“Last time on Withstander!” Pinkie Pie said. “CMTR and Jambalaya tried to kill each other so they could have a slightly better type of rice than the other team. Despite CMTR having magical badass Twilight and physical badass Rainbow, Jambalaya won due to not having half their team be fillies. Who be voted off this time on Withstander: Corvidae Islands?”

“Okay, is anypony doing anything?” Twilight said.

“There’s nothin’ Ah can do,” Apple Bloom said.

“I could magic some wood,” © Sweetie Belle 2012.

“I’ll magic some wood as well if you want,” Rarity said.

“What about you, Rainbow?”

There was no answer.

“Where’s Rainbow?”

“Ah think she’s still asleep.”

“For Faust’s sakes...” Twilight went to the excuse for a shelter to find Rainbow. She nudged her a little to no avail.

“Wake up, Rainbow.”

Snoring.

“WAKE UP, RAINBOW!”

“Huh, what? I didn’t kill Bob, I wasn’t even... oh, hi, Twilight. I was having this dr—”

“Can you help us with food, maybe wood? Everypony’s in a bad mood in this hood.”

“Can’t give a lift to the club, T-man. I’m still out.”

“...What?”

“I’m tired.”

“Yeah, I know that... anyway, the unicorns among us will get wood. Apple Bloom will, um... Apple Bloom?”

“Yeah?”

“Rarity, Sweetie Belle, and I are getting wood, what are you doing?”

“Ah’ll cook or somethin’.”

“Can you cook?”

“Ah can manage rahce.”

“Good.”

“So, I’m with Octavia,” Lyra said, “And Applejack and Big Mac have that platonic thing which has apparently been going on since Applejack’s birth, which I find hard to believe, but okay. That leaves camerapony #3 and Butterscotch.”

“Do I have to be associated with Butterscotch?”

“Yes. And what’s your name? Camerapony #3 is seven syllables.” A reader then counted the syllables himself because he didn’t trust my ability to count to seven.

“Fine,” camerapony #3 said. “If it’ll make you stop asking me, it’s Metragenic.”

“Metragenic?” Applejack said. “What’s that mean?”

“It’s the word metrage suffixed with -genic. So it means ‘producing metrage’. But please, seriously, call me camerapony #3.”

“What was your name before you got your cutie mark?” Lyra said.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Was it wicked embarrassin’?” Applejack said.

“Yes.”

“We won’t make fun of you,” Liera said.

“Yes, you will.”

“Octavia won’t make fun of you,” Lyra said, “The rest of us aren’t above that.”

“Just call me camerapony #3, okay?”

“But it’s so long.”

“Well, that’s your problem, not mine.”

“Fine. You’re such a... um... pony who doesn’t want to be made fun of because of a name she didn’t choose and no longer has.”

“We should make some food,” Octavia said.

“Welcome to the mandatory swimming challenge,” Pinkie said. “Five from each team will swim out there, around that buoy, and whoever gets back last loses invulnerability and whatever’s on this table under this tarp for their team. Jambalaya, who’s sitting out?”

“Butterscotch, are you fine at swimmin’?” Applejack said.

“I’m okay at it.”

“Octavia, you suck at anythin’ remotely physical, right?”

“She does,” Lyra said.

“We’re sittin’ out Octavia.”

“Very well,” Pinkie said slowly in a deep, evil voice. “The challenge will begin at high noon.” She looked at her present wristwatch, it displaying 11:59:56. “Threeee... twooo... ooone... GOOOO!”

Everypony except Octavia metaphorically dived into the water, but not literally because it was too shallow being right next to the shore and all, and started swimming like platypi.

“Everypony off to a great start,” Pinkie said, “Except for Apple Bloom and Butterscotch who’re a little behind, and Sweetie Belle who’s a moderate amount behind. Since no important positional changes are happening, here’s a joke: in Ancient Rome, ponies—well, people—would throw applesauce onto the stage after a good performance. Eventually, the word ‘applesauce’, once it was a word with English and all, began to be used for any form of approval after a performance. This was eventually contracted to ‘applause’, which is where we get the word.”

“And here’s Rainbow and Applejack and Big Mac and camerapony #3 and Twilight and Butterscotch and Lyra!” Pinkie said, barely keeping up with their arrivals. “And here’s Rarity and Apple Bloom, but it doesn’t matter, ‘cause Jambalaya’s already won invulnerability!”

Jambalaya did generic cheering as everyone waited patiently for Sweetie Belle to arrive.

“...And here’s Sweetie Belle. Nice job.”

“Well, sorry, it’s just not one of my skills....”

“And so you signed up for Withstander. Anyway, Jambalaya get invulnerability and...” she pulled the tarp away from its quite large table, “Three hundred litres of fresh water!”

Jambalaya cheered wildly.

