The Legend of Mare-Do-Well

by JD2K

Chapter 6

The Legend of Mare-Do-Well
Chapter 6: Night of the Game Marester, Part 1
by JD2K

The green pony looked carefully at the table in front of him. Which should he choose? He never saw a pony, let alone as crazily dressed as this one, move those cups that fast. Why did he agree? He was merely passing by and was headed home after a visit to the local watering hole where he caught up with his other friends. Now he was out this month's bit pay and was now playing all-or-nothing to get it back. It came down to one final choice.

"I choose..." His shaky hoof wandered around each of the three glittery blue top hats in front of him. Finally, he pointed at the rightmost one. "...that one! That's where it is!"

The golden-yellow unicorn grinned widely as she slid one of her hooves down her spiky platinum-blond mane with light yellow streaks. "Is this one your final choice, my friend? Be thankful I am generous enough to give you one final chance to change your mind..." she purred in a mock-soothing voice.

The pony merely bit his lip. It didn't help matters out that she stared right at him and couldn't tell what kind of eyes were behind those strange sunglasses she wears. Just what kind of pony was this? Where would a gold-coated pony wearing such a gaudy blue tuxedo coat which glittered all over appear from? He mistook this stranger for some circus performer who got lost but now he was about to make the biggest choice of his life.

"Yes, I'm sure of it! Don't play mind games with me!" he snapped back.
"Oh, but those are the best kind of games they are, my friend..." the strange filly cooed back. “And you should have heeded my words." With a light yellow aura from her horn she levitated the rightmost hat.

All the color of the stallion's face drained as he stared at the empty space underneath the hat. "Oh, too bad, my friend!" the filly chuckled as she lifted the leftmost hat to reveal a bit coin. "Here is where it was! You lost the game, and now I’ll collect my prize!"
The green pony took a few steps back in shock. "But-but-but-but... But I have no more money! You took every single last bit I have in my possession!"
From behind her strange glasses, the filly scowled with a wicked smile. "Money? Oh that’s just some worthless benefit to me. My real prize is much more valuable than some stupid bits…”

The stallion shook his head fearfully. "You're crazy! Utterly insane!" With that, he turned around and broke into a gallop to get away.

The filly shook her head a few times as her horn started to glow. "From my games you did partake, now my prize you must forsake!" she chanted as a blast of magic shot out of her horn and hit the stallion head-on. A few screams of anguish and horror were heard and then silence as a tiny thump was heard landing on the ground.

"Another one to add..."
She then lifted the middle hat as it turned around and magically expanded as some strange vortex began to form inside the glittering blue haberdashery. It engulfed the table, the other two top hats and attracted a small figure from the ground and swallowed them all into the inky darkness inside the hat itself. Soon the vortex came to a stop, the hat went back to its original shape, and the filly placed it back on top of her head, hiding her golden horn.

"I grow weary with these unworthy losers. It is time to go after challengers befitting my time," she said to herself as she looked at the road ahead of her. An arrow sign nearby read "PONYVILLE". She smiled softly once more and she trotted off to her next challenge.

*************************************

"...the three of Apples!"
Fluttershy looked down at her card and then to the side, unsure how to respond. "Uh... that is... um, not correct..." she finally mumbled.
Pinkie Pie gasped as she tapped her forehead with both forehooves. "Hmmmm. How about the five of Shields?" she responded.
The yellow pegasus looked and weakly shook her head at her.
The pink earth pony wrinkled her brow. "Eight of Shoes? Princess of Diamonds? Sire of Shields? Foal of Apples? Six of Diamonds? Nine of..."
Pinkie kept naming cards and Fluttershy could only meekly shake her head. The others nearby sighed in defeat.

"See? I told you she's no good at this stupid trick! Why does she even want to add a magic act to her party routine?!" Rainbow Dash grumbled.
"Aw, give'er a break, sugarcube. She's doin' her best an' Ah never seen a pony so determined to master it." Applejack cut her off with a frown.
"I will admit this is already the fourth time she's gotten this wrong, darling. Maybe adding simple parlor tricks isn't her forte," Rarity mused.
"Girls, we have to do everything to help her," Twilight Sparkle added as she patted a book next to her hoof. "Besides, I owe her this after I went and told the Cakes about you-know-who while she was in jail."

"This has got to be it!" Pinkie said as she gasped for breath. "Huff...huff... This is the... <gasp> last card I know I haven't said... <gulp> The Ten ...of... huff... Shields!" With that she finally slumped down in a tired daze.

Fluttershy gave her a sad frown and finally uttered, "Sorry, Pinkie... It's the Joker card. Please forgive me... I know I should've said something but it would spoil the purpose of this trick..."

Pinkie finally let off an annoyed grunt. "Why? Why? Why? Can't I get a single trick right?"

The purple unicorn finally walked up to her pink friend and helped her back on her hooves. "Pinkie, the way to be a good parlor trick magician is to keep your focus. A steady eye paired with great reflexes can help make any trick easy. Come on, let's try the old cup game.”

With a glow of her horn, Twilight levitated a small table with 3 cups between Pinkie and herself. “The trick here is to keep an eye on the ball. Look at it carefully.” Celestia’s protégé then showed her a tiny white ball which she placed under one of the overturned cups on the table. Concentrating hard, she used her aura to shuffle the cups, increasing speed as time passed. Everypony in the room tried to keep their eyes on the initial cup that held the ball, until Rainbow Dash and Rarity shook their heads as they grew dizzy and gave up. The rest tried to keep going until finally the reddish glow disappeared.

