A Prankster Makes an Amazing Discovery

     She opened the door and found her sister Influir’s shampoo. It was made especially for blondes, and had a violet hue. Smirking, Tivlia mixed the hair dye into the Pastel Gelert’s shampoo, unbeknownst to her sister.

     A few hours later, Tivlia was eating breakfast when her sister came down the stairs in her pajamas. “I’m going to take a shower,” she announced, prompting laughter that Tivlia had to stifle. Fortunately for Tiv, Influir didn’t notice.

     A few minutes later, Tivlia was munching on sugary cereal when she heard a horrified gasp from the bathroom. “WHAT?! NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!” wailed Influir. “Who did this?! Why would anyone do this?!”

     Tivlia burst into unapologetic laughter, which Influir heard. The latter wrapped herself in a towel and furiously stormed into the kitchen. “YOU MONSTER!” screamed Influir, tears streaming down her face. “Why would you do this?!”

     “April Fool’s,” giggled Tivlia.

     “I had a PARTY to go to today! Now I’m going to have to wear a silly WIG!” Influir gritted her teeth.

     “The shade “Very Violet” is actually quite popular these days,” remarked Tivlia.

     Influir shook her head. “I look like a CLOWN!” Then she clenched her paws. “I’ll get you for this!” Then she ran back into the bathroom, sobbing uncontrollably.

     Feeling no remorse whatsoever, Tivlia continued to laugh boisterously. With satisfaction, she chomped the rest of her cereal down. However, little did she know that Influir was already plotting a trick of her own...

     ---

     Influir came home that day and handed Tivlia a flyer, smiling suspiciously. “Hey, Tiv,” she began, “there’s a swimming competition in Maraqua next week. The first Neopet to reach the treasure chest wins its contents: a Golden Shell!”

     Tivlia gasped in delight. As a competent swimmer who had been in the water since she was born, she knew she would win without a shadow of a doubt. Furthermore, the prize was a valuable item which would sell for millions of Neopoints to an avid collector of album items and avatars alike. “I’ll be rich!!!” she exclaimed with a huge grin. “Be sure to come along to cheer me on. Use a spell to breathe underwater.”

     “Trust me, I will.” However, Tivlia was so excited that she failed to notice the mischievous smirk across Influir’s face...

     ---

     Tivlia showed up at the race early, readier than ever. “I’m going to WIN THIS!” she shouted overconfidently.

     “Good luck,” smiled Influir.

     When the race started, Tivlia had no issues playing foul. She had a devious personality, so she would gladly cheat to win. Wielding an Ultra Rainbow Flash, she temporarily blinded the other Neopets, and they toppled over into mounds of seaweed.

     “I’m ahead!” hollered Tivlia jovially. However, no one was listening, since the rest of the racers were tangled in seaweed.

     Then she approached a rocky crevice which the competitors had to swim through. Although she was comfortably ahead, the others were starting to recover. Therefore, a sneaky idea popped into her mind. She noticed that a large boulder was situated on the other side of the crevice. She swam through, and then, mustering all her strength, she pushed the boulder in front of the crevice, blocking off all the other Neopets.

     As she swam away giddily, she heard an appalled gasp behind her. “...We’re cut off!” someone exclaimed. “Don’t tell me that rotten CHEATER did it!”

     “Disqualify her!” someone demanded. The others muttered in agreement.

     However, Tivlia had an indifferent attitude toward the other racers. With no competition left, she easily reached the treasure chest. However, when she pried it open, the prize which rested before her was not what she had expected.

     “...WHAT GIVES?!” she shouted in disappointment. “A TINY GOLDEN SHELL?! This isn’t what I was promised!!!” She began to huff, since the tiny shell was worth mere pocket change due to the Quest Log.

     Just then, Influir swam over. “Yes, that is a TINY Golden Shell,” she smirked, “and I’ll be taking it from you, since you so egregiously CHEATED! YOINK!” With a sarcastic wink, she plucked the shell out of Tivlia’s fin.

     “YOU... LITTLE...” Tivlia steamed, gritting her teeth.

     Influir grinned deviously. “Did you REALLY think that something so VALUABLE would be the prize?!” she sneered.

     “Well...” Tivlia’s voice trailed off.

     “I was the one who planned this race... to teach you a LESSON!!! Now you know how it feels to be the victim of some mean-spirited TRICK!”

     Tivlia clenched her fins. “YOU... ROTTEN... MONSTER!” she burst out in fury. However, Influir had already swam away.

     ---

     Following the unpleasant events of the race, Tivlia wasn’t exactly popular among her fellow Maraquans. “There goes that horrible CHEATER,” someone would comment unhappily every time she swam by. Therefore, Tivlia decided that she would do something sweet for the others to redeem herself.

     She was lost for ideas until a rumor arose of a spectacular treasure concealed within some old, stony ruins, sparking Tivlia’s thoughts. She concluded that she would find the treasure and share it with the poor Neopets whom she had wronged. Maybe then they would forgive her. However, being so selfish and vain, she intended to keep some of the goods for herself if possible.

     Tivlia approached the ruins and swam inside. The ruins were a natural maze, so she got lost fairly quickly. She had been wandering around for several hours, with no treasure in sight, when she saw a pair of large, glowing red eyes.

     Whatever creature the eyes belonged to, it probably wasn’t friendly, so Tivlia began to frantically swim away. Nevertheless, her efforts were in vain, as the Giant Spectral Mutant Walein ambushed her and swallowed her whole!

     Tivlia soon found herself in the Walein’s stomach. It was awfully dark in there... and very spacious, too, since the monster was gigantic. She had to figure out a way to escape, or else she would become fish food. She started searching for anything the behemoth had also swallowed which could possibly help her out.

     Sure enough, she found an enormous tusk that looked like it belonged to a similar fish. It was very heavy, so she could barely lift it, but it had a dangerously sharp point. The blade was what Tivlia needed to escape! The Walein recoiled in pain as she made her exit, then quickly fled. Tivlia smirked, figuring that the giant beast who swallowed her was very cowardly after all.

     Tivlia found herself outside the ruins with the giant tusk which she had used to escape. She hadn’t found any treasure, but she was alive, and bringing back the tusk was better than nothing at all. When she returned to town, the other citizens noticed her lugging the tusk.

     “Hey, cheater,” one began, “what’s that?”

     Tivlia explained the odd way in which she acquired the tusk. “Well, I’m not sure if I believe that,” answered the villager, a Maraquan Bruce.

     Another, a Maraquan Ruki, displayed a keen interest in the artifact. “Regardless of how she obtained it,” he began, “it is very special. You see, I am a scientist who specializes in natural history, particularly ancient sea creatures. If I am correct, this specimen belongs to an ancestor of the modern Walein, which lived hundreds of millions of years ago. As these fossils are very rare, the Maraquan Museum of Aquatic Life Forms has been looking for this piece for quite some time. Would you be so kind as to donate it?”

     “She won’t do it,” scoffed the Bruce. “She’s selfish!”

     Tivlia frowned. “Well,” she began, “I know I upset everyone with my self-centered cheating during that race, so donating this fossil for the good of the community is the least I can do. Consider it my apology.”

     “Wonderful!” grinned the Ruki. “The museum will leave a note on display that it was donated by you, explaining how you found it.”

     “I still don’t believe that story,” remarked the Bruce.

     Tivlia went home feeling rather accomplished that day. For one, the villagers no longer hated her. While she could have sold the tusk for a great deal of Neopoints, she figured that the museum was a better place for such a special relic anyway. As she went to bed that night, all she could do was smile.

     The End.