As the sun shone down on the Dock of Shame, Discord was standing in front of the cameras. By this point it had become very much a routine for him, and he was never going to get tired of doing it. "Last time on Total Magic Pony Island," He began to narrate as clips from yesterday challenge started to play. "With half the contestants left in the game I figured it was time to raise the stakes. After all, most of the ponies left are not the ones I expected to see make it this far."
Another clip showed Discord showing off a huge two level stand for the ten ponies, as well as a large stage and a curtain that once pulled back displayed a magnificent carriage. "Of course, I also decided it wouldn't hurt to offer up a prize for the contestant that won the challenge, though a certain somepony," A clip briefly showed Nightmare Moon destroying the carriage after the challenge was over. "Got a little too trigger happy because of who won. I mean, I wasn't happy about it either but as the host I can't show my favoritism outward."
Discord's narration continued to play as the challenge itself was displayed, showing ponies partaking in various dares. "Yours truly thought it would be fun to let the contestants do some dares, and even dare others to do dares. I'm honestly surprised how many took me up on that offer, even after it blew up in their faces." A clip showed Pinkie Pie eliminating herself when she tried to get Rainbow Dash to do a dare, and Rainbow won it.
The clips continued to role, soon focusing on a rather unusual development that had occurred as a result of an accident. And Discord was explaining the whole thing. "When Rainbow Dash started to get worried that her alliance might not be working out like she hoped, she made a mistake and destroyed Vinyl Scratch's one of a kind glasses. And oh boy was that a mistake!"
The next clip to roll depicted Vinyl Scratch flying off into an all consuming, blinding rage as a result of her glasses being destroyed. All the while Discord could be heard narrating. "Vinyl Scratch's newfound rage propelled her all the way to the final dare and almost to victory," But a flicker of the camera showed the DJ unicorn coming up just short and falling into a water tank. "So that meant old sunbutt... I mean Princess Celestia won invincibility for the round. And Vinyl believed she didn't deserve to be in the game anymore."
Day soon turned to night as the ten ponies were shown huddled around a familiar fire while Discord was narrating. "Ultimately, Vinyl got her wish when the votes came in and she was eliminated," Then one final clip showed Twilight rushing up to give her fellow unicorn a hug. "However, it would seem that a certain somepony wasn't willing to let Vinyl leave without making a confession of her own. And Vinyl took it all in stride."
The camera now cut back to the Dock of Shame as Discord stood front and center, commanding attention. "We're in the single digits now, just nine contestants left. And one of them will not be making it into the elite eight. Find who will be next to walk off the Dock of Shame on Total Magic Pony Island!"
Compared to the last couple of challenges, the surviving contestants didn't say anything to each other after the elimination ceremony. Not even after everypony else had seen Twilight Sparkle rush up and give Vinyl Scratch a hug.
The only one who had anything further to say on the matter was Rainbow Dash, and she was only talking about it in the confessional. "Well, at least that's another vote against me out of the way," She said to herself. "If I can just get rid of Trixie in the next challenge, there shouldn't be anything standing between me and the million bits."
However, Twilight was still reeling from the shock of everything that had just transpired. And in the confessional she was breathing heavily, trying to contemplate her personal feelings. "I don't even what compelled me to say that. I don't even know if I really like mares like that. But, I've never felt this way around anypony before," She looked down at herself. "Is this my first crush? It's nothing like what my romance books said," Then she proceeded to shake her head. "I've gotta stay focused! For all I know it's the island making me do this! I can't let it drive me crazy too!"
After those confessional clips, the contestants all left the area surrounding the Dock of Shame and returned to their cabins for a good night's sleep. However, even though they were in separate cabins Princess Celestia couldn't help but worry about Twilight. So much so that she stood waiting for her faithful student outside. "Twilight, you know you can trust me, right?" She immediately inquired.
"I... yes, why would you ever ask that of me?" Twilight blinked in uncertainty.
The shrunken down sun princess was quick to offer that maternal like warmth she had a tendency to project, especially towards Twilight. "If you wanna talk about anything at all, you can do that with me. I won't judge you for it."
Even somepony as slow on the uptake as Twilight could see where the conversation was heading, and the unicorn was quick to cut off any possible discussion of it. "It doesn't mean anything, Princess Celestia. Vinyl told me herself that we can talk about it after this whole show is over. For right now, it's best if we all take her advice and do that."
Celestia reluctantly decided not to press further. "Very well, Twilight. I'll respect your wishes. But sooner or later, you're going to have to at least come to terms with your feelings. Whatever you decide to do with them after that is on you."
