A small rock named Bassultus, named after his rock type, Basalt, sat on the Grassy Plains Over There (GPOT), a small park where children loved to play. Bassultus is a rough basalt chunk with glowing orange eyes. He moves slowly on land and always likes to talk. 

“I love hanging out at Hey, wanna hang out atGPOT?” Bassultus overheard a kid saying said to his friend. Suddenly, the ground shook. A huge crack formed as an earthquake toppled houses over. 

“I sure hope Grassy Plains Over There survives!” Bassultus whispered to himself as he was falling through the crack. Suddenly, CRASH! “CRASH!” Bassultus was stuck between two plates and became a metamorphic rock, which is a rock that changes from its original form due to from heat and pressure underground). 

“Hey, Bassultus! Long time no see!” Crust boomed, clearing his throat. “Why have you come?” He asked. 

“Well, I was stuck in here because of the Earthquake that occurred up there on the surface.” Bassultus replied, “But I also want to explore the layers of Mother Earth a little.”

“Well, I can grant you access to the mantle if you want. He’s got two pet Large Low-Velocity Provinces, Tuzo and Jason!” Crust said as he opened a small crack between two tectonic plates.

“Huh? Hold on my good Large Low-Velocity Provinces! I think someone’s arrived!” Mantle told Tuzo and Jason as he greeted Bassultus. “So, you’ve been given exclusive access to Mama Earth’s layers?” 

“Yeah, I’m curious about her.” Bassultus replied.

“Gggrrrkrrr!” Tuzo vibrated excitedly, happy to see Bassultus.

“Oh yeah, you already know Tuzo and Jason, right? They like to communicate by sending infrasounds. Their friends are Themis and Eistla from Venus. They’re the only pair of Large Low-Velocity Provinces other than these good boys. You want to know how I got them?” Mantle asked. 

“Sure,” Bassultus replied. 

“Well, I got them when this other planet got too close to Mama and almost destroyed her, but the leftovers formed this other celestial body that Crust has been talking smack about. I think it’s called the moon or something, but that’s not the point. The other leftovers just sank into my layer and formed these little guys. Also, I should probably let you meet the twins down there, whom which we like to call Inner and Outer. You ready? It’s time to sink!” 

Just when Mantle finished speaking, Bassultus sank to the bottom of Outer. “OOF! I’m trying to spin to get Mother some magnetism!” Inner screamed as he struggled to mix his innards. 

“Hey, looks like we have a new visitor!” Outer said as she pulled Bassultus in with her molten Iron. “What brings you here?” 

“I came here to find out the mysteries of Mother Earth,” Bassultus replied. 

“Well, I can tell you how she formed”, Outer said before leaning in, “even though Inner is the oldest here, and he knows everything about Mother. It all started when small clumps of rock began to attract others, forming a sphere. That was when Inner was born. Then, Inner attracted more and more rocks, and layers formed as the material’s density increased. Then, I, Mantle, and Crust fully developed, and Mother was completely formed.” Outer replied. “Now that you know Mother’s story, I will release you, and you will return to the surface.” 

Bassultus rose until he ended up in his original place, directly in the GPOT Grassy Plains Over There. “Welp, I believe that trip was wonderful! I hope I can keep in touch with them., though. I’ll have to join Lithotwitter sometime so I can chat with them,” Bassultus thought to himself as while he pulled out his iLithosphone.