“Now then Pinkie, tell me, where do you think the ball is?” asked the purple unicorn.

Pinkie tapped her chin with a hoof for a few seconds until she gasped with glee. “Ooo, ooo! I know! It’s under this one!” She pointed to the middle cup on the table.
“And the rest of you?” Twilight asked her friends.
“Hmmm. Ah say the middle one,” Applejack said after some seconds of thinking.
“Um… I think I saw it under the left cup…” Fluttershy managed to say.
“Meh, I go with Pinkie. Middle. I got bored watching all that shuffling anyway,” Rainbow Dash replied with a wave of her hoof.
“I kept my eye on it as much as I could, but I go with Fluttershy. The left, darling.” Rarity answered.

“Ok, the ball is under…” Twilight then levitated both the left and middle cups at once. The middle one held nothing, but the left one had the tiny ball underneath.
The cowpony tipped the brim of her hat down over her eyes in defeat. “Aw shoot...”
The meek yellow Pegasus drew a couple of circles on the floor with her hoof. “Did I guess correctly? Oh, I’m sorry…”
The cyan pegasus face-hoofed and muttered angrily "Stupid ball..."
Rarity smiled with pride. "I have a keen eye, darling. I can't lose like that."

Pinkie, however was aghast. The momentary stun soon disappeared and she tapped the table once more. “Again, Twilight! I have to at least get this trick right!” Pinkie said with a hint of readiness.

The unicorn was ready to shuffle the cups again when Pinkie suddenly felt an itch in her hooves. “Ooo! Crusadermobile coming!” she announced gleefully. Rainbow Dash groaned loudly as Applejack and Rarity looked at each other and shook their heads.

Just as Pinkie predicted, a loud buzz echoed through the air. The six ponies recognized the sound and looked towards the door expecting the Cutie Mark Crusaders on yet another quest for their special talents. The door burst open but the ponies were surprised to see only Scootaloo on her scooter hurrying inside. The wagon where Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle usually sit down on was absent.

However, the curiosity as to why the wagon was missing was outclassed by the disconcerting state of the young pegasus filly. Her wings buzzed even louder and faster than usual even though her scooter came to a full stop, her brow was breaking in a cold sweat and her pupils shrunk to near-nonexistent pinpricks. Her face showed nothing but pure terror.

“Oh, Rainbow Dash! Thank Celestia you’re here! It’s awful! It’s terrible! It’s…it’s…” The spooked filly wasted no time as she galloped towards her and hugged her tightly.
The cyan speedster could feel her ever trembling body huddled close to her and looked up at her friends as they all shared a look of concern. “Scoot, what happened? Why are you shaking so much? And where’s AB and Sweetie?”
Looking up with her horror-stricken eyes, she squealed out. “The others… The others! She’s got ‘em! And she wants me too! Please… HELP ME!!” With that she finally broke down and sobbed loudly.

“Whaddya say?! Somepony’s got Apple Bloom?!” Applejack said with a start only to frown seconds later. “Scootaloo, where is mah baby sis? You gotta tell us!”
Rarity nodded as her calm poise started to crack by the start of a wrinkled curve in her mane. “Oh, no! My dear Sweetie Belle! Young lady, you must inform us of this. You must!”

Scootaloo looked up at them with a shaking sway of her head and had just opened her mouth to explain what happened, when all of a sudden, a powerful blast of golden-yellow magic rushed through the door. The orange Pegasus filly screamed in fright. “IT FOUND ME!”

The Elements were trying to make sense of where this powerful magic force came from when it formed a crude shape of a strange fingered palm and grabbed Scootaloo, enveloping her within its ethereal form. It then started to recede back as though it finally found what it was looking for and retreated. Pinkie frowned at this new development and quickly retreated to Twilight’s basement. The others were also not taking this lightly.

“You’re not gonna take away my Number One Fan from me!” Rainbow Dash proclaimed as she spread her wings and flew into the cloud. Upon entering, loud peals of thunder boomed out followed by a lightning bolt as a cyan-colored form was catapulted out of the mist and crashed into one of the bookcases, sending the books tumbling everywhere.

Applejack went up to bat next as she started to form a lasso and swung it by her tail. “Jes where’d ya think yer goin’? Come back here an’ bring back mah sister!” she shouted at the golden cloud and swung her lasso out at it.
Instead of pulling it in, however, the cloud somehow was able to grab the rope and yanked Applejack into the air as she still had it tied on her tail. The vapor began to swing the farmpony around and around in circles until it let go of the rope. Applejack was instantly flung against another bookcase where the books flew off in all directions upon impact.
Her green eyes became swirled spirals as she then chuckled slowly. “Boy howdy… Ah ain’t afraid o’ them loop-de-loops no more…”

Twilight gritted her teeth as she activated her magic aura and shot a beam of her magic out into another misty cloud colored magenta. Her magic was soon joined it by Rarity's crystal blue one as both unicorns sent their respective clouds to grab Scootaloo from inside the intruding magic. The golden cloud however, morphed into the shape of a funnel and absorbed the clouds right out of the two incredulous unicorns’ horns. It changed its shape one more into a cannon muzzle and shot a ball formed of both magenta and crystal blue colors straight at them. The blow knocked them off their hooves and they landed on the pile of books underneath. With painful moans, they quickly passed out.

