//------------------------------//
// Episode 26A: The Best Finale Ever (Ending 1) 
// Story: Total Magic Pony Island: The Lost Episodes 
// by SuperPinkBrony12 
//------------------------------//

Discord stood on the Dock of Shame, gazing into the cameras as he could barely contain his excitement! In fact, he opted to do something a little bit different for his narrations here. "This season on Total Magic Pony Island!"

Clips began to play, but they were not of the previous episode. Instead, they were of the show's very origins and the first episode as Discord began enthusiastically narrating. "Yours truly, Discord, was granted a brand new lease on life. And I decided to make the most of it. To that end, I was able to set up a camp on Paradox Island and invited twenty contestants from across Equestria and beyond, the best of the best!"

More clips started playing as Discord kept on narrating. "The contestants were split into two teams: The Magical Misfits and the Royal Ruffians! And then eventually, yours truly merged the teams and left everyone left in the game to fend for themselves."

Clip after clip flew by, showing a variety of different themes: Whether it be romance, drama, comedy or anything in between. And as it was all unfolding, the witty spirit was just happily narrating. "Relationships developed and broke down. Alliances were made and subsequently broken. Some ponies surprised everyone with their development, and others learned the hard way about who you can really trust in this game."

Then clips showed Discord and Nightmare Moon as the spirit was explaining. "Of course, they had a good host in the form of yours truly. And whenever I wasn't around, Nightmare Moon did a good job of standing in. She sure knows how to run a challenge and give those contestants a run for the money. A million bits to be exact, because that's the prize money everyone's been competing for since day one of the show."

From there, clips were briefly shown of contestants being eliminated until only two remained. And Discord's voice carried across them all. "Ultimately, of course, all but two of our twenty contestants got a one way trip on the Boat of Losers. And that bring us to now, the finale, with two former Magical Misfits going head to head: Brainy Twilight Sparkle versus Loco in the Coco Pinkie Pie! And only one can walk away a millionaire!"

The clips came to an end and the cameras started focusing back on the Dock of Shame as the witty spirit was speaking directly to the audience. An audience he was sure were seeing the images being beamed by the cameras to places all over Equestria and even beyond. "So here we are, folks. Finale time!" He instructed to them. "Go ahead: Grab a snack, maybe take a quick bathroom break if you absolutely need to. Otherwise, sit your butt down and get ready to watch the best finale ever here on Total Magic Pony Island!"





Sleep did not come easy that night for either of the two finalists. Now they faced the very real possibility that one of them would be leaving Paradox Island tomorrow with a million bits to their name. The prospect of it and what they would do with the prize money hung in their minds. To say nothing of what the challenge or challenges would be to walk away with that prize money.

And so it was that both contestants paid a visit to the confessional to air their thoughts. Twilight Sparkle was the first to do so, gazing deep into the camera as she let out a long sigh. "I can't believe I actually made it this far. So many times I could've been eliminated if not for somepony else taking the fall for me," Her thoughts began to turn to Princess Celestia in particular. "I still remember that promise I made to you, Princess Celestia. You sacrificed yourself for me, and I won't let it be in vain! Somehow, someway, I have to win the million bits!"

Pinkie Pie was far more excited as she was all but bouncing up and down in the confessional, happily shouting! "Oh! I'm in the finale! I'm in the finale! This is the best thing ever!" It took a while for her to calm down enough to say. "Mr. and Mrs. Cake, I promise the prize money's going to a good cause if I win. The baby pony is going to be all taken care of."

With that, the camera cut back to the cabin where the two friends and former Magical Misfits would soon become arch rivals for the sake of the game. Of course, that was tomorrow and this was tonight. So all they could do was try to sleep as best they could, a task easier said than done. A million bits didn't just drop into one's lap every day after all.

Still, sleep the two mares did, dreaming of all the ways they might win (or lose) the million bits tomorrow.

When the rays of sunlight began streaming into the cabin the next morning, both Pinkie and Twilight were wide awake! Today was the big day, and it was either of them's guess as to what Discord would have them do for the final challenge.

"Good morning to you, our lucky finalists!" Discord cheerfully, triumphantly and dramatically declared as he soon appeared before both mares in all his chaotic glory! "I must say, I'm definitely impressed you both made it this far: You especially, Twilight."

The studious unicorn couldn't help but bat an eye at the statement. "And just what is that supposed to mean, Discord?"

The witty spirit was quick to feign innocence and ignorance. "Why do you always assume I have it out for you, Twilight? I expected you to make it far, I just didn't expect you to make it all the way to the end is all. Heck, I wasn't even sure if Pinkie Pie was a safe bet for the finale because she's as unpredictable as me."

Pinkie nodded. "And just as fun too, but in a good way! It's too bad this all has to end today. I've actually kind of enjoyed some of the stuff that's gone on on this island."

Discord only replied by saying. "Yes yes, just don't go getting any ideas about turning me back to stone. I'm not going back!"

"I have a feeling you won't have a choice." Twilight firmly declared.

"I can't be turned back to stone!" Discord protested! "If I did, who would host a second season in my place? At this point, I'm all but contractually obligated to another run if the show gets picked up."

