Hello everyone, here I have the penultimate chapter of this story, enjoy.
Antoine, Passepartout, Sunset, Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy arrived at the entrance of a lair, the entrance looking like a giant tiger head.
" We're nearly at the end of the journey, you've collected all nine keys needed for the treasure chamber, you've uncovered five clues out of seven available, and you're nearly about to take on the treasure chamber, there is just one final thing to do, the council, the seven of you will face the council in five different duels, doing this will determine how much time the chamber will remain open for, each duel will grant you up to a minute of time, as there are five, you'll receive a maximum time of 5 minutes in the chamber, each duel will require 1-2 of you, the first duel requires one, any volunteers", said Antoine.
" I'll do it", said Rainbow Dash.
" Excellent, the door will open, and you may enter, and remember, the more time you get, the better", said Antoine.
The giant tiger statues mouth opened, revealing a small tunnel, Rainbow Dash crawled underneath.
She finds herself in a small dark lair, sitting upon the throne is the master of the fort, Father Fouras.
" Miss Rainbow Dash, welcome to my domain, I see you have great speed, always fast on your feet, but, how quick are you with your hands, and mind", said Fouras.
" I'm good", said Rainbow Dash.
" Let's see", said Fouras, getting off the throne, and leading Rainbow Dash to one of the five boxes, each having a council member standing on it, the council members were dressed in robes, and were wearing tiger masks.
The council member opened the box, revealing three cups of sand, and a small air cannon, with three corks.
" The sand within the cups are the sands of time, which is what's used in the treasure chamber, for this challenge, there are three cups, each containing 20 seconds worth of sand, the task is simple, I will place a cork in this small air cannon, at some point, it will fly up, and you must catch it before your opponent, there will be three rounds, and every time you win a round, you'll earn a cup", said Fouras.
" First round", said Fouras, placing the first cork into the air cannon.
Rainbow Dash and the council member waited, until eventually, the cork was released.
And Rainbow Dash caught it.
" Well done Rainbow Dash, beginners luck", said Fouras as the council member gave Rainbow Dash a cup.
" Second round", said Fouras, placing the second cork in the air cannon.
However, this time it didn't take long as the cork shot out, and the council member caught it.
" Hard luck", said Fouras as the council member picked up the second cup, and tilted it, spilling the sands onto the ground, leaving only one more cup.
" Final round", said Fouras, placing the last cork in the air cannon.
This one took longer, and at some point, it felt like the air cannon was jammed, until eventually, the shot burst out into the air.
And Rainbow Dash was the one who was able to catch it.
" Well done Rainbow Dash, two out of three ain't bad, which means you have earned for your team, 40 seconds of time in the treasure room", said Fouras.
Rainbow Dash picked up the cup, and approached a cylinder, placing the sands in it, before leaving.
Antoine turned to the remaining six girls.
" You have at least 40 seconds in the chamber, which isn't much, but not to worry, there's still 4 more duels to face, and you can still get up to 4 minutes and 40 seconds, the next duel requires 2 of you", said Antoine.
" I'll do it", said Pinkie Pie.
" Excellent, that's one, anyone else", said Antoine.
" I'll do it", said Rarity.
" That's two", said Antoine.
And so, Applejack, Sunset, Fluttershy and Twilight watched as Rarity and Pinkie Pie entered the tunnel.
The pair stood under the spotlight, as Father Fouras looked at them.
" Pinkie Pie, and Rarity, your friend earned you 40 seconds of time, how would you fair", said Fouras.
" Hopefully the same way, or hopefully even better", said Rarity.
" Let's see", said Fouras, and the three approached another box, where another council member opened it, revealing two metal posts, a long wire tied between, and four sets of weights, and four cups.
" You'll be up against two members of the council, in this duel, you must keep hold of the weight, above the wire, with your arm straight, hold on longer than the council, for each member you outlast will reward each of you a cup, containing 15 seconds of time, if you both outlast both council members, you'll receive a full minute, however, if you both drop early, you'll receive zero seconds", said Fouras.
