He’s the one who ruined our team and made us lose… *she blinks and scratches her head* Uh…how many have we lost in a row now? Five? Four? Ugh, I don’t even know anymore! I can’t STAND not winning! Spike, that virus, is going down once and for all!

The sounds of spiraling winds filled the air as the five campers gathered on the Dock of Shame to welcome back their fellow comrades. A small blip in the distance slowly grew into a massive dark shape that soon materialized into the airship containing the other five campers. Cheerilee and Celestia were forced to hold onto Scootaloo and Fluttershy to prevent the weaker ponies from being blown away via the vicious cycling of air the airship was kicking up. Rainbow Dash stood firm, rooted to her spot, her eyes narrowing as she locked her focus onto the airship. When the bulk of the flying contraption landed in the water and the catwalk lowered down onto the Dock of Shame, Dash’s eyes narrowed even more.

Loud and rowdy laughter began to fill the air almost immediately, Spike leading his four girls off the airship while expelling the loudest guffaws of all. He was toting a small plastic bag under his arm, filled with the glamorous and delicious food that Twilight had suggested they load up as much as they could before being forced to go back to Nightmare Moon’s dreadful culinary horrors. Just the aroma alone made Scootaloo whine and Fluttershy lick her lips. All it did for Rainbow Dash was make her see red.

“Hey, ladies, miss me?” Spike grinned, flexing his arm not carrying his doggie bag and striking a pose, “How did you all survive without old Spike around to make everything alright?”

“We were surviving just fine, but now that you’re back, I fear we’ll all perish soon,” Dash replied.

“WHAT?!?! Oh, that does it! I just get back, and I did NOT need that!” Throwing down his doggie bag filled with goodies, Spike marched right down the rest of the catwalk and stomped up into Dash’s face. “You have something you want to say to me, Rainbow?”

“Yeah. Your voice is irritating, you’re annoying, you’re puny and not at all muscular, and your breath stinks. It’s no wonder Rarity was so reluctant to ever confess her feelings to you!”

“RAINBOW DASH!” Rarity gasped, her face lighting up as she turned away to try and hide her blush.

“Spike, Rainbow Dash, stop this at once!” Celestia snapped, stepping over and trying to step in front of the two campers butting heads, “What is the matter with you both? This kind of attitude is uncalled for! Rainbow Dash, apologize to Spike!”

“WELCOME BACK, SPIKE, TWILIGHT, RARITY, PINKIE, AND TRIXIE!” Discord’s voice boomed out over the loudspeakers hanging over the camp flagpole, interrupting Spike and Dash’s potential fight. The devious draconequus was nowhere in sight, but his voice still welcomed his intimidating presence regardless. “I HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED YOUR WEEK OFF ON A RELAXING CRUISE, BUT NOW YOU’VE RETURNED AND THE GAME IS BACK ON! I’M SURE YOU’RE ALL HAVING FUN REUNITING, BUT I HAVE A FEW BITS OF IMPORTANT NEWS TO SHARE WITH YOU FIRST.”

“Oh, joy, Trixie cannot WAIT for this,” Trixie muttered, sitting down and wiping a few beads of sweat off her forehead. “What do you all suppose our dear host has in store for the likes of us?”

“Perhaps he’ll decide to give us the million bits right now while turning over a new leaf?” Twilight guessed, her sarcastic grin showing that she wasn’t being totally serious.

“Maybe he’ll finally realize just who it is he’s been messing with and turn me back to normal?” Celestia pondered.

“I think he’ll change my title to ‘Rainbow Dash’s Life Partner’ or something else really cool!” Scootaloo exclaimed.

Cheerilee coughed and gently rested a hoof on the filly’s right shoulder. “Scootaloo, my dear, to change your title, you first must have a title to begin with.”

“Or maybe he’ll make it ‘Rainbow Dash’s Loyal Guardian Filly’, now that I think about it.”

“Scootaloo? Are you listening to me?”

“Ooh, this is so exciting! Oh, oh, I got it! Discord is going to pair us up into teams of two, and I’m gonna get to be with Dash! This is awesome!”

Cheerilee: *sighing and banging her head against the side of the confessional* Sometimes, being a mediator isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Being ignored really irritates a girl. I mean, it’s not that I’m jealous of Rainbow Dash or anything. It’s just…I don’t like this, not one little bit. Scootaloo always thinks of Rainbow Dash, but Dash never thinks of HER. If I had Pinkie Sense, I would be tingling right now.

“THE FIRST BIT OF NEWS IS THAT THE TEAMS ARE OFFICIALLY DISSOLVED!” Discord’s announcement continued on a moment later. “AS OF THIS MOMENT, IT’S EVERY CAMPER FOR THEMSELVES! WE ARE NOW ONE BIG MERGED GROUP!”

“Wait a minute, our team is now dissolved? But…but…that can’t happen!” Twilight looked incredibly nervous at hearing this news. “Girls, what do you think about…this?” She blinked in shock as eight of the other nine campers all began to congregate in joy, seemingly happy to be free of their team and now combined into one. Only Cheerilee remained at Twilight’s side with a look of disapproval. “At least YOU’RE not thrilled about this either, Cheerilee.”

“As nice as it is to be able to see the princess more often now…I just have a bad feeling about this.” Cheerilee edged over to Twilight’s side and softly whispered into her ear to prevent the other excited ponies and dragon from hearing. “Twilight, I know she’s your friend, but…watch out for Rainbow Dash.”

Twilight did a double take. She wasn’t sure if she heard Cheerilee correctly. Did she just say to be weary of one of her own best friends? On an island where the spirit of disharmony himself was playing with them in his own sick and twisted game? The look of confusion and even annoyance didn’t take long to sprout on Twilight’s face. “Watch out for Rainbow? One of my best friends? Cheerilee, what are you…?”

“NOW, FOR THE NEXT BIT OF NEWS!” Discord finally went on after a little while. “EVERYONE, TURN AROUND AND SAY HELLO TO ONE OF YOUR FORMER FRIENDS!”

“Ooh, a former friend? Yay! I love seeing my friends!” Pinkie released her bear-hug on Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy and whipped her head around. “Where are they? All I see is the ocean, and even though the ocean is nice, it hasn’t exactly accepted my friendship yet.”

“Hold on, does anypony hear the sound of a motor?” Celestia mused, lifting her left ear up into the air and raising an eyebrow. All the other campers joined in with the princess’ question, and soon they all could hear the faint sounds of a sputtering motor getting louder and louder as well. Something was heading towards Camp Paradox. Something familiar.

“Hey, look, it’s the Boat of Losers!” Spike pointed out to the open sea, the tiny boat starting to race onto the scene after appearing from around the side of the island. “Too bad it’s not coming here to take Rainbow Dash away.”

“Hey, Spike, why don’t you kiss my…huh?” Dash paused in her attempted insult as she took a step closer towards the edge of the Dock of Shame. She thought she could spot someone standing on the deck of the Boat of Losers. The Pegasus narrowed her eyes and took a few more steps, then her eyes instantly reverted from curious to horrified. The two magenta pupils shot up as the blue mare very nearly lost her head. A choking gasp lodged itself in her throat as she staggered backward, completely stunned and confused. “W-w-w-what?!?! No…it can’t be…not HER!”

“Huh? Dash, who are you talking…about?” As Twilight’s eyesight managed to lock in on who was on the Boat of Losers, her reactions mimicked the cyan mare’s. “No! This…this can’t be happening!” One by one, all eight other campers soon realized just who was on the boat and began to chime in with their own comments and opinions.

“Oh dear, this isn’t good.”

“This isn’t cool!”

“I fear we may be in trouble.”

“I’m…I’m scared…”

“What is the meaning of this?”

“Trixie does not approve of this, not one bit!”

“Not that big meanie-head again!”

“Ugh, you’ve gotta be kidding me! My ribs still have the scars on them from the dodgeball challenge!”

“THAT IS CORRECT, CAMPERS!” Discord’s insane laughter interrupted the horrified campers’ thoughts. “BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND…OR, IF YOU WANT THE TRUTH, SIMPLY BECAUSE I FELT LIKE IT…SAY HELLO TO EVERYONE’S FAVORITE GRIFFON, GILDA!” His cackling continued to echo out of the loudspeakers as the realization began to set in. The girl riding on the Boat of Losers was indeed Gilda, and as the boat drew closer and closer to the Dock of Shame, the campers all began to slink away just as quickly.

“Hey, wait a minute, he can’t do this!” Rainbow Dash flew over to the flagpole and glared at the speaker box on the top. “Yo, Discord, that’s not fair! You can’t let Gilda back on the island!”

“I CAN’T?”

“No, you can’t!” Twilight added, joining Dash at the flagpole and giving an angry frown. “Don’t you remember what you’ve been saying at every single campfire ceremony? You say that once you’re voted out, you can NEVER return to the island. Once you’re gone, you can never, ever, EVER come back!”

“FOR-EVER!” Pinkie snarled, poking her head out the other side of the flagpole and scaring Twilight and Dash half to death.

There was a pause, then Discord spoke again. “OH. RIGHT. YEAH, ABOUT THAT…I LIED.”

“DISCORD, YOU CHEATER!” All at once, the 10 remaining campers all began shouting and yelling up at the speaker box on top of the flagpole, demanding that Discord not allow Gilda back on the island, among other things. After about five seconds of this, however, Discord’s bullhorn rang out and instantly silenced all the campers.

“NOW, NOW, IS THAT ANY WAY TO WELCOME BACK GILDA? WE DON’T WANT TO MAKE HER SAD, DO WE?” Discord made a tsk-tsk sound with his tongue, then snickered and moved on. “BESIDES, DON’T YOU PONIES…AND DRAGON…HAVE A MANTRA ABOUT MAKING FRIENDS AND ALL THAT PHOOEY?”

“Yeah…to a point!” Twilight argued. But, along with all the other campers, her whining would fall on deaf ears. All they were met with was more insane cackling as the Boat of Losers finally pulled up at the Dock of Shame. As the motor went off, Discord’s laughter soon vanished, leaving a dead silence in the air. Very slowly, the 10 campers weakly turned their heads to face their former fellow camper. Gilda had wasted no time getting off the Boat of Losers and was now standing and glaring at the edge of the dock.

“Er…hey, Dash?” Spike very slowly eased towards the rigid Pegasus, a fake grin stretched across his face. “You know, she’s your former friend. So, be a nice girl and go welcome her, okay?” Placing his hand on the back of Dash’s back, Spike quickly shoved her forward towards the Dock of Shame. Dash instantly slammed her butt down onto the ground and refused to move another inch.

“Nah. I’m sure she’s dying to see the one who beat her in dodgeball and ultimately caused her elimination instead.” Dash put on the same fake grin, possibly even more sinister than Spike’s. She reached back and grabbed Spike’s leg and yanked him forward instead, forcing the yelping dragon to hobble in front of the Pegasus instead.

“That’s nice of you, Dash, but you’re the element of loyalty, so go and be loyal already!” Spike reached back, grasped Dash’s left foreleg, and dragged her back in front of him. He had to use all of his strength to drag the stubborn Pegasus forward, due to her sitting on the ground.

“Thanks for thinking of me, Spike, but, really, I insist that you welcome her instead!” Dash’s tail dug under Spike’s body, like a broom, and tossed him over its owner’s head, once more making the two exchange places.

Little by little, Spike and Rainbow Dash continued to make up excuse after excuse as they desperately tried to force the other to go greet Gilda. When one would pull the other in front of them, the other would do the exact same a second later. Slowly, both the mare and the dragon began making headway without even realizing it. Each of them was drawing closer to the Dock of Shame and Gilda. However, since the two were too busy trying to save themselves from Gilda’s wrath, they failed to notice the griffon march right past them without even giving the two so much as a glance.

“Don’t let her hurt me!” Fluttershy whimpered and ran behind Celestia, curling up into a ball and cowering behind the white mare. “I didn’t mean to call her a loser, I swear! It…it was just in the heat of the moment! Oh, please, I have animals I need to care for back home! I can’t get eaten today!”

“Shush, Fluttershy, you’ll be alright,” Celestia whispered, using her tail to gently stroke the mare’s head as she kept her eyes on Gilda. “I won’t let this griffon harm you. The griffon race is a deadly lot, and it’s well-known that they do not care much for us pony folk. However, be aware that this is just a game, and I’m sure that Gilda will not…” She paused from her speech when she noticed that Gilda wasn’t stomping towards her or Fluttershy, but rather the six remaining Magical Misfits members instead.

While Twilight, Trixie, Scootaloo, Rarity, Pinkie and Cheerilee all gulped and tried to back away, they soon found their former teammate standing right in front of them. Still not having said a word yet, Gilda’s angry golden eyes volleyed from pony to pony as she surveyed each and every one of them. Her feathers were ruffled and her face was frozen in an angry sneer. The longer she stayed in front of her former team, the more her talons began to clench into fists. When the silence was too much to bear, however, Scootaloo finally broke the mold.

“It was all Trixie’s fault!” the filly shouted, pointing at the show-mare, “She was the one who forced us to vote for you, Gilda, I swear! We didn’t want to! We knew just how valuable you were, but all Trixie cared about was…uh…keeping us safe?” She slapped her forehead and groaned. “I can’t even lie right.”

“Impudent little foal,” Trixie snarled, slapping Scootaloo across the rump with her tail, “You are lucky that you could not finish that horrendous lie! Trixie is not about to become griffon food!”

“Um, hehe, girls?” Cheerilee bravely stepped forward towards Gilda, trying to find it in her heart to give a smile. “That’s not…very nice. Come now, let’s welcome Gilda back, shall we? It’s been quite a while.” When none of her former teammates would move, Cheerilee nervously made her way up to the large and angry griffon all by herself. Upon managing to stand in front of her, Cheerilee realized her knees were shaking. “Um…heh…hi there, Gilda. Long time, no see?”

Her head slowly sagging down until she managed to lock eyes with the scared Cheerilee, Gilda’s sneer grew into a smirk. “Yes. It’s been a long time since I got to play with my pony punching bags.”

“N-now, Gilda, t-that’s not very n-nice,” Cheerilee gulped, rooted in her place due to her fear started to spread throughout her body. “W-we are…thrilled…to have you b-back!”

“Oh, sure, I can just FEEL the joy.” Sarcasm was one of Gilda’s favorite weapons, it seemed. “Yeah, I totally felt the warm fuzzies from that WONDERFUL welcoming I received.”

“Heh…hehe…hehehe…Twilight, come here and help me welcome Gilda, okay?” Cheerilee giggled, her voice cracked, as she somehow reached back and managed to grab Twilight and yank her to her side. “We’re all VERY happy to have Gilda back, yes? Come on, say hi to our former teammate!”

Twilight Sparkle looked as though she wanted to strangle Cheerilee at that point, but the moment she locked eyes with Gilda, she found herself rooted to the ground as well. Her mind told her that it would be best to smile in this situation, even if the muscles in her face weren’t cooperating with that bit of clever knowledge. Eventually, a twitching smile formed across Twilight’s cheeks, and when she spoke, it was hard to tell if she was actually Twilight Sparkle or Fluttershy in disguise.

“Hi…Gilda…welcome…back?”

“Oh, I remember you. You’re that egghead that Dash was always mentioning to me! Yeah…you’re the leader of Magical Misfits! YOU were the one who orchestrated me being voted off!” Trixie was about to protest the part about Twilight being leader, but after watching Gilda start to crack her knuckles in front of Twilight’s paling face, she quickly changed her mind. “Twilight Sparkle, right? It’s been too long, but I never forget a face. Especially one as perfect for punching as yours.”

“Great! So, you two just get reacquainted, okay?” Cheerilee chuckled and let Twilight go, hurrying back to Scootaloo’s side and looking very relieved. “I’ll just be back here, if you need me.”

Twilight wanted to strangle Cheerilee even more now that she was left alone in front of the deadly griffon. The scared unicorn trembled in fear as she faced Gilda, the large cracking talons in her face very nearly causing her to faint. Her purple body was staring to turn white the longer she stared into Gilda’s hungry eyes. She read in one of her books about pony history that griffons used to enjoy eating ponies. It was said that the carnivorous nature of the griffons longing for pony flesh was long since forgotten, but the more time she spent in the presence of the angry Gilda, the faster her heart pounded.

After finishing cracking her talons for about the twentieth time, Gilda reached down and wrapped her right fist around Twilight’s neck. “Look here, dweeb. I’m not fooling around any longer. I’m back, and now that I’m back, it’s time to lay down a few rules that I should’ve laid down at the start.” Gilda tightened her first around Twilight’s neck and pulled the unicorn off her hooves. “Rule one: any pony that gets in my way becomes my punching bag. No questions asked.” The griffon yanked Twilight up higher, tightening her grip a bit more, as Twilight’s legs began to flail and her choking face began to turn blue. “Rule two: if I dare get voted out again just for playing my hardest, heads are gonna roll.” Gilda finally lifted Twilight’s gasping face to within an inch of her own, her grip tightening so hard around the unicorn’s neck that her fist managed to wrap all the way around the small pony’s esophagus. “Rule three: I demand the same respect that you ponies have for each other. As with that dragon boy who beat me in dodgeball, I want the same respect that you all give him. Is that clear?”

“Y…Y…Y…YES!” Twilight managed to croak, her eyes bulging and her hooves thrashing weakly as she tried to pull herself out of Gilda’s strong grasp. She thought she felt something pop in the back of her neck, and combined with being forced to face the deadly eyes of the griffon, Twilight was in two worlds of pain right now. She was beginning to see stars and little black dots dancing before her eyes, but thankfully she was released a second later.

“Good. Glad that we have an understanding.” Gilda casually scratched herself with one of her talons after uncurling her fist, proceeding to glance at her claw as she sat on her haunches. “So…good to be back. We’re all one team now, right? Cool.”

Rainbow Dash: *growling* First Spike, and now Gilda? Great, now I have TWO nuisances to take care of. That jerk…how dare she do that to Twilight! Sure, I understand wanting some respect, but…at least do that to Spike, not Twilight! That mare gets enough abuse as it is. *she groans and manages her eyebrows with her hooves* Oh, this game…it’s driving me crazy, I swear to Celestia it is.

Twilight: *still sputtering and choking, grasping her neck with both hooves and looking thankful just to be alive* That…griffon…is beyond…powerful. She could’ve…snapped my neck…if she had really wanted to! *instead of looking terrified, she looks slightly curious* Huh…that makes me wonder…why didn’t she snap my neck? Maybe…that was just her way…of making a point? But, still…ow!

Gilda: Hey, don’t peg me for a bully, alright? I ain’t no bully. I just demand respect, that’s all. You got that, Equestria? We griffons are a proud race, and after getting unfairly voted out just for playing a brutal game the only way I know how, I felt I needed to lay down the law with these ponies. *she leans back and crosses her arms* I was never much for team sports anyway; I do best at flying solo.

“BUT THAT’S NOT ALL, FOLKS!” Discord’s voice screamed out once more via the camp loudspeakers, “BACK FROM HER MISSION OR WHATEVER IT WAS, WELCOME BACK…DERPY HOOVES!”

“Oh no! Everypony, take cover!” Cheerilee shouted, quickly pulling Scootaloo down to the ground and covering up her own head with her hooves. All the other ponies, including Spike and Gilda, all joined in the intelligent decision to get to the ground just before the familiar laughs of joy filled the air.

“WHEEEEE! HI, EVERYPONY! MISS ME?” Derpy laughed, the walleyed Pegasus flying onto the scene from apparently out of thin air. Her erratic flying evident, the ditzy mare spiraled in the air as she soared back onto the campgrounds. Barely missing taking out the top of the mess hall, Derpy crashed headfirst into the camp flagpole. The collision resulted in total annihilation of said flagpole, not to mention destruction of Discord’s exclusion loudspeakers.

“Ooh, THAT had to hurt,” Spike muttered, observing Derpy as she pulled herself out of the wreckage of wood that was once a flagpole, “Can anyone say ‘concussion’? I think we need Nightmare Moon.”

“Nah, that’s okay, Spikey!” Derpy said cheerfully, her eyes spiraling like crazy inside of her sockets, casually getting to her hooves and brushing off a few woodchips without showing much pain at all. “See, I crash all the time, and my head is very unique. Hard crashes don’t do a thing to me! It’s the little ones that knock me out.” She gasped for a moment, then sat down and began to happily grope at the air in front of her dizzying eyeballs. “Ooh, stars are out early! Hey, Twilight, I can see Orion!”

Celestia: A medical mystery and a completely random and confusing pony basically sums up my dear subject, Derpy Hooves, to a tee. In a way, it makes me proud to know just how diverse my little ponies are. Some are magnificent magic users. Others are fantastic speed flyers. There are intelligent ponies, strong ponies, fast ponies, funny ponies. Then, there’s Derpy; a pony of her own kind.

“Er…so, Derpy…how was your…uh…mission?” Twilight asked, finally having recovered from Gilda’s stranglehold on her throat and proceeding to check on her former teammate.

Derpy blinked her eyes a few times, each blink resulting in her pupils appearing in a different area of her corneas, before she stuck her tongue out the side of her mouth and faced the purple mare. “Oh, it went just great! See, the Doctor and The Author got into a war of words with each other, with the Doctor ultimately winning when The Author had a light bulb go off over his head due to him getting a jolt of inspiration for a new story. He left his story about Hearth’s Warming Eve alone and the battle was over. The Doctor said that our work will never be over, so long as The Author continues to churn horrible works of fiction that are downright dreadful and not at all enjoyable, not to mention being a danger to all of pony-kind. But, he did say that I was free to return to the game, so ninety-three trees and eighteen buildings being destroyed later and here I am!”

“That make absolutely no sense whatsoever,” Rainbow Dash grumbled, having stretched out on the ground and was idly banging her head over and over again during Derpy’s uninteresting story.

“I know, right? That’s what makes it so cool!” Derpy bounced up and gave a weak cheer before she tackled Pinkie Pie and playfully sat on her belly. “Hi, Pinkie!”

“Hi, Derpy! Nice tackle!”

“Yeah, I’ve been practicing!”

“How DARE you destroy my flagpole!” Discord interrupted the love fest by teleporting onto the scene, the draconequus clenching his fists and grinding his teeth together so hard that white chips could be seen dribbling down from his lips. “Do you KNOW how hard it was to make that? And my precious loudspeakers! Oh, my beautiful, handsome, muscular voice will never be heard the same way again! Derpy Hooves, you shall suffer dearly for your transgressions!”

“Um…muffin?” Derpy pulled a bran muffin out of nowhere and offered it up to the enraged host.

Discord eyed the fresh pastry for a moment, thinking about it, before snatching it away from the gray pony and nibbling on it. “Humph. I am still going to haunt your dreams and make you itch something terrible when you least expect it.”

“I can live with that.”

Rarity: I can’t believe Discord sold out for a muffin! He is beyond a doubt the most insane, the most illogical, the craziest creature I have ever laid eyes upon! I would’ve held out for at least two muffins, if not three, since I am quite adept at haggling. Did I ever mention the time when... *her eyes began to water* …Spikey haggled a traveling merchant to perfection to get me a piece of jeweled linen?

Swallowing down the last of his bran muffin, Discord licked his lips and idly brushed a few crumbs off his large neck. “Tasty. Could’ve used some ketchup, but tasty nonetheless. Now then, since the teams have been merged and Gilda and Derpy have returned to the game, let’s get right into…”

“WAIT, DUDES, YA CAN’T START THE PARTY WITHOUT ME!”

The familiar voice blared out through the camp, instantly catching the attention of all the campers and irritating Discord to no end at once more getting interrupted. Twilight was the first to point with a hoof toward the Dock of Shame, where a pony with a wild mane was hurrying off the Boat of Losers. The purple mare immediately recognized the funky light and dark blue combination of the mane and tail. She recognized the white horn protruding from atop the latecomer pony’s head. She recognized the black and purple goggles attached to the pony’s eyes. She recognized the music note cutie mark on both of her flanks. Twilight’s mouth dropped to the ground, joined by half of the other campers, including Discord himself.

“It…it…it can’t be! SHE’S here, too?” Twilight felt her heart skip a beat. Ever since that very first elimination ceremony, a day didn’t go by where she didn’t feel a pang of guilt for elimination one of her own just because of her inability to use magic. The way the pony had gone, too, had broken Twilight’s heart. She wanted nothing more than to make it up to the latecomer, and now it seemed she might get that chance sooner rather than later.

As the happy unicorn bounded away from the Boat of Losers, hurrying towards the stunned group of campers and the confused draconequus, Rainbow Dash was the next to speak. “Who’s that girl again? Wasn’t she that DJ who performed at Rarity’s fashion gig when she made us our Gala outfits?”

“Yes, that’s correct, Rainbow Dash,” Rarity responded, a bright smile on her face, “She was put on our team at the start of this silly game. She’s a fellow unicorn with a passion for music and one of the best DJs in the world! Ponyville is really lucky to have her. It’s none other than…”

“Vinyl Scratch!” Twilight finished off Rarity’s sentence, eagerly bounding forward to meet her fellow galloping unicorn halfway. “VINYL! IT’S YOU! YOU’RE BACK!”

“Darn straight, Twi! Vinyl Scratch is back in the house…or the island, whichever fits your groove more.” Vinyl’s famous grin stretched across her face when she saw Twilight being the first one to greet her, going all out of her way to meet her halfway. When the two unicorns screeched to a halt in front of one another, Vinyl quickly raised a hoof to her goggles and raised them up to her forehead. Her dazzling ruby eyes finally got to meet Twilight’s amethyst pupils once more. “Hey there, Twi. Ya miss me at all?”

She didn’t know why, but seeing those powerful red irises and the excited grin on Vinyl Scratch’s face filled Twilight’s heart with glee. “You know I did, Vinyl! Ever since our team voted you off, all I wanted to do was make it up to you once I got back home. But, you’re here…what a shocker! It’s so awesome to see you!” Twilight leaned her head forward and wrapped her neck around Vinyl’s, performing the usual pony hug as Vinyl instantly returned the kind gesture of affection.

One by one, each remaining camper trotted forward to say hello to Vinyl. Despite the unicorn’s unusual way of speaking and her crazy hairstyle, it was clear she was mostly liked among the contestants. Pinkie sang a little song to welcome Vinyl back before tackling her and giving her a hug as well. Scootaloo, Rarity and Cheerilee all gave verbal hellos to Vinyl and gave her neck-hugs as well. Derpy gave Vinyl a tasty strawberry muffin. Trixie was hesitant to show any display of affection, so she simply acted in the only way she knew how.

“Welcome back, lesser unicorn. Trixie is pleased that another inferior unicorn has returned to the island to make Trixie look even better than she already does on a daily basis.”

“Good to see you as well, Trix.” Vinyl grinned at Trixie, not showing any sign of annoyance at Trixie’s usual insulting comments.

“It is so good to see you, my dear,” Celestia said kindly, nodding to Vinyl, “Didn’t you DJ for Luna’s last birthday party? She wanted to ‘experience the times’ better and wanted the best DJ in Ponyville, since she was so thrilled with the reception she received there. You’re Ponyville’s only DJ, so…you were chosen to do the deed.”

“Princess, dude, that’s totally legit! I remember that night like it was just yesterday, yo! I was laying down such killer beats that I didn’t stop sweating until the next morning!” Vinyl laughed and playfully wrapped a foreleg around Celestia’s neck. “Did your little sis feel psyched from my groovy skills? Did she raise the roof? Did she drop it like it’s hot and pull off some smooth moves on the dance floor? I don’t really know, ‘cause I was too busy feeling my turntable and making it purr like a kitten, ya feel me?”

“Uh…actually…Luna passed out halfway through and had to be carried to bed. Apparently, those liquid rainbows didn’t agree with her stomach.”

“Oh…man, that blows. She missed my grand finale where I ignited my flamethrowers!”

“Do not worry, Miss Scratch, your ‘finale’ was heavily felt all through the castle, not to mention Canterlot. The damage your flamethrowers caused drained my pockets for quite a bit, not to mention having to deal with the paparazzi when the fire department was called to put out the flames.”

Vinyl Scratch laughed and pumped her hoof in the air. “That’s wild, Princess! If ya ever want me to blow your mind again, ya know who to call!”

“Is this pony for real?” Gilda sighed, rolling her eyes all the way up to the sky and slapping her forehead, “I don’t even think beating her up would be that fun; she’d be way too easy.”

Spike shook Vinyl’s hoof to welcome her back, and Fluttershy shyly gave her a pat on the back. Before Rainbow Dash could so much as get a word in edgewise, Discord finally snapped out of his shock and flew over to confront the DJ unicorn himself. Shoving Rainbow Dash aside, Discord crossed his arms and frowned down at the white mare. “Excuse me, but I did NOT say that you were allowed to come back. Only Gilda and Derpy were on my list of contestants to let come back, mainly to drive the campers crazy. Why should I let you back in the game?”

“Wait a minute, you didn’t invite her back?” Scootaloo asked.

“If he did, I never saw her on the Boat of Losers on my way over here,” Gilda said, “When I got the letter explaining that I was being given a second chance in the game, I got on the Boat of Losers with the driver and that was it. I never saw the little dork get on the boat.”

“I snuck on, peeps!” Vinyl sat down and cleared her throat, going into her little story. “Ya see, when I saw our scary griffon friend shaking her way over to the Boat of Losers, it got me all curious. I thought that maybe she was going to sneak her way back on the show to hurt my pony friends, and that’s so not cool! So, ya know what I decided to do? This here DJ pony snuck onboard with Gilda to make sure she wasn’t up to anything shady, ya feel me? Plus, if I got lucky, maybe I’d get to see Twilight Sparkle again! So, low and behold, everything worked out awesomely! How dope is that?”

Spike: *snickering to himself* DJ Pon3 is so cool. Plus, she always has a smile on her face. How can you not love that girl? Plus, she went out of her way to make sure Gilda didn’t hurt any of us. Do you find it odd that I consider Scratch to be more loyal than Rainbow Dash right now? I honestly think Vinyl should take over the Pegasus’ element, if you want my honest opinion. It’s so cool to have her back!

“Now, see here, my dear pony, I did not say that you were allowed back in the game,” Discord said, wagging a clawed finger in front of Vinyl’s face, “As sickeningly-sweet your sob story may be about wanting to see your friends, you do not strike me as a worthy player to allow back in the game.”

As Vinyl’s smile began to sink away, her ears drooping as well at the thought of having to leave when she had had her heart set on staying for a while longer, Twilight quickly stepped in to face Discord. “Discord, please, let her stay.”

“Oh? And just why should I do that, my dear Twilight? Give me one good reason why I should.”

Twilight, figuring out how Discord’s mind worked, forced herself to suck up to him so Vinyl could hopefully get her second chance in the game, too. “Well, you like drama and chaos, right? Vinyl here was very sneaky in her pursuit to get back into the game. She snuck on that boat and is daring to defy your orders. This unicorn is clearly worthy of being ‘bad’ enough to get another chance, don’t you think? Shouldn’t her dedication and passion to be here be enough to sway you?”

Discord gave Twilight a bored expression, idly glancing at his wrist and poking at the invisible watch that he pretended to be wearing. “Personally, Twilight, you bore me to death and I usually ignore most of your lectures. If you promise to shut up and not irritate me any longer, I will allow Vinyl to stay.”

“My lips are sealed.” The purple mare gave Vinyl a little wink out of the corner of her right eye as she made a zipping motion across her lips, pretending to silence herself just to please Discord.

“Very well. I hereby reinstate Vinyl Scratch into my luscious little game, alongside Gilda and Derpy.” Discord cracked his neck to iron out a few kinks, then returned to wearing his mischievous smirk. “Now that that’s all cleared up, shall we get to today’s challenge?”

Cheerilee: How delightful that Vinyl will be rejoining us! This is wonderful news, since all three returning players were formally on our own Magical Misfits! *she giggled a bit* We’re that much closer to getting Rainbow Dash out of here! *when she realized she sounded a bit devious, she gulped and gave the camera a little wink* Don’t think I was being mean; Dash simply must learn a lesson, that’s all.

Twilight: Yes! I knew that Discord would see things my way. I do have a way with words, after all. *she blinks for a moment, then frowns when she does a mental double take*Hey, wait a minute! Did Discord only side with me just because he didn’t want to listen to me talk? Ugh! That is NOT what I advocate! Does anyone even listen to me anymore? Rotten draconequus.

Vinyl: Oh yeah, baby, this rocks! *she pumps both hoofed fists into the air, dramatically shaking her head to further ruffle her frazzled mane* Vinyl Scratch is back in the game…with Twilight Sparkle! And it was thanks to that very same beautiful pony that I’m even here! Man, this couldn’t have gone any better. *she sighs and places a hoof over her heart* Gotta make sure I don’t screw it up this time.

“Okay, so from here on out, each of you will be playing for individual immunity instead of team immunity,” Discord explained, floating back and forth in front of the campers, “Today, for you lucky thirteen, we have a very simple challenge. Naturally, I could do something horribly brutal to our returnees and the five who just returned from the airship cruise, but that would just be mean, don’t you think? So, to start off, each of you must run three miles around the island. I could care less for math, so I’m not really sure just how many laps that would be. Let’s just make it…twenty laps, shall we?”

“Discord, that is WAY too many!” Twilight protested, “Do you know how tiring that’s going to be?”

“No, since I’m not going to run it!” Discord giggled, playfully patting the terrified purple mare on the head, “It’ll be easy! All you need to do is follow the shoreline around the island, since the entire isle is completely surrounded by water. Start at the Dock of Shame and run northward, circling the island, until you get to twenty laps. It’ll be easy!”

“Trixie is lucky she is used to running,” Trixie muttered as silently as she could, since she did not want any of the others bringing back up the memories of her running away from Ponyville a while back.

“Piece of cake,” Gilda smirked, cracking her knuckles and stretching her long limbs.

