WARNING: This story contains farts and fatal popping.

This story is inspired by the Water Vellumental from Paper Mario: The Origami King.

It was a cloudy afternoon on Gemstone Isle. Carl the monkey has been sitting among the lush trees for a while, anxiously awaiting his best friend to return from her descent into a dank cave. Looking deeply into the dark pit in the ground surrounded by lush colorful flowers, he decides to put away his fears, arms himself with a bandoleer of bananas, and go save his friend – Toucan Jan... Navigating the awkward crevices of the cave – the uncut sapphires, rubies, and emeralds embedded in the walls reflect the faint light of day throughout Carl's path. Finding himself in an underground arena, Carl examines his surroundings.

The room was nothing more than a huge stone circle atop a shining crystal blue lake. Distracted by its natural beauty, the monkey gets surprised by the sound of his friends voice. “Hey coconut brain, I'm up here!” Shouts Jan in her raspy tone, trapped in a wooden cage dangling from a ceiling by a rope. Splooosh! Suddenly, a frail white stallion with light blue eyes and gills leaps from the lake - landing on all fours. His hooves clopped the stone ground with a wet echo. Neighing with a high-pitched screech, the horse starts trotting around the circumference of the arena. Arming himself with a banana, Carl squeezes it like a pistol and shoots it at the horse.

Catching the banana in his mouth, the horse swallows the fruit. Distracted by the sudden dose of potassium, Carl tosses the empty peel ahead of his clopping hooves. With a dramatic slip, the stallion front-flips onto his back – neighing in a whiny screech at the monkeys trick. “Carl, keep him distracted. I have an idea!” Shouts Jan. Poking her beak through the bars of her cage, she begins pecking at the rope holding up her prison. Folding his ears with embarrassment, the horse gets up on his hind legs and cries out – calling upon his supernatural powers. Gently, two tendrils of water emerge from the lake and begin surging down his throat.

Wagging his mop-like tail, the stallions rib cage dissipates as his tight abdomen inflates. It was a grotesque scene, the monkey wasn't sure how to react to the display of sheer gluttony. The horse's rapid bloat was so impressive, it looked like he had become pregnant with a foal. “Watch out Carl, I don't know what he's doing – but his belly looks packed to burst!” Warns Jan. Shutting his snout, the stallion cocks his head back. Bumping his front hooves against his massive potbelly like a drum, he waddles to the center of the arena with a gravid slosh. With an unsettling moan, the horse spews the water from his mouth like a powerful hose – deflating his stomach as Carl narrowly avoids the torrent, latching onto a hanging stalactite.

Annoyed by the agile monkey, the stallion slams his butt into the floor – quaking the room. Altogether, the stalactites fall to the water like stone needles. Unfortunately, the exit gets sealed as well by more rocks. While the monkey plops to the floor, the toucans cage smashes apart right beside him. Bravely, Carl stands in Jan's defense as she struggles to rise from the wreckage. Angered, the horse spreads his hind legs once again and kinetically whirls the whole lake into a tornado – blast feeding himself into a far bigger, more unstable water balloon. “Carl, he's getting ready to attack again! He's looking more powerful now than before!” Shouts Jan.

Fluttering her wings, Carl grabs onto her talons with one paw as he unhooks a banana from his bandoleer with the other. Having swallowed the entirety of the lake, the stallion has effectively become a giant sphere – immobile with his limbs sunken inward. Neighing with his big mouth pointed out like a cannon, the monkey shoots a banana down his throat as the duo flies overhead. GULP...! Suddenly, with dilated pupils, the banana has proven to be the tipping point in the horse's morbidly swollen body. With the noisy wet creak of his flesh, the stallion farts and explodes – blowing the entirety of the cave out across Gemstone Island, raining water and valuables across the terrain for all to have. Best of all, our two heroes have survived the mighty Sea Horse of Gemstone Island. THE END