And so, both council members, along with Rarity and Pinkie Pie, picked up a weight each, holding them above the wire, and the game started.
It was a struggle, however, both Rarity and Pinkie Pie kept grip of their weights, as one of the council members dropped a weight, guaranteeing the pair 30 second of time.
However, as soon as that happened, Rarity also dropped a weight, which leaves only Pinkie Pie, if she holds on longer than the remaining council member, she'll get an extra 15 seconds of time.
After a bit longer, the second council member dropped his weight, meaning Pinkie Pie was the last one standing.
" Rarity, you earned 15 seconds of time, while Pinkie Pie earned 30, in total that's 45 seconds earned for this challenge, add that to the 40 seconds Rainbow Dash won, gives you a total of 1 minute and twenty five seconds", said Fouras.
Rarity and Pinkie Pie added the sands in the cylinder, before leaving to join Rainbow Dash.
" One minute and twenty five seconds, after 2 challenges, that's an average of 42 seconds per challenge, keep that up, and you'll only spend over three minutes, but there's still 3 challenges left, you can still wind up with up to 4 minutes and twenty five seconds", said Antoine.
" I volunteer for the next one", said Sunset.
" Very well", said Antoine, the door opened, and Sunset crawled through.
" Sunset Shimmer, ready for the third task", said Fouras.
" Bring it", said Sunset.
Fouras then lead Sunset to the third box, and it opened, revealing a long wood block, four long nails, and two mallets.
" You and your opponent will slam your mallet onto the nails, into the wood, it's a race, whoever slams two nails into the wood fully the quickest, wins, if you can do that, you'll win a full minute, however if he wins, but you manage to slam one nail in fully, you'll earn 30 seconds, but if you're unable to slam any nails in, you'll earn nothing", said Fouras.
The four nails are set, and the challenge begins, they started slamming on the nails, Sunset manages to get the first nail early, guaranteeing her 30 seconds, however, so did the council member for his first nail.
It now comes down to just one final nail, and the one who slammed theirs in the quickest was...
...
...
... the council member.
" Never mind Sunset, but you did earn 30 seconds, giving that a total of one minute and 55 seconds", said Fouras.
Sunset placed the sands in the cylinder before leaving.
" One minute and 55 seconds", said Antoine, turning to the remaining three girls, Twilight, Applejack and Fluttershy.
" There is still two more challenges to play, you can still get a maximum of three minutes and fifty five seconds, the next duel requires two of you", said Antoine.
" I'll do it", said Twilight.
" I'll go as well if you're fine with that Fluttershy", said Applejack to Fluttershy.
But then, Fluttershy took a deep breath and said, " Actually, I like to give it a go".
" Atta girl", said Applejack.
The door then opened, and both Twilight and Fluttershy crawled underneath.
Fouras then lead them to the fourth box, revealing small metal hooks, cubes with holes and letters, and chopsticks.
" Using the chopsticks, you must carry the cubes and place them on the hooks, making sure they spell the word BOYARD, if your opponent finishes before you, then you must stop, and you'll be rewarded 5 seconds for each correct cube", said Fouras.
And so, the task begun, the three competitors got hold of the chopsticks.
And while Fluttershy struggled, Twilight managed to get her first two letters on the hook, B and O.
The Council Member got a hold of some letters, but kept dropping them.
Eventually, Fluttershy got her first letter on her hook, and so did the council member, for his hook, by then Twilight got the next two letters on her hook, Y, and A.
The Council member soon placed his second letter on his hook, overtaking Fluttershy, and Twilight placed her fifth letter on her hook, R, meaning she was only one leeter away to completing the word.
Fluttershy was able to catch up placing her second letter on the hook, and eventually, her third, overtaking the council member, and soon, she has her fourth letter on.
So far, Twilight has the letters B,O,Y,A and R, and is only one letter away from victory, Fluttershy has the letters B,O,Y, and A, and is only two letters away from victory, while the council member has the letters B and O, and is only four letters away from completing the word.