“Oh, but no flying.” Discord specifically pointed out Gilda and Rainbow Dash, both of whom rolled their eyes, but gave a little nod of understanding to get the spirit of disharmony off their case.

“I can’t believe I am going to have to get…sweaty!” Rarity wailed, hanging her head and visibly shivering, “My beautiful body simply was not meant for such physicality! Discord, you are truly a fiend! This is beyond evil!”

“Blah blah blah, drama queen.” Discord dismissed Rarity’s protests with a wave of his hand, snapping his fingers and making a pipe appear in his mouth. “You have all the time you need to complete your twenty laps, and you will have a big, delicious feast waiting for you once you’re finished. Take your time; there is no reward for the fastest time or coming in first. This is only part one of the challenge.”

“Maybe you should just quit now, Dash; you heard what Discord said,” Spike teased, poking at Rainbow’s right wing and smirking at her.

Angrily yanking her body aside, Rainbow Dash shoved a hoof into Spike’s forehead and shoved him away. “Watch your mouth, small fry. Don’t mess with somepony who is clearly better than you.”

Spike: Naturally, I want Rainbow Dash out. Gilda is intimidating, but as of right now, she’s not a threat. Rainbow Dash is a threat because she has all the other ponies fooled with her deception, since she’s the element of loyalty and everypony loves her. *he pointed into his open mouth and made a hacking sound* The point is, Dash is a bigger threat than Gilda, and she needs to go as soon as possible.

Scootaloo: Quality racing time with Rainbow Dash! Awesome! This is my time to shine! With the teams merged, I can spend all the time I want with Dash and prove that I’m worthy of…um…well, that I’m worthy of…her time? *she runs a shaking hoof through her mane* Well, in any case, I’m gonna race right alongside Dash and see how I stack up to her awesomeness! Wish me luck, everypony out there!

Scootaloo immediately regretted her words in her confessional. The twenty laps seemed to fly by without much conflict, at least physically. Even without the use of her wings, Rainbow Dash and her poignant athleticism allowed her to gallop at a breakneck pace without showing any signs of tiring. Scootaloo didn’t stand a chance at keeping up with her idol and secret crush. The only one even remotely close to keeping up with Rainbow Dash in a straight-out running challenge was Gilda. That said, both the griffon and the rainbow-maned Pegasus led the pack for most of the twenty laps around the island. Most of the other campers ran at a manageable pace for their laps, with Rarity and Celestia bringing up the rear.

“This…is…horrible!” Celestia moaned, dragging her hooves through the wet sand of the shoreline after finishing up only her fourth lap. The princess was already sweating profusely, her mane sagging over her shoulders and nearly falling over her eyes while her tongue hung out her mouth without her even realizing it. “I am…although very embarrassed to admit it…quite out of shape.”

“Old age can do that, darling,” Rarity said, trotting at her own leisure, taking special care to not step in anything that looked even remotely dirty, “Despite your young body, you still are old at heart, are you not, Princess? If that wasn’t so, your young body should be working wonders right now.”

Celestia cast Rarity a dark look, her eyes narrowing into a heavy glare as she watched the fashionista nonchalantly continuing her trot without fully realizing what she just said. “Thank you for your words of wisdom, Rarity. It always helps to have somepony lift your spirits when you’re feeling down.”

“Anytime, darling!”

Celestia: *referring to Rarity* The poor dear. What she doesn’t know is that the moon is rather barren and does not contain any fashion stores or clothing supplies; Luna told me as much. It would be such a tragedy if Twilight’s little friend somehow found herself on the moon for an extended period of time…let’s hope that such an event does not take place. *her eyes narrow a little bit as she says that*

“This is fun, don’t you think, Twilight?” Pinkie hummed a little bit, bouncing along and never seeming to get tired. She hopped past the purple unicorn for what seemed like the fourteenth time already, if Twilight had counted properly. Logic told Twilight that there was no way Pinkie had completely that many laps already, but since she was dealing with the notorious Pinkie Pie, she decided to not bother grilling the earth pony for answers.

“Sure, Pinkie, this is a THRILL!” Twilight responded, rolling her eyes while making sure to keep her pace. When the pink party pony naturally failed to pick up on her friend’s sarcasm, she hopped on ahead, leaving Vinyl Scratch as Twilight’s only partner at the moment.

“Yeah, Twi, that’s how we unicorns work it!” Vinyl cheered, mimicking Twilight’s pacing procedures to make sure she kept right in step with the purple mare. “Where did ya learn how to run so smoothly?”

“From the running of the leaves. I was never much of the athletic type, as is true for most of us unicorns, not to mention that I spent most of my life in a library. However, I did study several books on how to properly run a marathon while not wearing yourself out, so I used my knowledge to my advantage. I didn’t win the race, but a lot of my skills have admittedly come from books.”

Nodding her head a few times, Vinyl casually flicked a bang of her blue mane out of her face. “That’s cool. It’s radical just how hard ya work to better yourself, Twi. I know you’re an amazing mare; I’ve heard about your sizzling magic skills. But, that you actually learn from your books and put them to good use in your real life…man, girl, is there anything you can’t do?”

“Scratch, please, flattery will get you nowhere,” Twilight giggled, playfully nudging the white unicorn as the two continued their race. Trixie trailed the twosome from behind the entire race, despite the azure mare’s ability to easily surpass both of the unicorns. For some reason, she couldn’t stop watching Twilight and Vinyl bonding so easily and without any trouble whatsoever. It bothered her to no end.

Trixie: How is it that Twilight Sparkle can make anypony around her like her so much? It’s beyond a doubt inconceivable and beyond frustrating! No matter who Trixie talks to or eavesdrops upon, all she hears is positive gusto being outspoken about that purple unicorn! How is it that she can attract such attention and give an aura of complete likability without working her tail off to obtain such fanfare?

Scootaloo: *gasping and laying against the back of the toilet, her body dripping with sweat, her mane hanging mangled along her shoulders, and her two hooves clutching her heart as though her life depended on it* Rainbow…is…too…fast. I…can’t…keep…up. Really…hurts…to…move. *despite her case of severe exhaustion, she still manages a tired grin* She…runs…so…amazingly…cool. Rainbow…rules!

“Ah, Rainbow Dash and Gilda, welcome to the mess hall!” Discord crowed, clapping his clawed hands in a mock ovation as the two fliers were the first to finish their laps. “Please feel free to partake in the feast that has been laid out for you campers. There’s no need to wait for the others to finish.”

“Like I would anyway,” Gilda mused, nudging Dash aside and stomping up to the long serving table that had been set up in the middle of the mess hall. While Dash spewed a few curses at the griffon, Gilda made her way to the end of the table, where she had found many plates containing different varieties of raw meat. Even though Discord knew that all the ponies, and Spike, didn’t eat meat, his knowledge told him that griffons were mostly carnivores. To make this challenge work, he needed to be sure that all the campers ate their fill with their favorite foods.

“Gross. Gilda, have I ever told you just how disgusting you are?” Dash muttered, sheathing her wings and casually wiping off beads of sweat from her forehead as she ambled over to partake in some of the vegetarian dishes that had been served instead.

“Oh, shut it, Dash. You know perfectly well that we griffons usually eat meat.” Gilda tossed a thick piece of liver into the air and viciously snapped it up in her beak, gulping it down in one swift motion and smirking over at the sickened blue Pegasus a second later. “After all, you’ve known me ever since Flight School. You should know how I eat by now.”

Rainbow Dash just shook her head, sitting down in a cushioned chair and pulling a few daisy sandwiches over to her. “Whatever. I’m just going to pretend that you’re not here.”

Rainbow Dash: I don’t get what this challenge is supposed to mean. What is Discord trying to do by making us go for a super-long run, and then stuff our faces until we burst? Hmm…well, whatever. All I know is that I’m going to win, and after I kick Spike’s butt to the curb, Gilda is next. Once I get rid of the two biggest threats remaining, it’ll be smooth sailing to the finish line for me, baby. *she laughs loudly*

“Make way for the hungry Pinkie Pie!” The pink earth pony bounced her way through the mess hall doorway five minutes later, not looking tired in the least, but instead looking ravenous. Not far behind the party mare came Twilight, Vinyl and Trixie, all three of whom looked tired, but thanks to their clever pacing, they had survived the marathon.

“Welcome, ladies! You all must be famished after your little walk. Please dig in and eat as much as you can! All of the food is guaranteed to be Nightmare Moon-proof and without any negative side effects whatsoever!” Discord waved his hands at the large table of food where Rainbow Dash and Gilda were currently consuming their fill without a care in the world.

“Yay! Tasty, delicious, scrumptious, edible, joyous food!” Pinkie bent down, wiggling her tush in the air like a dog, before taking a flying leap and crashing down on top of the table. She began to dig her face into a large bowl of leafy greens and other vegetables, crazily shaking her head and causing food to be splattered in all directions.

“Trixie thinks…she will eat at the other end of the table,” Trixie sniffed, ducking low to avoid getting hit by Pinkie’s barrage of chewed and destroyed vegetables as she eased her way towards the opposite side of the table.

“Man, that Pinkie Pie is as funky as liquid rainbows, but I like her anyway,” Vinyl chuckled, following Trixie’s example as she and Twilight edged along after the azure show-mare.

“Everypony, stand back!” Cheerilee rushed into the mess hall a second later, carrying a limp and ragged Scootaloo on her back. “Scootaloo pushed herself too hard and dehydrated herself! Water, I need water, right now!” Discord idly jerked his thumb to a small table in the corner of the mess hall that contained a large number of different drinks, and Cheerilee immediately rushed over to begin forcing the exhausted filly to drink some liquid refreshment.

“The kid really needs to learn to not push yourself to the limit at such a young age,” Rainbow Dash chuckled, “Save that for your later years when it’s time to REALLY bring it! Why did she run so hard anyway? There was no way she could’ve beaten me.” She turned her attention to Pinkie Pie’s massacre of the salad bowl, failing to see the dark look that Cheerilee shot in her direction following her little assessment of Scootaloo.

Cheerilee: *obviously trying to calm herself down, taking deep breaths and fighting hard to remove the scowl from her face* Love and tolerance, Cheerilee, love and tolerance. Don’t start an unnecessary fight with Rainbow Dash. Try to just focus on the fact that she’s helped save our town and our world several times. Don’t try to think about strangling her if she keeps mocking Scootaloo.

Bonking her head on the door, Derpy Hooves drifted into the mess hall after another five minutes to join the feasting. “Bonk! My head makes a bonking sound when it hits the mess hall door! Did you all know that it makes a lot of interesting noises, depending on what it hits?”

“Thrillsville. You might want to see a therapist for that.” Spike wheezed and staggered in almost immediately after the blonde Pegasus. “What’s to eat? Any gems?” The dragon and Pegasus both joined in the feast a moment later, even though Spike’s disapproval of there being no gems was apparent. Derpy began to squeal in delight when she found the muffin corner of the table; once more, Spike complained about how unfair this was, but his pleas fell on deaf ears.

“I…I feel…I may faint…” Fluttershy became the third-to-last camper to finish her laps, but fainted moments before she fully entered the mess hall. Half of the Pegasus remained outside while the other half lay twitching on the hardwood floor of the food cabin. It took for Discord to summon a bucket of cold water and use it to drench Fluttershy to wake the mare up.

“That wasn’t nice, Discord,” Twilight commented, frowning and showing her disapproval as her yellow friend shivered from the unexpected shower and quickly hurried over to partake in the feast. “Don’t you have any conventional ways to make a point?”

Discord gave Twilight a look as though he couldn’t believe his ears. “Twilight, my dear? My name is Discord, the lord of chaos and disharmony. Have we met?”

“Point taken, smart aleck.”

After nearly half the table was cleared of food, mostly thanks to Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Celestia finally finished their laps. The princess looked to be in serious pain, her body giving unnatural shudders as her mane and tail hung limply over her shoulders and flanks. Rarity immediately began to whine about how she desperately needed a shower, which she received via another bucket of cold water from Discord. Deciding it was best to not ask any questions or attempt to garner anymore sympathy, the wet Rarity and the tired Celestia both joined in the large feast to replenish their empty bellies.

Rarity: *angrily combing her hair with a brush, shaking away her wet bangs from her eyes* That rude and obnoxious Discord! Does he never cease his joyous attempts to making foals of all of us? I have a good mind to go right upside his head for this! Look at what he’s done to my glorious body! Oh, this is truly horrible! My precious mane is mixed with sweat and mud; I will never get rid of these mental scars.

Celestia: Discord is truly evil. Is there any doubt out there as to my judgment on wanting the foul creature turned to stone? Can you all not see the horror he unleashes upon this world when he’s given his freedom? He is a true monster! *she sighs and shakes her head* I only hope that all this humiliation that I’ve suffered will only make me a stronger pony and ruler. That’s all I can hope for at this point.

Another hour passed, resulting in all the food that had been laid out being devoured by the ravenous campers. Shockingly, Pinkie didn’t end up destroying that much at all, resulting in all 13 campers getting their fill and becoming stuffed. Scootaloo had been forced to down three large glasses of water by Cheerilee, and then three more before leaving the mess hall. Thankfully, the filly was alright, and despite her annoyance at having to drink so much water, she thanked Cheerilee for caring about her anyway.

Discord led the stuffed and tired campers over to the clearing outside the forest, a devious smirk etched across his face at the final part of the challenge that he was going to present. All the campers looked hopeful that Discord would explain what the challenge was and save it for the morning, since they were all way too tired to function properly for an evening event. When the draconequus whipped around to face the campers and they all saw the insidious grin on his face, they knew that they were in trouble.

“The final part of the challenge…or rather the only part of the challenge…is about to begin!” the host explained. “You see, the whole idea between making you run twenty laps around the island and then gorging on delectable and filling culinary delights was to make you all very tired and exhausted and ready for a good night’s rest. Sadly, if you want individual immunity, you won’t be doing that.”

“I don’t like where this is going,” Spike complained, casting a nervous look over at his fellow tired campers, “I’m nearly spent! What on all of Equestria could Discord want with a bunch of tired and exhausted campers? If he wants ratings, he surely won’t get them in such a way.”

“The challenge…is to stay awake for as long as you can without falling asleep. It is now eight o’clock in the evening. To win the challenge, you must outlast all the others in staying awake. The moment you fall asleep, or if you somehow faint or get knocked out, you are eliminated. The last camper standing will win the first individual immunity of the season!”

“You CAN’T be serious!” Rarity wailed, already falling to her knees and banging her hooves on the ground, “This is horrible! Discord, do you know what staying awake deep into the night will do to my physique? Oh, and my beautiful coiffure!” She reared up on her haunches, draping a foreleg over her eyes and reaching for the skies with her other foreleg, dragging out the apparent pain that the challenge was going to inflict upon her. “My beautiful body is sweaty and smelly, my mane is a mess, my hooves need to be polished and filed, my teeth are grimy, my stomach is full and requires rest to fully digest the food that I snacked upon…this is EVIL, Discord! Do you hear me? Truly and undeniably evil!”

“So sue me.” Discord growled, sticking two puffs of cotton into his ears so he didn’t have to hear any more of Rarity’s whining. “If individual immunity doesn’t mean anything to you, by all means quit right now and be the first one eliminated.”

“The sooner the better, too,” Gilda snapped, casting an equally-annoyed look over in Rarity’s direction. “Seriously, you lame-o ponies are enough to drive a griffon to hunt! Perhaps you’d like to partake?” She flashed her talons at the fashionista, and almost immediately Rarity paled and quickly ran behind Twilight and Spike for protection.

“You know what? I’ve gone this long, so perhaps a while longer won’t hurt.”

“Then this challenge is ON!” Discord leaned back against a tree, idly propping his arms behind his head and licking his lips. “Good luck, campers.”

Twilight: Okay, so first Discord decided to physically wear us out by making us compete in a backbreaking marathon around the island. After that, he added to the strain on our bodies by tricking us into feasting. As we all know, strenuous exercise and nonstop eating are both factors that lead to mental and physical exhaustion. Now, we have to stay awake without rest? Very evil, but very clever, I’ll admit.

Rainbow Dash: Ha, this is going to be a piece of cake. I barely even felt those twenty laps, and my stomach can fit plenty more. There’s no way I’m losing sight on the first individual immunity of the season. I’m not worried about Spike’s pathetic endeavors, but just to be on the safe side, it’s best if I’m safe going into the next bonfire ceremony. You can never be too careful, especially with Gilda and Trixie.

Minutes ticked by, the heat of the setting sun adding to the tiredness of all 13 campers. Celestia estimated that Luna would raise the moon in about a half hour, but wasn’t sure if the coolness of the evening would help or hurt her chances to win the challenge. All the campers lounged around the area outside the forest, either trotting restlessly in circles, flying and doing mini tricks in the air, or trying to make conversation with others. Each camper tried a different tactic to try and keep themselves awake for the long hull that was the night ahead.

“I’m used to spending arduous and unrelenting evenings studying and reading,” Twilight explained to her three fellow unicorns who surrounded her, “Forcing my mind to keep my body awake and alert shouldn’t be too difficult for me, despite the fact it’s unhealthy. What about for you girls?”

“Trixie usually travels through the evenings until she can find a proper place to rest,” Trixie sniffed, “She will have no problem excelling in such a foolish challenge.”

“I am usually in bed if all my work is done and my friends don’t need me, so this will be rather new for me,” Rarity admitted, “But, that isn’t to say that I haven’t braved the long evenings before while working on a fashionable outfit for Sapphire Shores or Hoity Toity or other Canterlot ponies who look up to me. I am sure I will be alright, darling.”

“Nature is my reprieve for the daily grind; it ignites my passion for music and fuels the fire in my heart!” Vinyl smiled toothily, giving Twilight her trademark grin. “Sometimes, I’ll stay awake outside my studio and close my eyes, listening to the dazzling sounds of Equestria fill my ears and let me know I’m alive. Other times, I’ll go to the Everfree Forest, find a safe patch of grass, and just stretch out on my back and stare up at the sky. The evening is a beautiful time; Princess Luna really knows how to deliver the goods! I love the evening; it gets me so stoked, yo!”

Twilight, Rarity and Trixie all stared at Vinyl Scratch with curious looks. The disc jockey was so carefree, and spoke in a laidback and easygoing attitude, yet all three mares could feel the meaning behind the words that she spoke. Trixie could relate to Vinyl’s love for nature and the outdoors, as it was where she had spent a good deal of her life. Rarity drew a lot of inspiration for her dresses from the outdoors, and could also correlate with Scratch’s impressions. For Twilight, however, her fascination for Scratch and her unusual lifestyle only grew with each and every unique and uncharacteristic word she spoke.

“Won’t this be easy-peasy lemon-squeezey, Twilight?” Pinkie bounced over to the group of unicorns, her usual Cheshire cat smile fixated on her chubby cheeks. “Stay awake for as long as you can with a full belly and after running twenty laps? I could do that in my sleep!” Then, with an unusual little twitch of her body, Pinkie’s eyes rolled up into her head and she collapsed onto the ground.

“P-Pinkie?!?!” Twilight gasped, finding herself and her three unicorn counterparts all surrounding the downed earth pony. Fright soon turned to exasperation, however, when Pinkie Pie began to snore.

“First camper goes down!” Discord called out, “And…it’s Pinkie Pie? Wasn’t expecting that.”

Twilight: Pinkie Pie? As Rainbow Dash always says…you are so random.

Rainbow Dash, after observing Pinkie’s unusually-quick fall from grace, realized that she might need to work her magic on a few of the harder contestants. Her rosy eyes fell upon a few certain campers who looked to be in good shape for at least a few more hours, but Dash was about to fix that. As Luna’s moon began to rise into the sky, Rainbow Dash licked her lips and casually made her way over to her fellow Pegasus, Derpy Hooves.

“Yo, Derps, can I ask you something?” Dash casually landed from her little flight right next to the blonde Pegasus. Derpy was busy attempting to stand on her head while simultaneously sticking her tongue out and trying to touch her nose. However, when Dash startled her, she fell onto her backside with a soft squeak being pushed out of her mouth. Her eyes spiraled furious in their sockets, finally coming to a halt as they examined the cyan mare.

“Hi, Rainbow Dash! What’s up? Well, aside from the sky.” Derpy giggled and pulled herself up to her hooves, shaking slightly from her usual unbalanced stature.

Without beating around the bush, Rainbow Dash picked up a tiny pebble from the ground and began to toss it up and down in her right hoof. “Well, Derps, I was kinda curious about something you said earlier. Is it really true that you can knock yourself out by the tiniest of blows to the head, while the hardest shots don’t a thing to you?”

“Ooh, yeah, that’s totally true! My brain is really weird that way, you know? Why do you ask?” In response, Rainbow Dash tossed the pebble right at Derpy’s face. The tiny rock struck the mare right between the eyes, and almost as soon as it did, the Pegasus toppled over onto her backside.

“Oh, no reason.” When Derpy curled up and began to suck on her hoof, showing that she was in a deep slumber, Dash gave an excited, evil grin. That was one down.

“Two campers out!” Discord announced, and although he had witnessed Dash’s cheap trick, he decided to not bother mentioning it. What was the point?

Rainbow Dash: That was WAY too easy. Not trying to hate on my fellow Pegasi, but Derpy leaves much to be desired in the brains compartment…and many other compartments, for that matter.

Next, Rainbow Dash focused her attention on Gilda. From past experience in Flight School, Dash knew that Gilda loved to pull all-nighters to pull pranks, spray graffiti on walls, and perform other juvenile acts of vandalism. She would be a hard out, but maybe Dash could use the crazy griffon to her advantage. Her devious brain churning in deep thought, Dash’s eyes fell onto Spike, and just like that, her next plan was quickly formulated and ready to be put into motion.

“Hey, Gilda!” Rainbow Dash eased herself towards Spike while calling out to the griffon, who was busy preening her feathers and idly digging a small hole in the ground with another talon.

Upon hearing the familiar, irritating voice that would never leave her mind, Gilda immediately looked up and glared at the mare. “What do you want, Dash?”

“I just wanted to let you know that it doesn’t matter how much you pretty up your feathers; you’ll always be the ragged, unattractive, dumpy griffon that you always were.”

“WHAT?!?!” Gilda’s eyes seemed to flash upon hearing Dash’s insult. Almost immediately, the griffon snarled and began to stomp over towards the Pegasus. “Care to repeat that to my face, punk?” As Dash had hoped, Gilda continued to advance towards her, even after backing up more and more towards the unsuspecting Spike. The dragon was too busy counting the stars and trying to find his birth sign in the sky to really notice what was going on behind him.

“You heard me, jerk! You’re so ugly, if a mare wanted to find a new face to replace the one she had, she would take one look at you and immediately decide to go for a stallion’s face instead!”

“YOU’RE ASKING FOR IT, DASH!” Gilda stomped faster towards the Pegasus, her loud stomping and ranting alerting a few nearby campers. When Dash finally skidded to a halt right in front of Spike’s backside, she yelled out one last insult.

“Hey, Gilda! What do you get if you cross a pony with a griffon? You get a smart griffon!”

“THAT DOES IT! YOU’RE DEAD MEAT, DASH!” Gilda let out an echoing bird cry that could be heard for miles. Forming a tight fist with her right clawed hand, she stretched her wings and lunged towards Rainbow’s face. “ONCE I’M THROUGH WITH YOU, WE’LL SEE WHO THE UGLY AND DUMB ONE WILL BE!”

“Psyche!” With an excited laugh, Rainbow Dash dodged aside, leaving Spike in Gilda’s path.

“Hey, what’s going on back there? What’s with all the yelling?” Finally taking his eyes away from the sky, Spike turned around and put his hands on his hips. The first and last thing he saw was a fist nearly the size of his entire head rushing straight towards him like a freight train. He didn’t even know what hit him a split-second later. It may as well have been a boulder being launched straight at his face going over 100 miles per hour. Either way, as soon as Gilda’s fist accidentally made contact with Spike’s face, the dragon was out cold in an instant. Flying through the air and crashing into a tree was only an added bonus for the thrilled Rainbow Dash.

“Er…oops.” Gilda blinked a few times with her outstretched fist frozen in the place Spike had been standing only seconds ago. Seeing the unconscious dragon now flattened into a tree a good ten yards away didn’t leave a good taste in her mouth. Plus, seeing the wide grin on Dash’s face nearby only got her angrier. “You made me do that on purpose, Dash.”

“Good luck proving that, Miss Attitude Problems.” Laughing in delight, Dash trotted off, leaving an angry and annoyed griffon in her wake.

“Three campers out!” Discord’s announcement came a little late, once again contemplating whether or not to eliminate Dash for her foul play. Deciding that Dash brought good ratings, the draconequus once again turned the other way.

Gilda: I’ll commend Dash on her dirty tactics…she learned them from me, after all. *she sighs a bit, her feathers ruffled* I’m gonna kick her butt, rest assured of that…but, still, I commend her for using my temper issues to her advantage. Still…if it had been a pony, I’d be thrilled. But, that little dragon dude? I have nothing against him. In fact, I respect dragons. Punching his lights out didn’t feel right to me.

“Yo, Scoots, come over for a sec, would ya?” Finding a good patch of tall grass growing around a tall tree, Rainbow Dash sat down and rested her back against the cool bark of the large plant. She beckoned for Scootaloo to come over to her, which the filly immediately obliged to. Just hearing her idol and crush ask her to be in her presence made Scootaloo’s heart soar. Even if she couldn’t fly, her heartstrings usually played with the idea of flight every time Rainbow Dash was near.

“Yes, Rainbow Dash? Something I can do for you?” Scootaloo happily bounded through the tall grass and up to the cyan mare’s side, the filly’s eyes shimmering with hopefulness. The night sky began to reflect in those young little purple pupils as she stared up into the powerful magenta eyes of Rainbow Dash. When the mare patted the bed of grass to her left, Scootaloo instantly found herself seating right beside the blue Pegasus.

“Nah, I’m good. I just wanted to sit and relax a bit, and what better way to do that than with your favorite little pony?” Scootaloo missed the mischievous smirk on her idol’s face; she was too busy squealing and blushing in complete and utter shock. Surely the great Rainbow Dash wasn’t referring to a little filly like her, right? A filly that couldn’t even fly? Scootaloo must’ve heard incorrectly.

“Um…um…um…Rainbow Dash…did you just say…?”

“My favorite little pony? Yup, sure did, and that’s YOU, kiddo.” Wrapping her left foreleg around Scootaloo’s shoulders, the filly soon found herself gently pulled in and pressed against Dash’s side. The mare’s wings pressed close to Scootaloo’s face, the feathers getting slightly ruffled at the quickening of Scootaloo’s heartbeat pounding at her chest due to being at such a close proximity to Rainbow.

“I…I…I…you…I…we’re…we’re…what are…who…I…I…Rainbow Dash…”

“You’re really special, Scoots. I thought that we could sit here together, to keep each other awake, you know? After all, we’re going to the final two, so we have to help each other.” The hoof of Dash that was wrapped around Scootaloo gently stroked the filly’s wings, forcing out soft and pleasured moans from the orange pony. “Plus, it’s such a wicked night for stargazing, you know? Spike proved that a little while ago, actually. Why not spend it with that very special somepony?”

“V-v-very…s-s-special…s-s-somepony?”

“That’s right, Scootaloo.” Dash’s voice came out in but a whisper now, that same hoof that was stroking the filly’s wings now reaching up and gently caressing the back of the filly’s neck and mane. “Let’s just relax in each other’s company…let our wings touch…and just stare up at the sky. That sound good to you, Scoots?” To close the deal, Dash stretched her left wing open and wrapped it around her biggest fan. The effect was imminent as soon as Scootaloo was gently encased in that powerful appendage.

A soft swoon that sounded more like an emotional squeak, Scootaloo melted into Rainbow Dash’s side and allowed her wing to encase her in what she hoped would be forever. The filly’s eyes closed as she cuddled into Dash’s side, her little heart continuing to pound and beg for release from her chest. When Rainbow Dash next glanced down at her snuggled filly, she discovered that she had indeed sealed the deal. Scootaloo’s young age, combined with the exhausting exercise, the heavy meal, and the pressure of being in such a position with the greatest flier in all of Equestria was just too much for her. The filly was deep in slumber before she knew it.

“Fourth camper eliminated!” Discord whispered, although his whisper sounded like a soft yell.

Rainbow Dash: Aren’t I wonderful? Yeah, I know what a big fan Scootaloo is of mine. She can be a bit annoying, but she is a sweet kid. Not only that, but she’s a key part of me winning the million bits! She’d do anything for me, so I’m sure she’ll understand my intentions of…unintentionally-intentionally eliminating her from the current challenge. After all, getting the first individual immunity is important.

Unbeknownst to Rainbow Dash, Cheerilee had watched every move that the Pegasus had put on her little student. If Cheerilee thought she had been seeing red before when Dash had tried to manipulate her, what she was seeing now had to be classified as dark crimson. Seeing the respected Element of Harmony Pegasus take advantage of somepony younger than her drove the earth pony crazy. The fact that it was one of her own students only added to her inner fury. As Cheerilee observed Dash idly stroking and cuddling the snoozing Scootaloo close to her, she couldn’t help but feel her body tremble from the sheer amount of fakery she was watching. She wanted nothing more than to expose Dash for what she was doing, but she knew that if she did, she would open up a can of worms.

Cheerilee: *trembling, trying to keep her emotions in check* I cannot start a war. That is not why I’m here. I am here to have fun and try to learn from this experience. Scootaloo…must learn some things on her own. I’ve said that since day one, and…and…as much as it hurts to see her getting taken for a ride, what can I do? I…I can’t crush her dreams by telling her how Rainbow is treating her. It would break her.

An hour passed to 9:30 PM, Luna’s moon soon illuminating a good portion of the night sky overhanging Camp Paradox. The remaining nine campers all remained awake, half of them still in high spirits, while the other half were looking drowsy. Celestia was busy keeping her eye on Discord. Cheerilee was busy keeping her eye on Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy seemed to be wide awake with a terrified expression; the fact that she kept hearing imaginary noises from the nearby dark forest probably had something to do with it. Gilda was working out with a tree stump. Rainbow Dash had taken a break from her mischievous antics and was nonchalantly playing with Scootaloo’s mane. The four unicorns were playing a card game with a deck of playing cards that Discord had randomly tossed their way. Pinkie Pie was sleepwalking.

“Uh…wait a minute. Did you girls just see Pinkie walk by here?” Twilight set her current hand of cards down and glanced behind her back, watching as Pinkie Pie softly trotted along with her eyes closed. “Oh no, oh no, oh no! That is NOT good! Do you even realize what kind of danger you can get into when you sleepwalk, especially outdoors? I have to go and direct her back to the cabin! Excuse me, I fold.” Twilight began trotting after Pinkie Pie as fast as she could.

“Twilight does realize that Pinkie Pie usually sleepwalks every night, right?” Rarity asked, glancing at Vinyl and Trixie with an exasperated sigh.

“Knowing Twilight Sparkle, Trixie highly doubts it,” Trixie muttered, laying down her hoof a moment later to show her hand, “Read ‘em and weep, ladies. Trixie has a full house.”

“Aw, that’s so not cool!” Vinyl threw her cards down in disgust, pouting a bit as Trixie took all the pieces of popcorn that had been bet. “You are totally cheating, girl! We’re never going to get any popcorn at this rate.”

“Trixie simply has the perfect poker face, that’s all.” Trixie teasingly waved a few kernels of popcorn in Vinyl’s face before tossing them into her own mouth and munching loudly. “Mmm, they’re SO good!”

Stifling a yawn and a roll of the eyes, Rarity casually laid down her weak hand and rose to her feet. “I do not believe I need individual immunity. Ruining my beauty sleep is not worth wasting my time out here and trying to outlast eight others. I am going to turn in for the night, girls. Good luck to the both of you.” Turning around on her hooves, Rarity began her trot back to camp.

“Fifth camper eliminated!” Discord called out, following this up with a loud tease. “Let us all be respectful of Rarity’s choice; the poor dear simply must get some rest. Did you all see those bags under her eyes? Not very beautiful, in the least.”

Rarity: Kiss my flanks, Discord! *she glares at the camera* Well, don’t actually kiss them; your lips are most foul and I do not want them within one hundred feet of my body. Humph!

“Pinkie, please, get down from there! You’re going to get hurt!” Twilight looked up at the pink pony strolling dangerously close to the edge of the roof on top of the mess hall. Twilight ran alongside the building on the ground, having absolutely no idea how Pinkie got up there to begin with, but was ready to catch her if the pink pony should fall. When Pinkie seemingly vanished on the other side of the slanted rooftop, Twilight panicked and raced as fast as she could to the other side. What she was met with was a set of four hooves smashing down on top of her back and flattening her into the ground.

“Bouncy…bouncy…bouncy…” Pinkie giggled in her sleep, bouncing off the pancaked Twilight Sparkle and continuing her nightly stroll. Behind her, the mashed pile of pony that was formally a unicorn moaned from her crater. Pinkie Pie was stronger and heavier than she looked.

Twilight: *having inflated herself, she now sported a messy mane and a dirty body caked with dry mud* Ugh…what does Pinkie EAT? She seriously needs to go on a diet! All those sweets CAN’T be good for her…or any other pony who gets in her way, for that matter! *she winces a bit* Ow, my backside.

“Well, enough wasting time; let’s eliminate another camper.” Rainbow Dash casually opened her wing and let Scootaloo drop onto the soft, tall grass. Once the filly was free, Dash eyed the remaining campers and contemplated on which one she could eliminate next. She wouldn’t dare try anything on the princess. She had the strong suspicious that Cheerilee didn’t like her, so she was out, too. Trying to take out Fluttershy was just cold, since she was her friend. Gilda knew all of Dash’s tricks, and she had already participated in eliminating Spike, so she was out. Dash and Trixie hadn’t talked much, but if the Pegasus was going by their past interactions alone, the event in Ponyville was enough for her to draw the conclusion that Trixie did not like her. Twilight had gone off somewhere. This left Vinyl Scratch.