Twilight didn't bother acknowledging that statement, instead pretending to yawn as she made her way over to her cabin. "Goodnight, Princess Celestia."
"Goodnight, Twilight," Princess Celestia replied while watching her student slip inside. She then shook her head and let out a sigh. "Twilight, why do you lie to yourself? Do you really not trust me?" But she knew that it was pointless to dwell any further on the subject. It seemed that no amount of gentle persuasion could get her student to open up.
When next morning dawned, Rainbow Dash waited until Princess Celestia had left the cabin that they shared together, and then went outside to inform Scootaloo and Derpy to stay behind with her and Fluttershy. The four pegasi ended up huddling together inside the empty right side cabin that had once been occupied by the Royal Ruffians.
Derpy was more than a little anxious, and even Fluttershy and Scootaloo were far from at ease as they saw Rainbow Dash making sure the door was locked behind them and all the windows were covered up so nopony else could see them. "Okay, we need to talk," She seriously declared. "We're getting close to the end now, ladies. So it's time to get serious!"
Scootaloo did her best to project confidence, not wanting to seem weak in front of her idol! "Don't worry, Rainbow Dash! You said it yourself, we're going to the final two together! And with Derpy and Fluttershy, we're all going to make it to the final four."
Rainbow nodded. "Nice to see you can do basic math, Scoots. However, in case you haven't noticed our alliance hasn't exactly been rock solid. I've been getting far more votes than I should be and not enough votes for my enemies."
Fluttershy fought back a gulp. "So, there's only four of us. We can only do so much. There's still five other ponies we have to worry about."
Derpy slowly nodded in agreement. "Yeah, and I think they might be onto us. Or at least, onto you."
The brash speedster snarled as her eyes narrowed, lashing out at her fellow pegasi. "I know that, you idiots! Do you think I'm unaware of the situation?" She then began to grin. "It's too late now to think about expanding our ranks. And luckily, we don't need to. If we can just survive two more rounds and ensure that I get invincibility in every challenge, everything will fall into place."
Scootaloo questioned her idol. "Are you suggesting we start sabotaging other ponies?"
"If that's what it takes to be victorious!" Rainbow Dash firmly insisted! "I'm not taking anymore chances! If even one of us gets voted out or eliminated this whole plan falls apart. So it's time for all of you to start stepping up and doing your part. I wanna see that 'Know it all' know nothing Trixie walk off the Dock of Shame tonight no matter what!"
The wall eyed mare protested. "But if we start sabotaging, we'll be cheating. We could get disqualified."
Rainbow spun around, looking Derpy square in the eyes! "I'm sorry, I thought we were in an alliance, Derpy. Or you would rather strike out on your own and find yourself the next target of my wrath? Because I don't have to take you to the final four. And that goes double for you, Fluttershy."
The tomboyish filly whimpered. "But, you're still taking me to the final two no matter what, right?"
The brash speedster nodded, stroking Scootaloo's mane with a hoof. "Of course, kid. I'm not going back on that promise. But I can't do that if you don't trust me to look out for you."
Scootaloo blinked. "Uh, that's not what I meant, Rainbow Dash."
But Rainbow would hear nothing of such an argument. "This is my alliance, so I call the shots! I thought I'd be nice and let you all ride my coattails for as long as possible. If any of you would rather try your luck without me, that's fine. But if you do you'll get no help from me," And she was quick to warn. "You've seen it for yourselves, you can't trust anypony. You saw how easily they turned on Vinyl Scratch when she lost her temper. How do you know they won't start to view you as a threat too?"
Fluttershy nervously replied to her fellow pegasus. "Rainbow Dash, I don't like the way you're acting."
The rainbow maned pegasus only coldly replied. "I can't believe you'd all turn on me like this just when things were finally starting to go our way!" And she snorted. "By all means, all of you can just leave this alliance for all I care! You all know I'm going to win in the end. So if any of you have a problem with that, I suggest you leave now while you still can! And if so, you'd better watch out because as soon as Trixie is gone I'll come after you!"
Derpy protested! "Rainbow, we don't wanna be your enemies."
Rainbow let out a sigh in response. "Then do exactly what I say and stop asking questions," And as if her earlier behavior had never happened she continued. "We can win this! We just need to stick together. Do I make myself clear?"
All three pegasi reluctantly nodded in agreement. And with that the alliance meeting came to an end.
When the meeting was over, Scootaloo raced to the confessional to share her thoughts that she'd been keeping private. "Miss. Cheerilee, you were right about Rainbow Dash," She lamented. "Oh, why didn't I listen to you? But I can't abandon Rainbow Dash now! Even if Derpy and Fluttershy walk out of the alliance with me, we won't be enough. And nopony's going to trust us. What am I gonna do?!"