Pinkie Pie grinned. "Hey, I'm sure there's plenty of creatures out there who could serve as a host just as good as you've been. And I wouldn't mind a second season if there was one."

Twilight, however, simply shook her head. "Let's just focus on the finale of the first season, Pinkie," And she narrowed her eyes at Discord. "Tell it to us straight, what's our challenge going to be? What do we have to do get the million bits you've been promising since this all started?"

The chaos maker proceeded to snap his talons, making a big old dunce cap appear on Twilight's head alongside a party blower as he taunted. "What a party pooper, Twilight. I'm trying my best to build the stakes," Then he willingly confessed. "Besides, I'm still putting the finishing touches on the challenge. Trust me, it's gonna be something truly spectacular in more ways than one!"

"So, what are we supposed to do in the mean time?" Pinkie Pie questioned. "Is Nightmare Moon still around?"

"Indeed she is, Pinkie. I was just getting to that," Discord firmly insisted while smiling and grinning from ear to ear in a way that Twilight found rather unnerving. "As a reward for making it to the finale, you both can enjoy an all-you-can-eat breakfast of your favorite foods. Nightmare Moon had to stay up late to make them, so you'd better enjoy every bite!"

The studious unicorn questioned. "What's the catch, Discord? That's not like you."

The witty spirit only grinned further. "If it keeps you off my back while I get the final preparations made, I don't really care," And he then snapped his talons as he declared. "We will speak again soon. See you around, finalists."





As soon as Discord had left, Twilight immediately looked across to the only thing standing between her and the million bits. It was so hard to think of Pinkie as an enemy or a threat, even at this point when there was no one else around. Yet now she had to deal with her friend's crazy and unpredictable ways.

Pinkie Pie didn't seem to be thinking the same way, she was just licking her lips in anticipating as she made her way to the cabin door. "No way am I missing out on another amazing breakfast!" She happily proclaimed as she was about to reach out a pink colored hoof to touch the cabin door and depart.

"Pinkie, wait!" Twilight called out, stopping her friend right in her tracks. "Before we do anything else we need to talk about the competition."

But the pink party pony only replied. "We both agreed already that there'd be no hard feelings, right? Whoever wins, wins."

"Well... that's true... but still..." Twilight trailed off, struggling to find the words she wanted to say.

Pinkie just giggled. "Twilight, don't be such a silly filly. That's my job!" And she patted her fellow equine on the forehead as she turned away from the door. "Let's just do our best no matter what the challenge. And regardless of whether you win or I win, I'm throwing a party for everyone when we get back to Ponyville!"

The unicorn mare couldn't help but grin and sincerely smile upon hearing that declaration. "Why does that not surprise me, Pinkie?"

The earth pony mare smiled back. "Come on, would you expect any less? A million bits is nice, but we both know friendship is worth more than that, right?"

Twilight firmly nodded. "Indeed we do, Pinkie. But don't expect me to go easy on you because of that."

Pinkie nodded back. "I'm not going easy on you either, Twilight. We're friends, but even friends have to compete against each other sometimes. This is one of them. It'll be just like when Applejack and Rainbow Dash competed against each other in the Running of the Leaves."

Then it was Twilight's turn to giggle. "Yeah, except less horsing around."

Pinkie Pie smiled anew. "Exactly! Glad we could understand each other!" And she then trotted back over to the cabin door, eagerly proclaiming! "Now come on, breakfast will get cold if we just sit around here." Soon, she was bouncing out the door as Twilight followed after her.

A brief flicker of static showed the unicorn mare in the confessional, looking considerably more cheerful than she had been at the start of the day. "I can always count on Pinkie Pie to not make me feel bad," She said with a smile, before that smile faded. "But I have to stay focused! What matters most is being on the lookout for whatever Discord might have planned after this little 'show' of his is over."





Breakfast was an uneventful fair for both mares, assuming you didn't count the many glares Nightmare Moon was shooting that would most certainly kill if looks were capable of doing such a thing.

In the confessional, Nightmare Moon was heard saying to herself while looking at the cameras. "I can't believe I've survived this long cooking for all these contestants," And with a huff she declared. "If there's ever more of this, I'm not gonna be part of it unless I get to be host or something. No way am I cooking."

But the camera cut back to show the mare of darkness saying nothing in the mess hall while Pinkie Pie was stuffing her face full of food, and Twilight was carefully cutting up her meal and eating small portions.

So it was that the two former Magical Misfits just enjoyed their final breakfast on Paradox Island. Whatever Discord had in store for them before the prize money was awarded, at least they would have lots of energy stored up for it.

Upon finishing breakfast, the contestants left the mess hall to find Discord already waiting for them. And he seemed rather impatient. "I needed a little time for the final preparations, not half an hour!" He grumbled as he gestured to a non-existent watch on his front left paw! "Now come on, you're going make us even more late if you don't hurry!"

"Late for what? It's just us two and you." Twilight pointed out.

Discord only replied by snapping his talons, causing blindfolds to appear over both mares as he led them away from the mess hall and across the island. "When did I ever say that?"