Rainbow Dash: Unicorns are tricky ponies to deal with. I hate to admit it, but most of them are quite intelligent eggheads. Vinyl, however, is a bit of a scatterbrained goofball. All I had to do to eliminate her was get her to fall for a little ‘light show’. *she grins and clops her hooves together* Prepare to be stupefied, fillies and gentle-colts! The Dash is about to blow your minds with her genius.

Remembering Fluttershy showing her a nest of fireflies in the woods, Rainbow Dash silently crept into the dark forest in search of the bugs. She didn’t have far to look. The blinding light of the fireflies was enough to make anypony dizzy if you stared at an entire nest of them long enough. Expanding her wings, Rainbow Dash flew up to the nest of fireflies and quickly began to fly fast circles around the entire nest. In only a few seconds, she had created a powerful vortex that was strong enough to manipulate all the bugs and move them wherever she desired. The speedy mare slowly forced herself to fly higher and higher, carrying the entire group of confused fireflies within the swirling winds of her mini tornado. If any firefly tried to escape, it would instantly be thrown back, since nothing could penetrate Dash’s powerful winds.

While continuing to move herself forward, Dash eventually overreached the treetops. She then began to make her way back to camp, continuing to make sure her vortex remained powerful enough to force the fireflies along. In no time at all, she was back over the campgrounds, and when she pinpointed Vinyl’s location, she slowed her wings and allowed her tornado to vanish and the fireflies to be free. As quick as a wink, Dash then flew down to the ground and landed right beside the unsuspecting unicorn. None of the campers had seen what Dash did.

“Hey, Vinyl, you like fireflies?” Dash quickly pointed a hoof towards the sky, right over Scratch’s head. “Quick, check this out! They’re really beautiful when you see them at night!”

“What’re you going on about, Dashie?” Vinyl lifted off her dark goggles and casually raised her head to where Dash was pointing. Immediately, she saw a massive herd of fireflies buzzing around furiously as fast as their wings would allow. They weren’t happy about being pulled away from their nest, and their flashing lights intensified with each passing second. Combine that with just how many there were, and it would be similar to staring at white noise.

“Pretty neat, eh?” Dash’s mouth curled into a smirk as she sat back and watched, knowing what was sure to happen.

“Whoa, dude…that’s so…there’s so…many of them!” Despite the painful swelling in her eyes from staring at the lights, Vinyl couldn’t rip her head away from the dazzling sight going on above her head. “They’re all buzzing and flying and sparkling and…and…dude, my head feels…numb…”

“You don’t say?”

“Feeling…faint…” Vinyl staggered backwards, her eyes starting to spiral, akin to what Derpy’s did on a regular basis. “Ugh…Twilight? Where…is…Twilight?” Raising a hoof to her head, Vinyl let out a sharp gasp before finally toppling over onto the ground. The exposure to such a dangerous display of lights, combined with the feast and marathon from earlier, and it was too much for the unicorn.

“Don’t you, like, deal with flashing lights all the time in the clubs when you perform?” Dash teased, staring down at the fainted white unicorn. When she saw the dark goggles, Rainbow understood. “Ah, so THAT’S what those are for. You don’t wear them just to look cool; you wear them to protect your eyes from the dangers of light! Clever…but, shame you took them off. Ha!”

“Sixth camper eliminated!” Discord’s voice rang out, wearing a pair of shades as he watched the fireflies himself. “Not a bad sight, too. It’s rather unusual to see so many in one cluster. I do so wonder how that happened…”

Rainbow Dash: Too easy. Simply too easy. Discord may have gotten everypony tired from running and fat from food, but who needs that when you can just knock them out manually? I’m so awesome!

“Pinkie, get out of there! There could be a wild animal in there!” Twilight had followed the bouncing Pinkie Pie deep into the woods, always attempting to wake her up with her shouting, but it never seemed to work. Pinkie was a very heavy sleeper. Now, the pink pony had hopped straight into the mouth of a large, dark cave jutted into the side of a mountain. Even though Twilight felt very weak and helpless without her magic, she did not want Pinkie to get hurt. When she ran inside the cave after Pinkie, all she was thinking about was keeping her friend safe.

“Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear. Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair. Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn’t fuzzy now, was he?” Almost as soon as Twilight blindly ran straight into the cave, a dark pink blur strolled right past her, going the opposite direction and continuing to sleep-talk. Before Twilight could hurry and follow, however, a deep growl echoed out from somewhere in front of her. Two angry yellow eyes soon flashed in front of the pony as well. Finally, the large, dark outline of a hairy beast formed a second later. Twilight had just met the cave’s resident.

“Um…hehe…n-n-nice b-b-bear?” Twilight squeaked, her heart pounding into her throat as her body paled. She tried to give the huge animal a weak smile, but as the bear rose to its hind legs and let out a loud roar. Twilight’s frozen legs refused to budge, and given that the bear was both angry and sleepy, somepony was going to pay for disturbing its sleep. Easy to say, Twilight’s shrieks echoed all the way back to Camp Paradox.

Twilight: *now sporting a messy mane, a muddy body full of claw and bite marks, a neck brace, a cast on three of her four legs, an eye patch, and over two dozen bandages. When she speaks, she spits out some bear fur* Pinkie…once I get my hooves on you…I am going to…ow…hurt you bad…ouch…

“Hmm…you remaining campers look pretty tough. I think I’ll have to kick things up a notch.” Discord snapped his fingers, and an old-fashioned record player appeared at his side. He set the needle on the current record on the machine, and flipped the switch. “This should do the trick to make some of you concede to your slumber.”

The music that began to resonate within the area was a beautiful lullaby that played both softly and slowly. Celestia groaned and tried to hold her hooves over her ears, attempting to block out the noise and not let Discord eliminate her with a simple song. Cheerilee gently rocked her head back and forth, humming to the lullaby, but didn’t seem to be affected by it. Rainbow Dash and Trixie both hated the song, and it only made both mares that much more awake. For Fluttershy and Gilda, however, the song unlocked old memories that both girls shared.

“This…I know this lullaby,” Fluttershy said softly, smiling and swishing her mane back and forth while her body moved to the tempo of the music. “It’s one of my favorite songs to this very day. I do love to sing Hush Now, Quiet Now, but I love this song as well.”

“It’s called Little Firefly, right?” Gilda asked, walking up to Fluttershy and pumping her head back and forth, as though imagining the song with a more rock and roll tempo.

Gasping, Fluttershy looked up at the usually-intimidating griffon and tilted her head. “You…you know this song, Gilda?”

“Sure do. They taught it back in Flight School. I learned it when they made me take a choir class.”

“You…you took choir, too?”

Gilda gave Fluttershy a wicked grin, crossing her arms and winking down at her. “We griffons don’t have strong pipes for nothing, you know. Our voices are topnotch and all-awesome.”

“Oh…yes…I remember that…since I got to hear it firsthand…up close and personal.” Fluttershy’s mind took her back to Ponyville, when Gilda had paid a visit and had screamed at her for no reason. The loud and deafening cry of the griffon still made her shiver to this very day.

Sitting down in the grass, Gilda eyed the yellow mare next to her with a mixed look of distain and curiosity. “Yo. I bet you don’t remember me, do you? From Flight School? We went there together.”

“We…we did?” Fluttershy, despite being scared of Gilda, curiously sat down a few inches away from the griffon and stared up at her with eyes that burned with wonderment. “I…um…I can’t remember. I know that Rainbow Dash and I were there…I’m sorry, Gilda…I don’t think I remember you.”

“That figures. Dumb pony.” Gilda shook her head, ignoring the whimper she got out of Fluttershy. “But, I was there alright. I remember you and Dash. She was Rainbow Crash, and you were Flutterklutz.”

“W-w-w-what?!?! H-h-how…um…I-I-I thought nopony knew about that…nickname…” Fluttershy moaned and buried her face in her hooves, adding to the affect by covering herself up with her long mane, too.

“Duh. I’m not a pony. Besides, a griffon never forgets. Geez, you’re such a dweeb, you know that?” The griffon shook her head in disgust as she watched Fluttershy cower. “Didn’t you know that I protected you from bullies while we were there? You never saw it, but…I did. Well, I can’t say I actually fully protected you. But, when I saw a stupid pony picking on you, I made sure they felt double the pain they inflicted onto you! It was fun. I think I had over three hundred different pony punching bags by the time Flight School ended.”

Now more curious than ever, Fluttershy tried to overcome her fear, pushing her mouth out of her mane and hooves and nervously speaking to Gilda again. “Um…you…you really did? So…that would explain why ponies would arrive the next day…after hurting me…in body casts. You…you did that?”

“Sure did. I don’t regret it, either. May have made a lot of enemies, but you think I care? I do what I want, when I want, however I want to do it. That’s how I roll.”

“But…but why, Gilda? You…um…you really don’t like us ponies that much. Why…why did you do that just for little old me? Was it because…Rainbow Dash told you to?”

Gilda scoffed, reaching down and easily hefting Fluttershy up into the air with one clawed hand. “Dash? Heck no, dweeb! Dash was too busy showing off and acting like a filly-fooler to tell me what to do. I did it all on my own.”

“B-b-but…w-w-why?” Fluttershy trembled and curled up into a ball as Gilda’s claws gently dug into her.

“I dunno. Maybe because I wanted to? What’s it to ya?” Gilda pulled Fluttershy right up to her face, glaring at her and forcing her to look into her eyes. “You’re a pathetic little dweeb, and you downright humiliated me during the very first challenge. I should hate you with a passion. But…you know what? I can’t. You’re not like the other ponies. You’re…different. I can’t bring myself to hate you.”

“Gilda…” Fluttershy gave a timid smile, realizing that Gilda was actually attempting to be nice to her. In her own way, at least. “You…um…thank you. That’s…nice of you…I don’t hate you, either…”

“Cool. Nice to know there’s one pony who doesn’t hate me.” Gilda dropped Fluttershy onto the ground next to her, then closed her eyes and went back to listening to the lullaby playing. “Now, shush. I used to sing this song to help get to sleep after my rowdy nights in Flight School. Tell anyone that I told you that and you’re dead meat.”

“Y-yes, Gilda.” Fluttershy closed her eyes as well, sighing in delight while allowing the music to overtake her. “I…I used to sing it to help myself get to sleep, too. Nowadays…I sing it to my animals…but once in a while…I’ll lay in bed at night and sing it to myself, too.”

“Do you ever see a firefly buzz past your window?”

“Yes.”

“Cool. Me too.”

Fluttershy and Gilda sat side-by-side, their eyes clenched shut as the music played on. The beautiful, soft notes filled the night air, allowing both hearts to gently start to settle down. The lullaby was meant to soothe the soul and allow the body to drift off into a peaceful sleep, and it was true to its word. Very slowly, both Gilda and Fluttershy found their bodies pulling both of them to the ground. When both campers fell asleep, Fluttershy was curled up against the warm feathers on Gilda’s chest. Gilda chirped softly in her sleep, idly wrapping an arm around Fluttershy to hold the pony close to her.

“Seventh and eighth campers eliminated!” Discord whispered, snickering and making a mock kissing sound at the sight of Gilda and Fluttershy. “How precious. It seems our rough little griffon actually has a soft side, and it only took the nicest pony around to let it out. You just can’t write this stuff!”

Trixie: What absurdity! How in all of Equestria did Gilda go to sleep with Fluttershy? Trixie does not get it! Why did that ruffian griffon not punch Fluttershy into next week? Why didn’t Fluttershy fly away and hide in a bush, like she always does? Why does Trixie care so much? This does not make sense!

“Pinkie…stop…you’re heading for a cliff!” Twilight wheezed, wincing in pain as she limped to keep up with the bouncing earth pony. She didn’t have anything left in the tank. After the jog, the feast, being flattened by Pinkie, and being mauled by a bear, Twilight was running on fumes. She could barely move with her makeshift casts and bandages, not to mention being able to see only out of her left eye, Twilight had no idea how or even why she was still chasing after her bouncing, sleepwalking friend.

“I believe I can fly…I believe in cherry pie…I’m blue…if I was green…I would die.” Pinkie giggled and sang out random things while her blind bouncing led her closer and closer to a small cliff. It wasn’t as large as the cliff Rarity and Silver Spoon had fallen off, but a 50-foot drop was still no picnic. The earth pony drew closer and closer to the edge of the cliff, forcing Twilight to force her shattered legs to move as hard as she could to protect the pony from herself.

“Pinkie…no…WATCH OUT!” Twilight screamed and raced forward, trying to reach out and pull Pinkie back before she took a dive over the side of the cliff. However, just as she bounced to the edge of the cliff, Pinkie froze in her tracks and plopped her rump down onto the ground. Twilight sailed right over her head and over the side of the cliff instead. “…I hate my life.”

Twilight learned a few important lessons upon crashing down into the small valley below the cliff and shattering a good chunk of the rest of her body in the process. First, the purple mare learned that when you are already in deep, excruciating pain, adding to the hurt multiplies the levels of pain by triple. Second, she learned that dropping from a 50-foot drop resulted in her creating a five-foot crater for her tattered body; the rough terrain probably prevented the unicorn from making an even deeper crater. Third, she learned that she was out of the challenge when she blacked out almost instantly upon making contact with the ground. Fourth, she learned for the thousandth time that Pinkie Pie was one of the many mysteries of the world. Finally, she learned that trying to always help your friends might sometimes not always be the best idea if you want to prevent yourself from being horrifically massacred.

Atop the cliff, a still-sleeping Pinkie Pie slowly turned around three times in a circle, then finally curled up and laid down right where she was. While a certain purple mare was seeing stars and dealing with an intense amount of pain, Pinkie was having a wonderful dream about flying in the sky with Twilight. She would have to see if that was at all possible when she woke up.

~~~

“Ninth camper eliminated!” Discord yelled out, casting an ominous grin towards the forest and putting a stop to the record player’s lullaby. Even if he hadn’t been there, he always knew when something bad had befallen Twilight Sparkle. Even to say, it brought a tear to his eye to see Twilight get herself into so much chaos; she really did learn from the best, it seemed. “We are down to the final four! Two former Magical Misfits in Cheerilee and Trixie versus two former Royal Ruffians in Celestia and Rainbow Dash! Ooh, how is this one going to play out? I’m tingling with excitement!”

“You both are going down!” Dash sneered, pointing at Trixie and Cheerilee with a hoof, “There ain’t no way either of you can outlast the princess of the sun and the greatest flier in all of Equestria!”

“Watch your tongue, foal,” Trixie warned, crossing her forelegs and keeping her rear-end planted on the ground, “Trixie does not plan on going to sleep anytime soon. She is used to long nights, since she is always traveling.”

“And I am not going to roll over and lose this, either,” Cheerilee stated, glaring at Rainbow Dash. “I’m not as weak as I look, Rainbow. I think it’s time you learned that.”

“We’ll see, we’ll see.” Dash stretched her forelegs and sat down, staring down both of her rivals and content to letting this play out as it was. “You’ll see who the last mare standing is when all is said and done. Going to sit down with us, Princess?”

“I may as well, Rainbow Dash.” Princess Celestia took a seat in the chilly grass, shivering at how the coolness sent chills up her body after touching the sore spots on her posterior. “Like you said, being the princess of the sun means I am used to long nights before I perform my duty. I will not lose this easily.”

“And the game continues,” Discord smiled, snapping his fingers and making a lollipop appear. He began to lick it as the final four ponies all sat and glared down one another as the minutes ticked by.

Hours passed, and nothing had changed. Midnight had come and gone, and the moon was already starting its slow decline towards the mountains. The time was now 2:30 AM in the morning, but Celestia, Cheerilee, Rainbow Dash and Trixie were all still awake and in the same positions as they were four hours ago. All four mares had heavy bags under their eyes, their pupils bloodshot and their bodies limp and ragged. Each pony took moments to wobble back and forth, but none of them ever allowed their bodies to take them off to dreamland. They all wanted to win this very, very bad.

“You know what? I didn’t want to do this, but I don’t think I have a choice.” Discord slowly rose up into the air, hovering over the four remaining campers. “I said to myself, ‘Discord? Come now, you don’t want to do this, do you?’ But then I realized that you campers are tough, and what do you do with tough little ponies?” Throwing back his head and cackling loudly, he reached behind his back and pulled out a large book the size of two dictionaries put together. “You read them Twilight Sparkle’s favorite historical book: Equestrian History: The VERY Advanced Copy!”

“NOOOOOOOOOOOO!” Rainbow Dash screamed, nearly pulling out her mane as her eyes bugged out of her skull, “Not that! Anything but that! Can’t you read Daring-Do & The Search For The Sapphire Stone or something?”

“Of course I can! I am quite talented and literate when it comes to the art of prose and reciting it to adoring audience members,” Discord smiled, leaning back and opening to the first page of the history book, “But, the question is if I would read it, and I won’t!”

“You’re despicable, Discord.” Celestia shivered in fear at the sight of her student’s favorite nonfiction book. Despite being the ruler of the world, even Celestia knew something droll and sleep-inducing when she saw it. She had spent enough time in the presence of Twilight and listening to her recite many lines from Equestrian History, and each time she was forced to make up an excuse to quickly leave so that she wasn’t forced to look rude by falling asleep on her hooves.

Cheerilee: *giving an innocent smile* It’s times like this that I’m glad I’m a schoolteacher that reads many, many books and is used to listening to little fillies and colts drone on and on about things that would most likely interest a brick wall more than a living, breathing Equestrian. *she blinks, then gulps and gives the camera a little wave* Um, no offense, my dear students who might be watching me.

“…and after ‘Manehattan’ was voted as the best name for the new city that would be constructed upon the new stint of land, the settlement was established and the traveling show-mares began to use their magic to start a new foundation for generations to come.” Discord’s voice droned on and on and on, purposely altering his voice to sound soft, mellow, and incredibly dull. He even donned his favorite mock reading glasses as he read each and every word on each and every page of the history book. No matter what the campers did, they couldn’t block out Discord’s voice.

“Make…it…stop!” Trixie moaned, falling to her knees and pulling at her messy mane, “Trixie…cannot take much more…”

“My head…it hurts…” Celestia felt herself slowly succumbing to nausea. She never did like Discord talking, but this just added insult to injury. When the draconequus began the next chapter about the agriculture in the land of the griffons, Celestia finally blacked out. Her eyes rolled back into her head and the princess’ body fell forward onto the grass with a soft thump.

“Looks like our dear little ruler is out of the challenge,” Discord sang out in a sing-song voice, “This leaves us with just three! Now, where was I? Oh, yes, I was just about to get to the part on how the founding mare of Fillydelphia was actually in a relationship with a filly!”

“Wait, what was that?” Rainbow Dash’s ears perked up at that part. Her eyes darted over to where Scootaloo lay, and a slight hint of red played at her cheeks.

“Oh yes, Rainbow Dash.” Discord idly flipped to another page, raising an eyebrow. “Hmm…apparently it was an unrequited love on the filly’s part, actually. The mare was a Pegasus, and the filly loved her so very much. As the Pegasus roamed the lands, searching for a place to call her own, the little filly followed her wherever she went.”

“Couldn’t the Pegasus fly and find a home in the skies instead? Like Cloudsdale?”

“She could, but she loved being on the ground. Traveling the world on hoof was much more meaningful to her than soaring through the skies. The Pegasus found a passion for her travels, and even though she had wings, she did not abuse them. She rather liked the thought of being an earth pony. It may not have given her any special abilities, but she didn’t care. She didn’t need to be different to make a difference.” Discord yawned out of boredom, nonchalantly flipping to yet another page. “Since when did you become so interested in history, Rainbow Dash?”

“Since never! I was just…curious.” Dash grumbled a bit, not noticing the stern look she was getting from Cheerilee. “Um…so, continue with the story, would ya? What happened to the filly and the Pegasus?”

Shrugging his shoulders, Discord read on, skipping over parts that he found irrelevant. He had gone from wanting to torture the three remaining campers to wanting to find out himself what happened. “Well, the little filly really admired the Pegasus and everything she did, so when the mare found the perfect land to build a new city, she asked the filly to be the cosigner with her. At this moment, the filly finally confessed her love to the mare, since up to that point, she had just been nothing more than a fan, at least in the mare’s eyes.” Discord’s eyes skimmed over the next part of the story, and he actually looked a bit uneasy with what he was silently reading.

“So? What happened next? C’mon, Discord, spill the beans!” Both of Rainbow’s ears were sticking straight up, her bloodshot eyes as wide as saucers. It was like she was sitting on pins and needles waiting to hear how the story concluded.

“Hmm…apparently, the little filly got her heart broken when the Pegasus didn’t reciprocate her feelings. The Pegasus tried to explain that it just wouldn’t be right, since they were both females and one was several years older than the other. She tried to offer to be the filly’s big sister instead, but the filly angrily refused. The little pony said that age or sex should not define love; what comes from the heart is what love should be about. The filly asked the Pegasus if she could ever find it in her heart to love her as she loved her…” Another pause followed, and Discord slowly removed his glasses.

“Did the Pegasus say yes?” Dash whispered.

With a somewhat-exaggerated sigh, Discord shook his head. “No. She said no. So, heartbroken, the filly ran away and was never found again. Because the Pegasus never learned the filly’s name, since all the filly would talk about is the Pegasus herself, she decided to name the new land ‘Fillydelphia’ in memory of that little filly. That is why the city is known as the ‘city of sisterly love’, or something like that.” Discord scanned the next few pages with a little frown. “They never say what the Pegasus’ name was. Not a very good history book.”

Rainbow Dash: Wow…what an interesting story. I’m not one to really care about history junk, but that story sounded so familiar. Eh, I’m probably thinking too much about it. It’s just nonsense history.

Cheerilee: They say that those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. I do wonder if Rainbow Dash paid any attention to that story. My guess is…no. *she shakes her head and sighs*
Loud snoring was heard as Discord flicked to yet another page. All three remaining pairs of eyes looked to where Trixie had been sitting when Discord had started the story of the history of Fillydelphia. The blue unicorn was curled up in a ball, deep asleep after growing bored with the story. Seeing that there were only two campers remaining, and noticing that the clock was nearing four in the morning, Discord decided that he needed a little break. Tossing his book behind his back, the draconequus began to float away from the twosome.

“Rainbow Dash and Cheerilee? You two battle it out; my camera crew will inform me who wins. I’m going for a snack. Ciao!” The host slunk into the mess hall a second later, leaving the former Magical Misfit and Royal Ruffian campers to duke it out for individual immunity. The bodies of nearly all their sleeping teammates surrounded the two, but at the moment, both the earth pony and the Pegasus were only focused on each other.

“You’re going down, Cheerilee,” Rainbow Dash sneered, licking her lips and running a hoof through her rainbow mane, “Do you know how long I stay awake at night going over my tricks? Perfecting my sky maneuvers? Striking poses in the mirror so I make sure I stay sharp for all my adoring fans? That ain’t easy, you know. There ain’t no way you’re outlasting me!”

“Impressive, Rainbow Dash. Sadly, I must inform you that I am no slouch when it comes to nighttime endeavors, too.” Cheerilee proudly sat on her haunches and stared down Rainbow Dash, never showing any signs of quit, despite the heavy bags under her eyes. “You see, sometimes I must stay up deep into the early hours of the morning while grading papers for my students. You really have no idea how hard that can be.”

“Oh yeah? Well…I sometimes lay in bed at night and reread all my Daring-Do books, and when I look up at the clock, it’s almost five o’clock! How ‘bout them apples?”

“Once more, I would be impressed that you love to read, but I do the same as well. We teachers must make lesson plans each and every day and night, not to mention read several books so that we might make pop quizzes and tests for our students. That sometimes takes up a good chunk of our nights, too.”

“Fall asleep already!” Rainbow Dash shoved her face into Cheerilee’s, glaring at her and trying to make her concede to the dream world.

“Not going to happen, Rainbow Dash!” Cheerilee once again held her ground, even forcing her cyan counterpart to retreat a bit when she pushed back.

Tension filled the air, both Cheerilee and Rainbow Dash sitting mere inches away from each other, each stubborn mare gritting her teeth and glaring with full intensity. Both hooves being clenched, both ponies tried their best to get the other to succumb, but it wouldn’t work. Cheerilee’s chest heaved in and out, the physical exhaustion beginning to get to her. She had paced herself during the feast, only eating what she felt she needed to, but the exercise had taken its toll on her. For Rainbow Dash, her full belly was her biggest liability instead. The Pegasus was used to strenuous exercise, but she had foolishly stuffed her face without thinking during the feast, leaving her in theoretically the same boat as Cheerilee.

Four o’clock passed, and soon another half-hour was rolling past with both mares still struggling to maintain their focus. Rainbow’s determined rosy eyes continued to bore into the emerald pupils of Cheerilee, but the teacher’s feisty irises fought the inner battle with a heated intensity that just refused to die. Another ten minutes passed, and their bodies began to hurt. At this point, they were just straining to stay on their hooves. They knew that the instant they allowed themselves to fall to the ground, they would lose. Their bodies were just begging for their owners to concede and allow for them to rest. Minute after minute of the silent mayhem bore on, however, with no end in sight.

“I…won’t…lose…” Dash moaned, her body starting to sag forward, her eyelids only a millimeter apart. It looked like she would collapse at any second.

“I’ll…show you…loyalty…” Cheerilee whispered, staggering a little bit and trying to reclaim her balance. Her vision was becoming blurry to the point where all she could see of Rainbow Dash was nothing but a multicolored blob. When her eyesight began to darken, Cheerilee’s body finally gave way and she fell forward. At precisely the exact same moment, Rainbow Dash let out one final gasp before toppling forward as well. Both mares struck the ground at the same time, their eyes closing immediately.

~~~

“They said that both mares fell asleep at the exact same moment,” Nightmare Moon complained, sitting in the infirmary while adding the finishing touches to Twilight’s shattered body.

Discord had joined the ebony alicorn three hours later after taking a little snooze himself, and after forcing himself to go and retrieve Twilight’s immobile body. Upon asking his assistant on who had won, Nightmare Moon explained that the camera crew had informed her that both Cheerilee and Rainbow Dash had seemingly fallen asleep and collapsed at precisely the same moment. This result did not thrill Discord, however, since he did not want two ponies winning individual immunity.

“Out of the question! We’ll just use instant replay to see who hit the ground first, and that will determine our winner!” Discord pointed to the nearest camera pony. “You! You videotaped when both mares collapsed, right?”

“Um, yes sir.” The camera pony, a mare with a dark white body and a dark blue mane, nervously eased her way forward with her camera. “Would you like me to zoom in on when both ponies hit the ground?”

“Yes, that would be very helpful. What’s your name again?”

“Snappy Scoop, sir.”

“Very good; now I won’t have to bother asking ever again, since once is enough. Now, hurry up and use your fancy little camera to get to the part when both Cheerilee and Rainbow Dash hit the ground. My oatmeal is getting soggy!”