Unaware of Scootaloo's concerns (or the concerns of her other alliance partners for that matter), Rainbow Dash was smiling when she entered the confessional. "I handled that like a pro. I've got those ponies wrapped around my hoof. At long last, I'm finally going to see Trixie go down!" And she started rubbing her hooves together! "I should start thinking about who to eliminate next."
Aside from Rainbow Dash's not so secret alliance meeting (everypony more or less knew who was part of it by now), the morning passed without fanfare. Even breakfast was a quiet affair for once, no interruptions from Discord and no antics from Nightmare Moon (aside from her usual glares at the contestants).
Silently, some of the contestants wondered what sort of challenge Discord would have in store for them. He'd promised yesterday to start ramping up the difficulty of the challenges. But had that just been to try to give them more incentive to turn on each other?
Well, soon after breakfast had ended the nine remaining contestants found out what Discord was planning. An announcement soon blared over the loudspeakers in the familiar wacky voice of Discord. "All contestants report to the arts and crafts center for today's challenge. Repeat: All contestants report to the arts and crafts center."
A flicker of the camera showed Rarity with starry eyes in the confessional, a stark contrast to her usual behavior! "Ooh, arts and crafts! My favorite activity when I was a filly! If it's anything involving artwork, I'm sure to win!"
So the nine ponies trotted over to the arts and crafts center as quickly as they could, and upon arriving they found Discord waiting for them dressed up like a construction worker: He had on a bright yellow hard hat, an orange worker's jacket, and wore a belt containing all sorts of power tools. He also had a blueprint of some sort and a bright red steel lunchbox. "It's time for something a little different," He told the ponies. "Think of this as a chance to get in touch with your more 'creative' side."
Rainbow Dash immediately gagged. "Just great! Some fru fru competition about making pretty little trinkets! I got enough of that from all the stuff I made for my mom as a filly."
Discord only wagged a finger on his paw. "Who said anything about trinkets? This is no mere art project," And he explained as he unfolded his blueprint, which became rather huge and stretched all the way down across the ground. "You're all going to build your very own scooters. And for a bit of extra fun, you're going to pit them against each other in a race. First one across the finish line wins invincibility."
Scootaloo eagerly buzzed her tiny wings! "Great! I've already got my own scooter! This challenge is right up my ally."
But Discord protested. "Now now, Scootaloo. It wouldn't be very fair to the other contestants if I let you skip over the designing and building stage. You're gonna have to make a new scooter for yourself, completely from scratch."
"But... but..." The tomboyish filly stuttered in disbelief.
The spirit only made a tsking motion. "Ah ah ah, no ifs, ands or buts about it. Rules are rules. And if I just broke the rules here, there wouldn't be much of a show now would there?"
The camera flickered to show Scootaloo whining and complaining in the confessional! "Aw man, that stinks! My scooter could easily wipe the floor with anything anypony could build here. Now if Apple Bloom were still in the game, that might be a challenge."
The camera then flickered back to Discord standing in front of the ponies. "You all have one hour to put together your own scooters from the supplies provided here," He snapped his talons and a whole bunch of different scooter parts materialized in a huge pile beside him. "If any of you fail to assemble a functioning scooter in time, you'll be automatically disqualified and eligible for elimination. Best of luck." And then he disappeared with another snap of his talons.
Given such a tight deadline, it was natural that all nine ponies began to rush to the huge pile in front of them! Even those who didn't know much about building a scooter didn't want to risk disqualification because they moved too slow.
Of course, some ponies were faster than others and knew what they needed to get. Scootaloo in particular began snatching up parts as soon as she laid eyes on them, carefully setting them down as she could be heard saying to herself where a certain piece went.
Rainbow Dash quickly took notice of this and opted to call out to Scootaloo, pulling her close with a wing. "Hey, you're gonna share some of those parts with me, right? I can't protect you if I get eliminated."
Scootaloo fought back a nervous gulp. "Well, I was... but I need to put my scooter together first. There's only so many parts to go around."
Rainbow nodded her head. "I know that. Which is why you need to get the best parts you can find and bring them to me," And she grinned. "I've seen how fast you're moving. And with my natural speed, we can easily get the best parts of the bunch. Our scooters will blow the competition out of the water thanks to your mechanical skills! Right?"
The tomboyish filly slowly nodded. "Well, yeah, but..."
