...
Celestia blearily opened her eyes, with the first thing she saw being a wooden table.
"Your awake? Good" A gruff voice said, catching celestia's attention, making her look forward.
To see two glowing eyes staring back at her.
Celestia tried to gather her surroundings as quickly as she could, finding that she was in a rather dark and run down cabin.
'The cabin...' Celestia thought to herself as the figure in front of her continued speaking.
"Now we can start, you know, it's been a hot minute since I've had a good challenger..."
"Here's to hoping you'll be different"
Before she could argue with herself with the logistics of what she was about to do, celestia lit her horn and shot a beam of light at the figure.
It did nothing.
"Just like the others..."
"Why can't everyone be like the purple one? She's been the best challenger I've had by far, all while being patient, and polite"
'Purple one?.. no...' Celestia worriedly thought to herself.
"Who are you?" Celestia asked as she squinted her eyes.
"My identity isn't important" The figure said as the middle of the table started glowing with spaces, roughly the size of cards.
Before celestia could ask whoever this figure was about the whereabouts of the ponies she was looking for, a deck of cards appeared nearby, and a few were handed to celestia, who caught them with her magic.
"Play the pony card" The figure said, as celestia began examining the cards she was given.
They were four, a card of a pony, a stout, and two cards depicting a wolf.
"..What is this?" Celestia asked.
The figure didn't answer.
...
To play it safe, celestia decided to play along with whatever this was supposed to be for now.
She placed the card depicting the pony on the table.
"Now play your stout"
Celestia picked said card with her magic, and sent it to the table.
But before she could place it next to the pony..
"Here's a tid bit, the stout costs one blood to play" The figure said, making celestia look at him.
"Sacrifices must be made"
...
Celestia slowly hoverered her stout card over the pony.
Said pony card began to somehow, shake.
Almost like it was... Afraid?
Was, was there a pony trapped in the card?
Surely, there isn't magic that is capable of that, right?
Celestia began to slowly lower her stout card, Wich in turn caused the pony card to disappear.
Rather, violently.
Celestia didn't like that.
"Good, now end your turn"
A bell suddenly appeared on the table to celestia's left.
...
"Ring it" The figure said, with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
Celestia pressed on the bell with her hoof, Wich suddenly caused her stout card that was on the table to lunge forward.
From what Celestia saw, it looked like her card attacked the figure.
A scale appeared as well, seemingly out of nowhere, as celestia's stout card returned to its original spot.
'Is he doing this?' Celestia thought to herself.
If its his magic that is creating these objects, seemingly giving them life, and nullifying the magic of an alicorn? Wouldn't that be.. chaos magic?
"Your stout has dealt me one point of damage" The figure said, interrupting celestia's thoughts.
She watched as a golden tooth fell into the scale facing the figure, tipping it a bit.
"You win if you tip my scale all the way, like this" The figure said as his hand came into view, and pushed the scale facing him all the way down.
Celestia, trying to get as many details of whoever this figure was, paid rapt attention to what she thought, would've been a hoof.
Instead, it wasn't, it was something else, more akin to a something a minotaur would have, but smaller.
It was also wearing a... Black sock? No, that can't be right..
"Are you paying attention?" The figure asks as his hand retreats, once again interrupting celestia's thoughts.
"Yes" Celestia replied confidently.
She didn't want to anger whoever this entity was, after all.
...
"Good, then let's continue"
"Because your still learning, I'll pass this one" The figure said.
...
...
After a time of playing the strangest, yet most violent card game ever, celestia eventually tipped the other scale.
"There, I have won, now, who are you? And what have you done with the other princesses?" Celestia asked sternly as every item in the table flew off.
...
"Why would you think I'd answer any of your questions after the tutorial match? It isn't that easy" The figure said as a map unrolled on the table.
"Now, let me recount your story"
"No, I won't play your games until you've told me what you've done to them!" Celestia exclaimed.
...
"Fine, alright, you want to be like that? Like the blue one? Fine" The figure said as he let out a sigh.