Fluttershy whimpered as the cloud somehow faced her and the yellow pegasus got down on her knees, closing her eyes as she shook all over. “Please, don’t hurt me…” The cloud instead ignored her as it picked up speed and rushed outside carrying the now-unconscious orange Pegasus foal in its form.

The library became quiet with only the soft stirring of the beaten four ponies lying around the disarray of the library floor. It was at that moment when the basement door opened with a bang as Mare-Do-Well leaped out, ready for action as her cape flapped up in the breeze.

She quickly surveyed the situation. Rainbow Dash’s twitching wings poking out from a pile of books, Applejack still dazed against a pile of books and babbling about proper etiquette in Manehatten high society, Twilight and Rarity slumped against another pile of book completely knocked out, Fluttershy shivering behind a large pile as her whimpers were heard, and the golden cloud of magic mist which grabbed Scootaloo was nowhere to be found.

The vigilante stared at the open door with a frown. There was no time to waste. Hopefully her alter ego’s Sense would still be strong and help her locate her target before it could no longer feel its presence. With a wave of her cape, she galloped away from the tree house to parts unknown.

***************************************

Twilight Sparkle woke up with a start. She was in her bed but her head was throbbing fiercely. That magic sphere that blasted her appeared to combine both Rarity’s magical powers as well as her own and added most likely the force of whatever created the golden magic cloud to begin with. She raised her head up and saw Fluttershy place a wet cloth on her forehead around her horn.

“Stay calm, Twilight. That was quite a blow you both took. You need to rest,” she spoke softly as she moved to the side. That’s when she saw Spike stand behind her, eyes looking like he was going to cry but trying hard not to.

“Twilight! Oh, thank Celestia you’ve awakened! I just came back from community service over at the police station when I found the place a mess and you were all hurt!” the young dragon wrung his hands together and smiled hopefully. “I’m just glad to see you still with us.”

“Spike, where are the others? I don’t see them anywhere,” she asked with concern.

Fluttershy hovered over her and responded, “After that nasty magic cloud left, Pin... I-I-I mean Mare-Do-Well appeared and she raced off after it. Rainbow Dash quickly recovered and Applejack regained her senses soon after that and they also left. I stayed her to take care of you and Rarity. Spike came in a while ago and helped me take care of you both. Then just before night fell, Rarity startled me by waking up just like that, said something about going to look for Sweetie Belle and left before I could tell her she needed to recover. ”

Twilight looked at the clock and noticed it was half past midnight. Her eyes looked uneasily at her pegasus friend and her assistant. “You mean to tell me neither Applejack, Rainbow, Rarity and Mare-Do-Well haven’t returned?”

Both the companions shook their heads. The unease turned to full-fledged worry as she used her magic to toss the cloth from her horn, while neatly folding it before setting it down, and got up from her bed and walked down the steps.

“Twilight! You are still not ready to get up! Where are you going?” Fluttershy questioned her with apprehension.
“Fluttershy, you told me to stay put, but we can’t! I got a really bad feeling about all this! Let’s go search for them!” The purple unicorn commanded as she turned to face the door.

Just before she could plant her hooves on the main level’s floor, the door was thrown open and a flash of light blinded everyone, causing the three to covers their eyes. The flash dissipated allowing Twilight, Spike and Fluttershy to gaze upon a strange pony.

The unicorn mare had a golden yellow coat and both her mane and tail were colored platinum-blonde with streaks of light yellow running down, jutting out in spikes from her head and flank. Her outfit was also unusual as she was dressed in a blue tuxedo jacket which glittered rather gaudily, worn over a white dress shirt and topped with a loud purple bow tie. On her head she wore a top hat also made of the same blue glittery fabric as the tuxedo with a purple hat band colored like the bowtie. On her forehooves, she wore a pair of cuffs held mysteriously in place while her back hooves had a pair of glittery blue soft shoes with white spats. None of the trio could tell what color eyes this filly had due to the fact she wore strange silver-framed glasses with jet-black square lenses. Each lens was dappled with tiny diamonds, with four arranged on each corner of the leftmost lens and 3 in a diagonal formation on the rightmost one. Her curious cutie mark looked like a white ivory queen chess piece leaning at a left angle, and what appeared to be a cloud of wind in an arc with a pair of white dice with black pips as though the wind was throwing the dice out. The numbers on the dice was a 4 and a 3, the Lucky Seven. Twilight then realized the diamonds on her glasses made her gaze also look like a pair of dice over the stranger’s eyes.

The strange filly looked deep in thought as she rubbed her chin with a hoof as she walked inside. The purple unicorn could only watch as this newcomer walked in slow circles around her, bending her head around to inspect her all over as she softly hummed in contempt. Finally, she stared Twilight straight in the eyes and the royal disciple looked back nervously at the strange diamond-pocked gaze and her crude reflection on the surface of the glasses.
Finally, the stranger grinned. “You must be that Twilight Sparkle that prissy designer, hot-headed pegasus and all-brawn-no-brain farm pony talked to me about.”
The student gasped at the descriptions and her expression quickly turned harsh. “Where are my friends? Did you do something to them?”
Chuckling softly under her breath, the gold unicorn turned around and averted Twilight’s stern gaze. “I grew bored with their feeble competition. Speed? Strength? Eyes? Child’s Play! I thought for sure this town was filled with the most incompetent of challengers. Once again, I won my own mental wager as I always do...” she said as she whipped her tail right at the disciple’s snout.
“Who are you?! How dare you mock my friends in that manner?! They are the most wonderful, magnificent and talented friends anypony can have! You take back every single last insult you…you…” Twilight seethed as the stranger placed a hoof over her mouth.
“Did I hit a nerve? So sorry, my dear. I keep forgetting yokels have such weak constitutions towards superiority. As for me…”

