The Great Glimmer-Grumble: A Seriously Silly Saga

the gloop forest began to it was a low resonant thrumming felt more in the teeth than in the ears this was of course a residual vibration from last week's wobblewump conundrum a phenomenon now understood to power the entire subdryer dominion of fluff guard but here in the gloop forest the was not a feature it was a threat this was the beginning of the great glimmer grumble the forest was home to the floof flippets they were creatures of pure unadulterated whimsy they didn't eat they didn't sleep they simply absorbed the glimmer the glimmer was the soft ambient light that perpetually

bathed the forest floor a silent symphony of luminescence now that symphony was being drowned out the had become a grumble the glimmer was fading the floof libits in turn were growing transparent their colors once vibrant shades of periwinkle and persimmon were washing out they were becoming mere suggestions of themselves the youngest among them pipsqueak flickered like a dying bulb it was a tragedy of profound aesthetic consequence thimblewintz the eldest flibbet convened the council of wisps the grumble thimblewintz declared his voice a faint chime is an affront to the very principle of glimmer something had to be done

a quest was formed thimblewints for his wisdom pipsqueak for her plucky flickering spirit and reluctantly they enlisted a snorkel toot a grizzled one eyed wanderer who communicated only in declarative squonks their mission to find the epicenter of the grumble and with utmost seriousness ask it to stop they traveled deeper the gloop underfoot became stickier more gloop like the grumble grew louder a sound like a cosmic stomach demanding a snack the last vestiges of glimmer clung to the branches like frightened dewdrops the situation was in a word dire they reached the heart of the forest

there was no beast no malevolent entity there was only a single colossal spore of somnolence pulsing gently in the gloom it was the size of a respectable bungalow and it was humming the spore wasn't evil it was simply bored it was creating its own entertainment a low bass heavy tune that was unfortunately canceling out the glimmer's delicate frequency a cosmic accident a terrible terrible acoustic mismatch fimbulwints prepared a stern well reasoned lecture on harmonic etiquette but pipsqueak did something else pipsqueak began to giggle it was a high tinkling sound the spore stopped

grumbling it listened pipsqueak giggled again a cascade of silvery notes the spore responded with a softer more inquisitive grumble this was not a battle it was a collaboration the grumble was not an ending it was a baseline pipsqueak's giggle became the melody a trilling counterpoint to the spores deep resonant drone the glimmer didn't just return it exploded it pulsed in time with the new rhythm a dazzling light show of cerulean and gold the forest was alive with the very first glimmer giggle grumble duet the floof libbits regained their color they didn't just absorb the light now they danced in it the snarkle toot observing the spectacle let out a single profoundly satisfied sound the great glimmer grumble was never a problem to be solved

it was just a solo waiting for its partner it was an invitation to join the song