"But you said contestants already eliminated don't get to come back, no more exceptions." Pinkie reminded the spirit even as she was being led along while blindfolded.

"They're not coming back into the game, not now," The witty spirit explained. "That would be stupid and pointless even for me. However, there is a loophole I found that proved useful for what I decided to do for our finale," And soon, he had brought both blindfolded mares to his intended destination. "Ah, here we are! Twilight Sparkle! Pinkie Pie!" He announced as he took off their blindfolds! "Meet today's special guest stars: The losers!"

To the surprise of both mares, they saw all eighteen previously eliminated contestants as they stood before the finalists on a set of two bleachers! Most looked happy to be back, although some (such as Rainbow Dash) seemed rather silent and unhappy, as though they would rather not have been brought back again.

"Hey, everypony and non-pony, what's up?!" Vinyl Scratch cheerfully proclaimed at the top of her lungs! "Did you miss us?! Well we're back, baby! Here to cheer on the finalists!"

Spike grinned as he stood next to Silver Spoon, holding her hoof with his claw. "You got that right. Discord rounded us all up and said we'd get to come back to Paradox Island to watch the finale live," And he was quick to add. "It beats having to catch up on reruns."

"Reruns?" Twilight blinked in anxiety, swallowing a bit.

Discord only waved a claw. "Hey, I can't control what the networks decide to do with the show if it's popular," Then he grinned. "And guess who else is back by popular demand? Here's a hint, your first two guesses don't count."

As if on cue, a very familiar looking majestic white coated alicorn that looked no bigger than a filly stomped a hoof down and whined! "Discord, this isn't fair or funny! I didn't want to be stuck in this body again! I deserved my old one."

Luna couldn't help but smirk. "Oh come now, sister. You didn't hear me complaining when I was stuck in such a body after getting back from the moon." She snickered and put a hoof to her face in a failed attempt to suppress the giggles.

Immediately, Twilight ran over to the shrunken down sun princess and gave her a hug! "Princess Celestia! I didn't expect to see you again!"

"Yeah, especially in your 'fun size'," Pinkie commented and immediately added. "Uh, no offense."

Celestia just sighed, doing her best not to blush or look too annoyed. "It can't be helped, Twilight. It would seem Discord is intent on humiliating me a little bit more while he still can. But I assure you, his plans will not succeed, whatever they are!"

"You mean, you don't know?" The studious unicorn inquired of her mentor, hoping beyond hope it was just a joke or something.

The shrunken down sun princess shook her head. "I'm afraid I don't. My time at The Palais De Perdantes has been mostly spent on... other things." She turned away in shame.

"Hey, don't feel bad. You deserve a vacation after all you've had to put up with," Cheerilee reassured the alicorn. "Besides, you're here now and so are all the element bearers. Discord would have to be crazy to try anything."

Discord couldn't help but smirk as he spoke up. "Don't be giving me any ideas, I can hear you you know," Then he coughed into a paw. "Now, that's enough chit chat. I didn't bring back all these losers back just so you could socialize and catch up on old times. Oh no, no no no. I brought them back here so they could witness the biggest, baddest, brutalist challenge I could possibly dream up that the networks would allow! Something that will make Nightmare Moon's challenges pail in comparison."

Upon hearing that, both Pinkie Pie and Twilight froze. Considering their experiences with Nightmare Moon as of lately, they knew her challenges had been quite difficult. So what could Discord possibly do to top it?

The draconequus promptly snapped his talons, making several versions of him appear as one dressed in a conductor's outfit and holding a conductor's baton instructed. "Drum roll, please!"

Several of the Discords promptly began to pound on the drums as hard as they could, generating a deafening chorus! 

And the original Discord just declared in the most dramatic tone of voice possible. "This is it, mares and gentlestallions. The moment you've all been waiting for!" Even amidst the thundering of the drums he just kept speaking up. "For the final challenge of Total Magic Pony Island, I present to you..." Pausing to build up the tension, the spirit at last announced. "The Quadathon of Doom!"





Moments passed, but nothing seemed to happen as all eyes fell upon Discord with a pregnant pause.

Quickly realizing the awkwardness of the situation, Discord coughed into a hoof and looked over the horizon as he remarked again. "I said... The Quadathon of Doom!" But still, nothing happened. The spirit promptly groaned, pulling out the antlers on his head as he looked out to the distance and shouted! "Nightmare Moon, that's supposed to be your cue!"

And then and only then did something begin to happen. In the distance, the wicked mare of darkness could be seen running up by the bleachers with a torch held firmly in the glow of her horn. It was clear that she was out of breath, and the ridiculous outfit she wore depicting an oversized chicken head didn't help matters. "Sorry..." She panted as she looked up at Discord. "Took a little longer than I thought. Told you we should've rehearsed this."

The chaos maker only replied with a literal roll of his eyes, snatching the torch away and holding it up as he made a base for a bigger torch appear out of nowhere. "Yes, folks, The Quadathon of Doom. A four part gauntlet of challenges based on sports that were rejected for the most recent Equestria Games: Rope climbing, barrel rolling, plank walking, and if you make it through all of that a mad dash to the finish."