After fiddling with her camera for a moment, Snappy Scoop hit rewind and backtracked to when Cheerilee and Rainbow Dash both fainted. Then, she zoomed in as far as she could go, going so far as to nearly see each individual strand of hair on each pony’s body. As Discord and Nightmare Moon both peered at the close-up of the shot, they managed to see the tip of Rainbow Dash’s chin hit the ground only mere micrometers before Cheerilee’s did. It seemed like they had a winner.

~~~

“WHAT?!?! I LOST?!?!” Waking up 10 hours later, Rainbow Dash’s jaw hit the ground when the first thing she heard upon rising from her bed was Scootaloo informing her that Cheerilee had been given the first individual immunity. Scootaloo also tried to immediately comfort and console Rainbow Dash, but the filly’s words were drowned out by Rainbow Dash angrily raging around the cabin. “NO, NO, NO, NO, NO! I HATE LOSING! HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?!?! I HAD IT!”

“Um, well, Discord said something about…uh…instant replay and using a close-up shot or something? I think he mentioned that your chin hit the ground first and…” Scootaloo squeaked as she got interrupted by Rainbow Dash tackling her down in her fit of rage. Normally, as Scootaloo’s cheeks filled with blood and darkened to crimson, the filly would love such close attention from Dash. However, at the moment, she knew that Dash was all business.

“Okay, change of plans, squirt. The elimination ceremony tonight is going to be a big one. How many campers do we need to make a majority?” Rainbow Dash sat down on Scootaloo’s chest, ignoring the filly’s squeaks of discomfort, as she tried to figure out what was half of 13.

“We…would need…seven campers…Rainbow Dash!”

“Ah, that’s right! Thanks, squirt.” Dash smirked down at Scootaloo and gave her a rewarding pat on the head, but then immediately scowled a second later while trying to think about who she had on her side. “Hmm…I know Fluttershy is with me, and I made sure to check with the princess on her intentions, too. I have you, squirt, and I think I may have Derpy as well. How many is that?”

“Um…let’s see…that’s me, you, Derpy, Princess Celestia, and Fluttershy…so, five.”

“Dang. I need two more to be absolutely safe going into the bonfire ceremony; REALLY needed that immunity.” Grinding down with her butt a little, inciting more squeaks of pain from Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash thought harder about who else she could recruit. “Twilight, Rarity, and Pinkie are all my friends, but…for what I have planned, they might not go for it. Gilda…I’d rather not butter up to that jerk. Vinyl seems really close to the unicorns, so I doubt I’d get her. Ugh, darn it…”

“Rainbow? What about my teacher, Cheerilee?”

Rainbow Dash shook her head, giving Scootaloo a stern look. “Sorry, Scoots, but she and I don’t really see eye-to-eye. She can’t be a part of this.” Once more ignoring the hurt and somewhat-scared look on Scootaloo’s face, Rainbow Dash glanced up at the ceiling and closed her eyes. Expelling a deep breath of air, she pressed her hooves together. “I think I have my five, but that’s it. I really hope things go my way tonight. I have a bad feeling about this.”

Scootaloo: *rubbing her stomach where the heavier Rainbow Dash sat on her, whimpering a little bit* Ow…Rainbow Dash is really stressed. I hate to see her like that. But…it was her versus my teacher, Cheerilee. I…I can’t go against either of them! I love both of them…in different ways, of course. Why are they against each other? I…I don’t understand. *she gulped, looking scared* This game is…changing.

“So, you understand, right? Rainbow Dash has to go!” Spike said, pacing back and forth in front of Trixie and Vinyl, “That girl is crazy, and she’s here for all the wrong reasons! Well, I mean, I want to win, too…but she’s just crazy! Her attitude stinks, and she just doesn’t deserve to be here. Don’t you two agree with me?”

“Totally, dude! Ya got my vote, hooves down,” Vinyl grinned.

“Even though Trixie does not care for anypony on this island, she supposes that getting rid of that arrogant Pegasus will do wonders to improve Trixie’s chances for the million bits. Count Trixie in.” Trixie gave Spike a nod of approval as well.

“You also have my vote.” Cheerilee trotted over to the threesome, having just woken up a few minutes ago and immediately heading out to find out what happened. She was wearing a very unusual necklace around her neck, which had a stone medallion shaped like Discord’s head incrusted in the center. This was the immunity necklace that the teacher had been given by Discord upon learning that she had won. The earth pony had woken up with it already around her neck.

“Awesome! Thank you, Cheerilee!” Spike pumped his fist in the air, grinning at the three ponies surrounding him, “Rainbow Dash’s flank is as good as gone!”

Spike: *counting on his fingers* One, two, three, four? Yes, four votes! I’m sure that all the other votes will be for different ponies, so as long as Trixie, Vinyl, Cheerilee and myself stick together, Rainbow Dash is finally going home! Yes! Yes, yes, yes! Do you hear that, Silver Spoon? You, Sweetie Belle, and Zecora will all be avenged! Say goodbye to the element of dis-loyalty, because her flank is outta here!

“Who are you voting for, darling?” Rarity looked very happy at getting a good night’s rest, her mane and eyes both sparkling to match her clean flanks and body. The cold shower had worked wonders. When she trotted up to Twilight Sparkle, who was once again confined to a wheelchair for the second time in the game, she looked like she didn’t have a care in the world.

“Rarity…it’s hard to talk…since I think a few bones in my neck popped out of place…” Twilight whispered, only parts of her purple body visible behind all the white bandages she was forced to wear for the day. Nightmare Moon, as always, had informed her that she would be as good as new come tomorrow, but that didn’t make the day any less painful or annoying for the violet mare. “But…I’m voting…for Gilda.”

“Good choice. I will join you in doing the same. That griffon is bad news, and so long as she’s here, I will never feel comfortable.”

“HIYA!” Pinkie popped out from underneath Twilight’s wheelchair a second later, having just finished signing the cast on her left hind leg without Twilight having even noticed. “Twilight, I’m sooooo sorry this happened to you. I somehow feel that it’s my fault, but I can’t remember a thing about last night!”

“Trust me, Pinkie…you didn’t do anything wrong…I was a victim of my own stupidity…again.” Twilight hadn’t informed Pinkie of her little sleepwalking charades from last night. She felt that there was on need in hurting Pinkie’s feelings and making her feel bad about unintentionally making Twilight make a complete fool of herself in trying to protect her.

“Aww, Twilight, you’re not stupid! You want to vote for Gilda, and that’s super smart. I’ll vote for her as well, since she’s just a big meanie. I think I saw her talking with Fluttershy earlier, and Fluttershy wasn’t even cowering! Do you think Gilda has learned how to use ‘the stare’ against her? Wouldn’t that just be horrible? A griffon with a powerful stare is like a brick falling on your head when you run into a building and accidentally dislodge it from the top story!”

“Um…Pinkie, dear…exactly how is a griffon with a powerful stare like a brick falling on your head when you run into a building and accidentally dislodge it from the top story?” Rarity was quite confused, as always, when dealing with Pinkie’s realm of thinking.

“Well, DUH! They’re both painful, of course! One would hurt your eyes, and the other hurts your head!”

Rarity: Putting Pinkie’s interesting thought processes aside, it is pretty clear that Gilda should be going home tonight. She should not have been let back in the competition to begin with! Why not bring back my little sister, who did NOTHING to warrant being voted off so early? Humph. *she flicked her mane with authority at the camera* Well, regardless, Gilda will be sent packing once more after tonight.

Fluttershy nervously peeked around the back of the mess hall, finding Gilda using one of her sharp talons to carve a picture of a skull into the cheap wood of the building. As always, the griffon was by herself, and didn’t seem to care about that fact. So, when the timid yellow mare approached her, easy to say the griffon was very surprised. “What are you doing here, Flutterklutz? Come for a lesson on how to use claws for vandalism?”

“Um…no…I don’t have claws…I have hooves.”

“Whatever. So what do you want then, huh? You’re annoying me already.”

Squeaking and slinking back just a hair, Fluttershy’s legs buckled underneath her while her tail and mane both dipped lower to the ground. Staring up at the griffon’s angry eyes was never easy, but Fluttershy was determined to use her element to try and bring out the good that was locked somewhere inside Gilda’s cold heart. “Um…I just…um…well, you just…I didn’t know…um…”

“Look, if you’re wondering who I’m voting for tonight, what does it matter? Don’t worry, I ain’t voting for your butt, so you don’t have to try and bribe me or whatever.” Gilda rolled her eyes, turning back to her skull-carving and frowning at it, for some reason. “I could vote for any of these losers and be happy. I’ll probably just vote for that loudmouthed unicorn with the blue body or something. Why do you care? You starting to think seriously about the game? A little lame pony like yourself? Ha!”

“Um…I…”

“Well, whatever. If you win, you win. If you don’t, you don’t. I could crush all of these ponies with one hand tied behind my back anyway. If I don’t win the million bits, that’s fine with me. Money isn’t everything. Being respected and powerful and all-awesome is everything!”

“Uh…well, that’s just…um…”

“Do you think this skull could use some more features? Maybe some arrows sticking out the top of the cranium? A snake crawling out the mouth? Some blood smeared inside the eye sockets?”

Fluttershy never managed to say anything worthwhile during her little “chat” with Gilda.

Fluttershy: Um…I really hope Gilda doesn’t go home again tonight. She…um…she is very…uh…well, to put it nicely…very outspoken. Not to mention a bit…um…brash. Yes, brash is a good word to use for her…that’s polite. *she gives a very sheepish smile* Okay…she’s a very rude and mean griffon. But, all the same…I really want to help her. I think I might have a chance! Do you all think I have a chance?

After resting up after the torturous challenge the night before, the 13 campers found themselves all heading to their first combined bonfire ceremony. Cheerilee felt proud to be wearing the individual immunity necklace around her neck, but she would rather get Rainbow Dash out than have immunity. She was more proud of the chance that she had denied the Pegasus her chance at immunity rather than getting it herself. Cheerilee didn’t want to sound egotistic, but she didn’t feel like she was a target. If Cheerilee had to guess, she figured that Gilda would be going home for the second time tonight. She wished that it was Rainbow Dash, though.

“Welcome, my little ponies…and dragon and griffon…to the next bonfire ceremony!” Discord announced as all the campers marched in and took their seats in the wooden bleachers in front of the raging fire. “Tonight, I have a little twist to announce before we get to the voting. Being the sporty and fair host that I am, I have decided that it would just be completely unfair if Gilda, Vinyl, or Derpy went home after just getting back. Therefore, all three of them will be joining Cheerilee with individual immunity tonight!”

“WHAT?!?! DISCORD, THAT’S NOT FAIR!” Rainbow Dash screamed out, now even more nervous about her chances. Gilda was hopefully supposed to have a few votes casted her way. Now that she was being given an unprecedented immunity, along with Vinyl and Derpy, she was starting to get very scared.

“But it’s fair to vote out someone who just returned?” Discord shot back.

“YES! THAT’S THE GAME!”

“Well…it’s my game, and therefore my rules. So, guess what? I say that Gilda, Derpy and Vinyl all have immunity. If you don’t like it, you’re free to quit, Rainbow Dash.”

“I hate you SO much, Discord.”

“Good! Now, with that, let’s not give you ANY time to strategize and rethink what you all were planning on doing before coming here tonight.” Discord grinned at the shocked looks on the campers before continuing on with his usual speech. “You all know the rules by now. Simply vote for whoever you want to leave the island. If you want…and if you’re completely stupid…go ahead and vote for someone with immunity, but the votes will NOT count. You all understand that?”

“Sure do. So, vote for me, but I’m still safe anyway.” Gilda grinned and flexed her muscles, wagging her talons at the ponies sitting around her. When she finally took notice of Twilight in her wheelchair, being the first time she saw her like that, the griffon cocked an eyebrow. “What in the world happened to YOU? I don’t remember using you as a punching bag.”

“It’s…a long…story…” Twilight murmured, “One…I’d rather not…disgust.”

“Plus, we don’t have time for that tonight; we all know how much you love to talk, Twilight.” Discord licked his lips and rubbed his hands together. “Now, shall we get to the action? Princess, since we go in alphabetical order, you get to go first!” He pointed to Celestia, who gave Discord a dirty look before heading off to the confessional to become the first voter during the first combined bonfire ceremony.

Gilda: *showing the camera that she voted for Trixie* Eh, I just don’t like you. You’re annoying and you have a big mouth. Learn to shut it, would you? Stupid dweeb. *she puts the ballot into the box*

Rainbow Dash: *showing the camera that she voted for Spike* It’s time for you to say goodbye. I’ve had all I can stand of you! This is your last stand, Spike. Nice knowing ya. *she puts the ballot into the box*

Spike: *showing the camera that he voted for Rainbow Dash* C’mon, Gilda has immunity, so all the votes should go towards you…right? You NEED to leave, Dash! Right now! *he puts the ballot into the box*

Twilight: *is forced to have Snappy Scoop hold up the ballot, due to her immobility, which shows she voted for Scootaloo* Nothing…against you…Scootaloo. But…Gilda has immunity…and, you’re a little filly…you need to go…before something like this…happens to you. *Snappy puts the ballot into the box*

“All thirteen votes are tallied, and it’s time to reveal who next will be leaving on the Boat of Losers.” Discord snapped his fingers, teleporting the ballot box in front of him. “Once a majority is reached, the decision is FINAL, and the loser must walk down the Dock of Shame and leave, and they cannot ever come back. This time, I mean it! You CANNOT come back. Not ever!”

“For-EVER!”

“Pinkie, are you going to do that at EVERY bonfire ceremony?”

“Yup!”

“You drive a draconequus to drink, you know that?” Discord snapped his fingers and chugged down a bottle of apple cider in one gulp, then tossed the flask behind his back and belched loudly. “Ah, that’s more like it! Now, let’s read these votes, shall we?” He flipped open the top of the box, stared down at the thirteen folded ballots inside, and reached for the first one.

“First vote…Trixie.” Discord showed the ballot with Trixie’s name scrawled upon it with very poor penmanship. Griffon tried to hide the faint blush on her face. Trixie just frowned at seeing her name.

“Second vote…Scootaloo.” Discord showed the ballot with Scootaloo’s name written on it. The filly’s ears drooped at seeing that somepony voted for her, but Rainbow Dash just smiled at her.

“Third vote…Rainbow Dash.” Discord showed the ballot with Dash’s name etched over it. Rainbow Dash just scowled and crossed her forelegs over her chest, throwing a dirty look over in Spike’s direction.

“Fourth vote…Spike.” Discord showed the ballot with Spike’s name written neatly on it. The dragon squirmed uneasily in his seat; it was never a good feeling seeing that others were voting for you. “That’s one vote Trixie, one vote Scootaloo, one vote Rainbow Dash, and one vote Spike.”

“Fifth vote…Scootaloo. That’s two votes Scootaloo, one vote Trixie, one vote Rainbow Dash, and one vote Spike.”

“Sixth vote…Rainbow Dash. That’s two votes Scootaloo, two votes Rainbow Dash, one vote Trixie, and one vote Spike.”

“Seventh vote…Spike. That’s two votes Scootaloo, two votes Rainbow Dash, two votes Spike, and one vote Trixie.”

“Eighth vote…Scootaloo. That’s three votes Scootaloo, two votes Rainbow Dash, two votes Spike, and one vote Trixie.”

“Ninth vote…Rainbow Dash. That’s three votes Scootaloo, three votes Rainbow Dash, two votes Spike, and one vote Trixie.”

“Tenth vote…Spike. That’s three votes Scootaloo, three votes Rainbow Dash, three votes Spike, and one vote Trixie.”

“Eleventh vote…Rainbow Dash. That’s four votes Rainbow Dash, three votes Scootaloo, and three votes Spike.”

“Twelfth vote…Spike. That’s four votes Rainbow Dash, four votes Spike, and only one vote remaining.”

The tension was thick. All the campers were sitting on the edge of their seats, realizing that it now came down to either Spike or Rainbow Dash. Scootaloo was staring up at Dash with frightened eyes, but Dash wasn’t looking at her; she was too busy gritting her teeth and clenching her hooves tightly. Spike was shivering and clenching his fists, throwing a glare over in Dash’s direction now and then. All the other campers not involved with the vote were confused, horrified, amused, or simply shocked. As Discord reached for the last vote, all 13 campers held their breath. When Discord finally flipped open the final ballot and stared at the eliminated camper written on it, you could hear a pin drop over the cackling fire.

“Hmm…technically, this would be the eighth loser of Total Magic Pony Island, due to the fact that we brought back three campers, which theoretically means they were never eliminated at all.” Discord tapped his chin with the ballot, still not revealing the name, and purposely dragging out the tension even more. “So…if we wanted to stay numerically correct, we would be up to the eleventh loser of the show. But, because Gilda, Derpy and Vinyl are back…”

“DISCORD!” All 13 campers screamed at the draconequus in a very loud, combined voice.

“Oh, very well! Eighth loser of Total Magic Pony Island…” Discord finally flipped over the last ballot. “…Spike.”

The effect was felt immediately by all the campers. Celestia, Fluttershy, and Derpy Hooves all looked guilty, trying to not look in Spike’s direction. Cheerilee hung her head in both disappointment and a tad bit of sorrow. Gilda looked disgusted, but was already shrugging it off. Twilight, Rarity and Pinkie were all beyond horrified, their faces frozen in looks of dumbfounded confusion. Trixie looked angry, since she was beginning to appreciate the little dragon after he selflessly took her on his cruise. Vinyl looked disappointed and sad, just like Cheerilee. Scootaloo looked relieved, giving Rainbow Dash a big hug, while the Pegasus was trying to contain her excitement at finally ridding her rival.

Spike was completely crestfallen. His arms hung limp at his side, his face sagged into possibly the saddest face he had ever made. His heart had fallen into a pit of despair. He wasn’t hurt that he lost the chance at the million bits, nor that he had let Rainbow Dash win over him. He was hurt that he hadn’t managed to avenge Silver Spoon by getting rid of Rainbow Dash. He had failed, and the pain he felt inside was excruciating. He tried his hardest to stay tough, but the tears began to fall almost at once from his eyes. Mature on the outside, but always a softie at heart.

“Spike…” Twilight whispered, trying her hardest to hug him, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t use magic, nor could she move her body. She wouldn’t be able to properly say goodbye to her #1 assistant. The thought tore her up.

“Spikey…no…why?” Rarity sobbed, still caring for Spike, despite the dragon rejecting her apology on the airship. “Why…why did you all do this? He…he did not deserve…to go…”

“Hey, kid, chin up, alright?” To everyone’s shock, Discord had floated over and wrapped an arm around the little dragon. He used the thumb on his other hand to lift Spike’s chin so that he stared into the host’s eyes. “You were the only male on this island, save for yours truly, and you still made it quite far! You played an outstanding game, and even though you lost, that doesn’t make you a loser. Well, it does…it makes you a big loser…but, you get what I mean, right?”

Spike wiped his nose on his arm, giving Discord a weak smile. “Heh…thanks, Discord…you know what? Sometimes, you aren’t so bad…” His eyes shot over to where the smug Rainbow Dash was sitting. “Unlike others that I can name.”

“Yes, yes, that’s very touching. But, we only have so much film for each episode, so please hurry up and get moving now, okay?” Discord give a big push, sending Spike flying off the bleachers and very nearly halfway to the Dock of Shame already.

“OW! Geez, I’m going, I’m going! Can’t a dragon grieve for a moment without getting pushed?” Spike grumbled and got to his feet, brushing some dirt off his front, then beginning the hated walk towards the Dock of Shame, towards the oncoming Boat of Losers. Behind him, the remaining 12 contestants all slowly followed after him to send him off; Pinkie was pushing Twilight’s wheelchair.

Rainbow Dash: *cheering and bouncing up and down, pumping her hooved fists in the air* YES! I WON, I WON, I WON! SPIKE GOES DOWN! I DID IT! *she starts to hug herself and give herself pats on the back* Rainbow Dash, old girl, I KNEW you could do it! *she smirks and winks at the camera* You played good, kid…but, just not good enough. Better luck next time around, Spike. See you later now!

“You know, I kinda liked that kid,” Gilda sighed, watching Spike make his way down the Dock of Shame, nearing the edge of the dock. The Boat of Losers was chugging into sight, but wasn’t quite to the island just yet. “Anyone that can beat me in a game of dodgeball is alright in my books. The kid’s got game, and I respect that.”

“Trixie never got to properly thank him for taking her on that cruise…” Trixie sighed, brushing a little bit of her silvery mane out of her eyes, “But…what’s done is done. Nothing can be done about it now.”

“Hey, Spike! Make sure to say hello to Silver Spoon for me!” Dash called out, taking a few steps away from the other contestants, a mocking sneer plastered on her face as she shot out what she thought would be the final insult against Spike. “Have fun! Oh, and you might want to get back to cleaning up Twilight’s library; that IS your job, right?”

Reaching the edge of the dock, Spike felt his blood boiling. All he wanted to do was leave quietly. Dash had indeed beaten him, and while he wasn’t happy about it, he was dragon enough to accept his fate and move on. But, since Dash insisted on provoking him, he wasn’t going to let her get the last laugh. Clenching his fists and baring his fangs, the dragon’s eyes flashed as he thought about what he could say or do to make one final lasting impression on the smug Pegasus. Only one thing entered his mind, and even though he really didn’t want to say it, he knew it would be perfect. With an evil smirk, Spike turned back around.

“Hey, Rainbow Dash? Before I go, you wanna know something interesting?” Spike crossed his arms, his evil grin stretching out a bit wider with each passing second.

“Hmm? What are you going on about?” Dash frowned and raised an eyebrow, wondering what the dragon had up his sleeve.

“Well, you see…you know how Applejack got mysterious eliminated a week ago? The truth behind the matter is…” Spike paused for dramatic effect, then took a big step forward and pointed at himself. “I RIGGED THE VOTE TO HAVE HER ELIMINATED! IT WAS ALL ME! I ELIMINATED APPLEJACK!” He shouted it loud and he shouted it proud, and the effect was immediate.

“YOU…DID…WHAT?!?!” Rainbow Dash screamed, her jaw dropping all the way to the ground, numerous loud gasps being heard from both sides of her via most of the other campers. Twilight and Rarity looked the most stunned of all, while Gilda and Trixie both looked amused.

“Called it,” Cheerilee muttered under her breath, but nobody heard her.

“That’s right, everyone! I rigged the votes to eliminate Applejack, just so I could hurt YOU, Dash! You had it coming, and I have no regrets. So, who’s the REAL loser here, huh?” Spike cackled, slapping his knee and holding a hand over his eyes as he laughed his head off. His laughter, not to mention everything else had said, was heard all through Camp Paradox, including through the Boat of Losers, which had just arrived behind the dragon.

“You…little…CHEATER!” Rainbow Dash’s wings burst out a second later, her eyes flaming and foam nearly forming at her mouth. “I’LL DESTROY YOU FOR THAT!” The Pegasus charged straight towards Spike, both forelegs held out in front of her as she was going for a double-fisted face-smash. All she wanted to do was hurt Spike from now until the cows came home. Spike, however, was having none of that.

“I think not, Dash.” Quickly lifting up his right foot, Spike slammed it down onto one of the planks on the Dock of Shame, causing it to smash upwards and quickly make for a shield. Rainbow Dash ended up slamming headfirst into the plank of wood, immediately knocking her out cold from the harsh impact and causing her to crumble onto the dock. Casually, Spike dropped the propped-up plank onto the unconscious Pegasus, blew a kiss towards all the remaining ladies, then hopped onto the Boat of Losers. “Driver, take me away.”

“That kid is a cheater…and I love it!” Gilda laughed, watching as Rarity wheeled Twilight’s wheelchair forward, both unicorns hurrying towards the edge of the dock. “I can’t wait to see him again. A baby dragon or not, he’s got guts. Much better than any pony.”

Scootaloo: *holding the unconscious Rainbow Dash on her lap, grunting slightly from the weight* Oh, Rainbow Dash! Don’t worry; your little Scootaloo is here to make it feel all better. *she pulled out an icepack and put it on the mare’s head, then gently cradled her face into her tiny chest* Ooh, her breath is warm… *the filly ends up swooning from doing this to Dash, and soon she faints as well with Dash*

“SPIKE! WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A LONG CHAT ABOUT CHEATING WHEN I GET HOME!” Twilight screamed out to the Boat of Losers, ignoring the deep pain in her neck for once as her voice blared out.

“SPIKEY, I STILL LOVE YOU, BUT YOU ARE A VERY BAD BOY AND YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED!” Rarity screamed out as well, shaking a hoofed fist in the boat’s direction, “YOU HAD NO REASON TO DO THAT TO APPLEJACK! SHE WILL PROBABLY GET YOU BACK FOR THAT, TOO!”

“Whatever.” Spike grumbled to himself as the Boat of Losers turned the corner of Camp Paradox, finally vanishing from sight and allowing Spike to no longer hear the nagging of the two unicorns. “Maybe this is a blessing in disguise? After all, a guy can only deal with girls for so long before he cracks.”

~~~

“WHAT an episode, don’t you all think?” Discord grinned at the cameras. “I am sure this episode will be getting ratings by the bushel! Ooh, I can’t wait! But, it’s time to sign off, so let me just say a few words. Gilda, Derpy and Vinyl are all back in the game. Spike is now gone, but has Rainbow Dash really won? Will Twilight ever stop getting herself nearly killed for the sake of her friends? Will the princess ever stop snooping around and trying to find out information about me?” A loud explosion was heard behind his back, followed by screams and curses from Celestia. “My guess is no on that last one. Anyway, make sure you all stayed turned in next time for yet another great episode of Total…Magic…Pony Island! Ta-ta for now, Equestria.” He waved goodbye, snapped his fingers, and vanished in a puff of smoke.

~~~

Spike lounged on his back, relaxing with his eyes closed as the Boat of Losers hummed and continued to carry him away. The windows to the driver’s room were dark, so he couldn’t see just who was driving him away, but he didn’t care. At the moment, he was just busy relaxing and looking forward to getting home. He didn’t notice how the boat suddenly came to an abrupt stop after getting a suspicious distance away from both Calamity Island and any other place. He didn’t notice the door to the driver’s room slowly slide open. He didn’t hear the soft hoof-steps slowly advancing towards him.

“Ah…Luna’s moonlight shines so nice on my eyelids…not too light, but not too dark…just right…” Spike mused, smiling to himself as the moon cast its rays down onto his face. A second later, though, a curious shadow loomed over him and blocked out the light, making him frown. “Hey! What the hay? What’s blocking my…” He opened his eyes, and Spike’s eyes nearly popped out of his skull.

Spike’s eyes landed on two sets of orange hooves. Traveling up the legs, Spike saw a very familiar cutie mark with three red markings on the flank. Moving to the head, Spike saw a long blonde mane tied into a ponytail. Spike saw enraged emerald pupils. Spike saw a lowered Stetson hat. Spike saw Applejack.

“Hello, Spike.” Applejack’s words were cold, deadly, and brimming with rage. Her teeth were bared, her hooves gently scraping along the flooring of the boat, just as they usually did before Applejack went on one of her temper tantrums. Her hat was lowered over her eyes so that a dark shadow was covering half of her face, allowing only her green pupils to be seen. She was standing right over the top of Spike, and it was very clear that she had heard every word he had said before he left Camp Paradox. It looked like neither Spike nor Rainbow Dash was going to get the last laugh after all. That much was apparent as a lump formed in Spike’s throat and his body paled and began to tremble.

“Oh…crud.”

Episode 15: Feeling Dashie Mean

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Discord: Last time, on Total Magic Pony Island: it was an episode for the ages, and not just because I’m the host and I’m so handsome. First, there was the airship, with the cello-playing and the fighting and the tackling and the chasing and a whole bunch of other stuff that I should probably mention, but I won’t, since I forgot half of it! Oh, and on the island, Rainbow Dash was wheeling and dealing with Scootaloo, Fluttershy and Celestia. Our resident teacher, however, told Dash to get lost and not to touch the little filly or else there would be trouble. Big deal? I’d say huge deal! Then Gilda and Derpy Hooves both returned, along with the annoying and sneaky little Vinyl Scratch, and we were back up to thirteen campers. Since both Nightmare Moon and myself did not feel like doing much work that day, we simply forced the campers to run twenty laps around the island and then feast on a bunch of tasty food before being forced to stay awake for as long as possible. Rainbow Dash tried her best to cheat her way to a win, but she ultimately lost to her new rival, Cheerilee. This gave the earth pony the first individual immunity of the season! In a very close vote at the bonfire ceremony, the battle between Spike and Rainbow Dash finally came to a close when the little dragon was ultimately sent packing thanks to the votes of Rainbow Dash, Derpy Hooves, Celestia, Fluttershy, and Scootaloo. Before leaving, however, Spike got the last laugh by revealing how he rigged the votes to eliminate Applejack a few episodes back, which resulted in an enraged Rainbow Dash flying headfirst into a plank from the Dock of Shame. Now, only twelve are left. Can Rainbow Dash’s dominance of the game continue? Can Cheerilee do anything at all to make her pay? Find out next, right here, on Total…Magic…Pony…Island!

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

“Ugh…what happened?” Rainbow Dash’s eyes fluttered open, the throbbing pain in her head intensified by the moonbeams shining down upon her from the full moon overhead. It was almost as if Luna herself was mocking the Pegasus, which only fueled her inner rage as the memories of what Spike did to her began to flash back into her mind. She didn’t even notice the worried filly resting at her side until she arose into a sitting position a minute later. An icepack slid off her forehead and onto the ground, but she didn’t care; her anger was beginning to overlap the pain.

“Rainbow Dash! You’re okay!” Scootaloo bounced in joy upon seeing the cyan mare finally wake up. “I was so worried. Well, I mean, I wasn’t that worried, since you are Rainbow Dash and you are totally the toughest Pegasus in the world and running headfirst into a little board is nothing compared to what you go through on a daily basis. But, all the same, I’m really happy that you…”

“Scootaloo! Spike is gone, right?” Rainbow Dash interrupted, glaring down at the filly while raising a hoof to her forehead and massaging her scalp. “That little brat went home on the Boat of Losers and now we’re down to just twelve, am I right?”

“Well, yes. You didn’t suffer amnesia, did you?” Scootaloo gasped and quickly leaped up onto Dash’s lap, staring into her eyes and once more reverting back to her worried stance. “Rainbow Dash, what’s the name of your five other best friends? What’s the name of the group of awesome fliers that you want to join one day? How long did I stand outside your home on your last birthday before you came out and I gave you your present?”

Rolling her eyes, Rainbow Dash pushed the filly off her lap and rose up onto all four hooves. “Shush, Scoots. I’m fine, alright? I just wanted to make sure that it wasn’t all in my head. That cursed little dragon will pay for making me run into that plank!”

“Um, Rainbow Dash? You…kinda ran into it on your own…”

“Are you taking his side over mine?” Rainbow Dash flared up, shoving her face into Scootaloo’s and glaring at her. “He totally provoked me, so it’s all his fault! You understand? I’m never at fault; I’m the awesome Rainbow Dash, you know.”

Giving a little squeak of fear at seeing the Pegasus so riled up, Scootaloo fell back onto her rump, unable to break her idol’s lingering gaze. The filly reached over and grasped the melted icepack, clutching it in her tiny hooves and trembling a little as she held it out in front of her, almost as if using it as a shield to defend herself against Rainbow Dash. She had no idea why, but the hateful, scary, and manipulative look in Dash’s eyes made a cold shiver run down Scootaloo’s spine. That warm, loving, gentle expression that Scootaloo had grown to adore and love wasn’t there.

“N-no, Rainbow…I-I would never g-go against you!” Scootaloo’s voice came out in a choked, squeaky whimper. Rainbow Dash was leaning over her, pressuring her for the correct words with her deadly gaze alone. The scowl on her face was intimidating enough, but those cold, rosy eyes were what cut deep to the filly’s heart. “Spike was t-totally wrong and he was t-totally mean! It was t-totally all his fault that you g-got hurt!”

“That’s what I thought.” Expelling a huff through her nose, the breath strong enough to knock Scootaloo over onto her back, Rainbow Dash yanked her head away from the filly and began to stomp off. “My head is killing me. I’m heading to bed. If you hear the others say anything involving me, make sure to keep it on the low. You got that, squirt?”

“Y-yes, Rainbow D-Dash…”

“Good. Have a pleasant night, Scootaloo.” With a little flick of her rainbow tail, the Pegasus vanished into one of the two cabins, leaving the trembling filly curled up into a whimpering ball of fluff on the ground in the middle of the silent campgrounds.

Rainbow Dash: Okay, good, now that the hardest piece of the puzzle has been take care of, the rest of the pieces will soon fall into place before long. As much as I hate to admit it, Spike was my biggest threat in this game. All the others are my pawns, and I am their queen! I will lead them across my chessboard to the million bits, each of them sacrificing themselves for the greater good. I will rule!

Scootaloo sat on her rump, her ears flattened against the sides of her head as she stared at the cabin that Rainbow Dash vanished within. She didn’t know what to do. Did she go and sleep near her, being the loyal and caring filly she was? Did she head into the other cabin, letting Rainbow Dash have her space? The filly had never been in such a situation before, and she didn’t like it. She hated uncertainty and being confused. She had tried her hardest to mirror her entire life so far to be like that of Rainbow Dash’s, attempting to be just as cool and just as awesome as her. Rainbow Dash was never uncertain; she just did whatever she wanted and was happy with it. Scootaloo felt so uncertain and so confused.

“Why? Why does stuff have to be so…hard?” Scootaloo whined, leaning her head back and staring up at Luna’s artwork in the sky. “It should be easy…but it’s not. Rainbow Dash and myself both working together to make it to the final two is our goal. It’s just a friendly alliance, right? There’s no harm in it. I love Rainbow Dash…she’s so awesome. But, the whole deal with Spike…and little things I’ve been trying to ignore a few other campers saying…and how Miss Cheerilee has been talking in odd ways…”

The orange filly trailed off, her voice dipping lower and lower on the volume scale as more and more negative examples of Rainbow Dash filled her mind. She didn’t want to believe the rumors. She didn’t want to believe the negative vibes she had been picking up from Rainbow Dash since day one. She didn’t want to listen to what any other camper, not even her own teacher, had to say regarding the cyan mare. But, the harder she triednot to think about those thoughts, the more she thought about them. The more she thought about them, the more her brain hurt. The more her brain hurt, the easier that tears began to appear in her eyes.

“Miss Cheerilee…where are you? I…I need you!” Scootaloo sobbed, allowing a few wet pistols to rain down from her eyes and splatter on the ground in front of her hooves. All the other campers had either gone to bed or were off resting in the infirmary, getting a snack in the mess hall, or taking a shower. Scootaloo felt all alone without Rainbow Dash or Cheerilee at her side, and she hated it. She at least wanted Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle to be with her, but they were already long gone. She didn’t have the Cutie Mark Crusaders, she didn’t have her teacher, and she didn’t have her idol and crush. It was almost too much for the filly to take.

Scootaloo: *looking as though she had been crying for a very long time* I don’t want to sound lame or weak or anything, but…do any of you out there get that feeling now and then when you feel like you just aren’t worth anything? Like the world is against you and you were meant to be alone? That feeling of miserableness and sorrow that makes your heart hurt? Well…I’ve been experiencing it a lot.

A flicker of movement out of the corner of Scootaloo’s blurry, tear-filled right eye caught her attention. A streak of black and purple inhibited her vision, along with the shining of something light blue. Raising a hoof to trying to brush the tears away so she could get a better look, Scootaloo craned her neck to the side and tried to focus in on what she was seeing. It took her a moment to realize that she was not alone after all. Another pony was sitting on her haunches a good 10 yards away. The sparkling moonbeams raining down from the astral sphere in the sky allowed the visitor to be illuminated and made it easier for Scootaloo to recognize just who it was.

Letting out a soft gasp, Scootaloo’s eyes bulged out of her head, her tears drying up almost instantly. “W-w-what?!?! B-b-but…b-b-but…oh my gosh, it’s you! It’s…it’s…Mare Do Well!”

The masked vigilante was staring right at Scootaloo, the bright blue eye sockets etched into the black mask hiding any facial expressions from the filly. The pony’s body sat upright, her cape fluttering in the gentle breeze behind her back. Atop the masked mare’s head, the trademark purple Stetson hat tilted down in a leveled horizontal line over the upper half of her lifeless eyelids. Who was hiding behind the mask? Who was wearing the costume? As Scootaloo’s heart fluttered into her throat, all she could do was just sit there and stare at the costumed pony with the same widened, shocked eyes.

For long, strenuous minutes, both the filly and the masked mare sat staring at one another. The 10-yard gap between the two seemed more like 10 inches instead. Scootaloo could almost feel the vigilante sitting right in front of her, boring down into her soul with those mysterious eye sockets. Scootaloo had become so enamored with the hero when she appeared back in Ponyville a while ago. She had vanished suddenly, with no explanation being given for her disappearance, but the general rumor was that Rainbow Dash had scared her off. Now, here she was, sitting right in front of her.

Carefully, her head bent low to the ground, Scootaloo edged her way closer to Mare Do Well. All the filly wanted was some closure with someone she considered amazing and caring. There was no one else currently out on the desolate campgrounds, leaving Scootaloo alone with the mysterious masked mare. But, the closer she came towards the pony, the safer she felt. She couldn’t explain why, but there was something different about this mare that none of the other ponies had. Scootaloo couldn’t explain it. Something in her heart told her to talk to Mare Do Well and she would feel better.

Mare Do Well did not move from her stationary location. Her glowing, masked eyes stayed focused on every move the timid filly made as she drew closer to her presence. The mare’s cape flowed idly behind her back, her hooves outstretched before her with her expressionless face silently beckoning Scootaloo towards her. Who was behind the mask this time? Why was she there? What purpose did she serve for continuing to stalk the campers? Was she friend or foe? Was she one of Discord’s toys? Was she just another camper going around teasing everyone just for the fun of it? Millions of questions roamed Scootaloo’s fragile mind as she finally got within two feet of Mare Do Well. She halted, then meekly stared up at the hero that she admired and idolized while her little body trembled.

“Miss Mare Do Well…I am such a huge fan!” Scootaloo squeaked out, just speaking whatever came into her head for her mouth to say first. “Oh, but please don’t tell Rainbow Dash I said that…she’d get mad. But, you’re so cool, and I always wondered what happened to you when you left Ponyville. Um, could you please…help me? I really need your help! See, Rainbow Dash…um, you know her, right? She’s the faster flier in all of Equestria…I love her a lot. But, um…I think this game is…is…changing her. I’m kinda scared, since she just doesn’t act like Rainbow Dash at all. She’s…she’s acting…well, mean. Sure, she has an edge to her, and she’s rather feisty and competitive…but not like this! It’s like somepony is messing with her mind! Miss Mare Do Well…what do I do? Please…please, tell me what to do!”

The filly’s scared, trembling eyes stared up longingly at the towering mare hovering over her, begging for answers. Minutes passed, and only the soft breeze and the settling noises of the island filled the air. Mare Do Well said nothing, the masked mare making barely any movement whatsoever. The longer the silence lingered on, the more Scootaloo’s heart sank into the lowest pit of her stomach. She was slowly starting to accept the fact that she most likely was not going to be getting any answers. Mare Do Well had never been known for her dramatic speeches or her amazing ornate voice that could freeze any pony dead in their tracks. In fact, there had never been a mention of the masked mare even using her voice. What were the odds that she would talk to Scootaloo now?

The crestfallen filly hung her head, finally averting her longing gaze from the stoic masked pony. “I’m sorry. You’re…you’re probably just here…to keep an eye on Discord or Nightmare Moon or something. Yeah, it’s none of my business. Sorry…for wasting your time, Miss Mare Do Well. I’ll…I’ll go now.” Just as Scootaloo turned to go off on her own, the filly was surprised by Mare Do Well’s right hoof suddenly reaching up and over to her small neck. The next thing she knew, Mare Do Well had gently pulled the filly right over to her chest and pressing her face against her neck.

Scootaloo’s eyes shot wide open, her heart immediately quickening to the speed of a hummingbird’s wings inside her chest. Mare Do Well had her right hoof gently wrapped around the small Pegasus pony’s neck, embracing her and cuddling her up against her guarded chest. Scootaloo’s ear was pressed right against the hidden mare’s heart, allowing her to listen to the gentle heartbeat of one of her idols. The warmth that Mare Do Well was sharing with her while she caressed and held the lonely filly slowly and surely lit a fire that had been dormant within Scootaloo’s depressed heart. While still not uttering a single word, Mare Do Well sat on the ground and soon wrapped both hooves around her little fan’s neck and upper back. She would not let her go.

“Miss…Mare Do Well…” Scootaloo’s voice croaked, her eyes starting to get wispy and clouded again. She hadn’t felt the warm, gentle, caring affection that she was receiving in a very long time. Scootaloo loved to look tough and rugged, trying her best to not act very girly, just like Rainbow Dash. Without a cutie mark and only her two fellow crusaders to socialize and bond with on a daily basis, Scootaloo always felt that empty spot within her heart and soul. She still wasn’t sure how she would eventually fill it, but the longer she stayed on the challenging island under the watchful eye of the demigods of Nightmare Moon and Discord, the more Scootaloo was finding out about herself. Being held by the masked vigilante was already calming her spirits.

Before she knew it, Scootaloo’s stressed heart began to relax, her body started to melt, and her eyes began to close. Mare Do Well laid her head atop Scootaloo’s, calmly nuzzling the filly’s ears and letting her mask brush against her forehead and cheeks. When the filly finally went silent in Mare Do Well’s hooves, the masked pony lay down on the ground and wrapped her cape around Scootaloo’s back.

