This fic was written in 1996, when I was in high school. It was inspired by
a picture a good friend of mine produced on the SNES game Mario Paint. She
spelled the word "RESTAURANT" down one side of the picture, along with a
bunch of buildings to represent them. She then stamped a herd of Yoshis
stampeding toward those buildings. I laughed my head off at the picture,
and this story was born.
Yeah, it's goofy, but it was good enough to get me an A+ on my creative writing assignment. So, if you're old enough to remember Super Mario World and the SNES, enjoy! If not, enjoy anyway! :-)
Disclaimer: I don't own any part of this game (except a copy of it on the Super Nintendo). It all belongs to Shigeru Miyamoto and the fine folks at Nintendo. I simply took advantage of a moment of inspiration.
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"Extra! Extra! Read All About It!"
CHOCOLATE ISLAND - What began earlier this week as a distant rumbling sound has ended in bandruptcy for thousands of restaurant owners throughout Mushroom Kingdom.
"I thought it was only rain," mourns one unfortunate restaurateur in Donut Plains. "I wasn't expecting a yammer of Yoshis to overrun my diner and eat me out of business. Why, oh why, couldn't I have bought Yoshi insurance!"
Another witness, manager of an exclusive Cookie Mountain tea room, describes what happened to him. "I was washin' the dishes, tryin' to shut down me business for the night, when I heard a rumblin' noise. I looked out the window and saw a herd of Yoshis comin' straight toward me tea room! I thought me eyes were deceivin' me, but when the Yoshis stampeded through me east wall, I knew me business was ruined."
The stampede apparently originated in the obvious place: Yoshi Island. Although hundreds of the small, dinosaur-like creatures have coexisted peacefully with the island's human inhabitants for decades, the Yoshis now appear disturbed and restless. An unnamed source reports that Yoshis of every color - red, blue, yellow, and green - assembled together and moved off the island after a rather unpleasant confrontation with their antagonistic neighbors, the Boshis.
"Yeah, those Boshis do look like ruffians," commented one tourist on Yoshi Island. "I was watching when the Yoshis confronted them. I'm not sure what they were discussing, but the Yoshis headed straight off the island. Maybe they're going to look for food and talk to Princess Toadstool, because those Boshis do eat an awful lot of the Yoshis' fruit."
Whatever the reason, the Yoshis decided to eat their way across Mushroom Kingdom. They preyed on pastry shops in the Donut Plains and cleaned out confectioneries in Vanilla Dome. The twin cities of Cheese Bridge and Butter Bridge found themselves in serious trouble when the Yoshis stormed through, and Soda Lake was reduced to Soda Pond as they paused to quench their collective thirst. Cookie Mountain crumbled before them, and their passage through the Forest of Illusion sparked several strange stories. One resident claims to have seen "a yammer of Yoshis pursued by a mob of Marios, which in turn were chased by a long-legged Luigi riding a twinkle- toed turtle." Considering the location of the witness, this report may or may not be true.
Here on Chocolate Island, the "Chocolate Capital of Mushroom Kingdom," the devastation is widespread. Every chocolate factory and sweet shop on the island has fallen victim to the Yoshis' amazing appetite for chocolate. All that remains of our once prosperous chocolate industry is a landscape dotted with empty shops and silent factories. The citizens of Chocolate Island are still reeling from the losses as they struggle to get back on their feet.
"Man, it was unbelievable!" one chocolatier told the Chocolate Tribune. "I thought they were going to crash straight through the wall, but they used the door! They still ate me out of business, but at least they left the building intact. My heart goes out to that poor fellow in Cookie Mountain who even lost his walls."
Princess Toadstool held a press conference this morning in which she declared a state of emergency and asked the Yoshis to stop their frantic feeding frenzy. "This extraordinary event has created a mass panic among our citizens, many of whom have been forced into bankruptcy because of the loss of their businesses," she said soberly. "If it's those rogue Boshis who are causing the problem, let's meet with them and try to work things out. In the meantime, please try to refrain from eating any more of our eateries out of business."
Mario and Luigi, the Brooklyn plumbers who have saved Mushroom Kingdom from the evil Bowser on several occasions, have begun raising funds to rebuild the businesses. They are not discouraged by early estimates of 13.9-16.8 millions gold coins. In fact, they hope to raise the entire amount by the end of the fiscal year.