Fluttershy shuddered and so did many others. They knew why those events had been rejected and could only imagine what Discord would do to make them more challenging.

A brief flicker of the camera showed Fluttershy shivering with fright in the confessional. "Why would Discord do such a thing?! I'm glad I'm not in the finale, I'd never make it."

Even Rainbow Dash seemed to think it was too much given what little she had to say in the confessional. "Oh man!" And her eyes widened ever so slightly.

The camera soon cut back to the stands and the lit torch above them as Discord was explaining everything. "Allow me to show you how it works:" He brought up an orb, showing off the four part obstacle course in all its dangerous and frightening glory. "First up is a trick rope climbing wall. Some ropes will take you up, some will bring you down. Which ones they are though, I can't say."

Next, the orb showed barrels that looked absolutely massive, as if you could stuff a full grown pony inside. "Next is the barrel roll from the inside: Climb into your barrel and roll down the hill, avoiding bumps as much as you can," The orb then changed to show huge wooden planks next to what looked like a long fall down into the waters below. "From there, you have to make your way across a narrow plank without falling off. And once you're on the other side, race back along the marked path to the finish line. First one to do that wins the million bits and all the bragging rights that will forever come with it!"

Twilight gulped, and even Pinkie Pie looked as if she were considerably unnerved.

But Discord just took the expressions from the finalists as if they were smiles. "I know, I know. So amazed you're speechless. But wait, it gets even better!" He gleefully explained the next part. "You see, I brought back these eliminated contestants so that they can not only cheer you on but also participate with you. One of them anyway. And as it just so happens, I've already taken the liberty of choosing your partners for you."

Princess Celestia couldn't help but blush now as she approached Twilight. "I volunteered to help you as soon as I was offered the chance, Twilight. No way was I gonna let you get through whatever Discord had planned for you," Then she looked down at herself. "I just didn't anticipate him shrinking me down to size or I would've probably opted out."

The studious unicorn only smiled. "It'll be an honor to have you by my side again, Princess Celestia. And if I win the million bits, I promise to split it with you however you want."

The shrunken down sun princess protested. "No, Twilight. I can't ask you to do that for me. The prize money would be legally yours. You wouldn't be obligated to give me a single bit."

Pinkie Pie, meanwhile, inquired. "So who's my partner? Please tell me it's somepony good!"

In response to that question, Derpy came trotting over as the wall eyed mare nuzzled Pinkie in the side and radiated warmth. "Hi, Pinkie," She slowly greeted. "I hope you can forgive me for voting myself out when I did, but I had to go away."

The pink party pony just hugged her fellow mare tightly, fondly proclaiming! "Oh, I can't even stay mad at you, Derpy! And you know what?! If there's any money left over after I help the Cakes, I'll buy you all the muffins you want. How's that sound?"

Derpy licked her lips. "That would be nice, Pinkie. But you don't have to do that. I can buy muffins for myself whenever I want."

Soon afterward, the chaos maker declared. "Now, as for the rest of you losers, you all can line up on the benches according to who you wanna root for: Twilight Sparkle supporters go on the left under the Magical Misfits logo, and Pinkie Pie supporters go on the right under the Royal Ruffians logo," Then he warned. "Oh, and exny on changing sides. Once you've picked your champion, you've gotta stick with them to the end. So choose wisely. Or don't, it doesn't matter to me."

The two finalists and their partners then watched as the remaining sixteen former contestants began taking up sides. Some were fairly obvious: Spike (alongside Silver Spoon) supported Twilight, Vinyl Scratch rooted for Pinkie Pie, Cheerilee backed Twilight and the Cutie Mark Crusaders all stuck together for Pinkie Pie. But it was surprising to see Trixie go to Twilight's corner, and even more surprising to see Princess Luna in Pinkie Pie's corner.

The night princess simply explained to those wondering. "Laughter was one of the elements I once wielded. I feel it's only natural to root for the pony who inherited my element. Plus, anypony who can stand up to my dark side is clearly made of sterner stuff than she looks."

Perhaps the biggest surprise though, was when Rainbow Dash did not join Applejack in rooting for Twilight and without saying a word she flew over to Pinkie Pie's corner and sat down at the far edge of the bench.

Applejack whispered to Twilight. "RD and I had a little talk about the way she was actin' on the island. She ain't too proud of herself anymore, but she'll come round in time." And she gave a knowing wink.

So it was that the two mares had their support almost evenly matched.

Discord then declared in a gasp! "Oopise doopsie! I almost forgot one important detail!" He snapped his talons, promptly making a huge cow head appear over Pinkie Pie's head and a huge pig head appear over Twilight's head. "You'll both have to wear those hats the whole time. Take them off and it's an automatic forfeit on your part."

Derpy nervously raised a hoof as she asked. "Uh, do we have to wear those... hats the whole time too?"