...
"The prospector may have some information useful to you"
"The prospector?" Celestia asked.
"Yeah, he's a.. crazy guy, but.. he has something that can help you"
"Of course, you won't find him, unless we continue playing" The figure said.
Even though celestia couldn't see his face, she somehow knew he was smiling as he said that.
"...Very well" Celestia said as a small wooden figurine of a pony landed on the bottom of the map.
The map in question depicted a forest, with a clear path in the middle.
The path had multiple symbols drawn on, with a dotted line connecting all of them.
"Now, where was I? Oh, yeah" The figure stared to say.
"You were lost deep in the forest..."
"A single path revealed itself"
The figurine moved forward, stopping at the first symbol.
The map was removed, and replaced with a pair of cards.
"Two denizens of the forest approached you tentatively"
Celestia, taking the hint, flipped one of the cards over with her magic, seeing it depicted an adder.
"The acoustic adder, a bite from it is always lethal"
Celestia flipped the other card, Wich showed a cat.
"The undying cat, sacrificing the poor beast does not kill it"
"Only one may grace your paltry deck"
...
Celestia took the cat, with the adder flying of to who knows where.
"Another creature joins your caravan"
"Some of the creatures of the forest seemed willing to follow you" The figure said as the figurine moved forward again, stopping at the next symbol.
The map was removed again, this time being replaced with a sack.
"You came across an abandoned sack"
A bottle with a pony card inside of it was handed to celestia.
"You found a pony card in a bottle, break in case of emergency"
"I'm feeling nice, so have a second" The figure said as both bottles were placed aside, and a pair of pliers were placed on the table.
"Another useful implement, I'll allow you to tip the scales with it"
Celestia could swear she saw dried blood on those pliers.
"Three is as much as you can carry" The figure said as the pliers were also set aside.
The map returned, and once again, the figurine moved forward, stopping at the symbol of a skull.
From what celestia has seen, this seems to be one of those, role playing games that have been made rather recently.
A, really, strange and violent one.
And if she knew anything, it's that the skull was going to be another battle.
The figurine stops at the skull, causing the map to be removed and the cards to come back.
"You were ambushed while crossing some rough terrain" The figure says as celestia is handed her cards.
"You may now see what my future moves will be" He says as he places one of his cards, one depicting a wolf cub, down on the table.
Celestia combed through her given cards, looking for a pony.
'Lets begin.." She thought to herself.
...
...
After a few moves, the figure played a bat, who attacked celestia directly, over her stout card.
Two golden teeth were added to the scale on celestia's side.
'What would happen if I lose?.. did, did the other princesses lose?' Celestia thought to herself.
"Ha! Look at that, my bat flew right over your stout!" The figure said triumphantly as the game continued.
Celestia would try her best to not lose.
...
...
This match, ended with a victory for celestia.
"You prevailed... And trecked onwards past the now bloodied terrain" The figure said as the map returned, and the figurine moved forward.
Two cards were placed on the table.
Celestia already knew what that meant.
...
After picking the wolf cub, the figurine moved forward again, on to the next symbol.
This time, a few stones with marks were placed on the table.
"You stumbled into some strange stones in the mist"
"You were compelled to choose a worthy sacrifice, one that will be lost forever..."
Celestia's cat and wolf cub card were presented.
...
"D- do I have to?" Celestia asked.
The figure didn't answer.
...
Even though she just got it, she chose the wolf cub.
"Alright, now choose a card to receive the benefits of this sacrifice"
Celestia's stout card was chosen.
The card of the wolf cub disappeared, with the stout gaining a symbol.
"A ghastly spectacle, but the soul of the wolf cub now lives in the stout" The figure said as the map returned.
The next symbol was another battle.
This time however, a wooden carving was placed in the figures side of the table.
With a small wooden carving of a wolf head being screwed on.
"Behold, my totem" The figure says as said totem started glowing red.
"Pretty cool, huh? It inscribes my canine cards with the airborne sigil"
"So, it's an advantage for you?" Celestia asked.