The brash speedster interrupted, suspecting what Scootaloo was going to say next. "Don't worry about Fluttershy and Derpy. They can figure it out for themselves. We can't worry about them right now."
"But Rainbow-" Scootaloo tried to protest.
"-But nothing, Scoots!" Rainbow Dash firmly interrupted as she gestured to the pile! "We're already wasting enough time with this conversation! Come on, we gotta hurry!" And she dashed over, hastily grabbing parts left and right. "You just tell me what's good enough and what goes where, and leave the rest to me!"
Reluctantly, Scootaloo sighed and obeyed.
Unknown to either pegasus, Princess Celestia had overseen the entire thing and she could only frown. In the confessional, she grumbled. "Poor Scootaloo has no idea what she's involved with. Rainbow Dash is going to leave her behind the moment Scootaloo outlives her usefulness," And she unhappily sighed. "If only Cheerilee were still here, she might know how to prevent this."
Meanwhile, some of the other contestants were finding it rather difficult to put together a scooter, especially under such tight time constraints. Twilight Sparkle in particular faced a problem that only she seemed to be having. Her pile of scooter parts was easily identifiable from how organized it was. Every part and every piece was set aside according to its size, weight, color and overall texture. It seemed like the perfect starting place for the best scooter of the bunch.
But all Twilight could do was stare at the pieces, looking utterly dumbfounded and unsure of where to start. Beads of sweat were pouring down her face as she racked her brain. A flicker of the camera showed her nervous sweat while in the confessional. "It's like Winter Wrap Up all over again," She groaned. "I don't know what it is, but trying to put anything together even with a plan or blueprint, it just doesn't work. And I can't use my magic, not that I think it would help this time. I was actually the only filly in all of Canterlot to flunk hoof painting, the only time I ever failed at anything in school!"
Rarity, on the other hoof, was having no trouble at all as the camera cut to her humming a cheerful little tune to herself (and a very familiar one at that, the same tune she'd hummed in her head while working on dresses for her friends). Even without magic, she made putting together a scooter look like child's play.
The fashionista was grinning as she bragged about her skill in the confessional. "Building a scooter is just like making a dress. It's all in here," She pointed a hoof to her forehead. "As long as you've got inspiration on your side, anything's possible," And then she thought to herself. "It sure took long enough for a challenge that was right up my alley to come around. But hey, better late than never. I'm starting to think I might actually just win this whole thing!" And her eyes lit up like stars in the night sky!
Pinkie Pie didn't seem to have any trouble putting her scooter together, even though she didn't seem to be paying attention to what parts and pieces she was picking up. Ponies were amazed at how much progress she was making, progress rivaled only by Rarity.
Derpy, however, was struggling even more so than Twilight. No matter what she tried to connect to what, nothing would hold together. Every time she built anything it would just wobble and fall apart in a matter of seconds. The wall eyed mare groaned. "Oh, why is this so difficult?" She complained as she looked down at her hooves. "What am I doing wrong?"
To the surprise of the pegasus mare, Pinkie Pie bounced over to her and flashed a big smile. "Heya, Derpy. Having a little trouble with your scooter?"
"Pinkie!" Derpy blinked in surprise! "You're not supposed to be helping me! We're not in an alliance."
The pink party pony giggled. "Hey, it's okay. My scooter's already done," She gestured a hoof to a brightly pink colored scooter. "Just need to put some decorations on it, but I can do that at any point. So now I wanna help you, alliance or no alliance."
The wall eyed mare blinked anew, this time in confusion. "But, how did you get done so quickly?"
Pinkie grinned. "Yours truly once built a flying machine. And I'm more than used to making repairs on my party cannon. A party pony must always be prepared for any party planning emergencies," And she told Derpy. "And don't worry about paying me back. The only thing I want in return is to ask you something."
"What's that?" Derpy questioned.
"Well, if we had more time I would ask you what I really wanna ask you," Pinkie Pie declared as she seemed to faintly blush. She was quick to cough into a hoof. "But for now I'll settle for why you're still with Rainbow Dash when she's being a big old meanie pants."
The wall eyed pegasus found herself unable to come up with a satisfying answer. "I... I... I don't know. At first it was just because she was giving me free muffins. But now..."
The pink party pony proceeded to whisper. "If you can't think of a good reason then maybe you should leave the alliance. Rainbow Dash isn't going to need you for much longer. Besides, I miss when you and I were teammates. After you left, things just weren't the same. Seeing you come back when the teams merged was so enjoyable."
"Well, I didn't mean to be gone for so long," Derpy apologized to Pinkie. "But my friends needed me. Besides, I think the team was about to vote me off anyway."