The witty spirit replied. "Nope. Only the finalists get to wear them for our amusement, and mostly mine if I'm being honest," Then he told Derpy and Princess Celestia. "You both have free range to help your assigned partner however you see fit. However, if you try in any way to interfere with your partner's opponent, I won't hesitate to throw you off the island right on the spot. Do I make myself clear?! I want this to be kept clean. The networks won't tolerate foul play."

Princess Celestia simply bowed to the chaos maker despite her smaller stature. "You have my word, Discord. Derpy and I will play by the rules."

"Splendid!" Discord smiled as he ushered Twilight and Princess Celestia and Pinkie Pie and Derpy to the starting line and held up a flag. "Okay, racers. On your marks, get set, GO GO GO!" He brought the flag down and just like that the race was on!





Try as she might, Twilight Sparkle was unable to really keep pace with Pinkie Pie once the pink party pony got into a rhythm. It wasn't long before she found herself trailing, working herself into a frantic sprint just to avoid being left in the dust.

But this was too much for Princess Celestia to handle, especially since she was readjusting to her smaller and younger body. "Twilight, slow down, please!" She panted while stopping to catch her breath.

Twilight reluctantly did so with a blush. "Sorry, I forgot that you're gonna be by my side," She apologized. "I still can't believe you're doing this for me."

Celestia flashed a warm smile as she looked up at her student while on the approach. "Of all my students, Twilight, you have truly been the best. I've felt a connection with you that runs deeper than any others."

"Are you saying that..." The studious unicorn blinked in nervousness.

The shrunken down sun princess, realizing what her student was implying, quickly blinked and shook her head. "Oh no no no, Twilight! Nothing like that!" And she was quick to clarify. "I do love you, but as a daughter. I can't really explain what it is, but there's just something about you that draws me to you and makes me want to look out for you."

"I... didn't know you felt this way," Twilight slowly commented in uncertainty. "Is that why you've sacrificed so much for me since this whole competition began? Why you've endured so much humiliation?"

The alicorn firmly nodded. "Yes, Twilight. That is part of it."

The studious unicorn proceeded to comment. "Princess Celestia... I don't know what to say."

Before a response could be given, the voice of Discord could be heard impatiently declaring over the loudspeaker. "Hey, slowpokes! Save the chit chat for later and get back in the race! Or do you intend to forfeit right here and now?!"

Twilight immediately shouted back! "Never!" And then she turned to her mentor still stuck in the body of a filly. "Sorry, guess we got carried away. Discord is right though, we need to focus on the game," With fiery determination reflected in her eyes the unicorn mare added. "I didn't come all this way just to lose now, not even to Pinkie Pie!"

Celestia smiled as she encouraged her student. "That's the spirit, Twilight! Go ahead, I'll... do my best to catch up. I don't wanna be the reason why you lose."

"I'm not leaving you behind, Princess Celestia!" Twilight vowed even as she began to slowly resume her trotting, desperate to make up for the time she'd already lost.





Sure enough, by the time Twilight had made it to the end of the first leg of the challenge and was ready to climb up the ropes, Pinkie Pie was already a ways up her wall (though not quite halfway).

Pinkie Pie paused briefly in her climbing to look down, waving to Twilight. "Hey, Twilight! I was beginning to think I'd lost you!"

"You can't get rid of me that easily, Pinkie!" Twilight taunted to her fellow mare in reply. "Just gotta give my partner a moment to catch up, and then I'll be right on your flank!"

Derpy, meanwhile, was tugging on the rope she was using to hold her partner to the wall and keep her from falling. "Pinkie, move! I can't hold you much longer, I need a new rope to tie!"

Pinkie shouted back. "Hold on, I think I've found a good one!" She reached out with one of her hooves to grab the rope her blue eyes had spotted, but when she did it slipped right through her hooves and vanished in a puff of smoke. "Oopsie, that was a dud!" And she frantically searched for another one, eventually tossing what looked like a suitable one down to Derpy as she climbed a little bit higher.

Soon afterward, Princess Celestia reached the rather intimidating (at least to her given her smaller size) rope wall that Twilight was to scale (and then presumably the sun princess herself). But she willed herself to be strong as she swallowed a gulp. "Let's go, Twilight! I'm ready when you are!" She eagerly declared with narrowed eyes and gritted teeth.

Twilight smiled and nodded, immediately throwing herself onto the wall with all her might as her hooves firmly grasped some ropes. So far so good! And it wasn't long before she felt Princess Celestia tying another rope around her to ensure that Twilight wouldn't fall far if she lost her hoofing.

Just as Twilight started her climb up, she heard what sounded like a snap and then saw Pinkie swinging wildly from side to side on her wall! "This is fun!" The pink party pony said with a shriek!

Derpy, meanwhile, was quickly searching for new ropes! "Just hold on, Pinkie! I'll get you tied up again!"

"Hey, you can take your time," Pinkie eagerly declared with a sincere smile. "I'm having the time of my life up here!"

"Perfect, now's my chance!" Twilight Sparkle thought, seizing the opportunity to began her rapid ascent up the rope wall! She checked twice with her hooves to determine if each rope she wanted to use was secure, and if it was she grasped it and pulled herself up to its spot. Slowly but surely, the mare started to close the gap between her and her fellow finalist.

