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.”