The pony removed the top hat from her head and leaped back as a strange yellow smoke blew from the interior of the glittering gaudy headgear. Twilight and the others closed their eyes and coughed as they tried to see through the thick magic plume. When they opened it again, they were stunned to find the Library was gone. In its place was a dark open area filled with flashing neon-lights and signs with all colors of the rainbow everywhere. The ground itself was made of white ceramic with images of playing cards and dice in various pip positions everywhere, looking slightly like the way the ground of Ponyville appeared after Discord took over briefly.

Before they could make sense of the situation a spotlight switched on from some unknown part of the sky, followed by another. The twin lights weaved around the area as a drumroll was heard. Before too long, the lights landed on a staircase that magically appeared out of nowhere and shone brightly at the top and stopped there as the drumroll stopped with a loud cymbal crash. Loud fanfare began to blare as the mysterious filly appeared with a poof of her golden smoke.

“I am the filly of festivity and frolic! The pony persistently in pursuit of the perfect pastime!” she announced as a stream of strange orbs of lights lit up from the bottom of the stairwell going all the way up the flight of steps with another drumroll solo, then finally surrounding the stranger in a circle behind her as the cymbal crashed again as images of neon dice, chess pieces, bits, game tokens, horseshoes and other tools of recreation shone behind her.

“I am… THE GAME MARESTER!!!” she proclaimed to a thunderous ovation of applause coming from a non-existent audience. Twilight looked down at Spike who pointed an index finger as the side of his head and circled it around. Fluttershy could only shake in worry as she got in yet another fetal position.

With another puff of smoke, the “Game Marester” as she called herself disappeared from the top of the stairwell, where the neon signs and lights went automatically dark, as the spotlights shone at the bottom where another smoke plume appeared and she once again reappeared.

“Welcome to my world, my little pony. Here I reign supreme as its one and only master!” Game Marester said as she magically levitated through the use of her golden magic aura from her glowing horn. “It plays by my rules and so should you, if you ever want to leave that is!”

“Why did you bring us here?” Twilight demanded as she stood her ground. “And where are my friends?!”

Game Marester chuckled again. “Your ‘friends’. Such unworthy losers the whole lot of them! I remember both the buck-happy brute and the short-fused speedster came looking for that trio of half-pints that lost to me. That little orange one managed to get away on that little scooter of hers but my magic was able to find her and bring her back to me. Then a few hours ago that fastidious fashionista came looking for me and demanded her sister brought back. The nerve!”

At this both Twilight and Spike scowled whereas Fluttershy stood up straight but the least she could manage was a soft frown. “It was you! You were the one who kidnapped them! Give them all back this instant!” Twilight demanded forcefully.
“Give back Rarity as well, you… you…” Spike added while trying to suppress his rage.
“Um…please?” Fluttershy added softly as her frown dissipated again.

The magical filly yawned as she looked down at her hoof in boredom. “Please. I don’t take orders from peons. Besides, I won them fair and square after they all lost my games. Besides, they make such charming additions to my little prize collection.”

The purple unicorn and her assistant froze. “What… ‘collection’?” she finally answered with confusion.

The strange unicorn grinned and each diamond stud in her glasses shone with an evil glint. “Let me introduce you to my prize gallery, Twilight Sparkle. Marvel at the assortment of failures that disappointed my expectations. Never will you will a group of wretches, losers and all-around flops! Behold!”

A spotlight came to life above Game Marester as it panned away to what appeared to be a large wall-like structure appearing out of nowhere and outlined by the neon lights flickering everywhere. The spotlight then shone on the wall and revealed it to be an enormous display case with holes built into it to hold things. Twilight and her companions were amazed to see in nearly every hole was a tiny gold figurine in the shape of a pony. Some were plain figurines of earth ponies, but there were also several unicorns and pegasi in the collection judging by horns and wings respectively. Each pony was in its own special pose ranging from standing upright to sitting on haunches to rearing up to lying down to even posing with spread wings for some pegasi and concentrated expressions for unicorns. Each looked so majestically carved that they seemed almost alive.

The amazement however, turned to horror as they began to hear it. A multitude of voices began to call out; most were scared, others were upset, but all were clearly saddened. That’s when Twilight felt it. Breaking out from the group and shoving Game Marester aside, she ran to a far-off section of the enormous fall and instantly her expression went pale.

All collected neatly in a row was a figurine of Applejack, recognizable by her cowboy hat, in her familiar bucking stance, Rainbow Dash is a majestic flying pose with wings spread out, and Rarity in a prim and proper runway model stance. Just below them to Twilight’s increasing shock were the figurines of the three Cutie Mark Crusaders. Apple Bloom looking up innocently with a smile, Sweetie Belle sitting down on her haunches staring at the side and Scootaloo racing in a small version of her scooter. Twilight’s pupils shrank to near-nothingness and her lips quivering as she tried making sense of things.