"Yes"
...
...
Even though celestia tried her best, she couldn't win this battle.
Her scale was tipped all the way, Wich caused the figures totem to be unscrewed, and every other item to be removed.
"Well, you've lost" The figure said, as celestia began racking her head for ways to somehow fight back.
"Using this as a learning opportunity may be the only way to mitigate my disappointment"
"Get up"
...
"What?" Celestia asked.
"Get up from the table"
Celestia, still trying to stay in the figures good side, stood up, a little fatigued from sitting down for so long.
"Go get the candlestick from atop the barrel beside the door"
...
"You're just going to let me roam?" Celestia asked.
"Yeah, I'll let you move around the cabin, but not now, just get the candlestick"
...
Celestia made her way to the door.
The thought of escaping did cross her mind, but she decided against it.
She still doesn't know the whereabouts of the prospector after all.
She grabbed the candlestick with her magic.
"Bring it"
Celestia made her way back to the table.
Even though her magic emanated some light, she still couldn't see what the figure looked like.
She hovered the candlestick over to the figure, who grabbed it with his hand.
"Now sit back down"
Celestia went back to her side of the table.
"Lemme explain something to ya" The figure said as he snuffed out one of the candles.
"See that? That was one of the two mistakes you can make here"
"If you make another, well, only one way to find out right?" The figure said in a taunting manner.
"Now, where were we..." The figure said as the map returned.
'Dammit... I can't lose again' Celestia thought to herself as the figurine moved forward again.
After picking a wolf from another card symbol, the figurine moved forward, this time to a symbol of a campfire.
The map was removed, replaced with small wooden stakes, and five wooden figurines of creatures Celestia had never seen before.
There was also a spot for a card in the middle.
"You came across a small group of survivors"
"Faces shrunken from starvation, they huddled around a campfire"
"They looked upon your group of creatures and beckoned"
"Come, warm one of your creatures by the fire... One said"
"Warm it by the fire. That will enhance its power. Said another"
"You notice one of the survivors wiping drool from their mouth" The figure finished as celestia's entire deck was presented.
...
She chose the stout again.
"The fire warmed the poor stout, enhancing its power"
"One of the survivors reached towards it"
"Another, gnashed their teeth"
"Without a word, you pulled the stout away from the fire and left" The figure said as the map returned, and the figurine moved forward to another skull.
This time around, Celestia won.
The figurine moved forward, to another card symbol.
Another card depicting a river snapper turtle joined celestia's deck.
Celestia was actually kind of enjoying this game, it was, very immersive. If only it wasn't being played with a villain, and her loves ones weren't missing.
The figurine moved forward again, to another symbol of a fire place.
"You stumbled upon a group of survivors standing around a dying campfire"
"T- there is room for a creature around the fire... One said"
"The warmth will enhance its health, said another "
"One of them, didn't say anything, but couldn't stop licking their lips"
...
Celestia chose the card she wanted to enhance.
"The health of the wolf was enhanced by the warmth"
"As one of the survivors began pulling a knife from their pocket, you withdrew" The figure said as the map returned.
Celestia noticed that there was only one symbol on the map left.
The figurine moved forward.
Instantly, the environment changed, with trees seemingly appearing out of nowhere, inside a cabin no less.
A skull of an animal Celestia hasn't seen also fell onto the table, with candles sticking out of the skulls eye sockets.
And on top of it all, celestia could hear the sound of a pickaxe being struck on rock.
"The trees seemed to close in around you as a chill mist descended"
"In the distance, you could hear the clinking of metal on stone"
"A hobbled figure stood in your path" The figure said as his hand came into view again.
Celestia saw that it was holding.. a mask?
The mask was of an unfamiliar creature, wearing a Stetson hat, much like Applejack's.
The mask also had crooked teeth, and an unkempt beard.
the figure placed the mask upon his face.
"Heeeeeee-Haaw!!! 'Twas the Prospector!!