Later this week, Mario and Luigi's comrade Yoshi will meet with Princess Toadstool, the Boshis, and his fellow Yoshis. They will discuss the tension between the Boshis and the Yoshis, as well as the Yoshis' current feeding frenzy. These talks will continue until an agreement has been reached. The Chocolate Tribune will continue to provide full coverage as these events unfold.
Yeah, it's goofy, but it was good enough to get me an A+ on my creative writing assignment. So, if you're old enough to remember Super Mario World and the SNES, enjoy! If not, enjoy anyway! :-)
Disclaimer: I don't own any part of this game (except a copy of it on the Super Nintendo). It all belongs to Shigeru Miyamoto and the fine folks at Nintendo. I simply took advantage of a moment of inspiration.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Extra! Extra! Read All About It!"
CHOCOLATE ISLAND - What began earlier this week as a distant rumbling sound has ended in bandruptcy for thousands of restaurant owners throughout Mushroom Kingdom.
"I thought it was only rain," mourns one unfortunate restaurateur in Donut Plains. "I wasn't expecting a yammer of Yoshis to overrun my diner and eat me out of business. Why, oh why, couldn't I have bought Yoshi insurance!"
Another witness, manager of an exclusive Cookie Mountain tea room, describes what happened to him. "I was washin' the dishes, tryin' to shut down me business for the night, when I heard a rumblin' noise. I looked out the window and saw a herd of Yoshis comin' straight toward me tea room! I thought me eyes were deceivin' me, but when the Yoshis stampeded through me east wall, I knew me business was ruined."
The stampede apparently originated in the obvious place: Yoshi Island. Although hundreds of the small, dinosaur-like creatures have coexisted peacefully with the island's human inhabitants for decades, the Yoshis now appear disturbed and restless. An unnamed source reports that Yoshis of every color - red, blue, yellow, and green - assembled together and moved off the island after a rather unpleasant confrontation with their antagonistic neighbors, the Boshis.
"Yeah, those Boshis do look like ruffians," commented one tourist on Yoshi Island. "I was watching when the Yoshis confronted them. I'm not sure what they were discussing, but the Yoshis headed straight off the island. Maybe they're going to look for food and talk to Princess Toadstool, because those Boshis do eat an awful lot of the Yoshis' fruit."
Whatever the reason, the Yoshis decided to eat their way across Mushroom Kingdom. They preyed on pastry shops in the Donut Plains and cleaned out confectioneries in Vanilla Dome. The twin cities of Cheese Bridge and Butter Bridge found themselves in serious trouble when the Yoshis stormed through, and Soda Lake was reduced to Soda Pond as they paused to quench their collective thirst. Cookie Mountain crumbled before them, and their passage through the Forest of Illusion sparked several strange stories. One resident claims to have seen "a yammer of Yoshis pursued by a mob of Marios, which in turn were chased by a long-legged Luigi riding a twinkle- toed turtle." Considering the location of the witness, this report may or may not be true.
Here on Chocolate Island, the "Chocolate Capital of Mushroom Kingdom," the devastation is widespread. Every chocolate factory and sweet shop on the island has fallen victim to the Yoshis' amazing appetite for chocolate. All that remains of our once prosperous chocolate industry is a landscape dotted with empty shops and silent factories. The citizens of Chocolate Island are still reeling from the losses as they struggle to get back on their feet.
"Man, it was unbelievable!" one chocolatier told the Chocolate Tribune. "I thought they were going to crash straight through the wall, but they used the door! They still ate me out of business, but at least they left the building intact. My heart goes out to that poor fellow in Cookie Mountain who even lost his walls."
Princess Toadstool held a press conference this morning in which she declared a state of emergency and asked the Yoshis to stop their frantic feeding frenzy. "This extraordinary event has created a mass panic among our citizens, many of whom have been forced into bankruptcy because of the loss of their businesses," she said soberly. "If it's those rogue Boshis who are causing the problem, let's meet with them and try to work things out. In the meantime, please try to refrain from eating any more of our eateries out of business."
Mario and Luigi, the Brooklyn plumbers who have saved Mushroom Kingdom from the evil Bowser on several occasions, have begun raising funds to rebuild the businesses. They are not discouraged by early estimates of 13.9-16.8 millions gold coins. In fact, they hope to raise the entire amount by the end of the fiscal year.
Later this week, Mario and Luigi's comrade Yoshi will meet with Princess Toadstool, the Boshis, and his fellow Yoshis. They will discuss the tension between the Boshis and the Yoshis, as well as the Yoshis' current feeding frenzy. These talks will continue until an agreement has been reached. The Chocolate Tribune will continue to provide full coverage as these events unfold.