“Yes!” Pinkie said. “No longer will you have to collect rainwater in your rice pan! You can drink a normal amount of water for, I don’t know, a week or something! I don’t know how much water you’re supposed to drink a day for what you ponies do, but it’s more than you have now!”

“That reminds me,” Lyra said, “Do we get refills on rice now? Because we were planning around—”

“No!” Pinkie said. “If you can’t go two days without food, you don’t deserve to be here!”

“You know, in normal Survivor—”

“Up, up, up! This is Withstander. Not that sissy Survivor where they just hoof out rice and water. This is a real pony’s game.”

“Are these responses scripted, or—”

“Leave!”

“Well, we have water and shelter,” Lyra said. “Now we just need food....”

“Well, Scootaloo’s managed through tahmes way worse than this,” Applejack said, “So Ah think we should be able to handle it. Right, Big Mac?”

“You don’t care about my opinion, you just want to hear me say it.”

“Ah’m sorry.”

“Octavia,” Lyra said. Octavia had been standing next to her the whole time, but no one brought it up until now.

“Yes?”

“I want to talk with you because I’ll get bored if I’m alone.”

“That’s an improvement over your typical programme of forcing—”

“Look, I don’t want to do it, it’s the contract.”

“You do it more than once a day sometimes.”

“Well, your definition of that is so broad anyway. If some pony kisses her girlfriend, you call that ‘sexual assault’ because she didn’t sign a contract first. Actually, wait, then you still do that.”

“You know what I’m talking about, Lyra.”

“I know, I just think you’re a little uptight about it sometimes.”

“But my uptightness is why you love me. This is isn’t the first time this has happened recently, do you not love me for that anymore?”

“Don’t take what I’m saying the wrong way, I just wish you wouldn’t mind me kissing you so much.”

“I don’t mind it, it’s just that sometimes you’re a bit... extreme about it. I don’t need every kiss to be me nearly choking on your tongue.”

“So I can’t passionately kiss my girlfriend?”

“Well, no, but my point is that it’s better for it to be quick when I don’t want it to happen in the first place.”

“Okay....”

“Thank you.” Spoiler alert: Lyra doesn’t change.

“I like how this show is supposed to be about survival and we’re talking about kissing,” Lyra said.

“Well, you can only have so many variations of ‘we’re underfed’ before you have to find something else to talk about....”

“salvete to la Councila de Tríba!” Pinkie said. “How does it feel to lose both challenges?”

“It feels Xtremely disappointing,” Twilight said. “I Xpected us to do Xceptionally Xcellent at everything, but I guess we’re just not as Xtreme as I first thought.”

“:(,” Rainbow said.

“It feels really bad,” Apple Bloom said, “But there’s still hope. We can still prolly Xtract some X-factor and Xtricate ourselves outta this before the merge.”

“What makes you think that?” Pinkie said.

“Ah dunno, Ah just wanna seem like Ah have team spirit or whatever.”

“That’s enough talking for a 45-minute show, now vote!” Yes, forty-five minutes. You know those channels where things start at weird times like seventeen minutes past the hour? It’s on one of those. “Apple Bloom, you’re up first.”

“Ah’m sorry, but we don’t need ya anymore,” Apple Bloom said.

“I just can’t see us having any use for you,” Twilight said.

“You suck at everything,” Rainbow said, “And the one thing you don’t suck at we have somepony else for anyway.”

Rainbow, the last one to vote, came back from Voting Area.

“el votos numerabo,” Pinkie said. She retrieved the votes. “Blah blah leaving immediately.”

“First vote: Rarity.”

Rarity got shaky.

“Second vote: Sweetie Belle.”

Sweetie Belle got shaky.

“Sweetie Belle.”

Sweetie Belle got drinking CAEB-spiked coffee in Alaska shaky.

“Second pony voted off Withstander: Corvidae Islands: Sweetie Belle.”

Sweetie Belle walked over to Pinkie Pie, not bringing her nonexistent torch with her.

“Sweetie Belle, all your friends hate you.”

Sweetie Belle exited for Sequestria.

“I hope you’re all happy with yourselves,” Pinkie said, “Losing two challenges and not voting off Rarity. Good night.”

“I can’t believe they all voted for me,” Sweetie Belle said. “I expected at least Apple Bloom to be on my side. How can I trust anypony anymore? What if Apple Bloom hates me? It’s possible. She could hate me because I’m too Rarityish for her and she’s just trying to be nice. Do Apple Bloom and Scootaloo talk about me behind my back? Maybe they do, how would I know? Maybe everypony makes fun of me. All of Ponyville could be brought together by their mutual hatred of me. What about Rarity? She probably thinks I’m a nuisance. And I am! I’m just taking up food! It would be better for everypony if I just killed myself.”

Next Chapter: Chapter 101: Sweetie Belle’s Love Confession Estimated time remaining: 10 Hours, 57 Minutes