Pinkie shook her head. "No they weren't. At least, I'm pretty sure they weren't," Though she then confessed. "I didn't get to look at the votes though, Discord made them disappear," And then she cleared her throat. "But that's enough about me. I got the answer I wanted. Now let me help you get your scooter built."
Rainbow Dash, meanwhile, was frowning as she had briefly seen Pinkie chatting it up with Derpy. "Trying to steal Derpy away from me, Pinkie?" She thought to herself even while she was focused on working with Scootaloo. "Do you wanna end on my bad side like Spike, Gilda and Cheerilee did?"
With all the little developments occurring, the hour Discord had given for the nine contestants passed quickly. Not a single piece or part from the pile was left by the time he returned, holding a foghorn in one paw as he blared it! "Time's up!" He declared, only barely being heard over the foghorn and the ringing many contestants had in their ears.
Celestia groaned. "Did you really have to do that, Discord?"
The witty spirit just grinned in reply. "Hey, your Royal Canterlot voice does the same thing to my ears, but you don't hear me complaining about it," Then he made the foghorn vanish. "Now then, let's see what you ponies have been able to construct. You don't wanna know what I'll have Nightmare Moon do with anypony who fails to qualify for the race."
Fluttershy briefly shuddered in the confessional upon hearing such words from Discord. "I hate it when he says stuff like that. I don't know what I'd do in an actual horror themed challenge. Just having to survive both of Nightmare Moon's challenges was bad enough."
The camera quickly cut back as Discord saw nine scooters all polished, though some looked better constructed than others. He was especially surprised to see Rarity's scooter, which had been decorated in light shades of purple and green and appeared to have spine shapes on the handles. "Well now, what's this?" The spirit blinked in surprise.
Rarity winked. "It's a tribute to a certain dragon whose feelings I took for granted for far too long," And she turned to the cameras. "Spikey Wikey, if you're watching this, I want to apologize again for the way I treated you. I'm even okay with you having Silver Spoon if she makes you happy, really."
A quick flicker of the camera showed Twilight shaking her head in disapproval in the confessional. "I thought Rarity was beyond these kinds of displays of affection. I guess not," And she shook her head. "I don't know if Spike is ever going to truly get over how he was treated on this show, and I can't same I blame him," She then let out an unhappy sigh. "If only he and I had been on the same team, maybe I could've prepared him better for this."
The flicker faded to show Discord inspecting the rest of the scooters in very thorough detail, even tapping on them to see if any of them would break or fall apart under pressure. None of them did even though some (such as Twilight's) looked as if they were just being held together by gravity itself.
Discord proceeded to put his paws together and clapped quite thoroughly. "Ah, splendid. I thought for sure at least half of you wouldn't make it past this part. I'll have to tell Nightmare Moon she can take the rest of the day off, I'll even take over her for on boat driving duty. I've got my license." He flashed a rather sketchy looking licensed that seemed like something a child might come up with, then he put it behind his back and made it disappear.
Trixie just humphed and folded her hooves across her chest. "So now it's onto the race, right? Just a simple race around the island for invincibility?"
Scootaloo grinned! "If that's the case, Rainbow Dash and I are gonna leave you all in the dust!"
Rainbow Dash eagerly chimed in. "Yeah, what Scoots said. The rest of you might as well drop out now to save face."
But Discord protested. "Oh please, it's as if you've forgotten whom you're dealing with. A plain old scooter race around the island won't keep the audience entertained. They want drama, and you ponies are contractually obligated to provide it," A snap of his talons produced a long piece of paper. "Lawyers make lots of copies, you know. And they know how to make contracts so iron clad it's impossible for you to weasel out of them," He then produced a magnifying glass. "And all the way down here at the bottom, it says: The host, Discord, reserves the right to make challenges harder at his discretion for the sake of the show."
"Okay, so what's the catch?" Princess Celestia questioned. "What could your sick and twisted mind have possibly cooked up to endanger us for your amusement, Discord?"
The draconequus flashed a toothy grin. "Flattery will get you nowhere, princess," Then he gestured a claw to a large stretch of land along the beach and the surrounding cliffs. "All of you will have to race three laps around this track layout I just produced. First one to cross the finish line wins invincibility."
The ponies quickly scanned the entire track layout, taking note of how much it twisted and how many sharp turns it seemed to contain. Heck, there were times where it seemed like it folded back in on itself and crossed over segments that had already been covered. How was anypony meant to have the endurance to complete three laps of such a track?