“…t…w…i…l…i…g…h…t…”

The unicorn’s ears twitched as she tried to speak. “A-A-Applejack?”

Her gaze met the figurine of the farmpony. That’s when the figurine somehow managed to turn around on its own and, despite her head bent down since she was in the middle of a buck, the eyes were staring right up at her.

“…h…e…l…p…u…s…”

Twilight was able to gather enough strength to shake her head as she tried to tell herself it was not her imagination. That was the voice of her earth pony friend. There was no mistaking it. Then other voices joined in as the small statuettes of Rainbow Dash, Rarity and the Cutie Mark Crusaders turned to also face her despite being frozen in their poses.

“…m…a…k…e…h…e…r…p…a…y…”
“…s…a…v…e…u…s…a…l…l…p…l…e…a…s…e...”

The weak voices of the two frozen Elements of Loyalty and Generosity were then drowned out by the collective sobbing and wailing noises of the smaller fillies below them. Twilight was blank as a slate hearing and seeing the fates of her friends and quite possibly the other unfortunate victims judging by the sheer number of trapped souls residing in the figurines.

Spike and Fluttershy eventually joined her and both were equally alarmed. Spike tried holding back his tears as he stared solemnly at the figure of his crush. Fluttershy was so frozen in fear and shock that only her own tears streaming down her eyes was her only reaction.

“Marvelous, don’t you think?” the upbeat voice of the golden unicorn said as she stood behind them. “My collection of beaten challengers is quite a marvel of assembly! I got losers from Hoofington, Trottingham, Stalliongrad, San Prancisco, Rio de Hayneiro, Neighpon and beyond. It will grow and grow until I find that one worthy being! One worth of my time!”

Twilight Sparkle’s head hung down as her entire body shook. “You…”

Turning out with such speed to cause Game Marester to rear back in surprise, Twilight stared daggers in her direction. Her teeth were clench in hatred and snorted out a blast of hot air.

“MONSTER!!!” she finally screamed at the top of her voice.

Game Marester arched her eyebrow. “Oh please, my dear, obviously you lack good sportsponyship. I gave each of these… ‘competitors’ a chance to fulfill their desire.”
She pointed to a pegasus filly on one hole. “This charming dear wanted a chance to win back the engagement ring she recently received from her coltfriend and ended up putting for collateral. She lost both the ring and my game.”
Her hoof then traced to an earth stallion. “This gent put up his monthly bits thinking he could win them back and more to surprise his mare with a fat bonus. Not anymore, it seems.”
Finally, nudging Spike out of the way, she slowly slid her hoof over the Cutie Mark Crusaders. “As for these three, they came up to me and begged me to play against them and find a way to earn their cutie marks. They even believed winning would give them their desire! Instead, they earned the honor of being part of my collection. Ah the sweet innocence of youth…”

“Give them back!” Twilight snapped at her. “Give them back as well as my friends, or by Celestia’s wrath you will never see her Sun rise as long as you live!”

At these words, the golden unicorn smiled. “Is that so? Is it your desire to have your friends back? I could part with them. One or two I lose won’t matter to me. Unfortunately, my spells can’t change them back just like that. It is, how you say, a matter of balance.” She then turned and waved her tail at Twilight’s snout. “You must challenge me and win against me. Succeed and I will be forced to go through with your desire. Your friends and those three fillies shall no longer be part of my collection as you request.”

She then somehow manipulated her tail in a way that it gripped both sides of Twilight’s snout with force. Twilight winced in slight pain in response. Game Marester turned to face her once more and sneered. “But should you lose, dear, you will join them in my collection!” With that, she unwrapped her tail and Twilight looked even angrier at her.

“What game do you have in mind?” the purple unicorn asked quizzingly through her teeth.

Game Marester chuckled under her breath and waved her forehoof in the air. “Name it, my dear. The object is that my challenger chooses the game we will play. It’s the least I can give them before I claim victory over what they say is their strongest talents.”

This immediately got Twilight suspicious. How could her friends, with such talents such as strength, speed and keen eyes, were able to lose? This was either a very good competitor or an outright cheater.

“What about the rules?” the pupil asked her.

“That’s the fun part. My competitors make up the rules. As many as they want and even give themselves the advantage if they wish. In the end, I will still win. I will always win...” She nudged the side of her hat and gave her a cocky smile. “Well, I don’t have all night, my dear. Choose your game and your rules wisely. This is the last taste of freedom you will have should you lose…because I never lose.”

Looking back at Spike and Fluttershy who looked at her with trust, Twilight stared at Game Marester again and closed her eyes in deep concentration. A few minutes later, she opened them again. As expected, the arrogant filly was reading a book she was levitating before her out of boredom.

“I challenge you to a test of knowledge,” she explained. “Subjects can be anything. From classical Equestrian History to Graduate-level Magic Philosophy, there is no limit to the categories. There is no question that can be rejected. First one to not answer a question correctly loses.”

Making the book disappear, Game Marester turned to face her. “Game of knowledge, is it? You are so naïve, dear girl. You will not last long.”

“I’ll have you know I have read every single tome in the Books & Branches over 5 times, made dozens of reports about them and have read every known literary paperback, hardback, magazine and beyond in the Canterlot Royal Library being the prized student of our Royal Highness, Princess Celestia. You will see who will not last long,” Twilight responded smugly.

