//------------------------------// // 1 - Gerump // Story: Twilight's Adventure // by wille179 //------------------------------// Twilight's stomach rumbled. She groaned, frustrated that now, of all times, her large appetite had reared its ugly head. Her mouth watered as daydreams of a juicy hay-burger pushed all other thoughts aside. “Search for food and water.” “I was just about to do that. You don't have to state the obvious.” She started trotting forwards, but paused after only three steps. “???? you too, Gypsy!” the frustrated, hungry, and mildly sleep-deprived unicorn yelled at the rather rude commenter. Of course, the word she wanted to say came out as a high-pitched bleep instead. This is an “Everyone” rated story, after all. Twilight! Such language! There are children here... well, man-children. And since when did you start swearing anyway? Twilight stared up into the rapidly changing sky. “I started swearing when I got separated from my friends. Besides, I think it's excusable when ponies like Gypsy are telling me to do indecent things for their sick amusement, or ponies like IncinerateChicken are trying to kill me.” Twilight. Here's an important lesson for you: those kind of people are called trolls. Their just trying to get a reaction out of you... like you're doing right now, I guess. Don't feed the trolls, just ignore them. They're harmless on their own. “Your right.” She stopped talking and took a deep breath. Calmer now, Twilight set off towards the cabin to see if there was any food in there other than the dry grass she was walking on. A soft breeze wafted across the little island in the sky, carrying with it a distant sound. She could not make out exactly what it was, but Twilight decided that it would be best to find food before she went to investigate it. As she trotted on, her eyes wandered up to the river that wound above her head. The unicorn mused that if she had a container, she could levitate it up and scoop out some of the fast-flowing water. Alas, she did not have anything to use. “StUmBlE aNd FaLl On YoUr FaCe.” Twilight's forward journey was abruptly halted as her fore-hoof caught on something protruding from the ground. “Aaahhgggg!” she yelled as she tumbled towards the ground, only to land with a solid thud. The mare groaned as she picked herself up. Her face stung and felt slightly wet. Dabbing her hoof against her cheek, she pulled it away to reveal that it was indeed bloody. “Great...” Twilight turned around to see what she had stumbled upon. At first, it appeared to be like any other rock. However, that identification changed when she noticed the lighter color and the helix pattern. “Is that a nautilus fossil?” Yes. Keep it, it might be important some day. You never know with these kind of things... The unicorn shrugged and levitated the helix fossil above her head. A ray of sunlight managed to filter its way down between the above islands, clouds, and rivers, and shone directly upon the rock. Twilight missed seeing this; her eyes were focused on the road so that she did not trip again. She reached the cabin door and gave it a gentle knock. There was no response. She looked in the window. The room was organized and obviously lived in, even if a bit spartan in terms of personal belongings. Inside, she could see a small cotton-candy cloud hovering over a bowl of chocolate milk; the cloud would probably not even produce enough milk a day for one pony to stay hydrated. Next to the cloud's bowl, the hungry unicorn saw a decorative plate full of chocolate-chip-and-oat cookies, adorned with a little sign on it that read, “From Senya. WE wish you luck!” It was so out-of-place considering the rest of the room that she couldn't help but chuckle. From behind the cabin, Twilight heard an old stallion's voice call out, “Geeerrrump, little squirts. Gerump already!” She did not know what “Gerump” meant, but it sounded like he was encouraging something. Her stomach rumbled once more. Blood dripped out of the cut on her cheek. The helix fossil gently floated behind her. What should Twilight do? Option A: Enter the Cabin (and eat the cookies YOU sent). Option B: Find the owner of the voice (and find out what "Gerump" means, and what a squirt is). Option C: Contemplate the fossil, then do something else (specify).