Yet Pinkie was eventually retied by Derpy, and after a brief playful whine she resumed her climbing as well. "You're not getting past me that easily, Twilight!" She told her fellow mare as she looked across to the one she was competing against. "I don't plan to lose if I can help it!"





Twilight ultimately managed to make it to the top of her rope wall just a split second or so before Pinkie could reach the top of hers. The studious unicorn wiping the sweat from her brows even though she knew she was far from done.

Pinkie, for her part, just smiled as she climbed up to the top of her rope wall and stared across at the barrel she would have to ride down a steep slope in. It gave her something to do while she waited for her partner to climb up to her (and she knew the same would be true for Twilight with her partner).

Surprisingly, Derpy and Princess Celestia were up at the top in the blink of an eye, courtesy of elevators that had almost certainly not been there before.

Now it was time for both former Magical Misfits to climb into their barrels and roll their way down the slope to the next leg of their little race. A simple but oh so unnerving task, at least for Twilight. Beads of fresh sweat worked their way down her body as she approached her barrel (marked with her cutie mark, she noticed).

Pinkie Pie only grinned as she climbed into her barrel and lay on her side. "It's too bad this isn't a pickle barrel," She giddily proclaimed, looking up at Derpy. "Pickle barrel is such a funny word. Don't you agree?"

The wall eyed mare nervously blinked. "I... guess so, Pinkie."

A brief flicker of static showed the wall-eyed mare in the confessional, slowly blinking in uncertainty and confusion. "I really don't know what goes on inside that pony's mind sometimes," Then she seemed to faintly smile. "But that's kind of what I like about her. I just wish I knew how much of a like it was really was."

Meanwhile, as the camera cut back from the confessional to the barrels, Twilight's anxiety was easily noticed by the shrunken down sun princess that was her partner. "Just relax, Twilight," The alicorn tried to reassure Twilight. "Have faith in me. I'll be right by your side if anything happens."

Twilight did her best to control her breathing as she felt her barrel begin to be rolled courtesy of Celestia's hooves. She could already see the edge to the downward slope approaching, and thus she shut her eyes. "Please let this be over with soon!" She thought to herself, before screaming at the top of her lungs and proclaiming! "I'm gonna be sick!"

Even Pinkie found herself getting dizzy as Derpy rolled her barrel over the edge and down the slope, letting gravity do the rest. "Whoa! Everything's spinning, even my head!" The pink party pony found herself giggling. "How am I supposed to steer this thing?"

"I don't know and I don't wanna know!" Twilight shouted! "Please make it stop! I wanna get off this crazy ride!"

Princess Celestia and Derpy ran alongside their respective partners' barrels, trying their best to guide them even though the slope was quite steep and seemed to stretch on and on for miles. But they could only do so much to guide the barrels along, especially in the former's case as her small stature again made it hard for her to run very fast. "Curse my love of cake!" The filly sized alicorn lamented aloud in between pants and pauses to catch her breath. It would seem her sweet tooth had come back to haunt her now.

Suddenly, out of the corner of her wall-eyes, Derpy spotted something that made her heart tremble with fear! A sizeable bump right in the middle of the path Pinkie's three balloon marked barrel was rolling down! She tried to rush out in front of it to redirect the barrel, but was just a sliver too late to do so! "Pinkie!" She cried in horror as her wall-eyes went wide!

"Whhhhhhhhhhheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" Pinkie could be heard cheering as her barrel rocketed upward for a considerable distance, before it started to come back down at an alarming rate!

Frantically, Derpy began flapping her wings as hard as she could! She knew she couldn't achieve flight, but she hoped that she might still be able to generate a breeze to slow her partner's rapid descent down to a more manageable level. "Come on! Come on!" The pegasus mare declared aloud while trying to get a good breeze going!

After a great deal of straining, Derpy's efforts were rewarded as she could see a noticeable gust taking form in front of her. It was difficult to aim it upward, but somehow she managed and just in the nick of time as her partner's barrel was about to come crashing down!

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the barrel spun faster and faster, headed for the ground below! But just before it could, the gust caught it and began to roll down at a gentle angle, gradually reducing its speed. This had the added bonus of causing the barrel to get far ahead of Twilight's, and soon Pinkie was rolling her way across the line at the bottom of the slope.

Slowly, Pinkie stumbled out as she found it a real struggle to keep from falling over. "Mommy, I think my toy train ended up in the piano," She muttered right before she fell to the ground. "I think I'm just gonna lie down really quick." The mare declared and did just that, allowing Derpy to breath a much needed sigh of relief.





Pinkie ultimately woke up from her nap just as Twilight's barrel rolled to a stop at the bottom of the slope.

"You can open your eyes now, Twilight," Princess Celestia told her student in that gentle, reassuring tone of hers. "You're safe now, I promise."

So Twilight carefully exited her barrel as her eyes opened, happier than she had ever been before to be touching solid ground with her hooves! She was even proclaiming this in the confessional! "I'll never take land for granted again!" She proclaimed.