~~~

Scootaloo was jarred awake by an annoying tapping on her head. The warmth and protection she had felt from last night was now gone with the morning sun. Uttering a meek and tired moan, the small Pegasus fluttered her eyes open and was immediately met by a blue pair of pupils blinking back at her.

“Why are you sleeping on the ground, Scootaloo?” Pinkie Pie asked, poking the filly on the head once more with her hoof before curiously laying her head flat against the ground. “It certainly doesn’t feel like a great place to sleep at all! It’s rather rough and cold! Were you hot last night? Or were you sleepwalking and decided to hit the hay on the ground instead of your bed? I’ve done that sometimes, you know. I once woke up in the middle of a cornfield with a pair of socks on my back hooves and my mane cut into a mullet! Can you imagine?”

“Ugh. Pinkie Pie. What were you saying?” Raising a hoof to fix her messed mane from having slept on such an uncomfortable surface, Scootaloo raised herself up and instinctively began stretching out her smaller limbs. “Uh, I didn’t exactly sleep here…well, okay, maybe I did. I can’t remember much from last night. I just know that I was…er…well, no worries! I’m just fine now.”

Pinkie lifted her head up from the ground, a small rock lodged in her left ear as she gave Scootaloo a rather suspicious look. “Really really?”

“Y-yes, really really! Sometimes I sleep on the ground, okay? Nothing to worry about!”

The older pink mare curiously rubbed her chin, narrowing her eyes for a brief instance before almost just as quickly breaking into a wide grin. “Okie dokie lokie, artichokey! Well, see you at breakfast, Scootaloo! Bye-bye!” With that, Pinkie giggled and bounced over the top of Scootaloo’s head and proceeded to hop her way towards the mess hall. She failed to notice or even realize she still had a rock stuck in her ear from head-hugging the ground.

Scootaloo: I don’t like sharing my personal feelings and junk with other ponies. Especially older ponies. It makes me feel uncomfortable. I…have my reasons for that. *she lowered her head, averting her eyes from the camera* Miss Cheerilee and Rainbow Dash are really the only two I feel relaxed and happy around to the point of sharing my emotions. Ugh. But, was last night just a dream? Or was it real?

“Mare Do Well…who are you? Where…where did you go?” Scootaloo sat obediently outside the mess hall, waiting for Rainbow Dash to appear before she would start eating herself. The filly stared up at the cloudless sky, her heart still aflutter about the events from the past night. “Thank you…for giving me the strength to carry on. Dream or not, I know I can keep pushing forward!”

“Um, Scootaloo? Are you talking to someone, or talking to yourself?” With Scootaloo having been distracted from her vocal monologue directed to herself, she had failed to see Fluttershy softly trotting her way to the wooden building. “I’m sorry if I was interrupting or anything, but you seem a little tired and rundown. Are you okay?”

Shaking her head to clear any afterthoughts of her emotional breakdown from the night before, the orange filly immediately cracked a grin and waved her hoof in a nonchalant way at the her fellow Pegasus. “Yeah, totally! I’m stoked about being in the top twelve, and I just had a restless sleep from thinking about how awesome I’m gonna do at the challenge today! No worries, Fluttershy.”

“Oh! Well, in that case, wonderful to hear!” Fluttershy smiled, kindly giving Scootaloo a little nuzzle with her right cheek before holding open the mess hall door. “After you, Scootaloo? Ah!”

“Thanks, Flutterklutz, don’t mind if I do.” Gilda sauntered past Fluttershy and straight down the created doorway, accidentally smacking Fluttershy on the nose with her tail as she stomped past the mare.

“Well…it seems that Gilda’s in a good mood…I didn’t think she liked mornings very well.” Fluttershy rubbed her nose and stifled a silent sneeze, watching as Scootaloo remained sitting on the porch of the mess hall. “Aren’t you going to come in, Scootaloo?”

“Not until Rainbow Dash gets here. You go ahead though.”

“Oh, um, alright then.” With a nod of her head, Fluttershy left Scootaloo sitting on the porch while she herself trotted inside the mess hall.

Fluttershy: I’ve been so concerned with helping out my friends and not getting into anyone’s way that I neglected not noticing just how worn out Scootaloo seems to be. I think I saw her actually giving Rainbow Dash a back massage the other day, while holding a drink of lemonade on her own back at the same time! I…I really wonder…if Rainbow’s alright. She’s seemed so…off. I wish she’d talk to me more.

“Good morning, everypony!” Pinkie shouted, popping her head up from underneath one of the tables in the mess hall nearly the exact moment that all the other campers had entered. “How did you all sleep? I slept like a log! And then, oddly enough, I actually dreamed that I was a log! A pink log! I was laying in the middle of a forest until I rolled down a hill, and joined even more logs! Isn’t that exciting?”

Gilda cast Pinkie a dirty look, trying to restrain herself from strangling the pony. “No, dweeb, it’s not. And if you say one more word, I’ll show you what is interesting in my book!”

“Eh-hem, yes, well…Pinkie Pie dear, did you know that you have a stone inserted into your left ear?” Rarity questioned, trying to avert Gilda’s rage elsewhere by making Pinkie focus on her instead.

Pinkie blinked half a dozen times and stared at Rarity. “A stone in my ear? Aw, silly Rarity, I don’t have any stones in my ears! I’m pretty sure I have drums in my ears, but not stones!”

Rarity gave a patient smile, shaking her head and raising a hoof to point at Pinkie’s ear. “No, darling, you do actually have a stone sticking out of your ear! Do you not feel it?”

“If you ask me, she has stones inside her brain, not her ear!” Gilda commented.

Pinkie: For some reason, everypony kept saying I had a rock in my ear! I couldn’t imagine why. *she scratches the side of her head, her hoof just missing striking the rounded stone jutting out her ear* Well, anyway, today’s another big day at Camp Paradox! Spike went home last night, and Rainbow Dash totally went bonkers! Do you think she still has a big headache? I wonder if there’s any aspirin around.

“Hello, everyone. You all had a good rest after the big elimination ceremony last night?” Twilight smiled at everyone sitting around the mess hall, trying to keep everyone’s spirits up.

Trixie glowered at Twilight. “No, Trixie did not. For one, that stupid griffon dared to vote for Trixie last night! Two, it is downright impossible to get a good night’s rest with you foals snoring as loud as a waterfall! Three, Trixie doesn’t like any of you, so she never has a good night’s rest.”

“Uh…okay.” Twilight raised an eyebrow at Trixie, but with a shake of her head, she decided to focus on someone else who wasn’t as egotistical. “What about you, Cheerilee? How are you feeling after such a busy night?”

Sitting next to Twilight Sparkle, Cheerilee flashed the purple unicorn a warm smile. “With friends like all of you at my side, how could I not sleep well?” At this, Cheerilee almost immediately whipped her head around to glare at Rainbow Dash, who was sitting with Scootaloo at the end of the table. “Dear Rainbow Dash, how is your head feeling this morning? Still hurt?”

Rainbow Dash mumbled into her black cereal that Nightmare Moon had served up, but didn’t bother answering Cheerilee’s question. From the look on her face, though, it was clear that the long overnight rest had only made her throbbing forehead hurt worse. While the cold from the icepack had dulled the pain and momentarily made it subside, it was back with a vengeance after getting time to reload. Scootaloo gave Cheerilee a little wave, but mostly kept patting Dash’s wings and trying to make her feel better. Cheerilee looked disappointed.

Cheerilee: Even after seeing Dash’s newfound temper and rage last night, not to mention her reckless abandon for revenge and conquest, it still baffles me how Scootaloo can so willingly cling to her like glue. I really must get them separated, for their own good. But, what pony would believe me? It was like Dash said; everyone likes her. *the teacher’s ears suddenly perked up* Oh, I forgot one certain girl…

“Excuse me, Gilda?” Cheerilee whispered, gently nudging the griffon and putting on her best smile, “If I may have a moment of your time, do you think I could ask you for a favor?”

“Huh?” Gilda looked down at the perky earth pony and raised an eyebrow. “What do you want? If it has anything to do with that skull carving on the back of the building, it wasn’t me. Flutterklutz was there, too, so it was probably her.”

Cheerilee face deadpanned. “That’s…not what I was going to ask about.”

“Oh. Well, what then?”

Double-checking to make sure that all the other campers were busy talking with one another or eating their gross breakfasts, Cheerilee craned her neck up to whisper closer to Gilda’s ear. “Do you think you could possibly…separate Scootaloo from Rainbow Dash? Please, Gilda?”

Gilda casually placed one of her talons on Cheerilee’s nose and forced her back a little. “Say what now? You want me to do what with the pipsqueak and the flip-flop over there?” She motioned over toward the two Pegasi at the end of the table.

“I want you to do what you can to make Scootaloo get away from Rainbow Dash!” Cheerilee hissed, a little louder this time. “See, Rainbow Dash has just been…well, acting very…mean. And I think she’s using Scootaloo and it’s only going to hurt her in the end! I already tried to talk to her, but Scootaloo won’t listen to me, and Dash…well, let’s not go there. I can’t ask any of the ponies to help, since they wouldn’t listen to my worries involving one of their friends and a filly I care about. But, since you’re a griffon and…er…well…could you please just try?”

Gilda: So, there I was, just sitting back and trying to chill with some of that gross grub they were trying to make us eat, and then that teacher pony actually has the nerve to ask a favor of me! Seriously, she dared to ask me a favor! *she scoffs a little, shaking her head in amusement* Well, if it was to get under Dash’s skin, I was down for a little fun. But, I wasn’t going to be that easy to coax.

Purposely taking her time by flicking at the spoon in her goopy black cereal, Gilda pretended to mull over what Cheerilee had asked. “Hm. That seems like a lot of extra work without any reward. What’s in it for me, huh?” The griffon turned back around, giving Cheerilee a devious smirk.

Cheerilee’s ears drooped, having figured that Gilda would go that route. “What do you want exactly, Gilda? I’ll do anything it takes to make sure Scootaloo doesn’t get hurt.”

“I want your word that you won’t vote for me at the next elimination, you got that?” Gilda pointed her talon right in Cheerilee’s face. “I got humiliated the first time when every backstabber dared to write down my name and get me out earlier than I deserved! So, I want to make sure that doesn’t happen again. You promise me that you won’t vote for me if I don’t win the next immunity thingy, and I’ll make sure the kid gets out from Dash’s shadow.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Cheerilee nodded her head. “Deal.” She extended her hoof to shake with Gilda, but immediately regretted it upon feeling the crushing hoof-shake she got in return via Gilda’s powerful griffon claw.

Cheerilee: Making a deal with Gilda? Yes, you might say that was a…questionable decision. But, see, the longer I’m forced to stay on this island, the more I wish to spend it with ponies who deserve to be here and are fun to play against. My vote will always go to Rainbow Dash until she leaves once and for all! If Dash somehow gets immunity…well, I’ll simply spoil another vote on Derpy if I have to.

“Princess, how are you holding up?” Twilight asked, now giving her undivided attention to the young Celestia sitting nearby. “You seem to be in somewhat higher spirits since your past few stressful weeks here. I’m really happy to see that.”

Celestia gave Twilight a small grin, trying to showcase her usual smirk she gave when feeling in a certain mood. “Why thank you, Twilight. I daresay that I have started to settle into this sudden lifestyle and I am ready to start making the most of it. While I really do miss my royal duties, not to mention my sister, I’m very thankful to be here with amazing ponies such as yourself at my side. It makes it all worthwhile.”

“Yeah, Princess! That’s what I’m talking about!” Vinyl laughed and gave Celestia a playful hug from behind, having overheard her proclamation on her risen mood. “No more slumping and dragging your hooves, eh? Nothing but clear skies and smooth sailing from here on out for our almighty ruler! Feel the rush of the musical interlude that is the curvy line of destiny, Princess! Ya understand what I mean?”

“Uh…sure. Thank you, Vinyl dear, for that…encouragement.” Celestia cast a weary look back at the grinning disc jockey hugging her around her back, before slowly turning back around to give Twilight an ominous look that clearly asked her to please get her crazy friend away. Having studied a few books on facial expressions, Twilight easily read the princess’ silent order and quickly moved to pull Vinyl Scratch away from the bemused alicorn.

Celestia: My dear subjects, you all must be wondering exactly why I’m in such a good mood? Well, you see, in my efforts to find out what Discord and Nightmare Moon are really up to, I finally had a major breakthrough! Last night, I found a very curious book laying outside Discord’s cabin, with one of the more darker chapters marked. I won’t share what was on that page, but just know that it’s not good.

“If Discord and Nightmare Moon are planning to do what I think they’re planning to do, I must make sure that I stop it,” Celestia whispered under her breath, her eyes worryingly glancing over in Twilight’s direction. “Or, rather…Twilight must stop it. She is Equestria’s savior, and she will always be there when the darker times come upon us. I have faith in her.”

“Hey, Princess Celly? Are you talking to your imaginary friend?” Derpy Hooves was suddenly sitting right next to Celestia, her walleyed stare shocking the princess. “I talk to my imaginary friend sometimes, too. And they talk to Pinkie’s! Isn’t that so cool? We all should have imaginary friends! Hey, would you like a bite of my muffin?” Derpy politely held out the darkened pastry to Celestia, which managed to make Celestia’s facial expression go from shock and confusion to disgust and horror.

Down at the end of the table, after asking Scootaloo to taste all the food before considering eating any of it herself, Rainbow Dash was leaning back against the wall and looking over all the other campers still in the game. Her hoof resting against her throbbing forehead, Dash silently reconsidered all her options. After sending Spike off the island, Dash felt very confident with what she had in front of her to play with. Every camper she looked at, she saw the perfect plan to either use them for her own personal gain, or get rid of them in a timely manner. The filly next to her going green in the face after tasting a black donut was the x-factor in her plans succeeding at this point.

“So…not good?” Dash asked, watching as Scootaloo staggered back to the table after puking her guts out in the nearest garbage can.

“No…very bad…tasted like charred dirt baked in a pan of tree bark and rock clippings…” Scootaloo weakly pushed the plate of black donuts away, moaning and wiping her mouth with the side of her left hoof before giving Dash a meek smile. “Heh…don’t eat any of those…okay?”

“Good to know, good to know.” Dash casually patted Scootaloo on the head before going back to eying all the other campers. “So, Scoots, pretty much everyone in this room is more or less on my side now, and since you’re with me, that’s good for the both of us. Easily put, our targets are Cheerilee, Derpy, Gilda, Trixie, and Vinyl. We simply have to take them out one by one and we’ll be sitting pretty all the way to the final…”

“W-what? Miss Cheerilee?” Scootaloo ears drooped as she heard Dash mention that her teacher was one of her targets. Her heart sank all the way to her hooves. “But…Rainbow Dash, why? I love Miss Cheerilee. She’s the best teacher I could ever have! She’s sweet, and kind, and smart, and really likes to act like one of us fillies most of the time! I care so much about her. Why do you want to…?”

Rainbow Dash quickly wrapped a foreleg around Scootaloo’s back, pulling the filly in and giving her a sorrowful look right in the eye. “But, you love me, don’t you, Scoots? I thought you’d do anything I told you so that I could take you to the end with me. Are you saying that you don’t love me now and that you love Cheerilee more?”

Scootaloo’s ears splayed out over the top of her head, that miserable feeling from before slowly creeping back into her as Dash gave her such a sad look and asked such a serious question. The filly looked back and forth between her teacher and her idol, inwardly feeling terrible at being forced to choose one over the other. It was then that Scootaloo felt a cold shiver race down her spine. When she glanced back up at the Pegasus holding her, those rosy magenta eyes staring back at her caused her to gulp and tremble a little.

Scootaloo: It was so weird. For a moment, I thought I saw another pony staring back at me when I looked up into Dash’s eyes. But…it must’ve been my imagination. She was just…I don’t know what she was doing, but it was…scary. Then, listening to her telling me to pick between her and Miss Cheerilee? How could I possibly make such a horrible choice like that? But, I knew that I had no choice but to pick…

“Yo, Dash!” Moments before Scootaloo could utter a response to Dash’s question, Gilda ambled her way over to the two Pegasi and narrowed her eyes challengingly to the blue mare. “How about you ditch the little chicken filly and go for a fly with me, huh? I want to see if you still have it in you to even give me a challenge with your puny pony wings!”

Pulling her head away from Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash frowned and gave Gilda a cold look. “Sorry, but Scootaloo promised that she’d give me a hoof massage later on today, and since she promised to do all four hooves, not to mention my back and neck, it was going to take quite a while.”

Gilda raised an eyebrow. “Since when? I always thought you hated having your hooves touched.”

“I do. It’s called ‘making an excuse to get rid of an annoying pest’, Gilda. You might want to look into it.” With that, Rainbow Dash tossed Scootaloo onto her back and started to head for the door. “Come on, Scoots. Let’s blow this joint and go relax someplace where annoying griffons can’t pester us. Discord will call us when he wants to make us do a challenge.”

Gilda: Aw, heck no! Dash blew me off, just like that? That tears it! Forget about trying to separate that squirt from her, I’m going to make it hard for Dash to be separated from me once I’m through with that flip-flop! *she cracks her knuckles, then proceeds to stretch her mighty wings in the small confessional* That’s certainly not the Dash that I know, backing down from a challenge like that.

With Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo exiting the mess hall, and Gilda in hot pursuit, the remaining nine ponies all finished what they could of breakfast (which was basically just pushing it all towards Pinkie and deciding it would be safer to go searching for food in the forest). After Pinkie eagerly gobbled up everything placed in front of her and looking disappointed that all the black breakfast items were now inside her belly, the ponies made their way out of the mess hall to relax and spend some quality time together until Discord would most likely interrupt their peace.

“Hey, Derpy, you wanna go and collect seashells along the beach?” Pinkie asked, eagerly bouncing circles around the walleyed gray Pegasus. “I don’t know why, but there’s always a lot of seashells with funny shapes laying on the sand every morning when I go play down there! I have a very huge collection I’ve been storing under my bed!”

“Ah-ha, so that’s where that painful, pointy shell came from!” Trixie snapped, pointing a hoof at the pink party pony. “Thanks to you, one of your little mementos ended up getting stuck in Trixie’s mattress and gave her a very bad sore on her rear when she rolled over onto it in the night! What do you have to say for yourself, you obnoxious irritant?”

Pinkie giggled, bouncing up to the annoyed azure mare and giving her an affectionate and very squishy hug. “Aw, Trixie. If you wanted one of my seashells to keep for yourself, all you had to do was ask! I love sharing everything I have with my friends!”

“F-friends?!?! Y-you are not Trixie’s friend!” Her cheeks tinting a light crimson, Trixie squirmed in Pinkie’s tight grasp and tried to escape. “And for your information, if Trixie actually desired to have something as annoying as a seashell to be a pain in her rump, she would sooner have Twilight Sparkle at her side at all times!”

“Ha-ha, very clever, Trixie,” Twilight muttered, rolling her eyes as Trixie eventually squirted loose of Pinkie’s grasp. “Come now, let’s not fight today. After the drama that went on last night with Spike going away, let’s just relax.”

Twilight: While I’m still keeping my eye on Discord and Nightmare Moon, at this point of being stranded on this island for so long, I’m going to try and have fun and attempt to actually win. I highly doubt I would actually get a million bits if I won and Discord would keep his word, but looking over my shoulder every single day hasn’t helped me at all. Princess Celestia is still here, after all, so I’m alright.

Trixie: Obnoxious pink fluff ball, squeezing Trixie to death like that. Ugh. If Trixie isn’t mistaken, didn’t that silly pony have a rock in her ear? So weird. Anyway, with Discord not bothering Trixie at the moment and that loudmouthed Rainbow Dash flying off on her own, Trixie finally has her chance to work on converting her friends to her side! Trixie knows if she wants to go far, she’ll need their votes.

Giving a big hug to Twilight as well, Pinkie finally went bouncing off towards the beach with Derpy flying shakily after her. Trixie readjusted her bent spine and shot the departing Pinkie an annoyed frown, before turning her attention to Twilight, Rarity, and Fluttershy. Even though it personally disgusted her to act all nice to ponies who aggravated her so badly, the unicorn knew she was on the outs. If she ended up making it a few more votes, she knew that there would be no way she would get above any of the remaining elements of harmony, or even Princess Celestia herself for that matter. Trixie knew she had to work on her social game.

“So…what would you all like to do during our downtime?” Trixie questioned, forcing herself to smile mostly at the three elements of harmony surrounding her, “Perhaps Trixie could enthrall you all with one of her many amazing stories that elaborates on her great and powerful feats?” When all she got back was mixed expressions of exasperation and annoyance, Trixie quickly tried again. “Or, we could possibly do whatever you all wanted to do?”

Rarity: It is so cute and downright laughable watching Trixie try to socialize with us. Is it possible that she actually realizes that she isn’t technically one of our friends and is trying to work her charms on us? Ah, how sad. *the fashionista giggles and tosses back some of her mane* It is such a shame that Trixie simply does not have the elegance and grace to be as likable as somepony like me.

“Yeah, dude, that’s what I’m talking about!” Vinyl laughed, pulling both Twilight and Trixie into her hooves for a group hug. “How about we join Pinkie and Derpy down on the beach and build a super big and awesome sandcastle?”

“Or…we can go on a nature hike and visit all the woodland creatures?” Fluttershy ventured, barely speaking her suggestion above a whisper.

“Or we could do all sunbathe and tan our bodies to make them look absolutely fabulous?” Rarity threw her own two bits into the suggestion pile.

“How about we all find a nice place to sit down and mentally prepare ourselves for the coming challenge so that we make sure we’re fit and ready?” Cheerilee eagerly looked around to see if her suggestion had sparked an interest in any of the ponies, but everyone had once again ignored her and was starting to all chat at once about the other three ideas mentioned.

Cheerilee: I really hope Gilda is doing what I asked her to do with breaking Scootaloo up from Rainbow Dash. I can’t get a word in edgewise when I’m around the popular ponies like Twilight and Trixie. Not that I really mind; they are wonderful ponies in their own ways. It’s just…it kind of makes me feel sad sometimes, you know? *she gives a deep, heavy sigh* I wonder if…all I am is just a teacher.

Celestia: Hearing all the fun ideas that my lovely pony subjects want to do really warms my heart. Even if this is a dire situation, being held hostage on an island by Discord and Nightmare Moon, it really is a whole new experience for me. It has been from the beginning! I’m…not really in tune with what my young, growing subjects do nowadays. It always intrigues me. Nothing I offer would ever interest them.

Having pushed the clingy Vinyl Scratch away, Trixie once again went through the pointless action of readjusting her spine. “Do all you ponies always have to hug one another for no reason at all other than to be obnoxious and foolish? You are going to break a pony’s back that way!”

“Trixie, Pinkie and Vinyl are just being friendly. That’s who they are. They have spirited and carefree personalities and they like to see others happy.” Twilight smiled at her fellow vexed unicorn. “You should really try it sometimes. I used to be the reclusive, antisocial type as well, but then the princess opened up my heart to a whole new world of endless wonder and friendship! It really is a beautiful and wondrous feeling to have knowing that there are ponies that want to hug you and make you smile.”

Sitting on her rump and mulling over what Twilight said, Trixie crossed her forelegs over her chest and gave a little sniff of indignant obligatory agreement. “If you say so, Twilight Sparkle. If it will make Trixie that much more loved than she already is, she may as well give your way of living a try.”

“That’s the spirit, darling,” Rarity purred, giving Trixie a pat on the back. “Come on, let’s all go join Pinkie and Derpy on the beach. I’ll show you all the perfect positions on how to give yourself a stunning tan. It really is more complicated than one would think.”

“Cool! A day of being a beach bum with Twi at my side and a clear sky above my head! Who could ask for more?” Vinyl eagerly started ushering a confused Twilight Sparkle down towards the beach, while Celestia was left pondering why the girl had just called herself a bum.

“It’s a term that younger ponies like to use,” Cheerilee explained, chuckling and trotting past Celestia after Twilight and Vinyl, with Fluttershy, Rarity, and Trixie all following. “Just go with it, Princess, and try to understand it later.”

“Oh. Uh, right then! I will become a bum on the beach as well!” Celestia tried to get excited at the thought, but still felt very weird at the strange expression. “Er…wait for me, please!” The small princess hurried after the others.

Cheerilee: I learned a lot of expressions and sayings and whatnot from my students. You can really learn a lot from the younger ponies if you just sit back and listen. It’s really why I became a teacher. Regardless of what Rainbow Dash or anypony else says, my life’s calling to teach and learn from fillies and colts alike and watching them grow into wonderful ponies…it makes it all worthwhile.

~~~

“Do you really want me to give you a massage, Rainbow Dash? Hey, who knows? Maybe I’ll get my cutie mark! I can’t remember the Cutie Mark Crusaders ever trying out massage work. Perhaps I’m actually very good with my hooves!”

“No, Scoots, that was just an excuse to make Gilda go away. I hate getting massages! Let’s just talk turkey for right now. There’s a lot of careful execution that must be done to make sure my…I mean, our plans don’t falter.”

In a secluded clearing far from camp, Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo were both sitting at the top of a tall, skinny tree. Naturally, Rainbow Dash had flown both herself and her young pony fan up the tree to have a private discussion about the game where they seemingly could not be interrupted. However, just as they had arrived and settled in at their rendezvous location, Gilda started shaking the base of the tree with her powerful talon hands to get their attention.

“H-HEY! W-WHAT DO YOU T-THINK YOU’RE…?!” Caught by surprise, Dash was thrown out of the tree thanks to Gilda’s shaking, and couldn’t react in time to spreading her wings before crashing down onto the ground right beside the smirking griffon. Scootaloo followed much the same way, but Gilda caught her just before she splattered into a pancake alongside her idol.

“Oops. Been flying long, Rainbow Crash?” Gilda snickered, poking the back of Dash’s flattened head as the Pegasus tried to inflate herself from her crushed state. The griffon turned her attention the filly clutched in her talons, giving her a cocky grin. “Hey, squirt, ignore this flip-flop dweeb and come hang out with a real cool girl like me! I can show you how to vandalize stuff without being lame enough to let it be known that it was you!”

“Let…her go…she’s mine!” Dash snarled, desperately reaching out one of her flattened hooves and trying to swipe at Gilda. The griffon merely hopped to the left to dodge Dash’s hoof, and would proceed to dodge every attempt the crushed mare took in trying to pull Scootaloo away.

“Er…is Rainbow Dash okay? It wasn’t nice of you to shake her out of the tree like that!” Scootaloo glared up at Gilda, trying to shake out of her grasp on her own and go to assist the inflating mare. “Don’t worry, Rainbow Dash, I’m not going anywhere!”

“Aw, c’mon, kid. Don’t you wanna be cool, like me? Rainbow Crash here is nowhere near cool. She’s just a poser. A lame little pony dipped in multiple paint buckets and juiced with wings that allowed her to fly to levels that are respectable at most.” Gilda, keeping a strong hold on the squirming filly, quickly began to stretch her wings and take off with her target. “If you want to learn to be the best, then you’ll stick with me! C’mon, let’s get going!”

“NO! PUT ME DOWN, NOW!” Scootaloo thrashed and squirmed like crazy, kicking all four hooves about and even beating her tiny wings against Gilda’s chest in a futile effort to escape. Gilda finally gave Dash a mocking grin before taking off into the skies with the screaming filly in tow.

“GET BACK HERE, GILDA!” Rainbow Dash hollered, unpeeling her hind legs from the ground and trying her hardest to get her wings to pop out. “YOU WON’T GET AWAY WITH THIS!”

Gilda: Heckling Rainbow Dash feels really good. That silly teacher pony had the right idea with giving me this task. I didn’t have anything else to do today until that annoying Discord gives us a new task to perform, so driving Dash crazy and keeping that little brat away from her is a surefire way to keep me entertained. *she cackles in delight* Did you all see Dash get squashed flat? Ha, that’s classic!

~~~

“Ooh, ooh, look at what I found!” Pinkie bounced over to Twilight, holding out a small, flat, circular disc to the purple unicorn to inspect. “Is it a type of funny-looking rock, Twilight? Or maybe some kind of tasty sand food?”

“No, Pinkie, that’s a sand dollar,” Twilight stated, “It’s a type of echinoderm, or in other words a small creature in the same class as sea urchins. It must’ve gotten washed up onto the beach. You’d better throw it back into the sea.”

“Okay, Twilight, whatever you say!” Pinkie jumped up onto her hind legs and twirled around in a circle, rearing back her right foreleg and preparing to launch the sand dollar back into the water. However, her momentum caused her to launch the sand dollar in the complete opposite direction, accidentally having it smack Trixie in the head and making the yelping unicorn crash down on top of her sandcastle she had been trying to make.

“OUCH! TRIXIE’S HEAD!” Violently shaking her noggin and rubbing the area in the back where she had gotten hit, Trixie weakly got back up and stared down at her crushed sandcastle and the amount of sand now sticking to the underside of her belly. “TRIXIE’S SANDCASTLE! TRIXIE’S BEAUTIFUL COAT! UGH!” Whipping her head around, Trixie glared daggers right over to Pinkie Pie. “YOU! YOU ARE A VERY DEAD PONY ONCE TRIXIE GETS THROUGH WITH YOU!”

Pinkie: I think I need to work on my aim.

“Trixie, it was an accident!” Twilight protested, quickly standing in front of Pinkie to protect her from a mutinous Trixie. “She simply misfired, okay? She didn’t mean it! Isn’t that right, Pinkie?”

“Yep, of course! How about a big hug to make you feel all better, Trixie?” Pinkie poked her head out from behind Twilight, giving Trixie a playful grin while sticking her tongue out the side of her mouth. When Trixie’s glares only intensified and she began showing her teeth, Pinkie quickly came up with an alternative. “Well, how about if I let you bury me in the sand then? That should make you feel better!”

“HOW ABOUT IF YOU LET TRIXIE THROW YOU INTO THE OCEAN AND…oh, bury you in the sand?” Trixie’s snarl slowly faded into an evil smirk, her eyes lighting up at the thought. “Very well then. Please, allow Trixie to thank you for not only having a seashell give Trixie’s rump a cut, but also for throwing a rock at the back of her head when she wasn’t even looking!”

“It was a sand dollar, Trixie,” Twilight pointed out.

“Whatever. Just get your pink plot over here so Trixie can bury you!” Keeping the evil grin plastered on her face, Trixie motioned for Pinkie to follow her.

“Okay, how fun!” Pinkie giggled, giving Twilight another hug around the neck before bouncing after the retreating blue unicorn, who was now sporting a small red wilt on the back of her head to go with the smaller one on the left side of her rear. Twilight watched both Trixie and Pinkie head off to apparently have fun together and reconcile, and she couldn’t help but smile.

Twilight: Even with her constant attitude problem, I’m really taking a shine to Trixie every day that she continues to stay here with us on the island. She can act loud and rude, but the thing is that she never follows through with any of her threats or insults. It’s just a bluff, much like a lot of her magic tricks. Deep down inside, as I’ve been trying my best to work with, Trixie’s heart is slowly opening up.

“Now, Princess, it’s very important that you do not fully expose yourself to the sun’s rays,” Rarity explained, unfolding and very neatly straightening out a blanket to lay on the sandy ground. Nearby, Princess Celestia was taking in everything the alabaster unicorn was saying, even though she was growing very confused by most of it. “See, too much radiation can be quite harmful to one’s glorious visage, and just one little mistake can mean the difference between a perfect tan and a horrible sunburn that will make you hurt for weeks!”

“Uh…yes, I see…I think. Please, do go on.” Celestia tried to mimic Rarity with laying out her own beach blanket next to one already on the ground.

“As you may have seen or heard of, holding a mirror so that the sun’s rays may indirectly tan the front of your coat is very important. Direct contact with such powerful exposure to something as delicate as the sun may, as I stated, lead to very disastrous results to our wonderful and very important looks.” Rarity held out a special tanning mirror to Celestia, which the princess awkwardly grasped and examined with her usual puzzled expression. “Now, when we lay down, we want to make sure our heads are elevated slightly so that we do not harm our necks from laying on the ground. That is why I have these therapeutic pillows.” Rarity proceeded to toss over a very comfortable and deluxe pillow to the princess.

“How exactly do you have all this here, Rarity dear?”

“A lady always comes prepared, Princess!” Rarity giggled, before giving a minor cough and looking away. “Plus, since my postcard that lured me here said that this was a fashion resort for models, I was hoping to spend some time on a beach or a spa…just not like this.” While Celestia gave a nod of understanding at Discord’s trickery, Rarity carefully put her pillow into place and gingerly laid down on her backside upon the blanket. “Anyway, since we will be staring up at the sun, we need protection for our eyes!”