Soon, Fluttershy placed her fifth letter on her hook, tying her with Twilight.
The council member was able to place the letter Y on his hook, but it's too late, as Twilight was able to get the last letter cube on her hook, D, completing the word, BOYARD.
Fluttershy was struggling as the council member placed his fourth letter on his hook, but she managed to get her final letter on her hook, completing the word.
" Congratulations the both of you, you have both successfully completed the word, and as such, you've both earned for your team, 30 seconds each", said Fouras.
And so, both Twilight and Fluttershy were each given a cup, and they placed the sands into the cylinder, adding a minute of time to their current score, gives them a total of two minutes and fifty five seconds in the treasure chamber.
Antoine then turned to Applejack, who was the only girl left.
" It's now down to you Applejack, one final challenge, you can still win up to three minutes and fifty five seconds in the chamber", said Antoine.
For the final time, the door opened, and Applejack crawled in, and once the door closed, she made her way to the lair, where Fouras was waiting for her.
He leads her to the fifth and final box, revealed 20 cards.
" This is a memory game, taking in turns, you flip two cards facing up, revealing symbols, if you can find a matching pair, you earn a point, if not, the turn goes to your opponent, there are 10 pairs, but in order to win the maximum 60 seconds, you must find at least 6 pairs, for every pair you find, you'll earn ten seconds", said Fouras.
The Council member went first, picking up two pairs, but no match, Applejack went next, also found no match.
The Council member went again, finding two cards that did match, and was allowed to go again, and found another matching pair, making it 2-0 in his favor.
He was allowed to go again, however, failed to find another pair, and so it was Applejack's turn.
Using her memory, Applejack found a matching pair, earning ten seconds, there are still seven more pairs, and she can still get the maximum time, if she should find five more pairs.
She went again, and found another matching pair, making it two, thus balancing the score between her and the council 2-2.
She went for a third time, and got a third pair in a row, making the score 3-2 in her favor, and guaranteeing her 30 seconds.
However, in her next attempt, she got no match, and so, it was his turn.
He gets a matching pair again, making the score even again, 3-3, he find another pair shortly after, putting him in the lead again, 4-3, and then, from getting another matching pair, the score becomes 5-3, and thus, the maximum time, Applejack would've gotten, will not be claimed by her.
In fact, with only four cards left, the council only needs to find one more matching pair, and the game ends.
However, to his dismay, the next two cards he showed, didn't match, and that opened the door to Applejack.
She used her turn, and without messing up, revealed another pair, leaving only two tiles remaining, for her to reveal the last two symbols, making the final score for this duel, 5-5.
" You managed to find five pairs, and so, you've earned your team another 50 seconds in the treasure room, giving you a grand total of three minutes and forty five seconds", said Fouras.
Applejack then poured the sands into the cylinder, before leaving, and joining her friends.
Antoine and Passepartout joined the girls again.
" Three minutes and forty-five seconds is a lot of time when you think about it, even if you did get a couple of penalties, it would've been fine", said Antoine.
" You keep mentioning penalties, but what exactly are they", said Rainbow Dash.
" Think of them more like demerits, basically you get one every time you fail a task in the hall of judgement, and as you only had to face three tasks, you would've gotten up to three penalties, for each penalty, you would have to take ten seconds off your time in the chamber, meaning you could've lost 30 seconds, should you've failed all three tasks, which would've left you with three minutes and fifteen seconds", said Antoine.
" So basically, you said the maximum penalties was 15, meaning up to two and a half minutes could've been taken out", said Sunset.
" Thank goodness it hadn't", said Rarity.
" Well, almost everything is done, it's now getting dark, we've gone through all three stages of the journey, and now, there's only one more thing left to do", said Antoine.
" The treasure chamber", said Pinkie Pie.
" That's right, Passepartout, lead the way", said Antoine.
And Passepartout did so, as the group followed the dwarf, to the final destination, the treasure chamber.
And that's it for this chapter, next time, the finale, the girls will take on the treasure chamber, and claim their fortune, until then, peace.