“You’re feisty. I like that kind of competitor. It makes wiping that smile off your silly face all the more gratifying. Very well. Let the game begin!” Game Marester said as she stomped her hooves twice as another cloud of smoke enveloped them all.

After the cloud dissipated, the trio found themselves in what appeared to be a brightly lit room with colorful walls decked with neon-light questions marks everywhere. Twilight found herself inside a small box with a large dunce cap painted in. Directly opposite her was Game Marester also in a similar box, except hers had a mortarboard and closed scroll painted on its front. To her side was a set of bleachers with various cut-outs of different unknown ponies posed in various cheering stances. In the first row were Spike and Fluttershy, surrounded by these creepy cut-outs and looked unnerved by their presence.

A spotlight shone on Game Marester as she began, “Welcome to ‘Stump the Chump’! I’m your champion, the Game Marester!”

At that, a loud holler of cheers emanated from the static cardboard audience, making the dragon and meek Pegasus even more unsettled.

The showfilly continued, “I will now prove beyond a shadow of a doubt I’m far more smarter than the so-called prized student of Celestia. All the way from Canterlot, let’s give a warm welcome to Miss Twilight Sparkle!”

The “audience” responded with mocking laughter, jeers and a couple boos. Only Spike and Fluttershy managed to clap at her name, but it was very quiet and nervous.

“Our chump has set the rules. No limit to the subject of questions. Anything goes! The first to not answer a question correctly loses!” Game Marester proclaimed to her fake audience’s applause and cheers. She then motioned her hooves as to quiet her crowd. “Now then, Miss Sparkle, since you’re the challenger, you can go first. Go ahead. Give it your best shot. Stump me!”

Twilight muttered under her breath at this filly’s bravado but tried her hardest to recall the longest, hardest and most obscure knowledge she had ever learned. Finally an imaginary bell went off in her head and her expression became smug.

“Very well, Miss ‘Game Marester’. My first question to you is of the subject of Advanced Magic Placement Theorems of Pre-Equestrian Enchantment Physics… What is the Linear Auto-Spheric Interstellar Formulaic Theorem, who were the 20 known magic scholars who formed it and what does it state?”

Spike gulped at the mention of the question. Fluttershy turned to face him and whispered, “Uh, Spike? What’s wrong?”

“Twilight made her graduate thesis on that theorem! She had to sleepover at the Royal Library for weeks to go through every single last old tome to gather enough information about it to present to Celestia! I know because I was the one who had to dictate every single quill stroke as she talked! I still got nightmares about it!”

Fluttershy gasped but also smiled at the same time. “Spike, don’t you know what that means? It means only Twilight knows all that! She is going to win on the first question!”

Spike’s eyes went wide as he too realized it and a big smile spread across his face. He took Fluttershy's hoof and held it tight with the joy all their friends would be freed.

The purple unicorn looked complacent at Game Marester whose face remained still like stone. She knew only those with credentials to view the Royal Canterlot Library could find all the information to that theorem. Only the Princess, the royal Librarian and herself were the only ones. Nopony could know that. Her victory was assured.

Finally, Game Marester snorted once as her mouth twitched into a smile. “I thought you’d ask something harder…”

Twilight looked shocked but then composed herself. This was all a bluff. She had to say basically everything she explained in her thesis to the Princess and only she had the known copy. There was no way anypony else knew it.

Clearing her throat, the golden unicorn began to talk. The formerly smug purple pony could merely stand there slack-jawed as Game Marester practically repeated and improved every single last point of her thesis, naming the 20 scholars along with little-known trivia of their lives only the most studious would know, along with the various conflicting points the scholars had before arriving to the final published edition. The answer lasted over two hours and Game Marester didn’t even show a sign of being out of breath. Nopony could believe her stamina. Even Twilight had to excuse herself to drink some water as she lectured the Princess. Who was this strange pony?

“…and might I add that was such a foolish question to ask someone of higher intellect such as I. I pity your feeble choice of a question, dear filly.” Game Marester concluded to a loud victory bell and the thunderous praise of her cardboard audience.

Twilight hung her head down as her confidence vanished. Game Marester stood up straight as her demeanor turned cross. “Now it’s my turn, my dear.”

Shaking her head a few times, the purple unicorn stood proudly on her feet. “I fear none of your questions! I am the student of Celestia. I know everything known to ponykind! Give me your question! I will answer it!”

With a tug on her dice sunglasses, Game Marester finally said, “The subject is… Food!”

“My studies of all culinary arts are vast. Though I may not have cooked a single meal in my life, I know every sort of food type, origins of dishes and beyond. You have no way to beat me,” Twilight proclaimed.

“Oh really, my dear?” Game Marester replied as she grinned showing her bright smile. “My question is… What did I eat for breakfast this morning?”

Twilight was stunned. “What?! That’s impossible! I never met you in my life! That is not even a real…”

“Let me repeat your rules,” Game Marester interrupted as she clapped her hooves together. A cloud appeared over her head. Everypony looked into it and saw the image of Twilight herself talking.

“Subjects can be anything. From classical Equestrian History to Graduate-level Magic Philosophy, there is no limit to the categories. There is no question that can be rejected. First one to not answer a question correctly loses,” spoke the astral image of Twilight in the past. The magic pony clapped her hooves again as the image and cloud vanished. She then turned to face her challenger.