“Sunglasses, right?”

“Not quite, Princess. That is Rainbow’s style, but not mine. For us ladies with considerable fashion sense and beauty beyond compare, we need something a bit more elegant for our lovely pupils instead of tacky shades.” Rarity pulled out a little baggie filled with cucumber slices, tossing two slices over to the befuddled Celestia. “There! Simply lay one of those on each eye and we are good to go!”

“But…cucumbers? I’m…not quite sure I understand. Don’t we eat cucumbers? I…didn’t realize that we would be wearing food on our bodies while trying to get a tan.” Celestia poked at the cold, slimy vegetable slices and winced at the thought of laying them over her eyes.

“Believe it or not, Princess, the moisture and molecules stored inside cucumbers are incredibly helpful and very safe for our bodies!” Rarity laid her head down upon her pillow, sighing happily as she gently laid each cucumber slice over her eyes and raised her tanning mirror over her chest. Princess Celestia again tried to mimic Rarity, cringing when she laid her own circular veggie slices over her eyes.

“Uh…okay. So, I am laying here with cold vegetables on my eyes, holding a mirror over my chest, and lying motionless on top of a blanket on a beach. And…I am now a bum?”

“You are now a what, darling?”

A second later, Derpy Hooves eagerly burst out of the water with something clutched in her excited little hooves. The Pegasus splashed a wave of cold water straight towards the beach, drenching both Rarity and Princess Celestia and making the former screech loud enough to shatter a window. Derpy eagerly flapped her wet wings and fluttered down beside the two horrified, soaked ponies and started to show off an apparent treasure she found on the seabed.

“Look, look! I found a seashell, I found a seashell!” Derpy held up her prize over her head, her eyeballs spinning around excitedly in their sockets while she completely ignored the spluttering ponies behind her back. “Another for your collection, Pinkie?”

Trotting over to inspect Derpy’s find, Twilight gave another patient smile and shook her head. “Derpy, that’s a mollusk; commonly known as a clam. You can tell with how the two shells are connected together. A seashell is a discarded, singular exterior broken off from a clam or other invertebrate.”

Derpy used one of her eyes to stare at Twilight while the other one stared down at her clam. She tilted her head to the left, then tilted it to the right. Her wet, blonde mane flopped over each side of her face as she tilted her head back and forth. She held the clam up to her face and stared hard at it, poking the top shell with her hoof and giving a little frown of aggravating. Eventually, after several moments of intense focus and thought, Derpy finally glanced back at Twilight.

“Does that mean I can’t hear the ocean roar if I hold it up to my ear?” she asked, curiously tilting her right ear down and placing it alongside the crevice of the clam. Before Twilight could give an educated answer, the clam’s two shells slowly creaked apart to reveal its inner body. From there, the clam clamped down right onto Derpy’s ear, causing the Pegasus to squeak rather loudly and flail her hooves around as though she had just been zapped.

“Oh, Derpy, are you alright?” Twilight was about to rush forward and try to pry the clam off Derpy’s ear, but Derpy, after the initial shock, didn’t seem to be all that in pain.

“So cool! I have an earring! Yay!” Derpy clapped her hooves together and did a backflip in the air. From there, she eagerly flew away to show off her new accessory. Twilight was left rubbing her head with an exasperated expression and having to deal with the ranting of Rarity and the confusion of Celestia from behind her back.

Rarity: That RUDE and CALLOUS Pegasus has some nerve soaking me like that! Ooh, my mane is ruined! I didn’t bring my entire shop with me; I could’ve, but that would’ve taken up a lot of extra space and suitcases. The point is, it is so much harder to fix your look without the use of everything at your disposal. *she whines and starts to comb and fix her dripping mane* So much for my new tan.

Celestia: *glancing down at her chest, she sees the two cucumber slices having slipped down and gotten stuck to her wet coat thanks to Derpy’s splash* Hmm. I think that this new age way of getting a tan is simply not my style. Rarity can do whatever she desires, but I’ll be sticking with taking a trip to the sun if I should need to lighten or darken my body. It’s so much more convenient and less of a stress.

~~~

“So, he was getting all up in my face and talking a bunch of trash about how he could make it rain upside down or some junk,” Gilda rambled on, relaxing on top of a cloud with Scootaloo thrashing around on the side of a mountain nearby. “Well, he was getting on my last nerve, and he pushed me a bit too far with his bragging. So, I nailed him with a good shot straight to the face! Sent him flying through six whole walls of clouds, too. After his trip to the infirmary, that loser never dared to think he was better than me again! Ha, ponies are such idiots.”

“For the last time, I don’t care!” Scootaloo snapped, glaring up at Gilda from her rocky seat. She had been tied up and bound with some strong rope that Gilda had stolen from the supply shed near the mess hall, due to the filly refusing to settle down. “Rainbow Dash is infinitely cooler and better than you, and she always will be! Just you wait until she gets her hooves on you; she’ll mess you up good! She won’t stand by and let you mess with me!”

The brash griffon slowly glanced down at the overzealous filly from atop her cloud. “Yeah? And just why is that? Is it because she actually cares about you? Or…is it because you’re simply important to her plans to win this stupid game and she wants to make sure she keeps using you for as long as you’re useful?”

“WHAT?!?! Shut up! Rainbow Dash…is just tough! Y-you need to be tough to survive in a place like this and become rich! It’s not easy being awesome!” Scootaloo managed to free her left foreleg from her bindings, using it to form a fist and shake it up at Gilda. “I won’t let you talk trash about Rainbow Dash while I’m around! She’s the element of loyalty, and she’s remained loyal to me ever since I was honored with meeting her. She’s taking me to the final two, so eat THAT!”

Gilda couldn’t help but laugh at Scootaloo’s confident threat. “Ha! Are you seriously that stupid to believe such bogus? Don’t you realize that she’s lying to you and using you as a slave? Think about this, kid. If she really is ‘loyal’ as you say she is, doesn’t that apply to her geeky friends before you? So, if she were to take you to the final two, wouldn’t that mean she’d have to backstab and betray her own friends to take you there? You think she’d choose you over them? Really?”

“Huh? B-b-but…that’s not…she wouldn’t…w-wait…what?” It took her a moment to settle down from her vicious defiance of listening to anyone talk ill will of Rainbow Dash for Scootaloo to fully comprehend what Gilda had so bluntly stated. She didn’t want to believe or even think that anything that Gilda said about Rainbow Dash could be true, but the more she processed the information in her head, the more she came to realize that the griffon had a valid point. There would only be a final two, and if came right down to it, who would Dash choose to be there with her? One of her fellow elements of harmony, or a little filly who loved her?

Shaking her head, Gilda stretched out on the cloud and closed her eyes. “Think what you want, squirt. But, the more you try to come up with excuses, the more it’ll bite you in the butt in the long run. You’re so in denial that it ain’t even funny. I pity you, and almost feel sorry for you. Really, I do.”

“Shut up…shut up…shut up, shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!” Scootaloo cried and hung her head, refusing to look at the griffon anymore. Here it was again. No matter where she turned, someone was always saying something negative about Rainbow Dash. And they were always using logic and pointing out things that, while she herself was starting to see, Scootaloo didn’t want to hear. Each negative shot at somepony she had admired, worshipped, idolized, and loved from such a young age hurt. It hurt her bad. All she wanted was the true Rainbow Dash to fly to her rescue and save her. At this point, it was all she wanted.

Scootaloo: Rainbow Dash will make it work, you’ll see! She’s awesome! She’s amazing! She can do it all! She’s the element of loyalty, and she promised to be there for me no matter what. Gilda is so going to pay for saying that stuff about her. Rainbow Dash will make her pay! *she gives a very confident smile, but it’s clear her tearstained eyes tell the true story* Heh…maybe I’m an element of loyalty, too?

~~~

“Yeah, man! We’re the three queens of this castle! DJ Pon3 is rocking this house, and her two groovy mates in Flutters and Cheery make us a supreme dynamite fusion of unicorn, Pegasus, and earth pony! Nopony wants a piece of this deadly combination, eh?”

Vinyl Scratch happily stood over the top of the large, stunning sandcastle that she had built with the help of Fluttershy and Cheerilee. The excited disc jockey showered her two playmates with compliments and praises at their hard work, evoking smiles from both the element of kindness and the pony teacher. Both girls, while finding Vinyl rather eccentric and flamboyant, were easily charmed by the pony’s wild streak and were never kept without a chuckle at every passing second while spending time with her.

“It really is a nice sandcastle,” Fluttershy agreed, silently hovering around the sandy abode and admiring the hard work that went into creating it. “I like to take Angel to the beach sometimes, and we have fun making sandcastles, too! Of course, he loves wrecking them rather than making them, so I get an awful lot of experience making them over and over again.”

“I watch my students make them all the time in the sandbox on the playground, so it’s just another thing that they teach me instead of me having taught them,” Cheerilee sighed, gently patting a few loose ends on the back of the sandcastle while she admired the sandy building. “Little moments like this is what we all should live for every day, don’t you agree? We take the simplest and silliest of things for granted, and it really is quite a shame. Spending quality time with those you can relate to and enjoy life with…isn’t that what we all want in the end?”

Nimbly hopping down from the top of the sandcastle, Vinyl playfully tackled Cheerilee and started to give the shocked teacher a noogie. “Darn straight, Cheery! If you ain’t having fun, then you ain’t living! However long I last on this kooky island, I’m going to make every second count! You with us, Flutters?”

“Oh, of course!” Fluttershy smiled, landing next to Vinyl and Cheerilee and watching them wrestle with one another. “I’m sad that Applejack is no longer here, but being with all my friends and enjoying…um, a very scary game led by that big meanie Discord…is an experience that we may never have again. As long as I have ponies like you at my side, it gives me courage to go on.”

Cheerilee, struggling to remove Vinyl from her back and stop her from continuing her noogie, gave Fluttershy a weak smile. “You…really consider me your friend, Fluttershy?”

“Yes, I do. Why would you think I wouldn’t?”

“No reason.” Cheerilee soon found her face accidentally smushed down into the sand, thanks to Vinyl’s roughhousing finally getting her pinned.

“Gotcha, Cheery!” the DJ giggled, readjusting her goggles and bouncing off the earth pony’s back. “Now, let’s get our bucket filled with more water so we can make a moat around our castle!” Picking up a nearby black bucket with her teeth, the disc jockey skipped off towards the sea.

“Could there be cute little fish of all shapes and colors in our moat?” Fluttershy asked, following after Vinyl Scratch with her imaginative eyes filled with excitement. “And maybe some otters? And dolphins? And beavers? And maybe even alligators with no teeth, like Gummy?”

Lifting her head from deep within her little sand crater, Cheerilee spit out a mouthful of the grainy rock minerals and turned to watch Vinyl splashing Fluttershy and the latter squealing and trying to get away at the base of the sea. Not wanting to miss a moment of it, Cheerilee picked herself up and eagerly ran over to try and pay Vinyl back for pinning her down a second ago.

Cheerilee: To hear Fluttershy actually call me a friend really relit a dull flame within my heart. I was actually starting to believe the lies that Rainbow Dash was saying about me. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll be able to last a bit longer than I imagined on this island. The more I can fit in with Twilight and her friends, excluding Rainbow Dash, the more I feel that I can get through to them with my worries.

“Hmm, it’s almost noon,” Twilight estimated, glancing up at the sky and observing the position of the sun with the shadows on the ground, “Knowing when Discord likes to surprise us with challenges, I determine that he’ll be showing up soon. It really seems like everypony is having fun, though. It’s a shame that Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo and Gilda choose not to join us.” The curious purple mare, having spent most of her time simply sitting at the water’s edge and staring out over the sea, longing for a book to read, decided to see how Trixie had fared in burying Pinkie Pie.

When Twilight trotted over to visit Trixie, she saw the blue pony curled up on the sand and daydreaming about how amazing she was. When she heard Twilight moving towards her, however, the unicorn quickly got up and flashed her an innocent smile. “Oh, Twilight Sparkle, how moderately nice to see you! How has this day at the beach been treating an inferior, untalented unicorn such as yourself?”

Twilight, naturally, rolled her eyes and smirked back at Trixie. “I wouldn’t know, Trixie. I was about to ask you the same question.”

“Watch it, Sparkle.”

“You can dish it out, but you can’t take it, huh? Typical.” Twilight stifled a playful giggle, having grown to enjoy the whiny frown on Trixie’s face by this point. “Anyway, did you have fun burying Pinkie in the sand? Where is she anyway?”

“Right over there,” Trixie stated, nonchalantly motioning her hoof to her left. Twilight followed her gaze, smiling and trying to find her friend. At first, she didn’t see any sign of Pinkie. Then, after narrowing her eyes and taking a closer look at the sand, she gasped. Sticking out of the sand wasn’t Pinkie’s head, but rather the very tips of all four of her hooves. Each hoof was squirming and twitching like crazy, with the rest of Pinkie buried upside down deep underneath the beach. The top layers of sand had been leveled and smoothed out by Trixie to make sure the surface remained flat.

“TRIXIE!” Twilight squealed, racing over and desperately trying to dig out Pinkie with nothing but her bare hooves, due to the island’s anti-magic barrier. “H-HOW COULD YOU?!?!”

“What? The foal wanted Trixie to bury her, so Trixie buried her.” Trixie shrugged, going back down laying down on the sand, only this time facing the frantic Twilight trying to dig out her friend. “While Trixie is not keen on such things, she does believe there is no rule that says how a pony should be buried when they ask to be buried in the sand, yes?”

“We are having a long talk about this once I get her out of here, Trixie!” Twilight growled, flashing Trixie an angry look as she struggled to work with her inexperienced hooves at digging in the sand. It took nearly five minutes for Twilight to bail out a good chunk of Pinkie’s legs. When she felt she had dug enough to the point of fully excavating her buried friend, Twilight firmly wrapped her front hooves around Pinkie’s left foreleg and started to tug and pull with all her might.

“WHEEEEEE!” With a mighty tug from the determined Twilight, Pinkie finally popped free from her earthly prison and smashed roughly into the purple unicorn, tackling her down a good five yards from where she had been buried. Twilight ended up landing hard on her backside, with Pinkie crashing down right on top of her, their bodies pressed firmly together and their faces no more than an inch apart.

A giggling and very ecstatic Pinkie Pie lay atop Twilight, swishing her puffy tail around crazily behind her as mounds of sand slid off her trembling body. For a moment, the excited earth pony could feel her quickening heartbeat press up against the one of Twilight’s, and they synced up as one beat. Their noses stayed touching each other, with their gasping lips a soft breath apart. Pinkie’s front hooves lay on either side of Twilight’s head, with her back hooves pinning down Twilight’s hind legs. For just one solitary minute, joyful blue eyes stared longingly into worried purple eyes, and time stood still.

Pinkie: *giggling, albeit somewhat nervously* Twilight freed me from being buried in the sand. She was so worried about me, even though it was honestly a lot of fun. It was…sweet. It was so sweet of her. *she shyly looks down, pressing her front hooves together and breathing deeply* When you’re that close to an amazing pony like Twilight, it really makes your brain go all mushy and your heart all jumpy.

“Ah…um, Pinkie?” Twilight whispered, blinking half a dozen times as she stared up at the smiling Pinkie, “Are…are you alright?” The smaller pony tilted her head a little, noticing that Pinkie still had the same rock lodged in her ear from before. She tried to move, but the stronger Pinkie Pie remained on top of her to keep her pinned. “I…was worried. I thought you might’ve suffocated under there.”

“Aw, Twilight, you’re such a silly filly!” Pinkie wiggled her nose against Twilight’s, then nuzzled her cheek against Twilight’s face before forcing herself off the unicorn. “It was so much fun under there! All the blood was rushing to my head and making me see a lot of funny shapes in the sand! The sand was rather warm and tickly, yet it was so cool being under there! Trixie sure knows how to have fun!”

“Trixie was very glad to do it, too!” Trixie called out, grinning over at the duo. “It was quite peaceful and Trixie felt very proud of herself. Should you ever wish to be buried again, just tell Trixie and she will make it happen. She will probably do it again very soon regardless, but just saying.”

“Hee-hee, okie dokie! Maybe I could even bury you in the sand next time, Trixie?”

“Try it and see where it gets you.” Trixie narrowed her eyes at Pinkie, watching as the laughing pony helped the bewildered Twilight to her hooves and started to brush sand off her back.

Twilight: I simply do not get Pinkie Pie! No matter how many times I have to deal with her randomness and illogical and baffling antics, I still can never comprehend or fully understand them! The pony was buried upside down in the sand! How in the world was she okay with that? *she huffs, then rubs her temples in irritation* Also, why did my heart start pounding so hard when she tackled me?

“ATTENTION MY LITTLE PONIES AND GRIFFON, IT’S TIME TO START THE DAY’S CHALLENGE!” Discord’s voice blared out of the camp loudspeakers. “PLEASE ASSEMBLE IN FRONT OF THE MESS HALL IN ONE MINUTE, OR ELSE I WILL SWITCH YOUR BRAINS WITH ONE ANOTHER! MOVE IT, CAMPERS!”

“Trixie’s coming, Trixie’s coming!” Trixie yelped, quickly getting up and racing off the beach as fast as she could, the thought of her brain being replaced with Pinkie’s making her shiver in horror. One by one, each of the campers on the beach hurried away from their playtime on the beach and made their way back to Camp Paradox. Vinyl, Cheerilee and Fluttershy’s large sandcastle remained standing, and due to Rarity’s blanket and tanning mirror getting wet, she tossed them away and made a mental note to test out some of her other multiple ones that she had brought along, just in case.

Appearing in a burst of smoke, Discord casually rested his claws behind his head as he watched all the ponies hurry to run in front of him. “I do wonder why I did not make that threat earlier, since it seems to be so very effective.” The draconequus snickered at seeing Celestia’s glare, giving her a playful wink before checking his imaginary watch on his left arm. “Ooh, it seems I might just have to be doing some brain transplants in a moment, since Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, and Gilda are not present.”

“WHAT?!?! NO! TRIXIE NEEDS HER BRAIN!” Desperately looking around, Trixie soon leaped behind Twilight and used her as a shield. “Please, use Twilight Sparkle first! Her brain is not very useful anyway and should make for a very good first target!”

“I resent that remark, Trixie!” Twilight wiggled her rump and tried to whip Trixie away with her tail, but the show-mare refused to move.

“No worries, dweebs. I’m here, in all my glory.” Gilda flapped her wings and appeared in a small cloud of dust a moment later, carrying a sullen-looking Scootaloo in her arms. She was no longer tied up, but from the way she wasn’t thrashing or yelling, it was clear she had just given up on protesting. Rainbow Dash hadn’t come to rescue her.

“Gilda? Why do you have Scootaloo with you?” Rarity asked, raising an eyebrow out of suspicion. “And why does the poor dear look like she’s been crying? If you dared to harm her, so help me…”

Cheerilee quickly looked at Gilda as well, but the griffon was prepared. “I didn’t lay a single claw on the squirt. She’s just been spending the time with me today, that’s all. Rainbow Crash got tired of her and wanted some alone time, so I took the filly off her hooves. She’s quite good company. Hard to not like this dorky little pony.” She set Scootaloo down, giving her a rough yet affectionate slug on the shoulder.

Cheerilee: I know it may seem cold, but seeing Scootaloo depressed and with Gilda was a good sign. If Scootaloo had been screaming and fighting, it would’ve meant that she wanted to be back with Rainbow Dash. But, since Dash was nowhere in sight and Scootaloo was with Gilda, it means that she’s finally coming around to understand how she’s being used! Whatever Gilda said to her, it worked!

“Just ten seconds until I rearrange your minds, my dear campers!” Discord sang out, counting down the seconds on his imaginary watch, since Rainbow Dash still hadn’t shown up. “Ten! Nine! Eight! Four! Three! Two!”

“Discord, that’s not fair!” Twilight shouted, bravely stepping in front of as many ponies as she could to go along with Trixie, not wanting any of them to get hurt before herself.

Just as Discord was about to reach the end of his countdown, a flash of rainbow colors zoomed down next to Fluttershy as Rainbow Dash finally appeared. “Yo, I’m here! What’s the big fuss about?”

“Rainbow Dash, you came!” Scootaloo gasped, smiling tiredly as she gazed over at the mare, “You came just in time to save us from having our brains switched! Can you imagine what would’ve happened if I had gotten Rarity’s brain?”

Rarity frowned down at Scootaloo and shook her head. “I was worried about your safety, Scootaloo, and that’s how you repay me? Humph.”

“Yes, yes, almost all of us are happy that Miss Fashionably Late got here at the last possible second, but now it’s time to play!” Discord clapped his clawed hands together, making a dozen large treasure chests appear in a circle around the remaining campers. “You see these treasure chests? Can you guess what they’re for?”

“Ooh, ooh, pick me, pick me!” Pinkie Pie stretched her left foreleg high into the air, bouncing in place and shaking her hoof like crazy. “Do we get to place hide and seek in them? Or maybe we get to build them into an even larger combined treasure chest that we can turn into a giant treasure chest robot that will help us in the next challenge? Or maybe we have to go on a hunt for the keys to open the chests so that we can get the prizes inside?”

Discord stared at Pinkie Pie for a very long time, as did all the other campers. Discord slowly looked at the rock in Pinkie’s ear, then back to her grinning face. “Yes. That last guess would be correct.”

“Ooh, goody, goody! A treasure hunt to look for keys to open treasure chests! How fun!” Pinkie started to circle around the treasure chests, going from each and every one and inspecting them in her own unique way. “Mmm…this one smells funny. Ooh, this one sounds funny! Ew, this one tastes funny! This one just looks funny. Oh, oh, oh, I want this one, I want this one! Please, Discord, can I have this one? I have a very, very good feeling about this one!” The party pony picked out one of the chests, which happened to be right in front of Twilight, and started hugging it. “Pretty please can I have this one, Discord?”

Vinyl: Pinkie Pie, you wild mare you! That crazy pony totally licked and sniffed and put her ear with a rock in it on a bunch of different chests! Dude, she’s wilder than a wildflower! *she laughs and smacks her own hind leg in amusement* She’s such a riot! She sure knows how to keep things lively, that’s for sure! But, she wants the chest that was in front of Twi, and that’s so uncool. I wanted that one!

“Pinkie, the key that you find will only open one chest,” Discord explained, snapping his fingers and making a small wooden box appear on top of the chest Pinkie was hugging. “Inside that box is twelve maps that lead to a certain area on this island where you can find your designated key. Once you draw a map, you must go for that key. You may not go and look for any others. This isn’t a race, so take all the time you want trying to hunt for your key. Once you get it, come back here and find the treasure chest that it fits in, as that will be the only chest it will open.”

“So…how exactly do we win this treasure hunt?” Rainbow Dash asked, trotting up to the box of maps and reaching inside to pull one out.

“Five of the chests contain different food items that should last you for a week, unless you’re Pinkie Pie, which in that case would mean it would last you ten seconds.” Discord smirked over at the blushing pink pony. “Five of the other chests contain random household items that range from being useful and possibly handy in future challenges, to totally and utterly useless garbage that I felt like putting inside the chests to make you mad. One chest contains absolutely nothing, but the final chest contains the ultimate prize: individual immunity!”

“Now THAT’S what I’m talking about!” Rainbow Dash grinned, pulling out one of the maps and peering down at it. “That’s going to be me for sure! This map right here is leading me to the key for immunity!” The piece of parchment that Dash had drawn out of the box had a crudely-drawn map on it, showing a very small portion of the island that was no bigger than possibly fifty square yards. Each map was just big enough to fix in a pony’s hoof, and each had a big red ‘X’ to show where the key should be waiting.

“In your dreams, Dash,” Gilda sneered, pushing the blue mare aside and reaching inside to grab her own map, “That immunity is as good as mine! All you losers are fighting for the silver this time around.” While Rainbow Dash and Gilda stared one another down, the rest of the ponies all hurried to draw a map out of the box for themselves.

Trixie: *staring at her own map with a frown* What the heck kind of map is this? It seems to be showing a waterfall, but Trixie doesn’t remember seeing a waterfall on the island. Ugh, how annoying.

Cheerilee: This challenge basically depends on luck and nothing more. There’s a one in twelve shot that Rainbow Dash will win immunity, so I’m really hoping anypony but her wins it.

Rarity: *looks very sick as she stares at her map* This…this is clearly showing…the bathrooms. Oh, please, for the love of Celestia…PLEASE do not let it be in the toilets! PLEASE, I’M BEGGING YOU!

Twilight: Thankfully, I’m a very experienced map-reader, since I’m always the one leading my friends when we go on adventures. *she smiles down at her map* This should be rather easy for me.

“Okay, so you all have your maps!” Discord exclaimed, clapping his claws together and having the empty wooden box vanish. “So, you all may begin whenever you desire! Remember, you may only search for the key that your chosen map leads to. When you find your key, come back here and try it out. When you find the chest that it works on, whatever is inside is all yours to keep! Good luck, campers!” Just as Discord was about to vanish, however, he remembered something. “Oh, before I forget! Nightmare Moon wanted me to tell you all that she will be serving her special spaghetti tonight, so she hopes you’re excited for it!”

“Yum!” Pinkie eagerly expressed her delight at the news, while every single one of the other campers all grimaced and could only imagine the horrors awaiting them that evening.

Celestia: I don’t get it. Nightmare Moon is essentially a part of my sister, Luna. But, Luna is actually a rather decent cook. How is it possible that Nightmare Moon can serve us meals that make my taste buds want to be banished to the sun, and yet Luna can make food that is…acceptable? *she gives the camera a weak wave and a very meek smile* Luna, dearest? Please do not hold that against me.

When Discord ultimately vanished on the spot and went to go do his own thing, the campers quickly split up and started to follow their maps to their chosen key. Celestia and Rarity both chose maps that indicated their keys were somewhere at camp, so both girls focused on searching the grounds. Derpy headed for the beach. The remaining nine campers all ended up heading into the vast woods to try and locate their key.

In no time at all, Rarity gingerly trotted into the bathroom. “Heh…okay, darling, this will be fine. The key is most likely…just hanging on a showerhead or something! Y-yes, that’s it! No reason to panic.” Rarity looked down at her map again, seeing that the big red ‘X’ seemed to be right in the middle of the stalls. The fashion pony quickly scanned all the showers, but didn’t see any types of keys. She then looked over the sinks, but didn’t see any keys in them, either. Finally, after five minutes of retracing her steps almost five times, Rarity finally forced herself to start opening the toilet doors.

“N-no worries…m-maybe the key is just…sitting on a plunger? Y-yes, that’s surely it!” Rarity glanced down at the plunger in the middle toilet, but there was no key on it. She then checked the toilet head and the toilet seat, but there was no key on either of them. Then, knowing that she had no choice, Rarity held her breath and dared herself to stare straight down into the toilet itself.

There, nestled dangerously near the drain at the bottom of the murky, green water was a bright, silver key. It was about as big as Rarity’s own horn, but there was a good foot or so of disgusting toilet water standing between the unicorn and the key itself. Normally, Rarity would’ve used her magic to simply levitate the key out of the water, thoroughly wash it in the sink with three bars of soap, and then allow it on to be carried on her backside as she made her way back to the treasure chests. But, without the use of magic, Rarity was left staring down into the toilet with a very sickened and terrified expression.

~~~

“Odd…it seems my map says that the key…is in the mess hall?” Celestia held the map to within an inch of her nose, trying to study every minor detail on the tiny display. “It’s seriously that easy? Wow, this must be my lucky day! Finally, no getting humiliated and shamed by that rotten Discord or that egotistic Nightmare Moon!” The small princess couldn’t help but smile as she began searching the familiar mess hall for her key.

After searching for nearly ten minutes, which included looking underneath every seat and bench, looking beneath both large tables, looking under and inside the two trash cans, and even at the ceiling, Celestia was left befuddled and confused. She had found no key. She rechecked the map, and tried to pinpoint where the red ‘X’ was placed. It looked like it was marked at the back of the mess hall, not at the front or in the middle.

“Wait…but, the back of the mess hall is…” Celestia slowly looked down the aisle at the large metal doors leading into a very sacred place. “…Nightmare Moon’s kitchen!”

Celestia: I knew it couldn’t have been that easy! Me and my big mouth. I suppose my sister was right when she told me that I talk too much. Maybe…I owe her an apology for banishing her to her room for an entire week without being able to perform her royal duties. *she once again gives the camera another weak smile* Luna, dear sister? Um…I…er…well, you had it coming! *she huffs loudly*

“Okay…Nightmare Moon is probably out…um, doing whatever it is she does at this time of the day!” Celestia nervously crept towards the kitchen doors, trying to walk on the tips of her hooves to not make any noise. “I’ll just hurry in there, find the key, and hightail it out before she can get back! Easy.” The small alicorn moved closer and closer, beads of sweat already dribbling down her cheeks. Normally, she would never be afraid of Nightmare Moon, but with her reduction in size and age also came an increased level of fear and childishness. Plus, she didn’t have the use of her magic, while Nightmare Moon did.

Reaching the swinging kitchen doors, Celestia shakily placed a hoof on the left flap and slowly pushed it open. The right side of the kitchen seemed to be empty, and there were no sounds coming from inside. Daring to take a few steps inside, Celestia allowed the left door flap to swish back into place behind her back while she edged even further into the lion’s den. More and more of the kitchen came into view, and it still remained empty. By the time Celestia walked almost entirely into the kitchen, she was convinced that Nightmare Moon was indeed out.

“Okay, good, she’s not here!” Celestia breathed a sigh of relief, turning the corner and allowing the last few feet of the kitchen to come into view. “Now, if I was Discord, where would I hide a…key?” The princess froze in her tracks the instant she looked up against the far west wall of the kitchen, farthest from the doorway. Sitting there on her rump, her head held high with an evil grin smeared across her face, was none other than Nightmare Moon. Around her neck was a necklace with a silver key tied to it.

The moment her eyes fell upon Celestia, Nightmare Moon’s grin grew even wider. “I’m not supposed to be biased, but I was really hoping you’d get that map, dear princess. This is going to be a lot of fun, let me tell you.” The ebony alicorn casually raised her hoof to the sparkling key around her neck and gave it a little pat. “You want this? Come and get it.”

~~~

“I GOT IT!” Derpy burst out of the water, holding a large rock above her head. “Oh…nope, that’s not it. That’s just a rock.” The Pegasus tossed it back into the water, then dove again towards the seabed. A minute later, she burst up yet again, holding a clam. “I GOT IT! Oh…wait, no, this isn’t it, either. OW!” The clam latched onto Derpy’s other ear, to give her matching ‘earrings’ due to not having removed the other clam from earlier. “Aww, yay! I got two earrings now! Hurray!” She giggled, then dove yet again back underneath the water. Another minute passed, and Derpy soon resurfaced yet again. “I GOT IT! Oh…no, this is another rock. It looks familiar, too. Oh well!” Tossing the same large boulder back under the water that she had already grasped five times now, Derpy continued to dive for her key.

~~~

“Okay. Northeast down this path…and then west down this fork…and then northeast again…until you reach the river.” Trixie, being an expert map-reader, looked down at her map every other second, while being very careful that she was going the right direction. She was talking to herself as though she were explaining the map to someone else. “Once you reach the river…travel east along the bank until you hit the waterfall. Behind that waterfall is where you will find the key.”

While not very thrilled at having to get her mane soaked from a powerful waterfall, Trixie was determined to be the first one to get her key and get back to open her chest. What she really wanted was the immunity, naturally. At this point in the game, with all the campers together, Trixie didn’t feel very safe. She also didn’t trust anyone at all, regardless of what Twilight and Pinkie had talked with her about on the airship.

Upon reaching the river, Trixie smiled at her exact prognosis and turned to the right to begin heading for the waterfall. “Hopefully, that obnoxious Rainbow Dash will not win immunity, and Trixie can finally get her out of here! While Trixie hates all the ponies here, including that griffon, it’s clear that Rainbow Dash is the biggest threat and her tactics have been…a bit harsh, by the look of things with that filly, but rather brilliant. So far, every camper that got sent home was one that Trixie heard did not follow Dash’s orders. Hmm…really makes a pony wonder what goes through her mind.”

~~~

Fluttershy smiled as she glanced up at the beehive where her key was located. Used to going on nature hikes and finding her animal friends’ homes, the Pegasus was quite the expert on reading maps as well. She had deduced that her key was inside a beehive hanging a good twenty feet up in a large, coniferous tree. The Pegasus was thrilled when she discovered this, since she was sure the bees would be nice enough to give her what she wanted if she just asked politely enough.

“Oh, I do hope they’re not busy making honey right about now,” Fluttershy whimpered, flapping her wings and gently flying up towards the buzzing beehive without trying to make too much noise. The closer she got to the hive, the louder the buzzing became. When she eventually started to fly right beside the large bee home, it sounded very busy inside. This worried Fluttershy even more.

Meekly, Fluttershy tapped the beehive with her hoof, no harder than a butterfly would land on a dandelion, and started to say hello. “Excuse me, bees? I’m so sorry to disturb you and all, but I’m pretty sure you have a key in there. If it’s okay with you, I would be happy to take that key off your hands for you! Um, well, I know you don’t have hands, but you know what I mean.” The yellow mare shyly crossed her hooves over her lower belly as she waited for a response.

Slowly and surely, the buzzing began to simmer. Then, one by one, worker bees started to fly out of the bottom of the hive and hover in front of the timid Pegasus. This continued on until a large army with hundreds of worker bees stood in front of Fluttershy and stared at her with their many eyes. The final bee to exit the hive was the queen herself, and dangling from her stinger was a bright, shiny, silver key. Fluttershy gasped upon seeing it.

“Oh, that’s what I’m looking for!” she squeaked, nervously bowing her head at the queen bee. “Please, Miss Queen Bee, could I pretty please have that key? I really, really need it to help me in a very scary game that I’m playing on this island. Um…is that okay with you?”

