EVERYTHING IS FINE.
Username: fluo
Prompt Response:6 You receive nothing but a haunting wail from within the Stump. "Probably the wind." Tricks coughs.

"The wind." Right. Immortal Shy eyed Tricks. Well. At least it wasn't a fart. It was the silent ones that you had to worry about. Those were deadly. Still, there was a particular odor and the acha wished a strong wind would blow by.

EVERYTHING IS FINE.
Username: fluo
Prompt Response:14 14. A beautiful red apple rolls out of the Stump.

A Wink of Pink was tickled pink at the happenstance. What a curious turn of events. And they were starving. As the acha bent down to take a nibble of the reward, a totoma barreled through and squished the apple.

"Oh you brute" screamed the acha before barreling headfirst into the Totoma.

EVERYTHING IS FINE.
Username:fluo
Prompt Response:

23. A sharp rock shoots out of the Stump and straight at you. You dart to the side and it narrowly misses you. "Wow, you're quick!" Tricks laughs.

The acha froze in shock. Slowly, she unclenched each muscle and willed herself to breath again.

"Wow, that was a close one. I don't suppose I could have a do over," asked the blue one to Tricks.

EVERYTHING IS FINE.
Username: HuniPi
Prompt Response:

5 wrote: A broken horn rolls out of the Stump.

Sun-Cursed had come up to the stump with no idea what to expect. When a broken horn rolls out of the stump, the acha leapt back in surprise. She wasn't expecting that! The horn was strange, however, she'd never seen a kin with this particular shape or color of horn.

EVERYTHING IS FINE.
Username: Lirilei
Prompt Response:
Lullaby was back again and not entirely sure why. Still he stepped up and blinked at the haunting wail.

EVERYTHING IS FINE.
Username: Lirilei
Prompt Response:
A second attempt and...a second haunting wail. "I don't think that's the wind..." he hedged.

EVERYTHING IS FINE.
Username: Lirilei
Prompt Response:
When his third try produced ashes he turned and left. "Really don't think that was the wind!" he called over his shoulder.

EVERYTHING IS FINE.
Username: lilacfishie
Prompt Response:

30. The Stump buzzes. BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!

For some reason, her experience with The Stump, and the stories from the other people at the Winter Market, piqued her interest instead of scared her away. Sparkling Sunrise watched, for a while, before approaching again. What was it about this stump that allowed these strange things to happen? She carefully approached, and paused. A deep breath preceded the pebble dropping into the hole at the top with a sound much louder than she felt it should have.

The buzzing stole her breath away. She pinned her ears back and stumbled over her own large legs trying to get away. Sparkling Sunrise thundered away to find somewhere to escape the bees rushing from the stump. How? How? More research was required...after the bees went away.

EVERYTHING IS FINE.
Username: lilacfishie
Prompt Response:

18. You receive a really shiny rock.

Sparkling Sunrise peeked out from behind a huge log. The bees seemed to be long gone now. They must go back into the hive? The cold air was definitely not good for them! She carefully crept up to the stump again, listening carefully for the familiar buzzing. If they were in there, they were back to sleep. How did they not get disturbed with every pebble that went down there? What exactly lurked under this stump? These were answers that Sparkling Sunrise wanted, but she had to admit she was a little afraid to find out.

Carefully, she dropped another pebble inside. She hesitated to press her ear to listen. It was better for her to take a step back and be ready to run if something else scary crawled out. But, to her surprise, a shiny rock rolled out instead! She squeaked in delight and scooped up the prize. "Thank you!" she chimed.

EVERYTHING IS FINE.
Username: lilacfishie
Prompt Response:

22. You receive a stick wrapped in webbing. Feathers stick to it. A fashionable headpiece perhaps?

Sparkling Sunrise was ready to play one more time before she had to make her way somewhere else. Plus, she wasn't sure what extended exposure to The Stump might do to someone. If anything, the adrenaline made her need a nap. She held the last pebble of the day carefully in her mouth. Slowly, she walked up to the stump and paused. She stared, for a while, at it, trying to see if she could discern anything from it. It just looked like a regular stump! Sure, it was a bit singed from the big fires last year, and the top looked a little unsteady after Mischievous leapt on it once or twice. But, it was still just...a stump. How?

Sparkling Sunrise stopped her pondering and stepped forward. She bent down and put her pebble in, listening to it tumble down into the depths of...somewhere. A different sound of something tumbling out made her step back. The hole at the bottom of the stump produced a strange stick with webbing all over it. Feathers were stuck in a few places. The webbing was more striking than anything. The young totoma narrowed her eyes, and leaned down to smell it. "Is this from the maze?" she asked.