Pinkie Pie had her own thoughts to give on the display when she entered the confessional. "I can't believe Twilight would do that whole barrel thing with her eyes closed. That's crazy, even for me! And I just took a barrel ride up into the sky!" It was that subject which caused her to then turn to something else that was occupying her attention. "Speaking of crazy, I can't believe Derpy did that for me," She dreamily sighed. "She really would do anything for me, wouldn't she?"

The camera cut away from the confessional and back to the race itself with a flicker of static, showing Twilight turning her attention to the third and final segment before the race to the finish line: The plank crossing. Calling the wooden plank narrow would be an understatement though. It seemed as if it were just barely a plank at all, like you could blink and it would cease to exist from where you were looking.

"That Discord, leave it to him to make the last part of the last challenge as difficult as possible!" Celestia said with a groan and stomping a hoof down.

Derpy, meanwhile, was staring down at the abyss below the planks. "Is he really sure this is safe? I don't know if I trust him on this."

Pinkie trotted up and proclaimed. "He wouldn't let anything happen to us now, I'm sure of it! He's been there to save us from all other bad things."

Twilight could only blink. "I'm not sure if I trust him this time, Pinkie," And then she took a deep breath. "But I'll be fine as long as I go slow and don't look down." She then proceeded to nervously plant a hoof on the beam, relieved when the beam itself didn't immediately give way from the pressure.

Pinkie Pie, for her part, just bounced along the plank like everything was perfectly fine. It took her almost no time at all to cross it, and she waited patiently on the other side while she called to Derpy. "Come on, Derpy. We're so close to those muffins I promised you!"

Derpy licked her lips ever so slightly. "That would be nice," She declared to her fellow mare. "But you don't need to promise me anything. We already talked about this."

The pink party pony just smiled. "Hey, anything that motivates you to win! Besides, I gotta reward you somehow after what you did for me."

The wall-eyed pegasus mare began to trot up onto the beam, slowly and clumsily waddling her way across it. "I'm your partner, that's kind of what I'm supposed to do." She nodded in reply, trying to stay focused on the matter at hoof.

"Yeah, but it's not just because of that is it?" Pinkie questioned the pegasus in a pondering tone. "It's something else, isn't it? Like you know, you like me. Like really like me."

At that Derpy froze, uncertain of the response to give. "Pinkie... I... I don't know if..."

"Well, maybe I don't either but isn't that kind of the fun of it all?" Pinkie Pie answered. "We can find out together, you and I. How does that sound?"

After thinking over her response for a moment, Derpy declared. "Well... let's see where things are after the game. We need to focus on that for right now." And then she resumed her slow waddle across the very narrow plank, trying her best not to fall off and paying little attention to the progress Twilight and Princess Celestia were making on their end.





At last, all four mares had made it across their narrow planks. By some stroke of luck, Derpy and Princess Celestia had reached the end at roughly the same time.

But now it was down to just Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle in a race to the finish! "Sorry, Pinkie, but the million bits are mine!" Twilight firmly declared as she took off as fast as her hooves would carry her!

"Oh no you don't! Not on my watch! And I don't even have a watch!" Pinkie protested as she took off in an even faster pace, or so it seemed!

Before long, the two finalists were nearing the finish line while their partners followed behind as best they could! "Well folks, this looks like it could be a finish for the history books!" Discord excitedly declared as he stood near the finish line, announcing every detail with the most dramatic tone of voice he could see. "We may have a photo finish on our hooves here! And I mean a literal one, not that fashion whatever she is."

From a glance it looked impossible to tell who was truly ahead and who was truly behind. It looked as if both former Magical Misfits were neck and neck.

However, from the safety of the stands Vinyl Scratch and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were looking through some binoculars and what they saw gave them cause for concern. "Pinkie's slowing down!" Vinyl gasped in horror, the shades atop her head lifting up briefly from the shock! "I'll bet she went and stuffed her face full at breakfast, so now she's getting tired out."

"Come on, Twilight!" Spike encouraged as he gave a whistle! "You're almost there! You can do it!"

Scootaloo, observing the whole thing through her set of binoculars, began to gulp. "This isn't good! Pinkie's going to lose!"

"But she's gotta win! She's been playin' so hard!" Apple Bloom protested!

It was then that Vinyl Scratch decided to do something! "Don't worry, everypony! I got this!" She hopped down from the stands and ran back behind them, making a lot of noise while she stirred up quite a commotion in search of something! "Come on! Come on!" The dj unicorn could be heard saying to herself as the commotion grew louder. Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie and Twilight were drawing nearer and nearer to the finish line. And now it was starting to become easier to notice that Twilight was taking the lead. But at last, Vinyl emerged with a fan in tow and a plate of brownies. "Everypony stand back!" She declared at the top of her lungs!

"Hey, what do you think you're doin'?!" Applejack shouted and leapt down from the other stands to confront Vinyl! "Don't be tryin' to cheat now! Pinkie wouldn't want that!"

But there was no need for Vinyl or Applejack to do anything. For at that moment the wind shifted ever so slightly, in a way that might have been unnoticeable to all but the most trained of eyes and ears.