The bees hovered silently and motionless in front of Fluttershy without buzzing or moving an inch. The queen stayed right where she was, the key still dangling mere feet within Fluttershy’s nose. The mare could probably zoom out and snag it if she really wanted to, but she was trying to be polite and not upset the insects. Then, all of a sudden, the queen buzzed something to all her workers, and the hoard of bees quickly started to encircle Fluttershy. They made sure to fly above her head and under her rear, and circle around her from front to back. In no time, Fluttershy was locked inside a wall of bees.

“Oh d-d-dear…d-d-did I say something w-w-wrong?” Fluttershy whimpered, curling up into a ball in midair, while still keeping her wings weakly flapping. Slowly, the bees started to close in, with the queen watching from the outside of the wall.

~~~

“Ha, this is too easy!” Gilda flew straight to the top of her designated mountain, snickering at just how fast she was about to find her key. “My map says that my key is right up this mountain. Good thing I have wings and I know how to use them!”

At the top of the mountain, Gilda could see almost the entirety of Calamity Island. It was a lot bigger than Gilda first thought, at least when she was looking down upon it from the tallest mountain on the island itself. But, with a bored shrug, Gilda looked away from the scenery and focused on finding what she came for.

“Bah, this place is so boring. There’s nothing up here! Where could that key be?” Gilda flew around a few giant boulders, using her muscle to push them aside and look underneath them, but not finding her key. Then, on the opposite side of the mountain, Gilda heard soft cheeping noises. Curious at hearing the sounds of birds, the griffon made her way to the edge of the cliff and peered over the side. What she saw was a nest built onto the side of the north side of the mountain, with three baby condor chicks inhibiting the home. On the side of the nest was an egg with what looked to be the tip of a key poking out the top.

“Bingo! That’s what I’m talking about!” Stretching her wings one more time, Gilda flew down a little ways until she was level with the nest. The three baby condors all looked at the griffon with wide, terrified eyes as she drew close to them. “Ha, don’t worry your little heads. I ain’t gonna hurt ya. I’m just here for my key.” As she reached into the nest to snag the egg with the key in it, the baby condors went berserk. They started screeching and flapping their little wings like crazy.

“Sheez, I certainly hope that I wasn’t such a big baby when I was still a chick,” Gilda grumbled, smashing the egg in her talons and soon clutching her key. “Now, to get back to the camp so that I can…huh?” A loud whoosh of air and an angry cawing sound suddenly echoed out from behind Gilda’s back. The three condor chicks all flapped their wings and seemed to chirp happily at what was behind the griffon. When Gilda turned around, she came face-to-face with the baby condors’ large and angry mother.

“What are you looking at, punk?” Gilda frowned, taking a few flaps backwards as the large condor pointed her sharp beak right between Gilda’s eyes. “You looking for a fight? I wouldn’t try it; I would mess you up in a heartbeat. Now, we can either do this the easy way with you letting me go, or else it can be the hard way, with you learning a painful lesson that your chicks are going to have to watch. Take your pick.” In response, the condor mother reared back her head and let out a large, angry roar that sounded like a combination of an earsplitting screech and hiss. Then, the condor lashed out right at Gilda, with her talons extended and her beak aiming right for the griffon’s face.

“Cool. Guess it’s going to be the hard way.”

~~~

Cheerilee peered out over the massive gorge that Rarity and Silver Spoon had nearly fallen to their deaths in, then glanced out at the large rocky column that had been created by Discord. The teacher’s key was dangling on a hook on the column, in plain view, but Cheerilee had no way of getting it without attempting suicide. She had no wings, and being an earth pony in situations like this really had their disadvantages. Cheerilee had been pacing back and forth in front of the cliff, trying to think of a way to get to her key without having to try and jump across and grab onto the stone column.

“Hmm…what would the elements of harmony do?” Cheerilee mused, sitting down and pondering what the six mares would try and do to solve such a simple, yet difficult-to-most-other-ponies challenge. “Well, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy would just fly across and snatch the key and fly back. Twilight and Rarity would use their magic. I’m guessing Pinkie Pie would somehow randomly appear on the stone column, grab the key, and be able to bounce back while defying the laws of gravity. And Applejack would probably…oh, that’s it! A lasso!”

Quickly turning around, Cheerilee raced back into the forest and hurried to find some strong vines. She had to climb a little ways up a few trees to get them, but after searching around for a little while, the pony found over ten feet worth of vines. From there, Cheerilee sat down and tried to create a sloppy, makeshift lasso. She really had no idea how to make a proper one, and since Applejack wasn’t there to help, she couldn’t ask her for her opinion.

After enough loops and knots, Cheerilee stood back to admire her handiwork. It looked like she had created a noose rather than a lasso, but it would have to do. Dragging the created lasso made of vines back to the cliff, Cheerilee stared out at the key and tried to center herself so that her lasso would encircle the key, snag it, and allow her to fling it back over to her side of the cliff without having it drop down into the gorge. Clutching the lasso in her teeth, Cheerilee reared up and started her first rodeo.

~~~

“My key’s inside a cave? Lame! I’ve so got this.” Rainbow Dash, after getting lost twice on her outing to find her key, finally came to what she thought was the correct location. “Now, where is that thing? I want my immunity, and I’m going to get it!” Not bothering to look at her map again, therefore failing to realize that the red ‘X’ was clearly inside the second cave a little ways north of the one that Dash had found, the Pegasus ventured forth with her head held high.

When Dash had trotted deep enough inside the cave, she saw something familiar on the ground and had to stop to take a look. “Huh? Wait, purple hair? Was Twilight recently here or something?” Scattered around the area was strands of Twilight’s mane and tail that had gotten ripped out when she had accidentally wandered inside the cave trying to stop Pinkie Pie from sleepwalking. Rainbow Dash was about to see exactly how that happened.

Stomping towards the Pegasus, the cave’s owner made its presence known with authority. The massive bear that had laid down the law with Twilight interrupting its sleep a few nights ago was now eying the new pony that had dared enter its home uninvited. It was not holding any key, and the look in its eye screamed rage and bloodlust. When Rainbow Dash met those murderous eyes, she very slowly gave a nervous grin that showed her entire set of teeth.

“Hey there, bub. You haven’t seen any keys around here for me, have you?”

~~~

“Yo, Twilight, what’s going on?” Vinyl waltzed up to the purple mare, having her key wedged into the side of her goggles. “I totally found my key inside a tree. I had to barter with a squirrel for it, though. The little guy wanted four acorns, but that was totally a rip-off, you know what I’m saying? So, I managed to haggle with the little dude and got off easy by giving him only three acorns for the key! That’s so dope! I got my key and I’m anxious to see what kinda sick prize I won for myself! How are you doing with your own search?”

Twilight glanced at the jubilant white mare and smiled. “I know where my key is, Vinyl, but the problem is that I can’t get to it.” She motioned with her hoof towards a small burrow underneath a grove of bushes a little ways west of the river Trixie had followed a while ago. Inside was a group of three skunks staring out at the purple pony. “I had a bad experience with a skunk once during winter wrap-up in Ponyville, and without the use of my magic to help me, I’m a little at a loss at how to get my key.”

“Ooh, those gassy little critters? Yeah, I’ve tangled with the likes of them before, too!” Vinyl peered down at the three curious skunks inside the burrow, who all returned the pony’s gaze. “This one time, I had this gig down in this forest near Canterlot, and a few of these little guys totally crashed our party, yo! They darn near smoked my entire crowd away, man! Thankfully, I took care of them and got things back under my control, ya feel me? There ain’t no problem that can’t be solved! A smart unicorn like yourself should know that, eh?”

Twilight: *her cheeks tinted a light ruby color, she rubs the back of her head with her hoof* Talking with Vinyl Scratch is such a weird experience. She has such an odd and different way of talking and acting that really baffles me. She’s almost like the unicorn version of Pinkie Pie. Her high level of charismatic cheerfulness and spunky playful behavior is rather contagious. It’s…rather a nice thing.

Still slightly blushing at getting praised yet again by Vinyl, Twilight quickly turned away from her signature grin to look back at the skunk burrow. “You’re right, Scratch. I really don’t want to get gassed again, though. Taking a bath in tomato sauce makes me rather squeamish, and the amount of laughs I’d get from Discord and the shame I’d face in front of Princess Celestia makes me very uneasy about trying anything to get my key.”

“I feel ya, Twilight, I feel ya,” Vinyl nodded in understanding, “Which is why DJ Pon3 is here to help ya out and make your day a lot less stressful! It’s a good thing I brought this baby along with me!” Bucking her flanks up into the air, Vinyl flipped the same black bucket she had used on her sandcastle and had been carrying along with her, just in case, over her head and snagged it out of the air in her teeth. She lifted her goggles and winked one of her dashing red pupils at Twilight, before trotting over to the nearby river and filling the bucket with water.

While Twilight sat back and watched, Vinyl carried the bucket of water back over to the skunk burrow and bravely stepped right up next to the hole. The unicorn tilted her head and made the bucket tip over, letting the water rush down straight into the skunk’s home and flush out all three shocked animals. Too soaked to really spray Vinyl, the three skunks chittered in fright and quickly took off to get away from the large creature drenching them with heavy amounts of water. With the burrow now clear of skunks, Vinyl dropped her bucket, turned around and playfully grinned at Twilight.

“Your key awaits you, Twilight Sparkle,” the unicorn sang out, bowing her head and motioning her hoof towards the burrow.

Stifling a giggle and feeling her cheeks ignite with even more warmth than before, Twilight moved her way to the burrow and started to grope around inside with her hoof. “It’s a good thing Fluttershy didn’t see you do that, Scratch. She would’ve had a fit!”

“Nah, I didn’t hurt the little critters. It was nothing more than a rainstorm for them!” Vinyl sat on her rear and watched Twilight reaching around inside the skunk burrow for her key, sighing a little under her breath as she eased her goggles back down over her eyes. “Twi…you’re such an awesome pony. What would Equestria do without ya?”

“Um…well, since I’m only one pony and the world doesn’t revolve around me, I’m sure it’d be just fine.” Grunting a little, Twilight switched from groping around with her left foreleg to her right one, thus turning away from Vinyl and facing the opposite direction. “Sure, I have some talents and I try to help out whenever I’m called upon, but I’m not bigger than any other pony. Whether you’re Apple Bloom, or Spike, or Gilda, or even Trixie for that matter, we’re all the same on the inside. If I wasn’t here, I doubt it would make any difference.”

For possibly the first time since she got voted off the first time, Vinyl’s smile sank off her face. Hidden behind her goggles, the disc jockey could almost feel her eyes welling up and getting ready to cry. The longer she stared at the back of Twilight’s head, the more her heart raced. She was very glad that Twilight was looking the other direction for the moment, so she couldn’t see the darkening of her white cheeks. It took her a moment, but eventually Vinyl scooted forward a little to be closer to Twilight.

“You’re wrong, Twi,” Scratch whispered under her breath, sagging her head slightly as she analyzed Twilight’s humble words inside her head. “One pony can make all the difference. If you weren’t here, it would be so sad. Your friends would still be leading meaningless lives without the pleasure of having you by their sides, to lead them on adventures, to educate and help them grow, and to share the love that’s inside your heart with the world. If you weren’t here…dang, I wouldn’t want to be here. You may not know me, Twilight Sparkle, but that doesn’t mean I don’t lo…I-I mean, care for you!”

“GOT IT!” Finally wrapping just the tip of her hoof around her key, Twilight wiggled herself backward with her prize eagerly snagged by an inch. “Thanks so much for your help, Vinyl! I really appreciate it! Uh…were you saying something, by the way? Sorry, I wasn’t really paying attention.”

Quickly lifting her head back up, Vinyl’s grin reappeared on her face as quickly as it had vanished. “Way to go, Twi! That’s how you score, right there! Unicorn power for the win! Who says we need our magic to make us special, eh? Give me a high-hoof!” Raising her left hoof in the air, she smacked it against Twilight’s as both unicorns celebrated their achievements.

“Would you like to head back to camp together?” Twilight asked, tossing her key onto her back so she could talk freely without her mouth carrying it.

“That’d be wicked sweet! After you, Twilight.” Once again, Vinyl bowed and allowed Twilight to lead the way back to the camp. The violet mare herself chuckled at Vinyl’s polite behavior, but nodded and had no problem taking the reins of leader, as she was prone to do in most situations. Scratch followed closely behind her fellow unicorn, carrying her key on the strap of her goggles, and carrying her bucket on her back. But, her heart was still racing from her silent monologue moments ago.

Vinyl: It would mean the world to me to make it far in this game with Twilight, ya know? If I don’t win myself immunity with some dumb luck tonight, I might be finding my plot right back on that boat of losers and watching that amazing mare wave back at me for the second time. Man, I don’t know if my heart can take that again. *she gives a shaky grin* But, hey, I’ve got faith! I ain’t giving up, not ever!

~~~

Delicately wrapping nearly an entire roll of toilet paper around the base of the plunger, after using another dozen sheets or so to remove the suction bottom to simply use the device as a long stick and nothing more, Rarity shakily took hold of the toilet tool and stared back down into the toilet at her key. It was still sitting right there at the base of the drain, waiting to be pulled up the bowl. But, no matter how hard she tried, Rarity could not make herself reach into the toilet water to get it.

“Ew…so disgusting…oh, how could Discord give such a horrid task to a lady like me?” Rarity sobbed and whined loudly, clutching the plunger stick with so much toilet paper that it was nearly slipping out of her grasp. Slowly and carefully, Rarity dipped the other end of the stick down into the water, trying to fish out the key without having to touch any part of the toilet herself.

Rarity: It really is times like this that makes a lady such as myself thankful for what I have. While I may not have all the flashy skills that Twilight or even, dare I say Trixie has, I take great pride in being a sophisticated, beautiful unicorn with moderate and lovely skills that any common pony would just love to have for themselves. A distasteful, vile challenge like this wasn’t about to stop me!

“Come on…come on…come on, you little…!” Rarity growled as she struggled to get the end of the plunger stick on top of the key. The toilets were cheap and very small, probably due to most of the campers themselves being rather small in stature, and it was hard to move a vertical piece of wood through murky, nearly translucent water and dragging a silver key up the side of the bowl with it. Whenever Rarity thought she had the key under the end of the wooden plunger stick, she would try and scrape it up the side of the toilet bowl, only to find that it had slipped back off.

Now starting to snarl and lose her patience, Rarity began violently stabbing the end of the plunger hard into the toilet, content with going fast and trying to pull the key up with speed rather than accuracy and in a delicate manner. It wasn’t long until the silver key Rarity was ripping at finally slipped a bit further down the drain, to the point of being impossible to spear with the wooden stick. The tip of the key was thankfully still able to be seen from the top of the toilet bowl, but Rarity had pushed her luck and was now left with no other option.

Realizing that she was screwed, Rarity slumped down on the stall floor and let the plunger stick fall by the wayside. Very slowly, the unicorn lifted her hooves up to her face, staring at them lovingly and almost sadly, like she was never going to see them again. With tears starting to form in her eyes of the unspeakable task she was about to perform, all for a chance to become rich, Rarity gave each of her hooves one final kiss. Then, she gingerly placed her left hoof on the edge of the toilet bowl, while starting to ease her trembling right hoof towards the toilet water.

~~~

Levitating an ice cream gone with three scoops of black ice cream on top in front of her face, Nightmare Moon smacked her lips and eagerly partook in licking at her treat. The large alicorn idly shook her flanks back and forth over her lively seat beneath her shapely rear-end, which was none other the struggling and very exhausted Princess Celestia. Having barely lifted a hoof to deflect every measly attack the small princess had tried to send Nightmare Moon’s way, the ebony alicorn had finally decided that she deserved a treat for dealing with such a nuisance, not to mention a comfortable seat while she enjoyed said treat.

“This…is…an outrage!” Celestia gasped, kicking her hind legs on the left side of Nightmare Moon’s flanks while thrashing her head and forelegs sticking out the alicorn’s right flank. “You…are heavier…than you look! Get off me…this instant! I am not…your seat!”

“Au contraire, dear princess, that is indeed what you are,” Nightmare Moon sneered, grinding her rump firmly down onto the squealing Celestia’s back while continuing to randomly lick at her ice cream. “You are so used to sitting your fat, cake-inflated flanks on your own throne all day and all night long while you force your ‘dear subjects’ to do all your dirty work. Well, guess what? Now, you get to be my throne while I sit here and enjoy an ice cream made of my own dark magic. It really is quite delectable; you should try it sometime.”

“I…will banish you…back to the moon…once this is all over…Nightmare Moon!”

“If you even tried to do that, you would risk harming your little sister, arrogant foal! Did you forget that I am essentially a part of her? If you hurt me, you risk hurting her! Do you even think before you talk?” Giving a quick bounce in place, the annoyed alicorn slammed her rump back down hard upon Celestia’s back, eliciting another sharp squeal out of the young princess. “Now, do shut up, before I am forced to flip you around and sit upon your face instead of your back to silence your big mouth!”

Celestia: My dear subjects, we all must suffer through hard times that will humiliate and mortify us to the point of tears. But, when that happens, it is important to remember to never give up! If you just lie down and quit, then you are letting the hardships of life win against you! That must never happen. *she clears her throat* So, as such, please disregard everything you just saw regarding me.

With Celestia going silent out of fear of getting a face full of big black butt, she silently craned her neck back to glance up at the alicorn. Her key was still dangling from the powerful pony’s necklace, a good two or three feet out of Celestia’s reach. Especially from her current position. Nightmare Moon was busy nonchalantly licking her ice cream cone and casually shaking her flanks over Celestia’s back now and then, having gone away from mocking the tiny princess. Celestia really didn’t want to be the only one not to get her key, but she had already tried to fight Nightmare Moon, but without the use of her powers and with her tiny body, it had gone miserably.

Realizing that there was still one tactic that Celestia hadn’t tried, she sighed and decided that she may as well give it a shot. “Nightmare Moon?” she asked sweetly, giving a polite smile as she peered up at the alicorn yet again. “May I please have that key around your neck?”

Glancing down at Celestia, Nightmare Moon shrugged and idly ripped the key off her necklace. “Sure. Here you go.” She dropped it right in front of Celestia’s nose. “But, that doesn’t mean I’m moving until I finish my ice cream. Now, as I said before, SHUT UP!”

Easy to say, Celestia was much too shocked to really bother saying anything after that anyway.

~~~

Scootaloo nimbly hopped across the stronger part of the river, gulping at the rapids pounding against the small boulders sticking out of the water that the filly was trying to cross. Sitting in the center of the river, on top of an abandoned beaver’s dam, was the key that she sought. Scootaloo was quite nimble and had no problem jumping from rock to rock, but the thought of falling into the river and being swept away without anypony to save her made shivers race down her spine.

With the brave filly almost to the beaver dam, Pinkie Pie ended up burrowing her way up through the ground and poking her head straight up like a prairie dog. She had her own key clenched in her teeth, and still had the rock in her ear from before. She immediately spotted Scootaloo hopping towards the beaver’s dam, so after spitting out her key, the pink pony eagerly called out to her.

“HI, SCOOTALOO!” The shrill hello nearly made Scootaloo lose her balance on the final slippery rock before reaching the dam. “Whatcha doing? Ooh, getting your key, right? Cool! Well, I just got mine! See, it was in an anthill, but before I could get it out, the ants pulled me inside! They were very nice, though; they simply wanted to show me their newest tunnel and get my opinion on it! I told them it was a very good tunnel, but that it needed more concession stands and ice cream vendors. Anyway, after saying goodbye, I tunneled away myself and, well, here I am!”

“That’s very interesting, Pinkie Pie, but I’m kinda busy right now!” Scootaloo yelled out, just barely jumping onto the beaver’s dam while her lower half splashed down in the cold rapids. “I’ll talk to you when I get back to shore, alright?” Snatching up her key in her mouth, Scootaloo wiggled her tush in the air to wring it out, then prepared for her rock-hopping journey back to land.

Pinkie: *bouncing up and down excitedly with her key clutched in her hooves* So, what do you all think I’m going to get in my treasure chest? I really, really hope that this key opens up the chest that I picked out for myself. I felt a little twitch on my right back hoof, so my Pinkie Sense was clearly telling me that there was something good in there! Do you think it’ll be filled with cupcakes? Or candy?

While Pinkie Pie patiently waited, humming one of her many songs to herself while she did, Scootaloo eventually made her way back to land with her key safely tucked in her mouth. Once she was sure she wasn’t going to slip back into the river, Scootaloo spit out her key and tossed it onto her head so she could talk to her former Magical Misfit teammate. Before she could even utter two words, however, Pinkie grabbed her and pulled her in for a tight hug.

“We both got our keys with no problem!” she squealed, eying Scootaloo’s key and comparing it to her own. “Hey, they look both the same, don’t you think? I wonder what yours will open, Scootaloo! Maybe you’ll get something really awesome, like a new scooter! Or maybe a bucket of pearls? Or perhaps a big piece of cherry pie? Or maybe a veggie salad? Or even a rubber chicken!”

“Hey, what is that last one supposed to imply?” Scootaloo frowned, giving Pinkie a little glare.

Pinkie simply giggled and let Scootaloo go. “Oh, nothing. Let’s head back to camp together, okay? We can even sing a random song, if you wanted.”

“Eh…I’m not really in the mood for one of your songs, Pinkie. Maybe next time.”

“Suit yourself. Let’s get scooting along, Scootaloo!”

Scootaloo: I can’t put my hoof on it, but I could’ve sworn that Pinkie Pie teased me not once, but twice. Eh, she’s Pinkie Pie; it’s not like it really matters. *she shrugs* But, still, trotting back together might prove helpful with my current dilemma. I really could use some insight from somepony that isn’t my teacher or Rainbow Dash. Or a burly griffon with a big mouth and a big head. *she rolls her eyes*

Trotting alongside Pinkie, Scootaloo stayed mostly quiet with her head tilted down at the ground. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Pinkie bouncing along with her eyes closed. The party pony happily hummed to herself while her key bounced up and down atop her head. She always seemed to know exactly where to bounce, since she never once ran into anything with her eyes shut. Scootaloo really wondered what went on inside Pinkie’s brain, and why she always seemed so happy.

“Er…Pinkie Pie?” Scootaloo ventured, finally deciding to break the silence between the two ponies.

“Yeah, Scootaloo?” Pinkie opened her eyes and smiled down at the filly, still hopping and never missing a beat.

“Could I…well…could I ask you something…personal?”

“Why of course, silly filly! Your best friend Pinkie Pie is always here to listen to you!” Pinkie tilted her head and stretched her smile out a little further. “What’s on your mind?”

“First, do you promise that you won’t tell anypony else what I tell you, and that you’ll keep it all between us?” Scootaloo stared Pinkie right in the eye, giving her a solemn look.

“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” Pinkie went ahead and did all the proper actions with her hooves. “Pinkie Pie never breaks a Pinkie Promise! You can count on her!”

“Okay then.” Taking a deep breath, Scootaloo shyly glanced back down at the ground one more time before daring to look Pinkie in the eye again. “See, let’s say that there was this filly…er, mare! Yeah, mare. So, there’s this mare, and she really, really likes this other mare. But, the thing is, she isn’t sure if what she feels is simply adoration or…love. She’s not too keen on the subject, see.”

Pinkie Pie nodded. “Uh-huh, uh-huh. Go on.”

“Well…so, this mare…she finds herself with the other mare…involved with a very deadly and dangerous game that involves a lot of perils. The first mare wants to do whatever she can to make the mare that she really likes happy, no matter what! But…no matter what she does…all she hears from everypony else that…uh, happens to be playing the dangerous game as well…is that the mare she’s after is using her and is no good!”

Pinkie nodded again. “Okay. I see. Keep going.”

“The first mare is even told by her teach…er, somepony older than her who is very wise and sweet…that the mare she’s after is mean and no good for her! She’s also told by the second mare’s past best friend that she’s no good, too! And that’s not adding in that the first mare herself…she herself has actually witnessed several instances where the second mare’s behavior has…left her worried. So, the first mare is left very confused and hurt and doesn’t know who to listen to or what to believe! Pinkie…what do you make of that?”

Halting her bouncing, Pinkie sat down and pulled Scootaloo onto her lap. Her smile stayed on her face, but it seemed to have shrunk just a little from a few minutes ago. Very carefully, Pinkie ran her hoof through Scootaloo’s mane, petting and stroking the conflicted filly and staring her right in the eyes. The longer the silent Pinkie Pie stared at her, the more nervous Scootaloo became. She was incredibly scared that Pinkie would call her out that she was the first mare in the story and she would be left in a very embarrassing situation. Thankfully, Pinkie Pie wasn’t that type of pony.

“Well, what does the first mare’s heart say to do?” Pinkie finally asked, poking Scootaloo on the nose. “The heart isn’t just an organ that pumps blood and stuff all through your body and sounds like a drum when you get excited about something, like cotton candy. The heart is a very precious and delicate part of every living creature, whether it be pony or dragon or griffon or chipmunk. When we are left with very hard choices to make, the heart will get what it wants, one way or another. Sometimes…what the heart gets, however, isn’t always what will make it happy. Sometimes it is. It simply depends, really. But, nopony can tell somepony else’s heart what it should or should not do. That just isn’t how it works. When you let somepony start telling you what to think and what to believe, then you’ll never be happy.”

Scootaloo whimpered a little bit. “But, Pinkie…I don’t understand! Are you saying that…we all have to make our own decisions in the end, whether they’re good or bad? But, what about those who worry about us and give us their concerns? Do we just ignore them or listen to them? I don’t get it!”

Pinkie Pie giggled, squeezing Scootaloo into a tight hug against her heart. “Silly filly. Do you know that Twilight tries to lecture me all the time about random stuff? Most of the time, I never understand a single thing that she says, but I just nod and thank her anyway, since it’s the thought that counts. But, I know what’s important, and I always listen when it matters most. When we make decisions in life, there are both good and bad consequences every single time.”

“Every…every time? Can there…never be…the perfect ending?” Scootaloo trembled a little bit, listening to Pinkie Pie’s heartbeat sound just like an irregular drumbeat.

“Of course there can be the perfect ending, silly Scootaloo! You just have to seize the moment and make it perfect, regardless of what bad may come of it! Nothing will ever be perfect, no matter how hard we want them to be, but why should that matter? As long as you’re happy and as long as it’s a perfect ending for you, then nothing else should matter.”

“Pinkie…what…what makes you happiest?” Scootaloo asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

At this point, Pinkie Pie gently let Scootaloo go and rose back up to her hooves. “Everything makes me happy, Scootaloo. I make sure that every second I spend on Equestria is a good one! My friends make me happy. Candy makes me happy. Singing makes me happy. Mr. and Mrs. Cake make me happy. Ponyville makes me happy. Meeting new ponies all over the place makes me happy. Twilight…makes me happy.” Her cheeks turned a little rosy at the mention of Twilight.

Scootaloo, having already turned away from Pinkie and thus failing to see her blush, smiled to herself and quickly nodded her head. “You’re absolutely right, Pinkie Pie. If I want a perfect ending, I just have to make it happen the way I want, no matter what it takes! All I want is to be happy, and one way or another, I’m confident that will happen. Thanks for hearing me out. You’re…you’re a great friend.”

“You’re a great friend too, Scootaloo.” Pinkie giggled softly under her breath. “Hee. I just made a rhyme! Too, Scootaloo! Too, Scootaloo! See, it rhymes!”

Even Scootaloo finally had to laugh at the silly pony. She really did know how to make something so serious turn out so perfect.

~~~

“What happened to you?” Trixie asked, watching a ragged and beaten Rainbow Dash stagger back into camp on hoof, due to her wings having been badly damaged. Her teeth was clutched in her teeth.

Spitting out her key, Dash gave Trixie a pained smirk. “Wrestled with a bear when he dared to get in my face. May…have to take a trip to the infirmary…but, he had it coming. Got my key, though. Stupid map said it was in the wrong cave!”

“Trixie believes that that was your own fault, foal.”

“Shut up! It’s not like you look any better.” The azure unicorn being called out by Rainbow Dash was covered with twigs and a leech or two. Her mane was dripping wet and hanging wildly all over her body, along with her tail. Trixie’s neck and upper back was slightly red, and the way she was slightly trembling indicated that she was incredibly cold.

“Humph. That is what happens when you have to dive under a powerful waterfall. Trixie is strong, but she still has a beautiful, fragile unicorn’s body.” She brushed Rainbow Dash aside and dragged herself over to the treasure chests, her key nestled into her damp mane around the base of her sore neck.

“Beautiful is a bit of a reach, but fragile is right!” Dash snickered and limped over to start checking treasure chests herself. While Trixie shot the Pegasus a dark look, she didn’t retaliate. She was much too sore and weak to pick a fight, regardless if it was against an equally-weakened Rainbow Dash.

“Hey, losers!” Gilda called out, flying back onto the scene with her key clutched in her fist, and not a single knick on her entire body. “Boy, you both look trashed. What happened? Get into a fight with a bunny rabbit? Ha! I took on a large condor and kicked its butt from here to Cloudsdale without even breaking a sweat.”

“YOU are a very large and powerful griffon, while WE are ponies weakened by the island’s curse and unable to use our full powers!” Twilight trotted into camp alongside Vinyl Scratch, giving a little glare to the boasting griffon. “I’m not making excuses, but you don’t have to be so rude and obnoxious, Gilda.”

“Yeah, that’s messed up, yo!” Vinyl included, quickly trotting over to Trixie and Rainbow Dash and examining their bodies. “Can’t you see they’re totally hurt and didn’t have as easy a time as you did?”

“Trixie is fine, foal,” Trixie muttered, gently smacking Vinyl in the face with her wet tail and turning her back to her. “Stop worrying so much about her wellbeing. All she did was dive under a waterfall and hold her breath for around twenty seconds. No big deal.”

“No big deal?!?! Trixie, are you sure you’re okay?” Rushing to her side, Twilight worryingly started to rub the blue pony’s scalp. “A waterfall creates a very powerful force due to the momentum it carries when it crashes straight downwards. A hard enough hit to the head could potentially cause a concussion, and having a concussion while holding your breath underwater is very dangerous!”

Trixie weakly swatted Twilight’s hoof away and again tried to move away from the two unicorns. “G-get away from Trixie! S-she said she was f-fine!”

Rainbow Dash: Was I mad that Twi and Scratch weren’t paying any attention to my injuries? Not at all! I’m no crybaby in constant need of attention, like Trixie. I let my work speak for itself. I took on a bear and kicked its furry rump, so I’m proud enough of that. *she crosses her hooves and frowns* All the same, Scootaloo should’ve been there with me. Just where is that filly anyway?

Proudly clutching her key in her teeth, and carrying her makeshift lasso around her back, Cheerilee trotted back to camp. It had taken her six tries, but she had eventually snagged her key and had successfully pulled it across the cliff without having made it fall down into the gorge. The moment she saw Rainbow Dash’s injuries and Gilda striking poses in the sky above her, the teacher gasped and quickly trotted over.

“Rainbow Dash! Are you alright? What happened?”

Having already tried five different treasure chests and moving onto her sixth, Dash glanced at Cheerilee and snorted. “What do you care, huh? Since when do you care about my wellbeing?”

“I care about everyone on this island, Rainbow Dash, regardless of how selfish, disloyal and rude they may be,” Cheerilee sniffed, narrowing her eyes at the Pegasus. “Despite your disappointing, shocking, and might I add very malicious actions, you are still one of Twilight’s friends and a well-loved Pegasus of Ponyville. I’ll always care about you, deep down inside.”

Dash blinked twice as she registered Cheerilee’s words, staring right into the earth pony’s stoic face. For a moment, she actually looked touched. Then, her lips curled into an amused grin, and she dropped down onto her back to start laughing her head off. Ignoring the bite and claw marks on all four legs and her wounded wings, Rainbow Dash clenched her eyes shut and cackled loudly. She clutched her stomach and rolled around and around on the ground, finding everything Cheerilee said hilarious.

“BWAHAHAHAHAHA! THAT’S RICH! YOU CARE ABOUT ME? YOU’RE SO FUNNY! OH MAN, MY RIBS! THEY’RE HURTING MORE THAN THEY SHOULD! BWAHAHAHAHA! I THINK I’M GOING TO BURST! GILDA, QUICK, GET ME ON LIFE SUPPORT! I NEED AIR, RIGHT AWAY! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!”

Cheerilee watched Dash’s childish actions for a moment, before angrily stomping her hoof and whipping her head away. “You’re despicable, Rainbow Dash! Fine, forget I said anything! I’ll go and check on Trixie instead, you heartless Pegasus!” Completely disgusted with Dash’s uproarious laughter at her stern, yet heartfelt concerns, Cheerilee stomped away from the Pegasus to go and see why Twilight and Vinyl were checking on Trixie. Gilda was left staring down at Rainbow Dash with a raised eyebrow.

Gilda: Man, that was…kinda… *she winces, grits her teeth, and looks like she has to force herself to speak the next word* …mean. *she then hacks and shivers a little bit* I’ve known Dash for quite some time, and she always did love to laugh and act like a little fool for attention, but…dang. That teacher pony may be a bit too polite for my liking, but that was just uncalled for. What’s with Dash?

“Uh…what’s Rainbow Dash laughing about?” Twilight questioned, having heard Rainbow’s laughter, but not having heard exactly what Cheerilee had said to her that had gotten her laughing in the first place.

Cheerilee calmly took a deep breath and shook her head. “It’s nothing. She’s just…being herself. Her true self…that I highly doubt anypony else sees…”

“Er…alright then?” Twilight looked at Cheerilee curiously, but shrugged and pushed it aside, figuring it was just Dash being Dash.