Discord went on explaining, his smile growing wider and wider by the second. "Okay, maybe three laps is a bit overkill. A track this long should be good enough for just one lap, especially with all the hidden 'surprises' I've set up. Some of which are obvious and others... not so much. But hey, we had a lot of explosives left over from the blindfolded minefield challenge. And you know me, I just hate to waste."
"Discord!" Princess Celestia glared at the spirit! "Somepony could get hurt, or worse. And if they do, so help me I'll..."
"-Oh relax, princess," Discord quickly interrupted. "Nightmare Moon's been feeding you all with stuff that makes it possible for you ponies to survive even explosions. Besides, I deliberately made them underpowered. The ones I've buried in the track couldn't even level a house that was made of sticks. As long as you all wear your helmets, you should be fine."
The shrunken down alicorn proceeded to further protest. "And what about our scooters? How are we meant to finish the race if they get blown to a million little pieces?"
Discord groaned in annoyance and rolled his eyes. "You have to suck the fun out of everything, don't you? I thought it would be more exciting to let you all figure that out for yourself," He sighed, making his entire chin drop to the ground. "But fine, I'll demonstrate." Snapping his talons, he made a scooter that was painted as black as a starless night sky appear before him.
The familiar voice of Nightmare Moon called out from the distance! "Hey, you said that was my 'reward'!"
Rather than acknowledge Nightmare Moon's complaint, however, Discord proceeded to drop the scooter on top of a huge bulge in the sand. An audible explosion rang out and a cloud of dust soon appeared, and the scooter was sent flying high! But then suddenly it reappeared in front of the contestants looking none the worse for wear. "So as you can see, if you're unfortunate enough to run over one of my mines, your scooter will reappear as if it nothing happened. All that'll really occur is that you might not be in the same position you were in before you ran over the mine. There, you happy now?"
More than a few ponies were still far from convinced of the "safety" of Discord's challenge, even after what they had seen.
Discord, however, didn't acknowledge the concerns. "Okay, you've seen enough. Time's a wasting! Get on your scooters and get to racing, already!" He demanded of them. "I'll see you all at the finish line!"
Reluctantly, the nine ponies obeyed as they all rushed to their scooters and donned their protective helmets. Then they moved their scooters down to the beach where the starting line was, lining up next to each other while they waited for the race to begin.
During this period, Scootaloo couldn't help but look down at her own scooter in uncertainty. To other ponies it looked just fine and in fact seemed better than some of the other scooters that had been built. But Scootaloo knew better. And while she wouldn't say these worries outright, in the confessional she was willing to state. "I've made a lot of repairs to my scooter back home, but I've never had to build one from scratch. I just hope it holds together."
Rainbow Dash, meanwhile, was rubbing her hooves together in delight. And in the confessional she happily bragged. "Thanks to Scootaloo's help, I know I've got nothing to worry about. If for some reason I have to sacrifice myself during the race to stop the competition, I know Scoots has what it takes to win and save me."
The camera then cut back to the starting line as Discord stood off to its side, waiting impatiently until Twilight was the last contestant to arrive with her scooter. He briefly looked into the cameras and whispered. "My money's on her to be the last one to cross," Then he produced a huge flag in his left claw as the spirit declared to the nine contestants. "Racers: On your marks, get set, go!"
The flag dropped and the nine ponies started frantically peddling across the sands of the beach! Naturally, it wasn't long before Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo were pulling into the lead, Scootaloo taking care not to overtake Rainbow for the definitive lead.
Yet even while the tomboyish filly was keeping pace with her idol, she could already feel the subtle vibrations as her scooter rolled along. "Come on, just hold together!" She pleaded, but no one but her heard over the sounds of the race.
Twilight, meanwhile, was taking her time as she navigated her scooter across the sands. She was carefully documenting the location of every suspicious bulge she could see and planning her course in her head to steer around them. The time for speed would come later, when she was certain all the other contestants would wear themselves out.
And numerous other contestants were plotting out their own strategy, thinking of how to overtake the two pegasi that were leading the pack.
As for Discord, he just sat back and reclined in a plastic lounge chair. A snap of his talons produced a pair of sunglasses over his eyes and a drink in a coconut complete with a mini umbrella. There was nothing left for him to do but wait for the inevitable winner.
At last, the contestants made it around the long, winding track and neared the finish line. And so Discord reluctantly rose from his chair, stretching his entire body as he made his drink and sunglasses disappear. His eyes could clearly see a huge cloud of dust being stirred up by the scooters. "Looks like we're heading for a photo finish here, folks!" He declared as he snapped his talons. "Luckily, yours truly comes prepared for any emergency." And when he was done speaking, a large camera appeared in his paws.