Rainbow Dash flashed a smile as she became aware of something else that was happening with the shifting wind. "You've got this, Pinkie." She said to herself.

Seconds later, Pinkie's nose caught whiff of a strong scent due to the shifting wind. She could smell something delicious, even more delicious than those plate of brownies Vinyl Scratch had brought out. And that tasty treat was waiting for her just beyond the finish line, teasing her with that savory, mouth watering aroma! It gave her a sense of urgency that she had rarely known up to this point! It was dead in her sight! "Scones! I'm coming for you!"

Poor Twilight barely had time to react as Pinkie Pie plowed right past her without stopping, consumed entirely by thoughts of those scones. The studious unicorn groaned as she was knocked down and pushed aside. "Pinkie..." Was all she could bring herself to say.

Consumed by this drive for scones, Pinkie roared right through the finish line and broke the rope! And she didn't stop until she had tackled Gilda, who happened to have a plate of scones in her possession. 

"Hey, back off, dweeb!" Gilda protested as she held up the plate and tried to swat Pinkie away! "These scones aren't for you!"

Discord quickly moved to break up a potential fight as he appeared before Pinkie and told her. "Forget the scones, Pinkie. You won! You are the winner of Total Magic Pony Island!"

The realization slowly dawned for the pink party pony. "No kidding! I did?!" As the reality slowly settled in she excitedly declared! "I did it! I did it! I did it! Oh, I amaze even myself!"

As for Twilight, she could only smile. It was impossible to be mad with Pinkie. "Very well played, Pinkie Pie. Very well played." Was all she chose to say.

Princess Celestia put a hoof around her student. "Sorry you didn't win, Twilight."

The studious unicorn sighed very briefly while looking at her shrunken down mentor. "It's okay. It can't be helped," And her mood was quick to improve as she added. "At least I know the prize money will go to a good cause. Now we just need to find out what Discord has planned for after the show."





Twilight, Princess Celestia and everyone else didn't have to wait long to find out. That night, long after Twilight and Pinkie had shed their silly hats, everyone gathered around the fire pit where so many previous elimination ceremonies had taken place, where so many former contestants had left Paradox Island in disgrace via the Boat of Losers.

Before the gathered crowd, Discord presented Pinkie Pie with a very heavy briefcase as he told her! "Pinkie Pie, as promised here is the prize money of a million bits!" Then he brought up a medallion as he added. "And, to commemorate your victory over all the others, I give you this: The Symbol of Survival! Cherish it for the rest of your days. Or don't, I don't care."

"Wowie! Two prizes in one day?! I must be dreaming!" The pink party pony excitedly declared, before leaping and looking into the cameras! "Mr. and Mrs. Cake, if you're seeing this at home, I'm a winner! Your baby pony's gonna have the bestest nursery ever!"

Gilda could only groan and roll her eyes. "Can't believe you won because of stupid scones. You got insanely lucky."

"Hey, a win's a win!" Sweetie Belle protested. "She played hard to make it to the finale. I'd say she deserved her victory."

Derpy, meanwhile, trotted over to the pink party pony and gave her a tight hug. "So I guess now I'll have to get to know you as a millionaire," She teased. "At least until you've gone and spent all that money."

Pinkie giggled and grinned. "Heh heh. Yeah, I guess so. And I'll be happy to have you by my side through it all, Derpy. Even if it doesn't work out, it'll have been fun to try it."

Rarity couldn't help but comment as she observed the scene. "Don't look now, but I think we've got one last relationship developing among us here. Who would've ever guessed it'd be those two?"

Meanwhile, Princess Celestia confronted Discord directly with the help of her sister as she locked eyes with the chaos maker and demanded of him. "Alright, Discord. The party's over! Whatever your real plans are or I should say were for after this little show of yours, they end here and they end now!" She proceeded to dramatically declare. "And while you're at it, you're going to give me back my normal body!"

But to the surprise of the shrunken down sun princess and many others, Discord just responded. "Who says I had any plans at all? This show was my plan all along!" And he explained. "Originally, this was just supposed to be a fun little distraction while I plotted my revenge. I was gonna wait until the very end and then take over Equestria as a finale gift, and the winner would get to serve at my side for all eternity. But you know what? I actually grew to like being a host. This was a pretty fun little experience. In fact, I say we should do it all again sometime!"

"Not with me!" Nightmare Moon firmly protested with a huff! "You can do whatever you want, Discord, but I'm not gonna be part of it. I intend to find a place to make into my own kingdom of eternal night." And the wicked mare of darkness trotted off, soon vanishing in a puff of dark blue smoke.

Discord, taken by surprise by the statement, looked at the eliminated contestants and said. "Well... that was unexpected," But he nervously replied. "But that aside... we all had fun during this, right? Right?"

Yet before the chaos maker knew it, he was being surrounded by many of the eliminated contestants who looked at him with narrowed eyes. "Uh-oh," The witty spirit gulped and quickly looked into the cameras. "Well folks, that's all for this season of Total Magic Pony Island! But we might see you again some day, I hope!"