Twilight’s lip quivered as she tried to search for an answer. “But…but…but…”

“No question can be rejected. You said so yourself. You made the rules. Now follow them!” Game Marester said impatiently. “Tell me what I ate for breakfast this morning!”

Twilight’s brow began to sweat heavily. Her eyes turned to her friends who looked at her with hope. There are over a hundred possible answers for a pony’s breakfast. She was grasping at straws now. All hope of getting her friends back was lost.

“Was it… apple pancakes with honey?” Twilight finally answered in dismay.

A loud razzing buzzer was heard everywhere as the fake crowd began to loudly boo her. “So sorry, my dear. The answer was… Maple Syrup-Cinnamon Oatmeal!”

At that, the boxes, bleachers and the entire room disappeared in a cloud of smoke, revealing the neon-lit dimension once more. Game Marester walked with slow pounding steps towards the broken Twilight Sparkle, who just had her head lowered in defeat and sitting on her haunches.

“You have lost. Now to claim my reward…” she said coldly as her horn began to glow. Spike and Fluttershy could only stare in horror at what was to happen.

"From my games you did partake, now my prize you must forsake!" she chanted as a blast of magic shot out of her horn and hit Twilight. The unicorn screamed in pain at the force and power of the magic blast.

As the two friends could look on in horror, they saw Twilight get on her feet as she began to pose in a simple stance with one forehoof up as though she was ready to trot. The yells of pain stopped as her face froze in a calm smile and her eyes opened up into a warm gaze. Her body soon changed to a metallic gold color starting from the hooves and going all the way up her body, tail, snout, mane and finally enveloping the horn in the same gold color. No longer was she flesh and blood but a life-sized gold statue. The magic didn’t stop as she then started to change size as she shrunk smaller and smaller with each second. Pretty soon, the glow disappeared and a Twilight Sparkle gold figurine fell to the floor with a soft clang.

Game Marester smiled proudly as she lifted the statuette in the air. Looking to the side, her gallery wall erupted from the floor once more. A spotlight switched on once more and revealed a never-before seen hole now placed to the left of Applejack’s figurine and Twilight’s own was levitated and placed softly in it. The gallery wall sank back into the ground soon after.

“Ah what a day. So many new additions! I am on a roll now!” Game Marester proclaimed as she began to laugh. She moved her head aside and that’s when she saw Spike and Fluttershy. The dragon and Pegasus were holding each other, shaking in fear with tears running down. Both too afraid to move or say anything. All was now lost.

Game Marester looked down at them. “You two are still here? Would any of you care to try your own luck and see if you can free them as well?”

That immediately struck a nerve in Fluttershy’s mind. She was scared of being turned into a figurine, that was true, but the fear of being alone along with the shame and guilt of living without her friends when she had a chance to save them was far greater. She had to do it or else she could not call herself a friend.

“You nasty filly!” Fluttershy shouted as she stood up. “How dare you treat my friends like objects to be stashed in some crazy collection? You will let them all go right now, young lady, or I will tell your parents!”

Game Marester didn’t even bat an eyelash, even if it could be seen behind her strange glasses. “Idle threats won’t hurt me. Only losing will. You want those losers back? Beat me in a game. Choose your competition and your rules, carefully I may add, and I’ll give them all back.”

The yellow Pegasus thought for a few seconds. She then looked up with an unnaturally-confident smile. “The game is ‘Shhhh’. Whoever is the first to make a noise –any kind of noise– loses.”

Game Marester smiled in response. “Very well. A game of silence? Sounds like child’s play. You tell us when the game officially starts.”

“I’m the world champ, you know. I will win back my friends, you’ll see!” Fluttershy replied.

Spike then tugged on her tail. “Please, Fluttershy. Don’t do this! I don’t want to lose all my friends… I don’t want to be alone…” He then started to sniffle as he wiped a tear away.

Fluttershy looked down at him with her comforting eyes. “Don’t worry, Spike. I will win this and we will all be back in Ponyville. Please have faith.”

“Are you done with the final words? Shall we start?” the unicorn said impatiently.

The motherly Pegasus turned back and frowned. “Yes. We begin…now.”

With that, both Game Marester and Fluttershy became still like statues. Neither of them made a movement or sound. The pegasus looked at the gaudily-dressed unicorn carefully without making any sudden noise. She was a champion and there was no way her title would be lost. All she could do was merely gaze forward unflinching.

Hours passed and neither of them was any close to winning. For once in her time as a champion in silence, Fluttershy started growing weary. She couldn’t hold out any longer. Her knees felt weak and she had to sit down, but the thump of her flank hitting the floor would make noise and she’d lose. She tried to gulp to get rid of the lump in her throat, but that too would create sound. There was no way she could keep this up unless…

Her mind was in silent debate. Should she use her greatest weapon or refrain from it? She would never use it on another pony. She wouldn’t and she couldn’t! That was when the mere realization that her friends’ freedom were at stake finally won out and unlocked the ethic restraints in her mind.

Channeling all her power, she opened her eyes wide and used The Stare. Game Marester was frozen in fear. Never had she beared witness to such a chilling glare and she felt powerless, ready to sit down.

No!

If she sat down, she would make noise and she would lose! The fear of The Stare was replaced much quickly by the fear of losing and that redoubled her efforts. Once again, she built up her mental defenses and resumed standing still.

