The Quiggle’s Quest

     Quarkley the Quiggle was no cheat. Sure he liked to play Cheat, and of course he sometimes lied about which cards he was playing. That was the nature of the game, wasn’t it? Everyone does that. And yes, sometimes when playing Gormball he would hold onto it for a few extra seconds so that it was sure to explode on the next person who caught it. It wasn’t his fault they couldn’t throw it fast enough.

      But Quarkley was not a cheater. Ask anyone, especially that nice young Quiggle Leeroy who runs the Coconut Shy. He would tell you and then make sure you were entertained with a completely fair game in which you were sure to win a rare prize. In fact, Quarkley himself had won a coconut once. Plenty of people had. He wasn’t so sure why everyone thought it was rigged when it was very clear it wasn’t. Of course you wouldn’t win every time. But that didn’t stop those around him from saying that all Quiggles were awful neopets with no sense of morality.

      Quarkley knew that it was all just petty bias- other Neopians were constantly looking down on Quiggles. “You’re short,” they’d say. It always hurt Quarkley’s feelings and he had felt for a long time like he should do something about it.

      Recently, after a particularly healthy Gormball win, rumors were flying that Quarkley had rigged the game. It was worse than it had ever been and Quarkley couldn’t go anywhere without someone throwing some sort of accusation or insult at him.

     It was ridiculous. There was no way to cheat at Gormball. There were ways to ensure that you would win, though. Quarkley had a special advantage- his slimy fingers could grip tightly around the ball in a way that those with paws and hooves could not. He was much more able to tell if the gormball was about to explode. And if it was, he’d very quickly pass it. If it wasn’t, he’d hold it for a while until he could feel it close to bursting. The other players would be furious when he’d hold onto it for a full 20 seconds, but Quarkley knew they were just bitter. Being good at a game is not the same as cheating... though he didn’t mention his special talent at determining when the ball would blow up.

      “There’s no way you beat Ember just based on skill!” FunX_332x the usul jeered.

      “With your short arms I’m surprised you could even pick up the ball!” Mef the uni screamed.

      Quarkley was just trying to do his shopping when he had been attacked with those accusations.. And yeah, sure, he was trying to haggle down the price. But that didn’t make him dishonest. The shopkeeper didn’t seem to see it that way, though. He yelled at Quarkley to get out.

      ‘This is ridiculous,’ Quarkley thought angrily, clenching his fists. ‘I will show them. I will show them that Quiggles are cool. I will show them that Quiggles are brave. I will show them that Quiggles are kind. I will show them that Quiggles are beautiful. I don’t know how, but everyone needs to know the truth. The way everyone treats Quiggles needs to stop! I will prove them all wrong!’ And so he set out to do just that.

      He first attempted to gain his neighbors’ support by putting on a tuxedo and giving out candy, but they didn’t trust him. They thought he was up to something. Quarkley knew that they could never accept him as good. Their preconceived notions of him were too strong. Quarkley knew he needed help, so he decided to contact the most famous Quiggles in Neopia.

      First he sent a letter to the famous Quiggle athlete Ealyn Hawkshanks who played for Kreludor. Ealyn was a great player and everyone knew it. He was also a team player, which was important in showing how great Quiggles could be. ‘Dear Mr. Hawkshanks,’ Quarkley wrote. ‘Please come to my neighborhood and show everyone that Quiggles are cool. Love, Quarkley.’ Ealyn showed up an hour later and showed off for the crowd, dribbling a frightened yooyu. Everyone lined up for autographs and Ealyn happily obliged.

      “See everyone!” Quarkley said happily. “Quiggles are super cool!” Everyone conceded that maybe some Quiggles were kind of cool, but they did so begrudgingly.

      Next, Quarkley sent a letter Morris, a knight of Meridell, to show everyone that Quiggles are brave. Morris had been on numerous quests that plenty of other neopets had been much too frightened to embark on. Morris came and climbed up the sides of several tall buildings. He then leapt from structure to structure, coming very close to falling several hundred feet. However, he ended up landing every single jump. Everyone agreed that it was pretty brave, albeit super unnecessary.

      He now had to prove that Quiggles were kind. Quarkley contacted the Altadorian Club President. Unfortunately, he then betrayed everyone and said no one could join his club. So that was sort of a flop. Luckily, Quarkley managed to get the wheel of monotony Quiggle to show up and let everyone have a free spin of his wheel. Everyone got a cool new avatar (even though they did have to wait a super long time for it). They all agreed that Quiggles were kind. Some had been waiting years for that avatar. Quarkley smiled, knowing that now plenty of people would be proudly displaying a Quiggle avatar for all to admire and envy.

      Last on his to do list was proving that Quiggles were beautiful. But how would he ever accomplish this? Frustrated, he went to go play Gormball and mull it over. Naturally, he won the match. Everyone groaned, but the Gorm Master (who always awarded the prizes) took Quarkley aside.

      “Quarkley,” he said in a low rumbling voice. “You have already won every Gormball prize I’ve ever given out. What more can I give you?”

      “Beauty,” Quarkley answered desperately. “I want you to make me beautiful and I want everyone to see it.”

      “I cannot give you beauty,” the Gorm Master replied. “For you are already beautiful. However, I can help everyone see it.”

      The Gorm Master led Quarkley back and, in front of everyone, opened up the large red sack of prizes he carried with him. They all lined up and each Neopian received a beautiful, new Quiggle plushie. It was a big hit. The plushies were the perfect size to hold and squeeze and no one could deny that it was the friendliest looking plushie they had ever seen. Every Neopian wanted one. They were so popular that an expensive line of designer dolls was released, called Quigukis. Some would even pay millions of Neopoints for them! Everyone now knew the value Quiggles held and Quarkley couldn’t be happier.

     Suddenly, everyone could see what they had somehow missed. Quiggles were beautiful. Those wide set eyes were full of charm and that lipless smile was full of mystery and intrigue.

      Now, everyone was enchanted by Quarkley. They gazed upon him endlessly, which was really cool for him because it meant nobody noticed when he played a bunch of fours and said they were kings while playing Cheat.

      The End.