“WILL ALL OF YOU STOP CROWDING AROUND TRIXIE?!?! SHE’S FINE!” Trixie, normally loving attention and taking in every bit she could, found the two unicorns and earth pony around her rather suffocating at the moment, and didn’t know how to handle it.

Trixie: Ugh, what is WITH these ponies? This has never happened before! Usually Trixie is basking in her deserved spotlight of being the greatest and most powerful of ponies ever, but nothing like this! Twilight Sparkle, Cheerilee, Vinyl Scratch…why in the world are they concerned with such minor injuries that Trixie may’ve sustained? *blinks* And…and how did Trixie actually bother to learn all their names?!

“I GOT IT!” Derpy happily flew back into camp, dripping wet and finally holding the key proudly clutched in her hooves. “And it only took exactly…uh…” She glanced up at the sun and tilted her head, letting her eyes roll back and forth as she tried to count up how many tries it took her to dive until she found her key. “Uh…uh…oh! It only took exactly…a really, really lot of tries! But, it was fun! Do I win muffins now?”

“I think a brain and a couple of screws to help your eyes stay in place would be a better bet,” Gilda muttered, watching Derpy in a rather mystified fashion. “Or…actually, you know what? I don’t think that dweeb needs anymore screws inside her ditzy little skull. I have a feeling she has enough of them loose inside her already.”

“WE’RE BACK, EVERYPONY! And Gilda!” Pinkie Pie bounced into the campsite, Scootaloo bounding along happily right by her side. The moment Cheerilee saw the look on Scootaloo’s face, the teacher’s smile grew almost as big as Pinkie’s.

“I’m back as well!” Fluttershy called out, happily flying in with her new bee friends buzzing around her. The queen had given the Pegasus the key free of charge, and despite the stunned expressions on all the faces of the current campers back at camp, they decided to not question just how Fluttershy had worked such a miracle.

“Ow…my aching back…” Celestia moaned, limping out of the mess hall with her key wrapped tightly around her limping left front hoof. When she saw Twilight quickly start over to see what had hurt her, the princess gulped and quickly gave her oncoming student a pained smile. “Oh! Uh…yes, my back is quite in a bit of pain…from having to crawl on my hooves and knees underneath everything in that kitchen! It’s a lot harder on a pony’s back than one would think.”

“Are you sure you’re alright, Princess?” Twilight asked, again worrying about a pony she cared deeply about. She carefully rubbed the princess’ back, trying to find the place where it hurt the most. “If you have been crawling around all day, that means your lower back should hurt the most, right?”

“T-Twilight, my dear student, I’m fine, really!” Quickly and gently pushing Twilight along with her head, Celestia tried to change the subject. “Come on, let’s see what prizes we earned thanks to all our hard work, alright?”

“Well, if you say so, Princess…wait, Rarity?” Twilight turned around and saw a very pale Rarity trotting in last to join the other eleven campers. For the most part, she looked perfectly alright, except for her entire right foreleg. It looked nothing more than a little soggy, but the look on Rarity’s face instantly made Twilight start to worry for her as well.

“Rarity, what happened?” Celestia joined in, noticing the ghastly look that Rarity was exhibiting. While the mare was clutching her key in her trembling right foreleg hoof, she didn’t look at all happy. “Are you hurt? Did Discord do something to you? Did a wild animal go after you? What happened, dear?”

Almost robotically, Rarity slowly shook her head in a perfect horizontal line, back and forth. “Horror. The horror. Nightmare. Complete terror. Scarred. The horror. The horror.”

Twilight: Nightmare? Did Nightmare Moon do something to Rarity? She better not have, or else she’ll have ME to deal with! *she makes her usual cute, scrunched-up pouty face of determination at the camera* I don’t care if I don’t have my magic, nopony terrifies my best friends like that! Whatever Rarity had to do, it must’ve been downright horrifying! Huh…she wasn’t very dirty, though. That’s kinda weird.

“HA! GOT IT!” Having eventually stopped her laughing fit, Rainbow Dash had went right back to trying to find the correct treasure chest for her key. She finally heard a loud click as she turned her silver key in the lock to the treasure chest farthest to the east. “Get ready, everyone! For once I open this chest, you all will be outta luck! I’m Rainbow Dash, and I’m the luckiest mare alive!” She eagerly bucked open the top of the chest as everyone watched with annoyed anticipation. “Feast your eyes, losers, as my chest gives me…” She peeked into her chest, and her eyes bulged out of her head. “…NOTHING?!?!”

All the ponies that had gathered around Dash looked at one another, then glanced back at the stunned Pegasus staring down into her empty chest. Cheerilee wore a look of absolute glee at this wonderful news, while Gilda curiously flapped over the top of the chest to make sure that Dash was telling the truth. Indeed, the inside of the treasure chest was completely empty.

“Ooh, tough break, Rainbow Crash,” Gilda mocked, reaching down and jabbing the crestfallen Dash on the head with a talon. “What was that about us being losers? It looks like the only REAL loser today is none other than YOU! Things never change, isn’t that right, Dash?”

“This…this has to be some mistake…I won’t accept this! DISCORD!” The moment Rainbow Dash screamed out the host’s name, she instantly stood on her hurt hind legs and shook her hooved fist up at him. “What in the world is THIS?” She gestured behind her at the chest.

“That…would be an empty treasure chest, Rainbow Dash. What is so difficult to understand about that? Do you perhaps need glasses? I can help you with that, if you want.” Discord snapped his fingers, producing a pair of glasses with wide, square lens that he presented to the enraged Pegasus.

Angrily smacking the glasses aside, Rainbow Dash continued to shake her fist up at the draconequus. “I know what it is, smart guy. I meant how come my key opened it? I had to fight a stupid bear just to get this key! How is that fair giving me such a hard key and it ends up unlocking an empty chest?”

Discord stuck out one claw. “First off, Rainbow Dash, you were the very first one to pick a map, so you chose to go for that key. You simply had bad luck.” Discord stuck out another claw. “Second, the map clearly read that the key was in the cave on the other side of the river, not in the bear’s cave that you went into. So, again, that was your own fault with reading your map wrong.” Discord stuck out a third claw. “Finally, finding that key took the least amount of effort, since the cave it was in was completely empty and very safe, and you can easily fly across rivers, so naturally such an easy-to-find key was given the empty chest. Anymore asinine questions that you would like me to answer?”

“Yeah, I’m not happy about this, and I won’t stand for it. I demand a prize, and I’m not going to stop pestering you until you give me one, bub!” Rainbow Dash crossed her hooves over her chest and stomped one of her hind legs on the ground, wincing at bite near her right ankle.

Discord’s eyebrow slowly rose up over his forehead as he heard Dash’s threat. “Oh? Very well. Here’s a prize for you.” Reaching down, Discord grabbed Rainbow Dash firmly around the middle and proceeded to cram her right into her empty chest. “It’s none other than a new bed for you to sleep in! It’s rather cramped and very tight, but for such a rude and entitled brat like yourself, I think it’ll do just fine.” Slamming the top of the chest down and turning the key back in place, Discord nodded his head and crossed his arms. “There we go! Now everyone gets a prize today! Aren’t I just the nicest?”

“Indeed, Discord,” Cheerilee giggled, “I think that’s the perfect prize for Rainbow Dash.”

“DISCORD, NO! SHE’LL SUFFOCATE IN THERE!” Twilight desperately tried racing over to unlock the chest again and free her friend, but Discord quickly snapped his fingers and made a large steel cage appear around the chest, making the key out of reach for Twilight to grasp when Discord removed it from the hole and set it atop the twitching chest.

“Dear Twilight, she still has the keyhole to breathe through!” Discord explained, patting the frantic purple unicorn on the head. “You simply must learn to relax. Nightmare Moon knows how to relax in style; you could take some lessons from her.” The draconequus flashed an evil grin over to Celestia, who immediately widened her eyes and felt her cheeks darkening.

“THIS STILL ISN’T RIGHT, DISCORD! GET HER OUT OF THERE!” Twilight reached through the bars of the cage, but her hooves fell way short of reaching the isolated key.

“Tut-tut, not until after all the chests are opened. Once they all are, then my cage will vanish and you’re free to unleash your obnoxious friend.” With a rather high-pitched and spirited cackle of chaotic glee, Discord vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving Twilight grieving over having Rainbow Dash trapped in a chest and Cheerilee trying to suppress her happy giggles.

“Come on, everypony, hurry up!” Scootaloo cried, racing around and trying her key in every lock she could, “We can’t leave Rainbow in there! Keyhole or not, she could easily suffocate!”

“I think I’ll be taking my time,” Gilda yawned, purposely making her descent to the ground as slow as she could, and making her trip to her first attempted treasure chest to unlock even slower. Scootaloo glared at her for this.

Cheerilee: Ah, such wonderful justice! That’s called karma, Rainbow Dash. It always comes back to bite you in the end. I tried to show sympathy to you, and you spat in my face. Well, looks like you get your punishment in the form of a harsh timeout. Not bad on Discord’s part. *she gives the camera an innocent smile* Please don’t think of me as mean or anything. Dash simply had that coming, that’s all.

One by one, each unopened treasure chest was attempted to be unlocked by each pony or Gilda. Vinyl was the next pony to get a chest open, and found nothing but soaps, shampoos, toothpastes, and other toiletries waiting for her inside. Fluttershy found her chest containing an overhaul of every type of berry, including strawberries, blueberries, cranberries, and huckleberries. Cheerilee’s treasure chest contained nothing but pictures of Discord posing in a number of places, including on Celestia’s throne in Canterlot.

Cheerilee: *rolling her eyes as she looked at the pictures* Not…the greatest prize in the world.

Fluttershy: Mmmph! *chewing with a mouthful of berries, a lot of juices racing down her chin*

Vinyl: *giggling and applying deodorant to one of her foreleg pits* I like smelling nice for Twi.

Twilight’s chest ended up containing a complete set of How To Take Over The World books, and included was a small magazine on how to be evil. Rarity’s treasure chest contained a gold plunger. Gilda’s treasure chest contained fresh bread and other pastry products, including noodles, tortellini, pizza rolls, and muffins.

Gilda: I’m not exactly crazy about bread. It’s too tasteless. I prefer meat products more. Meh.

Rarity: *exploding in a very fiery and very deadly rage* IS THIS SUPPOSED TO BE A JOKE?!?!

Twilight: Er…normally, I’d be thrilled with new books, but…yeah, this is kinda awkward.

Celestia’s chest contained special boxes of cookies shaped like large alicorns sitting on what seemed to be smaller alicorns. Scootaloo’s chest contained piles of Discord’s favorite bubblegum, which allowed for every explosive bubbles to be blown. Derpy’s chest contained broccoli, spinach, lettuce, and other veggies in the shape of Princess Celestia.

Derpy: *with her clam earrings still on, she holds up a broccoli shaped like Celestia* What is this?

Scootaloo: Aw, so cool! I love chewing gum! *she pops a black piece of gum into her mouth*

Celestia: *narrowing her eyes at the camera* I strongly think that my treasure chest was rigged.

Gasping loudly, Pinkie Pie found that her key ended up unlocking the chest that she had wanted from the very beginning. The moment the key turned in place and the loud click echoed out, Pinkie squealed in complete and utter excitement. She threw the top of the chest off and peered inside. The squeals she let out easily outmatched the aforementioned squeals of delight at getting the chest she wanted. Reaching inside the treasure chest, Pinkie pulled out a small doll. It was a unicorn doll, colored purple and owning a very familiar cutie mark.

“Twilight, look! My prize is a doll, of YOU!” Peeking back into the chest, Pinkie blinked a little bit. “Oh, and there’s also some needles in there. I don’t really know what those are for, but who cares? I GOT A TWILIGHT SPARKLE DOLL! YAAAAAAAAAAAAY!” The eager pony squeezed her new doll into her chest and began cuddling it and petting it and almost starting to cry in joy.

Looking very uneasy and a bit unnerved, Twilight took a step back. “Er…did you say…that there are needles in the treasure chest to go along with that…doll…that looks like me?”

From nearby, Trixie snickered a little bit. “Such a shame Trixie didn’t get that chest. It would’ve been a very nice prize that Trixie would’ve made sure was put to good use.” Twilight’s tail drooped far between her legs as she tried to hide her face, while Pinkie completely ignored the needles and just continued to snuggle her new Twilight doll.

Pinkie: I couldn’t have asked for a better prize! I knew that chest was special. It was totally meant for me! *making sure no one was looking, Pinkie planted a gentle kiss right on the top of her Twilight Sparkle doll’s forehead, before closing her eyes and gently rocking it back and forth against her chest* Now…I’ll have Twilight with me no matter where I am…what more could I have asked for?

“Huh…wait, where’s the immunity pass?” Cheerilee asked, suddenly realizing that all the chests except for one had been opened. Everyone except Rainbow Dash looked over at Trixie, who was just unlocking the final chest and peering inside to see what she had gotten.

“What is this? All Trixie gets is a piece of paper? What a rip-off!” Reaching down deep into the chest, Trixie pulled out a shiny piece of silver cardboard and was about to throw it away. However, the moment she saw the words Immunity Pass written neatly across it in big, bold letters, Trixie’s frown turned upside down. “IT’S THE IMMUNITY PASS! TRIXIE WINS IMMUNITY!”

“Indeed you do, Beatrix!” Discord called out, reappearing in a flash of light and allowing the bars around Dash’s cage to finally fall. While Scootaloo and Twilight hurried over to help the locked Pegasus, Discord watched the bouncing blue unicorn instead. “The immunity pass is all yours. That means, everyone but Trixie is up for elimination tonight at the ceremony! As I stated before, all of you may keep the prizes that you have won, or share them with the others. The choice is yours. If there’s no other questions, I’ll just be…”

“Discord, don’t you ever lock a pony up in a chest again!” Twilight interrupted, staring up at the host and scolding him, “That is very dangerous and possibly life-threatening, and while you are already a monster with a love for chaos and destruction, I will not stand by and let you harm my friends in such a manner! Furthermore, I must protest against the prize I got, since it’s not really something that suits my…”

Reaching down and poking Twilight on the nose, Discord interrupted the mare right back by making a cherry appear where he touched. “You talk too much, dear. Try to work on that, would you?” While Twilight looked at the nearest camera with a confused expression and a new cherry on her nose, Discord vanished for real. Rainbow Dash was ultimately let out of the chest by Scootaloo, and Pinkie Pie eagerly raced over to inspect Twilight’s new accessory.

“GAH! FINALLY!” Taking a huge gulp of air and painfully stretching her sore wings, Rainbow Dash quickly looked down at Scootaloo. Even before telling her thank you for freeing her, Dash had other matters to ask about. “Who won immunity?”

“Trixie did.” Scootaloo’s ears drooped a little at not getting thanked, but she didn’t say anything.

“Meh…she did, huh? Lucky unicorn.” Dash frowned over at the giddy unicorn clutching her immunity pass, but just shook her head and yanked Scootaloo’s ear towards her lips to whisper into it. “You and I have some strategizing to do. Meet me in the infirmary so we can talk about tonight.” Before Scootaloo could even give an affirmative, Dash pushed the filly aside and stomped off towards the medical building that was becoming a second home to some of the more accident-prone ponies.

“Don’t you worry about a thing, Twilight,” Pinkie smiled, placing her hooves on Twilight’s shoulders and leaning her mouth in towards her friend’s. “I’ll get that cherry off you nice and gently.” With Twilight too confused and befuddled to really give a reasonable protest or comment to such a weird situation, Pinkie softly started to nibble away at the stuck cherry to Twilight’s nose, and it wasn’t long before Pinkie was nibbling nothing more than Twilight’s own nose itself.

Twilight: *giving the camera a blank stare* Pinkie…just ate a cherry…off my nose. And…I’m pretty sure her tongue ended up going inside my left nostril. I’m…not entirely sure…but I think that happened.

Trixie: *showing off her sparky immunity pass to the camera* Trixie won immunity, Trixie won immunity! Yes, yes, yes! Dumb luck or not, it means that Trixie is very lucky and isn’t going anywhere!

Rainbow Dash: Trixie winning immunity? That’s a slight curveball, but not that big a deal. She was mostly a Plan B for tonight anyway. My prime target is still set up for another downfall: Gilda.

~~~

With Nightmare Moon having quickly fixed up Rainbow’s body, the Pegasus was resting on one of the infirmary beds with Scootaloo sitting bolt upright next to her. “First off, Scoots, I don’t know or really care what Gilda told you when she pony-napped you. Just know that it was all lies and that I’m the only one that you need to listen to, alright?”

“Y-yes, Rainbow Dash. But…uh, why didn’t you come to rescue me?”

Dash shrugged. “That would’ve made things a bit too obvious and would’ve made it look even more like we were in an alliance. If I had just chased you around everywhere, it wouldn’t have looked good. What, are you saying that Gilda hurt you or something? You’re a big girl, right? You didn’t need me to rescue you. Besides, it was your chance to get some information out of Gilda! Did you?”

“Um…I guess.” Suppressing her hurt feelings at Dash caring more about the game than her wellbeing, Scootaloo quickly discussed what Gilda had told her about Dash herself. “She was basically saying how horrible you are, and how you’re lying about taking me to the final two, since you would never backstab your element of harmony friends, and…”

Quickly raising a hoof, Dash shushed the filly. “That’s all I needed to hear, squirt. That just confirms how twisted Gilda is! Trying to manipulate you like that and turn you against me! Well, it’s time for her to go tonight. That’s who you’re to vote for, alright? I’m pretty sure most of the others are onboard with that plan, since Gilda isn’t well-liked, but I’ll go and chat with them just to make sure.”

“But…Rainbow Dash…Gilda actually had a good point,” Scootaloo protested, trying to stand up for herself, “How can you take me to the final two if you still have four other elements of harmony here? AND Princess Celestia for that matter? I…I really struggle you seeing voting off THEM instead of a little filly like…”

“No time for idle chitchat, Scoots. Just trust me, alright?” Dash hopped out of the bed, ignoring Scootaloo’s concerns and hurrying to get out the infirmary door. “Come on. The ceremony will be soon. I can’t wait to see Gilda’s face when she gets sent off for a second time!”

“But, Rainbow…” Scootaloo’s pleas went unheard, as the filly was once again left in the darkness.

Rainbow Dash: Alright, all my loyal and awesome viewers, the plan is simple for tonight. Gilda is going home for a second time, and this time she had better STAY gone! Even if I don’t have that stupid teacher, that ignorant Trixie, or that crazy disc jockey onboard, it won’t matter. With the princess by my side, my four remaining elements of harmony friends, Scoots, and Derpy, that’ll be more than enough!

~~~

The moment she saw Rainbow Dash leave the infirmary, Cheerilee rushed over and caught Scootaloo before she could follow. “Scootaloo! Great to see you, sweetie!” Pulling her student into her hooves, Cheerilee lovingly nuzzled the saddened filly and gave her back a few rubs. “Nice prize you got today, by the way. Er…but, you might want to read the label when you want to blow a bubble, alright?”

“I don’t really know how to blow one anyway, Miss Cheerilee.” Scootaloo smiled at her teacher, returning all the affection as much as she could. “Oh, I’m voting for Gilda tonight. Is that who you were voting for, too?”

Widening her eyes at this news, but realizing it was just as she thought, Cheerilee shook her head. “No. Scootaloo, dear? Could you…please vote for Derpy instead?”

“What? Derpy?” Scootaloo was completely taken aback by this request. “But, why?”

Clearing her throat to buy a little time, Cheerilee hurried to come up with an excuse. “Because…she is in danger of…inflicting further harm upon herself! Did you not see the clams that are fastened painfully onto her ears? The poor dear is so accident-prone and clumsy that the more she stays on this dangerous island, the more liable she is to sustain a very horrifying injury! We must send her home, for her own good. You understand, right?”

Scootaloo gave her teacher an odd look. “Are…are you sure?”

“Yes, Scootaloo, I swear to you. Please, vote for Derpy. I’ve already got Twilight and her friends onboard, and they all agree with me. We must do this. As they say, you must be cruel to be kind.” When Scootaloo still looked like she had doubts, Cheerilee pulled her a little closer and stared into her eyes. “Scootaloo, please, just trust me. I love you, okay? I’m your teacher, and your best friend, and I have always been there for you. Just do it, alright?”

Hearing those three sacred words be uttered by her own teacher before Rainbow Dash had ever even dared think of such words, Scootaloo choked and felt tears appearing in her eyes. Very slowly, she nodded her head and gave her teacher a look that said that she would do as she asked. The two then shared a deep, passionate hug with one another, with Scootaloo’s tears rushing down Cheerilee’s back.

Scootaloo: F-forgive me, Rainbow Dash…b-but, we can get G-Gilda out next time. *she wipes her nose on her left foreleg* If Miss Cheerilee w-wants to get out Derpy…I-I have to go with her…I’m sorry.

Cheerilee: I feel really terrible about this, but like I said, you must be cruel to be kind. I lied to Scootaloo about voting off Derpy; I simply had to talk her into spoiling her vote. See, my plan is to pull off a huge blindside and vote out Rainbow Dash tonight! Trixie, Vinyl, and Gilda are all easily onboard, but now I need Princess Celestia, Derpy, and Fluttershy to help out as well for this big plan to work right.

~~~

“So…you want me to vote for Scootaloo?” Celestia asked, peering curiously at Cheerilee. “But, don’t you care deeply for her? Why are you wanting to vote her out?”

“Because the poor dear cannot take the stress of being here much longer,” Cheerilee explained, “Haven’t you seen how worn-down and depressed she’s been? This place is simply not good for her. It turns you into somepony that you don’t want to be, or it makes you lose yourself inside! Just look at what Rarity ended up doing to Silver Spoon.”

“Well, I do suppose you have a point…” Celestia didn’t look very confident on this, but she did give a nod to Cheerilee. “Okay, very well. Let’s vote off Scootaloo and send her home. She’ll be safer there. After all, the closer this game gets to the end, the more danger I think we might all be in.”

Cheerilee: I know the princess wouldn’t fall for the same story that I told Scootaloo about Derpy having to go due to her being a danger to herself, so I instead played at Celestia’s motherly instincts. She looked over Twilight since she was a filly, so while she may not admit it, Princess Celestia is a very caring pony. Telling her about Scootaloo’s depression was the perfect way to make her spoil her own vote.

~~~

“Vote for Scootaloo? But…that’s not what Rainbow Dash told me to do…” Fluttershy shook her head, sighing deeply after listening to Cheerilee’s plea. “I know what you’re saying might be true, but…I can’t go against Rainbow Dash like that! She’d be…very upset…that I lied to her.”

“Please, Fluttershy, will you at least think about it?” Cheerilee urged.

“Yeah…I’ll think about it. I’ll make a decision by the time we have to vote tonight. I promise.”

~~~

“Derpy, if you write down Rainbow Dash’s name tonight, I’ll buy you all the muffins you want when we get back to Ponyville! How does that sound?”

Derpy’s eyes spun around curiously in their sockets, while her head tilted and made her clam earrings brush against her cheeks. “That sounds really nice! But…um, isn’t writing down somepony’s name…like, not a good thing? Don’t we write down names of those we DON’T want here?”

“Er…um…you’re thinking too much on it, Derpy!” Cheerilee chuckled nervously, “Just write down Dash’s name and I’ll buy you a lot of muffins, okay?”

“Okay!”

Derpy: Rainbow Dash already promised me a whole trainload of muffins if I wrote down Gilda’s name! But, now Cheerilee is promising me a lot of muffins, too! Ooh, so many muffins…so little time!

~~~

“So, the vote tonight is rather easy, right?” Twilight stated, looking at Rarity and Pinkie. “Rainbow Dash says to vote for Gilda, and I have to agree. She’s just the logical choice at this point. You two agree?”

“Yes, darling.”

“I suppose so. It’s still sad having to vote anyone out at this point, though.”

Twilight patted Pinkie on the back. “It’s the name of the game, I’m afraid, Pinkie Pie. Only one can ultimately win, apparently. We’ll all have to go eventually.”

~~~

“That Rainbow Dash is so not the wild pony that likes to party! She’s going down, dude!” Vinyl winked at Trixie and lifted up her goggles a little. “You’re down with that too, right?”

“Of course, you obnoxious oaf. Eliminate the competition, and Rainbow Dash is the competition. She must go down. Preferably go down hard, since Trixie can’t stand her.” The unicorn flashed her immunity pass in Vinyl’s face. “But, with this, all Trixie knows is that she’s as safe as a whistle tonight!”

~~~

“Gilda, I know that you have personal ties to her in the past, but…”

“Those times are long gone, geeky teacher. I’m ready to boot her to the curb once and for all.”

Cheerilee nodded her head up at the griffon. “I’m with you all the way. Hopefully, Rainbow Dash will be taking the dock of shame to the boat of losers and leaving us for good tonight!”

Cheerilee: I’ve done everything I could to try and make this work. This is all for the sake of Scootaloo, or else I would never stoop to such levels. If it all works out, Celestia, Fluttershy and Scootaloo will spoil their votes. Then, that leaves me, Derpy, Gilda, Trixie and Vinyl all to vote for Dash, which would mean that Twilight, Pinkie, Dash and Rarity’s votes for Gilda won’t matter! This can work!

~~~

Assembling at the bonfire ceremony again was just a routine by this time for some of the campers. The only ones who didn’t seem to mind them was Cheerilee, Derpy, Pinkie and Vinyl. And Discord, for that matter. As such, when the twelve remaining campers trotted over to the roaring campfire for the night’s elimination, most of them were in moderately low spirits. Cheerilee was calmly excited at the thought of finally allowing Scootaloo to enjoy herself on the island without being manipulated and forced to be a slave to Rainbow Dash after voting her out.

When all the ponies and the one griffon were sitting on the wooden bleachers, Discord appeared on the scene in a flash of sparklers and other fireworks, most of which ended up nearly striking several ponies. Ignoring the yells of rage and furious outcries from the campers, Discord put his claws on his hips and waited for everyone to calm down. It took nearly five full minutes for Rarity to finally calm down and remain seated where she was, having had a very traumatizing day as it was and not wishing for anymore drama until she went to bed.

“Well, my little ponies and griffon, it’s time to once again vote off one of your own,” Discord sang out, pretending to sob a little bit. “Oh, such a tragic time indeed, when you must so thoughtlessly write down the name of someone that you want to see go bye-bye and lose their chance at becoming rich! Ooh, it’s just so evil, don’t you think?”

“Just shut up and get on with it,” Gilda snapped.

“Alright, alright! Bossy bird. If there’s no questions, then let the voting begin! Dear seat…oh, I mean, dear Celestia, do take your turn in the confessional first, won’t you?” While the entire cast gave Celestia a strange look at Discord’s odd miswording insult, Celestia’s face turned beet red as she hurried off to make her vote.

Celestia: *showing the camera that she voted for Scootaloo* This seems like an odd vote to make, but nopony knows you better than your teacher, so I guess it’s your time, dear. *she puts the ballot in the box*

Cheerilee: *showing the camera that she voted for Rainbow Dash* Finally, with you out of the picture, Scootaloo will open her eyes and learn to have fun! Goodbye, Dash. *she puts the ballot in the box*

Rainbow Dash: *showing the camera that she voted for Gilda* Stepping up to the plate for the second time, it’s Gilda! And…it’s another strikeout! Ooh, such a shame. Loser! *she puts the ballot in the box*

Scootaloo: *showing the camera that she voted for Derpy* I don’t really fully understand this vote at all, but if Miss Cheerilee says that this is what is needed, then okay. *she puts the ballot in the box*

When Vinyl made her way back to her seat, Discord snapped his fingers and had the ballot box appear in front of him. “All twelve votes have been cast! Once a decision is reached, the vote is absolutely, positively, undeniably final! The loser who is voted off must say bye-bye and get onboard the boat of losers. And, this time, they CANNOT come back! Not now, not tomorrow, not yesterday, not seventeen days from now, not EVER! So, with that, I shall read the results.”

“Hey, Pinkie, you forgot to do your ‘forever’ yell,” Twilight commented, turning to look at her friend, but after seeing that she was busy cuddling her Twilight doll, the real Twilight paled a little bit and decided to not persist on the matter.

“First vote…Derpy.” Discord showed the ballot with Derpy’s name written upon it with Scootaloo’s usual sloppy writing. Derpy just blinked and tilted her head, while Scootaloo tossed a smile to Cheerilee.

“Second vote…Scootaloo.” Discord showed the ballot with Scootaloo’s name written with Celestia’s royal and very neat signature. The filly herself, who had just looked proud of herself, was now saddened.

“Third vote…Rainbow Dash.” Discord showed the third ballot with Rainbow Dash’s name written on it.

“Fourth vote…Rainbow Dash.”

“Fifth vote…Rainbow Dash.”

“Sixth vote…Rainbow Dash. That’s four votes Rainbow Dash, one vote Scootaloo, and one vote Derpy.” At this point, Scootaloo was looking at Cheerilee with a confused expression, but Cheerilee was much too busy bouncing in place and grinning excitedly for Dash’s ultimate elimination.

“Seventh vote…Gilda.” And, just like that, Cheerilee’s smile vanished from her face.

“Eighth vote…Gilda.”

“Ninth vote…Gilda.”

“Tenth vote…Gilda. That’s four votes Gilda, four votes Rainbow Dash, and two votes left.” Gilda herself just frowned and shook her head, while Scootaloo was now glaring at Cheerilee, since it was obvious that she had lied to her about Derpy going home. Celestia also was frowning over at Cheerilee. The teacher herself, though, was looking very nervous as she awaited the final two votes.

“Eleventh vote…Gilda. That’s five votes Gilda, four votes Rainbow Dash, and only one vote left.” As soon at that vote was read, Cheerilee’s ears drooped, and she hung her head. She knew her plan had failed.

“Ninth overall loser of Total Magic Pony Island…” Discord flipped over the final ballot. “…Gilda.”

Rainbow Dash immediately pumped her hooved fist and cackled in delight. Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie and Fluttershy were all nodding expectantly to one another. Gilda looked furious, but a lot calmer than she did the last time. Trixie and Vinyl both looked disappointed. Derpy was too busy tapping her clam earrings to really care. Cheerilee looked absolutely crestfallen, and the glares she was getting from Celestia and Scootaloo sealed the deal of her huge failure.

“You lied to me, Miss Cheerilee!” Scootaloo snapped, angrily turning her back to her teacher and stomping off back towards the cabins. “I can’t believe I listened to you over Rainbow Dash.”

“You and I are also going to have a little chat later on, Cheerilee,” Celestia said tartly, shaking her head in disapproval at the earth pony.

“What exactly is wrong with them?” Twilight asked, looking to Cheerilee for answers, but the teacher looked sick to her stomach and couldn’t listen to anything from the unicorn right now.

Leaning over, Rainbow Dash whispered into Cheerilee’s ear. “Nice try, nice try. Almost, but not quite. Sadly, almost doesn’t count around here.” She mockingly patted the teacher on the back, then snickered before turning to bid farewell to Gilda. “Guess this is it for you, Gilda. Yet again, I outlasted you. It really must stink to be in your position, huh?”

“At least I can leave with my dignity intact this time, which is less than I can say for you, Dash!” Gilda got up, turning around and growling at her former friend. “Not only a flip-flop, but also a total jerk. And that’s something I never thought I’d say! Sure, I may be heading outta here, but who’s the real loser today, huh?”

“What’s that supposed to mean? You lost! I outplayed you! YOU’RE the loser, and always will be!”

Gilda grunted, just shaking her head and slowly rambling down the path towards the dock of shame. “Sure, whatever. Good luck, by the way, trying to take that little filly to the end with you. I only wish I could be here to watch that plan blow up in your face and watch you fall in flames. I’ll be laughing the entire way, Dash.”

“Wait a minute. Rainbow Dash, you said you’d take Scootaloo to the end with you?” Rarity narrowed her eyes at the Pegasus, putting her hooves on her hips. “And where exactly does that leave us, huh?” She motioned towards Twilight, Fluttershy and Pinkie.

Before Rainbow Dash could give an answer, Discord appeared in front of the camera. “Sadly, we don’t have any more time to find out. With Gilda voted off for the second, and hopefully final time, that leaves us with eleven campers again. Is there a division within this so-called group of ‘friends’? Will Cheerilee manage to bounce back from her failed plan? Can Scootaloo ever do anything for herself without having to listen to someone? Find out all these answers next time, right here, on…”

“HEY, I HAVE A ROCK IN MY EAR!” Pinkie gasped, reaching up and finally feeling what had been lodged in her ear all day long. She cuddled her Twilight doll some more and giggled while removing the rock. “Thanks so much for telling me it was there, Twilight #2! You know everything, don’t you?”

“…Total…Magic…Pony…Island!” Discord flung his arms out and struck a pose, but stomped his foot and looked very annoyed. “No, that will not do! That was absolutely terrible! Pinkie Pie, girl, you just ruined the end of the episode, and I demand to know what you’re going to do about it!”

Pinkie held up Twilight #2 in response. “Ask Twilight! She knows everything, so she’ll be sure to fix it!”

Discord stared at Twilight #2 for a very long time, with Twilight herself sitting there dazed and confused as ever. Very slowly, Discord just covered his face with his claws and motioned for the cameras to fade.

Total Magic Pony Island

by Tailslover13

Pilot Episode

Episode 1: Disharmony Is Magic (Part 1)

Episode 2: Disharmony Is Magic (Part 2)

Episode 3: The Ticked-Off Master

Episode 4: Apple Bloom Season

Episode 5: Griffon A Brawl-Off

Episode 6: Ego Busters

Episode 7: Diamondshy

Episode 8: Think Before You Derp

Episode 9: Strudel Gossip

Episode 10: Fail Of The Century

Episode 11: Paintball Dust-Up

Episode 12: Fall Of The Mighty

Episode 13: Fair-Weather Enemies

Episode 14: Suited For Duress

Episode 15: Feeling Dashie Mean