EVERYTHING IS FINE.
Username: AstoriaFallen
Prompt Response: 4. A strange, misshapen and very dead fish slides out of the Stump. Tricks grimaces. "Maybe you could bring it to Sea of Tears?"

Blue Jay frowned, he just couldn’t get away from these fish now.

EVERYTHING IS FINE.
Username: lilacfishie
Prompt Response:

10. A mass of wriggling worms explodes from the stump and covers your hooves.

Sparkling Sunrise was back and more curious than ever about the strange stump. She held the pebble in her mouth, thinking hard about how the stump worked all over again. It didn't matter how many times she approached the stump, she never got any more answers about it. Usually, she left with more questions. That was part of the fun, though, she decided.

The young totoma walked up to the stump once again, careful to mind the strange mists around it. She'd seen others...change...while wrapped in the mists. While she was curious, she was not ready for whatever that meant. Maybe soon...

The pebble clattered down the hole in the top of the stump. Sparkling Sunrise took a step back and waited, holding her breath without even realizing. A strange, squelching noise followed the sound of the pebble settling wherever they went when offered to the stump. A small hum of concern warped into a yelp of surprise when a clump of worms burst from the stump and blanketed her front hooves. She took a few steps back, mindful not to step on the wriggling bugs on the ground. "What in the Swamp is this thing?" she asked, more to herself than to any passersby listening. Time to grab another pebble and have a long think with this new information.

EVERYTHING IS FINE.
Username: lilacfishie
Prompt Response:

7. A massive spider uncurls itself from the hole in the Stump and jumps at you!

Sparkling Sunrise narrowly dodged a patch of mist on her way up to the stump again, and eyed the strange phenomenon carefully. Maybe next time. Right now, there was an already strange stump in front of her that may or may not be hungry for pebbles and may or may not be haunted. The pebble she dropped in seemed louder than usual as it tumbled down into the depths. That, or she was listening so intently that the rest of the world was getting drowned out.

When the familiar scuttling noise followed the final thump of the pebble, Sparkling Sunrise already started to back up. A familiar dark clump rolled out of the bottom of the stump and rested a foot or so from her. The spider unfurled itself and immediately began scuttling towards her. The young totoma had hoped her icky feelings about spiders had gone away some so she could actually look at it, but the way it ran at her was just too much. The ground shook once again as she ran off. The other kin she passed by could hear her worrying to herself, "How was it the same spider?" as she fled.

I'M NOOOOT OKAY!
Username: lilacfishie
Prompt Response:

8. You feed the Stump your insecurities.

Sparkling Sunrise needed to do more research with the Stump, and ignoring one of the options did not seem like her. She heaved in a deep breath as she tried to hype herself up enough to step into the mists. The young totoma had seen several kin do this before she decided to, and the ways that they changed were almost frightening. She wondered what was in store for her in the mists. Closing her eyes, pebble in her mouth to offer, she took a step forward as the mists passed in between her and the stump.

The being that she became was one greatly unlike her normal self. The dark, shadowy shards hovered above her shadow form rigidly, tensely. Her hollow, white eyes were narrowed with a furrowed brow unseen in the void of her form. A rough shake of her head caught the light of her bared, clenched teeth. A crunch in her mouth signaled the crushing bite destroying the pebble Sparkling Sunrise was carrying as she stalked towards the stump.

Finally, she stood before the Stump and stared angrily into the open maw in front of her. The heaving of her form indicated that her presence there was barely contained. Sparkling Sunrise trembled, resisting the urge to let go and lash out, bite down, tear asunder. Still, the totoma stood, listening to the warbling and groaning of the Stump Maw. When the request was made, a low, rumbling growl in return came from the form of not-Sparkling Sunrise. The eyes darted between the maw and seemingly looking at herself.

Eventually, a gruff, gnarled voice came from her form. "I am less myself, and more a puppet," she started, throwing her head as if straining under bonds. The shards around her should have chimed, but there was no sound. They barely moved. "Perhaps this is what lies underneath. A feral beast." The final word sounded strained as the shadow creature pulled away from the stump, which seemed to settle with the offering. Her steps away from it were erratic, stomping, until she finally passed through the other side of the mists.

When Sparkling Sunrise was herself once again, she gasped for breath as if she'd been underwater. Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked back at the Stump, before she quickly shuffled off to calm down and Think.

EVERYTHING IS FINE.
Username: subducting
Prompt Response:



Evetold approached the stump and laid a pebble gently down. He waited patiently, stood back, and blinked slowly down at the very shiny stone that slid out.

“It’s beautiful,” he murmured softly, stooping down to examine it more closely. The inside seemed to swirl with stories. “Thank you,” he murmured in a singsong voice, before gently grabbing the stone in his teeth and walking away.