“Last time,” Pinkie Pie screamed into a tailwind, “On Withstander: Corvidae Islands! There was an archery challenge, and not Twilight won, so Twilight got voted off! Now with only Jambalayers left, there’s an actual mystery as to who’ll get voted out this time on Total! Wait, Withstander!”

“Longin’ for Rainbow,” Applejack said.

“Telling you to talk about something else,” Big Mac said.

“I love you and stuff,” Lyra said.

“I love you and things,” Octavia said.

“I’m lonely,” camerapony #3 said.

“Ah think camerapony #3 should get the mail since she’s got nothin’ better to do,” Applejack said.

“+1,” Big Mac said.

“Works with me,” Lyra said.

Camerapony #3 got the mail and came back.

“There are five of you. After this, there will be four. How long can you hang?”

And so they did some canoeing.

“Welcome, Withstanders!” Pinkie said into a tailwind (headwind for the Withstanders). She was behind a team game show contestant desk for hiding things behind. “Today’s challenge is simple: there are five horizontal ropes with ten wooden posts, two each, holding them up, making the overall shape Π-like. Whoever can hold on to their rope for the longest time without falling wins.”

Octavia raised a hoof.

“Octavia!”

“We have hooves.”

Pinkie sighed. “I already went over this. They’re called challenges because they’re challenging. We’ll play DEFCON for spots, then we’ll get started.”

One game later!

“Welperdoozerwhatsithoofsticks,” Pinkie said, “We’re five seconds into the challenge. You’re all doing... adequate.”

Fifty-five seconds later!

“Welperdoozerywhatsithoofsticks,” Pinkie said, “It’s time for the first bribe. I know this isn’t totally just a strength of your will challenge, but whatever. If you leave the challenge within one minute, you’ll receive this bowl of spaghetti. Just a second.” It was heavy enough to need two hooves to grab, and she was able to biped just long enough to put it on the desk. It was a strainer-sized bowl of spaghetti complete with pasta sauce and pasta cheese. “This bowl.”

Octavia let go and landed with her hindlegs, then she slipped and landed on her back.

“Nice,” Pinkie said.

“Well, we’re supposed to be quadrupeds,” Octavia said as she got up.

“Yeah, but you should be able to hold it for at least a couple seconds....”

“I had the momentum from the falling and... well, it’s not really important. Do I still get the bribe even though I let go by accident?”

“Yep.”

Octavia went to the desk and Pinkie hooved her a fork of steel.

“You should be behind the desk.”

“Why?”

“Because otherwise it looks weird with you all in front of the desk. Just get on the other side.”

Octavia went to the other side of the desk.

“Welperdoozerywhatsithoofstickeronis,” Pinkie said, “Octavia gets a huge bowl of sustenance whilst you get to watch her. She may have lost the challenge, but you know who the real winner is? Whoever wins the challenge.”

Thirty minutes later!

Camerapony #3 slipped off undramatically.

“G’job,” Pinkie said.

“Om nom,” Octavia said, entire strands of spaghetti falling out of her mouth as she did.

One hour into the challenge!

“It’s time for the last bribe,” Pinkie said. She took another strainer-sized bowl of spaghetti and put it on the desk. “This bowl!”

“Do we get the spaghetti or just the bowl?” Lyra said.

“No, you get both.”

Lyra let go by accident.

Approximately one hour later!

“And then you know what she did?” Pinkie said. “She called h Poké a Missingno..”

“Shmsh’l?” Lyra said with a mouthful of spaghetti.

“Seriously!”

Big Mac fell off.

“Oh,” Pinkie said. “Applejack wins!”

Applejack let go undramatically.

“I’ll see you tonight,” Pinkie said dramatically.

Back at camp, nothing was happening. No discussion of any kind, no cooking, no inclement weather, no killing of chickens, nothing. In fact, nothing happened so much that a tumbleweed rolled along the beach.

“What business does a tumbleweed have on the Corvidae Islands?” Octavia said.

“i dunno lol.” “I don’t know.” “I don’t know.” “I can’t say I have any idea.”

“Welcome,” Pinkie said, “To Teamal Council. So, only five of you left. The odds just get worse and worse. But this vote will really be interesting. With CMTR gone, who’s not really your friend? Who’s not as much on the inside as they think they are? We’ll find out tonight.”

“Practising your lines for tonight?” camerapony #2 said.

“What does it look like?”

“An’ that’s whah Ah miss Rainbow,” Applejack said.

“I can’t believe I took Big Mac’s trade,” said camerapony #3.

“Welcome,” Pinkie said, “To Teamal Council. So, only five of you left. The odds just get worse and worse. But this vote will really be interesting. With CMTR gone, who’s not really your friend? Who’s not as much on the inside as they think they are? We’ll find out tonight, unless it’s Applejack. We’re going by name length tonight, so Lyra, you’re first.”

Voting happened, but camerapony #3 was interesting.

“Okay,” camerapony #3 thought in French, “Applejack and Big Mac told me they would vote for Lyra, Lyra and Octavia told me they would vote for Big Mac... who do I choose? I don’t know. Stress and related emotions.”

She wrote down her vote, immediately changed it, thought for a minute, and changed it again.

“The votes,” Pinkie said. “I will tally them.”

Pinkie made vote retrieval a reality.

“Whomever gets the greater amount of vote’s looses,” Pinkie said. “First vote: Lyra.”

“Second vote: camerapony #3.”

“Wait, what?” camerapony #3 said.

“Camerapony #3.”

“Eighth pony voted off Withstander: Corvidae Islands and the third member of our jury: camerapony #3.”

Camerapony #3 hopped on one hoof over to Pinkie.

“Camerapony #3, all your friends hate you.”

And so she took the arduous journey to Sequestria.

“I hope you’re happy with yourselves,” Pinkie said, “Because you’re my friends and I like you. Good night.”

Next Chapter: Chapter 129: A Problem and a Dilemma Estimated time remaining: 6 Hours, 8 Minutes