The scooters rolled across the finish line one by one, the huge cloud of dust following in their wake! And Discord made sure to snap the picture at just the right moment.
Soon afterward came the sound of screeching tires as the weary contestants brought their scooters to a halt, removed their helmets and waited for the announcement of the victor.
"Like I said, a photo finish," Discord declared for all to hear. "The photo is being developed as we speak."
Rainbow Dash and Trixie eyed each other with anxiety and anticipation, both dreading the possibility that the other might have won the race (or worse neither of them had and both of them would be eligible for elimination as a result).
After about a minute or so that seemed to tick by slowly, the witty spirit held up the developed photo. A close look showed Rainbow Dash just nudging past Trixie, Princess Celestia and Pinkie Pie (who were all neck and neck). "By a literal hair, Rainbow Dash is the winner! Invincibility is hers!" Discord declared with dramatic fare!
Rainbow all but leapt into the air with joy upon hearing those words! "YEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSS!" She shouted at the top of her lungs! "Just point me in the direction of that vote box, I'm ready to cast my ballot."
However, the spirit protested with a shake of his head. "Actually, there's no need for a vote. A certain somepony failed to make it across the finish line, which means they're automatically disqualified."
A chorus of gasps filled the air as several ponies asked all at once! "Who is it?!"
"It is none other than," Discord briefly paused for the sake of adding drama to the already dramatic announcement. "Scootaloo!"
"WHAT?!" Rainbow Dash remarked as her jaw dropped open in disbelief! "That... that can't be!"
The spirit simply snapped his talons, bringing an exhausted Scootaloo over to the other contestants but without her scooter. "I'm afraid it is. It seems her scooter just couldn't quite hold itself together. It came apart on the last turn." And a quick scan back across the course now that the dust cloud had faded revealed that several scooter pieces lay scattered on the track a ways back.
Twilight immediately sought to protest! "Hey, you can't do that, Discord! You never said there would be an automatic disqualification if anypony didn't complete the race."
"I didn't think I needed to spell that out for you ponies," Discord scoffed. "I thought you would all be motivated to make it to the end. Had I known this would be a problem I would've told you all before the race started. Alas, I'm not about to change the rules again. And nothing you say is going to change my mind."
Meanwhile, Rainbow was glaring at Scootaloo and angrily demanding of the filly! "What the hay, Scoots?! I thought you knew how to build a scooter!"
"Not completely from scratch," Scootaloo nervously confessed. "My scooter is a birthday gift from my parents. Sure, I've learned how to make repairs to it, but I've never had to completely rebuild it," Then she added. "Besides, you took some of the parts I was going to use to build your scooter."
But Rainbow shook her head. "Don't blame me because you didn't know what you were doing! Now you've got no one but yourself to blame for your elimination."
The tomboyish filly gulped and whimpered. "You mean, I have to go to the Dock of Shame? No vote at all?"
"Actually," Discord spoke up. "There is one way you might be saved, Scootaloo," And he gestured a paw. "All Rainbow Dash has to do is agree to give up her invincibility for you. If she does, then you're spared and we will have a vote to decide who to eliminate instead."
Scootaloo buzzed her tiny wings in hopeful anticipation! "You mean, I can stay?!"
The witty spirit slowly nodded. "As long as Rainbow Dash is willing to give up her invincibility. If not, I'm afraid it's the Dock of Shame for you. No campfire ceremony, no vote, and no one million bits."
All eyes turned toward Rainbow Dash as soon as the announcement was made, Scootaloo's especially! Her idol now literally held her fate in her hooves.
A long, tense and uncomfortable silence filled the air as minutes began to slowly tick by. But Rainbow Dash gave no answer one way or the other.
At last, Scootaloo opted to break the silence as she looked her idol square in the eyes and shot the best pleading face she could muster up. "Well?"
Rainbow's response took everypony else by shock. "'Well' what, Scoots?"
The tomboyish filly quickly insisted as she threw herself down at Rainbow's hooves. "You're going to give up your invincibility to save me, right? Right?"
But instead of affirming the obvious choice (at least in Scootaloo's mind) Rainbow shook her head and bluntly answered. "No, Scootaloo."
Everypony gasped, Scootaloo included! They could hardly believe their ears!
Scootaloo started to whimper. "You're... you're joking, right?"
"No, Scootaloo, I'm not joking! I'm dead serious!" Rainbow coldly insisted. "I can't give up my invincibility for you. I'm afraid you're on your own."
