//------------------------------//
// Fossils! 
// Story: Of Fossils and Religion 
// by Rennoc215 
//------------------------------//

	A subtle disturbance in the force. A soft sifting in the sand signals the arrival of a new being. Perhaps this one would dis-entomb me, the strange, buried being thinks. Of course, it is completely and totally out of the question. None know he is here, buried at the base of a distant mountain, entombed by dirt, stone, and sand.
But there is an electricity in the air, nonetheless. Something is here, and that alone is enough to provide hope. Soon, the unsuspecting may just stumble upon the lost relic.
And so he waits.


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"Gyah." Twilight mutters, raising a defensive shield around herself. "I came to study the unique blue bat that lives in these caves!" She angrily shouts, stomping her hoof, "Not to be attacked by flying lampreys!"
Shield up, she begins the trek backwards, toward the distant entrance to this cave. Yet, as she passes by a tall basalt pillar, an electric surge jolts through her, nearly knocking her senseless. She shudders, feeling the powerful jolt flying down her spine, tingling all the way.
A master in all electro-magical phenomena, this had Twilight bothered. She, of all beings, should be able to determine where the source of such a powerful bolt of magic came from. She glances left... then she gazes right. Both forward and backwards reveal the same truth.
There's nothing there. Slowly, she continues forward, when she feels something tap her hoof. Slowly glancing down, she notices a strange, Spiral shaped stone. "Hello?" She asks no one in particular, bending down and scooping the stone up in her magic, pulling it closer to investigate.
The soft, cream colored stone sits there, held aloft in her soft, violet aura, and she mentally takes measurements. Roughly the size of her head, the stone was gifted with a soft, slow-sloping spiral, and the simplicity of such a shape seems miraculous in her eye. 
Continuing her examination, she turns it around, and she notices an opening, large enough that some small creature might have crawled inside. She leans closer, and asks into the opening "Hello?"
She pulls back, and stands there, staring into the opening, waiting for a response. When none comes, a soft wave of disappointment ripples over her, but curiosity wins out again. "Hello?" She repeats, and this time she turns her head so that her ear is lined up with the opening.
As soft as a gentle breeze, a soft voice, ancient as the mountain around her, replies. "Left," the voice faintly whispers.
"What?" Twilight asked, unsure as to whether or not she actually heard the voice.
Sure enough, the voice returned, and repeated itself for clarity. "Left," it commanded, and Twilight felt her head drawn in that direction. As she gazed, she thought she could make out the distinct outline of the cavern entrance.
Slowly, she began to leave the cave, when her hoof caught another stone, nearly throwing her head over heels. She quickly righted herself, and lifted this one too in her aura. It had a soft, smoothed out dome which was depressed in two large dents. Towards the front, mirroring the dents, were two small, beady lumps, giving the stone a nearly flat, alien look to it.
The voice came again, and she heard two distinct words. "Leave it." But the more she looked at the stone, the glorious symmetry and balance it held, the more she felt as if she couldn't ever put it back. It was if this stone spoke to her, too.
But it didn't speak like the first. No, this one's voice was much less tangible. It was a primal urge, a distinct thought, but no more real than a dream. Patience It cried. Patience is the path to enlightenment.
The wind whipped up, and Twilight's mane was caught in it, blowing it into her face. "Fear not the lies of the Dome, my child," The spiral stated, as calmly as any sage she had known. "Dome leads to Damnation, stagnation, and evil."
Lies! The dome cried, shrill and biting in her mind. Helix is chaos, Anarchy, and repetition! He leads you down no noble path! He has no grand design! All that Helix is is a coil of Lies!
The wind was quiet, this time. A soft breeze, innocent and fresh. "At least I give you the right to choose." And then all was silent. The Dome continued to funnel thoughts to Twilight, but she ignored it, lost in thought over what Helix had said.
It was that freedom of choice, that concept of a lack of free will that terrified her. In all his babble, the Dome had yet to deny what Helix had said. 
Slowly, Twilight lowered both stones, and carefully set them both upon the ground. As carefully as she could, she opened up her saddlebags and removed the sample collection kit. With two deft motions, she scooped each stone in its' own box, and carefully labelled each case.
Finally, with some peace and quiet, Twilight sits still for a moment, trying to enjoy the peace and quiet. Unfortunately for out purple friend, this cave would have none of that, and with a soft *thwap*, another one of the blue, winged lamprey slams into the back of her head. It lets out a sharp shriek, and dazes Twilight, who screams back at it in frustration.
Slowly, she begins the trek towards the cave mouth, when a something glints at the bottom of her vision. Glancing down, she sees a shard of amber, dulled by age. She picks it up cautiously, and sure enough, a voice forms in her head. "Greetings!" It cries. "I am terribly sorry about my two companions, I could tell that they were making quite the ruckus. Certainly enough, I was beginning to wonder if you would leave me here!"
As it continues the monologue, Twilight wordlessly opens her pack and withdraws a third sample set, and slowly brings it around the new talking fossil. Like lightning, she snaps the kit shut, around the amber, and throws it into her bag.
"I've about had it with fossils today."