Fluttershy thought for sure she was winning until she realized a fatal flaw. Game Marester’s sunglasses, despite the diamond studs in them, made the lenses act like mirrors which reflected her Stare right back at her with a face on each lens. Coupled with the diamonds which made her reflections look like they had small pustules and boils on the surface, the fear of sickness was added to the Stare and Fluttershy faced the full brunt of her own secret weapon.

On instinct, she let out a soft whimper and that’s when the loud buzzer began to razz. Game Marester smiled triumphantly.

“You lost, little pegasus! I have proven myself the winner! Now, I claim my prize!” she proclaimed as her horn began to glow. Fluttershy merely stood there, scared for what was going to happen.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” Spike yelled as he ran towards Game Marester and threw himself before her, grabbing on to a hoof. “Please! Don’t take her away from me! She’s my only friend left! Please, take me instead! Take me!”

Game Marester scowled as she kicked Spike away. “Your dedication is touching but my spell works on the one who loses against me. She lost, so my magic will only affect her. Besides, I don’t want dragons in my collection. Filthy reptiles!”

Turning back to face her victim, she chanted, "From my games you did partake, now my prize you must forsake!" A stream of magic light then blasted Fluttershy head on and the Pegasus screamed in agony.

Spike looked up, his reptilian pupils shrank seeing Fluttershy being turned into a figurine and being powerless to stop it. Eventually, a small statuette of a Pegasus lying down on the floor looking to her side in a motherly gaze and smile clattered to the floor. The gallery wall materialized once more and Game Marester placed the Fluttershy figurine between Rainbow Dash and Rarity, only to lower once more.

“There. All done. No more challengers here.” Game Master mused with arrogant pride as her dimension began to fade away and both her and Spike found themselves back in the Books & Branches Library. The clock was just chiming one o'clock. For all the time they all spent in Game Marester's dimension, time practically moved to a crawl despite the length silence competition that took place.

Game Marester flipped her hat a couple of times on a hoof before slipping it back on her head.“As I have no dealing with dragons, I shall take my leave now.” she said as she faced the door but looked back to stare at the sobbing baby dragon. Tipping her hat once she said, “Farewell, dragon. Your friends made wonderful additions to my collect-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!”

Game Marester was stopped short by a force that threw itself at her, tackling her to the ground. Trying to regain her bearings, the unicorn looked straight up and saw the irate eyes of Mare-Do-Well staring down on her.

The game wasn’t over yet.

The Legend of Mare-Do-Well will resume…

Comments

[JD2K]

Next Chapter up.

[RLYoshi]

Wow...the previous chapters were cool, action-packed, funny, and occasionally slightly sad. This chapter was just Celestia-damn creepy. (And pretty sad, too.)

...More. I need to know what happens next!

[DiStort]

Man, I just wanna reach into my monitor and strangle that Game Marester. Seriously.
I hope Pinkie wrecks her in the next chapter. Looking forward to it!

[JD2K]

168146

Well i wasn't exactly aiming for creepy, but looking back it did look like it. That's why this fic has a "random" tag. Stay tuned for part 2 aka chapter 8 soon.

[JD2K]

168189
Oh you'll enjoy the MDW vs GM contest. Count on it.

[RLYoshi]

168230 I never did get what that "Random" tag meant. I have no idea what that tag is supposed to signify. I mean, "Comedy" means the story is funny. "Sad" means the story is sad, "Romance" means the story includes shipping, but what does "Random" mean?

[JD2K]

Me neither, but I use it because the series isn't exactly all-comedy, all-sad, all- slice of life, etc. It's just...random. The only part that's true is adventure because well a superhero story is chock full of that.

[Happy Bronie]

I have a question for you JD2K if mare-do-well is going to particpate how is she going to tell Game Marester what game and the rule if she can't talk?

[JD2K]

168423

I already planned this so don't worry. I already got that planned in advance. Just wait and see.

[UnderWaterTree]

but dose the comic come with a Mr T chrome training card
linkara jokes aside really good story i like this mlp batman thing good job

[RLYoshi]

Um...it's been months now...this ever gonna continue? I'm on the edge of my seat here...

[SuperPinkBrony12]

The Game Marester is a cheater, she abuses all possible loopholes to make sure she wins! I hope Mare Do Well gets her good for this!

[Whalesbefreeyo]

Now I have to wonder....
The HELL kinda eldritch beast is the Game Marester!?

Onto the next chapter!

[Mr-Dr-Prof Sweetness]

Game Marester (master) is a palomino? Swee-he-heet!

[Alchemystudent]

What makes this really stand out is that, somehow, this feels like both a two parter for the show and an episode of BTAS. With a cool cold opening, a wonderful villian, and a point where tragedy strikes. I also like it because it continues to explore who Pinkie is. So many authors just like sticking to Pinkie lol random, that they forget there is more to her than just the jester. There is a mare here with thoughts and feelings. It's kind of like forgetting to add the human element to Deadpool, you just lose something without it that makes us laugh. So seeing Pinkie here practice a new skill was a real treat and found it's way to match up with the plot.

[PEGASISTERPINKIEPIE]

It can't be, did you predict the appearance of cozy glow with the game marester? I know they don't look alike physically but in their evil attitude and intelligence they are very similar but the most surprising are their cutiemarks, I know in 2021 and the first Chapter of this story that was published was on December 11, 2011, you probably will not read this comment but I could not keep quiet about that, it hurts that this was canceled, but I am satisfied with all the chapters that were published, since this already I had readon the other hand, I love this story