Scootaloo stumbled back in disbelief as though she'd just been stabbed in the heart! "But Rainbow Dash, we had a deal! You were going to take me to the final two! You promised!"
Ignoring all the harsh and judgemental glares she was receiving from the other contestants, Rainbow just continued to coldly reply. "I did, Scootaloo. But if I give up my invincibility for you, I'll be voted off instead. I've made too many enemies! And then I won't be able to protect you anymore. You'll be on your own. All I'd do is delay your elimination for one more day, neither of us would win the million bits. At least this way, I still have a shot at winning."
The tomboyish filly's eyes widened in disbelief! "You're... breaking your promise! And after everything I did for you!"
The brash speedster only shrugged her shoulders. "I'm sorry, Scootaloo. It's not my fault you didn't finish the race. You told me you were good at building scooters, and I trusted you to know what you were doing! I guess you just didn't want to win as badly as I did."
A flicker of the camera showed Scootaloo on the verge of tears in the confessional! "How can Rainbow Dash say such a thing to me?! This isn't fair!"
Then the camera cut back to the beach as Scootaloo continued to try not to cry. "Rainbow Dash, please! You're making a mistake! I... I can protect you! I swear!"
But Rainbow wasn't convinced for a second. "Sorry, Scoots. At this point, I'm afraid it's everypony for themselves. I'll still split the bits fifty fifty with you when I win, just like we promised."
As those words circled around her ears, something inside the tomboyish filly snapped! The tears that were on the verge of forming dried up. She stomped a hoof down, glaring at the very pony who had now cut her loose. "Miss. Cheerilee was right about you all along! And so were Gilda and Spike! You're not yourself anymore, Rainbow Dash! Winning is all you care about!"
The brash speedster simply snapped back! "Don't you DARE bring up those traitors in my presence! Especially Spike! After what he did to Applejack I will never forgive him, NEVER! The moment he decided to get rid of Applejack just to spite me, he officially destroyed our friendship! And the same holds true for Gilda and Cheerilee after they tried to get rid of me and take you away from me!"
Scootaloo grit her teeth, narrowing her eyes as she snarled. "All this time, they were just trying to warn me about you. But I didn't listen. I stood up for you because I thought I could trust you," Then she stomped a hoof down again. "But now I see you for what you really are! A two faced... back stabbing... lying..." And what came out of her mouth next shocked even the likes of Discord!
In fact, Discord was so shocked he quickly stepped in front of the camera while snapping his talons! "Whoa there!" He exclaimed! "There are children in the audience for pete's sake!" And he quickly instructed. "Make sure we're not carrying those words live!"
Scootaloo's tirade of naughty words continued for what felt like ages. But at last she seemed to stop, if only to catch her breath. "Wow, I almost don't feel bad about my situation now," She said to herself. "Almost."
"You done yet, kid?" Discord grumbled. "I have a feeling your parents aren't gonna be too happy about your," He coughed into a paw. "'sentence enhancers'."
In the confessional, Scootaloo blushed. "Mom, Dad, if you saw that... I totally didn't pick up those words from sneaking into movies I wasn't supposed to see."
Then the camera cut back to the beach as the witty spirit instructed. "Well, if you've nothing nice left to say it's Dock of Shame time," And he grumbled. "I'm not putting up with any lawsuits from your outburst back there. You're on your own on that."
The tomboyish filly reluctantly sighed. "Yeah, I know," And to the rest of the contestants she apologized. "Sorry, everypony. I don't know what came over me back there, but I just had to get that all off my chest."
Rarity frowned. "If it were up to me I'd make you wash that filthy tongue out with soap. You oughta be ashamed of yourself for such vulgar remarks."
But Fluttershy protested. "She didn't mean to lose her temper, Rarity. And it doesn't change the fact that what Rainbow Dash did to her wasn't right."
"You're darn right it wasn't!" Scootaloo declared even as she began to trot down to the Dock of Shame. "Rainbow Dash, I hope with all my might that karma comes back to bite you big time for this! I'm not gonna be rooting for you now."
If Rainbow was concerned by this she didn't show it outwardly, she just shrugged her shoulders. "That's what you say now, but I have a feeling you'll be back eventually. After all, nopony else is gonna share the million bits with you." And then she watched along with everypony else as Scootaloo stepped onto the boat of losers as the sun began to set.
And even while he was driving the boat off into the setting sun, Discord was looking into the cameras as he began his usual ending speel. "Well, that certainly is one way to get some drama going. Even I didn't see an ending like that coming. But if you think I can't top that you're dead wrong! Find out what's in store for our eight surviving contestants next time on Total Magic Pony Island!"